Kobra And The Lotus - High Priestess

Heavy Metal
Simmons Records
2014










1. Warhorse
2. I Am, I Am
3. Heartbeat
4. Hold On
5. High Priestess
6. Soldier
7. Battle Of Wrath
8. Visionary
9. Willow
10. Lost In The Shadows

A new one from Kobra And The Lotus is definetely an album I was looking forward to. Their last one was my first experience with the band and it really caught me by surprised with it's polished and heavy sound. Just a very intense, attacking sort of metal with a powerful wailer of a female vocalist. Expectations had to be high going into this one as their last album cracked my top 10 of 2012 and I was really hoping for more of that.

After listening to High Priestess I can definitely say this band just has it. Their sound is just attacking and headbangable with a female vocalist who can just wail. This is memorable, headbangable stuff from start to finish and I'm really becoming a major fan of this band. Kobra And The Lotus just isn't your typical female fronted band with their absolutely shredding guitar and wails that have more in common with Bruce Dickinson than your typical atmospheric, gothic, etc type female singer. Their music is just relentless and Kobra Paige has the forceful projection to sell this music to the next level. Kobra And The Lotus just do what they do extremely well and I'm thrilled to hear more of it here. What really sells me here is their ability to be both heavy and extremely catchy and addictive at the same time. Think of a band like Lullacry with their smooth hooks mixed with Iron Maiden's epic qualities and heavy power metal type shredding. I also get more than a few reminders of a modern Warlock as this band just takes a nice direct approach to metal that reminds me of the way Doro showed female vocalist can straight out rock with the best of em.

In conclusion, this is just a monster of an album as it asserts itself with heaviness and dramatic flair. There are some great heavy yet catchy songs to be found here. Addictive stuff that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes a heavy/power type band with a thick sound and wailing vocals.

Highlights: Heartbeat, Battle Of Wrath, Visionary, Willow

Rating - 4.0/5

The Best Metal Albums of 2012

With the cream of the crap out of the way (The Worst of Metal Albums of 2012) it's on to the best of 2012. Pretty self expanatory. These are my top 25 metal albums released in 2012, counting down to number one.

25. Hour of 13 - 333

"Basically, what we have here is classic sounding doom metal drawing on some old school influences while utilizing some nice groove guitar and plenty of dark atmosphere."

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24. Brendon Small - Brendon Small's Galaktikon

"There's an almost stoner vibe to this at times fueled by his vocal style and some groovier moments, but the music is also unmistakably progressive. I dig the mix and I can't say I've ever really heard a soundalike for what he's doing here."

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23. Hideweaver - Silver Bullet
"Hideweaver are an up and comer that I would say is worth keeping an eye on. Always nice to hear some new blood doing power metal well."

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22. Castle - Blacklands

"Listening to Blacklands I can't help but think this sounds kind of like the soundtrack to some 70s/80s occult/satanist themed horror movie."

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21. Orange Goblin - A Eulogy For The Damned

"I find myself enjoying this album more than anything they've done since Coup De Grace, the album that got me into the band back in my college radio days. The grooves here are just massive and make my head want to move. Kind of the epitome of just doing your sound well."

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20. Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline

"It's not a perfect album and I'd love them to have more of their old sound, but I've also kind of accepted the newer version. Metal? That's debatable. Good? I have no real debate with that. I'd say Dark Adrenaline is their best release since they did go more mainstream."

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19. Doro - Raise Your Fist

"Raise Your Fist is pretty well represented by it's title as this album is all about straight up fist pumping anthems. Short and sweet tracks that are really about rocking out and have a somewhat retro feel to them."

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18. Running Wild - Shadowmaker

"I can't say that Shadowmaker is Everything I wanted, but it is more than I expected and a good album. It is also probably the best of their more mid-paced albums. Expect more Victory/The Brotherhood than Black Hand Inn/Pile Of Skulls and this is an enjoyable listen."

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17. Threshold - March Of Progress

"In terms of frontman changes this one seems pretty seamless and comes off without a real hitch. If you like Threshold's brand of progressive with a strong focus on melody and memorable songs then there's just no reason not to like this in my book."

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16. Liv Moon - Symphonic Moon

"If you like Symphonic metal with operatic touches to the vocals and aren't opposed to something just a little quirky with Japanese lyrics than check it out. I personally enjoy an album like this when I'm feeling like something a little outside the norm."

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15. Crimson Cult - Tales Of Doom

"What this band brings to the table is a great no frills power sound grounded in traditional, while also sounding unique, and even haunting at times. Tales Of Doom just has a nice edge to it without the more melodic power metal sound that seems to be more in style at the moment."

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14. Oddland - The Treachery Of Senses

"Basically, what we have here is a band doing a heavy slant on progressive metal with halting riffs, melodic moments, and some dark/goth flavor that you might expect from a Finnish band. The sound of Oddland comes together pretty well into a dark and interesting soundscape with a lot of changes/variation in the music."

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13. Orden Ogan - To The End

"To me this is just a band taking a variety of influences, crafting their own sound out of it, and making for good straight up power metal. Sometimes I just want epic, classic, speedy power metal and this is highly satisfying to that end."

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12. Lullacry - Where Angels Fear

"Everything sounds like it should without sounding rehashed and that is just fine by me. All the songs have great energy, an almost pop-punk catchiness that totally works, and a sort of gothic atmosphere that adds a bit of substance and feeling along the way."

