Heavydeath : "In Circles We Die"

There is a raw Celtic Frost like vibe to the brand of deathly doom this Swedish band has returned to  grind out. Very rough around the edges, there is still a well balanced sense of atmosphere even when they chug into the more sludge like "Slumbering Monolith" though I prefer what they were doing on the albums opener. The growls are low and gurgling though still deliver the lyrics in a way that can be understood in one listen. Their drummer also now sits behind the kit for Katatonia, and while he gets the job done here, I think his skills are conveyed better on the new Katatonia album. These guys are of course way heavier than Katatonia, though the guitars are not devoid of melody and care about the songs rather than just crushing you.

"Bleak Future" is more straight forward than the first two song and rides a murky line between being doom and death metal. There is almost more of a black metal drone to the title track.It's not until the vocals going into an almost death rock like singing voice that there is a shift in the song's dynamics.The sung vocal are once again delivered in that manner during "The Few Remains". "Rope of Emptiness" starts off having more of a true doom feel and accelerates into death metal.There is a darker tension to the riff that keeps "Into Death's Black Void" creepy. Once again it finds the bands blurring the boundaries, it's has a dark throb like doom, but a sludgey black metal thing going on depending on where you are at in the song. Not that they every kick into blast beats, but the vocals have an evil scowl to them. There is a slower and more melodic pulse of the doomier closer "the Fallen One".

 Overall the production on this album is a notch above their previous full length. They incorporate a wide range of guitar tones and atmospheric sounds making for a more well rounded experience . I'll round this one up to a 9, though the jury is still split as to if I need this in rotation on a daily basis.  The songs are not too sprawling with the "the Fallen One" running just over eleven minutes. But the generally keep it reined in around the eight minute mark. This is being released on November 25th by Iron Bonehead.

Saturnalia Temple : " To the Other"

On the Swedish band's second full-length they  indulge in a brief smattering of ambiance before stomping in with a blackened doom feel that at times recalls some of Darkthrone's black n roll moments if they were in collision with Celtic Frost. It hangs on the main riff while the vocalist rants. The vocals have a crazed quality to them and while gritty are not really growled or screamed, but I wouldn't say they are sung. The title track has a melodic guitar riff that drones on with a cleaner tone and a Kyuss styled solo drifting over it's mid-tempo desert doom as the vocals bellow in the background. Fuzzed out feedback dirties the edges of the song. The more straight forward "Snow of Reason" is not as compelling as it chugs ahead a perhaps with  a greater momentum , but lacks the hints of melody until the be section groove to make the song as compelling.

While past-members of the band  have included on of the guitarists from Dead Congregation this duo writes best these droning marches through the graveyard the they layer with an almost Hawkwind like sonic element. The first song that really strikes me as black metal is " Crowned with Seven" which has very Slayer influenced drumming, more so in the cymbal work than an overkill of double bass. they close out the album on a creepy note with "Void". I like some of the single not guitar work and the bludgeoning power behind song's like "Black Sea of Power" the simplicity of these songs can be both the blessing and the curse.

This band doesn't waste your time. Live Night Fell's Tim Call is behind the kit which would have been interesting to hear his take on these songs in the studio. If you are looking for blackened doom that has a stoner twist and nary a blast beat then this might just be the album you are looking for. I appreciate what is going on here I'll round it up to an 8, but don't think I would personally get much play out of something this rough around the edges, but they might be more your speed to click below to decide.

Heavydeath: "Eternal Sleepwalker"

Sure they are crushing and droning and the vocals are mean as fuck, but how are their songs? Well I can keep going back to this album for repeat listens so that is a good sign. This Swedish band employs chanted  vocals that are often layered into the dry leather lunged rasped growls are effective in building upon the band's hypnotic leaning. It seems chanted vocals are becoming more of a thing these days, I wonder what is up with that ? T he opening hymn "Ascending" is a rumbling doom paced affair. The second songs just rolls out of the opener, the vocals a low baritone chant coming close to being actually sung as the band develops more groove as the pace picks up. Though most bands these days are beginning to adopt black metal elements, these guys are content to trudge somewhere between doom and sludge.

Their drummer is currently handling drum duties for Katatonia. This is much less melodic and more pounding than Katatonia, he has also played for Project Hate so he is all over the place. He is sticking to one slow and deliberate style of playing , by the time I am at "Bow Down" I was unaware that I was already at the third song.They touch on more run of the mill doom, though it is a tad burlier and launches into bursts of sludge on  'Eat the Sun" . The vocals grow more melodic and the harsher growls are not the only method of vocalization these guys rely upon. The title track sounds like a variation of the previous song, though a heavier harsher and slower take ."Heavy Death" the song, kinda of drones on and it ends up taking us into the closing song before you realize this isn't the same song which is one of the albums pit falls.

