Alghazanth: The Three-Faced Pilgrim (2013)

This cover reminds me of Black Swan.  I don't really know how to feel about that.  On the one hand that movie bored the crap out of me, on the other hand Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman lesbian scene.  So there's that.  But really, Black Swan has nothing to do with black metal, at least I don't think it does.  So this album cover does not really seem to match Alghazanth's sound.  But that wouldn't be the first time an album cover was deceptive.

Alghazanth is another of those bands who have been around for quite a long time, yet their existence has completely alluded me.  The Finnish black metallers formed in 1995 and have released seven full-length albums now.  But since Finland has not been the site of any big black metal scenes, Alghazanth has flown under the radar for quite some time.

Alghazanth pepper their Second Wave Norwegian-style black metal with symphonic flourishes, lengthy and progressive song structures, haunting melodic interludes, and some surprisingly impressive musicianship.  The songs are all epic-length, but the band really does a terrific job at composition because the songs do not really drag.  The mention of "symphonic flourishes" probably caused some people to envision bad Dimmu Borgir moments, but that is pretty far from reality.  Yes there are moments, but they do not overwhelm the song and they are more there as complementary elements.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one.  Alghazanth is not reinventing anything here and they do not do anything a bunch of other bands have done, but the music is effective and interesting to listen to.  Sometimes that is enough.

Dawn of Tears: Act III - The Dying Eve (2013)

Dawn of Tears is a band that I am very familiar with.  Their 2007 debut was one of the strongest melodeath albums in years.  Seriously, it is that good.  The Spaniards captured just the right balance between extremity and melody.  Since that release though, Dawn of Tears only released a less-than-impressive EP in 2009.  Until now.

Six years later, Dawn of Tears has finally released their second full-length album and it definitely recaptures the sound that made their debut so impressive.  This is melodeath, but it is still heavy and it still kicks ass.  Which is much more than I can say for a lot of melodeath bands out there these days.  Obviously the songs are very melodic and infectious as the plague but the band writes some killer riffs as well, keeping things interesting.

Dawn of Tears follows the Insomnium theory of melodeath, which is to write somber, dramatic melodic death metal.  It is all very emotional and powerful.  There are some definite moments where the band comes perilously close to gothic metal, with the female vocals and the keyboards and the overall dark and moody atmosphere.  Luckily a well-timed blazing guitar solo or crushing riff typically comes in to rescue it from going too far down that rabbit hole.

This is an incredible album, very close in quality to their debut release, which is still one of my favorite underrated melodeath albums.  This one will likely join it.

Mad Hatter's Den: Welcome to the Den (2013)

My knowledge of the stories of Lewis Carroll is very slight.  So I really do not know much about the Mad Hatter.  I saw the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland many years ago and remember very little about it.  I did not see the Tim Burton version with Johnny Depp.  All I think of when I think of the Mad Hatter is the tea party.  So the Mad Hatter does not strike me as a terribly metal character.  Maybe that's just me.  But I was a little apprehensive about checking out a metal band using the Mad Hatter to name their band.

It does not shock me in the least that Mad Hatter's Den plays a kind of middling heavy/power metal.  I could guess that just based on the album cover.  Mad Hatter's Den definitely have some impressive moments, but this album is largely a forgettable standard modern heavy metal album.  The band is definitely at their best when they focus on shorter, harder-edged tracks such as "Shadow Lord".  At those times, Mad Hatter's Den is compelling and fun to listen to.

Then there are the other moments.  Some of the songs in the middle are much longer and much more of a chore to make it through.  "Sinister Monologue" is the metal equivalent to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" debacle: long, melodramatic, and boring as all hell.  The dueling guitar and keyboard solos are definitely outdated as well.  And then there's the ridiculously slow and boring "Journey" and...holy shit is that a harp?!

Thankfully the band does get back on track to close out the album with some harder songs again.  I like heavy and power metal as much as the next metalhead, but it is a really easy genre to mess up.  Although "Sharks of Power" is one of the oddest song names I have ever heard.  I'm not even sure what that means.

This is listenable, but it is ultimately forgettable.  There is just not much here that really stands out.  And they don't even attempt to tell us the similarities between a raven and a writing desk.  Damn them.  

Dead End Finland: Season of Withering (2013)

I have said it before and it bears repeating: Finland has taken over the throne of melodic death metal from Sweden.  Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, and several other bands have continued to succeed where In Flames, Soilwork, and others have fallen by the wayside.  Well now add Dead End Finland to the list.  Despite the regrettable name, Dead End Finland are another fairly impressive Finnish melodeath band.

