LEAVES’ EYES
The Last Viking
AFM
You always know where you are with a Leaves’ Eyes album. Namely, symphonic metal, clean/growl vocals and a proper historical perspective.
And so it is with ‘The Last Viking’ whereby an assortment of Vikings battle to decide who will be king of England. Something the English forget when it comes to 1066 and all that. You know. When a Viking fought a Viking at Stamford Bridge (not that one) then marched south to fight anther Viking at Hastings.
This record tells the tale of Harald Hardrada who after having to flee Norway fought his way through what became Russia, onto Constantinople where he joined the Varangian Guard before returning to claim the Norwegian throne and later invading England to claim what he regarded as his rightful inheritance from Harold Godwinson. As you should all know, Hardrada lost, Godwinson marched south and was defeated by William the Bastard.
This concept piece tells the story of Hardrada as he is dying and remembers the life he has lived. And it’s really well done whether telling of his escape from Constantinople (“Chain Of The Golden Horn”), the sea battle between Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark at the Battle of Niså (“Serpents And Dragons”) and the sheer magnificence of the album centrepiece, the ten minute title track. Me, I loved “Varangians”, a flute enhanced martial gem.
Musically, it’s nigh on faultless. It’s big and bombastic as you would a saga of this ilk to be. Mind you, they can throw a curveball with a few pop melodies and what seems to be an increase in Celtic instrumentation. Which works for me with me Celtic/Swedish DNA! I’m not going to lie, though. I’m still not the biggest fan of the vocals of Elina Siirala but I’m getting there. Regardless, this is a masterpiece of symphonic metal which is coming out in the usual plethora of vinyl / CD / special editions.
LIGHTHOUSE SPARROWS
The Deep End
independent
Well this was a rather pleasant surprise. Two Finnish blokes who’d worked together on sound design and contemporary art projects for a decade decided to make a record together. And it’s really rather good.
They would be Sami Sarhamaa (guitars, bass, vocals, additional keys) and Olli Huhtanen (vocals, keys). This being 2020 it’s all been recorded remotely with guests Miri Miettinen on drums and Trio Tingo on backing vocals. What you’re getting is modern progressive rock, the kind of thing that Pineapple Thief / Steven Wilson fans would feel comfortable round. What impressed me most, though, was the songs. They’re really, really good and even when they do head off into progdom there is a really strong melody running through it. Which shouldn’t be that much of a surprise as Huhtanen has worked on film soundtracks while Sarhamaa has form with Finnish progsters Kataya.
But they seem to have brought the best out of each other on this fie track, 30 minute mini album. But what it lacks in girth it makes up in quality as there isn’t a duff track here. Best for me was the near prog power ballad that is “Scales” which is largely keyboard led but when the guitar does make an appearance It Is Just Right.
There isn’t much here that smacks you upside the head as there is a melancholy streak running through most of the music. And a lot of what instrumentation there is veers towards minimalism. But it’s a record that has depth and one that will have you returning to it again and again. A real good one.
https://lighthousesparrows.bandcamp.com
ROB PHILLIPS SIREN
Beyond The Rainbow
independent
You might remember Siren from the late eighties. Power metal was their thing. They released a couple of albums and then vanished. Now there are two versions on the go. One released an album called ‘Back From The Dead’ earlier this year and now the version led by guitarist Rob Phillips have put this one out. I’m guessing there’s no bad blood though as Todd Grubbs seems to be playing guitar in both versions while the “other” drummer, Ed Aborn, was involved in pre-production here!
There is still a fair amount of power metal involved here although some of the arrangements tip over the line into near prog metal. That’s true of the arrangements as well as a fair number of them are either intricate or slightly off kilter. Try and follow the rhythm to “Crazy Legs” and tell me I’m wrong.
A lot of the music grooves in a manner unbecoming to the world of power / prog metal but it actually makes things very listenable indeed. The production is very well rounded with an excellent balance. Fast forward to my favourite – “Sundown” – and take a listen. It’s really well done. There’s even room for the legally obligatory ballad in the shape of the rather nice “Empty Ocean”. It’s at its most prog on “Red Wings” and it’s the guitar work throughout that allies the album to the world of power metal. If anything it does kind of fall between two stools but nly a couple of songs had me straying to the skip button.
Hopefully it finds a sweet spot where fans of both genres meet as it deserves an audience.
https://robphillipssiren.bandcamp.com
SUBURBAN RESISTANCE
self titled
Tenebrae Music
Someone likes the sounds of eighties second wave UK punk and nineties Scandipunk.
Those someones would guitarist Tom Urban, lead guitarist Erin McGuire, bassist Pat McGuire, vocalist Kevin Wilcox and drummer Adam “Bomb” Segal. And they make a fair old fist of rattling through a dozen of snotty punk tunes.
It’s safe to say that reinventing the wheel was definitely not on the call sheet when they set out to write and record songs like “Dead City Girl”, “It’s Getting Better” and the grammatically incorrect “Don’t Want None”. But if the plan was to write and record some high octane old school punk then I think it’s safe to say that it was a successful plan. At times the vocals get a wee bit whiny for my ears but generally this is the sort of thing that used to get banged out in the Cas Rock Cafe back when I was a boy.
There are moments when a wee bit of Scandi sleaze sneaks into the sound and that’s a good thing. It’s also what makes the aforementioned “Dead City Girl” one of my favourites. Plus you can never have too many “Oi’s” in a punk tune. They’re not ones for getting all introspective when there’s a thrashy punk riff to be churned out. Something that is also a good thing along with the plethora of backing vocals which really round out the sound. It’s loud, surprisingly bratty for a bunch of auld fellas and always fun. Sometimes that’s exactly what you want.
https://www.facebook.com/SuburbanResistancepunks/
HELLBENDER
American Nightmare
No Life ‘Til Metal Records
Some thrash metal now, courtesy of Hellbender, a name that will amuse many folk on this side of the Atlantic.
They’ve been around since 2011 although they are most definitely veterans who’ve been playing for a while. They’ve got a Spinal Tap approach to drummers and previously released ‘Falling Down’ in 2016. And what they do is groove oriented thrash which plays homage to Pantera. Natch.
But they’re very good at it. The first few tracks blast you in the face like a Guy Fawkes night gone very wrong and numbers like “Left With Nothing”, “Pure Hate” and “Born Dead” will endear them to thrash fans everywhere. The latter is probably their best song and comes across as pure, unadulterated anger. They do slow the pace a wee bit from time to time but it’s when they hit 100mph that it works best. In proper thrash style they don’t hang about. Eight tracks in half an hour. How it should be unless you want an A&E trip for whiplash The guitars are amped to the max and the production does a decent enough job of capturing their sound.
There are a few hardcore and industrial styled licks popping up hither and thither just to make sure you’re paying attention and, overall, they’ve done a fine job.
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