en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal The Last.fm journal for Lysander. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2011/02/04/476ckg_albums_of_2010_-_bingen%2C_blackie_and_black_metal._part_iii%3A_elements Fri, 4 Feb 2011 14:36:40 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2011/02/04/476ckg_albums_of_2010_-_bingen%2C_blackie_and_black_metal._part_iii%3A_elements It seems a bit unusual to be writing about 2010 in February. But it's prudent to reflect on the previous year's musical achievements whilst having the benefit of knowing what 2011 has brought along already. There have been an immense amount of new metal albums this year already: Hollow Haze, Silver Lake, Mitochondrian and the high quality Silent Stream of Godless Elegy to name a few, whereas March's debut release from TesseracT seems promising for the ardent Textures and SikTh fans.

The final part of my review of 2010 doesn't reflect on any one band in particular, but more on principles. 2010 gave me the ability to define what it is that makes a metal album truly great, which elements, which concepts, and what goes far beyond the music itself. There are certain traits, some which most people would not even consciously realise, which make a metal album great for any particular listener. And it was the albums that meant the most to me through 2010, W.A.S.P, Hildegard, Agalloch and Crystal Castles, that shunted these meanings so firmly into place.

1. Songwriting: The way a song is written is actually one of the least important points when it comes to putting across great music. The method through which a song is structured, whether you're going for traditional metal, progressive metal or black metal, is just the underlayer for what makes the overall musical package something special. This is why some of the most complex and skilfully written progressive metal songs can seem to have almost no heart and why a lot of traditional metal songs can be so bland. A great song is not about how it's laid out on paper. A song's main chord structure, tempo and timing acts as little more than a vessel for all the things it is possible of carrying. Delivery, guitarwork, vision and our own feelings towards all these are more important. Songwriting's importance to me exists only because of its fundamentality.

2. Vocal delivery: The vocalist truly acts as a transmitter behind the force the song is carrying. Some of the great metal vocalists of all time have been so successful in what they do because not only did they have natural talents for singing, but they were carrying the meaning of the song with a force, power or emotion which made the whole thing genuine. Singers who I revere in metal such as Blackie Lawless, Ray Alder and Mikael Åkerfeldt are able to carry the extra weight and meaning perfectly behind every note that they sing. Nothing feels ingenuine, absolutely everything is natural. A true metal vocalist can project with power and fury, but also perfect finesse through any song's softer sections. I have heard too many metal vocalists who have incredible power, but no ability to sing the softer material.

And the delivery of a song is so much more important than the lyrics themselves. Whilst great lyrics are important to a song, I do not feel that they are vital. Good lyrics sung terribly are all but useless since their meaning and importance gets almost entirely removed – but it's possible for bad lyrics to be sung well. If bad lyrics are sung with enough conviction, enough natural ability and even enough ironic consciousness of their meaning – the overall effect of the song is far from ruined. There are indeed tons of metal songs with dreadfully silly lyrics, but if they're put across well enough, the song doesn't go anywhere towards losing its effect.

3. Solos: Guitar soloing is a hugely important part of a metal song when it comes to injection emotion into the infrastructure. A guitar solo can carry a vast amount of feeling, and since the best metal songs are written by the best guitarists, the solos form part and parcel of the edifice. A metal song which is well written and sung is almost perfected by a good guitar solo – one which is long, melodic, skilful, technical and fluid. Some of the best songs I have heard in metal – Fates Warning's A World Apart, Savatage's Legions, Coroner's Serpent Moves or Sirens, W.A.S.P.'s Heaven's Hung in Black, Opeth's A Fair Judgement, Black Sabbath's Warning and Conception's In Your Multitude - all have exceptionally played solos filled with emotion which make them riveting and nourishing to listen to time and time again.

4. Artwork: Though a lot of people would hold that an album is only about the music, there are still a couple more things which, for me, make an album truly stand out. An album's artwork can have a great effect on my overall idea of it. The artwork is the visual representation of the way the band sees itself, sees that album, how it wants it to appear to you when you haven't even heard a bar. The artwork tells you about the band's attitude; their seriousness or their flippancy. Being a very visual person, a lot of the time I can't help, somewhere in my mind, picturing the album's artwork when listening to the thing. Since I want to be able to sense an album on as many levels as possible, the artwork is one of the most obvious ways of doing this.

However, an album's artwork does not have to be masterful. It does not have to be some expertly-crafted original hand-painting or a digital mastery of fractal proportions. It just has to suit the theme and feel of the album. If the artwork to the album really fits – and is an unpretentious and honest representation of what the band feels about its output - it lets the listener go one stage further to understanding it. It gives you hints, clues, suggestions, translations and feelings about the band's inside thoughts towards their creation. It is a highly important factor in the completion of a great album, and these days, with the ubiquity of mp3 sharing, one which is being increasingly overlooked by fans.

5. Associations: The final slab of importance is how and where we rank the album emotionally. This is a very subconscious point, and one which gets overlooked by the large majority of people because of its subtlety, but it's still a vital one. What can really push an album forward to making it something worthy is how we fit it in on a personal level: what it reminds us of, what point in our lives it makes us think of, when, why, who and how. Those albums which remind us of something particularly good are far more likely to appeal to us. Those albums which remind us of something bad or painful will hardly get any playtime. Indeed, there are albums which have good music – but which I relate to such negative periods in my life – that they put me back in that place, and the thing barely lasts a minute or two of spinning as a result.

These associations do not have to relate to things which we have personally experienced. We can associate an album with somewhere we have never been, or a time we have never existed in, but which we like the idea of. There are plenty of people in love with the mystery of Norwegian black metal but who never have been to Norway, there are plenty of people who love the rich Middle Eastern textures of oriental metal but who will never end up in the Middle East, or the romance of viking metal or the medieval ambiance of times gone by. The ideas, the projections of the places and how we associate them with the music can contribute greatly to how we view an album. Sometimes an association can make an album, and it's this that we can live alongside, rather than necessarily loving every tone and cadence of the music itself.

2010 made me realise a great deal about music and my own subconscious definitions of it. For a long time I struggled with my own resolution of metal and what it truly meant for an album to be great to me, and I'm more or less satisfied with these explanations. In making an album, the musicians do their work musically and artistically, but if we can enhance the piece further with our own associations, making it something that works solely for us in a unique way, then everything is in place.

These ideas have been in gestation for many years now, but 2011 could still modify my views. A large part of music is all about progression and change after all, so if 2011 revises such ideas, I wholeheartedly welcome it.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2011/01/09/45d3yx_albums_of_2010_-_bingen%2C_blackie_and_black_metal._part_ii%3A_the_past Sun, 9 Jan 2011 13:30:19 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2011/01/09/45d3yx_albums_of_2010_-_bingen%2C_blackie_and_black_metal._part_ii%3A_the_past As 2011 considers getting into its stride, I should pay tribute to two artists who made a massive difference to me through 2010. This ‘review’ of the last year is actually a three-parter, the final part of which can be added to at any time in the next few weeks. For the moment though, it’s important to address a couple of things.

2010 was quite a difficult year for me, one of the reasons being that I spent six months in a job that I detested. It’s certainly quite normal for people to hate their jobs, and this may seem nothing special to whinge about, but for me the ramifications cut deeper. My place of work was in a horrific area of London, somewhere which had personally negative echoes for me and that I never wanted to go back to. I couldn’t wait to be rid of its grey towers and miserable citizens. It was, I imagine, one of the causes of my monomania.

I’ve already written quite a comprehensive journal about W.A.S.P., my feelings for them and which of their albums I consider the most important. There’s no reason for me to expand any further on my feelings with regard to their music. But what I shall concentrate on here is their importance for me as a band, which is not confined to 2010 alone. W.A.S.P.’s predominance was unsurpassed for me, they became this addictively-playable behemoth which I couldn’t tear myself away from. Indeed, I wouldn’t want to. These days, with metal being ever-more difficult to be impressive, and a lot of the time not even knowing what to do with itself, it’s very rare for me to find a band that gives so much over and over. Great music should not just be about feeding you emotionally, but giving you the same thing time and time again, tirelessly. There are so few bands that can do this, one of the last ones to do so for me being Opeth back in 2005.

When people have talked about having all-time favourite bands, I’ve always thought they were being rather immature and restrictive. I enjoy knowing a large amount of musicians but I’ve got to the point where one band really stands out for me. As much as I love artists such as Fates Warning, Death, Coroner and The Mars Volta, W.A.S.P. is just one small step above these. It’s not only the music which makes such a gilded impression but Blackie Lawless’s relentless persistence to make the band work for over 25 years, no matter what was thrown at him. And such devotion and passion is wholly inspiriting.

