Sear Bliss : "Letters From the Edge"

Hungarian metal band Sear Bliss begins to trade it's black metal roots for a touch of death metal. They have always been adventurous. They wander off into melodic passages to provide a wider range of dynamics than your average metal band. They manner in which this goes down on the first song reminds me of 90s bands like Samael or Tiamat. "Seven Springs" gets more symphonic, but this happens in a very organic fashion. This also brings a more romantic element that places it more toward the black metal side of the fence. The melody to "A Mirror in the Forest" carries a majestic march that gives it a more viking metal feel, in it's sense of high fantasy. At the solo it gets a little darker, but darkness doesn't seem to be what this album is about.

This album is colored with a wide range of guitar tones and benefits from excellent production value all the way around that doesn't forsake their edge. As a whole their sound seems to be going in more of an Enslaved direction when they are ready to rock. Low almost spoken vocals wait until the second act of  "Abandoned Peaks"  to come in. These guys get credit for writing very concise songs, only once do they tip the ten minute mark, which is cool because it makes it stand out from the other songs. "Haven" is slower and more straight forward, a step more towards a mainstream metal direction. They go a more straight forward death metal route with plenty of melodic nuances on "the Main Devide" . They stay in this more moderate but dark and heavy almost rock n roll direction for "Leaving Forever Land". This is the ten minute song so there was plenty of time for them to revert to blast beats so that happens. Five minutes in and I am trying to figure out if there is any where else for them to go with this that is more worthwhile. It breaks down into cleaner guitar tones that lead to a more deliberate and melodic section.

The album closes with "Shroud", another song that finds the band stepping down a slicker more stream lined direction. The growled vocals the only thing really anchoring it to being a metal song. The horn section joins in to give an added symphonic kick. This album really excels and shows growth. I am sure some might frown as it is not as cvlt as their old black metal fan base might prefer, but it's good music and that is hard to argue against. I'll give it a 9.

Arkhe : "A"

If you are a fan of the Hungarian ban Sear Bliss then get ready for something that is a big departure from what that band. The whole point of this in the first place was for them to try on sounds they had not been able to delve into with Sear Bliss. Bands such as Sentenced , Opeth and Katatonia can be a reference point for this brand of melodic metal with a progressive edge to it. there are plenty of clean vocals and the angrier vocal tones are not at a full growl rather Celtic Frost like exclamation. Some of the vocal melodies are pretty impressive and then don't come in the most expected places. There is an almost 90's pop industrial tone to "Meditation in the Woods" .  "Ferteg Hava" has more of a an alternative metal feel. It's more of a European thing then a descent into nu-metal, almost like a metal version of Inxs. The chugs that do come in are catchy and well placed.They are more fully committed to industrial on the darker "Lelekolok". The vocals take on a more KMFDM like grit.

The atmosphere on 'Space Derelict" shows this willingness to experiment with different sounds pays of in a big way, even though it's more of an instrumental interlude. It marries jazz to space rock in a very original fashion. The pull of a very interesting cover of "Scum" by Napalm Death. It's much slower than the original and has clean singing rather than rabid barking, the pre-verse riff is really the most recognizable factor from the original. "Eredet" continues this breeding of electronic sounds with melodic metal in a fashion that grows increasingly dark as the album progresses. The trip hoppish ballad " Alom Hava" is not a shabby song it carries a slight Pink Floyd influence, but it is not the album's strongest song. The also close with a similarly paced dream filled ballad. This one is a little closer to Porcupine Tree. I'll give this album a 9 it's darker than most progressive rock coming out these days and melodic in a similar sense as Killing Joke, which puts it right up my alley.