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Ascend - Ample. Fire.
Within. (Southern Lord) By: Dave Schalek |
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Yet another spin-off of the Southern Lord extended family,
this one from a project entitled Ascend and consisting of Greg
Anderson (his claims to fame are numerous) and Gentry Densley.
Ascend isn’t really a duo, however, as just about everyone
loosely connected with Sunn O))), various other Southern Lord
projects, and even Kim Thayil from Soundgarden lends a hand
here on the debut full-length, “Ample. Fire. Within.”
All of the usual deeply layered, unbelievably dense, strummed
harmonics familiar to most of you from Sunn O))), Goatsnake,
Burning Witch, and so forth are present on “Ample. Fire.
Within.” in spades, but Ascend is a damn sight more accessible
to the general listening |
public with additional, lighter-toned soundscapes thrown into the mix. Deep acoustics somewhat
reminiscent of Earth, eerily distorted Greg Anderson trademark
vocals, some great moments of trombone (all too fleeting),
organ, and even a Wurlitzer make themselves known on an album
that really thrives on all of the variation present. In
addition, some of the five tracks present on this promo
version of “Ample. Fire. Within.” (six tracks will be present
on the full version) are backed up by a pounding, still
glacially slow, percussion from Andy Patterson, thereby giving
some needed structure to the exercise.
Ascend is particularly noteworthy in that their style of drone
has wonderful contrast drawn between songs with all of the
different instrumentation. In addition, subtle changes within
an individual song are so seamless that an entirely different
sound slowly emerges across a song as the listener is drawn
in. Those changes may not entirely register with the listener
at first, and that is a fleeting quality that really caught my
notice.
In short, Ascend is drone of the highest caliber and will
appeal to anyone already interested in the Southern Lord drone
pantheon. The lighter moments of “Ample. Fire. Within.” will
also allow Ascend to appeal to those of you that may find
Burning Witch and so forth a bit unpalatable. Yep, buy or die.
www.myspace.com/ascendamountain
| www.southernlord.com |
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Fairytale Abuse - Perversions of Angel VI (Massacre Records)
review by Sam Thomas |
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“Perversions of Angel VI” is Danish band Fairytale Abuse’s
follow up to “The Spirit Tower”, and their first output for
Massacre Records. I haven’t previously had the pleasure of
encountering them, but that may be a situation that I have to
rectify…
Melodic death is probably a good starting point to try to
describe their sound, but equally you could describe it as
symphonic (but in a Hammer Horror sense rather than a black
sense). Whatever it is, it’s played absolutely flat-out, with
the kind of precision and attention for detail that I’ve come
to expect from the Danes. This is not an album for the
faint-hearted, it’s impossible to listen to it without being
drawn in to the world that Fairytale |
Abuse create. The second track, “The Interdiction of
Obscurity” is a particular culprit, having some tremendous
riffs that stick in my head for days.
This has to be one of the strangest releases I’ve come across
this year – it doesn’t really fit neatly into any category (a
good thing), and is quite bludgeoningly intense. It manages to
have some beautiful, swooping keyboards whilst at the same
time having an intensely battering drum line that really
shouldn’t go together, and yet it does, somehow. In parts, I’m
reminded of Emperor, but definitely not in a derivative sense,
in other parts I’m reminded of some of the more epic parts of
Dimmu Borgir. And the track titles are kind of reminiscent of
Dimmu as well “Troparion for the white plague” could compete
well with “The Blazing Monoliths of Defiance” for my most
bizarre track title ever competition.
So having started out arguing the case that this was melodic
death, I seem to have come round to painting myself into a
“it’s really symphonic black” corner. And don’t forget the
horror overtones either – this album practically oozes
Kensington Gore. At the end of the day, it really is
irrelevant how you choose to categorise this CD, because the
only important point to note is, whatever genre it belongs to,
it’s a damn fine piece of work. End of discussion.
www.fairytale-abuse.com
| www.massacre-records.com |
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Lost Legion - Promo 2008 (Self
Release) Review by Steve Green |
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Lost Legion are an unsigned band, featuring many stalwarts
of the London scene, including an old friend of mine, Frank
Allain, who's been in bands such as Skaldic Curse, Fen and
Demagogue. None of those bands have ever broken out of the
underground, but I think that could all be about to change
with Lost Legion.
