Tanith - Citadel (90%) / 2017

 Cold but Warm

This single really took everyone by surprise when it was released last year. It's a blistering ten minutes of uber catchy heavy metal/hard rock and I'd probably sell my grand mother to get the full length before everyone else.

The best thing is that it's timeless but also able to bring you back to different rock eras with ease and panache. You get some hints of prog rock, especially in the way the four musicians are playing (they have skills for days) but also a fair share of other elements, intricately put together. The title track showcased the proggier and epic sound reminiscing of the hey days of NWOBHM and the proto metal of Uriah Heep while "Eleven Days" demonstrates some folky overtones with beautiful acoustic vocals and some deep electric soloing. For a short release, it's really varied and demonstrates how well Russ Tippins has assimilated all those sounds in one compact comet. It's not quite heavy and never needs to be to put you on a brief voyage through cold but warm lands as illustrated on the classic looking artwork.

The highlights of the release are the twinned guitars and the twinned vocals of Tippins and his American counterpart Cindy Maynard. Both vocalists do take an AOR approach but it fits the hyper melodic guitar riffs and the loud but evocative bass lines. It's clean, easy to sing along and just makes me happy and jolly.

The American/British quartet showed everyone how quality heavy/hard is done. I'm stoked to see what they can do on a longer medium. Maybe some extended tracks with proggier moments!? STOKED.

Bandcamp

Opeth – Sorceress (2016) / 92%

Make Opeth Metal Again?

Now one of the biggest metal/rock bands on the planet, Opeth’s career has taken an important detour with Heritage in 2011. Legions of fans and detractors alike are asking themselves what will be the sound explored on this new album. Let’s not burn the sorceress before hearing her plea, shall we?

The Swedish giant is a band in constant evolution and unlike their peer, In Flames, they managed to make the transition into softer territories in a good way. They were already showing signs of their evolution with their gorgeous 2003 opus Damnation but with Heritage, they went all in, and it displeased and divided their audience. While they will not win back the fans who wants them to be truly metal again with this new album, it might be viewed more favorably. Anyway, I don’t really care about what other people say about Opeth, I care only about what Mikael Åkerfeldt is doing since he’s been the leader of my favorite band since I discovered them in high school.

I will not let the suspense go on much longer, yes Sorceress is a good album but I do think Opeth never (and probably never will) released a bad album. I do have some reservations towards the album though. It’s clearly not as good as I wanted it to be. The band has always been somewhat disjointed as it’s usually the case with bands with long song structures. Nevertheless, it’s never been as apparent and obvious as it is here except for Heritage which is possibly their weakest album. Maybe it’s because of the eleven-tracks format (the most of any Opeth album) or the fact that the songs are a bit shorter and more self contained.


Opeth had the tendency to be meandering and includes a wide array of styles within the same songs. Sure, there’s exceptions found in their past career with songs like “Harvest” or “To Bid You Farewell”, but Sorceress feels much more like an amalgam of different styles than any other of their other albums (extreme metal excluded, no they’re not coming back to their death metal blend...). You have the folky Jethro Tull-influenced ballad “Will o the Wisp” or the heavy metal/hard rock of “Chrysalis” and the different elements are a bit less melded together than before. Furthermore, “The Seventh Sojourn” is even a track similar to the Fertile Crescent sound, and it works as a sort of smooth interlude similar to the non-metal tracks found on Melechesh’s excellent albums The Epigenesis and Enki. Oh man speaking of that, an Opeth/Melechesh tour would be killer. Make this happen, Nuclear Blast.

The final important negative point would be the abrupt end of the album. It ends with a short, one minute outro after the hard rocking “Era” and it was a bit like if the waiter removed your plate from the table while you’re eating it. It was a sudden and unexpected finale to an otherwise great album. The introduction right before the title track works though. It’s classical guitars with some ethereal female spoken word, and it sets the tone in a good way. It’s not unlike “Coil” from Watershed but it’s not a “complete” song.

Still, I reckon my criticisms are pretty small. I’ve learned to disregard those aspects after four or five spins and it remains a collection of great songs. Regardless, the album isn’t as condensed as their previous one. The cohesion is lacking and the flow isn’t perfect. Still, it’s not as incoherent as Heritage and doesn’t have as many disposable moments. I’d say that “Sorceress 2” is the only truly weak point found on this record. It’s a boring four-minute acoustic ballad with unremarkable vocal lines. It’s the total opposite of the aforementioned and super great folky “Wisp” and it has to be one of the weakest tracks Opeth ever composed.

