Mindahead - Reflections (2016)

Formed from former members of Evergaze Eternity, Hellrage, Athena, Exsecror and more, Italy's Mindahead prove that they are a bit more than anyone ever expected. Mixing together seventies prog landscapes with pounding metal and the Lacuna Coil style gothic metal approach is something quite new, especially with the fact that these guys are also willing to experiment and incorporate bombastic solos in areas where acts like Lacuna Coil, Theatre of Tragedy and Theatres Des Vampires wouldn't have even given them a second thought. Now it does have some modern core elements within Francesco Novelli's harsh vocal approach which could be a turn-off to some, but shouldn't really be as the band can actually save face due to their incredible approach to musicality. If you were looking for an artier approach to the gothic metal/hard gothic rock style that we've hard so much of in these days, you might just find it here. Now they're no Ram-Zet, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. To be fair, Novelli also attempts some unusual vocal styles aside from his Trivium influenced crap, which also adds to the building blocks here. A female vocalist is also featured quite a bit through the album in the form of Kyo Calati, but she doesn't necessarily have the microphone ninety-percent of the time, which is refreshing. In other words, Mindahead aren't trying to sell this band on female vocals and attractive eye-candy like so many of their peers, but overall skill – which they have tenfold.

Some of these songs are quite long folks, even ranging into the seven, eight and ten minute marks. You're not getting a bunch of “quick to the chorus” numbers here, and instead are being challenged to listen to full-fledged music tracks with a great deal of depth and texture. This is definitely due to the Matteo Ferrigno's (any relation to Lou?) carefully calculated drumming as well as the dual-guitar tag team of Nicola D'Alessio and Guido Scibetta, which combined work to create a chemistry that listeners will notice right from the start. If the overall riff and lead structures (even though I'll admit that the band throw into down-tune probably more than they should) don't work for you, then the instrumental sections and solo moments will definitely sell you on this band. You're not getting Lacuna Coil, you're not getting Dream Theater and you're not getting Trivium either. It's something sort of halfway between all of those mainstay acts and it has the possibility of becoming even better in the future.

There's an hour of music to challenge your mind here, and it most certainly will. As I have stated, there's definitely room for improvement, but with such a tremendous leap at the debut level as I'm offered here, I can't honestly see much. I can almost say without being challenged that nearly eighty percent of bands in this industry do not offer this much at a debut level. Reflections is a record that certainly requires several listens to understand, just like I remember when I was a teenager enthralled by Ram-Zet's Escape. I didn't know a record like that could possibly exist and that's just one reason I'm really excited about this band as well. Even though the band are considered progressive, they definitely incorporate slight elements that I would almost consider avant-garde, and the electronic sections utilized within some of the pieces help just as much as those of a purely atmospheric nature. I haven't heard this kind of music done this well in quite a long time, so I certainly recommend checking out Mindahead. This is the kind of music that works it's way out of the box and goes every which way but loose in order to create something that is truly worthy of the term “art.”

(11 Tracks, 61:00)

8/10

Aenaon - Hypnosophy (2016)

This record doesn't come out until Thanksgiving (November 25th) and that feels fitting as it is certainly something to be thankful for. Really thankful for. As in, we're about to replace the lighthouse wallpaper and by the time you read this, we'll already have a new background. So is this a ten, then? Is that what you're saying? You're damn right it is. But first let me explain a little bit about why that is. As far as Aenaon is concerned, The Grim Lord is no stranger to them as I believe we gave their last record Extance another unbelievably high score. So has lightning struck twice? Well, you already know it has and I'm just as amazed as you are. This Grecian combination of Arcturus and Sigh is just un-fucking-real, folks. There's nothing at all quite like it, and it only becomes grander as you continue through the record.

The soundscapes that these gentlemen create are nothing short of fantastic, which give us a record that not only traverses black metal, but several types of music in general. We will definitely hear massive amounts of horns, saxophones and powerful keyboard sections which remind me of all things, the mighty Sigh. The clean vocals and synth pieces also help to remind me of Arcturus, covering both their earlier days and their more bombastic periods. We could also mention Emperor/Ihsahn, Enslaved, Ved Buens Ende, Dodheimsgard and several others throughout the history of the genre – it's all here, folks. Hypnosophy isn't just a great album, it reminds me why it is that I love music in the first place.

