Fen - Dustwalker review

 As I read about how Fen takes most of their musical inspiration from the bleak Fen region of eastern England, I was reminded of certain lines from the poem Horses on the Camargue by Roy Campbell: "In the grey wastes of dread, /The haunt of shattered gulls where nothing moves…” The music on Dustwalker, Fen’s second full-length release, certainly evokes desolate images such as those in the poem extracts. Having heard some of Fen’s early material and been impressed, I was very interested to hear their latest work.

Fen blends progressive rock, post-rock and black metal and atmospherics. A problem with musically meandering subgenres such as progressive and postsomething is often the balance of musical exploration and overdrawn musical pomp. Fen starts out well in this balancing act with Consequence. The track begins with rasping vocals and melancholy guitars, and moves into a passage of echoing riffs. The track contains a great bassline. Ghostly chants add to the bleak atmosphere created by the instruments. Hands of Dust is a slower number, with echoing, droning clean guitar riffs. The drums create an interesting counter melody. A quiet interlude with soft guitars and vocal harmonies adds interest. There are some interesting dynamic changes in this track, and fuzzy-sounding guitars and blastbeats come into play as well. Fen manage to avoid outstaying their welcome, but things fall apart a bit from tracks 3 to 5.

Spectre drags on in the middle section, despite a good first half and coda. This track has an interesting 'country' sound in the first half. Reflections, like the previous track, has some good moments but lingers too long. Wolf Sun has a faster tempo and some good fuzzy riffs. Slower doesn't mean boring, but this section of the album suffers from an ability to sustain the listener's interest with consistently engaging riffs and song structures.

The Black Sound and Walking the Crowpath are enjoyable tracks, thus ending the album on a good note. The thunderous drums and plaintive guitar riffs in the former contrast well with the soft part of the track, which contains guitar riffs that are even more plaintive. The bass has a warm tone, and goes very well with the bubbling guitar riffs on top of it. Crow cries introduce Walking the Crowpath, which contains many contrasting elements. There are quiet acoustic riffs, fuzzed-out electric guitar riffs, mid-tempo drum fills and furious blastbeats, and clean vocals and anguished screams.

Dustwalker has good moments and good musical ideas, but overall it isn't one of the most engaging albums I've heard. I enjoyed previous Fen material more than I did this offering.

Personnel: Grungyn - vocals and bass
                  The Watcher - vocals lead guitars and acoustic guitars
                  Derwydd - drums

Web presence: http://www.facebook.com/fenofficial
                        http://www.myspace.com/fenband
                        http://www.last.fm/music/Fen

Rotting Christ - Κατά τον Δαίμονον Εαυτού review

Greek black metallers Rotting Christ have used the Aleister Crowley credo "Do what thou wilt" as the theme for their latest album. It’s an interesting mix, with songs featuring Voodoo, a Romanian curse and Satan.

Rotting Christ retains their characteristic use of folk instruments on this album. Bagpipes, pan pipes and flutes make an appearance, to great effect. On the title track, a flute acts as a rallying cry to ‘Do What Thou Wilt (the English meaning of Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy)’. A lone pipe closes the song effectively. The stirring track Iwa Voodoo is also closed by a folk instrument; this time traditional drums are used.

Clean singing is used well throughout; the choirs add atmosphere to songs, and transform them into aural rituals. Sakis Tholis is a high-calibre vocalist, and performs rasps as well as he performs operatic vocals. Cine Iubeste Si Lasa features guest vocalist Suzana Vougioukli, an alto, who matches Sakis in the quality of his clean singing. Cine Iubeste Si Lasa is a Romanian folk song meaning ‘The One Who Loves and Then Leaves’, and is a curse on unfaithful lovers. Metal which prompts me to learn something new is always interesting to me. Iwa Voodoo led me to researching Voodoo religion (which is nothing like the stereotypes, of course).

The guitar work is varied, with thick, low riffs, harmonised passages and clean-sounding solos. Iwa Voodoo has one of the best uses of the sometimes-maligned breakdown, with a cascade of higher notes preceding the breakdown and then playing over it. The solo on Gilgames is similar to the rhythm guitar part, thus the two parts balance well. Screaming notes and some vibrato feature in the solo on Rusalka; solos both similar and dissimilar to the rhythm parts work well throughout the album.

This album isn’t as raw as other Rotting Christ works, and is thus more accessible. It’s a good starting point for people new to Rotting Christ and black metal in general. I found the album enjoyable, because when it comes to black metal, I like to alternate between nasty, lo-fi material and more melodic material.

Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy is an album with an interesting mix of themes, and songs with an anthem like quality. While not as raw as earlier works such as Khronos, this album provides an aural break for those who want a breather from the nastier side of black metal.

