The Mix Eclectic

Dark Tranquillity - In My Absence Video

2012-02-23T12:31:00.002Z

Hot off the proverbial press, Dark Tranquillity continue letting guitarist Niklas Sundin take charge of video production with this rather nifty video for In My Absence from 2010's We Are The Void. This is one of my favourite songs off the album, so it's cool to revisit it 2 years on and see the band performing it live. Something I've not had the pleasure of since they haven't graced our fair shores for a fair while.

Shot entirely by the band themselves during a live performance in Russia with cameras attached to everything from guitars to audience members, this is an interesting twist on the usual basic performance video. The cool effects put in here and there to emphasise the song's lyrics are a neat touch, too. A bit of a change from the rather triptastic Iridium video I posted about a while back, mind!

Illuminatus - Glasnost

2012-02-15T12:00:00.005Z

Sometimes when looking for new music to listen to, an older name crops up. Sometimes it's so subtle that you don't even notice. So it was with Illuminatus, a metal band from Nottingham. After seeing the video for Murdocracy a couple of weeks ago, I was very excited to hear the rest of the album, assuming it to be a new release. Not so. It was, in fact, release early last year.

It turns out that I have, in fact, seen Illuminatus play live. They toured their first album, The Wrath Of The Lambs, back in 2008. I saw them supporting My Ruin at Sheffield Corporation, along with Sanctorum and Speed Theory. They were the first up, and so were, unjustly, consigned to my memory as "that first support band who were really good but I can't remember their name". Such realisations make me wonder how much other cool stuff I could have found by being a little less drunk and forgetful at gigs in the past.

But on to the matter at hand; Glasnost. As may be expected by the title of both the album and the video Murdocracy, the lyrical themes of this album are corrupt governments, powerless individuals and the futility of war. Released last year to some high praise, and securing Illuminatus slots at Download and Damnation (which I missed, damnit), it cemented the band's great reputation. And rightly so. It's catchy as hell and the bombardment of heavy beats, riffs and hooks is energising. I'd love to be in the crowd to see them play this album live. It might might be the most upbeat of subject matter, but it's definitely one to get the crowd going.

Several tracks stand out from the pack, including the aforementioned Murdocracy, Keep Calm And Carry On, Red and Clarity. The vocals are a mix of clean and screams and fit the style perfectly, giving the music and urgency and an energy that's infectious. The band shun the scenes, the bandwagons and fashions of the times, steering clear of genre labels and the associated assumptions. This shows through in the simple honestly of the style. It's pure heavy metal, with guitar solos, epic riffs and thundering drums, while still being both melodic and atmospheric with a progginess shining through on many of the songs.

The album slows down toward the end, with Clarity having a much more classic rock feel to it, giving a different perspective on the album. The energy of the beginning of the album dissipates, but with some crushing riffs and amazing guitar work providing a slower, yet no less heavy experience. The bombardment eases, leading to a slow nodding of the head to the wail of the guitars, the steady rhythm of the drum and the soft pitter-patter of the cymbal. Slower, yet no less powerful, and picking up again right at the end of Wolves! to end the album as it began.

Having been thoroughly impressed by Glasnost, and having used it to rock out in the car while stuck in traffic on my way home in an evening, I shall be checking out the band's earlier material. The band's upcoming gig list is a little sparse (actually it's completely empty) but I'll be keeping an eye out for them in the future. Cracking stuff.

New Anathema? Available for pre-order!

2012-02-14T19:35:00.000Z

I've obviously taken my eye off the ball when it comes to Anathema. I only found out about Falling Deeper the week before it was released, and here I find that there was a new album announced in December and I completely missed that, too.

Titled "Weather Systems", the new album is a follow-up to 2010's We're Here Because We're Here. Daniel Cavanagh has said that the album will be one of polarities; light and shade, life and death, love and fear. This time the album was mastered and produced by Christer-André Cederberg rather than Steven Wilson, so it will be interesting to see what a difference it may make to the sound. Lee Douglas's vocals will also have more of a presence on Weather Systems as her contribution to the band continues to increase.

The track listing as presented on Kscope's buy page is:

Untouchable Part 1 (6.14)
Untouchable Part 2 (5.33)
The Gathering Of The Clouds (3.27)
Lightning Song (5.25)
Sunlight (4.55)
The Storm Before The Calm (9.24)
The Beginning And The End (4.53)
The Lost Child (7.02)
Internal Landscapes (8.52)

Weather Systems isn't out until April 9th, but it's available to pre-order now from Kscope. I'm sure more details will be added to the band's website as the release date gets closer.

Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme

2012-02-13T20:18:00.000Z

I forget where I first heard it, but when I was introduced to the concept of shoegazer black metal, I knew it would be something I'd fall in love with. Having been a fan of post-metal for some time, and in recent months having found a renewed affinity with the more esoteric sub-genres of black metal, I almost knew what to expect from Alcest's latest album, Les Voyages de l'Âme (The Journeys Of The Soul), before I ever heard it. It did not disappoint.

Alcest have been around for quite a while, in one guise or another, although starting life as a solo project of Neige (Stéphane Paut) in 2000. Originally a black metal band, the band has slowly been moving away from straight black metal into an otherworldly mix of dense soundscapes, post-metal grooves and black metal influences. The concept behind the band's direction are childhood memories of distant, imaginary worlds.

“Alcest - that is music from another world, a world that is real, but that exists beyond ours and cannot be grasped by our senses. A world where all appearances - trees, glades, streams - emit a pearly light and where a faraway and celestial music fills the air like sweet perfume. A world inhabited by infinitely benevolent and protective beings of light, communicating in a wordless 'language' directly from one soul to another. A world where the soul knows neither pain nor sickness nor sorrow, but is filled with a deep peace and an ineffable bliss. A world that lies 'before' and 'after,' 'beside' and 'behind' our world and the awareness of which stills mankind's fears of death.” http://www.alcest-music.com/

Despite my GCSE grade French not being up to the task, the French lyrics pose no problem in enjoying the musical experience. The production is densely layered, and the mix of clean and screamed vocals merge in and out of the droning, resounding guitars, making them an integral part of the music. The drum work, too, comes forward, and fades away, carrying the heartbeat of the songs as the melody carries the spirit. The imagery is easy to get lost in, despite the specifics being lost on me, and the tone and soft melodies are almost hypnotic.

The music is not, as most black metal derivatives, depressing or angry. There is melancholy, or at least nostalgia, caught up in what can only be described as an uplifting, if somewhat unreal, experience. As with other shoegazing music, I find it easy to listen to this music before sleep, to guarantee a pleasant, peaceful night. This album has been described as a culmination of what Alcest is about, and eschews dark imagery in favour of lighter refrains. The music seems to completely embrace the listener, but never feels heavy or stressful.

