#162 Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

I've know of Electric Wizard for a long, long time, but I discovered them last night, when I listened to Supercoven. Dopethrone seemed the album to take a look at to get started with the band, and I feel like I'm about to take a sonic journey which me, and my speakers, may never be the same again in light of. Time slowed down, the walls closed in cosily, and then my mind left my body and had an adventure...

The bearded, horned, distinctly wizardly character, smoking a bong, portrayed on the albums cover art really sums up the band's sound far better than I possibly could; Dark, hypnotic, crushing, and very, very stoned. The throbbing lower end which accompanies the whole album is immensely mind-altering, and immediately takes you to a place which is unlike the sane, rational and euclidean one you were just in - a psychedelic, slow-motion world, tumbling over and over through the soundscape. I'll add, at this point, that I could review the album in a less kaleidoscopic manner, but the sheer weight of bass pressing down on my brain is very much encouraging me to go down an abstract path. The riffs which pulse through the album are catchier than I initially expected, and many of them are extremely memorable, with a real prospect of addictiveness beyond the albums initial perception-bending qualities, which really stands in it's favour. The feel of the whole album is very genuine and earthy in that respect - it's an album which you want to chuck in the CD player and experience. I've never heard, and I exaggerate not, anything quite as enveloping as this - the feeling of transcendence which accompanies every reverberating note is like an inescapable whirlpool in the ether.

The album as a whole feels like a cocoon, and certainly transported me away from my normal state of mind - Electric Wizard don't seem to be capable of being background music, and my attention was held by the whole album - I almost physically couldn't become distracted from it, and even writing the review was difficult, so thoroughly caught in the music's gravity I was. The delirium which accompanies the whole album is utterly ensnaring, with the ethereal vocals coming at you through a sea of incredible tone, which enshrouds everything like a thick fog. The atmosphere seems ambivalent in places, and certainly varies throughout the album, with some songs feeling warm, whilst others feel cold, almost sinister in places, but even then, still very slow in terms of feeling, as well as just tempo.

When the album finished, the entire world felt too quiet. Coming back out of an album like this is as interesting an experience as going into one, and I may have predicted right when I described the album as a musical journey. I'll end this with the only phrase which I can think of; Fucking hell.

This is a 9/10, easily. It's an amazing album, and I'm definitely going to listen to more.

Links:
Electric Wizard on Myspace
Electric Wizard on Facebook
Electric Wizard on Metal Archives

#161 Artillery - By Inheritance

I've been meaning to do an Artillery review for quite a while, quite easily six-months, in fact. Artillery are what I'd consider a "miscellaneous" thrash-band, and I can't quite fit them into any schema - nonetheless, they're a good-listen, and "By Inheritance" is widely considered one of their classic albums. A good place to begin, I think.

By Inheritance is made up of a mixture of melodic thrash metal, which seems to border on speed metal in many points. Falsetto vocals and memorable melodies really dominate the songs, but at the same time manage not to detract from the aggression - It's still very much a thrash album at heart, and possesses the rough-edges which are vital for it, unlike many of the "only-just..." thrash bands I've listened to. This presents a very interesting mixture of melody and energy which is unlike anything else I've heard. There plenty of bands which spring to mind a bit when listening, but it's exactly that - a bit. Nothing I've heard is massively similar, and the uniqueness is probably a big explaining factor in the reason that I can't quite place Artillery's sound into any broader category. The riffs are very solid, crisp and tightly played, and laced thoroughly with melodies which are epic, catchy and syrupy smooth, with a hint of speed metal, or perhaps even power metal thrown in. I found it pleasing that the music, while sounding in many ways quintessentially thrashy, also feels like it's coming from the style at an entirely different angle to most of the bands in it.

