Orden Ogan: Ravenhead (AFM)
With such a glut of releases coming at the beginning of the year it's nice to see some of my personal favourite bands releasing album so early on, albeit making it harder for my end of year poll. I was very excited to see Power metal supreme from Germany, once again being the order of the day, with the epic strains of Orden Ogan's fifth and latest album Ravenhead (not to mention a new Blind Guardian album!) Now luckily Ogan have got in there first releasing their newest album just before their countrymen in Guardian release their latest opus (review coming soon) and they are all the better for it, as the theatrics and orchestral swell up on the intro before the battering ram drumming, lighting guitar work, keyboard flourishes and choir backed vocals get the title track moving along nicely before the keys come to the fore on the suitably anthemic F.E.V.E.R which distils Orden Ogan's sound perfectly and lets the you see the difference in style on the heavier yet still melodic The Lake. The band are terrific musicians with frontman Seeb supplying the vocals, guitars, keys as well the production, he luckily is backed by a band who play with precision and power driving along this album at a fair old pace. Ravenhead is pure unadulterated power metal throughout but its by no means light and fluffy, this is the sort of intelligent, classically influenced and bombastic power metal that Blind Guardian, Evergrey and Avantasia. It's because of this myriad of influences that the band can move from the galloping shout along of Evil Lies In Every Man which breaks down into a horror theme and classical guitars towards the end, with the almost thrash like militaristic metal of Here At The End Of The World (a track that features the gruff vocals of Grave Digger's Chris Boltendahl) then into bardic folk whimsy of A Reason To Give which sounds like it could come from Hans Zimmer then they show that they can do straight up marching power metal on Sorrow Is Your Tale which features the pipes of Hammerfall's Joacim Cans adding to the frivolity. So Orden Ogan have released yet another album of exciting, multi layered power metal laying down the gauntlet to their Tolkien-loving countrymen to try and beat it! 9/10
Beardfish: +4626-Comfortzone (InsideOut)
Swedes Beardfish have been releasing albums steadily since 2003 and since then every release has increased the bands musical scope and as such they have toured with Dream Theater, Flying Colors, Sound Of Contact, Spock's Beard and generally the great and the good of prog rock, yet they are still relatively unknown outside of prog circles focussing more on being musicians than trying to sell records, with an unchanged line up since 2003 the band have become somewhat of a cult but ever present force in progressive music drawing their inspiration from the glory days of 70's prog and honing it to a fine art. +4626-Comfortzone is the bands eighth album and yet again it is more of what the band do so well, intelligent, progressive music filled with pastoral whimsy, melodic pomp and the same kind of laid back, evocative music that Yes and Genesis played back in the day, for just a four piece the music has a real depth to it with all four members playing with technical virtuosity and a keen ear for melody, the staccato riff and jumpy guitar lines on Hold On is testament to this as it moves between fast and slow with lots of melodic guitars from David Zackrisson and Rikard Sjöblom that Steve Howe would be proud of, this along with some nimble bass work from Robert Hansen and sublime drumming from Magnus Östgren makes for an interesting start-stop opening track before we are taken to more spacey territory on Comfort Zone which features some Air-like synths and keys from Sjöblom as well as his great vocals on this big ballad that is at odds to the following track Can You See Me Now? which is part Glam Rock part Jazz and this genre bending continues throughout the album with the driving rock of King the pastoral country of The One Inside: Part 2, the metallic Daughter/Whore; with the show stopper being the 15 minute plus If We Must be Apart (A Love Story Continued). Beardfish are a genre defying retro throwback to 70's that encompass all kinds of music for their off-kilter sound that is not to dissimilar to Brits Bigelf. Yet another album of crazy, gonzoid but intelligent music from the Swedes and one that will keep them, keeping on for a good while to come. 8/10
Adimiron: Timelapse (Scarlet Records)
Adimiron play progressive thrash metal with touch of death metal thrown in, giving them a sound akin to modern Machine Head with some big breakdown riffs, fast paced passages and aggressive vocals from frontman Andrea. Opening track Collateral immediately drags you into the maelstrom of riffage these Italians produce, then State Of Persistence brings in the more progressive elements with nods to the wall of sound Messuggah are known for, Oz and Alessandro's guitars are muscular and drive the groove as Federico Maragoni's drums and Maurizio Villeato's bass playing are battering rams for the sledgehammer sounds on The Giant The Cow and the title track which has more than a hint of Gojira about it (fret slides and all). The band do what they do very well and if you are a fan of groove driven, progressive thrash then you will love their twitchy, progressive, brutal, and indeed thoroughly modern heavy metal however there are many bands doing this kind of thing with more success and more recognition. Still they do what they do well and the progressive nature of the band may put many off but it does mean that the band are not just another wall of riffage thrash band with no substance to them, the band have a little brains. Like I said a good album but tread carefully if proggy time signatures and unrelenting riffage are not your thing. 6/10
Sunday, 25 January 2015
Saturday, 24 January 2015
Another Point Of View: Amon Amarth (Review By Nick)
Amon Amarth - Thekla, Bristol.
On what was becoming a monthly pilgrimage to Bristol, we headed this time to see the mighty Amon Amath… on a boat no less. Throughout the previous 24 hours there was much debate as to the fitness of front man Johan Hegg, as the previous night, due to illness, he was not able to perform with his loyal crew. Leaving Huntress lead singer Jill to step in. Did we want to see or hear this? …God no! Thankfully word broke on social media that Johan was to be performing that night, leading to our great leader [*blushes* Ed] Matt stating; “thank f**k for that, 50% Johan is better than 100% Jill” Well-said sir! Well said indeed.
On what was becoming a monthly pilgrimage to Bristol, we headed this time to see the mighty Amon Amath… on a boat no less. Throughout the previous 24 hours there was much debate as to the fitness of front man Johan Hegg, as the previous night, due to illness, he was not able to perform with his loyal crew. Leaving Huntress lead singer Jill to step in. Did we want to see or hear this? …God no! Thankfully word broke on social media that Johan was to be performing that night, leading to our great leader [*blushes* Ed] Matt stating; “thank f**k for that, 50% Johan is better than 100% Jill” Well-said sir! Well said indeed.
Savage Messiah and Huntress
Due to all of us having the, um… experience of seeing Huntress and Savage Messiah live we had initially planned to stay in the pub and give them a miss, however due to the nature and size of the Thekla we decided to head in a little early. Catching what was left of the Messiah set we got what we have seen many many times before as they seem to follow us wherever we may roam; generic heavy metal with little substance. This also meant that we had the entire of Huntress to stand through, which for me is more annoying than anything as the work put in from the band is actually pretty good and does get your head bobbing, unfortunately every time the tuneless screeching voice of Jill arrives, it ruins any momentum the lads get going in my eyes… she really does ruin this band for me, and I love female fronted bands! So to the Thekla’s bar we adjourned to wait for Amon to take stage.
Due to all of us having the, um… experience of seeing Huntress and Savage Messiah live we had initially planned to stay in the pub and give them a miss, however due to the nature and size of the Thekla we decided to head in a little early. Catching what was left of the Messiah set we got what we have seen many many times before as they seem to follow us wherever we may roam; generic heavy metal with little substance. This also meant that we had the entire of Huntress to stand through, which for me is more annoying than anything as the work put in from the band is actually pretty good and does get your head bobbing, unfortunately every time the tuneless screeching voice of Jill arrives, it ruins any momentum the lads get going in my eyes… she really does ruin this band for me, and I love female fronted bands! So to the Thekla’s bar we adjourned to wait for Amon to take stage.
Amon Amarth
This being the fifth time I have had the pleasure of seeing Amon Amarth, this occasion particularly excited me, as for some reason the band had chosen to do this what they called an “excursion” in tiny venues. This would give us the opportunity to see Amon in the raw flesh without all the pyro’s and stage sets... back to basics.
This being the fifth time I have had the pleasure of seeing Amon Amarth, this occasion particularly excited me, as for some reason the band had chosen to do this what they called an “excursion” in tiny venues. This would give us the opportunity to see Amon in the raw flesh without all the pyro’s and stage sets... back to basics.
Entering the stage to rapturous applause and shouts from the 300+ crowd the band broke swiftly into a set consisting of tracks from all eight of their albums, starting with Farther Of The Wolf, and damn were the Swedish metalers on form?! Had you not know of Johans illness you would never have guessed it with the performance he gave. The set consisted of what might as well have been a fan chosen best of set with tracks such as Live For The Kill, Death In Fire and Guardians Of Asgaard. The incredible thing about Amon Amarth is that they have formula that they use for every song, yet somehow have so much variety. A catchy lead riff from Olavi and Ted to open, followed by a crunching breakdown backed by Fredrik on the drums and the odd solo thrown in to break things up and repeat, with the power strength and rawness of Johan's voice thrown in on top it really does complete the package. As the set progressed it was clear to see the Johan's voice was suffering as he spoke between songs, however this was in no way conveyed into the singing. As the set drew to a close the crowd were a little less energetic due to the always-raging heat in the Thekla yet the final cards played by Amon were enough to spring anyone into life. One final tirade of; Victorious March, Twilight Of The Thundergods and Pursuit Of The Vikings gave the fans everything they wanted to hear, Amon's best anthems to date with a band truly on top form.
