Eye Of Purgatory - The Lighthouse (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Paul Hutchings]
In case you thought you were busy, you haven’t got anything of the busiest man in death metal. One Rogga Johansson who appears to churn out slabs of brutality with such regularity that it’s almost impossible to keep track. Not only has he released music under his own name, but there is a plethora of other vehicles for his relentless creativity. Best known for his work in Revolting and Paganizer, The Lighthouse is the second release under Eye Of Purgatory. The debut release was a purely solo affair but for this sophomore release Johansson has recruited two extra musicians, in the shape of Taylor Nordberg (Ribspreader) on drums, guitar and keyboards and Venom Inc sticksman Jeramie Kling on bass duties. There’s a blistering blend of pure old school death metal, the melodic elements of classic metal and even some black metal tinges in this ferocious record.
In case you thought you were busy, you haven’t got anything of the busiest man in death metal. One Rogga Johansson who appears to churn out slabs of brutality with such regularity that it’s almost impossible to keep track. Not only has he released music under his own name, but there is a plethora of other vehicles for his relentless creativity. Best known for his work in Revolting and Paganizer, The Lighthouse is the second release under Eye Of Purgatory. The debut release was a purely solo affair but for this sophomore release Johansson has recruited two extra musicians, in the shape of Taylor Nordberg (Ribspreader) on drums, guitar and keyboards and Venom Inc sticksman Jeramie Kling on bass duties. There’s a blistering blend of pure old school death metal, the melodic elements of classic metal and even some black metal tinges in this ferocious record.
There is plenty of the HM-2 feel in tracks like the title track, the raging Carved In A Stone Bleeding and the brutal assault of Rotting Pathways. This ferocity is balanced by a melodic depth that ensures this has added dimensions to the band’s sound. This is no homage to the old school but with a nod to the likes of Edge Of Sanity, Tiamat etc. it is likely to appeal to that era fans.The songs are crisp, with a crunching edge that ensures the contemporary feel is present. The keyboards add subtle layers in the background, never dominating whilst Johansson’s demonic snarl is ever present. Fast and well crafted, this is another release to add to the continued catalogue of one of the most important men in death metal today. 8/10
Circle Of Sighs are an LA based collective of musicians who prefer to remain nameless, fine by me, I’m dyslexic so it offers me the chance to review an album without the anxiety of possibly spelling surnames incorrectly. The collective have been creating music together since 2018, in that time they have made one album in 2020’s Salo, and have also released several singles. Circle Of Sighs describe their music as Synth-Doom, which suggests doom played on keyboards, which is an element of their sound, but there is so much more going on here than heavy music made with electronics. The album opens with the track Spectral Arms, the song starts slowly with keyboard swells that have a whale song quality.
A strummed acoustic guitar comes in with soft singing in a style that is similar to the early seventies singer/songwriter scene, a Piano is added and things start to take on a darker hue. The song then takes a turn into slow and very heavy doom that is dense with harsh vocals, the heavier section has a definite electronic, industrial edge to it. The song then takes a turn again, away from the heavy towards the Piano we have heard before, this time with soft, clean vocals in a way that is quite reminiscent of early seventies Pink Floyd. The heavy returns for one last part right at the end of the song and this nastiness takes the song to its end. We Need Legends is a Glitch Techno track that has a lot of similarity to Aphex Twin, the track has some Trip Hop elements in the second half of the the song as well, so maybe imagine Aphex Twin covering a Tricky song.
Third track A Crystal Crown Of Cosmic Pain is a piece of pulsing, driving Industrial that has a similarity to Nine Inch Nails, but also has bits of Depeche Mode and Gary Newman in the mix as well. Roses Blue is a cover of a Joni Mitchell song, although it didn’t sound like this when Joni did it. The track has a gentle opening with that soft Pink Floyd vibe, it builds until the feeling is much heavier, a guitar solo is added. The track then descends into some very nasty, heavy sections that feels like Blackened Doom, with some very viscous vocals; this is one of the nastiest parts of the album, I love that they saved this for the Joni Mitchell cover.
Next track, Segue 04, is a disturbing sample, if you want to know what of, have a listen to the album. Title track Narci opens with a blast of sludgy, hardcorey nastiness. The song is aggressive and driving with harsh vocals, in the later part of the track a guitar melody comes in and this tune leads the track into a section where the song morphs into some sixties style jazz, with a lead saxophone that is a little reminiscent of John Coltrane. The amazing thing about this album is that by this point in listening to it, Hardcorey Sludge segueing into Jazz seems perfectly natural. Second to last track Heaven In Flames has a slow build up to a minimal and brooding piece of Industrial, it is darker in feel to A Crystal Crown Of Cosmic Pain, but also has a driving Bass-line. In the second half of the track there is a simple little tune added that gives the track a different feel, there is a similarity with the main tune that runs through the Brian Eno song Another Green World (which was used as the theme tune to the long running BBC arts documentary show Arena).
Once in this softer second phase, gentle vocals are added before a soft ending. The album ends with the song The Man Who Sold The Wind. How do you end an album as varied and crazily creative as this? Why, with a lovely piece of Southern Rock, that's how. The Man Who Stole The Wind is a fantastic piece of Southern Rock, rooted in the Seventies. It has a gentle acoustic guitar and vocals first half and a much bigger full band style for the second half, the second half also boasts a really tuneful slide guitar solo and it brings this ridiculously inventive and innovative album to an end. Narci is an absolute blast of scattergun creativity. The Collective seem to be able to meld different forms together effortlessly, in a way that is both surprising and incredibly deft. The album feels as if it takes you on a journey of the last 60 years of popular music, if you have an open mind then this album is for you, if you don’t then you should probably avoid it as it will only confuse and upset you. A fantastic and beautiful kaleidoscope of different musical experiences, highly recommended. 9/10
Sometimes all you need after a particularly naff start to the week, is some good old fashioned Rock’n’Roll. France's Overdrive deliver this in spades, and this energetic four piece have been burning the boards since 2015, having apparently burned through fifteen drummers and an equally scary number of bassists before cementing on their current line-up. With a couple of albums already in the bag, this EP is about keeping the profile moving whilst the world recovers from the pandemic, and with three tracks in under twelve minutes it’s not about depth.
What we have is three solid and sweet rocker-rollers in the Australian tradition, which means loads of Gibsons, Marshalls and a chord structure that should probably owe the Young family some royalties. You Cheated On Me is exactly the sort of grooving track that gets bike rallies going, with energy, enthusiasm and nice high vocals to go over that catchy chorus and riff structure. Factory is a bit slower in pace, but drips Razor’s Edge era AC/DC with bravado and aplomb. They know where they’re coming from; we know where they’re coming from, but it works so who cares? Calling the last track Forever Young might give you the answer to that question, as it takes in all five chords of the masters’ gamut.
It’s difficult to comment on the production, as this is one of those occasions when the PR or management machine has elected to send out really low bit rate .mp3 files that can make even the best production sound like it was recorded in a biscuit tin in Adelaide. But it sounded like a big fat rock sound was what was being aimed for, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt there. It’s not going to score points for originality, but it works. 8/10
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