Nightwish - Imaginaerum review

Year : 2011
Genre : Symphonic Abba Metal
Label : Nuclear Blast / Roadrunner Records
Origin : Finland
Rating : 6.0 / 10

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Finland's Nightwish seemingly knows no insipid jokes when it comes to symphonic fairy tale metal. Imaginaerum comes to you with an exigently executed cover art and truly top of the heat production values, and it pains me relevantly enough to inform you that only 5 minutes and 22 seconds of this release is capable to offer something I'm eager to revisit.

Opening track, Taikatalvi is a gently presented musical introduction with Finnish lyrics to it, and this entry, one must assume, serves the attentive function to offer an initial compliment for the ruling atmosphere herein so it could exhibit secretly raging readiness to summon the heft to swarm you proper at any moment near you, with hopefully no less of an agenda than to carry your soul on the oh!, sooo fantastic sonic journey you're here for. Trallala. I got it, I got it. Show me the Animal.


Wish granted. Second track - virtually the first, because the intro is "just" a very nice intro - called Storytime engages Abba Metal Power about 101%, - for 5 minutes and 22 seconds, by the way - and one must imagine that this is the kind of music the so called "diligent metal fan" would be embarrassed to admit she/he totally enjoys, because it sparks, it flows, it carries you indeed, and, regardless of the oh!, so beautifully simplistic structure of verse and chorus, the mutual-, mere melodic tightness of these elements - add the soaring female vocals that hide no Camembert but pack legit power and bite - are more than enough to make GyZ a happy boy so far.

Third track, "Ghost River" has a mixture of seriously wicked masquerade and Rammstein vibe at the start region, in which the LP is quick to address its propensity to go fucking mental if it so pleases, and it is a pretty interesting notion you will be forced to take after its gentler-, but far from slimy direct predecessor. The track shows relative eagerness to go mildly experimental in nature at the mid section, inviting to mind the threshold-zone of the sublime rabidness so inherent to the trade of the avant garde silence massacrists forming the band called Unexpect.

"Slow, Love, Slow" is a slow love song, but, with a sensual menacing vibe to it, presented in a bar atmosphere in which you are not sure what will be the next thing in your mouth : someone's tongue, or a 45 Magnum. This delivery clearly marks an ambition to contribute a truly flamboyant fabric, as brass instruments and a guitar later on join in to deliver standard bluesy vibes. I'm sorry to say that the guitar solo is pretty meh, not much if any musical thought worth sharing behind it, but at least it is short. The song comes to a SUPERB catharsis, courtesy of the female vocalist, but it is SHORT!! Truly, the end section reeks Sam Brown's brilliant declaration Stop, and one has the feeling that the band members got afraid of this instead of embracing it while it is possible.

Next one, "I want my tears back" commits the mistake of nodding on such an exceptionally shitass-sucking track title, but, whatever. This song, unfortunately, shows regions of clueless wandering with Scottish pipes and other hideous things to crave the Michael Flatley. Irish folk song for you. Later on, clapping hands join in in order to exhibit the rhythmic structure for which you will do the Mike Flatley in the next moment if you absolutely are serious about coming across as a person a sober one would not enter into a lift with. This track, in my opinion, sucks ancient mummified mummy balls and I don't like it.

Scaretale tries to scare me with an orchestrated rumble delivered by 1 000 000 stringed instruments, and must say it succeeds. After a short, calmer interlude, an overly-bombastic symphonic build bordering on good old fashioned Bigottry Unlimited invites the rhythm guitars to cover its traces of escape. The singing in the song starts out at 2:55, and it quickly turns out that the name of the game herein is a cute/funny/scary/mehe musical-like piece you could have heard in the Sweeney Todd musical movie. Then you are invited to dismiss this notion, because the build takes a truly terrible turn for a highly idiotic pirate cartoon song, which would be immense dosage of fun in a Secret of the Monkey Island adventure game, but, it sounds like an insult on a professional record when offered as Content and not as a bonus track I get paid for if I'm consent listening to. The track later on returns to a more serious tone that refrains from slapping your face with a dead tuna fish, but, the memory of the horror is too fresh to appreciate any of it.

Arabesque summons the arabesque vibe with very nicely realized, lush orchestra that would flatter a Hollywood blockbuster no problem. Other than that, this indeed sounds more like a thorough-, and splendid demonstration of top level tradecraft skills from the producers - three men have worked on this release as producers - so they could proclaim : "Look! We can produce cinematic music!" Look! They can produce cinematic music!

