Hail Spirit Noir - Pneuma [2012]

Hail Spirit Noir are something of a rare breed nowadays - a progressive black metal band that doesn't go on pointless meanders around the realms of tedious ambience and atonal 'experimentation' just so they could hit that 70 minute mark for the album and make it 'truly progressive'. Ahem. Rant over. Hail Spirit Noir write SONGS - even the epic 'Into The Gates Of Time' is catchy and headbangable throughout its 13 minute duration. And 'Against The Curse, We Dream' and 'Haire Pneuma Skoteino' have some of the biggest hooks you're likely to hear in metal this year. That's not to say it loses touch of its black metal roots - and for this reason, it's very likely to be well up in lots of people's year-end lists. Hail the black spirit.

320 kbps

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Enslaved - Vertebrae [2008]

...And so skipping forward 11 years to the Enslaved album that I have spent the most time with, this is also their album with the fewest metal elements in it. Don't get me wrong, it's still clearly a metal album, especially with tracks like 'New Dawn', but its progression is stunning.

~220 kbps VBR

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Devin Townsend - Infinity [1998]

It goes without saying that Devin Townsend is strange. Strange enough that in the same year he released "City" with his band Strapping Young Lad, an extreme, noisy, industrial loud-a-thon, and "Biomech" under the pseudonym Ocean Machine, a calmer, radio-friendly progressive rock album. It was shortly after this he had a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Shortly after he'd come to terms with this he put out "Infinity" in 1998, an album which marries the aggression of "City" and the 'happiness' of "Biomech". The first three tracks are a barrage of awesome: the intense instrumental "Truth", the poppy "Christeen" and the insanely catchy "Bad Devil". Even if after that the album meanders a bit (specifically, "War" drags on), it still has a great overall sound and is well worth a listen. This version also comes with three bonus tracks: Live, acoustic versions of two songs from "Biomech" and a 1996 demo, simply called "Man". Good stuff.


13 tracks, 59:11, 63.87 MB
Mediafire (M4a, ~198 kbps VBR)

Porcupine Tree - Nil Recurring [2007]

If you've listened to Porcupine Tree's 2007 album about the state of the 21st century youth, you'll know what this companion EP is all about. These 4 songs were all recorded along the songs that made it onto "Fear of a Blank Planet", but were left out because they interrupted the flow of the album and would have made it too long. Thankfully they were saved though, because the songs on here sure are some crackers. The title track features some guitar wizardry from one Robert Fripp (who also appeared on the album), and some pretty heavy riffing about halfway through. "Normal" is the EP's best track. It was shortened and re-worked into "Sentimental" on the album, but here the original is much longer and varied (although I'll admit "Sentimental" works in the album much better than this would). "Cheating the Polygraph" takes hints from "Anesthetize", especially in the riff that comes in a couple of minutes in. Finally, "What Happens Now?" is mostly instrumental, with a sound something like that of Voyage 34.

Anyway, if you liked "Fear of a Blank Planet" and didn't quite feel depressed enough about the current generation after listening to it, then this EP is for you.


4 tracks, 28:44, 40.73 MB
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REVIEW: Opeth - Heritage [2011]

So here is the album on which Akerfeldt has finally dropped his harsh vocals. This may have come as a surprise, but Opeth’s progression over the years (from fairly standard death/doom on albums like Orchid and My Arms, Your Hearse to ever more progressive styles on later albums, really starting with Still Life but coming into full swing by its follow-up, Blackwater Park) should have made it clear that this was going to happen.

Indeed, not only has he limited himself to clean vocals, but nearly all semblances of metallic riffs are gone. This is, in essence, a progressive rock album – and it goes 70s all the way (which is evident from the awful artwork alone) – although this may please fans of retro-rock, it is almost undeniable that instruments like the mellotron haven't been used in rock or metal for a long time because they do not fit with modern production values, and either drift into the background or stick out like a sore thumb. This is indeed something which afflicts Heritage – the balance is rarely correct, as the... thing seems to hold a very consistent volume throughout the louder and quieter parts of the album which creates a fantastic feat in being able to take the worst ailments of two extremes and combining them.

