Deafhaven - Infinite Granite (Sargent House)
Deafhaven are one band that bring ire to black metal fans it's Deafhaven. Over their 10 year history they have shifted from a black metal sound to one that is much more akin to shoegaze, bands such as Alcest are clear comparison. However on their fifth album Infinite Granite they have all but disposed of the blackgaze of their earlier albums, moving into the ambient, post-metal sound with multi-part vocal harmonies coming from George Clarke, who on this record stays in his clean register, rarely making a foray into the extreme howls he is known for. It's a revelation that has been hinted at previously but now is fully realised. Clarke's vocal is mesmerising, he uses it to great effect against the gloriously bittersweet musical backing where the soaring guitars and textured synth arrays leads things into galactic realms, only briefly moving back into their extreme metal beginnings on tracks such as Mombassa.
The album, like with many post-metal acts, the band are masters of build and release, the record having an enormous sense of catharsis about it. The floaty Shellstar starts the album with a poppy bent to it, while In Blur has jangly, repeating guitars (another band trademark) and Great Mass Of Color is a most potent example of this new Deafhaven, the music feeling like a changing of the guard as the psychedelic swathes of Dream Pop coming through on Neptune Raining Diamonds and the breezy Lament For Wasps hiding the cynicism of the lyrical themes throughout this album, a theme that also sits along synesthesia, as an influence for the albums lyrics. Deafhaven have interpreted their own distorted dreamscapes into a cohesive, beguiling, hallucinatory musical document. A thrilling record that may annoy the cvlt but will enthrall everyone else. 8/10
Between The Buried And Me - Colors II (Sumerian Records)
Between The Buried And Me (BTBAM) are often hailed as one of the best, modern, progressive metal bands on this pale blue dot. Their fourth album Colors (they are American), is seen as being a seminal offering from the band. It's brought their intense form of prog metal to a wider audience, while also saw them exploring strange new sounds that has become one of their trademarks, using off-kilter polyrhythms, jazz expressionism and plenty of synths. It is probably the album BTBAM are known for and to my shame as a prog fan, I've only just heard it. BTBAM are a band, much like Dillinger Escape Plan, that have escaped me, so upon my initial foray into their music I decided Colors was a good place to start especially as this new record is a thematic sequel.
Fanboys may spot numerous, 'easter eggs' throughout the record with lots of throwback riffs, that are deliberately put in to draw a link between the two albums. Lead vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers says that like with the original album, this one was written to be an 80+ minute listening experience, with a melting pot of styles throughout it, the two massive numbers, Never Seen/Future Shock and closer Human Is Hell (Another One With Love) are sprawling, audio journeys through the virtuosity of this band. They never play a note for notes sake though, the tracks here are meant to be part of a cohesive record, thematically similar but musically experimental, possibly more so than the band have been for a long time.
Take for example the first single Fix The Error a thrashy track that evolves into both gospel and vaudeville before climaxing with a triple drum solo from Mike Portnoy (Sons Of Apollo), Navene Koperweis (Animals As Leaders), and Ken Schalk (Candiria), though BTBAM drummer Blake Richardson doesn't get one, though he shows his mettle across the rest of the album. Of course Paul Waggoner (lead & rhythm guitar, lead vocals), Dustie Waring (rhythm &lead guitar) and Dan Briggs (bass & keyboards) all bring their brilliance to the record as well, shifting through musical genres like a schizophrenic jukebox. I was truly blown away by this record, it's prog with a Capital P, I'm also a little annoyed with myself that I didn't 'get' Between The Buried And Me sooner as I've missed out on some of the most forward-thinking music out there. If like me you're entering their world then Colors II and it's part I are the best way to do it. 9/10
Kyros - Recover (White Star Records)
Kyros' previous two releases were brilliant. Modern, synth-led prog rock, I've sung their praises numerous times in the reviews so when this new album turned up I was very excited. Their Celexa Streams Isolation Sessions was a way to bring together the music world and also to tell their fans about Kyros keyboardist/vocalist Shelby Logan Warne announcement of being transgender and undergoing transitioning. The Isolation Sessions were a way to connect with their fans but also with the bands that have inspired their unique musical sound. Recover is their first release since Shelby's announcement and it is brimming with covers of some of their biggest influences, ranging from prog rock to arty and pop groups too. Yes there's guests with White Star Records co-founder John Mitchell, Ray Hearne of Haken and Andy Robinson of IHLO, the latter two featuring on a stirring version of Haken's The Good Doctor, Robinson on vocals and Hearne on drums.
While Mitchell appears on Heartstrings Frost* The record opens with a Behind The Lines, which is my favourite Genesis song, Kyros playing it as straight as possible but adding their own flourishes. It's the ideal song for them to cover pairing the prog technicality with pop sensibilities. This is highlighted by the TWO Rush covers, the first being Force Ten from 1987's Hold Your Fire (keyboard Rush) and the instrumental Where's My Thing from 1991's Roll The Bones. I mean two Rush covers should make this a must buy but there's also some quirky power pop from Jukebox The Ghost, pop from Imogen Heap as well as some classic prog from Giraffe and even some Devin Townsend. All of the covers are never too far away from the originals but Kyros bring their own impressive style to each of the songs, a perfect way (along with their recent surprise EP) to bring about the next chapter of Kyros. 8/10
Sulferon - Caelesti Irrumator (Sleazy Rider Records)
Sulferon is the project of Typhonas, a musician from Central Macedonia (the proper Greek one), who is also a member of Arcane Dread, Helgast, Misama and a founder member of Impalement. So he's served his time in the extreme metal scene of Greece for a while now. He's also a founding member of Sulferon playing all of the instruments and also providing the vocals. Caelesti Irrumator is his eighth full length record of ravaging black metal, dissonant and raw the album is 8 tracks of fury Typhonas' drumming furious, double kicks galore evoking the D.I.Y first wave along with countless tech metal bands, while his riffing is biting reminding me of the more the second wave with nuanced slower passages and even some melodies in the guitars (I know right?) Vocally it's also like Satanic sandpaper, a fully throated roar, the lamentations of the church here for all to hear. Caelesti Irrumator (which if my Latin is still good means Heavenly Mastubation) is a very decent black metal album that comes from both the Nordic and Hellenic black metal scenes. 7/10