Marko Hietala: Pyre Of The Black Heart (Nuclear Blast)
A name that should be familiar to you Marko Hietala is the vocalist/bassist for both Tarot and Nightwish while also being an in demand guest vocalist for acts like Delain and Northern Kings. His distinctive vocals phrasing though has been at it's best when paired against any of the three brilliant lead singers of Nightwish, with Nightwish now at the biggest they have ever been at their career Hietala has turned his focus on creating a solo album, he had a huge backlog of music in conjunction with his writing for Tarot and Nightwish (though most of their material comes from Tuomas Holopainen) that was more personal to him, it's music that wasn't right for Tarot due to it's darker more reflective nature. The dramatic romanticism of I, Dream and Death March For Freedom are very obvious choice with some Dio-era Sabbath and Deep Purple organs creeping in on the latter, while the former is a softly spoken acoustic record.
It's a very atmospheric record and built upon layers of keening acoustics mostly some excellent 12-String playing from Hietala which has Marko bringing some Finnish folk flourishes to a heavy prog sound that he has been able to take in any direction due to the continued success of Nightwish. It means that on The Voice Of My Father is a dark ballad with moody bass and piercing synth showcasing the range of Hietala's voice. The spirit of prog looms large on Pyre Of The Black Heart the songs with Marko stretching his creative muscles aided by Tuomas Wäinölä (guitar) and Vili Ollila (keyboards), who helped compose the album adding the atmosphere to the Floydian For You, the big riffs to Star, Sand And Shadow, the band is rounded out by drummer Anssi Nykänen who shows off on Runner Of The Railways driving it like a nuclear powered locomotive. This is a look into the musical soul of Marko Hietala and it's one that is brimming with creativity, if your only exposure is Nightwish or even Tarot then it's time to expose yourself to the other sides to this Finnish musician. 8/10
Konvent: Puritan Masochism (Napalm Records)
If I were to describe Puritan Masochism in one word it would be terrifying. If this music was a colour it would be Vantablack, unaffected by any sunlight that shines upon it, the Danish band that have created clearly imbued by the moribund spirit of Paradise Lost, Mythic and My Dying Bride. Not what you would expect from a band that come from the birthplace of Lego. Formed in 2015 the band is made up of Heidi Withington Brink (bass), Sara Helena Nørregaard (guitars), Rikke Emilie List (vocals) and Julie Simonsen (drums) and this is their debut album. All I can say is that they must have been in a dark place when they wrote it as it's death/doom at it's spine-tingling best, the guttural vocals of Rikke is jarring but perfectly fits in with the down-tuned morose doom riffs form her bandmates.
Trust is particularly abrasive with the whispers behind the main vocal all the more upsetting when listened to on headphones, while World Of Gone has a repeating riff that forces you to nod along at a slow speed of course, though not as slow as the devastating Bridge which crawls along ripping and tearing towards it's climax. The riffs here range from mountainous to cavernous as it peaks and troughs across nine tracks of which the final two are part of a suite called Ropes which close the album with two songs that are 4 minutes and 7 minutes apiece. A monumental opening gambit from Konvent, they've been called the band that may kickstart the new class of death/doom, it's difficult to argue on the basis of Puritan Masochism. 8/10
Temperance: Viridian (Napalm Records)
Yet more symphonic metal from Italians Temperance, Viridian is their second album with new vocalists Alessia Scolletti and Michele Guaitoli who serve as the clean vocalists in conjunction with founding guitarist Marco Pastorino's harsh vocals. So yes they sound like Amaranthe, as they merge crunchy metal with bouncy pop and ripples of electronica throughout. Alessia, Michele and Marco's vocals all meld well on numbers such as I Am The Fire and the rampaging My Demons Can't Sleep, it goes full pelt from moment one bringing hook after epic hook, the title track being a prime example of songs written for the live stage, even on more romantic songs like Let It Beat are made to get you bouncing as the three voices trade off though here it mainly the two clean singers, Nanook brings more folk influences to the standard modern symphonic sound. Now I have a problem with bands like Amaranthe is that the songs to tend to blur into one another and I found that with this record as well I was writing this review while listening and what I thought was track 2 was actually track 7. It gets a bit blurry and I find myself losing interest, still it's big business so good luck to them. 6/10
Yoth Iria: Under His Sway (Repulsive Echo)
In the annals of Hellenic Black Metal the name Jim Mutilator is about as revered as they come, a founding member of both Rotting Christ and Varathron he is the one of the originators of the Hellenic black metal sound, his dirty bass sound was so integral to those early RT records. Ferocious and biting in it's frantic fuzz, Under His Sway is a record that harks back to those records while continuing this style of music into another decade. Jim has been joined by some more former RT alum in the shape of Magus Wampyr Daoloth on vocals along with George Emmanuel on guitar. Musically it doesn't stray from the Hellenic Black Metal blueprint as the title track builds up with Emmanuel's guitar showing why he was such a major part of Rotting Christ's sound until recently.
The title track builds up into multi-layered black metal tremolo picking ripping your face off with the mixture of aggressive riffs, swathes of synths, it's heavy hitting and a great opening for the album. The almost-symphonic Sid-Ed-Djinn and has some Greek traditional touches, that are ramped up fully towards the end. At just three tracks it's a sharp shock of Hellenic black metal that is closed out by a cover of Visions Of The Dead Lover from Rotting Christ's Thy Mighty Contract bringing things back full circle. Under His Sway is Hellenic BM from one of it's inventors, play loud and worship Satan! 7/10
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