Artist: Darkspace Album: Darkspace III I Genre(s): Ambient, Heavy Metal Subgenres(s): Black Metal, Dark Ambient Released: 2014 Length: 64 minutes Language(s): N/A Label(s): Avantgarde Music
Track List:
01. Dark 4.18
02. Dark 4.19
03. Dark 4.20
Dark Space Dark Space III I Cover
Darkspace Darkspace III I Review
Darkspace III I is the fourth album by Swiss black metallers Darkspace. Aside from every album having similar cover art work and following the same numerical sequence for song titles, they also repeat the same challenging run time with overly long songs blended together by using dark ambient segments. On the surface this description makes Darkspace sound as though they’re following the same rigid pattern as their older output, which begs the question of what’s new?
Perhaps the most obvious change is in the recording quality because while Darkspace still insist on overloading the listener on high-density distortion, it doesn’t bare the same intensity of their earlier output and with Dark 4.19, their sound is refined to a significantly more accessible style that relies on simple and repetitive guitar riffs between the prevalent buzz-saw guitar and muffled blasting drum sections that can often go on for minutes at a time, which Dark 4.18 will acquaint you with soon enough.
All three band members are credited for vocal duties but this is by far the most irrelevant part of the album because not only are they so sparsely arranged throughout these monstrously long songs, they are also completely unintelligible and buried under a mountain of distortion so it’s impossible to make anything of them. The only exception to this is the use of a small sample from the film 2010: The Year We Make Contact on Dark 4.20
It’s also worth noting that this album is effectively a singular song broken down into three parts which are then stitched back together through the use of dark ambiance. In spite of the ambition and overall length of Darkspace III I, it would be a far cry to call this progressive metal due to the sheer repetition (if nothing else) and if it was to be cut down then you could easily have an album at half the length and twice the replay value.
In short it’s best to say that this is business as usual for Darkspace. Existing fans will probably be delighted by it and for everyone else it’s going to be a question of being able to put time aside to listen to it uninterrupted.
Artist: Napalm Death Album: Smear Campaign (Limited Edition) Genre(s): Rock Subgenres(s): Grindcore Released: 2016 Length: 54 minutes (including bonus tracks) Language(s): English Label(s): Century Media
Track List:
01. Weltschmerz
02. Sink Fast, Let Go
03. Fatalist
04. Puritanical Punishment Beating
05. When All is Said and Done
06. Freedom is the Wage of Sin
07. In Deference
08. Short-Lived
09. Identity Crisis
10. Shattered Existence
11. Eyes Right Out
12. Call That an Option? (Bonus Track)
13. Warped Beyond Logic
14. Rabid Wolves (For Christ)
15. Deaf and Dumbstruck (Intelligent Design)
16. Persona Non Grata
17. Smear Campaign
18. Atheist Runt (Bonus Track)
Napalm Death Smear Campaign Limited Edition Cover
Napalm Death Smear Campaign Limited Edition Review
Smear Campaign is the twelfth studio album by British grindcore pioneers Napalm Death. While many of their albums from the 1990s to the first half of the 2000s walk the line between death metal and grindcore, the punkish approach to song-writing pushes Smear Campaign further towards the grindcore camp this time around.
Despite the overtly chaotic nature of Smear Campaign, the music is relatively straightforward with the raw intensity coming from the self-described blast beat terrorism drumming of Danny Herrera and the combined guttural performances of lead vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway and bassist/backing vocalist Shane Embury while Mitch Harris provides feral high pitched shrieks for contrast.
For this reason alone the lyrics are largely undecipherable without having a written copy in front of you for reference. In some ways this is quite a shame because Napalm Death brings a much needed intellectual counter balance to extreme music lyrics which offset the staple diet of guts, gore and cartoonish bellyaching about the woes of the world. Instead they deliver sharp and direct criticism of religion and society, the main themes of Smear Campaign, without the tired and overused approach of most other bands that tackle the subject.
Early on the band addresses the philosophical concept of fatalism, on the song Fatalist no less, to proclaim that “existing becomes a prison where self-discovery’s forbidden”. Since Fatalism is the belief that all actions are predetermined (fated to happen) then there’s no control or changing of any unfolding events. It is then concluded at the end of the song that “any fool starting afresh would surely ditch this/after two-thousand years of schism/only irreligious hearts can do the saving” so as to offer a solution in saying that a new, non-religious train of thought must take hold within society to make progress for the betterment of everyone instead of clinging on to ideologies that were developed thousands of years ago and don’t necessarily apply to modern life.
