The last time I had such an un-metal summer, I think, must have been at least two years ago. To be fair, I did reach back a lot for releases from 2016, an apparent heat-induced laziness preventing me from searching out new, potentially more interesting music. Summer is always a floatier affair, not really lending itself to the heavy sluggishness of my usual musical diet. Instead, there's some light-hearted prog and in memory of the fun days, a surprising amount of relative-to-doom upbeat punk.
Anathema - The Optimist
Let's start it with a breezy progressive record. I'll admit, I didn't get much into this record when I first heard it. It was the beginning of summer, I was busy with life and didn't sit around wallowing in my usual introspective misery. Then, as evenings grew colder in August, I suddenly clicked, because as big as Anathema is, I never got the band until now. This album is full of delicious progressive bits, and a wonderful, nostalgic atmosphere that permeates the music and ties together the different songs.
Rise Against - Wolves
Back in my early teens, I subsisted on a steady diet of Rise Against and Nightwish. It turns out I was ultimately more interested in convoluted and miserable music, but I always check back for the most influential bands of my early music-loving years. It still isn't subtle poetry and I'm not going to sit and ponder the beauty of the musical arrangement, but Rise Against just has that je-ne-sais-quoi that always pleases me. I was quite disappointed with The Black Market; and this new album is an improvement on it, even if it isn't (and nothing ever will be) The Sufferer & the Witness.
Tau Cross - Pillar of Fire
Continuing my previous train of thought, one would think that logically, a person who likes mainstream punk rock (what a contradiction) and metal in general would be all for genres mashing post-punk/hardcore and the like. You wouldn't be completely wrong - I do like this album a lot, which is well-executed, sufficiently hard and punchy while being quite morose. In fact, my favourite moments are those with the raspy vocals and clicky acoustics behind them, but as I said, the record delivers on the other end of the spectrum as well.
Listen to: Pillar of Fire, Killing the King, RFID
Wintersun - The Forest Seasons
I remember first coming across Wintersun - for a short while, I thought them (and Jari) to be absolutely brilliant; an understandable reaction from someone who loves heavy orchestration, long songs, and melodrama. In the million years since then I've become somewhat jaded, but just as many other fans, I eagerly await Time II. In the meanwhile, here's this album, full of different influences, from easy folk to some evil black metal. I still love the mighty choruses and the sweeping melodies, but admittedly some of it feels a little tired. Spring and Autumn especially drag. Summer, for me, has some of the best moments and is altogether the best track . It's the only one I felt offered something truly new; its pacing is impeccable, the acoustic interludes are beautiful, the fuzzy bonfire mood is expertly fused with enviable riffage. It also has the Mighty Scandinavian Metal Choir™. Winter is in mood the closest to Wintersun's eponymous debut (what a surprise), but then again, this is something that they do so incredibly well, it's hard to find fault with the track.
So all in all, this is a good album, an amazing feat as always, but nothing we didn't expect from Wintersun. What am I saying, it's everything we didn't expect... where is Time II?
Sun of the Sleepless - To the Elements
If Winter wasn't sufficiently depressive, or Autumn wasn't black enough, here is a true black metal record sure to satisfy all fans of the genre. It's rather old-school (if the cover art wasn't enough indication), but it's a proper mix, and has rather a lot more melodies than a trve kvlt album would. I suppose that's the reason I like it. The two types of vocals and the varied song lengths also contribute to it being a quite dynamic record, but the true pull is the ebbing atmosphere that makes or breakes a black metal record.
Leprous - Malina
Some progressive rock (metal?) from the poppier side of the spectrum. This album is incredibly catchy, fun and quite delightful depending on your tolerance for falsetto vocals and staccato guitars. Everything from highly singable, nigh anthemic choruses to a lot of emotional exaggeration - so everything one could want in their pop songs. It's a little more choleric and a little more miserable, but it didn't need to get a pass with me either way; it's a good record.
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