Category Archives: Album Reviews

Thulcandra – Ascension Lost

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Anyone that has ventured into the Thulcandra back catalogue has probably noticed this German black metal band seem to exist as a living shrine to one of the former giants of the genre. Although their Dissection worship has decreased with every release, recent album Ascension Lost (Napalm) has not truly shaken off the homage to the band, with veins of Reinkaos (Black Horizon) rippling throughout.

Despite being inspired by such revered material, Ascension Lost leaves very little impression. Lacking any distinct identity or style of its own, the material passes by you with only vague echo of a few musical moments really standing out at the end. Ascension Lost falls into the trap of becoming black metal by numbers, filling in all the tremolos and blasts in all the right places to make a black metal track, but it lacks the atmosphere that is so crucial to the genre. It’s hard to deny the bands technical proficiency in both playing and song writing, but the music is devoid of personality. Being the side project of Obscura’s Steffen Kummerer, it is hardly surprising that technicality has taken preference that leaves the record lacking.

Fans of the band will already know what to expect from the album. The songs follow a similar style to their previous work and this album is no departure from this. Ascension Lost remains enjoyable boasting impressive riffs and drumming, but is also distinctly unmemorable. As the title suggests, Thulcandra haven’t ascended to any level of brilliance with this record and until they break from their Dissection homage, are unlikely to any time soon.

 

4.0/10

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CAITLIN SMITH


Wind Rose – Wardens of the West Wind

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In for a penny, in for a pound, right? And sometimes that dividing line between success or failure is just how far you’re prepared to take things. Power Metal, with its origins heavily rooted in the extravagances of Yngwie and embracing and taking the more bombastic elements of symphonic music and film scores, is often guilty of not going far enough, playing the safe game mixing Europe with Helloween and churning out decent, if standard, fast-rock fare. On their second album, Wardens of the West Wind (Scarlet), Wind Rose follow in the boot-prints of countrymen Rhapsody by ramping things to the max, and to some effect.

See, where Rhapsody made a name for themselves was by being brave enough to make their music and songs epic; as grandiose, as pompous, as couldn’t-give-a-fuck-what’s-cool as possible, and to think outside re-writing Blind Guardian licks to wanting to create something monumental, something cinematic, something befitting of the grandest of stages. Wind Rose have produced a stirring, rousing album in the vein of Symphony of Enchanted Lands (Limb) that sets them apart from the majority of the others who sit in the Power Metal bubble by taking that chance to do something different. The movie that Wind Rose are tracking is more nautical than Rhapsody’s swords-and-dragons fantasy, as if a hero quest head-on collision of Pirates of the Caribbean and Waterworld was sound-tracked by a collaboration of Symphony X and Luca Turilli.

Attack is another area where Power Metal bands stand or fall, and Wind Rose bring the energy of a thousand marauding pirates fuelled by rum and the promise of treasures great hidden under an X. Francesco Cavalieri’s voice leads the quintet and is another competitive advantage, capable of drama, authority and melody, and making sense of the grandiloquence going on around him, pulling the power and the might cascading around him into strong, viable songs.

In a field that consists of a handful of giants and many who will struggle to achieve a status above mediocrity Wardens… positions Wind Rose as one to watch. If their live show can re-capture the exuberance on record, we will have a new name to light up the European scene.

 

8.0/10

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STEVE TOVEY


Yesterday’s Saints – Generation of Vipers

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So many bands have referenced the devil in their songs over the years that it’s probably easier to list the artists that haven’t flirted with Old Nick than the ones who have. Still, that doesn’t mean the subject matter has nothing new to offer as Washington D.C. quartet Yesterday’s Saints are keen to prove on debut record Generation of Vipers (Draconum).

With a concept on the role of Satan throughout the history of mankind and the album assembled like an opera with three acts each focusing on different styles of music, it’s fair to assume that the band don’t lack ambition. Thankfully they have the requisite chops for such a feat, for Generation of Vipers is a truly fantastic first attempt.

Rooted in melodic death metal but with a healthy dose of thrash along for the ride, the band start strongly with the hard-as-concrete riffs of ‘Fall of the Ancients’ and ‘Origen Adamantius’ which are so thrilling and perfectly crafted it’s impossible not to get instantly hooked. These are the kind of songs that the likes of Machine Head and Arch Enemy would kill to call their own, with the sheer power emanating from the speakers reminding the listener just how gut-pummelling traditional metal can be when it wants to. A more melodic side is demonstrated in the mid-paced splendour of ‘Sangreale’ while the blistering workout of ‘The Divine Tragedy’ is hands down one of the best modern thrash songs penned in many a year.