I like the sounds they capture, the album sounds great it's dense and organic , though I
am split on how some of the songs run together as it means they slowly begin to sound the same- I'll give it an 8 and hold my breath as to how it grows on me. This comes out March 6th on Svart Records.

Catching Up with 2014- Monolord: "Empress Rising"

This isn't what you would expect from a band coming out of Gothenburg. This trio blends atmosphere with their stoner thunder in an almost Kyuss like fashion. The effects drenched vocals are sung in a rock fashion, think Failure or Tool. This might be a selling point to some and kill it for other. It reminds me a lot of the bands I used drop acid to in the 90's like Sugartooth. This was listed over at my other blog family Cvlt Nation as being one of the top doom album's of the year and while we see eye to eye more often than not I don't really hear this as being doom. Doom to be has to have a darkness to it. Sure there is Sabbath worship, but that without radiating darkness is just stoner rock to me.

It's always ballsy if not self indulgent to open this album with your longest song. Here it's the title track, which set the tone for the album and raises quite a bar for this trio to follow. They follow this up with an over driven rumbling number that is more typical for this sort of thing than the opening song. Monolithic in the weight of it's heavy shuffle, it's relies on the fuzz to hold it aloft.  As an instrumental it lacks , where the vocal gave it a unique quality.

The vocals return on "Harbinger of Death". Coated in the same watery "Planet Caravan" effects they don't latch on to the same quality of melody , but wait for the guitars to make the first move. It reminds me more of Electric Wizard here. "Icon" is unsurprisingly at the same pace as the rest of the album, the vocals however save the day providing some variance in the pattern of their melody. The close the album on a more oppressive note almost closer to what I think of as doom. The vocals don't hold as much strength as they have earlier in the album and the Sabbath worship is pretty much at an all time high. The lyrics are pretty much time and space mumbo jumbo, take another hit from the bong and talk sci-fi to me.

If you like Kyuss, this might not have come from the desert but it takes you on a similar fuzzy trip. I'll give it a 7.5, but you are a huge stoner then round it up to an 8, or just a massive fan of the genre. Not something I need for my iPod, but take a listen and see if yours can live without it.

Kall: s/t

There are times when I wonder what happened to depressive suicidal black metal, forgetting there are tons of basement bands all over the world releasing it, then I wonder about what happened to good depressive black metal, like where the hell is that Totalselfhatred album that was coming out this year? Then luckily before any end of the year lists were started I stumbled upon the new project from the surviving members of Life Lover. They also grabbed the bassist from the Shining. So you know things are about to get depressing as fuck. So grab your pills and razor blade.

After a hesitant intro piece the launches into the beautiful clanging of "Mycelium veins". This isn't blast beat black metal by any means. It slowly swells in intensity before bringing it back down for the desperate cry typical of the mental breakdowns dsdm singers like to emulate. Here it just happens to be be convincingly and more conviction than the combined tears of these imitators haunting their parents basements can muster. Then comes the incredible thirteen minute journey of "Forsok till Forstorelse"  or "attempted destruction". The start at doomy rock pace before their medication wears off and they are back weeping in the sewers of despair.  While wallowing in this they bring in a sax. There is a jazz like delicacy here that some how doesn't brighten the mood at all. Instead it becomes the perfect soundtrack to laying in a blood stained bath tub contemplating the futility of your existence. When the heavy build comes because you know it will it's done in a more of a thundering rock manner.

"en Ljusare Morgondag" or " a brighter tomorrow" is ironically titled in the darkness that descends upon this song. It has the raw punch of old Shining. The vocals range tortured gurgles more characteristic of dbsm to a baritone moan that comes closer to a croon. These guys have always know how to rock out a droning riff back from the Life Lover days and employ a similar attack here, making them the Velvet Underground of black n roll.  The cleaner Cure-ish passages are more defined than back when this thing was delved into in Life Lover. The production is cleaner than most Life Lover as well, though still retaining a very live feel when the distorted guitar comes in.

There is almost a grunged out indie rock feel to "Descending ascension". It hangs onto this groove until they have another  collective low swing, that's allowed a release through a more sonic rock build. They capture a powerful cathartic emotional moment in this song that  is not contrived in it's self deprecation. The songs on this album have a seemless organic flow. None of the changes seem forced, which is impressive considering the dramatic transitions some of the songs. A good example lies in how from out of a delicate interlude comes "Varelsen" or creature. This lingers in it's down trodden lumber with spoken word vocals narrating the first  half of the song. With sax in tow they stomp into the pound of sludged out hard rock.

