Album Review – Lacuna Coil “Broken Crown Halo” 2014

  After the somewhat-misunderstood pop stylings of The Shallow Life and the near-perfect synthesis of that with their core competencies in Dark Adrenaline, Lacuna Coil wisely decide not to try to top themselves, and so take a trip down memory lane instead. Broken Crown Halo is a more direct descendant of earlier records like Comalies or Karmacode, containing all the elements for which the band is known; the duet vocals, the oddly-admirable tenacious loyalty to the nu-metal bass guitar sound, the lush instrumentation. They’ve been working hard to expand their core sound for years now, so I think a momentary retreat and regroup has no shame in it at all.

You pretty much know what you’re getting here. If you’re a fan of the band, rejoice. It’s not broken so it didn’t get fixed, and Cristina Scabbia’s Instagram account remains as fetching as ever. 7.5 out of 10

Album Review – Mares of Thrace “The Pilgrimage” 2012

  Any fans of Death From Above 1979, Rush or even Danko Jones know that we Canadians have so much angst in our souls that it only takes a couple of us to create a full-sized rock band. Mares of Thrace bear out this theory on The Pilgrimage, with only two young ladies on drums and baritone guitar making a hellish and compelling amount of noise.

Sonically, the album bears a good deal of resemblance to other prog/sludge acts like Baroness, with abrupt time changes, whisper-to-scream vocals and lyrical paeans to the uglier side of human nature (in the case of The Pilgrimage, the narrative framework is the story of David and Bathsheba).

Mares of Thrace will be ones to watch in the years ahead. Any band that can tour in a minivan and still have their own driver has the opportunity to cultivate a fanbase nationwide and beyond. 8 out of 10

Album Review – Amon Amarth “Deceiver of the Gods” 2013

  When Metallica followed up Ride the Lightning with Master of Puppets, an album that is virtually identical in terms of structure and songwriting, I don’t recall anyone at the time getting butthurt about receiving more of a good thing.

Why, then, is Deceiver of the Gods getting flak for its lack of forward momentum and the band’s entirely sane decision to not go about fixing the unbroken and popular sounds they’ve achieved of late? Personally, I look at it this way:

Twilight of the Thunder God = Number of the Beast; the definitive and instant classic.

Surtur Rising = Piece of Mind; the longer and more confident follow-up. Less oomph, but definite quality.

Deceiver of the Gods = (you guessed it) Powerslave; a top-of-the-game album. Safe choices, very clean production.

It’s a fun record with all the chops you would expect and influences written all over it. It has a Priest’s worth of double harmonies and a heck of a lot of old-school thrash. “Blood Eagle”, in particular just screams Kreator. I highly recommend the deluxe version, which includes an EP of original tunes written (absolutely perfectly) in the style of Priest, AC/DC, Mötorhead and Sabbath. Johan Hegg’s Ozzy impersonation alone is worth the price of admission.

If these past three records are where the Amon Amarth wants to plateau, I have absolutely no problem with camping out a while. Let’s just hope my Maiden analogy goes no further. 8 out of 10

Album Review – Black Sabbath “13” 2013

  We live in a world with several fantastic Black Sabbath records, some indifferent ones, and a couple of complete dogs. With the arrival of 13, it would be easy to simply slot this reunion effort somewhere in the middle, say “good job”, slap these rapscallions on their wrinkly behinds and call it a day.

Not so simple. After a couple of listens, 13 is banging on the ceiling, perhaps even clawing at the podium. It’s a lusty, robust metal album by anyone’s standards, and a pretty great Black Sabbath album to boot.

Some folks have complained about overproduction, which is admittedly an unfortunate fact of life these days. I think in the case of 13, these people fall into two categories: those who a) have apparently never heard Death Magnetic and b) are still mad about Death Magnetic and want to blame all of the ills of the loudness war on Rick Rubin. This album shows tremendous restraint on Rubin’s part –  he stays the hell out of the way and lets Sabbath be themselves. Sure, he’s done the audio equivalent of whatever they used to do to Elizabeth Taylor’s photographs to Ozzy’s voice so that now the old dodger sounds stronger than he has in years, but so what? Iommi is speedy and vital as well, and Geezer in particular wields his instrument like a weapon against entropy.