Despite the fine display from Amon Amarth there did seem to be something missing, and alas I believe that is all the pomp that usually comes along with this mighty Swedish band. Amon has spoilt us over the years by not just repeated fine live performances, but also at times phenomenal visual displays to accompany them, and this may have become a proverbial shot in ones own foot, as without them there is that bit of emptiness lingering in their performance. Regardless of this Amon showed their roots and why they have become the massive brand they are today in the metal community today, as well as showing us how far they have come from the days in Swedish rock clubs. They can get down and dirty as good as any other band for sure! While did appreciate and truly enjoy the opportunity too see Amon Amarth in a more intimate setting, in future I would like to resume the normal service and continue to be spoilt by these Swedish legends in their full onstage glory. 8/10 Illness? What illness?!
Wednesday, 21 January 2015
Reviews: Marylin Manson, Shattered Skies, Another Perfect Storm, Subterranean Masquerade
Marilyn Manson: Pale Emperor (Hell Etc.) [Review By Paul]
What can you say about Marilyn Manson? From the shock and outrage that he created in the 1990s when his notoriety reached a peak with Antichrist Superstar to the more recent substandard performances at Download and 2012’s poorly received Born Villain, Manson always provokes a reaction. Now, I’ll lay it straight here; I'm by no means the biggest Manson fan in the world. He’s disappointed me in the live arena, and I find some of his music relatively tedious and formulaic. However, he has written and performed some absolute ball-breaking anthems and intellectually has a lot to say which is worth a listen. His no-nonsense, couldn't give a fuck attitude along with his ability to remain relevant in a disposable world are inspiring.
So, what about the ninth long player from Manson, Pale Emperor? Well, I have to say it’s pretty strong. Opener Killing Strangers is classic Manson, heavy industrial tones with his familiar drawl provide you with a taster of the next 65 minutes. Deep Six is a rollercoaster of aggression, with some tasty riffage and a harder edge to his vocal delivery. The musicianship throughout the album is excellent, with Tyler Bates who delivers all of the guitar work particularly impressive. Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge returns to the snarling, disaffected Manson of old, equal levels of inspiration and disaffection evident. The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles veers sharply towards his dark side, whilst the God Of Fuck reminds us of his angst and twisted side during Warship My Wreck. This is Manson's best album for many years, with the industrial side of his music being allowed to the fore without the shock which was so evident on his earlier works. My only complaint about this album is that it never completely climaxes. The absence of the one killer track that grabs you by the throat and screams “I'm still fucking here”. However, his song writing remains of the highest quality and the majority of tracks on here are solid slabs of the dark, sinister and cinematic style industrial delivery that he has trademarked over the years. The Devil Beneath My Feet is a classic example of this. Pale Emperor, dedicated to his mother, who passed away last year after a long battle with cancer, suggests that Manson is still a relevant and important artist in the rock world. A welcome return to form. 8/10
Shattered Skies: The World We Used To Know (Hold Tight)
Hailing from Wicklow, Ireland by way of Southend On Sea, Shattered Skies are the most modern of metal bands with down tuned, palm muted riffs, technical bass playing, punchy songs and electronic elements throughout, I'm not a fan of the djent tag but Shattered Skies fall under it. What sets them apart from their peers is that frontman Sean Murphy sings with a great clean vocal delivery which gives them style similar to that of Tesseract and especially Brit proggers Haken. The World We Used To Know is their debut album and it is a strong showing with the intricate basswork of Jim Hughes anchoring every track from The End And The Rebirth through to the final title track; while Ross McMahon's drums are technical, jazzy and provide the flashes of ferocity that blur the rock and metal boundaries, he also handles the mixing too which is crisp and ensures everything is equal in terms of sound meaning that Ian Rockett's guitars can bring the chunky riffs thick and fast but also he can provide the laid back playing on the beautiful Elegance And Grace and a move towards more traditional progressive fair on Show's Over. Despite being referred to as djent in their press, as I have said the band actually have more akin with the classic progressive rock and metal of Haken, with only their palm muted guitars linking them too the djent scene. Much of this Haken comparison comes from Rockett's expressive use of keys, see As The Sea Divides and also from Murphy's impassioned vocals. So yes Shattered Skies are a modern progressive band that mix heavy metal and progressive rock perfectly but they are not overblown like much of the genre they inhabit, the band create concise musically dextrose music played with intense passion and flair. A truly impressive debut of epic, intelligent, modern, melodic progressive music. 9/10
Another Perfect Storm: S/T (Self Released)
Another Perfect Storm are an American alternative rock band formed by Ben Draiman; this unfortunately is all I know about the band members as there seems to be no information at all about any of the musicians other than Ben. Still there is a lot about Ben so we'll concentrate on that for now; now if the name sounds familiar it could be because Ben is the brother of Disturbed singer David and as such his vocals are powerful and emotive but different enough to his brother to set this record apart. His piano playing is also a key part of proceedings especially on the ballads like Trust, but for the most part this album is full of American Alt-Rock in the vein of Daughtry, Three Doors Down, Evanescence and the relatively unknown RA who APS share a lot of similarities with. This is a good album with some chunky guitars, songwriting with pop radio baiting sensibilities and if you like any of the aforementioned bands then you will find yourself singing along to These Wrongs, Mister Mister, Covet while marvelling at the mix of influences present here from the acoustic feel of the title track, the electro stomp of Burden and the bombastic orchestral finale Conversation. As I've said if you love American Alt-rock then you will love Another Perfect Storm and hopefully the strength of this album will do a lot to increase the profile of Ben Draiman in the UK and elsewhere. 7/10
Subterranean Masquerade: The Great Bazaar (Tanklit Music)
The Middle East seems to have habit of throwing out great bands in the last few years, bands that carve out their own niche with their own style of music, called 'Oriental Metal' by the major magazines. Hailing from countries such as Tel Aviv, USA and Norway Subterranean Masquerade follow in the footsteps of countrymen Orphaned Land by playing metal fused with Middle Eastern influences and a dash of prog rock thrown in. The two bands do seem intrinsically linked as they also share a drummer in the shape of Matan Shmley who does a sterling job similar to the one he does in Orphaned Land. The comparisons don't end there though as the band have the right amount of metallic crunch in Tomer Pink and Or Shalev's guitars and Kjetil Nordhus' guttural vocals, however the two guitarists can also deliver clean, mellifluous tones that work in tandem with Shai Yallin's keys and organs on the more progressive tracks like Reliving The Feeling which mixes Genesis or Yes with jazz touches and obviously the Middle Eastern touches, these at the forefront on pastoral instrumental Nigen which features some great acoustic playing and lots of wind instrumentation, the Blanket Of Longing is proper prog and is a chance for Paul Kuhr to show off his pipes and allows the band to indulge in some Jazz Odyssey before the searing guitar solos shoot in towards the end. The album is rounded off by a conglomeration of all their influences in the nine minute plus masterpiece Father And Sun. Subterranean Masquerade are yet another band drawing influences from their culture into their music and creating some truly unique sounds, much like Orphaned Land Subterranean Masquerade are a band with their own identity and here's hoping they don't wait 10 years to release another album!! 9/10
What can you say about Marilyn Manson? From the shock and outrage that he created in the 1990s when his notoriety reached a peak with Antichrist Superstar to the more recent substandard performances at Download and 2012’s poorly received Born Villain, Manson always provokes a reaction. Now, I’ll lay it straight here; I'm by no means the biggest Manson fan in the world. He’s disappointed me in the live arena, and I find some of his music relatively tedious and formulaic. However, he has written and performed some absolute ball-breaking anthems and intellectually has a lot to say which is worth a listen. His no-nonsense, couldn't give a fuck attitude along with his ability to remain relevant in a disposable world are inspiring.