That being said, let's talk about what the album does aside from pomp – it actually offers black metal. Huge, hefty mounds of it. Blasts still roar from the kit, harsh vocals still emanate from the mouth of the frontman and even if cleans are being used, we still manage to get that loathsome scowl that brings us face-forward into extreme music to begin with. Now there are some female vocals on this record in certain areas, but I don't feel that these gentlemen are shouldering their way into becoming a female fronted act with these pieces. They are just there simply because the guys felt that a female vocalist belonged on areas of the album. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with that. We should embrace these sorts of decisions and allow artists to make the kind of music that they wish to make. Even though these fine gentlemen are signed to a label like Code 666, I really can't imagine those guys pushing the band in one diection or the other. Obviously these men are tremendously talented in their own right and there's no real reason to tell them what to do, or how to make an album. They've already got that pretty much downpact.

Again, Hypnosophy is still black metal (I have to stress that) and it is still rife with familiar tremolos, but there is just so much more here to explore. The solos alone are outrageous and that includes far more than what is done on the guitar. I can sense that some people might feel there is too much going on in this record for them and that's understandable. Some people just aren't open-minded enough for such brilliance, where music become more than music – it becomes art. I'm even reminded of extremely experimental acts like Estradasphere on this one, which just makes it all the more exciting. In all of the boring black metal acts I hear these days that are just playing the same thing over and over, it's good to hear such a refreshing hurricane of sound and style like this.

The record itself is only about ten minutes less than their last (which still rounds out to an hour) but so much is done within that time period that the hour often passes by without you realizing it. It's just such a good record with a memorable atmosphere that you'll get wrapped up in it. It'll take you away to a realm by which you'll enjoy any task that you're doing while listening to it. I'd recommend soaking it in alone, but if you'd like to play it while doing housework or while playing a game, possibly even while reading or writing – that would work as well. These guys just set up such a wonderful sort of aura with their music that really seems to put an already fantastic metal scene further on the map.

I recently discovered a copy of Metal Hammer Greece's A Tribute To Iron Maiden's Somewhere In Time buried out in the backyard and realized that there were just so many mind-boggling covers of what was already a classic album to begin with on it. Every single band listed was a Grecian act, which blew me away even further. What in the hell is going on in the Greek metal and rock scene? There are some real heavyweights over there and I'm not even going to mince words. We already know that acts like SepticFlesh and Rotting Christ are fantastic, but just from what I heard on that little sampler it soon became apparent to me that we've heard nothing yet.

So another new year, another good Aenaeon record. You know, I'd personally have to chalk Hypnosophy up as being one of the best moments of my year, even though it's been a decidedly shitty one all-around. It feels like this record is treasure chest full of gold and jewels, but is placed high on the top of a steaming mountain of manure. We all know that 2016 wasn't exactly a great time to be on Earth, but this record certainly seems to soften the blow. After you're done with Thanksgiving dinner, go down to the nearest record shop and pick up this one. Or go online and order it from your favorite retailer.

The disc is only seven euros and while The Grim Lord isn't really happy about having to buy a twenty-four euro special vinyl version for a bonus disc with six more tracks (Holy shit, there's six more songs here! What else did they do? That's like a full album) on accompanying CD (yeah, you read that right) there is actually more than enough material here to satiate you without having to pick up that version. (Kind of upset that the CD version doesn't have the bonus tracks either – why not? They might be great!)

Regardless of another awful maketing scheme, this is still a wonderful record and I'm serious – it's good enough that you actually don't need all that bonus stuff to check it out. Even so, the special edition vinyl version limited to ninety-six copies actually is pretty cheap (it's $26 USD – the price that the metal shop around here used to charge for one disc before it was shutdown) compared to what other bands charge for similar, and arguably the music here is far better than bands with special edition boxes that you've already purchased this year, so go for it if you have the money.  Make this purchase your last big one of the year.

Aenaon's Hypnosophy is definitely worth it for fans of experimental and avant-garde black metal everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. The Grim Tower highly recommends Aenaon's Hypnosophy and it's my favorite album of the year. I'd recommend it to anyone.

