One and Done? Pt. 14: Control Denied

Control Denied was an ambitious new project created by Chuck Schuldiner of Death to explore more progressive styles of metal.  He brought on world-class metal musicians and frequent collaborators Steve DiGiorgio (he of the bewildering fretless bass) and Richard Christy on drums.  He also brought on Shannon Hamm to play guitar and Psycho Scream's Tim Aymar for vocals.  It was an incredible collection of musicians.

The band released one album, 1999's The Fragile Art of Existence.  Unfortunately, it would be Schuldiner's final album as he succumbed to brain cancer in 2001.  But it was a terrific album.

The album is so obviously a Schuldiner project.  His very distinct style of progressive, extreme metal riffs is on display throughout the album.  It sounds very much like the direction Death was logically heading after the very progressive The Sound of Perseverance.  It also provides multiple opportunities for the other musicians, particularly DiGiorgio, to shine.  The songs sound incredible with some truly amazing musical moments.

The only weak point in the album is some of the vocals.  Aymar is obviously a talented singer and has some great moments on this release.  However, when he is attempting to shriek at the top of his lungs, it sometimes comes out sounding flat and powerless.  I wonder what the album would have sounded like had Schuldiner provided the vocals.

There were plans to release a second album and several songs were recorded, but after the death of Schuldiner, the band abandoned plans to release it out of respect for him.  This album is a testament to the immense talent the metal world lost when Schuldiner died.

Dream Theater: Images and Words (1992)

I might get in some trouble for this one.  I have never been the biggest Dream Theater fan.  In fact I can count on one hand the number of albums I have checked out.  Two.  It's this one and Awake.  Truth be told, I actually really like Awake.  It has some excellent songs and even the ballads are generally pretty good.  But my favorite Dream Theater song has always been "Pull Me Under".  So recently I had a chance to pick up this album with my favorite Dream Theater song on it and decided to pull the trigger. 

The album starts off with the great song and it is a little extended from the version I have previously been aware of, which is not really a problem.  It is still a great song.  But from there, things quickly decline.  The very next track is a ballad.  James LaBrie's vocals sound somewhat strained hitting the high notes and there is a saxophone solo that really sounds like something Kenny G. would record.  Sax in metal is not inherently bad, for instance Amorphis has done some tremendous songs featuring sax solos, but this one just sounds laughably cheesy.  Unfortunately, the band never really gets back to the high point they set in the first track.  I kept waiting for another "Pull Me Under", but it never happened.

"Take the Time" is decent, but has something of a clumsy beginning and it kind of goes in a million directions throughout the song, including kind of a weird funk section.  But then the band throws in a second ballad in the first four songs.  That just can not stand.  I do not mind ballads generally, if they are not overused, but Dream Theater does overuse them on this album.  It would be okay if the ballads were better than these were as well.  For instance, "Space-Dye Vest" from Awake is an amazing ballad for a metal band, it is poignant and powerful.  The ones on this album are just boring.

Much of the rest of the album features most of the hallmarks of progressive metal: long, meandering songs ("Learning to Live" is eleven-and-a-half minutes long) with lots of solos, riffs and Rush-like song structures.  There are some good moments, but the band still fails to live up to the excellent first track. 

I can not really envision checking out this band much further.  I still really enjoy Awake, but I found myself very disappointed in this album.  I was hoping that an earlier album and one that featured my favorite song by the band would be even better, but it did not work out that way.  I know this is a landmark album and considered a masterpiece by a lot of metalheads, but it just does not do much for me.  

Amorphis: Queen of Time (2018)

I don't know how I missed this one.  Usually I am on the ball when it comes to new Amorphis releases, but this one somehow got by me.  Then it eluded me for awhile.  Now, I finally have it.  And damn is it good, probably their best album in several years.  And that is saying something.

Amorphis has had a long and varied history, starting out life as a death metal band, then gradually adding in more and more progressive influences, along with some folk influences.  Melodies became much more important, as well as story-telling.  Amorphis's lyrical content has long been centered around Finnish folklore and that has become even more prevalent over the last 20 years or so.  For a time, all of the death metal influences had been taken out of their sound.  But over the last three albums, the band has been making more of a concerted effort toward returning some of those death metal elements.  They have been rejuvenated after falling into something of a rut during the run of albums from Eclipse through The Beginning of Times.  Enter Queen of Time.

