Voivod – Warriors Of Ice (Live)

While some of the band’s more well-rounded fans may disagree with my view, I believed that Voivod died in 2005, as a result of cancer.

Denis ‘Piggy’ L’Amour was the founding guitarist of Canadian thrash legends Voivod, and over the course of the band’s career, he found a very distinctive and innovative style of guitar playing that emphasized dissonance and quasi-jazzy chord progressions in a genre that typically aimed towards playing one’s guitar as fast as scientifically possible. As a result, Piggy gave Voivod a very unique sound to them, and on a personal note, he was the man that got me back into playing guitar. Voivod’s ‘Warriors Of Ice’ is a live album that attempts to continue the legacy of this incredible band, but with a new guitarist filling in the shoes of who I thought to be the heart and soul of the band’s sound, it almost feels more of a tribute than a legitimate release.

That is not to say that Voivod isn’t still kicking around though, but they do sound noticeably less fueled here than they used to. ‘Warriors Of Ice’ is a fairly long live album that takes tracks from all over the band’s career, with a particular focus on their thrashier material. As it stands, the setlist here is fantastic, and unlike many live albums, there does seem to be a good sense of flow between tracks. Some of my favourite Voivod classics are here; including ‘Tribal Convictions’, ‘Nothingface’, and ‘Brain Scan’. Playing in front of an enthusiastic audience in their home province of Quebec, Michel Langevin (Snake) can be heard barking in French to the crowd between tracks, and while his voice has lost some of its melodic potential over the years, he still has some nice energy to his vocal style that transfers brilliantly in a live setting.

The recording of the performance feels somewhat rough, and while it may work somewhat with Voivod’s harsh nature, ‘Warriors Of Ice’ could pass off as a bootleg in the way it sounds, and that’s not meant in a good way. This review was opened up on a fairly critical note by saying this was not the real Voivod anymore, and while I may still think that this is more of a tribute to the genius, rather than the genius itself, Chewy does reprise Piggy’s guitar parts fairly well, although his more straightforward and conventional take on the riffs is noticeable and cannot replace the sort of intensity I could have expected from Piggy. The drums of Away are arguably the most impressive part of the sound here. Really, this is a decent enough live album for Voivod, although it is certainly not something that I would consider part of their essential canon.

Tracklist:

1. Voivod (4:36)
2. The Unknown Knows (4:41)
3. The Prow (3:46)
4. Ripping Headaches (3:33)
5. Ravenous Medicine (4:33)
6. Tribal Convictions (5:29)
7. Overreaction (5:25)
8. Panorama (3:10)
9. Global Warning (4:17)
10. Treasure Chase (3:33)
11. Tornado (6:56)
12. Nothingface (4:26)
13. Brain Scan (5:13)
14. Nuclear War (5:17)
15. Astronomy Domine (6:49)

Line-up:

- Chewy / guitars
- Away / drums
- Blacky / bass
- Snake / vocals

Links:

http://www.voivod.com/

Fleshgod Apocalypse – Agony

For me, death metal is a style of music that I can at least respect, but it usually takes an added dimension in the music for me to really enjoy it. Fleshgod Apocalypse are one such band that has managed to take the fury of technical death metal and done something off- center with it, fusing the blistering heaviness with symphonic undertones and neoclassically-derived riffs. ‘Oracles’ and their subsequent EP ‘Mafia’ both largely impressed me, and with that, the arrival of ‘Agony’ was something I was eager to check out. As my intuition may have suggested to me, Fleshgod Apocalypse are continuing to distinguish their sound from the legions of other tech death acts out there, creating an epic suite of music that could be said to be death metal’s response to classical music.

