Neptune Power Federation - Goodnight My Children (Cruz Del Sur Music) [Rich Piva]
It is going to be hard for me to go into this review for the new Neptune Power Federation album, Goodnight My Children, with any sort of impartially because I do love this band so much. The Sydney, Australia band’s additions to its ever-growing discography has never disappointed me (except for the shipping cost of their vinyl to the US) and they are not starting now with their latest ripper, Goodnight My Children.
If you are not familiar, the band, led by the amazing and powerful vocals of Lauren Friedman, plays heavy occult rock/metal developed in the dank bars of Sydney and brought to you by grizzled members of the heavy underground of Australia. Goodnight My Children continues their excellent heavy with pop sensibilities assault and is as good as anything else they have put out so far, which is saying a lot.
Let Us Begin does just that, and whoa does it kick us off right, with a just over two-minute little ripper led by those vocals and some killer guitar work. NPF are back and once again not screwing around. Lock & Key has Friedman doing her best evil Pat Benatar (with hand claps, which are awesome when used right) layering her vocals and taking her range to top heights. Speaking of those pop sensibilities, Twas A Lie sounds like an 80s hit heavied up in Federation style, with cowbell, and dare I say some synths in thrown in there too. Oh, yeah and a perfect solo for the vibe of the song.
Let Us Begin does just that, and whoa does it kick us off right, with a just over two-minute little ripper led by those vocals and some killer guitar work. NPF are back and once again not screwing around. Lock & Key has Friedman doing her best evil Pat Benatar (with hand claps, which are awesome when used right) layering her vocals and taking her range to top heights. Speaking of those pop sensibilities, Twas A Lie sounds like an 80s hit heavied up in Federation style, with cowbell, and dare I say some synths in thrown in there too. Oh, yeah and a perfect solo for the vibe of the song.
The most epic track on Goodnight My Children is Woe Be Father’s Troubled Mind, which, stay with me here, has some kind of metal ABBA thing going on. Am I nuts? OK, maybe a band like Music Go Music (if someone knows this reference, please send me an email because you are my new friend). Whatever it is, the vocals are amazing, and the guitar work is some of the best on the record. More 80s vibes, but this time from the Sunset Strip, coming at you with Betrothed To The Serpent in all its glam metal glory but eviler and less party. Evermore is along the same path and is the big anthem on Goodnight My Children. This song would sound perfect at a stadium show headlined by NPF in some alternate universe.
Hariette May is more of a mid-tempo rocker (the 80s are all over this album) highlighted by all sorts of vocal layers that create quite the soundscape (anyone else feel some Siouxsie vibes at the beginning?) that leads to quite the shredding session and then back again. The end of this song refuses to leave my head. The closing title track is a sort of a creepy and evil lullaby with lots going on, and the addition of that organ makes the way of sound in the heavier parts even more impactful. While I loved the Meatloaf worship on the closer for their last album, this one is the perfect ending to this collection.
I feel like Neptune Power Federation lean into a theme each record, and this one is definitely more towards all things from the 80s, and boy do they nail it. The vocals are amazing as usual, the playing is top notch, the songs are all great and the love of pop shines through in all the best ways on Goodnight My Children. Some of this amazing band’s best work. 9/10
Slimelord - Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (20 Buck Spin) [Mark Young]
Over the course of the following 47 minutes, Slimelord do their level best to astound, batter and generally give your ears a good kicking in this, their debut full length release. Just checking the accompanying bio gives the impression that this is not going to be your standard musical fare, and I’m all for that. Detuned piano? Fire drum? Tree branch and leaf rustling all play a part which shows you what is to come next.
The Beckoning Bell opens the account with some deep vocalising from Andrew Ashworth and a swelling accompaniment, slow and methodical until they drop the blast beats on you. From here on in, it’s just a cacophony of sideways riffs, rhythms that drop in and drop out, its fast, then slow and just wrongfoots you every at every step. The breadth of musical ideas they cram into one song, albeit at 7 minutes long is unreal. It combines doom, OSDM and more into a package which is a lot to take in.
