Δειμος και Φοβος - Deimos kai Phobos

Ben Frost - Sólaris

2012-05-20T11:17:00.002+01:00

Genre: Ambient (well, kinda...)

Name: Ben Frost and Daniel Bjarnason

Album: Sólaris, 2011

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

Looking back, I realise that the tag I used on my last review, a quote from the EP in question, has perhaps taken on a slightly different tone from that which I intended. Between dealing with fascist regimes, and my training with NASA, I have been a little snowed under of late. Understandably, the (very) few regular viewers I have may have been a little miffed at my absence; in order to appease them, therefore, I'm going to give you three distinctly non-metal reviews in quick succession, because you hardcore doom and black metal fans will, of course, fall head over heels for ambient and shoegaze and the like.

Jesting aside, one of the aspects of this blog of which I am most proud is its diversity; aside from the central metal basis - the prog, the doom, the symphonic screaming spectres - there's been synthpop and soundtracks and alternative rock: basically, anything which I think offers direction for metalheads to broaden their horizons. Some may look upon that as a flaw, an attempt to spread itself too widely, but I am not aiming to be a Starbucks among music blogs, serving the same bland produce in vast quantities; there are plenty of people who are able to devote more time to the task than I, and have greater resources for it. Instead, I want to lead even a few of the leaden-headed multitude of which I, and the vast majority of you, are members, both onward to new, unknown lands, as well as unappreciated aspects of our own back yard.

To this end, I offer you all Ben Frost's latest output, Sólaris, "scored" with Daniel Bjarnason (upon whom I am, unfortunately, not able to comment). Although I have described it as ambient, that is, perhaps, a misnomer; do not for a moment think that I have simply found a long series of slow, barely-changing chords. Sólaris, while not fast-paced, does not truly fall into that category. Made up entirely of processed strings and piano, it is more minimalist than melancholy, but strangely entrancing for it. I suppose, if a comparison must be made, it is somewhere between the works of Philip Glass and My Dying Bride's Evinta.

As a result, it is hard to describe; there are no individual moments of musical ecstasy or beautiful lyrics (I finally understand that writing about music is like dancing about architecture). The best characterisation I can offer is that it is an entanglement of fluid harmonies, emotions strung together and blending seamlessly with each other, flowing in and out of a soundscape that is both beautiful and jarring.

For those of you turning up your nose (either at my Livy-like prose, or what it describes), I urge you to give this album a chance. Whilst it is hard to see on this album, Frost's other work (particularly By The Throat) has a distinct black metal influence. Unlike his other releases, there are no drums, no distorted guitars to shriek of; however, it is certainly there, a sort of unnerving undercurrent pulling at your skin. This is not music that leaves you sprightly and singing: it is introspective and steadily anxious. However, it is masterfully done. Frost is at the top of his game, and it is definitely worth your while.

Summary: Minimalist, unsettling, mysterious.

Rating: 7/10

Track listing:
1. We Don't Need Other Worlds, We Need Mirrors
2. Simulacra I
3. Simulacra II
4. Snow
5. Reyja
6. Cruel Miracles
7. Hydrogen Sulphide
8. Unbreakable Silence
9. You Mean More To Me Than Any Scientific Truth
10. Saccades
11. Venia

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My Dying Bride - The Barghest O'Whitby

2012-01-28T09:41:00.003+00:00

Genre: Doom Metal
Name: My Dying Bride
Album: The Barghest O' Whitby
"I doubt I shall ever come back..."

It's true; I have been neglecting this blog. The last post was almost three months ago, and that was hardly standard fare for DkP. I can only offer my apologies; unfortunately, personal issues have had me waylaid from my usual musical fare. However, the skies are beginning to clear, and once again, I can return to the wonderful world of web-logging.

On that note, let me turn your attention to the subject at hand. My Dying Bride, lords of all things doom, have granted us all with another release. This EP, titled The Barghest O'Whitby, is a sharp contrast to their last output; Evinta, a 3-disc, 14-track, orchestral work could not be more different to a this 27-minute, traditional, magnificently metal work.

Musically, this work is excellent. Taylor-Steels' drumming is second-to-none; Abé's bass complements it magnificently. The guitar work is masterly yet melancholy, the harmonies as heartbreaking as they are heavy; showcasing Craigan and Glencross at their best. They combines with Macgowan's virtuoso-standard violin to create howling, haunting melodies, befitting the cold, blusterous north-English moors, upon which this tale is set. That tale is expressed in as dolorous a style as might be expected by Stainthorpe. His vocal work is exquisitely agonised, and lyrically, it is exceptionally well-written. All in all, it is a brilliant release, exactly what has come to be expected from My Dying Bride.

Summary: A doleful, doom-filled, heavy-as-hell EP for all metal fans out there.
Lyrical Themes: A Barghest
Rating: 8/10

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Lights - Siberia

2011-10-31T18:16:00.006+00:00

Genre: Synthpop
Name: Lights
Album: Siberia, 2011
Stretch the horizon...

Let me begin with a brief administrative note: the instrumentals for Dream Theater's A Dramatic Turn Of Events will be up shortly after this post.

Moving on, I admit that a synthpop sophomore album from a Canadian solo outfit doesn't exactly fit in on what is primarily a metal blog, jostling in amongst My Dying Bride's latest orchestral output or Lamb of God's work; however, I've decided that I'm going to offer this to you anyway: allow you to broaden your horizons, and whatnot.

As far as synthpop goes, it's a fairly good album. However, it is a major development from Lights' older stuff. The synths now take a back seat compared to the much heavier and often more simplistic drums (note the dominance of the drums, albeit complex ones, in "And Counting...", compared to the basic background synths); this, combined with more crunchy synths and snares gives the album overall a "dirtier" feel. This is also the result of the influences from dubstep, and, to some degree, drum-and-bass, which can be found throughout the album, which, again, show a vast change from her earlier work.

Vocally, it's not as" intimate" as The Listening, Lights' first album. Partially, this is due to the lack of "closeness" produced by the music, compared to the dominance of single-line vocals in her last album; however, this is also due to the tone of lyrics (the introduction of the rapper makes this all the more notable). Compare:

"It appears that we fear our own tears
More than tear gas
My team's struggling in years past
Looking to draft beers
To bring cheers back
But when the drinking game's finished
No Guinness- just a clear glass...
It's no game
It's why we overdose on cocaine
Get our brains comatose, there's no blame"

(Everybody Breaks a Glass, Siberia)

with:

"Once in a while
I act like a child
To feel like a kid again
It gets like a prison in the body I'm living in
'Cause everyone's watching
And quick to start talking
I'm losing my innocence
Wish I were a little girl without the weight of the world"

(Pretend, The Listening)

Clearly, the subject and style of the lyrics has vastly changed, resulting in a far less "clean" world depicted in Siberia. This is not to say that there is none of Lights' traditional lyrics - the title track is evidence enough of this. It is merely worth noting the change in tone, style and content of the words.

Also, you can't talk about this album without mentioning "Day One". It's a very bizarre track. I can't source this, but I do remember reading that it's the result of some live improvisation that Lights thought could make the cut. Whether or not that's true, it's the perfect example of the harsher and dirtier sound of the album. Slower, deeper and with far more "switch" effects, this is the only instrumental song Lights has ever released, and it's odd as hell. However, as far as the album is concerned, it seems to fit, as a slightly unusual closer, which tells you more about the album than anything else.

In conclusion, therefore, I would say that Siberia is a new and interesting step for Lights. Whilst, at first, I was thrown by it, and didn't even particularly like it, it has grown on me with repeated listens, and I look forward to more. However, to go any further down this path would probably be too far; the road must be taken with slow and careful steps to avoid falling by the wayside as so many other bands have.

Hopefully, you'll enjoy this; but for those of you who don't find this to your taste, you'll be happy to know that there is more metal on the way. The clever amongst you will have already been wondering what's holding this one up, double checking your calenders and assuming that some life-threatening illness keeps me from my music; however, rest assured - it's on its way.

Bonus review: Ix Puppy xI's review run's as follows:

"Overall I would say it's a classic case of sophomore album identity crisis. There are some songs which are in her old style which are awesome and some new ones which are just as good but there are a few songs which just don't work with Lights' strengths. I hope she goes back to her old style for her next album, but for all my criticism it is still a good solid album with some really great songs.

Also, I really like the Mario reference in Timing Is Everything

Summary: Synthpop meets Drum'n'Bass, and they have a cordial conversation over a few drinks.
Rating: 8/10
Track listing:
1. Siberia
2. Where the Fence Is Low
3. Toes
4. Banner
5. Everybody Breaks a Glass
6. Heavy Rope
7. Timing Is Everything
8. Peace Sign
9. Cactus in the Valley
10. Suspension
11. Flux and Flow
12. Fourth Dimension
13. And Counting...
14. Day One
15. Frame and Focus
16. Cactus in the Valley (Acoustic Version)
17. Toes (Nightbox Remix)

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Opeth - Heritage

2011-09-21T17:33:00.005+01:00

Genre: Progressive/Death Metal
Name: Opeth
Album: Heritage, (Special edition,2011)
Look across this great divide

Now, I'm not exactly the greatest fan of Opeth, and don't know enough about them to do an exceedingly long post on what this album spells for the bands future, and where it stands amongst their other works, &c. so I'll keep this brief.