So much for W.A.S.P. and my obsession with them. The second artist necessary to address is somewhat of a surprise. I’m not sure that I’d be able to class her music as classical but I’m sure plenty of classical aficionados will tell me that’s exactly what it is. In spite of years of learning and singing classical music in school, I always considered anything ‘classical’ to involve works from the 16th century onwards. Bach, Mozart, Handle and Beethoven were ‘classical’ to me, whereas works of musicians like Guillaume Dufay or John Dowland inhabited a different category. The composer I’m talking about goes much further back than that, right to the end of the 12th Century.

It was a trip to the medieval Clink in SE1 which made me think about what kind of music was being written, played and sung at that same period in history, even better, with female vocals. Female vocals in music were not used an awful lot around that period, though it was the works of Hildegard von Bingen which really brought them to the fore. Hildegard’s work is generally written in plainsong, i.e. what a lot of us would call these days singing in ‘unison’. There is a large amount of polyphony sprinkled in as well, but for me it’s the use of the plainchant which makes the music something different. The meter is also fascinating to me since 900 years ago music was written in a wholly different way to how it is now. Non-existent are the simple, easily-mimickable structures of 4/4 timing, indeed at times it’s hard to pick out any rhythm at all: the music seems to be written more on particular flow and feel, relying heavily on strong leads. It is its own fluid entity, rather than being caged by the comparatively strict boundaries of the modern time signature.

I remember saying a while ago that listening to Hildegard’s music felt like being ‘cleansed’ and indeed this is the case. The more we become interested in exploring different types of music, the harder it becomes for anything to make a lasting impression on us. It was clear, after listening to a few canticles, that here was something very different indeed. Here was something woven from a woman’s own fascination, devotion and heart, and completely unaffected and uninfluenced by modern ‘values’. The values here were those of her pious devotion, but Hildegard’s understanding of her own music and faith stretched beyond that. A truly remarkable women for her own time and now, the early medieval feel of her music appears almost familiar to me, and I’m positively surprised that a classical composer has made such an impression, something which has never really happened to this extent before.

The common thread which links the two of these together [I'm sure Hildegard would be horrified at the thought of being linked to W.A.S.P.] lies in their commitment to their case. In spite of their wildly different approaches to music-writing, there is a similarity in their artistic fidelity. Many, many bands plead about how dedicated they are to their musical cause, but the proof is purely in the output – and the extent of it. Both have stayed firmly and unstrayably engaged to their cause, with a catalogue of quality works as testament, which shows that when you truly are the music you’re writing, when it really does come from inside you, it is unignorable to those listening. 2010 gave me a lot of interesting music to listen to, but none on such scope and scale as these two. This is the only similarity they share, and I’d hope that Hildegard, in her openmindedness, would on some level be able to understand that. Blackie, on the other hand… I dread to think.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/12/19/43z97d_albums_of_2010_-_bingen%2C_blackie_and_black_metal._part_i%3A_the_present Sun, 19 Dec 2010 01:01:59 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/12/19/43z97d_albums_of_2010_-_bingen%2C_blackie_and_black_metal._part_i%3A_the_present 2010 was an unusual year for me. Though I spent a great deal of time listening to metal from the 90s and 80s, I think it's true to say more effort than ever was made to experiment with new music and to mine the depths of the current release market.

Metal is not moving anywhere at a particularly fast pace. Things are still promising for those that like their metal to be ever-rooted in the traditional, but if you're the kind of person who likes the constant flux and twists of new ever-developing subgenres, 2010 was hardly the year to serve up an amazing dish for you.

Labels are feeling the pull as well. It's becoming more and more difficult for the smaller labels to sell records, thus more difficult for smaller bands to be signed. Indeed, a lot of artists no longer know what to do with their music when it comes to release - whether to self-finance, agree to advances, or go purely for distribution. Even Radiohead's idea of letting the listener choose the payment, when transposed to artists such as Omar Rodriguez Lopez, saw the $0 minimum increase to $5.

At the top end Accept, Overkill, Immolation, Heathen, Seventh Wonder and the like put out fine offerings to a high standard, but there was nothing there that really grabbed me by the throat. As time goes on it becomes increasingly difficult for any album to make me sit up and take notice of it. Even the more traditional prog albums which I was breathlessly anticipating such as Allen/Lande and Star One did nothing to ignite any enthusiasm after a couple of listens. And I'm buggered if I'm going to start screwing around with more post-metal.

It's all too easy to slag off new releases. Far more easy than to say anything constructive. So in this journal entry I will only give a run-down of what I thought were the most interesting albums this year. I won't comment on albums which were merely good - or as good as expected - but those that went over the bar.

Phelios - Astral Unity



There were a few dark ambient releases that were decent in 2010, though they mostly trod the same paths that the genre has for a long time. Little variety or experimentation. Phelios's Astral Unity was perhaps the only album that I kept coming back to time and time again. I'm getting very tired of cheap-sounding synths in dark ambient, these days favouring the more organic works [yes, that's the use of "organic" in its literal sense] by the Helixes collective. However, Phelios clearly knows what he's doing and has a realistic focus on keeping the music classy and simple. Reminiscent of mid-period raison d'être in places and with a heavy smattering of chilled industrial-like ambiance in others, Astral Unity managed to be the most interesting dark ambient album I heard this year.

Deathspell Omega - Paracletus



These days I detest traipsing over to 4chan for any reason at all, the entire website has become a thickened cesspool of idiocy. The music board is hardly an exception - however, if you can stomach it, it is worth going there every so often to see which albums are being spoken of on a regular basis. DSO's Paracletus was extolled barely minutes after its leak with the overspill oozing into Last FM. Paracletus did a rare thing for me in that it became my entry album into black metal, a genre which I have experimented with over and over throughout the years with no success. But after Paracletus I realised why I had disliked black metal for so long - because I simply found it too repetitive.

I'll admit to knowing nothing of DSO's back catalogue but, after I have assaulted my senses a few more times with their latest album, I'll delve into it. Paracletus, for its part, did something which no album has done for me in recent memory. It perplexed me. I spent the entire first listen in a state of wonder and bewilderment. The sound of the album is relentlessly chaotic and cacophonic, but in its sonic maelstrom you can tell there is organisation, there are patterns, and only after a very long time will you be able to work out what and where they are.

It's not like DSO doesn't throw you a lifeline every so often though. There are moments in Wings of Predation and the excellent Malconfort where there are accessible riffs which make the music slightly more easy to digest - but even these moments have an eerie and alien quality to them. DSO's otherworldly, screeching, barbed guitar tone makes the most melodic riff unsettling to listen to but for me, this makes it all the more fascinating. Paracletus is a work of such complex and pitch-dark wonder, that each listen is like running through a nightmare you don't want to end. Mix this with truly excellent lyrics and artwork and you have the formula for one of the very best creations to be released in the last 12 months.

Orphaned Land - The Neverending Way of ORwarriOR



Mabool was always going to be a very tough act to follow. In creating ORwarriOR, OL crafted something far more complex and inaccessible than its predecessor. For many months of 2010 ORwarriOR was quite simply the best progressive metal release, superior to the highly-rated output by bands such as Demians or Haken. ORwarriOR has colour, emotion, originality and fantastic musicianship.

The sum of all it parts means that ORwarriOR is a difficult work to swallow, and throughout the first couple of spins most of it went totally over my head. A truly good album should make you want to come back to it time and time again in spite of your initial lack of comprehension, and this is exactly what ORwarriOR did for me. Its complexity and variety has divided the fanbase considerably, many still opting to prefer Mabool, but for me it is certainly the superior of the two. In spite of the other releases from this year - ORwarriOR is possibly the only one I would truly call a masterwork - a term than gets used far too often these days. But here, I feel, it is certainly justified.

Cloudkicker - Beacons



I'm slightly ashamed of myself for not realising sooner that the track titles for Beacons came from snippets of black box recordings - in most cases the last words of the crew. A morbid but original idea. I've been following Ben Sharp's work in Cloudkicker for quite a few years now but Beacons is by far the strongest offering he's put out. The Discovery, while having some excellent tracks in it, did suffer from a lack of variety and finesse, through Beacons has almost entirely resolved this issue.

Beacons' strength lies in its cohesion. It is a far better played and planned album than The Discovery. Not only this, but Sharp has pulled back on the heaviness, no longer drowning each track with grand hammer-thumps of power-chorded heaviness. Beacons relies on a classier, more elegant approach to math-metal: full of variety, excellent cross-sections, and clean production. Cloudkicker may not have needed to mature to a very large degree, but this development in the evolutionary cycle is a welcome shift.

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit



Agalloch are a band who I'd never quite got to grips with till now. In spite of seeing them live and listening to Pale Folklore, The Mantle and Ashes Against the Grain multiple times, they were always a group whom I had considered too dry. Too gimmicky. And though I could see the attraction of the band, it still came across as music for the easily-impressed.

