Isis – Wavering Radiant
Released: May 5
Genre: Post-Metal
Label: Ipecac / Conspiracy Records
Immediately upon listening to “
Wavering Radiant”, I found myself waiting for that dark, booming wall of sound that was one of the first things that got me interested in Isis when I first heard “
Panopticon”. But the waiting for that specific moment turned out to be rather futile, as “
Wavering Radiant” is, by Isis standards, somewhat laid-back. The sludge has taken a step back and has been replaced by more of an atmospheric vibe, most notably when the samplings and textures provided by the keyboards step in. Is it a bad thing? I'd have to say no. “
Wavering Radiant” is a very, very good album and while a tad different, it's still Isis and nothing else.
Isis excel in making 8-10 minutes of seemingly simple music feel like only 4 or 5 minutes, and “
Wavering Radiant” may be their best effort in that aspect. Every song feels like a journey of its own, yet the album delivers that feeling of cohesion and unity that nigh all great albums share.
An effect of the previous statement is that picking out the best moments is a tough task. All songs benefit not only from themselves, but also from what comes before and after. Every single of the 7 tracks at hand are good in their own right, but combined and experienced front to back, they're just so much better.
“
Wavering Radiant” is a musical journey and an exercise in deceptively progressive music. While that is true, it's probably not for everyone, but for those who give it time and attention, there's a potential top 10 album of 2009 to be found.
Alestorm – Black Sails At Midnight
Released: May 27
Genre: Heavy/Power Metal
Label: Napalm
“
Black Sails at Midnight” has one of the more amusing water markings I've come across in promotional copies. You know a band has a good sense of humour when they end the water marking with
“...and remember, piracy is a crime!. That's of course funny because a lot of
Alestorm's lyricism is about pirates, plundering, that famous ol' spiced and other things related to life at sea a couple of hundred years ago.
Musically, “
Black Sails...” brings nothing new to the table, for genre nor band. It's that tried and trusted formula of double bass drumming, bombastic keys, melodic guitars and a vocalist screaming
“y'arr!” every now and then. The album and the music is to be taken with a pinch of salt and as a whole is quite enjoyable. The songs are well-crafted with good hooks, big choruses and
Christopher Bowes' unmistakable raspy voice. Fans of “
Captain Morgan's Revenge” will feel right at home with “
Black Sails at Midnight” spinning in the stereo, and that is both the strength and weakness of the album.
Dani Evans and
Lasse Lammert deliver some great moments on guitar, but even that is not enough to help an album which frankly starts to feel somewhat dull about half-way through. Maybe it's just me, but after five or six songs about the aforementioned lyrical topics, I'm starting to feel like listening to something else. “
Black Sails at Midnight” is an alright album, but the weaknesses which seemed charming on the previous album stand out more and more as negatives on this release.
· Rating: 5.5
Vomitory – Carnage Euphoria
Released: May 12
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Metal Blade
In a recent interview in the local town paper,
Vomitory acknowledged the fact that they don't really want to change a single thing about their sound and want to be that type of band from which you'll know exactly what you get. A part of me wants to be gentle about this, since they're more or less the town heroes when it comes to metal, but another part of me wants to rip on them because I like evolution and musical growth.
“
Carnage Euphoria” delivers just about everything one has come to expect from
Vomitory. Blast beats, lyrics about gore and the like, brutal riffing and dark, deep growled vocals. The only real curveball is the production, which is much more akin to the mid and early 90's death metal productions than the group's recent effort “
Terrorize Brutalize Sodmize” which had a modern, punchy sound. I definitely preferred the sound of “
Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize”, but for what it is, “
Carnage Euphoria” has an OK sound that fits the bill.
The opening barrage of songs are definitely catchy death metal tunes with some interesting hooks and qualities.
Erik Rundqvist isn't the most exciting growler of all time, but when he vomits out “The carnage rages on!” in the track with the same name, I'm ready to surrender everything and start a one-man moshpit in my little room. The second track “
Serpents” features a nice melodic break in the middle with harmonies that seem somewhat atypical for a band like
Vomitory. But, as previously stated, you know what you're getting with these guys. The remaining 30-or-so minutes is by-the-book death metal, and somehow that does very little for me, even if there're some pretty good songs on there.
“
Carnage Euphoria” is a decent death metal album which does little to excite the listener, but I'll still attend the release party tomorrow here in town.
· Rating: 6
Amorphis – Skyforger
Released: May 29
Genre: Melodic Death/Folk Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Amorphis is one of those bands that attempt to set a certain vibe, and then manage to execute it while sounding sincere and honest. There are bands that try to implement soft passages only to sound uncomfortable doing so, and vice versa. Amorphis' sound flows like a river with seamless shifts in mood and intensity, which makes “
Skyforger” such a pleasing listen. The songs are all around 4-6 minutes long, which lends itself well to a pop-formula with intros, verses and choruses coming at expected times. The core of Amorphis' sound is basically a regular hard rock/metal formula, with a rhythm guitar accompanying a lead guitar, but that'd be dumbing things down a tad too much.
Joutsen's vocal melodies, as well as
Kallio's keys play a huge rule in adding splashes to the canvas to help round things out and give them detail.
