|
|
|
|
|
At
War With Self - Acts Of God (Sluggo’s Goon Music)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
This is pretty much a project spearheaded by one time Gordian
Knot guitarist Glenn Snelwar. Their debut Torn Between
Dimensions was as a three piece unit that featured former Fates
Warning drum guru Mark Zonder. While that disc was purely
instrumental, this one is basically half and half. The title
track is up to bat first and this in my opinion is the worst
way to open the show. It’s just mandolin’s being strummed at a
slow and melodic pace. It’s a nice number and all, but could
have been placed later in the disc. What’s weird about this
track is that two thirds of the way into the song you get this
bombastic thud chiming in until the song is over. It sounds
like a bomb going off. There is an atmospheric |
vibe that begins to take over and then we are taken into
“911.” Let the prog festivities begin. The drum technique
utilized here is complex, yet rhythmic and compelling while
there are noisy sounds being added to the mix and the guitars
are just amped up with plenty of action going on. Some
shredding also takes place as well and what makes it odd is
that it’s not during a solo spot where they normally occur.
They kind of happen throughout. The bass lines being plucked
are funky and groovy, while we also get some sentimental six
string work thrown into the mix as well. To say the least,
it’s a unique listening experience because the guys don’t
follow the same paths of other prog heads. They really take a
risk by going down a road less traveled.
“Threads” is the
first number to feature vocals. We get some very spaced out
atmosphere thrown in here along with jazz influences and a
rhythm that will get your hips shakin’ Shakira style. Latin
style percussion also dominates on here for a sound that is a
complete treat to the ears. As the songs keep going, things
just get more bizarre. The inclusion of trip hop and other odd
tones just make this a unique listen if you can bear with the
quirky time changes. You truly get it all here from jazz to
ambience to metal and prog (not in the traditional sense) and
the kitchen sink. This is a release that won’t make everyone
happy and that’s fine because only the most open minded will
get it if they get it at all. As much as I like experimental
music, I will have to give this more spins before I get it or
don’t. For what it’s worth, it’s original.
www.sluggosgoonmusic.com
| www.glennsnelwar.com |
| |
|
Fall Of The Leafe - Aerolithe (Firebox Records)
By: Joe Florez |
 |
This Finnish six piece underground dark metal band has already
released six albums to date and now being on the up and coming
Firebox label, perhaps they will be able to be exposed to many
other areas besides their homeland and North America. The band
once started out as a melodic death metal outfit, but slowly
transformed into a gothic/metal unit. Now, to say that they
are completely swallowed in the goth genre would be completely
false as they branch out and go into many territories. That
one term alone would be doing the guys a major disservice.
Fellow scribe Dave Schalek offered this to me, but before
accepting I asked what genre was it and looked the up on
Myspace. From the one track |
that I heard, I was immensely impressed and refused to hear
more because I wanted to get the whole disc and soak it in.
Let me tell you, bands like H.I.M.
and The 69 Eyes are going to have a run for their money and I
love them both tremendously. The simply titled first track
“Opening” is an upbeat tune with some happy keyboard work going
on. As soon as this ends after just a mere two minutes, “All
The Good Faith” kicks it into high gear. Tuomas’s voice is
somewhat whiney, but it has a gothic and morose tinge and
hits the high notes at times. The guitars have plenty of
crunch and are melodic as hell. Despite it being dark, it has
plenty of energy and it never drags like some artists tend to
do. Rather than get comfortable with their own music, they
kick things up a bit with “Lithe” due to the fact that the
drums get pounded harder and faster. Also, Matias gets quite
complicated with the skins. This is heavy hitting for sure,
but still contains catchy hooks that are memorable. I love
where they are going with this. The surprises and excitement
just keep coming as we progress. “At A Breath’s Pace” may be
slower and ballades, but there’s double bass drumming when you
least expect it and Tom’s vocals drop and get gritty ala death
metal style. This is absolutely crazy. This is a genre that I
don’t dive into that much anymore as I have moved on with my
tastes, but this one knocked me on my ass. I had no idea what
I was in for and the twists and turns that this disc took
constantly not only kept me guessing, but put a big ass smile
on my face. These lads took several genres and combined them
when and where needed for a CD that is nothing short of
awesome. Basically, I would like to think that FOTL take the
best elements of H.I.M., 69 Eyes, Anathema, Paradise Lost and
artists on the Napalm Records label and put this in a blender
and set it to puree and this is the end result. This crosses
several boundaries and I am sure that the dark wave, metal,
goth, prog, doom and the like will dig this. This is one album
worth sinking your teeth into.