"Far Val" closes out this album. At this point I have resigned myself to the fact I am going to be cranking this all afternoon. I really couldn't have chosen a better time to listen to this as I just awoke from a feverish nap sleeping off a migraine, so it's a surreal introduction back into metal. Which if you can imagine sitting at a computer and listening to metal all day with a migraine, makes you only want to listen to Alcest. This song takes you out on a similar cloud of shoe gazing transcendence. This is a perfect album, didn't even have to keep score it's a ten.

Martyrdod:"Elddop"

This is the bands fifth album and is more mature than previous efforts in some ways, yet still manages to be a pretty nasty beast , this monster has just been cleaned up a bit. These guys are good at what they do and the fate of this really depends on how much you dig what they do, because they stick to their guns for better or for worse.

My Swedish is good enough to tell you the title means "Baptism of Fire" . Lets see what I can do with the rest of the album. The album opens with a thrashy pummeling, though the guitar tones are pretty clean yet the crust label seems to still stick to this band." En jobbigt jnvel" thrashes out from where the momentum of the opener seemed to be headed. It  almost sounds more like a transition than a new song. These are all pretty short and sweet right to the point. This riff is pretty tough and they attack it like a punk band , which is where I supposed some of this crust core stuff is supposed to come from.

The pace changes on "Synd" or sin. This is the first song that really catches my ears as the others blazed right past them. The guitars are much more precise and melodic, maybe not as catchy as the last albums riffs, they are pretty mean, even in the more harmonized At the Gates like parts. The raspy vocals are howled more than screamed, sometimes gargled with anger.

"Mer skadda nn nytta" has a little darker feel. The guitars rip into the chug a little harder making this one stand out with a pretty powerful riff, though the rule around here is cool riffs alone don't make a good song, this one comes close to challenging  that theory.

If break neck energy is your thing, then this might be right up your alley, but "Paranoia" almost seems to have tighter arrangements, this album just has better sounds. " Prästernas tid" is more straight ahead punkish thrash like the albums first few songs vented off of. It does take a slight melodic break midway into the beating they give your ears. The most solid songwriting shows up on "Victoria" . The lyrics are sung in English. The guitar melodies are actually melodic and if any comparisons to Bathory were going to occur they make more sense here.

"Tentakler" or tentacles rumbles up with an almost doomy intro riff and picks up the pace from there. If break neck energy is your thing, then this might be right up your alley, but "Paranoia" almost seems to have tighter arrangements, this album just has better sounds. "

"Slav Manual" find the snare being spanked at a similar velocity. The guitar riffs are raw and jagged, but until things slow down into hard accents this is hard to differentiate from the other songs, despite the triumphant gallop that rises up from the muck.The title track opens with a more distinctive riff, but the tempo goes back to all too familiar places. The guitars almost get to a pirate like folk metal place further into the song, which I appreciate because the more melody they can bring the better. The howling of the vocals also becomes more emotive on this one.

The blur of raw guitars speeding by continues on "Varningens klockor" or the Warning Bell.This is slightly black metal in the manner this song rips into you. The first guitar solo I have noticed fires off on this one too. Not to say there have not been others that rushed by me.  "Steg" or tread is another blur of snare and thrashing jangle, as it doesn't sound as tightly picked as some of the other riffs.There's another solo of sorts that gets somewhat buried.

"Martyren" or martyr, is much more melodic and utilizes then cleaner production to capitalize on their playing. This also brings a more folk or power metal feel to the majestic nature of the songs swell. They summon the kind of restraint that could have come in handy earlier in the album. The growling also seems to pace it'self differently here adding to the dynamics. "Hjnrspiken" has a lower toned resonance to the guitars, though it roars out at a similar speed, The solo does take a more rock n roll approach.


Clean vocals surface on " Under Skinnet". They are slightly buried in the mix and seem to be a woman guesting on this. While there playing doesn't really shift away from what they do the actual singing changes the whole ballgame. Overall I'll give this one a 7.5, if you are a fan go ahead and round it up to an 8. I think they almost key in on some black metal moments the punk simplicity on this has them doing a tango of one step forward one step back.
https://soundcloud.com/rarelyunable/martyrdod-track-stream-elddop/s-6vwoN

Katatonia : "Kocytean"

Well it's a new Katatonia, was my first thought only to find this ep is a collection of b-sides,   I  gave it a shot. Released for record store day as a 12", the album Unfurls with little evidence this was ever a metal band, it's even laid back for Radiohead. There is a melancholy to this more Massive Attack sort of affair. Things don't get more rocking as the bonus track from the Longest Year" ep  "Sold Heart" continues the drift into electro ballads.