Marrow of the Spirit sees Agalloch move off a folk or doom metal trajectory and into the arena of black metal, specifically atmospheric black metal. Never had I thought I'd come out of 2010 liking not one - but two albums in the black metal category. But what makes MOTS work - and work so well - is that it doesn't feel try-hard. It doesn't feel unnatural. Now, four albums down the line, it seems as if the band are inhabiting a space which they genuinely belong in.

MOTS is ostensibly a journey, every point of which is meticulously plotted. The album dives from harsh sections with rasping vocals and blast beats to cool acoustic refrains with clean vocals and long instrumental melodies. Special mention should be given to the sound production which gives each instrument its own personality, place and crispness without sacrificing any of the atmosphere or feel of the album.

At its very heart, MOTS is a long trek through a bleak, cold and dark musical landscape, but one peppered with beauty and mysticism. In spite of delving into the album time and time again, there is still much to discover and much to praise, and each time you choose to embark on the journey, there is something new to see and appreciate. The darkest Agalloch is by far the best yet.

Album of the Year:

Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles [II]



I remember when I first heard CC back in 2008, they were like nothing I had experienced to that point. I was transfixed by their debut and it became one of my most played albums of all time in a matter of weeks.

I don't have my finger on the Pitchfork pulse as much I could, so by the time CC's second offering had hit the internet I hadn't even been aware that it was in the works. On first listen I was prepared for a downturn in quality or at the very least a radical shift in a less than radical direction. What I - and other critics - found to our glee, was that CC's sophomore album was even better than their first.

One thing which grated with CCI was the inclusion of the harsh, screeching, 'electronic clatter' as I remember describing it in 2008. Though there is still an element of this on CCII, it has been massively reduced, the band focusing far more on melody. CCII has more texture, more feeling and more confidence than their debut. Its beautiful, shimmering synths have a waterlike fluidity and some of the harmonics and effects are stunning. More than anything - and what really shunts CCII into the lead for me - is that it feels fresh. It feels young, eager, energetic. It feels new and intriguing.

That's not to say that CCII isn't a dark album, and there are times where a grimness intentionally creeps into a number of the songs. The band, in spite of the bouncy nature of some of their tracks, have never been ones to make 'happy' music, and even those tunes which carry elasticity and buoyancy seem to be founded on irony and cynicism.

As much as I relish overanalsysis and picking musical holes, Crystal Castles are a band who I truly find difficult to fault. Nowadays music listeners are told more than ever what is fashionable, what is original or what is necessary - but Crystal Castles genuinely excel on each count.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/10/20/3zq9on_white_ring_in_dalston_-_the_witch_house_moves_to_n16 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 13:56:41 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/10/20/3zq9on_white_ring_in_dalston_-_the_witch_house_moves_to_n16 Tue 19 Oct – White Ring, d/r/u/g/s, C Powers, Robert Disaro

After ridiculing the trend of witch house/drag on various websites, I noticed that one of the only good acts to contribute to the scene was playing London. White Ring - along with the ridiculously named oOoOO - are possibly the only bands I've come across in this area with a shred of talent. Judging by the clientèle in the venue last night, a lot of people had traversed over from the Gothic and industrial quarters to make their way down for the event. The near-full 250 capacity Nest was testament to how a scene's notoriety makes all the difference - witch house is still very trendy after all, the turnout made all the more impressive by a band who are yet to release an EP.

The venue itself was barely days old and there were many teething problems with the band's set, notably the fire alarm going off twice because of the smoke machine and the PA giving out on stage right a couple of times. Still, the band seemed unperturbed as they lumbered through their 40 minute set. The venue had decided to go for a red-light district feel with many allusions to pornography and sex all over the place. It's a relatively interesting idea but it did feel slightly pathetic and ostentatiousness, making too much of an effort to appear controversial and seedy without really being either.

White Ring shuffled onstage at about 10.20pm. Starting off their set with Roses, I was immediately struck by not only how good they sounded but how well their whole set came across live. I was expecting something a little dull and overblown but they were captivating from the first humming of their synthesizer. Now it was clear just why the "witch house" moniker has stuck: there was something slightly creepy about their music - the dark, bubbling synths were tinged with an EBM-ish feel whilst also being reminiscent of dark trance while Kendra billowed and screamed all over the stage like a banshee. The music was highly reminiscent of Crystal Castles at times and I imagine they've been an influence. I'm aware this is a very unpopular thing to say in some circles but for me the link was unignorable, and that's certainly not a bad thing.

Signed to the minimalist Disaro Records and with their first EP in the offing soon, this is definitely a band who should put out more interesting stuff as time goes on. The spring of charisma and dark passions within the band are fresh and plentiful. In a genre which seems thin on real talent and with only the smallest cereal of frontrunners, it's good to see White Ring as one of the leaders.

Flickr link]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/08/02/3tfrey_the_gypsy_meets_the_boy Mon, 2 Aug 2010 21:02:02 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/08/02/3tfrey_the_gypsy_meets_the_boy This is my first journal entry completely unrelated to music. I could crowbar in a musical reference but there's really no need. It's possible that my Last FM journal will increasingly turn into a general online journal rather than something purely music-related.

Over a week ago I had my tarot done over in Watkins in Cecil Court. I have always had mixed feelings about tarot reading for various reasons, mostly centered about the idea that it's a load of rubbish. Most people – especially Derren Brown fans [of which I am one] - will tell you that a lot of it's about cold reading and that if you want to believe something, you'll believe it regardless of rationale. This is a tenet which I wholeheartedly believe in. I have avoided having my tarot done for years until this point when, finding myself again in Watkins, it felt completely the right thing to do at the moment. And that's as good enough reason for me as any.

So without any more delay, here is the result of the spread.

Two points here. The deck used was not Rider-Waite but Dakini Oracle [why, I didn't think to ask]. Secondly, the spread itself seems like a mixture of the Ellipse Spread and the Celtic Cross. I'm not sure exactly what it is. Before the spread was lain I was asked why I had come. I had no answer other than it felt like the right time to do it. I was drawn to the right hand side of the deck when it was spread for choice.

The above image explains the card layout and the meaning of each position. As for what the cards themselves were, I have done my best to explain below from memory. But most of them I couldn't find online, let alone remember the complete meaning of. But here's the best that memory serves.

1. Karmic Past – the past that effects the present. I can't remember the name of the card but it represented having a large interest in female companionship. This is certainly true since I have been maybe too reliant on having girlfriends in the past. Especially when I was at university I was “monkey-barring” from one to the next, as someone once put it. I don't think this has been ultimately healthy and this is reflected also in card 3.

2. Immediate present - “High Tension”. I certainly remember the name of this one, especially with regard to how accurately it measures my current situation. What with a job I can't stand, being served noticed on by my landlord, various deaths in my own family [and others], it's been one hell of a year so far. Maybe this was the reason I felt the need for the spread.

3. Near future - “Lord of Obstacles”. The card was represented by a spider in a web. Not much to say for this apart from the fact that it apparently related to the need for security and the home. This could be a parental home or setting up my own. I would much prefer the latter or at least somewhere where I didn't have to move from for a long time. Given the recent tension of the present, I really feel the need for that security. From a solid base I would be able to do other things more fully, I feel. As a side note our house has recently become infested with spiders, this was never the case till now. Coincidence? Of course.

4. Fear - “Deep End” represented by a diving mermaid: a pretty bad card to have. Related to going downwards emotionally or being dragged down by 1 in this case. I was told it's important to pay attention to 5 or 4 could become a reality. This was especially true for my last relationship where I felt I was being pulled down and having my future fashioned for me rather than fashioning it myself. This card is particularly negative since if it ended up as 7 is could allude to suicide. Once again, highly notable since a couple of years ago I felt suicidal, and it was as a result of feeling trapped and not independent.

5. Hope/aspiration - “A Change of Mind”. Showing a third eye in the centre of female portrait alluding to creativity and inspiration. Probably the most vital card and tempering number 4. In short, 5 is necessary to prevent 4. It's been a while since I've been doing a lot of writing – my main creative outlet, but with a renewed interest in photography and music playing, things feel very good. I was told this is the most important thing and should never be ignored, and I should be with someone who wholeheartedly understands my interests and lets me do them, whatever they are. Otherwise the downwards pull will begin again – as it once did in 2008.

6. The Key - “Cutting Loose”. The Key is that which will let one attain the Final Result. This card represents abandonment of ties, simply. Especially relating to parents. This is accurate since I have a sparse relationship with my parents – my father in particular who I haven't seen in years. However, I aim to change this this year. I have never been someone who likes being tied down in any way. I have no financial or physical ties at the moment and I never intend to have children. That would be the biggest tie imaginable. I remember someone saying to me once that having children seemed like my “biggest nightmare”. Well, actually, it is.

