Comprised of members from Mnemic and Void of Sleep and like many Italian metal bands finds inspiration from the countries cult horror movie scene. There brand of doom draws influence from the throne of Sabbath and some of it's earliest worshippers such as Pentagram. So there is often a rock boogie feel to it. The opener is well done , but sticks pretty close to a color by numbers blue print. So going into this album what I am listening for is where they stray from that and show me who they are . The songs are typically bookended by pieces of horror movie atmosphere. The pace picks up going into the second song to give it a heavier Electric Wizard like intensity. I think "Land of Revenge" is a stronger song as the vocals have more purpose , where they seemed to be obligatory on the first two songs. Vocally things are song in a very plaintive tenor that recalls middle of the road 70's hard rock like Blue Oyster Cult.
They turn a darker and more melodic corner at the beginning of " Oblivion Mushroom" before it's business as usual for this sort of thing and they are chugging the same path paved by Iommi.
The Suspiria theme song that is a cover of Goblin's version, not not the albums high point. The riff to "Blackmaster" has more groove to it , the vocals to do ride it as gracefully as they could. They don't wow me until we get to the song "Holy Cult of Suicide". Then everything clicks in place and I'm wondering , now why hasn't there been more of this ? "Hell Behind You" continues to find the band showing their true selves as the dive down deeper into more melodic territory. The vocals sound like the guy is using his real voice and not trying to front a Blue Oyster Cult, even when they hit the "Mississippi Queen" section of the song and boogie down. The album does hit these two glorious songs in the final act, but is also bogged down by typical retro metal, so I'll give it a 7.5, which shows these guys have promise and if this is your kind of party and you don't need much more then you might even round it up.
Often left as the icing on the cake or as an after thought these days , particularly with metal, vocals are what I scrutinize the most and is most often the deal breaker for me. Here we are talking about singing, there are a couple on the list who incorporated screaming in various degrees into what they do , but this list are the singers that went that really poured their hearts and souls into each note.
10-Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden
This is almost more of an honorable mention as there is more strain on his highs which are not as high as well even a "Matter of Life and Death" , but then again being the Trooper , Bruce came back from a bout of cancer that could have made matter's much worse so that combined with taking his age into consideration, Bruce still does better than most.
9- Lariyah Hayes of Khaotika
Hayes dominates "the Flame Unleashed" with a range that dips down into a urgent alto before soaring up into her more power metal soaring register. She manages to pull off a classic metal vocal without getting mired down in cliches of 80s metal yodeling. Even at her most melodic she doesn't take away from the heaviness of her band and can rough it up with the boys who provide most of the backing growls. Expect big things from her in the future and check out their most recent album if you have yet to give it a spin.
8- Joy Von Spain of Eye of Nix
Joy
Von Spain can belt out an operatic soprano, but isn't afraid to tighten up her vocal cords and give an anguished scream either. Her vocals set "Moros" ahead of the pack when it comes to bands experimenting with sludge encrusted metal. The dark back drop her band sets behind her compliments her voice and gives her the breathing room to belt it out as needed. Projects like Myrkur which might have gotten more press tried their hand and similar, Von Spain just executed it with a broader emotional range and a more expansive set of pipes.
7-Kennedy Ashlyn of Them are Us too
While Ashlyn's style might wear it's influences on her black sleeves. To pay such homage to Elizabeth Fraser is a feat in and of itself and she nails. You can hear who she is and she doesn't sing in her own made up language so this is not a total hero worship affair. She bends her melodies with fey grace and really made "Remain" an album I keep returning to.
6-Ryan Adams
It was a bold move to cover an entire Taylor Swift album. Up until this point I had respect for Adams and had a curiosity in regards to his stuff ,but the passion he injected into "1989" sealed the deal. He takes pop melodies and puts is heart into them blending a style that mixes Bruce Springsteen with Tom Petty, but much more melodious than either and allowing me to really hear his voice as never before.
