365 Days of Metal: Rebecca Black Metal Friday vol. 12

This Friday, Rebecca gazes down at her shoes and explores the lighter, more serene side of black metal.

Day 116

Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme

Band Origin:  Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France
Genre: Black Metal / Shoegaze / Post-metal
Label: Prophecy Productions
Running Time: 50 minutes 
Release Date: January 6, 2012

Best Part: Probably some of the most elegant black metal inspired music there is out there.

Favorite Tracks: Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles, Faiseurs de Monde, Nous Sommes L'Emeraude, and Autre Temps

Grade: 4.5

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Les Voyages de l'Âme in way more than 20 words or less: 

Les Voyages de l'Âme is Neige's third full-length release under Alcest and continues to explore the fantasy world of his childhood experiences with sweeping, melodious soundscapes that exploit the black metal and post-rock to their finest potential.

The Band: 


Alcest is the solo project of musician Stéphane 'Neige' Paut formed originally in 2000 and was also at one point a three piece black metal band. Spawned from the childhood experiences of Neige and his contact with what he describes as the "Fairy Land", Alcest is the his own musical adaptation of those experiences, meant to transport the listener into the world built in his memories. Starting out as a purely black metal project, Alcest has grown to fit more into the shoegaze genre, with Neige implementing elements of post-rock/metal as well as black metal into his own unique creation.

Alcest's other releases include: Souvenirs d'un autre monde (2007), Écailles de Lune (2010) 

Jay's Take on Les Voyages de l'Âme: 

The entire ideal behind Alcest is to transport the listener into the mind, the childhood memories and experiences of Neige and his "Fairy Land". It's a journey filled with sweeping instrumental movements that cover ground between the slightly distorted guitar wailing of traditional black metal, and near-mesmerizing post-rock inspired swollen build-ups and drives. When listening to Alcest you have to be prepared to experience something that is not purely of one form or style. Les Voyages de l'Âme features moments of calm, soothing atmospheric tenderness as Neige explores the world of his childhood memories, narrated and sung in French - which is easily accessible for me, seeing as how it's my first language - but also transports you down more of a somewhat darker, harsher light in areas where the black metal influence of his music sets in. Les Voyages de l'Âme is not simply black metal, nor is it post-metal/rock, or shoegazing, or any other number of labels. It is a truly inspired piece of musical artistry that explores one of the brighter sides of musical creation - that being the ability to adapt ones inner most emotions, memories and thoughts into a form that can be shared and interpreted by others. It's hard to describe an optimal mood or setting to listen to Alcest, as the music itself is quite relaxing, soothing and elegant - something that is both a first time occurrence and most likely a rarity to be had on Black Metal Friday, but it is what it is.

Neige's earlier ventures should definitely not be ignored, as Les Voyages de l'Âme is easily the recording which strays furthest from the path of black metal in which Alcest began, but is a superb follow-up to 2010's Écailles de Lune.

Sample of the Day:



- J 

365 Days of Metal: The Carriers of the Plague

Day 115

Psycroptic - The Inherited Repression

Band Origin: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Genre: Technical Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Running Time: 41 minutes 
Release Date: February 10, 2012

Best Part: Their twist on the technical death metal genre that features also features a fusion of thrash, hardcore and

Favorite Tracks: From Scribe to Ashes, Deprivation, The Throne of Kings, Carriers of the Plague, and Euphorinasia 

Grade: 4.5

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The Inherited Repression in way more than 20 words or less: 

Psycroptic's fifth full-length release is also their first release in four years since signing with Nuclear Blast and features the Aussies returning to their old tricks, with some technical 

The Band: 

Psycroptic is a four piece technical death metal band from Australia that was formed in 1999 by drummer Dave Haley and his brother, guitarist Joe Haley, as well as bassist Cameron Grant, who remain members to this day, along with current vocalist Jason Peppiatt. The band plays a high speed, technically proficient style of technical death metal that is heavy on the blast beats and features interesting vocal work from Peppiatt who utilizes cleaner, harsh screams, rather than the death growls so often associated with the genre.

