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Paradise Lost - In Requiem (Century
Media) By: Joe Florez |
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Symbol Of Life was the last straw for me when this came out
back in 2002. It was so electronic and synthetic that I
listened to it twice max and sold the damn thing. One Second
was ok with its electronic/goth tinge back in my hey day, but
could care less about that one now and as far as the old
catalogue goes, while I don’t take that journey through the
morose anymore it was fantastic material. When I found out
that on the band’s Myspace page that they were streaming the
whole thing for free, I had to take a listen. Hot damn! I was
impressed by what they did. They have gone back to their
roots, but keeping their modern sound that makes for a great
listen. “Never For The Damned” shows the band in |
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rare form. The song slowly builds up beginning with this
rhythmic vibe which sounds a tad bit middle eastern and then
the haunting keys come in as well with the sluggish, but
powerful riffs and Nick’s strong crooning vocal capabilities
that are so recognizable. It doesn’t take long for the speed
to slightly pick up the pace and inject some life into the
composition. This is feeling like the old times again. “Ash
And Debris” incorporates light string work along with a more
mid tempo paced number that has the vocals getting a bit
grumpier and meaner and injects some eerie chants during the
choruses. It’s dark, melodic and most of depressing just like
you remember. “Requiem” sounds like the mid 90’s again with
this being their heaviest track. The low tuned guitars are
ugly, the vocals are filled with anger and even some double
bass drumming is infused in here. It doesn’t take long for an
old school fan to fall in love with this record. I don’t know
why it took the band so long to come full circle and go back
to what made them famous in the first place. I am just glad to
know that their experimenting period is all but over now. The
way that the songs are handled here are just fantastic.
Everything is used in moderation and there are plenty of tempo
changes to just to keep things fresh. As a long time
discouraged fan, I am more than ecstatic to be back on the
Paradise Lost camp. Who knew that dark music could be so
beautiful. At just forty-five minutes, this is just right and
leaving you completely satisfied.
www.centurymedia.com |
www.paradiselost.co.uk |
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Raintime - Flies and Lies (Lifeforce)
Review by Steve Green |
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Raintime need some serious help in terms of direction. Having
originally started as a Dream Theater influenced Prog band,
they've morphed into something a bit more modern. Which is
fair enough as many bands evolve as their style develops via
natural progression. What I find hard to cope with is the
varying styles on Flies and Lies, Raintime's second album.
The title track and Rolling Chances are both solid slabs of
Modern Metal. Frantic pace, great musicianship and a duel
vocal attack which mirrors that of the Children Of Bodom and a
more commercial Metalcore edge. Not necessarily my thing, but
it's brilliantly executed and I can have no complaints. What I
can't stomach are the completely gay (I |
can't think of a better description) vocals that reduce both
Apelron + Rainbringer to kiddie fodder. Where are the balls of
the first two numbers? Finally Me is a wimpy ballad that
confirms that Raintime are in serious danger of losing the
plot. That is until I hear the familiar strains of Michael
Jackson's Beat It, then I know the game is over completely.
Beat It is the only song by Michael Jackson I can stomach, but
this version is dire beyond belief.
The album does get heavier again, but I don't see the need to
completely wimp out when things are flowing nicely. I hate the
modern approach of putting growling vocals side by side with
clean, soulless, wimpy singing and Raintime are guilty of this
in the third degree. They've also not got a focused direction,
as they dip their toes in melodic Death via the exceptionally
good The Black Well, then on the other hand they venture into
Power Metal with the aptly named Another Transition. Sorry,
this one is too schizophrenic for me.
www.lifeforcerecords.com |
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Solstice – Lamentations / Halcyon / New Dark
Age (Reissues) (Cyclone Empire)
Review by Chris Davison |
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What an exquisite dilemma! To be honest with you right from
the beginning, I am a massive admirer of Solstice. It took me
a huge amount of time to finally get a hold of all the
original CDs, and they were a right bugger to find. So the
ethical problem was this: should I (who have already had the
huge privilege of listening to these masterful albums) allow
someone with less good fortune to enhance their meagre lives,
or should I be a right greedy bastard and snaffle up these
rather excellent enhanced albums and gorge on the new content
like some rabid pig at a metal trough ? Of course, being a
true child of the eighties, I chose to say “sod you” to the
former option and look after myself like a clone of Thatcher
in more kvlt trousers.
