Ghost Cult Magazine Albums Of The Year 2014 Countdown! #10 to #6

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Steve Tovey

In amongst the big boys now, with the Official Ghost Cult Top 10 Albums of 2014. Kicking off with albums 10 to 6, these were the attention and headline grabbing albums that provided the soundtrack to the year…

10. DEVIN TOWNSEND – Z2 (HevyDevy/InsideOut)

Not one but two aural explosions from everyone’s favourite Canadian ADD sufferer. Disk 1 showcases the epic pop-Metal melodies expounded on Epicloud, in a vibrant collection of melodies, twists and simply great tunes, while Disk 2 is the long awaited Ziltoid sequel, a more symphonic and aggressive take on the original. Devin has shown, once again, that no matter what project fills his head, he is a pure musical genius, with 3 albums (technically) in our Top 50.

“Double albums are notoriously difficult beasts to grapple with. If there’s a suspicion of ‘all filler, no killer’, that’s perhaps understandable given some of rock music’s recent inglorious past when it comes to musical heft. The common consensus on this sort of exercise ranges from how to edit Use Your Illusion (Geffen) into one digestible chunk; realising that, yes, Fleetwood Mac really did do ALL of the drugs when recording Tusk (Warner Bros) and, frankly, even Corey Taylor must think that there is way too much padding on House of Gold and Bones (Roadrunner). Breathe easier, then, as this is not a sprawling, indulgent mess. Z2 is indulgent and there is a LOT to get through but Z2 is two records being issued simultaneously rather than some attempt at a single, 23 song epic.”

Read MAT DAVIES’ 9/10 review here

9. AT THE GATES – At War With Reality (Century Media)

After a gap of 19 (NINETEEN!) years the Fathers of the Gothenburg sound released the follow up to one of the greatest extreme albums of time, the genuine legend that was Slaughter of the Soul (Earache). That they didn’t embarrass themselves is one thing, that they were able to ignite the flame of excitement in older fans and pick up newer ones, whose favourite bands swore by the altar of ATG is testament to their quality.

“At War With Reality is a genuinely worthwhile listen and worth the 19 year wait. It still sounds like At The Gates, not the razor-focused Slayer-worship of Slaughter of the Soul, although those moments are still present, but an all-encompassing At The Gates that draws from the band’s entire back catalogue. At The Gates have shown the world that they’re still the most powerful force in melodic death metal. At War With Reality does more than just prop up the band’s legacy, it enhances it.”

Read DAN SWINHOE’s 9/10 review here

8. PALLBEARER – Foundations of Burden (Profound Lore)

Doooooooooooooom, beautiful doooooooooooom! Melancholy, poignant, mournful and emotive, the second album from Arkansas’ Pallbearer set new standards in textured 70’s styled doom, twining haunting, reflective leads, heart-felt impassioned lyrics and vocals, and down-tuned crashes.

“Superlatives and panegyrics are thrown around like confetti these days, and mostly for albums that just don’t deserve them. Here is an entity beyond words. The blend of crushing weight and sadness that twines with an almost paradoxical ascension to light throughout this quite magnificent set is sublime and inspirational. This willingness to puncture doom’s boundaries and travel outside them surely hails Pallbearer as the most important band of their genre right now.”

Read PAUL QUINN’s 10/10 review here

7. TRIPTYKON – Melana Chasmata (Century Media / Prowling Death)

The sound of decomposition in thick, gloopy, stained riffage, the darkest end of despair in musical format, the sound of utter personal devastation hammered relentlessly into your ears as Tom G Warrior continues the styling first unveiled on Celtic Frost’s swansong, Monotheist. Beyond the gloom, beyond the end of the universe, lurks Triptykon’s second opus magnificum.

“Still gloriously innovative at 50, the enigmatic and death-obsessed Thomas Gabriel Fischer returns with his latest and possibly most enigmatic incarnation. The darkly expansive Eparistera Daimones, the first Triptykon album, displayed a panoply of musical styles. Remarkably, sophomore suite Melana Chasmata sees a deeper mining of that creativity, reaffirming the band’s reluctance to be confined by any musical barrier and confirming the triumphant second coming of Gabriel’s most inventive, diverse and impressive guise.”

