Louise Lemon: A Broken Heart Is an Open Heart (Icons Creating Evil Art Records)
Seen most recently supporting Solstafir, Swedish singer Louise Lemon’s second album A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart is an emotionally charged rollercoaster. The Swede possesses a stunning voice, and combines it with simple piano, organ and guitar reverb and echo that recall artists as diverse as Stevie Nicks, Anna Calvi and Joni Mitchell. The tracks are short but superbly crafted, the haunting melancholy lingering. With production by Randall Dunn, who has worked with Sunn O))), Myrkur/Chelsea Wolfe amongst others, this is a sweetly sculpted album, which demands your attention. Whether lying in a darkened room, or sat captivated in the concert hall, Lemon is an amazing talent who is likely to become a much bigger star in future years. Montana, the harrowing Not Enough and the bleak Swimming In Sadness are amongst ten tracks of absolute quality. A delightful change from the raging guttural vocals and soul piercing guitars we are accustomed to, A Broken Heart... is an album that should remain on your playlist for the rest of the year. When all around are screaming, retire to this release and allow the calm tranquil performance soothe your battered soul. Superb. 9/10
Horizon Ignited: After The Storm (Self Released)
This is the debut release from the Finnish five-piece who have been crafting their art for several years before finalising their debut album After The Storm. Deeply rooted in melodic death metal, the band merge metal core elements with more melodic sections to deliver a traditional melodic death sound in the shape of In Flames, Trivium, Scar Symmetry, Soilwork and the like. The clean vocals of Okko Solaterä have a Jonas Renkse flavour to them whilst his gruff gravel type roar is at times reminiscent of Johan Hegg. After The Storm is a solidly played album which covers all the bases expected of the genre. It’s typically gritty with the melodic line that surges through the middle. My biggest issue with it is that despite several plays, and I did enjoy it, there was little that stood out as memorable for me. Tracks often morphed into one, and I struggled to distinguish between the opening three tracks.Burning Man contained a bit more, some Machine Head style scaling providing interest whilst Solaterä’s vocals matched the duel guitars of Vili Vottonen and Johannes Mäkinen well. Throughout the album there is quality in the musicianship, with some variation on tracks like Flesh which explodes after a mellow start. After the Storm is certainly not a bad album in anyway. But like so many others, whether it can distinguish itself amongst the mob is the big question. 6/10
Thornbridge: Theatrical Masterpiece (Massacre Records)
Formed in 2008, Thornbridge is yet another power metal band from Germany, who unsurprisingly sing of fantasy, mysticism and secret worlds. This is their sophomore release and follows 2016’s debut What Will Prevail. As with many, many power metal bands, it’s standard fare. Drums going at full pelt, duel guitars climbing to soaring heights and harmonious vocals that encourage audience participation. But there is something a little bit special about these guys, who seem to have really grasped the essence of decent power metal. The guitar harmonies of Jörg Naneder and Patrick Rogalski are impressively tight, the drumming is spot on, Patrick Burghard’s driving bass knits everything together and Jörg Naneder’s vocals echo the quality of Blind Guardian maestro Hansi Kursch.
Theatrical Masterpiece is an album that grows with every play, and tracks such as Keeper Of The Royal Heart, Revelation and the folk tinged Demon In Your Heart all scream “proper power metal”. As someone who loves Blind Guardian but struggles with many of the other bands who flood the scene, Thornbridge are a breath of fresh air. Sure, it isn’t original, but it is delivered with a flourish and a confidence which is often missing. I found myself humming the tracks long after the album had finished. Always a good sign. If you like your power metal, I highly recommend Theatrical Masterpiece; it may be the most appropriately named album of the year. 8/10
Athanasia -The Order Of The Silver Compass (Rock Of Angels Records)
This is described as an amalgamation of melodic and extreme metal, containing enough punch and fight to appeal to casual listeners and more extreme fans. Whilst I wouldn’t argue that there is a lot of interesting music in this full-length release by the Los Angeles-based metal trio, I’m not convinced that it has the wide appeal that the press release suggests. Athanasia features Caleb Bingham, a former member of Five Finger Death Punch, bassist Brandon Miller and former Murderdolls drummer Jason West. With a real mixed bag of tracks, the 35 minutes certainly flies by as the band race through eight tracks, questioning the moral fabric of man amidst complex narratives tackling power, corruption and greed. Tracks such as The Bohemian, Spoils Of War and Mechanised Assault certainly have some grit about them, hard driving metal in the vein of Soilwork and the old In Flames, veering wildly between melody and death metal with an enticingly appealing sound.
