DEMONSPELLS SONGS TO WATCH
Small progress seems futile, but its as valuable as life
Issue 66.6 September 25, 2003
www.mp3.com/stations/songstowatch - recent additions:
All Too Human E-Killer
Asmegin Vargdans
Behold The Arctopus You Will Be Reincarnated
Chroma Key Nice To Know
Nuclear Rabbit Truths Ugly Head
Omnium Gatherum Amor Tonight
Ritual Solitary Man
Greetings devoted readers, once again I apologize for the length of time between updates.
Iron Maiden Dance Of Death first impressions (written 9/10/03):
- Wildest Dreams is a terrible opener. Brings new meaning to the word formulaic.
- Rainmaker isn't much better...at least there is better guitar work and a less obvious chorus here.
- No More Lies kicks ass. Sure, the chorus is repetitive, but this is fueled by the same drive that has led to many a Maiden classic. And the solo section is great.
- Montsegur has one of the best riffs on the album, reminding me of the Powerslave days a bit.
- Dance Of Death has grown on me since first hearing it...I still find it overlong, but this has a good buildup to it and I like the guitar work a lot.
- Gates Of Tomorrow took me for surprise with its intro, and it was great being able to clearly hear three guitars in the verses for once...too bad it isn't repeated. The remainder of it is average.
- New Frontier shows why Nicko doesn't get too many writing credits...the song sounds anything but new. And the bass is a bit too high up on this one...normally not a problem, but here it gets distracting.
- Paschendale: Epic Maiden is the best Maiden. Bruce delivers his finest performance of the album here, and Kevin's production succeeds in making the song sound gigantic. Great instrumental break, the riffs and chorus strike a chord with the listener, and I love the quite breaks.
- Face In The Sand is another one of my favorites, despite its odd-for-Maiden rhythm...and for once the intro actually builds tension rather than just sounding slapped on. Bruce also sounds at the top of his game here.
- Age Of Innocence: I'll keep things brief here: Great riff, terrible chorus.
- Journeyman: I have nothing against the idea of Maiden doing an all-acoustic song, but I found this to be boring to an uncomfortable extreme. And the strings sound processed and hollow.
After The Fall Escaping Gravity, It All Flows To The Sea: Independent progressive rock act, these songs are characterized by smart tempo shifts and impressive musicianship, and the latter epic has an effective buildup. Samples available at www.mp3.com
Alchemy X Time And Resonance, Killing Thoughts: These songs from this progressive metal act make up a single piece called Emotion, the former first half is a subdued acoustic piece, and as expected the second half gets heavier, and it includes some thrash overtones.
Arch Enemy Silent Wars, Dehumanization: The much-hyped Anthems Of Rebellion has attracted a fair share of negative press, and interviews in which Angela more or less admitted trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience didnt help. While these songs arent entirely without things to recommend, the sound on this album is considerably without focus, as are most albums that try to balance mass appeal and underground credibility.
Asmegin Over Havet, Vargdans: Reader suggested Viking metal act, and a worthy addition to this expanding genre. Both of these songs feature the requisite folk influences, but here they complement the metallic elements rather than offset them, and there is lots of activity in a brief span of time. Both songs available at www.mp3.com
Atrox Changeling, This Vigil: Another band to watch on the Code666 label, this one merges atmospheric progressive rock and a melancholic edge typical of bands like Anathema with a generous dose of metal and places arresting (some would say irritating) female vocals atop the arrangements. If you can get past the vocals, this is quite the rewarding listen. Former song available at official site, new album Orgasm out next month.
Balance Of Power Chemical Imbalance, I Wish You Were Here: The melodic metallers return with a new album Heathen Machine and a new vocalist, formerly of the abrasive prog-metal act Biomechanical. Aside from a few rougher edges (more noticeable on the former), these songs would have easily fit on their previous albums. Latter song available at www.metalexpress.no
Tomas Bodin Morning Will Come, The Hero From Cloud City: One of three concurrent outside releases from those workaholic Flower Kings, this sounds exactly like youd expect a keyboardists solo album to be: heavy on the instrumental skill, low on memorable songcraft. However, the playing is rarely self-indulgent, going for atmosphere over shredding.
