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Candlemass - Lucifer
Rising EP (Nuclear Blast) Review by Chris
Davison |
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Everything in doom is slower. Time slows down when it's
done right...which may go some way to explaining why this “EP”
weighs in at more than seventy minutes of music! In terms of
value for money, this ranks right up there with the recent
impressive reissued Candlemass albums.
Now, in case you have been hiding in some kind of doom-cave,
Candlemass recorded their last album, the superlative “King of
the Grey Islands” with Rob Lowe (no, not that one) at the
vocal stands. Now, that was an excellent album, but as we
know, for every “Heaven and Hell” there comes a “Dehumanizer”,
and after such a jaw-dropping album, |
there has been the worry that the follow up would somehow seem
uninspired or inferior. Being an EP, of course, it isn't
really safe to judge in these terms, but this is as affirming
an EP has ever been released. In terms of studio material,
you'll get two brand spanking new tracks, and a re-working of
the classic “Demons Gate”. This is followed by a live
performance from last year in Athens, Greece.
Opener “Lucifer Rising” is a surprisingly sprightly, unusual
Candlemass track, drawing plenty of influences from the
classic NWoBHM era, with a soaring, infectious chorus and
jarring, unsettling rhythm. “White God” slows the pace down to
more typical doom tempos, with a soulful refrain that only a
singer of the calibre of Robert Lowe can carry off. Both new
tracks show that Mr Edling has not lost his famous songwriting
touch, and show the Janus like ability of Candlemass to look
backwards to their glorious past and forwards to an even more
impressive future at the same time. “Demons Gate” of course is
a massive fan favourite, with due reason. I have to say that
recording this in a studio session did initially strike me as
very brave from the band, because really, some of the vocal
lines I could only really hear in my head as being able to be
carried off by everyone's favourite heavy metal monk. Mr Lowe
is a great singer; maybe even the best in doom today, but he
isn't nearly as operatic as the Messiah. I need not have
worried, because where Lowe may lack in the over-the-top
melodrama of the Marcollin warble, he compensates in soulful,
powerful terms. His voice simply drips atmosphere, and in a
song as peerlessly epic as Demons Gate, I truly believe that
no other singer in heavy metal could have equalled my
favourite version (from the 2002 live album, trivia fans).
Lowe hasn't done that – in spectacular, gladiatorial fashion,
he finally and crucially exorcises the ghost of Messiah with a
performance that truly slays. This is the definitive recorded
version of this excellent song.
Elsewhere? Well, the live versions of classic and more modern
tracks alike just go to underscore the general principle that
Lowe is the present and the future of the band. Whether
knocking out classics like “Mirror Mirror” or “At The Gallows
End” like he has always been the lead singer of the band, or
with modern classics like “Emperor of the Void” and “Black
Dwarf”, his voice is simply impeccable, and the rest of the
band play at the very top of their game. All in all, “Lucifer
Rising” doesn't seem like a release for the benefit of the
band; they have a fanatical following who would buy anything
they released. No, this seems more like a statement of intent
– a furious rebranding of the doom-machine that is Candlemass.
What “Lucifer Rising” shouts – and it is a shout – is that
THIS IS CANDLEMASS. I, for one, need no more convincing.
There is no choice in this matter. You must own Lucifer
Rising.
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Early Man - Beware The Circling Fin
(The End) Review by Metal Mark |
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Early Man tap into the beginning days of thrash oh circa
1983-1985. They remind me of early Metallica and Anthrax with
a few NWOBHM influences shining through at times as well. Back
when thrash was first being developed, NWOBHM was a very big
influence as bands like Raven and Venom were once thought of
as speed metal in the early days. At the same point acts like
Metallica, Slayer, Exciter and others were taking what acts
like Iron Maiden, Raven, Venom and others had done and sped it
up and added thickness and more aggressive vocals. Why the
history lesson? Well, these young guys from Early Man have
managed to tap into a sound that I think a lot of the retro
thrash bands of today have |
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missed out on. That's the fact that solid, classic metal like NWOBHM that was really at the core
of early thrash. I think a number of young thrash bands shoot
for a late 1980's style and are content to just pump away and
try to pretend it's 1988 and sometimes they just come off as a
poor copy and they oftentimes lack spirit or soul. Early Man
are not doing anything new, but they have a grasp on the raw
root of this style and they pick it up, dust it off and parade
it around in all it's glory. The four tracks here bring you
focus into the hooks and the changes instead of just trying to
soar off. It's twenty plus years
after the fact yet it's still entertaining and they milk it
for all it's worth.
www.myspace.com/earlyman |
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Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador
Records) Review by Steve Green |
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"It's hard enough being born in the first place: Who wants to be born
again?" When a bands opening song is vehemently against religion, then
things are definitely starting on the right foot. Son The Father comes
flying out of the blocks in a non stop swirl of psychedelic tinged punk
rock and Fucked Up seem to have won me over immediately. Unfortunately
nothing else comes even remotely close to this hi-octane opener.
