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). 

It is undeniable, no matter how much one wants it to be, that this is a band that just simply sounds like Tool. You gotta get that out of the way. This Joel Eklöf sounds a lot like Maynard (though his accent totally reminds me of Åkerfeldt, whose accent I’d never thought about before). And frankly, the guitar work and the writing reminds me of Ænima and Lateralus a lot. There’s a lilt to the guitars and a slow groove to the bass. The fretless bass differentiates it a bit, but the tone and the production is really similar. And, frankly, Lopez is the kind of drummer who can also pull off Danny Carey’s tribal style as a backup—but of course still have his own style. He does this deftly and some of the most enjoyable parts of this album are performed on the drums and percussion which are outstanding.

So it’s with a bit of cognitive dissonance that I rate this as highly as I do, but sometimes you cannot deny good songs. And, well, these guys write some great fucking songs. There’s the groove stuff—straight up Tool worship like “Savia” and “Fraccions” which has a guitar part that is totally a “Schism” rip off. There’s the parts where they really break out the heavy end—not super often but it does happen like the life alterningly crushing riff from “Slither” after the acoustic breakdown or the beginning of “Oscillation” (or on “Canvas”). And then there’s Eklöf’s vocal proclivities. While he undeniably sounds like Maynard, one of the things that he does amazingly well is melody and harmonies. The end of the aforementioned “Fraccions” has some of the most heart-breakingly beautiful harmonies I’ve heard on a record and they’re simply amazing. The following track “Dalenda” has a chorus where, again, he shows off these harmonies and by the time I made it to the next track down the line “Last Light” and he broke ‘em out again, I was pretty much convinced.

In fact, it is the vocals that take this record from pretty good to great (or maybe even excellent). The songs are well-constructed, but highly derivative. And while the vocals are veeery Maynard, Eklöf’s performance and harmonies are the glue that hold all of this together. Unfortunately, the lyrics seem like they’re a little on the not-so-interesting side which is a shame. Instead of ripping off Tool‘s schtick and writing about philosophy and high-minded mumbo jumbo, they mainly seem to be writing about drugs. I might be wrong, but no one gave me any lyrics to check it out, so there you be.

In its totality, though, Cognitive is a pretty damn great record. While it is too derivative and it’s too easy to point out the source they’re plagiarizing (creativity is just well-disguised plagiarism—or like we used to say in my old band “People think we sound original because we rip off Amon Amarth, Ulver and Iron Maiden all at once!”), and so it’s hard for me to give this a higher score because of what I see as a lack of originality, there is an x factor here that bands that are just ripping someone else off simply do not have. The songwriting is great and it is a testament to Eklöf’s performance that I focused on him in a band where he’s playing with Martin Lopez and Steve DiGiorgio. So check this out and don’t write it off when you say “Oh, man, this sounds like Tool.” Give it some time and maybe the dissonance will give way and lead to bliss instead.

Related posts:

1. Spiritual Beggars – Return to Zero Review
2. Ihsahn – After Review
3. Amaranthe – Amaranthe Review

Loch Vostok

So, normally when I do these, I try to find records that are really the crème de la crème that we’ve simply just missed. This record isn’t quite there. But it is really solid progressive and/or power metal record with some death metal influences that sound quite Gothenburgy. With a vocalist who sounds like.. well, kind of every Swedish progressive or power metal vocalist ever, they deftly wander between Dark Tranquillity or Scar Symmetry kind of melodic riffing and choruses and more traditional prog/power sound. Tracks like the ripper of an opener “A Mission Undivine” even hint at an almost black metal influence at times before settling into riffing that is reminiscent of Nevermore or maybe a bit of Symphony X.

These guys also have a slower speed to them as well, and that’s a bit of where I lose them a bit. “Navigator” is kind of a mid-paced rocker/borderline ballad that has some good melodies, but it so unabashedly 80s hair band that I have a bit of trouble with it. The other issue I have with these guys is that the lyrics get a bit ESL and/or preachy at times. I get that it’s tough to write good metal lyrics, particularly in progressive metal and in another language, but sometimes the lyrics here are just, well.. bad. Not good. Obra. But these moments are mostly few and far between, honestly. And really, I’ve heard worse and even the best bands (*cough* Pain of Salvation *cough*) have shitty lyrics sometimes. It really only kills one song for me, “Taste the Flame” which just.. stinks.

