Angry Metal Guy

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.

Oskoreien // Illusions EP
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Great! Looking forward to a full length.
Label: Unsigned (Name your price for it at Band Camp)
Websites: oskoreien.bandcamp.com | myspace.com/oskoreienband
Release Dates: Dec. 31st, 2009

Oskoreien is another one of those DIY projects that I was directed to which delighted me to check out. There was a time when you, as a metal guy, probably got friended by Oskoreien on MySpace, when the creator was in full-on promo mode. The tracks that I remembered hearing were very much in the Ensiferum / Wintersun kind of vein. Lots of sweep picking and sort of melodic death influences. So when I got my hands on the Illusions EP I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Turns out that Mr. Valena had released something I wasn’t expecting at all: basically post-black metal. Illusions opens with a short acoustic passage and then launches into the first 13 minute track, a piece called “Transcendence” in good form. The melodies are solid, but simplistic. The guitar work on here isn’t like Ensiferum or Wintersun at all, but instead much more black metal: trem-picked over blast beats and minimalistic, with very little ornamentation. This doesn’t mean, however, that there is no musical sophistication here—just the opposite, in many ways this material feels much more sophisticated than Velana’s earlier work (not to say that it was bad, mind you). The ability to take simple passages, simple harmonies and beautiful chord progressions and make them shine like he has shows a solid understanding of composition and just an all around good ear.

These tracks are quite atmospheric, as one could expect. They land firmly in the Ulver and Agalloch territory with reference to both the acoustic guitar style and composition styles. Jay’s voice is also very similar to Garm’s old singing voice in the early Arcturus, Ulver days like what one hears on Kveldssanger and La Masquerade Infernale. He has a very forceful, vibratoless kind of delivery that is equal parts beautiful and creepy. Sometimes it sounds a little bit too forced for my liking, but it fits the atmosphere perfectly. And let’s face it, he must be doing something right if I *want* to listen to 23 minutes of music split into only two tracks.

My biggest complaint about this is the production, but not in the way that one would expect. The guitars have a lot of reverb on them, which sort of pushes them back in the mix and with the drums so high in the mix, but also so obviously a drum machine, it feels a little jarring sometimes. These are quality samples, but they have that sort of modern “tinny drum” kind of sound that I think should probably be avoided. Other than that, this record shines. Both tracks are well-composed, well-performed and worth checking out. And, once again, it’s a “name your own price” kind of deal, so I strongly suggest you go and download the thing and donate to Oskoreien’s future.

Petrychor // Dryad
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Solid post-black, intelligent and interesting
Label: Unsigned
Websites: petrychor.bandcamp.com | myspace.com/petrychor
Release Date: February, 9th, 2010

I frequently complain about black metal these days. Partially this is because I think that a lot of post-black metal is fucking boring and partially ’cause the not-post-black metal is also fucking boring. In general, black metal is in a place where nothing really that interesting is going on. Sure, there are bands out there that are putting out good material, but for the most part the signed stuff is  so-so and the classic bands are disappointing with new material and the state of the scene, in my opinion, is pretty sad. So I was pleasantly surprised to get turned onto this piece of art by the Californian do-it-yourselfer just called “T”. The project is called Petrychor and displays all of the things that I would hope to hear out of this budding scene sort of embodied in a single 3 song EP entitled Dryad.

There are two sides to this project melded into a single overarching concept, from what I can tell. The first, the piece that opens this record, is the epic and beautifully played steel string acoustic playing with a sound that deftly matches the old growth forest on the front cover of Dryad. A sound that is clean and fresh, but steeped in mystery and subtlety. The second side of Dryad is one of atmospheric, heavy but still crisply melodic black metal. Due to the production the music moves in waves, rather than any kind of technical precision that you see in other metal genres. The guitars, drums, bass and keyboards work together to build massive, epic walls of sound that flow smoothly while still being thick and forceful.

