White Ward - False Light (Debemur Morti Productions)
Like a well wrapped game of pass the parcel, there's a lot to unwrap on this third album from Ukrainian black metal experimentalists White Ward. The first of course is how the album even saw the light of day with Covid and a War standing in the way. However here it is False Light, wrapped in a haunting piece of desolate cover picture from Lucas DeShazer, the album like the cover art is evocative, and deeply conceptual and rich with meaning, based heavily on the 1908 work "Intermezzo" by Mykhailo Kotsubinsky along with drawing inspiration from Jack Kerouac and Carl Jung. False Light is a richly layered musically and lyrically exploring the themes such as "government-sanctioned murders, environmental catastrophes, police brutality, domestic abuse, the psychic emptiness of cities, falsity of modern mainstream culture and ill-effects of overconsumption." Much of this present in all our lives but so much ever present in Ukraine's war mongering neighbours.
Following on from their 2019 album Love Exchange Failure, False Light is a huge step sonically as the black and death metal elements are enhanced by throbbing electronics and atmospheric sampling, moody post-punk and plenty of dead of night jazz-like brass, the saxophone being utilized as perfectly as the double kick drumming and tremolo picked riffs. The core five piece that comprise the band; Yurii Kazarian (guitar/vox), Andrii Pechatkin (harsh vocals/bass), Mykola Previr (guitars), Ievgen Karamushko (drums) and Dima Dudka (saxophone) are the ones that set the musical scene of each of these brooding, avant garde journeys. Each of the 8 songs a example of how to use dynamics in songwriting, much of the record starting slow and mournful before exploding into full bore extreme metal aggression Phoenix doing this brilliantly, as Vitality Havrilenko brings the Gothic clean vocals towards the end of the track. He is one of three men that add clean vocals to the record, they all bring their own sound but are utilized well as to not become to much of a necessity to each song. It's like adding another instrument for melody and done with mastery.
Along with guest vocalists there's also some additional trumpet, double bass and Piano/Fender Rhodes all of which bring a more rounded sound to each of these tracks and of course the album as a whole. As I alluded to at the beginning, this is not an easy record to get into, you may instantly appreciate it, but after multiple listens you will grow to love it, every nuance will reveal itself, every shift in tone or time will becaine clear, even the samples and spoken word elements will resonate. A track such as Echoes In Eternity, which is essentially a jazz intermission will be just as appreciated as say the proceeding number Silence In Circles which evolves from blistering heaviness into mournful trumpet at the end. Though from here, those post-punk Gothisms of bands such as Beastmilk/Grave Pleasures come to the fore at the beginning of Cronus before it switches the pace into destructive black metal, there's nothing awkward about it either, the change is seamless as is the swap to death metal grooves, intensified by the brass.
This album is breathtaking. Is it hard work? My god yes but is it worth your time and dedication? You bet your ass it is! It's not often I'll give an album a perfect score but that's the only thing befitting False Light. 10/10
Wind Rose - Warfront (Napalm Records)
Italy's premier (let's be honest only) Dwarven metal band Wind Rose return with their first album since 2019's Wintersaga. Warfront brings 10 more battle metal anthems ready for the hordes to Don their armour and furs, hold their swords, axes and hammers high and join in with the heavy metal chants such as the cinematic Together We Rise and Fellows Of The Hammer. Warfront brings more chanting choirs and symphonics to add depth to the power metal stylings. Federico Meranda's keys the major driving force behind the theatics of the folk infused Gates Of Ekrund, as the rhythm section of Federico Gatti (drums) and Cristiano Bertocchi (bass) give the record it's marching grooves on Army Of Sorrow especially. It's a style that has been adopted by numerous bands but Wind Rose are one of those bands that just seem to be latched on to by the metal masses, possibly due to their Minecraft cover that went wildly viral.
Italy's premier (let's be honest only) Dwarven metal band Wind Rose return with their first album since 2019's Wintersaga. Warfront brings 10 more battle metal anthems ready for the hordes to Don their armour and furs, hold their swords, axes and hammers high and join in with the heavy metal chants such as the cinematic Together We Rise and Fellows Of The Hammer. Warfront brings more chanting choirs and symphonics to add depth to the power metal stylings. Federico Meranda's keys the major driving force behind the theatics of the folk infused Gates Of Ekrund, as the rhythm section of Federico Gatti (drums) and Cristiano Bertocchi (bass) give the record it's marching grooves on Army Of Sorrow especially. It's a style that has been adopted by numerous bands but Wind Rose are one of those bands that just seem to be latched on to by the metal masses, possibly due to their Minecraft cover that went wildly viral.
