Agatus – The Eternalist (2016) / 92%

"Take me far away!"

The Weaving Fates is a timeless masterpiece but is Agatus still relevant more than a decade after their last album? The answer is simple: It's a big thundering "ABSOLUTELY!". Like Norway's In the Woods..., the Greeks are certainly back for the best possible reasons and offers an unexpected masterpiece of Hellenic steel.

Once of the first noticeable aspects of this new opus is that the black metal is mostly gone from their sound. While The Weaving Fates was a nugget of powerful and entrancing black metal with strong traditional metal leanings and it was a riff machine. Their sound wasn’t too far removed from the melting pot formula of the later albums of King Fowley’s Deceased. Those albums are masterful examples of how to combine the metal eras. On this 2016 release, the situation is the opposite from what we used to know of Agatus, the black metal elements aren't the core of their sound anymore. This is irrelevant to the quality of their compositions though.

Dimitrios Dorian’s other band, Zemial, managed to expand to what was possible in black/heavy metal with the transcendantal Nykta three years ago. Fortunately, Agatus gladly follows the road created by their brother band. Zemial’s performance at Wings of Metal last year convinced me that they’re metal's most underrated band and Agatus also needs more recognition and praise.

The main difference between between the two bands is Agatus’ tight songwriting, they’re both as epic but the tempos and approaches are different in nature. The track-list is one of the only normal things here, the forty minutes album  On The Eternalist, the Dorian brothers embraced the progressive rock influence that they always liked but pushed the boundaries of their sound to its limits. If I had to classify the album (something I like to do!), I guess I would say that it’s blackened epic progressive heavy metal (a mouthful, I know...) and it's an explosive and cohesive mix. I imagine Chris Dorian also brings a lot to the songs, the multi-instrumentalist fraternal duo is just so damn creative. 

The record is full of those idiosyncratic guitar leads influenced by the epic metal scene and the clean vocals are predominant compared to their previous releases. There’s a grand variety of voices, in fact. From the soaring yet manly cleans incantations to a rougher and more abrasive approach, there’s a bit of everything on here. Songs like “The Invisible (Fifth Portal to Atlantis)” has this highly understandable type of harsh vocals that I always liked and it’s reminiscent of the olde age of black metal where genres were not totally set in stone. On the other hand, "The Oath (Of Magic and Fire)" has vocals worthy of the best NWOBHM albums and an extremely evocative chorus.

The Eternalist is a rich album with diverse textures with intricate keyboards, subtle chord arrangements (listen to the ending of “Gilgamesh”) and acoustic guitars but the metal riffing remains an essential component of their identity. The metal influences are also quite numerous from the distinctive black metal sound developed in the early 90s by a wide array of interesting bands including Agatus themselves to the ballsy epic heavy/power of Warlord and even Blind Guardian (“Perils of the Sea (Part II)” has leads reminding me of André Olbrich’s playing.). Greek metal bands always incorporates a massive amount of Mediterranean emotions and soundscapes into their music and Agatus are definitely masters of Attican art.

The amalgam of vivid melodies and musicianship is something Agatus truly possess. The fact that the songs are on the short side could be seen as a curse since they’re packed with so much stuff but it’s one of their strengths. They never overstay their welcome and keep things quick, tidy and fresh throughout the whole album. The drumming of Dimitrios (aka Vorskaath) is still impeccable and never tries to be over-the-top even if he could totally unleash furious beats if he wanted to. The guitars are clear, heavy and are really great at mixing the different styles played by the band and the leads are just full of feelings and are the true definition of epic metal. The bass is not so loud but its presence is felt in a very enjoyable fashion, it could had been a bit higher in the mix though. Regardless, the production is lush and doesn't obscure the metal riffs, everything is at its rightful place and I just want to listen to the album all-day long.

All in all, Agatus released a strong album and it has nothing to envy to their previous oeuvres whatsoever. It’s a condensed work with so many riffs, passion and managed to expand their classic metal side. At times, it almost sounds like Rotting Christ mixed with Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and yes, this is wonderful. Greece is having another great year with albums like Nox Formulae’s The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstasy or Kawir’s Father Sun Mother Moon but Agatus’ The Eternalist might be the best representative of this excellent scene.

