DEMONSPELLS SONGS TO WATCH
Scratching the surface to find the best new music
Tragic yesterdays and unseen futures sleep
Issue 82 April 11, 2005
Here are some sounds of the actual underground for you:
Russell Allen Voodoo Hand, Gaia: Atomic Soul is the long discussed solo debut from the Symphony X frontman, who is joined by Michael Romeo for about half of its tracks. While the latter track does have some leftover attributes from his main gig (I hate to bring up the overused Dio comparison, but this track sounds more like Rainbow than SX) in its mystical feel, the former lives up to its billing as a more earthy hard rock album, it comes across as the opposite of SXs perfectionism.
Arcane Sun We Stood With Time, I Was Alive Then : this Irish band only released one album during their existence, which has become a cult release spoken of in reverence by all who have heard it. The songs here certainly suggest a band they could have been huge in metal circles with greater exposure: The former track is a highly emotional slower piece, while the latter has a heathen metal sound more closely associated with Scandinvian bands, but it also reminds me of their countrymen Primordial, and has exquisite vocals.
Biomechanical The Empires Of The Worlds, Point Of No Return: On their debut Eight Moons, this band introduced an arsenal that included ultra-sharp riffing, layering of industrial elements, and SYL/Meshuggah over the top aggressive technicality, the latter song touches on all those and more in under four minutes. Very promising, but also lacking in consistency. Enter Lee Barrett and Andy Sneap, who have promised to deliver a scorcher with their new release. The title track, available at www.metaltracks.com, is once again a display of progressive metal at its most visceral, but is much more focused.
Carnival In Coal Fuckable; Dont Be Happy, Worry: And focus is something you probably wont find with these oddball genre-jumpers from France, another recent Elitist signing. Upon hearing the shifts between funk verses and death metal screams on the former track, available at www.elitistrecords.com, the skeptical listener may dismiss it as novelty (the title of the similarly demented latter track wont help), only to have their mind sent reeling by its psychotic closing section.
Cephalic Carnage Counting The Days, Dying Will Be The Death Of Me: This is a case of a band that has clearly found their identity as a technically proficient grind act, the former track from their new one Anomalies is a feast for fans of technical death and a welcome departure from the usual incomprehensible (to my supposedly sophisticated ears at least) grind fare. But they also have a tendency to frustrate people. They released a 21-minute doom track that left some wanting more, and the latter track, available at www.relapse.com, is a parody of the metalcore formula of bad poetry delivered in whiny voices and isnt the least bit funny IMO.
Comets On Fire Brotherhood Of The Harvest, Graverobbers: Stoner rock at its trippiest, this is one band that is probably best enjoyed when not burdened with sobriety. The former track, available at www.stonerrock.com, nails the bad trip vibe, virtually everything here is distorted into oblivion. The latter track is a bit more palatable, but still pretty drugged up.
Dead Meadow Heaven, Such Hawks Such Hounds: A rare (I think) case of an retro-rock band enjoying strong indie credibility, their new release Feathers is getting lots of enthusiastic reviews. Their earlier material had a strong Sabbath influence, but the distorted cover photo hints of the psychedelic tendencies of this release. The vocals here sound like were they recorded in a somnambulistic haze, but that only adds to the atmosphere, and surprisingly the latter track has a endearing vocal melody. The former has one of those grooves that quickly takes hold and sounds like it could stretch for eternity.
The Dears Never Destroy Us, Postcard From Purgatory: This is what I would consider a guilty pleasure, this Canadian bands album No Cities Left consists mostly of heavily orchestrated, lovelorn pop music. Naturally, its the less typical track that draw my attention the most, like the latter near-instrumental which is highly atmospheric, and then breaks into a massive crescendo after a false ending as if to prove this band can rock when asked. The former track is less thrilling, but its counterpoint vocals and underpinning bass line can be arresting, and it also has a totally unexpected ending.
Bruce Dickinson Power Of The Sun, Kill Devil Hill: Forget about Maiden playing Ozzfest and doing an all-early albums set for now, the real excitement in the house that Eddie built is with A Tyranny Of Souls, Bruces first solo album since rejoining the Irons and another collaboration with Roy Chemical Wedding Z. The songs here dont have the same dark modern metal feel of that excellent album (except the latters coda), but the speedy former track makes the lackluster Dance Of Death sound all the more stiff in comparison, and the latters gigantic sounding chorus should shut up anyone who thinks Bruce is losing his voice all over again.
Do Make Say Think Fredericia, Horns Of A Rabbit: Another product of the fertile Canadian post-rock (although Ive come to prefer dynamic ambient rock, a term I first saw in conjunction with this band) scene and Constellation label, renowned for creative packaging and equally creative music. Their fourth and latest album Winter Hymn is arranged in triptychs with interludes between longer tracks. The former opening track, available at www.southern.net, follows the now familiar minimal intro leading to wall of sound climax pattern, while the latter condenses those dynamics into a four-minute track full of complicated guitar lines that should appeal to prog fans and a brilliant ending/setup for the next track.
Don Caballero Room Temperature Suite, From The Desk Of Elsewhere Go: Over the course of four albums, this Pttsburgh band has come to define math rock, their sound is a chaotic yet enthralling blur of complex guitar interplay suggesting a post-punk Crimson, constant tempo shifts, and of course the frenetic drumming of Damon Che, who redefines the term all over the place. Both of these tracks hail from 1998s What Burns Never Returns, the latter nearly eight minutes of spiraling guitar lines, while the former, like much of their material, is heavy enough and manic enough to stand alongside any tech-metal band.
Drudkh False Dawn, Fate: The second most highly praised and controversial black metal band from the Ukraine (behind Nokturnal Mortum obviously) returns quickly after last years excellent Autumn Aurora with The Swan Road. The latter track doesnt have the same degree of epicness as their previous release, but is till high quality black metal, primitive sounding but far from stagnant. The same can be said of the former track which opened their debut, a 16-minute track that becomes highly repetitive yet hypnotic for most of its second half.
Enslaved Bounded By Allegiance, Return To Yggdrasil: Isa has finally arrived on these shores, and its another excellent progressive release from black metals most consistently inventive band. While it isnt that much colder and darker than previous releases as the prerelease buzz indicated, it is solid throughout and contains some of their best tracks to date. The former immediately draws you in with a lethal intro sequence, and continues to present riff after great riff, and has some of Grutles best clean vocals to date, which are much more prominent on this album. The latter is a fierce reminder that their Viking spirit still burns brightly, and brilliantly uses counterpoint between acoustic and heavily distorted guitars in its masterful arrangement.
Epoch Of Unlight Aberrant Shadows, Highgate: Another recent signing to The End, this is a melodic death band with some black metal overtones. Both of these tracks get to the point quickly with insistent riffing and powerful rhythms, the latter track being especially successful. Both songs available at www.purevolume.com
The Future Kings Of England 10:66, Pigwhistle: Indie band from the UK that draws from both post-rock and prog-rock to create some expansive instrumental music. The latter contains some passionate playing and a Floyd-like atmosphere, and the lengthy former track is highly compelling. Its first half consists of spare ambient music with vocal samples in the background, until being broken up by a lone acoustic guitar, which gradually leads into a stirring symphonic finale.
Grails High And Low, Fevers: Instrumental act signed to Neurot who has received lots of accolades for their two albums, these tracks are from the second Redlight. Musically this shares a lot of characteristics with post-rock, but with ten songs in just over forty minutes, the songs are (obviously) more compact and avoid any sort of meandering. The latter illustrates a duality in the bands sound by beginning with ominous power chords and closing with mournful piano, while the latter comes closest to the whisper to a scream dynamics employed by Neurosis, albeit more delicately.
Green Carnation Between The Gentle Small & The Standing Tall, Pile Of Doubt: Tchort has hinted at writing a sequel to a certain album-length composition, but it will have to wait until at least after The Quiet Offspring, which picks up where the under-appreciated (IMO) Blessing In Disguise left off, both in its 70s-rock inflected sound and in being more of a group effort: only half of the songs here were written by Tchort. And in the equally unappealing cover art. J The former track is a hard rocking and catchy track, while the latter has a considerably more aggressive riff than anything on the last album (offset by their favored Hammond), which contrasts with its proggy chorus. Both tracks available at the Season Of Mist page.
Isis Constructing Towers, Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles): Prior to their breakthrough with Oceanic, Aaron Turner and the rest of Isis experimented and perfected their sound over a course of EPs, this one SGNL05 being a companion release to their debut (the title refers back to its interlude tracks) and has given its name to their official site. Both of these songs contains the intensity and monolithic riffing typical of this band, the former track progressing from a quite intro into a massive ending and the latter is as dynamic as anything on their proper albums.
Kinski Newport, Waves Of Second Guessing: This is a predominantly instrumental band from New England whose sound falls somewhere between post-rock and space rock. Theyre equally adept at slow textured passages and driving instrumental rock, the latter song from Airs Above Your Station is one of several to effectively transition between the two styles and has an exhilarating conclusion. The former, available at their official site, is an anomaly on their debut as its sole vocal track, but its also one of their most solid and accessible tracks.
James Labrie Crucify, Slightly Out Of Reach: Elements Of Persuasion is the third solo album by the frequently ridiculed Dream Theater frontman and first under his own name. The former opening track, available at www.insideoutmusic.com, acts to introduce the albums attempt at a modern hard rock sound, its thrashy verse riffs and bombastic chorus are strongly reminiscent of Train Of Thought, but at six minutes avoids that albums excesses. What it doesnt do is sound convincing in its aggression, a long time problem for Mr. Labrie, he will likely always sound more comfortable doing more melodic tracks like the latter one.
Leviathan Epoch Surcease; Burning In Waves, Choked By Mountains: While Wrests last two albums have become among the most frequently recommended black metal albums of this decade, some fans might have missed these tracks, which appeared on a split EP with fellow USBMers Crebain. The songs here approach the best compositions on Tentacles and/or Suicide, both full of harsh riffs (the ones on the latter sound especially triumphant) and disturbing ambience. Both tracks can be heard at www.betterpropaganda.com
Machine & The Synergetic Nuts Trout, Solid Box: The music of this band from Japans fertile (at least judging by the frequent reviews on DPRP) jazz-prog scene, is about as normal as their name. On their first album for the always adventurous Cuneiform, they sound like a guitarist and drummer from a metal act and a jazz horn section and organist playing in the same room, the latter track begins by setting up a monstrous groove with power chords before allowing the musicians to stretch out, the former also reminding listeners this is pure fusion, but with a harder edge.
Meshuggah Shed, Sum (excerpts from Catch 33): Leave it to these guys to release something as monumental and all-encompassing as I, and have it serve merely as a stop gap before releasing another continuous composition of over twice its length. Unlike I, Catch 33 is divided into tracks, the ones here begin and end the final third of the piece. The former is built around a foreboding angular riff that sounds less mechanical than previous material, which after a few transitions leads into the closing section, which features some of their most brutal music yet.
