Angry Metal Guy

Unleashed // As Yggdrasil Trembles
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — The Manowar of Death Metal strikes again!
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: unleashed.se | myspace.com/unleashed
Release Dates: EU: 19.03.2010 | 03.19.2010

Unleashed is not without their appeal. They’ve been around for a couple decades now, putting out their first record Where No Life Dwells in 1991, and they’ve been pretty consistently well-respected in the scene for being among the first to do the whole Viking Metal thing. But they’re a band that this Angry Metal Guy has never been able to get into on the basis of one thing: Unleashed is the Manowar of death metal. Now, some people are going to say “But Manowar are the Kings of Metal! Should we not be praising Unleashed for translating such kinglyness into the Death Metal genre?” To which there can only be one response: “Absofuckinglutely not.”

Like Manowar, Unleashed writes some pretty great metal. Musically, the band produces a melodic form of tear-your-head-off death metal that has been associated with Sweden since the early 1990s. The music is powerful, pummeling and thrashy it makes the listener want to headbang! Like their Swedish brethren Amon Amarth, Unleashed likes trem-picked melodic passages that are littered with good groove and plenty of chances to headbang manically. The guitar solos are wickedly thrashy and, surprisingly enough, the bass is even audible! Musically, there isn’t a song on here that I don’t like! And the record pounds out of the gate with amazing tracks, “Courage Today, Victory Tomorrow”, “So it Begins” and “As Yggdrasil Trembles”.

However, like Manowar, Unleashed has a lyrics problem. This chink in the armor becomes the most obvious when one hits the 4th track on the album “Wir Kapitulieren Niemals”, and Johnny starts screaming “Viking Death Metal!” This is not the first time, or the last time, on this record that there are lyrical issues that stand out and make the listener a little bit embarrassing. This sort of idea that one can write about the meta-aspect of heavy metal is one of the reasons that power metal is considered to be so ridiculously cheesy. How does one take  seriously a band that sings about themselves being awesomely metal? And in some ways, its even easier with a band like Lost Horizon or Manowar because they’re wearing loincloths anyway. Unleashed are just a Swedish death metal band cursed with terrible lyrics.

We’ll stop there with our little Manowar comparison, because frankly Unleashed produces way more consistent and interesting music than Manowar ever has. While the latter has a few good songs on every record and then a bunch of shit that litters the side about how metal they are and about how big their “swords” are, the former writes consistent, enjoyable death metal. As Yggdrasil Trembles is par for the Unleashed course, littered with great songs and solid riffs. If you can bring yourself past the silly lyrics, which is often times pretty easy with death metal bands, and you’re a fan of death metal and viking metal, you’ll probably really enjoy this record. Don’t expect to be wowed by their deep interpretations of the Norse myths in reference to our every day, modern life. But then again, when was the last time any metal lyricist wowed you?

Immolation // Majesty and Decay
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Great record!
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: everlastingfire.com | myspace.com/immolation
Release Dates: EU: 05.03.2010 | US: 03.09.2010

Immolation are one of death metal’s best known bands, rooting in the NYDM scene of the 1990s, they have produced some of the most widely worshiped death metal records of all time. Oddly enough, they’re not a band that this Angry Metal Guy was particularly familiar with, as the path to death metal went through more melodic bands. But I have heard rumors of their greatness, technical prowess and their tendency to put out excellent records. Immolation’s 2010 release has seen them living up to this reputation as being one of death metal’s greats with their Nuclear Blast debut Majesty and Decay.

Majesty and Decay is 45 minutes of groove based, but still fairly technical death metal of the type that came up during the early 1990s. Even though the band has been around for a couple of decades, they sound remarkably fresh. Despite being worried from the opening riff of “The Purge”, which is probably the most generic “death metal riff” on the entire album, the album quickly morphed into a groove happy, headbanging inducing death metal masterpiece. The riffs are pummeling and thick. The rhythm section is powerful and adroit, and the songwriting is straight forward enough to not lose listeners while still being technically interesting to listen to.

