Azaghal - Omega

Azaghal have come a long way since their primitive 1999 full-length debut. They've sharpened their knives to the point that Omega (Moribund, 2008) evokes the same rush as when I first heard 1349 - storming, belt-fed black metal with riffs that flow like lava. The hyperspeed hook that starts "Tämän Maailman Prinssi" is neck-snapping. (I love how Finnish bands hand out umlauts like AOL CD's.) At 1:19, the riffs turn sad and epic, like Angelo Badalamenti scoring a war movie; trills then flick like forked tongues. I just used three straight similes, but this music leaves me little choice.

Tämän Maailman Prinssi
Kaikkinäkevän Silmän Alla

"Kaikkinäkevän Silmän Alla" carves Slayer trills before exploding in melodic ecstasy. My notes for "Vihani Raivoavina Valtamerinä": "another firefight of a blastbeat-palooza, some majestic Viking harmonies hidden in there." Phrygian modes rear their head, too; some riffs suggest Behemoth if they had stayed on the cusp between black and death metal. Lots of variation here - lilting 6/8's, blistering thrash, stomps that pound oaken staffs into the ground. What's with the silly artwork? It's like a conspiracy theory pamphlet. You can't win 'em all, but Azaghal come damn close.

Omega is available from Moribund, Relapse, and The End.

Horna / Behexen - Split

Capitalizing on the generally well-received and umlaut-infested Ääniä Yössä, Moribund is reissuing three Horna releases - Haudankylmyyden Mailla (Solistitium, 1999), as well as splits with Musta Surma and Behexen. The latter originally came out on Grievantee in 2004, and features four tracks from Horna and three from fellow Finns Behexen.

Horna - Kätketyn Jumaluuden Vartija
Behexen - Beyond the Shadow of My Lord

Honestly, the Horna tracks don't set me alight. Yes, they're grim, cold, and all that. But they perfectly fit the mold, and I'd rather listen to those who made the mold than those who jump in it. By far, my favorite is "Kätketyn Jumaluuden Vartija," which slows things down (I seem to prefer sounds slow these days - aging?) The other tracks are well-done enough, with a punky edge, and are somewhat pleasant - which is probably what black metal shouldn't be.

Behexen, though, pique my interest, despite their extremely silly album covers (1, 2). The guitars are high in the mix and feel like sheets of sound. Although it's harmonically conservative, the guitar work has lots of little movement between and among the chords. Drums are cardboard in the back, and vocals slide off the top with tons of reverb. But guitars run the show here, and that's OK with me.

You can pick up this spiteful split at Moribund.

The Stooges, Titan, Devious, Omnium Gatherum, Dokken, and Liferuiner

Devious

Up at Stylus I have reviews of new albums by The Stooges and Titan. At Metal Injection, I've reviewed Dutch death metallers Devious, Finnish melodeath dealers Omnium Gatherum, hair farmers Dokken (who seem to be getting "they weren't that bad" reevaluation these days), and straightedge hardcore punkers Liferuiner.

Devious - Room 302
Omnium Gatherum - Drudgery

Speaking of sXe, Decibel has an interesting feature up on breaking edge. And if you haven't already, check out Adrien Begrand's fine piece on Manowar for PopMatters. Sitting through a Manowar DVD is the metal journalistic equivalent of "taking one for the team."

I'm giving a talk on Berlin techno in Seattle at the EMP Pop Conference at 2:15 pm on Friday, April 20. The conference is free to the public, and loads (and I mean loads) of music writing heavies will be there, so feel free to drop by.

Also, I'll be in NYC from April 13-19, so if you want to get a drink, share record store tips, etc., email me at invisibleoranges at gmail dot com. On Wednesday April 18, I'll be at the Annihilate This Week weekly at Guero, 9 Avenue A between Houston & 1st, so feel free to stop by and say hi. I'm the dude with the shaved head, glasses, and black shirt - like every other dude there, probably!

Mors Principium Est - Liberation = Termination

The Oppressed Will Rise
The Animal Within

Listenable
2007


As I get older and scruffier, the music I like also gets older and scruffier. Part of me, though, will always appreciate Century Media-style metal: strong, precise, overproduced to the hilt. It has a fist-pumping appeal lacking in, say, black metal or the NeurIsis sound. A recent black metal show reminded me of this; most of the guitarists were literally limp-wristed, as they were doing tremolo picking or fast strumming. Somehow, that seemed so un-metal.

Mors Principium Est has been satisfying my fist-pumping jones recently. This Finnish band plays melodic death metal with keyboard touches - like a million other bands. However, MPE has gotten the sound down to an exact science. The harmonic territory is not the most exciting, so songwriting becomes crucial, and here it's perfect. The riffs are catchy, the transitions are logical, and the performances are tight and occasionally insanely shredding.

The speed here - or, rather, the feeling of it - is impressive. The band actually isn't that fast, but it's found the upper reaches of tempos that physically feel fast; any faster, and the body can't keep up. Slayer will always have more physical impact than Nile for this reason. I wish the album had more detours like its half-speed last song so as not to feel like such a sprint. That said, the songs' tempos do vary slightly, and their sequencing generally spaces things out.

