Angry Metal Guy

Loch Vostok (ViciSolum Productions) is a Swedish progressive metal band from Uppsala, Sweden. This was enough for me to take a look at it [Tjena grannar!] because, well, there aren’t a ton of metal bands from Uppsala, really. Not that they don’t exist or anything, but they’re just few and far between and most of them aren’t playing progressive metal. Apparently these guys, who I’ve never heard before mind you, formed in 2001 and Dystopium is their fourth record. And yeah, for fans of progressive metal, Swedish death metal and more modern sounding metal might really dig this disc.  Continue reading

Dies Irae // Secret Veils of Passion
Rating: 1.0/5.0 — Cannot be unheard.
Label: Chaos Records
Websites: facebook.com/diesiraeonline | myspace.com/diesiraeonline
Release Dates: US: 01.09.2012 | EU:  Unknown

So, last year (also known as last week) we introduced this thing called the “Top Records We Wish We Could Unhear” and I’ve already gotten to my first nomination for the year of 2012. Dies Irae (no, not that one, the Mexican one) is apparently an old melodic death metal band that has remade itself in the image of “post-metal” (no, not that kind of post metal, the kind from 1999) and got themselves signed by Chaos Records, who otherwise have pretty good taste in bands. Secret Veils of Passion is, therefore, the first of the band’s new, updated versions of itself and it is a remarkable record to behold. But no, not that kind of remarkable. Think more like: I am remarking upon it.  Continue reading

The Fallen Divine // The Binding Cycle
Rating: 3.0/5.0 – Loosely bound aggregate of excellent fragments.
Label: Unsigned
Websites: myspace.com/tfdofficial | facebook.com/fallendivine
Release Dates: Is it out? I could only find a couple tracks available online.
By: A Prospective Overseer of Unsigned Bands

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. Continue reading

Thulcandra // Under a Frozen Sun
Rating: 3.0/5.0 —-More Dissection than the county morgue
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/thulcandrametal
Release Dates: Out now!

The Germanic horde Thulcandra is back for another fast and furious bout of Dissection worship. For those who missed my review of their 2010 opus Fallen Angel’s Dominion, these chaps, lead by Stefan Kummerer (Obscura) are huge fans of the late, great Dissection and their debut was a loving tribute to their classic sound. Since I’m also a fan, their authentic and spot-on Dissection-isms (and occasional Immortal-isms) won me over enough to overlook the complete lack of originality. That release stands up well and I still spin it fairly often. Now comes their second album, Under a Frozen Sun and its a whole lot more of the same. Once again, they deliver expertly performed, melodic black metal with all the hallmarks of The Somberlain and Storm of the Light’s Bane albums. This time however, it feels slighty less fresh and engaging. Perhaps their homage schtick is growing old or maybe its the black metal weariness I’m feeling of late. Either way, while less successful than the debut, Thulcandra (or Dissection, I’m not sure which) retains just enough charm and appeal to make for some worthwhile moments of old school Scandinavian blackness, suitable for scowling and frowning in the snow.  It also has several barnburners that rise above the continued pattern of staunch unoriginality. Continue reading

Omnium Gatherum // New World Shadows
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — A whole new world…
Label: Lifeforce Records
Websites: omniumgatherum.org | myspace.com/omniumgatherum
Release Dates: EU: 07.02.2011 | US: 03.01.2011

There was a time when melodic death metal was every breath I took. While it’s been a long time since that was the case, I certainly can say that I spent the late 90s and early 00s listening to my fair share of melodic Swedish death metal and loving it. But since then melodic death metal has kinda fallen off a cliff. This is partially due to the dawning of metalcore and the co-opting of Swedish thrash and death metal by hardcore kids, but I think it’s mainly because just like every scene after a while you start growing tired of the sound. Every new album that gets released gets a “Yeah, well, I’ve heard this before.” While there have been some notable melodic death metal records in the last couple of years—Barren Earth and Be’lakor come to mind—only the former has really stuck out as truly remarkable. That is until I checked out New World Shadows from Omnium Gatherum. Continue reading

Saeculum Obscurum // Into the Depths of Oblivion
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Has promise.
Label: Thunderblast Records
Websites: myspace.com/saeculumobscurum
Release Dates: EU: 14.01.2011 | US: 01.14.2011 [Digital]

As you can tell, my resolution for 2011 was to review more obscure and underground music that no one has ever heard of. I want you to know that this means that I am reviewing like everything I get, if it’s possible, and really I’ve had some good luck and some really fucking horrendously terrible luck. I’m going to say that Saeculum Obscurum falls on the good side of the luck barrier. I figured with a name that means “The Dark Age” and a logo by the mighty artist and logo magnate Christophe, this one deserved a fair shake at least. Continue reading

Allegaeon // Fragments of Form and Function
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Colorado by way of Sweden
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: myspace.com/allegaeon
Release Dates: EU: 19.07.2010 | US: 07.20.2010

I read somewhere recently that music reviewers who cite to other bands as a means to explain what an album sounds like do a disservice to themselves as writers by taking shortcuts and a greater disservice to the band by depriving them of individual creative identity. Upon reading this, I felt anger, then shame, then finally, acceptance. I pledged my very next review would be entirely devoid of such pathetic comparisons and my writing would thereby ascend to new heights of greatness.  Then I listened to my assigned album and that went out the fucking window.  Before me I have the debut album Fragments of Form and Function by Colorado’s own Allegaeon. It’s very good and I like it plenty. However, there is no way I get through this review without the crutch of comparison and I apologize to all who read this forevermore.

