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289: KNIGHTFALL, KILL CITY, BAD MARILYN | Metal Promo Review
10 Plays7 months ago
KNIGHTFALL [Power Metal; Kentucky, USA] - https://knightfall.bandcamp.com/ KILL CITY [Heavy Metal; Guayaquil, Ecuador] - https://open.spotify.com/artist/7giFE8p1MDs3ESgOwfT69r BAD MARILYN [Power Metal; Wangen An Der Aare, Switzerland] - https://badmarilyn.bandcamp.com/ @knightfallband #knightfall #powermetal #kentuckymetal #usmetal @killcityecuador #killcity #heavymetal #ecuadormetal @bad_marilyn #badmarilyn #swissmetal #metalpodcast #metal #heavymetal #podcast PODCAST THEM DOWN - https://linktr.ee/pctd https://patreon.com/podcastthemdown
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Transcript
Introduction & Metal Promos Segment
00:00:00
Speaker
I. Cast. Them. Down! Hail Metal Nation! It is time, once again, for Metal Promos, where we, uh, read Metal Promos has been sent to us. We will be deciding how many years to give said item being Promoed, and the prize is to be played at the intro of the next Promos.
00:00:26
Speaker
So what you are listening to now is Angels of Babylon. From the last promo. Alright, that's enough. It'll fade out after a minute.
Spotlight on Drummer Kenny 'Rhino'
00:00:41
Speaker
Anyway, this is the drummer from Manowar. I'm a dead guy. And not the guy who looks like an art teacher. And not that other guy.
00:00:55
Speaker
But the guy was on one album early in the 90s. His name is Kenny, or you may know him as Rhino. Something I discovered when I was getting this together for the intro here was he has two lineups for his band. He has a US lineup and a European lineup. Oh, that's bizarre. He's the only one in both. All right.
Review of Nightfall's 'Destiny Calling'
00:01:20
Speaker
Okay. Let us
00:01:24
Speaker
Begin! Oh my god. Oh, god. No, no, no, this is great. Nightfall, USA, symphonic, fantasy, power metal, debut album, destiny calling. I'm in a shit mood, so this better cheer me up. Here we go. Bullet points, highly ambitious debut album by a true visionary.
00:01:48
Speaker
highly ambitious, epicly sublime and detailed power metal symphonies with exquisite musical guests who provide plenty of variety.
00:01:59
Speaker
artwork. This artwork here, it's a ghost skeleton horse, half skeleton horse, fighting a mage who looks kind of bored in front of a early 2000s digital artwork castle with green lightning. It looks like the cover of Kingsfield, but in grayscale with green spells.
00:02:31
Speaker
And when he is holding a sword that has been charged with red, orange, mana. I would say he kind of looks like an armored Severus Snape. Yeah, he does. Yeah. I would say he is. He's clearly supposed to be the knight, but he is not falling. The band is called Nightfall.
00:03:00
Speaker
So already things aren't together the way they should be. All right. Yeah, that artwork is by Thomas. Take the word ever hard and replace the V with the W. That's the guy. You were hard? Sure. Children of time, war cries. Remember my name. The hero walks alone, waiting.
00:03:29
Speaker
for you. Destiny calling the musketeer. I guess, fuck the other two guys. Raise your fist. Starfall. Is Starfall have to do with Nightfall? Farewell and invincible.
Exploring 'The Hero Walks Alone'
00:03:46
Speaker
Total running time. 54 minutes, 47 seconds.
00:03:51
Speaker
Let's see, single and music video out from the debut album, multifaceted, symphonic, fantasy, power, metal, lovingly arranged. The latest single, The Hero Walks Alone, was released on March 22nd, 2024 on YouTube and other popular and on all popular music streaming services. We can watch that video some other time.
00:04:18
Speaker
Keith, this is about the song. Keith crafted this song. Who's Keith? Wait, what? Okay. The only member, the only member listed on Metal Archives is Keith. Oh, okay. Well, someone named Keith crafted this song as a poignant metaphor for the boundless love a parent holds for their child. It underscores the unyielding resolve of parents to shield their offspring from harm, even at the cost of their own lives. Is that every parent though?
00:04:47
Speaker
Just as the knight in the narrative bravely defended his people in Kingdom, parents stand ready to make any sacrifice to ensure the safety and well-being of their children, he adds, the hero walks alone, to wait, if the hero's walking alone...
