|
Past
Issues:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25
BACK
FORGOTTEN
TOMB
Springtime Depression (Adipocere)
Herr Morbid’s second Forgotten Tomb album is an experience
no less as intense as last year’s Songs To Leave—six songs
(more like attacks on the senses) loaded with a raging animosity
and negativity almost unparalleled compared to most modern-day black
metal. In contrast to the thinner and less weighty, if not more
cautious, sound we received from the last album, the music on Springtime
Depression is all buried deep within a massive pool of droning,
saturated noise, echoing like from out of the depths of some bottomless
chasm or cave, which might have something to do with the change
in studio this time around (Tägtgren’s Abyss). Morbid
has correspondingly taken a new approach with his vocals which are
less a piercing needle-thread scream this time than a kind of throaty,
low-end snarl. It should also be mentioned that Widebrand from Shining
makes an appearance on session drums, which was a wise decision.
(I believe he is no longer in the band.) I guess that the most negative
point of criticism I can make of this record is that whereas Songs...
was deeply, and obviously, indebted to early Katatonia and Burzum,
the band has now become a very close copy to Shining—almost
too close—which makes you wonder. Personally, while I prefer
the earlier style of the band, this material is just as threatening
and paranoia ridden as Songs To Leave, and in certain aspects it
is far superior to the solo debut. Earlier fans of Forgotten Tomb
will not be disappointed with album number two... <Y. Arkadin>
-8-
FRAGMENTS OF UNBECOMING
Skywards—A Sylphe’s Ascension (Metal Blade)
When I heard the chatter about this band, it all revolved around
them being just another melodic death band from Europe. Nothing
original, but decent enough to get by. Those comments almost got
to me with my first listen to FoU, but with repeated listens, I
heard little differences that set them apart from other bands of
the sub-genre. The guitar work is pretty over-the-top, not just
in the brutality, but the complex and intricate solos. The drumming
is a little more erratic than what I’m used to in melodic death.
And the vocals are more guttural and brutal than say In Flames or
Dark Tranquillity (both bands are obvious influences on this album).
All these points are found in the fantastic second track "The
Seventh Sunray Enlights My Pathway," as well as the rest of
the tracks found throughout. Now this is probably not the most original
band you could pinpoint in 2004, but they’re taking an existing
sound and adding their own twist to it, which is admirable. This
album might not immediately grab you, but give it some time, and
I’m sure you’ll be walking around with their melodies
filling your head as they have mine.
<L. Savage> -7.5-
FROM A SECOND STORY WINDOW
Not One Word Has Been Omitted (Blackmarket)
The first track, "The Challenge of Caring," opens this
five-song EP on a very interesting note. There are three totally
different vocal styles: Tasmanian Devil (think Zao), gore (think
Cannibal Corpse) and ’70s sci-fi robot (think some otherworldly
Dr. Who character). It can’t help but bring to mind the sort
of fun Carcass and Sore Throat used to have with their vocal effects.
There’s also 1001 different riffs thrown together…on the
opening track, and every other track for that matter. Bizarre and
schizophrenic, From a Second Story Window’s songs are difficult
to figure out, yet compelling for that exact reason. With innovative
metalcore bands like Poison the Well and From Autumn To Ashes now
suburban buzz-names, is this the depth of insanity the underground
must plumb to stay one step ahead of the predictable hoi polloi?
If you can’t join them, beat them! <P. Silbiger> -7-
HALFWAY TO GONE
self-titled (Small Stone)
New Jersey probably is not the first name to be dropped during erudite
discussions of southern-fried stoner rock, which is completely understandable,
given that New Jersey is a far cry from a southern state. However,
Jersey-ites Halfway to Gone defy geography and have created one
of the few authentic southern-fried stoner rock albums to emerge
north of Mason-Dixon. The power of the riff reigns supreme in the
beer-goggled worldview of Halfway to Gone. Molten electric blues-sludge
swagger is delivered with the supreme confidence of a tequila drunk,
duking it out with Molly Hatchet and still finding the time to go
a couple of rounds with the uptempo biker bar trash rock that tends
to characterize northern strains of all that is stoner and rockin’.