For a death-metal-based band, this is a rather unusual album. Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree fame) was involved, so obviously there would be some degree of experimentation, but I did not anticipate this much. There is a significant jazz influence, couple with minimalistic approach (see "Häxprocess") which advances upon anything else they've done in that vein.
In addition, it's a fairly progressive album - there are sections of "Famine" and "I Feel The Dark" which feel very much like Jethro Tull. This is in no small part due to the range of instruments (including a jazz flute, and the use of a choral section) present on the album.
Another notable change is the complete lack of death growls, for the first time since Damnation.

However, it still has some traditional "Opethetic" elements - the acoustic guitar sections, the breaks from heavy to very light, the strong riffs with excellent drum work. Nonetheless, this is still a notable change for the band, and has - and will continue to - divide listeners.

Summary: Controversial minimalist jazz-influenced progressive metal
Rating: 7/10
Track listing:
1. Heritage
2. The Devil's Orchard
3. I Feel The Dark
4. Slither
5. Nepenthe
6. Häxprocess
7. Famine
8. The Lines In My Hand
9. Folklore
10. Marrow of the Earth
11. Pyre
12. Face In The Snow

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Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

2011-09-14T21:59:00.007+01:00

Genre: Progressive Metal
Name: Dream Theater
Album: A Dramatic Turn Of Events, 2011
Not immortal, just a man...

Well, they're back, and so am I. Before we wander through this musical landscape, let me first inform you a little of the background.

From the very inception of Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy, winner of countless "best drummer" awards, and the second youngest ever inducted into the Hall of Fame, was a constant present. In his own words "Hell, my father even named the band". He was a constant link between the band and the fans, spent hours coming up with carefully individualised setlists for each concert, and was a figurehead who lead the band lyrically and musically.
However, these days were not to last. Portnoy, during his time touring with Avenged Sevenfold, weighed down by is innumerable side projects, approached the other members of the band to ask for a five-year hiatus. They didn't share his opinion - none of them were so over-encumbered as he - and eventually they decided to continue without him. They began searching for a new drummer, and, shortly before Portnoy contacted them to ask if he could come back, they offered the place to Mike Mangini, an excellent drummer who had set five World's Fastes Drummer records. Portnoy was rejected, and thus began a new chapter in the careers of both him and Dream Theater.

As the eagle-eyed and well-read among you will have noted, I am a drummer, and thus you will no doubt have concluded that I may well have collapsed into tears at Portnoy's departure, and vowed never to listen to Dream Theater ever again, in a foolish fit of anger and passion. If that is the case, then I'm sorry to disappoint you. Whilst Portnoy will be missed, this album is a shining example of Dream Theater's musical brilliance, and I could not recommend it more.

The easiest way to analyse this album is to go through and see what changed, and what didn't, with Portnoy's departure. The most obvious place to start, therefore, would be behind the kit.
Despite having chosen Mangini as their new drummer early on, it was not possible for him to be included in the writing process. Instead, he was sent songs with pre-programmed drums, for him to learn, and "add his own stuff". These were, on the whole, written, primarily, by Petrucci. This combination created a notable difference to previous Dream Theater drums. Indeed, at times, they sound less like a drum kit and more like a percussion section - the toms at the start of "Breaking All Illusions" for instance. However, this is certainly not bad - whilst the unique drumming may jar very slightly at first, due to its novel structure, upon repeated listens, it becomes very easy to appreciate them.

However, Portnoy was not just a drummer. He was also a major lyricist. contributing half the lyrics on Black Clouds and Silver Linings. His abscence led to Petrucci writing on eight of the nine tracks, and, whilst Petrucci is often a good lyricist, he is rarely a great one. Portnoy, on the other hand, regularly wrote excellent lyrics - "Home", "Honor Thy Father", "Never Enough, and, of course, the Twelve-Step Suite. As a result, whilst the lyrics on this album are not bad, they are very rarely amazing.
There is, however, one beneficial side-effect of Portnoy's departure to be found here. He insisted that all lyrics were presented with some form of musical layout as well - that is, taking the step from poetry to song, and thus the framework of a track was already required. As a result, the already infrequent lyrics of Myung were forced to vanish - he had not written since Scenes From A Memory. However, here, he makes a brief, and much heralded reappearance in Breaking All Illusions. I personally enjoy his lyrics, and thus am very grateful for his return.

Musically, as well, Portnoy had a great influence. In this album, you can clearly hear the keys becoming far more free. This is in part due to Rudess taking a greater degree of control (although Petrucci still remains a leader), but also due to Portnoy's absence - he was far more in favour of guitar work than the piano melodies we find here.
The result of this is a wide-ranging musical style. We have the traditional, heavy, metallic sections,as found in "Build Me Up, Break Me Down", and far more mellow songs, like the album's final track "Beneath The Surface". Beyond this, you will find a blues solo ("Outcry"), some mellow jazz ("Breaking All Illusions"), choral arrangements and even a deep-Amazonian lesser-spotted throat warbler ("Bridges in the Sky"). The range in style is only mirrored by the range of instruments - there's even a harp in there - and is just one of the things that makes this such a good album.

In conclusion therefore, I would - and do - commend this album to everyone. It's a fantastically progressive album, magnificent in conception and execution, and definitely worth a listen. It promises great things for the future - the return of Myung, the contributions of Mangini, and more of Rudess' excellent keyboard work. The only downside to this brilliant work is that it took the departure of an excellent and highly esteemed musician, lyricist, producer and friend to the fans to achieve this. Mike will be missed.

Summary: An exquisite opus from the true kings of Progressive Metal, and a beacon of things to come
Lyrical Themes: varied: relationships, the Arab Spring, Lifestyles, Shaman's dreams, et al.
Rating: 9/10, recommended
Track listing:
1. On The Backs Of Angels
2. Build Me Up, Break Me Down
3. Lost Not Forgotten
4. This Is The Life
5. Bridges In The Sky
6. Outcry
7. Far From Heaven
8. Breaking All Illusions
9. Beneath The Surface

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Download instrumentals

Tool - Lateralus

2011-08-18T23:15:00.006+01:00

Genre: Progressive Metal
Name: Tool
Album: Lateralus
...Mention this to me

Simply put, Tool are one of the most progressive bands of all time.

Just take a look at the time signatures they use. "Schism" is written, according to the band, in 13 over 16 (or 6.5/8, depending on the band member), and then later goes into 11/8. "Lateralus" was written in a complex set of shifting signatures: 9/8, followed by 8/8, then 7/8, then back to the start.

However just using weird time signatures would not be progressive enough. The subject matter must be, in and of itself, completely bizarre. "Lateralus" is the perfect example of this. It has been assigned various interpretations; ranging from LSD to alchemy, but the most common one is the human quest for knowledge. This is mirrored by references to the Fibonacci sequence, the golden ration, a famous mathematical sequence, incarnate in the letter "Φ". The observant among you will have already noticed one: 987, hidden in the repeated time signatures, is the 17th number in the sequence. On top of this, Maynard, the singer, has carefully controlled his vocal work. Consider these lyrics:

Black
And
White are
All I see
In my infancy
Red and yellow then came to be
Reaching out to me
Lets me see.
There is
So
Much
More that
Beckons me
To look through to these
Infinite possibilities
As above so below and beyond I imagine
Drawn beyond the lines of reason
Push the envelope
Watch it bend*

The syllables for each line fit the sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 8, 5, 3. But as if that were not enough, the timing itself is perfect. Maynard begins singing 97 seconds in. Put that in minutes, and you'll find that it can be written as 1.618 (give or take): the golden ratio.

I could just leave it at that. But there's so much more to say, like how the drummer thinks he can only drum well with a carefully forged gong inscribed with obscure symbols hanging behind him, and bases his patterns on the universal hexagram, or a bassist who has synaesthesia and thus paints songs, rather than writes them. I could go on for hours, pages, entire essays on the subject. However, instead, I shall simply finish by comparing Tool to liquorice. An acquired taste, but an unforgettable one, of which everyone who loves can never get enough.

Summary: Difficult, confusing and complex progressive metal, but excellent, and definitely worth the work.

Lyrical Themes: Obscure, and occasionally NSFW (not here). Includes drugs and human pursuit of knowledge

Rating: 9/10 - recommended

Track listing:

1. The Grudge
2. Eon Blue Apocalypse
3. The Patient
4. Mantra
5. Schism
6. Parabol
7. Parabola
8. Ticks and Leeches
9. Lateralus
10. Disposition
11. Reflection
12. Triad
13. Faaip De Oaid

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*Lyrics never officially published; just another example of Tool being ridiculous. Apparently, they have too much impact on the meaning of the song.

Also worth noting - comparisons that I had for Tool while writing this review were Marmite, Liquorice (made the cut), Onions and Parfait. I'm incredibly hungry.

Dual Review: The Ocean - Heliocentric and Anthropocentric

2011-07-13T14:00:00.005+01:00

Genre: Sludge Metal, Post-Metal
Name: The Ocean
Album: Heliocentric & Anthropocentric, 2010
Look what's evolved from the primordial Sludge...

