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Aisling - Stone of Light
(Rising Records) Review by Steve Green |
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Aisling are not your typical Rising Records type of band. Shying away from
the normal modern sound associated with the label, Aisling are a
Pagan/Black Metal band from Italy. Stone of Light is their 4th album and
it really is rather good.
Being brutally honest and probably being a bit over critical, I'd say that
the production is very underground in nature. The music is, at times,
symphonic, but the production doesn't always bring out the best of Aisling,
particularly in the low-fi guitar tone, but with saying that, production
values aside, this album is a bit of a gem. I think it's fair to say that
the band have worked very well within their budget restraints. |
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The album is brimming with atmosphere and unique ideas,
particularly the spoken Russian piece on Black Wind Vengeance and
the songs are varied throughout and will appeal to
fans of Extreme Metal in general. Aisling mix up blackened tones with more
Pagan flourishes, which are in turn are combined with female vocals and
serene acoustic passages, with the overall combination of sounds working
very well indeed. And the fact that you can't really pigeonhole
this, despite its obvious influences, will give it a wider appeal with
Metalheads, just as similar releases would have done a decade ago. And
that's where I see Aisling coming from. They formed a decade ago and they
still have that sound from the late 90s in their sound nowadays,
which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. With so many bands selling
out and watering down their sound, it's good to hear a band play good
honest, bullshit free Metal.
This album comes recommended to all.
www.myspace.com/aislingweb |
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Andromeda - The Immunity
Zone (Silverwolf) Review by Mat Willcocks |
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2006’s Chimera was a landmark release for these Swedes, a
collection of well-executed progressive metal tunes, equal
parts melody and aggression. Thankfully, The Immunity Zone
follows suit. Even with its Rasmussen-style production, it is
well suited - the picked riffs aren’t lost within a cyclone of
distortion. Opening with a 7 minute composition is brave, but
‘Recognizing Fate’ is a refreshingly crunching from the
outset. It isn’t until the third song, ‘Ghosts On Retinas’
that we really hear a memorable song, most reminiscent of the
distinguishable aspects of the Andromeda sound. Despite being
only 4 minutes long, it contains a powerchordtastic-riff which
is followed by a truly melancholic part, wonderfully |
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sung by David Fremberg. ‘Worst Enemy’ truly supports the
middle part of the album, again classic-sounding Andromeda,
with time changes-a-plenty and sudden bursts of worryingly
proficient brilliance from each musician. The album is
completed by the 17 minute ‘Veil Of Illumination’, a baffling
listening experience. Although not worth the album price
alone, it is a lesson in stamina – their ability to maintain
such pace and ingenuity for a prolonged period of time is
admirable and confirms why Andromeda are well respected within
the genre. Also admirable is Andromeda’s restraint from
straying towards the mainstream, the same which could not be
said for guitarist Johan Reinholdz’s former band, the now
defunct Skyfire. To continue such an inventive, pure output so
long into their career is a sign of this bands intention
www.silverwolf-productions.com |
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Astral Sleep -
Unawakening (Solitude Productions) Review by
Chris Davison |
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Solitude, it has to be said, release a hell of a lot of doom
death. To be fair, in the time that I have been reviewing
their output, they've never really put out a stinker. The
Russian label must have their ears to the doom grindstone
though, because Astral Sleep are a Finnish band rather than
the usual soviet nationality. This frozen four piece is also a
doom/death band, but don't stop reading now – because they
don't just slavishly follow the template set by early
Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. In perhaps the
most conservative sub-genre in extreme metal, Astral Sleep
have the courage to set their own standards.
Unawakening is a seriously impressive album. Weighing in at
around an hour in length, it |
never-the-less has but five tracks on the shiny disc. It's
fair to say that they aren't rushing anywhere to get to the
end of any of their songs, but this isn't just another
exercise in dragging out the same two or three riffs over ten
minutes. Astral Sleep are very progressive. If they were in
education, for instance, they'd preside over one of those 60's
establishments where the kids were left to educate themselves,
and the teachers wore nothing but brightly coloured paint and
smiles. Opener “Away From The World” flirts with twin guitars,
growled, choral and clean vocals, along with tasteful minor
key acoustic passages. Unlike many of their peers, it seems as
if Astral Sleep aren't just in the game of producing miserable
atmospheres – this is a much more engaging, intellectual
listen. Look, this isn't Britney sodding-Spears, and you're
not going to be humming these tunes after a single listen or
two, but in persevering, you'll find plenty to have you coming
back. Each track generally opens with an interesting
introduction replete with echoing sound effects, clanking and
tasteful keyboard parts. The production is absolutely spot on,
with a thick, grimy quality to the heavier riffs, while the
drums are also notably punchy and full.