So, what about the ninth long player from Manson, Pale Emperor? Well, I have to say it’s pretty strong. Opener Killing Strangers is classic Manson, heavy industrial tones with his familiar drawl provide you with a taster of the next 65 minutes. Deep Six is a rollercoaster of aggression, with some tasty riffage and a harder edge to his vocal delivery. The musicianship throughout the album is excellent, with Tyler Bates who delivers all of the guitar work particularly impressive. Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge returns to the snarling, disaffected Manson of old, equal levels of inspiration and disaffection evident. The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles veers sharply towards his dark side, whilst the God Of Fuck reminds us of his angst and twisted side during Warship My Wreck. This is Manson's best album for many years, with the industrial side of his music being allowed to the fore without the shock which was so evident on his earlier works. My only complaint about this album is that it never completely climaxes. The absence of the one killer track that grabs you by the throat and screams “I'm still fucking here”. However, his song writing remains of the highest quality and the majority of tracks on here are solid slabs of the dark, sinister and cinematic style industrial delivery that he has trademarked over the years. The Devil Beneath My Feet is a classic example of this. Pale Emperor, dedicated to his mother, who passed away last year after a long battle with cancer, suggests that Manson is still a relevant and important artist in the rock world. A welcome return to form. 8/10
Shattered Skies: The World We Used To Know (Hold Tight)
Hailing from Wicklow, Ireland by way of Southend On Sea, Shattered Skies are the most modern of metal bands with down tuned, palm muted riffs, technical bass playing, punchy songs and electronic elements throughout, I'm not a fan of the djent tag but Shattered Skies fall under it. What sets them apart from their peers is that frontman Sean Murphy sings with a great clean vocal delivery which gives them style similar to that of Tesseract and especially Brit proggers Haken. The World We Used To Know is their debut album and it is a strong showing with the intricate basswork of Jim Hughes anchoring every track from The End And The Rebirth through to the final title track; while Ross McMahon's drums are technical, jazzy and provide the flashes of ferocity that blur the rock and metal boundaries, he also handles the mixing too which is crisp and ensures everything is equal in terms of sound meaning that Ian Rockett's guitars can bring the chunky riffs thick and fast but also he can provide the laid back playing on the beautiful Elegance And Grace and a move towards more traditional progressive fair on Show's Over. Despite being referred to as djent in their press, as I have said the band actually have more akin with the classic progressive rock and metal of Haken, with only their palm muted guitars linking them too the djent scene. Much of this Haken comparison comes from Rockett's expressive use of keys, see As The Sea Divides and also from Murphy's impassioned vocals. So yes Shattered Skies are a modern progressive band that mix heavy metal and progressive rock perfectly but they are not overblown like much of the genre they inhabit, the band create concise musically dextrose music played with intense passion and flair. A truly impressive debut of epic, intelligent, modern, melodic progressive music. 9/10
Another Perfect Storm: S/T (Self Released)
Another Perfect Storm are an American alternative rock band formed by Ben Draiman; this unfortunately is all I know about the band members as there seems to be no information at all about any of the musicians other than Ben. Still there is a lot about Ben so we'll concentrate on that for now; now if the name sounds familiar it could be because Ben is the brother of Disturbed singer David and as such his vocals are powerful and emotive but different enough to his brother to set this record apart. His piano playing is also a key part of proceedings especially on the ballads like Trust, but for the most part this album is full of American Alt-Rock in the vein of Daughtry, Three Doors Down, Evanescence and the relatively unknown RA who APS share a lot of similarities with. This is a good album with some chunky guitars, songwriting with pop radio baiting sensibilities and if you like any of the aforementioned bands then you will find yourself singing along to These Wrongs, Mister Mister, Covet while marvelling at the mix of influences present here from the acoustic feel of the title track, the electro stomp of Burden and the bombastic orchestral finale Conversation. As I've said if you love American Alt-rock then you will love Another Perfect Storm and hopefully the strength of this album will do a lot to increase the profile of Ben Draiman in the UK and elsewhere. 7/10
Subterranean Masquerade: The Great Bazaar (Tanklit Music)
The Middle East seems to have habit of throwing out great bands in the last few years, bands that carve out their own niche with their own style of music, called 'Oriental Metal' by the major magazines. Hailing from countries such as Tel Aviv, USA and Norway Subterranean Masquerade follow in the footsteps of countrymen Orphaned Land by playing metal fused with Middle Eastern influences and a dash of prog rock thrown in. The two bands do seem intrinsically linked as they also share a drummer in the shape of Matan Shmley who does a sterling job similar to the one he does in Orphaned Land. The comparisons don't end there though as the band have the right amount of metallic crunch in Tomer Pink and Or Shalev's guitars and Kjetil Nordhus' guttural vocals, however the two guitarists can also deliver clean, mellifluous tones that work in tandem with Shai Yallin's keys and organs on the more progressive tracks like Reliving The Feeling which mixes Genesis or Yes with jazz touches and obviously the Middle Eastern touches, these at the forefront on pastoral instrumental Nigen which features some great acoustic playing and lots of wind instrumentation, the Blanket Of Longing is proper prog and is a chance for Paul Kuhr to show off his pipes and allows the band to indulge in some Jazz Odyssey before the searing guitar solos shoot in towards the end. The album is rounded off by a conglomeration of all their influences in the nine minute plus masterpiece Father And Sun. Subterranean Masquerade are yet another band drawing influences from their culture into their music and creating some truly unique sounds, much like Orphaned Land Subterranean Masquerade are a band with their own identity and here's hoping they don't wait 10 years to release another album!! 9/10
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Reviews: Sylosis, Neopera, Lacertilla
Sylosis: Dormant Heart (Nuclear Blast)
Four albums into their career and Sylosis are coming of age, with Edge Of The Earth they really showed what they could do with a technical thrash near-masterpiece full of epic songs. They then took this more progressive style and went back to their extreme roots on Monolith. So where do they go now? Well as Where The Wolves Come To Die kicks off with it's slow, heavy riff replete with frenzied drumming the atmosphere is built as it crescendos and dives straight into the rapid death metal of Victims And Pawns which once again shows Sylosis' thrash roots but also their progressive tendencies as it slows in the middle before frontman Josh Middelton solos like demon. One thing that always strikes about Sylosis is just how damn fine their musicianship is; Middleton is both an amazing vocalist and a sublime guitarist ably backed by Alex Bailey's rhythm and the frankly abusive rhythm section of Chris Parnell and Rob Callard (who has since left). Dormant Heart is both heavy and melodic and shows Sylosis' keen ear for melody and also their use of light and shade to colour their works, they blend extreme and the more mainstream effortlessly and on this album with tracks like the thrashtastic Overthrown and Leech which echoes Rob Flynn and co. In fact as this album progresses you can't help but think of how the American acts like Machine Head and Trivium have progressed in their careers moving from straight thrash, through metalcore and then adding more progressive elements to their sound and comparing this trajectory to the one Sylosis are on, they seem to have done similar but in fewer albums, successfully mixing their past and their current more mature form together perfectly. This album is a musical experience with twists and turns throughout, every song gives gives you another facet to Sylosis' sound. Tracks like Indoctrinated move from brutal speed, an uplifting middle section a vicious breakdown and then back again, before being followed by the more 'proper' metal of Harm, the stomping metalcore of Mercy, the emotive Callous Souls before the album ends with the nine minute Quiescent which is a distilled version of everything Sylosis do from textured acoustics to extremity in one song. The two bonus tracks are also good with the atmospheric Pillars Erode which sounds a lot like Stone Sour and a cover of Smashing Pumpkins' Zero. Sylosis have come of age on this record and thoroughly staked their claim as the British equivalent and indeed successors to bands like Machine Head, expect them to reach these lofty heights soon because of this awesome album, produced by producer extraordinaire Scott Atkins, its the album Sylosis have been aiming for since their inception lets hope it translates to the respect and admiration they deserve. A great way to kick off 2015!! 9/10
