Caïna - Hands That Pluck (2011)

Band: Caïna
Country: Hampshire/Sussex, England
Style: Post-Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore

It's been a little wierd watching Caïna grow up and evolve since I first found the band while looking through bands labeled as "post-black metal." What struck me was the whole look of Andrew Curtis-Brignell and how his music was presented. Since it's inception, Caïna has never been the "typical" or "standard" post band as the music has evolved into something far less genre-defined and border less throughout the years.
If anything demonstrates the broad range of styles that the project has developed into, it's the first three songs on here. Opener Profane Inheritors shows the raw, crusty black metal sound that is not all that dissimilar to mid-to-modern day Darkthrone, albeit more textured and layered. Murrain is an epic track with Lord Imperial, of Krieg, on vocals which morphs from straight ahead black metal into spacey psychedelics and post-rock soundscapes. Then the title-track, Hands That Pluck, which is a noisy piece of post-rock/shoegaze that just builds up to crescendo the opening of the next track. The variety among just these three tracks is enough for most bands entire album, if not career in some cases, yet on here, there are these sounds, and so much more lucking inside. Elements of crust, country, classic rock, shoegaze, pop-punk (surprisingly!), and noise rock are all in here as well, and I'm sure other people will pick up sounds that I missed as well. So there is a lot of stuff in here, both on it's own and mixed together.
Despite the rather rough sound on here, though all Caïna records have never been all that clean, there's so much atmosphere and ambiance in the background, Somnium Ignis being a prime example. It's also really melodic and full of memorable hooks, guitar or vocal, your pick, which add to the replay ability this record already had going for it. You'll find that each track is different from the next, but there's something inherently haunting, not so much catchy in the pop way, but more melodically memorable, it sticks with you. On the other hand, somehow I doubt that Curtis would want his releases to be "catchy" in the pop sense, and more memorable for the experience and atmospheres contained within, remembered for the entire record as opposed to a single chorus.
By the end of it, though I felt it might have been just a little long, it tops seventy minutes, there wasn't a song on here that I didn't like and enjoy listening to. If more albums had the sense of exploration and not caring how genres were presented as this one, the world might actually be a better place, or at least a more creative one. It's a shame that the project is being put to rest soon, I think there's only one or two more releases that are planned after this full-length, but I definitely recommend you check this project out because you won't find another group/project like it.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: Murrain, The Sea of Grief Has No Shores, I Know Thee of Old

The Belonging - An Immortal Creation (2011)

Band: The Belonging
Country: Bradford, UK
Style: Melodic Black/Death Metal
Label: Independent

Every once in a while I'll find an album cover that just catches my eye, even if I don't think it all that great an album cover. When I saw this cover, just the bleak nature, and anti-religious, nature of the cover caught my eye. I'm not even that big on melodic death/black metal, but why not give this a shot.
I'm not sure how I feel about an album beginning with the cocking of a gun and then blasting forward. I'm sure I've mentioned in the past my distaste for bands like Dark Funeral, which means little on here because these guys are by no means as intense or brutal as that band is, but the reason I bring it up is in how the songs are presented. On here, songs are melodic, some a bit more technical than others, but they all wind up sounding the same, which is how I feel about Dark Funeral. Clearly, I found this band much more entertaining and more varied than that band, but there was just something about it, maybe the production, that made me feel a connection between both bands. Sonically, I actually hear more Rotting Christ in here than Dark Funeral, but whatever, this is just a problem I have.
In all honesty, though the above sounded negative, I do applaud this record in several departments, and I have to say that it isn't a bad record. The guitar playing on here is well done, I mean, for the most part it is based in typical black metal riffing with some more death and thrash elements coming in now and then, but it's well done. Excluding genre names, it's quite varied from song to song, with opener Archangel being a straightforward blasting song, but then there are songs like Slave which is much more progressive, going into an album Akercocke moment near it's ending, or Procreation of A Demigod which has a much more death metal vibe to it. Also, like I mentioned above, these guys aren't afraid to be a bit more technical at times, hear Militant, which is quite refreshing to hear in a black metal context since it's a lot more common in death metal than black metal.
So it's not a bad album, it's actually quite good, despite the genre itself not really being my thing, for what it's worth. I'm sure people who are into more melodic black metal will enjoy this a lot more than I did, because compared to a lot of other groups in the genre, that I've listened to mind you, these guys are actually pretty diverse. Check it out if you're into more melodic black metal with influences coming in from other extreme metal.
Overall Score: 7
Highlights: Militant, Slave, An Immortal Creation

Avichi - The Devil's Fractal (2011)

