Powerhouse vocalist Anete Olzon returns with her third solo studio album Rapture
There are a few reasons I chose this album but for context I think the main one will suffice it may be slightly controversial as it pertains to the vocalist’s tenure with the symphonic powerhouse that is Nightwish.
I have been a fan of every incarnation from Wishmaster right through to Human II : Nature and from the moment I heard She Is My Sin I was hooked so much so that during the Century Child album before they played the UK I saw them in Paris with Charon and After Forever which now looking back makes me acknowledge the circle of life, especially who the band now have as their vocalist.
Olzon joined at a very tumultuous time where Nightwish were almost trying to deliberately steer away from the operatic side and it came across as almost and I hate to say this but sulky kids, they paraded Olson around as a new toy and put together the album Dark Passion Play which at the time I didn’t give the attention it deserved as I bought into the nonsense but by the time the indulgent Imaginaerum was released the writing was one the wall with the Olzon experiment – in a way I feel in particular the track Storytime is the ultimate what could’ve been (maybe)
In reflection I feel Anette Olzon was grossly underused so now with two previous solo albums under her belt Rapture is by far the strongest and quite frankly I was swept away by the sheer power and beauty of this album there is an effortless weaving between symphonic to power with even a sprinkle melo death and should hopefully solidify her place as a great metal vocalist. The inclusion of Karlsson's masterful riffs and the addition of growls by Johan Husgafvel, add a dynamic layer to the album's sound.
Title track Rapture and Arise are particular highlights which really showcase the overall dynamic of the album with the blistering Take A Stand all but confirming that this is a very well structured and varied release. With a sense of excitement and anticipation, Anette Olzon shares: "I'm so happy to release the first song from my upcoming album Rapture”. Heed The Call is a culmination of passion, energy, and creative expression, and I truly hope you'll enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to life."
Powerful and Poetic.8/10
Sonic Universe - It Is What It Is (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
Is Sonic Universe going to be another Frontiers supergroup that's just built on the the 'cult of personality' or are they their own beast? That's the question posed by the new band formed by Living Colour frontman Corey Glover and Adrenaline Mob founder Mike Orlando.
It may seem an odd mix of having a shredding guitars teacher alongside a funk rock legend but there's a chemistry here that means It Is What It Is hits just right. Much heavier than yours expect, though there is a ballad, imagine the crowd bouncing grooves of Skindred but put together with some virtuoso musicianship, similar to Kyrbgrinder which is an offshoot from prog metal act Threshold.
It Is What It Is sees Orlando peeling off those mind blowing, guitar instructional solos that make him hero to shredders everywhere. While here like in Adrenaline Mob he's able to show off his sonic stomp with lively riffs for Glover to showcase that unmistakable vocal that any CM Punk fan will have tried to emulate.
For me though I know how good Glover and Orlando are, it's the rhythm section of bassist Booker King and especially drummer Taykwuan Jackson that draw me to this album, the drumming is something else, little fills, rim shots, percussive pieces that stop simple beat keeping, on the bass too King exhibits some fusion playing with a warm rounded sound and plenty of funk/jazz rhythm structures.
It's about the groove though mainly, thick, juicy grooves welcoming anyone that likes their music loud and full fat, adding flashes of technical brilliance just makes it all the more satisfying to listen too. While Corey Glover has a voice that doesn't age, still as potent and political as it ever was. Giving a message if hope and wish for change, this universe sonically binds this all together for a newly formed constellation of excellent music. 8/10
Is Sonic Universe going to be another Frontiers supergroup that's just built on the the 'cult of personality' or are they their own beast? That's the question posed by the new band formed by Living Colour frontman Corey Glover and Adrenaline Mob founder Mike Orlando.
It may seem an odd mix of having a shredding guitars teacher alongside a funk rock legend but there's a chemistry here that means It Is What It Is hits just right. Much heavier than yours expect, though there is a ballad, imagine the crowd bouncing grooves of Skindred but put together with some virtuoso musicianship, similar to Kyrbgrinder which is an offshoot from prog metal act Threshold.
It Is What It Is sees Orlando peeling off those mind blowing, guitar instructional solos that make him hero to shredders everywhere. While here like in Adrenaline Mob he's able to show off his sonic stomp with lively riffs for Glover to showcase that unmistakable vocal that any CM Punk fan will have tried to emulate.
For me though I know how good Glover and Orlando are, it's the rhythm section of bassist Booker King and especially drummer Taykwuan Jackson that draw me to this album, the drumming is something else, little fills, rim shots, percussive pieces that stop simple beat keeping, on the bass too King exhibits some fusion playing with a warm rounded sound and plenty of funk/jazz rhythm structures.
It's about the groove though mainly, thick, juicy grooves welcoming anyone that likes their music loud and full fat, adding flashes of technical brilliance just makes it all the more satisfying to listen too. While Corey Glover has a voice that doesn't age, still as potent and political as it ever was. Giving a message if hope and wish for change, this universe sonically binds this all together for a newly formed constellation of excellent music. 8/10
Coldborn - The Unwritten Pages Of Death (Final Sacrifice Records) [Gavin Brown]
Coldborn are a band who specialise in the kind of Black Metal that is typified in their name and their new album The Unwritten Pages Of Death is a collection of ice cold riffs and a sense of abject terror. The bands whose sole member Norgaath has played in the likes of Enthroned and Nightbringer so has the kudos when it comes to Black Metal, start as they mean to go on and their brand of Black Metal is both atmospheric and relentless.
The opening intro Foreboding is perfectly titled and sets things up for what is to come, and it does almost immediately with The Silenced Is The Choir Of Euphoria which sets the pace for the entire record. With songs like Cold Void Rife and Harps Of Death Chiming Reverberant going for the jugular alongside more atmospheric tracks like Cornuvopia Hunters For More and the closing A Spectral Dance Of Midnight Sorrow, this is a perfect listen for all those who love their Black Metal to have an air of doom laden menace alongside the deathly brutal vibes.
The Unwritten Pages Of Death is a solid album and marks a welcome return for Coldborn, let’s hope the wait for the next album isn’t as doing as it has taken for this one to get here. 7/10
Ivanhoe - Healed By The Sun (Massacre Records) [James Jackson]
There’s an initial impression of Iron Maiden, particularly the vocal style of Bruce Dickinson, that strikes me as Ivanhoe frontman Alex Koch takes us through Healed By The Sun, the second track upon the latest, and I believe 9th, album from the German Prog Metal act. Thematically the songs cover a variety of subjects, the spoken word intro of Headnut sounds like a news reel sound bite, taken from the days when Covid was rife and the body count rising - though the lyrics to the song itself are a bit more “fantastical” and open to interpretation; political views, personal demons and church scandals are covered to varying degrees.
I don’t know if it’s the style but at times it feels as though Koch was singing a different song to that being played by the band, in my limited experience of Prog, the song structures are often extremely varied and technically complex, so perhaps this technique is on brand. Instrumentally the songs are well written, keyboards add atmospheric layers to the Rock/Metal sound, some of which feel very Sci Fi, particularly on Moments In Time.
Overall, not a bad album, plenty of moments where the riffs and melodies are on point, some of the chorus lines are catchy and after a few more listens, they’d be sung along to; but I feel indifferent to the vocals and as the album progresses it becomes irksome and distracting; there’s just something that doesn’t quite gel for me and it’s a deal breaker, over the years I’ve heard plenty of great tracks comprised by how I feel about the vocal performance.
Not an album that I’ll be revisiting any time soon but fans of the band and indeed this genre, may get more out of it. 5/10
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