Sunday, October 31, 2010

All-Rock&Metal Top 10 Songs-October 2010-Part III

Position Song (Band/Artists) (Album/ep) (Country)
  1. Binary (Sideris Noctem) (Wait Till The Time Is R.I.P.) (Ukraine)
  2. Nebo Ne Ostavit Tebja (The Sky Will Not Leave You) (Heavenside) (The Sky Will Not Leave You) (Russia)
  3. One More Time (Sweet Misery) (Moths & Candles) (Portugal)
  4. Past Deca (Sole Remedy) (Apoptosis) (Finland)
  5. 24 Hours (Star One) (Victims Of The Modern Age) (Netherlands)
  6. My Sacrifice (Aeon Zen) (The Face Of The Unknown) (UK)
  7. Tide Shift (The Man-Eating Tree) (Vine) (Finland)
  8. Just Watch Me (James LaBrie) (Static Impulse) (Canada)
  9. Morgenstunden (Nebelkorona) (Tannenhochforst) (Switzerland)
  10. Amy (Yann Tiersen) (Dust Lane) (France)

9 comments:

All-Rock&Metal said...

Sideris Noctem from the Ukraine have been around for almost 10 years but apart from a demo recorded in 2002, this is the only album I am aware of from this band and it was only just released a couple of months ago so its a bit of a mystery as to why its taken this long for the band to produce a full length album. The first thing to grab your attention is of course the album artwork, having a naked woman with breasts exposed on the front and her naked butt on the back will be a great selling point especially for male listeners but seems totally unnecessary and meaningless for me as the music is good enough to stand up on its own without resorting to nudity but maybe there is a deeper meaning to the artwork that I am not aware of. Sideris Noctem play a style of melodic Gothic Doom that is nothing new or inventive, its very much in the vein of My Dying Bride (Yes, Another One), Katatonia (they do a cover of Without god on this album) and Draconian so as you might have guessed its total Gothic and Dark but very melodic but also very relaxing musically.

The whole album is based around sad, dark riffs and melodic, interesting vocal arrangements which range from typical Death/Doom growls to female soprano voices and sometimes these two elements are blended at the same time to produce a very striking effect. The songs are dynamic and tempos range from the slow to mid-paced sections so its fairly diverse and being very much in the typical "Euro-Gothic" style, they also include keyboards but these tend to take a back seat to the rest of the music. The album begins with an emotionally draining instrumental introduction before going into the title track and its very powerful music at first. There is a lot of atmosphere and some fine but fairly simple playing but I can't really find one track that I can safely say I like from start to finish. There is passages where the interweaving of guitars and other instruments like violins are very well done and mesmerizing but they come and go too quickly to get too stimulating. Their version of Katatonia's Without God is good and that is saying something as I am certainly no Katatonia fan and the tracks, "Behind the Mirror of the Winter’s Fall" and "Moonlight Snakes" do offer some majestic moments. The concept of the lyrics deal with the fate of humanity and are well written.

The problem is its too generic of everything that their influences have done before them to make this stand out as anything different to warrant extra spins of the disc. The songs are well played and the album does flow very well but again its merely copying a style that has been done to death without offering anything memorable so the effect is just transitory at best. Fans of My Dying Bride will still like this so I guess that is the key to enjoying "Wait Till The Time Is RIP" but my record shows where I stand on all that. However I can't find too much to hate about the band either as the musicianship is great as is the production and there is nothing offensively bad about the album, its just another release in the long, never-ending succession of Gothic Doom albums that come from that part of the world.

All-Rock&Metal said...

Sole Remedy has been around for quite some time now, having independently released their limited edition debut, The Wounded Ones in 2008. The album was mainly sold by the band during gigs in Finland, which consequently led to some interest on behalf of not only fans, but record labels. Fast forward to the impending release of Apoptosis - Sole Remedy is now a five-piece outfit, having teamed up with a new bassist and keyboardist, and signed to Aftermath Music.

What do they sound like? With scattered bits of Dream Theater, present-day Katatonia and post-Tuonela Amorphis, Sole Remedy is essentially prog metal with a melancholic atmosphere. The guitar leads constitute an awareness of grief and general unhappiness, while the steadying drum work keeps the riff tomfoolery at a minimum - or at least the album begins this way. Once the listener ventures further into the release, things really begin to get messy. Not freturbation messy, but not at all the same kind of album one expects after the introductory track, "Comatose".

