modern classical / ambient

website

Nighttime.  Full moon.  A good meal, wine, sake,  cheese and homegrown cherry tomatos. The possible sight of 'falling stars' in the Pleiades. If 'the seven sisters' are kind to us, this might be a magical night.  So what better music to play than some beautiful modern classical music with nothing but piano and some minimal soundscapes?

Gianluca Piacenza is a pianist, composer and sound designer from Piacenza, Italy and he loves making music, according to his website. This album is available as a digital download in most of the well-known online stores but unfortunately not on CD or vinyl (yet - it should).  When he submitted this album for a review, he claimed to make music in the style of people like Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins, Max Richter or Olafur Arnalds.  In a way that's true but to be quite honest, I really like this more than those. 

I'll tell you why. Many pianists/composers these days seem to have three possible inclinations. One is an electronic approach, filled with programmed percussion and layers of drones.  The second is the look-what-I-can-do version, who stuns the audience with sheer speed.  The final one is the one who needs an orchestra to make the whole complete. Gianluca Piacenza does things a bit different.  

The album opens with title track 'Dream', a beautiful and quite romantic sounding piano piece without any soundscapes, electronics or orchestral arrangements as far as I can hear.  Just piano, slow, dreamy and pure.  On 'Reflections' the effects and ambient textures do appear but still in a gentle, quiet and restful fashion.  From there the album continues to float in that direction and creates a wonderful atmosphere.

'This Is Real' follows a similar path as 'Dream', minor soundscapes in the background and an enchanting fairytale told by the ivory and hammers of the piano.  'Mutations' takes the level of experiment a bit higher by incorporating a minor but pulsating rhythm, breaking it down and slowly building it up again.  The result is magnificent, a perfect electro-acoustic ambient track.

'Lullaby' is exactly what the title predicts.  Somehow it indeed does remind me of the music on those musical mobiles above a baby's crib, but of course in better sound quality and way better music alltogether.  The song returns towards the minimal approach in the opening act of this album, making it a perfect finale.

So by all means, if you have ever said anything positive about the modern day composers who appear on jazz- and ambient festivals these days, you have to check out this music.  If a romantic movie-soundtrack ever caused a tear in your eyes, you have to give Gianluca Piacenza a chance. This is pure talent...


Serge 

dark rock / psychedelic rock

We're going on a strange trip to outer space. We will visit regions unexplored and times long forgotten.  So I hope you're ready to be surprised and amazed.  The first time I listened to this album I wasn't ready and for a while I had absolutely no idea what to write about 'Stella Polaris'.  Not because it's a bad album, it's not, but mainly because it sounds so different from the things I've been listening to lately.  

Space Mirrors is a musical project around multi-instrumentalist and producer Alisa Coral, founded in 2002.  Arjen "Ayreon" Lucassen, Alan Davey (ex-Hawkwind), Nik Turner (ex-Hawkwind), Martyr Lucifer (Hortus Animae) have all been guest musicians at certain times but currently the band constists of a solid line-up, still including Nik Turner on sax and flute and Martyr Lucifer on vocals.

In short I guess it's save to say that the music on 'Stella Polaris' can be compared to a blend of Tiamat, Jethro Tull, Ozric Tentacles, Hawkwind and (old) Iron Maiden.  I know that sounds like a bizarre combination but bear with me, it really works.  This is dark, psychedelic old school hard rock, influenced by the works H.P. Lovecraft.  Horror-rock might be another decent description.

The album opens with 'Haunter Of The Dark', which starts off as as something Tiamat could have written in their 'Wildhoney' days.  The flute brings an extra sense of mystery to the whole which is quite interesting.  Then the song turns into a gothic rock anthem, reminding me of bands like Field Of The Nephilim.  'Celephais' continues to walk the dark rock path and issues some old heavy metal riffs. Same goes for title track 'Stella Polaris' and 'West Of Arkham'.

What strikes me most is the constant subdued nature of the male voice. It's never raised, it never screams or growls.  It's almost as if the vocals narrate in stead of sing and that's quite a welcome change from the brutality I've been listening to lately.  Furthermore, here and there it gives the songs a sing-along capacity, which is perfect for live performances.

'White Ship' even takes us further back in time, the folky seventies or even the free-loving sixties.  This is probably one of the brightest songs, in terms of darkness that is, being an uplifting, psychedelic rock anthem that might as well have been played live at the original Woodstock festival.

'Through The Storm' is he first song I would classify as 'metal'.  It's faster and has a bit of the in-your-face feeling that is typical for the metal genre.  Here the drummer gets to unload a bit.  That is a second thing that struck me on this album.  It rarely gets obtrusive and intense.  In one aspect you may conclude that this is due to incertitude but I think it's just the nature of this band.

My favorite song is the beautiful ballad 'Burning Chaplet', once again exploring the dark rock of Tiamat or even an English version of Lacrimosa.  This is one of those typical old school rock ballads, evolving from peaceful but dark and slow guitars to uptempo rock.  Yet, here it suddenly gets a psychedelic twist as well as some flashing guitar solos.

But Space Mirros aren't done surprising yet.  Oh no, there's more to come.  How about a dark ambient anthem that turns into vintage hard rock on 'The Crawling Chaos'?  Or how about the strange, sci-fi influenced outro that seems like a weird soundscape and odd vocal samples?

So there you have it, quite a long review for a surprising album, filled with different influences.  If you're into dark rock, you really should check this out.  It might need some time to grow, for me it did, but in the end this is an excellent album that will probably find my media-machine a lot of times in the near future.


Serge

grindcore

It's early in the morning when the doorbell wakes me up.  The postman says he has another package for me so I say I'll be downstairs in a minute to collect it.  I open the door and drag my awakening body down the fifty two stairs.  Through my half open eyes I see a package from Poland and another once with a t-shirt a friend of mine ordered.  I open the mailbox and find a letter from my electricity provider.  It's printed on strange paper, must be recycled or something.  After that I crawl back upstairs and drop myself in the sofa to open the package.  Two CD's are inside, one being the album I'm about to review.  I enter the CD in my media machine and press play.

