Ok, I’ll be honest. When this starts off with The Poet’s Ballet, its softly delivered words and gentle music I thought that the boss had stitched me up. Steeling myself for 50 or so minutes of this, it was kettle on and see what words I can up with. At 2 minutes 43 seconds everything changes. Gaerea just burst into life, and I mean that most sincerely. It’s the best transition from one medium to another I’ve heard in ages. It its just so effective in bringing the traditional black metal tropes but with that modern approach of wanting you to hear every last nuance. The growls are immense, the arrangement is amazing as they just trample you into the dust. I breathe a sigh of relief and get to work, the words now coming from a place of joy.
There is so many things going on – the addition of the rising chorus, the Uzi rattle of the double bass all coming together as the song wraps. It hints at what is to come, which is just a fabulous collection of metal (never mind black metal) that knows it is just about better than everyone else. Hope Shatters tears through, those melodic twists and turns taking centre stage. There is rhythm on rhythm as the guitars plot a path that sees them take dissimilar routes, combining to magical effect. Its simply brilliant, and this trajectory is continued on the controlled fury that is Suspended. Would you believe it’s more difficult to put into words when an album is one you like?
Prior to joining the team, my knowledge of black metal was limited to the murky world of the early 90’s with music that sounded as though it was recorded in a shoe box by people who you wouldn’t trust to make a jelly. The atmosphere and expanse at hand here is like night and day compared to those early days. Similarly with World Ablaze, there is a positive momentum amongst the riffs here that builds a joy within you, it’s absolutely massive and any of these songs could have kicked the album off, any of them (there is a pattern forming here). I’ve said before that if a song inspires you to want to learn how to play it in order to replicate the emotional feelings its brings then it is doing something right. That is World Ablaze.
Coma changes that pace slightly, a lurching riff that allows them to take a little time in building it up to the same levels of intensity as the others. It is an earworm of a thing, the guitars doing that same but not the same pattern of attack that just fills the air so well. This is the thing, the command that they are showing in how to put things where they are putting them is just light-years beyond other bands and I know this is a matter of opinion but I’m writing this not you. Everything sounds massive, even when they go quiet such as on the start of Wilted Flower.
Coma changes that pace slightly, a lurching riff that allows them to take a little time in building it up to the same levels of intensity as the others. It is an earworm of a thing, the guitars doing that same but not the same pattern of attack that just fills the air so well. This is the thing, the command that they are showing in how to put things where they are putting them is just light-years beyond other bands and I know this is a matter of opinion but I’m writing this not you. Everything sounds massive, even when they go quiet such as on the start of Wilted Flower.
Its what they are doing in and around it, and I know that there is a 50% chance it will kick over into something noisy, but I don’t feel as though it is derivative. It just feels right. Wilted Flower does kick over, and they combine the full speed with the slower moments in an organic way that just flows so well. Reborn buries the needle into the red with another storming set of guitar lines that come and go in a flurry of activity whilst Shapeshifter runs the gamut from quiet introspection into that full belt attack again and stays on that course to its end as Unknown follows up, bringing more of that perfect storm with it.
Kingdom Of Thorns comes in and stakes its claim for one of the best closing songs of 2024. Remember that emotional connection with certain arrangements? It’s chock full of them, absolutely full of them. I’ll be honest, I though that there was a little bit of repetition coming in the two tracks before it but its wiped all of those worries away with what could technically be described as a blinding track. Sometimes you try to hard to find the right words, maybe something witty or a new way of saying how good something is. I’m struggling in that respect except to say that this is an album that you need to listen to from start to finish.
Kingdom Of Thorns comes in and stakes its claim for one of the best closing songs of 2024. Remember that emotional connection with certain arrangements? It’s chock full of them, absolutely full of them. I’ll be honest, I though that there was a little bit of repetition coming in the two tracks before it but its wiped all of those worries away with what could technically be described as a blinding track. Sometimes you try to hard to find the right words, maybe something witty or a new way of saying how good something is. I’m struggling in that respect except to say that this is an album that you need to listen to from start to finish.
No dipping in, putting it on shuffle, nope play it old school. Individually each song is great, even as we get later into it and I’m sure would find their way onto your playlist of choice. But as a whole piece, that is where its power lies. That is where you will get maximum enjoyment, from taking the time to sit/drive/walk/pogo to the whole thing. It needs to be listened to this way. Anything less would be a shame. 9/10
Sadly, their timing was not great, since that comeback album The New Messiah ended up coming out just before Covid, preventing them from getting out there and touring it, so they still remain a relatively unknown quantity. Which is a shame, because whilst I haven’t heard any of their previous material, if it’s anything like what I have on my platter here is perfectly respectable. And it’s not like there isn’t a market for this NWOBHM authenticity, judging how bands like Tailgunner have carved an impressive following after only one album, so we should at least give someone who was there first time round a fair hearing, and to be fair with eighty percent of your line-up dating back to the 80’s it certainly feels the business.
