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http://www.mtwog.com
First, I want to thank man in black music for this
great album
The first song ‘jesters Moon’ begins with
the sounds of the piano and the violin. It reminds me
of intro’s like songs from Cradle of Filth. At
the background you can hear people talking. This is
one of the most powerful intro’s I ever heard.
The second song, or the first real song ‘ devils
eyes’ begins with a very good guitar play. On
their website, you can read that they aren’t nu-metal,
no rap-metal, no alt-metal, but pure heavy metal. They
haven’t lied, this is indeed pure heavy metal.
I first want to congratulate Vido Sinn for the perfect
guitar play. I also want to congratulate the other members
of coarse. The members of this band are also multi –
talented. Like the singer for example plays also the
guitar and keyboards. So, you can’t say that they
don’t know anything about music.
The third song ‘ No clue’ begins with a
short drum solo. Then a scream from Bryce, the singer.
This heavy metal band is so good, I didn’t heard
such a great heavy metal anymore after Iron maiden,
Judas Priest, Manowar…. And now Jester Moon. This
song has an excellent guitar solo. Vido Sinn, it isn’t
a sin like you are playing your guitar. Waaaaw !!! Get
it loud !!!
Brilliant, fantastic, great, wonderful, marvellous….
These are the words to describe this album.
This is the first full album of Jester Moon and I’m
sure that this won’t be their last.
http://www.pitriff.com
This is another band that I knew nothing about when
I got it, so as usual I went in search of some info
on the band. I was amazed to find out that Jesters Moon
comes from Portland Oregon, just about 45 minutes from
my house. Now I was intrigued. Adding to my anticipation
was the band’s motto on their home page “Not
Nu-metal, Not Rap-metal, Not Alt-metal, JUST HEAVY METAL!!”
After reading that I was geeked to hear this. Let me
tell you they aren’t kidding in the motto either.
This album kicks some serious ass! This is a band that
seemingly knows the roots of heavy metal and honor those
roots by playing straight forward guitar driven metal.
Right out of the starting blocks they announce their
presence on the scorcher “Devil’s Eyes”.
The song borrows heavily from the sound of great bands
like Judas Priest as it comes straight at you offering
no excuses. It doesn’t end there though; the great
songs just keep coming at you. “What’s My
Name,” “No Clue,” “You’re
On Your Own,” “Man In the Glass” and
the 10-minute epic “Amnesia” are all well
written and executed rockers. Even when they throw in
a great moody ballad called “Destination Unknown”,
it is more of a dark song showcasing some keyboard work
rather then the conventional piano laced ballads coming
from Europe. Ex-Bangin’ Moon Guitarist Vido Sinn
and Bryce Van Patten are the driving forces throughout
the nine songs. They keep the riffs flowing and smoke
through every solo, all the while managing to never
dip into the bad 80’s characteristics. If I had
reviewed the album after my first listen I would have
probably graded it a little lower because I was a little
unsure if I liked the vocals of Van Patten who is pulling
double duty on the album. With each listen though I
began to dig it more and more though. Sure he not your
classic up front singer carrying the show, but he still
manages to make himself heard. The vocals are dialed
back for the most part, but the end result is that it
lets the guitars carry the show.
PITRIFF RATING – 9/10 - You can chalk this up
to me giving a home state band a good review and pass
on this album, but you would be making a huge mistake.
Jesters Moon has their act together and I for one have
stood up and taken notice.
Shawn Gould / Pitriff.com
http://metalunionzine@neo.rr.com
What you get with JESTERS MOON is '80s-style power
metal combined with '70s style rock synthesizers, but
with a very heavy sound at times. Plus, the vocalist
sounds like a less screamy Udo! All the songs are well-written,
and very memorable, and they have definite singalong
moments. My favorite songs are probably "Devils
Eyes" with its near-thrash heaviness, "Man
in a Glass" with its exotic-sounding riffs, and
"Backstreets" for the excellent synthesizer
work and heavy bottom end. I wish that more power/heavy
metal bands would take heed to what bands like JESTERS
MOON are doing. They don't have a lot of happy-go-lucky
melody, or tons of speed riffing, or clear soaring vocals.
