Today is a sad day in the heavy metal world. Legendary heavy metal drummer Clive Burr died in his sleep yesterday at age 56. He has played and performed in a number of bands, but is most well known for his work in Iron Maiden. He recorded drums for Maiden's first three albums since he joined them in 1979. His style and work with the band has helped Iron Maiden become heavy metal icons and his drumming style is unmatched and timeless.
Thanks to this album review on Angry Metal Guy's blog, I discovered a new band! Hailing out of Belfast, Northern Ireland is a heavy metal band called Stormzone. Formed in 2004, the concept for this band was simple: keep a traditional 80's heavy/power metal sound while writing catchy, fun metal tunes.
One of the big things that caught me about this band was vocalist John “Harv” Harbinson and his great vocal range. His voice is very reminiscent of 80's NWOBHM vocalists like Rob Halford (Judas Priest) and Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). Their musical style is very similar to those bands from that era as well and never goes past that. They sound like they belong in the 80's, especially with their flashy guitar solos, soaring power chord riffs, and high powered vocals. It's great to see a band keep a traditional 80's metal sound like this. Very few bands can pull this off nowadays since metal has evolved so much into what it is today with all of the diversity there is. This group has released two albums so far. Their latest album is Death Dealer, which is highly recommended for those who want to hear some classic sounding heavy metal. The Angry Metal Guy did a great review on that album. Make sure you check out his blog as well. He has great reviews and insight on metal!
Granted Stormzone's sound is extremely retro and very dated, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea. But this band intentionally did it that way for a reason and it works so well with how they sound! If you are into old school heavy metal, this is a band you need to hear! A very good find and I wish them the best of success!
One more thing, these guys are going to be at Wacken this year, so make sure that you can go see them and many other metal acts there as well! I am sure it will be one hell of a concert series there! ROCK ON! \m/
I initially wanted to start a Metal from Canada site, similar to Metal from Finland, but once I started looking into it I saw that A) it would be extremely time consuming, and B) it wouldn't be a very busy site. While there are quite a good number of metal bands in Canada, heavy metal is still a sub-culture here; it's nowhere near mainstream at all. Also, the hub of metal in Canada is in the province of Quebec, with a few pockets here and there in other parts of the east, and a smattering of bands, very few and far between, in the west. The more well-known names hailing from Canada, like The Agonist and UnExpect, for instance, I am not super fond of.
But I have found some gems, and lo and behold, even here in The Boondocks, there is decent metal! Let me introduce you to Savage Blade!
I first came across this band in Metal Archives, and when I mentioned them to my brother, a local businessman, he said he knew them because his company had done some work for them. However, I got distracted with little things like life, and it wasn't until a recent trip to the lovely city of Nelson, the hometown of Savage Blade, that I realized I should take some time to look into this band further. As I window shopped along the main street, there were all kinds of posters advertising Savage Blade's new album, We Are the Hammer.
Let me say that Nelson, and The Boondocks in general, is not a heavy metal mecca whatsoever. Nelson itself is known as being the local mecca for "alternative lifestyles," meaning it is a haven for hippies, draft dodgers, artists, pot activists, organic farmers, vegans, Buddhists, yogis, poets & writers - you name it. While Nelson might be the cultural epicentre of The Boondocks, the rest of the area is kind of redneck central. And rednecks are known for their shitty country/pop/rap music, amongst other things.
Given all this, Savage Blade has been an excellent discovery for me. Their vocalist is very skilled, and someone told me he's actually a jazz singer of some note, as well. And their music, classified as power metal with NWOBHM and classic Glam Metal influence, is astoundingly good.
They are streaming their entire album on their web site, so you can take a listen here.
Here are a couple of teasers for you from YouTube.
The bummer is, now that I know about these guys, they don't seem to be putting on any local shows I can attend! This is so typical of living in the boonies!
In all seriousness, Savage Blade has signed a record deal with a German label and, from what I have been told by my source, they are going to be touring Europe. If you are over there and get a chance to check these guys out, please do, and let me know how it goes!
EDIT: SHIT! They are playing in Nelson on April 24 but I have to work!!!!!!! Just my luck!!!!!!!
Thanks to this album review on Angry Metal Guy's blog, I discovered a new band! Hailing out of Belfast, Northern Ireland is a heavy metal band called Stormzone. Formed in 2004, the concept for this band was simple: keep a traditional 80's heavy/power metal sound while writing catchy, fun metal tunes.
I initially wanted to start a Metal from Canada site, similar to Metal from Finland, but once I started looking into it I saw that A) it would be extremely time consuming, and B) it wouldn't be a very busy site. While there are quite a good number of metal bands in Canada, heavy metal is still a sub-culture here; it's nowhere near mainstream at all. Also, the hub of metal in Canada is in the province of Quebec, with a few pockets here and there in other parts of the east, and a smattering of bands, very few and far between, in the west. The more well-known names hailing from Canada, like The Agonist and UnExpect, for instance, I am not super fond of.
Let me say that Nelson, and The Boondocks in general, is not a heavy metal mecca whatsoever. Nelson itself is known as being the local mecca for "alternative lifestyles," meaning it is a haven for hippies, draft dodgers, artists, pot activists, organic farmers, vegans, Buddhists, yogis, poets & writers - you name it. While Nelson might be the cultural epicentre of The Boondocks, the rest of the area is kind of redneck central. And rednecks are known for their shitty country/pop/rap music, amongst other things.