What happens next is not untypical for grindcore, at least not in this household.  While my wife is reading a book outside, I'm being dragged into a cesspool intense misanthropic filth, from Kaiserslautern (Germany) this time.  I'm reminded of an old split with Melt Banana and Discordance Axis. Especially the second on comes to mind when I listen to songs like 'Black Frost', 'Unkrautbekämpfung' or 'Ideal Of Stupidity'.  So suddenly I am complete awake and fiercely banging my head.  Morning gymnastics for the metalhead.  

Mindflair claims to be a grindcore band, so they incorporate elements from death metal, crust and hardcore punk, along with some minor elements from black metal (blast-beats ahoy).  For the majority of the album, the songs blast through my speakers at high velocity and an intense speed.  Needless to say the none of the thirteen songs lasts for over three minutes.  Yet, they do contain a pretty large amount of lyrics.  I've been trying to follow them on the booklet but that's quite impossible.

If I have to compare Mindflair to other bands, I guess a blend of Brutal Truth, Discordance Axis and Regurgitate comes pretty close.  High speed death metal riffs, blasting drums and glaring screams are the basic ingredients for this brutal assault.  Here and there some slower passages appear but they never last very long.  They do bring exactly the right amount of variation to keep this twenty five minute kick to the face interesting. The vocals to very from fierce screams, over guttural growls to brutal clean punk voices.

Mindflair is a band with quite an impressive list of albums, e.p.'s and splits which makes me wonder how that manage to write so many songs without getting tired of it.  Songs like 'Greed' seem to show why.  This song is slower and drives on some stunning riffs. If anything, it proves that there's some decent musicians on this band who clearly know what they are doing.  So it's no wonder they've been a solid force in the grindcore underground.  

So there you have it, another excellent grindcore album that indeed woke me up today.  Of course, music like this is mainly meant for the stage. I can clearly see an outrageous audience going berzerk on songs like 'Flow' and 'Unlearned', especially with the intense hyper-speed drums and immense amount of energy they breathe.  If you're into grindcore or extreme death metal, go ahead and get your hands on one of these things.  You deserve it...


Serge

p.s. maybe it's completely uninteresting and it's definitely off topic but still is quite cool: the letter from my electricity provider is printed on 'seed-mat' paper.  We can actually put the letter in soil and flowers will grow out of it.  Awesome...

folk metal / symphonic metal

This is a coincidence.  A few days ago I was being nostalgic about the era where gothic metal became a success.  In my days as a DJ in a local metal bar, I often encountered young bands who were trying to make an impact.  One of these bands played a pretty basic but decent gothic metal set, including an ok cover of Within Temptation's mega hit 'Ice Queen'. 

At the exact same moment I was thinking about that, probably forgotten, band an email came in from Polish band Open Access who claim be a female fronted symphonic metal band.  So I decided to download and play the album and to my surprise it sounded exactly like I remembered that live performance decades ago, except for the Within Temptation cover.

Open Access is a band from Cracow that came into existence in 2013.  This first effort is the result of a year of rehearsing and playing concerts throughout Poland and should function as an foretaste for the full-length which they plan to record next year.  There's four songs on this e.p., each of them being a nice blend of folk, symphonic and power metal, complete with female vocals and violins.

The violins at times sound as if they come from old My Dying Bride songs, which give the whole a great atmosphere and are great to work with if you're a metal musician.  In opener 'Into The Storm' this actually results in a very decent song that truly reminds me of the old days of Orphanage and company.  This is classic folk metal, maybe a bit basic but still quite impressive.

'Kozak' lifts the tempo and seems to borrow heavily from power metal bands like Kamelot and Sonata Arctica.  Even in the vocals the gothic, fairy tale vocals are left behind to make place for strong an vigorous female voices.  Of course, here too some folk elements are placed, once again making it a well varied song.

Although this six piece is quite young and there's is still room to evolve, both as musicians and as a band, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by this effort.  Title-track 'Over A Mountain Peak' even turns away further from the Nightwish-influenced metal and enters the realms of bands like Korpiklaani or Finntroll.  So does closer 'Vengeance', which is quite a fierce piece of metal.

What Open Access needs now, is a label who is willing to provide the necessary needs to record a well produced full-length album and some more experience on European soil.  Given time and effort I truly believe this Polish band can become a serious player in the current female fronted symphonic metal scene with their own sound and a, hopefully, stunning live performance.


Serge 

death metal / doom metal

Some of my all-time favorite death metal songs include 'Find The Arise' (Obituary), 'Evolved As One' (Napalm Death) and 'Out Of Hand' (Entombed).  Especially with the Napalm Death song I have some sort of strange connection.  It didn't fully get me into death metal but it guided my attention to another extreme, the slow version.  Yes, I became a doom metal fan. I listened to all of them, from Black Sabbath or Ahab over My Dying Bride or Saturnus to Conan and Esoteric.  I actually still do listen to most of them.  The genre is (dûh) mainly known for its slow tempo and often downtuned guitars.

But what if I told you there was a band that has been trying to speed up the tempo and still claim to be a doom metal band with crushing guitars and brutal vocals?  Well, you'd probably say that it's a death metal band after all.  And you could actually be right but then there's the riffs.  Typical doom metal riffs.  Well then, you can say it's a sludge band and once again you're right.  Yet, so am I, this still is doom.

So let's just stop trying to classify this debut and let's check what this quartet from York, Pennsylvania (USA) has to offer. 

A first surprise comes from the intro and returns on 'Mouth Full Of Shit'.  Bittered has been watching the Zeitgeist movies or Netwerk series (amongst other interesting features) and use some very interesting samples in their music.  'Places You Never Dreamed Of', the intro, is a great piece of dark industrial ambient which features samples from a Charles Manson interview.  After that, they immediately blast out their message in the crushing 'America Is Killing You'.

'America Is Killing You' reminds me of Obituary, mainly in the vocals.  Throughout the entire album this frightening mix between grunts and blackened screams spews out his apocalyptic visions about present-day society.  The tempo is quite slow, also in followed 'Anger and Guild' but that doesn't mean it's not varied.  In fact, it often alternates between down and mid tempo, making it perfect material for a session of headbanging-yoga.  

Someone should invent headbanging-yoga.

