With spoken word poetry recitations comparable to Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and strong emphasis on immense existential dread, KEN Mode returns with their newest studio album VOID, released via Artoffact Records, the band’s ninth studio album.
Tag Archives: Concept album
INTERVIEW: Derrick Vella of Dream Unending – “Song of Salvation” Album Breakdown
Ghost Cult caught up with Derrick Vella last fall about his band Dream Unending! The band is a side project of Vella (Tomb Mold) and Justin DeTore (Innumerable Forms, Sumerlands). We did a track-by-track review with Derrick of “Song of Salvation” which is out now via 20 Buck Spin! We chatted about side projects, concept albums, and more!
ALBUM REVIEW: Insomnium – Anno 1696
In essence, Melodic Death Metal began at some point in the early nineties when the Gothenburg scene laid a foundation for the subgenre to flourish. A lot of bands took flight later in the decade and pushed the boundaries of this newly formed category. Insomnium is known for taking its heavy, melodious riffs beyond the norm and conjuring a truly inventive tone full of dreamy dismalness and gripping gloom. Their ninth studio album, Anno 1696 (Century Media Records) is coming to light soon on which they share the perplexing horrors of humanity in vehement ways.
Délétère – De Horae Leprae
Québécois Black Metallers Délétère have often had an air of mystique and the outrageous in their cannon, and the overriding narrative of latest album De Horae Leprae (Sepulchral Productions) is arguably more conceptual, with it being devoted to “Teredinis, a simple leper whose calling it is to become a prophet of Centipedes, as well as an incarnation of the Plague.” With such a vivid and eccentric conceptual idea behind it, its surprising to note that De Horae Leprae is a comparatively simplistic listen, albeit one with plenty of wealth.Continue reading
Tremonti – A Dying Machine
In the shadow of such arena stomping colossi as Creed and Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti’s solo venture has, in your scribe’s opinion up until now, felt lacking. Never being outright bad and often capable of huge songs (as you can expect from the driving force behind the two former), the previous Tremonti albums have not hit levels of adventurous writing that Alter Bridge, in particular, have been capable of, and at worst have felt fairly plodding and generic. Proving that fans of any of his works should never write him off, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that A Dying Machine (Napalm) is a step up for the Tremonti band in virtually every fashion.Continue reading
Abhorrent Decimation Reveal All About The Pardoner
In the last few years, amongst a Death Metal scene that is rich and thriving under the surface of wider attention, no band has made a wider impact and begun to hit greater heights than London’s own Abhorrent Decimation; especially in such a short lifespan thus far.Continue reading
The Interbeing – Among the Amorphous
To be fair, I love Copenhagen and everything about it. When I grow up, I want to retire there. It’s that boss level. So I’m well chuffed to present The Interbeing and their second album Among the Amorphous (Longbranch) It’s bitchin’ on a whole ‘nother level! No lie. Among the Amorphous is industrial metal. It’s brutal and loud and oh so deliciously heavy. You can’t help but headband while you listen to it.Continue reading
3Teeth – shutdown.exe
Industrial music has recently had quite resurgence when it comes to popularity and creative output. The likes of Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails have maintained huge, euphoric fan support throughout their careers (with the latter of course reforming in recent years), whilst the likes of Combichrist have continued to show just how diverse and immediate a style it can be. Whilst not the household name of some of their aforementioned peers, 3Teeth certainly warrant as much praise for flying the Industrial flag into a new generation; having been handpicked to support Tool on the back of their début self-titled album (Artoffact Records); a tour that delayed the workings of a follow-up which only now finally sees the light of day.Continue reading
Ayreon – The Source
2017 will be seen as a monumental year for both Arjen Anthony Lucassen and for Ayreon; the band and its fanatical fan base. Significantly it will mark the first live performances by Ayreon (and a very rare live appearance by the infamously shy and reclusive Lucassen), but also sees a brand new album that revisits the conceptual narrative of one of the band’s most beloved albums, 01011001 (InsideOut). Showing a return to the sci-fi storyline of said album, The Source (Mascot) in fact acts as a prequel piece, and is the most refined and strongest album they have released for some time.Continue reading
Voivod – RRRÖÖÖAAARRR, Killing Technology, Dimension Hatröss RE-MASTERS
It’s hard to believe there was a time when Voivod took top billing above the likes of Soundgarden and Faith No More, but in 1990 that’s exactly what happened. The Canadian Thrash Metal pioneers were at the top of their game and seemed almost unstoppable, their lofty position due in no small part to the trifecta of albums which had preceded the release they were touring at the time – 1989’s Nothingface (MCA); an unholy trio of seminal albums that have been lovingly re-mastered and re-released by BMG.Continue reading