Following the intro, the first three tracks are really the highlight of this record. They pound out of the speakers with their power and draw the listener back again with their hooks and groove. That’s not to say, however, that the rest of the album is lacking in solid tracks. Throughout the whole album songs stand out for me, “A Glorious Epoch” is probably the highlight for me, while much slower than some of the other songs on the record, it still includes some of the best melodies and riffs on the album. The same is true for “The Rapture of Ghosts”, with its great opening riff and guitar lead, and “The Comfort of Cowards”, which draws the record to a close with a blast of power.

Majesty and Decay also wins in that it clocks in at about 45 minutes long, which is probably about perfect. The band has time to hook you, play out the sound and show off their songwriting and then they keep it short (and vinyl friendly—hint hint!). The structure is great, though the introduction and interlude feel a tad unnecessary, the songs flow and mesh well without flowing into each other and losing their uniqueness. The only complaint that I have is that one could say that the band isn’t necessarily progressing the sound at all. Some have criticized the album for being a replay of the things that Immolation is good at and that there’s no progression from the band. Long time fans who are familiar with the band’s entire discography might feel this way, but as a new listener you probably won’t. Immolation shows off everything that they do well on Majesty and Decay and they don’t overstay their welcome. This leaves the listener pummeled and satisfied when the album comes to its close. Hopefully that’s how we’ll all feel about it at the end of the year.

Kalmah // 12 Gauge
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Fun, but pretty generic
Label: Spinefarm
Websites: kalmah.com | myspace.com/kalmah
Release Dates: EU: 03.03.2010 | US: 04.06.2010

It’s hard to imagine a modern metal without Finnish bands, isn’t it? These guys have been pushing the scene forward for quite a while after having burst onto it with such a forceful manner a decade (or more) ago. One of the bands that has been sadly overlooked in this process has been Kalmah. These guys, while popular, have often taken a back seat to bands like Ensiferum and Children of Bodom in the international scene. This is a shame, because at least The Black Waltz put everything that Children of Bodom ever put out to shame and they make some of the later Ensiferum stuff look pretty weak, as well. While For the Revolution was a pretty big letdown for many fans, Kalmah has returned in 2010 with a scorcher called 12 Gauge.

Clocking in at an LP safe 42 minutes, 12 Gauge follows Angry Metal Guy’s rules for thrashy records with few dynamics: keep the songs short, and keep the record as a whole shorter. If you’ve only got a few tricks up your sleeve, show off those tricks and then run to hills before anybody notices that you’re not doing much more than something fairly simple. 12 Gauge fits this bill perfectly because what Kalmah is doing is very straight forward: they’re making melodic death metal which is meant to be energetic, fun to listen to and cathartic. It, however, is not at all “jaw dropping”, “technical” and it certainly doesn’t really push the envelope very much.

But hell, we don’t need every band in the world to push the envelope. Sometimes you just want some good melodic death metal to listen to while drinking a beer and banging your head, and that’s what Kalmah delivers in spades on 12 Gauge! Tracks like “Bullets are Blind” and “Hook the Monster” are blast happy, speed monsters with great melodies—the latter even containing a chant chorus! How do you fight with that? The band even breaks out their simple, melodic intros and puts them to good use on the title track and “Better Not Tell”. The  melodies are, of course, addictive and the song writing is poppy and keeps you interested by not overstaying its welcome.

However, the downsides to this should be obvious as well. There were times when I didn’t even notice the track had changed at times—such as between “Hook the Monster” and “Godeye”. They’re both great songs, but man do they sound alike. And, while the claim that they’re just writing the same song over and over is demonstrably wrong, there is a sense that this record gets a little tired towards the end. Were 12 Gauge 10 minutes longer, it probably would destroy the appeal for me.

If you love fun, fast and melodic death metal, then 12 Gauge is definitely up your alley. The band has definitely composed a number of awesome tracks that will pull fans in. For the doubting fan, this record is definitely superior to For the Revolution, but we’re not sure if it really surpasses The Black Waltz in scope and originality. While the style is definitely the same, the novelty hasn’t stayed on as strongly. Still, 12 Gauge is a record that is enjoyable and innovation be damned.