The result procures for itself an unwashed corner of the drunk tank
next to the likes of Alabama Thunderpussy, Sixty Watt Shaman, and
other unsavory characters. Halfway to Gone demonstrates its diversity
as it capably shifts from the husky grooves of opener "Turnpike"
to the frantic Motorhead/Zeke-styled delivery of "Burn ’Em
Down" to the Skynyrd-esque harmonies that infect the album’s
chill-out tune, "The Other Side." While this diversity
is compelling, Halfway to Gone’s modus operandi is as simple
as it is effective: crush a few skulls with huge guitar riffs, gritty
vocals, and heavy rhythms. To the slight extent that this album
suffers, the singing on the faster material would benefit from additional
development, from the gruff melodic sensibility that Pepper Keenan
offered on Wiseblood-era Corrosion of Conformity or Johnny Throckmorton
laid down with Alabama Thunderpussy. H2G vocalist Lou Gorra (ex-Solarized)
demonstrates on the midtempo anthemic material such as the third
and fourth tracks that he has a fine set of pipes that sounds like
a gravelly cross between Pepper Keenan and Zakk Wylde, although
he does not always commit the same level of inflection and harmonic
inclination to the faster numbers. In all, a relatively minor quip
that does not impede the entertainment value that stoner rock fiends
will derive from Halfway to Gone’s eponymous third album. <Tate
Bengtson> -7-
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
Antigone (Century Media)
I wanted to like the new Heaven Shall Burn—I think Bruni, Kevi
and I championed this band more than any other set of music critics
on the planet when they unleashed 2002’s Whatever It May Take
on Lifeforce Records—but Antigone just seems to be on autopilot
for the most part, an album that is (unfortunately) safe and structured
in my eyes. Maybe I was expecting too much with the follow-up, but
I wish this German noise/metal act had stepped it up a notch and
come down upon us like bulldozers with their music, something they
have been known to do in the past. Save for a few tracks like "To
Harvest the Storm" and "The Weapon They Fear," I’d
label the new release as a disappointment. Sadly, the more I listen
to it, the more I’m itching to put on the last record. <A.
Bromley> -5-
ICED EARTH
The Glorious Burden (SPV)
Perhaps the most talked-about event in the realm of melodic metal
since Bruce Dickinson’s return to Iron Maiden, Iced Earth’s
The Glorious Burden is an album that could have launched the band
into the stratosphere but instead produces a mixed balance sheet
of positives and negatives. While The Glorious Burden offers no
significant leap forward in the areas of songwriting and instrumental
performance, it at least stands as another solid outing for Iced
Earth. Despite reports to the contrary, The Glorious Burden is of
a similar musical quality as its oft-maligned predecessor, Horror
Show, although slightly more consistent and resounding with a passion
that was not always evident on the latter. Jon Schaffer is still
recycling the same set of riffs that he perfected on Something Wicked
This Way Comes, reconfiguring his narrowly conceived style to powerful
effect on tracks such as the galloping "The Reckoning (Don’t
Tread On Me)" and the potent acoustic/electric oscillation
of "Valley Forge." Adding a few dark marks in the negative
column of the aforementioned balance sheet are the presence of several
outright clunkers such as the unremarkable "Greenface"
and the dour "Hollow Man." At first glance, the presumed
high water mark for The Glorious Burden is the three-part "Gettysburg
(1863)" trilogy, which runs a staggering 30-plus minutes. In
a painstakingly detailed retelling of one of the most important
battles of the American Civil War, Iced Earth (accompanied by the
Prague Philharmonic Orchestra) concocts an epic that is extraordinary
in scope and ambition, although the end result is underwhelming,
buried beneath laborious song structures and overwrought pomp that
overzealously drills home the significance of this battle. While
the trilogy does a fine job of capturing the conflicted national
pains and military manoeuvres of Gettysburg, the sense of violence
and the ugliness of battle has really not been captured. The trilogy
encounters the same pitfall as most military history; the concern
with the minute details of strategy casts one aspect of the battle
in such a bright light that other important aspects are omitted
in the process—aspects that would have added important dimensions
to this trilogy. Ripper’s replacement of Matt Barlow, certainly
the most newsworthy aspect of this album, is not quite as revolutionary
as expected. Both vocalists possess an excellent sense of drama
that complements Shaffer’s writing style, but they both are
prone to reach for some rather corny vocal arrangements and over-sing
in order to communicate a dramatic moment rather than letting the
moment speak for itself. Perhaps it impresses some to hear Ripper
caterwauling in emulation of Rob Halford during the chorus to "Red
Baron/Blue Max," but it detracts from an otherwise good song.
