Sometimes music gets you going, stirs up the blood, makes you want to throw yourself around. Sometimes music makes you want sing aloud or it makes you angry, it can help depression allow you to express emotions that are held deep down.
Then sometimes music makes you cry, uncontrollably and without any reason, maybe it's the crystalline vocals that carry emotion so well, like a mother regaling tales from history to her infant son, or perhaps it's the soundscapes of a Celtic heritage that comes coursing through the soul and are expressed outward. It could be any number of factors but personally the captivating close-up music of Auri always seems to make me cry at least once.
Their third journey, Candles & Beginnings was written shortly after Troy Donockley and Tumas Holopainen had finished with Nightwish's Yesterwynde and it again is a way for listeners to marvel at the instrumental compositions of both Donockley and Holopainen and the beautiful vocals of Johanna Kurkela.
I've waxed lyrical about Troy numerous times be it in Auri reviews, Nightwish reviews or any of his collaborations with Mostly Autumn which is where I was first introduced to his musical mastery of the ethereal and the organic with lilting acoustics, pipes and whistles, encapsulating the sounds of traditional folk tales, Tolkien's mythos or the worlds of Morrowind. As part of this trio he creates music based on the landscapes of Yorkshire allowing the two Finns to combine that with their heritage for music that stirs the souls and tales you away to fantasy realms in senses of serenity.
Auri is a band for those who want to escape, the synths/keys of Holopainen, awash with cinematic confidence built by many years in one of the world premier symphonic metal bands, his melodic ear setting the more fantastical tones ready for the stunning, otherworldly vocals of Johanna Kurkela. Joining them on their endeavours are Frank Van Essen (strings), Jonas Pap (cello), Juho Kanervo (basses), and Nightwish drummer/percussionist Kai Hahto
Hers is a unique talent where she doesn't necessarily have to sing lyrics, she can just vocalise with the music and it will betwixt you, as the bands music dances between fireside folk stripped to the core instruments onto the more expansive New Age sounds of I Will Have Language which has a similarity to Sweet Lullaby by Deep Forest. The mastering at Real World Studios playing with the shadow and light as the dynamics shift throughout the record, calling on Enya/Clannad, Enigma and Kate Bush as well as more contemporary acts such as Blackmore's Night and Wardruna.
Compositions to ignite the spark of your soul, Auri's third record speaks of Candles & Beginnings the movements of a time gone by rediscovered through music. 9/10
Baest - Colossal (Century Media)
When is death metal not death metal? When it's got 80's metal hooks through it. Baest call their fourth album Colossal "Ozzy Death Metal", representing an almost wholesale shift in their sound. Drawn together from songs that have been around since the pandemic, the idea going into this record was to have fun, infusing their typical genre type with the styles of music that make them want to party.
Death metal mavericks Baest not only blast beat, buzzsaw riff and guttural growl their way through this record but they do it with grooves and choruses that are inspired by 80's rockers such as Ozzy (of course), Dokken(?) and ZZ Top(?), it's catchy, bombastic and most of all fun.
Will the camo shorts wearing death metal purists get annoyed? Probably but there's always been a place for classic metal, the songs that many of us were brought up with especially in the wake of Mr Osbournes passing, a bit more Ozzy is always welcome. King Of The Sun and Misfortunate Son both draw from the Jake E Lee Ozzy years when it was all a bit more slick and overproduced, and while the latter has some savage additions from Melodic Black Metal band ORM, the former includes a guest spot from Jesper Binzer of Danish hard rock icons D-A-D.
While the Ozzman cometh here on Time And Again there's a distinctive Maiden gallop and while Imp Of The Perverse has a groove that gives way to more lead guitar workouts Mouth Of The River showcases that they haven't fully given up on punishing death metal just yet. I'm all for bands adapting when it pays off and with bands such as Kvelertak or Blood Command embracing this extreme meets something else style, it leaves Baest leaning more towards Amon Amarth or the Swedish melodeath sound and doing it very well. 8/10
Vanitas - Journey To The Sun EP (Self Released)
There's plenty of comparisons to what Midlands band Vanitas sound like, in my review of their last release, Chaos Theory, I mentioned a band such as Symphony X due to the orchestration and neo-classical guitar shredding, I'd also say they owe something to Epica, to Fleshgod Apocalypse and more.
With each record they gain confidence, creativity and more importantly scope to see through their musical ideas and show off their individual and collective talents. Their new EP Journey To The Sun is a grandiose concept record that tells a story where you are the protagonist, imagine an audio chose your own adventure but with Vanitas guiding the soundtrack.
It's an immersive listen where melodies that belong as ProgPower festival, coerce with chunky Techfest djent, the orchestrations from CapsaArx Studios/Dakesis' Matthew Jones are sweeping and fantastical, giving the maximalist soundscapes Vanitas seek to provide. Recorded by the band along with Mike Clinton, mixed/mastered by their own Mitchell Barlow and with the vocal production from Ethan Vega, Journey To The Sun is the most inspired release from the band to date.
