Ne Obliviscaris – Exul (2023)

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Ne Obliviscaris broke new ground in the progressive metal, a genre which prides itself in its forward thinking style as well as the evolution of the bands within, but can often times become as stale and caught in its own cliches as much as any other genre. To break new ground is a feat that deserves praise, and they did that on their debut album with their unique blend of melodic death metal and power metal meets jazz and classical. And while that sentence alone doesn’t sound too unfamiliar, the use of real violin (courtesy of clean vocalist Tim Charles) adds a completely new dimension to this already technical band. Rather than a background instrument, it is in the forefront, setting the mood of the song or trading solos with the guitars.

If I had one complaint of their debut album, Portal of I, it was just a touch too long. (Steven Wilson once commented that emotionally driven albums shouldn’t exceed a length of 50-55 minutes because you will lose the average listener anywhere after that, and I agree with that remark). However, Citadel and Urn dropped the runtime significantly to 48 and 46 minutes respectively, all the while delivering catchy and memorable songs that still showcased the band doing what they do best. Plenty of riffs, solos, dynamic transitions. Overall showcases for every member of the band.

Coming almost 6 years after Urn, Exul had a lot to live up to. The band was more popular then ever before, the world had gone through a global pandemic which had inspired many great albums from other bands in the progressive metal genre, and also it was by far the longest gap between albums that the group had gone through thus far. And while the band has lived up to the challenge of releasing another solid full length, I am saddened to say that it does not live up to hype created in my mind by the last two albums.

One of the bands strengths is created driving and balanced albums based knowledge of when to delivery crushing riffs and when to bring in something for the audience to sing along to. And while the album has plenty of beautiful soft moments as we would expect it to, the memorable hooks are few and far between. Admittedly, if I took more time to really delve into the lyrics, I might find a greater appreciation for the album. Maybe these were calculated, deliberate choices by the band to enhance a story. I’ve only gathered bits and pieces of it, but I know parts of it deals with the crusades, and takes a page out of Indiana Jones and in turn talks about the search for the Holy Grail.

If there was a consistent theme throughout, I think the band should have been more upfront about that. They could have had included it in the linear notes, touched upon it in interviews, and done something really special with the already beautiful display of the collectors edition of the album. And if there is no consistent theme throughout, well, that just proves my fact that these are a group of songs that do not flow together well and the album does not match the brilliance of Citadel or Urn.

Dissecting the songs on the album, “Equus”, the opening track is probably the highlight of the album. It starts off with a driving riff leading into memorable soft vocals melodies, beautiful violin playing, great contrasting darker riffs and gutturals. Immediately evident is the upfront bass playing of Martino Garattoni. This is the bands first release, and while he is as talented as anyone else in this incredibly virtuosic band, it almost takes you out of the element to hear jazzy bass lines overtaking the beautiful string sections that come later in the song. I get wanting to showcase his playing, but the reason it works for a band like Cynic is because all the members are playing freely around the bass, leaving space for it. Here it almost sounds like the engineer forgot to bring the levels down after recording the bass parts.

Regardless, the song pushes on, and Tim brings us back with his emotional singing and playing, and the climax of the song is a highlight for not just the album, but the bands career. There are some upfront cymbal hits that feel like they are right there in the room with you, and the guitar solo is incredible. Not bad for a 12 minute song to open the album.

Multi-part songs have become a staple for the band, and here that comes in the form of “Misericorde I” and “Misericorde II”. The first part comes in with some frantic riffing, reminiscent of Obscura, and the Middle Easten sounding scales during the solo are fantastic. But there are many moments you think the song will take off, and instead seems to play it safe. Part 2 reprises a melody from the first part, this time softly and beautifully. This long build up is another highlight of the album. It contains a bluesy guitar solo that tugs on my heart every time. It starts to make sense why the parts were broken up, and why Part 1 focused so much on riffing. The vocals finally erupt almost 7 minutes in. This song is about as post rock/post metal as the band gets.

While my review has sounded mostly positive this far, I think you’ll find that’s the case for people regardless of if they love the album or hate it. The first half definitely is the stronger half. “Suspyre” and “Graal” aren’t bad songs. All the trademark elements of Ne O are there. But they bring nothing to the album you haven’t already heard in the first three tracks. Similarly, they are almost interchangeable. You wonder how they’d be able to top the first half, but it the second half feels safe, which is weird to think about when talking about such incredible musicianship. After the two tracks, the album ends with “Anhedonia”, which is a soft instrumental with beautiful wordless vocals by Tim Charles. However, this feels extremely anticlimactic as an ending track when “Graal” also ends anti-climatically with a violin solo.

I think the albums biggest faults lies in its track listing. It almost feels like reverse order of what it should have been. Looking exclusively at music and not lyrics, I would start with “Anhedonia”, or at least put it in the middle to separate and give breathing room to the heavier tracks. “Suspyre” and “Graal” would be my “one-two punch” out of the opening, “Misericorde” would be my epic centerpiece, and “Equees” would be my big finish, with memorable Melodie’s finishing off the album, rather than aimless ambience.

That being said, there’s no bad track on the album and I’d be excited to hear any of them in a live setting. But the order of the songs leaves the listener wanting more, and the lack surprises might leave long time fans feeling a little let down. Then again, maybe they will just be glad to hear new music after the extended wait. Maybe my appreciation of the album will grow in time. But for now, I’m gonna go back and and enjoy Citadel for what’s probably the millionth time.

I rarely a gives scores any more, but this one to me feels like a 3 out of 5.

Rivers of Nihil – The Work (2021)

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Rivers of Nihil were one of the American technical death metal bands that seemed to be a direct response to the tech death bands from before (the early 2000s to 2010) switching gears from more traditional death metal or metalcore to space themes and ambient moments, such as The Faceless and Obscura. Those bands in turn made their change in response to the originators of tech death changing to more philosophical themes such as Cynic and Atheist. And around this time, it wasn’t just death metal, but Prog as well, as Devin Townsend and Opeth finding their softer sides. So with this line of bands following each other footsteps, was it surprising that Rivers of Nihil would change from their tradition death metal to incorporating psychedelic elements on 2018’s Owls Know My Name?

