Pain Of Salvation: In The Passing Light Of Day (InsideOut) [Review By Paul]
Album number 10 from the Swedish outfit led by the talented Daniel Gildenlow. In The Passing Light Of Day is complex, emotional, curious, angst ridden and quite stunning in parts. The musicianship is scintillating at times, with bone crushingly heavy passages contrasting with delicate fragments. Check out the opening track On A Tuesday, which opens with some frantic riffing but also contains some beautiful softer elements.
The album is book ended by two lengthy and weighty tracks, On A Tuesday at a shade over ten minutes and the epic climax of the 15 minute title track. Sandwiched in between are eight songs of superb quality, with Tongue Of God and the astonishing Angels Of Broken Things, which contains one of the best guitar solos you will hear this year, amongst the highlights. Containing elements of progressive rock, industrial and electronica as well as some superb heavy rock, Pain Of Salvation’s latest release, over a quarter of a century since they first emerged, is a must hear and already a candidate for one of the albums of the year. 9/10
A Cunning Man: Practical Application Of Theurgy EP (Self Released) [Review By Stief]
Imagine if Coheed and Cambria had a baby with Devin Townsend, then left it to be raised by Biffy Clyro, then you might get an idea of this Scottish metal project. The brainchild of Ged Cartwright, who performs on both vocals and instruments, Practical Application... is an interesting journey. Opening track Honorius & The Choral Forecast starts off with a mass of sound before settling into a Coheed-esque time signature.
Slower points in this song, and the following two, bring to mind Katatonia and similar bands. It's experimental and it shows, Ged's voice sometimes pushing beyond it's limit, however, when it's there, it's very good. The EP has it all, synths, guitars, spoken word, with Gemma McCabe offering her voice for backing and a spoken word section at the end of Juratus & The Sulfur Psalm. 7/10
Rhodwulf: Scavenge For Mad Hunters (Rhodwulf) [Review By Stief]
I picked this up out of curiousity, due to the lupine nature of the name, which is paired with the name a good friend of the Musipedia, Rhod. It's an interesting listen, with flavours of The Animals, mixed with a generous helping of Black Sabbath. The vocals range from decent to downright dirge-like. Unfortunately, I probably won't be picking up any more of this Norwegian stuff, but worth at least a listen. 5/10
A Cunning Man: Practical Application Of Theurgy EP (Self Released) [Review By Stief]
Imagine if Coheed and Cambria had a baby with Devin Townsend, then left it to be raised by Biffy Clyro, then you might get an idea of this Scottish metal project. The brainchild of Ged Cartwright, who performs on both vocals and instruments, Practical Application... is an interesting journey. Opening track Honorius & The Choral Forecast starts off with a mass of sound before settling into a Coheed-esque time signature.
Slower points in this song, and the following two, bring to mind Katatonia and similar bands. It's experimental and it shows, Ged's voice sometimes pushing beyond it's limit, however, when it's there, it's very good. The EP has it all, synths, guitars, spoken word, with Gemma McCabe offering her voice for backing and a spoken word section at the end of Juratus & The Sulfur Psalm. 7/10
Rhodwulf: Scavenge For Mad Hunters (Rhodwulf) [Review By Stief]
I picked this up out of curiousity, due to the lupine nature of the name, which is paired with the name a good friend of the Musipedia, Rhod. It's an interesting listen, with flavours of The Animals, mixed with a generous helping of Black Sabbath. The vocals range from decent to downright dirge-like. Unfortunately, I probably won't be picking up any more of this Norwegian stuff, but worth at least a listen. 5/10