Ihsahn - Arktis
Arktis is Emperor frontman Ihsahn's 6th studio album. A rich and diverse extreme metal journey from one of the most reverenced modern heavy music masterminds. There are no weak points and the 10 songs and its 49 minutes flow wonderfully. But if you are looking for blasting beats with growling vocals throughout the album, this is not for you. Arktis is essentially a progressive metal album with its roots in the black metal. But the drumming is full of groves, many songs contain clean vocals and slow tempo moments. To me this all adds to the experience and variability. The opener "Disassembled" features Einar Solberg (Leprous) singing on the chorus and it's a strong song. "South Winds" on the other hand has a industrial feeling due to the pulsing beat on the background over some fantastic melodies. It's one of my favorites. " Until I Too Dissolve" features the most fantastic riff straight out of the 80's, it could've been written by Van Halen. An evil-ish hard rock song. But that's not all, "Crooked Red Line" features a Sax! "Celestial Violence" closes the album and it features again Solberg. In this one, he handles the versus and Ihsahn explodes his scream on the amazing chorus. Arktis closes as it opens: Very strong. In sum, a serious candidate for album of the year.
Long Distance Calling - TRIPS
The seventh studio album from Jamey Jasta and gang comes after the very enjoyable 2013's The Divinity of Purpose. And even if The Concrete Confessional sounds pretty much like a Hatebreed album, there are certain subtle elements that really enrich the experience and make it their best album in years. For starters and my delight, many tracks sound more metal than core, take the opener "AD" or "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" some of those riffs could as well be in a Slayer album. Additionally Jasta is singing better than ever and adding more melody to his style while not loosing the aggressiveness (check "Something's Off" which is almost a tribute to early Machine Head). Slow tempo short passages, bass riffs are some of the other elements. I can see that not everyone will appreciate the album as much as I did, specially old timers that keep waiting for bands to re-do their debut albums. But in a genre that is very difficult to find bands that stand out, Hatebreed is certainly one of my favorites and The Concrete Confessional only confirms that.
Killswitch Engage - Incarnate
Arktis is Emperor frontman Ihsahn's 6th studio album. A rich and diverse extreme metal journey from one of the most reverenced modern heavy music masterminds. There are no weak points and the 10 songs and its 49 minutes flow wonderfully. But if you are looking for blasting beats with growling vocals throughout the album, this is not for you. Arktis is essentially a progressive metal album with its roots in the black metal. But the drumming is full of groves, many songs contain clean vocals and slow tempo moments. To me this all adds to the experience and variability. The opener "Disassembled" features Einar Solberg (Leprous) singing on the chorus and it's a strong song. "South Winds" on the other hand has a industrial feeling due to the pulsing beat on the background over some fantastic melodies. It's one of my favorites. " Until I Too Dissolve" features the most fantastic riff straight out of the 80's, it could've been written by Van Halen. An evil-ish hard rock song. But that's not all, "Crooked Red Line" features a Sax! "Celestial Violence" closes the album and it features again Solberg. In this one, he handles the versus and Ihsahn explodes his scream on the amazing chorus. Arktis closes as it opens: Very strong. In sum, a serious candidate for album of the year.
Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika
Jumalten aika (Age of Gods) is already the 7th full-length album by Finnish pagan/black metal band Moonsorrow and their first album in 5 years. I really like the fact that it's essentially a black metal album with deep pagan/folk influences. And that those influences are never over the top. Their music is certainly challenging for its listeners. Rather than happy or danceable. Jumalten Aika contains 5 tracks that tend toward the 15-minute mark and are sang in Finnish. But once you get into it, Jumalten Aika is a hypnotic and addictive experience. The songs are incredibly well written, with fantastic riffs, catchy groves, aggressive singing and full of variations and intermezzos. All of it with the exact right touch of folk elements. To top it all, what a great production! With a dynamic range of 9, the highest I've seen this year so far, the album sounds fantastic. This disc displays a set of mesmerizing and epic songs balancing atmospheric and powerful black/folk metal elements. Simply put, a masterpiece.Long Distance Calling - TRIPS
TRIPS is the 6th album from the five-piece Post-rock band from Münster, Germany. The album is so diverse that there's no way to describe other than going song by song. The album starts with an interesting instrumental song that sounds straight out of an 80's synth/pop album but to my own surprise, it's so well done that I loved it. It's moving , it's upbeat and has an AC/DC-ish riff in slow-motion that breaks the pop vibe fantastically. The second track is an up tempo rock song with vocals and some heavy guitar riffs. And while not eliminating completely the synth/pop 80's vibe, it distances itself from that. By the time we get into "Rewind" we take a big turn into a slow tempo song with beautiful melodic vocals over guitar arpeggios. But then the instrumental "Trauma" throw you off again with a pounding drum and heavy thick guitar riffs. "Lines" is another rock song with great drumming. Speaking of drums, the instrumental "Momentum" features an incredible groove and great guitar solos. Track number 8, "Plans" starts with a guitar arpeggio over a beautiful verse that goes beyond half of the song but then the drums and heavy guitars enter to give the song a powerful groove. It feels like a long build up to a fantastic guitar solo, wonderful. The album closes with the longest song, ticking over 12 minutes, "Flux" is a slow tempo instrumental song that closes with spoken words. It is very well executed and closes this musical journey beautifully. Long Distance Calling has produced a masterpiece of modern progressive rock. TRIPS is an original album and full of curve balls, but make no mistake, it is awesome.