With the notable exception of “Taste the Flame” though, this record is really great. It’s got some great songs, some excellent ideas and lots of awesome choruses. I personally love the tracks “Disconnection,” “A Mission Undivine” and “Repeat Offender” and the album feels a little front heavy, but there are some good moments on the back end as well. Overall it’s something worth checking out for fans of progressive metal, melodic death metal fans and all the fanboys of modern Swedish metal who love poppy, catchy tunes and aren’t expecting these guys to be rocking Liquid Tension Experiment chops when one talks about being “progressive”. Did I narrow that down too much? Just check the shit out.

Related posts:

1. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Nami – Fragile Alignments
2. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Mythological Cold Towers – Immemorial
3. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Immolation – Providence

Steel Druhm doesn’t ask for much. Beyond undying devotion to the Angry Metal Guy website and Steel Druhm personally, I expect so little. In a rare moment of selfishness however, I deigned to demand more innovation in the field of black metal music. Predictably, much brouhaha ensued and I was labeled a rabble-rouser, blasphemer and enemy of the scene. Happily, I can now report my heartfelt demand has been masterfully answered by a crew of Aussie upstarts by the name of Vyrion. Never heard of them? Don’t feel bad, I didn’t either until I stumbled upon them quite by chance. It was a fortuitous stumble indeed, for their self titled debut is a mammoth slab of progressive blackness with scads of death, doom, traditional metal and post rock blended in seamlessly. After only a few minutes of listening, I knew this was something special. Across the length of this interesting creature are myriad surprises, twists and turns and the end result is an exceptionally well done and very heavy slice of innovation. For those who regard black metal as a static art form, immune to the fickle influences of time and trend, this will be like a loathsome disease. If however, you agree with me that the genre is badly in need of a newness injection, don’t let this one fall through the cracks.

After a suitable moody intro, “Ever Rising Platform” introduces you to the regal, yet heavy style Vyrion will be pummeling you with. They employ an eclectic mix of traditional Scandinavian black metal mixed with death gurgles, gruff and clean singing and copious doom influences. On this track in particular, the gruff, tortured semi-singing sits exceptionally well alongside the bleak, discordant dirge segments. These in turn are broken up by blast beatery and ugly trem riffs. The back and forth and give and take is disorienting at first but wonderfully conceived and powerfully emotional. Followup “Mortal Frame” is based more around traditional black metal but mixes in some death influence in the vocals and riffing akin to the Florida Death Metal sound. One of the stranger cuts comes with “The Decider,” which bounces between black and death while featuring a melodic, cleanly sung chorus and goth-metal sensibilities. Post-rock rears its minimalist head in tracks like “Winter Vector” and “The Silence,” and both have a slight Agalloch vibe floating in and out of consciousness. The oddest duck in the row is likely “Disengage,” which blasts and burns with furious black metal but drops in an unexpectedly uber-melodic chorus and later brings in guttural death vox and Gothenburg style guitar-work for added insanity. Also worth noting is the moody heaviness of “The Decision” and the creepy tension of “Sole Remainder.” The songs are all heavy enough to please extreme music fans and a few rage like tigers and rhinos trapped together in a sack.

Although all the songs appear to be patchworks of divergent styles at first, the genius of Vyrion becomes readily apparent in the way they stitch the pieces together into effective, memorable songs. With so many ingredients dumped into the pot, it would easy to wind up with a soupy, incoherent mess. Fortunately, this is far from that. The elements flow together smoothly and while the transitions do surprise at times, they make total sense after a few listens.

The diverse vocal styles are handled by Dale Williams and Chris Cox and although I don’t know who does what style, they both deserve big respect (I especially love the gruff singing). Similarly, the guitar-work by Williams and Mark Boyce is top-notch and compelling. They craft a series of compelling black and death riffs and even work in some sedate, almost jazzy moments that work well. The album’s sound is a bit empty and hollow like a black metal release, but it fits with the music well enough.

I love being blown away by unknown bands and that’s exactly what Vyrion did. This is a band to watch and watch closely. If you like your extreme music served with original and innovative ideas, this will be a welcome surprise for you as well. Given the non-existent buzz and geographic isolation facing this release, the word must be gotten out to the Angry Metal Hordes! Give it a listen and if you like it, spread the news far and wide. Steel Druhm demands that you support quality underground metal! And I ask for so little.

Related posts:

1. The Living Fields – Running Out of Daylight Review
2. Belphegor – Blood Magick Necromance Review
3. Netherbird – Shadows and Snow EP Review

Here’s a band I bet most haven’t heard of and some actively avoided due to their “christian metal” tag. Well, its time you heard of them and stopped worrying about such silly tags. However, for those diehard, anti-christian, pagan warriors of Wotan, try replacing “christian metal” with “white metal” or “good metal.” Okay, that probably didn’t help AT ALL but the point is, Theocracy is a really good band and their third album  As The World Bleeds is an exceptional dose of progressive power metal. Once a one-man project helmed by Matt Smith, Theocracy is now a fully functioning band and these altar boys can really play! Sounding like a mash-up of Avantasia, Axenstar, Balance of Power, Eden’s Curse and Shadow Gallery, they deliver hyper-polished, super-slick, technical, proggy power with a ton of melodic hooks and a fair amount of heavy edge to boot. Songwriting is first-rate, musicianship is very impressive and heck, God will appreciate you listening to it. When was the last time you hordes of miscreants could honestly say that? Yeah, that’s what I thought, sinners! In all seriousness, this is a great power metal album, regardless of religious inclination. If you dig melodic metal, follow Steel Druhm through the desert of this review and he’ll deliver you to the Angry Promised Land.

Whether you cotton to their divine viewpoint or not, there’s no denying Theocracy have some serious brass by leading off with the longest track possible. “I Am” clocks in at a whopping eleven minutes and most bands not named Moonsorrow would be loath to challenge the listener so quickly. However, Theocracy has a guardian angel on their collective shoulder and it really works! This winding epic really draws you in and introduces you to their songwriting abilities and musicality without feeling overlong or tedious. As you would expect from such a lengthy piece, it’s dramatic, features a boatload of moods and textures and allows the band to flex their chops. What makes it work is a combination of great lyrics, excellent vocals and surprising twists and turns. Matt Smith’s vocals morph from commanding to soaring, soft and powerful as the story unfolds and it all feels natural and unforced.  The guitars are upfront, plenty heavy and scatter rich, fluid solos throughout. Song highlights include the unexpected lurch into a jaunty Irish jig-like piece at 5:20 and the progression into thrash territory as things unwind (including a cool Voivod-like stutter step thrash riff at 7:45). After the epic opener, there are brilliantly catchy, power-prog nuggets like “The Master Storyteller” (the guitars and vocals are both addicting), a sojourn into the crunchy and aggressive with “Nailed” (big chorus and insane guitar-work) and compelling guitar twists, turns and tricks on “Altar to an Unknown God” (I love the mega-cool string thingee that first pops up at 2:00).

Although this is a VERY melodic prog-power outing, there are plenty of heavy moments interspersed. Even the most mellow tracks like “The Gift of Music” and the title track eventually segue into thrash metal segments. This heavy/melodic dichotomy enhances the impact of the songs and gives them valuable metal credibility. No song is completely soft and all have diverse tempos. Matt Smith’s vocals are stellar throughout and the extensive use of vocal layering gives everything a big, rich, choral sound like late-period Savatage (but thankfully, way less Broadway jazz-handsy).  The guitar mastery of Val Allan Wood co-headlines with Smith’s vocals and the man makes those strings burn like hades fire. Every song is bursting with his big leads and inventive riff-work. The whole ensemble brings a formidable A game and this is a technically satisfying release from start to finish.

The production is crisp, clear and polished, as is the music itself. The lyrics can, at times, be a bit pious, a tad preachy and slightly judgmental but how many HAIL SATANs have you listened to this year alone? Stop drinking the Devil’s Kool-Aid and give the other side equal time, for Christ’s sake! Steel Druhm ain’t exactly the biggest church-goer in heaven’s green garden but the lyrics didn’t hamper my enjoyment of this excellent material, so they shouldn’t for you either.

