Ofghost - Of Sound Mind (2016)

Finland's Ofghost continue to make their atmospheric style of black and death metal on this third full-length album. Fans of the band shouldn't expect much to veer from that formula, even though the recording is a little lo-fi and sometimes it's a bit hard to discern the background synths over the programmed drums. It considers itself “riff-driven” and I can certainly hear that here in the mix. There seems to be quite a bit of riff progression, and things almost get to a level that can come off as quite technical in retrospect. Even though the record does feature synth atmospheres, Ofghost certainly stick to more extreme metal territories, particularly that of black metal, which I've noticed a bit more than anything else (apart from doom passages.) The record is performed completely in the band's native Finnish, but that shouldn't deter you from listening to it. These Finns do embrace electronics from time to time, so if you absolutely cannot have even a hint of an electronic beat in your black metal, then Ofghost may not be for you. Oddly enough, the band also employs the use of unexpected clean vocal chants, which sometimes are not even accompanied by any sort of musical backing at all. It's bizarre, but different and most notably Finnish. With a very successful DIY effort put forth here, I think that adventurous fans of extreme metal will quite enjoy this disc. You've just got to be ready for it, because like most Finnish experimentalism, it creeps up on you and can see one song changing quickly to another. I'm quite pleased that they reached out to me with this release and the end result is a very solid and satisfying effort. Three discs under their belt, and plenty of promise here. I'd certainly like to hear what the future will entail for these gentlemen.

(7 Tracks, 26:00)

7/10

Vredehammer - Violator (2016)

Though admittedly short, this Norwegian black/death act's second full-length is something that I feel definitely caught me by surprise due to all of it's sheer badassery. These guys cannot only play a ripping blend of black, death, melodic and thrash metal, they also showcase that they have skills where it counts, which sometimes come in the form of absolutely stereoscopic guitar solos. Take the first track, “Light The Fucking Sky” for example. The ungodly melodic solo pieces used there remind me of twinkling stars, or what I like to call “night time solos.” Despite the fact that the piece is additionally ungodly heavy, it also contains such a masterful and rather classy section within that air of night that you just wouldn't expect. Especially when the song that comes right after (Spawn Tyrant) literally threatens to bash your skull in.

Upon looking at the man responsible for most (but not all) of this awesomeness, I see that mastermind Per Valla is also in Allfader, which from what I recall was yet another awesome band. They came out with a record back in 2011 called Black Blood Flux, and that was one of my favorite albums of that particular year. It's Viking metal, but far more entertaining than the bland junk that Amon Amarth have been putting out as of late. It makes perfect sense that Valla would continue that awesomeness in this other act, and it's especially refreshing to see that he his skills are just as sharp as ever. Take the black thrasher that composes this record's title track, and you'll once again see why I have such praise for this man and his body of work.

I do need to reiterate that while Valla can literally write solos that lift you twenty feet up in the air, the band is only strengthened by such a strong arm on the drums (Felix) and hefty bass lines that add more meat and muscle to the performance (Stone.) Stone in particular really gives the kit a pounding, which makes so many of these pieces sound much more furious in the mix. He's the kind of drummer you want in this kind of act, playing as if he's played for decades, despite the fact that he's only been in prog-deathers Canvas Black beforehand. I guess Valla just listened to the guy and knew he would be a perfect fit for the band, and lo and behold he is. Vredehammer still utilize a lot of things that we might expect to hear on one single album, including grim tremolos, bits of progression and technicality (Deadfall) as well as melodic death metal pieces like “Ursus” that remind a lot of the stuff that Amon Amarth used to do, back when they were more concerned about structures instead of commercial viability.

Violator is certainly a finely structured album, and I think that it'll appeal to many different types of metal fans, regardless of what your favorite sub-genre might be. Each one of these seven songs are played beautifully, with no need for extra bonus tracks or B-Sides. Vredehammer literally gave you the very best that they could offer and felt that you'd get exactly what you were after in a mere thirty minutes of playing time. I could justify this as a shortlist record, but I didn't feel that it could wait until tomorrow's shortlist post and had to be brought to your attention today. You know, I think I've listened to this thing about five times already and I can honestly see myself listening to it about five more. It's just the kind of record that I feel delivers on all fronts and is the literal definition of a near-perfect heavy metal album.

