Recently in Heavy metal Category
MP3, Peaceville Records
Track list: Gothic Stone - The Well of Souls - Codex Gigas - At the Gallows End - Samarithan - Marche Funebre - Dark Are the Veils of Death - Mourner's Lament - Bewitched - Black Candles - Bewitched (demo) - Battle Cry (demo) - The Well of Souls (live) - Dark Are the Veils of Death (live) - At the Gallows End (studio outtake) - Mourner's Lament (studio outtake) - Interview
On Nightfall, Candlemass perfected their recipe of delicious doom metal: Messiah Marcolin is one damn good vocalist. His theatrical and dramatic style fits perfectly to Candlemass's heavy doom stylings. The song-writing on this album is top-notch: The Well of Souls, At the Gallows End, Samarithan, and Bewitched all are classic tracks with lasting power.
This is one of those classic albums that all metal fans should know and all doom metal fans should definitely own. *****
MP3, Peaceville Records
Track list: Solitude - Demons Gate - Crystal Ball - Black Stone Wielder - Under the Oak - A Sorcerer's Pledge - The Well of Souls (live) - Demons Gate (live) - Crystal Ball (live) - Solitude (live) - Bewitched (live) - A Sorcerer's Pledge (live) - Black Sabbath Medley (live)
There's few different styles of doom metal. Candlemass represents the original, the one that sounds like Black Sabbath, but a tad heavier and slower (Cathedral, often called doom metal, sounds to me exactly like Black Sabbath, which makes it heavy metal in my books). Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, an album with a remarkable silly name, is their debut from 1986, now reissued. Despite the silly title, it's a true masterpiece of doom metal.
It's a very, very strong album, with several excellent tracks. The guitar riffs are low and slow, while the drums beat ominously. The vocals, mostly clear and dramatic, deliver the gloomy lyrics. While most people seem to prefer the band's next vocalist Messiah Marcolin, Johan Landquist does a great job here. Occasionally the band picks up the speed a bit and shifts in a more aggressive gear. Excellent stuff, metal doesn't get much better than this. *****
CD, Massacre Records 2006
Track list: Enter The Carnival - The Black Circus - Intuneric I - Enchanted Mind - Intuneric II - Forever Carousel - Freakshow - Gypsies' Dance Part 1 - Intuneric III - Wisdom - Intuneric IV - Disciples Of The Entities
Manticora's main idea is to create concept albums based on literature. They've used science fiction before; now it's H.P. Lovecraft. I didn't realize the connection until I read about it elsewhere; it isn't that obvious. The music is raunchy power metal, but at least with some unique touch. I don't care much about most power metal, but this was definitely more inspiring than it usually is. So, not a bad album at all. ****
CD, Bombworks Records 2006
Track list: Voyage - Arnos Vale - My Face in Eternity - Look Straight Through - Lost on Your Ocean - Fainted World - Centenary - Your Once Loving Heart - The End - As I Close the Final Page - Autumn
This is one long album. Century Sleeper's gothic doom metal is slow and heavy; definitely deeper than likes of Katatonia and Paradise Lost, yet lighter than the heaviest funeral doom or doomdeath. I'm bit undecided here: parts of this sound very good, but many parts don't. Somewhat shorter this would've probably worked much better. ***
CD, Metal Mind Records 2006
Track list: Prophet - Ganges - Komatrance - On the Border - Cold Obsession in My Eyes - Absinthe - The Secret Window - Burial Ground - In His Room - Where Next?
Cemetery of Scream's work lies somewhere between doom and gothic metal. It's not very heavy (as in low-growling guitars and funeral slowness), but certainly melancholic, with curious oriental tones mixed in. Katatonia feels like a decent comparison. Parts of this are very good, some less so, but most of the album sounds actually quite pleasing. Song material isn't top-notch, but definitely better than average. Besides, in the era of MP3 players, who cares about few substandard tracks? ****
CD, Melscene 2006
Track list: Insania - Axes Granted - Praise These Wounds - Hell Raisin' Beer Drinkin' - Hell Belly - One Shot - War Sign - Good as Hell - Tomorrow in the End - We're Here to Die - Supersatan
Godsplague is back with another album full of sweaty heavy metal. There's some stoner-like groove in it, but mostly it's fairly straight-forward heavy metal. They do it well, too: there's little to complain, technically. Some tracks display really good songwriting (Praise These Wounds is the high point). All in all Triumph is a solid heavy metal album. ****
CD, Nuclear Blast 2006
Track list: Two Moons - House of Sleep - Leaves Scar - Born from Fire - Under a Soil and Black Stone - Perkele (God of Fire) - The Smoke - Same Flesh - Brother Moon - Empty Opening - Stonewoman
Armed with a new vocalist, Amorphis has come up with one of the best albums on their career. Eclipse is something of a synthesis of everything Amorphis has done. It rocks, simply put. The nev guy Tomi Joutsen handles the job well, having a good range of vocals from clean to rough. The songwriting is top-class, with few real A-list hits, but a balanced set of very good tracks. It's very hard to pick the best! Wonderful stuff. *****
