Category: Album Review

Into Eternity-The Sirens

From the outside looking in, band layoffs can be hard to understand.  We fans are selfish bastards by nature.  We love our bands and we crave new material from said bands.  It’s hard to understand how a creative unit of people aren’t able to produce new content on a regular basis and when a band goes years without producing anything new, it can be frustrating for fans.  However, there is no telling what is going inside of the collective unit.  Personal things happen.  Personnel changes happen.  Life gets in the way.  Now, sometimes a fan’s irritation can be justified, such as in the cases of Tool and Metallica, who are both notorious procrastinators when it comes to producing new songs.  It seems some bands that reach a level of mega-success can afford to rest on their laurels and coast making a living as mainly a touring nostalgia act.  For bands residing further in the underground, I’m sure it is a daily struggle to simply keep the band going as an active entity in this era of the music business.

In the case of Into Eternity, it has been ten years since their last album release.  Part of the reason for this delay was due to some key personnel changes.  Lead singer Stu Block left the band to take the same position with Iced Earth and officially left the band in 2013.  However, it was announced that the band had found a replacement in Amanda Kiernan relatively quickly.  From there, it was announced by the band that a new album was in the works and would be released around late 2014 or early 2015.  And then nothing.  No news.  No updates.  No album.  I have no idea what happened.  Whether it was personal or business issues holding up the progress of this band is just unknown.  And it is really a shame because the buzz on these guys before their extended hiatus was really starting to grow.  They had coveted opening slots on Megadeth’s Gigantour and were a handpicked opener for Dream Theater on their Chaos in Motion Tour in 2007.  It really seemed like things were looking good for these guys and then their progress just hit a brick wall.  It’s one of those stories in the music business that truly makes me sad.

Well, finally, the long-talked about album has come out.  The Sirens is a rebirth for the band in more ways than one.  First, it is the first new music from the band that we have heard in ten years.  Second, the addition of a female vocalist in the form of Amanda Kiernan supplies a new fabric to Into Eternity’s sound.  The weird thing is that, at its core, it still sounds like Into Eternity.  This album is a direct progressive thread from The Incurable Tragedy.  You’ve still got the ambitious guitar licks.  The blending of progressive and death metal.  You’ve got the multiple vocals of Kiernan, lead guitarist and head honcho Tim Roth and death gutturals of bassist Troy Bleich.  It’s good to have these guys back as an active entity.  I hope the layoff wasn’t too long and that people still remember them.  They have a long of ground to regain.  This album is a good start.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

Bloodbath-The Arrow of Satan Is Drawn

I really find it kind of strange that Bloodbath is still a viable entity.  When this project first started, it really felt like a simple outlet for death metal dudes whose main gigs had started to pull away from their original gritty death metal roots into more respectable and proggier death metal bands.  For those not familiar with Bloodbath, this started as a side gig of Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, Katatonia’s Jonas Renske and Anders Nystrom and all around death metal guru/producer/drummer/guitarist Dan Swano.  Swano and Akerfeldt dropped out a few albums past and has been replaced by Opeth drummer Martin Axenrot and Paradise Lost vocalist Nick Holmes.

I like the fact that the guys in the band are really embracing their dark roots on this one.  Renske and Nystrom have reverted by to their early Katatonia nom-de-guerre of Lord Seth and Blakkheim, respectively.  Axenrot is simply Axe and Holmes is going by Old Nick.  They are also living true to their name by basically bathing in (fake?) blood for every appearance/photo shoot they do.  It’s really become quite the spectacle of a band.

Musically, this new one is exactly what you have come to expect from Bloodbath.  Any niceties have been stripped away from this one.  It’s death and gore and apocalypse and a little more death for good measure.  The guitar tones have this odd gritty sound to them.  They are definitely playing to the early 90s sound of the early wave of Scandinavian death metal bands.  This music isn’t for the prog nerd who have latched onto Katatonia and Opeth’s current output.  This is music for the gutters and the morgues.

Also, that album cover is just perfect.  So very Rosemary’s Baby of them.  I love it!

