Katatonia : "the Fall of Hearts"

The gloomy Swedes have pretty much become a prog band at this point. The Opeth like cadence that builds the opener when the distortion is stomped on makes sense considering the acrobatics the guitars have already engaged in leading up to that point. "In Absentina" ear Porcupine Tree might also come to mind. This is not to say there is not plenty of the band's own DNA all over this song. Jonas' vocals are unmistakable.The album is very crisp from a production stand point, which lightens the shade of gray cast over these songs. Jonas doesn't have the same melancholic desperation fueling his vocals, yet he doesn't stray from his style. He sounds more hopeful, though lyrically the same themes seem to be present. The guitar work on this album is stunning. I am not sure how much of that owes thanks to Roger Ojersson from Tiamat who is another new addition to the band. If you are going to do prog-rock, this is the way to go as songwriting and melody have more value than showcasing chops or trying to create some kind of obtuse sonic puzzle. Their new drummer Daniel Moilanen, does't make me go "Damn, Daniel", but he does play very tastefully around the more progressive part to create more jazz influenced passages. This is a surprise knowing he comes from Heavydeath and other more extreme Swedish acts. The first song that has a Tiamat like sound is "Decima". It has that acoustic 'Wildhoney" tone. The guitar at this point is stealing the show in such a way that it feels like Jonas is just the window dressing rather than focal point. Lyrically there is more in common with "Wish" era Cure than some of the emotional tight spots the lyrics on previous albums seemed to have been squeezed through.

Thankfully things do get darker and more morose for "Sanction". They also get heavier in a way that is more Katatonia. On your tenth album, there is the tug of war between not wanting to dial it in and replicate what you have already done, while still meeting the expectations of long time fans. The perfect balance is struck on "Sanction" which might be their best song since "Night is the New Day". Jonas seems to project his voice more on certain vocal runs like when he sings the word tomorrow. That song sets the bar a little high for "Residual".As a result I am a little underwhelmed by that one. It has more of a "No Quarter" thing going on. Once again the guitar is so tasty you could lick it off your fingers. Four and a half minutes in the pull back in with a pretty good groove. By "Serac" we are starting to get rocked out in a more conventional sense as they get more upbeat. The vocals ride a triumphant wave of hard rock, the actual metal moments on this album are just other dynamic colors being used to paint this picture rather than their mission statement. They ebb and flow into moodier breakdowns. Similar in tone but not as dynamic "the Last Song Before the Fade" doesn't benefit from the dynamic range of "Serac" with only the guitar solo and the bride after it offering a darker diversion.

"Shifts" floats past you on a delicate groove. The vocals on this song are especially well produced as Jonas steps into the spot light. "The Night Subscriber" starts off going through the motions until they stomp into the heavy two minutes in.The chorus is not their most compelling, but the punches they do hit work well and the song gets better as it goes."Pale Flag" is a ballad that doesn't really hold my attention. They take you out on a more rocking note with "Passer". The song opens with a guitar solo, so it rocks in the more traditional sense. Jonas sings a little lower, this makes his voice more resonate and I would like to hear more of this from him.I'll go ahead an round this up to an 9.5 as it feels better than "Dead End Kings" to me. I'll see how it grows on me. It's weird as it's not as dark as previous releases, but packs more of a punch.

 

Light of the Morning Star : "Cemetery Glow"

This has been sitting in my in-box, but this is the first chance I have gotten to check this album out. The vocals win me over right way. Is it very similar to new Tombs. Yes, but the goth thing is pushed even further to the forefront here. The guitars are playing too fast to be doom. It's droning but not black metal. The cold baritone croon of the vocals doesn't vary much, but it is so cool that I don't really give a shit. They go even further into the darkness as things get really creeped out for the final song"Wraith" it slows into a more deliberate pound that hangs onto to become more of a throb. The album has a nocturnal pulse. These three songs impressed the hell out of me even though this is not what I thought it would be. This owes as much to My Dying Bride as it does Tombs. The vocals never go into any kind of harshness. I can appreciate that fact.

The melodrama is not too overblown. I never feel the dude singing it, has his long curly locks of black hair blowing in the wind with a partially unbuttoned Victorian shirt on.Dynamically the opener starts off at more of a slow burn and gains momentum. Lyrically lines like 'we are the walking graves, we are the bleeding knife" makes no secret they are going for the after midnight crowd here. At first listen the songs all have a very similar vibe so going in for repeat listens I was looking for what makes them stand apart from one another. I think there is more drive to "Black Throne Ascension". Being impressed on my first listen is a good thing, but it makes me want to go back and listen to it more objectively. Production wise this album is well done. It has a big loud sound rather than suffering from being set back into the distance with re-verb in order to get an 80s sound.I will give this one a 9 since I have been impressed by it, but haven't gone the extra mile since discovering to get it into my iPod, if it was a 10 I would be more pressed to do so. Perhaps when a proper full length is released and I get to hear a wider range of what this project can do I will feel so inclined.

