REVIEWS
Close Your Eyes
Line In The Sand
“Line In The Sand” is the 3rd
release from Close Your Eyes
and first with new vocalist
Sam Ryder. When a band
brings in a new singer, there are always people that love
or hate the move because of what the “new” sound is as
opposed to what they consider “real”. History brings us
back to several bands that have made the move from Van
Halen to Hollywood Undead and the list goes on.
Close Your Eyes can slam the door on those who criticize the change as Ryder clearly does an excellent job on
this release. In fact, CYE really stands out with their
brand of post-hardcore. They are heavy and loud one
minute, then totally melodic the next. At the same time,
everything works and never sounds forced. An example
of this is “Burdened By Hope”, which sees the band
going full throttle hardcore, complete with screaming
chant style vocals which is sure to break out a group of
moshers in the pit. Other tracks that stand out in the
heavier tracks include “Line In The Sand” (which includes cleaner style vocals), “No Borders”, “Sleeping
Giant” and “The End”.
However, it’s the more melodic side of CYE that stands
out on “Line”. The song “Frame And Glass” is one of
the best songs I have heard this year. Complete with
standout vocals from Ryder, clean guitars to begin the
song and a perfect combination of melodic rock and
hardcore. Other songs on this end of the spectrum include “My Way Home” (featuring more clean guitars
and stellar harmonies), “Kings Of John Payne” and
“Trends and Phases”.
Musically, the band fires off on all cylinders as guitarists
Brett Callaway and Andrew Rodriguez lay down some
solid playing. At the same time bassist Sonny Vega and
Jordan Hatfield hold down the bottom end. It’s a very
tight sounding disc and every piece of this puzzle fits.
In this time in music where musical artists all start to
sound the same and you’re not sure when one band starts
and another finishes. It’s refreshing to have a band like
Close Your Eyes that can be aggressive and melodic, and
maintains the course throughout. - Jim Santora
Mad Hatter’s Den
Welcome To The Den
For those that remember
what “old school” heavy
metal sounded like, one
has to go back to the 70’s
and 80’s, where bands had a strange brew of guitar
harmonies, organs and vocalists that could sing
high vocals. Somewhere in Power and Progressive
metal is where these bands lived and have stayed in
their own pocket of the world with a loyal cult following.
Enter into the realm Mad Hatter’s Den, whose
website states they are inspired by everything between heavy metal anthems and old-school rock.
Their latest release “Welcome To The Den” encompasses all of what we have mentioned and then
some.
The title track is a fast paced number and has some
great guitar work from Jaakko Hanninen and Kari
Korjonen. Keyboardist Petja Puumalainen also
stands out. In Mad Hatter’s Den, keyboards are in
the forefront like a third guitarist and not just a
backing piece for effect only. Vocalist Taage Laiho has a big voice and can carry a song. Other
songs that stand out are the nearly 8 minute
“Sinister Monolouge” (majority of the songs are in
the 5 minute plus category), while the three and a
half minute track “Blind Leading The Blind” is a
melodic and powerful track. All ten tracks on
“Welcome To The Den” pack a punch.
At the end of listening, I couldn’t help think that
this band from Finland might be a birth child of
Deep Purple, Yes, Dream Theatre and Yngwie
Malmsteen with a sprinkle of Judas Priest for good
measure. It’s indeed possible. - Jim Santora
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