Hanging Garden: Into That Good Night (Lifeforce Records)
Finnish band Hanging Garden are influenced heavily by art and other styles of music which is probably why they have taken a line from a Dylan Thomas poem for as the title of their sixth studio album. They have been playing since 2004, though since 2010 there are no founding members remaining in the band yet they are still playing, recording and touring. If you're of a sunny disposition then you may want to avoid this record as it's full of bleak doom laden music, it's downtuned, bleakly melodic and thoroughly miserable. This is music that has been perfected by Katatonia, Swallow The Sun and our own Paradise Lost, but Hanging Garden as the songs are built around a melancholic backing and gruff vocals that move between haunting and soulful to roared and vicious.
Fear, Longing, Hope And The Night is an ominous song that shows what I've previously mentioned as the title track builds from a clean opening into the more frenetic last part, before a wistful piano piece closes the song out, as the piano once again comes in for the opening to Rain the synths swirl and it opens out into one of the albums best tracks, bringing in Riikka Hatakka for some beautiful female vocals to this mournful but melodic number. Into That Good Night is a record made for cold winter nights, I can't promise it'll warm you up, but it may enthrall you. 8/10
Prong: Age Of Defiance (Steamhammer/SPV)
Prong return with an EP to whet the appetite for a full length next year. What you get here is two new album tracks and three songs recorded live at the Berlin club Huxleys Neue Welt in April 2015, Rude Awakening from the album of the same name with Another Worldly Device and Cut Rate coming from their breakthrough release The Cleansing. These three final tracks are a look at Prong's past with the thrash/crossover sound really giving grooves to these numbers which are typical 90's thrash fair, albeit well recorded so they do sound a little like the recorded versions. So then we have to look at the other two tracks on the album to see the Prong of 2019. End Of Sanity is more traditional Prong, a groove heavy thrash number with their hardcore influence looking large, however the title track is a little different to what you'd expect from the band as it's a bit more a modern track that's got some metalcore sounds to it due to the thick breakdown riffs and soaring chorus. This is an EP that goes full circle through Prong's history in just 5 tracks so it'll be interesting to see which direction of any they focus on for the album. 6/10
Secret Chapter: Chapter One (Crime Records)
Secret Chapter were formed in Norway in 2017, Chapter One is their debut full length that has was written throughout 2018 under the co-producing eye of Andy LaRocque who makes this melodic metal album explode from your speakers. Kicking off with Baptized With Ecstasy this album rings out with an album that owes as much to Judas Priest, Accept and Queensryche as they do Deep Purple, it's melodic metal with high pitched vocals, brilliant guitar playing and keyboards that underpin everything, One Night Ain't Enough is a big rocker which reminds me a lot of Hammerfall especially in the vocals, as Heavy Metal Love Affair is a massive 80's styled ballad with songs such as The Great Escape bring more bouncy metal anthems as Introspection rampages along with Enemy Inside brings in the big organ pulses. Secret Chapter are a very talented band and they've manged to release a debut album that is musically strong but won't change the world. Still if you want a melodic metal album that is good for repeat plays then check out Chapter One. 7/10
Sonus Mortis: Hold This Mortal Coil (Self Released)
Sonus Mortis is the idea of multi-instrumentalist Kevin Byrne who is the only musician on this record that I can see. He has written a record of doomy death metal that owes a dept to Greek masters such as Rotting Christ and Septicflesh, although Sonus Mortis hail from the Emerald isle. Now this record isn't released until the end of January but it will be worth the wait as unlike many one man projects Sonus Mortis is a very well conceived, produced and performed album full of extremity that is paired with massive symphonic elements. The ominous chanting on the title track works well with the black metal ferocity and growled vocal, but it's the orchestral swells that make this albums stand out from the numerous 'bedroom' metal bands out there (most of whom seem to dwell in the more extreme forms of metal). The production is a little D.I.Y but it makes for an album that is still a little raw even though the music is as dense as it can be layers of riffs are met with precision drumming (which may be a machine) as the orchestral sections raise the songs onto a higher level of appreciation for example The Descending Dealate reminds me a lot of Dimmu at their most grand. Hold This Mortal Coil is an impressive album, more so when you know it's the work of one man. If symphonic extreme metal lights your fire then I would be seeking this out on January 30th. 7/10
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