I haven't heard much from Valla since Black Blood Flux and didn't even know that this band released a debut (Vinteroffer) back in 2014, but I can honestly say that Violator does what I haven't heard from a lot of bands in the black/death scene lately, and that makes them a cut above the rest. Vredehammer just play metal. Call it black, death, melodic, technical, whatever – it's just really satisfying and I'd recommend it to anyone.

(7 Tracks, 34:00)

9/10

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

Haken - Affinity (2016)

I felt that London's Haken might have been wearing out their welcome a little after 2014's The Mountain and the Restoration EP that came after it. I know that some of you liked these discs because of the 89% and 90% I see from reviewers on Metal Archives, but for me these guys have been a hard sell after what I'd consider a landmark in Visions. There's no doubt about it that these guys play a very modern style of progressive metal for a new generation and I think that they're trying to go for Dream Theater's torch, (but why not? Someone's got to try for it eventually) yet there are some truly intriguing pieces on this record that I feel are more than worth their weight in gold. One of these in particular, might be one of the single best progressive metal tracks that I've heard in recent memory. But let's start off at the beginning. 

“Initiate” didn't really hit me as anything really special, and other than a bloated sort of Karnivool feeling, I didn't really catch it. However, that's where the silly “buy me” stuff ends and the real meat of this monster begins. Now I know that someone might use the hipster tag when I talk about how much I love this throwback to the glory days of progressive rock music, but surely “1985” is something of a masterpiece to me. When I listen to this track, I can't even believe that it's fucking Haken. These guys could literally do an entire record like this if they wanted to, and prove that they have the classic formula down. Not only does frontman Ross Jennings have an incredibly crystalline vocal falsetto, but Richard Henshall's keyboard work really helps to make this track the kind of time-traveling experience that it needs to be. For an act like this to even attempt to delve into this kind of territory might at first seem like they're biting off a bit more than they can chew, especially with the thumping modern grooves that separate the track from a completely eighties feeling – but when you look at it through my eyes, I see this is a re-imagination of that classic age through the minds of a much different generation. If you want, you can even throw Haken the “hipster” tag, but there's no doubt that the feel of this piece brings me back to the days of Hulk Hogan, The A-Team and Miami Vice. Also Rush, because, of course! During the instrumental freakout section, there are also a lot of parts that remind me of Dream Theater's legendary instrumental experiences (yes, they really are experiences) that definitely perk my ears up a bit. Saying little more about this one, “1985” definitely put them back on the map for me. That being said, this isn't even the song I'm talking about. Yes, for there is even a much grander track on the record right after “Lapse” that literally blew my fucking mind to the point where I couldn't discern fantasy from reality. Fitting of it's over fifteen-minute mark, I'm still a bit shocked as to why “The Architect” is not the disc's closer and merely it's fifth track. I feel that such an invigorating moment placed at the end of the disc would be a perfect finale, leaving it's awesomeness sketched firmly upon the minds of all who've experienced it in it's entirety. The band instead opt for a relatively decent piece called “Bound By Gravity” that comes off as something altogether different, and certainly not as pulse-pounding. Between these moments, we do have other tracks which deliver in a more commercial prog standpoint, something that the radio would play (and why doesn't it?) due to their short track lengths, but feature a bit more exploration than much of the catchy bubble-gum rock acts that you hear churned out by multi-million dollar labels on a day to day basis. Even if the same very well may be true of giants Century Media who released the album, I can say that they seem to give a little bit more a damn and would rather give us quality material like this, rather than signing a band like Nickelback (looking at you, Roadrunner.)

