Blind Guardian - The God Machine (Nuclear Blast)
It's been seven years since Beyond The Red Mirror the last opus from one of Germany's best bands (in my opinion) Blind Guardian, as well as being three years removed from their symphony only album. So because of the cinematic scope of the last few records, on The God Machine they tried to recapture the more focused sound that led up to Somewhere Far Beyond, the speed metal of their early years evolving into the power metal sound they are so closely associated with.
The current version of Blind Guardian is Hansi Kürsch on vocals, André Olbrich on lead/acoustic/rhythm guitar, Marcus Siepen on rhythm/acoustic guitar and Frederik Ehmke behind the drums, the four convincing between March 2020 and 2021 to write The God Machine an album that looks back as much as it does forward. Producer Charlie Bauerfeind wanted to capture the force of Blind Guardian, stripped of a lot of their orchestration and the progressive leanings but not their grandeur or their excellence.
On The God Machine Blind Guardian sound as aggressive and direct as they ever have, it's also their most personal albums since Somewhere Far Beyond. Aiming to be the BG of the mid 90's but with nearly 30 years of experience behind them. As much as I loved the cinematic, progressive, long players they have produced throughout the 2000's, it's the classic Blind Guardian sound of Somewhere Far Beyond, Imaginations From The Other Side and Nightfall In Middle Earth that myself and other long terms fans clamour for and on The God Machine it's brought back with more muscle than ever.
With lyrics inspired by the works of Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson and Neil Gaiman's American God's, on the chorus heavy, epic, Secrets Of The American Gods. There's also inspiration from The Witcher and Battlestar Galactica filtered through more realistic ideas like death, war, paranoid and witch-hunts. A darker tone with a heavier set of riffs drive Violent Shadows as well as Blood Of The Elves. Deliver Us From Evil gets the record going with some speed metal riffage and lots of bombastic religious zealotry, as Damnation brings a bit of doom, unsurprisingly so does Architects Of Doom. It's on Life Beyond The Spheres that the choirs and brooding prog is upped and on Let It Be No More, Hansi does his folk balladeer thing well proving again why he has one of the best voices around.
A return to the more straightforward, heavy sound of Blind Guardian without sacrificing the multilayered approach they have had in recent times. The Bards are back! 9/10
It's been seven years since Beyond The Red Mirror the last opus from one of Germany's best bands (in my opinion) Blind Guardian, as well as being three years removed from their symphony only album. So because of the cinematic scope of the last few records, on The God Machine they tried to recapture the more focused sound that led up to Somewhere Far Beyond, the speed metal of their early years evolving into the power metal sound they are so closely associated with.
The current version of Blind Guardian is Hansi Kürsch on vocals, André Olbrich on lead/acoustic/rhythm guitar, Marcus Siepen on rhythm/acoustic guitar and Frederik Ehmke behind the drums, the four convincing between March 2020 and 2021 to write The God Machine an album that looks back as much as it does forward. Producer Charlie Bauerfeind wanted to capture the force of Blind Guardian, stripped of a lot of their orchestration and the progressive leanings but not their grandeur or their excellence.
On The God Machine Blind Guardian sound as aggressive and direct as they ever have, it's also their most personal albums since Somewhere Far Beyond. Aiming to be the BG of the mid 90's but with nearly 30 years of experience behind them. As much as I loved the cinematic, progressive, long players they have produced throughout the 2000's, it's the classic Blind Guardian sound of Somewhere Far Beyond, Imaginations From The Other Side and Nightfall In Middle Earth that myself and other long terms fans clamour for and on The God Machine it's brought back with more muscle than ever.
With lyrics inspired by the works of Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson and Neil Gaiman's American God's, on the chorus heavy, epic, Secrets Of The American Gods. There's also inspiration from The Witcher and Battlestar Galactica filtered through more realistic ideas like death, war, paranoid and witch-hunts. A darker tone with a heavier set of riffs drive Violent Shadows as well as Blood Of The Elves. Deliver Us From Evil gets the record going with some speed metal riffage and lots of bombastic religious zealotry, as Damnation brings a bit of doom, unsurprisingly so does Architects Of Doom. It's on Life Beyond The Spheres that the choirs and brooding prog is upped and on Let It Be No More, Hansi does his folk balladeer thing well proving again why he has one of the best voices around.
