Rwake - Voices Of Omens

Rwake's abrasive onslaught positively molests your eardrums in the way that only great sludge can do, whilst adding some finesse here and there to make for a highly enjoyable listen. The band have been around for a while, releasing three full lengths, but have only really gained any 'mainstream' recognition since signing for Relapse - this album being their first on the label. Like genre progenitors Eyehategod, the riffs here are a mix of bluesy and atonal - witness the grating, torturous, dragging central riff on the album closer, "The Lure of Light" to feel the pure power of their music. Yet like their Southern counterparts Kylesa, Rwake have the knack of throwing in interesting nuances to the music, such as the gorgeous mandolin playing in the intro track - just listening to this whilst looking through the album art is pretty trippy. The lead guitar work is pretty tidy too, with plenty of whisky soaked leads that Pepper Keenan would be proud of. Whilst the albums 59 minutes of intense extreme metal can get a bit wearing, it has just about enough to keep the listener interested throughout. They'll be releasing their follow up to this record later this year - keep an eye out.

8/10

Highlights : "The Great Finality", "Leviticus"

See also - