Meshuggah “Obzen”, ahhh it just flows out so sweetly, well here we go, first of all i would like to say, kind of like a disclaimer that Meshuggah might be my all time favorite band, so please take that into consideration with the review to this piece of shit… wait… maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, i get this very strange vibe, just like with Tool’s 10000 Days, that the hype did not help at all, well lets start from the beginning, Meshuggah hail from Sweden and play “normally” a form of metal i like to describe as math metal (just like there is math rock) even though i like to call it calc metal, but if you want a more precise category i would say progressive death/thrash metal (wikipedia decided to call this avant-garde metal or experimental metal, but well we all know wikipedia is apparently filled with a bunch of crack heads that think that editing a piece of text on a website makes it true, fuck them), and their new album is out and its called Obzen, we have previously reviewed their albums Nothing and Catch 33, so lets get into it, shall we.

Obzen, is a shambled of an album … its not a “this doesn’t make sense” in a good way, its a “what the hell were they thinking”, i always expect new stuff or weird stuff from them, very little is ever normal and as such i find it very refreshing and enticing, but even in all the madness there was always something coherent, something that made sense, they were like Matryoshka Dolls, were each layer was different but it all fitted perfectly and therefore it made sense… now this “album” (if i should call it that) is like me getting tracks from their different albums and making a best of, sure there would be great tracks but it would all sound like shit together.

Well, I wont be talking a great deal about each track, no point really, the first 2 tracks, “Combustion” and “Electric Red” have nothing in common with the rest of the album, they sound like refreshed thrash metal, while “Bleed” (the single by the way… remember what i said about the 10000 Days single…) has nothing to with the rest of the album, its a mind blowing track with Tomas Haake doing a freakish double bass drum work that makes me lack the words to described it, it all sounds like white sound from a television… i would buy the album just for that track … but this inconsistencies go further, also the over abuse of “commercial” sounding ruses like slowing down or stopping a song to build it up again… cause i counted… they used it 7 times (that i noticed) almost in every single track, you know at some point that they will pause for some micro shitty interlude, I’ve got no problem with that, but it has to make sense… but overusing it is like Linkin Park making micro intros for every single shitty track they put out (sorry just went and saw one of their live shows and they sucked a bit).

“Lethargica” is next and the name fits the song, its kinda an OK track, with no big highlights it kinda drags on, now the title track “Obzen” is another beast, much more innovative and a bit of a headbanger with a more stop-goish groove going on with loads of highlights… “This Spiteful Snake” is an intricate groovy track, but still lacking, it doesn’t seem to go anywhere and ultimately it just feels self indulgent (trying to fit every single thing into it), “Pineal Gland Optics” we get a straight back to back speedier groove, again great quality and musicianship but with nothing else to add, “Pravus” is pushing again the silliness, its interesting, but not that audible, its a mishmash of musical techniques than music, we finish with “Dancers To A Discordant System”, that starts pretty mind blowing heavy and groovy (why didn’t they do this on some of the other tracks is beyond me), but then it gets into a certain pattern and although pretty good, it wasn’t nothing to call back home.

I know, maybe i expect too much, but like every Meshuggah album it takes a certain amount of time to really start understanding the music or a album, so i took that time, but after the 100th listen, these things still bug me like hell, i was expecting a lot of different things, i was expecting “Bleed”, but no, i get this best of (when their EP I, was the right way to do a Best Of) and then you join things like the freakishly moronic cover art that looks shitty and reminds me of the endogenous Marilyn Manson of Mechanical Animals, were at least he went over the top with it (in a good way), while with Meshuggah its just silly.

Ahh i wont drag this too long, they said in a interview that this was the first time they really had the time to make a album, and not be in a hurry, well then i hope for the next one, they’ll have to make it over a weekend, for sure we would get a masterpiece, this is above all a disappointment and will rarely fit my Meshuggah everyday playlist, don’t get me wrong, all this ranting should be taken with a touch of salt, the production is pretty much on the mark, and there are some really cool tracks (“Bleed” is Beyond Awesome), but i do expect a lot from this band, and I’m sorry to say but this time it feels, they over promised and under delivered, and that to me is a shame.

Official Site Meshuggah.net | Myspace Meshuggah | Vidcult Bleed Video

Meshuggah – Bleed

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This is the kind of album that’s hard to review… well because it’s so awesome, i know, i know, so instead of going on a rant fest and just saying good things about everything, i’ll just give a quick and dirty review, i’ll try and talk about the things i like the most and a bit of the background.