They just fuckin' rock without attention to the trend
of the day. That's what truly impresses me here.
metalunionzine@neo.rr.com
http://www.geocities.com/thrashinhell85
This Oregon metal band starts off with a nice intro
leading into a heavy song called Devil's Eyes. I got
this CD in the mail from the chick who runs MIB Music.
They got nice driving beats that are similar to the
way Jerry Cantrell would play. Their name reminds me
of In Flames, but they are Americans playing real good
music. The vocalist sounds odd, but doesn't suck. The
use keyboards adds a nice touch. Most of the songs start
out with a drum solo with a song leading into it. If
the riffs aren't driving they are just plain out heavy
the way Van Halen would pump out a riff. Sometimes acoustic
guitar will play and it'll nice as hell. Not sure exactly
what category to put these dudes under besides just
metal in general. Very good music for all sorts of metal
fans.
Review by: Dave
4/5
http://www.pullthechain.be
Toxik Waltz radioshow
www.toxikwaltz.be.tf
This was not what I was expecting for. JESTERS MOON
delivers some old spirit american heavy metal. I don’t
know how many of you are into heavy metal music but
I’m certainly no more. Acts such as HOLLAND, AXE,
MALICE, KICK AXE or STEEL VENGEANCE are still in my
lp collections but I have to admit this isn’t
anymore the kind of music I have now the use to listen
to. JESTER MOONS comes from the Pacific Northwest part
of the States and features an ex-WILD DOGS drummer (do
you remember?). The band still hold on the flag of real
heavy metal sound and follows the wave created more
than twenty years ago by JUDAS PRIEST, OZZY OSBOURNE
and other old gringos. Even if most of the songs may
sound a little bit old-fashioned, « Jester Moon
» is way more original and interesting than all
the nowadays power metal acts. No guitar heroes here,
just good heavy rock songs full of metal atmospheres.
The right attitude (far from the nowadays usual clichés).
They remind me another american good heavy band named
TWISTED TOWER DIRE.
-Georges-
http://www.powermetal.de/cdreview/review-2421.html
Jawollja! Was hier als JESTERS MOON über den großen
Teich kommt, klingt nicht unbedingt alltäglich,
aber sehr interessant. Um den Stil mal ganz spontan
etwas einzuordnen, würde ich sagen, man bewegt
sich irgendwo zwischen HAMMERFALL, IRON MAIDEN, ARMORED
SAINT und JUDAS PRIEST. Also von viele verschiedenen
Ecken etwas - und das auch noch ziemlich originell zu
einer kompakten Scheibe verpackt. "Jesters Moon"
ist der erste Output der Band (nachdem der Großteil
der Mitglieder unter dem Namen BANGIN' MOON bereits
zwei Alben verzapft hat) und besticht durch eine knappe
Stunde unbeschwert und fröhlich klingendem Heavy
Metal.
Das Riffing ist zwar etwas eintönig, man scheint
nicht mehr als zwei bis drei Grundriffs in petto zu
haben und gestaltet die Songs in dieser Hinsicht nicht
sehr variabel. Etwas durchaus Besonderes ist hingegen
der zunächst gewöhnungsbedürftige Gesang,
der leicht verschnupft und heiser klingt, wie als hätte
Sänger Bryce Van Patten die Scheibe mitten in einem
grippalen Infekt einsingen müssen. Unzweifelhaft
ist allerdings, dass der doch etwas ungewöhnliche
Gesang JESTERS MOON eine eigene, unverwechselbare Note
verpasst. Und wenn man die Scheibe dann ein paar Mal
gehört hat, kann man sich diese Musik gar nicht
mehr mit einem 08/15-Sänger bzw. handelsüblichem
Gesang vorstellen. Das Ganze erinnert mich etwas an
das ebenfalls sehr einprägsame Organ von Marc Sheldon
von der Kultband MANILLA ROAD.
Insgesamt betrachtet verströmt die Platte irgendwie
einen coolen, groovigen Flair und macht einfach eine
Menge Spaß. Die Songs mit ihren nicht gerade komplizierten,
aber dafür genau ins Mark treffenden, Riffs sind
größtenteils durchaus mitreißend und
bleiben eine Weile im Gedächtnis hängen. Es
wird unkonventionell und frisch von der Leber weg losgelegt
und ein lässiges, fetziges Brett aufgefahren. JESTERS
MOON kreieren eine gute und packende Mischung, die man
einfach im Ohr behält, und auch wenn der Abwechslungsreichtum
nicht gerade groß geschrieben wird, dieses Album
hat Hand und Fuß und die Band spielt ihre Stärken
gut aus. Etwas mehr Variabilität wäre sicherlich
nicht ganz schlecht, aber von der Grundausrichtung fetzt
das Teil einfach. Well done!
