Metal music reviews, top albums and forums

Time 2020-09-27 16:04:02

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METALMUSICARCHIVES.COM (MMA) intends to be a complete and powerful Metal music resource. You can find Metal artists discographies from 34192 bands artists, 147051 releases, ratings and reviews from members who also participate in our forum.OK, here’s the tl;dr on Napalm Death’s new album:1. It’s still heavy, harsh shit.2. It still sounds mostly the same as other Napalm Death records.3. There’s some little bits that sound a bit different to other Napalm Death records.4. This is really fucking good!If you have a slightly longer attention span than the “too long; didn’t read” crowd, here’s a few more thoughts on “Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism”.If you’re a Napalm Death fan, when was the last time the band genuinely surprised you? For most, it’s probably the first time you ever heard the band. But also if you’re a Napalm Death fan, can you honestly say that any two albums sound the same? There will be a few listeners who will say yes, but observe: death metal influence creeping in to “Harmony Corruption”, massive grooves on “Inside The Torn Apart”, the rediscovery of the band’s hardcore roots with “Leaders, Not Followers”.That’s the essence of Napalm Death’s longevity. It’s not so much change for change’s sake, but the incorporation of new influences to combine with the band’s existing sound to evolve slowly to something new. This time, it seems there is a touch of alternative thrown into the mix. No, not alternative rock which seemed edgy for about 10 minutes in the 1990s, but the alternative to alternative, Harsh, heavy, and properly original, like Swans and Neurosis. Check the evidence.“Fuck The Factoid” blasts past almost before you’ve noticed. The familiar wall of noise smacks you in the face as you would hope. Most prominent in this song, Danny Herrera still smashes the hell out of the drum kit in ways which shouldn’t be humanly possible. Shane Embury’s blown-to-bits bass is more visible on this album than in previous releases. Check his gargantuan intro to “Backlash Just Because”. The old school hardcore influence is still floating near the top. “That Curse of Being in Thrall” has abundant hardcore riffs and blastbeats, and then slams into a thunderous doom/death riff.“Contagion” has hints of Necroticism-era Carcass in the guitar sound, but it has Barney’s dry bark layered over it, and an almost Neurosis-ish discordant drone to the chorus. Embury pulls off another vicious bass intro to “Joie De Ne Pas Vivre”, an almost otherworldly demonic sounding song with a Godflesh/Swans industrial dissonance to it.“Invigorating Clutch” is an unabating robotic rockcrusher of a song, reminiscent of Monotheist-era Celtic Frost. No one else creates riffs like Mitch Harris – simple in the “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?” vein, yet nobody else has thought of it.There are so many references to different bands and genres which could be thrown in here that it makes your mind spin, but it’s all still Napalm Death to the (grind)core. There are subtleties and little flourishes which won’t be picked up on a first listen, and it’s all bathed in glorious stentorian noise.Unlike “Apex Predator”, which was a more demanding and difficult listen, “Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism” could be presented to someone not familiar with Napalm Death as an introduction to the band. And for those already familiar with then band, it’s quickly obvious that even for a band well into it’s fourth decade of existence, Napalm Death is still producing music as strong and vital as at any time in the band’s long and celebrated career.Recorded on August 10th at the Party San Festival 2019, Flugplatz Obermehler, Schlotheim, Germany, this finds the band in front of some rabid fans. Bassict/vocalist Schmier and guitarist Mike have been there since the band’s formation back in 1983, and although Randy Black (drums) and Damir Eskić (guitars) are somewhat more recent additions they are fully aware of a proud Teutonic Thrash heritage. Alongside Kreator, Tankard and Sodom, Destruction have always seen to be part of the Teutonic Big 4, although it must be said that Kreator and Sodom are a long way ahead of the other two in my mind. In front of a home crowd it is hard for Destruction to put a foot wrong, with the crowd joining in to singalong on “Nailed To The Cross” and the band work through material as far back as 1987’s “Mad Butcher”.The issue for me is that one cannot help but think here is a band massively influenced by Raven who have not moved on very from the NWOBHM days. This feels in many ways as if it is Thrash Lite, even when put up to high volumes. The bass is missing in action, the drums are quite basic, the guitars do not really do a great deal and the vocals are okay. I am sure this would be a great band to see in concert, and if I heard they were coming down here I would definitely make the effort, but to compare this performance against live albums from true giants of the scene is really not a good idea at