UPDATE: now includes instrumental versions

I remember the day rather clearly. I was striding through the now-closed record store, tall, educated, aloof, and weighed down by my younger brother was far more interested in Beiber and Akon than Slayer or Ahab. He was tired, bored, and irritated, so I had to choose my CDs more hurriedly than usual. In a fit of annoyance, he handed me one and said "Get this one. The cover spins." That was all I needed - both I, and, shortly enough, the CD were sold. That CD was Heliocentric, and it was my first encounter with The Ocean Collective, and I have never looked back.

Heliocentric is the first of 2 albums designed to "critique" Christianity, and is focused primarily on the history of the Catholic church and its sins, cataloguing the deaths of "heretics", amongst other things; however, they clearly didn't think people would realise this, and had to put in a disclaimer:

"FIRMAMENT contains words adapted from the King James Bible, Genesis 1:6-20. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT OF THE LUMINARIES contains words adapted from I Enoch 72:2-5. No, this does not mean that we are believers, trying to convert you to join the Church of the Hangman..."

Musically, it is quite diverse, ranging from the coarse and heavy tracks such as "Metaphysics of the Hangman" to elegant, jazzy piano pieces like "Epiphany", combined with a full string quartet, saxaphones, trumpets and trombones and even a vibraphone. Vocally, too, it is excellent, with screams offset by elegant and quiet singing, with well-written, albeit misleading lyrics.

Anthropocentric was, therefore, always going to have a tough act to follow. Focused more on theological problems, it emerged a far heavier, and less diverse album, with the brass instruments removed, and the strings now reduced to the three musketeers, rather than the four seasons. However, although it was an album based almost entirely on raging aural infernos, when it finally decided to allow us a breath of air, "Wille Zum Untergang" was a reflection of perfection: a slow build, steadily increasing as the guitars danced elegantly around each other, and the snare work became slowly more complex - it was magnificent, the epitome of post-metal, the perfect yin to the yang of "She Was The Universe" and other crushing tracks.

The vocals tended more towards screaming in this album, but had a great lyrical range, drawing from sources such as Lord Byron, Friedrich Nietzche (how could they not, given the subject matter?) and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. However, if you will excuse a brief theological aside, they hardly stand up to close scrutiny. Take, for example, the song "Heaven TV", which claims that heaven will be an empty white sphere, and then uses that idea to attack Christianity. There is no basis for that at all: indeed, the bible describes heaven as not a sphere but a city, and a square one at that. Elsewhere, Staps relies on tricks of the tongue to score cheap points. Whilst none of this detracts from the music, it does leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste, knowing that the lyrics are flawed.

However, one does not buy CDs to be educated on the meaning of life - except, perhaps, for self-help audiobooks. Musically, these CDs are amazing, far greater than I had expected or even dreamed when I picked the first one up that day. The perfect balance of heavy sludge and light, introspective guitar, this is what post-metal should be, and I recommend it most highly.

Summary: Excellent, anti-Catholic post-metal, with great range.

Lyrical Themes: Theology, history of the Catholic church

Rating: 9/10 - Recommended

Track listing:

Heliocentric
1. Shamayim
2. Firmament
3. The First Commandment Of The Luminaries
4. Ptolemy Was Wrong
5. Metaphysics Of The Hangman
6. Catharsis Of A Heretic
7. Swallowed By The Earth
8. Epiphany
9. The Origin Of Species
10. The Origin Of God

Anthropocentric
1. Antropocentric
2. The Grand Inquisitor I: Karamazov Baseness
3. She Was The Universe
4. For He That Wavereth...
5. The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots & Locusts
6. The Grand Inquisitor III: A Tiny Grain Of Faith
7. Sewers Of The Soul
8. Wille Zum Untergang
9. Heaven TV
10. The Almightiness Contradiction

Download Heliocentric
Download Anthropocentric
Download Heliocentral
Download Anthropocentral

Evinta - My Dying Bride

2011-07-09T23:07:00.008+01:00

Genre: Doom Metal, Ambient
Name: My Dying Bride
Album: Evinta, 2011

...Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me
That with music loud and long...

Evinta. A project almost 15 years in the making. An idea that has sat smoldering and never really had a reason to burn alive until now. 9 albums worth of darkness recreated anew to mark 20 years of MDB. Music arranged to the soundscapes of sorrows past. Finally the 20th anniversary allows us to release this music in a form it has been desperately, woefully waiting for.

Enjoy the Darkness.

My Dying Bride have long been one of my favourite metal bands, for one very simple reason. It is not because of Stainthorpe's vocal work, although that is excellent, both musically and lyrically. It is not because of the emotions invested in their songs, although they are there in abundance. It is not because of the heaviness of their music - there are far heavier bands out there, more angry and anarchistic. Rather, it is for the simple reason that they are magnificently melodic songwriters. They can use duel guitars and a violin or keys to make exquisite harmonies, where other bands fall by the wayside. The multiple voices come together to create beautiful music, which no other band seems to do anywhere quite as well. It is for this reason that when My Dying Bride elect to do songs without traditional metal instruments, as found in Sear Me and For My Fallen Angel, they don't just get away with it - they excel in it, masters of melody and elegance combined.

Thus, it was not with holy dread and closed eyes that I awaited this unusual opus from the honeydew-fed, milk-of-paradise-supping Doom lords; I waited with anticipation and excitement, gathered together my pittances and sent a rather large check to Peaceville as soon as they were open for business. And I was not disappointed. Evinta is a work of art, a magnificent, magical amalgamation of movements, melodies, music.

Certainly, this is not a typical My Dying Bride release. Glencross and Craighan's guitars are absent, Abé no longer plucks at her bass and Mullins is no longer atop his throne. In their place, we find Alice Pembroke playing a viola, beside Johan Baum's cello, and Jonny Maudling, famed for his work with Bal-Sagoth on piano, keyboards and samples. As you can see, this was not going to be a standard album - but then, it was never intended to be. It was something new and exciting, and, if that is what you were expecting, then it's just shy of perfect. However, do not expect anything heavy, anything metal. Instead, head in with an open mind, and embrace what you find.

Evinta is a mixture of all of My Dying Bride's old songs, riffs and themes, melded together with classical instruments, melted down and reforged into something entirely new. For example, in The Burning Coast of Regnum Italium, you can hear the piano carrying the melody once found in the intro to The Dreadful Hours, possibly the single most beautiful piece of music of all time. In Of Lilies Bent With Tears is found sections of Two Winters Only. I won't give any other "spoilers" - part of the fun of this album is the game of "Name the Tune" that can be played with it - but these are merely some examples of what can be expected in the work. After all, it is the manifestation of all My Dying Bride's work - "evinta" is the feminine perfect participle of "evincere", to evince or show clearly. It is a display of all the band has achieved in the past 20 years, and a beacon for the future, hope for all the music with which they have yet to capture our ears.

This work is, in a nutshell, comparable to Elend - strings are the dominant voice, and speed is most definitely not of the essence (there are certain songs that are minimalist almost to the point of a drone-esque sound). However, there are important differences to that band. Whereas Elend favour screeching, disharmonious violins, My Dying Bride have gone far more in the direction of mellifluous melody and harmonies which hang from each other like icicles on pine branches. I have even managed to convince various people that this is, in fact, genuinely Classical music, age-old and well-beloved.

However, one could not have a My Dying Bride release without Stainthorpe's unique vocal work, and here, in Evinta, he comes up trumps, with new lyric genius sewn into the fabric of the album. Incontrovertibly, my favourite track on the album is In Your Dark Pavilion, which finishes with some of the best singing I've ever heard:

"I dream of being
Beside her
As I move
Through this water
Step over here
You Devil
Her earth looks like
My dying skin"

Stainthorpe's tortured voice dances so elegantly with the piano that the angels themselves would weep. And this is far from unique - the singing found in The Music Of Flesh is magnificent, and the lyrics of And All Their Joy Was Drowned are poetic brilliance.

However, Stainthorpe is not alone. The soprano Lucie Roche also takes to the stage, singing in English, French and Latin magnificently. The best example of her melodic voice can be found in Vanité Triomphante, the promo track released by Peaceville in edited form, which can be found here, in exchange for your email address, but is also included below.

In conclusion, therefore, I could not recommend this stellar work more highly. Certainly, it is not for the run-of-the-mill brutal death metal fan, who thinks that speed and skill equate to each other - but then, if you're reading this blog, you're probably not a run-of-the-mill metalhead. It's a elegant, resplendent work, shining in majesty and, I'll admit, just a hint of vanity, but rightly so - no other band could pull this off. Even Dream Theater have tempered their orchestral works with heavier tracks.

Summary: Magnificent orchestral doom, perfect for My Dying Bride fans and musical kalophiles of all kinds.
Lyrical Themes: Still analysing, but typical of My Dying Bride's work - melancholy and dejected, but beautiful
Rating: 10/10
Track listing:

Disc 1
1 - In Your Dark Pavilion
2 - You Are Not The One Who Loves Me
3 - Of Lilies Bent With Tears
4 - The Distance, Busy With Shadows
5 - Of Sorry Eyes In March

Disc 2
1 - Vanité Triomphante
2 - That Dress And Summer Skin
3 - And Then You Go
4 - A Hand Of Awful Rewards

Disc 3 (Collectors' Edition: What I do for you people...)
1 - The Music Of Flesh
2 - Seven Times She Wept
3 - The Burning Coast Of Regnum Italicum
4 - She Heard My Body Dying
5 - And All Their Joy Was Drowned

Download

I'd recommend getting your hands on one of the deluxe copies if you can - they come in great packaging, with excellent production value, and paragraphs on each of My Dying Bride's albums.

