EXPERIMENTAL/POST METAL

This is the first release of a new three album deal with Code666 and I bet the label are well- pleased with his outing. From atmospheric gentle keyboards and riffs to something far more hellish this really is an album that shows that British BM can be just as unforgiving and dynamic as that from the European mainland. The more one listens to this the more there is to hear, with a simple complexity that is going to gain this band a lot of praise. Evil comes to those who wait and there is a foreboding and presence in this music that contains plenty of that. www.auralmusic.com

'Dividend in Division' opens the EP and is the only track worth of further analysis. It begins with a "techno" sounding keyboard but soon the heavy guitars take over on an experimental/punky riffology on a rather annoying drum-programming sound. However, the vocal melody is fairly decent and saves it from disaster. The techno vibes continue throughout even when a strong (but short) guitar solo kicks in and another proggier section leads it to its conclusion. Although not a complete composition, it entails a couple of interesting ideas.

Tracks 2 to 5 represent what I would call a pointless electronica experimentation with atonal passages and pure programming - even the addition of (any) keyboards would help give this some life. The only exception appears at a couple of minutes in the closing track where a layered guitar melody and a dreamy vocal section accompany the beat with some success. The joy lasts for about only 60 seconds or so...

With a single experimental/electronic-metal track there is not much here to recommend. Conclusion: Avoid or give it a go if you are a fan of such music as the EP is (still) free to download.

There are albums that you hear once, and which you instantly fall in love with. For me, "Undertow" was not one of these. It was a creeper. I had it copied to tape and listened to it in my car on regular rotation, and it didn't strike me as being better or worse than the other things I was listening to, such as Primus or RATM. It was only after several months that I realised other artists would come and go every few weeks - but "Undertow" kept finding its way back into the tape deck, and still sounded great. Moreso, it was actually getting better with every listen.

I bought the CD and it included a special edition live disc as an extra bonus. Many more months went by and it was still the album I craved most. Strange things began happening that I hadn't experienced before. Every month I'd have a new favourite song on the album. First Intolerance. Then 4 Degrees. After about a year of listening it became Flood, a song that was probably their first foray into something proggy.

At that point I realised that, in a very unassuming and gradual way, Tool had become my favourite band. They still are today.

I'm not sure exactly what it is about this album that resonated with me to such a great extent. Most likely, it was an album that was in the right place at the right time. I was a kid still trying to find his place in the world, and many of the themes on the album revolving around anger and frustration certainly spoke to me. They had a cathartic effect and helped me through tough times. Undertow became a convenient pressure valve for me to turn on whenever I felt the need.

The film clips went hand in hand with the music and enhanced the experience further. I remember showing some friends the "Sober" clip and how they recoiled at the odd creatures and themes on display. And how I tried to explain my viewpoint: "Don't you see this guy has been lost and alone for so long, searching and finding nothing, and then when he finally does find something he's incapable of understanding what it means; it's just this ugly, strange creature to him because he has no frame of reference." Suffice to say they didn't share my wonderment at this particular piece of art.

While not really prog, "Undertow" is still an incredible rock/metal album. It's the early beginnings of a band just stretching its muscles, with even greater things in its future.

The first half of the album is very strong. Jambi in particular is a standout. Very much influenced by touring buddies Meshuggah, it features some of Adam Jones' most complex guitar work. The polyrhythms of guitar, bass and percussion intertwine wonderfully and help to keep things interesting for the duration.

The centrepiece of the album is Wings For Marie Pt 1 and Pt 2. Clocking in at over 17 minutes, it's a moody, regretful and cathartic journey. In the earlier "A Perfect Circle" track "Judith", frontman Keenan delivers a scalding, contemptuous appraisal of his mother's religious beliefs in the face of her physical disabilities with lines such as "F$#k your God, he did this, Took what you had and left you this way." Now after her passing, he gives the strong impression that he wishes he could take those words back, praising her patience and her unshakable faith and likening her to an angel. "It's time now, Give me my wings." It's a deep and intimate window into Keenan's soul and thus one of Tool's most powerful moments on any album. Add to this the unbelievable bass playing of Justin Chancellor and it makes for a killer track.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot to like after this. "The Pot" is a great upbeat rock track, just the tonic to follow on from "Wings" and to lift the listener out of that dark and sorrowful moment. But then? The second half of the album is dominated by segues and ambience and all in all seems bereft of ideas. "Rosetta Stoned" is silly and a bit of fun but doesn't provide any lasting appeal. "Intension" sounds like the formative stages of a good song, but doesn't go anywhere. "Right In Two" provides the only substance in the last 40 minutes of the album, but as a song is only average.