Of any band, I’d still say that Petrychor reminds me of early Ulver more than anything else that I really listen to. It has the same appreciation for beauty, the same intellectual acuity and the same dark core that drive me back to listen to Bergtatt, Kveldssanger, and Nattens Madrigal over and over. However, unlike other bands, most notably Agalloch, who have followed in the footsteps of the early Ulver work, this material is not derivative at all. “T” demonstrates a willingness to wander from the herd and to write a unique and, frankly, oddly catchy style of black metal that I’ve never really heard before. This individual is an excellent guitar player and writes solid melodic solos and the use of drum machine, particularly in the middle of the track “Gamma Leonis” indicates to me that T really doesn’t give a shit what the “trve” or “kvlt” types think.

I look forward to seeing what more Petrychor has to offer. It’s been a long time since any underground work has moved me to such exclamations and that’s the reason that I decided to write this review without any request for promo. This album is free for anyone to download at the project’s BandCamp profile (linked above) and I strongly suggest you go and download it and give a listen. And it’s definitely worth throwing 5 bucks at, I think. My only complaint is that there are no lyrics included anywhere for my perusal, but this is well worth the price of admission and your time.

Rage // Strings to a Web
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — A surprising, catchy release
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: rage-on.de | myspace.com/rage
Release Dates: EU: 05.02.2010 | US: TBA

When I was in my big power metal phase, which I guess would’ve probably been around 2000/2001, I stumbled upon a Rage CD in a great used CD store that I used to go into all the time (those were the days). I thought for sure it was going to be great just from looking at it. Turns out… not so much. I don’t recall hating a record more than that one. I thought it was a major pile of shit. I’m pretty sure it was the record XIII, but I can’t be sure as it was sold away a long time ago. Needless to say I wasn’t even a little bit excited when I received this record. I was fully expecting this record to be totally crap.

However, the German hockey metal has struck: and I’ve been addicted for about a week to this CD. For fans of the band, I’m sure that this review will probably be not as good as it could be, because I don’t have a lot of reference for the band’s earlier work, however, I’m going to describe this from the perspective of someone who’s really hearing these guys for the first time. Rage is like a blending of 80s Yes with Blind Guardian. They have all the thrash, the classical influences (and these guys actually pre-date Blind Guardian by a few years) and the “hockey choruses” as one individual I know calls it, that make Blind Guardian, Nocturnal Rites and bands of that nature addictive. On the other hand, there’s a progressive bent, that keeps things fresh and that really is reminiscent of the 1980s.

Actually, the biggest surprise here is that a band with such big, modern production can still sound so genuinely 80s. I know that, of course, these guys started making music in the early 80s, but honestly.. no one sounds like that anymore. These guys have not shyed away from the things that made the 80s unique and campy, including a Top Gun love scene kind of soundtrack moment (the track entitled “Fatal Grace” and starring a Kenny G wannabe) in the big “Empty Hollow” track (a 5 part epic, that kicks ass). But despite all of this, it still manages to be good and somehow avoids the camp. It has all of those simple rock beats, straightforward melodies and guitar driven compositions that one associates with the 80s, but somehow they just make it work. There must be something in the tone or the production that I can’t quite put my finger on, but this record manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and relevant.

But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a glam album either. It is consistent with good German thrash metal and just generally addictive. Very few bands tempt me to headbang at the desk while I’m writing the review and listening to it. Few bands produce melodies that are so intensely addictive as the choruses on this album (see: “Empty Hollow,” “Hunter and Prey,” “Saviour of the Dead”). My biggest complaint about this record, honestly, is that the lyrics are pretty lame. As a buddy put it “Show me a power metal band with good lyrics and I’ll show you the holy grail,” and that’s probably true.. but you’d think that someday we’d be able to get past the embarrassing lyrics that show up on this record (and many other power metal records). It’s a shame, because everything else about this record is great—but just listen to the lyrics to “Hellgirl” and tell me that you’re not embarrassed.

Criticisms aside, I was pretty much wowed by this album. I’ve heard bad things about this band’s later material, so it sounds like this record isn’t at all representative of that era. If you’ve been a fan of this band in the past but quit listening to them, now might be the time to give them another chance. And if you’re a fan of power metal, prog and German thrash you should definitely check out this album.