Psycroptic's other releases include: The Isle of Disenchantment (2001), The Scepter of the Ancients (2003), Symbols of Failure (2006), and Ob(Servant) (2008) 

Jay's Take on The Inherited Repression: 

Psycroptic is an interesting entrant in the technical death metal genre because of the way they layout the signature elements of the genre, along with a smattering of elements from other genres to create a sound that is their own. It's something that becomes more and more evident as you delve deeper into Psycroptic's most recent release The Inherited Repression, as what you're being exposed to is not your average technical death metal. The Haley brothers each display their own levels of technical proficiency and musicianship, in between Joe's guitar flourishes and riffs, and Dave's nigh-relentless blast beats and percussion work, with Grant filling in that heavy, encompassing rumble. There are echoes of thrash that leak into the musicianship at different moments, apparent in some of the riffs and which are only slightly broken up by the shifts in tempo and movements up and down the scale. It's the vocal elements that really differentiates Psycroptic from most other technical death metal bands as Peppiatt's vocals are primarily much cleaner, harsh screams and do not travel very low into the register, and extremely rarely into anything deeply resembling a death growl. It's vocal work you would more often expect to find on a metalcore album, rather than something of this style. Nonetheless, it's something refreshing as many technical death metal bands find themselves either traveling down the route of low death growls, guttural churns or raspier shrieks. The Inherited Repression features a good staggering of pace heavy technical feats, and more slowed down emphatic drives - and manages to keep you on your toes.

Sample of the Day:



- J

365 Days of Metal: You Win This Round Agent Orange

Day 114

Sodom - Agent Orange

Band Origin: Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Genre: Thrash
Label: Steamhammer Records
Running Time: 37 minutes 
Release Date: June 1, 1989

Best Part: Pure, vintage thrash metal speed and riffs through and through.

Favorite Tracks: Ausgebombt, Magic Dragon, Agent Orange, Baptism of Fire, and Don't Walk Away

Grade: 4.5

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Agent Orange in way more than 20 words or less: 

While Persecution Mania was the album that would define Sodom's sound, Agent Orange was the follow-up breakthrough success that would mark them as a dominant force in the thrash metal movement during its peak years, and explores Tom Angelripper's fascination with the Vietnam War.

The Band: 

Sodom is a thrash metal trio from Germany formed originally in 1981 and spent their first five years as a black metal band before making the switch to thrash metal in 1986 with the release of their highly influential and sound defining record Persecution Mania. Sodom is credited as being one of the big three of the Teutonic thrash metal movement along with Kreator and Destruction whom share many similar traits. Sodom has experienced notable lineup changes over the years, with vocalist and bassist Tom Angelripper being the sole original member of the group. Between 1990 and 1998 the band also went through a number of changes in direction, leaning more to a punk influenced style of crossover thrash, which alienated many fans, but would end up returning to their roots. Angelripper has announced a new album is in the works, to be released later in 2012.

Sodom's other releases include: Obsessed by Cruelty (1986), Persecution Mania (1987), Agent Orange (1989), Better Off Dead (1990), Tapping the Vein (1992), Get What You Deserve(1994), Masquerade in Blood (1995), 'Til Death Do Us Unite (1997), Code Red (1999), M-16 (2001), Sodom (2006), The Final Sign of Evil (2007), and In War and Pieces (2010)

Jay's Take on Agent Orange: 

When seeking to delve deep into the roots of thrash metal one must not look any further than the original thrash metal scenes of the 1980's and earl 90's, particularly the Bay Area thrash scene which spawned bands including Metallica, Death Angel and Exodus among others, the Teutonic thrash metal scene which spawned dozens of groups primarily in Germany, and the Brazilian thrash scene, which eventually merged the sounds of early 80's thrash and the rise of death metal, fronted by bands such as Sepultura. As huge as the Big Four have become in the world of thrash metal, the Three Kings of Teutonic thrash are just as important in the evolution of the genre. Agent Orange was the record that pushed Sodom into commercial success following their entry into the thrash metal genre, all but abandoning their early work in what was the first wave of black metal in the early 80's. Persecution Mania really is the record to point to when wanting to define what Sodom was about, and what the rest of the primarily German thrash metal movement was about. But Agent Orange is just as interesting an entry because of its superb musicianship in the thrash metal vein, but also because of Tom's fascination with the Vietnam War, which was a focus for a number of tracks, including the title track and Magic Dragon. It is also a gateway album as it was from this point onward where lineup changes and shifts in direction would slowly drag Sodom away from the sound they had built in the late 80's - and would not return to until the late 90's. Despite these future facts, Agent Orange remains the highest selling German thrash metal album in the world, and defined Sodom as one of the iconic thrash metal bands of their time.

Sample of the Day:



- J

365 Days of Metal: A Band of Horses

Day 113

Horse the Band - Desperate Living

Band Origin: Lake Forest, California, USA
Genre: Nintendocore / Metalcore
Label: Vagrant Records
Running Time: 50 minutes 
Release Date: October 6, 2009

Best Part: It's another trippy trek into Winneke's psyche and a display of musical evolution for the inventers of the 8-bit inspired genre.

