Gorgoroth – Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (2006) Album Review

Black Metal. Indeed a genre that does not have a good reputation. Fact is that the mark of ostracizing in big amounts came from this metal genre, a genre that not only manifested its violent tendencies through lyrical content, concept or instrumental, but outside the musical world as well. Partly, band members were involved, we have the infamous church burnings from Norway from early to mid 90s, we have crimes, murders even conflicts between the Swedish death metal scene and the Norwegian black metal scene. Another thing that made this genre infamous is the persistent usage of satanism and anti-christianity in concept, some of them embracing a modern kind of Satanism (claiming that Satan is not an existence but rather a rebellion, a way to reach freedom and also a philosophy) others, which are rare, embrace the Theistic Satanism, which worships Satan as an existent entity.

Remember my old review about Gorgoroth‘s 5th album Incipit Satan? Well, things are a little bit different with Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam (which roughly translated as For The Greater Glory Of Satan), both in musical composition and in atmosphere. Twilight Of The Idols, the previous album, featured some thrash metal elements in its composition, an influence that gave more aggression to Gorgoroth’s music but somehow turned to be monotone and boring, considering the fact that Gorgoroth never was a band that would release an album with an impressive length (hardly going over 40 minutes in length). I always found it hard to label their records as albums, not to mention full length albums. Basically, an album, in my opinion should contain about 45 to 60+ minutes of music divided into tracks, however, none of their albums even reached a praise-worthy length. Nonetheless, this is not an album that could stand as an obstacle to receiving a good quality album. They proved it that with good musicianship and with a lot of perseverance, you can release good albums, such was the release of their third album Under The Sign Of Hell and also the fifth album Incipit Satan and the following one Twilight Of The Idols. The question that governs this new record is: Will this one exceed or reach the level of their older works? Guess we will find out at the end of the review.

For starters, we find a new Gorgoroth in this album, even though there aren’t many changes in their line-up like in their older days. I don’t know from where this change came from, or if it was just natural, however, I suspect that the events that took place in between the release of their last two albums (Twilight of the Idols and Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam), the band went through a lot of media attention and public controversy with the recording of an infamous DVD entitled Black Mass Krakow, the usage of satanic elements (models crucified, sheep heads on sticks, a true bloodbath on stage) in a catholic country was not well received by the public (especially since Poland tends to overreact influence by the people that blindly follow this criminal cult).

Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam completely removes the thrash metal elements featured on the previous records and replaces it with a dark ambient aspect, giving much more depth and darkness to this record. We have songs that can even get catchy at the beginning such as Carving a Giant, song that slows as it progresses to the end. You feel emptiness while listening this record, given by the hypnotic guitar work made by Infernus and a much more impressive bass performance given by King, who shines on this album. This happen mainly because King was responsible for music composition on this album, which allowed him to experiment with some old school black metal sound (specific in Mayhem‘s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas). The drumming work is another part that can be considered as perfect, actually, you have Frost (Satyricon) doing the drum work, so you cannot expect from him a poor performance, after all he is probably in top 3 best black metal drummers of all time (though I tend to give more credits to Mayhem‘s Hellhammer, that guy is unstopable). Ghaal shows that a black metal vocalist is not only about screaming, grunting or growling but he can do pretty low vocals as well, specific in songs such as Sign Of An Open Eye. Rawness still exists in this album as well, but this time, this is given by black metal and only black metal, with blast drum beats fast tremolo guitar picks accompanied by Gaahl’s sinister voice, audible in songs such as Wound Upon Wound, the introductory song of this album, God Seed and Untamed Forces, some songs that will delight the ears of every black metal lover.

Gaahl once again proves that he can rise barriers between himself and other vocalists. His voice is not constant like other vocal performances (lets say, Satyr‘s) probably the only man that could leave him in the shadow is Attila Csihar, who has a more mysterious and much more impressive vocal work, at least on studio albums, live he does not shine as good as on CD. Gaahl is the man that contributed with his vocals on 3 out of 8 of Gorgoroth’s albums (not counting the re-recoding of their third album, which sucks badly) standing on par with Pest, former vocalist on Under The Sign of Hell and Destroyer, currently, the actual vocalist of this group.

