Bitesize: Trollheart's Daily Album Mini-Reviews

Trollheart · 03-07-2015, 03:04 PM

Now where have I heard that name before???

Artiste: Boduf Songs
Nationality: British
Album: Stench of exist
Year: 2015
Label: Kranky
Genre: Experimental, ambient, acoustic
Tracks:
Jacket cruiser
My continuing battle with material reality
Thwart by thwart
The witch cradle
Great anthem of my youth
Head of hollow-fill and mountaintop removal
The rotted names
Grows in the small world of nerve
Modern orbita
Last song but one
Sky pedal’s plan
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Oww! My ears! But wait: what’s this? A piano?
Best track(s): My continuing battle with material reality, Thwart by thwart, Great anthem of my youth, Modern orbita, Last song but one
Worst track(s): Jacket cruiser
Comments: The odd thing about this is that, when I saw the album I said to myself, that sounds familiar. The name I mean. And yet, searching for the term brings up no other references. I thought it might somehow refer to mythology, particularly the Vikings, but no. It seems not to have been used before. Very weird. Anyway, Boduf Songs is a name taken by Mat Sweet, who has recorded some other stuff but makes this the second album of his own material to be released. I guess in a way he’s like yer man Bon Iver, using an assumed name. The album is all him, playing, singing, writing, producing. “Jacket cruiser” opens with what sounds like the sound of a telephone being dialled and then some mad screechy sounds that Frownland would surely wet himself over. Very experimental, very avant-garde, and the kind of thing that would have had me moving on had I not heard other samples.

It’s only short anyway, just over a minute, and leads into a dark, melancholic piano as “My continuing battle with material reality” changes everything up, a dour, bitter song with almost whispered vocal, slow and morose but somehow quite beautiful in its stark simplicity. I’m told he uses a violin bow (apparently not the violin though) and that may be the sound I’m now hearing, though there is a computer involved too, and something called “manipulated field recordings”, which those of you who are fortunate and talented enough to be musicans will understand more than I do. Next up is a more uptempo song, the same low-key vocal but a little more urgency in it and some more pronounced percussion as “Thwart by thwart” takes us further into Sweet’s dark world.

There’s another short effects interlude before we hit “Great anthem of my youth”, which is a sort of swinging piano beat, but slow, if you understand, with some interesting effects in attendance, a kind of classical influence in the melody, then “Head of hollow-fill and mountaintop removal” has to win some sort of prize for the weirdest song title ever, and it lives up to its name, with a sort of phased spoken vocal (reminds me of Hawking) against what sounds like violin and slow drumbeats. It’s weird with a capital Waits. You ever heard “What’s he building?” It’s a little like that, in terms of a slow, dark menacing feel. Acoustic guitar drives “The rotted names”, with a somehow Simon and Garfunkel idea, some more weirdness at the end and what may be the sound of a train pulling into, or out of a station opens “Grows in the small world of nerve”, with again a violin fading in and a dark, morose atmosphere about it. It may very well be instrumental.

Yeah, it is. Pretty evocative I must say. More tribal and sort of Peter Gabrielesque is “Modern orbita” with a nice kind of droning synth or something, that hushed, whispered vocal again and back to acoustic guitar with echoey drums for the lazily but appropriately titled “Last song but one”, which is really quite nice. Sweet does certainly give here a masterclass on the art of singing without having to shout or roar over the music; I get the feeling he wouldn’t know how to raise his voice, and yet he’s clearly audible all through the album. It makes for introspective, thoughtful singing, as if he’s singing to you personally. The final track is just effects and sounds, closing out a weird but quite starkly elegant album.
Overall impression: Wouldn’t usually be my sort of thing, but I really quite enjoyed this.
Hum Factor: 5
Surprise Factor: 8
Intention: I may listen to his other material at some point

Trollheart · 03-08-2015, 06:00 PM

Well, not really. But still, as this is supposed to be the year of the discography (to go from what people who had probably had more to drink than is good for them were saying around Christmastime) I now plant my flag and throw my hat into the ring for the title of The Discography King 2015.

In the Playlist, I'm already reviewing Tom Waits, with Marillion and Genesis to come later.
Here, I've got The Eagles started and now intend adding to those Asia, The Divine Comedy, Steve Earle, ELO, Robbie Williams and Kamelot. For now. There may be others.

So that's a planned 10 discographies in total. Oh, and that doesn't mean I won't be also reviewing random albums as well as plenty of new ones anyway. Anyone doubt I can do it? Anyone think they can beat me? (Not physically, Batty, not physically!)

Come an' 'ave a go if you think ye're 'ard enuff!

Trollheart · 03-08-2015, 08:33 PM

So, let’s get this thing underway then.

For those who don’t know, Asia have been (mistakenly) described as a prog band. While there are some similarities --- their music is highly driven on banks of synths, they use some prog-style themes and the album covers, designed almost exclusively by Roger Dean, are very fantasy-like, not to mention that they were originally created by ex-members of prog groups --- Asia are not what I would consider a progressive rock group. I think it’s better to put them in the AOR category. But whatever you call them, they’ve been around since the early eighties and having gone through three lineup changes and two breakups, they’re back now and have a new album out just last year. I wasn’t impressed with their thirtieth-anniversary offering XXX, and made no bones about it when reviewing it, but that aside they have always turned out consistently excellent albums, even when a track or two may be weak. Here’s where it all started.

Artiste: Asia
Nationality: British
Album: Asia
Year: 1982
Label: Geffen
Genre: AOR
Tracks:
Only time will tell
Heat of the moment
Sole survivor
One step closer
Time again
Wildest dreams
Without you
Cutting it fine
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: I have, and have enjoyed, every album they ever released. Apart from XXX of course. I have it, but I hated it.
Interesting factoid: Not quite sure why they chose the name Asia, as none of the original band (nor indeed any of the later lineup) are from the Far East.
Initial impression: After the first two songs, which I had already heard on the radio and for which I bought the album, I pretty much hated this first time I listened to it. The perils of having your two strongest tracks at the start of your first album!
Best track(s):Only time will tell, Heat of the moment, sole survivor, One step closer, Wildest dreams
Worst track(s):Time again, Without you, Cutting it fine
Comments: I was nineteen when I bought this, just wavering between progressive rock and metal, (I would eventually go for the former) and still kind of led by what I heard on the radio. The first two tracks were singles and I loved them, and bought the album, on cassette, as I expected to be listening to it a lot and didn’t want to have to go through the hassle of taping it. Maybe. Anyway I remember I hated it and put it away, and it was a while before I got back to it. It’s still not the strongest Asia album by any stretch, and as a debut something of a fizzling firework really, but I can appreciate it more in the context of what they later released.

