This collection of fresh tracks allows the listener to emerge in a brand new realm soaked in mystery and retro-rock atmosphere - key features of HÄLLAS’ fantasy and sci-fi driven auditory aesthetic. The album starts with synthesizer-laden “Birth Into Darkness”, with an incredibly clever topline featuring the unique vocals of singer and bassist Tommy Alexandersson. The musical journey continues with the mystical single “Earl’s Theme”, embellished by choral voices, and proceeds with exceptional “Elusion’s Gate” - a piece that, by giving space to the guitar lines of Alexander Moraitis and Marcus Petersson, underlines the overall epic and mysterious atmosphere of the album. Comprised of eight bold opuses, Isle Of Wisdom is a deft new step in the noteworthy sonic trajectory of HÄLLAS, cementing them as a band to watch!Media/Samples
metanoia sets off with the opulent opener “Katabasis”, drawing dramatic, cinematic soundscapes mixed with electronic influences. The soft, clear vocals of Marc Martins alternate with sharp growls and pierce through constantly changing riffs. PERSEFONE balances soft passages with intense walls of sound on tracks like “Aware of Being Watched” – in which clean vocals and jazzy sections alternate with intense riffing carried by dense drumming – while solid, rich sound takes on orchestral dimensions on songs such as “Leap of Faith”. Vivid and dynamic instrumentation, tempo and rhythm make up the intense ride “Merkabah”, showcasing the band’s hardest yet most vulnerable sides as screams and blast beats are followed by soft instrumentation – spanning the song’s intensity to its maximum. A special surprise is the 11-minute masterpiece “Consciousness Pt. 3”, which continues a series of songs from the band’s fourth album Spiritual Migration (2013). The album closes with another opulent set of songs, “Anabasis Pt. 1”, “Anabasis Pt. 2” and “Anabasis Pt. 3”. “Anabasis Pt. 1” starts off with calm, dreamy piano sounds, drifting over to the intense “Anabasis Pt. 2” and leading seamlessly into “Anabasis Pt. 3”, gently closing the album with a cinematic outro."metanoia is an atmospheric and gloomy journey through rich soundscapes. The bands crosses genre boundaries with ease and creates their own cosmos, mesmerizing the listener with a high variety of songwriting and technical precision and proving PERSEFONE’s worthy position in the genre of extreme progressive metal
Ghost Tapes #10 ... rather than pick up where the quartet left off in 2018, explores a radically different approach, with the focus fixed on movement and intensity. While the album is certainly the most ferocious GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT full-length to date, it still retains all of the rich musical and emotive elements the band is known for by maneuvering around luminescence whilst offering harsh, deep reflections as well. Works of art like “Burial”, “In Flux” or “Barren Trees”, with additional guitars by Jimmy Scanlan, amongst others, are proof of these sonic illustrations.Media/Samples
Moving right along, Skyblood will please Progressive Metal fans, particularly those who enjoyed the peak era of Queensrÿche. Additionally, smatterings of Septicflesh, and Hellenic bands in general, permeate the album, as do the more aggressive and progressive elements of the various Devin Townsend projects. After an opening peppered with harpsichord and pipes, “Wake Up to the Truth” is much more guitar- and bass-driven, and one of the more complete’ songs on the album.Read the full review by Adrian Breeman at crypticrock.com
Instrumental rockers MONKEY3 have buckled up for their next interstellar journey: nestled somewhere in between space rock, psych, stoner and progressive, this four piece is infamous for its onstage intensity that has crowned prestigious festivals such as Roadburn, Hellfest and Desertfest. The Swiss act managed to distill and concentrate its cosmic soundwall on seventh longplayer Sphere down to Pink Floyd-esque surfaces that collide with gritty riffing and noisy outbursts. Tunes such as ‘Axis‘ soar with crystal-clear melodies and dreamy jamming that really turn Sphere into an incomparable astral trip.Media/Samples
The opening title track ‘Epitaph’ sets the album`s mood. There is pain and loss at work here, but not pain and loss that are given in to. Sparse piano motifs face energetic rhythms, shimmering guitar coatings, and eruptions of dense fury breathe life into a journey of melancholic longing: there is the release experienced when a troubled existence ends in ‘Mortal Coil‘ followed by the sombre foreshadowing that is ‘Winter Dusk/Awakening‘.Media/Samples
The album changes direction slightly with ‘Seánce Room’ and the music on this highway is taking you someplace meaningful and special – someplace where near and far blur and stars weep over tragedies.
