We have already reached the play offs? God damn, time just flies, let us pick up the pace in this series, starting with Group E.
Brazil
The almighty Brazil is looking to seek revenge after a disastrous exit in the last World Cup, which they hosted. The whole country was left in tears after Neymar got injured, being completely demolished by Germany in the semis, and even missing the bronze medal to the Dutch. To be fair, I think we all were a little overly hyped over Brazil 4 years ago. After all, it was basically Neymar and a bunch of other good, but not great, dudes. This time around, Brazil comes with a ridiculously strong roster, with world class players on every position. This time, Neymar is not alone, we got Jesus, Marcelo, Allison, Casemiro, Willian, Firmino, Coutinho, Paulinho, Fernandinho, yes a whole bunch of -inho's. It is definitely gold or bust for this team.
Brazil is not only the leading South American nation in football, they are also the front runners in metal as well. The broadest genre is definitely power metal, where you can find a bunch of high profile bands. It all starts with Angra, the progressive power metal band that has been a force to be reckoned with since the early 90's, and are still producing some great records. We also got Almah, created by former Angra singer Edu Falaschi as a side project, which eventually became a strong full time project. Other notable power metal bands are Shadowside, Hibria, Hangar, and Shaman.
But none of these bands are even close to the level in which Sepultura is on. This is one of the more legendary bands out there, a group that has thrived on pushing the boundries with their combination of death metal, thrash metal, and local influences. With legendary albums like "Beneath The Remains", "Chaos A. D." and "Roots", this band has a huge mark on metal history. Add bands like Krisiun, Thy Light, and the all female Nervosa to this mix as well, and we got ourselves a strong line up of bands.
Costa Rica
In the last World Cup, Costa Rica was the big surprise of the tournament, reaching all the way to the quarter final, eliminating Italy and England in the group stage and beating Greece in the round of 16. Good news for this competition is that the main core of that team is in once again, with Real Madrid goalie Keylor Navas leading the way. The bad news though is that most of these players have had very little play time in their clubs. I am sure that Costa Rica could channel together that team spirit that took them so far last time, but a lot of opponents are aware now, so it will not be easy for them to get a surprise leverage on them.
Not surprisingly, there is no much metal going on in Costa Rica, but I did however discover a little band called Sight of Emptiness a couple of years back, a melodic death metal band that certainly showed potential. The 2014 album "Instincts" was not perfect, but I enjoyed what I heard. It definitely seems to be a bunch of interesting death metal groups here, like Advent of Bedlam, Catarsis Incarne, and the easily pronounced Pseudostratiffied Epithelium. We also got Pneuma, a progressive band that gives some more diversity to the country's metal scene. A small country with a small scene, but with some neat little bands out there.
Serbia
I have always enjoyed Serbia, because they are a physical team, with huge dynamos for players that can make those 90 minutes a living hell for anyone who faces against them. I definitely would not like to face Matic, Mitrovic, or the old Chelsea legend Ivanovic in a dark alley, they would probably eat me alive if they got the chance. Just like any other balkan country though, they have had some instabilities in the coaching department, so can they keep their focus and not just gain a ton of unnecessary yellow cards, then maybe they could go far.
So Serbia is in the Balkan region, a region that does not have many big bands to go around, but Serbia do have a guy that could be their equivalent to Steven Wilson. David Maxim Micic is an instrumental progressive artist that has a knack of creating some grand emotion through his music, which he has shown in both his full length releases "Bilo III" and "Who Bit The Moon". We got some more proggy goodness by Asymmetry and Burning Circle, but also some nice power metal by Alogia and Forever Storm. Then we got the hard working black metal outing The Stone, and thrash group Space Eater, probably one of the greatest band names I have ever heard. How in the hell can you eat space? I do not know, but color me intrigued with the idea.
Switzerland
Switzerland has had a pretty good generation of players. We got some nice attacking players in Seferovic, Dzemaili, and of course, the little meat ball magician Xherdan Shaqiri, and a solid defense led by Sommer, Lichtsteiner, and Xhaka. Still, Switzerland has had a hard time to really get that break through with these players, reaching the round of 16 in the last two tournaments at best. This might be the last chance for a lot of these players, so they better sharpen their skills in preparation for their final shot at World Cup glory.
Looking at their band roster, the Swiss are a sneaky good team, with some real quality throughout the board. It all starts with extreme metal pioneers Celtic Frost, who emerged in the mid 80's as one of the big developers of the genre. Even if it has been 10 years since the band broke up, their legacy still stands strong, but they are certainly not alone in the Swiss metal heaven. We go the consistent folk metal group Eluveitie, the ever boundary breaking Samael, the hyped gothic doom group Triptykon, the ambient dudes of Darkspace, and the classic thrash band Coroner.
Notice the grand diversity in sound here, which might be the only knock on Switzerland as a metal country, but it also shows that they have a scene that is willing to go their own way. One band that certainly did that, while also becoming one of my personal favourites, is the industrial metal band Sybreed, who mix that mechanic Fear Factory style with some more futuristic elements, creating some dense bangers. It is sad to see them disbanded, but at the very least, I still have the memories, and some killer tracks like "Doomsday Party", "Into The Blackest Light", and "Challenger".
Thoughts on group
Both Switzerland and Brazil has a lot of quality to go around, making this group a contender for sure, and while Serbia and Costa Rica may not have the same amount of high level music, they do still have some interesting bands for us to take in. Group E is certainly one of my favourites in a musical stand point.
Prediction on the competition (made before it began)
Well, Brazil should have no problem going through here, but who will follow them? Hmmm... I'll go with Switzerland, think their experience and technical skill will give them a slight advantage.
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Monday, June 25, 2018
The World Cup of Metal: Group D
After a rough midsummer celebration, I am back to continue our journey through all competing countries, and their metal scenes. Today, we dig deeper into group D, let us begin.
Argentina
It feels so wrong to say that Argentina is a one man team since there is an amazing amount of offensive talent in this team, but in its current state, it certainly feels like Messi is carrying a massive load in this World Cup. With a poor qualifying effort that nearly saw Argentina miss the competition, I am having a hard time seeing manager Sampaoli bringing this group together, and maximizing their potential. With players like Aguero, Dybala, Di Maria, Pavon, Higuain, and previously mentioned Messi, it really should not be that difficult. Yet somehow, it is. Lord help those poor souls...
In metal, Argentina is clearly behind their rival Brazil in their development, with no real stand out bands at all. Their most prominent band is probably Rata Blanca, a classic heavy metal band from that was formed in the 80's, but had their hey days in the 90's. Not really much to say about their style since it is pretty straight forward, nothing that surprising, only notable thing is that they sing in Spanish, but it does not really elevate their music that much.
