Ogre - The Last Neanderthal (2014) / 93%

Fortune, freedom, beyond the hand of time

Right when I discovered Ogre, the band was sadly split up or in a hiatus. I was pleasantly surprised when they got back together to play some gigs and when they announced they were working on a new album, I was more than thrilled! “The Last Neanderthal” follows their great conceptual album “Plague of the Planet” which was a one song voyage through another world and although it's not as out of the box, it's a strong effort. I had huge expectations for this fourth album since this band has released three underrated American doom gems in the past and this one is fortunately no exception.

One could point out that many doom bands evolving in the 21st century are derivative, that they're not not modernizing their sound or that they're way too much into Black Sabbath.  Ogre will not change your mind if you think that way. While I already said that I have nothing against conservatism in doom metal in some of my other reviews, I think that bands bringing fresh ideas to the fold are always interesting and the trio from Maine is truly alive and evolving within the genre. They're far from being a modern band, their sound does indeed rejects the ideals of crappetised Nuclear Blast approved idiocy. It's warm and cuddly doom metal with deep roots in hard rock, blues and even some funk at times.

The power trio's key tactic is to play everything with a deep passion for their craft, it truly transpires the speakers to hit the listener right through his heart. Their formula doesn't deviate too much from “Seven Hells” or “Dawn of the Proto-Man” but it's tighter and heavier. Songs like “Son of Sisyphus” or “Warpath” are some of the heaviest material the band has composed, it's probably helped by the superior production featured here (not 50% better, mind you, just a tad). It's airy and it has this classic aura you're expecting from a traditional doom band. The songs are rather long (three being more than seven minutes long) but they know how to diversify things, the speedy opener “Nine Princes in Amber” is fucking awesome, it's aggressive and it has this charming fantasy flair inspired by the lyrical approach full of lore. Their music is nothing ground breaking but they're doing everything a doom band should do. It can be funky (like the cover of the uber obscure 70s band funnily also named Ogre) or slowly epic like the eleven minutes closer “The Hermit” introduced by the countryesque “White Plume Mountain” interlude. I almost wanted more of this calm side of the band, as you may know, I really enjoyed Leeches of Lore's third album with all its country and folk music sensibilities and it would had been nice to see Ogre explore these foreign lands.

Ed Cunningham (bass, vocals) is surrounded by two very strong musicians who both were session live members of the seminal and cult band Blood Farmers for a while. Ross Markonish is a superb guitarist who's a big fan of reverb and long, jam inspired solos. While he's a bit less loose here, he still takes the time to deliver big time leads. Even if the solos are numerous, the riffs are still freaking good creating a rock solid basis.

As with any good power trio, the interdependence between the bass and the guitar is (and should be!) optimal. The two dudes know each others very well and it's apparent here, they have this cohesion only found within veteran bands like Rush (Ogre covered two songs from their debut album, they can be found on the Secondhand Demons compilation.) To complete the lineup, Will Broadbent is a solid drummer who's not letting himself be overshadowed by his two companions, he's groovy and knows how to drive the songs. He's old school and likes to use the cymbals, no triggers or blast beats here of course!

Cunningham's vocals are perhaps an acquired taste but if you're used to Ozzy and Geddy Lee, you'll be fine. They're clean, high and comes directly from the good ol' days of rock. He has this particular gnarly way of singing that totally fits their genre an it's pretty honest and enjoyable. He's powerful and knows how to stretch out the lyrics (not very numerous) and make them last longer. He could be a deal breaker for some people but doomsters will appreciate him since his contribution is done so gracefully within the confines of the genre. He's emotional in all his nasal might and he's another proof that the band has no weak links.

There's nothing lacking music wise. Well, perhaps something... It's just not as special as their other albums even if it's certainly as good! But there's a certain aesthetic that is missing. Maybe it's only in my head, maybe I drank too much India Pale Ale tonight, I'm obsessed with this type of beer just like I'm obsessed with this type of metal. Unlike IPAs, the only thing that is bittersweet with Ogre is the fact the album is ONLY forty seven minutes long!