Four albums into their career and Sylosis are coming of age, with Edge Of The Earth they really showed what they could do with a technical thrash near-masterpiece full of epic songs. They then took this more progressive style and went back to their extreme roots on Monolith. So where do they go now? Well as Where The Wolves Come To Die kicks off with it's slow, heavy riff replete with frenzied drumming the atmosphere is built as it crescendos and dives straight into the rapid death metal of Victims And Pawns which once again shows Sylosis' thrash roots but also their progressive tendencies as it slows in the middle before frontman Josh Middelton solos like demon. One thing that always strikes about Sylosis is just how damn fine their musicianship is; Middleton is both an amazing vocalist and a sublime guitarist ably backed by Alex Bailey's rhythm and the frankly abusive rhythm section of Chris Parnell and Rob Callard (who has since left). Dormant Heart is both heavy and melodic and shows Sylosis' keen ear for melody and also their use of light and shade to colour their works, they blend extreme and the more mainstream effortlessly and on this album with tracks like the thrashtastic Overthrown and Leech which echoes Rob Flynn and co. In fact as this album progresses you can't help but think of how the American acts like Machine Head and Trivium have progressed in their careers moving from straight thrash, through metalcore and then adding more progressive elements to their sound and comparing this trajectory to the one Sylosis are on, they seem to have done similar but in fewer albums, successfully mixing their past and their current more mature form together perfectly. This album is a musical experience with twists and turns throughout, every song gives gives you another facet to Sylosis' sound. Tracks like Indoctrinated move from brutal speed, an uplifting middle section a vicious breakdown and then back again, before being followed by the more 'proper' metal of Harm, the stomping metalcore of Mercy, the emotive Callous Souls before the album ends with the nine minute Quiescent which is a distilled version of everything Sylosis do from textured acoustics to extremity in one song. The two bonus tracks are also good with the atmospheric Pillars Erode which sounds a lot like Stone Sour and a cover of Smashing Pumpkins' Zero. Sylosis have come of age on this record and thoroughly staked their claim as the British equivalent and indeed successors to bands like Machine Head, expect them to reach these lofty heights soon because of this awesome album, produced by producer extraordinaire Scott Atkins, its the album Sylosis have been aiming for since their inception lets hope it translates to the respect and admiration they deserve. A great way to kick off 2015!! 9/10
Neopera: Destined Ways (earMusic)
There does seem to be a fashion for bands with a trio of vocalists at the moment and Neopera follow that with two male and one female vocalist. Now what does this sound like I hear you ask? Well imagine a mix between Amaranthe, Lacuna Coil and Epica and you wouldn't be far off. This is your normal symphonic metal fodder with orchestrations galore, chugging metallic backing (with Gamma Ray's Henjo Richter providing the solos) and even some electronics thrown in. Add to this the trio of singers, these being a female soprano in the shape of Nina Jiers, Mirko Gluschke's aggressive harsh vocals and Thorsten Schuck's rich, deep baritone. The vocals work together well with all three having great voices and the musicianship is precise and well performed by all involved. However this album is not at all memorable, the songs blend into one and other and much of the music featured on this record has been done many times before. If you are a fan of symphonic metal (and I mean a real hardcore fan) then you may like this album however it didn't really grab my interest at all I'm afraid, it's just all a bit too safe and sounds like one long song towards the end. 5/10
Lacertilla: Crashing Into The Future (Self Released)
I've seen Lacertilla live a few times now and they are band that get better every time I see them, so having heard these songs in their ear-splittingly loud live form, I was excited to see how it would translate to record, would the frenzied madness and shamanistic grooves still be as effective in the studio. Well as the rampaging riffage of the title track opens this 5-track EP everything looks good. This collection of South Wales based musicians, members come from The Witches' Drum, Throun and Akb'al, play psychedelic, doom laden, space rock; with nods to MC5, Kyuss and especially early Orange Goblin, much of this comes from vocalist Matt Fry who is a dead ringer vocally for Ben Ward with the right mix of anger and spaced out mysticism, luckily he is backed by some top quality musical backing with Carl Richards tub thumping and Neal Palmer's bottom end providing the thick, sludgy groove for tracks like Abstract Reality as well as some dirty funk on Do Something! (which features the now immortal cowbell) The guitar contribution is also great with Lucas Zaluniski and Michael Young-Temple providing riffs that cut like a laser beam through James Bond as well as more intricate melodies and solos. the tracks move and twist as with lost of light and shade and a metric fuck tonne of riffage throughout but also more spacious, blissed out passages like the beginning to the trippy We Are The Flood which also features some tablas from Young-Temple before everything comes together around three minutes in on this musical headtrip before finally turning into the final track Tryin' To Do A Good Thing which is driven by a repetitive all consuming riff that brings the album to a monumental close. This is a great release that really shows off Lacertilla's chops as a band and does give you a sense the bands live power especially when played live. A full album please guys as this is well tidy!!! 8/10
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Reviews: Iris Divine, Karma Rassa, Melkor (Reviews By Paul)
Iris Divine: Karma Sown (Zinkferd)
Iris Divine is a three piece progressive metal outfit from Alexandria, Viriginia. Karma Sown is their second full length release and follows 2011’s Convergence. The band, is Brian Dobbs on bass, Navid Rashid on vocals and guitar and Kris Combs, drums, keyboards and programming. Karma Sown is a powerful release, with a heady mixture of eastern influences combined with epic soaring progressive sounds and some excellent playing. Dobbs' bass is prominent throughout; played more as an additional lead at times with climbing scales and driving rhythms. At times the band provide you with the scent of some of their influences; shades of early Queensryche and Dream Theater with the odd dash of Kings X all present. Rashid provides some stunningly good vocal work with his clean delivery fitting in perfectly with the band’s sound. He is no slouch on the guitar either with some soaring solos which complement the drumming of Combs along with the subtle keyboard work and sympathetic programming. As a huge Rush fan, it would be highly hypocritical of me to criticise the band for using programming to enhance their sound. Well worth a listen 8/10
Karma Rassa: Music Into The Void (Self Released)
Formed in 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Karma Rassa’s debut is full of melody, introspection and the atmosphere you’d expect from symphonic and progressive European metal. As well as sweeping melodic keyboard and synth sounds, the band demonstrate a harder edge with some tasty guitar riffs and a crashing rhythm section. The vocals of Nagual are a combination of Jonas Renke and the growling edge of Insomnium’s lead vocalist Niilo Sevänen. In fact, Karma Rassa sit very nicely in the same camp as the Finns, as well as Ghost Brigade, Swallow The Sun and other such bands. The album has a quality balance of light and shade, with tracks such as Apology Of Regress allowing the guitar work of twin guitarists Sigmund and Naar to come to the fore whilst Melaer’s keys are allowed to dominate other pieces, for example during Drawing The Steel. However, the band maintain a heavy edge throughout and the clean vocals are refreshing and also demonstrate Nagual’s vocal prowess. The songs are details and complex with impressive compositions, containing frequent time changes and blasts of real almost death metal at times combining with the sound of Dream Theater and Opeth to provide some delicious contrasts. Midway point in the album sees the band explore a bit of a psychedelic avenue with Explore Your Own Cosmos, which is a title that needs little explanation. Ice sits nicely in the melodic progressive metal genre and is a powerful track which merges some frantic riffing with delicate piano. This is a pretty decent album from a band who will hopefully get the opportunity to demonstrate their wares live before long.7/10
Melkor: Irlicht (Self Released)
A solo project from German Patrick Baumann, who has been a key member of several other bands, Melkor, named after a character from Tolkien’s middle earth, released this second full length album late in 2014. It is an interesting result, with Baumann delivering all of the music and vocals. With some mighty riffs, powerful drumming and vocals that sound like Cronos with a bad throat, Irlicht is very likely to appeal to the black metal fan. However, there is substantial melody and numerous hooks throughout the album. A variety of tempos and styles provide many complex layers and hidden depths throughout the eight tracks, and although the production isn't crystal clear, it is a solid slab of metal which has enough about it to warrant a listen. 7/10
Iris Divine is a three piece progressive metal outfit from Alexandria, Viriginia. Karma Sown is their second full length release and follows 2011’s Convergence. The band, is Brian Dobbs on bass, Navid Rashid on vocals and guitar and Kris Combs, drums, keyboards and programming. Karma Sown is a powerful release, with a heady mixture of eastern influences combined with epic soaring progressive sounds and some excellent playing. Dobbs' bass is prominent throughout; played more as an additional lead at times with climbing scales and driving rhythms. At times the band provide you with the scent of some of their influences; shades of early Queensryche and Dream Theater with the odd dash of Kings X all present. Rashid provides some stunningly good vocal work with his clean delivery fitting in perfectly with the band’s sound. He is no slouch on the guitar either with some soaring solos which complement the drumming of Combs along with the subtle keyboard work and sympathetic programming. As a huge Rush fan, it would be highly hypocritical of me to criticise the band for using programming to enhance their sound. Well worth a listen 8/10
Karma Rassa: Music Into The Void (Self Released)
Formed in 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Karma Rassa’s debut is full of melody, introspection and the atmosphere you’d expect from symphonic and progressive European metal. As well as sweeping melodic keyboard and synth sounds, the band demonstrate a harder edge with some tasty guitar riffs and a crashing rhythm section. The vocals of Nagual are a combination of Jonas Renke and the growling edge of Insomnium’s lead vocalist Niilo Sevänen. In fact, Karma Rassa sit very nicely in the same camp as the Finns, as well as Ghost Brigade, Swallow The Sun and other such bands. The album has a quality balance of light and shade, with tracks such as Apology Of Regress allowing the guitar work of twin guitarists Sigmund and Naar to come to the fore whilst Melaer’s keys are allowed to dominate other pieces, for example during Drawing The Steel. However, the band maintain a heavy edge throughout and the clean vocals are refreshing and also demonstrate Nagual’s vocal prowess. The songs are details and complex with impressive compositions, containing frequent time changes and blasts of real almost death metal at times combining with the sound of Dream Theater and Opeth to provide some delicious contrasts. Midway point in the album sees the band explore a bit of a psychedelic avenue with Explore Your Own Cosmos, which is a title that needs little explanation. Ice sits nicely in the melodic progressive metal genre and is a powerful track which merges some frantic riffing with delicate piano. This is a pretty decent album from a band who will hopefully get the opportunity to demonstrate their wares live before long.7/10