This could have been a good, engaging 50 minute album. As it stands, it seems Tool were intent on maintaining the 70 minute plus standard of previous works, but just simply did not have the inspiration to fill it with anything meaningful. The resulting meanderings detract from the album as a whole.

As an addendum I would like to praise the CD packaging, which is very inventive and unique, complete with stereoscopic glasses built into the front cover. It's a great incentive for fans to go out and buy the product rather than just downloading it.

A solid 7/10 but I'll round it down to 3 stars.

Pixillated Sludge Metal That Still Rocks.

At their sixth album, Cult Of Luna once again keep their roots solidly untouched, experimenting more with sound and exploring new sonic territories they'd yet to venture in. 'Vertikal' hasn't pleased all fans because of these reasons, or because it's been thought that these new ideas haven't been developed in a better way. Opinions vary, but in my eyes this is one of the better albums by the Swedish band, and it's good to see that experimentation in Metal bands today is still very embraced.

On this new album, Cult Of Luna take a step forward especially with the sonic decorations, these bursts of electronic layering that in the past were present, excellent, but not essential, are now pretty prominent, and sound quite different as well: the rough production creates these razor-sharp synth pulses that come and go throughout the album, some of them are not at all accompaniments and play a major, if not completely essential role for a track. This peculiarly rough production compliments also the crushing guitars, here more crushing than any other Cult Of Luna LP so far, and that is saying a lot.

But Cult Of Luna have not distanced themselves from their original style enough to not sound like Cult Of Luna: the riffs are overall crafted in the same fashion as their previous compositions, and anyone who has heard their previous work can confirm.

As for the album itself: it's an album that at first feels a little generic and familiar, but with further listens, it reveals a sophistication that was heard only on the band's better albums. Every song has its unique role, and they all do the job done well, some times, excellently. 'I, The Weapon' and 'Synchronicity' are the catchiest and at the same time better structured songs, in spite of the eighteen minute monster 'Vicarious Redemption', which is nicely arranged and structured but doesn't quite justify its length. 'Mute Departure' has nice, heavy moments, 'The Sweep' is an interesting divisive interlude of the album and 'Passing Through' closes everything quite well, a calm, tense piece that ends it all with a suspended note.

'Vertical' is the living proof that Cult Of Luna have not stepped down their game just yet, and are willing meander into new paths and directions, sounding a whole lot more interesting than many Sludge Metal bands today, who merely model a sound that is perhaps too familiar nowadays.

While Anathema did release an album of re-recordings in 2011, 'Weather systems' contains their first collection of new material since 'We're here because we're here' in 2010. The core line up has been pared back a bit since that album, but the personnel remain effectively unchanged, with Jamie Cavanagh having a cameo role and Les Smith's keyboard duties being absorbed by Vincent and Daniel Cavanagh.

Produced by Vincent and Daniel along with Christer-Andr' Cederberg, the emphasis here is on emotion, melody and musicianship. On all three counts, it delivers in the proverbial bucket-loads.

The opening 'Untouchable' is nominally in two parts, but in reality it is an 11+ minute song which opens with acoustic guitar and builds to two wonderful crescendos. If we wish to be picky here, we can get tied up in the 'is it prog?' debate, a discussion which could be had about the album as a whole. The fact is though that regardless of genre, this is a truly magnificent opening piece, charged to the brim with emotion and supreme melody. There is hypnotic repetition at times which swings towards post rock, but the infectious hooks make the track an instant winner aimed at a much wider audience. What is noticeable, especially in part 2, is the more prominent role afforded to (female singer) Lee Douglas that pulls the band even further from the acquired taste nature of their earliest days.

