Ramblin’ Man Fair (Sunday) – Maidstone, UK

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Steve Tovey

After the glorious weather of the Saturday, Sunday at Ramblin’ Man greets us with rain. Lots and lots of rain and some dampened (chortle chortle) moods. As a result the arena certainly seems noticeably emptier than yesterday; but alas, duty calls. Even Sweden’s Blues Pills and their brand of psychedelic, 60s rock can’t perturb the downpour. Despite their suiting to sunnier climes however they go down a storm (!), as Elin Larsson showcases her massive, Janis Joplin-esque voice.

Despite the grim weather, Icelandic rockers Solstifir have a sizable turnout. Their presence on the main stage and the warm welcome they receive is incredibly gratifying. In spite of their short set, their performances of what has become their signature song, ‘Otta’ will hopefully elevate them further into the rock arena. Which, judging by today’s performance, they will most definitely deserve.

The rain proves a problem for the Prog Stage particularly as its shallow shelter fails to protect equipment (and band members) from the downpour. For Knifeworld sound problems would prove very detrimental as many of their instruments (and backing vocals) seemingly fail to come out of the PA at all. Kavus Torabi’s drawling, quirky vocals are always clear, but their complex and diverse structures are damaged severely, such as on ‘Send Him Seaworthy’ where its prominent Bassoon sections sounded completely nonexistent.

The Blues Tent enjoys a significant audience for the day, bolstered by those seeking shelter from the rain; as a result catching Aaron Keylock proves impossible, but from the outside he sounds on fine form. Over at the Prog Stage, The Pineapple Thief play a triumphant set which balances between their more delicate songs such as ‘Magnolia’ and their rockier kin of the likes of ‘Alone At Sea’ with great fluidity, showing their dexterity and understated diversity, proving a highlight of the entire weekend.

There’s a lot of love for Polish lads Riverside, and with good reason. Since the release of Shrine of New Generation Slaves (InsideOut) they have worked their way into the hearts of countless devotees. Their set today is nothing less than triumphant, seemingly able to bring the sunshine despite the clouds, lifting the spirits and smiles of the now rather soggy crowd. Their delight at the live setting is obvious, playing with gusto and passion compositions such as ‘Hyperactive’, ‘O2 Panic Room’ and ending with an immaculate rendition of ‘We Got Used To This’. This has to be one of the performances of the weekend.

Finally the rain eases and the sun shines through, creating a beautiful and apt scene for Alcest and their melancholic but gorgeous shoe-gazing take on prog. Despite his very reserved, even shy nature, Niege grows each time into his role as the band’s centerpiece, talking at greater lengths and showing genuine appreciation to the crowd. Mixing their earlier black metal orientated songs with the latter, softer elements, their set is one of pure majesty and hypnotic beauty that completely draws everyone in. Closing with a mesmerizing “Deliverance”, the band gradually leave the stage, finally with Niege as he turns, humbled by the rapturous response.

Possibly one of the most anticipated performances from the weekend comes from Seasick Steve. He arrives on stage dressed in garb that you wouldn’t find out of place on a lumberjack, and unassuming persona makes him even more endearing to the huge crowd in front of him. He regales tales of the origins of his many handmade instruments to the amused crowd, who are seemingly baffled that he can produce such music from such rickety creations. Songs like ‘Thunderbird’ and ‘Walkin’ Man’ transform the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Very few people are as iconic and instrumental in the world of Prog rock as Ian Anderson, and, while his legacy needs not reiterating, today his performance is certainly enjoyable but far from perfect. Brimming with an ever present enthusiasm and his quirky sense of humour and personality, Anderson is a joyous presence with sadly but expectedly some signs of wear and tear setting in. What really detracts however is the ill fitting, over the top style of guitarist Florian Ophale which doesn’t seem to make sense. Given a spot to show off, Ophale certainly has skill but his virtuoso performance does not match to the rest of the set at all, as if a last minute addition. Songs like ‘Agualung’ are simply timeless and can never fail, but the presence of Ophale leaves too sour a taste.