Dark Tranquillity // We Are the Void
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Dark and brooding, very good but with some miscues
Label: Century Media
Websites: darktranquillity.com | myspace.com/dtofficial
Release Dates: EU: 01.03.2010 | US: 03.09.2010

Dark Tranquillity is a living legend. Don’t kid yourselves: they’re a band that has managed to maintain their credibility in a scene where many of the bands that have stayed around have lost that credibility (see: In Flames). They have consistently put out good records, even into their less progressive era, that excite their fanbase and and attract new fans with their catchy melodies, creative arrangements and the energy of their music. There are, however, two sides to Dark Tranquillity’s music. The first is a fast, heavy melodic style of thrashy death metal that has long been associated with them and the Gothenburg death metal scene. The second, and the part that has long appealed to us personally, is the blackness and dark emotional content that borders on gothic metal. We Are the Void embodies both of these sides and may be the darkest album the band has produced since the much-maligned Projector.

On a structural level We are the Void is quite similar to Fiction. The production is thick and loud, with the drums moved into the higher, tinny range in order to facilitate hearing them. There is a certain lifelessness that’s been on both of these last two records that I don’t like very much. However, the tones on this record are better than on Fiction, even if they don’t live up to the production on Damage Done and Character. The tracks are generally more chuggy with the keyboard creeping in heavier than ever on this album—thickening up the choruses on  nearly every track and being used to great effect in nearly every song. On top of that, the melodious, harmonized Iron Maiden meets Slayer kind of guitar work has lessened over the years and is even less visible on We Are the Void than on any previous record.  Instead, this style has been replaced instead by breakdowns and stop time riffs like the introduction to “The Fatalist” or the main riff from “The Grand Accusation”. The songs are generally slower across the board and lacking the blast beats that were also more common on previous releases.

We Are the Void does not need the trappings of old Dark Tranquillity tracks to be good, however. Instead, where it differentiates itself is in the dark, almost gothic approach to the tracks that we haven’t heard from the band since Projector. I don’t think we’ve heard as much of Mikael Stanne’s clean vocals, a beautiful baritone tone that fits the darker, slower music very well, as much since Projector—which was unfortunately ripped to shreds by the band’s more elitist fans in the late 90s. But it is these dark, Moonspellesque tracks like “Her Silent Language”, “The Grandest Accusation” and “Iridium” where the band feels fresh, honest and where the real energy is to be found. The final crescendo of “Iridium” only being outdone by the dour, haunting “Arkhangelsk” which borders on Dimmu Borgir or Borknagar territory on the chorus with its use of keyboards and gothic dissonance.

Bringing it all together, We Are the Void is a record that starts out weak, but gets stronger and stronger by the end; reaching its emotional peak on the track “Iridium” and leaving the listener desirous of more. Unlike previous DT albums, which are always fun to listen to because the guitar work and the speedy pace, this record hooked us with its emotional content and feel—which unfortunately cheapened some of the faster tracks and made them feel out of place. This isn’t entirely the case, there are some fantastic faster and more technical parts as well, like the introduction to “In My Absense” and the bridge of “Her Silent Language”, that are more reminiscent of times gone by, but there is a sense that the band maybe just needs to back off that sound for a while to recharge those batteries and put out music that really shows off that inner void that Stanne is screaming about.

The Internets have once again served up another pure dada moment.

Wulfgar // Midgardian Metal
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Entirely enjoyable, but sort of lacking something… Oh, right, originality
Label: Trollzorn / SMP Records
Websites: wulfgar.se | myspace.com/wulfgarse
Release Dates: EU: 19.03.2010 | US: No date found

The guys from Wulfgar and I have something in common: we both really love Amon Amarth. I mean, I’ve been an Amon Amarth fan since I first heard “Victorious March” all those years ago and I’ve just never looked back. I’ve purchased every one of their records since I started listening to melodic death metal and, let’s face it, I’ll probably keep listening to them for years to come until I’m old, bitter and bored with everything that I used to like (it’ll happen: then I’ll become Angry 12 Tone Jazz Guy). The difference between my love of Amon Amarth and that of the guys from this Swedish quintet is that I didn’t start a band…