These chaps have toiled away in relative obscurity for years and with As The World Bleeds, they’ve released their crowning glory (their previous two platters are also very good). This looks to be one of the best prog-power albums of 2011 and a certifiable Myrrh Record. You would be stupid to skip this because of some anti-religion mumbo-jumbo, so Steel Druhm demands you open your mind and listen. But, DO NOT download this illegally! Most of you are in enough trouble with the man upstairs as it is. Blasphemers!

Related posts:

1. Lance King – A Moment in Chiros Review
2. Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance Review
3. In Solitude – The World. The Flesh. The Devil. Review

Cormorant is a band that I probably would have never found on my own. Instead, I just randomly got an e-mail from their promoter a couple years back, where she hooked me up with the band’s 2009 release Metazoa. I was duly impressed by what these coasties had to offer, so when I saw that these guys had a new record coming out, I definitely reached out to get a promo of it. And I’m happy that I did, though I think that Dwellings is a different beast from Metazoa. Bad? Definitely not. But did the band grow and get a lot better? It seems like the maintained a pretty even keel during the two years away. 

Cormorant is part of this west coast scene that’s been blooming since the early 2000s. For those of you familiar with the scene, this should give you an idea of the sound already. Stripped down from what you get from commercial releases (I’ve been interchanging the new Nightwish record all week, and I always have to turn the volume way down when I put that record on), this record sounds like it was recorded in about 1983. The guitar tone is solid, but not re-amped to the point of being unrealistic. The bass is audible and fat and the drums sound like.. fuckin’ a, drums! This puts them into the same sort of category soundwise of bands like Shroud of Despondency or Hammers of Misfortune and they’re much better for it. This has a good atmosphere to it and the production is perfect.

Of course, songs are more important than production, and in interchanging with Nightwish all week, I had a really good chance to think about these songs in a very unique context. In fact, Dwellings is like the negative of Imaginaerium. While it’s sweeping and large at times, there isn’t a traditional “hook” on the whole record. While songs like “A Howling Dust” and “Funambulist” contain beautiful, lush melodies that poke at your soul, nothing is really repeated for emphasis. More often than not, the band is meandering into Agalloch or Ulver territory in their approach to black metal or Taake and Shroud of Despondency territory with sort of post-thrash riffing like on the lights out “The First Man”. But these styles are all blended together into a stew of progressive extreme metal that is punctuated by NWoBHM riffing and the occasional guitar melody and the thoughts are never truncated to an easily consumable form.

The same can be said for the lyrical content. Covering difficult issues like eugenics (perfect for metal in some ways—but difficult in a a scene with some dirty laundry), the Junta in Guinea, suicide bombing and any host of difficult to stomach topics in a way that goes beyond the Steve Harris School of Lyric Writing™ (see: “Alexander the Great” for the prime example), Cormorant definitely hits home on the poetic/lyrical front. While von Nagel could definitely called a bit of a pretentious shit, I like his approach, because it’s obviously he takes this stuff seriously and it translates to the music. The lyrics and the vocals are not going to be everyone’s cup o’ tea, but I think both are strong successes and I dig it.

Though, it’s not like it’s hard to get into this record. The writing is engaging, the songs are really well written and despite the long running time (56 minutes), I’ve listened to it a couple times a day since I’ve gotten it. In the process, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed Metazoa, which is also a really great record. So, pulling that back out and comparing some things, it’s pretty easy to hear some differences. While the black metal and NWoBHM influences stand out, Dwellings eschews references to 70s prog and Opeth (with the exception of the final track—which actually has a bit of a “Black Rose Immortal” breakdown in the middle). This change left me kind of longing for it, honestly. They did a pretty good job of doing that sort of delicate 70s acoustic rock stuff without sounding too hackneyed or like their source material. I’m sure they were sick of getting comparisons, but some of the cleans go missing on this album.

All-in-all, I’m fucking stoked about Dwellings, though. It’s a really solid album from one of the lights of the American underground. The best thing about them is that because they’re driving the DIY bus, they’re doing everything they want to do, which means that they’re supportive of people sharing their music and they’re putting out good packaging that makes me actually want to buy this record (check out their bandcamp for more information on this). Cormorant is what a 21st  century metal band should be like. If you dig progressive, extreme metal and that sort of American west coast sound, you should definitely check this record out. It might not be quite as good as Metazoa, but it’s still pretty fucking rad.

