The Mix Eclectic

Be'Lakor - Of Breath And Bone

2013-04-22T08:09:00.001+01:00

Be'lakor are a band I’ve been meaning to get round to listening to for a while now. Mainly because every single music recommendation service I have signed up for has recommended them. With the discovery of their latest album, Of Breath And Bone, on the money-pit that is Bandcamp I thought it about time I gave it a whirl.

Cut from the same cloth as melodeath legends Insomnium and recent favourites Omnium Gatherum, Be'lakor have presented a beautifully crafted melodic death album to the world while eschewing a name that ends in “-um”. Stylistically sitting about halfway between the previously mentioned bands, Be'lakor incorporate thundering rhythms and lyrical dexterity with intricate melody and a healthy helping of blast beats and crunchy riffage.

Lyrically the songs on Of Breath And Bone are one of two sorts. The earlier tracks are cryptic but clear enough to infer the disquieting gist, and the latter are fully fledged stories of loss and despair, as is fitting for the genre. I have quite enjoyed sitting with the lyrics and deciphering the songs as I listen. Some I still have no clue about, but even the imagery evoked by the short choruses is packed with mystery and gothic charm.

Even the songs with complete stories can take some deciphering. Absit Omen, for instance, seems for all the world cryptic and impenetrable on first listen, but a couple of goes in and with the lyrics handy there is an “Oooh!” moment when it clicks. In Parting is another brilliant track telling a heavy hitting story of loss and ignorance that gets all the way to the crushing finale before eliciting a wide-eyed “holy shit” from this listener.

The nature of the tales, the delicately balance melody and heaviness, the morality plays and the tales if helplessness are all captured, somewhat whimsically perhaps, in the cover art. A slightly modified version of Gabriel Ferrier’s Chaperon Rouge insinuates an unseen, unsettling extra depth to the tales within.

On the whole I am very glad I gave this album a listen. Now I need to go back and acquire the band’s first two albums which, from what I hear on the Internet, are just as good. I think Be'lakor’s only flaw is that they are in a saturated market. In the last 5 years the number of melodeath bands has risen immensely and it becomes hard to stand out from the crowd. It’s so easy for the music to disappear into the noise. To become “just another beautifully crafted melodic death album.” Omnium Gatherum’s latest failed to inspire as its predecessor, New World Shadows, had done, not because it was bad, but because it was nothing new. Thankfully for Be'lakor the melodeath ingredients have been added in just the right quantities and mixed in just the right way to make something worthy of remark.

Artwork inspired by Northern Oak's Monuments

2013-04-21T19:04:00.001+01:00

Artist Jack Holliday has been toiling away at a series of paintings inspired by Monuments, the latest album from Northern Oak. They are, not to put too fine a point on it, breathtaking. Head over to the Northern Oak gallery page or Jack Holliday's own blog post to see these magnificent works. I particularly like In These Hills. It captures everything I love about standing on top of the Peak District and admiring the views, all the while risking been blown clean off the top.

If someone were to decide that it might be a nice idea to release a collector's set of postcards of these paintings, I'd definitely buy them!

Dark Tranquillity get all doomy

2013-04-15T22:37:00.001+01:00

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Amon Amarth flavoured excitement comes today's news that Dark Tranquillity have released a preview of the new album Construct. The new song, titled For Broken Words, is a doomy sort of a song. A departure from recent DT records and the band's signature style. The band's spokesperson is quoted to have said "This is one of the heaviest and most brooding tracks from "Construct", so it's a good candidate for the online premiere song position. More music from the album will be presented shortly."

Have a listen here:

Amon Amarth reveal that new album will be about Vikings

2013-04-15T11:15:00.000+01:00

Amon Amarth have caused uproar in the online metal community by releasing a free track from their new album. And it's the title track, too! Deceiver Of The Gods will be properly released eventually when they get around to it, possibly June. In the meantime, have a listen to this:

BOTY 2012

2013-04-15T09:30:00.000+01:00

The more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that, at the end of 2012, I completely failed to post a list of the top 10 of the year. But fret not, because I did make a list. I just did nothing with it. 2012 felt like a very long year indeed. Unlike 2011, which had a few standout releases that hogged the limelight, 2012 has had many excellent releases over its course. Many I never even got round to listening to, so this list may end up being outdated as I pick up on the rest of 2012s releases throughout 2013!

Top 10 of 2012

Cormorant - Dwellings

The first album I bought in 2012, and one I still listen to. In terms of genre it's pretty unplaceable. Progressive black metal with folky and hard rock roots is how they are self-billed. Either way, the songs are well written, with intent and meaning, and are complex without becoming confusing. A great album with great album art to boot.

Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Light

Miserable, yet catchy, yet sad, yet not. It's like all the bits of Type O Negative you remember liking, without the bits you don't. Some have said it's not as good as Wood 4 (The Green Album), but I'm not convinced. I think, on balance, I like them both equally but for different reasons.

In Mourning - Weight Of Oceans

It's hard to put into words what's so great about this album, except that it's everything I love about progressive death metal mixed with everything I love about a bit of the old melodeath. The opening track, Colossus Colliding, is worth just putting on repeat all by itself, but don't forget the rest of the album!