The sonority that I mentioned is tied with the title of the album, it reminded me of fellow Americans Slough Feg and Crescent Shield with their respective albums “Atavism” and “The Last of My Kind” with their prehistorical premises. Ogre's lyrics are always very good such as the mythological inclined “Sons of Sisyphus” which is basically an allegory to the harsh life of a blue collar American compared to the fate of some Greek personalities. It's deep but down to earth themes with an honest intellectual approach rooted in simplicity. They're able to transpose vivid historical subjects into songs hence cementing their original identity.

The Last Neanderthal is probably the doom album of the year and it's gonna be pretty damn difficult to beat it. While it's not as adventurous as their pre break up album, the quality is more than present. No one in the genre can be as honest and as hard working as these three guys, they manage to write heavy, intelligent, atmospheric and pertinent songs with ease confirming them as the best American doom band of the decade.

Ogre on Ogrebook

Realmbuilder - Blue Flame Cavalry (2013) / 89%

Advance of the Epic Duo

The traditional duo comprised of two full fledged intellectual (one is a writer, screenwriter, filmmaker, the other is a music professor) is back with their new full length on I Hate and I was expecting it since a while. The fact that such scholars are doing such primal music fills me with happiness. It's what metal should be, an escape into the nether realms, into the unknown to evade the burden of real life. The genre also needs all kind of people bringing different ideals, different ideologies to the fold and that's exactly what these guys are doing. Exploring heavy metal with a very creative approach, Realmbuilder doesn't sound like anybody else and the musicianship is not for show nor to get sexy girls to suck their phallic egos, it's all there for a reason. Like a great thesis without useless footnotes, the band doesn't waste anything and gives you what you deserve, a great thirty five minutes of unaltered music played with passion and might.

The third album from the band is doing exactly what I hoped after their excellent sophomore “Fortifications of the Pale Architect” that I also reviewed. I wanted the band to go into an even more intricate and doomy direction, they were already epic but I wanted more and they totally delivered with this opus. The songs are longer and, I know it's cliche to say that but the songwriting has matured and reached its peak here.

The first track will fool the listener as it's a speedy three minutes attack, it's groovy and tight as fuck, the riffs are heavy, the solo is mighty and the flow is better than on their usual shorter songs. It's like they needed some sort of closure before moving to the lengthy songs composing the rest of the release. The second song “Advance of the War Giants” is a twelve minutes voyage towards whatever fantasy world is in Czar's mind and it's perhaps their best song they ever wrote. While it's increasingly atmospheric, there's a certain power to the production of the guitars that made it sound very airy and dense. The do it yourself approach is still the way to go here but everything is improved, the guitar tone is more organic and simply better produced and it suits their sound very well

The third song took me by surprise and I wasn't quite sure what to think at first. It's a slow and oceanic dirge, akin to a calm soothing walk on the beach, maybe alongside a washed up hero with a rusty sword offering you the dirty secrets of his career. It's seven minutes of pure windy atmospheres, it's pretty nice and well placed between the two ten plus minutes songs, a sort of well composed buffer between two gigantic entities fighting for power. The final title track is a good mid paced song bleeding epicness, this one is a bit too long but I'm not sure if it's due to its emotional weight or its length. It's hard to fully absorb the album in one sitting and that's probably why the album short duration is a benefit. Due to the well crafted skills of JH Halberd, it doesn't feel like it's an eternity.

