Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline (2012) – Review

Listen on Apple Music
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
RockmusicRaider Review - Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline - Album Cover

First impression: Talk about crispy and – yes – meaty. Very meaty! Thundering bass, scratchy, crunchy – all that jazz!

This is how the 6th studio album Dark Adrenaline of the Italian band Lacuna Coil presents itself at the opening. And with some nice and very metal tunes to boot. Or should we say ‘would like’ to present itself?

Because on the other hand, whilst definitely rocky and straightforward, the record kind of sounds like Evanescence without the lithium. Yet again, Andrea Ferro‘s interludes do undoubtedly add a lot of juice to bring that metallic counterweight to bear.

In other words, you’ll [...] Click to raid more!

Amaranthe – The Nexus (2013) – Review

Listen on Apple Music
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
RockmusicRaider - Amaranthe - The Nexus - Album Cover

Wow! We found ourselves some nexus here. Pop metal on steroids with a taste of Britney Spears. And this one featuring a female front and two more male singers.

It is kind of a vocalist overkill of sorts. And all that voodoo is delivered without the feathers that you would have gotten from Lauri and his gang! One could describe it as total Pop and Disco Metal, fully out of control, but with a few solos made by Olof Mörck. Those got my attention though – not bad at all.

In addition, some of the growls would make Arch [...] Click to raid more!

Leaves’ Eyes – Njord (2009) – Review

Listen on Apple Music
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
Leaves Eyes - Njord - Album Cover

Irish Rain from the Norwegian/German band Leaves’ Eyes 2009 3rd full studio album Njord actually sounds pretty good. But only just – and it is a folk song to boot. A few pipes, a little foggy, fairy voice chirping along about the rain in Ireland. And bang, you got yerself a song. This actually fits well with the overall structure of the album, but more to that later.

Njord is – by the way –  the ancient god of seafarers. But also the terror of all seamen who face the ocean at their peril each day. At least, that was [...] Click to raid more!

Amaranthe – Massive Addictive (2014) – Review

Listen on Apple Music
RockmusicRaider - Spotify Logo
RockmusicRaider Review - Amaranthe - Massive Addictive - Album Cover

I heard somewhere that not knowing the Swedish/Danish Pop Metal band Amaranthe is not knowing Metal.

Come again?

Well, here I am listening to their last, newest, and best 2014 concoction Massive Addictive. For sure, the tunes are catchy, fast, kind of Power Metal, and – as is the custom – overproduced to a point. And often, this just sounds to me like so much George Michael on steroids who teamed up with some pop queen.

Then they must have met some hairy guys, and started to distort guitars, adding some sort of harsh vocals. Last, but not least … [...] Click to raid more!