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In Flames- A Sense of Purpose
(Nuclear Blast) Review by Jesse Ketman |
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It’s incredibly rare these days to come across an album that
fluidly knocks every song straight out of the park, and
particularly fascinating when the band in question has of late
been, well, questionable. Blasting boundaries beyond
expectation, In Flames has finally evolved beyond the awkward
teenage years into a fully matured melodic riot machine,
bursting savage melody from every orifice and waylaying my
fears that one of the greatest metal bands of our time had
sunk too deeply to return. As any In Flames fan worth their
fire knows, the stunning Clayman was the last great album.
From there on, we see the band experimenting with a more
American sound, adding metalcore elements (simpler catchier
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riffage) and ditching the melodic thrash approach that made
albums like Whoracle and The Jester Race such classics. While
I’ve enjoyed every release from In Flames, their style-switch
between Clayman and Reroute to Remain left me somewhat bitter;
less style, less flavor, less flair, and a focus on electronic
sounds and formulaic simplicity were a shock after the
punishing beauty of Clayman. Soundtrack to Your Escape took
the core elements to a new level, and really broke through
with American audiences. As a resident of Northern California,
I find it disturbing that great bands seem to achieve mass
popularity only upon dumbing down their sound and converting
to more normal standards. Good examples of this are Children
of Bodom’s (comparatively) lackluster Are You Dead Yet? and
Cradle of Filth’s Nymphetamine. Come Clarity continued much in
the same vain as Soundtrack, but with far more complexity to
the music, which was a blessing. While at times poppier than a
metal fan would hope (ie the title track Come Clarity), it was
a large improvement. A Sense of Purpose finally rolls around,
and it seems as though the band has found just that. No
element here is off-putting, and the catchy, MTV side of In
Flames has been cut down to manageable levels, coinciding
perfectly with the beautiful guitar harmonies that we fans
find so enrapturing in the old material. I must also comment
that Anders Friden’s lyrics and vocals are the best they’ve
ever been. Every distraught word is sung or screamed in
perfect clarity, bubbling over with emotion, and sets fire
straight to the heart. A triumphant return to grace for In
Flames; A Sense of Purpose may well be their best album to
date, and they’ll be hard-pressed to top it. What uplifts me
beyond all else, however, is the fact that I can start looking
forward to new In Flames albums, as opposed to my usual (since
Reroute) reluctance to audibly delve into their musical
waters. Well, everybody, the sharks are gone. Buy A Sense of
Purpose and bathe in its beauty.
www.inflames.com
| www.nuclearblast.org |
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Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth (I Hate Records) Review by Steve
Green |
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I don't normally get to review the releases on I Hate Records as fellow
L4M writer Chris Davison is the labels number one groupie. But he didn't
really like the Totem EP last year, a release I really loved, so I was
more than willing to take on Jex Thoth, the new name for Totem.
To me, Jex Thoth are a throwback to the hippy days of the late 60s.
Similarities with the drug fuelled outings of Jefferson Airplane are an
easy comparison to make, albeit on downers compared to Grace Slicks LSD
trips. There aren't any tales of 10 foot tall rabbits on this album! In
fact, this is quite a depressing listen. The vocals of Jex Thoth, the
front |
woman of the band that bears her name, are as far removed from
your stereotypical female singer as it gets. Barely a chink of
light gets through and her tone is as welcoming as Charles
Manson would be at a Roman Polanski film premiere. And while I
was trying to keep the hippy theme going with that analogy, I
didn't realise that Polanski's real surname was
Liebling, which is also the surname of one of the grandfathers of Doom.
It's a small world.
Returning to the task in hand: And while this isn't a very happy listen,
it's so thoroughly absorbing, I cannot help but get drawn in by it all.
Long, drawn out passages of psychedelic tinged rock, Hammond Organ, fuzzed
out bass and Jex's hypnotic vocals, and not forgetting the lashings of
misery, they all work together beautifully.
If, like myself, you are a child of the 60s, this is the fucked up
soundtrack to your childhood.
www.ihate.se |
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Krossbreed - Carved In Stone MCD (Self Release) Review by Steve
Green |
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Krossbreed are an unsigned band from Belgium and this is their 3rd demo
release. Their biggest success to date was winning a battle of the bands
comp to represent Belgium at the 2007 edition of Wacken. A competition in
which they ended up in a very respectable 4th place, out of 15 bands.