The record is heavy as shit, sounding like a cross between The Devil You Know and something that was supposed to come out right after Volume 4. Long songs, stark and simple lyrics (“Alright now” makes an appearance) are kept afloat with massive, wobbling riffs that nobody else on the planet can create. Enjoy Tony while you can, we may never see his like again.

For various reasons (candidly discussed by the band in the liner notes) we almost didn’t get this record at all. The fact that it clawed its way into existence at all is amazing. The quality is the icing on the cake. If it’s all we get, it is a fitting coda to Sabbath’s long and tumultuous career. This 13 is lucky indeed. 8.5 out of 10

Album Review – Amorphis “Circle” 2013

  Twenty years and no bad records. I don’t know that there are many other bands in this scene that could claim the same, and I don’t know what else to say here besides: Amorphis has done it again. Circle might be their best yet, a powerhouse recording that combines the ferocity of Tales From the Thousand Lakes with the sophisticated direction they’ve been following since Tuonela.

The first thing you’ll notice is the album’s almost shocking heaviness. Producer Peter Tägtgren throws a wall of noise up in front of other sounds, and you’ll have to fight your way past the massive drums to find the folk-inspired guitar melodies for which the band is known. However, those melodies are most certainly still there (not to mention the best flute and sax solos you’ll find on a metal record this year), and Tomi Joutsen gives a true showman’s performance to bridge the space between the weight of the mix and the light touches necessary to tell the story of Circle. That story is an original, and not taken from the Kalevala, although it shares the Finnish Epic’s interest in death, rebirth and the healing power of music.

The band has always had a great ear for a catchy chorus and a good head for selecting a single. “Hopeless Days” is as good a choice as any – and I say this out of admiration, not ennui. Record companies need singles; the album doesn’t. Once it’s in your ears, Circle will become a compulsive front-to-back experience where each track makes the next even more necessary.

In this age of single downloads, Amorphis has produced one of the best full-album experiences I’ve heard in years. Circle is their heaviest, most tuneful and most addictive work. Baroness and Mastodon fans, why aren’t you this train yet? 9 out of 10

Classic Album Review – Judas Priest “Point of Entry” 1981

  Poor old Point of Entry. This oft-overlooked and even more often maligned record gets a hard time for being the most un-metal of Priest’s efforts since Rocka Rolla. To be sure, the entirety of the album’s second half is filled with the Thin Lizzy style boogie rock that nobody wanted the band to prove they could still play.

But there’s so much more to the story. The opening track “Heading out to the Highway” has become a staple on both classic rock radio and the concert stage, and deservedly so. “Desert Plains”, while a bit of a sleeper, showcases the album’s excellent drum production, which often elevates the material. And let’s not forget “Solar Angels”, a wall of  Hawkwind-approved pedal-effect psychedelic riffage that really displays the good side of the experimentation that was happening in the studio at the time.

I will concede that “Don’t Go” is a strange single choice, and that “Turning Circles” is a piece of pure pop idiocy (which still manages to get airplay in my  home more often than I’d care to admit).

However, before we close the book on Point of Entry we must mention “Hot Rockin'”. Consider the video:

Come, on, people! It’s got cutty vests, air guitar and flames! It’s fast, ballsy and a little bit gay. Sounds like metal to me.

Maybe folks Stateside would have warmed to the album more if they hadn’t tampered with the original Brit cover:

   Better, ain’t it? A perfect metaphor for the record itself, wrongly perceived and better than it appears.  7 out of 10

Album Review – Hanzel und Gretyl “Born to be Heiled” 2012

 

  Hanzel und Gretyl have never really been on my list of bands for whom “the best is yet to come”, so it was a pleasant surprise when Born to be Heiled dropped – because it’s a killer record.

HuG like the following (in no particular order): Leather, Industrial, Thrash, Iron Crosses, Pentagrams, Boots, Military Chic, Fascist Iconography, Motorcycles, Wagner, Sci-Fi, Goth, Germany, Beer. Listening to one of their records is like the entire inventory of your local head shop /Hot Topic was loaded into a blunderbuss and shot onto a mixing board. Born to be Heiled is no exception, and may be their best effort yet.

We begin with “Hanzel und Gretyl Für Immer”, an appropriate and expected piece of Teutonic clank, before things amp up into disco thump with “Unterstützung 87”, the best Rob Zombie song he never wrote. From there, the band mines several influences, including mid-period Ministry, newer Slayer-style Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, and (of course) Rammstein. The record is capped off with “More German than German”, a cheeky Fischerspoonerism that represents the very best of where HuG can take you.