(7 Tracks, 55:00)

10/10

Misanthropic Rage - Qualia (2016)

A two-piece avant black metal act from Poland, there's certainly something worth chronicling here on the act's debut EP which is as textured and odd as you might expect. The title cut actually appears first and nearly encroaches on twenty minutes of great, pulse-pounding music that takes the listener on a journey through the bleak unknown. The drumming and the guitar compositions on the piece aren't always quite so stable and we're not really quite sure as to where the vocals will end up either. We do hear scowls and horrific shouts, but sometimes a cleaner and slightly spoken-word vocal approach is also utilized. These gentlemen are also no strangers to the keyboard nor the use of subtle background choirs. Qualia seems like the kind of record where the musicians made it up as they went along, but that to me is a wonderful way of composing music that doesn't have a set boundary or style in which it must be played. Even death growls could appear in the piece, which can change drastically from a cool glass of water to the blazing mass of volcanic magma that buried Pompeii. As a whole, this piece really tells the listener all that they need to know about such an interesting and adroitly composed piece as I'm currently experiencing. There is far more to it than this, like the more vicious and straight-forward approach of “Katharsis” (which is recommended to fans of more common black metal approaches over the title cut) which in itself contains a fantastic solo, but it only feels like a side-note to the title piece, depending on how you like your poison. Additionally, a cover of Satyricon's “KING” is included, but the timing is off slightly on the vocals and that irks me. That being said, such a song is pretty tough to record in keeping with the disco-black metal style. I could do without that piece in particular, but these guys have already offered more than fifteen minutes of astounding possibility. That's good enough for me.

(3 Tracks, 25:00)

8/10

Neolunar - Neolunar (2016)

Neolunar is yet another solo project from mastermind Tamás Kátai, the man behind Thy Catafalque (and by the looks of it, he has a lot of time on his hands as of late) as well as his namesake project (I reviewed the latest album, Slower Structures just a couple of posts down from this one if you're curious.) Like much of Kátai's work, Neolunar doesn't resemble anything from Thy Catafalque (no black metal bits) or the namesake (no visual novel friendly soundscapes.) Instead, we get something completely different, yet still worth our ears. Ironically, the performance here seems to flow more with my “robot” ears than my “metal” ones and equals out to something that I could only describe as a little bit John Carpenter, a little bit spatial and possibly even a bit Goth/darkwave with a dash of folk. Kátai has a surprisingly dark voice, which I'm almost comparing a little to Oscar Herrera of Black Tape For A Blue Girl. The material here seems to communicate a cyberpunk landscape with neon colors and electric lights and I'd highly recommend it to fans of the synthwave or retro-wave movement that is becoming increasingly popular for some unknown reason with many metalheads, as well as myself. There are even small bits of guitar influence on the record aside from the crystalline synths that the listener will experience, showing once again that Kátai is influenced by an immense amount of music and seems to reflect those influences quite well in this, as well as in his other respective projects. Keep in mind that acts like Pertubator and Gost are being thrown around quite a bit these days, and even John Carpenter himself has been known to perform in shows that mostly feature metal acts. Some odd metamorphosis is happening to the genre and I'm still not sure what it is.

