Doldrum - The Knocking, or the Story of the Sound That Preceded Their Disappearance (2022)

The Knocking... is one of their rare, anomalous records that comes around and completely eradicates you, and then has you begging the question: why it wasn't more popular? Even a couple years later, I am baffled that this one hasn't stuck with more listeners. Perhaps it's just too obscure, wasn't advertised much, released in a limited batch of vinyl or cassettes, no CD (to my dismay). The alternative would be to believe that folks weren't interested in a brilliantly horror themed progressive black metal opus which rewards through repeated listens, and that is a thought I am just not willing to bear. A few members of this project were also in the band Gallows, which put out an awesome record in 66 Black Wings, with a more traditional, straightforward black metal style, but Doldrum is far more ambitious and interesting.

I'd describe this as sounding like a mix of late 90s/early 00s Opeth and modern, progressive Enslaved aesthetics, but it doesn't sound quite the same as either. I was also reminded of Spain's Foscor for some reason; I daresay, even a little modern Chewy-era Voivod finds its way in, or Norway's Virus. It's got well-defined rhythms that make full use of the percussion and bass, both of which are brilliantly executed through the album, and then covers those up with dissonant, creepy guitar chords and an excellent, rasped vocal to deliver a chilling and memorable experience that never gets tiring even after the 50th spin or so. The lyrics are poetic, sad and incredible, spinning a tale of 1800s American folk horror that feels refreshing and unique amidst all the usual haunted houses, zombies and vampires. It's all told in five tracks ranging from 5-9 minutes, totally under 40 minutes, never wearing out its welcome and incorporating quite a lot of range within that timespan. The Knocking... is bristling with riffs to die for, textured and immersive and fully supported by the rhythm instruments which are every measure as important. The keys and acoustics are also tasteful and non-intrusive to the central, pulsing black metal aesthetics.

I think this might have even been recorded in Salem, MA at the Gallows Hill studios, which gives me a bit of a personal connection as I met my wife there and used to live with her a few years, well before this thing came out but I always marvel at the music that comes out of the place. Largely through Kurt Ballou's God City studios, yes, but it's cool to know there are other venues. But if I'm being honest, this might be my favorite metal or 'heavy' album ever recorded in that city, it's stunning. This shit slays, and though I loved it the year it came out (and I'm still pining for a CD release!), it's grown on me even more in the interim...the towering riffs, corpulent bass lines, grooving drums, excellent vocals, all of which can surge in and out of a more traditional black metal rhythm whenever necessary, but more often errs on the side of the adventurous. I might tell you that I'd be sad if this proved to be a one-off, but at the same time, it'll be just as timeless even if the project disappears like its unfortunate subjects.

Happy Halloween!

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

https://doldrumbm.bandcamp.com/

Chapel of Disease - Echoes of Light (2024)

I'd hate to repeat a comparison I've already made over my last couple Chapel of Disease reviews, but Echoes of Light once again walks a parallel course to Swedes Tribulation in pursuing a more accessible, moody and atmospheric sound quite farm removed from their death metal roots, while retaining the harsh vocals for their contrast value against the more ear-pleasing riffs. They had already mastered this with the last time out, and this album doesn't show quite as much a transition as that between its two predecessors, so there is a little bit of a vibe that the band were really feeling out where to go here. It's a bit shorter, still at six songs, and seems to focus on fleshing out some of same ideas while giving them some more breathing room.

None of this is 'experimental', but the way the songs are composed aren't reduced to the most basic verse chorus structures, they will fuel any melodic inkling at any time and pursue that to a glorious end, and those are honestly the better parts of this record in tunes like the titular opener or "A Death Through No Loss". The album is heavily leaning on bluesy leads, hard rock or classic heavy metal riffing patterns as well as some soothing acoustic sequences, and through all of this, the bass guitar is able to stick out more than ever, with some simpler and steadier grooves than the last record, but they really anchor all the adventurous noodling. But if you heard those calmer sections of "A Death Through No Loss" and then went back to listen through 2012's Summoning Black Gods, you wouldn't recognize the Germans as the same band. Even further, they are starting to implement some clean singing here ("Shallow Nights", "Gold/Dust") to go along with some of the bluesy, emotional moments. They don't seem too confident in that respect, however, and they wind up a little bit shoegaze, but they're not bad.

The production is glinting and clear, a little more bold than ...and As We Have Seen the Storm... and there are still lots of great guitar licks throughout, while the holdover of the harsh vocals definitely continues to make this feel like Tribulation if they had gone for a more classic hard rock basis rather than the Gothic (although a few sections here also give off that impression). All told, this one doesn't feel like a step back in vision so much, but quality for sure. The cleaner vocals don't really sell me yet, the cover art choice seems a little dull after a similar, swirly look on the last record, and I don't know that I enjoy the continued progress into lighter rock fare, perhaps because it's just not always catchy enough to justify that. On the other hand, it still has plenty of wondrous moments through the riffing, good bass, and it's not at all a chore to listen through. Growing pains, maybe, but still enjoyable.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/ChapelOfDisease

Chapel of Disease - ...and As We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye (2018)

The third Chapel of Disease full-length (don't expect me to type out the whole title) is probably a smaller stylistic transition than what we got between the first and second, but instead a further refinement of their dedication to crafting atmospheric and melodic material. They really dig in here with the songwriting, making the tracks slightly more varied and developing more emotional impact, while adding a few more hard rock or heavy metal touches (the bluesy lead in "Null"). The production on pieces like "Song of the Gods" or"Oblivious/Obnoxious/Defiant" is chef's kiss awesome, with more polish and layers to soothe the stereo-seeker, but at the same time, the vocals are quite consistent with The Mysterious Ways... and thus it stays mired in that underground death metal aesthetic they cultivated on the prior releases...I am once again reminded of Tribulation had they taken an alternate path from the weirdly proggy The Formulas of Death and not gone quite as goth.

I do love that band and all their directions, mind you, so I also love this one, and this is the record that I would first recommend anyone check out; it's the wealthiest in terms of riffs and pacing, with lots of escapism created through the guitar-work that matches up with the swirling skies of the cover art. The melody here might be too engraved into the band's skeleton for passionate advocates of the debut, but it's so tasteful and transformative that you can't imagine tunes like "Null" or "The Sound of Shallow Grey" without it. The bass playing also steps up a little, it's a little less frontal than the other guitars or vocals, but there are loads of little grooves that enrich the rest of the band, where I felt on the previous album it took a slight backseat. There are some who will probably find the vocal performance to hinder the rest, surely at this point most bands would incorporate a lot of clean singing to match the direction of the writing, but I actually respect that they held back and gave us the same raucous grunts as before.

