The Beginning of Times - Amorphis (2011)

ALBUM REVIEW

The Beginning of Times is the 10^th studio album from Finnish metalers Amorphis due to be released on the 27^th of May via Nuclear Blast. When we caught up with Tomi Joutsen (Vocals) in November last year (watch it here) he informed us that this would be an album very similar to the previous ones...and indeed it is! Some songs definitely remind us of Skyforger while influences from earlier Amorphis album are more present this time. Some nice melodic choruses appear throughout the album and it seems that there are more brutal vocals than on Skyforger. The arrangements help a lot to create some nice atmospheres which match really nicely with the vocals of Tomi. Production wise Amorphis have laid down some very nice and interesting sounds that blend really well between them. The lyrics for the album are based on the main character of the Kalevala: Väinämöinen and have been written once again by Pekka Kainulainen. However, this album is missing the spark to light the fire for a great album. In general it is a pleasant album to listen to but it is lacking the power of attraction that will keep the listener glued to it. The Beginning of Times is an album that really perplexed me and I would really like to see what is the result that is generated when this songs are played live. I have a feeling that these songs are the kind of songs that are not meant to be heard on an album but live!

Our favourite song from the album is probably Crack in a Stone. The changes between the verses and the choruses is just too interesting to us and the epicness of the chorus is too much to be overlooked! And to top it all there's a great middle part that comes and lifts the song into being our personal favourite out of the album!

Also you can now stream the first track to be released from this album "You I Need" here!

The Beginning of Times: 7/10

Posted by Nick 

Children of Bodom - Amon Amarth - 9 Apr 11 (The Forum)

The bill for tonight's show was excitingly promising with two giants(literally for one, not so literally for the other) of Scandinavian metal and with the sun shining high, the metalheads came in numbers for it. With the release of Surtur Rising and Relentless, Reckless Forever everybody was quite eager to hear the new material! First to showcase their might were our favourite Vikings: Amon Amarth. With eight studio albums in their bag and with a very small set time to fill, the band had to chose the songs to perform carefully and I am a bit disappointed from the choice. Would had definitely liked to hear more new songs and in general more Amon Amarth. The sound was quite bad which is something surprising since I remember that in general the sound in the Forum is quite good, even for support bands. However the band was up there and seemed to be in a very good shape and this is definitely a great warm-up for the big US tour they're heading of to. Amon Amarth are said to be coming back to do a headline tour here in the UK, so all we have to do in order to hear some new material live is just wait a few more months! Up next: Children of Bodom who attacked the stage with great might and aggression. These guys really know how to give a show although sometimes Janne Wirman(Keyboards) seemed a little bit bored. Alexi Laiho(Guitar,Vocals) proved once again that he is a great front-man and a great shredder. Once again however the sound was not that great. Better than Amon Amarth but it seems as if some speaker blew out at some point and the sound was really unworthy of a venue such as the Forum. Overall a very nice gig with a good atmosphere but unfortunately not a great sound.

Children of Bodom: 17/20 

Sound: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5 
Presentation: 5/5 
Performance: 4/5

Amon Amarth: 15/20 
Sound: 3/5 
Ambience: 4/5 
Presentation: 4/5 
Performance: 4/5

Posted by Nick 

Human Remains - Hell (2011)

ALBUM REVIEW

When I first got the email about Hell I had no bloody idea of who the hell they were. I'm way to young to remember the 80s and where I grew up metal is generally considered to be music from hell! So the first contact I had with the music of Hell was through the video of On Earth as it is in Hell not even a month ago and being a big fan of King Diamond and Iron Maiden it wasn't hard for me to love this stuff! Human Remains is the new album from occult heavy metal band Hell due to come out on the 13^th of May via Nuclear Blast. This album is very well balanced with some great melodic lines throughout the whole album. The dark and hellish lyrics might seem a bit "passé" and sooo 80s to some but HEY! What the hell do you expect from a band called Hell? Right..glad we got that sorted out! The riffs are majestically heavy and really bring the best things about NWOBHM out. The band is really kicking ass and it will be a blast to watch these guys live. It is worthy to note that the whole album has some amazing intros for the majority of the songs and really gets you deep in the lyrical content of the album. Some may ask: was it worth the wait? Hell Yeah! I'll bet you anything that right now this album is on repeat down in hell and like Bart Gabriel from Hard Rocker said: “Hell's “Human Remains” is the devil's new favourite Heavy Metal album”. Quite an achievement don't you think?