Krokmitën - Alpha-Beta

Something of an art project from Canadian experimental death metallers Krokmitën, complete with a massive, psychaedelic lyric video and, just for kicks, a follow up of a tech death version of Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BMV565).

Mortad - The Myth Of Purity

Political, female-fronted melodeath from Iran. Great riffs, great songwriting, great message, and a sound familiar enough to melodeath fans (obvious comparisons to Arch Enemy incoming...) that it's easy to just get into and enjoy.

Aquilus - Griseus

Do you like black metal? Do you like classical music? Do you like strange infusions where seemingly incompatible musical styles are smushed together in a manner that makes all your synapses do a happy dance in your brain? Of course you do, and this is what will do it for you.

A Forest Of Stars - A Shadowplay For Yesterdays

An album I looked forward to since seeing the beautiful Gatherer Of The Pure video way back in July 2012. A great mix of different bits and bobs apparently hung together in a sort of steam-punky way to produce a very interesting and utterly unique listening experience.

Sabaton - Carolus Rex

What can be said about Sabaton? They do metal. About war. And it's all very bombastic. Very, very bombastic. Enough to have you marching around your lounge and singing very loudly and attempting to roll your Rs nearly as well as vocalist Joakim Brodén. It's camp and silly and awesome and hooks into your brain and won't let go.

Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage

The latest outing from French metal pioneers Gojira received mixed reactions from their fanbase, many preferring previous records. Whether this album actually succeeds in topping their previous outings or not, it doesn't change the fact that it's really very good and well deserving a place on this year's BOTY list.

Threshold - March Of Progress

The first album from Threshold since the return of Damien Wilson way back in 2007. In the intervening time Andrew "Mac" McDermott sadly died of kidney failure and the band's label InsideOut put out a variety of compilations to keep fans interested. And this album is what has finally popped out. Any good? Hell yes. It's everything a Threshold, or general prog metal, fan could have wished for.

And that's it for 2012's top 10. A very good year. 2013 is starting somewhat more slowly, but has some big releases in the pipeline and a whole Internet full of smaller bands putting out amazing material all the time. Hopefully I'll catch enough of it to find myself in the same position next December, with so much good stuff I can't filter the best from the merely amazing.

Holy Flurking Schnit!

2013-04-14T22:43:00.000+01:00

So I seem to have been on something of an impromptu hiatus. Not planned, or even particularly expected, but necessary. Life has been hectic, tiring and mind-futzing all at once. Ever had that form of writer's block that lets you have a flurry of mental activity, but sitting in front of a blank page results in an equally blank mind? Yeah, that.

But has life been dull and without good things? No, not really. Quieter, perhaps, with fewer gigs and a slower intake of new music, but still with plenty to enjoy. Just not with the brainpower to put that into words.

One good thing that has happened is the transformation of Bandcamp from a basic hosting site for musicians to a more social environment. This includes things like personal collections, the ability to "follow" and a recommendations system. Of course, that also means that the amount of cool new music I am finding has increased massively and my current wishlist runs to many, many pounds of downloadable goodness. My personal bandcamp collection is available for viewing and following if you so desire. Feel free to marvel at my majestic profile photo.

I have some commentary, review or other words about a number of things that have come out, will come out, or have recently been revealed to me. I will post those in short order. Ish. I might even post a few more photos, if I get to any gigs this year. I've come up with a few loosely defined sections to post in, including a bit about freebies I find, a bit about newsworthy things and a bit about stuff I have found and want but have yet to acquire. Make a bit of structure around here.

And so, here I am, back again for a while until my brain gives up again. Or not, if it doesn't. Who knows?

Epica & Stream Of Passion @ Corporation

2012-12-14T22:33:00.000Z

Way back in the mists of time, some tickets were purchased to an upcoming Epica gig with an as yet unnamed support. These were extra special VIP tickets, affording us certain extras such as meeting the band, getting out of the cold early, and getting a spot right up front. Having a spot right up front was a bonus for me because I had taken my camera along. Marvellous.

Stream Of Passion

I have never seen Stream Of Passion before, but I nearly have. Back in 2007 I was to see them at the Boardwalk in Sheffield, but visa issues meant the gig was cancelled. We didn't find out until we got there, so we went back to the pub. I thought no more of it. But here they were! And very good they were too.

Epica

After seeing Epica supported by ReVamp last year, we knew what a good show they put on. They didn't disappoint. Althought it may seem controversial, they definitely sound much better live than on studio albums.

And they were very nice, if a little cold, bundled up inside Corp in winter coats.

Metal and Morris at West Street Live

2012-11-26T22:01:00.000Z

Something very strange happened at West Street Live on Sunday evening. A trio of bands played an evening of folk, progressive and alternative metal, and between sets a whole bunch of Boggarts danced for the audience's pleasure.

Joining forces with Northern Oak and Setsudan, some of Sheffield's best kept secrets, were Andraste from Manchester and Boggart's Breakfast, a border morris team based in Hillsborough with a thing for blue faces, dark attire and a flair for the sinister.