"Leave" changes things up instantly with its straightforward hard rocking approach primarily governed by deep growls, and the aggression from that song carries into the rest of the release, completely defeating the melancholic atmosphere set in the first two tracks. Granted a song here and there assumes the role of "downer", but overall there isn't enough mood repetition to solidify the true purpose of this album. Jukka Salovaara's clean vocals make it back into the fray eventually, but the music on the next 7 tracks is just too pugnacious for its own good, making for a better NHL 10 soundtrack as opposed to a real opus for the woebegone. No wait, that's not right either. After a few over-the-top aggressive songs, we head straight back to melancholy territory. This is a confusing listen for sure.

Judging it for what it is then, Apoptosis is a solid mixture of headbanging melodic metal and an occasionally depressive mood with a genuinely enjoyable mixture of clean and harsh vocal styles. The longer songs tend to drag slightly but there is enough action in between the build-up introductions and cool-down closers to keep the average Cops addict satisfied. Some songs cater to the depressive crowd, while others add hostility.

All-Rock&Metal said...

Arjen Lucassen's STAR ONE "Victims Of The Modern Age"

Composer and multi-instrumentalist ARJEN LUCASSEN has firmly established himself worldwide as driving force in progressive rock. While best known for his rock opera project AYREON, the multi-talented Dutchman also regularly embarks on musical side projects, which explore different aspects of Lucassen's musical personality. As his previous project (GUILT MACHINE’s "On This Perfect Day" 2009) was a relatively relaxed and subtle affair, LUCASSEN's muses responded by urging him to record something loud, heavy and anything but subtle for this new release. Thus it was a perfect opportunity to launch his musical spacecraft towards the galaxy of bombastic sci-fi rock by revisiting his STAR ONE project.

The result is the album "Victims of the Modern Age," the follow-up to the STAR ONE debut album, “Space Metal” (2002). Compared to "Space Metal," the overall sound of "Victims Of The Modern Age" is darker, heavier, more guitar-oriented, and slightly less "spacey”. ARJEN has also raised the bar significantly when it comes to the album's sound: "I think it's my best sounding album to date; it's a huge difference compared to the first STAR ONE. For the guitars I spent weeks experimenting with different amps and settings in every combination imaginable -- and it was worth it. The drums sound fantastic, and the vocalists all outdid themselves, putting in even stronger performances than they did the first time around."

STAR ONE "Victims of the Modern Age" is yet another exciting project from one of rock's great visionaries. “Victims Of The Modern Age” featuring:

Russell Allen (Symphony X)
Damian Wilson (Headspace, Threshold)
Floor Jansen (ReVamp, ex-After Forever)
Dan Swanö (Nightingale, Second Sky, ex-Edge Of Sanity)

All-Rock&Metal said...

Sweet Misery is a gothic rock band from the Azores islands, Portugal. The band was formed in 2007 by Marcus Thorne and Eliezer Pereira. Later, Leon Lenito joined the band. Their debut album, "Moths & Candles", was released on October 1st, 2010.

All-Rock&Metal said...

Aeon Zen are a progressive rock/metal band formed in 2008, led by the only permanent member, vocalist, guitarist, bassist and keyboard player Rich Hinks.[1] To date, they have been praised and heavily featured in the international music press,[2][3] labelled by Classic Rock Magazine as 'a strong contender for best newcomer at the very, very least'[4] and, additionally, as Progression Magazine’s selection for "debut album of the year".[5]
To date, the band have released a single album, A Mind's Portrait, and have assembled a line-up for live performances. Their second album, titled The Face of the Unknown, is slated for release on Time Divide Records on 12th October 2010

All-Rock&Metal said...

THE MAN-EATING TREE: "After Sentenced I was in regular contact with my old band mate and friend Miika Tenkula. We spoke about establishing a new band and tried to make it happen for a while. However, finding a competent singer turned out to be difficult. Miika and I rehearsed only once. During this jamsession we drafted up and recorded one song. Unfortunately Miika’s life came to a sudden end in February of 2009. I remember the moment I received the call from a relative of Miika. I was far up North, in the middle of a photo-session and could do nothing. It was impossible to believe the news - and it is difficult to this date. Still, life is full of surprises. One turn just happened only a few days after Miika’s funeral. An acquaintance of mine knew that I was looking for a singer and sent me a link. It was the website of Fall Of The Leafe with Tuomas on vocals. It felt like some strange fate had steered life for a moment, because his voice was exactly what Miika and I were looking for - we found Tuomas right after Miika had left us. I approached Tuomas and asked if he would be interested, as I felt that the long fermented idea of a new band needed to be taken to the next level straight away. Not tomorrow, but now. Thinking about it, this was a part of my own mourning process. I contacted another friend of mine, Janne Markus, with whom I had discussed working on a new band over a couple of years. Janne had already written several songs that suited Tuomas’ voice perfectly. Only a few weeks down the road the line-up was completed and we were working in full gear.” This happened just a year ago, in the spring and summer of 2009.