However their own music draws from bands such as Blind Guardian, Grave Digger and Sabaton, Francesco Cavalieri's gritty vocal calling those in attendance to arms through the frostbitten wastelands on more anthemic offerings like One Last Day. Guitarist Claudio Falconcini, carves up the fretboard across this album too on the longer tracks such as The Battle Of The Five Armies and I Am The Mountain, his fluidity means these track adapt brilliantly through various phases, the latter even taking some prog cues for maximum dramatic effect. The influence of Blind Guardian or Falconer can't be understated here as Warfront joyously languishes in folksy, cinematic power metal. Is it a game changer in the genre? No but it brings a big smile to your face, so I'm sure these songs will be getting your fist in the air at a show soon. 7/10
Philosophobia - Philosophobia (Sensory Records)
If there's one thing in music that is almost certain, it's that like life, concept albums, uh, find a way. So many have come and gone, many of them staying as just an idea or a set of demos for a long time until finally being written down and recorded. The idea was first bandied around in 2007 when drummer Andreas Ballnus and guitarist Alex Lamdenburg wrote and recorded some demos for a prog metal concept album. However due to them having to play in other bands, the demos sat on the studio desk for a later date. The two then were contacted by former Pain Of Salvation/Kayak man Kristoffer Gildenlöw who had an interest in the demos and wanted to take things further so him Alex, Andreas, keyboardist Tobias Weißgerber and singer Domenik Papaemmanouil of Wastefall, once again entered SU2 Studio in Germany with producer/engineer Phill Hillen and began forging these demos into a fully fledged concept album.
Philosophobia - Philosophobia (Sensory Records)
If there's one thing in music that is almost certain, it's that like life, concept albums, uh, find a way. So many have come and gone, many of them staying as just an idea or a set of demos for a long time until finally being written down and recorded. The idea was first bandied around in 2007 when drummer Andreas Ballnus and guitarist Alex Lamdenburg wrote and recorded some demos for a prog metal concept album. However due to them having to play in other bands, the demos sat on the studio desk for a later date. The two then were contacted by former Pain Of Salvation/Kayak man Kristoffer Gildenlöw who had an interest in the demos and wanted to take things further so him Alex, Andreas, keyboardist Tobias Weißgerber and singer Domenik Papaemmanouil of Wastefall, once again entered SU2 Studio in Germany with producer/engineer Phill Hillen and began forging these demos into a fully fledged concept album.
At just over an hour Philosophobia, (fear of philosophy) is a striking return to the prog metal world for Gildenlöw, a modern progressive metal record that has the right amount of drama and pathos for its conceptual themes but never strays too far into beard stroking instrumental explorations that only appeal to the most hardcore. There's emotion and angst in this record, Thorn In Your Pride brings that, especially vocally while I Am has the biggest riffs. Influences are firmly in the style of American bands such Fates Warning, Redemption and Queensryche (Time To Breathe) along with Europeans like Threshold, Headspace and Evergrey. The record is built for emotional, intelligent lyrics menacing that anyone looking for a bouncy escape maybe in for a surprise, especially when both Beneath The Pines and As Light Ceased To Exist are melancholic and introspective, though the latter has some heavy riffing while the former is a piano ballad.
Mastered by Alan Douches, this labour of love has been fully realised as an 8 track exploration of philosophy and its effect on us as human beings. Released on their dream label of Sensory records, Philosophobia ticks all the right boxes for prog metal fans. Let's hope album 2 doesn't take as long! 8/10
Adamantis - The Daemons Strain EP (Cruz Del Sur Music)
Soaring, swashbuckling, traditional/power metal from Massachusetts, Adamantis following up their 2020 debut album in record time with this new EP featuring four songs at roughly 28 minutes of heavy metal fury. In his review if their debut Simon Black said they wear their influences proudly on their sleeve, and that's again very clear on The Daemons Strain, but more so than just some left overs there's a clear effort here to add more expressive flavours to their traditional power metal meets NWOBHM sound, with the hope, I expect of bringing them into their work going forward. This was something that Simon also talked about, the idea of getting a bit if variety is always welcome (in most cases) so for the band to add more folk and symphonic instrumentation on the title track especially means that they are looking forward to where they are going as a band.
Adamantis - The Daemons Strain EP (Cruz Del Sur Music)
Soaring, swashbuckling, traditional/power metal from Massachusetts, Adamantis following up their 2020 debut album in record time with this new EP featuring four songs at roughly 28 minutes of heavy metal fury. In his review if their debut Simon Black said they wear their influences proudly on their sleeve, and that's again very clear on The Daemons Strain, but more so than just some left overs there's a clear effort here to add more expressive flavours to their traditional power metal meets NWOBHM sound, with the hope, I expect of bringing them into their work going forward. This was something that Simon also talked about, the idea of getting a bit if variety is always welcome (in most cases) so for the band to add more folk and symphonic instrumentation on the title track especially means that they are looking forward to where they are going as a band.
The title track is a song that throughout its 12 minutes, moves into various Maiden-like shifts while also featuring some operatic female vocals. Based on the traditional song House Carpenter, it's very much the crowning achievement of this record shifting into the epic doom sound of Atlantean Codex. With just this song along Adamantis have almost sealed their fate when it comes to their second album. On the basis of this EP the band will be making a much more rounded effort than their debut, so The Daemons Strain is the start of a new chapter for the band. 7/10