Marillion are one of those bands that seem to have always been there. It would be difficult to imagine the progressive rock scene without them, as they are the reason why many in the crowd are here today. Opening with the fifteen minute marvel that is ‘Gaza’, Steve Hogarth and co prove their longevity. Their set is filled with relatively new tomes, the post pre-1995 entry being ‘Sugar Mice’ but to the delight of the crowd. Steve Hogarth’s stage-based eccentricities and his unique vocal style (apparently unaffected by time) are on top form. Much of the set comes from their latest release, ‘Sounds That Can’t Be Made’, arguably their best yet. The crowd sings ‘Power’ as though it was their last breath, and as they close all too soon with ‘The Invisible Man’; it is clear that Marillion reach stretches beyond the progressive world.

WORDS: CHRIS TIPPELL & SARAH WORSLEY

Alcest – Lone Wolf: Live at The Deaf Institute, Manchester, UK

Posted on May 20, 2015 by News Team

A respectably full venue is greeted by support act Lone Wolf, whose name is something of an oxymoron has he has another keyboard player and drummer with him. He might look for all the world like an IT manager who has come straight from a meeting but surely his sensitive balladry will win doubters over? In a word. No.

Lone Wolf, by Rich Price Photography

Ponderous keyboard ostinatos and bleating falsetto vocals do little to inspire anything above tepid half claps between songs. “Mr Wolf’s” polite and apologetic banter does little to excuse the fact that the majority of this set is turgid singer/songwriter dross wallowing in mediocrity.

Alcest, by Rich Price Photography

The blue stage lights usher in a sense of dreamlike reverie as Alcest launch into ‘Opale’. Neige thanks the audience for their patience for the technical problems the French men initially face, but said gremlins are soon banished in favour of blissful hymns like ‘Summer’s Glory’ and older number ‘Souvenirs D’un Autre Monde’.

Transfixed, the audience stare longingly at the quartet as the beauty and of the songs seeks to penetrate their very souls. Despite the supposed narrow mindedness of metalheads Shelter era material is well received, but not with the same appreciation and devotion that heralds the older material. ‘Écalies De Lune Part 1’ is greeted like a long lost lover, but the most fervent reaction is reserved for the triumphant salvos of ‘Autre Temps’ and ‘Délivrance’ where a couple of audience members are so overwhelmed with emotion they actually shed tears.

Alcest, by Rich Price Photography

Much like Anathema before them, new opus Shelter has seen Alcest shift their focus to more gentle atmospheric sounds while retaining much of their loyal fanbase. Not many gigs see punters in Hate Forest t-shirts cosying up to those in Mogwai tops but that’s a testament to the crossover appeal the band has garnered.

Seducing all in attendance with delicate, soaring cadences wielded to lush atmospherics, tonight’s performance is exceptional once the early technical hindrances have been banished. Another bewitching and mesmerising performance from a seminal act who continue their metamorphosis into a brighter, more ethereal act whose beauty transcends mere genre boundaries.

WORDS: ROSS BAKER

PHOTOS: RICH PRICE PHOTOGRAPHY

Pyramids – A Northern Meadow

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Steve Tovey

Anybody here with broad tastes recall The Blue Nile? They of 80s Indie Electronica fame? For some reason the wrought moments of their minimalist, stark melancholy spring to mind when harmonized, plaintive vocals burst through the chaotic ambience of Texan super-project Pyramids. The rest sounds nothing like, of course…

Doubtless somewhat responsible for the complex, occasionally harsh noise surrounding those honeyed tones, Blut Aus Nord‘s Vindsval and Gorguts‘ Colin Marston join Mike Dean‘s men for sophomore album A Northern Meadow (Profound Lore). Lead track ‘In Perfect Stillness, I’ve Only Found Sorrow’ emerges like some lo-fi, Post-Black Doves; shoegaze Indie strains blending with slashing yet melodic guitar, while the high-pitched, soaring vocals bring Thom Yorke into the equation. Though this is the early template, strange soundscapes envelop the structures with the intricate rhythms and Post leadwork furthering the Radiohead connection, albeit with more weight to the body – an at times crushing sequence of blows bursting a colliding crescendo of noise in both ‘The Earth Melts Into Red Gashes…’ and ‘The Substance of Grief Is Not Imaginary’.

