Atropos Project - Equator review

Equator is the debut album from one-man progressive rock/metal band Atropos Project. John Quarles, the main member of the band, wrote to me requesting a review of his album. I was happy to find that my first requested album to review was a very good piece of music.

 

A pitfall of progressive rock is that it can meander too far off in its musical meanderings. Quarles manages to avoid this for the most part. A passage outstays its welcome here and there, but he is on the right path to balancing meandering with keeping the music interesting. Tempo changes and quiet interludes add interest to the tracks while maintaining coherency. John also mixes heavy metal –style distorted guitars in with the progressive rock, which works very well.

I picked up a diverse range of influences in the guitar work. I heard passages that reminded me of Carlos Santana, Opeth, Rush and even Megadeth. F.A.C contains both Opeth-like riffs and a Santana-like solo. I could also hear Santana influences in the opening riff of Drudgery. The latter also had a metal-tinged passage which reminded me of the Megadeth track Angry Again. Suspiria had parts which reminded me of Rush.

The drums sounded somewhat unnatural in places, like on the track Deadfall. However, the programmed drums fit well in the context of the tracks which contain ethereal, spacey keyboard effects. Inception’s Promise and F.A.C. made me picture travelling past the planets of the universe, as did Suspiria. Audible bass is always a good thing on an album, and its role in adding strength to a track shouldn’t be underestimated. Equator contains some great bass lines, as on Deadfall and Spiralling. The bass line on the latter has an interesting effect on it, and layers well the guitar riffs.

Atropos Project shows promise with this debut release; moments of brilliance can be found here and there. I look forward to hearing future material.

Personnel:

All instruments – John Quarles

Additional guitars and keyboards – Mark Morris (on F.A.C)

Additional guitar – Larry McClenon (on Spiralling)

Pedal steel, dobro and slide guitar – Gary Richardi (on And…Lift)

Web presence:

http://atroposproject.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AtroposProject

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

Metal 4 Africa review: Junkyard Lipstick - Hellbent

Recently I wrote a review for Metal 4 Africa (an online magazine) on the album Hellbent by thrash-punk band Junkyard Lipstick. You can read my review here: http://metal4africa.com/reviews/junkyard-lipstick-hellbent-review/

This Friday (29 March) sees the launch of Hellbent at ROAR, a popular metal venue in Cape Town. The supporting acts are ING (thrash metal), Sindulgence (experimental death metal) and The Summer Underground (hard rock).

Infanteria - Isolated Existence review

When I reviewed this album, I was on a doom metal kick. I thought this might limit my enjoyment of a thrash metal album, but I was proven wrong eight times over. All eight of the tracks on Isolated Existence, debut full-length of Cape Town melodic thrash band Infanteria, were highly enjoyable, and none were filler.

Infanteria released the album at Metal 4 Africa's SummerFest 2013, rising from opening act at the 2007 event to co-headliners.
 
The album's lyrics speak of a world in the midst of disaster; war and opression are the main lyrical features. Isolated Existence begins the story with mournful, echoing riffs. Cataclysmic Opression is a catchy number with a chorus that contains a powerful mix of instruments. The riffs that come after the chorus are sure to make a whole room of metalheads headbang. Harmonised riffs make the mid-tempo solo even more aurally pleasing. The guitar harmonies are one of the musical highlghts on an album with plenty of great moments, like the keyboard-guitar combination on Deceived By the Blind and the keyboard solo on Making a Killing.

The guitar work is masterful throughout, with well-matched harmonies and stellar solos. The leads balance very well with the rhythm parts; technicality comes out to play without hindering the cohesion of the song.

Keyboardist Jared Phillips gives an impressive performance, with fills that fit perfectly in each song. I enjoyed how the keyboard was given a chance to shine, instead of being relegated to background effects. Bringing the keyboard to the fore added an interesting dimension to the thrash sound.

Vocalist and guitarist Chris Hall has a great set of pipes, and he is equally adept at soaring clean notes and gritty thrash growls.Hall goes from the agression of Let Death Decide to the balladlike Beyond All Strength (with an ominous vocal harmony) and to various shades in between.

The album's sound was a bit muffled in some places, but not so much as to hinder the overall production quality.

Infanteria have done very well on their debut album, and I see Isolated Existence as a sign of even greater achievement in the future.

Personnel:
 Chris Hall - guitar and vocals
 Adriano Rodrigues - guitars
 Jared 'Phil' Phillips - keyboard
 Mark Pote - bass
Rob Hall - drums

Web presence:
www.facebook.com/infanteriasa                       
www.myspace.com/infanteria
 twitter.com/InfanteriaSA
 www.last.fm/music/infanteria