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Never heard of Hollow Sin? Don't be ashamed, cause they are new and unsigned. Hah unsigned. Only a matter of time.

History

The band formed in August 2008 when Andrew Lee (vocal and guitars) and Tom Goss (guitars) applied for a drummer on gumtree. The one replying to the ad was David Officer (drums). That's 3 members, which soon became 4 with bassist Harry Mitchell  joining the band in January 2009.

What they sound like?

In one word, badass. In an uncountable number of words, they are a mixture of Machine Head heavy riffs, Hetfield at its best vocals and Mustaine anger. That accompanied by epic guitar solos/harmonies to leave you having epileptic seizures on the ground.

Okay they are good. But what makes them stand apart?

A lot of things. Firstly, they are young. And having a young band trying to make it in the music scene makes the band look more credible.

Secondly, the band is true in all aspects. When you hear a riff, you hear not only the tones, but the passion behind. You can imagine the face of the guitarist when you hear a pinch harmonic. Their music lives. You can feel that Andrew is completely drowned in his lyrics. And that's something of utmost importance.

Thirdly, they stick to the working formula. I may sound conservationist and I probably am. The thing is, too many bands are not inspired enough to write catchy songs, so they come up with a kind of potpourri. But Hollow Sin really does a wonderful job in creating monster riffs but applying that same old formula that's been working for ages. Kudos to them.

Fourth, they've got solos. That's enough. You know the band is not crap if they got solos. That's my rule. No arguments.

Worth the dime?

Absolutely, in every fuckin way. The guys have got immense talent and they will be the next big thing to hit the metal scene.

If you disagree, here's the Hollow Sin myspace page. Go there, have a listen and dare disagree...

Iron Maiden band review... Where do I even start with this? I know. Lets go some time back, to December 25, 1975. On that day Santa Claus was probably stuck in a chimney somewhere, but that's not what this is about. Because on that day Mr Steve Harris created the band later known as Iron Maiden. Little did he know that Iron Maiden would be a band to make it in the history of metal music.

From day one till the next three years, there came an era of firings, initiated by Harris himself. Some were fired because of lack of on-stage energy and charisma, others because they had different political views. Okay that last one was a joke. But hey, if you're jamming and hanging out with the same guys, you're bound to have differences. That's what's amazing with metal music. Metal bands stick together because they want to, not because they need the cash.

Time leap again. We are now in 1978 and Iron Maiden has singer, Paul Di'Anno, join the band. That same year, on New Year's Eve, the band records their first ever demo. All the five thousand copies are sold in only a few weeks. This goes to prove how much their music was appreciated.

In 1980, Iron Maiden releases their first full-length album. The album is called Iron Maiden and it ranks number four in the UK Albums Chart. Running Free and Phantom of the Opera are probably the most popular tracks from that record. The band quickly gained popularity from there. They opened for Kiss and Judas Priest in that same year.

But things are still complicated. The next year, Iron Maiden fires Paul Di'Anno for cocaine abuse. They need a new singer and they audition Bruce Dickinson and the latter joins the band soon.

1982 was Iron Maiden's year of fortune. That year they released The number of the beast, one of the most popular albums. And they sign Nickp McBrain. From that year on, Iron Maiden rises to fame. All their following albums are instant hits among the fans. They produce numerous hits and inspire countless bands. They get so famous that even their mascot, Eddie, gets his share of the spotlight. The video below shows the band playing Aces High in 1985.


Yet, in the year 1993, Dickinson decides to part with the band to pursue his solo career. This news is not well received among fans. Iron Maiden plays their last show with Dickinson on August 28, 1993.

But the band is not dead. For the next year, they audition a gazillion vocalists and they select Blaze Bayley. The new vocalist has a deeper voice compared to Dickinson and fan's reactions are mixed. During that era, The band writes Virus, which goes on to be a massive hit thanks to its catchy, almost epic, interlude.

Bayley stays with the band for five years, but leaves in 1999. The reason: mutual agreement. The result: Dickinson is back in. Yeah baby!! In that year, Dickinson gets back with the band. And he's here to stay.

From 2000 onwards, Iron Maiden releases Brave new world, Dance of Death and A matter of life and death. These three albums receive very good reviews from magazines and websites. This prooves that the band has not lost their holy grail.