‘Agony’ is a brilliant sophomore in the sense that it not only improves upon what the band was originally doing, but the sound has been tweaked and intensified. As far as technical death metal goes, Fleshgod Apocalypse are at the top of the game. Crushing riffs and some of the most intense drumming I have ever heard have been the core of the band since I first heard them. To steer them away from the sounds of similar acts however is some surprisingly melodic neoclassical guitar solos that soar overtop the brutality, and the vocal duties are shared between the fairly typical growls of Tommaso Riccardi, and the higher register ‘power metal’ wail of bassist Paolo Rossi, whose highly melodic, quasi-operatic way of singing is always a refreshing change of pace from the rest. There have also been orchestral arrangements in the past, usually twittering around here and there in order to accentuate certain parts and give them that extra dose of class and charm. The symphonic element to Fleshgod Apocalypse has always been appreciated in the past, but at least on the debut, it almost felt more like a gimmick, rather than a full-fledged part of the music.

This is where ‘Agony” comes in.

Not only have the orchestral arrangements been improved greatly, but they are now an integral part of what Fleshgod offers. Virtually the entire course of brutality on ‘Agony’ is accompanied by gorgeous symphonic arrangements, and here they are far from a gimmick; they easily add a whole new dimension of sound and intensity to the band. Christiano Trionfera’s orchestral writing here is on par with that of a neoclassical, or film score writer, and the orchestration manages to capture both an added sense of peril, and beauty to what the band does. Fleshgod Apocalypse would have still contributed a very capable technical death metal album to listeners even were it not for this orchestral angle, but its the brilliant fusion of Italian classical sensibilities that elevates the band to the realm of masters.

The album flows together like a single piece of music; a technical death metal symphony, one might say. The highlights here certainly include most of the parts where the clean vocals are used, as well as the classical orchestrations, as well as where Fleshgod Apocalypse decide to reach their most crushing and heavy. It can certainly be said that the sheer speed and complexity of the music can make it a tough egg to crack for those who are not used to such technical music. Fleshgod Apocalypse’s ‘Agony’ is a stunning masterpiece in virtually every regard however, and even with this only being their second album, I would safely declare that Fleshgod are the new masters of modern death metal.

Tracklisting:

1. Temptation (1:47)
2. The Hypocrisy (5:31)
3. The Imposition (4:58)
4. The Deceit (6:03)
5. The Violation (4:18)
6. The Egoism (6:22)
7. The Betrayal (5:31)
8. The Forsaking (5:37)
9. The Oppression (6:04)
10. Agony (3:34)

Line-up / Musicians:

Tommaso Riccardi / Lead Vocals, Guitars
Cristiano Trionfera / Guitars, Vocals, Orchestral Arrangements
Paolo Rossi – Bass / Clean Vocals
Francesco Paoli / Drums, Guitars, Vocals
Francesco Ferrini / Piano

Link:

www.myspace.com/fleshgodapocalypse

Grace For Drowning – A Taste

Grace For Drowning, the soon come new solo outing by Steven Wilson, current holder of the title Hardest Working Man In Showbiz, is fast becoming the most anticipated release of the year in the world of prog. Unlike some lucky chaps who got to attend a preview hearing of the entire double album in Avatar Studios in New York, us plebs have had to make do with snippets, and one whole track, Remainder The Black Dog that was tantalisingly dangled carrot-like before us on SW’s Grace For Drowning website in low quality mp3. This song certainly bodes well for the album, featuring some fine blowing from the ubiquitous Theo Travis, and showing a meld of early prog influences while still being definitely Steven Wilson.

SW has said that “I think [with] the metal thing for me, the party’s over,” and not before time in my opinion. Although The Incident was a return to form for Porcupine Tree, a band I’ve followed for nearly 20 years (!) it has always perplexed me how Fear Of A Blank Planet, disjointed mess that it was, became the band’s breakthrough album, not that I begrudge their subsequent success one bit. Anyway, I digress – SW states that the heavy bits in GFD will not be guitar based, and listening to the preview audio clips this lends the album a more organic feel. In places I’m put in mind of VDGG, and King Crimson, obviously! There are enough PT sounding snippets not to scare off the more trad-prog followers of that band, and enough out-there bits for weird old prog heads like yours truly. I can’t wait, I want it now!

One gripe I have is that the 5:1 mix is seemingly only offered on Blu-Ray, a still infant format. Can someone who knows tell me if this will work in my steam powered old stylee dvd 5:1 player? If not, why couldn’t it have been done on DVD-A as well? I’m jiggered if I’m going to invest in a new 5:1 system just for this album. Oh well, it’s bog standard stereo for me and thousands of others then..but I could be wrong.