While Pale Communion was pretty much Opeth without the extreme metal elements, Sorceress is less limited and feels it could be another transitional album. Nevertheless, I do think Opeth never did a real transitional album except Watershed. They’re just creating landscapes based on a large amalgam of approaches and themes, and it turned out their 2008 record was the last one with death metal components. Still, the tracks without Mikael’s harsh vocals like “Porcelain Heart” or “Burden” were signs of their future incarnation. I can’t help but think that Sorceress could be interpreted as a new watershed for the Swedes. It’s hard what to predict what they’ll do next, but based on the lyrics of “Era”, it could be the conclusion of their current manifestation. It’s the “end of an era, we’ll start a new...” so maybe they’ll go back to their prog death sound and tour with Amorphis like it’s 2002 all over again?!

As far as their evolution is concerned, Sorceress is still Opeth exploring progressive rock in their own way but it probably has their heavier moments since the album that gave us “Lotus Eater” and “Heir Apparent.” To answer my own Trump reference in the title, yes this is (probably??) a metal album ,and the heavy parts possess a new sense of perspective. They added some stoner flavors to their newfound metallic formula and it’s heavier than Pale Communion when it actually decides to be. The title track released as the first single is a good example of Sorceress’ metallic identity. While this is still Opeth, it’s a widely different album even if there’s their usual tropes.

Compared to the previous album, the jazz influence are gone and the combination of heavy metal, progressive rock and folk took their rightful place. We already had heavy rock parts on Heritage (“Slither”, a song dedicated to Dio) but those parts are boosted on this album. This side of the band’s identity took time to appear and knowing how much Mikael is a lover of 70s and 80s heavy metal and hard rock, it was simply a matter of time. He’s a massive Michael Schenker fan and it’s obvious that UFO, Uriah Heep and the NWOBHM scene were huge influences on the compositions. Those classic rock influences were included into the idiosyncratic sound of Opeth, they never were and never will be a cheap throwback or a “vintage rock” band. They’re innovative while looking at the rightful musical identities of the past.

Concerning the individual performances of this opus, Martín Méndez’ bass is a shining beacon. He’s been playing a role within the band’s sound recently and it’s a good thing; the dude is on fire and deserves more credit and praise. Another key element: The keys of Joakim Svalberg (his second album with the band) are thunderous and give Opeth their well-deserved rich sound. The chemistry between the keys and the guitars is certainly something to behold.

“There is a voice surrounding me...” -Mikael Åkerfeldt on “Strange Brew”

About the leader himself, he’s always been one of my favorite singers but he has been improving his clean vocals for a while now and probably offers his best performance ever as a clean singer on this 12^th album. He shines on the rougher moments, and he’s been expanding his pallet for the softer parts. While I’ll admit I do miss the growls at times, even if they wouldn’t fit here, he’s masterful on Sorceress. He’s soulful, charismatic and sensual on the heavy bits, and sensible and mystic during the calm instants. My favorite Mikael moment of the album has to be the memorable chorus of “The Wilde Flowers”.

Production-wise, I dig the guitar tones, they have this old school feel but with strong doom sensibilities. The riffs on tracks like “Chrysalis” or the truly sole epic they did “Strange Brew” (the most varied track of the album) are killer and absolutely well written. The acoustic guitars are back in full force too and their inclusion on tracks like “A Fleeting Glance” are pertinent. Fredrik Åkesson and Åkerfeldt are expert guitarists, this is known. Their guitar parts range from being subtle to over the top in a matter of instant (listen to the soloing of “The Wilde Flowers” or the Blackwater Park/Ghost Reveries-esque calm parts in some songs). Nonetheless, they’re a bit too mechanical during the “stoner” moments (such as the debut of “Era”) but overall, the two guitarists keep things interesting, uncomplicated and tidy. It’s yet another strong slab of strong and creative musicianship.

To conclude, the new influences ranging from stoner rock to heavy metal made this a fresh record without being overly modern or distasteful. That’s a feat in itself in this saturated musical age full of bands trying to mix everything together in the hopes of creating something unusual or redesigned. Twenty-one years after their debut album, the Swedish monolithic entity still has the upper hand.

It may be the most chaotic album they ever did and the direction they took isn’t quite clear to me. Are they coming back to a more metallic sound to please the fans? Anyhow, the mixture of elements is working. It almost sounds like the perfect marriage of Ghost Reveries, Watershed and Pale Communion into one potent magical spell but it has the main downfall of Heritage, the incoherence of its tracklist.