The album kicks off with the heaviest track on the album, the oddly named "The Bee".  Amorphis writes compelling melodies leading into some fantastically catchy songs.  This album is no exception.  The aforementioned "The Bee", "Daughter of Hate", "The Golden Elk" and "Wrong Direction" are some of the most infectious songs the band has released in years.  Again, that is really saying something.  Then there is "Amongst Stars" featuring the beautiful vocal talent of Anneke van Giersbergen (ex-The Gathering).

This is definitely not the most aggressive and intense metal album in the world.  Amorphis is much more concerned with crafting memorable songs.  There is more frequent use of death metal style vocals, particularly in "Heart of the Giant", among other songs.  The death growls tend to serve a story-telling purpose, being used mostly during particularly action-oriented parts of the stories.  But the majority of the vocals are performed clean.  Tomi Joutsen's voice continues to impress and is a major driving force in the band.  It is hard to believe that he is just as strong a vocalist as he was when he took over vocal duties for the band in 2004.

Musically, again, this is not the most aggressive album, but it does fall in line with the band's concerted effort to increase the harsher metal elements the band has been doing over the last three albums.  It features guitar-driven, folk-inflected melodies and riffs.  Most of the songs are mid-paced with some faster moments.  I love the addition of the saxophone, which was something found often in their mid-90's output.  I am a (former?) saxophone player myself so I always enjoy it when the instrument makes its way into a metal song.

In my eyes, Amorphis can really do no wrong.  I love everything I have heard by the band, even though their music has varied greatly in style.  The band is probably on the short list of groups that I would name when trying to name my favorite band of all time (Testament, Overkill, Deströyer 666 are probably the others).  This album falls right in line with that.  I would probably put it up above even the last couple releases and their best album since maybe Silent Waters?  Tough to say yet.  But it is definitely up there.

Ne Obliviscaris: Urn (2017)

Sometimes I like to take a chance on a band that I have no idea what to expect.  Sometimes that works out incredibly well.  Destroyer 666 is a very good example of this.  I picked up a CD in a used record store based entirely on once reading something vaguely positive about them.  And sometimes it backfires badly.  I can name a half dozen or so nu-metal bands, but the band that sticks out the most to me is Tribes of Neurot, a Neurosis side project that is a big reason why I still have not really checked out Neurosis.  And so here we have Ne Obliviscaris, a band whom I have never even heard of before deciding to check out this release.

Now, I am not the biggest progressive metal fan in the world.  It is a style that I enjoy a few bands (Opeth, Symphony X, Fates Warning, Queensryche), but typically do not go outside those parameters to check out other groups, unless I hear something extremely positive about a band.  I heard no such thing about Ne Obliviscaris.  But they may be able to join those other prog metal groups in terms of checking them out in the future because this album is amazing.

Ne Obliviscaris is an Australian band.  Now, Australia is not really well-known for melodic metal styles.  So this is another surprising aspect to the band.  The band features two singers, one a harsh vocalist, and the other a clean vocalist.  The clean vocalist also plays violin, which is featured prominently in the band's songs as well.  The songs are expertly crafted, with extremely beautiful sections countering harsher sections.  The vocalists play off each effectively as well, giving the band the ability to do pretty and ugly in alternating moments. 

This is absolutely a contender for the top albums list.  Every time I listen to it, I notice something I had not noticed before.  It is easily the most impressive melodic metal album of the year and is a lock to make it somewhere on my end of the year list.

Cyrax: Reflections (2013)

If I had to pick just one word to describe the sound of Cyrax, it would be eclectic.  I think that is the most accurate descriptor for a band that combines such a wide and varied mix of music into their sound.  The Italian five-piece can go from blues rock to metal at the drop of a hat.  None of which would be possible if the musicians were not all as incredibly talented as they are.

The album starts off with the track "Doom Against True Hell", which features a hefty amount of synthesizer programming to open things up before diving into a much more standard power-chord-driven riff, which is easily the heaviest riff on the release.  That sound is frequently spliced with more programming, some choral vocal lines, and singer Marco Cantoni's howling vocals.  This sets the stage for most of the rest of the songs, which manage to throw a number of other influences in as the album progresses.

Along the way, there are some strange moments which may be considered missteps depending on the listener.  For instance, "My Kingdom for a Horse" features some vocal segments that can best be described as akin to rapping.  Which is strange, to say the least.  Other sections feature more of the choral style, which is typically done quite well.  Much of the album relies on keyboards to drive the melody, which can be interesting when done well, but some of the more experimental sections can be a little strange.  And of course the track "Feel the Essence of Blues" is much more of a blues song than metal, which is a bit of an unusual and rather courageous addition.