Previously, I would have cited the sophomore as my favorite in the Chapel of Disease catalogue, only ...and As We Have Seen the Storm (still not typing it all) has been the one to grow upon me over the years and it's another of those sublime, thoughtful mutations on death metal that I'll spin with a similar anticipation and wonder as Opeth, Stargazer, Horrendous, Tribulation, or other bands that have spun out their roots into something captivating, where they might not have contributed as well to the genre if they had stuck more with the fundamentals. This one is well worth tracking down if you just enjoy great guitar work and adventurous, unpredictable songwriting, even if it's not ultimately creating the most unique riffs at every step of the journey. Underrated for sure.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.facebook.com/ChapelOfDisease

Arcturus - Arcturian (2015)

Arriving a decade after Sideshow Symphonies, I recall Arcturian being a relief for me, as I felt I might never hear from this Norse supergroup again, its members so involved with other projects that saw a more direct level of success. When this finally showed up, I was instantly smitten, as it sounded like the band hadn't skipped one scatterbrained beat, with material just as wild, varied and weird as La masquerade infernale or its 2005 predecessor, only catchier like the records I greatly preferred throughout their career (The Sham Mirrors). It's another fusion of black metal, classical influences, and experimentation, but matured and really well balanced to appeal to fans of all their catalogue, with little nods here or there to particular tracks or records from the past, but still feeling forward, grasping at new tricks as early as the tubahorn that blares through the opener "The Arcturian Sign".

And though that's probably my least favorite tune on the album, it's still an intense exhibition of the members' individual chops, like Hellhammer's percussive flexing and ICS Vortex' yowling, atop the sinister symphonic swells that tether it to the genre that birthed it. The songcraft dramatically improves with the lush, swirling "Crashland" and its beautiful strings, or "Warp" which sends the band out across the universe with its infusion of beats, ambiance, and weird sci-fi keyboard sounds, something that was surely hinted at through lyrics and tunes in the past, but here becomes the most apparent. "The Journey" goes even more electronica with those continued seasonings of world music, multi-instrumentation and odd but soothing whispers and choirs that stretch across the atmosphere like a membrane. There are even tunes here like "Archer" or "Pale" that wouldn't have seemed out of place on the debut album, so it's quite cool how this feels like an ouroboros that hears the band swallowing its own tail once venturing past its own brain area.

The instrumentation is supreme, from the little blitzes of flagellant leads to the stark orchestration and aforementioned drumming that is at times as fast and hard-hitting as anything else HH has performed. The production is airy but clear, capturing both the depths of space and the Renaissance quirkiness the group seems to shift between. There's still a little bit of the goofiness you'd expect, particularly in Vortex's vocals and the carnival-like structure of the closer "Bane", but it never pushes it too far so that it takes over the more serious side, it's more cynical than silly. This was just an awesome comeback, the first year or so I might have considered it their best work, but I think The Sham Mirrors still holds that honor, with this a worthy second. Sadly, the band has taken another ten year hiatus from the studio by this time, but they've stuck around for some great live performances, and there are buzzings of new material to come. If that's going to be the cycle, where I get new Arcturus every decade, then I suppose I'll take it.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - Shipwrecked in Oslo (2014)

Arcturus was one of the bands that put on a pretty sweet live-set stream during the COVID 2020 period, something I really appreciated in those times as an example of bands thinking of their fans and trying to keep that interchange and communication together in the face of the uncertain. I'd not gotten to see them in concert before (still haven't), so it was at that point I decided to check out their earlier live album, at least the audio component taken from the Season of Mist DVD back in 2006. It turns out that Shipwrecked in Oslo is quite a substantial tour through the band's catalogue with around 80-90 minutes of material captured on a single CD (or the two-LP variant). This was the Sideshow Symphonies lineup for the band, with ICS Vortex instead of Rygg, and it holds pretty too with the overall atmosphere and tone on that studio record.

But yeah, they bust out a lot of material off most of their records to that point, with only Aspera Hiems Symfonia underrepresented via "Raudt og svart" at the tail end of the track list. It's great to hear favorites like "Ad Absurdum", "Nightmare Heaven" and "Painting My Horror" represented, and all of them sound as bright and detailed as they do in their studio incarnations. Sometimes frightfully so, played so cleanly that it occasionally feels like someone might be blasting the studio album over the loudspeaker without the vocal track and then having Simen go wild over it. His take on most of the earlier tracks is pretty close to his predecessor, but his voice definitely waves a lot here, as he's getting more emotional or aggressive on a lot of the lines. It does sound somewhat corny in spots, but then again, so did Garm on a lot of the studio originals, and I don't think the vocals ever become a detraction, he's just having a lot of fun with a band that has such a wild mesh of styles to begin with. Something else unique here are the solos, Steinar doing a sweeping classical piano piece, Tore an atmospheric guitar bit that sounds like Eric Johnson, and Knut deciding to go for a more brooding ambient interlude, which might seem pretty bland and minimalist next to Tore's, but I actually appreciate they tried to make these all sound so different.

Of course, these are just distractions against what everyone really came to hear, the album originals, which are all delivered with the grandeur and weird cosmic circus pomp that you'd expect. The electronics and symphonics both blend in seamlessly with the more acoustic impact of the drums and guitars, Simen sitting just perfectly in the mix, loud and distinct but even at his most spontaneous he's never drowning out the rest. I'd have probably preferred 1-2 more early tunes than some of the stuff off Sideshow Symphonies, but it's still a strong enough, professional set that makes me want to check them out if they're ever passing through New England in the future. Not the most exciting or explosive live you'll encounter, but a strong representation.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies (2005)

Sideshow Symphonies is one of those rare records that, for whatever reason, I have occasionally forgotten about. Part of that might be that I wasn't hooked with it nearly as much as its predecessor, or maybe there was just an influx of new metal I loved around that 2005-2006 era; In fact, I think it's probably a combination of these factors. I'd liken it to ANOTHER 2005 record, Sigh's Gallows Gallery, which is also playing as an avant-garde/progressive style derived from the black metal niche; but where that one still hasn't ever connected with me, the Arcturus has slowly become a more appreciated part of their canon, in combining a lot of elements of prior albums Aspera Hiems Symfonia, La Masquerade Infernale and The Sham Mirrors into a more familiar, if less adventurous work, and while it doesn't stand out to me as much as its neighbors, it is certainly going to scratch the itch when you're pining for their particular sound.