As the titles suggest cheery this ain’t, yet the euphoric effects of the music at times contrast from the intent and that pensive, melancholy voice despite the obvious emotion of the whole: the resonant, rising harmonies and emotive, synthesized atmospherics of ‘Indigo Birds’ charging the soul and calming the frozen wastes of agonised, railing riffs.

In many ways this is the aural depiction of a nervous breakdown, the conflicting emotions crashing together, those fluctuating rhythmic structures and occasionally blackened riffs being the violent mood swings. The complexities and contradictions in the sound are both zenith and Nemesis, highlighting both the harshness and the beauty but also occasionally dampening just as things threaten to explode. Picture Red Sparrowes or Alcest if you will, with the hostile anguish retained just to tease whilst remaining an integral part. The dark-Mastodon feel of ‘Consilience’, a sinister organ adding to the portentous mass, closes an album in equal parts exquisite, beguiling yet a sprawling achievement; one most definitely worth sticking on every time you’re dwelling on that crossroads between depression and ecstasy.

8.0/10

Pyramids on Facebook

PAUL QUINN

The Official Ghost Cult Writers Albums of the Year Top 50: 30-21

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Steve Tovey

The countdown to the Official Ghost Cult Magazine Album of the Year for 2014 continues. Please consume and enjoy the results of our 2014 Writers’ Poll. We hope it will introduce you to some of the incredible works of art you may have missed that we have had the immense pleasure of listening to and writing about this year.

In our third installment we bring you albums 30 through to 21

30. CASUALTIES OF COOL – Casualties Of Cool (Pledge/HevyDevy)

“Casualties of Cool is an intriguing experiment from a man who excels in making left-field music. Go in expecting massive a prog-metal exercise will only lead to disappointment, but having an open mind will result in a rewarding experience” DAN SWINHOE 8/10 Full review here

29. ANATHEMA – Distant Satellites (KScope)

“One of our world’s most understated bands, despite the plaudits they get, Anathema have once again showcased their knack for penning both forward thinking and emotionally driven music which oozes real human character and sentimentality”. CHRIS TIPPELL 9/10 Full review here

28. DOWN – IV (Part II) (Down Records)

“When we look back on this part of their career, we will likely understand that these are less like regular EPs that other bands release, and much more like a mini-opus, in pieces. Down clearly realizes their collective vision, no matter who is in the lineup, every time”. KEITH ‘KEEFY’ CHACHKES 9.5/10 Full review here

27. VALLENFYRE – Splinters (Century Media)

“Sadistic and aggressive with endless moments of bleak reflection Splinters is a leviathan unleashed upon unsuspecting listeners and a release surely destined to grace many year end lists” ROSS BAKER 9/10 Full review here

26. AGALLOCH – “The Serpent and the Sphere” (Profound Lore)

Like a massive-antlered stag glimpsed amidst a wintry landscape, breathtaking, elusive and hard to pin down, The Serpent and the Sphere looks set to continue their elegant and ever-evolving legacy JAMES CONWAY 9/10 Full review here

25. THOU – Heathen (Gilead Media)

“A storm manifest as a piece of music, as devastating as it is awe-inspiring, Heathen is varied and compelling for the entire runtime”. TOM SAUNDERS 9/10 Full review here

24. septicflesh – Titan (Season of Mist)

“Sharp, buzzing riffs and symphonic keys, strength and brutality amongst moments of pomp and beauty, bloody entertaining and another show of form” PAUL QUINN 8.5/10 Full review here

23. PYRRHON – The Mother of Virtues (Relapse)

“The Mother Of Virtues doesn’t just challenge what is “extreme”, but calls into question whether some of what is produced is actually even music. Completely and utterly impenetrable, and exceptional with it”. STEVE TOVEY 9.5/10 Full review here

22. EYEHATEGOD – EyeHateGod (Housecore/Century Media)

“Eyehategod continue to age like a good whiskey, seeming to improve as time goes by, but by no means losing their sting”. CHRIS TIPPELL 9/10 Full review here

