A Troop of Echoes

Strange haircuts, cardboard guitars and computer samples

2008-10-30T09:21:00.002-06:00

Information Society - Apocryphon: Electro Roots 1982-1985

http://www.informationsociety.us/2008/06/15/312/

This album is something a little different from most of what has been reviewed here, both in style and in content. Most people should be familiar with Information Society at least from the hits "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" , "Think" and "Walking Away", but did you know these early synthpop pioneers from Minneapolis started out with a more experimental electronic sound? I actually must admit that I did not. Although I became a fan after they released their self-titled album in 1988, I never tried to search for their prior releases, and even now I bought this really on a whim, not knowing what to expect.

The LE package is a somewhat flimsy-seeming cardboard digipack containing two brightly colored CDs, the first titled Unobtainium and the second marked as Prophets Without Honor. An individually autographed 30-page photo booklet including a bit of history and comments written by each of the three "core" members of the band is tucked into a cardboard sleeve. (I believe only the pre-ordered copies were autographed... nice touch, though.)

None of the tracks have ever been released on CD and all have been out of print for decades (or never released). CD1 is remastered versions of the band's first releases, the INSOC EP and Creatures of Influence LP. CD2 is live and unreleased tracks, plus a couple of new versions of old songs. Sound quality is a little variable, and some songs are dominated by that somewhat distorted synth sound so popular in 80s rock, but others have more unique tones and sounds the band created themselves. The style varies between experimental synth music and synthpop and while some elements sound rather dated (or nostalgic, if you prefer), many of the songs could hold their own in clubs today.

I'm going to come right out and say it - this release is genius. The tracks are not all polished, and not every one is a masterpiece, but there is a pure and raw energy here, a sense of something new and different, something playful and innocent at times hiding a more serious message, that all comes together to deliver a powerful impact. When the earliest of the music presented here was being recorded, I was a 7-year-old kid growing up in backwoods Virginia and even 6 years later when I had become a fan of the band, I don't know if I would have appreciated it, but I certainly do now. If you enjoy experimental electronic music, such as some of Laibach's pre-WAT releases, and if you enjoy any of InSoc's other work, or other synthpop such as And One or Depeche Mode, this is definitely worth checking out. Clocking in at about 111 minutes, you definitely get your money's worth.

Track listings:

Unobtainium (CD 1)

THE INSOC EP
1. Bacchanale
2. Fall In Line
3. Growing Up With Shiva
4. Get Up Away From That Thing
5. Can You Live As Fast As Me

CREATURES OF INFLUENCE
6. You Are My Hiroshima
7. Running
8. Creatures of Influence
9. Don't Lose Your Mind
10. Fall In Line
11. Signals
12. The Swamp

Prophets Without Honor (CD 2)
1. Hey Hey Hey
2. Hooked On Pablum
3. Nothing Sacred (1983)
4. Nothing Sacred (2007)
5. The Orthodox Pleasure Song
6. XMAS At Our House
7. Disco's Not Dead (It's Only Sleeping)
8. Wrongful Death (1982)
9. Wrongful Death (2007)
10. I Hate Music
11. The INSOC Commercial
12. New And Different
13. Chant Your Way
14. Say It, Say It
15. Growing Up With Shiva (2008)

Quick update

2008-06-28T23:58:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the dearth of new reviews this month, I've been pretty busy with work, and then I was away for a week. Since I've come back the inspiration to write new reviews has been pretty minimal, but I'll be doing a couple of joint reviews that will go up both on this blog and another site I've been helping with (I'll say a little more on Monday when it officially goes live)
I promise this place'll be more active in July!

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

2008-06-24T05:09:00.016-06:00

Let’s face it – Sepultura just wasn’t the same band after the singer Max Cavalera left in 1996, right after the now-classic Roots. I’m not one to say the present-day Sepultura with Derek Green isn’t any good at all, but it’s just not the same thing anymore. And with Max’s brother Igor – sorry, Iggor – now gone too, there seems to be very little left of what Sepultura once was. So, when it was announced, that after twelve years, the brothers had finally reunited and were working on new material, it was a dream covered with ice cream made of pure awesome come true for an untold number of metalheads around the world. But was it actually a dream worth dreaming in the first place?

Yes. Yes it bloody well was. The Cavaleras weren’t in speaking terms for over ten years – and it shows. A decade’s worth of pain caused by a deep rift between close brothers is finally set free on Inflikted (released 24th March 2008): the title track kicks the album off with ball-bustingly barbaric force and anger, and from there on, the pace never lets up. The style on Inflikted falls somewhere between and around Sepultura’s Arise and Chaos AD, incorporating also a lot of the sound present on Max’s own Soulfly. The ethnic elements that were so prominent in making Sepultura and Soulfly sound distinct are, surprisingly, cut almost completely, showing up for just a couple of very tiny cameos in a couple of songs. Instead, Inflikted concentrates on delivering some of the most merciless thrash metal on the planet. An angrier-than-ever Max barks and roars apocalyptic propaganda like no tomorrow, Iggor thrashes away with deadly precision and Marc Rizzo’s ultra-thick riffs and grooves tear the air apart. Especially Marc Rizzo deserves a special mention, as he's really managed to conjure up some truly kick-ass stuff with his impeccably accurate and inventive riff- and solohand.

Sounds a bit too much of a good thing? Of course, no record is without its blemishes. Many of Max’s lyrics STILL show traces of English not being his first language. Seriously, what else can you do with gems like Nevertrust’s ”Nevertrust – the emo kids / nevertrust – the fucking pigs” or Hex’s ”Like a hex, like a hex / mass hypnosis will equal death / like a hex, a fucking trap / buffalo soldiers high on crack” but raise an eyebrow or two? Also, variety has been discarded for an all-out, permanent rampage mode, which might put off some listeners and make it more difficult to appreciate the amount of quality and heart present in this thing. In the end, however, the good things overweigh the very minor flaws in such a way that there’s no doubt we’re talking about one of the best metal records of the decade.

Yes, one of the best metal records of the decade. Cavalera Conspiracy doesn’t reinvent the wheel, no, quite on the contrary actually. Inflikted goes back to the principles of thrash and groove metal, showing only a bare minimum of external influences, but this possible drawback has been transformed into a strength. It’s an absolutely brutal piece of true-to-its-roots thrash metal, a crushing, relentless ride to the very end, that more than makes up for its straightforwardness with pure ferocity and the sheer excitement of finally having two of the best metal musicians in the world together again. Killer tracks like the incomparable Inflikted or the murderous The Doom of All Fires are evidence enough that the Cavalera brothers are back, and I hope they will be around for a long, long time to come.

9,5 / 10

ZZ Top - Eliminator

2008-06-08T23:56:00.003-06:00

For those unfamiliar with this album, well, where the hell have you been? Several of the songs from this abum have achieved such a level of fame that they have been heard by almost everyong in the Western world at some point or another, so that even if the name was completely unfamiliar if the riff were played the person would recognise it. Why is it that this album achieved such massive success? Quite simply, because it's an incredible album.

ZZ Top - Eliminator

By the time of Eliminator's release, ZZ Top had been recording albums together for just over a decade, and certainly had a fairly large discography, yet it was this album that catapulted them into the massive celebrity that they have held ever since. There are several reasons behind this change, although the most obvious is that it quite simply is an extremely well done album.

Aside from that, the first major factor behind this success was the time at which Eliminator was released. MTV was still brand new and still playing music, ZZ Top had a catchy single with an interesting music video replete with old hot rods and beautiful women, and they had a unique look. As anyone familiar with ZZ Top will tell you, guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill are known for their trademark waist length beards (as an aside, during the mid '80s the Gillette razor company offered the pair a million dollars each to shave their beards off for an ad, which they refused)

The next factor has more to do with the music itself. Prior to Eliminator's release, ZZ Top had been a band that leaned far more heavily towards their blues side, and while blues was still very popular at the time in the Western market, the mass public's tastes had shifted to that of the New Wave bands and the new sounds of the musical scene of the day. With this album, however, ZZ Top made the radical decision to pair new elements of this musical scene with their classic blues rock sound. With the addition of synthesizers, heavier, more rock oriented playing, and a simpler, more driving drum beat, the band managed to encapsulate both the edgy, new sounds of the 1980s with classic blues music.

Enough of that, I'm sure most of you are thinking to yourselves by now "Get on with it and talk about the songs themselves!" Alright! I've already said that I consider this to be one of the quintessential blues rock albums (the other being 1977's compilation The Best of ZZ Top) so clearly I enjoy it. The simplest thing that I could say about this album is that there are no bad tracks. Not one. From the time that opener "Gimme All Your Lovin'" starts to the last notes of "Bad Girl" the music is excellent. This is due I think in large part to the band's history together. By this point, they had been playing music together for nearly 15 years, and they were comfortable, both which eachother and with their style. I also think that the lyrics from this album encapsulate what I love about ZZ Top perfectly, namely their humour. Nearly every track on this album has some sort of a joke in the text, excepting only the heavily blues oriented track "I Need You Tonight."

Beyond that the album is an excellent soundtrack to nearly anything. The obvious sense of fun that the band are having recording this make it an excellent background for a couple of friends hanging out, the steady rhythm make it an excellent album for long drives, for those so inclined the guitar is perfect for air-guitaring, etc, etc.

The bottom line on this album is that it is ZZ Top's masterpiece. Unfortunately, due I'm sure to Eliminator's massive success, ZZ Top have spent the past 25 years trying to record another version of it, and as such their records have not been nearly as good as they had been. But for a perfect glimpse into blues rock, ZZ Top, and the best rock of the 1980s, one need look no further than this album. Simply put, Eliminator is as close to perfect as blues rock has ever gotten.

9.5/10

Mayhem from the North

2008-06-08T17:19:00.005-06:00

Infernal Hails My Satanic Bretheren,

Welcome to the second incarnation of “Storms from the Northern Wastelands”. My demonic eye falls upon one of the most prevalent, if not infamous, Black Metal bands to ever drag itself from out of the fiery pits of the underworld, MAYHEM! Having such an expansive history I shall be separating the article into two.

Formed in 1984 in Oslo by Oystein Aarseth, better known by his famous stage name “Euronymous”, Jorn Stubberud also known as Necrobutcher and Kjetil Manheim they are often credited with creating the modern form of black metal. Taking heavy influence from Thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Venom and Celtic Frost Mayhem is often credited with creating Black Metal as we know it today. They released their first and highly influential studio album in 1986, the infamous “Deathcrush”. By this time they had recruited a new singer Maniac (Sven Erik Kristiansen) who would later rejoin the band. This was the first major release by any of the Norwegian Black Metal bands and paved the way for what would become the 2nd Wave of Black Metal. In the wake of “Deathcrush” Mayhem would form what would become known as their classic lineup. Vocalist Dead (Per Yngve Ohlin) and the now legendary Hellhammer (Jan Axel Von Blomberg) joined the band. While recordings from this part of Mayhem’s history are few they are often considered to be the bands pinnacle by older fans. “Live in Leipzig” and the infamous “Dawn of the Black Hearts” live albums are the best known recordings from Dead’s stint in the band. On April 8th 1991, the first of many controversial events occurred among the band, the singer Dead committed suicide with a shotgun blast to the head. Guitarist Euronymous discovered the body and before calling the authorities took pictures of Dead’s corpse, usingone for the cover of “Dawn of The Black Hearts” and as legend has it, took pieces of his skull and mailed it to bands he felt “worthy”. This put a halt on the recording of Mayhem’s first true album and until new singer Atilla Csihar was recruited for recordings. As the album neared completion the studio bassist for the album, Varg Vikernes, allegedly murdered Euronymous over a dispute involving unpaid debts. His murder, and Vikernes subsequent conviction, left Mayhem with only one member, Hellhammer, the drummer. Despite this Mayhem’s first album “De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”

Out of the most well known 2nd Wave bands like Burzum, Emperor, Enslaved, Darkthrone and of course Mayhem, Mayhem’s focus was mostly on brutality. While Emperor employed some orchestral backing and more melody, or Burzum’s attempt to create “magic”, Mayhem was all about the shock factor and anger that came with the black metal genre. While Deathcrush had a strong influence from Thrash Metal from the early ‘80’s, this influence declined until “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” was a completely different genre from thrash. One of the first true full album releases of Black Metal.