Kvelertak : "Nettesferd"

This Norweigan band's third album is the first they recorded is Oslo. So this might be the reason it starts off on a much more black metal path. Eventually the opener finds it's way into the more rock n roll sound, without sounding like all the other black n roll bands who just come across like meaner versions of Motorhead. The main riff to the first single "1985' sound like it's from an album by the Cars. There is a slight Thin Lizzy meets Van Halen tinge to the turn around.The title track keeps things in a more rock direction. The tradition of excellent rock god guitar work is still intact, as this song has more of a Queens of the Stoneage boogie to it. Clean vocals come in around the chorus. It's not a sell out on their part as the song has the same manic energy, though the gain is dialed back on the first two songs that follow the more metal opening track. The guitar solos are all dialed in to 11. The fourth song translated to "Black Booth" is very Kiss. It has more of stomp than say "Got to Choose", but if Gene was singing over this it could have come from 1976. There is a little Scorpions in there as well.

They embrace their more punk side on "Bronsegud" . This song is much more straight forward, to the point it the only strength it plays to is their high energy. The drummer gets to flex his chops a bit, but it's the first song to come across a little like filler to me.There is more of strum to "Evil Galaxy" . It jams on this riff and is a very odd change of pace for the band that will take some getting used to. "Berserkr" is the other single from this album. It starts off more black metal and then they ease back on the gas to something more rock n roll. Another song that is different from the band, but it there is less of a jump from the first album to this point. "Heksebrann" shows how well mixed the layers of guitar are on this album. Which is one difference from the previous album is they were mixed with a rawer more hard rock sound. It is this fine tuned guitar sound that helps sell this song.

There is a more Neil Young vibe to the stoner rock of "Nekrodamus". The change from the previous album to this one is more marked than there more rock n roll turn from the first album, so it might take some warming up to. It sounds excellent and they have grown as song writers so I am going to give this one a 9. These guys at the end of the day are a lot of fun. The solos might not rip as hard, but these guys have a more refined approach this go around.

Mistur : "In Memoriam"

We get loaded down with sub-genres, and I am as bad as any one when it comes to getting attached to my funeral doom or suicidal black metal, so it's good to hear just metal, you know, metal that is just metal. We might call Mistur melodic death metal, but that could be said for any music that is not doom or black metal these days, as the bulk of metal that is post- Opeth is characterized by growled vocals rather than sung or like this band does mixes the two. These guys have done time in bands like Vried and Galar, so they know their craft as they load their music with guitar solos and double bass, these guys still lend plenty of melody to their craft and not afraid to write actual songs. The second song is less engaging melo-death that leans more on it's thrashing speed and higher harsh screams with thick synths in the background. The tight hammering intro to "First Born" son was on point, but as I feared the momentum the song roars into in an attempt to have some blackness is like trying to brush your teeth with a tidal wave. There is a pretty mean riff that the song tightens into that offers some pay off at the midway point of this ten minute epic. They do throw some head banging goodness at you, but the rule around here is cool riffs alone do not make a good song. The melodic solos attempt to challenge this, but I feel the first four minutes of the song were wasted cause they were hiding the best stuff for the middle of the song.

"Matriarch's Lament" blows by me in a blur. It's well played , but not very original. This could be any one of a thousand bands. There is more personality to "The Sight" which has a few Iron Maiden like guitar flourishes. There are some very tight and punchy riffs that show up here. At 11 minutes it begins to wear on me a little as I'm so over the ten plus minute song in metal or any other genre, this song however has less fat to be trimmed than others on this album. The final song "Tears of Remembrance" stars off on more melodic footing.  Three minutes in and their more symphonic approach has already taken a few twists and turns in this heavily melodic approach. The album is dense and dark production wise and the more melodic elements do not detract from the heaviness or shower it with cheese.

The fact this album is closed out with big solos and a more majestic build is a good way for things to get wrapped up and creates more of a climax for the album as a whole, the focus shifts to the instrumentation as the growls grow more sparse. I'll give this album an 8 as it is really well done. I can appreciate where they are going with this and the attention to detail they put into their craft. I am not sure how much play time this will get, but fans of more conventional metal than what I normally listen to will throw their horns high for these guys. The guitar solo is their friend and used tastefully enen at their most indulgent.

Volan : " Начало"

These guys are hip hard-core from Russia, meaning hard core for the cool kids not hard-core hip-hop. The first song sounds like Gojira or slowed down Meshuggah that is not trying to fool you with it's time signatures. The vocals are more traditional metal core yelled growled, they are more than likely in their mother tongue, but shouted in such a way, along with being mixed against the wall of guitars, that you can't out what is being said any any event. There is more darkness that creeps into the second song. The drummer is a tasteful beast and the bass player makes himself know by hitting the string with resounding resonance. What goes wrong is the songs bleed into one another, meaning they do not have distinct enough sounds to separate them as they fade into a back ground rumble. The fourth song is more atmospheric, which at this point in the album is a wise move as it helps give a breather.

The bust out of this breather with a more typical hard core pounding ,  in some ways this reminds me of Bloodlet's first album. When it breaks down into more melodic sections the song is more effective, as you do not hear it as heavy until you hear what it sounds like as not being heavy. I know that might be a lot to consider if you just want heavy, but try to keep up. The guitar adding melodies that creep in atop the drums pounding helps make this song actual much instead of sonic rage.By the time I am at the last song, they have begun to run together again for me. The last song is heavy sure, but doesn't bring anything new to the table we have not heard from the previous songs.

