I guarantee you the guys from Soen have to brace themselves for every review they’re going to read for two reasons. The first of these is that this band contains Steve DiGiorgio—heavy metal’s best bassist and best fretless for hire—and oh, right, Martin Lopez who we last saw as a member of Opeth. I have to say that I’m partial to these two guys as musicians (nothing against Ax, but Lopez is a special drummer) and so when I heard that this record was coming out I did some begging and got me a copy for review. Apparently there are other musicians in this band, but we don’t actually care The rest of the band is made up of by two Swedish guys—Eklöf, the vocalist and Platsbarzdis, the guitarist—for what is a four piece of alternative or kind of groovy progressive metal. Not progressive like Opeth or Vintersorg or Porcupine Tree but progressive like Tool. And by that I mean, they sound exactly like fucking Tool (that’s the second reason). Continue reading
Shining // VII: Född förlorare Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Jag säger NEJ (NEJ!) till etiketter! Label: Spinefarm Websites: myspace.com/shininghalmstad Release Dates: EU: 2011.05.24 | US: N/A
Shining is about as hip as it gets among so called “underground” black metal bands, though really at this point, what with being signed to Spinefarm now, I guess they’re not super underground anymore. But whatever, success does not make a band sucky by its very nature—no, it’s Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ that does that. And with the anticipation building around VII – Född förlorare (English: Born Loser[s]) due to the myriads of issues that surfaced in the process of recording, mixing and getting the album even out, it pretty much should go without saying that I’ve really been looking forward to this record. Haven’t you been looking forward to it? Damn straight.
But first, I have an admission to make. When I reviewed VI, I got carried away. With the exception of one or two songs, I really can’t say that the record has lived up to the review I gave it. I was just so excited that the record had finally gotten to me and I reviewed it in the heat of a listening frenzy instead of letting it get ripe. When the best song on a record is a cover, then your record doesn’t deserve the score I gave it. So, I give VI a revised 3.0, because it was still good, but there were some glaring issues. The writing felt strange and forced and certainly didn’t live up to the expectations that Halmstad had set, and the guitar solos just really throw me for a loop. They were a bit like if Kvarforth were to go on stage in a Hello Kitty shirt or something. Vastly out of place. Continue reading
Amaranthe has three vocalists. Just let that sink in for a while. From what I can tell, not one of those vocalists plays an instrument. Instead, they found three “attractive” people to do vocals for them. The first is a woman, who sounds like a pop singer (think E Type) and who I guarantee you cannot name a Slayer record. The second is a screamy dude. He’s got a beard (’cause he’s tough and angsty, you see) and he screams, but not too much (he must be very, very, very bored on stage). And then there’s the ‘power metal’ vocalist (Berg from Dream Evil) who’s just as over-produced as the chick vocalist and is there to get 14 year old girls all silly over his perfectly groomed dreadlocks. Behind them are several soulless session musicians (from Mercenary, Dragonland and Engel). Though, frankly, this is a band that is functionally made of session musicians, since integrity seems to be lacking. Continue reading
Crimfall // The Writ of Sword Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Darker and great. Websites: crimfall.com | myspace.com/crimfall Label: Spinefarm Release Dates: EU: 2011.03.23 | US: No Clue
One of the things that one can never take into account when one is a music reviewer is the fact that one receives records and must render judgment in a short amount of time. Especially as a “soulless blog,” production of material sometimes happens in a week. In a sense, every review you read from a label who doesn’t trust this Angry Metal Guy is being done “split second” as opposed to having time to let a record ripen. Such was definitely the case with Crimfall‘s first record As the Path Unfolds… which, while I enjoyed it, didn’t strike me as anything more than just an enjoyable record. However, here I am two years later listening to it regularly and really loving it. If I would score the record today I would give it a 4.5 and I would encourage you all to buy it (buy it, seriously, it’s great). Continue reading
Children of Bodom // Relentless Reckless Forever Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Whoa. Label:Spinefarm Websites: cobhc.com | myspace.com/childrenofbodom Release Dates: EU: 2011.03.07-09 | US: 03.08.2011