Personnel:

Sakis Tholis – guitars and vocals

Themis Tholis- drums

Web presence:

www.facebook.com/rotting.christ.tr

www.myspace.com/rottingchristabyss

A very late 'Best of 2012' list

I didn't get round to listening to as many 2012 releases as I wanted to, so my list would probably look different from the list below. I also didn't write as many reviews as I wanted to write on this blog. In no particular order:

Sigh  - In Somniphobia (avant-garde black metal with jazz influences)
 Wildernessking (South Africa) - The Writing of Gods in the Sand (black metal)
Absence Of Light (Kenya) - Vyom Chakra (death metal)

Sindulgence (South Africa) - Recollections (progressive death metal)
The Ocean Doesn't Want Me (South Africa) -  As the dust settles (post-metal/ sludge/doom)

Grave - Endless Procession of Souls (old-school death metal)

Sophicide - Perdition of the Sublime (technical death metal)
Electric Wizard -  Legalise Drugs & Murder EP (doom metal)

Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone (melodic death metal)

Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron (atmospheric black metal)

My album of the year was In Somniphobia by Sigh. I found to be a refreshing and highly original listen. Had I listened to more 2012 releases, my album of the year choice would probablly be different too.

The most disappointing album I heard was Psalms for the Dead by Candlemass. It fell short of being a suitably grand send-off for a doom metal institution.

Sigh - In Somniphobia review

Sigh are a Japanese avant-garde black metal band. In Somniphobia is one of the most intriguing metal releases I’ve heard this year.

Besides the prominent saxophone (which varies from seductive to jazzy), a host of other instruments join the usual metal instrument contigent of guitars, bass and drums: an Indian instrument called a Sarangi, Indian percussion, bongos, violins, piano, accordion and what sounded like a tuba.

Purgatorium begins the album on a thrashy note. Black metal rasps sit happily alongside trilling keyboards and NWOBHM-style guitars. A lovely piano and violin interlude balances the fast pace of the song. Other guitar highlights are the great solo and harmonies.

Bongos and clap beats are included in The Transfiguration Fear Lucid Nightmares. The former adds a great rhythm to the chorus. The clean female vocals mix well with the black metal rasps, with the latter’s being low in the mix adding a good contrast to the clean vocals without overpowering them. The saxophone makes its first appearance, and fits in harmoniously with the other instruments. The traditional metal instruments are also low in the mix, which prevents this song from sounding unwieldy. One of the biggest strengths of In Somniphobia is the songwriting and mixing. Despite the myriad musical elements, the songs on this album sound cohesive, and the mix amply accommodates all the instruments; all having breathing space.

In contrast to most of the songs’ high energy, mellow interludes or codas of odd effects are included. Lucid Nightmare begins with ‘spacey’ effects, while L’Excommunication a Minuit, Far Beneath The In-Between and Amongst the Phantoms of Abandoned Tumbrils end with a bunch of effects which transport one into a strange dream. The latter song is one of the most ‘metal-sounding’ tracks on an album which stretches the boundaries of what can be considered ‘metal’. Phantoms is a black metal-esque number with harmonised guitars and medieval trumpets. A reverb-laden guitar solo reminded me of the legendary guitarist-singer-songwriter Carlos Santana, one of the first artists that inspired my love of guitar-driven music. The closing track Equale (a. Prelude, b. Fugato, c. Coda) opens with Santana like riffs.

NWOBHM-style guitars and harmonised riffs appear frequently on the album. These traditional metal elements give a more down-to-earth feel to the often-trippy, grand compositions on In Somniphobia. Although choirs and classical instruments have often been mixed with heavy metal, they don’t sound clichéd at any point, and add atmosphere to the tracks. Lovely layered violins and a trippy piano part feature on Far Beneath the In-Between. The piano part ends on a baroque, echoing note. Delicate piano and lamenting guitars combine on Fall to the Thrall. Also-delicate harp parts add contrast to the faster parts of Equale.

In Somniphobia is a multilayered and grand body of work that is one of the most interesting directions taken in within the realms of heavy metal. Grandiosity without heading into ostentatious territory is this album’s highlight.

Personnel: Mirai Kawashima – vocals, keyboards

                Dr. Mikannibal – saxophone, vocals

                Shinichi Ishikawa – guitar

                Satoshi Ishikawa – guitar

               Junichi Harashima - drums

Web presence: http://candlelightrecordsusa.bandcamp.com/album/in-  somniphobia

www.myspace.com/sighjapan

Cormorant - Dwellings Review

Dwellings is the second album from impressive Californian newcomers Cormorant. After the exceptional 2009 effort, Metazoa, I was very much looking forward to hearing what aural treats were awaiting me. The album was self-released last year. Not only does the album contain high-quality production, it is beautifully packaged as well, with stunning artwork.

