As we count down to this year’s Mile High Power Fest on August 16th at The Oriental Theater in Denver, CO (4335 W 44th Ave), the festival invites you to crank up the volume with a sneak peek of the lineup! Featuring epic acts like Powerglove, Glyph, Owlbear, Empress, Greyhawk, Celestial Wizard, and many more, immerse yourself in the sound of MHPF with their Spotify playlist.
A new gathering in the Pacific Northwestern heavy metal community has been unveiled, as the inaugural edition of Soldiers Of Steel Festival has been confirmed for the first weekend of August in Seattle. Soldiers Of Steel Festival is a showcase of American Pacific Northwest traditional heavy metal and adjacent bands, old and new. Its maiden edition will feature sets from The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Leather Leone (Chastain set), Q5, Twisted Tower Dire, Danava, Greyhawk, Hammer Head (exclusive first reunion show), Coven, Taist Of Iron, and more! The festival is presented by NW MetalFest, NW Metalworx Music, Nameless Grave Records, and BabeFinder General LLC. Continue reading
Mortuary Drape – Wisdom – Vibration – Repent (Peaceville)
When looking at Mortuary Drape’s latest EP, the thing that immediately draws one’s attention is the cover of Mercyful Fate’s ‘Nightmare Be Thy Name.’ In addition to being the only cover to show up on one of Drape’s proper studio releases, it’s a deep cut from one of Fate’s more overlooked efforts. Thankfully it’s ultimately a solid rendition; the obligatory King Diamond falsetto emulations make it an inherent outlier, but the added grit and ominous guitar acrobatics ensure it isn’t out of step with the EP’s original tracks.
Proggy Power Meal artist Jeff Black has released a new single, his sixth in recent times, “Silence!” The track features James Delbridge of Lycanthro on vocals, and is a soaring, inspirational track. All the hallmarks of Jeff’s style can be heard here, as “Silence” continues to build on his previous work. Drawing influences from both Power Metal greats and Heavy Metal legends, Jeff’s recent singles have featured guests ranging from Adamantis, Seven Sisters and Greyhawk. He plans to release a new single monthly in 2021! Check out the track here only at Ghost Cult!
Every decade has its own set of trends that define it. It normally takes hindsight to see what will make a particular decade stand out but 2020 has already made a horrifyingly immediate distinction for itself. A pandemic-induced alteration of the scene itself has resulted in delayed releases, canceled tours, musicians at near equal ratios of inspiration and burnout, Zoom as a primary means of communication, and livestreams taking the place of proper concerts. All things considered, I am glad that a top albums list could still be made with a multitude of strong candidates. It’s been a shitty year with the light at the end of the tunnel still out of sight, but we still got tunes.
The first full-length album from Seattle’s Greyhawk is a particularly interesting iteration of the NWOTHM scene. A focus on hooky songwriting with an epic tone makes for easy comparisons to such contemporaries as Visigoth and Traveler as the production carries a polished sheen similar to the likes of Haunt or Idle Hands. While these factors would initially suggest that the band is just another notch in a long line of derivatives, they find a lot of ways to set themselves apart on Keepers Of The Flame (Fighter Records).