All things considered, it's hard to find fault with Les Voyages… at all. Despite several listens, the songs do seem to run together somewhat, so I can't imagine listening to any one track in isolation. It's all or nothing with this album, but then, I suppose that's the nature of this type of music. A 50 minute musical journey to fairyland, and not understanding a word of it.

Metal En Route

2012-02-06T22:08:00.002Z

It's been a quiet sort of a January. I've not really had a great deal of time for finding the new and the terribly exciting. Fortunately it appears that there are some amazing albums in store for 2012. Death metal from ~~Bloodbath~~ Barren Earth (oops) , Before The Dawn, Mithras and Paradise Lost. Symphonic metal from Epica, Delain and Pythia. In fact, I could just post a single up-coming album a day and it'd probably carry me through to the end of the year. 2012 is going to rock.

And to get it all started, I have 3 new musical morsels winging their way to my doormat so I can savour them properly. In no particular order, except the order in which they were ordered, here's what I have to look forward to this week.

Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Âme

Starting off with a bit of French shoegazery, Alcest recently popped up on my radar via Terrorizer magazine. With a mix of prog rock, black metal and post-metal thrown in, it's a little bit of everything but somehow just sounds like itself. I'm a sucker for mid-tempo atmospheric rock that overwhelms you with layers upon layers of sound that work their way into your mind and provide a perfect chill out. Alcest fits the bill nicely.

Swallow The Sun - Emerald Forest And The Blackbird

They're a death/doom band. They're from Finland. The have an enigmatically titled new album. This is going to be soul-crushingly bleak. But it's also going to be awesome. I've had a sneaky preview of a few tracks, including Cathedral Walls, which has guest vocals from Nightwish's Anette Olzon. It's a gentle number, to be sure, and even the growled bits are somewhat disquieting. An interesting diversion from their usual style, which is still present on other tracks like Hate, Lead The Way.

Illuminatus - Glasnost

A fairly recent discovery (as recent as yesterday), Illuminatus have been described as being a sort of cross between Alternative4 era Anathema and Devin Townsend's more recent works. While I can't really see it, it was enough to pique my interest. What I actually heard was a sort of beautifully complex progressive rock album with a good amount of metal riffage and a healthy dollop of guitar noodling to boot. And as you will see on the video, they're a pretty well turned out bunch, too.

Mastodon's Dry Bone Valley video makes my eyes melt

2012-01-24T21:01:00.001Z

As you may have gathered from my review of Mastodon's The Hunter, I am a big fan of the album, so I was very excited to discover that there is a new video of Dry Bone Valley doing the rounds. Here it is in all its glory.

I would pass comment, but I'm afraid my brain just imploded and leaked out of my nose. Awesome.

Wibble.

Cormorant - Dwellings

2012-01-19T21:03:00.002Z

I'm always on the lookout for new, exciting music to listen to, so when a whole slew of blogs I read all started singing the praises of Cormorant, I really had to have a listen. There were a number of things that attracted me to their latest album, Dwellings, including the amazing album art, the promise of 70s hard rock inspired progressive metal and the depth and quality of the lyrics and themes of the album.

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I'm a sucker for album art, and the artwork for Dwellings is a thing to behold. There is a tiny version shown here, but you need to see the full size piece to appreciate just how much is going on.

The album is full of beautifully described concepts and lyrical themes. Each song tells a story, some literally, some conceptually, and some recounting specific historical events. From Philipe Petit, who walked a tightrope between the twin towers, to Vladimir Komarov, the first human being to die during spaceflight, the range of tales is broad and frequently disturbing. Stories of human achievement on the one hand, and stories of genocide, eugenics and violence on the other. In The Purest Land, the story of Lope de Aguirre, conquistador, tells of grandiose self-delusion. In Junta, violence against the women of Guinea in the 2009 uprising led by Moussa Dadis Camara are described in a harrowing recounting of those horrific events.

Understanding the story is part of the essence of Dwellings. The theme that ties the whole album together is that of human structures, building stories and striving to be more than they are, however they achieve it. From the humble, determined cosmonaut, the arrogant funambulist or the crazed conquistador, they all have their stories to tell.

Musically the album is a joy to listen to. The mix of styles moving quickly, not relying on hooks but fluidly shifting with the story to capture the feeling of the moment. The musicianship is superb, the guitar riffs complementing the drum work and the ever-shifting vocal style. It's hard to explain how the music works because it changes so much, swings between styles and incorporates so much. The stand-out track for me is Funambulist, which has everything from progressive black metal passages to an almost ambient doom section at the end, with a distinctly 70s prog middle bit.

As with their previous album, Metazoa, and earlier EP The Last Tree, Dwellings is self-released and is a labour of love. It really shows. The production is exactly right, the story and music working hand in hand to carry the listener, and to challenge them. Some of it is hard and heavy, and other parts are lighter, melodically lifting pieces that somehow evoke a feeling of great freedom, as in the Funambulist, or of painful nostalgia, as in A Howling Dust.

After the great year that 2011 turned out to be for metal, starting the year with an album as spectacularly good as this has to be a good thing.

WTF of the day: Budget Metal

2012-01-03T13:05:00.002Z

Have you ever wished you could listen to Primordial, but just felt too damn poor? Did you wish there were a low cost, value alternative you could try instead of all this premium metal? Then here's just the band for you: Primarkial.

Without having to pay for expensive things like band members or instruments, Primarkial provide great value¹ Primordial covers for the bargain price of nothing at all. You can get the debut album, The Gardening Wildebeests, at the Primarkial bandcamp page for zero pounds. And why wouldn't you? Well, quite a few reasons, to be honest, unless bad A.A.Nemtheanga impressions and a Casio keyboard are up your street. It's all a bit beyond words, I'll be honest. The album art does appeal to my more, shall we say, irregular humours, though.

Have a listen and revel in the modern marvel that is budget metal.
<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://primarkial.bandcamp.com/album/the-gardening-wildebeests"&amp;gt;The Gardening Wildebeests by Primarkial&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>
¹ as in "you get what you pay for"

Vyrion

2011-12-18T22:47:00.000Z

I knew it was a bad idea posting my best-of list before the actual end of the year. There was bound to be something crop up that made me think I should have waited. And this time, that something is Vyrion, with their self-titled debut. I discovered these Aussie progressive black metallers via a review on Angry Metal Guy, and something about them piqued my interest. The wonderful symmetrical logo was what made me pause to read the review, and the promise of progressive black metal with death and doom elements made me go listen.

The sound is truly a strange conglomeration. It's most definitely progressive black metal, but the vocals are a varied mix of black metal screams and hoarse whispers, death metal growls and grunts, and a good amount of clean singing. Quite often within the same song. The music, too, does similar twists and turns, from a driving, brutal blackened prog onslaught to more intricate, even melodic, death riffs. It's like the evil lovechild of Agalloch, Insomnium and Satyricon, which could turn out to be something of a random mish-mash if they weren't careful.