There're several songs on “
Skyforger” that will no doubt manage to stick in your head, like “
Silver Bride”, “
Skyforger” and “
Majestic Beast”. “
Skyforger” is filled with quality songwriting that manages to push the right buttons at the right time. Occasionally I kept thinking to myself that
“things have been a bit too cute and sweet for awhile now” and then at the exact right time they drop the sonic anvil in my crotch. A perfect example of such a moment is when the title track goes off, around the 4:30 mark after the bridge, when a choir sings
“I am” and
Juotsen replies with
“the forger of the earth” in a deep growl.
“
Skyforger” will no doubt be high on the lists that aim to pick out the ten best albums of 2009, and it deserves it. The album peaks at the right time, and holds a high standard all the way, from the opening piano melody to the closing acoustic outro. Amorphis are firing at all cylinders and the sky is the limit for them.
Gnostic – Engineering the Rule
Released: May 25
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Label: Season Of Mist
One would think a man like
Steve Flynn would be content with his gig in Atheist, but more power to him and his jazzy tech-death drumming for gracing us with another release showcasing just that.
Gnostic is a band playing the technical death metal of the early 90's, and in effect sounds much like
Cynic, late
Death and
Atheist. The latter being not much of a surprise due to Flynn's unmistakable drumming, but he's not the only one pulling double duties. Bassplayer
Jonathan Thompson and guitarist
Chris Baker also play in the current incarnation of
Atheist, and in effect we more or less have an album that sounds a whole lot like Atheist. Guitarist
Sonny Carson is the only guy of the instrument wielders without an Atheist affiliation, and it shows. Even vocalist
Kevin Freeman sounds a lot like
Kelly Schaefer.
One can of course argue to the end of time whether this is a good or bad thing. Atheist is a very, very special band and one of the founding fathers of jazzy tech-death, but somehow I have a hard time getting past that when we have a new
Atheist album coming our way in only a few months.
But, completely on its own, “
Engineering the Rule” is a fine album. The album is brutal at times, but there're plenty of calmer passages amidst all the chaotic time signatures and technical riffing, so it's not an album that can be accused of being one-dimensional, unless you call being progressive one-dimensional.
Kevin Freeman is a great vocalist and delivers aggression and mixed growls/screams with ease and precision.
“
Engineering the Rule” is a short-but-sweet showcase of old school progressive death metal, but the similarities to
Atheist are at times disturbing to the point of distracting, as you no doubt have noticed. It's a fine album, but a big part of me would've wished for something a bit different.
· Rating: 7.5
News and tidbits from the past month:
German metal label SPV has been declared insolvent, which is more or less the equivalent of bankruptcy protection. Among the bands on their roster that might be affected are Iced Earth, Saxon, Kreator, Moonspell, Sodom and Helloween.
Metallica will film a number of shows for an upcoming DVD. The confirmed shows are those in Mexico City on June 4, 6 and 7, as well as the show at Nimes, France on July 7.
Protest the Hero will release a new live CD/DVD on July 14, entitled “Gallop Meets the Earth”.
Finnish metallers Kalmah have begun recording their new album and are looking to mix and master it in the fall.
Tobias Sammet has begun work on the material for the new Avantasia album. No release date is set, as Sammet is quoted saying “it won't see the light of day until I am completely satisifed”.
3 Inches of Blood have signed a deal with Century Media, and their new album is scheduled for a release this fall.
GWAR have re-signed with Metal Blade Records, whose new album will be out in August.
Progressive rock band Porcupine Tree have signed a deal with Roadrunner Records, who now handle the bands releases worldwide.
Kamelot will enter the studio in June to record their new album and guitarist Thomas Youngblood estimates the overall recording process will take 3-4 months.
Warrel Dane of Nevermore has revealed that the new Nevermore album will be entitled “The Obsidian Conspiracy”, tentatively due late 2009/early 2010.
Behemoth's new album “Evangelion” will be out on August 7 in Europe and August 11 in North America.
Kai Hahto of Wintersun has joined Swallow the Sun as their new drummer. Swallow the Sun recently parted ways with Pasi Pasanen, and the split is reported to be a mutual agreement between Pasanen and the band.
Richard Christy (ex-Death, ex-Iced Earth) has formed a new project entitled Charred Walls of the Damned, which will feature himself on drums, Tim Owens on vocals, Steve DiGiogio on bass and Jason Suecof as guitarist/producer. The band recently signed with Metal Blade.
Guitarist Tchort has announced his departure from Carpathian Forest.
Judas Priest have announced new live album entitled “A Touch of Evil: Live”.
Immortal have announced that their new album, tentatively due in the fall via Nuclear Blast, will be entitled “All Shall Fall”.
The Dillinger Escape Plan have signed a record deal with Season of Mist, with a new album planned for early 2010.
In Mourning have signed a two-album deal with Pulerised Records. The band will enter the Black Lounge Studio on August 22 to being recording the new album.
Baroness recently begun work on their new album in Dallas, Texas.
Shining's new album “VI / Klagopsalmer” will be out on June 15 via Osmose Productions.
