EXPERIMENTAL/POST METAL

I must admit I never expected a reformation to happen, but the original quartet are now back with their third album, only ten years on from the last one. I often used to see Brendan playing when he was also a member of Mice on Stilts playing keyboards, but when SoC played live he was on guitar and the band were a much heavier entity altogether and that is very much the case again here. They have again brought in David Rhodes to produce the album, and he is very much in his element with the manic drumming being captured to perfection and clear delineation between the instruments. Although they are a powering metallic entity they are much more than that with Felix using his electric violin to drive melody in a frenetic fashion, a bass which may be tied in with the guitars or moving elsewhere, straight 4/4 or weird time signatures while there are also Middle Eastern influences.

One never knows where the music is going to take us and while it is always incredibly metallic, the prog stylings are there for all to see, and it is difficult in some ways for me to think that the last time I saw Brendan he was in Red Room Studios adding delicate piano to singer/songwriter Lee Martin's latest album. One can only hope that SoC can be get the recognition they s richly deserve outside New Zealand as we are a tiny country at the end of the world and there is no doubt that music as exciting, enthralling and all-encompassing as this needs to be heard very widely indeed.

Juggernaut is a progressive metal band from Rome featuring Luigi Farina, Andrea Carletti, Roberto Cippitelli, and Matteo D'Amicis. They have been around since 2006, and Neuroteque is their third release. While I have only had a cursory review of their first two albums, it was enough for me to discern that Neuroteque is quite a significant leap forward in their sound. They also made the bold move to drop all vocals this time and go full-on instrumental, a choice that I feel works well for them. Their bio on our site says, "Juggernaut plays a cinematic and melodic post-metal and sometimes experimental brand of progressive rock that emphasizes heavy riffing with hints of dark jazz with compositions based off of building tension, suspense and release." That's a good one-line summation that I'll use as a starting point.

First off, everything about the presentation of this album is cool and considered. Unlike the somewhat haphazard feel of the previous stuff, Neuroteque really pulls their vision together into a focused, futuristic-sounding, "thinking man's" post-metal. All of those small details have been given attention, from the cover art and color palette to the cool one-word song titles. Who cares about that stuff? you might be thinking. When you hear the music, I think you'll agree it adds to the enjoyment. Their sound is truly expertly crafted. On paper, a band trying to meld together metal, progressive, fusion, psych/space, post/math rock (and sitar!) into a full-length instrumental album could easily be a disaster if not done with discipline and vision. I think they nailed it. And it was refreshing to hear metal pulled in a futuristic, sci-fi direction without symphonic bombast, excessive density, or other "extreme" tendencies. It was also refreshing to sense a hopeful vibe at times instead of the too-oft dark and foreboding inherent to many metal bands.

The album flies by like one 42-minute suite with seven unique chapters, an exotic listening experience. Traditional metal here feels a barely recognizable presence, just enough heaviness used as a starting reference. From there I hear bits and pieces of Tool and O.R.k. (sans vocals), Thrak era Crimson, Durutti Column, space rock, post-rock, and math rock. But I hesitate to evoke those other bands because this is completely original. For a "metal" band, there is at times a very light touch to their playing: agile, spacey electronic, acoustic, and dreamy sections are offered. The playing creeps around a bit, down long hallways, spidery, trying to create tension before an injection of power and melody rewards you. Hand and non-electric instruments lie at the edges. All genre tags aside, at the end of the day, this is just really great instrumental rock music.

While jazz-fusion bands do it all the time, it's cool to hear a metal band with enough confidence to drop all vocals. I wish more bands would drop vocals, use wordless vocals, or just employ them more sparingly. This album proves you don't need vocals to be compelling. Last but not least, this album has great production and dynamics, pleasing on the ear. Awesome album.

The music itself is sufficiently experimental and unpredictable, with a lot of acoustic guitars, clean singing, a sturdy and "melodically angry" rhythm section, and a lot of programming, effects and ambient soundscapes, which makes 'Ki' equally impressive, dynamic, and controlled. It seems like this album is driven by the gradual release of power, with most of it written in standard C tuning with the exception of just a couple of songs. This album serves as therapy for its creator, and as much as it feels like healing, vulnerable, and angry, it also exudes a musical sophistication that one could get on a Devin Townsend album. Stylistically, we might be speaking of an experimental rock album with a lot of progressive, jazz, blues and grunge influences, all mixed up rather interestingly to give off a Porcupine Tree-ish feel. With its thirteen tracks, there is a lot to unpack here, but with the subtle intensity of the music, 'Ki' remains one of the most unusual and most rewarding listening experiences of this entire catalogue. Powerhouse entries like 'Disruptr', 'Gato', 'Heaven Send' and 'Trainfire' are counterbalanced by the soothing textures of 'Coast', 'Terminal', 'Winter' and the 7-minute title track, all on an album that is nothing short of excellent and mesmerizing.