Favorite Tracks: Big Business, Between the Trees, Shapeshift, Horse the Song, and Golden Mummy Golden Bird 

Grade: 4.0

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Desperate Living in way more than 20 words or less: 

Desperate Living is Horse the Bands' fifth-full-length release and continues to explore the fractured psyche of frontman Nathan Winneke, while moving away from the Nintendo laced craziness and embracing musical and thematic evolution.

The Band: 

Horse the band is a five piece metalcore band from Lake Forest known as the progenitors of Nintendocore, coining the term originally as a gag. The bands sound is a fusion of the heavy use of synth effects emulating the 8-bit sound of old school Nintendo titles and metalcore. While many of the bands early records feature track titles referencing videogame characters and feature music that may seem absolutely ridiculous, much of the bands lyrical content is based off the psyche, anecdotes and experiences of vocalist Nathan Winneke - many of which explore troubled times and dark themes.

Horse the Bands' other releases include: Secret Rhythm of the Universe (2001), R. Borlax (2003), The Mechanical Hand (2005), and A Natural Death (2007)

Jay's Take on Desperate Living: 

Horse the band has always been a band rooted in absolute insanity, from the fusion of metalcore with the synth driven 8-bit sound of old school video games, references to videogame characters, abstract song titles and dark lyrical imagery. However, they have always been a band in constant evolution, breaking slowly away from the Nintendo driven themes of early releases and moving towards more socially and culturally relevant themes - even though it may not seem that way on first listen. The music created by Horse the Band is heavily influenced by the lyricism created by Winneke, who's psyche is without a doubt the central figure in the themes and experiences covered in each album and along with the bands evolution and experiences in the music industry, all of these elements came together to create something new. Desperate Living is a record that takes a musical leap forward from their earlier releases, channeling much less of the Nintendocore sound that they helped create and also presenting a richer focus on orchestration, programming and synth driven elements such as bass. It's a departure from their earlier recordings which had a heavier focus more driven by the metalcore aspect of their musical fusion. In a way, some fans may see this as a bit of a drawback, but the diminished tones in particular open the way for the more complex orchestrations that the band has come to put together, which feed in directly to the new themes that they are conveying, whether it's the pursuit of integrity within the music industry, some of the more dark aspects of Winneke's psyche, or stark social commentary. There is a lot hidden within Desperate Living, as there is with the rest of Horse the Band's catalog, as Winneke as stated: "No song is ever what it seems....the more silly it may come off the more troubled it probably is under the surface."
Sample of the Day:



- J

365 Days of Metal: The Great Sparrow Campaign

Apologies for the lapse over the weekend - it was slightly crazy but I still live.

I've also almost finished migrating old content over to the new 365 Days of Metal blog over on Tumblr. So go and give it a gander, because soon everything new on this blog will be over there.


Day 112

Red Sparowes - Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun

Band Origin: Los Angeles, California, USA

Genre: Post-metal / Post-rock
Label: Sargent House
Running Time: 62 minutes 
Release Date: September 19, 2006

Best Part: Concept is very richly rooted in the track titles and the musical evolution between each track on the record.

Favorite Tracks: "Like the Howling Glory of the Darkest Winds, This Voice Was Thunderous and the Words Holy, Tangling Their Way Around Our Hearts and Clutching Our Innocent Awe.", "Millions Starved and We Became Skinnier and Skinnier, While Our Leaders Became Fatter and Fatter.", and "The Great Leap Forward Poured Down Upon Us One Day Like a Mighty Storm, Suddenly and Furiously Blinding Our Senses."

Grade: 5

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Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun in way more than 20 words or less: 

Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun is the second full-length release by the Los Angeles instrumental post super-group, and is a concept album centered around the Great sparrow campaign carried out in China between 1958 and 1962.

The Band: 

Red Sparowes is a five piece post-metal/rock band from Los Angeles which was created in 2003 as a side project by former Isis guitarist Bryant Clifford-Meyer and guitarist/bassist Jeff Caxide, Halifax Pier bassist and pedal steel guitarist Greg Burns, guitarist and pianist Josh Graham of Neurosis and drummer Dana Berkowitz. Red Sparowes was built around the soundscapes of featured in Caxide and Clifford-Meyer's work with Isis but also with influences from other members' primary projects, and outside post driven influences such as Pelican, Sonic Youth and The Cure. The band has featured a number of member changes, primarily with Caxide and Berkowitz being forced to leave the group when they relocated from LA. The band continues to create purely instrumental arrangements which walk the line between post-rock and post-metal.

