Tarja: In The Raw (earMUSIC) [Manus Hopkins]
Tinkling ivories, groove-soaked riffs and catchy pop style songs, this is the style that greets you on Carnival Beyond The Hills, the opening track from the fifth album by Swedes Hellsingland Underground. Formed in 2006, the band retain four original members as well as keyboard player Thomas Petterson and new guitarist Jerry Ask. The band’s influences range from folk, blues and classic hard rock with more than a dose of progressive rock as well. It certainly isn’t the type of heavy I’d usually listen to but there is plenty here to enjoy, if you are looking for something lighter crafted and lyrically clever. Tracks such as I Win You Lose I Guess and Rainbow’s Gold are toe tappers. AN enjoyable listen with the vocals of Charlie Granberg particularly impressive. 6/10
Pelegrin: Al-Mahruqa (Independent) [Manus Hopkins]
Paris-based psychedelic stoner rock trio Pelegrin tread into strange territory on their debut album. With just five songs, the album still clocks in at over 40 minutes, featuring three songs longer than nine minutes. They fuse a desert rock sound with middle eastern sounds, bringing a different kind of psychedelic feel than expected from this style. The music is intense but also oddly relaxing, and sounds as if it would transfer well to a live setting. The songs all have similar feels and structures, though the album doesn’t feel repetitive. The experimental music explores new areas on each tune, and each track feels like a bit of a journey. There’s lots to be heard for listeners who pay close attention, but just as much to enjoy for someone who might throw this on as background music. 7/10
In The Raw is Tarja Turunen’s fifth solo album, meaning she’s now released as many albums under her own name as she did with Nightwish during her stint in the band from 1996-2005. It hardly needs to be said that Tarja is comfortable as a solo artist and doesn’t need to be remembered solely as a former Nightwish singer. Her operatic vocals and distinguishable voice soar as much as ever, and these new tunes of hers have big hooks and plenty of substance.
The real showstopper on the record is Goodbye Stranger with gust vocals from Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia. The dual vocals only enhance what is already a standout song. There are other guest vocalists who appear on the record, but if there weren’t, the songs would still stand on their own. From electronic-infused heavy songs like Dead Promises to piano ballads like You And I, the album sees Tarja’s signature vocals fit perfectly over a variety of styles. 8/10
Imperium Dekadenz:When We Are Forgotten (Napalm Records) [Rich Oliver]
As the nights draw in and the summer comes to an end here is an album to help bring forth the winter and the cold and the album is When We Are Forgotten which is the sixth album by German atmospheric black metal duo Imperium Dekadenz. Imperium Dekadenz perform what is termed as atmospheric black metal but that is simply too narrow a term for the music that they play. Yes atmosphere is a defining part of their sound but there are so many different influences and soundscapes throughout When We Are Forgotten that the albums duration of just over 72 minutes positively flies by. Imperium Dekadenz have created a totally immersive album which shifts and meanders through its course and by the end of it you definitely feel like you have embarked on an aural journey. There are moments which are classic black metal and full of the darkness and vitriol so synonymous with the genre but there are plentiful moments of melody which evoke feelings of sorrow and melancholy whilst a vast post-metal soundscape really gives this album scope and breadth.
The real showstopper on the record is Goodbye Stranger with gust vocals from Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia. The dual vocals only enhance what is already a standout song. There are other guest vocalists who appear on the record, but if there weren’t, the songs would still stand on their own. From electronic-infused heavy songs like Dead Promises to piano ballads like You And I, the album sees Tarja’s signature vocals fit perfectly over a variety of styles. 8/10
Imperium Dekadenz:When We Are Forgotten (Napalm Records) [Rich Oliver]
As the nights draw in and the summer comes to an end here is an album to help bring forth the winter and the cold and the album is When We Are Forgotten which is the sixth album by German atmospheric black metal duo Imperium Dekadenz. Imperium Dekadenz perform what is termed as atmospheric black metal but that is simply too narrow a term for the music that they play. Yes atmosphere is a defining part of their sound but there are so many different influences and soundscapes throughout When We Are Forgotten that the albums duration of just over 72 minutes positively flies by. Imperium Dekadenz have created a totally immersive album which shifts and meanders through its course and by the end of it you definitely feel like you have embarked on an aural journey. There are moments which are classic black metal and full of the darkness and vitriol so synonymous with the genre but there are plentiful moments of melody which evoke feelings of sorrow and melancholy whilst a vast post-metal soundscape really gives this album scope and breadth.
The opening title track is the perfect introduction to When We Are Forgotten and encapsulates the entire feel of the album in one song with its competing sounds of atmosphere, melancholia and violent fury whilst other songs such as the lush My Solace I (Choirs Of Solitude) could almost be called blackgaze sounding like a black metal Anathema whilst Transcendance has as much in common with bands like Insomnium as it does with black metal. This album most certainly does not sit still but does not sound conflicted or unnatural. Imperium Dekadenz gave truly crafted a fantastic album which builds on what they have done on albums past but transcends them beautifully into a truly luscious listening experience. After years of slogging it out in the underground is this the album that is going to be Imperium Dekadenz accepted by the wider metal world? It is most definitely deserving. 9/10
Hellsingland Underground: A Hundred Years Is Nothing (Wild Kingdom) [Paul Hutchings]
Tinkling ivories, groove-soaked riffs and catchy pop style songs, this is the style that greets you on Carnival Beyond The Hills, the opening track from the fifth album by Swedes Hellsingland Underground. Formed in 2006, the band retain four original members as well as keyboard player Thomas Petterson and new guitarist Jerry Ask. The band’s influences range from folk, blues and classic hard rock with more than a dose of progressive rock as well. It certainly isn’t the type of heavy I’d usually listen to but there is plenty here to enjoy, if you are looking for something lighter crafted and lyrically clever. Tracks such as I Win You Lose I Guess and Rainbow’s Gold are toe tappers. AN enjoyable listen with the vocals of Charlie Granberg particularly impressive. 6/10
Pelegrin: Al-Mahruqa (Independent) [Manus Hopkins]
Paris-based psychedelic stoner rock trio Pelegrin tread into strange territory on their debut album. With just five songs, the album still clocks in at over 40 minutes, featuring three songs longer than nine minutes. They fuse a desert rock sound with middle eastern sounds, bringing a different kind of psychedelic feel than expected from this style. The music is intense but also oddly relaxing, and sounds as if it would transfer well to a live setting. The songs all have similar feels and structures, though the album doesn’t feel repetitive. The experimental music explores new areas on each tune, and each track feels like a bit of a journey. There’s lots to be heard for listeners who pay close attention, but just as much to enjoy for someone who might throw this on as background music. 7/10