Related posts:

1. Cormorant – Metazoa Review
2. Shroud of Despondency – Dark Meditations in Monastic Seclusion Review
3. Grayceon – All We Destroy Review

Andorra is not a large country. But a couple of years ago Persefone blew progressive metal fans away with Shin-Ken and now in 2011 fellow countrymen Nami have released a record that has been inexcusably overlooked by this Angry Metal Guy. Fusing together melodic death metal, progressive and acoustic tendencies à la Opeth and adding in a layer of Meshuggahesque riffing and polyrhythm Fragile Alignments is a truly interesting and pretty damn unique melodic/progressive death metal record. There is plenty to love here, but there are also a few things that don’t sit as well with me. Let me explain. 

The good for me is when the band is really rocking the melody and their acoustic work. Vocalist Roger Andreu has a great growl that actually is quite reminiscent of Mikael Åkerfeldt in tone and extremity, but he also has a very unique clean vocal approach that I can’t really compare to anyone else. In these moments, and when the band is knocking out melodic and technical work—firing on all four cylinders with the bass and drums being just as unique and interesting as the riffing they’re doing like on the track “Loop of Truth (The Link)”—these guys excite the hell out of me. This stuff makes my little angry heart forget all about all the shit and focus on the amazing talent of this band. And a good portion of this record has riff after blistering riff that makes me… wanna rage (thanks Sacred Reich!). And there’s a ton of this going on. I’d say 80% of the record is made up of mind blowing melodeath riffing that vacillates between tech and just plain melodic, or beautiful acoustic work. These two overlap in amazing ways, as well, on the track “Conscience of the Void (From Oblivion to the Renew) – Water”.

For me, the downfall of this record is the stuff that’ll make so-called djentlemen shit themselves with glee. With the very modern Jens Bogren production behind them, Nami also has a side to them that is way more techy. Sometimes this is well done, but sometimes it just bores me to tears. While I’m a huge fan of progressive music, I often feel like these parts are more forced than they need to be. So while in the track “Cosmical Beginning – Air” these guys have a Death or Cynic kind of vibe going on, that makes the tech awesome, other tracks like “The Inner Man – Materia” and “Oppression and Understanding – Fire” (and others) have parts that leave me pretty cold at times because they sound forced and unnatural in their context.

Overall, though, I’d still give this record a really high score (if this were one of those scoring kind of reviews). It really drags me in, despite the extraordinarily high production values and replaced sounding drums and the long running time (about an hour). The music these guys are producing is really fantastic and the potential for greatness here is through the fucking roof. I expect great things from Nami in the future and I hope you take the time to check ‘em out.

Related posts:

1. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Beyond Creation – The Aura
2. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Nader Sadek – In the Flesh
3. Things You Might Have Missed 2011: Loch Vostok – Dystopium

Lance King, like Elvis, is everywhere. He’s sang for a ton of bands (Balance of Power, Pyramaze, Avian, Empire etc. etc.), he runs Nightmare Records and still found the time to record and release his first solo album, A Moment in Chiros. For those unfamiliar with his body of work, Mr. King is the quintessential prog-power metal singer. His voice is versatile, powerful and his range is impressive. He sounds equally at home alongside melodic power metal and thoughtful prog-metal. For his debut solo project, he’s brought in elements of both and made damn sure everything is super-duper melodic, even symphonic at times. To assist him in this endeavor, he recruited a mighty host of friends, including members of Anubis Gate, Beyond Twilight and Adagio. The final product (which was apparently written and recorded in only three months) will remind many of Empire-era Queensryche mixed with elements of  Dream Theater, Pagan’s Mind, Anubis Gate and of course, Lance’s other units, especially Balance of Power. There are moments where Lance and company shine as bright as the sun and there’s some interesting material here for fans of power-prog. However, A Moment in Chiros struggles with the consistency of quality and this ultimately hurts things, which is a real shame.