5- Chelsea Wolfe
"Abyss" found Wolfe stepping out of the ghostly shadows and baring her voice in a more vulnerable manner than largely shed the effects dripping approach she did so well and showing a lot of growth. Live she was even more impressive, and her praises have already been sung on this site a hundred times over, you are probably shocked that she is ranked higher and while she had the best album of the year , she worked well within the context of the songs and got the job, where the next four singers really caught me by surprise where I saw Wolfe coming a mile away. This is not to say she wasn't awesome after all anyone who made this list really accomplished something considering all the albums I heard this past year.
4- George Lewis jr aka Twin Shadow
Here is where it gets really competitive , "Eclipse" hung tough on my iPod thought out thanks to smooth melodies Lewis had such mastery of . He was often dark yet very soulful and encapsulated everything I could want from a male pop singer as far as dynamics go, despite the fact he largely stays out his head register and I'm a sucker for a good falsetto, but we'll get to that one soon enough. His voice always goes to the perfect places in the song making for something very infectious.
3-Emma Beth Rundle - Marriages
She really came into her own on "Salome" and displayed a more emotive power and greater range. At times she sounds like Tori Amos, but this speaks more to her willingness to cut loose and pour her heart out into the songs, which earned other singers like Ryan Adams a place on this list as well. Emma just managed to make my jaw drop a few more times than most.
2- Miny Parsonz of Royal Thunder
Miny brought it on "Crooked Doors" taking her voice up into places where classic rock gods used to go. She not only flexed her pipes to a greater extent on this album , but really created melodies that stuck in my head and had me listening to this album in binges. She went to some grittier places and also back off and offered some more reserved lines that were just as emotional due to her willingness to get real lyrically and immerse not only herself in the experience , but the listener as well.
1- Abęl Makkonen Tesfayeaka aka The Weeknd
When he preforms at the Grammys this year the secret will be out of the bag. I told you I'm a sucker for falsetto, by Abel comes with a Michael Jackson like tenor, but with more of a gangster lean to it. His music is darker than any soul music has been since Marvin Gaye's "Here My Dear " album, with Abel singing out drug induced antics in a tongue and cheek manner than has a passion to it that makes you wonder where his legend begins and life ends. "Beauty Behind the Madness" is what pop should be.
Their new album opens with "the Answer"one of the lead singles that been on the web for a minute and it rocks harder than when these gals were around last time. The guitar tone is thicker almost to the sludge point of fuzz , but rumbles with more of a "Manic Depression" meets punk drone. The chant of "if you don't love me, don't love anybody" is the main melody that works for me on this one, some of the others are not as focused as what they brought to the party on "Silence Yourself" . "Evil" brings things back to a smoother form of post-punk with a dance inducing throb. The guitar is smooth and melodious with all of the other factors playing to the strengths of their sound, climaxing at the end. This album enjoys the benefits of better production than their debut. The bass is thicker and Jenny Beth's vocals are up front and unencumbered by the mix. "Sad Person" hits a sweet spot between groove and punchy rock. The guitar still flirts with surreal layers leaving the hammer of the bass to carry the weight, but at other times the guitar takes on a much more rock feel than they had before, making this album harder than their first.
There is a more introspective , but not quite ballad like tenderness to the title track. The guitar carries a pulse not unlike Depeche Modes more rock moments on the verses and rising into a more refined punk on the choruses. There is a more middle of the road swagger to "Slowing Down the World". Her raw vocals lead into "I Need Something New". The guitar throws strips of feedback over the bass line that revs the engine before this songs gets to rip onto the asphalt. They use the tension of restraint to tease that that they are going to give into to the explosion as her narrative continues.When they do kick in its coated with more noise around the rough edges to build the sonics. The song writing is more refined with experimentation handled with in the confines of a the three minute pop song. This is best spotlighted on "When in Love" that find feedback sculpted around melodies in the same four bars.The distorted bass on " Surrender " is juxtaposed against Jenny Beth's more pleading delivery and a playful guitar accent, before the sparse chorus reins the song in briefly.
There is a burst of punk injected more heavily into the dna of their post-punk sound on "T.I.W.Y.G" , which stands for this is what you get. According to Jenny Beth, this is what you get when you mess with love. There is a cool melodic break down at the two minute mark that I was not expecting. There is a somber drifting ambiance to "Mechanics" which they close out the album with. They hover on this simmering noise with Jenny Beth's melody breezing over the surface, though is is more of an outro rather than converging into an actual song. I gave their debut a 9, so I'll give this one a 9.5 if I ignored the last thing I could round it up to a 10 as I don't see it making it over to the iPod. I am sure this album will grow on me.
Petrov is on the mic and the guitar tone is intact all the things that would make this band Entombed, but it appeared due to Alex Hellid they put and AD after it. This is their second album under the AD. The opening track carries and impressive rumble , but does not come close to capturing the grooves of Wolverine Blues, not is this the same kind of death metal that was Left Hand Path". Fans of pre-and post"Wolverine Blues" alike will still find plenty to like here. The first hint of melody surfaces in the darker "Down to Mars to Ride" which takes off at a big thrashing chug. They are at their most convincing here. There is more weight behind the chug of "As the World Fell" . Petrov comes as close to singing here as he does on the "Wolverine Blues " album.
"Lefthand Path" seemed like more of a death metal album to me than any of their albums that followed and this album is not changing my on that , "Total Death" feels more like "Chaos AD" era Sepultura , just without any of the Neurosis" worship that colored that album. The guitars are thick as hell, but this one is more like Motorhead powered rock n roll.
Things get into a harder and darker thrash on " The Winner Has Lost" which reminds me of many of the things that attracted me to this band on their first two albums. Many so called heavy bands have taken inspiration from these guys , but many more could learn that their is nothing technical or flashy going on here , it's the intention they attack their instruments with that makes it this heavy, even though I do not think this is death metal, it's heavier than many death metal bands.They are back to the stiffer Sepultura like chug on "Silent Assassin". I know both bands are into hard core punk so I'm not sure if that is where this is derived from or not, as some early hard core had a militant stiffness to it. This is not their most interesting side.
Clean guitar opens "Hubris Fall" which sets the stage for a more melodic current to sweep through the song. This brings the vocals to have more of a Neurosis feel to them. Petrov doesn't sing but comes closer to it. Even tough there is more of an old school thrash feel to it "Black Survival" feels like this is being done by way of Soulfly. The darker melodic creep ends the album with more of what I want from this band. They manage to avoid the rule of cool riffs alone do make a good song, by adding just enough around the edges while churning the most they can out of the riffs. Overall I'll accept this version of Entombed , wish the would shed some of the more Soulfly like moments , but I'll round this up to an 8.5, because the moments they nail they kill.
I normally do not support christian music in any form but Mustaine has toned it down enough for me to give this one a shot. The last time I gave a fuck about Megadeth was when "Youthanasia" came out , though there were some songs I heard on "Cryptic Writings " that I liked, we officially parted ways when I saw them in 1998 at Ozzfest and Mustaine had gone full christian mode, would not play there best songs from "Peace Sells" and people where giving out fliers promoting Jesus and using his name to do so. Well how do you know he o.k'ed this? ... the defensive Megadeth fan asks. I stopped one and asked them. This is the first album since 2004 not feature drummer Shawn Drover who was replaced by Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and the first since 2007 without guitarist Chris Broderik who was replaced by the guitarist from Angra. The first song is thrash with Mustaine's vocal much lower than the sneer you typically associate with their more classic sound, but this returns on the title track that follows. It is a catchier and more mainstream metal take on what they do. "Fatal Illusion" carries more heft when it slows things down into a more deliberate pound, before Dave Ellefson speeds things up into something that sounds like a b-side from "Countdown to Extinction" if that album had been produced in 2015. Not sure why the guitar feels the need to solo over what is supposed to be the chorus, the song has some cool sounds , but is haphazard in it's construction.
