Forged in Black - Descent of the Serpent (2019)

Country: UK
Style: Heavy Metal
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 5 Mar 2019
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OK, this sounded good from moment one. The musicians are clearly capable. The production is crystal clear. Maybe that's an overly repetitive chorus, but hey. Then they pause halfway for a soft moment of Mediterranean guitar and kick back into gear so frickin' perfectly that I grinned like an idiot. This band are amazingly tight!

Forged in Black are from my neck of the woods, though I grew up a long way away and now live even further away. A lot of major musicians have come out of Essex, but I'm not aware of any of note from Southend-in-Sea. These five clearly wouldn't mind being the first because their energy is palpable and their ambition sounds pretty close behind it.

They're a decent heavy metal outfit, with songs like Shadowcasters being a little cheesy but well constructed and well performed, and songs like One Last Sign finding a fantastic groove. They've found a good balance between technical precision and rawness, the instrumentation falling very much on the former but the vocals, especially the backing vocals, being much more the latter.

The biggest problem I have with this album is I don't really don't see them as a heavy metal band. I think they'd be a frickin' incredible thrash metal band and I found myself aching for them to speed up more often. Every time they do, they're truly glorious and I don't ever want them to even think of slowing down again, but they keep on doing just that. So, given that they don't seem to agree with me about their strongest aspect and are happy to remain at a mid-pace for most of this album, I have to review it from their perspective.

And, frankly, it's still damn good, especially when vocalist Chris 'Stoz' Storozynski lets his bandmates run. In many instrumental sections, like the opening to the title track, I could have sworn I was listening to classic era Metallica songs that I'd somehow never heard before. They're that tight and the production is that good. It has to be said that Stoz's vocals are more reminiscent of Diamond Head than their more famous American disciples and that's no bad thing. At points, he digs deeper for a clean doom sound, echoing Messiah Marcolin, and, at others, he reaches higher for a Rob Halford pitch and that's no bad thing either. He has an impressive range!

The other sound I caught here was folk music, which is odd. But, while the lyrics of When Hell is Done sound like something out of Manowar or a Viking metal band, it starts out like a folk song not a power metal song. There are exotic little touches here and there too. I caught middle Eastern melodies in Seek No Evil and to finish up One in the Chamber, while the end section of One Last Sign is almost Caribbean.

In fact, there are all sorts of little touches here that deepen the album. Some of them come out of moments given to individual musicians, especially the two guitarists, Andy Songhurst and Chris Bone, to shine. I do like the moments where one of them is noodling quietly while the other is crunching hard and Stoz's voice is soaring over them both. Other touches come out of texture, like on Palm of Silver, which starts with neatly creepy laughter and Hallowe'en organ and guitar, before turning into a heady mixture of Toranaga and Candlemass.

This is Forged in Black's second album, coming six years after their self-titled debut. Previously they were Merciless Fail, whose one EP was titled Forged in Black, hence the change. It's a better name, just aesthetically, but it also hints at who they are and what they do. There's heavy metal at the core of this band, but power and thrash elements too, even doom metal too. That name works for all four styles.

And this album works, period. They may not want to be the Forged in Black I'm wanting to hear but they're a damn good Forged in Black anyway.

Children of Bodom - Hexed (2019)

Country: Finland
Style: Melodic Death Metal
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 8 Mar 2019
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This is album ten for Finland's Children of Bodom, four years after 2015's I Love Chaos. That's the longest gap between any two of their albums and they must have been chafing at the bit because they race right out of the gate as it begins with This Road.

I liked this opener, the second single off the album after the next track, Under Grass and Clover. Both have a bouncy feel, courtesy of Janne Wirman's keyboards and Alexi Laiho's lead guitar, and that keeps going for much of the album. This is the most cheerful melodic death metal album that I've heard in quite some time. There are points where it's almost perky but it's never without that underlying crunch.

As the album ran on, I remembered why I've never been a big fan of Children of Bodom and that's the vocals of Alexi Laiho. He has a rather unique voice, which falls partway between the standard death metal growl and the standard black metal shriek. It's apparently an acquired taste, because many do love it, but I've never acquired that taste and this doesn't help. In fact, I'd much prefer it if the voice that sings the chorus on Platitudes and Barren Words took the lead and ran with it throughout. I have no idea who that is, however. It might be Laiho, for all I know, putting on a different voice. If it is, let's stay with it!