7. Final Result – This is ironically the card that I can remember the least about. It showed a heart on some kind of mountainous plain, possibly along a road. Anyone with any knowledge of the deck should be able to reveal which it is. I was told that it represented a spiritual journey which could be brought about through 5, and an elevation from the current physical/psychic state and norm. This is basically the perfect card for me, so therefore 5 should be concentrated on most importantly. It also represents something mystical and I was asked if I was planning to go to Japan or China, and I was already planning to go to China in Autumn. I was told it was most important that I go through with this. As of now I have more or less planned my route.

Once again, whether anyone chooses to believe that such a reading holds any water at all is down to personal opinion. I certainly choose to in this instance. It fits perfectly. Even though I have a fascination with the 'arcane', and tarot is generally thought to be expressed through it, it's not a place I intend to have many first-hand dealings with in my life. Recently I have been balancing my music listening with a high appreciation of Hildegard von Bingen which, in a subconscious way, could be to dilute the effects of these kinds of things in my surroundings.

Similarly, I remember that throughout The Bedlam in Goliath The Mars Volta included various elements of Santería within the music in order to form a protective skin for the band against the effects of the ouija which effectively spawned the album's creation. This is a far more microcosmic version and where I will end this entry.

EDIT: I notice I did manage to include some musical references here but they were entirely unintentional at this journal's inception. Still, they were very valid to its cause.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/06/19/3py4au_2010%3A_year_of_the_w.a.s.p. Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:19:15 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/06/19/3py4au_2010%3A_year_of_the_w.a.s.p. This is more of a personal journal than anything else. Few – if any – comments are expected. Its inception comes on the back of Charlie's comment about the domination of W.A.S.P. songs in my Last FM. I myself am surprised not only at their domination but almost complete takeover of my listening. This is especially unusual coming from someone who prides themselves on variety and listening to much progressive and experimental music [whilst simultaneously trying not to appear pretentious – and in this case, failing]. WASP is neither progressive nor experimental, in fact, the formula has hardly differed from album to album in over 25 years. So why the dominance?

For me, WASP spells out and proves the tenet of "it's not the song, it's the singer". I hold Lawless in no particular high esteem as a person, but his ability to carry a tune and to deliver it with meaning and conviction is astounding. Covering a WASP song and outdoing it would be a hard task indeed – almost an impossible one - as proven by Marco in Nightwish. Not only this, but each song, each stave and each bar has been crafted with such incredible care. There's no doubting the amount of effort and feeling that Lawless has about the band, he really is each songs he's creating.

I won't be concentrating on many albums in this journal save those which take the crowning top three places as far as I am concerned - Inside The Electric Circus, The Headless Children and The Crimson Idol. I personally consider these a trilogy and the point where WASP became a far more serious, mature band. These albums are armoured, intact and unconquerable in WASP's catalogue. At this point I don't consider their first two - or anything after 1992 - to be particularly great in comparison.

Lawless had set the bar so high with Crimson Idol that is was impossible to move it any further. His conviction to his cause has remained as strong musically, but I think nearly each WASP fan would agree that post-1992 things went downhill. By how much one thinks so is relative. There have been high points, e.g. 2007's Dominator being possibly the best release since Crimson, but it's not quite up to the same standard.

I'll give a very brief run-down of these three albums. These are not reviews, just personal outlines. I won't pull these albums apart or dissect their respective elements.

---

Inside The Electric Circus [1986]



Let's get the cover art out the way first, it's pretty awful. As far as 80s album covers goes this almost excels the naffness category. It's hard to know whether this was supposed to be more serious than tongue-in-cheek or visa versa, but either way, it's not great by any means. Flicking around Rate Your Music, it was the cover art to Lion's Breed's “Damn The Night” that got me to check out similar and better music from the 80s and I came across this, though the Damn The Night cover makes even less sense.

Electric Circus carries a different tone to WASP's self-titled and The Last Command inasmuch as the sex and sleaze has all but been removed [save for in a couple of numbers]. The songs here are starting to get more serious as Lawless questioned the future direction of the band and was at the receiving end of a lot of criticism and backlash for the group's shock tactics. Seeing as this was the first album of theirs which really caught my attention, it's most likely my favourite and epitomises the very best of how 80s traditional metal should be.

The Headless Children [1989]



Having released three albums in three years, Lawless took three more out to write and record The Headless Children. The result is a far more serious album with improved lyrics and more variety in the songwriting. Though most people see Electric Circus as the bridge between The Last Command and The Headless Children, I see The Headless Children as a bridge between Electric Circus and The Crimson Idol. By now it was clear that Lawless knew he wanted to take things in a more mature and serious direction, and The Headless Children seems a great stepping-stone between the two albums.

The Crimson Idol [1992]



As much as I rate All Music's reviews 90% of the time, their idea that The Headless Children is “the best constructed WASP album” appears ludicrous. And not just ludicrous, but wrong. In all my years of listening to metal, I'm hard-pushed to think of an album as well thought-out and put together as The Crimson Idol. Not only is the whole work shamelessly and honestly autobiographical but the way in which its themes - musically and lyrically - repeat and recur throughout in relation to the story is masterful. They always tell you to write what you know, after all.

If anything, the main theme of the album is love and how - cliché upon cliché - it's more important than anything. This is something which I would have rolled my eyes at years ago and vomited at in disgust, but now, approaching my 31st year, it's becoming increasingly true. "Jonathan" starts to realise as early as track 3, just as his dreams of being a rock star are becoming true, that there's a ghost of emptiness following him in the back of his mind. It's the sense that all this pomp and success means little in comparison to the affections of his parents who he eventually tries to reconcile with. In the end it doesn't matter if his music has affected thousands of people: if he himself is depressed, the whole exercise feels selfish and futile.

The Crimson Idol becomes slower and more though-provoked/provoking as it progresses and I imagine Lawless found the trade-off of grinding metal and melodic poignancy difficult to work with in the writing stages, but it's more or less carried off perfectly. The system-shock which is Hold on to My Heart is doubtless intentional: a complete all-stop before the final number and rousing finale. I have a love/hate relationship with this song for various reasons - but I'd rather feel this way about it than indifferent.

---

For me, WASP is a group who do nothing but just put out very good music indeed. Having quite an analytical nature, it's tempting for me to go into more depth and run away with a prolix review, but that wouldn't do the band any favours. This is not music to be inspected and turned over. It's there to be enjoyed to the fullest of its degrees. It's the uncomplicated nature, confidence, honesty and self-belief which makes it work. Nothing has been forced together or included purely for the sake of it. If something's worth doing, it's worth doing well, and particularly The Headless Children and The Crimson Idol seem testament to this idea. More than anything, WASP's music feels thoroughly natural, cared for and genuine. And there's little else I could ask for in a metal album.

I'll finish this journal by saying that if anyone can recommend me any books on the band, I'd be greatly appreciative.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/04/06/3jlb0u_rounding_off_their_second_decade_-_opeth_at_the_royal_albert_hall Tue, 6 Apr 2010 10:42:44 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2010/04/06/3jlb0u_rounding_off_their_second_decade_-_opeth_at_the_royal_albert_hall Mon 5 Apr – Opeth

I felt rather indifferent to the Opeth show prior to its commencement last night. Years of recurring gig-going does make one feel a little jaded, and those bands which you would have been enraptured to see years ago become all the more real through accessibly and recurred viewings. This was my third time seeing Opeth but they certainly know how to choose their venues. The Forum show in 2005 wasn't anything too special but 2006's Roundhouse performance took the band up to a new level. Everyone came away being impressed with that show - and the venue - and the situation yesterday wasn't much different.

I'd spent a lot of my formative years going to school in South Kensington and the Royal Albert Hall was just a staple mark on the landscape, never something I took particular note of. However, the gravity of the event became apparent when walking into the venue pit itself, a side I hadn't seen since only being to the gallery for the Proms ten years ago - a very different, and distant view indeed.

I was a little put back that the first half of the performance would feature Blackwater Park in its entirety, an album which I personally find the least interesting in Opeth's catalog, but it's the one that effectively broke them and the best starting point for new fanatics. However, there were quite a few numbers in the first set which came across excellently - Bleak, Harvest, The Funeral Portrait - and they sounded great in a live setting, the sound quality being very high considering the size of the place. The gargantuan, GLaDOS-like sound rig precariously poised over the stage pumped everything out crisply, nothing being lost in the depth of the arena's walls.

