TECH/EXTREME PROG METAL

Opening track 'The Proverbial Below' is a gargantuan 13-minute opus that sees a lot of fancy chord progressions à la King Crimson, which is definitely a major influence for the band. Kicking off with a muscular metallic riff, the song soon turns to a dazzling dance of time signatures and extraordinary playing, simply one of the best long pieces BTBAM have ever recorded. This is followed by 'Glide', with its two minutes of bluegrass wackiness, a nice little snippet of music that gives way to the glorious and really heavy 'Voice of Trespass', another one of the centerpieces across the two parts of the album. Some horn sections and vaudeville vignettes do make their way through, on a song that end up being incredibly diverse and enjoyable, despite all the in-your-face growls. And the closing piece is 'The Grid', with its ten minutes of epic riffing and moody shifts, it start off really harsh, but it transitions into a very atmospheric piece towards the end that closes off this half of the double album with its quiet, almost nostalgic tones. The entire double-album is fantastic and the idea of releasing it in two parts makes it more easily digestible; Still, one has to admit that 'Automata II' is the better mini-album overall.

Starting off with the killer track 'Condemned to the Gallows', we have some muscular riffs and intense growling vocals, with an interesting keyboard pattern dispersed all over. The rupturing heaviness is counterbalanced by the complexity of the track and the gorgeous clean vocal sections - we have six minutes of heavy, proggy greatness. Transitioning swiftly into the second song 'House Organ', this significantly shorter entry is really aggressive and the group's metalcore pedigree comes to the fore. Third song off the album is the manic 'Yellow Eyes' and its eight minutes of relentless technical playing and quirky writing, that sees BTBAM exploring some of their most unusual vocal melodies. Just a very strong longer piece that is followed by the moody and somewhat darker 'Millions', as we have one of the rare instance of a slower-tempo song from the American metalcore outfit. A one-minute-long instrumental leads to the closing piece titled 'Blot', a 10-minute tour de force that sees the band going back to what they do best - melodic chaos, strong melodies, angular playing and unpredictable twists, all within the ten minutes of soaring complexity. The first half of this two-part album is an excellent work that anticipates many of the glorious moments found on its complementary second half.

This is a great extreme metal album, the best that I heard in a long time. It's eclectic, complex, dissonant, and ultra avant-garde. Vildhjarta continues to follow the path pioneered by Meshuggah, but with a more exploratory and atmospheric approach. While Meshuggah stays rooted in dissonance and rhythmic complexity, Vildhjarta adds moments of meditative calm that enhance the overall impact of their compositions.

+ DÄR SKOGEN SJUNGER UNDER EVIGHETENS GRANAR + is the Swedish band's third full-length release, and by far their most accomplished work. It surpasses its predecessors in sonic depth and compositional complexity.

It's an album that surprises you, envelops you, and enchants you with its variety of atmospheres. There are moments when you wish the songs were longer and the instrumental sections took the lead over the vocal ones. At times, the relentless growls can feel a bit exhausting but just when that happens, an ambient melody appears, a sound that breaks expectations and draws you back in. That contrast is what makes the album so compelling.

+ DÄR SKOGEN SJUNGER UNDER EVIGHETENS GRANAR + is a great album?it's heavy, it's ambient, it's dissonant, and it's a masterclass in complexity. The only real criticism is the ultra-processed and somewhat cold production specially the voice treatment sounds like a machine, but in a way, that's part of Vildhjarta's sonic identity. It fits their character and reinforces the futuristic, alien feel of their music. This is a daring, challenging, and immersive album that rewards repeated listens. Vildhjarta proves once again that they are one of the most inventive bands in modern extreme metal.

Compared to some of Rivers of Nihil's previous offerings, this album is much more straightforward and vibrant, with its juggernaut riffing and vehement growls, definitely pertaining to the band's extreme metal roots. The technicality of their music does not compromise the excellent songwriting, and what might have seemed like a difficult transitional period for the American band, in the face of losing a key member, has instead inspired them to create one of their most compelling and digestible works. Both fast-paced, hard-hitting songs, and more melodically acute numbers make up the album, which is also rather diversified in terms of its tempo shifts, moods, and styles ? all essential elements of Rivers' universe. Just right off the bat, the listener hears killer tracks like 'Dustman' and 'Criminals', these ones on the heavier end of the spectrum, while the album drifts off to more sophisticated, textured tones with 'Despair Church' and 'House of Light' in the middle of the record. These tracks are peak prog metal ventures, with their excellent writing, production and performances. And around the album's second half the scorching heaviness gets restored with 'Evidence' and 'American Death', while the closing title track ends on a more tranquil note. 'Rivers of Nihil' is just another excellent entry from this powerhouse of a band, placing them high upon the extreme prog metal pedestal.