The album's just as detailed and intricate as the two before it, with a lot of variety pasted atop a slick prog metal foundation. Scathing licks and savage drumming support sweltering atmospheres, sizzling synth lines that are often shredding more than any of the guitars. A major change here is that Simen/ICS Vortex has taken over the lead vocal duty from Jester/Garm, and he expands his forebear's intonations out with that memorable, yodeling pitch. If you've enjoyed any of his records with Borknagar than I think this is a pretty solid parallel, only its nature-worship is devoted more to the cosmic carnival this band manifests more so than the fjords and forests. Though they're constantly glazed by the symphonic keyes of Steinar Sverd, I feel as if there's a stronger metallic presence through the guitars than some of the other albums, or at least on par with any of them. There's still an air of mystique captured through the riffing patterns, but at the same time I feel like this is the 'safest' of their albums, in that it doesn't really step forward as much as any of those that were written before it. Performance-wise, though, Sideshow Symphonies proves just as technical and practiced as nearly anything else its members have ever releases in their myriad projects.

The production here is also one degree above The Sham Mirrors or La Masquerade Infernale, with all of those aforementioned intricacies captured at consistent levels. The thin pinch of the guitars manages to balance off well against the airy soundscapes swaddling the keyboards, and everything is crystal clear, working wonders for the natural contrast between the busyness of the instruments and the folksy melodic primacy of Simen's vocals. Purely symphonic pieces, like the intro to "Evacuation Code Deciphered", sound lush, and yes, this album has a lot of those cool three-world titles that Dimmu Borgir was often using throughout the 90s and 00s. "Hibernation Sickness Complete", "Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer", "Nocturnal Vision Revisited", they're all over the place, and it makes this record seem like it's some kind of prognard sibling to Death Cult Armageddon. In fact, if you want a lighter touch to that symphonic surge, or you're into the stuff Ihsahn was starting to create post-Emperor, or of course Borknagar, Enslaved, Solefald, Winds and Age of Silence, this one's worth having around. It's still, for me, the least memorable full-length they've dropped, the highs are just not the heights of those before and after, but it's an immersive enough listen from a band that has yet to land a dud on me.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors (2002)

 My favorite of the Arcturus records, The Sham Mirrors takes on a sort of opposite side of the coin to La Masquerade Infernale. Where that sophomore possessed a sort of oafish charm to its experimentation (for better or worse), this one is every bit as varied, yet it's got a much more serious artistry about it, a perfect fit to its lyrical insinuations both social and cosmic. This also embraces the more atmospheric, melodic black metal of the debut and mixes that back into the weirder leanings they went on to pursue, and even the electronics of Disguised Masters find a suitable purpose where they are chosen to appear. Ultimately, this album is an adventure, captivating throughout its 43 minute run-time, with highlights and surprises found in each of the seven tracks. Does it still resemble Norway's Mr. Bungle? To an extent, but only in how smoothly the musicians can capture all these stylistic transitions into a coherent package, to the point that they seem as if they always belonged together.

"Kinetic" is a great opening piece, with a nearly even distribution between choppy metal guitars, circus symphonic, loads of electronic beats and samples, proggy bass lines, and a melodic chorus to die for, which would have been a hit on any more mainline black metal band's record. Rygg's vocals are still just as quirky as the past records, but they're not mixed to go far over the top into self-parody, and I also love how they've sniped in a lot of the harmonies. "Nightmare Heaven" gives you this piano and vocal-driven set up, complete with guitar melodies, only to transform into this unforgettable, quivering trip hop joint which might have appeared on a Silent Hill soundtrack. "Ad Absurdum" is another track that feels an evolution directly from Aspera Hiems Symfonia, packed with percussion real and programmed, spacey and eerie melodic chords, and a blissful bridge. I'm not going track-by-track through the whole thing, but it's an absolute banger...again, put something like "Collapse Generation" on Dimmu Borgir's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant and a much wider audience would have drooled over it. This is an absolute case of taking a step backwards and forward at the same time, and whether the band is conjuring up a symphonic BM storm or a keyboard lullaby, it all fits.

The production here is where a little of the polish comes off. It's trying to juggle a lot of instruments, effects and ideas together, and to its credit makes a lot of that clear, but there are some places where the swarthier rhythm guitar distortion seems a little too crunchy, or the drums get too machinelike where they would have benefited from an organic touch. Still exceptional enough for what it's pulling off in the early new millennium, and there's a later remaster on Prophecy Productions which tweaks it a little for the better, but if there are imperfections to be had, several of them are the mix. This album is so fucking good, with so many memorable moments, like Ihsahn's guest vocalist in "Radical Cut" or the frilly haunted carnival synthesizers of "For to End Yet Again", that it can be forgiven any of these minor transgressions, because it's just something so ahead of its time and yet never heard since, a distinct and unique hybrid musical lingo that you only hear from all these proggy weirdos birthed from the church burning scene. May their tongues speak it forever.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - Disguised Masters (1999)

What way to better champion your newfound eclecticism than the obligatory 'remix' album? Disguised Masters is not built entirely of such distractions, but much of its playtime is devoted to versions of tracks off La Masquerade Infernale injected with drum & bass, industrial, looping, and other electronic mediums that were so popular throughout the 90s. On one hand, their material lends itself well enough to casting the widest net possible, it's not as if they hadn't (and wouldn't) incorporate this stuff straight onto their originals, but unfortunately this record suffers where many of its kind do...just because you 'can', doesn't mean you 'should', and the practice rarely translates into anything justifiable or memorable enough here that I've ever wanted to spin back through it. That's not to say this is some immature, amateur bout with the techniques, but just not very impactful even if you're compelled by the idea of such already gonzo tracks being reshuffled into some fractured dancehall of the imagination.

