Saros, featuring the (amazing, need we say?) drummer from the legendary Weakling, is one of San Francisco's up and coming heavy metal outfits, playing a blend of thrash, black and speed metal that takes no prisoners live (and now, on record). Saros are all about old school rippage mixed with weird black metal epic experimentation... On their debut full-length Five Pointed Tongue you get a fierce lesson in modern metal melding, the band both galloping and trudging (depending) through five fairly long tracks (43 minutes total) that mix up blackened rasps, clean vocal melodies, some acoustic guitar, prog-rock song structures, widdly solos, and plenty of traditional Bay Area 'banging. No matter the twists and turns, in one of Saros' songs you're never far from a blast of icy riffage. And quite a beating when it comes to the drums! Requisite obscure metal nerd reference: I wonder if these guys are at all familiar with French Canadian tech metallers Obliveon? I think they'd like them.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Hot on the heels of their much revered debut Court in the Act, fresh-faced youngsters Satan have returned from the foggy English North to deliver another razor sharp slice of very regal, very classic, very BRITISH heavy metal!
Oh wait, did we mention that much revered debut actually came out 30 years ago?? That's right, it's been a LONG time coming, but Satan have reformed with their entire original line up intact (that never happens!) and have against all odds delivered one of the most potent and exhilarating heavy metal records of 2013. Life Sentence is buzzing with a youthful exuberance no one has any right to expect from a band well into its third decade - especially one that's been inactive for so long. The entire record is a blur of infectious riffs, confounding guitar leads and commanding vocals. Seeing as Satan originally emerged from the darker side of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, fans of bands like Angel Witch, Pagan Altar and Witchfynde are obviously going to find lots here to love. But there's something about the combination of Brian Ross' deep theatrical vocals layered over the band's unique brand of eccentric, dramatic heavy metal that also brings to mind Bay Area true metal stalwarts and long time aQ faves Brocas Helm, while some of the dizzying proto-thrash riffing and occasional piercing falsetto wails recall Mercyful Fate in their prime. Otherwise though, Life Sentence is a wholly British affair. Satan's approach to heavy metal feels historical and dignified with a sense of medieval dread running throughout (not unlike their also recently reformed NWOBHM peers Hell) with songs that might not sound out of place soundtracking a dreary English countryside besieged by plague, or perhaps a lively public execution by guillotine in the local town square! The production is appropriately understated and sparse to match, striking the perfect middle ground of a nice clean sound without ever sounding too modern or polished. Highly recommended for any traditional headbangers out there who prefer their metal a little bit dark and a little bit menacing, but still addictive and catchy as hell. Get this... lest ye be judged!
For whatever reason, we never really paid too much attention to Satan's Host, in the fine tradition of book cover judging, we sort of assumed they would be just another generic boring Satanic black metal band, and apparently they were at some point, and it makes sense, the band name, the cheesy (but cool) cover art, they're on Moribund, but this is maybe their 8th record or something, so we checked it out, and wow, not boring black metal, instead some strange sort of Satanic blackened power metal, led by the powerful soaring clean vocals of their original vocalist Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin, he also of the mighty Jag Panzer, and it's a pretty potent combination for sure, total epic TRUE metal vocals, nestled in some crushing, melodic, heavy as hell hybrid of classic metal and buzzing blackness, pretty tough to resist, especially if you love black metal, but tire of the raspy shrieks, or love metal, but find true metal and power metal a little to wimpy, well, then, this is for you.
And to top it off, they do an amazing/ridiculous/dumb/brilliant cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood", appropriately metallized (and damn it sounds good all buzzy and blasty), but even better, they rewrote the lyrics, so now it's about burning churches, "Norwegian Wood", get it?! Anyway, some seriously melodic blackened satanic power metal heaviness that the metalheads around here have been digging like crazy, and thus comes way recommended it you're of a similar stripe...
Remember the movie 2000 Maniacs? Where tourists are lured to a small Southern town and are forced to participate in 'games' that are essentially elaborate and ultra gory (and quite inventive) excuses for extreme torture that ultimately lead to their deaths. Or howabout the sixties biker classic Easy Rider? The ultimate drugged out hippie motorcycle road movie. Or maybe the seventies British horror flick Psychomania, about psychopathic suicidal bikers who make a pact with the devil, kill themselves and return from the dead to terrorize the squares? So now, imagine some crazed, druggy, doomy, psychedelic, psychotropic, head spinning mix of all three, and Satan's Satyrs are pretty much the perfect house band. Similarly, Die Screaming is essentially the soundtrack to the above, some impossibly insane, low budget, blood drenched, exploitation-splatter Z-grade alien biker undead epic. The opening track "Thumper's Theme" is uncharacteristically upbeat, but you can almost imagine this fuzzed out organ fueled jam playing beneath the credits as a porky, leather vested biker, presumably "Thumper" rolls into town, as the townsfolk lock their doors and lower their blinds, all to the strains of fuzzed out distorto riffage, wheezing organ, tumbling toms, all a little bit surfy, infused with just a bit of sonic swagger. But it's on "Instruments Of Hellfire" where things get really good, or perhaps bad if you're one of those innocent bystanders, wild squiggly psychedelic leads over blown out Stooges-y metallic garage punk pound, plenty of wild wah wah guitars, totally tripped out, and when the vocals swoop in, totally whiney, high pitched, and echo drenched, somewhere between a young Ozzy, and a more unhinged hysterical version of Uncle Acid, and in fact, Uncle Acid fans should be ALL over this. It's like a more raw and primitive take on the same sort of seventies psychedelic hard rock, but with SS, it all sounds so much more desperate and unhinged, frantic and dangerous. Oh and then out of nowhere, in comes a barrage of bongos and hand percussion, that gives the sound a little bit of a Goat vibe, but only for like 10 seconds, and then it's right back into another, lurching, lumbering psych-doom garage rock blowout.
Apparently UK doomlords Electric Wizard are huge fans, which makes sense, as they share much of the same sonic DNA, a similar psych-doom bent, and the same obsession with exploitation movies, horror flicks from the sixties and seventies, SS's jams even more that EW's evoking rubber suited beasties, blood spurting ultra violence, greasy bikers and bodacious bikini babes, if it's possible for a 'sound' to be greasy, and filthy, dirty and caked in dried blood, well, Die Screaming is as filthy, bloody and lysergic as it gets. And stick around for the sprawling creepfest closer, the 12+ minute title track, which is a drugged out doom crawl: over a bed of whirring organs, SS unfurl a lumbering dirge, a wasted psychedelic downer rock sprawl, that explodes in the last few minutes into a final, frenzied blast of heavy-horror biker rock crush that KILLS!!!
