Candlemass - Black Star (Napalm Records)
What the hell? Why do a band like Candlemass need to cover Black Sabbath's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Pentagram's Forever My Queen? Now I realise this is stopgap, fan service, "hey we're going on tour" release but Candlemass have enough of their own anthems to perhaps do an alternative version or maybe a left field cover of someone who you wouldn't associate with Candlemass.
As it stands doing Sabbath and Pentagram just feels lazy. Thankfully there's also two new songs and while Black Star will probably be on the set list all introspection, darkness, repeating choruses, it’s perfect for a live set while Corridors Of Chaos is an instrumental that feels like it needs some vocals. The covers are pretty perfunctory sounding exactly the same as the originals. I’m not sure who Black Star is for but it’s clearly for someone. 5/10Dvne - Live At The Biscuit Factory (Metal Blade Records)
Live At The Biscuit Factory is a foursome of tracks from Scottish post/prog band Dvne's most recent album Voidkind, recorded in a similar way to how they rehearsed for their European tour, which they are still currently in the middle of with a LOT of dates remaining. This is Dvne at their most intimate, a band with showcasing their full live prowess on a smaller scale. These four tracks reflect their favourites to play live, the ones that create the perfect atmosphere for what the band do on stage.
From the shimmering slow burn of Eleonora, into the Middle Eastern-meets-jazz rhythms of Sarmatae the five piece craft their magic, enveloping you with dreams of Arrakis as they up the aggression and break out the organs for Abode Of The Perfect Soul as this small taste of their live set closes with the cinematic progressive groover Cobalt Sun Necropolis. Excellent production, top class performance and four choice cuts, Live At The Biscuit Factory, gives anyone wondering what Dvne do live a brief but brilliant introduction. 7/10
Tales Of Time – The Journey (Self Released)
I’ve waiting for a collection of music, rather than one of singles from Colchester based symphonic metal act Tales Of Time since I saw them at Power Metal Quest Fest last year. Thankfully it is here and lives up to the anticipation I had for it. A 20 minute dive into Euro power metal with a J-Pop tinge to it, the impressive vocals of Anna Maria Rose showcased to their full as she soars and croons operatically over these five songs, that start with the cinematic The Journey, a song that’s all synths/strings and bouncy riffage, hooked on the bass guitar of Liam Gloster.
The sounds of Visions Of Atlantis, Xandria and of course Epica are all audible on this EP, guitarist Daniel Ackerman’s time in Fellowship can be heard on The Journey, while Chaos/Art goes down that Japanese inspired route and on Forgotten and Sleep the gothic elements are stronger, Anna Maria’s vocals counterpointed by Liam’s growls while Daniel and Tom Standen chug at the heavier end. Momentai takes you back to Euro power metal as Ed Curley’s drums rampage.
Full of uplifting, empowering lyrics and a heap of high profile influences, Tales Of Time may not have to wait long to be acknowledged as one of the UK’s best symphonic acts. 8/10
Marea – Adrift (Masked Dead Records)
Only a year has passed since Marea aka Matteo Balzarini’s debut album The Silence Of Rust, but he’s back with a three track EP that continues his journey through cathartic post black/doom, rich with atmosphere, plenty of build and release moments, tremolo guitar picking and pained vocal shouts. Matteo plays everything except drums, which are performed by Alessandro Mori, so this is very much his world, a world of darkness and introspection, but moments of divine beauty where melodic clean guitars and acoustics are at odds with ferocious blasts of black metal as if they’re restful moments of bliss between spirals toward oblivion.
Adrift separates itself from the debut by shifting itself more towards the melodic, the inspiration of water and it’s never ending movement the biggest factor on how this EP plays out. The closing track Marea, feels like it should be from a New-World Music record, layering acoustic guitars in a way Devin has done on some of his ‘lighter’ solo work. The other two cuts, Useless and Rusted are more structured toward the Marea style with emotionally powerful music that merges the light and shade very well the harsh vocals becoming a necessary purge.
Adrift separates itself from the debut by shifting itself more towards the melodic, the inspiration of water and it’s never ending movement the biggest factor on how this EP plays out. The closing track Marea, feels like it should be from a New-World Music record, layering acoustic guitars in a way Devin has done on some of his ‘lighter’ solo work. The other two cuts, Useless and Rusted are more structured toward the Marea style with emotionally powerful music that merges the light and shade very well the harsh vocals becoming a necessary purge.
Produced deftly by Carlo Meroni, Adrift is a beautiful companion piece to the debut, with its own charm. 7/10
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