Musically this is straight Traditional Metal, with energy, melody and drive throughout. It’s not the most technically showy album instrumentally, but it focusses on the basics and does them very well, leaving vocalist Christer Göransson to steal a fair amount of the limelight with his strong and charismatic delivery, which has enough power that my own diaphragm is rattling in sympathy with his.
Kings Of Mercia - Battle Scars (Metal Blade Records) [Matt Bladen]
The most unlikely of bands I didn't think there would be another Kings Of Mercia record but I'm happy to be wrong. A band where you need to spot the odd one out, it contains Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos, Armored Saint/Fates Warning bassist Joey Vera, ex-Toto drummer Simon Phillips and Steve Overland the vocalist from AOR legends FM. Brought together by journalist Dave Ling their debut was a highly regarded (in these pages at least), louder and grittier then Phillips or Overland's backgrounds while being more melodic and catchy than Matheos and Vera's.
The chemistry was evident Matheos and Overland writing the bulk of the material sitting in the middle of what they do individually. Whether it's the bluesy anthem such as Between To Worlds, the atmospheric balladry of the title track or the dynamic propulsion of Don't Ask or Hell N Back. On Battle Scars this collaboration goes further, both men now more at ease with each other, so there's more definition to what Kings Of Mercia is. On the debut there was a lot of good music a band of veterans finding their feet as a group but on Battle Scars, but there's a lot of good music from a band of veterans who have evolved what their group is.
That is a band that plays melodic rock songs such as Eye For An Eye, choppy hard rock riffs and those soulful vocals from Overland, while Aftermath and the epic Angels & Demons shows the other side with some dramatic moodiness inspired by the FM side of things. I'm glad there is a second Kings Of Mercia album, their first was excellent and this is just as good, sometimes the weirdest concoctions produce the best results. 9/10
Schammasch – The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean (Prosthetic Records) [Liam Williams]
Here we have a new release from Swedish band Schammasch. This is the new album The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean. The second album in their Maldoror Chants series. It’s a very unique sounding album and one I had to listen to a couple of times to wrap my head around it.
The first track, Crystal Waves, is the longest track on the album, lasting just over 13 and a half minutes. There’s a little bit of synth at the start which is gradually joined by the sounds of waves and guitars. 2 minutes in and the drums and vocals join in with some spoken word and whispering vocal parts. Soon after that a distorted guitar starts to come in and about a minute later the full band kicks in. Then there’s some singing before the track changes from calm to heavy, gradually building up to the songs climax which has some fantastic drumming from about 10 and a half minutes in. The song ends with some strings. A pretty good track to demonstrate what you’ll be hearing throughout the rest of the album.
A Somber Mystery is the shortest track, lasting just over 2 minutes long. There are no vocals. Just some very creepy sounding acoustic and clean guitars and some drums. Your Waters Are Bitter has a great guitar intro which builds on the creepy sound from the previous track. The drums come in to build up the song before the full band kicks in with some nice heavy sounds, including some harsh vocals. The song changes halfway through. There’s some great playing from the guitars and drums and the song gets heavy again at around 7 and a half minutes in and maintains that heaviness until it fades out at the end.
They Have Found Their Master starts with some guitar and bass, one of the only moments on the whole album where the bass can be heard clearly. There’s a nice little guitar part with a bit of a delay effect. Then the band kicks in, joined once again by some harsh vocals. This track has some fantastic guitar parts. It gets very fast and heavy around 7 minutes in. Then it goes a little bit too crazy and it sounds like everyone is playing in different time signatures which can be a little bit disorienting to listen to.
There’s a nice guitar solo but you can barely hear it with all the other chaos going on. The track slows down towards the end and there are some female vocals that come in to calm things down a bit which I think is a nice little touch after the absolute chaos that came before it. Image Of The Infinite is a slower and calmer song. It has a nice bass and guitar intro. The vocalist is once again joined by a female vocalist halfway through.
I Hail You, Old Ocean is the final track on the album and at the start it almost sounds like a different band playing. There’s some nice, crunchy distorted guitars driving the rhythm of the song. Then there’s a very fast and aggressive part around 3 minutes in, filled with tremolo picking guitars, blast beats and harsh vocals. This part is followed by a bit of a groovy section before things go back to fast and frantic. There’s another little guitar solo which, again you can barely hear because there’s so much going on. The song closes with some amazing drums followed by a nice string section to end the song and the album.
This album felt a lot like a ship in a storm. There was some really great parts, particularly with the drums and guitars, but the rest just felt a bit too chaotic. The mix could have been a lot better which might have made it easier to listen to. I felt that the vocals and the bass suffered a lot because of this since a lot of the time you can’t hear the bass at all and the vocals are way too quiet in comparison to the guitars and drums. But definitely an interesting album. There’s some good stuff in there and it sounds very original. It's just a little bit of a rough ride. 7/10
Mindless Sinner - Metal Merchants (High Roller Records) [Simon Black]
Mindless Sinner are a NWOBHM band who didn’t break out of their native Sweden first time out, and like many acts of late have decided that in this globally distributed media world that the time is right for another go. They managed a 5-track EP and an album back in the day, but bounced around minor local labels, suffered from the endless line-up challenges and finally threw in the towel in 1990 before Grunge gave them no choice in the matter. And in 2015 they were back, because let’s face it you’ve got to do something whilst waiting for governments around the world to start paying our generation of the population a pension.
