Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genres: Black Metal, Black ‘n’ Roll
Label: Indie Recordings

True Norwegian black metal combined with the progressive mindset of Opeth and the straight forward approach of good old rock results in the great combination that is V (vee, not five).

Strong riffs that evoke black metal as well as some elements of death, thrash, and punk form the basis of the songs. There are even some forays into a folk metal territory, which is just fine by me. I love that stuff.

The songs themselves, unlike Opeth’s epics, rarely make it much past the five minute mark, with only “The Other And The Look” reaching the 10:31 mark. All of them are well crafted, thoughtfully arranged to lead you from beginning to end, rather then start you on a journey and then just drop you off somewhere lame, and all of them follow a great progression through the album as well, meaning listening from beginning to end gives you the impression of something larger in scope, while still having distinct individual songs to listen to. Plus, no riff overstays its welcome, no drum beat is unnecessary, no bassline a third wheel, the keys are always a nice coloring to the music, and Sture’s vocals are always a good overlay. In other words, it’s full of wonderful songcraft. These men know their shit.

If you’re a fan of Immortal, I, Ritual, Morgul, Black River, and their like, then V is right for you.

9 out of 10.

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Genres: Doom, Melodic Death Metal
Label: The End Records

Chicago’s masters of gloom return once again with eight tracks of dark, death-tinged metal that I just can’t stop listening to.
Head crushing heaviness meets heart wrenching emotion. Cathartic and depressing at the same time, Aphotic was obviously written in the very Temple of the Riff itself. Or perhaps the Novembers Doom rehearsal area. Whichever.
Some of the songs were actually written with more input from the new bassist Mike Feldman, which gives the bass a very different room to breathe in for this album, and with Paul’s voice seeming to be at it’s strongest ever, Novembers Doom look ready to finally take the throne that they deserve.
My favorite tracks are “Buried”, “Six Sides”, “Harvest Scythe”, and the female vocal filled, almost gothic acoustic track “What Could Have Been”.
9 out of 10.

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Genre: Death Metal
Label: Dark Descent Records

Finnish death metal brutalizers Corpsessed are definitely looking to make an impact with this disc. And what an impact indeed.
Picture your face getting ripped off, fucked, then slapped back onto your skull while getting kicked in the nuts. And that’s only the beginning. This is not just some throwback tribute to the old school of death metal, this is a true monster of the old school.
The disc starts off with a slow, doomy intro with growls and some serious atmosphere. It’s menacing as fuck, a feature that continues throughout the CD.
“Crypt Infester” follows, keeping a slightly doomed feel, with some clean lead sections at the beginning, then going for a crushing main riff. Fucking amazing.
“Nameless Cult” is another atmosphere-of-evil covered song, reminding me a little of Morbid Angel’s earliest stuff. It’s definitely slower moving, dragging you along through it’s horrors. When it speeds up the atmosphere doesn’t dissipate, but rather thickens, bringing your head to bang with or without your consent. The only thing I honestly wish was different with this song is it’s length; it’s too short.
“Altar of Worms” is  a heavy assault of metal, picking the pace up a little from “Nameless Cult”, but not by much. The doom feel is a little less pervasive, but still elements are there, which I’m loving.
“Massgrave” is the longest track on the album at 5:15, and it takes over from “Altar…” with barely a pause. It’s so good that even at the five minute mark it’s not getting boring. The doom is back a little, mostly in the vocals, very much reminding me of funeral doom type throatwork.
The title, and final track, starts off all ambient and droning, for almost a minute, then just kicks you down another set of stairs with the fastest, most brutal track on the disc. Pure ferocity, and yet somehow these guys can keep that element of atmosphere, that thick cloud of horror around your ankles. Just great.
In other words, I love this album. I can’t wait for it to be released, I’ve got the CD preordered right now.
9 out of 10.

