Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Progressive
Label: The End Records 

While doing my research in preparation of this review, I noticed that this album seems to catch a lot of shit. And I don’t mean that like, the odd old school Opeth fanboy just blasts it for no good reason either. I’m talking about pages long arguments as to why Damnation is Opeth’s worst album. I mean, these things look like they were written by Ivy League professors. I have to ask, “why”? Why the extreme hatred? Why the surprised reaction? Wasn’t Opeth kind of building towards something like this?

Thing is, I can kind of see why so many felt betrayed. Even if you noticed that they were heading in this particular direction, even if momentarily, it’d still end up being a kind of shock to the system. It’s actually pretty crazy if you think about it; Not a single song on this album is trying to be anything except for progressive rock. Nothing even remotely extreme. Yeah, I can see how some felt alienated by this change. Lucky for me, I have little to no expectation for these albums since I’m fairly new to the whole Opeth deal. And in my opinion, Damnation is my favorite re-issue of the three.

Everything about this album is dead center on the Perfect Progressive Album bull’s eye! Mikael’s voice is right were it needs to be, when it needs to be there. He doesn’t have the best voice in the world, but it’s exactly what is called for here and now and in this album. His progressive structure throughout Damnation is occupying Floydian Genius territory! Yeah, there’s a HUGE Pink Floyd influence hanging around here too. You can really hear it in the misty and almost purely atmospheric tones and chillin’ out tempos that populate this album. It should also be said that the incorporation of a grand piano and the creative, ivory ticklin’ manstermind, Steven Wilson is a perfect addition to this line-up of already top-notch musicians in this delicious prog pie.

I also love how even though, not every musician gets a huge slice of said pie (time wise), nobody seems to be underplayed or underused. It’s like I said earlier, where they need to be and when they need to be there. It applies to everything about this album. Not a single note feels like it could of been longer or possibly cut short. None of the lyrics feel forced or even slightly hacked. There’s a perfect balance between vocals to instrumental ratio so that it won’t harsh your mellow (maybe that’s speculation…). There’s not a damn thing that I could say about this album that’s even remotely negative.

Overall: Hate it as an Opeth album or love it as a monumental step in creative direction, either way you have to give it up to Damnation for being a juggernaut of a progressive rock album. I’m even willing to go as far as to say that this album earns a spot towards the very peak of my Best Progressive Albums EVAH! List! And thank you The End for exposing me to this whole Opethian affair.

10/10

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Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Progressive
Label: The End Records

This may come as a shock to some of you out there in The FuneralRaindom, but I’ve never fully cared either way about Opeth. I mean, I know that these guys are one of the more polarizing bands in all of metal (and one of the biggest reasons for this is today’s subject of review, Blackwater Park) but I’ve just never cared all that much. It’s not that their brand of melodic death metal/progressive metal was a turn-off or anything, it’s just that I never gave them a chance. I think the closest thing to that “chance” would of been when I took a few extra seconds to figure out what the clerk at the 7-11 was listening to one night. Turns out it was this album and I’m not going to lie, it sounded pretty tempting. I just have a shitty memory and forgot to look it up when I got home. Oh well, if it was really something that amazing, it’d find me later on down the road.

And it did. YEARS later, but it did. The fine folks at The End Records (for some fucking reason) sent me a box of CDs, including the re-releases of Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Damnation (watch for those reviews shortly). So thanks for that!

Anyway, on to the review!

The album itself comes in a glossy case with a fairly thick booklet of liner notes and lyrics! That’s some snazzy stuff right there! Also included on the audio disc is a live rendition of The Leper Affinity that fairs pretty well in the  grand scheme of things.

Let’s skip over to Disc 2 (a DVD) for a second. You get the 5.0 Surround Sound version of the album album that, I’m sure sounds fucking amazing on a Bose sound system but not all that great coming through my stock speakers in my $200 Magnetbox. Next up, is the Making Of Blackwater Park documentary. Wow… you may as well of watched them record this album in real time because you learn just as much from the documentary. Very in-depth! The boys Opeth talk about how just about every riff was thought up, every lyric was dreamt of and you walk away learning how every moment was genius.

And with that a little too on the nose segue, let’s go back to the main attraction! Since I never got to listen to Blackwater Park beforehand, I can’t tell you if this version is superior to any of the earlier recordings. What I can tell you is that the sound quality is excellent, period. Starting the album up, I was pretty damned excited. I get to listen to an album that I’ve been unconsciously dodging for a couple of years now (it also helped that since it was for review, I had no choice)! About a quarter of the way into the first track, I knew I was in trouble. Aggressive, progressive, melodic death metal? I messed ‘em…

Lyrically, Mikael Akerfeldt’s words are hauntingly beautiful and terrifyingly surreal at times. They’ll take you all over the goddamned place and drag you through murky waters and barbed brier to get you there.  But it’s done in such a way that you’ll ask to go again when all is said and done.