The simple answer is no. By then, saxophone had well found it’s way into tech death, including on albums by The Faceless. But aside from what some might dismiss as a gimmick, the songwriting on that album was absolutely solid, and it was a joy of an album to explore. Their follow-up however, surprised even me, not only how good it was, but also how much ground they explore and territory they masterfully cover. Let’s dig in to 2021’s The Work.

Between the release of their of previous album, three major things (that I know of) happened for the band:

1. The release of Owls helped the band get to a point where they could tour for a living.

2. The success of Owls created a pressure for the band’s follow up, something they had not experienced at this kind of level before.

3. The COVID 19 Pandemic put all of that to a halt, much like it did for the rest of the world.

These newfound experiences put the idea of “work” into context for the band, something they explore thoroughly over the course of this 64+ minute record. Without going too much into the concept, it’s not just the actual work we go to in order to support ourselves and our families, but the work our body does everyday to keep us alive, the work we put into relationships, all the work that goes on in our world and in ourselves every second of every day. The band chooses to start this album on a theatrical note. The soft opening is not surprising, and it brings up memories of Autotheism by The Faceless. But what it lacks in memorability as opposed to that one, it makes up for setting the stage for this dramatic endeavor. The subtle change from major to minor key, the background vocals, and train like sound effects all help the song build up to a huge climax. The song comes back down, only to go straight into………

The huge and heavy riffs of “Dreaming Black Clockwork”. This song is equal parts djent from Meshuggah, industrial elements and vocals like Devin Townsend, and “black jazz” like the band Shining, thanks to the comping style of the saxophone. It has a soft and mysterious middle section that only returns to the heavy riffs. This is a great introductory track to the mechanical tones of this album in comparison to their previous ones. It also shows how the band break away from the saxophone as a soloing instrument, and instead as a flowing and continuous part of the ambiance of the album.

If the previous song reminded me of Devin Townsend at his heavier moments, “Wait” reminds me of some of his more tender moments. It is an odd follow up to have a softer song immediately after the previous one, but I think that jarring transition is exactly what the band was going for. After some screams in the middle and a classic rock climax with a bluesy solo, and transitions into the darker “Focus”. I love the dynamics in this song, from the bass heavy verse, to the middle eastern sounding guitar riff of the chorus.

“Clean” has some memorable heavy riffs and screamed vocal lines, but the star of the show is a psychedelic synth solo and bluesy guitar solo that comes perfectly in the middle of it all.“The Void From Which No Sound Comes” combines the industrial and ambient elements of “Focus” with a massive chorus and a perfectly executed saxophone solo. “MORE?” Is the most aggressive song on the album musically, lyrically, and vocally, and it interestingly transitions to a reprise of the intro track, appropriately named “Tower 2”.

“Episode” starts off like doom metal you’d expect from the band Swallow the Sun, and is greatly contrasted with its heavy parts that sound more like the band Behemoth. It has a few masterful guitar solos as well as an emotional climax with the repeated lyrics “Do the Work”. They close the album out with a pair of epic tracks. The first is the gorgeous 7 minutes ballad “Maybe One Day” which is simultaneously hopeful and questioning, climaxing with a slide guitar solo and the repeated lyrics “Is this the only way?”. The last song is the progressive metal masterpiece “Terrestria IV: Work” which weaves through so many twists and turns, finally culminating with our familiar lyric, “Do the work”.

Overall, some transitions from heavy songs to soft songs may be questionable, but they were definitely the intent of the band nonetheless. It with everything else on this album meticulously crafted, it would be hard to imagine that wasn’t the case. Still, it is a small gripe if I had to choose gripes. The album is an incredible experience from start to finish. Every song has merit and memorable sequences. I may have gotten around to this album late, but it has been one of my favorite recent experiences, and I would highly recommend it to any fan of metal, Prog, tech death, or even jazz, as it will surely be one of those albums that bridges the gap for listeners who are typically not into extreme metal, much like Cynic and Meshuggah have done.

Cynic – Ascension Codes (2021)

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This album came out almost a year ago at the time of this review, but was very difficult to write about upon initial release. Prior to its release, Cynic, and in turn Cynic’s fan base we’re going through difficult times. From social media fights between singer/guitarist Paul Masvidal and drummer Sean Reinert, that ended with Sean leaving the band and Paul taking full control of the band, to the passing of not only Sean, but also long time bassist Sean Malone within a year of each other. The future of the band was uncertain to say the least, but Paul was determined to continue while mourning the loss of two friends.

After Sean Reinert left the band, Matt Lynch of Trioscapes fame (and currently Intronaut as well) replaced him in 2015. And for this album, Dave Mackay took over bass duties on synthesizers, as well as added a new element to Cynic with keyboard solos. Interestingly, the band has experimented with guitar synths in the past, so they’ve gone from having guitars sounding like keyboards to having keyboards sounding like bass. In addition to the trio are a plethora of guest musicians including Plini providing guitar solos and former Cynic alumni Max Phelps providing backup vocals.

The album is an 18 track endeavor clocking in at about 49 minutes. This is because of an intro, an outro, and an interlude between every main song. These are the “codes” referred to in the album’s title. But I must state that I am immediately biased against albums that do this format. I understand bands are trying to create a flow or a story with the use of so many interludes, but to me, it most often ruins the flow of an album that can do better with fewer, or the interludes integrated into the main songs somehow. So with these “codes”, that leaves 9 main songs, but really I struggle to call 1 one of them a main song (will explain in a bit), so it brings us to that magic number of 8, the number of tracks the last three Cynic albums have been.

After a 30 second intro, “The Winged Ones” comes in. This is a 5 minute instrumental that honestly could have worked anywhere on the album. It is a great introduction to the album, but it’s beauty and engaging nature could have worked as a closer or somewhere in the middle as well. It reminds me of bands who are heavily influenced by Cynic such as Fallujah, The Facless and The Contortionist, shows off Matt’s incredible drum work, and gives us our first taste of the keyboard/bass tones. The keyboard solos have an old school feel to them, sounding like they belong in the 80s rather than a Cynic album, but don’t sound out of place enough to hinder the enjoyment of the listener.

