Showing posts with label Andi Deris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andi Deris. Show all posts

CD Review: Andi Deris and the Bad Bankers – Million Dollars Haircuts on Ten Cent Heads

CD Review: Andi Deris and the Bad Bankers – Million Dollar Haircuts on Ten Cent Heads
Armoury/earMusic
All Access Rating: A-

Andi Deris and the Bad Bankers -
Million Dollar Haircuts on
Ten Cent Heads 2014
The Occupy Wall Street movement has a sympathizer in Helloween singer Andi Deris. Disgusted by the obscene, unchecked greed and corruption of a diseased banking institution that's somehow escaped punishment for its sins against humanity, Deris' anger is palpable on his first solo album since 1999, recorded with his band, the aptly named Bad Bankers. 

A hard-hitting protest record that gets in the gutter with its subject matter and beats it with brass knuckles, Million Dollar Haircuts on Ten Cent Heads has a grimy, contemporary metal edginess and visceral crunch that fuels his rage against fat cats and tyrants. At heart, though, Deris is still a power-metal proselytizer, prone to sculpting melodic curves out of walls of guitars and crushing rhythms to make dramatic statements in the sweeping "EnAmoria" and the equally expansive "Must Be Dreaming."

Nevertheless, with its brawling guitar riffs and sneering vocals, the punishingly heavy opener "Cock" doesn't mince words, couching its indignation in thick, grinding machinations, before the prowling, seething grooves of "Banker's Delight (Alive or Dead)" express their frustration in a particularly vicious manner. Embracing nu metal samples and other production enhancements that bands like the Deftones and Korn make such effective use of, Deris and his rabble-rousers raise hell in a dark, blustery "Blind" that turns moody and watery, as does "Who Am I." More scathing, "Don't Listen to the Radio (TWOTW 1938)" is straightforward traditional metal with a hooky chorus and driving, slightly scratched-up guitars, and it's a song of sturdy construction and strong opinions, the kind that leads to fist-pumping and other expressions of rebellion.

Even if all it amounts to is street-level sound and fury that, although it does actually signify something, never comes close to reaching deaf ears in corporate boardrooms, hearing Deris' impassioned, well-articulated call to arms is, if nothing else, a direct and forceful shock to a financial system desperately in need of an overhaul. And Deris is in fine voice, expressive, charismatic and wide-ranging, clearly warming to the task he's undertaken, and sounding especially vital when he gets his dander up. http://www.eagle-rock.com/http://www.ear-music.net/en/news/
– Peter Lindblad


CD Review: Helloween – Straight Out of Hell: Premium Edition


CD Review: Helloween – Straight Out of Hell: Premium Edition
The End Records
All Access Review: B+

Helloween - Straight Out of Hell 2013
The Tim Burton-style cover should have been a dead giveaway, hinting at the distinct possibility of Straight Out of Hell being one of the most cinematic and expansive records in the Helloween canon. This being their 14th studio album, Straight Out of Hell is rife with war imagery, uplifting messages, cosmological exploration, angry recrimination, and in one instance, a Utopian tale of a doomed imaginary empire … oh, and there’s also a love ballad, a sweeping epic really titled “Hold Me In Your Arms” that Hollywood ought to snatch up before investing in another one of Nicholas Sparks’ cloying romances.

Certainly, no one can accuse the veteran Germanic power-metal outfit of repeating thematic lyrical patterns. Still lightning fast and intent on constructing increasingly grandiose arrangements, Helloween balances heavy, mauling riffage and speedy, mind-bogglingly complex guitar solos and twin leads with mellifluous melodies here. All this, plus Dani Loble’s blinding drums and Helloween’s flair for unexpectedly fluid dynamic shifts are on display on tracks like “Burning Sun,” the piano-laden “Waiting for the Thunder” and the hook-filled “Far From the Stars.”

This is classic Helloween, always willing to switch galloping speed-metal horses mid-stream and go for the throat, as triumphant anthems “Live Now!” and “Another Shot of Life” are shot through with undying optimism and fist-pumping choruses – as well as whirling keyboards, slickly executed tempo changes and churning guitars. On the other hand, “World of War” washes radiance over trampling, trudging death-metal rhythms, while the exotic, charging, head-spinning sand storm “Nabataea” should be splashed across the silver screen – in 3D, of course. Straight Out of Hell’s most interesting and gripping track, the massive “Nabataea,” so reminiscent of Iron Maiden, is also one of its most diverse, with gentle, scenic descents and majestic, breathtaking climbs onward and upward well past where eagles dare.

An absorbing sonic experience from beginning to end, even if the simplistic and bitter “Asshole” seems beneath them, Straight Out of Hell: Premium Edition is not a game-changer for Helloween. Nevertheless, it does find Helloween attempting to perfect their dramatic, shock-and-awe formula, blowing away audiences with dazzling musicianship and bombastic instrumental flourishes, the occasional daring trespass into prog-rock, ambitious songwriting from Markus Grosskopf, Michael Weikath, Andi Deris and guitarist Sascha Gerstner, and the ability to weave fantastical tales made for the widescreen. (theendrecords.com)

-            Peter Lindblad