Lost Legion are a band who are influenced by writers such as
David Gemmell and Tolkein, as well as bands such as Manowar,
Blind Guardian, Rainbow and Saxon. And their sound is drawn
directly from the influences I've just mentioned. This is
music that takes you off into a fantasy world, just as all
good Heavy Metal should.
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Here we have three songs that are part of a forthcoming
album, Glory or Death, which the band are actively seeking a
deal to secure a release for. Opening number, Riders Of The
Mark is a riotous romp of epic proportions which conjures up
images of mighty warriors, swords at the ready, and on their
way to storm the castle of your choice. If you thought Manowar
ruled this roost, then you'd better think again. It seems Lost
Legion have out-metalled their heroes (I'm thinking Manowar
and Blind Guardian here) and have gone one better than their
peers. This really is some of the best True/Epic Metal you are
ever likely to hear. The Day I Die, has a much more rugged
metallic edge, with Tom Williams borrowing from the tight-trousered
brigade to deliver a magnificent vocal performance, that many
of the 80s masters would be proud of. Musically, I can see
this sitting very nicely alongside Saxon's Crusader opus, but
going just that bit further in the lyric department.
Last number, Gellan's Lament is a storming anthem, which just
blows me away every time I hear it. It's a heady mixture of
Judas Priest, Dio, Saxon etc... but in Lost Legions own
trademark style. Hey, no band is original these days, but
these guys have carved out a very distinguishable sound which
is instantly recognisable and they should be praised on this
fact alone, but the three songs here are just so good, they
have me salivating with appreciation.
I really don't know how far to go in my praise of these three
songs. If the rest of the album is as good as the ones on this
promo, then this could be the best underground release I've
ever heard. I hope someone signs these guys soon as I'm dying
to get my hands on the completed album. If you only check out
one new band this year, make sure it's this one. Utterly
essential listening.
www.myspace.com/thelostlegion |
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Rogue Male - First Visit
Re-issue (Metal Mind) Review by Metal Mark |
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These guys were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
movement and recorded two LPs and one EP. Yet their entire
legacy seems to revolve quite a bit around the fact that
Kerrang! magazine called them “the next big thing” and of
course they failed to live up to that prediction. In fact that
Kerrang! claim seems to be the only thing most people ever
said about this band and I could never find a decent
description of their sound over the years. Now the album has
been re-issued and I can finally judge for myself. The sound
here has a definite Motorhead influence primarily from the
Overkill/Bomber era plus there are several songs with a strong
Judas Priest sound say from around the 1979-1981 period. The |
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vocals are gritty and deep and the music is heavier than I
would have figured, but fairly basic. The melodies make this
almost as much a hard rock effort as it is a metal album, but
the two styles work together well enough. This is very much a NWOBHM sound although for 1985 it’s a little dated because by
that time I think most were moving beyond this approach. I
enjoyed every song and this version includes two bonus tracks.
My curiosity of this band had grown over the years largely due
to the fact that no one would commit to saying much about
them. The results are that it’s better than I figured it would
be. However I can see why they didn’t make much of an impact,
if this had come out in say 1982 instead of 1985 then I could
have better understood someone thinking this band might make
an impact. Another fine Metal Mind re-issue which includes
bonus tracks and the booklet has pictures and a band
biography. |
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Rogue Male - Animal Man
Re-issue (Metal Mind)
Review by Metal Mark |
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After “First Visit” this band did a U.S. tour to support the
album, but they didn’t make the impression they were hoping
for. They returned to the UK and put out an EP called
“Belfast”. Then following some shifting of drummers they put
together their second LP “Animal Man”. They may have looked
like a cross between the cast of “Cats” and extras from a Mad
Max film, but their debut had proven they could put forth a
solid release. So I don’t know what exactly happened here, but
this is a rather confused sounding album. “First Visit” had a
very cohesive sound and a definite, if slightly dated musical
direction. This album not only fails to pick up on that
direction, but it also doesn’t seem to follow any |
real apparent direction that I could comprehend. There are
several tracks that sound like they would have been very
comfortable on the debut. However, there are also songs where
the music lacks not just power, but also much of any identity.