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11. Tiamat - The Scarred People

"This is exactly the sort of Tiamat album I want. From start to finish this is dreary and just loaded with atmosphere. Basically, it's the sort of music I think this band excels at and it's nice to hear them doing what they do best."

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Top 10 Metal Albums of 2012

10. Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65

"It seems like in all this down time Saint Vitus has neither changed nor missed a step. This is just such a strong collection of groove and atmosphere that you've gotta love it. Absolutely classic Saint Vitus from start to finish."

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9. Kobra And The Lotus - Kobra And The Lotus

"Kobra And The Lotus seem to have their act well together on this one and there is little to not like here. Their self titled release just has a lot of energy, a powerful sound aided by forceful wails, and rarely relents in it's headbanging pace."

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8. Tankard -  A Girl Called Cerveza

"Everything on here just screams to me Thrash and I enjoyed the album thoroughly from start to finish. While I've liked the past couple of Tankard releases this one just hit me harder and stayed with me better. The songwriting on this one is top notch for the style they aim for."

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7. Accept - Stalingrad

"No huge changes are found on Stalingrad, but none were really necessary either. This is a suiting follow up for a band who just came back to life in the scene. Just some strong traditional metal with good riffs and gravelly vocals."

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6. In The Silence - A Fair Dream Gone Mad

"Listening to A Fair Dream Gone Mad I just love the smooth atmospheres of this and how the songs incorporate metal/heavy guitar into their sound. It's quite a nice blend and they manage it well, neither getting too soft or too heavy, but rather using the heavy guitar to enhance the atmosphere."

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5. Luca Turilli's Rhapsody - Ascending To Infinity
"In the end, this is a pretty damn good Rhapsody album with strong lead guitar that sets it up for success. Luca Turilli shows here that he's still got it and that he can do it without the other guys in the Rhapsody Of Fire camp."

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4. Paradise Lost - Tragic Idol
"As much as I've always like Paradise Losts's releases, this is exactly the sound I want this band doing. The gothic vibe is still there and takes the frontseat every once in awhile, but make no mistake... Paradise Lost are doom metal again and it is good."

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3. OverKill - The Electric Age
"I have not a doubt in my mind that all but the most jaded old school thrash fans will enjoy this and it might even grab a few of the more cynical. Certainly, OverKill is sounding a lot more like their 80s/early 90s incarnation than the Mid 90s/2000s version."

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2. White Skull - Under This Flag
"Overall, Under This Flag comes pretty close to everything I want from a straight up power metal album. This is one of those reviews where choosing highlights is like picking between children. The material here just seems to ride that perfect line where the songs sound epic and powerful while remaining heavy and never getting Too overblown or happy."

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1. Candlemass - Psalms For The Dead
"There is nothing non-badass about Psalms For The Dead. From the fantastic doomy titles/lyrics to the punishing riffs, gloomy atmosphere, great variation within the songs, and killer solos... there's absolutely nothing to not like. Not to mention the rather awesome melodramatic wailing of Lowe."

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That wraps up the top metal albums of 2012 for me. Thanks for reading. Everyone's list is bound to be a bit different, but I thought these albums all worthy of mention. Candlemass in particular created one fine piece of metal and it's a fine closing chapter to the band. Feel free to comment with your own top album picks. Happy holidays.

Kobra And The Lotus - Kobra And The Lotus

Simmons Records
Heavy Metal
2012

1. 50 Shades Of Evil
2. Welcome To My Funeral
3. Forever One
4. Heaven's Veins
5. My Life
6. Nayana (My Eyes)
7. Sanctuary
8. Lover Of The Beloved
9. No Rest For The Wicked
10. Aria Of Karmika

Kobra And The Lotus' self titled sophomore release marks my first experience with the band. A friend recommended this one and I figured I'd give em a shot. Took me a bit to get around to this release, but I am just one guy versus a lot of metal out there. A new band is always an intriguing possibility though and I do tend to dig female fronted metal.

Well, listening to this one, the band did not disappoint. I went in with little in terms of expectations and came out with a very polised, heavy and up tempo piece of metal. This is some pretty attacking stuff as it blends traditional and heavy power metal nicely. Vocalist Kobra Paige has a deep, melodic note to her voice and wails with a great deal of conviction. Her voice reminds me a bit of a more flamboyant Veronica Freeman (Benedictum) mixed with Michael Grant's (Onward/Crescent Shield) deep melodic sense. It's a good blend and she lends a fair amount of power to the music. The most obvious influence to this band for me is Iron Maiden and they really do remind me of a modern, heavier version with a female singer. Not comparing quality as that would be a disservice to almost any metal band, but the sound is obviously grounded in a love of Maiden. Think of Kobra And The Lotus as a mix of love for old school Maiden and a grounding in a more modern, heavy power metal sound.

Kobra And The Lotus seem to have their act well together on this one and there is little to not like here. Their self titled release just has a lot of energy, a powerful sound aided by forceful wails, and rarely relents in it's headbanging pace. I have nothing but good to say about this band and I think any fan of traditional/power metal would be well advised to check them out. As I'm getting ready to close out the year in reviews, I can safely say that this one is towards the top of the heap.

Highlights: Forever One, Nayana, Sanctuary, 50 Shades Of Evil

Rating - 4.0/5