Fortunately it seems that have been careful, because it actually works really well. The songs are all cohesive, unique and distinct. After a brief tinkly-tonkly intro, the first track, Ever Rising Platform, sets your expectations of what this album is about, deftly switching between styles with some great riffs. It gets better as the album progresses, with Mortal Frame getting heavier and heavier, and The Decider being, for me, where it really gets going. Such is the nature of the beast, though, that while it has the heaviest opening riff, it also has a section where it turns to pure prog, with some great clean guitar work before the main riff bursts back in with matching screams.

The album continues apace with Winter Vector, featuring a rather minimalist main riff that turns into high-speed drum work before suddenly turning very soft and creepy in the middle, then bursting back into melodic black metal at the end. Disengage is just a bit strange, chugging number with some almost thrash-like riffs thrown in for good measure and then, suddenly, a soft-rock, clean vocal chorus. Most peculiar, but strike me down if it doesn't work brilliantly.

The thrash is all gone by the time Rendering The Lifeless starts up, and instead a slow, doomy riff takes over. The riffs are all melodic death metal, while the clean and screamed vocals switch and overlay each other in complicated and sometimes mind-bending ways. The Silence starts slow but speeds up significantly and turns into perhaps the most traditional black metal track on the album, despite being heavy with a definitely doom metal bass riff. Of course, this doesn't last and by the end of the track there is a 70s styled prog riff underpinning overlaid death growls and black metal screams.

Penultimate track The Decision brings blastbeats into the mix, more duelling growls and screams and a heavy, driving riff that propels the song into a crazy mix of slow, sombre riffs, high speed death metal and slow, contemplative blackened prog. The album concludes with Sole Remainder, a track that turns everything that went before on its head. Starting with a slow guitar melody and clean vocals reminiscent of Damnation era Opeth, it switches to blackened thrash and back again effortlessly and to a creepy and somewhat unsettling effect.

If the feeling you get from reading this description is that this album is an incoherent jumble of styles, you couldn't be more wrong. The switches between the various styles employed is not abrupt, nor are they at odds with each other. Instead, every change of style fits the song, and when two or more are employed, they complement rather than hideously contrast each other. It is at the same time both heavy and hard-hitting, and soft and melodic. It is a beautiful chimera incorporating the best of many worlds. If you like melodic death, black, blackened folk or progressive metal, there's something for you here. If, like me, you like all of the above, then this is a masterpiece.

This album is available via the band's bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-want basis for downloads, or as a physical CD for $10AUD, which is about £6.42 by my reckoning. It's also available to stream for free. So really, there's absolutely no excuse not to give it a listen and, if you like it, support an up-and-coming band who I hope to hear a lot more from.

Runners up

2011-12-14T15:02:00.001Z

With so much top quality music in 2011, it was impossible to put everyone in the top 11. Here are a few honourable mentions who nearly made the cut, but didn't quite get there.

Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction

It pains me not to put this in the top 11, but the fact is that I don't play it as often as those in that did make the cut. It's a masterpiece, no doubt, and completely insane, but it's more an occasional pleasure than a frequent play.

The Man-Eating Tree - Harvest

This one missed out purely due to unfamiliarity. It didn't immediately grab me like Imaginaerum did, so without time to properly digest, I couldn't justify including it. It is really good, though.

Chaos Divine - The Human Connection

This one came out at the same time as Wolverine's Communication Lost, and out of the two, the latter got most plays. Like Harvest, this one took a couple of spins to get into, but once I did, it was well worth it.

Fornost Arnor - The Death Of A Rose

This is the album that I think should have been the successor to Opeth's Watershed. It's melodic, it's prog, it's death, it's brilliant. It just didn't make the cut because I don't think to play it as often as those that are on the list.

Within Temptation - The Unforgiving

This album took a long time to get into. It's entirely too pop-oriented for my usual taste, and one of the main singles, Sinead, appears to be a dance track. But I've seen it played live and it was better than I expected, so it goes in the runners up instead of the disappointments pile.

Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

When I first got this album I raved about its brilliance, but since then the lustre has faded and, on reflection, it's not quite as good as Skyforger. Still a good listen every now and then, though.

Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions

In my mid-year review I marked this album as a disappointment because it was just like every other Arch Enemy album. It's since grown on me somewhat, and despite it not being the great leap forward many hoped for, it's still a solid album.

Kabát - Banditi di Praga

I picked this album up for a laugh on a trip to Prague earlier in the year, and it turned out to be a pretty decent album. I'd love to be able to sing along to the catchy choruses, but my Czech just isn't up to scratch. Otherwise, it's a worthy contender that falls short merely due to the generally high quality of other music that came out this year.

I usually include a list of disappointments, but this year there is only one that needs to be spoken of. And spoken of it is, far and wide, to much grumbling and bemoaning and general frustration. It should have been magnificent.

Opeth - Heritage

I tried to like it. Really, I did. I tried to disregard the arguments about wether it should have had growled vocals, or that it didn't sound like Opeth, or whatever, and tried to listen to it with no expectations. I even went and listened to it played live.

But that sad truth is that it's just boring. It's just really dull and tedious. And Mr Åkerfeldt's attitude toward people who don't like it really puts me off him, and that doesn't help with my perception of his music. Oh well, I tried.

Doozr's Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-14T09:12:00.000Z

Well, what a year 2011 has been. In most respects it has been a complete wreck. So many horrible, miserable things have happened that it's been hard to be positive. But on the other hand, it's been an absolutely kick-ass year for music. When I sat down to write my list of the the best albums of the year I started with a shortlist of 21, and that's just the ones I've actually bought! There are still several releases out there that I hear great things about, but haven't managed to hear for one reason or another.

After much whittling I have pruned and shaved my extension list of musical awesomeness into the 11 best of the year, in my humble opinion. I normally do a top 10, but by the end of it I figured that 2011 deserved an extra one. And so, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is the list!

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Starting off the list is an album all about the end of mankind. A nicely fitting start for this year. This album can justifiably be called epic, with its 14 minute tracks and loud, heavy orchestrations. It's really quite stunning.

Before The Dawn - Deathstar Rising

Another from Finland, Before The Dawn's latest album has spent a lot of time on my playlist. It's catchy, it's heavy and it has some great riffs. Not a great advancement from the band's previous albums, but it doesn't have to be.

Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

After a tumultuous time between albums, Sylosis came out with this amazing piece of death/thrash that is monumental in scope and sound. At over 70 minutes long, and shifting styles between progressive and thrash metal, it's an impressive accomplishment.

Wolverine - Communication Lost

Wolverine have always been good at writing emotionally charged music, and this album represents a culmination of that talent. It's progressive and beautiful, but also heavy in sound and in mood.

Primordial - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

I first heard of Primordial via an advert in Terrorizer, even though they've been around for years. I was impressed by A.A.Nemtheanga's coat. I then saw them at Bloodstock, and ended up buying this album. It did not disappoint. I'm not sure how to describe the sound except as a mix between Irish folk and black metal that works incredibly well.

