Star Insight (2007-2011)

Recently while mindlessly browsing YouTube (thought I wonder if there is any other way to do it anyway) I found Star Insight, a metal band who call their sound symphonic metal heavily inspired by The Kovenant. The sound-bite sounded interesting, especially as it’s a tiny bit harder than most symphonic metal. When I checked out their music (it’s online on their site) I could perceive a noticeable upward trend over the course of their development, which is always nice as it means they really try to improve, pushing themselves to get better. So far they have published two demos and one EP. The first demo Delusion Thunder from 2007 was still kinda bland and forgettable, the follow-up demo Adamant Factor from 2009 already much better and showed real potential. And the last one, the EP they brought out this year, Calla, is now in heavy rotation on my player. Overall, I’m eager awaiting their first full release.

Recently Heard #2

Attrition is a constant when it comes to following music. Each band, however much you like them, turns sour on you after some time. Some manage to come back after a few bad albums, most never recover. And there’s no clear pattern when it will happen. Some bands bring out three great albums, and then produce something boring like the recent Dark Epic from One Man Army and the Undead Quartet. I worshiped every of their first three outings and saw no indication that this one would be different. But despite remaining just as heavy as before, it feels tired and lacking in speed. Same with Sworn Amongst, who published 2008 the excellent And So It Begins and last year the disappointing Severance. Then there are the bands that follow a steady decline from initial greatness.

That said, each disappointment is balanced by finding great, new stuff to like. Nembience with last year’s Through Times of Despair and Mercenary with their recent sixth album Metamorphosis. Especially in Mercenary‘s case it’ll be interesting to track down their previous stuff down and see whether I only like their more recent material (which happens most of the time when I discover a band whose been around some time) or all of their oeuvre.

Hero Core OST (2010)

The soundtrack for the truly excellent freeware game Hero Core by Brother Android is a just as good as the game itself. It’s typical chiptune music: blips and blops and noise and all the other elements you remember from old GameBoy games (or similar computers/ consoles from ages past). I’m often amazed at some of stuff that comes out of the chiptune scene, mostly because they manage to transcend the individual low-fi sound bites and create a unique and compelling whole.

What makes the OST to Hero Core stand out is that it manages to be just as compelling solo as in-game. Many game soundtracks suffer from the fact that they are excellent while you’re playing, but heard solo don’t work as well. And they rarely work well as an album, jumping between styles and moods. That’s where the Hero Core soundtrack succeeds admirably, it offers distinct and varied individual songs that still complement each other and that together create a consistent and unified soundscape.

Shade Empire (2004-2008)

I’m working my way through the three albums Shade Empire has published so far. Pretty excellent stuff that mixes a host of different elements – industrial, symphonic, black and death metal – and still manages to create its own unique style. Really, at times you feel like hearing Nightwish with death growls, at times something entirely different and yet it doesn’t feel like a disjointed mess but a coherent whole. Each release, nearly every song is memorable. That’s how I like my music: varied, brutal and melodic.

Recently Heard #1

Evocation: Apocalyptic (2010)
The third outing by Evocation is more of the same, it’s still good, but not as good as the first two albums, it does seem a bit slower and the songs feel less distinctive overall, maybe I need to listen a few more times to really get into the album

Omnium Gatherum: New World Shadows (2011)
Feels uneven, but has more good (Ego, New World Shadows, Distance) than bad (Everfields, Deep Cold), overall I needed some time to warm up to the album

Illdisposed: To Those Who Walk Behind Us (2009)
First time I heard something from this band, liked it instantly, the whole album was excellent from start to finish with no weak song among them

Dark Tranquillity: We Are the Void (2010)
Since the 2007 album was such a strong return to form, it was hard to repeat that sort of comeback, in that way WAtV is merely an excellent follow-up that might annoy Metal-purists with pretty catchy and accessible elements, but if you don’t mind it’s actually quite good and while not as impressive as Fiction was, worth your time

Slaughter of the Soul (1995)

None of the three big Gothenburg melodic death metal acts have made me like their whole oeuvre and At the Gates is no exception. After hearing their first three albums I was pretty disappointed, since they were boring and unremarkable. Nothing really outstanding, nothing that explained to me why they were so revered. And then I heard their last album. It’s not like they changed their style compared to the earlier albums, but they perfected it to such a degree that there’s a noticeable difference. Slaughter of the Soul is a perfectly coordinated brute force attack on your ears that still manages to be melodic, despite the heaviness of the sound.

Whoracle (1997)

While I’m overall not that impressed with the work of In Flames, one of the cornerstones of the Gothenburg melodic death metal scene, Whoracle is the exception. I can’t exactly put the finger on what makes this different form the rest of their output, but somehow it feels more unique than any of their others albums. The two following albums, Colony and Clayman, have inherited some of the energy of Whoracle, but they are more uneven and not as good.

In Times Before the Light (1997)

This melodic black metal album was first published in 1997 and again in 2002 as an industrial metal remix. I actually heard the remix first, since I like industrial metal quite a bit and stumbled upon it through that line of inquiry. When the Kovenant re-released the original 1997 version in 2007 I had to hear it, since most reviews of the remix tend to be extremely negative and I wanted to know which is actually better. I still like both versions, but I can understand why people don’t like the remix. If you don’t have any inclinations toward industrial elements, this must feel like mutilation. Depending on my mood I prefer one or the other, but in the end they’re both very good at what they’re trying to achieve.

The Mind’s I (1997)

The third album by the melodic death metal institution Dark Tranquillity and my favorite of their whole oeuvre. I found the first two albums pretty average, even the second, The Gallery, which is often thought of as a classic. The ones following The Mind’s I are good in places, some good songs here and there, but none are as excellent from start to finish as this one. Admittedly its an album whose excellence I didn’t saw on the first hearing. But there was something about it that made me try it again and again despite not being too impressed at first. And then it simply clicked.

21st Century Killing Machine (2006)

After the breakup of The Crown (your average thrash/death metal band) vocalist Johan Lindstrand formed One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, who since then have made one excellent album per year (three so far). They fall into the category of bands that have found a receipt that works perfectly for them, even if it makes all their album sound a bit alike. That’s not really bad, if you happen to like it. Their style mixes the heaviness and deep growls you expect from Death Metal (and some melodic elements from Melodic Death Metal), with the speed and out front aggression of trash metal. Despite that it remains still accessible and varied, it’s raw power meets skills, not just boring loud noise.

Thematically it’s hard to pin down. The songs on 21st Century Killing Machine mention the common themes: death, violence, religion, anger, hate, destruction and so on. There’s no real context or overall theme, most of the lyrics work by inference, you know what they talk about, but the meaning is open to interpretation. Is it social criticism or just social commentary or just a conglomerate of metal buzzwords? Probably a bit of all, but it does fit the music.