Hump Day Hot Ticket: MindMaze “Sign of Life”

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After several weeks of showcasing bands from afar, I am content to look a little closer to home for this week's video, and turn a spotlight on good, homegrown talent right here in the U.S.

Hailing from Pennsylvania, MindMaze is a band I have wanted to talk about here for quite some time, but haven't had many chances, considering their last full-length album was over 3 years ago. But that's all changed; MindMaze has a brand-new album out later this week, and will be hitting the road with Arkona and Sirenia shortly thereafter.

Incorporating the best of what progressive metal and melodic rock has to offer, MindMaze is one of the most promising up-and-coming talents on the scene these days. Their new release, Resolve, is a concept album already being called the Operation: Mindcrime of its generation by some critics. That is quite a comparison, but one that the brother-sister team of Jeff and Sarah Teets can live up to. Their musical foundation was built on those classic albums and influential names, so while it seems like a tall order to fill, MindMaze has proven their worth to be named in the same sentences as those greats.

For the band's first video for Resolve, “Sign of Life”, MindMaze chooses to let the music do the talking and not let the visuals overcomplicate things. It is a standard performance video; the band rocks out in an underground basement of some kind, with lightbulbs hanging overhead. Throughout the near-5 minutes of the video, everyone looks like they are having fun just playing music: whether it is the interplay between guitar and bass, or Sarah whipping her magnificent mane of hair, the entire band looks like they are enjoying themselves. And why not? When your music is this awesome, wouldn't you have fun playing it all the time?

For more information on MindMaze, to order their album Resolve, or check for tour dates near you, visit their official website.

Special thanks to Emil Westerdahl at Inner Wound Recordings.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: The Fall of Eve “If Even Angels Fall”

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For this week's entry, I am a little excited because my musical travels take me to Ayr, Scotland! I have a particular love and appreciation for Scottish culture, though (to my knowledge) I do not believe I can claim any Scottish heritage. From the music of Fish, to the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon—I have a deep respect for the Scots, and it is one of the many places I would love to visit someday.

The Fall of Eve describes themselves as “alternative rock/metal”, but I would also add symphonic/gothic rock or metal to that definition as well. Not much is written about the band on their Facebook page, but it appears they have made an album or two, and now have a brand-new EP to promote.

They also have several music videos on their YouTube channel, but this one that I am reviewing is their most recent. “If Even Angels Fall” fittingly takes place in a church, where we see a woman in white slowly walking down some steps. The song's intro is soothing, like the chimes of a music box. The church looks old and decayed: a dusty piano with missing keys; dried-up, cracked paint peeling off the walls...you get the idea. As the band starts to play and picks up the tempo, they are seen at the cathedral altar, with lights strung around the amps reminiscent of Christmas lights, and stained-glass windows in the background. The woman in white is shown breaking apart her rosary beads in a symbolic gesture, as she turns away from the altar.

As the video progresses, she shows more signs of breaking her faith, like tossing a white tunic over a balcony. But she appears to regret her decision, returning back to the altar with her white hooded shawl, hands clasped in prayer. The lyrics of the song conveys the sentiment, “if even angels fall, there's no hope for us at all”. We see the woman in white in the darkened church, holding a lantern as she seeks and finds the music box playing the song's opening notes as we are brought back full circle.

For more information on The Fall of Eve, visit their official Facebook page, or subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Special thanks to Terry Thompson.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Osmo's Cosmos “Runnin' Down a Dream”

Photo courtesy of Nestori Lönngrén

This week marks one year since I started this “Hump Day Hot Ticket” segment, and I must say, it has been a lot of fun. It has given me a chance to find new music from all over the world, and to give a platform to bands I have liked for a long time. Yet in all that time, surprisingly, there is one place my musical travels had yet to take me: Finland.