Dual Review: John Murphy - 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later OST

2011-05-11T11:25:00.010+01:00

Genre: Soundtrack
Name: John Murphy
Album: 28 Days Later OST and 28 Weeks Later OST
"Step 1: Kill the infected. Step 2: Containment. If containment fails, then Step 3: Extermination..."

Soundtracks are often rather dull and unimaginative. However, these two are far from that. Not only is the music exceptionally good, but it also evokes memories of amazingly well written scenes.

Like much of the internet, I am somewhat of a zombie-apocalypse aficionado. I have a plan for escaping from zombies in any place I might be (at the moment, it consists of running down to the compound where the guns are kept, stocking up on small arms, and then securing transport in order to make it to the nearby NATO headquarters, and recieve support and arms and food from there). When the zed finally arrive (and they will arrive), I am fairly confident that I will be ready for them. Most of this preparation is the result of watching far too many zombie movies (all hail Zombieland!), and these films are but two of those.

For those of you who have not seen these two movies, they are as follows. 28 Days Later consists of Cillian Murphy awakening in a deserted hospital, and discovering that, whilst he has been in a coma, a virus has infected the population, turning them into mindless hordes of the undead. Upon accidentally irritating a few of The Infected, he runs to safety, and some new-found friends kindly blow up a petrol station to save him. They then, after a few plot twists, proceed up to Manchester, or thereabouts, by taxicab, seeking "the solution for infection". Needless to say, not all goes well.
28 Weeks Later is the next in the series, but has no returning characters. The American army have come in to the deserted Britain, with the infected all starved to death, and set up a "quarantined green" zone on the Isle of Dogs. However, again, the plan goes awry, and there are several excellent scenes full of pathos, and some cool sniping.
Both films are rather awesome, and I would definately recommend watching them (they're Danny Boyle's work, if that's an incentive). In a more relevant vein, however, the soundtracks are even more impressive than the films. Since both albums are similar in style and result (with, as one would expect, recurring motifs in the pair of soundtracks), I need only to go into detail on one, and have chosen the original.

The 28 Days Later OST was composed by John Murphy, of Sunshine fame, and cover a wide variety of styles. The predominant style - or, at least, the one that is retained most readily by my mind - is the use of distorted guitars, but it is far from the only one employed. There are developments on Fauré's Requiem in D Minor and Bach, for instance, and use of Anglican hymns, in conjunction with the synth-dominated tunes of "A.M. 180". The effect of this range is to provoke a spectrum of emotions, from euphoric bliss to abject despair. However, without a doubt one piece stands out - "In The House - In A Heartbeat". It is brilliantly composed, makes excellent use of dynamics, and is simple, yet so very effective. If you listen to nothing else from this, listen to that one track. It is the epitome of Murphy's work - indeed, he has chosen to reuse that piece in a variety of films, notably Kickass (he did a similar thing with Sunshine's score) - and very much worth a listen.

Summary: Pathos-ridden soundtracks from zombie-killin' movies.
Rating: 9/10
Track listing:

28 Days Later OST:

1. The Beginning
2. Rage
3. The Church
4. Jim's Parents (Abide With Me)
5. Then There Were 2
6. Tower Block
7. Taxi (Bach's Ave Maria
8. The Tunnel
9. A.M. 180
10. An Ending (Ascent)
11. No More Films
12. Jim's Dream
13. In Paradisum (Faure's Requiem in D minor)
14. Frank's Death
15. I Promised Them Women
16. The Search For Jim
17. Red Dresses
18. In The House - In A Heartbeat
19. The End
20. Season Song
21. End Credits

28 Weeks Later OST:
1. 28 Theme
2. Welcome to Britain
3. Helicopter Chase
4. Fire-bombing London
5. Theme 1
6. Walk to Regents Park
7. Kiss of Death
8. Don Abandons Alice
9. London Deserted
10. Go Go Go!
11. Theme 2
12. Knock Knock - Cottage Attack
13. Night Watch
14. Code Red
15. Going Home
16. Tammy Kills Her Dad
17. Crowd Breaks Out
18. Outbreak
19. Leaving England
20. End Credits (Theme 3)

Download 1
Download 2

Oranssi Pazuzu - Muukalainen Puhuu

2011-04-27T11:32:00.008+01:00

Genre: Psychadelic Black Metal
Name: Oranssi Pazuzu
Album: Muukalainen Puhuu, 2009
...The Spaceman says "Everybody look down, it's all in your mind"...

Well, I think it's obvious that the first thing about this band that caught my eye was the name which is, to say the least, interesting (translated, it means "Orange Pazuzu", Pazuzu being a babylonian demon king of the winds, with a serpentine ahem phallus). However, I have higher standards for inclusion in this documentation of metallic awesomeness than merely an amusing name, and, fortunately, Oranssi Pazuzu have this in spades.

The album's meaning is "The Alien Speaks", and this, combined with the cover that is eerily reminiscent of Vashta Nerada, gives a great idea as to the sound of this album: it sounds like the musical outpouring of one of Scooby-Doo's space-suit-clad, manically-laughing, helium-addicted enemies. It is filled with high-pitched keys, jumping at odd intervals and tremolo guitar, used very effectively to create a slightly menacing and quite haunting atmosphere. Not being fluent in Finnish, I can not comment on the lyrical content, only the delivery, which is not particularly passionate, but well executed. The one criticism I have of this album is that the drums are not particularly imaginative, however, they are by no means dull. All in all, it is an odd, but interesting album, with a decent amount to be said for it.

Summary: What happens when you give Spooky Space Kook a guitar
Lyrical Themes: "The dark corners of space and the mind"
Rating: 8/10
Track listing:
1. Korppi - Raven
2. Danjon Nolla - Danjo's Zero
3. Kangastus 1968 - Mirage 1968
4. Suuri Pää Taivaasta - The Great Head From Heaven
5. Myöhempien Aikojen Pyhien Teatterin Rukoilijasirkka - The Praying Mantis of the Theatre of Latter-day Saints
6. Dub Kuolleen Porton Muistolle - Dub to the Memory of a Dead Whore (of Babylon)
7. Muukalainen Puhuu - Alien Speaks
8. Kerettiläinen Vuohi - Heretic Goat

Myspace
Download - coming soon! (well, -ish...)

Butterfly Convict - Eponymous EP

2011-03-22T10:10:00.004+00:00

Genre: Alternative / Progressive Rock
Name: Butterfly Convict
Album: Butterfly Convict EP, 2010
I found this EP somewhat... arresting

Well, Coheed & Cambria are currently doing a promotion of various bands made by their fans, and so Butterfly Convict appeared on my radar with this 37-minute exposition, which is not particularly atrocious; They're from Long Island, but other than that they're actually quite good.

Musically, the five piece is interesting, with interesting song structures; for example the opening track, Opus One, has two very different verse riffs, thus bringing into dispute whether it is a verse or not. Vulpic has two seperate choruses. Tension Grid has about 5 different verse styles. There are, in addition, many excellent riffs. The vocalist, while he at first seemed to be a little shipshod, actually grew on me the more I listened, and on the whole is rather good

It is worth noting, however, that the band has recently expanded from a four-piece to a five-piece, with the drummer taking up the duties of second guitarist, with the intention, according to Ross, the drummer-cum-guitarist, to "fill out our sound more and create complimenting guitar parts", which will certainly enhance the music, I feel. This should give their next release a more interesting flavour, which I am certainly looking forward to.

Lyrically, it is somewhat of a mixed bag - there are several moments of poetic excellence: "This spark of different colours; / A vulpic flare." (Vulpic) and "Sleep, baby, sleep. / Til the demons have gone away. / They prowl the night in search of loving homes." and the iambic "It's time to tame the Tension Grid" (both from Tension Grid) strike me as brilliant. However, there is the somewhat clichéd political song, with the immortal (in as much as that they just won't die) lines "While the rich stay rich & the poor get poorer." (Break My Faith). However, this is their first release; you must give them time to find their feet.

However, as you reach the end of the up-til-then mediocre EP, you find Tension Grid, which is much more of a magnum opus than Opus One was. At 12 minutes, it makes up about a third of the time, but is by far the best song: lyrically excellent, musically more diverse and interesting and in general just rather good. Here, everything fits together a lot better, nothing seems contrived (although there are a couple of moments of atrocious cheesiness) and you can see why Coheed & Cambria felt that they could promote them - indeed, this song sounds very much like the aforementioned band both melodically (to a certain extent) and structurally, and the lyrics, whilst on a completely different subject, hold an air that is not too dissimilar from Sanchez's works. It is for this reason that I felt this EP worth a few moments of your time.

