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Visualizzazione post con etichetta Alain González Artola. Mostra tutti i post
Visualizzazione post con etichetta Alain González Artola. Mostra tutti i post

domenica 24 marzo 2024

Linnea Hjertén - Nio Systrar

#FOR FANS OF: Folk Music
Coming from Sweden, the young artist Linnea Hjertén presents its first effort entitled 'Nio Systrar' (Nine Sisters), which has been released by the well-known Swedish label Nordvis. Linnea’s obvious inspiration comes from her country’s folklore and traditional music. Instead of sorely focusing on creating songs which would be a mere portrait of traditionalism, this talented artist is influenced by a different range of projects and styles. In this album, she tries to blend these influences under behind the curtain of a darkened folk music.

Names like Forndom may come to your mind when you listen to Linnea Hjertén, or even the most ethereal sections of Wardruna, although other influences, a la Dead Can Dance, have also something to say in the conceptual inspiration of 'Nio Systrar'. Leaving aside other names, what Linnnea offers us is a dose of atmospheric folk with a strong ritualistic touch. Her angelic and ethereal voice is the driving force of this album, while the added folk instruments create the captivating ritualistic atmosphere around her. It is unsurprising to read that the artist herself mentions that the music was mainly composed in loneliness and with the lights off. I would also strongly recommend doing the same, both being at home or in the twilight moments of the day in the forest.

Linnea’s beautiful voice opens the album with a whispering voice in the album opener "Noder" while a background percussion and atmospheric arrangements, play a secondary role. This approach sets the bar of what we can expect from this album. An even more mysterious tone can be heard in "Vägen In", with this interesting combination of voices which is by far the most captivating aspect of this album and where Linnea has put more effort into it. In general, all the songs follow similar patterns, being some of them almost ambient pieces where the vocals are omnipresent, while others have a slightly greater presence of an acoustic rhythmic base. This homogeneity makes difficult to choose the highlights of the album, although I consider that "Vägen In" and more particularly "Återfödelse" and "Vägen Ut" are the ones whose vocals are especially captivating.

'Nio Systrar' at the end, is with no doubts a very pleasant and hypnotic experience. From my humble point of view, I would welcome a greater and more varied use of folk instruments, as I consider that this would help to create a more varied and surprising compositions. This kind of music perhaps does not need to be particularly varied, but an extra work on this aspect would be very positive, and it would surely help Linnea standing out from other projects. (Alain González Artola)


(Nordvis Produktion - 2024)
Score: 72

https://linneahjerten.bandcamp.com/album/nio-systrar

sabato 9 marzo 2024

Luring - Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ

#FOR FANS OF: Raw Black
Luring is an interesting project based in Pennsylvania, US. This project belongs to a scene of bands that play a quite old-school form of black metal, hereditary of the '90s golden time of the genre. These projects have a particular mixture of rawness and atmosphere that I find particularly enjoyable. As it usually happens, some members of Luring participate in other similar projects, being their current side-project Azathoth’s Dream. Its debut album entitled 'Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment' is another very interesting piece of black metal, full of a dark atmosphere.