OK, now that I’ve gotten the shit talking out of the way, let me say something: these guys are actually really, really good at what they do. They pump out excellent, mid-paced melodic death metal with the vocal styling of an epically bearded Swede named Emil (who incidentally does actually sound like Johann Hegg from Amon Amarth). The tracks are heavy, with great chuggy riffs and totally solid melodies which hook you in right away. You spend the majority of your time nodding your head, and I’m sure this stuff is totally awesome live. I mean, Midgardian Metal has it all: addictive melodies, fun riffs and a style that I just love to listen to.

The band has a bit of variation, as well—the track “Norsemen of Steel” sees the band wander into power metal territory on the chorus, and there are even some pretty folk metal parts on here as well. In my opinion, the band would do well to think about expanding these parts of their music. Because while I think that they’re a good band, there is definitely a part of me that wants a little bit more than an excellent audiocopy of an already loved and famous band. These guys obviously have the talent to write solid metal—so they should use that talent to expand their sound a little bit beyond the boundaries of their current sound.

To fans of the style, this record will be thoroughly enjoyable. If you can’t get enough new music that sounds like Versus the World and Fate of Norns, then you’ll be a nice shade of satisfied after listening to Midgardian Metal a few times. The comfortableness of this style isn’t lost on me. Songs like “Circle of Runes” and “The Death of Yggdrasil” definitely pound through the speakers and pummel you with a viking-like ferocity. The production is thick and meaty, and the performances are convincing. Over time you will probably forget that you’re not listening to Amon Amarth and just start to enjoy this record for what it is—solid, groove based melodic death metal about vikings and the mythology of medieval Scandinavia.

…

Just like Amon Amarth.

Aeternam // Disciples of the Unseen
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Solid debut, can’t wait for more!
Label: Metal Blade
Website: myspace.com/aeternammetal
Release Date(s): EU: 15.02.2010 | US: 02.16.2010

Egyptian metal is apparently a genre now! I didn’t have any clue! I just thought it was kind of a thing that Nile did. And then it was Nile and Behemoth. And then it was Nile, Behemoth and SepticFlesh. And now it’s Nile, Behemoth, SepticFlesh and Aeternam! I think that counts as a genre! So, that’s pretty cool in and of itself. Oh, and it turns out that Aeternam is pretty cool themselves, leading to a generally all around happy feeling for a few fleeting moments before the general irritants that keep me so angry all the time come crashing back in.

Though, really, Egyptian Metal doesn’t describe much except the mode the band plays in all the time, so as a responsible reviewer it is my job to elucidate what exactly it is that this band is doing and what they’re doing well (and not-so-well). Like many other bands, Aeternam is fundamentally a melodic death metal band. Though, they border the line into what I would call “progressive” death metal, due to the use of acoustics, tribal drums and other not-necessarily-metal kind of things to build atmosphere and songs in general. But fundamentally Aeternam still whips out the melody, guitar harmonies and mid-paced riffs and growls enough to make you feel comfortable calling them melodic death metal. The other side to the band’s sound is a blasty death metal style that is definitely Nile influenced. However, due to differences in production and writing style (an ear more towards melody and drums much lower in the mix), the band manages to differentiate itself from the Egyptian metal giants pretty easily.

The writing on here is solid and dynamic, as well. Not only is the band obviously influenced by death metal bands, there is a pop sense and power metal sensibility on here that very rarely shows up in death metal. On tracks like “Esoteric Formulae” and “Goddess of Masr” you can definitely hear power metal influences (the two that spring to mind repeatedly are Iced Earth and Symphony X). One could say that this is partially due to the band’s vocalist, who has a great baritone range and is not afraid to show off his pipes. However, he’s also not overly showy with his vocals and they only grace a few tracks on the whole album, keeping them sparse and effective. However, there is a distinctively power/classic metal guitar approach on a lot of these songs.