We open on the big hit singles and right from the off you’re hit by the big, growling guitar of Steve Howe that just demands your attention, then the vocal of John Wetton as “Heat of the moment” opens the album phenomenally well , although I do think that after such a powerful opening the chorus is a little weak, almost poppy. It’s still a great song though and it’s followed by another hit, “Only time will tell”, which allows Asia to stretch themselves a little more musically. Even here though it’s pretty clear that the band is the brainchild of Wetton and keyboard man Geoff Downes, as they between them write almost all of the songs and take vocal duties, with the other two doing what they do.

It’s also clear that vocal harmony will be one of the big trademarks and selling points of Asia, though in truth they would never have another real chart hit after this album, while still carving a really successful and lucrative career. And it’s odd, because some of the songs on later albums kick most of the ones here into the dust and stamp on their corpses, later coming back with a 4X4 to run them over and make sure they’re dead. Downes’ intricate layered keyboards would also be a longtime feature of the band, and he in fact would be the only member of the band who would stay through all the changes, shut downs, rebirths and reshuffles.

I guess it’s not possible to follow either of the first two tracks; they are after all commercial gold and radio stations were queuing up to play them, but “Sole survivor” is a good song also, though at the time I didn’t think so. Maybe it’s the more progressive build up approach in the intro, I don’t know. I just wanted the quality to keep high, and I didn’t believe it did. But “Sole survivor” is a really great song, another hooky chorus to die for, even if it only mostly consists of the title sung over. There’s a wonderful pause about halfway where Downes brings everything back up with a flutey repeated synth before Howe lets loose with a superb solo and it cannons into the end section. “One step closer” is almost the end of the really good songs, a boppy, jaunty almost love song with a very Yes-style intro on keys and guitar before Downes takes over again on fluid synth. Again, wonderful vocal harmonies and some almost xylophonic fills really make this song. It does however only seem to be getting going near the end when it suddenly and abruptly stops. That always annoyed me. It was like they were saying “Okay we’re finished with that one, let’s go on to the next one.” It needed a better ending.

As I say, unfortunately that’s where everything starts to drop dramatically. “Time again” is a good rocker, perhaps the closest the album comes to being hard rock, and a great vocal from Wetton, but there’s something missing about it. I don’t know what it is. It’s a good opportunity for Carl Palmer to show why he was such a leading light in ELP at least and Howe rips off a fine solo, and there’s some lovely piano work from Downes. Things look up momentarily then for “Wildest dreams”, with a keyboard arpeggio that would repeat itself three years later on their third album and a song that for me forms part of a quartet of songs across four albums and twenty years, dealing with the idea of world war. With a start taken almost directly from Genesis’s Duke album, it again pushes their prog credentials, but it’s a fast, powerful song with stupendous piano again from Downes and an urgent, almost hurried and frenetic pace that really takes a hold of you, until it all ends with a fading vocal into distant pealing bells.

“Without you” is the first real Asia ballad, and while it’s not a terrible song it really feels like it’s just there because they thought they needed to have a slow song on the album. Even then, it’s not the kind of ballad they would become known (and in some quarters, jeered and despised) for, but seems to waver between slow rock cruncher and love song. Odd. Lovely soft keyboard intro, then it punches up on Howe’s guitar and Palmer’s battering percussion. Again, as in most of this album and indeed most of Asia’s catalogue down the years, the vocal harmonies are exquisite. We then end on the godawful “Cutting it fine”, which is about as poppy and filler as you can get, another sub-Yes tune and really for me closes the album on a really sour note. The only good thing about it is the lovely piano and keyboard outro from Downes.
Overall impression: As I said, I pretty much hated this on first listen. After repeated tries I got into it but it is still not anything close to what I would consider the best of Asia. I find a lot of the time it was like they were looking to find their own identity as they endeavoured to shake off the influences of the bands they had left --- King Crimson, ELP, Yes ---- and they tended to mirror some of these bands in the songs here. The second album would show a totally different bunch of musicians, ones who had left behind the traces of their previous bands and who were now committed to Asia. The album would be so much better for it.
Hum Factor: 7
Intention: n/a

Pet_Sounds · 03-08-2015, 08:53 PM

I doubt if I'll even get through all of Billy Joel's 13 album discography in 2015, so I'm not challenging you.

Trollheart · 03-09-2015, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds

I doubt if I'll even get through all of Billy Joel's 13 album discography in 2015, so I'm not challenging you.

I think Batty said it best: pussy.

Tom Waits = 22 albums (some of which are done, admittedly)
Asia = 14 albums
Divine Comedy = 10 albums
ELO = 13 albums
Robbie Williams = 11 albums
Steve Earle = 14 albums
Eagles = 7 albums
Kamelot = 10 albums
Genesis = 15 albums
Marillion = 17 albums

Total = 135 albums
Pshaw! I did that many for Metal Month II!

I AM the King!

Looking forward to your Billy J reviews though. Great choice.

Trollheart · 03-19-2015, 06:48 PM

[Insert pithy comment here]

Artiste: Emissary Echo
Nationality: American
Album: Erasing the negatives
Year: 2015
Label:
Genre: Hard Rock
Tracks:
Pushed down
Run away
Infected
Frail
Vengeance
Face me
Erased
Defend
Let go
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Five days before the album release their vocalist quit the band.
Initial impression: Good hard-rockin’ opening, almost more on the side of heavy metal than rock really.
Best track(s): Infected, Frail, Vengeance, Face me, Erased
Worst track(s): Nothing really bad, per se.
Comments: The album title may be positive, sure, but what has the band name got to do with it? Emissary echo? Weird. Anyway they hail from North Dakota and as I mentioned above have just lost their vocalist, leaving them as, at present, a four-piece, though the singer in question, Korey Lee, does feature on this album. It’s quite short really, only nine tracks, the first one a good uptempo thumper, with the vocalist reminding me of Daughtry maybe. Hard, grinding guitars, pounding percussion, decent melodies but I’m not blown away just yet. Second track is … okay. Still not seeing anything that groundbreaking or impressive. Standard rock, nothing special. “Infected” has a nice echoey guitar line and moves a little away from the banal and the expected; it’s quite decent really. “Frail” is good too, but just that. I still have not heard anything that has made me sit up and really take notice.

