Former
Tristania mainman Morten Veland returns with his most interesting project to
date. Sirenia is a multi-vocalist gothic/symphonic project specializing in
atmospheric, sweeping opuses unlike anything else in progressive metal today. Morten
handles the growls while Kristian Gundersen handles the clean male singing. A
trio of female vocalists rounds out the project (with Henriette Bordvik being
the permanent female member), and the results are damned impressive! While the
singing is collaborative, this is definitely Morten's show, with him writing the
music and playing all of the instruments (except violin). Sirenian Shores is
their latest EP, featuring a new song, a remix of an old one, an acoustic
version, and a trippy cover of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan". This
EP is a joy from beginning to end, and it definitely whets the appetite for
more! The music is dark, moving, melodic, and entrancing all at once. Fans of
Tristania, Katatonia, and Anathema will love this. The Heathen Hippy gives it
four sweeping arpeggios. (Taliesin Govannon)
To say
that I've been looking forward to this album would be an understatement. One of
the albums that got me back into the whole Death/Black metal scene was Summon's
previous effort ‘...And The Blood Runs Black’. When I heard that 2005 would see
the release of a new album by these Death Metal masters, it had me chafing at my
black-leather bit. Well, the boys from Michigan don't disappoint. "Summon",
their latest assault on the ears of planet Earth, blasts forth with a fury that
rips your flesh off and grinds your bones into dust. This is Death Metal with a
capital fucking "D", and no-one does it better! This is Death with the bitter
taste of darkness in it, and it's guaranteed to haunt a Christian's worst
nightmares. This band just keeps getting better, tighter, and more ferocious
with each new effort, and the results are impressive from beginning to end.
There really isn't a bad song in the bunch, and any fan of blackened death metal
NEEDS to have this album. And those who snatch one of the first 5,000 copies
will get a bonus audio DVD with the first 5.1 surround mix of a metal album
ever. One of the best of the year. The Heathen Hippy gives it five fallen
angels. (Taliesin Govannon)
I have
to admit, I made some assumptions before I even gave this a listen. All I knew
about John Mikl Thor was that he was a body builder/heavy metal singer with a
career dating back to the mid seventies. He also had a couple of hokey horror
movies to his credit, including one (‘Zombie Nightmare’) that had been
thoroughly abused by the MST3K crew. I couldn’t figure out why a label like
Smogveil would release a CD by what had to be a cheesy artist. Well, I’m a big
enough man to admit when I’m wrong, and I was definitely wrong in this case.
This is some excellent seventies style heavy glam rock. Think Alice Cooper
circa ‘Billion Dollar Babies’. Comparisons to The Dictators could also be
made. There’s some cheese, to be sure, but it’s a knowing kind of cheese,
sliced up with a wink and a smile. While not every track crushes like the god
of thunder’s hammer, there’s no outright filler. And while the lyrics are
generally theatrical and comic bookish on the surface, they’re also personal and
genuine. Standouts are the title track, “Creature Feature”, “Hard to Cry”, and
“Megaton Man”. A very pleasant surprise. (Bob Ignizio)
Initially, I wanted
to review Unwritten Law's Sixth effort, ‘Here's To the Morning’, because I
really liked the video for "Save Me" that I saw on MTV2. The video shows the
story of a stubborn and hopeless drug user and his girlfriend who is saddened by
his habit. He feels like a failure, can't break the addiction, blames others and
himself, and refuses help. She eventually leaves. I think, in part, the video
reminded me of a past relationship of my own and that's why I connected with the
song. After listening to the CD in its entirety, however, much of it comes off
as pretty undynamic to me. The album is simple pop punk. The song “Slow Dance”
is ultra-annoying and every time it comes on I have to hit the skip button. In
the song, the lyrics “Dance with me. Take a chance with me. Take off your pants
with me.” is repeated over and over with this irritating driving guitar rhythm.