Anspieltipps: Devils Eyes, Amnesia, Destination Known
Stephan Voigtländer
http://www.iron-pages.de
Ich glaub es nicht! Da sind die Amis auf der einen
Seite absolut herzergreifender, geiler Power Metal oder
Epic Metal und dann langweilen sie durch '70er-Genöle
wieder völlig ab! Man, was die erreichen könnten...
Aber den Die Hard-Fan wird es vielleicht gar nicht interessieren,
wenn zwei, drei Aussetzer auf der CD gleichnamigen CD
von JESTERS MOON zu finden sind. Oder, mit jedem Hören
werden auch die schlechteren Tracks besser und entfalten
einen gewissen Reiz. Dennoch ein recht weitgestecktes
Feld, wenn man einerseits fast in MANILLA ROAD-Epen
versinkt um im nächsten Atemzug wie Priest zu besten
Zeiten loszudonnern. Auf alle Fälle mal anchecken!
E-Mail
http://www.metaldomination.com
Jesters Moon plays classic Heavy/Epic Metal inspired
straight from the 80ies.
They are from US,Portland,and they have the sound of
the the old good british
heavy metal bands.They remind me a lots of Saxon and
Leatherwolf...and I think
everyone would agree with me.A release like that would
make them famous back
in the 80ies..It's nostalgic I must say..The productions
is very proffesional
and the album has crystal sound.Songs like the beautiful
ballad "Destination Known",
the heavy metal thunder "Man In A Glass" and
Priest like "Devil's Eyes"
will make you shiver and feel all their magnificence.Great
Release!!!
(9/10)
Reviewed By Marios Maravelias
http://www.metalexpress.no/showreviews.asp?id=322
by: DERRIC MILLER
The self-titled debut release of Jesters Moon, spelled
without the apostrophe, is not what you think it is
at first listen. Clear? The band hails from Portland,
Ore., the same town that gave us Black ‘N Blue,
but that’s the most the two bands have in common.
The CD begins with a song called “The Battle.”
You can hear fighting in the background, horses neighing,
and over the top of that is a slow, beautiful piano
(or synthesizer) arrangement that slowly crescendos
into what IS a very power metal sounding beginning.
But that’s as “power metal” as they
get.
The second song, “Devil's Eyes,” is pretty
average the first time you listen to it. The song also
introduces you to lead singer/guitarist Bryce Van Patten.
His vocals sound like a mix between Udo and Lemmy, at
times. Is this a good thing? Not at first, but something
happens the more you hear him sing. After a couple listens,
you will find yourself singing along, “I believe
there’s a devil … and I believe you’ve
got the devil’s eyes.” It’s surprisingly
catchy, and after a couple listens, one of the best
tunes on the CD.
At the band’s web site , you see they define their
sound as music in the same spirit as Black Sabbath and
Judas Priest. They left out Motorhead, although they
are much more diverse than that band. Most bands hate
getting pigeonholed into a specific genre, and Jesters
Moon shouts, “No nu-metal, no rap-metal, no alt-metal!
Just Heavy Metal,” to make sure we don’t
do that. A good way to define them would be grime-metal,
though, and not just because the production of the CD
is somewhat muddy. There is just something dirty about
the CD, in a good way.
On the song “Destination Known,” they get
a little heavy with the synthesizer. It doesn’t
hurt the song, but it would seem that someone just found
a new toy.
“You’re On Your Own” is the best song
on the CD, and you’ll hear Lemmy and Udo strong
in this one. The guitar playing is wicked, and the chorus
is basically Van Patten shouting in a guttural voice
and then slithering into the next verse with a throaty
whisper. Everything about the song works. The solo by
Vido Sinn is cool, but you won’t mistake him for
Yngwie just yet.
An ambitious song called “Amnesia” is 10
minutes long, but probably doesn’t need to be.