"Turn Loose the Mermaids" is a gentle-, "emo bard by the bonfire" routine piece with some western overtones I personally got the shivers from in this context. It craves effect sooooooo desperately from me that I, for one, won't give it that courtesy. The song drops the western overtone at the end, and goes Flatley again. Aua.

"Rest Calm" features a man vocalist in a standard power metal stance. While his performance is acceptable, his charm and charisma in my opinion is overshadowed by his female counterparts joining in with a section that sports tad more inventive of a character than the power metalish verse structure. It is not entirely clear at this point what this track wants from me. It sounds like it wants everything, yet wants nothing sufficiently enough so I could give it to it. The piece comes to a bombastic bigottry build via its climax with every instrument in the studio seeking to declare its True Meaning, but the composition simply is not worthy enough to serve this valiant agenda out with me clapping to it.

"The Crow, The Owl and The Dove" is a radio friendly mid-tempo contribution with enough cunning to feature significantly different moods in the chorus and the verse, while a short, efficient interlude builds a safe passage so the band can sell the verse and chorus to you again without you getting caught sleeping. A solid "uhuh" song, but nothing beyond that.

"Last Ride of the Day", thank God & Co., once again goes for the Abba metal vibe which this release looks the best with, in my opinion. The delight is not necessarily unblemished, because the chorus of this entry once again goes for cheapass high fantasy, and, despite the bombastic and relentless repetition of it at the ending portion of the song, I'm not sure if it is as good as the band suggests it to be.

"Song of Myself" is a 13 minutes epic with some pretty superb Abba metal verses at the initial regions, and even more of choirs that go "hah hahh hahh!" relentlessly to interrupt the great lead singer Abba metal chick, who, in my opinion, is much better with her own program than the choir is with their cumbersome-, alibi "hah hahh hahh!", I'm sorry to say. The track comes to a virtual stall without it noticing this about itself, and it basically becomes the context-sensitive background music of any combat section of any fantasy related RPGs. The build escapes this suffocation by seeking out another kind of it, with a row of lengthy, I mean : leeeeeeeenghty narrative performances, and the release gives you the vibe that you are listening to a self help tape. Nothing wrong with that, but where is my direct entertainment you promised!

As for the last track, the titular Imaginaerum : the central theme is a solid, thoughtful melody that could be the invention of John Williams, and, once you are served with it a couple of times, powerful-, yet at heart formless cinematic music is applied, so you would be delighted when you get the then-familiar central melody back. Beware : there are Scottish pipes on your way, and Michael Flatley knows you are near, too. Once again, this is a cinematic soundtrack for a Hollywood blockbuster, and it does nothing less or else than you would anticipate if to expect that from it.

This release has a very limited ability to deliver its stunning top form it gives you via its second track, which, not too surprisingly, was released as an introductory single for a much more tepid full length you have just been reading about. I got super-enthusiastic with this release upon hearing that second track, "Storytime", and with massive disappointment I conclude that I could not find anything else on it to remain in that mood for.

Rating : 6.0 / 10

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Korn - The Path of Totality review

Year : 2011
Genre : Dubstep, Industrial, Electronica
Label : Roadrunner Records
Origin : United States
Rating : 6.6 / 10

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Korn comes your way with a record that aims to invite the iron flavor of - well - metal out of the almost exclusively-industrial sonic domain of dubstep electronica. Drum and base elements and the catchy chorus also is on the list of components you can subject yourself to via this baby, and, frankly, this sounds to be a rather brave release as far as its deviating tendencies from what you "normally" - TUK! - would expect from this band. Deciding that you do not give all too much worry for the matter and will come out with a release you think will BE current and, dare one say, "modern", does not guarantee success on the intent's own merits.

This kind of music Korn puts in front of you in 2011, has been done numerous times already, and not a tad less efficiently, either. Kidney Thieves comes to mind that is a premiere representative of this cyberfry side of music, and that band has been putting out this exact kind of audible mood perpetuation back from the late '90s, and it does. not. sound. any. less. efficient. than Korn's latest. It sounds angrier than this, if anything. Aside from that particular influence, Korn's The Path of Totality evidently seeks to reveal an emotional blend/cohesion between the music of Depeche Mode and The Prodigy, and you can throw some Marilyn Manson on it, too. Track number 7, called "Sanctuary" : Manson-like vocals, meh chorus. The Special Edition features two additional tracks that would have looked way more attentive on the regular edition, - more on this later - because, frankly, the entries of the regular delivery are far less successful tracks than the bonus ones, in my opinion.