www.firebox.fi
| www.falloftheleafe.com |
| |
|
Guile - Rock n' Roll EP (Self Release) Review by Steve Green |
 |
I changed my mind about half a dozen times whether to review this EP,
mainly as it's not Metal, but I kept hearing little snippets that
convinced me to run it. The title track is the one most relevant to the
L4M readership, albeit the older ones. Guitar wise, it reminds me of The
Cult's classic Love opus. In fact, with Ian Astbury having played with
The Doors, under The Doors Of The 21st Century moniker, Rock n' Roll is
kind of like the reverse. The Cult with Jim Morrison on vocals. I Walk
Alone again, is retro in texture as it's very much like The Velvet
Underground. Love Around Here again retreats to the darker side of 80s
Gothdom, circa Fields Of The Nephilim, again with Jim Morrison on
vocals. And
|
|
despite two comparisons with the late Doors frontman, Neal
Sawyer doesn't particularly sound like him, he just has the same
menacing swagger. Finally, 140 Hurts, a moody acoustic little ditty,
solemnly waves goodbye and it's time for Guile to leave the building.
www.guilemusic.com |
www.myspace.com/guilemusic
|
| |
| Incarnate - Exist To Extinct (Self
Release) Review by Steve Green |
 |
With the high quality of new bands
coming through, I think it's going to be even harder to get noticed in
the overcrowded cesspool, known as the underground. There's nothing
wrong with Incarnates self proclaimed Death/Thrash stylings (although I
think the vocals veer towards more blackened grounds) yet
there's not a lot that's leaping out at me and making me take
notice. I get to listen to, at least part of, over 50 new
releases a month, plus I listen to Planet Rock for a good
15/20 hours a week, so I absorb a hell of a lot of music. It
took until track four, Ascending To Hell, for my foot to make
a connection with the Thrashing maelstrom. Admittedly, when it
did connect, it went into spasmodic heaven, and I
|
started to enjoy what Incarnate have produced a lot more.
For Incarnate to make any headway, I'd suggest that they need to make
things a little more intense. I love the structure of Hate Brigade, but
I want the song to completely crush me. Same goes for Us Mere Beholders.
It's good, but there's something missing, although I can't quite put my
finger on it. Everything falls into place on Deathsigns and it's a
crushing, and a stunning way to round off the cd.
www.incarnateband.com |
| |
|
It's Casual - The New Los Angeles (Friendly
Hill Recording Company) Review by Steve Green |
 |
I like the concept of this 10 track MCD. This is a view of Los Angeles,
not exactly from the street, but from public transport. This is the view
of vocalist/guitarist Edward Solis based on his daily commute from his
eastern LA residence to Hollywood.
Having not been to the city, nor do I particularly want to, if I'm
totally honest, I can only begin to imagine some of the down-trodden
neighbourhoods passed through on a daily basis, especially if the
rawness of It's Casual's sound is mirrored by its inspiration. This is a
riff-hungry mixture of punk, hardcore, metal and full-on skater
attitude. Kind of like early Suicidal Tendencies, with a much better
sound. And like Mike Muir's take on life, there's
|
plenty of social, and humorous observations to be found here,
particularly on the self explanatory Too Many Kids. And I love
the lyrics on EZ Pass, which I'm
guessing is the cheapest (and probably not the most enjoyable) way to
get around LA. Elsewhere, the social commentary is lost on an outsider
like myself, but I can easily make comparisons with cities on this side
of the pond.
With 10 tracks clocking in at just 20 minutes, this is a
short, but intense kick to the bollocks.
www.myspace.com/itscasual |
| |
|
Knight Area - Under a New Sign (The
Laser’s Edge) Review by Strawb |
 |
Yes, Genesis [with Gabriel, obviously], King Crimson, ELP.
Been there, listened to the vinyl, got the t-shirts [if only I
could still fit a large, I mean into a large] and moved on.
Occasionally I would dust off a sleeve, crank up the turntable
and wonder at the crackles and jumping stylus. I was
definitely past Prog Rock. Then I got nostalgic. And the
bands, or parts of them began to tour again, often at smaller,
more cozy venues. So the interest came back and in a few cases
cds replaced the vinyl. Although I tried new artists none of
them joined the masters on the part of the shelf marked Prog.
And now L4M have sent me this platter to give a spin. And
thank you L4M for doing so. |
This Dutch 7 piece must have much the same influences I have
mentioned, but I stress that they are influences and the
product is distinctive from all of them, and the equal of
many. So are Knight Area 30 years too late? Probably from
their point of view regarding the success they would certainly
have achieved back then. However, if their marketing is done
well then they should get some of the old proggers back to the shops and bring the new generation on
board as well.
