Metal Musings from the Mind of Daru Jericho

Cynic's 'Carbon-Based Anatomy' - For Those Who Know

2011-12-30T20:40:00.000Z

No aliens to the metal world, Florida's Cynic adopted a new perspective on progressive extreme metal and remain a fundamental part of technical metal history. The heart of the band is Paul Masvidal and Sean Reinert who were part of Death for the seminal Human recording. Cynic released the universally-lauded Focus before disbanding in 1994. However, like many thrash acts from the eighties and early nineties, a reunion dawned in 2006. Traced in Air was the debut's successor, with material strong enough to be considered superior to Focus. Last year, the American due released Retraced, an EP containing alternative take on songs from Traced in Air, reformulated to embody a very modern and emotive rock shape, albeit with as much thoughtfulness as their original takes. The final track was new number 'Wheels Within Wheels', which shared the same musical DNA as the other tracks. This year, Cynic polarised opinion with Carbon-Based Anatomy, a EP bearing all new material very different to what adherents were expecting.

Carbon-Based Anatomy is essentially three full-length songs conjoined by three embellishing interludes. The most striking comparison to their older works is the complete erosion of any metal elements. Once bequeathed with death and thrash metal teeth, Cynic's music has embodied an idiosyncratic progressive rock form. Astral soundscapes and off beat drumming remain but the signature vocal decoder has been substituted for a clean Steven Wilson-esque vocal effort from Masvidal, as heard on Retraced. The solos are less unorthodox than the Focus days but the release comes across as a personal one, more interested in depicting emotive flares rather than metal complexity. The lyrics certainly feel more personal. From 'Box Up My Bones':

Haste to cure the old despair,
No antidote, still I repair.
Someone said that bird has no wings,
But I've seen it fly, I've seen it fly in dreams.

On my way to love someone,
On my way to love the one.

The level of atmosphere has been dramatically increased; Masvidal explains that this is due to an appreciation of the ambient works of Brian Eno and Eno's vast and lonesome atmospheres are evoked on this release. Additionally, in truly being progressive, the introductory 'Amidst the Coals' is from an Amazonian tribe's Icaro - a song said to have had healing properties.

This release is a sign of Cynic's maturity and a testament to their desire to do what they wish rather than be directed by trends or what the fans expect. Masvidal states that his music references his life and is naturally going to become "more interesting, expansive and colourful." [1]. Some detractors consider Carbon-Based Anatomy to be closer to an Aeon Spoke record than a Cynic one, but Aeon Spoke are more folk inclined and devoid of the celestial musings prominent in Cynic's music, including this EP. It is fair to conclude that the negative attention that plagues Carbon-Based Anatomy is predominantly from metalheads wishing for Death-hangover, interested in Cynic because of the shared members and are frustrated Cynic have no metal tendencies any more [2]. Masvidal stated that even in the early years, Cynic attracted may who listened to jazz and were completely ignorant to metal [1]. New York Times jazz critic Ben Ratcliff believes Cynic's music to be better understood outside of a metal vessel. Perhaps this is true.

The vigour of 'Veil of Maya' may be absent but the tenderness of 'Textures' remains. Either way, Masvidal does not intend for Cynic to be a nostalgia act so those desperate for the old Cynic should stick to Obscura. Or listen to Focus.

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[1] Metal Discovery interview with Paul Masvidal, 2011.
[2] A similar argument can be made for the split opinions on Opeth's Heritage album.

Back from Hell - Helstar's Heavy New Legacy

2011-09-01T20:54:00.000+01:00

Originally written for Soundshock.com

Texan classic thrash metallers Helstardisbanded in the mid-nineties like countless other thrash acts but, like aphoenix, rose again in 2007. The following year, the band released theirrecorded comeback ‘King of Hell’, a surprisingly vicious update on the classicHelstar sound. Two years later, the quintet struck back with ‘Glory of Chaos’.Larry Barragan discusses the reactions Helstar have secured and what theirfuture plans are at their first UK show.

‘Glory of Chaos’ is a behemoth of a record,with Halford-esque shrieks, thick modern metal riffage, and bloodthirstydrumming, quite a far cry from Helstar’s classic ‘Remnants of War’ or‘Nosferatu’ releases. Did this polarise the fanbase? “The first reaction waslike ‘Wow what the hell is that?’” Larry recalls animatedly. “And now everybodyjust…they love it. They’re like “That’s the heaviest album you guys have made.”It’s been pretty good. I haven’t had any real negative reactions from the fans.We used a lot of James’ [Rivera, vocalist] voice on this one. A lot of peopledidn’t realise he could do a lot of that stuff.”

The ultra-heavy sound the band has adopted works and is a featuresignature to metal that Helstar were known for before their reunion. “I alwayswanted to make ‘Glory of Chaos’ since…forever. I’ve always wanted to be heavy.Different members of the band pull us in all different directions. I’m notsaying that’s a bad thing. We’ve never had that album where you listen to itand you felt like you’ve been punched in the face and that’s what I wanted forthis album.” Plenty of reactivated classic acts stick to what they mastered andbecame best at, perhaps slightly modernising their sound but certainly notdirectly drawing influences from newer bands. Larry takes pride in stating thatHelstar are the opposite. “We’re all metal heads and we’ve never stoppedlistening to metal. There’s all these influences from newer bands like Lamb ofGod and Sacrifice. What we wrote, that’s the way it came out. If you go backand listen to all the albums, we’ve never done part two of anything. It’s hardto do. It’s hard to not repeat yourself.”

The new sound is also a fantastic way to introduce the newgeneration of metal fans to Helstar, with a fresh sound as opposed to anoutdated, nostalgic one. “The fanbase has actually grown since we’ve reunited.Last night, we played old songs and everyone was absolutely cool with it andthen we played ‘Alma Negra’ and the place went nuts. Every time we played oneof the new songs, I could tell there was different energy all of a sudden.” Ina world where bands are struggling to remain relevant or stand out in somemanner, Helstar have accomplished what they need to do with new music.

With the surge in popularity with retro thrash and heavy metal bandsemulating a sound that was commonplace in the eighties, it seems like Helstarare taking the intrepid route by introducing new sounds, rather thancapitalising on their classic metal status and potentially catapultingthemselves into the same sphere of attention as these newer acts. Larrybelieves there is a strong difference between retro acts and those who wereactually there at the time. “I think they have the knowledge of it, I don’tknow if they have the feel that these bands like Helstar and some of the otherbands that have been around. Those guys – when they write an album, it has acertain vibe and feel and you can tell these guys are gonna be around for awhile. When you listen to those [retro metal bands], it sounds polished andeverything but maybe they don’t quite get it. You gotta have your own identity.That’s just my biased opinion I guess.”

One of the prominent attributes as to why Helstar’s new foundheaviness is around can be attributed to new drummer Mikey Lewis. “On ‘Glory ofChaos’, we’ve got Mikey in the band as our drummer and he understood us morefrom a drum perspective than any one. I think the album sounds as heavy as itdoes because of him. He made a huge change in us. It’s subtle, I don’t thinkpeople realise when they listen to it – the drums are fucking heavy – they justthink ‘Wow, it sounds so heavy, it’s so fast.’ Actually he plays guitar too. Hewasn’t in the writing process but for the next one, for sure. He’s already said‘I’ve got some parts. Let’s get together.’ Yeah, anything to make my jobeasier.”

After this tour, Helstar plan on heading home to work on a newrelease. “I’ve got parts here and there that I have on my laptop already butnot anything concrete. I’m sure Rob has a bunch of parts as well. Like I said,Mikey has some guitar parts too so we’ll get together and start piecingeverything together.” As ‘Glory of Chaos’ was composed through emails andrecorded without the band rehearsing together, it could be that the follow upalbum will be more thought out with more intricacies as Larry believes it couldbe beneficial to write the album together. “I think everybody wants to gettogether a little bit more and take some more time over the stuff. I like thesolos but I think if I had a little more time, I could have made the solos moreelaborate. But overall, I’m happy.”

Why Kampfar Respect Women

2011-07-21T23:29:00.006+01:00

Originally written for Soundshock.com

Since signing to Napalm Records for their 2006 release ‘Kvass’, Norway’s Kampfar have received a significant deal of attention worldwide. In the last two years, the black metallers have managed to play prestigious metal festivals such as Wacken and Hellfest and soon they will embark on their debut North American outing. But despite the peaks they have accumulated, frontman Dolk considers these past two years the most strenuous and draining of Kampfar’s career since their inception in 1994.

“When a band gets more interest, in a way, you have to make new decisions every single day and it starts to become more like a job. It feels at least sometimes that it’s not good to be in a band any more.” It has been two years since

Kampfar’s last comprehensive tour and Dolk is more than enthused to return to the road, delivering a stellar show to those in attendance. “I’m really happy to be playing again and I haven’t felt like that for the last two years. “ Drummer Ask submits the footnote: “We finally get the reward of the stress and the chaos.” This year marks the release of the Norwegians’ fifth album ‘Mare’, a mature release adding a bevy of variety to the black metallers’ catalogue. Naturally, Dolk is proud of the album but is more astounded by the attention the release has earned: “We sold as many albums of ‘Mare’ in the first five days as we did with our last album for two years. So it was like “Wow!”” Perhaps this impressive result can be partially attributed to Kampfar working with legendary metal producer Peter Tägtgren for the first time. “It was a natural choice. For me at least, it was very very important that he wanted to do this because we didn’t want to go into a studio because it’s a famous studio or it’s a famous guy doing the sounds. We wanted to take a new direction, of course, to create art. We needed someone who wanted to push the boundaries and limits to get with us. It was really important for me that he really wanted to do this album, not just “Yeah, I’ll do it,” but with passion. The last time I talked to Peter before we really decided to go that way, I asked him “Are you really up for this?” and he said “Fuck yeah!” The only thing we can say is in some ways it’s bad that we didn’t do this earlier.”

Ask highlights how important it was to have a producer who knew precisely what the band needed for their record and this kind of producer would have to be well-versed in all kinds of music as opposed to exclusively black metal. “We’ve always been a bit stubborn about keeping it a little on the low-fi. We’ve always taken thing away and this time we said “Fuck it, we’ll do everything. We’ll see what happens because if it doesn’t work you can always remove things.” So we choose to work with a producer who could do bigger productions and it’s very interesting how focused he is because we played Hellfest last year and he played there with Hypocrisy and the studio had been booked well in advance. We were watching Fear Factory play from the side of the stage because we both love the drummer and I’m talking to him and he’s well drunk. I’m explaining exactly what kind of sound I want for the studio and he remembered everything and had everything set up for that sound and he completely nailed it, exactly what I wanted. He thinks with a band. He doesn’t go in there and say “OK I’m going to give you my sound.” He says “I’m going to give you the sound that is best for you.”” Naturally, Kampfar will not consider anyone else when producing their next album.

‘Mare’ is something out of the ordinary for Kampfar and indeed black metal as a whole. The album is dedicated to all those women brave enough to subscribe to their own lifestyles and follow their own paths in life. This idea was inspired by the fate of women who were misunderstood by priests hundreds of years ago in Norway and were branded a witch and burnt. Ask sheds light on Kampfar’s only profound religious remark: “The thing is that to be a woman today and do what you want to do then maybe it’s a little harder than men but two hundred years ago, it was a lot worse. If you were a woman two hundred years ago and you said “No, I want to do my thing. I want to learn about what I want to learn,” [they set you on fire]. That’s our religious statement.”

Kampfar’s fortunes have not come without misfortunate. Late last year, founding member Thomas decided to part ways with the band on good terms. Thomas’ guitar work is instantly recogniseable and signature to Kampfar, carving a unique identity for the band. “The reason his guitar playing is quite different to other guitars is because he’s actually playing piano on a guitar. He thinks in piano. There were never two guitarists so he always played two melodies at once, basically, two harmonies at once. He plays deceptively simple. He’s actually an incredibly skilled musician,” Ask notes. Dolk is highly optimistic about Kampfar’s future with one of the founding members now absent from the line up: “We’re gonna nail it, without Thomas or not. We’re still brothers. When I go back to Norway, we’re having a barbecue party and he’s invited. We’re really connected but we just had to stop work with this kind of music together. We ended the line there, really.”

With the unhinged success of ‘Mare’, Kampfar’s position as co-headliners on tour with black metal stalwarts Secrets of the Moon and Vreid and a

highly anticipated North American tour, the band’s limits are not yet capped and they will continue to harvest a multitude of success that most black metal bands will never achieve. Kampfar demonstrate that persistence and artistic endeavour is the key to their outstanding results.

The End for Bal-Sagoth?

2011-07-12T21:35:00.000+01:00

Originally written for Soundshock.com

Recently, black metal in the UK has truly developed a consistent scene with bands like Fen, A Forest of Stars and Wodensthrone acting as the vanguards of a new movement. However, before these bands, one of the most uttered names both at home and internationally in the UKBM scene was Bal-Sagoth. In the past few years, the fantasists have kept a low profile but why? Mainman Byron Roberts explains why he considers the band to be in semi-retirement.

In 2006, Bal-Sagoth released their last studio effort, entitled ‘The Chthonic Chronicles’ on one of the biggest metal labels Nuclear Blast. The album was very well-received by the metal community and an international showcase of UK black metal. “We haven't been writing any new material, because we have yet to decide whether to carry on for further albums. I think eventually you will see the other members of the band branching out into various other projects, as realistically Bal-Sagoth won't last forever. I suppose you could say that Bal-Sagoth is in a state of semi-retirement, which wouldn't actually be too far from the truth! So essentially, the band has just been playing a handful of shows per year since our last album "The Chthonic Chronicles" came out in 2006,” Roberts notes. “Over the last five years, we've played in countries such as Finland, Norway, the USA, Portugal, the Czech Republic, etc. It hasn't been a deliberate decision to avoid playing the UK, it's just that no suitable offers had really come in until recently.”

Given the bombastic and grand sound Bal-Sagoth exude on record, it can be incredibly difficult to replicate the music live. Opinions on Bal-Sagoth shows vary widely, dependent on the quality of the sound and the knowledge of the sound engineers at the time. “It's impossible to accurately recreate the multi-layered sound of the albums in the live environment. We just have to settle for getting it as close as is humanly possible within the overall confines of the live show. That's partially why I've never been satisfied with our gigs over the years. I personally don't think there's any need to play this stuff live. Every time we play a show it perhaps erodes a little bit of the magic this band has. I would hope that the energy of the live experience might go some way to make up for it, but there's only so much you can do. Quite honestly, our material is not designed or written to be performed accurately live. Bal-Sagoth has always been more about the album experience; sitting back with the stereo on, booklet in hand, with the listener getting lost within the sonic universe of our discography.”

Unlike many metal acts, Roberts admits that Bal-Sagoth’s strength is not in the live show. The prominence of the lyrics in the band substitute for this though; each album is a conceptual piece, concerning itself with fantasy and sci-fi worlds conceived by Roberts himself. “The whole concept for the band was essentially built around the lyrical content. I had many of the lyrics written and the albums planned our years before I even met the people who would eventually end up being in the band. I came up with the band concept around 1989, but back then, seemingly no one was interested in being part of a high concept metal band with fantasy and sci-fi lyrics. That was the height of the whole socio-political thrash and death metal band surge, and it just wasn't "cool" to want to start a band dealing with mythological and fantasy topics. It was a real problem finding people willing to give the idea a chance. Eventually a guy I knew called Mac introduced me to some people he had been jamming covers within their bedroom. They were looking to start a serious band too, and to cut a long story short, Jonny and Chris ultimately agreed to be part of the Bal-Sagoth project. Only then did the music start being composed.”

With such dedication to the lyrics that are written over a period of years, it seems unusual that Roberts expresses these stories through music as opposed to a medium that would allow him to limitlessly narrate, such as a novel. “The reason I wanted to tell these stories via music was because of my love of black and death metal, and fantasy & sci-fi literature. Fusing those two loves seemed like a good idea at the time. The whole idea was that the band would be an extreme and symphonic musical project which would be underpinned by this elaborate lyrical universe. Originally, it was also driven by a desire to create the kind of music and lyrics that I myself would like to hear and read as a fan, because there wasn't much of that kind of stuff around back then. Pretty much everyone opposed the idea at some point, even people in the band itself, believe it or not! But eighteen years and six albums later, here we are.” Persistence is obviously the key for Byron. He states: “The other members aren't really reading enthusiasts, to be honest, and they certainly aren't big readers of fantasy, sci-fi or mythological books. I'm sure they eventually read the album booklets once they get copies of the CDs, but they generally don't take any great interest in the lyrical side of the band, and never have. And that's fine with me, because the lyrical side is exclusively my domain anyway.”

With a power-struggle between the music and the lyrics, it is worth considering how the songs are written and which aforementioned aspect is the priority. “When we write albums, I'll give the composers an outline of the kind of stuff I need for each song. Sometimes it will be a very broad outline, merely mentioning the overall mood required for a piece. Other times, for the "flagship" songs, it will be a much more detailed outline listing the events of the story and so forth. A lot of the time Jonny just comes up with something unconnected to an outline and just submits it to me, and I then decide which lyrics are best suited to that particular composition. More often than not, the actual final lyrics are kept a secret from all the other members of the band until the mixing process is underway! So, ultimately, our way of writing songs is a mixture of collaboration and isolation, and that's the Bal-Sagoth method.” A method that is unlikely to change if Bal-Sagoth decide to continue with new material but for now, it’s all up in the air and all dedicated fanatics should catch the live shows because nothing is set in stone for these symphonic black metallers.

...of 2010

2011-02-09T15:58:00.002Z

I think this year's edition will be even less interesting than last year's predominantly because I rekindled a love of '80s hard rock, which completely dominated my listening habits (and is certainly to blame for a drought of posts here). There were countless albums I wanted to investigate but never found the time or desire to, more so than usual.

Best Album
Pain of Salvation ~ Road Salt One

Pain of Salvation win by default, really. This album is more conventional than previous full-length Scarsick but in a rock-orientated way, rather than a metal one. The focus is on emotion, with influences from throughout rock's history creating yet another creative album that evoked plentiful spins before it finally hit me. That and I wasn't really in much of a progressive mood at all this year.

Honourable mentions: Alcest ~ Écailles de lune; Atheist ~ Jupiter

Best EP
Murder Construct ~ Murder Construct

With members from Cattle Decapitation, Exhumed and Impaled, Murder Construct could be considered something of a super group. This EP may not actually be as amazing as I thought but I hadn't listened to grind in a while until I heard this and it punched my teeth in. Death metal-articulated grind passages positioned next to straight-forward death metal moments with that dark atmosphere Cattle Decapitation enjoy using nowadays. Has a few quirky moments. Repeated listens aplenty. I'm not sure I actually heard any other EPs this year, come to think of it...

Best Song

Pain of Salvation ~ 'Sisters'

If another band churned out a song like this (someone like Nightwish), it might ruin the nature of sounding too sickly-sweet. Pain of Salvation go there though and make it sound completely genuine and non-cliché, possibly due to Daniel's vocals. The fragility of this song and the colourful climax at the end mark it particularly from the remainder of the album. A very beautiful number.

Honourable mentions: Alcest ~ 'Solar Soul'; Pain of Salvation ~ 'Curiosity'

Biggest Disappointment
James LaBrie ~ Static Impulse

Oh dear. Oh dear. From the mind of Mullmuzzler, the voice of Dream Theater hands us his interpretation of melodic death metal. Really. Compared to the grand Elements of Persuasion, this song features simpler instrumentation (in the melodic death metal vessel) and is entirely one-dimensional throughout. LaBrie's vocals are juxtaposed with Peter Wildoer, who I believe is from shitty Swedish melo death/thrash act Darkane, and his unbearable screams. It's an odd mix and they certainly do not compliment each other. LaBrie additionally tries to inject heaviness into his own vocals to measure up to the heavy riffs but the result isn't very convincing. Perhaps LaBrie should revive Winter Rose; the glam metal revival is fruitful in Sweden at the moment.

(Dis)Honourable mentions: Sabaton ~ Coat of Arms; Forbidden ~ Omega Wave

Best Cover Art
Death Angel ~ Relentless Retribution

Sadly, I never got round to listening to the new Death Angel album but when they announced this as the album art, I was ecstatic and knew most bands would struggle to produce such an arresting image for their release this year. This realisation of the saying 'wolf in sheep's clothing' is so beautifully violet and evocative of Hell that it fits the name of a band dubbed Death Angel perfectly. I'm assuming it's painted, which recalls the classic metal album art of the '80s ~ truly epic scenarios captured with oils on canvas. However, it does look like the most prominent wolf has been based off Courage Wolf. Oh, the Internet.

Honourable mentions: Alcest ~ Écailles de lune; Atheist ~ Jupiter

Best Newcomer
Triptykon ~ Esparistera Daimones

Okay, so they may not be brand new but Tom G. Warrior's Triptykon definitely aren't Celtic Frost, as the photo proves. This full-length is dark and heavy doom metal and essentially a natural continuation from Celtic Frost's 2006 Monotheist. With a great diversity of track lengths, this debut full-length chronicles a journey through anguish. Warrior is clearly enjoying his freedom here.

Honourable mention: Murder Construct

Best Live Show
Transatlantic, Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 21th May

Prog rock supergroup Transatlantic decided to immortalise their European tour by taping their London concert for a future DVD release. Despite having to endure the mutton-dressed-as-lamb Mike Portnoy crowd-surfing, I was fortunate enough to enjoy hearing all of The Whirlwind in its entirety, executed with excellent attention to detail. The band were down-to-earth and were fully behind the live show, particularly Neal Morse who had tears in his eyes during some of the performance. As a bonus, Pain of Salvation's Daniel Gildenlow was a session member. It did feel as if the audience were there for individual members as opposed to Transatlantic and they could have been more visually enthusiastic, otherwise I'm sure all will agree the show was superlative.

