Recent Listenings Ver. 2.0

Alright, I promised some music recommendations based on a recent influx of music. So here’s a bunch of reviews and stuff. This time though, there’s a lower ratio of metal and more variation, so for non-metalheads you may find stuff you’d like here too. Anyway, give something a listen and please comment if you want to contribute at all.

AMON AMARTH

Went to an Amon Amarth concert in Melbourne tonight. And, as expected, they were fucking great.

The first support act was a local melodic death metal band called Orpheus. They were okay, I liked them, but I couldn’t really tell if the keyboardist was actually doing anything or not. And the bass player spent most of the time either just playing open strings or adjusting his strap and not playing at all.

The second support was Eye of the Enemy, who were much better. The lead guitarist was impressive and the band was all around quite good. Other than the bass player, who was great the whole time, the band took a little while to really have stage presence. Their last song, which they hadn’t intended to play but were asked to stay on for one more, was my favourite. I believe it was called Facade, but I might be wrong.

That brings me to Amon Amarth, who have been here to Australia once before, but I wasn’t able to go. They opened with the title track from their latest album, Twilight of the Thunder God. Other songs they played from the album were Varyags of Miklagaard, Guardians of Asgaard, Free Will Sacrifice, Live for the Kill and Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags. They alternated these songs with some of their earlier songs, such as Valkyrie’s Ride, Bleed for Ancient Gods, Runes to my Memory, Asator, Gods of War Arise, Where Silent Gods Stand Guard and Death in Fire. They also did an encore with Cry of the Blackbirds and Pursuit of Vikings.

My favourite performances were probably Twilight of the Thunder God, Death in Fire and Cry of the Black Birds.

As I’ve said, they were great and I hope they’ll be back here in Melbourne soon.

Concerts I’m looking forward to: Cynic, Ensiferum and maybe Dark Funeral, all in January.

-Vyperchild, metalhead

** The merchandise was so expensive though. I probably would have gotten some cds if I hadn’t seen the price on the shirts and stuff. Things I’ve seen online for $20 being sold for $45. Too much of a jump for me. **

Recent Listening

I lost almost all of my entire music stash recently because my computer chucked a hissy fit. So I quickly set about getting more music. Thanks to a friend I got 30GB worth of mostly metal that I mostly haven’t heard before.

So here’s a few recommendations!

Band names are on the left, albums on the right separated by commas.

Sculptured – The Spear of the Lily is Aureoled
Sculptured are a side project of some of the members of Agalloch, who are a brilliant avantgarde folk metal band. With Sculptured, there is still a focus on creating atmosphere, but there is a greater emphasis on riffs and melody. Vocal duties are shared between Don Anderson and Brian Yager. The clean vocals are probably my favourite thing about Spear, particularly on Almond Beauty and Her Silence. I also enjoyed the use of brass instruments on their albums, although I know that some people find this awkward. They have released two other full-lengths and Embodiment: Collapsing under the weight of God is quite good also. The other, Apollo Ends, is a more progressive affair, but I found I couldn’t really get into it.

Tyr – By The Light of The Northern Star
Here’s a band I’ve been meaning to listen to for a very long time. They are now one of my favourites. I can’t really find fault with Northern Star, it is the sort of album that appeals to me on all levels. Strong melodies, excellent clean vocals, solid drum work and, of course, the songs are about vikings! Another reason to love this album is that it is consistently good, there aren’t really any standouts or let-downs to be found. You can always tell an album is good when people ask what your favourite song is and you answer them differently each time. This is probably Tyr’s best effort.

Insomnium – Since the Day it All Came Down
Insomnium are a Finnish melodic death metal band who have somehow gone under my radar for a long time. Now I’ve listened to them I think they’re absolutely genius. Since the Day it All Came Down starts off with the very moody Nocturne, and although the rest of the album isn’t quite so sombre there’s definitely some clever utilisations of atmosphere. I have yet to pick up their release from this year, but Above the Weeping World and In the Halls of Awaiting are also excellent albums. Insomnium are as close to melodic death perfection as I think anyone will get.