There’s a nice hard bite to “Vengeance”, some good guitar work there, while “Face me” has a very catchy melody; could see that as a single maybe. A sense of progressive metal about “Erased”, possibly one of my favourites on the album, lot of passion and frustration in the song. One of Lee’s best vocal performances yet. Yeah, “Defend” is really good too, great hook in the chorus. The final track begins on an unexpected acoustic line but then punches up into another rock anthem, perhaps a pity as it could have been more than just a generic rock song.
Overall impression: Not bad, not bad. But I don’t get the gushing enthusiasm for them I’ve read from other reviewers, basically citing them as the saviours of rock. Don’t see it. They’re okay, but that’s about it.
Hum Factor: 5
Surprise Factor: 4
Intention: Meh. Nothing else to listen to as this is their debut, but I won’t be their emissary just yet.

Trollheart · 03-20-2015, 01:19 PM

Not quite the Russian winter but...

Artiste: Sawmail
Nationality: Russian?
Album: Autumn
Year: 2014
Label: Moscow City Records
Genre: Electronica/Trance
Tracks:
Clear sky
Gibraltar
Castle by the sea
Leaves
Robin Hood
Sunrise
Winter holydays
Wonderful morning
Illusion
Say
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Get me out of this club!
Best track(s): Gibraltar, Leaves, Say
Worst track(s): Clear sky, Robin Hood, Illusion, Say
Comments: I can find out absolutely nothing about this band. When I input the word “Sawmail” into Google it helpfully asked me if I meant “Shawmail”? What? No, fuck you Google I did not! From the very little I can discover though I think they may be a trance band, and that’s not good for me. I’m assuming they’re Russian though they *may not be. And it does not start off well for me, with a fast pounding trance beat, the kind of thing I hate. Oh well. Thumpity-thump it goes, and I shake my head, not in time to the music but in despair that I somehow managed to buy this. What was I thinking? Oh I know now what it was: I have an idea to, at some point, feature a whole pile of different albums that are either by artistes who have Autumn in their name or whose albums have. Sigh. Well I may as well let it run now that I have it. Don’t expect too much from me though; I hate this kind of music.

I think it’s all likely to be instrumental --- isn’t most trance?--- certainly the first track is. Well at least there’s a nice sequence there where the percussion drops out and a nice lush keyboard line takes the tune, then some nice piano too. Ah but then the drum machines pound back in and we're off again. Still, it's not too terrible I must admit. “Gibraltar” has a nice sort of warbly synth line running it, and the percussion isn't too much to the forefront, so again I can stand this. Nice little dancing piano arpeggios, and I like the way the bass makes its way back into the tune late on. They call this “uplifting trance” apparently, and I can see why: it's very uptempo but generally not what I'd call harsh. It's still principally music for dancing though; if you're in a club this probably sounds great (if you care) but outside of that isolated environment it's a little hard to judge the music on its own merits.

Oh right: it's moved into “Castle by the sea” now. Didn't notice. Nice sort of phased synth line which gives way to some clear piano then some stabbing bass chords as it bops along, then there's an interesting start to “Leaves”, almost New Romantic in a sort of Human League “Open your heart” way before it slides more into a JMJ sort of thing. “Robin Hood” then returns to that thump-thump-thump sort of thing I hate, like someone's trying to stamp down the walls or something. Lots of squiggly squeaky synth makes this easily the most hated track on the album for me. “Sunrise” doesn't do much for my mood either, although it does slow down and calm down nicely in the middle, while “Winter holydays” is okay I guess, but nothing that great. “Wonderful morning” isn't wonderful, not to me anyway, just more generic trance, although it has some interesting warbly keys on it and some nice bass synth too, but still, meh.

That leaves us with two tracks before this is over, and they are both have vocals! Ah that's it: I'm done with this now. Trance is not for me, nor is this album. Boo. Actually, hold the phone: the last track is pretty damn good. But overall this is not the kind of music I want to be listening to. Just not my scene.
Overall impression: Probably great to dance to but not something I want to listen to, on balance
Hum Factor: 2
Surprise Factor: 1
Intention: Not going to listen to trance again if I can help it.

Trollheart · 03-20-2015, 02:56 PM

The new Journey album? No, the new Meat Loaf. No....

Artiste: Care of night
Nationality: Swedish
Album: Connected
Year: 2015
Label: AOR Heaven
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Tracks:
Cassandra
Hearts belong
Those words
Dividing lines
Say a prayer
Contact
Please remember
Unify
Give me strength
Say you will
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good, heart-pumping AOR with hooky choruses, though it fools me by starting on a fade with a slow piano...
Best track(s): Cassandra, Dividing lines, Say a prayer, Give me strength, Say you will
Worst track(s): Those words
Comments: I've had a lot of luck with Swedish AOR over the last year or so, with Houston, Work of Art and others, so I'm hoping for good things from this debut. If anyone happens to know Seven Tears, some of the guys here are from that band which apparently broke up in 2009. An interestingly low-key start before it kicks into life with a real AOR vocal harmony chorus and we're off and rocking. Kind of gives me a Meat Loaf feeling right from the start with touches of Van Halen in around the edges. Nice snarling guitar on “Hearts belong”, which keeps the tempo high, and again those vocal harmonies, the lifeblood of any good AOR song, are in evidence. I find this song though very reminiscent of a Journey one, just can't think of it ...

