News: Download a FREE 19-track sampler from Napalm Records

We all like freebies, right? Well, a little birdie tells me that all through August 2013, Amazon.co.uk will be shining the spotlight on Napalm Records - a label that recently found homes for a whole host of undoubtedly major, and well established, metal acts. 

Certain titles will be being campaigned at reduced value but, and here's your opportunity to grab a listen to some properly top music, you can download a 19-track Napalm All Stars sampler featuring new tracks from The Answer, DevilDriver, Vista Chino, Huntress and many more. 


 Download it here for free: http://amzn.to/14MIMF2

Full track list is:

1. THE ANSWER - New Horizon
2. DEVILDRIVER - Ruthless
3. ALESTORM - Shipwrecked          
4. VISTA CHINO – Dargona, Dragona
5. HUNTRESS - Zenith
6. SUMMONING - Old Mornings Dawn
7. LEGION OF THE DAMNED - Summon All Hate       
8. POWERWOLF - Amen & Attack
9. DEADLOCK - I'm Gone
10. MOONSPELL – Lickanthrope
11. GLORYHAMMER - Angus McFife
12. DELAIN - Are You Done With Me (New Single Mix)
13. CANDLEMASS - Dancing In The Temple (Of The Mad Queen Bee)       
14. MANEGARM - Sons Of War
15. END OF GREEN - Holidays in Hell
16. VENOMOUS MAXIMUS - Path of Doom
17. TRISTANIA – Number
18. AUDREY HORNE - Redemption Blues
19. LONEWOLF - Hellride

The following titles will be available from £4.50 at Amazon throughout August:

Alestorm - Back Through Time
Alestorm - Black Sails At Midnight
Alestorm - Captain Morgan's Revenge
Arkona - Decade Of Glory (Ltd.First Edt.)
Candlemass - Psalms For The Dead (CD + DVD)
Ex Deo - Caligvla (Ltd. Digipack)
Fejd - Nagelfar (Ltd. First Edt.)
Grave Digger            - Clash Of The Gods (Ltd. Digipack)
Huntress - Spell Eater (Ltd. Digipak)
Lacrimas Profundere - Songs For The Last View (Cd + Dvd)
Lonewolf - The Fourth And Final Horseman (Ltd. First Edt.)
Mammoth Mammoth - Volume Iii Hell's Likely (Ltd. First Edt.)
Monster Magnet - Mastermind
Moonspell - Alpha Noir
Nemesea - The Quiet Resistance
Summoning - Oath Bound
The Sword - Apocryphon (Ltd. First Edt.)
Tiamat - The Scarred People (Ltd.  First Edt.)
Tristania - Midwintertears (CD + DVD)
Van Canto - Break The Silence
Xandria - Neverworld's End

Album Review: Gloryhammer – Tales From The Kingdom Of Fife

Alestorm fans, considering the slightly ludicrous nature of that band’s twisted pirate metal, will probably already have a good sense of humour – guilty as charged, m’Lord. They will have taken note of the emergence of Christopher Bowes’ (Alestorm’s vox and keys) new project Gloryhammer and be looking forward to more of the same. Most probably won’t be surprised by the emergence of a singular, identifiable comic hero (Angus McFife isn’t quite Eddie The Head just yet – yes, he does look a bit like Thor with that hammer of his), the fantastical backstory or belly-shaking song-titles. However, I doubt all will seriously be moved by the creative choice of genre (“Heroic Fantasy Power Metal”) or the music itself.

Tracks like “Angus McFife” and the 10-minute pounder “The Epic Rage Of Furious Thunder” echo the thumping NWOBHM of Maiden and Priest, whilst the softer, lyrical beasts of “Quest For The Hammer Of Glory” and “Hail To Crail” run parallel to the rousing war stories of Turisas. Of course, the nippier, synth-loaded power metal numbers, such as “Amulet Of Justice” and “The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee”, are a tad more Dragonforce.

Thomas Winkler’s dynamic, soaring clarion cry is perfect for the task at hand, especially when the harmonies kick in behind it, but the programming tweaks that allow him to sink deep enough to become the character Angus McFife render his input utterly underwhelming.

