Zarathustra19
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Posted 10-31-2007 at 12:31 PM by Zarathustra19
Updated 10-31-2007 at 03:34 PM by Zarathustra19
Hey all, sorry for the delay between postings, I've been busy with my start-up forum, Midgard, which deals with viking legend and asatru myth. Anyway, Today I thought I'd do just a few reviews and try to stay on track. We'll be starting with a rather strange band, Arachnotaur and finishing up with a review of As I Lay Dying's "An Ocean Between Us". Enjoy!
1. Arachnotaur - Slow Pertinacious Threnody on the Abnegation of Succor
Do you like Sunn O)))? Do you like Wormphlegm? If so, then this band is for you. Arachnotaur craft a solid mix of drone doom metal and sludge metal on this, some would say, excessively long-titled debut. The album is slow, it is heavy, and it is definitely hypnotic. The first song of the four on this album, "The Bleak Volcano" is purely instrumental, a la Sunn O))), though Arachnotaur employ the use of drums instead of pure guitar and bass mayhem. Repetitive patterns of melody and beat lull the listener into a state of hypnosis that proves to be hard to wake from as the second song comes along. 14:14 of a droning song will do that to you. The second song clocks in at just over five minutes long, and the band, while continuing the drone elements, quickens the pace on this song, adding vocals and what could almost be called riffs. The third song, "And Thus Cometh the Slow Destrucctaur", at 7:18 long, continues the vocal assault, with three of the band members shouting in various pitches about the destruction of something, I couldn't quite pick out what. The finale clocks in at 13:10 and completes the symmetry of this album, as it is instrumental as well. (A tantalizing thought occurs to me as I write this: the song types, Instrumental, vocal, vocal, instrumental, mimic a rhyme scheme in a poem, the meaning of Threnody...coincidence? Damn my English classes for teaching me to analyze things...) The finale dials up the distortion, while keeping the pace faster than the introduction and brings things to a close with extremely distorted samples of the word "suffer". This album is a very, very good debut from this UK band. They may try somewhat too hard in the looks department to be like Sunn O))), but the spirit of their music is all their own. 4.5/5
2. Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant
I'm a pretty big Angela Gossow-era Arch Enemy fan, so I came into this review with high hopes. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed. This album is full of thrash-influenced melodic death metal deliciousness, perhaps more so than the prior effort, "Doomsday Machine". Michael and Christopher Amott are really in good form, soloing almost constantly and transferring from blistering speed to pleasant melody without a hitch. Drumming is perhaps a little subdued in the mix, but the double bass skill is still evident. The one thing that always bothered me about Arch Enemy is the fact that bass is almost indiscernible behind the vocals and guitars, leading me to believe that the band values the showmanship of the vocals and soloing of the guitars above a solid foundation of bass and drums. In any case, now we come to the vocals: a subject of much debate among the metal community. Angela Gossow is one of the premier female vocalists in extreme music, and she had no doubt made much progress since her debut on "Wages of Sin". However, the crux of the matter is that her vocals are obviously produced to some extent. She sounds dramatically different in concert compared to the cd, which has both critics and fans questioning her validity as a frontwoman. She may have a fine set of vocal chords, but instead of displaying the natural vocal talent she has, the producers (and maybe the band as well) choose to make her sound "better" on the cd's versus live. This simple fact has kept many a metal fan away from Arch Enemy, as they cry "sell out" before sampling the music. In any case, "Rise of the Tyrant" is a politically charged journey of almost an hour that is filled with sweeping melody, powerful solos, versatile screams from Angela, and solid backing on drums at least. Not in the least disappointing. 4.5/5
3. As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us
At first, I was torn on this album. On the one hand, I love the changes As I Lay Dying have made over the years to keep their sound fresh in a world so chocked full of metalcore acts that its becoming hard to distinguish one from another. In the one camp, there are the pure screamers, brutal and to the point, on the other side of the spectrum lie those who are more of a mixed breed, screaming and singing, both in mediocrity. As I Lay Dying have transitioned from their first album as the brutal variety and mixed in some clean vocals. Luckily they haven't taken it to the mediocrity level. The sound they present is fresh, and follows a clear evolutionary pattern through the albums. On the other hand, though, is the fact that with this effort, AILD have taken yet another step toward the mainstream in the same way Atreyu has done (I'll cover that fiasco in a subsequent review). If AILD continue to evolve their sound based on what is right for their music, I foresee no problem, they will remain one of the forerunners of metalcore for years to come, but if they take a step in the wrong direction, they'll end up another Atreyu. The album itself is very good. Strangely, the fairly obvious christian undertones displayed on previous albums are not quite as visible on this album as they were previously. Perhaps a condition similar to Zao (whose congregation proclaimed that only satan could inspire the music they made, though it was clearly rife with christian influence)? The Hardcore elements are still plain, breakdowns and beats so "moshable" that I find it challenging not to band my head even now. The band have definitely put together a solid effort here that will not disappoint fans who have been with them from the beginning. The addition of singing to more songs than ever before is a nice change up. 5/5
Thanks for reading everyone! I'll be back next time with reviews of Atreyu's "Lead Sails Paper Anchor", Avsky's "Mass Destruction", and Be'lakor's "The Frail Tide". Maybe even more. Stay Metal! \m/
Updated 10-31-2007 at 03:34 PM by Zarathustra19
Hey all, sorry for the delay between postings, I've been busy with my start-up forum, Midgard, which deals with viking legend and asatru myth. Anyway, Today I thought I'd do just a few reviews and try to stay on track. We'll be starting with a rather strange band, Arachnotaur and finishing up with a review of As I Lay Dying's "An Ocean Between Us". Enjoy!