Bubblemath Cells Out, Potential People: Quirky progressive rock from this Minneaplois-based act. The former track is a frenetic and enjoyable composition with tongue in cheek lyrics about genetic engineering, and the bands technical skill is evident here. The latter begins as a ballad, but gradually develops into something darker
Canvas Solaris The Flesh Sequence, Non-Terminating Integer: The title of the latter instrumental makes it impossible to avoid making a math metal joke, and gives hint that this is going to be something tech-metal fans will spend hours obsessing over. As you can guess by this point, the playing here is astounding, and this band inserts a darker edge into the proceedings throughout, especially on the latter.
Carpathian Forest Mask Of The Slave, Its Darker Than You Think: A long running black metal project, on recent albums they have included Tchort of Green Carnation fame. Both of these tracks are raw, riff-heavy black metal, the former having an especially powerful lead riff. The band also possesses a morbid sense of humor as evidenced by the latter songs title.
Dawn Malediction Murder, The Aphelion Deserts: Self-described as blackened death metal, this bands sole album to date Slaughtersun is highly regarded among black metallers, consisting of lengthy tracks dominated by powerful and sustained riffing and a dark atmosphere.
Diabolical Masquerade The Eerie Obsidian Circus, This Ghoultimate Omen: Blakkheim (otherwise known as Anders Nystrom) is currently working on the next release from his horror-themed, Swano-assisted side project. These tracks from the earlier and difficult to find Nightwork are typical of this acts sound: black metal with lots of unexpected surprises and dark atmosphere.
Dimmu Borgir Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse, Blood Hunger Doctrine: Early buzz on Death Cult Armageddon has positioned it as a career highpoint, being stronger songwise than previous albums with more detailed orchestral arrangements. Im still not on board, and personally I feel the songs are for the most part unremarkable and collapse under the weight of the symphonics. And Simens decreased presence is also disappointing.
Empyrium Mourners, The Ensemble Of Silence: Recently disbanded German band whose albums, whether dominated by ornate orchestration as on the tracks listed here or in a folk-oriented mode (their last two), are of a highly depressing nature. Both of the tracks presented here are overwhelmingly sad, the vocal chorales and symphonic accompaniment both exude a morbid beauty.
Farmakon Flowgrasp, Pearl Of My Suffering: One of the first bands to get signed as a direct result of exposure through this site, and their debut A Warm Glimpse shows incredible potential. Some reviews have accused the band of Opeth emulation, and while their influence is apparent, touches like the extended instrumental break on the former and the counterpoint vocals on the latter suggest no shortage of original ideas.
Frogg Café Creatures, Waterfall Carnival: This Long Island-based progressive rock act has received much positive press for their second release Creatures, which evokes first generation prog without sounding derivative of anyone, and is full of skilled and exuberant musicianship. The latter track is a twenty-minute epic that rarely drags, and contains some excellent acoustic and violin work.
Grimfist Christ Denied, Ghouls Of Grandeur: Fans of the recently departed Immortal should take note as this features Horgh on drums. Musically, it resembles neither the holocaust metal or the later era of that band, but goes in a more thrashy direction. The former track is especially punishing.
In The Woods Beer, Path Of The Righteous: Live At The Caledonian Hall is a recording of the bands final concert and a retrospective of this bands highly innovative output, including a complete runthrough of the excellent Omnio album. The lilting former non-LP track is definitely not a throwaway, and the latter shows their ability to translate their material in concert.
Krux Omfalos, Lunochod: Stomping melodic doom featuring one of the founding fathers of the genre, Leif Edling of Candlemass. The former track displays the bands elemental power and way with a crushing riff, while the latter is a seven-part opus that goes through varying sections.
Land Of Chocolate Your Finest Hour, Regaining The Feel: A pair of songs from this promising Pennsylvania-based progressive rock acts upcoming second album, which have been made available on their website on a monthly basis. The material here is highly melodic but not without its rough edges, and contain some great interplay between the musicians.