While I enjoyed the album from the outset, except for Laiho's grating vocal approach, it didn't wow me until Kick in a Spleen, five tracks in. The first four tracks are very much of the same mindset, with odd little touches that distinguish them, but this one ramps up the speed, led by the furious drums of Jaska Raatikainen.

It has everything I'm looking for from this band: an up tempo chugging riff that bounces neatly back and forth between Laiho's lead and new fish Daniel Freyberg; speedy vocals with catchy backing; and some interesting interplay between instruments, soloing keyboards handing over to soloing guitar, then back again. It's a peach.

After that, I was with the album more. Platitudes and Barren Words has an impressive chorus and an even better riff behind it. The title track, the only one to nudge over the five minute mark, has an agreeable pace and a chanted "Hexed!" in the background that's a very cool callback. There's an abundance of spotlight moments for band members here too: not just pounding drums and chugging guitars, but dancing progressive keyboards, which sound almost like a harpsichord at points, and a playful bass to wrap things up.

Hexed is the third highlight in three tracks, which means that this album starts with a decent four songs, then shines brightly for another three. I have to say that the last four aren't up to the same standard but they are far from bad tracks; they're just not as good as what went before. The best of them is the last one, Knuckleduster, which finds an agreeable groove for Wirman's keyboards to soar over until the album runs out.

Even excepting the vocals, which are a love or hate thing, it's generally agreed that Children of Bodom have had an inconsistent output over what is now more than a couple of decades. This is a good album, which should put them in good stead with old school fans and help them pick up new ones. It isn't, however, a great one, though it does get great for a little while in the middle.

Now, as I seem to be saying a lot lately, let's have another album sooner than another four years time!

Lindbloom - Lady Opium (2019)

Country: Sweden
Style: Jazz Rock
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 8 Mar 2019
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Apparently I just can't keep away from Swedish bands at the moment! Here's one more that sounds nothing like any of the others. Lindbloom are named for guitar player Magnus Lindbloom who leads this jazz rock outfit and he's an accomplished musician indeed.

Then again, like any viable jazz band, so are the rest of the band, who have played for people as varied as Frank Zappa, Yngwie J. Malmsteen and Joe Lynn Turner. While Lindbloom's guitar is always the centrepiece, the other band members get plenty of opportunities here. The title track kicks off with a twenty second drum solo from Morgan Ågren and Approximation of Bliss starts out like a Jon Lord solo album with some glorious heavy seventies-style organ from Samuel Olsson.

There's a lot going on here, as you might expect for a jazz rock band. The album could be divided up into heavier and softer tracks or into vocal ones and instrumentals, but it's really not that easy. There's a lot going on in each track!

For instance, the title track may kick off with drums but, when the rest of the band join in, we get all funky. The solos remind of Frank Zappa but it all wraps up with a keyboard run that's more reminiscent of Focus. And sure, Approximation of Bliss starts out with keyboards, but a crunchy riff shows up as if this feels like being metal rather than just rock. Instead it goes funky again with wild vocals that could be Zappa-influenced but might be a little more Primus. And it gets heavy towards the end with a neatly liquid pyschedelic guitar spilling all over it. Psychedelic, man!

My True Love is an instrumental that's surely as soft as the earlier tracks weren't but the softness of the overlay, mostly courtesy of the keyboards, contrasts wonderfully with the frantic bass and drums. Lindbloom's guitar is happy to move back and forth from soft to frantic. Is this love or sex? I'm half convinced that it's both.

The other really soft song on offer is My Own Way, which is a velvet covered lounge song, ladies and gentlemen. It's another instrumental but it's much more laid back than My True Love, not least because of its long saxophone solo, and it doesn't seem to have any obvious underlying theme. Perhaps the whole point is contrast, given that these two softer tracks are separated by Junkyard Dogs and bookended by Approximation of Bliss and Snakebite Kiss, which are all playful vocal pieces.