All that, and then when you add in the blood dripping logo, and melting skull cover art, it's pretty much a guaranteed aQ Record Of The Week! YOU WILL DIE SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We've been trying to get the full length from these Virginia biker doom garage punks for ages now with no luck. So we were super psyched when this new single popped up, featuring Satans Satyrs teamed up with aQ pals Ohmwar. For those new to SS, the opening track is about all you need to know, starting out with a Black Flag cover, transformed into a massive blast of churning, metallic psychedelic biker doom, which quickly explodes into some snarly, swaggery metalpunk, all gristly guitars, and yowled vox, feedback galore, loose, wild and freaked out big time. The second track on the SS side is weirdly poppy, lots of jangle, almost sounding like a Kids In The Hall style theme song to some obscure cult TV show, minus the crazed tangle of blown out psych guitar squiggle, which is AMAZING. Man, we need to get that full length.
Ohmwar make a good match for SS, kicking out the classic post punk noise rock, with some fierce glass gargling vocals over some surprisingly melodic guitar lines, and sampled thunder and rain, minus the vocals, the sound would be more like Husker Du or the Nils, albeit, with a slightly more metalpunk bent, but the vox transform in into something way more aggro. The second track finds Ohmwar tackling their own Black Flag cover, "Nervous Breakdown" this time, given a sort of hyperkinetic punk pop makeover, with the cool addition of wild squiggly guitar shred and some awesomely mush mouthed vocals...
Remember that guy who used to play bass for UK psychedelic doomlords Electric Wizard? You know the one, the fellow with tattoos all over his face, and that Satanic thousand yard stare? Well he actually left EW to try his hand at something more evil, and more Satanic, which is precisely what he's come up with in Satan's Wrath, his new duo, in which he handles everything but guitar, the band's sound a combination of old school thrash, Venom-ous black metal, and classic NWOBHM-isms, which Galloping Blasphemy has in spades.
Opener, the oddly named "Leonard Rising - Night Of The Whip" is indeed a killer slab of classic galloping old school metal, right down to the shredding, dueling leads, and the chugging almost proggy outro. The second track "Between Belial And Satan" are where things get truly thrashy, after a killer doomy intro, rife with woozy psychedelic solos, the track explodes into some metal thrashing madness, that will probably have readers of the aQ list reminded of Denver thrashers Speedwolf, who are definitely drawing from the same sonic/Satanic well. Raw riffing, dive bombing leads, furious drumming, some serious retro satanic chugging and Possessed style shreddery going on, old school blackened primitivism, but with a fierce, modern production, over the course of the record SW display their influences at every turn: Venom, Bathory, Beherit, Possessed, Maiden, even Slayer, and while the classic NWOBHM-isms surface throughout, be sure and stick around for the closing track, holy shit, total classic seventies hard rock heaviness, the main riff a near rip off of Black Sabbath's "Country Girl", the only thing that keeps this from being classic seventies metal is the raspy Satanic vokills, there's some awesome harmony guitars, and a killer old school classic metal lead over a wild metallic gallop, the sound slipping into total Maiden worship constantly, we almost wish the whole record sounded like this, but at the same time, the mix of wild speed metal thrashing, and classic melodic metal make for a pretty good combo as well...
Do you ever wish classic hardcore was more, well, you know... Satanic? Well, then this is for you. A tribute/homage to legendary straight edge hardcore heroes Minor Threat, with those short/sharp paeans to punk purity reimagined as something much more sinister, transformed into blasts of blurred sonic blasphemy, but really, as usual, we were sold before we heard a single note. The original black sheep / Out Of Step cover art, here features the black sheep as an evil black ram with glowing red eyes, retitled In To Hell, with a printed sticker price of $6.66 (of course), and song titles like "Guilty Of Hating Christ" (original: "Guilty Of Being White"), "Satanic Threat", "Small God, Big Cross" (original: "Small Man, Big Mouth"), "Cursing At The Cross" (original: "Screaming At A Wall"), you get the drift.
The back cover is also adorned with a super metal looking Jesus, tongue out, flashing the devil horns, upside down cross in hand, stigmata dripping blood, what's not to love? But don't be expecting super metallized version of hardcore songs, other than the new lyrics, the sound here is straight up old school hardcore, furious and frenzied pissed off and punk as fuck, yowled vox over blasting, galloping hardcore heaviness, just way less positive, and WAY MORE EVIL! The super short album proper is filled out by a live show, with mostly the same songs, this time including ST's version of "Steppin' Stone" (which Monor Threat also famously covered), as well as some pretty hilarious stage banter, and plenty of excellent heckling!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Huge groovy Swedish stoner sludge. Warm fuzzy guitars, crashing drums and soaring vocals. On UK label Rage of Achilles.
We first heard these occultic stoner psychedelic black doom Swedes on the 4 way split On The Powers Of The Sphinx, where they were teamed up with Aluk Todolo, Nightbringer and Nihil Nocturne. We were pleasantly surprised, as we were expecting some sort of black metal, but what we got was way more stonery and psychedelic, and as we described in that review sounding "like Kyuss at 16 rpm", which still pretty much holds true. This is tripped out, downtuned lysergic heaviness, thick stoner riffs, wild wah wah guitars, swirling occultic atmospheres, woozy low slung basslines, some serious grooves, and some totally tripped out, heavily effected vox, Electric Wizard fanatics might have just found their new band, that is if they were dreaming of a band that sounded sort of like Electrix Wizard, but WAY weirder and WAY more druggy and seriously fucked up. Which is pretty much what these guys are.
Laying down massive thick, super distorted riffs, the band slow motion swinging, slipping from stoner groove, to doomy churn and back again, the bass doing that weird walking thing that was all over Sabbath songs, the guitars occasionally erupting into little druggy effects drenched licks, and then the vocals, drawled and woozy and hazy and laid back, also wreathed in effects, a sort of true doom croon, but run through a wall of blown out fractured effects, and it's not just the sounds, the songs are pretty fucking bizarre too. "Aion Of Drakon" builds the whole track on a weird effected stuttery guitar loop thing, making it sound super hypnotic, a pulsing and pulsating groove, still super saturated, and in-the-red, but warped and subtly rhythmic, wound around big pounding drums, and all blurred into heaving black swells, the sound building to almost raga like tranced out stoner doom rituals, super psychedelic and seriously freaky.
