Those who stumble across the hallowed pages of Ghost Cult with any degree of regularity, or have had the misfortune to know me and feel obliged to read my writings on any recurring basis, will know that I am not a fan of writers breaking the fourth wall. However, honesty is such a core tenet of Marillion that I feel that starting this review off with full disclosure is not only the best option, but probably the only one.
It’s been twelve years since composer Arjen Lucassen released 2010’s Victims Of The Modern Age under the Star One banner, which in itself was eight years removed from 2002’s Space Metal. Fortunately, the project’s vision remains intact despite its sporadic output with all the tropes that fans have come to expect out in full force on Revel In Time (InsideOut Music). There’s plenty of cheesy Prog goodness to go around informed by Power Metal tempos, crunchy guitars, bombastic keyboards, and a slew of vocalists delivering pop culture Sci-Fi lyrics in over-the-top fashion.
If a change is as good as a rest, is a rest as good as a change? It has been over five years since the undistinguished Afraid of Heights (Warner Music) and over two years since the first single from this album, ‘Forgiveness I + II’. While delays could be justifiable and chalked up to the pandemic, the question is, on their sixth album and first for Spinefarm, are Canadian punk troupe Billy Talent facing their own Crisis of Faith and confidence?
Iceland is not the first location you think of when considering the legacy of traditional or melodic metal, and would probably not be amongst the first (hundred) places you would go if you were searching for the next great Heavy Metal band. Indeed, brooding, expansive post-Rock; emotive, atmospheric Black Metal; twisted traditional folk are all styles that you’d more instantly connect with the volcanic, expansive, open landscapes of the western-most point of Scandinavia. So, I think it is fair to say that you would have got fairly long odds on the first release for the metal industry-shaking new label giants Atomic Fire being the debut album of a brand new Power Metal band from Iceland.
Not content to just let the sludgy boi/spooky girl pairings have all the fun with multi-artist collaborations in Doom, A Story Of Darkness And Light (Stickman Records)features the coming together of Elder and Kadavar as Eldovar (I don’t know where that ‘o’ comes from either). The two groups certainly make for interesting bedfellows; while both are arguably rooted in Seventies Rock traditions, Elder has evolved to Heavy Prog splendor while Kadavar largely subsists on off-the-cuff Stoner Blues. However, their shared interest in various genre experiments as well as established track records of high quality material gives plenty of fertile ground for such a union.
The talent is evident and the production quality ever-present.
There are shining moments with songs that develop character and identity.
But the abundance of what comes off as shredding for the sake of it, and apparent filler shoe-horned in, tamps down the overall significance of Obscura’s A Valediction (Nuclear Blast).
Progressive Metal greats Coheed and Cambria have shared a new single and lyric video entitled “Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)” following their recent single “Shoulders.” Available today on all streaming platforms, the song finds Coheed and Cambria going back to their progressive roots. Check it out!
Colorado’s The Flight of Sleipnir has maintained a consistent but eclectic sound for nearly fifteen years, mixing Doom and Atmospheric Black Metal with elements of Folk and Prog Rock in a way that should sit well with fans of Agalloch. Their seventh album mostly adheres to this genre blend and boasts the fuller production that was last seen on 2017’s Skadi. However, Eventide (Eisenwald) manages to tweak the formula as those Blackened elements seem to be upfront than before.