Fast forward to modern times, and we can see that power and folk metal are the dominating genres, with Skiltron as the leader of the pack, a group that has five solid records of nice and enjoyable folk metal. Following right behind them are bands like Helker and Tersivel, maybe not the strongest brigade out there, but maybe worthy of a look nonetheless. I do wanna recommend Downfall of Nur as well, a fairly new atmospheric black metal project led by a guy who goes under the name "A.". I definitely see some potential in this striking music he has created so far, so it might be one to watch in the future.
Croatia
From one country having problems to another one, Croatia has had a rocky way to this World Cup, firing their manager right before the crucial stages of their qualifying. Well, they made it, and it seems like they have gotten their shit together, offering a very impressive style of possession football, which is reasonable since they have a couple of midfield giants in Modric and Rakitic. I also love their striker Mandzukic, a very underrated goalscorer who have both the length and the technical skills to succeed against any opposition. This is a potential dark horse, a team that have the quality, but can they keep their stability throughout the tournament?
So the Balkan region is not the strongest threshold for metal, and it shows when I take a look at what Croatia has to offer. There is no real direction the bands are going in, and very few bands in here have produced enough music for a prolonged period of time. Most popular band is probably the gothic doom band Ashes You Leave, who have created six albums since 1998. They could be seen as a poor man's Epica, and that is honestly the nicest thing I can say about them. The rest of the field is not that impressive either, the industrial band Omega Lithium has some power to them, but has not released any new music since 2011, and Risen To Reclaim is a neat little heavy metal band that caught my attention with their 2014 effort "Paradox". But if we look a little further, we do find an interesting progressive rock band called Them Moose Rush that released an interesting new album this year in "Don't Pick Your Noise". So not many gems to be found here, unfortunately.
Iceland
Ahh Iceland, the smallest country to ever qualify to the World Cup. We all fell in love with them two years ago when they made Ronaldo and England look helpless. This is the definition of team work, 11 guys on the pitch with viking spirit, helping each other out with every bit of strength their bodies can produce. Sure, they might not have the most exciting style, but you must realize that a lot of these players are not really professionals, they have other jobs besides being national heroes. I just love watching these guys, proving time and time again that nothing is impossible in the game of football.
So being a part of the Nordic union together with Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, Iceland sure loves their metal too, especially black metal. The big star in the sky is obviously Sólstafir, who in recent years have become one of the juggernaut in the atmospheric black metal scene. With albums like "Köld", "Ótta", and "Berdreyminn" the trio of Svavar Austman, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, and Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson (god damn, I do not even know how to start pronouncing that mess) have created an institution of quality.
Right behind them, we got a bunch of other black metal acts that have gotten some nice recognition along their careers. Just to name a few, we got Skálmöld, Kontinuum, Árstíðir Lífsins, and... what the hell? They honest to god have a band that is just a symbol, maybe called Null or Void, but it is literally just a big ring that is acting like a symbol. Oh well, one thing is for sure though, if you want some quality black metal, Iceland is a good choice.
Nigeria
The Super Eagles of Nigeria has been a main stay in the World Cup, but the successes have not really been there. Main reasons for this is probably that they are close to the perfect opposite to Iceland. Nigeria is always a "team" filled with a lot of individual talent, but they never seem to mesh well together, not even the great team builder Lars Lagerbäck, the man behind the success of Iceland, could make Nigeria act like a team. One thing is certain though, Nigeria is a dangerous team when everything is aligned correctly, they can certainly take advantage with players like Moses, Ighalo, Iwobi, and the old veteran John Obi Mikel. Rise, Super Eagles, Rise.
Well, this is where I would write about Nigeria's metal scene, but there is only one small problem, there is none. Yep, despite the incredibly massive and expansive library that we possess in Encyclopaedia Metallum, no bands from Nigeria is listed, and I tried a simple Google search as well that only led me to this article in some site called Audio Inferno. There definitely seem to be a rock scene in Nigeria, but taking that next step towards metal seems to be a steep task. I am not that surprised though to be honest, since the culture in Africa is completely different (which we obviously have noticed in previous installments of this series), but finding out that no bands are out there is interesting. Maybe in the future, maybe...
Thoughts on group
Despite its size, Iceland is obviously the big gun in this group, and it all comes down to culture. Coming from a remote, cold island where you basically know the entire population, it does stuff to you. It is really cool though to see the growth that Iceland has had during the new millennium. Cannot say too much abut the rest of the group though, the remaining three countries have very little to show for.
Prediction on the competition (made before the competition began)
Despite the problems, Argentina should squeeze their way through to the round of 16. Second slot is wide open though, and I am a firm believer in team work. LET'S GO ICELAND!!!
Argentina
It feels so wrong to say that Argentina is a one man team since there is an amazing amount of offensive talent in this team, but in its current state, it certainly feels like Messi is carrying a massive load in this World Cup. With a poor qualifying effort that nearly saw Argentina miss the competition, I am having a hard time seeing manager Sampaoli bringing this group together, and maximizing their potential. With players like Aguero, Dybala, Di Maria, Pavon, Higuain, and previously mentioned Messi, it really should not be that difficult. Yet somehow, it is. Lord help those poor souls...
In metal, Argentina is clearly behind their rival Brazil in their development, with no real stand out bands at all. Their most prominent band is probably Rata Blanca, a classic heavy metal band from that was formed in the 80's, but had their hey days in the 90's. Not really much to say about their style since it is pretty straight forward, nothing that surprising, only notable thing is that they sing in Spanish, but it does not really elevate their music that much.
Fast forward to modern times, and we can see that power and folk metal are the dominating genres, with Skiltron as the leader of the pack, a group that has five solid records of nice and enjoyable folk metal. Following right behind them are bands like Helker and Tersivel, maybe not the strongest brigade out there, but maybe worthy of a look nonetheless. I do wanna recommend Downfall of Nur as well, a fairly new atmospheric black metal project led by a guy who goes under the name "A.". I definitely see some potential in this striking music he has created so far, so it might be one to watch in the future.
Croatia
From one country having problems to another one, Croatia has had a rocky way to this World Cup, firing their manager right before the crucial stages of their qualifying. Well, they made it, and it seems like they have gotten their shit together, offering a very impressive style of possession football, which is reasonable since they have a couple of midfield giants in Modric and Rakitic. I also love their striker Mandzukic, a very underrated goalscorer who have both the length and the technical skills to succeed against any opposition. This is a potential dark horse, a team that have the quality, but can they keep their stability throughout the tournament?
So the Balkan region is not the strongest threshold for metal, and it shows when I take a look at what Croatia has to offer. There is no real direction the bands are going in, and very few bands in here have produced enough music for a prolonged period of time. Most popular band is probably the gothic doom band Ashes You Leave, who have created six albums since 1998. They could be seen as a poor man's Epica, and that is honestly the nicest thing I can say about them. The rest of the field is not that impressive either, the industrial band Omega Lithium has some power to them, but has not released any new music since 2011, and Risen To Reclaim is a neat little heavy metal band that caught my attention with their 2014 effort "Paradox". But if we look a little further, we do find an interesting progressive rock band called Them Moose Rush that released an interesting new album this year in "Don't Pick Your Noise". So not many gems to be found here, unfortunately.
