RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR - "THE LEGACY OF SHI" (2018)

RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR - "THE LEGACY OF SHI"
(Running time: 43:31 minutes; 11 songs)
("Nuclear Blast Records"; 2018; CD):

And here's now already the next load incoming for you, or so to say, trust your eyes, and here and now you get my record review on the new RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR album "THE LEGACY OF SHI" released for all what I would call still pretty recently via the omnipresent "NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS" in this days and age of 2018. So, yes, the french Crossover Hardcore/Metal roughnecks are damn fucking back four years after their outstanding precursor album "WELCAME" (my review on it you do also find up here) and I can only say that it was really by far about time that the RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR finally again lightened up the sky and this time even brighter than four years ago and also already back then the sky was set on fire, yes, but this time today in 2018 the whole sky is burning completly and totally and "THE LEGACY OF SHI" is written in bright and fiery burning letters across the whole horizon and beyond from the far east to the far west and back again. This is a hard crushing, a harsh ripping, and a sharp slaying, furiously grinning Crossover bastard out of massive and groove orientated Hardcore and everything down hammering Thrash Metal cultivated with huge doses of high skilled and damn 'uniquely' done Rap (Metal) influences and huge amounts of fantastic done very strong and amazing tight/dense and very fresh atmospheric markings in it and all done on the highest levels of skills and quality and with a very huge and massively conquering very own, characteristic, and unique identity to it all and carrying an overwhelming and nearly insane dose of intensity in it all the time, oh hell yeahr, being born and bred on a grooving, ripping, and shredding valuable diet consisting especially out of RHYTHM TRIP, MADBALL, SUB ZERO, BIOHAZARD, ALL OUT WAR, SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, and ANTHRAX and melting this all together with stand-alone and very fresh and totally up-to-date ideas and some damn phenomenal and creative and above all unbelievable intense and damn diverse and multi-layered songwriting full of exciting arrangements, brilliant done silence-loudness-playings, huge dynamics, rousing energy, some of the most crushing and also most fresh groove and rhythm work I've heard in and probably also for years, yes, and the crown is given to it all by some damn unique, creative, intense, and simply grapping and exciting, goosepimples-for-free-giving atmospheric and very, very melodic and catchy playings and parts that mark, enrich, and cultivate RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR's "THE LEGACY OF SHI" incredible strong and turning it into an amazing and awesome full charge everything with supreme might and force conquering masterpiece of the most supreme kind. Fantastic, highly rich and diverse guitar work, forceful hammering and beating bass playing, thundering and massively charging drumming, brilliant multi-facetted stunning hard and very charismatic lead vokillz, and incredible broad and fat loud'n'proud gang backings, this are the ingredients of RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR's "THE LEGACY OF SHI" and all is delivered highly unique and damn fresh and alive/lively and this all by high skilled and also damn creative musicians, yes, and to/for me that's sort of a perfect combination. Any listening tipps I will here and now in this very case spare me, definitely, because the whole damn album is nothing but all killers and hell no fillers, again: definitely. A drop-dead-gorgeous artwork, very strong and thoughtful as well as thought-provoking and also nicely (self-)ironic lyrics, and a demolishing production sound then finally round this all in a damn fucking perfect way up. This is one of the very best albums of 2018 and I definitely would say also for the next years to come and so by any means you should definitely get your hands on it, yes, and this definitely best instantly right now. Hardcore!!! Fist!!!

(10 of 10 points)

http://www.riseofthenorthstar.com/ (-the link to the homepage of the band)

RISE OF THE NORTHSTAR - "HERE COMES THE BOOM" (2018, "THE LEGACY OF SHI")

BODY COUNT - "BLOODLUST" (2017)

BODY COUNT - "BLOODLUST"
(Running time: 41:04 minutes; 11 songs)
("Century Media Records"; 2017; CD):

