Review:
New metalcore act Glass Cloud released their debut this summer. The songs r a mix between hard, energized passages w harsh vocal n calmer, clear voice passages, often supplemented w choir, which i think suits the music well. A good debut, worth checking out.
Album musicians:
Jerry Roush - vocals
Joshua Travis – guitar
Travis Sykes – bass, backing vocals
Chad Hasty – drums
Review:
I rly love the intricate melodies Blotted Science produce. Unlike many other jazz/metal fusion band ive heard, they got heavy deathmetal influences in their sound. All members r top-notch on their respective instruments. Highly recommended for all jazzmetall fans, also check out their excellent 2007 debut.
Album musicians:
Alex Webster - bass
Ron Jarzombek - guitars
Hannes Grossmann - drums
Tracklist:
Ingesting Blattaria
Cretaceous Chasm
Vermicular Asphyxiation
A Sting Operation
Human Barbequed
Cessation Sanitation
Seeing Dead People
Omitting Eyes
Previous records:
The Machinations Of Dementia, 2007
Review:
I rly like the harsh sound of this band. The songs r composed by guitarist Aaron Marshall, n he got Jeff Loomis' live drummer Anup Sastry w him. Musically i think this goes towards solo-guitar albums n jazz-metal, wout the jazz. First couple of times i listened to this album, i missed a vocalist, but he do got a good guitar voice. Still, i think a vocalist ala Russel Allen or a mixed harsh/clean vocalist could elevate the music.
They r releasing a ep next month, which i rly looking forward to.
Review:
Its been 4 years since their excellent Delusions, n i guess they've been busy. Both w this album, the ep, MacLean n Henshall's other band, Haken, n other projects.
It's absolutely the familiar To-Mera sound, w Julie Kiss Beautiful voice over a progressive landscape. I think its both softer n harder than their previous releases. They use more elements from symphonic/classical, but also some passages going more melodic death. U obviously hear Haken in the music, but its never overwhelming.
Review:
Greek veterans Rotting Christ latest record starts w wildly womens voices be4 the band kicks in. This is tight, well-produced black metal w folkish elements n traditional instruments blended in the music.
Highly Recommended
Album musicians:
Sakis "Necromayhem" Tolis - vocals, guitars
Themis "Necrosauron" Tolis - drums
Andreas Lagios - bass
George Bokos - guitars
Guest musicians:
Alan "Nemtheanga" Averill - vocals
Diamanda Galas - vocals
George "Magus Wampyr Daoloth" Zaharopoulos - vocals
Tracklist:
Aealo
Eon Aenaos
Demonon Vrosis
Noctis Era
Dub-Sag-Ta-Ke
Fire, Death And Fear
Nekron Lahes...
...Pir Threontai
Thou Art Lord
Santa Muerte
Orders From The Dead(Diamanda Galas cover)
Previous records:
Passage To Arcturo(ep), 1991
Rotting Christ/Monumentum(ep), 1991
Dawn Of The Iconoclast(ep), 1992
Thy Mighty Contract, 1993
Αποκαθήλωσις(ep), 1993
Non Serviam , 1994
Satanas Tedeum(ep), 1994
Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers, 1996
A Dead Poem , 1997
The Mystical Meeting(ep), 1997
Sleep Of The Angels, 1999
Khronos , 2000
Genesis , 2002
Sanctus Diavolos , 2004
Theogonia, 2007
Review:
BTBAM is back w their 6. full-length, the second installation in their parallax concept, which started w last years ep, Parallax 1: Hypersleep Dialogues. The album stretches over 70 minutes and contains mostly of 4 songs which clocks in on 10+ each. Between these long songs u find shorter gems.
This album got the typical BTBAM sound. Both the harsh section, the softer n all in between works great, the transitionts feels smooth.
It is a lot to digest here, so if ur not familiar w this band u need to spin this at least 10 times be4 u get the hang of it;) From what ive heard, i will think this would go into my top 10 at the end of year. Their sound is so unique n it rly feels like they r pushing themselves. Highly recommended.