Progressive music usually makes me come out in hives, bringing
to mind the worst excesses of long haired noodling, pointless
guitar wankery and abrupt time changes, but on this album I
can see how it is done best. Sprawling music does not have to
mean aimless, and bringing fresh ideas to the table does not
mean throwing the baby out with the bath water. With passages
of both muscular and intellectual music, this caters for every
flavour of the more discerning metal head. With sounds of
seaside scenes, some accordion and subtle tones of acoustic
instruments thrown into the mix, this could have been a
complete mess. Astral Sleep, however, have a method in their
madness. Nothing has been placed on this album “for the hell
of it”. Everything by design, and everything for a purpose.
It's certainly not easy listening, but then do you really want
all your metal spoon fed to you? Engaging is the word.
http://solitude-prod.com |
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Behemoth - Grom
(re-issue) (MVD Audio) By: Dave Schalek |
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Here’s an oldie, but a goodie. Behemoth are currently all the
rage as a premier death metal band, albeit with a blackened
edge. They’re also one of the hardest working bands out there
with endless touring, numerous EP releases in between
full-lengths, DVDs, you name it. Hell, they’re even popular
with the pre-pubescent crowd; that is, assuming that the kids
can get their noses out of their metalcore albums for a few
moments.
Needless to say, everyone is waiting with bated breath for the
release of the follow-up to “The Apostasy”, Behemoth’s last
full-length (and to be released on Metal Blade Records). As
popular as Behemoth may happen to be, however, less well known
are the first couple |
of full-lengths from the band when Behemoth were primarily a
black metal act with Polish folk touches. The band’s first
couple of full-lengths are a completely different style from
their current technical death metal orientation, and are not
nearly as well known as the post– “Zos Kia Cultus” material.
To that end, MVD Audio is distributing a remastered version of
“Grom” from 2005 (and from Metal Mind Productions). “Grom” is
Behemoth’s second full-length and was originally released in
1996 when Nergal was only 19 years old (and the only member
still remaining, for that matter). Mostly consisting of
straightforward black metal with fast riffs, blasts, and,
surprisingly, a gigantic production, “Grom” is nowhere near as
technical as what came later, but is still great nonetheless
as a catchy example of raw black metal with variation in the
form of slight folk touches. Certainly, the album also
showcases the talent of the up and coming Nergal.
Kudos to MVD Audio for re-issuing an excellent album and
providing Behemoth fans with a means of picking up a classic
release.
www.behemoth.pl |
http://mvdb2b.com |
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Beherit - Werewolf, Semen
And Blood- The Forgotten Tales (Metal Fighter
Records/ MVD Audio) By: Dave Schalek |
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Needless to say, the incredibly low-fi Beherit from Finland
have had a huge influence on black metal with a mesmerizing,
yet incredibly raw and, frankly, quite spotty output from the
early 90s. Throw in lurid stories of record company advances
blown on booze and drugs along with turf battles with other
Scandinavian black metal acts, and you have all of the
ingredients for a legendary status (or complete foolishness).
At any rate, Beherit’s official output is somewhat difficult
to pin down, but “The Oath of Black Blood”, Beherit’s fix-up
debut of sorts is an awesome slab of primitive black metal
with a truly evil sound. There have been a few re-issues of
the album over the years, and |
the newest version of the album now appears on Metal Fighter
Records (?) as “Werewolf, Semen, And Blood- The Forgotten
Tales”. This version consists of a 2008 remastering of the
original recordings of “The Oath of Black Blood” from 1992 and
the 1991 picture single “Black Master Prayer”. Incidentally,
probably the most interesting aspect of my “research” here is
that Beherit have apparently reformed and are preparing a new
album.
