Sunday 27 January 2013

Voivod - Target Earth Review

Voivod - Target Earth [Progressive Thrash Metal]


Thrash metal and progressive metal together? The genre name is misleading, because the resulting sound is nothing like its parent genres. Rather its more like classic prog with extreme jazz fills peppered in between. So even though I put it as progressive thrash, I would like you to remain non-judgmental towards the name. The cover art depicts an alien and the sound sure as hell is alien. A heads up before I progress (heh), I have heard nothing from this band except for its apparent influence on modern thrash metal band Vektor, which in my opinion earns the title "progressive thrash metal", but let's not bother with genres and classifications anymore since all of these only exist in subjective conjugations.




One thing that strikes me about this album is that its not exactly 'heavy'. Not even close. Like mentioned earlier, it sounds more like classic prog with extreme jazz. Having said that, Jean-Yves “Blacky” Theriault's bass is an enormous, distinguishable presence on the album. It's interesting because while his skill isn't overwhelming, he provides a huge counter-balance to new guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain jazz sweeps. The drums are serviceable, not outstanding but decent. I am not sure what to make of Snake's vocals; they are not raspy and heavy or whatever, but there is no denying that his relatively friendly vocals make what would be a technical and complex album a lot more accessible. Time would tell whether I can stand the vocals, but for now songcraft and instrumentation takes centerstage.

Unique is a severe understatement for what you will hear on Target Earth. 'Kluskap Okom' opens with appears to be snorting and panting that lay down the rhythm for the album's first uptempo song. The riffs are not heavy, but rather intricate or even angular, so the songs maintain an air of progressive creativity and never sound metal at all. Having said that, there is a hell lot of progressive experimentation (opening the album with a nice bassline and immediately adding the vocals and guitar over it, rather than use the bassline to lead into the actual song like most metalcre / deathcore artistes do), and songs tend to have no coherent structure but flow by sections, and this is the main complexity of the album, and in that, the band excels. One song that comes to mind is the epic 'Mechanical Mind', which has four seperate parts that are of completely different moods and tempos but sound like one, organic, living song.

My frustration with the album is, however, the production. Because of the lack of a second guitarist, it sounds dry. And that is a pity because the songs are good but sound tired, especially since the band is trying to achieve a psychedelic sound, and that contrasts with the thrash moments. At this juncture I would bring in the band Vektor again, because Vektor has the sound Voivod would have been striving for, production-wise. The bass could have been given more treble so that it sounds like a second guitar, and not stand out because of the absence of a second guitar. Nevertheless, this band has my curiosity and I will definitely look at their back catalog.

★★★ Average - Half of alum is listenable

Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell Review

Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell [Power / Speed Metal]


I am admittedly not a huge fan of power metal, but this album has a lot more to offer than most power metal bands out there, and may prove to be one last gasp before this genre eventually dies out (and with the overwhelming number of death and black metal bands out there, this will be inevitable).




The cover and album may have been part of the success of this album, because it was so bad I had absolutely zero expectations for this band, whatever their past endeavors may have been. But within the chorus of the opening 'Nabataea' I was unconsciously sucked into the gleeful joy of this record. Words to describe the band would be cheesy, happy and campy, but for some reason, it is still a pleasant listen because of some truly glorious instrumentation from guitarists Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner that recall the heyday of 80s metal. Unlike early Dragonforce, who tended to get carried away with their instrument prowess, there is an undeniable sense of fun in the riffs and solos that pepper the album. Bassist Markus Grosskopf and drummer Daniel Löble are mediocre at best but serviceable, but the one man who truly dominates the album is vocalist Andi Deris. His voice is powerful and heartfelt, by no means groundbreaking but in its own way unique and rare since people hardly sing like this anymore. His range but not be formidable but his control is, letting his voice fade out in a whimper or shrieking back with forcefulness at the precision of a drum beat. For me personally, he is the heart of the band, and his song-writing capabilities that add depth and complexity, or modern twists to old school songcraft, are what propel the music to listenable standards.

However, that novelty is shallow and doesn't stand the test of time. This is a good album, but not good enough for this time. Power metal has many limitations but bands like Into Eternity and Demons & Wizards have managed to break through them (I don't even have to bring in the mighty Symphony X), and whilst Straight Into Hell does have its merits, it does not have enough to make it stand out. Still a worthy listen here and there, but the album does have as many weak songs as it does good songs. Standout tracks are the opener 'Nabataea', 'Waiting For The Thunder' and 'Church Breaks Down'.