The bands were on fine form, and the crowd almost (well, not really) kept up with the Boggarts. The floor certainly took a beating! All the jumping, banging and clattering culminated in, quite spontaneously, an outbreak of the Waltz.

I've never been to an evening quite like it, but it's something I'd definitely go to again!

Boggart's Breakfast

Setsudan

Andraste

Northern Oak

See the full set.

Anathema & Opeth @ Leeds Met SU

2012-11-18T09:30:00.000Z

As if Eluveitie, Sabaton and Nightwish weren't enough for one month, November also saw Anathema and Opeth on tour in the UK. We bought tickets for this gig before we even knew Sabaton were touring, so the wait has been long and filled with anticipation. The gig was to be held in the Leeds Met student union bar, a venue that none of our little party had been to before, and a stone's throw from where I work. It turned out to be very disorganised, with queues being moved, staff not knowing things like how to get to toilet, toilets being blocked by security ... not a great start.

Anathema were up first. One or two technical difficulties were present and, to be honest, the sound quality wasn't great. But this is Anathema, and even a sub-par Anathema gig is amazing. It's a shame the computer was out of tune for Closer, but everything else was spot on.

Between sets everything was looking good. The complete disorganisation of the queue and toilets was all but forgotten. Time for a drink! I went to the bar.

Oh deary me. Only half the bar was open. 4 people serving a crowd of hundreds, the bar queue was 50 yards wide and 6 people deep. They were only about half done when the interval was over. I waited around for a bit and finally got a drink, only to discover the next disappointment.

I couldn't get into the room to see Opeth. The Leeds Met SU reckon they have an 1100 capacity room. Nonsense. Absolute nonsense. The crowd was pushed back and out of the room, so the pictures I'm putting up here were taken by holding my camera up over the crowd outside the venue, zoomed in as far as possible. I never did get in, although it turns out that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

You see, they also turned off the A/C and had absolutely no ventilation. The room was a sauna. People were staggering out, faint and sweating, and many left or spent the gig sat in the foyer. I joined them, in the end. The bar staff were lining up cups of water on the bar for customers who just couldn't stand it any more. It was a mess. And a massive shame, because it sounded (muffled through doors and hazy air) that it was a good set and that Mikael had finally stopped being ridiculous and started singing the songs properly again. Growls and all.

And to top it all off, I lost the parking token and had to pay a tenner to get the car out of the car park. Still, Anathema were good, it was nice to spend time with friends. And I learned a valuable lesson; 2.5 pints of Monster in one day is bad for you. Oh, and Leeds Met SU is a terrible venue for well known bands.

Nightwish @ O2 Apollo, Manchester

2012-11-17T12:30:00.000Z

Hot on the heels of the 3rd of November folk power metal extravaganza, the 4th showed no sign of letting up with the Manchester night of Nightwish's UK tour.

Initial impressions of the venue were worrying; the queue stretched a good 500 yards away from the building and it didn't seem possible for that many people to fit inside. But the reality was most refreshing. There was plenty of room! No crowding, no pushing or squashing, and refreshingly not too hot either. We stood about halfway up the room in front of one of the many barriers ensuring that we were not crowded in any way. Marvellous. We'll definitely go there again!

The first band were called Pain; another traditional metal band. I noticed on our return to Sheffield that they have taken out large adverts in Terrorizer. I didn't notice. They were alright for a couple of songs, but then we rapidly lost interest. But no matter, for they were not the reason for the trip!

After the controversy of former vocalist Anette Olzon's sudden departure and the drafting in of symphonic metal stalwart Floor Jansen to take over vocal duties, it was destined to be an interesting night. Given Floor's previous experience in After Forever and ReVamp, there was no doubt she could carry the tunes, and sure enough the performance was everything I hoped it to be.

After the previous night's frantic leaping about with Sabaton it was a major step down in the liveliness ranks, and 23inertia commented that she would have preferred some of the more up-tempo numbers. But that's not to take anything away from the night. They played most of my favourite tracks, and even had a rather lovely acoustic version of Nemo in the middle. A nicely sedate way to end the frantic weekend.

See the full set at lazyrobot.org.uk.

Eluveitie & Sabaton @ HMV Ritz, Manchester

2012-11-16T23:21:00.002Z

November 3rd 2012 saw us venturing to pastures new, a venue we didn't even know existed. The HMV Ritz in Manchester which, we were reliably informed, has a sprung dancefloor, was to house an evening of folk metal and historically accurate power metal courtesy of Eluveitie and Sabaton.

It started off in a most perplexing and confusing way, TicketMaster having completely failed to deliver our tickets despite our ordering them in July. After wandering about for a while being told to go this way and that we, sensibly, went to the pub. Upon our return the tickets were there after all. Nothing to worry about.

After purchasing possibly too much merchandise (including the most epic power metal t-shirt ever) and being absolutely gabberflasted at the ludicrous cost of beer (£9 a pint for Old Speckled Hen!) the music started.

To give a good idea of the epicness of this t-shirt, this is the back of it, and the front is just as complex!

First up were Wisdom, of whom I got no decent pictures. Very traditional metal, complete with Iron Maiden cover. Next up were Eluveitie, the first of our November "bands to see" with their many instruments.

