Khirki - Κτηνωδία (Self Released)
The blending of traditional Balkan/Anatolian folk by Greek rock/metal bands has been a long running theme. The band who are the best example of this are the otherworldly Villagers Of Ioannina City, their amalgamation of psychedelic desert rock and Balkan instrumentation has been the flag bearers for a while now. Athenians Khirki have taken this history of bringing folk together with heavier sounds on their debut album Κτηνωδία (Ktinodia). Unlike VIC Khirki owe much more to the two Georgia based purveyors of intergalactic prog sludge metal Mastodon and Baroness. Now what Khriki do is where those two bands would open up into dreamy prog, they bring in the bouzouki, violin and acoustic guitar which means a track such has Black And Chrome has the groove of a runaway semi-truck but there are layers of acoustic guitars and percussion that brings a nod to the folk sound.
The sounds of their Greek heritage on this album are a little harder to spot as they don't use traditional instrumentation as often as other acts, preferring to use it as playing style with their electric instrumentation. It means that you get a danceable riff on Raging Chrome with a bassline that sounds like a wurlitzer, driving it into the coda in the middle which adds a little sparseness before that riff comes right back to get your head banging. The sparseness returns on the atmospheric opening Medea which really amps up that ancestral musical heritage, ritualistic drumming and vocals that try to evoke the ison style of drone singing used in the orthodox church. From here we get the thrashy Bukovo as that beguiling percussion comes back on the cinematic The Barkhan Dunes. Spiros Stefanis is the man behind the kit playing with all the force and technicality of Brann Dailor, while his compatriots, bass player Orestes Katsaros and guitarist/vocalist Dimos Ioannou add the heavy riffs and folk instruments to this excellent record.
Closing the album out is the woozy stoner-meets-Balkan Wolf's Lament while that Mastodon energy shines through on final song Stara Planina. Κτηνωδία is a deafeningly good time from this Athenian trio, turn it up an lose yourself in a band that are certainly well on their way to being talked about in the same sentence as VIC. If Mastodon moved from the Appalachian mountains to the Pindus mountains then they'd probably sound a lot like this. 9/10
Seventh Crystal - Delirium (Frontiers Music Srl)
The Scandi Melodic Rock scene has never been brighter with bands like H.E.A.T and One Desire gaining a lot of stage time and column inches for their raucous stage shows and musical style that has the pomp and power of 80's radio rock and a modern electronic thump that's as hummable as it is danceable. Seventh Crystal are the latest band to grab that sparkly neon baton and run with it down an ego ramp into a baying crowd. They epitomise everything that people either love or hate about this genre. Bouncy riffs, huge chorus hooks, a vocalist that sounds like an emo Lou Gramm but looks like a Swedish Chris Jericho. This was supposed to be a solo project for frontman Kristian Fyhr, however he branched out the membership to other musicians and from the Seventh Crystal was formed. Kristian says that he starts off by writing in the pop style and then adds the beefy rock sound after that. It sound like that is the case as these 11 songs all have a distinct pop style. Delirium kind of reminds me of bands like Daughtry or Shinedown but if they took the sound of REO Speedwagon or Styx. It's got that 80's sheen but is very much a 21st record, When I'm Gone having a sound like Def Leppard goes Eurovision. Saying that Seventh Crystal would probably do very well at Melodifestivalen, if they were enter so you can decide it's that's a plus or a minus. Delirium is a slick slice of Scandi melodic rock that edges towards the pop sound than some of the others. 7/10
Illusory - Crimson Wreath (Rockshots Records)
Athenian heavy/power metal band Illusory have been gearing up for the release of their third album for a while now, their last record was released in 2016. The album improves upon what has come before with a record full of depth, theater and great songwriting. There's also a conceptual suite across three tracks, but to be honest most of the album sounds conceptual.
Acedia is an acoustic/classical interlude which features Paul Logue of Eden's Curse reading out a piece in his Scottish brogue. It leads into emotional title track which has vocalist Dee Theodorou adding nuance to his powerful pipes. The title track is the first song on the record that really show how Illusory have upped their game on this their record.
The progressive aspects sit perfectly with the heavy power metal sound which sounds like bands such as Nevermore and Jag Panzer so there's huge melodic phrases on top of thrashy riffs and plenty of twin axe attacks. There's also lots of influence from the currently inactive Edguy. The classical guitars add a Maiden sound to S.T Foresaken which just builds and builds. What Illusory also have is keys/piano/synths and orchestrations which bring a sense of gravitas with tracks like All Shall Fade. It's because of these interludes that the album is 14 songs long, however in what is a great bit of sequencing the record seems to build bringing the most impressive songs towards the end, increasing the progressive touches as it goes as well as adding a choir too. Crimson Wreath will hopefully open up Illusory to a bigger audience because they really deserve to be heard by fans of heavy power metal. 8/10
Jess And The Ancient Ones - Vertigo (Svart)
It's no secret that I'm a lover of retro occult rock, bands such as Graveyard, Blood Ceremony, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Lucifer along with originals such as Coven have always really got my freak flag flying so I've been awaiting the newest album by Finnish act Jess And The Ancient Ones for a while now. Vertigo is that album and it's a natural successor for The Horse & Other Weird Tales, expanding on the quirky, occult theme of that record adding more layers of psychedelic pop and proto-doom but also upping the mystery and dark tone. A song like Talking Board balances this well, a song about a Ouija Board it's got a heavy complement on the big chorus but the verses are drenched in 60's Hammond tones.
It's Black Widow meets The Doors all the while conjuring mystique with vintage horror movie samples. Vertigo has quite a striking simplistic album cover and to a point the music is that too, it lulls you into feeling good with lots of warm retro vibes but when you get to Love Zombi you are fully enrolled into the psychedelic ceremony the band letting you get a sneak peak into their kaleidoscopic coven but keeping you on edge at the same time with a sense of foreboding, Strange Earth Illusion really hammering this home with its twisted, labyrinthine assault on the senses. Retro occult rocking will always excite and intrigue this writer so Vertigo is no exception, witchy and weird Jess And The Ancient Ones have craved out their own little church in the burgeoning Occult rock dogma. 8/10
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