Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Doom
Label: Peaceville

English doom masters Anathema’s classic 1995 album The Silent Enigma was remastered and rereleased by Peaceville in 2003, and as a wicked bonus, it comes with a DVD with four promo vids and a 1996 concert in Krakow.
The album itself is rifftastic, slow moving doom with astonishing vocals from Vincent Cavanagh, who at the time the album was recorded was brand new to the microphone. It’s very British, with comparisons to My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, the other two bands that along with Anathema make up the Peaceville Three, but it’s different in ways that defines Anathema from the rest of the doom metal pack.
For The Silent Enigma, I award a 7.5 out of 10.
The DVD, entitled A Vision of a Dying Embrace, is really good. The promo videos are pretty much what you’d expect, the same vids you could have caught on MTV, MuchMusic, or any other music video TV station back when they still existed. As it is, you can probably catch these videos on YouTube now. The concert, however, is a different story.
It’s a very well filmed show in what looks like a fair-sized venue with a pretty big and supportive crowd. The audio is exceptional, with many camera angles to enjoy the concert from. In many cases the view is much more intimate than what the concertgoers themselves could attain, which is pretty damn sweet. This is the kind of show that could be put onto it’s own DVD without being included as a bonus to an album.
A Vision of a Dying Embrace gets itself an 8 out of 10.

Anathema Fan Page on Facebook.

Genres: Black Metal, Folk Metal, Pagan Metal
Label: Metal Blade Records

So the other night Mrs. Blaspheme and I are in HMV, as usual, and she said she’d grab a CD for me that’s under $22. So I saw Primordial, and liking their newer stuff that I’ve heard but not hearing the first album before, I grabbed Imrama. It was sitting at $19.99, so it passed the cash test.
And now, after hearing it twice, it passes the ear test. This album is a classic for black metal fans, and I understand why. It’s definitely grim, but unlike Scandinavian black metal, it’s not frostbitten. There is a beautiful warmth from the album that gives it a very different feel, and sound, and overall aura in comparison with Scandinavian black metal.
Must be all the Guinness and Harp.
Instrumentally, there’s nothing too special or odd, but since these guys are Irish and there is folk metal going on here, whistle and bodhran are present, which adds a really cool flavor.
Over all, Imrama kicks ass and I’m glad Metal Blade re-released it. I recommend it if you’re into folk metal like Arkona, or black metal like Hellhammer or Bathory.

Also tacked onto Imrama is the Dark Romanticism demo from 1993, which is great because trying to find it otherwise would probably prove to be a pain in the ass.
These four tracks show what would essentially become the sound of Imrama, just slightly more raw. Really great stuff.

The DVD that came with this Metal Blade re-release is a live show from 1994, in Cork. The video, the sound, the entire thing is rawer than a still living steak, and fuck is it gorgeous to behold. Stage jumpers, intense moshing, and Alan with long, flowing hair!
If you’ve already got Imrama and Dark Romanticism, this set is worth buying just for this concert footage.

CD: 8 out of 10.
DVD: 8 out of 10.

Primordial on MySpace.

Genre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse Records

I wasn’t really paying attention when I bought this. All I saw was Nile, Relapse, Digipak with either a second CD or a DVD. So I bought it.
And I’m not disappointed.
What this thing is, is a kind of “Greatest Hits” of Nile for their Relapse releases; three tracks from four albums, plus the second disc is a DVD with the videos for “Execration Text”, “Sarcophagus” (which my friend Thom loves the video for), and “Sacrifice Unto Sebek” (which I love the video for).
It’s probably not necessary for casual fans, but if you’re like me and you love metal on DVD, if you’re a huge Nile freak, or if you’re just getting into Nile and you really want a broad spectrum overview of their music, this is a perfect package to look into.
If only the DVD had more to it than three videos. Some interviews, behind the scenes antics, that kind of
stuff, would have been a better farewell to Nile from Relapse Records’ roster than what’s presented here.
CD: 9 out of 10.
DVD: 7 out of 10.

Nile on MySpace.