Solstice are, for my money, the most under-rated British band
of all time. They produced two albums and one E.P. In between
1994 and 1998, they managed to craft these exquisite works of
utterly sublime metal excellence.
Lamentations was their first full length foray, and
they didn't do things by half. The opening atmospheric
section, all rainy storms and the chanting of some mystic
monks set the scene in truly cinematic fashion before this
style of opener had become a cliché. In terms of what you're
going to get from listening to Solstice, this is fantastically
constructed epic doom metal, with wolf-hide clad boots resting
equally in the NWOBHM and Celtic flavoured metal camps. Doom
laden riffs cascade over each other like the leaden waves of
time, while tasteful guitar solos and melodies dance about
like flecks of white foam on the sea of music. Arguably,
Lamentations saw the boys at their heaviest, and indeed at
their most “metal”. The influence of Candlemass does lie heavy
over sections of the songs, but not so far that they ever
stray into plagiarism. A sense of the medieval is realised in
many of the vocal and guitar melodies, which was to play a far
greater role in New Dark Age, but here is sufficient to add
much flavour and vitality to an already exciting formula. The
vocals of Simon Matravers are dreamlike and ethereal, and |
more modern doom outfits such as I Hate Records magnificent
Isole have clearly taken them on board as an influence. Clear
and precise, though they are never lacking power, they manage
to convey emotion and melancholy without ever resorting to the
over wrought or the melodramatic. Likewise, the guitars
supplied by Rich Walker (of Miskatonic records fame) and Gian
Piras (to later appear in Cradle of Filth and Screamin'
Daemon) are particularly brilliant. The rhythm section of Lee
Netherwood (bass) and Len Roomer (drums) rival those of Butler
and Ward at their very finest. “Wintermoon rapture” is one of
the finest tracks ever written, and to be honest, this album
is a holy grail of epic, stirring doom.
So what's new with the re-issue ? Well, as well as some
scholarly comprehensive liner notes from Russ Smith (I never
knew that Simon was the original vocalist for one of my
favourite doom bands ever, Mourn, for example), there's also
stunning new artwork picturing Odin and a burning longship
(albeit I was rather fond of the original picture), and the
complete “Ragnarok” demos, available for the first time in
compact disc format. I hadn't heard them before – and what you
get, essentially is the embryonic form of Solstice playing at
valium speeds with a rough and ready, though still clearly
audible production. Not in themselves essential to anyone but
a huge Solstice fan, this becomes largely irrelevant given
that by the time you'll have listened to Lamentations you will
be one!
Halcyon, the five track
E.P. Was originally released way back in 1995 on Godhead.
Again, an atmospheric opener bombastically combines droning
chanting and Byron (of Bal-Sagoth infamy) giving a rousing
fantasy-driven speech as only he can. Then, one of the true
pearls in the ocean of doom is presented to the listener; “To
Ride With Tyr” is perhaps unparalleled as a true opening track
among the corridors of epic doom. With a driving, pounding
rhythm and truly mammoth drumming, this is the aural
equivalent of being run over by a herd of stampeding bison.
Huge, ascending guitar riffs lift the heart of the most jaded
of listeners during the chorus, and if you aren't inclined to
grow a fuck-off beard, wave an axe about and rampage across
the eastern shores of Britain, you must be some kind of crazy
weirdo. The growing influence of middle ages music is shown in
the instrumental “Halcyon”, while the mournful “Graven Deep”
offers a more traditional take on the doom epic. But what then
closes off the original EP sessions? Solstice covering Manowar?
Gloves of Metal? Fuck! I've waged long and tiresome arguments
on forums about this, and for the record, I think it's a
brilliant cover. The love of metal and all things
denim-und-leather seeps from every pore of this enlightened
version, and I stand in opposition to Russ Smith when he dares
say that Simon does not do the vocals justice!