Continue reading

Disdain // Leave This World
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Support quality power metal!
Label: Scarlet Records
Website: myspace.com/disdainsweden
Release Date: JP: 25.03.2010 | EU: 15.03.2010 | US: ?

Those well-versed in the metal arts may see a band named Disdain and expect a dose of brutal death metal or possibly some frostbitten and bitter black metal. In this case however, the name is quite misleading. Disdain’s debut album Leave This World reveals a Swedish troupe bringing a somewhat unique spin to the traditional power metal sound and sounding far more experienced and professional than you might expect. This may owe to the fact that these guys have been in existence since the late 90’s and at one time even included Nightwish’s Anette Olzon on vocals. I can already hear the chorus of power metal bashers out there (you know who you are) screaming about how much crappy power metal is already on the shelves these days and how there isn’t room for any more whether it’s good, bad or ugly. Well, doubters be damned! Disdain has managed a rare feat and rise above most of their peers with this release while managing to avoid the many pitfalls that doom lesser power metal bands.

One of the first things that jumps out at the listener as Leave This World takes off, is the unusually heavy guitar tone (for power metal) that Disdain have armed themselves with. What will also become readily apparent is how much singer Christian Borjesson is a dead ringer for Hammerfall’s Joacim Cans. So much so, that at times I was wondering if Mr. Cans was singing on this album under a pseudonym.

Where Disdain distances themselves from the pack is the way they brings an extra heavy edge and lay it over the traditional power metal template. At some points they remind you of mid-period Nocturnal Rites, then at others times the sound is more reminiscent of Kalmah or vintage Dark Tranquility. They even toss in some quality death metal croaks on several tracks to very good effect (“Narrow Minded,” “Nine Lives Spent”).

Besides upping the heavy factor considerably, Disdain succeed in the actual art of songwriting. They manage to write punchy, tight and memorable songs with big choruses that remain in your head after one or two listens. The title track is a great example. It has a great combination of heavy guitar and spacey keyboards that really commands attention. Likewise, “Scarred” roars along like a tank with heavy guitar work and Christian’s excellent vocals over the top, creating a power metal song you can actually head bang to (shocking concept eh?). Across the ten songs on Leave This World, you get a variety of musical heaviness but no real drop in song quality.  Another big point in their favor is the complete absence of typical Dungeons & Dragons™ power metal lyrical clichés. I love elves, dragons, horses and all that stuff as much as the next guy but it can get silly pretty quick.

Ultimately, I think Disdain may have stumbled onto something here. Even a power metal dork like me will concede the existence of far too many sappy, happy and crappy power metal bands gumming up the works these days. Taking a darker, heavier approach like this may be exactly what the genre needs to remain viable and fresh. The lyrics to one track on Leaving This World include the classic observation, “though fashion changes, you know style remains.” Well, Disdain has style to spare and this is a refreshing debut by a band I think you will be hearing bigger things from in the near future.

Ruined Soul // My Dying Day
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — So much potential here…
Label: Suicide Records
Websites: myspace.com/ruinedsoulswe
Release Dates: EU: 23.04.2010 | US: 05.04.2010 (?)

Ruined Soul is a one-man project firmly based in the Gothenburg scene. Johnny Johansson apparently missed the scene because of his age, but having learned from the best (and right in his backyard, as it were) he has produced a record that wouldn’t have been out of place in 1999, released alongside Colony by In Flames or Projector by Dark Tranquillity. With a whole slough of big named guests from the Swedish scene and one Andy La Roque as the prodcer, it’s hard to imagine how a record like this could go wrong. Right? .. Right!?

Even Angry Metal Guys feel a little guilt when they’re about to pan a DIY kid who missed out on the scene. The fundamental problems are probably already obvious from the introductory paragraph, but this is not the fault of Johnny Johansson himself, but instead his parents who birthed him a few years too late. The Gothenburg sound has been getting tired for years and as stated earlier this year with my review of Arise‘s new record, while this record still holds some appeal it’s hard to imagine ever really getting into it because the sound is something that I’ve heard so many times before. It’s Gothenburg thrash. It’s literally just a rehash of Colony and  Slaughter of the Soul with a little bit more black metal thrown in. Not even copping the tricks of the ultimate At The Gates ripoff artists The Black Dahlia Murder and adding more blast beats, this stuff is straight out of the book of Swedish death metal, as it were.