Quality dips a little for “Those words”; just not quite feeling it on this track, but that's soon forgotten as the first ballad comes through, and “Dividing lines” certainly returns us to the promise of the first two tracks, a power ballad if ever there was one and a big hit single if there's any justice in the world. Just oozes emotion and even has a sax solo to make it complete. Superb. Not to be left out, guitarist Jonathan Carlemar lets loose with a fine solo. Best track so far without question. “Say a prayer” is another great track, though somehow very familiar; I almost felt I could predict the lyric. Is this a cover? I don't think so, but it does sound if not copied then very generic, which is not to say it's not a good song, just nothing original and very familiar, like the Journey deja vu of “Hearts belong”. The same with “Contact”: great song but I'm sure if I have not actually heard the song before I've heard the melody and structure. AOR by numbers? Let's not be that cruel. Yet.

Another nice sax break, then “Please remember” heads into boogie rock territory, very catchy though a little left of centre considering what has gone before, while “Unify” I have to say tries a little too hard to be something it isn't, but it's a good slow rock cruncher with an anthemic chorus. Happily, “Give me strength” gets back to what Care of Night do best: rocking with great vocal harmonies and catchy choruses, and this is a big improvement on the last two tracks. Again the Journey comparisons are there, but then as another reviewer would have it, “Not a single trace of originality but ... why mess with a winning team?” Can't really argue with that.

There's a nice finish then for “Say you will”, an acoustic opening (which sadly again reminds me this time of Extreme) which turns into a very powerful track that builds up to a strong climax and then fades out on single piano. Very nice.
Overall impression: A very good AOR album but there are far better I've heard. For a Swedish AOR band a little disappointing.
Hum Factor: 8
Surprise Factor: 3
Intention: If they release another album in a year or two I wouldn't be averse to hearing it.

Trollheart · 03-21-2015, 06:44 AM

Run with the pack!

Artiste: Antalio
Nationality: Russian
Album: Wintry wolf tales
Year: 2015
Label: None (Bandcamp release)
Genre: Electronica
Tracks:
The wild (Running 1)
My frozen hearth
Nocturne Z
Nothing new
Wintry fantasies
One touch
The wild (Running 2)
Chronological position: Sixth album under this name, though he also records under under identities
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Two of the tracks here are also on his fourth album, Nocturne Z...
Initial impression: Dark, atmospheric, wolf howls ... all good so far.
Best track(s): My frozen hearth, Wintry fantasies, Nocturne Z
Worst track(s): One touch, The wild (Running 2)
Comments: What, another Russian act? Seems Antalio, real name Anton Talnov, has a few aliases under which he composes different types of music. As Lihosvet he plays atmospheric black metal, as Durbur, experimental electronic music, and as Antalio, this. I really have no idea what to expect, but as usual I liked the title (love wolves) and the few samples I heard convinced me it wasn't going to be music I hated, so I hit the “purchase” button and here we are.

Kind of dark waves of synth with wolves howling in the background as we get underway, echoey booming percussion, mid-paced tempo, instrumental of course, then a slower, more deliberate marching rhythm for “My frozen hearth”, kind of industrial: reminds me of Depeche Mode or Numan maybe. Seems bleaker somehow, colder. Would suit maybe the advance of the White Walkers in Game of Thrones as they near the Wall. Very inhuman feel to it. Much softer, more organic shape to “Nocturne Z”, one of those tracks I mentioned that were on a previous album. Quite an uptempo piece, odd little echo effects and a nice sprinkly piano. It's the longest track easily, almost eight minutes.

It has a nice repeated melody running through it that is quite catchy and easy on the ear. “Nothing new” belies its title, relying heavily on guitar rather than synth (though they're there of course) and chugs along nicely, whereas “Wintry fantasies” slows things down a little and rides along on a really clever little keyboard line, piano sparking along the edges, but if as I say he also does experimental electronic music then “One touch” must come closest to this, with some odd instrumentation and a kind of syncopated rhythm running through it. The closer then is some pretty straightahead trance, which kind of takes the gloss off what I've heard up to now a little.
Overall impression: Decent electronic music, well played and I might end up getting into it
Hum Factor: 0
Surprise Factor: 4
Intention: I'm not ready to go checking out any more of his stuff just yet. But perhaps in the future.

Trollheart · 03-26-2015, 03:04 PM

Spend your plastic on this album!

Artiste: Plastic Violins of Darkness
Nationality: German
Album: Spiral
Year: 2015
Label: DHU Records
Genre: Doom
Tracks:
Anime in herba
Spiral
Solstice
Chronological position: Second album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid: Another one-man effort
Initial impression: Dark, atmospheric, powerful
Best track(s): Everything kind of runs together, and as there are only three tracks I wouldn't pick one, but none of them are bad and most are really good.
Worst track(s): See above
Comments: Three tracks, none of which are less than thirteen minutes, and one of which is twenty? It's either prog rock or doom metal. And it seems it's the latter. Although according to Metal Achives, it's “progressive doom/post-metal/space rock”. Hmm. Based out of Leipzig, Plastic Violins of Darkness (PVOD) is the brainchild of Marc-Andre Mahn, whom we don't even get a picture of. Ooh! Mysterious! As to the album, the first track is the longest, that twenty-minuter, and “Anime in herba” opens with a dark atmospheric growl, slow percussion and what could be synth though I can't tell as Herr Mahm is simply credited with “all instruments”. It's not as plodding as some of the Doom I've heard, though admittedly I haven't experienced that much, but as yet I don't get the feeling of claustrophobia about it that I've read another reviewer speak of. I'm not sure if there are vocals buried deep in the mix or if I'm just imagining that the instruments are speaking words?

Fairly spooky but nothing that's turning me off so far anyway, and we're a fifth of the way through the track.Certainly sounds like a vocoder but that could be just effects on the guitar I guess. I can see where the progressive tag comes from certainly. It's interesting how it kind of continues on the one basic melody all the way and yet doesn't seem to drag at all. Maybe good music to be depressed to? Kind of an idea of whalesong or something there at the end, and then it flows directly into the next track, which is the title (and penultimate) one.

More bass evident here and a lot of feedback, either voices or some sort of audio recording going on and yes, I do get the feeling of being in a spiral, so well done that man. Heavier guitar bursting in now with some choral vocal it sounds like, could be synth of course. I hear definite echoes of Floyd in some of the guitar work here, kind of circa A momentary lapse of reason, and there's some nice almost acoustic guitar too. This time we end on pealing bells (very Doom Metal!) and then birdsong (not quite so Doom Metal) with hi-hats tapping out a sparse rhythm before the guitar growls in and we head into the closer, “Solstice”, which is the shortest track at just over thirteen minutes (never thought I'd utter those words!) and has some nice eastern influence on the guitar in places.