These guys are good musicians and have potential. I checked this band out because Dead Air at the Pulpit claimed they were dark and they are, however no body claimed they were the best song writers so no false advertising. I'll give this one a 6.5. If you want very metallic hard-core that let's face it more metal than hard core,  with lyrics and vocals  that are the least of your concerns then this is worth checking out, not the most original, but well done.

Radiohead : "A Moon Shaped Pool"

The rule of thumb for Radiohead after "OK Computer" has been when the bar is high, then it's time to get weird. Expect more electronic than anything coming close to "the Bends".  Piano paves the way for ethereal trickle of "Daydreaming", which going for a ballad on the second song is dialing it way back. Sure Thom Yorke has a great voice. He is still able to sing in a fragile tenor that borders his head voice in order to convey an emotional vulnerability that makes him one of music most unique voices. Not sure any one else aside from maybe Robert Smith or David Bowie could have really pulled this song off. There is another minimal atmospheric drift anchored only by the vocals on "Decks Dark". It is the first song where I begin to hear hints of guitar. The guitar picks up the groove and makes a very subtle entrance. Acoustic Guitar starts off "Desert Island Disk" has has an almost Led Zeppelin like feel to it. Don't hold your breath waiting to rock out. Like the bulk of their catalogue this would sound great on chemicals and it's hard to imagine them writing "Ful Stop' without being high. It does build up nicely, but weird wise it's on the dark side of the spoon.


The lines between Radiohead and Sigur Rios, become more blurred by the time you get into "Glass Eyes" and it's really Yorke's voice that makes that distinction. The bulk of the album's weight really rests on Yorke's voice which is what sells" Indentikit". Guitar finally finds it's way into the song , but the show has already been stolen by the crystal pipes of Mr. Yorke. The songs are all fairly to the point with the five and a half minute "the Numbers" being one of the album's more ambitious moments and another point where the ghosts of classic rock past come to haunt them. It's like ghostly gospel in some places. "Present Tense" doesn't find them breaking any new ground, but doing a variation of what they have given us on previous albums. It continues to be well done and is hard to arguing against if this is their version of re-hashing. There is a slight country feel to it. By country it's been shot past the milky way and landed in a crop circle out side of Nashville.

There is less holding "Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor..." together. When people say they don't like Rush because of Geddy Lee, I can understand. When some one says they don't like Thom Yorke this song and the one that follows "True Love Waits" are good arguments against him, though his voice is also the glue that holds the best of these songs together. This album is not as good as "In Rainbows", and Radiohead fans will try to convince themselves tis is even though it is closer to the being the band's "the Final Cut". Every Radiohead album should be a 10, but this one is sadly only a 7.5, as high as some bands can aspire to climb, but this is a band who made perfect albums and is now dialing in these lullabies, so perhaps the band took down all their social network sites so the backlash of snoring to come would not be felt by this snooze fest.

Dark Funeral : "Where Shadows Forever Reign"

Despite the fact Justin Bieber was Tweeting about these guys, or so the new age of urban legend of the inner webs would have you believe, these guys have not made themselves any more accessible and combine old school blasting with some melodic playing that reminds me a little of Gorgoroth. The vocals of their new singer have more of a thrash like snarl to them than anguished screaming. I have often though of these guys as more blackened death metal in the past, and that is still a valid sub-genre to toss around here. Guitarist Lord Ahriman is the only original member left standing. Midway into the second song they hit some of the faster blasting thanks to drummer Dominator, who lives up to his name. They flip back and forth between styles with "Beast Above Man" feeling much more death metal until the hit the blasts that kick into the verse. Once we are midway into this song however, it fails to over power me and becomes more of a blur.

Fortunatly they do slow down so "As I Ascend" can make some sense and have a more musical quality to it. Here their new singer show more personality. The is a very dark slithering throb to "the  Temple of Ahriman" . The mid paced throb that is more black metal continues on "the Eternal Eclipse".  One thing that stands out about the new singer is how articulate he is. The lyrics really stand out. While this is not a quality that I have to have in singer's as I sometimes prefer hearing the voice used more as an instrument, on this album it is one of it's best qualities as so many black metal bands let the lyrics get lost in the screaming. The more death metal pulse is felt in "To Carve Another Wound", the vocal pattern reminds me a little of Cradle of Filth, but with out Dani Filth's annoying shrieking.

They are both dark and angry enough for me on the Slayer like "Nail Them to the Cross" which goes on the tracks into outrageous blasting. It is pretty fucking heavy, but just doesn't feel like it is as well written as the other songs. The death metal growled chorus is pretty cool, but over all it is not as solid. The title track that closes the album, opens with crazy blasting, and claws in every direction like a wild animal snapping its jaws at you.I'll give this one an 8, because it's crazy fast and heavy which is what you want from these guys and it is often way better than I thought it would be the last too songs find the need for speed overwhelming them, but otherwise it's a pretty solid album.