That said, I have no idea what Junkyard Dogs is really about and am pretty convinced that it's not about anything at all. Surely it's all about finding that groove, which it does quickly with a Stevie Ray Vaughan-style opening solo. Like Approximation of Bliss, Snakebite Kiss sounds like it could be a Frank Zappa song if only it wanted to be rude or subversive instead of playful.

It's almost impossible not to like this, because it's generally perky and cheerful and incredibly well played. The question is whether it's going to slip into the background or not. Perhaps that's the reason for Göran Edman's presence. He's a fine and versatile vocalist and he does a capable job here, but I wondered whether the album needs him. As music, I don't think it does because there's so much going on instrumentally. However, it's probably his vocals that keep us paying attention rather than just sinking into grooves.

One of these days I'm going to find a Swedish album that's generic. There's good stuff up there and bad stuff too, but none of it seems to be boring. I guess there's something in the water up there. Given this and some of what I've been reviewing lately, maybe someone dropped some acid in there too.

Circlet - Circlet (2019)

Country: Indonesia
Style: Instrumental Progressive Metal
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 2 Mar 2019
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I've talked at points about instrumental metal albums being a particular interest of mine and this one man album from Indonesia is precisely why. It's a wild mixture of sounds which only include vocals midway through Come and See, a short opening track. Even there, they show up in both harsh male and clean female form, entirely for texture. I have no idea what is being sung or even what language it's in.

The average track, if such a term can be used, comprises a standard core of instruments. The rhythm guitar is a vicious creature, while the lead soars and explores. The bass is especially prominent and I don't mean the entire bottom end of the equaliser, like the neighbours' cars at two in the morning, but the actual bass guitar, which is very distinctive in the mix. It gets a delightful showcase in Retrograde. The drums, which I have to believe are programmed rather than played, aren't keeping the beat so much as adding their own lead contribution.

And then there are keyboards, which provide a host of textures. They're particularly versatile here. There's a piano at the end of Come and See and it floats behind The Reminder too. They provide a sort of atmospheric background swell on Alter Ego. And there's an overtly electronic sound at points, starting on the opener, that wouldn't be out of place in chiptune music, though it's mostly enfolded by other instruments here rather than running solo. The violin may well be a violin but other instruments heard here, like the 'bells' on Alter Ego and Retrograde, are presumably the product of keyboard work.

What surprised me most here is that Robert Rayvid, who created everything on this album, except for one explosive sound effect that he borrowed for Vanity of Vanities, is a guitarist first and foremost but, however much he dances his fingers over his fretboard, this never sounds like shred. What it does sound like is open to question. He calls it progressive metal and that's as close as any description I can come up with.

However, it's notably varied progressive metal. There's a point on Alter Ego where it gets so fast that it's almost progressive thrash. Yet, there are all those overt electronic sounds and a drum machine that betrays its programmed nature more on some tracks than others. There's that violin on a number of tracks and a softer piano. It very much explores the map in search of its own sound.

The standout track here has to be Retrograde because it features most of those elements within five and a half minutes and does it with style. I'm stunned at how much Rayvid manages to cram into here without it seeming, well, crammed. Alter Ego is another track that finds its groove and riffs around that really well over six and a half minutes, making it the longest piece of music here; while Rayvid crams a lot into his songs, he doesn't need them to run forever.

This appears to be the first Circlet album, but it's not the first project that Rayvid has put together. I'm seeing three from Dramatic Lunacy over the last two years that are all him too. Why he changed the name, I have no idea, because it looks like similar material though I haven't heard it yet. After this, clearly I should seek it out.

Stripwired - Another Shot (2019)

Country: USA
Style: Hard Rock
Rating: 7
Release Date: 8 Feb 2019
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I remember, back when tribute bands were a new concept, some people threw a standard negative put down: "Why can't they play their own music?" Beyond failing to acknowledge the point of tribute bands, those people also missed the fact that many musicians they saw in tribute bands did indeed play their own music in the sort of struggling groups that people like them couldn't be bothered to see live because they hadn't heard of them. Hello, you negative feedback loop, you!

