Arch/Matheos-Winter Ethereal

This was a cool surprise for those of us older prog metal nerds.  For the uninitiated, this is basically a neat project between the creative mastermind/guitarist of Fates Warning (Jim Matheos) and the original lead singer of Fates Warning (John Arch).

To give a brief recap, John Arch was the lead singer for Fates Warning on their first three albums and his reign as frontman for the band ended in 1987.  Arch was basically out of music until 2003 when he reunited with his former bandmate Matheos who, along with drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater) and bassist Joey Vera (Fates Warning), helped him flush out a couple of songs for his solo release, A Twist of Fate.  This two song EP was fucking amazing.  The positive reaction to this limited release led to a full blown album in 2011 that was ultimately an Arch led version of the current Fates Warning lineup under the Arch/Matheos moniker.  And once again, it fucking ruled.

So, here we are again.  Another eight years from the last release and the dudes have put together another full album of prog metal delights.  Reading the album credits reads like a who’s-who of former and current Fates Warning members.  Mark Zonder, Bobby Jarzombek, Frank Aresti, Joey DiBiase, Joey Vera along with guest stars Steve Di Giorgio and Sean Malone.  The album is pretty much what you’d expect from these guys.  It sounds a helluva lot like the current version of Fates Warning with John Arch’s vocal style.  Arch is still belting out in his trademark high tenor air raids.  It’s a vocal style that you are either going to fully embrace or it is going to put you off a bit.  I have to admit that I came to the Fates Warning bandwagon on Ray Alder’s first album and have always been a bit more partial to him as the voice of Fates.  But, I have really dug what Arch and Matheos have done on all of the new material they have created together.  The newest album is probably my least favorite of the three release they have put out so far together, but that’s not really much of a negative for this album because it is still really good and worth your time.  It’s a little more of a straight-forward rocker of an album than the other two releases.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

Royal Thunder at The Lost Well, Austin, TX 5/26/2019

Seeing Royal Thunder in person is witnessing what it is truly like for a hard working band slogging through the trenches of metal in a bid to get their music out to a wider audience.  This was not a glamorous scene.  It wasn’t the high gloss of stardom you see out at the 360 Amphitheater or at the Moody Theater.  This is done purely for the love of the music and an innate passion to push the vehicle forward regardless of the venue or of the size of the crowd.  And I just find seeing bands this talented and underappreciated as Royal Thunder are as an inspiring story.  No one is getting rich here.  This is a grind.  And the most amazing thing is that their station in the world of music could lead them to become jaded assholes.  But it doesn’t.  These guys sincerely seem appreciative from whatever positive feedback comes from the crowd.  I don’t know what the future holds for Royal Thunder, but I hope they get some positive breaks in the future.  Because they are simply an amazing band with a sound that is unique in the metal world.  It’s world weary rock n’ roll all delivered through the passionate vocals of Mlny Parsonz.  I always said that I felt Chris Cornell had the best voice in the metal world.  With his passing, I honestly believe that Miss Parsonz has claimed that mantle.  Just amazing pipes.

Please go support these guys if they make it through your town.  Buy a ticket and spring for an album/tour shirt/sticker if you are able.  I can’t implore this enough.  These bands are the life-blood of metal.  This story deserves a happy ending.

April Showers

Forgive Me Karma

Riverside and Contrive at Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill, Dallas, TX 5/22/2019

So, a number of years ago, when the punk rock wife and I first started dating, we would engage in a version of 20 questions in an attempt to get to know each other a little better.  One of the questions she asked me on one of our early dates was:  what band have you not seen perform live that you really want to see?  My answer was twofold:  Pain of Salvation and Riverside.  Neither band has ever done a ton of touring in the U.S. and neither of them had made their way through Texas as of 2011.  Well, lo and behold, I have now knocked both of these bands off of my “to do” list after seeing Pain of Salvation in Houston early in 2018 and now getting to see Riverside play at the really nice intimate outdoor stage of Gas Monkey Bar N’ Grill in Dallas.

Sometimes when you wait a really long time to experience something in person the expectations are so large that the actual event can’t help but not live up to those lofty expectations.  This was not the case on Wednesday night.  Riverside simply obliterated my expectations by giving one of the more memorable live shows I have witnessed in some time.  There live performance really solidified Riverside in my mind as one of the true powerhouses of prog metal of the 2000s.  They have found that sweet spot in prog where the blending of technical prowess and songwriting go hand in hand to create something sweeping.  Take the best aspects of Porcupine Tree, Rush and Pink Floyd and it will give you a sense of what Riverside is up to.  This was just a fantastic show and this is definitely a bandwagon that you should jump on if you haven’t already.

