ALCHEMIST

Alchemist still remains among the top metal bands out there. However, as seen with their previous release Austral Alien, Alchemist seems to have fallen into a trap of producing the same song over and over again.

Don't get me wrong. The musicianship here is still top notch. However, I feel as if I am hearing the same song again and again. The only songs that stand out in my head are Nothing in no Time and God Shaped Hole. The others I could not determine if you played me a random clip of it.

However, this is still some great and heavy music. I would much rather listen to this than any offering that Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, or As I Lay Dying. Even though they sound the same for the most part, they are still top quality songs and none of them are terrible or leaving you empty inside.

Without a doubt, those who were expecting another Spiritech or Organasm will likely be disappointed. However, those coming to it simply to rock their head off, will enjoy it.

The debut album from Aussie prog metal band Alchemist.

I say prog metal because while there is heaviness, intensity and growls o plenty, musically this is far outside anything in the realm of death metal. Death, Atheist, Cynic even Edge of Sanity never created such an out there product.

"Jar of Kingdom" is a blend of death metal influenced prog metal and psychedelia. There is also some very noticeable Eastern influence. It is an intriguing and ambitious effort that doesn't seem fully developed on this album. While I applaud the effort, (and am glad to know I'm not alone in thinking you can like extreme metal and Pink Floyd)it is just not fully "there" yet. The album is a bit inconsistent, and while Adam Agius' vocals aren't the worst by any means, I'm not really a fan. His shrill growls are actually a lot more energetic than the standard, but also can be as laughable at times. Not a turn off, but not the best.

Musically, the songs have very progressive structures that can range from blast beat death metal to spaced out, Pink Floyd style movements. The music can stop and start on a dime, usually with wild shifts in tempo and style. The guitar work features both heavy, death metal and psychedelic, trippy styles, often at the same time.

The guitar work and song structures are easily the strongest thing on this album, unique and unorthodox are the only ways to put it. As well as awesome. The drumming is fitting and more than servicable.

Just for a change of pace, songs like "Found" are mellow and feature female vocals, and "Whale" is an acoustic piece with some type of tribal drumming, xylophones (or synths) and the sounds of whales.

Some standout songs are "Abstraction" (with its relaxing and brutal movements and sweet psychedelic melodies) "Shell" featuring surprisingly nice melodies, and "Brumal-A View From Pluto" which has one of the best openings I've ever heard and is a particularly brutal and usual piece. I love the surf rock riff over blast beats and distorted mess of tremolo picking.

The finale "Worlds Within Worlds" is a true musical journey, which features some of the best melodies and writing on the album. While some other songs can suffer from a lack of cohesiveness, this one works perfectly for most of it, and is really one of the more unique things I've ever heard. Where else can you feel like relaxing in a Middle Eastern palace and headbanging in a doom metal show??

Very interesting album that makes me feel ashamed I never herd of this band until 2011. What Alchemist tried to do on this album is not easy, and indeed it sounds a bit chaotic at times. Not organized chaos though, more like 2 buses carrying a death metal and psychedelic rock band collided. Sometimes awkward but it also works and the musicianship and songwriting skills here are impressive.

Good, but not great, album that leaves you wanting a bit more. Recommended listen for fans of prog metal (that have some taste for the extreme) and if not, probably best to avoid this unique album.

Three Stars

If you think that a prog band should have at least one member dressed in a long cape, and/or feature a keyboard player going tweedeledoo on his organ, or should be all about album side long tracks with lots of guitar solos and/or weird mathematics in the time signature area, then you can stop reading this review right away and start doing more interesting things like preparing a meal for your beloved. If however, your prog rock can be a no-nonsense metal attack from outer space, embedding influences from many musical dark forces, you better bare with me as Alchemist might be just the band for you!

Ok, now that we have the non believers out of the way, let's get to the point. After two inconspicuous death metal albums, Alchemist took a drastic turn towards a more diverse musical idiom and delivered their most varied, most progressive and best album to date. On Spiritech they play a brutal, intense but intelligent take on space metal. The music is highly eclectic and can be traced back to many sources with a good balance between atmosphere, melody and power.

First of all Voivod comes to mind, somewhere between the scourging fury of Dimension Hatross and their Floyd covers Astronomy Domine and Nile Song That leads to a second obvious influence: Pink Floyd from the 60's. The melodies are very psychedelic and eastern tinged, complete with tribal drumming and even featuring a chilling rendition of the Careful With That Axe Eugene scream by their excellent vocalist.

