Artist: Frost
Title: “Out In The Cold”
Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords
Release Date: 8/29/2006
Genre: Hard Rock/Metal
Rating: 3/5
In the world of Heavy Metal, you will find that Jack Frost is one of those very busy guitar players. I don’t mean this in his playing style but in all the aspects of his career. Over the years we have followed his work in Savatage, Metalium, The Bronx Casket Company and of course his main band of focus Seven Witches. Somehow during all of this work he manages to take part in the numerous tributes to legendary bands like Iron Maiden and Dio and still have time to release solo albums. With “Out In The Cold”, his second solo effort, Frost puts together a veritable cornucopia of vocalists and musicians to give his fans a solid dose of Traditional Metal that I think will be right up their alley. Among the vocal powers present he has Ted Poley (Danger, Danger) and Paul Dianno (Iron Maiden) belting it out and they make songs like “Hell Or High Water” and “Crucifixation” great additions. The playing throughout is rather solid and should definitely appeal to any who enjoy Frost’s playing. Most of the songs fall into the same line and style of what he does with Seven Witches, but given its place as a solo effort he does bring different ideas to the table. The album delivers some metalized covers of classic rock numbers such as Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice”, 38 Special’s “Hold On Loosely”, and April Wine’s “Sign Of The Gipsy Queen”. I loved the April Wine track the most since it had the most drive, and I found that Frost did a good vocal job on the 38 Special track. “Cold As Ice” lost me, as while I like the bluesy rasp of Shortino, it’s just one of those tunes that is fine as it is and needs no real Metal treatment.
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Artist: Nuclear Assault
Title: “Louder Harder Faster”
Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords
Release Date: 10/10/2006
Genre: Thrash Metal
Rating: 2/5
Formed in 1984 at the onset of the Thrash Metal movement Nuclear Assault was a brutal example of what the genre could do to the ears of the audience. Dan Lilker (originally a member of Anthrax), John Connolly, Glen Evans and Anthony Bramante always aimed to destroy on stage and while not everyone’s cup of tea developed a fan base for years to come and released revered Thrash epics such as “Survive” and “Handle with Care”. Unlike many of their peers who changed and modified their brand of sound over the years, Nuclear Assault never veered from the path and as a result remained high on the list of their most ardent supporters while at the same time losing some who might have grown out of the style they played. This DVD is the first ever for the band and while it includes what seems to be a kick ass set of material the release itself is nothing more than a disappointment. Shot during the “Louder, Harder, Faster” festival in 2005, this DVD of the same name is a terribly produced effort that uses minimal camera angles and a sub-par sound recording. Drums are too loud in the production while vocals and lead guitars are impossible to hear. Lilkers bass seems to cut through and perhaps this was the positioning of the mics while this was being done.
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Artist: Seven Witches
Title: “Years Of The Witch”
Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords
Release Date: 9/26/2006
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 2.5/5
The fans of Seven Witches and Jack Frost have been asking for a DVD of their music over the course of the bands five releases and now they finally have one. “Years Of The Witch” is just what they have been waiting for in order to sit down and crank up the Metal and enjoy one of their favorite bands…or is it something far less than they expected. I am disappointed to say that this DVD is a little bit of both for while Seven Witches is a fine band who has delivered capable and tasty Metal for many years, the production on this release is terrible. The show itself is chock full of the bands best material from across their years and is apparently shot at a decent sized club but the sound is so muddled that it makes sitting through it almost arduous. You continually find yourself turning up the volume and finding it to be of little help if any at all. The same company did the work on the Nuclear Assault DVD “Louder, Harder, Faster” and while I felt any production inconsistencies were resident on that one alone, I was sad to find a repeat scenario for the Seven Witches release. This is a shame when it is the bands first-ever DVD for there is always the chance that the production value can cause the band to be viewed in negative light.
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Artist: Anvil
Title: “Back To Basics”
Label: Screaming Ferret Wreckords
Release Date: 8/24/2004
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 7/10
Canadian Metallers Anvil was one of those bands that seem to have never gotten their fair share of touring in the USA. The release of “Back To Basics” comes after a very long absence to the public eye as far as the Metal Industry is concerned. While the release is chock full of steady rolling heavy metal in an old school fashion, there is little impact in any of the tunes. We don’t get anything as musically capable as we did on “Metal On Metal” or “Jackhammer” and “March Of The Crabs”. On the CD there are several decent rockers such as “Keep It Up” , “The Chainsaw” and “Bottom Feeder”. However, the rest is just ok in my opinion. I guess I had expected a little more from them due to the duration in time that I have heard them doing anything. It is still nice to see them able to generate a steady amount of metal in any case. The old school sound or traditional as it is considered nowadays gets continued life because of their efforts.
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