The instrumentation of “Blue Flame Cavalry” is pretty rich. As written in the booklet, there's “miscellaneous percussion and sound design” and also some trumpet, all played by JH Halberd who's handling all the instruments except the drums and some guitars leads. He has an exceptional vision of what traditional metal is. There's no fucking around and even if there's a lush background to the songs, it's not for the grand purpose of making avant-garde shenanigans, it's to create their own grand worlds inhabited by over the tops conceptual allegories made of spikes and stones. There's a certain military vibe to the aptly titled album, it has this fantasy medieval flair to it which is quite enjoyable. It's a nice extension of the lyrical side, not that it wasn't already achived in their previous albums  but it's clearly  overstated in a good way here

Four songs of cohesive epic heavy metal with an additional doom feel is what we get here and it's their strongest release yet. It's deep and full of imagination, it tells a story that transpires power and confidence (to be honest, I have no idea what it's about but it's epic!) Just like in his more “prestigious” job, Czar is able to offer a pleasant narrative with simple yet memorable vocal lines. I think he improved his delivery here, it's even catchier than before even though the songs are supposed to be these long, full fledged epics. It's still this unorthodox approach but it's more natural here even though the band is still an acquired taste. There's plenty of sing along moments like these cool “uuuuh uuuh” lines that are giving an almost religious vibe to the album. There's a certain nod to the best cult band ever, Rush on this album. It can be found both in the atmospheric and precise songwriting and the long tracks reminding me of their underrated classic “Caress of Steel” with their epic scenery depicted with grace and talent. Not that Czar's voice is similar to Geddy Lee's but there's this charm coming from this original yet enchanting eccentric delivery.

The band, opposing many detractors, is still not giving up on its nonconformist crusade. This album won't please their naysayers but if you already liked them, there's no ways you'll be disappointed. A mandatory album for adventurous heavy fan and a good way to end 2013, a great year for traditional metal.

Thanks to I Hate for the promo.

Altar of Betelgeuze - Darkness Sustains the Silence (2014) | 85%

Shiny!

With some members of the excellent band Decaying, I knew the first full length of these finns would had been good. Released on the first day of 2014, this album starts the new year with a bang. Mixing the lengthy doom/death approach of Decaying's great debut “Devastate” (highly recommended) with a huge dose of stoner elements, this album not only works as an extension of what these musicians are able to do but as also as its own project.

After a short introduction, the band isn't wasting any time with “A World Without End”, a groovy and fast doom/death number. Even though the riffs may seem simple and typical of the genre, there's a traditional overtone to be found here. A sort of admiration for the funnier side of doom metal, the one which is still praising Satan but with a smile on the face. It's even more clear when you reach the third track, the immense “The Spiral of Decay” with its mix of clean grungey vocals and death growls creating hints to both the catchy attacks of Pentagram and the darkness of Scandinavian doom/death bands like Runemagick. I really appreciate the clean delivery that creates a dichotomy in their sound not unlike Desultor.

The key factor of the excellence of this record is its diversity. From fast five to six minutes tracks to the two ten minutes, these tracks have a immense sense of mighty epicness and are very atmospheric. If you were asking yourself some questions about the particular genre of the band, don't be too anxious since the formula is very well incorporated and doesn't suffer from the weakness of a varied yet confusing album. The seventeen minutes title track closes the album in a huge way, encompassing their sound completely and it doesn't even feel that long despite its length.

The production done by Javier Félez (Ataraxy, Teitanblood, Avulsed...) is both cavernous and airy. It's not as tight as it should be but this works anyway since it's not pure, cult death metal that we're listening to. The riffs are heavy, blistering and repeated in a nice, enjoyable way. The vocals can be a bit buried but overall, they're powerful and aren't distracting from the basis of their sound. The clean vocals could had been a bit higher in the mix but I like their tone and it's an interesting touch to the mix. Exploring a melodic sort of doom/death without becoming a wimpy version like their countrymen Swallow the Sun or even Barrow Earth, AoB even adds stoner elements creating a distinctive sound.

It's nice to hear such a band in 2014, a band that doesn't need technicality or a Fleshgod Apocalypse type of “innovation”. It's pure mixing of genres and it works well, the riffs are catchy, in your face and the atmosphere is without a doubt well established without being the main purpose of their music. Atmospheres shouldn't be forced, they will appear easily if your songwriting is good enough and it's the case here. Not trying too hard, the band has a natural flow and their music is truly rewarding. “Darkness Sustains the Silence” will be featured on the “best doom albums of 2014” lists for sure. 