And the Metal mad market of Germany is where I'd say Krossbreed would have
the most success. Original they most certainly aren't, but they do have
something about them that your average Metalhead will find endearing.
Vocally, they veer more towards the thrashier trends of the mid 80s,
perhaps a little like early Metallica, with a touch of Sepultura, pre- |
Roots and the music too, switches from mid 80s Thrash to
something a little more Teutonic in nature. One thing that's
always present though, is melody. And I guess that's why I
like them. They have a certain air of familiarity about them
and the music is easily accessible.
I don't need to be bowled over by every cd I hear, sometimes a bit of straightforward
Metal is all you need. Not bad at all!
www.myspace.com/krossbreed |
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Mechanical Organic - Disrepair Part One – Permafrost Dreams
(Lockstep Records)
review by Sam Thomas |
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One day I’m going to develop some common sense. When that
happens, I will no longer follow my heart, I will proceed with
logic and caution, act like a sensible person…Actually forget
it. I’ll carry on in my impulsive, illogical fashion. That’s
how I came to be reviewing this album, after all.
The packaging was what intrigued me (I know, never judge a
book by its cover). It looked like a DVD – not just the shape,
but the whole layout. And then there was the word “Australia”.
Last year, everything from Australia that came my way was
outstanding, so this was in the CD player like a flash. Before
I’d read the info that came with it in fact. |
The first comparison that I would make is to Pain, in that
there is a definite electro/ambient/heavy industrial vibe
going on. The parallels run deeper than just a similar sound,
as Mechanical Organic also turns out to be a one-man project,
brainchild of Eddie Katz. It could probably also be described
as a concept album, with alternate tracks being spoken words
describing the breakdown of modern society. Be warned: if
you’re a scientist, American, Jewish or belong to any one of
numerous other groups – you are to blame! The really good
thing about Disrepair… is that the spoken segments have been
specifically recorded for the album, rather than just culled
randomly from available footage.
The musical segments are produced with keyboard, programming,
distorted bass and more vocal effects than I normally listen
to before breakfast. In fact, the most outstanding thing about
this release is the number of different ways that Eddie has
found to layer and harmonise his voice. I don’t think I’ve
heard someone with such enthusiasm for vocal effects before,
apart from Steven Wilson perhaps. The overall production
quality is possibly not quite as sharp as it might be, but
that’s a really minor detail, and more than made up for by the
sheer scale of imagination involved. Describing Disrepair… in
this way makes it sound like quite a difficult piece of work,
and it is undoubtedly complex, but I don’t find it to be
uneasy listening. It has a great vibe, and a nice, bouncy feel
to it, which kind of sucks you in, so that you’re happy to
groove along. I don’t very often listen to music after I’ve
finished writing a review, but this will certainly be an
exception to that rule. There’s so much going on in this one
release that it’s rather like watching the sea: we all know
what it’s like, but it’s constantly changing, throwing up new
patterns and different shades. I hear echoes of many, many
things here, from Pink Floyd through to Depeche Mode, from
ambient through to the whole electro-goth scene. But the album
as a whole sounds pleasantly together: all of the different
styles and influences have been skilfully woven together into
a cohesive work – there are no jarring, false notes, no tracks
where you think “Why is this here?”
I’d agree with Eddie’s note that came with this CD – it
probably can’t be described as metal at all. But at the end of
the day, it is a rich, original piece of work that crosses
many genres to produce something unique. And isn’t that what
good music should really be about?
www.mechanicalorganic.com |
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Phantom Witch - s/t
(Heavy Artillery) Review by Metal Mark |
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This will actually be released as a six song vinyl only
release with a limited number of 500 copies being pressed and
the band will have a full length album out later this year as
well. However, the band’s label has sent out a four song CD as
I am assuming this is 2/3 of the upcoming EP.
Okay, Phantom Witch hail from Indiana and I started hearing
some buzz about them last year. It is immediately evident that
they loved those days back in the mid-80’s when speed metal
was a new phenomenon the style was pretty straight forward.
That’s all well and good because I ate that stuff up back then
and lived to hear every new leather studded |
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bracelet and black band wearing shirt that popped up. However
the genre progressed or at least many of the bands did after a
short period of time. Phantom Witch have picked a spot around
1983-84 and that is straight where their sound comes from.