all. Solis, enjoyable, but certainly not indispensable. Paradise Lost has always been a band that crucially changes the style of music they are composing, as well as being noted as godfathers for half of the genres they are playing in. We can responsibly announce that the production of such a great album could have been expected due to the good shape of the band in the recent years. This time it is even better. Obsidian is a one of a kind. The mixture of gothic, doom and death metal is harmonically and balancedly executed. The proportion of clear and death vocals are very well estimated. The guitar solos are great, the melodies are memorable, fresh and alive. The rhythm section is catchy. The proportion of harder and softer songs is mesmerizing. When you listen to the album for only a second time you have the feeling of a classic album. One of their best and probably the most balanced and musically well-executed record. Highly recommended!Transitus (2020) is the tenth full-length studio album by Dutch progressive rock/metal project Ayreon. The follow-up to The Source (2017), Transitus wasn't originally convinced as an Ayreon album, which may explain why Arjen Anthony Lucassen has released two Ayreon studio albums in a row without working on another project between them, as is the normal process for him. Because of its origins Transitus is also the first Ayreon album since The Dream Sequencer (2000) to not feature Ed Warby on drums. They are instead played by Juan van Emmerloot. Other regular guest musicians like Joost van den Broek (keyboards) and Ben Mathot (violin) are still featured however. Guest guitar solos on this album are performed by Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman. Transitus was released with an accompanying comic book that tells its story, to be read along with the music, with all the characters designed to look like their vocalists. Transitus is primarily the story of Daniel, played by Tommy Karevik (Kamelot / Seventh Wonder) and Abby, played by Cammie Gilbert (Oceans of Slumber). Daniel and Abby are a mixed race couple living in 1884 (200 years before the human race destroys itself in the main Ayreon storyline). If we were to talk of Transitus in terms of movie or literacy genres, then we'd primarily call it a romance as the starstruck couple face social prejudice related to their respective stations: Daniel's the son of the lord of the manner (Twisted Sister legend Dee Snider), while Abby is a mere servant. But this is Ayreon, so there are going to be twists of an otherworldly nature, so in fact Transitus is perhaps more than just a romance, but a ghost story. Spoiler alert, Daniel dies in track one. He ends up in a mysterious place between this world and next: Transitus!Transitus is narrated by Tom Baker (TV's Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who), who adds a dramatic flair to his narration that's sure to get anyone's inner geek bouncing off the walls. Narration is something that for me that can ultimately harm a very good album if done too excessively, but Baker makes this a real treat, conjuring some real gothic horror vibes at times, which fits the music perfectly. Though not a singer, Baker is the only member of the cast in his role as The Storyteller to appear on every song on the album. Tommy Karevik's Daniel, despite his death right at the start of the story, appears the most often of the actual vocalists, but Transitus isn't designed to give everyone even close to equal singing time, so while Daniel is the tale's protagonist his role is primarily featured on the first disc of the album, where he appears on all but two songs. His appearances are reduced on the second disc, as the still living characters' parts in the story are told. Cammie Gilbert's Abby is the second most appearing character, followed by Lavinia, her stepmother, played by Amanda Somerville (Trillium). Lavinia, a medium, becomes haunted by the ghost of Daniel right at the start of the story, but her vocals are only featured on the second disc of the album, where she effectively becomes the lead character, neither hero nor true villain, just misguided. The remainder of the album's diverse vocal cast are supporting characters. The most important of these is Henry, Daniel's brother, played by Paul Manzi (ex-Arena), who while only appearing as a singer on four songs, is the story's antagonist. He is most vehemently against the union between Daniel and Abby and after Daniel's death is determined to see that Abby pays for it, in which he conspires with Lavinia, who mistakenly believes that Abby killed Daniel, when in fact his death was a tragic accident. Also key on the supernatural side of things is The Angel of Death, played by Simone Simons (Epica), whom Daniel meets in Transitus along with her henchwomen The Furies (Marcela Bovio (ex-Stream of Passion) and Caroline Westendorp (The Charm The Fury)) – though the pair also play the servants of the manor and two of the villagers. Daniel is able to appeal to the Angel's better nature and after some wibbly wobbly, timey whimey stuff revealing the backstory between Daniel, Abby, Henry and