Iceland
Ahh Iceland, the smallest country to ever qualify to the World Cup. We all fell in love with them two years ago when they made Ronaldo and England look helpless. This is the definition of team work, 11 guys on the pitch with viking spirit, helping each other out with every bit of strength their bodies can produce. Sure, they might not have the most exciting style, but you must realize that a lot of these players are not really professionals, they have other jobs besides being national heroes. I just love watching these guys, proving time and time again that nothing is impossible in the game of football.
So being a part of the Nordic union together with Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, Iceland sure loves their metal too, especially black metal. The big star in the sky is obviously Sólstafir, who in recent years have become one of the juggernaut in the atmospheric black metal scene. With albums like "Köld", "Ótta", and "Berdreyminn" the trio of Svavar Austman, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, and Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson (god damn, I do not even know how to start pronouncing that mess) have created an institution of quality.
Right behind them, we got a bunch of other black metal acts that have gotten some nice recognition along their careers. Just to name a few, we got Skálmöld, Kontinuum, Árstíðir Lífsins, and... what the hell? They honest to god have a band that is just a symbol, maybe called Null or Void, but it is literally just a big ring that is acting like a symbol. Oh well, one thing is for sure though, if you want some quality black metal, Iceland is a good choice.
Nigeria
The Super Eagles of Nigeria has been a main stay in the World Cup, but the successes have not really been there. Main reasons for this is probably that they are close to the perfect opposite to Iceland. Nigeria is always a "team" filled with a lot of individual talent, but they never seem to mesh well together, not even the great team builder Lars Lagerbäck, the man behind the success of Iceland, could make Nigeria act like a team. One thing is certain though, Nigeria is a dangerous team when everything is aligned correctly, they can certainly take advantage with players like Moses, Ighalo, Iwobi, and the old veteran John Obi Mikel. Rise, Super Eagles, Rise.
Well, this is where I would write about Nigeria's metal scene, but there is only one small problem, there is none. Yep, despite the incredibly massive and expansive library that we possess in Encyclopaedia Metallum, no bands from Nigeria is listed, and I tried a simple Google search as well that only led me to this article in some site called Audio Inferno. There definitely seem to be a rock scene in Nigeria, but taking that next step towards metal seems to be a steep task. I am not that surprised though to be honest, since the culture in Africa is completely different (which we obviously have noticed in previous installments of this series), but finding out that no bands are out there is interesting. Maybe in the future, maybe...
Thoughts on group
Despite its size, Iceland is obviously the big gun in this group, and it all comes down to culture. Coming from a remote, cold island where you basically know the entire population, it does stuff to you. It is really cool though to see the growth that Iceland has had during the new millennium. Cannot say too much abut the rest of the group though, the remaining three countries have very little to show for.
Prediction on the competition (made before the competition began)
Despite the problems, Argentina should squeeze their way through to the round of 16. Second slot is wide open though, and I am a firm believer in team work. LET'S GO ICELAND!!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
The World Cup of Metal: Group C
It is now time to get to know one of the stronger groups of the metal World Cup, with two up and coming European countries, the only Oceanic team (even if it qualifies through Asia), and a South American team we have been dying to welcome back. Let us go.
Australia
The Socceroos have once again made it to the world cup, but it feels like the hype around the land down under has died down for quite some time. They had to beat Honduras in a final play off to get here, and it does feel like the weakest team in a long time. Their long time legend Tim Cahill is in the squad once again, but that is evidence on just how weak this team really is. They do have some nice players still, like Mile "The man with the beard" Jedinak, Aaron Mooy, and a good keeper in Mathew Ryan, but it will take a tremendous effort for this team to get any points out of this competition.
So we all know that AC/DC comes from Australia (and also AC/DC light, aka Airbourne), but in recent years, the Aussies have developed some great and inventive death metal bands. The most hyped up band right now is Ne Obliviscaris, the extreme progressive metal band that has made the violin one of their most deadliest weapons. It is a band I, and many more, have hailed ever since the release of their debut "Portal of I" back in 2012, and their development have been very good so far, taking step by step to become one of the biggest progressive acts out there. Not far behind though is Be'lakor, a melodic death metal group that have yet to disappoint so far in their14 year career, with 4 great studio efforts and a very nice live show reputation.
There are even more great bands from down under. The acclaimed metalcore group Parkway Drive is one of few driving forces around the genre, while Caligula's Horse is a quick riser in the progressive metal heaven. We got one of the more experimental death metal bands in Portal, a great blackened thrash group in Deströyer 666, the popular deathcore group Thy Art Is Murder, and also some underrated hard rockers in Wolfmother. Let me also throw in three personal favourites of mine, the epic power metal group Black Majesty has put together a solid number of good records lately, the progressive doom outfit Rise of Avernus is a band with a bright future, and not least, the progressive power house Teramaze needs some more love from the masses.
So yeah, Australia has a great, diverse group of metal bands, showing that the Young brothers are not the only ones representing their country.
Denmark
The obvious starting point when it comes to Danish metal is our favourite royalty, King Diamond. Together with the rest of Mercyful Fate, Kim Bendix Petersen rose up as one of the more prolific bands of the 80's, with the classic albums "Melissa" and "Don't Break The Oath". Might be fair to say though that the King has had even more success with his solo project, with the first four albums ("Fatal Portrait", "Abigail", "Them", "Conspiracy") as big proof to the man's greatness. In recent years though, the world has learned to love the "Elvis metal" band Volbeat, a group I do not personally get since it feels like they want to be heavy, yet still do not want to be heavy. Even I can agree though that they have created some great music over the years, and the fame is definitely not without its reasons.
Denmark has a few more gems though, more than one might think. It is mostly in the power metal genre where the Danes do the work, with bands such as Pyramaze, Royal Hunt, and Iron Fire, but they do have a good genre diversity across the board. We got black metal from Myrkur, thrash from Artillery and Hatesphere, industrial from Mnemic, classic heavy metal from Pretty Maids, and a good deal of progressive metal from Manticora, Evil Masquerade, and my favourites, Anubis Gate. The King showed his people the way, and the people followed.
France
I hold France as the main favourite in the competition, simply because there is a ridiculous amount of talent in this team. Sure, you can only chose 11 to play the game, but they could really put up anyone, and they would still be competitive. Here is just the sample size of talent they have, Griezmann, Pogba, Giroud, Varane, Lloris, Mbappe, Kante, Matuidi, Dembele, Fekir, and many, many more. God damn, the French are coming, and they are looking for revenge after losing the Euro final two years ago.