Rather then going straight into the next track, we can already start to see the hindrance of going into an interlude, loosing all that momentum. “Elements and Their Inhabitants” would have perfectly come after “The Winged Ones”. It picks up with that lost momentum sounding more like Cynic. The vocoder vocals come in as well as frantic guitar picking and drumming, which lays out for a beautiful Pat Metheny style guitar solo. Their are few vocals and they are hard to decipher. So by the time the next interlude comes to a close, you’ve had five tracks already, but nothing really to sing along with yet.

“Mythical Serpents” is a classic Cynic track. On par with anything from Traced in Air, my favorite album by the band, it has memorable melodies, tons of dynamics, and the right amount of ambience. It finally feels like the album was reaching what it was leading up to. Unfortunately, after a long fade-out, and another interlude, it is up to the next song to try and pick up the momentum. And while I feel “6th Dimensional Archetype” is an interesting track, it’s verse is the catchy hook with no chorus to tie it all together. It has potential, but ultimately fades away without reaching it.

This unfortunately leads to the most throwaway track of the album. “DNA Activation Template” on paper looks like one of the main tracks, but actually starts with 4 minutes of alien like sound effects. The last minute of the track is music that sounds similar to “The Winged Ones”. If it was just the music by itself it would have been fine. But that much silence, including another interlude right after it, in the middle of the album creates such a dip in the experience.

“Architects of Consiousness” is another great song that has memorable vocals lines like “Mythical Serpents” did, and sounds like classic Cynic if it wasn’t for an upfront and almost cheesy keyboard tone that doesn’t work as well as the time in “The Winged Ones”. “Aurora” on the other hand, might be the best song on the album. Sounding not only like Traced in Air, but also like Paul’s side project Aeon Spoke. The vocals are clear, the production is beautiful, and it doesn’t meander. It is possibly the most focused song.

“In a Multiverse Where Atoms Sing” is a frantic piece, combining drum and bass electronic rhythms, mathcore riffs, and all that you expect from Cynic in a 3 minute package. The major key and uplifting tones remind me of the best moments from the bands previous release, Kindly Bent to Free Us. Finally, “Diamond Light Body” is a perfect closer with its build up and repeated melody.

Upon first glance, the 18 song track list looks overwhelming, but a first full listen through might make you feel underwhelmed, as if you didn’t cover much ground at all. But with repeated listens, you see the strength of its core 8 tracks, and if I was just reviewing those songs, I would say it’s as strong an album as Kindly Bent to Free Us, maybe even better due to the moments that remind me of Traced in Air. But, the overall experience is more tedious than it needs to be, and kills the pacing it could have had. Plus some out of place keyboard tones take you out of the overall experience. But for a band that didn’t seem like they would have another album, the songwriting and musicianship is top notch, as you would expect from this legendary band. Even through all the changes it has been through, that much will always shine through with Paul at the helm.

Porcupine Tree – Closure / Continuation (2022)

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This was perhaps one of my most anticipated albums in quite sometime. However, as a Steven Wilson fan, I also knew not to expect an album like anything that came before it. This is a review of thee long awaited reunion album of one of the most loved Prog bands.

Porcupine Tree went on hiatus in 2010, at the height of their popularity, so that founding member/singer/songwriter Steven Wilson could focus on his solo career. Much has been said over the years, and without turning this into a “he said/he said”, let’s just focus on 2022. The band announced a new album, without the inclusion of former bassist Colin Edwin. The trio (Gavin Harrison on drums, Richard Barbieri along with Steven also fulfilling bass duties) have left their fate open to interpretation. Is this the swan song PT fans never got, or a sign that there’s more PT to come? I think the upcoming tour will determine that. But in the meantime, let’s talk about the new music!

4 tracks were released ahead of times as singles. I listened to the first two (the first two tracks on the album), before waiting to hear the rest in one sitting. Hearing songs out of context can always be underwhelming, and with so much riding on this album in my mind, I was already feeling that way about the first two. I wanted to give the rest a fair chance. I’m happy to say that doing so has changed my mind about these tracks.

The album starts with “Harridan”. This 8 minute song begins with a funky bass riff, similar to Primus. This style of bass playing already clashes with the soft full tone you would expect from Colin, but is more in line with Nick Beggs work on “Luminol” from Steven’s solo album The Raven That Refused to Sing. Gavin and Richard’s style are immediately evident. Gavin’s complex yet clear and precise drumming suiting the groove, and Richard’s ambient keyboard tones filling in the empty space. It is an upbeat and driving tune, with a very quick chorus. Tonal wise I loved it, but felt like it didn’t have a hook. Steven’s distorted vocals was a welcome return, and it has a wonderful soft middle section for contrast. Upon repeated listens, I realized the chorus had a better hook than I initially realized, and as an opener and reintroduction to the band, it is a definite success.

“Of the New Day” was the second single released and while it showed the ballad style that Porcupine Tree has always incorporated into their albums, having it second after such a big opener seemed like a drop in momentum. Also, the quick changing of odd time signatures seemed to make the pace more frantic, for what could have been a simple and beautiful song. The time changes become second nature with repeated listenings, and an upbeat middle section makes it so that you have already covered a lot of ground with these two tracks alone. I still would have loved to have seen a more stripped down version of this song later in the track list personally, but I can easily see it becoming a fan favorite.

“Rats Return” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. While the band has walked the line between Prog Rock and Prog Metal (starting with In Absentia in 2001), this song sees the band at their most full on Prog Metal. Starting with a riff worthy of Dream Theater or Haken, it quiets during the verse to the strange and ambient sound we know and love from Porcupine Tree, especially on the Fear of a Blank Planet album. While the riffs and dynamic transitions give the impression of complexity, the structure itself is very simple, and it includes all three members doing with they do best which is why I love it so much.

“Dignity” is kind of what I wanted “Of the New Day” to be as the second track, though it works quite well in the middle of the album as well. It is a delicate and beautiful song, that takes its time to build up, and has some wonderful harmonies, melodies, and lyrics. I especially love the classic rock riff after the chorus. It blends old and new quite well with the mellotron sound of the 60s meeting Muse like keyboard sounds in its bridge. It also has one of Steven’s best guitar solos over an electronic drum beat before returning to the song, and the huge finish at the very end is an added bonus. This song will sound massive live.

