The Rock Blogger

Amon Amarth. Twilight of the Thunder God. 2008. 4.5 stars.

This is an exceptional viking metal album that features memorable melodies, fluid percussion and stellar production. While the lyrical concepts of this album are largely concerned with epic battles and mythical conquests (as the cover art demonstrates), it is not nearly as over the top as other viking metal albums released this year (Equilibrium for example). The furious riffs alone make this a thoroughly satisfying metal album that maintains both a sense of grandeur and raw aggression.

The album is well-balanced and consistently heavy, moving along at a rapid pace through fiery guitar solos and brutal bass lines. Amon Amarth have managed to be both musically tight and genuinely epic in their compositions, as each mammoth track flows steadily into the next, making this an addictive listen that begs repeating. The vocals, while not going far beyond the traditional death metal fare, work terrifically with the music and provides a bestial undercurrent for the soaring melodies.

Overall, Twilight of the Thunder God is a solid release that has hardly any weak points. Even though the band is reluctant to deviate from their established sound, they do indulge in the odd cello accompaniment towards the finale, embellishing on the climatic atmosphere that runs throughout. Despite its aggressively dense sound, Amon Amarth are still surprisingly accessible, crafting an album that is both entertaining and crushingly heavy. This is easily one of the finest metal albums of the year.

Twilight of the Thunder God

The Morningside. The Wind, the Trees, and the Shadows of the Past. 2007. 5 stars.

This is a stunning melodic death metal album from a little known Russian band. Sounding like a cross between Agalloch and early Ulver, The Morningside blends emotional and melodic riffs with a grey woodland atmosphere and some clean acoustic flourishes. With a great emphasis on extended instrumentals, these songs are massive and progressively composed, conveying a variety of moods in its many steep peaks and valleys.

The guitar work in particular is majestic, with a crystalline production that lets each tight, wiry riff cast an icy sheen. The vocals for the most part are in the form of distant growls, which despite their melancholic tone, complement the epic musicianship beautifully. There are also some clean, sung vocals thrown in the album’s later half, as a calm, reflective voice contemplates the mystery of the wilderness, conveying cool imagery not unlike the cover above.

The Wind…, much like Agalloch’s The Mantle, strikes a perfect balance between heavy metal catharsis and lush atmospherics, carving out a niche of its own (Grey Metal?). It comes over like a cool thunderstorm, first with crashing booms, then followed by a cleansing downpour. If you are a fan of Agalloch, post-rock, or atmospheric black metal, you owe it to yourself to listen to this. It really is a masterpiece.

The Morningside - “The Wind”

Lo-Ruhamah. The Glory of God. 2007. 4 stars

Kansas City’s Lo-Ruhamah play a searing mix of death metal, black metal and post-rock on their debut LP. Their sound shifts dramatically between guttural metal crunch and reflective, crystalline guitar passages, making The Glory of God an expressive and adventurous effort. Its somewhat hard to discern the lyrical themes from the screaming vocals, but their musical progressions capture the ebb and flow of some rapturous (religious?) experience.

The changing dynamics, often joined with delicate piano or acoustic guitar, make the album sound full, accomplished and even dangerous in its risk taking. Lo-Ruhamah have a genuine artistic vision here, this isn’t your run of the mill nu-metal album, this is an attempt at breaking the mold. Their multi-dimensional approach fits nicely among the emerging “heady metal” trends coming out of America, a new wave that includes some recent favorites like Wolves in the Throne Room and Lurker of Chalice.

Despite the album’s progressive powers, the vocals themselves don’t possess the same emotional clarity as the instrumentals. They are either to shrill or too soft to deliver the message wrapped up in the songs. If the band manages to stick it out a while longer, they should be able to reconcile their intense music with their cryptic narratives, just as Tool eventually struck a balance between raw virutoisty and clear spirtual/apocalyptic ideas. As a first effort, The Glory of God stands as a stellar and oirginal work deserving of more critical attention. For their genre-bending intensity, Lo-Ruhamah are among the most impressive acts to be reshaping the world of underground metal.

Bloodbath. Unblessing the Purity (EP). 2008. 3.5 stars.

A vicious EP from Sweden’s Bloodbath, Unblessing the Purity is a growling throwback to old-school death metal, with caustic vocals and maddening guitar solos setting the stage for horror and damnation. The sound Bloodbath produces is incredibly fast and brutal, running across intense blasting percussion and twisting, expansive guitar passages that bring out melodic nuances hiding beneath the chaos. Like their fellow countrymen Dark Tranquility, Bloodbath successfully combine raging metal riffs with complex compositional touches. While these 4 songs are over quickly and offer nothing revolutionary, they are undeniably entertaining and heavy. If you like your metal filled with deep-throated anger and pulse-pounding speed, this EP should suit your tastes.

Weak Aside

Sculptured. Embodiment. 2008. 4 stars.

Sculptured’s latest offering is a solid prog-metal release that features intricate compositions and clear production, integrating complicated guitar riffs, symphonic keyboards and frantic drumming into a cohesive and dense package. While Sculptured’s impressive lineup features Don Anderson and Jason Walton from Agalloch, their sound is completely different, with labyrinthine song structures that dart from guttural metal to progressive passages in an instant, switching between time signatures and moods with surprising transitions.

The band also alternates between two vocal styles, one being the conventional death metal growl and the other being the clean alternative signing that may remind some of Mike Patton’s Faith No More days. The combination of the two is refreshing and consistently interesting, providing a emotional anchor for the spiraling keyboard melodies and cyclical drumming. The complexity of this album is not nearly as overwhelming as other efforts in the prog-metal genre, as the melodies are easily distinguishable amid the madness, making Embodiment an album that is actually fun to listen to rather than being an inaccessible maze of musical layers. The band truly sound like they are enjoying themselves.

Embodiment as a whole is an exciting and well produced effort that remains accessible despite its complexity. I would recommend this to both fans of prog metal (like Kayo Dot, Maudlin of the Well, Mars Volta) as well as rock fans more accustomed to alternative styles.