As far as vocals are concerned, not all of them work for me. But that's the only real negative critique I have for a piece that is so instrumentally sound as this one. As we can expect, there isn't just one tone or variety of music, as the ferocious saxophone work of David-John Baptiste and Cat Purchase showcases. We also get a little bit of violin from Dimitris Papageorgiou, which decorates the album a little when it is utilized. I'd also say that there's definitely a mid-era Ulver influence in “A város/The City” as well as a bit of post-rock flair (think Killing Joke) in “Haar.” Though the interesting thing about Neolunar is in it's almost folk-like vocal composition, which is decidedly different from anything we might have expected from this kind of music. I'm actually getting slight vocal references to another Ulver album here, an early release by the name of Kveldssanger (1996) which as you also might expect, is a bit of an odd fit with the bubbly electronic compositions that make up this recording. As I said, it doesn't always work; but Neolunar is a such a strong project on it's own that vocal sections aren't even truly necessary, let alone worth complaint. As with much of Kátai's work as of late, Neolunar seems built upon atmopshere and that is what this record offers. It's not comparable to anything that I've heard from Thy Catafalque (some parts are just far more dance influenced than anything they'd release) nor the namesake (it's not nearly as quiet, and a little more jazzy) and stands on it's own as yet another solid project. The cover art for the disc is a little peculiar, (it features what appears to be a woman on a bus at the subway station, along with some mist) but when the record itself is described as “music for the city, the night, the sleep” then I think that this kind of obscure artwork really seems to capture that experience best. I'm going to bring up mid-era Ulver one more time here, as Neolunar almost feels like a spritual successor to Perdition City (2000) albeit with a bit of a different direction taken. It's not quite as dark as the former and even seems to capture what might be some of the brighter moments within the concrete jungle that we humans have collectively forged together to call a home. I suppose many ages from now (or perhaps a bit sooner, judging from current events) when the human race has extinguished the last of it's flame, another species from far out in the galaxy might be able to visualize the lights and stone boxes in which we lived, merely by the playing of this circular disc. I do believe that there will be several other circular discs that they'll discover as well as several other media items of varying importance, but at least it shows that we were quite an inventive lot. It's quite interesting to note that we were one of the few species (at least to our knowledge) to record our experiences in the form of circular discs, possibly preserving them for countless ages to come. Neolunar is one such experience that seems to capture the city in all of it's night-time essence.

(10 Tracks, 41:00)

8/10

Schammasch - Triangle (2016)

Swiss avantgarde black metallers Schammasch have returned with their third full length, which actually comes packed with three discs this time around, making me think that the next release will have four and the one after five. I say this because the band's first album was just one disc, with the sophomore being two and this one being as I've stated. There are some of you that may have seen these guys get rather upset with me last time in the form of a comment on our domain site, but that was removed by some means of which I am not sure (and certainly did not ask for.) This is because I was quite an inflamed conspiracy nut back then and had tied much of this to the mysterious conspiratorial buzzword “Illuminati.” These days I hold a slightly different worldview and understand the occult nature of this act a bit differently. Some acts do the whole occult thing for an image, but these guys are very deep into it and I have no idea how far that goes into the private lives. In any case, Schammasch is something of a ritual and that's quite clearly seen here. Just in the first ten minutes of this listen I'm definitely getting that French occult black metal feel, albeit with obvious Behemoth-influenced death metal drumming and an approach that doesn't come off as a scowl, but a bit of an angered roar. Chris S.R. (ex-Totenwinter) handles the vocals and guitars, reminding me a lot of Nergal albeit with a very dark croon that sounds like it could find a place in Tiamat or Type O Negative. The minute I heard this vocal touch first used, I noticed an evolution in the band and I hope that maybe these guys will veer off into a little bit of Goth rock as he definitely has the voice for it. “In Dialogue With Death” is the main track to where this really comes right out to me and shows that the act have a lot more promise to be had than what was merely showcased on Contradiction.

Since there are three discs here, we will obviously talk a little about each of them and I've already delved a bit into the heaviest disc first, as that's the one that metal fans will want to hear. But is this completely metal, or is it something else? There's obviously a lot of weight here, as well as a great deal of brackish firepower, but the fact of the matter is that these gentlemen are crafting multi-layered songs and are more concerned with creating art than just music. Yes, you'll bang your head, but you'll find the listen fascinating as well. It almost begins to feel like one song, as M.A.'s solo piece on “Diluculum” sounds like it belongs tied with “In Dialogue With Death.” Don't expect much from the first disc, because it is only about EP length, but that's not a real issue as there's enough meat here to sell the Deathspell Omega worship and vere away from the slight core influences by which this band have almost completely shed. If you heard any core on that first disc, please let me know as I surely didn't and I think the band are much better for it. In other words, if you've put these guys aside for awhile because of their other works, it might now be time to pick them up. Prosthetic have dealt with a lot of core acts in the past, I am aware of their past just as much as the rest of you – but please believe me when I say that the label are transcending their core worship and have really cemented that with Schammasch. In just a little more than thirty minutes, these guys have offered a lot more depth than what I get from similar occult acts, which I feel makes them well worth checking out merely from the first part of the listen.

