Oceans Of Time

Oceans Of Time is a progressive metal band from Norway.

There’s not a lot of info around, just that they were founded by Lazz Jensen in 2005, played a lot of gigs between 2005-2008, with bands/Artists like Glenn Huges, Masterplan, Satyricon, then sterted intensive work on their debut album “FACES”. This was recorded in Jailhouse Studios Denmark and released about a year ago.

Tracklist:
01. Quest For Mystery
02. Walls Of Silence
03. The Beast
04. Faces
05. Kingdom Falls
06. A Touch Of Insanity
07. Roar Of Organs
08. Uncertainty
09. Panic
10. You’re So Cold

I just got the album and listened through it once, it won’t be the last time! These musicians are extremely talented and on a high level of technical skill. The songwriting too is top notch, wil keep you on the hook all the time.  An album that makes you come back, I’m sure it will grow on me with more listens. Definitely worth checking out, and keep track of the band as they have entered the studio again for the follow up album.

I’d recommend this totally for fans of bands like Circus Maximus, Seventh Wonder, Pagans Mind, Anubis Gate and the likes. Euro prog power at it’s best.

Line Up Ken Lyngfoss-Vocal
Lazz Jensen-Guitar
Geir Nielsen-Bass
Nicolay Ryen Christiansen-Drums

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oceans-of-Time-Official/256725141063698

DragonForce complete writing of the follow-up album to 2012’s The Power Within

Reblogged from Valkyrian Music:

UK metal icons DragonForce have completed writing the follow up to last year’s release The Power Within album, which was their first with vocalist Marc Hudson. Since his live debut with the band in July of 2011, Marc has gone on to front over 100 shows with the band in 32 countries across the globe, including arenas with Iron Maiden…

Read more… 163 more words

Firewind announce the release of live album

Reblogged from Valkyrian Music:

Greek melo-power metallers Firewind, featuring the guitar-wizard Gus G., have recently returned from an extensive North American tour together with Turisas and Stolen Babies, on which Kelly Sundown Carpenter (Adagio, Beyond Twilight) debuted as session frontman.

Now, Firewind are happy to reveal that they will be releasing a new live album on June 24th 2013 via Century Media Records in Europe to celebrate the 10th band anniversary in style.

Read more… 489 more words

Iced Earth release live video for Anthem

Reblogged from Valkyrian Music:

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Iced Earth’s first officially recorded DVD and Blu-Ray Live In Ancient Kourion is now available all across Europe. For this live release, the band recorded an epic 2.5 hour show in a 6,000 year old amphitheatre with an incredible and truly unique atmosphere.

In celebration of today’s release Iced Earth have uploaded the impressive live video for the song…

Read more… 94 more words

Some interesting stuff for all you readers of my blog on Valkyrian Music today, first off some Iced Earth

First video by Schysma – Lost In A Maze

Just when I managed to finish the review, Schysma have managed to finish their first video

Schysma, Progressive metal from Milan (Italy), present their first official videoclip,

“Lost in the maze” (Video Edit), based on the first EP Imperfect Dichotomy (2012).

http://www.facebook.com/schysma
http://www.schysma.com/

New album by Tellus Requiem – Invictus

Tellus Requiem, the Norwegian progressive metallers have put out their second album in January

Invictus (The 11th Hour) 

01. Ab Aeterno

02. Red Horizon

03. Eden Burns

04. Reflections Remain

05. Twilight Hour

06. Sands of Gold

07. Tranquility

08. Redemption (Frontiers 2)

09. Invictus

10. Dies Irae

 

Check out their page or you can stream on Spotify or Deezer. And this one, unlike their first is also available as a physical CD.

Invictus should place the band firmly in between the big names of the genre. The musicianship shown is superb, and the arrangements and the production quality are on the highest level. The vocals added by Ben Rodgers did a lot for the band, though I must say that I liked the vocal melodies of their first album better, they seem somehow more musical to me and more on the catchy side. In every other aspect this second album by the band shows a development that is amazing, and where their first album was really good, especially for a self-produced one, this is great.

The album line up:  Stig Nergård (guitars), Ivar Hagen Bøe (bass), Anders Berg Sundbø (keyboards, classic piano), Vidar Lehmann (drums), and Ben Rodgers (vocals)

http://tellusrequiem.com/

 

 

Schysma – Imperfect Dichotomy EP review

I’d like to introduce you to Schysma, an Italian progressive metal band who released an EP in Septmeber 2012. I think these are tracks that will also go on the full album that is scheduled to be released later in the year.

Tracks:

01. Lost In The Maze

02. Noise Of Silence

03. Migdal

04. Supreme Solution

05. Sinners

stream: http://www.facebook.com/schysma

First off Schysma is not your usual Italian metal that oozes epic heroism in symphonic brightness. Influences here may range from hard rock to industrial, and the most noteable sound at first are the vocals. Riccardo Minicucci’s voice has an extremely characteristic sound; maybe not everybody will like it, but I love it. And man, can this guy sing. Just you wait for the higher notes …  He’s got an ear for catchy melodies too and interesting vocal lines, never gaudy or cheesy, throwing in some perfect growls here and there.

The guitar parts are classic metal style, the solos just let you guess at the virtuosity of the player Vladimiro Sala, who never loses himself in pointless fast shred-overkills but serves the songs perfectly with Pink Floyd style solos. Here too we find catchy riffs that will stick although they are never simplistic or easy.

The keyboards add colour by use of sounds, I feel sure these will become a charcteristic hallmark for Schysma.

The whole EP comes across as a very powerful, dark and gloomy work of art that becomes more and more interesteing the more often I listen to it. The songs have drive and a lot of drama, that will not leave you unaffected. The lyrics are gloomy too. The intro to ‘Lost In The Maze’ is spoken by what I take to be a preacher ending with the repeated question, ‘What’s wrong with the world?’ and this seems to be the theme around which the songs are centered. Culminating in the song “Supreme Solution” with the words:  ’… Genocide, ethnic cleansing, it’s all the fuck you need ..’

I definitely recommend checking this band out!

And that they are creative not only musically is proved by the pics on their facebook page, take a look at how they have a knack of creating athmospere visually.

A little background: It all started in 2009 as Purpleknights, but they soon disbanded again leaving Martina Bellini and Giorgio Di Paola working on the songs and who become the nucleus of Schysma. The band as it is now was formed in 2011 and 2012 and recordings for the EP must have started straight away. All band members have been active in different formations before that, but none of these bands are known to me at all (Ananke, SineVolume, Sehnsucht, Onderock,  Yanus, Babylon) but I read that Ananke put out a formidable power metal album in 2009 that you may be interested in checking out.

Martina Bellini – Keyboard and Programming
Giorgio Di Paola – Bass Guitar
Riccardo Minicucci – Lead and Backing Vocals
Vladimiro Sala – Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals
Luca Solina – Drums and Percussions

http://www.schysma.com/

guest post by Heidi Bobal