The music on “De Mysteriies Dom Sathanas” is fast and furious, everything you would expect from a Mayhem release. They avoid the pitfall of being repetitive with just enough tempo changes and variation to make the album worth listening to. The production qualities were, at the time, some of the highest quality given to a black metal album, something they have met some criticism for. The production though gives the album a full sound and brings out every instrument, the guitars wail and screech, the bass hums along and the drumming is some of the most impressive work you will find on any CD. The guitars, by none other then the famed Euronymous, are impressive black metal fair, wickedly paced tremolo picking abounds, but is mixed in with some impressive doomy parts, case in point the “Freezing Moon” intro. The bass guitar has its moments but is often left out like in most black metal. They were recorded by Varg Vikernes, Euronymous’ murderer and were supposed to be rerecorded but were mixed further back rather then being rerecorded. Drums…well what we can say about the drums, it’s Hellhammer manning the skins. His prowess is well known in Black metal circles and he doesn’t disappoint. This album is a clinic for any aspiring drummer as Hellhammer pours in blast beats quicker and longer then any human should, with some complex beats and ferocious drum rolls. Now the vocals, probably the most controversial bit, as Atilla Csihar does NOT have your atypical Black metal vocals. It ranges from ear splitting shrieks to an almost Gollum-like guttural half singing. Most of the vocals consists of the deep guttural singing which at times verges on almost operatic levels. More then most black metal vocals though it conveys a sense of extreme hate, like he is spitting upon mankind. As a whole the album is Mayhem’s overall strongest effort to date as it is near impossible to pinpoint favorites other then the absolute classic “Freezing Moon”. The title describes the album perfectly, Frozen and bleak with hatred seeping from every pore.

History of Mayhem continues next week, until then,

Lord Of Entropy

Holograf - Undeva Departe

2008-06-07T11:59:00.004-06:00

Holograf - Undeva Departe

Today I'll be writing about a band that I'm fairly certain most of the people reading will not have heard of, but really should. The band in question is one of Romania's most popular and long lasting rock bands, Holograf.

Undeva Departe is sort of a hard album to talk about objectively, as it is first and foremost a best of album, with the traditional one bonus song. The thing is, most of the songs have been re-recorded or remastered (unfortunately, my grasp of Romanian is limited only to its similarities with Latin, Spanish, or French so I can't say which of those) More confusing still, some of the tracks are from previous best of compilation Banii Vorbesc. As a result of this, I'm going to try to just regard Undeva Departe as a separate entity entirely.

Holograf have been around since 1978, and were relatively prolific in that time. When this album was released in 1999, they had 6 LPs, 1 EP and a previous best of to draw from. The selections for this album leaned fairly heavily upon the mid '80s output from the band, which I frankly think was their best period stylistically, so the updated recording quality made for a good choice.

The reason why I prefer the period from which most of these songs were drawn from is because in their early days Holograf were a hard rock band, drawing somewhat on the style of the 1980s but not to excess. (As a dramatic comparison, listen to their most recent release, 2006's Taina which is closer to elevator pop than anything the band recorded prior to this release)

Because of the emphasis on the early middle period of the band's output, there is a decent amount of heavier songs, but the albums isn't all rockers. The band wasn't as well known for their slower, more ballad like tracks at this point, but the quieter songs contrast nicely with the heavier ones.

This was the first album that I heard from Holograf, and to date the only one that I've been able to find in hard copy, and I think it's an excellent introduction to the band and the sound that they carried forward up to this point. I'm not a huge fan of the band's two most recent LPs, but for those who like a sort of hard rock carried forward from the 1980s Holograf are an excellent listen.

8/10

Moby - Go: The Very Best of Moby (Bonus Remix album)

2008-06-03T09:33:00.004-06:00

First off, sorry for the long delay between my own reviews, although Lord of Entropy has kept the place going with some excellent and intriguing looks at black metal. As an explanation, an old friend of mine was in town for a week, and I haven't been around online a tremendous amount, nor really had the time to sit down and write out a review. That said, the frequency should be back to normal now.

Moby - Go (Bonus Remix album)

In 2006, the noted electronica artist Moby (best known for his supermassively popular 1999 album Play) released a career best of, spanning everything from his early work with club music right through his (then) most recent effort Hotel. Seeing as that was just a best of with an extra song tacked on, I'm not going to bother with that for now and move right to what for me was the real reason to get the compilation. The thing about this album is that Moby either was asked by or asked many of his contemporaries in the electronica scene to remix some of his songs, which he added to the best of as a sort of bonus. Naturally, since they got to pick what songs to remix, the songs all come from Moby's work since Play, but then again his earlier work was far more club oriented anyways. I should also just point out quickly that I am reviewing the US bonus disc, as I haven't heard the international one yet. I guess Canada is counted as US these days for album releases?

The album kicks off what I found to be something of an odd choice, Play's one club heavy song "Bodyrock." The reason why I find this odd is that the song was alike to Moby's early work and really didn't need any tweaking to make it a good club track, and it's the only song on this remix album I could really say that about. The end result is alright, it's not my favourite on the album but I'll give the remixer credit for making an interesting and totally new version of the song.

As we move into the next track, my curiosity with the album is justified, as the song is a remixof the last track from 2002's 18, the gospel influenced ambient track "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?" This is not a club track originally, and at least for the middle and end of the song the remixer does an excellent job of making it danceable, but the minute and a half intro of dramatic somber piano (added in) really detracts from the song. As a curiosity it's worthwhile, but I can't say I really like the track.

"Natural Blues" was one of my favourite tracks from Play, as it combined an excellent blues beat and vocals to a dance backdrop, but the remix really took the entire melody out of this song. Basically it's a rave track, with little melody and a repetitive bass line augmented by little keyboards. I think this could have made a great dance track if it had kept the original melody at least a little.

"South Side" is really very similar to the last track, in that the melody was all stripped out and made into a somewhat featureless electronica track.

"We Are All Made of Stars" is a more intriguing song, and it perked my interest back up somewhat. It still strips the song of all its original melody, but the end result is far more interesting than the last few songs. When I first listened through the album, this was enough to keep me going. Basically, it's a drum and bass track with keyboards and a little bit of distorted vocal noise in the background. Interesting, and very different from the original, but again it's not particularly impressive.

The next track I was really excited about, for two reasons. First, "Extreme Ways" is actually the song that made me go and look up Moby, and discover he had been the artist behind so many songs I'd heard and liked, and second because it as remixed by one of my favourite trance DJs, Dutch electronica superstar Tiësto. And I will definitely give it credit, this is my favourite track on the album so far. It is very much in the style of one of Tiësto's more sedate numbers, lacking the deeper sound of his more club oriented tracks, but it is interesting right through, and it keeps enough of the original melodies to keep it recognisable. My only complaint is with the vocals, despite keeping the majority of them Tiësto has tweaked them somewhat and they come through flat and a little boring. Aside from that this was a successful remix, and gave me hope for the rest of the album.

"Jam For the Ladies" is another track I really liked in the original, but by this point I was generally not hopeful of anything particularly stunning. Luckily this track surpassed everything else so far on the album. Basically the remixer sped up the BPM and vocals and added in heavier amounts of keyboards to the mix. This one got me moving around a bit as I heard it, which was again a first on this album. My biggest complaint is once more with the vocals, as they have been sped up to the point of sounding almost silly, but it's still a good track.

And now we get into the best two songs on the album, both from Moby's then most recent effort Hotel. First up is the '80s style "Lift Me Up" which becomes a pleasant little electronic song. It's not especially complicated or interesting, but it's a nice listen, and is a frequent play for me. The real winner, however, is it's follow up track "Raining Again." The initial intro to the song is similar to the original, and keeps basically the same melody and vocals, and overall the song sticks to the original, but where it really wins for me is in the addition of heavy club beats and less prominent vocals. This is what I had hoped for and expected when I picked up the album, so I was very pleased when this came on.

The next track, "Dream About Me," is largely forgettable, again just a pleasant little track good for background noise, but album closer "Slipping Away" is a little bit more interesting, if just because of how much more danceable it is than the original, but honestly I just don't have much to say about it.

Overall the album didn't really blow me away, it had a few real gems on it but for the most part I really prefer the originals. Now, this is to be expected on an album composed entirely of remixes by different artists, but I guess somehow I had expected a little bit more. If you're a fan of Moby it's worth hearing, if just for the curiosity factor, but I think ultimately this is more aimed at the hardcore fan than the casual listener, and due to Play's unbelievable success and broad appeal, I suspect the majority of Moby listeners are casual fans.

6/10

A Quick Thunderstorm...

2008-06-01T19:02:00.011-06:00

The Lord Of Entropy has a review to tide you over until the next full slab of destruction on Friday. Heres a new album I downloaded this week.

(V.E.G.A)- Cocaine

Located in Italy and Norway, (V.E.G.A) has released its only album "Cocaine" in 2002 and is composing new material for a 2008 album although no details exist yet. "Cocaine" was intended as a one off project, but evolved into a band after the sucess of their debut album.

Cocaine at its heart is a one shot album where the band gives its comment on Black Metal. Cocaine is a powerful, neck breakingly fast, trip through the dark places of yourself you don't want to see, and as the name suggests, addiction. The album starts ominously, a blood curdling screech of electronics that send a shiver down your spine. Most tracks are a swirling maelstrom of power and sound that drags you in against your will, much like being addicted to the drug the album is named for. Many tracks also contain a buildup from a slow beginning with doom metal influences to the chatic parts that threaten to careen off into oblivion. Songs like "Insex Infect" and "Kill Me" demonstrate this formula perfectly. This album is far from a one trick pony however as keyboards in the background enhance the mood of the album and tend to play along with the guitars note for note. Spoken word parts in "Beton #1" and "Burning In My Own Dream Of Life", the gloomy drone of "Vacuum Era Gellid Atmosphere" and "Beton #2" or the chanting of small children in "Lilja.." offer a break from the madness to catch your breath, only to hurl you into the darkening maelstrom once again. "Consumed Seclusion" moves from prog rock beginnings into a swirling kaleidescope of sound into the furious darkness and madness that consists of the Black Metal elements of the album. Cocaine ends on a strange note, after around 3 minutes of silence after the final track the ghost track "Cocaine" begins. The ghost track seems to be a giant middle finger at black metal as a whole starting with a few minutes of...Euro Techno beats. This shows a sense of humor if I have ever seen one. In summary "Cocaine" grabs and, holding you against your will, mercilessly subjects you to the pain, anguish and darkness of the human subconscious in thrall to addiction or obsession. Overall a great record from the Italian group.

I Had to include this quote from Metal Maniacs, it describes this album perfectly:

“A jackhammer mind-rape from black metal's parallel universe, as
belligerent as it is bizarre, as asylum-riot violent as it is mentally
intriguing”

Remember, Mayhem comes on friday, BE PREPARED!

The Lord Of Entropy

Storms From The Northern Wastelands #1

2008-05-30T12:20:00.007-06:00

Infernal Hails fellow Creatures of the Satan, The Lord of Entropy welcomes you to “Storms From The Northern Wastelands” your newest source for the very best “kvlt” and “nekro” as fuck Black Metal Satan has ever spawned. Everything from the truest Black Metal demos to those who use Black metal as an inspiration will be profiled here. Hear the history of the genre of music closest to Satan himself. Let the Lord Of Entropy himself be your guide to the most infernal genre of music, the purest example of the inherent darkness of man.