Album musicians:
Tommy Rogers - keyboards, vocals
Paul Waggoner - guitars
Dustie "Dustball" Waring - guitars
Blake Richardson - drums
Dan Briggs - bass
Tracklist:
Goodbye To Evertything
Astral Body
Lay Your Ghosts To Rest
Autumn
Extremophile Elite
Parallax
The Black Box
Telos
Bloom
Melting City
Silent Flight Parliament
Goodbye To Everything Reprise
Previous records:
Between The Buried And Me, 2002
The Silent Circus , 2003
Alaska, 2005
Colors, 2007
The Great Misdirect, 2009
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues(ep), 2011
Review:
Super prog group Arena released their latest last year. The members comes from bands such as Pendragon, IQ and Marillion.
They display as allways great songwriting and good production. Newcomer in the band, vocalist Paul Manzi, has a voice that suits the band perfectly.
Album musicians:
Clive Nolan - keyboards
Mick Pointer - drums
John Mitchell - guitars
John Jowitt - bass
Paul Manzi - vocals
Tracklist:
The Great Escape
Rapture
One Last Au Revoir
The Ghost Walks
Thief Of Souls
Close Your Eyes
Echoes Of The Fall
Bed Of Nails
What If?
Trebuchet
Burning Down
Catching The Bullet
Previous records:
Songs From The Lions Cage, 1995 The Edits(ep), 1996 Pride, 1996 The Visitor, 1998 Immortal?, 2000 Contagion, 2003 Contagious(EP), 2003 Contagium(ep), 2004
Pepper's Ghost, 2005
Review:
This is my first meeting w the indian metal scene, n what a greeting. First disc is a great showcase of ambient prog metal, w ex-Tesseract Dan Tompkins great voice leading. good melodies throughout. disc 2 got a more aggresive tone, w indian harsh vocalist sunneith Revankar.
Review:
After 2 great first albums, Circus Maximus is back w their third release. Like their previous' its quality throughout. Michael Eriksen has a great lead, n rest of the band is just top notch. Clearly one of the top prog metal albums this year. Musically i would say they're somewhere between Dream Theater and Symphony X, with their own unique sound. Related bands would be Spheric Universe Experience, who just released a new album, and Seventh Wonder, w vocalist Tommy Karevik, new lead in Kamelot.
Album musicians:
Michael Eriksen - vocals
Truls Haugen - drums
Mats Haugen - guitars
Glen Cato Møllen - bass
Lasse Finbråten - keyboards
Tracklist:
Forging
Architect Of Fortune
Namaste
Game Of Life
Reach Within
I Am
Used
The One
Burn After Reading
Last Goodbye
Previous albums:
The 1st Chapter, 2005
Isolate, 2007
Review:
Obscura guitarist Christian Muenzners first solo album, which was released spring last year, showcases great guitar techniques. Its a varied album, stretching from soft metal like neoclassical to more brutal death metal.
With him on this album is Obscura/Blotted Science drummer Hannes Grossmann n super bassist Steve DiGiorgio of Sadus, Death, Soen. Theres also lotsa top guitarists contributing on this album.
Album musicians:
Christian Muenzner - guitar
Hannes Grossmann - drums
Daniel Galmarini - keyboards
Steve DiGiorgio - bass
Jacob Schmidt - bass
Guest musicians:
Bob Katsionis - keyboards
Ryan Knight - guitar
Per Nilsson - guitar
Derek Taylor - guitar
Alex Guth - guitar
Victor "V. Santura" Bullok - guitar
Review
Devin is back w a standalone album after his 4-cd project which included Ki, Addict, Deconstruction n Ghost. Its still wellknown high-quality DT songs, which means well produced, good melodies, lotsa layers n flawless musicianship.
I think Anneke Van Giersbergens' voice suits the music very well, both when she does the lead vocal n when she choiring. I read somewhere that DT said he had incorporated more commercial structures in his music, but that doesnt mean its poppish, just not that heavy songs, even though u do find some industrial passages in a couple of the songs. All in all a very good album, which will get lotsa spins in my playlist.
The bonus cd includes only demo tracks.
Album musicians:
Devin Townsend – guitars, vocals, keyboards
Anneke Van Giersbergen – vocals
Ryan Van Poederooyen – drums
Brian Waddell – bass
Dave Young - guitars, additional keyboards
Review:
Its no mystery why this album have done well on several top lists since its release, n constantly come up on my playlist. It seems like all songs on this record has been given enough time under their development to stand out on their own. Highly recommended for all fans of melodic death metal.
