Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Dark Ambient
Label: Malignant Records

I’m going to get the one piece of negative shit out in the open about Rasalhague’s Malignant Records’ debut release, Rage Inside The Window: Normally, I love to listen to ambient music when I’m dozing off into night-night land or when I’m floating down a Percocet high… the first time I listened to this album, I was doing both. And I almost shit myself because of it. If this one nasty little bit of coincidence didn’t happen, I’d give Rage Inside The Window a 10/10.

Embarrassing (almost) browning of the bed sheets aside, Rage Inside The Window is a dark ambient outing that’s based on actual events that revolve around an innocent young girl that was neglected and abused by her callous, evil piece of fucking shit mother. The little girl was starved, psychologically and physically tortured and imprisoned in her shit encrusted, cockroach infested room until the proper authorities were altered and came to the rescue… after the girl turned feral.

Every goddamned track places you, the listener, in the urine soaked place of this poor young girl. And you feel it. Rasalhague make damn sure of it with a myriad of tricks: demonic hissing, hellish swells, infernal booms and grating, solid-chunks-of-sulfur-being-bashing-against-your-skull crackles and pops. I don’t think that I’ve liked an album so much that simultaneously make me sick to my stomach…

Overall: Never have I ever been as emotionally jarred by an album… Rage Inside The Window WILL do one of the following things to you: A) It will make you cry. B) Cause you to punch a wall. Or C) Make you question why humanity is allowed to continue thriving when there are people like the monster this album is base on loose in the world.

I did all three.

9.5/10

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Genre: Thrash, Progressive

Label: Sonic Unyon Metal

I’m going to start off this review by saying that I am only a moderate fan of Voivod. Moderate in the sense that I only own three Voivod albums (War And Pain, Nothingface and Killing Technology), but I love them to death! So, the fact that I squealed like a little obsessed fan girl at the announcement of Warriors Of Ice in my inbox should come as no surprise to anyone. “Voivod live… on CD?” I thought. “It’s not at the Roseland, but it’s damn good enough for me!”

Starting off stronger than just about any band I’ve ever heard (be in person or just recorded live) with Voivod, these Canadian thrashers show that time has not, nor will it slow them down! Snake sounds just as pissed off and drunk as ever, stopping between tracks to banter with the audience. Blacky’s opening bass riff in Tribal Convictions is just as bone jarring as anything I’ve heard from him already, as well as any other time we get the privilege of hearing his bass booming through the rest of the band’s super tight performance.

The selection of songs on Warriors Of Ice is a perfect blend of older, more thrashier songs and just as equally old and every bit as cool prog-thrash songs. In other words, they play all of my favorites from the three albums I already own and the others that are new to me are icing of the goddamned cake!

I can’t even really say anything about the quality of the recording! It’s honestly one of the best sounding live albums I’ve ever heard (outside of Nevermore’s Year Of The Voyager). It lets just the right amount of atmospheric pops and feedback bleed through just to let you know that this is, in fact, a live recording. Well, that and the rabid, screaming Canuks in attendance…

Interestingly enough, the song Warriors Of Ice is nowhere to be found on this live album… :(

Overall: Warriors Of Ice is a strong entry in Voivod’s already Herculean library. I recommend this album to anyone who digs Voivod even a little. Please. Indulge.

9.5/10

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Genre: Dark Ambient

Label: Malignant Records

Wow… pretty box…

Er, hmm… yeah. This is the celebratory fifteen year anniversary re-release of one of the more groundbreaking dark ambient records ever recorded (or so I’m told by diehard fans of the genre), and it’s presented in a blood red box containing two discs! Disc one is the six tracks that made up the original Blood Music, re-mastered and with a couple of extra tweaks here and there and a previously unreleased track, Beneath The Sun. The first five tracks of disc two are from a limited edition cassette from 1993. While the sixth track is from a limited release seven inch vinyl from 1996 and the last track was a single from a compilation from 1997.

