I'll make an admission before I start this review that I have tried. So. Many. Times. But I can never fully get into them, it's not the music as I'm a fan of the more symphony style of black metal, the usage of soprano female vocals and even their forays into thrash, death, goth and folk metal. It boils down to Dani Filth's vocals, I'm afraid his high pitched squeals really big me, his growls and snarls not problem but as soon as he shrieks and squeals I'm reaching for the off button.
So with that said here's a 28 track live/compilation record from the British extreme metal institution. Recorded between 2014 and 2019 beige the release of their last studio album, it's a dramatic selection of songs from various live shows a couple of new studio tracks and a few bonuses for good measure. It's been skillfully recorded, produced mixed and mastered to show the full force of Cradle live, the orchestrations swell and bring a cinematic overtures of while the riffs and tremolo picking are nasty, the soaring operatic female vocals too are now very much part of the 'Cradle sound' but as soon as those squeals hit I wince.
Because a lot of this is live and Mr Filth is a little older now they don't quite have the bloodcurdling power they used to but still drive me to distraction. However if you want the complete introduction to why CoF are so reveared in the metal circles then you'd do worse than checking out this expansive record. 7/10
Ring Of Gyges - Metamorphosis (ViciSolum Productions)
Coming from Iceland, Ring Of Gyges are a band who deliver progressove music that merges 70's prog rock with the modern djent sound, meaning theres lots of organ and analogue synths out to crunchy, grooving riffs. Similar in sound to bands such as Haken or Leprous they bleed melody into heavy with ease, odd time signatures merged with metallic ferocity.
Metamorphosis is more than a title it's the way they approached the album, taking risks with this record, clear from the first guitar part of Dragonflies that they mean business, the influences of Haken and Leprous obvious as synths weave magic with the guitars, the use of tubular bells and chimes adding a Nordic flavour. Ring Of Gyges embrace the cinematic and the philosophical with their music and lyrics, improving on their debut without losing what made it a critical success.
Immediacy is the watchword for this band, packing plenty of experimentation into reasonably short runtimes. The longest track being The Face Of God which at 11 minutes get to do a hit more but when you hear what they can achieve with a 3 minute song such as Cabin Fever, it's hard to imagine why they need the longer runtimes.
From the joyous to the evil as Nautilus adds the harsh vocals for full Djentisms, in opposition to the repeating dreamstate of The Choice that leads into the brilliantly emotional Holy Water a huge centerpiece to hang this record on as the nosie and the cinematics increase again on Parasite the slow build into the very proggy and emotional Fading which has a bit of King Crimson to it.
The final part of the album actually gets lighter and flows into more ethereal realms, something which I loved but others may want those modern riffs to kick back in. Metamorphosis came a suprise as if not heard much of Ring Of Gyges before listening but they will be on my repeat play list from now. 9/10
They Watch Us From The Moon - Cosmic Chronicles: Act 1, The Ascension (New Heavy Sounds) [Matt Bladen]
One of my favourite albums of all times is Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds, the mixture of cult science fiction, dramatic storytelling and 70’s prog rock captured my heart as kid and I regulalrly listen to it now, so if you’re ever stuck in long car journey with me then you’ll hear it too. However have you ever wondered what it would sound like if it leaned more toward pulp sci-fi comics and B-Movies? If it was played by a bunch of Kansas based musicians all with alter egos? If it was built on stank-face causing stoner doom riffs and had spectral female vocals?
Well wonder no more as here comes the first part of the Cosmic Chronicles from They Watch Us From The Moon. Basically less War Of The Worlds more Mars Attacks, this debut album is fantastic. Hailing from one of the places on earth that has been most visited by UFO’s this six piece band have doubled down on the extra-terrestrial influences, telling a conceptual story that is driven by heavy psychedelic riffs and a hazy atmosphere that remind me of Alunah, Uncle Acid or a more melodic MWWB or a less frenzied Goat (the band).
The dual vocals of Luna Nemesis and Nova 10101001 intertwine brilliantly, melodic and haunting, they are key to the woozy atmosphere the band want to create, the krautrock lead guitars of R. Benjamin Black swirling and undulating (Creeper AD) over the torrents of heavy riffs from The General Shane Thirteen (guitar) and Zakkatron (bass) as the rocket is propelled through the darkest realms of space by the drums of Adryon Prahktaur.
Slow, deliberate and reverbed to an inch of its life the five tracks here clock in at a massive 44 minutes, the final two tracks the longest each one a part of the overall storyline which must have a comic or graphic novel with it at some point for that extra level of interaction. This is just part one and it’s already on its way to becoming one of my favourite new projects around, it’s Fleetwood Mac on peyote jamming with Hawkwind and Floyd while flying saucers circle around them, open your arms to the tractor beam and shout “Take me to your leader” as They Watch Us From The Moon ace the very narrow genre of intergalactic space doom. 10/10
One of my favourite albums of all times is Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds, the mixture of cult science fiction, dramatic storytelling and 70’s prog rock captured my heart as kid and I regulalrly listen to it now, so if you’re ever stuck in long car journey with me then you’ll hear it too. However have you ever wondered what it would sound like if it leaned more toward pulp sci-fi comics and B-Movies? If it was played by a bunch of Kansas based musicians all with alter egos? If it was built on stank-face causing stoner doom riffs and had spectral female vocals?
Well wonder no more as here comes the first part of the Cosmic Chronicles from They Watch Us From The Moon. Basically less War Of The Worlds more Mars Attacks, this debut album is fantastic. Hailing from one of the places on earth that has been most visited by UFO’s this six piece band have doubled down on the extra-terrestrial influences, telling a conceptual story that is driven by heavy psychedelic riffs and a hazy atmosphere that remind me of Alunah, Uncle Acid or a more melodic MWWB or a less frenzied Goat (the band).
The dual vocals of Luna Nemesis and Nova 10101001 intertwine brilliantly, melodic and haunting, they are key to the woozy atmosphere the band want to create, the krautrock lead guitars of R. Benjamin Black swirling and undulating (Creeper AD) over the torrents of heavy riffs from The General Shane Thirteen (guitar) and Zakkatron (bass) as the rocket is propelled through the darkest realms of space by the drums of Adryon Prahktaur.
Slow, deliberate and reverbed to an inch of its life the five tracks here clock in at a massive 44 minutes, the final two tracks the longest each one a part of the overall storyline which must have a comic or graphic novel with it at some point for that extra level of interaction. This is just part one and it’s already on its way to becoming one of my favourite new projects around, it’s Fleetwood Mac on peyote jamming with Hawkwind and Floyd while flying saucers circle around them, open your arms to the tractor beam and shout “Take me to your leader” as They Watch Us From The Moon ace the very narrow genre of intergalactic space doom. 10/10
Sonic Addictive - Welcome To Neon City (Self Released)
A 6 track EP which is the introduction to the cinematic world of Italian electronic metal hybrid band Sonic Addictive. Using synth and videogame influences to meet with their melodic metal sound Welcome To Neon City is their first EP and begins the overall concept of their project. A noble intention for this retro future band however it doesn't really pay off for two reasons, one the production is not tight, music like this should be cleaner than a germophobes house and I really don't like the vocals.
They're quite distracting and don't fit especially on Mirror Of The Unreal, which is unfortunately the first song so it doesn't give a great impression. I played this EP twice and while the guitar playing is pretty good, noting much else landed and the vocals really bugged me. There's a second EP on the way but if you want similar try Perturbator or Bob Katsionis' most recent solo record. Sonic Addictive is one addiction that's easy to kick. 5/10
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