More specifically the
songs contained here are so Show No Mercy/Haunting The Chapel
era Slayer that I can’t think of a whole lot else when I am
listening to this. Hey, I loved that chapter in Slayer’s
career probably more than most fans, however Slayer quickly
moved past it. Even the bands that were influenced by those
Slayer albums back then moved past it rather quickly as well.
Yet Phantom Witch seem to be approaching this album not as a
stepping stone, but more as a script and they sticking to this
script with little variation or ideas of their own. That’s the
problem because although I liked this style over two decades
ago, doing the same thing without adding any gusts, spurts or
fragments of your own does not define your band. I realize
there are bands today who sound like early 70’s metal and
mid-80’s glam an indeed some of those bands sound like their
idols without adding their own ideas. However this new wave of
style thrash bands seem to be the biggest culprits for not
adding anything to the mix. I don’t know why that is, but
album after album of thrash re-hash seems to be causing me to
see this current phase in that light. I am not going to write
Phantom Witch off because the talent is obvious and so is
their enthusiasm, but the ideas have been done and re-done and
then some. If you like old style thrash then you may be
absolutely thrilled by this one, if you already heard every
speed metal band that’s come down the pike then this may not
be for you.
www.myspace.com/phantomwitch |
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Rain - Dad is Dead
(Aural Music) Review by James Young |
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They’ve been around for 28 years, had over 20 members come and
go, have five albums under their belts, and I can’t believe
I’ve never even heard of them. This is what can only be
described as sleazy hard rock with a slight flavour of Italian
power metal. Gruff but extremely melodic vocals, lyrics that
don’t quite make sense, ambiguous song titles (‘Rain Are Us’ –
excuse me?), dirty rock and roll riffs combined with some
blazing double bass drum fury makes this a cheesy but
enjoyable listen. It’s definitely only for fans of these
genres, but personally I found it a great album for its sheer
catchiness, with a nice dose of humour, albeit mostly
unintentional. Francesco Biondi’s voice is reminiscent of
Bruce |
Dickinson’s at its top range, but harks back to the days of
80s hair metal when accompanying the excellently retro hard
rock riffs, courtesy of Marco Rizzi and Alessio Amorati. I
have no idea what the lyrics are about – who knows what the
two words of ‘Mr 2 Words’ are, and ‘Love In The Back’ may or
may not be about anal sex. It doesn’t really matter though,
because the playing is excellent and the production is spot
on, capturing the alcohol-soaked nature of the genre
perfectly.
For just under an hour, you certainly get value for money with
thirteen varied and well-written songs. The power metal (some
would call it heavy but the style certainly verges on the
‘power’ side of things) is more present in songs such as
‘Blind Fury’ and ‘Last Friday’, with the high notes of Biondi
meeting the trademark Italian double bass drums. The hard rock
is more apparent in ‘Love In The Back’ and ‘Swan Tears’, which
have the thumping beat and well-written riffs to bang our head
to. Whilst these are great fun, the most interesting songs are
those that blend the two genres together seamlessly, with ‘The
Party’ for example reminding me of Edguy’s newer material.
Included with this album as a bonus track is a cover of The
Cult, which features members of the doom forerunners Death SS.
This song isn’t as incongruous as you might expect for this
album, because aside from the fact it’s about Rain, the rock
riffs and extra double-kick drumming at the end seem to blend
in nicely with the rest of the tracks.
With bands like Warrant and Motley Crue seeming just too old
to still be singing about sex, drugs and rock and roll, Rain
bring catchy power metal tinged hard rock into the
twenty-first century. Let’s hope Rain makes a splash with this
brilliantly cheesy release.
www.raincrew.com |
www.myspace.com/raincrew1980 |
www.auralmusic.com |
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Subrosa - Stroga
(I Hate Records) Review by Chris Davison |
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They don't just do straight doom. I mean, they do produce
incredibly fine doom releases, and my love affair with I Hate
Records is now a long standing affair, bar the odd misfire,
but it's nice to see that they don't just take the easy road
and cater to the traditional doom heads among us.
Subrosa are from the that most sober of American cities, Salt
Lake, Utah. I suspect, however, that there the connection to
the Mormon church may end. This is spooky, unsettling music
that is about as averse to Kum-By-Yah as you are ever likely
to bloody get. In simple terms, the sounds contained on this
CD are akin to running a dangerously high |
fever, stumbling bare footed through the desert and finding
only a crazed woman who has only an LSD laced water canteen to
offer you. Which you take, and drink of deeply.