Cormorant starts the proceedings with a rollicking number in the form of The First Man.  The song contains a newsclip of the then Australian Prime Minister apologising to the Native Australians for the tragedy of the Stolen Generations. The lamenting guitar solo that follows emphasises the impact of the spoken word passage. Fuzzy rhythm guitar parts add texture and depth.
Track two, Funambulist, maintains the quality standard set in The First Man. The pretty intro riff pulls at my heartstrings, drawing me into the song. The vocals on this track are dynamic, going from sorrow-imbued harsh vocals, to a tougher phase, to dissonant clean singing with great harmonies. Ear-catching riffs abound on this track. There is a delicate echoing riff in a jazz-like, proggy section, and a quiet electric guitar passage. Following that passage, there is a powerful launch out of the melancholia, and a crying guitar solo. Cormorant keep the music cohesive through all the tempo changes, which is something they do with flair. Jazzy drumming, whispered harsh vocals and haunting guitar notes end off this interesting composition. The jazzy drumming also makes an appearance on the track A Howling Dust.

Slowness and heaviness introduce Junta. The other instruments exit for a brief guitars-only interlude accompanying a spoken-word passage, which sounds like some politician giving a speech. The guitars have that 'wah' sound at one point (for lack of a better description), and a haunting tone. The song then explodes into a scream and a faster pace, with pounding drums. The vocals sounded particularly black-metalesque on this track - very raspy and evil-sounding. Another tempo switch comes in, with acoustic guitars joining the rest of the instruments. Von Nagel's lyrics focus on tough issues on this album; eugenics and the junta in Guinea are two examples. He manages to avoid falling into the abyss of pretentiousness (although one could call Von Nagel a bit pretentious), and does a great job on the lyrical content. Just like on Metazoa, the way Von Nagel sings is a noteworthy feature - the growls on Dwellings are distinctive.

A Howling Dust gives the listener the impression of just that - the mostly slow, doom metal-like pace and the bubbling guitars in the later half of the song bring this image to mind. Another aspect of Metazoa that has distinctly reappeared on Dwellings is the music's ability to create clear pictures in my mind. When I heard mid-tempo album closer Unearthly Dreamings, an image of outer space popped into my head, due to its otherworldly sound effects. The harmonised vocals and the guitar melody are a beautiful combination. The sparse and introspective instrumental interlude is also beautiful, and allows the song breathing space. From there, the song takes on a darker tone, with blastbeating. The sparse interlude reappears, and then slows down for the full band's comeback. The tone of this part of the song has a feeling of pathos. There is a great, rock-like guitar solo, and then the song ends with the 'outer space' effect of the intro.

Dwellings has more of a rock feel than Metazoa. Both feature excellent guitar riffs and interesting song structures, but I enjoyed Metazoa a bit more. Nonetheless, Dwellings is still a solid album from a standout band of the American underground.

Crow Black Sky- Pantheion Review

Death metal, black metal and progressive metal are combined to bring to life epic tales of long-ago battles and faded gods. Crow Black Sky is a hard-working band who put on a spectacular show at last year’s Rock The River festival in Cape Town. The stage was decorated with skulls, pyrotechnics exploded at the front, and the band members were adorned in armour and black warpaint. Pantheion is the band's debut album, and is available for free download on their Facebook page.

Vita Satus builds the anticipation. The rousing track Dissention follows. The slow verses boil with a sense of impending threat, until exploding into fast choruses full of indomitable spirit. Ear-catching riffs abound in this song, and in the next track, The Opressor’s Fortune. A great clean solo appears on the latter, and on tracks like Pantheion, Retribution and Our Path Disdained.

The fourth track is an instrumental number called A Shadow Consumes The Desert. The echoing guitars bring the open spaces of a desert to life. The end of the song continues into the title track, but the slight break between songs felt like a bump in the road. Pantheion is a misanthropy-filled powerhouse of a song. The Spanish guitar interlude adds interest, while the spooky ending gives an impression of gods who are unseen, yet seeing.

Retribution has an Amon Amarth feel, with its galloping pace and war-themed lyrics. The chorus is catchy, and the fast guitar solo is powerful. This song makes me want to get off my arse and do something meaningful. Things switch to the Opeth side on Our Path Disdained, an excellent piece of songwriting (and one of the best tracks on the album, in my opinion). The guitars are full of feeling, and carry the song. The changes in tempo add interesting texture. None of the different musical elements sound out of place, which is the song’s biggest strength.

Two more instrumental tracks finish off the album. The beautiful piano on Exodus reminds me of the piano work on Opeth’s album Heritage. Acoustic and electric guitar play a haunting duet on Home. The four instrumentals of Pantheion don’t sound like filler at all, thus preventing breaking up the flow of the album.

The level of excellence displayed on Pantheion - from the songwriting to the instrumental proficiency - is a good indication that Crow Black Sky will  continue to soar in the future. Besides minor gripes with the production, I found it hard to fault this gem of an African metal release.