"Death From Within" takes two listens for me to get a grip on it , because the first listen didn't really grab me. It has what is a typical chug for the band, but sticks to a very middle of the road formula for them. The chorus is alright, but it's just alright it doesn't have much of a punch. Really at this point if it wasn't for the guitar tone, Megadeth would sound more like hard radio rock if you were to compare then to what is metal in 2016. The guitar solos run rampant here and are just what you would expect lots of speed and accuracy , but very sterile in the feeling department. Clean guitar tones open up "Bullet to the Brain". I like how the melody falls under the guitar one this one and the groove that the song might launch into makes sense despite the sing song chorus attached to it. The solo to this song has more rhyme and reason if you are in minority into this band that needs for their solos to actually make sense in the context of the song. "Post American World" is more straight forward , but is also a more tightly written song. The drumming on this song is also more characteristic of Adler's playing.
There and more melodious qualities to "Poisonous Shadows" make it click more for me. This also the song credited with having an orchestral arrangement, which sounds more like synths to me. The chorus reminds me of post-"Trash" era Alice Cooper. The instrumental "Conqueror of Die" doesn't really have much merit except to serve as a backdrop for a shred fest, but no body is comparing these guys to King Crimson anytime soon. "Lying In State" takes a more aggressive approach, while it doesn't come close to the killer "So Far So Good So What" era is comes the closest to capturing that feel.Lyrically Dave is focused on political unrest and this is his state of the nation. Its no "Behold a Pale Horse" but not half bad in the that department."the Emperor" is typical of Megadeth's more accessible sound. The vocal lines fall tighter over the riff, but the annoying factor to this song is single note wailing over the singing. The guitar solo here is more tasteful and more rock n roll.
They close the album out with a cover of Fear's "Foreign Policy" , well hey one punk cover already worked pretty well for them so why not try another. Though Megadeth is the antithesis of punk now as every thing is larger than life all the time. They don't have the same kind of anger to vent into the song that they had back on "So Far So Good". This cover doesn't really do a lot for me, they notes are all in the right place , but I think it sounds a little dialed in. This album does have some stronger moments than I expected and finds the band heading backwards in the right direction so I'll round it up to an 8.
It's safe to say at the point in time you never know what kind of album Ulver is going to put out. It's also a safe guess that they will never be a black metal band again. The album opens with a swell of atmosphere is is almost hard to call a song, if I passed out on my synth and became a restless sleeper I'm sure the results would be similar. They do pull it together and write "Glammer Hammer " that is very cinematic, it's instrumental world music mixed with electronic and with a few hits of heavy guitar. It is a powerful piece of music and good to here hints of a heavier dynamic incorporated. There is an almost King Crimson meets the Labyrinth soundtrack feel to "Moody Stix" , it morphs into more of a march, not as compelling as the previous song, but not bad for the soundtrack to a fantasy game perhaps. "Cromagnosis" has a bass line merge from the buzz of electronic noise. A guitar part begins to form around it as it swirls into something with more of smoothed out Cure like post-punk groove before escalating into tribal drumming.
I like the fact that they are involving a darker current to the songs this time around.They do continue to litter the album with atmospheric interludes, that Brian Eno already did better. A whispered vocal finally surfaces on "Om Hanumate Namah" which carries an exotic Middle Eastern that spirals through it in places. The guitar tone is great and the song is dynamic for something meant to drone. Yeah , I'm not sure why there are sound effects of frogs opening the song "Desert/Dawn" since there are no frogs in the desert. This one falls closer into krautrock and is very electronic and drones in the same vein for most of the song only adding more layers of synth. "Gold Beach" is a more stagnant and less dynamic take on krautrock. "Nowhere ( Sweet sixteen) redeems this one with actual singing that is very influenced by Depeche Mode. Distorted guitar comes in over a baritone chant of "nowhere...catastrophe" . The guitar tone is a echoing hollow body that is pretty chilling. There is a slight Faith No More feel to this song as well, but dipped in 80s pop like Tears For Fears.