Band: Avichi
Country: Chicago, Illinois
Style: Black Metal
Label: Profound Lore

I've heard of Avichi for what I could only guess is about a year now, but, I've never really listened to it. Besides being the Profound Lore fanboy that I am, a good friend of mine reviewed this album and said some interesting things about it which got me pretty interested. Since getting this record, I have gone back and listened to their debut to see what I was missing out on.
Immediately, this two-man band makes it known that this is not a regular black metal album by making use of tremolo picking very minimally. The opening riff of Sermon On The Mount sounds more like something coming from thrash metal, to me anyway, before descending into more traditional realms of speed picking. Granted, a lot of this record never crosses into blast-beat, high speed territory, pretty much remaining more in the realm of fast-drumming under more mid-paced to occasional bursts of speed from the guitar for the majority of the album, though if you want that high intensity speed than go straight for Kaivalya of The Black Magician and you'll get your fix. You also won't find the typical black metal screams and howls on here either, with the main vocal style being what I could only describe as a throaty narration of sorts.
If there was anything that separated this band from other black metal bands, it would have to be the atmosphere that surrounds them. Even on the debut, "The Divine Tragedy," this atmosphere was there, it's sort of dissonant sounding and chaotic, but not overwhelming. For all I know, it might just be me. It's a bit disorienting and kind of made the whole experience feel a bit odd to me. By the time the last two songs, the title-track, The Devil's Fractal parts I and II, I honestly had a bit of a migraine from listening to this.
It's a good record, and I want to make that clear and not discourage anyone away from it because it just felt odd to me. I already know that there are people who've given this record some pretty lofty praise, so this one little critique shouldn't damage your opinion of it too much. I would definitely say that black metal fans should check this out if only for the abstract nature to which it's performed.
Overall Score: 7.5
Highlights: Under Satan's Sun, I Am The Adversary, The Devil's Fractal II

Umor - Pralayaah (2011)

Band: Umor
Country: Zagreb, Croatia
Style: Doom Metal/Post-Rock
Label: Sonic Doom

I feel so bad for having this for months and not reviewing it. I just really haven't given it the time it deserves and at this point it's kind of like now or never for this thing. Doom metal with a twist, that's why I got this.
I have to admit that when I first heard this I was really shocked by how it sounded. This is not doom metal as it is usually done today, this is retro, but also modern sounding, weird to be honest. The sound of the production is clean and clear, but also very warm and open sounding, which really benefits the quieter and more post-rock elements of the album. Musically, this album, as above says, is basically doom metal with post-rock, but it's doom done in the 70s fashion. I hear sounds coming from bands like Black Sabbath, Black Widow, Candlemass, and other bands of that vein, it's very psychedelic. The vocalist brings a very old-school singing approach to this album, which really fit the smokey and psychedelic vibe I was feeling throughout this album.
I would not call this a progressive album, though psychedelic in nature, it certainly isn't near that realm. Sure, you can definitely tell these guys have listened to their fare share of Pink Floyd and maybe even Hawkwind albums in their day, but it's not progressive in the modern sense of overly long instrumental masturbation. I mention the likes of Floyd and Hawkwind because this band manages to capture something very few prog-rock/metal bands seem to do, these songs take the listener on a journey. While tracks like Silent Key - The Sign are obviously going to go places within eighteen minutes, but even shorter tracks like One does that.
From first listen onward this was a record that just took me to new realms of psychedelia that I haven't really gone with modern bands. Definitely an old-school vibe, but don't let that fool you into thinking that this is a retro band, cause it's not a rip-off. Definitely check this out if you like psychedelic rock, post-rock, sludge metal, or doom metal.
Overall Score: 8.5
Highlights: Mountains of The Wolf, Exposure

Primus - Green Naugahyde (2011)

Band: Primus
Country: El Sobrante, California
Style: Experimental/Funk Rock
Label: Prawn Song

I'm not sure whether people are aware of this or not, but I'm a big fan of Primus. Bands like Primus, Faith No More, and Mr. Bungle are all some of my favorite bands of all time, if only because no other band sounds like them. Over a decade of waiting, and here we finally have a new record, about time!
After another pointless intro, the first song, Hennepin Crawler, opens up in possibly one of the darkest Primus songs I've heard since "Pork Soda." Granted, in the grand scheme of things, the song itself is actually quite simple sounding for a Primus song, the bassline isn't all that weird, the vocals are done in Les Claypool's usual distorted spoken word fashion, and the guitar patterns are weird, but it honestly didn't impress me all that much. Then Last Salmon Man came on and I got what I wanted. This track was interesting, in a good way, it definitely brought up more of the psychedelic/progressive rock influences that can be heard in later Primus records as well as Claypool's solo material, but kept the song going with more interesting bass-lines and Larry "Ler" LaLonde's interesting guitar lines. Granted, the real funk rock doesn't really emerge until track five, Tragedy's A' Comin', it comes out strong in my opinion.
Maybe it's just cause I'm a huge fan of FNM and Mr. Bungle, as well as artists like Frank Zappa, that I've always loved how quirky Primus made their music. Even at it's darkest, it always sounded fun and interesting. I seriously can't help but love the spin these guys take on songs like Moron TV, where it's so blunt, but so weird at the same time, plus his vocals sound like something Mike Patton would come up with. Songs like Eyes of The Squirrel and Jilly's On Smack are seriously some of the darkest stuff I've ever heard from Primus, and the music only enhances the lyrics and vocals with their more minimal approach. I thought some of the more spacey moments on "Antipop" were cool, but it seems like they've really taken them on board for this album.
In all honesty, I was kind of let down by this album, maybe it just needs to grow on me a little bit more. After a couple listens, it has grown on me, so at least I know that it is a lot more of a grower than I anticipated. Definitely check out this great band if you haven't yet though.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Tragedy's A' Comin', Jilly's On Smack, Extinction Burst

