garm division » Releases

BAND MAID 2019 Album “Conqueror” Now Released!

Brian — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 23:04:13 +0000

Bandmaid just released their newest album, “Conqueror.” Stay tuned for a review! It’s a little different from their past albums but they’re growing their chops. So far I’m digging the songs “Liberal” and “The Dragon Cries.” It’s going to be part of my road music for my trip down south to Los Angeles for DIR EN GREY, The Hu, and CharaExpo.

Tracklist here:

1. PAGE
2. glory
3. Liberal
4. endless Story
5. Mirage
6. At the drop of a hat
7. Wonderland
8. azure
9. Dilemma
10. Bubble
11. The Dragon Cries
12. flying high
13. カタルシス (Catharsis)
14. Blooming
15. 輪廻 (Rinne)

Kamelot’s “The Shadow Theory” released

Brian — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 23:12:41 +0000

Kamelot’s newest album, “The Shadow Theory,” has hit store shelves.

Drummer Casey Grillo is absent from this album as he has moved on to new endeavors. His replacement is Johan Nunez. Thomas Youngblood, Sean Tibbetts, Oliver Palotai, and of course Tommy Karevik are still in their usual spots.

What can you expect from this album? You can expect Kamelot. If you like what the band has released before you’re going to love this album. I can’t wait to see them in less than a month in San Jose.

Quick picks: Phantom Divine, Ravenlight

Beast in Black “Berserker” album released

James — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 23:34:48 +0000

Beast in Black’s debut album “Berserker” has just been released and if it’s anything like “Blind and Frozen” and “Born Again” it’s going to be a hell of a ride. Looking at the set list there’s a name that stands out and that’s “Zodd the Immortal.” Fans of Berserk and Battle Beast will recognize it immediately and I’m curious to see what other content might be hidden.

Quick picks: “Blind and Frozen,” “Born Again”

Unleash the Archers “Apex” released

James — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 09:45:33 +0000

Unleash the Archers has just released their newest album “Apex.” If speed is your thing then check it out. I really dug the previous album “Time Stands Still” and this is more or less the same stylistically.

Quick picks: “Call Me Immortal,” “Apex,” “Ten Thousand Against One”

Lovebites EP released

Brian — Wed, 31 May 2017 00:50:22 +0000

Lovebites is a new all-girl rock band from Japan. I was first clued in to them by a friend who saw them in Japan and he had nothing to say but good things about them. Access to their music has, before the actual release, been very limited. They’re signed to Victor who has, historically, been very, very controlling of content. I’ve been very curious to see what we’d be getting and I have to say I’m not disappointed. The EP is only four tracks but if this is what we’re looking at the future will be promising.

If the name looks familiar it’s because it should be: Halestorm did a song called “Love Bites (and so do I)” and the girls of Lovebites did a cover of it during their very first live.

Here’s a link to some samples: https://vimeo.com/218234033

Sonata Arctica’s “The Ninth Hour” released

Brian — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 10:03:29 +0000

Sonata Arctica’s “The Ninth Hour” was released about a week ago. This is the band’s ninth full album and they’ve continued to progress as they go but without ever leaving their roots behind. The title refers to the time of day reserved for prayers by the faithful. The album sounds a little lighter in nature and sound than some of the others the band has done but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

They’ll be coming by San Francisco on December 2nd. They were last in the bay area in March as support for Nightwish. This time they’ll be the headliner accompanied by Leaves’ Eyes and Omnium Gatherum.

Quick picks: “Closer to an Animal,” “Life,” “Rise a Night”

Seven Kingdoms’ New EP available for streaming online

James — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 09:53:30 +0000

The EP is available for listening in full over at the Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2016/09/08/listen-to-seven-kingdoms-h-p-lovecraft-inspired-ep-in-the-walls-exclusive/

I’m really pleased with how it turned out. Titular track “In the Walls” is catchy but what I was really waiting for was the rerecordings of “The Bloody Meadow” and “Stormborn” from their first album. “The Bloody Meadow” worked just fine without modification and the band handled “Stormborn” with the help of Bryan Edwards himself.

Here’s to the full album!

Sabaton Released “The Last Stand”

James — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 09:56:27 +0000

Sabaton’s newest album “The Last Stand” is full of what Sabaton does best: sing about battles. The concept is fairly self-explanatory: famous land stands in history. Various periods and armies are represented in throughout including the Japanese samurai (“Shiroyama” – the Satsuma Rebellion), the Serbian Army (“Last Dying Breath” – World War I), Poland’s Winged Hussars (“Winged Hussars” – Ottoman Wars), and of course, the Greek Spartans (“Sparta” – the second Persian invasion). If you’re a Sabaton fan this is automatically up your alley. If you’re not but are a fan of history, give it a whirl.

