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9/13/11 – Peter’s Room at The Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon

An Apology From Typhon… Kinda: I know. I know, I’m about three weeks late with this one. But if you had a screaming baby boy on one shoulder and averaging about three hours of sleep a morning, I think you’d shuffle around your priorities too.

On that note: I have the best fucking mate EVER!!! She squeezed out our son on September 12th and demanded that I attend this concert while she was still in the hospital. You see, she and I have been unable to attend every show that Alestorm played in the U.S. and she would be damned if we’d make it a hat trick. So even though I had a blast at this show, my mind was elsewhere most of the time.

Anyway, I arrived late so I missed the opening act…

The Agonist - Aside from the vocalist making a pass at me at the merch booth after their set, I don’t have anything to report about these guys. My friend assured me that they were awesome though.

Blackgaurd - I’d like to start a petition that would make these guys officially change their name from Blackguard to Children Of Dimmu.  I admired their energy level and their ability to easily sway the crowd who was obviously there for the two headliners. But overall, I was more interested in what was in those bottles behind the bar. They weren’t for me, but they had three quarters of the crowd in the palm of their hand. Kudos to you CoD.

It was around this time that I made my way from the bar to the floor. While wadding through the sea of pirate cosplayers and Kamelot t-shirts, I noticed something that kind of put me on edge: there were an awful lot of full blooded nerds there. You know the ones I’m talking about; acne, greasy hair, socially awkward, haunted by perpetual virginity, etc… I’m not sure whether or not I should of been surprised, really. Pirate Metal: Kinda nerdy. Christopher Bowes: Severally nerdy. Kamelot: Fuck! The gauge broke!

I managed to secure a spot about three rows of nerds back from the stage. Where I waited. And waited… and waited… and just as I needed to piss…

Alestorm - Scotland’s purveyors of plunderous pirate metal took the stage, but no prisoners as they played favorites from all three of their albums. They started off strong with Back Through Time and Shipwrecked, even though you could barely Dani Evans’s playful leads thanks to the primate that was tinkering with the sound board (a problem that continued throughout Alestorm’s set). After a bit, they slowed things down with Nancy The Tavern Wench which was accompanied by Blackguard’s Terry Deschenes on acoustic guitar. Not quite a ballad, but it had a few lighters/cell phones out and waving. There set wasn’t exactly a long one, but it sure make an impact on the newbies in the crowd.

I should add there there was a shit-ton of mosh pits,stage diving and crowd surfing during Alestorm’s set… um, yeah. Because when it comes to something that you should save for a D.R.I. concert, Wenches And Mead is the time to do it.

But, I digress since the point of any concert it to just have fun. Alestrom saw to that 100%.

Kamelot - I have got to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from Kamelot since just about anyone who like Kamelot even the slightest, more than likely likes them for Roy Khan perfect pipes. But, since Roy departed the band right before this tour, a lot of us seemed to be skeptical about this no name guy taking over vocal duties.

Thanks to those of you who stuck it out through the sarcasm. Fabio Lione (of Rhapsody) grabbed the mic and nailed every note that Roy had laid down before him. I was relieved. I was also overjoyed since they managed to sneak every single one of my favorite Kamelot tracks into their set! When The Lights Are Down, The Haunting, March Of Mephisto, Nights Of Arabia, Forever, etc… And yes, Simone Simons was there to lend her haunting voice to ratchet up the Epic(a)ness! My night couldn’t of ended better!

French vanguard Alcest, responsible for the influential Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde and its masterful follow-up Écailles De Lune, are set to tour North America once again beginning later this month. Opening as direct support for Enslaved, Alcest begin the 19-date trek on September 23rd in Springfield, Virginia and conclude it on October 14th in West Hollywood, California, extensively traveling through Canada in between. Ghost were originally slated to be among the tour package, but unfortunately had to drop off recently due to visa complications. Here are the confirmed dates/venues:

September 23 – Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
September 24 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre
September 25 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
September 26 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
September 27 – Québec City, QC @ Impérial
September 29 – Montreal, QC @ Café Campus
September 30 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
October 1 – Columbus, OH @ Outland Live
October 2 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
October 3 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
October 5 – Winnipeg, MB @ WECC
October 6 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange
October 7 – Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
October 8 – Calgary, AB @ Dickens
October 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
October 11 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
October 12 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
October 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
October 14 – West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour

As announced earlier, Alcest have revealed the title to their third album as Les voyages de l’âme (English: “The journeys of the soul“). The record is tentatively scheduled for early 2012 release through Prophecy Productions, with further release news to announced shortly. Alcest are widely credited with bringing in a dreamier, more shoegazing element into extreme metal the past few years, influencing many others to follow in their wake. Surely, Les voyages de l’âme will be yet another monumental release for the band, cemeting their modern legendry that much more.