00:05:04
Speaker
He's not near the children he's protecting. Anyway. Left him, left him back? The hero walks along and tells the tale of a valiant knight embarking on his final battle, driven by an unwavering commitment to safeguard his people and his realm. True heroism it suggests.
00:05:22
Speaker
lies in the ability to set aside personal desires and relentlessly pursue what is just regardless of the sacrifices involved at its core, the essence of true heroism is selflessness, being willing to go to any lengths to shield loved ones and extend aid to the less fortunate. This principle echoes the noble code of chivalry that a genuine knight embodies.
Nightfall's Musical Style and Collaboration
00:05:48
Speaker
All right.
00:05:48
Speaker
Nightfall established 2021 style symphonic fantasy power metal for fans of. All right, this he's narrow casting our good buddy Keith here. What's what's narrow casting? Like I want to get the most specific, extremely small sliver of the audience. Within temptation stream of passion and ancient bards.
00:06:15
Speaker
Jesus. Yes. And of those three bands, I only have ancient bards in my CD collection. I have within temptation and stream of passion. There we go. We have, we have completed the trifecta, the, the, the triangle. All right. Symphonic metal, power metal, fantasy metal. This is the service that gives you tags, hashtags, nightfall hashtag USA. That's it.
00:06:43
Speaker
Uh, no, there's more. It's just like, that's useless. Uh, symphonic metal, power metal, fantasy metal, epic metal, metal, single. You're, single's not going to help you. I know it's a musical single, but now you're going to get like lonely signals in your area. You know, video, new release, the hero walks alone debut album, destiny, destiny calling. All right. Ready? Now there's like another.
00:07:13
Speaker
unrelated section of this promo. Noble verses of chivalry. Knights heed the call, combining symphonic power metal with sounds from the 80s. Why is this not at the beginning?
00:07:25
Speaker
Nightfall is breathing new life into the genre. The project is the brainchild of composer slash songwriter Keith Dombrowski, X, and Naria. Keith had a vision to collaborate with musicians from around the world and create songs that evoke a myriad of emotions from its listeners. Keith has put together an eclectic group of songs to create Nightfall's debut album, Destiny Calling. All right, ready for all the guest musicians.
00:07:57
Speaker
I'm ready. Keith Dombrowski is on keyboards. So, guests, Stefani Kiyo. That's a lot of vowels, letters I don't see together often. Anyway, vocals, lyrics, Marcos Penate, Growl vocals, Susie Escarlot vocals, Adrian
00:08:22
Speaker
Jowadoo vocals, Pete Rockcliff vocals narration, Jessica Mercy vocals, Dee Wolf vocals, Patrick Goble guitars, Sergio Salvucci's a good boy on guitars, and George Acker on guitars. No bass. There are no basses on here apparently, or drums for that matter. All right.
00:08:46
Speaker
Drums are covered by Keith according to metal archives. Oh, I really do you remember that like that It was like a Casio keyboard demo With the guy playing the drums we have Tom Tom's
00:09:03
Speaker
And they have like the two camera angles and he's like, he goes, this is rock and roll. And he's playing on this, on this Casio piano and there's two camera angles and they're trying to make it exciting. That's, I really hope that's how he did the drums for this. He's like on the piano. Yeah. So.
00:09:25
Speaker
OK, I I randomly clicked on one of the guest musicians, Stefani Kyo Kyo. Yeah, see, see, it's spelled K-E-O-G-H. Write in and tell us how the hell you're supposed to pronounce that. All right. The biography, just the first line.
00:09:45
Speaker
Stefani Keogh is a quarter Irish swamp witch born, raised, and currently living in a Skyrim-esque cottage in the far east of England. All that was pretty metal. True.
Nightfall Album Review & Rating
00:10:00
Speaker
All right. Well, what do you, uh, I mean, this guy's basically Arianne, so I assume you're going to give it high marks. There's something like,
00:10:11
Speaker
It's like simultaneously. It looks like it straddles the line between well done. And not. But I don't know how to reconcile like and I'm looking at the cover art. The background looks goofy. You've got kind of like it's all grayscale except for green and a little bit of red. There's a very I would say a cheesy looking skyline.
00:10:41
Speaker
with a very stock photo esque castle and some stock photo esque crags, but it, it doesn't look terrible at the same time. Do you know what I'm saying? Like it's not awfully executed for a bad concept. Now, now.
00:11:08
Speaker
So I don't know what to give this. I guess I'll say an ear because I'm curious. Because there's clearly some effort being put in here, I think. But I'm not confident in any of it. All right. I think I know what he's going for. Our buddy Keith. Hey, nice way to see you don't even have the cough button. Yeah, very impressive. Thank you.