Melkor: Irlicht (Self Released)
A solo project from German Patrick Baumann, who has been a key member of several other bands, Melkor, named after a character from Tolkien’s middle earth, released this second full length album late in 2014. It is an interesting result, with Baumann delivering all of the music and vocals. With some mighty riffs, powerful drumming and vocals that sound like Cronos with a bad throat, Irlicht is very likely to appeal to the black metal fan. However, there is substantial melody and numerous hooks throughout the album. A variety of tempos and styles provide many complex layers and hidden depths throughout the eight tracks, and although the production isn't crystal clear, it is a solid slab of metal which has enough about it to warrant a listen. 7/10
Thursday, 8 January 2015
Reviews: Forever's Fallen Grace, Premortal Breath, Gypsy
Forevers' Fallen Grace: Ascending The Monolith (Self Released)
Forevers' Fallen Grace are progressive power metal band from Massachusetts and they play traditional American Prog/power metal with nods to Shadow Gallery, Symphony X and Dream Theater. The songs are progressive but in no way are they lightweight, this is heavy metal with crunching riffs, rapid fire drumming and some booming vocals that are very Russell Allen but with elements of King Diamond especially on the Gothic Mausoleum Of Dreams which is pure Mercyful Fate. As well as the progressive influences, they also have nods to Iron Maiden on Crown The Night Blind Guardian on Iron Will (Not a Grand Magus cover). These songs are swaggering anthems full of technical guitar playing from Kenneth E. McKee and Nelson Moore, the progressive drumming of Jim Norris and the nimble bass work of Kyle Hannon, all of which is at it's most evident on Suffer Our Sins and the instrumental Wombshifter. Frontman Michael Ferro is no slouch either mind bellowing the lyrics over the metallic assault that backs him. This is a great album for fans of power/progressive metal that hits much of the competition over the head with it's heaviness, if you like your metal technical, melodic and most of all heavy then FFG will be right up your street. 7/10
Premortal Breath: They (Self Released)
Heavy metal from Mannheim now with some thrash and classic metal thrown in to the pot to create a modern mix of styles. Yes this album is on the heavy side with big, hulking riffs from Sebastian Herbold and Tobias Eymer who emulate the likes of Machine Head, Trivium and Pantera with their groove infected thrash driven by Dominik Eymer and Thomas Pettrich's chunky rhythm section, Pettrich's drums especially are very good sounding like a ten tonne truck. The album falls down a little with the vocals which are an acquired taste, a bit Hetfield, a bit but Anselmo, but they do fit the music well, with Thomas Greulich's roars and growls punctuating the metallic assault behind it. If you like your metal with slab of groove, a touch of thrash and a whole lot of balls then They will be right up your street. 6/10
Gypsy: Twisted Levity (Salute Records)
Twisted Levity is Indian band Gypsy's debut EP featuring 5 songs of 80's style Glam metal in the style of Dokken, Mr Big, Motley Crue and even Van Halen in places. I'll address the elephant in the room, the production is not great, but is does give it an authentic crackly sound. The songs kicking off with the filthy and misogynistic Give Me Your Load but this type of music has always been known for its attitude to women still the music is good with a hard rock backing being the basis for most of the songs while nearly all of them have virtuostic solos that George Lynch and Paul Gilbert would be proud, however in a bizarre and novel addition only a half of these are guitar solos with the others coming from a sitar, the first two tracks are speedsters, while New Boy In Town is funk rock song shamelessly aping Extreme. The music is good but the band are let down by Sayandip Pahari's vocals who does the croon well on slower tracks like Judgement Day but his higher register is very grating. (Since the release of this record they have changed their singer, so I hope Sankalan Samaddar's vocals are better than his predecessors. Overall a neat little Ep from a band that only need a few changes to become very very good. 6/10
Forevers' Fallen Grace are progressive power metal band from Massachusetts and they play traditional American Prog/power metal with nods to Shadow Gallery, Symphony X and Dream Theater. The songs are progressive but in no way are they lightweight, this is heavy metal with crunching riffs, rapid fire drumming and some booming vocals that are very Russell Allen but with elements of King Diamond especially on the Gothic Mausoleum Of Dreams which is pure Mercyful Fate. As well as the progressive influences, they also have nods to Iron Maiden on Crown The Night Blind Guardian on Iron Will (Not a Grand Magus cover). These songs are swaggering anthems full of technical guitar playing from Kenneth E. McKee and Nelson Moore, the progressive drumming of Jim Norris and the nimble bass work of Kyle Hannon, all of which is at it's most evident on Suffer Our Sins and the instrumental Wombshifter. Frontman Michael Ferro is no slouch either mind bellowing the lyrics over the metallic assault that backs him. This is a great album for fans of power/progressive metal that hits much of the competition over the head with it's heaviness, if you like your metal technical, melodic and most of all heavy then FFG will be right up your street. 7/10
Premortal Breath: They (Self Released)
Heavy metal from Mannheim now with some thrash and classic metal thrown in to the pot to create a modern mix of styles. Yes this album is on the heavy side with big, hulking riffs from Sebastian Herbold and Tobias Eymer who emulate the likes of Machine Head, Trivium and Pantera with their groove infected thrash driven by Dominik Eymer and Thomas Pettrich's chunky rhythm section, Pettrich's drums especially are very good sounding like a ten tonne truck. The album falls down a little with the vocals which are an acquired taste, a bit Hetfield, a bit but Anselmo, but they do fit the music well, with Thomas Greulich's roars and growls punctuating the metallic assault behind it. If you like your metal with slab of groove, a touch of thrash and a whole lot of balls then They will be right up your street. 6/10
Gypsy: Twisted Levity (Salute Records)
Twisted Levity is Indian band Gypsy's debut EP featuring 5 songs of 80's style Glam metal in the style of Dokken, Mr Big, Motley Crue and even Van Halen in places. I'll address the elephant in the room, the production is not great, but is does give it an authentic crackly sound. The songs kicking off with the filthy and misogynistic Give Me Your Load but this type of music has always been known for its attitude to women still the music is good with a hard rock backing being the basis for most of the songs while nearly all of them have virtuostic solos that George Lynch and Paul Gilbert would be proud, however in a bizarre and novel addition only a half of these are guitar solos with the others coming from a sitar, the first two tracks are speedsters, while New Boy In Town is funk rock song shamelessly aping Extreme. The music is good but the band are let down by Sayandip Pahari's vocals who does the croon well on slower tracks like Judgement Day but his higher register is very grating. (Since the release of this record they have changed their singer, so I hope Sankalan Samaddar's vocals are better than his predecessors. Overall a neat little Ep from a band that only need a few changes to become very very good. 6/10
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Reviews: Incursed, Celtic Legacy, Dissorted (Reviews By Stief)
Incursed: Elderslied (Self Released)
The opening instrumental track, Song Of The Ancient transports you to a fantasy realm and sets you up for this movie-like album – the second by Spain's Incursed – which then breaks into Heart Of Yggdrasil, a heavy folk tune that gives many moments to bang your head to or jig to your hearts content. As mentioned before, the album feels almost movie-like with each song feeling like a different scene, from the instrumental introduction to the galloping riffs and drums of The Wild Hunt. Another song, aptly named Beer Bloodbath makes it feel as if you're in the tavern with the band, singing along and drinking. Jötnar places you right among the fabled giants of Norse mythology with its eerie chanting, chugging riffs and heavy bass. The music is solid and easy to listen to, Narot Santos and Jon Koldo Tera playing off each others voices whilst providing rhythm and Keyboards respectively. They are supported by Asier Amo's brutal drumming with Juan Sampredo providing bass and Aiser Fernàndez giving out the riffs. Incursed are not afraid to use their native language, as is shown in Suaren Lurraldea (The Land Of The Fire) which is one of the folkiest songs on the album, almost bordering on power metal in places. As with every movie, there's an epic battle and this comes in the form of One In A Million, a ten minute song which ranges from Folk metal to fast solos to the spoken word, putting one in mind of Rhapsody of Fire in places, to brutal growls and heavy drumming and all the way back to folk again. The band close the album with Promise Of Hope which, for those patient enough to wait through two minutes of silence, has a heavy cover of the Game Of Thrones theme as a bonus (which can be found separately on the EP of Beer Bloodbath). Overall a great and varied album. 9/10
Celtic Legacy: The Lie Of The Land (Eternal Legacy Records)
The fourth album, and the first in five years from the newly reformed Celtic Legacy, The Lie Of The Land starts with an eerie instrumental track before breaking into heavy folk tunes. The title track sounds very Maiden-esque, with galloping bass and rocking guitars, but with folk elements thrown in to make a great sound. The third track Emerald Eye, has a slower pace, yet still retains the steady folk beat, with some excellent solos from Dave Morrissey. Ciaràn Ennis' voice reminiscent of Mr Dickinson's in places, albeit with an Irish lilt. The Body And The Blood is the album's 'main track' so to speak, sitting at an impressive 11 minutes, starting off with a folky theme, before calming down and letting Morrissey show his skills on bass, keyboard and guitars before picking up the pace again and breaking into some great heavy metal riffing. The rest of the album follows the heavy metal/folk fusion, Reckless Abandon being one of the more folkier (It's a word now- Stamped & Official Matt) songs, with plenty of areas to start jigging to, Irish elements scattered throughout the song. Album closer Journey's End is also an outlier, being more of a ballad with two excellent solos from Morrisey, Ennis' voice soulful and almost lamenting. A good mix of heavier and lighter stuff, here's hoping the band continue with this sort of sound. 8/10