I point this out because Stripwired are a band who absolutely play their own music, but they grew out of a successful tribute band who have performed for almost two decades. Their name, Back in Black, gives away that influence in no uncertain terms and you won't be shocked to discover that this Stripwired album sounds very much like AC/DC in every way but, as pastiches go, this is a pretty good one.

Of course, given that naysayers (probably the same ones) would decry AC/DC for making every one of their songs sound the same, the challenge here for Stripwired is to pastiche their style without falling prey to that routine criticism. They do about as well on that front as they could, their target here being Brian Johnson era-AC/DC but with a neat ending in Big Bob Steel, in which Stripwired turn back the clock even further and Caperna aims for Bon Scott instead. It's Big Balls-style double entendre all over again.

There are ten tracks before that, each of which could have made it onto an eighties AC/DC album. They're riff-driven throughout, of course, because an AC/DC pastiche without memorable riffs would be pointless. There are plenty here, at least a couple per track, courtesy of guitarists Michael Mroz and Ramiro Noriega, so that vocalist Darren Caperna has something to sing over. Sheldon Conrad gets a few bass intros with Ken Schiumo accompanying on drums, so everyone gets their moment.

Lyrically, they're as ruthlessly generic as AC/DC always were. Expect songs about drinking, songs about raising hell and songs about cheating. Of course there are songs about sex, couched in the expected double entendres. It's probably fair to say that you can imagine the entire set of lyrics just from the song titles. What do you think Back Door is going to be about? Or Drop the Bomb? Or Raise Your Glass? The only real surprise is that Run gets a little more rude than I expected with its chorus of "She's a crazy bitch, you'd better turn and run." But, given the history of AC/DC lyrics, that's hardly surprising.

The good news is that there aren't any bad songs here, because everything is enjoyable, even on a second or third time through. The bad news, if you can call it that, is that there's only really one standout track. Usually, AC/DC can be relied to knock out two or three classics per album, even on a weaker release.

Here, the one classic is The Underdogs, which has a particularly strong but patient riff to build everything off. It adds a memorable solo, a gorgeous slowdown and a fantastic swell towards the finalé reminiscent of the end of For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), with catchy lead vocals, escalating backing vocals and wailing guitar all combining joyously.

If you're one of those tribute band naysayers I mentioned at the beginning, this ought to be the standard response. If you don't want to pay to see Back in Black, because they don't play their own music, then shell out your money to see Stripwired instead. They do and they do it well.

The Riven - The Riven (2019)

Country: Sweden
Style: Blues Rock
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 1 Mar 2019
Sites: Bandcamp | Facebook

I've been going on and on about how every band I hear from Finland sounds a lot unlike every other band from Finland. Well, the same really goes for Sweden and I've been reviewing a few Swedish bands here lately. Soilwork aren't remotely like Arch Enemy, even though they both play melodic death metal. They're both even more different to Last Autumn's Dream, Candlemass and Soen. What's more, all the above are nothing like The Riven.

The Riven are hard to define because they're really just a rock band with a versatile take on the genre. I could easily see them being called hard rock but that does bring connotations that don't always apply. I'd lean towards blues rock a little more, because the blues is always there right behind whatever sound they're conjuring up on any particular track. They go with heavy blues rock, but they're hardly Cream, even when they really rock out on tracks like The Serpent or Leap of Faith.

So what do they sound like? Well, let's see. Far Beyond starts out in a folksy Led Zeppelin style but soon escalates into a down home Americana crossroads song before adding in a sort of middle eastern edge. Edge of Time is much more lively and has a seventies glam edge to it, sewn over the Thin Lizzy-style backing. Shadow Man kicks off with a ska feel, then launches into straight rock before dropping into a much quieter section. Finnish Woods is initially neatly subdued, but it escalates very well indeed as a soulful atmospheric track that eventually really rocks out.

Does that help? Not really, except to highlight that every one of these sounds feels natural for the band. Remember what Blondie albums sounded like? They had a consistent feel that was quintessentialy them, whether they were playing reggae or rap or punk or pop or whatever came to mind, each track having its own tangent. That's the sort of agreeable diversity I heard here.