Keeping it kvlt with my first review, a demo from a fantastic Norwegian band called Dies Irae. No one knows who was a part of the band as they only released one completely unknown demo in 1994 then the band split, but what a demo it was. Their demo entitled “Circle of Leth” is probably the best synthesis of low-fi black metal and classical music. Yes classical music, not cheesy symphonic bursts like Dimmu Borgir but beautiful sections of true classical music. The intro track is entirely instrumental with no guitars and is recorded on a synthesizer, or just so low quality we can’t tell, but the atmosphere is thick. A very brooding and almost creepy atmosphere, one of the tracks that, at night lying in your bed, you see shadows in you see shadows in your room conform into distorted evil shapes out of some evil dream. Yet at this same time there is a sense of beauty, these vast soundscapes of classical music not heard in the most fantastic of dreams. The rest of the tracks flawlessly combine the low-fi black metal aesthetics of Burzum with vocals similar to Attila Csihar, but the production focuses on the classical elements. The flutes and synths are at the forefront of the production and dominate the sound. Almost as if the stirring melodies of the classical section is underplayed by the filthy sludge of black metal. The black metal sections, while not at the forefront of the production are still noticeably capable, very impressive for how little the band did together. The production is black metal raw, down on the far end of the spectrum as in Burzum raw. It takes away from some of the technical showings of the band but it brings the focus to the atmosphere, one thing bands take years to find but Dies Irae have perfected in one demo.

As a little treat I am including a download link to this demo, its no longer in print so I don’t feel too bad giving it out for free, but music of this caliber needs to be heard. Theres also a Myspace page dedicated to the band with samples of 4 of the 5 tracks on it so have a listen.

Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/diesiraenorway

Download Link:
http://www.divshare.com/download/4545118-cee

Let’s shift to the more experimental regions of black metal, namely the band Blacklodge from France. From the cover you can see they play a very cold, mechanical industrial black metal, not with just a sample here or there but the music is more or less an industrial background with the black metal riffs and vocals over top of it, even with some techno beats thrown in for good measure. They’ve released two albums “Login:SataN” and “Solarkult”. Solarkult is a fantastic release but I will tell you it is not for every black metal fan. Electronics abound and there really is no organic drumming on the album, a drum machine is used on the entire album. It gives the album a wholly mechanized and icy cold feel, even more so then Aborym. The production is unusual in the sense that it is quite clean. The guitars still have that distinct ripping, heavy sound but the production is clean enough to allow the backing electronics to be very distinct, you never miss out on any of the sounds of the album. The electronics have an extremely caustic feel to them, they are not bouncy techno backing but sound like you are standing in an industrial factory and somehow a discernible beat materializes from the chaos around you. Throw in a guitarist and vocalist on top of that and you have Blacklodge.

They have a myspace with 2 samples from their two albums, all great examples of their industrial black metal style.

Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/loginsatan

Next week I’ll have a history and tribute to Mayhem, the band that defined “kvlt” and “nekro” aesthetics for a whole generation of Black Metal groups.

Infernal Tidings,

Lord Of Entropy

New regular feature

2008-05-26T22:26:00.003-06:00

As I'm sure anyone who has read the blog knows, I had a regular column with the best reviews from Deutschemusik.net on here in the blog's early days, and while I'm still uncertain whether I will bring that back, contributor Lord of Entropy has decided to begin writing a weekly black/death metal review column, with a name and day of the week still to be determined. Seeing as I have only recently gotten into these subgenres of metal, I'm eagerly anticipating these reviews!

Turmion kätilöt - Minä määrään

2008-05-24T23:59:00.003-06:00

Turmion kätilöt - Minä määrään
I expect this is a name that is familiar to most readers of this blog, but for those who aren't familiar with Turmion kätilöt (hereafter referred to as Tk for simplicity's sake) here's some basic information (for those familiar with the band, I'll provide a line break where the intro ends)
Tk are from Finland (their name translates to something like Midwives of Perdition, which gives you an idea of their basic concept) and they are one of those bands which I love, that sing (almost) exclusively in their own language. To date Tk have released two full length albums (2004's Hoitovirhe and 2006's Pirun nyrkki) and one EP (2005's Niuva 20) all of which were, in my opinion, excellent. The thing about Tk is that their albums are pretty drawn between really, really good songs and fairly mediocre ones. Case in point is Hoitovirhe, which has about 6 (7 if you count the minute long instrumental intro to Kärsi) incredible tracks and 5 mediocre ones.
The band plays a style of heavy metal that is extremely influenced by dance music, which of course is a fairly well known genre in North American heavy metal as well. The thing about Tk is that their music has elements of much heavier subgenres of heavy metal than generally surface in industrial metal. I read the term "blackened death metal" somewhere last year, and the first part of it stuck with me for just this band. There are elements of death and black metal in the band's sound, especially after their first album, both in the instruments (note especially the verses of the title track to Pirun nyrkki) and lead vocalist MC Raaka Pee has a very growled vocal style reminiscent of these extreme metal genres.
The "band" as such currently only really exists in the touring format, with Raaka Pee providing vocals, mixing and keyboards and DJ Vastapallo providing the rest of the instrumentation. Lyrically the band could be compared to earlier Rammstein lyrics, as much of them deal with violence and sex, which of course is the other element of the band, namely the live element. When performing live, the band members put on a show that is really in the vein of old school shock rock, with the band in S&M outfits or full body latex suits, or..you get the image...
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So why all this info? Because to appreciate the new single (which is all this is; two songs) one needs to know what the band is about.
I have to be honest, my first impression of the two new songs was not overly favourable. They were decent, but I figured they fit into the category of "4 or 5 songs that aren't that great." The thing is, my initial impression of Tk was overwhelmingly negative, to the point that I actually deleted the MP3s off my computer twice before I finally got into them on a trip to Toronto last year. The thing with this band is, once I got past my initial neutrality, they have become one of my all time favourite bands, so I kept playing the tracks.
It's pretty obvious from the first moments of Minä määrään that the band are continuing on the much heavier, extreme metal influenced style they started to adopt on Niuva 20, which I applaud. The problem with me lies more in the vocals, in that I'm about 90% certain Spellgoth (the second, live vocalist) has actually been singing in the studio. While I have nothing against the guy, frankly I findhis voice a little irritating at times, something in the slightly higher register of his growled vocals just don't work as well with the music. And if that is Raaka Pee, then he's using a different vocal style which I don't like so much. Thing is, I got used to it after a while, and I'm becoming increasingly okay with it. Especially since the vocals which I'm speaking of seem much less prevalent now than they did at first listen. Overall I'd say this is one the good tracks, like Pirun nyrkk's Eläköön!, but not one of the great tracks, like that same album's title track, or Hoitovirhe's Rautaketju.
I was really excited by the second track, because I leaned about a week ago that it was actually a cover of an old Finnish pop song. The reason why I was so excited is that, listening to his late '80s styled song, I could just imagine the guitars and electronics of the Tk version...and yet two things struck me when I first started listening to Shuttle to Venus. First, it's not the original Finnish song, since this one is in English. My guess is Tk are covering some English language release, which was a bad move because Raaka Pee has a very heavy accent, making it hard to tell at times whether the lyrics are actually in English. Second, somehow my expectations were leading me to expect something a little different. It's grown on me as well, but the heaviness of the accent on this track irritates me, it makes me wish the band had decided to bring in another vocalist, like on their only other non-Finnish language track, the cover of Deep Purple's Stormbringer from the Niuva 20 EP. Again, it's a decent track, but not one of the excellent ones.
I suppose the final question really has to be, does this single make me more or less excited about the new full length, USCH!, being released next month. And I suppose that's a divided question. On the one hand, I'm not blown away by the new songs. I think they're good, but they aren't the ones that make me think "Fuck these guys are good!" when I'm listening. On the other hand, Tk are my favourite industrial metal band, and they are (right now, anyways) also my premier head banging band, so the prospect of a new album still makes me drool and get all excited. I would say that in one very important way the single did increase my excitement level, in that I do think the band have better stuff still waiting, unheard, from the new album (for the most part, the singles aren't my favourite songs from Tk albums) and even if these are as good as it gets, they're still above the average. Much as I hate to be one of those reviewers, if it weren't for their earlier work I would have been fairly blown away by the new songs.
7.5/10

2008-05-23T22:45:00.002-06:00

Hey all, been a long week for me, because a friend's in town next week I'm not working, so I'm doing something like 12 days in a row..only 3 more! So to explain the dearth of new reviews this week. On the plus side, I'm pleased to welcome another new contributor, Valtteri, whom many I'm sure will be familiar with from Greg's site Germaniac. Valtteri is an excellent writer, and I'm sure his take on music will be another great voice on the site!
I work most of tomorrow, and then I'm off for the night, but I hope to get a new review up sometime Sunday or Monday, so stay tuned.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip

2008-05-19T23:42:00.008-06:00

I had originally planned to write a review of a Finnish album, Melkein vieraissa, as my first entry for the blog, but as a long-time fan of Nine Inch Nails, I thought this was a fitting place to start. (Hopefully I will get the other one written soon, though...)

Anyone who has not been living in a musical vacuum will have heard that on May 5, a scant two months after the surprise release of Ghosts I-IV, Nine Inch Nails have published yet another stealth album, this time as a completely free digital release (with the promise of a normal physical CD release available sometime in July) with multiple high quality audio formats available for download.

Stylistically, The Slip (or halo 27, for those who are keeping track) primarily fits somewhere between With Teeth and Year Zero, ranging from noisy electronic industrial anthems with frenetic beats through a delicate ballad into intricate ambient instrumentals. However, I find it feels overall more introspective and perhaps subtler than either of the aforementioned albums in spite of some serious aggression at the start, probably in part because the play order puts the faster, noisier songs early in the track list. The tempo slows in the middle and then more significantly in the second half of the album, and this slower pace in the latter half, especially "Corona Radiata" and "The Four Of Us Are Dying", seems to determine the general tone of the album for me.

Musically, the contrast between the distortion and melody, between the noisy, energetic industrial songs and the multi-layered instrumental soundscapes works very well for me, and the album has gotten better the more I have listened to it. While "Head Down" and "The Four Of Us Are Dying" were instantly addictive for me, the slow, organic build-up in the haunting "Corona Radiata" seemed out of place at first, yet the deliberate pacing and layering of the tones and the sometimes bizarre distorted samples intrigued me and drew me in. The vocals mesh well with the music, as do the lyrics, which deal with common themes for NIN such as isolation and disaffection, with a bit of social criticism thrown in. I also like the individual graphics for each track, quite stylish and eye-catching.

As I mentioned earlier, this album is something of a blend of the styles of With Teeth and Year Zero, leading some people to discount it as a collection of unused B-sides from those two albums. At 10 tracks, with a playtime of just under 44 minutes, the album is a little on the short side, but don't let that, the short lead time or the lack of a price tag fool you -- this is no throwaway. The Slip may not break any new musical ground, but fans of Reznor's recent offerings will not be disappointed, and if you haven't yet invested in Nine Inch Nails' recent albums, this is a good introduction. But honestly, anyone interested enough even to read this review should go download the album and give it a careful listen or three. It is definitely worth the time.

9/10

Audioslave - Revelations

2008-05-18T00:31:00.004-06:00

Audioslave - Revelations

Audisolave are a somewhat controversial band, in that there are very divided opinions about them. Some feel that they were a worthy successor to the member's previous, incredibly succesful groups, while others feel that the band fell vastly short of the heights of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden. Whatever one might feel about them, it is nearly impossible for most to separate them from these two bands, and during their time together they were usually only spoken of as the band that so-and-so from one of those earlier bands joined. It wasn't really fair, and I can't help but wonder if on some level this was a reason for the band's breakup last Spring, and I'm hoping tonight to try to deal objectively with the band's last album without invoking the others too often.

First, a little bit of background, which unfortunately is inevitable...

Audioslave are the result of a jam session between former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and the instrumental section of Rage Against the Machine, sans vocalist Zack de la Rocha. Because of the difference between these styles, the earlier work of Audioslave was often somewhat fragmented, as Chris Cornell's role as vocalist and front man often meant that the Rage boys' style was pushed to the back. Not to say that the more funk influenced work of Rage wasn't present in Audioslave's sound right from the beginning, but it was obvious that the Soundgarden influence was great.