“Herd Culling” has similar issues for me as “Of the New Day”. It is a heavy track with glimpses of the last two songs of Fear of a Blank Planet, and should be on the same level as “Rats Return” for me in theory. But these two songs are some of the rare occasions where I feel like the band focused more on odd time signatures than suiting the song (something, Steven has often said is never his focus). The time signatures in my opinion make the song too frantic (something that is obviously it’s intention), but take away from the heavy riffs, throughout or the great vocal melodies in the middle of the song. Maybe it’s just my ear struggling to hear the rhythm, but as a fan of lots of complex bands and songs, these gripes are not something I expected to have on this record.

“Walk the Plank” is possibly the most straight forward song on the album, but it’s also very effective because of that. It incorporates the electronic and industrial elements of “Bonnie the Cat” and the title track off of The Incident with the funky grooves of “Eminent Sleaze” off of Steven’s most recent solo album The Future Bites. It is a great song to place on the second half of the album because it is amongst the darker and more complex tracks, but it does not lose the overall feeling of them.

“Chimera’s Wreck” is the epic closer, clocking in at 9 minutes and 40 seconds. If “Dignity” was the more uplifting counterpart of the 1960s Prog inspired songs on the album, “Chrimera’s” is the sadder and darker tune. With a Genesis like arpeggiated guitar intro and an ethereal call and response during the verses, the lyrics are amongst the saddest lyrics; a bold statement for a man who has made a career exploring that side of the spectrum. The main hook contains the lyrics, “I’m afraid to be happy and I couldn’t care less if I was to die”. This hook builds up with great bass playing and Gentle Giant like wordless vocals. This is followed by great riffing, a guitar, falsettos, and an abrupt ending.

Every song on this album has merit, and in total, it is probably the band’s most progressive AND most metal album. However, the flow of the album is not nearly is good as that of the last few releases by the band, and once it is over, you struggle to remember exactly what it is that you have listened to. Repeated listens will obviously help with this, and every song would be amazing to see live. But as a complete album, I have trouble seeing it in the same realm as Fear of a Blank Planet or even The Incident. Plus, some of the bonus tracks from the deluxe edition were great and could have helped the album with flow and pacing. And as a fan, I’m tired of dishing out $100+ for a few extra tracks that should have been on the finished product. But with all my complaints, it is wonderful to have new PT in the world, and I’m hoping it won’t be the last.

Duncan Patterson – Grace Road (2022)

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I have never written a review of an album I helped make before, but seeing that my contributions were minimal, I still feel able to write this without my personal bias getting in the way. In fact, my love for Duncan Patterson’s music is the bias we should be more worried about.

Duncan Patterson may be most famous for his early work with the band Anathema, but has artistically (I believe) chosen to remove himself from projects when they start to take a life of their own. Maybe he’s in constant search of artistic freedom. Maybe he just gets bored. Either way, Antimatter (which is now under the careful watch of Mick Moss) and Alternative 4 (the band named after the Anathema album he spearheaded) have put out their own masterpieces of goth meets doom meets classical meets movie soundtrack.

My contributions to this album were working with my drummer Fernando Guerrero and our friend Alicia Mitchell in recording background vocals to compliment the already amazing Enas Al Said (female vocals) as well as Duncan himself. We were given just the parts we needed to add, which seemed like self contained songs as they were. But hearing them in the context of the full tracks with all parts put together was a fascinating and rewarding experience.

The album itself is a short one. Just 5 tracks, a total of 34 minutes long. And the music is very easy going. It doesn’t demand much from the listener, but to get lost in its ethereal sound. “Absolut Absolutum” starts off by building up with a choir like sound for over a minute before abruptly cutting off. The main piano theme comes in, later joined by frail female vocals (Enas). About 5 minutes in, Duncan’s background vocals come in slowly and help introduce the drums, which carries the tune the rest of the way alongside Alicia’s voice, whose delicate touch sounds more like a violin. There are only 8 lines of lyrics, but Enas conveys them with emotion, and the song leaves plenty of space in between lines for the message to come across.

“The Quiet Light” is the longest track on the album, at 10 minutes. As opposed to the spacious classical feeling of the first track, this feels more like a ballad from the get go. The piano is the driving feature with sparse orchestral flourishes and Duncan vocals filling in the powerful performance by Enas. A flute like instrument carries the piece into its next section, which is a hypnotic but still ambient trip hop section. The dub style drums and repeated piano melody unexpectedly drop out for a haunting back and forth between voice, strings, keyboards, before Enas repeats the phrase “calling me home” over it. This builds until the ending of the track.

“Walking Between Worlds” might be my personal favorite off the record. This song has a strong Celtic influence, starting with the excellent drum beat and use of reverb on the drums and vocals. Enas loses a bit of her Middle Eastern tonal qualities as she instead channels her Sinead O’ Conner or Dolores from The Cranberries. The driving rhythm is broken up with a very moody back and forth between Enas and Alicia’s vocals, acting as the chorus. The flute comes back in the middle along with some drawn out chords and notes. It is a section that reminds me of old school Prog such as Genesis, Moody Blues, or Camel.

“The Amber Line” is the song that is most reminiscent to Duncan’s work in Anathema and Antimatter. A guitar driven track with a dark melody and a duo throughout from Duncan and Enas. I love how their vocals pair and build together throughout the piece. It has a stronger emphasis on the lyrics, as previous tracks had words that fluttered around. This one’s are precise and upfront. The layering and effects are fantastic, and the second half is a dark yet beautiful test of patience as the guitar melody repeats and the vocals come in and out of the track.

The last song is also the title track. “Grace Road” is a 5 minute instrumental that is a somber way to part with the record. Starting with just piano, the strings come in a minute later, and then choir like vocals after that. It continues to build in this way, sounding like something straight out of The Lord of the Rings, till it comes to its final note.

Each of these songs provides something special to the album, making the whole experience cohesive, relaxing, and introspective. It should be no surprise at this stage in his career that Duncan knows how to compose, but at this stage, he has found a wonderful balance between his family time to become self reliant, and release gorgeous pieces of music on his own, with the help of a few friends. It is a fantastic release, and I am proud to have contributed even a small amount to it. To listen, you can go to his bandcamp or message me (comment below) for free download codes!

Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis Act II: Window of the Waking Mind (2022)

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Coheed and Cambria became a household name a few times in their career. Their hits “A Favor House Atlantic” in 2003, “Welcome Home” in 2005, the use of the latter in the animated movie “9”. And their diehard fan base of the music as well as the graphic novel never let them fade away. But the band is enjoying a bit of a resurgence as each tour brings bigger venues and more acclaim. The 2018 release of Vaxis I introduced a new story in the so called “Amory Wars” universe the band is famous for, and it’s sprawling 15 song (almost a full 80 minutes of music) was a bit much to digest, even for diehards. A new concept and some memorable hooks, but a lot of the vibe was set creating this prison planet known as “The Dark Sentencer”, and setting up the story of our two characters and their son. Now out imprisonment and on the run, the music was ready to soar along with them.

Vaxis II returns 4 years later, not only at a different place in the story, but in the world in general. COVID hit, as well as political turmoil, and personal growth in main songwriter Claudio’s own life as a father. It’s impossible for all these elements to not get put into this album. But Claudio alongside the other three members have created an album that seems more than ready to be unleashed upon live audiences who are ready to mosh and sing their hearts out.

The album starts with an orchestral reprisal of “Old Flames” from the previous album. From here the album charges through a whopping 9 songs all under 4 minutes long. These songs are quick, upbeat, well produced, layered, and straightforward. In other words, modern pop/rock. But that’s no surprise from a band that started in a pop punk style and added the progressive elements over time. It is almost an attack of catchy choruses, the antithesis of Part 1’s more brooding and atmospheric approach.

From the big anthemic chorus of “Beautiful Losers”, to the almost In Keeping Secrets feel of “Comatose”. It pushes through to the extremely heavy verse riffs of “Shoulders” before dropping another ear candy chorus your way. “A Disappearing Act” has a wonderful electronic element throughout, reminiscent of Muse or later Depeche Mode. It’s a slow and subtle transition as the mood of the album changes without you even knowing it, but this is followed by the equally electronic “Love Murder One”. Instead of bluesy hard rock riffs of “Shoulders”, we’re now treated to funky bass in the background. But be clear, if I spent the whole time talking about all the subtleties of every instrument, this would be a much longer review than it already is!

“Blood” slows things down a bit and has that perfect industrial influence that Year of the Black Rainbow had on its ballads as well. But this is quickly picked back up with “The Liar’s Club” which has the best parts of Vaxis I with it. “Bad Man” goes back to that modern electronic vibe combined with Claudio’s soulful vocal styles of the Afterman albums.

“Our Love” is a beautiful ballad that showcases Claudio’s voice, before electronics come in towards the end. This downtime makes way for the triple threat that closes out the album. “Ladders of Supremacy” is the first long song, and has a very progressive feel to it, seemingly returning to the style of “The Willing Well” and “The End Complete” for the first time since those albums. For Prog fans like me, it’s a welcome track that could have honestly been longer, but should make for an excellent addition in the live set.

“Rise, Naianasha” returns to upbeat and catchy style of the earlier songs on the album, but has some progressive and dissonant tendencies during the chorus. But the title track “Window of the Waking Mind“ goes full progressive again, with 5 very different sections, including an orchestral reprise of the “Old Flames” theme, perfectly bookending the album, as well as allowing the story to continue.

For a band who had made nine albums that were all very good and very different, it should be no surprise at this stage that they’re going to keep pushing themselves, try new things, and put out great records. But for me to like this one so much more than it’s predecessor is a testament to Claudio’s sense of storytelling, and the band’s continued inspiration with all styles of music. It’s clear they listen to heavy metal, blues, pop, electronic, and listen to their producers for new ideas (the one who worked on this one has worked with countless major artists as well).

All in all, this is an infectious album that will be great on your first listen, as well as on repeated listens as you continue to discover all the layering and tones. Good for a musician or fan of music alike!

Cult of Luna – The Long Road North (2022)

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Cult of Luna by the time of this release had already established themselves as one of the “big three” of Post Metal alongside legendary bands Isis and Neurosis. They are known for their consistency and forward thinking approach. For me, they had already been a part of two of my favorite albums of all time, with Vertikal and Mariner (alongside American vocalist Julie Christmas). But their previous albums were no slouch either.

Following those two albums couldn’t have been easy, and I may have been tough on reviewing the follow up, 2019’s A Dawn to Fear and the companion EP, 2021’s The Raging River, which both did grow on me with repeated listens. But sometimes the biggest problem with ambient types of music is that it can get lost in the ambience, and forget about the song at its core. This is not the case with the shorter songs with clean vocals the band has every release for some time now, but some of the longer songs that have great riffs, but ultimately sound very similar.

Following quickly after those two releases, I hoped that this one would have a little more diversity, and while that’s not exactly what I found, I did connect with it a bit faster than with the previous two releases.

First and foremost, the album name, track listing, and album art are quintessential Cult of Luna atmosphere, so much so that you can’t believe it already hadn’t happened. For a band who has traveled musically and lyrically through countryside, cities, and even space, a journey through snow and barren lands is the perfect setting for their cold, dark, moody feel.

“Cold Burn” opens the album much like “The Silent Man” did for A Dawn to Fear and “Three Bridges” for The Raging River. It’s a driving song with brief melodic moments. But what they brilliantly do here is lull you into a false sense of security. When “The Silver Arc” comes in right after with a similar sense of urgency, you think it’s gonna be more of the same. But when it’s beautiful droning middle section complete with a bright bass tone you would hear on a record by The Cure or Tool appears, it hypnotizes you.

“Beyond I” the first surprise of the album comes at the perfect time. I shouldn’t say surprise since soft songs on their album are becoming expected, as well as guest vocalists, but they are what I look forward to since they provide so much needed contrast. Mariam Wallentin’s voice is haunting on this keyboard driven track with no drums. It reminds me of AA Williams, especially on her split with Mono. The band intelligently follow this up with the slow building “An Offering to the Wind”. With the tension and atmosphere of a Western film, the flow of the album starts to take shape, with its peaks and valleys mimicking the very landscape it describes.