There is a lot of groaning in the background during
the song, and it turns into sort of a jam session. The
song ends again with Van Patten yelling “whoa-oh-oh”
in a sort of confusing manner, and then the piano kicks
in, accompanied by the sounds of waves crashing on the
beach. Strange ending to a strange song.
“Backstreets” ends the CD, a song about
being homeless, and a harsh voice starts the song by
asking, “Got any change, buddy?” The wah-wah
of the guitar sets the tone on this song, and keyboards
and moaning are again present in the chorus and bridge.
At times, Jesters Moon sounds familiar, and then, they
are completely on their own. It will take you a few
spins, but over half of the CD is more than worth it.
With a little clearer focus on their direction and a
little stronger vocals, this band could help the American
music scene forget about the absolute garbage bands
like Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit shell out as “metal.”
Here’s hoping.
http://www.metalgospel.com
JESTERS MOON - Jesters Moon (MIB~2002)
They didn´t throw a bunch of genres in a blender
to see what would come out. They didn´t appear
to be taking their cue from MTV. The guys in Jesters
Moon, a band based in Portland, OR, just delivered one
of the more interesting albums to cross my path in a
while. They didn´t do it by reinventing anything
or going where no band had ever gone before. They just
utilized the simple, proven formula so many great bands
have perfected: start with great songs, add some awesome
guitar work and a big dose of passion and season it
with your own mixture of instrumental and vocal performances
and atmosphere. In this day and age, sometimes there´s
nothing more refreshing than metal done the old-fashioned
way. The band´s web site, at http://maninblackmusic.net,
declares this album to be "No nu-metal, no rap-metal,
no alt-metal! Just Heavy Metal!!!" I certainly
won´t disagree. As a child of the so-called hair-band
movement of the 80s, I was immediately drawn to this
album. But even though I viewed it initially as Accept
meets Dokken, I also hear an edge that makes it more
compelling than your average melodic metal fare. At
first, I was tempted to complain about the vocals being
too low in the mix, but upon further listens, I love
the mix and the overall sound. While the riffs and vocal
melodies may draw comparison to some 80´s pop
metal giants, the sobering lyrics and overall feel lend
a powerful darkness and reality to this album that make
it much more than a nostalgia trip. My favorite tracks
include 'Devils Eyes', 'What´s My Name', 'Amnesia'
and 'You´re On Your Own'.
-Howard Rice
Snake Pit Magazine
Starting with "The Battle", an intro strangely
very reminiscent of "No Truth" (ATHEIST),
the next nine cuts on this first effort from this Oregon
based act varies from traditional mid paced Hard Rock/
Heavy Metal ("Devil's eyes", "No Clue"
(which features Matt McCourt on backing vocals), "You're
On Your Own") to energetic mid paced Power Metal,
"What's My Name" (incontestably the best cut
here!), "Man In Glass" (a galloping mid paced
tune similar to early SACRED BLADE at times in its delivery),
accessible H.R., "User" (with a riff similar
to DEF LEPPARD circa "High 'n' Dry", Epic/
Atmospheric pieces like "Amnesia" which clocks
at 9:54 without boring the shit of you or even inspired
ballads, "Destination Known". So what is my
main feeling about them after that description? Well
those four guys have obviously a good amount of musicianship
and can come up with some cuts that sounds somewhat
original at times but the thing that makes this album
not so enjoyable are the vocals from Bryce van Pattern.
Try to imagine a mixture of Halford, Ulmer, Osbourne
and others and it gives you a little idea of how the
guy sounds like. This said this album remains interesting
and I'm quite certain this bunch can deliver more convincing
stuff in the future if they can correct the vocal thing
and really get a real direction musicalwise.
Laurent Ramadier
http://www.metalcrypt.com
Jesters Moon hail from Oregon, and they make things
clear right away in their bio and promo stuff: "No
nu-metal, no rap-metal,no alt-metal! Just Heavy Metal!!!".
That is definitely accurate. The band plays some traditional
heavy metal, very heavily 80s-influenced, with some
hard rock thrown in the mix. There are some melodies
in there that also seem to borrow from 70s hard rock,
although I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The many
catchy riffs on this album will remind you of the first
half of the 80s, there's even a riff in there that seems
to come directly from early Def Leppard (High 'n' Dry?)
