Celebrating Metal from All Over The World!!!

by Matman

Here are three albums worth checking out... and why!  As always thanks to our friends at Golden Robot Records and AFM Records. 
​
Anthem - NUCLEUS
From Japan we have one of the countries longest running and most endearing bands, Anthem.  Celebrating 35 years of amazing music, the band have taken some of their best songs and rerecorded them for the first time with English vocals.  The result is an incredible listen of classic sounding rock that calls upon bands like Rainbow and Dokken... so win-win! To be honest, this one really caught me off guard with its solid vocals, amazing musicianship and well crafted songs.  24 amazing tracks (11 live versions) NUCLEUS has too many amazing moments, from Immortal Binds to Unbroken Sign,  every song has its own charms and moments.  Anthem is Naoto Shibata (Bass), Akio Shimizu (Guitars) Yukio Morikawa (Vocals) and Isamu Tamaru (Drums).  
Matman Rating - 5 out of 5     
NUCLEUS will be released March 29th from Golden Robot Records.    


Herman Frank - FIGHT THE FEAR
WOW!!!! Herman Frank is a fixture in the German rock/metal scene.  As a member of Accept he has played on (and left his mark) on some of their best albums; BALLS TO THE WALL and STALINGRAD) and was a member of the underrated band Victory.  Here on FIGHT THE FEAR, Frank and his band; Rick Altzi (vocals), Andre Hilgers (drums), Michael Müller (bass), Heiko Schröder (guitars) have found a nice middle ground between Frank's two bands.  Sure the album is heavy, but it is an easy listen with a lot of melody and flash.  Until The End, Fear and Sinners are easy to digest tracks that have a lot of Accept in their DNA, but they certainly are their own songs. With Accept it's hard to hear Frank's playing when he is with the amazing wolf Hoffman, but here... it's all Frank... and it's all amazing stuff. 
Matman rating - 4 out of 5   
FIGHT THE FEAR was released on February 8th from AFM Records. 


Bloodbound - RISE OF THE DRAGON EMPIRE
Apparently, I love Swedish Power Metal!!!  A few years back, I didn't even know this stuff existed and now... i'm hooked.  But there has to be certain boxes to check in order for me to get fully in.  The vocals have to soar well above the music!  The music has to be epic; lightning leads, heavy and well placed keyboards.  The music must make me feel cold, not emotionally but temperature... like a bright snowy day.  Bloodbound's eighth (really?, eight albums?) release, RISE OF THE DRAGON EMPIRE is a fun listen that demands your full participation. Patrik J. Selleby (vocals), Tomas Olsson (guitars), Henrik Olsson (guitars), Anders Broman (bass), Fredrik Bergh (keyboards) and Daniel Sjögren (drums) deliver the goods on the title track, Slayer Of Kings and my favorite on the album, Breaking The Beast. Bloodbound have an image that fits their music and appeals to my comic book/theatrical side... and make it all work perfectly. I LOVE THIS ALBUM AND BAND!!!!
Matman rating 5 out of 5
RISE OF THE DRAGON EMPIRE will be released on March 22nd on AFM Records.