The members of Cyrax are clearly talented musicians, which is the only reason that they are able to pull this album off.  It is a very strange and varied release that sees influences from a variety of non-metal genres, as well as metal.  Is it for everyone?  Probably not.  But it is certainly an entertaining and interesting release.

Metal Briefs: Odds and Ends

I am working on emptying out my email of stuff that has been sent.  I assure everyone that I did take the time to listen to each submission in their entirety.  I am not writing full reviews for most of this stuff because I want to make sure that I get stuff out, but I think I was able to be succinct and effective in these short reviews.

FEAR CONTROL:  CONVICTION (2013)

I had no idea that metalcore bands were still forming.  Fear Control lists their influences as Trivium, Lamb of God, and Bullet for My Valentine.  Yep, that pretty much sums this up.  They are decent at what they do, but I am just beyond being interested in this type of metal.  I would have loved this about ten years ago.  Some of the riffs are fairly impressive, in particular the opening riff to "Chains".

Fear Control Bandcamp.

GRAEME SWALLOW:  PORTRAIT OF A ZEBRA (2013)

I find multi-instrumentalists fascinating.  People who can write and arrange complex music and then play most, if not all, of the music in the recording is incredibly interesting.  I guess some people are just more musically-gifted than I am (I can play the saxophone and piano, but have done neither in a very long time).  Graeme Swallow is one such multi-instrumentalist.  He wrote and arranged all of the songs on this album, only handing over vocal duties and the occasional solo to other individuals.  The sound is often power/progressive metal (think Symphony X and Kamelot) with some elements of orchestration and a strong feeling of theatricality.  But it is a hugely varied album as a whole as many other songs lack metal or rock influences entirely and are much more classically-based.  The music is actually very infectious and I found myself enjoying this album with repeated listens.  There is a lot going on and the musicianship is really incredible.  The guest vocalists are all extraordinarily talented.  There is definitely some Christian themes present but they are not overwhelming so it is not a problem, and the musicianship really is incredible.

Graeme Swallow Soundcloud.

HAMMERFORCE: ACCESS DENIED (2013)

Holy shit, calm down on the synthesizers a little bit guys.  Hammerforce are about what you would expect they would be when I tell you they play power metal and are from Europe.  Yep, "flower metal" here.  That being said, I do like the sound when it is played well.  Yes there are a ton of synthesizers in this album, but they complement the music a lot better than I thought they would when I first heard them introduced.  Musically, Hammerforce bear a strong similarity to Sonata Arctica circa Silence and I really liked that sound so I found myself enjoying this one quite a bit.  It's fast and fun and melodic all at the same time without becoming completely cheesy.  That's probably about the best I can say for a "flower metal" band with tons of synthesizers.

Hammerforce Bandcamp.

KINETIK:  HEAVIER ELEMENTS (2013)

Whenever a band has success there are inevitably going to be some imitators popping up, bands that play a similar sound.  This is nothing new and it really is not that bad of a thing.  Meshuggah is a very popular band in the extreme metal scene so of course there will be bands that play a similar style of music.  Atonal riffs that provide the rhythm of the song, complex drum patterns, and vocals that are a mix between a shout and a growl.  That is what Kinetik sounds like on this release.  They produce a powerful wall of sound with some interesting rhythmic riffing.  It is an interesting listen while it is playing, but it is quickly forgotten when it is not.  Not a bad album, just not terribly memorable.

Kinetik Bandcamp.

THORNWILL:  REQUIEM FOR A FOOL (2013)

Thornwill is a Hungarian traditional metal band.  I think the only Hungarian bands I have previously heard were black metal bands, so this is a little different.  This is actually a fairly impressive album for a country that is seemingly isolated from the rest of the metal scene.  It reminds me a little bit of Primal Fear.  It is faster-paced with some dynamic lead vocals and some impressive riffwork.  The songs are infectious and fun.  This is a little bit of a longer album, but it never feels like it is dragging.  A fairly impressive slice of traditional metal.

Thornwill Soundcloud.

TOTHEM:  RUN TO YOU (2013)

Apparently I was just sent the single for "Run to You" which is off of this Italian band's 2013 album Beyond the Sea.  So that is all I am going to review then.  Tothem is a gothic metal band from Italy with a female singer, so immediately I was expecting something similar to Lacuna Coil.  That is not quite what this is.  The most notable difference is the emphasis on the metal.  Unlike their countrymen who have become much more of a pop/metal Evanescence clone, Tothem utilizes real metal riffs.  The vocals of singer Roslen Bondi are impressive, though she does have a tendency to be a little too operatic.  I hope this band stays true to this sound on the rest of their material.