As for the overall musicianship… do I really have to say anything here? Most of you already know that this album owns in just about every aspect. Akerfeldt’s voice is simply perfect for the task at hand. Mellow and clean when needed and an oceanically deep growl for when the moments arise. Mikael and Peter Lindgren’s guitar work is also on par with that of some kind of actual guitar Wizard! It’s all so magical! Every riff (that on occasion are played ad naseum, I’ll admit) sounds like a happiness spell that was cast on my eager, prog loving ears. The acoustic stuff is especially pleasing since it’s not overused and punctuates the ends of the better tracks.

Skinman Martin Lopez dazzles on his set with spellbinding rhythms and manic foot work that pops up out of nowhere. I was incredibly happy to learn that the talent didn’t just reside in the vocals and guitars like everyone I knew tried to make me think. This album HAD TO have a competent drummer to be half as good as everyone says it is. I’m also glad to know that I was right, as I always do.  And finally, we have bassist Martin Mendez and his speedy bass lines. Seriously, you don’t catch bass rumblin’s like that in progressive metal all too often (and that’s not often enough if you ask me). This guy might be my favorite progressive/melodic bassist next to Ed Vink.

As I mentioned before, some of the riffs are repeated to the point of me being able to point out that they can be a bit repetitive. But they’re great riffs and maybe they deserve to get pounded into your head! No, forget that. They can get to be kind of irritating. So there you naysayers go. I smudged this album a tiny bit. Ya happy?

Overall: I can honestly say that this album deserves all of the hype that’s been surrounding it for eleven years. It is everything you could possibly ask for in a progressive/melodic experience and more. Sure it’s a bit on the repetitive side, but I think that that is a pitfall that every progressive outfit falls into every once in a while. Aside from that, this re-release of Blackwater Park is a “Must Have” if you don’t already have it and if you do, then I beg you to consider this version if not only for the documentary.

9.5/10

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Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: CynNormal Lab Recordings

If the guys from Cynic and Gigan took a truckload of Ritalin before hitting the recording studio, I believe that the end result would sounds something like Abnormal Thought Patterns’s debut EP.

Since I brought it up, I think that if you were able to transmute Abnormal Thought Patterns music into pill from, you’d be left with a highly addictive psychotropic narcotic. Eases the pain by passing through the aural barrier and into the blood and brain barriers. Effective for clearing up a shitty day at work or whatever else is ailing you. Unfortunately, you can’t just stop listening to it. You’ll have to finish the seven track dose or else you’ll go through horribly horrible withdrawals! So do yourself a favor and listen to the whole damned EP and pass over the pain.

Getting back on track, Abnormal Thought Patterns is technical. The two aforementioned bands are decent comparisons in terms of overall sound. But ATP does it all with a certain panache. Primarily the kind were you decide to be an instrumental four piece technical/progressive metal outfit. (Where’s the marketability?  <— F!O!A!D!) Luckily for us, these guys know what they’re doing and who their audience is and they show it by playing with a gusto reserved for hardcore veterans of the genre with finger breaking tech riffs and hyper hammering drumwork exploding out of every track! Even the bass gets it’s fair shot at glory! That just doesn’t happen enough nowadays, am I right?

Unlike other EPs where I always end up bitching about how I was teased with only a little bit of what is to come in the future, Abnormal Thought Patterns went ahead and made sure that you not only got a pretty damned good taste of what these guys are all about, but also that you wouldn’t be teased at all. Sure the EP runs around twenty minutes or so, but there’s enough meat on the bones to slate your progressive hunger.

As for the Cons tally, we have an oldie but a validie: the EP tends to get a little on the repetitive side. The end of each track (minus the bass solo track, Ulnar Nerve Damage which is amazingly good!) sounds enough like the beginning of each track to trigger deja vu. But when they’re playing mind melting progressive riffs throughout, is a little repetition gonna kill ya? …didn’t think so.

Overall: Abnormal Thought Patterns debut EP is a mircoburst of progressive genius! I don’t normally use the word “fun” in my reviews, but it’s hard to deny that there is a whole lot of fun to be had in this offering. And even though it’s a relatively short outing, there is more than enough evidence on these seven tracks to let you know what the inevitable album will be like. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott Mosher had a hand in this somewhere…

9.5/10

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Genres: Depressive Black Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Progressive Metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

Ekove Efrits presents a strange listen, one that is somewhat hard to get through without rewinding it once in awhile to catch something that caught your ear. The core is based around black metal, with a depressive lean, but it’s so progressive in ways that it’s hard to call it black metal at all in some sections.
Strings and keys play a huge part in the overall sound, with a slightly longer song structure averaging just over six minutes. Slower paces and spoken words, whispers, and immense atmosphere really help drag you into the music. I wouldn’t recommend playing this at your next party, unless you were planning a Jim Jones tribute.
Fans of Nine Inch Nails (especially The Fragile), Kraftwerk, Opeth, Morgul, and HDR’s other releases should not miss out on this one. It’s really good.
7 out of 10.