I have been a fan of Audioslave since I first heard the single "Like a Stone." There, I've said it, I am among the group who enjoy Audioslave. To be quite honest, they have been one of my favourite bands since I first bought their self titled debut back in early 2003. While there were a few jagged edges, I was impressed with that album, and while I was not nearly so impressed with their second abum Out of Exile, I did feel as though most of those edges had been smoothed out. The band was finding its own unique sound, which they finally found on their third (and, sadly, their last) album, 2006's Revelations.

What is the sound that Audioslave found? Well, it has some relation to their earlier incarnations, but in the end it owed a great deal more to funk and soul from the 1970s then Rage ever had (which will hopefully be the last time I need to invoke that name until the end of this review) Before the album was released, guitarist Tom Morello made comparisons to the Motown era funk band Earth, Wind, and Fire, and after I first listened to the album the comparisons are apt. Excepting the first single, Original Fire, which is a complete throwback to Motown and feels slightly out of place on this album, the songs are bass heavy and bear a great debt to funk music in particular. While still bearing a recognisable connection to their first album, the music has evolved to the point that the instrumental influences of Rage (damn, I've had to mention them again) which were greatly those of the first wave of popularity of African-influenced musical styles, has fully meshed with the heavy metal of the 1970s. For once, I really can't say that there is any real level of conflict between these styles, and the band sounds relaxes and confident with what they're playing. When I first bought this album, I couldn't stop listening to it for two weeks, which with me is a mark of something special.

My only real complaint is that at times the album can sound a little too alike, as the style which was finally fully achieved with this album is still too limited. When I first listened to it, I kept thinking about how absolutely incredible the next album would be, since the band had achieved a new style with this album, one with which all the players felt comfortable and which was excellent. Unfortunately, within a few months of its release Chris Cornell announced that he was leaving to pursue his own directions, and since then the musicians have reunited with Zack de la Rocha to perform live as Rage Against the Machine, perhaps one day to record again. Had they not released this album first, I might have just been happy to have such a titan of the music world back, but having heard Revelations I'm very torn between joy at having Rage back and the simple fact that Audioslave will never be able to continue to perfect the wonderful sound they achieved with this album, and I suppose that is really the most fitting tribute to the band; that they could inspire regret despite the revival of one of the most popular and influential bands in modern rock music history.

8.5/10

Stiff Valentine - Loveless EP

2008-05-15T03:10:00.002-06:00

Just over a month ago, Stiff Valentine emerged on the scene with their debut EP Loveless. It's a brutal thing, it is, with the band drawing their inspiration from names like Agnostic Front and KMFDM. Comparisons to Static-X, Limbogott, or Spineshank would be perfectly appropriate, highlighting the slight insanity of their adrenaline-pumped industrial metal style.

The 6-track EP starts out with "The Number 23" where you immediately hear the influence of former Front Line Assembly live keyboardist Craig Huxtable, but it's not long until the heavy but catchy guitar riffs kick into gear. Singer Loud Chris delivers lyrics that are equally as harsh, even bordering on growling at times. It makes the lyrics less comprehensible during these moments, but the music itself mostly makes up for it. In "Absolution" the vocal style and quick, punk-influenced riffs are both reminiscent of Powerman 5000's album Tonight the Stars Revolt, just a few notches heavier. "Prison G" offers a temporary rest from the chaotic headbanging you just experienced during the first two tracks, but don't expect it too last. Stiff Valentine will remind you of their true nature again soon enough.

My favorite song on the EP is "Breaking Point" where the electronics shine a bit brighter and the industrial influence is more apparent. It's almost like some kind of spacy cyber-metal, very much like something you'd expect on Fear Factory's Remanufacture remix album. I love it. The only major disappointment on the EP is the short 2-minute song "SUCK" which acts as the less than desirable ending for an otherwise-great debut. It just seems uninspired and unnecessary. Skip it and you're good to go.

Overall, definitely worth listening to for anyone into the harder end of industrial metal. I give it a 7 out of 10.

Old Man Gloom - Seminar III

2008-05-13T21:23:00.002-06:00

Old Man Gloom - Seminar III
Subtitled Zozobra, this is the band Old Man Gloom's third album, and while it is theoretically the successor to previous album Seminar II in EP form, it is in truth both a sequel, a continuance, and a summary of its predecessor. Let me explain. First, it is obviously a separate release to Seminar II, and it was released slightly after that album. Second, it is meant to be listened to back-to-back with its predecessor, as the themes on this EP continue on from those of the first album. Finally (did I forget to mention?) the EP is one single track, 27 minutes long, which encapsulates all of the many turnings of style and concept in the previous album's 17.
The key with this album is to not allow the one song's length to daunt you. It just means this isn't an album you can pop in and skip around the tracks on, changing what you're listening to every couple of minutes. If you want to properly appreciate it you have to sit down for the haul, as the song's payoffs only really have the intended effect if what comes before is heard as well.
Stylistically the band aren't all that far removed from sister-project Isis, as one of the core members of OMG is Isis vocalist/guitarist/artist/label owner Aaron Turner. OMG explore many of the same ambient passages alternated with crushing guitar and, but on their other albums these excursions are always short, compared to Isis (usually clocking in at about 4 minutes at most) and never really exploring their sonic art to its full extent. This is why Seminar III is such a refreshing listen, coming from other Old Man Gloom albums; it's wonderful to hear them really stretch their muscles. Now, don't get the impression that OMG are Isis clones, while they do bear some general similarities, and whatever genre you want to stick Isis in these guys definitely also fall into it, but they don't have the repetitive, droning ambience of Isis, and as I say the songs tend to short and often abrasive. Of course, now I do need to come to the reason why I say this album is sort of like a shorter summary of its predecessor, you see despite being one song, and despite feeling very natural in its sound, it is in many ways a series of tracks stitched together. Of course, Seminar II is in many ways one long song cut into many individual tracks, so this doesn't pose any real problems.
The musicianship itself is very good, although there isn't much in the way of the band showing off their prowess. It's more in the way that all contributors come together to create this whole; as the song moves through its various phases it feels like the badn are building to a natural conclusion, which is hit in some ways at the 21 minute mark. I should point out that the band's lyrics usually revolve around our simian brothers (the band's full name is the Old Man Gloom Alien Simian Defence League) and space, as the ambient passage prior to this climax contains samples of what I assume to be scientists discussing monkeys, which fades slightly into a truly awesome guitar riff, which curls and explores its way for about 4 minutes before fading into a quiet denouement.
The album is not an easy listen, like most of the bands stylistically related to it, OMG requires a little getting used to, and does require some attention. But once you get past the length of the song and the oddities and start to really appreciate the music, the album will greatly reward. And, of course, it is highly recommended to fans of post metal, just make sure to listen to it back-to-back with Seminar II.
[as a side note, the band was founded in Santa Fe, where there has been a yearly festival since the early 1700s in which a figure known as Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, is burned in effigy to represent the release of the cares and worries of the past year.]

8/10

Mugison - Mugiboogie

2008-05-10T21:49:00.002-06:00

It's taken me nearly a week, but here is the review I promised of the latest album from the opening act to Queens of the Stone Age...

Mugison - Mugiboogie
I first heard this guy live as the opening act for Queens of the Stone Age, so my initial expectations and impressions were naturally going to be a little different than the album would be. Most bands sound much louder and heavier live, but based on the set that he played I was expecting a hard rock sound that verged a little on metal (on one of the live tracks he used the death growl) The first four tracks held up my initial expectations pretty well, as they were all tracks he played live, but then things started to change. While listening to these songs, since I was enjoying them so much, I went and did a little research, and discovered that apparently Mugison (real name Örn Elías Guðmundsson) is actually an artist usually in the vien of fellow Icelanders Sigur Ros, which as anyone familiar with their sound is practcially the antithesis of hard rock. The rest of the album conforms to his earlier work fairly well, and it doesn't really veer back into hard rock (although one later track was the one with the death growl, it was very different than the live version, as this was odd experimental soundscape with muffled growled vocals)
Naturally I was disappointed that it wasn't all like the absolutely killer opening tracks, and I do suspect a lot of the people hat bought the album at the show feel similarly, but after I got past that I did start to appreciate the album as it is. There are some bluesy and country elements in Mugison's experimental tracks, and if you were to take out the hard rock tracks it would be a very well done post rock album. I've bought his earlier two albums, though I haven't really listened to them yet, and I can hear a distinct evolution in his sound. Unfortunately I'm not really a huge fan of the softer post rock movement (I am however quite familiar with the so called post metal movement) so I can't really compare Mugison to anyone other than Sigur Ros on these tracks, but from what I can tell he does them very well. They're quite pretty and appealing to listen to, and his voice has a much deeper tone (this is relative, mind) than Sigur Ros, which is much more suited to my taste. There are also more in the way of conventional rock structuring in Mugison's music than some post rock artists, which makes it a little easier to listen to in my opinion. I highly recommend the last three quarters of the album to post rock fans.
The problem to me is that the first couple tracks feel like they should be a totally different disc, maybe an EP, since they have so little in common with the rest of the album when played in order. There's this blast of bluesy hard rock, replete with somewhat sexed up lyrics a la Danko Jones, and because they're so put together it doesn't flow well. I find myself often stopping the playback now after the first four tracks unless I skip them altogether, which of course detracts from the overall experience. That said, the first tracks are very, very good in the style they're in, and I think Mugison clearly has it in him to release an absolutely killer hard rock album if he wants to.
So what's my final verdict? Taken as a whole, it feels a bit schizophrenic, like Mugison started to make a hard rock album and chickened out at the last minute, or decided to try something new on a regular album. I don't know the story behind the new sound, but I'd urge him to try maing a whole album. The set he performed was very, very good and he made a fan of me, even though he's primarily the shoegazer post rock stuff, but were he to release a whole album of songs as quality as the first ones he'd win legions more I suspect. I can't say I would recommend anything but the beginning to hard rock fans, but the latter half is very well done for what it is. As a result, I'm going to have to give this album three different ratings...
For just the first four tracks: 9/10
For the rest of the album: 8.5/10
For the album as a whole: 6.5/10

Nagelfar - Srontgorrth

2008-05-09T09:29:00.003-06:00

I'm not going to have time to do that review today (tomorrow, I promise!) so here is another review from Lord of Entropy.

Nagelfar - Srontgorrth

Nagelfar was a German Black Metal band that played highly progressive and avant-garde qualities. Nagelfar mixes their Progressive Black Metal with industrial music influences, symphonic interludes and backing and probably the most epic atmosphere every recorded. I’ll be honest and say it right away, this is quite possibly one of the greatest records that has ever been recorded and should be required listening for any Black Metal, Progressive, Symphonic, or Avant-garde Metal fan. The shortest track on the album is 9:19 long and the longest is 18:09 making up this behemoth of an album clocking in a 70 minutes exactly. Srontgorrth is not the most brutal Black Metal album ever but is chock full of anger, hate and just as importantly melody. There is one riff that is played in every song at least once and is gives the album a sense of connection. Honestly if you are not humming along with that riff you are tone deaf. The music has an epic and strangely beautiful feel, not something you see everyday in a Black Metal band. The individual parts of the music are all perfectly done; the guitars are masterfully played, changing tempo and riffs often and skillfully. The drumming is ferocious the blast beats frequent but not overused with a great attention to skill and tempo. The vocals, if possible, are even a highlight of the album. There is everything from horribly sorrowful wails, to chanting, to epic clean vocals. Track Number 4 “Kapitel Vier (Der Winter) Trummer” is an entirely electronic piece that really flows well within the course of the album. The strongest part of the album is the ability to mix so many different influences into the standard Black Metal formula and the beautiful melodies and progressive style of the instrumentation and the song structures. Possibly the Best Metal Album there is, if you like Metal do yourself a favor and get this album. A Pure Masterpiece.

Reviewed by: Lord of Entropy

...And Oceans - A.M.G.O.D.