Fornost Arnor – The Death Of A Rose

For any others who may have expressed regret about Opeth’s shift away from extreme metal this year, it seems as if there is a band that seeks to carry on their torch. Fornost Arnor is a progressive metal act from the UK, and after some underground acclaim with their debut record ‘Escaping The Abyss’, they are back two years later with a new album that shows them tightening up their sound on the technical front. Although Fornost Arnor sound a little too close in sound to Opeth for comfort, the way they are able to take the style of another band and cater it to their own interests is impressive.

‘The Death Of A Rose’ starts off on its best note, and an incredible one at that with ‘Rogue’, an incredible song that begins off with brooding acoustic guitars and some powerfully moving vocal duties shared between a male and female. The acoustic minutes sound like something that could have been plucked from Opeth’s ‘Still Life’, particularly the mellow section of their song ‘Godhead’s Lament’. The melodies and lyrics are beautiful and I found myself putting down everything I was doing when I heard ‘Rogue’ for the first time. As the music builds up to the inevitable metal fury, Fornost Arnor shifts gears and goes for… Opeth, circa ‘Blackwater Park’. Sensing a pattern here?

Truth be told, I can almost applaud Fornost Arnor for drawing so heavily upon Opeth, because with many parts here, it is if they have made a long lost Opeth album that could have come out in between ‘Still Life’ and ‘Blackwater Park’. Even when it comes down to the jazz-tingled metal solos or the precise guitar tones, Fornost Arnor seem to do everything they can to sound like Opeth. While I can say nothing about the bands originality (or utter lack thereof), they pay homage to the Swedish metal gods brilliantly. Sadly, the songwriting is not as memorable after ‘Rogue’, although the closing track ‘Farewell’ gets the brilliant melodies back in full swing.

As far as production goes, things can be heard clearly, and the acoustic sections here are mixed with a very organic and natural feel to them. When it comes to the death metal though, I would have less good things to say about them. The rather muffled and dry growls are mixed too highly, and the musicianship can get quite technical (something Fornost Arnor actually does better than Opeth) but feels a little too restrained for the most part, as if the musicians were far too concerned with making their sound as perfect as possible, rather than simply letting the passion through.

As far as progressive metal goes, it has ironically never been the most original genre, and Fornost Arnor makes no steps to change this pattern. Taken for what they are though, Fornost Arnor takes Opeth’s sound and puts their own spin on it, and for the most part, it works quite well. I can see fans of Opeth loving Fornost’s work within a heartbeat, and while I don’t think I feel right with the derivative nature of this band, they pull off the sound excellently.

Tracklist:

1. Rogue – 09:59
2. Nameless Fear – 07:09
3. Path Marked Unknown – 07:43
4. Lady Heresy – 08:32
5. Aspire For The Darkest Hour – 10:39
6. The Death Of A Rose (Part I) – 07:43
7. The Death Of A Rose (Part II) – 03:18
8. Farewell – 06:27

Lineup:

Greg Chivers – vocals, guitar & acoustic guitar,
Will Hall – lead guitar
Sam Austen -bass guitar & clean vocals
James Last – drums

Link:

http://www.myspace.com/fornostarnor

Fourteen Twentysix – magic of the numbers

That this Dutch band is supposed to rise the dust around themselves tells a fact that their debut album called Lighttown Closure was downloaded for more than 50,000 times. With much more energy, creativity and self-confidence 1426 entered the creating process of the second album, which is expected to be released in early 2012, featuring Mick Moss of the Antimatter fame. Fourteen Twentysix is already known by establishing a formula which takes best of dark / alternative rock, electronica and melancholy. But, let’s start straight from the beginning. I hooked up recently for an interview with Chris van der Linden, the founder of the band, who together with the guitarist Tom van Nuenen set aside some time to talk for Prog Sphere.