Genres: Doom, Progressive, Sludge
Label: Relapse

The first album in four years from these Arkansas gents yields a set of mixed results. And all of them are good. There is some seriously bone crushing and ear damaging music held within Rest, and with songs that breach the sixteen minute mark, you better be bringing your attention span to this headbanging contest. On the other hand though, there are some seriously mind expanding (but still ear damaging) parts to Rest. For example, “The Culling”, the sixteen-minute-plus song I mentioned, features some gorgeous acoustic/electric riffage that enables one to space out and relax before the storm renews itself. The same goes for “It Was Only A Dream”, the final track.

If you are a fan of Rwake’s other work, then this is a definite must for you to get. If you’re interested in listening to some proggy doom, then you should get your hands on this album.

8 out of 10.

Rwake on Facebook.

From Prophecy Productions:

“On the night of the 9th September, Jonas Bergqvist a.k.a. ‘B’, founding member, main composer, and guitarist of Lifelover, died unexpectedly. The cause of his death is still unclear and has yet to be established.

The message of Jonas’s passing came as a surprise to the Prophecy team. Hence, we lack the appropriate words for this tragic event. To us, Jonas wasn’t just a very creative artist, but also a pleasant and enthusiastic person. It is for certain that we won’t be the only ones missing his character, his passion, and his unique musical language.
In the face of this tragic loss, we would very much like to extend our heartfelt condolence towards Jonas’s family, his friends, and the remaining musicians of Lifelover.”

From Myself:

I’m a fan of Lifelover. Not a maniacal fan, or even an avid fan. But every song I’ve heard from this band has been a killer tune, with “Mental Central Dialog” being my–and many others I’m sure–favorite. So from myself I extend my own condolences to Jonas’s family and friends and to Lifelover. Rest in Peace Jonas.

Genre: Black Metal, Depressive Black Metal, Post Metal, Post Rock, Shoegaze
Labels: ATMF

The crushing beauty of shoegaze and post metal combined with the savagery of raw black metal make up the first track off of Everything, “Forever Never Fails”. It’s like a year of pure urgent emotion turned into a five minute and thirteen second long song. And it alone is worth the money for the album.

“Formlessness” comes next, with very My Bloody Valentine sounding music and Sargeist/Craft vocals. If this doesn’t get your heart moving, you’re probably dead. It differs from “Forever Never Fails” primarily in the bass work, lending it less of an urgency and more of a solemnity. Oddly enough, it is also exactly five minutes and thirteen seconds long.

“Absence of Contrast” contrasts nicely with “Formlessness”, it’s piano lines and bass setting off a nice throb to inhale opium to. “We All Fall” takes a more post rock feel despite the savagery of the vocals. Spoken words make an appearance as well, an interesting and nice change up. “Nothing/Everything” takes a more depressive black metal via shoegaze feel. The keyboard work here is exemplary, taking more of a lead then a coloring overlay.

“Her Dress as a Poem, Her Death as the Night” flows with a deep melancholy, deep bass carrying you through an ocean of keys with waves of guitar crushing you down, under. This is utter depression in musical form, and it’s beautiful and cathartic, another song worthy of being worth the album’s price. I just wish it was longer.

“I am the Veil” would feel like an indie rock song if it weren’t for the key drones in the back and the blackened vocals. The keys come forward as pianos and make it even less indie rock and more post metal/depressive black. “Cold Spring” is totally the opposite, going straight for post metal/shoegaze from the start, a heart stopping vocal performance that upon repeat listens continually drags you through varying emotional states.

Despite “Cold Spring” being a great song, the final track “Rain” trumps it easily, and is one of the best songs on the album. Guitar feedback and keyboards blend over a slower, higher pitched bass line, with sung vocals making a brief appearance. The song as a whole has a feeling of a triumphant ending, which it is for the album. Wonderful.

As a whole, Everything is a gorgeous album that takes the listener through many parts of the emotional spectrum. There is joy here, there is sadness, there is anger, and there is even love. But it all takes on a melancholic darkness that is hard to shake off after listening. I highly recommend getting this, especially if you’re a fan of My Bloody Valentine, Autumn’s Grey Solace, Jesu, Darkthrone, The Cure, or Cry.

10 out of 10.

An Autumn for Crippled Children on Facebook.