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CAGE
"The Science
of Annihilation" (DA Records; 2009)
Reviewed by Snidermann
Wow, my heart is racing! I'm sweating and I feel like I need to take a nap. No, I did not just finish some vigorous exercising (heaven forbid!). I just listened to the latest release from our friends in Cage, "The Science of Annihilation."
The music throughout this CD is thunderous and delivers a continuously changing landscape of heavy metal that plays like a well-written movie. The vocals range from spoken word to screaming in your face, sometimes in a matter of seconds, and then it's back again and back again ... (you get it).
The lyrical content is complex and a little bit beyond me right now but, after only two spins, I know I will have a great time trying to figure out just exactly what this release is striving to tell me.
With this CD, Cage prove they have truly mastered the science of annihilation.
For more information, please check out http://www.cageheavymetal.com.
"Hell
Destroyer" (DA Records; 2007)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
With "Hell Destroyer," San Diego's Cage once again bring real metal to the masses and it's a 70-minute journey every fan of classic heavy metal will immediately want to take.
A sweeping concept album about the quest to find the legendary hammer that drove the nails into Jesus Christ's palms (a hammer that is said to be capable of destroying any evil today), "Hell Destroyer" is heavy with fiery riffs, blistering leads and screaming vocals that bring to mind legends like Rob Halford, David Wayne, Ian Gillan and Ronny Munroe. It's a labor of love by a band that worships the classic sound of heavy metal. If I were forced to compare it to another CD, I'd say "Hell Destroyer" comes closest to Judas Priest's "Painkiller" ... and that's no faint praise.
Unabashedly, unapologetically and outrageously over the top, "Hell Destroyer" delivers a machine gun performance that dares you not to pump your fist in the air and to bang your head furiously. It's packed with delicious metal cliches that don't play like cliches but rather sound like they belong there. Sometimes, the CD gets just a little too cheesy for its own good, but listeners will hardly notice. Instead, they'll realize that they're in the clutches of a band that eats, breathes, sleeps and dreams classic heavy metal ... and there's just too damn few of those bands still around today.
Cage: Sean Peck (Vocals); Dave Garcia (Lead Guitars); Anthony Wayne McGinnis (Lead Guitars); Mike Giordano (Bass Guitars); Mike Nielsen (Drums).
For more information, please check out http://www.cageheavymetal.com.
"Darker
Than Black" (Fugitive Records; 2003)
Reviewed by Snidermann
I was unfamiliar with Cage until this CD showed up on my desk. Now, I only have one question: Where the hell has this band been hiding?
Cage's "Darker Than Black" is a brilliant and powerful cross between Iron Maiden and classic Judas Priest. It takes the best of 80's metal and updates it with hints of the best metal of today. The vocals are a stunning blend of the classic men of metal (Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan) with added streaks that sound like they came from the latest Cradle of Filth CD. The guitars could destroy buildings. The songs are epic in the their sound and lyrical scope.
The final combination is a combustible form of heavy metal power the likes of which hasn't been seen in too damn long. Cage literally blew me the fuck away. I can't wait to hear more from this band and I must see them live!
For more information, please check out http://www.cageheavymetal.com.
"Astrology"
(World War III; 2001)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
If you yearn for the days when heavy metal was rightfully king - the days of Iron Maiden, Dio, Judas Priest, Megadeth, Metallica and the like - then you will go head over heels for Cage. I know I did.
I've seen this CD in stores and read about them on the web for months now but it wasn't until recently that I picked up this copy of "Astrology," which is their first major label CD. I didn't really know what to expect but when those first fiery guitar chords struck, when those first powerful drum and bass beats battered my speakers, when those Helloween-ish vocals wailed through the air, I knew that I was going to like what Cage had to offer.
Cage may not be startlingly original but, in this case, that's a positive thing. The band has taken all that you love about the best of 80s metal and brought it into the new millennium with a new energy that gives it that extra punch.
There are 13 tracks and the CD runs at over 70 minutes yet "Astrology" never runs out of steam. It's a powerhouse throughout and, although it's difficult to tell without the lyric sheet in front of me, it sounds like a concept album as well ... something to do with the final battle between good and evil.
Cage is heavy metal in all its pure glory. Once again I find myself discovering a band whose music I'm going to have to search out until I've heard it all.
Cage: Mike Giordano (Bass Guitars) - Dave Garcia (Lead / Rhythm Guitars) - Sean Peck (Lead Vocals) - Anthony Wayne McGuiniss (Lead / Rhythm Guitars) - Mike Nielsen (Drums).
For more information, please check out http://www.cageheavymetal.com.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2009 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