Summary: An interesting final song, making an otherwise common-or-garden EP much more worthwhile.
Lyrical Themes: Love, politics and Tension Grids
Rating: 7/10

Track listing:
1. Opus One
2. Vulpic
3. Break My Faith
4. Catharsis
5. Tension Grid

Bandcamp
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Gravity

2011-03-13T18:12:00.004+00:00

Genre: Alternative Rock
Name: Gravity
Album: Demos, 2011

Plugs are shocking...

Greetings,

I haven't posted in a while because I've been on an "in-tents" military overnight for a while, and have a lot of work at the moment. However, I now am at liberty to give you a variety of musical treats, starting with this one.

Now, I'll come clean - this is somewhat of a plug. Gravity are not my band, but they are the band of a friend of mine, who has rather exceptional musical taste; we're currently planning to go to see Dream Theater in the summer. As a result, now that they have some recorded material, I felt obliged to put up their demos as somewhat of an advertisement for them. Note, however, that I am doing this of my own accord, and have not been put up to it by anyone, and nor would I give you anything that I didn't think was worth a listen myself.

However, rest assured that this is not just your run-of-the-mill teenage band who will soon fizzle into nothing; quite the contrary, I believe. They have, despite being in their infant stages, already performed with one Reginald D. Hunter, an exceptional comedian who has appeared on Have I Got News For You several times, amongst other things. They are, I believe, On The Way.

They have an interesting musical background - the primary songwriter cannot read music, but plays the piano by ear, and can "sweep-pick" its entire 8 octaves blindfolded, but has never had formal teaching. The drummer is also an excellent guitarist, and has somewhat detailed knowledge of the technical side of musical equipment, having made amplifiers in the shape of a deathbat before. In addition, he is an exceptional guitarist. Musically, they are somewhere in the orbit of Muse - not quite progressive, and not quite avant garde, but tending towards both of those areas. There are hints of jazz, metal and various other genres. In short, they are certainly worthy of a quarter of one of your earth hours to listen to these four tracks.

Track listing:
Starfire
City Of Angels
Aerodynamic
Into Blue

They can be heard and downloaded for free here.

Demenzia - Faces (single)

2011-03-04T15:01:00.004+00:00

Genre: Death Metal
Name: Demenzia
Two-faced bands...

Greetings.

Not much for you this time, I'm afraid; I have but a single to offer you. However, the astute amongst you will have noted the unusual choice of genre, for me at least, so clearly all is not lost.

Demenzia originally were a doom metal band, which is how they appeared on my radar. However, when I listened to their single on youtube, I found death metal - but good death metal. As a result, I shall share it with you. Enjoy the keyboards!

Rating: 8/10

Track listing:
1. Faces

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Anathema - We're Here Because We're Here

2011-02-25T11:55:00.006+00:00

Genre: Prog, New Prog
Name: Anathema
Album: We're Here Because We're Here, 2010
No more are they subject to the Anathema...

Anathema, one of the original Peaceville three, never really seemed to hold a place in my heart as a really good band. This was for a number of reasons, partly my annoyance that they gave up being a doom metal band, as did Paradise Lost, with only My Dying Bride retaining, in my eyes, some form of integrity; I perceived that the others had sold out. As a result, I didn't follow either career with a great deal of interest, which is why it's taken close to a year for me to actually listen to this release.

Certainly, it is nothing like the original Anathema. It bears little or no resemblance to An Iliad of Woes or Serenades, with their low-tuned guitars and heavy atmosphere. But that is because it is now a completely different genre. Anathema, once the pioneers of doom metal, are now not even part of that scene.

I'll admit that this is old news for many of you; they've been drifting this way since Eternity. However, for those readers who were not aware of the band's history, I felt it important to make this clear. This album, I think, is somewhat of the antithesis of doom metal, and therefore, once you know the background, the inception of Anathema's career, it bears witness to their excellent talent as musicians, that they are capable of composing music in such a wide variety of styles.

This album, I feel, is the epitome of New Prog, a combination of progressive metal and rock with alternative music, and showcased in bands like Coheed And Cambria and The Mars Volta. The album showcases this excellently, combining heavy sections that are indubitably metal with light, atmospheric sections that would be hard pushed to be called rock. As a result, you have an album which fills the roles both of background and foreground music, something you put on and also something you listen to.

It comes, of course, with an extensive credentials. My first thoughts of this album were that it sounded like a heavier version of Porcupine Tree, and I was not mistaken in my sensing of Steven Wilson's hand in this work (He, and Jordan Rudess, seem to be appearing on everything I listen to at the moment) - he produced and mixed the album. On the exceptionally well-written keyboards, you find Les "Lecter" Smith, of Cradle Of Filth (Specifically, he was on, amongst others, the album Cruelty And The Beast, one of their best). Beyond this, you have the Finnish singer Ville Valo making a guest appearence on Angels Walk Among Us. And, of course, you have the Cavanagh trio and the Douglases making up Anathema. In short, it has got an excellent cast.

Musically, it's very well good. There are a range of vocal styles and vocalists, combined with the occasional use of samples, all of which combine to carry the album. The guitar work is excellent, as is the bass. The drumming is very well done, at times the background and at times leading the piece. But the keyboards are by far the best instrument in this album, creating excellent atmospheres and stunning music. To point any track out as the best would be to undermine any others, and it is their role as an album that makes We're Here Because We're Here so great. Each song is brought in by the one before it and carries into the one after it so gracefully and elegantly to say that any individual piece is better than any other is to say that you like that corner of the painting more than anything else within it. It is the painting as a whole, the album as a whole, that is so excellent, and why this one is worth a listen.

Summary: A must for Porcupine Tree fans; brilliant new prog.
Lyrical Themes: the philosophical and actual roles of love and the fragility of human life.
Rating: 8/10

Track listing:
1. Thin Air
2. Summernight Horizon
3. Dreaming Light
4. Everything
5. Angels Walk Among Us
6. Presence
7. A Simple Mistake
8. Get Off, Get Out
9. Universal
10. Hindsight

Website
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Ava Inferi - The Silhouette

2011-02-15T10:08:00.005+00:00

Genre: Doom, Funeral
Name: Ava Inferi
Album: The Silhouette, 2007
The Hell of Birds

Once again, I didn't post something at the weekend. This was a combination of concerts, paintballing and sheer laziness. Still, I got round to it eventually

Whilst searching for tickets to see My Dying Bride this summer in London, I came across the opening act, Ava Inferi. A little research later, and I thought they'd be worth a listen, especially since they described themselves as "soul" on their myspace page. However, whilst that aspect was clear to see on the one song provided, I did not find it so with this album - certainly they were doom, but no other label can be moulded to their shape, I feel.

The Silhouette was certainly worth a listen, however. For a start, somewhat unusually for doom metal bands, there are only clean, female vocals throughout this album, which adds for a bit of variety amongst other such bands - indeed, there is even a purely vocal song, Oathbound, which features a slightly odd choir. In addition, the piano, so often overused by doom bands, makes only a brief appearance here, but is used very well in The Dual Keys. The guitars consistently play decent riffs, and the drums avoid standard and dull rhythms, notably on Viola. All in all, it seems very good.

However, there are a couple of minor flaws. Firstly, there is an over-reliance on samples - the album opens with the recording of a beach, which is fine in itself; the very next track, rain begins to patter on something like corrugated iron (or maybe they've just spilt some frozen peas); later on you find clips of fire, by which point it is getting a bit wearing, and then, towards the end, you can hear sounds of either digging or footsteps or some general sounds from the leaf-litter, which is not only unclear but now nearly downright annoying.

This is really just part of a grander point - although the tracks were individually good, as an album, The Silhouette was not particularly coherent. Take, for example, tracks 7 and 8. La Stanza Nera ends rather abruptly, which isn't a problem, but then Grin Of Winter comes in, with a grating and generally irritating beginning, which would have been far better out of context. This album has the flow of a river, on level ground, in the middle of the desert, during the dry season, and which isn't actually a river, but rather just a large, unmoving rock.

Summary: Good songs, poorly ordered. Listen to it on shuffle.

Lyrical Themes: Nature, Despair, Love, Death

Rating: 6.5/10

Track listing:
1. A Dança das Ondas
2. Viola
3. The Abandoned
4. Oathbound
5. The Dual Keys
6. Wonders of Dusk
7. La Stanza Nera
8. Grin of Winter
9. Pulse of the Earth

Myspace
Download

Evoken | Beneath The Frozen Soil - Split

2011-02-10T11:37:00.004+00:00

Genre: Doom Metal, Drone Metal
Name: Evoken and Beneath The Frozen Soil
Album: Split EP, 2010
Droning on and on and on

Unfortunately, there isn't really enough to say about this for a full review. I had expected very good things from Evoken, and thought that if I reviewed this split, I could talk about Beneath The Frozen Soil too. However, there was actually very little to say.

In this release, at least, Evoken did little to back up their apparant notability and success in the doom metal scene. Although the riffs on the guitar were vaguely interesting, the only change in dynamics or tempo were brought by the drums, which created only a weak illusion of speed - the riff would remain constant, but suddenly the drums would speed up significantly, without any change in melody whatsoever. This, it seemed was their only contribution to the "death" in their supposed "death/doom" tag. I found their music, at least in parts, closer to drone metal than traditional doom - it sounded more like Wreck Of The Hesperus or perhaps some less distorted Moss. This release is possibly not their best, but I cannot say that enjoyed their part in it particularly, as proven by the fact that I began to fall asleep. I will, however, investigate some other works of theirs, to see if they can redeem themselves.

