Electronica – Page 7 – Wonderbox Metal

Nights Amore – Subscribers of Death (Review)

This is the début album from Nights Amore from Sweden, playing Dark Ambient.

The album deals in weighty subject matter and negative emotions. These are realised through pianos and dark Electronica.

I’m not normally a massive fan of these kind of releases as they are not usually done that well and I can tire of them easily. The good thing about Nights Amore, however, is that they don’t really go in for the Drone aspect of this kind of music as much as some. Here, the songs develop and breathe rather than just repeat and turn stale.

That’s not to say, of course, that this is wildly dynamic and full of energy; by its very nature this style of music is slow, mournful, quiet and introverted.

It’s not pure misery though, as there are elements of their sound that sound almost hopeful in nature. It’s not all of the time, but it’s an aspect of their sound that prevents the album from becoming maudlin.

Musically this is good stuff, although there are too many samples for my liking; for the most part I think the music would be better off without them, but that’s just me.

This is late-night bedtime music; the kind of thing to throw on when you want to relax and soak up the melancholy.

If you’re in the right mood and have had your fill of Extreme Metal for the day then check out Subscribers of Death.

Frozen Ocean – The Dyson Swarm (Review)

This is the eighth album from Russian band Frozen Swarm.

The band play atmospheric Black Metal/Ambient.

They open with Syzygy which is a wonderfully composed piece of Dark Ambient that sounds straight out of a science fiction film and is a great piece of music.

The second track CE-4 starts in a similar vein until the addition of drums and light Black Metal-esque guitars add a gentle beat to the emerging aural tapestry.

Vocals are present, very much low-key and used like another instrument.

The Sci-Fi/cosmos-themed album is powerfully atmospheric with Black Metal, Electronica and quasi-Industrial sounds merging with a cinematic soundscape to create and involving and absorbing journey into deep space and beyond.

This album has surprised and impressed me.

Sovereign Council – New Reign (Review)

Canadian band Sovereign Council play Power/Symphonic Metal.

Well, it’s happened again. Another band from Canada who fooled me into thinking they would be another Nightwish et al rip off, (due to lazy assumptions on my part from descriptions of the band), whereas in reality there’s a lot more going on here. They’re not female fronted for a start.

Along with the recent album from Merkabah, they must be doing something very right in Canada, as even though the two bands don’t sound massively alike they both come from the Power/Symphonic mould and the Canadian scene at the moment seems a hotbed of talent.

The band play their music competently and have the right idea with the music. The symphonics and keyboards are relatively subdued for this genre; you can definitely hear them of course but they’re not over the top. The band also have a bit of an electronica influence here and there which adds a nice touch.

The main male vocals are restrained and confident; no show boating here just quality emotive singing. The female backing vocals add a layer of texture and colour to the songs, and are not anywhere near as ubiquitous as the descriptions would have you believe. Mix this with a few harsher screams and growls and it all comes together as a package quite nicely.

Sovereign Council are also savvy enough to know that ultimately this is all about the Metal and don’t bury the guitars under the admittedly talented vocals. Instead the two walk side by side, with the guitars being just as prominent as the vocals, as they should be.

Check this band out and give them your support.

Interview with Lethe

Lethe have been responsible for one of the best multi-textural dark-Rock albums of some time in their début album When Dreams Become Nightmares. I asked them some questions to see how it all came about…

Hi! For those who are unfamiliar with your band, introduce yourself!

Tor-Helge Skei (THS): Hi everybody! We are Lethe.. 🙂 We’re a Norwegian/Swiss band, or project, consisting of Anna Murphy (Eluveitie, solo, Fräkmundt, nucleus torn, and heaps of other bands/projects) and Tor-Helge Skei (Manes, Manii, Kkoagulaa, etc.).

As Lethe is comprised of members of other bands, how did this project come about?

THS: Mostly by chance, actually. I posted something on my blog a while ago, about me thinking abut doing an album of cover songs, and wondering where I could start looking for vocalists and contributors to that. Shortly after, I got an email from Anna, and we almost immediately started working on a few songs (among others, ‘Hutterite Mile’ by 16 Horsepower). It didn’t take long before we just knew we had to do more music together…and the idea about Lethe was born..

Anna Murphy (A): A journalist (singer of Three Days of Silence) contacted me because Tor-Helge was looking for musical collaborators. So we got in touch, started on some music, finished some cover songs and decided to do a real project.

