Ensiferum: From Afar

Year released: 2009
Official website: www.ensiferum.com
Label: Spinefarm Records

Tracks:

1. By the Dividing Stream [3:50]

2. From Afar [4:51]

3. Twilight Tavern [5:38]

4. Heathen Throne [11:09]

5. Elusive Reaches [3:26]

6. Stone Cold Metal [7:25]

7. Smoking Ruins [6:40]

8. Tumman Virran Taa [0:52]

9. The Longest Journey (Heathen Throne Part II) [12:49]

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Y'know, these Nordic languages really have some flair to them. Ensiferum sounds wayy cooler than "Sword-bearer" doesn't it? I bet they've got a much cooler name for "metal music reviewer" too. I really must go find out. But I digress. From afar, one could pretty much already see the awesomeness of this Finnish folk metal band (ok bad pun) and this latest album of theirs definitely shows that they are back on track again as a cohesive and creative group after former frontman Jari Mäenpää had left them to form Wintersun. Petri Lindroos reprises his role as Jari's replacement for a second album while From Afar marks a milestone for keyboardist Emmi Silvennoinen as she had only officially joined Ensiferum as a full member during the recording of this album.

Despite an ever-changing line-up during the course of their not-that-freaking-long history, Ensiferum's quality has mysteriously never quite wavered, and this album is no exception. A very delicate balance of epic-ness and catchy melodies sums up the core of this work and its very pleasant to listen to. There is heavy use of keyboards, which might not be to the liking of some people, but if you've been reading zetalambmary long enough, you'd know I have a thing for 'boards and the only lady of the group plays her part very well. Fast songs like "Twilight Tavern" and slower ones like "Smoking Ruins" are equally enjoyable as far as I'm concerned. I've never been fully appreciative of long-ish songs but "Heathen Throne" was actually quite excellent for its changing tempos and its atmospheric effect. The heroic viking feeling in me was quite amusing after the song ended but I cherish the fact that I wasn't bored at any point during the song, which is rare for such of its length. "The Longest Journey", on the other hand, was much less interesting, particularly for its dreary 4-minute plus end of soft instrumental playing, which made for a rather disappointing end to the whole album I think.

The quirky "Stone Cold Metal" is probably the song that sticks out a bit but I personally liked it if not for the sheer amount of stuff it contained, from whistles to epic sounding monologues and is that a banjo I hear playing? Overall, I feel the awesome thing about From Afar is that so many instruments were involved and most of them managed to shine, so bass wasn't very prominent (sorry Sami Hinkka..) but that's what makes the album so melodic.

From left to right: Markus Toivonen (guitar, backing vocals), Janne Parviainen (drums), Emmi Silvennoinen (keyboards, backing vocals), Sami Hinkka (bass, backing vocals) and Petri Lindroos (guitar, harsh vocals)

Overall, this is quite a strong effort from Ensiferum and the music is simply astounding. And that's the good thing about harsh vocals, you can't really make out what the dude is singing the first time round without reading the lyrics. So if you're feeling kinda weirded out by the whole folk influence, all about magic and war and what not, then hey, don't read the lyrics. I personally didn't really put too much concentration into what was being sung, I just like the fact that Pete's growls sound stronger than most of the times I've heard him in Norther.

In fact, here's 2 videos. The Lord of The Rings setting one (which I really think needs some work on. This sorta thing looks really crappy without that magic epic touch to it) and one taken with live footage from one of their performances.

Verdict: 9/10

Song of the Week: Mandragora Scream - Dark Lantern

"Aaaarrgghhh!!"

Well that's one evil scream to start the song off. If the starting moments of 'Dark Lantern' doesn't strike you as gothic, then you don't know what gothic metal is. As part of the Italian band Mandragora Scream's 2006 album, Madhouse, 'Dark Lantern' is quite an interesting track. Founded by Morgan Lacroix (a cool name if I ever saw one) and Terry Horn in 1997, Mandragora Scream regularly craft their music into concept albums that features rather prominent gothic elements to their music, more so than its metal elements that they can sometimes be classified under the genre of gothic rock. 'Dark Lantern', as it is, has a rather sinister beginning with its ethereal wails and synthesized growls but is otherwise almost exclusively sung in clean vocals and is quite mild really. Nothing really taxing for the ears.