On the other hand, Beneath The Frozen Soil seemed to be the better band, fitting more in the death/doom niche that Evoken had so skillfully avoided. The gutteral vocals were quite good, the guitar not atrocious, but nothing was particularly notable. They are worth a listen, but there is nothing that makes them stand out.

Summary: Fairly dull and unoriginal for the most part, but good "filler" music, if you want
Lyrical Themes: Suffering and Dissillusion
Rating: 5.5/10
Track listing:
Evoken
1. Omniscient
2. The Pleistocene Epoch
3. Vestigial Fears
4. Into the Primal Shrine
Beneath The Frozen Soil
5. Ironlung
6. Monotone Black I
7. Monotone Black II

Myspace Evoken
Myspace Beneath The Frozen Soil

Download

My Dying Bride - The Lies I Sire

2011-02-09T11:25:00.005+00:00

Genre: Death-Doom Metal
Name: My Dying Bride
Album: For Lies I Sire, 2009
Like Gods of the Sunset sounds...

Ironically, for a band I haven't reviewed, I think My Dying Bride are the most mentioned band on here - they feature at least once on 5 different pages, and on all but one of those they are referred to multiple times. Therefore, I thought it only sensible that I should at least give those who have not heard them a chance to have a listen to at least some of their music, and see why I go on about them so much.

Picking which album to review was always going to be a tough decision - their body of work is so expansive, to pick any one limb of it would be to leave the bulk of the corpus untouched and unexplained - should I go for the arm that is Like Gods Of The Sun, with the excellent violin and traditional doom sound? But what about 34.788%... Complete, the experimental brain of their work? And how could I ignore the shining, glorious face that is A Line Of Deathless Kings? There was so much from which to choose, but only one that I could pick. I briefly contemplated a Meisterwerk, but they precede some of my favourites - The Dreadful Hours and Songs Of Darkness, Words Of Light would be ignored, to say the least. Eventually, however, I made my choice.

Prior to my note-taking for this review, it would be a lie to have said that I had listened to For Lies I Sire, My Dying Bride's latest release. I had heard all of the songs, many, many times in most cases, but I had never sat down, put on the CD, turned off the lights, lain down on the floor and just absorbed the music (according to Tom Delonge of Angels and Airwaves, you should listen to albums with just the light of a single candle to see by). So, with notepad in hand, that is just what I did - turned on the album, and closed my eyes. And it was brilliant.

It is not my favourite album of theirs, but then that is like saying that of all the Fender Stratocasters in the world, you dislike that one the most. Aside from their early and more Deathening works, which I enjoy, but not as much as everything from Turn Loose The Swans onwards, I think that every album My Dying Bride have made is a masterpiece in its own right, and this was no exception. Right from the very first track, My Body, a Funeral, which opens with a lone slow guitar riff, and Stainthorpe's plaintive voice in exquisite harmony, you can tell that this album will be exceptional. However, they do not stick to purely slow and doom-laden riffs - the other side of the coin is showcased in the vary next track, Fall With Me, which is faster and heavier, the Death of Death-Doom metal, but without it jarring in the ear. The title track is similarly awe-inspiring, with the same atmosphere of dread and fear, and the album goes on to end, somewhat aptly, with Death Triumphant. Throughout the album, you find tracks of exquisite beauty and pathos interwoven with those of anger and rage, you find smooth curves juxtaposed with jagged edges, and you see harmony and dissonance each play their part in a mystifying but fascinating dance.

Through this dance, however, you can hear other albums, reflections beneath the surface, just occasionally managing to sneak a sound or a face above the water, to let you know that they're still there, that they haven't gone away. This is most noticeable in A Chapter In Loathing, the penultimate track, which begins with the same riff which closed A Line Of Deathless Kings. It's also apparent in other tracks - Bring Me Victory has drums with just smack of those of Apocalypse Woman from 34.788%... Complete, for example. All of those other albums which are the columns of My Dying Bride's temple are still there, if you only listen.

But it's not all the same old stuff, regurgitated just like a puppy that's eaten chocolate - My Dying Bride are not a puppy but a full grown hound, and it turns out that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Santario Di Sangue is a prime example of this - here, for what I believe to be the first time (other than a sample of some rain on The Dreadful Hours), they have used sound effects - specifically, that of a whinnying horse and a spade shovelling the earth, which, for me, at least, brings to mind grave robbery. These are, to some degree, awkwardly positioned - the sudden stop did make me think that they were the start of a new song, rather than the third minute of the current one - but they work well with the shrieking violin, if you can call it that, which isn't instantly identified as an instrument, since it blends so perfectly with the sample.

The lyrics, of course are as excellent as always: Stainthorpe (who is incidentally also an artist, and a rather good one at that - click the link for 12 pages of artistic and gothic nightmares. And a picture of a friend at an exhibition they were at) keeps some of his trademarks - for example, in Echoes From A Hollow Soul, he uses his traditional biblical imagery, talking of "sons of Adam" and "daughters of Eve" (Narnia, anyone?), and in ShadowHaunt there are lines which seem inspired by Wordsworth (specifically, the line "Through forests she walks every day" seems to me to be similar to She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways, and Stainthorpe has admitted being inspired by Romantic poetry before). However, he has also kept from his usual erotic verse, not writing (as far as my mind can tell) any of his usual poetic, imaginative, metaphorical and yet sordid but still dignified songs, songs like The Whore, The Cook And The Mother and Le Figilie Della Tempesta.
Besides from lyrics, he also employs a range of vocal styles - in this album, there are clean vocals, two different kinds of death metal grunts, whispers and a choir (whilst technically not him, this does still come under vocals).

So, in conclusion, I feel this was the best album to have chosen not only because I could come to it afresh, not jaded by any previous emotions of the songs, not only because it is an excellent album, with no single moment that seems a mistake, but because it is an excellent introduction to My Dying Bride's magna opera, being a combination of old and new techniques, and thus a good album to post for any newcomer to the Doom metal scene.

Summary: Kings of the doom metal genre once again prove to the baying crowds why they are the rulers of their kingdom
Lyrical Themes: Despair, pain, romance, losing faith
Rating: 10/10 - recommended
Track listing:
1. My Body, A Funeral
2. Fall With Me
3. The Lies I Sire
4. Bring Me Victory
5. Echoes from a Hollow Soul
6. ShadowHaunt
7. Santuario di Sangue
8. A Chapter in Loathing
9. Death Triumphant

Myspace - Although one can easily bring the officialness of this page into question, it has music to listen to.

Download

Lack of regular post.

2011-02-07T22:04:00.003+00:00

No post this weekend; I was out at several gourmet evenings, an art exhibition, a couple of wine tastings, a tour round NASA and a playground with a slide.

Also, the Draconian discography is not up yet because I am still tracking down a couple of LPs. I think I've located them, and they will be up shortly (i.e. hopefully by wednesday).

Anyway, quit whining, I gave you bonus posts last week.

Draconian - Where Lovers Mourn

2011-02-03T14:43:00.015+00:00

Genre: Doom Metal
Name: Draconian
Album: Where Lovers Mourn, 2003
It is said that Draco himself, when asked why he had fixed the punishment of death for most offences, answered that he considered these lesser crimes to deserve it, and he had no greater punishment for more important ones - Plutarch, The Life Of Solon

Of late, I have been trawling the internet looking for a good doom metal band whom I have not yet heard; it had occured to me that, whilst My Dying Bride, Swallow The Sun and Triptykon were all very good, even when I had every last song, it still wasn't enough. So, I have been for a stroll through the tubes, and come across a variety of bands - some atrociously bad, some hilariously awful, and some so unoriginal as to be the greatest acts of plagiarism since Nosferatu, but none that I genuiniely enjoyed for the music. None, that was, until Draconian came up on my radar.

They passed the initial checks - I hadn't heard of them before, and they didn't seem the usual satanist, bland, raging rubbish that passes for metal these days. I gave them a listen, and I was not disappointed - far from the expected atrocities, I was treated to a rather excellent and exceptionally enjoyable album - Where Lovers Mourn.

Draconian have several things that make it a cut above the rest - the exceptional vocals, the wide use of instruments and the ability to be cheesy without being cheesy. This is made all the more impressive by the fact that it is the band's first full-length album.

The primary reason for the vocals being so impressive - and of course bear in mind that vocals are more important in Doom Metal than many other forms of music (choirs, of course, excluded) - is because they come in so many varieties. For starters, they have two members of the band who are purely vocals - not singing and guitar, not singing and keys, not singing and violin - just purely their because of their voices. There are three different vocal styles in fewer than the first three minutes of the album - by 2:16 of The Cry Of Silence you have had clean vocals, female singing and then death growls. In addition, none of these are weak, or tacked on - each plays its own part, and sounds damned good whilst doing so. The singing harmonies on A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal (note the Wordsworth reference - Romantic era poetry and doom metal go hand in hand, it seems) are exquisite, and there is more excellent vocal work on The Solitude.