CD, Metal Breed Records 2005
Track list: Starmaster - Thriller - Self Destruction - Crystallized - Blood, Rock'n'Roll & Black Angels - Evil Demon - Electric Angels - Orange Sun - Psycho Twins
Somewhere between death metal, stoner and rock lies Kaptain Sun. The album seems a bit undecided, which is rarely a good thing. At it's best it's quite good - Orange Sun, for example, is a nice Cathedral-like track - but most of it's fairly mediocre. The vocalist could be more inspiring, and perhaps they should focus on the fast rock instead of the death metal? Still, it's a decent attempt. ***
CD, Undergroove / SPD 2005
Track list: Nature Boy - Silverlake 6571 - The Devil Walks - Spilling Open - Cold Hands, Warm Heart - Metamorphosis - Summer Of Hell - Vince Vaughn - Imitation Of Christ - Touch Me I'm Sick
This is the second My Ruin album I've heard (Speak & Destroy being the first), and I hear nothing much has changed. Maybe the sound is a bit more muddy and low, but Tairrie B's wicked vocals stay as they were. That's definitely the best part in My Ruin's music. It also sounds pretty good, if you crank up the volume enough. However, I found the songwriting fairly boring. It just doesn't click. Nice, but nothing more. **
CD, Nailboard Records 2005
Track list: Sissejuhatus - Veresulased - Hundiraev - Terasetuli - Mõõk - Terast mis hangund me hinge - Metsaviha 1 - Metsaviha 2 - Pöhjatuulte pojad ja tütred - Oma laulu ei leia ma üles
Estonian pagan folk metallists Metsatöll return to their six-year old debut and re-record it with more resources. I haven't heard the original, but this new edition sounds just sweet. Strong attitude and good musicianship, that's a killer combination. Angry as hell, these Estonians sing in their native language and let loose the wolf's rage. Excellent stuff. ****
CD, Edgerunner Music 2005
Track list: Million Miles - Last Train of Hope - The Grievous Story of Mary Grace - Down to the River - Dr.X in Wonderland - Follow the Sign - Borderline - No Fear of Tomorrow - Chasing a Shadow - The Final Battle
StormCrow is a Swedish new-comer, with their debut album. Their style is definitely old-fashioned, speed metal with Helloween tint. That's always fun, and at it's best (Dr. X in Wonderland) they rock quite well. However, most of the tracks, while technically quite good, have a clear lack of hooks - and what is this kind of melodic metal without really good hooks? Besides, most of it sounds quite familiar anyway. Still, it's a decent debut, and I definitely wouldn't mind hearing their next album. ***
CD, Nailboard Records 2005
Track list: Sorceress - Primeval Force - Throne of Bones - 10 000 eestlast - Tongue of Flame - Passing into Anguish - Destroyer of Soul - Manalateekond
Estonian Tharaphita has published just two albums during their 10-year career. Their second album gets wider release through young and vital Nailboard Records; unfortunately the band drops singing in Estonian in favour of English. That's a pity. Tharaphita's pagan heavy metal sound pretty good to me - I like the vocals and it sounds technically good. However, the song material just doesn't click. There are few better tracks, but the rest is just mediocre. Nice try, though. **
CD, Black Lotus 2005
Track list: High Heels And Fishnet Stockings - Beerrun - Kick - Rough Love (Tender Heart) - Deeper - Juicy Lucy - Too Slow Above - Deliverance - Opus Suite
These Norwegians aren't too serious about music. Absolute Steel is a party metal band - their flavour of heavy metal is the 80's hard rock and heavy metal, lyrics full of beer and loose women. While the album does have some highlights, I still kind of wonder: who would listen to Absolute Steel, when the original 80's hard rock and heavy albums are still available? Anyway, check out Juicy Lucy: a hard rock ballad can't get any worse than that. It's so bad it's good. **
CD, Roihu 2005
Track list: Intro - Tulisade - Katuvan huuto - Kaksi askelta jäljessä - Hauras mieli - Viimeinen aamu - Äärirajoilla - Perisynnistä... - Ruoja - Riisuttu - Maansa myynyt
Kamara is a Finnish band doing their debut with Synti, tuomio, katumus (Sin, Judgment, Repentance). Their own sin is lack of originality: the band started by doing covers of Trio Niskalaukaus ja Kotiteollisuus songs, and especially Kotiteollisuus sounds strongly on the background. The lyrics are very Kotiteollisuus-like. I'd expect a bit more originality. However, at their best, Kamara sounds pretty darn good; when they are nearer death metal with their sound, it's all good. ***
CD, Firebox 2005
Track list: Awaken, Arise - Everlasting - To Drown - A Soul Undone - Hollow Inside - In My Skin - A Dream's End - Beneath the Soil - Sleep of Reason - The Dying Light - Weight of Empathy
The Eternal points to Fransisco de Goya's art with their latest album. The name is lifted from Goya's painting ("sleep of reason creates monsters") and the beautiful cover painting by Travis Smith (man behind Opeth's album covers) is a tribute to Goya's work. Clever. The music is quite interesting, too: there's a full range from crawling doom to melodic goth rock. I like the doomy parts best, but the rest works just fine, as well. Good work! ****