Several tracks rely on a more processed drum sound and the
guitars are pushed into the background far more than they
needed to be. The vocals also suffer as a few songs hear some
kind of pop approach that just sounds completely misguided
because they are not even focused enough to work as pop music.
If this band wanted to change their style then they needed to
go at it with confidence and do it completely. Instead this
album is such a mixed bag that it reminds me more of an album
of outtakes and previously unreleased material. I don’t know
if the band were upset by the lack of success at this point,
if outside hands messed with their style or if their numerous
line-up changes had finally taken their toll. Whatever the
reason this album suffered and I guess that Rogue Male
suffered as well because they broke not too long after this
album.
Metal Mind’s re-issue includes a bonus track and the booklet
has lyrics and a band biography. |
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Sixoneosix - The Price We Pay
(Self release) review by Sam
Thomas |
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Sixoneosix are a trio of musicians who’ve got together to
produce a little ten-minute EP to show the world how things
can be done. They’ve all played in Sanguinary at some point,
and I’m guessing that they are all Swedish, probably form
Stockholm, but their website, whilst beautifully presented, is
a little light on information.
“The Price We Pay” is three tracks of death metal with a
rather nice groovy undertone, rather than an all-out brutality
that is actually rather appealing. The vocals are raw, but
perfectly comprehensible (and if that wasn’t enough, they’re
printed on the booklet accompanying the CD and published on
the website) and rather reminiscent of Peter |
Tägtgren in his
Hypocrisy guise. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but
there’s something about this that puts me, fleetingly, in mind
of Kataklysm – it may be the lyrics or possibly the intensity
of the playing at certain points.
The full three tracks hang together quite nicely, whilst not
being so identikit that you’re left thinking that it’s a
merciful release that there were no more. The production is
pretty damn good, cover art (courtesy of guitarist Danne) very
professional, and all in all you’re left thinking that it’ll
be worth waiting for a full-length outing from Sixoneosix. Oh,
and wondering what the hell the band name means. Of course.
You can download all three tracks at their official website,
and enjoy some crunchy, groovy death metal which deserves to
have as wide an audience as possible.
www.sixoneosix.com |
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Tankwart - Himbeergeist zum Frühstück
(Locomotive) Review by Metal Mark |
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Firstly this is a re-release and was originally issued back in
1996. Secondly this band was started a side project for thrash
band Tankard, like they needed another outlet to talk about
beer and act silly. Obviously the whole album is meant to be
taken lightly and that whole attitude can be heard in every
element of this album. It’s light in nature and that be heard
throughout even though I can’t understand any of the lyrics
because they are in German. Almost every track is medium to
medium fast paced and all are reasonably short which helps
with this style. I believe a number of the songs here are
German folk songs that have been tweaked re-interpreted into
sounding like the soundtrack for weekend of partying and |
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heavy drinking. As a whole it’s reasonable quick and light
which results in it being fun enough. The fact that there are
14 tracks may have caused them to overstay their welcome by a
few songs. Tankard fans will likely take to it even though
it’s not really thrash, but I am sure anyone is going like
this enough to want to run out and buy a copy. I think the
novelty of it will wear off rather quickly. |
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Tyr - Land (Napalm Records)
Review by Steve Green |
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I've got a real soft spot for Faroese Viking Metallers Tyr.
I think they are doing something very different in the
increasingly overcrowded Viking Metal scene. Their use of
harmonious vocals and traditional backdrops, on cd at least,
are an absolute joy to listen to. I say on cd, as I don't think
it transfers that well live, particularly as an opening act,
for which I've seen them twice. I'm sure they did Sinklars
Vísa on the Paganfest tour, apologies if I got that wrong, but
anyway, studio wise, it sounds fantastic, with the vocals in
particular being absolutely spot on.