This is exacerbated by the sheer lack of interest in which the instrument is used – the way Opeth use it, one would think it had a range in pitch of 6 or 7 semitones. Unfortunately, all the other instruments are treated in the same way – despite their descent in quality (which, over the last few albums, has been rather rapid), one of Opeth’s strengths has always been creating instrumental parts which are compositionally intriguing. This is gone. Simply slipped away to whatever far away planet Opeth have left their inspiration at between albums.

This wouldn’t be a problem – indeed, many bands write interesting music with little or no tonality – but the riffs, while complex, simply have no staying power with the listener. No riff like the opener of ‘The Grand Conjuration’, no riff like those in ‘Demon Of The Fall’, simply nothing. This is inexcusable – not just for a metal album (which this quite plainly is not), but for any rock album whatsoever. The only remotely memorable riff is that which opens ‘The Devil’s Orchard’ – at least the band seem to know which strong material to premiere before the album’s release.

That’s not to say that this is not quite clearly an Opeth album – the vocals should be a clue, but the key pointer should be the meandering middle sections, which often span several minutes. This is generally a good idea in progressive rock, but these sections are applied so liberally that individual songs often cease to have any reasonable form or structure. Those who would defend the album (and several have told me this already) claim that it is ‘classically informed’. Is it fuck. Whilst yes, classical music may share the preponderance to expand over a length of time, it is key to note one point – that when it is done in classical composition, it tends to at least have some motif or other recurring theme upon which variations are done, rather than disjointedly breaking from one section into another – a curse which Opeth seem not to be able to rid themselves of.

I’m sure that the aforementioned lack of harsh vocals will end up being the main talking point about this album, and there’s a good reason why. Whilst I have praised Akerfeldt’s work in Bloodbath, and indeed earlier Opeth, that is purely for his harshes. They have a richness to them, amplified by the warm production on those albums, which make them a joy to listen to. By comparison, and indeed by comparison to most vocalists, his cleans fall well short. They’re not unlistenable, but purely lacklustre. They sound as though there is no effort being put into them, and thus emotionless.

Simply put, this album is Damnation part 2. The least critically acclaimed album in Opeth’s back catalogue, essentially replicated, but somehow they’ve managed to remove all the parts which made even that album the least bit palatable along the way. Sadly, Akerfeldt is resolute in his direction, and I really doubt now, moreso than ever before, that Opeth will ever release another good album.

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The link is from http://thetroopersofmetal.blogspot.com/

REVIEW: Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events [2011]

As you may have noticed from my posts on this blog, I'm a huge Dream Theater fan. However I - as I'm sure many other DT fans were - was a little apprehensive regarding the first album from the proggy-power-metally quintet without founding drummer and primary songwriter Mike Portnoy. Having watched the audition video the band released (and personally thinking Marco Minneman was a better drummer), I was interested but cautious about the new album.

To my relief, "A Dramatic Turn of Events" sounds very much like a Dream Theater album. But perhaps that is also the problem. As a whole, the album sounds very much like the band's previous efforts. In particular, the album opener "On the Backs of Angels" borrows heavily from the band's best-known song, "Pull Me Under". And the similarities don't stop there. "Build Me Up, Break Me Down" sounds like "The Root of All Evil". "This is the Life" sounds like "The Spirit Carries On". Even the album cover follows the well-established Dream Theater artwork trend of being terrible.

However, this means in no way that "ADToE" is a bad album. The songs the album draws heavily from are all very good songs, so it stands to reason that these new songs are also good. However, more or less everything on the album has been done before, and better.

Which brings me on to the curious case of Mike Mangini. One thing that became very apparent from his audition video was that Mangini was trying his level best to replicate Portnoy's drumming to a tee. And while he does this very well, it hasn't exactly helped revitalise the band as all the interviews and TV spots said it would. This Portnoy-copying reflects on the album as well, with Mangini's drum parts proving very similar to what has come before (though in his defense, the album was more or less completely written before Mangini joined the band).

To summarise then, even though the tracks on the album are good (if I had to pick a favourite it would be "Outcry"), this is a fairly standard effort from Dream Theater, that I doubt will hold any classics to its name in years to come.