Now that my yammering has ended, let's get right down to it. “The Architect” begins by allowing the band to immediately show off what they can do on an instrumental front. We already know that this is going to be a colossal masterpiece of musical might from the very start of the piece. The song quickly throws Jennings headfirst into a quick set of lyrics and a familiar chorus, much like some of the shorter numbers. Yet that's not the part I'm getting off about. While it's definitely a noteworthy chorus line that you'll end up mouthing along to after awhile, it just adds commercial viability to a piece that soon goes outward into infinity, and this my friends, this is what we want. After the Maynard worship has ended, the piece goes into a brilliant atmosphere of sorts, where Chris Griffith and Richard Henshall can truly show their skills on the guitars and keyboards. We enter into a sort of technological cyberpunk world that these guys might have seen while either being absurdly high or playing an installment of Shadowrun Returns, but in any case, this is where Jennings performs a level of almost unintelligible vocalizing that brings an almost ethereal quality to the performance as a whole. I don't care what he's singing about, just the feeling behind it. Then without warning, an Opeth inspired guitar solo just appears out of nowhere (reminding me much of personal favorite, “The Drapery Falls”) along with some harsh vocals that I don't recall ever having heard from this act. That doesn't mean that you can just throw the progressive death tag on them now, because they're still just what they always were – a couple of growls don't change anything. The odd mixture of djent and keyboard sections actually make me take notice of a style of riff I had come to hate due to it's overuse. Then I'm then thrown into familiar Dream Theater instrumentation, which features one more utterance of the chorus before the track slows to offer some shredding. These guys are really piling it on thick with this one, and Jennings is doing his best to really top such a piece (which is by now in realms of complete grandiosity) with a memorable refrain that should easily cement the final thoughts of such a piece right into your cranium.

After that one, they sort of take the gears down a little and go back into something a little more down to earth, fittingly called “Earthrise” (I'm not going to lie to you, it starts out just like a alternative rock song) and then a little meditative piece called “Red Giant.” It might sound like they've run out of awesomeness by this point, and as the rest of the disc goes on, that seems to be the case. But what can you really do after putting everything you have into “The Architect?” Not that the other songs are completely forgettable as they do feature some memorable atmospheres (more than the others though, oddly enough – these could almost be seen as a type of filler for songs that in essence might only be about three or four minutes without this type of excursion) as well as some really nice keyboard solo efforts, particularly on “The Endless Knot.” They're definitely listenable pieces, but they don't carry as much weight as some of the earlier numbers. As I said, the disc's closer “Bound By Gravity” goes for something much different than you'll hear on the rest of the album, which is an extravagantly extended ballad of sorts. It culminates into a jauntier piece where Jennings is now in full-focus, ending the record right there. Admittedly there are some beeps and bloops at the end of the record, but that's all unnecessary filler for what could have been a far grander moment.

At the end of the day, modern prog fans will enjoy Affinity, but I don't think that there's enough here for fans of the genre's heyday. I guess if you're glued to the early days of the genre, you'll find something pretty special in “1985” but despite the grandeur of “The Architect” it still contains an awful lot of commonalities in heavy metal music and may turn some listeners off. Oddly enough, the band nearly kick out the metal elements entirely for the rest of the record, opting for a more modern progressive rock feel that isn't really here nor there. Affinity sees Haken trying to appeal to both fans of progressive metal and rock equally, while also introducing some of the more commercial and accessible elements they've been toying with as of late. Even though “1985” and “The Architect” are some rather bold moments, I can't give the record a perfect score or even a great score based on two extremely interesting pieces. This being said, I still feel that Affinity is a relatively good record and Haken fans should be pretty pleased with it.

(9 Tracks, 61:00)

8/10

Arcana 13 - Danza Macabra (2016)

If you like doom, you're going to find something here in Italy's Arcana 13 who are obviously inspired by horror greats like Luciano Fulci and Dario Argento. According to the press leaflet I have here, the band sort of considers their style to be like a soundtrack of sorts to movies like The Beyond or Inferno (the latter of which I have, so I can actually test that out if need be) which I can certainly see plausible. Obviously they've been influenced by Goblin as well, so much so that they covered the famous “Suspiria” theme. These guys are actually made up of members of Mnemic, The Modern Age Slavery and Void Of Sleep among others, bringing a surprising mix into this occult doom act.

Vocalist and guitarist Simone Bertozzi really makes his presence known here as well, not just in his pleasant clean vocal tones, but also in his seventies inspired riff-matter, which can sometimes take a turn into obscure horror territory that was half-borrowed from Goblin. To be honest, much of this band owes it's existence to acts like Goblin as well as Coven and other early occult rock bands that really helped to pave the way for this kind of creepy music.