The extras are in the form of a re-recorded version of
Wintermoon Rapture from the period with a far more aggressive
and raw production. The guitars sound strangely disjointed,
but the drum sound is so gigantic that I have to say that I
prefer this from the “Lamentations” version, but only just.
Probably the best extra material is here though, in the forms
of the “Drunken Dungeons” sessions, recorded in 1997 and 1998,
pre-production of New Dark Age. As a recording basically
completed in the basement of a house, the sound is predictable
noisy and a little messy thanks to the four track nature, but
surprisingly clear and powerful. Many of the tracks that would
later appear in the final album are here in various states of
completion, but “Hammer of Damnation” and “Cimmerian Codex”
are as stunning here as they eventually proved themselves to
be once subjected to the usual amount of production polish.
The events here are brought to a close thanks to a bit of
studio-jiggery-pokery. Candlemass' Solitude was recorded by
the band during these sessions, but had never been subject to
any kind of vocals. Enter Karl Simon from The Gates of
Slumber, who has now produced some excellent true-doom wailing
worthy of the masters themselves. Halcyon – the Reissue is
easily now worth the price of a full length admission price,
and to be honest this should be a must listen for any label
about to trot out another sub-standard licence to print money
with one or two crappy
b-sides tagged on the end, (yes Roadrunner, I'm pointing at
you).
New Dark Age is the final
re-release, and coincidentally the final release by Solstice.
By this stage, the band had changed in terms of line up, and
Hamish Glencross (My Dying Bride) replacing Piras, who had by
this stage upped and left for the rising Cradle of Filth. I
seem to recall a rather unflattering comment in the original
“thanks” list dedicated to “the Traitor”, which has been
purged for this version. Rick Budby became the new
tub-thumper, while Morris Ingram took over vocal duties,
adding a smoother touch to the singing, providing more class
with what was to become their most accomplished and
complicated release. The music became much more complex and
the arrangements more technical and accomplished. “The
Sleeping Tyrant”, “Cimmerian Codex” and “Hammer of Damnation”
provide the most sturdy of metallic backbones, and the
production is both as heavy as a double handed battle axe, but
with a cutting edge just as sharp. “Hammer of Damnation”, in
particular is an utter joy. I am pleased that Russ Smith, in
the again truly brilliant liner notes ponders the Thin Lizzy
influence, in particular the Celtic lilts and refrains
typified in Emerald. The classic sound of archaic English
influences were fully realises here, and several instrumental
passages tally with clean acoustic guitars and folky
arrangements. To my money, Morris Ingram adds a most haunting
quality through the earthy tones of his voice, and the guitar
melodies were never more perfectly constructed. There are
entire collapsed civilisations that have been less epic than
the majestic compositions on this most heavy of releases. The
re-issue extras? Here at the most slender of the new editions,
two covers, one of Maiden (The Prophecy), and one of NWOBHM
cult act Tresspass. Both of course make for fine listening,
but no cover version could really rival the power of this most
esoteric and untouchable of British acts.
So what then to conclude ? There is plenty here for those of
you who already own the original pressings of the albums, but
for the unschooled, these are truly amazing albums. No
collection should be without them, and I do mean that most
earnestly. Officially, Solstice aren't shown as a defunct
band, but a warning to Rich Walker – the longer you leave it
before releasing a new album, the more people will expect. I'm
already expecting the second coming.
www.cyclone-empire.com |
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Sonata Arctica - Unia (Nuclear Blast)
review by James Young |
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After mollifying the metal faithful with several compilations
and live albums since their last studio offering, the mighty
Reckoning Night in 2004, the Finnish melodic power metal crew
are back, and sounding just a tad different from the group as
we know them. You wouldn’t really think it at first, with ‘In
Black And White’ kicking the album off in suitably heavy
fashion, with all the epic synths and choral arrangements
which brought them to the dance in the first place, and some
powerful vocals to boot. Even the next track ‘Paid In Full’
and delightful ‘The Harvest’ would have you thinking that the
band have played it safe and stuck to the mammoth choruses and
headbanging guitar and keyboard solos we are all familiar |
with. However, with these exceptions, we have a noticeably
slower Sonata Arctica, with a new approach to creating a
‘heavy’ song. I wouldn’t like to count the number of tracks
that would qualify as ‘ballads’, as people have different
opinions of what would qualify. Even still, there are a fair
few slow numbers, which range from the mellow to the crushing,
and as such the band should not be viewed as ‘going soft’. I’m
still not sure what to make of the album - I know for sure
that some fans will be put off by the change in sound, but
there’s still a depth and quality to the music that makes the
opus immensely listenable.
