EXPERIMENTAL/POST METAL

1. "Embers" (1:01) very interesting and unique album opener! Acoustic guitars with choral vocals--sounding more like The Band or CSN&Y than I expected. (4.5/5)

2. "Last Word" (6:18) chugging metal with psychedelic engineering treatments. Reminds me of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD except on higher octane. You can tell that this is a well-oiled, well-gelled quartet. (I guess all those live performance dates really paid off!) Very interesting sound engineering choices--like with the drums and lead guitar. Less is more and yet the flange is ever-present, sneaking around in the background. Love it! Definitely feels like a blast from the past! Kudos to the team and their engineer/producer to go with these sound engineering choices. A top three song for me. (9/10)

3. "Beneath the Rose" (5:35) this one feels like a kind of TED NUGENT variation on Bono's performance in U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky"--at least for the verses. In the choruses the sound moves into a kind of cross between early URIAH HEEP and METALLICA's "Enter the Sandman." Nice vision and execution! The doubled-up guitar solo feels like a cross between THIN LIZZY and LYNYRD SKYNYRD. The final chorus spills over into Brit-territory--like The Clash or Judas Priest. (8.875/10)

4. "Choir" (4:06) bleeding over from the previous song, the guitars chug along as the continuous-play rolling bass note and straight-time drum race along. The vocals sound like some kind of channel of IGGY POP. I like the more nuanced, intermittent and atmospheric echo-guitar notes in the between-spaces. A very theatric, well-constructed and - executed song. Must be a crowd-pleaser in concert. (8.875/10)

5. "The Dirge" (1:19) another odd snippet that sounds as if it is more likely to come from Americana than metal. (4.3333/5)

6. "Anodyne" (3:20) To a person who's music ears were formed in the 1970s this sound palette sounds so right: none of the processing or compressing that is so common among post-1982 (enter the Computer/ Digital Age) bands and albums. Though this smooth hard rock song is smooth, it must be trying to rely more on its lyrics than previous songs cuz the music is less interesting--with less variation and development than I was expecting. (8.66667/10)

7. "Shine" (6:32) unfortunately, this rather straightforward "heavy metal" song sounds rather dull and elementary. Even the choruses and instrumental passages feel robotic and a bit "dialed-in." (8.5/10)

8. "Magnolia" (7:49) though I've been feeling this VANETA-vibe off and on throughout the course of this album, the opening 2:15 of this one carries a full-fledged imprint of that band. The song goes from waiting-at-the-curb to kick-it- into-gear at the 2:15 mark with some awesome multi-voice harmonic metal vocals over some pretty standard BLUE ÖYSTER CULT-like music. (Even the guitar solo in the sixth minute sounds 1970s). (Did they just say "flaming arrows"?!!) Still: it's a pretty damned-good song. (13.125/15)

9. "Under the Wheel" (6:11) I love the smooth-vocaled opening of this: so much potential energy present here just waiting to be released. And then they do! At 2:58 John Baizley unleashes a wicked-awesome vocal flight path (backed by some important seconds from Gina Gleason). Unfortunately, the song doesn't morph or develop much after that until the awesome spacey-fade. Still here we have another of my top three songs. (9/10)

10. "Bloom" (4:01) a gentle acoustic-guitar based song over which John and Gina sing the lead together, simultaneously, in harmony. Beautiful, smooth, laid-back harmonies. Nicely done. Great vocal performances. My final top three song. (8.875/10)

Total Time 46:12

I'm not sure how this band got categorized "Expeirmental/Post Metal" on ProgArchives cuz this all sounds quite rudimentary and retrogressive; perhaps their previous albums (with which I am unfamiliar) crossed into more experimental "post metal" territory.

Again, I want to commend the band on their choice to "real time"-record and render each song separately and uniquely. Exceptional cojones and will. (It really is so refreshing to hear new music that sounds like the old analog, pre- computer-manipulated music of my youth.)

B+/four stars; an excellent trip down a path that few 21st Century rockers are taking us down. Check it out for yourselves: highly recommended!

'Memorial' is an average collection of heavier tracks with a stronger leaning towards the alternative side of the band's sound, not necessarily overly satisfying, revolutionary, or imaginative. They do manage to present themselves in a respectable manner, and obviously the production of the album is quite good, but it also signifies to me that all subsequent Soen releases will sound the same and very similar to this one as well as the last two albums. Which takes out of the equation the element of surprise, depending on who you ask.

With this being said, one really has to mention how intricate and playful the drumming is, but Martin Lopez is a well-known and very experienced metal drummer. The guitars also sound very crisp and bright, some of the riffs are quite fine! The bass gets a bit lost in the final mix, which is a pity for a band that has previously released albums as strong and nuanced as 'Lykaia' or 'Tellurian'. I am not particularly fond of the vocals on this one or of how predictable and mostly straightforward and monotonous the songs are. The first couple of tracks are a good example of this. I can't help but feel like I am listening to any alt rock/metal album produced by a major label nowadays. Things do in fact get better around the end, where the band give us the slightly more adventurous tracks like 'Icon', 'Incendiary', or the title track.

