Angry Metal Guy

Much like Angry Metal Guy, I took  issue with Gibson’s Top 50 Metal Songs of All Time. While AMG was primarily offended by the paucity of post-1980s selections and the Anglocentric focus, my biggest gripe was the inclusion of bands that weren’t/aren’t metal (that also pissed me off, I’m just not eloquent when I’m pissed. – AMG). As good as bands like KISS, Van Halen and AC/DC may be, they just aren’t heavy metal bands (Don’t even get me started on Korn). Even when Gibson managed to stick to the correct genre, some of their choices were quite baffling to me. Of course, if you put fifty metal fans in a room and told them to do their own lists, each would be unique and vastly different. That’s the wonderful subjectivity of music, it means something different to each of us and who are we to judge what others like? That being said, Gibson’s list blows moose cock so here’s mine.

Continue reading

Star One // Victims of the Modern Age
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Less Jar-Jar, more Klingon
Label: Insideout Music
Websites: arjenlucassen.com | myspace.com/ayreonauts
Release Dates: EU: 01.11.2010 | US: 10.25.2010

Arjen Lucassen, I may have misjudged you. You see, Mr. Lucassen and his projects tend to invoke very different reactions depending on which segment of the Angry Metal demographic one asks. To some, his celebrity studded prog-rock and metal projects with Ayreon and Star One are overblown, self-indulgent, pretentious and worthy of scorn and ruthless mockery (I’ve heard “Gayreon” tossed around more than a little). Others will tell you the man is a musical genius and crafts some of the most adventurous progressive metal out there today. Yours truly was firmly rooted in the former camp (as is AMG, admit it!!)  but I’ll concede that parts of Star One’s first album Space Metal ended up being a guilty pleasure despite the cheesy and lightweight “sci-fi metal” concept and sound [Whereas, I reviewed it back in the day on Unchain the Underground and thought it was self-indulgent shit. - AMG].  Well, I’m mighty shocked at the direction Mr. Lucassen has opted to take album number two, Victims of the Modern Age. This is a far FAR heavier, more metallic album, taking the basic foundation of Star One and toughening it up in every way. This is so metallic and straight forward that it sounds nothing like any of Mr. Lucassen’s other works.   Continue reading

Demiurg // Slakthus Gamleby
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Fanfuckingtastic
Label: Cyclone Empire
Websites: myspace.com/demiurgofficial
Release Dates: July 30th, 2010

When I was doing my interview with Ed Warby last November, I reached the end of the review and he mentioned that I hadn’t asked about Demiurg. Embarrassed, I admitted that I hadn’t heard Demiurg and was quickly informed as to its nature. To paraphrase Warby (who plays drums in this band, in case you didn’t know that) this is the “Rolls Royce” among vocalist Rogga Johansson’s bands and a real juggernaut of Swedish death metal. He hooked me up with a copy of The Hate Chamber, the band’s second record, and I was duly impressed. The band, made up of Rogga (Bone Gnawer, Paganizer, Ribspreader, The Grotesquery), Dan Swanö (maybe you’ve heard of him), Johan Berglund (This Haven, The Grotesquery) and Ed Warby (The 11th Hour, Gorefest, Hail of Bullets, and more), has come back in 2010 with a new take on their already well-developed and unique sound. Continue reading

The 11th Hour // Burden of Grief
Rating: 5.0/5.0 – Possibly one of the finest records of the year.
Label: Napalm Records
Website: myspace.com/11thhourdoom
Release Dates: EU: 30.10.2009 | US: 11.03.2009

When I started this review zine I had a friend who told me that I shouldn’t write in the first person on here. That as a reviewer I was to try to write objectively, like my opinion is fact and not simply a jaded metal guy on the Internet spewing his opinions about records. I think this is impossible for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that we all like certain things and dislike other things. I’ve been decried by readers for liking certain records that are apparently aren’t metal enough for them. Whereas others think I’m too hard on their favorite band. But this record proves my point that one needs to write from a place of opinion. See, I have never been the world’s biggest doom metal fan. To be totally frank, I associate a lot of doom with “funeral doom” or “drone doom,” which is a genre that I find to be incredibly boring. And honestly, I like bands that bring it with intensity and speed. I like staccato riffing and tight technicality and progressive approaches. I’ll make no bones about it, I normally associate slow and boring in my brain. That’s right, I probably have hated on your favorite doom metal band of all time at one point or another. So consider that when you’re reading this review and take it for what it is.

The 11th Hour is the side project of Dutch metaller Ed Warby of Hail of Bullets, Gorefest, and Ayreon fame. An avowed doom metal fan, Warby penned this record and played every instrument on it except for the death metal growls, which are done by Rogga Johansson (Edge of Sanity, Demiurg, Paganizer, Ribspreader). Burden of Grief, the combination of their efforts, is a concept album about a man with terminal lung disease reliving his past.

This record is heavy as a ton of bricks. The production is thick as molasses and smooth like it, too. Interspersed between the plodding riffs is a melodic narration given in two voices: Warby’s voice, clean vocals in a higher register and Johansson’s voice, the death metal growls. The clean vocals have sort of an Alice in Chains feel to them that I think plays perfectly in this milieu. They are eerily beautiful, while adding a great offset to the protagonist’s anger, the death metal growls. These two vocal styles play back and forth and melt into orchestrations, piano and all the textures that paint a beautiful aural backdrop.

Burden of Grief is a 52 minute and 33 second thesis on how to do doom effectively and excellently. The riffs are heavy, plodding but fresh; there isn’t a single moment on this record that overstays its welcome and the melodies, while not poppy, have a way of sticking in the back of your brain. Every note on this album is perfectly placed, every vocal is perfectly performed and the whole thing is just plain heavy. It easily follows in the footsteps of the masters of the genre, while feeling totally fresh and new. Despite being doom, a genre not known for moving anywhere quickly, the record moves smoothly and never belabors the point. Every song feels interconnected, but they all stand alone as excellent.

Honestly, this is the real deal. Thick, heavy and catchy. I knew it from the first listen because it excited me like few records do. The melodies here are strong, the song ideas are rich and intricate and the concept is fantastic. While the concept is maybe a tad too close to Black Sun Aeon‘s opus, that’s probably more serendipity than anything else (and I strongly suggest you buy both albums as they’re both worth the cash). Honestly, it’s so good that I’m kind of at a loss for words. If I couldn’t get across how excellent it was with my attempted descriptions, then I suggest that you just go and try to take a listen to the tracks at MySpace. If they don’t convince you that The 11th Hour is worth the listen, then you’ve got bad taste in music.