Quick picks: “Last Dying Breath,” “Shiroyama,” “Winged Hussars”

Kamelot releases new album “Haven”

James — Wed, 06 May 2015 03:29:58 +0000

After vocalist Roy Khan departed the band in 2011 after thirteen years, Kamelot has found a good replacement in Tommy Karevik. The more I listen to Kamelot, the more I think Tommy sounds just like Roy. There’s a difference, sure, but it’d be easy to mistake the two. He’s definitely settled in well and when I last saw them in 2013 at Slim’s he was doing pretty damn good. I expect him to be even better when they show up next week at the Regency Ballroom.

It’s been three years since Kamelot’s last album Silverthorn and the second with Tommy on vocals. It definitely sounds like a Kamelot album, and it should with founding member Thomas Youngblood still at the reins. That’s not a bad thing, by the way. I came for Kamelot and I got Kamelot. Songs like “Fallen Star” and “End of Innocence” have that sort of slow-moving, melodic vibe that we’re all used to. “Revolution” and “Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy)” kick it up with the addition of Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz who also toured with them the last go-round.

I haven’t quite had the time to put it on repeat days on end but from some quick listening I’m liking what I’m hearing. Hopefully they’ll be featuring a lot of the songs when they come to San Francisco. They are currently mid-tour and sometimes when a band releases an album like that you sometimes only get one or two.

As always, the album art is pretty damn cool.

Quick picks: Fallen Star, End of Innocence, Revolution

Tracklist:

1. Fallen Star
2. Insomnia
3. Citizen Zero
4. Veil of Elysium
5. Under Grey Skies (featuring Charlotte Wessels & Troy Donockley)
6. My Therapy
7. Ecclesia
8. End of Innocence
9. Beautiful Apocalypse
10. Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) (featuring Alissa White-Gluz)
11. Here’s to the Fall
12. Revolution (featuring Alissa White-Gluz)
13. Haven

The new Nightwish album “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” has arrived

Brian — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:09:28 +0000

Finally.

This is Nightwish’s first album in four years. Four years is a long time and signals the departure of one vocalist and the arrival of the next. For those who don’t know, Annette Olzon got a bit sick of things during their world tour in 2012 and departed about midway through. Floor Jansen, of bands like After Forever and ReVamp, was called in to replace her. You can sum up the challenge as thus: “Please learn the setlist in 48 hours.” I saw Nightwish on October 3, 2012. This was Floor’s third show. She would continue with Nightwish for the remainder of the tour and eventually join Nightwish as their full-time vocalist.

Another new face is Kai Hahto of Wintersun. Longtime drummer Jukka Nevalainen was forced to take a break from the band due to chronic insomnia and was forced to sit out from both the album recording sessions and the current world tour in support of the new album. Hopefully he comes back soon but it could be some time.

Anyway, onto the album. It’s packed with good stuff. Fans of “current Nightwish” should love it and those of old Nightwish (Tarja’s days) should be happy too. Floor is a good mix between Anette and Tarja and while she doesn’t go full-on operatic has a great voice. I’ve been listening to the band since 2001 and Over the Hills and Far Away. Not quite as old-school as some who started with Oceanborn and Wishmaster but old enough. “Tenth Man Down” is still one of my go-to songs today. What do I think about the new album?

I love it.

From the starting track the band takes off running and never lets go. You get little breaks here and there but the speed and heaviness wins the day. “Shudder Before the Beautiful” hits hard followed by “Weak Fantasy” and the single “Elan” gives a short pause. “Yours is an Empty Hope” brings things back up to speed. By the time you get to the titular track “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” you’ve been magneted to your headphones (or speakers) for almost a half-hour without noticing.

One thing on most Nightwish albums besides the hard-hitting opening song is “the epic song.” Yeah, you know the one. This time it’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” clocking in at just under 24 minutes. Much like “Beauty of the Beast” and “The Poet of the Pendulum” it isn’t just one song but a song with many divisions. This one song is like an EP on its own. If I had to pick one part that really stuck with me it’d be Floor and the chorus yelling “we were here.” We all make our marks on the world and hopefully each of us has a legacy that proves our existence.

Quick picks: Shudder Before the Beautiful, Weak Fantasy, Yours is an Empty Hope, The Greatest Show on Earth

Tracklist:

1. Shudder Before the Beautiful
2. Weak Fantasy
3. Elan
4. Yours is an Empty Hope
5. Our Decades in the Sun
6. My Walden
7. Endless Forms Most Beautiful
8. Edema Ruh
9. Alpenglow
10. The Eyes of Sharbat Gula
11. The Greatest Show on Earth

Make sure to catch them on the upcoming tour.