The first of the 'Weather systems' is the distant thunder which introduces 'The Gathering of the Clouds', a semi-acoustic harmony piece which features Spanish style guitar (a bit like that on 'Question' by the Moody Blues). The song merges into the following 'Lightning Song', for me the only weaker section of the entire album. It is not a bad song, just a bit uninspired. Things quickly get back on track though with the fine 'Sunlight', which blends post rock with Coldplay to create a captivating piece which builds throughout.

The nine minute 'The Storm Before the Calm' written by John Douglas is the only song on the album not written by the Cavenagh brothers. Here, the influence of the band's touring partners Porcupine Tree can be detected in the use of guitar driven theatrics and distorted vocals. This is certainly the most obscure and experimental of the tracks on the album, but even here the band retain their discipline throughout the apparent chaos.

'The Beginning Of The End' returns us to the soft melodics that distinguish the album. Once again, the track builds from a quiet beginning through emotion charged vocals to a climactic conclusion. 'The Lost Child' is something of a mini-epic, the underlying piano base supporting a pained vocal and sympathetic arrangement. The album closes with the 9 minute 'Internal Landscapes', a beautiful quasi-classical number which returns us to earth with true grace. The spoken word section is slightly reminiscent of 'Voyage 34' while the vocal section takes us back to the second part of 'Untouchable'.

Overall, another superb album from this great band. While in musical terms Anathema are probably moving into more mainstream territories with each album, there is no denying the strength of the melodies, the musicianship and indeed the the songwriting.

The dark ambient includes as usual some ethnic elements. "Lost In Canyon" has a lazy rhythm made by percussion and some sitar-like sounds, but is guitar driven. Next is "Clochan An Aifir" also known as the Giants Causeway. Don't expect anything celtic apart of a sound similar to a harp. It's a good ambient track, not as dark as usual.

Egypt can not be missed, but Nabta Playa is a very impressive place: imagine a Stonehenge placed in the middle of the desert, some 800Km south from Cairo. Egyptian things are usually darker with Senmuth. This is not different. The electronics have some disco influence but this is not unusual with this project. Anyway the guitar seems to be the dominant instrument in this album.

"Corinth Sundown" is a nice title. If you search the web there's a Sundown ranch in Corinth, Texas,but it's not what this track is about. Corinth was one of the most important Greek cities of the classical age, today famous for its channel. The music is stil dark with a slow tempo and a bunch of electronics to support the guitar.

Typical of South and Central America are the "Tepuis", mountains with a flat head. The "Roraima" is in Venezuela. An impressive landscape which opens to three different nations as it's on the border with Brasil and Guyana. Try tomake justice to this slow ambient track, quite repetitive, by watching at photos of this mountain. It's nice as this music is able to transmit the sense of maestosity of the weird and open landscapes. It's a pity that images can't be pasted on reviews.

On the other side of the world, the Naigu stone forest is in China and the ethnic instruments like I think a Japanese Shakuyaky, make it clear. It's a fusion of the usual dark ambient with Oriental sounds.

The last place to visit in in the Indian Ocean, southwest to Yemen. Socotra is part of an archipelagous of four islands and is full of legends. One says that local sorcerers were able to make the whole island invisible. The music is evocative of secret rituals and sorcery and this is the best album's track IMO.

Sitar opens the last track which should summarize the album's subjects. It's the only track which have some of the sudden pitch changes that I dislike most in Senmuth's music, the only one with some metal elements but also with some operatic vocals. It has the ethnic interludes, but all those things are in some way mitigated and the effect is still of a dark ambient track. It deserves some attantion.

I like the ambient side of Senmuth. I'm approaching all his albums sequentially and up to this album I can say that this is his best release of 2012.

Here we're greeted with a gorgeous violin sound, and as the percussion builds up, the same melody undergoes a metamorphosis into a thumping rock riff. This track combines the melodic and rock aspects brilliantly, and is one of the feature songs on the album.

Things get even better with "Lost Control". That haunting piano is back, along with a brooding bassline with a very effective syncopated meter. Once again the lyrics only add to the tone. "Yes, I am falling... how much longer 'till I hit the ground?" The coup de gras is the gorgeous acoustic guitar lead break. The violin also adds stunning texture over the top of power chords in the songs outtro. Without doubt my favourite track on the album.