Ah, Finland...the home of more metal bands per capita than any other country on earth. It is said that Finland boasts hundreds of metal bands, and if you have been following metal music at all past the 20th century, chances are you have at least one Finnish band in your music library. (Even if you have not updated your metal record collection since the 1980s, you may still have one Finnish band in your stack of vinyls: Hanoi Rocks.) Stratovarius, Nightwish, HIM, Battlelore, Children of Bodom (to name only a few!)...Finland has become as known for producing top-notch metal music as they are known for saunas, Moomins, and the Nokia phone (in some respects, maybe even more so).

Considering how many Finnish bands I love, it is honestly a mystery to me why I have not featured a band from Finland in this segment already. (Too many bands from Italy?) It has become apparent to me that I need to make this right!

Over the last few weeks, I have come across a Finnish glam band called Osmo's Cosmos, who have been going around Finland since 1996 performing covers of classic rock covers from the ’70s and ’80s. My first introduction to them was the video I am sharing with you now: their cover of  Tom Petty's “Runnin' Down a Dream”.

The band does a pretty faithful rendition of the song; musically, you almost cannot tell the difference, except that this cover has a bit of a heavier punch to it. Vocalist Tipe Johnson has a similar style and tone to Tom Petty as well; but again, his voice is a little more “metal” (because metal is Finland's specialty, after all!).

The video itself consists of the bandmembers rocking out in a warehouse, in front of a stage setup where a couple other bandmembers are seen on a screen behind them, also playing guitar and changing into their rock star attire. For the solo at the end, the entire band completely rocks their asses off, working up a sweat before turning away towards the darkened warehouse.

For more information on Osmo's Cosmos, visit their official website.

Special thanks to Nestori Lönngrén.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Eivør “Into the Mist”

Photo by Sigga Ella

Time for something a little different this week...no, I am not reviewing a band from Italy! All joking aside, that isn't the only thing that's different. Usually I review music that is more rock or metal, but I have been known to delve into other types of music from time to time.

In almost a year since I started this weekly video review thing, I have found music from all over the globe. This week I have found a gem from the Faroe Islands named Eivør, who has apparently been making music since she was 16 and now has 9 albums to her credit, but whom I have only heard about over the past few months. Better late than never, as the saying goes.

That being said, it isn't hard to figure out why I would like Eivør's music: it has that gothic flair to it, that appeals to the musical side of me that loves female-fronted symphonic metal, and the side of me that grew up on poppy yet dark ’80s music like Depeche Mode and Kate Bush. She has a beautiful yet distinct voice, which I like a lot.

This video I am reviewing, “Into the Mist”, is a remake of an older song done in Eivør's native Faroese language, redone in English. Many comments on the video suggest that the original version is better, but I have not heard it yet, because I want to review this video without any bias towards the other version.

The video begins with Eivør standing on a bare, desolate hill, wearing a black dress with a sheer black cape covering her. Reminds me a little of Madonna's “Frozen” video. We see a hillside covered in mist (but of course, “into the mist”), a dark forest, and a rocky landscape. Eivør is seen again, this time wearing a white dress, her face painted in black like a mask. More footage of the scenery, interspersed with shots of Eivør “levitating” in her black dress; or standing by the water's edge in her white dress, the contrast of the black face paint looking very haunting, fitting the eerie vibe of the song.

For more information on Eivør, or to pre-order her upcoming album Siør, visit her official website.

Special thanks to Lou at Partisan PR.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Walk in Darkness “Heavy Wings of Destiny”

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Here's another band I have written about before: Walk in Darkness, and surprise—they are from Italy! (I sure like writing about the Italian bands, don't I?)

If you remember the last time I wrote about this band, then you already know that Walk in Darkness is a band of musicians who opt to keep their identities a secret by wearing long, hooded cloaks in press photos and in videos (hence the band's name). Their main vocalist is Nicoletta Rosellini, frontwoman of symphonic metal band Kalidia, and guest vocalist on many other projects.