After a while of listening to the album, it suddenly becomes noticeable that the songs are not just tight, but extremely technical as well. This technical prowess, however, comes with a modesty - it's all done for the sake of making the songs sound good, and that makes it all the more enjoyable, sounding neither over-the-top or over-complex, and all the better for it. The songs do have a lot going on in them, but they still flow very nicely. The solos are blistering, and really stand out as accomplished and impressive, as does the vast majority of the guitar-work throughout the album; There isn't, I'd venture, a single song which isn't in some way as impressive as it is enjoyable. I tend to neglect vocals in my reviews, but I can certainly praise them on this album, being both acidic and vicious sounding in the fast-paced sections, but also astoundingly beautiful and soft in the quieter sections, which the band is prone to having, which are pockets of calmer beauty amongst the frenzied and oftentimes epic uptempo material.

Listening to some Artillery proved very much to be a refreshing decision on my part - I feel I've certainly finally listened to something which now, I suspect I will listen to again in future. Thrash was my first love when it came to metal, and I'm glad to have discovered a part of it which I missed out upon.

I'm giving this 8/10.

Links:
Artillery Official Site
Artillery on Myspace
Artillery on Facebook
Artillery on Metal Archives

#160 Jute Gyte - Isolation

"I really ought to review that new Jute Gyte album" I thought to myself about a week ago, followed by "oh, he's made another one!". It's a testament to the man behind the project, Adam Kalmbach's, work ethic and impressive creative output, releasing many albums per year, some of them black-metal, some of them not. Isolation is the first black-metal album by Jute Gyte so far in 2012, and carries on where his previous four black-metal albums left off, much to the enthusiasm of the project's growing underground following.

My knowledge of musical theory may be sketchy at best, but Kalmbach's evidently isn't - The man knows what he's doing, and the album is, as accustomed, packed with a lot of musical wizardry which very much causes it to stand out from just about everything else. The Bandcamp page proclaims that the music is full of things which I've never even heard of, let alone am capable of recognising, but even a musical-cretin like myself can tell that the album, and Jute Gyte's black-metal in general, for that matter, is unique and fascinating. The signature desolate atmosphere which Jute Gyte mastered is ever present, and the guitar-sound is as caustic and hypnotic, but also seemingly more intricate and concentrated than the earlier records. This has the effect of making "Isolation" as thought-provoking, mind-melting and generally many-layered as the past albums, and then some. One of the things I always notice, and enjoy, about Jute Gyte albums is just how much there is going on - the songs are not only diverse, but work on several levels at once, some signatures of the projects style, other's novel and new. Isolation keeps all of the key features of Jute Gyte's sound, but also shows a steady development in sound and style which is pleasing to watch unfold, and it's very engaging that all of the albums sound a little bit different.

In what seems to be a custom, intentional or not, track four of the album, the title-track in this case, is ambient; relaxing but still enthralling, deep and rewarding to listen to. It offers a serene island in the harsh and wind-blown landscape of the rest of the album, and demonstrates Kalmbach's ability to work equally well with electronic elements. The drum-programming is also excellently done, and the drums keep the rhythm and decorate the music nicely. They sound a little inorganic and cold, but this is certainly something which they make up for with their other attributes, and most of the time they work together with the rest of the music, not against it. In terms of production, Jute Gyte's sound hit the nail on the head quite early on, and this album simply carries on that style - all of the layers are audible, with the full insanity and brilliance of the music laid-bare, designed to be heard. The harsh, slight background fuzz adds to the character and the dry, haunted atmosphere, and on the whole, the sphere of production and indeed tone are top-notch.



Like the albums before it, Isolation is a really unique album. As far as I know, literally no other black-metal band even comes close to sounding like them, and this certainly makes the music, impressive in it's own right, feel all the more special and visionary. Thinking-man's black metal, and very solid, at that.  Give it a listen, and pick up on the enjoyable and intangible qualities I neglected to adequately describe.

This is definitely a 9/10.

Links:
Jute Gyte on Bandcamp (The whole album is available for free here)
Jute Gyte on Myspace
Jute Gyte on Metal Archives