Nick: When did you find out that the music is something you want to devote yourself? How was it back then when you were confronting directly the reality and your dreams? Have you been involved in any other projects/bands prior forming Fourteen Twentysix?

Chris: I come from a pretty musical family. While my grandpa was already passed before I was born I do know he played drums, banjo and a number of other instruments. In some ways it feels like I’m carrying on his tradition, while in life, I’ve never met him.

Chris: During my teenage years I listened to metal almost exclusively and played drums in a few metal bands. It was my first experience with digital recording, which was really in its early years at that time. After that I played in a progressive rockband called Sweet Assembler. We got some nice reviews and played a lot in Belgium. I left the band after some differences and decided it was time to put down the drumsticks and start my own band.

Nick: It’s clear that Fourteen Twentysix developed as your idea of blending melancholic dark rock and electronic music, but over these years it developed to an entity comprised as a group of musicians free to explore wide dimensions under the aforementioned genres. Tell me how was that transitional process from the starting point up to now?

Chris: I started Fourteen Twentysix with just a vague idea that I wanted to use digital drumloops and a lot of repetitive, hypnotic melodies and sounds. I really wanted this project to sound different from the traditional drums, bass, guitar bands I played in before. I worked on the PC with sequencers, samplers etc and a few acoustic instruments. Bands that influenced the sound where Tiamat (A Deeper Kind of Slumber album) and Depeche Mode. I loved how they blended electronic sounds with guitars. It also meant I worked alone, I didn’t really need an entire band to do what I wanted: realease music.

Chris: After I recorded a bunch of songs I put them on Myspace it turned out a lot of people liked it. Jelle, a befriended musician, helped me with mixing and some technical things and together with him we started thinking about playing live with Fourteen Twentysix. It meant we had to find people that would be interested in playing my songs, sort of like session musicians. One thing led to another and all of a sudden I was the “frontman” of my own band haha.

Chris: Since then we’ve grown as a group and we basically decided after Lighttown Closure that the next album would be a group effort, not a solo project anymore. The whole process took a lot of talks and getting to know each others wishes. For me it was all about letting my baby go, so sometimes it was hard. Now that I can hear the end result (our new album is nearly done) I am happy we did it. Things really have grown in ways I couldn’t have done on my own.

Nick: I came this far, but still didn’t ask about the name of the band. Would you talk about it or you’d rather keep it mysterious?

Chris: We make it a habit to not tell what it means. They are numbers of personal significance to me. I chose the band name to be abstract so that it triggers interest. Also, it leaves room for intepretation as opposed to a really recognizable name. The mystery remains…

Nick: 2008 saw your first release, an EP called Songs to Forget and I have to admit that it was pretty weird seeing this as an EP, as structurally it could be considered as a full-length. How did you feel about knowing that you are for the first time making something that serious what people will listen to?

Chris: Thanks for the compliment. At the time I was not aware of it. Really it was me and a guitar and keyboard behind a computer in a tiny “bedroom studio”. Ofcourse you want to make the best you can but I had no big expectations really. I was happily surprised when STF got great reviews which gave me confidence to move forward. Looking back at it now I think STF sounds pretty horrible, save for a few songs like Dead Lights and You Sleep Under The Trees. We still play these tracks live and people enjoy them.

Nick: The interesting fact is that you guys decided to offer your stuff through a netlabel. Was that planned or simply you didn’t try to get into a battle of getting yourself a contract and have your music released on a physical medium?

Chris: It really started with my desire to record and release music frequently and freely. I love putting things online (that sounds kinky) and in this time and age there’s a lot of sites, apps, tools to do that. During the making of Lighttown we felt it deserved maybe more than just an online release. However when we talked about our goals and what is needed to achieve them, a brick and mortar label seemed less and less interesting. We wanted as many people to hear our music and play live. Releasing online (even for free) resulted in over 50.000 downloads of our music which is something we could never do with a label. So our goal of having many people hear our music and get exposure was definately achieved this way.

Chris: For our new release we are further expanding our approach. In advance to the real release we will publish a number of free digital EP’s with new songs and obscure content. When the new album comes out it will be both digitally but also physical, a deluxe digipack and a limited edition box set. So we use the best of both worlds. Its hard work though without a label, we need to promote everything ourselves which is a day job in itself.

