Burning Point – Arsonist Of The Soul (AFM Records) [Paul Hutchings]
The Finnish power metallers keep on coming and have been featured several times in these very pages. Having formed in 1999, the band have changed line-ups on a regular basis. Often the sign of control freakery, it’s also good for new blood to join, bringing with it fresh ideas, energy, and enthusiasm. Burning Point have always been steered in the right direction by guitarist/songwriter Pete Ahonen, whose vision has maintained the band’s integrity throughout the band’s journey.
It’s been five years since previous album The Blaze, but with the arrival of new vocalist Luca Sturniolo replacing Nitte Valo, Burning Point’s eighth album is full of quality. It transpires that Sturniolo can sing. And then some. The Italian who has lived in Finland for many years possesses a rather fine set of pipes, powerful, emotional and with enough variation to bring a new spark to the fire that is Burning Point. Alongside Ahonen’s quality guitar work, there is a solid rhythm section with new members Jarkko Poussu (bass, ex-member of Finnish thrash pioneers A.R.G.), Tuomas Jaatinen (drums) and Matti Halonen (Keyboards) joining guitarist Pekka Kolivuori in a new look line-up.
As with much power metal, you either enjoy it or you don’t. Arsonist Of The Soul is 12 tracks and 49 minutes of high-quality music, some full foot to the floor speed, others more balanced and anthemic, such as the mighty title track that stands tall in the centre of the album. It’s heavy enough to avoid the traditional Eurovision pop slurs that sometimes are aimed at the lighter end of the genre, and the songs are relatively short, never overstaying their welcome but not cut short in any way.
It’s not going to win any prizes for originality, but let’s face it, there isn’t much that even touches original today. And if you can’t beat ‘em, then joining them seems the next best thing. Burning Point do it in style. Opener Blast In The Past, the stirring Out Of Control and the fist in the air Hit The Night all do the business in fine style. It’s glorious power metal which simply demands you sing along with the melodies and harmonies that spread through this album quicker than coronavirus in a nursing home. So, if you want something that will lift the spirits, cheer the soul, and allow you to forget your shit for just under an hour, I’d heartily recommend this album. It may sound a bit retro in parts, but that’s part of the fun. 8/10
Livløs - And Then There Were None (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Danish melodic death metal band Livløs have been grinding away since 2014, their sound a furious fusion of Scandi and American melodic death metal. This album is comprised of nine tracks that fly by with a flurry of searing lead guitar playing, HM-2 assisted riffs and double kicks galore. Tight and punishing And Then There Were None gets your head nodding from the first few moments the band playing with a focus on tracks that have been crafted to show what they do best. Taking from bands such as At The Gates and Black Dahlia Murder, the technicality goes hand in hand with the musicality, with neither being too intrusive, even vocally Livløs have a wide array of screams and growls so it's never one dimensional, something that often is a let down with Melodeath.
Pallbearer's diversity is a proper example of this with a vocals approach that shifts throughout, before it leads into the albums only slow moment the intermission of Kistefjael that shifts the focus into the battering Drenched In Turmoil which serves as a groovier number as Seize The Night ramps up the speed again, shifting into a pulsating bass-led coda towards the end of the track. It's little additions to the standard melodeath template that make Livløs a bit more an eclectic listening experience than the norm. And Then There Were None is a melodeath album that breaks a few boundaries. 7/10
Bizarre - Invocation Codex (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Paul Hutchings]
Spanish death metal isn’t something we get to listen to often. Invocation Codex is the debut album from Bizarre who have no reluctance in indulging their old school extreme influences into a snarling ball of bludgeoning metal that drags Lovecraftian horror screaming through layers of sinister darkness.
Spanish death metal isn’t something we get to listen to often. Invocation Codex is the debut album from Bizarre who have no reluctance in indulging their old school extreme influences into a snarling ball of bludgeoning metal that drags Lovecraftian horror screaming through layers of sinister darkness.
Using subtle keys to add atmosphere and texture, demonic vocals growl with a malevolent intent, whilst thunderous drumming and crunching guitar riffs piledrive without pause for breath. This is a battering of epic proportions, with the slabs of cranial exploding guitar work underpinned by some crystal-clear lead breaks, something quite unusual in this genre.
It’s a fascinating glimpse into visceral soundscapes, raging layered aural assaults that on first listen may accidentally skip some of the more subtle elements of this record. A further play should reveal some melody underneath the crushing onslaught. It certainly reaches back to some of the harsher bands of the death metal movement. Invoking The Darkness through their obscurity, this is an album that is likely to appeal to those who like their music delivered with a sledgehammer. 7/10
Void Of Vision - Chronicles I: Lust EP (UNFD) [Matt Bladen]
Kicking off with an electronic thump of sub-bass Ohne Sicht will lead you believe that this might just beg a Rammstein release, especially when the industrial soundscapes work their magic with the intensely fuzzy guitars that almost sound as if they are going to crack due to how saturated they are. The only thing that gives away that Void Of Vision are more in the modern metalcore/djent sound is the screamed vocals of Jack Bergin. If you read around this release, he is very much where much of the inspiration of this EP comes from, much of it due to his personal growth as a man changing his focus from his internal issues to the wider problems that face us.
It’s a fascinating glimpse into visceral soundscapes, raging layered aural assaults that on first listen may accidentally skip some of the more subtle elements of this record. A further play should reveal some melody underneath the crushing onslaught. It certainly reaches back to some of the harsher bands of the death metal movement. Invoking The Darkness through their obscurity, this is an album that is likely to appeal to those who like their music delivered with a sledgehammer. 7/10
Void Of Vision - Chronicles I: Lust EP (UNFD) [Matt Bladen]
Kicking off with an electronic thump of sub-bass Ohne Sicht will lead you believe that this might just beg a Rammstein release, especially when the industrial soundscapes work their magic with the intensely fuzzy guitars that almost sound as if they are going to crack due to how saturated they are. The only thing that gives away that Void Of Vision are more in the modern metalcore/djent sound is the screamed vocals of Jack Bergin. If you read around this release, he is very much where much of the inspiration of this EP comes from, much of it due to his personal growth as a man changing his focus from his internal issues to the wider problems that face us.
Mental health, relationship breakdown and predatory male behaviour in the music industry which makes up the content of single Vampyr. I guess Katie Hopkins would call them 'Woke' but these Australians are taking responsibility with this new EP and channeling into a style of music that has an experimental and uncompromising sound that brings the metallic heaviness and electronic thrust of bands such as Code Orange or Loathe. at just four tracks Chronicles I: Lust EP sees Void Of Vision returning with a renewed focus and new ideology. Heavy in numerous ways Void Of Vision make just take out your subwoofer. 7/10
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