Kalisia at Myspace

Despite the fact that the French progressive death metal band Kalisia was founded in 1994, Cybion, released earlier this year, is their debut. With choral vocals and the heavy use of keyboards, I felt that this album is best looked at from the perspective of progressive metal than death metal. When I want to hear death metal, I want something sickening and I want something brutal; this doesn’t deliver on either count, despite the frequent use of harsh vocals. It’s just too melodic to be a really great example of death metal.

Cybion is considerably better as a progressive metal album, but it still has its flaws. It’s supposed to be some sort of sci-fi concept album, but I never really understood it (the fact that many of the vocals are growled didn’t help). It also seems more than a little derivative of Ayreon, what with the multiple singers, squelchy synthesizers and Arjen Anthony-Lucassen himself appearing on one track. It’s messy and overlong, but there are lots of interesting musical passages so it evens out fairly well in the end. I can’t recommend Cybion to death metal fanatics, but prog metal fans should like it. I think it’s decent for a first effort, but I’ll probably never listen to it again.

Dol Theeta at Myspace

Dol Theeta is Thanasis Lightbridge’s second project. His first, Dol Ammad, was unique among metal bands in that it employed a 14-member choir and relied heavily on electronics. Dol Theeta is different, as it lacks a choir and is quite a bit more laid-back than either of the Dol Ammad albums. And there’s the rub- to me, this seems more like a straight-up electronica album with a few metal influences than a metal album. While Dol Ammad straddled the line between “metal” and “not metal”, the choir and epic nature of their songs at least reflected metal aesthetics; the metallic content on “The Universe Expands” is limited to the occasional guitar solo. It’s not a bad electronica album by any means, and open-minded metal fans might enjoy it, but metal purists will want to pass this one up.

Meshuggah at Myspace

Let’s face it the quality of Meshuggah’s material has been on a downward spiral since 1998’s “Chaosphere”. 2002’s “Nothing” was a mid paced boring trudge and 2005’s “Catch Thirty-Three” was an overly pretentious journey to the musical equivalent of the middle of nowhere with nothing to show for it. The problem with both of those releases is they were too obtuse and for want of a better term ‘mathematical’. You are probably saying “but the whole point behind Meshuggah’s music is their use of complex almost mathematical rhythms; how can their music be too mathematical!” The problem is when the mathematics overpowers all the other elements of the bands formula so that it becomes a staid series of theoretical musings in obscure time sequences and forgets the adrenalin rush and off kilter momentum that made songs such as “Future Breed Machine” and “New Millennium Cyanide Christ” so memorable.

The songs on “Nothing” and “Catch Thirty-Three” had the momentum of a bulldozer stuck in quicksand and instead of making you want hurl yourself around your room instead lulled one into a feeling of drowsiness. “ObZen” at first listen seems to have rectified this problem with the first song “Combustion” which is a full throttle poly-rhythm attack that engages the senses like having a hive full to the brim of hornets flung at you at top speed. In theory if there are a few fast songs on “ObZen” then that should allow the slow ones to be more memorable as they won’t blend into one featureless mid paced chug a la “Nothing”.

However, this is not the case as the next six songs are mid paced and whilst tracks such as “Lethargica” and “This Spiteful Snake” have unnerving yet atmospheric discordance that the material on “Catch Thirty-Three” could never hope to achieve. Unfortunately tracks two to seven to seem to blur into half an hour of mathematical chugging nearly always at the same tempo that betrays however unworldly and mind-blowing this material may appear to be at first listen, when presented like this with not enough fat cut away from the meat, the Meshuggah sound seems as formulaic as Cannibal Corpse or Dark Funeral.

“Pravus” is a faster paced and less samey track which helps to some degree to bring any listeners attention that may have wandered back to the fore. It’s too late though as it’s the penultimate track and its now the turn of the nine and half minute album closer “Dancers To A Discordant System” to finish off the job of disappointing us once more. A moment roughly around 5:45 is oddly reminiscent of Gojira which isn’t surprising given the influence Meshuggah have had upon them, but it further hammers it home that barring a surprise return to form, Meshuggah’s time as innovators and leader seems to be over. With one brilliant track with the rest ranging from “kinda alright” to “deserving to be on “nothing” ” this has proven to be a disappointing album.