Some of the other tracks slip into a more straight forward lumbering lurch, but even then, things continue to twist and transform, while other tracks, weave all manner of sounds, high end streaks, flute like flutters, warped effects, processed vox, into impossibly damaged, bit irresistibly mesmerizing slo-mo grooves, some tracks with dubbed out drums careening all over the place, sounds weird, and it is, but it works. Imagine a Sabbath 45, dipped in peyote, melted a bit over an open flame, and then spun manually on an old victrola, broadcast through a wall of Orange amps, heavy heady, far out and fucking absolutely incredible. Just might be our new favorite metal record. And was we mentioned above, all of you folks freaking out over Electric Wizard, Saturnalia Temple is what ET would sound like if you were dosed with PCP and horse tranquilizers, which is, at least in this case, a very good thing...
Here comes another slab of tripped out, and fuzzed/fucked up weirdness from The Anja Offensive! This one in the form of the second full-length by Swedish drug-doomsters Saturnalia Temple, which we're of course totally stoked about.
To The Other's foundation is the huge, wall of doom riffs that lumber and lurch a la Sleep records, just on a MUCH worse acid trip. While the bones of this record might be the massive doom riffs, layered around it are all sorts of screeching, barely guitar-like leads, delayed and distorted vocals, and a Hawkwind-esque repetivive psychedelia that you can't help being totally sucked into. Like labelmates Aluk Todolo, these guys have a penchant for holding a groove for as long as they possibly can, making you honestly wonder if the cd might be skipping, or if that windowpane is finally kicking in. Like Candlemass meets Oranssi Pazuzu. Or Electric Wizard meets Aluk Todolo, really. The weird leads and occaisonal synth (maybe? or just weirder sounding guitar) sound pretty damn unique and twisted, sometimes making you wonder if this dude actually plays guitar or he's just making it up. It all somehow works though, all twisting and bubbling into a thick black doomy murk that won't let go. The cover art on here is actually really telling - a huge vortex-like hole absorbing the weird, maze like landscape around it. If that intrigues you, or (Satan help us) makes total sense, then this record is for you.
Now reissued and available again, this is the very very first black metal record (!) that I (Andee) ever bought, along with Cradle Of Filth's The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh, and upon my very first listen was immediately converted to the dark side. The circumstances of my introduction certainly helped. There are plenty of ways to be introduced to new music, getting a mix tape, having a friend play it for you, hearing it on the radio, whatever, but my introduction to black metal was a little different. And a whole lot better if you ask me. There was a cool punk rock collective record store here in SF years ago (Epicenter, now long gone). I used to work at the thrift store downstairs, so like any self respecting record nerd, I spent all my free time upstairs listening, browsing, shopping, hanging out. There was a woman who worked there who was a punk rock / metalhead dream come true. Super tall, lots of spikes and leather and denim, waist length dyed dreadlocks, earrings, noserings, huge black boots, tattoos, and on top of all that she was totally drop dead gorgeous. Almost like a super model dressed up as a metalhead. And as you might imagine she seemed absolutely and totally unapproachable. Well, one day, she started talking to me, handed me this disc and the Cradle Of Filth and insisted that I'd dig 'em. Not sure why she thought I would or how she may have known, but it hardly mattered, she was talking to me, and there was no way I was not going to walk up to the counter with her and leave proudly clutching those discs. Thankfully, I did in fact love both of them, and like I mentioned, I immediately became obsessed with black metal. My mysterious black metal angel drifted off and disappeared, but my love of black metal stuck.
Hard to imagine not being blown away by this record, Satyricon's debut, a gloriously dense, snarling black buzz, with plenty of loping Viking flecked riffage, haunting folky acoustic breaks, blasting double kick, howled guttural vocals. Coming long before the super polished black tech of Satyricon's later records, this is raw and furious, the production is lo-fi but still super thick and heavy, lots of reverb, lots and lots of buzz and fuzz, perfectly situated between the ultra complex blasts of Emperor and Mayhem and the plodding hypnotic buzz of Burzum. It's plenty weird too, huge too-loud keyboard swells, haunting angelic vocals, buzzing sing songy riffs, but already even way back then, you could hear the hints of Satyricon's future as black metal masters, so heavy and strangely catchy, weird and warped, but totally grim and utterly black.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
A four-song teaser to Rebel Extravaganza full-length. Much in the tradition of their Meggido ep, Norwegian black metal masters Satyricon veer off into left field a bit with a new song, a remix of an old song, a cover (a weirdly futuristic version of old school Brazilian thrashers Sarcafago's "INRI"), and an electronic-ambient experimental track.
Satyricon are one of the more advanced Norwegian black metal bands around, and this four song ep is a worthy addition to their catalog...you get a live recording, a re-recording, and a Motorhead (!) cover, but the highlight is the techno (!!) remix of "The Dawn Of A New Age" from their last masterpiece, the Nemesis Divina album. And it's not at all lame, in fact, it might be the way to introduce your friends in the baggy pants to the joy of corpsepaint.
Available on vinyl again! Here's our review of this Norwegian BM masterpiece from when we reviewed the cd version year and years ago:
One of the best, most influential, most perfectly grim and black, most brutal, and most importantly one of our -favorite- black metal records EVER! Easily the band's finest moment. When anyone asks us to recommend the most essential black metal releases EVER, this record vies for the top spot along with Burzum's Filosefem, Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse, Mayhem's De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, Darkthrone's Transylvanian Hunger and Immortal's Blizzard Beasts. Pretty seriously daunting company for sure, but depending on our mood, a lot of the time Nemesis Divina easily bumps the others out of the top spot. From the all time classic "Mother North", quite possibly THE catchiest black metal songs ever, to the barely audible sscccching! of a sword being unsheathed about 3 minutes into the first song, to the fucking awesome band photos, this record is tough to beat. Any of the above mentioned records would be perfect introductions into the grim world of black metal, but somehow, Nemesis Divina seems like the perfect secret weapon, the record that even a non-metalhead would hear and be forced to bow down to the dark lord. So fucking great!