In terms of its musicianship, 'Dark Lantern' is really quite simple. The 'boards repeat the same creepy tune over and over again, the guitars has very little to do 'cept for that bit near the end which I don't think can be even counted as a solo and the bass is chugging away on atmospheric duty. But simplicity is its strength- the song is not difficult to follow and the main melody of the song doesn't scatter into different layers at all. What deserves special mention though, is Morgan Lacroix's rather unique singing. Her voice can be rather deep and raspy for a female and if it weren't for the music video you'd be wondering about the gender of the vocalist. Her Italian accent (I think, or it could just be her own special way of pronunciation) also somehow accentuates the atmosphere of the song in a way that I can't explain. If any linguistic semiotics professor would like to leave a comment below, that'll be great, thanks a lot. Otherwise, I guess you just have to listen to get what I mean. Conversely, the harsh vocals done by (I think) the guitarist Terry Horn is surprisingly high pitched and should be considered as screams rather than growls. Still, that downplays the aggression and brings out more horror, which fits the theme.

Lyrically though, 'Dark Lantern' is barely coherent to me. I can't make head or tail about what the song is trying to say but I reckon the spinal cord is there. There's just a lot of lines that combines words that I'm pretty sure are never grouped together conventionally, which is bound to sprout some question marks at the top of your head, like "darklin' in light" for instance. What the heck is that?

All in all, 'Dark Lantern' is a rather nice song, and deviating from all mainstream genres, including metal. Its currently their most-played song on Mandragora Scream's myspace page. Mandragora Scream's latest album, Volturna, has just been released a coupla weeks ago, featuring a different line-up apart from Lacroix and Horn. I haven't gotten round to listening to it yet but if 'Dark Lantern' intrigues you enough, go ahead and pick up Volturna to give it a spin and tell me how you like it.

Below is the music video of 'Dark Lantern'. Check out the funky microphone~

Song Of The Week: Destrophy - The Way Of Your World

It's all been done before and
No one can listen to anyone's answers
They're drifting farther everyday
And they say

“We hold our hands to block the sun
We blame the light for what we’ve done
We look away so We’ll forget what We’ve become”


First take what you want
Then you throw it away
- This is the way of their world
Don't know what you've got
Until it's taken away
- This is the way of your world

When the night falls you know who you are
And you cast reflections as the mirror gathers rust
“It’s so safe and lonely with you”
Lovers ripping in two
Grind away ‘till nothing’s left
There’s nothing left inside

First take what you want
Then you throw it away
- This is the way of their world
Don't know what you've got
Until it's taken away
- This is the way of your world
Your lives will fade before their time
And you’ll never say goodbye

The end of all the things you know
And all of what you can be
It’s fading fast before you

What we want, we are.

Ah, another solid metal band to add to Victory Record's roster of diverse musicians. Formed in 2002, this Iowa "melodic metal" band is certainly radio-friendly.

As they themselves have said it during an interview in VictorV Episode 51, they are basically a band that plays heavy stuff yet throw in poppish-sounding choruses that are easy to get hooked on as well. Well, not like most metal fans would be complaining anyway (me included). If you were to ask me to choose between, say, Dead By April and them, I would definitely choose them. I mean, sure, they both have poppish-sounding choruses, but Dead By April's poppish choruses just sound a little too whiny for my own liking. Destrophy's style of poppish-sounding choruses on the other hand, are just right, and in fact, they remind me of those old metal bands whom utilize group vocals frequently throughout the entire length of their songs.

Heh, I wonder if they did it on purpose to get some airtime on radio, 'cos that was definitely a tried-and-true tactic for popular metal bands of the past.

Destrophy is certainly a blast of fresh air to any metalhead who follows Victory's metal roster, because they are probably the only damn band in there who utilizes such catchy clean vocals. I am definitely one of them, they are a good break from deathcore and melo-death bands. Did I mention that Ari, their frontman (picture on top) is also one of those rare guitarists who can actually play half-naked during live shows? Yeah, look at his buff physique (*whistle*), that is the very good reason he has that many other of his peers lack to do so during live shows :P. So not only do Destrophy have a radio-friendly sound, they certainly have eye candy in the form of a frontman with the body of a Greek hero too. Man oh man, Petri Lindroos must feel so envious! Oh yeah, I personally thinks he resembles Hugh Jackman too.

Heavy Candy: From left to right - Phil. T (Bass Guitar), Ari (Vocals/Guitar), Bruce Swink (Guitar), Joe Fox (Drums)

All in all, Destrophy would be another good band to check out for this year. I especially recommend them for fans of alternative rock, or nu-metal. Fans of Five Finger Death Punch, Linkin Park, Korn, Papa Roach and the likes should like Destrophy's music. They are currently on tour with Type O Negative and Otep, and this is not related to this week's post, but check out Destrophy's fellow label mate, Otep, too. She's hot for a goth-makeup sporting, and heavily tattooed industrial metal musician. B-D

Alright, here is the awkward and time-wasting moment at the end of each "Song Of The Week" post when I try to come up with as many words as possible just to fill up the empty spaces left before this paragraph extends below that last picture used (in this case, the one on the right of Bruce Swink). Awesome, I just went below him, time to end if off here.

