Tag Archives: Chris Tippell

Wintersun – The Forest Seasons

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Certainly one of the most interesting spectacles of the 2017 release calendar; a new Wintersun album always comes with high expectation, if not just purely for the circus that seems to follow any recording/release cycle. If a long wait for previous album, the cult classic Time I (Nuclear Blast) wasn’t enough, another five-year wait also saw a highly ambitious and demanding (but ultimately successful) series of crowdfunding campaigns to release a follow-up. That the result is not the anticipated Time sequel, but a new unique piece may have been a blow to some fans, but Wintersun have never been ones to follow convention by any stretch; which is why it is surprising that The Forest Seasons (Nuclear Blast) sounds comparatively basic and safe.Continue reading →


Silverstein – Dead Reflection

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Dependability is an overlooked trait in music. As exciting as innovation is, bands can prove just as important and special with few surprises in their sound; cliché perhaps to say, but AC/DC are case in point. Over an eight-album career, Silverstein are another example of a band with a reliable but recognisable sound throughout, their brand of emotive post-hardcore always maintaining a youthful vibrancy and intensity. Latest album Dead Reflection (Rise Records) follows this trend for the most part, and even reveals a couple of new tricks up their sleeve.Continue reading →


Vintersorg – Till Fjälls del II

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They might not have reached the near-mainstream status of many of their peers, but Swede’s Vintersorg have proven to be a very strong and respectable force with their brand of melodic, folk tinged Black Metal. Band originator and main man Andreas Hedlund may be more, or at least equally, known for fronting Borknagar nowadays, but Vintersorg have always been a masterful presence and shown a knack for forward thinking in their sound, with recent output changing lyrical focus and showing avant garde influences more frequently.Continue reading →


Dying Fetus – Wrong One To Fuck With

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In the ever crowded and, as a result, often maligned style of Technical Death Metal, Dying Fetus are not only one of the original innovators of the genre, but have remained to this day as one of its standard bearers. Capturing the perfect blend of complexity and dynamism with pure brutality, the likes of Destroy The Opposition  are modern day genre classics and are why Dying Fetus are so beloved in the death metal community to this day. Continue reading →


Harbinger- Human Dust

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If there is one thing that can be said for London Tech Death outfit Harbinger, it’s that they don’t wait around at all. Only in 2016 did they have their début shows, and in seemingly quick succession signed to Basick Records and released their début EP, Paroxysm; a release that showed plenty of promise, if still showing that the band needed to undertake a lot of work to stand out from the crowd.Continue reading →


Chon – Homey

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With the release of their début full-length album Grow (Sumerian) in 2015, Californian’s Chon found themselves standing out from a peer group they were arguably unfairly lumped in. Perhaps due to the Sumerian Records ties, but their début saw them linked to the contemporary Tech/Metalcore scene despite their sound being more technical, but smooth jazz with little to no signs of metal whatsoever. If such pigeonholing was unfair back then, on new album Homey (Sumerian), any comparisons to the like would prove practically absurd.Continue reading →


Gravetemple – Impassable Fears

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Very few pairings can channel and embrace the art of compelling and near inaudible noise as an art form as Stephen O’Malley and Atilla Csihar of SunnO))) (and Mayhem in the latter’s case). A partnership formed with SunnO))), they have proven to be champions of incredibly dissident and daunting soundscapes within Drone and experimental Ambient musci, in as close to pigeonholing as is possible. Following on from 2007’s debut of alternative project Gravetemple, Impassable Fear (Svart Records) offers yet another snapshot into their striking vision.Continue reading →


Anathema – The Optimist

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Over a lengthy and storied career, Anathema have always had a knack for change; whether it being through evolutionary steps, a desire toward experimentation or both. It is well documented by now of their beginning as a Doom/Extreme Metal outfit with cult classics developing through to their contemporary, comparatively unrecognisable incarnation as an emotive Prog outfit; simply put, Anathema have always done what they want and have never been ones to bow to expectation. Nowadays, fanfare and as a result, expectation is at an all-time high when it comes to a new album; so in perhaps typical fashion, they release their most cinematic effort and most challenging release for many years in The Optimist (Kscope).Continue reading →


Sikth – The Future In Whose Eyes?

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You only need to glance at the fibre of metal in the last few years to see just how important Sikth were, and just how much they were missed during their absence. Almost singly responsible for the plethora of djent and Tech Metal bands in recent times; Sikth’s frenetic and jarring yet precise mathcore onslaught has grown its very own scene, with even festivals dedicated to such styles; and a legion of imitators. Continue reading →


In Hearts Wake – Ark

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Recent times have seen a resurgence for Metalcore that puts it on its strongest footing since its exciting early days, even perhaps exceeding them. Not only have stalwarts such as Killswitch Engage remained beloved and reliably great as ever, Parkway Drive have grown into absolute powerhouses, and the likes of Architects and While She Sleeps have put a British scene on the map with differing but equally excellent takes. Continue reading →