Then straight on to Sabaton, with their stompy awesomeness.

The sprung dancefloor was a reality. In stomping, jumping and bouncing about to Sabaton we were repeatedly catapulted up and off the ground. The atmosphere was the best I've experienced at a gig for ages. A definite highlight of the year, despite almost collapsing at the cost of beer.

See the full set over at lazyrobot.org.uk.

Tangentially Metal Related Pictures

2012-11-12T21:48:00.002Z

I found these cars on the Internet, and I thought they look pretty damned awesome. Both coach builds, one-offs, money-can't-buy type vehicles. Still want one. It'd be pretty awesome to roll up to a Bloodstock VIP tent in one of these! Most metal car on site, and yet, with the most class.

1932 Buccali TAV12

1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Jonckheere Coupe

Dark Tranquillity - Zero Distance EP plus Bonus DT and Laethora Videos!

2012-10-19T14:14:00.001+01:00

I'm not really sure why I forgot about this back in April, but I did. Dark Tranquillity released a new "virtual EP" (i.e. no physical product) called Zero Distance, and released another one of their mind-boggling videos courtesy of Aduro Labs, which is made up of Niklas Sundin, Peter Herneheim and Love Andersson. Sundin, if you remember, was responsible for the last 3 DT videos I posted here.

The EP is available from iTunes and Amazon and is a good, solid new load of exactly what you want from Dark Tranquillity. It's five track listing goes as follows:

1. Zero Distance
2. Out Of Gravity
3. Star Of Nothingness
4. To Where Fires Cannot Feed
5. The Bow And The Arrow

As if the one Aduro video wasn't enough, here is another by Niklas Sundin himself. This one is for The Sightless by Laethora, a band made up mostly of members of The Provenance, and with Mr Sundin thrown in on guitars and videos for good measure.

I'd recommend viewing the HD version of these full screen with the music very loud. But I think that goes without saying!

Aquilus - Classical black metal infusion for the mind

2012-10-09T07:55:00.001+01:00

I discovered Aquilus and their latest album Griseus quite by accident on bandcamp recently, and was immediately intrigued. As far as I can tell (although I could be wrong) this is a one man project combining black and folk metal with contemporary classical music. One Horace Rosenqvist is the only listed member, and if he is really doing this alone then I can only admire his significant musical talent.

The music itself is reminiscent of many things; Agalloch, perhaps, for the black metal/folk infusion and vocal style; Opeth, for the proggier guitar riffs that punctuate the songs; Handel, Grieg, Vivaldi, and any number of modern classical musicians for the beautifully intricate, occasionally delicate, sometimes soaring classical sections that fit seamlessly between the disquieting rasp of the black metal and jangly folk guitars.

At over and hour long, with some of the songs stretching over quarter of an hour each, this is a time consuming yet thoroughly rewarding listening experience. While there are 8 songs on the album, I have so far listened to it all at once several times over so it has taken on the feeling of a single 80 minute soundscape, ever rolling, rising, falling as the styles shift seamlessly new parts appear, vanish and reappear to make sure it never feels repetitive or dull.

If you like classical and metal, and even more if you like the sound of combining the two, I’d heartily recommend giving this a listen. According to the one Facebook post that has so far been made on the band page, the second album is already in production. Watch this space, then, I suppose!

Mostly Autumn - Ghost Moon Orchestra

2012-10-05T08:43:00.001+01:00

Coming both suddenly and after what feels like an age, Mostly Autumn have finally released their second album since Olivia Sparnenn took the vocal reins. Ghost Moon Orchestra is a shift in style for Mostly Autumn, presumably to take advantage of the abilities of their new singer.

Ostensibly this is a loose concept album about the titular Ghost Moon Orchestra, a supernatural array of spiritual musicians playing the music of the world. From the lyrics, it’s apparent that the orchestra of malevolent, the devil himself seeing competition in the race to damnation. When you hear the orchestra, they’re playing your song. And when you hear your song, your time is up.

In fact only a few tracks appear to feature the Ghost Moon Orchestra itself, including the superb album opener Unquiet Tears. Combining the best of Heartful Of Sky’s disquieting sections with a new symphonic sound really showcases Olivia’s vocals and shows her to be more than just Heather Findlay MkII.

This style is continued on and off through the album, in particular on the title track and Wild Eyes Skies. It’s a departure from their usual style, but seems to have injected some much needed energy into the release after the pleasant but ultimately forgettable Go Well Diamond Heart.

It’s said that one should take the rough with the smooth, though, and there is some rough on this album. Most particularly track 3, a Josh-fronted blues rocker entitled The Devil And The Orchestra. In fact, Bryan’s vocals seem weak and, in most cases, off key until track five. The trademark lyrical clunkers are there, too. “Some of you buggers go up to eleven” is a terrible lyric to include in an otherwise wonderfully atmospheric track, and “hungry” only has two syllables. You’ll know it when you hear it. It’s jarring.

The rest of the album from track five is back on form, though, with the previously noted Wild Eyes Skies being the pinnacle from which Top Of The World carries it through the finish line.