On 'Poisoned Earth' Bittered invented a strange blend between blues and black metal, at least for a little while before the distortion and death riffs come in.  Here the great sound of the drums suddenly grab my attention.  This is the sound I love when I see bands perform live.  It's usually different from studio drums, maybe colder, harder and definitely more threathening. 

'Mouth Full Of Shit' is about the misguiding of religion, especially since it opens with the quote 'The Greatest Bullshit Story Ever Told'.  Once again it's a punishing song where both guitars and drums hammer on your skull until you finally understand the message.  Best thing you can do, is bang your head until you pass out or listen to what Bittered is trying to say.

It's the fucking truth.

The album continues to be a fierce steamroller of old school death metal induced doom with some more grinding guitars on 'Push It Down' and on the grand finale 'Consumed By Garbage'.  It's been a while since I've heard a band go back into death metal history this far and it pleases me to see that the genre still has some very interesting spurs. This keeps things fresh and enjoyable.  

So take it from me, we're dealing with something special here, maybe something risky and dangerous but something extremely stunning nonetheless.  I think every death, doom and sludge fan can appreciate this and by extension probably even some depressive black metal fans as well, mainly because the bleak and threathening atmosphere.  


Serge

black metal

Sometimes bands face a lot of bad luck in their carreers.  Different views, line-up changes, irresponsible promoters or another band floating in the same water doing just a little better.  All these things can cause major setbacks and often drive a band into extinction.  Yet, some musicians never give up.  They fall and rise again, coming up with even more crushing stuff than before.

Goat Torment is one of those bands.  This duo from Ghent, Belgium, has been around since 2008 but faced a lot of problems on the way.  A South American tour with Enthroned was cancelled.  Finding, and keeping, a drummer wasn't easy and after a few years founding members K.J. and Kwel decided to part ways, leaving Kwel to be the only member at that time.  However, Kwel came back with a new second member in Torturer (Bethlehem, ex-Belphegor).

'Sermons To Death' is the second full-length after 'Dominande Tenebrae' in 2013.  With this album the duo hopes to establish themselves again in the Belgian and European black metal scene and they are quite right to do so.  If anything, 'Sermons To Death' is a fierce, malignant and brutal album, loaded with screams, blastbeats and hyperspeed riffs in perfect old school tradition.

The albums opens with 'Opening The Gates' which functions as an intro.  However, the length of it surprised me.  It's a 3.46 minutes lasting dark ambient song, and a great one too, which is not a long time in that genre but quite long as a black metal intro.  'Within The Realm Of Darkness' repeats the ambient elements, being a breather for the intense 'Defloration Of The Holy Cunt'.

After the intro  'Bones Aligned' comes up with the bleak guitars and blast beats that we're used to and love so 'effin' much, immediately ripping into the occult underground of the extreme musical genres.  From then on, hell breaks loose in seven epic pieces of black metal.  In no way Goat Torment deviates from the traditional or vintage form of ill-natured music. This is a blackened as it can possibly get.

Musically Goat Torment can easily be compared to chaotic black metal bands like Carpathian Forest, Abigor or Enthroned.  'Rising Dominion' for example drives of piercing thrash metal riffs and often a constant load of double bass drums.  This is for the main the slowest song on the album but still remains a crushing and solid piece of metal. 

Goat Torment doesn't claim to be original.  All they want to do is create immensely brutal, evil and occult black metal to honor the tradition of the genre, which is perfectly fine.  Of course we heard this before but that doesn't mean that this album is stale and uninspired.   Give 'Hierarchy Of Negligence' a good listen and before you know you'll definitely be in front of the stage at one of their next performances.  This song is simply epic headbanging stuff.  So is 'Death Is Crowned' and so is 'Of Fire And Brimstone'.

In the beginning of this review I mentioned that this band was surrounded with bad luck.  Well, here too some bad luck is involved.  This album will unfortunately be overshadowed by what is probably the best Belgian black metal album in history: Wiegedood.  But all I can recommend is give Goat Torment a chance.  They really deserve the attention of the European blackened underground and they've come up with a blast of an album.


Serge

post-metal / hip-hop / experimental

One thing that I've always been fascinated about in the music industry, is the urge to crossover, blend completely different styles into something unique and quite daring.  When Anthrax teamed up with Public Enemy, I was sold.  One of my favorite albums back in the days was the Judgement Night soundtrack, featuring metal bands and hip hop artists working together and creating some classics like 'Just Another Victim' and 'Disorder'.  It's a risky move sometimes but a lot of times crossing over between genres really works.  

Now I know there is (or was) also an Italian death metal band with the name Novembre but we're not talking about them at this time.  We're talking about a French duo that decided to gamble everything and created a present day version of that Judgement Night soundtrack.  Hip-hop, post-rock and dark ambient are being blended into a stunning, bleak soundtrack for an apocalyptic world in the near future.

What we get on this album is indeed extremely surprising.  Trip-hop like electronics and drums are being enforced by layers of guitars and soundscapes and narrated by raps and spoken word, in French.  The result is outlandish.  It's like walking through a desolate city, destroyed by war.  The only sound you hear are the explosions in the background and a constant angsty roar.  Above all of this someone is trying to explain what happened.

I guess this is what happens when you're being influences by bands like Portishead, Cult Of Luna and French hip-hop (of which I only know Manau).  Yet, this duo also incorporates elements from black metal, mainly in the overall atmosphere which is quite frightening and intensly cold.  The only exeption to that recipe is the instrumental breather 'Khadim', a track that also brings old school EBM to mind.  Closer 'Le Pacte' repeats that industrial feel and is some weird way reminds me of Calva Y Nada.

My favorite tracks are 'Votre Ami...D', which somehow reminds me of Samael's purely electronic work, and the twisted and alienating 'Haute Couture'.  The latter is, in my opinion, the absolute highlight of this album, a slow nerve-wrecking piece of electronic music with bleak guitars and a flood of preaching words.  This is actually the case in all the songs but damn, that 'Haute Couture' is a brilliant piece of work.

In the end, I really have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised by Novembre and I hope this is not a one-off thing.  This definitely is a combination I want to see evolve and this duo has the abilities to go to new extremes with their music.  Furthermore, get these guys on stage somewhere in Belgium.  I want to see that...