Dissorted: I (EP) (Self Released)
The first release from Germany's Dissorted, this EP is a great indication of what's to come from this band. Opening with the brutal Bloodshed Divine, the band don't let up, keeping the brutality coming all the way through. Mirco's angry vocals ranging from clean to growls and screams are supported by the melodic yet ruthless riffs of Sebastian and Flo, Martin's fast and heavy drumming and Dillon's chugging Bass. Every song is savage, The Somnabulist bringing in a brilliant riff and breakdown halfway through. Very much looking forward to a full release from the band, especially if they keep up this level of thrash. 8/10
The opening instrumental track, Song Of The Ancient transports you to a fantasy realm and sets you up for this movie-like album – the second by Spain's Incursed – which then breaks into Heart Of Yggdrasil, a heavy folk tune that gives many moments to bang your head to or jig to your hearts content. As mentioned before, the album feels almost movie-like with each song feeling like a different scene, from the instrumental introduction to the galloping riffs and drums of The Wild Hunt. Another song, aptly named Beer Bloodbath makes it feel as if you're in the tavern with the band, singing along and drinking. Jötnar places you right among the fabled giants of Norse mythology with its eerie chanting, chugging riffs and heavy bass. The music is solid and easy to listen to, Narot Santos and Jon Koldo Tera playing off each others voices whilst providing rhythm and Keyboards respectively. They are supported by Asier Amo's brutal drumming with Juan Sampredo providing bass and Aiser Fernàndez giving out the riffs. Incursed are not afraid to use their native language, as is shown in Suaren Lurraldea (The Land Of The Fire) which is one of the folkiest songs on the album, almost bordering on power metal in places. As with every movie, there's an epic battle and this comes in the form of One In A Million, a ten minute song which ranges from Folk metal to fast solos to the spoken word, putting one in mind of Rhapsody of Fire in places, to brutal growls and heavy drumming and all the way back to folk again. The band close the album with Promise Of Hope which, for those patient enough to wait through two minutes of silence, has a heavy cover of the Game Of Thrones theme as a bonus (which can be found separately on the EP of Beer Bloodbath). Overall a great and varied album. 9/10
Celtic Legacy: The Lie Of The Land (Eternal Legacy Records)
The fourth album, and the first in five years from the newly reformed Celtic Legacy, The Lie Of The Land starts with an eerie instrumental track before breaking into heavy folk tunes. The title track sounds very Maiden-esque, with galloping bass and rocking guitars, but with folk elements thrown in to make a great sound. The third track Emerald Eye, has a slower pace, yet still retains the steady folk beat, with some excellent solos from Dave Morrissey. Ciaràn Ennis' voice reminiscent of Mr Dickinson's in places, albeit with an Irish lilt. The Body And The Blood is the album's 'main track' so to speak, sitting at an impressive 11 minutes, starting off with a folky theme, before calming down and letting Morrissey show his skills on bass, keyboard and guitars before picking up the pace again and breaking into some great heavy metal riffing. The rest of the album follows the heavy metal/folk fusion, Reckless Abandon being one of the more folkier (It's a word now- Stamped & Official Matt) songs, with plenty of areas to start jigging to, Irish elements scattered throughout the song. Album closer Journey's End is also an outlier, being more of a ballad with two excellent solos from Morrisey, Ennis' voice soulful and almost lamenting. A good mix of heavier and lighter stuff, here's hoping the band continue with this sort of sound. 8/10
Dissorted: I (EP) (Self Released)
The first release from Germany's Dissorted, this EP is a great indication of what's to come from this band. Opening with the brutal Bloodshed Divine, the band don't let up, keeping the brutality coming all the way through. Mirco's angry vocals ranging from clean to growls and screams are supported by the melodic yet ruthless riffs of Sebastian and Flo, Martin's fast and heavy drumming and Dillon's chugging Bass. Every song is savage, The Somnabulist bringing in a brilliant riff and breakdown halfway through. Very much looking forward to a full release from the band, especially if they keep up this level of thrash. 8/10
Friday, 2 January 2015
Reviews: Amulet, State Urge, Renegade
So a round up of the last reviews of 2014 with two late releases and one released earlier in the year
Amulet: The First (Century Media)
Amulet are an English metal band that are so deep in NWOBHM that you'd think the last thirty odd years never happened. With an album split into two sides with every song full of rumbling bass, dual guitar attack, metronomic drumming and helium vocals. The songs don't relent from the first chords of Evil Cathedral, through the stomp of Bloody Nights and into the two instrumental tracks and beyond this is an album that is straight out of 1980's encompassing all the sounds of that come with it. The 13 songs on this album are dirty, sleazy, leather clad metal with the same occult lyricism that perennial black magic purveyors Angel Witch have always peddled with nods to Priest and of course Maiden. Amulet are one band in very wide genre and they can stand up to the Swedes in terms stylistic authenticity there is very little else I can say about this album other than if you like music that harks back tot he glory days of British metal then you will love Amulet. 7/10
State Urge: Confrontation (Self Released)
Polish band State Urge make music that is steeped in classic rock style but it is also both technical and progressive without being pretentious. The claim their genre is 'White Rock' but what it actually is, is a mixture of sounds that is organ drenched 70's prog mixed with jazz and a some hard rock thrown in for good measure the first two tracks merge together into one cohesive song, with the second part Revival being mostly an instrumental piece that lets the band show off their musical chops. Despite the overarching progginess of it all the songs do not outstay their welcome with only three songs coming in at over 6 minutes long but most of them never seem like they are long pieces as the music keeps you interested as it moves through all manner of moods and indeed types of music with nods to Steven Wilson, Pink Floyd (Cold As A Lie) as well as 70's occult on Midnight Mistress which features some great organ and bells from Michał Tarkowski, the rest of the band too are all very talented musicians with the rhythm section of Krystian Papiernik's bass and Marcin Bocheński's drums providing the corner stone on which all of the songs are build finally rounding out the band is Marcin Cieślik who provides the soaring guitars and also the soulful vocals. If I'm honest Midnight Mistress is one of the weaker songs on the album but is perfectly positioned in the middle of album and ends very well before transitioning into the folk balladry of New Season and the fuzzing space rock of Before The Dawn before the album ends in strongly with the slow burning More. This is State Urges second album and it is one that will hopefully bring them to the attention of many more people, pure progressive bliss. 9/10
Renegade: Thunder Knows No Mercy (Pure Underground Records)
With so many power metal bands coming from Germany and Sweden its sometimes easy to forget that Italy have a rich power metal history and Renegade are part of that history having been around since about 2006. The excellently titled Thunder Knows No Mercy is their fifth album and unsurprisingly it follows in the same no compromise style of thunderous (sorry) heavy metal, With The World Is Dying leading the charge as the vocals hit highs only dogs can here. There is no room for emotion here with all the songs a fast metallic battering or a mid paced chug that echoes the Germanic style metal that Accept and Helloween have been playing since the 80's, they even have song called Screaming On The Eagle for God sake!! The only slowish song is Trail Of Tears but even that rocks up in the right places. There is no getting away from it Renegade are aping the Teutonic metal genre for all it's worth but they are a fun addition to any heavy/power metal fans collection and it proves the thunder indeed knows no mercy but also power metal has no shame. 7/10
Amulet: The First (Century Media)
Amulet are an English metal band that are so deep in NWOBHM that you'd think the last thirty odd years never happened. With an album split into two sides with every song full of rumbling bass, dual guitar attack, metronomic drumming and helium vocals. The songs don't relent from the first chords of Evil Cathedral, through the stomp of Bloody Nights and into the two instrumental tracks and beyond this is an album that is straight out of 1980's encompassing all the sounds of that come with it. The 13 songs on this album are dirty, sleazy, leather clad metal with the same occult lyricism that perennial black magic purveyors Angel Witch have always peddled with nods to Priest and of course Maiden. Amulet are one band in very wide genre and they can stand up to the Swedes in terms stylistic authenticity there is very little else I can say about this album other than if you like music that harks back tot he glory days of British metal then you will love Amulet. 7/10
State Urge: Confrontation (Self Released)