Also like Blondie, the Riven are comprised of a very capable collection of musicians who will always be overlooked because there's a beautiful blonde with a powerful voice in front of them. Here, that's Charlotta Ekebergh and she shines very quickly, with some glorious sustain on The Serpent, but she shines brighter as the album runs on and her and its versatility starts to show. Her voice is rooted in the blues rock tradition, with a real power behind it even when it isn't trying. When it does, like on the slower blues song, I Remember, it really soars, highlighting some superb breath control, and, like Joss Stone, most people guessing her race will be wrong.

This is far from a one woman band though and the Riven thankfully don't make the mistake of giving that impression through their name. Everyone has their moments to shine, but surprisingly few because they're too busy working together. Max Ternebring gets the most memorable spotlight with a fantastic bass run on Finnish Woods, which is both the obvious standout here and the track that allows most individual expression.

Arnau Diaz is the only guitarist here and he seems to revel in having a new sound for each track. He doesn't seem to do much that's flash but, if you listen carefully to what he is doing, there's an impressive variance in technique going on. Olof Axegärd is the drummer tasked with keeping up with wherever they're all going next and he does an admirable job, even though that's a pretty tough task.

I like this a lot. I could go on about the positives all day and, given that I've been listening to this album all day, you'd have heard me if I had done a livestream or whatever the trendy kids are doing nowadays.

The negative side is less obvious. Really, the worst aspect here is the fact that everything here is what feels like a strong deep cut. It's a really good album but the best songs, like Finnish Woods, aren't obvious singles and the mainstream public doesn't seem to want that Blondie style of diversity any more. If your current song doesn't sound like the last one, then you must have sold out.

The Riven are absolutely not sellouts. They're a band who sound fabulous on their debut album (they issued an EP a couple of years ago) and ought to sound glorious on the next few. Bring 'em on!

Týr - Hel (2019)

Country: Faroe Islands
Style: Folk Metal
Rating: 7/10
Release Date: 8 Mar 2019
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We may be taking the high road while Týr take the low road on the opening track, Gates of Hel, but they're no Scottish band. Sadly I missed them in 2018 when they came through Arizona but that also meant that I missed the protestors because Týr are the only other reason, with whale hunting, why anyone here has even heard of the Faroe Islands.

I'm English so I've heard of the Faroe Islands but I haven't heard as much of their premier musical export as I should. I have enjoyed what I have heard and this feels accomplished from moment one. It's Týr's eighth album and the six years since their prior release is twice as long as they've ever taken before. They must have been bursting with material and it shows because a wild energy is obvious here. They want back into our ears.

It's also a long album, running a full seventy minutes, though everyone in the band starts out frantically, as if they want to reach the end tape as soon as is humanly possible. For a while, this is a album in the form of a sprint, though it does that through sheer power, catchy vocals and moments for all the band members rather than any attempt to leap into thrash. It's as fast as I'm aware the band have gone.

Gates of Hel and All Heroes Fall are both full of busy runs for each band member. Gunnar Thomsen gets some very prominent runs on his bass, but the guitars of Heri Joensen and new guitarist Attila Vörös don't miss out on the fun and neither do the drums of new fish Tadeusz Rieckmann. The band definitely start out as they mean to carry on, with an heavier and much more overtly power metal feel but less folk elements.

Ragnars kvæði shows a different style. This is a slower song, progressive musically and with completely different vocals, not only because the song is sung in what I presume in Faroese (all but two tracks are performed in English) but because it's done more as a chant than a song. The style fits absolutely in the folk metal arsenal but it's the only time it's hauled out here in what is otherwise very much a power metal album.

That goes for Joensen's vocals as much as the admirable instrumentation behind them. This is lively stuff, as both folk and power metal often tend to be. I had to pause this my first time through after a dozen tracks and the silence to which I returned seemed much deeper than what preceded the album starting. It's an album that moves into your house and makes itself very comfortable indeed.

The question, of course, is whether it'll move back out again with just as little invitation. I've heard impressive albums that command our attention and impress on every front but which vanish off into the distance as soon as we turn them off, as if we'd never heard them to begin with. On a first listen, the biggest problem here is that the sound is very consistent from one song to another, with only Ragnars kvæði doing anything particularly different.