Serge

drone / post-rock / doom

It doesn't often happen that I start writing a review right after it comes in.  So when I do, something special must be going on.  In fact, several reasons can cause an album to be reviewed quite fast and the first one is already applicable to this e.p.: It's a welcome change from what I've been listening to today.  Reason number two: it's a Belgian band (although their facebook says 'Jerusalem, Israel').  We'll get to the other reasons a little later.  First let's introduce Wyatt E.

This band from Liege was formed by members of Deuil, The K. and Leaf House.  The plan is to release six tapes in the near future.  This two-track e.p. is the first and it makes me quite curious about what is coming on the other five.  The music on this e.p. is a brilliant blend of post-rock, doom metal and drones, which is reason number three.  I simply love these genres.  The strong, gloomy atmosphere in these musical styles has always fascinated me and on this e.p. it's no different.

Musically I think it's safe to place Wyatt E. between bands like Nadja, Jesu and Fear Falls Burning.  Both tracks are lengthy (12 & 15 minutes) instrumentals that vary from subdued pieces of drone ambient to intense pieces of monolithic doom metal, driving on layers of drones and perfect drums.  Here and there some oriental influences are being incorporated as well.  Halfway through 'Aswan' these elements remind me of Master Musicians Of Bukkake and that's another huge plus for this trio.  

Now, don't think that this is just another band that throws layer upon layer of drones, override them with effects and quickly smashes some drums into the whole to make it interesting.  No, these guys clearly know what they are doing and present a decent amount of musical skills as well as some experience in elaborate song structures.  Add some fantastic percussion and Godspeed! You Black Emperor - like passages of freak-out post-rock and the result is stunning.

So I think I have enough reasons to favor this e.p. above some other stuff I have to review.  Main reason of course is that this really is a magnificent piece of work and probably one that will often find my media player.  If you're a post-rock, doom or drone fan, you should check this out.  You won't be disappointed, that's for sure.


Serge

p.s. if anyone from Dunk!Festival reads this: this is my recommendation for next year's edition

death metal

It is quite a nice, sunny day today but now it looks like the clouds are forming a tremendous wall-of-death in the sky.  I wonder if this album I'm listening to has anything to do with it.  After all, judging from what I hear, this really is the stuff that induces moshpits and other activies non-metalheads just don't understand.  I can see their faces now, asking that ridiculous question: "why are those people running into one another"?

"Because it's metal, stupid"!

Yes, my friends, it's time to bang those heads and raise those devil horns.  Allow me to introduce you to Obsidian, a quartet from Vancouver, Canada.  Well, members hail from France, Germany and Canada but Vancouver is their home base.  It looks like they found each other after years of touring and recording in other bands so we are indeed dealing with some experienced musicians with a clear image of what their music should sound like.

And what does it sound like? Well, let's try a mix of Fear Factory and Gorefest with some Meshuggah and Gojira thrown into it.  The result is a blast: brutal death metal with some progressive and a lot of technical/industrial influences.  The latter are mainly present in the repetitive, machine-like nature of the drums.  Upon these a number of equally precisely structured riffs and fierce growls are placed while the bass guitar enhances the underlying groove effect.

Well, that sounds like a pretty cold and objective way to describe the music but somehow it fits perfectly with the music.  Title track 'Time Erode' or, one of my favorites, 'Useful Idiot' have an intense mechanical sound.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of humanity left in this band, or at least in their music.  I don't know the guys personally so I have no idea if they are humans of real life terminators.

Yet, what I can say is that this album is stunning and highly recommended to everyone who's into death metal.  If you want a little variation between brutality, mechanical sound and melody, Obsidian provides.  'Downfall' for instance has a nice groove and a touch of melody while still staying loyal to the basic ingredients for great death metal.  So does 'YVR (Rain City)' a song that proves that these are not only extremely disciplined musicians but also have a nose for decent instrumentals.

On 'Broken And Defeated' I suddenly start noticing the hardcore and modern day alternative metal influences.  It's these which give Obsidian their neoteric sound.  Without them I could have mistaken this band for a death metal band from the nineties but with them they transcend that era and place themselves into the spotlights of today's scene...

...which they obviously should.  They should indeed be able to prove themselves on stage, being experience musicians and bringing a number of very strong metal songs to a phrenetic audience.  I surely hope they come over to Europe soon to promote this brutal piece of extreme metal.  While the other people indulge themselves into a malapert frenzy, I'll be in the back, yelling 'told you so'...


Serge

ambient / jazz

Before we go a little deeper into the album itself, I'd like to mention an interesting thing that just happened.  Both my wife and I write reviews for this magazine and when we decide to write, she obviously goes to another room.  Today she is working on a dark ambient release, which is now playing in the room where smoking is allowed.  So when I went there to smoke a cigarette, I heard both albums mixed perfectly in the hallway.  For a few minutes I was listening to this brilliant mix of bright and dark ambient.

This is a quality that I've always admired in ambient music, and by expansion also in noise and modern classical.  They have the power to blend in perfectly with the surroundings and with other pieces of decent music, becoming a tremendous part of every day activities and constantly changing experiences.  

Benjamin Finger is not unknown on Merchants Of Air and I think he's quite happy with the things we write about him, or at least about his music.  In the past several months I've written two reviews for his albums, 'Motion Reverse' and 'Pleasurably Lost'.  Both of these albums still often appear in our playlists and I have a feeling that this new album won't be any different.

Besides from blending in perfectly with other music, opener 'Headspincrawl' can perfectly stand on its own.  This is the high quality ambient music we know from Benjamin Finger, driving on a pulsating but sometimes deeply hidden rhythm.  It's that strange mix of uptempo bass and percussion with slow, easeful soundscapes that also gained a lot of appreciation on his previous effort and here it's no different.  I love this track.

But Mr. Finger would be Mr. Finger is he didn't try to experiment and evolve as an artist.  So once again we're offered a glimpse into his widespread taste of music on the rest of the album, starting with dark jazz on 'When Face Was Face'.  Here the ambient turns into something reminding me of Dale Cooper Quartet or Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, which again can count on a 'like' from this side. 