Mastodon – Crack the Skye
I’ve heard exceedingly little of Mastodon’s earlier work, but I’ve heard enough to know that their 2009 album is very different. It’s also very good. Taking influence from progressive and psychedelic rock spanning decades, this progressive/sludge metal mix is practically a masterpiece of it’s genre. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but it is one of my favourite albums this year and I’m in awe of The Czar, although each song is brilliant in it’s own right. The vocals were pleasantly surprising, the riffs are cleverly implemented and there’s some really great drum work. There were also fairly few solos for a progressive album, and I found this worked in their favour, as I wasn’t bogged down by the band trying too hard to impress. The solos that are present are fitting and work well within the songs. As I mentioned, this is one of my favourite albums of the year and something I strongly recommend everyone to listen to.

Silent Stream of Godless Elegy – Relic Dances
A Folk/Doom Metal mix with yet another take on the ‘Beauty & the Beast’ dual vocals trend. Gotta say, I’m very impressed by the vocalists. I can’t be bothered finding their names, but the woman’s vocals fit the folk aspects of the music perfectly and the guttural growls of the male are among my favourite harsh vocals now. Although I’m not really a fan of Doom Metal, from the opening few seconds of ‘Look’ I was completely and utterly hooked. Definitely worth a listen.

Lifelover – Konkurs, Pulver
Lifelover are a depressive rock/black metal band who surprised me a bit when I first listened to them. Particularly with the opening track of Pulver which ends with a fun little twist. The Erotik album is good too, but Pulver and Konkurs are better.

SuidAkrA – Signs for the Fallen, Emprise to Avalon
Melodic death metal with Celtic influences? Nice! It was actually quite hard picking my favourite albums for them, as they’re fairly consistent in terms of quality. I also really liked Lupine Essence and The Arcanum, but I’m sure I’ll listen through them again and really enjoy Lays From Afar or Auld Lang Syne. All around a decent band, but only really recommended for melodeath fans looking for something a bit different from all the In Flames and At The Gates wannabes (inluding modern In Flames OH SNAP).

Korpiklaani – Karkelo
The only two songs in English are drinking songs. Or should that be Engrish? Regardless, it’s a fun folk metal album and the title appropriately means ‘Party’. Favourite song from this one is Bring Us Pints of Beer, which is a really hearty song and demands to be sung along with.

Nekrogoblikon – Goblin Island
Goblin-themed fun. A little weird, and the vocals sounds a bit awkward, but they’re good for a laugh. Their cover of the Power Rangers Theme is fantastic. Some of the stranger things about the album include Goblin Chistmas Armageddon Part II which almost sounds like a pop song, and the final track, Resonance, which is techno.

And that’s it for now. I may add some more to the list later, but these are enough for now.

-Vyperchild

Dethklok!! DETHKLOK!!

** I did have a picture to go along with this post, but for some unknown reason I couldn’t upload it. So just, um, imagine it, kay guys?**

Metalocalypse is a series of shorts on Adult Swim about a fictional metal band called Dethklok. Dethklok are the most famous band in the world, and although they are awesome musicians they are all absolute tards.

The frontman is Nathan Explosion, the guitarists are Skwisgar Skwigelf and Toki Wartooth, the bassist is William Murderface and the drummer is Pickles. Episodes are about the ridiculous adventures of the band, and the Tribunal which monitors them and tries to make sure they don’t cause too much damage.

As an example of their adventures, one episode of the first season has them going to Finland to apologize for accidentally wrecking the country during their last tour. Hilarity ensues. In another episode they have to do something for charity to avoid some taxes, so they adopt a fat kid.

Most of the humour in the show is accessible even to non-metal fans. The metal humour is background stuff like Dimmu Burgers or the supermarket called Finntroll’s. The music in the show is actually of a really high quality, and as a fan of melodic death metal I really enjoy it. The song topics are fairly ridiculous, such as Murmaider (it’s about mermaid murder) and Hatredcopter.

There are currently two seasons, with the third airing in November. There are also two Dethalbums, the first of which I recommend and the second of which only just got released, so I’ve yet to pick it up.

I really like this show, and I think everyone should watch it. Even if only for the episode where Murderface plays his bass…er…hands-free.

BY SEX.

-Vyperchild

** Nathan: But I have to say, if the fans are out there after listening… you know, we always say a lot of stuff like, you know, we hate you, go die, you know…
Murderface: And we mean it!
Toki: Yeah, we means it!
Nathan: …Go eat glass…But the truth is- actually, guys, the truth is we do mean it. **