Honourable mentions: Fozzy, The Garage, London, 15th May; Therion, Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 31st October

Best Festival
Hellfest Open Air 2010, Clisson, 18th - 20th June

Last year, I said I'd probably be listing Hellfest as festival for the year yet again and I was right. This year was particularly exciting for me, seeing Freak Kitchen for the first time ever and enjoying a few of my other favourite bands like Kampfar, Urgehal and Sabaton. UDO, Raven and General Surgery are rare sights in London and it was fantastic seeing Twisted Sister, KISS and Alice Cooper without the hefty price tag that comes with seeing them in horrendously huge venues. Oh, and Bloodbath, Nile, Tankard and Asphyx all deserve mention. Ah, there were so many bands. This year's line up is only looking so-so. Having been for the past four years, I might skip Hellfest this year. I'm not sure I could drag anyone along to it either.

Honourable mentions: Hard Rock Hell III, Prestatyn, 2th - 4th December; High Voltage, London, 24th - 25th July

Best Discovery

Dangerous Toys

Nope. No metal here. Dangerous Toys are the Forced Entry of the '80s hard rock scene. That is, criminally underrated, probably because they too arrived on the scene too late. Fusing hard rock with Southern rock (they are from Texas), they managed to crank out their addictive and infectious self-titled effort, which is flawless. The vocals of Jason McMaster are screeched admirably and the guitars are either creatively melodic or heavy in a Southern cowboy style unique to this quintet. The second album is less in-your-face with some adventuring into different song structures but the final two tracks are such effortless one-two punches. When the third album was released, it saw the band desperately trying to adapt to the nineties scene and the release, interestingly entitled Pissed, is more aggressive musically and lyrically with no sign of cowboy-ness. I haven't heard the fourth album and I don't want to any time soon because after that, there will be no unheard Dangerous Toys releases out there for me. Isn't it sad? The band still play the rare show but from what I can glean, they never leave Texas. If only they would come to Hard Rock Hell...

Honourable mentions: Enuff Z'nuff, Pretty Boy Floyd

---

Perhaps next year, I'll get into metal again. I did check out some old school death metal, actually, but maybe this year will be my reintroduction to modern metal. If I can stop listening to the '80s hard rock, the NWoBHM and the old school death metal. And the non-metal stuff I also indulge in now. I have no idea what metal releases are coming out this year. Dream Theater, I assume and...? I'm useless.

Hellfest Summer Open Air Review 2010

2010-07-30T16:30:00.000+01:00

This June saw me returning to Clisson in France for the fourth time in four years, for the extreme music festival Hellfest. From Friday 18th - Sunday 20th June 2010, I would be immersing myself in a plethora of live acts.

Day 1 - Friday 18th

The day began with France's own Gorod, a brain-bendingly technical bunch of death metallers on Mainstage 2. The precision in their music did not compromise the brutal nature that is frequently associated with death metal. Unlike 'riff salad' tech death bands that rely on a barrage of hundred riffs per song, Gorod maintain a great sense of memorable composition, complete with a melodic edge that compliments the music. Frontman Guillaume Martinot raged across the stage, barking his rasps admirably. A great wake up call for the early morning start.

The next stop was Ortagos in the Rock Hard Tent. These French black metallers are signed to Season of Mist, a label I usually associate with quality, and after around four songs, I left their set. They were simply a hybrid of monotonus, double-bass black metal ala Marduk with simplified ideas akin to a watered down Secrets of the Moon moments.

Returning to the second Mainstage, Swallow the Sun's melancholic doom swarmed over the sun-drenched audience. It was difficult to watch them in the heated environment. Their cold and bleak melodies were lost in the festival atmosphere, particularly outdoors on a large stage. Nonetheless, the members avoided compromising and put on a decent show. The best moment was closing number 'Swallow', which provoked more action from the audience.

In the Rock Hard Tent, one of Norway's premier lesser known black metal acts Urgehal were about to commence spewing rabid blasphemy all over the festival. An austere performance, the band pumped out new songs from Ikonoklast, including 'Stetsolid Self Destruction' and 'Dodelagt'. The crowd were treated to the staples 'Satanic Black Metal in Hell' and 'Goatcraft Torment' alongside the non-album anthem 'Nekromisanthrop'. Despite the anti-human exterior these Norwegians have been successful in portraying in the past, they frequently thanked the audience, which destroyed their credibility. Nonetheless, Urgehal were still vastly enjoyable and entertaining.

I watched a little of Crowbar on the second Mainstage. They were quite amiable with their gritty sludge metal and were certainly enthusiastic to be playing live even after over twenty years.

On the smallest stage of them all, the Terrorizer tent, Sigh took the audience by storm with their innovative black metal and avant garde songs. With Dr. Mikanibal in a skimpy white outfit, embellished with bloodstains and angel wings, they had the entire audience focussed on their performance. However, the absence of a keyboard removed one of the dimensions of their music and songs like 'Death Before Dishonour' were seriously lacking their quirk. In spite of this, the band terminated their show with a grim rendition of the Venom classic 'Black Metal' with Mikanibal pouring candle wax all over herself.

Necrophagist were clearly comfortable exercising their technical prowess in front of the large multitude gathered at the Rock Hard Tent. Muhammed Suiçmez was a wonder to behold with his progressive slant on technical death metal. The quintet stormed through prime cuts from both of their full-lengths, such as 'Extreme Unction', 'Fermented Offal Discharge', 'Epitaph', 'Foul Body Autopsy' and 'The Stillborn One'. 'Stabwound' and 'Only Ash Remains' received particularly notable reactions from the audience and for good reason. There was little movement from the band on stage but with so much concentration needed to effortlessly execute their delicate music, they cannot be blamed.

More black metal was presented in the Rock Hard Tent with Norwegian four-piece Kampfar. The introduction of 'Valgalderkvad' looped through the PA before the band took the stage. When they did (save frontman Dolk), the members launched into 'Vantro' from their latest full-length offering Heimgang and exploded into 'Inferno' when Dolk joined them. Dolk was highly charismatic, racing around the stage to get the pulses of the audience pumping, even during the lengthier numbers like 'Hymne'. The setlist was fairly representative of all the Norwegians' four albums and very well selected, even if they were no major surprises.The crowd reacted solidly to their Viking metal embossed formula and judging from Dolk's reaction, he was appreciative of it. Closing with 'Ravenheart' was a particular highlight, sealing a remarkable appearance at the festival already.

Kampfar's setlist: Vettekult / Inferno / Norse / Troll, Dod og Trolldom / Hymne / Vettekult / Ravenheart.

With large banners at either side of the stage, Secrets of the Moon's innovative black metal emanated from the Terrorizer Tent. Despite their diligence, the band looked somewhat subdued and following Kampfar's performance, the quartet appeared somewhat sedate. Still promoting their latest full-length Privilegivm, a decent flavour of the album made the setlist, including 'Sulphur' and 'Queen Among Rats'. The newer songs were bolstered among typical staples, such as 'Lucifer Speaks' and 'Seraphim is Dead', painting a strong representation of what these Germans have to offer.

The Rock Hard Tent was fairly crowded with a congregation eager to witness Ihsahn's first live appearance outside his native Norway. Those expecting Emperor covers were fools as the prog mastermind layered prime cuts from each of his albums for the audience to feast on, backed by the entire line up of fellow Norsk prog metallers, Leprous. The dark progressive metal was a welcomed change of pace from the extreme metal I had been ingesting previously. Opening with the first song from After, 'The Barren Lands', Ihsahn demonstrated his musical dexterity. Handling guitars and vocals meant limited stage presence from him but the music was too emersive to notice. The particularly tender songs like 'Unhealer' were received solidly by the audience and Ihsahn's entire attitude to the live show was nothing but positive. Closing with another new track 'Frozen Lakes on Mars', it is clear to see why Ihsahn will be relevant to the current metal community, even after the demise of seminal black metallers Emperor.

Ihsahn's setlist: The Barren Lands / A Grave Inversed / Misanthrope / Scarab / Emancipation / Invocation / Called By Fire / Unhealer / Frozen Lakes on Mars.

A gathering swarm at Mainstage 2 awaited Hypocrisy. Opening with 'Fractured Millennium' from their self-titled album, Peter Tägtgren appeared completely confident wheeling his guitar and growling along to the large mass of people who appeared mostly curious of what the highly acclaimed band had to offer. In an attempt to perform as many songs in their allocated time, a medley of 'Pleasure of Molestation', 'Osculum Obscenum' and 'Penetralia' attempted to satiate as many Hypocrisy fans as possible. Despite the universal great reception that the Swedes' latest full-length A Taste of Extreme Divinity received, only 'Weed out the Weak' was played from it, this compromise obviously in favour of dishing out the much loved songs such as 'Fire in the Sky', 'A Coming Race' and 'Adjusting the Sun'. Despite their efforts, I found the band to become somewhat tiresome after some time. Closing with 'Warpath' and 'Roswell 47' was actually quite relieving.

Hypocrisy's setlist: Fractured Millennium / Weed Out the Weak / Eraser / Pleasure of Molestation/Osculum Obscenum/Penetralia / A Coming Race / Adjusting the Sun / Let the Knife Do the Talking / Killing Art / Fire in the Sky / Warpath / Roswell 47.

Having heard plenty about their latest album, Watain were unsurprisingly vomiting their blasphemy over a commendably-sized crowd in the Rock Hard Tent. Their gritty black metal with digestible melodic strains were a clear crowd pleasure. Bedecked in their corpsepaint, the band handled the entire performance seriously with no pandering to the attendees. Only 'Reaping Death' was heard from the new Lawless Darkness but with lengthy songs like 'Stellavore' and 'Legions of the Black Light' hitting the setlist, the black metallers had little time. Conversely, the brief 'On Horns Impaled' closed the set, the oldest song they conjured up.

Being their only European show, matters grew painful for Godflesh at the Terrorizer Tent. The British industrial group got off to a slow start with impeding technical issues that bit into a portion of their set. However, like most industrial groups, Godflesh's live show was devoid of enthralling elements and felt repetitive just staring at the band members doing very little on stage. I am sure they are more accessible on CD. The entire experience was quite a disappointment over all.

Following Godflesh were another experimental, non-metal band: Ulver in the Rock Hard Tent. Of course, none of their older, metal or folk songs would be showcased in their hour-long slot but their music came complete with their projections. Captivating both visually and musically, the Norwegians sped through their post-metal, avant garde numbers including 'Porn Piece or the Scars of Cold Kisses', 'Little Blue Bird', 'For the Love of God', 'Let the Children Go' and 'Like Music'. The experience was aurally overwhelming with so many beautiful nuances that grafted a strong personality into the music. It is a shame that the crowd appeared to dwindle in number as the set progressed but perhaps Ulver were not heavy enough to appear at an extreme metal festival for some. As the set closed, Garm graciously thanked those present, in a way that was devoid of pretence.

Concluding the night for me was The Devil's Blood, a psychedelic rock group in the Terrorizer Tent. The band are familiar in black metal circles because the Dutch group consider themselves an occult group and make appearances at many metal festivals. Their music was very seventies influenced with a female singer who does not possess a 'typical' female voice. The music was thick with atmosphere and, although the band were only allotted an hour long slot, they played for approximately an hour and a half. I struggled to endure the music for this long and think that they would be a richer listen in solitude as opposed to the live environment. Nonetheless, I am glad I caught their performance, even if it grew a little tiring during its tail end.

Day 2 - Saturday 19

The second day began with death thrash metallers Dew-Scented on Mainstage 2. The only original member, Leif Jensen, literally barked out his vocals in such a commanding manner that it shook off the cobwebs of the morning. Their brand of thrash socketed with death metal was aggressive and uncompromising with sinews of melody although ultimately unvaried throughout. Having said that, for a thirty minute set first thing in the morning, this was not a particular point of contention and it was relieving to enjoy 'Soul Poison' so early.

Kalisia released a debut last year (that took fifteen years to make) that received such striking attention, nominated as one of the best debuts of last year by many. Cybion is essentially a concept album formed of one song (but divided into tracks on the CD) and it was impossible its entirety would fit into the half hour slot they had in the Rock Hard Tent. Nonetheless, the astral progressive metal melodies swept over the audience in a captivating fashion with growls providing a brutal undertone. The keyboards were particularly atmospheric and swamping, truly envisioning the sci-fi universe the plot of the CD takes place in. Plenty of effort was put into the album and the band appeared grateful to be playing Hellfest. I presume Kalisia live to be a rarity.

Kalisia setlist: Reception/Translation / Union/Construction / Declaration/Revolution / Division/Integration / Lost Soul / Activation/Production / Confusion/Resurrection / Realisation/Penetration / Disconnection/Comprehension / Salvation/Connection.

After a break, it was time for German drunkards Tankard to play on the second mainstage. Opening with 'The Morning After', Tankard's coarse brand of old school thrash metal was clearly popular with the observers. Frontman Gerre bounded around the stage at such a frequency that was rare for a man of his size (although, admittedly he had lost weight since my last encounter with him in September of last year. At this Hellfest show, he kept pulling his shirt up to reveal a shrunken stomach yet plenty of loose folds of skin...) and really suited the frantic pace of the music. With only 'Octane Warrior' and 'Stay Thirsty!' from their latest album Thirst, there was room for older favourites such as 'Chemical Invasion' and 'Zombie Attack'. Not to be seen as a band twenty years past their glory days, newer songs 'Rectifier' and 'Slipping From Reality' we poured on to the audience, meaning they ignored their nineties days ('Beermuda' felt missed). Closing with another staple '(Empty) Tankard', it felt like the entire audience were singing along "Wanna drink some fucking beer, wanna drink some whiskey!" over and over again and indeed even after the performance, large groups of people were still singing it, long after Tankard had left the stage. Brilliant.

Tankard's setlist: The Morning After / Zombie Attack / Stay Thirsty! / Chemical Invasion / Rectifier / Slipping From Reality / Octane Warriors / (Empty) Tankard.

Tankard would be a near-impossible act to follow but it was up to Y&T to do so. On Mainstage 1, the American hard rockers attempted this task. They were in good spirits and that emanated into their live show. However, it felt strange that they ignored some of their better known tracks in favour of others. I assumed 'Summertime Girls' was a staple but I suppose they had newer material to play. They did play 'Mean Streak' though but the set was lacking in something, lacking in the sing-along atmosphere that plenty of eighties hard rock acts captured. Perhaps they were swamped by Tankard's performance.

Swapping over to Mainstage 2 again, it was time for some classic NWoBHM in the form of Raven. Opening with 'Take Control' from their much loved All for One album, I was completely taken back by the freshness and power of vocalist John Gallagher. His falsetto was stunning, certainly mistakable for the voice of a twenty-something year old. He was clearly very proud of this feat and frequently stole the opportunity to show off many a time as he added in falsetto cries that were not on the original. Although they are not a widely known band, they successfully invited the crowd to sing along to some of their catchy choruses as they ripped through a slew of classic tracks including 'Break the Chain', 'All for One', 'Breaking You Down' and 'Live at the Inferno'. The trio were a fantastic afternoon treat and a prominent reminder that Britain's heavy metal was premier at some point in history.

Returning to the light-deprived Rock Hard Tent, Dutch classic death metallers Asphyx were also proving to the festival why they were still relevant. Vocalist Martin Van Drunen essentially had his audience in the palm of his hands from the get-go as the quartet sliced with vicious death metal and hammered down with their unique doom metal groove. From their latest full-length album Death...The Brutal Way, Asphyx displayed a sense of purpose in the modern metal scene with the title track and 'Eisenbahnmorser' particularly storming through the venue. 'M.S. Bismarck', 'Wasteland of Terror', 'Asphyx (Forgotten War)' provided a bounty of headbanging opportunities and an atmosphere of chaos. Of course, no Asphyx set would be complete without the stunning 'The Rack' and this received a rightfully thunderous applause. Asphyx certainly secured the title of one of the best acts of this year's installment of Hellfest.

Anvil would have to do plenty to top Asphyx's performance. On the second Main Stage, the Canadians had attracted a large audience, no doubt on the strength of their documentary. Nonetheless, their music was too stale and their stage presence was fairly plain. Playing songs from their latest album This is Thirteen, the three-piece sounded desperate with dull tracks that plodded along to no tasteful climax. I ended up leaving their set early because their heavy metal was doing absolutely nothing for me.

With a good number of people watching them in the Rock Hard Tent, Sadist from Italy were a very impressive band from a technical point of view. With the guitarist handling guitar and keyboard duties simultaneously. Their progressive death metal was intricate and intriguing, particularly with the in-your-face keyboards. The quartet were quite comfortable on stage and after this performance, further investigation into this band beckons.

Returning to Main Stage 2 for further extreme-tipped prog metal, Nevermore opened their set with the older 'Beyond Within' with their devoted fanbase singing along. Following this track, the Seattle band begin to unleash songs from their new album The Obsidian Conspiracy on to the audience, beginning with 'The Termination Proclamation' and later including 'Emptiness Unobstructed', 'Your Poison Throne' and the title track. These new tracks received a great ovation but, naturally, less so among the other classics hand-picked for the set. Warrel Dane poured his emotional sentiments into his vocals with guitar virtuoso Jeff Loomis providing backing vocals as best he could. 'The River Dragon Has Come' was a sing-along affair to the fans; 'Born' was an emotional spectrum that reigned supremely in the outdoor environment; 'The Heart Collector' saw the band showcase their softer side with just as much appreciation as the heavier 'Inside Four Walls'. The Americans were in good spirits and put on such a fantastic show with Dane seemingly interacting with the audience on an individual basis. Closing with the muscular 'Enemies of Reality' was a spectacular finish with an eruption of mainstream scorn - what Nevermore are best at really.

Nevermore setlist: Beyond Within / The Termination Proclamation / The River Dragon Has Come / Born / Emptiness Unobstructed / Your Poison Throne / Inside Four Walls / The Heart Collector / The Obsidian Conspiracy / Enemies of Reality.

I half-watched Slash on the first Main Stage. His music was fairly inoffensive with Velvet Revolver and Slash's Snakepit but when he arrived at the Guns 'n' Roses songs, I had to depart because they are musically terrible.

Eventually, Canada's Annihilator arrived on the second Main Stage and many were eagerly anticipating the older material, specifically 'Alison Hell'. Opening with 'The Box' from King of the Kill was a little surprise but not necessarily a particularly positive one. Jeff Waters and Dave Padden appeared quite austere on stage and it was interesting to see them both handle vocal duties. From their new album Annihilator, they were doing the fans a favour by only selecting two songs: 'Ambush' and the lengthy 'The Trend'. 'King of the Kill' and 'Set the World On Fire' may have appeased some but certainly myself. However, ears perked up when the undeniably thrash classic 'Fun Palace' from Never, Neverland made its arrival. When it came to the closing number, Waters cheekily said "I suppose we have to play 'Alison Hell' now..." which had the audience in roars of ovation. The song was totally stellar, destroying the rest of the set. The pair's vocals were a great replacement of Randy Rampage's, sounding identical at times. This is why Annihilator's earliest efforts should be loved.

Annihilator's setlist: The Box / Ambush / King of the Kill / Hell is a War / Set the World on Fire / The Fun Palace / The Trend / Alison Hell.

Twisted Sister were to continue the vein of heavy metal/hard rock on Main Stage 1 and they would do so in a fantastic fashion. Frontman Dee Snider demanded all eyes on him for the entire duration of the set. Opening with 'Come Out and Play', the party atmosphere was installed into the audience. There were plenty of sing-along opportunties, including 'Stay Hungry' and 'You Can't stop Rock 'n' Roll' but most importantly, 'We're Not Gonna Take It', which was elongated for the fan's amusement. It was quite surprising to hear Twisted Sister's most popular song come in the middle of their set but they had other plans. In a tribute to Dio, Snider announced the band would play the Rainbow song 'Long Live Rock 'n' Roll', which had the audience singing the tribute to the fallen metal superstar. The cover was performed excellently with a truly celebratory atmosphere. After the sinister 'Burn in Hell', the band vacated the stage only to return for an encore of 'I Wanna Rock' and 'S.M.F.'. All in all a fanastic set and Snider was a very likeable frontman who truly understood how a rock 'n' roll show should be executed.

Twisted Sister setlist: Come Out and Play / The Kids Are Back / Under the Blade / Stay Hungry / Captain Howdy / We're Not Gonna Take It / Shoot 'em Down / You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll / Long Live Rock 'n' Roll / The Price / Burn in Hell / I Wanna Rock / S.M.F.

According to Twisted Sister, Abbath from Immortal was watching their show. Next up on Main Stage 2, were these second wave black metal superstars. Opening with 'All Shall Fall' from the album of the same name, had people excited over seeing the band more than the music itself. Unfortunately, this mediocre comeback album populated the setlist strongly, with 'The Rise of Darkness', 'Hordes to War' and 'Norden on Fire'. The setlist on the whole was somewhat disappointing (possibly due to time restraints?) with nothing from the debut, no The Call of the Wintermoon', 'The Sun No Longer Rises', 'Blashyrkh (Mighty Ravendark)' or 'At the Heart of Winter' - and these are just the popular, older Immortal tracks as opposed to my favourites. Nonetheless, the fans were overjoyed with 'Pure Holocaust', 'Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms' and 'Sons of Northern Darkness'. Abbath's fire-breathing was entertaining and you could literally feel the heat. Closing with 'One by One', I considered the show somewhat lacklustre (especially compared to last time I saw Immortal), I believe people were just happy to see the corpsepainted caricatures themselves.

Immortal's setlist: All Shall Fall / The Rise of Darkness / Sons of Northern Darkness / Hordes to War / Pure Holocaust / Grim and Frostbitten Kingdoms / Norden on Fire / Withstand the Fall of Time / Damned in Black / Tyrants / One by One.