'Waltz in Clay' mixed modern classical music with a light form of jazz.  Piano and strings are the main ingredients here, stretched out to become another beautiful piece of music that gently floats through our room.  The fact that it's a bit too gritty to be really gentle doesn't matter here.  We're used to a lot and for us this is relaxing music that is always welcome.

But then things get strange.  Well, not really strange but surprising and totally unexpected.  'Whirlbrainpoolin' suddenly turns this album into a freejazz experiment with nervous percussion and some freaked out wind instruments.  This is not easy digestible music.  Even my jazz-fan friend, who was here when I was writing this review, was surprised by this sudden twist and didn't know what to make of it at first.  

I'm not saying the freejazz escapades are a bad thing, not at all.  It shows how much of a musical talent Benjamin Finger is.  Yet, I personally prefer the beauty of a song like 'Bum Finger Notes'.  This song drives on piano and minimal soundscapes and reduces the oddness of the trumpets and saxophones (or whatever he uses) to the back a bit.  Here some guitar drones are added in quite a psychedelic Pink Floydian way, once again increasing the level of awesomeness.

The album closes with another brilliant piece of experimental ambient with 'Darnskullgreyness', a meditative and hypnotic piece of music which drives on drones and female chants.  It's actually a nice, comforting finale for a strange trip through the mind of Benjamin Finger that has taken us to places unseen.  Once again, he delivered a blissful musical experience that comes highly recommended and I am already looking forward to the next one...


Serge

black metal

I've been quietly following the black metal scene since I was old enough to get a hold on Venom's 'Black Metal' album.  When it was released, I was eight and I had no idea what was released upon the world.  I discovered it seven years later, in the local library, while I was looking for extreme stuff like Anthrax, Metallica and Sepultura.  My life would never be the same.

At one point, black metal was a brutal alternative to the nice, joyful music of the eighties and the entire scene constisted of constantly drunk satanists trying to sound as evil and chaotic as possible.  Who would have thought that one day black metal artists were talented and experienced musicians turning the genre into a true and convincing piece of art?

Druzhina for example, a band that was formed in 2006 and hails from Switserland, belongs to the third wave of black metal bands.  On one hand this band still honours the traditional approach.  Mainly inspired by bands like Darkthrone or Emperor the music by Druzhina is loaded with screams, blastbeats and ripping guitars.  Yet, they also incorporate a lot of folk elements, along with a bit of post-metal and vintage thrash metal.  This combination is a guarantee for an interesting album, that's for sure.

'The Messenger' immediately kicks off with the sheer aggression and speed that makes this genre so impressive.  From there on, we find ourselves on an hypnotic journey through immense desolate and dreamy landscapes.  And what a journey it is.  This is already a brilliant piece of blackened art and there's only more to come.  'Breath of Kronborg' seems to borrow from post-rock as well as atmospheric extreme metal.  

It's this combination that I find extremely interesting because it enhances the atmosphere of an album to the point of transcending the human aspect of this music and turning it into something mythical and magical.  Here of course the keyboards and folk elements help a lot.  Songs like 'Three Headed Lion' or the chaotic 'Eclipse Of Mankind' truly take me back to the early days of Dimmu Borgir or one of my favorites at that time, Mörk Gryning.

There's two breathers on this album, 'Ascension I (Timeless Monument)' is a brilliant piece of instrumental post-rock/metal, mixed with downtempo black metal elements and I absolutely love it.  'Ascension II (Sabbath)' digs into the world of dark ambient, and could actually be the intro for the album.  Now however, it's a great intro for the epic closer 'Psalm of the Void', a thirteen minutes lasting anthem of bleakness and musical craftsmanship (which even seems to come up with some Pink Floyd influences).

So yes, you guessed it.  Once again we're dealing with a great black metal album, perfectly combining the elements from the entire genre, from the early days, thirty years ago, up until today's highly varied sound.  If you're into this style of music, this album shouldn't lack in your collection.  


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progressive power metal

Now that's something to think about.  What is your safest shelter? What is the best place to hide away from the troubles of our society or from your own deepest inner fears?  Is that shelter the same as the one you'd hide away from physical danger? Is it even a real place or is it a dark room in a far away corner of your brain?  How do you get there? What do you do in such a shelter?  

We're in Brazil, São Paulo to be exact, and we're listening to a band that used to go by the name 'Prostate Seer'.  They changed the name a while after their inception in 2000 and the original name became the title for one of the songs on this e.p.  'Implexi' means 'Entanglement', which stands for the way this band incorpororates many different influences into their own style.

Judging from the artwork, logo and the fact that Brazil is mainly a death metal country, I expected some brutal grunts and fierce guitars but boy was I wrong.  There's some grunts here and there and the guitars do indeed sound strong and heavy but this is not death metal.  This is quite intense power metal, blending elements of heavy, symphonic and progressive metal and turning it into something that sounds like it comes straight of eighties & nineties Europe.

The e.p. opens with 'Arrival In The Dark', a pretty solid power metal song which roams in the same fields as bands like Blind Guardian, Hammerfall or Kamelot.  This example is immediately followed by the earlier mentioned 'Prostate Seer'. Yet, while this song is quite up-tempo, most of them are a bit slower than the usual songs in this genre.  That's where the progressive elements come in, combining symphonics with classical arrangements and an atmosphere of heroism and victory.

The two longest songs on this e.p., 'The Secrets Of Darkness' and 'Anguish' take the level of symphony a bit higher, becoming more like anthems in stead of songs.  Here some grunts are used, as well as Sabaton-like voices of vengeance.  It's here where I can see the audience raising their fists and singing along.  Even more so, around the end of 'The Secrets Of Darkness' we can hear the high pitched voice that reminds me Helloween as well as some black metal screams.

With 'Safest Shelter' Implexi delivered an interesting e.p., filled with complex song structures and loads of atmosphere.  To some people, this music might sound outdated but I think there's still a place for decent progressive power metal in the present day metal genre and that's exactly what Implexi stands for.  Talented musicians making something epic together in a rehearsal room somewhere, that might be one of the safest shelters indeed...



