PAGE 46 - POWERPLAY ISSUE 210 - JULY 2018

Austrian dark rocker Marnus Flatz, aka AaronRoterfeld, has fingers in many pies. He’s not just asongwriter and musician, but also a bit of a software andsocial media whizz, too. He’s been around for a while onthe European music scene and he’s led a somewhatinteresting life thus far. But is his music any good? Basically,this album bounces along from start to finish with somefreaky falsetto vocals and nice echoing riffs.

Opening track ‘No Friend Of Mine’ features somesmashing electro effects and some big drums, and althoughthe lyrics are somewhat repetitive, it’s sort of compellinglistening. The slower ‘I Want More’ showcases some

Dark RockTrue Artist

thoughtful guitar work and also some rather lovely piano.Other favourites included ‘Flieg’, ‘Black Blood’, ‘FatherAnd Son’ and ‘Great New Life (Reborn)’.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed listening to‘Hamlet At Sunset’. It’s another reminder that we have tokeep challenging ourselves and taking ourselves out ofour aural comfort zones. Roterfeld is, indeed, a dark horse;one that actually has quite a good voice and no smallamount of musical talent. Well worth a listen.

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‘Hamlet At Sunset’

ROTERFELD

‘Hamlet At Sunset’‘Hamlet At Sunset’

and a gentler tone is present on ‘Wrong Side Of The Tracks’.Having already earned slots at titan festivals such as

Bloodstock and Hammerfest and with the album’s thunderous,headbanging-provoking vibe, ‘Nothing In My Way’ certainlyproves that the road ahead for Line Of Fire is obstacle free andthe world is their oyster.

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CRYING STEEL‘Stay Steel’

MetalPride & Joy Music

This Italian act releasedtwo great albums back in 1985and 1988, fell of the face of theEarth, and then reformed in2007. ‘The Steel Is Back’ and‘Time Stands Steel’ were verygood comeback records, but‘Stay Steel’ sees the bandfinding their stride. This albumhas it all: scorching riffs,hummable melodies and a

rhythm section that kills. And vocalist Tony Mills – yes that TonyMills of Shy and TNT – is in impeccable form. Crying Steel is moremetal than Mills’ previous groups ever were, with the likes of‘Barricades’, the Accept-like ‘Crank It Up’, the Dokken-esque‘Warriors’ and the heavy as hell ‘Speed Of Light’ being totally inyour face. Every track, thanks in part to a stellar production, shines.I’d suggest you check out ‘Stay Steel’ ASAP, and if you like whatyou hear (you will), then work backwards and pick up their entirecatalogue!

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THE SUNBURST‘Resilience & Captivity’

Alternative MetalVolcano

Italian alt metallers TheSunburst are quite interesting.They sound like they will to veeroff into screamo or emo at timesbut they are in fact a decentstraight-ahead rock band withalternative tendencies. This isa well-produced album withgood vocals and all-roundplaying. I particularly like thetone of the guitars, they sound

original. The vocals are good too with a clean sound and tradeoff with vocal affects, a bit like Linkin Park.

There are mainly straight-ahead rockers with someinteresting gear changes here. ‘Whatif’ is one and a great track.Slow to build, it has some nice keyboards and atmospheric guitarsand drum runs. You could dub this one orchestral alternativerock. ‘Captivity’/‘World On Fire’ is a full-on metal riff with drivingrhythms and great solo work. ‘Phoenix’ is another slow-burnerand really well constructed with some dramatic sections andacoustic guitars. Closing track ‘Eternal Life’ has a stomping riffand catchy rhythm that’s like a heavy version of The Killers. Somegreat vocals on show here.

All in all, an entertaining listen and the future looks brightfor these Italian rockers.

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THE SLYDE‘Awakening’Melodic Prog

Independent ReleaseBeing a fan of

progressive metal music can bea sacrifice at times. Whist manyof us will marvel at the complexmusicianship, and the depth ofmusical colour that is brings, itcan often be at the expense ofthe melody. For all the adulationthat the likes of Rush or DreamTheater receive from their fans,there will always be detractors

who will never be able to fully connect with the song and in manycases, the vocal. And so as I sit down to listen to ‘Awakening’, thedebut album for Canadian proggers The Slyde, there is a senseof some trepidation and excitement. After all, whilst this may betheir first full album, The Slyde are by no means a new band. Thisalbum is the result of a decade of craft, during which time theyhave released a number of EPs and played close to two hundredshows.