Wednesday, 6 April 2022

Erang "A Season Of Leaves" (2022)

 

The final of five, A Season Of Leaves was the least enjoyable for me. With a misdirection of soft bells at its opening, the music crashes in hard with the Summoning's blueprint. Distant hazy distortion guitars bleed over thunderous drum strikes and shrill wretches of screams chime over a counterpart melody played via the bright key tones. With breaks from extremity led by a deep, epic narrative voice, the Tolkein vibes emanate. Admittedly, its a competent piece of music but the lack of originality leaves me with a sour taste.

From here the format is stretched, pushing the ugly Black Metal in sideways directions and fusing with more Erang-like folkish instrumentation. Its a true mishmash that reaches a low on Le Loup, La Chouette Et Le Vent. The sloppy extremity has no candor. The final track actually finds some fascinating chemistry in stints. The racing drums batter along with thees ascending chorals in the backdrop. Its momentous and rallies to an esoteric realm as zany synths wage in. Without cohesion though, it falters.

Ultimately, this was a brave release to put out there as an artist. Making bold decisions and striving for something different, its five seasons offer up a lot of intriguing musical ideas. In places in sparks, in others it falls flat and that might be down to preference, or simply artist fatigue as the traditional tropes lay all to bare for me. Either way I am glad Erang keeps pushing on! This was quite unlike any other listening experience I have had in some time.

Rating: 2/10

Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Erang "A Season Of Frost" (2022)

 

Home to a song that really turned me off, this quintuple of mini albums hints a rough patch with A Season Of Frost. Les Sentiments Puissants has Erang delve into Black Metal aesthetics with a style I simply can't enjoy. The influence and direction becomes more obvious on the Leaves chapter but here the lone track shows its blemishes boldly. Tape stretched synths and other garish tactics are deployed to descend its decrepit direction into the unruly strangeness of uncomfortable listening. The song is miserable in nature but rather than offering immersion the production slaps one in the face with its stark ugliness.

The other three tacks happen to be the least interesting non Black Metal types. They stand firm to the gloomy early chapters, ones very enjoyable when fresh over ten years ago. All this time later it feels over explored and stagnant. Opening with At The Gates Of Lobrok, its steely build of atmosphere has a little momentum groaning for whats ahead but its dungeon spirit drops off at the arrival of brash howls and a stiff distortion guitar. Sadly, this and the next chapter did not work for me.

Rating: 3/10

Monday, 4 April 2022

Erang "A Season Of Bloom" (2022)

 

Third of Five, A Season Of Bloom was the first of this ninety minute saga to grace my ears. Initially I was unassuming of what was to come. Led by a gorgeous cultural acoustic guitar, I was swiftly reminded of Erang's previous use of this instrument. Where much of the music to follow has an oddball character, led by experimentation and unusual ideas, this felt far more conventional and thus unalike for other reasons. The following three songs continue in this vein for the most cohesive of all five.

Accompanied by curious instruments of luscious dreary timbre, the guitar blooms brightly with a spirit distant from both the Fantasy genre and cultural sounds, yet seemingly they would be its closest companions. Its as if Erang birthed an identity for his realms, expressed through folkish tales that drift between the real and imaginary. Its beautiful and warmth with a subtle sadness, heard deeply on The Day I've Lost My Dog. I do think the shorter, four track focus serves a moment like this one well. A whole hour in this lane may end up loosing some potency along the way.

Rating: 6/10

Sunday, 3 April 2022

Erang "A Season Of Magic" (2022)

 

The second of five new Erang release. The french musicians five part collection of seasons finds its most curious moments here. Possibly the most subdued of all flavors, on paper it would seem closest to tradition. Somehow the foggy atmosphere keys, gleaming strings and waveform synths converge on a new mood. Its mysterious, drenched in a lonely nostalgia, an oddity of execution that is somehow without that distinct Erang footprint.