Is it important to keep Lethe a fully separate entity from Manes/Eluveitie?

THS: The chemistry in the various bands and between the members are quite different, and that influences how we approach music and presentation and everything, so there’s not much real effort being done keeping them separate, really. It comes naturally.

A: Well with Eluveitie it’s pretty obvious that Lethe has nothing to do with it apart from some members maybe pitching in from time to time, but Lethe and Manes share a lot of the same collaborators so there’s more connection there. I can imagine doing shows together and combined things like that, but of course they’re still to be looked at as separate projects.

What were the influences you drew on for the sound of Lethe?

THS: Oh, the usual, I guess. Life, death, mental processes, nightmares. Everything that happen/s/ed in our lives.

A: Lyrically as well as musically we have no limits, that’s probably what influences us most, because then we can draw inspiration from everywhere 🙂

The songs are multi-textured and very well composed. How did the writing process work for this album?

THS: I can only speak for myself, but it’s quite similar to how the ‘writing’ is done in the other bands/projects I’m involved with…chaotic, unplanned, whimsical…the music kind of grows on its own, and we just follow along 🙂

A: All hail the internet. Most of it was done by exchanging files back and forth. Most of the initial sketches came from Tor-Helge and I built my parts on top of them. To finalize everything and also record some things together I went on a trip to Trondheim.

Do you feel you accomplished what you set out to with this release?

THS: Yeah, since we had no concrete plans for the final result. It was more like pushing it in a direction we would like to see it go.

A: Yes!

What would you do differently next time, if anything?

THS: Hmm.. Anna talks about some smaller mixing and audio issues she would like to do better on the next album, but I don’t hear much of that 🙂 She works in a studio, and is a lot more focused on sound quality and frequencies and stuff like that, while I’m obsessed with the general feeling and mood only. I guess we’ll do it quite similar to how we made this album, but with other songs and ideas, of course. Actually, we’re working on a set of songs for the next album already, even if the first one isn’t officially released yet 😀

A: Nothing except maybe the mixing. I’m not quite 100% happy with it and I’m learning more and more each day so I think the next one will sound better 🙂

How do you feel this album fits into the wider music scene?

THS: A little on ‘the outside’ of everything, I guess. Never been interested in being in the middle of any genres or milieus. For me, the exploration of new and unknown musical paths is massively satisfying and motivating, but I have no idea if the ‘general music listener’ thinks like that. Can’t start focusing on the potential reaction while making music! The only thing that would do, is putting breaks on the creative process. No way.

A: I have no idea if it fits anywhere, but I don’t really care either.

What are you listening to at the moment that you want to recommend?

THS: It’s been a lot of Lethe and Manes lately, of course, because of the new albums from both. Apart from that…varied stuff, mainly…Dälek, Shpongle, Blut Aus Nord, Jega, Ggfh, Billie Holiday, Buddy Rich,

A: Frostmoon Eclipse, they’re cool

What does the future hold for Lethe?

THS: New music, new albums, new personal horror stories.

A: No idea, let’s see! 🙂

Thanks!

Lethe – When Dreams Become Nightmares (Review)

Formed by members of Manes and Eluveitie, Lethe play dark and multi-textured experimental music.

Combining the best parts of Rock, Post-Rock, Electronica and Metal to create 10 tracks of emotive songs that instantly capture your attention while also having enough depth to keep you satiated in the long run. Bands such as Ulver, Arcturus and Manes are the obvious starting points and Lethe should definitely appeal to fans of these groups.

The main vocalist is a very talented person. Her vocals are exceptional and she shows great range across the album. She has great character and talent, and infuses both of these into every song to create the right mood for each. The occasional male vocals that swim in and out of the various tracks simply add another dimension to the proceedings.

The music doesn’t let the side down though – each song is crafted to a high standard by experienced personnel who know exactly what to do to achieve the effect that they want. The songs are passionate and dark, with Gothic Rock stamped all over some of them but not in a commercial stadium-friendly way, rather in a more personal way that allows you to have a relationship with the actual songs rather than some stylised version that will eventually become stale due to overexposure and lack of substance. This is female fronted Rock for people that don’t like female fronted Rock.

This is an astoundingly good album that combines catchiness and intellect to produce sophisticated dark Rock. What a fantastic way to start off 2014.