Lord Only Dispossessed, Spiritual Animal: I literally dont know anything about this band except the two tracks Ive heard, but they are impressive enough to warrant inclusion, especially the latter with its acrobatic basswork and precise instrumentation.
Man In Space Borg, Lucifers Night On The Town: Space-prog from Belgium with two albums to their name so far. The former track, a near-instrumental from this years For Medicinal Use Only, flirts with progressive metal, while the latter is a more quirky piece with appropriately distorted vocals and jazzy keyboards. Former track available at www.mp3.com
Maximum Indifference Halation, Apparatus: A pair of tracks from this highly creative instrumental prog act, meant to be played together. The first half of the piece consists of a disturbing poem being recited over a minimal and haunting backdrop, which develops into the instrumental excursions that dominate the second half.
Mercenary Darkspeed, Dead.com: This Danish band is hoping to build on the momentum of their well-received wildcard spot at Progpower IV with a followup to the excellent Everblack album due out next year. The latter track does a good job of showing off the precision of their blend of melodic death and heavy power metal, and isnt anywhere as cheesy as the title might suggest. The former track falls heavily on their thrash influences.
Moonsorrow 1065 Aika, Ukkosenjumalan Poika: This band has rapidly became one of the leaders of the Viking metal genre, and arguably the most inventive band among them. These tracks from their debut Suden Uni (A Wolfs Dream, in English) arent as focused as this years stunning Kivenkantaja album, but they definitely show their expertise with folk elements and epic sweep. Highly recommended.
Morbid Angel Beneath The Hollow, Enshrined By Grace: Aside from the curious decision to end Heretic with a series of instrumentals that would have better served as interludes and the lame album cover, this bands power has not diminished, Azagthoth and Sandovals contributions being as lethal as ever on these tracks. Longtime fans will definitely occupy the next few months with this album instead of speculating what album I will be called. J
Mors Principium Est In My Words, The Lust Called Knowledge: Inhumanity, the debut from this melodic death act, has received numerous kind words, and the band avoids coming across as one of the overt clones that have saturated the genre, especially on the former track. And the band relies more on straight ahead riffery than the happy sound of some of their contemporaries
October Tide Sweetness Dies, October Insight: A project initiated by members of Katatonia following their mid-90s sabbatical, their two albums have become impossible to find (and no, I dont own either.) Both of these tracks are excellent, heading in a progressive death direction with some hints of the sound Katatonia would take in later years. Some samples available at www.mp3.com
Pineapple Thief This Will Remain Unspoken, Remember Us: This British progressive act specializes in melancholic prog, and has received positive press and frequent comparisons with the likes of Radiohead and Porcupine Tree. The former track is barely over three minutes, but contains an unforgettable chorus. Its opposite at least in terms of immediate accessibility is the latter, a sixteen-minute composition which contains some beautiful escalating guitar lines and holds the listeners attention throughout.
Porcupine Tree Futile, Drown With Me: If youre a Porcupine Tree fan (and if you arent youre a deaf hopeless case just kidding, maybe.), youve undoubtedly heard the former track, recorded for a radio-exclusive EP and a highlight of their recent US tour. It was advertised as their heaviest song to date, although it makes no significant departure from In Absentia IMO. The latter is a bonus on the British edition of said album, an acoustic-based track with complex and absorbing vocal harmonies.
Quo Vadis Father Of Lies, From Sequence To Consequence: This Quebec-based technical death act is highly regarded among followers of the genre, and their upcoming album, which will feature the services of the well-traveled Steve DiGiorgio, promises to be a killer, if the preview tracks they have offered on www.mp3.com are any indication.
Scylla Art & Fear, Mater Dolorosa: An intriguing one-man project I discovered through Progged Radio, this is melodic death with heavy progressive elements, a bit reminiscent of bands like Children Of Bodom but with less emphasis on the solos and more involved song structures. The former track has a powerful lead riff on it. Both songs available on www.mp3.com
Subtlerage A Casual Glance, On The Way Out: An apt name for this band who describes their music as being cinematic dark rock, the songs are minimal but are full of dramatic tension and express a strong range of emotions. The former track is an excellent solo piano piece, and the latter conveys desperate moods. Samples available at official site.