Well Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects is basically a solo project of … well … Frederik Thordendal, the lead guitarist from the best band in the world… Meshuggah (well at least i think so, muahahah) and one of the best in the world in my opinion… ohhh well gotta stop with the ranting, so the Sol Niger Within crew is: Thordendal on the guitars (and pretty much everything else…), then Meshuggah buddy drummer Tomas Haake on vocals …. yeah vocals hehehe oh and Marcus Persson as well with some vocals, Morgen Agren on the drums (from the progressive rock band Kaipa), Jerry Ericsson on bass, Mats Oberg on keyboards and Jonas Knutsson on the saxophone.

This solo project was completed, pretty much after Meshuggah’s – Destroy Erase Improve, so in a lot of ways it borrows from it, so you got the polyrhythmic calc metal, with all the niceties, the difference is that instead of being greeted with a standard Meshuggah tracks we are given a more experimental trip that combines those features with complex jazz elements and eerie atmospheric sections… its difficult to explain, well let’s just say it, that if this was a Meshuggah album i would say it has 5 Meshuggah tracks and 8 strange interludes, strange but not bad, it kinda all works together, it’s catchy and combines well the rawness of metal with some weird softening undertones.

Well it’s not all flowers and happy bunnies, all this stuff sure does bring a strange pace to the album, and sometimes it feels it’s just played out too long, but i think it works pretty well, its one of those albums you have to listen to it to believe it. Also note that there are at least 2 distinct versions, the original 1997 one and a 1999 remix with better audio and extra tracks, the album has 26 tracks (some a couple of seconds long…) but it works pretty much like one big track, anyway it’s supposed to be one big song and you should listen to it like so, so both versions are pretty much the same, also the mp3’s here, the first is basically the first 2 tracks, “The Beginning of the End of Extraction (Evolutional Slow Down)” and “The Executive Furies of the Robot Lord of Death” (yeah funny track names), both together are about 3min long, and the second is one of the extra tracks from the 1999 version.

Yeah i know it’s weird, strange and somewhat kinky and of course the taste for Meshuggah does enhance the experience… but what can i say i like it ^_^.oO( NO, i love it )

Somewhat Official Site? Myspace Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects

Fredrik Thordendal Special Defects – Sol Niger Within First 2 Tracks
Fredrik Thordendal Special Defects – Missing Time

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Oh Jesus… Behemoth has a new album, for anyone that weren’t paying attention Behemoth’s last album “Demigod” was actually the first review on Soundcult, so it’s my pleasure to again grace myself in the presence of awesomeness … heheh maybe yes, maybe no, there are big shoes to fill after “Demigod”, again it seems we are in the irreligious theme, so let’s see how good is “The Apostasy”.

Txx with “Rome 64 C.E.” it starts pretty slow, nonetheless it’s a nice march like intro, good build up to the next track “Slaying the Prophets Ov Isa” oh and this one even hurts me… damn this blasting and eerie guitar riffs, the vocals are better now, not so much distorted… its fast crushing and groovy, its a blast, the… chorus is kinda a slow down growling with gregorian vocals in the back, awesome… and then it all goes mind fuck with a solo guitar and crushing till the end…. what can i say… “Prometherion” starts again with a blast, it works and feels very much as the second part of “Slaying the Prophets Ov Isa”, it all feels very epic and brutal, nice, “At the Left Hand ov God” brings back a bit of that Middle Eastern vibe from the intro track, to build up to a slower shout blast, the slower pace just gives it more aggression and still it seems like a over-the-top requiem, very into the vibe of the album, awesome riffs.

“Kriegsphilosophie” brings it all back, blasting and growling at blazing speeds, half way through it goes into a change of speed and into a blasting/guitar combo, very nice to follow the guitar solo, all keeping it tight and fast, amazing, “Be without Fear” starts almost as a old school fear factory blast… that is until it changes tune to a more blasting growing, the difference is abysmal, extremely groovy and heavy as shit, it has a bit of a hardcore feel to it, not so much growling more shouting, nevertheless again a great track, “Arcana Hereticae” again blasting from hell, damn if its not well played out, not a moment of pause or monotonous movements, its all fucking tight and to the point, eerie as hell solos, makes a pause about 2/3 in… damn if it doesnt go into a groovy blast/guitar loop/guitar solo… sooo good

“Inner Sanctum” is next, with some blasting and sound off voice from guest vocal Warrel Dane from Nevermore (i checked…), it’s good, although somewhat toned down track, with piano, acoustic guitar and voice off, that is until half way they turn the guitars into groove metal mode and just kick it up, what can i say, again a fucking great track, catchy as hell, “Libertherme” start with the first electronical stuff i heard… and it doesn’t sound that bad, it helps build a slower more groovy track, not so much blasting, driving to a bunch of guitar solos through the track, still groovy, but i think it’s my least favorite, “Pazuzu” starts again with that march vibe, into full out blasting/growling/singing chorus, into full blasting growling, nice, it feels its just building up to the last track “Christgrinding Avenue”, were the all out blasting/guitar solo starts up, that grows into a groovy blast growl thing, that slows down into another groove from hell… dying out… what can i say epic flavored shit in 3 minutes… damn thats awesome.