And rather quickly it's over, with a big booming clap of thunder (very appropriate) and pattering rain hissing into the distance and fading out.

Overall impression: Yeah, I really liked this. Gripping stuff, and not half as crushing or cloying as I had been led to believe.
Hum Factor: 0
Surprise Factor: 9
Intention: May listen to his debut now.

03-07-2015, 03:04 PM	#241 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Now where have I heard that name before??? Artiste: Boduf Songs Nationality: British Album: Stench of exist Year: 2015 Label: Kranky Genre: Experimental, ambient, acoustic Tracks: Jacket cruiser My continuing battle with material reality Thwart by thwart The witch cradle Great anthem of my youth Head of hollow-fill and mountaintop removal The rotted names Grows in the small world of nerve Modern orbita Last song but one Sky pedal’s plan Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Oww! My ears! But wait: what’s this? A piano? Best track(s): My continuing battle with material reality, Thwart by thwart, Great anthem of my youth, Modern orbita, Last song but one Worst track(s): Jacket cruiser Comments: The odd thing about this is that, when I saw the album I said to myself, that sounds familiar. The name I mean. And yet, searching for the term brings up no other references. I thought it might somehow refer to mythology, particularly the Vikings, but no. It seems not to have been used before. Very weird. Anyway, Boduf Songs is a name taken by Mat Sweet, who has recorded some other stuff but makes this the second album of his own material to be released. I guess in a way he’s like yer man Bon Iver, using an assumed name. The album is all him, playing, singing, writing, producing. “Jacket cruiser” opens with what sounds like the sound of a telephone being dialled and then some mad screechy sounds that Frownland would surely wet himself over. Very experimental, very avant-garde, and the kind of thing that would have had me moving on had I not heard other samples. It’s only short anyway, just over a minute, and leads into a dark, melancholic piano as “My continuing battle with material reality” changes everything up, a dour, bitter song with almost whispered vocal, slow and morose but somehow quite beautiful in its stark simplicity. I’m told he uses a violin bow (apparently not the violin though) and that may be the sound I’m now hearing, though there is a computer involved too, and something called “manipulated field recordings”, which those of you who are fortunate and talented enough to be musicans will understand more than I do. Next up is a more uptempo song, the same low-key vocal but a little more urgency in it and some more pronounced percussion as “Thwart by thwart” takes us further into Sweet’s dark world. There’s another short effects interlude before we hit “Great anthem of my youth”, which is a sort of swinging piano beat, but slow, if you understand, with some interesting effects in attendance, a kind of classical influence in the melody, then “Head of hollow-fill and mountaintop removal” has to win some sort of prize for the weirdest song title ever, and it lives up to its name, with a sort of phased spoken vocal (reminds me of Hawking) against what sounds like violin and slow drumbeats. It’s weird with a capital Waits. You ever heard “What’s he building?” It’s a little like that, in terms of a slow, dark menacing feel. Acoustic guitar drives “The rotted names”, with a somehow Simon and Garfunkel idea, some more weirdness at the end and what may be the sound of a train pulling into, or out of a station opens “Grows in the small world of nerve”, with again a violin fading in and a dark, morose atmosphere about it. It may very well be instrumental. Yeah, it is. Pretty evocative I must say. More tribal and sort of Peter Gabrielesque is “Modern orbita” with a nice kind of droning synth or something, that hushed, whispered vocal again and back to acoustic guitar with echoey drums for the lazily but appropriately titled “Last song but one”, which is really quite nice. Sweet does certainly give here a masterclass on the art of singing without having to shout or roar over the music; I get the feeling he wouldn’t know how to raise his voice, and yet he’s clearly audible all through the album. It makes for introspective, thoughtful singing, as if he’s singing to you personally. The final track is just effects and sounds, closing out a weird but quite starkly elegant album. Overall impression: Wouldn’t usually be my sort of thing, but I really quite enjoyed this. Hum Factor: 5 Surprise Factor: 8 Intention: I may listen to his other material at some point __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-08-2015, 06:00 PM	#242 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	A challenge... Well, not really. But still, as this is supposed to be the year of the discography (to go from what people who had probably had more to drink than is good for them were saying around Christmastime) I now plant my flag and throw my hat into the ring for the title of The *Discography King 2015.* In the Playlist, I'm already reviewing Tom Waits, with Marillion and Genesis to come later. Here, I've got The Eagles started and now intend adding to those Asia, The Divine Comedy, Steve Earle, ELO, Robbie Williams and Kamelot. For now. There may be others. So that's a planned 10 discographies in total. Oh, and that doesn't mean I won't be also reviewing random albums as well as plenty of new ones anyway. Anyone doubt I can do it? Anyone think they can beat me? (Not physically, Batty, not physically!) Come an' 'ave a go if you think ye're 'ard enuff! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 03-08-2015 at 08:22 PM.