Going back to Luring, after its first effort, which was just released a year before, the trio returns with its sophomore album entitled 'Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ', which has been released by the well-known label Iron Bonehead Productions. This fact obviously marks a step forward in the career of this band as it will receive a greater notoriety through the scene. The new opus is loyal to what we could expect from Luring and the aforementioned scene. 'Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ' is an honest testimony of the passion of the members for the metal black metal genre. The production is unsurprisingly raw, but not reaching the ‘low-fi’ level of certain bands, which I appreciate as some rawness is welcome, but to distinguish the instruments make the listener appreciate the music a lot more. The atmosphere is also a key element in Luring’s music, although the project tends to sound much rawer in certain songs, and particularly in some songs of the second half of the album. For example, the album opener "Where Forgotten Spirits Dwell" is a furious piece, where the guitars sound truly rough, and the drums have a relentless pace, but the atmospheric touch of the composition in certain moments create a more hypnotic feeling that I truly enjoy. Even more atmospheric is the next track, entitled "Strew Carcass of Christ", where the synthesizers play a major role. As it is in greater part a slower track, this ambience shines even more. An ambient interlude marks the transition to the already mentioned second half, which sounds a bit more brutal and less ambient infused on a couple of tracks. "Death is the Master I Obey" is a fine example of it. I do not imply that it lacks atmosphere, which is not the case, but the lack of keys and the darker and heavier tone of the guitars differ a little bit from previous songs. Even "Feral Spirit" seems to torture his throat even more, as his vocals sound more desperate and raspier. A couple of tracks follow similar patterns before the album concludes, retaking some of the atmosphere of its first half. These mentioned, both sides don’t differ too much, as they could be considered the two sides of the same coin. Personally, I prefer the songs where the synthesizers create a more captivating ambience, but it's up to each listener to make its own judgement.

In any case, 'Triumphant Fall of the Malignant Christ' is a quite good album of pure black metal, where rawness and atmosphere cohabitate quite naturally as it always should be in this genre. (Alain González Artola)


giovedì 22 febbraio 2024

Azathoth’s Dream - Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment

#FOR FANS OF: Raw Black Metal
Hailing from the US, Azathoth’s Dream is a new one-man band, whose debut EP entitled 'Necromanticism', caught the attention of a well-known label like Iron Bonehead Productions. Apart from this, there is little information about this project, so we will let the music speak, which is obviously the most important thing here.

As mentioned, Iron Bonehead is set to release the first full length of this obscure project. The first effort is entitled 'Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment'. The album title and the dark artwork give a clear clue about how this project sounds. Azathoth’s Dream’s debut album shows its devotion to black metal’s '90s golden era and more particularly to these bands tagged as “vampiric black metal”, where the sound is an interesting mixture of rawness, melody, and atmosphere. And this is exactly what we can find in this album. Consisting of nine tracks and lasting less than 28 minutes, this effort gets right to the point. After a haunting intro, the fury begins with the ferocious "Instatiable Sanguine Thrist". As soon as the song begins you will notice the murky production which is typical in this sort of bands. The lacerating high-pitched vocals are combined with the expected tremolo picking guitars melodies. Even though the production is remarkably raw, the guitars are able to create some melodic harmonies and a bewitching atmosphere, which will be a constant through the whole album. This is what makes Azathoth’s Dream music so enjoyable, it gets the right balance between aggression and melody, as it still sounds loyal to the underground. Another good point of this song and the album overall is the pace, it never focuses too much on being fast, as slow, and mid-temp sections are also adequately used. Especially captivating songs like "The Grace" and "The Moor" obtain fantastic results doing this. Furthermore, the addition of some atmospheric and even majestic elements creates glorious and lasting melodies that you want to listen to over and over again. A track like "Extinguish the Light" shows in its third minute length a good range of riffs, being some of them particularly crushing and raw. The contrast between this heaviness and the inclusion of atmospheric keys is again very well-done and makes the tracks very alluring. The rest of the album follows very similar patterns, but the inspired work with the guitars, the always changing pace, alongside the excellent atmospheric resources never fail, and consequently let you desire that the album would last a bit more.

'Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment' is undoubtedly an honest and outstanding homage to the classic '90s black metal scene, where rawness and atmosphere coexisted greatly. The tastefully created compositions and its short duration, leave the listener wanting more, and this is indeed a good foundation for the hopefully, next album of this project. (Alain González Artola)


giovedì 8 febbraio 2024

Eternal Storm - A Giant Bound to Fall

#FOR FANS OF: Prog/Melo Death
Three years ago, I was lucky enough to review Eternal Storm’s debut effort entitled 'Come the Tide', a genre refreshing first album which impressed me a lot. Created in Madrid back in 2009, although the band relocated to Scotland some time ago, Eternal Storm needed a few years to release a full-length album, but the wait was worth of the time. Firmly rooted in the melodic death metal genre, the Spaniards reached a great balance between aggression, atmosphere, and tasteful melodies. For this reason, I was reasonably hyped with the fact that the band is set to release its sophomore album 'A Giant Bound to Fall' this February, with the always reliable label Transcending Obscurity Records.