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death metal / grindcore

A few days ago someone asked if I wasn't getting tired of listening to all these similar sounding grindcore albums.  Of course I said no, and I really meant it.  Regular readers will know I'm not really a grindcore listener but from time to time I can appreciate some sick metallic madness and I've heard a lot of good stuff coming from the saprogenic extreme underground. 

 Oh, and I love to learn and use new words as well.

Not that RazorRape can teach me any new words, and with titles like 'Vomit Drenched In Mucus', 'Choking On Feces' or 'Rot In Excrement' the censorship-committee of our ads-provider will probably kick us out pretty soon but that's fine.  Sometimes you don't need anything but some fierce musical brutality, preferably the most valetudinarian we can find and that's exactly where this Swedish band comes in.

RazorRape has been making this filth since 2004 and has never took a step back.  In fact, this seems to be their most aggressive album yet and it is indeed pretty intense.  Brutal death metal and goregrind blast through my speakers at high velocity, accompanied with deep guttural vocals and eerie squeals.  In that, these Swedes follow the example of many bands that have come before them, like Regurgitate, Cock and Ball Torture and other fun summer activities.

Yet, somehow this doesn't seem to be just another grindcore album which will be easy forgotten when the next one comes out.  These guys are excellent musicians and the riffs they've written are immense.  The tempo varies from track to track and very often within one song, making this actually a well-varied and enjoyable album, if you can get past all the distasteful imagery.  At the end they even go rock 'n' roll on our asses.

However, don't get me wrong with all these 'musical qualities'.  This combo will still come get you at night, cut you open and make a wodka filled punchbowl of your gall bladder if they have the chance.  So if you're into grindcore, goregrind, porngrind, deathgrind or whowatever people like to classify their albums, you should already have bought this album, dammit.


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black metal

A while ago, I wrote something about 'music from troubled countries' and I mentioned Ukraine as one of them.  Today, another Ukranian bands reached my inbox.  This time with an album that was actually ready to be released in 2013 but the war precluded the release.  Unfortunately I can't find a lot of information on this band, except for the fact that they were formed in 1996 and include (guest) musicians from the Ukranian black metal underground. (note: we will add contact or links as soon as we get them)

So what we get on 'Through the Chaos, Through Time, Through the Death' is three quarters of bleak music in perfect black metal tradition.  Fierce guitars, blast beats and haunted vocals are the main elements, reinforced by keyboards and influences from heavy metal and a hint of gothic metal here and there.  Besides the eerie intro, there's eight tracks.  Two of the being covers, including 'Pressed Down By The Fallen Pivot Of Life (Lucifugum)' which is a great track and 'Armageddon' (Terminal Choice) which really is an industrial EBM track turned into blasting black metal.  In fact, to be honest, the Ungoliantha version is better.

After the intro, 'Following the Black Kindness' immediately comes up with the blast beats and brutal guitars which are being accompanied by pretty great keyboard.  At this point, the music reminds me a bit of some old bands I loved back in the day: Old Man's Child, (old) Dimmu Borgir or Mörk Gryning.  The tempo often changes and sometimes there's enough room to take on an atmospheric approach.

The other songs follow that example, turning into an early highlight with the brilliant 'To the Ultimate Gates'.  A song that perfectly controls the chaos brought by the instruments and blasts through my speakers at high velocity.  Besides the intense black metal, here are some heavy and dark metal influences as well, making the song well varied and highly enjoyable to listen to.

However, don't forget we're dealing with music that is trying to sever our heads from our bodies, and judging from the speed on the majority of the songs, headbanging to this might seriously damage your health.  'Black Essence Of Christ' for example is simply sick, remorseless and punishing but again accompanied with great keyboards.  It's these keyboards by the way that give Ungoliantha their unique sound and I quite like it.

So as far as traditional black metal is concerned, this is a splendid album coming from deep within the Ukranian underground.  'Black Winds' enhances the level of variation by coming up with some clean, folkish vocals, right before it turns into a decent dark metal song and eventually into some chaotic blackened noise again.  If you're into vintage, not-overproduced, bleak and blasting black metal, this clearly is your thing.  If you're not, you have just wasted your time by reading this review...


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doom metal

By now, most of us should realise that our society is completely doomed.  Conflicts, sins, hypocrisy and many other problems with human behaviour are causing crisis after crisis and it doesn't seem to get any better.  That's mainly the message in this album:  All of our evil activities are being stacked upon one another, creating an immense monolith of sorrow.  On top of that monolith lies the solution but since it grows every day, it's getting impossible to reach it, no matter how much we climb.  So the only other solution might be taking the whole thing down, destroying it with whatever good and positive is still inside of us.  That last sentence is my personal addition to the concept, probably because I'm in a pretty good, and positive mood today.

This is already the fourth album by this German project, founded by Pierre Laube, and as you can probably imagine, we're dealing with a doom metal band here, somewhere between death and funeral doom.  So don't expect any fast, lively metal but get ready for a leaden trip trough thick fogs or wrath, sorrow and despair, a trip accompanied by growling vocals and crushing guitars.  In six songs, Doomed brings us some intense music, filled with grief but the way they do it, is quite brilliant.

The album opens with the longest track, starting with piano and slowly turning into an amazing piece of funeral doom, reminding me of bands like Esoteric, Funeral or Officium Triste.  In fact, the entire album reminds me of the slowest and bleakest of the nineties.  With guest appearances by Johan Ericson (Doom: VS) and Ed Warby (The 11th Hour) Laube clearly places himself somewhere within that scene as well, which is always a decent move (in my opinion - yes, I love funeral doom).

'Our Ruin Silhouettes' brings more gloomy atmospheres and riffs and includes one of the greatest pieces of guitar play I've heard in a while.  I guess this will be my favorite track on the album.  This special, a-typical approach of guitars is amazing and returns in the heavy metal inspired solos on 'Euphoria's End', a song that already drives on slowed down death metal riffs.  'The Triumph - Spit' brings yet more originaly in the riffs, becoming a surprising but very strong track. At the end, it crosses the genre between doom and death metal by becoming a fierce, blast beats driven steamroller.