Polish band State Urge make music that is steeped in classic rock style but it is also both technical and progressive without being pretentious. The claim their genre is 'White Rock' but what it actually is, is a mixture of sounds that is organ drenched 70's prog mixed with jazz and a some hard rock thrown in for good measure the first two tracks merge together into one cohesive song, with the second part Revival being mostly an instrumental piece that lets the band show off their musical chops. Despite the overarching progginess of it all the songs do not outstay their welcome with only three songs coming in at over 6 minutes long but most of them never seem like they are long pieces as the music keeps you interested as it moves through all manner of moods and indeed types of music with nods to Steven Wilson, Pink Floyd (Cold As A Lie) as well as 70's occult on Midnight Mistress which features some great organ and bells from Michał Tarkowski, the rest of the band too are all very talented musicians with the rhythm section of Krystian Papiernik's bass and Marcin Bocheński's drums providing the corner stone on which all of the songs are build finally rounding out the band is Marcin Cieślik who provides the soaring guitars and also the soulful vocals. If I'm honest Midnight Mistress is one of the weaker songs on the album but is perfectly positioned in the middle of album and ends very well before transitioning into the folk balladry of New Season and the fuzzing space rock of Before The Dawn before the album ends in strongly with the slow burning More. This is State Urges second album and it is one that will hopefully bring them to the attention of many more people, pure progressive bliss. 9/10
Renegade: Thunder Knows No Mercy (Pure Underground Records)
With so many power metal bands coming from Germany and Sweden its sometimes easy to forget that Italy have a rich power metal history and Renegade are part of that history having been around since about 2006. The excellently titled Thunder Knows No Mercy is their fifth album and unsurprisingly it follows in the same no compromise style of thunderous (sorry) heavy metal, With The World Is Dying leading the charge as the vocals hit highs only dogs can here. There is no room for emotion here with all the songs a fast metallic battering or a mid paced chug that echoes the Germanic style metal that Accept and Helloween have been playing since the 80's, they even have song called Screaming On The Eagle for God sake!! The only slowish song is Trail Of Tears but even that rocks up in the right places. There is no getting away from it Renegade are aping the Teutonic metal genre for all it's worth but they are a fun addition to any heavy/power metal fans collection and it proves the thunder indeed knows no mercy but also power metal has no shame. 7/10
Wednesday, 31 December 2014
Reviews: United Progressive Fraternity, Starset, Black Trip
United Progressive Fraternity: Fall In Love With The World (InsideOut)
Formed from the ashes of Australia's premier progressive band Unitopia, United Progressive Fraternity features Unitopia founder member, Mark Trueback playing in a band for the first time without long-time collaborator Sean Timms who withdrew upon the collapse of Unitopia. He has taken some members of the previous band with him the most notable of which is guitarist Matt Williams, along with Williams he has drummer Dave Hopgood and percussionist Tim Irrang both coming from Unitopia. Trueback has also recruited several other progressive all-stars to the group, multi-instrumentalist Guy Manning, bassist Daniel Marsh, sax/keys player Marek Arnold and wind player Ian Ritchie all adding their skills to the group. As you may have noticed I've said UPF are a progressive group, not a progressive rock band, they incorporate all manner of sounds into their work, with orchestras, jazz, world music, rock and all manner of other styles thrown into the progressive melting pot. As the cinematic overture We Only Get One World opens the album, we can see that the almost shamanistic, hippie spirit of Unitopia still lives on through UPF as the songs are odes to the world with "thought provoking and meaningful lyrics with an emphasis on the human condition, the state of the environment and how we as the human race arrived at where we are today" so this is all very highbrow stuff but it is not pretentious, the music is melodic, inspiring and intensely musical. Choices starts off with a tabla backed beginning, some silky guitar playing, world music influences throughout, before moving into a wind instrument filled middle section and a short sharp solo from Williams before Arnold and Ritchie put their mark all over the tracks finale, before starting proceedings on the funky but rocking Intersection. Trueback's voice is fantastic, soulful and emotive carrying every lyric on his golden tonsils, this is progressive music for old-school prog fans, with elements of Yes, Spock's Beard, Pink Floyd, Pallas, IQ and even Toto. The albums two shortest songs are firstly the percussive The Water which has an environmental message about the bands drought prone country and features the unmistakeable vocals of former Yes man Jon Anderson, which goes straight into Don't Look Back - Turn Left which is nice little break from the overarching progness of it all (it is a world). The albums Pièce de résistance is the 21 minute plus Travelling Man (The Story Of ESHU) which is the best song on the album steeped in majesty. This is a truly stunning album, can I rewrite my top 20 please? 10/10
Starset: Transmissions (Razor & Tie)
Upon finding a mysterious signal from the Ophiuchus Constellation, that foretold humanities demise, the Starset Society commissioned a group of musicians and scientists to assist them in spreading the knowledge to a broader audience. This group are collectively known as Starset. This of course is the storyline (or is it?) for Starset's debut concept album and I will say they go all out with an official website dedicated to storyline, videos and updates on the official website all pushing the story forward. So with such attention to detail what is the music part like? Well the band are classed as cinematic rock and this is a very apt description of their music, for the most part the album is modern, American alternative rock, with electronic elements that make it sound symphonic and yes cinematic. The bands only named member is Dustin Bates who is the singer of alternative metal band Downplay and as the dubstep influenced First Light starts things off with an intro of sorts before the first real song is Down With The The Fallen which is pure alternative metal with heavy riffs, angsty verses and huge hooky choruses all sung with great power by Bates who alternates between melodic crooning and the occasional scream for good measure but the sound is fleshed out by the electronic elements that are present throughout. If I was to make a comparison the band sound a lot like latter period Linkin Park mixed with Muse or Biffy Clyro and Breaking Benjamin with huge measure of 30 Seconds To Mars thrown in; especially on the choruses which have the right amount of emotion and power to appeal to radio stations and harder rockers see one-two of the majestic Halo and the dirty electronic dub of Carnivore. Telescope is a bit of transition track which shows off the orchestral nature to it's fullest and straight into the second part of the record which starts with It Has Begun that is pure and orchestral and moves straight into the obvious first single the electro thump of My Demons before Antigravity once again sets a scene and splits the album in to segments with some thrusting orchestral passages that Hans Zimmer would be proud of. This is an album that will not be to everyone's taste, if you like your metal heavy then this won't be for you but fans of radio friendly American alternative rock/metal with a distinct theatrical flair then this will be for you, I for one think it's a great album and one that will get many replays on my stereo. 9/10
Black Trip: Goin' Under (Threeman Recordings)
Black Trip are somewhat of a Swedish metal supergroup with members of speed metal maniacs Enforcer and ex-members of both Exhumed and Entombed. However this album is not extreme metal neither is it leather clad speed metal, no Black Trip are stuck rigidly in the pre-Dickinson Maiden era, the songs are about dirty women, politics and the occult with Peter Stjärnvind and Sebastian Ramstedt's guitars echoing Murray and Stratton's original twin axe attack, see Voodoo Queen, Jonas Wikstrand's drums rumble like thunder and Johan Bergebäck's bass gallops like Steve Harris on amphetamines, see the bass intro on Radar. The album is engrained with classic early Maidenisms with the trademark riffs, progressive changes of pace, melodic guitar playing backed by the thumping rhythms which is especially prevalent on No Tomorrow which could sit on Killers perfectly. The early Maiden style is topped off by Joseph Tholl's DiAnno style vocals, he has gruff but strong voice that fits the music perfectly. With so many bands ploughing the NWOBHM furrow it's nice to have band not going for the siren scream style vocals but focussing on the very early days, still this album does lean more towards the pastiche than anything else albeit one that is done very well indeed. 6/10
Formed from the ashes of Australia's premier progressive band Unitopia, United Progressive Fraternity features Unitopia founder member, Mark Trueback playing in a band for the first time without long-time collaborator Sean Timms who withdrew upon the collapse of Unitopia. He has taken some members of the previous band with him the most notable of which is guitarist Matt Williams, along with Williams he has drummer Dave Hopgood and percussionist Tim Irrang both coming from Unitopia. Trueback has also recruited several other progressive all-stars to the group, multi-instrumentalist Guy Manning, bassist Daniel Marsh, sax/keys player Marek Arnold and wind player Ian Ritchie all adding their skills to the group. As you may have noticed I've said UPF are a progressive group, not a progressive rock band, they incorporate all manner of sounds into their work, with orchestras, jazz, world music, rock and all manner of other styles thrown into the progressive melting pot. As the cinematic overture We Only Get One World opens the album, we can see that the almost shamanistic, hippie spirit of Unitopia still lives on through UPF as the songs are odes to the world with "thought provoking and meaningful lyrics with an emphasis on the human condition, the state of the environment and how we as the human race arrived at where we are today" so this is all very highbrow stuff but it is not pretentious, the music is melodic, inspiring and intensely musical. Choices starts off with a tabla backed beginning, some silky guitar playing, world music influences throughout, before moving into a wind instrument filled middle section and a short sharp solo from Williams before Arnold and Ritchie put their mark all over the tracks finale, before starting proceedings on the funky but rocking Intersection. Trueback's voice is fantastic, soulful and emotive carrying every lyric on his golden tonsils, this is progressive music for old-school prog fans, with elements of Yes, Spock's Beard, Pink Floyd, Pallas, IQ and even Toto. The albums two shortest songs are firstly the percussive The Water which has an environmental message about the bands drought prone country and features the unmistakeable vocals of former Yes man Jon Anderson, which goes straight into Don't Look Back - Turn Left which is nice little break from the overarching progness of it all (it is a world). The albums Pièce de résistance is the 21 minute plus Travelling Man (The Story Of ESHU) which is the best song on the album steeped in majesty. This is a truly stunning album, can I rewrite my top 20 please? 10/10