2008-05-08T23:25:00.000-06:00

I've gone through tonight and edited in the genre(s) of the albums I've reviewed so far, as a comment by flammenstrahl last night made me realise that, what with the huge diversity in genres already covered, some people might have a hard time deciding which reviews are interesting to them. Hopefully this helps.
I've also been busy the past couple days with work, and (obviously) haven't had a chance to write the promised Mugison review. I'll be out early tomorrow and may be gone until late, as my Danko Jones concert is tomorrow night, but I'll see if I can get that written before I go. If not, then I will have another review by someone whom I hope will become a frequent contributor, Lord of Entropy. He contributed one of the Best of Deutschemusik.net reviews back in the fall, but this will be his first official contribution to the blog. Without further ado,

...And Oceans - A.M.G.O.D.

And Oceans is a Finnish band plays a near perfect combination of ferocious Second Wave Black Metal and almost techno influenced electronics. Anyone expecting “kvlt” or nekro” Black Metal need not read any further. Second Wave Black Metal is characterized by its cleaner production in comparison to older Black Metal acts of the 90’s such as Mayhem or Burzum and the cleaner production suits this music. The biggest element in this album is the electronics. Most Black Metal fans are turned off by the inclusion of electronics in Black Metal but And Oceans doesn’t abuse them, they use them to add an extra dimension to their music. “Tears Have No Name” has one of the most addictive techno synthesizer lines you will ever hear and “Intelligence is Sexy” is full of great synthesizer leads. The final track on the album, “New Model World” is even a full blown techno song! Not a guitar, bass or drum set to be found. It fits with the album and rather then sound strange seems like a logical end to the album. The Guitars have a pleasingly crunchy tone and do an excellent job of playing lead or backing up the electronics, which more often then not take center stage, in a way quite similar to Rammstein. The Drums are unspectacular, usually playing along with the music in a simple beat with some fills. The Black Metal style double bass is used occasionally, with good effect; it really makes the sections it is used in feel chaotic and thrashy. Vocals on the album are very often distorted or have effects on them and this serves to mix up the otherwise solid Black Metal vocals. The singer is easy to understand and this only improves his performance on the album. “A.M.G.O.D” (short for Allotropic Metamorphic Genesis Of Dismorphism…far too much to type) is one of the most unique Black Metal albums out there and would be a great listen for anyone who enjoys some electronics in their metal or any open minded metal fan.

Reviewed by: Lord of Entropy

Concert notes

2008-05-05T01:09:00.001-06:00

Queens were excellent tonight, well worth the price of admission and then some. But the real bonus for me tonight was that the opening act was really great. I bought the album he was selling for $10, which was a steal, and had him sign it. While it's not as heavy as it was live (obviously) it's still excellent so far, and I'll be posting up a review either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Melechesh - Emissaries

2008-05-04T10:38:00.000-06:00

I've chosen to do a rather abrupt change in musical style for today's review, mostly because I've been listening to a lot of this band the past two or three weeks and have thought a bit about the style.

Melechesh - Emissaries
Melechesh are a somewhat controversial band among black metal purists, as they incorporate so much diversity into their sound. As is so often the case, in an attempt to classify an almost completely original band, many professional reviewers have tried to come up a new term for them. The closest they've come up with is world metal, and much as I'm loathe to accept new genre titles for just one or two bands, it really is quite apt. You see, the whole raison d'etre for Melechesh's existence is the combination of black metal with traditional middle eastern music. This means that the music of Melechesh (which, incidentally, means "Lords of Fire" in Hebrew) is replete with middle eastern scaling and even the occasional passage or song completely without black metal elements (such as track 7 here, "The Scribes of Kur," performed entirely on traditional instruments) That's not to say that the guys from Melechesh aren't lacking in traditional black metal chops, though. It's taken me a very long time (about 2 years) to start to gain an appreciation for this particular sub-genre of heavy metal, but of late I've finally started to really get it, and it's immediately clear that Ashmedi and Moloch (aliases, naturally, this is still black metal) are extremely talented guitarists.
Despite, or perhaps because of, this unique approach to black metal, Melechesh gained a rapidly growing reputation and fanbase amongs the black metal scene following the release of their second album, Djinn. (Their first effort, As Jerusalem Burns...Al'Intisar was a much more standard black metal album and is not particularly worth searching out) This reputation only grew with the release of third album Sphynx, and naturally expectations were high for the release of Emmisaries, not least because this is the first album to feature new drummer Xul on drums, following the departure of black metal drum god Proscriptor of Texan band Absu. Now that I've given all this background, I'm sure the question is...are they actually any good? Is this album any good? The answer is unquestionably yes to the former, and even to people who would not consider themselves black metal fans (these guys were the ones who got me into the genre to whatever small degree I am) and a mixed yes to the latter. While the playing is tight and lyrics intriguing as ever, the style of production ha changed quite noticeably since Sphynx, emphasising the guitars and de-emphasising the bass. Ashmedi has chosen to go almost exclusively with his shrieky high pitched vocals for this album as well, whereas on past albums this has been balanced out by some growled vocals and greater use of chanting. There are still a few examples of the chanted vocals here, but they are fewer, and unfortunately much as the mix emphasises the guitars over bass, the vocals here are mixed much closer to the forefront of the music. To me, at least, this makes the album much more abrasive, and while the tracks are still good, it often becomes difficult to listen to straight through.
That might make me sound like I dislike the album, which isn't fair. Though this was the album that I first heard by Melechesh, and admittedly it did push me away after a while, there are still individually some extremely good songs, and much of the reason I was driven away for a time is that I just had this great sense of a lost oppurtunity. This album shoul have been their magnum opus, their master work, but the way that they went about it just muddied that for me. It's not been until I went back to their back catalogue that I've gotten into this album more, as I understand better where they're coming from.
The themes lyrically are similar to previous albums, but I've read that much of the lyrics were directly adapted from Ancient Mesopotamian, especially Sumerian, mythology (to those unfamiliar with the region's rich mythology, the earliest discovered written work, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was first written down in Sumeria about 4.5 thousand years ago) This certainly lends the band some real serious weight compared to the traditional silly fantasy themes in black metal.
At the end of the day, this is a good album, but compared to the band's earlier albums, it just lacks a bit. For those interested, I would point out Djinn as the best starting place, as it is a little less abrasive and easier to get into.
7.5/10

Queens of the Stone Age

2008-05-04T00:26:00.000-06:00

In honour of my going to see Queens of the Stone Age perform Sunday night (technically tonight) I decided to make today's review one of their albums. I thought it might be appropriate to start at the beginning.

Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age
Many have now heard of QotSA, due to the massive success of their third album, Songs for the Deaf, but they have been recording music for a long time before that. Not just as Queens of the Stone Age, but in the case of band leader Josh Homme and former bass player Nic Oliveri, for about 8 years longer in the broken up desert rock band Kyuss. For those not familiar with Kyuss, they were among the early pioneers of the style known today as desert rock, or stoner rock, or any of a myriad of other titles. Essentially they wrote downtuned, semi-experimental hard rock songs with a great groove to it. As they had only recently broken up when this record was recorded (primarily by Homme, excepting drums) the album naturally contains many similarities to the work of later Kyuss, but there are still some fairly noticeable differences.
The style that Homme was going for at this point, according to interviews conducted at the time, was what he dubbed "robot rock" namely, getting a good groove going and then just hammering away at it. I personally don't really agree with that assesment of the music, as there is a great deal of movement within the songs themselves, but I will definitely agree that it is a very groove oriented album. This starts immediately, with album opener "Regular John" which is one of the most catchy songs on the album, featuring some really killer riffing.
Lyrics on this album are a little less important, while featuring some of the later Queens trademarks like surreal and/or sex infused lyrics, in many ways (to me at least) the vocals are more there to complement and balance out the instrumentation. What Homme is singing isn't as important as the singing itself, basically. Which really leads into the most important and yet basic fact about this album: it wants you to have a good time. It's a fairly simple, groove and riff filled hard rock album, but it was recorded by one of the best at this style out there. Homme is clearly experimenting with things which he couldn't do in the more collective atmosphere of Kyuss, and as he would prove with the later album Lullabies to Paralyze, he is often at his best when he's allowed to go all out with his own vision. This is one of my favourite hard rock records, and is always great to just put on when you're looking for some great simple music. While the band would get much more experimental later on, this showcases the best of one branch of hard rock.
8/10

Quick note

2008-05-03T00:06:00.000-06:00

I think it also worth noting that I will not be guaranteeing a new review every day, as was the original intention. Seeing as I am currently working, along with social time and what not, I sometimes don't have the chance to write a review (such as today) Ideally I'll be able to stockpile a few up so that if I get really busy for a long time, or if I'm away, then it won't just be up to the other contributors to try to get out reviews, since they've got their own busy lives too. My current goal is to have somewhere between 3 and 5 reviews a week, which I think should be pretty manageable. If there're any other changes, I'll put up another info update.

New contributors, name

2008-05-02T00:02:00.001-06:00

I'm really pleased to welcome two new contributors to this blog, Nadja and Greg (known to many as flammenstrahl, who runs the excellent Germaniac blog, located at http://www.germaniac.com/blog/index.php) While it will still primarily be run by myself, I hope that the inclusion of some new perspectives will help to keep things interesting, as well as hopefully easing the long absences as I become busy with school.
Keep tuned for more new reviews!
I've also changed the name of the blog in the hope of better reflecting the focus of the blog. Comments are certainly welcome, and if it proves not to work out I might consider changing it again in the future, based on the reaction I get from people.

Matthew Good Band - Last of the Ghetto Astronauts

2008-05-01T14:17:00.000-06:00

After an unforgivably long delay, I’m back with some new reviews. I’m very sorry for the length of time this has taken, especially since I had promised new material back in early January, but this semester at school has proven to be a little more time consuming than I’d originally anticipated. That’s what I get for doing a History degree. However, that’s irrelevant to the topic at hand, which is the next review.

Matthew Good Band – Last of the Ghetto Astronauts
I’ve chosen to review today one of my all time favourite albums, and one which has been a constant fixture in my CD Player, then computer, now iPod for years. Naturally with an introductory sentence like that, it’s going to be a positive review, but hopefully it won’t prove to be too boring.
First, a little background. I bought this album almost by accident about 6 years ago. I had heard the singles from the MGB’s big album Beautiful Midnight a couple years earlier, as had almost any Canadian who listened to rock radio at the time, and I had gone out and picked the album up. At the time, it didn’t really click for me, and I kind of forgot about it aside from those aforementioned singles. When the band released their next (and last) album, The Audio of Being, I heard one of the new singles from that and I returned to Beautiful Midnight. This time, I was blown away, and I immediately set out to buy more from the band. As I was about to go on a 3 week road trip at the time, I thought I’d get the album before the one I had and the one after it. Imagine my surprise when I get to the store and see that the band’s first album is on sale for something like half price, and I naturally picked it up as well. It took me a while to get to this one, since I picked it up as an afterthought, but the first time I heard the track “Symbolistic White Walls” I was hooked.
Those familiar only with the band’s later work will find themselves with a drastically different album in LotGA, as it offers little of the melancholy ballads and harder rockers the MGB became famous for. Really, this early incarnation of the “band” was just Matthew Good with some backup players, and the sound is that of a young songwriter still finding his way. There is a lot of different influences to the album, from an early (this album was released in 1995) form of a sort of indie rock sound on opener “Alabama Motel Room,” to a distinct bluesy feel on follow up “Symbolistic White Walls.” There’s folk influences throughout, as that’s how Good started his career, and there’s an early foreshadowing of his later epic length tracks that have become common on his solo albums, in penultimate track “The War is Over.”
I suppose I should clarify something in that last paragraph, obviously the album itself was an independent record, recorded and released by Good [side note: LotGA went on to become the most successful independent record ever released in Canada] so when I say indie rock I of course mean the genre.
Of course since this was the most recent in a series of fairly low-fi recordings released by Good and the band, there is very little studio chicaneries. The guitars don’t sound very full, the bass is sometimes a little less noticeable, and the vocals are a little fuzzy at times, but to me this is all a part of the album’s charm. I should also point out that at times the lyrics are extremely good, and it contains what I think is my favourite Good line yet penned, from the fourth track on the album, “Native Son,” which goes: ”Can you spare me a quarter/Though I have no one to call/I just thought it might save my ass one day/If the sky or the free world were to fall”
Despite greatly enjoying the work of the later Matthew Good Band, I never really considered myself a true fan until I heard this album. Despite its flaws and obvious problems with recording quality, it is a truly great album that showcases many of the traits that would later make Matthew Good a major figure in the Canadian rock scene. Admittedly I have some bias when listening to this record, as I have so many great memories attached to the music now, but there are few flaws that I can really find in it. If a sort of folksy, bluesy based rock sound appeals to you, do yourself a favour and pick the album up. I sincerely doubt you’ll be disappointed.
8.5/10

Apologies

2008-01-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, scratch that, a long while since I've posted, but I have a really good reason. Well, a reason, namely that I was very busy with finals and then work until Christmas time, and then I was away for a week. That said, I will be trying to write a review or two this weekend, and a friend has said he will likely write one as well, so keep an eye out. Sorry again for the delay!

