National CD Reviews
Issue 233 / May 2008 More from this Issue
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21
Music from the Motion Picture
Columbia
Street: 03.18
21 = LCD Soundsystem + MGMT + Peter Bjorn and John + Rihanna
How are we going to make this movie "cool"? How can we appeal to generation Y? I know! Let’s find all the hip bands of yesteryear and put them in our movie. OK, so maybe this comp did get us right a little bit, the exclusive LCD Soundsystem track, "Big Ideas," is pretty cool—kinda a cross between their 45:33 album and Sound of Silver album sounds. In addition, an electro-dub heavy remix of the Rolling Stones’ "You Can’t Always Get What you Want" by Soulwax brings the only other reason to seek out this compilation. Everything else is pretty average, played out, or random, not much to make this soundtrack stand out by any means. Speaking of the film, Kate Bosworth has a huge forehead. Has no one else noticed this? Weird. –Ryan Powers
Aletheian
Dying Vine
Metal Blade
Street: 05.13
Aletheian = Death + Cynic + Atheist
Dying Vine is Aletheian’s second album and was originally released in 2005—three years later, Metal Blade obviously saw promise in the band and has given Dying Vine the re-mixing and re-mastering treatment and worldwide distribution, as well as an added bonus cover tune of Cynic’s "How Could I." I’ve had the original release in my collection since it came out and hopefully, this new larger label and re-master will give the band some more credit, which they most definitely deserve. Aletheian quite possibly makes death metal sound the most beautiful and serene that it can sound. There is no denying the progressive influence on the record with technical guitars flowing and playing circles that dance in your head, coupled with epic and majestic keyboards. But then there is dynamic shredding going on here, with piercing growls. The juxtaposition of melody and brutality is a nifty one here; many bands have tried and the ones that achieved the success are legendary. Aletheian is poised to snatch that greatness with this album now achieving a larger audience. I’m ready for the next full-length—guys, bring it on soon. –Bryer Wharton
Arsis
We are the Nightmare
Nuclear Blast
Street: 04.15
Arsis = Necrophagist + Death
Arsis have been hailed as one of the few American death metal bands that are at the front of the scene as far as ingenuity goes. The Virginian band relishes in their tempo changes and sheer musical technicality, the band seems to have forgone the groove element of death metal seen on the band’s previous albums. But in that lack of groove there is a massive does of chaos in the swirling leads and solos; the whole record is basically a guitar player’s showcase, with the drumming coming in at a close second. We are the Nightmare holds in its hands the ability to transcend the death metal genre, mainly because of its slight metalcore element with its vocals that aren’t the standard cookie-cutter monster-sounding death growls, and that thriving chaos. This means other genre fanboys that exclaim greatness whenever they hear guitars that Darkest Hour couldn’t come up with might jump on the wagon. Arsis deserves credit but not from those fanboys—they deserve it from the people that have stewed in the American death metal scene since it began and can appreciate a relatively new band that can play very well. –Bryer Wharton
Avsky
Malignant
Moribund Records
Street: 04.08
Avsky = Svartsyn + Craft + Katharsis
Swedish black metal always has a tendency to win me over because it generally seems more energetic and youthful than many bands from neighboring countries. I can’t place my finger on it, but Avsky doesn’t contend this generalization at all. Though this album doesn’t try to break any new ground, all of the songs manage to stand out from each other, and the vocals actually have a unique grind to them (OK, and the reverb effect helps a bit, too). Though Avsky’s style doesn’t exactly revert back to the early black metal days of Darkthrone or Bathory, where thrash and punk were still heavy influences, it still has an almost crust-punk tinge to it that adds a great deal of appeal for me. It’s almost as if these guys have managed to cross over several eras of black metal but in a manner so subtle that it’s nothing but fantastic. –Conor Dow
A Whisper In The Noise
Dry Land
Exile On Mainstream
Street: 05.06
A Whisper In The Noise = Poison Arrows + your doom approaching + ghosts in the shape of acoustic instruments + Arcade Fire + Church of The Red Museum
The first track on Dry Land, "As We Were," is straight-up menacing. This song will be the soundtrack that plays when Death himself approaches me to put an end to my days and CD review-writing for eternity and to put an end to all the suffering I have put endless bands through by giving their album bad reviews. The second track, "Awaken to Winter," would be the celebration that occurs after I am dead and gone. This album is soft and gloomy, similar to your grandparents without their antidepressants. The more I listened to this album, the more I realized how wonderfully sad this album is. Every song comes across in a well-thought-out natural sound and every note seems to accentuate the overall dreary feeling. If you listened to this album too much on your home stereo, black clouds will roll in and it will start raining all over your house and ruin your couch. –Jon Robertson