The Absolute End Of Everything Human hints of an abysmal tone. Its opening symphonic brooding and despairing voices create a "fallen from heaven" epic that gives way to limbo. Two of the remaining three tracks very much reside in a curious space, where the dark and light feel deceptive. The Calm Tower balances out with a Fantasy akin stride through the warmth of sunlight with an eerie underbelly always lurking yet when focused on its disjointed percussion dissipates all tension. Its ever so curious, as much of what unfolds on thees five are.

Rating: 5/10

Saturday, 2 April 2022

Erang "A Season Of Sand" (2022)

 

As the first of five new Erang releases I will be covering, this quintuple format of themed four trackers amounts to ninety minutes of new music. Each "season" has its flavor and sand is my favorite. The opening Guardian Of The Names emerges from is eerie low fidelity Dungeon Synth intro with breaks of Persian percussion and exotic instruments that conjure visions of sand swept cultures and societies bustling with life to a backdrop of endless dunes. The music that follows has a unique fusion of quirky, disjointed fidelity distortions and a slow soothing melody drifting at dreamy tempos, alluring one into its vast nightly journey.

Oasis Mysterio lumbers into a peculiar Jazz Fusion jam, as a lead jiving colorful keyboard sporadically splurges its notations with a jazzy free form over the dulled minimalist synth backing behind it. Unique, as quite a few things in this project were. Sands Of Innocence peaks my interest however, its unusual chemistry of temporal tones, cloaked in mysterious voice suddenly bursts apart, teeming with life as a 90s dance beat jolts the second half of the song into life. Very memorable.

Rating: 6/10

Friday, 1 April 2022

Sequestered Keep "Sorcerous Steel" (2022)

 
 
Its been five years since The Vale Of Ruined Towers, a Dungeon Synth adjacent release that I remember fondly for its its lush medieval fantasy direction, one similar to Fief. Sorcerous Steel has little in the way of surprise, having now unearthed these fruits from the niche scenes of bandcamp. Without a lick of darkness, the record peruses through the pleasantries of natures charms. Its got melodies to fill the meadows of a warm summers day, set a few hundred years back of course. Splendor gushes forth as each song gently drifts along rivers of cleansed historical imagination.

The five years of its creation don't amount to anything remarkable. Its arsenal of virtual instruments, pan flutes, trumpets, plucked harps and tambourine led percussion are brought forth crisp and clear. They harness the sweetest, most welcoming of melodies. The record is a constant wash of jovial notation and serine warmth forged from a fictional nostalgia of Medieval days that sweeps hardships out of sight.

These songs consistently dance in their own moment. Gradual progressions and structures emerge but the very nature of these joyous, spirited melodies keeps one locked in the present moment. Conjuring similar tones of bright monarchistic wonder, the riches of the day, the albums own progression too is just a series of moments. Each song fades out in a similar state to where it started and thus the whole project feels like background music for a setting, perhaps in a video game. This might sound negative but sometimes its exactly what you want. This is music for the background, something too sooth you with its purposely romanticized nostalgia.

Rating: 5/10

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Old Man's Child "In Defiance Of Existence" (2003)

Having now joined the ranks of longtime friends Dimmu Borgir, Galder returns to Old Man's Child with a masterstroke of composure. For all his bold and gallant melodies, the darkly power chord shredding and blushes of symphonic might. On this occasion, his ideas arrive united with a seamless cohesion as the enjoyable yet cheesy and simplistic pleasures fall wayside to musical ideas executed with vision and purpose.

From start to end In Defiance Of Existence drives its devious themes with intent that delivers many remarkable outbursts of color and energy between the foundations of extreme metallic intensity. Pivoting away from pure power chords, Galder unleashes his new found tremolo shredding heard on Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. He also revives the Spanish acoustic guitar to great effect, complimenting the distortion guitars on occasion and gracing us with the stunning interlude In Quest Of Enigmatic Dreams.