While the thunderous riffs, precision blasts and lock-tight groove is joy to experience, the bands’ secret weapon is undoubtedly vocalist Matt Rice who can growl with the best of ‘em but his Warrel Dane style clean vocals elevate things to another level entirely and wholly justify that overused epithet ‘epic’. All these elements combine to make Generation of Vipers a contender for the most assured and enjoyable debut you are likely to hear this year, and one that any fans of ‘true metal’ should get their lugholes round as quickly as possible. Magnificent.

 

9.0/10

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JAMES CONWAY


Finsterforst – Mach Dich Frei

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While folk metal may revel in being the life and soul of the party, its slightly more bookish cousin pagan metal is more likely to be found attempting to educate listeners about cultural heritage and ancient lore than waving a plastic sword around and extolling the virtues of wenches and mead. German septet Finsterforst (Dark Forest) may wear war paint but apart from that they’re gimmick free and are more interested in taking the listener on a journey of discovery via the medium of epic-length songs, full-blooded metal passion and a hearty sense of ambition.

With a crystal-clear production that allows every instrument to breathe and an impressively nuanced approach to songwriting, fourth full-length Mach Dich Frei (Napalm) which translates as ‘set yourself free’, carries on the epic and stirring tradition begun on debut release Weltenkraft (World Chaos Production) back in 2007. Influenced by the likes of Moonsorrow and Falkenbach, the band offer a variety of styles over the course of eight lengthy tracks, from the mid-paced stomp of ‘Zeit für Hass’ to the more hook-driven refrains of the title track, all the while ensuring that while grandiose may be the order of the day, things never get out of hand.

Traditional instrumentation plays a big part in the record with the braying horns of keyboardist Sebastian Scherrer in particular lending proceedings a cinematic feel. The guttural Teutonic lyrics of vocalist Oliver Berlin may soar over the heads of many listeners but his delivery is full of passion and grit, while the dual guitar attack switches tempos with ease, no better demonstrated on twenty-three minute closing track ‘Finsterforst’ which features everything from classy melodic interplay to snarling black metal whilst remaining exciting and authentic throughout.

Although a seventy-three minute album will be far too long for many listeners, the sheer quality of songwriting on Mach Dich Frei is enough to warrant many repeated spins and the band deserve every success in reward for their efforts to inform and entertain.

 

8.0/10

Finsterforst on Facebook

 

JAMES CONWAY


Alright The Captain – Contact Fix

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Right off the bat, let’s be honest with each other. Everyone likes honesty right? This is a complete re-write of the review. Whilst that isn’t completely unusual, this is a complete re-write in the fact that the sway from negative perception towards positive has been massive. This is because Alright The Captain with Contact Fix (Independent/self-released) have created an album so bonkers and eclectic at points the only way to give it any real justice is to ensure you give it proper time.

The album is wholly instrumental, and like with so many other bands that have chosen to go down this unconventional route, the music simply HAS to be good. There’s no hiding behind the growls and screams of a big personality front man, instead there needs to be enough to grab your attention and maintain it – and one thing is for sure they’ve done this very well. The album is seven tracks long, and runs for just under 30 minutes. This compact running length encourages numerous playbacks, as you begin to listen intently for some of the smaller intricacies contained within each track. If you buy into the ‘Math-Rock’ subgenre title, then this is Math-Rock at its best. We’ve got synths galore amongst a combination between punk fuelled riffs and heavier moments.

At the absolute core of this music though is an unbelievable jazz influence. The drums in particular are testament to this, with both the opening track ‘Toaster Mouse’ and ‘French For Gnome’ the best examples. But this jazz influence isn’t solely contained within the music itself, but more the whole idea behind the album. You never really know which direction it is going to go, it sounds like an impromptu jam but it is actually a very well calculated beast. To be able to create this kind of impression is a skill in itself.