Performers of this style usually do not despise the furious tempo, while Korn's The Path of Totality is more of a mid-tempo industrial release with doubtless dubstep character and a risk free accessibility to it. Nothing is too dark, nothing is fast at all, nor is too surprising/shocking on this play-it-safe industrial cyberdubstep release. The general direction is to supply your receptors with acceptable plastic-on-flamethrower-fire music as a base, - exceptional levels of instrumental complexity is an "in your fucking dreams, nerd!" on this LP - then, you will have a melodic chorus with a gloomy character to it, and I'm not happy about the fact that a good dosage of the choruses are sounding like fillers to me. Do not put the cyberjaguar on me yet. There are good moments, too. But great ones : few. The feeling of the music-, of the sonic fabric herein is never so dangerous as you want it to be. To compliment this relative deficit, the feeling of epic gloom - WTF. - is almost exclusive to the release during the choruses, as is a more restrained-, systematically organized mid-tempo pseudo-chaos the record fixatedly seeks to revolve around. The results are mixed. In every sense of the word. Read on to find out more about those.


As noted, the album's musical complexity OR the catchyness factor of its - usually - gloomy hooks hardly are of such elegance or inventiveness that you could bow down to too many of them with an honest expression on the face. (Which would be even harder if the release would have the highly expectable capacity to rip your face off, but, this never happens, I assure you soundly.)

While the release is a passable- , diligently constructed industrial flow with harshly limited cunning to relevantly affect your emotion despite the kinetic sledgehammers it treats you with, exceptional moments, though present, are scarce to greet, and are located on the latter parts of the spin. "Bleeding Out" has this "hey, this kind of has a Faith No More vibe going on!" and the bonus track "Fuels the Comedy" - available on the Special Edition as a BONUS! - has a superb chorus. Ah wait!! Korn's "Fuels the Comedy" is a copy of Faith No More's rendition of Epic, isn't it.

The last track of the Special Edition, with the additional bonus delivery "Tension" also is one of the more tight tracks, though it is having Stone Sour's Cardiff written all over it, so welcome to yet another psychotic breakdown anthem, motherfucker. To be honest, among the "regular edition" tracks, only two did catch my attention right away. Firstly, number 4, "Narcissistic Cannibal" got it - because you think it is about me, but this isn't the only reason I like it - as the track sounds like a Disturbed song in a cyborg disco. The second track I like is about your mom.

In conclusion, know this about Korn's latest : this release is very unlikely to utterly disappoint you in case you think you sport an open mind, because, regardless of its radical tools, it is accessible music at heart, and musically pronounced/expressed angst and intimidating tendencies are not too relevant traits of the fabric. Well, one could say the following : this also is a nice attribute of the spin as whole, because it does not need to rely on fast tempos to be acceptable. But, the other side of the coin is this : if Korn would have given you faster tempos on this LP with THIS set of instruments, then you would have an awful hard time distinguishing this one from standard industrial techno warfare. And no, I do not oppose industrial techno, as there is no kind of music I oppose. All in all, Korn's The Path of Totality is heavily electronica in nature, I dare say that sometimes it invokes 1997 sci-fi computer game vibes, AND the release looks OK as THAT for what the agenda on board is. But, if you are anticipating a metal release, you will be deceived. Korn's latest is not metal in character, nor seeks to be. It's the mid-tempo variant of the music of Kidney Thieves from 1999. And this is a mindhack attempt.

Rating : 6.6 / 10

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Taberah - The Light of Which I Dream review

Year : 2011
Genre : Power Metal
Label : Evilution Records
Origin : Australia
Rating : 8.8 / 10

Australian Taberah's delicious debut - show forgiveness for the covert art and logo - invades air particles near Yours, Truly in exceptionally angry-, YET exacting power metal fashion. Imagine a musical language that is akin in remote character to that of Iron Maiden, but, the theatrical (melo)drama-spice on top that seems to be a keenly cultivated tool of the Brit Great Old Ones, is traded herein for a more vile, mean, Black Sabbatish behavioral stance. Most of the time, that is. Taberah certainly is no stranger to the propensity to go kinna-epic during the builds, - yet melodrama and the communist marching song vibe is not invited - and the best aspect you will have the option to gradually grow aware of regarding the release, is an impression that the debut manages to remain integral and unalloyed to its furious roots even when addressing pathos on its own peculiar terms. The only blatant blemishes I personally have found on the record are the utilization of the rhyme pair : "fire" and "desire". The minor-, but more persistent blemish is the singing on this album itself, which sounds to be the epitome of nothing special. It turns out though that, from a musical point of view, this album is pretty much sex appeal and efficiency from top to bottom,  and, if interested, you need to read out more to find out how and why.