Read PAUL QUINN’s 8.5/10 review here

6. DECAPITATED – Blood Mantra (Nuclear Blast)

Perhaps the most hotly anticipated “pure” Death Metal release of the second half of the year, this Polish hate machine did not disappoint, with a career and genre defining masterpiece, adding to their impressive canon with an absolute killer of cemtex-infused vocal growls, blistering drumming, colossal grooves and excessive riffs. But this was no old school rehash, the Krosno krew enhance their wares with industrial touches, and an insinuation of Slipknot showing this is a thoroughly modern and quite exceptional Death Metal band.

“With this much skill at their disposal, looking back it almost seems embarrassing that they were ever doubted. To use a lazy comparison, Decapitated are like (Marvel Comics anti-hero) Blade; they possess all of the strengths of Death Metal and none of its weaknesses. And it’s increasingly evident they cannot be killed. Quite simply Blood Mantra is one of the finest Death Metal albums to be released now or ever and it’s difficult to see how it can be topped. One thing is for sure; Vitek would be proud.”

Read JAMES CONWAY’s 9.5/10 review here

Compiled and additional words by Steve Tovey

Within Temptation – Let Us Burn: Elements and Hydra Live In Concert

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Steve Tovey

2014 seems to have been the year that symphonic metallers Within Temptation proved their status as one of metal’s modern giants. Arena tour shows across the globe including in the notoriously difficult to tackle UK market (which sees very few bands of our world reach such heights, and still stumble), the announcement of their return to Bloodstock Open Air in 2015 as main stage headliners, and a new album in Hydra (BMG/Nuclear Blast) which epitomised their grandiosity (and even got songs onto Radio 2). This double live release is a showcase of what to expect from this special act.

The first half sees the long awaited release of their 15^th anniversary show Elements (BMG) from Antwerp, with accompaniment from Il Novecentro Orchestra, whilst the second is taken from their Amsterdam show this year in support of Hydra (for clarity this review is based on the audio and not the video content). Both sets have significance for different reasons and it is commendable for this reason instead of a lazy release of near identikit sets. Encompassing and celebrating the band’s history, Elements proved a milestone show with a wealth of rarities and guest appearances from ex members such as Martjin Westerholt, plus a large chunk of their well received The Unforgiving (Roadrunner) album, which was released the previous year.

The accompanying orchestra adds an extra element of boldness to proceedings, making the likes of ‘Stand My Ground’ sound absolutely colossal. Not to mention that WT are always a reliably impressive live act; with Sharon den Adel showcasing her talismanic presence.

The second set may not have the gravitas of celebration of its predecessor but is still a huge statement of their strength as a live act. In support of their latest effort, this shares some set similarities but holds a significant chunk of Hydra (opener ‘Let Us Burn’ leaving no prisoners), particular highlight being ‘Dangerous’ with guest vocals by Howard Jones projected via video screen. Yes it would have been great to have the collaborators perform live, and the clumsy ‘And We Run’ could have been omitted from the set altogether, but this shows that even on a more standard booking, Within Temptation are a true live presence.

Fans will of course lap this up, and the uninterested will not have their minds changed, but nevertheless this is a fine exhibition of one of our worlds largest entities (whether you like it or not) in their natural environment.

8.0/10

Within Temptation on Facebook

CHRIS TIPPELL

Devilment – The Great and Secret Show

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Steve Tovey

Ask most people who hate Cradle Of Filth what they sound like, and they’ll get it wrong. The pervasive image of the band amongst younger Metal fans is that of pop-heavy, dance-floor filling Metal-lite, and though they must take some of the blame for the ubiquity of that image themselves, musically it just doesn’t fit a band who never dropped the solid core of Maiden, German Thrash and blast-beats that defined their sound. No, for all their leather man-skirts and guy-liner Cradle do not sound like that – but vocalist Dani’s new side-project most certainly do.

Devilment’s musical language is built on the combination of catchy, groovy riffs and the kind of sinister dance beats that filled 90’s Goth clubs. Song-writing is the absolute key here, and Devilment really have a tight grip on it – discrete, catchy songs with plenty of character, based around sharp hooks and driving riffs. Yes, riffs – catchy songs and Goth-club vibes aside, The Great & Secret Show (Nuclear Blast) is a Metal album, just one that eschews the posturing and macho sincerity of traditional Metal.

