FLAMETAL: The Elder

Flametal

The Elder

© 2005 FLAMETAL (614346016696)

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Flamenco and Metal fusion. True flamenco guitar and rhythms-mixed with very progressive shred metal. In this highly adventurous disc, Flametal proves to be the new blacksmiths of technical, worldly metal.

notes

FLAMENCO and METAL unite to form the unholy. A new sound, and a fresh take on live performance, Flametal explodes with fiercly original and technical artistry. Live performances includes a full, shredding metal band, with lyrics in spanish and english, professional and sexy flamenco dancers in original choreography, with flamenco guitar at the helm. Flametal strives to deliver a fusion of 50% flamenco, and 50% metal, and does not claim to be either. Guitars, dance/palmas and tradtional rhythmical forms of flamenco. Put this into a real metal environment: loud, evil, and technical, ---FLAMETAL---

Benjamin Woods-------Flamenco Guitar, vocals, palmas
Uriah Duffy-----------Bass
Brian T. Spalding------Electric Guitar
Thomas Perry---------Drums

Arrangement of tracks #4, #5, #7, by Jason McGuire and Ben Woods
Engineering and production by Bob K. Palmas and footwork by Melissa Cruz and Fanny Ara.

Since we are not signed to any label, all proceeds from this self-produced album go directly back to the artist, not some greedy, corporate record label. The concept of FLAMETAL, all music, artwork, and horror stories are by Benjamin Woods, Flametal © 2005.

"My intention is not to dilute or steal flamenco, but to pay it tribute, and open the minds of others to its richness, while simultaniously staying true to my metal roots."-Benjamin Woods

reviews

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  • Amazing Musicians!
    author: dani

    When my friend sent me a two word text followed by a website i was instantly fell in love. FLAMENCO METAL. how can you say no to that little it bit of awesomness? I love this group. They are amazing and creative. i cant say enough positive things about flametal. keep of the good work, im eager for your other cd!

  • Flametal-The Elder
    author: Jerry Baird

    Being an aspiring flamenco guitarist myself (Paco DeLucia is my god) and a true metal-head from way back in the day when Slayer and Exodus used to do shows at Ruthie's, I totally get where Benjamin Woods is coming from when he came up with this concept. It is so unique and it truly blends two very different styles of music in way that is unimaginable. I would imagine that Benjamin Woods grew up listening to metal but somewhere along the way discovered Flamenco, fell in love with it and now that is truly where his heart is. Luckily for us, he had a vision and acted on it of combining these two very different styles but really there are some similarities. Both rely heavily on the Phrigian and Harmonic Minor scales using that E,F,G, type progression. Anyway, hats off to Flametal for an excellent and very unique piece of work. Jerry in Sac

  • The Elder
    author: Frank Killian

    You can not get any better than this. Freakin excellent musicians. Hope to see them live in New York someday.

  • The T's PA Review...
    author: Teodoro Gomez de la Torre

    When a friend of mine told me that, browsing through obscure blogs, he had found a band that mixed metal and flamenco, I was very happy. Then he told me the band was called Flametal. My immediate thought was "Man! Why didn't Bon jovi called his band Popmetal? Why didn't Yes called themselves Symphorock? Can there ever be a worse, more lazy name for a band?" But then I heard some samples in MySpace, and suddenly I decided to check more about the band. It didn't go long until I decided to spend actual money to get ahold of a copy of FLAMETAL's debut album, The Elder. I received the copy, I listened to it... ...Then I realized that this is possibly the best band I've ever heard with the worst name ever. And the logical idea followed: who cares about a name? Suddenly, I was in front of one of the best discoveries of the recent months. Thanks to my friend, again, for being such a blog-freak (with all my affection if you're reading, master-blogger). FLAMETAL's The Elder is actually what it's supposed to be: a mixture of metal, thrash metal at that, with flamenco and more classical guitar-oriented music. The music, on its metallic side, owes a lot to bands like TESTAMENT, SLAYER and METALLICA, with touches of more progressive bands here and there, with shredding solos and scales and heavy pounding riffs; alongside we hear acoustic, flamenco guitars, with arpeggios, solos, harmonies and rhythms typical of that European (and mostly Spanish) genre. Paco de Lucia is cited as one of the influences for the band's sound, and it actually shows in the music. Please. Don't think for a minute that this is a simple gimmick, that you will hear a few acoustic guitars as background for monster riffs and that the only fla in flametal is the sound of wood. No, the sound of FLAMETAL is a true mixture, a blend of styles, with rhythms and riffs typical of flamenco guitar played in the electric one and metallic shredding being performed in the acoustic one, with rhythms of both genres intertwined in a perfect balance of blood and fury. Another one of the aspects that makes FLAMETAL a unique experience is the fact that, besides the usual instruments, the band incorporates two female shoe-dancers (zapateadoras) who also provide clapping rhythms to add spanish flavor to the music. When we hear The Elder, we have the weird -yet pleasant- sensation that we're in a dark, doomy, devil-ridden atmosphere, surrounded by red curtains, women in long, black-and-red dresses, and a scent of roses, wine and passion. The musicians in FLAMETAL are top-notch. Leading the pack is, of course, mastermind guitarist Benjamin Woods who possesses a great technique that allows him to display a whole array of ideas in all kind of styles. He solos every now and then in The Elder, but he never tries to steal the show for himself. He allows room for the other band members to show their skills. In the last song, Journey into Fear, there's an actual drum solo near the end, something unusual in most rock recordings. Let me comment about the vocals: they're not up to the same level as the instruments, but they're not annoying once one gets used to them, and, luckily for us, they appear only in three songs. His growling is weak, no doubt about it, but the music overpowers it so much that we quickly accept it as part of the drama. All in all, a fantastic album, worthy of 4 stars for the great music and 5 stars for originality and innovation. It's band like this that keep the music world healthy, and I have no doubt they will be discovered by a bigger label (The Elder was self-released) very soon. If not, try to get their music and enjoy one of the best bands around. No doubt we can say we hope the flame in Flametal will keep burning for years to come! Recommended for: Every fan of melodic prog metal and melodic thrash-metal. Also, if you love flamenco AND metal, this is THE album for you.

