Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Death/Black Metal

Label: Abyss Records

Fester! Norwegian old school death metal! I was excited when I saw the email containing this gem in my inbox. I LOVE obscure, putrid old school death metal, and the bands from the old Norwegian scene are among my favorites. Old Funeral, Thou Shalt Suffer, Amputation, Molestation, Cadaver, and of course FESTER! Their first album “Winter of Sin” which was reissued last year by Abyss Records, is one of my favorite death metal albums. It is because of that career defining album that Fester are associated with death metal.

It only makes sense that Abyss would next reissue Fester second and last album, Silence. Contrastingly, Silence is not a death metal record. Not at all. Literally the only shared trait between these norsemen’s debut and sophmore epitaph is the shrieking vocal style.

If it’s not death metal, what is it? Is this a forgotten Norwegian black metal record ala Burzum and Mayhem? I don’t know what to call this, actually. It’s melodic and very black metal influenced (not surprising, they are from Norway). It’s full of clean guitar and catchy melodies, for fuck’s sake! To put things in perspective, there are guitar leads on this album that would not be out of place on a Van Halen album.

I’m not sure what this can be compared to; the closest acts I can think of are a couple of underground black metal bands called Atavysm and Bitterfrost. If I had to put it in a genre, I would call it melodic or maybe even progressive black metal. Positive black metal, if I may have creative license. The songs are filled with a kind of emotional warmth I often get from Agalloch.

If you’re still not convinced of the oddball nature of this album, let me offer one final proof: this album is happy. By that I mean it’s very upbeat and optimistic. It has a generally uplifting mood, and makes me feel, well uh, good. Even the aforementioned black metal shrieks sound nearly euphoric in conjunction with the nostalgic, triumphant riffing.

Not that it doesn’t have ferocious sections and pounding drums, but it completely lacks the ferocity of Marduk, the melancholy of Burzum, or the regal evil of Dissection. Silence is a mellow ride over snowcapped mountains, on the back of your pet dragon, at sunrise.

Now, before I close this review, you may ask, is all of this positive or negative commentary? I’d be glad to spell it out for you: Generally, when a death or black metal band adapts such a commercial sound, I hate it, but it works very well for Fester. Silence is a classic of its own that stands tall and proud next to Winter of Sin. I would recommend this album to black metal fans as well as anyone who likes any kind of melodic metal with blackened influence, whether that be Agalloch, Dissection, or Arghoslent. I give Fester’s Silence a solid 8/10.

Fester On MySpace

Genre: Gothic Metal
Label: Napalm Records

Midnattsol is another band I’ve never listened to before, but after giving The Metamorphosis Melody a listen, I wish I had gotten to hear them earlier.
A mournful, slower gothic metal seems to be The Metamorphosis Melody, a haunting album full of strong guitar riffs, great leads, and a woman who can sing a great tenor. There are faster songs on the disc (“A Poet’s Prayer” is one of them), but for the most part the album doesn’t move much faster than a walk. It’s perfect for the Discman and a forest on a spring day. The keys are more of a background element, supporting the guitar and voice. Drums and bass are even further in behind, holding everything up, occasionally coming closer to the fore during choruses.
Favorites are “Spellbound”, “A Poet’s Prayer”, and “Goodbye”.
7 out of 10.

Midnattsol on Facebook.
Midnattsol on MySpace.

Genres: Gothic Metal, Symphonic Metal
Label: Napalm Records

Truthfully, I’ve never checked out Leaves’ Eyes before, but with this album I was quite excited to. They are legends in their musical realm with a huge following, but it was the album artwork that really caught my eye at first, as it’s a gorgeous piece of art. Naturally, it seems to follow the symphonic/gothic metal conventions that some bands have taken with having a hot chick on the cover, but this hot chick is surfacing from underwater amid Celtic cross gravestones. Really cool looking.
The music is just as good as the cover art, with a wonderful singer backed up by a killer band. Heavy riffs put a strong backbone to the music with some really deadly leads overlaid. The keys aren’t just boring drones or background noise, or being used as an annoying weapon against the listener, but actually taking a major role inside of the music, working in concert with everything else. One of the biggest bonuses for me is songs that aren’t sung in English. I don’t know if that’s a usual thing for Leaves’ Eyes, but some of the songs on Meredead are in Liv Kristine’s native Norwegian. The use of traditional instruments (violins and the like) is a bonus too.
My favorite songs are “Kråkevisa”, “Meredead” (great guitar solo and keyboards in this song), and “Sigrlinn” (there’s some serious death growls in this song with the most vicious riffing on the album).
7.5 out of 10.

Leaves’ Eyes on Facebook.
Leaves’ Eyes on MySpace.

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Candlelight Records

Varg Vikernes needs no introduction. The man returns with his second album since his release from prison, and it’s everything one expects it to be: grim as fuck, while still pushing the boundaries of what black metal is and could be. Still seemingly not concerned with what anyone thinks, and stepping to the forefront of the genre with no fear, Varg delivers what could be his best album ever.
Fallen takes the listener through several moods, most of which is melancholy with a sense of hope, an anxiousness that is not generally one of Varg’s best known moods. It’s amazing to hear such music from the man, who has played some of the most bleak and misanthropic black metal ever.
I love Fallen, and eagerly await the next album.
10 out of 10.

Genres: Hardcore, Metal, Punk, Rock
Labels: Indie Recordings, The End Records

As anyone who comes along these parts knows, we don’t get much punk reviewed. So when I was offered to review Kvelertak’s debut full length, I jumped at it immediately. Then when I saw it has John Baizley’s trademark style of art for the cover, I was immediately intrigued even further.
I mean, fuck man, it’s an OWL with TENTACLES and FLOWERS and WOMEN!
Anyway, the music. Kvelertak are a strange Norway band that mixes a couple genres together, but mostly it’s hardcore and punk at it’s… hard core. Bad joke. Screaming in their native tongue, which throws the listener off at first, Kvelertak’s self-titled is a gorgeous intro for those that haven’t heard them, and a refreshing change of pace from the standards in punk rock right now, where everything is English-spoken.
The album is full of rifftastic music that reminds me of everything from Black Flag to AC/DC, showing their influences off like it’s going out of style, with a vocalist that sounds like he should be in a nuthouse. In other words, pretty damn sweet. Throw in a couple instances of a blackening touch and some slightly death moments, and it’s a disc full of schizophrenic win; no wonder why Kvelertak has won two Spellmann Awards (Norway’s Grammy Award). It’s hitting North American shelves in eight days (with killer bonus tracks!), so go get it.
8.5 out of 10.

Kvelertak on MySpace.