21. ALCEST – Shelter (Prophecy)

“Shedding the last vestiges of metal, let-alone any lingering black metal leanings, a captivating and stunning piece of music poured straight from the heart”. JAMES CONWAY 9/10 Full review here

Ghost Cult Magazine Albums of the Year: 50-41

Ghost Cult Magazine Albums of the Year: 40-31

Dreams of the Carrion Kind (Part I) – The Watcher from FEN

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Steve Tovey

To celebrate the release of their stunning 9/10 album Carrion Skies (Code666 – review here) The Watcher, guitarist and vocalist of England’s atmospheric post-Black Metal band Fen spoke to Ghost Cult on a range of subjects. In the first of four parts, with a further feature to follow in the next Ghost Cult digimag, he enthuses on the conscious injection of metal back into their sound that facilitated the statement album that should propel them to the head table…

“You look at a band like Paradise Lost. When they started out, they couldn’t be more Heavy Metal. Then they get to 24, 25 years old and then it’s ‘Heavy Metal is for losers. I’ve been listening to this for 10 years, it’s old hat. I’ve heard all there is to hear of this, it’s for bozos. I like Depeche Mode, let’s do that and let’s be all grown up’. But then it goes full circle, and when they hit their late 30’s they’re ‘God, I think I was a pretentious little twat back then! I actually do like Heavy Metal and I wasn’t anywhere near as clever as I thought I was when I went all experimental’.

“You see it a bit with the Norwegian scene, too, that all went ludicrously avant-garde in the late 90’s. It’s like they all went to university and thought ‘Ooh, I want to be clever now. What’s clever? Well, heavy metal definitely isn’t, so…’

“The thing is, I like Heavy Metal. I want to play Heavy Metal. It sounds a bit Bad News, but I love Heavy Metal. I listen to Heavy Metal. Heavy Metal.”

Once people stray away from the metal part of their sound they’re moving into a shallower pool of influences, and have a shortfall in their depth of knowledge. The problem is, bands not understanding these additional elements of their sound as much as they do the metal… I’m not saying don’t utilise these additional, non-metal influences, but make sure you understand what you’re doing…

“Exactly. It is dabbling. It’s going ‘I’ve been listening to a load of synthy 80s new wave bands recently, we can do something with that’. And there’s a danger for bands to get really carried away, and I think this is what was happening with us.

“At the start of last year, the end of the year before, we’d done Dustwalker (the band’s third album, also on Code666) and me and our drummer, Derwydd, had been listening to loads of Sad Lovers and Giants, The Chameleons and Snake Corps, all these guitarwave bands. Then, in rehearsal I thought I’d turn the distortion off, put a bit chorus and delay on it and, oh, we can sound like that… and it’s easy to carried away with it when you’re playing one style so much. But to your ears it’s a really fresh sound, and you’re like ‘Yes! We can do this!’ At points we were even talking about doing a whole album like that, a whole album with clean guitars.

“It was only when we got back from touring with Agalloch that we realised that we’d got completely over-excited about the fact that we do listen to some non-metal stuff and we can do a passable version of it. But it’s not really enough, and we did have to put the brakes on and take a look at it, and say ‘Are we just playing a slightly rubbish version of The Chameleons with some guy shouting over it?’ And in all honesty, we were.

“We took a really objective step back and looked at it, and a lot of the stuff that was originally pencilled in to be on the album was binned off. We had gotten carried away and were disappearing up our own arses.”

An integral part of the Fen sound has always been that it comes from black metal and the inherent extremity of black metal first, despite the fact that you are often compared with bands like Agalloch and Alcest, who are much lighter, much “nicer”…

“I like Agalloch and I like some of the early Alcest, but it’s a bit of a lazy comparison I think. Particularly with this new album, we’ve set ourselves apart from that. I mean, touring with Agalloch for a month… they do that stuff really well, but we don’t want to sound like that. They’ve got that sound nailed. We sat down and said we needed to define ourselves, we needed to really underline what we’re about.

