Merry old England's ecologically-minded answer to Dream Theater's Images & Words, and even in retrospect I find it a rather entertaining beginning for one of the world's mainstray progressive metal giants. The keyboards aren't pushed into the forefront quite as much as some of their contemporaries were prone to, and the guitar work here is wonderfully thrashy even at its most melodic.
Few bands in the progressive metal spectrum showed as much promise as Suspyre did when they stormed the world with 2005's The Silvery Image. That particular debut was a brilliant monstrosity, off kilter whilst remaining nigh-classical in its curious contortions and motifs. They drew favorable comparisons with everyone from Dream Theater to Meshuggah, and have since continued to refine and reinvent themselves as an entity beyond that crop of colleagues.
Thus, we come to their self-titled here in 2012, and in doing so have not only shattered expectations, but have gone far, far beyond their peers into places mostly unexplored in a metal subtext, bringing in everything from bossa nova elements to beach pop...hell, even smooth jazz. The riffs dazzle, the keyboards accentuate the instrumental crossfires, and vocalist Clay Barton has evolved into a real wonder over the last seven years, a soaring talent capable of handling everything from radio-friendly melodic material ('Divided Son', the beach-metal 'Cancun') to more challenging blitzkriegs that harken back to the over-technical velocity that turned these boys into a household name in the first place ('Tranquility And Stress', 'The Man Made Of Stone').
All in all, these songs prove to be some of the coolest and catchiest Suspyre have put to posterity as of the present, and the whole album thrills the senses even at its strangest, unmetallish moments. I honestly can't recommend it enough!
As far as technically proficient genre exercises go, progressive metal supergroups tend to be quite the treat if the proceedings gel at just the right temperature. Talented vocalists matrimonially paired via label dictation or otherwise with hotshot guitarists and other high-profile specialists at their weapon of choice (drumkit, keyboards, etc.)...what more could you be looking for at this end of the spectrum?
In the case of this fantastic little project, you have Enchant's leading man Ted Leonard gliding amidst the furious finesse of Arch Rival guitarist Michael Harris, who masterminded the whole shebang. And if there's one thing I know about guitarists, its that they tend to write pretty good songs: 'Sacred Treasure' is a vintage stab at Dream Theater circa 1992, complete with synth-guitar counterpoint and some Flamenco sweeps. Some cuts are downright infectious as far as pop-metal sensibility goes though, with kudos to the Eastern scaled 'A Legend`s Avalon' and 'God Of Oblique', a song that Ray Alder would have sacrificed babies for to have written himself.
A lot of 90's and early 00's progressive metal hasn't aged quite as well as some would have you believe, but Angular Perceptions is an underrated curio from the latter part of this time period which falls into a far rarer camp than most: a release which was drowned out during a year when the market was suffocated by Fates Warning and Symphony X soundalikes, but in retrospect was a cut above every last one them in execution. You can't go wrong with this sucker!
Much to many a metalhead's delight, one of the 90's best thrash acts returned like a bloody hellstorm last year with death and vengeance upon their teeth in the form of Dysτopiα, and in this mere blogger's opinion it was one of those triumphant comebacks which could have easily made my Top 11, but didn't due to how things ended up being ordered.
Along with boasting some of the nicest balance production-wise I've heard from any metal act this side of Grand Magus, this is also Icεd Eαяτн's most melodic record I think anyone will have the pleasure of hearing since their explosive career beginnings: in particular, the galloping 'Iron Will' and soon-to-be metal classic title track hit you like a bullet train from the first spin onward, and even the more paced-out tickers ('Dark City', 'Anguish Of Youth') are pure dynamic pleasures in and of themselves. And if that's not the mark of a fine modern metal record, I don't know what is.
Although recorded hastily and begrudgingly at the behest of contractual record label obligations, this final album from the unfortunately short-lived classic career of Aτнεisτ (until 2010 atleast) is about as good as jazzy death metal got two decades ago, and thus could be considered something of a landmark at the time of it's release.
Befitting of it's namesake, Elεмεиτs serves as both a primal exercise in harsh-bled melody and a dissection of the various primordial components that formulate this band's sonic DNA. Fascinating stuff even in moments of obtuse clarity: the drumming proves jazzy and unbelievably flexible whether it's gliding along a mercurial groove or pummeling your skull to jelly, whilst the guitar work of then-newcomer Frank Emmi is a razorbacked swine that runs you down with unbridled belligerence, cutting through the mix with precise yet vital abandon in tandem with the mindboggling bass work courtesy of Tony Choy.
Although not an accessible record by any means, Elεмεиτs is still the friendliest and most approachable serpent of the snakepit that is the aural realm of Aτнεisτ, and is essential listening for anyone who claims to be a fan of technical metal in the first place.
Intriguingly, it is not common knowledge to the masses at large that Columbia is home to awesome things besides drug dealers. Nevertheless, those who do not know of warlock warbler Dagon and his thrashy black metal ensemble Iиquisiτioи are missing out on an awe inspiring discography of debauchery, pissed off space demons and enough dimension-shattering guitar/blast beat asswhoopery to satisfy even the most degenerate rabble.
An idiom like "progressive" metal has always seemed rather silly to me, if for nothing else than I've run across more innovative metal albums without that sort of label than those bearing it. Excessive technicality doesn't always lend itself to solid songwriting nor give you a backstage pass to compelling atmosphere, so why bother puffing out your chest as if it were some kind of war medal?
That being said, "progressive" metal wouldn't exist without this particular ensemble, for better or for worse. Unlike the stream of inevitable imitators that followed in the 90's though, they've never cut a metal record since 1983 that has been anything less than listenable. In particular, I consider this 1994 release the hallmark recording of their second decade and an exciting taste of what Ray Adler and co. could do in a more melodic, less-thrashy context. Every track is a smorgasborg of blistering guitar, punctuated drumming and killer leads on both the vocal and bass fronts, and a few cuts have even become melodic metal classics as time's gone on ('Island In The Stream', 'Monument').
Immersive and surprisingly unpretentious, Iиsidε Ouτ is a gem best not forgotten in the winding annals of metaldom.
More classic thrash/doom metal courtesy of Satan and his demonic cohorts. Features a mindbogglingly great cover of Black Widow's classic dark prog. suite 'In Ancient Days'.
Although unable to break completely away from its crust punk meets thrash heritage (a conundrum shared by such bands as Venom and Hellhammer), this classic first wave black metal debut was a scum-soaked revelation upon its release and still sounds class today. Hail!!
Well, after last night's wimpy commercial offering, I redeem thine ears with some godless, blood curdling thrash metal courtesy of the magical land of molotov cocktails, human trafficking and Baba Yaga...AKA Russia.
Originally released in 1992 (not too long after a certain regime came tumblin' down with a certain Wall over in Germany), this fantastic bundle of rage and hatred that nobody seems to really know anything about got somehow lost in the woodwork for the next fifteen years until some label decided to reissue it on CD in 2007. And they say there is no justice in the world...hah!
Eight tracks through to the end and you'll probably have no fucking clue what they're screaming about [it IS in Russian after all] but who cares, it's magnificent to the nth degree! Blistering drums, spastic riffs fired one after another that wouldn't be too out of place on some progressive death metal album and a torch-that-grain production that makes the whole damn carcass shamble about in that way that only the best piss-stained metal records seem to do, and it is all so very glorious.
Pillage these Ruskie rascals and rinse your ears in the beautiful slime. They'll thank you later after the bleeding stops!