Taberah is not in this business to worship meticulous over-production-, nor the false prophets of effect-scharlatanism: every single thing on the record sounds - in a positive manner - "just" natural, as would the naked drums and amplifiers if you were there in the studio. This, first and foremost, guarantees a lush and intimate listening experience to the mere rawness and power of the soberly controlled raging of the cultivated elements.

The compositions are playful, valiant and straightforward at their respective cores, seeking, finding, then offering great pleasure both with the ever-timeless wonder of the bare-open ringed power chord AND Rambo-grade "listen 'er, n00b" machine gun riffing. The riffcraft on the delivery is exceptionally rich and well sculpted, and serves a galore of fine stimuli to soak your ears into, so the band leaves nothing to be desired - fired!! - in this crucial department, never failing to satisfy your related cravings very thoroughly and gracefully.

Though the lyrics sometimes exhibit some pretty weightless and seriously uninspired alibi-profanity - "do not fuck with us!" - wish granted, Sir - and even relative idiocy - a song about Rambo with the line : "do not fuck with me, I'm Rambo!", WTF, I thought we were through with this?! - but, other than that, the singing style of the singer dude is passable. He does not sound too playful and/or confident, he instead sounds like a man with an agenda he is not sure he could pull off. He sometimes is paaaaaaainfully, painfully under-toned like an MMA fighter after being pepper sprayed, and his performance, while acceptable, does NOT elevate the sonic surroundings at ALL.

WHERE! is the Butch Balich!! I WANT the Butch Balich!!

Taberah's singer tends to refrain from "Gimmedaworld, Fukaz!" - type belts and bends, - and refraining from those is a nono! - and, instead, renders comfy-cozy "uhuh"-grade performance at best and shows no propensity whatsoever to move out of his comfort zone. Attention! Sometimes he sounds quite decent, I like his performance on "Freedom or Death", for example but, also notice : this song is a copy of Metallica's Blackened. The singer sounds like a Hetfield copy herein, too. On the other hand, related good news galore : none of James LaBrie's horrifying emotional slime - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! the HORROR!! the HIDEUM!! - will be found on your white tie afterwards.

The guitar solo work demands mentioning, too : Taberah has quite decent of a set of solo-capable guest-axewielders amidst its debut front-liners, and their powerful, well articulated playing reeks the Yngwie Malmsteen all the way from start to home, which is not the biggest of strikes you have to endure during a reincarnation.

A tight, focused, muscular declaration that has fine enough musicianship to give the LP an autonomous and rabid character, which is a trait you not frequently see-, let alone hear in the power metal "vaaaaloooor all-whitstaaaaaaand!! weeee fight toooo theee eeeeend!!" direction. 90% of this release is sexily ANGRY, yet truly exigent power metal, and the remaining portion is dedicated either to passable bonfire metal ballads I greatly enjoy skipping, or, a little homage for the originators. Explanation : the titular track "The Light of Which I Dream" has a more pronounced Iron Maiden influence with that peculiar galloping-ass riffage and the similarly Iron Maiden-like 3-4 notes guitar-patterns that are delighted about the fact how the different harmonic structures they are colliding with are serving different harmonic flavors to them. The build later on arrives to a tight-, raging mid-tempo jam session that reminiscent in character to Hendrix's hefty rhythm guitar style, and then the armored Iron Maiden gallops diligently out of your sight to save yet another day before the sun comes up again. All in all, Taberah's debut is superbly crafted, hefty power metal, and the only thing that is scary about it is the artwork, for which the punishment should be inventive sex with the creature on the cover.

