It’s not like I like Cellar Darling that much, but this song has been stuck in my head for days:

CELLAR DARLING – Freeze (OFFICIAL VIDEO) https://youtu.be/3Tx51ePKxpM

#cellardarling #metal

Valhalore – Beyond the Stars Review

By Twelve

Valhalore is a great name for a band. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a little goofy—but look, you get it instantly. “Valhalla?” Folk metal. “Lore?” Symphonic/power metal. Put them together and you get that exact album cover. Beyond the Stars is Valhalore’s sophomore release, following a seven-year silence from their debut. It’s a long time to cook up something cool, and I’m an easy mark for this kind of music, but Valhalore are treading a well-worn path in their fusion of styles. The question is certainly not what kind of music you’ll find on Beyond the Stars, but how well it is executed and what will set these Australians apart from their many contemporaries.

The answer to the question, of course, is wind instruments. Valhalore do indeed play a blend of symphonic, folk, and power metal that treads easily into melodic death metal; the three guitarists (Anthony Willis, Lucas Fisher, and Joseph Dipisa-Fiorenza on bass) bring on the power, the riffs, and the leads; there are roars and clean singing (Fisher and Lachlan Neate), and Morgan Cox’s drumming keeps exactly the right pace for the adventurous spirit of the album. All of that is standard, but Sophie Christensen is what sets Beyond the Stars apart, her contribution of wind instruments present throughout. These flutes and pipes soften the music somewhat, offering a powerful counter to what is otherwise a fast-paced, heavy folk metal album. Combine this with cello and mandolin from Neate and you get an album that deftly balances strong power metal with organic, authentic folk tunes.

Authenticity really is the key here. Beyond the Stars bears some resemblance to Time II (Wintersun) in its pace and seeming influence from Japan in the wind section, but avoiding samples allows Valhalore to breathe more easily. From there, it’s all about balance. “Within the Fire” is a great song with strong riffs, a huge build, and an awesome chorus, and the same can be said for “A Walk Among the Stars.” Valhalore is a little given to the standard idea of balancing growling verses with catchy, clean-sung choruses, but what the heck—it’s standard for a reason, and they execute it well. On the softer side, “Wayfinder” demonstrates more clearly than any other song the power of authenticity. For much of the song, the mandolin, cello, and wind instruments are all the support the singing needs. It’s frankly gorgeous, and demonstrates the breadth of talent in performance and songwriting Valhalore are working with, not to mention the emotion, without which the whole thing would fall apart.

To some extent, Beyond the Stars suffers from having too much of a good thing. A little repetition in a strong formula is hardly bad, but I find the journey stalls a touch in the middle. After the stunner that is “Wayfinder,” neither “Horizon” nor “The World Between” land for me; both feel like lesser versions of the trio that opens the album. In the case of “Horizon,” I can’t help but feel the guitars would be stronger leads for the song’s aggressive pace, and I just don’t care much for the chorus in “The World Between.” With so much formula seemingly at work, it is perhaps unsurprising that the full forty-eight minutes is not fully engaging. For more evidence of this idea, see “Heart of the Sea,” the song that shatters this feeling—and the one most unlike the others. Part of that is the guest spot from Anny Murphy (Cellar Darling, ex-Eluveitie), but much of it is simply the great writing, catchy vocal lines, and sense of something different. It’s almost progressive in its writing, and it feels wistful and strong, again with the emotional vibrancy of Valhalore coming up to shine.

Beyond the Stars is a very fun album. To some extent, it is predictable—you’re not in for any serious surprises, but rather for an exciting style of metal written and performed very well. It’s a little familiar and a lot fun, and you can hear that Valhalore are seasoned musicians who love what they do. For my part, I feel right at home here, and it seems they do too. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait so long for the next instalment—I would love more of this music in my life.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Roar Rock of Angels Records
Websites: valhalore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/valhalore
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025

#2025 #30 #Apr25 #AustralianMetal #BeyondTheStars #CellarDarling #Eluveitie #FolkMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #RoarRockOfAngelsRecords #SymphonicMetal #Valhalore #Wintersun

Uprising 7 Review: Saturday night

Continuing our review which kicked off with details of the Friday night, and the Metal 2 The Masses Final from earlier in the day...

It would have been nice to see more local support as the room was nowhere near capacity like it was last year, but now the real fun begin

https://www.moshville.co.uk/reviews/gig-review/2024/06/uprising-7-review-saturday-night/

#GigReviews #BarbarianHermit #Brujeria #CellarDarling #Katatonia #TribeOfGhosts #Uprising

The Dread Crew of Oddwood – Rust & Glory Review

By Twelve

We’re no strangers to “pirate metal” ’round these parts, are we? There’s just something about the enduring and relatable ideals of pirate-themed music that we at Angry Metal Guy universally love, commenters, readers, and writers alike. I’ve opened my review with this entirely uncontroversial statement as a way to share with you my own excitement when I received the promo copy for Rust & Glory, the fifth full-length release for the U.S.-based pirate musicians that make up The Dread Crew of Oddwood. As was the case with Lawful Evil, you’ll find no metal here, but rather an acoustic delight designed to appeal to metal fans… and appeal it does.