There´s always a lot of buzz in the weeks/months leading up to a new Opeth album is released (...such is their status and popularity these days), and it´s no different with "The Last Will and Testament" for several reasons. First off the teaser tracks which the band have made available feature a return of the death metal growls, which lead vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt had otherwise left behind (or so we thought...). There´s not a single death metal growling vocal line on any of the four albums released between "Watershed" (2008) and "The Last Will and Testament", so it´s a bit of a surprise that Åkerfeldt have opted to use that vocal style again, although his melodic clean vocals do dominate the soundscape of "The Last Will and Testament" and the growls are used rather sparingly. Secondly Åkerfeldt has teased that "The Last Will and Testament" is a full-blown concept album featuring a dark mystical/dramatic storyline and thirdly Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull guests on flute and narration. If those three things aren´t enough to get you excited for a new Opeth album, I´m not sure anything will...

...and thankfully "The Last Will and Testament" is an album which lives up to its hype. The return of the death metal growls and with them darker and more heavy riffs too, "The Last Will and Testament" is a successful combination of the early 00s progressive death metal releases by the band and the progressive rock/heavy rock of the last couple of releases. Opeth have found a good balance between their different stylistic elements and the icing on the cake is of course the concept story lyrics. In short "The Last Will and Testament" features a story about the reading of a will (set in the post-World War I era) after the death of the head of a family and the surprises revealed in the will regarding family relations and who is the true heir. Except for closing track "A Story Never Told" all tracks are titled "§1","§2", "§3"...and so forth, corresponding to the paragraphs of a will.

"The Last Will and Testament" features elements from death metal, progressive rock/metal, folk rock, and classical music, and Opeth have nailed it this time around. Åkerfeldt´s growling vocals aren´t quite as commanding as they used to be, but his extreme metal vocal delivery still has a distinct tone and enough power to sound convincing. His clean vocals are as powerful, melancholic, and soulful as ever. The story telling works well and the sections with narration aren´t dominating the album. They are carefully placed and work as atmosphere enhancing moments. The album is greatly dynamic and heavy parts are followed by mellow parts and visa versa.

"The Last Will and Testament" features an incredibly well sounding production job. Every instrument is placed right in the mix and there is a great organic tone to the recording, which perfectly suits Opeth´s music. Add to that high level musicianship, and intriguing songwriting, and "The Last Will and Testament" is through and through a high quality release. It´s also a standout release in Opeth´s discography, which doesn´t sound like anything they´ve done before. Of course Opeth have introduced the various compositional ideas which make up the album on earlier releases, but it´s how they combine them on "The Last Will and Testament" which works wonders and which make "The Last Will and Testament" stand out. A 5 star (100%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Abode of a God - The intro riff is awesome, and that bass line is super cool. Throughout the song, the orchestration and piano feels very tasteful. They add to the riffs without taking up too much space. Additionally, the vocals are on point; they are a perfect mix of understandable and gravely. All of the arpeggio riffs are well composed, not feeling needlessly complex with interesting harmonies happening underneath. The clean vocals are pretty good as well. My only nitpick is that the whole song is constructed around almost exclusively arpeggio riffs, and although they're good I found myself somewhat wishing there was more variety.

Drop This Planet of Dust - I really appreciate the super heavy opening riff, and the keyboard solo shortly after is really fun. I think this whole intro shows that An Abstract Illusion knows exactly what kind of sound they want to cultivate. This whole song just feels good. I appreciate how concise it is; the sections flow together very well. It is all complemented nicely by a great vocal performance, both growls and cleans. I think the song is a great mix of heaviness and atmosphere.

Illuminate the Path - It has a pretty slow intro, but I enjoy it. It builds into a great verse section. I think it isn't quite as immediately compelling as the other two full tracks so far, but its riffs are still very strong. I am surprised how unique each riff feels. I mean, all the riffs feel distinct enough that I think I could easily identify which one came from what song. I'm a big fan of the use of keyboards on this song. Finally, this song has a perfectly proggy outro, one worthy of the progressive death metal label. Also, I can't get over that bass tone, it fits so well.

Vakuum - I think the intro to this track has the first real guitar solo of the album, and it shreds. I think this one feels like the best demonstration so far of just how skilled all these musicians are. They are clearly putting a lot of intention into the structures of their songs. Almost every section hits perfectly and never sounds exactly like how you would expect it to, in the best way. The slow break in the middle wasn't my favorite, but I do appreciate as a whole how they are balancing the intensity of the album. As with the rest of the album so far, I did not predict where it was going. The epic outro with orchestra hits also caught me completely by surprise.

Talvatis - Definitely a major vibe shift. This song sounds like it could be off of a Porcupine Tree record, but I think it is very effective as an interlude track before the real epic comes next.

Skeletons of Light - Once again, a great use of keyboards on the intro. The trading solos about a third of the way through the song are all incredible. It doesn't feel like soloing just for the sake of it, but rather like each solo and ensuing section was really vital to the larger narrative of the piece. I've said it about other songs on this album, but it just flows together very well. It sounds like we're walking through a dark forest, on our way off to war, but with our loved ones at our sides. Or something. This to me feels like the true end of the album, and the final bits of this song support this idea. It is just so triumphant, there is really no better way to describe the final riffs.