Ghost Brigade - Until Fear No Longer Defines Us

More from Finland in the form of Ghost Brigade with their third album. Picking up where Isolation Songs left off, this is basically an album of excellent melodic death/doom metal. Great riffs, great lyrics, great album.

Mastodon - The Hunter

Splitting opinion by diverging from their previous conceptual ways, Mastodon put out this record to mixed reviews. I loved it. Sure, in some ways it plays like a collection of singles, but they're really good singles and guaranteed to have you singing along to the insanely catchy choruses.

Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt Two

I included Road Salt One in last year's best of year post, and so it's only fitting that I include Road Salt Two in this year's. Nothing vastly different here; the same basic formula, the same basic sounds, but that's ok. It's like finally hearing the second disk of a two part album.

Insomnium - One For Sorrow

A much anticipated release. What can be expected from a band like Insomnium except a brilliant album? And they certainly delivered. A great collection of songs with a common theme running throughout, and a worthy addition to an already amazing list of some of the finest melodic death in the world.

Anathema - Falling Deeper

Anathema are one of few bands who can completely reinvent themselves time and again, trying new genres, new sounds, new styles, and yet still be easily recognised. Falling Deeper is a collection of classical reworkings of their older doom metal tracks, and it works incredibly well. The first time I heard this album I just sat there, slack-jawed, and the only works I could muster by the end of it were "that was awesome."

Nightwish - Imaginaerum

Coming along just in time for me to write this list, Nightwish's latest opus is grandiose, beautiful and completely immersive. In some ways, it's all over the place, swinging wildly from heavy metal to slow jazz to, at one point, a bit of spaghetti western. It's not an easy album to describe in one paragraph, but it is a spectacular piece of musical theatre.

Nightwish - Imaginaerum

2011-12-12T00:14:00.002Z

After a four year wait to see what Nightwish would do next, we finally have an answer in Imaginaerum. It's been hotly anticipated for several months now with speculation, interviews and snippets to keep everyone interested, and the other day a copy plopped onto my doormat. Having given it a few spins, I've been collecting my thoughts on what is a very complex piece. As much a cohesive whole as a collection of songs, it builds nicely on 2007's Dark Passion Play, carrying across a similar feel while being entirely new and, in many cases, very unexpected.

The whole album is built around the concept of a composer's thoughts on his deathbed, marking a lifetime of experience, imagination and pure fantasy. It has been produced alongside a film of the same name, sharing similar concepts and storyline, and so makes the album's "film score" style sound a more obvious fit. Always one for grandiose and theatrical works, Tuomas Holopainen has proven his songwriting ability.

The style of the album is, to be frank, all over the place. From traditionally "Nightwish style" tracks in Storytime and Last Ride Of The Day, to a spaghetti western style in Turn Loose The Mermaids and veering wildly into slow jazz for Slow, Love, Slow. But each song, while standing alone, fits well with the rest. Such is the quality of the songwriting that each one has its own feel, its own emotional connection, and yet builds on the cohesive whole of the album's concept.

There are some truly touching moments along the journey. Slow, Love, Slow builds a gentle yet heavy emotional base that's dashed to pieces by a frankly disturbing turn in Scaretale, which is both terrifying and, in one particular section, is somewhat reminiscent of Devin Townsend's Deconstruction for total out-there weirdness. My personal favourite for sheer emotional weight has to be Turn Loose The Mermaids which, while lyrically simple, has a complex musical style and really shows off Annete's vocal talents.

Other highlights include Rest Calm which, despite the name, is closer to heavy doom metal than anything restful or calm. Arabesque conjours up images of Whoever Brings The Night with a distinctly Arabian Nights feel. The 14 minute epic Song Of Myself, including a 6 minute recital of a poem with some quite disturbing themes, finishes off the album except for the outro and title track which pulls together everything that's come before into a theme song for the album.

There has been a lot of expectation, speculation and discussion of this album prior to its launch, and it's defied every possible expectation. It is a magnificent work, cohesive, emotionally powerful and quite brilliant. Any doubts that Nightwish could better Dark Passion Play have been dashed. If this is the new direction of the new era of Nightwish, then long may it continue.

The Soporific Sound of Metal

2011-12-06T04:11:00.001Z

Like many people I am an occasional insomniac, and I frequently use music to aid my sleep. I usually use something tranquil to help me on my way to the land of nod. Anathema, Mostly Autumn and Tides From Nebula are frequently on my sleep time playlist. But sometimes I'm just not in the mood for softer music and I need something a little heavier.

Here is a list of five of my favourite albums for the restless metalhead that, at first glance, might seem completely unsuited to the task of helping drift off to sleep.

Wolverine - Communication lost

First up is Wolverine with their latest album, Communication Lost. Much of this album is melodic, and many of the tracks have their gentle moments, but on the whole the strong, hard riffs make it seem unlikely to be sleep inducing. Played loud enough, and heard through the muted ears of tiredness, it's actually very calming.

Example: Wolverine - Embrace

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit

While listening to album opener They Escaped The Weight Of Darkness, you would be forgiven for thinking that this album is akin to a relaxation tape, full of the sounds of nature and a soft, mournful cello. You think that until the beginning of Into The Painted Grey, at which point your ears are pummelled into your head with some cracking drum work. But even then heavy rhythm has a wonderful soporific effect that gets the head nodding.

Example: Black Lake Nidstang

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Like Agalloch, the power behind this album is the heavy, repetitive rhythm. With every track topping the 10 minute mark, its effect is somewhat relentless. The frequent breaks to the sound of a man walking through the ruins of the apocalypse are also particularly effective in soothing the active mind. Even the blood-curdling scream at the end of Kuolleille isn't enough to wake me once the album has done its work.

Example: Moonsorrow - Huuto

Sylosis - Edge of the Earth

It may seem utterly ludicrous to include a thrash record in a list of albums that make you sleep, but it shares many of the same qualities as Marrow Of The Spirit and Varjoina kulhemme kuilleiden maassa. It is, again, relentless at 70 minutes long, and the interspersing of melodic, almost prog like riffs amongst the wall of sound make it ideal to drift off to.

Example: Sylosis - Empyreal

Martriden - Enter the Monolith

Following on from Moonsorrow and Sylosis, Martriden starts to make more sense as an album to sleep to. It's heavy, it has some crushing riffs, but it is also an impenetrable wall of sound that hammers your semi-conscious brain into submission. The trick to this album is to play it loud enough that you are completely enclosed by the sound. This one is particularly good for if you're trying to sleep on a train, the sound working with the rattling of the train on the tracks producing a cocoon of metal to hide inside on those long journeys.

Example: Martriden - Heywood R. Floyd

The Great Exhibition

2011-11-27T21:51:00.000Z

November 25th saw The Great Exhibition tour reach sunny Sheffield. Four excellent bands made for one excellent night. Eibon la Furies, Old Corpse Road, The Prophecy and of course Northern Oak played a quartet of stunning sets.