However, it is tempered by some of the lighter tracks on the album, such as The Cyclops Lord with its soaring harmonies and clean vocals at odds with the harder, gutsy melodic death that the band deliver with some style. Bingham has been hawking his wares around for several years, playing in FFDP between 2005-07 and then with Swedish death metal act Zonaria from 2010-2014. It was after he left Zonaria that he began to put the effort back into Athanasia. It’s a passionate release, polished and well produced. Having picked a genre that is so overcrowded makes it challenging to stand out amongst the crowd. I’m not sure that Athanasia will do this but this is by no means a poor album. 6/10
Seen most recently supporting Solstafir, Swedish singer Louise Lemon’s second album A Broken Heart Is An Open Heart is an emotionally charged rollercoaster. The Swede possesses a stunning voice, and combines it with simple piano, organ and guitar reverb and echo that recall artists as diverse as Stevie Nicks, Anna Calvi and Joni Mitchell. The tracks are short but superbly crafted, the haunting melancholy lingering. With production by Randall Dunn, who has worked with Sunn O))), Myrkur/Chelsea Wolfe amongst others, this is a sweetly sculpted album, which demands your attention. Whether lying in a darkened room, or sat captivated in the concert hall, Lemon is an amazing talent who is likely to become a much bigger star in future years. Montana, the harrowing Not Enough and the bleak Swimming In Sadness are amongst ten tracks of absolute quality. A delightful change from the raging guttural vocals and soul piercing guitars we are accustomed to, A Broken Heart... is an album that should remain on your playlist for the rest of the year. When all around are screaming, retire to this release and allow the calm tranquil performance soothe your battered soul. Superb. 9/10
Horizon Ignited: After The Storm (Self Released)
This is the debut release from the Finnish five-piece who have been crafting their art for several years before finalising their debut album After The Storm. Deeply rooted in melodic death metal, the band merge metal core elements with more melodic sections to deliver a traditional melodic death sound in the shape of In Flames, Trivium, Scar Symmetry, Soilwork and the like. The clean vocals of Okko Solaterä have a Jonas Renkse flavour to them whilst his gruff gravel type roar is at times reminiscent of Johan Hegg. After The Storm is a solidly played album which covers all the bases expected of the genre. It’s typically gritty with the melodic line that surges through the middle. My biggest issue with it is that despite several plays, and I did enjoy it, there was little that stood out as memorable for me. Tracks often morphed into one, and I struggled to distinguish between the opening three tracks.Burning Man contained a bit more, some Machine Head style scaling providing interest whilst Solaterä’s vocals matched the duel guitars of Vili Vottonen and Johannes Mäkinen well. Throughout the album there is quality in the musicianship, with some variation on tracks like Flesh which explodes after a mellow start. After the Storm is certainly not a bad album in anyway. But like so many others, whether it can distinguish itself amongst the mob is the big question. 6/10
Thornbridge: Theatrical Masterpiece (Massacre Records)
Formed in 2008, Thornbridge is yet another power metal band from Germany, who unsurprisingly sing of fantasy, mysticism and secret worlds. This is their sophomore release and follows 2016’s debut What Will Prevail. As with many, many power metal bands, it’s standard fare. Drums going at full pelt, duel guitars climbing to soaring heights and harmonious vocals that encourage audience participation. But there is something a little bit special about these guys, who seem to have really grasped the essence of decent power metal. The guitar harmonies of Jörg Naneder and Patrick Rogalski are impressively tight, the drumming is spot on, Patrick Burghard’s driving bass knits everything together and Jörg Naneder’s vocals echo the quality of Blind Guardian maestro Hansi Kursch.
Theatrical Masterpiece is an album that grows with every play, and tracks such as Keeper Of The Royal Heart, Revelation and the folk tinged Demon In Your Heart all scream “proper power metal”. As someone who loves Blind Guardian but struggles with many of the other bands who flood the scene, Thornbridge are a breath of fresh air. Sure, it isn’t original, but it is delivered with a flourish and a confidence which is often missing. I found myself humming the tracks long after the album had finished. Always a good sign. If you like your power metal, I highly recommend Theatrical Masterpiece; it may be the most appropriately named album of the year. 8/10
Athanasia -The Order Of The Silver Compass (Rock Of Angels Records)
This is described as an amalgamation of melodic and extreme metal, containing enough punch and fight to appeal to casual listeners and more extreme fans. Whilst I wouldn’t argue that there is a lot of interesting music in this full-length release by the Los Angeles-based metal trio, I’m not convinced that it has the wide appeal that the press release suggests. Athanasia features Caleb Bingham, a former member of Five Finger Death Punch, bassist Brandon Miller and former Murderdolls drummer Jason West. With a real mixed bag of tracks, the 35 minutes certainly flies by as the band race through eight tracks, questioning the moral fabric of man amidst complex narratives tackling power, corruption and greed. Tracks such as The Bohemian, Spoils Of War and Mechanised Assault certainly have some grit about them, hard driving metal in the vein of Soilwork and the old In Flames, veering wildly between melody and death metal with an enticingly appealing sound.
However, it is tempered by some of the lighter tracks on the album, such as The Cyclops Lord with its soaring harmonies and clean vocals at odds with the harder, gutsy melodic death that the band deliver with some style. Bingham has been hawking his wares around for several years, playing in FFDP between 2005-07 and then with Swedish death metal act Zonaria from 2010-2014. It was after he left Zonaria that he began to put the effort back into Athanasia. It’s a passionate release, polished and well produced. Having picked a genre that is so overcrowded makes it challenging to stand out amongst the crowd. I’m not sure that Athanasia will do this but this is by no means a poor album. 6/10