Evil Madness - Maze of Souls

From the metal underground of Chile comes one of the more brutal bands in a long line of young thrashers. Though they’ve been around since 2003, Evil Madness released their first album, “Maze of Souls”, in 2010 and they use it as an opportunity to deliver some very primitive raw thrash. These guys are undoubtedly fans of early Sodom, Destruction, and Celtic Frost, where razor-sharp guitars, simplistic riffs, and putrid vocals reigned. The only fair semi-modern comparison would be to Colombia’s Witchtrap, but Evil Madness definitely has their own flair to things. 

The best place to start is the vocals. As you might imagine, they’re hard to decipher and very rough sounding. In fact, it’s almost as if the singer was singing too loudly for his microphone, or he was singing too close into the mic. This is apparent because the vocals often sound unclear and somewhat crackly. This technique was obviously done on purpose to achieve a certain effect, and it works within the context of the album. Behind these shouting vocals are riffs that won’t amaze, but certainly are appropriate. Many of them take influence from the NWOBHM, but are played faster and with more aggression. There isn’t a lot of stereotypical downpicking or chugging on this album; instead, the band uses a lot of those early death metal riffs where there is tremolo picking on one note that is accented by a power chord at the beginning and ending of each new note. This is where the Witchtrap comparison comes in, because both bands use a lot of the same style of riffing. There isn’t a lot of melody on the album, though there are guitar solos and a few flares of lead guitar. In general, however, “Maze of Souls” is meant to be a punishing affair from start to finish. As you might expect, this means the songwriting leaves much to be desired. There are some cool riffs (such as the mid-paced ones found in the middle of “Poison”), as well as the odd catchy chorus (“Mad Attack”), but you won’t find yourself with much recollection of the past 40 minutes when this album is over. The drums are relatively solid (though a bit predictable), and the bass pops out at times, but ultimately, it is the energy and passion of the band that make this album worth hearing. If you crave raw black/thrash, “Maze of Souls” is essential listening.

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Highlights

"Mad Attack"

"Poison"

Final Rating

3.75/5 or 75%. 

Written by Scott 

Instanzia - Ghosts

A couple of years ago I came across two bands from Quebec that both played some wicked power metal: Icewind and Instanzia. The former was a bit more accessible for me in terms of finding their records, but I was recently able to acquire the debut record by Instanzia, and it was more than worth the wait! Over the course of 7 songs (along with an intro), this band delivers one of the most undeniably catchy records in recent history. “Ghosts” is a record that is so memorable that you can seriously sing nearly every chorus on the album by the second time you hear it. To say a lot of effort went into this album is an understatement.

Things kick off with my favourite song, “Ghosts of the Past”. This song has a great lead melody before getting into a high-speed verse. The track reveals Instanzia’s excellent ability to mix keyboards and piano. The verse features a piano melody underneath the rest of the music, while other parts of the song, such as the intro, let keyboards take prominence. Don’t be confused though, this is guitar and vocal-driven record. In fact, the vocal lines are so brilliant that it isn’t just the choruses you will be remembering. Many of the verses are very easy to sing along to. Ironically, I actually feel as though vocalist/guitarist Alexis Woodbury is not the most impressive singer. His tone feels slightly emotionless and disconnected. Nevertheless, this doesn’t really detract from the music; it just gives the band a bit of a different sound. His voice gives hints of more character (see the word “strongest” in “Power of the Mind”), but he ultimately tends to stay in the same voice otherwise.

For the most part, this is an up-tempo and uplifting record. The songs all have quite a bit of speed, which is often displayed by the great double bass work in the drums. “Charming Deceiver” shows a thrashy, pounding moment that evolves into a speedy assault from the drums before heading into the chorus. It is a relatively brief section, but shows how quickly this band can change the feel of a song. In many respects, the songwriting is quite standard power metal, but the hooks are brilliant. I could go through each song to keep telling you the merits of this record, but it truly is something you need to hear to get a proper sense for. All power metal fans need listen to Instanzia or else you’ll run the risk of missing one of the best power metal records of the last few years!

Be sure to check out and like Instanzia on Facebook!

Highlights

"Ghosts of the Past"

"Power of the Mind"

"A Genius Who Believes"

Final Rating

4.6/5 or 92%. 

Written by Scott