00:11:34
Speaker
Yeah, I think, like I said, I know what he's going for. I wonder if there was like budgetary concerns. So that being said, I'm willing to give this more than a fair shot, 1.5 years. And already we're below the average of the previous one.
Introduction to Stream of Passion & Kill City
00:11:53
Speaker
So let's, let's see if the new ever. What I'm going to let you know that stream of passion is an Ariane related project. I am not at all surprised.
00:12:06
Speaker
Not at all. All right. Let's see if this band will fix it. Oh, well, I'm doing them out of order. So what will do it? What? What? What don't you understand about this? All right, here we go. Kill City. Melodic heavy metal from Ecuador. Single and video. Bitter smile. It is forbidden to play unreleased material. Blah, blah, blah. Artwork. Darker Days by Luigi.
00:12:35
Speaker
Dorniola, the CD and digital release, April 29th, 2024. Tracks.
00:12:44
Speaker
This is confusing. This is a press release for the single, and they start talking about the album. So the album apparently is called Darker Days. Coming out April 29th, the tracks are Fear No One, Scream in Silence, Days of Our Lives, Dr. Keheel, Lords of Demise, Speak of the Devil, See Them Burn, Under Attack, Bitter Smile, House in the Sky, and Apastando Peridor.
00:13:14
Speaker
Total running time, 38 minutes, 37 seconds, and I'm counting one, two, three, four, five songs, six songs with improper capitalization. So this is going to be a big old for me. All right.
00:13:36
Speaker
Single
Kill City's Music and Visuals
00:13:37
Speaker
and music video from the Ecuadorian band's upcoming third album, wonderfully catchy and fluid song material with timeless class. New single, Better Smile, was released on March 29, 2024 on YouTube and on all popular music streaming services, just like the other one said.
00:13:57
Speaker
Cast. They list the cast of the video. Rafael Diaz, Juan Pablo Torral, Julio Vargas, Diana Vera, Jose Cueva, and Angela Rivera. The new single is a powerful testament to the band's style, blending raw emotion with infectious energy with its electrifying sound and thought-provoking lyrics. The single promises to resonate with fans of rock and beyond.
00:14:24
Speaker
Listeners can stream or download Bitter Smile on all major digital platforms. The band says about the song, quote, Bitter Smile delves into the complexities of human emotion and even madness, exploring themes of disillusionment against a backdrop of gritty guitar riffs and pulsating rhythms.
00:14:44
Speaker
With haunting vocals and evocative lyrics, the song captivates listeners from the first note, drawing them into a visceral sonic experience for fans of Queensrike, Hitman, Crimson Glory, genre, melodic hard rock, heavy rock, heavy metal, new wave of British heavy metal, tagging, Kill City, Ecuador,
00:15:08
Speaker
whole fucking country. Melodic heavy metal, heavy metal, hard rock, new wave of British heavy metal, heavy metal, single, video, bittersweet. They really gotta work on these hashtags. I know the band's not doing this, the promo company is, but come on, you can't.
00:15:27
Speaker
Tagging the whole country is very useless, same with single. First class also in terms of individuality. So again, this should be first. This is the part that needs to be at the top, not the album that's vaguely related to your single.
00:15:48
Speaker
Kill City are about to release their highly anticipated third studio album, aptly titled Darker Days. Recorded in late 2023, this forthcoming release allows for an interesting sonic journey that delves even deeper into the formation's musical evolution. One of the hallmarks of Kill City's creative process is their focused collaborative approach to songwriting. In this way, each band member contributes to all aspects of a song, including music, melodies, lyrics, and productions.
00:16:15
Speaker
Metallica did it. It's not a good idea. This has been proven time and time again. And if you need time and time again, just watch. Watch some kind of monster time and time again and you'll know. You'll know it's a bad idea. All right. This organic and collaborative method ensures that each composition reflects the collective musicianship and artistic synergy within the band. And again,
00:16:42
Speaker
there's gonna be a bassist involved and you know maybe you shouldn't shouldn't be doing that you know don't hold up don't give them the time of day
00:16:51
Speaker
Sorry, I can't hear you, Mike. Bullet points, third album by the South American top artists. Catchy and emphatically harmonious song material for hard rock gourmets and metal quality fanatics alike. The band is Shamel Neymé on vocals, Juan Itiralde on guitars, Xavier Diab on guitar, Andreas Miranda on bass, and Luis Neymé on drums.