Children of Bodom. I think the last time I cared about a Children of Bodom release was when I heard the very disappointing Follow the Reaper which followed what was absolutely in my top 5 for 1999 the venerable Hatebreeder. Oh man, I not only loved the shit out of that record, I even saw them play an amazing show (with the exception of a bored Wirmen being a douche on the keyboards) at Milwauke Metalfest. And I defended the band’s honor against every old, grizzled metal dude on the extreme metal forum I went to at the time. They called them Children of Boredom. Unfortunately, I kinda started to agree with them after a while and the records that followed Follow the Reaper were progressively more and more embarrassing. Continue reading
So, it’s actually a little weird that I would even be reviewing this disc since it seems to hardly be receiving an international release at this point, but it’s got some points of interest. First, it’s the band of Before The Dawn and Black Sun Aeon mastermind Tuomas Saukkonen, so it’s not like something one wants to actually ignore. Saukkonen produces a lot of material, he probably has 4 bands I don’t know of even, but the man has a heart of metal and his material is always solid, heavy, groovy and laden with great choruses. RoutaSielu isn’t a whole lot different; only this time the whole record is in Finnish and it causes some accessibility issues. Continue reading
Moonsorrow // Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa Rating: 5.0/5.0 — A Masterpiece Label:Spinefarm Websites:moonsorrow.com | myspace.com/moonsorrow Release Dates: UK: 21.02.2011 | EU: 28.02.2011 | USA: Unknown
Moonsorrow is one of the few bands I can think of that no one I know doesn’t like. They seem to unite all fans of underground metal because of their amazing music and authenticity. Let’s face it, a band who writes 15 minute dirges in their native, and arguably alien, tongue doesn’t want for authenticity. Only a few other bands I can think of, like Primordial and Enslaved really have the respect of everyone in what they do. It’s like they’re playing on another plane of existence or something. That, predictably, raises expectations for new Moonsorrow records through the roof (to say the least). But unlike others, Moonsorrow never fails to deliver and Varjoina Kuljemme Kuolleiden Maassa (Like Shadows we Walk through the Land of the Dead) is a monument to what atmospheric black metal should be like and to Moonsorrow‘s impeccable legacy. Continue reading
As a young lad, my dear mother strove to teach me two important things: first, don’t be an angry metal boy/guy, and secondly, never judge others. Well, as an angry metal guy reviewing albums I’d say I’m a major disappointment, but I really can’t say that I’m as big of a disappointment as the meaning of the Finnish band Kiuas‘ name. Kiuas is a Finnish word that roughly translates into sauna stove or stove of sauna. So, in essence, this band is called… SAUNA STOVE? These guys lose Angry Metal Points™.
Despite the goofy name, Kiuas has been thrashing about since 2000 and its members hail from the Finnish extreme metal scene. Their previous platters have featured an intriguing, oddball amalgam of power metal infused with doses of folk, viking, black and death metal. Indeed, it is difficult to categorize Kiuas, which is to their credit as artists. Branding them as power metal simply doesn’t do them justice since they have so little in common with the Gamma Ray, Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Weenie Happy Metal bands that have come to define that genre. Kiuas is not a happy sounding band and have opted to put the power back in power metal with crunchy, thrashing guitars and dramatic, aggressive vocals that run the gamut from clean to rough all the way to death metal roars.
Lustdriven is the band’s fifth crusade and marks a turning point in the band’s direction and approach. Gone are the death metal vocals and in their place is an increased emphasis on mood and melody at the expense of aggression. This is a less furious and speed oriented affair and sometimes that works very well while at other times it doesn’t. Things get off to a blistering and self-referential start with “KiuasAssault” (translation: sauna stove assault and all the awful images that may bring to mind). This is classic Kiuas complete with ripping guitars, pounding drums and aggressive singing and screaming from Ilja Jalkanen, who is an extremely gifted metal vocalist who does a lot of interesting things with his range and vocal dexterity. This is a great opener!
However, what follows the classic, ripping opener are several far weaker songs. “Cry Little Angel”, halts the forward momentum because of its painfully sappy lyrics and mediocre chorus. While the gothic stylings of “Of Love, Lust and Human Nature” partially sets the record back on course, it, too, is followed up by other weaker tracks. It isn’t until track 8 that we get the blockbuster of the album in “The Quickening.” This is a brilliant metal song that shows what Kiuas is truly capable of. Powerful, epic, heroic metal that makes you want to lift the family war hammer and charge directly into hell. This one truly grabbed me on the first listen and when Ilja sings “I was scorched once by the fire, on one of those long trips to hell” I was ready to rock and rumble. And while the album closes out quite strong with “Summer’s End” and “Winter’s Sting,” which are both solid tracks that showcase Kiuas’s folk metal elements, none of the other tracks quite measured up to the mighty standard of “The Quickening”.