I’ll handle the mellower numbers first, starting with the
grand ‘For The Sake Of Revenge’. This is an earthmover of a
song, with Marko Paasikosi’s fuzzy bassline adding a nice
depth to the verses, and the inclusion of an epically bad
chorus, with the unintentionally hilarious lyric ‘It’s not
over till the fat lady sings’ – it should have been called
‘For the sake of a rhyme’! With such high levels of cheesiness
this is probably the best on the album, and I wouldn’t count
out the idea of seeing Sonata Arctica in a future Eurovision
song contest playing this one. Depressing realities aside,
‘Under Your Tree’ is a heartfelt song, although it’s certainly
not for saps (leaf me alone, it was clever…), with captivating
atmospheres and the soft vocals a nice break from the more
forceful numbers. On a more mundane level, tribal drumming
patterns and moodier guitars combine to produce ‘The Worlds
Forgotten, The Words Forbidden’, but it lacks any real
passion, and reeks of ‘filler’, so it really is best
forgotten. The closer of the album ‘Good Enough Is Good
Enough’ is much better, and really showcases Tony Kakko’s
clean vocal range. With twinkling pianos and sweeping
symphonic soundscapes in the background is the truest ballad
of the album, although whether we needed another one is
subject to debate.
Many of the songs aren’t quite as mellow as those just
mentioned, but they lack the necessary power to measure up to
the brilliance of previous albums. ‘It Won’t Fade’ and ‘Caleb’
contain some energetic elements which are sure to get the old
head nodding, but there are still several mellow elements to
each of the tracks – a few listens are needed to appreciate
the depth of arrangement which has gone into these, but it
doesn’t avoid the fact that any momentum built up is pretty
much killed. Likewise, ‘The Vice’ is an enjoyable romp through
the band’s various speeds, which can be stunning at times, but
the ambition of including slower choral sections and piano
parts leaves you with a bit of a hotchpotch of a song. From
the piano-led intro of ‘My Dream’s But A Drop Of Fuel For A
Nightmare’, we can again see the band compromising a strong
number by adding in softer elements. There are enough
symphonic elements to make this one enjoyable, but it just
fails to deliver the punch that the band is clearly capable
of. Kakko’s vocals shine on ‘Fly With The Black Song’, ranging
from the powerful to the sublime. As for the song, it just
falls short of being memorable, although you can only admire
the ambition of the Finnish fivepiece for attempting such
variation in a single song.
There’s nothing that grabs you by the throat on this album and
demands to be listened to again, and with one or two
exceptions, there aren’t any tracks which you can simply rock
out to. Even still, the depth of this album is quite
astonishing, and the musicianship is stunning, even though
it’s a letdown in the catchiness department. Be sure to check
them out on tour later this year. Or your next chance to see
them will probably be on Eurovision. Don’t say I didn’t warn
you…
www.sonataarctica.info |
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Symphony X - Paradise Lost (InsideOut
Music) By: Joe Florez |
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I
am sorry, but I have never understood this band and the
accolades that always surrounded them. Yes, I did think that
The Damnation Game was their best work, but everything else
was just so, so. Their last offering The Odyssey was ok, but
nothing special. I have always thought that Russell Allen’s
voice was nothing unique until I discovered his solo record
Atomic Soul. I actually like him better on his solo stuff
because of his classic rock roots, but that’s another story.
Michael Romeo’s guitar work is not too shabby, but nothing to
brag about in my eyes. Well, since this landed on my doorstep,
I will take another listen. |
I was expecting nothing less than mediocre, but once “Set The
World On Fire” came on, I noticed some interesting things. For
starters, it seems like new life has been breathed into these
guys, and after a five year hiatus there should be. The
guitars are leaner, meaner and more aggressive. I like that.