Don’t get me wrong, time did not tame these blasphemous and relentless musicians. Gorgoroth remained true to their roots, to their beliefs and to their concepts as well, not escaping from their satanic view of black metal and they still continue to improve it, album after album. I sincerely hope that Infernus won’t get into anymore shit, because this band slowed the recording process of their albums after 2000 because of unfortunate accidents, some of them were not caused by the band while others were caused by them. Seeing that a lot of important second wave black metal bands halted their recording process (Mayhem, Carpathian Forest, Satyricon, Gehenna, Thorns) while others changed their musical orientation (Ulver, Abruptum), Gorgoroth stands as probably the most active second wave black metal pioneer and the one of the frontrunners of this movement.

If you want a raw yet elegant record, look no further, just pick up Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam, you will be delighted to hear both rough and catchy songs. It is hard for me to give to this album a full score, since you can barely name it an album with such a short length. Even though the musicians clearly proved their worth and skills on this album, the fact remains that they need to send quantity as well accompanied with the same quality that we expect from a Gorgoroth album. Now, let me answer the question, in a way, Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam fights on par with the previous releases, however when I listen a black metal record I expect the songs to be rough and evil from the beginning until the end, which I cannot say the same thing with this record, which tends to loose some tempos as it gets near the end. Nonetheless, it is a good album, the last album featuring King and Gaahl as part of Gorgoroth, a good parting album so to say. Old fans of Gorgoroth will find in this album a delight, while new fans that enjoy extreme black metal will also find an interest in it, just give it a listen, it won’t bite, I promise.

Overall Impression: 85/100

Alcest – Les Voyages De L’Amé (2012) Album Review

Seeing that 2011 was a pretty poor year for the metal scene, I gathered my hopes for a more splendid and resourceful 2012, a year that I hoped to be one full of creativity, passion and especially, filled with better disc quality and music quality. I don’t mean to say that 2011 was a wasted year, when you have bands like Anaal Nathrakh, Amorphis, Draconian, Vader, Primordial or Septicflesh who released some of the best albums, some of the bands even outran themselves and released probably the best album in their career (Septicflesh).

I think that 2012 began in a majestic way. And what better way to begin it with the new Alcest album, entitled Les Voyages De L’Amé (The Journeys Of The Soul). A short introduction for this band, it is currently a duo project between Neige, the man responsible for most instrumentals and vocal duty, also the founding member of the band and ex-member of two other important French bands, Amesoeurs and Peste Noire and Winterhalter, the drummer of the band, a rather new guy, but a pretty talented and capable one nonetheless. The band approaches a sort of unique metal style, combining the extreme part of metal, black metal, with a rather atmospheric and relaxing genre, named shoegaze (named because of the way the people that play this genre gaze at their shoes and barely move on stage).

In my eyes, Alcest is not an ordinary band that managed to receive some results after an experiment, but rather an innovative band, who managed to tone down one of the most violent metal genres and turned into something very relaxing and pleasing to the ears, which does not emanate a lot of energy but rather encourages the listener to meditate. Another thing that I like about this album is that it is not sung in English, but in French (I support the bands that sing in their native languages as a militant anti-globalization) which gives their music more charm and makes it more special, after all, French is a language that inspires elegance. This material is not different in contrast with the previous ones. At the beginning Alcest might’ve been a black metal band, but once leadership was bestowed upon Neige, the band changed completely. You can hear their early roots in their first and only demo, and with the EP Le Secret released in 2005 (and remastered in 2011) the band embarked on an unknown territory.

You can still hear the black metal riffs, the tremolo picks, the blast drum beats and the typical shrieked voice, specific for black metal, but not in such intensity and not so often, only in some select songs. However, I prefer the atmospheric part of Alcest, it fits much better in the mood that this band provokes with its chord progression flows like a calm river, depicting some atmospheric and melodic elements. Unlike the nonconformism of black metal, Alcest, in my opinion, is the kind of band that could be enjoyed by various audiences, since it has a little of everything, harshness and calmness, agony and delight, aggressiveness and peacefulness and the most important part, it is a memorable album, an album that from the beginning until the end it will keep you attracted and captivated and it will not fade away that quickly, requesting a second hearing by the time it finishes.