While the talent pool of metal bands may not be as large, there is still a good amount of talented bands to find, all lead of course by the environmentalists Gojira. The popularity of this progressive death metal band seems to be endless, and it is easy to see why. Their highly unique, crunchy style is one that no other band can match, a highly addictive sound that has spell bound a whole metal world.
Otherwise it is the black metal market where France has proven to be a force in, with highly respected bands as Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega, Les Discrets, and Alcest. Don't really know why black metal (and shoegaze to some extent) has become so popular here, maybe because they like misery and death? It is still interesting, and while the pickings are a little slim in other genres, we still have some quality bands here and there, like Adagio, Nightmare, and the instrumental duo The Algorithm. Still a fairly good amount, don't you think?
Peru
It has been 36 long years, but Peru is finally back in the World Cup, and it feels like the whole country is already celebrating like they won the whole thing. Just like any country from South America, football means a lot for Peru, and it certainly shows with their energetic style. Their attack is certainly exciting, with players like Guerrero, Farfán, Cueva, and Carrillo. It is a group of players that will certainly play with passion, and hopefully steal some hearts along the way.
Now, there is not too many bands of notice from Peru, but they do have one of the earlier death metal outfits. Formed in 1986, Mortem is one of the more important bands for South American extreme metal, creating some real demonic music that would not see the light of day in album format until 10 years later. The band may not be one of the front runners of the genre today, but they are still relevant, with the latest album released in 2016.
Otherwise, there is not much to gather from this country. Peru does not have a single style that defines them, so they instead have a bunch of bands in a bunch of genres, and no one has so far taken that huge leap towards the top. So while the numbers might be there (over 400 band entries in Metallum), the impact is yet to happen.
Thoughts on group
Australia is obviously the power house of the group, but France and Denmark also have a good deal of quality metal. Even if Peru does drag the group down a little, group C is still one of the stronger groups in the metal World Cup, at least in terms of the overall average
Prediction on the competition
France should have no trouble going through, and I do think their European buddies Denmark will go through with them. Eriksen will be the difference maker for the Danes.
Australia
The Socceroos have once again made it to the world cup, but it feels like the hype around the land down under has died down for quite some time. They had to beat Honduras in a final play off to get here, and it does feel like the weakest team in a long time. Their long time legend Tim Cahill is in the squad once again, but that is evidence on just how weak this team really is. They do have some nice players still, like Mile "The man with the beard" Jedinak, Aaron Mooy, and a good keeper in Mathew Ryan, but it will take a tremendous effort for this team to get any points out of this competition.
So we all know that AC/DC comes from Australia (and also AC/DC light, aka Airbourne), but in recent years, the Aussies have developed some great and inventive death metal bands. The most hyped up band right now is Ne Obliviscaris, the extreme progressive metal band that has made the violin one of their most deadliest weapons. It is a band I, and many more, have hailed ever since the release of their debut "Portal of I" back in 2012, and their development have been very good so far, taking step by step to become one of the biggest progressive acts out there. Not far behind though is Be'lakor, a melodic death metal group that have yet to disappoint so far in their14 year career, with 4 great studio efforts and a very nice live show reputation.
There are even more great bands from down under. The acclaimed metalcore group Parkway Drive is one of few driving forces around the genre, while Caligula's Horse is a quick riser in the progressive metal heaven. We got one of the more experimental death metal bands in Portal, a great blackened thrash group in Deströyer 666, the popular deathcore group Thy Art Is Murder, and also some underrated hard rockers in Wolfmother. Let me also throw in three personal favourites of mine, the epic power metal group Black Majesty has put together a solid number of good records lately, the progressive doom outfit Rise of Avernus is a band with a bright future, and not least, the progressive power house Teramaze needs some more love from the masses.
So yeah, Australia has a great, diverse group of metal bands, showing that the Young brothers are not the only ones representing their country.
Denmark
The obvious starting point when it comes to Danish metal is our favourite royalty, King Diamond. Together with the rest of Mercyful Fate, Kim Bendix Petersen rose up as one of the more prolific bands of the 80's, with the classic albums "Melissa" and "Don't Break The Oath". Might be fair to say though that the King has had even more success with his solo project, with the first four albums ("Fatal Portrait", "Abigail", "Them", "Conspiracy") as big proof to the man's greatness. In recent years though, the world has learned to love the "Elvis metal" band Volbeat, a group I do not personally get since it feels like they want to be heavy, yet still do not want to be heavy. Even I can agree though that they have created some great music over the years, and the fame is definitely not without its reasons.
Denmark has a few more gems though, more than one might think. It is mostly in the power metal genre where the Danes do the work, with bands such as Pyramaze, Royal Hunt, and Iron Fire, but they do have a good genre diversity across the board. We got black metal from Myrkur, thrash from Artillery and Hatesphere, industrial from Mnemic, classic heavy metal from Pretty Maids, and a good deal of progressive metal from Manticora, Evil Masquerade, and my favourites, Anubis Gate. The King showed his people the way, and the people followed.
France
I hold France as the main favourite in the competition, simply because there is a ridiculous amount of talent in this team. Sure, you can only chose 11 to play the game, but they could really put up anyone, and they would still be competitive. Here is just the sample size of talent they have, Griezmann, Pogba, Giroud, Varane, Lloris, Mbappe, Kante, Matuidi, Dembele, Fekir, and many, many more. God damn, the French are coming, and they are looking for revenge after losing the Euro final two years ago.
While the talent pool of metal bands may not be as large, there is still a good amount of talented bands to find, all lead of course by the environmentalists Gojira. The popularity of this progressive death metal band seems to be endless, and it is easy to see why. Their highly unique, crunchy style is one that no other band can match, a highly addictive sound that has spell bound a whole metal world.
Otherwise it is the black metal market where France has proven to be a force in, with highly respected bands as Blut Aus Nord, Deathspell Omega, Les Discrets, and Alcest. Don't really know why black metal (and shoegaze to some extent) has become so popular here, maybe because they like misery and death? It is still interesting, and while the pickings are a little slim in other genres, we still have some quality bands here and there, like Adagio, Nightmare, and the instrumental duo The Algorithm. Still a fairly good amount, don't you think?
Peru
It has been 36 long years, but Peru is finally back in the World Cup, and it feels like the whole country is already celebrating like they won the whole thing. Just like any country from South America, football means a lot for Peru, and it certainly shows with their energetic style. Their attack is certainly exciting, with players like Guerrero, Farfán, Cueva, and Carrillo. It is a group of players that will certainly play with passion, and hopefully steal some hearts along the way.
Now, there is not too many bands of notice from Peru, but they do have one of the earlier death metal outfits. Formed in 1986, Mortem is one of the more important bands for South American extreme metal, creating some real demonic music that would not see the light of day in album format until 10 years later. The band may not be one of the front runners of the genre today, but they are still relevant, with the latest album released in 2016.