'Memorial' is a good album for what it's worth and it does certainly indicate the sonic image that Soen have acquired and built for themselves over the years, also meaning that their future releases could be painfully similar to this one. I could not regard this album as highly as some of the past releases of the band, but most people could like and enjoy this one.

As some of you know, I always was a big fan of the progressive rock coming from Scandinavia, mainly due to Kaipa, The Flower Kings, Anglagard, Anekdoten, Pain Of Salvation and Opeth, only to mention some of them, which are probably the most famous too. So, it's always a pleasure and a moment of big expectations when I know the existence of another Scandinavian prog band. So, the same happened when some time ago I had the opportunity to know Sisare.

Sisare is a Finish progressive rock band that was formed in the peninsula of Scandinavia. As happened with their compatriots Sammal, the band is settled in the Finnish city of Turku. Sisare is an experimental progressive rock/metal band that begins their career in 2008 as a progressive death metal band. As a death metal band, Sisare released a demo and an EP before split. After the split, Sisare returned in 2010 with a more progressive direction including elements of rock, jazz and folk. Their music can be characterized by the post-metal modern sound with the melancholic ambience that is so usual in almost all Scandinavian progressive rock bands. In 2013 Sisare released their debut studio album "Nature's Despair". Five years later in 2018, the band released their second studio album, this one, "Leaving The Land".

So, "Leaving The Land" is the second studio album of Sisare and that was released in 2018. The line up on "Leaving The Land" is Severi Peura (vocals and guitar), Timo Lehtonen (guitar), Hermanni Piltti (bass guitar) and Rauli Elenius (drums).

"Leaving The Land" is a very consistent album with a warm atmosphere. For me, it's probably an exception that, as a keyboard lover, I listen to a great progressive rock album without any keyboards. This could be seen as a compliment to the band. Most of the time albums without keyboards can't keep my full attention. Just six songs feature on this well produced and strong album, each long enough to grow on you but never too long to be all too repetitive, which is the case with some other bands. Sisare's music recalls the most melodic and less metal moments of the past decade. To be exact, Opeth have played a huge catalytic role in the artistic temperament of the band. The effects of Opeth's revival progressive rock style (and not from their formerly metal side), are expanding to all the six compositions of the album, sometimes more and sometimes less. In particular, the style of the Finns is borne out by the melodies of Opeth's guitar twins over time. The same similarities exist in the vocals. For instance the voice of Peura is very similar to Akerfeldt's.

"Leaving The Land" has six tracks. "Escape" is a strong opener, demonstrating the dark tensions of Sisare's writing. This piece blends melodic components with dreamy vocals and themes, but maintains enough of a rock edge to propel the song into its climactic moments with big choruses and great instrumental licks. "Mountains" begins with some post-rock atmosphere with some nice guitar parts over droning bass and pensive drums. This is a piece brooding and heavy. The writing relies on the extended instrumental breaks and strong guitar leads during all its duration. There's a somber moodiness in this track. "Geno" is lightly touched by that Scandinavian melancholy, although never in a true depressing way. This is a track with a great encapsulation of the band's strengths, with tight guitar/bass riffing in clever syncopation, a rich atmosphere, and a powerful vocal work and interesting melodies. The band's post-rock influences particularly shine on "Pace" with several internal segments. The guitar riffs are addictive with a bit of post-rock quality and those lead vocals, they continue to be a high point. The heavy and mellow textures combine wonderfully and the guitar soloing has a psychedelic undertone. "Shattered" is a psychedelic tinged track with some more excellent guitar work and fabulous bass. This is a remarkable piece that seems to me the most Opeth's like moment on the album. It has a strong vibe throughout, especially in the vocal parts. "Perception" is a catchy slice of guitar based psychedelic prog. It's a good example of the way the band give space to their instrumental passages including the wonderful crafted solo parts to bring just that extra layer into the mix of the song. It has also a very strong vibe, especially in the vocal work.