Talking about the vocalist, he's quite a versatile chap, next to the mentioned reproduction of Eugene, he varies between a low register clean voice, a hoarse 90's style Killing Joke bellowing and coarse but soulful metal grunts in the vein of Entombed (or Motorhead if the Entombed reference would scare you). Of course, the first time you will miss these subtle differences but repeated listens reveal his range!

Now, Killing Joke you say? What kind of prog is that? None at all of course. As I mentioned somewhere before, the band takes influences from many sources: metal obviously, psychedelic/space/prog or whatever you name it, ethnic influences and also new wave. Especially the first generation gothic bands that used haunted atmospheres and hypnotizing tribal drumming, like Bauhaus, Killing Joke and Siouxsie are in the melting point.

I've been longwinded enough so I will abstain from track by track reviewing. They are all excellent anyway. Instead I have got one more argument to make. Why 5 stars? Well to start with, you must have guessed I deem this band very high. Their unique approach to space rock combined with their energy and song skills makes them one of my favourite bands of the millennium era years. All of their albums from Spiritech onwards are 4 stars. This one gets one on top because it is their best. A most diverse release with a prominent prog dose.

A sad note to conclude: This album is not available for sale anymore! So why did I bother you for so long? Well you can find most of the songs back on a compilation album called 'Embryonics 90-98'. I'll be delighted though if it sees a full re-release but I'm afraid it may be not commercial enough for that. Thanks for you patient indulgence and give them a shot!

Alchemist continues to release top quality metal albums in a time where 99% of all metal releases are complete dross. I bet there's more then hundred metal releases every month so claiming one percent is good might even be too optimistic. But anyway, Alchemist reside in the top of the genre. Unfortunately not in popularity though. I think this might be part of the reason why they attempted a much more metalized industrial approach on Tripsis: short and aggressive tracks, hoarse singing only and, unfortunately, less diversity in the song writing.

It seems to be really very difficult these days to find a metal band that does not keep repeating their one trick over the course of an entire album. And Alchemist has fallen in the same trap on this album. All songs are still pretty good but I'm exhausted by the time the album gets halfway. It gets me really worried about the next album. Will also the subtly layered guitars have to go in favour of a typical metal riff-fest?

Let's hope not. That they may find their way back into the more progressive galaxies they used to hike to a few albums back. First half of the album is 4 stars, second half 3 stars.

Next chapter on the speedway to the galaxy. Austal Alian is another enjoyable album from Alchemist. Due to the focus on tight playing and fast riotous rhythms, the album has a slightly more industrial feel then its predecessors. But as the songs are strong as ever and the vocals keep their distinctive diversity, there's still enough to please a metal endorsing prog fan here. Alpha Cappella Nova Vega is the high point and might even serve as a perfect introduction to this band. With its fine echo laden guitar strumming, hypnotizing mantra and steadily building crescendo, the song is immediately accessible. The remainder of the album is right up to the same height but might take you a bit more time to digest.

Looking at the poor reception here I feel obliged to offer another great argumentation on how great this band is and especially on this album again. We'll start with a warning. This band is really heavy so if Voivod and Opeth are too metal for you, you sure won't enjoy this. Anybody else, please stay with me and indulge me drooling over this album.

Alchemist play brutal, fast, intelligent space metal. The vocals are generally gruff but varied, with some low key chanting, Killing Joke bellowing, rough but decent death metal grunts and occasional Umma Gumma screaming. In comparison to the previous album the songs have become more concise and I must admit, a bit less diverse, with less room for extended instrumental passages or psychedelic effects. But there are no weak tracks, the guitars are beautifully layered and the very full and fat production fits their sound very well.

Each song is an epic journey through their sci-fi topic matter. You won't find catchy choruses or singalongs on the way, only densely layered atmospheres on top of irresistible grooves. The rhythm of this band is one of their most attractive features. There an unstoppable urgency in this music, almost invoking fear by its stringent command. And on subsequent albums they would shift the tempo even another gear further up!

Alchemist is a metal band that mixes influences from industrial metal scene (alternance of clear and harsh vocals on some tracks, in the vein of Fear Factory, vocals reminiscent of Pitch Shifter's earlier efforts), Killing Joke at the time of 'Extremities, dirt and various repressed emotions' (the vocalist is also clearly influenced by Jaz Coleman), and stoner rock in the style of Queens of the Stone Age. I f we dig deeper, we can also find some cold-wave influences (Siouxsie and the Banshees or the more recent Editors). The music deals with harsh vocals (Killing Joke-type) alterned with clear vocals, excellent overall drumming without overabundance of time changes but with enough diversity to keep the listener interested. Keyboards are also present to support the sci-fi themes of the songs. Overall, this is a good album but 3 stars seems to be the most appropriate rating as this is not a prog album per se.