The second disc here takes us down a much different path and lends more into ritualism. Aside from some droning doom riffs, “The World Destroyed By Water” even features some unexpected industrial elements that I didn't notice the first time around. Boris A.W. (Cold Cell) does occasionally kick up the drums a little, but the listen almost brings us into something not unlike a more metallic Dead Can Dance. “Satori” is a ritual, which is apparent from the second I listen to it. It features a mantra which is repeated nearly in a fashion similar to Gregorian chants. That becomes even further relevant when the music is removed completely, leaving only Chris's vocals as the focal point. It almost becomes meditative at this point, even though we haven't even gotten to the real meditation. “Metanoia” is probably one of my favorite songs on the album, wherein a clean vocal fronts a blasting drum kit. Chris has the vocals to do this perfectly, and it feels pretty goddamned surreal. Chris and M.A. (Blutmond) truly deliver here, as these melodies really help to broaden and expand these powerfully ritualistic pieces even more. It's not just here, if you've noticed – they've been working very hard to turn the guitar into something of an ethereal instrument by which more than metal can be observed. If we continue to observe the former, we'll find that it has almost gone completely into synths, which feel deep and yes, meditative. Yet again, we haven't even reached the meditation yet. Next we have “Above The Stars Of God” which begins with a rock influenced guitar solo section that doesn't even sound a bit like black metal, and I can honestly say that I accept that wholeheartedly. I like the melody that M.A. plays with here while the vocal chants are being utilized, and it's quite catchy save for the fact that it ends and become a very difficult to hear series of spoken word sections. Maybe they went a bit too far here? In any case, the final vocal moment of the piece is uttered in a short acoustic piece called “Conclusion.” Spoken word decorates this, but no catchy clean vocal sections. Instead we're brought some very powerful leads and solos by which are a good note to end the experience.

Though we're not finished yet, as one more disc remains in this listen. This, is the meditation. Do not expect to hear any fiery guitars, blastic drums, vocals or metal on this one. It's a atmospheric meditation by which some metal fans will either love or loathe, depending on their tastes. You must leave your elitism at the door if you choose to traverse this record, as it's very much like the material I cover from Malignant Records (who just sent me two records in the mail today, as a matter of fact.) Most of the tracks here will either feature industrial synths or tribal chants with both male and female vocals. I am not sure if any of any of the band members are chanting here, but I can assure you that nothing here is metal, though it is highly deep meditative trance that fans of Dead Can Dance's more upbeat material will love. It's the kind of tribal atmopshere that you can dance to when things aren't quite so droning and cold, mixing two different soundscapes together in a very weird and difficult to understand manner. We do hear some electric guitar and Chris's vocals on album closer “Empyrean” which comes with a spoken vocal section and an ending chant that I feel I can discern much easier. It's quite deep, very spiritual and may put some people off – but that's fine, as not all art is meant for all ears. I quite enjoy it and I feel that you will too. The riff melodies are nothing special, they are meant as mantric as the trance and it's more about creating a soundscape in which to escape, rather than a catchy little song that you can raise your fist to. I don't feel that anything here will really come across in that fashion, as Schammasch have never been that kind of band. The lyrics here are very personal, transformational and without a doubt, ritualistic in a way that you only have to hear to believe. I feel that Triangle is a big step over Contradiction, and feel that whatever these gentlemen deliver in the future after this one will be by and large different. I feel that I'm ready for anything else that Schammasch will have to offer and would definitely consider it one of the best releases of the year. The listener gets three sides of the band, one of which no one ever saw coming. That's worth your hard-earned money, folks.