That title sounds like an advertising line. New, improved... now, diabolical! The weird thing is, Norwegian black metal originators Satyricon (thee big shots, along with Darkthrone, Emperor, Mayhem, Immortal and a handful of others) have ALWAYS been plenty diabolical. If they'd called the album Now, Rockin' that would maybe make more sense, as this disc takes the midtempo blackened rock sound of tracks like "Fuel For Hatred" from their previous effort Volcano even further into "I just burned down a church, but I want my MTV" territory. Maybe the title IS an advertising line, trying to reassure old school fans that they haven't lost their way on the left-hand path.
Well, it's true that the relatively melodic, headbanging catchiness of many of these tracks isn't perhaps what people expect from grim Nordic black metal warriors like Satyricon -- but we're not complaining. Further curveballs include a horn section on one track, clean (guest) vocals on another. But rest assured, the Grover growl and Slayerizing guitar riffs of Satyr, as well as Frost's muscular drum battery, are also all in full effect, and Snorre Ruch of Thorns appears besides, so it's no drastic break from their past, though it's certainly Volcano to which this sounds the most akin. You can go listen to Frost's other (excellent) band 1349 if true, pure blazing blackened grimnity is all you desire, but we're enjoying Now, Diabolical's dire, gloomy rock n' roll apocalypse just fine at the moment!!
Includes bonus track and (unfortunately, cheesy MTV style) video clip.
One of Norway's premier black metal bands shows even the likes of Emperor who's boss with this amazing new disc. Eschewing their previous sword-wielding medieval fixation for a focus on the grit and horror of modern urban nightmare, these guys have crafted a dizzyingly intense, heavy, and always surprising masterpiece. They hint at the industrial/electronica weirdness of label-mates Dodheimsgard (or contempories Ulver & Arcturus) without totally going that route - they keep it metal, they keep it black, they keep it Satyricon. But it's somehow more twisted and filthy than before (yes, filthy, as in the songs "Filthgrinder" and "Rhapsody In Filth"). Genius.
It's a tough call, but I think I can safely say that Satyricon is definitely our #1 favorite black metal band. Burzum's Filosefem or Emperor's In The Nightside Eclipse or Dissection's Storm Of The Light's Bane are certainly contenders for best black metal records ever, and there are hundreds of other mindblowing bands/records, but as far as consistancy and brutality and originality and forward thinkingness and sheer kick ass-ness, Satyricon leads the pack. After ten years and nary a false step, Satyricon continue to reign supreme. This commemorative box celebrates Satyricon's first decade in grand fashion compiling a greatest hits, with a song from their upcoming full length album Volcano to whet our appetites. Greatest hits are always a risk, and aren't always the way to go in terms of an introduction to a band, and Ten Horns is no different. If you were to buy only one Satyricon record, we would have to insist on the unsurpassed Nemesis Divina, a record that even non-metalheads here at AQ are proud to have in their collections. An frosty epic of grandiose, ultra complex and ultra brutal black metal. Melodies are pummelled with furious blast beats and walls of furious guitars. Two of that album's best tracks are included here including the classic "Mother North"! As are two tracks from their last record, the brilliantly titled Rebel Extravaganza, which is good enough to almost be Nemesis Divina pt. 2. Also included are some older tracks from their debut Dark Medieval Times and their less well known second record The Shadowthrone, more primitive and buzzing, but definitely hinting at the greatness to come. The big selling points though are the two exclusive tracks, "Serpent's Rise" exclusively for this compilation, and "Repined Bastard Nation" from their forthcoming Volcano record. The new direction is exciting, hinting at a slower doomier direction. We can't wait. Packaged in a fancy box, with an equally fancy digipak inside and a booklet of lyrics and exclusive photos past and present. As well as super cheesy centerfold of a dirty girl in a bikini, laying amidst all the Satyricon collectibles. Dumb! So if you're only ever gonna buy one Satyricon record, make it Nemesis Divina, but if you want a great overview of their recorded output, or you are a completist and need the exclusive track, or you can't wait and need a sneak peak of the new record, then you can't go wrong with this collection. SUPER LIMITED. So if you want one, ACT FAST!
All hail! Here's the 2009 release from the band who, along with Emperor, Immortal, Darkthrone, Mayhem and very few others, basically established the template/threw down the gauntlet for a vast majority of all the black metal we've raved about over the years. This Norwegian duo - frontman Satyr and drumgod Faust - have earned their rep as black metal legends. Yet they still keep pushing to get bigger and better... bigger at any rate. Their last couple of albums (Volcano and Now, Diabolical) saw them developing in a more commercial, or at least more mainstream metal, ROCK direction. While they didn't pull a Metallica, they definitely moved out of the underground. More power to 'em, even though they don't boast the best corpsepainted band photos in the biz anymore...
Now, with The Age Of Nero, we hear a Satyricon comfortable with their new, MTV-ready "black n' roll" status, but who also stand ready to remind their old fans just how grim and blasting and blackened they can be. With extra help from their old pal Snorre Ruch of the very cult Thorns, they've crafted a bombastic attack that's truly grim yet grooving, mostly midtempo and exceedingly tight. And quite catchy, a quality certainly not limited only to this disc's designated "hit single" / video clip "Black Crow On A Tombstone". (By the way, we dig that song, but sorry, the video is too funny, the slicked-back Satyr especially ridiculous, check it out on YouTube sometime...!) But if you only -hear- the song, it'll knock you on your ass. A massive, pounding "hit" indeed.
While some bemoan the overall "slowdown" of their sound, some of our favorite moments here are those more atmospheric ones, like the moody breaks in the midst of "The Wolfpack" for instance. And they can still grind you to dust beneath the lashing brutality of their distorted guitars, seasick riffage, and (when it kicks in) blazing battery. One of the album's other highlights is the epic closer, "Den Siste", which sees the return of the horn section that appeared on Now, Diabolical but also is sung/rasped entirely in Satyr's native Norwegian, old school style. Horns in black metal have always been all right with us, actually, from Potentiam to Sear Bliss to Den Saakaldte.
While we wonder if this band will every really surprise us again, that's ok. They can bring this brand of heaviness on album after album and we'll be happy!