Genres: Melodic Death Metal, Viking Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records

Amon Amarth’s eighth album doesn’t show too many changes with the band, keeping their signature sound pretty much the same, with perhaps more emphasis on more technicality in the drums. There isn’t much growth in songwriting either, but how do you grow from genius anyway?
AA meld gorgeous melodic guitars and bass that are heavy as the hammer of Thor at the same time, with a voice that is made from a mountain range, used in a singularly unique way that’s still melodic singing with a death growl. And it’s all to the tune of ancient Norse mythology!
Sonically, it’s all very Swedish, with some comparative elements to fellow countrymen Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates, with a slightly American polish on the quality of the production.
If this album doesn’t cement their reputation as one of top most important bands in death metal today, I don’t know what will. It’s damn near perfect. And also to illustrate just how much I actually like this album, I preordered it, the box set with the action figure. How many other bands have action figures with their albums?
9 out of 10.

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When: Tuesday February 15, 2011
Where: Edmonton Event Centre, Edmonton, Alberta

It’s so awesome to get onto the guest list for a concert that you REALLY want to see. But it’s lame as shit to be turned away at the door due to a clerical error. But it’s even more awesome when you’re walking through West Edmonton Mall (where the venue is housed) and you see the singer for the band that you’re at the show to see walking around.
You call his name. He turns around to see who the hell just recognized him. You chat for a moment. He laughs at the situation, and basically sneaks you and your wife into the venue so that you can watch the show.
And then after it’s all over you realize: “Fuck man, I just met Blake Judd and didn’t get my picture with him.”
As we got into the show late, we ended up missing all of Turisas, except for most of the last song. All I have to say about that is LAME. They seem like a really cool live band, and there’s something kind of sexy about a hot chick headbanging while playing accordion, so to have caught the whole set would have been sweet. Based on half of one live song: 7 out of 10.
The second act, Daniel Lioneye, was really fucking odd. I did some quick research into them, and they’re a HIM side project. Their singer is in fact Linde from HIM. They played a mix of black metal, melodic death metal, and Black Label Society-esque Southern rock, all with a stoner rock feel more than sound. Pretty good, but not something I would personally buy. 6 out of 10.
Nachtmystium took the stage to barely any fanfare. Poor bastards in the crowd had no idea who Nachtmystium are, it would seem, because there wasn’t much cheering. And as the band got off the stage, there still wasn’t much cheering. I hope it’s because everyone was stunned by how awesome they played.
Seriously, Nachtmystium became one of my favorite bands after last night. The sound wasn’t as muddied as Daniel Lioneye’s, making Blake’s vocals intelligable, and keeping all the instruments fairly well balanced. It’s hard as hell to do that at Edmonton Event Centre, mostly because it’s a shitty designed venue. Throw in a band that actually fucking PERFORMS and you’ve got a guaranteed win.
Sadly, Nachtmystium do perform a style of metal that does require one to have an attention span, intelligence, and the ability to recognize more than one musical influence at a time, which is probably part of the reason there were not as many people into the music as I thought there would be. Yes, Edmonton, that is a mild insult. I hope you’ll overcome your shortcomings in the future, because this band is pure win. 9 out of 10.
Cradle of Filth had the baton passed to them, and they were really good at getting the crowd into the tunes, but I’ll be honest when I say I’ve never been a huge fan. And after seeing them live, I’m still not a huge fan. Dani’s a great frontman, but at times seems awkward with himself more than others. The lady at the keyboards is gorgeous, and while no Sarah Jezebel Deva, she does the female vocals that SJD did on the albums wonderful justice, especially in “Her Ghost in the Fog”. The rest of the band, Paul, Dave, Martin and James, brought Cradle of Filth’s Gothic-tinged black metal sound to a loud and proud level for Edmonton once again, getting the crowed pumped and the pit somewhat violent looking. The sound man obviously had not shit the bed, as pretty much everything that Cradle did was crystal clear, so kudos to him. But ultimately, I prefer Cradle of Filth’s recorded music more than their live show. 6 out of 10.