(16 Tracks, 103:00)

9/10

Entropia - Ufonaut (2016)

Of the several acts with the name Entropia out there, (I found about seven on Metal Archives) this Polish five-piece creates a style of music that is considered “black/sludge/post” even though I'd certainly throw in experimental and electronic. With the exception of guitarist Kuba Colta, these guys have been together since the very beginnings back in 2007. Most interestingly about the band is their use of both a keyboardist (Damian Dudek) as well as a sampler (Michal Dziedzic) that makes for a pretty interesting mix of progressive sludge riffs and slightly spacial electronic elements. Sometimes the bass (Marek Cenkar) and strong drumming (Patryk Budzowski) can completely drown out the electronic elements, but that's to be expected with a sound as thick as the one I'm witnessing here. Entropia utilize vocals (Cenkar and Dziedzic) but they're often not necessary as this is the kind of record that is so textually superior that it doesn't even need working verses or a chorus. Ufonaut is an experiment in the very sense of the word, it is an atmosphere and it draws you in fairly quickly from it's out of the box and rather bizarre approach to something that I can't even call black metal. Other than Budzowski's occasional use of blast beats, there's very little here that I can even consider to be black metal – at all. I mean, if you're hearing black metal in some areas, that's fine; but I feel that with this release the act have become something far more than just black metal. There are very few acts that I just want to sit down and enjoy on a musical level like these gentlemen have delivered, and even if some of the leads and electronic bits have a rough time peering out from the thick sludge of it all, I still want to open my ears up to what I can discern as a rather potent and memorable sound. Why no one else really gave a damn about this one, I'll never know. I guess there were other things going on in January, like best of lists and whatnot.

That being said, anyone who purchases this record is in for a trip. It might sound cruel that I could literally care less about the vocal or lyrical element of this album, but I just consider Cenkar's screams to be part of the music and they don't have any bearing on the rest of the performance. Even when these guys utilize djent riffs I don't feel that I mind, because they're actually using the riffs in a style that focuses on more than just those damn riffs. Again, I feel that these guys have a few mixing issues but it could very well be my laptop speakers and you might be able to discern other things on your first listen. Ufonaut is definitely the kind of listen that I'd want to experience more than once, and at forty-three minutes you're not really devoting an awful lot of your time to it. Just don't go expecting anything familiar in terms of classic black metal and you'll be alright. I did hear some tremolos here and there and felt some nihilism in the vocals, but I wouldn't compare this to anyone else out there in the black metal scene. With some exceptions, I still stand behind my earlier observations and feel that it is very hard to consider an act like Entropia to be black metal unless they're trying very hard for that style. It's a shame that this one had to wait for so long, but I mean to cover as many of the older releases that stood out as I can. It's quite obvious that Entropia did and I'm really not in a hurry for them to release another one. They don't really have anything else that they need to prove after this sophomore and I think you'll agree that the material here on Ufonaut is good enough. Entropia are a good band and this a good album. That's a pretty simplistic description, but the album itself is most certainly not. Please give it a listen and experience it for yourself. I really hope that this one isn't too hard to find, considering that there are so many bands with similar monikers. Perhaps these Polish mad scientists will one day become the definitive version of that moniker, as this record definitely feels promising enough for them to do so.

(7 Tracks, 43:00)

8/10

Ihsahn - Arktis. (2016)

Well, old Ihsahn is back with a brand new disc full of old man metal for old man ears. Fortunately, I'm getting a bit older myself and feel that I can appreciate these old man tunes just as much as the artist who wrote them. All kidding aside, I think that Ihsahn fans are going to be very pleased with what I felt as of the first listen, was an absolutely memorable record. Some have said that it is a very proggy album and I can attest to that, but what we've really got here is a much fiercer sounding recording, which is quite a bit different from the nearly commercial effort that we received with the artist's previous record, Das Seelenbrechen. It is also worth noticing that Arktis, like many of Ihsahn's first few solo outings, starts with an “A.” We have Adversary, angL, After and now Arktis continuing that fashion, and almost feeling like it belongs with those albums, because indeed it does. Arktis does have the black metal of Adversary, the experimentalism of angL and the watercolour soundscapes present in After. Yet it has so much more than just that, as I will full detail for you. I love going through massive releases in a song by song fashion, allowing me to re-explore the record and produce my finds for you in a very authentic way that feels a bit more intimate than the short paragraph summary of a record.

(We will be removing the period at the end of Arktis here, because it makes my word processing program go berserk as it wants to capitalize after every period in place. Maybe he shouldn't use punctuation at the end of an album title next time, even though I have a funny feeling that he did it just to screw with journalists and reviewers.)