I suppose the two new originals here would provide the biggest carrot on its stick, but the intro "White Tie Black Noise" is just a swell of ambiance that ties into "Deception Genesis", a track that admittedly does feel like a B-side off La Masquerade, with a sort of progressive dark trip hop vibe which wouldn't have been out of place on Ulver's electronic records. In fact if you just line up the timing, this seems like it was Rygg's headspace for most of his projects, and it could just as easily fall under the catalogue of one as the other. There is a bit of mystique to this one, I like the bass grooves, the little sweeps of strings and the creepy narrated vocals, plus you get a little guitar in its depths. The odd re-imagining of "Du Nordavind" is also pretty interesting, a more frightening, noisy carnival version from the older album. Beyond this, though, I found very little consistency in the remixes. The 'G. Wolf Levitation Mix' of "Painted by Horror" has some nice, clunking percussion and eeriness about its dark ambient thrums, but it just never adds up to much after the first few moments. There's an ensemble/classical re-recording of "Ad Astra" which is also quite soothing, where the 'Magenta Experience' remix is just kinda cheesy beats being layered onto it.

I do think that the hybridization of forms here, like neo-classical ambient to jungle was pretty novel for this period, but it might have been better served for another project of perhaps a full-length where it was used more in new originals than chunks of earlier songs. It's pretty clear that Arcturus got the hint, since they implemented similar ideas so tastefully and sparingly into the full-length after this, but as it stands, Disguised Masters is a not-unpleasant but unnecessary excursion into the collective mindset of a band already on the fringe of its genre, trying to transmogrify onto the fringes of other adjacent sounds that were fomenting in the same era. Lots of good individual beats and grooves, little direction. The low point in their canon, but not irredeemably so.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - La Masquerade Infernale (1997)

If the masks, costumes and title don't tip you off, La Masquerade Infernale is the point when Arcturus decided to widen the net of their already expansive influences, and transform into a sort of oddity that dwells in that tent on the edge of the Norwegian carnival. Within moments, there's already a massive amount of experimentation and stylistic deviation from the previous album which is simultaneously jarring and compelling. There is still a sense of the same structure, the band largely lopes along at a slow to mid pace through the tracks, but that wintry atmosphere prevalent on Aspera has been replaced with a strange amalgamation of a dance hall, an Edgar Allen Poe story and a demonic ballroom serving the nobility on some random plane of Hell.

The first track alone, "Master of Disguise" has programmed breakbeats, numerous vocal layers including Rygg's wavering Gothic tones and ICS Vortex's yodeling guest spots, and lots of details and nuances above the rhythmic skeleton of an Aspera tune. Add to that a shredding lead, much proggier bass lines from Hugh Mingay, and a whole squad of guests performing traditional instruments, even the alumni Carl Tidemann pops in for a track (although he has stepped down for Knut Valle.) It's goofy as balls, but also pretty impressive in how the band has committed to this stranger, chamber-music style. That's not to say they don't drift backwards at times towards the gracefulness of the earlier material, as in "Ad Astra" with its great strings and atmosphere, or "Alone" which is probably the hardest hitting 'metal' track which sounds a little like Rygg-fronted Borknagar, but also the one tune here which seems like it fills in the 'missing link' between the members' black metal roots and the style adopted for Arcturus.

It also gets a little more frightening and exotic than its predecessor in tunes like "Painting My Horror", controlled bursts of chaos mixed in with graceful harmonies between the guitars and synths, but therein also lies one of the flaws I have with this one. The music is often brilliant, but the vocals, especially those in the mid-range, just come across as goofy as some of Vintersorg's lines when he was in Otyg. It's like some goofy drunken Goth rocker stepped into the sessions, and the tragedy is that Garm blends this with more effective, acidic delivery in "Of Nails and Sinner" and that style clearly wins out against that deeper tone. I love the bass, the drumming, the symphonics and guitars throughout almost the whole thing, the ICS vortex vocals in "The Chaos Path" are awesome, and there's no question that this is perhaps the most visionary leap they took in their career, but it's tarnished by just enough absurdity that it took me some time to really appreciate.

These days I do find myself enjoying it more often than not, but I can't help but consider it a blueprint for what would instantly become my favorite Arcturus. The image thing got a little weird, where their contemporaries The Kovenant (also featuring Hellhammer) would transform from start symphonic black metal hopefuls into the weird scraps left on the floor of a Marilyn Manson backstage dressing room, this was more of an avant-garde/historical/cabaret thing that they'd maintain, a little classier but just as necessary. The music speaks for itself, and indeed, most of La Masquerade Infernale does. I just think it could have used some select editing, especially in some of the vocal lines.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia (1996)

Aspera Hiems Symfonia is essentially a blown out version of the Constellation EP, with the original tracks re-recorded, four more added on, into a proper full-length debut. Norwegian guitarist Carl August Tidemann, who would skirt around the progressive rock edges of that country's black metal for years through projects like Winds, stepped in for Emperor's Samoth, and the result is a more seasoned, graceful and atmospheric sound which invests fully into the symphonic/progressive style present on its predecessor. I remember this record as one of the earlier Century Black releases alongside Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, The Pagan Prosperity, Nemesis Divina, etcetera at a time when I was already fascinated by what was evolving out the black metal roots.

This project did not disappoint, an evocative and captivating spin on the genre which was in a whole different dynamic range than what Emperor and Dimmu Borgir were doing. Rather than storm and surge like a raging sea or winds striking a mountainside, this record is like wandering a frosty landscape, as a snow lightly falls, shadows playing at the edge of your perception with an orchestrated whimsy. As I had hinted before, the aurora pictured on the cover is a strikingly accurate (if simplified) visual for what the record sounds like, but it's not only gorgeous...it's also a little creepy due to the presence of some impish rasps and effects in Garm's vocals. These are often accompanied by some lower, clean croons in his usual inflection that would be evolved further through the diverse Ulver catalogue, and some reverse shifted lines and other weirdness that almost seem sacrilegious to the crystalline throb of the guitar melodies and rime-glistening synthesizers that dominate the nighscape above Hellhammer's dependable beats.

Tunes like the re-recorded "Wintry Grey" and the subsequent "Whence & Whither Goest the Wind" are flighty, catchy things which progress steadily like a carousel of lights amidst a surrounding squall. The lead melodies are integrated right against the backdrop with the keys and it creates a consistent outer shell that seems highly theatrical, as if a lot of film-scores were rubbing up against the classical composers and neo-classical folk and opera which obvious inspired these guys along this axis. To keep it moored in the metal realm, Hellhammer shifts into more intense rhythms, and this is to my memory one of the earlier examples of where those 'extreme' drum styles were being affixed to something other than the churning tremolo-picked guitars and flurries of savage chords. It's hypnotic and enchanting, largely due to how sticky Sverd's keyboards are throughout the experience, but maintains just the right level of mystique and danger in a tune like "The Bodkin & the Quietus (...to Reach the Stars)".

