Admittingly, after our double feature at the end of September, and during the past month, HELRUNAR’s outstanding masterpiece “Vanitas Vanitatvm” remained in heavy rotation on my turntable’s platter. Ranging from dark melancholy to intense blasts, the German’s top-notch production will satisfy any fan of doom, death or black metal. When in doubt what to play next – “Vanitas Vanitatvm” is the answer! Often and loud. Released a year ago, on October 20th 2017, NIGHT VIPER’s sophomore effort “Exterminator” found it’s way either on my turntable or CD player (makes a great driving soundtrack), time and time again. The band’s infectious mix of late 70’s Motörhead, with “Kill ‘Em All” era Metallica, fronted by a female vocalist, gives this straight heavy metal production a unmistakable flair. Rebelliously fresh. Beautifully melodic Swedish, class “A” power metal with glorious synthesizers and superb guitar solos that are smoothly cutting thru the mix, and upper echelon vocals – it is how I would describe the music on DYNAZTY’s sixth full-length effort, “Firesign”, just released at the end of September (9/28). An absolutely perfect sound production, flawlessly highlighting the noteworthy songwriting! What do Kim Wilde, Mike Oldfield, Elton John, Monster Magnet, and Creedence Clearwater Revival have in common? These, and a few other, popular, some even iconic names are responsible for the hit songs that made the sum of the German power metallers MYSTIC PROPHECY’s “Monuments/Uncovered”. A pure covers album released on January 10th 2018, which I have revisited quite a few times during October. Fantastic renditions of some very popular songs! Melodic hard rockers GUNSHY hailed from Switzerland in the mid 90s, smack dab in the middle of the grunge craziness. The utterly talented band released the grossly overlooked “Mayday” in 1995, a superbly crafted, gem-packed album, featuring backing vocals by prestigious rockers such as Jamie St. James (Black & Blue) and Tommy Thayer (Black & Blue, KISS), and a great rendition of Stevie Wonder’s hit “Superstition”. Unfortunately, the band split not long after. Happy listening! Till next time.
HELRUNAR Vanitas Vanitatvm (2018, 2xLP, Lupus Lounge, WOLF 078 LP)
NIGHT VIPER Exterminator (2017, LP, Listenable Records, POSH380)
DYNAZTY Firesign (2018, LP, limited edition, AFM Records, AFM 699/AFM 699-1)
MYSTIC PROPHECY Monuments/Uncovered (2018, LP, limited edition, Massacre Records, MAS LP0999)
GUNSHY Mayday (1995, 1996 reissue, CD, Canyon International, PCCY-00992)
© 2018 by Emil Chiru