A return to the more straightforward, heavy sound of Blind Guardian without sacrificing the multilayered approach they have had in recent times. The Bards are back! 9/10
Dim Gray - Firmament (English Electric Recordings)
Norwegian atmospheric, art rock trio Dim Gray follow up their 2021 debut album Flown with second release Firmament, while not having the 8 year gestation of the debut it still has all of the wonderfully evocative musical expression, that made former writer Alex wax lyrical about it. Dim Gray are songwriting focused, the progressive elements owing as much to bands such as Radiohead, The Pineapple Thief and even Elbow as the do to the English prog sound of Marillion and Big Big Train, both of whom they have supported.
This album has been released on BBT's label, BBT actively seeking to sign them as the first act outside of BBT and their side projects to be released on the label. Because of this it must be something special right? Well that it is, with orchestral swells, electronic sweeps and music crafted by virtuoso keys/guitars/drums, Firmament is a drenched in emotion, the progressive nature coming from the way many of the songs shift in tone on their short(ish) run times. From the jangling Ablous I In Time to or the indie of Mare, the echoing chamber pop of Long Ago, the piano/string Western Balladry of Iron Henry, a synthy switch on Ashes and the twitching closer Meridian, there's plenty here to get your ears around.
Dim Gray bring the diverse musical backings of guitarist Håkon Høiberg, singer/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff and drummer Tom Ian Klungland together. Combining for a sound that is ethereal and spacial but also built into the grassroots of both the English and Norwegian folk traditions. A special bands making beautiful music, if you want riffs then perhaps it's best to leave it, but if you want feel something then Firmament should be your next purchase. 9/10
Brymir - Voices In The Sky (Napalm Records)
Finnish Melodeath band Brymir are probably best known for being the 'other' band of Battle Beast guitarist Joona Björkroth, who along with singer/writer/producer Viktor Storm Gullichsen, drummer Patrik Fält, guitarist Sean Haslam and bassist Jarkko Niemi have been playing Melodeath that fits the genre blueprint perfectly. Folk/power metal riffs, epic battle metal choirs and lots of guitar soloing are all mixed with growled vocals and death metal aggression for the kind of music Children Of Bodom and Ensiferum are hailed for.
Voices In The Sky is their fourth album and the two opening tracks, the title track and Forged In War give you an idea of the Brymir style, Forged In War thrashier but with those big choruses, while the title track is very much in the power metal vein. The technicality of the album is high, all five men dishing out riff after riff at lightning speed, the drumming a definite highlight. On Fly With Me they bring death growls to what could be a Blind Guardian track, Herald Of Aegir keeping things folky and fast. There's a bit of video game synth on Landfall while the power metal pulse is strong on Borderland which features a Ukrainian poem underneath it. If you like your melodic death metal with a real focus on the melodic then Voices In The Sky will grab you by the shirt and won't let you go, as the epic finale All As One finishes things of in cinematic style.
This is the last of their own songs anyway as the last track on the album is a cover of Dark Funeral's Diabolis Interium. The symphonic and metallic elements of Brymir's music as good as ever on this fourth album, if you've not experienced it before now, Voices In The Sky is the perfect entry to Brymir's music. 7/10
Figure Of Speechless - Tunnel At The End Of The Light (SAOL)
In what could be the progressive metal version of rock supergroup The Dead Daises, songwriter/guitarist Glen McMaster started writing songs from this album and managed to bring in some of the biggest names in the prog game. Sons Of Apollo keyboardist Derek Sherinian also produces and guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal plays the solos and mixes the record. McMaster is also joined by the rhythm section of Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder) and Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne).
So the prog meets the hard rock, in the membership as Ray Alder (Fates Warning/Redemption) rounds out the band as vocalist. The Fates Warning style very much witnessed on Carve A Smile. All the musicians involved are technically gifted meaning that The Tunnel At The End Of The Light is full of chops but they are nothing without good songwriting and thankfully McMaster understands how many of the classic prog metal band achieve their sound, making the 11 tracks on this record all nod to some of the greats in the progressive metal. What started as a lockdown project has now become fully realised, and it's realised brilliantly.
Tunnel At The End Of The Light is supposed to be nostalgic so Escape Hatch feels like Queensryche, Midnight Desert Rendezvous is a bit more psychedelic, the title track has some Iron Maiden tricks to it, while The Cast Out is Dream Theater at their best. A prog metal devotee will not only love the music here but will also get a kick out of trying to pin point the influences in a nerdy fashion. Whether this will be the only album from Figure Of Speechless is a question that will be answered in the future, for now though this prog metal all-star project has at least one great album. 8/10