Surpassing a great debut always puts some pressure on the band and this new album needed to be something especial, at least, to continue carving a position in the scene for Eternal Storm. I can safely say that this new opus won’t disappoint the fans, even though I consider that it requires time to properly judge if it is better or not. The first impression is that the band has pushed the boundaries of the mixture they created in 'Come the Tide'. Its melodic death metal tinged with atmospheric and pure aggressive parts is still there, with renewed enthusiasm I would say. I can feel some stronger progressive touches through the album. This is immediately noticed in the lengthy album opener "An Abyss of Unreason". The complex structures, the ups and downs in the intensity, the variety in the riffing work, plus the great combination of clean and aggressive vocals make this initial song an outstanding piece of music. "Last Refuge" is another highlight of the album, although it is quite complicated to choose the best tracks as the whole work is wonderful. I choose this one as its melodies and initial furious part make it remarkably catchy and a good candidate to be played in the concerts quite often. I would like to praise the top-notch work with the guitars, the riffs are excellent and melodies absolutely tasteful and captivating. This is what one can expect from a melodic death metal band, but Eternal Storm undoubtedly reaches a level of excellence in this aspect. Another key aspect is that the aforementioned complexity and progressive influences don’t deprive of soul and emotion to the music of this album. This is something I truly appreciate, as I always expected some emotional moments regardless of the work behind the songs the bands create. "Lone Tree Domain" is another superb track which I would like to highlight. The contrast between the heaviest parts and the most atmospheric ones is masterfully built, and it shows the amount of work the band has done creating this album. I love when bands go back from the calmest to the most furious ones with a progression that doesn’t lack of emotion and beauty, and this track is an absolutely fine example of it. Last but not least, the production of 'A Giant Bound to Fall' also deserves some praise, and it is absolutely well-done. It’s clean but not overproduced, and it sounds heavy and crushing when needed. The balance between the instruments and vocals is perfect and permits the listener to fully enjoy the music.

In conclusion, Eternal Storm’s third opus 'A Giant Bound to Fall' breaths grandeur in its entirety. Albums like this are the perfect example of how a stagnated genre like melodic death metal can find a path to sound fresh and exciting again. Well-done guys.(Alain González Artola)


(Transcending Obscurity Records - 2024)
Score: 87

https://eternalstorm.bandcamp.com/album/a-giant-bound-to-fall-2

lunedì 27 novembre 2023

Ashtar - Wandering Through Time

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Doom
During its over a decade of existence, the Swiss project Ashtar hasn’t been particularly active, as it has only released two albums until 2023. But as it usually happens, the quality has more importance than the quantity, and this formerly duo released two interesting albums which were worth of our time. And I say formerly, as since 2022 Ashtar has been reduced to a solo project as the Finnish musician Lehtinen is out of the band. As a consequence of this, Nadine Lehtinen, as known as ‘Witch N’ will take the duties of composing and releasing the upcoming albums, while the last offer, entitled 'Wandering Through Time', has yet been composed by the original duo. 
 
