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

November 2024

• 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 ]

Existance: Breaking The Rock

Heavy Metal

4.5/5.0

Website Facebook YouTube
Black Viper Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 13.10.2016

Would you believe Existance, one of the finest purveyors of traditional heavy metal in the modern age, comes from France? No, that was not intended as slight against our French friends. But France isn't the first place in Europe I think of as fertile ground for classic metal. Germany. England. Sweden. Italy. Yeah, but France, not so much. (Maybe it's simply that over 40 years, I've never heard of many French traditional metal bands.) Yet Existance returns with Breaking The Rock on Chile's Black Viper Records and, my friends, it's a scorcher.

Existance

Existance takes a page from old school heavy metal, notably the New Wave of British Metal variety. The necessary elements are self-evident in their music: twin guitar harmony and thrilling solos, a rhythm section that can sway between moderation and gallop as needed, clean melodic vocal arrangement and, quite often, wrapped up in some serious groove. The only possible dilemma here may be that founder, guitarist, and vocalist Julian Izard's voice is sometimes smothered in the mix of the heavier songs. This is especially obvious the ones with blazing riffage racing speed like deserve Your Love, Honest, or Breaking The Rock (about breaking out of Alcatraz). In the only metal anthem Sinner Of Love, where the music is dialed back, his voice is heard better.

Nevertheless, it's the heavy metal music sells this album. As I said of their previous album, the band plays like veterans, musicians who've been doing this for 20 years. Abounding in melody, harmony, brisk riffage, and big guitar solos, what more could you want? Nada. With Breaking The Rock, France's Existance scores a win: terrific "keep it true" metal for the modern age. Easily recommended.

Existance - Breaking The Rock

Share This Review with Your Friends

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

With Breaking The Rock, France's Existance scores a win: terrific "keep it true" metal for the modern age. Easily recommended.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]