A point of light

2007-12-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

As time passes
Everything we are
Coalesces to but a single point
A single dance
A bright sky
A pale light
Floating in the dark of night

Literary influences in music

2007-11-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try something a little bit different today, in that I'm not going to actually be writing a review. I'm not sure if this will work or not, but of late I've been having a lot of thoughts about a few music-related topics. I'm going to try writing out the occasional little piece dealing with these subjects. If anyone has any sort of opinion about this I encourage you to leave a comment, but then again it's very possible that noone will read this for some time. In which case, I will write more if I like how it turned out. :)

Of late I have been thinking a lot about what sort of an effect the lyrics of an album can have on the overall album. While naturally there are those who listen to music in languages they don't speak/can't find translations for (myself included) I'm not going to be counting those.
I think what really prompted my thoughts about this was earlier this week when I went to pick up a book that I had ordered in. The book is called Alamut, and to most English-speakers it is probably completely unknown. Why am I talking about a barely known Slovenian novel from 1938 in a piece about music? Well, it was a major influence upon vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Aaron Turner on his band Isis' most recent album (see the previous review) The book itself has a fairly complicated literary basis, and as I started reading it I got to thinking about its relation to the album, In the Absence of Truth (the name itself taken from Alamut, by way of the supreme message of the group in the book, "Nothing is true, everything is permitted") The album itself is brilliant, and while many of the lyrics are hard to understand, what is immediately audible is profound, and if you read a transcription of the lyrics it brings everything in the music to a whole new level. Alamut isn't the only influence for this album, and it's certainly not the only literary source. Other influences upon Turner include Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, a short story by Jorge Borges, and the extremely stylistic novel House of Leaves. While this may seem like a lot of gushing over a single lyricist and a single band, it's hard not to immediately notice the difference when listening to simpler lyrics. I have begun to notice that somehow, the complexity and influence from lyricists with more complex inspirations often translate into far more complex and original music as well. Now, this is obviously not universal, and there are numerous examples of brilliant lyricists with simple music, but paritcularly in the realm of modern heavier music the connection is inescapable. To stay with the Isis example, compare the music and lyrics from In the Absence of Truth to Linkin Park's most recent release. Or Isis' last album, Panopticon, inspired by the concept of a prison conceived by 17th century English philospher Jeremy Bentham, and which is a loose basis for the modern day concept of a police state, to Linkin Park's last album, Meteora. I appreciate this is using extreme examples, but I have yet to discover a band with highly original music that has simple and unimaginative lyrics.
Is this just a coincidence? Have I created something from smoke and mirrors, something completely in my own mind? In the end, that will have to be up to each individual. In the meantime, I will count my blessings that bands like Isis exist, and be grateful that their influences can encourage me to discover new ways of thinking.

Isis - In the Absence of Truth

2007-11-28T22:31:00.001-07:00

First off, apologies to anyone who has been reading this consistently for the long break between reviews, the past couple weeks have been fairly hectic between school, work, and whatever little social life I am able to fit between them. That said, after the end of this crazy week I have a little down time, so I will try to get a couple extra reviews written and stashed away for future postings.

Isis – In the Absence of Truth
Isis are one of those bands with which people are either extremely familiar or completely unfamiliar with. Within their little niche genre, they are extremely well known. To fans of bands like Neurosis, Pelican, Mastodon, etc. the name Isis is probably very familiar, as they are considered to be among the founders of the post metal genre. In recent years, they have also begun to traverse the gap between post metal and progressive metal (admittedly a narrow divide at the best of times) In the Absence of Truth is certainly the most obvious example of this sonic shift, as the quieter and more space elements of their sound are played up even as the more aggressive remnants of their hardcore influenced beginnings fade away.
First off, to those who are familiar with much earlier Isis work, this is not Celestial, and it’s not Oceanic. If you felt that Panopticon was an inferior album than I suspect you will find ItAoT to be even worse. Aaron Turner has nearly abandoned the throat-wrenching shouting that was nearly his only vocal performance on Oceanic, and the softer singing (such as it is) has become about half of his sound. While the shouting is still lingering in some form, it primarily surfaces as a sort of dull roar during the particularly guitar heavy sections of the songs. Personally, I find that this combination works absolutely perfectly, and I find the music much more pleasant to listen to, but this is truly a matter of personal taste.
The music itself has also evolved noticeably from their earlier albums. Much of the quieter elements from Oceanic have returned in greater force than Panopticon’s somewhat more harsh sounding pieces. Really the only word that I have for this is that ItAoT seems lush in a manner that Panopticon didn’t. As with earlier releases, ItAoT has very long songs, with all but one clocking in at or above 7 minutes. There is also a pattern of sorts established for the last two thirds of the album’s 9 tracks, as the more aggressive vocal oriented pieces are interspersed with quieter, nearly vocal-less pieces. I find that this actually enhances the effect of the heavier pieces (especially the opening of “Holy Tears”) Naturally the quieter elements are scattered throughout the songs on the album, and I found that this is done to the absolute greatest effect on the album’s best track, “Dulcinea”. Starting with a more raging piece before going into a quiet, building refrain for about four minutes, it builds up to a climax which still, nearly a year after I first heard the album, gives me chills.
Sonically the band have altered since their last album, and the most obvious influence that I can notice is recent tourmates Tool. The bass on this album is especially reminiscent at times of Tool’s Justin Chancellor. Not to imply that Isis have become copiers, they are still very much their own band, but the progression towards progressive metal is just becoming more pronounced.
I definitely must also add a note about the lyrics of this album, as they are yet again a major step forward. Earlier Isis albums, while still very interesting lyrically, tended towards the very dark (note especially Oceanic) Aaron Turner has of late shifted towards much more esoteric and philosophical imagery in his lyrics, and while the band have not released an official set of lyrics (according to Aaron Turner, this is because he became somewhat detached from the lyrics after explaining them so many times after Panopticon’s release) dedicated fans have pieced together most of the songs, and they are truly fantastic. Apparently Turner drew a great deal of inspiration from Vladimir Bartol’s classic historical novel Alamut about 12th century mystic Hassan-i-Sabbah (best known as the founder and leader of the Hashashin sect) as well as Cervantes’ classic Don Quixote, among others. It is definitely worth the time to look up the lyrics to this album.
Overall, In the Absence of Truth is a definite step forward in Isis’ musical catalogue, and showcases their continued evolution as a band. They have come a very long ways from their first demos, but it has been a worthwhile journey. While they may continue to lose their older fans, it is truly these peoples’ loss, as this music is phenomenal. While this album did take a while to grow on me (originally I was far more enamored with Panopticon) it has become one of my all time favourites, and is unquestionably Isis’ best release to date. I can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us next time.
9.5/10

Best of Deutschemusik.net

2007-11-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the huge dealy between reviews, I'll try to address that briefly in my next review. First, here is the next chapter in my ongoing Best of Deutschemusik.net series.

ASP - Requiembryo

Requiembryo is the fifth and final entry in Goth giant ASP’s “Schwarze Schmetterling” or Black Butterfly, group of albums. ASP stands for “Alexander Spreng Projekt”, which is the name of the lead singer and face of the band. Since their first album in 2000, ASP has become one of the top groups in the gothic music scene in Germany. All of their lyrics so far deal with the Schwarze Schmetterling, the opposing sides of ones personality. Namely, A light side and a dark side. To date ASP has released 5 albums and numerous EPs and Singles.

Requiembryo is massive album, clocking in at 101 minutes and 26 seconds. This massive spread makes it difficult to listen through but very rewarding. Like “The Wall” by Pink Floyd or “Antichrist Superstar” by Marilyn Manson, Requiembryo is a concept album; every song is based around the Schwarze Schmetterling theme. ASP also uses quite a few shorter instrumental pieces throughout the album. They often are used to set the mood but more than that they tend to drag the whole album down a little, making it feel even longer and more sluggish then usual. Of the 20 tracks on Requiembryo 6 of them are instrumental breaks. Also ASP breaks out an epic on this album, “Hymnus: Heaven / Exsequenz: Hell”. The track is 27 minutes long, attributing a large chunk of this album. Unlike a lot of lengthy tracks “Hymnus: Heaven / Exsequenz: Hell” is always moving. There are no drawn out instrumental sections and the singer is always involved. The song has dramatic arrangement changes to keep you guessing and is more like a collection of 7 or 8 tracks then one long one. Also ASP has a couple English songs on the album “Coming Home”, and “How Far Would You Go (The 6th of September)”. The singer is capable with the English language but you can tell it is not his native tongue. The number of songs and its length doesn’t detract from the high quality on this album though. “Coming Home” is a pretty straight ahead rocker with very easy singable lyrics and a fun chorus. “Duett (Das Minneleid der Incubus)”, one of the singles of the album, features a classical violin and reminds of early Letzte Instanz or Subway to Sally with its verses and riff. Also “Ich Bin Ein Wahrer Satan”, the first single of the album, and a chart hit in Germany is a strong rocker with heavy gothic influences with blowing wind sound effects and choirs. Lastly “Biotopia”, which is a ballad song near the end of the album, it features some great singing and a great chorus.

Requiembryo, is a great album that could only be improved with some pruning of the instrumentals and poorer filler songs, but the large amount of songs worth listening to saves this album. Requiembryo is overall a very impressive effort and a good way to end this phase of ASPs career.
8/10
Reviewer: Lord of Entropy

Best of Deutschemusik.net

2007-11-11T23:28:00.000-07:00

Seeing as I missed my weekly "Best of DM.net" feature last Wednesday, along with all of the other posts, this (my third make-up post) is naturally the next installment.