I kinda see Behemoth as a band that re-invented themselfs into a technical death metal band from a black metal background, and that gave them that extra edge to not go overboard with the death metal, i think most death metal bands dont balance it very well, it tends to drag, to not have a point, when it should be brutal and deviant, and that’s … i guess its Behemoth’s formula, well this is a kick ass album, my congrats, incredibly atmospheric, the drumming and guitar and vocals, all excellent, pretty good production values and ohhh and i loved it… that should be enough, again…Behemoth, go fucking get the fucking album muahahah.

Official Site Behemoth.pl

Behemoth – Prometherion
Behemoth – Inner Sanctum

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Intronaut play a interestingly mix variety of music, i would put them in the alternative/progressive metal/rock arena, close in resemblance with what Mastodon excel at, maybe a bit less overwhelming, i don’t know if i would fit it into the sludge category as well, nevertheless loads of skill and sprinkles of loads of genres popping in and out, so how does “Void” fit into this?

“A Monumental Vulgarity” opens the show, and what a show, after a “smallish” intro your just thrown into the groove, sounds and plays out like a Mastodon track, but with a little bit more taste for the eccentric (like Mastodon isn’t eccentric enough), it’s harsh vocals, it’s a constantly changing musical landscape, but all in the same logical sound structure, they are not stopping and playing another thing, they are just changing and mixing the same stuff in an unorthodox fashion, refreshing and not so much Mastodon, the resemblances are mostly in how it all sounds, “Gleamer” (that one you can listen downstairs ^~) is another groovy track, jazz like drumming, with a lot of things thrown into the mix, one thing that starts to show is the bass work, that almost rivals the drumming/guitar, impressive, and infections, plus a full minute in the end of nothing especial, weird.

“Fault Lines” has another minute long intro into this one, nice way to put a intermission, but when it enters high gear you can feel it, this one is a hit hard, soft, hit hard kid of thing, building to a interesting finish, “Nostalgic Echo” gets another rock like intro to another groove oriented almost sludge track, again with clean passages building up to funky metal sections, “Teledildonics” first of all that’s one funny named track, next, it’s probably the best track in the album, how’s that for building “word of mouth”, basically it sounds like Meshugah if they were playing this kind of music, point blank, impressive, sure it has some clean parts, but that seems to be their thing, “Iceblocks” has another almost 2 minute intermission before it gets into overdrive, again good track, last track “Rise to the Midden”, is a good last track, wraps it up nicely, it’s hard, it’s groovy, it is quirky, great stuff.

Intronaut hummm, well it’s difficult to say if i really like it, sure it has a lot of things that one can headbang to, “Teledildonics” being one of them…hahaah yeah headbang to that, and overall it is an impressive album, nonetheless it isn’t a relentless kind of thing, it has a lot of clean passages, and a lot of slow alternative rock twists, that although a clear sign of technical ability, they do hurt the pace of the album, in the third listen i kinda while skipping the end of “Gleamer”, skipped “Fault Lines” as well, just because i though it was too early to such a long intermission, sorry guys, i wanted “Teledildonics” as soon as possible, wait…that didn’t sounded that good, heheh great job, if your into Mastodon or even the likes of Isis or Neurosis, you should check them out, I’m sure everyone will enjoy some “Teledildonics”.

Official Site Intronaut

Intronaut – Gleamer

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From sea huntin to mountain tracking, what can i say, new album from Mastodon, incase you don’t know Mastodon, let me tell you, the name fits the music, their sound is like the prehistoric mammoth like animal, you know, big and hairy, scary tusks, well they play a kind of Technical Heavy Metal band, that mix loads of different genres and styles, from Progressive Rock/Metal to Thrash Metal, from Hardcore to Power Metal, from Sludge Metal to Southern Rock, with memorizing odd ball jazz like drumming (their best feature in a long list of excellent features) and complex heavy guitar riffing, so a new album is here “Blood Mountain”, I’m wondering how it will fare against their critically acclaimed (including myself) last album “Leviathan”.