How can you not love it after hearing the first track of this album (which was released firstly as a single and also has a video)? Autre Temps (Another Time) represents a perfect choice for an introductory song, a song that manages to catch your attention. It is very relaxing, it is atmospheric, it is much more than a mere sound that attracts you, that impresses you, it is more like a living experience and while watching the video, you realize the theme on this album. Basically this song depicts a couple in various stages of their lives, in their childhood, in their teenage days, in their adult days and also in their old days. The video made for this song is actually the meaning of the album’s name “the journey’s of a soul” a soul that experiences different stages of life, the innocence of childhood, the changes of the teenage days, the responsibility of the adulthood and also the nostalgia present during the old days. It is a song that contains an emotional load, something that demands a person to meditate and to fast-forward the film of their life.

The album moves forward with the second track Là Où Naissent les Couleurs Nouvelles (Where New Colors Are Born), a song that is much more aggressive than the previous one, with fast tremolo pick and blast beats a lot of guitar distortion and a combination between clean vocals (present mostly in the first part of the song) and shrieked voice, both majestically performed by Neige. I have to admit that even his shrieked representation tends to be atmospheric in this album rather than aggressive, probably because of the way the album was mixed and auto-tuned before obtaining the final product. Also, this song is the second largest song of this album, spawning 8 minutes and 50 seconds.

The fact which proves the level of professionalism of this band is in the composition on the way the album was organized. Practically, the composition differs a little bit from the previous works, chasing another direction, a much softer one, with shoegaze as the predominant element in the song tracks while the way this album is organized is also pretty ingenious, an soft rather relaxing track followed by a raspy aggressive one, and so on until the end of the album. This element is combined is combined in the third track of this album, Les Voyages de l’Ame (The Journeys Of The Soul) which begins in an atmospheric way and ends in black metal style. The fourth track, Nous Sommes L’Emeraude (We Are The Emeralds) has probably some of the most amazing drum works I’ve heard in this album, clearly Winterhalter showed his skills in performing the drum works in this song.

Beings Of Life (rather interesting, until now all the songs had French titles until this one) the fifth track of this record begins with a hypnotic prologue. This song is rather dark ambient, featuring blast drums and tremolo picks which dominate it however, the lack of shrieked vocals makes this song feel rather boring and monotone. However, shrieked voice appear on the next track Faiseurs De Mondes (The World Makers) of course combined with clean vocals, the guitar lines and drums did not change, following the path lead until now. It features a break in the middle. It is followed by a short instrumental Havens which prepares the stage for the final song of the album, entitled Summer’s Glory which ends this album the same way it began, by welcoming the listener into an imaginary world, a world where he can witness his past memories and unforgetable  moments. The instrumental of this song builds a shape of mysticism which surrounds the imaginary world.

What a way to begin a new year. I have to admit, Alcest was not one of the bands that I was looking forward to hear, but I am happy that I ended up listening to their new record. It may not be a masterpiece, only time might tell how appreciated it might get in the future, but I believe that it should be more supported and much more appreciated, not only the album, but Alcest as a band too. Because of the globalization, today, being a band that sings in another language is tough. The language barrier for most people serves a problem in their way of understanding and enjoying a record. I am not good with french either, though I live in a Latin speaking country, however I can recognize the meaning of the words. Les Voyages De L’Amé is a journey into the spiritual, an album that is only good to listen and definitely not headbanging material, an album that encourages it’s listeners to meditate, an album that has it’s own world within this world, in other words, a tasteful and unforgettable album, something that I want to experience every day, not only the sound, but the emotions too, this is what music should deliver nowadays, not only pleasure to the ear, but pleasure to the mind as well.

Overall Impression: 98/100

Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline (2012) Album Review

For 15 years, Lacuna Coil like any other band has ups and downs, though the release of their 6th full-length album marks a return to their original roots and to their more aggressive sound. I have to admit, I’ve been a big fan of this band in the early days. Their sound in the first 2 albums, “In a Reverie” and “Unleashed Memories” was probably the best sound they ever had and their peak of glory in their composition style as well.

Changes occurred with Comalies the 3rd record, which meant a new playing style the band approached and also, the moment it broke into mainstream. I was pretty much impressed by their representation in this album, however, distrust appeared with Karmacode and Shallow Life the last one being so commercial that it was a pain to listen to it, an unbearable pain.

