Review: AGRO - Rewriting History (CD and DVD)

South Africa isn't known for having  long-standing metal bands. Johannesburg-based AGRO have been going for almost twenty years now, which is an inspiring feat. Rewriting History is a collection of material taken from six albums, plus two cover songs. There is also a very interesting DVD on the history of AGRO.

 Power of the Brave, the second track, is one of my favourite tracks on the album - a great beginning! The song has a mood of rising above adversity, and the chorus - to borrow a term from Angry Metal Guy - is an earworm of note (as I write, Power of the Brave has been stuck in my head for three days now). My ears were further treated to a great guitar solo and drum break.

AGRO have a sound that stands out  - the track Eyes is one of many pieces of evidence of this. There's a jazzy break in the song, which keeps things interesting. The song flows back into thrasher mode well. Eyes, as well as What is Wrong, are politically-themed. Both tracks are from the album Eyes, released 1997, and contain lyrics that reflect a South Africa that was just starting to recover from a regime built on racial prejudice and censorship.

The tracks Taken by Misery, Away from Fear and Chalk Outline have a more melodic feel. Away from Fear has an intro with a strong keyboard presence, and is another of my album highlights. The keyboards and violins get a spotlight during At Liberty, and the guitar that joins in with them manages to meld effectively with the symphonic elements. Keyboards and violins can be potentially gimmicky in metal, but AGRO avoids this in their sound, resulting in an aurally pleasing blending of styles.

The last two tracks, See You and Empty Tankard, are covers of songs by Depeche Mode and Tankard respectively. After ten strong previous tracks, I found these covers a bit weak. Empty Tankard has a  fun atmosphere though.

The History of AGRO DVD was a fascinating documentary of AGRO's career so far. There was commentary by the band members, other bands, fans and other metal-related folk, gig footage and music video footage (M-Net used to play metal videos!). I laughed at the tales of drunken shenanigans - guitarist Shane Pennicott's drinking sound effect got me every time. The footage at the end of  the video is... interesting. I won't spoil the surprise... I think it's important for we young metalheads to know the history of the metal subculture in our own country, so kudos to AGRO for contributing to metal education.

Review: Strident - Oath

This year I've decided to review all/most of  the metal albums I hear for the first time (including old releases). I would've liked to review albums from other genres too, but unfortunately I don't have a time-turner like Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

The first full album I listened to this year was Oath by Cape Town power metallers Strident. To enjoy this album, you need to approach it with a sense of humour. Strident don't take themselves too seriously, so switch your brain from Serious Metal Scholar mode to Good Times mode.

The instrumental track Prima Lux  Ante Bellum opens the album on a grand note, hinting at the over-the-topness to come. Metal or Death has a distinct Manowar feel - throughout the rest of the album, you can hear the Manowar influences. Odin Be Our Guide is a lively, battle cry type of song, and was a highlight for me both times I saw Strident live. Vocalist Deon Van Heerden's voice is at its best on this track, as well as on the others that contain clean singing (as opposed to the semi-growl).

There's a lot of great guitar work on the album; I'd like to hear a more in-your-face sound from the guitars next time around. The lyrics are fun to sing along to, especially those of Power Metal From Space! It's definitely one of the catchiest heavy metal songs I've ever heard, and another  live highlight. I did have a ''Huh?'' moment during a verse of Undead Legion, but it made me laugh so I'm not complaining. The closer, Fire Of Legends, had me imagining a line of guys with arms around each others' shoulders and beer tankards in hand singing this song, because of its 'brothers united in metal' vibe. It ends with twinkly harpsichord notes, then rumbles into a big, over-the-top finish.

Oath was a lot of fun to listen to. I believe that heavy metal doesn't always have to be serious to be good.

More Top Albums of 2011

This is my list of top non metal albums (all but one aren't even from 2011; this year I will make more of an effort to check out current releases).
 
In no particular order:
Opeth- Heritage ( a 2011 release; progressive rock with metal elements)
 The Cure - Disintegration (gothic rock)
Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender (folk)
Fionn Regan - The End Of History (acoustic indie)
Fionn Regan - Shadow of an Empire (acoustic indie)
Rupa & The April Fishes - Extraordinary Rendition (world music)
Legendary Pink Dots - The Maria Dimension (experimental rock)

Top Metal Albums of 2011

This list is sort of irrelevant, since it's already 11 January. I'll keep this list short and sweet.

In no particular order:
Obscura – Omnivium (death metal)
Riot – Immortal Soul (traditional metal)
Megadeth – Th1rt3en (thrash metal)
Ulcerate – The Destroyers of All (death metal)
Primordial – Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand (progressive black metal)
Blut Aus Nord – 777 Sects/The Desanctification (black metal)
Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising (death metal)
Battle Beast – Steel (traditional metal)
The Physicists - Observation (progressive/industrial/just-plain-strange metal)
EDIT: I forgot to add Burzum - Valen (black metal)
Honourable mentions go to Hemoptysis - Misanthropic Slaughter and Impureza - La Iglesia Del Odio (if I'd managed to get hold of the full albums last year, these two would've been on my top albums list).

Two South African releases that really impressed me were Architects of Sadism by A Walk With the Wicked (death/groove metal) and Recursive by The Broken Result (death metal; released in 2010, but I only heard it this year, thus the inclusion on my 2011 list). Two of my favourite local bands are planning album releases for 2012, so I've already got something to look forward to in the realm of 2012 albums.

How I got into metal

I reckon some of you who've known me a long time are wondering what mental change I underwent that makes me now submit myself to such barbaric music.

The spark that would eventually ignite into a love affair with heavy metal was lit by thrash metal band Metallica. When I was in junior school, my sister and I used to watch a lot of VH1. There was this montage of clips from rock videos that would play, and the intro track was Enter Sandman by Metallica. One day I realised that I really liked this song. It took a few more years after that before I got into metal. I consider a friend of mine to be the second heavy metal spark - he was (and still is) into metal, and would often have it playing in the background when I happened to be at his house. I always used to ask him to turn it down, while resenting him for playing music that was such an aural abomination. Eventually, I decided to give some of the music on his ipod a go. I thought, ''If he thinks metal is so wonderful, I might as well try it.'' At the time (around 2009) I was starting to get into Metallica, Iron Maiden, Saxon and other older bands. I then created a station on internet radio site Jango.com for the heavier subgenres of metal, and my liking for metal has continued to grow since then. I now have about 7 metal stations on Jango!

It was the guitars that first drew me to metal. When I hear a beautiful, well-executed riff or solo, I am moved. I feel motivated to grab life by the horns, and that there is always a light hiding somewhere in the vast darkness that life sometimes seems to be.

Sublime Sunset

One of the best things about living in Hout Bay is the sublime sunsets we get on most evenings.

Tonight's sunset looked as though it was a photograph of purplish pink cotton balls falling through the air, with a faded blue/light yellow swathe below them. Electric pink ripped through the hazy blue and yellow. Whenever I see a beautiful sunset, I try to memorise it, but the picture fades very soon. While looking at this sunset, I realised that this picture would soon be lost too.

An amphibian visitor

A few weeks ago, there was an endangered Leopard Toad outside the back door at home. My mother provided a welcome distraction from studying (it was after eight o'clock) when she called me to come and see our little green visitor.

More information on Leopard Toads here: www.leopardtoad.co.za/