Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genre: Crust Punk, D-Beat
Label: Southern Lord 

Ah, d-beat. You and I haven’t been the best of friends for the past little while, have we? I’ve neglected you quite a bit in favor of more… mainstream tastes and for that, I am sorry. To make it up to you, I have spent the last two days straight listening to Swedish d-beat mavens, Wolfbrigade and their latest offering to the crusty genre, Damned.

Since I wasn’t a huge fan or Prey To The World, I wasn’t expecting too much from Damned. And to be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to think about this album at first. I mean, it’s super aggressive and has a true, grimy crust punk feel to it from beginning to end, but  it’s fairly simplistic instrumentally (no real surprise there, but I meant “more than usual”) and the vocalist’s style of “let’s see how long I can strain my voice like this” vocals get irritating pretty quick.

There are a few classic d-beat riffs going on in Damned (the latter half of the album especially) and as stripped down as some of the songs can get, it doesn’t really detract from the dark mood that Wolfbrigade has set up. Another check in the Pro box would be the drumming. While it’s not particularly mind-blowing, it is inventive. If I could just isolate the drum track and listen to it as is, I probably would every once in a while. Lots of fun to be had in Damned if you’re a fan of manic drumming in a gloomier setting. I know that I mentioned earlier that the vocals got on my nerves. Yes, they did… but they aren’t really all that bad. Sure, I’m concerned that the vocalist isn’t going to be able to speak for a week after replicating them live, but he seems to be cool with it so who am I to judge, really?

The major flaw of this album is it’s inability to stick with me after I turn off my player. I listened to Damned for TWO DAYS STRAIGHT and I couldn’t recite a single lyric or hum a single melody as of right now. All that kept happening was I would hum something off of Death Songs (When Tigers Fight)… I’m not sure if that a dis to Wolfbrigade (Sorry!) or a testament to how awesome When Tigers Fight are (still sorry WB).

Overall: From what I can remember at any given time about this album, it’s definitely a solid effort and something that should belong in any d-beat enthusiast’s collection. But I probably won’t be returning to Damned for a while. I’ll just go ahead and say that part of that is because of the repeated listens. Seriously though, don’t let my whining keep you from checking this album out.

7/10

-  Typhon

Wolfbrigade On Facebook

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

Opeth Official
Opeth On Facebook
Opeth On ReverbNation 

Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Label: The End Records 

Ah! And here we are again with Opeth and their distinct brand of melodic metal! Unlike their previous album, Deliverance is more on the heavy, melodicly death metally side of the spectrum. And this particular re-issue doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles that Blackwater Park re-issue did. Just a shinny new finish to the overall sound quality. Much appreciated as it once again, sounds fantastic.

The sonic assault that awaited me as I switched out my Blackwater Park album for this one left me in somewhat of a daze. It’s pretty obvious that this is the same band as before, but only slightly. All of the uber tight musicianship is still there and Mikael’s voice is still a perfect match for what’s being played all over. The big difference, as stated before, is that Deliverance is heavy as balls! Speedier beats and a hell of a lot more aggression flows from Martin Lopez and this sticks. Especially in those extended blast beats!

The guitar work is top notch once again! Masterful riffs machine gun and chug their way across your eardrums, tearing anything that may resist into hole riddled husks in the process. That is, when they crank up the arggo. Overall though, the guitar tones are still fairly chill if not a little bit fast in some spots. That’s kind of an odd description, but those of you who’ve heard this album before know exactly what I’m talking about. And once again, we have bass work that begs to be acknowledged for the genius that it is. It’s not very often that the murky bass lines of a melodic album get called out front to beat the audience into submission. I’m sure Martin Mendez doesn’t mind answering that call though.