Another tidbit is that they were able to get Jeff Walker of Carcass, Karl Willetts of Bolt Thrower and John Walker of Cancer to provide guest vocals on one track.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

The Ocean-Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

I enjoy a shitload of different bands.  Each time one of these bands releases a new album, I get excited to see what sort of new music they come up with or direction they head in.  There are a select few bands that are in a different category from the great rabble of bands that I normally listen to.  When I hear news of these bands releasing a new album, it creates in me a kind of anticipation I normally associated with myself as a youngster in the days leading up to Christmas morning.  The Ocean (or The Ocean Collective as it seems as if they have reverted back to on this album) is one of these bands.  The Ocean is one of the forefront bands of the post-metal scene and their work in generally is just heads above the unwashed masses of the modern metal world.  Their work is complex.  Their work is challenging.  Their work is downright inspiring.  In a world where a great majority of the music released is of the cookie cutter variety, The Ocean stands out as one of the true unique visionary bands going.

This latest album is an important one for a couple of reasons.  First, it has been five years since The Ocean has released a full album of new material.  Second, this is the follow-up to what I feel is The Ocean’s masterpiece album, Pelagial.  That album is one of those stellar releases that just surpasses general mediocrity of most music created.  These types of landmark albums are always difficult to follow and may be part of the reason for the lengthy wait for this latest album.

So, how did they do this time out?  Overall, pretty good.  My first impression was a slight negative.  This is to be the first part of a two-part album.  I’m generally not a fan of a band releasing an album in two parts because it just fractures the entirety of the flow of the album (see Between the Buried and Me’s Automata I and II from earlier this year.  I still don’t understand why that couldn’t have been released as one album).  Now, setting aside that semantic complaint, the music contained on the album is simply as superlative as anything else The Ocean has produced up to this point.  My first impression is that the material isn’t quite as legendary as Pelagial was, but it is damn close.  It feels as though the band has lightened up the claustrophobic elements of their sound and things feel a bit more melodic and lighter.  This element is evidenced by having Jonas Renske of Katatonia provide the guest vocals on one track.  Even though the music doesn’t feel as dark, the subject matter of the lyrics are still very bleak.  It feels like the main theme running through the album are the constant cycles of upheaval and cataclysmic destruction our world and our species seems to be caught in.  It’s not a rosy picture of things to come.  At least the soundtrack for our demise is pretty fucking great.  It will be good to hear what Part II brings to the table and how it all fits in with Part I.

4.5 flip flops out of 5

Chthonic-Battlefields of Asura

I’ve got to believe that there are other metal bands from Taiwan, but the only one of which I am aware is Chthonic.  Chthonic is a breed of band that proves that metal is one of those art forms that truly transcends national borders and that each new region that metal touches brings their own distinctive style to the proceedings.  Chthonic can primarily be seen as a death metal band with theatrics and symphonic elements combined with the use of traditional Taiwanese instruments and lyrics drawing upon the folklore of Taiwan and their struggle for independence from China.  Chthonic is also one of those bands whose interests in promoting human rights issues is as paramount as the craft of their music.  This is evidenced by lead singer Freddy Lim’s recent election to Taiwan’s legislative body in 2016.  Think of that.  This would be like James Hetfield being elected to the House of Representatives.  Bizarre and cool.

I’m honestly kind of surprised to see Chthonic releasing an album in light of Freddy’s political duties.  Freddy is still screaming in full bloody death metal style and the band is still providing the same theatrical style of death metal they are known for.  I’m not sure that this latest album is breaking any new ground for the band, but it’s a solid effort and fans of the band should be pleased with the result.

3 flip flops out of 5

King Buffalo-Longing To Be the Mountain

Ted Nugent is a dick.  ‘Tis true, ’tis true.  Even you gun freaks know he’s an asshole.  But I’m going to the Nuge well of witticisms to start this review because I think it sums up this album perfectly.  Nugent sucks as a human being, but dammit, I have to admit he did come up with some pretty riffs in the 70s and I’m a pretty damn big fan of Double Live Gonzo.  When you’re putting out decent music, it is a lot easier to look past an artist’s failings as a human being.  It becomes hard to do so when you are Numero Uno NRA apologist and Trump butt-licker and you haven’t had anything relevant to add to the musical world since said 1970s era.  At any rate, I digress.  Let me get back to the whole reason of bringing up the Nuge.  On the aforementioned Double Live Gonzo, he has a lengthy intro to the song Hibernation (righteous classic rock jam) which he ends with, “If you bear with me, I’m going to see if I can let this one melt into your mouth.”  Honestly, now that I type it, it sounds gross.  Especially coming from Nugent.  But, still, this is the phrase that popped into my head when I first heard King Buffalo’s new album, Longing To Be the Mountain.  It’s so cool and so chill and so stonery that it absolutely melts into your mouth and makes everything…..mellow.