Finally, the beautiful and hypnotic piece of music that is the album-closing ‘Oisín’ is in memory of Torsten and Niels' 7-year-old cousin who was tragically taken from this world. It distils into four minutes all the pain, sadness and longing felt by many over a much-longer timeframe. A fitting end to an album that will move you deeply and call out to you to be revisited many times.
The opening title track ‘Epitaph’ sets the album`s mood. There is pain and loss at work here, but not pain and loss that are given in to. Sparse piano motifs face energetic rhythms, shimmering guitar coatings, and eruptions of dense fury breathe life into a journey of melancholic longing: there is the release experienced when a troubled existence ends in ‘Mortal Coil‘ followed by the sombre foreshadowing that is ‘Winter Dusk/Awakening‘.Media/Samples
The album changes direction slightly with ‘Seánce Room’ and the music on this highway is taking you someplace meaningful and special – someplace where near and far blur and stars weep over tragedies.
Finally, the beautiful and hypnotic piece of music that is the album-closing ‘Oisín’ is in memory of Torsten and Niels' 7-year-old cousin who was tragically taken from this world. It distils into four minutes all the pain, sadness and longing felt by many over a much-longer timeframe. A fitting end to an album that will move you deeply and call out to you to be revisited many times.
Be it one of their live shows, be it one of their albums: Germans My Sleeping Karma never fail to create an unique and hypnotic score of epic proportions that is bound to send the listener on deep mental journeys. On their fifth album Moksha, the instrumental groove rockers show us their most varied side: blusterous waves of riffs embrace fragile melody lines, Eastern mysticism has its place and ghostly sound shivers lead eternal rhythms to new horizons. Yes, this word is abused way too often these days – but My Sleeping Karma are pure magic. The sound and tone of the album perfectly fits into the Instrumental Progressive – and Ambient Post Rock realms.From the start the listener is kidnapped by the spherical sound, between enormous atmospheric compositions with pure rock riffs and psychedelic melodies perfectly intertwined into this scenery. Immerse yourself, both with the risk of completely losing yourself in this brand new masterpiece, because you might not be able to emerge again. Perhaps you don’t want to…Media/Samples
What you get to hear on ‘Haven’ is classic Kamelot; a signature blend of epic soundscapes and catchy riffs, all enveloped in a beautiful vocal performance. If they were a whisky, I’d probably be an alcoholic. But it begs the question: after all these years, does the same old formula still work? You bet it does!Read the full review by Bharat Gudihal at metalwani.com
The whole album is one feel-good ride. You can listen to it anytime, anywhere and be assured that it will leave you feeling rejuvenated and fresh. I know this sounds like a commercial for a drug, but that is absolutely how I felt every time I heard the album. Every song, even the darker ones, makes you want to get up and do something. Tommy Karevik’s voice only adds fuel to the fire of optimism; he has a way of making everything sound so uplifting.
"Naturbål" ("Nature's Bonfire") is yet another groundbreaking Folk Metal record in the discography of the Swedish mastermind whose characteristic vocals and unique songs have left their mark on a whole genre. Folkloristic tunes merge with technical guitar riffs and multilayered melodies. Anthem-like refrains provide the finishing touches to this sweeping symbiosis. The songs combine the best of two worlds -- elements of Vintersorg's early works and the technical standard of the later years. Vintersorg is undoubtedly a visionary and offers a brilliant, consistent and sweeping album that is the perfect journey through all the periods of his work.
With their sixth album, Amberian Dawn take the listener on a journey into the heart of the "Magic Forest", where enchanted and fantastic creatures dwell with the Finns providing the soundtrack to this unique journey. Amberian Dawn's melodic Symphonic Power Metal offers the whole spectrum of fast doublebass hymns, symphonic epics and magical dream-like parts. Capri crowns the sophisticated arrangements with her beautiful voice and enthralls the listener with her stunning vocal lines.
Sharing a similar vision to fellow labelmates, My Sleeping Karma and rising as fast as them, Monkey3 have found a perfect balance between the heavy, guitar-centered sound and moody, ambient soundscapes. This way, it all comes down to dynamics and nuances that constantly warp the main ideas. Moreover, keeping things as simple and direct as possible most of the times, means there's little overcrowding, therefore, the music is easy to digest.
Read the full review by Raul Stanciu at sputnikmusic.com