Lunasphere is the second full-length studio album by Australian experimental metal act Alchemist. I was introduced to the band via their fifth and sixth albums Austral Alien (2003) and Tripsis (2007) which are both albums I greatly enjoy and treasure. Alchemist debut album Jar of Kingdom (1993) didn´t impress me much though with its low budget production and imature songwriting but there were promises of better things to come on that album too and while those promises are not totally fullfilled on Lunasphere, this album is much better than the debut.

The music is a style of experimental metal which draws influences from both thrash and death metal as well as post punk/ rock like Killing Joke. There´s also an ethnic influence in the music as well as several rather psychadelic elements. A really interesting cocktail that actually works most of the time. The music is very guitar driven and it´s a great joy to listen to how the two guitarists Adam Agius ( also vocals) and Roy Torkington compliment each other. A trademark that is still present in their music today. The rythm section is tight and evenadventurous at times. The vocals are harsh. Not really growls though. They actually remind me a bit of how Max Cavalera sounded on Roots (1996) by Sepultura.

The production is a bit below standard and it is my biggest problem with this album but it´s far from unbearable and I´m fully able to appreciate the music even though the sound isn´t that good.

There are still edges that needs cutting on Lunasphere but it is a very bold and adventurous album and I greatly respect the band for trying hard to create a unique sound. A 3 star rating is deserved.

Jar of Kingdom is the debut studio album from Australian progressive/ experimental extreme metal act Alchemist. The album was originally released in 1993 on the Lethal label. Jar of Kingdom was re-released through the Thrust label in 1999 in order for Alchemist to be released from their contract with Thrust and seek an international contract deal instead. Until then their music had solely been available in Australia. The re-release includes Alchemist´s 1991 demo.

The original album is a pretty raw experimental death metal affair. Certainly experimental but not neccessarely enjoyable the whole time. One thing I have always been a fan of when talking about Alchemist is the raw vocal delivery from frontman and guitarist Adam Agius. There´s a man who sings/ semi-growls like he means it. Really aggressive approach. The music has some psychadelic parts that are really enjoyable IMO and those moments are mostly created by Roy Torkington´s lead guitar effects. He is a really inventive guitarist. If you want an example of how varied most tracks on Jar of Kingdom are just listen to the third track on the album called Purple. Very interesting.

The musicianship is pretty good but the bad production drags the album seriously down.

Jar of Kingdom is a good first release from Alchemist but on a personal level I can´t say that the music on the album really interests me much. There are moments here and there where I´m thinking that this is a really good album but soon after comes a section where I´m not very impressed so the best word to describe the album would probably be inconsistent. 2.5 stars will be my rating.

Back in 1993, the Death-Metal little world entered in a conflict, a civil war between keepers of the original brutality and some more delicate musicians willing to explore further dimensions than the 1-2-3-4 / Goooore!. Pestilence, Cynic, Atheist or even Death begged to differ and claim taking their influences from jazz-rock or melodic heavy-metal. Somewhere in the south hemisphere, alone in Australia, four young musicians joined the movement. As the name suggets, Alchemist wasn't obsessed with necrophiliac serial-killers or the gentle art of ripping the guts of its enemy on the battlefield but started to sing about Abstraction, Pluto or, er, Purple.

Beginning with an threatening atmospheric guitar introduction, Abstraction soon turns to a massive charge. But it appears quickly that the band uses psychaedelic sounds effects, pays attention to the notion of arrangements and melodies and even thinks of subtlety. The same can be said about Shell on which we can hear the haunting voice of Michelle Klemke: not exactly melodic, yet striking... And the psychaedelia goes on and on, as you can hear on Jar of Kingdom kindly introduced by some hilarious pixies (are they on acid???)... Yet, the album is brutal: the first-time traveller coming from Planet Gong might appreciate the rest on the track Found, dark but calm... Just before the oriental-like riff from Enhancing Enigma, one of the strongest songs from this record! Then, another pause with the Whale (nice trio between a guitar, a toy piano and, yes, a whale)... And we go to a cosmic journey with Brismal: a view from Pluto, exploring Alpha Centauri, Charon and the macrocosm of space!

Unique in its genre (Psychaedelical Death-Metal!), Alchemist hadn't found success with this first album but they showed rare song-writing abilities, an imagination hard to be found in the death-metal fields and promising technical feats! If the ProgHead isn't afraid of roaring vocals and heavy guitars; if the MetalHead isn't afraid of... Pixies and whales, this record is an excellent addition to any music collection.