Blaze Bayley // Promise and Terror
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — 55 minutes of kick ass and darkness mixed
Label: Blaze Bayley Recordings
Websites: blazebayley.net | myspace.com/blazebayley
Release Date: February 1st, 2010

I must say that, if you don’t already know this, I have been anticipating this record since I heard of its release. Sure, things have been busy around here, but I even managed to slip in a few listens to the record in spite of the heavy schedule of listening that I’m forced to adhere.  Written and recorded in the aftermath of one of the most terrible tragedies in Blaze’s life, and really in the life of a neophyte band trying to break its way into the music scene on the strength of independent promotion and raw, hard work, and non-fashionable music, Promise and Terror has the chance to show the medal of this band and to testify to the absolute spine of one Blaze Bayley. While The Man Who Would Not Die was a record that was written in the face of the adversity from the outside world and sounded, frankly, like a big aural “fuck you” to all uninterested parties, Promise and Terror has a different role to fill.

Let’s think about the title and I think it really gives a sense of what one should be expecting from this record. Every new thing that one encounters in the world can contain both terrifying and promising things. A new lover contains both of these things: the promise of things to come, but the terror of losing someone. This sense of terror compels people to act completely irrationally sometimes in order to try to maintain a relationship that they’re, in essence, pushing away by acting crazy. As a musician you are also facing the same kind of thing a situation that is risky. Do you lose relationships with those you’re close to? Do you spend loads of money and push yourself into debt for nothing in the end? Or do you live the life you want to live. And, I think the ultimate example of this is freedom. In some ways being independent from the group is a scary process. There is no one telling you where your limits are. But then you don’t have limits. Such promise can frighten people.

In losing his label and going through everything that he’s been through, Blaze has certainly experienced both the promise and the terror that are embodied in this well-written, well-produced and perfectly executed example of modern power metal. Promise and Terror is uncompromisingly heavy, pushing its way into melodic death metal territory if there wasn’t an English baritone singing over top of it. The riffs are melodic as hell, but definitely catchy and the guitar work is textured and very cool. The fast is dynamically offset by slow parts (and even a slow song, which is one of the strongest tracks on the album “Surrounded by Sadness”) which work functionally to remind you of the darkness and sadness contained within.

The production on this record is definitely a step up from the band’s previous effort, to my great pleasure, and the drums sound great (Hey Larry, damn straight triggers are for pansies! Well played!). The whole thing is thick as hell with great performances from everyone involved. Though, I must say that, oddly enough some of the only questionable performances are caused by Blaze himself seeming a bit lost on the melodic side with a few of the riffs (see the chorus in “1633″, an awesome song.. but Blaze just sounds kinda off). This, however, is few and far between. And while his voice isn’t as powerfully produced as it was when Andy Sneap was producing it, he does still sound very good.

Lyrically, Blaze borders on profundity throughout the whole album. Honestly, this guy may be at his best right now. Ironically, one of the complaints that his old band had about him, which resulted in some of the more questionable lyrical content from Blood & Belief, was that he wasn’t writing personal lyrics. This record shows that he certainly can write convincing, interesting lyrics which express his inner pain and the things that are going on for him. Sometimes these lyrical excursions almost seem at odds with the music, but for the most part the darkness of this record permeates everything culminating in probably one of the darkest tracks he has ever performed since he was on The X Factor, “Comfortable in Darkness”.

Honestly, I view this record as a triumph for The Little Band That Could. Hopefully more people will pick it up and get into it, because this is easily the best thing that Blaze Bayley has sung on since Tenth Dimension. It has all the balls of Silicon Messiah and all the darkness of The X Factor and all the honesty that was missing from Blood & Belief. Even if you’re not a Blaze fan, you should at least head on over to their MySpace and give the tracks a spin. You might just be impressed.