Conclusion: With "Leaving The Land", Sisare made a great job. I like the progressive and art rock side of the band. You can find some great vocal melodies on this album. "Leaving The Land" is consistent and the overall atmosphere is warm. As a reference for the music you could mention the mellow side of Opeth even in the vocal department. But, said this, I would like to emphasize that Sisare is developing its own sound. The guitars remain ever present, marking the melodic tinges, and there are hooks aplenty that see the music turn into highly efficient and emotional solos. The album follows a rather safe prog rock path. The album doesn't vary between the compositions due to the similar atmosphere chosen by the Finns. With "Leaving The Land", Sisare seems to evoke some hidden, warm feeling inside, and the album entire makes for a serene, yet uplifting experience. It isn't perfect, but in its peaks it paints soundscapes unparalleled.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

The contrast between these two aspects of Soen's sound has never been starker, which is part of what makes Memorial such a splendidly dynamic and wholly entertaining record. There are very few traces left of the mid-paced songwriting and mild-mannered delivery that have characterized much of the band's pervious records. These have been instead replaced by a fury and raw energy that pervades nearly all aspects of the new songs. Martin López dispenses with much of his signature syncopations and polyrhythms to instead favour a steadier and more direct drumming style, providing a mighty solid backbone to the arrangements. Meanwhile, Joel Ekelöf injects tons of rasp and distortion in his normally silky and restrained vocal delivery. The melodies he sings on the new songs are also more direct and rudimental than what he has used us to, which suits perfectly his harsher signing style. Perhaps even most notably, many of the songs are fast-paced and infused with a cornucopia of very headbangable riffs that give the guitars a dominant role in the arrangements ("Sincere", "Unbreakable", "Fortress", "Incendiary", "Icon"). Even Cody Ford's solos often stray away from his typical Gilmouresque approach and towards more uptempo and dissonant playing.

Against this backdrop, the sparse moments of melancholy and mellowness acquire an even stronger and more spellbinding presence. "Sincere", "Unbreakable", "Fortress", and "Incendiary" all contain sudden drops in volume and intensity, as the fury of the songs' verses and choruses gives way to delicate, semi-acoustic passages in the bridges. Meanwhile, songs like "Hollowed", "Tragedian" and "Vitals" slow down the tempo to ballad-speed, providing cleverly-placed changes of pace to the album as a whole. The progressive and experimental elements of the music also gain prominence in the context of the generally heavy and hard-hitting songwriting, like the sinister and dissonant instrumental bridge of "Icon", the computerized vocals on the verse of "Violence", or the majestic use of synthetized strings in the title-track that provide a chilling throwback to the use of Mellotron in classic prog rock (King Crimson).

Memorial is a phenomenal album that works on many different levels. It's lot of fun to listen to, by virtue of the sheer energy of its songs. But there are also tons of different layers in the music, which get better and better with each new listen as one uncovers new depths in the arrangements and songwriting. The first six tracks, in particular, are among the best the Swedish band has ever penned, with the title-track and the emotional ballad "Hollowed" (featuring a beautiful cameo by Italian pop singer Elisa) deserving special mention. The album's second half may be a touch less compelling, as tracks like "Incendiary" and "Tragedian" cannot perhaps reach the level of awesomeness of earlier songs. But the progressive tour-de-force "Icon" and the incredible soul/jazz ballad "Vitals" close the album in a spectacular way, almost compelling the listener to press "PLAY" again. In fact, I am finding it nearly impossible to put this record down: it has been haunting my CD player for weeks now, with no intention to leave any time soon. Album of the Year? Very, very possibly so.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

Best tracks are the singles Last Word - very catchy and with a great guitar solo - and Beneath the rose, also Magnolia and Under the Wheel. These last two have great build up segments that lead to very heavy section which are very satisfying to listen to. Beneath the rose is followed by Choir and The Dirge which features some more experimental vocals and weirdness which is fantastic.

There's also a lot of guitars that try to create some great ambience and textures, which is characteristic of them, but always very pleasant.

It's their best album and a great progressive metal release 5/5.

Each release of Thy Catafalque brings a new flavor and excitement to experience. From the extremely atmospheric Tűnő idő tárlat, to the more overtly progressive Meta. With their 9th studio album, Naiv, the group decided to almost entirely scrap their more black metal sound, and go for a more jazzy side instead.

For a time, I would considered this to be their best record to date, but with repeated listens I soon found it to be a little less of a masterpiece than I initially thought. I still think the record is pretty great, but overtime I have been feeling it to be not as good as some of their other stuff.

I do not like to go too much into negativity, especially this early on with my review, so I am gonna shed some light upon this record. For one, the musicianship here is just as strong as ever. I believe Thy Catafalque's music creates a good balance between intensity and melodically charged music. Many of my favorite progressive metal bands have done these kind of balance acts before, such as Between The Buried And Me and Ne Obliviscaris, but Thy Catafalque's balance feels a bit more unique, with their use of electronic and folk music that intertwine with their more metal driven sound. While admittedly it may not be the most original thing in the world, since other metal bands have utilized folk and electronic elements in their work, I think Thy Catafalque certainly give it their own unique spin, and here they certainly spin well.

I think another thing I like about this record is there are no bad songs. Every song on here sounds great, or even amazing, with a very wide structure that allows the music to breathe and develop into their own ideals. My favorite track on the record has to be Embersólyom, with its very rhythmic and passionate instrumentation, combined with Martina Horváth's beautiful voice, it certainly gives a very lovely experience.

