• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

December 2024

• After Lapse: Pathways
• Illusion Force: Halfana
• Powell-Payne: Voilá

November 2024

• Sunstorm: Restless Fight
• Storace: Crossfire
• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

October 2024

• Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
• DGM: Endless
• Daytona: Garder la Flamme
• Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
• Frost*: Life In The Wires
• Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
• Fans Of The Dark: Video
• Radioactive: Reset
• House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
• Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

Mad Hatter's Den: Dark Wheel EP

(Melodic) Heavy Metal

4.5/5.0

Website Facebook
Unsigned/Self-released
by Craig Hartranft,  09.07.2012

I received the digital EPK for Mad Hatter's Den's EP Dark Wheel only this morning, and I like it. I like it a lot. Usually, when I get an EPK, I give it a quick skim and then put it in the queue for review consideration. Not so with Dark Wheel as I've played several times now. This is good stuff!

Mad Hatter's Den: live in black and blue.

This band from Tampere, Finland, has the uncanny ability to merge Seventies proto-metal with Eighties NWOBHM; it's like listening to a merger of early Rainbow, complete with Hammond organ, with peak Power Slave Iron Maiden. The EP contains five tracks, all original material, consisting of four studio recordings, one of which is a radio edit of the title track, and one live song, Trail of Fears.

Powerful clean vocals, soaring twin guitars, and an energetic rhythm section drive this band and the songs. And the songs are just terrific, with my favorite being The Dark Wheel, a song that epitomizes that aforementioned blend of classic metal. Sure, the EP is brief, and they should have had one more song (which is the only reason they didn't get a perfect score). But Mad Hatter's Den is on to something very good. Our hope is that they have a truckload of tunes in the works, because they have to cut a full-length album, and soon. Strongly recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Mad Hatter's Den has the uncanny ability to merge Seventies proto-metal with Eighties NWOBHM: it's early Rainbow merged with Power Slave Iron Maiden. Very nice.

Alphabetical Index

The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]