Overkill // Ironbound
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Great! A pleasant thrash surprise!
Label: Nuclear Blast  (EU | US)
Websites: wreckingcrew.com | myspace.com/overkill
Release Dates: EU: 29.01.2010 | US: 02.09.2010

“Overkill is still around?” That was my first thought when I received this promo. See, this band is definitely a part of my childhood, being a huge a fan of the record I Hear Black when I was at the tender age of 11, but they were never a band that I ever followed with any religiosity. No, Overkill never managed to make it into my early thrash pantheon, despite the fact that I remember loving that album. So it was with great interest that I put on this album, not really know what to expect at all given everything. I mean, it’s been a lot of years and bands, in general, do not age well. And, after asking around, I’d heard that Overkill hadn’t aged very well, either.

Ironbound, if it’s true the band hasn’t aged well, isn’t representative of such biases. In fact, just the opposite, this record shows Overkill as a dominant thrash metal band on top of their game. While the band has maintained their characteristic sound, which is pretty much thrash with the very characteristic vocal approach of vocalist Bobby “Blitz” crooning (screeching? singing? grunting? How the hell do you describe this guy’s vocals?) over top. The riffs are solid thrash attack triplets and gallops that make you want to break open a beer, put some horns up and headbang all night. There are even some technical parts that really make the thrash fan in me happy to know that in this thrash revival there is a band still producing something worth thrashing to!

Honestly, the impression I get from this record is that the band is back to stay. If they can keep up pumping out tracks with the sharpened hooks and intelligent harmonies and song writing that litters tracks like “Ironbound”, “Bring Me the Night”, “Endless War” and, probably my favorite on the album, “Give A Little,” these guys are totally back to stay. The whole album pounds out of the speakers just like the drunken thrash attack you would expect from these veterans and there isn’t a bad song on this album.

Of course, in my opinion the band probably could have cut off a track or two in order to bring the album down to about 45 minutes, which would’ve made it the perfect length for vinyl and a great length for a thrash metal record. But that said, that I’m complaining about the length and have nothing else really to say other than that should tell you something. This is album is a masterwork of thrash metal in an age of neo-thrash bands who wish they could have the excellence or authenticity of Overkill. If only EVERY band could be putting out albums like this 25 years after their inception.

Dream Evil // In the Night
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Absolutely great (for what it is) – All Hail the new Kings of Metal!
Label: Century Media
Websites: dreamevil.se | myspace.com/dreamevil
Release Dates: EU: 25.01.2010 | US: 01.26.2010

Step over, Manowar, the new Kings of Metal are in town. Sure, they’ve been around for a while, and they’re a little more tongue in cheek than Manowar is, but Dream Evil, with the release of their new record In the Night, have risen from the ashes (of a DVD release?) to take the crown for themselves in their mighty, viking fists! These Swedes have put forth a strong offering filled with skull-crushing riffs, ball-grabbing vocals and unabashedly cheesy-as-hell lyrics—that would make Snowy Shaw blush—in order to try to re-gain the glory of their mighty album The Book of Heavy Metal.

It is certainly true that the departure of Snowy and Gus G. made a lot of people nervous about Dream Evil’s demise, but they have come back with their second full-length release since then and don’t appear to be going anywhere. And, as vocalist Nick Night points out in wailing ridiculousness, Dream Evil is “immortal, [they] cannot die, you better run and hide.” And In the Night is everything that you would expect from this Swedish unit: catchy power metal with fantastic hooks, cheesy lyrics and a self-critical eye cast back at the 1980s—when men were men and tights were … totally tough. Every track on this record is fantastic, but, of course, I have my favorites. My personal favorite is probably “The Ballad,” which takes every single cliché and turns them into a moving song about crying children and swine. Other tracks that stand out are the mighty “Bang Your Head,” “Immortal,” and the delightful “Kill, Burn, Be Evil”—advice we can all really take to heart in order to improve our metal cred.

What I think is fascinating is that there are always bands that are trying to do this kind of stuff all the time and do it to varying degrees of success. Retro 80s metal is definitely building and getting stronger throughout the world and certain labels even still seriously sign bands that want to sound like 80s thrash or stadium rock—and yet here we have the most talented group of these guys and basically the whole thing is tongue-in-cheek. Dream Evil is convincing as hell, but you can tell that they’re definitely having a drunken laugh at the same time as they’re producing balls-to-the-wall metal that makes you want to break out your leopard tights. The band is really tight, the production is super and these boys can write good, pop smart heavy metal.