Still keeping in tune with the theatrical side of music, Alice Cooper on the first Main Stage put on a fabulous show. The legend commenced with an abridged version of 'School's Out', which set the mood perfectly. What followed next was a show consisting of Cooper's best known hits (except 'Bed of Nails') and a theatrical show that included Cooper being killed in a variety of ways, such as by guillotine, being hanged and injected by an over-sized syringe. The guillotine trick was particularly convincing as his head fell into the basket and later he would be dancing around with it. His outfits changed numerously, all flashy and demanding of attention. 'No More Mr. Nice Guy', 'I'm 18', 'Poison', 'Only Women Bleed', 'Billion Dollar Babies', and 'Elected' were particularly highlights to this glitzy show. During 'Dirty Diamonds', Cooper threw out plenty of silver necklaces into the audience, which were snapped up quickly. Vocally, he sounded on form and suitably dark and twisted. He put so much effort into the show that his age seemed irrelevant. Even those not familiar with most of the set would have certainly appreciated the theatrical entertainment that accompanied the music. After 'Elected', the band vacated the stage only to return with the full length version of 'School's Out', another remarkable performance. It is clear to see why Cooper is such a household name as his show was unforgettable and it was very fortunate that he had the opportunity to play Hellfest. Such a fantastic headliner.

Alice Cooper's setlist: School's Out (abridged) / No More Mr. Nice Guy / Under My Wheels / I'm 18 / Wicked Young Man / Ballad of Dwight Fry . Go to Hell / Guilty / Cold Ethyl / Poison / From the Inside / Nurse Rosetta / Be My Lover / Only Women Bleed / I Never Cry / Black Widow Jam / Vengeance is Mine / Dirty Diamonds / Billion Dollar Babies / Killer / I Love the Dead / Feed My Frankenstein / Elected / School's Out.

If Alice Cooper wasn't horrific enough, the next band would take horror to a more realistic edge. The temperature had dropped for Carcass on the second Main Stage - the final band of the night. After their intro, the English gore connoisseurs launched into a hybrid of 'Genital Grinder' and 'This Mortal Coil'. Vocalist and bassist Jeff Walker radiated confidence with his English sense of humour. He was indeed quite a likeable man. Having appeared at Hellfest two years previously, the grind stars wanted to do something a little different and so they performed the vast majority of their seminal Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious release, breaking up the set with two other classics: 'Buried Dreams' and 'Heartwork'. The music was dark and heavy with headbanging rhythms leaking all over the place. 'Corporal Jigsore Quandary', 'Incarnated Solvent Abuse' and 'Carneous Cacoffiny' unsheathed riffs that were worth salivating over. However, the montage of infected penises projected behind the band may have contradicted this. After the show, Carcass left the audience wanting more...and in some ways, they got a great shot of gore with an autopsy video being shown in its entirety. A very appropriate way to end a Carcass set and the second day of Hellfest.

Carcass' setlist: Genital Grinder/This Mortal Coil / Inpropagation / Corporal Jigsore Quandary / The Sanguine Article / Symposium of Sickness / Pedigree Butchery / Incarnated Solvent Abuse / Carneous Cacoffiny / Buried Dreams / Heartwork / Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Composition.

Day 3 - Yes, I was here but out of laziness and a sheer lack of desire, I cannot be bothered to write a review for it. It was fun and I managed to see KISS bisected with Bloodbath.

In-Depth Analysis: Joyless' Wisdom & Arrogance

2010-05-25T16:09:00.005+01:00

Not quite what one would expect from a band called Joyless.

Depression and experimentalism are two attitudes common in (modern) black metal but what happens when they are taken to their absolute limit?

The short answer is that you leave black metal. Originally [1], black metal's primary motivation was hatred but in recent years suicidal black metal (also known as depressive black metal or DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal)) has leaped into good fortune with adherents of the subgenre. Bands including Shining, Lifelover and Xasthur have gained considerable recognition within black metal circles with their bleak attitude and self-destructive themes. It is not all positive though; many detractors think such misery is merely 'emo'.

Regardless of attitudes, Joyless are are interesting study in black metal becoming so depressive that they waive the metal component of their music. The earliest origins of Joyless can be traced back to 1991 with the conception of Forgotten Woods in Norway. Alongside Buruzm, Forgotten Woods are considered the pioneers of DSBM. Penning two full-length albums before they initially split up at the end of the '90s, they played emotive, black metal, drawing influences from rock genres. It sounds very organic and melancholy without resorting to the post-rock overload that many contemporary DSBM acts employ. Influences include Celtic Frost, Bathory and European thrash metal alongside The Velvet Underground and The Doors [2]. They reunited in 2007 and released Race of Cain, a raw and intolerant release with memorable melodies.

Joyless' birth was in 1996 with a line up composed entirely from the then defunct Forgotten Woods and their first release was the full-length Unlimited Hate. Some of the songs are old Forgotten Woods ones, recorded between 1994 and 1996. Like Forgotten Woods, the metal on this endeavour is atmospheric, despairing black metal with a good sense of emotion and hints towards more general rock music.

By 2000, the rock influence took over in time for Joyless to release their sophomore album Wisdom & Arrogance. This album strips Joyless of their black metal casing in favour of a depressive rock stance with a pop mentality. Although they pre-date Lifelover by almost a decade, this release can be described as Lifelover's bipolar younger sister. The most striking asset of the band which appears to divide listeners is the voice of new singer Ida Helleboe. Her voice sounds juvenile, nearly whiny and on the spectacular 'Transpire', she practically launches herself into a vocal tantrum. Theoretically, these vocals sounds challenging to endure but in reality, they compliment Joyless marvellously and sum up the attitude of the band succinctly. Her vocals are greatly varied but within the boundaries of pop music and inscribe accessibility on to the release. The spirit of teenage curiosity, angst and innocence is preserved flawlessly in her voice. The closing track, 'Room of Velvet Splendour', sees Olav Berland handle lead vocals and his deep, clean voice (no growls here) takes repeated listens to get used to, after hearing Helleboe throughout the release, but compliment the lengthy number perfectly. He sounds depressed but insightful. The vocal duet on 'Why Should I Cry?' is nothing short of sublime, with the different vocals bizarrely gelling seamlessly together.

The music is varied throughout the album and the entire release lacks unity, save for the introverted and/or sardonic lyrics. Sometimes the guitars play icy leads with the most subtle of guitar fuzz in the background (a hang-over from their black metal origins) as can be heard on 'Close to God' or 'Room of Velvet Splendour'; sometimes they bounce with a near-bluesy feel on the poignant 'Transpire'; sometimes they joust with post-rock such as on 'Stand'. The drums are usually simplistic but occasionally make a departure from this, promoting dynamic rhythms with a progressive flourish, 'Close to God' being a great indication.

Although the music is inherently depressing, the mood it harbours is not entirely melancholic at certain points: 'Divine' and 'Isn't It Nice' are edged with rich and decadent textures, much like The Velvet Underground while the aforementioned bouncing blues-cum-rockabilly guitar rhythms on 'Transpire' actually contradicts the frustrated vocals of Helleboe. 'The Nails' has no music; it is simply a recital of a striking and thoughtful poem by Helleboe in her thick Norwegian accent. In spite of these diversions, Wisdom & Arrogance is wholly miserable over all.

Lyrically, the band deals with poetic imagery, depressive/frustrated emotion, irony and inner struggles. The lyric for the entirety of 'Stand' are:

Happy be a face
Nobody understands.

Happy be a face

Nobody understands.

No, stand.

Stand, stand.

Happy happy happy happy

Happy be a face

Nobody understands.

Happy be a face

Nobody understands.

The last note is higher than the pentultimate one, turning the statement into a question, interestingly. Less subtle are the teen angst lyrics of 'Transpire'. The opening lyrics are:

Hey, do you know where I am going? (I can hear something has happened)
I'm going angry
On you (I can feel it)
It didn't matter anyway (Something is wrong)

Fuck off (Look where are you)
And still you are signing my song along
And that is (Everything)
Fuck off (I'm going crazy)
Did you understand me? At all, at all, at all.

These lines are straight-forward and totally imperfect, marking them all the more human and genuine. 'Why Should I Cry?' opens by taking a typically poetic image and ruins it:

The swans appear
And they sing the loveliest song I’ve ever heard
I gently caress
I believe I broke their necks
My eyes no tear shed.

My eyes no tear shed.

The chorus of the same song relinquishes any chance of hope:

I have reached the end (The End)
I've reached my earthly end. (The End)
And I do know that all I do is die
So why should I cry?

'Isn't It Nice?' has lyrics that would not be out of place on a modern DSBM band's album, expressing the disaffection of life and hatred of the world:

I am lost
And I feel so alone
But it really doesn't matter
There ain't a thing I can do.

Judgment day
Let me know when you are here
I want to see
The world go down

Drag me deeper down
I don't care
Down here there is nothing
Nothing but myself

and concludes with:

Point a gun at my head
Do you think I care?
Point it at yourself
And pull the trigger now.

Could you give me a reason to celebrate?

Throughout the album, there are plenty of references to the colour blue and velvet, particularly velvet shining. The latter could be a reference to the Forgotten Woods song 'The Velvet Room' (which also mentions dying swans in its lyrics). The associations of the colour blue are quite obvious and Joyless have mentioned it poignantly a few times prior to the release of Arrogance & Wisdom; Unimited Hate debut had a song entitled 'Blå melankoli' (blue melancholy); the EP Blue in the Face, released 1999 [3] has 'Room of Velvet Splendour' and 'Room of Velvet Splendour pt. 2', divided by a track entitled 'Swansmile'.

This is actually a beautiful record that finds some comfort in defeatism and solace. The title sums the music up perfectly. Its amalgamation of personalities and its flaws work in its favour, mirroring the human psyche. The music is recorded impulsive emotion. It is a struggle to find a band as raw, emotive and unrefined as Joyless. They have not recorded an album since but 2009 was a busy year for the band with three different splits and a compilation. It seems impossible to imagine a follow up to Wisdom & Arrogance but it would be wonderful to see such a release.

---

[1] Referring to the second wave bands, not first wave.

[2] Mortem Zine interview with Forgotten Woods, 2007.
[3] But recorded in May 1996 and arranged in 1995.

The Theatre Closes Down - 17 Years of Theatre of Tragedy

2010-04-10T17:40:00.003+01:00

Originally written for soundshock.net.

2010 should be considered a dark year for melodic metal. Why? Because Norwegian goth-metal vanguards Theatre of Tragedy are calling it quits in October. Formed in 1993, Theatre of Tragedy are credited as the first known metal band to consistently utilise a soprano voice alongside a growling counterpart. Now, after seventeen years the curtain falls on Theatre of Tragedy as the line up struggles to operate the band in sync with their families and careers. Original drummer, Hein Frode Hansen and guitarist Vegard Thorsen discuss the band’s final output and a nostalgic look at all the band has accomplished.

It’s a warm afternoon in Camden and Hein Frode Hansen and Vegard Thorsen are sitting in a pub with grins on their faces. Not very “goth” but Theatre of Tragedy have never been a band to adhere so closely to convention. The London date of their farewell tour has dawned upon the capital. However, the tour has not been doing as well as the band anticipated. “I could lie to you and say we have full houses everywhere but not really.” Hein’s honesty vividly shines through. “It’s like 100, 150 [attendees]. I was thinking that people were thinking this could be the last chance to see [Theatre of Tragedy] but maybe they think it’ll be like a funeral. They’re not good.”

To mark the band’s retirement, a new EP titled ‘Addendum’ has been issued. It comes with a re-issue of the Norwegians’ final album ‘Forever is the World’, released last year. The finality of the album suggests that the band knew they were to call it quits before they began work on this album. Hanson confirms: “We knew it was going to be our last record when we recorded it so we did a lot of stuff on the recording on purpose to make it like closure.” Indeed, it does sound like the swansong of a band, reflecting on its past, particularly with vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi utilising growls after a prolonged absence. Thorsen talks fondly of the remainder of the band’s shock: “Raymond decided “Fuck you all! I’m going to do something new which is old.” Hanson elaborates: “It really blew me away. I didn’t think he had it in him to do that kind of vocals so we were really surprised.”

There are a lot of nods towards Theatre of Tragedy’s varied past on their curtain calling album. From their early days as a romantic yet overcast gothic metal band through their electronic flirtations right to their modern gothic rock sound. “There’s nothing really new on there but it’s sort of like a mixture between all of the stuff we’ve done throughout our career without being in the middle of the ‘90s. I think an album in 2009, without being nostalgic about it and copying ourselves – that was our idea. We didn’t really set out to do it. We have many really weird ways of writing records throughout our career...mostly bad, actually. But this time around we said “Screw it. Let’s just try everything. No rules, no bullshit.” We didn’t have any specific recipe for it,” Hansen details.

Thorsen observes: “When we were doing the ‘Storm’ album we were trying not to be really aggressive. We tried to be energetic and keep the pace up. It gets short of breath after a while so we try to let our songs live their own lives, try to come together somehow. The funny thing with the record is if you take single songs and listen to them, they’re so-so but if you take the entire album as a whole, it works a lot better.”

The title ‘Forever is the World’ isn’t as conspicuous in meaning as one might initially think. Hansen enlightens by stating: “We really have a hard time settling on what to call our records. We played around a bit and ‘Forever is the World’ was the least terrible choice. We were all a bit low. This is it, this is final. There was lots of doom and gloom but there is a glimmer of hope or something. It fits very well with the album. It doesn’t really make any sense. ‘Forever is the world’. It’s not. It’s poetic nonsense. It’s actually a...Biblical quote?” Thorsen knows the answer: “Only man ends but forever is the world.”
The good news for Theatre of Tragedy fans is that the band will certainly be continuing with musical endeavours, possibly collectively. “We have good chemistry, good references and we work well together. We probably won’t do concerts or doing stuff live and touring, but we’ll probably be doing stuff together,” Thorsen reports.

Of course, the musicians have racked up their fair share of fond and less attractive moments. Thorsen recounts a particularly vivid scene: “The first album I participated on, ‘Assembly’, when we stayed in a barn in the middle of the Finnish forests with no indoor plumbing...that was the worst. It was amazing fun but it was really gruelling from day to day. You couldn’t wash your hands; you had to go to the main building. You couldn’t go to the loo; you had to go to the main building. We had to be really quiet when recording vocals because it was just downstairs and the floorboards were really creaking.”

Hansen counteracts Thorsen with a positive experience: “I think Beirut was pretty good. Standing on stage in Beirut was unbelievable. Looking at the Mediterranean Sea on stage in the sun doing the sound check there, which was pretty amazing. We were the first band beside The Scorpions or something like that that played there. They just built a complete stage set up for us with a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea. We were like “Beirut? Do we have any fans there?” We get on stage and there were like 2000 people there. It was really amazing.”

Theatre of Tragedy have accomplished a lot but not all they wanted to. Thorsen regrets the fact that they never toured Japan, or more touring generally. Hansen reflects: “Now we’re older and greyer and more exhausted so it’s a little bit why we’re breaking up as well. It’s really difficult to combine doing Theatre of Tragedy and giving it the attention it deserves. Theatre of Tragedy is like a life on its own, the way I see it, and it deserves everybody’s full attention. People are not able to do that. It would be disloyal to the fans [to] go four years for every record and do one tour every four years and it’s quite a lot of work.” Returning to the centrepiece as to why the split is inevitable, Thorsen elaborates: “I think if Theatre of Tragedy as a band was to continue we’d have to put more work into it. Do more touring, do more live shows but we can’t. We just don’t have time and resources to do it. It’s better and more respectful in a way to call it quits and leave it as it is. Have some fun before the end and also while we’re still friends.”

The band has known about this split since last May but could not officially state their intentions due to the relationship with their record label. “We couldn’t say “Give us all this money so we can make this record but really afterwards, we will break up.” So we had to keep everything quiet. Obviously, the record label isn’t too happy about it but...oh well,” Thorsen shrugs.

October 2nd 2010 in Stavanger will be the final performance for Theatre of Tragedy. They will be flying in their best light technician from Germany and will play a set representing all of their albums. Fortunately for those unable to book a flight for Norway, the show will be filmed for a DVD. At least the band acknowledges how important they have been in the metal world. “We were the first doing [growls and soprano vocals] 50/50. There were bands doing it before; Paradise Lost were doing it on the first record but they only had a guest singer. We were the first one to have a full time member of the band being a lead singer. It’s weird now because you’ve got all these bands. Back in the day when we started out, no English press would touch us with gloves. People hated every European band that did the gothic style. We were ridiculed so much from Kerrang and all the English press. It’s hilarious and now they’re all over the gothic scene. It’s a bit strange standing here 17 years down the road. I’m not going to claim responsibility for the whole scene. That would be a bit megalomaniac but at least I’ll say that you’ll find a Theatre of Tragedy CD in all these bands’ collections. Even Evanescence secretly has a Theatre of Tragedy CD stashed somewhere,” Hansen says with a smile. Theatre of Tragedy will be horrendously missed but at least they still have their integrity.

Jonas Renske on Katatona and Bloodbath's Current Development

2010-03-31T16:01:00.005+01:00

Originally written for Soundshock.

In recent history, Swedish progressive metallers Opeth have sky rocketed to the upper echelons of the metal world in terms of recognition and success; it seems surprising that fellow countrymen Katatonia never reached such pinnacles particularly with their later albums seeming more accessible (no growls and shorter songs) than the aforementioned. Now with their eight monolith of melancholy, ‘Night is the New Day’, it looks like Katatonia are ready to seize the vast levels of acknowledgement they never quite appropriated previously. Frontman, Jonas Renske discusses the components of this favourite album of many from last year and the return of highly acclaimed death metallers Bloodbath.

Despite having a title that people wouldn’t immediately associate with the newest Katatonia full-length, ‘Night is the New Day’ shimmers with Katatonia’s trademarks: concrete, urban textures, tides of remorse and a voraciously consuming hopelessness. “It’s not super different,” Renske remarks indifferently. “It’s just that every time we do a new album, we want to do better songs and experiment with sounds and textures and layers, always trying to do something even better than the last one. It’s still a Katatonia album.” Similarly to the rest of the band’s recorded observations, the album received laudations from all over. “I was super happy with the album when it was ready but the response has been overwhelming - great reviews but also the fans are very much into it. I couldn’t ask for more.” Their sold out London headlining show, with Long Distance Calling and Swallow the Sun as supports, is testament to this and according to Renske, the entire tour has been particularly fruitful. “It’s been more packed than we could have expected. Everybody’s really happy with it so far.”
Everybody is indeed happy with the record but some fans have found the name of the Swedes’ latest effort rebelling against the orthodox Katatonia titles. Perhaps it’s the ironic commentary that has never been prevailing in the band’s inventory that comes as a shock. “To me, it represents the kind of state that the world is in today. It’s kind of a dark place, economically and at least here in the Western world, people are obsessed with materialistic stuff, the rich and famous. I think it’s not good.” Additionally out of tune with Katatonia’s aesthetics is the first video off the album, ‘Day and Then the Shade’, a video that would be far more accommodating to the music of a group like Evanescence. The video frequently receives negative comments on Youtube in spite of director Lasse Hoille who has produced videos for Porcupine Tree and Opeth . “It was because we were in a hurry to deliver a video to the record label and we were on tour at the time and we didn’t have any time to come up with anything but Lasse – we met him in Copenhagen – was willing to do it without the band around. He’s a great photographer and he knows what to do with cameras. We just said go ahead and then we continued to take him up for the video. It’s a bit unusual for Katatonia but I think it works. There’s some beautiful scenery.”

Fortunately for the languishers, the band made another video for ’The Longest Year’, which has just been released as a single (from the eponymous EP). The video is much more representative of Katatonia’s soundscape and a compliment to the band. “We wanted to do something more in the style of Katatonia in this video because we had the time to get involved. I was discussing with Charlie (the guy who did this video) and he pretty much had the same kind of idea so he just went with it. Not really beautiful sceneries but the suburban houses. It’s a really beautiful place; they have all these statues. I think it goes well with the album cover.” It’s not just the new album that Renkse has to worry about this year. His other band, Bloodbath, is returning to the live circuit and with a sizeable portion of the Katatonia line up appearing in Bloodbath, it’s a wonder how the bands manage to co-exist. “Bloodbath isn’t as busy as Katatonia now but we have agreed to do some festivals this summer and some of them, we are both playing with Katatonia and Bloodbath so it’s going to be a busy time. It’s fun to have the band coming to a live environment because we’ve only done three shows so far in the band’s whole career.”

Bloodbath’s visceral death metal is a far cry from Katatonia’s emotionally driven shoegaze. How does Renske’s attitude differ live between these two acts? “I think Bloodbath for me is more difficult. I play the bass instead of singing. The singing thing is more mental – I can do good gigs and bad gigs but with the bass you have to be technically correct all the time so I just think about it instead of feel. I think that’s a big difference.” In 2008, Bloodbath released their latest album ‘The Fathomless Misery’, their first album in four years. “I think it’s cool. It’s showcasing some different styles. Maybe it’s more extreme and up to date than the old school stuff that we did but I think every album will be different, depending on what we did last time.” Many musicians take short breaks from one band to focus on another. When returning to the band they put on hiatus, the sound remarkably changes, usually because of ‘maturity’ but Bloodbath sound as vicious and rabid as ever. “It’s always fun to do a Bloodbath song. It’s all about having fun. With Katatonia it’s different. It’s such an important thing, it’s more like philosophy. In Bloodbath, it’s churning out riffs and trying to make it make sense. “

Renske’s positive attitude runs contrary to the morose melodies of Katatonia and the destructive hymns of Bloodbath. How about a cheery Katatonia tune? Laughing, Renkse remarks: “No, because I hate happy music. It’s just not creatively challenging.” Some things never change.

The Evolution of Kampfar

2010-01-30T20:55:00.001Z

Norway's Kampfar have a substantial fanbase now and have made festival appearances at premiere metal festivals such as Germany's Wacken, Party San, Norway's Inferno and after this year, Hellfest in France. With four full-length albums under their belt, Kampfar's journey from obscurity to their current position is a storied one.