I'd say that Land is different than their previous Erik The
Red and Ragnarok releases. I'm
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not quite sure what the differences are, but I'd probably say
that Tyr are more
energised as a band. And this theory is backed up by the
joyous Gátu Ríma, which is happiest I've ever heard Tyr
perform. But generally, they improved as a band in all areas.
I mean, they've never been shy of writing long songs, but the
ten minute Ocean is certainly a brave move, yet it fits in
perfectly with all that surrounds it. But that's nothing, as
when it dawns on you that the title track is a ball crushing
16 minute epic, you know Tyr have really come of age with this
album.
Despite the use of the Viking Metal tag, this isn't all blood
and guts. This is true Viking Metal, based on
traditional stories about the Norse pantheon and Viking age,
but integrated into a soothing metallic setting. This is
definitely the best album they've produced so far, and one
that comes highly recommended.
www.napalmrecords.com
| www.tyr.net |
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Valient Thorr - Immortalizer
(Volcom Entertainment) Review by
Luke Goaman-Dodson |
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Heavy fuckin’ Metal is back, baby! Valient Thorr are heralding
the new dawn of rock ‘n’ fuckin’ roll, maaaaaaan! Oh, I’m
sorry, you think IT’S SHIT? Sod off back to yer Nirvana
albums, Mr. Depressio, cause VALIENT THORR are here to stay!
…is how the likes of Kerrang! and Metal Hammer are almost
certainly reacting to this band, in case you were worrying I’d
been lobotomised while I was away. I’d never heard of this
band before, but they seem to have emerged out of nowhere,
complete with scheduled dates at Download and the Metal Hammer
awards ceremony, and what appears be a ‘maggot’ style fan-base
nicknamed ‘Thorriors’, neatly organised into regional chapters |
on MySpace, like some kind of un-intimidating biker gang, which,
when
viewed together spell out some message about peace or
something. This alone raised my suspicions, as any sizeable
audience for a contemporary band generally does, that these
were simply part of the latest set of garments the emperor had
donned this season. And a listen to their latest CD, pretty
much confirmed them – a bit of retrograde-metal, uninspired
and uninspiring, that harks back to the likes of Judas Priest
and Megadeth, but with a knowing, cheeky smirk. 80s metal was
just, like, so funny and cool.
The band is, at least, very technical – but technicality is
pretty common these days. The slightly-OTT singing, the jagged
logo, the faux-naïve cover art – as my brother pointed out,
all of it seems like something out of Napoleon Dynamite,
except that it’s not funny. There’s decent metal out there
that isn’t retrograde nonsense; there’s decent metal that is
retrograde nonsense. My advice would be to move along, and
leave the trendies to their flash in the pan.
www.myspace.com/valientthorr |
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Waldheim - Fight Against Time (Santo
Grial Records) Review by Steve Green |
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While there is, unfortunately, plenty of shit floating around the
underground, there are still a number of gems just waiting to
be discovered. Here we have Spanish band Waldheim, who have a
very distinct symphonic edge, with bombastic keyboards and
stunning female vocals, and although they don't sound like
Epica, they do play in a similar style. But that's not all,
there are Progressive passages, Neo-classical flourishes, and
revolving around all of this, is an energy filled Death Metal
core. The juxtaposition of styles shouldn't work, but it fits
together beautifully and it's a sure fire winner from the
opening number. As with Swedish Doomsters Draconian, here we
have two very strong vocalists who work very well side by
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side, and they are the focal point for this album, with the
music doing a very good job in trying to outdo them. And as
with trying to separate the vocals from the music, it's very
hard trying to decide which song is the best. Fight Against
Time has nine brilliant tunes (+ an outro), all of which are
of a good enough standard to rival anything Epica and After Forever have
produced on their last couple of albums. And with making those
comparisons, despite of their Death Metal leanings, this is
obviously going to appeal more to those that prefer their
music either Gothic, Symphonic, or both. Personally, I think
it's a great album and Waldheim are a band I hope to hear a
lot more from in the future.
www.myspace.com/hogardelbosque |
www.waldheim.es
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