Though Mikael stayed generally silent between numbers for the first set [on instruction, I presume] he was more than vocal between songs in the second half which comprised of one song from each album excluding Blackwater Park, which had already been exploited to death that evening. Once again the sound quality lent a fresher and deeper element to the numbers than the older recordings did, with Forest of October and April Ethereal sounding particularly impressive. Mikael was clearly thrilled to be playing in such a venue with comparisons being drawn to Deep Purple and Camel, his own inspirations. In great voice for Hope Leaves and Harlequin Forest, it was ironically the final song, The Lotus Eater, which let the event down slightly, with guitar problems causing an unscheduled break in the song which the mixing never quite recovered from.

A grander vision and a grander version of the 2006 Roundhouse show, Opeth's 20th Anniversary wasn't an overblown ego-boost but a genuine necessity. Looking round the venue at the full circle tiers was both surreal and justified for a band on the top of their form and at the height of their career. Walking by the RAH when I was ten, I never would have thought I'd be there to watch a death metal gig. Nor would the staff, who seemed amused by the whole event - if very slightly cautious of the clientèle.

In a sense I couldn't help feeling pleased that the band had made it to this point - in all of their incarnations. But most importantly I'm glad they didn't go the full-on pompous orchestral route, stripping the show to the core members only. The music really needed no further embellishment. The full sound - and venue - were perfect testament to this.

Setlist:

The Leper Affinity
Bleak
Harvest
The Drapery Falls
Dirge for November
The Funeral Portrait
Patterns in the Ivy
Blackwater Park

2nd Set

Forest of October
Advent
April Ethereal
The Moor
Wreath
Hope Leaves
Harlequin Forest
The Lotus Eater]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2009/12/13/38qbxc_a_decade_of_dark_infatuation%3A_2000-2009%27s_releases_in_retrospect Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:25:53 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2009/12/13/38qbxc_a_decade_of_dark_infatuation%3A_2000-2009%27s_releases_in_retrospect EDIT August 2010: There is now a two-part video to accompany this journal entry:

Part I - albums 20-11
Part II - albums 10-1

As the second decade of the 21st century looms, I thought it relevant, though rather clichéd, to make a personal top twenty albums from the last ten years. This top twenty, of course being extremely subjective, does not only exhibit albums which feature good musicianship, tone and songwriting but those that have affected me poignantly, emotionally, or have accompanied me through good and bad memories. I may well have left one or two out which later I'd consider pertinent to include, but if they haven't been by now, such belatedness would hardly warrant them deserved placement anyway.

20. Black Math Horseman - Wyllt [2009, USA, Tee Pee Records] Progressive metal/post-rock



1. Tyrant
2. Deerslayer
3. A Barren Cause
4. Origin Of Savagery
5. Torment Of The Metals
6. Bird Of All Faiths And None / Bell From Madrone

As the metal scene becomes awash with post-metal and as black metal bands clasp at post-rock for some semblance of originality in their modern sounds, BMH were the one band for me who have been able to craft something truly interesting from the embers of post-rock. Wyllt is not only an emotional and dark journey, mixing post-rock with progressive metal and ambient sections, but its distant, discordant female vocals also make it a truly eerie experience. As it becomes more and more difficult for metal and rock bands to do something interesting to stand out, BMH did so with a truly innovative début, and the only 2009 album featuring in my top 20.

19. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles [2008, Canada, Different Records] Electronic/chiptune



1. Untrust Us
2. Alice Practice
3. Crimewave (Crystal Castles Vs. Health)
4. Magic Spells
5. XXZXCUZX Me
6. Air War
7. Courtship Dating
8. Good Time
9. 1991
10. Vanished
11. Knights
12. Love And Caring
13. Through The Hosiery
14. Reckless
15. Black Panther
16. Tell Me What To Swallow

The inclusion of Crystal Castles will doubtless have many spitting fire. One of the most hated bands in the indie scene [as far as the elitists go anyway], CC put out a thrillingly varietal début last year of a mixture of ambient, cacophonic and melodic electronic melodies, all tinged with a 90s chiptune vibe. It may well stand out as a complete pariah in this list, but this album is mostly important to me for being significant of a highly difficult period of psychological turmoil last year, got spun to death and ended up as one of my top played albums ever. It must have been due to its disparity with metal and dark ambient twinned with its heavy early 90s feel which made it such an effective companion through the moderate depression I encountered. Originally downloaded from a blog, I remember being more proud than usual to pick it up on CD.

18. Mira - There I Go Daydreamer [2005, USA, Projekt Records] Shoegaze



1. Say When
2. Pieces
3. Highs In The Lows
4. Adrift
5. No Other Way
6. Long Division
7. Window Seat
8. Reset
9. Heavenly Slumber
10. Passerby
11. Nearest Exit
12. Hinterland

Mira's third and final album was by far their most mature. Never being a particularly large fan of bands like Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine, There I Go Daydreamer really nailed the shoegaze formula for me in a way that other albums didn't. Its predecessor, Apart, took a while to get into and understand, but once I'd wrapped my psychosis around the atmosphere that Mira created, it was clear that TIGD had forged the sound perfectly. The shimmering, lush guitars; simple yet textured drumming and Regina's tender vocals created a comfortable but lonely sound like few others in ethereal music since Cocteau Twins' middle period or the first two albums from the excellent Love Spirals Downwards.

17. Aeoga – Zenith Beyond The Helix-Locus [2005, Finland, Aural Hypnox] Ritual ambient



1. Impenetrable-Chimera
2. Permuting-Remote-Shrieks
3. Ash-Breath
4. Reptilevitation
5. Interplanary
6. Burialgae-Resonance
7. Birthcry
8. Owleye-Mandalchemy
9. Impulses
10. Winged-Beings
11. Prism-Mountain
12. Implosion
13. Voidclysm
14. Salamander-Maqet
15. Lustrous-Kosmolesion

I remember originally describing this as "being on drugs without being on drugs". The Helixes Collective have always produced some of the very best material as far as dark or ritual ambient goes. The use of purely organic materials such as animal horns and bone flutes without the use of synthesisers, make Aeoga and Halo Manash's work far more genuine that most. Zenith Beyond the Helix-Locus is one long, undisturbed ritual - a highly evocative and unsettling piece. Ensconcing yourself in its atmosphere is key to understanding and appreciating it and it warrants multiple play throughs to completely understand. If you have the patience and the attention, it truly is one of the finest ritual ambient works produced.

16. Herbst9 – The Gods Are Small Birds But I Am The Falcon [2008, Germany, Loki Foundation] Ritual ambient



1. The Laments Begin
2. Must I Die? (Because Of My Holy Songs)
3. Threshold Of Tears
4. Enenuru
5. The Gods Are Small Birds, But I Am The Falcon
6. White Ashes (Black Smoke)
7. ...And Everything Around Him Answered
8. Shaking Ground
9. Ilimmu

Inspired by a Sumerian hymn to Enheduanna, The Gods Are Small Birds But I am the Falcon took me by surprise. I had already assumed that Herbst9 had peaked with their 2005 effort Buried Under Time And Sand, but The Gods Are Small Birds was more ambient, more focused and included greater use of vocal samples which made songs such as Nanab Ishtar - Exalted Light of Heaven so brilliantly effective. Evoking the gods through incantations related to ancient Sumer, it was a high point not only in Herbst9's catalogue, but also for ritual ambient in general.

Full review, written 2009.

15. Textures – Drawing Circles [2006, Holland, Listenable Records] Progressive metal/hardcore



1. Drive
2. Regenesis
3. Denying Gravity
4. Illumination
5. Stream Of Consciousness
6. Upwards
7. Circular
8. Millstone
9. Touching The Absolute
10. Surreal State Of Enlightenment

Even though 2008's Silhouettes was a more lavish and heavier piece of work, it didn't strike such a successful balance between heavy and melodic as its predecessor. After the comparatively thin Polars released in 2004, Textures raised their own bar several notches and came out with an astounding piece of work which, as far as I'm concerned, beat several genremates into the ground. What made Drawing Circles more interesting and more successful for me over bands such as Between the Buried and Me and SikTh, was the perfect combination of simplicity and complexity mixed with the composite vocals of singer Jochem Jacobs. At first Drawing Circles seemed like quite a raucous affair to acquaint oneself with, but seeing the patterns eventually becomes more satisfying and more nourishing than on a lot of progressive albums. The band manage to tease you to a point of excess with a milligram too much heaviness before switching to softer, mellower sections with clean vocals, and then back again to another intense lashing of progressive barbarism. There's probably not much here to appease fans of purely more traditional metal like Dream Theater or Evergrey, but those looking for something more gritty and more spiked with an abundance of variety could hardly do much better than to look into this.