I think my only nitpick would be that a lot of the riffs don't really stand out too much, they kind of just add more texture. This isn't to say that the music isn't great, it just isn't incredibly iconic. If you played me some of these riffs and told me Opeth wrote it I would probably believe you. Still, I think this doesn't take away from the overall experience at all. It's a crime how underrated these guys are.

9/10

The duo lineup of Svein Egil Hatlevik (vocals, drums, percussion, Keyboards) and Alexander Nordgaren (guitars) is still intact from the last album. Fleurety is helped be several session musicians who perform bass, backing vocals, female vocals, keyboards, and flute.

While the musical direction of "The White Death" can still be labelled avant-garde metal, there is a huge difference between the abstract melancholic/often eerie sounding blackened avant-garde rock/metal style of "The White Death" and the all-over-the-place odd avant-garde metal style of "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs". If you didn´t know it you wouldn´t have guessed that it´s the same band releasing the two albums, but you can of course also add Fleurety´s debut full-length studio album "Min tid skal komme" to that pile as it´s a full-on black metal release, which sounds nothing like either "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" nor "The White Death". So, Fleurity is indeed a shape-shifting creature.

There are a few nods here and there to the band´s black metal past ("Lament of the Optimist" for example features blast beating black metal sections) but "The White Death" is predominantly not a black metal release (a track like "Future Day" for example sounds like a combination of Comus and Dead Can Dance). It´s dark, abstract, and melancholic/eerie sounding avant-garde rock/metal which often consists of just a simple beat, some dissonant guitar riffs/keyboards, and some vocals. Other times there are more musical layers, and it´s definitely an interesting and challenging release. The album is not easily compared to other contemporary releases and Fleurity don´t sound like any other artist either, but artists like Virus, Dødheimsgard, Ved Buens Ende, and Code can maybe at least lead you in the direction of what to expect on "The White Death".

The album features a dusty, raw, organic, and somewhat stripped-down production style, and it suits the material well. To my ears "The White Death" isn´t a perfect release, but it´s much more consistent in style than the eclectic sounding "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs". For avant-garde metal fans eclectic sounding releases usually aren´t an issue and I´m sure there are many who find "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" a more accomplished and challenging affair than "The White Death", but the more consistent and accessible sound of "The White Death" has other qualities, which make it appealing. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

"Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" opens with "Exterminators" and right off the bat it´s audible that Fleurety have completely changed since the black metal days of "Min tid skal komme". If you´re familiar with the musical direction of the "Last-minute Lies" EP, the avant-garde metal style of "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" probably won´t come as a surprise, but if you come to "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" directly from listening to "Min tid skal komme" and expect that "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" will sound anything like the debut album you will as a minimum be very surprised and in some instances (depending on your tastes and open mindedness) very disappointed by the highly experimental and ever changing avant-garde metal style of "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs".

The vocals vary between semi-jazzy female clean vocals, male clean vocals (of many different types), and more aggressive snarling male vocals. In that respect Fleurety have brought back a few of the extreme metal elements they had otherwise left behind on "Last-minute Lies", but other than a few heavy riffs and punchy rhythms here and there and the aggressive raw vocals, there isn´t much here which reveals that only 5 years before Fleurety were a black metal playing unit. It´s fellow contemporary countrymen Ulver, Atrox, and to a lesser extent Manes that Fleurety have something in common with. The bass, guitars, drums, and vocals are complimented by programmed drums and effects, keyboards, and saxophone, making "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" quite the interesting affair in terms of instrumentation.

"Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" features a decent quality production job, but the distorted guitars at times sound a bit powerless. I´m not sure they are meant to be massive and heavy, but it would have been nice with a bit more punch and power when the music occasionally features heavy riffs. Heavy riffs aren´t the dominant musical element of the album though. That´s instead dissonant lead- and (dis)harmony themes, odd jazzy interludes, and all sorts of other weirdness and abrupt musical shifts. To my ears most tracks have a musical red thread, but there are moments where the avant-garde nature of the compositions almost overpower the songwriting and become weird for the sake of it. Upon conclusion "Department of Apocalyptic Affairs" is a bold sophomore studio album from Fleurety. They certainly don´t cater to their original fanbase with this one, but I respect that this was their musical statement at that point in their career. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Confining himself to just eleven standard-length songs, Townsend has allowed himself to craft a cohesive and meticulous album that offers both an energizing and a somewhat nostalgic feel as his more recent albums have been leaning towards this lighter presentation and highlighting texture and nuance more. 'PowerNerd', on the other hand, is absolutely riff-heavy, blasting collection of well-structured songs with memorable, and occasionally anthemic, choruses - definitely some of the most sing-along material on a Devin Townsend album ever. An uplifting album that drags you in through the fast-paced opening track, allowing us to understand just how much Mr Townsend likes petting the cats (among other deeds), after which the album goes through the massive-sounding 'Falling Apart', the heavy rocker 'Knuckledragger', the prog metal hymn that is 'Gratitude' as well as the tricky and intricate heavy number 'Jainism'. 'Ubelia' and 'Glacier' once again bolster that rich and vibrant production style, where each instrument plays a part in the large wash of sound that serves as the song's backbone. Of course, closing track 'Ruby Quaker' should sum up brilliantly what this entire record is all about, that itchy Devin Townsend-ness that has compelled music fans for decades now.

...and listening to "Muuntautuja" it´s understandandable why that is. Oranssi Pazuzu create a blackened psychedelic music journey with heavy nods toward early 70s Krautrock and space rock. Artists like Hawkwind and Can haven´t lived in vain. There´s a lot of slow building repetition on the tracks, which provides an abstract hypnotic effect and the many layers of sounds, instruments, and vocals, give the music depth and longivity. The snarling blackened vocals provide aggression to the music, but there is generally a nice punchy forward drive to the music, although the pace overall isn´t high. The songriting is of a high quality and Oranssi Pazuzu are generally a very creative and adventure seaking band. Although they certainly have a core style, they add little twists here and there, which means a lot to a listener.

"Muuntautuja" features an organic, powerful, raw, and detailed sounding production, which suits the material well. It´s an album for those Oranssi Pazuzu who felt that the band had maybe wandered a bit too far in the more abstract noisy psychedelic rock/space rock direction on the last couple of releases, because "Muuntautuja" is arguably one of the band´s most accessible releases. It´s a bit more advanced than their debut album, but I get some of the same raw drive emotions from this release that I also got from the debut. Upon conclusion "Muuntautuja" is another high quality release from Oranssi Pazuzu, who once again prove that they are one of the most intereresting Finnish artists out there. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Those familiar with the two mentioned Meshuggah albums won´t be surprised with the increasingly angular odd-metered heavy riffs and rhythms, Holdsworthian jazz/fusion guitar solos, and the generally abstract almost avant-garde futuristic take on playing heavy music. It´s the evolution you also hear from the still thrash/groove metal oriented "Destroy, Erase, Improve" to "Chaosphere". The vocals on "Sol Niger Within" are some sort of spoken raw snarling and there are also some spoken word sections featured on the album. Guitars, bass, synths, and vocals are predominantly performed by Thordendal (although the album features quite a few guest performances), while the drums are performed by Swedish drummer Morgan Ågren (Karmakanic, Casualties of Cool, Kaipa, Devin Townsend).

Some tracks feature recognisable structures and some repetition, while others feel very abstract and linear, and "Sol Niger Within" definitely isn´t an easily accessible listen. So, if you find Meshuggah a hard listen, this will probably prove an even more challenging and maybe even difficult listening experience. Even Meshuggah fans may find this a bit too abstract, but when that is said "Sol Niger Within" features a lot of interesting songwriting ideas and moments, and while it ´s certainly an avant-garde metal release, it´s not completely inpenetrable.

As an artistic statement "Sol Niger Within" arguably shows the genius and uniqueness of Thordendal and it´s overall an entertaining, highly experimental, and intriguing listen. As the album often lacks a solid structure or something for the listener to hold on to for very long, it´s as described above a pretty difficult listen though, and as a result it´s probably only an album for a select few open-minded listeners. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).