The first song here is “Disassembled” which has an obvious progressive rock nature to it, coupled with Ihsahn's surprisingly harsh vocal nodes, which you certainly don't expect to come biting your ears off in the very beginning. Additionally we have the clean tones of Leprous frontman Einar Solberg, who definitely takes the song in a more accessible direction. Ultimately it makes for a truly pulse-pounding chorus, which I think is the strong point here. Next we have Matt Heafy guesting on “Mass Darkness” which first starts out with a very classic sounding metal lead, until it rolls into some interesting progressive and harsh vocal territory. The song kicks up and carries with it a thrashing nature, which pounds into one of Heafy's patented solos. This is very different territory for Ihsahn, but it definitely works. “My Heart Is Of The North” comes off as extreme-tinged progressive metal, with more of that familiar harsh vocal tone, until... wait! We have a rather unexpected atmosphere section where Ihsahn rolls out some clean lines and then toys with some Opeth as thundering riffs and frantic keyboards remind us of completely of the seventies. “South Winds” takes a bit turn from the previous material, as electronics compose a great deal of the piece, with After influenced clean prog leads backing an After styled clean vocal chorus. As I said, the electronics stay in place throughout the whole song, but the clean leads proliferate through the piece, ultimately becoming a bit of a thicker, yet slightly Rush inspired sort of extreme metal mixture. It's definitely something different, and certainly not everyone will get it. But these kinds of experiments are just another reason why I have a lot of respect for this project. Next we have another experiment in “In The Vaults” which starts a bit peculiarly, but the piece eventually finds it's strength in a mixture of clean lines, clean leads and vocal harmonizing that sometimes duets with the familiar harsh notions already pervasive throughout most of this record. On second listen I don't find this one as memorable, but it's certainly not entirely forgettable either.

Moving onto the second half of the recording, we have “Until I Too Dissolve” which starts out as an electronic piece and moves into AOR territory. Yes, you heard me. Ihsahn put on a fake wig for this one and pretended to be a member of Ratt or Whitesnake for a while. There are still some scowls on the piece (surprisingly) even though it mostly uses clean vocals (and trust me folks, he's really going full eighties with these, almost rolling right into falsettos) which comes off a bit interesting to me, even though some will obviously wonder what the hell is going on here. I have a feeling that something like this could work well on the stage, but I'm not sure if Ihsahn still tours with this project. I don't believe that he does. “Pressure” comes next, as the longest track on the album (minus the bonus, which we'll mention a bit later) and a progressive freakout if there ever was one. There is an obvious orchestral influence here, which serves to bring an already extreme prog track into an even more pompous level of grandiosity, but it seems to work wonders for what might come off as one of the disc's most weighty moments especially for those who miss the kind of black metal that this guy used to make. “Frail” comes directly afterwords as the disc's shortest track. It mixes electronics in with harsh vocals and some very light acoustic nodes. It has a bouncy nature that allows for keyboard explosions and occasional grooves, picking up on one of the disc's few solos. Thankfully, it is a very tasteful solo and shows that what we heard from Heafy was great, but Ihsahn still can write and play just as well as he's always been able to. The catchy vocal chorus here also works well as an earworm, just as we'd expect with Ihsahn discs as of late. Next we have a much more romantic side of Ihsahn, called “Crooked Red Line” which features the saxy tones of Jorgen Munkeby who plays the sax for Leprous. Ihsahn doesn't really use the harsh vocals much in the beginning of this noir-esque piece, but later rolls right into them as Munkeby plays the saxophone like his life depends on it. With such crisp acoustic riffs and comfy drumming over on the kit, the song takes a very calm approach, sans it's hefty climax. “Celestial Violence” is the disc's closing moment and delivers a surprisingly heavy moment to end this excursion. The song begins on a lighter note, but becomes increasingly heavy to allow for well-placed scowls in addition to Solberg's clean guest vocals. He provided cleans at the beginning of the record, and provides them at the end as well. Quite fitting, I feel. There's a section to which Solberg truly gives it his all, just like on the last Leprous record, The Congregation (did you hear it? We loved it here at the Tower) as the track soon becomes a harsh/light duet between the two, in a refrain that truly shows the best of both vocalists.