Although a Moment in Chiros is a concept album revolving around the 11:11 time prompt phenomenon, I won’t waste anyone’s “time” trying to explain it. Dammit, Steel Druhm’s a reviewer, not a Scientology wonk! Things begin quite solidly with “A Sense of Urgency,” which is a nice introduction to the variety of melodic metal Lance specializes in. It’s laid back, with low-key guitar work. The keyboards give it a slightly symphonic flavor and Lance’s vocals sound classy and smooth as silk. Thereafter, things ramp up with a suite of great songs including the poignant and memorable ”Awakening,” the more aggressive “Manifest Destiny” and the impossibly hooky “A Given Choice.” All are top-notch examples of modern-day power-prog with moments of emotion and beauty (3:37 of “Manifest Destiny” is one). Other quality moments include the title track and “Dance of Power.”

Sadly, as the album progresses, the quality trails off and later tracks feel slapped together and rather bland (“Joy Everlasting” and “Sacred Systems”). Other songs, while not bad, don’t really grab me (“Transformation” and Infinity    Divine”). Another problem involves the spoken word, “new agey” segments that pop up throughout the album. They serve to advance the concept in the most general way but they come across as cheesy and annoying.

Complaints aside,  A Moment in Chiros has a great sound. It’s rich, warm, lush and polished as all hell. While never overly heavy, the guitars do have a decent crunch. Although the keys are very prominent, this always feels like a metal album, albeit a very melodic one. Lance sounds great throughout and showcases the versatility and range of his pipes. He even elevates a song or two from average to good. The good stuff here is so good, it makes me wish they spent more time refining the writing so this could have been a better album. The first half is 4.0 worthy, the back-end, not so much.

As a fan of Mr. King’s work, I wanted this to be better but it does have about half an album’s worth of strong, enjoyable material. I love the guy’s voice and I’ll support whatever project he’s involved in. I hope next time he can churn out an entire album of the same high quality as the first half here. Fans of classy prog-power and melodic metal should check this out and see for themselves.

Related posts:

1. Theocracy – As The World Bleeds Review
2. Brainstorm – On the Spur of the Moment Review
3. Pagan’s Mind – Heavenly Ecstasy Review

The Binding Cycle is the first full-length album by Norwegian quintet, The Fallen Divine. Founded in 2009, and with one EP under their belt, the band worked with King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque at his studio, Sonic Train, to produce the album. And he produced the fuck out of them. The sound on this album is so clean it sparkles. Which is as it should be, because there is a lot going on and The Fallen Divine don’t want you to miss any of it. A self-described progressive metal band, they have a lot of influences and only one shot at showing you that they’ve mastered them all. Fortunately, they pretty much have.

They come out swinging on “Dissension,” throwing everything they’ve got into these seven and a half minutes. The resulting aggregation of technical riffery, proggy keyboards and a jazz interlude comes off a little like a snowboard movie—not so much a continuous composition as a series of really cool tricks strung together. Depending on your outlook, this balls out eclecticism is either off-putting or impressive. “Dissension” is only a slight exaggeration of the rest of the album’s almost fifty minutes (which in this case is only a few minutes longer than you want it to be).

While you’ll find bits and pieces of just about everything on here and all of it is well done, tempo and rhythm changes are pretty much the point (think Dream Theater on crack, or more precisely, John Zorn’s Naked City). The whole album is chock-full of hooks, great riffs, and melodic lead lines but they never dwell on a single theme long enough to really develop the idea. The keyboards provide some atmosphere but are kept firmly in check and never come to the front. For the most part, vocals take the form of screams in the style of Dark Tranquility, and, you know, everyone else. But some whispers and an occasional pleasing slide into deeper growls hint at the potential for more versatility there in the future. When I remembered to notice, the lyrics seemed hold to a general theme of outsider angstyness – which is good. Occasionally, a little bubble of Les Claypool-worthy bass rises to the surface of the mathematical stew; midway through “Shades of Oppression,” some lead bass steps forward. These flashes of bass brilliance are always unexpected, but never incongruous. I kept wishing they’d let the bass player loose more often.

After “Dissension,” the rest of the tracks are uniformly strong, with consistently catchy lead lines. “Northern Lights” stands out as a little more cohesive. It feels like the ideas here have more room to stretch and breathe before diving into something else.  Just past the five minute mark there’s a jazz interlude that’s less disjointed than others scattered throughout the album because they manage to pull the flute (probably actually keyboards) through into the anthemic metal riff that follows.