Joachim Witt - Bayreuth III

In the past Witt always proofed his state as an exceptional artist who walks his own way, without consideration for musical borders, genre limitations or press expectations. After listening to Bayreuth III it soon becomes obvious - this recored makes no exception. The gate into the world of Bayreuth III is opened with "Dämmerung" (perhaps again a hint of Witt's admiration of Richard Wagner). Seagulls, harbour-sounds together with beautiful violins and shiny trumpets create a wonderful introductional atmosphere.
The following songs are faster and heavier, but never loose the fascination of the whole concept that is Bayreuth III. The sound is always unique, you would never want to compare it with any other artist. It's the great combination of wind instruments, classical instruments, calm and sometimes oldfashioned nuances, but then again always a good level of heavy guitar support that makes the Bayreuth-experience so special. Witt didn't want his music to sound "modern", it somehow transports the feeling of timeless fascination, sometimes it even sets you musicaly back in time. It's always worth to concentrate closely to the music to hear the many astonishing details in each and every song. In "Hundert Leiber" for example the beginning consists solely of a cembalo play, a famous instrument of the Baroque era that's no longer used these days. In "Abendrot" there is a very interesting arangement of violins and eguitars, each alternating in leading the melody. The e guitar in the refrain of "Ich spreng den Tag" becomes slightly transposed down with every repetition, a simple but effective idea, the song sounds really impressive. The overall music sounds often "wide" and like in a Wagnerian opera. This is where the rare opportunities lay that could have improved this record. Throw out the electronical voice of "Dämmerung"'s outro, it's just unnecessary, and almost the same with "Abendrot", i'd rather changed the electronical motif at the end with a pure violine arrangement playing the very same notes, but it's ok. No need to be perfect, after all there's always some different tastes and likings.
Although songs like "Wem gehört das Sternenlicht?" and "Wo versteckt sich Gott?" could be potential super hits, it's the high quality of every single song on Bayreuth III what makes it so special and creates it's fascinating atmosphere. In fact, i wouldn't even call a single song weak or unsuitable for the concept. Nevertheless, in between there are again and again real treassures like "Ich spreng den Tag!" with a great viola counter voice to the e guitar and meaningful text lines. "Tiefenrausch" is a beatiful ballad, to dream and reflect. As a contrast followed by "der Turm "Edelweisspiraten" (only on the limited edition) that deals with national-socialism and comes in a harsher sound cloaking. In conclusion i'd say the playlist was done very well.
The album closes with another beautiful ballad, named "tief in der Tiefe" which comes in a calm mood with powerful vocals and the same musical background as "Dämmerung", it closes the circle of Bayreuth III in perfect harmony. The 13 titles of the album unite the complete range of Witt's Bayreuth sound galery: Heavy guitars alternate with well written melodies, orchestral force, electronic sequences... Each song is more than a short-lived ear worm, and fits well in the overall concept. The lyrics of the album are down the line of highest quality: The use and abuse of power, sociopolitical threats and the search for identity and solutions are pervasive in each song, the nerve of the time is successfully hit and Joachim Witt's metaphorical language knows to please. Between rage and pain, melancholy and power, he created a worthy ending of his Bayreuth trilogy.
Each time the cd ends, all i want is to press the repeat button of my cd player again and enter the world of Bayreuth once more. Joachim, thank you very much for this beautiful masterpiece!
If i could give away a "SuperPick UltraChoice Award", no doubt it would be the first time to do it! Highly recommended.
10/10

Reviewer: Tobias Weigl

Dream Theater - Train of Thought

2007-11-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Once again I seem to be writing about a band that creates very polarised opinions. Unfortunately, unlike with Muse, these opinions can fracture down a variety of different paths. I'm going to write this review a little differently, and follow these paths.

The most obvious and simple would be that of a complete outsider to progressive metal, looking at the album only on the most basic of principles. So, what's good about the album? It's definitely heavy. Not the extreme end of metal heavy, but if one is so inclined to headbang, the opportunity is certainly presented here. The musicians are all, naturally, very talented, and the riffing is certainly catchy. The downsides? There is a definite influence from '80s metal (albeit to a lesser extent than on earlier Dream Theater albums), this means that vocalist James LaBrie falss into the high-range vocal style. For those who aren't a fan of this manner of singing, look elsewhere now. Then of course there's the simple fact that Dream Theater are squarely progressive music, and many people find this particular style unpleasant and annoying. again, if you're of this crowd look elsewhere now.

Moving a little deeper in means looking from the perspective of a progressive metal fan. If you're of the earlier group of progressive metal fans, being fond of bands that come from the early days such as Queensryche, then Train of Thought is excellent, borrowing the earlier styles and combining them with the heavier riffing that evolved in the '90s.

Finally (and this is the point of view that I most identify with) there is the group of progressive metal fans that enjoy music from bands influenced more by Cynic or (much earlier) King Crimson, namely with less guitar soloing/noodling, lower pitched vocals, and more spacy, experimental playing. From a purely instrumental view, Train of Thought will fit into this category, albeit with a few noticeable differences, but it's here that James LaBrie really becomes the major factor. Whether or not this kind of listener can get past the high pitched vocal stylings of Mr. LaBrie is really all that's left between disliking and liking the album. I found that the lengthy instrumental work leading up to the introduction of vocals on this albums opening track helped me to get into the music enough not to mind the vocals, and for the rest the playing swayed me. It's not my favourite album of all time by any means, but it is a well-played, interesting progressive metal album.
7/10

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

2007-11-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I apologise for the huge delay since the last set of reviews. I had an extremely busy two days at the beginning of the week with school, the details of which I'm sure would be of no interest but suffice it to say it was a busy two day. Then I worked Wednesday night, and unfortunately became very sick from food poisoning that night/the following morning, and only just started to really recover yesterday. Glory be, however, I have an extremely unusual four day weekend, and as a result I have an extra two days to try to catch up.

With that in mind, here is the first of these reviews.

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

My experience with Muse has been, and please, pardon the cliche, that one either loves or hates the band. Neutrality is rare with regards to their sound, but for quite a long time I'll admit I fell squarely into that camp. I honestly can't recall where I first heard Time is Running Out, but it inspired me to pick up Muse's third album, Absolution. I liked the album well enough that it dodged my CD purge of several years ago, but the album never really grabbed me as a whole. There were five or so tracks which I thought were great, but the rest of the album I was a bit blase towards. I eventually shelved it in the hopes that I would come back at some point in the future and maybe have a better opinion then, and promptly forgot about Muse.
That was 2004. 2006 rolls around, and Muse are releasing a new album. I only hear about this a little while after the release, for obvious reasons, and don't have much reaction. At least, I don't until I hear the first (North American) single, Supermassive Black Hole. It was so different from the Radiohead-esque sound of earlier albums, with a completely new (and incredibly catchy) sound that as soon as I could get to my computer I downloaded the album. And I must say, while it doesn't as a whole live up to the promise of that first single, the album is a massive (forgive the pun) step forward from their earlier work. The most noticeable change was the adoption of somewhat simpler, hard rock riffs and the loss of a lot of the spacy, electronic experimentation. While that sounds at first glance like it might ruin the sound of the band, in truth the new style actually helps to make them more unique and impressive than before, finally letting them step out from behind the shadow of Radiohead. (Not least of all by lead singer/guitarist Matthew Bellamy's different vocal delivery this time around)
Bellamy does stick to the same sort of lyrical themes as previous albums, such as conspiracy theories, aliens, theology, etc. but he infuses a lot more overtly political sentiments as well. This is brutally obvious on opener Take a Bow, which skewers modern political leaders. While I am sometimes put off by such unsublte displays, somehow it works with Muse.
As for the playing itself, the band are definitely developing their skills as musicians since their earlier days, and as a result they sound relaxed and capable with the intruments, helping along the sound dramatically.
I guess I can only close by bringing special attention to closer Knights of Cydonia, which is definitely an epic track. Clocking in at around 7 minutes, it is noticebaly longer than most Muse songs, but the track never really drags. It builds slowly over the first few minutes before exploding with a long payoff of progressive rock styling, surf rock undertones, and pop sensibilities. Frankly, the album is worth it to me for just Supermassive... and Knights..., but luckily almost every song on here is of similar quality. It's a great intro to the band, and is hands down their best work to date.
8/10

Danko Jones - Born a Lion

2007-11-02T16:36:00.000-06:00

So today I move far, far away from the Finnish music scene to a Great White North slightly more familiar to me, to the band Danko Jones, hailing from my home country Canada. Well, sort of, seeing as they come from "the center of the universe". (For those of you not from Canada, just ignore that last comment!)

I'm not even completely sure where I first heard this band, I believe it was their single Sound of Love on MuchMusic, but I can't say that for sure. All I know is that I first discovered them a little while before this album was released,and that I eventually bought it about 6 months after its release at the same time as another Canadian album, and my all time favourite album (Matthew Good's Avalanche, which I will cover in a later review) So, seeing as this was released in 2002, it's been at least 5 years that I've been listening to it, and I have fairly solidly formed opinions as a result.

Danko Jones - Born a Lion

As I mentioned in my introduction, I have been listening to this album for a long time, and I've been a long time fan of the band as a result. This was their first full-length debut after several years of releasing very well received EPs, and as a result (at least, to those who were familiar with the band, which in those days was admittedly a small group, which didn't include me yet) this album was highly anticipated. Some people were disappointed with the end result, namely because the band altered their sound somewhat to make it a bit more mainstream and catchy, but having listened to their earlier material since I have to say that I prefer this sound.
How best to describe the band? Well, I guess the best short form description would be ZZ Top for the '90s, although that's not really complex enough. The influences of the band are fairly up front (as are most things with Danko Jones) and they are obviously heavily influenced by blues (see opener Sing the Blues where Danko & Co. namedrop some of the most important blues musicians of the modern blues movement) funk, '80s heavy metal in the vein of AC/DC, and so on. That said, they do manage to surprise at times, particularly on closer Love is Unkind, where they include a completely unexpected but very welcome gospel choir in the chorus.
The other, perhaps even more obvious comparison to ZZ Top would be in the lyrics. Danko Jones (the alias of the lead singer as well as the band itself) is not about subtelty on any level, adn the lyrics are at times surprisingly reminiscent of ZZ Top's heyday, full of lyrics about love, sex, and rock & roll, often to fairly humorous effect. One comment I read about the bad stated that one had to "check their political correctness at the door" and I think that's a very apt statement. Not to say that Danko is ever offensive, as is shown in the lovely Caramel City, an ode to the diversity of Toronto. I suppose it's also worth noting that Danko himself is of African descent, and coming from Toronto he would surely have experienced prejudice as a younger person.
The playing itself is perhaps not anything to write home about, but I think that the simplicity of the music is actually a major benefit to the overall sound. Danko Jones are first and foremost about rocking out and having a great time, and it's pretty hard not to feel picked up listening to the music. Had there been major guitar solos and complex playing it would have made this a much less effective record.
At the end of the day, this record really silenced any criticism on its own merits. Despite being initially faulted for straying from Danko Jones' earlier, grittier sound, the album became hugely popular and in the end critically acclaimed. It was really responsible for launching the band to the level of popularity they enjoy now, and while none of their albums since have been quite as good, they released one of the best fun, rocking records of the early 2000s, which despite its relative simplicity has remained one of my most frequently played albums for more than 5 years. That alone is enough to make it worthwhile to checkout.

9/10

Marraskuun lauluja II

2007-11-01T17:15:00.000-06:00

So, after a one day break I return for the second installment of Marraskuun lauluja.

Viikate - Marraskuun lauluja II (November Chants II)
When I first really started to get in to Marraskuun lauluja I, I remember thinking to myself that it seemed a little but..incomplete somehow, not long enough. At the time, I discounted this feeling, because I frankly thought that most of Viikate's albums were too short, but about 6 months I discovered that it really was unfinished, because at the end of the year Viikate would release a follow up. Naturally my first thought was joy, as one of my top five favourite bands would be releasing not one but two albums within the same year, but once this initial rush of happiness faded I started to get a bit nervous. While I knew that Viikate were extremely prodigious musicians (not a single year has passed since they released their first EP back in 1998 where they haven't released either a full length album or an EP) they're never released two full lengths this close together. I frankly worried that they might end up having to put in some tracks that were purely filler, but I filed these thoughts away until after I could hear the album.
So, the time passes and this past weekend I remember that the album is set to be released in a few days. As I always do that close to a release date, I checked the torrent sites to see if the album had been leaked yet, and to my surprise it had.
I think I was quite lucky this time around, because I was expecting something at least somewhat similar to their last release, especially since it had been advertised as a direct continuation of the themes. As such, I didn't have any of the problems I encountered with getting into this album, and I could get right down to enjoying it.
First I think I'm going to deal with the negative points about this album, because I'd like to get these out of the way. The single greatest complaint I have about the album is that it can be a little bit repetitive at times, and it does seem to follow the general blueprint of I in the way the songs are laid out. Especially if listened to back-to-back with I, it can get a little bit long at times.
And frankly, that's pretty much it for the negatives. I know I didn't make this clear before, but I love Marraskuun lauluja II. I think it's hands down the best album Viikate have released to date, and it probably now takes the cake for my favourite album of the year. The changes that Viikate started with I have continued here, but they have been coupled with a new and even greater sense of melody. The tendency towards incorporating elements from old pop has been increased, but it's been layered into the music in a way that they haven't used before, often having the much lighter elements featured side by side with heavy rocking guitars. The band has also incorporated a completely new element into their sound which was hinted at on I which I would never have expected: old style American country music. Don't worry, this is only used to augment their previous sound, but it adds a new depth which I think is fantastic. Kaale also seems to have managed to add more depth and feeling into his voice, which lends itself perfectly to the new elements in their music.
I mentioned earlier that the band had added greater melody to their sound, and this is most evident when listened to back to back with I. There was a sense of frenetic energy at times on I which never really materialises on II, and I'm somewhat surprised to say that I think this is a noticeable improvement.
Overall, I'm blown away that Viikate could release two incredible albums in the space of a year, but I'm even more blown away that their second album would be a marked improvement on the first. I have to encourage the band to try this pattern again, because they clearly work well under a deadline.
10/10

So that's it for my two-part review of Marraskuun lauluja, I hope you've enjoyed it. I'm going to try to take a break from Finnish music for a while and move into Canadian music for a few days. I know that all my reviews to date have been extremely positive, and I promise that there will be some negative reviews coming.

