“Barely a year after their debut record The Key, Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime project is back with Resurrection, part two of what threatens to be a trilogy of concept albums. Backed by a large cast of supporting musicians, the former Queensrÿche vocalist is aiming to beat his former band at the conceptual-metal game.” Tate v. the Rÿche: Round II. Place yer bets.
“Rest in hazy, gloomy peace, The Wounded Kings. A picture of a tombstone, a few words on Facebook, and we we’re left robbed of an illustrious specimen of progressive, psychedelic doom metal, condemned to finding solace in the five praiseworthy full-lengths and several smaller releases they recorded.” It’s with heavy hearts and a pocket full of doom that we wish The Wounded Kings farewell…
“There once was a time when the little known Bloody Hammers were making like the even lesser known Vardan by releasing new albums with shocking rapidity. Perhaps this was their way of getting their name out there and keeping whatever low-level momentum they garnered moving in the right direction. Unfortunately despite some good ideas, the music often felt slapped together and rushed with inconsistent results. The talent and potential were definitely there, but the results weren’t quite up to snuff. In my review of their 2014 opus Under Satan’s Sun I prescribed a longer time between releases to allow their ideas to germinate, marinate and ruminate, and perhaps they took the advice to heart.” Free advice is worth exactly what it costs.
“Of thousands of metal bands, there are few that have changed as drastically as Anathema. First blazing trails as a death-doom band and party to the so-called ‘Peaceville Three,’ they underwent a softening into what can be described as doom or goth rock. Their deathy innards stripped away, this mid-era is what some regard as their strongest output given they retained their darkness and evocative atmosphere but with subtler music. Since the turn of the millennium they’ve mellowed yet further into an unusual but compelling amalgamation of alternative rock, airy prog and dreamy pop. I’m here today to discuss my favorite Anathema album, one from the mid-period: Eternity.” The evolution of sadness.
“After spending hours on the web searching for the band Eerie, I’ve finally found them and their self-titled debut. With a band name like that, I passed by everything from comic books to Polish black metal to unsettling porn. And, as it turns out, it was well worth the frustrating Google search. Debuting on Tee Pee Records (a much easier name to search), the label describes the band as being black metal/rock—a combo that could go many ways.” When Google goes wrong….
“Airbag is a great name for a band. I’d never heard of them until a week ago. Comparisons to Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree are enough to get this prog geek’s ears up, and here we are, listening to their fourth album, Disconnected. Giving your album the same name as the classic Fates Warning record is cheeky indeed, but my hopes are high that this band can pull it off.” He’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes.
“Every once in awhile it’s fun to shuffle through the promo pile in search of an album that explores the good ole days of rock—and by “good ole days,” I mean old-man Steely D days. Even when it’s done shittily, the outcome triggers special memories of sitting around listening to the godfathers of heavy metal and hard rock on shiny black “frisbees” (as we use to call them).” The olde ways are back in vogue (not vogueing though).
“Catalonian prog-rock quintet Obsidian Kingdom caught my ear with Mantiis, an ambitious and cinematic debut that I’ve come back to often since its 2012 release. The album bordered many genres, but its kaleidoscopic diversity was more than a gimmick; Mantiis felt like a truly complete experience, complete with groovy death riffs, Floydian ambience, acidic snarls, and heartfelt synth-piano ballads. As the band like to say, it’s “hard-to-classify,” and just when I got my hopes up for more of the same, A Year with No Summer comes along to cleverly sidestep them.” The summer wind came blowing in from across Catalonia.
“After a conversation with a friend about power metal, I came to the realization that many of my favorite bands in the genre are cheesy as hell. I’ve come to this slightly ashamed conclusion many times over the years, and as I’ve done before, I pulled out my power metal collection in hopes that all the black, thrash, and death metal hadn’t lessened my love for Tolkien-based nonsense and eight-album concepts about the mighty Metalians.” Cheeses H. Christ, the Doctor is such a Helloweenie!
“Hardcore largely exists as a reaction to things in the world that invoke the ire of an angry singer. This can range from society as a whole (Pro-Pain), the government (Sick of It All), or some unnamed person who wronged the narrator so often and so consistently that it literally must be their job to anger the guy (Terror).” More music for Leg Day at the local gymnasium.