Starset: Transmissions (Razor & Tie)
Upon finding a mysterious signal from the Ophiuchus Constellation, that foretold humanities demise, the Starset Society commissioned a group of musicians and scientists to assist them in spreading the knowledge to a broader audience. This group are collectively known as Starset. This of course is the storyline (or is it?) for Starset's debut concept album and I will say they go all out with an official website dedicated to storyline, videos and updates on the official website all pushing the story forward. So with such attention to detail what is the music part like? Well the band are classed as cinematic rock and this is a very apt description of their music, for the most part the album is modern, American alternative rock, with electronic elements that make it sound symphonic and yes cinematic. The bands only named member is Dustin Bates who is the singer of alternative metal band Downplay and as the dubstep influenced First Light starts things off with an intro of sorts before the first real song is Down With The The Fallen which is pure alternative metal with heavy riffs, angsty verses and huge hooky choruses all sung with great power by Bates who alternates between melodic crooning and the occasional scream for good measure but the sound is fleshed out by the electronic elements that are present throughout. If I was to make a comparison the band sound a lot like latter period Linkin Park mixed with Muse or Biffy Clyro and Breaking Benjamin with huge measure of 30 Seconds To Mars thrown in; especially on the choruses which have the right amount of emotion and power to appeal to radio stations and harder rockers see one-two of the majestic Halo and the dirty electronic dub of Carnivore. Telescope is a bit of transition track which shows off the orchestral nature to it's fullest and straight into the second part of the record which starts with It Has Begun that is pure and orchestral and moves straight into the obvious first single the electro thump of My Demons before Antigravity once again sets a scene and splits the album in to segments with some thrusting orchestral passages that Hans Zimmer would be proud of. This is an album that will not be to everyone's taste, if you like your metal heavy then this won't be for you but fans of radio friendly American alternative rock/metal with a distinct theatrical flair then this will be for you, I for one think it's a great album and one that will get many replays on my stereo. 9/10
Black Trip: Goin' Under (Threeman Recordings)
Black Trip are somewhat of a Swedish metal supergroup with members of speed metal maniacs Enforcer and ex-members of both Exhumed and Entombed. However this album is not extreme metal neither is it leather clad speed metal, no Black Trip are stuck rigidly in the pre-Dickinson Maiden era, the songs are about dirty women, politics and the occult with Peter Stjärnvind and Sebastian Ramstedt's guitars echoing Murray and Stratton's original twin axe attack, see Voodoo Queen, Jonas Wikstrand's drums rumble like thunder and Johan Bergebäck's bass gallops like Steve Harris on amphetamines, see the bass intro on Radar. The album is engrained with classic early Maidenisms with the trademark riffs, progressive changes of pace, melodic guitar playing backed by the thumping rhythms which is especially prevalent on No Tomorrow which could sit on Killers perfectly. The early Maiden style is topped off by Joseph Tholl's DiAnno style vocals, he has gruff but strong voice that fits the music perfectly. With so many bands ploughing the NWOBHM furrow it's nice to have band not going for the siren scream style vocals but focussing on the very early days, still this album does lean more towards the pastiche than anything else albeit one that is done very well indeed. 6/10
Another Point Of View: Dub War (Review By Neil)
Dub War, The Bassment, Newport
It's virtually impossible to mention Dub War without also mentioning Skindred, not least because the formation of the latter was purportedly borne out of frustrations and a tricky contractual situation involving the former. 2010's The Dub, The War & The Ugly compilation I believe sorted out the contractual situation with Earache and with enough time and water under the bridge to evidently appease the remaining frustrations so it was that Dub War returned in front of a rapturous Newport crowd a mere 16 years after their “final” UK show (the aforementioned compilation states that final show took place in London in January 1998, so the promo material hyping this as the bands' “first show in 18 years” was a little out unless it referred specifically to home town shows).
Anyone who ever saw Dub War live in their 90's heyday could probably tell that the band looked to be going places. With a unique sound and a massively charismatic front man their live shows at the legendary TJ's and other South Wales venues were the stuff of local legend. Thankfully the charismatic front man has in fact gained more charisma in the intervening years and the bands live show is still as tight as a very tight thing.
Strolling on stage clutching an air raid siren and sporting a fetching top hat Benji took the crowd into the palm of his hand as usual and did not let go until the last notes of the show had echoed out of the venue. Sounding said siren (just like old times!) the band launched straight into Psycho System followed by Respected and in doing so lived up to their pre-show promise of lots of old material getting an airing. Indeed, even Crack – a song that only appeared on their début Dub Warning EP until 2010's posthumous compilation was given a rare outing here.
The venue was packed with pretty much every patron in there moving to the stage area as soon as the band came on which made getting a good vantage point to actually see anything quite difficult until things calmed down a few songs into their set – “calm” in a relative sense of course! Even though the majority of the crowd could probably not be described as young they still gave it their all bouncing and moshing their way through the set and giving off an energy that would be impossible for any band to not react to. Judging by the near-permanent grins on the faces of Benji, Jeff, Richie and Ginge it's probably fair to say that the band were having as much fun as the audience were.
As they progressed their way through what was essentially (and necessarily) a greatest hits set I started to notice that Benji wasn't his normal wise cracking, audience baiting self. No, this was a slightly different side to the man, more humble and serious than when fronting Skindred this is yet more evidence of why he is one the best (and most versatile) front men in heavy music today.
As the likes of Nar Say A Ting, Dub War, Fools Gold, Strike It and Gorrit were my own personal highlights of the set it was the closing track that stuck with me the most. That track? Over Now, with one very simple and obvious riposte from myself and every other person crammed into the Bassment to witness a gig 16-18 years in the making that we all probably thought we'd never see (10/10).
It's virtually impossible to mention Dub War without also mentioning Skindred, not least because the formation of the latter was purportedly borne out of frustrations and a tricky contractual situation involving the former. 2010's The Dub, The War & The Ugly compilation I believe sorted out the contractual situation with Earache and with enough time and water under the bridge to evidently appease the remaining frustrations so it was that Dub War returned in front of a rapturous Newport crowd a mere 16 years after their “final” UK show (the aforementioned compilation states that final show took place in London in January 1998, so the promo material hyping this as the bands' “first show in 18 years” was a little out unless it referred specifically to home town shows).
Anyone who ever saw Dub War live in their 90's heyday could probably tell that the band looked to be going places. With a unique sound and a massively charismatic front man their live shows at the legendary TJ's and other South Wales venues were the stuff of local legend. Thankfully the charismatic front man has in fact gained more charisma in the intervening years and the bands live show is still as tight as a very tight thing.
Strolling on stage clutching an air raid siren and sporting a fetching top hat Benji took the crowd into the palm of his hand as usual and did not let go until the last notes of the show had echoed out of the venue. Sounding said siren (just like old times!) the band launched straight into Psycho System followed by Respected and in doing so lived up to their pre-show promise of lots of old material getting an airing. Indeed, even Crack – a song that only appeared on their début Dub Warning EP until 2010's posthumous compilation was given a rare outing here.
The venue was packed with pretty much every patron in there moving to the stage area as soon as the band came on which made getting a good vantage point to actually see anything quite difficult until things calmed down a few songs into their set – “calm” in a relative sense of course! Even though the majority of the crowd could probably not be described as young they still gave it their all bouncing and moshing their way through the set and giving off an energy that would be impossible for any band to not react to. Judging by the near-permanent grins on the faces of Benji, Jeff, Richie and Ginge it's probably fair to say that the band were having as much fun as the audience were.
As they progressed their way through what was essentially (and necessarily) a greatest hits set I started to notice that Benji wasn't his normal wise cracking, audience baiting self. No, this was a slightly different side to the man, more humble and serious than when fronting Skindred this is yet more evidence of why he is one the best (and most versatile) front men in heavy music today.
As the likes of Nar Say A Ting, Dub War, Fools Gold, Strike It and Gorrit were my own personal highlights of the set it was the closing track that stuck with me the most. That track? Over Now, with one very simple and obvious riposte from myself and every other person crammed into the Bassment to witness a gig 16-18 years in the making that we all probably thought we'd never see (10/10).
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