Overall, then, this is a good album with a healthy dose of the new symphonic style complementing some good, traditionally Mostly Autumnal tracks. Get rid of track 3 entirely and take Bryan’s parts out of tracks 1, 2 and 4 and this would be great album. As it is it’s tainted with a frustrated annoyance as each clunky, missung note and lyrical faux pas detracts from the listening experience. It’s a shame because it feels like, had it gone once more through the mangle, all these kinks could have been ironed out. Still, I shall continue to listen because the good is very good, and the bad is not so bad that it ruins the experience completely.

Except track 3. I always skip track 3.

Hello? Is this thing on?

2012-09-16T22:46:00.002+01:00

Good grief, it's been a while hasn't it? This unplanned lull has come about due to many, many things going on from house moves to illness to Bloodstock. Suffice to say it's been a busy couple of months, and indeed continues to be so.

So what has happened since July? Quite a bit, it would seem.

Picking up from where I left off, A Forest Of Stars' new album, A Shadowplay For Yesterdays is as good as I had hoped. Gatherer Of The Pure is a somewhat isolated track, the others swirling and cascading around it. Which isn't to say the rest of the album isn't good. Far from it, in fact.

Gatherer Of The Pure is still my favourite track on the album, but I wonder if it's more based on familiarity than anything else. I'll be honest and say that I'm not entirely convinced by the rather overwrought voiceover on the first track, but that aside it jumps straight in to some beautifully eerie riffs and turns. There are little crossovers between tracks, such as the "I don't want to be left behind here" motif that appears a few times, and each track is distinct and yet blends wonderfully into the whole.

I also picked up Gojira's latest opus, L'Enfant Sauvage. I won't bother you with "Baby Sausage" jokes, but instead say that I enjoy it immensely. I know a lot of people have said that it's not a patch on The Way Of All Flesh, but rather than go down the route that so many have trod, writing off an album as bed when it's merely not topped their existing favourite, I'll say that it's a solid album with some good tracks that's kept me coming back for multiple listens. I'm not entirely sure what The Wild Healer is all about though. A bleepier or bloopier track I don't think I've heard since the early 90s. Most peculiar. And for some reason it puts me in mind of 80s action movies. Everything else, though, it tip-top Gojira material and it pleases me greatly.

And of course Bloodstock happened. I'll do a proper little post about what happened there in a bit, but for now let Vassily, the metal meerkat, sum it up for you all:

On the prog front, I have picked up the new albums from Big Big Train, Mostly Autumn and the mighty Threshold, and on the awesome front I am currently awaiting my copy of Epicloud and matching t-shirt from the man himself.

Creepiest Video This Year - A Forest Of Stars

2012-07-02T21:30:00.001+01:00

As a huge fan of creepy and disquieting metal, I was intrigued to discover this new video of Gatherer Of The Pure from The Gentlemen's Club Of A Forest Of Stars (or just A Forest Of Stars for short). A 7 piece band producing a deathly ambience, chilling riffs and a beautiful if deeply disturbing video. Using the shadow puppet theatre style recently seen in the Drag Ropes video from Storm Corrosion, this takes it to a new level of intrigue.

It's all very steampunk-esque, if the band name didn't give it away. A peculiar, eccentric variant of black metal produced by people with names like Mister Curse, Katheryne, Queen of Ghosts, and The Gentleman. Faux Victoriana abound, smog and streetlamps and murderous intentions. I recommend watching this video full screen, high resolution with headphones on. It's really quite lovely, if something this deranged could ever be called lovely.

Brief Update: I gather from the band's somewhat chaotic website that the new album that Gatherer Of The Pure is from is due out in three weeks. I shall be sure to check it out.

A Glut Of Agalloch

2012-07-02T21:21:00.000+01:00

Good news for Agalloch fans today. The band's new song, Faustian Echoes, is available for immediate download. Clocking in at over 22 minutes long, it's the longest Agalloch song ever, leaving the 17.5 minute Black Lake Niðstång a distant second place. Have a listen here, then go to the bandcamp page with $6 if you want a nice, high bitrate version of your very own.

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://agalloch.bandcamp.com/track/faustian-echoes"&amp;gt;Faustian Echoes by Agalloch&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

But if that wasn't enough, also available are the older EPs The White EP and The Grey EP, priced at $7 and $5 respectively. I've never heard them before today, but have been giving them a spin this afternoon and have enjoyed them thoroughly. There are also a bunch of other older singles available for $1 a pop from the main Agalloch bandcamp page if you fancy being completist.

My Top 10 Essential Metal Albums

2012-06-29T09:31:00.000+01:00

While watching Gojira at the Corporation in Sheffield the other day, I was challenged to produce my Top 10 Essential Metal Albums. The albums that I keep going back to, or have some special meaning to me. It's obviously a very personal list and I can guarantee that just about everybody in the world will find fault with it, but that's the point of these things, isn't it?

Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void Dark Tranquillity's latest album (although it is now five years old), and the one I have played most by a very large margin. I have even played it twice as much as Projector, my previous favourite. Featuring some shudderingly creepy melodeath riffs and covering all the classic Gothenburg bases, you can't go far wrong with this one. It's hard to choose a favourite track of this album, but I guess Shadow In Our Blood or Iridium would take it. Or Her Silent Language, or The Grandest Accusation. One of those, anyway.

Opeth - Ghost Reveries There will always be controversy over choosing a favourite Opeth album, but this is mine, narrowly beating Blackwater Park to the top spot (thanks to my decision to only have one album by any given band in the list). Of all the Opeth albums I have on my iPod (most of them) it's the one I return to time and again for my fix of proggy deathy growliness. The Grand Conjuration is probably the best track, but like We Are The Void there are too many good ones. The cover of Soldier of Fortune is bloody good, too.

Lacuna Coil - Comalies From way back in the days when I was finding my metal feet, as it were, Comalies contains just enough heavy, just enough catchy to get me hooked. This was my gateway drug to a love affair with melodic death metal, of all things. Top track would be Tight Rope, which gives me a little nerdgasm for recognising the game the voiceover samples are taken from.

Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit I heard about Agalloch long before I heard Agalloch, and when I finally did hear them, I wondered why I hadn't looked them up before. Dark and disquieting and epic in equal measure. Favourite track would have to be, um, all the tracks. Seriously, I can't choose between them.

Judas Priest - Painkiller The one and only venture into NWOBHM on this list. As must as Iron Maiden is seen as the pinnacle of British heavy metal, you just can't beat Painkiller for volume or tempo. I did air guitar to the title track a couple of months ago and my left shoulder still hasn't forgiven me. My favourite tracks are Painkiller, obviously, and Night Crawler.

Insomnium - Above The Weeping World Although in recent months it has been pushed aside in favour of One For Sorrow, Above The Weeping World is still Insomnium's magnum opus, and proof that they are still one of the finest melodic death bands in the business. I'm starting to think I shouldn't have tried to include a favourite track. On this one The Gale, Mortal Share, The Killjoy and Devoid of Caring are my choices.

Wolverine - Still One of my favourite albums ever. I first heard Sleepy Town on a friend's shuffle, and wanted to know what the rest sounded like. I was amazed, and have been a fan of the band ever since. Sleepy Town itself is high on the list of favourite songs ever, too.

Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth As grandiose and epic as it is proggy as it is ear pummeling. I originally dismissed Sylosis as being too -core for my tastes based on looks alone. Big. Mistake. This album was one of the surprises of 2011 and still gets regular rotation on my commute. It's hard to pick favourite tracks because the whole album flows so well together, although Empyreal (both parts) deserve special mention.

Eluveitie - Slania Is it folk metal, or is it Gothenburg melodic death with a hurdy gurdy? I don't really know, but it's bloody good. I first heard of (and, indeed, heard) Eluveitie at Bloodstock '08. I rushed to the CD sales tent, only to discover that I had missed the rush and every copy of Slania had been sold in 30 minutes. Inis Mona is the definite highlight of this folk juggernaut.

Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs I originally found out about Ghost Brigade from Last.fm, recommended due to my constant playing of Dark Tranquillity and Insomnium. I'm glad the recommendation engine worked this time! Possibly the most depressing death metal band I've ever heard. Highlights include Into The Black Light and Lost In A Loop.

I was also graciously allowed 5 "honourable mentions" for those albums that I love, but didn't make the top 10. To be honest this was harder to come up with than the first 10. There are so many albums I love that narrowing it down proved difficult.

One in particular that gets regular plays is Skyforger by Amorphis. A random purchase at HMV led me to discover Amorphis, a sort of hybrid of melodic death and folk that's both heavy as a heavy thing and melodic as an, um, melodic ... thing. Aerolithe by Fall Of The Leafe (which led to the coining of the term "fotling", meaning "listening to Fall Of The Leafe") is another that I throw on a lot when I fancy something a bit more utterly nonsensical.

Perhaps a controversial choice because it is the least metal of anything I've put so far, but How To Measure A Planet by The Gathering is a long standing repeat listen. A fine work among a body of fine works. More recently, and definitely less controversially, is Woods of Ypres's final album Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Lights. Sure, it's depressing, but it's frankness and honesty elevates it from pointless morbidity into something far deeper and more philosophical.

And finally I can't forget to mention Monuments by Sheffield's own Northern Oak, the album I've seen played (in parts, at least) more than any other. If I fancy listening to it, I could put on the MP3s, or I could just pop to a local gig to enjoy it with an ale or five.

And now for something completely different

2012-06-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

If you only watch one metal video this year, make sure it's this one by Agonyst. I won't say any more, lest I ruin the ... experience.

Seriously, watch it. I make no apologies for what happens to your mind.

Half Time Review 2012

2012-06-18T22:14:00.000+01:00

It's that time again; June, halfway through the year, the summer solstice. Half the year done with already, but what a cracking half a year it's been, musically speaking. Some surprises, few disappointments, many new and exciting things.

Getting straight on with business, here are my top 5 albums of the year to date. These are the albums I've got most excited about, tweeted about, played over and over and over, and generally got "in to". So, in no particular order:

Cormorant - Dwellings

A complicated mix of progressive black metal, a touch of folk and a good dose of hard rock. Starting the year with style, Dwellings was the first album I bought this year, and is still one of my favourites.