Nick: Speaking of that, how do you see the future of physical mediums? Is it bright?

Chris: People are humans (well most of them, Jelle our guitarist is a robot) and humans love having something real in their hands they can emotionally relate to. I listen to digital music at home, but when I’m at a show of a great band I still love to buy a cd and shirt, to bring a piece of that experience home with me. I think having digital products doesn’t mean physical products have lost their value. I think we’ll get to see a hybrid between the two, where you use your digital products for what they do best and your physical products for what they do best.

Nick: Last year you released an album called Lighttown Closure. How did the creating and recording process for it go?

Chris: The recording of Lighttown was really hard. It took a year and really stretched me thin. With Lighttown Closure I really have that notion and stress that it had to be better than the first EP. The planning was to write and record it with Jelle who finished STF with me and move into new territory, even make a lot brighter positive album. But Jelle got busy with school so I had to continue working alone again.

Chris: I ended up making a lot of slow and dark songs again and the end result was not totally what I wanted. I was dissapointed and quite a few times thought about not releasing it. Now I can see that its a great step forward, with a lot of beginner mistakes still, but a move forward. I have to thank Jelle, Tom, Martijn and Jeroen for helping me during that time , keeping me going.

Nick: Comparing to Songs to Forget, I kind of feel it’s more laid back, with less electronic work. But in general, the music, rhytmically I would say, remains the same. What is your take on this?

Chris: The music sounds similar because it has my musical signature, choice of sounds and atmosphere. I used about 10 times more electronica on this album but chose to have it sound organic. I also used more live drums which makes it sound more like a regular band, I was always worried that without the trademark digital drumloops I had on STF it wouldn’t be 1426 enough, but its just how the album evolved.

Chris: Also my intention was to make a really positive and bright album, but when Jelle dropped out of the writing process, the whole new fresh material we had going was pushed to the background. I wrote a lot of dark songs again and I realized that I still had some stories to tell about my past. Lighttown turned into this dark second chapter of my personal story. It came to be the closing chapter for me as a solo project and new start for the band as a group.

Nick: As we already talked prior this interview, let’s announce the new album that you are about to release. Mick Moss of Antimatter appears as a guest vocalist. How did you hook up with him? What can we expect from the new record comparing to what you released so far?

Chris: Yes! Mick Moss from Antimatter sings on one of our new songs called “Every Line”. We basically wanted to do something cool with our new album to make it stand out. I contacted Mick to ask if he was interested in singing on our album and he said yes. It really was that simple actually. It turned out he’s a totally relaxed dude and it was fun working with him. We sent him our song along with some guide vocal tracks I did. He then booked a studio in Liverpool (UK) to record his vocals. He sent those back to us and we then mixed it into the song, together with our own vocals. Every Line is one of the more darker songs on the album with a real filmic quality. Mick’s vocal performance is out of this world and I think people will be really blown away by it.

Chris: The new album is a group effort. We wrote a concept for it and then started writing and recording together, mostly out of an old farmhouse in the Dutch country side and our home studio (which has evolved since my bedroom hehe). Aside from our concept we all worked freely, brining in ideas, playing various instruments. Our drummer did a lot of keyboards etcetera. We completely ignored the “you are the bassplayer” stigma, everyone did what he felt was good for the song.

Tom: This worked especially well since we have multiple songwriters in the band. Most bands tend to have one or two guys who write the songs, and one or two performing them. In 1426, all band members have written music for other projects, so when we’re building a track it’s really easy to switch instruments with each other to see how that turns out. It results in songs and sounds that can be quite different from LC. Hearing the dub-bassline in Every Line, for example, it is instantly clear that it wasn’t Chris who wrote it.

Chris: After a few months of work we had about 25 songs recorded. We started trimming things down and detailing the songs that really stood out and worked with our story concept. The new music is really, really different from what we’ve done before. Sure, there’s still the same atmosphere and a lot of electronics but people will definately be in for a surprise. On a high level I think this album is really positive and more uptempo. Its about life, growth and moving forward. The album is also quite lengthy, a journey through light and dark, with a lot of different emotions. We wanted to address some of the issues people had with Lighttown, that it was too much the same for example.

