What would you do if you had a life changing fall while mountain climbing, all the weeks and months of medical tests, surgeries, not knowing if you could live your life the way you envisioned again? Well if you're Francesco Paoli the frontman and creative director of Italian symphony extreme metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse then you turn the experience into an opera inspired by the great composers such as Verdi or Puccini.
It's the first album where Paoli will not only growl but also play bass (having been the drummer until 2020), he is taking the role from founding bassist Paolo Rossi who left the band in February of this year. Paoli wrote the album as a story detailing the accident and his recovery in the traditional operatic style where real life and the esoteric combine, soprano Veronica Bordacchini embodying the role of music itself, the thing that aided Paoli's recovery, she is now also the sole clean vocalist after Rossi's departure.
This slimmed down line up does benefit Fleshgod as they have been a band in the past that have tried to utilise too many elements in their music, the focus of trying to create an opera allows them to do what they do best, stirring orchestrations, ethereal choirs, rampaging death metal battery from drummer Eugene Ryabchenko duelling piano and lead guitars from Francesco Ferrini and Fabio Bartoletti on Morphine Waltz and I Can Never Die. Imbuing the metallic with the dramatic as lamentation on Matricide 8.21 amps up the emotion and brutality, with Till Death Do Us Part a fittingly epic finale.
Opera is an album which have a Caravaggio-esque cover painting and nods heavily to the classical composers of Fleshgod's heritage, fabulously baroque and ostentatious, Opera is the culmination of Fleshgod's musical odyssey. 9/10
Anciients – Beyond The Reach Of The Sun (Season Of Mist) [Rick Eaglestone]
British Columbia collective Anciients return to re-establish themselves as dominant force with latest offering Beyond The Reach Of The Sun.
From the look at the albums striking artwork there seems to be an ominous wave that bursts into immediate effect with the opening to this soundtrack of exploration Forbidden Sanctuary does a great job in showcasing the artist musical prowess and technical ability with and an abundance of varying soundscapes and vocal shifts, this continues into early highlight track Despoiled which has some fabulous guitar work.
The album effortless weaves into the majestic Is It Your God which not only has some keyboards from Justin Hagberg and really demonstrates the deeply personal expressions of the inner turmoil, fear and isolation that vocalist Kenny Cook experienced in himself and saw in others over the past few years as with this release he has taken on the sole lyricist draping it in a creative melancholy. Melt The Structure has a wonderful sense of calm for the most part and though interjected with heavier parts later does not deviate from the overall composition which is then complemented wonderfully with Cloak Of The Vast And Black.
Really throwing the progressive element to the forefront is Celestial Tyrant and features some prominent basslines from Rory O'Brien who stepped in incredibly last minute as the band lost their original bass player literally a month before they were going in to record the album.
Moving to the ethereal Beyond Our Minds with its interlaced solos is a joy from start to finish is swiftly followed up by easily one the albums heavier track The Torch contains some absolutely blistering drum patterns.
The album concludes with the duo of the albums only instrumental Candescence and the heart breaking delivery of In The Absence Of Wisdom that further encapsulates the entire aesthetic of something that has been both refreshing and stunning in equal measure. A Spectacular blend of extremity-laced progressive rock. 9/10
Deadscape - State Of Decline (Miracle Of Bravery Records) [Mark Young]
Coming in from Sofia, Bulgaria, Deadscape are a six-piece, with a particular flavour of melodic death metal that leans more into the cleaner, lighter shade of that genre. Having three vocalists offers them a little more scope in how they attack, be it the deep guttural growls or the more operatic cleans or combinations of both. The music behind the voices, as I noted has all of the riffs you would expect, but in a nice turn of events they haven’t come with a guitar sound that is prevalent elsewhere.
After the almost perfunctory intro track, they kick off with Until Our Dying Days which has a soft melodic line that is rudely elbowed out of the way by a metallic riff for the ages and some deep growls which I believe is by Mirela Kaneva, and has a Angela Gossow timbre to it which gives you an idea of how good it sounds. The track itself rumbles along, without really establishing itself as being heavy in any respect, other than that initial riff that ushered the song in. Made Of Twilight is similar, again it isn’t offensive it’s just that it’s a bit boring and is saved by Mirela’s vocals. I think that if the next track continues in this vein, then this review is probably going to be finished quite quickly.