Daniel's Father, gives Daniel seven days and seven nights to try to save Abby from the fate Henry has prescribed for her. Also a part of this tale is Abraham, Abby's father, played by Johanne James (Threshold (drums) / Kyrbgrinder). While his role is much more minor than many of the cast on Transitus, appearing on just three songs, Abraham represents the quintessential 'good man' of the tale, devoted to his daughter and spending his appearances just trying to save the life of first Daniel and then Abby herself. Then there is The Statue, played by Mike Mills (Toehider), who makes a single song appearance, Dumb Piece of Rock, encouraging Daniel to choose Abby over status during the flashback, but whose role is probably all in Daniel's mind (but it is Ayreon so maybe not?). It's surprising to hear Mills regulated to a single song appearance given that he is basically one of Lucassen's favourite collaborators right now, this being his third consecutive Ayreon album (as it also is Karevik's). Dee Snider also appears on a single song, Get Out! Now! as part of the same flashback sequence. Some other vocalists are also featured on Transitus in small roles as the Villagers, basically cameos, while Dianne van Giersbergen (ex-Xandria / Ex Libris) also appears on the album but isn't playing a role, just providing her soprano voice for a haunting eerie effect. As a vocalist cast it feels much more restrained than some Ayreon albums, especially The Source, with just seven recurring characters appearing on anything from three to eleven tracks each (out of twenty-two), two one off characters, a narrator and Bovio/Westendorp playing multiple characters in a backing capacity, with six additional villagers. It is a good cast and I like that Lucassen has highlighted rising progressive metal star Cammie Gilbert along with his regular collaborators, as well as Johanne James, who is better known as a drummer than a singer, but I also feel like he may have missed a few tricks with this one. Both Bovio and Westendorp are surprisingly underused despite handling multiple roles and I feel like the story could possible have seen the role of the Furies expanded upon, perhaps with one in support of The Angel of Death's aiding Daniel and one against. I have this image of Bovio's Fury supporting the Angel and Westendorp's rebelling, using her growling voice to full effect instead of the few bits we do hear in the background. There was certainly plenty of running time that could have been used for such a subplot, or any subplot that saw their characters developed more, since as a double CD Ayreon album Transitus is only just of a length that requires that distinction at 80:49 long, making it the shortest Ayreon 2CD. But alas, that was not to be. Additionally Dianne van Giersbergen is such a good singer that her not even playing a role seems almost criminal. And finally the biggest gripe: I can't be the only Ayreon fan who is waiting for the day that Lucassen allows his own voice to grace an album again. Come on Arjen, it's been three albums now!Just how much this story fits into the greater Ayreon universe is debatable. There are lyrical references in This Human Equation, which not only references The Human Equation (2004) but also the Universal Migrator (2000) albums, but mostly Transitus seems to be very stand-alone. The music itself has some familiarity to it – the guitar riffs are metallic, but overall this isn't as heavy an album as its predecessor The Source and the writing structure is very different, aiming for shorter songs in general, although not to the extremes of The Theory of Everything (2013) and its four long twenty-plus minute suites. But one should expect many tracks that are under three minutes long, doing their job to advance the story between more traditionally structured tracks. The only epic of sorts is the opener Fatum Horrificum, which is in some ways like a very long intro into the story about to unfold. There are other elements of genres heard like symphonic elements and some Celtic folk on Talk of the Town. Much like The Theory of Everything though, it's album that works best when listened to as a whole, considering each disc an separate act.As such it often feels like the individual highlights are lacking on Transitus. They are here, but with the exception of the Mike Mills sung Dumb Piece of Rock fans should perhaps expect the album's singles to be the most individually memorable tracks, like the Dee Snider led Get Out! Now!, the soft duet between Tommy Karevik and Cammie Gilbert Hopelessly Slipping Away, along with the Simone Simons led This Human Equation and of course Talk of the Town, which features Paul Manzi as the lead singer with support from Karevik and Gilbert. That's not to say that the rest of Transitus isn't excellent, but it is fair to say that it's the Ayreon album that is closest to being an actual musical that you need to experience everything in sequence, narration included, in order to appreciate everything that Arjen Lucassen has created. While I don't imagine ever ranking Transitus alongside my favourite Ayreon albums like Into the Electric Castle (1998) – my favourite album of all time – The Human Equation, 01011001 (2008) or The Source, I find myself very satisfied with it. It's very easy to get into, immerse yourself in its story (which I hope I didn't spoil too much) and if we can ever get out of these worldwide restrictions because of Covid-19 I can well imagine this getting the full stage show works like Into the Electric Castle and The Human Equation have done. It's very good work from everyone's favourite Hippie once again and dare I say...nice!Electric Castle Live and Other Tales (2020) is a live release by Dutch progressive rock/metal project Ayreon. It is a documentation of the second run of official live Ayreon shows following the Ayreon Universe shows and was recorded in Tilburg in September 2019. While the prior Ayreon Universe was a retrospective show, Electric Castle live is a stage version of Ayreon's breakthrough album Into the Electric Castle (1998) with an assortment of songs from other Arjen Anthony Lucassen projects and one cover song. Like with Ayreon Universe Arjen Lucassen isn't performing himself as part of the live band, but he does reprise his original vocalist role as the Hippie from Into the Electric Castle so is generally on stage more often on this live release than he was on the former. Speaking of the cast most of the vocalists from the original album have returned to their roles on Electric Castle Live; Fish (ex-Marillion) as the Highlander, Damian Wilson (ex-Threshold, Headspace) as the Knight, Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering, Vuur) as the Egyptian, Edward Reekers (ex-Kayak) as the Futureman, Edwin Balogh (ex-Tamás Szekeres) as the Roman and George Oosthoek (ex-Orphanage, MaYaN) as one of the voices of Death. Replacement cast members for unavailable vocalists are Simon Simons (Epica) as the Indian (replacing Sharon den Adel (Within Temptation)), John 'Jaycee' Cuijpers (Praying Mantis) as the Barbarian (replacing Jay van Feggelen (ex-Bodine)) and Mark Jansen (Epica, MaYaN) as the other voice of Death (replacing Robert Westerholt (Within Temptation)). The vocalists replacements are well chosen and you'd be forgiven for mistaking them for those who original sang their parts. Of course there is one person I have no mentioned yet, the most notable of the re-casts: actor John de Lancie (best known as Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation) replacing Peter Daltrey as 'Forever' of the Stars, complete with new narration. Marcela Bovio (ex-Stream of Passion), Jan Willem Ketelaers (Knight Are) and Dianne van Giersbergen (ex-Xandria) make up a trio of backing vocalists. Some of the stage musicians are the same as on Ayreon Universe but with some changes that were likely due to availability from their usual projects. Of course Ed Warby is there on drums and Joost van den Broek on keyboards, with a triple guitar setup of Ferry Duijsens (Vuur), Bob Wijtsma (Ex Libris) and Marcel Singor (Kayak), with Johan van Stratum on the bass. Ayreon regular Ben Mathot is on violin with cello performed by newcomer Jurriaan Westerveld. The most noted guest performer is of course Thijs van Leer of Focus, just as on the original album. He makes his entrance during Amazing Flight and continues to appear both through the album show and the Other Tales segment. The narration change is the biggest difference that the live version of Into the Electric Castle has to the original. The songs themselves are faithfully performed, more so than much of the material on Ayreon Universe was, with minimal other changes to the flow of the album. Some other changes are the inclusion of a piano solo by guest musician Robby Valentine after Cosmic Fusion; some backing death growls on The Castle Hall and some vocal alternations to include Fish on the final song Another Time, Another Space. Nothing changed is out of place and makes the performance unique from the original. In some ways de Lancie's narration is faithful to Daltrey's original, but is a little jarring at first when you're like me and are so familiar with the original that anything else seems wrong to start with. By the time the show is over though, I've come to realise that the de Lancie narration is in some ways a improvement on the original, especially for the live environment. The show isn't over with Into the Electric Castle though, as there is more to come. After a quick pre-recorded video introduction by Mike Mills (Toehinder) in character as Th-1 from The Source (2017), the other projects of Arjen Lucassen are worked through: The Gentle Storm and the heavy version of Shores of India (sung of course by original vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen), Stream of Passion's Out in the Real World (with Marcela Bovio on vocals), Ambeon's Ashes (with Simone Simons on vocals), Guilt Machine's Twisted Coil (with Damian Wilson on vocals), a cover of Marillion's Kayleigh (with Fish on vocals, of course), Arjen's solo album Lost in the New Real and after a speech by Lucassen and Joost van den Broek, Star One's Songs of the Ocean as an encore with Arjen on guitar and primary vocals by Robert Soeterboek (making his first and only appearance during the show), Dianne van Giersbergen, Marcela Bovio and Damian Wilson before everyone involved in the show comes out on stage for a climatic sing-alone finale. The extra songs allow some Lucassen work that wasn't featured on Ayreon Universe to also get an airing. The total show is over two and a half hours long, so there's a lot of value for money to be had here. Where Ayreon Universe gave the overall better airing of the Ayreon catalogue in the live environment, a stage show of a complete album is where the project's music really comes to life. The main cast of singers are all dressed up as their characters, with Damian Wilson coming out in full knightly armour and wielding a sword being the best costume, while Oosthoek and Jansen don black metal style corpse paint in the role of Death. The stage is done up as a castle set, though sadly it doesn't look like the Electric Castle from the original album's cover, but that's probably for production reasons: the castle set is set up to its battlements can be used by the vocalists and musicians as well as the main stage. So Ayreon Universe or Electric Castle Live? There's no easy answer to that question. Except perhaps to say, both. Once again this is an essential live release from the project that I once thought would never have true live releases. This is especially essential if you're as big a fan of Into the Electric Castle as I am (it's my favourite album of all time) and it's clear that more Ayreon albums deserve this kind of attention.Noise Rock will always be noisy, hence the name, but the levels of noise vary from band to band. Mount Shasta has much of the noise in the vocals, to the point of them being indecipherable yelling with no melody or anything whatsoever. It's best described as what Tad Doyle overdosing on crack would probably sound like. Once you get used to it, they just become part of the sound.Those riffs though, that's where this album shines like no other. The album is an instant hook, with opener Gimp's riff catching my ear on such a primal level that I knew this was gonna be good. The riffs are of a classic grunge fashion, switching between bluesy metal riffs that Blue Cheer would be proud of and raw garage rock pounding that would make The Stooges take notice. Sometimes it'll go in a more atmospheric drawl in parts of a song to contrast with the bluesy aggression of the rest of the song, which works wonders in Near Famous Jackass and Raw Meat Lincoln Style.Originally intrigued by the cover art that looks like some obscure 60's cartoon, I found a great riff album. Good stuff.The thirteenth studio album made by death / doom / gothic Godfathers Paradise Lost is a strong return to form and is characterized with catchy slow gothic metal sound with elements of doom metal. Yet the songs are quite memorable, but the solos and the musical lines are quite heavier than during the last fifteen years or something. The album marks the new polished era for the heavier sound of the band, because the last time they made such heavy music, they have been unexperienced with obvious weaknesess either in production or in songwring process of the songs. Classy record recommended even for fans of different metal subgenres!"Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" is the 3rd full-length studio album by UK, Liverpool based death metal/grindcore act Carcass. The album was released through Earache Records in October 1991. It´s the successor to "Symphonies of Sickness" from 1989 and it features one lineup change since the predecessor as Swedish guitarist Michael Amott has joined Carcass, making the band a four-piece on "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious". Before joining Carcass, Amott had been an instrumental part of the early Swedish death metal scene with Carnage. A band which released one of the early Swedish death metal albums in "Dark Recollections (1990)".Right off the bat the new four-piece lineup have great impact on Carcass sound. While "Symphonies of Sickness (1989)" showed great progression from "Reek of Putrefaction (1988)", by incorporating death metal heaviness and brutality to the goregrind intensity of the debut album, it´s nothing against what has happened between "Symphonies of Sickness (1989)" and "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious". The gory (and almost completely impossible to understand) lyrical subjects, the combination of high pitched aggressive snarling and deep growling grunts, and the occasional blast beat, are elements the two albums have in common, but other than that Carcass have made a lot of changes on "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" compared to the predecessor. The tracks are composed with more focus on catchy riffs/rhythms and melodic hooks in mind. Not that this is easily accessible music in any way, but it´s still quite melodic at times and there are several really strong recognisable moments featured on the album. A powerful catchy vocal phrase, a melodic guitar solo (on an interesting sidenote, all guitar solos on the album have been given titles), or a