14. Biomechanical - The Empires Of The Worlds [2005, UK, Earache Records] Progressive metal/thrash



1. Enemy Within
2. The Empires Of The Worlds
3. Assaulter
4. Relinquished Destiny
5. Long Time Dead
6. Regenerated
7. DNA Metastasis
8. Survival
9. Existenz
10. Truth Denied
11. Absolution - Part 1: Final Offence
12. Absolution - Part 2: From The Abyss
13. Absolution - Part 3: Absolution
14. Absolution - Part 4: Disintegration

After a particularly alcohol-fuelled day watching Exodus down at the Underworld in November 2006, I had the first - and only one of two opportunities so far - to see Biomechanical. Even though the sound was pretty off during the set itself, it was intriguing enough for me to pick up what was at that point, their latest album, a few days later. The Empires of The Worlds, clearly sounding much better on CD [this one, at least] than live is a frenzied gallop through progressive thrash metal. Fast riffs, blistering drumwork and track upon track of some of the most intense music I've come across. In spite of the fact that most speed metal bores me to death, the combination of progressive thrash mixerd with occasional orchestration made this almost a guilty pleasure, a rewarding listen which isso full-on its akin to aural rape. Empires is a chariot race on speed, a marathon sprinted from start to finish, and by the time Part 4 of Absolution has ended, going through the album in one go can't fail to leave its daunting and unforgiving mark on the exhausted listener. Unfortunately, the long-awaited and long-hyped follow-up Cannibalised two years later fell victim to excruciatingly bad production in a similar vein to Eight Moons, and became unlistenable as a result. When asked if I'm a fan of Biomechnical the answer is a resounding yes, through it's more accurate to say I'm a fan of just one album. But what an album it is.

13. Naamah - Resensement [2004, Poland, Metal Mind Records] Progressive metal



1. Daydream Part One
2. Severed
3. Not For You
4. Subsistance
5. Red Light
6. Alright
7. Daydream Part Two
8. Subsistance [polish version] [bonus]
9. Twoja [piano version] [bonus]

Resensement was Naamah's third – and up to this point still most recent album. For some reason, one suspects disagreements with the label, the band are still to put out the final album that they've been contracted for. Resensement saw the band change their sound hugely. Ultima, it's predecessor, was an averagely respectable Gothic metal record with meagre production values. Resensement saw the band put out a far more heartfelt and progressive recording, with much higher production values. What made it better than a lot of other progressive metal was that it was actually interesting to listen to in each of its multifarious sections. Every note, line and melody has its own honestly and texture. Ending with the ambient and highly atmospheric Daydream Pt 2, it was truly one of the high points of my musical reviewing when I came across it, and still remains one of my all-time favourites today.

Full review, written 2004.

12. Moon of Steel – Insignificant Details [2002, Italy, Steelheart Records] Progressive metal



1.What Will Remain?
2.I Am
3.After All
4.Grey0
5.The Wave
6.Details part 1
7.I Hear You Call
8.Forced (Your Way)
9.Waiting For The Moonlight
10.Details part 2
11.Details Part 3

One of 2002's best female-fronted metal albums was also one of its most unknown, and still has garnered hardly any attention over the years. Insignificant Details, Moon of Steel's second studio album since the band put out its first full-length 1989, included a new dynamic and new singer who was also to only feature on their 1999 EP. With it's perfectly woven mix of complex, progressive metal, slow, smooth jazz interludes and some of the very best female vocals ever to fit on a metal album, Insignificant Details was a revelatory turning point for me, and still is one of my all-time favourite metal albums. The music on display is gloomy, dark, lonely and bitterly honest. It remains one of most underrated albums in metal. It's leaving statement “your life depends on that which you can seize and your dreams are not insignificant details” has resonated with me for as long as I can remember.

Full review, written 2003.

11. Forgotten Silence - KaBaAch [2000, Czech Republic, Redblack] Progressive metal/death metal



1. Red Paiom - The Yellow-Blue Snake
2. Rostau - The Sandwaves
3. Al Qáhir - In The Marble Halls (Of Fame) IV.
4. Saqqára - The Sitting Statue
5. FL2C - The Morning In Cairo
6. Vaset - The Breath Of Tasechetaat
7. Memnon - The Ancient Moaning
8. Ipet Isut - The Sunflames
9. Dendara - The Deepest Depth, In The Darkest Dark...
10. Idfú - Under The Hor's Wings ...
11. Syene - The Waterlines
12. As Suwais - One Step To Another World

KaBaAch came at a time of particular musical drought, and I remember on first hearing it thinking that it wasn't my thing at all. The band, still relatively unknown but occasionally still active, put out a string of wildly inaccessible albums in the late 90s with KaBaAch being their most easy to get into. This isn't to say that it's an easy listen at all. Most of the album is a relentless, uncompromising mish-mash of death metal, progressive metal and funk/jazz sections mixed with various unusual ambient interludes. It is what it wants to be - it's so self-involved that it doesn't care if you misunderstand it or dislike it. What's most unusual about this album and its inclusion in this list, is that most of the songs in the album - 7 out of the 12 - are ambient interludes. However, the remaining five are some of the best examples of progressive metal I think of: marvellous song structure, very skilled playing [especially the bass and drum work] and accomplished female vocals by Hanka Nogolová, now spending most of her time in Silent Stream of Godless Elegy. Visiting the band's previous works has proved to be a very difficult experience, not least the highly impenetrable Senyaan, though KaBaAch is the best starting point for those looking for something truly fascinating and different in progressive metal.

10. Atrox - Orgasm [2003, Norway, code666] Progressive metal



1.Methods of Survival
2.Flesh City
3.Heartquake
4.Burning Bridges
5.This Vigil
6.Tentacles
7.Second Hand Trauma
8.Prè Sense

My first clash with Atrox, which seems a fitting way to describe coming into contact with them, was in 2003 when I was sent a promo of Terrestrials. I had read various comments around the internet about the band with regards to how they were just "too crazy" for a lot of reviewers or just too weird to be given the literal time of day. Of course there are many bands in the avant-garde spectrum who produce far more curious and outlandish metal, but for female-fronted metal before the likes of Akphaezya or Ayin Aleph, Atrox was pretty much as crazy as it got. The band never really fell into either the progressive or avant-garde metal camps but more a strange halfway house between the two which the band described as 'schizo metal'. Even though Terrestrials was an accomplished album with doubtless the best lyrics that I have ever come across, it was Orgasm where, under Monika at least, the band perfected their balance of creative intensity and forward-thinking metal. Every track here is a standout, be it the excellently over the top Flesh City ["masturbating teens around every corner"]; the most unusual love song ever Heartquake; or the excellently and usually progressive Pre Sense ["what's so unusual about being unique? We all are"]. After this album Monika left the band to, well, start one with her own pet freak plush and sit in Trondheim making weird artwork. I remember she accepted an interview offer from me which she proposed to do vocally as Rødingen - possibly complete with egg slicer - but for one reason or another the answers to the questions were never forthcoming.

Full review, written 2004.

9. The Moon and the Nightspirit – Regő Rejtem [2007, Hungary, Equilibirum Music] Neofolk/ethereal



1. Regő Rejtem
2. Örökké
3. Avaràlom
4. Szarvaslélek
5. Föld Szive Dobban
6. Csillagnàsz
7. Rögből Élet
8. Éjköszöntő
9. Holdtànc

I remember thinking on hearing track 7 of Regő Rejtem, Rögből Élet, that it was possibly one of the most beautiful songs I'd heard. It was particularly helpful and useful to me in 2008 when I was going through my depressive state, and I ended up delving into the album more and more and with ever greater intensity to the point whereby it became some kind of musical precious stone to me. I absolutely can't stand it when people start talking about albums "helping them through difficult periods” in their lives, and Regő Rejtem didn't do that directly. What it did do, however, was occasionally lift me out of the psychological quagmire that I was spending my time in and make me realise that there were far more aesthetic and uplifting things out there which should always be remembered, no matter how helpless you're feeling. In this way Regő Rejtem seemed to cross the psychological Rubicon with me.

8. Vas – In The Garden Of Souls [2000, USA, Narada] Ethnic/ethereal



1. In The Garden Of Souls
2. Inamorata
3. Samaya
4. Prayer For Soheil
5. Ceremony Of Passage
6. Beyond Despair
7. The Inward Coil
8. Ephémère (Upon The Faded)
9. Lila
10. Unbecome
11. Sevdama

In the Garden of Souls came to me at a time when I was becoming particularly interested in progressive metal. I remember Ashtoreth passing the album to me and my being instantly bewitched by it. Its distant, otherwordly ether grabbed me as something I'd never heard before in stark contrast to the metal I was listening to at the time. It started a trend of interest in other bands such as Stellamara, Lumin and Axoim Of Choice which, though high quality in their own rights, never quite stood up to Vas' calibre. I was rather late in discovering the band since they disbanded after Feast of Silence in 2004, though Niyaz's Nine Heavens is the closest album I've come across in a similar vein, being much more mystical and laid back that their rather energetic self-titled album. ITGOS is still one of the most beautiful and transfixing albums I own, a dark and entrancing piece of work.