Rating : 8.8 / 10

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Theocracy - As The World Bleeds review

Year : 2011
Genre : Christian Progressive Metal
Label : Ulterium Records
Origin : United States
Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Theocracy started out as a one man band of fronter Matt Smith's, who wanted to make Christian metal music that others hopefully would keenly listen to, and the original-, still-present intention worked out well enough to shape up a now-five-members squad that produce not only relevant Christian metal, but relevant progressive metal music in general. First and foremost, it is safe to say that you will do yourself a huge favor and will saving yourself from missing out if you are not dismissing this release because it is "bah, justchristianmetal", as this Christian metal release, trust me, also packs a tremendous burst of creative power punches along a myriad of quite adeptly operated metal-lingos. And my word is kind of good in the matter, because I believe in God more than to believe in him. Theocracy's As The World Bleeds is not afraid-, in fact, quite enthusiastic to elegantly stroll along the quite different genre-traits of metal during its charming run of charismatic progressive cheese-power, and it simply never fails to come up with delicate stimuli of each. Guys, let's talk about the music.


Theocracy's latest is an extremely eventful contribution, of which the primal characteristics are an urge to define the epic (synonyme : cheesy) chorus, yet, the way the band is approaching those from, is never calculable, and always shows readiness to surprise you along an acceptable register. The album showcases a wide variety of metal styles and related behaviors, and what makes it work is the well balanced persistence that each touched genre gets its due with. If and when Theocracy switches from a power metalish stance to a thrashy approach or vice versa - which they will do, oh, so beautifully! - than you can be sure that the band will stick to that particular direction for a healthy amount of time without dismissing it far too soon. This capacity to interchange genre traits with each other is ubiquitous and exigently operated on the delivery, and seldom are times that the album exhibits weaknesses apart from the - usually - cheesefestation choruses.

The basic vibe of the release is a positively traditional metal sound that is not on the hunt for effect wizardry at all, and there is no need for that, either. Well articulated, comprehensible, furious-where-due drumming reigns with an iron fist in the middle of sanely arranged components of your classic metal build. Matt Smith's vocal capacities demand steady recognition : his mid-range is strong, his affectation tolerable, - kind of frightening at first in the opening track - and, funnily enough, his voice gets even stronger when he goes higher. Attention! Do not judge the record by the vocals of the first track, because I personally jumped up 3 meters+ high after I've heard the first sung line of the record. OK, I admit I find the lyrics pretty corny there, too.

As hinted, the relatively weaker parts are the choruses, in my opinion. They do not strike this mind as exciting or evidently meaningful/relevant as their respective surroundings. The chorus of the titular track, "As The World Bleeds" does not do anything to me. Yet, fortunately, the chorus is just a smaller part of an otherwise robust delivery, it's just that I simply find all non-chorus things of it much more efficient and kick-ass than the chorus itself sounds to me as.

The religious overtones on the LP are not obtrusive or brutally assertive at all, they do not seek to alter your belief system - if you are big enough of a douché to have a finalized one, that is - and the album shows no interest in converting you to a Christian beliava'. I'm pagan by the way, so it explains why reviewing this album made me grow 666 little horns on my ass. Theocracy's As The World Bleeds demands your immediate attention, regardless of the sub-genre of metal you are the premiere admirer of. This is top of the heat charmingly cheesy metal music with pink latex choruses, which makes the more serious parts of it all the more commanding when they are folding back on you.

Rating : 9.0 / 10

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Vildhjarta - Masstaden review

Year : 2011
Genre : Djent with ambient elements
Label : Century Media
Origin : Sweden
Rating : 6.5 / 10

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Sweden Vildhjarta - geSUNtheit, Mein Herr - invades your receptors with a concept album that embraces its narrative influences from the Jungle Book and the video role playing game Final Fantasy VII. On paper, this band plays djent, in reality, a good amount of this sounds like pretty disturbed metalcore warfare to me, and here is why : that massive chunk of this baby is gravitating around the continuous act of scattering/littering artificially "portioned" djent patterns around on top of mid-tempo metalcore rhythms, but all the good will in the whole wide world would be less than enough to keep your poker face intact while attempting to regard ALL the content herein as really-really intricately rhythmized.

Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnope.

A healthy amount of this release sounds like heavily syncopated metalcore, - without the corporal punishment choruses, luckily - and the things it looks way better than just that with, are not ever-present on it, unfortufuckingnately.

This almost exclusively is a mid-tempo release, and it is hard to get rid of the feeling that the record shows everything it has the capacity to show right in the first 5 minutes of it. And you are wrong about it, too, because Masstaden has its 10 minutes of strongest offerings at its climax, and these deliveries are more flamboyant builds than you could realistically hope for by witnessing the massively metalcorish start and the middle region of this relatively lopsided declaration.