Dani’s presence is, of course, likely to be one of the big draws here, and existing fans will find his performance both familiar and surprising. The bi-polar extremes of his older performances are almost entirely absent, with the growled vocals completely excised and the testicle-piercing shrieks he’s infamous for barely present. Instead he dwells almost exclusively in a mid-paced speak-snarl reminiscent of the spoken-word vocals he used in Cradle, but with the portentous melodrama replaced with a knowing grin. Combined with his newly-indulged fondness for puns and joke song-titles (‘Even Your Blood Group Rejects Me’ is either brilliant or the exact opposite), he seems to be reinventing himself as the Goth Martin Walkyier – and doing a surprisingly good job of it.

There is nothing “extreme” about The Great & Secret Show, and little of the blood-and-thunder melodrama that traditional Metal is built around, but if the idea of catchy, groovy Pop Metal with dance sensibilities and a prominent sense of humour appeals, you could do a lot worse.

7.0/10

Devilment on Facebook

RICHIE HR

Meridian – The Awful Truth

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Steve Tovey

Following on from their self-released debut album Reformation in 2013, Poughkeepsie, NY based Meridian have been gathering an impressive following across America in the past year. Despite their age, with every member of the band being under 21, this fresh out of high school quintet have already landed themselves a spot on the roster of Victory Records for their sophomore album The Awful Truth alongside bands such as A Day to Remember, Ill Nino and Sister Sin.

It seems there is an endless procession of bands proclaiming that they have emerged as saviors of a genre recently, and this band is no exception stating Meridian was formed to save a dying scene. Despite these claims, the band doesn’t rigidly stick within the confines of one genre, rooting themselves in hardcore, but mixing in lashings of metalcore and a distinct pop sensibility. It’s not too often you find an abrasive genre like hardcore mixed in with the catchy nuances of pop music, and this album proves this is for good reason. Their attempts to tackle hard-hitting topics like depression and childhood neglect are marred by catchy pop vocal lines that distract from their message. The impact is lost under layers of auto-tune and awkward breakdowns.

Although the vocals generally dominate each track, switching between screams and clean melodic lines they are quickly revealed as the weakest part of the music. The screams lacking depth and cleans are over-embellished which rapidly proves irritating. While the catchy quality may gather a teen following, their music creates very little impact for the more seasoned hardcore listener.

2.0/10

Meridian on Facebook

CAITLIN SMITH

Amaranthe – Massive Addictive

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Steve Tovey

I have two.

Guilty pleasures, that is. What else did you think I meant? Penises? Yes, I generally pull the “I don’t have guilty pleasures, I’m proud of everything I like” (both ironically and non-ironically) bullshit we all do. But I do have two. Amaranthe and Five Finger Death Punch are two bands I feel a bit embarrassed about admitting to liking. And I like Manowar. A lot. Unashamedly.

I’ll still profess a liking for the pair, but it does make me feel a bit squidgy in the stomach to do so.

Massive Addictive is the third explosion (all Spinefarm) from the Swedish Pop Metallers arsenal, and within 10 seconds of opener ‘Dynamite’ we’ve had a trademark dose of electro-synth and a chugging beatdown. By the chorus all elements of their trademark Cascada (yep) meets Within Temptation meets post-Reroute In Flames are out in the open and it’s clear that Amaranthe are running with the sound and style that was so successful on their previous releases. ‘Drop Dead Cynical’ bounces in and we’re off into Dance Metal territory with its euphoric chorus.

The basic premise of an Amaranthe song revolves around their clean male vocalist (Jake E.) trading off with their harsh male vocalist (Henrik Englund) to build up to Euro-Pop chorus delivered by Elize Ryd, or variations of the theme, and Massive Addictive adopts the “if it ain’t broke…” approach. What at first seemed a silly idea actually suits the infectious band.

And it is infectious, and all good fun, but there is no “Oops!” as, unlike Britney, Amaranthe didn’t do it again because Massive Addictive seems to be missing something that its predecessors brought to the table. Maybe it’s the novelty wearing off, maybe it’s that the metalcore has been toned down and there are fewer “colours” as the songs settle into a repeating mid-paced head-nod tempo with regularity, maybe it’s that once you’ve told a story – no matter how great a story, and let’s face it they weren’t orating the Ilyad the first two times around – it becomes less fascinating with each repetition, but the most pressing “maybe” belongs to the fact that the songs aren’t quite as good this time around. There’s no instant classic, like ‘Automatic’ was on the self-titled debut, or the “If Aqua did Metal…” ‘Electroheart’ from The Nexus, though ‘Digital World’ does its best.