Make Opeth Great Again? They’ve always been great and they’ll always be the best band. Metal or not. Is this album even metal? Who cares? It’s Opeth, and they’re awesome.

Originally written for The Metal Observer.

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.

Perihelion Ship – A Rare Thunderstorm In Spring (2016) / 85%

Worshipers of the City of the Moon

If you’re disappointed with Opeth’s current direction, look no further, here’s their best disciple to ever exist. The Helsinki quartet’s debut album doesn’t hide its main inspiration but still managed to move and surprise me with the way it mixed all the different influences.

To still talk about Opeth, this five track record is mixing their Blackwater Park sound with the mellotron heavy explorations of Ghost Reveries and the results almost made me forget that the Swedes have a new album coming in September since it’s so superbly done. In fact the integration of the keys and the mellotron is one of the thing the Finns improved, the instrument is much more prevalent here and it’s obvious that Jani Konttinen is an integral part of the band and not an hired gun. Perihelion Ship themselves mentioned their love for prog rock (such as the Änglagård or Anekdoten, both excellent) and it’s apparent in both their calm, atmospheric moments and the use of the keys. The acoustic parts flow well within the long songs (such as the twenty minutes self titled epic) and aren't disjointed at all. It remains a cohesive and tight record, it’s not too long and there’s no weak moments.

One major difference with the Swedish masters is the fact that there’s only one guitar but the aforementioned mellotron easily fills the potential void left by the absence of a second guitar. The way the guitar and the keys are intertwined can easily recall the glorious years of prog rock or in theory, some moments of Dream Theater but without the technical masturbation. The guitar antics are also more subtle and less into soulful soloing acrobatics than some of their peers. Songwriting wise, it’s solid but it remains Opeth worship (this is really apparent in the metal riffs and less in their proggier moments). I think it will be interesting to follow the development of the band’s identity.

Band leader Andreas Hammer handles the guitars but also sings and his voice is the clear highlight of this rich record. Both his harsh and clean vocals (widely used) are excellent. His clean approach almost reminds me of Hansi Kursch but without the operatic flair of the Blind Guardian’s frontman. His growls are deep and powerful and like the cleans, they elevate the compositions immensely. The lyrics (written by Konttinnen, their keyboardist) are also intelligent and philosophical.

While not the most original band around, the quality of this record is outstanding and for a self funded effort, it’s professional, well recorded and shows how good the musicians are.

Bandcamp 

Hammers of Misfortune - Dead Revolution (2016) / 95%

The revolution is alive and well

John Cobbett is one of the most underrated American metal composers and he’s proving yet again that everyone should praise his name by unleashing the new Hammer of Misfortune record five years after the somewhat underwhelming 17th Street. Let’s jump into this mysterious world illustrated by this futuristic, apocalyptic and totally bonkers artwork. It’s an odd fit to the band’s modern yet timeless musical qualities.

The main characteristic of this album is its expansiveness or its richness. It might feel bloated at times but it’s the good kind of bloated, the “ohhh man this Chinese buffet was so good but I just ate two weeks worth of food” way. The seven songs are all mostly on the long side but they contain an impressive array of excellent riffs and never overstay their welcome. They’re one of the sole bands combining super heavy riffs with organ and piano in a tasteful and meaningful way. In fact, if you look for the definition of “progressive metal” in a 2016 dictionary, the name of this band should be the first one listed. They mix the idiosyncratic classic side of Peter Gabriel’s Genesis and the atmospheric power of Pink Floyd with a bunch of metal styles (from speed, thrash to power and epic heavy metal) in one consistent offering. It also feels heavier and much more metallic than most of their material (especially the latest two albums). They really manage to never forget that they’re first and foremost a metal band unlike, I don’t know, Dream Theater who just released a two hours sappy opera full of ballads.

The album is pretty varied, two examples would be the track full of acoustic guitars and a slight Spaghetti Western feel (“Here Comes the Sky”) and the one song channeling Bruce Springsteen in a old traditional folk way with the epic closer “Days of ‘49”. The amount of stuff found in this 46 minutes album could fill a double album made by an unfocused and less talented band.

The guitars are inventive and always interesting, the style of Cobbett has always been one of the biggest strengths of both Hammers of Misfortune and the albums he did with Slough Feg. The leads in the hard rocking “Flying Alone” are through the roof but they’re always done in good taste and aren’t shallow and overly technical. This dude can definitely play anything (hear his involvement in the genre bending Vhol if you’re still unsure).