In addition to Riverside, a duo of twin brothers named Contrive opened up the show with an impressive display.  I had no ideas of who these guys were before I showed up and I’m always kind of skeptical about non-traditional lineups such as this one (one brother on drums, one brother on guitar/vocals), but these guys pounded out some really solid songs and didn’t see to miss the omission of a bass player in their ranks.  There is always a new band and always new music to be found.

Oh, and the new bands taking it’s place at the top of the list of bands I still haven’t seen:  Cult of Luna and Meshuggah.

Reality Dream I

Second Life Syndrome

Struggle For Survival

Panic Room

Contrive

Michael Schenker Fest at Empire Garage and Control Room, Austin, TX, 5/18/2019

So, when you get to the point where you create a fest around yourself, you’ve either had one hell of a long and prosperous career or you’re just an egomaniacal jackass.  Or both.

Michael Schenker is one of those guys who I’ve found is usually a bellwether for ferreting out whether someone is a true metalhead or not.  If you know who he is, or better yet, you know some of his albums, you’re one of us and you can stay.  He’s one of those guitar gods who should be more well known than he is, but for some reason has never reached the mainstream consciousness of, say, a Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Tony Iommi or Slash.   Schenker always seemed to hover just under the surface of mainstream fanfare even though he was a leading force of two very influential metal powers:  UFO and the Michael Schenker Group.

Saturday night was a celebration of the man’s career.  The focus was mainly on songs from his MSG days with a smattering of UFO classics and a few songs he contributed to his brother’s band, Scorpions.  Along for the ride were four singers who fronted different eras of MSG:  Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley and Doogie White.  All told, these aging rockers pulled off an impressive set that lasted over two and a half hours.  A lovely evening of nostalgia was had by all of the fossils in the crowd and on the stage.

The Desert Song

Rock Bottom

Amon Amarth-Berserker

My love for you is like a truck! BERSERKER!!

Would you like to making fuck?! BERSERKER!!

Yeah, that’s the first thing that popped into my head when I saw Amon Amarth’s new album was entitled Berserker.  Johan.  Bubby.  You realize that you’re going to lose some points in my review if you come out with an album called Berserker and you don’t even try to come up with a cover song of the Berserker song from Clerks.  I mean, seriously.  Would you like to suck my cock?! BERSERKER!!  How is this not included on this album?  Missed opportunity.  If Vikings possess the ability to feel shame, I certainly hope the lot of you feel it in spades.

At any rate, Amon Amarth has a new album.  And there are Vikings.  And there is Thor and his hammer.  And there is standing side by side with your brothers in the face of insurmountable odds.  And there is pillaging.  And there is glory.  And there is glorious death.  And there is also some mutant blood-thirsty uber-Viking called a Berserker.

So, you know, an Amon Amarth album.

This one doesn’t stray too far from Amon Amarth’s typical formula.  They are kind of becoming the AC/DC of the death metal world.  No real surprises, but what they do, they do really, really well.  This one isn’t at the top of the Amon Amarth catalog, but isn’t at the bottom either.  It’s just a typical album from these gnarly and hairy Swedes.  I will say, in addition to being upset with no Clerk’s Berserker rendition, I’m also a little bit disappointed in what really seems like a bit of plagiarizing of the main riff of Scorpions Sail of Charon during the chorus of Shield Wall.   I mean, nobody caught that in the studio before sending this off to get mastered.  Not good, man.  I’m going to have to dock you points for that as well.

3.5 flip flops out of 5

 

Spotlights-Love & Decay

Hey there, Spotlights!  Good to see you back on the scene with a brand new spankin’ album.  Spotlights are a little band from Brooklyn that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago when they opened up for If These Trees Could Talk.  After seeing them live, they released a little album entitled Seismic and I dug that one so much that I put it at #17 for my 2017 Best of Metal List.  These guys aren’t an extreme metal band by any stretch and they’re probably one of those bands that kind of straddles the definition of metal.  Their sound is kind of a mixture of grunge, post-metal, and shoegaze.

The latest album sees the band in a little less heavy territory than they explored on Seismic.  This album almost has more of a dreamy pop sensibility than the more grunge sound of the previous album.  From what I can gather, the album tackles the nature of relationships with a particular focus on the real life marriage of the two main band members of Spotlights, Mario and Sarah Quintero, and the pressures of being in a touring band together.  In light of the subject matter involved, it’s understandable that the sound on the new album is a little more intimate and a little softer around the edges.  While there are some choice moments on Love & Decay, I don’t feel that the material is a strong as the songs from Seismic.  There are heavy moments, but there aren’t any that really come close to capturing the infectiousness of the previous album.  Also, another complaint is that the dual vocals of Mario and Sarah seemed to be mixed way back in the final sound.  Their harmonizing was a cool aspect of the earlier album and I think it draws away from the material in not having their voices a little more showcased by the mix.