Disciples of the Unseen is a fantastic debut record for this Canadian quintet. While the band isn’t breaking a whole lot of new ground, they are melding some sounds into something that is definitely their own! The more melodic take on Egyptian Metal with the fantastic grooves (like on “Ouroboros”) and excellent vocal performances, as well as a great band performance is definitely a recipe for success.  Some of the tracks on here (most notably “Through the Eyes of Ea”) are a bit too spotty, in my opinion, but in general the flow and consistency of Disciples of the Unseen are very good. In an era when metal is desperately seeking a new take on melodic death metal to take it into the future, a band like Aeternam might just have what it takes to work us in that direction with work like Disciples of the Unseen.

Eluveitie // Everything Remains (As It Never Was)
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — Pretty solid, but too formulaic
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: eluveitie.ch | myspace.com/eluveitie
Release Dates: EU: 19.02.2010 | US: 03.09.2010

While not the first folk metal band to take the world by storm, Eluveitie has always been a bit of a unique thing in the folk metal scene. Really, the band has tremendous success when compared to other bands in the genre. After being picked up by Nuclear Blast, they’ve had three albums, big American tours (something that has only started recently for the genre) and become very well known and well loved among folk metal enthusiasts and just regular metal enthusiasts alike. Everything Remains (As it Never Was) is the band’s big third record from Nuclear Blast (5th total) and it is set to make a big metal splash.

Frankly, the band hasn’t changed anything, except that they’re more poppy than ever. Everything Remains (As it Never Was) starts out with the obligatory album intro that sets the stage for the whole album (and a sad part from Braveheart). The tracks are heavy and well-produced, but much cleaner than earlier work, and the trilling flutes and bagpipes permeate every chorus of this album, formulaically building up to the climax of almost every song in precisely the same way. At its base, Eluveitie is basically a melodic death metal band. This stood out to me as I listened to this album: tracks like “The Essence of the Ashes” have obvious In Flames leanings on the guitars. “Kingdom Come Undone” and “Sempiternal Embers” both reek of Hypocrisy and Dark Tranquillity and the only thing that actually differentiates this band from those bands is the ability of the musicians to swap out what the guitar would normally do in a DT song for a flute, fiddle or bagpipe.

But Eluveitie isn’t just a melodic death metal band, they’re a modern melodic death metal band—I’ve never really put my finger on this before. There is a ton of stoppy, “Core” riffs on this record that are simply offset by a trilling flute. The choruses are huge, poppy and bordering on schlager at times in their structure and enormity, leading often times to a sense that the verses are simply there to connect big catchy choruses to each other and for no other reason. The band has also dumped the blast beats that one hears on the earlier records completely, leaving the band far more in the post-glory days Swedish Death Metal (i.e., Gothenburg scene) arena. The song structures are quite simple and similar to each other, and because the flute basically does the same thing all the time, the songs start to sort of blend into one another. This is partially because the sort of Riverdance flute style doesn’t really lend itself to memorability, but feels more decorative than anything and the guitars and vocals don’t offset it—leading to swaths of unmemorable trilling.

Of course, there are high points on this album, too. The points where they actually point themselves in a more folk metal direction are the parts that I really appreciate about Everything Remains. For example, the chorus in the song “The Essence of the Ashes”, where they break down into clean vocals that are reminiscent of Fejd, is a major win. The folk tracks that are sort of devoid of metal are also quite beautiful and breathtaking; “Isara” and “Setlon” both set an atmosphere of beauty and simplicity which embodies the title of this album. My personal favorite track on the album is “Lugdunon” which, while it’s built on a production trick in the beginning, has excellent dynamics that are not really demonstrated on other parts of the album, including an amazing flute melody and a super 80s rock sounding breakdown that really stands out from the rest of the album.

What this leads me to is that variation, dynamics and a new approach to the metal aspects of this album are lacking. While there are some compelling songs and moments, this record generally falls short of my expectations due to its more simplistic and poppy elements, which are the things that draw the listener to the band in the first place. While Everything Remains (As it Never Was) is definitely on par for quality with Slania, I don’t think it’s as strong as Spirit and that’s probably because the sound isn’t as novel or fresh as it was when I became infatuated with “Your Gaulish War”. This band is definitely not mediocre, but this album is not what I was expecting from it. Of course, you can (and should) check for yourself (as the band has posted the album on MySpace through the 19th of February presumably).