Mike Scalzi’s departure from the band after The Locust Years was a bit of a letdown, I think Church of Broken Glass/Fields and 17th Street were transitional albums vocal wise. Now that it’s Joe Hutton’s second album with the Hammers, I feel that he’s much more comfortable with his microphone. He sounds really good on Dead Revolutionand handles all the lead vocals (Hammers often had lead vocals sung by band members Leila Abdul-Rauf, Sigrid Sheie or former female vocalists on their former albums). We’re still served a lot of background vocals by these two though and it adds yet another layer to the band’s opulent musical palette.

Sure, Hutton often has the same gruff approach to clean vocals that Scalzi (now focusing solely on Slough Feg) and he tries to emulate him but he does it everything well. He can be surprising too, the melodies on the supremely good opener “The Velvet Inquisition” almost reminds me of Muse with their operatic flair.

All in all, Hammers of Misfortune is one of the most intelligent bands playing metal right now and they released their best album since The August Engine. Essential listening for those looking for adventurous music mixing the genres effortlessly but without restraints.

Originally published on The Metal Observer

Tarot – Reflections (2016) / 91%

Reflecting the past into the present

Since its formation in 2011, Tasmania's Tarot (formed by Wil Fried, the frontman of excellent The Wizar'd and owner of Heavy Chains) has been churning quality releases steadily and many people including myself were excitedly expecting their debut full length. Like all the projects of Wil (called The Hermit here), Tarot is quite special in its traditionalism and they're simply top notch. Compared to his other bands, they're more soothing and explores different facets of classic rock music.

Admittedly short at 34 minute, the 7 tracks are all excellent and while the influences are easily perceivable (Uriah Heep, Deep Purple), it's so much more than a cheap throwback. Tarot are mixing the lovely organ found in heavy rock of long ago with the most relaxing heavy metal known to mankind. The two main metal bands I was reminded of during Reflections are Pagan Altar and Lordian Guard. The supple guitar tone and the ethereal guitar leads combined with the high pitched nasal vocal delivery of Wil (not as exaggerated as in his trad doom metal band) recalls the contributions to metal from these two great bands. If you're familiar with Lordian Guard (founded by the creator of Warlord), you'll hear the similarity in the vocals right away, same if you like the late Terry Jones.

Mixing hard rock, NWOBHM, proto heavy metal, prog rock and even folk is not a simple task but Tarot definitely does it well. There's bits where they remind me of the folky side of Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull like the short instrumental title track and I really dig this and I'd like them to expand this side! The tracks are catchy, mid-paced affairs, a track like “Mountain Throne” has these truly memorable guitar parts and the solo rocks. It's streamlined, has no useless moments and has this super expansive instrumentation. Wil plays the guitar, the keys, the organ and sings so he's the cornerstone of the project.

It's mesmerizing and it feels good when you're listening to them. If you're looking for metal or rock that's dangerous or dark, listen to something more edgy and vulgar because this is far from that. The music from this Tasmanian trio is introspective in a timeless way. They have this brillant British medieval influence that's not absent from the aforementioned metal bands but also reminiscent of Genesis' Selling England by the Pound… Their sound is both classy and majestic (an appropriate adjective the band uses itself to describe their music), the guitars are really friendly with the organ and they live together in this rich, grand loft. It's also the best production they ever had, the riffs aren't heavy most of the time but they sound very good and I'd fuck this organ sound if I could, it's so lovely.

I need to talk about the artwork a little since it's freaking gorgeous. Karmazid is currently one of the best metal artists and I'm happy the band picked him for this debut full length. Tarot always had superb artwork but they were lo-fi amateur affairs (except the compilation The Warrior's Spell), they were quite charming anyway but this one is fully detailed and showcases the occult side of the project. The album has been released digitally (and soon on CD) but a vinyl version will follow on the excellent Van Records and I'd say it's worth to own, not only because the art is fantastic but because the music is superb as well.

Buy on Bandcamp

Local Sounds: Volume 5.0 - Poulet Neige 2015 Special

Poulet Neige is an awesome website that gives you a bunch of free (or pay what you can) albums from Quebec and Canadian bands for Christmas. It's unfortunately over for this year but be sure to keep in touch with them and register for the future edition. I got many albums thanks to this initiative and I've picked 4 of 'em for this volume. These bands all evolve in similar genres, blending indie, alternative, psychedelic rock and progressive rock together and they're all from the province of Québec and the Montréal area. 