Not sure why but Satyricon's second allbum, The Shadowthrone, originally released in 1994, is the one Satyricon record that always seems to be overlooked, which is a shame as it is most definitely one of the defining moments in Norwegian black metal. It could very well be that it was the transitional record, the sophmore slump, following hot on the heels of Dark Medieval Times, Satyricon's amazing debut, and right before Nemesis Divina, arguably one of the best black metal records ever. Thus positioned it's easy to overlook, but at the same time, it's the record where Satyricon were shifting from raw grim blackness, to a whole 'nother level. So in some ways it's the most interesting, a confusional mix of the ultra raw brutality of their debut and the dense complexity that was to come. The Shadowthrone is classic Norwegian black metal, buzzing and thrashing, mostly a seasick midtempo lurch, but occasionaly bursting into a buzzing lightning fast blur. The production is still thick and fuzzy, the riffs hover in a thick morass of reverb, with vocals that are totally grim and demonic as well as insane drumming courtesy of Frost who was already a fucking monster behind the kit. Like the records released on either side of it, The Shadowthrone is full of killer riffs, strangely catchy hooks, droney folky interludes, and some of the best black metal songs ever. Satyricon at this point were still drifting sonically betwixt the buzz and drone of Burzum and the technical blackness of Emperor (definitely not a bad place to be), but the Shadowthrone took them one step closer to their epochal release, 1996's Nemesis Divina. And even though Nemesis Divina is most definitely the bands defining moment, it would be a shame to let that record's reputation overshadow what is, on its own merits, a totally amazing and absolute classic black metal record.
The Shadowthrone also boasts some killer cover art as well as the best barcode ever (you'll just have to buy it to see!).
Yes! The new Satyricon! Black metal fans rejoice! Satyr and Frost are back with another slab of cold twisted grimness to rock you. Actually, we've had copies of this import disc for several weeks now, but held off on listing it 'cause we were hoping that a domestic release was imminent. But, alas, that does not seem to be the case. Now that these Norwegian gods are on a big major label over in Europe, there's some corporate bullshit preventing an indie from putting out "Volcano" over here. So, it's only available as an expensive import for the foreseeable future. However, we assure you that it's well worth the extra $$$ you'll pay! Satyricon have long been one of our favorite Nordic metal bands, maybe our number one fave, and "Volcano" only builds upon the artistry of their previous masterpiece "Rebel Extravaganza". This doomy, dark and violent disc is full of the usual Satyricon surprises. Voivod-dense, industrial prog-metal soundscapes built upon Frost's brutal drum battery and Satyr's throat-torn vox, precise and massive guitar riffing, and sci-fi synths. The totally rockin', almost Killing Joke-ish punk headbanger "Fuel For Hatred". Guest vocals on several tracks from Bjork-esque Norwegian electronica diva Anja Garbarek. A disc-closing, fourteen-minute epic of heaviness called "Black Lava" which boasts the amazing line: "Autumn in the air, the smell of black metal 1990-95"! Aside from the somewhat un-thrilling cover art (a snake's head), and that they allowed the label to change the album's title from the eccentric spelling "Vulcano" to the mundane "Volcano", these guys can do no wrong.
NB. we've only got five of these, and it might be a while before we can get more, so please don't cry if we tell you they're all gone already...
One of the few remaining members of the Norwegian black metal old guard to still be swinging their rusted broadswords on the battlefield unscathed, Satyricon have returned after five years of silence with their eighth full length, and it's somewhat of a departure from their recent forays into more radio-ready mainstream metal, and it's also a record that a couple of us here at aQ HQ have found ourselves legitimately kind of obsessed with and enamored of. This new self titled record finds them settling into a much more regal and dignified sound. The record heaves and staggers like a world weary barbarian king, slumped upon his throne with nothing left to prove. It's fascinatingly minimal and dreamily hypnotic - shifting like tectonic plates between downtrodden black 'n' roll and desolate, almost jazzy clean guitar passages. It conjures up that same kind of timelost sadness as early Mortiis or Summoning but without any of the symphonic bombast, instead accentuating the simplicity of primitive yet melodic riffing and the occasional minimal keyboard accompaniment, recalling the lonely sparseness of Monotheist-era Celtic Frost or early Burzum. It's much more organic than Satyricon has sounded in a very long time and shows a patience and subtlety of songwriting not often seen in metal. Frost's drums sound like some steam powered machine, cold and martial, showing perfect restraint - his inhuman double bass fluttering like an overhead helicopter. At their most powerful the guitars call out like distant war trumpets, but elsewhere they seem to slump exhausted in the dirt like a doomed wanderer. Satyr's vocals vary from their usual authoritative emotionless growl to hushed deadpan spoken word, with the only major exception being "Phoenix" which features guest vocals cleanly sung by Sivert Hoyem of Norwegian rock band Madrugada, but even his vocals are tainted with a certain steely sadness - the sound of someone in their twilight years, who has done all there is to do in life, and now there is only the inevitable waiting. That feeling of dreadful inevitability is everywhere on this record in fact. A certain confidence intermingled with bittersweet nostalgia and a hint of regret. The production compliments this mood perfectly. The guitars are dry and surprisingly clean. The drums have virtually no reverb. Everything is stripped down and bare. It's a sound that's almost sterile but also possesses a strange warmth - like a shot of strong anesthetic into the gums. It's an album that rewards patience and attention, and while it may not be Satyricon's most immediate record, with every listen unveiling more and more subtle details, we wouldn't be surprised if history determines it to be one of their best.
Ready for some galloping rifftasy?? We could be reviewing the new Early Man ep (and we will) but for your metallic delectation this week, we'd rather present you with a reissue of an old fave, a relatively obscure NWOBHM classic. If you don't know what NWOBHM means (and we mention it often enough, like in our Rogue Male reviews recently), this will clue you in with an ace to the face - even though Savage never quite made it up there with more famous New Wave Of British Heavy Metal brethren like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard*, ferinstance. And if you do know what the NWOBHM is, and love it, then this is for you. No need to hesitate. Savage's 1983 debut (they had some other, later releases, but basically blew their wad here, and how) is utterly a classic, even just on the strength of the lead-off track alone, "Let It Loose" (misidentified on the back cover tracklist here as "Letting Loose", d'oh). And the rest of the album is full of quality, crunching metallurgy too, oh yeah. Noted metal scribe Martin Popoff rates it a 10 out of 10, comparing it to the best of Saxon, Witchfinder General, Grim Reaper, & Diamond Head (we'd say it comes closest to the latter). He's quite right, this IS one of those 10/10 NWOBHM stormers that can do no wrong, unquestionably when it comes to "Let It Loose", crackling with electric energy, which sets the tone for a whole disc of white hot, speaker trashing, youthful shred, Savage sounding quite savage indeed, while maintaining the NWOBMH's reputation for pint-draining, party-hardy catchiness.
