Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Grindcore
Label: Grindhead Records

Apparently the point of this album is for it to be unlistenable, in a way that makes it very listenable. Samples, fast riffs, and a fairly understandable singer that hates everything all come together to create a type of grind that is perfect for fans of Anal Cunt, 55, Cunt Rapist, etc. It’s not pornogrind, thankfully, but it’s not your typical socially conscious grindcore either.
It’s an oddity in sound.
At the end though, it’s not my kind of grind.
5 out of 10.

Genres: Dance, Neo-Classical, Rock
Label: Independent

This Italian band got to me through MySpace, asking for a review forever ago, as things seem to be lately, and I said yes. Finally, I am reviewing Storia by June 1974, which is probably the oddest band name I’ve heard in awhile.
Opening with “Nostalgia moderna”, a piano driven, slow, and long instrumental, then going into “Son of the horizon”, June 1974 quickly show they are very professional with their instruments, and very talented.
“Incantations” is a faster paced piece that is quite nice. The piano reminds me of gothic metal keyboard lines, without the guitars or vocals to take your attention away. This flows into “The suicide of Virginia Woolf” almost perfectly, which is in itself slower, an much more melancholy. The song itself feels a little too long, as there is not very much for progression within, but “I’ll never forget you” makes up for it with it’s short length and faster pace, and it actually gives a sense of expectation, like lovers parting but hoping to reunite.
With barely skipping a beat, “I’ll never forget you” drops into the faster “Trance” which has guitar, bass, and drums in it. It’s a rather nice switch up mid-album, especially once the dance elements kick in, giving it a very electronic sound that works wonderful. Definitely the best part of the album.
“Diamond” shines in it’s own way, but is outshined by the previous song. Slow, somewhat brooding and melancholy again, Storia takes a turn backwards. Acoustic guitar does join in, but it doesn’t add to the song, nor does it detract. It’s kind of just there. And again, without a fadeout or anything, “Diamond” stops and “Road to perdition” starts with an electronic sound, then going into a classical piano movement. Some synths come into play, but the overall feel of the song doesn’t change over time, and the jarring drop into the title track doesn’t help.
“Storia” is a track that becomes rather annoying and boring very quickly, due to the constant sound changes that are far too jarring and don’t really mix well with each other. With the now expected drop into “My little sad invisible town”, Storia is coming to a pretty sounding close.
Ultimately, after listening to the entire album, I’m not terribly impressed. Things started out strong, but gradually went downhill. There are solid ideas presented with this album, but with tracks like “Storia” and “Road to perdition”, and others, there just is no real feel of true ALBUM progression, which for me is essential, especially with instrumental albums. I honestly don’t think I’ll be listening to this album again.
5 out of 10.

June 1974 on MySpace.

Genre: Gothic Metal
Label: Napalm Records

Tristania have been around for fifteen years or so now with Rubicon being their sixth LP, and understandably they’ve had some hype with this new album. I’ve been excited to hear it after what I’ve heard of it, and now that I have heard it, it didn’t live up to the hype in my eyes.
The slower, more melancholy riffs are not as present, and where they are present they don’t have the same impact, the operatic vocals are not as present, and ultimately they have taken up a sound that is no longer what the leader of the gothic metal genre should have, but a follower. I should make special mention of “The Passing”, the fourth track, however. It sounds more like classic Tristania, with a slower riff, some crunchy fast parts, but a decidedly unfortunate lack of death growls. The violin performed by Pete Johansen (who hasn’t been with Tristania for ten years) is also a great addition to the song.
In the end though, “The Passing” is not enough to keep Rubicon flowing. I’ll stick with Viveynne, Trail of Tears and Sirenia for my gothic metal fix for now.
5 out of 10.

Tristania on MySpace.

Genres: Gothic Metal, Symphonic Metal
Label: Napalm Records

Edenbridge have been around forever, and this is my first time hearing these Austrians. And to be honest, this isn’t my thing. I can tell it’s really good, as in the people who are in the band are extremely talented, but I just personally am not liking it much.
The guitar riffs and Sabine Edelsbacher’s voice are the two main stars of the album, with heavy emphasis on the keyboards as well, but to me it’s all flowing into a somewhat generic sounding symphonic/gothic metal sound.
Maybe the hardcore fans of the genre will like it, but I’m finding it hard to.
5 out of 10.

Edenbridge on MySpace.

Genres: Death Metal, Gothic Metal, Thrash
Label: Asylum Ruins

Eclectika sent me this promo recently, and I finally got to check it out. Much to my chagrin.
Ultimately, the band is meshing too many styles together for it to be a cohesive listen. Everything clashes with everything else, and the genre-shifting is not fluid, but rather jarring. As such, the album is not fun to listen to and becomes Dazzling Yawn.
The members of the band themselves are obviously talented, as the music and singing is done very well. It’s the clashing styles that does Eclectika the injustice of making their most recent album hard to listen to. Otherwise, if they picked a path that was a little less winding, I think they could make great headway through it and kick some ass.
5 out of 10.