Italian death metallers Fleshgod Apocalypse are planning to release a new EP called Mafia later this year (assumedly via Willowtip Records, though that’s not confirmed). After last year’s fantastic release Oracles (which was my #3 album on the year), I’ve gotta say that I’m really looking forward to this. Hopefully I can figure out who the hell distros that stuff in Europe so I can finally get a copy to review this time!

Hi guys!
We finally finished the recording session of the new EP! Right now, after the first listenings of this new one we decided that the best thing to do is not saying anything as anticipation. Yes, it will be” epic than ever, faster and violent”…bla bla… but we do believe that everything can sound reductive for these new songs. This material is ours but yours as well, that’s why we don’t want/need to influence your opinions in some way. We’ll upload a new song in few days so keep your eyes open! By now, we can show you the new masterpiece of Marco Hasmann!

The tracklist will be:

1    Thru Our Scars – 5.30
2    Abyssal – 6.45
3    Conspiracy Of Silence – 5.30
4    Blinded By Fear (At The Gates – F.A. arrangement) – 3.10
5    Mafia – 3.00

Recorded, mixed and mastered at 16th Cellar Studio in Rome by Stefano ”Saul” Morabito.

Updates regarding release date, preorders and new merch soon!
Cheers!

F.A.

The final win on this whole thing is the cover: most. metal. octopus. EVER.

Arsis // Starve for the Devil
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Chalk full of good riffs, but more simplistic than previous releases
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Website: myspace.com/arsis
Release Dates: EU: 05.02.2010 | US: 02.09.2010

In the new wave of technical, fast, melodic death metal bands that have been coming out in the last few years Arsis has stood alone with its professional blending of melodic death, technical death and thrash. Basically an instant success story from their first CD A Celebration of Guilt, the band has gone through a lot of line-up changes and has been out there pretty much consistently since their break in 2004. Starve for the Devil follows on the heals of 2008’s We Are the Nightmare and there are a lot of expectations to be met and surpassed with this new album.

Blowing out the door with “Forced to Rock”, for good or for ill, Starve for the Devil is in the books now and it’s pretty good. The Arsis you know and love is definitely here within these tracks. The record is filled with fast, technical riffs, amazing leads and some great hooks. But Starve for the Devil differentiates itself from previous releases by being far more traditionally structured rock tracks which combine the technicality of their riffing. This change is probably welcome from some, but I suspect that fans of technical death metal will be a lot more disappointed with this stuff.

Starve for the Devil is also superior to its predecessor in that the band has moved back towards more natural drums with the return of drummer Mike Van Dyne. This makes the production on this record so much easier to listen to. Instead of having the very false sounding drums that permeated every crevice in the listeners brains,  and overpowered even the guitars in some places, now the production is far more balanced. This fact, combined with the poppy song structures, makes this album fun to listen to for sure. Tracks like “From Soulless to Shattered”, “Escape Artist” and “The Ten of Swords” stand out not for the technical prowess, but because of their hooks and guitar harmonies. At first this is a welcome change, because this record is easy to get hooked on. But there does feel like there’s something missing here for me, personally. Even after deep listening to this album, I began to feel like the band could have worked a little harder at writing more technical pieces. Don’t get me wrong, of course. The band is not simplifying so much that the record doesn’t contain any of the technical aspects that fans are coming to expect. The musicianship on here is stellar. The drums, as mentioned, are fantastic. The bass performance is awesome (not something I even normally mention) and of course the guitar-work is stellar as always. The issue is more stylistic than anything else.

In sum, Starve for the Devil is a pretty good record for fans of bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, At The Gates and other more aggressive melodic death bands. The band has definitely improved in some ways, certainly their writing feels more focused and linear, and that can really go either way depending on who is listening to the record. This record could be a grower, but review deadlines don’t let that kind of thing happen. We’ll see where I stand on it this at the end of the year.