Tom: We might have overdone it a bit, though (laughs). There’s so much stuff going on on this album, it’s crazy. It’s a mess of genres – but that’s also what makes it such a great album to me.

Chris: We are releasing a new website and first teaser video really soon so keep an eye out on www.fourteentwentysix.com

Effloresce – Shades of Fate EP

To be honest with you, I’m not aware of any progressive metal bands mixing this subgenre with the atmospheric formula. Effloresce comes from Nuremberg, Germany and they are currently striving to forego complexity of rhythms and melody for atmospheric elements. That is what is reflected in their Shades of Fate EP. Keep your ears peeled, as the band is currently putting finishing touches on their first full-length album.

Valley of the Sun – The Sayings of the Seers EP

Taken from TheObelisk.net review of the EP:

It’s this kind of subtlety that The Sayings of the Seers makes its home in, and while on the surface, it’s a more than quality heavy rock offering, ultimately, the depth is what really stands it out among its peers even more than the production value. Provided Valley of the Sun can continue to hone this level of craft and grow into their own as a band, I see no reason they couldn’t stand with a select few others at the forefront of their generation of American heavy rockers. There will be those who can’t get past the derivative aspects of the EP, but that’s their loss, because these songs are worth the effort of a close listen, and anytime you can get that payoff, you should. Highly recommended.

Massahara – Massahara

“Massahara” is a rather new Brazilian formation which released its debut, self-titled album in 2011. Music presented on this record is a mix of heavy prog and classic hard rock with some elements of psychedelia here & there. They mostly rely on heavy guitar riffs and non-stop organ blast, so I liked it from the first listening.

CD includes 8 highly-energetic songs:

1. “Contramão” – album begins with a fast-paced rocker filled with dazzling guitars and rather backgroundish organ layers. It sounds really hard (almost “Black Sabbath” alike) and keyboards aren’t so audible here (however one good Moog solo there) but it’s OK. Portuguese vocals are also suitable (I didn’t listen to too many Portuguese language rock records but they are really good here). All in all decent beginner but the best is still to come.

2. “Lugar Ao Sol” – another stomping heavy rocker full of busy guitar riffing and supportive electric piano. Allan Ribeiro’s bass work is also very remarkable, it’s not common to hear so loud bass lines these days… I also love when near the end Ronaldo Rodrigues switches to Hammond organ to play some Ken Hensley-inspired solo.

3. “Cabeça Boa” – rather good song but Fabio Gracia’s vocals are slightly annoying here, too much forced screaming I’d say. However instrumental solos & bridges are good as ever. It’s good that from this point keyboards becomes louder so I can enjoy the record more. Especially extended fragment of raw organ soloing is great. Definitely “Cabeça Boa” was inspired by classic “Atomic Rooster” work from 70s.

4. “Já Nem Ligo Mais” – the longest track (but I wouldn’t call it an epic tough) of this disk is an amazing organ-drenched piece of sheer heavy metal a la “Deep Purple”. Especially middle part with Hammond/guitar interludes reminds me of similar staff by Lord/Blackmore “partnership”. But the most suprising is a very long bass solo! Allan Ribeiro is a man!

“Já Nem Ligo Mais” without doubt is my favorite song on “Massahara”.

5. “Mandacarú” – very energetic song which sounds like early material of German band “Birth Control”. However middle part is a bit darker & almost sinister. Mellotron (samples, as Rodrigues informed me) waves (violin & flute sections) add special dimension to the music too. BTW one riff presented in this song is very similar to Atomic Rooster’s “Throw Your Life Away”, not sure whether it was intentional or not…

6. “Zóio d’ Cobra” – …but main theme from Yes “Heart of the Sunrise” was definitely used here intentionally. However they proceeded it so creativly that I really like this “rip-off” . Anyway Ronaldo rules in this track, his Hammond chops cut the air like a knife!

7. “Tudo o Que Eu Quero” – heavy as tank song with down-to-earth guitar riffs and screamin’ vocals. However beautiful mellotron eruptions slightly soften the atmosphere. In general a bit too noisy for me but not very offensive by any means.

8. “Massahara” – title track starts off with some cosmic sounds of guitar & Moog synthesizer along with hypnotic electric piano bits. Very psychedelic, almost “Pink Floyd” like. Later on it’s most conventional but it’s still satisfying instrumental track. Compared with other material on this disk, it’s much more Minimoog driven.
Good piece to end a good album.

To sum up: Massahara’s first album is a real treat for all fans of 70s sounding heavy prog in the vain of Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster, Birth Control, Frumpy or Argentinian classic Ave Rock. I suppose it can be also an interesting staff for classic hard rock lovers (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Nazareth, Judas Priest etc.).
It’s a pity that there are not too many such kid of bands anymore and if they exist they’re usually very obscure and have no chance to really shine. Hopefully “Massahara” has a better future!

Best tracks: “Já Nem Ligo Mais” & “Zóio d’ Cobra”

P.S. I’d like to add that if you like such retro-sounding material recorded by newer bands, I can recommend you to check such bands as: Wicked Minds, Black Bonzo, Storm at Sunrise, Electric Swan, Cosmic Nomads, BigElf and Standarte. All of them will please your ears with organ/Moog/mellotron/piano-drenched music.

Tracklist:

1.    Contramão  (5:58)
2 .   Lugar Ao Sol (5:14)
3.    Cabeça Boa (6:20)
4.    Já Nem Ligo Mais  (8:45)
5.    Mandacarú (6:31)
6.    Zóio d’ Cobra (5:08)
7.    Tudo o Que Eu Quero (5:30)
8.    Massahara  (6:59)

Line-up:

* Fabio Gracia / guitar, lead vocals

* Allan Ribeiro / bass, backing vocals

* Renato Amorim / drums

* Ronaldo Rodrigues / Hammond organ, Minimoog, electric piano, mellotron (samples)

Links:

www.myspace.com/massahara

OPETH, Kavarna Rock Fest, 16.07.2011.

Hello Prog Sphere readers, I’m here with my first review for this site, and although I haven’t even heard a single entire King Crimson album in my life, I hope that I am still worthy enough to try to present you all the greatness that Opeth bestowed upon us this warm July night. Opeth were part of the lineup of the now traditional Kavarna Rock Fest that takes place in the small city of Kavarna, located on the Black Sea shore. 2011 marked the sixth edition of this fine festival. Each year, the organizers try to have some concept for the lineup. This one was based around the darker and slower side of the metal spectrum, so besides Opeth we saw Katatonia, Tiamat, Paradise Lost, Moonspell and Lake of Tears (Sonata Arctica and Arch Enemy, who were also included in the festival, were the obvious exceptions to that rule). What I really dig about this fest is that there are only 4 (on last day just 3) bands per day so you are not witnessing some 40-minute fest gig but instead every band has time to perform a full 1.5 hour set replete with encores, so one can rightfully say that each group played a full concert. The festival is located at Kavarna Stadium and every day had roughly 5-6000 visitors who were more than willing to strengthen the atmosphere for each and every band for the entire festival. Opeth was the headliner of the second day and the apex of that night which started with modern British metallers Sylosis. Tiamat and Moonspell followed with furious gigs of their own which really took us back to the golden nineties. Especially after Moonspell’s vintage set it was truly hard to keep up the momentum they had created, so a heavy burden was placed upon Opeth…

But I will now return to that warm night, on to my perfect position some 15 meters in front of the stage, and try to picture the show for you. To tell you straight away, the show was pure magic – Opeth recreated all the emotions that run through their albums and transferred them into a live setting so effortlessly that I still have a hard time talking about it. Even the environment was perfect: a cozy summer breeze, a full moon on a clear sky, and in front of me a giant stage blessed with crystal clear sound. All of this promised a lot and when the godly Swedes kicked off the show with “The Grand Conjuration” I was struck with awe. Even though the song is probably my least favourite one from this band, I immediately immersed myself  in the sea of sound and noticed right from the start how perfect the quality was. I know that I’ve mentioned this a couple of times but I simply have to point out that Opeth sounded impeccable. Almost as if they were playing a CD straight from the best stereo system on the planet.