Kampfar originally began life as the black metal band Mock in 1992. The three piece from Gressvik released a demo entitled Cold Winter in 1994, a split with the German band Tumulus in 1995 and the EP Vinterland in the same year on the highly acclaimed (at least in underground circles) Hammerheart records. Musically, Mock sound like a primitive atmospheric black metal band ala early Burzum but less aggressive (although it does feature Dolk's recognisable, vicious rasps which sound unchanged compared to modern Kampfar) with more commendable drumming. 'Call the Eternal Winter' even has an eerie organ in it which divulges an element of gothic mystery to the music. Lyrically, the band avoided Satanic/anti-Christian cliches and opted for talking about freezing temperatures and Winter, much like Immortal. Mock actually became defunct in 1994 - the three band members were interested in pursuing radically different kinds of music (one member went on to join the EBM band Apoptygma Berzerk) [1] - before the EP was released and mainman Dolk (Norwegian for 'dagger'. His real name is Per-Joar which translates to 'mountain warrior' [2]) went on to conceive Kampfar. Fortunately, however, in 2007 Agonia Records re-released the tracks from the split and the EP in the compilation 'Mock', limited to 1000 copies.

Kampfar (which is an ancient Norse word for Odin or Wotan that warriors would cry before entering battles to heighten their performance [2]) was to be Dolk's continuation of his vision that Mock incited. In 1994, Dolk was seeing a girl whose brother was Thomas. Thomas originally played the piano and has a strong background in classical music. Dolk desperately needed a guitarist, having written the song 'Kampfar' on his bass and needing a guitarist to record it, and Thomas satisfied the position [3]. Dolk has stated that he has always attempted to distance Kampfar from the abundance of Norwegian black metal bands that were spawning at the time. The band designed a logo that did not immediately resonate the symetric, gothic type-face or illegibility of other black metal bands and they dropped the corpse-paint of Mock, "It was really a strange thing because people didn't understand the concept of black metal without corpse-paint." [3] Dolk evades labelling Kampfar black metal, which he considers relates to the Satanic; he opts to dub his band 'Norse pagan folklore metal'.

A demo restricted to 250 copies was released in 1995 on the respected Season of Mist, recorded between 1994-1995. In the same year, the pair's debut self-titled EP was recorded. Bearing the colourful image of a Norwegian landscape on its front cover, the release could be disregarded as black metal, considering the archetypal black and white covers of black metal bands in the mid-nineties. With Dolk handling vocal and drumming duties and Thomas covering guitars and bass, the EP is undeniably the foundation for Kampfar's modern sound, with thick organic atmospheres contrasted sharply with aggressive buzzing, both created by the guitar. The song 'Kampfar' clocks in at over nine minutes, beginning rather relaxed before launching itself into more violent passages akin to a more thoughtful early Bathory, escalating towards icy highlights and concluding with proud, warrior-esque clean vocals, similar to what Fenriz does with Storm whose sole album was released in the same year as this EP. 'Hymne' sounds distinctively Norse and with subtle clean vocals used sparsely for the intro: "Hymne til Odin", it is clear that this song pays homage to the Norse god Odin, often considered a clichéd theme in contemporary metal. The final track is 'Hjemkomsten' (which translates to 'The homecoming'). Laden with synths, 'Hjemkomsten' subtracts the black metal guitar, reducing the frosty atmosphere, and focuses on melody with a simple yet complimentive drum beat. The music evokes images of exploration, folklore and of course nature. This track displays Thomas' classical influences best and tottering over the two minute mark, the song retains the listener's interest throughout as well as underscoring that Kampfar are more than a simply a black metal act.

In 1997, Kampfar released their debut full-length album 'Mellom Skogkledde Aaser' (which translates along the lines to 'across wood-covered hills') on Malicious Records, recorded in X-ray Studio in September and October of 1996. All of the songs extend beyond six minutes and there is no confirmation of stagnation. Opening with piercing female screams, the album stings into 'Valdogg' with an incredible multi-dimensional guitar sound, previously unknown to Kampfar but destined to become their trademark, unique sound. Melody is married with the abrasive guitars as heard on the self-titled observation, forming what is now popularly described as pagan metal (Viking metal meets black metal). There is no overt use of keyboards or any component that can be classified as folk metal, which is certainly one of the many prominent strengths of this album [4]. The atmosphere is substantiated further with seething guitar rhythms and the melodies adorn it with the icy temperatures Kampfar usually employ, only they sound more accentuated. A cleaned up version of 'Hymne' makes an appearance on the album with a few additional seconds. The structures feel natural as opposed to forced or splintered. Even in modern times, this stands as one of the greatest contributions to black metal.

The following year, the band released another EP named 'Norse' on Hammerheart Records. The title-track is noticeably more upbeat than anything captured on 'Mellom Skogkledde Aaser', having been written in a major key, making it significantly more accessible. Interestingly enough, although this song is less atmospheric in the traditional sense, it comes across more vividly. This is also Kampfar's first musical venture into the English language, although the other songs are in Norwegian. On the whole, the guitar leads have progressed greatly and the melodies are easier to pick out. 'Troll' is an inferior song to 'Norse' which is relentless in its progression, but 'Troll' is still earns repeated listens with its acoustic introduction and the addition of synths later on. Closing track 'Tæring' serves as an outro, coming across as fairly uplifting and closer to folk than the previous songs.

After the 'Norse' EP, Kampfar unleashed their sophomore album on the metal world. 'Fra Underverdenen' (which translates as 'from the undergrowth') was released in 1999, again on Hammerheart records. It picks up from the EP; 'Norse' is on the tracklisting. Kampfar experiment more on this album, moving at various tempos, drawing out their ductile guitar melodies into a bevy of alternative styles, all while ignoring the use of archetypal or tacky synths. The atmosphere is different - thick and suffocating at times yet unlike anything they band has previously committed to record. The inclusion of a digeridoo can be heard on 'Troll, Død Og Trolldom' and a cello on 'Svart Og Vondt' too which illustrates how far Kampfar have come in a such a brief amount of time. The Norwegians still attain their aggressive roots with 'Mørk Pest' juxtaposing visceral passages with melodic ones, typical of Viking metal but Kampfar are certainly one of the first to employ it so brazenly. This is a sublime example of Kampfar's innovation.

Unfortunately, events ground to a halt after 'Fra Underverdenen' when Thomas and Dolk went through personal issues that set Kampfar on a lengthy hiatus. These problems would have to be solved before the pair could return to making music together. During the years of inactivity, Dolk received several letters each week from fans questioning what happened to Kampfar. These served as an inspiration for Dolk to continue with Kampfar at some point. Three years later, the Norwegians reactivated Kampfar and were given two options: to continue the band as before or to get more members and expand into a live band. Previously, the band had received offers to perform live but always refused due to only being a two-piece [1]. However, they selected the latter option with ease and found suitable musicians in two years; Kampfar were now joined by drummer 1113 (who now lives in the Netherlands) and bassist Jon Kabber in 2003, the latter of whom Dolk met while doing session vocals for the black/death metal band Gruesome [2].

The new Kampfar line up

Kampfar joined the Austrian label Napalm Record's roster who Dolk has had intense links with since the mid-nineties. The label showed the most interest in the band, as opposed to money which suited Kampfar impeccably. In 2006, Kampfar's first two albums were re-released by their new record label who bought the rights for the full-lengths. The Napalm pressing of 'Fra Underverdenen' comes with the 'Norse' EP as an extra. Both of these albums had been sold out for almost five years so the re-release was a positive action from Napalm. The first pressing of 'Mellom Skogkeldde Aaser' sold over 6,000 copies, yet Thomas and Dolk received nothing [1]. It was sold to Century Media and Napalm original bought the rights from them and Kampfar are now benefiting richly. The self-titled mini-CD has not been re-released because Season of Mist refuse to sell it as it still sells so well.

2006 also saw Kampfar's hotly anticipated return to the studio with 'Kvass' (translated as 'sharp') coming out and receiving universal praise. It was a difficult album to create, considering 1113 and Kabber had to adapt to Dolk and Thomas' personal style but eventually they did with optimum results. The release showcases crystal-clear production which compliments the music remarkably, illuminating all of its attributes. 'Ravenheart' is the token English song, conveying the spirit of Kampfar to non-Norwegian listeners and due to its English language, this track is frequently considered the best on the album. The album utilises impressive rhythms and the inclusion of trance-inducing and dreamy states shares common ground with other Viking metal bands. The trademark coupling of melody and abrasion is still present, marking this album Kampfar's. The album seems colder and moodier than 'Fra Underverdenen' but not completely; 'Gaman Av Drømmer' is in a major key and ends the album in an upbeat manner. This is the album that secured a brand new fanbase for Kampfar, their breakthrough album.

'Kvass' was succeeded by 'Heimgang' in 2008. Recorded at Silvertone Studio, the same studio used for 'Kvass', Dolk wanted 'Heimgang' to be a return-to-roots album as he believes the band lost atmosphere over the years. The album is closer to analogue than digital and Dolk had the intention of making it sound more honest and genuine; the drums on 'Inferno' were recorded on the first take. With 1113 and Kabber more familiar with the workings of Dolk and Thomas, it was much easier to write this CD as a cohesive unit. Lyrically, the album deals with crossing over into the Underworld of Norse mythology, a topic that has fascinated Dolk since he was young. Some of the topics discussed occurred locally to Dolk; 'Antvort' is about a priest supported by the Norwegian state as someone spreading the word of God who dabbled with both the light and the dark. The priest originally lived very close to where Dolk lived, about 200 years ago [6]. Unlike the last two studio efforts, there are no English songs on this release, which secures Kampfar's integrity in terms of searching for commercial success. The album is consciously more stripped down and more of a straight-forward metal release.'Inferno' hits like a blazing hammer; 'Vettekult' illustrates maturity as the band's most emotive track; 'Vansinn' is Kampfar at their most refreshingly folk metal sounding with a particularly insistent rhythm while avoiding the clichéd monotony of bands such as Finntroll, Ensiferum and Korpiklaani. This is a very intensive release for Kampfar, pushing them to their limits in spite of their back-tracking to a more atmospheric sound.

Kampfar are currently working on new material and it is tricky to predict what kind of direction they will move in. Either way, expecting a disappointing release would most likely be a terrible mistake.

---
[1] Soundshock's Kampfar interview, 2009
[2] Sheol Magazine's Kampfar interview, 2007
[3] Heathen Harvest's Kampfar interview, 2009
[4] but the design and cover art is interestingly enough by Season of Mist
[5] Perhaps it should be noted that this album was released around a similar time that folk bands such as Ensiferum and Finntroll were being constructed.
[6] Living for Metal's Kampfar interview, 2009

The Best Metal Albums of the 2000s

2010-01-07T17:23:00.006Z

Another decade is behind us and the amount of treasures metal offered us this decade is alarming. Metal is so articulated now, so easy to access, I wonder if it is at its peak of popularity currently. Anyhow, I present my favourite metal albums of the past decade (2000 - 2009 inclusive) in no particular order. I've only allowed one entry per band otherwise it'll be too taxing to compile such a list.

1. Dream Theater ~ Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence [2002]

Dream Theater's sixth studio effort is quite stunning. I've talked about this disc too much so I shall simply copy and paste my description of this release from my post entitled 'A Succinct Commentary on Dream Theater' Studio Albums' from 2008:

"Dream Theater accomplish another first with this release; this marks the first album composed of two discs. The second disc is one song - the title track, clocking in at a devastating 42:04 minutes long. The primary disc is sinister but not the kind identified in previous Dream Theater releases. The production makes it sound far more clinical and functional. All of these songs are lengthy in duration, appropriating the mega-long songs archetypal to progressive music. The moods of each vary greatly: 'Glass Prison' is tenacious and a harbinger of the future Dream Theater to come; 'Blind Faith' is uplifting whilst heavy with a nod to traditional heavy metal/hard rock inPetrucci's riffing during the chorus; 'Misunderstood' is a stormy piece, boasting more power without being as outwardly aggressive as the opener; 'The Great Debate' is defiant; 'I Disappear' is ghostly reserved and concludes the first disc perfectly. Dealing with various mental conditions, it is befitting of the title track (broken into eight tracks) to cycle through varying moods in grandiose fashion. LaBrie gives several touching vocal performances, namely 'Goodnight Kiss'. This album also sees the debut of Portnoy'sbacking vocals which inevitably lead to a contribution of crippling the progressive metal innovators but are capable of being ignored on this release. 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence' is a fantastically turbulent song, propelling its listeners through a barrage of emotional responses and unusual musical techniques, as featured on 'The Test That Stumped Them All'. Overall, this opus is one of Dream Theater's strongest due to its multi-dimensional magnitude."

2. Fozzy ~ Happenstance [2002]

Apparently 2002 was a great year for metal. This is the album that actually got me into metal, back in 2003. Fronted by WWE wrestler Chris Jericho, Fozzy's Happenstance was predominantly a cover album with four original songs thrown in. The covers were of '80s heavy metal bands and I believe they are better than the originals (with the exception of Motley Crue's 'Livewire' and possibly Priest's 'Freewheel Burning') because the updated and modern take makes the guitars sound sharper and the overall sound clearer. Jericho's vocals are ridiculously unconventional - gravelly with a tendency to shoot into vibrato zone. The four original songs are distinctly more modern and sound like they could be classed as melodic death metal without the death. Ultra melodic modern heavy metal, possibly. It's tedious to define but it sounds fantastic. 'End of Days' has a insistent and great riff that throws the song forth with an appreciative melody. 'With the Fire' emanates glory and 'Crucify Yourself' is beautifully dark. It is a shame they did not carry this sound on to their 2005 follow up All that Remains. Who knows, perhaps their new album that comes out later this month will see a return to this sound but I doubt it. Nonetheless, I still listen to Happenstance every other night when I'm at home.

3. Subterranean Masquerade ~ Suspended Animation Dreams [2005]

Suspended Animation Dreams is the most ambitious album I have ever heard. Think maudlin of the Well just about to come down from an LSD trip. Employing clean vocals and growls (courtesy of November's Dooms' Paul Kuhr so you can expect a commendable effort) alongside the odd moment of female vocals, keyboards, trumpets, saxophones and mellotron...this album has nothing but effort compacted into it. Progressive avant-garde metal has never sounded so strong. Guitars range from nostalgic, fearful, painful, aggressive to lovelorn. They literally depict every emotion imaginable. Although it sounds crazy and erratic, it is a truly cohesive and emotive effort. There are not awkward fragmentation problems and nothing jars or sticks out unkindly. Each song is a miniature masterpiece with something different to offer. 'The Rock 'n' Roll Preacher' is immensely addictive which is a celebration considering the song clocks in over nine minutes long. There are so many layers to this observation that is demands countless repeated listens to appreciate the experimentation and creativity forming it. There are no instances of riff salad or guitar masturbation here, just infinite creativity. Also, Andy Winters contributed to this project so consider that a good seal of approval, alongside Travis Smith's suitably deranged artwork. I thought last year they were supposed to release the sophomore album In Pastille Colours but I guess it still needs to be worked on? They have high expectations to meet.

4. Katatonia ~ Viva Emptiness [2003]

Although not strictly 'metal', Katatonia's shoe-gaze classic Viva Emptiness deserves a spot on this list. Coming a long way from their death/doom origins, Katatonia release a slab of sleek draconian misery. It is amazing how cold this release sounds without veering into isolating black metal riffage. It is a painful listen (though not as depressing as '99s Tonight's Decision), monochromatic and concrete-endorsed. It is so well composed and united in atmosphere that it seems like a concept album. The music is brutality honest, occasionally entering dreamscapes before being harshly confronted by a gritty reality check which wallows towards depression. Not a celebratory record but too often in life does one want to recede into negativity and this is the album to do it. There is an unconventional vein of romance in this album, best personified by songs like 'Evidence', 'Sleeper' and 'Omerta', which keeps the listener loyal to this release. It seems surprising that Katatonia never broke into the mainstream and over take Opeth in terms of popularity. Perhaps it is for the best.

5. Sabaton ~ Attero Dominatus [2006]

Sabaton are the kick up the proverbial backside that power metal needed to step up its game. I detailed Sabaton's studio attempts in a recent blog entry so again, I shall quote from that:

"It would be futile to argue that Sabaton's second album is wildy discernable from their debut (the closing track, entitled 'Metal Crue' is another jokey metal song with lyrics created by the names of popular metal bands) but Attero Dominatus does provide evidence of Sabaton's evolution over the last year. Songs are more streamlined and sound more like anthems, with offerings like the title track, 'Nuclear Attack', 'Back in Control' and 'In the Name of God' packing a hefty punch to the listener. These songs are Sabaton at their sharpest and most dynamic, comfortable in what they do with formidable execution. Sabaton's lengthiest song to date is on this album, the melancholy 'Rise of Evil', describing with accuracy the rise of the Third Reich. This is arguably the best song Sabaton have committed to tape for its abundant maturity, foreboding riffs and envious intensity. Although an improvement on Primo Victoria, a third album like this would do Sabaton no more favours; they have exhausted this style."

6. Kampfar ~ Kvass [2006]

Kvass was Kampfar's returning album. After a period of inactivity, they returned with this frost Viking offering. With hooking guitar melodies married with abrasive rhythm guitar, this album flirted with different atmospheres in the Viking/black metal style Kampfar are used to. One of Kampfar's greatest assets is their resistance to succumb to archetypal folk metal stylings to bolster their Viking imagery; this way they retain copious amounts of originality. The album is beautifully hypnotic and very Norwegian in sound. The trademark Kampfar guitar melodies are recognisable against any background and they sound enviably streamlined on this release. 'Ravenheart' is the song that appeals to their fanbase most (simply because of its English title, no doubt) but the war ravaged 'Til Siste Mann' and the melting sounds of 'Gaman av Drømmer' highlight this album as Kampfar's best since their debut. What a muscular return.

7. Pain of Salvation ~ The Perfect Element [2000]

The Perfect Element is one of the best metal albums ever, let alone this decade. As far as prog metal is concerned, it can go toe-to-toe with Dream Theater's mighty Awake. In fact, this is essentially an inversion of Awake. Where Awake's merits lie in genuine, unrestricted melancholy anger, TPE connects to the listener with relate-able rage-tinged sadness. The fixation is on the depressing rather than the angry. Both albums are studded with beauty, but it shines more on Awake because beauty compliments sorrow better than anger. This album is lucidly colourful and unashamedly inquisitive. The multitude of textures suits the variety of musical expressions. Daniel Gildenlöw's voice is stunningly versatile and could not be aped by anyone. Progressive metal compositions have never sounded so luscious with a focus on emotion rather than skill. Lyrically, there are manifestations of the human conditions that everyone will be able to relate to and it the level of accuracy this has been captured with is frightening, particularly since Pain of Salvation are a Swedish band. Despite being ten years old now, this album sounds like it was conceived yesterday.

8. Enslaved ~ Below the Lights [2003]

Enslaved's Below the Lights is unbelievably underrated. It marks the album that pulled the band out of their unsuccessful experimentation phase. Muscular Viking metal passages are twinned with thoughtful progressive metal moments. The black metal elements are slimmed down but add a level of viciousness unattainable by the other aforementioned metal subgenres. It's a sublime release with picturesque imagery and beautiful exploration not frequently associated with black metal; the introduction to 'Queen of Night' is perfect. The clean vocals are very appropriate for the guitar tone and although they are indifferent to the growls, the album would suffer without them. Some may consider this Enslaved's selling-out moment but this release just encourages black metal bands to think beyond the confines of '90s black metal.

9. Freak Kitchen ~ Organic [2005]

It seems surprising that there aren't any other bands like Freak Kitchen (at least that I'm conscious of) but it could be due to their odd tuning, their musical wit and talent or the fact that people respect them. Generally considered playing a form of experimental hard rock, I will allow them in this list because they do have plenty of undeniably metal features and arrangements (not to mention an exclusive (prog) metal fanbase). Organic is the peak of their quirkiness (I'm currently excluding new album Land of the Freaks because I haven't given it a studious enough listen) and musical intelligence. Technicality is confined to the solos while the remainder of the song's body is built around unusual guitar employment. The solos have their own wacky sound that is the property of Mattias IA Eklundh exlusively. No one sounds like him. His vocals are perfect for a band like Freak Kitchen and on this album, bassist Christer Örtefors pitches in with vocal duties on 'Infidelity Ghost' with results to be applauded. The songs are outstandingly catchy and with the usual tongue-in-cheek lyrics, it is impossible not to fall in love with Organic. The only issue I have with Freak Kitchen is that for their experimental nature, they do not seem enthusiastic on experimenting with song structures a great deal. If it's not broken, don't fix it?

10. Joyless ~ Wisdom & Arrogance [2000]

Although Wisdom & Arrogance is not strictly a metal album, I will allow its inclusion for Joyless used to play black metal. Their second album is a massive departure from the melancholic black metal of their debut Unlimited Hate. Wisdom & Arrogance is like Lifelover's bipolar younger sister. This opus is hard to describe but it falls somewhere along the blurred lines of misanthropic depressive pop rock. Indeed it sounds like black metal musicians purposefully creating something accessible just to frustrate people (yes, this could also be the next Shining album). The title of the album could not be more appropriate in that way. There is far too much to say about this Joyless effort. Possibly its most striking feature is vocalist Ida Helleboe who has a child-like juvenile voice. In theory it sounds irritating but in practice it is perfect for this band. Melancholy, beauty and angst are carried off perfectly. The juvenile essence of her vocals make it seem like Joyless feel entirely helpless, beyond suicide. It is moody and bipolar, like a teenager. It is the male vocals of Olav Berland that take some getting used to on the final song 'Room of Velvet Splendour' but after enough spins, the song becomes as addictive and as beautiful as the rest. Somewhat like the adult apologising to you for their teen's misbehaviour but you realise that the adult and child are very similar. It is difficult to word Joyless but I suspect I shall be comprehensively discussing them in a later blog post. This is not the place for it. Mind-blowing album, nonetheless.

