Posted in Cd Reviews

Frontiers/BAM

20 studio albums, and more than 33 million albums sold worldwide since 1968. That is a very short description of progressive symphonic rock band YES. Today the band consists of the perennial bass player Chris Squire, plus well-travelled guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, who´s been around since album number five, Geoff Downes, who´s more famous as a member of ASIA, and new boy Benoit David, who was brought in to replace the ill Jon Anderson in time for the reunion in 2008. For this album the band has rejoined forces with Grammy Award winning producer Trevor Horn, who also helped out with songwriting and added the aid of ASIA keyboardist Geoff Downes for the benefit of the album. Is the music all that good?

Being a progressive symphonic rock band of old foxes they of ...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Napalm/Sound Pollution

Dutch Goth metal outfit STREAM OF PASSION goes for the throat with their fourth release “Darker Days”. Spearheaded by Mexican vocalist Marcela Bovio, Dutchmen Martijn Peters (drums), Johan Van Stratum (bass), Eric Hazelbroek (rhythm guitar), Stephan Schultz (lead guitar) and Jeffrey Revet (keyboards) seem like a stable line up, with a penchant for playing live. They are so adamant on playing live that they have explored different styles and incorporated them to suite the stage. More wonders of the world are promised, let´s scrutinize the album.

Different genres is the battle cry. Opener “Lost” has a slight tango ring to it, which makes it quite original. The more complex “Reborn” may have depths and dimensions, but it doesn´t linger...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Frontiers/BAM

John Wetton is a living legend. In the seventies he was part of FAMILY, KING CRIMSON, ROXY MUSIC and URIAH HEEP. He then turned his hands to U.K. featuring ALAN HOLDSWORTH and BILL BRUFORD and in 1982 he became a member of ASIA, who´s debut contained the immortal “Heat of the Moment”. Four more solo albums ensued, as well as various collaborations. In 21002 he started working with Geoff Downes again, and in2006 the original ASIA reunited. This album is a collaboration with Billy Sherwood, who counts WORLD TRADE, YES and YOSO to his producing merits. Apart from his multi-instrumentalist producer, h the album features guests from John´s past like Mick Box of URIAH HEEP, Robert Fripp of KING CRIMSON, plus a new addition, a duet with Anneke Van Giersbergen (ex...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Angel Air/Border

LUTHER GROSVENOR a.k.a. ARIEL BENDER has a past in bands like SPOOKY TOOTH, STEELERS WHEEL and MOTT THE HOOPLE. He counts amongst guitar greats like Mick Ronson and Paul Kossoff, with his “technique isn´t everything you must have fun too-approach”. He has released two solo efforts prior to this one, “Under Open Skies” (1972), and “Floodgates” (1996), so this is really the difficult third album. Quite amusing as Luther has been involved in a good many albums and a heap of hit singles. The last year he´s been hard at work on this album, in the company of Mike Triggs (THE CHRISTIANS, RONAN KEATING live), keyboards and drum programming, plus guests Marc Eden, vocals, Jim Houghton, bass, and Joe Heart, vocals...

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Magna Carta/Border

Toronto quartet THE ANDROID MEME is not subject to conventions. They look like the runaway sons of the Rocky Horror Show and they sound like basically not many more. They state various influences like TOOL, PETER GABRIEL, TEARS FOR FEARS and MOTLEY CRUE, the latter being a riddle. The title itself has multiple meanings, and so has the music for the open minded.

To start with there is only one average track on the album. “Whistleblower” may be ominous and theatric, but it is also quite one-dimensional, modern and chaotic compared to the rest of the album. I noted no less than five tracks that I believe to not only stand out from the crowd, but to do it in a positive way...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Bastardized Recordings/Sound Pollution

Florida deathcore/metal merchants CATALEPSY have been around since 2004, and created quite a reputation for themselves. HATEBREED`S Jamey Jasta signed the band to his own label Stillborn Records for their 2007 debut “The Godless”, which was followed by a full-length, “Iniquity” in 2008. This time around a more mature album is promised, without losing an inch of their previous heaviness. Is that true?

There are a lot of muffled hard/screaming/blackish vocals and some true dissonant chords on offer here. When CATALEPSY attracts my interest they use loops, melody and memorable guitar patterns. Those moments of greatness occur in “Goliath”, “Monolith” and the final track “Vexation”...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

När klockan närmar sig tolv passar det ypperligt att ställa sig längst fram i Gasklockan och lyssna på norska Enslaved vars musik skapar känslan av att stå invirad i högkvalitativ sammet. Det är mjukt och flytande följsamt men samtidigt hantverksmässigt tungt och bestämt. Enslaved tillhör veteranerna inom genren och från tionde fullängdaren, ”Axioma Ethica Odini”, 2010, hämtas inledande ”Ethica Odini” och ”Raidho”. De åstadkommer en massiv ljudbild där Herbrand Larsen på keyboard också sjunger rent medan Grutle Kjellson, bas, står för förnämlig kräk-och brölsång. Överlag låter de mäktigt samspelta och alla snygga tempoväxlingar gör att publiken bara böljar fram och tillbaka med stora ögon...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Nu har Viscious Art existerat i snart tio år men ännu inte fått det genombrott de förtjänar. Konstigt! De levererar döds med fabulös rytmik och skitcoola vändningar i kombination med ypperlig instrumenthantering och vansinnigt bra growl av Jocke Widfeldt och Jörgen Sandström, bas. Alla är välrenommerade musiker, Gitarristen Matti Mäkelä och Robert Lundin på trummor har tidigare verkat i Dark Funeral och Tobbe Sillman, gitarr, i bland annat Guidance of Sin. Att de endast fått ur sig två fullängdare och en EP är enligt mig en petitess. På Gasklockans scen är Jocke Widfeltd skrämmande. Han ser ut och beter sig som ett psykfall då han spänner sin galna blick i någon enskild i publiken samtidigt som han i ”The poet Must Die” väser fram texten ”remember tomorrow the promise to kill me”...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Det är lite svårt att vara kritisk mot Nifelheim. De är självklara, egentligen väldigt folkliga och så totalt befriade från det mysticism och svårmod som präglar många band inom black. När de inleder med ”Black Evil” följd av ”Demonic Evil” och sedan ”Satanic Sacrifice” känns det som tre käpprapp på raken och budskapet är ”dra åt helvete, eller lämna lokalen”. Atmosfären i Gasklockan ger en försmak om vad som väntar i skärselden och till tonerna av ”Infernal Flame of Destruction” köper jag enkelbiljett till Nifelheims alldeles egna plats i Hades. Nifelheims okomplicerade black är egentligen inte enkel men det direkta tilltalet i såväl scenframträdande som tonkonst är lätt att omfamna och älska...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

My second year in Kvinesdal, in the South of Norway, has been one of the most amazing festival experiences one can ever have. I believe I managed to meet the best photo crew that can share the same tent and press area for some days and make each second go away with an incredible amount of laughter. Therefore my good musicwise experience at the festival is highly increased by the mood around me. Norway Rock festival used to be known, until 2008 as Kvinesdal Rock festival and is currently arranged by the foundation Norway Rock Kvinesdal, and, according to its website, it is mainly arranged by volunteers who think it is cool to have world stars play in a field in Kvinedsdal. There is no age limit for the weekdays of the festival, Wednesday and Thursday...