Right after “The Grand Conjuration”, Opeth went into “Face of Melinda“ and from there you just have to notice the grandness of Opeth: not many bands will throw in a “ballad“ so early in their set without losing the momentum of the show, but the atmosphere that erupted on “The Grand Conjuration“ stayed at the same level, just a little quieter. I think that I should mention here that the new guy in the band on keyboards, Joakim Svalberg, fits in the band already with his vintage look and Hammond set. His great backing vocals and stage persona tells me that Mikael definitely made the right choice.

After “Face of Melinda“ it was nigh time for Mr. Mikael to speak to audience.Some people complained about how much he talked on stage, but I would take his funny ramblings over “I am a true artist but you wouldn’t understand it anyway” attitude that so many big bands have. Mikael shows us that he’s just a regular dude with a golden gift for music.

So after some “Smoke on the water“ and Judas Priest riffs and a singalong spiced with jokes it was time for “The Lotus Eater“ from maybe my favourite Opeth album “Watershed“ where Axe shined with his blast beats, and showed that despite his ecclecticity he is primarily a metal drummer.

Then we were treated with a speech from Mikael about his experiences with ballads in his early teens so it was clear that something from “Damnation” (“pussy magnet album” in his words) was about to show up. “In My Time of Need” made the hair on my balls stand tight and it was at that point that I realised the magic that was happening: the whole stadium was silent and woven in pure trance but when Mikael signaled for “no one would ask me to stay“ everyone sang the line. The band and crowd became one… What a wonderful moment.

Up next it was time to get heavy again with “Master’s Apprentices“. This piece provoked some massive headbanging from the crowd with its monstrous riffs.

“Drapery falls“ was next, and it simply swallowed me into its epicness with Fredrik blazing on his guitar.

The end was reserved for “the song that is one of our favourites“ in Mikael’s words: “Hex Omega“. This was another chance for Joakim to shine.

At this point the official part of the concert was over, but the massive roar from the crowd got the band back on stage quickly and then followed one of the funniest moments that I have ever seen in live setting: Mikael invited people to headbang for 30 seconds without music. I though it was hilarious, but you can look it up on youtube to see for yourself. After that we got a proper soundtrack for their headbanging as “Deliverance” was chosen to finish us off and pull the last atoms of strength from our bodies. What a perfect ending.

All in all, Opeth was on the highest possible level that night and I will even say that they were the best band of the entire festival, followed closely by Moonspell. I have finally seen them live and now all that is left for me is to wait for “Heritage” to see if they will have the album of the year yet again.

From.uz – No More

Here is a single song from the Uzbekistani jazz fusion ensemble Fromuz (styled From.uz). Left off of their 2011 double album ‘Quartus Artifactus’, I can see why Fromuz may have wanted ‘No More…’ to take its own path, as the sound here is fairly different than what the album had in store. Whereas ‘Quartus Artifactus’ was primarily an instrumental jazz fusion affair, Fromuz uses a variety of different styles and fuses them all together into one eight minute song. The most striking thing about this song is the use of vocals, which is something I had heard Fromuz do a little bit on their latest LP, but it felt like an idea that was never really explored. ‘No More…’ proves to me that Fromuz should certainly check into this sound more, the vocals really compliment the more traditional prog sound they have here. On top of melodies and soaring vocals that sound almost spotted from neo-prog, there is still the impressive jazz musicianship in the technical instrumental sections. A very good song with enough ideas to call it something of a mini-epic. Great stuff!

Tracklist:

1. No more… (7:42)

Line-up:

* Vitaly Popeloff – guitars, lead vocals
* Igor Elizov – keyboards, vocals
* Albert Khalmurzaev – bass
* Ali Izmailov – drums

Links:

http://www.fromuzband.com/

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