Tothem Soundcloud.

FMA Reviews: Circle II Circle: Seasons Will Fall

Originally reviewed here.

A couple of bands have formed over the last couple of decades from former members of Savatage. Of course there is the big one, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, featuring Jon Oliva, Al Pitrelli, and Chris Caffery, all of whom were major parts of the band. Then there is Circle II Circle and Jon Oliva's Pain. Circle II Circle was created when Zak Stevens, Savatage's singer that took over when Jon Oliva stepped away after the death of his brother, left the band. Stevens was the vocalist for most of the 1990's and was in the band when they started drifting toward the TSO sound.

Stevens was not really my favorite singer that Savatage has had. Part of that is perhaps due to the fact that I generally liked the music better on the albums with Jon Oliva as vocalist. Stevens is a decent vocalist, he just never really clicked with me on the later era Savatage material. On this album though he sounds great. He has a powerful voice with a lot of character in it. He is definitely the best part of this album.

As far as the rest of the album, this is a standard album straddling the border between hard rock and American power metal. The band's focus is on creating well-crafted and catchy songs without a lot of filler or superfluous music that is out of place in the songs. Circle II Circle do have some longer songs on this album, and the album is quite lengthy reaching 70 minutes, but everything flows together reasonably well.

The only real problem is that the album gets boring. At 70 minutes, it better be really good at keeping attention from drifting and it just does not do a real good job at that. Some of the individual songs are certainly standouts and serve to draw the attention back, but it drifts in other parts. The music is typically mid-paced with some faster tracks here and there and the occasional ballad.

All told this is not appreciably different than the later era Savatage material, other than not being as cinematic. This is just a straightforward, hard-rocking album, but its inability to hold the listener's attention makes it a little tedious.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 111

ARTIST:  Amorphis
ORIGIN:  Helsinki, Finland
TITLE:  Tuonela
LABEL:  Relapse Records
YEAR:  1999
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Nightfall"
NOTES:  I heard "Divinity" for the first time on some MTV special looking at smaller labels.  The song was incredible.  I went out the next day to seek out this album.  It captured my attention immediately and Amorphis became one of my favorite bands.  I especially liked the fact that the band used wind instruments in several songs.  As a saxophone player myself, those parts were my favorite.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 80

ARTIST:  Voivod
ORIGIN:  Jonquiere, Quebec (Canada)
TITLE:  Negatron
LABEL:  Mausoleum Records
YEAR:  1995
GENRE:  Progressive/Thrash Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Nanoman"
NOTES:  I had heard a few songs by Voivod up until this point.  This was my first album by the band though and I always liked this one.  It was not the easiest album to get into as there was not a lot of catchiness, but once it took hold, I loved it.  There are a number of different versions of this album with some additional songs.  I unfortunately only have ten tracks on mine.

Bandcamp Mayhem: Randomness

I was on Facebook recently and a couple of ads caught my eye for bands on Bandcamp.  Not having much else to do at the time, I decided to check them out.

CROW BLACK SKY: PANTHEION

Crow Black Sky captured my attention because they are from South Africa.  I have not heard much metal from the African continent, so I am always intrigued when I run across a band from that region of the world.  Crow Black Sky is a melodic black/death metal band from Cape Town in South Africa.

The first thing that is noticeable is the frequent use of keyboards to achieve a symphonic effect.  This is a calculated effort to provide an epic atmosphere.  The result is similar to the better albums by Dimmu Borgir and Hecate Enthroned.  The guitar tone is suitably dark and crunchy and provides some interesting riffs.  The vocals are fairly typical for melodic black metal style.  Think Naglfar and Luna Ad Noctum for reference points.  They are delivered in a rough, deeper rasp.

The only real issue I have with this one is that some of the songs are a bit on the long side.  The album tends to drag a little bit in places.  Other than that, this is a decent album.  It is not something completely original and mind-blowing but it is certainly entertaining.

Bandcamp.

THE DEADSTATION: EPISODE I: LIKE PEERING INTO THE DEEPEST OCEAN ABYSS

Okay, the title of this album is pretentious as all hell.  It also does not help much that four of the seven tracks make up the "Like Peering Into the Deepest Ocean Abyss" saga.  I am not sure if they refer to it as a saga, but dammit I am going to refer to it as a saga.  Despite the ridiculously long album and song titles, the songs themselves are relatively succinct.  That's good.  It is easy to ignore the long titles that way.