If you’ve already a copy of “The Oath of Black Blood”, then
there’s probably no reason to track this down, but Metal
Fighter Records and MVD Audio have at least provided a means
of easily obtaining a copy if you’ve been lacking up to this
point. Buy or die? Well, if you don’t already have a copy of
“The Oath of Black Blood”.
www.beherit.fi
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http://mvdb2b.com |
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Crimfall - As The Path
Unfolds… (Napalm) Review by James Young |
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Describing Finland’s Crimfall’s sound via genres would be
somewhat complicated, with a range of various styles including
folk, Viking, black, symphonic, prog and power metal all
infused within the band’s bombastic sound. What is much
easier, and probably more accurate, is a comparison to two
other bands; when it all comes down to it, Crimfall come
across as a mixture of Turisas and old Nightwish. Let me
justify that - Turisas certainly come across in the sweeping
folk-y sound with its clean production - just look at ‘The
Crown of Treason’, with its grandiose synths which build up
through the verses, whilst accompanying violins and accordions
add a rich texture to the music. The vocals of Mikko |
Häkkinen come across slightly more black metal than their
fur-covered country mates, sounding a little lower and
shriller in the mix. We can hear the Nightwish quality in the
powerful pumping power metal synths, and the sumptuous voice
of Helena Haaparanta, which ranges from a operatic boom to a
more gentle style, both of which could give any leading female
vocalist a run for her money.
The two vocal styles are never too far away from each other,
and provide much more than the typical ‘beauty and beast’
effect used by many bands for some forced contrast. Instead,
the two extremes encompass completely different moods;
usually, Helena’s vocals are saved for the less pacey, more
triumphant sections, whilst Mikko’s are reserved for the
faster, more heavy double-bass drum laden passages. The music,
as already alluded to, contains a great deal of epic operatic
richness and triumphant sounds, but elevating this beyond the
standard heaviness you might associate with Viking or extreme
folk bands are the quirky mellow parts, which mix things up a
bit. A range of instruments can be heard throughout the album,
and ‘Wildfire Season’, ‘Ascension Pyre’ and ‘Hundred Shores
Distant’ all start with fantastic knee-slapping parts, which
add a nice little traditional touch to the proceedings.
Another high point of the album which provides a nice original
touch is the ballad entitled ‘Aubade’, which contains a
heartfelt piano and acoustic guitar build-up into a powerful
ending, showing that heaviness isn’t everything when crafting
your own sound.
Even if you can spot a few influences in this debut album, the
actual outcome is pretty original, and highly listenable. This
is a wonderfully epic and well-written album with a range of
emotions and sounds, and will impress even the most stubborn
folk-er out there.
www.myspace.com/crimfall |
www.crimfall.com |
www.napalmrecords.com |
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Dark Forest - Dark Forest
(Eyes Like Snow) Review by James Young |
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Before the extremists out there ask - no, this isn’t the
Canadian black metal band, but rather the English NWOBHM
outfit, but they’re just as ‘true’, and here we have a melodic
ten tracks which worship the likes of Iron Maiden, Saxon,
and…well, you get the point. Truth be told, there’s very
little new about the ‘New’ Wave of British Heavy Metal these
days, and many bands which play this genre are simply trying
to emulate the greats. And even more problematic is the fact
that there’s a very fine line between pub bands who are trying
to relive their youth, and those that are trying to make
genuinely interesting music. Fortunately Dark Forest fall into
the latter of these two categories - this is some very good |
music, which gallops along some well-trodden denim-clad
territory, but it’s an enjoyable ride whilst it lasts.
The raw production values do make you raise an eyebrow every
so often - it’s all a bit clunky and unpolished, with a few
unwanted squeaks every so often, but all in all everything can
be heard. Most importantly, Paul Thompson’s bass is given a
nice prominence, which is great because the ultra-melodic
lines are the aural equivalent of a good full-body massage.
The dual guitar attack of Christian Horton (also in the more
widely known Cloven Hoof) and Jim Lees sounds lively and
electric, which is most perfect for the genre. Some of the
leads, such as that which kicks ‘Dyed In Crimson’ off, is
worthy of any heavy metal band out there. Occasionally the
riffing, especially alongside the pounding double kick
drumming of Adam Sidaway, can sound extremely powerful, and
borders on power metal at times, especially in ‘Excalibur’.
Horton’s vocals are a little rough around the edges, sometimes
verging on a punk attitude, especially in the more gruff style
which he utilises every so often. However, without good
production, falsettos really should never really be attempted,
so the inclusion of these is a little cringe-worthy. Maybe
it’s for this reason that the cream of the crop here is the
sweet little ditty ‘Hollow Hills’, an instrumental which sees
a number of well-executed mood changes, as well as some
excellent playing from the lads which conjures up some nice
epic images.
This is a nice little outing into the world of the heavy metal
genre. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but there’s a
lot and headbanging to be had. Hopefully the next release
should have a significant improvement in production, which
would certainly put Dark Forest in the major leagues, and show
that NWOBHM is very much alive.
www.myspace.com/darkforestrealm |
www.northern-silence.de |
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