Schammasch – The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean (Prosthetic Records) [Liam Williams]
Here we have a new release from Swedish band Schammasch. This is the new album The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean. The second album in their Maldoror Chants series. It’s a very unique sounding album and one I had to listen to a couple of times to wrap my head around it.
The first track, Crystal Waves, is the longest track on the album, lasting just over 13 and a half minutes. There’s a little bit of synth at the start which is gradually joined by the sounds of waves and guitars. 2 minutes in and the drums and vocals join in with some spoken word and whispering vocal parts. Soon after that a distorted guitar starts to come in and about a minute later the full band kicks in. Then there’s some singing before the track changes from calm to heavy, gradually building up to the songs climax which has some fantastic drumming from about 10 and a half minutes in. The song ends with some strings. A pretty good track to demonstrate what you’ll be hearing throughout the rest of the album.
A Somber Mystery is the shortest track, lasting just over 2 minutes long. There are no vocals. Just some very creepy sounding acoustic and clean guitars and some drums. Your Waters Are Bitter has a great guitar intro which builds on the creepy sound from the previous track. The drums come in to build up the song before the full band kicks in with some nice heavy sounds, including some harsh vocals. The song changes halfway through. There’s some great playing from the guitars and drums and the song gets heavy again at around 7 and a half minutes in and maintains that heaviness until it fades out at the end.
They Have Found Their Master starts with some guitar and bass, one of the only moments on the whole album where the bass can be heard clearly. There’s a nice little guitar part with a bit of a delay effect. Then the band kicks in, joined once again by some harsh vocals. This track has some fantastic guitar parts. It gets very fast and heavy around 7 minutes in. Then it goes a little bit too crazy and it sounds like everyone is playing in different time signatures which can be a little bit disorienting to listen to.
There’s a nice guitar solo but you can barely hear it with all the other chaos going on. The track slows down towards the end and there are some female vocals that come in to calm things down a bit which I think is a nice little touch after the absolute chaos that came before it. Image Of The Infinite is a slower and calmer song. It has a nice bass and guitar intro. The vocalist is once again joined by a female vocalist halfway through.
I Hail You, Old Ocean is the final track on the album and at the start it almost sounds like a different band playing. There’s some nice, crunchy distorted guitars driving the rhythm of the song. Then there’s a very fast and aggressive part around 3 minutes in, filled with tremolo picking guitars, blast beats and harsh vocals. This part is followed by a bit of a groovy section before things go back to fast and frantic. There’s another little guitar solo which, again you can barely hear because there’s so much going on. The song closes with some amazing drums followed by a nice string section to end the song and the album.
This album felt a lot like a ship in a storm. There was some really great parts, particularly with the drums and guitars, but the rest just felt a bit too chaotic. The mix could have been a lot better which might have made it easier to listen to. I felt that the vocals and the bass suffered a lot because of this since a lot of the time you can’t hear the bass at all and the vocals are way too quiet in comparison to the guitars and drums. But definitely an interesting album. There’s some good stuff in there and it sounds very original. It's just a little bit of a rough ride. 7/10
Mindless Sinner - Metal Merchants (High Roller Records) [Simon Black]
Mindless Sinner are a NWOBHM band who didn’t break out of their native Sweden first time out, and like many acts of late have decided that in this globally distributed media world that the time is right for another go. They managed a 5-track EP and an album back in the day, but bounced around minor local labels, suffered from the endless line-up challenges and finally threw in the towel in 1990 before Grunge gave them no choice in the matter. And in 2015 they were back, because let’s face it you’ve got to do something whilst waiting for governments around the world to start paying our generation of the population a pension.
Sadly, their timing was not great, since that comeback album The New Messiah ended up coming out just before Covid, preventing them from getting out there and touring it, so they still remain a relatively unknown quantity. Which is a shame, because whilst I haven’t heard any of their previous material, if it’s anything like what I have on my platter here is perfectly respectable. And it’s not like there isn’t a market for this NWOBHM authenticity, judging how bands like Tailgunner have carved an impressive following after only one album, so we should at least give someone who was there first time round a fair hearing, and to be fair with eighty percent of your line-up dating back to the 80’s it certainly feels the business.
Musically this is straight Traditional Metal, with energy, melody and drive throughout. It’s not the most technically showy album instrumentally, but it focusses on the basics and does them very well, leaving vocalist Christer Göransson to steal a fair amount of the limelight with his strong and charismatic delivery, which has enough power that my own diaphragm is rattling in sympathy with his.
At over an hour’s run time there’s plenty of bang for your buck, although I would have been tempted to hold a few tracks back and gone for a more short and punchy delivery to make the more stand out moments (like the distinctly catchy Hedonia) feel more distinctive, but I can’t fault any of the songs themselves and I would be keen to see what these boys could do in a live setting. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment