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Insomnium - Above The Weeping World
(Candlelight Records USA) By: Dave Schalek |
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Candlelight Records
USA continues their string of stellar releases with the third
full-length from melodic, melancholy Finns Insomnium, entitled
“Above The Weeping World”. Insomnium’s previous two releases,
2002’s “In The Halls Of Awaiting”, and 2004’s “Since The Day
It All Came Down”, were both critically acclaimed standouts in
the melodic death metal genre, and expectations were high for
this release. Those expectations are not just met, but
exceeded, by “Above The Weeping World”, which should propel
Insomnium to the forefront of the genre.
I’ve always felt that Insomnium is a bit different from the
typical, Gothenburg-influenced |
style of
melodic death metal in that the music, although up-tempo (but
not blastbeat driven) and probably most similar to Dark
Tranquillity, has a definite melancholy aspect that owes a bit
of a nod to the doom/death genre exemplified by bands such as
Katatonia. In addition, there’s just the right amount of
progressive touches to the music that will undoubtedly garner
comparisons to Opeth.
You’ll notice that I’m making comparisons between Insomnium, a
relatively new, up and coming band, to firmly established
giants. The fact of the matter is that we’ll all soon be
comparing future bands in this genre to Insomnium. Frankly,
“Above The Weeping World” fires on all cylinders and should
cement Insomnium’s place at the top. Stellar musicianship is
combined with excellent songwriting and a powerful production
to produce a multi-layered album with a deep sense of
atmosphere. The guitar work of Ville Friman and Ville Vanni is
particularly good, featuring memorable riffing combined with
acoustical touches sprinkled throughout the album. In
addition, the bass is particularly loud and powerful, giving
the album great weight. The album’s production is fuller than
the band’s previous efforts, resulting in the powerful bass
that wasn’t as prominent before.
“Above The Weeping World” has been getting all sorts of
attention in the short time since it’s release late last year.
That attention continues to gather momentum with the broadcast
premiere of the video for “Mortal Share” on MTV’s Headbangers’
Ball. Say what you will about MTV and the mallcore crowd, but
the exposure to a wide American audience can only benefit
Insomnium, a band that certainly deserves it. You would be
well advised to purchase “Above The Weeping World”. Excellent.
www.insomnium.net |
www.candlelightrecordsusa.com |
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Massimo Izzizzari - Unstable Balance
(Lion Music) By: Joe Florez |
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There’s no better
way to kick off 2007 than with a new instrumental disc coming
from the Lion Music label. We have another Italian guitarist
who I am not aware of until now. Doing some minor research, I
see that he has pumped out some discs and been in some comps
in his native homeland. Instead of being the usual metal shred
monster, this man incorporates funk, jazz and prog for a
unique experience that sounds like no one else out in this
field at the moment. The title track explodes immediately with
complicated and tricky drumming. The guitar work is melodic
and filled with glorious jazz riffs, funk and even some upbeat
rock notes. The tempo changes move around constantly and you
can’t help but play air |
guitar
and tap your feet as this stuff is infectious as hell. As we
get to the half way mark, Massimo begins to put some real
feeling into what he’s playing and in the end you are left
with something that is never boring. Can he keep this
excitement up for the duration of the disc?
“Access Denied” is more rock oriented that is simplistic in
some aspects while at the same time he gets flashy with his
finger work. Unlike some folks who play fast just for the sake
of it, Mr. Izzizzari manages to make it accessible for anyone
to enjoy. “Television Man” jazzes things up severely and it’s
just the first of many to come on here. Once we get to the
halfway mark, things begin to slowly settle into place as the
music goes from total cacophony to laidback and performed with
tons of feeling and emotion which shines through. This debut
offers many dynamics to keep you intrigued from start to
finish. The other musicians on here deserve a thumbs up for
performing equally as well as Massimo. He let’s them all shine
as well. There is something on here for everyone. If you want
the fast music, it’s on here. If you just want to kick your
feet back, you have that too. The massive funky riffs and jazz
performances are all on here too. Now, this is what I call a
quality disc.
www.lionmusic.com |
www.massimoizzizzari.com |
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Moonlight Comedy - Dorothy (Lion
Music) By: Joe Florez |
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This band name has
been floating around since 1998 and I have actually heard of
them and nothing more. My guess was that they were of the
progressive persuasion. My first contact with a member of
group was Actor III aka Simone Fiorletta who is a guitar
player that had released a solo record on the same label as
here. He is a wonderful player that fuses all genres of music
to create something fresh. He told me about this new record
and I actually couldn’t wait to get my first taste. Well, the
album has been released and I have to say that these
individuals have taken great measures to shake up the prog
scene. “Solar Eclipse” offers a glimpse of surely what is to
come. Yes, there is some fancy keyboard, but that is |
| only the
beginning. Tight musicianship is exploited here as the drums
are performed with great precision and the guitars have a lot
more bite than usual. They are slightly heavier and don’t go
for that pretty boy sound that so many in this scene try to
achieve. The one element that sticks out the most is the
vocals from Actor I: Emilianio Germani with his brand of
singing. The voice is loud and clear, but his crooning work
sounds a bit forced, but it’s ok because he seems to be more
comfortable with his singing after a while. Sometimes his lung
work comes off as aggressive on here. Some of his phrasings
replicate David Draiman of Disturbed with that staccato style,
but he gets back into the prog realm quickly. All of a sudden
just when you think that you are in this consistent groove,
the time changes immediately opting for a softer vibe. It
doesn’t last long but if comes off somewhat as a train hitting
a big wall coming from out of nowhere. After that obstacle,
you get everything you could want from a proggy band. The
solos shred and the composition continues to be more
perplexing. Thus far, I am impressed for the simple fact that
they don’t copy everyone else in the genre and are daring with
what they do. “Fallin’ Under” is more spiced up than the first
song and even more complex, but MC seems more comfortable in
their playing as well as singing and the song just runs that
much smoother. Just to show you how diverse this team of
performers are, they add a bit of electronic/bass thumping
beats to inject some extra life to their songs. Some may hate
it, but it’s at least adventurous to hear. “Into Whispers &
Desire” shows a more mature side to this picture. They add
some classical elements and high energy in this ballad-esque
masterpiece. The vocals come off as sincere and it just made
me happy to know that there are artists out there that can
write such a touching piece of work. I was absolutely amazed
at what can be accomplished when you put your mind to it.
There is no mimicking of any other artists out there on this
release. There are some similarities, but don’t expect them to
last long, because this record is just bursting with
originality and I am now an official fan. Prog heads should
seek this one out for sure. Trust me, the money and time
invested in this is well worth it.
www.lionmusic.com |
www.moonlightcomedy.com |
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Myopia - Enter Insectmasterplan (Selfmadegod)
Review by Don Baird |
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Off the wall! Thrash
based! Mathematically precise! Unconventional! Yeah, I'm
thinking it too, Voivod. Would it be fair to call Myopia a
Polish version of the Canadian masters? In the purposes of
this review, it is. I mean, how else am I going to describe
the pummelling drums, the quasi-thrash attack, the pulsating
off-kilter riffing and the vocals that would fit very nicely
into War And Pain, yep Denis Belanger would be proud of Robert
Kocon's performance.
Enough of the Voivod comparisons, Myopia are worth listening
to in their own right. Having been around for over 10 years,
they do posses an old school vibe. And this re-release of |
| their
second album on Selfmadegod, should bring them to the
attention of 90s obsessive's of technical thrash/death that
takes forever to get into. Despite the familiarity of the
sound, Enter Insectmasterplan still requires 100% of your
attention to fully grasp it's complicated essence of being.
And would you want it any other way? This is created for a
certain niche and bandwagon jumpers are most certainly not
allowed in. For fans of Voivod, Pestilence, Athiest and Cynic
only.
http://selfmadegod.com |
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Nahemah – The Second
Philosophy (Lifeforce) Review by Samuel Munch-Petersen |
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Spain gives us Nahemah and I quite like the fact that they’re
influenced by Mogwai as well as Opeth and Dark Tranquility.
Three bands I can really get into. They have taken varying
elements from all those bands have turned them into something
more, something darker and built heavily on the undertone
rather than the brute for of blast beats or intense riffing.
The first track ‘Siamese’ is short but certainly introduces us
to what will be the staple mode for the album. Track two
‘Killing My Architect’ has some lovely harmonies and carries
the weighty melancholy that Nahemah are trying to conjure.
Track three I’m sure has an excerpt from a Swedish show or
something, but it’s definitely |
not
Spanish. Either way that short excerpt moves into possibly my
favourite track; ‘Nothing’.
It’s quiet, heavy, loud and intense all at the same time, as
well as having some orchestral synths going on in the
background that alludes to Mogwai.
The album at times is quite
slow moving but this continues the ‘depressing’ theme that
seems to run through the music, which itself is tight and
ordered. There is no fault I can find with Nahemah’s music or
vocals, it might just be the length of the album that grinds
me down a bit. I’ve listened to a few lengthy albums in my
time but they’ve mixed slow with fast or heavily intensive.
The Second Philosophy seems to mainly focus on the slow and
the heavy with a disregard for the speed to be bumped up to a
million bpm. Though this is their choice and I can’t argue
with it, but it’s perhaps too much for my small ears. I find
myself wishing the end of the album would be... now. But it’s
not. This would be a good reflective album, or one to have in
the background when you’re making love to your lady (or man)
or sitting with mates and discussing the complexities of life.
There are elements in the tracks though that raise your heart
rate above a steady death beat to something more alive, but
not enough for me.
Overall a decent album but far too slow for me. Musically
sound and proficient, but not enough to detract from the
slowness. www.nahemah.es |
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Onslaught - Killing Peace
(Candlelight) By: Dave Schalek |
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After the NWOBHM
explosion of the late 70s and early 80s, Great Britain had a
great deal of trouble establishing bands in the newly emerging
genres of thrash metal and death metal. Plagued by labels that
didn’t spend a dime (or shilling) on production, only a couple
of bands, such as Venom (of course) and early thrash act
Onslaught were able to make much of an impact.
I hate to say it, but I didn’t particularly care much for
Onslaught. Compared to monstrous Bay area and German thrash
giants, Onslaught’s debut in 1985, “Power From Hell”, failed
to impress me. The follow up, “The Force”, was better with
notable line up changes (Sy |
Keeler
on vocals), but still paled in comparison to what was going on
elsewhere. I never bothered with “In Search Of Sanity” after
hearing that the album was a step back, and Onslaught faded
from view.
As noted by the recent reformations/ reincarnations/ nostalgic
popularity of some 1980s thrash acts such as Destruction,
Exodus, etc., I suppose that the recent return of Onslaught
should have been expected with the 2007 release of “Killing
Peace” on British giant Candlelight. Finally backed with
excellent production and label distribution, here’s a chance
for Onslaught to prove themselves.
So, what of “Killing Peace”? Well, if you’re heard the last
couple of albums from Exodus and Overkill, in particular,
you’ve heard this album before. “Killing Peace” has the thrash
metal formula pretty much down pat with plenty of crunchy
riffs, a few bits of melody, shouts from Keeler at times very
reminiscent of Ellsworth, and a galloping rhythm. In short,
there’s nothing new here and Onslaught has basically just
jumped on the reformation bandwagon with a journeyman-like,
competent release.
Essentially, you’ll enjoy “Killing Peace” if you’re into
standard 80s thrash with a beefed up production, but there’s
nothing about “Killing Peace” that would propel Onslaught from
second tier status.
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk |
www.onslaughtfromhell.com |
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Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation DVD
(Sound Stage) Review by Sam Thomas |
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Amazingly, this is
Robert Plant’s first DVD. And in many ways, it is worth the
wait. The production is sumptuous: I have no idea how many
cameras were used, but obviously it was a lot. The cameramen
must have been drafted in from far and wide, as were the
squeaky clean audience. This latter may have been something of
a mistake, as the audience interaction is minimal. But for
sheer glossy production, I cannot think when I have ever seen
anything less than a Hollywood blockbuster reach these
heights.
The material draws on Led Zeppelin’s back catalogue, as you
might expect, with five out of the nine tracks being from that
era. This is sometimes a good thing, but it doesn’t always
work, as in “Black Dog”, which can only be described as being
rendered in a truly horrific jazzed-up mode. Otherwise the
renditions are competent, mainly being used as a showcase for
Robert Plant’s incredible vocals, which are still as good as
ever. In fact, he has lost none of his aura of mysticism, and
definitely none of his charisma as he delivers a
spell-bindingly |
good
performance from beginning to end. He still tosses his curls,
even if they are slightly greying by now, and sways in a
definitely erotic fashion. His whole performance is so
effortless that you can really sink into a wave of unabashed
nostalgia and just drown in the sheer enjoyment of seeing a
true master of his craft at work.
That’s up to the end of the featured tracks. Then suddenly,
for some unfathomable reason, there are then two “bonus
tracks”. Now, to me, a bonus should be something extra,
different maybe new. These bonus tracks were recorded at the
same gig, with the same (invited) audience. And as for being
anything special! The first is a wholly inadequate version of
“Hey Joe”, followed by a fair-to-middling “Girl from the North
Country”.
Of course, there are a couple of videos thrown in, along with
two live performances on Top of the Pops. The worst thing
about these was that it made me realise quite how long ago
this all happened, and therefore how old I have become!
Overall, this is just such a quality production that you find
yourself wanting to nitpick. But really, this is something
which it has been worth waiting for – a chance to see one of
the true legends of rock performing some really great tracks
in an absolutely beautifully shot DVD. I may bitch about the
unresponsiveness of the audience, but all the same, I would
have killed to be there. And who knows, maybe they were just
overcome with the history of it all. Thing is, if you’re any
kind of a Led Zeppelin fan, you’ll buy this and enjoy it both
for its content and for its place in rock history.
www.robertplant.com |
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