Bandcamp

Thanks to Hells Headbangers for the promo copy.

The Temple – Forevermourn (2016) / 84%

Hellenic Metal Help Fund part IV : Doom 4 ever

Ah, doom metal, admittedly easy to play and compose if you want your band to be plain and dry but that’s not what these Greek dudes did, oh no. The quartet from Thessaloniki has been alive for a while but this is only their debut album. It took a long time for the band leader, Alex (bass, vocals, compositions), to find an appropriate lineup since like doom metal, life is not always an happy affair and sometimes many things can stop you from achieving your vision. I’m glad that in the end, nothing could stop Alex and his love for traditional doom. Let’s enter the temple in his company.

The seven songs of Forevermourn are mournful affairs but they’re far from being timid slow numbers full of despair. Tracks like “Remnants” are relatively mid-paced busy songs full of twin guitar melodies recalling the heydays of epic doom but The Temple is infusing this style with the depressive, emotional style of Warning or the current German doom of Cross Vault (that I personally thought to be underwhelming). Alex and company are also adding slight black metal touches to the fold in certain guitar moments and it’s well done. What differentiates the Greeks from some of their peers is the actual quality of their instrumentation, it’s heavy, never whiny and soul crushing.

Alex’s vocals are clean highs that fits his music very well. There’s loads of melancholy in the somewhat buried singing and while he’s not on the same level as Messiah Marcolin or Markus Becker (Atleantean Kodex), he gets the job done. I’d say that like the songs, he’s a bit samey and some diversity would had been better but there’s still not a lot of weaknesses in the songwriting. I’m not asking ‘em to add strings or whatever, this would be silly as they don’t try to be My Dying Bride, but some tempo variations could be cool. Nevertheless, the identity they developed on this debut album is clear, it’s dreamy but sad traditional doom metal.

Thick basslines, memorable melodies, sweet guitar leads, I don’t want to leave the temple, I’d mourn there forever.

The Temple on Facebook

Metal Bounty Hunter: Volume 3

Glass Shrine – Impurities (2015) / 79%

A fragile shrine to worship

A one man band from the United States, this new project is like a breath of fresh air on black metal, the 3 songs, 8 minutes demo is fast, melodic and almost happy metal. The vocals are super great, there's even a clean break on the first track “Pyrrhic Bliss” and it was a pretty sweet moment, it had this martial atmosphere and it felt surprisingly epic.

The brief tracks are a mix of punk influenced black metal (not as much as bands like Raspberry Bulbs, of course), the more experimental side of Krallice but in a low-key, subtle manner and some more conservative, raw black metal. It's a demo so it doesn't have a Nuclear Blast production and thank god for that, it's a mix of self-assumed lo-fi ness but it's still pretty clean all things considered. The guitars are crisp and the vocals are not too buried, the drums could had been a bit heavier though. I've been doing my best to spread the word about this interesting new project, I know he's working on a full length album and he'll have a bigger internet presence once it's done but in the meantime, check out this demo!

Listen to the demo here:

Black Sword Thunder Attack – Promo 2015 / 84%

Six Minutes of Pure Epicness
  
Greece really likes epic metal, Manilla Road are gods over there (as they should be everywhere else) and this is no exception. This short demo is composed of two songs from a planned full length (on the ice since some members moved, from what I heard) and it's simply excellent. The biggest inspiration is surely Lordian Guard, the vocals are similar cleans, womanly chanting and they sing those very catchy lines. The guitars are almost in constant lead mode for the duration of these two three minutes tracks and it's tasty as hell. Their epic heavy metal is both atmospheric and engaging. I'm in love with these kind of explosive riffs, it's timeless and perfect for the genre. Recommended for all the fanatics of the olde metal with a theatrical twist.

In the purest Ageless Wisdom, the two tracks demo is fun Greek trad metal. It's smart epicness with the best band name ever. Elric would be proud.