Vektor - Terminal Redux
Terminal Redux is the third LP and the first concept album by the American progressive thrash metal band Vektor. Even if this is only their 3rd album, Vektor is no stranger to the thrashers. Their second album Outer Isolation is even considered to be one of the top 50 thrash albums of all times (Metal Hammer UK). One thing needs to be clear, even if labeled as a thrash band, Vektor is miles away from the retro thrash wave. In fact, adding "progressive" to their sub genre is essential. I'd describe their sound as Voivod meets Slayer with Chuck Schuldiner on the vocals while adding black metal elements. But Terminal Redux is not an incoherent blend, they pull it off magnificently. I describe the album in 3 parts. The first 3 songs are fast, thrashy and long. The interlude "Mountains Above the Sun" allows us to take a breath before bringing part 2. Here we have 4 heavier and shorter songs. By then we reached 51 minutes of amazing heavy music. It could end there and become a good album. But Vektor went beyond conventional and pushed their boundaries further. Part 3 is 23 minutes and contains 2 very progressive tracks. While the thrash riffs and speed are still there, those songs take you to slow parts, clean singing, female vocals and ended in an epic strong note, think 2112 closure on steroids. I have no doubts that this thrash/progressive masterpiece will be at the top of many year-end lists.
Death Angel - The Evil Divide
This is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metallers. As the lyrics from the opener "Moth" say: Surprise I'm back again! And indeed those guys are in a hot streak since the fantastic 2008's Killing Season. The Evil Divide is no exception, from the opening riff to the last, a lesson of bay area thrash metal that goes through 10 relentless thrash anthems in 46 minutes. The guitar work is superb, so many awesome thrash riffs and fine guitar solos ("Father of Lies" has my favorite solo). Front-man Mark Osegueda delivers a stunning vocal performance throughout the album. The song writing is solid, all songs are heavy and yet melodic, mostly fast-paced and straightforward (just a couple of songs go over 5 min). It's too early to tell if The Evil Divide is better than the last 3 albums, but is certainly a strong contender for entering many year-end lists.
Haken - Affinity
Affinity is the fourth studio album by British progressive metal band Haken. Their previous album The Mountain from 2013 brought Haken to the forefront of the prog scene. But instead of repeating themselves Haken pushed it further by incorporating new elements. For one thing the album from cover to the synths sporadically used screams 80's, no surprise that "1985" is the most prominent example. The instrumental "affinity.exe" opens the album with synths and the highlight is the very original song title. From there we have 60 min of top notch original (but clearly influenced by Yes/Genesis) progressive rock. Fantastic melodies, skilled musicians and slow tempo beautiful passages mixed with surprisingly heavy riffs. "Initiate" is a perfect example of the heavy and pop balance. The longest track "The Architect" even features growling vocals from Einar Solberg! The song in itself is a masterpiece, full of variations and unbelievable riffs. Also, the new bassist Conner Green brought quite some heaviness to the Haken sound, take "1985" and "The Architect" for example, some riffs are even Djent-like. Throughout the album the guitar riffs and melodies are also fantastic, "Lapse" features one of the best guitar solos of this year. The Mountain is a great album but to my taste Affinity is even better.