Otherwise, there is not much to gather from this country. Peru does not have a single style that defines them, so they instead have a bunch of bands in a bunch of genres, and no one has so far taken that huge leap towards the top. So while the numbers might be there (over 400 band entries in Metallum), the impact is yet to happen.
Thoughts on group
Australia is obviously the power house of the group, but France and Denmark also have a good deal of quality metal. Even if Peru does drag the group down a little, group C is still one of the stronger groups in the metal World Cup, at least in terms of the overall average
Prediction on the competition
France should have no trouble going through, and I do think their European buddies Denmark will go through with them. Eriksen will be the difference maker for the Danes.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
The World Cup of Metal: Group B
Onto Group B in this World Cup series, a group that has been described as a 50/50 group, with two huge nations, and two smaller ones. Is it the same when we look at their metal scenes? Let's find out.
Iran
We first saw Iran in the last World Cup, and while they did not really impress at all back then, they have gained some much needed experience that could be useful in this year's competition. With the core of the squad returning, this team will not be beaten all that easily thanks to a rock solid defense, and a strong will. I will certainly keep an eye on the talented striker Sardar Azmoun, and as a Swede, I will definitely root for the Östersund player Saman Ghoddos to make a good impression.
Just like any other Arabian country, the sample size of metal bands are not that big. There is still a good amount of progressive bands here though, like Mordab, Kahtmayan, and Explode. None of them might be in the class of what we are used to, but still some nice attempts. There is obviously a good amount of other genres represented, like death/thrash band Arsames and black metal band Ekove Efrits, but none seemed to really peak my interest. It is a good step on the way for the country, but they do have some way to go.
Morocco
Seems like a lot of people have hyped up this team, and looking back at their qualifying, I cannot blame them. Morocco did not allow a single goal to be conceded throughout the qualifying rounds, so be sure that the defense will be tough to get through. This is a more technical team though, with a huge majority of the players being born in Europe, they have been thought football from the best academies. With interesting players like Benatia, Belhanda, and Ziyech, there is certainly a lot of positive vibes for this African team.
Well, I wished I could say the same about the metal scene though. I guess they might have a underground scene that might be growing, but nothing that has shown its ugly face so far for us. With only 22 entries in Encyclopaedia Metallum, Morocco is one of the poorest countries in this category. The only band that seem to have some sort of a career is the symphonic band Analgesia, and the nicest thing I can say about them is that they are a very poor man's version of Nightwish. Sorry, was not much to be found here.
Portugal
So Portugal are the reigning European champions and are going to try to accomplish what Spain did 8 years ago, follow it up by winning the World Cup as well. It is gonna be tough though, because their team consists of mega star Cristiano Ronaldo, and 22 other guys. In a way, they are like the Dream Theater greatest hit album of the World Cup, the other players are by no means bad, but it feels like no one is even close to where Ronaldo stands, which could hurt them in the end. They can absolutely win it all, but they might crash and burn as well if they have the same start as in the Euros two years ago (they ended third in the group and was lucky to even get through).
The question is though, which band is the equivalent to Ronaldo? The clear answer here is Moonspell, a band that has been in the game for almost 30 years, starting out as a black metal band, but has changed its sound multiple times, to folk, to gothic, and even a bit symphonic as well. It is a band that is just oozing of great quality, which their last two albums "Extinct" and "1755" are a great indication to. A masterful band who knows how to entertain their fans.
While no other band is at the same level as Moonspell, we do have a good bunch of nice doom bands, like Process of Guilt, Before The Rain, and Painted Black. Then we have Heavenwood, another gothic band that has created some great music ever since the 90's. So there is a good amount of bands to be found here at the western side of the Iberian Peninsula.
Spain
So Spain has been talked up as one of the favourites to win it all, but after the sudden sacking of manager Lopetegui, chaos reigns in the Spanish camp. Let us be honest though, will that really disturb the team? With a team that is bursting with talent in close to every position, Spain should go through to the play offs with ease. Then again, they have failed to go past the group in the previous two championships. I still believe in them though, with players like Silva, Isco, De Gea, Iniesta, Costa, Ramos, Pique, Alba, Busquets, and many more, how can you not succeed?
But while Spain is bigger than their little brother Portugal, that does not translate in the metal side of things. There is certainly a good number of interesting bands out there, like the symphonic power metal band Dark Moor, the thrashers in Angelus Apatrida, the up and rising symphonic band Diabulus In Musica, and the heavy metal legends Mägo De Oz, but none of them are of world class standard. It definitely feels like the Spanish metal scene is there, but it is not growing at a noticeable rate. They would need a band that could make that gigantic breakthrough.
Thoughts on group
Not much to say about Iran and Morocco, both understandably have very small scenes. Spain and Portugal are both pretty decent, even if Portugal may rely more on Moonspell, while Spain has more of a broader array of bands to count on. So while no country in this group may not be any of the big guns in the metal world, they still offer something to the table.
Prediction on the competition
Everything is leaning towards Spain and Portugal going through, and I do think it will end this way. Do not be surprised though if Portugal somehow screw this up...
Iran
We first saw Iran in the last World Cup, and while they did not really impress at all back then, they have gained some much needed experience that could be useful in this year's competition. With the core of the squad returning, this team will not be beaten all that easily thanks to a rock solid defense, and a strong will. I will certainly keep an eye on the talented striker Sardar Azmoun, and as a Swede, I will definitely root for the Östersund player Saman Ghoddos to make a good impression.
Just like any other Arabian country, the sample size of metal bands are not that big. There is still a good amount of progressive bands here though, like Mordab, Kahtmayan, and Explode. None of them might be in the class of what we are used to, but still some nice attempts. There is obviously a good amount of other genres represented, like death/thrash band Arsames and black metal band Ekove Efrits, but none seemed to really peak my interest. It is a good step on the way for the country, but they do have some way to go.
Morocco
Seems like a lot of people have hyped up this team, and looking back at their qualifying, I cannot blame them. Morocco did not allow a single goal to be conceded throughout the qualifying rounds, so be sure that the defense will be tough to get through. This is a more technical team though, with a huge majority of the players being born in Europe, they have been thought football from the best academies. With interesting players like Benatia, Belhanda, and Ziyech, there is certainly a lot of positive vibes for this African team.
Well, I wished I could say the same about the metal scene though. I guess they might have a underground scene that might be growing, but nothing that has shown its ugly face so far for us. With only 22 entries in Encyclopaedia Metallum, Morocco is one of the poorest countries in this category. The only band that seem to have some sort of a career is the symphonic band Analgesia, and the nicest thing I can say about them is that they are a very poor man's version of Nightwish. Sorry, was not much to be found here.
