Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genres: Blackened Death Metal, Melodic Black Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Belphegor’s blackened death is much more death this time around, taking a huge step towards Morbid Angel worship (especially in the second song, “Rise To Fall And Fall To Rise”), but still full of blackened atmosphere and Satanic intent.
Technicality in the instruments is pushed, while production of the album as a whole is catapulted. Each instrument is heard as it’s separate little whole within the whole, and Helmuth’s voice is even more evil, sometimes taking on a more David Vincent/Domination underwater sound effect to affect the listener more. Melody is present, even in the vocals, and wonderfully used to obtain some of the most catchy blackened death ever recorded.
The art, like all Belphegor albums, is gorgeous. Nudes, animal heads, and Photoshop are all used wonderfully to create a perfect companion to the listening experience.
This one is for fans of Morbid Angel, Behemoth, and Lucifer himself.
8 out of 10.

Belphegor on Facebook.
Belphegor on MySpace.

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.

Here’s another old interview from Funeral Rain Zine’s infancy. Posted to the FRZ MySpace back in June 2009, my e-chat with Ailyn from Sirenia was, I think, one of the first big stepping stones for myself and FRZ. Enjoy.

For people who have never heard Sirenia, how would you describe the sound of the band?

I would say Sirenia’s style is Gothic Metal or Symphonic Metal, but maybe people think otherwise. I never listen to music and say “this band’s style is that one, that other band’s got this other style”. Does it matter the style when the music is good?

What of the lyrical themes? Are there any themes that seem to repeat, or are they more of a story or concept?

Morten composed the tracks from the album as he’s always done with all Sirenia albums, so the stories behind each song are only known by him and he never reveals his inspirations. He prefers each person to give the meaning they want. So I could give you my opinion, but I don’t want it to be like a statement of the real meaning, so I’ll keep it to myself.

You are in a band that has a strong history, even before it’s current inception. You are in a position that requires you to follow in the footsteps of three other frontwomen, who each have their own fans. Do you find this daunting at all?

From the beginning I knew it wouldn’t be easy, because the band’s got former singers and some people prefer them over me, but I don’t find it annoying, cos it’s usual. Each person has their taste and some think they like more former singers, but I’m not Fabienne, Henriette or Monika, we all have our own unique style. My singing being different from theirs doesn’t mean I’m better or worse, just I’m different. I’m just trying to give my best, so my band is happy with me and the choice they made when they selected me, and so people can like my work and be happy with it.

You yourself have a strong history in music, singing ever since you were 15. Could you give us a quick rundown of your music career?

I found I wanted to be a singer when I was about 12, but I just sang at home. I played my favourite singers of the moment’s songs and tried to imitate them, and that’s how I began with music. At 15 I told my mum I wanted to be a singer, and I got enlisted to a musical school, but for personal reasons I had to leave after just one year. Then sometime later I sang every year in my home town in a show they made to get funds for Alzheimer disease. I’ve also participated in contests, both nationally and internationally. In 2007 I was in the first Spanish edition of X Factor, and I was booted off the fifth. When I was out of the show I worked with some musicians from Granada, but the project didn’t work out because they wanted pop and I wanted Gothic Metal. Just after I left this project, I got the chance to be Sirenia’s new vocalist.

How was recording the new album for you? Did you have time to get to know the band before recording, or were you pretty much thrust into the role?

The album’s recording was real fun. In the studio there were just Morten and I, and we had so much fun during the recording process. It was easier than I thought it would be. At first I was slightly worried because it was the first time I was in a studio to record something so important as a Sirenia album, but just as the music started it was easy. Morten’s music gives so many things so I just had to let myself go into what I was listening.
When we began recording I already knew the band members, because in the second audition they were all there. Also, before the album’s recording we had a couple of shows.

The first single from the new album, entitled “The Path to Decay” has a great video, directed by Patric Ullaeus. How was working with Patric for you and the band?

Working with Patric was really great for us, he’s a charming person and very professional. Also, Patric’s been on the industry for so long and he’s worked with many big bands, so he’s got a lot of experience in this. So for a band like us it was great to work with someone like him because he understands our vision of things. Even before seeing the results of the video shooting we knew we would be happy with the final result.

Other than the kinds of music you perform, what do you listen to? Are there any particular bands you’d like to namedrop as favorites or influences?

Since I began singing, I listen to all kind of music styles, I don’t like to concentrate in just one style. Listening to all this, I get the chance to learn things that I wouldn’t if I just listened to just one of them. There are a lot of bands and vocalists that I like, so I can’t start saying which ones or we would never end!

I’ve read that you happen to love videogames. What kind of consoles do you prefer, and what’s your favorite game at the moment, and your favorite game of all time?

I love videogames, but lately I don’t have time to play, but for long travels I usually take my PSP so I can get distracted. At the moment I like a lot of games, but my most favorite videogame from years ago is Final Fantasy 7.

I’ve also read that you’re a fan of The Lord of the Rings, the books and films. What else is on your reading/watching list?

Yes, I am a big fan of The Lord of the Rings. Before the movies were shot I already had read the books a couple of times. I love everything that’s written by Tolkien, even I can’t remember exactly how many times I’ve read each book or seen every movie. I like to read all kind of stuff, but I love fantasy books, with fiction, action, etc…

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Wow! Double consonants ist krieg!

Interesting enough, I took a Rorschach Test that looked an awful lot like this album cover…  I still have fully recovered from the electroshock therapy… Anyway, on to the bitter, biting cold of All Shall Fall (FUN FACT: After I wrote that opening paragraph, my computer FROZE! No joke!)

Ah. The immortal sound of… Immortal! Grim. Indifferent. Menacing. Three thorn riddled branches stemming from the same gnarled, ages old tree. Three mighty, evil barbarians that bring a plague of unrelenting black metal to the forefront of sterile genre. Ironically renewing the fire with an old-school dose of what they do best! All Shall Fall is the next logical step after Sons Of Northern Darkness; well produced, aggressive where it needs to be, epic at all times and completely unforgiving (I’ve heard some go as far to say “Sons pt 2”, but I think that‘s a bit much). It’s classic Immortal! What more do you really need to know?

Overall: All Shall Fall is easily my number two album of Immortal’s. Sure this review is a little late in the game but hey, at least it’s here. Past the Gates to Blashyrkh and get your hands on All Shall Fall!

9/10

Immortal On MySpace

Also Posted On E-MetalSpace