There's no better way to end it than this, which is why we didn't really need the album's bonus track (which is only available on the limited edition) “Til For Ulven.” Now, I know what you're thinking – that title is in Norwegian, so surely this is a return to his black metal work for the fans, right? Wrong. “Til For Ulven” is a painfully boring attempt at a soundscape and spoken word that I think you'll only really be able to understand if you can understand the Norwegian language. Perhaps the scribes at Metal Archives took the time to translate it, but to me it just sounds like an old man reading some old book, accompanied by piano. He might as well be reading the phone book over there, as I'm quite bored to tears and you will be as well. Even when the metal and harsh vocals come in, it's already too late because we've had to sit through that old man reading for seven minutes. Plus, it's just a repeating riff that feels kind of tacked on. We didn't really need any of whatever this is supposed to be and on the second listen, I'm still not quite enthralled by it. If he's going to make a soundscape, he needs to make a soundscape - not this. I'm actually pretty shocked that such a track would be offered as a special limited edition bonus and wouldn't recommend getting the special edition for it, especially if it costs more than the regular edition of the album. This little experiment is not worth more of your hard-earned money than the original record, which is ultimately a good experience in all of it's experimental and out of the box nature.

On this second listen, I'm re-evaluating the above opinion a bit and I'll say that I don't consider Arktis an absolutely phenomenal record as I had on the first listen. That being said, it's still a very pleasing experience and well worth the listen. It's much heavier in some instances, albeit weirder in others and you just have to be ready for anything. Ihsahn pulls a lot of punches and you never really know what you're going to get from song to song or even what some songs will evolve into. It's definitely an experiment in music theory in general, which may prove far too much for some listeners. I have a good feeling that some of you will have no idea as to what in the hell is actually going on here, and that's fine. If you're one of those that can't stand paint being thrown on a canvas, although at times very beautiful and quite intriguing, you may want to pass. For those who are up for this adventure however, it's definitely going to be everything that you expected and then some.

(11 Tracks, 58:00 – 10 Tracks, 49:00 on original)

8/10

Black Sleep - The Whales Of The Grey Sea (2016)

Black Sleep are one of the most interesting new bands that I've heard in years. Why I say that, is because they've mixed together two styles of music that you just wouldn't think would ever worked. Quite simply, this EP sounds like Arcturus if they had a run-in with the groove metal of Fear Factory. You can obviously hear both influences in the music, and it's admittedly very odd – but oddly catchy as well. They're a four-piece from out of Finland, and this is obviously their debut release even though it's short enough to be placed in with our demos and EP's over at New Noise. Comically, I'm also seeing several other review blogs mentioning the band as Black Sheep, which I also thought was their name until I really took a look at it. The frontman has a very similar tone to Garm, which I thought was very unexpected, especially from a Finnish act where that sort of Norwegian influence would have to be a learned one. But even if the guy did stay up all night trying to imitate Garm's performance on records like The Sham Mirrors, I can certainly say that he's done it justice. “Tiny Pieces” gives a heavy dose of chunk and synth, but paired with that unusual vocal approach, it comes out as something altogether different. But that's just the icing on the cake compared to “Soulcatcher” which is definitely one of the best cuts on the release. This is where more of the slightly operatic avantgarde elements come into play, along with the clean chorus, which reminds me of Burton C. Bell a little bit. Now there's obviously some angry grunts used here along with the new metal crunch, but it's definitely a change in styles that I can get into. Another one I liked was “Moonsick” for the same reasons, which would be a strong clean vocal and symphonic element. The disc's closer “Animal Puppets” also stands out, ending the record on a promising note. Again, there is definitely an avantgarde sense to Black Sleep and I think that it's strong enough here to get your attention over the more groove-oriented and nu-metal elements laden within. But I also really enjoy these sections, so the band works as a solid whole for me. But with as many intriguing pieces as The Whales Of The Grey Sea contains, it still feels like a good first step that needs further exploration and evolution. I really hope that such an uncanny act continues to make music like this, as it's something very fresh that we truly need in the metal scene today. I really hope that these guys continue, because they're one of the few acts that actually caught my attention out of the hundreds I receive on a weekly basis.

(6 Tracks, 32:00)

8/10