Music from the Motion Picture
Columbia
Street: 03.18
21 = LCD Soundsystem + MGMT + Peter Bjorn and John + Rihanna
How are we going to make this movie "cool"? How can we appeal to generation Y? I know! Let’s find all the hip bands of yesteryear and put them in our movie. OK, so maybe this comp did get us right a little bit, the exclusive LCD Soundsystem track, "Big Ideas," is pretty cool—kinda a cross between their 45:33 album and Sound of Silver album sounds. In addition, an electro-dub heavy remix of the Rolling Stones’ "You Can’t Always Get What you Want" by Soulwax brings the only other reason to seek out this compilation. Everything else is pretty average, played out, or random, not much to make this soundtrack stand out by any means. Speaking of the film, Kate Bosworth has a huge forehead. Has no one else noticed this? Weird. –Ryan Powers
Aletheian
Dying Vine
Metal Blade
Street: 05.13
Aletheian = Death + Cynic + Atheist
Dying Vine is Aletheian’s second album and was originally released in 2005—three years later, Metal Blade obviously saw promise in the band and has given Dying Vine the re-mixing and re-mastering treatment and worldwide distribution, as well as an added bonus cover tune of Cynic’s "How Could I." I’ve had the original release in my collection since it came out and hopefully, this new larger label and re-master will give the band some more credit, which they most definitely deserve. Aletheian quite possibly makes death metal sound the most beautiful and serene that it can sound. There is no denying the progressive influence on the record with technical guitars flowing and playing circles that dance in your head, coupled with epic and majestic keyboards. But then there is dynamic shredding going on here, with piercing growls. The juxtaposition of melody and brutality is a nifty one here; many bands have tried and the ones that achieved the success are legendary. Aletheian is poised to snatch that greatness with this album now achieving a larger audience. I’m ready for the next full-length—guys, bring it on soon. –Bryer Wharton
Arsis
We are the Nightmare
Nuclear Blast
Street: 04.15
Arsis = Necrophagist + Death
Arsis have been hailed as one of the few American death metal bands that are at the front of the scene as far as ingenuity goes. The Virginian band relishes in their tempo changes and sheer musical technicality, the band seems to have forgone the groove element of death metal seen on the band’s previous albums. But in that lack of groove there is a massive does of chaos in the swirling leads and solos; the whole record is basically a guitar player’s showcase, with the drumming coming in at a close second. We are the Nightmare holds in its hands the ability to transcend the death metal genre, mainly because of its slight metalcore element with its vocals that aren’t the standard cookie-cutter monster-sounding death growls, and that thriving chaos. This means other genre fanboys that exclaim greatness whenever they hear guitars that Darkest Hour couldn’t come up with might jump on the wagon. Arsis deserves credit but not from those fanboys—they deserve it from the people that have stewed in the American death metal scene since it began and can appreciate a relatively new band that can play very well. –Bryer Wharton
Avsky
Malignant
Moribund Records
Street: 04.08
Avsky = Svartsyn + Craft + Katharsis
Swedish black metal always has a tendency to win me over because it generally seems more energetic and youthful than many bands from neighboring countries. I can’t place my finger on it, but Avsky doesn’t contend this generalization at all. Though this album doesn’t try to break any new ground, all of the songs manage to stand out from each other, and the vocals actually have a unique grind to them (OK, and the reverb effect helps a bit, too). Though Avsky’s style doesn’t exactly revert back to the early black metal days of Darkthrone or Bathory, where thrash and punk were still heavy influences, it still has an almost crust-punk tinge to it that adds a great deal of appeal for me. It’s almost as if these guys have managed to cross over several eras of black metal but in a manner so subtle that it’s nothing but fantastic. –Conor Dow
A Whisper In The Noise
Dry Land
Exile On Mainstream
Street: 05.06
A Whisper In The Noise = Poison Arrows + your doom approaching + ghosts in the shape of acoustic instruments + Arcade Fire + Church of The Red Museum
The first track on Dry Land, "As We Were," is straight-up menacing. This song will be the soundtrack that plays when Death himself approaches me to put an end to my days and CD review-writing for eternity and to put an end to all the suffering I have put endless bands through by giving their album bad reviews. The second track, "Awaken to Winter," would be the celebration that occurs after I am dead and gone. This album is soft and gloomy, similar to your grandparents without their antidepressants. The more I listened to this album, the more I realized how wonderfully sad this album is. Every song comes across in a well-thought-out natural sound and every note seems to accentuate the overall dreary feeling. If you listened to this album too much on your home stereo, black clouds will roll in and it will start raining all over your house and ruin your couch. –Jon Robertson
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