Reviews roundup – Ars Magna vs. Sam Lee vs. Jessi Teich vs. ProtoShredanoid vs. Edge Of Ever

Reviews roundup – Ars Magna vs. Sam Lee vs. Jessi Teich vs. ProtoShredanoid vs. Edge Of Ever

ARS MAGNA
Dehumanize The Nation
independent

Ho-hum. Yet another hum drum instrumental beginning to a metal album. But what the hell was that! Dogs for miles around are cowering with their paws covering their ears.

Well, after some medical treatment, it turns out that “that” was the vocals of Ira Mendez, the vocalist with Guatamalan heavy metal band Ars Magna (fnar, fnar, she said arse). And once you get past the unique yowling style of said vocals, this goes to prove that metal is the international language of rawk.

They may not be as different as they think, as they claim to be influenced by blues, jazz, diverse metal & middle east sounds, but they do have an off the groove clatter that keeps you paying attention as they rampage through songs that mix up power, prog, thrash and speed metal with merry applomb.

Their English lyrics take on the usual inhumanities of man, but this is something that people bored of the mainstream metal should take a chance on.

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SAM LEE & Friends
The Fade In Time
The Nest Collective Records

I needed a wee breather after that, and who better than Sam Lee, who is one of the best of the new breed of folk singers. I loved his “Ground Of Its Own” LP a couple of years back, and this wide ranging album is even better.

That was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize but don’t let that put you off, because even if he does throw in some modern sounds and arrangements, his music is firmly rooted in old time folk.

This covers a wide gamut, going from Gypsy traveller songs to Japanese court music to Tajikistan wedding marches, but it’s all grounded in English folk music. Songs like ‘Bonny Bunch Of Roses’ (with its archive intro), ‘Moorlough Maggie’ and ‘The Moon Shone On My Bed Last Night’ are utterly beguiling, and this is the first absolutely essential folk release of 2015. Miss at your peril.
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JESSI TEICH
Twisted Soul
Madame Freak

There’s always a new jazz / pop crossover artist on the horizon, and most of them really aren’t worth crossing the road for, so when a real talent comes along, it really is a treat. And so it is with Jessi Teich (pronounced Teach) who actually manages to pull off the mix of the modern and the old. Well played, Ms Teich.

It’s actually quite strange to realise that bar two covers, one from Tom Waits and one from Justin Timberlake (yes, really), that these aren’t old songs rediscovered. Each stands alone, even though there is a personal storyline running through the album, one that she relates in the liner notes.

The Philadelphia native recorded this live in Paris, and it has that spontaneous feel that only rigourous rehearsal leads to. The band are great (the Thierry Maillard Trio and accordionist Laurent Derache) but its her memorable voice that is the star of the show on great songs such as ‘Carnival’, ‘Ruins’ and the Justin Timberlake cover, ‘Cry Me A River’. An outstanding release.
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PROTOSHREDANOID
Instrumetals From Outer Space
independent

Well the clue is in the title. Shred and metal. And, yes, it may be the case that Jason Wiley (who is ProtoShredanoid) comes from outer space (something I don’t believe exists, but that’s for another day), but his roots are firmly in eighties shred.

And there is nothing wrong with that. He claims that the sound of ProtoShredanoid is as vast and mysterious as the cosmos. From alien soundscapes to heavy progressive space metal, blazing technical shred to intimate ethereal jazz. Which basically means he’s like Steve Vai to the nth degree.

And that’s a good thing, especially when he rages through tunes like ‘Ghosts Of Jupiter’, a number that shows off his playing and compositional skills to the highest degree. Fans of Vai, Satriani and McAlpine will probably find themselves slightly moist on lending an ear to this.
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EDGE OF EVER
Global Ignition
independent

And now the end is near, and we have reached the final curtain. Hopefully, just for today, mind. Edge Of Ever are a power / prog metal crossover band from Berlin, Germany. The six piece are split right down the middle with three Germans and three Greeks, and the music they make is mighty fine.

They’ve only been together a couple of years, but this debut hints at good things to come. They’re not a cheery bunch if the end of the world lyrics and themes are anything to by, but combined with great riffs and good arrangements, it makes for a compelling whole.

The mid section of the album from ‘Serpent´s Blood’ through ‘Black Passion’ and ‘Bury the Seals’ is just about as good as it gets in modern metal, and my hopes are high for their future.

http://edgeofever.com/