The opening title track sounds very much like Raintime, the now-defunct Italian band.  The combination of the reliance on keyboards for atmospheric effects, crunching guitar riffs, and clean-and-extreme vocals have been a staple of that band's catalog.  Dead End Finland definitely focus far more on the melodic side of things for this genre.  Those going into this expecting a straight-forward melodeath album will likely be disappointed because of the focus on melody and catchiness.

This is not to say that the death metal parts have been lost, there are still frequently heavy parts.  Extreme vocal styles do show up from time to time.  There are some crushing riffs and pounding drums.  It is just that these moments are combined with more melodic elements, such as symphonic-sounding keyboards or cleaner vocals.

Above all else, this is an infectious album.  It is a fun listen and this means that replayability is high.  Those seeking something really extreme will likely be disappointed.  This is just a good time album, and there is something to be said for that.

Lovijatar: Pimean Tuoja (2013)

Huh.  Of all of the subgenres of metal to combine into a new sound, I would never have expected stoner doom and folk metal to be entwined.  What's next?  Actually, I can't even think of a more unlikely combination.  Thrash metal and funeral doom I suppose.  That is now going to be the genre of my one-man band.  I will call it Speed Reaper.

Before I get to composing though, we need to talk about Lovijatar.  The name comes from Finnish mythology, as might be guessed.  Lovijatar is the blind daughter of Tuoni, the Finnish god of death.  The band is made up of members of Battlelore, a band for whom I am familiar, and Elephant Bell, a band for whom I am not.  Lovijatar is a true combination of those two bands' sounds apparently as Battlelore comprises the folk metal influence and Elephant Bell the stoner doom influence.

The riffs are thick and meaty with a lot of bass.  The stoner doom influence is very evident in the guitar riffs.  The folk metal influence permeates everything else, from the lyrics and vocals to the interludes to the extra instrumentation that is sometimes present.  Some of the melodies are also clearly folk-influenced, at least those that are not driven by the heavy stoner doom riffs.

The songs on this album are shockingly catchy and infectious.  I found myself tapping my foot along with it quite frequently.  The musicianship is incredible and the vocals really drive the album, the dual vocals on "Uhrilehto" in particular.  Some of the songs are much softer and far more folk-influenced, but then something like the High on Fire-esque riff in "Kulje Kuu Pala Paiva" happens, dragging it clearly back into the metallic.

I really enjoyed this album.  Apparently stoner doom and folk metal mix quite well when done by musicians of this caliber.

Vorna: Ajastaika (2013)

Kicking things off in a manner lifted from Black Sabbath's self-titled epic is "Taakse jaa".  Every self-respecting metalhead knows the beginning.  The pounding rain and the church bells.  But instead of leading into the pioneer's dark masterpiece, we get a swirling black metal riff.  That eventually leads into some Finnish folk elements, and that is where we stay for the rest of the release.

It has been quite awhile since I have heard a truly worthwhile folk metal release.  When I first discovered the genre it was pretty exciting and every band offered something new and different.  But I have been a bit jaded by the genre for a little while.  I think it occurred when Eluveitie steadfastly refused to switch up their formula on subsequent albums after Slania.  I realized too much folk metal sounds exactly the same.  Luckily, Vorna offers something, while not exactly unique, certainly interesting.

That something is the absolutely epic atmosphere of Vorna.  The music is lush and textured, with a lot of stuff musically going on beyond just the guitar riffs.  Vorna's songs are very melodic and this melody contributes to the epic sound of the band.  The band utilizes organs and keyboards along with the riffs that sound incredible.  The vocals are usually delivered in a gravelly growl and they fit the music well.

As I said, it has been awhile since I have heard a really good folk metal album.  This album is one such really good folk metal release.

Frostland Darkness: Ad Moriendum Dei Gratia (2013)

I generally like those one-man black metal bands that are ambitious musically.  You can only hear so many ultra-lo-fi, raw, bedroom black metal bands.  I like the ones that try hard, like Burzum, Dodsferd, Lament Configuration, and others.  As you must have inferred by now, Frostland Darkness is a one-man black metal band.  Mantus Nord is the man behind the project, and he is from Finland.

Opening track "Rienaaja" is slow-paced with the same riff repeated over and over.  It does speed up in the final third, but the riff does not really change, making for a fairly dull listen.  Much of the rest of the album follows in the same general pattern, though most of the tracks start out much faster and just never really relent in speed.  The problem is that this is definitely more along the lines of the simplistic one-man black metal bands as mentioned before that I do not care as much for.