memorable death/thrashy riff or drum pattern (like the drum intro to "Corporal Jigsore Quandary"). All elements which make the listening experience a more memorable one. The tracks generally require some spins before they sink in though, and it has a lot to do with the complexity of the song structures, which may feature vers/chorus like sections, but often go way beyond that "regular" structure. Sometimes to a point where you can call the song structures progressive.In addition to the very well written material, the high level performances, and the brutal and powerful Colin Richardson production, "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" also features something else which defines it and that´s its dark and sick atmosphere. The short intro samples, which appear between most tracks on the album, of medical examiners/coroners speaking about decaying flesh, skeletal remains, and identifying decomposed bodies, provide exactly the right atmosphere for the music to shine. It´s one of those releases where the tracklist and the overall flow of the album are constructed almost perfectly. The album is more or less one long highlight, but I´d still like to mention "Inpropagation" and "Incarnated Solvent Abuse" as some of the standout tracks (the latter is the Carcass track I will always tell people to listen to first if they are new to the band and want to explore them). Upon conclusion "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" is a high quality release through and through and to my ears the artistic peak of Carcass discography. Carcass may have refined and perfected their sound on "Heartwork (1993)" and thereby brought a more accessible appeal to their music, but they were never able to bring the gloomy and vile atmosphere of "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" with them, in my opinion they lost a bit of their magic because of it. "Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious" is a unique piece of extreme metal and a 5 star (100%) rating is fully deserved."Astronomica" is the 4th full-length studio album by US power metal act Crimson Glory. The album was released through Spitfire Records (US release)/Rising Sun (Europe release) in September 1999. Crimson Glory achieved quite a bit of success with their first two albums, which both featured a melodic but still at times pretty hard edged US power metal style. Their third full-length studio album "Strange And Beautiful (1991)" was generally not received that well though, and the band folded soon after its release. With a few lineup changes (including the replacement of original vocalist Midnight with Wade Black) the band reunited shortly in 1999 and recorded "Astronomica". Crimson Glory disbanded for a second time shortly after the release of the album.After the stylistic mish mash of "Strange And Beautiful (1991)", fans of Crimson Glory probably didn´t have high expectations to "Astronomica". Stylistically it´s more or less a return to the US power/heavy metal style of the band´s first two albums though, and fans of those two albums should find a lot to like here. Midnight was of course an iconic frontman and his helium screams are legendary, but Wade Black does a great job here. He has a strong and commanding delivery, and can sing both raw and higher pitched screaming type vocals and his voice fits well with the instrumental part of the music.The material on the 10 track, 69:44 minutes long album (about 20 minutes of which are silence following the closing track "Cydonia") are well written and relatively varied. There are hard edged US power metal tracks like "War Of The Worlds", "Lucifer's Hammer", and "Cyber-Christ" featured on the album, but there are also more epic and sometimes bordering power ballad type tracks like "Astronomica", "Edge of Forever", and "Cydonia". Some tracks are very well written, powerful, and memorable, while others are less remarkable. Everything features a professional touch though, and paired with a powerful and detailed sound production, and high level musicianship, "Astronomica" is a relatively successful return to form after the generally ill-received "Strange And Beautiful (1991)". It´s not a perfect album by any means, but there are enough quality here to warrant a 3.5 star (70%) rating."Demiurgus" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Pennsylvania based death metal act Equipoise. The album was released through The Artisan Era in March 2019. Equipoise formed in 2015 and released the "Birthing Homunculi" EP in 2016. If I read the credits right, it looks like Equipoise is a seven piece featuring three guitarists, a keyboard player, a drummer, a bassist, and a singer. That´s a pretty big band but Equipoise utilize every member to the fullest. In addition to the permanent lineup, Equipoise have invited quite a few guests to perform on the album (predominantly to perform guitar solos). The material on "Demiurgus" is a busy, technical, and progressive type of death metal. It´s melodic and neo-classical influenced with both deep growling and higher pitched snarling vocals (think the bastard child of a menage a troi of