Eibon la Furies

Old Corpse Road

The Prophecy

Northern Oak

Musings on Metal

2011-11-21T00:01:00.000Z

I've been going through a phase of deep introspection of late. This hasn't left much time for posting things on blogs, as you can probably tell by the rather sparse November we're having here on TME. There are loads of reasons, and one of them is because I have been taking stock of my life and where it's going. And of course, to do this I had to be listening to exactly the right music.

Music is a huge part of my life. It's part of my identity, my self-image, my medication and my drive. I carry an iPod with thousands of songs on it so I can ensure that I have the right music for any given moment, and I'm constantly expanding my collection.

Most of the music I have falls under one or more sub-genres of heavy metal. Metal is a genre that gets a lot of bad press, and most people don't understand it. It's variously described as "depressing", "miserable" and, occasionally, "devil music." People don't want to understand metal, because it's not as easily accessible as, say, the latest pop trash from some manufactured group of singers. But then, perhaps that's some of it's appeal.

Because music is such a large part of how I identify myself, it is important that it's something that I can connect to. I connect with music that stirs me emotionally, and that music has to have something to it that gives it weight. The shear breadth of the heavy metal genre means that there is something I can connect to no matter what mood I feel.

But let's backtrack a little, and discuss how I came to find metal in the first place. When I was growing up, I didn't listen to music. I wanted to, but I couldn't find anything that fit what I needed at the time. The ridiculous pop music most people were into left me cold, and I even shunned the alternative crowd, with their Nirvana and their Iron Maiden. I grew up without music.

Well, mostly. I did have one album to keep me sane; The Best Rock Album In The World ... Ever! A collection of classic heavy rock songs from the likes of Mötörhead, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Yes and Pink Floyd. I played that album until it fell apart, not having the luxury of an MP3 player play copies in order to keep my original pristine. It got me through my mid-teens. Unfortunately, that was the time everything fell apart. I was diagnosed as being clinically depressed, and everything took a back seat. I gave up on music for years. I listened to the odd bit of music here and there, but I owned no albums, and I had no discernible music taste. I was one of those people who said they like "everything", while meaning "nothing".

I found metal at around age 22. I listened to Lacuna Coil's Comalies and found something I could connect with. At about the same time Evanescence entered the charts with Bring Me To Life, and The Rasmus released In The Shadows. Something about it ignited a long-dormant spark in my mind. It was dark. It was depressing. I connected with it.

Over the next few years I expanded my musical horizons. I drifted away from gothic pop rock and more heavily into death metal via Dark Tranquillity, Opeth and Insomnium. My tastes got darker, heavier and, for me, more emotionally engaging. Now my tastes are wide ranging and cover death, black, progressive, gothic, symphonic, and even folk metal. Each has its own strengths, it's own emotional appeal.

So that brings us up to date, and back to the question; why metal? Everyone listens to music for their own reasons. Some people listen to it simply because they are told to, either by their peers or by the marketing departments of the record labels, but for me that is not enough. For me, music is more than entertainment; it's a state of mind. When I listen to music I like to get lost in it, feel it, experience it. Having decent liner notes with, at the very least, the lyrics to the songs is important to me. I like to spend time with new albums listening to them properly, reading the lyrics, learning the music, finding out how I engage with it.

For me, music is a release, a cleansing, a catharsis. No matter what my mood, no matter how my mind may have deviated from any level of sanity, the right music can bring me back on track. It can ground me, and make me feel like me again. If that means listening to something angry, brash and heavy, then so be it. If it means listening to something soft, melancholy and poignant, then that's what I play.

Being the kind of person I am, I feel a vast array of what are generally considered negative emotions. From anger and depression, to disquiet and melancholy, I can always find something in metal that I can connect with. People who don't understand my reasoning often tell me that I shouldn't listen to all this miserable music and listen to something happy instead. I can't. Overly happy music just gets me angry. I don't connect with it. My brain rebels against it. It feels fake, like the smiling mask I so often have to wear to make it through a day. It feels like giving in to the joyless expression of happiness I am forced to endure.

But metal is more than lyrical themes. It incorporates a wide variety of musical styles, from the intense, high speed thunder of thrash to the delicate, crushing riffs of melodic death. These, too, are important. Anyone who listens to and appreciates classical music can understand that the qualities of the music itself can be just as powerful as the lyrics and themes. Metal is largely based around four key elements; drums to provide the beat and the pace, guitar to provide the rhythm and riffs, keyboards to provide the melody and ambiance, and vitally it uses a wide variety of vocal styles to capture the mood and depth of the song.

Too often I hear metal described as "rarrr rarrr" music by those who prefer only clean, easily discernible lyrics, as if the lyrics are the only important part of the song. But one thing I have discovered as my tastes have expanded is that the style of singing can be just as important as the music and the lyrics. A deep, guttural growl can express anger and pain. A hoarse, whispered vocal can be unsettling and put the listener on edge. It can take the music away from being a song being sung, and turn it into the performance of something greater. A play of sounds and emotions that couldn't be expressed through lyrics alone.

When I first started listening to metal, I felt somewhat alone. I didn't know anyone who shared my musical tastes, or so I assumed. Most of my friends mocked the music I listened to, which of course made me cling on to it all the more. By mocking the music, they were mocking me, and I couldn't stand that. But over time I have discovered more and more people who like the same music that I like. They are almost invariably ... different. Many of them wear big, heavy New Rock boots, have long, lank hair or only where outfits composed only of black, but these are people who I can connect with. Many of them have their own issues, their own reasons for listening to the music they do, and many of them live a lifestyle completely separate from the mainstream.

Metal, to me, is about more than music. It's about more than self-identity. It's about providing a soundtrack and an emotional base for my life. It might sound overly grandiose, or generally precocious, or pretentious, but that's how I connect to the music I live my life by. Going to my first metal festival opened my eyes to how many other people share a similar story. Being able to spend a weekend once every year in a place where being completely true to myself is not only allowed, but actively encouraged, is a wonderful thing.

It's been 3 months since the last Bloodstock Open Air. I am still wearing the wristband. Why? Because it gives me a link to something good. A time and a place where I felt that it was completely okay to be me, warts and all, and where I could revel in my love of metal with 10,000 other people, all washed down with a nice cup of tea, and horns in the air.

One for the Christmas list

2011-11-02T21:17:00.000Z

Who wouldn't one of these little guys gracing their desk, mantlepiece or, if you're feeling controversial, hand?

Available from Hevy Devy's very own UK web shop for a mere 15 squids.

Insomnium - One For Sorrow

2011-11-02T12:00:00.002Z

You know it's a good year for metal when Insomnium release a new album. It's often said that the only people who don't like Insomnium are people who haven't heard Insomnium, and One For Sorrow doesn't seem set to change that any time soon.