There are some areas where the material does border on the more traditional intensity of the black metal side, but never for more than a riff or two, in fact Garm's snarling is arguably the most evil and extreme thing present (ironic now that he's essentially an artsy pop guy). However, this album does lack the clownish pageantry that Arcturus would explore on the follow-up, there's a stark seriousness in the lyrics and delivery betrayed only by the glittering flourishes of synth and the obvious prog nerdery that went into its composition. It's not ultimately my favorite Arcturus album, but certainly among their better recordings, a substantial stride beyond the EP, and one I find myself returning to most winter seasons, this one included, and it would prove a huge influence on some of the band's peers and the members' other projects.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - Constellation EP (1994)

Constellation certainly earned Arcturus' status as an early exemplar of symphonic black metal, there weren't a whole lot of acts back in the early through mid 90s that had embraced the niche to this extent, and several of those ran in the same circles with these very Norwegians. With members of Ulver, Emperor and Mayhem in tow, this was also one of the first 'supergroups' in the scene, as well as a side project that would quickly be elevated to a nearly equivalent level as some of the roster's mainstays. What's more, Constellation showed a little more depth to the writing than one might have expected, while also foreshadowing some of the group's cosmic circus inclinations in the structure and silliness (however unintentional) of how Garm's vocals balanced out against the guitars and synthesizers.

I remember it feeling like a bit of a mess at first, but only because I was unacclimated to the sound compared to something more scathingly sinister and serious like In the Nightside Eclipse. It's obvious from the start that Arcturus were more interested in slowing things down, giving them an operatic sweep and bombast, while integrating Hellhammer's driving double bass and some simpler Samoth rhythm guitars that helped support Sverd's symphonics. Speaking of which, a lot of this EP could almost be considered a more heavily orchestrated alternative to the formative dungeon synth of Mortis, filtered through a slowly spinning Gothic carousel. The synth tones are bright against the roiling rhythms, the piano lines graceful and eerie, but all well-enough executed to make this stand out against everything else going on in their scene at the time. The other truly distinct ingredient is the performance of Kristoffer Rygg, whose quirky mix of howls, chants and rasp were a preamble to a lot of the experimentation he'd later explore with Ulver, as well as the folksier vocal side of groups like Borknagar, Solefald and Enslaved, who would all follow comparably progressive (and weird) paths to this group, with mutual members cross-pollinating ideas in the process.

It's a delightful enough adventure on its own, but Constellation does suffer one crippling deficiency for me, in that I greatly prefer the re-recordings of these tracks on their full-length debut. They're all largely the same, with the exception that "Icebound Streams and Vapours Gray" was renamed to "Wintry Grey" (an inferior title) and Carl August Tidemann's guitar recording sounds a little more nuanced, intricate and atmospheric than Samoth's originals (still giving credit to the man where it's due). Garm's presence also comes across a little more bizarre and memorable there, and an airiness is infused throughout that session which slightly better matches the aurora lighting on the cover arts. That said, if you can grab the reissues of this EP with all the bonus material, including the crude and creepy "My Angel", which feels like a more industrial/electronic spin on the style they composed here, and "Morax", a much heavier tune with a sort of raw blackened/doom vibe, you'll eke out a little more value than just the four core tracks that are better represented two years later. Either way, Constellation is the first mile of a trip towards excellence, but not without some bumps on the road.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (Hither-whirling, thither-swirling)

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Diabolical Masquerade - Death's Design: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2001)

As a fan of the first three Diabolical Masquerade albums waiting for Blakkheim to finally unleash some inevitable masterpiece, I admit that I found and continue to find Death's Design an obnoxious chore, even if it ultimately has enough to offer that I'll spin it infrequently. At 61 tracks, split into 20 'movements' over just 43 minutes, and a pseudo-score to some nonexistent horror film, one could argue it's the most ambitious thing he's ever produced with this project, and from a technical angle I don't know that I'd disagree. However, the means of its presentation in so many little snippets of what might be better fleshed out tracks, this comes across to me like a dumping ground for all the ideas he couldn't work into any proper successors to the great 1998 album Nightwork.

That's probably not the case, and perhaps this is all planned out exactly like it is, but considering how the different sections of the album might be presumed to stay thematically consistent, a lot of the individual pieces feel jarring and don't flow well as a whole. It's a shame, because the riffing here is fucking fantastic, it just never lasts long enough, and how he integrates the soundtrack components, acoustics, clean and harsh vocals, and symphonics are seamless...just across such short spaces. It doesn't much surprise me that Dan Swanö had a lot to do with this record, because he'd also later put out his Crimson II record for Edge of Sanity which was more of a solo thing, and suffers from a lot of the same issues I had with this...snippets of ideas that deserved far more, generally less than a minute long, and while the flow isn't terrible between them, it just lacks the impact these good riffs would have in full tracks. It certainly sounds like one of his more mature recordings of that time, super clear across all the varied instrumentation, accessible but still capturing a punch to the lower guitars, and the evil rasps of Blakkheim which are admittedly formidably throughout this.

You'll even hear Dan's clean vocals, which are unmistakable if you've heard his myriad other projects. There are a few moments where the drum programming gets a little too obvious and dull, and some ill choices like the clean vocal in "The Inverted Dream: No Sleep in Peace" which I can't quite place, but sounds like the melody is ripped off from a James Bond theme or sci-fi film or something. The roots are still cinematic black metal, but Diabolical Masquerade reaches further away from the structures of Ravendusk in My Heart of The Phantom Lodge. The individual tracks can't reach the creepy majesty and atmosphere of "Astray Within the Coffinwood Mill" because they're never given the space to, and there are plenty of tunes like "Spinning Back the Clocks", "A Bad Case of Nerves" or a few dozen more which could have been developed into stunning evolutions upon the Nightwork style. Had this been condensed together, with a lot of the scraps tossed out and the better riffs expanded into full length tunes, it would easily have been the most progressive and symphonic stuff Blakkheim had put out here, itself a natural successor to the first three albums, but the fragmentation just doesn't work for me.