Aside from vocals, the instrumentation is very good as well - the two guitars work well together, and the bass is certainly interesting. But besides this they have a variety of other instruments employed to create a multitude of textures. For example, the piano on the end of track one is mournful indeed (my one problem is that it seems tacked on the end - the song fades away, then the piano fades in; the one thing which I dislike about this album is that they didn't integrate that piano more); the piano then appears quietly in the background in The Solitude. Besides this, there is an acoustic introduction to Akherousia and rather delightful strings to be found in tracks two and three.
The range of instruments, however, is not confined to riff-based melodies or chord sequences, as doom metal often can be - there are themes and even a solo or two to be found amongst the songs. All in all, it is musically very good.

As for the "cheese factor", all indicators would suggest that it would be there in abundance. The final line of The Cry Of Silence begins with "Oh my God", which has a faint air of a teenage girl complaining about her curfew to her mother, and throughout the lyrics there are spatterings of "thee" and "thou" and "art", and many more "olde worlde" words. In addition, they are no strangers to standard sound effects - their next album, Arcane Rain Fell would begin with the sound of rainfall, with a thunderclap just as the words begin (that said, Dream Theater got away with that). However, despite all this, somehow you don't cringe; somehow, it all actually works together and sounds rather good. It's not self-concious, and it's not overdone. The words and phrases all fit, thread and flow together well, creating a brilliant album which is definately worth a listen.

Summary: Excellent doom metal, in the vein of My Dying Bride; similar, but not derivative

Lyrical Themes: depression, lonliness, misanthropy

Rating: 9/10 - recommended

Track listing:
1.The Cry of Silence
2.Silent Winter
3.A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal
4.The Solitude
5.Reversio ad Secessum
6.The Amaranth
7.Akherousia
8.It Grieves My Heart

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Discography - DELAYED DUE TO TECHNICAL HICCUP, expect it Thursday, or Friday at the very latest.
unfortunately, I am missing one demo (Shades Of A Lost Moon), their compilation (The Burning Halo) and one single (No Greater Sorrow). Links to these would be appreciated, and then this can and will be updated as soon as possible.

Angtoria - God Has A Plan For Us All

2011-02-02T11:29:00.006+00:00

Genre: Gothic Metal
Name: Angtoria
Album: God Has A Plan For Us All, 2006
Music begets more music

I cam across this album while researching My Dying Bride, and discovering that Aaron Stainthorpe had done some of the vocals. So, after a brief excursion to Youtube, I decided that this band must be worth a listen, and I wasn't too disappointed.

This band has quite some musical heritage: The singer, Sarah Jezebel Deva, was a member of Cradle of Filth, the brothers Chris and Tommy Rehn have been in Abyssos and Moahni Moahna, respectively, and the bassist is Dave Pybus of Cradle of Filth (again) and Anathema and the drummer appears to have been from a certian My Own Grave (not the one that features on this album, however. Originally just Deva and Chris Rehn, who met while touring together, after a successful demo including the cover of a Kylie Minogue song, the band featured on a compilation and then recorded this in 2006.

As for the orchestration, you can clearly here the influence of Cradle of Filth in the extensive use of orchestras - this also is the result of C. Rehn's idea for a completely orchestral project. Throughout this album the orchestra, and especially the strings, provide a melodic background, to the extent that guitars are few and far between. However, the one purely orchestral piece does not live up to the rest of the album - the introductory track Awakening seems, whilst not quite atonal, to be lacking an actual melody, and is more a series of themes, placed one after the other, swiftly changing and never developed. Fortunately, in later songs Angtoria easily show that they are capable of much more.
Aside from the orchestra, there is also exceptional use of keyboards and synthesisers, especially in Suicide On My Mind, which add an interesting touch of variety from time to time. The percussion section is also very good - whilst the drums never seem divinely inspired, there is an interesting use of rhythm from time to time, and the more relaxed and mellow percussion on What The Wise Lady Said. Indeed, The Addiction sees the use of very good drums, reminiscent of E. S. Posthumus

However, I did have one or two problems. I won't mention about how dull it is that the entire album is in common time, but I will express a personal dislike for the singer's voice. Whilst in Cradle of Filth, she was very good; however, in this album, aside from the fairly predictable vocal melodies, there is just something, some sort of twang in Deva's voice that I can't get along with. However, that is just my opinion, and she is a very capble singer - in the intro to Confide in Me, there is an excellent moment when you start of listening to a violin, and then, slowly and subtley, it changes, until you have an epiphany when you realise that what was once a (very good) violin melody is now being sung, but you couldn't pinpoint the change at all. Besides this, there is a bit of variety created by the use of death growls in Original Sin, which create an interesting change whilst remaining comprehensible. Another variation is found in Original Sin, where Stainthorpe makes his token appearance with a spoken contribution.

In addition, the almost obligatory use of breaks does tend to wear a bit as the album progresses, since there is a moment in almost every song where everything just stops for a second or two, then carries on. As a musical device, it is somewhat overused, and rarely well executed - look at Suicide On My Mind. However, once again, there are moments where it is very, very good: for example the breaks in Deity of Disgust are excellent.

In conclusion, therefore, I would say this is a good album, but not a great one. It has its moments, but it also has its flaws. Overall, however, it is worth a listen, and I'd recommend it to any Gothic metal fan.

Summary: Interesting and well orchestrated Gothic metal, but with a few problems that need a bit of a patch

Lyrical Themes: "abuse in general"

Rating: 6/10

Track listing:
1.The Awakening
2.I'm Calling
3.God Has a Plan For Us All
4.Suicide On My Mind
5.Deity Of Disgust
6.The Addiction
7.Six Feet Under's Not Deep Enough
8.Do You See Me Now?
9. Original Sin
10. Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned
11. Confide In Me (as made famous by Kylie Minogue)
12. That's What The Wise Lady Said

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Lupus Nocturnus - Suicidal Thoughts, Pt. 1

2011-01-30T18:12:00.009+00:00

Genre: Doom Metal
Name: Lupus Nocturnus
Album: Suicidal Thoughts, Pt. 1, 2008
Latin Americans

Here is a midweek post for you, to make up for my computer's failings. I'm having to use a public computer to do this. Still, we struggle on nonetheless.

Lupus Nocturnus (latin for "night wolf") are a Mexican black metal outfit from Mexico (that's another flag for the wall-map) who have only two releases - a split EP with Infernal Hate (which was faster than this, and far closer to their "black metal" label), and this full-length. It's almost an hour long, but only four tracks, with one exceeding twenty minutes in length.

Musically, it's generally quite slow - closer to dark and doom metal than black metal. Compare it to Trancelike Void's heavier stuff, only less black and more grey - in fact, I believe that I even mentioned them in that review. However, the key difference between them and all the other black/dark bands out there is the vocalist. Note the careful avoidance of the word "singer", because I doubt many people would care to describe the sounds which pass his throat as singing. However, it certainly noteworthy - he manages to sound very similar to the wolf to which the band's name refers. This, I'll admit, could be seen as a novelty; however, I think that it is actually - well, not musical, but certainly an interesting change.

Aside from the vocals, however, there is not a huge range of musical ingenuity - it is, for the most part, the same old chords changing every bar or two - not varied or oddly timed enough for post-metal, not fast enough for punk. It's got low production value, but that, I feel, adds to the atmosphere, which it has in great quantities.

However, they are perfectly good at what they do, and their interesting vocals stand out from the (not too large) crowd of black/dark metal bands, thus making them worth a listen. Enjoy!

Summary: Good, for what it is. Worth a listen, if you like this sort of stuff

Lyrical Themes: Howling...

Rating: 7/10

Track listing:
1. Intro (Suicidal Thoughts)
2. Depressive Landscapes
3. Immense Loneliness
4. Dying On The Mountain

Myspace
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Dream Theater Bootlegs

2011-01-23T17:04:00.005+00:00

Hey,

Sorry, but this week (note subtle hint at the possibility of regular posts) I don't have time for a full review. Instead, enjoy these covers of classic albums

Dream Theater have covered, live, these three albums: Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden, Master Of Puppets by Metallica and Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd.

Enjoy!

Download Number Of The Beast
Download Master Of Puppets
Download Dark Side Of The Moon

Haken - Aquarius

2011-01-08T11:03:00.006+00:00

Genre: Progressive Metal
Name: Haken
Album: Aquarius, 2010
Saint-Saens gets an update

VISIONS: COMING SOON!
Check back after October 25th for Haken's new album

Firstly, I would like to offer an apology for the recent (and not so recent) lack of posts. I have, like so many bloggers, it seems, had far too much on. However, the supply of time now exceeds my demand for it, and so time is cheap. Hence this post.

I was flicking through the blog the other day when I realised that I had posted no progressive metal at all. This, I felt, was a travesty. Therefore I resolved to post some as soon as I could, and could think of no better band to choose than Haken.

As with most of my random bands, I was at first drawn in, if you'll pardon the pun, by the artwork. But, unlike so many other albums, Aquarius lives up to the cover. It tells the story of a child born with fins and a tail, and what happens to it. But this is told exceedingly well. The singer is very talented, and the lyrics are also worthy of praise, although they occasionally leave a little to be desired.