Still, all said and done there’s no one out there quite like Amaranthe. I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or not…

6.5/10

Amaranthe on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY

Dragonforce – Maximum Overload

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Steve Tovey

Let’s be honest here, you already know whether you’re willing or able to like a Dragonforce album or not. It is fine if you’re not, musical taste is subjective and blahblahblah, but you might as well save yourself (and everyone else) a lot of trouble and just pretend that Maximum Overload (earMUSIC) doesn’t exist, rather than explaining again how shit you think they are.

If you are one of the ten people reading this who actually likes them, chances are that you either think 2012’s The Power Within (Essential/Roadrunner) was a glorious return to form and a reclaiming of their song-writing and catchiness after two albums of pointless indulgence, or a generic Pop Metal album that saw the band leaving behind everything that made them special. If you’re in the latter camp, I’m afraid you might as well go and join the others – it seems that their seventy-three-riffs-a-second Guitar Hero days are firmly behind them.

Maximum Overload takes its cues from the chorus-heavy Pop Metal approach of The Power Within, but expands its musical vocabulary to give each song its own “flavour”. Some of these flavours can be quite superficial – ‘The Game’ has chunky riffing and growled backing vocals (courtesy of Matt Heafy from Trivium) and ‘Extraction Zone’ has Nintendo noises – but fun, though elsewhere they do succeed in taking their shimmering, high-adrenaline Pop Metal into different territories. ‘Three Hammers’ continues the epic diet Blind Guardian Fantasy Metal of ‘Cry Thunder’, ‘Symphony Of The Night’ adds operatic flourishes and anime-gothic romanticism and ‘The Sun Is Dead’ offers a surprisingly effective blend of sugary melancholy. A cover of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring Of Fire’ rounds it off, achieving the impressive feat of being the silliest thing they’ve ever recorded.

Maximum Overload is a catchy collection of high-energy Pop Metal songs with ambition, a sharp ear for melody and an absolute refusal to feel any shame. Fans who want them to return to the ten minute guitar solos and unstoppable riff-salad of Inhuman Rampage (Noise/Sanctuary) and Ultra Beatdown (Spinefarm) will be disappointed. While it perhaps outstays its’ welcome a little in the second half, it will put an enormous grin on your face if you’ll let it.

8.0/10.0

Dragonforce on Facebook

RICHIE H-R

Lacuna Coil – Broken Crown Halo

Posted on July 29, 2014 by News Team

There is an awfully thin line between dependability and predictability; a line that can drop you into the camp of much-loved or much-derided, dependent on where that line falls. Consider the latest album from Italian metal outfit Lacuna Coil. If I was a betting man (which I’m not, but humour me) I would lay a not inconsiderable sum of money that you already know what Broken Crown Halo (Century Media) sounds like already don’t you? And you would be right and I would be rich.

Broken Crown Halo is the latest album from the Coil and it is another perfectly serviceable slug of pop music masquerading as heavy metal. This is their seventh (yes, that is not a typo) album and will please their fan base no end, guarantee them a booking at several festivals across the summer where people will look at one another and go “I quite like Lacuna Coil” without really being able to put their fingers on exactly why.

It is self-evident that Lacuna Coil has a recipe that they like sticking to. Opening track ‘Nothing Stands In Our Way’ has one of those big riffs and big choruses which will appeal to those who like a bit of fist pumping in their heavy metal. Not that there is anything that is wrong with fist pumping heavy metal (far from it), but here it feels ever so predictable and, worse, contrived. You know when the chorus is going to hit, when the solo will come in, when the key change will take hold. It’s much the same elsewhere on the record; Korn should phone their lawyers for copyright infringement on ‘Die and Rise’ and you know already without even needing to listen to it that ‘I Burn In You’ is one of those broken-hearted, pained rock songs that Lacuna Coil can knock out at will.

If all of this sounds like I’m winding up to launching into a crescendo of bile and vitriol then you’d be mistaken because the record sounds fine. No, really, it sounds fine. The problem I have with Broken Crown Halo, like much of their other work, is that Lacuna Coil usually have plenty of industry but not enough artistry to move them out of the second division. We have heard this all before – and we’ve heard it all before from Lacuna Coil. Broken Crown Halo is another record from Lacuna Coil, but I’m not sure that the world really needs one irrespective of how reasonably nice this one sounds.

6.0/10.0

Lacuna Coil on Facebook

MAT DAVIES

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