The Tangent In Darkest Dreams, The Music That Died Alone: Yet another of those side projects on Inside Out featuring Flower Kings personnel (who are rivaling DT in terms of stretching their services), but this is different, much weightier musically and with a decidedly less optimistic feel, the latter track dealing with the decline of first generation prog. Van Der Graaf veteran David Jackson provides excellent flute/sax accompaniment throughout, and these long, multipart compositions are expertly constructed.
Textures Young Man, Ostensibly Impregnable: Heavy anticipation in progressive metal circles for this Dutch bands debut, described as a more melodic Meshuggah by many. Both of these tracks are full of insane riffery and tricky rhythmic arrangements, but the band clearly has some ideas of their own, check out the instrumental break in the former. Samples available at www.mp3.com
Thinking Plague Blown Apart, Rapture Of The Deep: This avant-prog act has been around for nearly two decades, but has only recorded sporadically, their upcoming A History Of Madness being their fifth release. The majority of their music consists of experiments in bizarre song structures and go through many chaotic sections, as in the former, but also frequently contain some moments of disarming beauty, as in the latter.
Ulver Little Blue Bird, Doom Sticks: Garms approach to presenting his output has been as unconventional as his music lately, the four-song EP A Quick Fix Of Melancholy being the fifth Ulver non-album release since Perdition City, with a sixth on the way next month. As for the music, it continues to explore abstract symphonics, the former track with its disharmonic operatic vocals being a prime example. The latter is an electronic instrumental that shares kinship with Perdition City and the Silence EPs.
Zyklon Core Solution, Specimen Eruption: Along with Dimmu Borgir, this has been the most anticipated black metal release of this fall, and early reviews have been mixed. While nothing here approaches the epic heights of the best Emperor material (not that I believe they were aiming for or one should expect another Anthems or Prometheus), Samoth clearly still knows his way around a savage riff, as evident by the latter tracks ferocious intro.
Small progress seems futile, but its as valuable as life
Issue 66.6 September 25, 2003
www.mp3.com/stations/songstowatch - recent additions:
All Too Human E-Killer
Asmegin Vargdans
Behold The Arctopus You Will Be Reincarnated
Chroma Key Nice To Know
Nuclear Rabbit Truths Ugly Head
Omnium Gatherum Amor Tonight
Ritual Solitary Man
Greetings devoted readers, once again I apologize for the length of time between updates.
Iron Maiden Dance Of Death first impressions (written 9/10/03):
- Wildest Dreams is a terrible opener. Brings new meaning to the word formulaic.
- Rainmaker isn't much better...at least there is better guitar work and a less obvious chorus here.
- No More Lies kicks ass. Sure, the chorus is repetitive, but this is fueled by the same drive that has led to many a Maiden classic. And the solo section is great.
- Montsegur has one of the best riffs on the album, reminding me of the Powerslave days a bit.
- Dance Of Death has grown on me since first hearing it...I still find it overlong, but this has a good buildup to it and I like the guitar work a lot.
- Gates Of Tomorrow took me for surprise with its intro, and it was great being able to clearly hear three guitars in the verses for once...too bad it isn't repeated. The remainder of it is average.
- New Frontier shows why Nicko doesn't get too many writing credits...the song sounds anything but new. And the bass is a bit too high up on this one...normally not a problem, but here it gets distracting.
- Paschendale: Epic Maiden is the best Maiden. Bruce delivers his finest performance of the album here, and Kevin's production succeeds in making the song sound gigantic. Great instrumental break, the riffs and chorus strike a chord with the listener, and I love the quite breaks.
- Face In The Sand is another one of my favorites, despite its odd-for-Maiden rhythm...and for once the intro actually builds tension rather than just sounding slapped on. Bruce also sounds at the top of his game here.
- Age Of Innocence: I'll keep things brief here: Great riff, terrible chorus.
- Journeyman: I have nothing against the idea of Maiden doing an all-acoustic song, but I found this to be boring to an uncomfortable extreme. And the strings sound processed and hollow.