'Looking Back' digs some more in the melodic doom metal scene of the nineties and early two thousands and incorporates a more traditional style.  In most of the other songs, Doomed shows a bit of his experimental style but not really in this one and it doesn't matter because this is again a solid, high quality doom metal track.  Closer 'I'm Climbing' tries to reach the top of the monolith and tries to destroy it by coming up with some punishing sludge elements besides the traditional sounds.  As far as I'm concerned, this song might indeed tear the monolith down with its mighty sound.

As expected with songs of this length, there's a lot of space for elaborate instrumental passages, often also incorporating electronics, samples and piano.  This, along with several earlier mentioned aspects, makes the album varied enough to remain interesting for the entire duration and probably also for several consecutive listens as well.  That being said, this is probably one that will end up in my top-ten list of 2015.



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ambient

Aah, the beauty of expectation.  The thrilling tension in the silence between the notes.  The haziness of dreamy soundscapes.  You might not know but ambient music is my favorite waste of time.  Doing absolutely nothing but relax and float away with the ongoing gentleness of sounds, that's what I like best.  So whenever a promising ambient release reaches my inbox, I drop everything and press 'play' as soon as possible.

Dag Rosenqvist is a pianist and composer from Götenborg, Sweden.  Some people might also know him from the experimental ambient project Jasper TX.  On this new album, Rosenqvist shows his minimalistic side.  'The Forest Diaries' is composed for the dance project by Swedish Choreographer & dancer Jenny Larsson and mastered by Matthew Collings in May 2015.  The result is simply beautiful, a brilliant piece of minimal ambient.

The album opens with one touch on the piano, which repeats slowly while some soundscapes softly fade in.  This process is actually repeated in 'IX', resulting in a hint of concept.  From there most of the album is filled with these elements, along with several drones and some minor melodic aspects.  Personally, I can't imagine anyone dancing to this but then again, I don't really understand dance performance artists anyway, so I'll just go with the music.

The minimal approach on this album, results in genlty layered textures of electro-acoustic instruments.  It breathes an atmosphere of tranquility while still often being quite grainy, especially when the organ, or what sounds like an organ to me, is used.  'II' for instance drives on these raw sounds and some minor background sounds which almost give a hint of rhythm. 'V' goes ever further, reminding me of some of the music I heard in church back in the day.

Since the piano seems to be the main instrument, it's easy to classify this album somewhere between releases by Olafur Arnalds or Sebastian Plano.  Yet, at times Dag Rosenqvist nudges more towards the arctic sounds of Biosphere or the dreamy ambient of people like Pete Namlook.  So if you're into either ambient or modern classical music, you might appreciate this, I know I do.

At times there's also a bit of a jazzy feel, hidden away beneath the calm layers of sound.  On other occasions, as in 'IV' and 'VI', the minimalism takes over, resulting in one long drone where once again the piano interferes at the end.  The result is almost magic and perfectly suited for a rainy day like this, although I would play this kind of music any day, regardless of the weather.

My favorite track is 'VIII', an immense drone ambient piece, lasting eight minutes without ever going stale or boring.  In fact, the entire album never loses its quality and varies well between the use of different instruments and atmospheres.

In all, if you're a fan of ambient and experimental but soothing music, this is obviously something for you.  You can hardly go wrong with any release in these Eilean series and 'The Forest Diaries' is no exception.  Once again we're dealing with a high quality ambient release.  Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone ever tells me Eilean 'is the ECM of ambient'...



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alternative metal / death metal

It took a while but electronics are finally welcome in the world of distorted guitars, growling voices and vigorous drums.  They have been for quite some time now, that's true, but I clearly remember when they were not.  In fact, there were even times when people despised keyboards and synthesiser.  True metal was all about guitars, bass, drums and vocals, nothing else.

Luckily that somehow changed.

Hailing from France and featuring musicians from T.A.N.K., Arkan and Madonagun, Voron was formed in 2013 in order to create something both heavy and unique.  Their debut album 'Propaganda' is a very interesting piece of metal, blending death, black, industrial and technical metal with electronics and some eastern influences.  Get ready for a wicked ride with this French trio.

The album opens with something that reminds me of a euro-dance song but it's doesn't last long before the guitars and the death growls kick in.  The latter mostly remind me of the vocals in Samael, which is a very good thing.  In fact, a lot about this album brings Samael to mind but there's a lot more to it.  Bands like Machine Head, Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Sepultura must have had their effect on Voron.

'Is Suicide My Fate' even comes up with a metal version of trip-hop, opening with Massive Attack sounding electronics and again alternated with sheer brutality.  This seems to be a precess that is repeated multiple times, often resulting in the typical sounds of psytrance but without the analog beats.  That's what drums are used for and the result is brilliant.

But Voron aren't just electronic music producers who throw some guitars in.  Oh no, this is a full blown metal band, mixing elements from many extreme genres.  Everything about the music breathes metal and comes in an immense variety.  Bringing in a number of guests of course helps bringing some variation.  In 'Willingly' Voron proves that they can handle modern day alternative metal as easily as thrash or death metal.

'Fall Of the Risen' shows yet another approach: groove death metal made famous by bands like Entombed and somewhat also Benediction (mainly in the vocals on this one), again with brilliant electronic elements. This groove feel is enhanced by the slapping technique on the bass which gives the whole an awesome sound.  Hell, on 'The Funeral Of Time' the whole even sounds like a death metal version of a Linkin Park song.

I guess it's safe to say that Voron is an alternative metal band, not really fitting into most of the other genres but also not completely falling out of them.  Their sound is very modern but they remain loyal to the brutality, inginuity and flexibility of the metal genre .  It's espacially the last two that Voron takes to extremes and the result is just great.  Let's keep an eye out for these guys, we might be dealing with something very special here.



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melodic death metal

Hell yeah, time to punish and torture our neck muscles and vocal cords.  Time to crawl to the frontstage, raise our devil horned fists and smash our bodies into one another without remorse.  It's summer, usually the time when hell opens open air in stead of inside gritty basements, gloomy bars and smelly venues.  Now, I have no idea what it would sound like when you try to kill the well-known Indian peace activist but if it sounds anything like this band, Gandhi doesn't stand a chance.