“Unfortunately there are bands out there who don’t take that step back until it’s too late, until it’s ‘Oh shit, we’re not as clever as we think we are’, but I can see it from the other side of the fence, that it’s easy to get swept up in it. Everyone gets whipped up into a fervour, and gets all ‘We can do it! This is so different! Look at how versatile we are!’ , but any competent musician can turn their hand to doing a vague version of another style, but doing it well is a different thing.”

“Dustwalker is a metal album, but we did go down a certain route. There’s a lot of atmospheric stuff on there, there’s a whole song on there that’s got no distorted guitars whatsoever. With this one, we thought ‘We’re in the mood for metal, we want to do some metal!’ We’re an extreme metal band and it’s almost become a cliché for bands that are in the post-black metal scene to shed the trappings of black metal, and that’s not a game I’m interested in playing.

“I want to reassert our credentials as a metal band.”

Fen on Facebook

Carrion Skies can be purchased here

STEVE TOVEY

Oberon – Dream Awakening

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Steve Tovey

Some bands are just masters of shrouding themselves in mystique. The creation of one Bard Oberon, Norway’s Oberon began as early as 1994 as one of Prophecy Record’s first outputs, with their own brand of esoteric and dark, multiple influenced music. 1998 saw the band’s second full length Mysteries before Bard began his own musical journey, transcending different sonic landscapes under a different moniker; Future Whirl. Now Oberon returns with their latest effort, Dream Awakening (Prophecy).

Like much of the work Oberon is associated with over the years, Dream Awakening has its roots in atmospheric folk with enough tints of the experimental to catch the attention of the prog foray. Dream Awakening ventures very little distance from its predecessors, mostly built upon folk’s clean acoustic guitars and soaring vocals and a near haunting tone. The palette is broadened here however with some electric, energetic moments, ‘Escape’, for example, comes across like a cross between Opeth and The Pineapple Thief yet never feels out of place.

Oberon’s strength has always been his conjuring of atmosphere and here is no different; invoking contrasting moods and tones throughout offering both the brooding and gloomy as well as a sense of uplifting.

A cryptic presence in the more thought provoking musical realms, Oberon’s latest effort has enough character and qualities which will appeal to both the prog audience and the extreme metal crowd who worship the likes of Alcest and Les Discrets. An earthy album caped in whimsy and mystery.

8.0/10

Oberon on Facebook

CHRIS TIPPELL

Dornenreich – Freiheit

Posted on May 16, 2014 by News Team

For those people who have never ventured into the discography of Dornenreich before, their albums may come as a surprise to the uneducated ear. Unlike the standard distorted guitars that fill the space of most metal songs, Dornenreich have chosen with Freiheit (Prophecy Promotions) to center round an acoustic topped with long passages teased out on violin. For a band that have forged a career walking so readily on the fringes of metal, this album is perhaps the most distinct departure from anything that really resembles a traditional metal sound. With only one flurry of aggression in ‘Das Licht vertraut der Nacht’, the album keeps a steady pace, focusing instead on including a myriad of folk influences.

Even so, Freiheit does not welcome the listener in easily, the songs draw you in layers of atmosphere but can often seem disjointed and patched together. This album walks the delicate balance between moments of beauty and extreme indecision with melodies punctuated by unexpected moments of silence. It doesn’t quite contain the refinement that bands like Alcest manage, but there is no denying the sheer intensity and emotional energy behind these tracks. Although the musical path may not always be easy to follow this album is more than worth the work for anyone willing to give it a chance.

The past eighteen years may have been nothing short of prolific, but it seems that this will be the last album we see from Dornenreich for some time, with Eviga announcing that their eight-studio album is the end of a journey for the band with no real idea whether they will return. One thing seems certain though, if they do, they are unlikely to be the same beast that departed here.