And the rest:

Another ten albums I thoroughly appreciated from this past decade are:

11. Lifelover ~ Erotik

12. Arcturus ~ The Sham Mirrors

13. Edguy ~ Hellfire Club

14. Opeth ~ Damnation

15. Putrid Pile ~ Pleasure in Suffering

16. Mystic Forest ~ Waltz in the Midst of Trees

17. Nevermore ~ This Godless Endeavour

18. Nunslaughter ~ Goat

19. Nile ~ Annihilation of the Wicked

20. Scythe ~ Decay

...of 2009

2010-01-03T18:51:00.014Z

The end of 2009 has passed and my listening of new releases this year was worse than that of last year. Needless to say, this edition of 'best of' will be less wholesome than last years. I've altered some of the catergories to make it more economical.

Best Album

Dream Theater ~ Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Dream Theater apologise to their fanbase for releasing the poor Systematic Chaos in '07 by releasing Black Clouds and Silver Linings. Darkness meets heaviness in a convincing display of profound emotion. Lengthy numbers full of adventure ('The Count of Tuscany'), prog rock styled nostalgia ('The Best of Times') and themed frustration ('The Shattered Fortress'). The erratic solos have been considerably turned down with a focus more on overall composition as opposed to individual passages. Unfortunately, Portony's poor vocal efforts are around but are much less dominant than on their previous full-length. The songs are intensely visual and despite the remarkable duration of this album, it all sails by too quickly. Dream Theater are back. For real.

Honourable mentions: Porcupine Tree ~ The Incident; Putrid Pile ~ House of Dementia

Best EP
Lifelover ~ Dekadens

Sweden's finest DSBM band must be hard at work, with Dekadens following the recently released album Konkurs. Lifelover entreat the audience to a varied and uncomforable journey of solitude. From the sleek 'Luguber Framtid' to the dramatic 'Myspys' (with a rhythm that reminds me of Aura Noir for some reason) to the punchy 'Androider', this EP showcasing the band pushing their limitations further away. Can they ever disappoint?

Honourable mentions: Pain of Salvation ~ Linoleum; Victimizer ~ Ressurrected Abominations

Best Song
Dream Theater ~ 'A Nightmare to Remember'
The opener from Black Clouds and Silver Linings is one of the best songs Dream Theater have penned in a while. The song opens strikingly heavy, with a tinged gothic edge before creeping into sinister territory, unfolding an adventure. The heavy passages are juxtaposed with a peaceful and medical one rich in textures and haze. There is a lot to praise in this songs (and unfortunately, Portnoy's vocals are hell bent on tainting the ending). The instruments support each other with no painful contradictions. Nothing is too distracting or over the top. LaBrie's vocals are beautifully versatile, underscoring this track as nothing short of magnificent.

Honourable mentions: Porcupine Tree ~ 'Time Flies'; Megadeth ~ 'This Day We Fight'

Biggest Disappointment
Queensryche ~ American Soldier

I probably enjoyed this album substantially more than everyone else but it is still disappointing by my standards. I like Tribe and Operation Mindcrime II but this album lacks the dynamic nature of the latter and the moving creativity of the former. Most people detract this album for its patriotic American concept, but I can look past that. It's the music that disappoints me. The ballad is terrible - Tate's daughter should NOT be on this album. She is distracting and not a particularly decent child singer. The rapping depletes the album further as does the tedious 'modern rock', heavy guitar riffage as can be heard during the chorus of 'If I were King' - what is otherwise a commendable and memorable rock song. I can deal with Queensryche not wanting to continue to uphold the metal banner but just be intelligent about the creative process. There are some gems in this album but it's covered in a fair amount of embarrassment to wade through. How this band have fallen from grace. I still retain my faith in them though, probably because they remain one of my favourites.

Honourable mentions: Dying Fetus ~ Descend into Depravity

Best Cover Art
The 11th Hour ~ Burden of Grief

Maybe I'm simply being lazy and can't be arsed to check out other album art this year but this cover is amazing (unlike the album...). In fact, it was so good I decided to sketch the crow with decent results. You know precisely what to expect from looking at the cover and that's what good album art does. Unusual yet moody tones, smoky atmospheres, a stone clock with the final number showing 23, branches in Autumn and the centre-piece - a painted crow looking rather sinister. The glowing light makes it look somewhat less melodramatic, although the over the top nature of the cover can not be disputed. Having said that, death/doom metal is hardly reserved. The detail on the crow is profound and a marvel to stare at. The effect of the individual features is a success. The realism is so great that the textures shine right through. Artist Mick Koopman should be very proud of this effort and the band were more than lucky to be able to work with him.

Honourable mentions: Pain of Salvation ~ Linoleum; Diablo Swing Orchestra ~ Sing-Along Songs for the Damned and Delirious

Best Lyrics

Porcupine Tree ~ 'Time Flies'

Freak Kitchen probably would have stole this section but I can't find their lyrics online. Listening to them make me smile as they've updated their inventory with all the fashionable pop culture staples like Facebook, optical mice etc. But this behemoth of a track literally flies by because it's so astonishing. Lyrically, it's concerned with archetypal and personal prog nostalgia but the way their written adds a maudlin and cute quality to them. They just feel so personal and have some great metaphors like 'suburb of heaven'. Catchy stuff.

Honourable mentions: Megadeth ~ 'Endgame'; Katatonia ~ 'Forsaker'

Best Newcomer

Fleshgod Apocalypse ~ Oracles

Think death metal-era Behemoth but with intricate spurts of technicality and classical interludes thrown in for good measure. Fleshgod Apocalypse are a remarkably talented trio, releasing their debut Oracles this year. Coupled with a compelling live show, this band is certainly worth keeping an eye on in the future. Hopefully a follow up explores more territories and doesn't stagnate the mediocre tech death scene.

Honourable mentions: Kalisia ~ Cybion; White Wizzard ~ High Speed GTO

Best Live Show

Kampfar, Underworld, London, 16th February

I was overtly thrilled when Kampfar anounced their UK debut show, an exclusive London date with coheadlining band Vreid and support from Iskald. Fortunately, Kampfar were last on and Dolk was a tremendous frontman, the audience never taking their eyes off him. His growls were intensive and enduring throughout. The setlist was beautifully varied, showcasing rarities and favourites from all of their albums. Opening with 'Vantro' as their intro tape they launched into a full-on attack with 'Inferno' and never laxed their iron grip. The encore was 'Bukkeferd' from their debut, which was surprising. Such a shame the audience did not react so enthusiastically and predictably 'Ravenheart' was the track greeted with the best ovation. People ruin the metal shows but without them, they cannot exist. Anyhow, these Norse pagans are lined up for Hellfest this year and I hope to be in attendance. I can imagine Dolk shining in an open air environment.

Honourable mentions: Putrid Pile, The Gaff, London, 1st July; Dream Theater, Manchester Apollo, Manchester, 9th October

Best Festival

Hellfest Open Air 2008, Clisson, 19th ~ 21st June

If I was to be calling this one based entirely on social factors, it would be awarded to Hard Rock Hell but based purely on line up and organisation, than France's premier metal festival reigns victorious again. Pulling out a line up that particularly excited the prog factor in me with Dream Theater, Queensryche and Pain of Salvation (all in one day) among others, I couldn't lose. Add in New York death metal favourites of mine Skinless and Immolation, along with bands who avoid London like Aura Noir and Manowar and this festival had me sold. I'd never see Motley Crue perform live because they are so poor but being one of my favourite bands and at the festival, I could watch them headlining without exclusively dropping a large sum of money to see them. I thought it would be impossible to top last year's line up, but I was indeed wrong. The festival itself ran smoothly despite the surge in numbers. Socially, it was hit-and-miss thanks to the conclusion of my two year relationship (avoid doing weekend long festivals with your ex and said ex's object of jealousy) but a great weekend of metal was not ruined by social politics. I talked to more people this year and yes, festivals surely due attract the mentally-touched metalheads in armies. The line up for 2010 so far looks stunning (Kampfar, Sabaton, Freak Kitchen, Urgehal and more) and has effectively confirmed my attendance. I suspect this time next year, I'll be listing Hellfest as festival of the year again.

Honourable mentions: Bloodstock Open Air, Catton Hall, 14 ~ 16th August; Hard Rock Hell III, Prestatyn, 4th - 5th December

Best Discovery

Forced Entry (US)

This year I discovered plenty of new bands I'd never heard of before but the best of these were Seattle's Forced Entry, a thrash metal band who formed in 1985. I discovered them via Metal Inquisition at the start of last year and was interested in the idea of technical thrash metal. Their second album As Above, So Below from '91 is incredible. It's technical thrash metal without being progressive such as bands like Atheist, Cynic, Anacrusis etc. They have their own particular style with angular riffs, well-timed pinched harmonics, amazing audible bass lines and their own style of thrashy vocals. The lyrics were usually intelligent (especially for thrash metal) but the band never took themselves too seriously, penning such party tracks as 'How We Spent Our Summer Vacation' and 'We're Dicks'. Unfortunately they only released two albums and one EP before being overpowered by the grunge movement and were coerced into splitting up after a flood of issues out of their control. It seems a travesty that bands like Sacred Reich made it (sort of) whilst Forced Entry are condemned to complete thrash metal obscurity, despite doing something creative and intelligent. What's worse is the contemporary thrash metal revival, spearheaded by such trite and unoriginal bands like Evile and Municipal Waste who rehash old ideas from thrash metal's heyday and consider themselves mind-blowing. Forced Entry need to reunite and bring real innovative thrash metal to the world. I truly believe they are metal's most underrated band and I listen to all the metal subgenres profoundly. I pray they will reunite this year, as they once did in 2002. They rereleased As Above, So Below last year so you never know. They're so compelling that I dedicated my Summer to them. This band is proof that there is no justice in the world. They truly deserve to be making a living off their music.