Album musicians:
Tobias Netzell - guitars, lead vocals
Christian Netzell - drums
Pierre Stam - bass
Björn Pettersson - guitars, vocals
Tim Nedergard - guitars
Review:
Atoma was formed in 2011, when 4 of the members from the Doom metal band Slumber wanted to experiment w different soundscapes. The result is a lingering, yet beautiful album. They bring in apart from the space elements, both electronic n ambient sounds. I hear a strong influence from Dead Can Dance here.
Even if it is a very quiet album, there r death/doom metal elements incorperated and great progressive lines.
Highly recommended to anyone whose looking for good experimental, fusion metal or just wanna dream away on a journey between the stars...:)
They have allready begun on their second release, Nova, which will probably come out early next year.
Highly Recommended
Album musicians:
Ehsan Kalantarpour - vocals, keyboards
Siavosh Bigonah - bass
Markus Hill - guitar
Jari Lindholm - guitar
Oscar Borgenstam - drums
Christian Älvestam - guitars, vocals
Review:
Ex-Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis is out w his second solo album. w him is Mark Arrington, also late drummer of Nevermore. This album is for those of u who like the guitar playing virtously done. He displays some really nice techniques here, but instead of technique only, he transform it to some great melodious passages. Its not all instrumental. w him, except for some phenomenal guitarists, is Ihsahn n Christine Rhoades putting vocal flavor to it.
Album musicians:
Jeff Loomis - guitars
Mark Arrington - drums
Guest musicians:
Christine Rhoades - vocals
Vegard Sverre "Ihsahn" Tveitan - vocals
Marty Friedman - guitar solo
Tony MacAlpine - guitar solo
Chris Poland - guitar solo
Attila Vörös - guitar
Review:
"Ever closer" start of this album w a soft oftener be4 the guitars kicks in. Josh Burke has a really pleasant voice, n the melodies r great n the transitions goes smooth. Great debut for this american band.
Musically this reminds me of a softer variant of Redemption or Disillusion. Another band who comes to mind is norwegian Gazpacho which they share some of the more atmospheric passages with n the fact they dont have record label backing them.
Highly Recommended.
Album musicians:
Josh Burke - vocals, guitar
Nate Higgins - guitar
Dennis Davis - bass
Niko Panagopoulos - drums
Review:
Its been 5 years since their last release, the excellent Dead Reckoning, 2007. U can hear they have used those years well to polish their new album. The songs r well thought out, great melodies, nice flow between the transitions in the melodies. A difference between the 2 albums would be where DR is faster n tighter, its more loosen up on this time. The production is good, musicianship is good, n Damian Wilsons vocal-lines holds a high standard.
Another album which comes to mind while listening to this, would be Shadow Gallerys Digital Ghosts, 2009.
Album musicians:
Karl Groom - guitars
Richard West - keyboards
Johanne James - drums
Steve Anderson - bass
Pete Morten - guitars
Damian Wilson - vocals
Review:
Think this record is heavily influenced by Tool n Opeth. Vocalist Joel Ekelöf use occasionaly the same vocal techniques as Maynard n Åkerfeldt. Martin Lopez is also ex drummer for Opeth. Other parts of the music reminds me of the more experimental sides of Pain Of Salvation, maybe a bit folkish.
Super-bassist Steve DiGiorgio is also in the band, known from bands like Death, Testament n Sadus.
Album musicians:
Martin Lopez - drums
Kim Platbarzdis - guitar
Steve DiGiorgio - bass
Joel Ekelöf - vocals
Review:
Another good Australian band. Techdeathers Psycroptic gives us tight songs w Jason Peppiatt delivering great harsh vocal. The music drives forward w brothers Haley on guitar n drums. All tracks is of high quality, but as a negative, i would say there r not enough variety on this album. Still highly recommend for those who like technical metal w a unique sound.
Album musicians:
David Haley - drums
Joe Haley - guitar
Cameron Grant - bass
Jason Peppiatt - vocals
Review:
Began listening to this band w their most recent full-length, The Ichthyologist, 2009, which was excellent.
This is a re-recorded version of their self-released debut album Metridium Field, 2004.
The slow, dirty melodies with Aaron Gregorys voice w the choir n the harsh vocal on top is pure enjoyment.
Album musicians:
Aurielle Gregory - vocals, guitar, banjo, Juno 106, Prophet 600, Moog Opus
Aaron Gregory - vocals, guitar, banjo, theremin
Bryan Beeson - bass
Michael Conroy - drums
Tim Conroy - trumpet
Review:
The debut by british The Safety Fire is a blend of djent n more proggy rock/metal. Where other djent/deathcore bands tends to separate the hard n softer parts in the music, SF manage to get it at the same time.