Poulet Neige on Facebook

Uubbuurruu – Swamp Ritual (2015)

The debut EP by this Montréal quintet is quite cool. Due to the demented purple artwork, I was expeting some hard and heavy stoner metal but it's way more subdued than that. Dwelving into psychedelic rock, stoner rock, shoegaze and even blues rock, the band is definitely influenced by the excellent and popular british band Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. They have the same sort of buried Beatles-esque vocals and super fuzzy riffs. While not totally metal, they deliver heavy tunes like the speedy “I Don't Mind” or the super psychedelic closer “Radio Waves”. With the track “Dear God”, they proved that they're also capable of writing excellent ethereal blues/folk as this song sounds like a mix of Dylan and My Bloody Valentine. Highly recommended extended play, the future is bright for these guys, you should learn how to pronounce and spell their name already.

Uubbuurruu on Bandcamp

Richelieu – Richelieu (2015)

The trio from Montréal released their debut full length this summer and while I totally love their musical abilities and the music created here, the vocals and lyrics weren't totally convincing. They're influenced by the old prog rock of Québec (see Harmonium or Octobre) but they also combine this with a singer songwriter approach and some indie leanings. I thought it was a bit kitsch but frankly it's hard to make the French language work in a rock setting, I can count on my two hands the artists I really like that use my mother tongue successfully (Alain Bashung being one of them).

It's a varied album, from rougher moments like “D'la scrap” and its garage rock feel to the soothing “Repos”. I think Richelieu is at their best when they're instrumentally minded and unleash their true prog rock side like on the Gentle Giant-esque instrumental track “Dernier tableau” where the guitarist David Chassé truly shines. The synths an mellotrons are sounding good and can recall Supertramp at times, it's a good album but there's some aspects I like more than others and I'd like to see some more of those proggy harsher explorations instead of pop songs but that's just me.

Richelieu on Bandcamp

Corridor – Le voyage éternel (2015)

After the excellent EP, “Un magicien en toi” released in 2013, Corridor released “Le voyage éternel”, their debut album, back in May. They play a vivid genre mixing jangle pop, psych/progressive rock and indie and it's super good! There's a lot of reverb in the vocals, a bit like Malajube used to do, this is one tactic to make French lyrics work in a rock environment, a recurring problem I've mentioned in the previous review. The highly layered vocals are creating a smooth and the duel guitars are often loud, juggling atmospheric riffs and cool bass licks. The musicianship is impressive but they keep things subtle, that's something that one of their main influence (R.E.M.) always did as well.

In the end, the songwriting is what matters the most and they truly deliver the goods. Corridor writes short song (for a psych/prog band...) but their compositions are rich, dense and rewarding. They convinced me with their unorthodox riffs by mixing a strange psych approach and an endearing romantic side. One of the best québécois albums of the year and it's much better than the last album by Tame Impala!

Corridor on Bandcamp

Renard Blanc – Empire Onirique (2015)

After Karkwa's impact on the Quebec music scene, it was logical to see bands follow their paths. Renard Blanc (white fox) is one of them. Hugely influenced by Radiohead's early stuff, the ten songs of this debut album are atmospheric proggy rock with layers upon layers of sounds. I really like the “La guerre des tuques” (a cult children movie) in “Doucement”, it was an original choice!

While it's usually a dark or introspective genre, this trio (with the help of a session keyboardist) are keeping things rooted in positivism but without being cheesy, overly sunny or saccharine. Their explorations are calm, often instrumental with interesting percussion and the Thom Yorke inspired vocals of guitarist Vincent Lepage. Certainly recommended for fans well written soothing alt rock.

Renard Blanc on Bandcamp

Corridor and Renard Blanc are playing with the excellent Ponctuation (another band I recently got into) in two weeks, I'll try to be there! Event: @Divan Orange

Stay tuned for a sixth volume of Local Sounds in the upcoming weeks.

Baroness – Purple (2015) / 91%

Motherfucking Mace Windu would be proud!

After the ambitious Yellow & Green (2012) and their tragic accident, John Baizley and Baroness decided to streamline their sound and come back to the structure of Blue Record (still perhaps their best record as far as I'm concerned) and it was for the best as Purple is a grand record and a testament to the band leader of putting adversity behind him and move forward.