That goes even deeper into the themes...obviously they cover such a vast array of supernatural and Gothic subjects and images that there's no way this was the real soundtrack to anything, and there too I feel like it comes across as a big jumbled mess of ideas. So many great song titles, too, like "Soaring Over Dead Rooms", "A Hurricane of Rotten Air", "The Remains of Galactic Expulsions", as if Anders was just emptying out a notebook of stuff he had lying around (kind of like the songs themselves). I realize the guy was busy with his other, more successful bands like Katatonia or Bloodbath and this one had to take a back seat, but I can't help but feel a little spurned that this was where it all ended, and in over two decades we haven't heard a peep. It just doesn't seem like a strong note to end off on, and I realize I'm in the minority as some seem to hold this up as a bastion of progressive black metal genius, which I simply cannot agree with as the presentation is so frustrating, even when I play it all straight through and try to blend the components into my imagination as a cohesive whole.

Now, having voiced these complaints, I will say that there is enough ear candy to explore here that I'll still give it a pass. A positive. I try and think of it like the little samples you get on a pre-programmed keyboard or some recording software...short, catchy, showing the range and potential of the technology but not the depth of emotion and composition. Bite-sized morbid bliss, like a grind album of fractured horror metal where you just wish this or that riff would repeat or transform into something more explosive and memorable. It's just all over the place, and at least a few dozen of the tracks could be tossed out and I would never know the difference. I wanted more of what I so enjoyed about the first three albums, and I get it, just in such tiny spurts that the greatness is forever evaded. Once every couple Halloweens, I might loop a few tracks from this, but it's one of the most 'could have been' albums in my entire collection. Blakkheim's Woolgathering Exit From A Fascinating And Underrated Band Which Best Manifest His Individual Personality. Cue the curtain.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

Voivod - Morgöth Tales (2023)

I've made it no secret through the years that Voivod is my favorite band, so the prospect of an album of re-recordings is dubious. Why mess with what has largely been perfection, or close to it? The thing is, I've been proven wrong on these specific sorts of compilations often enough that I've no question that, when done patiently, or done 'right', they can have some value in the modernization of limited recording technology or production values that in some way might have crippled the original sessions. Or maybe the band just wants to give the current roster a chance to lay down their spin on the band's legacy, or gloss up some golden oldies for the younger audience used to the sound on the more contemporary output in the discography. The idea behind Morgöth Tales is all of the above, but it's also a 40th year anniversary offering with the idea to take one track from each of previous albums, or at least eight of them, and 'update' them with Rocky and Chewy; plus a few added bonuses.

For me, those three bonuses were initially the biggest draw, since they tackled their Metal Massacre track "Condemned to the Gallows" and made a neat sweep of it, tightly controlled with a tone that wouldn't be out of place on their recent records, but structurally just as fun and punk-driven as the original. Daniel's lead is great and the thing is just infused with youthful vitality, although I can imagine a swath of the purists might rue the lack of real rawness and underground vitriol to the recording. The title track, which closes off the album, is a very cool new track, but with a style that more closely resembles Dimension Hatross, with a spacious atmosphere due to some of the reverb on the vocals, but some real amazing, cycling grooves and a nice psychedelic break which lapses into Nothingface territory. This is ultimately my favorite part of the collection, although their slightly metalized cover of Public Image Limited's "Home" is also quite good, and fitting with Snake's vocals and the overall odd vibe of the band. I like some of their sillier covers of stuff like "Batman" or the "Ultraman" theme plenty enough, but they do their best tributes with more serious fare like this or "Astronomy Domine".

I'm not sure I'm entirely in love with the idea of picking one track from each of the albums, since I think some really wouldn't have needed to be touched, like "Fix My Heart", "Nuage Fractal" or "Rebel Robot"; the differences are minor, and I don't know that these versions truly embellish on the originals, even with the tonal evolution and alternate studio. It's more fun to hear early stuff like "Thrashing Rage", and I wonder if just re-recording War and Pain or its successor would have been better. The versions of "Killing Technology" and "Macrosolutions to Megaproblems" here are damn tight, and they will certainly give a better idea of how the band would sound performing them today with this lineup, but the originals come from works I praise so highly that any small detail will feel more abrupt to me. Perhaps I'm just too biased, but I'm certainly not trying to bash this, I think overall it's a worthwhile pickup for the longtime fan or initiate, I bought it day one, and I'd buy six more volumes if they were intent on release them. But at the same time...I'm looking forward to the band's energy being focused back on the infinite universes they still might explore, the past they've lest us is already so awesome, expansive and unforgettable that I'd never get sick of playing around in it.

Verdict: Win [8/10] 

https://www.voivod.com/

Voivod - Ultraman EP (2022)

Two of my favorite things, together at last? I've made no secret of my love for Canadian sci-fi thrashers Voivod, they are my favorite band by an order of magnitude, but I'm also a huge fan of tokusatsu shows like the legendary Ultraman. In fact, the genre has been having a bit of a renaissance lately, with Stateside Blu Rays and DVDs for series from Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Gridman, and especially the dozens of Mill Creek releases of Ultraman shows spanning the last 50-60 years. Young autothrall would have killed to get some of this growing up, there were a few shows available to watch on TV, but usually it was fansubs only when the internet arrived, and I was never big into the Power Rangers adaptations, the original Japanese shows they were culled from were just far whackier and more entertaining.

But yeah, it doesn't surprise me that the coolest band ever shares this passion, and they mete out a split medley of 9 versions of the Ultraman theme, shifting between instrumental and vocal versions, with a few different languages in there too. It's fun, but obviously this is a novelty, much like their old cover of "Batman" which was weirdly relevant to their 80s evolution. The themes are really short, and play it fairly close to the originals, but there's a slight edge of innovation in the guitars, and Snake's punk-wrought vocal style is a smooth fit, turning them into this almost space-surf-punk feel.  For the B-side, they've included a pair of 2018 live recordings of "Voivod" and "Overreaction" that sound phenomenal, with great angry vocals, booming bass and shuffling percussion to support Chewy's energized renditions, you even get a Piggy chant from the band and audience if I'm not mistaken. All told, the Ultraman EP will have a limited appeal, the A-side is a little repetitive and it's obviously not as powerful as their original material, but it's a cute collector's item to hang on your wall, and one wonders what might happen if they put out a whole album covering obscure sci-fi/superhero themes, maybe some prog and such. Earns a big smile, but not really mandatory beyond its collectible nature, there's just so little to it.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://www.voivod.com/

Amorphis - Halo (2022)

Coming off a strong stretch of albums like Under the Red Cloud and Queen of Time, I had really high hopes that Halo would ascend to the level of masterpiece Amorphis was putting out in the mid 90s. That was an unrealistic expectation, of course, and in fact this record is a step back even from its predecessors, but that's not to dump on it too hard, because Halo has all the hallmarks you've come to expect from the Finns, and it's nothing less than pleasant to experience, with some heavier material spun in there to create a good balance. In fact, this album has most of the components of an album like Elegy, which I still worship to this day. The mix of cleans and growls, the organs, the combination of prog, folk, and death metal, it's all intact, but for all the effort and professionalism, a lot of these tunes are in one ear and straight out the other.

