David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock
Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine
This is the sixth album by the Polish progressive rockers. It follows 2013's masterpiece SONGS. Unfortunately it is not as good as the predecessor, but still it's really great. LFatTM is mid-tempo and rock, there's nothing metal about it. The electric guitar is not so prominent, and gives more room for the keyboards and acoustic guitar. Also the bass is one of the starts, very prominent and displaying beautiful bass lines. In sum it's a beautiful record, well-written, and a great but melancholic listen.
W.A.S.P. - Golgotha
This is a beautiful record, from the artwork to the last song. Rattle That Lock is the fourth solo album by David Gilmour. The artwork was created by Dave Stansbie under the direction of Aubrey Powell, who has worked with Pink Floyd before. I got the 180g heavyweight vinyl LP that includes 16-page color lyric/photo booklet - outstanding package. And it also sounds amazing! Well crafted and produced the 10 songs run in just 52 minutes. Only 3 short instrumental songs and 5 of the 7 lyrics were written by his wife. All in all, Rattle That Lock is very different from last year's The Endless River (the final studio album by Pink Floyd). Gilmour's solo album displays a great variability and each song has its own personality. But overall Rattle That Lock has the same feel as Division Bell with hints of old Pink Floyd. Subtle references from Meddle, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here can be spotted. The glue that puts those largely different songs together is Gilmour's voice (displaying great range) and guitar playing. And both sound amazing throughout the record.
The instrumental "5 A.M." opens the album beautifully with a melodic guitar solo over keyboards - think "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". The single and title track follows and I was intrigued about where have I heard this opening riff...then I realized it is from the French railway announcements. Well guess what? that's not a coincidence! It was Gilmour's intention to actually use this jingle. It's the fastest song in the album and very pop/rock - great single. "Faces of Stone" is a slower song with an acoustic rhythm guitar, it reminds me of "Lost for Words". "A Boat Lies Waiting" is a tribute to Richard Wright, a melodic slow piano track which is beautiful and full of emotions. "Dancing Right in Front of Me" is a mid-tempo song that could be featured in Division Bell and features an unexpected jazzy piano solo - awesome. "In Any Tongue" is the longest track with almost 7 min and features 18-year-old Gilmour's son, Gabriel, on the piano. "Beauty" is the second instrumental song with slide guitar and build-up tempo - great reference to "One of These Days". And then suddenly we face a jazz track! "The Girl in the Yellow Dress" could be in a Woody Allen movie, it's really cool. "Today" starts with a choral but soon picks up and it's the only other song with a up bit pop/rock tempo. The album closes with the third instrumental and beautiful "And Then...".
This great album finishes as it started, with he guitar master soloing away. Hopefully it won't take another 9 years for the next one because I can't stop listing to Rattle That Lock.
Gloryhammer - Space 1992: Rise Of The Chaos Wizards
Parkway Drive - Ire
I started digging Parkway Drive based on the last two albums, Atlas and Deep Blue. But I also like some songs from their first 2 records. The fact that they make modern metalcore-ish music combined with more traditional metal elements and great musicianship is what made Parkway Drive stand out. And Ire pushes that direction even further. The new studio album, their 5th , is diverse and “formula-free” and that works very well (at least for open minded people). I love the first half of the album. The two singles are just fantastic: "Vice Grip" is on the same lines as Atlas, but "Crushed" is a completely different beast. It sounds like Manowar going metalcore, awesome. "Destroyer" , "Dying to Believe", "Fractures" and "Bottom Feeder" are all good and typical Parkway Drive tracks while "Writings on the Wall" (a slow song with piano and whispering voice) and "A Deathless Song" (acoustic guitars and more progressive) show completely different structures and influences. Overall a great album, the guitar work is pretty good and Winston McCall distinctive and powerful. I really hope Parkway Drive will continue to evolve in this pathway.
Stryper - Fallen
For historical reasons, Power Metal has always been one of my favorite genres. But when you know a genre so well, it's difficult to find a band or even a new album that stands out. Luckily for me, there are exceptions. Gloryhammer's sophomore album is certainly one of the best power metal albums of 2015. The band formed by Alestorm singer and keyboarder Christopher Bowes features a strong vocal performance by the Swiss Thomas Winkler. Lyrically those Scotchs don't take themselves too seriously, I wouldn't go as far as calling it a parody band. But I guess they could't seriously try to sing about unicorns and dwarves with a straight face so they decided to have some fun with it. And I can see how that can put some people off. But make no mistake, musically, Gloryhammer is very serious about their sound and song writing. Their strongest influence is by far Rhapsody (of Fire). The songs are catchy, epic, with big choruses and great musicianship. And by the way, loved the artwork. If you are a power metal fan, don't let the silliness prevent you from listening to great music.
