Kraik "The Neon Piper" Single Review

   

  Hailing from the North West of The Emerald Isle the absolutely Mind Blowing Progressive Groove Metal act Kraik  have been brewing something special for the past few months,late last year they released their debut single Effigy which for all intense purposes was a phenomenal offering,some may know a few of their members were previously in the excellent Pursuit Of Ruin many years ago,so it will come as no surprsie they've got the pedigree and chops to unleash mind blowing epic tunes,as much as i enjyoed their debut single it's nowhere near the level of their sublime new single The Neon Piper,lets explore the finer details of this excellent track.

   Delving straight into a cacophony of mind bending riffmania backed with a crushing rhytmn section that pound like a sledgehammer,when the first vocal passgae enters the fray we treated to some almost Death Metal tinged powerfulness,one thing this bands implements really well is killer grooves full of hooks with severely crushing heaviness, an element that didn't exist on their debut single is some awe-inspiring clean vocal passages which add a really epic feeling to the overall structure of the song,then you throw some absolutely tasty lead guitar work the sequences are at times difficult to comprehend making this a song full of surprise which will leave you specchless.

  As i previously mentioned i was expecting something special with this new offering but to be brutally honest i wasn;t really prepared  for the sublime quality Kraik have to offer, if this is the sort of standard we can expect in the future all i can say is bring it  fucking on and plenty more please,absolutely phenomenal stuff,on a side note before i finish Metal is alive and well in The North West of Ireland ignore at your peril.

RATING: 9.5/10

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Predator "Predator" Compilation Review

   Back in The Days when we had no internet or social media,the only sources for dicovering new bands/music were through either radio,zines word of mouth or tape trading ,for reasons within Ireland there was a large rejection of all things Heavy Metal(it's still prevelent today) maybe it was due to elitism within media cicles and also religious organisations vehemently rejected what they deemed to be "Satanic" or "Risque" thankfully there were a few who sought to champion Rock and Metal acts way back in the Mid 80,after the split of the legendary Thin Lizzy and untimely and tragic passing of the bands frontman Phil Lynott,there was a generation of new Rockers ready to step up to plate and make their mark on the scene ,one such Band was the absolutely brilliant Predator although the band were active for 6 years they left an undeniable mark that's still remembered to this day.

Formed in 1987 by Peter Dickson(Bass) and Alan Bynre(Drums) the band would record a demo in 10988 which would result in them get signed to Dublin based Label Solid Records were they would release the hughly regarded Self Titled Debut EP which features some classic tracks such as Predator ,  Bloodmoney & the phenomenal instumental Celtic Attack, Solid Records would also include the track  Missing In Action  on their Solid Citizens  Compilation.

  One of the main distinguishable features with Predator is the sublime Twin Guitar Leads,also the subtle little homages to Thin Lizzy within their sound albeit they were that slight bit heavier,as mentioned previously before they were signed they did a couple of quality demo tracks including Scream Dream & the ridiculously killer No Disgrace.

 

Despite some line up changes the band continued to unleash more quality music albeit with a different vocal style ,1989 would see the release of yet another quality demo the music would have a bit more of a Thrash Metal feel maybe due to the departure of one of the original Guitarists,this would add plenty of Riff Heavy tracks while still maintaining that core Heavy Metal value highlight,this would be the case over two demos and would feature some truly memorable tracks including Freedom Lies , Dreamscape and the monumental epicness of Four Seasons.

   

  The Band would revert back to the trsdemark Twin Lead Guitars for further releases ,they would support legendary Thrash Metal titans Anthrax on the Irish Leg of their Sate Of Euphoria tour playing in Omagh,Bangor and Dublin this tour was infamously remembered for a spitting incident causing anthrax to walk off stage, they wouls also earn a support slot with Queensryche on their Operation:lIve Crime tour with shows in SFX,Dublin & Ulster Hall,Belfast.

   

   The re-introduction of the sceond Guitarist would also add a much darker atmosphere to their sound.also once again the band have a different Vocalist with Lar Fraser taking over from O'Brien  which would add a more technical appraoch and an even more agressive style more closer to Thrash Metal then Traditional Heavy Metal,just before the recording of their final demo  ...Cross My Path their Guitarist Niall McGreevy would depart the band,this would spell the end of the band,although their were other reasons leading up to this as to the split.

  

 although this may seem like more of a retrospective than a review it's fantatsic that many contributing factors have helped Predator's legacy endure,massive credit goes to one of the bands founding members Peter Dickson and Cult Metal Classics for putting this phenomenal compilation together and having it in physical format,this is definitely a must have piece of Irish Heavy Metal History and an enduring legacy for a band that deserved to be spread to a much wider audience.

RATING; 9/10

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Shadows Calling "These Scars" EP Review

   Combining all the classic nuances of  Classic Hard Rock with 90's Alt Metal,the brilliant Shadows Calling know how to deliver quality and memorable songs,Fronted by the soaring and passionate vocals of Jen Vaughan,early last year the band released their sought after and hugely popular debut EP Spirit Shifter garnering attention from the publications and radio stations in US,Australia and within the local scene, so not resting on their laurels the band recently delivered their newest offering These Scars, this is an awful lot more darker and heavier then their previous release.

  Opening up proceedings with the absolute barn burning Dead Long Enough you can feel the absolute bombastic vocal delivery tinged with a confidence and a touch of class which seems to be a rare thing these days combine this with the classic rock riffing and you have  a really solid rock anthem on your hands, delving in a much darker territory with the Riff Heavy These Scars while the vocal delivery is extrmemly smooth almost soulful at times there's another darker more personal element with the lyrics touching on the theme of life struggles and been through the struggles of depression and been hurt but with that comes redemption and the strenght to bounce back.

  The Groove laden The Lost delivers an epic structure in it's almost like a classic rock ballad full of passionate and heartfelt vocal delivery ,the music really pushes the boundaries to another level of quality  inplementing plenty of stellar lead guitar work,,touching on lyrical themes of loneliness and the fear of being ignored, closing track Ships combines all the elements of previous tracks soaring passionate vocals,the swicthiung between melodic guitar passages and the vocal delivery crete a more than memrable anthem,we get a taste of the full capabilites of the range their vocalist can hit,especially near the end of this quality track.

  Shadows Calling have really upped the standard from their debut EP and have ventured into a much Darker and Heavier direction, this really ticks all the right boxes for All Killer No Filler hard rock packed full of Attitude and passion,although a lot of praise can be centred around their Vocalist the musicianship from all invloved is of the highest quality and  pulls out all the stops to push the vocals to an exemplary standard,if you like Hard Rock combined with subtle Nuances to early 90's Alt Metal then loom no further then this  superb band.

  RATING: 8/10

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