Don't mistake me, if you want that sensation of sailing through the lakes and rivers, hair blown back as you hallucinate on Finnish myth and history, Halo, like most of the Tomi Joutsen era albums, will warm your ears. Both of his vocal styles are as strong as ever, and the guy's got a powerful projection to his timbre which fits wonderfully over the uplifting, epic nature of the music. But once you dissect the bits of this record, a lot of the chugging low end guitars are dull, the melodies with all their hippie effects seem redundant with others the band has been producing since Elegy and Tuonela, and the chorus hooks just don't have much to stand out to you, although they are always competent and easy on the soul. A lot of the proggier pieces like "The Moon" seem bog standard in tempo and structure, and even the more soothing passages like the intro to "Windmane" just seem to drift on by as mere setups for other, harder rhythms that don't deliver something I'm going to think of in 5 years (or months).

Actually, I couldn't remember a single track on this before I went back to visit it...maybe "Seven Roads Come Together" or "When the Gods Came" left a slight impression, but individual riffs or vocal lines escaped me until I was spinning the disc again, and I do feel like the middle and late tracks are more potent. The production has a great depth to it, but the songs really don't beyond the band bringing together those clean and heavier guitars, synths, etc. I like this one more than a Circle or Far from the Sun, the two Amorphis albums I never revisit, so this comes off like a stronger alternative, but even after giving it several more listens to compose my thoughts, it falls firmly into that 'decent' or 'alright' territory, there is nothing incendiary or distinct when mixed and matched against many of their past works. It's fully safe, there are no surprises to be had, no risks whatsoever waiting in its wings. Likeable enough to spend a little time with, but I wouldn't put a ring on its finger.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://amorphis.net/

Amorphis - Live at Helsinki Ice Hall (2021)

It was about the time I started listening through Live at Helsinki Ice Hall that I realized I don't think I've heard a full-length live record before from Amorphis. I've SEEN them live, a few times, sure, and I thought I could recall them putting out another live a few years before this one, but I must never have gotten around to it. It turns out that this one is quite substantial, recorded in their home turf, with two discs of tunes totaling almost 90 minutes. The caveat here is that the majority of the material is taken from the Tomi Joutsen years of the band, with a few treats for the older fans, so if you're expecting a run through of The Karelian Isthmus and Tales from the Thousand Lakes, you might come away disappointed, but this is really to be expected as they would focus on the records they're currently writing and selling.

The mix is pretty good, there's a great atmosphere created by the synthesizers and faint audience noise or feedback, so that you get this huge amphitheater-like shell of sound. Guitars sparkle along at their most melodic, but don't pack a lot of punch when they hit the lower end, but fortunately the bass and drums bulk the whole mix up. I actually think Tomi sounds off in some places, his delivery is powerful in both the cleans and growls, but especially on the later content it just sounds like he wavers a fraction off some of the desired notes, or my ears are playing tricks on me. His growling on some of the older Elegy or Tales material is pretty good though, and like I hinted, he can certainly carry the show with the pure belting he gives out. There are some nuances, effects and such here too that come off quite nice, but the album soars most when they hit upon that super atmospheric material like "The Four Wise Ones" where the synths are striking, Tomi is grunting and the leads are ringing out. Where it needs to be climactic, it delivers well enough, especially since I don't have much to compare it with!.

I'm a fan of most eras of this band, with the exception of Far from the Sun, and they seemed to have skipped that one here, as well as Circle, another that I just found mediocre. So I'm all in with the track selections, and I think they do a fairly apt job of mixing in the heaviness to remind us of their roots, especially when they take on an older number like "Into Hiding" and mix and modernize it so well alongside the more recent, progressive, mellower pieces. I don't know that Live at Helsinki Ice Hall captures the perfect Amorphis experience, or if any live recording ever could, but it's a good enough showcase to remind you of why you've enjoyed the wonderful band for three whole decades and counting.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://amorphis.net/

Sirrah - Did Tomorrow Come... (1997)

I would be remiss to think of anything possibly quirkier than the track "Panacea" from Sirrah's debut, but I think in general, it's follow-up full-length Did Tomorrow Come... is much more progressive and quirky, while still keeping a lot of its fundamentals intact. You can still hear a lot of elements of anything from My Dying Bride to Paradise Lost to Pyogenesis to Moonspell, but the Polish band was not settling its butt down on any laurels, but writing that style into the future. Upbeat, peppy, perky ideas are strewn throughout the ten tracks, and the band seem unwilling to be pigeonholed into any one niche. I'd almost risk that Did Tomorrow Come... is like Sirrah, only Arcturus got ahold of it and infected it with their zany carnival attitude.

The production is cleaner here, really giving us better access to its scattershot components, from the ethereal female vocal lines to the busier guitars which at times almost border on a blend of thrash and doom metal. Synthesizers are used sparingly, as well as pianos, and the majority of the vocals bounce between the guttural expectations and then a wavier, sad or drugged sounding cleaner male vocal that is perhaps one of the weakest parts of the album. Perhaps due to the accent or confidence level, but there are moments that it sounds quite good, and others where it feels like its lost the plot. Regardless, it's only a minor intrusion that can't quite mar the surface of the obvious excitement below this. It's like the band was listening to their first album and decided not to sound so sad anymore, and gave each other a kick in the rump while they were in the studio, or maybe just a lot of drugs. To its credit, though, the writing doesn't lose a whole lot of impact from where they were at two years prior.

