Big Scenic Nowhere: Lavender Blues (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Matt Bladen]
Lavender Blues is only three tracks long but the title track is a whopping 13 minutes long so they are very much substance over style. This project is collaboration between Bob Balch (Fu Manchu) and Gary Arce (Yawning Man) on guitar, Tony Reed (Mos Generator) on bass, vocals, synths and guitar, and Bill Stinson on drums (Yawning Man), and this EP is a mind-expanding slice of psychedelic/progressive rock, bringing a fluid mellow sound, sort of like ethereal desert rock but with shuddering synths that take things into the mid-period Floydian realms the title track especially having those waves of synths supplied by ex-Opeth man Per Wiberg.
As the guitars fade almost in and out of consciousness Stinson's drumming just steadily keeping everything in place for the explorative melodies. Along with those named above the record also features guitar playing from Daniel Mongrain (Voivod) and Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality), so it's packed full of sun-worshipping, fuzz-drenched riffs that often evolve into brilliant guitar playoffs, especially on Labyrinth's Fade. A true collaborative effort, you can hear each of the bands they play in each musician add to their own touch to the EP along with a lot of Grateful Dead references but really Lavender Blues is not only a great follow up to their debut full length from January but a cherry picked journey through the outer realms of desert/space rock. 7/10
Red Moon Architect: Emptiness Weighs The World (Noble Demon) [Paul Hutchings]
The sea laps gently on the shore as a piano melancholically echoes. This calm vista is quickly overtaken by a thumping riff, the piano sounds again before crushingly heavy doom and guttural vocals take centre stage. Welcome to the impressive and massive opening of Red Moon Architect’s fifth full length album. For those unaware of the band, the Finns formed in 2011, with their debut release Concealed Silence dropping in 2012 and their last album Kuura came out last year. The six-piece play a pleasing style of melodic death doom metal and Emptiness Weighs The Most continues in the vein of previous albums. The band use clever shades of light and heaviness in their music. After the intro of Hidden, Chained is a punishing slab, with Ville Rutanen’s growling dominant. The gentler voice of Anni Viljanen are introduced on Rise, her soaring cleans the perfect foil.
Emptiness Weighs The Most contains nine tracks, a return to a more routine formula after Kuura, which features a mere three tracks, two weighing in at 16 minutes plus. Rise sees the band effectively use the keys of founder member and drummer Saku Moilanen, the lush layers adding depth and volume to the track. The Finns aren’t afraid to slow things down, Dethrone The Darkness begins with an ethereal feel before more concrete heavy riffs shatter the peace. It’s this juxtaposition which works so well across this intriguing record. The music on Emptiness Weighs The Most switches between heavy and damn heavy. The lighter touch of tracks such as One Shines Brighter and Into The Light with their gentle melodies and Viljanen’s captivating vocals contrasts with the funeral march pace of Muse, a powerful seven-minute song and the doom drenched penultimate Reform.
The duel guitar work of Matias Moilanen and Taneli Jämsä is restrained but effective whilst Moilanen and bassist Jukka Jauhiainen have the rhythm section firmly anchored. Themes of death, misery and memories cast a typically melancholic feel across the album. It’s not something you put on for a workout but for dark nights with flickering candles and wood burning fires, it would sit perfectly. Take a moment, close your eyes and immerse yourself in an album that is drenched in emotion. 8/10
Thanatopsis: Initiation (Extreme Metal Music) [Rich Oliver]
Initiation is the debut full length album by Californian band Thanatopsis released through the Extreme Metal Music label. Despite this being a debut album Thanatopsis were formed back in 1992 and released a string of demos between 1992 and 1997 before disbanding. They reformed back in 2015 and three quarters of the original line up plus new drummer Jason Adam Borton present to us Initiation. Initiation is a mix of new material and material which appeared back on the demos in the 1990’s and is a mix of thrash metal and progressive death metal. Considering a lot of this material was written around 1993/1994 it sounds remarkably contemporary with its mix of thrash riffs, complex rhythms and a strong sense of melody. The playing throughout is impeccable with some fantastic bass playing from Thom Hall and excellent guitar solos from Dave Couch.
The vocals by frontman John Bishop are very much in a thrash style but reach levels of gruffness that just about cross over that border into death metal at times. The album is made up of nine songs which cover around 35 minutes. A shorter album length is beneficial as the songs are very similar in style and their repetitive nature means that not a long stands out. The songs themselves are short and compact and don’t outstay their welcome. For me the most effective songs were the ones which were more on the aggressive side such as the title track, Your Demise and the ferocious album closer Suffersystem. On the whole this is a very good album from Thanatopsis. It sounds brilliant aided by a fantastic production and mix by Juan Urteaga. The performances are tight and despite the repetitive nature of some of the songs this was still an enjoyable listen. 7/10
Ironed Out: We Move As One (GSR Entertainment) [Liam True]
Grime influenced Hardcore. That’s how Ironed Out have described themselves, but in reality, it’s Rap Metal. And it’s not even a good version of it. It’s god song good riffs to it, some good headbanging moments. But that’s where it ends, which is a shame because I'm a good supporter of the Rap Metal genre. Blending two genres together to create a new sound is always exciting. Unless you’re Ironed Out, then you just ruin it. Spanning 12 songs and 39 minutes it does drag on because all the songs sound the same. Hardcore riff, gang vocal chant of the chorus, one big breakdown per song, rinse and repeat. It’s a system that’s worked well for many bands in the past, but now it’s overdone. Ironed Out have done that.
To be fair there are a couple of good things about the album. The riff work from guitarist’s Steve & Mark create some nasty stringed sounds. The drum work from Jorge is simplistic yet stylish. And that’s that. The vocals don’t fit the sound of the band at all. Props to the band for trying Grime & Hardcore, but it falls flat of anything good. 2/10