So much of the albums pleasures derive from the simplicity of composition. Subtle background synths enrich fiery guitar riffs. Galder's screams are measured, deeper in tone, essentially subdued forms of the raspy howling serpent that came before. The distortion guitar texture is gorgeous, a thick and versatile tone that doesn't overpower. Best of all its drum aesthetics are on point. The snare snaps, the bass kicks pop. Sounding crisp and sharp, its fit for any blast beat or bouncy groove that is demanded.

There is a question to be asked, how much this fine production shapes Galder's music? To my ears, a shift is present in his writing style. He seeks out gratification through a songs trajectory, with frequent luminous, wondrous guitar solos and climactic riffs built up to with craft and care. The keys do drop in with big melodies on occasion but mostly they follow the growing momentum of a track. There is a variety of tones too, sometimes exchanging its roll as the lead instrument. With this approach the nine songs have a lot to offer without a single weak spot.

Its clearly Old Man's Child's finest hour, a nightly ride of fiery, fun and passionate Symphonic Black Metal. Its extreme yet appealing to the warmer sensibilities of melody and rhythm than its evil theatrics suggest, like much of the back catalog. With news of another album in the works, I hope the absence brings Galder the inspiration to reach these peaks again as this record is an affirmation of his musical brilliance.
 
Rating: 9/10

Wednesday, 30 March 2022

Killing Joke "Lord Of Chaos" (2022)

Its been seven years since the mighty Pylon. Now forty plus years deep into their career, Killing Joke deliver two new songs on a four track EP boosted by a couple of disposable remixes. Although enjoyable for a fan, there is little new hear to be heard. Title track Lord Of Chaos is the grittier of the two Its rumbling textural base guitar throws back to the aesthetics of their early days. Its a typical exchange of meaty groove and dystopian atmosphere they have done over and over at this point.

The second track Total also stems from their 80s output. This one is moodier, with its nightly unease tone drawing from eerie synths when the guitars drop out. When they come back in its with an almighty roaring momentum. Jaz's singing reminds me of their Night Time album. Point being, its good but all has been head before.

The Big Buzz remix brings 90s electronic club music vibes to the Pylon song. Its reasonable but the bass kick thud is rather incessant. Delete In Dub pushes a Drumstep beat through a loose fitting of sound experiments and disjointed noises. It amounts to very little with Jaz's occasional voice the only thing tying it to the band. Ultimately, these two add a little fluff to new music that lacks any originality.

Rating: 2/10

Tuesday, 29 March 2022

Stellardrone "Between The Rings" (2017)

 

I was somewhat surprised to see I had not written about Stellardrone before. Then again, all their music was released before I started this blog. The exception being this EP which had passed me by, so the opportunity to delve into this unique space was a welcome one. As a self described amateur composer, Edgaras has a distinct emotive sound, competently channeled into a stunning, inspiring experience.

 Its cosmos theme hinted at in title and album art sets a president that's hard not to absorb. Thinking of whats beyond the stars in the great mystery of the universe comes naturally, unless the suggestion aligns perception? These are slow brooding songs that ride the waves and crash into the beaches with big emotional surges once the momentum has built. A mix of soft adorning strings and synths breath in and out as swirling arpeggio melodies pluck away with a computer characteristic to them.

The percussive grooves are held back, lurking in the shadows and slowly fading in to focus, then complimenting the big surges of emotion that arises. Its fine instrumental ambient but on this occasion feels rather bold and ambitious as its humble beginnings become inescapable, the curious endless inspiration of space and time takes over.

Its probably the absence of Stellardrone in rotation that made these five tracks so potent. It was a welcome experience to get back into this sound again. Between them the variety isn't massive, the formula describe plays out with a few aesthetic and compositional differences but its mostly about the meditative mood that can be achieved with their music. And yes, it turns out I had written about this artist before! Seems I made a spelling mistake with the name "Stelladrone", what a derp!