Combine the - usually - not too risky, nor too inventive schizo rhythm patterns with your everyday average metalcore bonobo screaming, - sometimes complimented by a more death metalish growl, so what. - add half a minute of smoke on the water ambient interlude every 5 minutes, and you have a precise impression of this contribution, which would pack much more entertainment value and relevance if to bring more of what it looks best with. Read on to find out more about this release.


Vildhjarta starts out efficiently enough, but, as hinted, it has a limited initital supply to offer true relevance beyond syncopated rhythmic attractions, and probably this is the reason that the best parts of the spin will start to engage your receptors well beyond the midsection. This LP also contains ambient interludes, but they rarely serve other purpose than to sedate the miserable with alibi-glitter when the monster in the djent would be a risk to awake. Actual musical development and relevant variation is not ever-evident on this spin, which makes me an unhappy boy.

The starting portion of Vildhjarta's Massteden is one, single, psychotic song composed of muted/released shrapnels of deep chugs, but no, they do NOT reveal all too complex or exciting rhythms as they want you to recognize them as. Fear not, Sunshine! After the track 8th mark - oorgle! - things turn to the better, because there is only 1 dosage of bonobo screaming you need to endure before the LP finally starts to negotiate its Cream De La Cream, pha.

Track number 10, called "All These Feelings" finally starts out with an inventively rhythmized riff, in fact, so inventively rhythmized, that the band instead drops it after a minute, and escapes to ambient arpeggio. Auuuua. The release has a stronger period nevertheless in the ending portion, track number 12 "Deceit" once again features delicious, odd rhytmization you can finally take serious because it gives you the same courtesy, but, to be honest, the bonobo screaming that joins in, ruins the experience for me. "Emencely".

Though Vildhjarta's Masstaden could very easily be decipherable as a record that repeats itself over and over and over and over in the same sonic frequency, - probable courtesy of the lowest possible note being banged mercilessly on an 8 stringed guitar - there are elements on it that are better than they sound first. Yet, as a full spin, above average at BEST.

Rating : 6.5 / 10

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Coronatus - Terra Incognita review

Year : 2011
Genre : Fairy Tale Pop Metal
Label : Massacre Records
Origin : Germany
Rating : 6.5 / 10

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The music of Coronatus is your premiere choice if you are a fan of live fantasy. (Or, if you are a paid fan, that is acceptable, as well.) The name of the game herein is richly developed, heavily fantasy-influenced tale-metal with a tolerable pop tint to it, and the premiere saving grace of this ambitious direction is the mere sonic abundance of the delivery.

Coronatus, one has the hunch, had a similar plan in mind than what Italian Ancient Bards have accomplished with their latest to date, furious, powerful dark fairy tale full length, yet this particular baby deliberately lacks all the "it" factors worth failing to put your finger on when it comes to rabid intensity. It is a much more calm release, with JUST an acceptable amount of fantasy queen bigotry exhibited in the female singing department. (Of which you will find exactly none of on the aforementioned dainty Ancient Bards release, which features signing by a female FITA'!)

Coronatus seeks to sound rather complex while remaining pleasantly easy on the ears in character, filling the sonic fabrics with exotic instrumental choices : synthetic strings, bells, woodwinds, Scottish pipes, mutant baby that vomits violently if you pull its tentacle, tame rhythm guitar with no reminder of balls guarantee a shocking experience as you climb aboard this likable Lego metal-ship with hopes that it won't go Titanic on your butt. Read on to get your ticket, Lover.


Coronatus is in the constant-, relatively successful process of seeking for instant pop-metal epicness, thinking that the toy-guitar on the left channel makes it HEAVY!! MMMET'LLL!!! Oh my God! It DOES! The good news is that the release is able to convey a wide palette of related emotions with sufficient convince power, and the bad news is that the spin is a tad more tediously volumetric in its length than it can remain super-focused for. And yes, it is absofuckinglutely expectable from a record to be super-focused, or at least, attempt to do that and spot-reject elements that do not come through as efficiently. As hinted, there is a solid amount of heavily deranged goth-bigotry on display here that will make nothing else than rob you out of luscious attention, but, you won't regret it (that much) and this is the charming part.