After it’s epic climax, the album brings itself down again with the ballad “Into the Night”. Whereas “Beyond I” was more electronic and industrial driven, this one continues the country and western feel the band started on the previous track. It starts slow and brooding, building half way in to a full band ballad, with very unusual chord progressions. It reminds me of Radiohead almost, due to a mellotron keyboard tone, and a crooning vocal style. It is a different style for the band. Very ambient, and it shows their continued confidence in the variety of clean vocals. And while the sporadic appearances on these track listings don’t signify a complete change, this middle dip of forward thinking songs bookended by the heavier, driving tracks is what gives this album its wonderful and consistent flow.

Continuing with this thought process, the band does not just randomly pick it back up with immediate heaviness and urgency. They slowly build it up once more time with the short instrumental “Full Moon”, a beautiful blend of the country and western feel of the last two songs, with the electronic/industrial keyboard heavy tones of “Beyond I” all mixed together. The subtle changes of tone yet constant flashbacks to past themes gives this album cohesion, and flows perfect into “The Long Road Home”, which starts with some incredible slide guitar work.

Eventually the title track brings that intensity felt on the first two songs. The band really take their time on this album, in the best possible way. The title track is filled with fantastic dynamics and the production really shines on this one as you hear layering that simultaneously make you think of the cityscapes of Vertikal, the space of Mariner, and the countryside of Somewhere Along the Highway. Aside from obvious post metal references, bands and projects like Agalloch, NIN, Author and Punisher also come to mind.

“Blood Upon the Stone” the last real song and second longest song, acts as an epic closer, and doesn’t take as long as “An Offering to the Wild” to get going. Using the momentum from the previous track, it gets right into it. The extended middle section with delayed guitars, consistent drumming and subtle keyboard tones turns into an explosion of dissonant and post rock goodness. The vocals return over a repeated melody a builds to an incredible climax worthy of finishing off this group of songs. But Cult of Luna don’t leave you hanging.

The album officially closes with “Beyond II”, which is an ambient piece of drone, classical, and industrial, all mixed together. It was created alongside Colin Stetson who also helped provide soundscapes on “An Offering to the Wild”. Normally I’m not the biggest fan of instrumental ambient noise closing out an album. But after such a massive track and complete journey, I can see the need for it here. It eventually fades out, and leaves you ready to re-experience it all.

It’s always hard for a band to live up to a fan favorite. And while Cult of Luna might be in the fortunate position to not have one distinct one, they have certainly created a mountain for themselves to climb over on each new release. But the band gives off the impression that they don’t care… in the sense that they have nothing to prove, and aren’t making albums for anyone in particular. They do what they want to. Some aspects of that are new, some are what they do best. But they’re not going to completely change over night for new fans, nor are they going to stay the same for the old ones. And each new release has something new to give, but it will always sound like Cult of Luna. It’s up to you how much you want to invest in finding the differences. But don’t expect to write it off entirely as just another new album by them.

Zeal and Ardor – Zeal and Ardor 2022

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Upon hearing Zeal and Ardor for the first time, I declared them one of the most exciting new bands in heavy metal. Sporting a sound all their own, and a powerful backstory on their inception, their first two albums follow a story based on the idea that inspired the creation of the band…

What if African American Slaves Had Turned to Satan instead of God?

This idea infamously came from the suggestion of a racist online user to combine “black metal with n***** music”, but singer/guitarist/songwriter Manuel ran with it, using his anger as a driving force. After two albums, it became a question if this was going to be the only face of the project. But Manuel quickly denied those thoughts with an EP inspired by the murder of George Floyd.

Now, it is always unfortunate when a death is what sparks inspiration in an artist, but Manuel utilized his anger once again, and touched upon very important topics of inequality and injustice, not only current, but going back to the Tuskegee Experiments on black males. While following in the footsteps of his slavery inspired footsteps, modern topics required modern sounds, and it stepped away from the blues, gospel, and soul, towards an angrier, more metallic and industrial sound while still retaining those core elements. In a way, it freed the band up to refine their sound, and touch upon other topics and styles.

Musically, this is continued in the band’s recent self titled album. Lyrically, it continues the narrative of Devil is Fine and Stranger Fruit. It is about life after slavery. Life on the run. Most bands love to debut with a self titled album. And if they don’t, coming back to a self titled album later in their career can come across as a new era of the band, or just plain laziness. Luckily, in the case of Zeal and Ardor, it is definitely the former.

Manuel is no longer a solo artist. Zeal and Ardor is no longer a solo project. It is a full fledged band, and they come out on this album almost angrier than ever. Their namesake song works as an intro, but sets the mood very well. There’s no unnecessary waiting. Just pure build up to a huge one two punch, “Run” and “Death to the Holy”. These songs are packed with excellent riffs and vocal melodies. They’re catchy and heavy, and set the tone for the rest of the album.

“Emersion” slows things down, but in a beautiful way. Ambient, almost trip hop like at first, it has bursts of intensity similar to Deafheaven. “Golden Liar” has a wonderful western sound, inspired by the late great Ennio Morocone (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly), completing this slight dip in the album. Then it picks right back up with “Erase” and “Bow”, combining progressive, electronic, and industrial music with the groove inspired riffs and breakdowns we saw early on the album.

“Feed the Machine” takes the call and response style they are known for a feeds it through the industrial ringer. We see the strong Ministry and Nine Inch Nails sound through the keyboards and bass tones. “I Caught You” is the biggest surprise with its nu-metal, Korn and Deftones inspired feel. A standout track, and will become a standard for live sets I believe. “Church Burns” might sound the most like their previous two albums, but nestled in between so much aggression, it’s melodic sensibility feels nostalgic, and yet still so powerful.

“Götterdämmerung” is half sung in German and half in English, and feels so frantic after the previous track, but in a good way. According to Manuel, it was intentionally supposed to be a “bare bones song. No gimmicks, no frills, no distractions, just rage”. “Hold Your Head Low” on the other hand is an excellent track with dynamics, transitions, builds ups, climaxes, and was inspired by Opeth, also according to Manuel. This in all honesty could have been the proper album closer. I don’t feel like the last two tracks add much after this beauty.