Need more recommendation? How 'bout that Metallica in their early days used to cover two of this album's songs live?! Lars knew his NWOBHM neckwreckers after all!
Aside from the aforementioned typo, this is an ok reissue, though there's no liner notes included in the cd booklet. Lyrics yes, but no liner notes, what's their excuse? We expect thorough liner notes in our reissues, people! The previous reissue of this on Neat had liners from the guy that did the awesome Mad Maxish cover art! At least this does include the same 3 bonus tracks, taken from Savage's 1979 and '80 demos.
*no, Def Leppard don't suck. Their first few albums are pretty great.
We didn't even know this reissue was happening, but both Andee and Allan were so psyched when this came out recently. The first we heard of LA speed metal outfit Savage Grace was back in the day, they had a track on the Metal Blade Metal Massacre II compilation released in 1982, with other rad bands of the time like Aloha, Overkill, Obsession and all time aQ faves Warlord, among others. Even with all that tough competition, their song "Scepters Of Deceit" ruled, and weirdly enough, it featured Ozzy guitarist Randy Rhoads' brother on vocals. The next year, the band put out The Dominatress ep, which besides being their first proper release, featured a saucy lingerie clad dominatrix, er, dominatress on the cover, which was quite titillating for young metalheads like us at the time. A couple years later, the band released their killer debut full-length Master Of Disguise, featuring another infamous cover, this one with a naked woman handcuffed to a motorcycle, with a creepy red eyed cop leering at her, all wreathed in red fog, and the music inside was even better than the ep, not as raw, but still fast and heavy and melodic. This slipcased cd reissue contains both Master Of Disguise and The Dominatress, and tacks on 4 early eighties demo tracks, including their Metal Massacre contribution.
Most metalheads maybe remember these guys, but they might not realize how well this stuff has stood the test of time. It sounds better than ever, especially with the onslaught of retro metal and old school style thrash bands, this stuff just rules. Still. The riffs are killer, the songs are super hooky and stick in your head like crazy, the leads are super technical and catchy in their own way too, the kind of leads that you end up humming along to, the vocals soaring and high and perfectly suited to the music, the drumming intense and also super technical, and while these guys are generally considered to be speed metal, the band they most sound like in many ways is Iron Maiden, the same sort of epic song structures, harmonized guitar leads, there's definitely a serious NWOBHM influence, which makes this stuff so much more than run of the mill speed metal. Just check out the sound samples, if you can resist "Lion's Roar" or "Bound To Be Free", you really have no right to call yourself a metalhead... Oh, and if you liked the new one from Sweden's Enforcer we highlighted a few weeks back, THIS is definitely the kind of '80s speed metal that they're today's torch carriers of.
Includes a massive booklet with lyrics, liner notes, tons of photos, including alternate even saucier shots from the photo session for the Master Of Disguise cover! Recommended, metallers!!
Metalheads! SF local metal faves Saviours have just finished up recording their new, third full-length (following last year's killer Into Abbadon). To whet our appetite for its impending release, they've just put out three limited edition 7" singles, with devilish, medieval lookin' b&w artwork courtesy of Tim "Draugar" Lehi.
The 7"s feature demos of raging tracks that will appear on the new album, along with (on singles #2 and #3) exclusive cover tracks of songs by old school metal greats Saxon and Judas Priest respectively. Those fit right in with the Saviours' badass denim-and-leather thrashing.
In addition, each 7" comes with promotional extra item tucked into the sleeve - #1 has a large sticker, #2 has an embroidered patch, and #3 what we guess you'd call a mini-comic, one page, photocopied. Very cool, fans act fast! LIMITED TO 500 COPIES EACH, we only got a few.
Metalheads! SF local metal faves Saviours have just finished up recording their new, third full-length (following last year's killer Into Abbadon). To whet our appetite for its impending release, they've just put out three limited edition 7" singles, with devilish, medieval lookin' b&w artwork courtesy of Tim "Draugar" Lehi.
The 7"s feature demos of raging tracks that will appear on the new album, along with (on singles #2 and #3) exclusive cover tracks of songs by old school metal greats Saxon and Judas Priest respectively. Those fit right in with the Saviours' badass denim-and-leather thrashing.
In addition, each 7" comes with promotional extra item tucked into the sleeve - #1 has a large sticker, #2 has an embroidered patch, and #3 what we guess you'd call a mini-comic, one page, photocopied. Very cool, fans act fast! LIMITED TO 500 COPIES EACH, we only got a few.
Metalheads! SF local metal faves Saviours have just finished up recording their new, third full-length (following last year's killer Into Abbadon). To whet our appetite for its impending release, they've just put out three limited edition 7" singles, with devilish, medieval lookin' b&w artwork courtesy of Tim "Draugar" Lehi.
The 7"s feature demos of raging tracks that will appear on the new album, along with (on singles #2 and #3) exclusive cover tracks of songs by old school metal greats Saxon and Judas Priest respectively. Those fit right in with the Saviours' badass denim-and-leather thrashing.
In addition, each 7" comes with promotional extra item tucked into the sleeve - #1 has a large sticker, #2 has an embroidered patch, and #3 what we guess you'd call a mini-comic, one page, photocopied. Very cool, fans act fast! LIMITED TO 500 COPIES EACH, we only got a few.
If we picked our Records Of The Week based on how likely they were to inspire massive bouts of head banging and air guitaring (and come to think of it, why the heck don't we?) then this new album from San Francisco's Saviours would easily be the Record Of The Week this week. And maybe next week too, and again and again for some weeks to come, since we don't know who'd want to mess with 'em, they might be tough to dethrone. Do you feel lucky, punk? they'd be asking all future pretenders to Record Of The Week status. Seriously, maybe the only reason we just made this a highlight on our list instead is that while Saviours are so good at what they do, what they do is perhaps a bit more circumscribed than the sort of metal we would make a Record Of The Week (such as the more eccentric likes of The Lord Weird Slough Feg's Ape Uprising a while back... though we'd definitely imagine any fan of that band would dig a lot of what's happenin' on this Saviours platter). But if you're in the mood for ragin' METAL and nothin' but, have we got a record for you!
