Beats & Noisecapes

Tellurian by Soen is an excellent prog-metal album. Comparisons to Tool will be inevitable, but Soen carve out their own style and the album is filled with powerful songs. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Suspended at Aphelion is an outstanding epic album that takes you on a big journey. The songs follow each other smoothly and the album is best enjoyed as a whole.  While Heaven Wept has managed to create an album with layers upon layers of greatness. An album that is subtle, complex and bold. Rating: Heavy Rotation 

Originating from Leeds in the UK, Condemned to Hope is Black Moth's second album and what an amazing album it is right from the start to the very end without ever faltering one bit. It's been an incredibly long time since I've heard a rock album as accessible, raw, intense and addictive as this.  Black Moth's music is hard to define. The band successfully mixes sludge metal and doom elements with alternative/indie rock. The bass and drums create a solid base that gives the band depth and intensity. The guitars roar with a straight rock edge and Harriet's vocals tie everything up with a raw and honest voice that instantly hooks you in.  I bumped into this band by accident and now I simply cannot stop listening to this incredible album. Condemned to Hope is an absolute treasure of an album, one that feels raw, honest and above all incredibly inspired.  Highlights: The whole bloody album! Rating: Heavy Rotation

Magnolia is The Pineapple Thief's tenth album and the first one in a long career to move to a more concise straight rock (though still containing progressive elements). The album presents a good mix of moody alternative rock with an occasional metal edge and gentle, soothing melodies that evoke great emotion and beauty. Nevertheless, the album is at its best in the more rock oriented tracks. Overall, this is a bold step away from their more expansive progressive sound and into more straight rock territory. Magnolia is a great rock album with beautiful melodies. Highlights: Simple as That, Alone at Sea, Coming Home, The One You Left to Die, Sense of Fear. Rating: Good Vibrations

As far as I'm concerned Interpol have done it again. This is a very strong album that in some ways feels like a back to basics but still offers multiple layers and depth in the music. This is probably their most focused effort since their debut and album that I think grows more and more with every listen. The band sounds reenergised and delivers a very focused, strong album; a perfect mix of indie rock and post-punk. Highlights: It's very very hard to pick songs as I'd say this is more an album than a collection of songs. It works best as an album. But, at the moment All the Rage Back Home, Everything is Wrong and Ancient Ways come to mind. Rating: Heavy Rotation

The Black Market is an excellent punk-rock, melodic hardcore album that packs a punch but also offers a good amount of hooks and melodies with a more introspective angle than in the past. Overall there's a lot of emphasis on melody. The songs are really catchy without ever falling into disposable pop-punk and the harder, faster side of the band in the past shining through at some points, like The Eco-Terrorist in Me. The Black Market is a really solid album from a well oiled, seasoned band with some stand out songs. Highlights: The Great Die-Off, I Don't Want to Be Here, The Black Market, The Eco-Terrorist in Me and Awake Too Long. Rating: Good Vibrations  

Opeth's Pale Communion is an outstanding album. This is progressive rock of the highest order with a perfect mix of progressive rock, 70s style and a little dose of folk.  The album follows the style of Heritage and Damnation.  It's clear right from the start that Mikael Akerfleldt has placed emphasis on melody and the album is filled with beautiful, poignant and memorable moments.  Highlights: the last two songs of the album, Voice of Treason and Faith in Others. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Light of Dawn is Unisonic's second full-length album and the band returns with their brand of hard-rock and power metal perfected with just a bit more heaviness and bite. The album opens with an orchestral intro that teases some of the melodies in the album. This is followed by Your Time Has Come, a power metal song that sounds instantly familiar, fast, heavy, bright and with a memorable fist in the air chorus. In fact, Your Time Has Come is the best classic power metal song I've heard in a very long time. I have no doubt that it's going to become a classic for me. The best news, though, is that the album is filled with excellent songs. This is an excellent release with no fillers and every single song deserves to be there. As it should be expected of the band, there are some straight forward hard rock moments, some quieter and melodic moments, but the new degree of heaviness in this release adds to the mixture and propels the band to new heights. The b...