Amon Amarth - Jomsviking
Death Angel - The Evil Divide
This is the eighth studio album by the American thrash metallers. As the lyrics from the opener "Moth" say: Surprise I'm back again! And indeed those guys are in a hot streak since the fantastic 2008's Killing Season. The Evil Divide is no exception, from the opening riff to the last, a lesson of bay area thrash metal that goes through 10 relentless thrash anthems in 46 minutes. The guitar work is superb, so many awesome thrash riffs and fine guitar solos ("Father of Lies" has my favorite solo). Front-man Mark Osegueda delivers a stunning vocal performance throughout the album. The song writing is solid, all songs are heavy and yet melodic, mostly fast-paced and straightforward (just a couple of songs go over 5 min). It's too early to tell if The Evil Divide is better than the last 3 albums, but is certainly a strong contender for entering many year-end lists.
Haken - Affinity
Affinity is the fourth studio album by British progressive metal band Haken. Their previous album The Mountain from 2013 brought Haken to the forefront of the prog scene. But instead of repeating themselves Haken pushed it further by incorporating new elements. For one thing the album from cover to the synths sporadically used screams 80's, no surprise that "1985" is the most prominent example. The instrumental "affinity.exe" opens the album with synths and the highlight is the very original song title. From there we have 60 min of top notch original (but clearly influenced by Yes/Genesis) progressive rock. Fantastic melodies, skilled musicians and slow tempo beautiful passages mixed with surprisingly heavy riffs. "Initiate" is a perfect example of the heavy and pop balance. The longest track "The Architect" even features growling vocals from Einar Solberg! The song in itself is a masterpiece, full of variations and unbelievable riffs. Also, the new bassist Conner Green brought quite some heaviness to the Haken sound, take "1985" and "The Architect" for example, some riffs are even Djent-like. Throughout the album the guitar riffs and melodies are also fantastic, "Lapse" features one of the best guitar solos of this year. The Mountain is a great album but to my taste Affinity is even better.
Amon Amarth - Jomsviking
Jomsviking is the tenth studio album from Swedish melodic death metal viking masters. And believe it or not, their first concept album. Not that this fact brings any difference in Amon Amarth sound from previous albums. Actually Jomsviking follows the same formula as 2013's Deceiver of the Gods. That's not necessarily a bad thing, specially because Deceiver of the Gods was also a very good album. But while I enjoy Jomsviking catchyness, amazing riffs, good production and drumming, I may be reaching my saturation point. Take the single "Raise Your Horns" for example, it does have a great guitar riff, but it feels too formulated and lacks spontaneity. I really enjoy this band and always look forward to see them live, Jomsviking didn't change that, but it also didn't add much.
Mob Rules - Tales From Beyond
Mob Rules - Tales From Beyond
"Tales From Beyond" is German power metallers eighth album and probably their best work to date. Not that it's original or groundbreaking, but it's catchy, well written and executed. The opener "Dykemaster's Tale" sounds like a Maiden song from the 90's but sang by a more suitable singer than Blaze was. The Maiden influence is not as clear in the rest of the album but still there and with touches of A and B. Make no mistake, despite the influences Mob Rules sounds fresh and modern and was able to make their own sound out of those influences. If you are into power/traditional metal, this one is for you. Satisfaction guaranteed.
| Hatebreed - The Concrete Confessional |
Killswitch Engage - Incarnate
Incarnate is the seventh studio album by American metalcore pioneers. I first say KSE live in 2006 and I was impressed with their sound, particularly Howard Jones vocal style. But then the self titled 2009 album was a big disappointment. And then the very good Disarm the Descent (2013) brought back Jesse Leach on vocals for the first time since 2002's genre-defining masterpiece Alive or Just Breathing. Now Jesse, Adam and company are back with Incarnate. The album sounds pretty much the same as the predecessor: great guitar riffs, awesome hooks and catchy choruses while keeping it heavy and aggressive. Additionally Jesse performance is even better and the song writing is slightly less formulated than what we heard in Disarm the Descent. The first half of the album is very strong, 6 tracks in 24 min including some instant live favorites like "Hate By Design" and "Strength Of The Mind". The second half has some up and downs but it does't comprise the overall impression of the album. For the long time fans this is a great addition to their catalog. I am digging it and singing along but int he future I would like to see KSE experimenting a bit more with the song structures and singing variation.
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