This is their second release and shows excellent production
values. The music quality of the individual members is high
and the mixing allows each adequate chance to display their
skills. The opener begins with a howling wind and chimes,
before the rest of the instruments join in and the vocals
arrive, clear and concise. I heard patches in there where the
influences of Yes and Genesis were obvious, great track. Again
on exit L.U.M.C., a sound to open, followed by the instruments
being layered on to the track, good guitars on this one and
the vocals reminiscent of Jon Anderson on Siberian Khatru.
Mastermind is a faster track, more drive from drums & bass,
great guitar with keyboard as a backup, and some lung emptying
sustain vocals. The title track is an instrumental, and the
slower Courteous Love I found turgid. Dreamweaver and their
‘first opus’ A Different man Pt. II get the album back on
track as well as concluding it.
Included in there are flute, the sounds of birds and sheep, a
song concluded by a verse of talking, so a lot of the
repertoire is used, and all to good effect.
I am sure that this album will receive numerous acclamations
as it is reviewed, and rightly so. From this reviewer?
I have made space for it on the shelf.
www.knightarea.com/Home.htm
| www.myspace.com/knightarea
| www.lasercd.com/
|
| |
|
Mithras - Behind The Shadows Lie Madness
(Candlelight Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
Great Britain’s Mithras, now with three full-lengths under
their collective belt, has always been somewhat misclassified
as a brutal death metal band. My opinion is that Mithras is
best described as progressive death metal, but not in the
manner exemplified by old school, jazz oriented acts such as
Cynic and so forth, or even along the lines of, say, technical
acts such as Necrophagist, just to name one. Rather, Mithras
has carved out a niche within death metal that is all their
own.
The references to death metal, first of all, obviously come
from a base heavily influenced by Morbid Angel with some
similar riffs, speed patterns, and even production values. |
However, the similarities end there. Instead of a style
patterned after Trey Azagthoth’s technical soloing, Mithras
guitarist Leon Macey really shines through the use of
dissonant riffing overlaid with some truly ethereal, almost
dreamlike, solos that not only seem to take on a life of their
own, but allow Mithras to soar to unheralded heights above.
Add in some blistering speed along with some time changes,
strange riffs, rough growls enhanced with the notable
inclusion of some haunting clean vocals, and a science fiction
theme and you’re in for a listening experience that is
definitely removed from the average.
This is probably not going to appeal to the average death
metal fan that prefers the usual pigeon-holed bands playing
brutal death metal. However, with a little bit of patience and
willingness for experimentation on the part of the listener,
“Behind The Shadows Lie Madness” can be truly astonishing with
regards to the originality of what’s being displayed.
That said, though, a major point of complaint that I have with
“Behind The Shadows Lie Madness” is the truly awful drum
sound. Falling completely flat and, no doubt, electronically
generated to some degree, the drum sound was initially
difficult for me to get past and view “Behind The Shadows Lie
Madness” as an excellent album. Given that the band is a duo
with Leon Macey also handling drums, this may not be overly
surprising, but if there ever was a band that could benefit by
leaps and bounds with the inclusion of a full-time drummer,
Mithras is it. Even so, “Behind The Shadows Lie Madness” has
my enthusiastic recommendation.
www.candlelightrecords.co.uk
| www.mithras.org.uk/ |
| |
|
Secrets of the Moon - Antithesis (Lupus Lounge)
By: Dave Schalek |
 |
Germany’s Secrets of the Moon releases their third
full-length, entitled “Antithesis”, on Lupus Lounge. I’ve
heard their previous full-length, “Carved In Stigmata Wounds”
a couple of times, but, although a good album as I recall, it
was just another mostly mid-paced black metal release that
seemed to blend in with so many others and I more or less lost
track of it over the last couple of years. Enter “Antithesis”,
which continues in the same style, albeit a bit slower, of
“Rebel Extravaganza/ Volcano”- era Satyricon-influenced black
metal as “Carved In Stigmata Wounds”. Mostly consisting of a
mid-paced black metal base with a few blasts, “Antithesis”
uses plenty of progressive riffing and song structures, rather
than |
keyboards which are absent, to enhance the obvious Satyricon influences. In addition, the musicianship on the
part of all of the band members is excellent, as is the
crystal clear production that more than a little enables
“Antithesis” to sound just like those previously mentioned
Satyricon albums.