Anathema - Weather Systems

Anathema doing what Anathema does best, following nicely on from We're Here Because We're Here but improving in almost every respect. Heavier, noisier, calmer, cooler, and perfectly orchestrated.

Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Light

Doom, gloom and epic riffs. A collection of utterly miserable, yet somehow wonderfully listenable songs. More than a passing nod to the style of Type O Negative, throw in some black metal influence and add an oboe. Perfect.

In Mourning - The Weight Of Oceans

In Mourning create precisely the sort of melodic death metal I like. From the strident, monumental opening track to the more progressive latter half, this is as much a musical journey as it is an fantastic listening experience.

Krokmitën - Alpha/Beta

Why have multiple songs when you can have a single 46 minute death metal opus? When I first heard of the multimedia event that is Alpha/Beta I was fascinated. Then I heard it, and was amazed.

Of course, the problem with choosing the top five in a year like 2012 is that there are loads that don't quite make the cut, while still being great albums. Some honourable mentions include: Bloodshot Dawn, a cracking death/thrash explosion with some amazing artwork, Sanguine, with their self-titled debut hot on the heels of last year's Bloodstock New Blood appearance, Mortad, female fronted politic death metal with some clout, Gwynbleidd, proving that prog metal really can be all heavy, all the time, and Alcest, whose soporific blackened folk still chills me in two senses of the word.

There are a few albums who I would have liked to have heard this year but haven't. Maybe I'll get round to it later? A.A. Lucassen's Lost In The New Real is definitely on my to-get-round-to list, as is the new Before The Dawn, Phoenix Rising, conspicuous for its lack of clean vocals.

So, that's my quicky round-up for the first half of 2012. Marvellous. And now, on to Bloodstock, where much metal, mayhem and mild inebriation await!

Gwynbleidd - Nostalgia

2012-06-12T08:53:00.001+01:00

One album I missed from yesterday's roundup of the last month's listening was the new album from Brooklyn prog death outfit Gwynbleidd. Nostalgia was actually released in 2009 but has taken a while to get across the pond and into my ears.

At first I assumed the band were Welsh, given the rather bizarre name, but no. New Yorkers they are. Well, expat Poles living in New York. The name apparently comes from A. Sapkowski's "The Sword of Fate" and is the name given by some elves to some other guy. I haven't read the book so I can't really elaborate meaningfully on it.

The album itself, then, is an interesting beasty. On first listen, your response is likely to be similar to mine; they sound just like Opeth. Except, they don't. There are many similar elements, downtuned riffs, mournful guitar punctuating the complex bass and drum backing. It's more like taking the heaviest bits of Opeth from Orchid to Blackwater Park, grinding them up and using them to inspire and fertilise a bush of progressive death metal. Sinuous vines of lead guitar weaving in and out of the dense branches of bass and growled vocals, the drum providing a solid, unmovable root and the topmost leaves comprised of the delicate percussion that gives texture and depth. Okay, so the bush analogy is a bit weird, but you get the idea.

The album flows from section to section, passage to passage smoothly and logically. The soundscape it creates sounds more like one long composition than separate songs, and this is definitely an album you'll want to listen to in its entirety. I'm not sure why it's taken so long to hear anything from this band, but I'm glad I finally have.

Holy Flurking Schnit - So much new stuff!

2012-06-11T23:14:00.000+01:00

Well, I've been on me jollies for a bit and come back to a mountain of things I really should get round to posting about. As much a reminder for me as anything, here is a list of what I've been pushing through my ears lately.

In Mourning - The Weight Of Oceans

I've had this colossus of melodic death metal on almost constant repeat for a fortnight, such is its epic scope, kick-ass riffs and progressive noodliness. From the opening track, aptly titled Colossus, I was hooked. Incorporating long, intricate instrumental passages, crushing death metal choruses and even a hefty dose of djent for good measure, it's as perfect a melodeath song as ever you could wish for. Straight on the best-of-year list, I think.

Krokmitën - BWV565 Redux

Following the 46 minute tech death behemoth that is Alpha-Beta, Krokmitën have put out this rather shorter 10 minute single. A tech death reworking of Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor incorporating everything I loved about Alpha-Beta along with those lovely, intricate classical riffs.

Sigur Rós - Valtari

Indulging my more relaxed, chilled out side, I've been giving the long awaited new album from Iceland's Sigur Rós a few spins. And relaxing it is. Although it is something of a step back, stylistically. Gone are the upbeat, lighthearted ditties of Með suð í eyrum ... and returning are the gritty soundscapes of Takk... And a welcome return it is. Easily comparable to the best the band have done before, and once again tragically uplifting in a way that only Sigur Rós seem able to perfect.

Delain - We Are The Others

The long, long, long delayed album from Dutch heavy rockers Delain has finally been released to coincide with a UK tour. Inspired by the tragic case of Sophie Lancaster, already a galvanising force in Britain, this is an album of songs for those who don't fit in. The sound seems to be leaning even further from what is traditionally considered symphonic metal and toward the more pop-oriented direction of more recent Within Temptation albums, incorporating a shed load of catchy hooks, singalongable choruses and some pretty cool cover art.