If you’re a fan of the genre and looking for something to get drunk to with your friends and scream at the top of your lungs: look no further than In the Night. And all hail the new Kings of  Metal!

Ihsahn // After
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Very good, but not as compelling as angL
Label: Candlelight
Websites: ihsahn.com | myspace.com/ihsahnmusic
Release Dates: EU 25.01.2010 | US: 01.26.2010

Easily one of the most anticipated records of 2010 for me has been Ihsahn’s new offering. While I was a passing Emperor fan, really just a fan of In the Nightside Eclipse and Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk-era, I was taken by Ihsahn’s solo stuff. The Adversary felt fresh—progressive enough, a step away from the later Emperor material of which I wasn’t a fan—and it captured the sonic styles and textures that he was never quite allowed to explore while in Emperor. The record didn’t stick with me as I had hoped, while I listened to it occasionally it didn’t hold a steadfast position in my discography. On the other hand, angL blew me away. Probably the finest record of 2008, angL has maintained a steady place in the rotation and is a record that I’ve showed to dozens of people. Perfectly produced, perfectly composed and smartly written, angL contained everything that I wanted out of a new progressive metal record. So, of course, when I heard that Ihsahn would be releasing a new record in 2010, I became justifiably excited.

After, the third album in Ihsahn’s initial trilogy, has once again separated itself from the pack and from Ihsahn’s earlier work—something that the man seems compelled to do with every release. The first album composed primarily for his new 8 string guitars, After possesses a more organic sound than the earlier two albums. While the style hasn’t changed dramatically—if you’ve heard the first two albums, you certainly would recognize it as Ihsahn—the composition feels less tightly contained and controlled. The addition of saxophone to certain tracks also offers a more natural dimension to the music, similar to that of the excellent Solefald, and the saxophone is also relatively unconstrained, unpredictable and has the sound of being highly improvised.

That Ihsahn is a fantastic writer is undisputed, but how well this record plays with you probably depends on your personal tastes. The first half of After plays very similarly to his earlier material; black metal influenced progressive metal with excellent riffing, smart transitions and some acoustic parts. This culminates with track “Frozen Lakes on Mars,” which might be the best on the album, before continuing into the second part of the album. The track “Undercurrent” marks the halfway point (trackwise, as it’s track 5) and where this album started to transform to a slower, more progressive album. The riffing and writing loses some of its crispness on the second half of this album—particularly on “Undercurrent” and “Austere” which are both quite slow—and, instead relies on atmosphere, texture and feel. By the time one makes it to “Heaven’s Black Shore,” after the 16 minutes of down time, the record seems to have lost a little bit of its punch. The last two tracks are great, though again a little bit more plodding than the earlier material and the whole album comes to a major epic close that is worth the wait.  How this will play definitely depends on what you like about the earlier Ihsahn material, I think. If you’re a fan of more atmospheric black metal, bands like Shining, Solefald, or even something like Wardruna (or from a totally different angle, if you’re a big fan of 70s prog and neo-prog like Opeth, Porcupine Tree, etc.) you’ll probably appreciate these things musically. If you’re more of a fan of the technical, fast, groovy, structured Ihsahn stuff—well, then this might take some time to grow on you if it ever grows at all.

There is always a danger in re-inventing your sound, and while this record is good, it just doesn’t live up to standard of what I was expecting after angL. That said, I would still recommend this album to others because it’s still heads and shoulders above a lot of the stuff that’s being released today. The musical performances are amazing: the rhythm section (Asgeir Mickelson & Lars Noberg from Spiral Architect) is tight and tremendously talented. The saxophonist (from the Norwegian Shining) offers a stellar performance and production and mix is also tight, clean and clear without feeling sterile. Musically, the record is still epic and compelling for the most part and it shows just how multi-dimensional Ihsahn is as a writer and performer. The question for fans is, of course, what comes after After?