Necrophagist, Obscura, and Dragonforce). Equipoise play a million notes at any given time during the album´s playing time (except on the short mellow instrumental pieces), and this is definitely a musician´s album, composed and performed to make your jaw drop. As a more casual music listener the soundscape can seem a bit chaotic and packed, and Equipoise certainly aren´t familiar with the word subtility. Three guitars doing fretboard runs, while the keyboard player spits out a thousand neo-classical influenced fast-paced piano notes, while the bassist plays a million notes on his fretless bass, which don´t always seem like they fit with the rest of the music, and the drummer playing very fast and technical rhythms. Your ears sometimes feel like they are about to explode from the overload of sounds and notes.As a musician I´m impressed by the skills of Equipoise, but as a composer and reviewer there are some issues here which I can´t ignore. I haven´t mentioned the vocals much yet, and there is a reason why that is. They simply aren´t worth mentioning, compared to the instrumental part of the music. Neither the growling vocals nor the higher pitched snarling vocals are performed in a way that brings much to the music. They lack uniqueness and a more powerful aggressive sound. It doesn´t help that they are placed too low in the mix. The compositions themselves also lack memorability and hooks (which makes them hard to tell apart). I´m often thinking these tracks are written to show off the musicians skills rather than give the listener a full listening experience where the skills and the songwriting go hand in hand. So "Demiurgus" is actually a bit hard to rate. On one hand it´s a high quality release featuring high level musicianship and a clear and detailed sound production, but on the other hand the actual compositions often drown in the musicians competing on how many notes they are able to churn out. I miss coherence and memorable songs. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is therefore a compromise.While departing from the previous death growls signing the music is changing as well during the writing and recording sessions for the third Paradise Lost studio album - Shades of God. It is noticeable how the band is progressing in terms of songwritig abilities, writing lyrics, which are the band's landmark, the stable vocals made by Nick Holmes, as well as the solos of the Greg Mackintosh. While this album delivers a lot of good doom and gothic melodies, it still contains some "rookie syndrome" elements in the compositions. There are some unfinished ideas at the end fo the composition and they finished let say even unexpectedly. Overall: Strong progress for the band and very strong classic album after all.Gothic is the second album by the Godfathers of death / doom / gothic metal. Being definitely rather influential record for the genre it contains a lot of early Paradise Lost anthems. The style in harsh and slow, as do the vocals. The production of the album is quite mediocre and the musicians were still looking their shape. Gothic as a name gave the direction of the band for long years to come, but it is not a gothic album itself. Recommended for all fans of the band and genre, and yet do not expect miracles from this unpolished studio record.What is it about Killswitch Engage and their record Alive or Just Breathing that makes them one of the greatest and most important metalcore and New Wave of American Heavy Metal acts? Put simply, Killswitch is one of, if not the first, metal band to temper metal’s testosterone driven aggression with existential and emotional vulnerability. Their music, like their melodic death metal peers and progenitors in Sweden, is uncompromisingly dark and heavy. And yet, on this record, Killswitch made the bold and, to this day still, controversial choice to add melodious emo/pop-punk sensibilities to their choruses and various other passages in the music. Metal fans, as a population, are notoriously fond of “gatekeeping” and ensuring that only bands that meet their own subjective standard of authenticity get crowned as proper metal acts. This tension between more purely heavy or classical metal and the emotive metalcore sound was definitely perceived as a major fault line between fans in the mid 2000’s at the height of the New Wave of American and Heavy Metal. And while much of the criticism of metalcore’s emo-like excesses is justified, it is impossible to deny the absolute authenticity of this record. Whether its Jesse Leach’s passionate calls for self reflection or the band’s brutal riffage, this is an album that will hit you as hard as any great metal record from the two decades prior. Still, I can’t give the album a perfect score. While the first four tracks are metal bliss, the latter half of the record does, at times, merely re-tread material already handled earlier on in the record. Despite this, Alive or Just Breathing is still classic!Many thanks to Unitron for kindly recommending this album to me. A rather interesting listen with many musical styles being brought together in unexpected harmony.The bulk of