Despite my fervent promises, I find it too tedious to do proper long reviews. So, save for the albums I really look forward to/like way too much, I'll just do a monthly recap (sometime during the month after). As it is, my taste in music is still rather varied, but right now I'm in a bit of a melodeath/folk pit.
Ensiferum: One Man Army
Anyone with a little knowledge of metal knows Ensiferum - the Finnish poster band of folk metal. Folk metal, for me, was always sort-of-there, little cheesy, little too happy. This time, I've first heard the songs off the new album
during the Omnium Gatherum-Insomnium-Ensiferum concert. It came to my
attention that I had already seen them live once before – they opened for
Children of Bodom way back in 2009 (I feel so old now). I guess I'm just there that now I can really appreciate folk metal for what it is. Moreover, it
seems to me that folk metal musicians are generally just awesome and wholly
agreeable people.
Anyway, the album is excellent. As far as I can tell, it's pretty standard
Ensiferum, but then again, they do have a certain level of quality. Although I
have to admit that the disco part in Two of Spades did take me by surprise.
Listen to:
Heathen Horde, One Man Army, Warrior Without A War
The Agonist: Eye of Providence
For all my
weird metal tastes, one thing I can say for sure is I have a fondness of all
fusion genres. Now, this isn't as weird as progressive technical death or cyber
metal, but it's definitely more complicated than simple metalcore – however, it's
catchy enough for that. Honestly, I wouldn't have any metal cred in most groups
– metal fans always claim it's one big family, but not if you dare to differ
towards the mainstream. Then you're just the grey sheep among the black.
Well, this Canadian band is definitely the better half of metalcore – the kind which is actually
heavy, not just pretends to be. It's energetic, part beautiful melodies and
part riffs. Some of it seems same-ish, as it is with metalcore, but it's a
solid record. I'm particularly fond of Architects Hallucinate, for obvious reasons.
Carach Angren: This Is No Fairytale
For the
longest time, I didn't like black metal. Pure black metal seemed entirely too
pretentious to me, and all the right-wing associations of prominent bands didn't
endear the genre to me either. However, I've gradually started to discover the
more obscure subgenres within – and Dutch trio Carach Angren are the epitome of majestic
symphonic black metal. Their flare for the dramatic is rather enjoyable, and
their choice of lyrical themes – ghosts, fantasy, legends and general creepiness – is in absolute symbiosis with their sound.
The theme of this album is particularly creepy (the title says it all), and oh
my, is the execution perfect. The mood of the album will suck you in entirely,
and then you’ll listen to the whole story. It’s frankly amazing how well they
can convey a story. Of course, it's still black metal, so not for the
faint-hearted.
All That Remains: The Order of Things
Oh look,
another melodic metalcore record (I'll admit that there’s an overflux of
metalcore bands out there, and most of them are pretty shit, especially by
metalhead standards). This time from the US, a good deal more commercial than The Agonist, your resident radio-friendly metal. In general, I find American metalcore bands less ingenuous than other acts. So
why is it here? Well, this is the kind of music I go to when I need some pop
tunes to lift me up. (That, and folk metal. I need something at 3 a.m.
afterall.) This record is good enough, but it's not any The Fall of Ideals.
Listen to: This Probably Won’t End Well, Divide, Pernicious
All in all, February was a good month, but you should look forward to March – I'll also do a separate post of the new Nightwish album. Naturally.
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