Overall, this is a solid album by a very talented band with what is likely a bright future ahead of them. Sadly, I cannot say Lustdriven is as strong as 2008’s The New Dark Age and there are several songs I wish were left on the recording studio floor. However, as the album marinates inside your head, it does get better and better and fans of top notch musicianship and powerful music are encouraged to seek this out for a listen. Check out “The Quickening” if nothing else because this song is an early candidate for metal song of 2010 and should not be missed. Bring back the death vocals next time boys and rethink that damn name!”
Metsatöll // Äio Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Entertaining even though we haven’t a clue what’s going on—good sign! Label: Spinefarm Websites: metsatoll.ee | myspace.com/metsatoll Release Dates: EU: 03.03.2010 | US: ?
That Metsatöll even exists is actually a great surprise. We had no idea! Seriously, not even a little bit of an idea. Turns out, they’ve been around for quite a while and given the very cool nature of the band’s 2010 release Äio, this Angry Metal Guy is definitely suggesting that you run out and buy every single one of their albums. Though, it’s hard to know whether or not Äio is a true masterpiece, because lyrically we’re in the dark. Still, it’s hard to argue with anyone who can make a recorder sound metal.
Metsatöll is an Estonian folk metal band that’s been putting out records for nearly a decade now. Apparently the word from which they derive their name is an archaic word for wolf and they work at keeping their language and thoughts nice and archaic for all of us who feel robbed for never having been ridden with lice or killed our food with a bow and arrow after several weeks of starving and the birth of our 14th child (but only 3rd one to live). Keeping in thematic consonance with this, the band blends flutes and bagpipes into their heavy metal, making a catchy blend of metal and folk that is catchy like the plague and sticky like plague honey.
The biggest issue with this record, honestly, is that for a non-native speaker it can get pretty frustrating. While the music is often quite simple and the band seems to be writing from the point of view that there will be lyrical focus, we non-Estonians (and Finns I guess—and anyone else who speaks Finno-Ugrek languages) have absolutely no clue what’s going on. What ends up happening is that an album that is an hour long and probably a lyrical masterpiece, turns into something that one might want to shut off after half that time because it’s tough to figure out what’s going on. Unless you’re a big fan of folk music, are trying to learn Estonian via archaic language (thus making it harder on yourself), it’s entirely probable that you will just find this record frustrating.
But patience, my friends, is a virtue and for those willing to wade through something a little obtuse an exciting musical adventure awaits them. While the band does not adhere to any of the extreme influences that litter most modern folk metal and the tracks really never get much beyond a mid-paced chug, there is a lot of excellent heavy material, as well as beautiful folky moments. The track “Kune pole kodus, olen kaugel teel” is a fantastic folk song with a heavy bass vocalist that is reminiscent of Finntroll‘s forays into folk music (and the title is a blast to say). The title track is heavy, pounding and novel with great flute melodies and a good folk metal groove to it. And when Metsatöll breaks into the kind of vocal harmonies that litter the album, but are particularly visible on the opening sequence of “Nüüd tulge, mu kaimud”, it’s hard not to sit up and take notice at something that really just has a fascinating and novel sound. We were particularly taken with the track “Verjiää”, which is well worth the pay off of sitting through a few slow tracks for these great folk melodies and the beautiful composition.
If you’re a fan of music that’s not in your native language and you’re totally OK listening to it for the music, Metsatöll is the band for you. But like other bands of the genre, such as Fejd or Tarabas, it really does feel like something gets lost in translation. There is a sense that a non-native listener would have trouble following the band where they want to go. We hope that the non-Finnish/Estonian booklet comes with translations at least, so that listeners know what the hell they’re listening to. But even if you don’t: this record is worth a listen, because the music is novel, entrancing and well-crafted.
New #metal blog: Aborted Global Flatline Review - Aborted // Global Flatline Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Actually, they haven... http://t.co/FWl7PNL4 - 9 hours ago
OK, *that's* cool. Too bad about the shitty bands, then RT @Metal_Mark: Metallica will be playing Ride The Lightning in it's entirety! WOW!” - 1 day ago
I guarantee you the guys from Soen have to brace themselves for every review they’re going to read for two reasons. The first of these is that this band contains Steve DiGiorgio—heavy metal’s best bassist and best fretless for hire—and oh, right, Martin Lopez who we last saw as a member of Opeth. I have to say that I’m partial to these two guys as musicians (nothing against Ax, but Lopez is a special drummer) and so when I heard that this record was coming out I did some begging and got me a copy for review. 
Shining is about as hip as it gets among so called “underground” black metal bands, though really at this point, what with being signed to Spinefarm now, I guess they’re not super underground anymore. But whatever, success does not make a band sucky by its very nature—no, it’s Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ that does that. And with the anticipation building around VII – Född förlorare (English: Born Loser[s]) due to the myriads of issues that surfaced in the process of recording, mixing and getting the album even out, it pretty much should go without saying that I’ve really been looking forward to this record. Haven’t you been looking forward to it? Damn straight.
Amaranthe has three vocalists. Just let that sink in for a while. From what I can tell, not one of those vocalists plays an instrument. Instead, they found three “attractive” people to do vocals for them. The first is a woman, who sounds like a pop singer (think E Type) and who I guarantee you cannot name a Slayer record. The second is a screamy dude. He’s got a beard (’cause he’s tough and angsty, you see) and he screams, but not too much (he must be very, very, very bored on stage). And then there’s the ‘power metal’ vocalist (Berg from Dream Evil) who’s just as over-produced as the chick vocalist and is there to get 14 year old girls all silly over his perfectly groomed dreadlocks. Behind them are several soulless session musicians (from Mercenary, Dragonland and Engel). Though, frankly, this is a band that is functionally made of session musicians, since integrity seems to be lacking. 
One of the things that one can never take into account when one is a music reviewer is the fact that one receives records and must render judgment in a short amount of time. Especially as a “soulless blog,” production of material sometimes happens in a week. In a sense, every review you read from a label who doesn’t trust this Angry Metal Guy is being done “split second” as opposed to having time to let a record ripen. Such was definitely the case with Crimfall‘s first record As the Path Unfolds… which, while I enjoyed it, didn’t strike me as anything more than just an enjoyable record. However, here I am two years later listening to it regularly and really loving it. If I would score the record today I would give it a 4.5 and I would encourage you all to buy it (buy it, seriously, it’s great). 
Children of Bodom. I think the last time I cared about a Children of Bodom release was when I heard the very disappointing Follow the Reaper which followed what was absolutely in my top 5 for 1999 the venerable Hatebreeder. Oh man, I not only loved the shit out of that record, I even saw them play an amazing show (with the exception of a bored Wirmen being a douche on the keyboards) at Milwauke Metalfest. And I defended the band’s honor against every old, grizzled metal dude on the extreme metal forum I went to at the time. They called them Children of Boredom. Unfortunately, I kinda started to agree with them after a while and the records that followed Follow the Reaper were progressively more and more embarrassing. 
So, it’s actually a little weird that I would even be reviewing this disc since it seems to hardly be receiving an international release at this point, but it’s got some points of interest. First, it’s the band of Before The Dawn and 
Moonsorrow is one of the few bands I can think of that no one I know doesn’t like. They seem to unite all fans of underground metal because of their amazing music and authenticity. Let’s face it, a band who writes 15 minute dirges in their native, and 
As a young lad, my dear mother strove to teach me two important things: first, don’t be an angry metal boy/guy, and secondly, never judge others. Well, as an angry metal guy reviewing albums I’d say I’m a major disappointment, but I really can’t say that I’m as big of a disappointment as the meaning of the Finnish band Kiuas‘ name. Kiuas is a Finnish word that roughly translates into sauna stove or stove of sauna. So, in essence, this band is called… SAUNA STOVE? These guys lose Angry Metal Points™.
lyrics and mediocre chorus. While the gothic stylings of “Of Love, Lust and Human Nature” partially sets the record back on course, it, too, is followed up by other weaker tracks. It isn’t until track 8 that we get the blockbuster of the album in “The Quickening.” This is a brilliant metal song that shows what Kiuas is truly capable of. Powerful, epic, heroic metal that makes you want to lift the family war hammer and charge directly into hell. This one truly grabbed me on the first listen and when Ilja sings “I was scorched once by the fire, on one of those long trips to hell” I was ready to rock and rumble. And while the album closes out quite strong with “Summer’s End” and “Winter’s Sting,” which are both solid tracks that showcase Kiuas’s folk metal elements, none of the other tracks quite measured up to the mighty standard of “The Quickening”.
That Metsatöll even exists is actually a great surprise. We had no idea! Seriously, not even a little bit of an idea. Turns out, they’ve been around for quite a while and given the very cool nature of the band’s 2010 release Äio, this Angry Metal Guy is definitely suggesting that you run out and buy every single one of their albums. Though, it’s hard to know whether or not Äio is a true masterpiece, because lyrically we’re in the dark. Still, it’s hard to argue with anyone who can make a recorder sound metal.
out what’s going on. Unless you’re a big fan of folk music, are trying to learn Estonian via archaic language (thus making it harder on yourself), it’s entirely probable that you will just find this record frustrating.