The main draw for this album is the automatic enjoyment you'll receive when you'll hear it, it's catchy as hell. Not that Y&G wasn't but it was more subdued and harder to grasp due to its somewhat tedious format. It all starts with the sludgey “Morningstar” before going to many places. I've rarely heard an album this varied that keeps things so focused and condensed. From their typical sludge rock to grungey accessible rock of the highest quality you can find, “ If I Have to Wake Up (Would You Stop the Rain)” is absolutely stunning. Baizley's vocals also never been that good, his delivery is excellent and there's a truly memorable urgency to his voice (see “Try to Disappear”). There's an hetfieldian influence (no wonders “Tallica likes them) and it's awesome. Long gone are the days where they use harsh vocals but they're not needed anymore, their sound has evolved into something else, something not as “red”, something more hopeful. They still have loud guitars, good riffs (“Desperation Burns”) but it's possibly heavier than Yellow (the heaviest half of their predecessor) and I mean, it should be after what happened to them. Music is always therapeutic (for the musicians and the fans alike) and it's obvious that the writing process was influenced by their bus accident.

When I called on my nursemaid
Come sit by my side
But she cuts through my ribcage
And pushes the pills deep in my eyes

Baroness has always been a highly intricate band and has been known to push the limits of the traditional metal or rock instrumentation and it's the case here as well. The drums are inventive, there's almost a Christmas bells influence on the aforementioned closer “If I have to Wake Up” and this is appropriate since the album was released in December! There's this shoe gaze/dream pop intro to “Chroline & Wine” and a wide range of rock influences ranging from hard rock to alternative rock. The interlude “Fugue” is basically R&B and it's glorious! They even channel their inner Thin Lizzy and unleash some solid licks. There's not a lot of bands who are successful at integrating the mainstream rock scene while retaining their identity, Baroness did it and they're now on the verge of stardom. They're hard working, super talented and with a clear and distinguished identity. In my eyes, their transition towards a rockier and more accessible sound was even more outstanding than Opeth's (a band with a similar progressive ability).

The guitars are singing their songs and I'm surprised by the amount of hope and positivity this record has, it's not always dark and this speaks wonders about John's thought process. Keeping the usual Baroness aesthetic (naked women, flowers, birds), the quartet has released another strong album, their fourth in a row.

Garden of Worm – Idle Stones (2015) / 85%

Edgar Allan Poe Dameron - Doom-Wing prog leader

Perhaps that these stones are idle but this Finnish trio is far from being static. Half a decade since their debut self titled album, we're offered this new sacrifice to the gods of doom and compared to their previous full length, this is much rooted in progressive rock and quite a bit softer.

The four songs and forty something minutes record is divided in two parts : the first being two introspective long tracks and the second being two shorter yet atmospheric numbers. It took me a while to fully appreciate the release as it's nowhere near as automatically rewarding as their debut but after four or five spins, I was slowly getting entranced into the dark yet comfortable world created by these guys. The guitars have this exploratory feel, it feels like some sort of psychedelic improvisations at times and it's quite soothing. This combined with the reflective clean vocals of guitarist Erno Taipale (also in the excellent psych band Seremonia), this creates an album that really distinguish itself from the traditionally traditional doom scene. It's sad and feels like a lonely night on a frozen lake and somewhat acts as a interpretation of Finnish woes about solitude.  Kudos to the use of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry for the last track as well, well done.

Emptiness was gathered
As a token, an epitaph
In the end it's all we have

Despite the seriousness of the themes, the riffs feel loose and almost gentle in college rock kind of way. They still unleash the hard goods like with the superb opener “Fleeting are the Days of Men” or the enormous bass lines of “Desertshore” but there's many moments where the three main ingredient of rock and metal do their own thing for an extended period of time like on the prog “Summer's Isle” and its glorious final instrumental section. If bands like Saint Vitus aren't weird enough and you dig the likes of Revelation or most of the Finnish scene, step into the garden of ghargh.

Garden of Worm on Facebook

Local Sounds: Volume 2.0

Here's the second volume of this series with five projects from the great city of Montréal. They're all widely different and that's a living proof of the quality of our music scene. I will not waste any time by talking about the weather or whatever, let's start with the first band!

Eliza - A Quit Smoking Soundtrack (2014)

This young Montreal band call their music « prog de casquette » or “hat prog” and while this is a weird description, it's oddly fitting. Their blend of super atmospheric and sad alternative rock certainly has progressive rock influences but the more ethereal ones. I was reminded of the Norwegian band Gaspacho a little since they both play this sort of adventurous but still accessible rock with superb, soaring clean vocals. It's romantic and the guitars are able to create these original yet familar melodies effortlessly. These Quebecois are one of the most promising bands in Montreal and hopefully their debut full length will live up to my expectations and by singing in English, Eliza can open the doors of interntational recognition a bit more easily, they're certainly quite talented and they deserve more admiration. I've missed one of their recent gigs with She Serpent (featured on Volume 1.0) and I feel bad about it.