1. Arachnotaur - Slow Pertinacious Threnody on the Abnegation of Succor
Do you like Sunn O)))? Do you like Wormphlegm? If so, then this band is for you. Arachnotaur craft a solid mix of drone doom metal and sludge metal on this, some would say, excessively long-titled debut. The album is slow, it is heavy, and it is definitely hypnotic. The first song of the four on this album, "The Bleak Volcano" is purely instrumental, a la Sunn O))), though Arachnotaur employ the use of drums instead of pure guitar and bass mayhem. Repetitive patterns of melody and beat lull the listener into a state of hypnosis that proves to be hard to wake from as the second song comes along. 14:14 of a droning song will do that to you. The second song clocks in at just over five minutes long, and the band, while continuing the drone elements, quickens the pace on this song, adding vocals and what could almost be called riffs. The third song, "And Thus Cometh the Slow Destrucctaur", at 7:18 long, continues the vocal assault, with three of the band members shouting in various pitches about the destruction of something, I couldn't quite pick out what. The finale clocks in at 13:10 and completes the symmetry of this album, as it is instrumental as well. (A tantalizing thought occurs to me as I write this: the song types, Instrumental, vocal, vocal, instrumental, mimic a rhyme scheme in a poem, the meaning of Threnody...coincidence? Damn my English classes for teaching me to analyze things...) The finale dials up the distortion, while keeping the pace faster than the introduction and brings things to a close with extremely distorted samples of the word "suffer". This album is a very, very good debut from this UK band. They may try somewhat too hard in the looks department to be like Sunn O))), but the spirit of their music is all their own. 4.5/5
2. Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant
I'm a pretty big Angela Gossow-era Arch Enemy fan, so I came into this review with high hopes. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed. This album is full of thrash-influenced melodic death metal deliciousness, perhaps more so than the prior effort, "Doomsday Machine". Michael and Christopher Amott are really in good form, soloing almost constantly and transferring from blistering speed to pleasant melody without a hitch. Drumming is perhaps a little subdued in the mix, but the double bass skill is still evident. The one thing that always bothered me about Arch Enemy is the fact that bass is almost indiscernible behind the vocals and guitars, leading me to believe that the band values the showmanship of the vocals and soloing of the guitars above a solid foundation of bass and drums. In any case, now we come to the vocals: a subject of much debate among the metal community. Angela Gossow is one of the premier female vocalists in extreme music, and she had no doubt made much progress since her debut on "Wages of Sin". However, the crux of the matter is that her vocals are obviously produced to some extent. She sounds dramatically different in concert compared to the cd, which has both critics and fans questioning her validity as a frontwoman. She may have a fine set of vocal chords, but instead of displaying the natural vocal talent she has, the producers (and maybe the band as well) choose to make her sound "better" on the cd's versus live. This simple fact has kept many a metal fan away from Arch Enemy, as they cry "sell out" before sampling the music. In any case, "Rise of the Tyrant" is a politically charged journey of almost an hour that is filled with sweeping melody, powerful solos, versatile screams from Angela, and solid backing on drums at least. Not in the least disappointing. 4.5/5
3. As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us
At first, I was torn on this album. On the one hand, I love the changes As I Lay Dying have made over the years to keep their sound fresh in a world so chocked full of metalcore acts that its becoming hard to distinguish one from another. In the one camp, there are the pure screamers, brutal and to the point, on the other side of the spectrum lie those who are more of a mixed breed, screaming and singing, both in mediocrity. As I Lay Dying have transitioned from their first album as the brutal variety and mixed in some clean vocals. Luckily they haven't taken it to the mediocrity level. The sound they present is fresh, and follows a clear evolutionary pattern through the albums. On the other hand, though, is the fact that with this effort, AILD have taken yet another step toward the mainstream in the same way Atreyu has done (I'll cover that fiasco in a subsequent review). If AILD continue to evolve their sound based on what is right for their music, I foresee no problem, they will remain one of the forerunners of metalcore for years to come, but if they take a step in the wrong direction, they'll end up another Atreyu. The album itself is very good. Strangely, the fairly obvious christian undertones displayed on previous albums are not quite as visible on this album as they were previously. Perhaps a condition similar to Zao (whose congregation proclaimed that only satan could inspire the music they made, though it was clearly rife with christian influence)? The Hardcore elements are still plain, breakdowns and beats so "moshable" that I find it challenging not to band my head even now. The band have definitely put together a solid effort here that will not disappoint fans who have been with them from the beginning. The addition of singing to more songs than ever before is a nice change up. 5/5
Thanks for reading everyone! I'll be back next time with reviews of Atreyu's "Lead Sails Paper Anchor", Avsky's "Mass Destruction", and Be'lakor's "The Frail Tide". Maybe even more. Stay Metal! \m/