The band has a new album and a new video, “Heavy Wings of Destiny”. The video starts off with dark imagery: ominous gray clouds, crows, and skulls. The Walk in Darkness bandmembers are shown in their hoods with cobwebs around the opening so their faces cannot be seen, while Nicoletta leads the way in a black and gray dress, holding a lantern in the fog. She summons another person to join them: guest vocalist Emiliano Pasquinelli, who is providing the harsh male vocals on this track. More dark imagery: swords being drawn, crows flying, dead trees...at one point some lyrics flash on the screen, which is as good an introduction to the band as any: “We walk in dust, but we find music in desolation”. The lyric that follows is a nod to the band’s name: “We walk in darkness, but something shines in our tears”.

For more information on Walk in Darkness, or to purchase their new album, In the Shadows of Things, visit the band's official website.

Special thanks to Nicoletta Rosellini.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: BadAss “Royal Chains”

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What is it about Italy that keeps producing some of the best music on the metal scene these days? Time and time again, my quest for new music always somehow brings me back there, and I am no closer to figuring out why than I was a year ago when I first started writing these weekly entries.

That being said, if you are going to name your band “BadAss”, you'd better have a good reason for it, or plenty of evidence to back your claim. In the case of this Italian heavy metal quartet, their individual résumés read like more like an elite VIP guest list, with all the impressive names these gentlemen have all worked with. From legends like Yngwie Malmsteen, Alan Parsons, and the Purple One himself, the late Prince; to current stars such as Babymetal, the members of BadAss are aptly named just by their musical pedigrees alone. It stands to reason that the collaborative efforts of such seasoned professionals would live up to its potential.

The band's combined talents are apparent in their video for “Royal Chains”. Within the first 30 seconds of the song, you hear a mix of groove metal, progressive rock, melodic metal, and straight-up hard rock. Visually, there is not much to the video besides the band playing in a darkened room with a single spotlight to illuminate them; and occasionally the screen will take on a glitchy look, similar to an old VHS tape that has been played too many times. In all honesty, the music speaks enough for itself to where it needs no elaborate visuals!

For more information on BadAss, or to pre-order their upcoming album More Pain, More Gain, visit the band's official website.

Special thanks to Alberto Rigoni.

Hump Day Hot Ticket: Bendida “Land of Perun”

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As promised, this week I have a new band to introduce (or, at least, new to this page). Hailing from Sofia, Bulgaria; Bendida is a self-described “symphonic-fantasy metal band” who, like many of their contemporaries in the scene, incorporate lyrical themes pertaining to fantasy. However, Bendida appears to infuse fantasy into their entire sound, as opposed to making reference to it.

You can hear this from the moment the opening notes begin on the song “Land of Perun”, their latest video. Violinist Vyara Grancharova sits on a rock, and her melancholic playing immediately hearkens visuals of a time gone by. The camera pans over broken pillars or columns in an empty field, zooming faster until we approach the band, playing in the midst of the stone columns. The music is very reminiscent of something that would feel right at home in a Zelda or Final Fantasy game, or on The Lord of the Rings soundtrack (which is clearly the sound they are going for).

Playing the role of the “Red Pagan Priestess” is Bendida frontwoman Kremena Nikolova, as she and her trusty steed gallop across the land, as mysterious figures in black pursue her on horseback (definitely reminiscent of Lord of the Rings here!). Dismounting her horse and running through the forest, the cloaked villains continue to give chase. Running up some steps, she finds an enigmatic symbol carved on a stone. While the bad guys continue hunting her down (passing by the same stone), the Red Pagan Priestess finds a cave. As she makes her way deeper into the cavern, she finds what appear to be the remains of an ancient warrior. She notices that he is wearing a pendant just like her own, both bearing the symbol carved upon the stone. Placing the two pendants together, the warrior (Perun) comes to life just in time to scare the living hell out of the evildoers.

For more information on Bendida, visit the band's official website.

Special thanks to Jason Drue Keith.