By understanding the inherent limitations of the genre, and not claiming to be mad geniuses who have the potential to lose their edge, Hanzel und Gretyl have, in Born to be Heiled, put together their most compulsive listening experience yet. Zehr Gut! 8.5 out of 10

Album Review – Jon Spencer Blues Explosion “Meat & Bone” 2012

  We should be glad that instead of simply pursuing litigation against the Black Keys for Grand Theft Style, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion instead produced an album of their own as a retort. A pretty good album, too, with Return To Form™ stamped all over it and a sound that slots it neatly in between everyone’s favourites, Now I Got Worry and Orange. If you don’t think this was intentional, note the inclusion of a song based on the riff from “Bell Bottoms”, this time called “Boot Cut”.

For those interested in a little JSBX bingo, pull out your cards, listen to Meat & Bone and see how many of these old chestnuts and calling cards you can hear:

“Yayuh! Do it!”

“Do the Monkey!”

“Get up! Get down!”

“Sock it to me”

“Got to get it!”

“Come OAN!”

“UHHHNNHH!”

Don’t bother, actually. Everybody wins, ‘cos they’re all there in a sort of “Plastic Fang never-happened” mash-up. It’s very tightly wound and delivered with a trashy sound mix that likely took forever to make it sound so off-the-cuff.

While the jury’s still out as to whether Meat & Bone is a genuine back-to-basics approach or a designed-by-committee appeal to purists, it’s an ass-kicker of a  daytime commute record. It does its thing with aplomb, and it would be churlish not to enjoy the results. 7.5 out of 10

Album Review – Dethklok “Dethalbum III” 2012

  In online discussions about Metalocalypse I’m always troubled by the number of folks who claim no interest in the show, but call themselves Dethklok fans.* I disagree; in fact I think the exact opposite: I’m a Dethklok fan only insofar as I’m a Metalocalypse fan. I don’t really judge the music against other metal bands because a) it’s a satire and b) the band doesn’t actually exist. For me, the albums are good when they serve the needs of the show, and that’s the reason I loved the hilarious excess of Dethalbum while the sequel left me cold. Fake bands shouldn’t make real records, no matter how skilled the masterminds might be, lest it ruin the joke.

Dethalbum III splits the difference, producing ridiculous treats “I Ejaculate Fire” and “Crush the Industry” alongside “real” Dethklok tunes “Skyhunter” and “Rejoin”. Nathan Explosion is back to sounding like himself (a bone I had to pick with the second effort) and still lyrically obsessed with Deth, gore, and his fear of female genitalia. Production and musicianship are as solid as ever.

I’m sort of pissing into the wind here anyway; if you have any connection to Metalocalypse you’ve heard this record already. It’s good when it’s good, and better when it’s not afraid to be as dumb as its own premise. 7 out of 10

* Same dudes call Arch Enemy “derivative and generic”. Putting that assessment aside for now, am I alone in thinking that Dethklok’s guitar sound is heavily based on AE? Besides, Skwisgaar and Toki are the Amott brothers, no doubt about that.

Album Review – Danko Jones “Rock and Roll is Black and Blue” 2012

  There’s merely more of the same and then there’s heck yes more of the same. Danko Jones have never been ones to reinvent a properly spinning wheel, but whereas 2010 effort Below the Belt seemed a little bit tired, Black and Blue attacks the same ideas with a touch more pep. Perhaps it’s the inclusion of new blood behind the skins with Atom Willard, or maybe the fresh attention the band is getting from docu-pic Bring on the Mountain. I’m not going to speculate, since the Danko Jones ethos discourages over examination in any case.

Thematically, things stay pretty close to home. Danko the man likes women and their constituent parts “Legs”, this horndog obsession is a blessing and a curse “You Wear Me Down” and “Terrified”, and he intends to outlive his enemies “Conceited”. Pick up the expanded version for bonus track “In Your Arms” and the most Danzig of caterwauls you’ve heard all decade.

Energized and friskier than we’ve heard in a while, Rock and Roll is Black and Blue puts another solid volume into the Danko Jones library. Heck yes. 8 out of 10