The Chemistry of Common Life isn't a bad album, it just doesn't life up to
the standards I was expecting after the opening number. This is mainly,
mid-paced garage rock with a punk attitude and a Hawkwind style space rock
edge. Son The Father, No Epiphany and
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the title track are perfect examples of Fucked Up getting it
right, but there's not enough songs of this quality throughout
the album for me to fully enjoy it. I think that Fucked Up
need to take heed of their name a little more and need to fuck
things up a little as there's too many throwaway moments on
this album. At times I just got bored and was reaching for the
skip button and that's something that should never happen with
this sort of music. Overall, it's not bad, but not brilliant
either.
www.matadorrecords.com
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Glyder - Weather The
Storm EP (Glyder Music) Review by Strawb |
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I suspect that there are times when people must find me really
infuriating. Steve, who is responsible for this fine oracle of
all things metal must be amongst them. I ask for discs, he
sends them. Sometimes the turn around will be almost instant,
others it will be forever. On one occasion he even had to ask
for the reviews I owed. There are, on occasions, reasons for
this. My main one is when I find a CD particularly uninspiring
and struggle to find something good to say about it – because,
after all, a lot of people have put effort into it, and some
may have a great deal resting on what reviewers say. So to
Steve, Glyder and all associated with this EP I offer a
profuse apology. |
However on this occasion, the reason for my slothness was not
the above, it was just that around the time this CD came to me
I was topping and tailing the Bloodstock photos, and had the
following to listen to: Thin Lizzy – UK Tour ’75, Metallica –
Death Magnetic and Whitesnake – The Silver Anniversary
Collection, all of them purchased with my own hard-earned. So
you can see why Glyder might not have gotten a lot of playing
time. But you’d be wrong to assume that to be the case,
because to be honest Weather The Storm has had just as much
play time as the three giants of the genre which I paid for.
So take a well earned bow Tony, Bat, Pete and Davy.
I was impressed with Playground For Life when I reviewed it
earlier in the year, and can only say that far from resting on
their laurels, the boys have been in to the studio and
surpassed it by some considerable margin. Once again the
production values have been turned round to eleven, and all I
seek in an album is there: each instrument is well played, the
mixing is good, the vocals varied and spot on, and solos and
riffs abound - it’s megatastic, pop pickers. There is not a
weak track on here, and if I were forced to make a choice I
would have to say that Fill Your Head With Rock is the best
track on there, but it would be a bit like choosing between
unlimited access all area concert passes, a self-filling glass
or the job of the nipple erector on the Agent Provocateur
catalogue shoot. Now all I need to do is catch Glyder live,
and I’m not sure if I would like to see them over here or to
go across to the Emerald Isle myself. I think it may be the
latter, because on previous visits I’ve drunk only stout and
whiskey; however, I might need to try the water just in case
it’s something in there that is responsible for Glyder......
Find out more about this fab four at
www.glydermusic.com |
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Illdisposed - The Prestige
(Locomotive Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Danish melodic death metal act Illdisposed return with their
latest full-length, and eighth overall, entitled “The
Prestige” and released on Locomotive Records. Although
Illdisposed have been around since 1993, I only picked up on
them with the release of “1-800 Vindication” from 2004. That
release and the subsequent “Burn Me Wicked” from 2006 are both
competent entries in the melodic death metal genre with plenty
of melodic and progressive touches. The concentration of
Illdisposed is upon the guitar work with solid riffing and
melodic interludes. Those trends continue with “The Prestige”.
Leaning heavily on riff-driven Gothenburg styled melodic death
metal with harsh vocals, |
Illdisposed never quite lapse into
blastbeat territory, although the music does have an overall
fast pace alternating with plenty of groove. Melodic and
progressive touches make appearances throughout “The
Prestige”, bolstered by the obvious skills of guitarists Jakob
Hansen and Franz Hellboss. In fact, the thrust of the album’s
production serves to highlight the guitars.