Free download on Bandcamp

Carnior – Post-Sauce (2014)

Carnior are about to release their third extended play (and final one since they're breaking up) but this is one of their albums released last year. The instrumental quartet is quite interesting, they play an intriguing mix of neo progressive (think of The Flower Kings' love for Yes and Peter Gabriel era Genesis) with some post rock, some electro, some psychedelic, some experimental noise and a love of jazz technics. The bass is thick and heavy in the mix and the keyboard and pianos are really cool and in your face. The guitars are obviously influenced by Steve Hackett (one of the most underrated guitarists of his time) and are particularly juicy, check out the soloing midway through “Dark foncé (sul' sofa)”, it's super good. They'll play their last gig next week (September 23rd) and I'll try to attend!

Free download of Post-Sauce on Bandcamp

Basil Oussaint – Agile (2015)
This dude really managed to get me out of my comfort zone (outside of showcasing the best local music, this is certainly one of the purposes of this series) with this album. Agile, his sixth release overall, is a joyful and eccletic blend of pop, world music, electronic, house and synthpop and it's extraordinarly catchy. It's super sexy, the beats are awesome and his vocals and lyrics (all in French) are super attractive and corny in the best way possible. Basil has basically no internet presence outside of this Bandcamp page but fans of the great Philippe Katerine's most out there material will dig this record. Bonus point for having a cat on the cover art!

Free download on Bandcamp

Golden Python – Matt Damon vs. The World (2014)
Since I saw Team America in the theaters (damn, this was more than 10 years ago), the “MATT DAMON” joke has always been one of my favorite running gags so the title of this album by Golden Python got my attention. Their first EP is a fantastic experimental indie rock record with some math rock and screamo influences with fucked up lyrics. I was reminded of Modest Mouse a little mostly because of their unorthodox musicality and weird poetry. There's almost a video game music influence here but it's all played with the traditional rock instruments, the guitars are really playing these complex and strange melodies (check out “Flat Tree / Fat Tone”). Highly recommended for those who think indie rock is boring, this is far from being mundane.

Buy the EP on their Bandcamp

Growing Pains – Mood (2015)

Released back in June, this EP is simply a stunning piece of grungy power pop/punk/alternative rock and I can't get enough of it. It's very 90s and has the same mournful but uplifiting feel early Weezer had. It's all about being concise and punchy unlike some of the more intellectual and atmospheric picks of this Volume. I really like the four short pieces on “Mood”, especially the softer one “Paradox”. I want more of this! It's sweet nostalgic music, it's accesible, melodic but has enough power in the riffs to not be a sacharrine affair devoid of intellectual integrity like most of the mainstream pop punk projects.

Live with Pluum (featured on Volume 1.0), Golden Python and 2 other bands soon @Turbo Haus


Free download on Bandcamp

Northwinds/Marble Chariot Split 10 inches (2015) / 85%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XIV: 10 inches of doom

For this edition of the Baguette series, I have an interesting split to tackle. The 10” features two of the previously reviewed bands of this series, on one side we have the newcomers of Marble Chariot and on the other, we have the veterans of Northwinds. The two French artists both evolve in the traditional doom metal genres but there's still some differences to be found in their respective approaches.

Side A – Northwinds – Witchcoven

Wizards in black, with dark wings on their back

Witchcoven, mortals are living in fear

The Parisian quartet's song is a strong slab of folky doom. The eight minutes number starts with a soft flute intro with a lovely acoustic guitar and the soft vocals of drummer Sylvain Auvé. I think his voice, while heavily accented in English, was always a good fit for the band as it can adapt to both the softer or the heavier side of their music. After the calm introduction, the wind starts blowing and this music is intertwined with crows singing their prayers, you can feel the metal approaching and the riffs are starting to appear. Northwinds are masters (of Magic? Read my review for their 2001 album here) at combining progressive rock, folk à la Jethro Tull and old school doom metal and this song is no exception. It rocks hard but still has many prog elements like this ethereal piano. The song ends with a blistering classic metal solo and some synths demonstrating that they once again offered a varied trip with the length of one song.

