Apostle Of Infinite Triumph is the fifth album by Finnish band Antipope. Originally formed as a black metal band back in 2004, Antipope have steadily incorporated different elements into their sound and progressed away from their black metal origins. The music on Apostle Of Infinite Joy is very much a mixing pot with trace elements of black metal mixed with melodic death metal, gothic metal and progressive metal. It is a mixed sound that works very well on certain songs but not so well on others.
The album takes a while to hit its stride with the first couple of songs being fairly unengaging but things pick up on the title track with its strong almost folky melodies and Red Goddess with its sharp riffs and blackened edge is the best song on the album. 0=2 also impressed with its somber, atmospheric yet epic feel. The rest of the album whilst decent suffers from the lack of memorable parts and at some points the mix of disparate sounds and elements comes across as a bit jarring instead of having a natural flow. Apostle Of Infinite Triumph is a decent album. I like the direction of the album and the mix of sounds and styles is something I wholly appreciate and enjoy but the execution on the whole misses the mark. 6/10
Sons Of Sounds: Soundsphaera (El Puerto Records) [Simon Black]
You see us journo’s love a pigeonhole. From the point where our esteemed Editor works out which one of us is best to review a release, to this poor slave to the keyboard looking to find a hook to hang his coat of words on. So when you get an act that don’t easily fall into a genre, then we need to up our game a bit and invent one. So I’m going to christen this ‘Familoprog’, and see if it sticks (although they apparently prefer ‘Free Metal’ as it doesn’t tie them down stylistically, which is a fair assessment of what this album is trying to do). Sons Of Sounds are three brothers, originally hailing from Russia, but now located in Germany and although this is the first time I’ve come across them, Soundsphaera is their sixth release, and their fifth full-length album. Musically, you can hear the progressive influence, but as a 3-piece this is a very stripped back sound without the kind of layering or broad mix of instruments that normally comes with a prog band. That said, tracks like On Fire sound quite Maidenesque in their instrumental sounds, and I have to keep reminding myself that I’m listening to 3 musicians, not 6.
The album takes a while to hit its stride with the first couple of songs being fairly unengaging but things pick up on the title track with its strong almost folky melodies and Red Goddess with its sharp riffs and blackened edge is the best song on the album. 0=2 also impressed with its somber, atmospheric yet epic feel. The rest of the album whilst decent suffers from the lack of memorable parts and at some points the mix of disparate sounds and elements comes across as a bit jarring instead of having a natural flow. Apostle Of Infinite Triumph is a decent album. I like the direction of the album and the mix of sounds and styles is something I wholly appreciate and enjoy but the execution on the whole misses the mark. 6/10
Sons Of Sounds: Soundsphaera (El Puerto Records) [Simon Black]
You see us journo’s love a pigeonhole. From the point where our esteemed Editor works out which one of us is best to review a release, to this poor slave to the keyboard looking to find a hook to hang his coat of words on. So when you get an act that don’t easily fall into a genre, then we need to up our game a bit and invent one. So I’m going to christen this ‘Familoprog’, and see if it sticks (although they apparently prefer ‘Free Metal’ as it doesn’t tie them down stylistically, which is a fair assessment of what this album is trying to do). Sons Of Sounds are three brothers, originally hailing from Russia, but now located in Germany and although this is the first time I’ve come across them, Soundsphaera is their sixth release, and their fifth full-length album. Musically, you can hear the progressive influence, but as a 3-piece this is a very stripped back sound without the kind of layering or broad mix of instruments that normally comes with a prog band. That said, tracks like On Fire sound quite Maidenesque in their instrumental sounds, and I have to keep reminding myself that I’m listening to 3 musicians, not 6.
Judging from their gig history, these guys mainly have an audience in Germany and Switzerland, hence the fact that they don’t stick to singing in English. That hasn’t stopped other acts from selling out stadiums, so no problem as far as I am concerned, but the German songs seem to scan better than the English ones melodically, so perhaps they should not be afraid to do more for their core market, because I haven’t seen it holding the likes of Rammstein back. This album has its strengths, and the parts that work best are the least progressive ones - check out Kriegerherz, which is definitely the most accessible song on the album, and pure power metal in structure and content (the title translates to Warrior’s Heart if you’re interested). I’ve also got a liking for the final track Are You Ready?, as it’s got the kind of energy that you can tell is going to work well live, and again works best being for being more stripped back.