Fair or not,  I think my love of Seismic has kind of colored my initial view of Love & Decay.  Seismic was such a cool and unexpected album that it’s a hard act to follow.  It may be that my appreciation grows for Love & Decay the more time I spend with it.

3 flip flops out of 5

Helms Alee-Noctiluca

Helms Alee is a lighter shade of grunge than I think we normally see.  I’m not really even sure if this band fully qualifies to be categorized as metal or not, but honestly, where else would you place these guys?

This is actually the first album of Helms Alee that I have actually purchased and spent some significant time absorbing.  I had seen them open up for other bands over the past few years and I always dug their live set.  They are one of these three piece bands that has a really large sound in a live setting with all three members contributing vocals.  And after hearing their latest album, I really feel like this is one of those bands whose songs come alive more in a live setting than in the studio.  The album is not bad by any means, but I think only about half of the songs really left me with any lasting impression.  The twin female lead vocals of bassist Dana James and drummer Hozoji Matheson-Margullis provide a rich melodic tapestry in contract to the harsh vocals provided by guitarist Ben Verellen.  Also, a major highlight on the album is the dense rhythmic and downright Bonham-esque drumming of Matheson-Margullis.  The drumming on here is just huge.  Some drummers are known for their cymbal play or their skill in double-bass.  She brings the rhythm in some seriously creative tom fills that just propel each song forward.

Good, but not great album, but one I look forward to hearing in a live setting.  As I said, I think this album will coalesce more live than it does on the album proper.

3 flip flops out of 5

Lord Dying-Mysterium Tremendum

I’ll just come right out and admit it.  I discounted Lord Dying in the past.  Hell, I think I was even downright dismissive of their earlier work.  Sometimes that happens.  When you listen to a shitload of new music, you try to sift through the sheer mass of releases and try to find the few gems.  In the process, you may listen to a snippet of songs here and there and make a snap judgment on a band before giving them a fair shake.  After listening to Lord Dying’s latest, I think I may have missed the boat on these guys.

This is one of the richest and most lush albums to come out this year.  There are layers of originality and creativity at play here.  You’ve got touches of grunge, touches of stoner, touches of sludge and it’s all just woven together expertly into this amazing amalgam of awesomeness that is truly inspiring and infectious.  I especially love the combination of harsh vocals with some downright clean Beatle-esque clean harmonies.  These latter vocals were really unexpected and result in a really classy touch to their sound.  In addition, this album is just ordered perfectly with one song seamlessly blending into the next.  The entire album just feels like a cohesive whole rather than a collection of separate ideas.  It’s an “album” album rather than just a collection of songs, if you will.

Seriously.  Huge props to the hairy men of Lord Dying.  This is one in which you should be proud.  I, for one, am now about to revisit your earlier material.

4.5 flip flops out of 5

Fractal Universe-Rhizomes of Insanity

I think the neatest thing I just learned about this band is that they hail from Nancy, France.  Say it out loud.  It’s fun.  Nancy, France.

So you’ve got a tight little death metal outfit from France on album number two for their career.  I guess the normal inclination would be to compare these guys to fellow countrymen, Gojira.  Well, that was just be downright lazy.  These guys don’t sound anything like Gojira.  These guys are more in line with the massive amount of other slickly-produced technical death metal bands going today.  The sound is so polished on this thing that it is damn near sanitized.  And I think that’s honestly my biggest complaint here.  It’s too clean.  There’s just no rough edges at all and the whole thing just feels like it has been manufactured in a lab.  The talent in the band can’t really be denied.  It’s professional and delivered in a supremely talented fashion.  But, like a lot of bands that trade in this sub-genre, I just wasn’t left with anything to really hang onto after a couple of listens.  Memorability.  That’s really the one thing that this one lacks.  An hour after listening to it I honestly couldn’t really remember anything concrete from what I heard.  No tracks infectiously wormed their way into my brain.

Nancy, France.

3 flip flops out of 5

Dead To a Dying World-Elegy

I really wanted to like this record a hell of a lot more than I actually do.  The first snippet I heard sounded like some really cool atmospheric black metal awesomeness.  Combining that initial impression with the cover art on this thing and the fact that these are fellow Texans, well, my anticipation was fairly hopeful for this one.

Well, the album isn’t bad, but it doesn’t really soar like I had hoped either.  What you’ve ultimately got here is a combination of black and pagan/folk metal.  It feels like many of the songs have a very bifurcated nature in that the black metal portions and the folk metal segments feel more like separate interludes within the same song.  In a way, this separateness hampered the cohesion and flow of the album as a whole.  There are some promising moments contained herein and I think the band has some good ideas and a unique take on metal.  I’m hopeful that in the future their sound comes together a little more and delivers on the promise suggested here.  It’s just that they aren’t quite there yet on Elegy.

3 flip flops out of 5