Portugal
So Portugal are the reigning European champions and are going to try to accomplish what Spain did 8 years ago, follow it up by winning the World Cup as well. It is gonna be tough though, because their team consists of mega star Cristiano Ronaldo, and 22 other guys. In a way, they are like the Dream Theater greatest hit album of the World Cup, the other players are by no means bad, but it feels like no one is even close to where Ronaldo stands, which could hurt them in the end. They can absolutely win it all, but they might crash and burn as well if they have the same start as in the Euros two years ago (they ended third in the group and was lucky to even get through).
The question is though, which band is the equivalent to Ronaldo? The clear answer here is Moonspell, a band that has been in the game for almost 30 years, starting out as a black metal band, but has changed its sound multiple times, to folk, to gothic, and even a bit symphonic as well. It is a band that is just oozing of great quality, which their last two albums "Extinct" and "1755" are a great indication to. A masterful band who knows how to entertain their fans.
While no other band is at the same level as Moonspell, we do have a good bunch of nice doom bands, like Process of Guilt, Before The Rain, and Painted Black. Then we have Heavenwood, another gothic band that has created some great music ever since the 90's. So there is a good amount of bands to be found here at the western side of the Iberian Peninsula.
Spain
So Spain has been talked up as one of the favourites to win it all, but after the sudden sacking of manager Lopetegui, chaos reigns in the Spanish camp. Let us be honest though, will that really disturb the team? With a team that is bursting with talent in close to every position, Spain should go through to the play offs with ease. Then again, they have failed to go past the group in the previous two championships. I still believe in them though, with players like Silva, Isco, De Gea, Iniesta, Costa, Ramos, Pique, Alba, Busquets, and many more, how can you not succeed?
But while Spain is bigger than their little brother Portugal, that does not translate in the metal side of things. There is certainly a good number of interesting bands out there, like the symphonic power metal band Dark Moor, the thrashers in Angelus Apatrida, the up and rising symphonic band Diabulus In Musica, and the heavy metal legends Mägo De Oz, but none of them are of world class standard. It definitely feels like the Spanish metal scene is there, but it is not growing at a noticeable rate. They would need a band that could make that gigantic breakthrough.
Thoughts on group
Not much to say about Iran and Morocco, both understandably have very small scenes. Spain and Portugal are both pretty decent, even if Portugal may rely more on Moonspell, while Spain has more of a broader array of bands to count on. So while no country in this group may not be any of the big guns in the metal world, they still offer something to the table.
Prediction on the competition
Everything is leaning towards Spain and Portugal going through, and I do think it will end this way. Do not be surprised though if Portugal somehow screw this up...
Thursday, June 14, 2018
The World Cup of Metal: Group A
Every fourth year, the football maniacs of the world gather in one of the most massive events we humans know of, the World Cup. 32 countries who have fought with all their might have now gathered in Russia to determine which of them has the best skills to kick a ball with their feet. It is a month long battle of blood, sweat, tears, tactics, and dives, and we are all invited to this party to witness history in the making. To celebrate this occasion, I have taken quite a task on me, to not only dissect each country, but also how their metal scene is. So get ready for a journey around the metal world, and let us hope that we discover some gems along the way.
Egypt
So we start out with one of the tougher countries to examine, the kingdom known as Egypt. Since they have not qualified for a World Cup since 1990, the happiness was seemingly endless when the national team finally managed to do so by winning their group in the African qualifier. Led by their own pharaoh, Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, and their own mummy, 45 year old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, the Egyptian squad is hoping to make their people proud by playing some exciting football.
As for the metal scene, there is not much of it, with only 35 bands officially listed at Encyclopaedia Metallum, but there are still some interest to be found here. Arguably the most well known band from the country, brutal death metal group Scarab has certainly caught the attention of the rest of the world. Formed in 2001, the band has released two studio efforts, "Blinding The Masses" in 2009, and "Serpents of The Nile" in 2015, two nice records that really showcases the band's connection with their own heritage, fusing that recognizable Egyptian tone with some nifty death metal. So if you have not heard of these guys yet, go listen to them now.
The Arabic influences does not stop with just Scarab though, other bands like black metal duo Odious and the more progressive group Sand Aura takes full advantage of it with their music, creating some really captivating music. So while the sample size is not too big, there is still some tasty bits to enjoy here.
Russia
On to Mother Russia, the hosts of the 21st World Cup of football. While I am certain Putin and his crew is doing everything in his might to make his country look at his best, he unfortunately cannot do anything about his national team. Russia is said to be the worst hosting nation of all time, with a squad that has very few stars, with most of the more well known names (such as Akinfeev, Dzagoev, and Zhirkov) not being in the best shape of their career. I believe Russia should be happy if they even get one win out of this competition, even with a relatively easy group.
In metal, folk and doom are the more dominating genres, with bands such as Arkona, Kauan, The Morningside, and Alkonost leading the charge. Just as Egypt, Russia uses a lot of their own culture in their music, mostly through the fact that they use the Russian language in their music, to evoke a different style from what we in the western world are used to. We got some other genres emerging through too, like the death metal band Katalepsy and nu metal band The Slot.
There is one band I would like to lift up, and that is the power metal band Hammerforce, a really exciting and relatively young band that completely blew me away with their sophomore effort "Access Denied" (which was released in a Russian and a English version). Their futuristic take of the genre is really fun, and the debut record "Dice" is not too shabby either. Been a while since I heard any news from the band though, so their status is a little up in the air, but I do recommend you guys to check them out if you love power metal.
Overall, Russian metal is certainly on the rise, unlike their football team.
Saudi Arabia
It has been a while since we saw Saudi Arabia in the World Cup stage, 12 years to be exact, but it feels like very little has changed since that 2006 competition. The country had its glory days during the late 90's, but has slowly but surely lost leverage in the football world. Close to all players in the squad plays in the Saudi Arabian league, and the few who play in the Spanish La Liga have not had much play time to speak of. I would be very surprised if they did anything spectacular in Russia, maybe steal a point from the hosting nation, but no, not even that seem likely.
As it turns out, the metal scene in the country is not that great either, with only 12 entries in Metallum. Not surprising really, since the whole Arabic region is not too keen with metal in general (as Egypt also showed). Most popular act seem to be black metal band Al-Namrood, and they play quite a weird style with some Arabic influences and a singer who sounds like he has marbles in his mouth. A strange band that did not peak my interest at all.
Rest of the bands are not much better, with most focusing around death and thrash metal. So sorry for all of you Saudi Arabians out there, I am afraid that you need to work a little harder.
Uruguay
Finally, we have Uruguay, the only country in Group A that has good experience from the World Cup, and seem to have a shot at success this year as well. With an electrifying attack starring Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani, Uruguay has the opportunity to be one of the dark horses of the competition. South American teams always delivers some great football, and with a Luis Suarez on the field, we may never know what to expect. Goals? Mistakes? Biting? You never know when Uruguay plays.
