ISON : "Stars & Embers"

This band featuring ex-members of Crippled Black Phoenix is releasing a new slab of ethereal wonderment. It also finds Irish singer and former Sister of Mercy backing vocalist Lisa Cuthbert at the microphone. The opening track rides a wave of atmosphere. It is a very ambient form of alt pop, that flirts with the elements of shoe gaze and dream pop without conforming to either. There is less movement to the second song which is more like a less radio friendly version of Sarah Mclachlan. Cuthbert still maintains emotional urgency to her voice, the song it self , feels more like it works off a sound. I am sure if you were on the right drugs it would make more sense. 

"Peregination" works more of synths, this time with a low baritone vocal joining in. You would think that they would be trying to emulate Sisters of Mercy here, and while that might be some of the inspiration they are doing more of their own thing as the dancey elements are not in place. They hit you with dramatic punches when the guitar kicks in that is more like waves crashing from a coming storm. "Radiant Void' has more of an electronic pulse. The chorus drifts off when song begins to kick in. This might focus more on the ambiance and not enough on the beat for fans of dark wave, though in some ways it is moving in that direction mood wise. "ASTR" finds a smooth balance of atmosphere and riding the understated groove . The moodier vocal melody coasts nicely over it. 

"Formations" is the first song where it feels like the mood and ambiance is overpowering the songwriting. The synths drown the more organic elements as the clouds descend to carrying everything into a dream like state. Perhaps that does not sound that bad to you and it is what you want from music. I understand but do you think it is going to be a song that you are going to want to hear in your car this time next year? "Beings of Light" fall in the gray area of that question as it is cinematically dramatic. The grandiose feeling borders on being like Lacuna Coil or Nightwish in it's massive rock undertones.

 The almost 17 minute final track of this album is a great deal of simmering ambiance to pack in a song that would make you want to hear it again. Especially when it feels like the first five minutes could have been dialed back . To write something this sprawling you need to give the listener more meat to sink their teeth into in order to justify investing the time it takes to listen to it. While I appreciate the elements that make me think of the Gathering, it's not until seven minutes in that we get to it.Overall this is a pleasing listen and I will give this album an 8.5.  

Megafauna : "Olympico"

The first thing that strikes me about this band from Texas is how the vocals of Dani Neff help set them apart. They are sugary in an pop fashion that does not succumb to normal pop sensibilities. There is harder rocking under the surface of these songs. It opens with a fairly brisk groove as she declares the time has come to "say goodbye to normal people" .  The second song it takes longer for the harder elements to creep in, but the songwriting has more going on than the legions of bong worshipping rockers that come closest to what is being done here. There is an almost garage rock quality to the guitar attack rather than anything resembling Black Sabbath or Thin Lizzy which is the direction most bands head in.  This sound is more pronounced on "Bi-postal". The vocals taking on a quirky coo further distance this band from their peers."Capsize" finds the guitar getting more direct and almost as aggressive as AC/DC in the manner the riffs begin to go for the throat. Her vocals continue to offset this fact. 

They take a drastic turn into 60's lounge tinged bossa nova on "Sometime Island" . Things continue to head in a weirder direction on the dreamy jazz like shuffle of "Yellow". Her vocals float with a more subdued ambiance here. The song is more listless and wanders around rather than grooving with rock undertones. The guitars and vocals both sit in a really nice place for this one. They return to a more tense rocking motion with "Dozer". The palm mute guitar moves with a anxious twitch that clashes against the vocals. The chorus takes a more angular approach. I can here a slight post-punk influence if we are talking Gang of Four. 

"Lookout Mountain "finds them soars back off in more of a Pink Floyd direction. The heavier guitar riff, is a little more King Crimson like, but it circles the same 60s acid rock pentagram. She flexes her vocals chords in places her a little more. I appreciate hearing her belt it a bit. Then when the pace picks up at the four minute mark we are back in stoner rock territory. They allow the drugs to fully kick in on the more sublimely serpentine "Rage of the Queen" that goes full on prog. I will give this album a 9, as I like it a great deal and can get down with their unique creative vision here. 

Temple of Angels : "Endless Pursuit"

Trying to re-create the early 90s dream pop sound  is not about buying the right vintage reverb pedals or using the plug-ins to get a sound, but about the passion of songwriting. There has to be the kind of wistful yearning that this band captures. I knew they were worthy to carry that torch on the first song of their debut album. The brisk two minute post-punk jangle of "Waving to the Wind" makes the most of Bre Morell's vibrant alto that separates them from other post-punk revivalists. They dance into similar sonic gardens as the Cure on "Lost in Darkness". Which despite it's name is hazy brooding alt pop rather what I think of as goth, though it's adjacent enough in it's melancholy to win over fans of the genre, 

"Love Spins Around" has more of an indie rock feel with a more plaintive male croon taking over the mic.  The first song I would call dark is the deeper atmosphere of "When Shadow Smiles" that finds one of the guys joining Morell on vocals, though her voice soars to the forefront to create a more emotionally complex moodiness. This is the first song that a DJ could slip into a set on "goth night" at the club, and less people would notice the stylistic shift. Not that the song is aimed at shaking latex clad booty to, but slithers enough to get the pale ones moving. Same could be said for the bass line to "Torment" which Bre compliments with one of her more ethereal performances. 