00:17:19
Speaker
Uh, and that's it. All right. The, this artwork is like a, uh, for the album that is, is, I don't know, a big crowd of people like, and the camera angle is like looking down on it on them from above. I can't really tell if it's meant to be a,
00:17:44
Speaker
A worried scene or just a scene? You know what I mean? This could be just a flash photo from a rave, you know, and yeah, people are making weird faces or or is there like a stampede going on? I don't know. Yeah, it almost it almost looks like Hotline Miami. If you ever played that game, like like that's the perspective. It's like just dead from the top. And this band.
00:18:14
Speaker
in their group photo. They're dressed way too nice. They're too stylish to be a metal band. What's going on here? They look a little tech bro-ish, I think. They do. And I'm hoping it's the drummer who's sitting, because it's the drummer who's always sitting. All right, well, anyway.
00:18:39
Speaker
I kind of like the vibe here, actually. Kill City, I think, is kind of a fun name. I like the logo. This picture makes me wonder what kind of cologne they wear. You know, because I bet you're in that room and they're going to smell good. Yeah, that is true. They're probably... We're not here to give these bands noses. We're here to give them ears. And I will be... This is a firm one ear for me.
00:19:10
Speaker
I'm going to give this an ear and three quarters. I'm very, very curious. I'm really surprised you didn't go for the Aryan one. The thing is, is that this is like, it's committed to whatever it's going for, right? Like the, the Aryan one.
00:19:33
Speaker
the Nightfall, while it definitely was evoking that style, it didn't have a great execution of it. I feel like they're going for, Kill City is going for a vibe that it's hard to predict, but they're going for it and it looks well executed. That's my argument there. It does, but let's find out about this one.
Bad Maryland's Single 'I Die Inside'
00:19:59
Speaker
This is, again, the same
00:20:01
Speaker
Same company, so it's going to be out of order again. Bad Maryland, as in Monroe, not as in Baltimore, Maryland. Bad Maryland, Swiss power metal, single in video for I die inside and it starts off with
00:20:25
Speaker
The album cover for Eye of the Snake. They already fucked it up. Let's see. Tracks from Eye of the Snake. I died inside. Why does that name make me laugh so much? Eye of the Snake. Because snakes have two eyes, Mike.
00:20:50
Speaker
I die inside, eye of the snake, perfect moment, retribution, children of tomorrow, when she's gone, revolution, legend of salvation, queen of thunder, eternal pain, we will rise. One, two, three, four, capitalization mistakes. All right, bonus tracks, stay awake, total time, 53 minutes, 26 seconds,
00:21:16
Speaker
Bad Marilyn, let's see, single and music video for the Swiss band's upcoming debut album, original and varied power metal with lots of melody. It's bolded for some reason.
00:21:29
Speaker
The new single, I Die Inside, was released March 22nd, 2024 on YouTube and on all, okay, same thing. Then they have a list of actors again for some reason, which we'll skip over. Singer Andrea Raffaella says, quote, I Die Inside is a very strong song in which on the one hand, my growl parts for this power metal band, her growl parts. I mean, Camelot does it.
00:21:57
Speaker
a barely and the catchy melody in the chorus. And on the other hand, the instrumentation and arrangement are aligned with the message of the lyrics. Among other things, the song is about the violation of civil liberties and the suffering that people endure as a result for fans of Halloween, Stradivarius, Battle Beast genre. All right.
00:22:22
Speaker
You might want to stretch your neck so you don't get whiplash. Power metal. Death metal. And heavy metal. Bad Maryland. These are the tags. Bad Maryland. Bad... Maryland. There. I said it right. The entire country of Switzerland. Power metal, melodic metal, heavy metal, Swiss metal. No death metal. Heavy metal. Single. Video. I die inside. Daily. Album.
00:22:50
Speaker
Eye of the snake. Full length. Those three L's together don't look right. Wild and wonderful.
00:23:03
Speaker
What? That's the next title of the next section. Wild Unwonderful. Founded in the summer of 2023, Bad Maryland quickly put all their eggs in one basket. With the experienced and exceptionally strong voice front woman, Andrea, at the center, the common vision was quickly clear. Yes, Mike.
00:23:22
Speaker
Isn't that supposed to be a bad thing? Like, yeah, don't put all your eggs in one basket. That's the saying. It was to be highly varied and stylistically surprising. No, it's not. Metal is about being in a box and staying in that box and being ridiculed. If you stray from that box, that's what metal is. Let's see.