Honourable mentions: Internal Bleeding; Joyless

~~~

And that's about it. 2009 was a decent year of metal but I never got round to acquiring all the releases I so desired. Last year was a particularly busy year and I just didn't have the time. Hopefully 2010 will be less hectic and I can satisfy my desires. Already planned for release this year are the new Sabaton, Scythe, Nevermore and Dream Evil. Hopefully the live scene will be just as good, if not superior.

A Succinct Commentary on Sabaton's Studio Albums

2009-12-22T22:45:00.008Z

The world must prepare for Sabaton's nuclear attack on mundane power metal!

Sweden's Sabaton were conceived in 1999 and in a brief space of time, they have ascended to the upper echelons of modern power metal. This is punctuated adequately by their recent signing to Nuclear Blast Records a few weeks ago. To this day, they have four full-length efforts and one tentatively due next year.

Primo Victoria [2005]

Sabaton's official debut album Primo Victoria, released on Black Lodge, redefined the benchmark for modern power metal bands. The archetypal high pitched falsetto vocals are substituted for a macho low-pitched voice, almost tip-toeing into growling territory. Guitars produce electrifying, razor sharp riffs in a power metal fashion, more like Children of Bodom than Gamma Ray but still nothing like the Finnish quintet. The drums sound bombastic, truly in-your-face and refusing to stick to the monotonous double-bass drumming most power metal acts feel comfortable with. The keyboards are fiery and intense, literally making the music sweat. All of these attributes connect together seamlessly to underscore Sabaton's central theme: war, a theme not frequently discussed within a power metal context. All of the lyrics are related to war and vocalist Joakim Broden is so passionate in his approach that the topics become infectious and the listener wants to know what exactly he speaks about. The only song excluded from the war talk is closing number 'Metal Machine' which a light-hearted heavy metal track formulated with the song titles of well-known metal bands.

Attero Dominatus [2006]

It would be futile to argue that Sabaton's second album is wildy discernable from their debut (the closing track, entitled 'Metal Crue' is another jokey metal song with lyrics created by the names of popular metal bands) but Attero Dominatus does provide evidence of Sabaton's evolution over the last year. Songs are more streamlined and sound more like anthems, with offerings like the title track, 'Nuclear Attack', 'Back in Control' and 'In the Name of God' packing a hefty punch to the listener. These songs are Sabaton at their sharpest and most dynamic, comfortable in what they do with formidable execution. Sabaton's lengthiest song to date is on this album, the melancholy 'Rise of Evil', describing with accuracy the rise of the Third Reich. This is arguably the best song Sabaton have committed to tape for its abundant maturity, foreboding riffs and envious intensity. Although an improvement on Primo Victoria, a third album like this would do Sabaton no more favours; they have exhausted this style.

Metalizer [2007]

Sabaton's third album in three years, Metalizer is not strictly speaking exclusively new Sabaton material. Before the days of their debut album, the Swedes recorded two demos [1], conjoined in a best-of release entitled Fist for Fight in 2000. It was released on an obscure Italian record label, Underground Symphony. However, it is the second disc on Metalizer. The first disc is ostensibly re-recorded versions of songs from Fist for Fight in addition to a couple extra songs. This sounds more like traditional heavy/power metal with no amazing flair and few similarities to their first two albums. The guitars are not as poised as on the other work Sabaton have recorded but do retain some formidable riffs, and the vocals sound rawer and deeper than ever. Lyrical themes pay homage to fantasy, Tolkien and other power metal clichés. Many of these songs can be considered filler tracks. It would appear Sabaton released Metalizer so fans could have the opportunity to obtain Sabaton's true origins, which is an honest move. They no longer play any of these songs in their live set [2].

The Art of War [2008]

Sabaton retain their consistency in releasing albums each year and The Art of War, their latest album to date, hits shelves in 2009. The band have been enriched over the years and showcase it in the near-fifty minutes of this album. The acquisition of a proper keyboard player [3] means the keyboard takes a more interactive stance on the album, sounds very prevalent and plays different roles on different songs. Only 'Unbreakable' and 'Talvisota' demonstrate obvious trademarks from the Primo/Attero days. The music sounds even more intense and the guitar riffs are more substantial and experimental. Although the lyrical themes are still war-driven (this time there is no party metal track), 'Cliffs of Gallipoli' has an almost joyous mood while 'The Price of a Mile' sounds cinematically upsetting. 'Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)' is a superlatively creative songs that even utilises elements of folk metal in an innovative fashion. 'Firestorm' is frenetic, certain to increase heart rates with a genuine sense of urgency. The album is divided by brief samples of a woman reading selections from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' book that are supposed to correspond to the following song. Fortunately, unlike so many death metal bands, the sample use is not abused so the album does not become hideously fragmented. Musical explosions occur everywhere on this release with ground-pounders like 'Ghost Division' and '4o:1', marking this a relentless album for power metal and Sabaton's most articulated release yet.

Teamed with performances at Graspop, Wacken and other major metal festivals, Sabaton reached large audiences and with a captivating, energetic live show stuffed with tracks that invite the metal congregations to sing along. It is unsurprising that Sabaton have been signed to one of metal's biggest record labels, Nuclear Blast. They can only get even more popular now and are definitely ear-marked as being the next big thing in power metal. What can be anticipated from their forthcoming release is unknown, save the return of war lyrical themes; the band invited their fans to e-mail ideas of wars they would like to see covered in the next album and received over 10,000 replies. Until next year...

------------------------

[1] These were originally recorded approximately 1999/2000.

[2] They certainly played a few in 2007 on the tour for the album though.

[3] Frontman Joakim Broden used to handle keyboard duties and the band would hire a player on tour.

Adagio in Black - Why and How Adagio Changed

2009-12-14T18:06:00.003Z

Originally written for: www.Soundshock.net

A country not recurrently associated with progressive metal, France is home to symphonic proggers Adagio. After forming in 2000, the band spawned their individual brand of melodic metal, tastefully influenced by Symphony X with strong neo-classical flourishes. In 2006, they released their third album 'Dominate' which showcased a signifiantly heavier sound for the band and the incorporation of growls. Although this stirred the original Adagio fanbase, the band felt in no way discouraged to continue honing their abilities with their heavier direction as they released their latest full-length 'Archangels in Black' earlier this year on Listenable Records. Before playing their first ever show in the UK, Soundshock sit down with main composer and guitarist Stéphan Forté and pick his brains on the new vocalist and sound of Adagio.

After Forté gets comfortable in the well-lit balcony of the Purple Turtle with odd members and roadies sound-checking on the stage below, he describes the primary alterations between Adagio's original sound and the one they have since adopted. "The first albums were way more progressive and neo-classical, then we decided to go straight because it's more enjoyable on stage; we have more fun playing darker stuff. All the progressive elements are still present but less complex, with lots of orchestra arrangements but with dark chord progressions." The implimentation of a heavier sound suggests that Forté is suddenly listening to more extreme metal bands, which seems like an interesting contradiction given that Adagio really only meddle with power, symphonic, neo-classical, progressive and the occasional gothic metal moment - typically melodic genres, far removed from the likes of atonal thrash or death metal. "I used to listen to a lot of death metal when I was younger then I went to progressive but now I'm coming back to what I like - the more aggressive stuff. Nowadays I really like Meshuggah, Dimmu Borgir, Job for a Cowboy and also Machine Head but we're still keeping the melodic side of the vocals but with some aggressive vocals in the background. The aggressive metal is more present now."

Indeed the vocals still remain predominantly melodic. Christian Palin from Finland joined Adagio last year and is the group's third vocalist. While his voice is certainly tailored for melodic metal, he succeeds his predecessors by offering the option of a well-defined, heavier vocal stance where necessary, like the difference between Russell Allen's voice from 'The Divine Wings of Tragedy' and the later 'Paradise Lost'. Forté is initially reluctant to explain why Palin is Adagio's best choice as the frontman himself sits in the room's corner, but reassures Forté that he can say what he wishes and to pretend that he is not in the room. "I like his personality. I think he's a great guy. The human approach is very important. Also, he's got great vocal abilities and a great range that really fits Adagio's vibe and Adagio's music." Palin's voice suits the band seamlessly because the band had half of the music written before he joined their ranks, meaning they knew exactly what they were looking for in a vocalist when they held their auditions, and the other half was conceived when they knew who their vocalist was.

'Archangels in Black' does feature growled vocals, as does the album preceeding it, 'Dominate'. However, 'Dominate' does not utilise black metal riffs or blastbeats. These techniques are rare in melodic metal as a whole so why does Forté believe they would improve his music? "The thing I like is that it gives a special mix. It comes naturally. I only heard when I composed the album "I want to do something heavier, really heavier." That was the main thing but all the music came naturally." Why was he so keen to release a substantially heavier album? He simply answers with a grin on his face "Because I like it! The vocals, the bass, the drums...You like heavy metal, you like heavy stuff. I don't know why. It's quite difficult to describe. I like the massiveness, the big war machine crushing everything. For the moment, still melody keeps the music because melody to me is relaly important so I don't want to move into anything like grindcore or stuff like this because it's not the same. I think the more we go, the heavier we'll be."

With the advancement of an aggressive and more sinister atmosphere and a vocalist willing to toss some brutal growls into the mix, additionally Adagio have visually had an overhaul. Album art, promo photos and their new video 'Fear Circus' feature stereotypical gothic and dark imagery. "I have always been into really dark kind of things. We're into dark arts and stuff like this. Gothic - I'm not sure because it represents so many things, just like when you say 'metal' it represents a lot. Even though we're not gothic metal, I'm into it but not all of us [are]."

As with anything, particuarly a genre like metal when cynics appear to lurk behind every musical corner, there are those who strongly dislike Adagio's extreme metal-influenced sound. When 'Archangels in Black' was originally released, numerous isolated Adagio fans sprinted to the Internet to vent their frustrated opinions. While some have warmed to the album after repeated listens, others have resolutely refused to allow the release to grow on them. What does Forté have to say about these doubters? He just shrugs. "We know that some people will be disappointed but we know that some people will like it so we decide to do what we feel because if we think about what these people will think, we're not doing anything honest and I really wanted to do this. You can't please everybody."

How Svartsot Defy Folk/Viking Metal Conventions

2009-11-11T16:13:00.009Z

Svartsot have a lot of competition in getting recognised among the folk metal explosion they were spawned during.

Folk metal frenzy still grips Europe firmly with Napalm Records ostensibly churning out a new folk metal band each month, mostly useless fodder. However, whilst on Napalm Records, Svartsot (Old Danish for 'black sickness', an illness that causes skin to turn black - a significant killer in medieval Scandinavia [1]) are a Danish folk/Viking metal band that seek to be considered more than just another folk metal band. Formed in 2005 from the ashes of a short-lived folk/black metal band named Skoll, the group are essentially the standard metal five-piece embellished with flutes, mandolins and a couple other folk instruments. In 2007, they released their debut and only full-length album Ravenes Saga.

Impeccably produced, the album opens with 'Gravøllet' which commences with a formidable drum pattern that becomes sustained by a bass - already dictating a strong rhythmic section. The guitars are

essentially an interesting cross between melodic death and Viking metal. Melodic death metal ties in surprisingly well with folk metal as evidenced by Hollenthon and to a less impressive extent Eluveitie, but even these folk/melodic death bands do not fuse the sounds of these genres together in riffs. Svartsot have managed it successfully, even blending in the typical Viking metal punch into their guitar melodies. What is highly noticeable about Ravenes Saga compared to most Viking metal releases is the absence of black metal, cleverly substituted by melodic death metal.

Amon Amarth are a melodic death metal band whose lyrical themes handle Norse mythology and Vikings but musically they are not Viking metal. They can be compared to Svartsot by their growled vocals. Viking metal usually exclusively employs higher-pitched black metal rasps when growls are in order but Svartsot predominantly opt for the Amon Amarth-style standard death metal vocalisations. Interestingly enough, these sound less human and more 'troll-like' than the black metal rasps. Direct comparison can be made on songs such as 'Tvende Ravne' where black metal growls are utilised alongside the death metal vocals. The vocals have been deliberately arranged to emphasise the edges of the folk melodies most effectively so in many instances the vocals have the same rhythms as the melodies such as on 'Bersærkergang', as opposed to just filling in the mandatory position of 'vocals'. If someone wanted to sing these vocals cleanly, the melody of the vocal line would follow the folk moments exactly; they correspond that flawlessly.

Svartsot are a musically 'serious' band but Ravenes Saga handles conventional bouncy folk metal rhythms that one could imagine encourages jigs to break out in the audience in a live environment, frequently associated with Korpiklaani or Finntroll. 'Jotunheimsfærden' takes these folk metal rhythms and juxtaposes them with 'serious' Viking metal passages. The result is somewhat akin to Moonsorrow meets Månegarm, without the black metal sentiments of course.

It is not just black metal missing on this album that many other Viking metal bands feel comfortable with; the lack of keyboards should be noted. This is always interesting idea for Viking metal bands because keyboard deduction can forces these bands to be more creative and can drastically alter the mood of the music, for example, in the case of Kampfar it allows the music to adopt a more aggressive visage which compliments the black metal accents. Keyboards feature in many folk/Viking metal bands because it makes it significantly simpler to contribute an extra dimension to the music with symphonic metal keyboard chords. Nonetheless, Svartsot achieve this with their array of folk instruments to create some atmospheric and adventurous attributes in their music. The keyboard would only serve as a distraction from other instruments.

Possibly the most 'epic' song on this debut is the near-instrumental 'Hedens Døtre' which unfurls along at a slower tempo, much like a less ambitious version of Enslaved's 'Norvegr'. The song is picturesque and highly memorable. It clocks in at just over four minutes but Svartsot could have easily stretched it out like the aforementioned Enslaved instrumental, or countless Moonsorrow tracks but they have decided to go for concision. The song's smooth soundscapes strongly contrasts to the more abrasive moments on the album, particularly with a deficiency in growls. 'Hedens Døtre' also particularly highlights how the band have not taken the guitars for granted on this release, unlike many other folk metal bands who let the unusual instruments steal all attention away from the guitars which are left to play dull, heavy chords that add nothing to the music.

During the verses, it is a delight to hear the guitars literally interacting with the folk instruments rather than being forsaken in the background, just present to let the band qualify as metal. The stance of melodic death metal truly boots the appeal of guitars on this album. Of course, there are times when the band play pure Viking metal riffs, as can be heard on 'Skovens Kælling' and 'Skønne Møer' but the melodic death metal-infused passages are the most memorable and well-written.

How Svartsot wish to follow up Ravenes Saga is unclear but one can assume their sophomore album will sound rather different to their debut due to the fact that in December 2008, most of the band members left with the exception of lead guitarist Cris J.S. Frederiksen and Hans-Jørgen Martinus Hansen who only joined as a full-time member shortly after the exodus. They left "because of different opinions on how to run a band and how the music should sound." [2] This division of opinion is testament to how much the Danes can progress their sound and the answer should arrive late Winter/early Spring 2010.

----------------

[1] Lord of Metal interview, 2007 - the band's name is discussed.

[2] Svartsot.dk, 17/12/2008

Lyrical Analysis: Testament - The Eagle Has Landed

2009-03-02T18:40:00.005Z

Testament looking anything from apprehensive to mournful.

Last year, Testament released their highly-anticipated full-length album The Formation of Damnation, their first studio release in almost a decade. The album received strong praise from the critics and over all, the album is strong (except the title track which has poor metalcore written all over it). Seeing as Testament's last album The Gathering was released in 1999, they never got the opportunity to commit to record their thoughts on the 9/11 terrorist attack. 'The Evil Has Landed' was to be their articulation space for this. The music is good; the lyrics are sub-par for an American band.

Songs about atrocities like 9/11 are best avoided (see Iced Earth's 'When The Eagle Cries') but if a band's desire is to show their support for the victims, who can stop them? Besides, Dream Theater's 'Sacrificed Sons' was not considered a joke and was a mature approach to the topic. Despite the music being high grade modern thrash metal, the lyrics Testament have produced truly lay waste to the pun-enclosed title and it is questionable as to whether they were written by Joakim Broden of the Swedish band Sabaton. The title is an excellent pun but all it truly does is underline the camp nature of the lyrics.

Here are the lyrics presented in their entirety:

"The sky began to fall, ripping open a path up to Heaven
Time slowed to a crawl - early morning September eleventh
Steel crumbling frames, the scales of justice are decimated
Hate ignites the flames, New York city incinerated
See the flames on the river, is this our judgement day?
Praying hands of a killer when evil flies our way
Our way

The towers got hit, a steel bird with wings of destruction
As the building split, the skyline has been deconstructed
So many people killed, two thousand nine hundred and seventy four
Innocent blood spilled, extremist plotting a holy war
See the flames on the river, terrorism sealed our fate
Praying hands of a killer reciting a sermon of hate
Will you please reconsider, is this our judgement day?
Time to stand and deliver when evil flies our way
Flies our way

We will pick up the pieces
We never cast the first stone
Through all the bereavement
We will rebuild our home

The sky began to fall, ripping opening a path up to Heaven
Time slowed to a crawl - early morning September eleventh
See the flames on the river, terrorism sealed our fate
Praying hands of a killer reciting a sermon of hate
Will you please reconsider, is this our judgement day?
Time to stand and deliver when evil flies our way
Flies our way"

The analysis is as follows:

"The sky began to fall, ripping open a path up to Heaven Time slowed to a crawl - early morning, September eleventh"

The attention to detail is precise without being pedantic (giving the actual time of impact, for example). Time slowing to a crawl gives the sense that the entire world was upset by America's injury and using it as a pre-modifier for "early morning, September eleventh" only adds more emphasis. The separation of "early morning, September eleventh" highlights the importance of the date/event for the listeners unaware about what the song is dealing with.

"Steel crumbling frames, the scales of justice are decimated Hate ignites the flames, New York City incinerated"

The justice metaphor is awkward, at best. It sounds like a foreigner wrote it, using a complex word where it is just not necessary. 'Decimated' is such an overwhelming verb that it makes the line further more ridiculous. The lack of the word 'is' in the phrase "New York City incinerated" makes the incineration more immediate but New York City was not incinerated. It just lost two features of its skyline. That hardly insinuates the destruction of the entire city. The chorus continues:

"See the flames on the river, is this our judgement day?
Praying hands of a killer when evil flies our way
Our way"

Judgement Day is supposedly at the close of the world. Again, the city just lost two buildings, not the whole country. The contradictory nature of 'Praying' and 'killer' is a nice balance (perhaps an ironic reference to the scales of justice mentioned earlier being disturbed?) although one must wonder how much thought Testament actually put into writing these lyrics. Additionally, the 'our way' makes it sound as if America is the only country that has had violent, foreign interference. It also makes the States sound innocent of committing any atrocity.

"The towers got hit, a steel bird with wings of destruction
As the building split, the skyline has been deconstructed"

The fact that the towers that were hit are not specified assumes the listener knows exactly which towers the band are talking about and they do not want to be less economic with their words in explaining. Or, the lack of specification could be because the band were so close to the Twin Towers that they always called them 'The towers'. Technically, the word 'got' should be substituted with 'were' to modify the flow better: "The towers were hit". The 'steel bird' metaphor is very visual in representing a plane but there were two planes; surely it should read 'birds'. Nonetheless, this is a trivial issue but manifests itself in the following line by mentioning 'building' as opposed to 'buildings'. Dictionary.com's definition of the word 'deconstructed' is [1]:

de·con·struct

(dē'kən-strŭkt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. de·con·struct·ed, de·con·struct·ing, de·con·structs

To break down into components; dismantle.
To write about or analyze [sic] (a literary text, for example), following the tenets of deconstruction.

Obviously Testament are referring to the first definition. As stated earlier, New York's skyline was not completely destroyed - only two buildings were removed. Neither was the skyline broken into smaller components. Removal does not equate to dismantling. 'Deconstructed' is employed in a haphazard manner here too (the foreigner's unnecessary super vocabulary usage comes to mind again). Further confusion of the English language is present in the sudden change of tense. 'Split' is simple perfect tense but the same line has the verb phrase 'has been' which, although perfect, is actually the present perfect tense. The lyric should read either: "As the building split, the skyline was deconstructed" or "As the building has split, the skyline has been deconstructed," and that is without reformatting the vocabulary, still rendering it clumsy. It has to be stated though, the way Testament include the deconstructed skyline at the bottom of their album cover is truly admirable.

The skyline at the bottom, which features what looks like an Ancient Greek temple, is a clear example of deconstruction.

"So many people killed, two thousand nine hundred and seventy four
Innocent blood spilled, extremist plotting a holy war"

Precision is employed further by the thrash icons who give the exact number of casualties from the 9/11 attack, justifying the independent clause that precedes it. It is fortunate for Testament that four is the only digit that rhymes with 'war'. Had 2975 or 2973 people died, this line could be something else. The possibilities are phenomenally endless. Apparently only one extremist was behind this. The magnitude of hijacking and crashing two planes into two of New York's trademark skyscrapers was apparently all orchestrated and committed by a single character. It appears Testament have difficulties in distinguishing between the singular and the plural.

"See the flames on the river, terrorism sealed our fate
Praying hands of a killer reciting a sermon of hate"

'Fate' suggests finality but as far as the world is aware, America is still alive and running. The following line is acceptable but far from compelling.

"Will you please reconsider, is this our judgement day?
Time to stand and deliver when evil flies our way
Flies our way"

"Will you please reconsider" - apparently Testament are willing to negotiate with terrorists. Perhaps they should become ambassadors to America [2] or join the UN if they enjoy negotiation so much. Does this thrash metal band really think terrorists will quit their objectives that they spent years forging because they requested it in a song? What exactly do they want the terrorists to reconsider anyway? The listener will never know (and neither will Testament probably). With another 'judgement day' reference, it is clear that finality is a semantic field of this song. What the band plan on delivering is completely vague and if the "time to stand" has only come now, what were they doing before: sitting or lying? Something entirely different? It seems surprising to learn that for these choruses instead of not including the awesome pun-laden title of the song, they contradict it by saying evil is flying as opposed to landing (and this all contradicts the reality that evil crashed, not landed.)

"We will pick up the pieces
We never cast the first stone
Through all the bereavement
We will rebuild our home"

The second line of this passages marks America completely innocent. The final line suggests that the band's homeland of Oakland, CA was attacked when that is actually on the other side of America. If they are actually referring to the States in its entirety when they say 'home' here then again they are exaggerating as only two buildings in New York were struck and if the whole of America needed to be rebuilt because of two buildings in a single city then it is no wonder their economy is failing hard. It would be a criminal waste of money. Testament really need to clarify this.

"The sky began to fall, ripping opening a path up to Heaven
Time slowed to a crawl - early morning September eleventh
See the flames on the river, terrorism sealed our fate
Praying hands of a killer reciting a sermon of hate
Will you please reconsider, is this our judgement day?
Time to stand and deliver when evil flies our way
Flies our way"

The repetition of this section can only be to entertain the listener, emphasise terrorism further (as if the song had not been doing such a thing at all) or because the band [3] did not want to write more lyrics.

It is sincerely hoped that Testament rectify their poor lyrics on their next release. A few US thrash metal bands have laughable lyrics (Exodus, Overkill, Slayer etc.) but Testament take the cake and the rest of the bakery with 'The Evil Has Landed'. It truly is hard to believe they are an American band. However, if Broden penned these lyrics as widely speculated, he can be forgiven.

You are already forgiven, Joakim.

----------

[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/deconstructed (in regards to online matters and discussion, dictionary.com outweights the Oxford English dictionary).

[2] With Kataklysm being 'The Ambassador of Pain' this seems an achievable goal for an American metal band.

[3] or Sabaton's Joakim Broden.

Agallochganic - How Agalloch Usurped the Metal World

2009-01-14T00:33:00.013Z

Agalloch are impressing metallers on an international scale.

Since the 2006 release Ashes Against the Grain, America's Agalloch have substantially widened their audience and, in addition to this, most of their fans are indeed fanatics. The band's name is on everyone's lips in the metal world. Even their reviews on Metal Archives praise the band in unison (with one exception but this seems petty considering there are nearly twenty reviews for each album, upon writing). With three full-length opuses and a number of harder-to-obtain releases, Agalloch have rewritten the rulebook concerning natural and organic metal.

Defining Agalloch is a challenge firstly because their music encompasses a variety of influence and secondly because their sound has developed over the years. In terms of mood, Agalloch paint the same natural picture as bands such as Opeth [1], Novembers Doom and early Katatonia. Genre-wise, Agalloch side towards the folk/doom metal side of styling, predominantly with black metal and post-rock embellishments although the magnitude of these individual genres varies over the band's discography.

The band members of this Portland, Oregon based act place a substantial emphasis on their aesthetic. In an interview with Metal Rules, guitarist Don Anderson states that he wishes for the band to be remembered "For having excellent aesthetic sense and original, quality music." Notice that aesthetic sense is mentioned before the music. It would be presumptuous to state that the band cherish their imagery over their music but one can infer it is an imperative aspect to Agalloch. Interestingly enough, in the same Metal Rules interview, the band claim to be influenced by film as opposed to other bands. Anderson explains: "I think its unproductive to be directly influenced by something within your medium, so we really rely a lot on cinema." Interestingly enough, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman is cited as an influence.

Lyrical themes throughout the band's career pertain to typical natural imagery, drawing images of wilderness, snow, birds and woodland. Rather than simply describe scenery, the band positions a narrator, generally exclaiming their despair via the nature, into the lyrics. Such a lyrical theme is befitting of the music and the cover art of their releases.

Unlike their lyrical theme, the music of the band has shifted considerably since their demo days. Agalloch's first release was their demo From Which of this Oak and Anderson states in an interview with Metal Invader "On the demo we were very typical Swedish Death/Black Metal, aside from 'As Embers Dress the Sky'- we had yet to even begin tapping into what our sound would come to be." The sound is reminiscent of early Katatonia and early Ulver. It is a rather melancholy death doom metal composition with black metal and folk meddling and a quicker tempo. Of course the band's own ideas have been incorporated into the release sublimely.