Corman – The Corman
Film School (2015) / 73%

B movie trad doom

While I'm not familiar with the cult movies of Roger Corman that inspired the lyrics here (I'm not much of a B movie buff to be honest), I'm widely familiar with traditional doom metal and that's what these Portuguese trio play. I really didn't dig their sound at first, I thought it was inexplicably weird but I kept trying and finally found their secret. They have this weird approach to a traditional genre, a bit like Realmbuilder, it's highly unorthodox both in the vocal and songwriting departments.

I thought the vocals were pretty terrible at first but they're really charming and fits the peculiar, insane music displayed here. The clean, operatic approach works well here and I'm totally fine with bad good vocals for doom metal, this is a genre at its best when, deep down, it's made by real amateurs and lovers of the genre. The musicianship is nevertheless quite solid, the riffs are fast and the songs short and to the point. The band leader promised that the future material will be stronger and catchier in an interview so I'm anxious to hear that. Recommended only to true fans of of trad doom who are tired of listening to Pentagram or Minotauri. 

Corman on Bandcamp

Interview on Doom-Metal.com

Ex People – Loss (2015) / 82%

Mulder and Scully investigates the doom metal phenomenon

Originality is always a plus as far as lyrics are concerned and this newly formed British quartet definitely understood that. The three songs are all based around episodes from the first season of the X-Files and like many old 80s heavy metal bands, the series just did a comeback so the timing is quite appropriate! Their doom is interesting, it has a woman handling the mic (wonderfully and subtly, I might add) but it's very far from these occult mom doomy bands everywhere nowadays (think of Lucifer, Purson or Blood Ceremony), it's noisy and has this cold mechanical feeling. 

It seems like these guys don't really fit in the metal scene (two members were in this indie pop/rock band called Internet Forever) and just happens to play very heavy and loud music similar to what we know as doom metal since it fits the strange investigations of Mulder and Scully. There's an enjoyable rawness to the heavy guitars and they're not too dissimilar from what an alternative/noise rock band would use. The songs are slow dirges but they're the perfect length to keep us interested and the production fits this sort of urban, ugly doom metal very well.

It's mysterious, dark and like the cover art, it's spooky. This first release by Ex People made me feel hopeful for the British doom scene after being disappointing by the latest albums of With the Dead and Electric Wizard. Some people still care about breaking boundaries.

Ex People on Bandcamp

Universe217 – Never (2013) / 86%

Hellenic Metal Help Fund part III: Fishing in Neverland

A series highlighting the interesting bands the Greek underground metal scene has to offer. In this time of need for the legendary country, let's show our support by listening to their rich musical endeavors.

Never, the third album of this quartet from Athens is one of the most interesting and original pieces of doom metal released recently. Blending a sort of depressive doom metal, almost reaching funeral doom levels of despair, with a soft and reflective aura. Their best component is perhaps their singer, Tanya Leontiou. Her powerful, distinctive delivery reminds me of Agnete of Norwegian progressive doomsters Madder Mortem (we're due for a new full length from these guys, it's been five years!). Her voice is as charismatic and mind-blowing as the (now finite) involvement of Uta Plotkin in Witch Mountain. She has this truly intense approach and a magnificent voice, she's the first thing you hear when you start the album with the song “Mouth”, this proves she's the spirit of Universe217's music, there's no mistake about this.

Their music is slow and atmospheric but the heaviness is still very present. It's brooding and has this overacting sense of modern, quasi-industrial feel. The sole guitar is huge and can switch to mechanical, cold bludgeoning riffs to reflective and calmer ones like the long and incredible “She” with its endearing crescendo and its soft and pop Muse-like moments, it's mixing both the lovely and the frightening. It's also a varied album even if all its parts are in harmony with each others, the song “Harm” for instance reminds me of the Oriental feeling of Loreena McKennitt or Orphaned Land.

They have elements of many genres but all in all, what they play feels pretty unique and fresh. The Metal Archives labels them as “experimental doom” and that's pretty adequate. From the use of a piano to the blues or soul influenced vocals, they're bringing a lot of nice ideas to their metal formula and should be discovered by a larger public.

L'Airged l'amh – One Eyed God (2002) / 75%

Hellenic Metal Help Fund part II – Varangian Silver

A series highlighting the best of what the Greek underground metal scene has to offer. In this time of need for the legendary country, let's show our support by listening to their rich musical endeavors.