Dark Adrenaline, like I said, marked a new era for this band, and a revolution in their playing style. I remember that in some interviews the band members specified the fact that the album will be much heavier than the previous ones, but with the release of their first single, Trip the Darkness, I already began to question this aspect. As always the duet between Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia is amazing, pretty catchy and energetic, offering moments of sobriety, aggression and restlessness, I have to admit that I was disappointed after hearing Trip The Darkness. A pretty lame dialogue between the two singers accompanied by an energetic yet boring and without depth instrumental, this is what described this single. However, I immediately changed my mind when I heard the second single this band released, entitled Kill The Light. I found in this song exactly what I wanted from this band and from this album. With this song I could finally recognize that they’ve kept their word about this album being much more heavy than the others.

I anticipated this release to be even more fantastic and it sure was. Even though the lyrical themes and compositions are relatively shallow and superficial, you cannot say that this band does not offer a certain level of excitement. Actually, their good point does not really stand in studio recording songs but in live performances, where the band offers a hell of a show and unleashes a lot of energy that is impossible for fans to just stand like statues, staring at them. Against You even featured guitar solos, something that I have not heard from this band in a long time, another guitar solo can be witnessed in The Army Inside. Give Me Something More is yet again a catchy tune with a great performance offered by Cristina Scabbia.

I Don’t Believe in Tomorrow is in my opinion the worst track of this album. Cristina’s performance is at the level that I expected but Andrea is absolutely boring. It is hard for me to talk about every song individually, since, a fan of Lacuna Coil knows that there are a few songs that manage to attract the attention and the rest are just a sort of copy/paste recipe. The album ends with the song My Spirit which is my favorite out of all this album, showing probably the best performance given by the two vocalists and the most impressive lyrical content, combining both English lyrics and Italian lyrics. It is also the only song of this album that goes over 5 minutes in length almost reaching 6 minutes.

All in all, if you are a fan of early Lacuna Coil, this album is a must listen, it is much more heavier than the last two releases this band offered. I don’t know where this band it is heading, but if they keep doing works like this album, I am sure that they are on the right path.

Overall Impression: 90/100

Quorthon (Bathory) would’ve been 46 years old by now

I forgot to post this news yesterday because of some sudden problems I had to face. Yesterday  was an important day for every infatuated metalhead all over the globe (at least the true ones, surely not those used with commercial shit but with true metal).

The mastermind behind one of the most important metal projects ever, Bathory would’ve celebrated his 48th year since birth if he wouldn’t have died back in 2004 because of a heart failure. But who was Quorthon? A definite and justified answer has not been brought up even today. Quorthon, supposedly named Thomas Forsberg, was born on February 17, 1966 in Stockholm, Sweden.

He entered in the metal realm around the age of 16 when he composed and recorded two songs which were part of a split album between various artists and bands. He came up with two songs entitled Sacrifice and The Return Of Darkness And Evil, songs that would attract a lot of attention back in 1984 when it was released and available. Quorthon in his early years played a hybrid black metal, movement began by the British NWOBHM band Venom with their 1982 record Black Metal. However, what Quorthon did until the beginning of the 1990s was way more astonishing. If there is a personality credited for shaping the black metal we know today, discarding the speed and thrash metal elements present, then Quorthon is that person.

From 1984 until 1989 Quorthon released 4 important black metal records which will inspired countless second wave black metal bands. Bathory (1984), marked the beginning of his musical project, The Return… (1985) is even today considered the mark of true evil in the history of black metal, no other record could match the maliciousness present in this gem and finally, the most outstanding work that defined and shaped black metal, Under The Sign Of The Black Mark (1987). Blood Fire Death was later released in 1988 but this record featured hints of a style change, which will happen in 1990 with the release of Hammerheart soon followed by Twilight Of The Gods in 1991, two of the most important viking metal albums, genre that has been created by Quorthon himself. So we have the shaping of a genre and the creation of another one, but was this all that Quorthon did? Not at all, he even played thrash metal in albums such as Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995). Then again he turned back to the viking metal roots releasing what was supposed to be the 5th Bathory record, Blood on Ice (1996). Destroyer of Worlds (2001) blended all three genres in one record while Nordland I (2002) and Nordland II (2003) were the beginning of a saga composed of 4 ports, saga that he would not live to continue.