Right from the off this is immediately recognisable as an Insomnium record, from the whispered, almost instrumental opening track to the heavy yet intricate melodies. Not wishing to rest on their laurels, while still maintaining their signature sound, there are some interesting additions.

The first, and most notable, variation is an interesting play on clean vocals in a death metal album. The clean vocals overlay the deep and resonating growls making for a menacing and certainly unsettling sound. This technique is used several times and always works well. The rest of the time the vocals are pure growl, as can be expected, nay, demanded from a band so firmly entrenched in the melodic death genre.

The other new thing is a purely instrumental track that seems to be the antithesis of Insomnium; Decoherence is so tranquil and gentle I have dozed off while listening to it, only to nearly jump out of my skin at the opening bars of Lay The Ghost To Rest.

The rest of the album is loosely based around One For Sorrow, a traditional rhyme steeped in superstition. The subject and lyrics of the rhyme vary from place to place, but it is always based around crows, magpies, jackdaws or blackbirds, the number of which tell the fortune of the beholder. The rhyme goes up to ten birds, and so there are ten tracks (well, eleven on the limited edition). Each one explores something new, although the link between the song and the matching line from the rhyme isn't always obvious.

It's almost impossible to be disappointed with this album. I'm sure some would have liked more progression, or at least more variety, but this album represents more a honing of a style than a departure from one. If you like Insomnium, you will like One For Sorrow. And if you don't, then you obviously haven't heard them yet.

Anathema - Falling Deeper

2011-10-31T15:07:00.002Z

Some bands reinvent themselves. Some stay the same. Some produce the odd concept album or try something totally other once in a while. But surely the masters of reinvention have to be Anathema. With their latest foray into the wildly unexpected they have produced Falling Deeper; an orchestral, almost neo-classical, reworking of some of their older doom songs.

Ostensibly a follow-up to Hindsight, which saw rearrangements of various Anathema songs, Falling Deeper takes the whole concept to a far reaching conclusion. It may be a step too far for some. Most of the songs are unrecognisable from their heavy, guitar driven origins.

The whole project got started by Danny Cavanagh who was playing with piano arrangements, and who then was inspired to include a 26 piece orchestra. For lovers of modern classical pieces, film scores and related orchestral noodling, this album is sure to tick every box.

As a relatively recent convert to Anathema fandom (A Natural Disaster being the first album I heard) I was unaware of, or at least not entirely familiar with, many of the original tracks. I've since gone through a sort of Anathemic nostalgia, listening to the new and the old together. I can safely say that Falling Deeper is a work on its own, and not a remix or reissue of older material.

The music itself, then, is a very relaxing, emotionally charged experience. Crescendo follows lull follows crescendo as the music builds and falls for the relatively short 38 minute run time. While it's easy to zone out and experience it washing over you, the melodies that made the original tracks so great still draws you in, intertwined with the soaring strings and the soft, yet powerful vocals.

Of all the tracks reworked for this album, it's hard to pick particular highlights. Crestfallen and Sleep In Sanity start proceedings as they mean to go on. Everwake's dreamlike soundscape and beautiful vocal is a real pleasure, and Sunset Of Age completes the album with exhilarating, yet somewhat disquieting, aplomb.

It's been rumoured that Anathema is in the studio recording all new material for release early next year. If and when they tour the new material, I can't help but hope they bring the orchestra along so I can experience Falling Deeper in the best way to experience any Anathema track; live, up close and heart wrenchingly personal.

Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt Two

2011-10-14T12:00:00.000+01:00

I wrote about Pain Of Salvations last album, Road Salt One, quite some time ago now. I talked about the raw emotion, the excellent songwriting, and the fantastic production. It's still one of my favourite albums. And now I there is a sequel, the unsurprisingly titled Road Salt Two.

This is the second half of the Road Salt concept, a pair of albums exploring life, emotion, and human interaction. In many ways, it's more of the same. I could wax lyrical about it in much the same way as Road Salt One because, in truth, it is very, very similar. It's almost a second disk to accompany the first. And this is no bad thing.

The same basic structure is used again, with the recurring theme of "the road" cropping up time and again. But the lyrical themes take a turn here. They are more mature, they are the end of the journey, whereas Road Salt One told of the beginning. The walker isn't walking the road any more. He's sitting, exhausted, and remembering everything that has gone before.

There is a peculiar quality to the production that makes the album feel a lot older than it is. Subtle use of distortion imbues in the listener a sense of nostalgia. The beautifully short, yet poignant, 1979 really pins that nostalgia down. Where Road Salt One was about struggling through life, Road Salt Two is about breaking point. About looking back at what is gone, and facing what has to come.

Some familiar aspects of Road Salt One come back for a second outing. The grizzled blues rock of the walker is back in Of Salt, and the cacophonous, deeply disturbing carnival sound of Wait, Darling, Wait returns in Break, Darling, Break. A suitably painful reworking of the familiar sound.

While the album should be taken as a whole, and all the tracks are superb, there are a number that stand out. The aforementioned 1979 is one, the somewhat disquieting Eleven, and To The Shoreline, which is Road Salt Two's answer to Sisters. The Deeper Cut, Through The Distance and Healing Now are also brilliant songs in their own right.

I'm sure some would be disappointed in the apparent lack of progress since Road Salt One. I'm not. Road Salt Two is exactly what I wanted it to be; a completion of Road Salt One. Not diverging too far to be a different concept, but not similar enough to be the same album all over again. This is the end of the road, and it has been both a pleasure and a heartache to walk it.

Mastodon - The Hunter

2011-10-13T12:00:00.001+01:00

There has been a lot of buzz around The Hunter, the latest album from American sludge metal band Mastodon, from a variety of intriguingly different sources. The usual metal media has, of course, been posting the latest news and views, but it's also been heavily talked about in prog rock circles. It's been billed as the "other" prog album of the year, alongside Opeth's Heritage.

If The Hunter is prog, it's a very different kind of prog to Heritage indeed. The songs clock in between 2:36 for the wonderfully titled Blasteroid and 5:31 for The Sparrow. None of your usual 15 minute, multi-part prog noodling here.

In truth, while previous Mastodon albums have been conceptual masterpieces, painting a huge canvas across the whole album, The Hunter feels more like a collection of singles. And yet, at the same time, it doesn't. While the songs are distinct and stand alone, they also work together. There is a definite common theme of "wood" running through the album, from the obvious forestry in Curl of the Burl to the wooden figurehead on the cover.

The songs veer wildly from style to style, from the psychedelic twiddling of Stargasm, the heavy metal of Spectrelight, the straight up pop/rock of Curl of the Burl and the melodic, emotional strains of the title track. The sound is dense and consuming, with great drum work underpinning the guitar riffs and multitude of vocal styles.

The vocals have caused some controversy in the press for the use of autotune, amongst other effects. To be honest, if I hadn't been told, I wouldn't have known, so it's not like the obnoxious roboto-vocals so popular in the pop world right now. The band all seem to have a crack at it, with vocal harmonies coming in to play.