But we all loved this sound at one time! It’s not like there aren’t things going on here that are good, because there are. It’s obvious that Johansson has thrash metal running in his veins, and  he’s written some fantastic riffs and great melodies that are definitely reminiscent of the greats. It’s hard to listen to this album without nodding your head along with the mid-paced riffing and humming the guitar melodies. So, this record would still be pretty salvagable were it not for probably its greatest weakness: some of the most trite and ESL lyrics I’ve heard on a release for a long time. I recently made fun of Unleashed for their cheesy lyrics, but this takes it to a different level. While Unleashed is screaming about being Viking death metal, with the subtlety of a warhammer, Ruined Soul‘s lyrics just meander into the painfully cliché and cheesy territory.

Now normally I ignore lyrics if I don’t get a booklet, but there are things on here that I can’t help but hear because of the way it’s mixed and the way its screamed. Lyrics like “You are my only friend / my only friend until the end” from “Rewind” just make me cringe. The opening lyrics to the song “Rivers of Blood” are worthy of Joey DeMaio as well “The world isn’t what it used to be / It’s something in the air tonight / I’m standing in the eye of the storm / [inaudible] is heading this way” works out to about 3 cliché’s in just one verse. Not to mention the acts of closing one’s eyes until the bleed (I’m not actually sure how one even goes about doing that) and other just ridiculously cheeseball approaches, it’s just hard to take this record seriously. Like many musicians Johnny Johansson is probably a guitarist and musician first, lyricist second. But this is what producers should be for: where the hell was the person saying to him “Dude, that’s fucking cheesy as hell.” Nowhere, and so we get stuck with choruses like the one from the track “Bleeding”: “I hear your voice and words, my ears are bleeding / I see your razor eyes, my eyes are bleeding / I feel your touch, my skin is bleeding / I breathe your air, internal bleeding!”

There are really cool moments, hell, even the chorus from the cheesy “Bleeding” song actually has really great guitar melodies and a good feel. But for a band to really pull this off and make it convincing and worth the time of listeners and something that is going to pull in new listeners, they have to be amazing. Instead, despite the production, the guest musicians and the time and energy put into this album, we’re left with something that would’ve probably been pretty good if not for the lyrics (though, honestly, I liked Children of Bodom and their lyrics were just as retarded) in 1999. And that’s just not enough for this Angry Metal Guy anymore.

Arise // The Reckoning
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Nostalgic and enjoyable
Label: Regain Records
Websites: ariseonline.com | myspace.com/ariseonline
Release Dates: EU: 22.03.2010 | US: 04.06.2010 [or out now?!?]

Arise was a little late on the uptake on the first go around of the Gothenburg sound—forming in 1996, but really getting their first demo out there in 1998 and getting signed about the time that all the death metal elitists I knew were already writing off the sound as “done”. However, unlike most of the bands from that era, they are still alive and kicking and putting out music of the style that was popular at the time. There’s some confusion about this record, which according to some sources came out last year, but it’s being promoted right now by Regain with a release date of the 22nd of March (which means it’s out now). It has, indeed, been a few years since Arise put out their last album, but even with the departure of two members, they don’t seem to have lost any steam.

Now don’t get me wrong, you could probably hum each of these tunes the first time through. If you’re even slightly familiar with the Gothenburg sound from the early/mid-1990s (Hypocrisy, Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, At The Gates) then you have heard this band before a bajillion times. You probably first heard it when the Swedes did it. Then you heard it again when the Americans did it. And now there are some Swedes doing it again, and showing that when done without breakdowns and hardcore screams it can still be a sound that’s engaging and fun to listen to.

The record starts off with a bang, bursting out the door with the track “Adrenaline Rush”, which clocks in at under 2 minutes long, and it’s really pretty much a thrash and headbang fest for the next 41 minutes and 20 seconds. Aside from the track “Pitch Black”, a borderline Meshuggah-esque mechnical metal kind of track, these tracks are all pretty much the kind of thing that you are familiar with from Slaughter of the Soul. But, while not novel, it certainly is well done. Particularly the title track, “The Reckoning” and the final track “End of Days” stood out for me.

Fans of melodeath should definitely check this record out. It could be slightly addictive to the right listener, I think, but if you’ve had your fill of the Gothenburg sound then this is probably a record you can skip. That said, these guys are really good at what they’re doing. The songwriting is concise and addictive and the feel is heavy and solid and hasn’t lost any of its original intensity, like some of the other originating bands (who we won’t mention here—but who know who they are!) from the Gothenburg scene. All-in-all this is a very good record, it just lacks the novelty that the metal scene craves to keep itself fresh.