If I was feeling really depressed and sensitive, which is not out of character, then I could be more appreciative of this. The Cure,. comes across heavier than this.I am fine with moping about and being sad. I like melody, but I also like dynamic and this is where these songs seem to suffer. Granted this is from a band the bar should be held high for, as they have dazzled us in the past with superior song writing. It's not until "Ashen" a song from Night is the New Day appears follows the first two songs that any rocking shows up, but we are talking a song written back in 2009, so it doesn't offer any hope for the future. However the songs inclusion here serves as a good reminder to what I like about the band when they are doing it right.

"Second" was a bonus track from "Dead End Kings" so its cool to have and is not far removed from what you might expect from the band's more recent direction.The chorus doesn't soar as much as you think it might. Even older rare tracks show up with the "Code Against the Code" which goes back all the way to the Deliberation ep" . It is more Cure like for sure but is closer to what I want from the band, I suppose if the band handpicked these songs, then it's encouraging they remember where they came from, even if the songs all have the depressed drone.

The other bonus track from Dead End Kings, has a more Porcupine Tree feel to it.I like the way the vocals are layered even if this song is a little weird in it's feel. The build in the string section reminds of the Verve. For what this is I'll give it an 8 as it's cool to have all these songs together, even iof some of them are a little limp in the wrist .  



  

R.I.P: Selim Lemouchi

We lost one of the best guitarists you might not have ever have the pleasure of hearing,  if you did not catch the Devil's Blood live. If you are a regular reader here then you should know what high regard I hold Selim. I got the chance to interview Selim, a few years ago when they were on the tour with Behemoth, Watain and In Solitude, it never made on here as the transcript got lost before I could transpose it , but he was a very frank and intense man who was very confident in what the Devil's Blood , I remember asking him  what was the response like playing to metal audiences at a Behemoth Show, when they are more of a rock n roll, band and he said " I care less what people, think, we do what we do because this is the music we make, we put it out there as a force and if a crowd likes it or no is of little interest to me."

Then they preceded to blow me away with a very jammy Pink Floyd like set that was much different than what they did on their albums. Having already  seen some of the greatest guitarists live Fripp, Page, Gilmore, Iommi, Prince, Malmsteen...it is easy for me to number him among them. It's a shame the progression of his talent was yet to come, I did read an Interview where he said in regards to the Devil's Blood's break up that he saw it like the Rolling Stones, what was the point of them making albums after "Some Girls" , so he seemed to think that projects high point had past, despite the "...And His Enemies" project still being in a similar sonic space to the Devil's Blood.  

It has been said he was shot, but not conclusive statements have been made of late as to the exact cause of death. However watching the video below it feels very much like the death of Jon Nodveidt  the singer of Dissection, who killed himself, for reasons which might best be seen as a self sacrifice for the completion of what they considered their great work.

Shining:"8 ½ – Feberdrömmar i vaket tillstånd"

I pretty much wrote the band off as having drifted off into cock rock after "Redefining Darkness". Fodd Forlorare was a far in the melodic rock direction I could stand to see the band venture and then they pushed it too far into power ballads. So it was a big surprise to hear what I found on their new album that is stripped down raw black metal in the vein of Burzum. I think some of this was done because in the studio the band was reduced to a three piece, forcing them to get back to basics.

The change of tone is noted from the onset of "Terres Des Anonymes" or Land Anonymous, it has the cold "necro" sound, but with more room for atmospherics so often feels more like a Nachtmystium album when it comes to the mix though the songs tend to drone on like Burzum. While I'm over joyed to hear a return to the caustic heaviness of their earlier work, the lack of the metal god guitar solos is missed. There are some rock grooves on this album but the sound more like Celtic Frost than Guns N Roses. There is a dirge like drone to the final act of the opener.

"szabadulj meg onmagatol" or rid itself, finds him taking on more of an Immortal like croak, that at sometimes also sounds like Mayhem, with ghostly moans floating in the chaotic backdrop. They get into the blasties here which is where I began to suspect the drums are programmed , but as a whole the album is produced in such a way this fact is well hidden.

"ett Liv Utan Mening" or a life without meaning, finds them in more familar territory with an acoustic intro that Kvarforth grunt and gurgles over. The song gets heavier but keeps a balance with the dark melodic progression they are know for. So even though is this a change in sound the same way Cowboys From Hell to Vulgar was a change, you still have enough shades of the glory days to hold on to.I like the effects on his voice here, he never really sings in his clean voice on this album and at times the production on the vocals is more like Circle of Ouroborus.