That is not the case for the entire album.  "Tuhon Kirkkaudessa" has a melodic opening and is probably the most dynamic track on the album, even though it does settle into the familiar single riff song.  It definitely has the cold atmosphere that good black metal is supposed to have.  In fact, the atmosphere is one thing this album has a decent amount of.  The other interesting aspect is that all of the lyrics are in Finnish, as could be concluded from the song titles referenced.  However since it is black metal, the lyrics can not really be understood anyway.

The biggest problem with this album is that it is fairly boring.  Since it is pretty simple and there is a lack of dynamics, not much really stands out about it.  It is not particularly impressive musically and it is not different enough from any other black metal band out there to capture attention.  As such, repeated listens are not likely to be frequent.  

I do not think this is a bad album.  Far from it.  It is just kind of boring.  I have said before, sometimes that is worse.

Metal Briefs: Inverse Records Stuff

I am going to be throwing a bunch of stuff together a lot in order to catch up.  Usually these will be albums that do not really meet my standards and I do not feel like doing a full review.

CARDIANT: VERGE (2013)

Cardiant is a Finnish power metal band.  Finland has produced some great metal bands across a wide variety of subgenres, but I have yet to hear a great Finnish power metal band.  That is still the case.  This is okay but it really lacks any real power.  It reminds me more of later-era Sonata Arctica and Edguy, periods in their respective histories of which I am not really a fan.  It's mostly melodic hard rock/metal with some catchy sections, but overall somewhat weak.  "Heaven's Calling" is a representative track with its faster-paced riffing style and a general sense of urgency in the beginning, but the chorus kind of screws it up and makes it sound like an 80's hair band.  There are some decent tracks on here but as a whole, the album kind of falls flat.

NOSDRAMA:  GRAVITY (2013)

Gothic metal is a subgenre that has not done much for me in the last several years, besides the occasional Moonspell album and the more extreme bands like Cradle of Filth and Rotting Christ's gothic-oriented stuff.  Mostly because I am not a Hot Topic-frequenting teenager.  Musically this is a little more exciting than the Tiamat stuff that bored the hell out of me.  But the vocals really kill it for me.  They are often out of tune with the music and just do not mix well.  The music was simply not interesting enough to keep me from falling asleep, which is a big problem with a lot of gothic rock/metal.  This just does not do much for me.

NOX ULTIMA:  FROM DELIRIUM TO CATHARSIS (2013)

Nox Ultima is a Finnish black metal band whose mission statement explains that they are out to create and manifest black metal.  I am not sure how you manifest something, or really what the verb "to manifest" means, but I suppose I won't hold that against them.  Anyway, Nox Ultima plays old school-style black metal, bearing similarities to the Norwegian and Swedish scenes, although with impressive enough production values that everything can be heard well.  This is hateful black metal with a lot of aggression and speed.  That is just the way I like my black metal personally.  So this one was pretty good to me.  I will say, there is not a lot of delirium here either, but that should not be surprising for black metal.

Iliac Thorns: It (2013)

Melodeath still exists as a genre.  It's true.  Most of the Gothenburg-style bands have gone by the wayside or altered their sound to an almost unrecognizable bastardization of what the genre used to be (I'm looking at you In Flames), but there are still some bands out there that take what was once good about the genre and release some good stuff.  Most of those bands seem to be coming out of Finland these days.

Iliac Thorns joins the ranks of fellow melodeath countrymen as Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum, Mors Principium Est, and others.  But there is a bit of a difference in that Iliac Thorns is far more on the death side of things that the melodic part.  This is absolutely death metal, that just so happens to have a fair amount of melodicism in it.  The vocals certainly give it away, but there is also the fact that the riffing is far more severe and brutal.  The other Finnish melodeath bands mentioned seem to try particularly hard to create a sullen atmosphere, Iliac Thorns on the other hand, just want to crush some skulls.

As mentioned, the vocals of singer Ilkka Lonnqvist certainly stand out for this genre of metal.  They are delivered in a very deep and throaty roar with the occasional raspy scream thrown in for good measure.  These are much more typical of the more gore-soaked extreme death metal bands like Suffocation, Broken Hope, and others than the good cop/bad cop vocal style that Gothenburg was known for.  This is much of the reason that Iliac Thorns is far closer to death metal than melodeath.

Musically, Iliac Thorns represents the heavier side of melodeath as well.  The music is fast with razor-sharp riffs with just the right amount of melody to make the individual tracks stand out but to still be heavy and intense.  There is the occasional tremolo riff suggesting some black metal influence as well but Iliac Thorns does not overdo it.  The production could stand a beefier lower end, but seems to fit the music quite well.

This is an impressive debut from a band that should make waves in a vastly underrated scene.