Having bought the special edition version, there are some extra goodies. A full set of music videos that can be watched in track order to provide a great immersive experience, and a somewhat gimmicky "augmented reality" bit. With the use of a webcam, you can replace your head with the … um … creature from the album cover art. I haven't tried it yet.

There is a great variety on this album, and it's both easy to listen to as background, catchy enough to get your attention, as well as providing a wonderful experience if you want to get caught up in the music. I think the fact that in little over a week I have racked up 125 scrobbles says it all.

Nostalgia of an Opeth nature

2011-10-03T19:53:00.001+01:00

After the last rather lacklustre post about Heritage, it got me hankering for when Opeth did really awesome songs with only clean vocals. Here is my favourite. Harvest, from Blackwater Park. Worlds apart, really.

Opeth - Heritage

2011-10-03T19:45:00.000+01:00

There has been a not inconsiderable stir in the metal community over the latest Opeth record. After months of discussions, interviews and previews, Mikael Åkerfeldt's newest vision is with us and causing all manner of confusion. We all know by now that it's not metal, but what is it?

It's not an easy question to answer. Many records will draw the listener in, play them a story or an emotion, stir something inside them. Not so Heritage. It won't pull you in, it won't tell you how to feel about it. It's a very difficult record to listen to properly, because it requires significant effort on the part of the listener.

The first vocal track, The Devil's Orchard, has been around a while now. I didn't know what to make of it when it first appeared, and I still don't know now. It's a sort of prog/jazz fusion that doesn't really sound like anything in particular.

The rest of the album contains a varied mix of material. The heavier prog rock style of Slither is countered by the peaceful and mostly instrumental Nepenthe. Häxprogress has some interesting riffs if you listen hard enough for them, but is otherwise unremarkable.

I'm not sure if the difficulties I have found with this record are due to a fundamental flaw in the record itself, or my own mental disconnect between what's going into my ears and what I know is Opeth. I can't help but think that if this was Anathema, undisputed (in my mind, anyway) kings of atmospheric rock, they would have made a far more immersive production out of the same basic musical style.

As it stands, Heritage has turned out not to be a particularly engaging experience. I almost hesitate to use the phrase "easy listening", not because some of the softer riffs and repeated rythmn aren't deserving of it, but because it's not an easy listen. I've read a couple of reviews before writing my own, and one phrase that seems to crop up is that the album "makes people think." I don't feel that it really does. The lyrics are not particularly groundbreaking. They're just presented in a jerky, inconsistent way as the songs lurch from riff to disjointed riff. It is not the level of songwriting I have come to expect from the band, and other albums I have bought recently (more on those in future posts) outshine Heritage in every respect.

Sometimes when I first hear a record, especially one that is designed to subvert expectations, I find that it doesn't "click." A few months down the line, I may give it another chance and be pleasantly surprised at how well it's aged. I don't know if that will be the case with Heritage, or if I will just get my prog kicks from elsewhere and leave the crushing-yet-beautiful prog death metal to the likes of Fornost Arnor, whose latest album, Death Of A Rose, is a worthy successor to Opeth's metal history.

Metal of Middle Earth

2011-09-12T16:08:00.002+01:00

J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has leapt into the public consciousness since the release of Peter Jackson's epic films in the early years of the 21st century. It has provided society with a fantasy framework for generations, and has more recently become an accepted part of the zeitgeist, with Frodo Baggins and the One Ring being well known even to those who would normally never read fantasy.

But long before the world got Hobbit fever, the metal scene was drawing inspiration from the entire Middle Earth universe for lyrical themes and band names. Recently I've been listening to Summoning, a black metal band from Austria who feature the Middle Earth mythology as a primary source of their subject matter. With album names like Minas Morgul and Dol Guldur it's pretty blatant.

Of course, using such well established fantasy lore as inspiration can be seen as something of a cop out. All the hard work is done, and you just have to sing songs about it. However, the sheer range of metal styles out there, all drawing from one common source, is incredible. Many of the bands are black metal, as befits the fantasy theme. But others may surprise.

Summoning

As previously mentioned, Summoning have long drawn from Tolkien's well for inspiration. Their later works feature a more epic sound, with choirs and (simulated) orchestras taking the folk/black metal songs to levels more fitting to Middle Earth's grandeur. They have even, on occasion, written lyrics in the black language of Mordor, although there are few now who understand it.

Ephel Duath

And now for something completely different. Ephel Duath are an avante-garde progressive hardcore punk/jazz fusion band. It's hard to even begin to imagine what that sounds like. Named for the western mountains of the land of Mordor, Ephel Dúath, the band's involvement with the LotR mythology starts and ends with the name. Have a listen, and see if your brain can handle it.

Fornost Arnor

I have written about Fornost Arnor before after discovering their latest album, Death Of A Rose. Moving from symphonic black metal stylings to something more progressive, Fornost Arnor have been compared favourably to the styling of Opeth. Named for the capital city of Arthedain in the land of Arnor, Fornost Erain.

Cirith Ungol

Cirith Ungol were a doom metal band from California between 1972 and 1992. Possibly the oldest LotR themed metal band that I am aware of. Unlike some LotR named bands, Cirith Ungol were both named for and drew inspiration from Lord of the Rings. Cirith Ungol is the pass into Mordor in which Shelob the spider lives, and in which Frodo was nearly devoured. It is close to another place popular with the metal crowd, Minas Morgul.

Minas Morgul

Minas Morgul is the city of the Nazgǔl in the land of Mordor, and is a contraction of the city's full name, Minas Ithil in the Morgul Vale. It is the home of the witch-king of Angmar and the black riders, the Nazgǔl, who pursue the fellowship of the ring. It is also a black/pagan metal band from Germany who product some pretty powerful black metal. Sung entirely in German, the black metal vocal has a certain extra quality and ferocity.

Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth is a stereotypical Norwegian black metal, complete with face paint, spiky arm bands and fake blood applied liberally. They've been around for a long while and so are well known in the scene. They have had plenty of controversy for their gruesome live shows and less than amicable relationship with their fans. Gorgoroth is also a plateau in north-west Mordor, in the midst of which stands Mount Doom.

Amon Amarth

Considering that Amon Amarth are most well known for Viking inspired melodic death metal, it may seem strange that they are named for a place in the Lord of the Rings. Many people are not familiar with the place, because it is hardly ever referred to by the name Amon Amarth. It is a Sindarin translation of the name of Mount Doom, the mountain in Gorgoroth into which Frodo eventually throws the one ring.

Blind Guardian

Power metal mainstays Blind Guardian produced Nightfall in Middle-Earth, based on the Silmarillion, in 1998. The album contains a mixture of songs and spoken word telling the story of the War of the Jewels. In addition, the band were also in negotiations to appear on the soundtrack for Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy. This fell through, though, because the band wanted to concentrate on their next album.