As side projects, when he claimed that he would put Bathory to rest after Twilight Of The Gods, he founded a solo project, named after his own nickname, in which he played a combination between alternative rock/metal and early grunge. He released under that name 2 albums, Album (1994) and Purity of Essence (1997) after placing it to rest for good. He even contributed in Jennie Tebler‘s new formed band with instrumental, for the single Silverwing released only in 2005, after his death (Jennie Tebler’s band played gothic metal).

Quorthon did not only contribute with various albums which shaped and created genres, he had an important impact on Norway’s culture. With his lyrics featured in albums like Hammerheart, Twilight Of The Gods or Blood on Ice, he managed to attract attention towards the viking civilizations, action which resulted with an important interest in this respective culture. Many people were attracted by the tales foretold by Quorthon in his own albums and the rate of tourists grew in Norway in the mid to late 90s and it still grows even today. Bathory was not only an inspiration for black metal bands but also for future viking metal bands, though the genre itself has kinda disappeared with the death of its own creator.

All in all, while people mourn the oh so tragic death of Whitney Houston, which technically was a suicide, I mean, how stupid can you be to swallow pills while knowing that you drank alcohol, come on peeps, I am not at my first experience with alcohol so I know, pills won’t do any good while you can’t even speak properly because of how much alcohol you’ve consumed. This man revolutionized one of the most loved and one of the most important music genre, and he cannot even get a bit of appreciation for that? This world is pretty unfair, too bad Quorthon loved it and left to us, the ungrateful bastards, a priceless legacy.

 

Quorthon, May Valhalla open its doors and welcome you with a Pounding Hammerheart!

Illnath – Third Act In The Theatre Of Madness (2011) Album Review

It has been almost half a decade since Illnath released a new album, heck, how so much time has passed? Illnath in my youth used to be a band that I would gladly pick up their record to listen to it, and of course, enjoying it. It is not the typical black metal that you would find in Mayhem records, Gorgoroth records or Darkthrone records, but rather something that you would find in a Cradle of Filth record, Dimmu Borgir record and why not, a Naglfar record. So in other words, a more melodic approach of the black metal genre, with symphonic and gothic metal elements, and with this new record, we could even label them as death metal. Half a decade of inactivity might’ve put the band into a sensitive position. Like it or not, a period of inactivity could affect a band, and could put it out of shape for good but not all the time. For some bands, it could mark an explosion of creativity and also, it can turn out to be the key that lead them to success.

Illnath has been a band with few moments of glory. Other than this new record they delighted us with 2 more, Cast Into Fields Of Evil Pleasure released back in 2003 and Second Skin of Harlequin released in 2006. Both of them were intended to be parts of a trilogy. As a side note, they released 2 more demos (one at the beginning of their career and the other one in the middle of their inactivity period) and 2 EPs, Angelic Voices Calling released in 2001 (probably the best record they’ve ever done) and Lead The Way in 2011. So as you can see, not too much to brag about, and certainly not some records that would attract attention based on their names. Illnath is a band that has a special place though in the underground black metal scene. Think about it, they originated from Denmark which is the homeland of King Diamond and his early black metal project, Mercyful Fate (though labeling Mercyful Fate as black metal is way too much, since this band rather played a traditional style of heavy metal throughout all of their albums). But, of course, the place where the band members were born is not that important.

What does Illnath want to show us through this new record after 5 years of complete silence? Let me tell you, a different approach of black metal, this time, with a different playing style, featuring Peter Falk distancing himself from his old playing style. In their early records, the band made use of harsh male vocals but now, we can see that they try a different approach by incorporating a rather interesting singer Mona Beck. Peter Falk is the only original member remaining, the rest of the band was completely replaced. Heck, the drummer and the vocalist were even hired in the same year this record was released. I said that Mona Beck is a rather interesting choice, but why is that? Surely, seeing a woman as vocalist for a rather extreme metal band is a rarity. Of course, we have good old Sabina Classen (from Germany’s pioneer thrash metal band Holy Moses) or Angela Gossow (everybody should know her as Arch Enemy‘s frontwoman) and why not Alissa White-Gluz (from the melodic death metal band The Agonist). The first one is a legendary name, the other two are some rising prodigies, but Mona Beck? Rather a new comer in the metal realm. Or maybe not, but of course, I kept searching for information about her and I could not find a record history about her previous activity before joining Illnath so I suppose that either this is her first encounter with the metal realm or her most important project.