She continues to knock it out of the park with her nuanced yet passionate vocal performances on "Secret Places" .Her voice weaves around the guitars perfectly on this song. Which is impressive considering the layered tapestry of sounds she must work around. "Stay" finds a steamy smoldering plea coming from Morell that weaves a web of melodies around the bubbling undercurrent of guitars. The longing that is essential for this kind of music is not only heard in her voice , but the guitars of "the Hill" she only compliments it further. Drummer Patrick Todd takes over lead vocals again for the last song. Not as emotionally charged of a vocal performance his smooth croon carries the kind of indifference that marks the era of music it pays homage to. I will round this up to a 10, as the most heart gripping moments balance out the moments like the last song which work well enough. Fans of moody dream pop with a guitar fueled backbone will  perhaps be as wow'ed as I am by this album. Sadly it does not come out until July 14th so you will have to hold onto the song below in the meantime.

Pa Vesh En : "Martyrs"

Being from Belarus, those involved with this project know what it is like to live on the brink of apocalyptic frenzy, so that anxiety is being channeled here.  The first song is a dismal cavern of torment churning from the distance in pits below. Things are equally throbbing up from the caves, where the blast beats can be felt rattling more where the more constant pulse of the first song had less noise and more pulsing. It is effective and the darkness invoked here feels real, there is a uniform feel to the sound, that I anticipate might force me to call into question how much song writing is being invested here Things do shift with the chplaced more on atmosphere. It sounds like shadows slithering up from the fog with drums a bubbling sound under the agonized ambiance.  

"Among a Stir of Echoes" starts off with what sounds like an industrial crunch and then descends into a crazed feral state that it never really recovers from. If you are just looking for haunted sonic chaos, then this album has you covered. If you are wanting actual songs, well that is yet to be determined. Often lost in reverb the wailing sounds stir a storm of white noise. The song after this one takes the insanity and plunges it into an even deeper and darker circle of hell, with dissonant guitar ringing out. It converges into something that sounds closer to instruments playing music, as the piece progresses. Unsettling is certainly a proper adjective even when the guitar lock into more of a shimmering tremolo picking. 

"When the Lights Out" is a dramatic turn from the other songs as it is mainly orchestral. This is a welcome reprieve from the chaos they are soon back to with  a more angular slant on "the Carnival of Eerie Souls". The instruments hammer in the distance in an other wise black metal fashion. The last song is all over the place pulling from many varied corners of black metal, there is shoe gaze like singing , as well as low death metal growls. It is all through against the dense blackness of torture created here, For all the variance of cacophony collected here at the end of the day, when the stream kept playing the next thing I know we were back on the second song again, so it ended up sounding the same, With that said I will give this album a 7.5, it is an impressive slab of darkness, but serves the hypnotic sound more than writing memorable songs.If you just need something evil sounding this project has you covered . Drops on Iron Bonehead May 19th. 

Iron BoneHead Productions · Pa Vesh En - In The Torment Cell

FIGHTS : "Scampirock"

 

Every scene in every region has their own bandwagons they jump on based on the success of their peers. In the Scandinavian rock scene Kvelertak has set that bar. This band from Norway is urgently following in their footsteps with raspy throat searing vocals taking command of the songs, like a methed out punk rock version of AC/DC. Yes, they have punk energy and aggression. It is not surprising a more aggressive metallic attack possesses their songs. From the opening track they make the most of their momentum, but once we get five songs in every thing begins to sound the same. The first song is more punk in it's frantic pursuit. They allow things to build into a big anthemic refrain that the end that shows they care about songwriting. 

They are all about drinking and doing coke, with sung vocals backing up these declarations, knowing that the main narrative is the cause of all their problems. "We Got This" finds them allowing the chords to slow down, though it's less hooky in it's punch. "Nine Words " offers a little more variation, though the lyrics to "Moonshine" cut through with more fire. It is not about the kind of moonshine you might assume it to be, given their penchant for writing drinking songs. "Sunshine" seems to be about the foibles of dating .It races with the same reckless tempo that dominates this album. This carries over into "Know it All" along with the over all party vibe, even when they are marginally more deliberate. There are sing song vocals doing a call and response that sound like kids. 

"Serenity Now" finds the vocals screamed out at you in a similar fashion to what we have heard, but the purpose seems more intent on maintaining intensity than being angry. The previous song is one of the few where I feel anger is being conveyed. When the vocals are switched up on "Kill the Mood" I feel the overall sound benefits as the album needs more vocal colors. "Turn it Up" sounds like all the other songs on this album where they charge right at you . I will round this album down to an 8, it's a lot of fun, but is more straight forward party rocking that what I am into, my personal tastes aside the redundancy keeps it from being a perfect album but they are polished in what they dO. if you want a soundtrack to drive drunk to this is the perfect album. Drops on Lie Laga Records. 