With eight tracks over forty minutes, a consistent sound really isn't much of a problem, if that sound is good, which it certainly is. With thirteen tracks over seventy minutes, however, a little variety is needed and I was keen to find out if that variety would show up on a second listen.

Well, some individual tracks do start to stand out a little, but it's not an easy process and many of them still sound very similar. Sunset Shore is a heavy ballad and Against the Gods has some patience to it. Far from the Worries of the World has a more singalong chorus and a folky instrumental chase in the midsection; it also ends well with a quiet little coda that leads into the quiet little intro to King of Time. It may be illusion but there seems to be more soloing later on.

Clearly, though, it'll take more than two listens for these songs to start to really distinguish themselves. If the songs are lessened by sounding so similar, the good news is that they're all good songs. There isn't a duff track here and, heard outside the framework of the album, each and every one of them would impress.

I like this new faster and heavier Týr and the future seems bright for them. Now, let's not wait another six years for the next album!

Black Vulpine - Veil Nebula (2019)

Country: Germany
Style: Stoner Metal
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: 1 Mar 2019
Sites: Facebook | Official Website | YouTube

Oh, I like this! It's very heavy stuff, somehow seeming slow even when it isn't, like on the opening track, Limbus, which retains a plodding style even at speed. The music is a wall of sound and it really doesn't want to quieten down so we can hear the vocals, which are clean and impressive but don't always feel the need to fight for dominance. When they do, they win, and it's glorious.

And it's that contrast that works so well. This is heavy stoner metal that isn't really interested in being doom, even when it kinda is. The beginning of Hollow is doomy enough for Candlemass and there are inevitable nods to Black Sabbath all over the place. It's much more interested in simply being heavy, which isn't quite the same thing, and it succeeds on that front with aplomb. It's bludgeoning stuff and I've never wanted to be bludgeoned quite so happily before.

The vocals, however, have a sweetness to them that floats airily around the music. They're the Beauty to the music's Beast, reminding that however dark things get, there's always light up there somewhere. What's so impressive is that while they spend quite a lot of time underneath the music, they find power whenever they want to and, when they do, often during the more overt choruses, they have it to spare. They soar as often as they float, even if its with a similar sense of melancholy underpinning it.

I was only able to find the first names of the band members, so I presume that those delightful vocals belong to Sarah, with Daria backing her up at points. Daria also plays lead guitar, with Sarah backing her up in turn, while that powerful rhythm section is Stefan on bass and a rather patient Rudiger on drums.

I've let this play on repeat for a few days and it's become something of an old friend. Just like I think of any particular friend as a person rather than a combination of different attributes, I think of this as an hour long slab of heaviness called Veil Nebula rather than eleven individual tracks. If I force myself to focus in for the sake of this review, it's still more to elements than songs. I'm not sure I could even pick a favourite. Minotaur maybe.

To be fair, some of them could be seen as positive by some listeners but as negative by others. Most obviously, the Jaws theme shows up at the start of The Panting for no reason I could fathom, played on what sounds like a very resonant cello. It sounds good but its familiarity is offputting. Later in the same song, there's a bizarre backing vocal that sounds like crowd noise. Initially I thought it was a cacophony of cymbals, or maybe a demonic choir, but it's just vocals. It adds a wild texture and it's neatly enigmatic but it's abrasive.

I could call out the enticing woodblock in A Lucid Dream or the calamitous feedback ending to Haunted House or the evocative duet between guitar and voice on Minotaur. I could call out an epochal riff but there are epochal riffs almost everywhere here. There's so much to be found if you're willing to explore. I wonder what you'll find and whether it's what I found.

The only traditional song on offer here is Liar, which is bouncy and catchy and its own master. It's still agreeably heavy but the music holds back for Sarah's voice can stand out above a complementary riff. Then again, there's little in the way of lyrics and Sarah alternates with some sort of whisper, so the catchiness may be partly due to the majority of the singing being a chorus.

If you like your stoner metal so heavy that it's carved in granite and raw enough to be right off the bone, but with vocals that are sweetly powerful, then Vein Nebula ought to be right up your alley. It's certainly right up mine.