- you know, back when they didn't suck and didn't play
in the parking lot at Wal-Mart.. er OK, back on topic
now. :) While the band's influences are very present
in the music, we're not talking ripoff here - Jesters
Moon incorporate these elements into their own sound
which has a more "modern" touch to it, and
the result is quite catchy, if not simply addictive.
I've been headbanging quite a bit on this one for a
while now, and I think it'll keep stealing playtime
from other albums for another while.
It took me a few listens to really get into this album,
and I think that's partly due to the vocals. While very
good at times, sometimes they seem to suffer slightly
from the production, or the singer just tried something
he's not too capable of handling. Still, after a few
listens you get used to it and it's not too much of
a bother. Surely some more work on the vocals and a
slightly better (but not overdone) production will help
future recordings. For now I'm afraid some people won't
be able to go past that (shame shame..)
Jesters Moon have produced here an album with so much
variety that it never gets boring, and the guitar work
on this will keep your ears busy and happy from beginning
to end. "Jesters Moon" is 54 minutes that
just go by too fast. From slow melodies to aggressive
riffage, there's something for almost everyone here.
Let's hope that this band gets the respect it deserves.
Highly recommended.
http://metal-only.com/index_en.htm
JESTERS MOON is a heavy metal band from Portland, Oregon.
I hope you remember this variety of hard rock that occupies
far too few today?
The band consists of Vido Sinn (guitars, Dr 5 synth),
Alvin (bass), Preston Hatch (drums) and Bryce Van Patten
(vocals, guitars and keyboards).
This selftitled album takes off with "The Battle",
an intro that is reminiscent of SAXONS "Crusader-intro".
Than follows a bit over 50 minutes of the promised heavy
metal. Musically speaking we're in the RockBox-area
(Swedish 80-ies radio show) or possibly in the predecessor
Strängkraft. Vocalist Bryce van Patten reminds
me of OZZY during the mid/late seventies. Otherwise
it's American heavy metal 80-ies style that's offered
with a healthy portion of JUDAS PRIEST. My favourites
off the album are "Devil's Eyes", "What's
My Name" and the absolutely fab KING DIAMOND-esque/almost
instrumental "Amnesia". That song is far above
the given mark. Unfortunately the vocals tend to drown
in the mix and a number of the songs feel, in a typical
American manner, as if I've heard them before. I wish
JESTERS MOON a better budget next time around. For the
initiated: Mark McCourt from WILD DOGS/DR. MASTERMIND
guests on the third track "No Clue"
Miggo
http://joemetal.com
It seems that in recent years it has been increasingly
difficult for classic/traditional-style metal bands
to produce quality metal albums without sounding like
a rip-off of some 80's band or another. Such is not
the case for Oregon's Jesters Moon who pulls it off
with ease. Their self-titled debut might just be what
many "old-timers" and other classic metal
aficionados have been searching for.
Hints of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Motorhead and
other classic metal influences can be detected, but
each tune contains just the right amount of experimentation
and uniqueness to keep it fresh. The simple things like
the subtle piano in Amnesia and Backstreets, melancholy
synth on Destination Known and the spanish-style intro
to Man In A Glass add a perfect touch to this highly
enjoyable debut CD. The songs on Jesters Moon sound
a lot like what Saxon has done with their last few releases,
only a little darker. This approach works very well,
especially since singer Bryce van Patten - who also
plays guitar and keys - sounds like a cross between
Biff Byford of Saxon and David Wayne. Rounding out the
band are fellow guitarist Vido Sinn, Preston Hatch on
drums, and bassist Alvin.
All nine songs on this disc (the first track The Battle
is really segue into Devils Eyes) are crunchy, catchy,
very well-written and stay with you after you've heard
them. This one really grew on me and I liked it more
and more with each listen. It's not only the initial
release for the band, but also for their label MIB Music.
Hopefully this CD serves as a sign of great things to
come for both. Very nicely done.
By Tim Carroll
Rating: 8/10
http://www.roughedge.com/sounds/jestersmoon.htm
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, JESTERS MOON takes
their motto very seriously. Following in the footsteps
of giants like BLACK SABBATH, ACCEPT and JUDAS PRIEST,
JESTERS MOON delivers nine tracks guaranteed to put
the bang back in your headbanging.