They close with the title track, which has the most overtly progressive sound on the album. Where “Dissension” tended to showboat, “The Binding Cycle” showcases some of the best elements from the other tracks, offering up a piano intro paired with an acoustic guitar break reminiscent of Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates.” There’s also more bass in here and some jazz piano followed by chugging guitars that introduce the closest thing to guitar solo on the album. After some of the lower-range screaming on the album, The Binding Cycle ends – not with a bang but a whisper. And a piano. And some acoustic guitar.

The Fallen Divine have put together a respectable and enjoyable first album that is absolutely worth a listen. Despite some compositional weakness, all of the pieces are strong enough to stand up by themselves, and the album never completely falls apart.  They clearly love playing with different techniques and linking a wide variety of sounds.  As they mature, and their focus shifts from proving what they can do towards creating something whole out of the pieces, their music will only get more engaging. I’m already more interested in listening to their next album than this one – especially if they let the bass player off his chain.

Related posts:

1. Angrily Unreviewed: Supreme Pain – Divine Incarnation
2. Crucifyre – Infernal Earthly Divine Review
3. Pestilence – Doctrine Review

It’s no secret that right now my favorite band in the world is Orphaned Land. And if it was a secret, I guess it’s not really a secret anymore. Orphaned Land does what no other band alive does and they do it so very, very well. Mabool was fantastic, but 2010′s The Never Ending Way of OR’WarriOR was my record of the year and is really my standard for what a modern progressive metal record should be like. The mix and production from Steven Wilson was excellent, the song writing was tremendous and it’s one of the very few records over about 45 or 50 minutes that I can even handle these days. So I was super pumped when I got a promo copy of the band’s DVD The Road to OR-Shalem. I’m not a huge fan of DVDs, as I’ve said in the past, but this one is definitely worth your time—both as fans and non-fans. 

One thing that has happened recently in DVD trends in metal is that instead of doing a monster box like Amon Amarth did, bands have been going home to their home crowds and filming there. So we got Amorphis in Finland last year and Sonata Arctica there this year. And that’s great! But this is different. Having Orphaned Land play a club show in Tel Aviv makes this DVD truly special. First, because the band can interact in Hebrew, but also because the fans are just so fucking die hard and the feeling is immense. While the direction of the DVD is pretty good but bordering a bit on frantic (so many fast cuts—it’s like Steve Harris edited it himself), part of what makes this DVD so cool is just the crowd that’s so in love with this band.

Depending on how long you’ve been a fan of the band, the setlist might be a bit of a bummer, on the other hand. In the main, edited concert DVD there’s only a handful of songs older than Mabool, and most of that appears to have been pushed to the bonus material (and one of them is performed by Steven Wilson—and the rendition is a letdown)—which could be seen as a bit of a shame. As I’d have preferred that they just played ORwarriOR from start to finish and then done the songs from Mabool as the encore, I wasn’t too upset by it. And the band was in such good form that it was less about what they were playing and more about just watching them play—which is a blast.

Seeing the band’s personality live is part of the fun of this because I’ve never seen them live. There were a few things that stood out for me. First, Yossi Sassi Sa’aron, the lead guitar player, has to be the happiest man alive. It’s kind of a weird thing, but watching him play, you get this feeling that he just can’t think of anything else in the entire world that he’d rather be doing and it’s a bit infectious, even if it’s a tad silly. This is not to say that Kobi (vocalist), Uri (bass) and Matti (rhythm guitar) aren’t awesome to watch, but Yossi kind of steals the show for me (followed closely by drummer Matan who is a true showman, given that he’s behind a kit). In any case, the band plays with great precision and passion that coupled the way that the crowd reacted.