Rating: 6/10

Monday, 28 March 2022

Old Man's Child "Revelation 666 - The Curse Of Damnation" (2000)

 

If Galder's previous effort Ill-Natured Spiritual Invasion in anyway informed the direction of Spiritual Black Dimensions, the inverse in beyond obvious with this next installment Revelation 666. Now working alongside Peter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy, who produced SBD, the albums aesthetic blueprint is practically a mirror image of Dimmu's lavish symphonic wonder released the year prior. In my youth I absolutely adored this one without considering its construct under any scrutiny. After all, the record is full of over-the-top extreme metal embellished by walls of glossy synths in pursuit of evil.

It is a massive step up from his previous records, which seem all a touch bare in the wake of this wall of sound. Galder's melodies and knack for groovy riffs gets wrapped up in the moment. Barely taking foot of the gas, its a sonic assault from start to end. With frequent plunges into manic blast beats, everything is amped up on their momentum. Its twists and turns onto synth leads and dazzling piano licks is a riot. Most notable are how much more animated the percussion is. If everything has been amplified, the biggest advance lies in the drums which deliver the blasts unlike before.

Overall, the album toys with vivid darkness, a cheesy sense of evil as instrumental arrangement push big and bold melodies off the back of pacey power chord shredding and chugging palm mute grooves. The melodies often interchange between lead guitar and keys with big stabbing synth punctuating with potent emphasis. Early on, some chord progressions and synth tones emulate SBD quite closely, however as the album grows Galder's identity dominates the direction over its appeasing aesthetic.

With that said, his constant barrages of melody, pivots into big riffs and general song writing approach has its formula, one which I enjoy. Lending a critical ear it could be said these ideas do manifest within a narrow scope. In comparison to Dimmu's SBD, there is a notable lack of variety and progression present. These songs churn through the riffs with little in the way of a bigger picture or sense of direction. The opening Phantoms Of Mortem Tales experiences a little of this with its big opening sequence and guitar solos either side of a tense interlude. More creativity could of served it well.

I must conclude that Revelation 666 is more of a personal pleasure than an objective recommendation. In my youth it was exactly what I was looking for. Me and my friends would binge it endlessly. Looking back now that magic is still there however its flaws are more obvious too. The best is yet to come but for me, this Old Man's Child album is a treasure, a part of that Symphonic Black Metal niche I just simply adore.

Rating: 8/10

Sunday, 27 March 2022

Andromida "Timeless" (2020)

 

Despite many spins, its been difficult to feel out the character of this record. Similar characteristics with the plundering Djent riffs typical of Progressive Metal has its chops of binary chugging grooves falling into a lull as its rhythmic grind becomes dull. The frequent bouncing of notes between the guitars silences is a trick I'm not always enthusiastic about. The distortion tone encroaches on the Doom soundtrack styling fully explored on Hellscape, yet here it mostly feels like a knee jerk reaction, as if its melodic colors always need to exchange with some grizzly surge of aggression.

It would be all to easy to describe Timeless as a bridge between it and Voyager. Although apt, where I think Timeless finds a voice is in its union of soft synths, lush pianos and a lead guitar that sings and wails like an expressive voice would. With this being an instrumental project, the constant intensity lacks a submissive quality putting a big focus on those eruptions of dirty Djent jolting guitars. It often overpowers the slew of melody its blazing lead guitar offers. Behind it the lush, soothing wall of electronic instruments curates a warm and airy timbre that is frequently overwhelmed.

It is the moments of calm and respite that Timeless suddenly feels with purpose and expression. There isn't a lot of it about but when those meaty guitars reel back and one can take in the delicate soundscape behind it, the music feels much more meaningful. Best of all, there are a few passageways where a rapturous guitar solo wages in, tandem with the bright pianos. It feels mesmerizing. Sadly, the record as a whole goes in all guns blazing. This really overloads the senses as its over the top guitars strip out the nuance of the accompanying instruments.

Rating: 5/10