Favourite track for us is probably the single out of the album On Earth as it is in Hell although we tend to like The Devils Deadly Weapon too. The 80s sounding main riff is just to good for us to stay indifferent and not headbang our eyes out of their sockets and although this song is 10 minutes long you really feel as if hell is upon you once its finished and you just have to listen to it again!

Human Remains: 9/10

Times the word hell is mentioned: 14 (yes hellish counts too!)

Posted by Nick

Surtur Rising - Amon Amarth (2011)

ALBUM REVIEW

It feels that every time Amon Amarth gets in the studio they have to come out with an opus of viking inspired metal! After the success of Twilight of the Thunder God, Surtur Rising is the newest album from the Swedish metalers and the eight studio album of the band. For starters: this album is great! The melodies, the heaviness, the feelings, everything is there. I have been a fan of Amon Amarth for almost 10 years and I can definitely say that this is their best work so far. The songs are beautifully constructed and they are heavy as fuck! Johan Hegg really did a great work with the vocals and the guitars of Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg switch from fast, aggressive riffs to exquisite solos and melodic lines. The Amon Amarth feeling is well represented in the whole album with melodies that may remind earlier works of the band but in no way are tiring or repetitive. In general the album is HEAVY! I’m pretty sure that if they had the appropriate equipment in the 8^th century this would be the album by default to blast out of every drakkar when the Vikings were burning and looting villages. And just to help you imagine it as I do, take the helicopter attack scene from Apocalypse Now, replace the helicopters with drakkars and Ride of the Valkyries with Surtur Rising. Press PLAY! Cool isn’t it? I will dare and call Surtur Rising a battle anthem since this album generates some kind of courage and willingness to face the world, take a look in its eyes and spit in its face! The songs are most likely to be killers live and in combination with the other songs from the band we can only imagine how good the Amon Amarth set can be. This album is a must for all Amon Amarth fans and if you are looking for something new to listen to and you’ve never heard of Amon Amarth then give this a listen. You won’t be disappointed!

Best track for us is The Last Stand of Frej. This song expresses all the aspects that Amon Amarth has explored through the years. The death metal touch is very dominant while the melodies and the riffs along with the lyrics really make this a song full of power and courage which explodes into a pre-chorus, which could remind Black Sabbath to some, only to find home in a combination of all the best things about Amon Amarth in the chorus.

Surtur Rising: 10/10

Posted by Nick

Calatrilloz - 29 Mar 2011 (Islington Academy)

 

UNSIGNED BAND

When you read about Calatrilloz before going to see them at a gig, you are not entirely sure on what to expect. So before I went to the gig I read all the basic info for the band and checked out some of the Youtube material that they have and had a vague idea of what was to come. Once inside the academy I got greeted by a make-uped Luca Minischetti(Drums) who reassured me that the band was up first since the band that was originally intended to play first had pulled out. Calatrilloz came on stage and definitely delivered what all the writings mention: a theatrical/operatic rock feeling that was definitely a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately though it seems that no band can be spared from the technical difficulties that arise at every gig, and this time was no different. The backing tracks that Calatrilloz use were not coming out through the sound system and I later found out that one of the fuses was not working properly and it caused the whole backing track system to collapse. Despite that though, they guys really delivered a very good set that had all the intensity and excitement that it needed. Calatrilloz is composed by really talented musicians and they really deliver something unique for the scene. It would definitely be very nice to see how much difference the backing tracks make since some times it did seem a little bit "empty" but still it wasn't something that would make the band sound less good from what they already were. Overall a very enjoyable set by Calatrilloz and I'm really looking forward for the next gig to get a taste of the complete Calatrilloz experience!

