http://www.melankolia.net/music/ Mikko Saari reviews music en Copyright 2008 Fri, 09 May 2008 13:13:57 +0200 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification CD, Spikefarm Records Track list: Tulimyrsky - For Whom The Bell Tolls - Taistelu Pohjolasta - Hvergelmir - Back To North You can trust Moonsorrow to be epic! Their idea of a mini-cd is 68 minutes long. The title track lasts for whopping 29 minutes and it kicks ass the whole time. It's a story, narrated by a Finnish actor Turkka Mastomäki, and consists of several parts that vary from mellow and atmospheric to very fierce beating - as you can expect from Moonsorrow. I really like what Moonsorrow has done with their last few albums and this MCD is no exception. The title track is excellent, furious stuff with excellent production: not too clean, not too rough. The cover songs - For Whom the Bell Tolls from Metallica, Back to North from Merciless - are well done, as are the older, previously unreleased demo-era songs. Great stuff. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2008/05/moonsorrow-tuli.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2008/05/moonsorrow-tuli.html Black/Death metal Fri, 09 May 2008 13:13:57 +0200 Track list: Die Wellen - Nagorny Karabach - Weilweilweil - Ich hatte ein Wort - Von wegen - Let's do it a Dada! - Alles wieder offen - Unvollständigkeit - Susej - Ich warte Einstürzende Neubauten continues making great noise. Like Perpetuum Mobile, Alles wieder offen is a calm, subtle album, full of beautiful little touches, occasional storms and curious sounds. It all sounds very mature and elegant. There are good tracks, too. From the first rounds, I've picked up Nagorny Karabach and Weilweilweil, but I'd say the album is overall quite balanced and good. No standout hits that would challenge the likes of Die Befindlichkeit des Landes or Die Interimsliebende, but a balanced, beautiful album that is perhaps more than the sum of its individual tracks. **** ]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2008/01/einsturzende-ne.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2008/01/einsturzende-ne.html Electronic Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:31:46 +0200 CD, Sony BMG 2007 Track list: Viimeinen jyvä - Linnansa vanki - Ikävänkantaja - Ulkona - Nukkuu kedolla - Noita - Pahan tarha - Äänet - Mykkä - Unten laiva - Helmet After seeing Indica perform support for Nightwish, I quickly checked out their discography from library. Of the three albums they've made, this, the third one, is clearly the best. All have hits, but this one's a solid flow of one good song after the other. Viimeinen jyvä, Linnansa vanki, Ulkona, Nukkuu kedolla, Noita, Pahan tarha - pure gold! I find Indica's brand of poprock rather pleasant: catchy tunes, enough mysticism and romance and quite a bit of personality. The vocalist, violinist and songwriter Jonsu is a gifted individual and here to stay, I'd say. Her voice is personal, by which I mean some love it and some hate it and few will be left cold - I do like it a lot. What an excellent album. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2008/01/indica-kadonnut.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2008/01/indica-kadonnut.html Rock Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:00:59 +0200 MP3, Peaceville Records Track list: Gothic Stone - The Well of Souls - Codex Gigas - At the Gallows End - Samarithan - Marche Funebre - Dark Are the Veils of Death - Mourner's Lament - Bewitched - Black Candles - Bewitched (demo) - Battle Cry (demo) - The Well of Souls (live) - Dark Are the Veils of Death (live) - At the Gallows End (studio outtake) - Mourner's Lament (studio outtake) - Interview On Nightfall, Candlemass perfected their recipe of delicious doom metal: Messiah Marcolin is one damn good vocalist. His theatrical and dramatic style fits perfectly to Candlemass's heavy doom stylings. The song-writing on this album is top-notch: The Well of Souls, At the Gallows End, Samarithan, and Bewitched all are classic tracks with lasting power. This is one of those classic albums that all metal fans should know and all doom metal fans should definitely own. *****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2007/11/candlemass-nigh.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2007/11/candlemass-nigh.html Heavy metal Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:01:49 +0200 MP3, Peaceville Records Track list: Solitude - Demons Gate - Crystal Ball - Black Stone Wielder - Under the Oak - A Sorcerer's Pledge - The Well of Souls (live) - Demons Gate (live) - Crystal Ball (live) - Solitude (live) - Bewitched (live) - A Sorcerer's Pledge (live) - Black Sabbath Medley (live) There's few different styles of doom metal. Candlemass represents the original, the one that sounds like Black Sabbath, but a tad heavier and slower (Cathedral, often called doom metal, sounds to me exactly like Black Sabbath, which makes it heavy metal in my books). Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, an album with a remarkable silly name, is their debut from 1986, now reissued. Despite the silly title, it's a true masterpiece of doom metal. It's a very, very strong album, with several excellent tracks. The guitar riffs are low and slow, while the drums beat ominously. The vocals, mostly clear and dramatic, deliver the gloomy lyrics. While most people seem to prefer the band's next vocalist Messiah Marcolin, Johan Landquist does a great job here. Occasionally the band picks up the speed a bit and shifts in a more aggressive gear. Excellent stuff, metal doesn't get much better than this. *****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2007/11/candlemass-epic.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2007/11/candlemass-epic.html Heavy metal Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:17:37 +0200 CD, Massacre Records 2006 Track list: Enter The Carnival - The Black Circus - Intuneric I - Enchanted Mind - Intuneric II - Forever Carousel - Freakshow - Gypsies' Dance Part 1 - Intuneric III - Wisdom - Intuneric IV - Disciples Of The Entities Manticora's main idea is to create concept albums based on literature. They've used science fiction before; now it's H.P. Lovecraft. I didn't realize the connection until I read about it elsewhere; it isn't that obvious. The music is raunchy power metal, but at least with some unique touch. I don't care much about most power metal, but this was definitely more inspiring than it usually is. So, not a bad album at all. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/manticora-the-b.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/manticora-the-b.html Heavy metal Thu, 09 Nov 2006 14:12:14 +0200 CD, Araknid Records 2006 Track list: Last Splash - All These Worlds - Follow Me - Hard Dressed Bitch - Leftover - Kiss Me Hard - Say Fuck Yeah! - Light Years - уmhae Дpaka - Don't Say a Word (Make up mix) This French band mixes goth, glam and industrial for quite a mix. Too bad I don't like it. Most of it seems fairly pointless, just rushing around for no particular reason. The best parts I might play on a goth club night, and I think this band might be worth seeing live, but listening the whole album through? Won't happen again for me. **]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/lycosia-apokali.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/lycosia-apokali.html Goth Wed, 08 Nov 2006 14:05:32 +0200 CD, Bombworks Records 2006 Track list: Voyage - Arnos Vale - My Face in Eternity - Look Straight Through - Lost on Your Ocean - Fainted World - Centenary - Your Once Loving Heart - The End - As I Close the Final Page - Autumn This is one long album. Century Sleeper's gothic doom metal is slow and heavy; definitely deeper than likes of Katatonia and Paradise Lost, yet lighter than the heaviest funeral doom or doomdeath. I'm bit undecided here: parts of this sound very good, but many parts don't. Somewhat shorter this would've probably worked much better. ***]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/century-sleeper.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/century-sleeper.html Heavy metal Tue, 07 Nov 2006 14:00:29 +0200 CD, Century Media 2006 Track list: Earth Imagery - Grains - Oceans Rise - Signs - White - Cynosure - Human Nature - Acclimation - The Spirit Of Nature The new Borknagar album is acoustic, yet it still very much sounds like Borknagar. So strong is Øystein Brun's touch, I suppose. I like it; the songs are powerful and intense, even with their lighter instrumentation. Unfortunately the unplugged environment manages to bring up the weaker side of Vintersorg's vocals; they aren't always quite as top-notch as rest of the album. Still, this is a good album for the fans of soft progressive rock. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/borknagar-origi.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/borknagar-origi.html Rock Mon, 06 Nov 2006 13:55:15 +0200 CD, Avantgarde Music 2006 Track list: Black Terror Metal - Ilmestyskirjan ratsastajat - Tuhoaja - Kuin lampaat teuraalle - Verta ja tuhkaa - Teen paholaisen työtä - Azaghal Terror Cult - Hyvästit maailmalle - Olematon - Luciferin Valo Azaghal's black metal is simple and straight-forward. I like it; there are few surprisingly catchy tracks. The only negative is the heavily cliche-laden lyrics, but once you get over that (and enjoy the few exceptionally funny lines), it's all good. Nothing special, perhaps, but it's a good, steady ride. Few of the tracks stand out and will definitely remain on my playlist. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/azaghal-lucifer.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/azaghal-lucifer.html Black/Death metal Sun, 05 Nov 2006 08:55:49 +0200 CD, Metal Mind Records 2006 Track list: Phantoms ov Wrath (Intro) - The Perfect Evil in Mortal - Diablex Virus - Devilrising Impact - Humana Androide - Deviante Obscurante - Deceptive Fatality - Dimness in Me - Loneliness Ruined My Life Polish Luna Ad Noctum plays fairly aggressive black metal in the style of Dimmu Borgir, Old Man's Child and Cradle of Filth. While their style isn't the most unique, it's still fresh enough so that I wouldn't necessarily label them as another clone band. There's some good energy here. However, the tracks are pretty bland, mostly - not enough hooks. Still; if you're fan of Dimmu Borgir, check this out. ***]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/luna-ad-noctum.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/luna-ad-noctum.html Black/Death metal Sat, 04 Nov 2006 08:45:55 +0200 CD, Metal Mind Records 2006 Track list: Prophet - Ganges - Komatrance - On the Border - Cold Obsession in My Eyes - Absinthe - The Secret Window - Burial Ground - In His Room - Where Next? Cemetery of Scream's work lies somewhere between doom and gothic metal. It's not very heavy (as in low-growling guitars and funeral slowness), but certainly melancholic, with curious oriental tones mixed in. Katatonia feels like a decent comparison. Parts of this are very good, some less so, but most of the album sounds actually quite pleasing. Song material isn't top-notch, but definitely better than average. Besides, in the era of MP3 players, who cares about few substandard tracks? ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/cemetery-of-scr.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/11/cemetery-of-scr.html Heavy metal Fri, 03 Nov 2006 08:50:16 +0200 CD, Candlelight Records 2006 Track list: Earth Erasure - Post-Apocalyptic Wastelands - Interloper - Desert Messiah - Sowers of Discord - The Axiom Depicted Axiom is a curious batch of extreme metal with all sorts of tricks involved. The roots are in black metal, but the tree branches out to progressive metal and whatnot. It takes few rounds to get your head around it all, but I've enjoyed it since. I wouldn't mind if they improved the vocals, though; now the distorted vocals are sparse and feel a bit pasted-on. Proper, well-sung vocals would've made a huge difference here. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/10/ansur-axiom.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/10/ansur-axiom.html Black/Death metal Wed, 11 Oct 2006 09:00:17 +0200 CD, Fear Dark Records 2005 Track list: From Out of the Mist We Came Forth - Call to Arms - Mortal Serenity - On the Eve of Battle - Besieged - The Spoils of Treason - Thunder of War - Black Raven Death - Desertion - Under a Moonlit Sky Slechtvalk is a black/dark metal band; musically, it's black metal alright, but the lyrical concepts lean to epic power metal with all the glory of the medieval warfare. The whole blast works pretty well - there are real musical highlights, like Besieged. The clean vocals are a bit clumsy and the song-writing isn't top-notch throughout the album, but still: a decent album. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/10/slechtvalk-at-t.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/10/slechtvalk-at-t.html Black/Death metal Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:01:04 +0200 CD, Moribund Records 2006 Track list: Intro - Fragments - The Funeral Rain - Winter Lights - Pantings in a Gallery - Labyrinthine - Thorns - Insects - Her Demons - A Once Great Man - Outro - En ring til aa herske (Burzum) - The Heavens Drop with Human Gore (Judas Iscariot) - I Filled with Woes the Passing Wind (Judas Iscariot) Here we have a cult classic of sorts. The album has been lying in the Moribund archives for ten years, but now it has seen the day of light again. I Shalt Become is a follower of Burzum; the style is the same, dismal and depressive hypnotic monotony. It's executed well enough to lift I Shalt Become from being just another copycat. Despite thelack of sound quality and the rough edges of some of the tracks, Wanderings is a fine album for the fans of suicidally depressive black metal, and now there's even three appropriate covers as bonus tracks. ****]]> http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/10/i-shalt-become.html http://www.melankolia.net/music/archives/2006/10/i-shalt-become.html Black/Death metal Sun, 08 Oct 2006 09:12:01 +0200