"The Animal Within" begins with a dodgy electronic intro that recalls the crazy rave scene at the beginning of Blade. Then the goth club becomes a metal show, and everything is all right - raining blood, indeed. Liberation = Termination is out in Europe and Japan, but I've seen conflicting US release dates, so keep checking your favorite distros. You can also buy it directly from Listenable.

Gloomy Grim - Tapetum Lucidum

The Bells Toll My Name

Self-Released
2007



My first impression of the cover of Tapetum Lucidum was "Gravediggaz" (with "Paul Wall" and "Goldie" close behind). Turns out I wasn't far off - Gloomy Grim plays self-styled "horror movie metal," with haunted house synths over melodic black metal. The result is rather campy, like if Rob Zombie did black metal. When you reference scariness so much, you lose that quality.

However, this four-song EP is well-done. It's one of the best-sounding self-released productions I've heard. The guitars and synths mesh well, the drums have impact, and the mix sounds professional. The "things that go bump in the night" lyrics are nicely laid out as a photograph. Close listening reveals subtleties and cool little flourishes in the "orchestration" of the synths. They're making sounds a real orchestra (on a scoring stage, anyway) would make. I can't tell if this Finnish band is being tongue-in-cheek, but they don't sound like anyone else I know. You can order this EP directly from the band.

Airdash - Hospital Hallucinations Take One

Youth Hostel
Forbidden Thoughts

Diablo
1990


I was astonished to discover that Gloomy Grim vocalist Agathon was in fact Ykä, the drummer for old-school Finnish thrash act Airdash. Now, I'm no expert on Airdash; I stumbled across this CD in a used record store. When you see that telltale font and the bright colors only '80s albums had - and the back shows the band in white hi-tops - you buy that shit.

This album is solid '80s thrash, no more and no less. Anthrax is the closest reference point, not only in the vocals but also the riffs, gang vocals, and snares-on-downbeats grooves. The vocals also recall Death Angel (though if you think about it, that also sort of points back to Anthrax). The production is good, and the performances are tight and occasionally shredding. Great riffs abound, and as a genre exercise, the album is quite good.

I've also found Airdash's third and final album, Both Ends of the Path. However, it's an absolute piece of shit, so much so that I am tempted to ring up Ykä and ask for my two euro back. Airdash's first album is available as Real Audio files at Vibrations of Doom. Hospital Hallucinations is long out-of-print, so happy hunting!

Dolorian - Voidwards

Dual - Void - Trident
In the Locus of Bone

Avantgarde
2006


Dolorian's Voidwards was one of my top 10 metal albums last year. Every time I hear the record, it bowls me over with its depth, sophistication, and listenability. Frankly, I don't understand why it wasn't in more top 10's. Lack of distribution must be part of the reason; it's hardly available in the US. Your best bet, aside from Amazon outside the US, is Avantgarde's webshop, sound-cave.com.

Stylistically, Dolorian would be considered doom metal. However, this Finnish band distinguishes itself with heavy reliance on clean tones. These are some of the best clean tones I've ever heard, up there with Anathema's The Silent Enigma or Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks soundtrack. Imagine drops of water splashing into a pool, causing circular ripples in slow motion. These clean tones are like that.

When dirty tones kick in, then, they mean something. This is a change from the heavy-handed Sabbath-isms common in doom metal. As the band's website shows, it's all about depth, to the point of mysticism (the lyrics recall the late, great Yob). The vocals often come in a whisper, adding to the esoteric feeling. With its dark, spacious reverbs, this album is like exploring caves in one's mind.

Voidwards has some of the deepest sounds I've ever heard. If you're into mysterious, hypnotic head spaces, by all means track down this disc. It comes in a gorgeous digipak with elegant, abstract artwork.

Insomnium - Above the Weeping World

Over the course of its three albums, Insomnium's sound hasn't changed so much as matured. This Finnish band sounds like Paradise Lost doing Swedish melodic death metal, combining the majesty of the former with the pace of the latter. 2004's Since the Day It All Came Down was pretty much perfect; Above the Weeping World (on Candlelight) continues likewise.

While Insomnium's core sound has stayed the same over time, its intangibles have evolved. The songwriting has become more assured, and the band feels more like a unit. That's especially the case here, where the band is so tight and the mix is so perfectly clear and lush that the songs and their atmospheres take center stage, rather than individual performances. That said, the band has a penchant for anthemic eighth-note melodies over emotional chord progressions. The other band that does this well is Agalloch, who evokes a similar feeling from a black metal angle.

Insomnium - The Killjoy
Insomnium - Devoid of Caring

Above the Weeping World is quite balanced - it's melodic but not sugary, catchy but not cheap, and heavy but not oppressive. The beautifully understated artwork captures this well. For a good soundtrack to snowy winters, pick this up

@ Candlelight
@ Amazon