Mostly Autumn

Despite not being metal in the slightest, I'm including Mostly Autumn here because they are one of my favourite prog folk/rock bands. The title of Music Inspired By The Lord Of The Rings is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Prog rock with folk influences, about the Lord of the Rings. I consider it the prog alternative for Howard Shore's modern classical masterpiece.

Post-Bloodstock Purchasing Roundup

2011-08-30T13:53:00.001+01:00

After Bloodstock was over for another year, I came away with a long list of bands that I'd discovered by virtue of their awesome sets. Some of these were so good they warranted immediate purchase, so here's a quick roundup of what I bought and why.

Primordial - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

Primordial are a long standing Irish folk/black metal band and have released many, many albums. Their set on the Ronnie James Dio stage was memorable as much for the amazing first few tracks as it was for vocalist A.A. Nemtheanga's voice going a couple of tracks in. The crowd response was phenomenal and the rest of the set was surely one of the most memorable of the weekend.

Primordial mix Irish folk, black metal, and a peculiar stilted vocal style. The lyrics are, as implied by the title, are angry, subversive and steeped in metaphor. Album opener No Grave Deep Enough, with an almost military drum beat, gives a great overview of what this album is all about.

October File - Our Souls To You

October File are labelled as many things. Industrial post-punk is probably the most encompassing. The songs are heavy, grinding and dirty, covering themes of malaise, fury, disaffection and rebellion. This is an album for when you're pissed off with the world and want something loud, enraged and passionate to throw on and scream along to.

From their set on the Sophie Lancaster stage, the two tracks I wanted to hear were Crawl and Dredge, two anthems of punk attitude with a venomous bite and riffs that hook you in.

One part of the set that has entered our personal meme-set is to "assume to position". At the beginning of Crawl (if I recall correctly), vocalist Ben Hollyer shouted "EVERYONE, ASSUME THE POSITION" and knelt into an invisible orange stance similar to the one I'm demonstrating in this picture, as I summon the wrath of the impending storm.

Byfrost - Of Death

Rounding off the trio is Byfrost, a Norwegian black/thrash metal ensemble whose style could be described as "black 'n' roll". High speed black metal with double-kick bass and chugging, ear-drum bursting riffage. I'd heard about the band a couple of times before Bloodstock, and their completely awesome set on the Sophie Lancaster stage convinced me to give them a go.

Being Norwegian black metal, the themes are of course fantastic and morbid. Although the album title gives this away. The highlight of the set was Eye For An Eye, and it's just as good on the album.

Three very different bands, and three very different albums. And each of them as good as I'd hoped after the greatest musical weekend of the year, or possibly so far in my life. Roll on BOA2012 for some more!

Ghost Brigade - Until Fear No Longer Defines Us

2011-08-29T23:17:00.002+01:00

Finnish death/doom/gloom metallers Ghost Brigade have returned with their third album, Until Fear No Longer Defines Us. I've been looking forward to this release for some time after hearing, and loving, Isolation Songs. I was interested to hear what direction the band would take with their songwriting, and whether they could top the spine-chilling Into The Black Light. I pre-ordered the album from Amazon, and was pleased to discover that the first pressing digipak contains the lyrics printed on the back of a pretty cool poster featuring the album art.

First impressions of the new material start with album opener In The Woods, an acoustic number with a mournful melody plucked from plaintive strings and Manne Ikonen's lilting vocal setting the tone, both lyrically and musically.

This slowness is immediately shattered with the opening riffs of Clawmaster. The heavy doom riffs and death vocals turn the mood around. It is immediately less melancholy, angrier. This is the way the album continues, drowning in sorry, then bursting in anger. Clawmaster is where the album really finds its feet. The sound is much more dense that Isolation Songs, consuming and immersive. Softer melodies interlace with the deep, intense drum beat.

Chamber continues the constant transition from heavy to despondent and back again. The melody is punctuated by the strong, repetitive beat of the drum as Manne's vocal carry a gentle misery. The vocals are stronger than on previous records, and the growls more convincing. The production of the record is somehow thicker, more viscous, to go with the denser musical sound. The vocals sometimes seem to get lost in the depths of the melody, but then shine through again a moment later.

Following the sorrowful calm of Chamber comes Traces Of Liberty, a guitar-driven track of chugging riffs and ringing cymbals. Almost the antithesis of Chamber, the vocals are entirely growled and take on an almost progressive feel as the driving chorus build up and carry the simple, yet effective, melody.

The next track, Divine Act Of Lunacy, is one of my favourites on the album. Lead by a strong, simple drum beat and repetitive riff that continue throughout, the song is more anthem than complex melodic track. But the chorus comes and the song lifts and the second mood of the album becomes readily apparent.

In an interview with Terrorizer the band said that they are disappointed that many people miss the hope in their music. That they are seen as a miserable, depressive Finnish death metal band. And this one track should be enough to dispell that myth. While the lyrics are depressing, they are also hopeful and strong. The message is clear. There is always hope, even when there is no hope, if you make it for yourself.

And no sooner has it begun, it abruptly ends. The next track, Grain, starts with a riff somewhat reminiscent of Into The Black Light, and with a similarly powerful riff running through the chorus. The songwriting on this new record is much stronger than before. While Isolation Songs had a couple of songs that really stood out from the rest, Until Fear No Longer Defines Us doesn't have any.

The songs so far on the album have all had their moods, their suitable adjectives, but nothing yet has really been there just to creep you out. Breakwater is up next to do just that. Starting out with a slow, repetitive rasp, the riff leads into a clash of heavy guitar, rattling cymbals and a discomforting slow growl. Fittingly, this is the song that contains the lyric the album is named for. The song is heavy with metaphor, of drowning and of struggling to stay above water. A topic that never fails to make my skin crawl.

In keeping with the ever changing tones of the album, Cult Of Decay actually manages to sound upbeat against the heavy dirge of Breakwater. This is where the band demonstrate their progressive stylings. Lighter melodies are offset with slightly off-kilter drums to give a somewhat confused feel to the song. It works well against the clean vocals, and the chorus, when it arrives, does so without much warning with a crash of cymbals and a prog-heavy guitar.

Continuing the progressive theme is Torn, a drum-led battering of forceful riffage. The simple bass line pummels the beat into your head while drums take you on a journey, shifting time signatures back and forth and building up the sound to a glorious crescendo.

Rounding off the album is Soulcarvers. Turning things right back down to the softer, slower melodies of the earlier tracks, this is a demanding, oppressive song to listen to. A very different type of song, the weight is in the dragging of the beats and the draining of hope. The chorus is tight as hell and the pounding riff, the resounding drums, the sheer force of it brings the album to a perfect close.

For this album Ghost Brigade have stepped up their game in every respect. The song writing is magnificent, the riffs, melodies, thundering drums all come together perfectly to product an album full of highlights. Every single song is worth the time to listen to. It is simply superb.

As a special bonus, here is the official video for the breathtaking Clawmaster.