Amaseffer at Myspace

Israel’s best known metal export, Orphaned Land, is notorious for the paucity of its releases. When they released Mabool, their best known effort, in 2004, their previous album had been eight years prior, and their next album still has not surfaced. So it’s fortunate that Amaseffer has stepped in to fill the void. Their first album, Slaves for Life, sounds more than a little like Mabool, but with more emphasis on symphonic keyboards. It is intended to be the first in a trilogy of albums about the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament.

The band had difficulty finding a vocalist, but they managed to get Mats Leven of Therion to perform most lead vocals, and Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy guests on one track. I was originally shocked that Amaseffer had allowed goyim to perform on this album, but it didn’t matter because Leven’s performance was quite good. If Slaves for Life has any real weaknesses, it’s that at 77 minutes and 45 seconds, it goes on a little longer than it should. The song “Midian” also used a horse whinny at about eight minutes in which I’d heard in so much stuff that it’s basically the equine version of the Wilhelm Scream. This is a quality release and I heartily recommend it.

Rosetta at Myspace

Rosetta’s particular strand of Post Metal takes the ethereal melodies present within Katatonia’s “Brave Murder Days” and The Angelic Process’s “Weighing souls with Sand” and merges them with the that staple of the Genre, the mid period Isis sound. The quiet/loud/quiet/loud dynamics are infused with a gradually increasing sense of urgency that many post metal bands try and fail to achieve. There is a sense of nearly but not quite linear progression in the song writing which adds a progressive and epic feel to the compositions.

“Wake/Lift” is a hauntingly beautiful yet exquisitely savage record and one that proves that Rosetta might be able to one day make the leap and join Isis, Pelican, Cult of Luna, and Neurosis as the accepted leaders of the genre. It is a measured and expertly crafted release which throws up new discoveries with each listen. If you like Post Metal you will probably like this!

The Meads of Asphodel at Myspace

The Meads of Asphodel are one of the most unique metal bands I’ve come across. They mix traditional black metal, punk, Middle Eastern music, and electronica in their brand of music, and they do it well. Damascus Steel is their most recent full-length, released in 2005 (two EPs have been released since). The band’s line-up is ever-changing, with vocalist Metatron being the only constant member, and they do not perform live.

Damascus Steel is as varied as any of their previous albums. It’s full of synthesizers, traditional black metal riffs and screamed vocals, and spoken word sections which are pulled off quite well. Most of the band’s lyrics concern war and religion, and they are considerably more thoughtful than most other bands who tackle these topics. Highlights include the opening instrumental Psalm 666, which is littered with samples; the hilarious cover of Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World,” with deliciously tasteless rewritten lyrics and Metatron doing a great impression of Armstrong’s gravelly voice, and “The Gods Who Mock Us,” which features a sweet organ solo as well as insanely brutal vocals.

Don’t stay away from this band just because it’s “black metal”- I dislike most bands in that genre, and the Meads are so much more than another black metal band. I highly recommend this release, as well as all their others (except for the 2007 EP “Life is Shit,” which is three fairly straight-up punk covers).

Baroness at Myspace

“The Red album” is a record that is of the age it was created but yet seems ageless. Combining  both metal influences (Mastodon, Isis, Opeth, Floor) and non metal (Fugazi, Yes, Tool, Pink Floyd) influences to give birth to a sound that is so individual its hard to describe. The foundation of this sound is Stoner tinged progressive metal that is both extremely technical yet flows organically. More than in most metal releases, the vocals play second fiddle to the guitars. The leads and riffs twist and turn down many musical passageways and wormholes yet each songs highly unique and memorable melodies remains as a central cornerstone anchoring the experimentation and innovation that happens in each song.

Baroness could certainly teach the Symphony X’s and other widdle-fest lovers out there how to do progressive metal properly. This musical technicality with a deep emotional resonance and an a ambience that harks back to the early 70’s glory days of prog rock itself. The production is warm and earthy and gives the music a splendidly human feel to it. There are notable psychedelic touches to it with the cosmic “Wailing Wintry Wind” being a notable example with its calm and chilled out Pink Floydian intro segueing into a post rock influenced stoner rock epic that although having a fairly relaxed tone has just the right amount of drama and tension.

There are some Appalachian folk elements with “Cockroach en Fleur” country acoustic instrumental being a prime example. Baroness are one of many acts to be hailed as “the new Mastodon” but they are perhaps the only of one those acts who could not only equal such a tag but might go on to beat Mastodon themselves in the Progressive metal stakes.