After The Fall Escaping Gravity, It All Flows To The Sea: Independent progressive rock act, these songs are characterized by smart tempo shifts and impressive musicianship, and the latter epic has an effective buildup. Samples available at www.mp3.com
Alchemy X Time And Resonance, Killing Thoughts: These songs from this progressive metal act make up a single piece called Emotion, the former first half is a subdued acoustic piece, and as expected the second half gets heavier, and it includes some thrash overtones.
Arch Enemy Silent Wars, Dehumanization: The much-hyped Anthems Of Rebellion has attracted a fair share of negative press, and interviews in which Angela more or less admitted trying to appeal to a more mainstream audience didnt help. While these songs arent entirely without things to recommend, the sound on this album is considerably without focus, as are most albums that try to balance mass appeal and underground credibility.
Asmegin Over Havet, Vargdans: Reader suggested Viking metal act, and a worthy addition to this expanding genre. Both of these songs feature the requisite folk influences, but here they complement the metallic elements rather than offset them, and there is lots of activity in a brief span of time. Both songs available at www.mp3.com
Atrox Changeling, This Vigil: Another band to watch on the Code666 label, this one merges atmospheric progressive rock and a melancholic edge typical of bands like Anathema with a generous dose of metal and places arresting (some would say irritating) female vocals atop the arrangements. If you can get past the vocals, this is quite the rewarding listen. Former song available at official site, new album Orgasm out next month.
Balance Of Power Chemical Imbalance, I Wish You Were Here: The melodic metallers return with a new album Heathen Machine and a new vocalist, formerly of the abrasive prog-metal act Biomechanical. Aside from a few rougher edges (more noticeable on the former), these songs would have easily fit on their previous albums. Latter song available at www.metalexpress.no
Tomas Bodin Morning Will Come, The Hero From Cloud City: One of three concurrent outside releases from those workaholic Flower Kings, this sounds exactly like youd expect a keyboardists solo album to be: heavy on the instrumental skill, low on memorable songcraft. However, the playing is rarely self-indulgent, going for atmosphere over shredding.
Bubblemath Cells Out, Potential People: Quirky progressive rock from this Minneaplois-based act. The former track is a frenetic and enjoyable composition with tongue in cheek lyrics about genetic engineering, and the bands technical skill is evident here. The latter begins as a ballad, but gradually develops into something darker
Canvas Solaris The Flesh Sequence, Non-Terminating Integer: The title of the latter instrumental makes it impossible to avoid making a math metal joke, and gives hint that this is going to be something tech-metal fans will spend hours obsessing over. As you can guess by this point, the playing here is astounding, and this band inserts a darker edge into the proceedings throughout, especially on the latter.
Carpathian Forest Mask Of The Slave, Its Darker Than You Think: A long running black metal project, on recent albums they have included Tchort of Green Carnation fame. Both of these tracks are raw, riff-heavy black metal, the former having an especially powerful lead riff. The band also possesses a morbid sense of humor as evidenced by the latter songs title.
Dawn Malediction Murder, The Aphelion Deserts: Self-described as blackened death metal, this bands sole album to date Slaughtersun is highly regarded among black metallers, consisting of lengthy tracks dominated by powerful and sustained riffing and a dark atmosphere.
Diabolical Masquerade The Eerie Obsidian Circus, This Ghoultimate Omen: Blakkheim (otherwise known as Anders Nystrom) is currently working on the next release from his horror-themed, Swano-assisted side project. These tracks from the earlier and difficult to find Nightwork are typical of this acts sound: black metal with lots of unexpected surprises and dark atmosphere.
Dimmu Borgir Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse, Blood Hunger Doctrine: Early buzz on Death Cult Armageddon has positioned it as a career highpoint, being stronger songwise than previous albums with more detailed orchestral arrangements. Im still not on board, and personally I feel the songs are for the most part unremarkable and collapse under the weight of the symphonics. And Simens decreased presence is also disappointing.