The title track "Alternative 4" features another great build-up, leading to some of the heavier moments on the album. Much of the song is measured, brooding, with a great sense of tension. It feels as though it's about to explode at any moment. It never does quite pay off the way one might hope, but is still a very good track. Then at about the 6 minute mark there is what I would call a curious production moment. The power chords kick in again after more brooding, and it sounds as though the song is about to take us somewhere else. And then? A rather sharp fade to silence. It's almost as if someone in the control room made the snap decision to pull the master fader down while the song was still unresolved. Obviously it's an intentional decision, but to me it's a strange one.

"Regret" is a lovely acoustic number. The haunting, sorrowful theme of the album is sustained with lyrics such as "Sometimes I remember all the pain that I have seen." After a few minutes the tempo picks up and distorted guitar joins the fray, but that sense of sorrow and loss remains.

"Feel" features the solemn sounds of an organ with a nice acoustic riff over the top. The power chords return for the chorus, as with many of the tracks before. These dominate the final half of the track as it fades to silence. This segues nicely into the album closer, "Destiny", a short but gorgeous track that induces a feel of weightlessness and release.

This is a beautifully melancholic album full of great moments from Anathema and certainly one of their best.

This album opens up with "Stones of October Sobbing" a song that may seem odd to some, but in reality is great. Stones of October Sobbing begins with a mellow flute and guitar playing, and eventually leads to more riffs and infamous death growls (using "infamous" in a good manner). In the midst of this chaos, trumpets sing a tune that sounds, very oddly, like Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". In text, you might be confused as to why I'd say this song is good, but I suggest for you to listen to it for yourself.

Following Stones, "Gleam in Ranks" rises from the ashes. This song is upbeat and catchy. It has strong guitar riffs, powerful vocals, and fast drumming all packed in about 4:00.

"Bizarre Flowers/ A Violent Midst" has a haunting tone to it. Starting with ringing bells and soft vocals, the song then blasts into a... "violent midst" you could say. With a distorted guitar ringing in the background, you can hear untamed and unclear screams in the background. It then comes back to Byron's death growls, a catchy solo, and ends with quiet, and yet again, "haunting" vocals.

"(Interlude 3)" is mostly an acoustic guitar piece, to prepare you for the next set of tracks.

"A Curve That To An Angle Turn'd" begins with a folksy guitar riff. But not long after, the song immediately explodes into a slow, heavy doom metal piece, with more death growls dominating the music. Then, we come to a part with sad guitar chords and vocals from Maria-Stela Fountoulakis.

But then it all leads to the song "Sleep is a Curse" Much like "Marid's Gift of Art" from their previous release, "Bath", Sleep is a Curse is an acoustic piece that rests you from the previous chaotic tracks.

"Riseth the Numberless" is a 2 part song with good use of distorted keyboards. It is a rather simple song, and has strong relations to progressive metal.

"(Interlude 4), like 3, is a simple acoustic piece, only this time used to lead to the album finale.

"Monstrously Low Tide" opens with a strong, heavy riff, but as unexpected, tunes down to mellow piano and acoustic guitar riffs. It floats to the end like a raft in water with ambient (I guess you could use that word) guitar riffs. This song is almost like a peek into Kayo Dot, what Toby Driver is soon to become.

My suggestion is that you should definitely get this album. When i say essential, I mean this album is essential entirely to avante garde metal and rock, which is why i give this a 4 star rating. Again, that still doesnt mean this album shouldn't be heard by a plentiful amount of prog fans. But, this album is definitely essential to avante garde music and all who enjoy it.

A Rock Solid Shell.

After the success of 'Somewhere Along The Highway' Cult Of Luna come up with 'Eternal Kingdom' two years later, an album that was inevitably anticipated because of its predecessor, and unfortunately inferior in quality. More straightforward and much less atmospheric than their previous two albums, this is an LP focused mostly on songwriting and musicianship, which, although always right on spot, was never an especially highlighted characteristic in Cult Of Luna's music. Because these musicians have talent, the second quality works fabulously, leading to an interplay between group members that was not heard before by them, because of how they've now gained much more experience in working with each other. The song-writing, however, is relying less on emotion, more on logic. In other words, 'Eternal Kingdom' has a lot less heart than other Cult Of Luna albums, even though there's not really a bad song here.