King Buffalo, for the uninitiated, is a three-piece outfit from upstate New York.  I’d call them a power trio, but they just never really get all that powerful.  That’s not a knock.  Their music is definitely in the stoner jam band space.  Their songs sort of meander here and there and they usually build into something approaching rocking status.  But, overall, it’s chill music.  And it is really, really good.  Longing To Be the Mountain builds upon the sound that was established in their previous release, Orion.

I’d be remiss not to issue a PSA that these dudes will be playing in Austin at Hotel Vegas this Friday evening.  It’s going to be cold as shit, but come out and check them out.  I don’t want to hear any excuses.  I already know that you don’t have any plans.  We can huddle together and let this one melt into our mouths.

4 flip flops out of 5

 

Beyond Creation-Algorhythm

I honestly came close to purposely not purchasing this album simply because of the title.  Algorhythm.  See, it’s clever.  Algorhythm.  It sounds like algorithm, but they spelled the “rithm” portion of the word as “rhythm”.  Because music has rhythm.  And, see, Beyond Creation is a technical death metal band.  So, they do a lot of weird time changes and shit that involves fractions and other math type shit.  Just like algorithms involve math type shit.  See, it all coalesces perfectly.  Algorhythm.  Music and math and shit and Beyond Creation.  It all comes together in the Rick Grimes’ dad joke of album titles.  Algorhythm, Coral!!

So, let this be another piece of evidence for not judging an album by its cover or album title.  Because in spite of the not so great title, this thing rips.  I’ve seen Beyond Creation open up a couple of times and they have always impressed with their technical skill.  However, I’ve never completely embraced them because their past material seemed to focus more on the technical proficiency of their performances rather than crafting some really memorable songs.  It seems that with Algorhythm that the band has finally found that balance between the two.  The album has all the flash and brilliance in the performances, but the flash never feels overindulgent and doesn’t overshadow what are some very strong songwriting.  This feels like an exciting album and one that the band can hopefully capitalize on.  Let’s just hope the album title doesn’t end up being a hindrance.

4 flip flops out of 5

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats-Wasteland

Hard to believe that this is now album number five for Uncle Acid.  This one is right in line with past Uncle Acid releases.  You’ve got this weird channeling of an evil intentioned post-summer of love burned out hippie vibe through fuzzy guitars and strangely recorded vocals.  These bands that trade in this throwback sound walk a very fine line between rehash/copying and creating something new that is merely influenced heavily by the past.  There are some bands in this sub-genre who sound great their first couple of albums, but seem to stagnate by album three or four (I may or may not be looking at you Kadavar).  I’m not entirely sure why, but Uncle Acid keeps with a fairly formulaic sound structure and still manages to sound different and fresh with each release.  They are one of the few bands in this sub-genre that has managed to avoid any missteps in their career up to this point.  Wasteland continues on with this progression.  Compare the way the guitars and vocals sound on Blood Lust or Mind Control to Wasteland and you’ll find them pretty much the same.  But each album retains its own specific feel and vibe.  I’m really not sure how they manage to pull this off, but it is an impressive feat especially in light of how many bands seem satisfied with rehashing what is essentially the same album over and over.

4 flip flops out of 5

Windhand-Eternal Return

Sometimes doom bands can go overboard.  I mean, there are doom bands in the normal sense and then there are DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM bands.  Bands that crank the fuzz up to eleven and just drone the fuck on and on and on.  Now, I’m as negative in my outlook on life as anyone and I think we as a species are completely fucked, but some of these bands in the latter category really need to lighten the fuck up.  I mean, we can agree that things are shit, but can we at least have a little groove to wallow in our negativity, please.