The theme of societal progress and anti-religion is reinforced with the chorus to When All is Said and Done, which proclaims that “when all is said and done/heaven lies in my heart/no slave to beliefs that propagate pain/when all is said and done/heaven lies in our hearts/this life is a gift to be lived and loved” to reject ideologies that harm people and strip away the value of life itself.
Along with the critical lyrics comes an added sense of melody and experimentation in some instances because, after all, there is only so far you can push outright aggression before you repeat yourself or begin to stagnate. Some notable moments include the industrial influenced introductory song, Weltschmerz, which includes a wordless vocal contribution from Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering), who also performs the monotonous spoken word piece on In Deference. On paper this comes across as an odd pairing but it is probably the only way that her voice could fit into this kind of music and the end results are effective in blending her voice to the cacophony around her without coming across as forced experiment for the sake of it.
Smear Campaign closes with a 3 part mini-epic that will easily catch many fans off guard. Persona Non Grata is the first part and sees Napalm Death using measured aggression to play off against slower moments with growled vocals performed in a melodic fashion that will make you think that the band are about to burst into clean singing at any second. Sludge metal is then embraced for the miniature title track along with the more melodic singing style that turns into a sort of echo-laden chant before fading out and concluding the album on the standard edition.
On the limited edition this then leads into the second bonus track and third part of the mini-epic, Atheist Runt, which is the slowest and longest song on the album at nearly 7 minutes long. This will prove to be quite a test for some fans due to the slow nature of it and yet it is by far one of the most rewarding moments of the whole album if you appreciate the bands decision to branch out and do something a bit different.
Underneath what will sound like the utter chaos of a battlefield to most people, Napalm Death have artfully fused thoughtful lyrical content and a bold experimental edge into their frantic grindcore blueprint to prove that they are as innovative on Smear Campaign as they were at their inception.
Performers:
Mark “Barney” Greenway: Shouting, Screaming, Swans, Sermons (Lead vocals, lyrics on 1-4, 6-9 and 11-6) Shane Embury: Four Strings of the Apocalypse, NY Aggro Lung Assault (Bass, backing vocals, lyrics on 5 and 10) Mitch Harris: Shredding, Grinding, Subliming Noise, Shrill Cries (Guitar, backing vocals) Danny Herrera: Blast Beat Terrorism (Drums) Anneke van Giersbergen: Additional vocals (1 and 7)
Artist: Easy Star All-Stars Album: Until That Day Genre(s): Reggae Subgenres(s): N/A Released: 2008 Length: 25 minutes Language(s): English Label(s): Easy Star Records
Track List:
01. Got to Get Away
02. Bed of Rose
03. Like the Stars
04. Until That Day
05. The Finest
06. Dubbing Up the Walls
Easy Star All-Stars Until That Day Cover
Easy Star All-Stars Until That Day Review
Until That Day is the third release by reggae collective Easy Star All-Stars. Following the success of their first two albums, reggae and dub interpretations of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (Dub Side of the Moon) and Radiohead’s Ok Computer (Radiodread), Easy Star All-Stars released an EP of original material.
The first thing that you will notice when listening to Until That Day is the number of distinctly different vocalists that appear on this 25 minute EP. They range from the smooth vocal melodies of Junior Jazz on Got to Get Away and Tamar-kali on Like the Stars to the frantic “WAAAH” cries and rowdy vocal delivery of Menny More on Bed of Rose and The Finest as well as Until That Day, which shows him in a more restrained role.
These conflicting styles, while well executed, are the biggest dividing line on the EP because some of them hardly sound like they belong on the same release. However, being an EP as well as the first body of original work from Easy Star All-Stars, it could be seen that the intention is to show off a variety of styles to avoid being pigeon-holed one way or the other following their successful reworking of two famous albums.
With the first song, Got to Get Away, the focus is placed on vocalist Junior Jazz and his lyrics which deal with stress and enduring it through the Rastafari faith (they’re fighting everything I do/but with the help of Jah I’m going through). The relaxed nature of the song combined with the positive lyrics make for a welcoming introduction to the EP whereas Bed of Rose quickly shakes things up with an alarm-like brass section accompanied by the frantic “WAAAH” cries of Menny More, which are matched by the choppy drum fills near the end of the song to shake up the pace early on.
Rastafari themes return more extensively on the titular song courtesy of Ras I Ray and this could alienate some listeners who are not familiar with the religion but the infectious nature of the song will win over many listeners regardless of the lyrics because the lively brass arrangement proves to be the single biggest earworm on the EP.
The final song, Dubbing Up the Walls, is a dub remix of their Climbing Up the Walls cover from the aforementioned Radiodread album. Starting out with a slow and ominous brass bellow, this version places a much bigger emphasis on mood by making liberal uses of percussive echoes and low, unassuming bass playing to go along side Tamar-kali’s disembodied voice which sits in between the other instruments instead of on top of them as heard on Like the Stars.