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Sigh – Imaginary Sonicscape | 100%

Three Imaginary Boys: The cure for metal's archaism

Note that this review is about the 2009 reissue, the true version of the album.

Tony's classics part II: I wanted to choose something special and important for me for my 100th review for the Archives and Sigh really touched my spirit with this album. It was important for my musical development and I consider it to be a landmark of intellectualism in metal, how pretentious.

This album is the peak of creativity in metal. It's the perfect release for this so called Open Minded brigade, it has everything necessary to enrage the traditional black metal fans and proves that Japan is the weirdest and most satisfactory musical kingdom to emerge. It's an unique album in Sigh's excellent discography. Located right at the middle of their career, it still has the mystic grace of their past endeavours without the slight bastardization of their black metal sound with overt symphonic elements and added gritty and busty female vocals.

The band always had an original vision ever since their seminal debut and they still lead the charge today with an undying liking of their weird world. 1993's Scorn Defeat was an exploration of the dark mantra of Japan while Imaginary Sonicscape is a trip on mushrooms full of colours, full of depth. Sigh's attempt at recreating this sound while keeping the elements they explored on the following releases (Hangman's Hymns and Scenes from Hell) was a success with their latest album In Somniphobia. I can understand why this album was so important for the composers, it helped to fully bridge into the experimental/avant garde territories and established yet another side to their persona.

Nevertheless, it's assuredly a divisive album that still shakes the foundations of the metal monument. How far will the genre go while still being able to maintain its tenacious identity? My opinion on such debate is answered by my unfathomable fondness for this record. It's one of the most glorious tour de force the genre has seen.

The main element that make Imaginary Sonicscape is the diversity of its sound. The maturity that the trio achieved through the recording is simply astounding. From jazz overtones to classical, baroque and fusion, Mirai and company are monsters of experimentation and their vision would never be as grand as it was here. From the noisy psychedelia of “Voices” to the hellish beach club of “A Sunset Song”, Sigh brushes everything with ease and they're a gifted painter who knows how to mix their colours.

It's a known fact that the Japanese are masterful musicians and Sigh doesn't neglect to pay homage to that side of their culture. Shinichi Ishikawa is one of the best guitarist in music and he shines everywhere here. He's sadly underused nowadays and a bit buried. Even though Mirai's moog and keys are often at the forefront of the sound, his associate will often unleash these juicy solos. It has everything, from Maidenesque melodic leads found in the epic “Slaughtergarden” to riffy, groovy riffs while never truly leaving the black metal elements far from the picture. Nonetheless, it's not an album for Tsjuder or Behexen fans, they truly leave these tortured goatblooded lands to reach one where instead of invoking Satan to kill your enemies, you smoke bongs and play Super Smash Bros Melee with him, he even let you take the same character all the time, I'll take Luigi, thanks Lucifer!

Borrowing the progressiveness that made Dream Theater's early releases so good, Kawashina explores a keyboard heavy form of metal. His moog sound is very original and, leaves a lusty impression on the listener. As vivid and inventive as Jon Lord was in Deep Purple, he knew that bass wasn't enough this time around, additional tools were to be used to create a lush paradise that is so distinctive. The fast and present keys are a good companion to the catchy riffs such as in “Bring Back the Dead” (unbelievable that this song was cut from the original release, it's so good). Contrary to plenty of self proclaimed avant garde bands, Sigh still delivers plenty of metallic riffs upon the listeners, their experimentation is not an excuse to stop writing these blistering guitar leads to rely solely on the atmosphere created by the synths.

Their lyrics are silly but who cares when it's so awesome, it's kind of pseudo evil and I don't think they were truly serious about them or maybe their grasp of the English language wasn't up to the task. It might has been nice to use Japanese lyrics though to confuse the westerners even more perhaps? It's weird that such an overtly grandiose and psychedelic record relies on such evilesque lyrics as its thematic base

The identity is also quite international considering it's Japanese. If you followed my reviews, you know I'm a big fan of Ningen-Isu, this progressive band with the perfect and extensive career, Sigh compared to them doesn't necessarily want their roots to go hand in hand with their hand. Even though both bands looked in the early days of rock to develop their respective personalities. They dive into the 1960s and 1970s for their influences and that's admirable, it proves that they're able to leave their confinements and search and explore something else.