Song of the Week: Avantasia - Lost in Space

The saga of pop sounding metal continues at zetalambmary! This time with what is positively the lynch pin of Avantasia's latter day career, "Lost in Space". Why is that? Well this catchy melodic song first made its appearance in a single entitled (you guessed it) Lost in Space in 2007 and went on to feature in 2 EPs (Lost in Space (Part 1) and Lost in Space (Part 2)), one compilation album (Lost in Space (Part 1 and 2) yes the creativity with album titles are not lost on us) and just for good measure, was included as the last song in Avantasia's most recent album, The Scarecrow. About half a dozen different versions of it exist, but they don't deviate from each other a great deal, which makes it either a really good song, or Avantasia is simply milking it for as much as it can fetch in aesthetic value.

As a side project of Edguy's frontman Tobias Sammet, this symphonic power metal band was founded in the turn of the new millenium and has since released 3 studio albums, with Toby as the consistent vocalist while numerous guest musicians lend their hand in this endeavour to create "a world beyond human imagination". This is aptly reflected in "Lost in Space", with its lyrics attempting to place a setting for introspection in a out-of-this-world context. And I dunno, there's something about the debonair charm of Toby that allows the suave German to pull it off. Musically though, it resides very comfortably within the pop zone that ensures a guarantee that even if one isn't hooked on the song, they're not likely to dislike it. After all, what's there to dislike? There's a handsome young guy with an interesting voice (am I sounding way too jealous here? XD) singing a totally catchy chorus that at least has more depth in content than most gormless pop songs out there. It exhibits a sense of romance and wanderlust. How many metal songs out there can accomplish that?

Ah but therein lies a cause for repulsion- "Lost in Space" hardly constitutes as rock, to say nothing of metal. There are generic female vocals at the back, largely simple tunes are coming from all instruments that serve as ambiance at best and without Toby's voice driving this song, it could very well serve as a backdrop for taichi or meditation. In any case, "Lost in Space" is not particularly original or amazing, it just sounds.. so difficult to dislike. Just that as a matter of principle, metal fans would utterly resent the fact that Avantasia seems to be selling out to a larger audience and neglecting the core metal community that it first based its very existence on. But I'd say give the guy a break, its his side project, he's doing his time with Edguy. This isn't bad anyway if you're willing to let your prejudices go. I'd pick this over Backstreet Boys any day.

Official MV for "Lost in Space". Watch it, and get a feel of Avantasia's world.

Dead by April: Dead by April

Year released: 2009
Official website: http://www.deadbyapril.com/
Label: Universal Records

Tracks:

1. Trapped [3:08]

2. Angels of Clarity [3:41]

3. Losing You [3:57]

4. What Can I Say [3:08]

5. Erased [3:26]

6. Promise Me [3:34]

7. Falling Behind [3:26]

8. Sorry For Everything [4:44]

9. In My Arms [3:25]

10. Stronger [4:00]

11. Carry Me [3:48]

12. A Promise [3:37]

12. I Made It [3:49]
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Ah haven't been doing this for a while. A spate of bad karma tsunami-ed its way into my life these coupla months and pushed me down a path of desolation. This in turn brought my musical tastes to more mainstream areas of teenage emo-ness and angst. Life isn't exactly looking all that way up just yet but its definitely feeling good to be back in the business of talking metal. Still, with the influences of the recent past still fresh, we're looking at some angst-filled, pop sounding metal today.

Since the release of their first single, Losing You, this Swedish outfit have garnered enough popularity to release their self-titled debut album in May this year. Not a great deal of it is original, with 11 of the tracks being demo songs that were remastered, but they do sound more clean and professional now. But from one song to one album, I still stand by what I said earlier: they sure don't sound much like a metal band. Nor look like one, for that matter. The radio-friendly sound of their mixed post-hardcore/melodic death metal/pop style isn't quite as unique as the rising-to-fame quintet would make it out to be, but that doesn't mean they do it badly.

Lets face it though, metal critics would probably put this album down because it simply doesn't have much to offer in terms of technicality and complexity. Y'all are a freaking metal band after all, not some country singers armed with a single acoustic guitar. The guitar riffs are pretty simple, and the 'boards sound like they could be played with only one hand. And while the bass could be heavier and the drums are actually not bad, the whole thing just lacks energy and power. But if you're not specifically looking out for metal songs, they're pretty ok. Like country singers, they carry forth a kinda simple beauty in their music, which is really more accessible to the masses than say, deathcore. The popularity factor is further enhanced by the fact that despite lead guitarist Johan supporting Jimmie's growls and screams, the harsh vocals seem pretty tame and downplayed while the pleasant (albeit unconventionally high-pitched) clean singing gets a lot of the spotlight, with some songs like the opening track "Trapped" and "Sorry For Everything" featuring exclusively clean vocals. Perfect formula for pop chart-hitters I'd say.