Mono Halo, Sabbath: One step more and you die. Both the title and the dark cover art lead you to expect something violent from this Japanese post-rock ensemble, and on many of their songs, including the former, they deliver with long intervals of relentless yet cathartic noise. But what those unfamiliar with them may be surprised by is that this band can write some graceful music as well, the latter being among the most purely beautiful compositions Ive heard in my exploration of post-rock.
Nile Lashed To The Slave Stick, Cast Down The Heretic: Three years after In Their Darkened Shrines, death metals most consistently hyped band returns with Annihilation Of The Wicked. As Ive only heard these two tracks, both in a more death metal vein with little of their trademark Egyptian motifs (musically anyway), I cant tell how it compares to Catacombs Of Vengeance et al. The former track and prerelease mp3 choice has caused some concern among fans as its relatively timid by their standards, but the latter should silence any doubts with its relentlessly heavy assault.
No Sound Overloaded, The Moment She Knew: A one-man project of Giancarlo Erra whose debut release Sol29 has won the respect of one of his strongest influences, Steven Wilson. The music here is very reminiscent of Porcupine Tree at their most melancholy at times, the latter instrumental sounds like it could have emerged from Signify or Stupid Dream. But there are some differences as well: the vocals are more subdued (and noticeably accented), and the former track is more directly inspired by 70s prog, being soaked in Mellotron (not sure if its genuine or not).
Noise626 A Thin Cold Line, We Can Build You: Independent prog act, they have tracks available at www.soundclick.com. The former track shows that this band is more concerned with displaying emotion than showing off, its a downcast track that is meant to convey the horrors of war. The latter, presumably named after a Philip K. Dick novel, is built around an electronic rhythm and features a strong vocal performance, especially towards the end.
Novembers Doom Autumn Reflection, Collapse Of The Falling Throe: The doom in this bands name has become a bit misleading, but that doesnt keep the latter closing track from The Pale Haunt Departure, arguably their best to date, from starting in a way that makes certain that this band hasnt forgotten their roots. Along with the title track, its the heaviest on the disc, the middle and ending sections (nice use of an acoustic rhythm) are particularly worth noting. The former, which is dedicated to Paul Kuhrs daughter, shows off their melodic side with a highly memorable chorus with some touching lyrics, but doesnt forget to throw in another awesome riff to close out the track.
Oathean Beyond The Memories I Lost, Scent Of Longing: While The End continues to find bands that have been operating under the radar (in this case hailing from South Korea), they have also, depending on who you speak to, lowering their standards a bit. I dont necessarily agree, but bands like this will likely offer nothing new to fans burned out on melodic death, although the former track, available at www.theendrecords.com, is professionally performed and about as good as late stage melodeath can get. And the latter has some slower, more symphonic sounding parts (with some female vocals) that prove this band has more range as well.
Omnium Gatherum The Fall Went Right Through Here, Its A Long Night: Seguing nicely from the last entry, this one hinges on the same dilemma: like on their debut, the music here is highly skilled melodic death, and the guitar work here is on the same level as, say In Flames before they became a punchline, and the latter track has an addictive chorus. But ultimately, the real lasting impression here is four harmless but damnable words: more of the same. Former track available at www.nuclearblast.de
Overmars This Is Rape, I Take Degenerating Materials For My Knowledge: This adventurous band has recently signed with Candlelight. The latter track, from a split release, is built around harsh mechanical riffing, but also contains some melodic sections as well, fans of bands like Isis should enjoy it. The latter track from their full-length debut is as disturbing as the title suggests, but over its eleven minutes comes up with some interesting variations on the post-hardcore approach. Both songs available at official site.
John Petrucci Glasgow Kiss, Animate/Inanimate: After years of anticipation by Dream Theater fans and shredder wannabes the world over, his first solo album Suspended Animation is now out. And as one might expect, its only recommended to those who think the prospect of John doing nothing but flashing his chops for an entire album is a good thing, the rest of you can either wait for the next DT bloatfest or continue to write theses on why they represent everything thats wrong with progressive rock. Who am I kidding, Im still probably going to buy Octavarium (now theres a quintessential leafing through the dictionary title) the day it comes out.
Porcupine Tree Lazarus, Open Car: Sometime between now and the next issue Ill have commenced drooling over Deadwing and preparing an absurdly fanboyish review, but for now heres two of the four tracks Ive heard so far. The former is easily one of the most beautiful songs Steven Wilson has penned, the chorus here has a melody that most songwriters would sell their souls for. Be sure to get the import single as it contains two non-album tracks, both of up to their high standards especially the excellent and hard hitting So-Called Friend (which has only raised my already enormous expectations). The latter alternates perfectly between a verse with heavy riffs and Stevens familiar phoned-in vocals and a soaring prechorus.
Primordial The Song Of The Tomb, Cities Carved In Stone: Forget classifications, after trying to determine what genre the sublime Gathering Wilderness occupies Ive come to the conclusion that its pure fucking metal, case closed. Maybe not, as the latter track is soul-baring doom at its finest, a morose composition about isolation that features great contrast between clean and distorted guitars and Alans hugely emotional vocals, its impossible not to be moved by the she sent the sun to heal meeeeee part. But the former track with its repetitive but devastating lead riff and striking vocals ends up sounding as timeless as vintage Maiden.
Radiation 4 Silence Fiction, Love Through Tapeworm: One in a growing field of psycho-hardcore bands, these tracks are from their debut Wonderland. The former track has very little connection to core, and shows a heavy FNM/Mr. Bungle influence in its quietly disturbed delivery. The latter track is more appropriately frantic and should appeal to those who like their core more adventurous. Both tracks available at www.myspace.com
Rebreather Dirtbishop, Southdown: Stoner rock band who balances extreme heaviness with some surprisingly melodic touches. The latter track, available at www.deepsend.com, has its share of dirty primal riffing and its chorus will have you shouting along instantly. The former track is equally heavy and contains hints of doom, hear it at www.stonerrock.com
Reverend Bizarre The Goddess Of Doom, The Hour Of Death: There are thousands of doom bands out there, but few are as dedicated to the idea of doom metal as it was originally conceived as this one. The former track is constructed as a hymn to the genre, going as far as to namecheck a few dozen bands carrying on the doom tradition, and musically is both crushing and anthemic. The latter is a bit slower, but its about as far away from morose funeral doom as possible.
Riverside Acronym Love, Far From Understand: I only discovered by chance that this band had recently released Voices In My Head, an interim EP consisting of several new tracks and three live tracks from its critically acclaimed debut. Im not sure if its import only or not. The former track is a ballad with a pair of soaring guitar solos, while the latter (its actual title is written backwards with seemingly random capitalization), is a more modern sounding track with an electronic rhythm and lots of Floydian vocal effects, along with an acoustic interlude.
Slough Feg I Will Kill You/You Will Die, Life In The Dark Age: Sharing personnel with the vaunted (at least by the RC forum) Hammers Of Misfortune, heres an example of how metal firmly rooted in tradition can also sound highly original, and not just because of the lyrics about Celtic mythology and science fiction games on their earlier albums. What makes this band highly compelling ultimately comes down to the simplest of reasons: riffs and vocals. Mike Scalzi is easily one of the most underrated vocalists in metal, and the riffs here, especially on the latter track, sound timeless. Their new album Atavism promises more of the bands skewed take on the essence of heavy metal.
Soilwork Distance, One With The Flies: Stabbing The Drama has been the subject of much ridicule, and I think its insulting that theyre headlining over both Dark Tranquillity and Hypocrisy on an upcoming US tour. However, the former track is perfectly okay if you have more tolerance for their brand of melodic death than their detractors, and would have fit well on Natural Born Chaos (their best IMO). But the latter track is simply abominable, this will make you wonder how clueless this band has to be to write a song that embodies tons of nu-metal clichés (the riffing style here is inexcusable, as if one needs to be told) about five years too late.
Strapping Young Lad Skeksis, Possessions: If youre one of those who thought their last album was lacking in personality, head straight for the latter track, which is one that only Devin Townsend could write. The song is a typically warped mixture of crushing riffs and humorous lyrics, and the chorus with its odd counterpoint to Devins repeated screams of give it away! is one of those hooks that work because of how wrong it sounds. The former also draws back to City in its maze of over the top riffing and vocal performances, and at nearly seven minutes shows that Alien is not going to be a halfass effort.
Sunchariot Free Wind, Languor: This Russian band is still listed as being active on Metal Archives, but havent released anything since their debut Harvest six years ago. The music here is in the subgenre alternately referred to as heathen or pagan metal (Im sure theres a difference between the two Im missing), with heavy does of folk themes and instrumentation. The former track has some great riffs in it, strongly melodic but still with a firm black metal identity, and the latters atmosphere sounds highly authentic and enchanting.
SunnO))) Grimm And Bear It, Dylan Carlson: The early demos, recently released by Southern Lord. This may be ridiculously short even for my miniature reviews, but theres nothing else I can really say besides drone, and lots of it. The persistent absence of anything else over side-length songs will make this more of a curiosity than the less one-dimensional White albums. And in case youre wondering who the fuck the latter song is named after, its the leader of Earth, the inspiration for this project.
Time Of Orchids A Man To Hide, High Enthusiast: Continuing in the steps of Kayo Dot (who have since left the label), Tzadik is set to take another chance on a band with roots in the metal scene. I havent heard much of their earlier tech-metal material, but the songs on their upcoming Sarcast While are less metallic but still adventurous, the latter a nine-minute slow building epic with minimal but tense playing and great vocal arrangements, while the latters sinister sounding groove is reminiscent of Faith No More, although the vocals are more luded than agitated. Both songs available at www.myspace.com
Uaral Sounds Of Pain, Depression: This is a Chilean band that desires obscurity, and if not for a forum member discovering them by accident and contacting them, their name would probably come up empty in a search on this site (if it had a search function that is bring it back!) Metal fans with an interest in neofolk should take heed, the 20-minute former track is total Kveldssanger, full of desolate acoustic guitars and extremely hopeless sounding vocals, and theres a bit of black metal towards the end. The depressing feel comes across so well that I can excuse the fact it sounds more like several acoustic pieces strung together than a single epic.
Vreid Wrath Of Mine, Songen At Fangen: After honoring Valfars memory with a tribute concert and a farewell album, Windirs remaining members wasted no time in pursuing their own project. The former track is a thrashy and more aggressive sounding offering, while the latter shows that these guys have learned much from their mentor, its solid riffing, faint but apparent folk touches, and well-placed breaks have a similar aura to Windirs best material.
Yume Bitsu The Golden Vessyl Of Sound (songs 1 & 9): This album by the Oregon-based post-rock outfit consists of nine untitled tracks that originated as improvisations and naturally end up sounding a bit looser than most in its genre. Dont let that lead you into thinking its all incoherent jamming, many of the songs are quite focused and several even contain vocals. Of note are its opening and closing tracks. The former quickly develops into a gigantic wall of sound, while the latters heavy electronic backdrop adds a unique dimension to their cosmic rock.
Scratching the surface to find the best new music
Tragic yesterdays and unseen futures sleep
Issue 82 April 11, 2005
Here are some sounds of the actual underground for you:
Russell Allen Voodoo Hand, Gaia: Atomic Soul is the long discussed solo debut from the Symphony X frontman, who is joined by Michael Romeo for about half of its tracks. While the latter track does have some leftover attributes from his main gig (I hate to bring up the overused Dio comparison, but this track sounds more like Rainbow than SX) in its mystical feel, the former lives up to its billing as a more earthy hard rock album, it comes across as the opposite of SXs perfectionism.
Arcane Sun We Stood With Time, I Was Alive Then : this Irish band only released one album during their existence, which has become a cult release spoken of in reverence by all who have heard it. The songs here certainly suggest a band they could have been huge in metal circles with greater exposure: The former track is a highly emotional slower piece, while the latter has a heathen metal sound more closely associated with Scandinvian bands, but it also reminds me of their countrymen Primordial, and has exquisite vocals.
Biomechanical The Empires Of The Worlds, Point Of No Return: On their debut Eight Moons, this band introduced an arsenal that included ultra-sharp riffing, layering of industrial elements, and SYL/Meshuggah over the top aggressive technicality, the latter song touches on all those and more in under four minutes. Very promising, but also lacking in consistency. Enter Lee Barrett and Andy Sneap, who have promised to deliver a scorcher with their new release. The title track, available at www.metaltracks.com, is once again a display of progressive metal at its most visceral, but is much more focused.
Carnival In Coal Fuckable; Dont Be Happy, Worry: And focus is something you probably wont find with these oddball genre-jumpers from France, another recent Elitist signing. Upon hearing the shifts between funk verses and death metal screams on the former track, available at www.elitistrecords.com, the skeptical listener may dismiss it as novelty (the title of the similarly demented latter track wont help), only to have their mind sent reeling by its psychotic closing section.
Cephalic Carnage Counting The Days, Dying Will Be The Death Of Me: This is a case of a band that has clearly found their identity as a technically proficient grind act, the former track from their new one Anomalies is a feast for fans of technical death and a welcome departure from the usual incomprehensible (to my supposedly sophisticated ears at least) grind fare. But they also have a tendency to frustrate people. They released a 21-minute doom track that left some wanting more, and the latter track, available at www.relapse.com, is a parody of the metalcore formula of bad poetry delivered in whiny voices and isnt the least bit funny IMO.
Comets On Fire Brotherhood Of The Harvest, Graverobbers: Stoner rock at its trippiest, this is one band that is probably best enjoyed when not burdened with sobriety. The former track, available at www.stonerrock.com, nails the bad trip vibe, virtually everything here is distorted into oblivion. The latter track is a bit more palatable, but still pretty drugged up.
Dead Meadow Heaven, Such Hawks Such Hounds: A rare (I think) case of an retro-rock band enjoying strong indie credibility, their new release Feathers is getting lots of enthusiastic reviews. Their earlier material had a strong Sabbath influence, but the distorted cover photo hints of the psychedelic tendencies of this release. The vocals here sound like were they recorded in a somnambulistic haze, but that only adds to the atmosphere, and surprisingly the latter track has a endearing vocal melody. The former has one of those grooves that quickly takes hold and sounds like it could stretch for eternity.
The Dears Never Destroy Us, Postcard From Purgatory: This is what I would consider a guilty pleasure, this Canadian bands album No Cities Left consists mostly of heavily orchestrated, lovelorn pop music. Naturally, its the less typical track that draw my attention the most, like the latter near-instrumental which is highly atmospheric, and then breaks into a massive crescendo after a false ending as if to prove this band can rock when asked. The former track is less thrilling, but its counterpoint vocals and underpinning bass line can be arresting, and it also has a totally unexpected ending.
Bruce Dickinson Power Of The Sun, Kill Devil Hill: Forget about Maiden playing Ozzfest and doing an all-early albums set for now, the real excitement in the house that Eddie built is with A Tyranny Of Souls, Bruces first solo album since rejoining the Irons and another collaboration with Roy Chemical Wedding Z. The songs here dont have the same dark modern metal feel of that excellent album (except the latters coda), but the speedy former track makes the lackluster Dance Of Death sound all the more stiff in comparison, and the latters gigantic sounding chorus should shut up anyone who thinks Bruce is losing his voice all over again.
Do Make Say Think Fredericia, Horns Of A Rabbit: Another product of the fertile Canadian post-rock (although Ive come to prefer dynamic ambient rock, a term I first saw in conjunction with this band) scene and Constellation label, renowned for creative packaging and equally creative music. Their fourth and latest album Winter Hymn is arranged in triptychs with interludes between longer tracks. The former opening track, available at www.southern.net, follows the now familiar minimal intro leading to wall of sound climax pattern, while the latter condenses those dynamics into a four-minute track full of complicated guitar lines that should appeal to prog fans and a brilliant ending/setup for the next track.
Don Caballero Room Temperature Suite, From The Desk Of Elsewhere Go: Over the course of four albums, this Pttsburgh band has come to define math rock, their sound is a chaotic yet enthralling blur of complex guitar interplay suggesting a post-punk Crimson, constant tempo shifts, and of course the frenetic drumming of Damon Che, who redefines the term all over the place. Both of these tracks hail from 1998s What Burns Never Returns, the latter nearly eight minutes of spiraling guitar lines, while the former, like much of their material, is heavy enough and manic enough to stand alongside any tech-metal band.
Drudkh False Dawn, Fate: The second most highly praised and controversial black metal band from the Ukraine (behind Nokturnal Mortum obviously) returns quickly after last years excellent Autumn Aurora with The Swan Road. The latter track doesnt have the same degree of epicness as their previous release, but is till high quality black metal, primitive sounding but far from stagnant. The same can be said of the former track which opened their debut, a 16-minute track that becomes highly repetitive yet hypnotic for most of its second half.
Enslaved Bounded By Allegiance, Return To Yggdrasil: Isa has finally arrived on these shores, and its another excellent progressive release from black metals most consistently inventive band. While it isnt that much colder and darker than previous releases as the prerelease buzz indicated, it is solid throughout and contains some of their best tracks to date. The former immediately draws you in with a lethal intro sequence, and continues to present riff after great riff, and has some of Grutles best clean vocals to date, which are much more prominent on this album. The latter is a fierce reminder that their Viking spirit still burns brightly, and brilliantly uses counterpoint between acoustic and heavily distorted guitars in its masterful arrangement.
Epoch Of Unlight Aberrant Shadows, Highgate: Another recent signing to The End, this is a melodic death band with some black metal overtones. Both of these tracks get to the point quickly with insistent riffing and powerful rhythms, the latter track being especially successful. Both songs available at www.purevolume.com
The Future Kings Of England 10:66, Pigwhistle: Indie band from the UK that draws from both post-rock and prog-rock to create some expansive instrumental music. The latter contains some passionate playing and a Floyd-like atmosphere, and the lengthy former track is highly compelling. Its first half consists of spare ambient music with vocal samples in the background, until being broken up by a lone acoustic guitar, which gradually leads into a stirring symphonic finale.
Grails High And Low, Fevers: Instrumental act signed to Neurot who has received lots of accolades for their two albums, these tracks are from the second Redlight. Musically this shares a lot of characteristics with post-rock, but with ten songs in just over forty minutes, the songs are (obviously) more compact and avoid any sort of meandering. The latter illustrates a duality in the bands sound by beginning with ominous power chords and closing with mournful piano, while the latter comes closest to the whisper to a scream dynamics employed by Neurosis, albeit more delicately.
Green Carnation Between The Gentle Small & The Standing Tall, Pile Of Doubt: Tchort has hinted at writing a sequel to a certain album-length composition, but it will have to wait until at least after The Quiet Offspring, which picks up where the under-appreciated (IMO) Blessing In Disguise left off, both in its 70s-rock inflected sound and in being more of a group effort: only half of the songs here were written by Tchort. And in the equally unappealing cover art. J The former track is a hard rocking and catchy track, while the latter has a considerably more aggressive riff than anything on the last album (offset by their favored Hammond), which contrasts with its proggy chorus. Both tracks available at the Season Of Mist page.
Isis Constructing Towers, Divine Mother (The Tower Crumbles): Prior to their breakthrough with Oceanic, Aaron Turner and the rest of Isis experimented and perfected their sound over a course of EPs, this one SGNL05 being a companion release to their debut (the title refers back to its interlude tracks) and has given its name to their official site. Both of these songs contains the intensity and monolithic riffing typical of this band, the former track progressing from a quite intro into a massive ending and the latter is as dynamic as anything on their proper albums.
Kinski Newport, Waves Of Second Guessing: This is a predominantly instrumental band from New England whose sound falls somewhere between post-rock and space rock. Theyre equally adept at slow textured passages and driving instrumental rock, the latter song from Airs Above Your Station is one of several to effectively transition between the two styles and has an exhilarating conclusion. The former, available at their official site, is an anomaly on their debut as its sole vocal track, but its also one of their most solid and accessible tracks.
James Labrie Crucify, Slightly Out Of Reach: Elements Of Persuasion is the third solo album by the frequently ridiculed Dream Theater frontman and first under his own name. The former opening track, available at www.insideoutmusic.com, acts to introduce the albums attempt at a modern hard rock sound, its thrashy verse riffs and bombastic chorus are strongly reminiscent of Train Of Thought, but at six minutes avoids that albums excesses. What it doesnt do is sound convincing in its aggression, a long time problem for Mr. Labrie, he will likely always sound more comfortable doing more melodic tracks like the latter one.
Leviathan Epoch Surcease; Burning In Waves, Choked By Mountains: While Wrests last two albums have become among the most frequently recommended black metal albums of this decade, some fans might have missed these tracks, which appeared on a split EP with fellow USBMers Crebain. The songs here approach the best compositions on Tentacles and/or Suicide, both full of harsh riffs (the ones on the latter sound especially triumphant) and disturbing ambience. Both tracks can be heard at www.betterpropaganda.com
Machine & The Synergetic Nuts Trout, Solid Box: The music of this band from Japans fertile (at least judging by the frequent reviews on DPRP) jazz-prog scene, is about as normal as their name. On their first album for the always adventurous Cuneiform, they sound like a guitarist and drummer from a metal act and a jazz horn section and organist playing in the same room, the latter track begins by setting up a monstrous groove with power chords before allowing the musicians to stretch out, the former also reminding listeners this is pure fusion, but with a harder edge.
Meshuggah Shed, Sum (excerpts from Catch 33): Leave it to these guys to release something as monumental and all-encompassing as I, and have it serve merely as a stop gap before releasing another continuous composition of over twice its length. Unlike I, Catch 33 is divided into tracks, the ones here begin and end the final third of the piece. The former is built around a foreboding angular riff that sounds less mechanical than previous material, which after a few transitions leads into the closing section, which features some of their most brutal music yet.
Mono Halo, Sabbath: One step more and you die. Both the title and the dark cover art lead you to expect something violent from this Japanese post-rock ensemble, and on many of their songs, including the former, they deliver with long intervals of relentless yet cathartic noise. But what those unfamiliar with them may be surprised by is that this band can write some graceful music as well, the latter being among the most purely beautiful compositions Ive heard in my exploration of post-rock.
Nile Lashed To The Slave Stick, Cast Down The Heretic: Three years after In Their Darkened Shrines, death metals most consistently hyped band returns with Annihilation Of The Wicked. As Ive only heard these two tracks, both in a more death metal vein with little of their trademark Egyptian motifs (musically anyway), I cant tell how it compares to Catacombs Of Vengeance et al. The former track and prerelease mp3 choice has caused some concern among fans as its relatively timid by their standards, but the latter should silence any doubts with its relentlessly heavy assault.
No Sound Overloaded, The Moment She Knew: A one-man project of Giancarlo Erra whose debut release Sol29 has won the respect of one of his strongest influences, Steven Wilson. The music here is very reminiscent of Porcupine Tree at their most melancholy at times, the latter instrumental sounds like it could have emerged from Signify or Stupid Dream. But there are some differences as well: the vocals are more subdued (and noticeably accented), and the former track is more directly inspired by 70s prog, being soaked in Mellotron (not sure if its genuine or not).
Noise626 A Thin Cold Line, We Can Build You: Independent prog act, they have tracks available at www.soundclick.com. The former track shows that this band is more concerned with displaying emotion than showing off, its a downcast track that is meant to convey the horrors of war. The latter, presumably named after a Philip K. Dick novel, is built around an electronic rhythm and features a strong vocal performance, especially towards the end.
Novembers Doom Autumn Reflection, Collapse Of The Falling Throe: The doom in this bands name has become a bit misleading, but that doesnt keep the latter closing track from The Pale Haunt Departure, arguably their best to date, from starting in a way that makes certain that this band hasnt forgotten their roots. Along with the title track, its the heaviest on the disc, the middle and ending sections (nice use of an acoustic rhythm) are particularly worth noting. The former, which is dedicated to Paul Kuhrs daughter, shows off their melodic side with a highly memorable chorus with some touching lyrics, but doesnt forget to throw in another awesome riff to close out the track.
Oathean Beyond The Memories I Lost, Scent Of Longing: While The End continues to find bands that have been operating under the radar (in this case hailing from South Korea), they have also, depending on who you speak to, lowering their standards a bit. I dont necessarily agree, but bands like this will likely offer nothing new to fans burned out on melodic death, although the former track, available at www.theendrecords.com, is professionally performed and about as good as late stage melodeath can get. And the latter has some slower, more symphonic sounding parts (with some female vocals) that prove this band has more range as well.
Omnium Gatherum The Fall Went Right Through Here, Its A Long Night: Seguing nicely from the last entry, this one hinges on the same dilemma: like on their debut, the music here is highly skilled melodic death, and the guitar work here is on the same level as, say In Flames before they became a punchline, and the latter track has an addictive chorus. But ultimately, the real lasting impression here is four harmless but damnable words: more of the same. Former track available at www.nuclearblast.de
Overmars This Is Rape, I Take Degenerating Materials For My Knowledge: This adventurous band has recently signed with Candlelight. The latter track, from a split release, is built around harsh mechanical riffing, but also contains some melodic sections as well, fans of bands like Isis should enjoy it. The latter track from their full-length debut is as disturbing as the title suggests, but over its eleven minutes comes up with some interesting variations on the post-hardcore approach. Both songs available at official site.
John Petrucci Glasgow Kiss, Animate/Inanimate: After years of anticipation by Dream Theater fans and shredder wannabes the world over, his first solo album Suspended Animation is now out. And as one might expect, its only recommended to those who think the prospect of John doing nothing but flashing his chops for an entire album is a good thing, the rest of you can either wait for the next DT bloatfest or continue to write theses on why they represent everything thats wrong with progressive rock. Who am I kidding, Im still probably going to buy Octavarium (now theres a quintessential leafing through the dictionary title) the day it comes out.
Porcupine Tree Lazarus, Open Car: Sometime between now and the next issue Ill have commenced drooling over Deadwing and preparing an absurdly fanboyish review, but for now heres two of the four tracks Ive heard so far. The former is easily one of the most beautiful songs Steven Wilson has penned, the chorus here has a melody that most songwriters would sell their souls for. Be sure to get the import single as it contains two non-album tracks, both of up to their high standards especially the excellent and hard hitting So-Called Friend (which has only raised my already enormous expectations). The latter alternates perfectly between a verse with heavy riffs and Stevens familiar phoned-in vocals and a soaring prechorus.
Primordial The Song Of The Tomb, Cities Carved In Stone: Forget classifications, after trying to determine what genre the sublime Gathering Wilderness occupies Ive come to the conclusion that its pure fucking metal, case closed. Maybe not, as the latter track is soul-baring doom at its finest, a morose composition about isolation that features great contrast between clean and distorted guitars and Alans hugely emotional vocals, its impossible not to be moved by the she sent the sun to heal meeeeee part. But the former track with its repetitive but devastating lead riff and striking vocals ends up sounding as timeless as vintage Maiden.