This album is more lo-fi and raw than anything they have done since say the Eerie Cold, they still manage to blend lots of textures and layers , even though they are worn around the edges. On songs like "Self destructive emissaries", the ebb and flow from the more haunting passages to the grime of the nasty darkness are well balanced making one another seem wither more beautiful or more vile depending on the juxtaposition.  "Black Industrial Misery" fires off with the venomous howl of Kvarforth, whose harsh vocals have found a new authenticity. This is one of the albums more straight forward songs, as it hardly lets up its onslaught.

The whole depressive suicidal vibe is recaptured on " Through Corridors of Oppression " that starts off feeling like funeral doom, which I always thought was the next door neighbor to dsbm. but it's more like an outro piece than a full fledged song with a defined verse or chorus. I'll give this album a 10 as it's perfect for long walks in the rain and is a welcome return for the band after the mis-step of the last album.  

In Solitude : "Sister"

The Swedish band makes a very tasteful evolution with their new album.  They have out grown the Merciful Fate comparisons even only a few ghosts of  the influence haunting the riffs or  mournful wail of their singer Pelle. The album is darker but also more organic sounding , with less of the dual Iron Maiden harmony guitar parts that gave their first two albums a NWOBHM vibe. It's safe to say this is a much more accurate depiction of what the band is about live, as they were much more explosive, with a more primal punk energy.

The album's strength is they still held onto the elements of their sound which made the first two albums work and expanded the dynamic range of what they do. The spectrum of guitar sounds have broadened, there's  more warmth to the guitar sound, rather than just sticking to the classic metal chug the earlier work took on. This does steer the band towards the whole "occult rock" sound or even " vest metal" but without staring back to pay as much homage to the past, though there is more Sabbath influence on this album than Maiden or Fate, but also post- punk vibe like Feilds of the Nephilim , but not as deep in the bat-cave.  In some ways the vest metal elements seems like the Devils' Blood rubbed off on them a bit while they were on tour.

The acoustic guitar of "He Comes" is the first sign this album is going to be a much different ride. This comes across more like an intro than a song, even though there are low mixed vocals moaning in the background. The album kicks off proper with "Death Knows Where" .  The guitars still have a chug to them, and the compositions have sharp transitions like old Maiden, but the over all vibe is much different. A casual first listen might even fool you into thinking this album is more straight forward. While there is much more of a rock n roll feel here, the attention to detail in the song writing remains one of the bands strength's.

The more dramatic stylistic shift for the band can be heard on " A Buried Sun". Here Pelle's vocal approach takes on both more grit and darkness, showing more of a Birthday Party are  Nick Cave swagger or even Carl McCoy. The bass line slithers coolly underneath the dire like guitar riffs. This song isn't the only goth leaning the album takes and it is a welcome development from my perspective as music can never be too dark for my taste.

"Pallid Hands " bears more resemblance to the previous album than most of the other offerings. It packs an ample , and drives forward with the more Merciful Fate chug.  The very epic soar to the chorus also reawakens comparisons to the elder age of metal.  The guitars have more attack here than they have had on the first two songs and continues to build momentum as the song progresses.

"Lavender"  has a more Blue Oyster Cult feel to the way it kicks in. Pelle's voice has a harder percussive delivery to it. The bass player has really stepped up his playing on this album, it allows the guitars more room to experiment with different textures. The title track has more swing to its groove than anything we have heard the band touch on before. It is still metal and driving. When the guitars drop a little lower the groove takes on almost a disco feel like Kiss's "I Was Made For Loving You".

"Horses in the Ground" goes back to the bands more classic metal roots ,with the King Diamond like mid-range moan soaring over the gallop. The influence Devil's Blood might have had on the band while touring with them appears here as well on the b-section.The guitar solos cut loose more which reminds me of Devil's Blood rock god pyrotechnics when it comes to the solos. The close "In Most Nigredo" floats in with a bluesy seventies prog like guitar line that leads into a doomy stomp. The stock metal chugs act more like glue to punch the arrangements together, an is a good example of how the band has really grown as songwriters. This album has already earned repeated listens, the more organic nature seems like a natural process of growth from this young band who have succeed in not painting themselves in the corner as being a wink to retro metal and continued to grow into their own, so this album get's a 10 as it's both a fun and powerful listen.    

Watain: "The Wild Hunt"

This has to be my most anticipated album of the year...so it has mammoth expectations to live up to. It's worth the wait, a masterful creation, the scope of what this album encompasses is going to have fans of black metal pretty divided. I not even sure it's a black metal album by most metal head's definition of the genre, but Erik clearly doesn't care. If he did the band would not have the scale of growth shown here.