I feel like Neptune Power Federation lean into a theme each record, and this one is definitely more towards all things from the 80s, and boy do they nail it. The vocals are amazing as usual, the playing is top notch, the songs are all great and the love of pop shines through in all the best ways on Goodnight My Children. Some of this amazing band’s best work. 9/10
Slimelord - Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (20 Buck Spin) [Mark Young]
Over the course of the following 47 minutes, Slimelord do their level best to astound, batter and generally give your ears a good kicking in this, their debut full length release. Just checking the accompanying bio gives the impression that this is not going to be your standard musical fare, and I’m all for that. Detuned piano? Fire drum? Tree branch and leaf rustling all play a part which shows you what is to come next.
The Beckoning Bell opens the account with some deep vocalising from Andrew Ashworth and a swelling accompaniment, slow and methodical until they drop the blast beats on you. From here on in, it’s just a cacophony of sideways riffs, rhythms that drop in and drop out, its fast, then slow and just wrongfoots you every at every step. The breadth of musical ideas they cram into one song, albeit at 7 minutes long is unreal. It combines doom, OSDM and more into a package which is a lot to take in.
Gut Brain Axis takes a melodic turn in the opening moments, a spidery guitar riff that builds into a solo break that shows some very impressive skills, almost halting to a dead stop as we enter the realms of doom. There is a guitar pattern at about 4 minutes in that is mint, with the song starting to build traction with some more fabulous soloing.
If you imagine that each song has songs within it, each one developing and expanding the one before it and it’s like walking into different rooms, all replete with new décor. This is probably the best way I can describe this, and you wonder if they can keep this level of creativity up because in the space of these two songs there is a ton of great ideas that other bands would be happy with a tenth of to make a song from.
Bubbling liquid heralds Splayed Mudscape, opting for a mid-tempo start only to take a hard right and enter the land of the monstrous break riff, the constant drum clinic courtesy of Ryan Sheperson somehow keeping the rest on track. This one is content to not be as expansive as the others, but it doesn’t lose anything for keeping it relatively simple (it’s not simple) compared to the others.
Bubbling liquid heralds Splayed Mudscape, opting for a mid-tempo start only to take a hard right and enter the land of the monstrous break riff, the constant drum clinic courtesy of Ryan Sheperson somehow keeping the rest on track. This one is content to not be as expansive as the others, but it doesn’t lose anything for keeping it relatively simple (it’s not simple) compared to the others.
Batrachomorpha Resurrections Chamber has a stripped back flavour to it, growing into life with some frenzied trem picking set against a melodic passage, once again held together by Ryan on drums. These last two songs, although of a great standard feel slightly less than the opening two. There are riffs, its heavy but I’m getting that its slightly fatigued.
The Hissing Moor comes back with that stop/start method once more, building atmosphere as that slightly off melody line is repeated. Mutating into a death metal beatdown that decides to change again, I literally can’t describe it other than a rhythm line that just goes everywhere. I know I’m not doing that the justice it deserves and I would suggest that you just buy the damn thing to see what I mean.
The Hissing Moor comes back with that stop/start method once more, building atmosphere as that slightly off melody line is repeated. Mutating into a death metal beatdown that decides to change again, I literally can’t describe it other than a rhythm line that just goes everywhere. I know I’m not doing that the justice it deserves and I would suggest that you just buy the damn thing to see what I mean.
Tidal Slaughtermarsh sees them get back on point. This is incredibly direct with some blinding riffs in here that move, the whole thing building to and then entering grindcore territory. The song feels like it is existing on a chaos energy and that it could collapse at any moment.
New patterns are formed as they take us on a journey, solo breaks, solid breaks and drums that just don’t quit. This is as good as anything you have heard, and Heroic Demise comes to finish this stormer of an album. It’s a triumphant finish, a fast-paced start that is maintained, constantly moving with harmony parts, whammy bar abuse and a final drum check out just to remind you of that octopus behind the kit.