Desiderium - An Image of Solitude (2011)

Band: Desiderium
Country: Cary, North Carolina
Style: Melodic Black Metal
Label: Nihilistic Winter

It's about time that I got around to this album, since I've had it for a good couple of months or so. With everything that's come out in recent months, I really haven't found anything to really put it together with, review-wise, until recently. I actually first listened to this way back around late June and have only recently come back to it.
While the intro doesn't particularly provide anything worthwhile, Forest of Forgotten Memories brings an interesting flavor to the table. This is certainly melodic, but I don't know if you would want to put this project in the same league as bands like Dissection or Rotting Christ, but there are hints of folk, and to an extent post-rock or post-black metal, in here as well which brought an interesting sound to this album. A track like Pale Cloak of Dawn feels a bit too upbeat and almost danceable compared to the usual and traditional sounds of black metal, no matter how melodic. With that being said, don't expect this album to really go into directions all that similar to Alcest, this is nowhere near as dreamy or atmospheric as that group. In fact, the vocals might surprise a lot of people as to how old-school sounding they sound, to me at least, though I can't really place it.
I found that this album, since I didn't really remember much from my initial listen back in June, just blew away what I had actually remembered. Granted, some of the sounds on here are a bit cheesy and actually got me to roll my eyes, but a lot of this is actually a lot better than I remembered. There's a pretty decent amount of variety, but it's all done well; but I do believe that there is a lack of focus due to that variety. There appears to be a stylistic shift within each track, one track is more melodic and straightforward, another recalls more of a viking metal and old-school atmospheric vibe, another is more of the post-black metal, which leads to a lack of cohesion among these tracks. It's not even that these different styles are performed badly, because at their worst, they're more cheesy than bad, but all of them are actually well performed and written.
When all is said and done, I do think that there's a lot of potential on here, and all of what's on here is well done. In all honesty if the styles on here were blended a bit more or at least a more defined sound was honed on, this would really be a project to watch out for. Definitely check this out if you like black metal that explores some various sub-genres but does all of them quite well.
Overall Score: 8
Highlights: Forest of Forgotten Memories, Pale Cloak of Dawn

Obsequiae - Suspended In The Brume of Eos (2011)

Band: Obsequiae
Country: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Style: Progressive/Black Metal
Label: Bindrune

Despite how I feel about Celestiial, probably the most well known project of Tanner Anderson, I had heard nothing but good things about this project. Supposedly the continuation of an earlier project called Autumnal Winds that was around since the late 90s till around 2005, a more black metal based band. With nothing but good things, and some odd comments about how this actually sounds, I became interested rather quickly.
I remember several comments and reviews of this album mentioning things like medieval sounding melodies, lots of bass, and harmonically complex, all of which are things that could potentially lead to a very cheesy sounding blackened folk metal record. Fortunately enough, all of these things immediately show up in opener Altars of Moss and prove any doubts I might have had about it wrong. Personally, I like folk music, I enjoy the melodies used in a lot of folk and acoustic music, and medieval music isn't something I listen to, really ever, but don't dislike, and I find that a lot of folk metal groups, or blackened folk metal groups, never hit the right balance between the two to sound authentic and aggressive. What I found on here is as dense and chaotic as black metal, but as melodic and memorable as folk music, adding up to something quite extraordinary.
I know that I use the term "progressive" a lot in my reviews in different contexts, and I'm sure saying it here will get more than a few people upset, but listening to a song like the title-track, Suspended In The Brume of Eos, it's hard not to hear the great take these guys do on the blackened folk thing, I haven't really heard any other band sound as rich and complex as these guys. To bring up the bass situation for a second, while I had heard there was a lot of it on here, it wasn't what I expected. What I came in expecting to hear was something along the lines of having the bass being loud in the mix, like albums from prog-metal groups like Spiral Architect or the first Cynic album, but instead, the bass is lower in the mix, but is still just as well played. But to reiterate here, this album is also really catchy, with tracks like Atonement that just caught my ear from take off. But even at it's most straightforward and aggressive moments, Arrows being a prime subject, there's still something worth looking back at and listening to again, because it isn't just fast and primal black metal with melody, during points like that, it's something much more subtle that lures you back.
I really can't say a bad thing about this record, it's a lot better than I even expected it to be. My only complaint is that I wish it was a little bit longer, had another couple of songs, because it's that damn good. If you like folk music, black metal, progressive rock, etc. check this out, I'm still in awe of it after several listens.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: Suspended In The Brume of Eos, The Wounded Fox, The Starlit Shore