It starts off with an intro track called "Night Vision" that's only a minute and a half worth  of an actual instrumental, that could have been tagged onto "De Profundis" though doing so might have diminished the bang it explodes to life with. It is bigger in production, but keeps things at the frenzied pace you would expect from Watain, though almost more death metal in feel than black metal, as they deviate from the blast beats and the song is more snarl than sonic, at time even thrashy. Not that Lawless Darkness did not have all of those qualities to production just magnifies them to epic proportions here.  The song suceedes at being heavy and does so in a manner that has a genuine enough feel to avoid the Behemoth like mall metal.

The album gets even better on "Black Flames March" it slows slightly taking on more of a black metal darkness. The chant of backing vocals joins in as the chug gets tighter and more epic, before an almost Dimmu like breakdown section, that I'm unsure how it will be pulled off live but it does help expands the songs dynamic, it doesn't stop here as dynamic shifts get greater as the album progresses. this song has enough  rotting meat to it's stomp that I think long time fans will still be able to hang with it.

One thing about the production, that works for me but the too cvlt for school kids might balk at is the vocals are often drenched in effects and the guitars are heavily layered and produced, there's none of the Varg give me the shittiest mic you find necro production here. the first single " All That May Bleed" benefits from all of these factors, the riffs are tough enough to nail Christ back onto the cross. There is still a Dissection influence here, but Erik's vocals are more fine tuned here. The attention to detail on this album is impressive from execution to phrasing. Erik's bass playing isn't too shabby either there a nice melodic run at the end of this song and I'm a fan of any time you can hear the bass in black metal or any metal , as black metal becomes a matter of counting straws.

The argument against this album being black metal stands up on " This Child Must Die" the vocal whisper  reminds me once again of Dimmu, though overall they have not dramatically changed , the signatures of their sound are intact, its just scrawled with many different colors of ink. Erik stays in his raspy croak, and the guitars pass the melodies off behind him.

Things begin to take a dramatic shift when the album reaches "They Rode On" , while having intreveiwed Erik myself, I have been aware that Fields of the Nephillim has been an influence on him and Carl McCoy is even on the song "Waters of Ain , but this gets the spot light shone on it , as the song is a dark brooding ballad. The song is entirely  clean sung, I haven't seen the liner notes on this one yet but I'm willing to bet the female harmony vocals that pop up are Farida from Devil's Blood. The guitar solos are the hair blowing back foot on the monitor variety for true rock gods and are really beautiful. I have heard a lot of people who don't know who Fields of the Nephillim are try to call this folk metal or compare it to the Unforgiven. There is no way around the fact while its odd for it to be the centerpiece of the album, its a great song and these guys are ace musicians to pull it off.

To off set the power ballad it's followed by "Sleepless Evil" the most pounding song on the album, that doesn't let up on the jack hammer skull fucking until a piano break at the two minute mark , they creep it out for a bit before blasting back at you. The title track lurches back into a slower pace and clean vocals return here , though they are darker moans and whispers at first. The raspier croak narrates their version of Paradise Lost before the choral swell of layered vocals comes in. The fact all the melodic experimentation is all so haunting is what enables them to pull it off so well.  The clean vocals reach a little higher for the brass ring as the song builds. They are not trying to be Opeth or even Shining for that matter , staying much rougher around the edges. If you are a guitarist you must own this album the playing is very tasteful. The flamenco guitar comes out of no where to end it.

"Outlaw" rolls right in with a dark chant leading the tight riffing before they go to familiar blasting territory you have been waiting almost the whole album for , but they have taken you on such a journey you for that was what you show up to the dance for , so it's much more effective. The riffs still retain a thrash feel to them. The Drumming has stepped it up to the next level on this album and are thundering. The solo at the three minute mark is the first place I hear any Metallica influence.

"Ignem Veni Mittere" returns to clean guitar at the intro but is followed by a classic thrash chug, the soloing on this somewhat Ride the Lightning era Metallica, while I'm not big on instrumentals, this one wins me over and has enough dynamics to keep my attention.  The solo that lurks behind a cavern of reverb is pretty fucking cool and has a chilling tone. Metal Guitarists take note the bar has been raised.

While My version has a bonus track, for the purposes of this review I'll call "Holocaust Dawn" the closer. It stays pretty close to what you would want from Watain. The guitars are extra melodic , once again they summon up a tangible darkness.

If you are not of the close minded  variety of metal heads who don't have anything that's not brutal enough even at the risk of all the songs sounding them same, then you will be able to embrace this as the next bold step forward for the band, there is a lot of growth for the band, so much they have out grown the constrictions of the being black metal, I'll give this album a 10 as every song works for and might just has edged out Voi Vod and Altar of Plagues as being the metal album of the year. See the whole review I restrained by fan boy adoration and was objective as possible though once it grows on me I might even round it up to an 11.