After varying degrees of success in Europe under alternate
band monikers and alternating personnel, JESTERS MOON
was formed when lead guitarist Vido Sinn and drummer
Preston Hatch joined forces with bassist Alvin and lead
vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player Bryce Van Patten.
Their self-titled debut, now available on MIBMusic,
is a rock'n'roll monster, offering the tsunami wall
of rock'n'roll sound that makes metal heavy. If you
thought that sound was dead, JESTERS MOON will convince
you otherwise.
An interesting note: Long time friend and metal legend
Matt McCourt (WILD DOGS, DR. MASTERMIND) is featured
on "No Clue," another track you can hear for
yourself by visiting the band's website.
http://adrenalinfanzine.com/reviews.html
My Review- This band has a hard rock/old-school metal
sound to them. The overall sound and vocals is similar
to what you may get if you combine KISS with Iron Maiden.
the music is very rockin' and good. Bryce van Patten's
vocals are good but not as powerful as the music. Some
songs have an atmospheric synth sound to them (very
cool). There are ten songs on this CD and are all a
little different than the others.
http://www.heavymetalresource.com/reviewindex.html
If you are looking for another more metal oriented
release that provides a journey through sound, Jesters
Moon is a good one to spin. The album features Wild
Dogs Matt McCourt guest vocalizing on the track 'No
Clue'. When I mention a journey in sound I mean that
quite literally. The albums with the intro 'The Battle'
and then goes into the metal oriented 'Devils Eyes'.
'No Clue' follows with the same intensity. What is interesting
is the classic feel of the bands sound this far. It
reminded me a bit in places of maybe bands like Shok
Paris or the such. The album really changes up with
the track 'User' that maintains a thick sound and intensifies
from a much milder beginning. Probably my favorite track
of the album i 'Amnesia'. This track presents a different
angle to the band's writing. The song is much more progressive
than what has been heard so far. The track is very atmospheric
and maintains an edge. It clocks in at around ten minutes
and to me never gets boring. 'You're on your own' is
a good mix of the previous tracks. Another beauty is
'Destination Known' which starts off sounding like something
off of 'A momentary lapse of reason' from Pink Floyd,
then picks up a bit and levels. Getting back to the
chugging rhythms is 'Man in a glass' and the album closer
'Backstreets'. The latter has a great mix of style which
once again shows the band is not entirely predictable.
One thing is for certain. If you think you are gonna
peg these guys early in sound and style, you'd be totally
wrong. A good heavy release with some very atmospheric
elements added for extra dimension.
Overall
I was really surprised at the quality of this release.
When you look at the release up front, you feel that
you know what is coming, but what makes it more fun
than expected is the low predictability. Some of the
music is straight forward, but there is some stuff that
will really surprise. A good metal oriented indie release.
Nicely done!
http://www.holyfiremetal.com/reviews.htm
Jesters Moon play old school power metal with enough
hooks to catch a whale. The disc starts of with an intro
that let's you know that these guys were inspired by
the mightly 1980's metal scene. When the first actual
song kicks in, the clear vocals, great guitar leads
and heavy rhythms will have you bangin' yer head! Vido
Sinn handles the guitar duties, Bryce Van Patten also
takes on vocals, lead and rhythm duties, Alvin is on
the bass and the drums are capably handled by Preston
Hatch. There are a total of ten songs on this disc,
all of which are pure power metal that is untainted
by nu-metal crap. The band has chosen not to follow
trends and stick to old school metal.. (Yippie!!!) The
vocals remind me of a mixture of Lips from Anvil and
a little bit of Dio, Zachary Stevens (Savatage) and
Ozzy. If you are a fan of heavy power metal, give this
disc a shot, you won't be disappointed.
http://www.metalprovider.com/metaltrust/
Favorites: What´s my name / You´re on your
own / Man in a glass
Hard rockin´ heavy metal from the US influenced
by the 80´s. The singer reminds me A LOT like
S.L. Coe (ex- Scanner), he has the same type of lazy
moaning singing style, though I´ll have to say
that Bryce´s vocals aren´t in the same league
as S.L. Coe, in fact the vocals on this disc are its
cumberstone; with better vocal delivery this could have
been a lot better. I couldn´t even make out half
of what Bryce was singing... The intro The battle is
very cool, sounding like something off from a soundtrack.