The only real divisive element found on Until That Day will be determined the listeners own preference in singers and to a lesser extent some of the lyrical content. However the well-arranged brass instrumentation littered throughout the EP, along with the overall positive message put forward, will most likely win over new listeners.
Performers:
Jenny Hill: Sax, flute Ras I Ray: Bass, lead vocals (track 4), backing vocals Junior Jazz: Guitar, lead vocals (track 1), backing vocals Ivan Katz: Drums, percussion Jeremy Mage: Keyboards, programming (track 5) Menny More: Lead vocals (tracks 2 and 5), DJ vocals (track 4) Buford O’Sullivan: Trombone Tamar-kali: Lead vocals, (tracks 3 and 6), backing vocals Pam Fleming: Trumpet (track 5) Victor Axelrod (Ticklah): Organ (track 6) Michael Goldwasser: Guitar, percussion (track 6) Victor Rice: Bass (track 6)
Artist: Sabaton Album: Heroes Genre(s): Heavy Metal Subgenres(s): Traditional Metal Released: 2014 Length: 37 minutes Language(s): English Label(s): Nuclear Blast
Track List:
01. Night Witches
02. No Bullets Fly
03. Smoking Snakes
04. Inmate 4859
05. To Hell and Back
06. The Ballad of Bull
07. Resist and Bite
08. Soldier of 3 Armies
09. Far from the Fame
10. Hearts of Iron
Sabaton Heroes Cover
Sabaton Heroes Review
Heroes is the 7th studio album by Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton. Following the announcement on 31st March 2012 that 4 members had simultaneously departed the band, lead vocalist, primary songwriter and now keyboardist Joakim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström were saddled with the arduous task of reforming the line-up. With 3 new band members being brought into the fold it would be difficult to guess what would happen after such a heavy blow was dealt.
Heroes sees the sound of Sabaton moving away from the realm of power metal and drawing closer to traditional metal with their secret weapon, the voice of Joakim Brodén, being made the focal point of every song. His powerful and charismatic performance commands the listeners’ attention while bassist Pär Sundström and guitarists Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund all double up as backing vocalists to add a real anthemic quality with their gang vocal delivery.
Long-time Sabaton fans will be familiar with the lyrical content largely revolving around military history and Heroes is no exception although a slightly different approach is taken because each song is used to sing the praises soldiers who exemplified humanity, bravery and valour while often facing dire circumstances in historical battles.
The lyrics take on a central role in songs that are heavily informed by pop song structure and length so they can appear to be direct and nondescript. This is a hindrance from a storytelling perspective because they don’t always delve deep enough to explain the situation that these people find themselves in so if you aren’t familiar with them or the battle in question then you won’t be able to appreciate what Sabaton are trying to convey. However if you spend a few minutes researching the subject matter you will be able to apply your own knowledge to the lyrics and fill in the gaps yourself to bring greater meaning to the songs.
Aside from some lyrical short comings there is also a notable deficit between the guitar riffs played during the verse/chorus sections and the lead guitar parts that burst into life during the bridge on songs like Night Witches, Smoking Snakes and Far from the Fame. These moments are often accompanied by more exciting drum parts courtesy of Hannes van Dahl and there seems to be a recurring theme of their skills being downplayed in favour of the aforementioned focus on anthemic choruses.
The first 3 songs establish exactly what Heroes is about and while many of the others follow suit, Inmate 4859 takes on a much slower and darker tone to tell the story of Witold Pilecki, a Polish soldier who infiltrated Auschwitz as a prisoner to gather intelligence on the camp and the holocaust before escaping to report his findings.
To Hell and Back features the tasteful use of a (synthesised) flute and some minor folk influences without crossing over into folk metal while the power ballad, The Ballad of Bull, features a piano, choral singing and a string section that frames Joakim Brodén’s voice in an entirely different setting and works to great effect. This is easily one of the biggest highlights of Heroes and the total change of pace breaks up the albums flow without losing any of the power or conviction found in the other songs.
The emphasis on hooks and simple arrangements shows that these songs were written with a live audience in mind because that same essence of power and engagement found at a concert is captured on Heroes although a healthier balance between this and more moments that would have shown off the skills of the new band members would have yielded some more exciting (and varied) results overall.
Performers:
Joakim Brodén: Lead vocals, keyboards Pär Sundström: Bass, backing vocals Chris Rörland: Guitar, backing vocals Thobbe Englund: Guitar, backing vocals Hannes van Dahl: Drums