Some of the half-heavy songs are really pretty cool, like "Erased" or "A Promise", and might be useful in trying to introduce new listeners to heavier metal works. I felt that the remastered version of "Losing You" really lost me though, which is a pity because the earlier version featured in the single had more raw energy that really contributed better to this song's atmosphere. As a whole though, there are certain serious limitations to the album. The lyrical theme plays up well to my sad ol' woe-is-me self but from an objective point of view, pure emotional angst is shallow and hardly introspective. Nobody's setting Kamelot-style philosophical musings as a benchmark but there really can be more intelligent stuff than normal teenage ails. More critically, there seems to be a need for Dead by April to do some study in poetry or something to learn about diction, rhythm and rhyming structures to their songwriting. The singing can sound awkward at times because the rhythm is erratic between differing number of words in each line and the fact that some of the lines don't even remotely rhyme makes for some rather weird results that can completely destroy even the most compelling vocal hooks. If the songs had better flow, the smooth singing could really carry off better.

Its October already, y'all ain't Dead by April!

Left to right, Pontus (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Marcus (bass), Jimmie (vocals), Alex (drums), Johan (lead guitar, backing vocals)

Ultimately, catchy and sheer pop-sounding melodies are what power this album's music and opinions of its style will surely revolve around the listener's take on Dead by April's concept of metal "that refuses to be locked in to standards and preconceptions". Make no mistake, it sounds agreeable. And with some work in songwriting, it can get even better. The bottomline is that they look punk, they sound a bit punkish and if you're ok with that for a metal band, then there's not much stopping you from liking this album.

Below is Dead by April's second music video for "Angles of Clarity". Their first one is "Losing You", which you can read about and watch here.

Verdict: 7/10

Genre Seeker: Deathcore - The Art of Harsh Vocals

Yes m'dears.

Those disturbing, ear-piercing, monstrous screams... together with the incoherent shaping of words, and bullet-like guitar riffing are signs that you have just listened to deathcore.

Quite literally obvious, deathcore is a sub-genre that fuses the styles of death metal and metalcore together. If you are someone who don't particularly like metal, let alone death metal or metalcore, please do not ever try deathcore, your ears might get traumatized. Now, while death metal as a genre presented morbid or dark lyrical themes, standard harsh vocals, and rather complex instrumentals, metalcore on the other hand was a resultant sub-genre which incorporated hardcore elements into the death metal style. Basically, metalcore was, well, more hardcore in every aspect of the death metal style. Harsh vocals were given more room to expand with metalcore vocalists experimenting with different forms of growling or screaming, and there was also the occasional moment of clean singing thrown in as well. Instrumentals went up a notch in terms of complexity, but sometimes just end up sounding plain thrashy though. As for lyrical themes, they can range from esoteric topics like philosophy to good ol' love.

So... deathcore was in its essence, a spin-off of a spin-off. This can be summed up quite simply by the equation below.

Death Metal + Metalcore = Death Metal + (Death Metal + Hardcore) = Deathcore

What you get out of deathcore however, is quite vastly different from its roots. Instrumentals no longer have any discernible rhythmic pattern (or at least not so obvious until after many listens), the harsh vocal range and experimentation is so much greater, and the lyrical themes mostly don't even make sense let alone their lyrics, meaning they can be just about any topic in life you can think of. If you are someone who has been exposed to some deathcore, and is currently going "What? How can all this crazy screaming and growling be music?! It's noise!"

Well, I would beg to differ. Under the unspoken laws of avant-garde music, deathcore can be (in my personal opinion) alternatively known as the art of harsh vocals. You see, it IS the crazy screaming and growling here that is the main focus of this avant-garde music genre. The guitars and drums are kinda secondary here, since the vocalists of deathcore bands are actually taking on the hardest role. If they don't do their growling-screaming thingamajig properly, they can end up with very frequent throat inflammations (or even throat cancer when they are old). I think they use their diaphragm the most when doing their standard growls, not their larynges. Anyway, it might be an interesting thing to note that the different types of harsh vocals presented in deathcore can be somewhat amusing and intriguing to listen to at the same time. In fact, I would dare say they are the only thing of interest to look out for in most deathcore bands.