Side B: Marble Chariot – Darkness Descends

There's nothing else but shattered dreams

Imploring eyes questioning me

Sharing its name with the seminal classic of Dark Angel, this track from the trio of Bordeaux improves the sound found on their first extended play (and sole release before this split). They play a totally sad and crushing version of trad doom mostly inspired by the slow, bass heavy formula of Reverend Bizarre (one of the main influences in trad doom these days and that's fine with me). Sébastien Fanton's vocals are stronger and possess a clearer sense of operatic might than before, he simply got better in my opinion. There's also some harsh background vocals included here and it gives a somewhat darker tone to the track. Another thing the band improved is their pacing issues, “The Burden is So Heavy” had two ten plus minutes and they were dragging a little too much and had some uninteresting parts, “Darkness Descends” is a long song but the riffs, the solos and everything else are all better. Their doom is honest, well written and despite the simplistic nature of their identity, it's subtle and rewarding. I think this is proving that the band is ready to finally unleash a full length album. They have the adequate production, the huge bass tone and the miserable lyrics, come on guys, I'm waiting!

I'm a bit sad both songs are in English but doom tries to unleash its despair to every living souls on Earth and the tongue of Shakespeare is the way to go. Nevertheless, it would had been fun to hear more French doom in French, you know. Outside of this linguistic matter, it's a strong split with two very good tracks. They fit very well together even though Northwinds is usually much more serene and almost joyful at times while their companion here are totally about loving misery and despair. This split is showcasing a band at the peak of their art with Northwinds and one that's becoming pretty damn good at theirs with Marble Chariot.

Thanks to Marble Chariot for the vinyl.

Buy it here

Remmirath - Shambhala Vril Saucers (2015) / 86%

Too weird for Agent Scully

Imagine something weird, something magical and truly out there or something hidden in the highest mountains of Nepal and you have yet to reach the pinnacle of what Remmirath is about. The Slovakian's troop second full length is one of the weirdest albums you can find in metal nowadays. Sigh wishes they would be this exploratory and avant-garde but Mirai is probably too busy hanging out with Mikannibal backstage. This quintet definitely went to the Master's Hammer's school of wonders (think of their controversial album Šlágry), it's just one country away and everything is nearby in Europe while I need to pack provisions for a week if I'm going out to get the newspaper here.

I knew that I was in for an experimental ride when I noticed that the album had a member dedicated to and I quote “Effects, Tingsha and Throat chanting”. Some other instruments included on the record are the Melodica, the Glockenspiel, the Thunderbox, the jaw harp, the claves or even some maracas. We're pretty far from the traditional bass, guitar and drums setup, friends. They still manage to incorporate these elements gracefully, it's all over the place, yes but not in a highly chaotic, dissonant or disorderly manner. Compared to their excellent debut “Polis Rouge” released back in 2008, this album is less metal but perhaps as good and interesting.

The six songs release could be divided in at least two parts but let's keep it minimal and say that the first four four tracks are an amalgamation of extreme metal and well, everything that they managed to fit inside their minds. This includes ethnic world music (think Indian, Nepalese and obviously Eastern European as the band is Slovakian), progressive metal à la Alchemist, surf rock and Sergio Leone spaghetti western music reminding me of one of my favorite bands, Leeches of Lore (listen to “The Gunfighter's Quest for Enlightment”).

Secondly, the last two songs are non-metal psychedelic explorations with strange sampled vocals and Melechesh-esque Mesopotamian rhythms. The album's ending is unusual but it's not a bad thing, it's incredible to hear an album that's so diverse but so cohesive at the same time. It almost has nothing to do with Satan's favorite music though, it's more about the Dalai-Lama playing poker in space while getting a blowjob from an Indian hooker living in Bratislava.

The opener “Tiger of the City” starts with a bang and these deep harsh vocals and includes a wide array of psychedelia. It has a vintage video-game section before going back to the melodic progressive black metal riffs that you heard early on. The metal riffs, when present, are legit, not always black metal either, it has this progressive death metal vibe from time to time. Outside of the unorthodox instruments mentioned earlier, the traditional rock music elements are through the roof. The bass is thick, highly audible, almost fret-less in its presence and the drums are varied and technically proficient. Nonetheless, these doesn't quite matter in the grand scheme of things, I was wooed by the tremendous originality of their music. It's not for everyone, probably for a small minority of people, this is uncompromising and weirder than Yoko Ono on acid.

Also, random fact, the album was released on my birthday and I heard it on the same day. It was a weird anniversary to say the least!

Remmirath on Bandcamp