03-08-2015, 08:33 PM	#243 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	So, let’s get this thing underway then. For those who don’t know, Asia have been (mistakenly) described as a prog band. While there are some similarities --- their music is highly driven on banks of synths, they use some prog-style themes and the album covers, designed almost exclusively by Roger Dean, are very fantasy-like, not to mention that they were originally created by ex-members of prog groups --- Asia are not what I would consider a progressive rock group. I think it’s better to put them in the AOR category. But whatever you call them, they’ve been around since the early eighties and having gone through three lineup changes and two breakups, they’re back now and have a new album out just last year. I wasn’t impressed with their thirtieth-anniversary offering XXX, and made no bones about it when reviewing it, but that aside they have always turned out consistently excellent albums, even when a track or two may be weak. Here’s where it all started. Artiste: Asia Nationality: British Album: Asia Year: 1982 Label: Geffen Genre: AOR Tracks: Only time will tell Heat of the moment Sole survivor One step closer Time again Wildest dreams Without you Cutting it fine Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: I have, and have enjoyed, every album they ever released. Apart from XXX of course. I have it, but I hated it. Interesting factoid: Not quite sure why they chose the name Asia, as none of the original band (nor indeed any of the later lineup) are from the Far East. Initial impression: After the first two songs, which I had already heard on the radio and for which I bought the album, I pretty much hated this first time I listened to it. The perils of having your two strongest tracks at the start of your first album! Best track(s):Only time will tell, Heat of the moment, sole survivor, One step closer, Wildest dreams Worst track(s):Time again, Without you, Cutting it fine Comments: I was nineteen when I bought this, just wavering between progressive rock and metal, (I would eventually go for the former) and still kind of led by what I heard on the radio. The first two tracks were singles and I loved them, and bought the album, on cassette, as I expected to be listening to it a lot and didn’t want to have to go through the hassle of taping it. Maybe. Anyway I remember I hated it and put it away, and it was a while before I got back to it. It’s still not the strongest Asia album by any stretch, and as a debut something of a fizzling firework really, but I can appreciate it more in the context of what they later released. We open on the big hit singles and right from the off you’re hit by the big, growling guitar of Steve Howe that just demands your attention, then the vocal of John Wetton as “Heat of the moment” opens the album phenomenally well , although I do think that after such a powerful opening the chorus is a little weak, almost poppy. It’s still a great song though and it’s followed by another hit, “Only time will tell”, which allows Asia to stretch themselves a little more musically. Even here though it’s pretty clear that the band is the brainchild of Wetton and keyboard man Geoff Downes, as they between them write almost all of the songs and take vocal duties, with the other two doing what they do. It’s also clear that vocal harmony will be one of the big trademarks and selling points of Asia, though in truth they would never have another real chart hit after this album, while still carving a really successful and lucrative career. And it’s odd, because some of the songs on later albums kick most of the ones here into the dust and stamp on their corpses, later coming back with a 4X4 to run them over and make sure they’re dead. Downes’ intricate layered keyboards would also be a longtime feature of the band, and he in fact would be the only member of the band who would stay through all the changes, shut downs, rebirths and reshuffles. I guess it’s not possible to follow either of the first two tracks; they are after all commercial gold and radio stations were queuing up to play them, but “Sole survivor” is a good song also, though at the time I didn’t think so. Maybe it’s the more progressive build up approach in the intro, I don’t know. I just wanted the quality to keep high, and I didn’t believe it did. But “Sole survivor” is a really great song, another hooky chorus to die for, even if it only mostly consists of the title sung over. There’s a wonderful pause about halfway where Downes brings everything back up with a flutey repeated synth before Howe lets loose with a superb solo and it cannons into the end section. “One step closer” is almost the end of the really good songs, a boppy, jaunty almost love song with a very Yes-style intro on keys and guitar before Downes takes over again on fluid synth. Again, wonderful vocal harmonies and some almost xylophonic fills really make this song. It does however only seem to be getting going near the end when it suddenly and abruptly stops. That always annoyed me. It was like they were saying “Okay we’re finished with that one, let’s go on to the next one.” It needed a better ending. As I say, unfortunately that’s where everything starts to drop dramatically. “Time again” is a good rocker, perhaps the closest the album comes to being hard rock, and a great vocal from Wetton, but there’s something missing about it. I don’t know what it is. It’s a good opportunity for Carl Palmer to show why he was such a leading light in ELP at least and Howe rips off a fine solo, and there’s some lovely piano work from Downes. Things look up momentarily then for “Wildest dreams”, with a keyboard arpeggio that would repeat itself three years later on their third album and a song that for me forms part of a quartet of songs across four albums and twenty years, dealing with the idea of world war. With a start taken almost directly from Genesis’s Duke album, it again pushes their prog credentials, but it’s a fast, powerful song with stupendous piano again from Downes and an urgent, almost hurried and frenetic pace that really takes a hold of you, until it all ends with a fading vocal into distant pealing bells. “Without you” is the first real Asia ballad, and while it’s not a terrible song it really feels like it’s just there because they thought they needed to have a slow song on the album. Even then, it’s not the kind of ballad they would become known (and in some quarters, jeered and despised) for, but seems to waver between slow rock cruncher and love song. Odd. Lovely soft keyboard intro, then it punches up on Howe’s guitar and Palmer’s battering percussion. Again, as in most of this album and indeed most of Asia’s catalogue down the years, the vocal harmonies are exquisite. We then end on the godawful “Cutting it fine”, which is about as poppy and filler as you can get, another sub-Yes tune and really for me closes the album on a really sour note. The only good thing about it is the lovely piano and keyboard outro from Downes. Overall impression: As I said, I pretty much hated this on first listen. After repeated tries I got into it but it is still not anything close to what I would consider the best of Asia. I find a lot of the time it was like they were looking to find their own identity as they endeavoured to shake off the influences of the bands they had left --- King Crimson, ELP, Yes ---- and they tended to mirror some of these bands in the songs here. The second album would show a totally different bunch of musicians, ones who had left behind the traces of their previous bands and who were now committed to Asia. The album would be so much better for it. Hum Factor: 7 Intention: n/a __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-08-2015, 08:53 PM	#244 (permalink)
Pet_Sounds Remember the underscore Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: The other side Posts: 2,489	I doubt if I'll even get through all of Billy Joel's 13 album discography in 2015, so I'm not challenging you. __________________ Everybody's dying just to get the disease