The last two tracks are abbreviations. The first is “J-M-B”, which stands for “Jazz, Metal, Blues”, which is a good description. A quick two minute song with an upbeat riff that leads into its jazzy guitar solo. It’s problem is that it ends not long after becoming interesting, and feels like it could have been a part of another song. This is followed by “A-H-I-L“ which is just a keyboard driven instrumental outro. If it wasn’t blindsighted by “J-M-B”, it could have been a powerful finish after “Hold Your Head Low”, and “J-M-B” could have been a great bonus track or b-side.

That is a small gripe however in a 43 minute album that flies by so quickly. Zeal and Ardor are becoming an extremely consistent act and are slowly pushing themselves to dominate the genre with their forward thinking and deep understanding of all the music that has come before them. I don’t know if I’d say it’s the best album yet, but wouldn’t have any good arguments against anyone who did. The first thought I had upon hearing how aggressively they come out on the first few tracks was “Zeal and Ardor are hell bent for world domination”. Or at least to be a leading figure of heavy metal. And the way things are going, I have absolutely no problem with that.

Kowloon Walled City – Piecework (2021)

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Kowloon Walled City blew me away when I saw them two nights in a row. Once at a small dive bar in Long Beach. The next in front of about 1,000 people opening for Neurosis. In both shows, their demeanor was almost identical. They are a very unassuming band. But this simplicity is also part of their brilliance. I wrote a review of their previous release Grievances. And when it came time to write a new review for one of their albums, I was shocked that it had been 6 years. A very quiet six years, with scattered shows.

This silence was in part to an uncertainty of the band’s future, which tends to happen when your main songwriter has writer’s block. And with the release coming when it did, it is possible to assume that the pandemic/lockdown could have played the role of the muse, like it did for so many others. If that is the case, I wouldn’t know. Because unlike many bands who came back flashy, swinging, inspired to try a new sound…. Kowloon came back exactly as before.

This new release contains 7 songs that could have been on either of their previous two albums. No clean vocals added, or female vocals…. No crazy times or song structures….no blatant song lyrics calling out specific people or events. It was as if everything we had been through in life had never happened. Just like it didn’t matter to them whether they played in front of 10 people or 1,000. They give you their sound. And that’s not such a bad thing.

In my previous review I explained what makes their sound so unique. Punk sensibility with a sludge/doom/post metal (whatever you want to call it) sound. No crazy light shows or song lengths. No endless tunnels of reverb and delay. And yet, despite their simple arrangements (2 guitars and bass playing slightly different things at the same time, they way Slint did on Spiderland), it is there unique use of space between notes that creates the atmosphere. Even though all the instruments are dry, you still feel like you could be falling as you wait for the next hit.

The title tracks opens by trudging along, as if the chugging were to mimic the lyrics of just passing through life (I don’t have the lyrics written down anywhere so my interpretations could be flawed). Though after a minute, it quickly rushes you to your first bit of soft guitars, a dynamic that despite how often it gets used, never overstays its welcome. Dynamics are after all what this band is all about. That if anything, is their only flex.

“Utopia” is a darker tune with its incredible bass tone, apocalyptic/lost in the wilderness like lyrics, and use of occasional feedback. After a brief soft section, it hits with an epic ending. “Oxygen Tank” on the other hand takes its time to build up, showing off the wonderful DIY production. Punchy drums, upfront bass, just enough room to breathe on the guitars so they don’t muddle the mix, and vocals that always feel on the brink of distorting right out of the speaker. The build up payoffs off with the closest the band has gotten to a normal chorus (“you never wanted to escape!”). Definitely a highlight.

“You Had a Plan” is the closest the band has come to a ballad. Heavy guitars don’t come in until around the 3:30 mark, the music takes over from there, and then the vocals throw in some powerful lines at the end. The song shows the band’s restraint while never conforming to singing when it gets soft.

“Splicing” might be my favorite from the album with its simple but effective bass lines, lyrics, and melodic (while still slightly dissonant) guitar lines. It has a standout lyric “through the haze, like a pulse, you sang”, a build up in an odd time signature, and an abrupt ending.

“When We Fall Through the Floor” musically might feel like more of the same by this point, but it makes up for it with so many memorable lyrics, so you can’t help but headbang as Scott yells, “What’s hidden in the floor?!”

“Lampblack” is a great closer, starting off with the lyric “One last thought” before closing with the line “You want to feel like you’re going home”. There is very little fluctuation in this song and is probably the most jam-like song they’ve done. Aside from the soft breaks, it stays on its main riff before the song ends and fades away.

Like their stage presence, very little attention is forced towards the album. It comes, it goes, and doesn’t over stay it’s welcome. In fact, after 6 years, a 32 minute album is kind of surprising. Most bands would feel obligated to switch things up, so something big, surprise their fans.

But Kowloon Walled City is perfectly happy to do what they’ve been doing. And their fans are perfectly happy to hear more of that. It was almost underwhelming upon first listen, but I should have seen that it’s not about what’s expected. And upon my third listen, I knew it was exactly what it was needed to be. Great lyrics. Great music. And a band that sounds like no other. Why then, would you want them to conform to the trends? Doesn’t matter anyway.

They won’t.

(All pictures curtesy of the band’s social media pages, and websites selling their merch. If you like the album, support the band by purchasing a physical copy of it!)

Between the Buried and Me – Colors II

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Between the Buried and Me (BTBAM) released Colors in 2007, an album that would change my life and the way I thought about music. It also changed a lot for the band, helping them away from the metalcore scene they were forged in, to opening slots in Amphitheaters with the likes of Dream Theater and Opeth. Those who were brave enough to get past their long name knew of their progressive tendencies, and on this album, it was on full force, like nothing before it, and in my mind since it.

My love for that albums lies in its balance. Balance between heavy and soft sections. Balance between knowing when to take itself seriously and knowing when to surprise its audience. Balance on knowing how long to stay on a riff or a grove. Balance in its transitions. Perfect balance in its 8 unique and equally important parts, that flow through as one. A balance, that I search for in all albums, but is very rare to find.

So when BTBAM announce a sequel to this album, I don’t take it lightly. This album has a lot of weight on its shoulders, and I don’t want a quick and easy cash grab.

The first single “Fix the Error” immediately left a bad taste in my mouth, aside from some Colors like arpeggios and some drum solos (that I did not yet know were 4 different drummers). It was quirky. It was punk like. And it had a vocal part that continues to grind at me after many listens.