Personally I find myself torn when it comes to the more prog tracks, because although the musicianship is fine, that pigeonhole needs a little more stuff to be going on, and it seems that vocalist /bassist Roman Beselt works best when he has less to do. Maybe they just need an extra pair of hands in the line-up for this to properly tick my prog box, but as an experimental album showcasing some quite talented chaps, it’s an interesting listen. 6/10
Oddious: A Mind Full Of Secrets And Thoughts (BLB Records) [Matt Bladen]
I couldn't find that much information about Oddious other than they are from Athens and were formed by Alex Savvidis (guitars and lyrics) and Evan Stromatias (bass) in 2008 when the two met in university. Now this collaboration evolved into a band that now features Antonia Mavronikola on vocals. I think A Mind Full Of Secrets And Thoughts is their debut release but what I can say for certain is that this band have definitely been under the learning tree of Maynard James Keenan as Oddious have a definite Tool vibe with some touches of A Perfect Circle too. What this means is that they have a progressive rock sound that is driven by Evan's bass with low polyrhythmic grooves pairing with the spiraling psych guitar lines from Alex, add to this the haunting vocals of Antonia and you get a band who have certainly nailed their influences to the wall. This is atmospheric progressive music with very strong alternative edge to it. Unfortunately they exist in the same time period as both a re energised Tool and Wheel, but Oddious are very much a band that fans of Maynard's favoured style will enjoy. 6/10
Thor: Rising (Cleopatra Records) [Paul Hutchings]
I couldn't find that much information about Oddious other than they are from Athens and were formed by Alex Savvidis (guitars and lyrics) and Evan Stromatias (bass) in 2008 when the two met in university. Now this collaboration evolved into a band that now features Antonia Mavronikola on vocals. I think A Mind Full Of Secrets And Thoughts is their debut release but what I can say for certain is that this band have definitely been under the learning tree of Maynard James Keenan as Oddious have a definite Tool vibe with some touches of A Perfect Circle too. What this means is that they have a progressive rock sound that is driven by Evan's bass with low polyrhythmic grooves pairing with the spiraling psych guitar lines from Alex, add to this the haunting vocals of Antonia and you get a band who have certainly nailed their influences to the wall. This is atmospheric progressive music with very strong alternative edge to it. Unfortunately they exist in the same time period as both a re energised Tool and Wheel, but Oddious are very much a band that fans of Maynard's favoured style will enjoy. 6/10
Thor: Rising (Cleopatra Records) [Paul Hutchings]
There is clearly no stopping the juggernaut Canadian, as the mighty Thor returns with his millionth album, less than a year after the awful Hammer of Justice. Whilst the steel bending destroyer of hot water bottles can still write dreadful substandard metal songs, the overall quality on Rising is a slight improvement on past fare. Don’t get me wrong, he still can’t sing, but at least the production has moved to the indoor toilet at long last. Defend Or Die contains some decent musicianship, but the vocal delivery is abysmal. The Game Is On (Stadium mix) has a Rob Zombie style feel, albeit on a budget of $10. The blurb that comes with this album suggests that Thor has retained his classic ’80s metal sound ‘combined with modern influences’. Having managed to squirm through this album, I’d suggest that the classic 80s metal sound is one of the reasons why this album will swan dive like most of his other release. The Rut is almost average but Rising Through The Flames stinks worse than a dog turd rubbed all over your carpet.
The worst is yet to come though, as The Party Never Ends, possibly the worst song I have ever heard in my life follows. Apparently, this song ‘pays tribute to Thor’s tireless love for his fans and his music that has driven him to continue to record and perform well into the years when most mere mortals have begun to make preparations for their journey into the hereafter”. Holy shit! What a load of bollocks. When the chorus declares he is “too old to act my age”, commanding that we “dim the lights and hit the stage, turn the Marshall up to 10, pack this auditorium!” it’s impossible not to laugh in utter pity. But if that is dire, the bilge that follows with Power Mask is unbelievably worse. In my review last year, I questioned how this guy had managed to keep going. To make an album which is as bad as Hammer Of Justice is impressive. To make one that is worse is just spectacular. If this guy played in my garden, I would shut the curtains. Avoid at all costs. 1/10
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