The first album entitled Pale Folklore was released in 1999 on The End Records, which deals with various unique metal bands, including Subterranean Masquerade with whom Agalloch bassist Jason William Watson has worked with in the past. This release is musically more refined than From Which of this Oak, possibly due to the reduction of black metal, substituted with gothic metal sounds. Some of the clean vocals strike as amateur but the growls are commendable. Although the whole album is emotively charged, there are heavy passages and lighter ones, such as the gentle 'She Painted Fire Across the Skyline Part I'. The use of whispers really underscore the beauty of the track and question the necessity of the sung vocals throughout. The second part of this song reminds me of The Gathering's Always album with its use of gothic ethereal guitar which converses with the final part of 'She Painted Fire Across the Skyline'; the third part is a heavier affair, more rhythmic than its previous pieces and utilizing black metal most poignantly and concluding with a humble piano exit. 'The Misshapen Steed' is truly testament to the band's interest in cinema and film soundtracks for the song sounds like it is emphasising a cinematic quality.

Of all of Agalloch's non-album works, I feel Of Stone, Wind and Pillor to be the release worth mentioning above all others. The title track is the centrepiece of the expression and combines acoustic guitar with electric in such a moving manner. Compared to the band's previous efforts, this song finds itself becoming quite gritty at times. It also moves similarly to something from Katatonia's Dance of December Souls with a retreat to melodramatic doom metal laden passages as frequented on their demo. The black metal is kept to a fair minimum here providing envious results. The two instrumentals a sweeteners to this release and the Sol Invictus cover 'Kneel to the Cross' features an improved use of vocals compared to their other releases.

The Mantle is the album where the post-rock sound Agalloch have come to incorporate thoroughly into their music beings to manifest itself only in miniscule measures. 'In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion' is a curious piece of music, wondering through almost progressive passages. There are several guitar leads that express a new direction in the band's compositions and the drumming sounds thoughtful and introspective. The song sounds indescribably refreshing. The effect of resonating guitars, especially on 'Odal', works on a similar basis to progressive bands who use the same technique and sounds introspective. However, the album suffers the clean vocals of John Haughm. It would be more beneficial of the band if they were completely omitted. They sound far too relaxed and one-dimensional to be performing on music such as this and contradict the mood. Whilst the growls remain fairly average, they are significantly less trifling than the clean vocals.

Ashes Aganinst the Grain garnered the band worldwide attention, or so it would appear. The black metal element is barely audible. There is a modern gothic metal moment that echoes Lacrimas Profundere's modern material and the post-rock sound makes no effort to appear inconspicuous. There is a fine line between post-rock and the jangles of indie and indeed 'Fire Above, Ice Below' strays into this territory and the upbeat mood leaves the piece slightly confused but fortunately, these indie scrapings are not bountiful. The three seperate parts of 'Our Fortress is Burning' could quite easily have been condensed into a much more succinct tune and the third part that concludes the album sounds contrary to the rest of the music that preceded it, leaving the disc ambiguous at its tail end. The folk element of Agalloch is almost wholly eradicated, probably in submission for the post-rock. Agalloch used neo-folk elements in their music perfectly and its reduction for this releases seems tragic considering the amount of scope that remained within their capacity to position it and how to utilize it in their music. Another negative feature, again, is the vocal shortcomings mentioned previously.

With the limited release of The White, it feels like Agalloch released this EP to console those who missed the emphatic folk elements on their last album. This EP is an acoustic release playing neofolk and ambient tunes. For this reason alone, it is best not to consider this a precise indicator of future paths to be pursued by the band. Nonetheless, the melodies and rhythms of The White reminds me of neofolk bands like Of The Wand And The Moon and of Green Carnation's Acoustic Verses. Acoustic albums are a common part of a band that appear influenced by nature's repertoire (Opeth, Borknagar, Green Carnation etc.) so it is natural for Agalloch to produce a similar working.

Agalloch's main shortcomings are certainly the vocals. Haughm should drop them entirely and new talent should be enrolled. I feel a cross between Novembers Doom's Paul Kuhr and Kim Larsen from Of The Wand And The Moon would suit Agalloch's music most ideally. Alternatively, the music would sound better if the were no clean vocals and the listener was treated to more instrumental passages. Additionally, Agalloch are a band that produces lengthy songs but at times, some of these songs would be more compelling if they were cropped to a shorter length and would not reduce the atmosphere evoked.

Obviously these weak points will not deter others. It seems like Agalloch are an inspiration to bands world wide. The fusion of post-rock in many of the younger suicidal black metal bands may be a casual link to Agalloch. The UK band Fen clearly draw inspiration from these Americans with their brand of atmospheric black metal peppered with post-rock and are highly enthralling to many. However, The Morningside, hailing from Russia, are a poor man's Agalloch and early Katatonia with only the vocals setting them apart from either band. Needless to say, The Morningside leave significantly more to be desired.

In a world where Opeth and Ulver reached an audience beyond the realms of angsty and supposedly romantic metalheads to a high level of acclaim, it does not seem unreasonable for Agalloch to clamber up the same ladder. They are yet to release the same release twice, opting to carve unique music and progress their sound with each release. Detractors are scarce and the fans they attract are dedicated and passionate about this band from Oregon. The band maybe overrated slightly but they are certainly worthy of investigation.

---
[1] In an interview with Earache, bassist Jason William Watson denies that Opeth were ever an influence on Agalloch but claim Katatonia were. The sounds of early Opeth and early Katatonia have several similarities and this clarifies the notion of Opeth considered an influence on Agalloch by some.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Black Metal

2009-01-07T01:32:00.010Z

Black metal is metal's most controversial genre, predominantly due to events that occurred in Norway in the early '90s involving murder, suicide and church burnings. Black metal imagery has been linked to Satanism, suicide, Nazism and other far right beliefs, creating a following of rejected mainstream society and social expectation. Musically, black metal is an articulation of despair and hatred with either an admiration for nature or complete nihilism. The definition of this genre's ideology varies depending on the person.

The original second wave Norwegian bands shared the value of poor production. One reason for this was supposedly a reaction to the death metal movement prominent in Florida and neighbouring country, Sweden. Interestingly some of these second wave acts, such as Satyricon and Mayhem, moved on to create a clearer sound in regards to production on later releases. These bands were labelled sell outs. Fans argue that raw production adds an otherwise unattainable arcane atmosphere to black metal. Darkthrone, another second wave act, have kept their gritty production to this day in spite of progressing their sound to a punk influenced one, currently playing black 'n' roll. The raw production certainly does have its charm but sometimes this idea becomes exaggerated and the result is low-fi black metal that completely usurps the guitars and drums audibility. Often, the music is unlistenable and becomes termed 'bedroom black metal' - as if it had been hastily recorded in someone's bedroom with basic equipment and the help of a computer.

Darkthrone

Returning to Darkthrone's progression from traditional black metal into black 'n' roll, black metal has spawned a variety of subgenres. Symphonic black metal, suicidal black metal, romantic black metal, raw black metal, black 'n' roll and melodic black metal are just some of the genre labels that are attached to albums. This is in addition to the merging of black metal with other metal subgenres for example progressive black metal, black thrash metal etc. [1] The opinion of the black metal fanbase appears somewhat polarized on black metal expanding its musical ideas. Many expect black metal to remain raw and primitive, seeing any fusion of melody or catchiness as a grasp towards mainstream acception and thus 'selling out'. Satyricon has been accused of selling out for trading their medieval black metal sound for the black 'n' roll road [2] and creating catchy numbers such as 'Fuel For Hatred' and 'K.I.N.G.' alongside creating music videos for these songs. Their real reason for losing fans (the band were not so detested around the time of their Volcano release which was strictly black 'n' roll and included 'Fuel For Hatred') was signing up to Roadrunner Records, the same record label that houses big rock acts such as Slipknot and Nickelback. Similarly, Cradle of Filth from the UK suffered a similar fate a few years earlier, signing up to Sony Music and then settling down with Roadrunner Records for their 2004 full-length Nymphetamine. Their music morphed from their symphonic black metal to an extreme gothic metal sound borrowing elements from various other metal subgenres. Dimmu Borgir, a Norwegian act, also began their early days spawning symphonic black metal before giving into an extreme gothic metal sound like Cradle of Filth and often receives the same criticism as Cradle of Filth.

If black metal were not to expand beyond the realms of its raw or symphonic sound, it would be a very limiting genre. New bands would be performing old music. This explains the decision to expand black metal's musical capabilities. Suicidal black metal (also dubbed depressive black metal) is a popular and fairly modern alternative, utilizing depressing tremolo picking black metal sometimes with a subtle and seething melody, often with quieter post-rock passages interspersed between the black metal, using screams and whispers. Lyrically, the focus is on suicide, self-harm and depression as opposed to the usual anti-Christian themes. In recent years, this has become somewhat of a trend in black metal circles with bands such as Shining, Silencer and Lifelover increasing their fanbase. The post-rock in Lifelover and Shining songs make the band significantly more accessible than second wave Norwegian band Mayhem's debut album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, a highly-regarded black metal classic. Suicidal black metal has come under fire with insults, with tormentors claiming the association with suicide and self-harm is identical to the 'emo' phase enjoyed by the mainstream at the time.

Shining

Experimentation within black metal has led to some truly outstanding music, particularly with avant-garde bands such as Arcturus [3] who began making black metal and moving towards the more conceptual and unique. Norway is home to numerous avant-garde bands who have at least a smidgeon of black metal creeping into their sound: Ulver, Solefald and Ved Buens Ende. Additionally, Norwegian black metal musicians teamed up to create the avant-garde band that draw more influence from the progressive side of metal - Age of Silence. Age of Silence can be compared to Winds (both bands share the drummer, Hellhammer, of Mayhem fame), also from Norway. However, Winds play neoclassical progressive metal and their interesting component is that most of the band members play in black metal bands.

Progressive metal occasionally seems like a logical progression from black metal particularly with the inclusion of avant-garde. Emperor frontman, Ihsahn, created a solo project which was progressive metal exclusively [4]. This seems hardly surprising considering the post-black metal direction Emperor pursued with their later material. Before Ihsahn, progressive metal and black metal had been married together numerous times. Vintersorg, Enslaved and Borknagar were certainly proactive in merging these genres into their Viking metal with great success. Akercocke from England incorporated progressive metal passages into their death/black metal hybrid as their discography accumulated. Finland's Moonsorrow play black/folk/Viking metal but are sure to embellish their music with progressive metal influence, being fans of progressive rock. All of these bands have contributed something worth listening to in the black metal genre. In Enslaved's case, it appears their progressive metal has significantly overtaken their black metal; with each release, the band become less black metal and more progressive. Black metal purists hail abuse in Enslaved's direction, concerning the reduction of black metal in their music. Akercocke receives similar distaste.

Enslaved

Black metal did create an entire new genre of metal, named Viking metal due to its narrow lyrical themes. This genre began when Bathory decided to cease creating black metal and offered the metal world a slab of thrash metal paired with a new sound unprecedented in metal with their 1990 opus Hammerheart. Viking metal is an ambiguous genre to some; bands who merely vocalise about Viking history or mythology are mistakenly label so such as Unleashed, a Swedish death metal band. Lyrical themes cannot decide a band's genre. Viking metal is punctuated by its staccato rhythm and atmospheric (usually tinged with a black metal sound) guitar riffs, symphonic metal keyboards with vocals ranging from black metal growls to clean singing full of pride. It borrows influence from black, thrash and folk metal predominantly. Many classify it alongside folk metal for its lack of defining substance. As it has very few signature features, Viking metal can easily be welded with other metal genres. Black and folk metal seem the most popular pairings with Viking metal. Popular examples of Viking metal include Kampfar, Thyrfing, Manegarm, Svartsot and Myrkgrav. If black metal did not exist, this experimental genre would not have surfaced.

It should be emphasised that black metal was conceived by teenagers and with its exclusive subculture, flamboyant image and the events that surrounded the Norwegian 'Black Circle', this genre went against its own objectives and became mainstream, receiving more media attention than any other metal genre. It is simplistic to play resulting in a multitude of people worldwide forming black metal bands with no actual creativity, new ideas or progression of old ones. Black metal remains the most highly populated metal subgenre after death metal. Needless to say, there are countless imitations of the second wave bands. It is not challenging to play and it retains an image of supposed evilness which is what makes forming a black metal band so attractive and easy. Black metal fans usually take themselves so seriously and project over-the-top humours imagery that they are frequently ridiculed by other members of the metal following.

Another runt of the black metal litter is the imitation church burnings, grave desecration, murders and suicides that have occurred worldwide under the influence of this genre by its fans. This simply results in more media exposure and exploitation of the genre. It dully informs people of black metal misconceptions, resulting in negative opinions. With black metal experiencing so much controversy, various people have found an opening to make money out of its image. There are numerous documentaries on the genre but none of them focus on the music itself; they are far more concerned with the murders, church burnings and suicides of the genre, churning the genre into nothing more than scandal and gossip for the general public to digest. What is covered in the documentaries is considered common knowledge among black metal fans. Potentially worse are books like Lucifer Rising and Lords of Chaos which slander and exaggerate incidents in black metal and are generally considered unreliable sources. Burzum mastermind Varg Vikernes has released in-depth criticisms on both of the aforementioned books on his website.

After Vikernes was arrested following the murder of Mayhem guitarist of the time Euronymous, he spent some time adhering to Nazi ideology. One print of Darkthrone's Transylvanian Hunger CD has the phrase 'Norsk Ǻrisk Black Metal' on the back, which translates as 'Norwegian Aryan Black Metal'. This was removed on future prints following a disclaimer from the band denying that they are affiliated with any far-right movement. The website www.norsksvartmetall.com states: "I have old letters/photos from both Shagrath [from Dimmu Borgir] and Mortis before they became artists of note. Mortis is scribing a swastika into a tree trunk and Shagrath signs his letter with a swastika. This is more teenage ignorance than blatant fascist idealism, but all the same it is a very real glimpse into the minds of the early band members, and their one dimensional ethos of Norse pride merging with Anti-Christian hatred." [5] Black metal is associated with Nazism although most black metal bands are not connected to Nazism in anyway.

Naturally, the subterranean acceptance of far-right ideologies has certainly brought black metal to a new demographic. NSBM (ironically, Eastern Europe hosts a large NSBM scene) enjoys some popularity, no doubt exclusively because of its lyrical theme to some. Musically, it fails to show any defining trademarks save the strong punk influence (far more raw and unrefined than black 'n' roll); the link is solely lyrics relating to national socialism. NSBM bands of note include Aryan Terrorism, Absurd, Kataxu and Der Sturmer. Often, folk black metal is played by some of these NSBM bands which has led several folk/Viking metal bands such as Tyr, Moonsorrow and Eluveitie, to denounce any political beliefs articulated in their music.

With its rebellious lyrical content, the black metal scene does have a questionable fanbase more so than any other metal subgenre. Far too many Internet pretenders listen to black metal exclusively to enhance their social status, unable to differentiate between bands and like every black metal band they hear. Many explore only the 'kvlt' or underground black metal acts and pounce at the opportunity to heckles those who listen to more popular bands (apparently more popular bands are not 'true') or accessible styles of metal or music. Such an attitude is frequently ridiculed and black metal is becoming increasingly less popular as people begin to grow out of the trend. It seems like not many take black metal seriously predominantly due to the desperate portion of its fanbase. As a metal genre, it was unique as the subculture was in place before the music.

Now black metal sometimes feels like it has fallen from its former glory (if it ever existed) with key figures in the scene distancing themselves from it, including Burzum's Varg Vikernes and the members of Ulver and Darkthrone. Abbath from Immortal does not taking black metal seriously at all. It seems less arcane and organic than, with many vapid bands appearing in rapid succession. Most of the original second wave bands no longer play the exact type of black metal/music they started with [6] Do black metal's disadvantages outweigh its positive points? Black metal seems to be something more cosmetic than mystical nowadays with people opting jokily to try out with black metal vocals on televised singing competitions, American photographer Peter Beste releasing his photographs of Norwegian black metallers for a book available for purchase, countless tactless documentaries relating to the genre exploiting its controversies and a particular jewellery company releasing a tacky supposedly 'black metal inspired' range of jewellery. Perhaps black metal was meant to be nothing more than what it was initially. I doubt the original black metallers had the intention of using black metal to make money. But simultaneously, they are probably not complaining that they are making money out of it either.

-----
[1] Other loosely used terms are employed to describe certain variants of black metal, but not for musical discernability: USBM (United States Black Metal), TNBM (True Norwegian Black Metal), NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal) and UGBM (Underground Black Metal).

[2] It seems unexplained that bands like Darkthrone and Satyricon who get penalised by the black metal scene for converting to black 'n' roll (before signing up to a major label as in Satyricon's case) whereas a band like Carpathian Forest who have been playing black 'n' roll since their inception do not receive noticable universal detraction.

[3] Interestingly, some consider Arcturus part of the original Norwegian second wave, having started life, like many of the other second wave components, playing death metal.

[4] His second album angL features a guest vocal performance by Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth, one of the most well-known progressive metal bands.

[5] http://www.norsksvartmetall.com/history.htm

[6] Some examples:

Burzum: from black metal to ambient;
Darkthrone: from raw black metal to black 'n' roll;
Enslaved: from Viking/black metal to progressive/Viking/black metal;
Emperor: from symphonic black metal to post-black metal;
Mayhem: from raw black metal to post-black metal to black metal

...of 2008

2008-12-27T23:25:00.019Z

As the year comes to a close, I find it fitting to do one of my own 'Best of 2008' style polls that so many are inclined to do. Unfortunately, due to no longer having all the time in the world, several key albums were completely ignored by me this year (the new Shining, Evergrey, Lifelover, Origin, the debut Jeff Loomis, to name but a few). Other albums just didn't get a profound enough listen to provoke an opinion (the new Edguy) and I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the more obscure releases I listened to so this list is far from substantial but I feel I must pen something down before the close of the year. Naturally, only bands I enjoy (or enjoyed) have been nominated here.

Best Release of 2008:
Opeth ~ Watershed

2008 was a poor turnout in regards to high-quality metal albums. I cannot help but feel that Opeth win by default. Watershed was fairly outstanding, with the band pushing their own boundaries in terms of experimentation ('The Lotus Eater' especially). The opening number, 'Coil', featured a female vocalist in its brevity and it seems near suspicious that a band like Opeth have not employed a female guest singer in the past. However, I felt 'Derelict Herds', one of the bonus tracks, was probably the strongest song on the album. It was wild, convincingly heavy and more colourful than the other songs on the opus. Why this is not on the main body of the album seems like a mistake. Nonetheless, Watershed is an aggressive piece of progressive art, another step in the right direction for Opeth.

Honourable mentions: Unleashed ~ Hammer Battalion; Cynic ~ Traced in Air

Best Song of 2008
Opeth ~ 'Coil'

It is a gentle track, completely acoustic with female vocals. For Opeth, the song is incredibly concise and indeed leaves the listener begging for more but this track acts as a prelude to the remainder of the album. There is a folk feeling here, no doubt produced from the acoustic method utilized. The song is dense in atmosphere and sweetly sung by both Akerfeldt and the female vocalist, two voices that compliment each other in an unconventional way. It sounds pure and untainted but there is a sense of foreboding woven within.

Honourable mentions: Moonspell ~ 'Scorpion Flower'; Kampfar ~ 'Vansinn'

Best Cover Art of 2008
Amon Amarth ~ Twilight of the Thunder God

This is certainly the most striking image from cover art this year. I feel that most modern album arts seem to be some thoughtless and supposedly mature Photoshopped image which could have been produced by anyone with the program, or some 'minimalist' piece of forgettable art. I believe the cover art should be a visual representation of the music and Amon Amarth's Twilight of the Thunder God actually harvested some interesting musical techniques which saw the Swedes' melodic death metal progress, rather than stick to the same old tried and tested formula the band are more than comfortable with. The album art sticks out more than anything pictorial the band have released as part of their discography too. This picture of Thor battling Jormungand after he fished him up, lifted directly from Norse mythology, is nothing short of powerful, probably to underscore the potential power of the CD. The colours are bold and dark but the use of white is what makes it so tenacious to behold. The attention to detail makes the realism that much more compelling even though the average person knows such a tale could never be true. Some may complain about the image being over the top but when you're dealing with (melodic death) metal centred around Vikings...well, nothing more needs to be stated.

Honourable mentions: Asmegin ~ Arv; Darkthrone ~ Dark Thrones and Black Flags

Best Lyrics of 2008
Opeth ~ 'Coil'

Again, Opeth steal this victory by default because I have not really had the time to digest the lyrics of much else this year. Over the years, I feel Opeth's lyrics are denaturing in quality. Most of the lyrics on Watershed seem banal for a band such as Opeth but the lyrics belonging to 'Coil' stick out, probably because its too short to be ruined by slap-dash work. I suppose this is a biased call again because the lyrics remind me of far too many personal situations and make me nostalgic. They seem somewhat arcane (who is the man and who is the woman), completely clouded by mystery. It seems vaguely stylish the way the words of the man are mirrored for the woman's use. Above all, the lyrics corroborate the mood of the music. Well chosen stuff.

Best Newcomer of 2008
The Rotted ~ Get Dead or Die Trying

I cannot think of many outstanding bands that made their debut this year (I know there is Trinacria but frustratingly I cannot get my hands on their album at all). Alas, I am cheating by putting The Rotted as best newcomer, seeing as they changed their name from Gorerotted but nonetheless, their 'debut' album Get Dead or Die Trying is a great slab of death metal. The presence of punk-sourced riffs is prevalent throughout the entire release, making it gritty and raw compared to straightforward death metal or even most standard grindcore acts. The catchy nature of Gorerotted remains, which marks songs like 'Kissing You With My Fists' and 'Angel of Meth' more memorable. Songs like 'The Howling' and 'The Body Tree' are unexpectedly aggressive and literally smack the listener in the face. This album is far more commendable than Gorerotted's final album A New Dawn for the Dead and should be picked up by anyone who thought Gorerotted were, at the least, amusing. The tongue-in-cheek element of Gorerotted has been severely eroded in The Rotted but Get Dead or Die Trying seems more so than A New Dawn for the Dead.

Honourable mention: Warrel Dane ~ Praises to the War Machine

Best Live Show of 2008
Queensryche, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, 15th June

Usually, I take my camera to every live show I attend, however, this abnormal hike to Leeds to catch Queensryche live forced me to forget it. Of course I would pay for it, this being the best gig of the year! There was no support act and the band proceeded to perform both of their Operation Mindcrime albums back to back. The albums were acted out so it was more akin to watching a musical than the average metal spectacle. I was completely blown away. Geoff Tate's voice was on top form, despite circulating comments about how poor it is these days. The costume design, the stage design, the acting ~ it was all superlatively executed, culminating in a compelling watch. The only way it could have been improved was if Dio himself was there to perform his guest vocals (and the backing vocals were distributed more effectively). The encore was composed exclusively of Empire tracks, that being my favourite Queensryche album and one of my favourite releases of all time. This was the first time I had caught Queensryche live (various impediments obstructed me in the past) and it was mind-blowing. I had to see them in Leeds because the London show clashed with Hellfest and there was no way I was missing Queensryche this time. There was the option to pay an extra £30 or so to obtain the VIP package, which gave you a few Queensryche stickers, earlier access into the venue by fifteen minutes and an opportunity to meet the band. I had no interest in any of this but the thought of the VIP purchasers getting right at the front and taking up all the best positions was frustrating. However, being up North, there were barely any VIPers and they spent their extra fifteen minutes at the bar or cloakroom, it seemed. The front row was entirely void of life when I got in there. It certainly would have been a different story in crowded London, not to mention the stage would have been larger and less intimate. Great stuff.

Honourable mentions: Helheim, Purple Turtle, London, 10th March; Sabaton, Purple Turtle, London, 5th December

Best Festival of 2008
Hellfest Open Air 2008, Clisson, 20th ~ 22nd June

The 2007 edition of Hellfest was a total disaster in terms of organisation and general appeasement of the audience and bands. With clashes, poor toilet (even for festival standards)and camping services on top of the uncontrollable weather conditions, many a fan and band swore to never return to the festival again. I was lured back with a stellar line-up and the promise of an improved festival over all. Everything was drastically improved, flawless in fact. There were more fatal clashes this year compared with last but I had already seen the bands I was forced to skip. The line-up crushed all the other European festivals especially when you factored in the clash deficiency that other festivals cannot avoid (take that, Wacken!) and the number of attendees was very small for a weekend long open air metal festival in a place as easy to reach as France (around 12,000 per day). Everyone I conversed with who attended the 2007 and 2008 editions of the festival agreed that this year was far superior and in terms of festivals, it was amazing too. I caught some of my personal favourite bands, including Helloween and Katatonia, caught live bands I'd never bother to see headlining now in London like Motorhead, and caught talent that would never come across to England for various reasons such as Alchemist and Haemorrhage. Of course I did the obligatory discovering new bands and talking to some of the ostensibly craziest people on the planet.

Honourable mentions: Bloodstock Open Air, Catton Hall, 15th ~ 17th August; Damnation Festival, Leeds, 22nd November

Biggest Release Disappointment of 2008
Judas Priest ~ Nostradamus

Judas Priest are one of my favourite bands and when I heard they were creating a full-length that would spread across two CDs, I was apprehensive. The problem with bands doing this is the possibility of not having enough ideas to spread across two discs, like Therion and their Gothic Kabbalah album. Priest fell into this category. I love Angel of Retribution but when I heard the song 'Nostradamus', the first track the band officially released for audience consumption, I was concerned that the band might be recycling Painkiller stylings to satiate the high expectations they were anchored to. When I got the album, I listened to both discs numerous times before concluding that the shade of Painkiller were absent but the album spent all of its tracks building up to some kind of overwhelming climax which did not really surface. On the first disc, the 'climax' arrived in the form of 'Persecution'. It was a decent track but certainly not worth the wait. On disc two, the high point was the title track and this was followed by 'Future of Mankind', a song that stretched to over eight minutes when it could easily have been condensed. Disc two was certainly inferior to disc one. Disc one had some highly commendable solos. Another issue with Nostradamus was that the sub-songs that essentially linked the proper full-length songs together were far too common and only isolated the songs and dislocated the flow of the album over all. It was like watching a film with far too many intermissions in between. This was worse than all those brutal death metal bands who insist on having a sample at the start of every track. I hope Judas Priest can pull out something more impressive next time round. This album was hotly anticipated for a couple of years. A real disappointment.