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Genre: Progressive Black Metal
Label: Southern Lord

Pushing black metal into further left field regions, while keeping it firmly rooted in it’s origins can’t be an easy feat. But Wolves in the Throne Room seem to do it just fine, perhaps even making it an easy feat after three albums and two demos before Celestial Lineage.
Musically, this album is beyond what many people would call black metal. WITTR are taking cues, it seems, from Isis (whose own Aaron Turner makes chanting appearances on “Subterranean Initiation” and “Permanent Changes in Consciousness”), Xasthur, Leviathan, and even touches of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Junius with some classic American rock leanings, as well as Darkthrone, Celtic Frost, Emperor, and even Dimmu Borgir at times.

The artwork for Celestial Lineage is amazing. Photographs, presumably taken near Calliope, depict a peaceful, beautiful rural setting, with Nathan and Aaron in the distance in a falling-down forest on the back cover. The sleeves for the records are equally photographed, featuring mountains, forest, and a deforested area as well. The vinyl itself for both records is some of the blackest I’ve ever seen, the sheen on it is magical, and at 180gm the platters have a good weight.
In all, it really meshes together, the physical beauty of the records and the auditory beauty that is on the records.

“Thuja Magus Imperium” is in many ways a classy black metal song. It starts off ambient-infused and has Jessika Kenney singing wonderful vocals, then Nathan takes over with his blackened lungs and riffs. A wonderful solo happens in it, which in the notes is called the “Black Acid Solo” (a perfect name for it), and it’s performed by Milky Burgess. The main riffs are reminiscent of slower Darkthrone, with a very haunting quality to it that brings Emperor’s Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk to mind.
“Permanent Changes in Consciousness” is very much an ambient track, with wind and meditative chanting being the main sounds. There is a wonderful underlayer of percussion and windchime-esque sounds. Lovely, but far too short for such a great ambient gem.
“Subterranean Initiation” starts off fast and hard, keeping the wind sounds but turning them into a gale rather than a breeze. If the more cinematic elements of modern Dimmu Borgir were performed by Celtic Frost, this song might result. Very strong riff structure that moves you along, rather than allowing you to come with it, is combined with beautiful keys. All of this gets stripped away for a short time, however, and we are left with only a bare guitar momentarily, and the song slows right down for about a minute, only to return to it’s Celtic Borgir beginnings. Faith Coloccia does additional chants on this song, with Timb Harris writing and performing the “uprooting string arrangements”.
“Rainbow Illness” is another instrumental, led primarily by keys and possible field recordings. Really good, but again, too short.
“Woodland Cathedral” seems to be the baby of Jessika Kenney, with her taking control of choral vocal performance, arrangement, lyrics, and organ. The woman is amazing, her voice strong and uplifting, while her organ work really brings you down to earth. This is almost in no way a black metal song, other than the undertones of guitar, bass, and drums, which slowly come closer to the fore, which makes it even more of a black metal song, to me. This song really reminds me of parts of the Treasure album by Cocteau Twins.
“Astral Blood” starts off as a total second wave black metal song, with riffing and drumming sounding like a drier Darkthrone, until the keys kick in at least. Then it becomes all Wolves in the Throne Room. Thick vintage tone comes from their amps, and analog synths bubble up; no longer is this dry. Wet with emotion, “Astral Blood” may well be my favorite song on the album. I love the harp/wind section by Zeynep Okyu Yilmaz at the 4ish-minute mark. It’s just so moving, it’s hard to concentrate on anything else. Honestly, this whole song is like that. It definitely pulls at the heartstrings.
“Prayer of Transformation” picks up on the ending of “Astral Blood”, then morphs into it’s own lumbering beast. The entire song moves at a slow pace, bringing a doomy flavor to the occult lyrics. The synths are just brilliant, and what I think is more field recordings make quiet undercurrents throughout. There is nothing extreme about this song, except Nathan’s vocals, but the whole is extremely moving. I could sleep to this, and perhaps have the most pleasant dreams of bringing the dead back to golden life. The ending is great, with the keys and guitars coming up into a crescendo, then dropping off into ambiance for about a minute.

This is where, as the final record begins to click the fact that it is over, you turn off your record player, take off the record, put it back into its sleeve, and put the first one on the turntable again, and take the spiritual and emotional journey once, or even twice more. I could listen to this album, and only this album, for days. It is spellbinding and gorgeous. Beautiful. Perfect.
10 out of 10.

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