Mr. Allen’s voice has seem to gone through some sort of
transformation because it seems like he has brought his voice
from his solo record and the one he did with Jorn Lande over
here and I like it. In traditional power/prog tradition you
must open your song with a grandiose intro that’s epic and
dramatic. The violins are there, the horns and tympani as well
as chimes, chants and minimal piano usage. That all takes
place on “Occultus Ex Inferni.” After the intro, “Set The
World On Fire” does exactly just that. The keyboards on here
are always fantastic as I have pointed out in the past that
they do have a great ivory tickler. The guitar work is
performed with a lot of muscle and seems like Mike is fueled
by hatred to be playing like this and it sounds fantastic.
Don’t be misled though because his trademark neo-classical
flair is thrown in here, but is utilized more so during the
chorus. Russell’s voice is gritty and sort of Jorn Lande like
in that it’s very classic rock sounding ala David Coverdale.
It has arena stadium potential. The solos are explosive on all
fronts. “Domination” is catchy as hell as it makes great use
of rhythmic and tricky bass lines, staccato riffs and voice
that’s as sinister as classic Jon Oliva except not as high
pitch,. I am digging this record a lot so far. This one
refuses to stop even thought there are some classy moments on
here. The title track offers another side to the band as they
slow things down just a bit with a piano induced track that is
slow to mid paced, but never hit’s a dull spot. This one is
well put together as everything works out perfectly. Russ’
vocals go from mean to just that of a crooner that puts a
little passion and oomph into his voice and the end result is
fantastic. For the first time in a long while, I am completely
satisfied with this record. I don’t know what possessed them
to come up with a release like this, but they did it and I
like it a lot. Some fans may be weary of their harder edge,
but the power chords, neo-classical inserts and striking solo
are also included making this one well rounded record. To sum
it up, intense.
www.insideoutmusic.com |
www.symphonyx.com |
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UDO - Mastercutor (Candlelight
Records) By: Joe Florez |
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I
am a huge Udo fan no matter what he puts out, as well as
Accept obviously. However, I know not to expect much because
the same thing is pretty much delivered time and time again
and I was expecting nothing more than the usual from the
Germans. Nonetheless, I couldn’t wait to pop this bastard in.
As usual, Udo retains his trademark gritty voice that never
diminishes no matter how old he is. The title track is upbeat
and contains simplistic, yet catchy power chords. Minimal
double bass drumming is used here as in all of his material.
This track isn’t as powerful as some of his previous material,
but we have forty-five minutes to go and this is just the |
beginning. Needless to say, along with the chants and the fire
that still burns in each of the members, this is a decent
opener. “The Instigator” should have been used as the lead
track as this one has more fuel. The riffs are quicker and the
pulse beats faster. The drum work is a simple 4/4, but is
packed with energy and never gets old. “One Lone Voice” isn’t
a ballad, but does calm things down a tad. For some bizarre
reason, Mr. Dirkschneider is capable of writing rather decent
mellow numbers. The music isn’t as predictable as his faster
songs. It seems like the man sings with his heart and put a
little thought into not only the music, but the lyrics as
well. I enjoyed this one very much. “Master Of Disaster” is an
interesting track because not only is speed used in here, but
electronic vibes that have a techno feel make their way on
here as well along side the quick double bass drumming. The
harmony vocals during the chorus is grandiose and unlike
anything I have heard on previous works. This one threw me for
a loop and while some fans may be put off by this, I think
this is daring and quite amusing. “Tears Of A Clown” (no, not
the Smokey Robinson version) is a real slow ballad complete
with acoustic guitars and piano. This one sounds so sad
because of the way its composed and sung. While I don’t care
for this one too much, but I will give the man props for
trying to shake things up just to avoid monotony. Once again,
you always know what you are going to get with an Udo record.
The formula remains free of tampering with the exception of a
few songs. In the end, it’s another fun release.
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk |
www.udo-online.de |
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