Empyrium Mourners, The Ensemble Of Silence: Recently disbanded German band whose albums, whether dominated by ornate orchestration as on the tracks listed here or in a folk-oriented mode (their last two), are of a highly depressing nature. Both of the tracks presented here are overwhelmingly sad, the vocal chorales and symphonic accompaniment both exude a morbid beauty.
Farmakon Flowgrasp, Pearl Of My Suffering: One of the first bands to get signed as a direct result of exposure through this site, and their debut A Warm Glimpse shows incredible potential. Some reviews have accused the band of Opeth emulation, and while their influence is apparent, touches like the extended instrumental break on the former and the counterpoint vocals on the latter suggest no shortage of original ideas.
Frogg Café Creatures, Waterfall Carnival: This Long Island-based progressive rock act has received much positive press for their second release Creatures, which evokes first generation prog without sounding derivative of anyone, and is full of skilled and exuberant musicianship. The latter track is a twenty-minute epic that rarely drags, and contains some excellent acoustic and violin work.
Grimfist Christ Denied, Ghouls Of Grandeur: Fans of the recently departed Immortal should take note as this features Horgh on drums. Musically, it resembles neither the holocaust metal or the later era of that band, but goes in a more thrashy direction. The former track is especially punishing.
In The Woods Beer, Path Of The Righteous: Live At The Caledonian Hall is a recording of the bands final concert and a retrospective of this bands highly innovative output, including a complete runthrough of the excellent Omnio album. The lilting former non-LP track is definitely not a throwaway, and the latter shows their ability to translate their material in concert.
Krux Omfalos, Lunochod: Stomping melodic doom featuring one of the founding fathers of the genre, Leif Edling of Candlemass. The former track displays the bands elemental power and way with a crushing riff, while the latter is a seven-part opus that goes through varying sections.
Land Of Chocolate Your Finest Hour, Regaining The Feel: A pair of songs from this promising Pennsylvania-based progressive rock acts upcoming second album, which have been made available on their website on a monthly basis. The material here is highly melodic but not without its rough edges, and contain some great interplay between the musicians.
Lord Only Dispossessed, Spiritual Animal: I literally dont know anything about this band except the two tracks Ive heard, but they are impressive enough to warrant inclusion, especially the latter with its acrobatic basswork and precise instrumentation.
Man In Space Borg, Lucifers Night On The Town: Space-prog from Belgium with two albums to their name so far. The former track, a near-instrumental from this years For Medicinal Use Only, flirts with progressive metal, while the latter is a more quirky piece with appropriately distorted vocals and jazzy keyboards. Former track available at www.mp3.com
Maximum Indifference Halation, Apparatus: A pair of tracks from this highly creative instrumental prog act, meant to be played together. The first half of the piece consists of a disturbing poem being recited over a minimal and haunting backdrop, which develops into the instrumental excursions that dominate the second half.
Mercenary Darkspeed, Dead.com: This Danish band is hoping to build on the momentum of their well-received wildcard spot at Progpower IV with a followup to the excellent Everblack album due out next year. The latter track does a good job of showing off the precision of their blend of melodic death and heavy power metal, and isnt anywhere as cheesy as the title might suggest. The former track falls heavily on their thrash influences.
Moonsorrow 1065 Aika, Ukkosenjumalan Poika: This band has rapidly became one of the leaders of the Viking metal genre, and arguably the most inventive band among them. These tracks from their debut Suden Uni (A Wolfs Dream, in English) arent as focused as this years stunning Kivenkantaja album, but they definitely show their expertise with folk elements and epic sweep. Highly recommended.
