Doro, Black Tusk, Parasite Inc. + More
Here are some stand out new releases that come out today:
Doro – Forever Warriors, Forever United
A few weeks ago the band Bad Wolves (congrats to them for the first platinum-selling hard rock track of the year) caught some flack for among other things, poking fun at Doro. And I get it, they were trying to be funny, and prove their metal cred or whatnot, but seemed to be going off of some misguided information about whether Doro was metal or not.
You tell me, someone, that’s previously recorded with Lemmy, Peter Steele, and on this release, you have appearances from Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth, Mille Petrozza of Kreator, Chuck Billy of Testament, the late Warrel Dane of Nevermore/Sanctuary, Jeff Waters of Annihilator, etc. Not metal enough for you?
This is Doro’s 20th release, and her first double album, marking 35 years in the game. She’s actually weaved in and out of different styles of metal over the years.
Sure a lot of people remember her beginnings in Warlock, but she’s done a lot more than that over the years, it would be like saying Judas Priest is only “Breaking The Law” because all of their albums sound like British Steel right? The metal queen presents 25 new tracks to prove that she is more than a one-trick pony.
The queen of metal is back with not one but two albums.
Black Tusk – T.C.B.T.
This is the Savannah, Georgia band’s 5th album and their first since the 2016 death of Jonathan Athon. They have since decided to move forward with the band, and have since recruited Corey Barhorst of Kylesa to take over bass duties. The title of the album actually translates into Taking Care Of Black Tusk, and they take care of the band and the listeners by going for broke on T.C.B.T.
The album is full of raw energy that meanders in and out of various types of metal, proving they can play it meaty and full of sludge, or go full bore, and deliver something more along the spectrum of punk. This album makes a statement to prove that although they’ve had to traverse through a very difficult time, that they’re alive and going to take Black Tusk forward as long as they possibly can while burning down everything in their way in the process.
Parasite Inc. – Dead And Alive
The band hails from Germany and is classified as a melodic death metal band, but it seems as if they aren’t just content with being just your run-of-the-mill band. They have decided to push their limits on Dead And Alive, showing they can continue to do what they do best, while injecting other elements into their music, like 80s synth-pop, punk, and essentially anything they feel that can help take their music to another level.
The final mix of the album sounds great also, where others would look for the raw, underground (I recorded this in my bedroom) sound, the production sounds huge, like a big-budget album. It is punishing, while still being able to hear everything crystal clear, something atypical to this sub-genre of metal.
Other releases that may be of interest:
Moonspell – Lisboa Under The Spell DVD/CD
Mushroomhead – Volume III DVD
Article by Victor M. Ruiz of Mars Attacks Radio & Podcast, and Galaxy Of Geeks Podcast. Connect with him on Twitter: @vmr907