Heavy Metal Resource Reviews-Dynazty, Dare, Santa Cruz, Edenbridge, and Toxik

Index

Coming this August is the new Dynazty album. The lead off single 'Yours' was really good in my opinion. It's fairly melodic and has some good depth to it. Most of the music on the album is typical of what Dynazty normally releases. Flashy at times and always upbeat in tempo. This is one of those bands that has a formula in the way that they craft their songs and the listener has a general idea of what to expect each time. The work on this album was done during the pandemic and allowed the band to really focus on everything. They have a definite standard and I do believe pandemic or not, they would have been able to achieve what they have either way. The band is one of the brighter spots in todays music world and I personally look forward to each album. 'Final Advent' is another great addition to the band's catalog and should be to yours as well!

Release Date: August 26, 2022

The last time I checked in with Dare was their 2016 album 'Sacred Ground'. It has been some time, but the wait is always worth it with this band. The band always releases very worthy material full of atmosphere and depth. 'Road To Eden' is no exception. The songs have that Dare flare to them. If you are familiar with the band, you'll know that the music is never really heavy. It does have an edge to it in places, but it really does have a fair amount of melody in each song. I had actually missed this release as it came out back in April. I grabbed a copy knowing full well that there was no risk in whether it would be top notch or not. I have always felt that this band is pretty unique. Sure, they are rock based, but they are more than just that. They offer up a batch of songs each time that people can relate to. Another easy recommend!

Release Date: April 1, 2022

It's nice to see a new album on the horizon from Finnish rockers Santa Cruz. There have been some recent lineup changes within the band and maybe this is a new beginning in a way. This new album sounds great. Good hard rocking tunes that at times have a bit of a modern flair to them. The album starts out in rocking fashion and moves through 11 tracks. As it winds down, the musical style kind of winds down with it with the final album tracks being a bit more melodic and less raw and gritty. It's a good balance in my opinion and overall the album sounds really good and memorable right away. The Finnish scene offers up many different bands with different styles. I really dig Santa Cruz and tend to jump on their new music as quickly as possible. Even with all of the changes recently, this album is up to the band's normal standard. Great album!

Release Date: August 26, 2022

It has been quite some time since I had checked out new Edenbridge music. With so many albums by so many bands, it's inevitable that you miss some. It was fun reacquainting myself with their music. I feel that this band has really evolved into something very good. Their music has symphonic elements to it throughout, but also has some good heavy sounding elements as well. Good driving guitar helps carry it as well. Some of the music has an even more basic appeal. Tracks like 'The Call Of Eden' are very melodic. Most of the music here has a decent deal of depth. This female fronted metal band has always been like that and continues to impress. As a special surprise, the album closes with an epic five part song titled 'The Bonding Pt. 2' which is around 16 minutes long and features Eclipse's Erik Martensson. This could bee some of the band's best work!

Release Date: August 26, 2022

So, I was looking for something really heavy. I was a big fan of the 80's thrash scene and was wanting something in that vein. I'm a bit old school and there are some elements in today's heavier music I don't dig. I stumbled upon this new Toxik album, and this fit the bill perfectly. The thrash the band play has a technical side to it. Beyond that there are some cool transitions in these songs that make this a very fun musical experience if you like it fairly heavy and fast. The band has always had cool intros and they are evident here as well. Also, vocalist Ron Iglesias has superb range. That's where Toxik currently separates from a lot of other bands. This guy really sings his ass off on this record. This is a great batch of thrash songs to fit today's metal scene. If you like a more traditional thrash sound, you really need to check this one out!

Release Date: August 5, 2022