Morbid Angel Beneath The Hollow, Enshrined By Grace: Aside from the curious decision to end Heretic with a series of instrumentals that would have better served as interludes and the lame album cover, this bands power has not diminished, Azagthoth and Sandovals contributions being as lethal as ever on these tracks. Longtime fans will definitely occupy the next few months with this album instead of speculating what album I will be called. J
Mors Principium Est In My Words, The Lust Called Knowledge: Inhumanity, the debut from this melodic death act, has received numerous kind words, and the band avoids coming across as one of the overt clones that have saturated the genre, especially on the former track. And the band relies more on straight ahead riffery than the happy sound of some of their contemporaries
October Tide Sweetness Dies, October Insight: A project initiated by members of Katatonia following their mid-90s sabbatical, their two albums have become impossible to find (and no, I dont own either.) Both of these tracks are excellent, heading in a progressive death direction with some hints of the sound Katatonia would take in later years. Some samples available at www.mp3.com
Pineapple Thief This Will Remain Unspoken, Remember Us: This British progressive act specializes in melancholic prog, and has received positive press and frequent comparisons with the likes of Radiohead and Porcupine Tree. The former track is barely over three minutes, but contains an unforgettable chorus. Its opposite at least in terms of immediate accessibility is the latter, a sixteen-minute composition which contains some beautiful escalating guitar lines and holds the listeners attention throughout.
Porcupine Tree Futile, Drown With Me: If youre a Porcupine Tree fan (and if you arent youre a deaf hopeless case just kidding, maybe.), youve undoubtedly heard the former track, recorded for a radio-exclusive EP and a highlight of their recent US tour. It was advertised as their heaviest song to date, although it makes no significant departure from In Absentia IMO. The latter is a bonus on the British edition of said album, an acoustic-based track with complex and absorbing vocal harmonies.
Quo Vadis Father Of Lies, From Sequence To Consequence: This Quebec-based technical death act is highly regarded among followers of the genre, and their upcoming album, which will feature the services of the well-traveled Steve DiGiorgio, promises to be a killer, if the preview tracks they have offered on www.mp3.com are any indication.
Scylla Art & Fear, Mater Dolorosa: An intriguing one-man project I discovered through Progged Radio, this is melodic death with heavy progressive elements, a bit reminiscent of bands like Children Of Bodom but with less emphasis on the solos and more involved song structures. The former track has a powerful lead riff on it. Both songs available on www.mp3.com
Subtlerage A Casual Glance, On The Way Out: An apt name for this band who describes their music as being cinematic dark rock, the songs are minimal but are full of dramatic tension and express a strong range of emotions. The former track is an excellent solo piano piece, and the latter conveys desperate moods. Samples available at official site.
The Tangent In Darkest Dreams, The Music That Died Alone: Yet another of those side projects on Inside Out featuring Flower Kings personnel (who are rivaling DT in terms of stretching their services), but this is different, much weightier musically and with a decidedly less optimistic feel, the latter track dealing with the decline of first generation prog. Van Der Graaf veteran David Jackson provides excellent flute/sax accompaniment throughout, and these long, multipart compositions are expertly constructed.
Textures Young Man, Ostensibly Impregnable: Heavy anticipation in progressive metal circles for this Dutch bands debut, described as a more melodic Meshuggah by many. Both of these tracks are full of insane riffery and tricky rhythmic arrangements, but the band clearly has some ideas of their own, check out the instrumental break in the former. Samples available at www.mp3.com
Thinking Plague Blown Apart, Rapture Of The Deep: This avant-prog act has been around for nearly two decades, but has only recorded sporadically, their upcoming A History Of Madness being their fifth release. The majority of their music consists of experiments in bizarre song structures and go through many chaotic sections, as in the former, but also frequently contain some moments of disarming beauty, as in the latter.
Ulver Little Blue Bird, Doom Sticks: Garms approach to presenting his output has been as unconventional as his music lately, the four-song EP A Quick Fix Of Melancholy being the fifth Ulver non-album release since Perdition City, with a sixth on the way next month. As for the music, it continues to explore abstract symphonics, the former track with its disharmonic operatic vocals being a prime example. The latter is an electronic instrumental that shares kinship with Perdition City and the Silence EPs.
Zyklon Core Solution, Specimen Eruption: Along with Dimmu Borgir, this has been the most anticipated black metal release of this fall, and early reviews have been mixed. While nothing here approaches the epic heights of the best Emperor material (not that I believe they were aiming for or one should expect another Anthems or Prometheus), Samoth clearly still knows his way around a savage riff, as evident by the latter tracks ferocious intro.