7/10

Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings [2009]

About a month ago, if I'd found myself uploading Dream Theater's most recent album, I would have asked myself just what exactly I was doing. But since then I've had a chance to listen to it properly a few more times (thank you cheap Amazon CD deals), and I must admit, it's grown on me.

Comprising of just six tracks, four longer, two shorter (the word "shorter" being used in a different context here - I mean less than 10 minutes), "BC&SL" is one of Dream Theater's darker albums, dealing with subjects such as car crashes, scary cannibalistic Italian royalty, and of course - now a staple of the 2000s Dream Theater Album - alcoholism. However, "The Shattered Fortress" deserves special mention as it is the final part of the so-called "Twelve Step Suite", and it's also the best track on the album. Full of little references to previous twelve-step songs, it brilliantly ends the saga, as well as Mike Portnoy's time in the band. As for the other songs, "A Nightmare To Remember" starts brilliantly but drags on, "A Rite Of Passage" is decent, "Wither" is the token Dream Theater ballad, "The Best Of Times" is a wank but well-meaning tribute to Portnoy's dad, and "The Count Of Tuscany" could have done with being about 5 minutes shorter. Still though, it's a good album and you can really enjoy it if you let it grow on you like I did.

M4a, ~320 kbps VBR

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Altar Of Plagues - Mammal [2011]

Well, this is one of my favourite albums of this year. Why have I refrained from posting it thus far? Because I have seen a couple of blogs taken down just after posting it - admittedly a lot closer to the release date. What it is is pretty awesome post-black metal, not all atmosphere like Alcest and their kin, but with plenty of teeth to it too. At the risk of sounding pretentious, this album takes you on a real journey over the span of its four tracks.

~270 kbps VBR

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Between The Buried And Me - Colors [2007]

So this may be a little bit controversial (and believe you me, this is not the most controversial release I have planned), due to their lack of popularity with the kvltists, but this is one of my favourite albums. Although I'm a little less enamored with it than I was when I first heard it, I believe that's due to the amount I've listened to it dulling its effect on me. Don't let the 'metalcore' tag put you off.

~280 kbps VBR

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Enslaved - The Sleeping Gods EP [2011]

This EP, which is available for free download direct from the band, is something of a surprise. Sure, it has Enslaved written all over it (they even steal their own riff from 'Kvasir Blod' in the opener), but one could call it more experimental than openly progressive, especially with electronic, droney tracks like 'Synthesis'.

320 kbps

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Enslaved - Ruun [2006]

So, with the three albums of theirs I've already posted, you can probably gather that I'm something of an Enslaved fan. This is the first album of theirs where progressive elements began to outweigh black metal elements, although BM is still very much present. It's a little harder to get into than much of their other output, but it is therefore more rewarding.

~250 kbps VBR

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Cynic - Focus [1993]

Well, this is one of the most influential progressive metal albums of all time. Although it took them 15 years to record a follow-up which fell a bit short (Traced In Air), this is itself very good. The synthesized cleans that would take greater prevalence later may annoy some, but to me, they don't detract from the sheer brilliance present in some of the songs here.

~210 kbps VBR

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Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos [2007]

I know that my fellow contributors JohnRCC and Demigod don't quite rate this album as highly as the rest of Dream Theater's discography, but to me, it's right up there with 'Images And Words'. A splendid proggy metal album that doesn't forget the need for songs.

Similar artists: Threshold, Queensrÿche, Fates Warning

160 kbps

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Tool - 10,000 Days [2006]

Did I mention I love Tool? Anyway. "10,000 Days" is the most recent album from them (even though it was released five years ago). This piece of work further continues Tool's trend of becoming more progressive, with the overall sound of this album showing influences from Maynard Keenan's side-project: A Perfect Circle.

Oddly, some of the tracks on this album divide fans. The 11-minute title track is dismissed by some as 'a whole lot of nothing', whereas others (myself included) consider it among the album's strongest tracks, owing much to the atmosphere it creates. However, with straight-up metal songs such as "The Pot" and "Vicarious", most fans agree that the Tool machine is still going strong, even if the album's final two songs aren't really anything special. Definitely worth checking out if you liked "Lateralus".