03-19-2015, 06:48 PM	#246 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	[Insert pithy comment here] Artiste: Emissary Echo Nationality: American Album: Erasing the negatives Year: 2015 Label: Genre: Hard Rock Tracks: Pushed down Run away Infected Frail Vengeance Face me Erased Defend Let go Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Five days before the album release their vocalist quit the band. Initial impression: Good hard-rockin’ opening, almost more on the side of heavy metal than rock really. Best track(s): Infected, Frail, Vengeance, Face me, Erased Worst track(s): Nothing really bad, per se. Comments: The album title may be positive, sure, but what has the band name got to do with it? Emissary echo? Weird. Anyway they hail from North Dakota and as I mentioned above have just lost their vocalist, leaving them as, at present, a four-piece, though the singer in question, Korey Lee, does feature on this album. It’s quite short really, only nine tracks, the first one a good uptempo thumper, with the vocalist reminding me of Daughtry maybe. Hard, grinding guitars, pounding percussion, decent melodies but I’m not blown away just yet. Second track is … okay. Still not seeing anything that groundbreaking or impressive. Standard rock, nothing special. “Infected” has a nice echoey guitar line and moves a little away from the banal and the expected; it’s quite decent really. “Frail” is good too, but just that. I still have not heard anything that has made me sit up and really take notice. There’s a nice hard bite to “Vengeance”, some good guitar work there, while “Face me” has a very catchy melody; could see that as a single maybe. A sense of progressive metal about “Erased”, possibly one of my favourites on the album, lot of passion and frustration in the song. One of Lee’s best vocal performances yet. Yeah, “Defend” is really good too, great hook in the chorus. The final track begins on an unexpected acoustic line but then punches up into another rock anthem, perhaps a pity as it could have been more than just a generic rock song. Overall impression: Not bad, not bad. But I don’t get the gushing enthusiasm for them I’ve read from other reviewers, basically citing them as the saviours of rock. Don’t see it. They’re okay, but that’s about it. Hum Factor: 5 Surprise Factor: 4 Intention: Meh. Nothing else to listen to as this is their debut, but I won’t be their emissary just yet. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-20-2015, 01:19 PM	#247 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Not quite the Russian winter but... Artiste: Sawmail Nationality: Russian? Album: Autumn Year: 2014 Label: Moscow City Records Genre: Electronica/Trance Tracks: Clear sky Gibraltar Castle by the sea Leaves Robin Hood Sunrise Winter holydays Wonderful morning Illusion Say Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Get me out of this club! Best track(s): Gibraltar, Leaves, Say Worst track(s): Clear sky, Robin Hood, Illusion, Say Comments: I can find out absolutely nothing about this band. When I input the word “Sawmail” into Google it helpfully asked me if I meant “Shawmail”? What? No, fuck you Google I did not! From the very little I can discover though I think they may be a trance band, and that’s not good for me. I’m assuming they’re Russian though they may not be. And it does not start off well for me, with a fast pounding trance beat, the kind of thing I hate. Oh well. Thumpity-thump* it goes, and I shake my head, not in time to the music but in despair that I somehow managed to buy this. What was I thinking? Oh I know now what it was: I have an idea to, at some point, feature a whole pile of different albums that are either by artistes who have Autumn in their name or whose albums have. Sigh. Well I may as well let it run now that I have it. Don’t expect too much from me though; I hate this kind of music. I think it’s all likely to be instrumental --- isn’t most trance?--- certainly the first track is. Well at least there’s a nice sequence there where the percussion drops out and a nice lush keyboard line takes the tune, then some nice piano too. Ah but then the drum machines pound back in and we're off again. Still, it's not too terrible I must admit. “Gibraltar” has a nice sort of warbly synth line running it, and the percussion isn't too much to the forefront, so again I can stand this. Nice little dancing piano arpeggios, and I like the way the bass makes its way back into the tune late on. They call this “uplifting trance” apparently, and I can see why: it's very uptempo but generally not what I'd call harsh. It's still principally music for dancing though; if you're in a club this probably sounds great (if you care) but outside of that isolated environment it's a little hard to judge the music on its own merits. Oh right: it's moved into “Castle by the sea” now. Didn't notice. Nice sort of phased synth line which gives way to some clear piano then some stabbing bass chords as it bops along, then there's an interesting start to “Leaves”, almost New Romantic in a sort of Human League “Open your heart” way before it slides more into a JMJ sort of thing. “Robin Hood” then returns to that thump-thump-thump sort of thing I hate, like someone's trying to stamp down the walls or something. Lots of squiggly squeaky synth makes this easily the most hated track on the album for me. “Sunrise” doesn't do much for my mood either, although it does slow down and calm down nicely in the middle, while “Winter holydays” is okay I guess, but nothing that great. “Wonderful morning” isn't wonderful, not to me anyway, just more generic trance, although it has some interesting warbly keys on it and some nice bass synth too, but still, meh. That leaves us with two tracks before this is over, and they are both have vocals! Ah that's it: I'm done with this now. Trance is not for me, nor is this album. Boo. Actually, hold the phone: the last track is pretty damn good. But overall this is not the kind of music I want to be listening to. Just not my scene. Overall impression: Probably great to dance to but not something I want to listen to, on balance Hum Factor: 2 Surprise Factor: 1 Intention: Not going to listen to trance again if I can help it. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-20-2015, 02:56 PM	#248 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	The new Journey album? No, the new Meat Loaf. No.... Artiste: Care of night Nationality: Swedish Album: Connected Year: 2015 Label: AOR Heaven Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock Tracks: Cassandra Hearts belong Those words Dividing lines Say a prayer Contact Please remember Unify Give me strength Say you will Chronological position: Debut album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Initial impression: Good, heart-pumping AOR with hooky choruses, though it fools me by starting on a fade with a slow piano... Best track(s): Cassandra, Dividing lines, Say a prayer, Give me strength, Say you will Worst track(s): Those words Comments: I've had a lot of luck with Swedish AOR over the last year or so, with Houston, Work of Art and others, so I'm hoping for good things from this debut. If anyone happens to know Seven Tears, some of the guys here are from that band which apparently broke up in 2009. An interestingly low-key start before it kicks into life with a real AOR vocal harmony chorus and we're off and rocking. Kind of gives me a Meat Loaf feeling right from the start with touches of Van Halen in around the edges. Nice snarling guitar on “Hearts belong”, which keeps the tempo high, and again those vocal harmonies, the lifeblood of any good AOR song, are in evidence. I find this song though very reminiscent of a Journey one, just can't think of it ... Quality dips a little for “Those words”; just not quite feeling it on this track, but that's soon forgotten as the first ballad comes through, and “Dividing lines” certainly returns us to the promise of the first two tracks, a power ballad if ever there was one and a big hit single if there's