North at Myspace

Okay, so maybe you’re like me and you love Isis. Maybe you see “like Isis” in an album review and check it out immediately. And maybe you’ve been disappointed time and again, because it takes more than lethargy to sound like Isis.

North take their own approach to combining post-rock with metal. Sometimes, the post-rock stands out the most, especially on the brief, dark, ominous interludes. Their last EP “Ruins” had one very metal, very promising riff on the track “Nex in March”, but overall was more of a heavy, post-rock, 100% instrumental album. But they decided to go balls-out into metal territory on this one; the post-rock is there, but focusing on the heavy riffs and adding growly vocals has changed everything. The overdriven riffs sound bright and angry; I love some good harmonic interplay, and the two guitarists serve it up constantly. Empty space in the riffs and changes in tone keep the songs fresh and memorable. “Eidolon” sounds just like a Mono song before it approaches sludge-metal territory. And tell me “Falling in Perpetuum” doesn’t stand tall next to any Isis track. Yeah, the album doesn’t really sound like Isis – it’s more by-the-books, and it doesn’t flirt with clean vocals or weird song structures.

Really, this album would be perfect if they mixed it up a little more. It kicks ass and sounds great, but it’s not that creative. The song structures, especially the usual soft-loud dynamic shifts, can be predictable, and there’s barely any shift away from 4/4 time. But if you’re looking for some fresh post-metal, you won’t be disappointed with this.

Kruger at Myspace

Kruger are one of those special bands who at least at this stage in their career cannot be pigeonholed into any specific genre. Their unique sound contains elements of death metal, progressive metal and sludge metal, but cannot wholly fall within only one of those categories. Their one-of-a-kind brand of metal fuses the catharsis and melodic desolation found in such artists such as Cult of Luna, Isis and Baroness with the Stockholm death’n'roll sound of Entombed and Grave, topped off with a deeply progressive and innovative flavour that evokes the spirit of Mastodon and Gojira.

The songs on this album ebb and flow, with a fine example being the full frontal assault slowly dissipating into a post rock manor with the sombre low key passage in ‘Holy Fire’ before building up slowly and melodically into the bass heavy, Tool-like intro to the next track ‘Army of Lovers’. ‘Army of Lovers’ with its powerfully heavy yet catchy chorus is one of the two best tracks on this album, along with the opener ‘Ammunition Matters’, with its savage and furious and almost physical attack on the listener’s senses. Along with Knut and Nostromo, Kruger are proving that Switzerland is still a breeding ground for inventive yet crushingly heavy metal like it was in the days of Celtic Frost, Coroner, and Samael.

Opeth at Myspace

Okay, I know this is a horrendously boring album to review since everyone loves Opeth and probably already knows if they like their newest release, ‘Watershed’, or not. But I don’t, since I’ve avoided listening to it properly until just now.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Opeth. And I’m not one of those elitist Opeth fans who thinks that everything they released after ‘Still Life’ sucks, either. They sucked way before that (ho ho). It’s jut that ‘Ghost Reveries’ really disappointed me. It was too far removed from the Opeth I love. It was too proggy and it was too mellow and it was too crazy and it wasn’t grim at all. Mellotrons? Tribal drums? Fuck off.

Right, yeah, Watershed. What can I say? It’s more of the same, really. Lame. I can’t say I was really expecting them to drop the prog rock nonsense and kick Per out of the band, although it would’ve been nice.

It’s really hard writing a review like this, even when you’re like me and barely even mention the music. On the one hand, I’m glad that Mikael and co. have found commercial success and it’s good that they’re writing music they like. But on the other hand, what about the music I like? Opeth have built up a massive fanbase over the years, albeit mostly the last five, but there’s still some of us who loved Opeth when they were a blackened doomy progressive death metal band.

So here’s my suggestion. Let’s get the band members from Opeth’s glory years together – Peter Lindgren, Anders Nordin, and Johan DeFarfalla – and make a new band called ‘Oldpeth’, with Corpsegrinder on vocals or something. And they can write some awesome blackened doomy progressive death metal, and then I can be happy again, and life can continue to be worth living.

Until that day, I’m going to continue pretending Opeth split up in 2004. Who’s with me?