Progressive metal – Page 57

A God or an Other – Towers of Silence (Review)

An epic, sprawling album of Progressive Black Metal. It seems that a lot of thought has gone into the composition of this album and it has certainly paid off as this is a release that the term Supreme Black Metal Art could have been coined for.

The Black Metal they play is far-reaching, without ever sounding sloppy or ill-conceived, and absorbs the listener in a trip to the underworld and back. Sometimes frightening, sometimes enlightening, always essential.

This is an album for people who are not afraid to take their time and get to know it. Yes there is plenty here to like on first, cursory listen, but it’s only on repeated listens that it gives up its secrets. A riff here, a melody there. Music to grow to and grow into.

I highly recommend this album. It twists and turns and takes the best that Black Metal has to offer and wraps it in a Progressive sheen and a sound that’s as sharp as betrayal. You must listen. You must submit.

Hybrid Nightmares – Hybrid Nightmares (Review)

Hybrid Nightmares are an Australian Extreme Metal band with Black Metal and Progressive leanings.

This band are clearly talented at what they do, and what they do is craft Extreme Metal songs. These songs have a solid foundation in Black Metal but have embraced Progressive Metal tendencies that lift the tracks outside of the original genre and into a wider arena. In fact the main thing that’s Black Metal about them is the vocals and logo really.

The Second track Upon the Cursed Wings is a perfect example of this. It starts with a Metal, almost rocky swagger before slowing down to a nice groove with the Black Metal vocals kicking in. The double-bass sections, solid melodies and nice chuggy riffs reveal a real knack for songcraft. Bands like Septic Flesh, Agathodaimon, certain bits of Dimmu Borgir, (sans orchestration), and even Amon Amarth spring to mind.

The recording is as good as anything out there at the moment – everything sounds crystal clear and full of life. There’s been no slacking in this department, or any other. This is a consummately professional release in every way. This doesn’t leave the music sounding soulless and clinical however. Actually the opposite is true as the songs are presented in an appropriate format that allows the listener to take in everything that is going on, and that’s quite a bit. Special mention should indeed go to the riffs – there are some stormers here! Ashes of an Astral Winter is a veritable riff-fest of top Metal calibre.

A really good EP. If they get their foot in the door of the international stage they could go far.

Wormlust – The Feral Wisdom (Review)

This is eerie, progressive Black Metal. Imagine a more aggressive Blut Aus Nord in some ways; Blut Aus Nord crossed with Mayhem perhaps. A good starting point. In fact I’d like to coin the phrase Ambient Aggressive to describe them. They have plenty of ethereal, ambient-esque feelings and melodies in them, whilst having an underlying aggressive core. First song Sex Augu, Tolf Stjornur is a classic example of this – blasting drums, frenetic bass, with insanity-inducing almost-ambient guitar work/noise on top.

The album cover initially can make you wonder what kind of music is contained within, but when you’re listening it makes sense – spooky, trippy, insane, out-of-the-ordinary. This is a brand of Black Metal that is much more unique and interesting than most. They also do mellow very well. There is not an abundance of it; but in between bouts of discordance and mayhem there are quieter moments, (A Altari Meistarans in particular), and the atmosphere here is suitably unhinged as you may expect, only without the chaos.

The melodies used throughout this album are all high-quality and are designed to slowly send the listener insane, or at the very least to wrench up the tension levels. It’s this combination of brilliance and craziness that, for me, marks this as an exceptional release. That and the fact that the band make it sound so effortless. An album such as this could easily sound like a patchwork of conflicting styles in lesser hands. In the hands of artisans however, we have a soundscape birthed from insanity and directed by demented geniuses who know how to control the chaos for their own ends.

Wormlust are like the wind; capable of going from a gentle breeze to howling terror in the space of a second. As such they are liable to scare the casual listener away. Those who persevere however will be richly rewarded.

Anciients – Heart of Oak (Review)

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Mastodon and Enslaved got together and released an album? Well wonder no longer, as it would probably sound like Heart of Oak. Imagine a 50/50 collaboration between both of those bands – the melodies, both vocally and musically displayed here are reminiscent of both groups and are hugely enjoyable.

This is not to say that Anciients are a rip-of band of course – far from it – the Mastodon/Enslaved comparison simply serves as a useful starting point when describing Anciients and they certainly have their own individuality and flair – more so than most bands. Amazingly this is only a debut album – a release of this calibre is usually not heard of on a first full-length and is as refreshing as it is enjoyable.

The songs on display here are arguably simpler/less complex than a lot of Mastodon/Enslaved songs, (to use these bands as a reference point again), but this is not to their detriment, as this album is all about the melodies and the song structures. This is probably one of the catchiest metal albums you’ll hear all year, and yet it still manages to retain its edge that will allow it to age well and not become tired as some melody-driven albums can become after time.

An album that is as long as it is good. Worth it.

Entropia – Vesper (Review)

Entropia play Blackened Dark Progressive Post-Metal, which is a bit of a mouthful really but gives a general idea of what they sound like. Each of the (fairly long) songs are well composed and obviously a lot of thought has gone into them.

This is a really enjoyable album as it takes you on a journey through a blackened landscape full of surprises and unexpected turns. At its heart is a fiery Black Metal album, but one that has mutated out of the original genre confines into a space of its own to become lord of its post-metal landscape.

All the more impressive is the fact that this is Entropia’s first full album – maturity and intelligence of songwriting such as is on display here is rarely displayed so early in the existence of a band.

This is an album that has both heavy and light; the soft and the hard; atmosphere and bite. If you are looking for interesting and adventurous Black Metal then I highly recommend this album .

Tesseract – Concealing Fate

Do you like a bit of djent, but find most bands who play it sound the same? Then Tesseract could could be the band for you. This EP from 2010, with a different singer to now, mixes the djent style with a more progressive edge to create a very enjoyable experience across the 27 minutes it plays for.

The EP is essentially one long song broken into 6 parts, and thankfully their skill is equal to their ambition. Initially when I listened to this album I thought it was okay, but was not until subsequent listens that I decided that I did indeed very much enjoy it.

If you’re looking for your metal with a slightly different feel than average then check them out.

http://tesseractband.co.uk/

http://www.youtube.com/user/Tesseractproject