Iron Maiden's live performances are still energetic. Their music is still listened to. Even the younger generations are getting into them. There are so many bands rising with totally in your face debut albums, but then their next albums are just a bunch of Celine Dion metal covers. It's nice to know that one band, Iron Maiden, has not gone soft.

Buy Iron Maiden band material

8 a.m. Just woke up and I'm here on my laptop chatting. But that's not what the post is about. It is about what's on my playlist. Nocturnal Rites album New World Messiah.


The album came out in 2004. I didn't know the band at that time. I just started to listen to them. They are power metal, but they are different to the others. According to wikipedia, the band had only 5 members when the album was recorded.

• Jonny Lindkvist - Vocals
• Nils Norberg - Lead & Rhythm Guitar
• Fredrik Mannberg - Guitar
• Nils Eriksson - Bass
• Owe Lingvall - Drums

The thing that surprised me was the lack of keyboards, which is very very common in power metal. Nocturnal Rites does have keyboards though, but its not over used, fortunately. Actually, I dont really like bands that use a lot of keyboards. I prefer bands that use keyboards with a lot of moderation (except for Children of Bodom).

Power metal is known for great guitar playing. I usually find that a lot of power metal bands concentrate on solos and tend to forget the riffs (just like I did when I started guitar). Nocturnal Rites has to be one of the few power metal bands to give so many great riffs. I really loved their riffs and their rhythms. Not to forget, their solo are simply awesome. Never off key and very creative. I am guessing there's a lot of string skipping in there.

I'm no drummer but the drums on this album is great. Its like the guy is a nuclear plant. How the hell can he drum like that?? Its like he'll never get tired. The drums sound good also. There are a lot of bands where the drums sound like sh!t nowadays.

One thing that I liked about Nocturnal Rites' music is that the bass guitar fattens the sound. Its like the bass notes has no timbre. Its just a low sound. It may not be appreciated by a lot of people, but to me this goes well with the music of Nocturnal Rites.

Rise Avalon, From the veil of mystery... Jonny's voice is awesome on this album. The thing that really makes Nocturnal Rites different from other power metal bands is the vocals. The singer does not over use falsettos. He uses his full voice a lot of times actually. This actually shows his wide vocal range and great control. I really liked his singing on this album. And its surely better on the more recent albums.

Power metal addicts may not really like this album but, all in all this is a must have album. So go get it.

Buy Nocturnal Rites - New World Messiah material

On 13/07/2007, Five Finger Death Punch released their first album, The Way of the Fist. An incredibly good performance I must say. The band actually saw the day in 2005 and the lineup hasn't changed since. The truth is all the musicians were very active before joining the band and undoubtedly, this has contributed positively in their first attempt.

The Way of the Fist has 8 tracks. The album kicks with a song named Ashes which is straight out metalcore. There is no building up just some isolated screams and after Ivan Moody (singer) yells "Bring it", the whole band kicks in. The tone of the album is pretty much set with this song... And its a hell of a journey. Next track starts straight without any real intro. The song is called The Way of the Fist just like the album. We got 2 nice solos on these first 2 songs. The third song is Salvation which has a wicked intro riff, a nice solo and great energy. These 3 tracks also have very clean and well sang choruses. But if you're into melodic singing stuff, you shouldn't miss Track 4.

Track 4 is called The Bleeding. One of their most popular songs I guess. It appeared on their first EP along with an unplugged version of the same song. The song deals about a complicated relationship (aren't they always... LOL). Well the song starts with a truly awesome and epic sounding solo. It has mostly clean vocals, with Ivan screming only during the chorus and break. The next song is A Place to Die. The same formula as Tracks 1 to 3 here, with clean choruses. The song has a nice piece of music after the solo where the guitars continue with a lick almost haunting the listener.

Next track is The Devil's Own and says "Where did I go wrong? Who was I supposed to be? No matter what I've done, you've always criticized me. Where did I go wrong? Who was I supposed to be? When it's said and done, will you remember... ". Very confused words indeed. The song is beautifully sang. It's about problems with parents. White Knuckles is Track 7 and has a great solo really lifting the song. The clean vocals are very powerful on this track. The last track is Can't Heal You. It's very melodic at times and very aggressive at others. The whole song has a very "ending song" touch to it. The solo confirms this idea. And the album ends cold turkey. Like my post.

[review to be continued]

Buy Five finger death punch - The way of the fist: