Tag Archives: noise records

Features, PiercingMetal Says

Celtic Frost To Reissue Classic Noise Era Albums In June

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As I’ve a day of running around and catch up today, I am just going to let the full on press release do the talking about the soon to be re-issued Celtic Frost albums. Dig in.

The Press Release:
Celtic Frost will re-issue of their four seminal Noise Records albums on June 30th 2017, via BMG.

Heroes of the extreme metal scene, there has always been so much more to Celtic Frost’s music. From ‘Morbid Tales’, through ‘To Mega Therion’, onwards to ‘Into The Pandemonium’ and finally ‘Vanity/Nemesis’, this is a band who refused to conform or follow any specific musical direction. They experimented, took risks and in the process have left behind a remarkable catalogue which is timeless and extraordinary. When you hear these albums, you’ll appreciate why succeeding generations of diehard fans and cutting edge bands are so heavily inspired and influenced by Celtic Frost.

It almost seems churlish to regard Celtic Frost as one of the great extreme metal bands, because they were so much more than that. It’s better to hail them as among the finest extreme and experimental bands of the 1980s. Refusing ever to do what was expected or demanded, the band constantly changed musical direction, always brought in surprising influences, and kept people guessing as to where they might venture next. Their catalogue of albums is formidable and unmatched. Each is not only unique, but part of an entire tapestry that only now can be appreciated for being a remarkable part of music history. Despite, or maybe because of, constant turmoil on so many fronts, Celtic Frost achieved an artistic level few others would even have dared to dream of aspiring towards. They climbed high because they were never afraid to fall. Which is why the band are now rightly regarded as icons, and iconoclasts. – Xavier Russell – 2016
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Features, PiercingMetal Says

“Cum On Hear The Noise (Records)”: BMG Relaunches Classic Metal Label

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Hope you didn’t mind my slight reworking of the classic Slade tune for my title but it felt so right to me. So check this stuff out that I just received. In a music scene where we are constantly hearing about record label closures or takeovers that leave a bare shell of what they used to be, it was great to see this broadcast about the legendary Noise Records. The label delivered some fantastic Metal during its years of existence and now thanks to the folks at BMG, it is returning. Check out the massive missive below for the full details and then I’ll return with some added thoughts.

Logo - Noise Records

The Press Release:
BMG Announces Major Reissue Campaign From the Legendary Metal Label, Noise Records – The 1st Eight Brand New NOISE Best Of Releases are now available!

The creation of Karl-Ulrich Walterbach, Noise Records’ origins lay in the late 70s/early 80s West Berlin punk rock scene. Against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall, the convergence of volatile music, left-wing ideals, and anti-government sentiment spurred Walterbach to release two punk compilations, Soundtracks zum Untergang (Soundtracks to the Downfall), on his first label, Aggressive Rockproduktionen, otherwise simply known as AGR.

Due to the influence of Los Angeles hardcore punk masters Black Flag, Walterbach would gradually turn his interests from punk to metal, forming Noise Records in 1983 as the European response to the likes of Metallica and Slayer. From there, the label would enjoy an unprecedented signing streak of bands who would play a significant role in defining underground metal as we know today.
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Events, Reviews

Iron Savior @ B.B. King Blues Club (9/24/2008)

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Iron Savior was making what appeared to be their first ever visit to NYC and doing a show at the venerated B.B. King Blues Club and Grill. We made sure to be on point for this exciting band and if you scroll past the logo below you will be brought to our article.

Logo - Iron Savior

Artist: Iron Savior
Venue: B.B. King Blues Club (New York, NY)
Opener: Arctic Flame & Cypher Seer
Date: 9/24/2008
Label: Noise Records

The German Power Metal invasion that had started off the week only a couple of days before with Helloween and Gamma Ray continued its assault as Iron Savior took over the stage of the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on Wednesday. According to my research, the band while having visited the States before for a festival event had never really embarked on a full-scale national tour and that was something amazing to realize especially with the band releasing albums for the past ten plus years. Since tonight would mark the band’s very first New York City appearance I knew that the best place to be for any Metal fan who knew their stuff would be right here inside the venue. The summer heat was still on us so it would be great to be inside a cool venue that was dishing out some really hot Metal. The openers for the gig would be a couple of local acts that many of the area Metal fans are rather fond of with Cypher Seer starting it off and Arctic Flame leading up the charge for Iron Savior’s guys to do their thing. The three band bill looked to start on the early side so since I had hours to go, I wandered about the Virgin Megastore and the communal Metal meeting ground of Smith’s bar before I made my way back to catch the first band. Should you be one of the many who missed out on this night, here is how it went down.
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Music, Reviews

“Skeletons In The Closet” by Gamma Ray

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Artist: Gamma Ray
Title: “Skeletons In The Closet”
Label: Noise Records
Release Date: 3/9/2004
Genre: Power Metal
Rating: 9/10

Gamma Ray has long been considered one of the bands that set the standard in the Power Metal genre and the double CD release of “Skeletons In The Closet” brings you some great songs performed live in concert for a screaming audience. Leader Kai Hansen has always been a force to be reckoned with in this type of music. It showed early in his career when he was a part of the legendary Helloween where he played guitar and also sang. Eventually he formed a partnership with Ralf Scheepers to start Gamma Ray and released the amazing debut “Heading For Tomorrow”. If you owned this album when it came out you knew immediately that Power Metal was going to be headed in a new and exciting direction as long as this band was in existence. This was over fifteen years ago and fast forward to today where almost a dozen records have been released in the bands catalog. Scheepers has been gone for awhile and now performs in Primal Fear which left Kai the vocal duties in the group and to be quite honest he really has an amazing voice. He is also very busy on the guitar and I admit its most impressive to see the range he can hit during the songs while playing that well. I truly enjoyed most of this CD and I had a real love for “Gardens Of The Sinner” for it’s overall power and delivery. “The Silence” has also been one of my very favorite Gamma Ray tracks since the day I first heard them on that debut album & “Heart Of The Unicorn” also seemed to grow on me. This track has a very Judas Priest/Halford feel to it and will appeal to those listeners without a doubt. Joining Kai in the group is Henjo Richter (guitars/vocals), Dirk Schlacter (bass) and Dan Zimmerman (drums); together this powerful lineup gives you 18 of their most rarely heard material in one place.
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Music, Reviews

“Black Brick Road” by Lake Of Tears

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Artist: Lake Of Tears
Title: “Black Brick Road”
Label: Noise Records
Release Date: 9/14/2004
Genre: Gothic Metal
Rating: 8/10

On first listen to Lake Of Tears CD “Black Brick Road” I had a little difficulty narrowing the genre down to one solid definition. I decided to take a stab at labeling it Gothic Metal, but it falls more along as Rock and Roll with a dark and Gothic edge. I really liked the CD and for a band that I am just gaining some exposure to I have to tell readers that it’s really impressive. The CD is loaded with interesting riffs and song structures and there are changes all around the piece that make it fresh and not repetitive. This CD had been hiding in a pile of submissions that came in and was oddly overlooked. On finding it I realized it was remaining in my changer to be listened to over and over again. Eventually a better definition came to me and that is “Gothic Rock & Roll” as it holds the general flavor and textures of both these genres. “The Greymen” is a pumping opener that uses a great keyboard riff and just works. Tracks like “Sister Sinister” had an almost Iggy Pop/N.Y. Dolls feel to it. “Dystopia” was more a danceable tune and “The Organ” was a creepy and brooding tune that had an almost Pink Floyd guitar feel at times. I venture to guess that perhaps I was seeing the building of “Dark Glam” as a genre of Rock music. The four piece Swedish group is comprised of Johan Oudhuis (drums), Mikael Larsson (bass), Daniel Brennare (vocals/guitar) and Magnus Sahlgren (lead guitar). They deliver a very solid sound on this well-produced record.
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