As impressive as the musicianship and production is on “The
Prestige”, Illdisposed suffer from the same malady that
strikes so many bands that firmly reside in the second tier;
that is, a lackluster effort in the songwriting department.
Like with so many other albums from bands in the second tier,
I find my attention wandering about three songs into “The
Prestige” as the album really fails to hold my interest for
very long. As is also the case with so many others, that’s too
bad since the qualities are there for some impressive work.
However, after eight albums, how many more albums are
necessary for Illdisposed to make a huge splash? I fear that
the time is past for them to have done so.
www.illdisposed.dk
| www.locomotivemusic.com
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Kiske - Past In Different Ways
(Blistering Records)
By: Joe Florez |
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For a man who no longer wanted to do metal records he has sure
been showing up in spades: i.e. Place Domine, solo records and
projects like Avantasia. Michael is an odd individual, but
that’s another story. I had no what I was dealing with. Even
when the first cut “You Always Walk Alone” kicked in. Then it
dawned on me. This is from Keeper Of The Seven Keys done
acoustically. All of the cuts on here are acoustic. Mike
decided to take all of his favorite songs and re-arrange them
to fit accordingly. This is a bold move as fans prefer the
amped up versions. As I continue to discuss the first track
mentioned, this one has a folkly flavor to it especially in
the opening. You will no doubt notice it as it has |
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retained its sound. There are drums on the disc as well just
to keep you from dozing off if you aren’t accustomed to it. I
actually enjoyed this. Another classic tune from the Keeper
days is “We Got The Right” which also manages to throw in some
brass horns into the mix. Very unusual, but intriguing. “I
Believe” picks up the pace a bit compared to the first two
which will definitely continue to hold your interest. Damn,
Mike has taken on the dangerous responsibility and covered
tracks from the dismal Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon days
which every fan basically despises. He says in the bio that he
always hated the original versions and wanted to do them his
way…and he did. There is one new track in “Different Ways.”
Don’t expect anything on here to be metallic as each
composition is acoustic and that’s final. I will say that this
is surely an intriguing listen and all Helloween maniacs should give it a
whirl. Now, do I think this is a recommended purchase? Well,
that depends on three levels. One, you like acoustic music
from top to bottom. Two, you can handle the middle of the disc
being clunkers when he re-visits Helloween’s dismal mid-era
career. Lastly, you really want this in your collection. I
think you should invest time in researching this before
investing money on this especially when money is tight during
this abysmal economy. Mike’s voice hasn’t change one bit if
that’s a plus to anyone.
www.blisteringrecords.se
| www.michael-kiske.de |
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Lahmia - Forget Every Sunrise (Self Release) Review by Steve
Green |
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Lahmia hail (Caesar) from Rome and are one of the better bands I've heard
from Italy in the past few years. They play catchy as hell melodic Death
with a thrashy rhythm section, and if this five track MCD is an indication
of what they are capable of, then I doubt they'll remain unsigned for
long.
Opening number, Nightfall, gets your head nodding immediately as the pace
increases before a mighty roars lets rip. Lahmia tear through the opening
number with the majestic lead guitars duelling with the frantic drumming
and they've got my seal of approval before the song is halfway through. I
can't quite pin down their sound, maybe a speeded up
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(early) version of Paradise Lost, and they definitely would
not have been out of place on Century Media's roster a few
years ago. Grinding Dreams follows on in a similar vein with
the lead guitars being particularly catchy and it's still hard
to believe that these guys are unsigned.
On this MCD, two of the five tracks are slower in pace and I'm not such a
fan of this style. The Last Dance is saved by its brooding atmospherics,
but Glass Eyed Child doesn't really do it for me. Personally, I
think Lahmia are at their best when they let rip in all departments, the
same way that Iron Maiden's The Trooper is the epitome of how good they
can be, while their last studio album just didn't cut the mustard. Lahmia
are treading that fine line between success and failure and I think that
if they go with the faster material, then they've got a good chance of
success.
www.myspace.com/lahmia |
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Lunatic Soul - Lunatic Soul
(Kscope) Review by James Young |
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Attention to the narrow-minded - this website may have ‘metal’
in its name, but this album certainly does not fit into this
genre. Those who aren’t put off by such a concept may have
heard of Riverside, the Polish progressive rock band who have
the odd heavy moment and snarled vocal line from Mariusz Duda.