The songwriting spends a lot of time stripping chords from the fantasy playbook and, consequently, is about as structurally innovative as a bag of chips with the cheese-munching lyrics repeating ad infinitum, ad nauseum. There’s also plenty of material that doesn’t quite sink its teeth in hard but, equally, there’s plenty that you’ll find humming to yourself later. Take “Magic Dragon” for instance – you have to say it’s about as slick a piece of music as you’ll find anywhere; paced to perfection, strong on intriguing tones and delivered with a great deal of pomp and circumstance.

The surprisingly sincere “Silent Tears Of [A] Frozen Princess” (although a giggle can still be had if you half-listen and mishear “frozen pizzas” as I did) is my personal favourite, providing a melancholic, focal axis to the album and a break from the simplistic chicanery that surrounds it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid album and one that will divide opinion because of the many bases it touches. If you think you may already be a fan of heroic, fantasy or power metal and have a sense of humour, you should be giving the Gloryhammer a swing. If you’re not and you don’t, I’d advise you to duck and cover.

Also online @ Ave Noctum = http://www.avenoctum.com/2013/03/gloryhammer-tales-from-the-kingdom-of-fife/

Album Review: Alestorm - Back Through Time

Being in a pirate-themed band means there is a finite number of songs about sailing and drinking that you can hope to conjure. Listen to 'Scraping The Barrel' from this, Alestorm's third album, and you'll see what I mean as the band ridicule their own situation with a hearty chorus of "There are no more tales to be told / no more stories from battles of old / Now it seems our journey has come to an end / We are scraping the barrel, my friend". However, Alestorm have always been on the goofy side of even the goofiest metal, so don't expect this to be them sounding their ship's "eight bells" obituary just yet.

No, it seems they have identified a new foe. "Cap'n, there be Vikings off the starboard bow" is the incredible opening cry of the title-track as the Scots, through a rather handy "mystic portal", commence battle with the kind of blazing thrash that is so redolent of Swashbuckle's debut effort. Is this the sound of them actually declaring war on Viking metal itself? Now that is a tasty prospect. Although a brief glance at the stature of the opposition initially suggests it might be a bit of a rout, I suspect these wiry old sea-dogs have more underhand methods in mind. It's all very interesting when you consider that the choral gang-chant of "One more drink" from 'The Sunk'n Norwegian' is the absolute spit of Turisas' 'One More'. Methinks, they've been eyeing up the opposition a little too closely.

Talking of drink there are plenty of drinking-themed tracks on offer. Could it be that the fist-punching 'Rum' is their answer to Korpiklaani's monstrous "Vodka"? They've certainly upped the ante when it comes to loading the backline with different instruments. There's their standard penny-whistle and accordion in there, but they've also layered the whole shebang with symphonic strings and horns. Consequently, 'Shipwrecked' swings from side to side with a catchy chorus and an impressive display of gusto whilst the long passionate lament of the aforementioned 'Scraping The Barrel' shows humour and courage (and that tacked-on noodly solo is enough to illicit a small tear).

After the acrimonious departure of Ian Wilson, who left citing he'd "had enough of the bullshit", replacement drummer, Peter Alcorn, comes through with flying colours. His lightspeeding drum-rolls, double-kick rallies and cannoning crashes forcefully lift the tracks up a notch from previous efforts. Perhaps it's his swaggering presence that has led them to try and give pop-punk an eye-patch and a peg-leg for 'Barret's Privateers' and load their closing highlight 'Death Throes Of The Terrorsquid' with death-edged black metal.

At the end of the day, 'Back Through Time' is still a bit one-dimensional, which is not a new experience when it comes to experiencing Alestorm, both recorded and live, (there's only so much "yarr", "yo-ho" and "matey" a person can take) but the determined tone of the album and the fact that they've begun to expand their sound to take on other genres makes this easily the finest work that Alestorm have yet produced. Exciting times for a band that have discovered new methods for interpreting time-worn songs. Or, in their own words, "So when the time comes to write album four / We'll scrape out the barrel once more!"

Also online @ MTUK = http://www.metalteamuk.net/june11reviews/cdreviews-alestorm.htm