This is more than you think it is, and there is a load of ideas running right through it. There is a drop in the middle, possibly because of the starting pair being the way they come out of the blocks, but they put it right by the end. This is going to be one of those albums that you will either get straightway, or one you will have to work with to get. It’s a rewarding experience that you owe to yourself to try. 8/10
Turbulence – Binary Dream (Frontiers Music Srl)
Lebanon based prog powerhouses return with more modern progressive expressionism, built around the virtuoso playing/compositions of Alain Ibrahim (guitar) and Mood Yassin (keyboard), they will appeal to fans of Karnivool, Leprous, Haken and Tesseract as djent/jazz rhythms are bolstered by moment of high ambience and a A.I influenced conceptual vein that runs through the record. With Anthony Atoui on bass and Omar El Hage on vocals they create a story that tells us all about a robot at the centre of a ‘Binary Dreaming’ experiment, doing so through their intense music and soaring vocals.
Turbulence – Binary Dream (Frontiers Music Srl)
Lebanon based prog powerhouses return with more modern progressive expressionism, built around the virtuoso playing/compositions of Alain Ibrahim (guitar) and Mood Yassin (keyboard), they will appeal to fans of Karnivool, Leprous, Haken and Tesseract as djent/jazz rhythms are bolstered by moment of high ambience and a A.I influenced conceptual vein that runs through the record. With Anthony Atoui on bass and Omar El Hage on vocals they create a story that tells us all about a robot at the centre of a ‘Binary Dreaming’ experiment, doing so through their intense music and soaring vocals.
From the crushing opener Theta they force the gates wide open on this third album with a renewed focus on the more modern end of progressive music, the use of industrial soundscapes, off kilter polyrhythms (Manifestations) and electronics against the orchestrations, keys and voice pitches inorganic against organic, linking to the concept of the album.
After the instrumental Manifestations, comes the dramatic Ternary, set to a oscillation synth is sets the scene for the 14 minute title track which brings those influences of Leprous, but also Dream Theater and Middle Eastern music as well for an epic album centrepiece. Despite how massive this album sounds there’s so much intricacy to how they play and what they play.
Just listen to the final duo of Corrosion and Deerosion, the former is a dark, emotive heavy prog cut that builds from jangling cleans and quietness, into a swelling atmospheric ballad, that gets heavier at the end segueing into the latter which as far as I can hear is a breath-taking guitar solo to close the album. I had an idea I’d like this new Turbulence album as their previous records scored highly with me, despite seemingly losing a drummer since the last album, they still deliver some brilliant modern prog metal. 9/10
Vicinity -VIII (Uprising Records) [Patches]
Norwegian progressive metal band Vicinity release their third studio album VIII.
Promised Paradice’s proggy pedal tone motif seamless key and feel changes set the stage for a promising start. The keys tone used is unapologetically typical for its genre, found only (but frequently) in prog rock/metal. It’s a strange first listen, as everything about this track sounds extremely similar to a band I briefly played for in the past.
A retrospective realisation of the paradox of the term progressive after a market becomes saturated with bands following the same influences (Threshold, Circus Maximus, Dream Theatre, Fates Warning, Marillion etc). This doesn’t however takeaway from the musicianship and creativity needed to write music such as this, but the opening track does feel like it’s sticking close to the recipe. If it ain’t broken I guess.
Distance uses a repetitive whole tone swing and gives guitarist Kim-Marius H. Olsen plenty of time to show his comfort with playing feel good major-heavy shred. An overall positive sounding tune with instances of interesting off beat choices. The well constructed vocal melodies of Erling Malm soar gracefully in the forefront but it’s the impressive colour palette of Frode Lillevolds precise and perplexing percussion that really pulls my attention. Purpose is another optimistic sounding prog piece making me wait four minutes for the feel to hit a satisfyingly darker tone. Unfortunately this change is too fleeting and quickly reprises to twee.
The band finally decide to bring out the metal in progressive metal with Confusion Reactor. A heavy aggressive groove, dark octave movements and more desperation in the drama brought by the keys are manipulated with efficiency. This change in pace makes the calmer bridge an effective conversion and a perfect opportunity to make Pierre-Niocolai H. Schmidt-Melbye’s bass pop, subsequently garnished with a tapping solo. The Singularity keeps up the heavier tone with some jarring changes, an emotional lead exchange between the bass, guitar and synth and harmony vocals aid the choral hook.
