Sienná - Q.o.S review

Year : 2017
Genre : Chillout with a Soft Psychedelic tint
Label : Anneis Records 3H50002
Origin : Norway
Official site: > - here - <

Sienná's latest full length effort Q.o.S - the "S" is reverSe - brings deeply contemplative and reverberating pulsations along a chilled demeanor.

Clocking in around the 40 minutes mark, the spin values content quality over content quantity, dressing the experience up into an especially well-varied set of musical rhetorics that give apt opportunities for the artist to paint full fledged-, and quite imaginative visions on.

You'll never know what Sienná is up to, as your host is skilled enough at sound wizardry to maintain you curiosity via exercising the full-value right to administer surprises with considerable frequency, coming to you in the forms of soulfully sculpted-out sonic elements that constantly share the optimums of clear thought and playful-, albeit smartly channeled elegance. Read on to know more. 

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VITNE - Neon review

Year : 2013
Genre : Glam Metal
Origin : Norway / United States
Official site : > - here - <

VITNE is a solo artist with considerable experience under his belt both as a frontman of the Norwegian hair metal act "SEKS", and as an enthusiastic popculture-aspirant who is admittedly fascinated by the mere idea behind the aesthetics of American glam. He does not want Dave Mustaine's take on it, see "History of Metal" on YouTube, I'd link you in, but there are multiple episodes, and the Glam Gods demand you watch all of them.

The sub-genre surely is on the rise again courtesy of such acts as the masterfully produced, performed and marketed Steel Panther, taking the fray up to the point of full fledged verbal tit metal. This release is more orthodox and vintage in its ambitions, and this commitment is reflected on the reviewed disc with hefty organic air-pumping iron fist pink panties power, - this is the way it is done proper, if you wonder - and the spin definitely is in a legitimate position to claim optimum similarity level with the pinnacle of the softer side of the genre, as glam metal secretly always stood for promising and delivering spandex pleasantries for neighboring chicks who were excited enough by the binge atmospherics to ravage a night or two through with careful spiritual guidance accessible 24/7. Read on to know more about the disc.

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Ihsahn - Eremita review

Year : 2012
Genre : Black Metal Interruptions
Label : Candlelight
Origin : Norway
Rating : 8.2 / 10

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When a 2012 metal release features post-breakdown Nietzsche - he is your papi - on the covert art, you know you have music to listen to, and this one is the solo project of Ihsahn, who primarily is renowned as the ex-fronter of prestigious Norwegian black metal ensemble Emperor. I became remotely familiar with the style of Ihsahn through the latest to date Jeff Loomis solo album, - "Plains Of Oblivion, AKA. "POO", but the album kicks the ass as opposed of buckling out of it, pardon my French" - on which he - Ihsahn - lends vocal talents on one of the songs. Jeff Loomis delivers a solo on THIS album from rebound position, so things are even.

The package is pretty clear, consistent and efficient at what it wants to do. The main agenda is to entertainingly deceit, as oftentimes the disk administers the maelstrom-type of chaotic black metal, which gets playfully interrupted by either a much tamer-, almost hard rockish hook from time to time, or, even by a shamelessly gentle and easily accessible mini-session. The first song is an example to this method right away, but rest assured that the compositional behavior realized in the opening track is one that is propagated throughout the release with solid appeal. Read on to find out more about this.

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Dunderbeist - Black Arts & Crooked Tails review