7/10

Dornenreich on Facebook

CAITLIN SMITH

Lantlôs – Melting Sun

Posted on April 28, 2014 by News Team

Having been a prolific creator for the last ten years, covering several strands of extreme metal with various founded outfits such as the eponymous Herbst, the blackened death of Epitaph, and the current death/doom of Owl, Germany’s Markus Herbst (a.k.a. Markus Stiegenhort) now delivers the fourth offering from his darkly melodic Lantlôs. Their last two albums were graced by the ghostly tones of the somewhat legendary Neige, so it is initially to this set’s credit that the Alcest hero’s absence here isn’t particularly noticeable.

A suite of lush, stark yet emotive landscapes, Melting Sun (Prophecy Productions) occasionally confounds as it consistently fails to explode after frequently swelling to the point of crescendo; rendering the black element of their ‘post black’ classification almost non-existent, save for the squalling riff of ‘Jade Fields’. Undeniably miserablist, the heart strings of the lonely and disaffected are twanged with bitter disregard; conversely most of the track titles refer to warm shades of colour, the cover displaying a head exploding with shades of light and falsely advertising a positive, ecstatic emotion. The Herbst vocal is soothing and languid, akin to listening to Elbow’s Guy Garvey whilst drinking a luxurious hot chocolate, but sparingly used throughout the album to provide a consoling, empathetic escort through the mournful surroundings. As always with the genre the lead guitar is the focal point: a laconic resonance decorating closer ‘Golden Mind’ whilst brittle, icicle-sharp harmonies give the outstanding Jade… an added beauty. The gentleness of …Mind, however, is indicative of the apparent lack of passion coursing throughout. Whilst Herbst hasn’t entirely abandoned the harsh sound, unlike his former bandmate’s latest Alcest product, this occasional drifting nature does rob an at times stunningly beautiful album of its full potential.

Those who like the gentle breeze of Alcest’s latest release will do well to dive head first into the wistful shoegaze on offer here. Despite a slight feeling of dissatisfaction due to that wish for a harder edge this is still a wonderful set, leaving you wondering if there really is any point to it all. In a warm, fuzzy way of course.

7/10

Lantlôs on Facebook

Paul Quinn

Ghost Cult Top Five – Wren Leader

Posted on April 21, 2014 by News Team

Every month Ghost Cult polls its staff to see what they are listening to at the moment. Sometimes it’s the latest underground album, and sometimes it’s an old favorite. Sometimes the music isn’t even metal, and that’s okay too. This month our scribe Wren Leader gets deep with us about what he is spinning right now.

Horrible Earth – Horrible Earth: These guys totally tore it up at Ralph’s in Worcester a few weeks ago. Their record is equally as awesome. Killer death metal with a little grind/hardcore touches to make things bad ass.

Beth Hart – Screamin’ For My Supper: Was driving back from DC listening to this album. For fans of chick rock that has a bit more bite and bitch then sweet and poppy.

Alcest – Les Voyages de L’ame: Last year I must’ve listened to this album at least twice every week. Sometimes 2 or 3 times in a row. When Neige brings on the black metal vocals on “Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles” I literally get goosebumps

Babymetal – Babymetal: I was into Babymetal before everyone and their mother loved/hated them! Gotta say, this is a damn fine merger of some of the most sweet cute pop I’ve ever heard and the gnarliest metal riffs ever.

Kevin Hufnagel – Ashland: Gorguts/Dysrhythmia guitarist playing solo ukulele. Very chill and relaxing but still complex. Great record to sit back and sip on some wine or tea and let the music comfort you.

Wren Leader

Ghost Cult #16 is here!

Posted on March 22, 2014 by News Team

Huzzah! Ghost Cult Magazine Issue #16 is out now! Featuring our interview with Cynic discussing their new album, philosophy, the creative process, Chuck Schuldiner’s legacy and more! Plus other featured interviews with Skeletonwitch, Red Fang, Morbid Angel, Stolen Babies, In Solitude, Howl, Music Author Neil Daniels, Throne of Katarsis, ,Valkyrie, Sarke, concert promoter Willem Van Maele of TMR Promotions; Lamb of God As The Palaces Burn film, the NAMM Show recap, Sunn O)))) & Ulver EP, Stone Sour, Alcest, Amon Amarth, Long Distance Calling, Chimaira and tons more metal! Check it out! http://ow.ly/uQP2j

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