Originating from Sydney, Australia, Love of Cartography is sleepmakeswaves' third album. Their style could be broadly described as post rock with very strong guitars and attitude.  The album opens with Perfect Detonator. The guitars roar creating a solid wall of noise but the song also contains very playful melodies. The contrast between the hard guitars and the post rock style melody is perfect. Right from the very start, this song makes a statement: This is post rock of the highest caliber with roaring guitars. The band manages to create an album that is uptempo, often sitting in the border between rock and metal but is still filled with beautiful melodies and cinematic moments. A hard combination to make but one that sleepmakeswaves manages to create seamlessly. Other songs to highlight, are the more cinematic and sweeping Traced in Constellations, the progressive and epic How We Built the Ocean and the utterly powerful Your Time Will Come Again; a song in two parts ...

Originating from Italy, Ancient Bards is a power metal band with a distinct Italian sound: symphonic and epic. But this is not a generic band and A New Dawn Ending, their third album, stands out as one of the best in its genre. The album opens with the traditional intro which is followed by A Greater Purpose, an outstanding song that can be seen as a declaration of intentions and sets the bar incredibly high for the rest album. The best news is that, the rest of the album doesn't disappoint and keeps up the high standard set from the start. The album also offers a couple of grand songs, The Showdown, just under thirteen minutes, and the title track A New Dawn Ending which goes over sixteen minutes.  Fortunately, the band doesn't get lost in the magnitude and scope of the music. Despite the symphonic epic bombast, the songs sound fresh and tight. All the fat has been trimmed and only the best parts have made it to the album. I honestly can't highlight favourite...

Some bands enter your life and stay with you. They become a central part of your life. Years go by and release after release, the band grows and evolves together with you (or you with them). Anathema is one of those bands for me. The melodies and emotion of 1998's Alternative 4 moved me. I knew I had discovered a band that had something special, something that set them apart. This feeling became even stronger the following year with the release of Judgement . Anathema had found themselves as a band, they were not afraid to take risks and I was happy to go with them wherever they wanted to lead me. For the first interview on this blog, I could not resist the opportunity to speak to Anathema, and Daniel Cavanagh was kind enough to answer my questions. Anathema's last few releases have seen the band evolve into a more stripped down minimalist sound. I love these albums and find them incredibly beautiful and moving but Judgement has always remained my all time Anathema...

Originating from France, Alcest is a band that creates utterly beautiful music with shoe gaze, post rock and dream pop influences. In Shelter the band leaves behind bursts of guitar, all the elements are smoothed out and melody, beauty and ethereal qualities are emphasised to great effect.  From album opener Wings/Opale all the way to the closing track Deliverance, the album takes the listener into an ethereal otherworld. This is a soundtrack of wonder and beauty. In this regard, apart from the the album opener and closing track mentioned above, I would highlight Voix Sereines. Placed half-way through the album is the heart of the album with a great mix of delicate sounds and lullaby-like feel. Best of all, though, the album is consistent in quality and concise at 47 minutes. The songs are great on their own but are best appreciated in the context of the album. The mix of post rock and dream pop qualities is perfectly blended and the band manages to sound honest and tru...

Gamma Ray have been around for a long time and Empire of the Undead is exactly what you would expect from the band. Fast, heavy, epic and melodic, power metal. Whilst many bands have moved away from power metal and changed their styles, Gamma Ray have always stayed true to themselves. This is a band with very little evolution over the years but one that always delivers consistently. The album opener Avalon is a perfect example of what Gamma Ray do best. The song is epic, perfectly built with a slow introduction that builds up into a half tempo majestic part with an excellent chorus. Half way through, the song increases the tempo and moves into power metal territory. Hansen has always known how to create songs like this and he nails it, once more. The song is perfectly built in terms of music contrasts, rhythm changes and story telling.  From then on, the album is quite varied, showcasing the different sides of the band. It's hard to pick favourites but apart from Avalon...

Originating from Germany Xandria has been around since the late 90's and has delivered great albums. Unfortunately, they have always remained in the shadow of other symphonic metal bands and the last few years they've had problems retaining their vocalist. Thankfully, this album will put all those things in the past.  Sacrificium is an excellent symphonic metal album from start to end. In fact, the first thing that struck me when listening to it was how consistently good the album is. There are no real stand out songs as they all complement each other and create a whole. The album is symphonic but the band has a very present and heavy sound. The music is epic in scope but the songs are tight. The album is varied and show many shades but it always feels coherent.  Xandria have managed to create an excellent album. I honestly can't stop listening to it. One of my favourite symphonic metal albums for a very long time. Rating: Heavy Rotation