Halford is regarded as a metal god not only for his impressive range,
but also for his ability to utilize this range in a manner that
benefits the song; this is an art that Ripper has not yet perfected.
Beyond this, Ripper is a welcome addition to the team. Indeed, one
could argue he’s a necessary addition at this point in Iced
Earth’s evolution. Schaffer has shown no inclination to develop
or expand upon his now-predictable style, hence Ripper’s different
register and sense of delivery adds the one true element of distinction
to an album that would have otherwise been little more than Horror
Show’s slightly-more-interesting younger sibling. <T.
Bengtson> -6-
IN FLAMES
Soundtrack to Your Escape (Nuclear Blast)
For those who have written off In Flames for rerouting their sound,
Soundtrack… will no doubt lure them back—at least I think
it will. Much heavier in spots than Reroute to Remain and not as
much of a shock with its shapeshifting of sounds and ideas, Soundtrack…
unfolds into a massive onslaught of melody and riffage. And while
the first single "The Quiet Place" is quite good, it is
in no way representative of what the album holds inside. Check out
"F(r)iend," or "Touch of Red." I’m still
a fan of the band after all these years, and while I know we’ll
never get another The Jester Race or Whoracle from these Swedes,
it’s good to see them moving forward with positive results.
In a nutshell, Soundtrack… is versatile, spirited, and chock-full
of enduring anthems. The Gothenburg sound continues to evolve under
their guidance. <A. Bromley> -8-
INTESTINE BAALISM
Banquet In the Darkness (Blackend Records)
Fortunately there exist bands on the earth today that still feel
the need to write music that elicits an emotional reaction, rather
than just going through the motions. Intestine Baalism are such
a band. The semi-melodic death metal they produce on their second
album essentially picks up directly from where At the Gates left
off on Slaughter of the Soul, but taking it further into new territory.
The songs are all very catchy, very direct, and are almost guaranteed
to stick in your mind for days to come after only one listen. It’s
interesting to cite that given the six-year lag between this release
and their debut on Repulse Records, the material on this album is
not new, but rather is spread out from various dates from the 1990s.
The final track is the first composition the band had ever written,
back in 1991, updated for the present, and it does not sound dated
at all. There may be at least ten riffs piled on top of one another
in this intricate song. The album was produced entirely by Seiji
Kakuzaki, the guitarist and writer, and it’s evident that he
put a lot of extreme care into the sound. This release manages to
be very heavy and melodic all at once. That’s a hard thing
to work out sometimes, but the band make it seem like it’s
all second nature, like taking a walk in the park. The leads especially
have an airiness and depth to them that are highly enjoyable and
engrossing. Altogether a really great death metal release! <Y.
Arkadin> -9-
LIFE IN YOUR WAY
The Sun Rises… (Indianola)
Swirling guitars and screamed vocals are the hallmark of this Manchester,
CT, five-piece. Inviting comparisons to Hopesfall and Grade through
their vocal orientation and intricate guitar work, Life In Your
Way keep the listener peeled to their speakers through their innovative
and illuminating auditory attack. While the mesmerizing guitar licks
take centre stage with this band, other side attractions also deserve
mention in Life In Your Way’s book of tricks. With two guitars
picking away uncountable intricate riffs, it is often the bassist
who secures an effective anchor and helps carry the tune along.
Secondly, and sparsely, some singing enters the fray to mix things
up, add some variety, and keep the songs from sounding like a homogenous
whirl. So excellent a debut, you have to be concerned these guys
won’t be able to equal it with their yet-unwritten sophomoric
attempt. <P. Silbiger> -9-
|