 

8.0/10

Alright The Captain on Facebook

 

TOM DONNO


Xibalba – Tierra y Libertad

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Metalcore is one of the more divisive tags in the world of heavy music; labelling bands like The Devil Wears Prada or August Burns Red with this term causes huge controversy within the metal and hardcore communities. But there are still a few bands out there who want to show the true meaning of this word. Californian ensemble Xibalba are a great example how mixing metal and hardcore can produce devastating results.

Xibalba’s previous two albums, Madre Mia Gracia Por Los Dias and Hasta La Muerte (both Southern Lord) had shown great potential, with the band picking up right inspirations from both doom and death metal worlds and adding a great deal of heaviness to hardcore grooves. However their monolithic density was a tad over-used and at times became slightly monotonous.

Although the mix is not as condensed as on the previous LP’s, make no mistake Tierra y Libertad (Southern Lord) takes no prisoners – it’s a crushing conglomerate of death, sludge metal and hardcore and a massive step forward for Xibalba. Those super-heavy riffs have been retained but with a more creative use of dynamics.

Xibalba continues to create their own style, richly drawing on the ferocity and brutality found in the works of Morbid Angel, Asphyx and on the early Machine Head albums. Mid-paced tempos are as crushing as on any Incantation or Crowbar album. Tierra y Libertad concludes with almost 13-minutes ‘El Vacio’, a sludge/doom-metal orgy with a touch of Neurosis – a perfect ending for this behemoth of an album.

Recorded with Taylor Young of Nails and Twitching Tongues, the man also responsible for the sound on their last album, the production is rich and thick – proof positive, that you don’t change a winning formula.  Tierra y Libertad is an album that will redefine the perception of modern Metalcore: a ferocious dose of venom and bile which will shatter barriers between doom, sludge and hardcore which will gain favour with fans of both scenes.

 

8.0/10

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ARMEN HACZMERIAN


Hate – Crvsade:Zero

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Hate. There are some band names that, even if you don’t particularly feel enamoured by the look of the members or the apparent genre their album covers suggest, pure smash you in the face and demand that you give them a chance. The legacy of this revered Polish trio, now augmented by legendary sticksman Pavulon, ensures that avid interest is guaranteed.

The intro to their ninth full-length Crvsade:Zero (Napalm) is downright chilling, evoking the cold, haunted ruins of a trailer to the last Harry Potter film. The ensuing ‘Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Wrath!‘, with its howling leadplay, is almost Doom-laden in its heavy misery yet, while still punishing with its resonant power, warns little of the savagery to come. ‘Death Liberator’s slow, deliberate pounding is graced by a vocal roar epitomising the most lascivious of demons, creating the fetid atmosphere you’d expect. Despite the deathly feel, however, the initial pace is more portentous, save for the rapid drumming of the inventive Pavulon, the track crawling into the psyche whilst the evil coils around the spinal cord.

The sense of drama is palpable, given added threat by sole surviving founder member Adam the First Sinner‘s beefy rasp and, while speed is injected via the Blackened extremity of ‘Leviathan’, that ominous feel of violent deliberation swells through the body of the track. What’s really surprising is that there’s a healthy dollop of real emotion here too, the otherwise brooding and threatening ‘Valley of Darkness’ allowing Adam to exude his pain-wracked soul with tortured roars and wonderfully emotive leadplay.

A huge production gives the album an added fullness and some may argue it’s too clean as a result, but the terror induced by that throat and the oppressive atmospheres surrounding it ensure there’s serious punch here. The untrammelled onslaught of the title track, displaying the hulking torment of a caged monster; the sinister oppression of ‘Valley…’; and the mashing brutality of ‘Dawn of War’; show everything about that’s delightful about this pummeling brute of an album: it’s ferocious, bloody scary, and hefty to boot. Age doth not weary them…

 

8.0/10

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PAUL QUINN

 


Blind Guardian – Beyond The Red Mirror

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“Impact” is a difficult concept to define in terms of music, but an extremely important one. The effect that a given piece of music has on any listener is always going to be extremely personal and subjective, of course, but to some extent it is possible to measure how much impact an album is able to make to its listeners through its emotional accessibility – the extent to which it is prepared to “let us in” to its world.

Blind Guardian are one of the founders of what we now call Symphonic Power Metal, and still one of its principle exponents.  As you’d expect from a band who’ve been putting out albums for over twenty-five years now, their recorded output is not without its ups and downs, but across ten studio albums and numerous singles and live recordings they’ve maintained an admirable consistency in professionalism and power.