As it happened with this predecessor 'Kaikuja', the new opus is released by the well-known label Eisenwald. Ahstar’s musical formula is an interesting combination of black and doom metal. Nadine’s vocals have a distinctive black metal touch, as they are raspy and high-pitched. Pace-wise the music is undoubtedly influenced by the slower rhythm so common in the doom metal genre, while the guitar riffs have a mix of both genres, tending to a sound closer to one or another genre depending on each moment. When we talk about the pace, a song like "Deep Space and High Waters" clearly tends to a sound more doomish as it has a more mid-paced structure, although Ashtar tries to vary the pace of the track as it advances just to avoid sounding predictable and too monotonous. In any case, as the album goes on, the tracks are more heavily influenced by doom metal as their pace is slower and the riffs sound even more crushing. A clear example of it, is the long album closer "I Want to Die", which is actually a cover by Post Mortem, but it perfectly reflects how the album sounds. The first half of this effort, on the other side, is a bit more diverse in terms of structure and pace, as the black metal influence here is a bit stronger. This successfully adds some energy in the compositions, as in the aforementioned third track, but especially in the first two songs. The second track, entitled "The Submerged Empire", is my favorite one. The guitar work is excellent with some addictive melodies and the second half of this track contains some interesting surprises. For example, a remarkably beautiful violin interlude which is totally unexpected. This calmer and more delicate section is followed by a heavier one, which suddenly gains a lot of speed and fury. This ferocious final section is ended by a second and equally beautiful apparition of the violin which ends the song in style. 

In conclusion, 'Wandering Through Time' is a solid effort which would be a more inspired and interesting album, if the second half of the album would contain more diversity in its pace and a stronger black metal influence, as it can be heard in the first tracks. I honestly think that Ashtar’s music benefits itself from this more balanced mixture as it sounds more captivating. (Alain González Artola)
 
(Eisenwald - 2023)
Score: 70
 

martedì 14 novembre 2023

Grift - Dolt Land

#FOR FANS OF: Neofolk
The Swedish solo-project Grift was founded by Erik Gärdefors more than a decade ago. Erik has been a quite active member of the extreme metal scene in Sweden. His previous and also current projects are closely tied to the black and death metal subgenres, where he has shown his talent. With Grift, we can appreciate a further vision of Erik’s musical interest as he brings a strong folk influence on the ‘creation table’, where Grift was crafted. Since its inception, Grift’s music has been a quite palatable mixture of black metal and neo folk influences. As it usually happens the first opus entitled 'Syner' already had a very solid mixture of both genres, although the black metal elements sounded a bit harsher than in the subsequent releases. With albums like 'Arvet' or 'Budet', the intrinsically melancholic influence of the neo folk music impregnated the full compositions of Grift and even the blackest metal elements had a strong influence of the aforementioned subgenre. That led to the creation of something unique and, therefore, forged Grift’s own musical vision.

With the new opus entitled 'Dolt Land', Grift leaves behind all the black metal elements, at least for this release, as it seems that the artist contemplates the beauty of its land’s nature and consequently, tries to create an appropriate musical experience for the listeners.  So, 'Dolt Land' is logically a folk/neo-folk album with a strong melancholic touch, which is so present in the purely folk albums that metal projects release in Scandinavia. The album is an immersive experience and a very pleasant listen if you like this kind of slightly gloomy form of folk music. The nature-related ambience of the album opener "Silverne Sitg" is a fine example of what you can listen to here. The nature sounds are elegantly missed with folk instruments, which slowly gain the main role, creating a nice bridge from the wild sounds to the man created ones. Erik’s voice sounds great as he has a deep and emotional tone which is very appropriate for this type of music. Even though an album like this may not have greater variations in the tone and pace, this composition shows that some variations are possible in order to enrich the composition and make the song more interesting. Another aspect where Erik tries to add some different touches in his own voice, as he adds a raspier tone in several compositions, for example in "Nattens Pilgrim". This addition, alongside the use of different folk instruments and variation in the intensity of the structures, help to create folk songs which are not so monotonous. Another song which I enjoy quite a lot is "En Hemskog", that is an acoustic guitar-driver composition, maybe with less variation than other compositions, but with  a very nice work with this instrument that makes me appreciate it a lot.

In conclusion, 'Dolt Land' is a temporary departure from Grift’s fusion of neo-folk and black elements, and although this may disappoint some of its fans, I personally urge all of them to give a chance to this album, as it is a very tasteful and enjoyable listen. (Alain González Artola)

(Nordvis Produktion - 2023)
Score: 75