The most relevant problem this release is prone to suffer from is the inconsistent songwriting that haunts the spin as a full declaration. Whenever the record sounds to have no true content to offer, it takes the brave-, but relatively misplaced and incompetent liberty to harass your receptors with clumsy experimental decisions in at attempt to escape the terrible, terrible grasp of uninspired fairy tale metalcore. Track number 9, called "In Signo Crucis", for example, is a good example of this disorganized pacing, in which you can't help but be entertained, nevertheless. And WHAT an "amazing" drum solo!! GTFO, I'm begging you.

There is no doubt at all that the record has tremendous amount of work in it, but a good dosage of that "tremendous amount" is originated from rudimentary-, on occasion, even clueless compositional techniques, and, funnily enough, the record weighs in even more likable with all the qualms you could raise regarding the blemishes in its integrity. On Coronatus' Terra Incognita, an absolutely risk free-, but likable variant of tale-metal seeks your appreciation. Regardless of its deep-pinkish direction, the release has quite sufficient complexity - even with its numerous weaker parts - to command your awareness to take it serious while Christmas is near the door.

Rating : 6.5 / 10

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Vektor - Outer Isolation review

Year : 2011
Genre : Thrash Metal
Label : Heavy Artillery Records
Origin : United States
Rating : 9.5 / 10

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Vektor's Outer Isolation brings to you a rampant variant on the original form of full blown, unforgiving, timelessly oldschool thrash metal. Musically, this record is eloquently brutal and ever-faithful at heart to the most demanding traditions of the style. Among these traditions, the steepest probably is to establish an autonomous flow of waste-propensity through the individual musical ideas, and Vektor delivers flawlessly in this regard.

The reason behind this capacity is none other than the combination of the band's - just natural - love for the thrash metal genre, supported though by a valid set of compliments that deliberately aim to flatter the mere "limits" of the style. Indeed, one can come up with trash metal riff ideas and deliver those along different tempos to end up with "uhuh" grade thrash content, but Vektor is vastly past that game, and keeps the tip of its vile index finger on the tiny-tiny region where the pulse of thrash is the most intensified, and, as such, the most entertaining. Vektor's Outer Isolation is a record that is the equivalent of a bomb device with a malfunctioning timer jumping between 50:00 and 0:30, so it seeks and accepts no silent peace in the sonic domain. Listen how this thrash metal album starts up its engines at the 2:15 mark of the opening track : this is what I want from thrash metal, and all other things regarding the matter is insignificant. Read on the find out more about this release.


The record has an extremely sexy horror-sci-fi theme to it, as the great cover art suggests that already : sci-fi at heart, yet the green tint conveys an alienating, discomforting Cthulhu-influence, a sense of cosmic horror that is out to crush the little human astronaut on the image, simply by being seemingly separate and seemingly so much vaster than him. Opening track, called "Cosmic Cortex", in my opinion, is about God's consciousness, and let me tell you that I'd rather hear a thrash song about God's consciousness than about a fast car which you can drive like : - uh - fast. Fuck that shit already, pretty pretty please with chocolate syrup and strawberry pellets on top?

As just hinted, the top of the foodchain thrash metal music on this LP also brings quite relevant and well constructed lyrics, heavily fixated on transhumanic / philosophical / existential observations, and bowing to no cheap, false Thrash Gods like alcohol, or adolescence-fury as Dave Mustaine so shamelessly does with his terribly, terribly sad song called "You hate my friends and where we go, you hate the way we wear out clothes, just whose life it is, anyway?".

Just whose lie it is, anyway?

Vektor comes forth with a musically competent and quite BRAVE release, as well. This album reeks and summons the best forms of the most rabid thrash traditions, early Voivod comes to mind - what's more sexy thrashing than that? - and the singer here is in a constant war with ALL and PREVAILS, and the music's heft simply does not know the concept of a fuel tank that needs a refill. When the band decides to tame the sonic rampaging for an elegant, lush, complex instrumental moment, - of which the release packs no less nor more than beneficial for the primordial agenda - that always is a result of an awareness that is out to guard the efficiency-peak of full intensity engagement, which is the premiere nature of this spin.

Vektor's Outer Isolation is a current-, paradoxically enough, ever-fresh reincarnation of the timeless form of the similarly ever-fresh epitome of oldschool thrash metal, but, what separates this declaration from the flock, lies in the musical inventiveness : the record has all your thrash needs at its immediate disposal, yet, it also exhibits an autonomous capacity to cultivate new ones - awareness, and related quasi-needs - in you, and this is the most you can ever expect from any musical data. You definitely should check this one out, no matter what.

Rating : 9.5 / 10

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