Saviours, whom most metal inclined AQ customers already know we hope, are punkish proponents of adrenaline fuelled, NWOBHM lovin', thrash infected, uber metal up your ass gallop. Punkish maybe only 'cause they ooze attitude, also in part from the hoarse and shouty nature of the vocals (which we dig more on this album than in the past it must be said). As we have come to expect, then, Accelerated Living is in large part the sound of triumphant twin axes rampaging together, wet and red with poseurs' blood, lashing out left and right with slash and burn soloing. There's of course plenty of crushing low end heaviness and dominating battery propelling things along at a breakneck pace. But number one in our book are the guitars, dealing out heroic harmonies and rambunctious riffery. Oh yeah, this has got riffs, good ones. Riffs piling upon riffs. As much as we liked the Skeletonwitch album reviewed last time, THIS is way catchier and more memorable (maybe 'cause it lacks the more modern and monotonous black/death aspect, going only for the thrash/punk and trad '80s metal thing). We're even ready to sing along with the vocals, dammit! This is the type of album where it's tough to pick which tracks to make sound samples of for our review, 'cause they're almost all standouts. We kept thinking, ok, this one, then we'd listen to the next track, and be like, this one too, and on and on through the record. Of course, in the end that meant we could pick any 3 random tracks to sample and that'd be fine, let's just that sample making out of the way so we can put the album on again from the beginning, loud, and bang our heads!!
Our appetite for this rad, rippin' release was whetted by the limited edition trilogy of 7"s that preceded it, featuring spirited covers of Saxon and Judas Priest as well as demo versions of some of Accelerated Living's songs. They sound even better here, the album produced by Phil Manley (of Trans Am, The Fucking Champs, etc.). Recommended, if you couldn't tell.
FYI vinyl of this is forthcoming, not out yet though, we should have the LP version later in November.
Here's the debut full length from these local long hairies, whom quite possibly you've headbanged to already, live and in person -- most recently we saw 'em opening for The Sword at Slim's. Those from outside the Bay Area might know 'em from their previous ep release on Level Plane, or from their inclusion on Kemado's Invaders comp celebrating up-n-coming heavy psych and metal bands. Moreso even than The Sword, these guys were fully representin' the metal side of that roster. Furthermore, the Saviours' style of metal, make that METAL, definitely has one foot in the gutter, one fist in the gold... in other words, a big old school '80s influence. But this ain't no Motley Crue party rock. It's extremely HEAVY with kinda punk, shouty singing, which makes sense since they guys come out of the East Bay hardcore scene (though one of 'em also plays bass with smartass stoner rawk gods Drunk Horse). Works well for us. Plenty of fierce, chugging riffage, endlessly galloping, the band a mighty metal steed indeed. Imagine the heavy likes of High On Fire, Floor, or 16, but way more METALLIC(A). Or indie retro-metallers Early Man, with all their NWOBHM and Bay Area thrash influences, getting truly mean and ugly and throwing down big time. And we should mention: awesome drummer!
Oakland's more metal than thou (but still sorta punk) Saviours are back to the attack with this new album, their fourth, another wicked rager like 2009's Accelerated Living, once more produced by Trans Am's Phil Manley, and again on the Kemado label. Hesher, hipster, whatever, this is METAL and your soon to be bangin' head will be proof of that. So, poseur patrol, but down your pitchforks (and Pitchfork readers, time to switch to stronger stuff than PBR).
This time 'round, rather than ripping right into it, Saviours actually start things off slow and low, in something of a stoner/sludge mode, with the lumbering, 7+ minute "The Eye Obscene". Electric Wizard fans might want to break out their bongs for this one. But, while the album surely stays sludgey, the sonics thick, pretty soon Saviours are chuggin' along more aggro, metallic, thrashed out avenues, eventually channelling the classic likes of Judas Priest and Motorhead with the souped up rocka rolla of "Crete'n" and "God's End" ferinstance.
Once again it's the glorious, galloping guitars that rule the record (though that drummer of theirs deserves a hand too), the quasi-melodic vocals however hopelessly hollerin' away without nearly as much effort put in, it would seem. But the guitars, damn they're whipping out the shredding solos and sweet harmonies aplenty. If you dug Accelerated Living as much as we did, you'll be into Death's Procession too, it's cut from the same (denim) cloth but with extra doom-trudge heaviosity added in. Fans of High On Fire, The Sword, Early Man, and Bible Of The Devil, this is for you (though, as much as we like Saviours, we don't understand why Bible Of The Devil aren't at least as popular!).
FYI, the vinyl version came and went, hopefully we'll get more soon...
Local boys Saviours are kind of SF's answer to The Sword from Texas and Early Man from New York. The New Wave Of American Indie Ironic Hipster Metal, y'know? They're on the same label as The Sword, home also to the heavy psych likes of Dungen and Danava. Yet while an argument can be made that The Sword and Early Man are indeed indie ironic hipster metal at best (which doesn't stop 'em from rockin', we should note!), a loud listen to Saviours new full-length Into Abbadon ought to convince the most diehard metaller that these dudes are in fact fully, no foolin, METAL. If the cover art (by Joe "Motorhead" Petagno) didn't already. Nothin' ironic about it. Not that such arguments matter much anyway, what's important is, does this album rule or not? Our call: yea, and verily, it doth rule.
The sinuous guitar harmonies in the first track "Raging Embers" remind us a lot of the late great epic doomsters Solstice, whilst track two, the title track, gallops out of the gate like a mixture of The Fucking Champs and High On Fire... And on it rages, a showcase of sheer metal mastery. No ballads. No death metal monotony, or black metal makeup. No trendy emo bullshit. Just pure pedal to the metal, metal.
The riffage is righteous, the guitars shred, it's old school '80s to the max but HEAVY as heck. The only element that keeps this from attaining total true metal acclaim from the 'heads here at AQ are the punkish vocals, hoarse and shouty and not-so-melodic. Your mileage may vary, lots of folks like that style. But anyway the vocals are more than made up for by the guitars, which provide plenty of melody amidst the aggression, and atmosphere too. As well as, like we said, shred. Tasty solos abound, including guest six string tickling from Tim Lehi of Draugar and Isiah Mitchell of Earthless!
