Dude...some metalcore is not dorky at all. For example, Zao's Liberate Te Ex Inferis and (Self-Titled) albums are among the most serious and awesome music I've ever heard. I'd think that someone with your experience would realize that metalcore as a genre is not dorky; there are just certain dorky bands, but that goes for any genre.
Groove is an elusive thing. In the 1960s you had orchestras that had no groove. The Beatles came along and a musical groove became cool. You were either cool and groovy or you were straight. Orchestras became groovy and more decades passed till Technical Death Metal became something that could be groovy. So we have our young band here from Sydney Australia called Ouroboros who bring us their 2nd album named Emanations. One aspect setting the new Emanations album apart is the fact that the more than groovy Australia Government Arts funding has dropped 20K for them to record their 2nd release and they flew to Prague to have a chorus and symphonic arrangement glossy up their death metal growls. Get your head around just that simple fact and you start to really wonder what breed of Aussie we have here?
We lose track of how big extreme metal is, take a gander and realize Australia has well over 2000 bands, so hearing that the prize money was given to Ouroboros, starts to set them apart from the start. It's no wonder that the county can get out good metal exports, with beer like Fosters Lager around to fuel em. Any of us fans of metal already have our Australia favorites like Annihilism from Melbourne Australia or the Tasmanian crazies Psycroptic.
Many of us have already heard Death Metal reach it's peak when Morbid Angel invented technical Death Metal. Our jaded ears were sparked by a new rendition of Classic technical Death when bands like Nile added a flavor to the equation for us. Then again we became amazed when really good musicians like Obscura came and dazzled us with fingers so fast you couldn't see em moving. Old school masters like Cannibal Corpse can do groove in multiple timings like a guy finishing his masters thesis on theology while eating lunch at MacDs with a girl he just met on the bus.
So we have two types of symphonic metal acts here. Sometimes they actually work, and at times it's an oil and water mix. Most of us metal heads can count on one hand the albums where a symphonic mix makes the tunes, that is unless your one of those Tarja Turunan Operatic metals fans, then well....................there is no hope for you, and I sincerely mean that.
On that one hand most of us narrow minders hold Sirius B from Therion and it's sister release Lemuria from 2004 as the pinnacle of what a chorus and symphony can do with extreme metal. Of course we have symphonic stalwarts Dimmu Borgir doing their quest and other orchestral attempts which work. Still this Orchestral Death is maybe an under explored genre apart from a band like Italy's Fleshgod Apocalypse who have unlocked the key. What were not looking for is the death metal equivalency to Metallica's S and M. I'm not at least anyway.
So how is it?
Remember a standard technical Death Metal band like Cannible Corpse would rather be hit by a truck then go and create a style of metal-genre like this. And of course we can expect to be bored by the same old, same old death metal inventions coming out this year. So the question is, is it a novelty or is it cool? Did they actually walk the thin line here? They did great, but derivative of another band, mainly on guitar, which we'll get to later.
You may notice I'm never talking about personal playback equipment. Everyone has different equipment, some great but at times we end up trying to get into an album with less than perfect set-ups. This album is one that requires a certain level of playback quality to shine. We need playback as big as this album is or there is a chance we could miss it all? I tried listening to it with a portable, less than system, only to be floored when it was played back the right way, for what-ever that tidbit is worth?
The release finds it's self touching genre classic styles and song influences from time to time but seems to veer away from generic sounding playback pitfalls, except still it sounding exactly like the bands Opeth and Nile.
I hear Nile in the vocal voicing. The whole orchestra thing is not at full volume, but sways along with the emotional feelings of the music. Guys, come-on, this is technical death metal at it's hart, so we don't want to piss everybody off with violins, right?
We are treated with highly technical guitar riffing, light guitar interplay interworked with the orchestra, and your almost generic, but sill great, death growls though-out. You would think an album going this way could start to veer into Knights In White Satin, ala Moody Blues style but no, it chooses to stay hard instead, as a relief.
So let's get to the parts when this band puts out their best here, OK? When they groove they are best, which is most of the time. Finding multiple main and backing death growls along with a chorus is a technique I have not heard before. Just imagine "In There Darkened Shrines" but more musical and bigger and more like Opeth and your getting the idea here. If that sounds good to you? It is! Nile but with an Opeth chaser, and more accessible than you would guess? Yep! Don't miss it!
At this point in 2015, how could we really not have Opeth worship amongst us. Remember they sold a boatload of records. So were you really thinking the stuff was not on it's way bouncing off the musical human intellect back to our ears again?
The album can seem to start off so,so but partway through it starts to build strength upon strength until your completely won over and ready to sign any document placed in front of you without reading.
The death metal world is very crowded, thus boring to tears, to the point that every note, every last blast-beat has been done. So when a band comes out of nowhere and delivers this stylistic afternoon in the sun, you know it's time to yell! Go yell!
5 out 10
On a 1 to 10 scale.
Points for superb SQ and creativeness.
Subtraction of points for not being creative enough to just sound like Nile, Opeth and maybe one other death metal band I can't quite put my finger on?
Weed has turned my life around guys. I don't feel the need to drink till I blackout anymore and my family is all voting pro pot in the coming election as a large result
HYDROGRIND (Peace be with you,yes on 3 and no on 2 if in Ohio)
Weed has turned my life around guys. I don't feel the need to drink till I blackout anymore and my family is all voting pro pot in the coming election as a large result
HYDROGRIND (Peace be with you,yes on 3 and no on 2 if in Ohio)
On the topic of gothic metal...how is Moonspell's Omega White merely a bonus album included only with the limited edition of one of their other albums?! It's one of the most phenomenal gothic metal albums I've heard!
On the topic of gothic metal...how is Moonspell's Omega White merely a bonus album included only with the limited edition of one of their other albums?! It's one of the most phenomenal gothic metal albums I've heard!
So true, the fact that it's not even listed as a release but makes folks feel special who stepped up to buy the limited double disk edition.
Ok ........let's be so very fan centric as to release an album which is great, but only a few were made and only a few know about it?
It would have been better to make it limited at first, then later make it normal to be a 2 disk set. But no, they wanted to edge on obscurity and greatness?
Last time I checked, when you made great music, you wanted people to actually hear it?
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