All of which, of course, will in no way help you imagine how
this thing might sound. Another quicker way of describing it,
would be to imagine an unholy collision between the fuzzed out
sounds of, say, a more downbeat Kyuss or Fu Manchu if they
weren't obsessed with fast vans, P J Harvey and the indie
miserabilism of Joy Division. This is miserable, shoe gazing
stuff, which happily enough for me manages to keep just the
right side of indie music, which I naturally abhor in all of
it's brown-corded, NME reading, side parting-clad forms. There
is just a ferocious sense of the rocking-out, the strange
droning hypnotic atmosphere and the female vocals, which
although often sounding like the afore mentioned side-valve
mouthed Ms Harvey, can also on the more powerful sections
sound like my much-missed Mourn. From the funereal acoustic
dirge-like anthem to hoplessness, “Isaac” to the fuzzed-out
L7-on-crack of “The Hours I Keep”, this is nothing if not an
interesting and engaging listen.
As I have said, this isn't straight up doom metal, nor really
is it metal at all, though it does retain enough rock
sensibility to be of interest to the more open minded rivet
heads among us. It's also supremely reminiscent of the sort of
music that I can remember the late John Peel being interested
in, from time to time, and I can almost imagine his deadpan
delivery introducing “Go Down Moses” to a caffeine-addled late
night audience. I can't imagine that I'm going to be listening
to this a lot, but when I do, I'm certain that I won't just be
playing it in the background to ignore.
www.ihate.se |
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Third Degree - Punk Sugar
(Selfmadegod) Review by Metal Mark |
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The opener “From simple punks” came on I was very pleased
because underneath a few layers of crust and grind there were
some real old style UK hardcore rumblings in the style of
Discharge and the Exploited. I was hopeful at that point, but
then my ears were assaulted by seemingly track after track of
faceless noise with little variation or personality. I think
somewhere towards they at they did another track or so similar
in style to the opener, but my interest was minimal at that
point. Poland’s Third Degree seem to try hard, but it’s rather
bland mass of grindcore/metalcore noise that isn’t that heavy,
aggressive or intriguing enough to take make anyone listen.
Even people who love noise will likely find this to be |
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rather run of the mill. Now if they could focus on that
hardcore inspired style that was in the opener and do even of
the majority of their songs in that style then I might be
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U.D.O.- Metallized
(Locomotive Records)
By: Joe Florez |
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By now, Udo needs no introduction. If you want or need one,
then you need to go to his website and find out just who he is
cause this is 101 kids. The man with the distinct and one of a
kind voice has served up a greatest hits package that had the
fans vote for the songs that made it on here via his website.
12 cuts are in order and the spectrum that it covers runs the
gamut from day one with “Animal House” and the anti war song
that made the airwaves on MTV after Accept “They Want War”
from the debut disc to Mission X. The first track “Holy” from
the title of the same name is standard Udo fair which is
basically a simple, yet catchy beat with sing along lyrics.
“Cut Me Out” changes the pace a little bit by |
getting a bit more on the poppy side with a little bit of
piano and a pacing that has a commercial vibe. Not your
typical Mr. Dirkschneider
fair, but interesting to say the least. The sensitive side of
the German continues to be showcased on each of his records
and from Mission X is “Cry Soldier Cry” which is a really
touching song and it shows that real men can have genuine
feelings. You get everything you have come to know and love
the man for. If you want ballads, slower paced, mid-range or
upbeat songs, then you will find them here. Well, if you are
a fan of the man’s work you would say that this package is not
worth your money cause you have all the albums already even if
they aren’t re-mastered, but Udo was kind enough to toss in
some extra goodies. In addition to the standard twelve vicious
cuts, we get two unreleased songs, a live version of “Bullet
And The Bomb, and an acoustic version of “Balls To The Wall.”
This one deserves to be talked about briefly. This one has
been completely flipped inside out from a hard rockin’ jam to
a ballad with only a piano. He sounds sincere when he sings it
and then during the solo a violin comes out and makes the song
sound even more sad. It’s really weird, yet interesting and
intriguing. Honestly, this disc is pretty much for fans and/or completists, but I would recommend this to someone who has
never heard of the German. It’s typical music that I wouldn’t
want changed for the world. Worthy of a purchase.
www.locomotiverecords.com
| www.udo-online.de |
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