The first actual song Devils eyes start out with some
kickass heavy Metallica-type riffage and got me instantly
headbanging (which is always good!) but the song didn´t
turn out as good/heavy as I hoped. Amnesia has a proggy
feeling on it, it kinda reminded me of Led Zeppelin
(which is always bad!), but the song is way too long
at over 10 minutes. You´re on your own has a cool
main riff which I liked very much. Man in a glass is
the only true heavy metal track on this album with nice
heavy riffage. Backstreets features a verse riff that
is very similar to the one on Powermad´s Plastic
town. The production on this album is very good and
there´s some very good melodies and lots of potential
in the songs but the vocals fails to convince. I really
liked the nicely colored album cover art, too bad that
no lyrics were included in the CD.
Album ***½ / Sound *****
http://heavymetal.universe.free.fr/underground/uk_jesters_moon_jesters_moon.htm
JESTERS MOON plays some pretty interesting traditionnal
US heavy metal and features a singer who appears like
a mix between Ozzy Osbourne and Dave Mustaine. The whole
stuff is not bad at all and contains ten tracks for
more than fifty minutes of music. The best thing I must
notice about this demo-album is the high technical level
of its musicians. The worst is the very poor sound quality
which makes the cd hard to listen to during such a long
time. If we can't blame the band for the music it plays,
we can hope the sound to be far better next time so
that it won't be so difficult to appreciate their work...
Anyway, tracks are musically more or less interesting
from one to another; some are pretty cool (Backstreets,
You're on your own, Devils eyes, No clue), some really
excellent (the ten-minutes long "Amnesia")
or more of an average quality (Destination known, What's
my name, User, Man in a glass), but you won't find any
bad work here. A demo which proposes some honest heavy
metal and presents a band we can imagine more mature
in the future to deliver something really enjoyable.
http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=1594&lang=en
Tormentor Erich: I had to scratch myself behind the
ears while I was listening to this record for the first
time.
The vocals of Bryce Van Patten made me think: Is this
a brother of Ozzy with a cold? Or is this a cousin from
UDO with some tight pants? The voice of Bryce really
sounds like these two old frontmen. Here and there he
even uses some effects, so I think he does it on purpose.
Is this wrong? No, not at all. The music of Jestersmoon
sound a lot like Hardrock in an Accept-style. This CD
has got 55 minutes of good music. Take ‘What’s
MY Name’, ‘No Clue’ or ‘You’re
On Your Own’ for example. These are all songs
with clear structure and melody-lines. The songs are
not overloaded with riffs, and therefore have room to
‘breathe’. It gives them a bit more of a
Rock feeling. After listening a couple of times I noticed
a few little details. The riff in ‘Backstreets’
has a lot in common with the song ‘Labrador’
by Sweaty Nipples. In ‘No Clue’ there is
a reference to the old Van Halen and in ‘Man In
A Glass’ there are some Spanish guitars and a
real cool riff in full gallop. All these little things
make this record just a bit more interesting to listen
to. The peak of this CD is the song ‘Amnesia’,
though. This track takes 10 minutes. It starts with
drummer Preston Hatch who sounds more in front of it
all. He uses some high tones to play a kind of jazzy
part, which he keeps up during the whole song. Also
the synths make this song more Symphonic, and the guitars
have this style like Soundgarden had during ‘Badmotorfinger’.
This may sound strange but Jestersmoon know what they
are doing. The never sound over the top or too difficult.
Jestersmoon did also do the production on their own,
and this leaves me like the musical aspects nothing
to worry about.
Rating: 77/100
www.outsider-shop.ch
Na, hallo endlich wieder mal ne US Band die den 80er
Metal zelebriert, denke nicht das es nur an der mithilfe
von Mat Mc Court sprich ( Sänger der US Legende
Wild Dogs liegt) sondern die Jungs leben es wirklich.
Fette treibende midtempo Riffs mit Powervollem Sänger
preschen hier aus den Boxen und beweisen das auch der
US Metal noch lange nicht begraben werden muss!