Killing Ghandi hails from Denmark, founded in 2013.  Judging from the sheer quality of this album, the birthyear really is a surprise.  For a band that has been in existence for only two years, this quartet comes up with a smashing debut, immediately competing with the likes of Arch Enemy, Soilwork, In Flames, Children Of Bodom and Dimmu Borgir.  These bands aren't mentioned by accident because somewhere in between your albums of any of these, Killing Gandhi truly deserves a place.

There's sixteen songs on 'Cinematic Parallels'.  Five of them are intros, breathers or in-betweeners (named 'Trailer', short instrumental pieces of ambient or soundscapes which are in fact already pretty interesting changes from the fierce and brutal blend of death and black metal the eleven other songs brings us.  

'The Cannibal Course' opens after the first 'Trailer' and immediately shows the musical abilities of this band.  Stunning guitar riffs and fierce growls make up for a destructive trip that also reminds me of Machine Head somehow.  These non-black or death elements are also present in some of the thrashy guitar solos and give the whole a lot of credibility.  'What Lies Beneath' speeds things up towards a Childen Of Bodom like anthem.

From there the tone is set for a fantastic modern day melodic death metal album with an immense level of songwriting and brutality.  Furthermore there are some nice surprises on this album.  'The Lights Will Shine Forever' seems to borrow influences from indie rock, hidden away beneath tons of distortion.  'Only The Strong Survive' has a hardcore approach, mainly in the strong riffs.  'Illusion of Death' reaches back to the golden era of thrash metal.

My favorite song on this album is '0100101101000111', driving on amazing piece of guitar play in the verses and incorporating what sounds like a digitalized female voice in the choruses.  Yet, it's a metal album which means that we're banging our heads off in absolute extacy, along with fierce riffs and blasting drums.  The use of electronics often comes shining through and it's a brilliant move to incorporate these elements.  In closer 'The Next Level' they remind me of Pain.

In all, this is an extremely strong debut, leaving me absolutely stunned.  Yet, like so many metal albums, this stuff is mainly written to perform live and that's exactly what I'm hoping for from now on.  If Killing Gandhi is as convincing on stage as on CD, we might have a new favorite for many young metal fans and for old bats like me...



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gothic / doom

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There's been a time when gothic doom metal was huge.  I think it was somewhere in the late nineties when metal bands like Moonspell, Tiamat and Crematory were immense forces in the scene, followed by countless of bands who tried to copy this brilliant blend of death metal and new wave, or goth rock.  At least, that was in Europe.  In the USA the genre was a bit frowned upon for being mid tempo and not intense enough. Of course, America is a thrash metal country, basically known for its raging speed and flashing solos.  Although, I must admit, they're a pretty decent doom country too.

Anyway, when My Life's Despair was formed in 1994, Larshus couldn't find other musicians to complete his band.  Obsessed by slow, heavy music, he started learning other instruments besides drums and writing songs while continuing to drum in several bands. Work on songs went pretty slow because of all this, resulting in o,ly three demos and one e.p.  However, when he started cooperating with longtime friend, N. Sanity, things suddenly kicked off and this full-length saw the day of light. 

The music on 'Invoked with Passion and Pain' is an interesting throw back into the glorydays of dark metal and remind me of the bands I mentioned earlier.  Yet, My Life's Despair still likes going into some extremes, mainly in the blackened vocals.  Opener 'As Flames Ignite' is a very strong gothic doom song, blending elements from goth rock, melodic metal and doom and both grunts and female vocals.

This process is repeated eight more times, with mixes success by they way.  'A Caress Of Stars' reminds me of Tiamat in their 'Clouds' era, probably because of the similar sound of the guitars.  This is another decent song, also borrowing from the bizarre avant garde gothic scene where Christian Death roamed.  'Patterns In The Chaos' takes on a more doom metal orientated approach, coming close to bands like Saturnus or even My Dying Bride.

Yet, I said 'with mixed success' and there is indeed a 'however' in this review.  'She Said Forever' for example isn't really a good song, or something's wrong with it.  Somehow it feels like this is an older songs, dating from the beginning of the solo-project that this band used to be.  Here it becomes clear that My Life's Despair is not at full capacity yet.  To his defense, there are some very nice passages to it but the whole just doesn't feel right.

'No Hope For Tomorrow' digs even more into the gothic rock sound, leaving the grunts and desortion behind, which is actually a welcome chance and maybe a glimpse into the future of this project.  'Regrets' is a decent song again, with again some great passages, but here too I feel that the whole is a bit too basic to convince.  Same goes for the production by the way.  This music could use a better sound.

So maybe this is the first time that I'm torn between liking and disapproving an album.  In my opinion, My Life's Despair is a decent gothic doom metal band which incorporates all the right elements to become a decent player in the genre but they still have a long way to go.  Given time and effort, I really believe that they could become a force to be reckoned with and hope they prove me wrong with a stunning live performance or a smashing follow up to this quite promising debut.


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sludge / doom

Believe it or not, but our little country (and I'm talking about Belgium) has been huge in musical scenes over the years.  Not in all of them of course but we delivered some big names in EBM (Front 242), techno (Praga Khan), jazz (Toots Tielemans) and recently we seem to have become on of the main countries for sludge with bands like Amenra, arguably one of the most impressive bands in the scene.  

In fact, sludge is so big here that it has started to take over the black, doom and death metal scenes as well with a lot of crossover sounds.  Here a band like Oldd Wvrms fits in perfectly.  This quartet from Houffalize follows the current sludge doom storm, be it with an intense occult atmosphere, borrowing a lot from dark ambient as well.  

There's two tracks on this debut e.p., both being crushing sludge vehicels with fierce vocals, brutal guitars and punishing drums.  They're slow, impending and mesmerizing pieces of work.  Title track 'Mater Serpentium' is my favorite, probably because of the clean but powerful chants used besides the typical sludge screams.  They also provide a melodic grasp within all this bashing violence.

'The Pyre's Smoke', the second track, is another excellent sludge track, honouring the tradition of the genre and driving on vintage doom metal riffs.  Yet in all, there is plenty of variation and plenty of intense 'freaking-out' passages so it's no wonder that I'm getting curious about the future of this band.  If they can keep up with this level of songwriting, I can surely see them climb to the highest regions of the Belgian sludge scene.  


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