The majority of the songs were written by Janne Markus whereas Tuomas Tuominen is responsible for the lyrics. Vesa Ranta, however, takes care of all artwork for THE MAN-EATING TREE which makes their visual representation extra-personal. “This is a real group effort and not just my band”, says Vesa. It didn’t take long until they started tracking “Vine” partly at Mastervox Studio as well as their own home-studio in Oulu.

For the vocals as well as the mix they went to the well-known and acclaimed Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Amorphis) who worked with SENTENCED and POISONBLACK before. “He is a good friend of ours and in my eyes the best producer in Finland”, says Vesa who appreciates Hiili’s open-mindedness and love for slightly odd sounds. “On ‘Vine’ we used several including the sounds of whales.” Recording a coverversion of Moody Blues “Nights In White Satin” was originally Miika Tenkula’s idea who always wanted to cover it with SENTENCED. “I had the urge to record it in his memory. Moreover Tuomas’ voice fits perfectly to the song”, explains Vesa.

THE MAN-EATING TREE’s debut album "Vine" is scheduled for a release in September 2010. It is the perfect time of the year when leaves turn golden, bronze and red, when the days turn shorter and you just feel like curling up in front of a cozy fireplace while the shadows of the winter start to crawl up at night. It is the perfect time of the year for THE MAN-EATING TREE’s atmospheric metal.

All-Rock&Metal said...

NEBELKORONA is the Dark Ambient/Neoclassical Folk solo-project of Christoph Ziegler from Vinterriket founded in 2003.
NEBELKORONA is more romantic with more melodies and piano and more dreamy atmospheres…

Discography:
Dämmerung im Herbst (EP - 2004)
Reminiszenzen An das Morgenrot, Relikte des Abendrotes (CD - 2006)
Des Nachts in Tristen Nebeln (MCD - 2009)
Tannenhochforst (CD/WOODEN BOX SET- 2010)

All-Rock&Metal said...

James LaBrie returns with his first solo effort in over five years with `Static Impulse'. The new offering is by far his heaviest to date and is sure to please his legion of diehard fans as well as win over many new devotees in the process.
James LaBrie is regarded as one of the most influential prog metal vocalists of the last 20 years. His significance as the commanding front man of the gods of virtuoso playing techniques, Dream Theater, is without question. His impact has been felt far and wide and rumors of this release have been circulating for a couple of years now with fans eagerly anticipating his latest solo venture.

LaBrie's musical inspiration comes from many different genres, including such artists as Sebastian Bach, Metallica, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nat King Cole, Queen, Sting, and Muse. One listen to `Static Impulse' and it becomes quickly apparent that LaBrie's influences run far and wide and that he'll be entertaining us all for years to come.

All-Rock&Metal said...

Yann Tiersen:

Hailing from Brittany, Yann Tiersen is one of the most revered artists of his generation with a reputation first established by his studio albums (which include 1998's Le Phare and 2005's Les Retrouvailles) and cemented by his work on the original film score of Amelie (2001) which earned him widespread recognition.

Produced by Yann Tiersen and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, M83, Moby), Dust Lane sees Tiersen incorporate vintage electronic sounds and textures into his music for an album he describes as "a journey on the dusty lane that leads us to death. Not a sad thing, but like a colourful, sometimes painful, but mostly joyful experience: life!"
Yann Tiersen album out now MUTE (Europe) and ANTI (USA).

Dust Lane is the sixth studio album by Yann Tiersen. Two years in the making, it was largely recorded on Tiersen's current home of Ouessant, a small island off the coast of West Britanny, with further parts recorded on an island in the south Philippines and last touches and final mix at The Chairworks Studio in Castelford with producer Ken Thomas (Sigur Rós, M83, Dave Gahan).

Dust Lane is, inescapably, an album preoccupied with mortality. During its recording, Tiersen lost his mother and a close friend, and the music within embodies what it is to be bereaved. It is also an album about life not as something lost, but something to be lived. "Not a sad thing, but a colourful thing - an experience sometimes painful, but also joyful," says Tiersen.