Not at all what I think of when I think of Colors.

“Revolution in Limbo” was the next single, and this one blew me away. It sounded like old BTBAM. As if I could have been on the original Colors album. With brief moments that sounded like Alaska as well as ones that could have been on The Great Misdirect. The balance was back. Metalcore riffs, sweeping guitar licks, transitions that made sense, a confidence in its sense of melody, and a 9 minute runtime that just flew by.

Now I was confused. And the next single didn’t help me out either! A keyboard driven proggy/funky, technical death metal song that sounded more like the bands BTBAM inspired rather than themselves. Something that could have been done by The Contortionist or White Arms of Athena, while still fitting right at home on a Tommy (vocalist) solo record. Now I have three very different songs and no clue, how it all comes together.

On my first listen to the whole album, I’ll be honest. I didn’t think it did. It felt like a bunch of different eras of BTBAM all fighting for seniority. I knew there were good moments and songs, but was ready to write a review about how the balance and melodies were severally lacking.

And then I listened to it some more.

And this long overwhelming album started making sense. Not only that, but it was flying by. And just because it didn’t have the same kind of standout melodies that the first Colors had, didn’t mean it didn’t have flow.

Flow became the word of the album, because I hadn’t realized until that point how much the flow was lacking on Automata and Coma Ecliptic. I’m not saying BTBAM forgot how to write an album. They’re obviously masters of that. But it wasn’t just songs connected by lyrics anymore. Musically, this album was making sense.

From the soft intro of “Monochrome” that we know to expect from them (starting with “Foam Born (A)” from Colors, to the subtle hints and similarities of “The Double Helix of Extinction” to “Foam Born B”. This song snd “Revolution in Limbo” are a ferocious double punch with drumming and guitar chugging that feels like an old friend returning, even though they’ve made a career out of it. Soon you start hearing references to all kinds of BTBAM songs. Is the drumming a reference to “Ants of the Sky”? The vocals a reference to “Lay Your Ghosts to Rest”? The melodic lines a reference to “Informal Gluttony” or “Extremophile Elite”? You start to wonder if they were intended or not. Standouts of the song are the growls (curtesy of drummer Blake), and Ants of the Sky saloon reference.

In the context of the record, “Fix the Error” comes at a perfect spot. Now that they’ve reintroduced the modern life and isolation themes of the first album, the theme of upbringing and revolution makes more sense. It truly becomes a time to celebrate (though I still hate the “if you see the rainbow” part).

“Never Seen/Future Shock” is an 11 minute epic with “Telos” like riffs, melodies, random medical sounding sections, but it also demonstrates something on this album. Not only their confidence, but their sense of fun is really blending so well here. Maybe cause they could reference themselves so much, or maybe cause the songwriting came more naturally. But these long songs with twists and turns don’t feel like they’re dragging on. Even after a section with crazy timing, it pays off with about 4 minutes of beauty.

“Stare into the Abyss” is a keyboard driven electronic track that we’ve come to expect from them, but it provides necessary breathing room and has a post-rock climax. This before the chaos of “Prehistory”, with its video game/cartoon sounds. It follows in the footsteps of “Bloom”, “Voice of Trespass”, and “The Ectopic Stroll”, for the fun section of the album.

If the first half of the album showed they could still pull up their older and heavier style at will, this second half shows their arsenal of tricks aren’t just gimmicks, and the transitions are phenomenal. “Bad Habits” is one of the most interesting tracks in my opinion because it’s got a strong old school Prog vibe. Hints of King Crimson, Genesis, even Gentle Giant scattered throughout their aggressive delivery. From the keyboard tones, jazz, folk, and classical, it is definitely a Dan (bassist) song, it brings out the best in Tommy, especially with its emotional delivery of lyrics like the return of “sleep on, fly on” from “Ants of the Sky”.

Then comes the aforementioned “The Future is Behind Us” which sounds so fun and welcoming in comparison, before moving on to “Turbulent”, which actually doesn’t live up to its name. In actuality, it is another moment of simplistic electronic keyboard parts, continuing what the previous track started while making references to other songs, bringing different ideas together. It just lets you get to the music while building up for what is to come. But before they do that, they actually drop out for a bit with “Sfumato”.

Like “Viridian” before it, the band provides breathing room before the epic closing track. It introduces what will be a main theme on the keyboard while giving off serious David Gilmour vibes, which you can never have enough off. This just leaves…

“Human is Hell”, which acts as the “White Walls” of the album. Starts off similar with a driving riff they actually borrow from The Great Misdirect. It follows a similar trajectory as “White Walls” but not without its surprises! The title of the song is said in a part that reminds me of “Digging the Graves” by The Faceless. The first few minutes are almost punishing in how heavy it comes off, and then the melodic chorus comes out of nowhere, almost bittersweet.

It’s impossible to say everything that happens in the song, let alone all the references. Halfway through the melodic melody from “Sfumato” comes back and introduces an extended soft section with beautiful lyrics, melodies, and solos. Then a familiar chord progression leads to a keyboard build up, similar to build ups we’ve seen in their epics before. You can already imagine the audience getting pumped up at this part for the big finish.

After a “Swim to the Moon” nod, a “Prequel to the Sequel” like breakdown, and mini drum solo, we have a brief soft part, before the final chorus. Once this ends, we have the brief major key guitar solo like seen on “Goodby to Everything (Reprise) and “The Grid”. This gives it a classical finale ending, as opposed the sorrowful one of “White Walls”. This is one of my few gripes because it feels like band is relying on it too much, but it is a short gripe for such a triumphant album.

It is so hard to condense writing about this long album with all its references, all it twists and turns, all its technicality, and all its musical sensibility. I fear this review might already be as long as the album itself. But to try and summarize, for someone who was so worried about a sequel to something they loved so much, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Then again, how do you expect a sequel to something that was so unexpected in the first place. But the band passed the test with flying colors, finding a confident way to pick and choose the best parts of their career without completely redoing it.

BTBAM has always had the unique ability of sounding like everyone other band and yet only like themselves at the same time. There wasn’t much they needed to prove to their fans at this point, but their impressive talent to continue challenging themselves while playing some of the most challenging music out there is nothing short of inspiring.