In truth, we're a little surprised by how much we dig this album (and Crucifire too, before it). Maybe because they're local we had been taking Saviours for granted, or feeling a little bit of an unwarranted NWOAIIHM backlash. Also we've seen them live many a time (they have a knack for opening for a lot of touring metal bands we want to see) but didn't really fall under their spell until hearing 'em at home, when all their true metallic grandeur could really sink in, without the distractions of shitty sound systems or somebody spilling beer on us. Songwriting nuances are revealed on record that were were perhaps numb to in person. At the end of the day, we're pretty into Into Abbadon.
We admit it, we're cool packaging junkies. Which is different than being a collector. It's just that we like to have the music we love, all wrapped up lovingly in artwork and packaging that was as well thought out as the music. That's one thing you'll never get from an MP3, some crazy gatefold pop up, or some curious origami like creation wrapped in twine. The possibilities are endless. And we're constantly amazed at what artists come up with to compliment their music.
So before we get to the music on Scald's latest Fluke, we have to talk about the artwork. Some of you, whether you know it or not, are probably already familiar with the artwork of Scald drummer Paul McCarroll, who did the layout and design for the Nordvargr / Drakh on tUMULt, laid out AND painted the cover for the over the top Nordvargr / BSE Hypergenome666 box on Old Europa Cafe, he also did the cover for the forthcoming Pyha on tUMULt (yes, it's really finally coming out) as well as tons of other stuff, but this one takes the cake.
A beautiful oversized glossy gatefold, the images all washed out and dark, a crucifix in the forest, all sorts of harrowing photos, a die cut pocket for the cd, and A COMMUNION WAFER printed with the Scald log. A real communion wafer! How evil is that?! Holy shit. Apparently it took ages to find someone who would or could print on a communion wafer, but it was worth it!
Scald are a long running outfit, who sort of straddle the line between crusty punk, furious grind and buzzing black metal, their songs are complex and serpentine, the riffs massive and mathy, the drums furious and pounding, massive fuzzed out basslines, strange time signatures, lurching tempos, howled shouted vocals, the tracks are woozy and chaotic, chugging, churning, definitely hear some Amrep noise rock amidst the blasting buzz. The first 5 songs are a furious assault, that should totally hit the spot for metalheads and noiserockers alike.
But Scald have another side. A much darker, dronier side, which they indulge on the epic 25 minute closing track (longer than all the other tracks combined). A sprawling and expansive noise flecked dronescape, the usual suspects are referenced, but Scald definitely create their own sound, super creepy, and dense, with long stretches of hushed whispering shimmer, strange voices, bursts of jagged grinding crunch, strange swooping backwards effects, dense rumbling low end drones, muted glitch and all sorts of garbled interference, super cinematic, almost like a straight recording of some mysterious seventies art film, dialogue and all. Fucking awesome.
We were gonna try to review this record without mentioning what this sometimes reminds us of, but hell, we just can't, and if it keeps you from buying it then it's YOUR LOSS. Scale The Summit are some young shredding guitar instrumentalists, who weave epic, soaring jubilant tech metal jams, that drift and shimmer and shred, laced with tons of swirling harmonies, tinkling harmonics, plenty of chug, all surprisingly major key, like the soundtrack to a videogame, or the climax of some action movie, or yeah, a little like Joe Satriani's Surfing With The Alien...there we said it. But take that Satriani sound, tangle it all up with some Fucking Champs shred-ery, get it all mathy here and there, let it sprawl majestically like some sort of Explosions In The Sky album closer, and you've pretty much got Carving Desert Canyons. This is the sound that accompanies a camera dangling from the bottom of a helicopter soaring along the desert floor, the soundtrack to a hipper emo-metal version of Planet Earth, expansive and epic, but plenty metallic and post rocky. We've been listening to this like crazy, it definitely pushes some buttons we never knew we had (or at least hadn't had pushed in a while), but fuck it, everything can't be dour and depressive and buzzy and black, sometimes you need something like StS, all emotionally metallic and triumphant, post rockisms spreading out into wild churning chugfests that in turn eventually explode into mathmetal blowouts, or super melodic shredfests. Definitely for fans of the Fucking Champs, Pegataur, Electro Quarterstaff, Explosions In The Sky, Zebulon Pike, Pelican, and all things postmetal, mathmetal and instru-metal.
We loved the last Scale The Summit record, a soaring shredding, super epic, majestically scenic chunk of instrumental metal, jubilant, sweeping, kinda prog, but totally mesmerizing in its scale and cinematic vibe. Like we mentioned in the review of that record, it was almost like a metal soundtrack to one of those nature films, the sweeping shots of the coastline from a helicopter, or maybe the music playing while the credits roll, and the main characters drive off into the distance, the shot growing wider and wider, until the car becomes barely a speck on a fantastically panoramic vista. As we also mentioned, the only downside, and it's a downside that didn't really seem like a downside at all to us, is something that probably dogs lots of epic instrumental prog metal bands, the fact that no matter how rocking, or how shredding or how epic things get, it's hard not to think of Joe Satriani's Surfing With The Alien. Lots of folks out there probably don't even remember that record, but when that record came out we LOVED it. Now it's considered supremely cheesy, but at the time it was totally epic shredding genius.
Which we suppose makes Scale The Summit the modern Surfing With The Alien, which is fine with us. And this record is more of the same. Maybe even better than the last one. It's heavy, the riffs are awesome, the arrangements are intricate and complex, the vibe is totally epic, like a shreddy prog metal Godspeed, but the band slip deftly from that sort of slow build chug, to super intricate stop/start progged out workouts, and then right back into something emotional and cinematic and sweeping. There's some fretless bass, and some woozy almost jazzy bits that definitely drift awfully close to cheese, but those parts are few and far between, and in the context of the whole, they offer a brief respite from much of the rest of the record's Champs meets Satriani progshred crunch.
Check out the sound samples, it'll probably take you all of 30 seconds to figure out if this is your cup of tea, but trust us, if you find that it is you might find it hard not to blast this in your convertible as you speed down the highway along the coast, driving off into the sunset...