Year : 2012
Genre : Alternative Metal
Label : Indie Recordings
Origin : Norway
Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Norway's Dunderbeist brings a wide array of influences to your receptors, and it isn't afraid to show them, either. Opening track "La Guerette du Feu" - bless you, bless you - is as special and deceitful of an entry as any other on the release, as its fabric touches upon well executed, epic power metal as a start, which later transforms to an alternative temper, spiced up finally by intense groove metal. Then, the next track, "Through the Peeophole", not only shares Mike Patton's theoretic (?) voyeur fixation - see his band Peeping Tom and his avid fascination with the classic originator movie of the same title - but the structure of the song, the vocal mannerisms utilized are very reminiscent to that of Patton, too. Granted, the singer, while he does a likable job, does not sport the priceless pipes of his n1 sonic hero, yet the intent to give you a Faith No More song sounds to be Evident - ha, ha. - to me. I'd be surprised if the members of Dunderbeist would reject the assumption that "Through the Peeophole" is FNM influence from top to bottom. This is a mindhack. As you will see, the album bends to the command of the Faith No More influence in an eager fashion, oftentimes giving you results that are top of the tier. There is nothing wrong with such an influence, of course. In fact, the nicely presented Faith No More fixation is one of the bests I can think of. Does it make sense to write "best" in plural? Read on to find out more about this surprisingly-, and radically colorful release.


Third track, "Fear and Loathing" (not in Las Vegas, but, under your skin, for a start) conveys a mixture of early Beasty Boys, and, once again, Faith No More : the chorus of this track is a total tribute. "Lucifer Eyes" starts out with a relatively deluded vocal performance, in my opinion. It is lengthy, sporting an artificial bluesy vibe. When at 1:20 things start to roll, you hear - Surprise, You Are Not Dead - another Faith No More song. This one is an entry the inspirator band probably would have thrown away as "hmm, it has something, but it is not THAT strong". "Lucifer Eyes" is reminiscent to the Faith No More song "Collision" in its basic structure, in my opinion. I write that band name so much in this review, I hope you won't faint no more.

"Worst Sentence" - and you'd rather be shot in the face, huh? - sounds to be one of the flatter tracks on the delivery. A simplistic ACME doom-chord progression flatters a mid-tempo chorus that invites to mind a b-side Megadeth song. This sounds like the rhetorics when Mr. Mustaine goes New World Order in the Old World Odor. Think Dr. Feelgood. Family friendly cartoon metal, and, regardless how the mid-section tries to convey radical emotion in menacing cartoon style - "there is no time to fix you, no time to heal you now" - I must point out that the song failed to bestow the strike, at the first place. Not a bad song. It is just a sonic foam to skillfully conceal an utter pseudo-lack of actual inspiration.

"Shields Aligned" starts out like a Place of Skulls song. Google "Victor Griffin", he is not only the fronter of Place of Skulls and a valuable member of Pentagram, but he also is your Father, Luke. But, hell, check out the 0:48 mark of this entry, and pardon me the immature smiley. :D This is SOOOOO super-early '80s Faith No More, that it is both brilliant and ridiculous. This track is one of the strongest, with a superb-, 101% Camambert-free power metal concept. (So it has 1% of anti-cheese, yeah.) "Back into line, hold formation, hold your shields aligned, wait for my sign." - and all this in a way that remains 101% free of power metal cheese. I. Do. Not. Say. This. Easily. And I do not say easily the following, either. This is a very significant song, in my opinion, which kicks all kinds of asses to hell and back on spot.

"More Me" starts out in a disorganized fashion, and finds pleasure "keeping" - seemingly inadvertently - this pseudo-pace. The intense end section saves something of the day, but there is way too much obstacles in your way until you get there, regardless of the short length. An aptly varied track with significant redeeming values among more insignificant primordial characteristics.

"Winter Past" will masterfully deceive you into thinking that you are listening to some Viking Metal Berserker stuff. Seconds after the intro, the Viking temper submits to easily accessible-, legit alternative metal, and I assure you that the music keeps its dignity, and does not cause harm in Viking metal. It sounds like Viking Abba metal, and, from that point on, you don't really have much other chance than to check it out. The singer is pretty good herein. No effect wizardry, "just" emotion, and that is sufficient.

"8 Crows and Counting" starts out with the signature Faith No More tribal drumming, Mike Bordin style. The whole song is hasty-, desperate, psyho-motorly A.G.I.TATED. to reveal the Faith No More vibe. Partly "Midlife Crisis", partly "Epic", partly "Caffeine". I would be very surprised if you'd listen to this and told me I'm an idiot, this has nothing to do with a Faith No More influence. It has nothing else to do. But, a legit song nevertheless.