Jade Maris' vocals tower over each composition, soaring infinitely higher with a powerful belt and chest voice. Then switching to some gritty mids and extreme metal snarls and growls, using every octave she can, her vocal conjures the characters of this concept Narrator, NPC and antagonist all in one.
It's beneficial then that the band are also a set of virtuosos, that rhythm section of Jon Willingham (bass) and Jackson Cann (drums), digging the progressive trenches for the band to follow, guiding the rhythmic heart of the journey with precision, groove and enviable dexterity.
The guitar playing from Mitchell Barlow and Elijah Storer meanwhile so often locks into djenty, palm muted, chugging ala Periphery of Meshuggah, but will also bloom from there into twin axe harmonies from the American metal scene and bands like Trivium as well as the European power metal melodies and intense solo sections.
Vanitas will be celebrating the release of this EP with a hometown launch-show at The Flapper, Birmingham on Saturday 15th August, and then they’ll be out on tour where you’ll be able to see these songs live for the first time. So look out for dates near you.
Journey To The Sun continues the development of Vanitas with a track such as Behind The Mask has Middle Eastern influences in the symphonics reminding me of Our Truth by Lacuna Coil, though of course with Solitaire they meet that Periphery meets Disney tag they’ve been given brilliantly. Technically impressive and forward thinking, this EP is a strong new chapter for Vanitas. 8/10
Haunt - Ignite (Church Recordings)
Nine albums, three EP's, two splits and two compilations you could say Trevor William Church works too hard but with Haunt, more so than Beastmaker, he's found something he loves doing, nearly every year without fail there is something new from this Fresno, California based tribute to all things old school heavy metal.
Ignite is another ten tracks of heavy metal from Church, it's album number nine and as with all the Haunt albums Church composes everything but this is the second album where Haunt are a band, and not just Church. As with 2024's Dreamers, bassist Sam Harman, drummer Andy Saldate guitarist Andy Lei are all back to play Trevor's music alongside him and it does give the songs a more cohesive sound but like with Dreamers, there's perhaps a loss of the experimentation from earlier releases.
When something is a studio only, solo group you can write music that is more complex or can bend the genre rules, when you're writing for other people and for the road, simplicity is at a paramount. Simplicity though isn't a detriment to Haunt, so many of the bands in the original NWOBHM would put four on the floor, get into a gallop, play some harmony guitars and sing the chorus a couple of times and the hordes in their denim and leather would lap it up.
As one of the NWOTHM flagbearers then Church, doesn’t try to change the formula too much, there’s some synths that open the homage to speed Extraordinary Life, they slow things down on Early Grave but from there it’s all guns blazing towards the end with speed/trad anthems before the it closes with If I Said Goodnight another ballad. Haunt still do what they do well, but I think a bit more digestion would make the next album a real classic. 7/10
The guitar playing from Mitchell Barlow and Elijah Storer meanwhile so often locks into djenty, palm muted, chugging ala Periphery of Meshuggah, but will also bloom from there into twin axe harmonies from the American metal scene and bands like Trivium as well as the European power metal melodies and intense solo sections.
Vanitas will be celebrating the release of this EP with a hometown launch-show at The Flapper, Birmingham on Saturday 15th August, and then they’ll be out on tour where you’ll be able to see these songs live for the first time. So look out for dates near you.
Journey To The Sun continues the development of Vanitas with a track such as Behind The Mask has Middle Eastern influences in the symphonics reminding me of Our Truth by Lacuna Coil, though of course with Solitaire they meet that Periphery meets Disney tag they’ve been given brilliantly. Technically impressive and forward thinking, this EP is a strong new chapter for Vanitas. 8/10
Haunt - Ignite (Church Recordings)
Nine albums, three EP's, two splits and two compilations you could say Trevor William Church works too hard but with Haunt, more so than Beastmaker, he's found something he loves doing, nearly every year without fail there is something new from this Fresno, California based tribute to all things old school heavy metal.
Ignite is another ten tracks of heavy metal from Church, it's album number nine and as with all the Haunt albums Church composes everything but this is the second album where Haunt are a band, and not just Church. As with 2024's Dreamers, bassist Sam Harman, drummer Andy Saldate guitarist Andy Lei are all back to play Trevor's music alongside him and it does give the songs a more cohesive sound but like with Dreamers, there's perhaps a loss of the experimentation from earlier releases.
When something is a studio only, solo group you can write music that is more complex or can bend the genre rules, when you're writing for other people and for the road, simplicity is at a paramount. Simplicity though isn't a detriment to Haunt, so many of the bands in the original NWOBHM would put four on the floor, get into a gallop, play some harmony guitars and sing the chorus a couple of times and the hordes in their denim and leather would lap it up.
As one of the NWOTHM flagbearers then Church, doesn’t try to change the formula too much, there’s some synths that open the homage to speed Extraordinary Life, they slow things down on Early Grave but from there it’s all guns blazing towards the end with speed/trad anthems before the it closes with If I Said Goodnight another ballad. Haunt still do what they do well, but I think a bit more digestion would make the next album a real classic. 7/10
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