Blaze Bayley // The Night That Wouldn’t Die
Rating: CD: 4.0/5.0 – DVD: 3.0/5.0 — A great live record, but a DVD that leaves some things to be desired
Label: Blaze Bayley Productions
Website: blazebayley.net | myspace.com/blazebayley

Blaze Bayley, for those who don’t know (where the hell have you been??) is the solo project of former Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden frontman of the same name. Honestly, this guy’s story is a true underdog story. To hear it told, he was the singer that no one wanted until he got picked up by Wolfsbane and then he was chosen to fill Bruce Dickinson’s shoes in Iron Maiden after Bruce decided he was too cool for the band. There was absolutely no way for him to win in that situation. A man with a baritone register filling Dickinson’s shoes is just ridiculous and everyone should’ve known better: but this reviewer humbly submits that X Factor is a classic record and that Virtual XI, while definitely weaker, was not weak because of Blaze, but instead because of Steve Harris’ writing and the very poor production. In fact, I’m still waiting for those two albums to be remastered.

“But how is this relevant” you may be asking yourself. Well, The Night That Will Not Die is a live record and, as such, knocks out the greatest hits from Blaze’s underrated career. Opening with a shot, the band knocks out three great shots from from the self-released The Man Who Would Not Die and it pretty much sets the stage for the album to come. The songs on here are the songs that fans of the band have come to expect that they would get. The best of from Bayley’s BLAZE incarnation: “Stare at the Sun,” “Born as a Stranger,” “The Launch,” “Leap of Faith,” in short, pretty much all of the songs that I want to hear live. Mixed in, of course, are the Iron Maiden tracks, much-maligned by the average fan, but songs that are close to my heart. It was especially exciting to hear “Edge of Darkness” live, as that’s one of my favorite tracks from X Factor.

Finally, the band litters the album with tracks from the new album, including a track dedicated to Blaze’s late manager and significant other Debbie (“While You Were Gone”—a great track), who tragically died earlier in the year. As a fan, this was emotional for me as well, a dimension that suits the record well. While it’s not visible on the album, of course, you can see on the DVD that the show jumps up a notch when you get to the new material and the dedication. It heightens the feel of the record and, frankly, you can’t help a bit of sympathy for this man who has had some pretty hard knocks, out on the road trying to live up to her memory and the help that she gave him, when there are times when he probably wants nothing more than to sit in a dark room and mourn.

From a visual perspective, this DVD needs a lot of work. Shot with only two cameras, I just wonder if it really was best for the band to release this instead of just doing the live record. Live DVDs are tough to make interesting. Even highly funded DVDs, like the Amon Amarth 5-disc monstrosity, are boring in my opinion. To be totally honest, the only concert DVD I’ve ever seen that was really good is Iron Maiden’s Rock in Rio. The comparison to Rock in Rio is absolutely impossible and totally unfair. Iron Maiden has the kind of money that Blaze Bayley, self-funding and pulling themselves up by their very metal bootstraps, simply could never have. But on that note, it might have been better to to avoid releasing a DVD and save that money for something else.

Therefore, this DVD has some limitations. The show is great, as stated, and aside from losing “The Launch” due to a giant cardboard cutout that some jackass was holding up in front of the camera, this show is pretty good! Blaze’s personal joy at doing this show is definitely fun to watch. The grin that breaks out on his face at times when he’s trying to pull some kind of metal face just demonstrates to me how much he loves what he does. It shows the kind of passion he’s got for this and he’s fun to watch.

Larry Paterson, the drummer (and apparently author of a bunch of books on German U-boats), is also very fun to watch. He seems to really be enjoying himself and is only upstaged by David Bermudez who is a fucking beast onstage. That guy is a total pro and he almost upstages the man himself! He is about as metal as it gets and it is really, really great to see that kind of energy and enthusiasm on stage. However, both guitarists need to step it the hell up. A lot of their stagecraft looked really forced and, frankly, like they were bored out of their minds for a good portion of the material. They did peak up a bit when they were playing the new material, so I guess part of it is probably that they don’t like being a “cover band,” but c’mon guys! It’s a damn DVD! Spice it up a little bit!