I do, however, enjoy the songs "She Says" and "Rejection's Cold" very much in
addition to "Save Me." They seem to carry a bit more depth compared to the
others. Overall, I'd give this CD a C+. It has a few good songs, but isn't good
enough to make the dean's list. (Jennifer Adams)
Former
Tristania mainman Morten Veland returns with his most interesting project to
date. Sirenia is a multi-vocalist gothic/symphonic project specializing in
atmospheric, sweeping opuses unlike anything else in progressive metal today. Morten
handles the growls while Kristian Gundersen handles the clean male singing. A
trio of female vocalists rounds out the project (with Henriette Bordvik being
the permanent female member), and the results are damned impressive! While the
singing is collaborative, this is definitely Morten's show, with him writing the
music and playing all of the instruments (except violin). Sirenian Shores is
their latest EP, featuring a new song, a remix of an old one, an acoustic
version, and a trippy cover of Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan". This
EP is a joy from beginning to end, and it definitely whets the appetite for
more! The music is dark, moving, melodic, and entrancing all at once. Fans of
Tristania, Katatonia, and Anathema will love this. The Heathen Hippy gives it
four sweeping arpeggios. (Taliesin Govannon)
To say
that I've been looking forward to this album would be an understatement. One of
the albums that got me back into the whole Death/Black metal scene was Summon's
previous effort ‘...And The Blood Runs Black’. When I heard that 2005 would see
the release of a new album by these Death Metal masters, it had me chafing at my
black-leather bit. Well, the boys from Michigan don't disappoint. "Summon",
their latest assault on the ears of planet Earth, blasts forth with a fury that
rips your flesh off and grinds your bones into dust. This is Death Metal with a
capital fucking "D", and no-one does it better! This is Death with the bitter
taste of darkness in it, and it's guaranteed to haunt a Christian's worst
nightmares. This band just keeps getting better, tighter, and more ferocious
with each new effort, and the results are impressive from beginning to end.
There really isn't a bad song in the bunch, and any fan of blackened death metal
NEEDS to have this album. And those who snatch one of the first 5,000 copies
will get a bonus audio DVD with the first 5.1 surround mix of a metal album
ever. One of the best of the year. The Heathen Hippy gives it five fallen
angels. (Taliesin Govannon)
I have
to admit, I made some assumptions before I even gave this a listen. All I knew
about John Mikl Thor was that he was a body builder/heavy metal singer with a
career dating back to the mid seventies. He also had a couple of hokey horror
movies to his credit, including one (‘Zombie Nightmare’) that had been
thoroughly abused by the MST3K crew. I couldn’t figure out why a label like
Smogveil would release a CD by what had to be a cheesy artist. Well, I’m a big
enough man to admit when I’m wrong, and I was definitely wrong in this case.
This is some excellent seventies style heavy glam rock. Think Alice Cooper
circa ‘Billion Dollar Babies’. Comparisons to The Dictators could also be
made. There’s some cheese, to be sure, but it’s a knowing kind of cheese,
sliced up with a wink and a smile. While not every track crushes like the god
of thunder’s hammer, there’s no outright filler. And while the lyrics are
generally theatrical and comic bookish on the surface, they’re also personal and
genuine. Standouts are the title track, “Creature Feature”, “Hard to Cry”, and
“Megaton Man”. A very pleasant surprise. (Bob Ignizio)
Initially, I wanted
to review Unwritten Law's Sixth effort, ‘Here's To the Morning’, because I
really liked the video for "Save Me" that I saw on MTV2. The video shows the
story of a stubborn and hopeless drug user and his girlfriend who is saddened by
his habit. He feels like a failure, can't break the addiction, blames others and
himself, and refuses help. She eventually leaves. I think, in part, the video
reminded me of a past relationship of my own and that's why I connected with the
song. After listening to the CD in its entirety, however, much of it comes off
as pretty undynamic to me. The album is simple pop punk. The song “Slow Dance”
is ultra-annoying and every time it comes on I have to hit the skip button. In
the song, the lyrics “Dance with me. Take a chance with me. Take off your pants
with me.” is repeated over and over with this irritating driving guitar rhythm.
I do, however, enjoy the songs "She Says" and "Rejection's Cold" very much in
addition to "Save Me." They seem to carry a bit more depth compared to the
others. Overall, I'd give this CD a C+. It has a few good songs, but isn't good
enough to make the dean's list. (Jennifer Adams)