00:23:43
Speaker
yet always fully emotional and distinctive power metal.
Bad Maryland's Album and Style Critique
00:23:47
Speaker
And that's exactly what the impressively playful Quintet now serves up on their debut album, Eye of the Snake, that promises an incomparable metal experience. A lot of heart and soul and passion went into a work that resembles a highly energetic powerhouse. With Eye of the Snake, The Band, which is known for its powerful stage shows and highly motivated musicians,
00:24:11
Speaker
We really want to do stuff, guys. Has created an album that transports the listener into a magical metal world. I'm pretty sure that's what Nightfall was trying to do. The 11 power songs represented by the Helvetic Formation
00:24:28
Speaker
In Promise, an unforgettable experience for every metal fan. Bullet Points debut album from the new Swiss Metal Sensation. High-quality songs, powerful, charismatic, and catchy... High-quality songs. ...song by a truly exceptional voice that can do so much. That's what it says. Andrea, Raffaella, and vocals Sammy and Lasagna. Like Lasagna, but with an I at the end instead.
00:24:59
Speaker
on guitars, David Crafonara on bass, Andre Leonardo on keys and Armin Schopper on drums. All right. Oh, and then the artwork has. OK, it has a snake, but you're seeing him slightly from the side, so you only see one eye. And then what's behind the snake? A snake eye, because of course.
00:25:26
Speaker
Yes. I mean, the snake appears to be in lava. Oh, yeah. He's like darting in and out of the lavas. The snake is probably screaming in pain because it's in some fucking lava. I mean, I mean, the artwork is actually pretty cool. It is. One thing I like about it, it has that late 80s vibe where it's kind of like
00:25:48
Speaker
There's a border. There's a, yeah, it was like a black border around the whole thing and a thin red border around the artwork, but the lava is splashing out of it and the snake is coming from the side. So it gives it this depth that, uh, that makes it look really cool. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, it's well done artwork. I, uh, I really liked this picture of the band. I especially liked the guy in the left.
00:26:14
Speaker
Okay, so the picture, oh my God. So the band is standing in front of some graffiti, probably in, you know, maybe the storage unit they practice in.
00:26:28
Speaker
Yeah. And clearly there's your front woman, front and center wearing one of those pentagram things up here, which is a brilliant use of space if you ask me. So I really liked the guy in the left because it looks like me trying to wear whatever he's wearing. Oh, you know, I'm thinking this is that guy from Camelot, Swiss cousin.
00:27:01
Speaker
That's good. All right. Then, uh, I don't really have much of a comment about anyone else. Like 80% of these guys are basically wearing Chuck Taylor's. Yeah. And, uh, it must be sunny because three of them are wearing sunglasses and they just got to be careful because a lot of them are wearing stuff that could get hooked on things. Like if you're on the train or the bus or something, you know, for them.
00:27:29
Speaker
They're all wearing sunglasses except for the front lady. Aren't they? Yeah. That could be makeup. I'm not sure. Directly the left of the front woman. Yeah. I'm not sure if John Lennon is wearing makeup or not. All right. And the guy on the right really needs you to buy the album so you can afford some pants without holes in them.
00:27:56
Speaker
No, no, no, no. The guy on the right doesn't care what his mom thinks. All right.
Final Thoughts & Humorous Sign-Off
00:28:06
Speaker
Well, I, I don't want to hold their own promo against them, but like after reading three of these, I really don't like how this company has laid them out. And perhaps that affected my other scores, but I won't let it affect this score. This, uh, I'm very interested.
00:28:27
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like they misspelled Stradivarius in the for fans of. But yeah, like these are three the for fans of this Halloween Stradivarius and Battlebeast and depending on what era of Stradivarius that could be a very good thing. So yeah, I'm interested. I'm worried about the amount of death vocals involved for this power metal band, but I'll give it a shot. This is one point seven years.
00:28:55
Speaker
I'll do one and a half years here. I think we have a winner. I think we have a winner. The ding really didn't come through. Maybe this one will. There we go. The quality of the artwork and everything, and I like the description. I think the band photo is super nerdy, but that doesn't be much. Probably on purpose. Yeah.
00:29:25
Speaker
But I mean, I'm super nerdy, so this totally works out. Not like we use metal nerd nerdery in our branding. All right. Well, until next time, Metal Nation, keep your
00:29:44
Speaker
I got nothing. I got nothing. Keep your Maryland bad. Yeah. Keep your Maryland bad. And, uh, you know, put the introduction up front instead of the unrelated album. All right. That's all I got.