Okay, obviously I’m making a repeated comparison here and, no
doubt, many will simply dismiss this band as just another
clone. Granted, this is not the most original album I’ve
heard, but “Antithesis” is done very well with interesting
songs that effectively combine progressive elements of black
metal. To summarize in a plain manner, I can probably best
describe this album as, perhaps, the direction that Satyricon
should’ve chosen after “Volcano”, rather than the lackluster
effort of “Now, Diabolical”.
That said, however, this is album that you’ve probably heard
before in one form or another and does not tremendously break
new ground. The album is also overly long at about an hour and
some of the songs would be more effective with a trimming,
such as, for example, the fifth track “Metamorphosis”.
Certainly, “Antithesis” will appeal to you if you’re already
heavily into this style of black metal, but ultimately there’s
nothing really new going on with “Antithesis”.
www.secretsofthemoon.org/ |
| |
|
Slowmotion Apocalypse - Obsidian (Scarlet Records) Review by
Nathan Lynch |
 |
From the country known as Italy, Slowmotion Apocalypse come
screaming onto the scene. So I pick up the album thinking just
another band trying to do the thrash metal thing. I shrugged,
placed it in my Hi-Fi pressed play and it’s three hours before
I get past track two. This album, to be blunt, is shit-hot. Never
before has it taken me more than a week to listen to a ten
track album. Normally it would have been listened to and
thrown in my cupboard never again to see the light of day
after a couple of hours…. Obsidian hasn’t even left the CD
player yet unless to be moved to another CD player. The band
members Ivo, Tommaso, Alberto, Nicolas and Ivan have done
themselves proud and come out with |
some amazing songs. Slowmotion Apocalypse are like nothing else I have ever heard,
although I think fans of Trivium will lap this up.
Mark my words Slowmotion Apocalypse will go far.
Obsidian is a great album because it breathes new life into
the metal scene, the riffs and solos are inspiring and the
vocals are powerful. I also like the fast pace of the songs as
it really gives you chance to go crazy! My favourite
track on the album is Daydream Addiction, a song you can
really headbang to.
I'm getting so addicted to this album that I'm forever finding myself
putting it on full volume and I even have one of the songs as
my ringtone now so I can show all my mates how good this band
really is, the band also have a slot at the local rock night
that I help out with.
Obsidian is S.M.A’s second album. If the
first album is anything like this one I’ll be buying that too. If you are reading this article
then go out and buy this album, it will be the greatest
investment you will make in the near future.
www.scarletrecords.it |
| |
|
Spheric Universe Experience - Anima
(Sensory Records)
Review by Strawb |
 |
When I last listened to prog, it was suffixed by the word
Rock, not Metal. So the list of new experiences during my
reviewing career continues to expand with this disk.
Spheric Universe Experience are a French band, who in their
own country have opened for the touring Scorpions. This is
their second album, the one with which they hope to reach a
wider audience than the French metal underground who supported
their debut. There are products of France which meet with
general approval, Wines, Cheeses, Pernod – definitely. Spheric
Universe Experience? We shall see.
To achieve the greater profile sought, the group have relied
upon Sensory records and the |
mastering skills of Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios,
Denmark. They have produced eleven tracks, three of which are
instrumental. All of the tracks are well produced and have a
good overall balance of the talents available, and within this
album each band member is allowed ample opportunity to express
themselves. There are Metal riffs located throughout this
album, on every track in fact apart from Questions, which is a
more traditional, ballad-like track, which presents the chance
for a great vocal performance that is duly supplied. Every
instrument is given its solo at some point, and personal
preference aside, none are disappointing. I have noted
numerous times the use of contrasts during this album. On some
tracks it is the contrast of musical styles, on some a
contrast of tempo of instrument against another, or instrument
against vocals. These contrasts occur frequently, often
numerous times per track, and no doubt form part of the
identity of the band. At one point I did refer to this as jazz
like, but remembering the summation of jazz from the film The
Commitments, [musical wanking] this
would be harsh. Perhaps eclectic would be fairer.
When reviewing, I try to be fair, taking in to account the
obvious input of the artist, but also bearing in mind that the
people reading this may end up spending their hard earned
based to some extent on my opinion.
I really did persevere and try with this album, eventually
having to conclude that it is not for me, but of course, this
does not mean it isn’t for you. My advice is do your research,
as I did, and if you find you like what you hear then it is a
fair representation of the album, so buy it.
So sorry
S.U.E., but anima will not be joining the Pastis 51 and Brie
in my basket of Gallic goodies.
www.sphericuniversexp.com
|
www.myspace.com/sphericuniverseexperience |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