Radiation 4 Silence Fiction, Love Through Tapeworm: One in a growing field of psycho-hardcore bands, these tracks are from their debut Wonderland. The former track has very little connection to core, and shows a heavy FNM/Mr. Bungle influence in its quietly disturbed delivery. The latter track is more appropriately frantic and should appeal to those who like their core more adventurous. Both tracks available at www.myspace.com
Rebreather Dirtbishop, Southdown: Stoner rock band who balances extreme heaviness with some surprisingly melodic touches. The latter track, available at www.deepsend.com, has its share of dirty primal riffing and its chorus will have you shouting along instantly. The former track is equally heavy and contains hints of doom, hear it at www.stonerrock.com
Reverend Bizarre The Goddess Of Doom, The Hour Of Death: There are thousands of doom bands out there, but few are as dedicated to the idea of doom metal as it was originally conceived as this one. The former track is constructed as a hymn to the genre, going as far as to namecheck a few dozen bands carrying on the doom tradition, and musically is both crushing and anthemic. The latter is a bit slower, but its about as far away from morose funeral doom as possible.
Riverside Acronym Love, Far From Understand: I only discovered by chance that this band had recently released Voices In My Head, an interim EP consisting of several new tracks and three live tracks from its critically acclaimed debut. Im not sure if its import only or not. The former track is a ballad with a pair of soaring guitar solos, while the latter (its actual title is written backwards with seemingly random capitalization), is a more modern sounding track with an electronic rhythm and lots of Floydian vocal effects, along with an acoustic interlude.
Slough Feg I Will Kill You/You Will Die, Life In The Dark Age: Sharing personnel with the vaunted (at least by the RC forum) Hammers Of Misfortune, heres an example of how metal firmly rooted in tradition can also sound highly original, and not just because of the lyrics about Celtic mythology and science fiction games on their earlier albums. What makes this band highly compelling ultimately comes down to the simplest of reasons: riffs and vocals. Mike Scalzi is easily one of the most underrated vocalists in metal, and the riffs here, especially on the latter track, sound timeless. Their new album Atavism promises more of the bands skewed take on the essence of heavy metal.
Soilwork Distance, One With The Flies: Stabbing The Drama has been the subject of much ridicule, and I think its insulting that theyre headlining over both Dark Tranquillity and Hypocrisy on an upcoming US tour. However, the former track is perfectly okay if you have more tolerance for their brand of melodic death than their detractors, and would have fit well on Natural Born Chaos (their best IMO). But the latter track is simply abominable, this will make you wonder how clueless this band has to be to write a song that embodies tons of nu-metal clichés (the riffing style here is inexcusable, as if one needs to be told) about five years too late.
Strapping Young Lad Skeksis, Possessions: If youre one of those who thought their last album was lacking in personality, head straight for the latter track, which is one that only Devin Townsend could write. The song is a typically warped mixture of crushing riffs and humorous lyrics, and the chorus with its odd counterpoint to Devins repeated screams of give it away! is one of those hooks that work because of how wrong it sounds. The former also draws back to City in its maze of over the top riffing and vocal performances, and at nearly seven minutes shows that Alien is not going to be a halfass effort.
Sunchariot Free Wind, Languor: This Russian band is still listed as being active on Metal Archives, but havent released anything since their debut Harvest six years ago. The music here is in the subgenre alternately referred to as heathen or pagan metal (Im sure theres a difference between the two Im missing), with heavy does of folk themes and instrumentation. The former track has some great riffs in it, strongly melodic but still with a firm black metal identity, and the latters atmosphere sounds highly authentic and enchanting.
SunnO))) Grimm And Bear It, Dylan Carlson: The early demos, recently released by Southern Lord. This may be ridiculously short even for my miniature reviews, but theres nothing else I can really say besides drone, and lots of it. The persistent absence of anything else over side-length songs will make this more of a curiosity than the less one-dimensional White albums. And in case youre wondering who the fuck the latter song is named after, its the leader of Earth, the inspiration for this project.
Time Of Orchids A Man To Hide, High Enthusiast: Continuing in the steps of Kayo Dot (who have since left the label), Tzadik is set to take another chance on a band with roots in the metal scene. I havent heard much of their earlier tech-metal material, but the songs on their upcoming Sarcast While are less metallic but still adventurous, the latter a nine-minute slow building epic with minimal but tense playing and great vocal arrangements, while the latters sinister sounding groove is reminiscent of Faith No More, although the vocals are more luded than agitated. Both songs available at www.myspace.com
Uaral Sounds Of Pain, Depression: This is a Chilean band that desires obscurity, and if not for a forum member discovering them by accident and contacting them, their name would probably come up empty in a search on this site (if it had a search function that is bring it back!) Metal fans with an interest in neofolk should take heed, the 20-minute former track is total Kveldssanger, full of desolate acoustic guitars and extremely hopeless sounding vocals, and theres a bit of black metal towards the end. The depressing feel comes across so well that I can excuse the fact it sounds more like several acoustic pieces strung together than a single epic.
Vreid Wrath Of Mine, Songen At Fangen: After honoring Valfars memory with a tribute concert and a farewell album, Windirs remaining members wasted no time in pursuing their own project. The former track is a thrashy and more aggressive sounding offering, while the latter shows that these guys have learned much from their mentor, its solid riffing, faint but apparent folk touches, and well-placed breaks have a similar aura to Windirs best material.
Yume Bitsu The Golden Vessyl Of Sound (songs 1 & 9): This album by the Oregon-based post-rock outfit consists of nine untitled tracks that originated as improvisations and naturally end up sounding a bit looser than most in its genre. Dont let that lead you into thinking its all incoherent jamming, many of the songs are quite focused and several even contain vocals. Of note are its opening and closing tracks. The former quickly develops into a gigantic wall of sound, while the latters heavy electronic backdrop adds a unique dimension to their cosmic rock.