However, it is the instrumentation that makes this album the masterpiece it is. Firstly, there a wide-ranging set of instruments is employed: trombones, trumpets, clarinets and flutes all add to the harmonies, and even the strings of a harp can be heard. However, it is not just this variety that makes it so good: the "core" instruments - guitars, bass and, for Haken, the keyboards all are brilliantly written and exceedingly well arranged. For example, if you take the introduction to the second track, Streams, you find the piano with a lovely melodic tune, then added too by some nice cymbal-work, with the other instruments coming in well over the top. However, the instruments are all playing their part - none are just filler.
They also ignore convention, as progressive bands tend to do, and often use odd time-signatures: for example, the chorus of Aquarium switches to 7/8 time for two bars, then back to more conventional times, and then back again. In addition, the songs are allowed to flower, given the full time they need to expand and develop themselves; often over ten minutes in length, they expand even up to seventeen for the final and fantastic conclusion to the album.

However, it is all very well to write music and stick words on the top of it, like an old glacé cherry atop a lovingly prepared cake. However, Hakenhave refused to do that. Their music works with their lyrics, not around it, and it is not made subordinate. I think that it fits the concept perfectly. Keeping to the same section, the piano fits perfectly with the story - it gives a great sense of the flowing water of the stream, with its tinkling melody. And it is not just Haken who had this idea. The more classically inclined amongst you will already be thinking of one Camille Saint-Saens, a Romantic composer who wrote the famous 14-movement suite The Carnival Of The Animals. One of the movements is called Aquarium, and the melody is carried by not one but two separate pianos, playing glissandos and Chopin-esque ostinatos. That, too, gave, and indeed gives, a brilliant sense of water.

If I had to make one criticism, however - and I probably do - it would be that the songs often do not work as well as individual tracks, but only as an album. There are a few that sound just as good on their own, but, for the most part, you have to spend a good seventy-seven minutes listening to the whole thing.

Despite this, however, due to the astounding music, the brilliant lyrics, the range of influences and the general excellence of the album, I would recommend this to all of you. Enjoy!

Summary: Brilliant melodies, written as music not as riffs, combined with a fascinating concept. Well worth a listen.
Lyrical Themes: A concept album about a mermaid, of sorts, born to a human couple
Rating: 9/10
Track listing:
1. The Point Of No Return
2. Streams
3. Aquarium
4. Eternal Rain
5. Drowning In The Flood
6. Sun
7. Celestial Elixir

Myspace

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P.S. If anyone can find and link me to either of their two demos, which I have not been able to track down, that would be much appreciated. Thanks, and enjoy!

Drop Dead, Gorgeous - Worse Than A Fairy Tale

2010-08-22T23:56:00.005+01:00

Genre: Post-Hardcore
Name: Drop Dead, Gorgeous
Album: Worse Than A Fairy Tale, 2007

Welcome to Saylor Lake

Firstly, I should just point out that this is not metal. So don't complain that it isn't.

This is, by a long way, one of my favourite albums of all time. It is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is not tuneful. It is not melodic. It is not harmonic. But, by gum, it's pretty much perfect.

Its a concept album based around a serial killer, who lives in the (fictional) town of Saylor Lake. His - or her - murders are each the subject of a single track. And, with that in mind, you can perhaps understand why harmony or melody are not top of the list in writing this - it's designed, much like Psycho Killer by Talking Heads, to get inside the mind of someone who's slightly insane. You need discordance to create that effect.

The album's first killer track, if you'll pardon the pun, is the second track, Drawing The Devil. It has the perfect combination of chaotic drums and squealing guitar, but then eerie hushes as the vocalist whispers words which whisk down your spine ans send shivers sliding down your shirt. It's brilliant.

Another example of what Drop Dead, Gorgeous are capable of - when they're not in school - is found in the closing track. Once again, there is a combination of haunting lyrics with echoing bass, and then the crashing of cymbals and shrieking of slaughtered guitars. Then, with the piano, the aforementioned shivers once again return, and you spend the next week checking behind doors, and keeping clear of all water, just in case it's Saylor Lake.

The album continues in similar fashion, which creates a twofold effect: First, it means you can listen to the album straight through completely content, and second, if you're one of those blasphemers who use the 'shuffle' function - which I cannot condemn enough - then it means that if any of these songs comes up, your fingers don't fly instantly to the skip button.

Summary: A horrifying album which will have you listening to track after track on repeat.
Lyrical Themes: Serial killing
Rating:9/10
Track listing:
1. Red Or White Wine?
2. Drawing The Devil
3. The Pleasure To End All Pleasures
4. Worse Than A Fairy Tale
5. They'll Never Get Me (Word With You)
6. It Sounded Like An Accident
7. 45223
8. It's Pretty Hard To Beat The King
9. Donner Party Of Five
10. Saylor Lake
11. Bye Bye Blues (The Whole West Coast Is Ruined)
12. I Want To Master Life And Death

Myspace
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Website
This is definitely worth a visit. Very helpful in exploring the songs.

Trancelike Void - Destroying Something Beautiful

2010-07-21T21:35:00.006+01:00

Dual Review:

Genre: Black Metal
Name: Trancelike Void
Album: Destroying Something Beautiful (2008)and Silhouettes of Misery (2010).
Deep Thought II

Thirteen posts and already I'm resorting to the same artists. Ah well.

Anyhoo, you may remember that last time I reviewed these Belgians, all the way back in April, I reviewed an EP of theirs, and, whilst it was good, it wasn't particularly great: 22 minutes and about 6 riffs. However, various sources informed me that I had picked a particularly unusal output for the duo, and I wasn't showing them in their true glory, so I promised a review of something else of theirs shortly.

And, as always, I forgot.

However, I went through my posts the other day to see what I'd promised you, and, sure enough there it was. A quick trip to the internet, and I have two reviews for you: the one I owed, plus interest.

Destroying Something Beautiful is Black Metal, but not in the syle of Abigail Williams. This is more abstract, more like Burzum or Lupus Nocturnus (both coming soon - well, soon-ish. Maybe a month). It's a mix of the heavy, pounding, slow, repetitious chords, distorted and layered on top of simple drums and new-age-esque, harmonious, abstract interludes, much shorter than their grittier partners. Also, for once, tracks labelled as interludes actually act as interludes, rather than just being a short sound clip they liked but couldn't actually fit anywhere else (I'm looking at you, Enter Shikari).

It is certainly more diverting than The Stone Pond, and keeps the attention far more easily. While it is perhaps slightly simpler - okay, significantly simpler in composition than that EP, which used more than three strings, I prefer it. This is mostly because it's just my thing - (mostly) instrumental, heavy, fairly depressing - and I can certainly see that people might not agree with me. However, this album has an advantage over its predecessor because it's possible to hear it without the volume raised to the maximum possible level.

Despite the interludes, which certainly create interesting diversions - and, in fact, even including them - this album remains probably far too simple for most people. The chords follow mostly the same patterns, with only the occasional diversion, the drums are simple and certainly aren't "driving", and the whole thing seems almost willing to fade into the background. Even the interludes only get your attention because they're not the same sequence on repeat. However, as I've said, this is what I like. It's my cup of tea (Earl Grey, no milk, no sugar, a little bit of lemon). I enjoyed it, especially the exceptionally atmospheric epilogue, which is closer to a none-acoustic Where The Trees Can Make It Rain

Silhouettes Of Misery, however, is much closer to that EP than Destroying Something Beautiful. For starters, it's acoustic, and therefore doesn't have those pulsing chords of Destroying Something Beautiful. It's based a lot more on simple, repeated riffs than heavy and distorted chords, although there are acoustic equivalents. But there is nothing to say on this album, really. I have just sat through the three-quarters of an hour it took me to play it through, and found nothing worth commenting on that makes it any different from Where The Trees Can Make It Rain. The only thing I can think of - and I'm really grasping at straws here - is that the drums appear more, but that's mostly because it's longer. There's nothing wrong with it, I didn't actively dislike it, but it just didn't do anything to grab my attention. It just made me sit and think (in this case, about html - how do I get one link to open two tabs?), and I that's probably the point. It certainly was a lot more effective in this regard than Destroying Something Beautiful, and I'm sure a lot of people like it. However, I'd only have it on as white noise, or as something peaceful if I were a hippy and wanted to meditate.

Overall, Trancelike Void are a band that, if not obsessively introspective themselves, certainly encourage their listeners to be. They do compose music that holds the attention like a sieve holds water, but when you return from the ether of your thoughts, you emerge into a calm and controlled auditory landscape, sterilised and peaceful, and fairly pleasant. That is what it's about, I suppose, and I'm sure many people find this helpful. However, I'm capable of thinking deeply without musical supplements, so certainly Silhouettes Of Misery isn't for me.

Summary: Calm thought-provoking music, but not something you can rock out to.
Rating: 7/10 and 6/10

Track listing:
Destroying Something Beautiful
1. Prelude: Descent
2. Part I: Everything Falls
3. Interlude I: Daydream
4. Part II: Fragile Conciousness
5. Interlude II: Nightmare
6. Part III: Total Desolation
7. Epilogue: Escape

Silhouettes Of Misery
1. Paranoid Melancholy
2. One Bridge Drowned
3. Blood
4. An Essence Of Tragedy

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