 

Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods

This is the Swedish band's 9th album and I can there appeal just as I can see they might be viewed as too commercial by those who are trying to stay brutal with their death metal as there are a fair amount of power metal influences sprinkled in a this isn't what gets considered pagan metal or viking metal despite all their lyrical references and well.. their beards, it has more in common with Dethklok or Arch Enemy, though they are rolled 20's to notch the epic factor up.

I  have always heard these guys in passing I think there last album was  the first I loaded on the Ipod to play all the way through and I remember then doing a god awful cover of a System of a Down song.  They take a little getting use to out the gate with the opening title track because you almost forget the days when metal didn't have a blackened something to it so with out any dissonance , darkness , tremolo picking of blast beats , it sound joyfully triumphant which depending on your taste can be a good thing or a bleh... thing. It keeps at a very thrash pace. When it comes to finding common ground with fellow countrymen  and these guys come closer to At the Gates than Dissection.

"As Loke Falls" is for better or worse your average thrash affair with some harmony guitar flourishes, sure there a good chug here and there in between it all but does that make for cool riff or good songwriting?


 The opening riff of "Father of the Wolf" is pretty much classic metal dialed in from 1987 with the only big difference being the vocals, if they were sung in the operatic yodel it could be Armoured Saint or somebody like Helloween  though at several points in the album I am reminded of Unleashed,  The riffs are melodic and hooky enough for most not saying they have really drawn me in until I am like "Oh there's an Iron Maiden riff"

"Shapeshifter" the riffage sounds darker , has more of a death metal feel, more powerful and less power metal gallop to this one, call and response chorus is a little different in the vocal panning than other songs. His voice over all seems to have two modes of growl mid to low.

 The chug to"Under Siege" is one of the few songs where I am won over by the power of the riff alone, though the arrangment certainly helps the placement of it have more impact , as I am seldom won over by chug alone. The guitar sounds on this album are very big and everything here is highly orchestrated in the mix, which gives it the slickness that causes some people to be turned off.  One of the other solid riff in your face songs is " We Shall Destroy" . This one invokes that Unleashed field and is more legitimate death metal.

" Blood Eagle" cranks up some Slayer like riffage this one is much thrashier, the chorus riff in particular and the chorus benefits from the slick production in how the vocals, the guitar could cut through more in places some times it seems to take on an obtuse wall of volume and it seems like a mix issue, should have taken some of the effects of and given every thing a more in your face sound like "Reign in Blood".  " Coming of the Tide" follows a similar trajectory. It's pretty straightforward the riffs charge ahead , fans of Skeleton Witch are probably already listening to these guys but if not they are missing out. The double bass switches up it's pattern here but they use that really straight ahead snare hit which ruins it for me though the riff in the last two minutes steers the song in a better direction.  

"Hel" is a treat for me as I had  been waiting for former Candlemass singer Messiah Marcolin to make his appearance , it's a pretty straightforward not heavier than any thing off "Nightfall" .Messiah is a little low in the mix for me layered underneath the lead growler. Messiah does sound as if his pipes have held up fairly well.

There's a pretty effective riff at the two and a half minute mark of "Coming of the Tide"  the song it self becomes a little bland in its momentum and some times default to what would sound good to solo over. There is a slight mosh waltz to a riff here and there in "Warriors of  the North". This album sounds great , the song writing well... this sound has been time tested but also overdone leaving it feeling a little bland , I generally prefer stuff that's darker and more experimental, so it's not really my thing as it's presented here, still they are good at what they do and fans of the band could even round this up an entire point as I'm giving it a 6.5

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Dark Tranquillity: "Construct"

Going into this I was still under the impression these guys were still Swedish Death Metal , which means lots of harmony guitar parts and thrash influence like  At the Gates or it could also be more crusty like Entombed or Dissection influenced with a little blackend thrown in but instead we get KillSwtich Engage like mall metal. It well produced and effectivly executed though a little slack in the song writing department. Apparently this is what happens even to metal bands who sell their souls  tyring to break into America.

I have seen a  couple of videos here and there and heard two albums at most in passing none of which I own as I generally have regarded them as being pretty bland.  Fans of the band will cite their metal pedigree as the band once held In Flames vocalist and the two guitarists use to play for Hammerfall and the Keyboardist was once in Tiamat, but aside from the traces of power metal in a few riffs In Flames is band they share the most common ground with.