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

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Tool - Lateralus [2001]

I LOVE Tool. If you're even remotely in to prog metal, you'll have heard of "Lateralus", if not just for the frankly hilarious amount of conspiracies surrounding it. Get past all that though, and what you end up with it an amazingly constructed, surprisingly tight piece of progressive metal.

Further shedding the grittiness of "Undertow", this album is big on complexity, such as a fibonacci sequence in the lyrics of the title track, multiple time signature changes and some riffs which make you rewind to make sure you got everything. I can certainly understand why this album is considered a classic and the definitive Tool album, but I personally think Ænima is a better experience.

Mp3, 256 kbps

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Tool - Ænima [1996]

I love Tool. And "Ænima" is by far my favourite album of theirs. Much like its predecessor, this album provides solid heavy tracks combined with longer pieces (now showing clear evidence of progressive influences, mainly of King Crimson (another discography for another time)). Also interesting to note is the more 'industrial' sound of this album, from the screeching guitars on "Hooker With A Penis" to the metallic scraping on "Die Eier Von Satan".

However, what this album did which "Undertow" did not is flow. Don't get me wrong, the tracks on "Undertow" are great, but that's just what they were. Tracks. "Ænima", on the other hand, felt like it was composed as an album. Each track leads brilliantly into the next, enhancing the overall experience by untold amounts. This doesn't mean the songs themselves aren't good, though. Favourites of mine are "Hooker With A Penis" and "Third Eye" (both prime examples of the short song / long song duality of the album).

Mp3, 256 kbps

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Tool - Undertow [1993]

I love Tool. They're my favourite progressive metal band, if we're not counting Iron Maiden's recent years. Although the three albums following this, their debut, were more interesting musically, "Undertow" still provides an experience which is as satisfying and intelligent as it is angsty and delightfully jarring.

This album is a combination of extended pieces (a-la "Bottom" and "Flood") and shorter, more 'commercial' songs - well, about as commercial as songs about getting raped as a child can be. And although this album was already very progressive, there was still a very strong, gritty feeling of 'fuck you' that would slowly fade on Tool's more recent efforts, and as a result this album will sit well with those who aren't necessarily that keen on progressive music.

Mp3, 192 kbps

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Porcupine Tree - In Absentia [2002]

You may have noticed I've missed out the album between this and "Stupid Dream" ("Lightbulb Sun", released 2000). That's because this album follows on musically from "Stupid Dream", and also because I didn't enjoy "Lightbulb Sun" as much as these other two.

"In Absentia", then. Beginning with the hard-hitting "Blackest Eyes", this album weaves its way through many different moods and emotions, without becoming jarring throughout. Overall this is a great album that I'm sure you'll be coming back to often.

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

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(n.b. I've just written six of these in a row - can you tell?)

Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream [1999]

If you've never heard of Porcupine Tree before, it's important to note that they essentially started out as "Pink Floyd 2". At least, that was frontman Stephen Wilson's initial vision. However in the late '90s, the band began to incorporate more elements of progressive metal in their sound. "Stupid Dream" then, it seems, was cut slap bang in the middle of this transition, making the best of both worlds.

The album kicks off with the mellow "Even Less", which is immediately followed by the catchy "Piano Lessons", arguably one of the most commercial songs the band has ever recorded. A combination of slow rockers and more upbeat songs (including a fantastic bassline at the beginning of "Slave Called Shiver") follows, resulting in a great album altogether.

M4a, @320 kbps (VBR)

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Dream Theater - Octavarium [2005]

This is what I believe to be Dream Theater's 3rd 'essential' album (the other two being "Images & Words" and "Scenes From A Memory", available on this blog).

I say this because "Octavarium" was the band's last good good album (with the previous two being not as interesting and the post two being somewhat stagnated). From the haunting drums at the start of "The Root Of All Evil" to the intensity of "Never Enough", this album is simply a whirlwind, start to finish (ignoring the out-of-place ballad "The Answer Lies Within"). But of course, we're here for the title track. The 24-minute, multi-part epic which plays out not only as one big homage to prog rock, but as a homage to the band itself. The theme of cycles is big on this album, so it's appropriate that the album goes out on the same note it came in on. If you liked the other two DT albums posted here (or if you've never heard them - this was my first DT album), give it a download.

Mp3, 128 kbps

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