Deafheaven - New Bermuda
I was blown away by 2013’s Sunbather, Deafheaven 2nd album, beautiful black metal. Two years later and we are presented with New Bermuda, only 5 tracks in 46 minutes. As opposed to the distinctive pink cover from the previous album, the cover art of the 3rd album features an oil painting by Allison Schulnik, mainly black. But apart from that, the sound is pretty much Deafheaven, however I’d argue it’s even better. First I think that the vocals are a bit more clear on the mix and with different effects while maintaining the power and chaos. Second some verses are sang in a more traditional black metal fashion and that creates some variability to some songs like "Baby Blue". Thirdly, the beautiful passages are still very much prominent with slow riffs and guitar arpeggios but I hear more traditional black/thrash riffs being added and working beautifully. As heard in for example "Brought to the Water" or "Come Back" (Slayer in slow-mo?). All in all the 5 songs are really great and despite being long, time flies and you barely notice that the album is back to song #1.
Parkway Drive - Ire
I started digging Parkway Drive based on the last two albums, Atlas and Deep Blue. But I also like some songs from their first 2 records. The fact that they make modern metalcore-ish music combined with more traditional metal elements and great musicianship is what made Parkway Drive stand out. And Ire pushes that direction even further. The new studio album, their 5th , is diverse and “formula-free” and that works very well (at least for open minded people). I love the first half of the album. The two singles are just fantastic: "Vice Grip" is on the same lines as Atlas, but "Crushed" is a completely different beast. It sounds like Manowar going metalcore, awesome. "Destroyer" , "Dying to Believe", "Fractures" and "Bottom Feeder" are all good and typical Parkway Drive tracks while "Writings on the Wall" (a slow song with piano and whispering voice) and "A Deathless Song" (acoustic guitars and more progressive) show completely different structures and influences. Overall a great album, the guitar work is pretty good and Winston McCall distinctive and powerful. I really hope Parkway Drive will continue to evolve in this pathway.
Stryper - Fallen
Fallen is their 11th album and continues to feature the band's signature sounds and style. However, the sound is heavier, specially when it comes to the guitar riffs. Actually the guitar work throughout the record is fantastic. Michael Sweet's recognizable voice is another highlight, great power and range. Of course Stryper didn't loose its melodic pattern with huge hooks. All in all, a surprisingly great album, Fallen is also the band’s heaviest album to date. Highly recommended.
Avatarium - The Girl With The Raven Mask
Avatarium was Founded in 2012 by bassist Leif Edling (ex-Candlemass) and Marcus Jidell (Evergrey). The self-titled debut was highly acclaimed and I love it. Two years later we are blessed with the follow on LP tGwtRM. While maintaining a signature sound, Avatarium created something different from the first album. It's still doom and the magnificent vocals from Jennie-Ann Smith shine even brighter. But it has more of a bluesy feeling to it and more prominent 70s style keyboards. This melting pot culminates into track #3 "Pearls and Coffins", simply magnificent. Maybe not as good as the first one, but very close to it.
Riverside - Love, Fear and the Time Machine
This is the sixth album by the Polish progressive rockers. It follows 2013's masterpiece SONGS. Unfortunately it is not as good as the predecessor, but still it's really great. LFatTM is mid-tempo and rock, there's nothing metal about it. The electric guitar is not so prominent, and gives more room for the keyboards and acoustic guitar. Also the bass is one of the starts, very prominent and displaying beautiful bass lines. In sum it's a beautiful record, well-written, and a great but melancholic listen.
W.A.S.P. - Golgotha
Golgotha is the fifteenth studio album by W.A.S.P. and it's their first since Babylon (2009). I had no expectations of this album but I gave it a try. After a couple of listens, I was positively surprised and got hooked on it. My first observation is that despite approaching 60, Blackie Lawless still got a distinctive and powerful voice and it sounds as good as it ever has. Second, the guitar work is magnificent, maybe not technically but it's well-payed, beautiful and all over the place. I do miss great guitar albums with long melodic solos, powerful riffs without trying to fit a thousand notes per second. Doug Blair delivers exactly that. "Miss You" solo is one of the best of the year. And finally the traditional W.A.S.P. elements are all there, honestly it's nothing new and tracks like “Scream” and “Last Runaway” clearly demonstrate that. In addition to loosing points for lack of originality, Golgotha also has some lyrics that are too corny, almost christian rock. For W.A.S.P. fans this is a slam dunk. If you are not into it, probably not the way to start.