★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable

Saturday 19 January 2013

Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) Review

Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) [Progressive]




Steven Wilson has completely outdone himself in this masterpiece of an album, his latest in his recent string of solo albums, collaboration on Storm Corrosion and sound production for progressive legends King Crimson, whose magic seem to have rubbed on to the soundscape of The Raven That Refused To Sing.

For one thing, the instrumentation is phenomenal, with a legendary team behind the prog frenzy; Marco Minnemann of Necrophagist fame behind the drum kit, Guthrie Govan on guitar, Nick Beggs on bass and Chapman Stick, Adam Holzman on keys and Theo Travis on the wind instruments, with Steven Wilson filling in the tributaries that seamlessly connect these musically talented individuals together. Add to that Alan Parsons (who produced Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon) and you have a milestone in progressive rock history.

What is inventive on this album is the compromise between melody and technical creativity; the product is as much  brain as it is brawn, and Wilson's songwriting, honed after years of songcraft in Porcupine Tree, Opeth and Storm Corrosion (and this is just in the recent years after his dream pop years), has drastically improved from the partial disaster that was Storm Corrosion. But moving on, for once, Wilson's melodies linger in the recesses of the mind long after the songs have ended, a testament to musicality rather than shock factor.

Wilson also stated that the songs were written with this band in mind; and the amazing thing on this album is the fact that the band member's singular identities do not stand out in any way of your consumption of the songs, and yet there is no denial of the song's genius and the instrumentation. It is this tricky balance that propelled bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson to fame.

Also, Govan's guitar solos are downright beautiful and act as fantastic climaxes to 'Luminol' and 'Drive Home'. 'The Holy Drinker' blends solos from each one of the members but they do not clash in the form of a duel akin to modern day Dream Theater material. Also, there isn't any hard rock moment on the album, it as sleepy as it is lively, another tricky balance that can be attributed to the masterful sound production, which was reportedly not remixed at all (meaning that what you hear is live from the studio). The sound is sharp, warm yet spacey, and what else would you expect from the sound engineer of Pink Floyd and a prog nerd who has been restoring 70s obscure rock albums? Even if you're not a fan of prog, just listen to the fantastic sound, this is the best sound quality I have ever heard on audio.

By the time you hit the album closer and title track, it's apparent that Steven Wilson and gang have created something absolutely fresh by looking back to the hey day of progressive rock in the 70s as inspiration to create something absolutely palatable. This was an instant hit from its first spin and has only improved with repeated listens.

Beginning the year with a classic, here's to hoping for less trash at Buona Vista.

★★★★★ Excellent - Undisputed classic for critical listening

Saturday 12 January 2013

CandyRat Records

Many a casual guitarist might have come across CandyRat Records on Youtube by chance. The label's most famous names include Don Ross and especially Andy McKee (of 'Rylynn' and 'Drifting' fame).



There are those who think that the video above just shows some bald dude smacking the paint off his guitar and making a series of incoherent sounds, and there are those who are able to appreciate the technical and compositional brilliance of the CandyRat artists. Listed below are a few of my favourite songs/artists from this label. All of you should check them out right now.

Kelly Valleau (Song: Anubis)

Kelly Valleau, like many of his label-mates, is Canadian. He makes most of his money playing classical guitar, but proves that his percussive/ethnic play is just as strong as that of anyone out there.



Ewan Dobson (Song: Time 2)

Dobson gained recent fame for this piece, which draws from his trance/video-game influences. Still, he remains criminally underrated.



Antoine Dufour (Song: Reality)

Antoine Dufour is arguably CandyRat's most creative mind; his songs tend to lack traditional structure and flow and his ideas are abstract. This stuff is more for serious listeners.



Maneli Jamal (Song: Cold Arrival)

Maneli is one of CandyRat's newest artists but is a longtime favourite of mine. 'Cold Arrival' was written before Maneli got signed to CandyRat Records and draws from his many cultural influences (he's ethnically Persian but has lived in a number of countries and finally settled in Canada).



There are many more equally amazing musicians (not just guitarists) signed up to CandyRat Records but I haven't got the time to list all of them out. Regardless, this label has been an absolute fountain of entertainment and inspiration for me for the past three or four years now, and I hope that you will derive the same pleasure from listening to its artists' creations as I have. Enjoy!