Oceans: The Sun And The Cold (Nuclear Blast) [Liam True]
This album is just mind blowing. At one point it feels as though you’re listening to a Black Metal record, then a Metalcore record and then a standard Hard Rock record. Not many bands can pull anything like it off, but Oceans have excelled on their debut album in style. Starting with the title track and then pressing into We Are The Storm, the band pulls no punches with dual vocalist and guitarist Timo Rotten leading the charge with his venomous voice leading you into a false sense of security only to blown you away with his deep gutturals . From start to finish it’s a mix of genres, tempos and a will to not bang your head at this masterpiece. My words do it no justice. Listen to this exceptional record yourselves and be shocked by how good this is for a debut. 10/10
Frigoris: In Stille (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Lee Burgess]
And so, here we are with Frigoris, and their album In Stille. With so many extreme bands falling into the category of post this that and the other, sounding fairly generic with very few unique or distinctive aspects to their music the trouble is that artists of this ilk often sound as if very little thought has gone into the work other than to make epic tracks with a duration of anything from five to 25 minutes. So, with Frigoris it was really a question of whether the sound was going to be in line with Fen or maybe a little of the old Wolves In The Throne Room. So it is a bit of a pleasant surprise to hear a mixture of different sounds here. The most surprising element here is a huge reference to the European sound of Kroda, giving us the harsh and the heavy mixed with the mystical, magical and folkish. The production and tone of this album is at once gritty and rich.
You can really get a sense that Frigoris are pushing hard for a sound all their own, and they almost get there. It’s fair to say that there are times where there is something missing, or at least unexplored here, but then the music twists itself into something unexpected and often gives us a glimpse of what could be. It almost feels as if the band can’t quite reach the heights, they are worthy of. This doesn’t take away from what is there, as we get brutal blasting metal and more gentle segments that become almost dreamlike. Although not as tight as it could be, Frigoris have made a record that shows plenty of promise that just needs a few teaks to pull it together to give us a fully rounded, more enriched experience. For now we have a perfectly serviceable collection of songs with more than enough talent on offer to wet the appetite. 8/10
Elden: Nostromo (Fuzzorama Records) [Rich Oliver]
Nostromo is the latest album by Swedish band Elden. It’s an album that evokes the sounds and styles of classic rock and metal bands along with modern day progressive bands such as Baroness and Mastodon. The album is chock full of big riffs, big melodies and punchy songs which don’t outstay their welcome. The songs are nicely mixed with plenty of tempo changes and diverges into psychedelic territory and fast aggressive metal territory. The vocals by frontman Alexander Huss are particularly of note with his own melodic yet distinctive style. Nostromo is an album that will definitely appeal to the Mastodon and Baroness fanbase whilst for me it was an enjoyable listen there were too many similarities to the aforementioned bands and it felt like something I had already heard many times before and to be honest there is a bit of an oversaturation of bands already doing this style at the moment. A good listen but nothing essential. 6/10
Deliver The Galaxy: The Journey (Wolf Metal Records) [Rich Oliver]
The Journey is the second album by German sci-fi melodic death metal band Deliver The Galaxy. Deliver The Galaxy perform some fairly generic melodic death metal with some leanings into djent and metalcore territories so whilst there were parts of this album I enjoyed there were elements I did not like at all. I found that the best material was found on the second half of the album with songs such as Illuminati, New Horizons and Pathfinder being the most appealing to me. The djent and core elements are used here and there throughout the album but really come to the fore in the absolutely dreadful I Declare War which was all that I despise about modern metal incarnate in one song. Deliver The Galaxy do what they do pretty well but The Journey is a very generic take on the melodic death metal genre. I love melodic death metal when it is done right but this album did little for me. 5/10
This album is just mind blowing. At one point it feels as though you’re listening to a Black Metal record, then a Metalcore record and then a standard Hard Rock record. Not many bands can pull anything like it off, but Oceans have excelled on their debut album in style. Starting with the title track and then pressing into We Are The Storm, the band pulls no punches with dual vocalist and guitarist Timo Rotten leading the charge with his venomous voice leading you into a false sense of security only to blown you away with his deep gutturals . From start to finish it’s a mix of genres, tempos and a will to not bang your head at this masterpiece. My words do it no justice. Listen to this exceptional record yourselves and be shocked by how good this is for a debut. 10/10
Frigoris: In Stille (Hypnotic Dirge Records) [Lee Burgess]
And so, here we are with Frigoris, and their album In Stille. With so many extreme bands falling into the category of post this that and the other, sounding fairly generic with very few unique or distinctive aspects to their music the trouble is that artists of this ilk often sound as if very little thought has gone into the work other than to make epic tracks with a duration of anything from five to 25 minutes. So, with Frigoris it was really a question of whether the sound was going to be in line with Fen or maybe a little of the old Wolves In The Throne Room. So it is a bit of a pleasant surprise to hear a mixture of different sounds here. The most surprising element here is a huge reference to the European sound of Kroda, giving us the harsh and the heavy mixed with the mystical, magical and folkish. The production and tone of this album is at once gritty and rich.
You can really get a sense that Frigoris are pushing hard for a sound all their own, and they almost get there. It’s fair to say that there are times where there is something missing, or at least unexplored here, but then the music twists itself into something unexpected and often gives us a glimpse of what could be. It almost feels as if the band can’t quite reach the heights, they are worthy of. This doesn’t take away from what is there, as we get brutal blasting metal and more gentle segments that become almost dreamlike. Although not as tight as it could be, Frigoris have made a record that shows plenty of promise that just needs a few teaks to pull it together to give us a fully rounded, more enriched experience. For now we have a perfectly serviceable collection of songs with more than enough talent on offer to wet the appetite. 8/10
Elden: Nostromo (Fuzzorama Records) [Rich Oliver]
Nostromo is the latest album by Swedish band Elden. It’s an album that evokes the sounds and styles of classic rock and metal bands along with modern day progressive bands such as Baroness and Mastodon. The album is chock full of big riffs, big melodies and punchy songs which don’t outstay their welcome. The songs are nicely mixed with plenty of tempo changes and diverges into psychedelic territory and fast aggressive metal territory. The vocals by frontman Alexander Huss are particularly of note with his own melodic yet distinctive style. Nostromo is an album that will definitely appeal to the Mastodon and Baroness fanbase whilst for me it was an enjoyable listen there were too many similarities to the aforementioned bands and it felt like something I had already heard many times before and to be honest there is a bit of an oversaturation of bands already doing this style at the moment. A good listen but nothing essential. 6/10
Deliver The Galaxy: The Journey (Wolf Metal Records) [Rich Oliver]
The Journey is the second album by German sci-fi melodic death metal band Deliver The Galaxy. Deliver The Galaxy perform some fairly generic melodic death metal with some leanings into djent and metalcore territories so whilst there were parts of this album I enjoyed there were elements I did not like at all. I found that the best material was found on the second half of the album with songs such as Illuminati, New Horizons and Pathfinder being the most appealing to me. The djent and core elements are used here and there throughout the album but really come to the fore in the absolutely dreadful I Declare War which was all that I despise about modern metal incarnate in one song. Deliver The Galaxy do what they do pretty well but The Journey is a very generic take on the melodic death metal genre. I love melodic death metal when it is done right but this album did little for me. 5/10