Danza Macabra is the kind of record that really can get stuck in your head, just like any good rock album I feel, and that's one of the main reasons why I decided to review it. To me, these proggy infusions bring in a lot of structure to the material and what I'd more or less consider “damn good playing” in general. That can also be coupled with fantastic solos and just an overall terrific doom product. That being said, Danza Macabra doesn't feel very evil and it doesn't feel very dark, or very grim. There's definitely a horror influence, but like Ghost, I find it truly pleasing to listen to in it's catchy, pop-rock friendly nature. (“Land Of Revenge” is a good example of this.) If you're looking for the kind of scary good time that I'd definitely recommend to fans of Ghosts and Goblins, then look no further than here.

(8 Tracks, 52:00)

8/10

Abisso - WRNSS (2016)

Abisso is an atmospheric black metal project that I can only describe as a mantra of bitter darkness. Hailing from Sardinia, the two man group is composed of G (Alzheimer – Really, there's a band by that name?) on guitars and M (ex-Cold Empire, ex-Crowned In Thorns) on vocals. One of these gentlemen also programs the drums and effects as well, because I'm certainly hearing them and I'm quite sure they didn't employ ghosts. In any case, what the band has considered to be black metal often sounds to me more like a sort of soundscapey death metal.

Obviously there are more tremolo riffs than thick death metal grooves (you'll be really lucky to hear any of those here) but G's vocals are a bit thicker than I'd expect and give off a much grittier death metal tone. The listener will be getting a very slow, yet calculated meditation here which does in fact contain some rather grandiose sections, in addition to places where the drums are piled on a bit thicker and the performance feels a bit livelier. It almost feels as if a bit of trudging doom found it's way into this mix, melding in perfectly with the tremolo melodies in order to give the experience a decidedly grim and menacing feel.

Once again, the record does feature bits of speed, but Abisso seem to be more interested in crafting rather forlorn melodies, instead of blasting your damn head off with a machine-gun drum approach. WRNSS is definitely a record with a sense of purpose, so it you like it slow and yet still vicious, chances are that you're going to want to put this five section piece into your collection. I must admit, this is a rather promising debut for a band that hadn't even released a demo under this moniker and I'd like to hear what they'll be doing with this style in the future. It's a little bit of black, doom, electronic and even some death I think – and that's what will draw people in. Give it a listen.

(5 Tracks, 36:00)

8/10

Tusmorke - Fort Bak Lyset (2016)

Norway's Tusmorke are back and I've been waiting a long time to review this one, because like their last, I really enjoyed it. One song that really got me into these guys was “All Is Lost” a track I don't think I'll ever forget. I've played it several times and it always elicits the same feeling every time I do so. But truly every song was worth listening to on 2014's Riset Bak Speilet.

Running in at about forty-five minutes, Fort Back Lyset is just about as long as we'd expect for these guys and certainly feels much longer than that with all the trippy parts that occur on this record. The band combine folk rock and progressive music together here, which sometimes lifts you up and takes you into another world altogether. To me, that's one of the best feelings that you can have in a non-metal act and if I wasn't such a big metal head, it's assured that I'd be a damn hippie. In any case, “Et Djevelsk Marenitt” definitely brings us into that funky psychedelic world, and it comes along with flutes to add a bit more Tolkien flair to the performance. Keep in mind that the song itself starts out like something you might hear in a fairy forest before it drops LSD, but I'd seriously have it no other way. Once we get past that point, there's no going back as “De Reiser Fra Oss” works to remind us that the trip has already begun and if you're not seeing the floor melt by now, you soon will. As well as the ceiling and the walls. The rest of the world might indeed look like a Dali painting doused with a hint of Tolkien or George R. R. Martin. Imagine Game Of Thrones if the production team were taking hits of acid during the design phase, or hired Lewis Caroll on Laudanum.

Other than really trippy atmospheres that make the walls and ceilings turn to butter, the band also offer plenty of catchy moments. Even though the lyrics are all performed in the band's native Norwegian this time around, these sections are so catchy that it doesn't even matter. I don't even know what “yar” means, but let me tell you, I was certainly singing right along with them during the opener “Ekebergkongen” and the disc's title track. In addition to this, there's also a little bit of a lighter piece in “Spurvehauken” which seems almost like a forlorn ballad with a psychedelic injection. The way that these guys combine psychedelic funk music with Norwegian folk is something that I think is unparalleled, and just one listen of this stellar album is all you need to be convinced of their talent. If you're looking for a literal folky trip, then please give this one a listen. There's no one out there quite like Tusmorke.

(7 Tracks, 44:00)

8/10