Hey folks, back on track again. A little bit 'exhausted' after today again new ink was 'integrated' into my body, yes, but all is (more than) fine. And look, we are also finally back in 2017, review-wise, like promised/announced. So, okay, here we now have the current 2017 release of/by the legendary BODY COUNT titled "BLOODLUST" and released via (the german based) "CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS". My last encounter with them... whoooaaa... it's decades ago and was and still is named "BORN DEAD", a true classick. The first two BODY COUNT albums were and are absolutely killer records in my book and of pretty huge importance for/to me and my personal 'development'. Don't ask me why I lost them then out of sight, and even the precursor album, hm, I think titled "MANSLAUGHTER" or so and released one or two or so years ago, sort of, totally flew under my radar. And then 2017 hit the scene and I listened to almighty "THIS IS WHY WE RIDE" and "NO LIVES MATTER" via YouTube for the first time and then... fuck it... then it was damn fucking clear that I definitely would need to call this Album finally my own again. And so I did. And fuck this damn bloody world but how great BODY COUNT's "BLOODLUST" is, what a monster of an album, yes, absolutely a masterpiece, and this lyric- and musicwise. This is one hell of a great and fantastic Crossover fusion out of Hardcore, (Thrash) Metal, Hardcore Punk, and Rap, melted together in a total devastating and in every sense and way more than "just" relevant Crossover Metal cocktail that takes no prisoners and knows no regrets. ICE-T and 'his crew' are back, and perhaps sort of better than ever. Crushing and smashing and yet still very diverse and soul- and playful guitars really shine on the whole album, no matter if in (pretty organic) grooving and catchy anthems like the larger-than-life "THIS IS WHY WE RIDE" or in incredible shredding and sawing purest through and through SLAYER-esque sledgehammer Thrash Metal slashers like the breathtaking "RAINING IN BLOOD/POSTMORTEM 2017" or in fantastic harsh yet hymnal as fuck and often Beatdown fueled beasts of songs like "THE SKI MASK WAY", "NO LIVES MATTER", "BLOODLUST", or "BLACK HOODIE" or in an sort of epic killer song like the mighty opener "CIVIL WAR" featuring MEGADETH mastermind Dave Mustaine, all is done high skilled, incredible intense, very diverse and multi-layered as hell, soul- and playful, yes, and still it's all the time beefy and bulky, bonesmashing and headcracking on one hell of a demolishing level.  Beside the totally blasting guitars the fantastic and so incredible unique and charismatic lead (Rap) vocals delivered by ICE-T and nicely backed up by very strong co-vocal(ist)s and broad and fat widescreen gang back up chants are the next biggest marking trademark of BODY COUNT's "BLOODLUST", and for all the right reasons. The totally precise, versatile, and massive to the point played and delivering rhythm section then is the final puzzle-piece rounding "BLOODLUST" in an impressive way up. The songwriting is not only incredible intense and done in a high skilled way, but also very fresh and just damn strong, and that this fine gentlemen know how to play should be clear anyway anyhow. The lyrics are very strong and outspoken, political, critical, and socially aware, yes, and all on a very high level of quality, I love it. ICE-T and BODY COUNT in best form, in absolute best form, and this lyricwise and musicwise, point and fact. A very sinister artwork, that's a perfect match to/for/with the very tight dark, angry, pissed off, militant, gladiatorial, and intense atmosphere of "BLOODLUST", and a full and heavy first class production sound then round the complete package finally up. My personal favorites are "THIS IS WHY WE RIDE" (my absolute favorite), "NO LIVES MATTER", "BLOODLUST", "BLACK HOODIE", "CIVIL WAR" (featuring MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine), "THE SKI MASK WAY", "ALL LOVE IS LOST" (featuring SOULFLY's & the CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's very own Max Cavalera himself), and "RAINING IN BLOOD/POSTMORTEM 2017", so maybe check out this songs first - but in all honesty, nearly every song is a total killer, and only "GOD. PLEASE BELIEVE ME" isn't really kicking me, hm, but maybe that's just me. So, yes, any fan of Hardcore (Punk), (Thrash) Metal, Rap (Metal), and Crossover (Hardcore/Metal) should get his/her/their hands on BODYCOUNT's "BLOODLUST" because this is for sure one of this year's highlights for all of you, and with saying this I mean for all of us. And so, yes, enough words had been spent, for sure, so go out and (finally) get it as soon as possible. Damn fucking great!!!

(9,5 of 10 points)

http://www.bodycountband.com/ (-the link to the homepage of the band, do and check it out)

BODY COUNT - "THIS IS WHY WE RIDE" (2017, "BLOODLUST")

BODY COUNT - "BLACK HOODIE" (2017, "BLOODLUST")