Concluding track, "Hum Hum", I leave to you to discover on your own. In conclusion, I will say this : Dunderbeist's Black Arts & Crooked Tails is definitely a pleasant addition to early 2012, and I recommend it with a poker face. A must for all who wants to hear new classic - sorry about that - Faith No More song structures.

Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Burzum - From the Depths of Darkness review

Year : 2011
Genre : Black Metal
Label : Byelobog Productions
Origin : Norway
Rating : 9.6 / 10

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"From the Depths of Darkness" is a special - more on this in a moment - compilation album of legendary black metal one man band Burzum, "fronted" and maintained by the Original Black Metal Pope Varg Vikernes. By the way, "burzum" means "darkness" in a particular fictional language that has been developed by J. R. R. Tolkien to be used in his fantasy contributions. This compilation disc is more than an everyday average compilation release, and the reason behind this is none other than Varg Vikernes took the time and effort to re-record every single track he re-delivers on this release.

The majority of the songs are coming to you from the 1992 LP "Burzum" and the 1993 release "Det som engang var", and the creator does not at all want you to regard these new variants as the "proper" ones. These are new renditions of songs that already have been recorded, making it a special occasion by which the artist covers himself. It is nothing like a series of "simple" remasters though, and "more" would be an inappropriate term, as well. Here is why : the original vintage tracks, of course, are still sounding with that lightweight skeletal vibe, which in my opinion is a key element of the charisma of the genre, while, their new variants have intentionally been beefed up in radical - also sober - fashion to state their timeless verdicts once again, now with recent days production standards. Guys, let's talk about Burzum when it's ripped like fucking Rambo.


It doesn't take more than a few seconds to be mesmerized and steamrolled by this stoically demonic sonic entity if and when you decide that you are ready to accept it in the exact form it reigns in, signifying your willingness to actually hear it out. How. Appropriate. This compilation behaves in a very respectable manner, because it offers the rule book right away, and the first two sentences translate to :

"Oh hi! In a second, you will be mindfucked, and now is the time to chicken out, IF."

Varg Vikernes' music never ever lacked profound magic, as this man has exceptional talent of creating organic connections between separate sonic entities and making you the witness of their lush rendezvous. This music is very peaceful with the fact that it knows no peace other than the act of embracing the complete lack of it, and it would be a plain mistake, in my opinion, to regard ANYTHING from this body of work as negativistic. It sounds more like "honest" to me, and "honest" is the only kind of music or art worth listening to-, or checking out. Varg Vikernes doubtless has exceptionally deep access/connection to the "mere meaning" of darkness, which enables him to present the endless qualities and "patterns" of it with fluent inventiveness and sonic exigency.

Vikernes, think what you want about the dudette, but have zero doubt about the following, is a top of the food chain hookhunter with such awareness of the intent of menace that it commands the character of darkness to be consent to share more about itself than its mere obtrusive nature of void.

This is robust music, now with robust production form, too - but keep in mind that the skeleton variants of the vintage originals are superb fun, too - and, if you give it the serious ears with the courtesy of listening to the content, then "simply disliking" anything on this spin, "simply does not make sense", in my opinion. It is too crystal clear in its intents and shapes to tolerate such a rudimentary and cheap behavior-pattern to relate to it with. Disliking it is not enough, because it has no effect on it. So you will have to come up with some more relevant counter-attack to puzzle Varg Vikernes.

But, notice this : the music of Burzum does not at all seek to cause fear-, not even discomfort in you. It is the praising of another kind of beauty on the opposite side of what meta-perception can immediately recognize and embrace as consensus-beauty, but the beneficiary thing is that once the spirit attempts to accept and attempts to understand the sonic language of Burzum, - which is clear like a bitchslap, trust me - then the spirit necessarily becomes more finely calibrated to handle the shape of things to come. Fear has infinite faces, but every each one of them screams for peace.

Rating : 9.6 / 10

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