That's the album, plus the fun cover at the end. Overall, this was a real treat to listen to. There was not a single dull moment, and every scream, solo, and breakdown felt completely earned. Ultimately, this is really good music, not much beyond that I can say. 8.5/10

Songwriting controversy or not, Obscura sound more or less like they have done since the release of their second album "Cosmogenesis" (2009). Technical death metal with a progressive edge, influenced by 80s/90s death metal acts like Death and Pestilence (the technical death metal albums by those artists) albeit appearing in a more contemporary skin and sound. Obscura have lifted the foot from the technical playing pedal though, and "A Sonication" overall sounds a bit more straight forward than what Obscura have released since "Cosmogenesis", although "A Valediction" also leaned that way. There are a lot of melodic death metal tendencies here too, and although Obscura have always been quite a melodic inclined technical/progressive metal act, they have increased the melodic death metal elements on "A Sonication". The vocals as usual vary between snarling raw vocals and deeper growling. There are occasionally some raw shouting and slightly more melodic tinged singing on the album too.

Although the material on the 8 tracks, 39:07 minutes long album is overall well written and the album features high level musicianship and a crisp, sharp, and detailed sound production, it´s still like something isn´t right. Obscura sound a bit tame and uninspired and "A Sonication" is an album lacking fire and passion. For a death metal release this is pretty limb, and although no one should ever expect to hear Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse brutality on an Obscura album, a bit more bite and intensity wouldn´t have hurt. It´s not a bad quality release, but it does sound a little sterile and lacking in energy. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved, but this seems like a crossroads for Obscura, and It´ll be interesting to see where they go from here.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Changing from an act featuring a vocalist to playing fully instrumental music would be a major change for most artists but Aghora already played a music style on their previous releases, which could well have worked without the vocals. In fact the vocals were often a distraction and felt like an afterthought on the preceding albums, so the lack of vocals on "Entheogenic Frequencies" is to my ears a bit of a blessing.

The jazz/fusion/world music influenced technical/progressive metal style of the preceding releases is continued in all other departments, and Aghora are still an incredibly well playing band. Thompson surprises me here, as I´m only familiar with his playing from the King Diamond albums he plays on and the King Diamond concerts I´ve attended through the years, and I´ve always felt that he had a stiff, unimaginative, and sligthly tedious playing style which held King Diamond´s music back, but his playing on "Entheogenic Frequencies" has given me another view on his abilities and the dynamics of King Diamond as a band (clearly Thomson just plays what he is told, and is not allowed much imput and creative playing), because this guy can play and there´s nothing wrong with the creativity and power of his playing. In fact the playing from all involved is amazing.

"Entheogenic Frequencies" features a detailed and well sounding production job too, so upon conclusion it´s a good quality release from Aghora and fans of artists like Cynic and the related Portal should find lots to appreciate here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Stylistically the change on the keyboard player position hasn´t meant much for the overall sound of Barren Earth (and that´s despite Mårtenson being one of the main composers of the band on the past releases), as the material on "A Complex Of Cages" is a continuation of the progressive death/doom metal sound of the band´s past releases. Opeth is the most valid and immediate reference point, as Barren Earth have a similar love for 70s progressive rock and the occasional nod or two towards ethnic Scandinavian folk, but Barren Earth still have a sound of their own with more melodic death metal leanings and more use of keyboards. Faroe Island born lead vocalist Jón Aldará has a commanding brutal growl but he also sings a lot of semi-operatic clean vocals throughout the album, and to my ears his vocals are now a much more integrated part of the band´s sound, compared to the way they worked with the music on "On Lonely Towers". This probabaly has something to do with the fact that Aldará wrote almost all lyrics on "A Complex Of Cages" and also contributed vocal melodies to a lot of the material.

So, this more collaborative approach to the songwriting (while bassist Olli-Pekka Laine is still the main composer, some of the other band members picked up the torch after Mårtenson left, and has also contributed material) has paid off and "A Complex Of Cages" features memorable and effective songwriting which is both heavy and brutal, but also sophisticated and clever. Add to that a powerful, organic, and detailed sound production, and some high quality musicianship, and "A Complex Of Cages" is as a result a high quality progressive death/doom metal release. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

'Aphelion' is no exception from the rule, yet it is one of the most consistent and coherent listens out of the entire recent catalogue, with its cinematic soundscape and moody passageways, there is a smoothness to the album that is perhaps counteracted by its labyrinthian instrumentation, giving way to the impressive vocal work of band leader Einar Solberg, as we observe him getting better with each new Leprous album. There is a familiar feel to 'Aphelion' but also a warmth that makes it immediately appealing. Starting off rather impressively with explosive and miraculously beautiful tracks like 'Running Low', 'Out of Here', and 'All the Moments', there is a clear tone of pensive melancholy to this work, all while the band provides the soundtrack to a rather exploratory musical odyssey, from the sweeping guitars and the pitch-perfect drum patterns to the orchestral bits and the ambient waves of synthesizer sounds. It seems like Leprous are still stronger when it comes to the heavier department of their music ('The Silent Revelation', 'Nighttime Disguise'), with the gorgeous crossover pop-metal numbers on this album, while the more forgettable pieces of music are represented by these structure-less and ghostly songs in the second half, 'The Shadow Side', 'On Hold', and to an extent 'Castaway Angels'. Still, a really solid work, 'Aphelion' is yet another excellently-crafted album by Leprous.