Gee, like with a couple of other bands, it’s difficult to talk about every single track, since they are so diverse. but I’ll give a go, “The Wolf is Loose” starts things off, and actually sounds a bit like a track from their last album, fast paced thrashing, really catchy, yeah i should note that most Mastodon tracks are above all else really catchy, not because of lyrics or chorus, but because of the drumming and riffage, now back on track with “Crystal Skull”, now this is a bit different, but again very close to the sound of Leviathan, with that freaky astounding drumming from hell and the groovy guitar work, “Sleeping Giant” is something new, again a Mastodon like delivery, slow paced track beautifully carved from progressive metal, eerie…

“Capillarian Crest” is like a mix and mash of genres, never letting down always throwing new stuff in, always in that neat Mastodon technical package, mind blowing track, “Circle of Cysquatch” brings us back to more heavy stuff, drumming going all over the place and a really hookie riffage and a hardcore finisher, just bring it home, “Bladecatcher” is a pure instrumental track and it doesn’t fail, funky as shit, “Colony of Birchmen” is slower paced, with a freaky chorus, even though in parts sounds like a mixture between power metal and progressive rock, it’s actually again a very enticing track.

“Hunters of the Sky” is one of those “experimental groove” tracks, chorus is catchy as hell, “Hand of Stone” is an already a classical Mastodon delivery with loads of different things popping up everywhere “This Mortal Soil” has a bit of an intro into a what i can only describe as some kind of progressive rock, kinda weird, “Siberian Divide” continues with this end of the album eerie feeling, just now with a bit more bite, “Pendelous Skin” is the last track and again a instrumental, completely the opposite from the first one, this one sounds like the sound of the air rushing through the mountains, building up to a music resembling some distorted Soundgarden track, very eerie, sounds like the guy climbing the mountain got himself screwed or eaten by bears.

Mastodon is Mastodon, and as one can expect they delivered, changing to a major label doesn’t seem to affect them too much, also i might point that again like in the album “Leviathan”, “Blood Mountain” is a concept piece, with a back story, and therefore it all makes even more sense, great album, even better delivery, if you like good, strange, hard music, you have a obligation to check this out.

Official Site Mastodonrocks

Mastodon – The Wolf is Loose
Mastodon – Capillarian Crest
Mastodon – Colony of Birchmen

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Ram-Zet hail from Norway and therefore they play…. Progressive Metal? well they do throw in Death/Black/Industrial and of course some symphonic touches, mostly through the piano/violin combo, that and the dual vocals (harsh male/clean female), do create a Progressive metal kind of fusion, seems people are calling it Avant Garde Metal (or Schizo Metal/Experimental Metal), so let’s just have a look at “Escape”.

Well it all starts off with “R.I.P.”, and goddamn if it’s not a fantastic track, it starts with a Gothic like female serenade, then you are hit by that death metal/harsh vocals/clean vocals groove combo, followed by a violin guitar passage to another death metal section that just pours down to a piano female clean vocals, that builds to a metal spree/clean female vocals, and then back on the death harsh vocals than back onto the violin passage, then …. and we are just half way through the first song, suffice to say you get a … what the fuck moment 3 quarters way through, with a guitar solo/piano building up to a Gothic “we are all going to die” kind of thing, brilliant.

Am i going to review all the other tracks just like that, well no, but i can tell you that “Queen” is the single…i think, it’s kinda nice, but it’s more for commercial play, “The Claustrophobic Journey” is really a groovy track and the first with really good pace (they do have a tendency to stop and start playing something else, then stop again and play another thing, like in the first track), “Sound of Tranquility Peace?” is a good track as well, “The Seeker” is a beautiful track, death metal almost all the way through interchanging with calmer moments for the female vocals, and half way through, it has what i could describe as some kids toy like a sponge ball sound playing, and then some … i don’t know what that sound is, calming down near the end to build up to some funky death on the end, again great.

“Pray” is the death/gothic track, really nicely put and actually the most approachable on the track, again a beautiful heavy track uhhh “I’m Not Dead” is is a a pure mind bender, freaky and spooky, and heavy as shit, with a lot of bass work and it finishes perfectly, finally the last track “The Moment She Died”, and damn me if it’s not the perfect finishing track, heavy and unexpected, groovy as shit, finishes about 2 thirds in with a lot of strange sounds.

Ram-zet is one of the reasons i really enjoyed Unexpect, it has the same vibe, of experimentation, i can assure everyone, this is one hell of an album, sure it’s not perfect, but production is great, there is stuff for everyone (death/gothic/whatever) to enjoy, its a load of fun to listen, much more approachable than Unexpected, and i do love the clean female vocals, the violin work and the guitar work, hell everything was top notch, i know they have another album out (for like a year), but i still don’t have it, and i do really like this album, I’ll check the other one when i can get my hands on it, but for now, go and check this one out, please… pretty please.

Official Site Ram-zet | Video for Queen

Ram-Zet – Queen
Ram-Zet – The Claustrophobic Journey

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