The core of Rust & Glory’s appeal—apart from the obvious pirate theme—is just how rich it is1 in its composition. It would be easy enough to pick up a couple of acoustic guitars and start jamming about piracy, but instead, The Dread Crew of Oddwood augment their fantastical tales with mandolins, banjo, concertina (Deckard Cordwain), tin whistles, bouzouki (Stark Cordwain), piano, harpsichord, accordion, flutes (Wolfbeard O’Brady), and a hurdy-gurdy (Anny Murhpy of Cellar Darling and formerly Eluveitie, in a guest spot). The result is incredibly lush instrumentation that does a stellar job making up for the “missing” metal elements. Behind the drumkit, Pistol(s) Pete clearly wasn’t told—or doesn’t care—that the band isn’t actually playing metal and does a fantastic job of tying everything together in that style. It would remind of The Gentle Storm, especially in its terrific mix and master, except, of course, that Arjen Lucassen never wrote that he’ll “kick Poseidon in the balls and be forever free” (“Leather Ship”). So there is that.

Yes, the pirate influence is everywhere, and it’s in that Alestorm-y style of adventure, misadventure, and drinking. “Give Me Your Beer” is a prime example, with its exceptionally straightforward chorus that Steel Druhm would undoubtedly approve of (“Hey, you! Give me your beer!”), though the use of whistles and flutes is what really sells the song for me. Then there’s “The Apple,” a gloriously upbeat ode to adventure, contrasting the tragically funny “Lost Comrades,” a call-and-repeat tavern ballad that shows off the vocal skills and styles of, well, everyone. That’s another superbly pirate-y thing The Dread Crew of Oddwood has going for them—everyone contributes vocals, including most of the guest musicians. Whether in the form of hoarse growls, in the style of Alestorm, singing, or choral singing/shouting, everyone is joining in, giving the impression of a crew of pals singing sea shanties together to pass the time. In this way, the acoustic nature of the band is perfectly on-theme.

One of the most interesting elements of Rust & Glory is something I’ve already mentioned—that the album is almost certainly written to appeal to fans of folk metal. Album opener “Lawful Evil” hits the ground running in this way, with a fast-paced tune and a catchy chorus in the vein of Ensiferum—big and memorable and shouting “Lawful evil!” a lot. It’s almost too metal, highlighting the “missing” electric elements, which is a funny thing to say because The Dread Crew of Oddwood really don’t need them. “Squall of Death” handles this a bit better by making the folk instruments the focus atop a speedy series of really fun themes, but there’s still an occasional sense of something missing. It’s a funny critique to offer born purely from my own musical tastes and subsequent expectations, but it’s also one of the only critiques I have.

Rust & Glory is a fun album. The Dread Crew of Oddwood show no signs of slowing down on album five, and instead seem to be creeping closer and closer to perfecting their “heavy mahogany” style of music. This is an album that will worm its way into your head and get stuck there, one that keeps you smiling to yourself and getting kicked off of trains because you keep shouting the lyrics aloud by accident. If you’re here looking for serious music, you’ll have to go somewhere else—preferably to grab a beer, come straight back, and start singing along.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: thedreadcrewofoddwood.com | thedreadcrewofoddwood.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/thedreadcrewofoddwood
Releases Worldwide: March 15th, 2024

#2024 #35 #Acoustic #Alestorm #AmericanMetal #CellarDarling #Eluveitie #Ensiferum #FolkMetal #NotMetal #Review #Reviews #RustGlory #SelfReleased #TheDreadCrewOfOddwood #TheGentleStorm

My musical listening highlights for the week ending 2023/11/02 as curated by https://www.Last.fm

#happyCurrentListening #LastFM

#CellarDarling #Saxon #HeatherFindlay #OceansOfSlumber #AmandaShires #EighthWonder #AllAboutEve #AnnekeVanGiersbergen #ThePassions #Xandria

My musical listening highlights for the month of October 2023 as curated by https://www.Last.fm

#happyCurrentListening #LastFM

#BonnieTyler #FleetwoodMac #CellarDarling #Saxon #AmandaShires #HeatherFindlay #HayleyGriffiths #NancySinatra #EighthWonder #KikiDee #TheCourtesans

My musical listening highlights for the week ending 2023/10/05 as curated by https://www.Last.fm

#happyCurrentListening #LastFM

#Saxon #CellarDarling #SaySheShe #Doro #Renaissance #Amorphis #CobraSpell #KareenAntonn #BonnieTyler #Accept