Distant Satellites is Anathema's tenth studio album in a long career that has seen them evolve from doom metal to uplifting progressive rock with an ever present touch of melancholy. Whilst the previous two albums showed a considerable progression in their sound, Distant Satellites feels like a distillation of their sound since 2001's A Fine Day to Exit at the same time that it takes another bold step forward. The band continues their journey into minimalism, something that's even more prevalent than in their previous two albums. The sound and arrangements have been stripped down and the structure of songs follows a driven crescendo more akin to post-rock music. The album opener is a prime example of this, The Lost Song Part I is a song that builds and builds in a clear progression until it completely explodes. It's very post-rock but it's also very much what Anathema has been doing for a while now.  The album uses symphonic elements creating atmosphere ...

Originating from Melbourne, Australia, Vanishing Point are now a veteran band with this their fifth release and, after a long hiatus, they're back with Distant is the Sun, an excellent album that builds on their past sound and expands it to fuller, more epic music. Vanishing Point have always stood out to me as a band that right from the start sounded unique, like no other. They've evolved across albums, expanded their sound while staying true to themselves and Distant is the Sun is the next assured step in their discography. The album opens with an intro that leads into King of Empty Promises, a song that mixes perfectly their classic mixture of melodic metal, with a little dose of power metal and progressive flourishes. It's obvious from the very start that the band has made an effort to incorporate a fuller orchestral sound with great arrangements that add texture to the songs, making this the most epic sounding Vanishing Point album to date. The guitar work,...

Originating from Athens, Elysion is a gothic metal band with some symphonic elements. Someplace Better is their second album and the band has produced a great collection of songs. Elysion's music will be instantly familiar to fans of the genre and they will be compared to Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil, in fact Christianna's vocal tone is often similar to Christina's from Lacuna Coil, but to simply compare them to those band is unfair because Elysion have managed to craft excellent song that have their own voice and personality. Someplace Better is full of really catchy songs that are creative and melodic. The guitar riffs drive the songs with well measured electronic elements giving the music texture and shape. Christianna's vocal lines are great and she makes really good use of layered vocals and harmonies.  Overall, Someplace Better is a great release for fans of the genre that has enough personality to stand out from the pack. It offers a great co...

This album by Crosses gathers all the songs from their previous two EPs plus five new ones, that would've made the third EP. Presented all together here they form an excellent debut full length album that despite it's nature (three EPs in one) sounds cohesive. The album opener This is a Trick gives a very good indication of what this album is about. This is dark electro rock, with soothing soundscapes, a touch of retro electronic sounds and a little dose of rock. From then on, the album dances between more electronic beats, straight pop melodies and more driven rock moments. Most people will come to listen to this album for Chino Moreno, from Deftones, and his vocals are the central driver of this album. His excellent vocal range and silky vocals are used to incredible effect but there's are also new shades to his voice here, at times sounding very positively uplifting and pop.  The album presents a great collection of songs and it's hard to choose stand...

Trivium is now a veteran band and this album shows that they mean business. While the metalcore elements are still present the band has left the style behind and present a new album that pushes them forward and into new territories. Vengeance Falls is a great metal album and the band shows a more melodic and groovier side while still sounding incredibly epic. The production is brilliant, the guitar work is excellent and Heafy's vocals are better than ever. He has clearly evolved as a singer, with more tones and textures.  The best thing about Vengeance Falls is that it sounds lean and epic at the same time. The songs are tight but not dressed down. Rather, Trivium has managed to expand their sound and keep all the best bits in one small package brimming with powerful metal.  Overall, this is an absolute killer of an album. Rating: Heavy Rotation

The veteran Dutch symphonic metallers return with Hydra, their sixth album. After experimenting with a concept album and releasing a series of 80s and 90s pop covers reworked to a Within Temptation style, their new album is a more straight forward offer that comes with a few surprises and bridges old and new. The album opens with Let Us Burn, an excellent song that immediately reminds the listener why WT became one of the biggest symphonic metal acts. The song delivers all the trademarks of the band with an epic grand sound and Sharon's soaring vocals. From then on, the album never lets down delivering a great collection of tracks that show the band's diversity from the fast and heavy Dangerous to the poppy and beautiful Edge of the World.  Apart from Let Us Burn, I would highlight the fast paced Dangerous, the catchy duet with Tarja on Paradise (What About Us?), the mellow Edge of the World and Silver Moonlight showing the band's heavier side. All in all, I...