Sigh always had to deal with a weakness and it's still the case here. While it's certainly not the worst around, Mirai's vocals were always the black sheep of their sound. His harsh black metal delivery here creates some sort of dichotomy with the less than static sound here. Nothing is perfect but what is admirable is the ability to know your strengths and weaknesses, the band knows how to set the table in a way nothing looks less appetizing even if a side plate is more mediocre than the main course. They do that with the vocals, there's some additional ones, even some female bits here and there and it's all cohesive. It's sort of a secondary aspect of the band here even though they're quite present. Sometimes it's buried under vocoders (not as lame as when Cynic unleashes his robots against our ears, don't be afraid). Point is, Mirai is a gentleman who knows how to travel while protecting his confidence.

Immersing, it's so vast and grasping that I have some problems talking about it. All its aspects are punching my belly like little bullets of perfection wanting to leave an indelible mark on my skin. Branching into porno music with their dirty synthesizers, there's orgasms everywhere and you never expect them to explode all over your face. Sigh creates phallic sonicscapes with their musical morphing skills, changing their genres with all their releases, exploring vast, extraneous lands .

I think it's a perfect record thanks to its intricate songwriting delivered throughout long and diverse songs. The musicianship, always trying hard to impress, is truly masterful. Mirai's instruments credits in the booklet is longer than your curriculum vitae. He's pictured around eight keyboards that would put Neil Peart's drum setup to shame. It's a masterpiece of vision, it has this vivid atmosphere that you can't find nowhere else, that's the proof that a band managed to move in an unknown direction while all his pursuivants were too puritan to follow them into abstraction.

Highlights:
-The James Bond orchestra feel of the keys in “Voices”.

-The Smith/Murray leads midway through “Slaughtergarden”.

-The disco boogey and the Abbath on the beach sound of “A Sunset Song”.

-The groovy hand claps of “Ecstatic Transformation”

-Who the hell needs these fucking highlights, listen to the damn thing you twat! 

Avatarium - Avatarium (2013) | 55%

Leif jumps on the Mum Doom bandwagon

After the end of Candlemass' recording life and while Krux is doing its own unoriginal doom divagations, Leif Edling decided to jump in the female fronted doom wagon with this new project. This self titled album, while inoffensive to the senses is as boring as Leif's stylish goatee.

The vocals are good. The riffs are ok and well played, the bass is as unimportant as it is in Candlemass but the songwriting is just fucking flat and mundane and that's the worst crime a doom band can do. The band is also guilty of being way too late to the mum doom party. The trendy doom style led by Blood Ceremony, Jex Thoth or Castle has already happened and Avatarium is like these dudes who knocked at the door at 4am with a pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon while everybody were already crashed on the floor with their pants down.

Mats Leven is cool and all but apparently he's not sexy enough (actually he kinda is) to front another band with the legendary bassist composer, Leif had to follow a fashion instead of creating one. That's kind of sad for a dude who wrote “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” to be a third wheel in 2013.

The main criticism I have concerning the music itself is the fact it's so intertwined with instrumental heavy doom parts with Candlemassesque riffs and soft, lullabyesque parts with clean female vocals. It creates some sort of dichotomy, I mean, it can work for a song or two but not as a main songwriting strategy. It's predictable as fuck and it's rhythmically awkward and lazy. It doesn't feel like a complete band but two units stacked together with duck tape.

The guitarist, Marcus Jidell, formerly of The Ring and Royal Hunt, is doing what he's asked more than decently. I will not blame him for anything since Leif is probably writing everything again. Musically, it's somewhat akin to the hard hitting, epic but melodic side of Heaven and Hell's sole album, The Devil You Know mixed with acoustic guitars and keys. It's a very safe album without any monstrous and apparent flaws but don't be fooled, the quality is just not present. I guess if you like doom metal to be as insipid and easy listening as a pop album or a Michael Bay movie, go right ahead and listen to that sleek Nuclear Blast production. I'll listen to bands who still care about doom.