There are spoken word vocals that sound like something from post-prison Burzum on "Ecclesiastes" . The song it self if a minimalist drone for the first four minutes until actual singing returns and its the soulful almost George Michael style of singing .It makes me think of what it might sound like if Tears For Fears covered "Planet Caravan" . Of the 12 songs on this album only 8 of those are real songs the others are ambient interludes some of those I did not even care to acknowledge in this review. So when you trim the fat, this album gets an 8 when it comes down to the actual songs. More vocals would have been nice , but the cinematic quality is pretty captivating at times.
they've cracked down on everything from Youtube to Bandcamp on this ,will post audio when it surfaces.
Time for the bass players to either step out of the shadows and put there foot up on the monitor, though a couple might already be there. Often unrecognized unless by other bass players they are the glue, so here are those who really kept their albums sticking together and went above and beyond in 2015.
10:John Hassell- Libertines
Keeping their bottom end both melodic and driving no matter if these guys are indulging in more Mod like Brit -pop or coming out drunkenly swinging with punk. It's clear both McCartney and Andy Rourke are his influences which as a baas player really does their music justice.
9: Jeordie White aka Twiggy Ramirez
The bass playing is what keeps "the Pale Emperor" heavy. Manson has backed off from using a more metallic guitar sound for the better part of the decade now so it's a good thing White is back in the fold to balance things out.
8: Ben Chisholm- Chelsea Wolfe
Where low tuned sludge like guitar would normally sit on her new album, Wolfe's long time collaborator Chisholm had to do all the heavy lifting when it came to bringing the heavier dynamic. The tone is unbelievable and while he might not be a chops monster like some of the other guys on this list, he serves the song and delivered just what the album needed.
7:Dmitry Melet - Domovoyd
His progressive style of playing set really well in the dense mix of psychedelic doom his band erupted with this year. The guitar are often weaving together weird walls of feed back leaving him to keep things going. Works hand in hand with the drummer while being very tasteful and melodic.
6-Gerald Hansen -Eye of Nix
He keeps the throb going through all the dynamic shifts their songs take. Very hypnotic groove when needed or shaking the walls with a massive rumble. Great sense of when to hang on a note and keep pounding it into your head and when allow you to breath and play around the riff.
5-Paul Barker -Puscifer
In Ministry he was often buried under the guitar, on this album Barker really shines and lays down some powerful bass lines that combine angular dissonance with melodic grooves or backing way off as needed , he really showed his range as a player.
4: Dan Maines- Clutch
As these guys have progressed into a Camaro rock boogie machine it would be easy for him to sit back and ride the kick. He adds melodic embellishments while adding to their Zeppelin like thump. When they go off on a ZZ Top tangent he still retains a heavier tone to keep them grounded as who they are.
3-Youth- Killing Joke
"Pylon"
allows him to showcase the diverse range from slapping a punk funk bounce against the industrial grind to some more tripped out and melodic.It doesn't hurt that he is also one of the best producers in the industry, so he has the best bass mix and production of any one on this list, but he doesn't put himself on pedestal and puts the bands sound first.
2-Steve Harris- Iron Maiden
I know it's heresy to not have him in the number one spot , but let's face it he is playing with a pick these days. This is not the kind of playing that propelled "Number of the Beast" , but even Harris dialing it in is better than what most can muster on their best day. "Book of Souls" finds the spot light shifting to the guitar players and Nicko .Bruce and Steve get the job done , but this is the guitar players album.
1-Greg Burns - Marriages
Most Steve Harris fans are like who the fuck is this guy? Well he played for Isis and Red Sparrowes , so has the post rock / prog metal chops that he has displayed on their previous album. Here it's about letting the singer shine so he retains a monster grit and slink to his tone while serving the song. Emma's guitar tone often floats around with surreal grace leaving Greg to cement the songs down.He wins for being the most creative player on this list. Tasteful and dexterous as needed. He is what makes "Salome" heavy.