DVDs are often made by their extras, however, and I really thought that The Road to OR-Shalem was made by the documentary and the extra songs that weren’t included. Yehuda Poliker‘s tracks with the band were very cool, and Matan’s drum solo was actually really entertaining. But the documentary was probably the most interesting. First, seeing the old footage from back when these guys were just pups (they were so little!) was definitely cool. But also, hearing them express their influences and how they came to the point where Orphaned Land went from being something pretty alright and fairly interesting to being something really amazingly unique and cool (the difference, in my opinion, between El Norra Alila and Mabool). Hearing, too, their views on religion and politics (something that was expressed in my interview with Kobi as well) was interesting. And getting to hear it expressed by all the members of the band and their Arab Muslim fans was definitely cool because it is what makes this band not only awesome but transcendent.

The Road to OR-Shalem is something that every Orphaned Land fan should probably own. It’s a really great production with a fantastic setlist, cool surprises and catches the best band in metal in 2011 at the height of their career. In a globalized world, Orphaned Land is spearheading a movement of smart, interesting metal with a very different feel from it’s Northern peers and that’s what makes it so damned special. This DVD encompasses and embodies that. It’s a very cool package, and I rarely say that about DVDs or live albums.

Related posts:

1. Orphaned Land – The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR Review
2. Orphaned Land Post a New Track on Myspace and get Confirmed for Wacken!
3. Two Weeks Late.. but better than never..

Here’s another overlooked and underrated gem for those of you searching for new (but old) listening material of high quality. Damn the Machine was the creation of original Megadeth guitar-wiz Chris Poland following his dismissal from Camp Mustaine. Though they only managed to release this self-titled opus, the quality is such that most listeners will ardently wish they’d been more prolific. Forsaking his Megadeth-era roots, Poland steered DTM into thoughtful, progressive metal waters with hints of jazz-fusion sprinkled (sparingly) throughout. He was also wise enough to surround himself with some seriously talented musicians (including his brother Mark on drums) and the result is nothing short of phenomenal. Not overly fast nor crushingly heavy, it successfully walks a fine line between balls and brains and echoes such better known acts as Queensryche, latter day Fates Warning, Black Album-era Metallica and even Kings X.

Lead track and album single “The Mission” encapsulates what’s so interesting about the DTM sound. Its energetic and almost thrashy but so melodic and accessible it makes you do a double-take. Its also enjoyably technical as they effortlessly vault from linear playing to techy jamming, fusion and back into the main compositional structure in a flash. Poland flexes his chops, as does fellow axeman Dave Clemmons and bassist David Randi but the songs are songs, not wank-fests. On top of the rich, techy goodness, Clemmons’s vocals are unique, unusual and great (though he can be an acquired taste for some). Together, they created a sound all their own. Standouts are legion but those worth particular mention include the poignant and melancholy “Fall of Order” (where the vocals really shine),  the epic and mammoth “Lonesome God” (which has a chorus you may never forget),  and my personal favorite, the showstopping ”Russians” with its endlessly addicting bass/quasi-Spanish guitar trilling (and Clemmons’s impassioned delivery). Every song is masterful and memorable and what’s more, the album hangs together so well as a whole, you almost have to let it play through. Until the new release by Voyager, no other album even came close to rivaling the feeling of cohesion and oneness this has.

Since this is Chris Poland’s baby, you know there will be plenty of interesting guitar pyrotechnics. However, this isn’t an album of hundred-mile-an-hour, string burning solos. Its far more restrained and tasteful. The solos  are always impressive to be sure, but there’s a real sense of quiet dignity and decorum that you won’t hear on many “metal” albums. They play for feel and mood, never for fury or intensity and man, it really works well. Check out the languid playing on “Silence” and see what I mean (especially at :52). Besides the great guitar-work, David Randi’s bass is all over the place and you can hear every little nuance to his playing. The man can really slappa the bass, mon! This is one tight crew and the more you hear, the more you’ll curse the Metal Gods that there’s but one album showcasing their abilities.

Perhaps nothing is as frustrating as unrealized potential and this sole release by a mega-talented band stands as a stark monument to what could have been. File this under “Thoughtful and Restrained Metal” and then track this platter down as if your life depends on it. If you do, I think you’ll join me in feeling grateful for what we got but always wishing there was just a little bit more of it. Damn the machine for not giving us more Damn the Machine! Yeah, it’s that good.

Related posts:

1. Guilt Machine – On This Perfect Day
2. Retro-spective Review: Wargasm – Ugly
3. Austrian Death Machine – Double Brutal Review