The underground scene in Uruguay is quite big, but there are still no band that has managed to break through so far. Just like Brazil, thrash and groove metal is a good representation of the country, but there is also a good deal of basic heavy metal. Through my brief research, I did find a couple of bands that might interest some. Thrash metal band Epsilon delivers some nice meaty thrash in Spanish, Horror On Black Hills has some good black metal to offer, and then we have Elarcos, a progressive metal band that mixes in a lot of fusion influences too, creating a uniquely strange sound, one that you might have to hear to believe.
Thoughts on group
From a metal stand point, this is certainly not one of the stronger groups of the lot, might be one of the weakest actually. No real high profile band to be found here, but there is some interesting underground scenes that we hope will grow larger in time. So it is just like the football side of things, maybe not the sexiest group, but still worthy of investing some time at least.
Prediction on the competition
The strong attack of Uruguay will propel them forward towards the play offs, together with Mohamed Salah and his Egypt.
Egypt
So we start out with one of the tougher countries to examine, the kingdom known as Egypt. Since they have not qualified for a World Cup since 1990, the happiness was seemingly endless when the national team finally managed to do so by winning their group in the African qualifier. Led by their own pharaoh, Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, and their own mummy, 45 year old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, the Egyptian squad is hoping to make their people proud by playing some exciting football.
As for the metal scene, there is not much of it, with only 35 bands officially listed at Encyclopaedia Metallum, but there are still some interest to be found here. Arguably the most well known band from the country, brutal death metal group Scarab has certainly caught the attention of the rest of the world. Formed in 2001, the band has released two studio efforts, "Blinding The Masses" in 2009, and "Serpents of The Nile" in 2015, two nice records that really showcases the band's connection with their own heritage, fusing that recognizable Egyptian tone with some nifty death metal. So if you have not heard of these guys yet, go listen to them now.
The Arabic influences does not stop with just Scarab though, other bands like black metal duo Odious and the more progressive group Sand Aura takes full advantage of it with their music, creating some really captivating music. So while the sample size is not too big, there is still some tasty bits to enjoy here.
Russia
On to Mother Russia, the hosts of the 21st World Cup of football. While I am certain Putin and his crew is doing everything in his might to make his country look at his best, he unfortunately cannot do anything about his national team. Russia is said to be the worst hosting nation of all time, with a squad that has very few stars, with most of the more well known names (such as Akinfeev, Dzagoev, and Zhirkov) not being in the best shape of their career. I believe Russia should be happy if they even get one win out of this competition, even with a relatively easy group.
In metal, folk and doom are the more dominating genres, with bands such as Arkona, Kauan, The Morningside, and Alkonost leading the charge. Just as Egypt, Russia uses a lot of their own culture in their music, mostly through the fact that they use the Russian language in their music, to evoke a different style from what we in the western world are used to. We got some other genres emerging through too, like the death metal band Katalepsy and nu metal band The Slot.
There is one band I would like to lift up, and that is the power metal band Hammerforce, a really exciting and relatively young band that completely blew me away with their sophomore effort "Access Denied" (which was released in a Russian and a English version). Their futuristic take of the genre is really fun, and the debut record "Dice" is not too shabby either. Been a while since I heard any news from the band though, so their status is a little up in the air, but I do recommend you guys to check them out if you love power metal.
Overall, Russian metal is certainly on the rise, unlike their football team.
Saudi Arabia
It has been a while since we saw Saudi Arabia in the World Cup stage, 12 years to be exact, but it feels like very little has changed since that 2006 competition. The country had its glory days during the late 90's, but has slowly but surely lost leverage in the football world. Close to all players in the squad plays in the Saudi Arabian league, and the few who play in the Spanish La Liga have not had much play time to speak of. I would be very surprised if they did anything spectacular in Russia, maybe steal a point from the hosting nation, but no, not even that seem likely.
As it turns out, the metal scene in the country is not that great either, with only 12 entries in Metallum. Not surprising really, since the whole Arabic region is not too keen with metal in general (as Egypt also showed). Most popular act seem to be black metal band Al-Namrood, and they play quite a weird style with some Arabic influences and a singer who sounds like he has marbles in his mouth. A strange band that did not peak my interest at all.
Rest of the bands are not much better, with most focusing around death and thrash metal. So sorry for all of you Saudi Arabians out there, I am afraid that you need to work a little harder.
Uruguay
Finally, we have Uruguay, the only country in Group A that has good experience from the World Cup, and seem to have a shot at success this year as well. With an electrifying attack starring Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani, Uruguay has the opportunity to be one of the dark horses of the competition. South American teams always delivers some great football, and with a Luis Suarez on the field, we may never know what to expect. Goals? Mistakes? Biting? You never know when Uruguay plays.
The underground scene in Uruguay is quite big, but there are still no band that has managed to break through so far. Just like Brazil, thrash and groove metal is a good representation of the country, but there is also a good deal of basic heavy metal. Through my brief research, I did find a couple of bands that might interest some. Thrash metal band Epsilon delivers some nice meaty thrash in Spanish, Horror On Black Hills has some good black metal to offer, and then we have Elarcos, a progressive metal band that mixes in a lot of fusion influences too, creating a uniquely strange sound, one that you might have to hear to believe.
Thoughts on group
From a metal stand point, this is certainly not one of the stronger groups of the lot, might be one of the weakest actually. No real high profile band to be found here, but there is some interesting underground scenes that we hope will grow larger in time. So it is just like the football side of things, maybe not the sexiest group, but still worthy of investing some time at least.
Prediction on the competition
The strong attack of Uruguay will propel them forward towards the play offs, together with Mohamed Salah and his Egypt.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Metallica - St. Anger (2003)
Over the 15 years that "St. Anger" has been out for the world to see, it has gotten a very rotten reputation, one that I hoped would try to counter at the end of the day, but nope, I can only agree with most of the negative criticism that has been spewed all over it. Let us tackle the two most common complaints first, the drumming, and the lack of solos. Now, an album certainly does not need solos to be good, and with the more punk vibe that this album has, I kind of get why the band did not add any, but I think it is a waste of talent when neither Hammett or Hetfield get to show their chops. As for the drumming, I have been trying my hardest to stay away from it in previous reviews, because it is like beating a dead horse, but here, it just cannot be ignored. The ringing sound of Ulrich's drums sounds like those modified oil drums you find on Caribbean calypso bands, and they do stick out like a sore thumb. God damn it.
But there are more problems with this album, unfortunately. Just like with the last two albums, the length is a huge issue here, but unlike "Load" and "Reload", where the albums where filled with dull fillers, "St. Anger" do have a good amount of energy, but a lot of repetition that feels completely unnecessary. Several songs just repeats themselves way too much, making you feel like you are stuck in an endless loop. "Invisible Kid" is the perfect example of this, a pretty fun song actually, but it has a length of 8 and a half minute, every line in the verses start with the title, and it goes on and on and on and on, IT NEVER ENDS! A good idea completely wasted.