The Agonist - Prisoners

If there is one word I would use to describe Prisoners, it would have to be "loud". A relentless wall of sound fusing progressive metalcore (I dunno, I just made that up) with melodeath in a way that makes your ears bleed. Alissa White-Gluz is back on vocals, her growls giving any male singer a run for his money while alternating with ease between gutturals and cleans. It's a bit less complicated than I'd normally like, but it's not bad at all. Which is quite something given my usual tendency to run away on mention of the dreaded C word.

Andraste - The Secret Valley

This one I only listened to this evening, just prior to writing this very post. Purveyors of folk metal from Manchester, Andraste produce blackened folk metal with a somewhat jaunty feel. Definitely one to get your feet tapping, your morris dancing, and your tankard needing a refill!

Bloodstock Announcement ... special or not?

2012-06-10T20:42:00.002+01:00

After what feels like years of speculation, the final headliner for this year's Bloodstock Open Air was announced on June 6th at 6pm. There has been poll after poll, discussion after discussion, theory after theory of who it could be, and now we know that it's ... Machine Head.

This news seems to have been met with approximately 50% enthusiasm and 50% wailing and gnashing of teeth. The media outlets (Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, etc) are, of course, far more excited than could possibly be deemed necessary, but the fans seem to be split down the middle on this decision.

So terrible has the wailing and gnashing of teeth been that some fans have vowed to sell their tickets and boycott the event. Some are saying that it's the worst possible band that could ever be signed to the festival, and that this is the final nail in Bloodstock's coffin. Of course, they say that every year ...

I have no particular feeling either way because, perhaps controversially, I have absolutely no idea what Machine Head sound like. Like other big names in the thrash scene (Metallica et al), they have simply never interested me enough to pay attention to them. But according to many sources their live set is pretty amazing so it could be alright. And if not, an early return to the tent for an evening of nonsensically loud conversation, hijinks, crudity and many, many beers.

The thing is, I've always seen the festival headliners as something of a crowd puller. A popular, almost(?) mainstream band that will sell a great many tickets to bring in lots and lots and lots of cash so that lesser known bands can be signed and the festival can revel in its status as the best underground festival in the UK. Look at the Sophie Lancaster stage, with bands like Saturnian, Bloodshot Dawn, Alcest, Pythia, Orange Goblin, Witchsorrow, Anaal Nathrakh, Winterfylleth and Evile. Then there's the New Blood stage with a shed load of bands that I've never heard before, but would quite like to. Something has to provide the cash to host this showcase of the best in new metal.

So Machine Head are headlining Saturday. I hope that a lot of people buy day tickets to come for that so that there will be enough money to continue to provide the best metal festival the UK has to offer. And that the nay sayers will indeed sell their tickets so they don't bring the pox of elitist metal douchebaggery down upon us.

Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Light

2012-05-29T08:14:00.001+01:00

In December last year I found out about a band under the worst possible circumstances. David Gold, frontman to black/doom metallers Woods Of Ypres was killed in a car crash at age 31. The same age I was at the time. A sobering moment indeed. And it is with that sobriety that I cannot help listening to the band's unintentionally final album, Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Light. I have tried, for the purpose of impartiality, to separate the music from the tragedy, but given the album's subject matter I have found it impossible.

The core of the album's subject matter deals with death, loss and the impermanence of life. Much of the album deals with the thought that this life is all you get, going so far as, in Death Is Not An Exit, stating that there is nothing after this. It's almost a more depressing album that Sentenced's The Cold White Light, although often dealing with the nature of death rather than the actuality of it.

Given all that, it would be reasonable to assume that the album is musically depressing, too. Packed with morose dirges and downbeat drones. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, the riffs are catchy, the rhythm is strong and the verse-chorus-verse structure makes from some memorable songs that it's easy to sing along to, getting the head nodding and the emotions stirring. Some songs feature some light orchestration, and a lilting oboe adds a quiet mournfulness to Travelling Alone. There have been many, many comparisons to Type O Negative, and I'll make another, but only in tone and vocal style, Gold's baritone voice carrying the weight of the lyrics beautifully. The songs on Woods 5 are, in a morbid way, far more upbeat than the comparison would suggest.

This dichotomy of musical versus lyrical mood adds power to the messages behind each song. It's not just some doom/goth band being morose for the sake of it; it's a band singing about the truth of life, and death, warts and hurt and pain and all. Even the ostensibly pro-life songs Death Is Not An Exit, Adora Vivos and Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide) manage to carry this world weary knowledge that life is for now because this really is all there is. The best we can manage is getting to the end without making a complete hash of it. There is no god, no fate, no greater truth to bail you out.

Woods 5 has rapidly crept up my list of best albums of 2012, and is both tribute and memorial to David Gold. This album, with its posthumously prophetic songs Kiss My Ashes Goodbye, Finality and Alternate Ending, will leave its mark on the world of metal for a good while to come. A fitting, unfortunate end to Woods Of Ypres musical career.