Red Sparowes' other releases include: At the Soundless Dawn (2005), and The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer (2010) 

Jay's Take on Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun: 

Red Sparowes is a band that has been comprised of a rich field of talent in the post-metal/rock genre since its original founding as a side project in 2003. Of the three releases that the band has made to date, Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun is by far their most interesting as it is a concept album which delves into an important moment in history and is conveyed solely through the music and the titles of each track. The story is built around China's Great Leap Forward which was essentially Chairman Mao Zedong's social and economic plan to raise China into the next modern communist society. One of the first and major actions in this strategy was the Four Pests Campaign, also known as The Great Sparrow Campaign which targeted sparrows in particular because of their habit of eating grain seeds, which the campaign claimed as being a robbery of the peoples hard labor. The resulting extermination of sparrows, their nests and eggs would result in a major ecological upset that would effect the region for years as no sparrows remained to eat locusts and other insects which feasted on crops. The Campaign is credited as being an unnecessary catalyst in the famine which would ravage China during those same years, causing nearly 40 million deaths.

History lesson aside, Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun tells this story in gradual stages, as can be deciphered from the very long and specific track titles. Each track follows the tradition post-metal/rock format with somewhat slow building and pulsing drives, building up to a louder, more prominent and vibrant crescendo. With the average track time ranging from seven to 10 minutes long, the feeling of the evolution between the more subdued and shallow drives is more than exacerbated up to the point where the music shifts into a higher tempo, and more powerful swing - and even down shifting to once again build up to a second, more resounding high point. Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun is a necessary listen if you are a fan of anything post, and more importantly are a fan of instrumental music in general.

Sample of the Day: 

 

- J

365 Days of Metal: Rebecca Black Metal Friday vol. 11

A very special black metal Friday in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Darkthrone's first black metal release. 

Day 111 

Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky

Band Origin:  Kolbotn, Norway

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Peaceville
Running Time: 28 minutes 
Release Date: February 26, 1992

Best Part: The pure chill felt by the buzzing sonic force of the album's low production quality.

Favorite Tracks: In the Shadow of the Horns, Kathaarian Life Code, A Blaze in the Northern Sky, and The Pagan Winter

Grade: 4.5

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A Blaze in the Northern Sky in way more than 20 words or less: 

A Blaze in the Northern Sky was Darkthrone's second album and first in the black metal vein, having shifted from their death metal origin, and remains along with the rest of their 'Unholy Trinity' of albums, as an iconic album in black metal history.

The Band: 

Darkthrone was originally formed in 1988 as a death metal band to become one of the most influential and pioneering forces in the Norwegian black metal scene, just a few short years later. While the band was originally comprised of five members Darkthrone has consisted solely of Ted 'Nocturno Culto' Skjellum and Gylve 'Fenriz' Nagel since 1993. It was in 1991 that the band would shift their musical style from death metal to early black metal and would also begin to adopt the other elements associated with it, including corpse paint and their pseudonyms. With the help of fellow original guitarist Ivar 'Zephyrous' Enger and bassist Dag Nilsen, the band would record A Blaze in the Northern Sky, their first true black metal release in 1992. Nilsen departed the group and the trio of Nocturno Culto, Fenriz and Zephyrous would record a second album, 1993's Under a Funeral Moon, before Zephyrous would also leave the group. Nevertheless the duo would record and release Transilvanian Hunger in 1994. These three record would come to be known as the 'Unholy Trinity' and are regarded as a collective of some of the most influential early Norwegian black metal. Darkthrone would go on to record six more black metal records before changing their musical style once more in 2006 to a variant of crust punk, black metal and speed metal.

Darkthrone's other releases include: Soulside Journey (1991), Under a Funeral Moon (1993), Transilvanian Hunger (1994), Panzerfaust (1995), Total Death (1996), Ravishing Grimness (1999), Plaguewielder (2001), Hate Them (2003), Sardonic Wrath (2004), The Cult is Alive (2006), F.O.A.D. (2007), Dark Thrones and Black Flags (2008), and Circle the Wagons (2010) 

Jay's Take on A Blaze in the Northern Sky: 