There are quite a few different types of harsh vocals employed by current deathcore bands, namely...

The Shriek


The Low Growl


The High Scream (0:29 - 0:31)


The Pig Squeal (0:47 - 0:59 and any other similar parts in the song)


The Shriek-Growl (this is darned hard to do O.O)


Clean Vocals (they can be surprisingly quite good, differs from band to band though)


The Scream-Growl (rather common type apart from the Low Growl)


Alright, your eardrums must be ringing now. That about sums up the various types of harsh vocals in deathcore so far, and if you think this is extreme enough, there are sub-genres closely related to deathcore, that are even more extreme. Grindcore, noisecore, anyone?

Yes, deathcore may be the ugliest sub-genre of metal yet, but well, metal was all about being ugly in the first place (with the exception of symphonic, power, and some progressive metal). It is not really accepted as "music" by bands from other less extreme genres, most notably the frontman of Bayside, but hey, these guys are fronting an avant-garde genre that they have great passion for, and doesn't that put them on the same stage as the guys from the other genres? Even Black Sabbath's original heavy metal style was not widely accepted at first, but as time went by, look what became of the metal behemoth.

Deathcore is certainly not for the weak-hearted, hearing-impaired, pop-loving average Joe, but if you feel like the mainstream's not offering you enough, try delving into deathcore, you just might like it. There must be a reason why Bring Me The Horizon has shot to fame within a short span of 3 years you know.

Song Of The Week: Between The Buried And Me - Obfuscation

From the simple idea of Change Blindness, our minds are not as they seem.
An entire existence revolving around what we can't acknowledge.
A brain function we'll never admit as defeat....
a constant determination to find truths...to find reason...to find comfort.
An unspoken religion in being the ALL-DOMINANT...This is what we call a brain.

This step will allow the universe to run it's course.
We have a short ticket and a lot of it is in hiding...so lets take in what we can for now.
Just like here on Earth(a notion we do comprehend)
Hide what "others" can't understand. The universe is the biggest threat...
overachiever that commands attention. Brute force of hysterical reasonings...
There will always be a Marfa.

Close one eye. Step to the side.

As humans we could never be content with knowing all, yet we can't be content with the fact that our brains will never know.
A mental surgery...
a never ending journey...a technological drawback.
Pushing us further from our natural minds.
Even things created by other humans should be considered in the experiment of an entire species understanding.

A magicians pure joy...
A mind bend for the common folk...
Follow the straight line...(A full house watching what we can't see)
The ultimate deceiver...

Close one eye. Step to the side.

We will always be part of the great misdirect...stepping in and stepping out.
We will always be part of the great misdirect...Mirrors and Obfuscation.


Yes everybody, every Victory fanboy's favourite progressive metal band is set to rock your socks off you yet again with their forthcoming 5th album, the Great Misdirect out on October 27th.

Between The Buried And Me had originally started off as a crazy metalcore band, and they gradually progressed towards speed metal and then progressive metal. Amazing style changes huh, just like what Amorphis had undergone in the past. Anyway, if you have not heard of BTBAM, you really have not heard of progressive metal at all. The style of progressive metal favoured by senior progressive metal bands Dream Theater and Opeth are ever draaaaaaawling and nice to nod off too, they are no longer progressive metal in my opinion, because they do not seem to have progressed much at all.

Between The Buried And Me are y'all!: From left to right - Dustie Waring (Guitar), Tommy Rogers (Vocals), Blake Richardson (Drums/Percussion), Dan Briggs (Bass Guitar), Paul Waggoner (Guitar)

BTBAM on the other hand, has (from the sound of that new track above) definitely progressed from their last epic, Colors. The starting was reminiscent of the opening guitar riffs from Mastodon's "Capillarian Crest", the drum beats have gotten more complex, the bass was as thundering as usual, and the vocals was just good ol' BTBAM. Oh yeah, the length is definitely progressive metal (9 minutes and 15 seconds). As usual, they have that good blend of harsh and soft moments, in which during the latter, Tommy takes a break from growling and Paul, Dustie, and Dan just shred away on those seemingly indestructible strings on their guitars. The guitar melodies have definitely improved, with appropriate moments when they go hiiiiiiiiiigh up (like towards the end of Pantera's "Cemetary Gates"), and Killswitch Engage-ish moments when their vibrato just shake you up from the inside.

Good utilization of a blend of clean and harsh vocals in unison also certainly added a new unique musical device to BTBAM's musical arsenal, and the guitar solos, although long and mellow like Opeth's, do not make you want to doze off as quickly as they started.

Hell yeah, it would be a pity if you did not give this amazing song a listen!


The Great Misdirect will be out on October 27th, 2009.