So, if you haven’t guessed already, Windhand is a doom band.  They are one of these bands that has really generated a lot of really positive buzz over the course of their last couple of albums, but, for some reason, I just haven’t been able to fully embrace them.  I think it may be that their previous albums tended to tread a little too closely into that aforementioned DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM area.  Things just were a little too dense, a little too fuzzy, a little too abstract for it to really grab a hold of me.  So, count me surprised when Eternal Return came out.  I approached this album with a bit of trepidation and wasn’t expecting it to do a whole lot for me.  But, this is why you should always give albums and bands an open mind.  Because this is a downright fantastic album.  Windhand seems to have tried to make their sound a tad more accessible.  Accessible is a term that can be seen as a loaded word in the metal world.  Accessible can infer mainstream or sell out.  That’s not what I mean at all in this case.  It just feels as though the band has tailored their sound to facilitate the songs more than they have in the past.  The fuzz of the guitars and bass don’t drown the songs.  I think they’ve managed to find that perfect pitch of good songwriting paired with staying true to their bedrock doom sound.  It’s Windhand with a brand new polish on it.  I like it.  I think you may as well.

4 flip flops out of 5

Behemoth-I Loved You At Your Darkest

Anticipation was great for this one.  Behemoth’s last album, The Satanist, ended up on the top spot of my little end of year list.  That album was one of those special ones that only comes along every so often.  A clear masterpiece if there ever was one.  A band trying to follow-up their grand opus is always faced with a daunting task.

So, how did Nergal and Co. fair in their attempt?  Pretty damn good, I’d say.  I Loved You At Your Darkest isn’t quite as grand of a statement as The Satanist was, but it still contains enough engaging moments to be considered a really good album.  It feels like more of a stripped down Behemoth.  You’ve got all of the trademark Behemoth hallmarks on this album with a smattering of Nergal weirdness thrown in for good measure.  Having children’s choirs on metal records has always been kind of a weird thing to me.  Most of the time is just sounds canned and lame.  However, the opening of this album with a group of children chanting “Elohim!! I Shall Not Forgive!!!….Jesus Christ!!!  I Forgive Thee Not!!” is downright fucking chilling.  You’ve got the dorkily entitled “God = Dog” (and it’s God = Dog branded dog food as a tie-in.  Bands gotta make money however they can!) as a first single and the song is actually a lot better than the title would suggest.  Bartzabel seems to be the track most inspired by Nergal’s dark folk/country side project Me and That Man.

Overall, this is a solid Behemoth album.  Not their greatest and not their worst.  But, still this will probably end up being one of the better albums to come out this year and I think will help Behemoth to continue in their climb from the underground to a little more mainstream exposure.

4 flip flops out of 5

Riverside-Wasteland

Riverside has been one of the top progressive metal bands in the world for most of the 2000s.  This latest album is a big one.  This is the first release from the band following the devastatingly sudden death of original guitarist Piotr Grudzinski.  I honestly wasn’t sure if the band would carry on or decide to call it quits.  When the band finally announced their intentions to go forward with the band as a three-piece with bassist/vocalist Mariusz Duda taking over the guitar duties in the studio and having a session guitarist fill in on tour, I was kind of concerned how it would affect the band’s sound.  It always seemed as if Duda was a major creative force in the band, but it was unclear how losing Grudzinski’s understated and creative guitar playing would change Riverside’s sound.

So, here we are with the new Riverside trio.  And I can say that if you’ve been a fan of the band up to this point, you won’t be disappointed with the new version.  Granted, Duda’s guitar work is subtlely different from Grudzinski’s, but overall not much has changed.  It’s Riverside, plain and simple.

Also, curiously, I wondered if this new album would be in honor or in reflection of the band’s loss.  It doesn’t seem that way.  I mean, some of the song titles seem to reflect loss and looking back at what might have been (The Day After, Guardian Angel, Vale of Tears, The Struggle for Survival), but the lyrics themselves seem like they are painting a separate picture of loss.  I’m sure the music and lyrics had to be influenced in some part by Grudzinski’s passing, but it is not presented in such an overt manner.

This is a quiet celebration of the continuation of one of prog’s shining stars.  I’m really happy that these guys have decided to continue on and have provided us with another classy release.

4 flip flops out of 5