Album Review: Crystal Viper – Queen Of The Witches

The witch is back. That’s right folks, it’s been about four years or so since we last saw a release from these guys and this release is perhaps one of their best thus far. 

Album Review: Dark Forest – Beyond The Veil

Typically band names tend to lure me if worded appropriately and the name “Dark Forest” was no exception. Drawing influence and relatable sounds from some of the big names in the Power metal scene, I dove head first into this album that I had high hopes for. 

Kolony – Sledge

Kolony caters to those who are straight up pure metalheads. What I mean by that, is their sound is heavily influenced by the NWOBHM as well as melodic metal and old school metal elements. Headquartered in Canada, the quartet belives that even though their sound is easily categorized, they are doing things differently compared to the rest. High driven metal with aggression and views of the world, perfectly describe their recently released debut album, Sledge. Every type of metalhead from old school to new school and from many genres, will find themselves headbanging along with Kolony on this album. Their lyrics are stimulating and their shows promise to give you one of the best performances you will ever see. In regards to the album, I found it a great change of pace, compared to what I have been listening to lately, as it brought me back to my days of listening to pure metal artists. It’s melodic aspect is key and what drove me to like this album a lot. The album boasts eleven tracks and about forty-five minutes of metal, this is Sledge. 

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg2aixl2tPg[/tube]

The Trial is the first official full-length track as the previous one was an epic instrumental intro. The track really plays homage to progressive metal, as the elements of this track remind me of modern day bands. The cool tapping brings back nostalgic tunes that I missed. The next two tracks are perhaps my favorites of the album. Trust and Live is a little more sentimental in guitar emotion and I can really feel this one, I enjoy when any band taps into their melodic side. Echoes also plays similar themes, but is a notch heavier with more aggressive playing and satifying double bass. It’s steadfast and in your face, it’s a great metal track that has that tough essence to it. This is where one of their labels, Melodic Metal, really showcases itself, and the ambient guitarwork is incredible, my goodness. Anthem brought in some killer and eargasmic thrash to the mix. An astounding track for moshing, you headbangers  better check this one out, ironic the track is titled, Anthem. Monopoly is another one that stuck with me. It was more groovy if anything and the rare addition of horns was a unique twist. The track wasn’t catchy, it was just cleverly achieved instrumentally, still great nonetheless. Aptly titled as so, Sledge That Shit is pretty much what you would expect it to sound like, I’ll leave it at that, to make an intense close obvious.

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n1WR4C4Dnc[/tube]

The one major component that stuck with me after listening to this album was the melodic aspect of this album. Second to that is the intense headbanging thrash that this album brings in. As mentioned, they are highly influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal, so hopefully that gives you an idea as to what to expect from this album. I surely underestimated it, this is brand new Canadian Metal at its finest. Though they have a small following, they certainly have that spark, that potential to appeal to a wide array of metalheads. Though the literal meaning of a “sledge” is something used to carry heavy objects on snow by pulling on it with animals, I see this album Sledge as a massive “sledgehammer” right to your face, ready to wipe that smirk off and give you a new attitude on metal. Stay Metal m/

Sledge: 8.5/10

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