The final question for long-time fans of the band will be, of course, “does it live up to As Live As it Gets?” In it’s own way, definitely. I think the live record is definitely in the running. This is not the same band, and sure, they don’t have Andy Sneap in their pocket (a damn shame), but with the addition of the new songs this record is quite good and cohesive. As a fan, you should definitely pick it up because you won’t be disappointed. It also is a great way to showcase the new material to old fans, which I think is important. I know of many old fans who were so disillusioned by the crumbling of the old band that they didn’t even bother to check out The Man Who Would Not Die. This record definitely shows that the new material stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the older material, even if it isn’t the same band.

Frankly, this record makes me excited for a future for Blaze Bayley, which after the dissolution of BLAZE, I wasn’t looking forward to new material. But once again, and apparently thanks to the woman who this CD & DVD are dedicated to, Mr. Bayley is back in the saddle and knocking out good material. I await the new album, 2010 and to know what’s happened since we last left our hero…

Arkona – Goi, Rode, Goi!
Rating: 4.0/5.0 – Gripping and great, but too damn long
Label: Napalm Records
Website(s): arkona-russia.com | myspace.com/arkonarussia
Release Date(s): EU: 30.10.2009 | US: 11.02.2009

Sure, folk metal is Europe’s deathcore, but somehow it’s so much more enjoyable as a genre! It probably has something to do with the accordions. Oh, and the lack of breakdowns. If folk metal is Europe’s deathcore, than I’d have to say that Arkona is the equivalent of The Red Chord or Between the Buried and Me: so much better than the genre-title implies. Many have come to associate folk metal with the silliness of Korpiklaani and written it off as too much for their tastes. Then there are other people who get a little bit nervous about the sort of nationalistic shit that could easily be associated with a band like Arkona in a land where right wing extremists are definitely an issue. But as far as this Angry Metal Guy is concerned: Arkona is not your average folk metal band and Goi, Rode, Goi! is definitely not your average folk metal record.

No, instead Goi, Rode, Goi! is an gripping and eclectic folk metal album filled with everything that I like about folk metal: the accordions, the mouth harps and the catchy-as-hell melodies. Then, using that formula, they add in very smartly used keyboard “orchestras” and even harmonized “lai, lai, lai” sections.  The music is well-paced, though mostly fast enough to encourage copious amounts of headbanging and, generally epic as hell.

There are a couple of things that stood out to me, as well. While many bands push their way from one record to the next using the same style and writing songs that are nearly indistinguishable from their previous album, Arkona seems to have completely avoided this trap. While Goi, Rode, Goi! definitely shares elements with Ot Serdca K Nebu it is actually much less death metal influenced than the previous album. Instead this record shares a lot more in common with Finntroll and Ásmegin and other more black metal influenced folk metal on this album. This isn’t necessarily an improvement, as I was pretty fond of how brutal Ot Serdca K Nebu got, but in general it works. And since the band produced Goi, Rode, Goi! in about a year since the last album, I’d say it’s definitely worth the change.

Honestly, this record is pretty awesome. I think my only complaint is that it’s a little too long. By the end I’m pretty much ready for it to go away. I think one bad thing about the dawn of the CD was the idea that bands should use the whole thing, instead of saving material for other projects. While some people like long CDs, I find that if a disc overstays its welcome then I never listen to the whole thing after the first couple listens unless it’s The Wall. Sure, the melodies and rhythms and speed are addictive and they’re fun to listen to, but there are actually few chances when someone has an hour and 19 minutes to spend listening to an album.

But how often does a reviewer get to say “they give us too much!” This album is great and while it’s maybe not genre defining (since the genre defining stuff happened before these guys got signed), it is still an excellent album in the folk metal genre and totally worth your time and effort. I strongly suggest you pick this album up if you like the genre even a little bit.  Arkona does it extraordinarily well.