Lunatic Soul is Duda’s mellower solo project, to which he
contributes acoustic guitar, bass, some keyboards, and of
course vocals. This project still contains the unique vocals
and heady atmospheres of Riverside, but this is a far more
ethereal experience. The songs are extremely spaced out,
bordering at times on psychedelia, with the experimental
‘Where The Darkness Is Deepest’ for example |
consisting of four minutes of electronic rhythms. The drumming
of Wawrzyniec,
when it is present, has a certain psychedelic feel in its
hypnotic complicated, yet repetitive nature, heard most
prominently in the rhythms of ‘The Final Truth’. This is
certainly not happy music, as the sample of a person crying on
‘Out On A Limb’ suggests, and is not for the easily depressed.
In fact the whole album has a haunting quality to it - Maciej
Szelenbaum’s sublime keyboard and piano work gives a rich
sound, whilst the use of flutes, a harmonica, and all sorts of
odd instruments give an almost exotic sound in places, the
dreaminess of which will have you pinching yourself. For all
the richness that these add to the music, there is still a
feeing of emptiness and despair on this album, helped by the
production on Duda’s voice, which sounds distant and hollow
for the most part. The closest we get to a shout is a slightly
snarled lyric on the title track ‘Lunatic Soul’, but there is
certainly no need for growling when clean vocals sound as
oppressed as this.
If it’s a happy, optimistic album you’re after, look
elsewhere, because this isn’t for you. Otherwise, anyone
seeking a diverse and emotional album should pick this up.
This would certainly be enjoyed by fans of early Porcupine
Tree, Pink Floyd, and of course Riverside, but any
self-respecting music fan, albeit metal or not, should be able
to appreciate the darkness that lies within this album.
www.lunaticsoul.com |
www.myspace.com/lunaticsoulband |
www.kscopemusic.com
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Sonic Syndicate - Love and Other Disasters
(Nuclear Blast) Review by Steve
Green |
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Despite not being of my normal listening pleasure, (ie: being a bit modern
for me) I really enjoyed Sonic Syndicate's Nuclear Blast debut, Only
Inhuman. In fact I was so impressed with the young Swedes I made the
effort to catch them live on the Eastpak tour, the sort of tour package I
would normally avoid. So after a year or so on the road supporting some
major bands, including Nightwish in the USA, how have this talented band
progressed since their last album.
To be honest, this album is pretty dire. Bar the saccharine ballads My
Escape and Contradiction, most of the songs just blend into each other. It
seems that Sonic Syndicate
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have succumbed to the almighty sell-out and have produced an
album that the kids are going to love, but everyone over a
certain age, I'd guess about 18, will turn their noses up at.
So what the hell has gone wrong?
Well the duel vocals of Richard Sjunnesson and Roland Johansson, one a
screamer, one more melodic are pretty ineffective on this album as nearly
every song follows the same formula and Sonic Syndicate are now sounding
like any other young band doing the rounds. There is very little variety
throughout the albums 10 tracks, bar the aforementioned soppy ballads and
the melodic vocals are veering too close to an emotional state to be really
enjoyed. Only a couple of songs, Power Shift and Red Eyed Friend, made any
sort of impact on me, which is a damn shame after I had really enjoyed
their previous album. One for the modern Kerrang generation only.
www.nuclearblast.de |
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Tearabyte - Doom Generation
(Locomotive/Screaming Ferret Wreckords) Review by Metal
Mark |
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This band was formed in 1998 in Los Angeles after the break-up
of Prime Evil. After playing the LA music scene for a while
they recorded this album and then disbanded. The band later
reformed after a move to Dallas, Texas. This is a re-issue and
it would have sounded rather old a decade ago and time has
certainly not been kind to it either. The vocals are clean and
average at best, but dip down into some rather mundane,
unfocused gruff style at times too. The music is primarily old
style thrash although several songs dip down to a more
mid-tempo beat, but they don’t seem to have a grasp on a real
direction. The best tracks remind me of say early Vio-lence,
but more often than not they spew forth |
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some messy and at times clunky crud. The drums are too far in
the foreground and the guitar riffs succeed in creating almost
no likable hooks whatsoever. It seems like thy wanted to be
thrash and they learned a few riffs and then just tried going
through the motions. Unfortunately they didn’t stop to
consider depth, heaviness, presence or any real trait that
could have made this disc worthwhile. |
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