the album is composed of deep grooves, aggressive, sometimes dissonant riffs and angry screamed vocals but throughout the album, there are some portions which lean more to avant-garde metal and others with the addition of some entirely different genres altogether.On a few tracks, the metal gets briefly abandoned for hip-hop beats/rapping. Being someone who is generally not the biggest fan of that genre, this was not something I was expecting to enjoy but for a reason I honestly cannot pinpoint, I have no issue with it being inclusive on this album.Jazzy material also features occasionally. For example, the track "Constant Velocity is as Natural as Being at Rest" makes use of a trumpet in sections that sound not unlike the jazz inspired post-rock of Tortoise. There is also a nice vibraphone solo on "The Constant Destination." Although these sections work surprisingly well, they are appropriately short lived and the listener is soon catapulted back to abrasive metal.Further surprises were discovered in the final track – “Opposing Meter”. It begins with eerie background noise and a rapid rotating synth part which sounds like Pink Floyd’s “On the Run” followed by a few minutes of silence. After this, we are treated roughly 15 minutes of very pleasant and soft psychedelic guitar work overlying slow rhythms on bongos/djembe. I did feel this could easily have been shortened significantly but it was enjoyable regardless.Overall, I found this album to be a bit of roller-coaster encompassing a wide variety of influences and takes your mind in many directions. Perhaps not one I will listen to frequently, but I know I will gladly return to it when the mood strikes. 3.5/5 from me.BitterJConsidered by many to be the French version of Symphony X mixed with Rhapsody Of Fire, the progressive power metal band ADAGIO was formed by guitarist Stéphan Forté in the year 2000 after graduating from the CMCN music school (now known as the Music Academy International.) The band was initiated for the love of Yngwie Malmsteem’s virtuosic neoclassical shedding style which Forté mastered without missing a beat. While ADAGIO would later develop a stronger symphonic side of its person a with choirs and elements of progressive rock, this 2001 debut SANCTUS IGNÍS showcases a fairly straight forward style of progressive power metal much in the vein of the US act Symphony X to the point that this could really pass as some lost album of the New York based prog metal champions.The band originally formed in Montpellier in the south of France but has since relocated to Paris. Ironically the moniker ADAGIO is an Italian term that means “at ease” and refers to a slow tempo whereas the band itself is known for its extremely fast tempos. While not exactly cranking up a storm at the level of say Dragonforce, ADAGIO does turn up the heat on much of SANCTUS IGNÍS with the emphasis on Forté’s neoclassical guitar shredding style however often it does site back in the mix while tapestries of keyboard sound dominate the soundscape. This album consists of 9 tracks and races past the 58 minute mark and while the album contains no sprawling 20 minute behemoths it does have one track, “Seven Lands Of Sin” that just misses the 12 minute mark.When you’re listening to SANCTUS IGNÍS you really just can’t shake the Symphony X comparisons because at this stage ADAGIO is really the perfect clone of one of the US’s most referred progressive power metal bands. There is a distinct classical underpinning for melodies with stomping guitar riffs that build up tension and climax with sizzling solos carried out with power metal gusto. David Readman has particularly strong vocals and belts out these demanding vocal performances with ease although his talents are overshadowed by the fact he sounds like a gazillion other vocalists out there which is pretty much the problem with ADAGIO’s debut in every regard. This album simply lacks an ounce of originality that sets it apart from any other album in the demanding world of progressive power metal.The saving grace of SANCTUS IGNÍS is that the musicianship is top notch and the album is not at all an unpleasant listening experience in the least. If you are hell bent for leather to track down every possible band that worships the alter of bands like Symphony X and Rhapsody of Fire then ADAGIO will give you orgasmic sensations until your eyes bulge out however like many bands of this ilk, ADAGIO at this stage is woefully bereft of inspiration and going through the motions for their own sake. Add to that the band isn’t nearly as accomplished as either Symphony X or Rhapsody in constructing interesting compositions that display a wide range of motifs that construct a much larger movement. Music like this has to have a higher purpose that allows the progressive power metal to support otherwise it just feels like an empty shell. I would say that SANCTUS IGNÍS is superior to the first two Symphony X albums but pales in comparison to some of that band’s later efforts. Extraordinary in execution but underwhelming in the compositional department.

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