7. Dark Sanctuary - L'Être las - L'envers du miroir [2003, France, Wounded Love] Neoclassical



1.L'arrogance
2.L'envers du Miroir
3.Malveillance
4.Les Larmes du Méprisé
5.Profondeur de l'âme
6.Assombrissement de l'âme
7.Silence Macabre
8.La Mort Avant le Déshonneur
9.Larmes et de Sang
10.Vie éphémère
11.Face à une Mort Rassasiée
12.Loin des Mortels
13.La Rencontre Fatale
14.Tout ce Sang Versé

L'Être Las - L'Envers Du Miroir took me quite a while to get into, let alone to understand. It was my first introduction to darkwave and neoclassical music and initially I found it rather dull, being only exposed to the accessible strains of bands such as Nightwish, Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil at that point back in November 2003. On a late journey back from Newcastle, having seen women in skirts and heels tearing themselves apart in the streets and people stealing babies from distraught mothers' buggies as a joke, I remember the album beginning to make sense once Loin Des Mortels came on. The piano, the transcendent strings and the exquisite voice of Dame Pandora made it an enchanting experience exemplified by tracks such as L'arrogance and Vie éphémère. This sparked a heavy appreciation for one of the most musically rich bands in the neoclassical spectrum and one which I had the great pleasure of promoting at St Pancras Parish Church for their final concert in October 2009, six years later.

Full review, written 2003.

6. Riverside – Second Life Syndrome [2005, Poland, Inside Out] Progressive rock



1. After
2. Volte-Face
3. Conceiving You
4. Second Life Syndrome
5. Artificial Smile
6. I Turned You Down
7. Reality Dream III
8. Dance With The Shadow
9. Before

Discovering bands like Fates Warning and Riverside quite early on in my progressive metal initiation became problematic. What bands like these did was showcase a certain skill for maturity and intensity in metal, especially lyrically, which is hard to top. Most metal bands - in fact most bands in general - are poor at writing lyrics. It was the stark personal feel to Riverside's lyrics which was the first thing that caught my attention, followed by the sincerity of both the melodic and heavier sections, not to mention that painfully beautiful, highly Pink Floyd-esque guitar solos. Second Life Syndrome has been nearly impossible for the band to top, following it with the weaker "difficult third album" Rapid Eye Movement and the stronger Anno Domini High Definition. Riverside were another band that I had the opportunity to promote in London a couple of times, both to very high audience turnouts. In both cases it was refreshing to see a down-to-earth, relaxed and affable group of band members rather than the prima-donas that one comes across all too often in promotion at either end of the spectrum.

5. Catafalque - Dialectique [2007, Turkey, CTF Records] Gothic metal



1.Seasons
2.The Ordeal
3.Red Lights
4.Fading Beauty
5.Together With All The Pain
6.Blamed
7.Crimson Dust
8.Butterfly Inside
9.Ballerina
10.Bringer Of The Night

After the release of Sirenia's At Sixes And Sevens Gothic metal became tired, frayed and withered. It was the last truly good Gothic metal album in the accepted old style. The huge amount of ensembles jumping on the female-fronted bandwagon afterwards meant that that the sound had reached saturation point and there was little originality left in the pot. 2007's Dialectique saw Catafalque change sound from gothic/doom into a more atmospheric type with greater use of emotion and keyboards. The songwriting and production were all of a very high quality, though the jewel in the album's proverbial crown was undoubtedly Özge Özkan 's vocals, being soaring, genuine and heartfelt.

Dialectique is so exquisitely emotional that it almost transcends any other Gothic metal album made. These days it's so rare for albums to come across as emotional: indeed, a lot of the time I almost forget that the point of music is to make people feel something. Dialectique takes you through a dodectet of perfect Gothic atmospheric numbers and doesn't drop for a moment. The music doesn't have to be big, complex and pretentious to be emotional and effective, because Dialectique accomplished more with its simplicity than most other albums could hope to after years of careful preparation.

4. Opeth - Deliverance [2002, Sweden, Music For Nations] Progressive death metal



1.Wreath
2.Deliverance
3.A Fair Judgement
4.For Absent Friends
5.Master's Apprentices
6.By the Pain I See in Others

Deliverance was always supposed to be Opeth's heaviest album. Or maybe that was just a selling point put out for promotional reasons, the original intention being to release it at the same time as Damnation. Deliverance was not necessarily their heaviest effort, it included more prog rock and melodious influences than their works during the Candlelight years - but one thing which Deliverance does remain is their most consistent album. Every track on the album is a dark, complex, opaque and beautiful work. There are many moments to commend here, be it the accessibility of the title track with its repetitive complex outro; A Fair Judgment with one of the best and most emotional guitar solos I have heard; or the unexpectedly beautiful prog rock section in the middle of the otherwise gruffly heavy Master's Apprentices. In spite of two more strong records since its release, Deliverance is still my favourite Opeth recording - with Still Life, of course, a respectably close second.

3. After Forever - Decipher [2001, Holland, Transmission Records] Gothic metal



1.Ex Cathedra
2.Monolith of Doubt
3.My Pledge of Allegiance #1 - The Sealed Fate
4.Emphasis
5.Intrinsic
6.Zenith
7.Estranged (A Timeless Spell)
8.Imperfect Tenses
9.My Pledge of Allegiance #2 - The Tempted Fate
10.The Key
11.Forlorn Hope

I suppose this is the best time to admit that I got back into Gothic metal after an abstinence of four years due to watching an episode of Pop Idol. One of the costumes worn by Gareth Gates had a slightly Gothic tinge to it and that led me idly one day to check out Shoutcast, which was in 2002 a far more effective and popular way of finding new music that it is now. On browsing the stations I came across After Forever's Intrinsic, the first female-fronted metal track I ever heard, and this led me to download Decipher over WinMX and subsequently order it from Sonic Cathedral as my first purchase along with Aesma Daeva. Even now Decipher is, for me, one of the most important albums in all of Gothic metal. Though it took time for me to get used to the unexpected male growling elements, it was Floor's vocals, the complexity of the songwriting and the orchestration that were the album's complete strength, and which were hardly ever improved upon by the band themselves or in the genre altogether. Decipher remains one of the most impressive and important albums in Gothic metal - in spite of the band's insistence, even in their early Transmission days, that they didn't make Gothic music.

2. Fates Warning - Disconnected [2000, USA, Metal Blade] Progressive metal



1.Disconnected (Part I)
2.One
3.So
4.Pieces Of Me
5.Something From Nothing
6.Still Remains
7.Disconnected (Part II)

Disconnected is one of the most vital albums I have come across. On a trip to Baltimore in March 2006 I was furnished with a number of Fates Warning CDRs from the No Exit period right up to FWX [though missing out, strangely, A Pleasant Shade Of Gray]. Seeing as I was no fan of male-fronted vocals at that particular time, I indifferently played Inside Out and Perfect Symmetry with neither igniting my interest. It was only when I hit Still Remains from Disconnected that anything psychologically snapped into place. The track was probably the first male vocal metal track I had liked since listening to Paradise Lost and Megadeth as a teenager in the mid 90s. What Fates Warning did was lead me away gradually from the monomania I had with female vocal metal and open the gates to other artists such as Symphony X, Opeth, Dream Theater and Riverside. Disconnected was an immense turning point for me and Fates Warning remain possibly my all-time favourite metal band as a result. The maturity in the lyrics, vocals, guitars and atmosphere supersede those of any artist in the same category for me. In spite of the fact that Perfect Symmetry eventually became more important for me and one of my most valued albums of all time, its 1989 release makes it at least a decade too early for inclusion here.

1. The Mars Volta – De-Loused in the Comatorium [2003, USA, Universal] Progressive rock




1. Son Et Lumiere
2, Inertiatic ESP
3. Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)
4. Tira Me A Las Arañas
5. Drunkship Of Lanterns
6. Eriatarka
7. Cicatriz ESP
8. This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed
9. Televators
10. Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt

4chan's /mu/ came through in spades with this one. Majoritively a breeding ground for the largest amount of trolling, spite and verbal cess on the internet, the music board kept whoring De-Loused particularly in the closing months of 2008, much to the respective elation and chagrin of the community. Idly listening to Inertiatic ESP gave me sufficient impetus to spin the album in its entirety and I became shocked by its lyrical and musical complexity, especially for Universal and a category such as progressive rock, which most of the time I'd associated with wet, flimsy and shamelessly tepid music. TMV showed a drive, expression, class and fervor that I had yet not experienced in rock or metal. The album's neat originality, its perfect mixing of rock with the frenetic feel of Latin jazz and salsa made it immediately mesmerising. The sheer talent and virtuosity of each band member induced TMV to scream ahead of any other band I was listening to in the closing months of 2008 by a long way.