Well if you could not tell by the album title, The Deadstation is a progressive metal band, somewhat in the vein of Dream Theater, Queensryche, Manticora and other groups.  The music is energetic and upbeat.  It is extremely melodic and for the most part faster-paced.   The songs have a more progressive structure, but the band keeps things from bogging down with some very impressive lead guitar work.  There are a couple of filler tracks on here, but that is not terribly surprising from this genre.  The vocal work is impressive and mostly consists of higher-registered singing.

This is a reasonably interesting release.  It probably does not do enough to stand out among other progressive metal bands, but it is a fun listen.

Bandcamp.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 78

ARTIST:  Queensryche
ORIGIN:  Bellevue, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Operation: Mindcrime
LABEL:  EMI Music
YEAR:  1988
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Needle Lies"
NOTES:  This is one of the greatest metal concept albums of all time.  The story is engaging, with clearly identifiable characters.  And of course the guitar work of Chris DeGarmo and the vocals of Geoff Tate are incredible.  One of the most talented duos in metal.  These album has a number of classic tracks, but "I Don't Believe in Love" is the big hit.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 50

ARTIST:  Dream Theater
ORIGIN:  Long Island, NY (United States)
TITLE:  Awake
LABEL:  Atlantic Records
YEAR:  1994
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Mirror"
NOTES:  This is actually the only album I own by Dream Theater.  I remember "Caught in a Web" being all over The Blaze, the hard rock radio station in the city I grew up in.  I liked the song quite a bit but was not quite convinced about buying the album.  Eventually I found it used, and I think it was the first used album I ever bought.  I like this album quite a bit but there are some less-than-impressive songs.  I am very impressed with the musicianship on this album though.  I do not really know why I never picked anything else up by this band.

Reader Submissions: After Oblivion: Stamina

One of my favorite albums by Death is The Sound of Perseverance.  This is important and relevant to any discussion on After Oblivion's newest release Stamina.  Because if I were to play this to someone without telling them who it is, they would probably guess Death on their long-awaited follow-up to that album.  I am very sorry for the bad joke there.  But seriously this album sounds almost exactly like the Death swansong.  It is certainly not unusual for a band to try to copy a sound, bands do it all the time.  It is just weird how closely this band came.  The only thing really missing is the overwhelming feeling of loss that Death had on that final album.

After Oblivion is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, not exactly a heavy metal hotbed.  I think they may be the first band I have heard from there.  This is the band's debut album after a couple of smaller releases.  It is a very good debut if you can get around the whole sounds-exactly-like-Death thing.  They definitely play up their influences on this release.

If you had not already guessed, After Oblivion play a kind of progressive death metal with some thrash metal riffs thrown in from time to time.  The music is fast and melodic with riffs and leads that seem ripped directly from Death.  Even the vocals sound very much like Chuck Schuldiner on the last few Death albums.  There are frequent tempo changes, again a throwback to Death.  After Oblivion never let one riff last too long before they are off to the next one or completely shift tempos.  The result is an ever-changing album that is very easy to get lost within.  The one word that comes to mind over and over to me to describe this is incendiary.

The songs tend to fly by in the blink of an eye.  And with the fact that the band is never really content to sit still on one riff or melody for very long, it seems like it goes by even faster.  The songs also feature unusual structures, not your typical verse-chorus-verse structure.  This leads to a little bit of a problem when it comes to the memorability of the album and individual songs.

After Oblivion have some things to work on.  It would be nice to see them grow out of sounding so much like Death, and writing some more memorable material would also be helpful.  But this band has a ton of talent and it must be remembered that this is only their debut full-length.  That is shockingly impressive.

Reader Submissions: Amputation Spree: Koyaanisqatsi

In the Hopi language, "Koyaanisqatsi" means "unbalanced life".  I cannot think of a better description for this twenty minute long track, the latest from "thinking man's slam" band Amputation Spree.  Just as any good twenty minute song should, this track covers a broad spectrum of sounds and tempos.  It is unsettling and noisy, and yet oddly charming.

This is the third time I have reviewed something by Amputation Spree and the band always seems to surprise me.  The last time around, I commented that "Amputation Spree continues to push the boundaries of slam death metal, forcing the genre to evolve somewhat away from the simplistic style it has largely become known for."  This is once again true with this track.  There are not a lot of slam moments, as Amputation Spree relies mostly on progressiveness and unusual structures, but slam moments do still shine through once in awhile.  It is becoming increasingly tougher to categorize the band though, especially as this song really moves away from the mostly predictable slam death metal genre.