  • Outstanding
    author: Mateusz Kwasnicki

    This is something completely new. Flametal mixes the best of flamenco and metal: harmony, sophisticated rythm structure and technical virtuosity of the first one, and strength and character of the latter. This will sound true both for flamencos and metalists.

  • Incredible CD. Dat's It
    author: Rob "The Arab Villain" Abinader

    The CD is incredible, it's a great mix of 2 genres that i love and my family is in love with it as well. Hopefully another great release will be coming soon. ~ RAV of Shadowblade www.shadowblade.ca

  • Awesome CD and it arrived in perfect shape! CDbaby kicks ass!
    author: Michelle

    Flametal-The Elder rocks! I love the unique sound.

  • author: Sinders

    This is awesome! Have recommended this to all my friends and family. Cannot wait to hear more from this band!

  • WOW! Never heard such cool music before! Talented musicians! Hope to see´em live
    author: Markus Helmeth

    WOW! Never heard such cool music before! Talented musicians! Hope to see´em live! Rock on! I Hope that they record very soon their second CD!!!! WE are Esha Ness and we play VOLCANIC ROCK !!!!

  • Very innovative musicians
    author: Gerald Houck

    I was pleasantly surprised when i received this CD. I love guitar music of all kinds from bluegrass/folk to thrashing heavy metal. This band has a very unique sound and the contrast of melodic flamenco music with the grinding metal and harsh vocals is strange to my ears, but not unpleasant. Thes guys are really cool. Kudos!

  • I wish there were more new bands like Flametal out there now !!!
    author: Alfredo

    I honestly wish there were more bands like Flametal out there. How many times can you be reminded of Al DiMeola, Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin in Friday Night in San Francisco, while at the same time think of the best of what Judas Priest or Iron Maiden offered. This is an absolutely amazing CD combining great elements of both Flamenco and Heavy Metal and excelling at doing both. I actually heard one of the tracks on the CD on a local radio station and couldn't understand the name of the band when the DJ said it, thinking it was something like Elemental instead of Flametal. I was soooo obsessed with finding out wo they were that when I ended up finding out I rushed to buy their CD and have not been disappointed in any way. The ELder has been stuck in my car's CD changer for a couple of weeks now and that can not be said of many CDs at all ....Flametal ROOOOOOOOCKS !!!

  • Everything I Want In Music
    author: comingxcurse

    After hearing a few samples from this CD off the internet, it shot to the top of my list of CD's to buy. With seemingly little room to expand or creativity left in metal, I do not really expect much anymore from the genre. This however does not remain strictly metal, nor does the flamenco take control. It does infact pay homage to both often simutaniously. Have you ever had the feeling where you bought a CD and were actually excited about it? Not just a CD to have in your collection or because you thought it was pretty cool, but that you were actually excited to pop the CD in your player? This was the first CD in a very long time that I can remember that I couldn't wait to listen to. It opens up with the Elder, a somewhat Opeth-like tune and is the most "straight-foward" song on the album. On Red Cobblestone they bring elements of Doom into the mix as well. The final track portrays its name quite nicely as "Journey Into Fear." Its a shame that I lost this CD not too long after I bought it... Ratcakes. Its definately worth getting a second time.

  • Solid CD with a unique sound
    author: Daryl Gubler

    I probably would never have listened to this CD had the title not been the Elder (odd brain associations with another group). However once I listened to the music, I had to order the CD. An ecclectic sound mix of (fairly) clean and growled vocals, electric guitar and bass, drums and flamenco guitar. The songs have grown on me the more I listen to them, and I enjoy this CD quite a bit. I reccommend this to anyone into metal.

  • Flametal RULES!!!!!
    author: Metal Mel

    "The Elder" definitely brings Metal to a whole new level. It's beauty and power all rolled into one as well as past meets present. It's a true masterpiece and one of my most prized possessions in my cd collection. My entire family loves FLAMETAL even though they are not necessarily into Metal but rather into Flamenco as they are of Spanish descent. My Metalhead friends love it as well and are in absolute awe of the cd having heard nothing quite like it before. There's something for everyone on this cd and I highly recommend it.

  • oh yeahhh
    author: dsouhg

    the cd who missed us! a pure moment of energy. we wait for the dvd, congratulations for all of you thank you

  • Aggressive and exotic!
    author: Elise Beaudry

    This cd is very impressive. The guitar work is incredible, and as bizarre as it seems, the 50/50 flamenco and metal mix works real well. Of course, the target audience for such an ecclectic mix is quite small, but for us open-minded metalheads (or... uh. flamenco-heads) this cd is very entertaining!

  • CDBaby recommended also for overseas transactions
    author: iangillan

    They informed me (money arrival, date of shipment) and transfer time was 7 days from the US to Germany. Good in new condition. Therefore recommended online shop.

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