any justice in the world. Just oozes emotion and even has a sax solo to make it complete. Superb. Not to be left out, guitarist Jonathan Carlemar lets loose with a fine solo. Best track so far without question. “Say a prayer” is another great track, though somehow very familiar; I almost felt I could predict the lyric. Is this a cover? I don't think so, but it does sound if not copied then very generic, which is not to say it's not a good song, just nothing original and very familiar, like the Journey deja vu of “Hearts belong”. The same with “Contact”: great song but I'm sure if I have not actually heard the song before I've heard the melody and structure. AOR by numbers? Let's not be that cruel. Yet. Another nice sax break, then “Please remember” heads into boogie rock territory, very catchy though a little left of centre considering what has gone before, while “Unify” I have to say tries a little too hard to be something it isn't, but it's a good slow rock cruncher with an anthemic chorus. Happily, “Give me strength” gets back to what Care of Night do best: rocking with great vocal harmonies and catchy choruses, and this is a big improvement on the last two tracks. Again the Journey comparisons are there, but then as another reviewer would have it, “Not a single trace of originality but ... why mess with a winning team?” Can't really argue with that. There's a nice finish then for “Say you will”, an acoustic opening (which sadly again reminds me this time of Extreme) which turns into a very powerful track that builds up to a strong climax and then fades out on single piano. Very nice. Overall impression: A very good AOR album but there are far better I've heard. For a Swedish AOR band a little disappointing. Hum Factor: 8 Surprise Factor: 3 Intention: If they release another album in a year or two I wouldn't be averse to hearing it. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-21-2015, 06:44 AM	#249 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Run with the pack! Artiste: Antalio Nationality: Russian Album: Wintry wolf tales Year: 2015 Label: None (Bandcamp release) Genre: Electronica Tracks: The wild (Running 1) My frozen hearth Nocturne Z Nothing new Wintry fantasies One touch The wild (Running 2) Chronological position: Sixth album under this name, though he also records under under identities Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Two of the tracks here are also on his fourth album, Nocturne Z... Initial impression: Dark, atmospheric, wolf howls ... all good so far. Best track(s): My frozen hearth, Wintry fantasies, Nocturne Z Worst track(s): One touch, The wild (Running 2) Comments: What, another Russian act? Seems Antalio, real name Anton Talnov, has a few aliases under which he composes different types of music. As Lihosvet he plays atmospheric black metal, as Durbur, experimental electronic music, and as Antalio, this. I really have no idea what to expect, but as usual I liked the title (love wolves) and the few samples I heard convinced me it wasn't going to be music I hated, so I hit the “purchase” button and here we are. Kind of dark waves of synth with wolves howling in the background as we get underway, echoey booming percussion, mid-paced tempo, instrumental of course, then a slower, more deliberate marching rhythm for “My frozen hearth”, kind of industrial: reminds me of Depeche Mode or Numan maybe. Seems bleaker somehow, colder. Would suit maybe the advance of the White Walkers in Game of Thrones as they near the Wall. Very inhuman feel to it. Much softer, more organic shape to “Nocturne Z”, one of those tracks I mentioned that were on a previous album. Quite an uptempo piece, odd little echo effects and a nice sprinkly piano. It's the longest track easily, almost eight minutes. It has a nice repeated melody running through it that is quite catchy and easy on the ear. “Nothing new” belies its title, relying heavily on guitar rather than synth (though they're there of course) and chugs along nicely, whereas “Wintry fantasies” slows things down a little and rides along on a really clever little keyboard line, piano sparking along the edges, but if as I say he also does experimental electronic music then “One touch” must come closest to this, with some odd instrumentation and a kind of syncopated rhythm running through it. The closer then is some pretty straightahead trance, which kind of takes the gloss off what I've heard up to now a little. Overall impression: Decent electronic music, well played and I might end up getting into it Hum Factor: 0 Surprise Factor: 4 Intention: I'm not ready to go checking out any more of his stuff just yet. But perhaps in the future. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-26-2015, 03:04 PM	#250 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Spend your plastic on this album! Artiste: Plastic Violins of Darkness Nationality: German Album: Spiral Year: 2015 Label: DHU Records Genre: Doom Tracks: Anime in herba Spiral Solstice Chronological position: Second album Familiarity: Zero Interesting factoid: Another one-man effort Initial impression: Dark, atmospheric, powerful Best track(s): Everything kind of runs together, and as there are only three tracks I wouldn't pick one, but none of them are bad and most are really good. Worst track(s): See above Comments: Three tracks, none of which are less than thirteen minutes, and one of which is twenty? It's either prog rock or doom metal. And it seems it's the latter. Although according to Metal Achives, it's “progressive doom/post-metal/space rock”. Hmm. Based out of Leipzig, Plastic Violins of Darkness (PVOD) is the brainchild of Marc-Andre Mahn, whom we don't even get a picture of. Ooh! Mysterious! As to the album, the first track is the longest, that twenty-minuter, and “Anime in herba” opens with a dark atmospheric growl, slow percussion and what could be synth though I can't tell as Herr Mahm is simply credited with “all instruments”. It's not as plodding as some of the Doom I've heard, though admittedly I haven't experienced that much, but as yet I don't get the feeling of claustrophobia about it that I've read another reviewer speak of. I'm not sure if there are vocals buried deep in the mix or if I'm just imagining that the instruments are speaking words? Fairly spooky but nothing that's turning me off so far anyway, and we're a fifth of the way through the track.Certainly sounds like a vocoder but that could be just effects on the guitar I guess. I can see where the progressive tag comes from certainly. It's interesting how it kind of continues on the one basic melody all the way and yet doesn't seem to drag at all. Maybe good music to be depressed to? Kind of an idea of whalesong or something there at the end, and then it flows directly into the next track, which is the title (and penultimate) one. More bass evident here and a lot of feedback, either voices or some sort of audio recording going on and yes, I do get the feeling of being in a spiral, so well done that man. Heavier guitar bursting in now with some choral vocal it sounds like, could be synth of course. I hear definite echoes of Floyd in some of the guitar work here, kind of circa A momentary lapse of reason, and there's some nice almost acoustic guitar too. This time we end on pealing bells (very Doom Metal!) and then birdsong (not quite so Doom Metal) with hi-hats tapping out a sparse rhythm before the guitar growls in and we head into the closer, “Solstice”, which is the shortest track at just over thirteen minutes (never thought I'd utter those words!) and has some nice eastern influence on the guitar in places. And rather quickly it's over, with a big booming clap of thunder (very appropriate) and pattering rain hissing into the distance and fading out. Overall impression: Yeah, I really liked this. Gripping stuff, and not half as crushing or cloying as I had been led to believe. Hum Factor: 0 Surprise Factor: 9 Intention: May listen to his debut now. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 03-26-2015 at 06:51 PM.