They may be called ostentatious and pretentious by some, but progressive music relies on certain mindsets by its innovators for effective experimentation. De-Loused has kept me retreating to its cadences time and time again, be it the bleak beauty of Televators and Cicatriz ESP or the sheer power and dynamism of Drunkship Of Lanterns or Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt. There is no edging the listener in here, no acceleration: De-Loused starts at 60mph and ups the gears progressively, musically and conceptually till its closing bars. For me it is not only a great album of the 2000s - but a legendary one. And that's a word I generally hate to use.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2009/11/04/34w583_2009%27s_mandelbrot_set Wed, 4 Nov 2009 16:28:59 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2009/11/04/34w583_2009%27s_mandelbrot_set Actually, 2009 hasn't been a bad year at all for new releases. Having initially thought it was one of the most dreadful years on record for new music [which is what I tend to think every year] there were some good new discoveries and great older releases to unearth.

We're still a few weeks away from the mid-December Rubicon, but in what is becoming a mini early-November tradition, here are my personal thoughts on the best so far this year.

Halo Manash - Am Kha Astrie:



Halo Manash's previous albums were a little too droney and self-indulgent for my liking, a lot of the time sounding like 60 minutes of a football rattle in a wind tunnel. Am Kha Astrie, along with The Language of Red Goats , is a much more ambient and mature effort. Split across seven tracks with numbers ranging from disquieting to demonic, it's possibly the most composite and rounded album the band have yet produced.

Atrium Carceri - Souyan:



AC gets a lot of flack from the dark ambient crowd, mainly because they've been around longer and are one of the most popular bands. Previous albums were way too oversampled but this time round AC have really reigned in the atmosphere, dropped the sampling to its lowest since Cellblock and come up with an album of perfect dark ambient combinations.

Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition:



This would be higher up the list if it weren't for the first three minutes of the album, Mariusz's crooning of "I hope my sell-by date didn't expire yesterday" being horribly cringeworthy. After this though, things rapidly improve and with ADHD Riverside have put out their best work since Second Life Syndrome. After the rather lost and directionless Rapid Eye Movement, ADHD is a far more realised work with the band actually making an effort to write decent music rather than coasting for 70 minutes of wankery.

Tome / Seven Morgues - Deep in Marble:



This split album is the combination of two projects from the same artist, Israel's Oren Ben Yosef. Most of the time just using pure vocal combinations, Tome and Seven Morgues build up an atmosphere of disenchanted, dark and demonic rituals. The use of clean vocals, hums and tortured, hissing cries is a devastating and disturbing combination, and as a result Deep In Marble comes across as one of the most difficult listens in ambient music I can remember. I recall a time when Enemite and even raison d’être seemed difficult to get through, but there's always another album to eventually take things to the next level - which Deep in Marble has done effortlessly and admirably.

Katatonia - Night is the New Day:



The almost perfect successor to the almost perfect In The Great Cold Distance, NITND develops the maturity and focus of its predecessor but gives it a heavier coating. Even though the atmosphere and colour of the album are exactly in the same class as I've come to expect from Katatonia, there is a slight feeling that they're going through the motions and letting the ball roll of its own accord rather than influencing its direction anymore. Nevertheless, it's a high quality album and one of the classiest 'metal' releases this year.

Keelhaul - Keelhaul's Triumphant Return to Obscurity:



Having previously played a kind of progressive metal/metalcore fusion, the band's 2009 album sees them more or less veer straight into technical metal. The album is largely instrumental with beefy, solid production, catchy riffs and the odd passage which is so confounding it keeps you coming back out of pure intrigue. This is one of the few metal albums I have to sit down and pay attention to to digest, a musical Rubik's cube which needs time and focus to appreciate. Along with its humorous - and intentionally mocking - song titles, it's a highly interesting and captivating piece of work.

Redemption - Snowfall on Judgment Day:



After the slightly disappointing Origins of Ruin, Redemption have returned with a much surer trajectory - hardly surprising given Nick's physical condition. This time round the feeling is very different in the Redemption camp. Gone is the nebulous "I can take it or leave it" feel of OOR, this time everything is sharpened: guitar solos, vocals, riffs, drumming. Everything is expertly - and emotionally - done, with Ray Alder delivering some fine vocal melodies conveyed through intensely personal lyrics.

Album of the year candidate(s):

This was very difficult indeed given the two at the top, both highly commendable for their own reasons. A very close second goes to:

Black Math Horseman - Wyllt:



In a time when most female-fronted metal has been defenestrated and decried by the large majority of fans, BMH have come out with something entirely different and welcome. OK, it may not be metal in the standard definition of the term, edging more towards post-rock/metal and ambient, but it's one of the freshest 2009 releases. Largely instrumental with only the odd smattering of echoey, pained female vocals, Wyltt is a lonely voice in the world of metal - vox clamantis in deserto - ringing out to be noticed and understood. This won't appeal to those looking for metal in its more standard forms, but for those needing something new and innovative. Each passage, each bar and each note has its own individuality and feeling, made even better by their simplicity. In the end it's the stark, bare-bones feel of the music which makes it even more powerful, effective and unnerving. A fantastic debut.

Leaving the primary spot to:

The Mars Volta - Octahedron:



TMV had already threatened to make a pop record after several albums of post-ten minute songs, indecipherable lyrics, dissonant guitar solos and frenetic tempo changes. It's easy to see why the band are both revered and reviled, but they're one of the most original, talented and inventive ensembles around. Octahedron is a sea-change from the loud and frenzied The Bedlam in Goliath and sees the band put out a more 'acoustic' and mellow album. Some of it may be a little too mellow in places, and it's a shock to the system that they can put something like this after the relentless, spasmodic Bedlam. Maybe this was exactly the point, and to be able to carry off both styles with convincing aplomb is a hugely impressive feat, especially when so many bands have failed to do so.

Pending albums of interest:

Kauan - Aava tuulen maa
raison d’être - The Stains of the Embodied Sacrifice
The Morningside - Moving Crosscurrent of Time

Discoveries not released this year worth mentioning:

Arcana - Le Serpent Rouge
Armin van Buuren - Imagine
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Cloudkicker - The Discovery
Coroner - Mental Vortex
Dieter Müh / Mnem - Atomyriades
Duke Ellington - Money Jungle
Fates Warning - No Exit
Fates Warning - Parallels
Fates Warning - Perfect Symmetry
Forgotten Silence - Kro Ni Ka
Herbst9 - The Gods are Small Birds but I am the Falcon
Katatonia - Dance of December Souls
Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
Katatonia - In the Great Cold Distance
Love Spirals Downwards - Flux
Lull - Like a Slow River
Maeror Tri - Myein
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Moonsorrow - Verisäkeet
Moonsorrow - V: Hävitetty
Niyaz - Nine Heavens
Savatage - In the Hall of the Mountain King
The Mars Volta - Amputechture
The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
Watchtower - Energetic Disassembly]]> http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2009/02/10/2h2dm6_hh_media_tracker Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:27:01 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/Lysander/journal/2009/02/10/2h2dm6_hh_media_tracker Another 'personal' journal entry to keep track of the media reviewed for the webzine Heathen Harvest.

I'll divide this into three sections - any more would be overkill and categorising things can be easily over-laboured. I'll update this journal regularly.

It may look a bit 'light' at the top end - but the albums in the first section are very good indeed.

High quality albums:

Dieter Müh/Mnem - Atomyriades
Herbst9 - The Gods are Small Birds but I am the Falcon
Halo Manash - Am Kha Astrie
Tome / Seven Morgues - Deep In Marble
Artefactum - Sub Rosa EP

Promising albums:

Catherine Duc - Visions and Dreams
Compulsive Shopping Disorder - In The Cube
Cynic - Traced In Air
Helene Hørlyck - A Nordic Room
Locrian / Continent Split
Mistress of the Dead - White Roses, White Coffin
Nedicry - Sincere Wounds
Novalis Deux - Ghosts Over Europe
Waldsonne - Wanderer
Apart - Across The Empty Night
Jarboe - Mahakali
Tormenta - Self-tiled
Al Conti - Scheherezade
Wolfskin - O Ajuntar as Sombras
Ovro - Horizontal/Vertical EP
Zak Riles - s/t

Needing much improvement:

Autumn [RUS] - And We Are Falling Leaves...
Felsenreich - Unschuld
O Quam Tristis...- Les Chants Funestes
Requiem Eternam - Medieval Times
SaraLee - Damnation to Salvation
Instant Movie Combinations - For The Travellers Sadly Walking in Ever Mist]]>