Tag Archives: throwback metal

Friday Morning Metal – Chalice – Silver Cloak

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Here comes some Finnish throwback metal care of Chalice. These guys got their start in 2016 and bring a very late 70’s/early 80’s metal vibe. Like Angel Witch with newer production. They are not to be confused with the Jamaican reggae band formed in 1980, nor should they be confused with the Gothic-doom band from Australia that broke up in 2007. I think this is why there are so many bands with AD or BC in their name. We can’t all be Demon Balls, it’s too confusing. You guys be Demon Balls AD, we’ll be Demon Balls City.

The song drops right into the melody, with some good bass riffs joining the phrases. The vocals are somewhat haunting during the verses, giving it a bit of a 70s vibe. There’s a solid part before the guitar solo that would really lend itself to the synchronized guitar poses that are part and parcel of a metal performance. And the solo itself? Felt like three separate noodlefests stuffed into one! This does make me want to harness the powers of my inner fire. At 3 minutes 40 seconds, the song is a fantastic length. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, but also doesn’t feel truncated in the least.

The video looks like they’re trapped backstage at something. Then a dude with a cow head is being creepy. And some creepy hands. At one point the creepy hand is trying to be helpful and hands the dude a bong and a wine glass, so that’s nice of them. It looks like an old timey horror movie which is pretty fun and fits with the vocal style. I bet them writing Down Under on the walls doesn’t help with the disambiguation between them and the Australian Chalice. It’s kind of a bummer you don’t get to see the band perform, but all in all it’s a cool video.

Friday Morning Metal – Lion’s Share – Pentagram

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Happy Friday, here’s some metal by having 60% or more of a thing, it’s Lion’s Share playing Pentagram. These guys have been shredding since 1987 and got their start in Sundsvall, Sweden. Their themes are inner struggles, pain, and society. It’d be a kick if the songs about society were that society’s going alright, intermixed with the inner struggles and pain songs.

The band wastes no time getting going, with a solid rhythm driving some great riffs. The vocals have a good edge and fun high notes. I dig the finger tappy noodly as hell guitar solo, especially with the soar halfway through. It’s a good solid throwback to the late 80’s metal, so if you want to rip the sleeves off your jacket and race your trans am, this is the song for you!

The video itself is them in a warehouse or chain manufacturer or something. Lotta steam and hard cuts between band members shredding out. Maybe the chains are holding the singer up, he did say his body is old and that crazy is his game. I like the bassist’s top pony tail, makes it easy to head bang and whatnot. Oh and the singer is an antisocial warrior, warrior. The human race is burned by the pentagram. Lotta messaging going on in this song. Some of the hard contrast and digital artifacting reminds me a bit of Painkiller, maybe they’re trying to riff on it.

Friday Morning Metal – Templar – Treacherous Beast

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Straight out of Stockholm this week is Templar, proprietors of throwback metal! These guys started in 2022, but maybe they frozen in ice in 1978 and thawed out in 2022.

The song is a solid throwback metal song, feels a lot more like 1979-1982 era stuff. Like they could open for Riot. Not Quiet Riot, but Riot. It starts with some live footage before kicking into the dueling guitar intro. They do the cool thing where each guitar is in its own channel, so you can hear difference. Unless you’re missing a speaker or are deaf in one ear, then you only hear 75% of the band. They’ve got a great chugga sound, and the vocals harken back to the bygone era of feathered hair and songs about traveling the wilderness to fight the beast. There’s a great echo effect during the solo, it makes it sound extra layered and stuff. The song’s also just short of three and a half minutes; doesn’t feel like they left any meat on the bone for this one! Just a solid throwback shred fest.

The video bounces between live footage and what appears to be a band photo shoot. They seem a little nervous playing with the bigass sword and the torch, but otherwise they seem to be having a good time. I hope they used the group photo for a Christmas card. The live footage doesn’t always synch with the audio, which is a little off-putting, but otherwise it’s solid.

Friday Morning Metal – Wucan – Pipe Dreams

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I guess I’m in a throwback metal kick lately, this week it’s Pipe Dreams from Dresden Germany’s own Wucan. So no need to dust off your frilly jacket, it’s probably still ready to rock from the last few posts. According to the Wikipedia, they’re hard rock or stoner rock or doom rock. Those are all genres, but they sound a lot like early 70’s proto-metal to me. Like the bands that would tour with Deep Purple or Sabbath or something. They dress the part too. It’s nice that they’re keeping the style going. I heard a thing that Christopher Cross sat in as guitarist for a Deep Purple tour in the 70s. That’s a hell of a juxtaposition.

The song itself starts with a synthy intro that sounds like it should be in a John Carpenter film. Or something Stranger Things cribbed to make the show feel more 80’s. The vocalist, to be crass, is fuckin great, adding her tremendous range and a big powerful voice on top of some fancy shreddy guitars. And oh man during the dueling solo you can hear the bass getting slappy. Slappy bass is some great bass. All in all this is a fun band. There’s some classic rock vibes, but I’d still say it’s fast and technical enough to be good throwback metal.

The video itself is a band performance on sound stage, though the singer does get some solid directed wind to tease out her hair. I’m pretty sure the bassist taught music with my dad in 1975. It’s a great look, especially the spotlight really highlighting whoever is performing.

Friday Morning Metal – Phantom – The Tower of Seth

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Coming from Guadalajara and ready to shred your face off, it’s Phantom! This is The Tower of Seth, off their album Tyrants of Wrath. That’s a good album title right there. Also I had a buddy in high school named Seth who was really tall. He’s not the subject of the song, despite being a towering fella. These guys play the kind of speed/thrash metal that would fit right in as opener for Anthrax or Metallica.

The song has a good chuggy intro, giving vibes of early Metallica or 3 Inches of Blood’s Metal Woman. The intro having separate channels for lead/rhythm guitar is pretty fun, makes it feel like you’re in the middle of the band. It’s too bad the vocals are tuned down so much in the mix. It does give the rest of the band an opportunity to shine, but it also makes it sound like the singer is way in the back like “HEY GUYS I’M HERE TOO.” Maybe they mistook the vocal track for bass. There’s a pretty killer solo leading up to the video’s climax, plenty chuggy and throwback-adjacent. All in all, a really solid speedy metal song.

The video takes place out in the woods. It’s fun to see the drumsticks kind of get that rubber pencil vibe while he’s playing, I haven’t seen that before in a video. The band is playing in a stream which can’t be too comfortable, but then it’s interspersed with some like druids walking by a water treatment plant and a guy in a cape. Our caped crusader seems to be on a mission to take out a black metal band, or the druids. Except the druids have magic and summon Celtic Frost to fight him. Sadly, despite being from the band Phantom, we don’t see any Ben Affleck nor Billy Zane, he’s a cool guy.

Friday Morning Metal – Venator – Steal the Night

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Oooh throwback metal from Austria. Venator’s Steal the Night sounds straight out of NWoBHM. Or I guess classic heavy metal at this point. These guys have been around since 2016 and have a good sound. Also apparently their themes are Fighting, Rebellion, and Horror. Encyclopedia Metallum has a lot of detail about bands. Including themes.

The song is off their album Psychodrome, which I think is the drome that Krang’s cousin used in Ninja Turtles. They didn’t show it in the cartoon because it was way more psychotic than the Technodrome. The song itself is pretty down the fairway chugga guitars and driving drums. The vocals have a bit of edge but fit in well, gives the song a lot of its classic feel. There’s a kickass not too wild solo 3/4 of the way through the song, definitely had the same feel as something you’d hear in 1983.

There’s a live version of the song so you can see just how well these guys time traveled from the 80s. Leather pants, high tops, they’ve got it all! But also they look like they’d be fun to see live so maybe they’ll come to the US at some point! So dust off your battle jacket, put one your fingerless gloves, and hop into your camaro! It’s time to rock.

And if you want to hear the album version, they got that too. Drums sound a lot better than the live one.

Friday Morning Metal – Crimson Storm – Abuse of Power

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More Italian speed metal! This time it’s Crimson Storm and their song Abuse of Power, from their album “Livin’ on the Bad Side” (they made a point to add the apostrophe so I made a point to include it.) This is their first full length album, and so far it’s a pretty fun shred fest.

A little feedback before jumpstarting into the song is fun, Prehistoric Dog does similar. Bet it makes it great as an “OH CRAP GOTTA GET INTO THE PIT” warning if they do it live. The singer has a solid set of pipes, hitting falsettos and harmonizing on some of the choruses. I dug on the shreddy solo, might help because the guitarist is rocking some killer fringe on his leather jacket. Add in white high tops and it definitely looks like a throwback to 1985. Clocking in at 4 minutes, the song isn’t overextending its stay, but is still chock full of shreds, driving drums, and the kind of music that’s perfect to blast out of your T-top Firebird.