It doesn't have a truly standout track for me like "Acme", but at the same time, there's not really anything goofy like "Panacea" to spoil it. The closest might be "Madcap" which sounds like someone took the orchestration from the old Celtic Frost Into the Pandemonium... album and combined that with a strange Gothic chamber quartet, but in fact that song's tremendous fun. The closer, "Floor's Embrace", starts off pulsing off like it's going to be some mix of dance and folk music, but that one is rescued quite quickly when the great guitar riff rips forth. Did Tomorrow Come... is fascinating stuff, despite me not liking a few of the vocals, it's quite sticky and a superior experience to Acme only if you're willing to chuck your expectations to the curb and revel in its unique boldness. Had Sirrah continued on much longer, who knows what they might have become? I could certainly hear them hobnobbing with the likes of Arcturus, Solefald, Sigh or Diablo Swing Orchestra. This is a fun album that too few give a damn about.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

Soilwork - Övergivenheten (2022)

My first few spins through Övergivenheten I was quite enamored of it, impressed that so deep in Soilwork's career they were still releasing substantial, spirited, emotional evolutions upon the melodeath formula that they helped craft back in the 90s from the influence of their own countrymen, whom they now easily surpass. The cover art, once again, a fascinating turn of events from the old cyber-collage photo art they used to use, and it's yet another album with a Swedish title ('Abandonment'), leading me to wonder if they are doing this as some sort of trilogy or something. The production on this one is also to die for, a bit bolder than the previous album and really driving home all the instruments and vocals. This is yet another case where I can say that the band is not merely resting on its laurels, but trying a few new things while keeping the skeleton of their style intact...melodic death, progressive and groove metal in a blender with Speed's pop-inflected clean vocals carrying each chorus over the top.

There are some lush acoustics throughout this one, like the interlude "Morgongåva / Stormfågel" with the shredding over the top, or the great atmospheric build-up to the opening title track, but by and large this is still a steadily hammering album, albeit an extremely accessible one. Solid, meaty rhythm guitars support the harsher vocals, but melodies are never so far away as they introduce the clean, epic chorus passages. A lot of their albums have this life-affirming quality about them, with a lot of introspective lyrics aimed at the young men and women of today, and this one is no exception, and might even excel in that department, because the punch these tunes pack is quite heart-felt. The musicianship is top flight, I mean it's been a good 20 years since they've had anything but a dynamo lineup and even where a few of the players come and go, these days you'll hardly notice the difference as the core components do remain consistent. The clean vocals have grown ever more confident in turn, and Övergivenheten gives us one of Speed's most radio friendly performances outside of The Night Flight Orchestra.

All that said, in the months since I first picked it up, this album has faded for me a little. There are a few parts I consider bland and, while strongly composed, the hooks just never quite break my skin. A few of the guitar leads here also feel a bit superfluous, or rather they just don't amplify or stand out from the material surrounding them. The explosive, ecstatic parts rarely go far enough, and a couple of the tunes seem pretty filler or out of place..."Death, I Hear You Calling" clearly belongs in his other project despite a slightly more metallic chassis, and even the surging, storming "This Godless Universe" with its cresting, classical strings just doesn't slam me with that super memorable moment I'm expecting. Övergivenheten is an exercise in skill and variation, thriving on emotional heights and valleys, but the more I strive to remember it, the less I end up doing so. You'll never hear me complain about listening to it, but I'll still prefer to get my fix from other albums like Natural Born Chaos, The Chainheart Machine, Steelbath Suicide and The Ride Majestic.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.soilwork.org/

Soilwork - A Whisp of the Atlantic EP (2020)

A Whisp of the Atlantic represents something a little different for Soilwork, an epic-length track the likes of which you'd expect from someone like Opeth or Dream Theater. Fortunately, the Swedes decided to delegate this to its own EP rather than clutter up the rear end of some prospective new full-length album. I had mentioned in an earlier review that I felt like some of Speed's side project material was bleeding back into the Soilwork sound, and honestly that has never been more evident than here, a number of his vocal lines, the bass grooves and such sound like some of the harder rock material from Night Flight Orchestra, but as a fan of that project, I can't quite condemn that as a bad thing, because it does sort of filter through the proggy influences Soilwork had been cultivating for several decades.

The 16 1/2 minute title track is a success in that it expresses the band's range without ever feeling too meandering or disjointed, there's a lot of mid-paced stuff here with some proggy guitars over simpler chugging chords, cleaner sections with a huge 70s rock influence (Boston, etc), but the band never quite goes full bore in terms of the speed and aggression the Swedes showcase elsewhere. They save THAT for some of the other tracks on the EP, like "The Nothingness and the Devil" with its thundering double bass and gnarly growls, or "Feverish" with the head-spinning blast. All the other tracks do maintain that prog side, but they mix it with much more intense parts that will probably satisfy anyone who thought "A Whisp..." itself might be staring at its feet too often. I won't tell you that any of the five tracks here are going to make a shorter Soilwork playlist, but they are for the most part satisfactory and on par with surrounding full-lengths. They seem to be incorporating so much great musicianship, solid arrangements, and melody but the hooks just aren't always landing.

Still, this EP has good production and enough dynamic range and riffing to keep one content for a spell, these Swedes at their most mature simply do not miss, there is too much ammunition in the arsenal, and a wide array of influences among the roster that consistently have them refreshing themselves. A Whisp of the Atlantic is just as worthy as most of their other modern material.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.soilwork.org

Soilwork - Underworld EP (2019)

As a poor sucker whose copy of Verkligheten did not include the bonus content comprises the Underworld EP, I had to check this one out digitally as it became available for a download. And frankly I am happy that I did so, because at least two of the tracks here are among my favorites the band has released over the last decade, and in fact all three of the tunes new to me here are great. There's an alternative version of "Needles and Kin" which is perhaps the one component here I don't care for all that much, it's a little more blunt than its counterpart but I don't know that the differences are broad enough to justify it, I had no issue with the version of Verkligheten and rather enjoyed it. So this is not completely fire, but it certainly struck the top of my thermometer.

"Summerburned and Winterblown" is just awesome, with its snapping pace, weaving melodies and emotional riff-fest, and this should EASILY have been featured on the full-length, along with "In This Master's Tale" that opens with a strong melody bringing to mind all those Swedish greats, in particular the In Flames of the millennium's turn. Again, this one is just as memorable for me as most of the other tunes on Verkligheten, Speed powers through with a good mix of harsh and soaring vocals and it just feels like this warm, epic surge. "The Undying Eye" is likewise worthy with its great exhibition of pinpoint prog metal riffing and occasional crushing chords, flashy but grounded at the same time. I mean, outside of The Ride Majestic, this trio of tunes might be the most exciting I've heard them, it all fits in well with the full-length material, of course, but there are certainly three tunes there that these could have replaced. However, I realize most of you are not schmucks like I am and probably have the nice digipack which includes it all together, so praise be to you! I will upgrade, I'm sure.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.soilwork.org/