The piano and accompanying cymbals of Shape Of Life may be a little too pretty for my liking. The initial vocal melody somehow bringing out a fear in me that somewhere out there in the multiverse there is a prog Disney. But hey!, what’s more successful than Disney? DKE utilises that syncopated drum guitar punch that works so well in progressive metal. Church organ chords complement a heavy metal melody. Plenty of synth solo, plenty of percussive madness and the best change in the album at the midpoint mark. Switching between a descending Dave Mustaine-esque barrage and a fruit machine-like repeated arpeggio. Ending with the optimistic madness of a Japanese cartoon theme, this instrumental hodgepodge of ideas stands out as my personal favourite
The album wraps up with the initially ballad sounding Face The Rain. Although this quickly switches to an almost proggy melodic death metal riff. “Spooky” key intervals playfully inspire memories of Unsolved Mysteries and once again, the drums are absolutely triumphant. The band went all out for the last track which is great to hear. Awesome and impressive changes are found throughout this thirteen minute epic. I’m not completely sold on the choice of drum sound as at times it really does sound like a drum machine, yet, this song is certainly a contender for joint track of the album with the last.
Rating albums in this genre isn’t easy, as the musicians are always going to be tremendous players and intelligent writers. VIII is a compilation of competent, concise compositions both technical and accessible. A little twee at times for my personal tastes but Vicinity know what they’re doing with the twee stuff and also do heavy very well too!
Distance uses a repetitive whole tone swing and gives guitarist Kim-Marius H. Olsen plenty of time to show his comfort with playing feel good major-heavy shred. An overall positive sounding tune with instances of interesting off beat choices. The well constructed vocal melodies of Erling Malm soar gracefully in the forefront but it’s the impressive colour palette of Frode Lillevolds precise and perplexing percussion that really pulls my attention. Purpose is another optimistic sounding prog piece making me wait four minutes for the feel to hit a satisfyingly darker tone. Unfortunately this change is too fleeting and quickly reprises to twee.
The band finally decide to bring out the metal in progressive metal with Confusion Reactor. A heavy aggressive groove, dark octave movements and more desperation in the drama brought by the keys are manipulated with efficiency. This change in pace makes the calmer bridge an effective conversion and a perfect opportunity to make Pierre-Niocolai H. Schmidt-Melbye’s bass pop, subsequently garnished with a tapping solo. The Singularity keeps up the heavier tone with some jarring changes, an emotional lead exchange between the bass, guitar and synth and harmony vocals aid the choral hook.
The piano and accompanying cymbals of Shape Of Life may be a little too pretty for my liking. The initial vocal melody somehow bringing out a fear in me that somewhere out there in the multiverse there is a prog Disney. But hey!, what’s more successful than Disney? DKE utilises that syncopated drum guitar punch that works so well in progressive metal. Church organ chords complement a heavy metal melody. Plenty of synth solo, plenty of percussive madness and the best change in the album at the midpoint mark. Switching between a descending Dave Mustaine-esque barrage and a fruit machine-like repeated arpeggio. Ending with the optimistic madness of a Japanese cartoon theme, this instrumental hodgepodge of ideas stands out as my personal favourite
The album wraps up with the initially ballad sounding Face The Rain. Although this quickly switches to an almost proggy melodic death metal riff. “Spooky” key intervals playfully inspire memories of Unsolved Mysteries and once again, the drums are absolutely triumphant. The band went all out for the last track which is great to hear. Awesome and impressive changes are found throughout this thirteen minute epic. I’m not completely sold on the choice of drum sound as at times it really does sound like a drum machine, yet, this song is certainly a contender for joint track of the album with the last.
Rating albums in this genre isn’t easy, as the musicians are always going to be tremendous players and intelligent writers. VIII is a compilation of competent, concise compositions both technical and accessible. A little twee at times for my personal tastes but Vicinity know what they’re doing with the twee stuff and also do heavy very well too!
My only issue with the album is that I cannot pinpoint a unique quality that separates it from its peers or influences. Is it a good progressive metal album ? Yes. Does it stand out? No. If you’re into bands such as Threshold, Circus Maximus and Dream Theater then it is an album worth adding to your collection. With respect to the musicians involved it is with regret that I also found the album quite “stock” within its respective genre. 7/10