The Athenians formed this project way back in the 80s but this is their debut album released more than a decade after their inception. The name of the project is, based on some online translators I've tried is Irish for “raw silver” or “the silver arm” and that's a pretty lovely moniker but weird for a Greek band to use this foreign tongue. Instead of being influenced by the rich and interesting Greek mythology, these guys are more into Celtic heritage and Nordic tales (made obvious by the drawing of Odin on the cover and its related title. It's not that surprising though since it's well known that Vikings (Varangians for the Greeks) traveled everywhere in Europe and reached Sicily, Russia, Constantinople and obviously the Hellenic world and has influenced these cultures. Many centuries (or millenniums) later, this band emerged and offered their metal to the gods of old.

Throughout the seven songs, L'Airged l'amh demonstrates their ability to cover many different genres. They remind me of Blind Guardian's period before Nightfall In Middle-Earth, a period where the German legend was mixing heavy, power and folk metal (think of “Somewhere Far Beyond”). Furthermore, the vocals of John Georgopoulos (he's sharing the vocals duty with Stavros Giannakopoulos, who's the singer on their two other full lengths) easily remind the ones of Hansi Kürsch. L'Airged l'amh are a bit all over the place, they try their hand at overblown symphonic epic metal like on the second track “The Vision Revealed” and folk metal such as the serene acoustic debut of Yildrazil / One Eyed God or the Skyclad-ish break during “Dissention Seeds”. 

They have this sort of 1990s progressive power metal vibe with technically sound riffs and interesting leads. This is combined to their classy yet sometimes artificial background of epic symphonic metal and their traditional mix of heavy and old power metal. When they decide to move things up and play outright heavy metal, the dual guitars are making themselves obvious and the bass is quite in your face. While musically interesting and quite proficient at their instruments, it's a bit mundane sometimes, the extraneous elements the band is using save this from being a mediocre effort. The tracks are not too long and well garnished except the ten minutes closer, it drags a little too much. It's worth checking out if you like the aforementioned Blind Guardian and you're tired of spinning their records.

Dexter Ward – Neon Lights (2011) / 88%

Hellenic Metal Help Fund part I: Crafted with Love

A series highlighting the interesting bands the Greek underground metal scene has to offer. In this time of need for the legendary country, let's show our support by listening to their rich musical endeavours.

Dexter Ward from the Greek capital city is one of the most impressive trad metal revivalists I've heard in a long time.Fronted by Italian native Marco Concoreggi, the former front man of Battleroar (DW also has one of their ex guitarists), their debut full length is an infectious heavy metal album and I can't get enough of it.

The main element that I really noticed on Neon Lights is the variety of both the songwriting and the lyrical themes. We have some super catchy tracks like “Metal Rites” and its whispering poppy but menacing chorus and also longer, epic tracks like the Viking inspired “Return of the Longships” or “Back to Saigon” about the Vietnam war. They could be interpreted as all over the place but it's not entirely the case, the album has a good sense of unity and there's not many changes in tempos. The diversity of their lyrics is akin to their main influence, the mighty power of Iron Maiden. Albums like “Piece of Mind” or “Powerslave” where quite varied in both musicality and themes and the Greeks are definitely one of their disciples. They also worship the hard rockin' approach of Accept from time to time such as on “Youngblood”.

Marco's vocals are often spiteful, he's a clean vocalist but there's almost a sort of Venom-esque vibe to his vocals while he's mainly a high pitched vocalist and he's great at falsettos. He has a lot of power and range and use his skills well, he never go overboard with unnecessary screams and the likes. He's particularly great in the Maidenesque soft section of the aforementioned Viking track. He's certainly a part of the epic metal elite, mixing a NWOBHM approach with some more modern leanings.

The heavy metal Dexter Ward plays is heavy as hell, quite fast and pretty melodic. The twin guitars are tight, the solos are terrific and numerous and the production coating is simply an awesome fit for their style. It's not too clean or sterile and fits with their 80s. They're a bit derivative though, I mean, they're not really exploring new seas with this debut album and that's totally fine. Nevertheless, the Greeks crafted a tremendous album worth the time of all trad metal fans.