When you take into consideration all of the artists involved in the founding years of the early Norwegian black metal scene, and the building blocks upon which the genre would come build itself upon, Darkthrone remain a name synonymous with many of the 'trends' and defacto elements of black metal, even to this day. They are one of the bands in early black metal to truly push the continued use of corpse paint within the genre, to focus on raw, low production quality on their records, and in between A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Transilvanian Hunger, truly pushed the satanic and misanthropic aspects behind the early black metal scene. A Blaze in the Northern Sky was not a perfect album, Fenriz has stated over the years that the album was ultimately rushed, and that elements of death metal are still present in the album, primarily in riffs which were played more to suit the new black metal style. Its rather its imperfections that make it out to be such an important piece of black metal history. Despite the low production quality of the recording, the instrumentation is still put together in way that makes it so that every base, every frequency of sound is still covered. The sonic force of Nocturno Culto and Zephyrous' guitars are obviously the driving force on the record, but the drum work is still very audible, clear and manages to sound big even amongst the wailing sonic crush of the guitars. The guitar work itself is what infuses so much of the ambiance into this and future Darkthrone records. The riffs buzz aloud, making the overall sound feel bleak and almost soul-chillingly cold. There is a necessary sense of repetition, something which is akin to Darkthrone in general, but there is still a balance of different riffs coursing throughout each track, as evidence on the 10 minute opening track Kathaarian Life Code. The vocal work is where the bleak darkness of the music comes together with the true evilness of the the record. The opening minute of the album begins with a nebulous series of satanic chants, opening into a vile, bile-etched scream, where Fenriz slowly begins to belt out the haunting, shrieking lyrics which are simply sinister and nihilistic. No, A Blaze in the Northern Sky may not have been perfect, but it set the tone for their future releases, including Transilvanian Hunger which would be regarded as their most influential album, and the point where Nocturno Culto and Fenriz would remain as a duo until this day.

Sample of the Day: 



- J

365 Days of Metal: The Sword is Mightier Than the Pen

Day 110

The Sword - Age of Winters

Band Origin: Austin, Texas, USA
Genre: Stoner Metal / Doom / Heavy Metal
Label: Kemado
Running Time: 48 minutes 
Release Date: February 14, 2006

Best Part: The fine balance of heavy power and speed, and purely instrumentally driven sections such as on The March of Lor.

Favorite Tracks: Winters Wolves, Freya, March of the Lor

Grade: 4.5

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Age of Winters in way more than 20 words or less: 

The debut album by The Sword is a record that demands to be listened to by anyone who considers themselves fans of vintage feeling doom and stoner metal and enjoys monstrously sludgy riffs of the fast and down-trodden varieties.

The Band: 

The Sword is four piece heavy metal band from Austin, Texas who's music has become a name synonymous with the retro style of early heavy metal and doom seen in bands like Black Sabbath. The Sword's debut album and second release were centered around both slow, heavy, sludgy riffs and fast, thrash inspired elements in order to create some of truly raw sounding, vintage feeling metal that appeals to a wide audience of metal fans. Their most recent release, Warp Riders saw a change in direction with the creation of a concept album built on a foundation of hard rock, or stoner rock, while still injecting elements central to their past success, and without at all letting go of their raw, vintage feeling sound.

The Swords other releases include: Gods of the Earth (2008), and Warp Riders (2010)

Jay's Take on Age of Winters: 

If you've never taken the time to sit down and listen to Age of Winters, do yourself a favor and do it. Not just because I'm writing about it right now. Not because it's their first album and should therefore be the starting point of your Sword listening. Just because it speaks for itself - and because it's fucking awesome. Whether you're a fan of the direction The Sword have gone in since the release of Warp Riders or not, chances are you were a fan of their music on Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth. From the opening moments on Age of Winters vocalist/guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie and former drummer Trivett Wingo blanket you with raw, heavy instrumentation that gives off echoes of that vintage early heavy metal vibe and then dips it into the slow, grimy power of stoner metal and sludge metal, and throws in some fast, thrashy influence for good measure. What you get is a fine balance of power, heaviness and speed that just gives you the wanton desire to headbang and tell your nearest disliked individual to promptly go fuck themselves. Cronise's use of stripped down, clean chanted vocals are another element that have earned The Sword comparisons in sound to bands such as Sabbath, who the band has cited as a major influence, along with bands such as the Melvins, which is no surprise with their down-trodden sludge inspired riffs. Cronise is responsible for much of the musical composition in the group, and was the primary source of material when the band recorded Age of Winters, taking much of his lyrical inspiration from literature and Norse mythology.

Sample of the Day: 

Today, a little instrumental track in March of the Lor and perennial favorite Freya.

 



- J