With the brilliance that is Opeth beginning to grow on me, it’s getting harder to pick out things to be unhappy with (normally, it’s not nearly as big a problem if you know what I mean). All I can really say is that apparently, it’s a habitual problem of Opeth’s to be found recycling the same riffs over and over and over again. Sure guys, I we know their great. You know their great! But that doesn’t mean you should bludgeon us over the collective head with them! Geez…

Overall: Even if there’s not much to report back on about the re-issueness of this re-issue, the album itself is still a powerhouse of a release! Speedier, melodic, minimal prog (meh. I could of use more just to keep up the flow. But you can’t fault a band for exploring the directions they wish to) and a whole lot of heavy! Opeth are scoring two for two with me so far and something tells me that I’m going to love Damnation just as much as these two previous albums…

9/10

Opeth Official
Opeth On Facebook
Opeth On ReverbNation 

Abyss Records is pleased to announce the recent signing of Sweden’s Carnivore. Plans are in place for the label to re-release a limited edition version of the band’s EP Faces of Death in early 2012. Carnivore is set to enter the studio in December of this year to record their full-length debut, which will be out sometime next year. Faces of Death is currently streaming on the band’s SoundCloud page.

Carnivore Live Dates:

1/5 – Slaughterhouse – Växjö, Sweden
3/31 – Garf – Växjö, Sweden
TBA – Tilbakakaka Festival
TBA – Säljeryd Festival
5/19 – 5/20 Westbay Heaven n Hell Festival

Bio:

Carnivore was formed in 2010 when a former project of three of the members, called Beyond Hell, underwent major line-up changes and decided to make a new start. The band played several local shows during 2010 and in 2011 they recorded a three-song EP called Faces of Death. Faces of Death was released on June 1st, and sold out in 2 hours.
Carnivore‘s musical style is based on old school elements with a modern and progressive touch, as well as an philosophical and occult lyrical element.

Daniel Ocic Sundberg – Vocals
Tobias Pettersson – Guitar
Jonas Davidsson – Guitar
Cedrik Petersson – Bass
Marcus Nieminen – Drums

Where: Starlite Room, Edmonton, Alberta
When: October 7, 2011

Last night I was expecting only to see one band, Alcest, but as it turns out I got to see two.

Junius opened up the show with their brand of American post metal. Isis, Pelican, and Deftones all smashed up together into a gorgeous, heavy blend. These guys are phenomenal live, and even Mrs. Blaspheme is a certified fan now. I hope they feel their reception was good enough for them to come back to Edmonton soon, because I know I’ll be there, at the front. We definitely grabbed one of their CDs on out way out, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, as well as a pair of patches.

After Junius awed the crowd, Alcest took the stage with a very warm reception. There were quite of people there for Alcest, rather than the headliner. Neige and his full band (I wondered if he would have a band as the albums are pretty much just him and drummer Winterhalter) were quite the atypical stereotypes of Frenchmen: quiet and polite, rather than loud and polite. And not a cigarette was lit once the whole set! I wish I could have filmed Neige say “We are Alcest from France”, it was the perfect introduction to them.

This is another band that Mrs. Blaspheme has come to love, just as I told her she would. Shoegaze and black metal combine to create a mesmerizing effect on the listener, and the viewer too. I wondered how Alcest would translate live, and they translate just fine. Deep fog shrouded them most of the time, with blue backlighting outlining their obscured forms, but on occasions where the fog dissipated, the whole band was smiling, really feeling the music and the crowd. Along with the Junius CD we left with Le Secret on vinyl and Écailles De Lune Digipak CD.

After Alcest Enslaved were going to play, but we had to leave before then. Which, I must say, is not to slight Enslaved. Rather it’s because we work too much and had been up at four in the morning and had to get up again at five. So a late night was not going to be possible, as my eyes were heavy before Junius even. Also, to be honest, we’ve seen Enslaved before, opening for Dimmu Borgir on their last trip through town, and it was awesome. So hopefully they come back again soon because I would love to see them again. Sorry guys. Next time.

In all, it was a near perfect night. The only blemish on the proceedings was the “7 o’clock” doors (7:45ish) and the 9:15 start time. If only Starlite actually opened their doors when they said they would. Also, if only they weren’t still purporting that Ghost were to be playing the show. Junius were their replacements.