“I want heavy doom riffs AND OH female vocals but I can't write them to fit together!”

Sure, it's not bad, Jennie-Ann Smith has a nice, lush voice reminding me of Ronnie James at times and it would had been appropriate for her to front Candlemass. There was no need to slightly change the epic doom formula by releasing yet another album under another name. At least Steve Harris had the decency to release an awful album under his own name instead of soiling the Maiden monicker, Leif is just adding more salt and pepper here and there and scream: “Voilà, something different!”. Nope, I don't care.

I made bacon and chocolate cookies the other day, they turned out better than this band because the recipe was cohesive. Also, compared to the riffs Leif is writing, bacon is and will always be tasty. This is overcooked.

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Owl – You Are the Moon, I Am the Night (2013) | 83%

“No regret! No retrospection!”

Christian Kolf is one of the most interesting musicians in the modern German metal scene. Fronting the weird doom/death band Valborg which is constantly releasing strong albums since their inception in the early 2000s and the excellent psychedelic sludge/whatever band Woburn House, he's a busy man. Owl is another project of his and it's still top notch metal, they're at their second full length stage and I feel they improved compared to their 2011 debut. Before continuing, I'd like to warn you that if you don't like long ass songs, just go back to your safe ten songs for forty minutes death metal album and be comfortable in your conservatism.

The approach found on “You Are the Moon, I Am the Night” is rather unique, it evolved from their self titled album into something more refined. It's exploring the realms of death metal but at the same time, incorporating enjoyable, exterior influences. Their basis remains death metal and it sounds like if Morbid Angel found a bigger brain or Nile got kicked out of their Egyptian McDonald. It has a very grandiose concept and an epic sort of riffing with a great guitar tone

The vocals of Kolf are deep and cavernous, akin to Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel, they definitely get the job done even though Kolf is first and foremost a composer, you can hear the similarity found in his other bands but transferred into a death metal setting compared to the mixes of . These rough vocals can be catchy and they sometimes rely on repetitions of lines to prove their point like “I will destroy you!” on the title track. Quite visceral! Outside of the harsh vocals, there's some profound but not cheesy cleans. Furthermore, the title track features a strange semi harsh, sludgey and almost spoken word French, it seemed to be poetry and it felt familiar but it appears to be original lyrics, they're quite good too. A romantic metaphor about the sun and the moon, very adapted to their profound music.

The album starts with two monster tracks, the eighteen minutes title track and the fourteen minutes “Clouds of the Mourning Spring”. Both very intricate and atmospheric songs full of nuances. The release ends with an ambient track just like it did on their previous album but fortunately this time, it's fortunately only fourteen minutes rather than half an hour, thank Satan for that. I like ambient but this was simply too much for me, after ten minutes, we got the message.  Nevertheless, there's still a tendency of being simply too atmospheric. I can't help to think that the last ambient track is unnecessary, Kolf has an ambient band called Gruenewald, I reckon he could keep these influences for this project instead. Still, the ambient influence is incorporated into their sound on the three metal tracks, it's certainly a part of their identity. Structurally speaking, it's not the most cohesive album, there's even a one minute interlude that would had been integrated easily in one of the other tracks. It's a bit too loose and could benefit from a tighter direction.

They can be compared to state brothers The Ruins of Beverast in a sense that they're dissecting their genres while adding instrumental, hypnotizing and emotional parts. They're both using various elements to develop their approach and in the case of mister Kolf, he's not scared of diving into atmospheric sludge/post metal to get what he's looking for. That's reflected by the cultoflunesque production and the coldness of the riffs. There's no place for long leads that are giving their sometimes overpaid place to clean guitar parts that are creating interesting background soundscapes. This mix of hard hitting slow and doomy death with sludge influences is really damn enjoyable and the songs don't feel like they're twenty minutes long.

Owl is for adventurous listeners who have a desire for for a subtle, progressive and atmospheric death metal recipe. It's still keeping the sense of dread the genre is known for but it's making it airy and dreamy. Like an owl, it's living in the dark shades of the night, waiting for a naive prey to appear. Bringing it to its nest to be devoured, lifeless.

It's recommended even though they could remove the fat from their sound but then the project wouldn't be that justified since Valborg already explores a tighter doom/death sound albeit with a twisted behaviour. It's an uncompromising album proving once again that death metal can think outside of the box and be particularly inventive. Owl is fighting the old school death metal scene while also being free from the constraints of a modern and technical sound which is overcompensating with solos and noodling. Comparable to Portal, the Germans are relying on building frameworks made out of unorthodox structures and influences. Owl, on the other hand, creates something with a sense of familiarity, it's not as discordant and unapproachable.

Owl FB
The CD is sold out but you can get the digital album here

Aktor - I Am the Psychic Wars (2013) | 90%

A reference to Circle's "Katapult" album maybe?

NWOFHM #6 : Films Aktors Guild 

Thanks to my metal god friend Azmodes for the vinyl rip of this release, I owe you big time. NWOFHM is a term coined by Lehtisalo during his career, it's to reflect his love for metal and his country, Finland.

"As the wind blows my breath away, are you listening to me?"

Formed by one of my favourite musical heroes around, Jussi Lehtisalo and, to my surprise, the American extraordinary gentleman Chris Maycock (aka Professor Black of Dawnbringer, High Spirits, Pharaoh). Aktor is another weird Finnish project created by the Circle leader that will probably, to my consternation, go unnoticed. 

Maycock is bringing his awesome and fun voice to Lehtisalo's idiosyncratic song writing  What we have here is a perfect mix of High Spirits (a very pleasant band) with the insane experimental heavy metal approach developed in Krypt Axeripper, a project that if you didn't know yet, I totally adore. While the American is not known for his powerful voice (he's a composer more than everything else), I think he's a very nice addition here. His soft and easy listening voice fits quite well with the great riffs and he's able to transpose the weird vocal lines into something truly tangible.  The choruses are fun and the lyrics are super good and totally understandable.

Their first release akin to another metal project of the crazy Finn called Tractor Pulling, is a short single with two songs but goddamn, I think I pressed the repeat button forty times since I first got it. Perhaps this length seems a bit restrictive in terms of what you can achieve musically but under the flair of these seasoned musicians, it doesn't really matter. It's a great release and one of the best metal releases the Finnish psych/experimental guru has done.

The single is mixing melodic heavy metal with the usual weird leads that you can hear in most NWOFHM with an healthy dose of AOR and hard rock à la Blue Oyster Cult (hence the title of the release, I hope you guys got it before I told you!). Both songs, the title track and “Buried by the Sea” (which is maybe a following to Krypt Axeripper's “Sacrifice the Sea”?) are short three minutes and a half tracks, they're both very catchy with undeniable and mesmerizing hooks. There’s an added poppier sound here thanks to the sufficient amount of keyboards giving an “heavy prog”  or almost electro vibe perspective and the clean vocal delivery of the Professor. It’s more accessible than bands like Motorspandex or Arkhamin Kirjasto, it’s still eccentric but it’s maybe not as bizarre as some other projects. It's a bit similar to the new incarnation of Circle called Falcon which also released their debut in 2013 but Aktor is actually a full blown metal band

This single is highly recommended for fans of traditional metal with a personal and interesting touch. It's very melodic and has nice classic and glam rock influences. Aktor is one of the best collaborations I heard recently and it was a pleasant to hear these two seasoned and respected musicians play together. Lehtisalo proves once again that he's a true underrated metal warrior by delivering yet another solid release. I can't dislike anything that emanates from his creative and joyful mind. Spend seven minutes in good company!

Listen to the whole single here uploaded by yours truly.

Buy the single on Ektro Records