Beyond The Red Mirror (Nuclear Blast) is a technically flawless album, there’s absolutely no denying that, and at times genuinely beautiful.  “Symphonic” is a much-abused word and concept in Heavy Metal, often translating to “our riffs are boring so we’re covering them in keyboards” or “I secretly wish I was Enya”, but Blind Guardian have always been one of the few exceptions to that rule, and age has seemingly broadened their skill with the symphonic elements of their sound. Likewise, they have always been masters of the catchy chorus and soaring hook, and there’s plenty of evidence for both of those things throughout BTRM.

Given the unreserved praise so far, you might be wondering why the mark at the end of this review isn’t higher – and I’m sure there are Blind Guardian fans out there sharpening their internet knives right now – but the answer comes back to that thorny quality “impact”.  BTRM is beautiful like a painting, or a landscape observed through a window – intricate, masterful and distant. There’s no attempt to communicate with the audience, no invitation to join the band in their world, and as a result the experience seems cold and clinical, more a soundtrack than a Heavy Metal album.

Let there be no doubt – Beyond The Red Mirror is a beautiful, technically flawless album full of masterful song-writing and symphonic arrangements, and if that’s all you want from the band you won’t be disappointed. Those of us who miss the times when Blind Guardian found space for real blood and thunder in their music, however, will likely find it a cold and somewhat uninviting proposition.

 

7.0/10

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RICHIE HR


Cold Snap – World War 3

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As the monolithic behemoth of a tour featuring Slipknot, Korn and King 810 strides across Europe at this moment, Cold Snap’s new album World War 3 (Eclipse) seems the perfect accompaniment. If you played this album to anyone in that crowd they would think, wow 2002 will indeed live forever.

Cold Snap is an amalgamation of everyone who seemed to be big at the time of the Japan/South Korea World Cup. It has the rhythm section and drum sound of White Pony (Maverick) era Deftones, the vocals of Corey Taylor circa self-titled Slipknot album (Roadrunner), and the overall industrial aggression of Obsolete (Roadrunner) era Fear Factory (in a time before they were).

At first the sound does have hints of the recent Djent sound, but then when the chundering riffs kick in you realise that this is indeed paying homage to Burton C. Bell and co rather than doing directly for the more current range of bands they could have taken influence from; if you listen to ‘Only One’ or ‘Me Inside’ you’ve pretty much heard the tracks on here.

If you liked balls to the wall Nu Metal without some of the despicable rapping then this maybe for you. There are plenty of downtuned moments dispersed in between the barrage of Dino Cazares off cuts that make up the majority of the album. You could never criticise the album for lacking punch or aggression, but there is a quarrel with the album lacking originality. This is a record whose influences all cut off around the same time people started to buy clothes that weren’t four sizes too big for them.

Overall, as a fan of the genre, World War 3 is an enjoyable listen but it doesn’t progress any further than being a massive nostalgia trip. If you at any stage wore a baseball cap and some shorts big enough to catch basketballs in them then this album will certainly take you back to that time, the only problem is that the original albums will already do that for you and are of incredibly better quality.

 

6.0/10

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DAN O’BRIEN


The Voynich Code – Ignotum

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In a genre so saturated and over crowded as tech metal, it’s a mammoth task for any fledgling band to make a mark and stand out from the masses. Hailing from Lisbon, Portugal, The Voynich Code have youth on their side as they release their debut release after only a year in existence, and at least show signs of wanting to make their mark on Ignotum (Self Released).

Opener ‘Antithesis’ builds some suspension as it gradually forms with the help of Eastern instrumentation, hinting that this may be a unique prospect at hand, before it erupts into a ferocious but sadly generic take on technical death metal. Those Eastern sounds are present throughout but tend to get buried in the mix, highlighting their technical proficiency but their lack of real imaginative style. Herein lies the problem as they certainly show they are capable and talented but aside from these foreign influences there is little that has not been done countless times before; even vocally this is very one dimensional.

Put their lack of originality aside however and this unquestionably stands up well to many of its ilk, full of aggression and energy especially for such a young band. Far from a misstep for a band just starting out, Ignotum is a strong release, sadly suffering from the sense that they could have done a lot more to become a more recognizable presence.

 

6.0/10

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CHRIS TIPPELL