I think Sean McWeeneys have great clean vocal, while his growling isnt that good, but all in all it works well w the music. The guitar work on this album is also very well done.
Album musicians:
Sean McWeeney - vocals
Joaquin Ardiles - guitars
Derya Nagle - guitars
Lori Peri - bass
Calvin Smith - drums
Review:
Their last full-length just blew me away n topped my 2009 list. This time around its less orchestral n more brutal, but still great melodies. I like the interaction between the 2 guitar players, n the tapping is just beautiful. Julien Deyres doing a great job on the vocal, delivering brutal vocal-lines.
They invited 2 guest musicians to deliver on this record, Christian Muenzner from another techdeath favourite of mine, Obscura, n Michael Keene from The Faceless.
There r no weak moments on this record, just put in on n enjoy every turn of the ride.
Album musicians:
Mathieu "Mat" Pascal - guitars
Ben Barby - bass
Sam Santiago - drums
Nicolas Alberny - guitar
Julien "Nutz" Deyres - vocals
Guest musicians:
Christian Muenzner - guitar solo
Michael "Machine" Keene - guitar solo
Review:
I began listening to this band just before the summer, with their previous release Exoplanet, which i think had some killer tracks n solid punch to it. This release is a total different experience. Its more ambient n softer, but still has some great deathmetal blended in.
I think lotsa deathcore band this days r widening their perspective n r looking for influences in different places, not only deathmetal n techdeath. I mentioned ambient before, but in some places on this record i even hear house influence n by that i dont mean the drumming n bass, but the sound. In the beginning of this millenium i was totally into the electronic scene n i dont know if they have listened to the same stuff i did, but i just wanna throw a electronic duo name out who i digged so much, Crazy Penis...crazy name, i know, but they were so good.
But there r a progressive techdeath band i hear lotsa influences from on this album n thats Cynic. Been a while since i listened to the Focus-album, but there r lot of Traced In Air here.
For ppl who like their deathcore hard throughout, this is not for u. If u looking for great melodies, relaxation n hardness, go check it out.
Album musicians:
Jonathan Carpenter - vocals, keyboards
Robby Baca - guitar
Cameron Maynard - guitar
Joey Baca - drums
Chris Tilley - bass
Review:
Great melodic n relaxing debut album from 4 talented guys. I havent listened that much to either Mars Volta or Suicidal Tendencies, so i cant say if it resembles those band, but i rly like Animals As Leaders debut, n they do have some similarties, except there r no metal here.
I would say that they taken much of their influences from the 70s jazz/rock fusion scene, but i cant point to which band excatly. All i can say, is that this is my kind of jazz, since im a big fan of those early bands, like Bacamarte, Sloche, Mahavishnu Orchestra n so on.
Album Musician:
Adrian Terrazas - saxophone, flute, bass clarinet, percussion
Javier Reyes - guitar
Tosin Abasi - guitar
Eric Moore - drums
Review:
The first 3 songs of this album, called Movement, reminds of the nordic metal scene with some Devin Townsend influence put in. The first maybe finnish, the second swedish and the third norwegian. Since i am norwegian i recognize the norwegian band influence the best, with lotsa Enslaved, a bit Dimmu Borgir/Sahg, a few vocal lines ala Roy Khan, former Kamelot vocalist and Ihsahn.
I really like the guitar work on this album, some of the solos are just orgasmic.
Accelerated Evolution got loads of Devin Townsend influences in it, n its also named after his 2003 album.
Also lots of Opeth influences throughout the album, n even a bit Alcest put into the mix.
Overall a really good album, n highly recommended if your into either of the influences i mentioned above.
As a negative i would say they doesnt got a clear enough voice/sound of their own, n sounds as a mixtures of different bands in the prog/death/tech scene.
Album musicians:
Geoffrey Ficco - vocals
Michael "Machine" Keene - guitars, vocals
Wes Hauch - guitars
Lyle Cooper - drums
Evan Brewer - bass
Review:
The intro of this album reminds about the beginning of an old Roadrunner band named Thorn. It got this ambient, arabic sound to it n echoing guitar.
Im not so familiar with russian bands, so listening to this album was a great surprise. They got a real punch in their music n there r no weak songs on this album. Good workmanship throughout. They sing in russian, but i really dont mind. The vocalist has a good growl n his clean voice is good aswell.
