Here's the latest article from the Heavy Metal / Hard Rock site at BellaOnline.com.

Hi fellow metal-heads.

Hope you’re surviving the winter blahs nicely --- unlike me who is feeling the wrath of the snow gods up here in chilly Ottawa, Canada. The winter here started off pretty terrifically (if you don’t like snow as I do, that is). It was a green Christmas and a fairly mild Dec. Now it’s back to reality as the temperatures have plunged and I’ve been taking the snowblower to my 200 foot driveway with exhausting regularity.

Lucky I’ve had a lot of great music to make the days seem not quite so bad. There’s been lots of new bands (or new to me) that continue to clog up my stereo. Mahavatar, St. Madness, The LoveCrave, Arsis and Feast For the Crows are all terrific.

I enjoyed an interview with Francine Boucher this evening. Francine is the vocalist for an up and coming band called Echoes of Eternity. Their debut record The Forgotten Goddess will be hitting stores on Feb 20 and you check it out. They play a kind of symphonic prog rock that is a bit more metal than the other bands out there and Francine has a voice that is quite similar to Liv Kristine of Leaves’ Eyes --- in other words, very good. You will be able to check that interview out shortly.

The rock world rejoiced this week with the news that David Lee Roth is officially back with Van Halen. As a huge fan of the band, I cannot wait to see them again. I got to see shows on the Diver Down and 1984 tours and it was two of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Dave is hands-down the most charismatic front man in all of rock and is able to hold the attention of 15,000 fans like he is having a backyard BBQ. Of course, whether the good ship VH can stay together long enough to get out there and rock is a question which we’ll have to wait on.

One of the pleasant surprises I’ve had recently is an excellent new band from Britain called the Drookit Dogs. They’re not metal but they are guitar based and can kick up a fuss when they want to. Check out their MySpace and play the songs LOUD, especially my favorite “Cradle Song” - http://www.myspace.com/drookitdogs

In the meantime, check out my latest review which is of Alicia Marie´s newest record "Smoke and Mirrors"
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art49063.asp

While not quite metal, this Los Angeles singer-songwriter has put out a record that is heavy on emotional content. She wrote all but two songs on the record (and co-wrote those two) and delivered a performance that is convincing enough to win an Oscar. Let me know if you agree by visiting her site --- links are at the bottom of the review.

And don’t forget to visit heavymetal.bellaonline.com for even more talk about Heavy Metal / Hard Rock. To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Heavy Metal / Hard Rock located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=189

Hey don’t be shy everybody. I’d love to hear from all of you about what you want to read on this site and what bands/artists you want covered. If you’re not happy --- I’m not happy! But I can’t know unless you tell me 

Morley Seaver, Heavy Metal / Hard Rock Editor
http://heavymetal.bellaonline.com

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