Like I said, their style now became hard to define. In the early days the black metal characteristics were evident, even now they can be recognized, but they somehow blended with other influences such as a traditional approach towards heavy metal, death metal defined especially by the way the vocalist sings, not entirely specific for a black metal band and some gothic metal elements as well. The symphonic metal elements are still there even from the beginning of this album in the first songThird Act.Peter Falk’s guitar playing became a little bit self-indulgent, presenting mostly classical shred in every track on this album.

The lyrical themes in this album, in my opinion, feature a lack of creativity. Like the previous albums, this one was intended to be a part of a trilogy (supposedly the end of the trilogy), however, certain lyrics such as “Lean back, enjoy the third act of Illnath!” kinda makes you think if the band took the job seriously or they were just messing around with the whole concept situation in this album. To be honest, I would’ve preferred it either way, be it a concept album (a very hard thing to do for every band) or a random one (the classical choice, the easiest one as well) but whatever choice they would’ve made, a sense of responsibility and seriousness should accompany that decision as well. From time to time, Peter fills our ears with pleasure giving us some pretty nice and well thought guitar solos, enough to make you forget the whole issue with the lyrics.

Mona Beck’s voice is not entirely out of common, even though we speak about a woman doing vocals for a supposed black metal band. Her style of singing is very similar with Angela Gossow’s or Alissa White Gluz style of singing, but with little differences as well. Mona Beck’s voice is much more clearer, a commendable thing in a way, but in another way, the album turns a little bit monotonous after several tracks, mainly because of her constant and never-changing vocal performance. If I am not mistaken she even does some clean vocals but they are rare and rather discarded, in other words unmemorable.

Talking about every track, one by one will be a pain in the ass, since the performance in this album is similar in every track, with very few changes that are worth mentioning. A good thing would’ve been to shorten the length of this album. For almost 50 minutes, this album is way too boring and forgettable. The focus in this album are the down picked guitars, groove elements and some melodic death metal performances that from time to time might seem a pleasure to the ears but the same formula is being used in almost every track. In tracks such as the 4th one Snake Of Eden even gets you tired. If I were to recommend some songs from this new Illanth’s Third Act In The Theatre Of Madness, I’d go with the introductory one, Third Act, Lead The Way, Tree Of Life And Death and lastly Vampiria.

Don’t think that I did this review out of hatred towards this new record or towards Illnath. As an overall, I do like Third Act In The Theatre Of Madness, but I could not discard the holes which are evident in this record. Illnath might’ve chose to approach this record differently and I believe that in one way they succeeded and on the other way, they failed. I hope that next time I won’t have to wait for another half a decade in order to listen such a half disappointing record. One might think that 5 years were more than enough to record a new album, and that album should be something out of ordinary, but in Illnath’s case, it really isn’t, it’s like time has stopped for them. I can’t help but miss Peter Falk’s old guitar work but I believe in Mona Beck’s potential as a vocalist, she has the skills necessary to pull out a good performance, maybe a little more attention to the lyrical content and everything would be just fine. There might be some problems with some shitty fan made comparisons between Mona Beck and the old Illnath vocalist Narrenschiff, if you’re curious about my opinion regarding this opinion conflict and why I gave such a high rating for this album (considered by other totally inferior) let me tell you this, Narrenschiff has left the band, his vocal performace might’ve been good, but we speak about two different vocalists here, two different people who weren’t born from the some mother unfortunately, either you stomach it or just stop listening to this band, because technically speaking, Mona Beck is not inferior, she just has her own original vocals, is it such a band thing to live in a world of diversity you fucking communists? I do like Narrenschiff for his former vocal works, but they guy stepped out of the band, so he is history, take it or leave it. Time won’t stop for this band because of fans that can’t think out of their own box for once, which brings shame to a band like Illnath that does not produce bad records.

A picture with the band members, from left to right Peter Falk (guitar, keyboards), Mona Beck (vocals) and Kenneth Frandsen (bass)

Overall Impression: 70/100