For the most part though, this is a haunting and harrowing track, alternating between extremely heavy moments and more psychedelic and trancelike moments.  There are even some clean vocals thrown in from time to time to keep things very interesting.  The song reminds me of Edge of Sanity's masterpiece Crimson in that it is a lengthy single track that manages to retain interest throughout due to a constantly shifting narrative.  The end of the song bears very little resemblance to the beginning as the song ebbs and flows constantly through several movements.

Amputation Spree continues to impress me.  Their sound is constantly shifting and constantly evolving.  Maybe one day they should be signed to Relapse Records, despite what their Bandcamp page says.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 19

ARTIST:  Queensryche
ORIGIN:  Bellevue, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Empire
LABEL:  EMI Music
YEAR:  1990
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Empire"
NOTES:  Another album that I got for my 14th birthday from my grandmother (she really came through on this one).  This was my second album by the Washington-based progressive metal outfit.  Though I never quite liked this one as much as my first album by the band, even though it is arguably heavier.  "Silent Lucidity" is probably Queensryche's most well-known song.

Initial Impressions: Enslaved: RIITIIR

A few years ago my interest in Enslaved skyrocketed as a result of seeing them in concert with fellow prog-metal masters Opeth.  Prior to that I enjoyed them quite a bit but would not have gone so far as to say that they were one of my favorite bands.  However after that concert, their status was elevated quite a bit.  I developed an appreciation for their sprawling sound with all of its quirks.  Ordinarily the overly progressive metal stuff has not done much for me, but Enslaved has been an exception.  So I look forward to each new Enslaved album.

This one gave me some pause as some individuals that I usually expect to really enjoy Enslaved have not cared as much for it, calling the album a disappointment or even boring.  Nevertheless, I still felt like I had to check it out.  I have heard every single album since Below the Lights and I was not about to start missing albums now.

I think this one is definitely a grower.  Enslaved have stripped away almost all of their black metal sound.  Of course that has been happening for several albums now at this point.  They have stripped away more and more with each release since the aforementioned Below the Lights.  There are still traces here and there, but this is mostly a progressive metal release.

The album does start fairly strong with "Thoughts Like Hammers", but it slows way down for several songs after the opening track.  The next several songs are kind of a blur, before the band picks things back up with "Materal", probably my favorite song on the album.  This is definitely Enslaved.  They do not do anything markedly different from anything they have done on the last several albums.  As such I am not really sure what a lot of the complaints have been about.  I certainly do not feel the same way about this release as some others do.

I would not say that this is one of Enslaved's stronger releases, but I do like it well enough.  I do not think there is anything markedly different this time around.  Is it a masterpiece?  No, but it is good enough.  I find myself enjoying it more and more with each successive listen.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 8

ARTIST:  Queensryche
ORIGIN:  Bellevue, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Promised Land
LABEL:  EMI Music
YEAR:  1994
GENRE: Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "One More Time"
NOTES:  I picked this one up on the aforementioned trip to Indiana.  Songs off of this album were getting a lot of play on the local hard rock radio station at the time.  I remember three songs being played somewhat frequently, all of which I liked quite a bit.  Queensryche was a bit of a departure musically for me as to that point thrash metal was the major genre I was getting into.  "Someone Else?" is an extremely powerful song with just a piano and Geoff Tate's incredible vocals.

Initial Impressions: Nachtmystium: Silencing Machine

Once one of the U.S.'s premier black metal bands, Nachtmystium started to distance themselves from that style a little bit, adding more and more progressive and psychedelic influences to the point where there was hardly any trace of black metal on their last album.  Fans were divided about whether that was a good direction or not.  One thing that could be said though is that at least it was interesting.

This album has been hailed as a return to form for Nachtmystium, even the old black metal logo has returned.  That is not entirely correct.  There are still elements lingering from the Black Meddle albums.  For the most part the black metal sound has returned, though only superficially.  The band utilizes more tremolo riffs, blast beats, and harsh vocals, but underneath it all, it is clear that Nachtmystium has progressed beyond typical black metal.  Many of the songs feature some or all of these elements but also possess a distinctive post-rock or psychedelic sound as well.  Blake Judd maintains the harsher vocal style throughout the release however.

If anything, this album represents a coming-together of the sounds that Nachtmystium has put out over the years.  The black metal is present but so is the progressive rock, post-rock, and psychedelia.  The one constant is the cold atmosphere.

I really did enjoy this album.  I have liked prior Nachtmystium albums, but none as much as this one.