It's on Collapse To Disrepair that they drop a banger, its darker, urgent and reflects a changing up in gear which is more like it. Now we have a build that befits the vocals, as that main riff just bulldozes whatever is in front of it. Add some quality drumming from Ivan Kolev, and some exceptional melodic lines from Ivan Bratoev and Ani Dimitrova, you have the track they should have started with. Through Broken Lenses follows hot on the heels and is royal, that balance between super-riff and melodic line is set perfectly and it absolutely flies.
Comparing these two against the first two they could almost be a different band, such is the difference in approach, the former having a lighter feel to them. However, its back to lighter side with The Empty Space, which is a fine song but isn’t a patch on the two before it and it feels that as the album winds on that the two high points are not to be repeated. A Glare Of Viridian Dark seeks to redress the balance, and to an extent they succeed with it. Those stomping guitars are there for the most part but its when it lapses into the slower moments that it loses something.
There is something in the pairing of that death growl and the guitars that makes it soar. My Solitary Moon is the album’s magnum opus, weighing in at 9 minutes long it kicks off at a fair rate and will need to maintain this in order to keep engagement levels high. For the most part they do, as the song provides a place for each to shine, and although it leans into that lighter side it still has enough to keep you going to the end.
With the finish line in sight, Celandine is our penultimate track and delivers in the way I’d hoped, straight ahead, heavy and setting us up for Lasting Wounds, which starts softly then kicks up a gear. On here, they achieve the right mix of the heavy riff and the soft/subtle acoustic moments, as if they had finally unlocked it. Once again, the drumming is on point, providing that necessary anchor and tempo, without it being overtly flash. As a closing song, it succeeds where the earlier tracks failed as they felt too light, this occupies that perfect spot and hopefully they can use this to kick on with.
The album itself has moments of brilliance, those two middle tracks are fabulous and as I’ve said the central voice of Mirela is a jewel in their collective crown. If they can work on that balance, they have the skills to do something really special. A worthy 7/10
With the finish line in sight, Celandine is our penultimate track and delivers in the way I’d hoped, straight ahead, heavy and setting us up for Lasting Wounds, which starts softly then kicks up a gear. On here, they achieve the right mix of the heavy riff and the soft/subtle acoustic moments, as if they had finally unlocked it. Once again, the drumming is on point, providing that necessary anchor and tempo, without it being overtly flash. As a closing song, it succeeds where the earlier tracks failed as they felt too light, this occupies that perfect spot and hopefully they can use this to kick on with.
The album itself has moments of brilliance, those two middle tracks are fabulous and as I’ve said the central voice of Mirela is a jewel in their collective crown. If they can work on that balance, they have the skills to do something really special. A worthy 7/10
Salt On Sunday - A Docket Of Votive Offerings (Self Released) [James Jackson]
The opening track Janara, on this release from Experimental Metal act Salt On Sunday, revolves around a Folk/Country inspired melody, a very Country style percussion instrument is thrown in, as the intro builds a solemn melody is added, the sound is steeped in the Fuzzy tones that some Doom Metal acts have adopted, the vocals are additionally distorted and some what low and lost in the mix.
Ancestor Veneration is a pretty laid back, its Jazz style drum beats are accompanied by a laid back bass sound, guitar melodies are picked out whilst a semi whispered vocal plays out, at around the three minute mark the track is more or less over yet there’s a swarm of overlapping sounds and samples that drift along for a further three minutes or so.
Everything is numb and I can no longer tell the difference between time - not a personal confession but possibly the longest song title I’ve ever come across, it’s the most “Metal” track so far, though there’s almost an element of Surf Rock to the lead guitar melody though it’s base is borderline Black Metal.
Fourth track Transportable Architecture opens with a prominent bass line, a sporadic drum pattern joins in, those distorted vocals and fuzzy guitar parts add to the mix; the whole song revolves around that bass line (I’m presuming it’s a bass) as if on a loop and halfway through the album I’ve come to the point where I’ve realised that I’m not really listening, I’m not hooked by anything and I’m not particularly interested in what comes next - it’s actually an instrumental piece, the rest I give a scant listen to and I’m done.
So there it is, an Experimental Metal band that has only really raised one question for me, at what point does Experimental Metal become so far stretched from its core that it isn’t actually Metal anymore ?
Whilst this really isn’t for me, my generally diverse taste in music does see the level of creativity that has gone into the album and can only treat that with respect; the likelihood of this being replayed is pretty slim to none but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have an audience, just not with me. 4/10
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