The opener almost has a Katatonia vibe that would be more noticable if it wasn't for the one dimensional growl of their singer, who employs clean vocals much more on this album than past releases. Their is the hardcore stacatto chug of a Killswitch thrown in for good measure. Is there a coat of cheese on this ...sure but the song is well crafted , while I an adverse reaction to it, almost nothing on this album really strikes me as heavy. It would be heavy for Katatonia maybe though "Forsaker" is heaveir than anything on here.

"The Science of Noise" has one of the straightforward beats to it that I don't like before it Katatonia Switch Engage on us , the In Flames like guitar sort of appears here but it pretty cut and dry with the harmony parts as bridges. The blandness I think of them for is actualized here.  The moody "Uniformity"  works off the Katatonia vibe, though the are going for more the stadium metal epics here, so I can hear a little Arch Enemy , though it goes back to the Gothenberg sound  that Arch Enenmy despite being Brits try to emmulate, though the vocal melody here is very Killswitch with a little less dramatic emphasis. The lyrics must have been dumbed down for commercial appeal because I can't imagine grown men would write lyrics like this .



"The Silence in Between" is pretty middle of the road metal and that's my beef with these guys is that metal is not supposed to be middle of the road about anything. Yet there's no sense of darkness , anger or violence in this its prefomed well but sterile. "Apathetic" takes on more of a thrash feel, it sounds like recycled 3 inches of Blood riffs who are recycling riffs from the eighties there is a melodic moment and some effects on the vocals which help vary the sound.

The clean vocal on "What Only You Know" is at least hookier than most of the songs on the new Alice in Chains I just reviewed . It's over articulated more like Opeth. The mall metal quota is reach in the keyboard riff  to this one alone. The guitar phrashing on the verse is very Killswitch as well, as you can see it's pretty much a color by numbers with nothing making this their distinct sound, were they doing this first , sure but there is a conscious effort to indentify with other artist who are somewhat at least more succeful with American crowd, I suppose Katatonia it could be debated .

There's a very simplistic guitar leading intoi "End Time Hearts" the vocals by this point have bored the hell out of me this album is now a test of endurence.  Some of  the guitar melodies on this remind me of J-pop, it's way to happy to be death metal. The clean vocal takes on more of  a H.I.M like tone on  "State of Trust" every thing not only drops out on the verse but the production does as well, the clean recording quality of this makes the guitars very thing, one of the factors keeping this record from feeling heavy. God there's even a Linkin Park styled breakdown , the pop kin not the rap kind at the end.

The  are are always clues to let you know the amount of creative depth that went into making something like this things like the lack of thought provoking song titles , doesn't even prepare you for the riff that sounds like Disturbed's "Striken" on "Weight of the World". The closer "None Becoming" is a little weighed down by the Keyboards but the sense of melody is more impressive than the majority of  the album. They seem almost more comfortable in the Katatonia zone on this album.

I'll give this one a 4 , they are trying but seem out of touch with themselves here and grabbing for straws on a sinking ship, they should have taken a page from Slayer's book and stuck to their guns and made music true to themselves rather than this, but the potential for melody is there, I think if this was a more foucsed effort it could have been more realized.  
 




 

In solitude - the world , the flesh, the devil

King Diamond/ Merciful fate is one of my favorite musical entities , so when i band get praised as being the second coming of fate or a singer gets compared to king diamond , you have my attention . the devil is getting his due these days as the current retro trend seems to be tipping of the hooded robe to Fate these days , with Ghost in the fore front of this .
While the influence can be heard as In solitude singer launches into a similar mid range moan, absent is King Diamond's soaring falsetto, and truth be told the guy from Ghost doesn't pull it off either , the phrasing of the melodies also wear the king's influence but over all - the riffing is much more maiden, the guitar hit harder than i expected it too, some death growls creep in but are restrained, the soloing is proficient while derivative , i find myself listening to find where the bands personality comes through and it seems to more on the harder galloping sections , which border on thrash. these remain so slavish devoted to the time period they are trying to recapture it plays as both their strength and their weakness. While it sell the over the top serpents are rising chorus , it also cause the songs to start to sound the same , a little more texture and variance could set the songs apart.
At the end of the day when it comes to a blast from the past i would much rather ;listen to these guys than Toxic Holocaust , up against , i would have to give Ghost the upper hand in the song writing and having their own personality while giving a wink at their influences . Poisoned , Blessed and Burned is song to give a listen to on this album as all their strong suits fire to kill here , the slower intro , the punches and guitar flourishes work their best . If you want more head banging and less art then this album will make you happy and who knows it might keep growing on me i have only listened to it all the way through a couple times so they jury is still out on what kind of staying power it has .