Calatrilloz: 8/10

Posted by Nick

Achilla - 27 Mar 2011 (Hoxton Underbelly)

UNSIGNED BAND

When I heard the line up for this event I was awaiting a good night. Achilla and A New Tommorow are two bands that I have seen before and know that they can deliver great shows. However there was also a new band, for me, on the bill tonight. Seven7 is a four piece band from London, led by Swiss guitarist Nick Meier, which as it sounds has influences that go from Dream Theater to Pantera and gathers everything in between. The band delivered a very nice set which was really pleasant to listen to. With a good energy and sound, Seven7 is definitely a band to keep an eye on. With some very interesting guitar work, good grooves and vocals the band seems to have lots of potential. Only negative aspects were the fact that it sounded a little too much like Dream Theater when it came to guitar sounds, melodies and harmonic changes and also that the drummer seemed not to be as connected with the rest of the band as they were in between them. It would be great to see what the guys can do by creating a different and more unique sound. I'm not saying that they should ignore their influences but at least try to equally divide them in their sound. Up next we had a band we have already reviewed here: A New Tommorow. These guys are getting better every time I see them. For me they really had the best sound of the night and with their songs they really create a very nice, rock atmosphere that anybody can enjoy. Alessio's vocals were great and the guitar work from Edward was the best I've seen him deliver. Definitely try and catch them on their next gig which is coming very soon! And then to complete the night Achilla came on stage. Unfortunately for the band Achilla's sound suffered from the facilities of the venue and with some quite annoying power cuts during the set it was hard for the band to stay focused on delivering the set. Despite all of that, Achilla gave out a good set that proved that they are definitely one of the upcoming female-fronted rock/metal acts to take over the UK in the next few years. I was impressed by Martamaria's vocals which sounded really good on most parts, despite the fact that they were lacking some accuracy on a few other parts, while Daniele Panza proved once again that he is a shredding machine. Gus Macricostas is always a delight to watch on stage since he seems to enjoy being there more than anything in the world. Overall despite the poor attendance the gig was enjoyable and proved that there is an underground scene that is emerging in London. It's all about keeping an eye on it now!

Achilla: 8/10

A New Tommorow: 8/10

Seven7: 7/10

Posted by Nick

Sonata Arctica - 25 Mar 2011 (Islington Academy)

I was introduced to Sonata Arctica back in 2003 or 2004, when I was still a teenager getting into metal, and back then I was liking some of the songs but nothing more. So after 6 or 7 years it was finally the time for me to witness Sonata Arctica live, and yes this was my first Sonata Arctica gig. In general I wasn't impressed but neither was I disappointed. Sonata had setted up a very nice stage which is something you don't often get in the academy and it was certainly nice to see some change. The band delivered a very good set that ended very early (9:20pm) due to some club night that probably was taking place at the academy. The academy was almost full and this probably explain the change of venue that happened (originally the gig was going to take place in Koko). Sonata Arctica started their set with songs from their latest album Days of Grays and then performed a series off classic songs from their previous albums. FullMoon was definitely a hit with the crowd chanting like crazy on the "runaway parts". Tony Kakko(Vocals) had some very interesting ways of presenting the next song which I definitely thought was funny. One of those stories about his two Toyota's rusting in his back garden resulted to Paid In Full which is always very energetic to hear. Don't say a Word was definitely the apogee of the gig and the crowd responded very well. The atmosphere was very warm and nice and I generally think that everyone enjoyed the gig. Sound wise it wasn't great but it is very rare to get bands with a good sound in the academy so I'll blame that on the venue. The problem with Sonata Arctica though is that they are unable to deliver the magnitude of sound that they have on CD. On many parts the lack of guitars, instruments and backing vocals is quite striking and would definitely make a huge difference if those parts were introduced somehow. Overall an enjoyable gig and a satisfied crowd!

We are introducing a new point system today which goes as follow:

Sonata Arctica: 17/20

Sound: 3/5

Ambience: 5/5

Presentation: 4/5

Performance: 5/5

Posted by Nick