I was surprised to see Katatonia’s Jonas Renkse show up on a record with The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord—’cause I have no idea what the connection between these two is or has been. But seeing this combination—two people who come from pretty different worlds in my brain—I couldn’t give this a skip. And neither should you.
Back in 2009 when I started this website, I was really getting back into metal and music in general, after having spent the previous year working on my own music and being really invested in learning a new language and trying to integrate into a new country. Upon having done this, I started up Angry Metal Guy with the purpose of giving myself something to do and a crash course in new music. One of the first labels I actually got a hold of was InsideOut (via Century Media) and received several very cool promos at around the same time. 2009 was actually a really good year, with several awesome releases that still stick out for me. One of these is the modern rock tinged opus Anno Domini High Definition with the slightly embarrassing acronym of ADHD. The record was modern, heavy and progressive. I was impressed and have been looking forward to the band’s follow up since.
Shining has been a consistent favorite of mine since I discovered the band. Since V:/Halmstad: Niklas angående Niklas I have reviewed every one of their records and have witnessed a change in the band that I think is hard to ignore. Starting with V, the band has continued an Opethian evolution away from the raw, gut-wrenching emotional black metal into something less raw, more catchy and proggy (Marillion prog not Dream Theater prog). Having now dropped the numbers and donned instead an English title, (what would have been VIII) Redefining Darkness continues the band’s evolution away from its gut-wrenching roots. Were we looking for a redefinition? After the mighty VII: Född förlorare I sure wasn’t
Finland’s penchant for downy frowny metal is pretty well known. Sporting doom, melodeath and atmospheric black metal acts the like of Swallow the Sun, Insomnium and October Falls and being known for long, dark, vodka-soaked, winters speckled with knife fights and rumors of sunlight somewhere south, it’s actually a surprise that Finland hasn’t produced a lot of more music consisting of both downies and frownies. Indeed, post-metallers The Chant are really the first in their particular idiom. What is their particular idiom, you ask? Well, you know, the kind of music you write when the sun hasn’t risen for a three months: depressive post-rock.
Gazpacho has to be the worst name for a band ever. The soup itself is frankly a little on the unexciting side as it is, being a vegetable soup served cold. It’s actually Spanish or Portuguese, isn’t it? Being Norwegian, couldn’t they have chosen say, lefse or something? Not only is it tastier (Mmm, a bit of sugar and butter and I’m a Happy Metal Guy! NOMNOMNOM!), but it’s Norwegian! Like the band! Get it!? Well, anyway, needless to say I was less than stoked to actually dig my ear-fingers into this record. How could a band that can’t come up with a decent band name come up with good music? I mean, this is an existential question… really.