Honourable mentions: Keep of Kalessin ~ Kolossus; Psycroptic ~ Ob(Servant)

Most Embarrassing Release of 2008
Cryptopsy ~ The Unspoken King

Cryptopsy's legacy as one of the greatest technical death metal bands was horrendously besmirched when the band released their new album with their new vocalist. Animosity was stirred when the new growler, Matt McGachy, was announced as Lord Worm's replacement before this album was released after a simplistic vetting process informed the death metal scene that McGachy's past endeavours were for that of a metalcore band. Rumours flew about that Cryptopsy would turn metalcore but I reserved my opinion for when the album was released. The addition of a female keyboard player into the band's line-up additionally raised eyebrows. The first song the band released was 'Worship Your Demons' and it was deathcore! Sure, Flo Mounier's drumming was top form but the song was undeniably deathcore, complete with metalcore boat-ruddering growls. When The Unspoken King was officially released the entire Cryptopsy fanbase was in utter dismay. 'Worship Your Demons' was actually the best song on the album. The rest of the pestilence included metalcore/death metal hybrid guitar riffs, an insignificant bass and worst of all clean vocals in the whiney emo style. Everybody hated it and by everybody, I mean every metal fan. For most universally detested metal albums, I generally come across at least one defendant whether online or in person but I am yet to meet the individual willing to stand up for this reprehensible effort. Cryptopsy continued to grave-dig for themselves; the female keyboard player they recruited was dropped from their ranks because they did not use the keyboards enough on The Unspoken King. This was a smart move even though it got them ridiculed by their fanbase further for making such an indescribably questionable decision in the first place but all the promotional pictures had her marketed more so than the vocalist. A grasp towards sex appeal to sell more? Mounier would deny it. I conducted an interview with him at the close of the year where he denied he had ever heard metalcore, even though over the past few years, Cryptopsy have been touring North America with countless metalcore bands. Mounier's fall from grace continued before my interview with rant after rant, proclaiming all The Unspoken King detractors were George Bush supporters among other childish insults. The band eventually went as far as recording the track 'Dinner Time' which begins with an apparent ex-Cryptopsy fan ranting about how the band have sold out and how their new effort is a disgrace to death metal. His monologue is interrupted by his mother who vehemently knocks on the door, wailing at her son to get off the Internet because it's dinner time. Mounier just needs to learn to ignore the people that make him feel bad. Not even Metallica reacted as violently to their fanbase after releasing St. Anger.

Honourable mentions: Kataklysm ~ Prevail; Communic ~ Payment of Existence

Most Overrated Release of 2008
Krisiun ~ Southern Storm

I don't really converse with metalheads much but it seems that Krisiun's Southern Storm is commanding attention. I cannot understand what people see in this release; I have a theory that most of those worshipping it have not heard any previous Krisiun efforts prior to this one. Krisiun are doing nothing new in the slightest with this full-length, severely lacking variation between songs and doing nothing new for their discography. I could handle AssassiNation but this release is totally redundant as far as death metal goes. The Sepultura cover is the best part of the album, simply because it is discernible among the rest of music here. Generic brutal death metal at its finest (after that inaudible static-guitar rubbish).

Honourable mention: Eluveitie ~ Slania

These are all the categories I can care to compose at the moment. If I think of anymore, I will post them here but I doubt it.

~ ~ ~

I look forward to hearing the releases of 2009. Hopefully it will be a superior year to this one. The forthcoming Pain of Salvation, Megadeth, Katatonia, Freak Kitchen, Scythe, Kreator (which has already leaked), Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation among countless others will at least give me enough material to reproduce an updated version of these 'awards'. Fingers crossed anyhow.

A Succinct Commentary on Dream Theater's Studio Albums

2008-11-18T00:02:00.021Z

New York's Dream Theater are undoubtedly the most successful progressive metal band ever and a strong contender for one of the most important metal bands. Formed in 1985, the band has generated nine studio albums of varying sound and importance.

When Dream and Day Unite [1989]
Dream Theater's debut album is largely ignored by a vast portion of their fanbase, predominantly due to the absence of current vocalist James LaBrie. With Charlie Dominici handling vocal responsibilities, the album is immediately lambasted with a sense of traditional progressive metal of the time, with ethereal (usually male) vocals occasionally hitting the higher end of their octaves. Generally, they are less substantiated than typical heavy/power metal ones yet less sporadic and simpler to digest. Musically the album follows in the same way, not exactly breaking new ground but far from recycled Fates Warning or Queensryche [1]. The emotional content is profound on this release and there are no showcases of mindless technicality as some would later accuse the band of.

Images and Words [1992]
Frequently mistaken as Dream Theater's debut, the band's sophomore effort would redefine the progressive metal world forever. The opener 'Pull Me Under' employs heavy thrash-influenced riffing near its conception, shattering the dreamy riffs previously central to progressive metal, awarding itself with the heaviest Dream Theater song - riskily placed at the beginning. The new vocalist [2], Canadian-born James LaBrie, charismatically equips the album with vocal dynamics previously uncharted by progressive metal vocalists. Guitarist John Petrucci limits overt technicality to appropriate solos and his riffs are ground firmer into reality than previous progressive metal efforts. The progressive rock influence is still explicit, for example on the highly optimistic 'Surrounded' (complete with optimistic guitar solo!). The enlightening mood of 'Surrounded' can be contrasted to the dark-edged 'Metropolis, Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper'. 'Wait for Sleep' is a humble keyboard piece relying on simplicity to communicate its effectiveness and highlighting the emotion present on this album, which is brimming with it. The bass lines are more muscular than on the band's last effort, supporting the guitars to a more than satisfactory degree. Images and Words was an excellent signpost for the band's creativity and maturity.

Awake [1994]
Although not as influential as its predecessor Images and Words, Awake is imperative at looking at the development of darker progressive metal bands that exist today including Dark Suns, Nevermore, Edge of Sanity and Opeth. This album surpassed Images and Words in terms of heaviness, with 'Lie' claiming the crown as the heaviest of the entire track-listing. LaBrie's voice hits its lowest alto peak and he utilizes aggressive vocals nearly venturing into shouted territory on this track. The synergy of the instruments is strikingly incredible. No doubt Metallica were an influence on this album. Guitar work is eerie, keyboards are moody and drums are imperative for crucial accents. The instruments form an unbeatable cohesive unit, a paradigm for any album in metal. 'Erotomania' is an instrumental combining stalking with wanderlust and this is captured perfectly in the music with lusty, meandering guitar riffs, multi-dimensional keyboard work and thoughtful drumming. 'Space Dye Vest' is the closing track, completely eldritch and powered by the mind of Kevin Moore. Unfortunately, this was to be Moore's concluding full-length with the band and the album is enshrined by a sense of finality, particularly in this song. This album is Dream Theater at their most convincingly feral, inclusive of their contemporary work. It would be the perfect metal album had the production not been so corrosive to John Myung's bass at moments.

Falling into Infinity [1997]
After the release of the A Change of Season EP, Dream Theater released Falling into Infinity. With Kevin Moore out of the lineup, a fine replacement is found in Derek Sherinian. Many exclaim this album to be Dream Theater's failed attempt into the mainstream, in a harsh contrast against Awake (The irony reveals itself with drummer Mike Portnoy's lyrical contribution to the album with 'Just Let Me Breathe'). This statement can be attributed to the fact that four of the songs on this release are ballads. For a so-called excursion into mainstream territory, it is a poor idea to have the album open with the second longest song, not to mention the weakest Dream Theater have released thus far. 'New Millennium' has nothing significant to offer and spends its eight-plus minutes circling on the spot, fundamentally. The album strikes the listener as potentially the most personal release bearing the Dream Theater name and the album is devoid of anger. 'Just Let Me Breathe' should be an angry song if lyrics are a determiner but the tone is more dismayed and about rising above frustrating matters. 'Lines in the Sand' is a dynamic piece of music with some beautifully melodic vocal lies and a guest appearance of Kings X singer Doug Pinnick, who nearly overshadows LaBrie with his mere backing vocals. Founding member Moore's departure has stripped the band of its curious soundscapes and replaced them with more dainty ones, courtesy of Sherinian. The closing number 'Trial of Tears' is an accessible and direct track with effective keyboard embellishments. One of the key highlights of this anthem is the bass which Myung uses to construct multi-faceted moods. Essentially, Falling into Infinity is probably the band's most underrated album.

Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory [1999]
At the close of the nineties, Dream Theater unleash their first concept album. Another keyboard substitution ensures Jordan Rudess joins the otherwise stable lineup. Naturally, this album builds upon the theme from 'Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper' on the Images and Words release. The plot is unique and mildly cryptic, following Nicholas taking a trip into his past life as Victoria who ends up being murdered and indeed the story births various twists. Musically, the album is quite representative of the parent song. In the name of sophistication, the album and its songs are divisible into two acts and nine scenes. The music is the most varied Dream Theater have accomplished up to this release - cautious, reckless, dizzy and reflective. Rudess proves his worth to the band with sublime technicality, something Moore failed to demonstrate. This is probably where one can interpret the beginning of Dream Theater's equilibrium between technicality and emotion. 'The Dance of Eternity' is an example of the excessive talent the band experiment with and it strikes the listener as impressive. The album seems a little splintered in places where poor links have been established to force songs forward, such as the welding of the two sections on 'Beyond This Life'. Towards tail-end of the album, it seeks to cram far too much in a short space of time, making it quite ambiguous and messy. Additionally, LaBrie's vibrato is frustratingly absent on this album which reduces the number dimensions instilled in the release. Overall, Dream Theater accomplished their objectives with Metropolis 2 but with some fine-tuning, the cracks could have been concealed.

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence [2002]
Dream Theater accomplish another first with this release; this marks the first album composed of two discs. The second disc is one song - the title track, clocking in at a devastating 42:04 minutes long. The primary disc is sinister but not the kind identified in previous Dream Theater releases. The production makes it sound far more clinical and functional. All of these songs are lengthy in duration, appropriating the mega-long songs archetypal to progressive music. The moods of each vary greatly: 'Glass Prison' is tenacious and a harbinger of the future Dream Theater to come; 'Blind Faith' is uplifting whilst heavy with a nod to traditional heavy metal/hard rock in Petrucci's riffing during the chorus; 'Misunderstood' is a stormy piece, boasting more power without being as outwardly aggressive as the opener; 'The Great Debate' is defiant; 'I Disappear' is ghostly reserved and concludes the first disc perfectly. Dealing with various mental conditions, it is befitting of the title track (broken into eight tracks) to cycle through varying moods in grandiose fashion. LaBrie gives several touching vocal performances, namely 'Goodnight Kiss'. This album also sees the debut of Portnoy's backing vocals which inevitably lead to a contribution of crippling the progressive metal innovators but are capable of being ignored on this release. 'Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence' is a fantastically turbulent song, propelling its listeners through a barrage of emotional responses and unusual musical techniques, as featured on 'The Test That Stumped Them All'. Overall, this opus is one of Dream Theater's strongest due to its multi-dimensional magnitude.

Train of Thought [2003]
Train of Thought was Dream Theater's breakthrough album. It was aggressive, heavy and nasty. Released just a year after Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence and trading the clinical sound for an abrasive one, the band should have invested more time in this release. Portnoy's backing vocals sound akin to a poor imitation of rap and LaBrie's forced angst is unconvincing. The Metallica influence is too evident here, with LaBrie sounding like James Hetfield in slivers (such as the line "As I am" that proceeds the first chorus of the opening song). Heavy guitar work sounds threatening and commendable but the trademark Dream Theater sound appears compromised. 'Honour Thy Father' sounds juvenile and the vocal effects are cringe-worthy, more suited for popular teenage angst bands. The rhythm forces melody to the back and the vocal lines are poorly conceived overall. 'In The Name of God' bears the most mood changes on any one song on this full-length with haunting textures rearing their heads and an odd yet well-placed industrial influenced beat that acts as a link to another passage of the song. The drumming is very integral to the excellence of this song. This easy-to-swallow Dream Theater album smashed them into the mainstream in the trend of aggressive, tough-guy bands yet left other fans craving for the emotively driven Dream Theater of old.

Octavarium [2005]
Dream Theater's Octavarium was a monument to Dream Theater's older progressive rock influences. Unsurprisingly, this album was predominantly an updated progressive rock release. As a homage to influences, some songs sound completely removed from Dream Theater, such as 'I Walk Beside You', which could quite easily pass off as a U2 rendition by Dream Theater [3]. Juxtaposed with these light tracks were heavier beasts, such as 'Panic Attack', with a mentally eviscerating bass introduction from John Myung, and the opening song 'The Root of All Evil'. Placing such a heavy song for an opener, one could expect a continuation of Train of Thought but this could not be further from the truth. The closing anthem was almost twenty five minutes long, divided into five parts albeit all on one track. 'Medicate' showed Dream Theater sounding particularly vulnerable, something not really emphasised since Awake's 'Scarred' or 'Space Dye Vest'. 'Full Circle' is lyrically interesting, being composed of the band's influences, most notably song titles [4]. Further entertaining mind games were included throughout the album's art, a good portion of the imagery relating to the digit eight. After all, this was Dream Theater's eighth full-length and there were eight tracks on the CD. Interestingly, the final note on this album is the same as its first, emphasising how the band has travelled full circle [5]. With Octavarium, the band acknowledged their influences, both old and modern, and restored their original emotive content as part of a substantial foray into progressive rock.

Systematic Chaos [2007]
Octavarium had fans doubting Dream Theater's metal credentials so it was unsurprising that the band's next release was bombastic and intense, a career manoeuvre these Americans have executed into their past. Portnoy's vocals are assigned more dominating parts on this release and the results are nothing short of devastating. This is without a doubt the band's most technical release, with entire sections of songs dedicated to break-neck solos. Rudess' keyboard effects become tedious and overblown. 'Prophets of War' contains a horrendous guitar riff that would be home to alternative rock underscoring it. 'Forsaken' is an attempt to retain the emotional inventory of the band and 'The Ministry of Lost Souls' is a weaker attempt at achieving the same but these songs are dwarfed by the brazen 'Dark Eternal Night' and 'Constant Motion'. This sudden change can be attributed to Dream Theater's signing to Roadrunner Records, which is not so absurd for bureaucratic reasons. Although it polarized the fan's opinions, Systematic Chaos reached a new demographic and pushed the band into gargantuan venues and with excessive promotion, Dream Theater were on everybody's iPods. If ever the band created something to be more accessible and commercial, this would be the record that satiates that proposition.

Where Dream Theater's next musical venture will lead them is unpredictable. Current musical trends now seem apparent in playing a factor in the band's stylistic decisions. As they are a household name on their talent alone, one could expect the next album to be a showcase of virtuoso skill. The pessimist would proclaim that Dream Theater have exhausted their creative juices and are deficient in innovation. If this is the case, attention should be averted to Swedish progressive metal sensation Pain of Salvation, who seem to reinvent themselves with every release, leaving Dream Theater merely Mike Portnoy's vehicle for monetary gain. Let the progressive world be content and appreciative that Dream Theater revolutionized the genre completely with very few bands playing the original style of progressive metal. For any band to accomplish such a feat, respect and acknowledgement is due.

----
[1] Psychotic Waltz had released simply a demo by this time although rose to the forefront of the progressive metal scene with their debut album A Social Grace, released 1990.
[2] Ray Arch and John Alder were also among the 1990 vocal auditions.
[3] Dream Theater have covered U2's 'Bad' before.
[4] This section of the song is introduced by a reference to Pink Floyd's The Wall.
[5] Train of Thought actually begins with the note Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ended on and Octavarium initiates on Train of Thought's closing note.

Comparitive Study: Behemoth's 'Chant for Eschaton 2000' vs. 'Chant for Ezkaton 2000 e.v.'

2008-11-13T00:50:00.000Z

In 1999, Behemoth released their fourth full-length album Satanica. This release was a prominent infiltration into the death metal camp, away from the Polish band's raw black metal roots. The concluding song was the near-flawless 'Chant for Eschaton 2000', a direct track that lyrically explored elation and enlightenment in an unconventional manner, using Eschaton or the end of the world as its backdrop. This song is an anomaly in Behemoth's musical repertoire, opting to exchange their death metal brutality with drilling guitar lead melody. The prominence of this track had the band frequently employing it as their closing number at concerts. Very recently, Behemoth have released an EP entitled Ezkaton. The centre-piece of this EP is the opener which is curiously entitled 'Chant for Ezkaton 2000 e.v.', obviously a re-recording of the Polish squadron's classic.

With 'Ezkaton' clocking in at 5:12, it is a full ten seconds briefer than its parent song. An intelligent inference would assume the band has upped the tempo on this re-recording. Indeed, this is the case and the consequence of this is the disappearance of an extra dimension present in the original. Right from offset, the reduction of the untamed guitar sounds on the original subtract the supernatural vibe injected into the song. The first repeated tom hits of the drums sound forced and unnatural. However, when the rhythm and lead guitars travel together for the first time on 'Ezkaton', the synergy sounds commendably heavier than the original.

Nergal's vocals on the original 'Eschaton' song were multi-faceted, layered at stages to emphasise an inhuman vocal style. This was juxtaposed with a stripped-down shout, marking its initial appearance on the line: "On your wings carry me over the abyss/Beyond the reason and across the burning seas." This sounded transcendental, appropriate in regards to a line referencing wings. On 2008's 'Ezkaton', these stylistic features are inverted with the stripped-down shouts of the original substituted for layered growls and the standard growls replaced by a militant shout albeit more throaty than the shouts in 'Eschaton'. Whilst the standard growls in 'Eschaton' sounded inhuman, the rhythm of the growls in 'Ezkaton' are plain and akin to those of hip hop vocals, although of course they are a far cry from spoken word. Another trifling attribute of 'Ezkaton' is the alternation of an amateur-sounding black metal rasp uttered for a single word and sandwiched between growls (the second utterances of "fly" and "slash"). It sounds preposterous and unconvincing, predominantly because the two assorted growls are not evenly matched in strength and with the weaker rasp suddenly hitting you from just one speaker, it underscores its power deficiency and heightens its failure.

The mixing of 'Ezkaton' results in the clean guitar of the original being melted into the harsher more prevalent rhythm guitar. This substantially reduces one of 'Eschaton's original highlights. Compensating for this is the ending of 'Ezkaton', which is fleshed out with a variety of guitar meanderings. This would have been a success had it not removed the grandiose keyboards at the close of the original.

Despite sleek and modern production, 'Ezkaton' pales in comparison to its ancestor. Whilst it is some distance from an unlistenable song, its negation of soundscapes of 'Eschaton' leaves it ultimately a wasted effort. If it is not broken, do not fix it at its finest.

Why Desecration Are Important to the UK Death Metal Scene

2008-11-12T14:18:00.009Z

Desecration were conceived in 1992 in Wales, a country in the UK not renowned for any significant death metal scene, unlike Scotland and obviously England. Interestingly, drummer Mic Hourihan and bassist Andi Morris have appeared in the glam rock band Tigertailz and the commercially successful Funeral For a Friend respectively. However, Desecration’s human components have been and remain involved in various extreme metal bands; Hourihan and frontman Ollie Jones are currently in Extreme Noise Terror, Hourihan played in the UK death metal band Parricide which is the only act that pre-dates Desecration in regards to the other members’ side projects, and Jones and Morris have been active in Bristol-based brutal death metallers Amputated[1], although Amputated are deficient in any creativity or innovation as far as death metal is concerned. This is Desecration’s initial point of interest. Unlike many of the bands wielding the banner of UK death metal, Desecration are not competing to be as brutal as humanly possible.

By 1991 in New York, Suffocation had released the paramount and poignant Effigy of the Forgotten, seizing popular attention and placing the band as harbingers of the brutal death metal scene. As death metal is an abrasive and probably metal’s most aggressive expression, it seems natural that most bands would battle to be as brutal as they could, internationally. Desecration have the advantage of being an older band with brutal death metal emerging as less fashionable then than it is at present. It would appear that today’s UK death metal scene attributes itself to brutal death metal rather than any sub-grouping of this rigid genre. This results in a flooding of the scene with bands sounding far too similar (in an already limiting sub genre of limiting a sub genre) and not dispensing any creativity. The problem of fans forming bands as opposed to musicians is common the world over although the UK barely coughs up any important death metal bands to compensate. Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror and Carcass became highly acclaimed initially due to their grindcore setting. The Rotted[2] have brutal death metal in their inventory but stylistically, they are far from archetypical brutal death metal, borrowing scrapings from grindcore. The UK’s other popular death metal band is Akercocke who splice traditional death metal with black and progressive metal. It is understood why these bands reach a larger audience than flavourless brutal death metal bands from the UK such as Bludgeon, Infected Disarray and Cerebral Bore.

Many bands, old and new, imitate Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Morbid Angel, Deicide and the entire slew of American bands that glamorized death metal. Desecration have developed their own unorthodox style of traditional death metal[3] without combining it with any other metal sub-genres. It is evident from their music that they are an old band[4] who have survived rightfully for this duration of time.

By human nature, the band probably received potentially unwarranted attention upon the release of their debut full-length effort Gore and Perversion in 1995. This album was seized by the police with the master tapes destroyed due to the graphic artwork. Some copies released an alternate album cover which stated an apology followed by a brief line explaining that the original art had been censored. Although this album was challenging to track down, it was eventually re-recorded and released in 2002 as Gore and PerVersion 2. While the quality was updated, the songs are the same as the original pressing. What the band released is a death metal piece that runs in near towards an hour, depicting a style previously uncharted in the death metal movement. The album is musically focused and multi-dimensional, reworking structures and rejuvenating itself with each track. No two tracks are similar and the song durations are largely varied, experimenting with a range of tempos. From the opening number ‘Raping the Corpse (Desecration)’, a gripping brand of death metal is unleashed upon the listener, filled with brief melodic nuances, pounding rhythms and pronounced vocal lines.[5] ‘Raping the Copse (Desecration)’ accomplishes its goal as an opener perfectly. The guitars are meticulously structured, well suited yet not predictable in the slightest.

Another intriguing Desecration album is Inhuman. This album differs from Gore and PerVersion (2) in that the aim appears to be experimenting within the realms of death metal more so than previously as opposed to creating a selection of varied death metal themes. In short, it is a more coherent piece of music. Clocking in just short of half an hour this time, Inhuman by passes the listener rapidly although not in a Reign in Blood manner.[6] Simultaneously, it does not leave the listener craving more for it accompanies what it sets out to do succinctly. Somewhat to contrary to what was stated above, ‘Killer Row’ contains a brutal death metal elements but they are employed sparingly and, as a result, it is not a consistently brutal death metal song. Most brutal death metal bands wholly maintain their brutality throughout a release and this is many of their downfalls.[4] ‘Another Obscene Publication’ and closing number ‘A Message to the Censor’ are tongue-in-cheek tracks that stir a giggle out of the listener at Desecration’s detractors.

Lyrical themes in Desecration are not an example of death metal iconoclasm. However, perhaps they are more genuine and well-informed than the average death metal band’s lyrics of malignant torture as Jones is a practicing mortician and fails to hesitate in imbuing his lyrics with his pain-staking knowledge of human anatomy and mortality. Interestingly enough, Jones would rather not stress the obvious correlation between his occupation and his band.

Of course, Desecration are far from immaculate. ‘Frosted Breath’ offers nothing remotely ground-breaking and ‘As the Heart Stops Beating’, while it has its moments, is largely forgettable. Death metal is a significantly limiting genre compared to metal’s other sub-classes. To maintain interest, a band has to notably keep evolving their sound. Cannibal Corpse’s Kill is completely different to the band’s debut full-length effort Eaten Back To Life. In fact, Kill differs substantially to its immediate predecessor The Wretched Spawn in that it features semblance of metalcore embellishments, executed convincingly and worked into the music appropriately, making this classic band refreshing. Compare Obituary’s work throughout their career and the change is minimal, which leaves them overshadowed in the modern extreme metal world.[8] Desecration’s most pressing concern is how to reinvent themselves or retain a refreshing edge to their music and retain their position of staying ahead of the modern UK death metal scene.[9]

In an empire saturated with bland brutal death metal, Desecration are remaining true to the original death metal sound and are one of the only outstanding UK death metal acts to still be doing so and are suffering from an absence of recognition. Their lack of erosion in class or style is a monument of death metal quality in the UK’s subterranean and, in terms of traditional death metal, the death metal scene overall irrespective of popularity. Future endeavours may see the band morphing style as they have practically exhausted all areas of their genre.

[From left to right: Ollie Jones, Mic Hourihan and Andi Morris]

Bibliography:

www.metal-archives.com

‘Reign in Blood’ by D.X. Ferris, 2008

[1] Amputated formed in 2002, much later than Desecration.

[2] Formerly Gorerotted.

[3] Also dubbed ‘old school death metal’ more colloquially.

[4] Compare with new act Hail of Bullets from Holland who have released one album this year of traditional death metal, offering no single enhancement or innovative feature.

[5] Far too many death metal bands treat vocals as a mere after thought. Whilst Desecration may not have planned their vocal lines excessively, they certainly underscore relevant sections of the music and frequently accompany the guitars or drums appropriately. Desecration’s vocal delivery is far more effectively utilized than a more talented death metal band such as Cryptopsy.

[6] Reign in Blood’s engineer has admitted that the album was the intended to have the listener feel as though they were being repeatedly punched in the face, with positive results. Whilst it is easy for a death metal band to undertake such a challenge, such as Cannibal Corpse’s classic Butchered At Birth which is less successful than Slayer although meets a good quality standard, Desecration resisted this interestingly enough, in spite of being a traditional death metal band like Cannibal Corpse.

[7] Krisiun’s Southern Storm and Anal Bleeding’s Two Cocks in the Same Hole come to mind.

[8] Although Obituary are not enhancing their sound significantly, their broody death metal is very irregular and an interesting interpretation of death doom metal.

[9] It seems only fair to mention Rugby’s Mithras as another brilliant UK death metal act, pioneering atmospheric death metal with musically brutal sentiments. Formed in 1998, they are more youthful than Desecration.