Best of Deutschemusik.net

2007-10-31T16:58:00.000-06:00

So I'd hoped to write up the second part of my review for Marraskuun lauluja tonight, but I don't have enough time, and I need to be rushing out the door to work shortly. As a result, I debut tonight my "Best of Deutschemusik.net" series. These will be the best of the reviews from the Deutschemusik.net reviews page.

Tonight I present to you one of the reviews written by Deutschemusik.net founder and owner Nick Wright.

Treibhaus - Feindbild

Treibhaus is a band which hit the German Music scene just a few years ago with the release of their debut album Unsterblich. The blend of techno rock and sharp vocals which the band produced caused many people to turn heads. While promotion of the first album was relatively small, the band stepped up the promotion for the release of Fiendbild and even made the first couple of songs off the album avaliable for download to give fans a taste of what to expect of it. It was a great way of promoting the new album and I will reassure anybody that liked those songs, that the rest of the album is just as good.

Being a rock/metal fan I was definately impressed by the debut album and I could see things would be even better with the next release. I have not been disappointed, Curt and the guys have delivered another excellent piece of work with explosive rock beats with gruff powerful vocals.

The first track is called Kodex and sums up what sort of action to expect from the album. The guitars are heavy yet still very controlled so you can hear each note clearly. Curt's voice is generally the same style as the debut which is great. He definately has a unique voice which intergrates fantastically with the music. The second track called Besser is a good example of how well his voice suits.

There are plenty of techno elements once again. I am sure that many of you will agree with me when I say that this album just makes you want to dance. It has been a long time since a rock album has had this effect on me. One track in particular called 'Radikal' is very techo orientated and I think it comes out very well. The band tried something new which is what I like to see more of these days. The album was criticised by one reviewer for having such simple notes. Well I say while some notes might be simple, it dam well works and its sounds great.

For me there doesn't really seem to be a weak song on the album. The boys of Treibhaus should be very pleased with this album. I can see the band going onto much bigger things especially if they produce albums as great as this. I will give this album my first 5 star review as it thoroughly deserves it.

10/10

Reviewer: Nick Wright

Viikate + Marraskuun lauluja I

2007-10-30T15:54:00.000-06:00

Alright, so I'm going to try a slightly more ambitious review today. I'm writing up the first part of Viikate's recent album Marraskuun lauluja, but where the catch comes in is that it was released in two parts. Today I'm going to write up a brief introduction to the band, followed by the first half of the review. If I get a chance before work tomorrow night I will write up the second part, otherwise I will be introducing my new "Best of Deutschemusik.net" reviews, whereing I take a review from http://www.deutschemusik.net/ (I am one of the main reviewers for that site, focusing exclusively on German music). I'll try not to use that more than once or twice a week, but it'll depend on how busy I am between school and work.

For those who are familiar with the Finnish music scene, Viikate will undoubtedly be one of the first names they came across. Viikate are among a fairly small group of major Finnish rock bands. They are label mates with the band Kotiteollisuus (see my review of 7) and often tour with them, though they aren't particularly similar in sound. Other bands that are big within Finland include Turmion kätilöt, Ruoska, and the singer Timo Rautiainen.
Viikate are somewhat typical of modern heavy Finnish music, with a fairly heavy emphasis on melody. They are often classified as a metal band, although (aside from a few exceptions) I would strongly disagree with this assessent. They are another one of those bands that are impossible to neatly classify into a genre, as they incorporate elements of pop music, instrumental ballads, Finnish folk music, surf music, American rockabilly, schlager, etc.
I mentioned that they are influenced by pop music, but I should point out that possibly their single greatest influence would be the Finnish pop music from the '50s, and possibly the singer Reino Helismaa above anyone else. They do have a few individual trademarks, however, such as te aforementioned emphasis on melody, they also have an often rather melancholy tone; lots of interwoven picked guitar work; and extremely clever and beautiful lyrics. Unfortunately, I don't speak Finnish myself, but even the translations that I have read have been pretty amazing.
So there's a bit of background on the band, let's get on to the reviews themselves.

Marraskuun lauluja I (November chants I)
Marraskuun lauluja is not a debut album, it's not an early album, and it's not the work of a band still finding their voice. Viikate have been around for a little over a decade now, and it's been 9 years since they released their debut EP. Their sound has shifted somewhat over the years, but for the most part it had been a gradual, almost unnoticeable shift in sound. Their previous album, Unholan urut, had been generally regarded as their best work to date, and I guess the band must have asked themselves what they wanted to do in the future. This was only the second album with the two new members (second guitarist Arvo and bassist Ervo had only been a part of the touring band prior to this) and I'm sure that they had an influence now in the way that the new music would be recorded. I had only recently discovered Viikate when this album was released, and at the time I was a little nervous as to where the band would go after such a great work.
It was obvious from the first listen that Viikate had changed their sound more noticeably than between any other two albums. Unholan urut had spent a lot more time on slower paced, lower toned songs, and I is at first listen a remarkably fast paced album compared to their earlier work. In truth, I can't say that I was too impressed the first time I heard the album. Or the second, or the third. I don't quite know why it took so long to grow on me, maybe I just wasn't familiar enough with the whole of Viikate's catalogue and struggled with the change, I don't really know, but I was smart enough to persevere and keep listening to it (I had a similar, except even more pronounced, experience with Turmion kätilöt, but that's another review) It really came to me back in February when I was out of town for a couple days in Toronto, and I had a lot of time to listen to music without the chance to change what I had on my MP3 player. As a result, I spent most of three days listening to I and somehow it just suddenly worked for me. I hate to use the cliched expression, but it was like a light turning on in my head. Ever since then, I've had this feeling grow on me, and I would say now this is probably my favourite Viikate album.
I think I owe a little more information on this "dramatic change" between albums, because I suspect I'm giving off the wrong impression. They didn't really change their sound as much as I thought, I just wasn't very familiar with Viikate's earlier catalogue yet. I would frankly call their sound on I more of a consolidation of their strengths than any big change, because it's essentially a fusion of their early, heavier sound mixed with the slower and more melodic work of later albums, and as a result it's a lot more..well, fun than some of their other works in later albums.
I honestly doubt that any amount of ramblings could really do this album justice, so I'll stop here, with just a few last words (before part II) Marraskuun lauluja I is a geat consolidation of the band's musical strenghts, showcasing especially the talents of bandleader/lead guitarist/vocalist Kaale Virtaanen. His voice is perfectly suited to the music, his talent for playing is noticeable, and his lyrics are beautiful. I is the perfect introduction to the band, and is highly recommended to any interested parties.
8.5/10

As before, www.recordshopx.com/johanna is also highly recommended for hard copies of Finnish music.

Hope you've enjoyed this look at Viikate, tune in tomorrow for either part II or the first "Best of Deutschemusik.net"

Kotiteollisuus - 7

2007-10-30T00:24:00.000-06:00

My inaugural review is coming straight out of Finland. Kotiteollisuus were one of the very first Finnish bands I discovered, and they are definitely among the best. Their work is easily available for download from various torrent sites, as well as available for purchase from http://www.recordshopx.com/johanna/, whom I can't recommend enough.
I wrote this review a while ago for my own interest, so it may be a little unpolished. It's late, so if I don't like it as well in the morning I may edit/rewrite it.

Kotiteollisuus - 7 (Seitsemän)

[This review would be remiss without a little background information on the band, so I will be including that in the opening paragraph]

Kotiteollisuus are a veteran Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band that hail from Lapeenranta. They have been recording music for more than a decade since their formation in 1991, and 7 is (as the title might suggest) their seventh release. 7 also showcased the continuing development of the band. On early recordings, their sound was reminiscent of a sort of hardcore punk, thischanged with their sophomore album, Aamen, when they adopted a harsh heavy metal sound. This sound stayed largely the same until their fourth album, Tomuhsta ja tuhkasta, which featured some newer, more melodic tracks. This has continued ever since, and 7 is the pinnacle of this development of melody mixed with heaviness.
While Kotiteollisuus’ lighter tendencies likely hit their peak on their previous release, Helvetistä itään, the juxtaposition of heavy riffing and lighter melodic passages found their perfect balance on 7. This is illustrated right throughout the album, but I feel the absolute best example is track 4, Perkeleen työtä. While the opening/closing riffing is among the heaviest the band has done (perhaps only really equaled by the track Kadoneet, from their next album Iankaikkinen) the chorus is a much lighter hard rock sound.
Every track on here is also catchy as hell, and quite frankly this is one of the best headbanging records I own. Particular highlights are Pohjanmaan kautta, Murheen mailla, and the aforementioned Perkeleen työtä. However, the vast majority of this album are all extremely high quality tracks, and the album only really sags a bit for the last two songs on the album. I have heard very few heavy metal albums that have been able to retain this quality right through the album, and in particular that the length of some tracks (no less than five tracks are at or over the 5 minute mark) doesn’t detract from the catchiness or quality. Not to mention, of course, that the band packs real power for a trio.
The only real negative comment I have of this album (aside from wishing there were an extra two or three tracks!) is that I can’t understand the lyrics. I have been told by Finnish speakers that Jouni Hynynen (the singer/guitarist of the band) is a very good lyricist, and from the one song I have read a translation of he does seem to be very good. As a result, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the rest of the album, and assume that the rest of the lyrics are of the same quality.
Overall, 7 is an excellent album. It’s powerful, yet melodic; catchy, yet still done with quality; and most of all it retains a sense of fun right through. 7 is the perfect album to play while going for a long drive or just hanging out with friends, and it’s highly, highly recommended, both on its own and as a starting place for new listeners to Kotiteollisuus.
10/10

Introduction

2007-10-30T00:16:00.000-06:00

So, this is my first try at my own review site. I listen to a lot of music, and generally I end up holding something of a soliloquy to myself afterwards with my thoughts and opinions of the music. I've always thought that it would be worthwhile to write some of this down, in case my thoughts are of interest to someone else, or even if just to get them out of my own head! I do have some experience writing reviews, and I suspect most of the people reading this post are at least somewhat familiar with my reviews of German music, from http://www.deutschemusik.net/. This site is separate from DM.net, and is going to be primarily devoted to music from the rest of the world. That said, I may repost some of my favourite reviews of German music here as well.
Currently, my musical collection contains music from all around the world, ranging in language from Russian to Tuareg, and I'm always trying to expand.
I will also be looking for anyone who would like to write any reviews of their own, for me to post up here. No limits on genre or language, although if you send me a German music review I will likely post it up on DM.net rather than here, though I will provide a link here. Please send any submissions to reviews[at]deutschemusik[dot]net.
I would also like to take a moment to thank an acquaintance, Greg (known to most as flammenstrahl) who runs an absolutely fabulous German news blog located at http://www.germaniac.com/blog/index.php. Originally, this was just going to be a thread in a forum we both frequent, but he suggested I might consider using a blog instead. If this works out at all, it'll be at the very least in part thanks to his suggestion. Thanks for the help Greg, and keep up the great work!