ÓREIĐA : "the Eternal"

This Icelandic black metal project embarks on an impressive excursion into atmosphere that is moving rather than pondering. Record labels are quick to compare things to shoe -gaze or post-punk since the acts who broke from their cvlt status into more mainstream recognition, followed such a path. I do not think Thor here is seeking to jump on any such band wagon,  The melodies merge from the din of sound in a more post-rock manner. There is a more folk inspired melody that drones in the sonic storm that is brewed up on the second song. He allows things to drone more when the album opens , but the second song drops to a more subdued minimalist folk guitar sound. There is a chanted vocal tone that rings out as the song swells, but aside from that vocals do not play a role. 

"the Climb" finds the buzzing tremolo guitar that is more traditionally black metal sounding taking a larger role. There is a great deal in play in the sound of these songs that reminds me of Burzum's more atmospheric post-prison work. "the Climb" feels like it conforms closer to what you expect from black metal instrumentation, and is not as impressive as the first two songs, that take more chances with the sonic swathe they create. "the Apex" finds a balance, it plunges into a darker mood , while still digging into a heavier mood, with a denser wall of guitars attacking. This is set against the back drop of more melancholy melody that echoes in the back ground. The synths on this song work well to create a more dismal shading. The absence of vocals, which I imagine would be the more typical black metal rasp, does not leave the voice expected. 

More authentic than Russian Circles forays into more black metal influenced moments, though they are three highly skilled musicians and this is one guy. Thor sounds like he is more of a guitarist, the way the cymbals hit feels programmed , so it is not fair to weigh him against three people. Not that there have bot been many great one man black metal albums made, they just do not normally weight up against full bands, yet what he does here might fool the casual listener. The last song drones with a great deal of feeling, and makes you wonder how vital is the standard black metal rasp. The vocals tell more of a story and provide the static layer of emotional, not sure how much this would benefit from that but I like what is happening in it's current state I will give this album a 9. 

nothing,nowhere. : "Void Eternal"

 

If you were going to create the perfect hybrid of music for millennials who were too young to really embrace the music of Myspace, but are still yearning for it's nostalgia as they seek to find a culture of their own , outside of Tik Tok, this project seems like it was dreamed up in a lab to meet those needs. His fifth album has a bigger production value to help him fully realize this sound. There is a nu-metal groove to the opening track that marries to a pop punk sense of melody that is run through a enough auto-tune to pull it all together. If Blink 182 hit harder and had a Linkin Park fetish the results would be similar. The second song finds him getting help from Lorna Shore vocalist Will Ramos. The pop punk hooks are heavier than any of the metal post-nasal drip coating the back of the song. For pop textured music, it is effective with the hooks.  The pastel and neon color schemes of millennials is sonically captured here, even the heavier metal core break down lacks the balls of a Goatwhore or even Cannibal Corpse. The difference in actually being metal and trying to get the sound of metal. 

Sass-core band SeeYouSpaceCowboy, joins him for the more hip hop tinged "Psycho Psychiatry" . Joseph has been public with his mental illness so the lyrics touch on this. Though it is more about being a victim than taking responsibility and self regulating. There is more of a Deftones like sound to "Chromakill3r", who would be the main purveyors of nu-metal power ballads to take influence from. There is more honesty in this song, as I do not think trying to be metal core is really who he is. I do think he is an aggressive person. His rapping is decent but brings more Linkin Park comparisons. "Suicide Pact' continues on this emo/ rap path with break downs included . The cohesion of songwriting is a surprising challenge for someone so into pop adjacent music.  

"Thirst4violence" features Canadian Rapper Freddie Dredd and the band Siliverstein. It hard to take a skinny little kid seriously when they rap about violence . It's a feeling of posturing similar to that when you hear a metal band growling about the occult , and it's all just for show. Pete Wentz helps him out with "Cyan1de" which is a better investment of talent. This feels more authentic than the pretend tough guy act. "Er4ser" is like the Blink 182 of Hip-hop. It is not the album's worst moment , though the chorus does not connect. Then it's back to more of a Linkin Park feel with "Fortune Teller". Buddy Nielsen from Senses Fail joins him on "M1sery Syndrome". It feels like generic emo rock. The hook of the vocals might feel more impressive if it did not feel so cut & paste . 

"Venom" finds him teaming up with Underoath, but the results do not have much of a marked difference from the other songs on this album. Some are just more rapped than others. There is more nuance to the production, but knowing this guy is straight edge , makes his references to drugs seem very vacant. "Memory Fracture" closes the album with more atmosphere which feels like vibe truer to who he is. This album is very scattered and the song writing not that focused despite being consistent in the over all vision. It's very well produced pop chaos that want to be from the Myspace era. I will give it an 8 for the effective moods it does capture, in many ways he set out to make the album he wanted to , what he wanted to make is just not who he is. Faking it till he makes it works sometimes though.