And that is probably the saddest part about "St. Anger", that there is some amount of good, or at least interesting, ideas in here, once again showing that Metallica is not afraid to experiment with their music. Even if most tracks in "St. Anger" feels really strange coming from Metallica, like they do not belong at all with this band, there are still songs like "Frantic", "The Unnamed Feeling", "All Within My Hands", and even the title track have some really neat tricks that certainly works, but I feel like the anger of the band kind of ruins the quality of the craft. Hetfield does not sound as crisp as usual (in fact, he sounds really, really bad in some places), Hammett does not get any room at all to shine, and Lars... is Lars. It is perfectly obvious that this is not a band in harmony, a group that still needs some healing before being 100% again.
With all said and done though, there is one thing that I do not agree with most naysayers about "St. Anger", that it is a candidate for the "Worst metal album of all time" award. Sure, "St. Anger" is a rotten album, it is a record only a mother could love, and it is without any shadow of a doubt the worst Metallica record out there ("Lulu" not included, because it is more of a Lou Reed album), but it does at the very least have some neat ideas that might not have been given the best opportunities to shine, but they are still there to behold. This is an angry record that tries to maul everything in its path, without any real sense of direction, which makes it difficult to get a grasp on. So let us all do what Hetfield say in the title track, flush it out.
Songs worthy of recognition: Frantic, The Unnamed Feeling
Rating: 2,5/10 Sweet Ambers
metallica.com/
twitter.com/metallica
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Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Ghost - Prequelle (2018)
Obviously, it does give you some other perspective on things, but Ghost is still mainly about the image of the band, not necessarily the music. It is a band that lures you in with its albums, but offers the live shows as its main course, so I do not think it will make that much of a difference, because in the end, you will still enjoy the spectacle around it, with each show serving as a satanic mass that is yet another stepping stone towards world domination.
But to get people to the shows, you need good music, and Ghost has certainly delivered so far in their career, and their fourth album "Prequelle" opens up promising. After the small intro "Ashes", we get treated with the lead single "Rats", a classic Ghost tune with great riffing, some brilliant drum beats, and a catchy as hell chorus that will go down really well in a live setting. It is a song that sticks with you instantly from first listen. "Faith" follows it up with what could have been a guest appearance from Yngwie Malmsteen, but much slower. It is still the heaviest track on the record, and it has a very nice flow to it, a flow only the first instrumental track "Miasma" can match, a song that fluently moves to different styles and tempos, even throwing in a sexy saxophone solo at the end.
The first half of "Prequelle" is fantastic, definitely matching what the band has done previously, but it all turns sour once the second single "Dance Macabre" enters. From here on out, the band goes a little too much ABBA, emphasizing the pop aspect of their sound way too much, which will certainly make a lot of trve metal fans cringe. Ghost has shown that they can incorporate pop into their music in a good way before, so the problem is that they become too cheesy for their own good, especially in the lyrics, like being with someone in the moonlight, or how about this horrid chorus line from "Pro Memoria".
Don't you forget about dying
Don't you forget about your friend death
Don't you forget that you will die
It continues on with "Witch Image", which is a nice little tune in it self, not taking too much attention, but enough to be enjoyable. Another instrumental kicks in after that, "Helvetesfönster" (Swedish for "Hell Window"), and I find it to be quite dull, but serviceable for a ending track... if it had been that. Nope, the band crammed in another song after it called "Life Eternal", and it is an okay song with some religious emotion behind it, but why is this the last song of the record? It feels misplaced here, probably would have worked better a little earlier in the album, or maybe just as a bonus track.
I get that Ghost is in this state where their fan base is extremely big, and it consists of almost any type of music fans, from metal lovers to casual radio listeners, so they feel like they have to please everyone, which is why we get an album that is basically schizophrenic. The first half is classic Ghost stuff, great, groovy, and spooky doom rock that you can put on anytime and enjoy the hell out of it. The second half is more for those who enjoyed "He Is" and "Cirice" from "Meliora", in other words, the more poppier side of the band. I am afraid that this album will not really speak to anyone without them finding a part that they will not like, and most fans will probably label "Prequelle" as the worst Ghost album thus far, which only confirms how damn good those first three albums are. However, it is not likely that it will affect the popularity of the band negatively, their place as the metal juggernauts of the 2010's is still secure, and will be so for some time to come.
Songs worthy of recognition: Faith, Rats, Miasma
Rating: 7/10 Helvetesfönster
ghost-official.com/
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Sunday, June 3, 2018
Lordi - Sexorcism (2018)
Well, I would say that "Sexorcism" lands somewhere in between that scale, because most of the lyrics are really strange, but the music is surprisingly laid back, not at all showing any real interest. Let us start with the lyrics, because they are more fun to talk about. Just like the album title hinted, "Sexorcism" is without a doubt the dirtiest Lordi album to date, singing a lot about making people (and beasts) cum, keeping girls locked in the basement, and other stuff the band has not really touched on before. It is dangerously close to Steel Panther level of sleazy sexism (the album cover itself is just disgusting), but they do balance it out with some horror puns and mentions of Satan, so it is all good.
Just such a shame that the music is mostly stale and predictable. Sure, Lordi may not be known for their ability to twist and turn a song structure, but at least they have shown some growth in later records, especially in the instrumental department with some nifty guitar work and haunting keys. Both of those are still the strong point of the record, but there are not many sections that I can truly remember, so they are not exactly helping the album to become memorable.
This makes "Sexorcism" a very flat lined album, not really bringing out any real emotion out of me. The entire record is okay song after okay song, with close to all of them not really standing out. The band is obviously trying, but the material is hard to work with, like how can you take an awful pun like "Poterchrist" and make a good song about it, or how about the horror swing known as "Hot & Satanned", a very strange song, even with Lordi's standard.
Fortunately, there is always a couple of songs that do have enough power in them to save the record, and "Sexorcism" has its fair share as well. The title track is a great opener that really sets the bar, and I also love the comedy that "Romeo Ate Juliet" brings (a play I would love to see). Both "Hell Has Room" and "Naked In My Cellar" has some nice power to them so that you will not fall asleep, and "Haunting Season" ends the album well with a nice creepy atmosphere. None of these songs will most likely not be any future classics, but they do offer enough quality to a record that is starving for some.
So while "Sexorcism" is not in the embarrassing levels of an album like "Deadache", it is definitely not gonna go down in history as one of Lordi's proudest achievements. It is an album that tries to be shocking with its dirty humour, but the music just does not match up, over shadowing the lyrics to give this record a very grey aura. I would not say this is a disappointing album (it sounds like Lordi after all), but i definitely hoped for more since they had a good streak going. I really sure hope the demon who possessed that poor lady had fun, cause I was only mildly amused.
Songs worthy of recognition: Romeo Ate Juliet, Naked In My Cellar, Sodomesticated Animal
Rating: 6/10 Polterchrists
www.lordi.fi/
twitter.com/LORDIOFFICIAL
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