The video is pretty straightforward performance on a sound stage. It does seem like they have a lot more space to work with, but they chose to be super close. Maybe they get separation anxiety and that’s the furthest they can be away from each other. Or they’re used to playing tiny stages and don’t know what happens if they spread out. Regardless, this is a rollicking great song, check it out!

Friday Morning Metal – Blackslash – Heroes, Saints & Fools

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Oooh throwback metal from Germany. Heroes, Saints & Fools from Blackslash! I bet when they first started, Google really wanted to offer up “Did you mean Backslash?” Hell, even Youtube did it when I was trying to find the video. Encyclopaedia Metallum also wants to make sure you don’t get them confused with Backlash the heavy/power metal band from Bamberg, Bavaria, or Backslash from Freiburg, which is hard rock. Or also Back Slash which was a heavy rock band in 1991. Also don’t get them confused with Blackstreet, the R&B group known for No Diggity.

The song kicks off with a growly vocal intro, like an orc is trying to send you on the right path, before kicking into some dueling guitarmonies and driving drums. Clemens Haas’s vocals are interesting, not quite what you hear from other throwback bands, like a bit of a growl but not going falsetto or anything. He also kinda looks like Nick Wiger with the same haircut as Boo Boo from Bob’s Burgers. It’s fun to see the guitarist air guitar during the pre-solo breakdown, and then also during the soaring sweeps picky solo. Man that’s a good solo. All in all it’s a rollicking good time of a song.

The video itself is of the “rockin out at night in the forest” variety. That sounds oddly specific, but the woods seem to be a staple of heavy metal videos. I bet it’s because it’s spooky. Seems like there’s a new trend to use filters to give the video an aged look. It’s probably not a new trend, but I’ve noticed it a few times lately and it looks pretty solid. There isn’t a side story, just watching the band shred and have a good time. Hopefully they didn’t encounter the Teutonic-equivalent of the Blair Witch, that’d be a bummer.

Friday Morning Metal – I am the Intimidator – Gasoline

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Bjørn sought to share some more metal with me, and now I want to share it with you! This time it is Gasoline, from Portland-based band I AM THE INTIMIDATOR. Before I looked into the band, the video gave real PNW vibes. Especially seeing the Fred Meyer while the guy was gassing up his scooter. I did not expect dudes from Portland would make a Dale Earnhardt metal tribute band.

The video feels like something I would’ve seen on public access in high school. Like after the Bong Hit Semifinals and before Kurt Cobain was Murdered. Those were shows, not points in time. Public access was rad. I miss all the nutbaggery that went on on public access. The video splits between the singer riding a vespa to a gas station in between what looks like some solid green screen performing. Just completely silly.

And despite the silliness, the song is pretty shreddy. There’s even a mild vocal nod to Deep Purple’s Highway Star I think? They even clone the guitarist for some great layered riffs on the solo! This song is a hoot, definitely one of those ones if you listened to it while driving you might end up going like 90 mph without paying attention. Now I must listen to the whole album.

Friday Morning Metal – Haunt – Mind Freeze

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Thank you, Sportify, for letting me know about Haunt, who cite Thin Lizzy & Angel Witch as inspiration for their 80’s era throwback metal and are therefore right in my wheelhouse. These guys are such a throwback they used old film effects to make the song look like it was shot not in 2020 but in 1986.

I think the song is about drinking a slurpee too quickly, he keeps singing about how it’s freezing in his mind. It’s a solid chuggy song, plus a super finger tappy guitar solo. You don’t see finger tapping too much nowadays, usually solos are sweeps picks and super noodlings. There are a few guitar poses that are pretty solid, plus some layered vocals toward the end that add a haunting effect. Hey, just like the band’s name! It’s pretty cool to see a 40-plus year old subgenre of metal continue to get new songs, and in general this one’s right down the fairway.

I’m not sure what the plot of the video is, but I think the hoodie guy is on a magical journey in a dilapidated theme park, while the band is playing in a house they’re trying to renovate and flip. Maybe he’s looking for the place that’ll thaw his freezing mind. He does have an enchanted jug of something, it looks pretty important. But also the singer is trapped in a plastic room. I bet his mind would be less freezing if he had better insulation and maybe a sweatshirt. He does bump into an enchanted outhouse that leads him to a freeway. Maybe he’s in Fresno now, and it’s warmer there, to thaw his mind.