That being said, I do think, while the jazz and prog are certainly on point here, I feel like Naiv does one thing wrong, and that is the actual metal, because it isn't quite all there. I am guessing the band was trying to go with an attempt of being a bit less metal focused, kinda like what Dream Theater did with Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence, but I feel like it takes a distracting measure in things, almost practically forgoing the band's more black metal exterior in favor for a bit TOO much prog. It is like the opposite of the problem I had with Alföld, where that album had too much black metal, this record has too much prog. I think what works best for Thy Catafalque is trying to find a middle ground, whilst also trying new stuff. I guess that is why I much prefer past records like Sgùrr or Meta, as they perfectly encapsulates that balance well, whilst also having their own identity to boot.

I also have found this record to be kinda top heavy. The first 4 tracks are very amazing, and would easily make this album a 4.5-5 star rating to me, but after that we get some tracks that feel a bit less golden to me. They are still good, but I think the first half left a lot to be desired, and I do not think that desire has been fulfilled.

While this is a pretty great record, it is also very mixed. It has a lot of great and fun moments, and some stellar musicianship, but it doesn't feel like the Thy Catafalque that we all know and love, and the tracklisting doesn't quite feel all too great upon repeated listens. I think this record should definitely be listened to, but maybe after checking out their other records first to get a better picture of the Thy Catafalque sound.

The black and white cover photo of the church tower looking out of Lake Resia is the perfect visual accompaniment, giving us both foreboding and gloom, putting us in a certain mindset. But it needs to be noted although much of their music is very much in the style above, there is one song, "Hour of the Wolf", where they allow Sara to really shine in the first half with just a single guitar, while the second half is doom at pace with the full band on show and Sara very much in control. When they are at pace, they are reminiscent of the likes of Beastwars, although they say they have been influenced by the likes of Windhand, Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, The Devil's Blood, Jex Thoth, Angelo Badalamenti, Bellwitch and Urfaust, with droning occult doom which is incredibly deep and dark. It was this album which announced them to the world, and if this style of music is of interest, then this is quite special indeed.

Following a now already established pattern of cranking out a trilogy of overarching themes, the DISHARMONIUM set that began with last year's "Undreamable Abysses" becomes even more blood curdling with its followup NAHAB, a word that means "love" in the Arabic language but brings no warm and fuzzies to mind as it pummels with black metal brutality in tandem with suffocating atmospheric anxiety. Fueled with dissonant guitar workouts and cyclical post-rock inspired patterns of repetition, NAHAB takes things laid down on previous albums and turns up the dial a few notches.

This is one of those albums that matches the album cover art perfectly as it truly feels like an astral disaster in the making, one where you are literally paralyzed in fear as nefarious multi-dimensional entities suck out your very life force like one of those bogeys in the Harry Potter movies. Once again BLUT AUS NORD owes its terror tactics to the inspiring artistic world of H.P. Lovecraft and like the dreaded Cthulhu of Lovecraftian legend, unleashes its tentacles to ensnare its prey into a metaphysical battle for your very soul.

The secret to BLUT AUS NORD's success is that the band never strays too far from an overall theme and the unique sound that gelled all the way back with "Memoria Vetusta I: Father's Of The Icy Age." Just like the subtle ratcheting up of tension that graces each and every release, these guys know how to keep the basics of what came before and change it up just enough to offer a new perspective of a true and tried vision. Through this process BLUT AUS NORD has become somewhat of a legend in what i would first and foremost refer to as horror metal, a type of psychological mind [%*!#] metal that transcends the pigeonholed terms such as black metal, progressive metal or atmospheric black metal.

In my opinion, DISHARMONIUM - NAHAB has pretty much perfected the BLUT AUS NORD experience by maintaining its dedication to the second wave black metal wrath accompanied by knotty avant-prog styled time signature changes and experimentalism. Add to that the perfect atmospheric black ambience that does the cosmic dance with its metal counterpart. Take for example the track "The Black Vortex" where the incessant hornet sounding buzzsaw guitars, the frenetic jazzy drumming, the suffocating atmospherics and the overall doom and gloom despair Lovecrafted into an eternal source of sonic bleakness and you can't help but be blown away.

It seems this band is in no danger of running out of steam and one that only grows better and bolder with each release. Far ahead of the competition, BLUT AUS NORD pretty had a decade's run of albums ahead of the pack but even some three decades later still exudes a sense of mastery and mastery absent from many old timers who have rested on their laurels rather than climbing the Jacob's ladder of inspiration. This latest offering from these French underground superstars of the extreme metal world blows away anything they've done in a long time. The perfect marriage of second wave black metal laid down on "Ultima Thulée" married with the atmospheric perfection of the "Memoria Vestusta" releases but adds the chaotic mind [%*!#]ery of "MoRT. In short, experimental black metal perfection.