Within about a minute of the first track, entitled Infinite Domain, it’s no real surprise why there was need to re-introduce this ambient gem to the masses: it fucking owns! The Blood Music reissue is an intense ride from beginning to end, pulsing (probably an intentional sonic tongue in check joke. Or maybe I’m just reaching here) with a vibrancy and blazing spark that could of only been set by trailblazers of the genre. This reissue on it’s own was pretty much perfect. Now, let’s talk about the extras…

Immediately, Beneath The Sun feels unnecessary. The flow is broken since it goes from a smooth as silk ending in Absolute Zero to an abrupt beginning with Beneath the Sun. It’s not a bad song at all, it just feels tacked on. I guess that Yen Pox had it right the first time.

The material from the ’93 cassette is, on the other hand, very welcome in the realm of bonus material. So much so in fact, it rivals the aural badassery that was emanating off of the original Blood Music material! The same can be said about the remaining bonus material, just in a shorter sense. And unlike Beneath The Sun, all of the other extra material gels together in a complex weave of intense ambient music.

Overall: I usually turn my nose up at reissues and the like, but I’m all over this baby! Blood Music is bloody fantastic! It stands the test of time and still manages to tower over several other releases from fresher faces. Yen Pox did it right!

9.5/10

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Genre: Dark Ambient
Label: Malignant Records

Derelict World. What a fitting name for this release. The album cover says it all doesn’t it? A ship that appears to be miles away from anywhere it should be, all alone and broken. I got chills looking at it the first time. And now that I’ve listened to Derelict World over and over, I’ve come to identify with it. Tobias Hornberger (False Mirror’s one and only member) obviously has a natural talent for grabbing noise (organic or otherwise) and transforming it into something that’s not quite sonic, nor cerebral.

While listening to Derelict World, I envisioned a world that never was. It was like if Earth had formed, but no life ever sprang forth. Or maybe a world where all life just disappeared and everything was left behind. Decrepit buildings, structures resembling Swiss cheese, rather than national monuments and homes… rows and rows of homes. Abandoned . Some, still smoldering from the fires that broke out. Others, morbid museums of what human life was life for some kind of alien life form that might visit in the future…

Overall: This was my first experience with False Mirror’s brand of dark ambient music. I guarantee that it won’t be the last either! I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of this stuff! Especially is it’s as amazing as Derelict World!

9.5/10

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Genre: Epic Fantasy Metal
Label: Napalm Records

Am I a Battlelore fan (re: nerd)? How’s this for an answer: I LITTEREALLY teared up at the announcement that I had a promo version of Doombound waiting for me in my Napalm account. Gawk, mock and laugh all you want. (Odd Fact: I’m a much bigger fan of Battlelore than I am a fan of Tolkien’s work… weird right?)

Doombound is based around the events in The Children of Húrin (or more accurately, the life of tragic protagonist Túrin Turambar) and right off the bat, you can hear a change in Battlelore’s overall sound. For one, Doombound appears to be more Kaisa heavy. Perhaps this is due to the more melancholic content than in comparison to Third Age Of The Sun or Sword Song. Her beautiful siren is as alluring as she is in their promo photos… er… but that’s not saying that Tomi doesn’t get to rage about, no sir. His Orcish bellows are heard loudest in Olden Gods and Men As Wolves (which I’m assuming is about the Gaurwaith since I don’t have a lyric sheet anywhere).

As for the instrumental warriors; Jyri Vahvanen rides up front with some of the best guitar work you can hear within this genre. And that’s no lie! He skips about from epic power metal chords to blistering (though subdued) black metal riffs! Drummer Henri Vahvanen pulls off some inventive beats and shows a bit of growth since The Last Alliance. And speaking of improvements, the lovely Miss Maria graces us with her talents on the flute, which as far as I could tell, was missing completely from The Last Alliance. Her technique on the keys are displayed well here also. Best of all? All of this comes together in the somber instrumental sendoff (or more appropriately, burial song) Kielo.

And now for the down side: Doombound isn’t nearly as aggressive their last effort, which may throw a few of their fans for a loop. That doesn’t really seem like much of a problem given their genre and honestly, it’s not. Just thought it’d be better to say SOMETHING negative so that I wouldn’t be accused of bias… which I might be guilty of…

Overall: It’s a no brainer that if you dig the literature, you’ll dig this album, nay, this band! So pick up Doombound, love the shit out of it and then raid Battlelore’s back catalog!

9.5/10

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