Host : "IX"

 

Nick Holmes and Greg Mackintosh from Paradise Lost have ventured off to more melodic territory with this album. I heard dark wave getting thrown around in reference to this album, and that is not what I hear on the opening track. It is a more melodic and more electronic based effort in contrast to their other band , but not goth, as least on the first song. They y of come closer to that sort of thing on the second song, but but it's not much darker than the first song. The best is more dance oriented. It brings Porcupine Tree to mind more than Mission UK. There is more of a Depeche Mode feel to " Divine Emotion" which brings it closest to whatever you want to call goth these days.

On paper this should win me over with ease. It is a formula that should be destined to work. Two guys from a metal band I like venture out to make something in the zip-code of goth. But it lacks the hooks and darkness to persuade me. The beat and vocal syncopation improve on "A Troubled Mind" . The vocals fall where they should. It is not the darkest song, but it is headed in a right direction. While it's a pleasant listen " My Only Escape" makes me wonder why they did not do these songs with Paradise Lot. There are plenty of Paradise Lost songs that stroke me as being more goth than what goes down on this album. 

"Years of Suspicion" is a more confident step in the darker direction they were trying to wrestle toward. "Inquisition" sounds more like Gary Numan to me. The last song does not come together in the way you might expect. Instead it's brooding hesitates and ponders. I will still give this album a 9, as it is done and if I went into this with a better understanding , my expectations might have been more aligned. For what it is it works well, they are still solid song writers, this is not as dark as expected is the only problem I have, when I listen to it knowing what this is , it works just fine. 

Taake: "Stridens Hus"

After the change of pace on the ep that came out this fall or leaked this fall, my concept of release dates is totally warped, though I did learn this is coming out in December, I went into the full length hopeful with low expectations. There is more of a black n roll feel to this one.Having around since the 90's this is the project's 6th full length, though this makes since when you consider what a busy boy Host is doing session work.The fate of black metal which has already exerted considerable influence and staying power rests on if the trail blazers of the genre can maintain their streak of breaking new ground because once they become stagnant after building the model then the genre will surely follow.

"Orm" is like an extension of the previous song just with riff modulating.The vocals stay in the same mid range rasp.At the two minute mark chord structures begin to get more creative.This song flows better to me than the opener, which still might grow on me, the bar is raised pretty high for Host after "Norgen Vaapen".The blast -o- thon that is "There is a prince" finds it's leg midway into the headbanging. It is the first song that grabbed on my first lesson. There is a weird break at one point that made me turn up the volume as I thought my head phones weren't working. "Stank" does a similar thing to what was heard earlier in the album as it sounds like an extension of the previous song.It hits it stride in the sonic drone of the blasting, yet with more detailed riffs than say the first wave of Norwegian black metal.The gang vocals add some variance as well, the vocals in general sound angrier here.The re-verb drenched sur guitar break is what I want from these guys . It is off set by a pretty ripping solo that makes for what I think of as classic Taake.

"A Song to the Sand about Conflagration" gets darker even though it stays on the same sonic chug that has been hinted at earlier in the album.It's Host's attention to detail that sets this project apart from it's peers.The moody guitar that surfaces on "Kongsgaard" is a prime example. I f you are not in the mood for blast beats this might not be the album for you as it seems to always be the go to. Not sure if her feels like he has something to prove or if that's just the way this one came out. It does give the songs more of a uniform feel despite some pretty chilling twists he puts on things. The guitars are the star here as some wonderfully bleak melodies bleed from them.

The album ends on ripping mode with the spiral of guitar that is "Wings". The songs flies off on blast beats for sure. For a one man show he does have a knack for making this feel like a band in a rehearsal space. He is not a jack of all trade but master of none as each performance holds it's own against the rest.A fine album, but knowing what Host is capable of it relies on blast sections too heavily and the song writing falls a little short of the previous full length. So I will give it an 8.5, which isn't shabby.