Für Fans von Wild Dogs,Manilla Road oder Omen kann
man dieses Album getrost empfehlen ohne ein Schlechtes
Gewissen haben zu müssen.
http://www.eutk.net/rece.asp?id=1083
Ascoltando il debut album dei Jesters Moon non ho potuto
evitare di pensare a come negli States sembri mancare
il ricambio generazionale in campo Heavy Metal... quello
vero!! In Europa capita sempre più spesso di
trovarsi di fronte a gruppi formati da giovanissimi,
mentre dall'altra parte dell'oceano la difesa della
fede è rimasta nelle mani dei "soliti e
vecchi" fans e musicisti. Ecco così che
il debutto dei Jesters Moon viene presentato con la
seguente frase: "Not nu-metal, not rap-metal, not
alt-metal! Just Heavy Metal!". Ed a ragione perchè
qui sono evidenti le radici del gruppo che affondano
nei Judas Priest, Black Sabbath e Ozzy, Saxon, gli immancabili
Iron Maiden, un passato i Jesters Moon rievocano con
rispetto e personalità, realizzando una manciata
di brani interessanti e molto più vari e meno
banali di quello che ci si sarebbe potuti aspettare
dopo la scontatissima intro "The Battle",
apertura orchestrale dagli ormai consueti suoni di battaglia.
Quello che conta sono invece brani come "What's
My Name" ottimamente cantata e dall'incedere priestiano
o "Devil's Eyes" a metà tra i Metallica
(per le ritmiche) ed i Black Sabbath (per l'approccio
vocale), ma sopratutto "Amnesia" e "Man
In A Glass", a mio parere i migliori episodi del
disco. Il primo è un pezzo di circa 10 minuti,
che si lasciano ascoltare con piacere, un inizio atmosferico
ed il drummer Preston Hatch che si presta a passaggi
quasi jazzati sono il preludio ad un brano strutturato
e con inaspettate aperture prog che mostra appieno il
potenziale di un gruppo, che non ha remore all'utilizzo
dei synths ed anche di un pianoforte nella parte conclusiva.
"Man In A Glass" si apre con una chitarra
spagnolegiante per poi svilupparsi in una classica cavalcata
metallica, bella l'accellerazione ed il finale maideniano.
Spesso la voce di Bryce Van Patten ricorda davvero molto
quella di Ozzy ed un po' meno Lips degli Anvil, ed è
uno dei punti di forza dell'album. L'unico vero difetto
di "Jesters Moon" è rappresentato dal
sound e dalla produzione che penalizzano praticamente
l'intero gruppo, con il solo chitarrismo di Vido Sinn
che riesce ad venirne fuori. Ho la sensazione che i
Jesters Moon risulteranno troppo poco attuali e che
alla fine ne pagheranno le conseguenze. Perciò
a costo di essere un po' largo di manica (ma solo mezzo
punto, mica di più!), non posso che affibbiargli
un sette tondo tondo!
Voto: 7/10
Sergio"Ermo"Rapetti
http://www.inferno.fi
Banging Moon's guitarist Vido Sinn and basist Alvin
joined their forces with Pipe Dream's vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist
Bryce van Patten and drummer Preston Hatch – combination
gave birth to Jesters Moon. The band that follows the
footsteps of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest determines
theirselves as follows: " No nu-metal, no rap-metal,
no alt-metal! Just Heavy Metal!!!". Okay, heavy
metal this is.
First song The Battle takes the listener once again
to the battle fields of the power metal, where the horses
gallop and the swords clang. Great. Later on the album
luckily widens more versatile, refreshingly versatile
in fact. The songs jam, and they don't stop to mark
the time – and that's good, 'cause the pieces
are at least five minutes long. It's good that the drums
are brought to the front, but on the other hand, along
with the powerful rhytm section vocalist van Patten's
voice sounds a bit cloudy – maybe that's their
thing?
Jesters Moon however straggles maybe a bit too much.
If they could balance the works even a little, outcome
would be splendid.
(AnneMuhonen)
6/10
Check out these reviews as well!
Netherlands
http://www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=1594&lang=nl
Portugese
http://www.hellfiremetalzine.cjb.net
French
http://heavymetal.universe.free.fr/underground/fr_jesters_moon_jesters_moon.htm
Defenders I Reviews
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http://www.metalgospel.com/Reviews/vadefenders.html
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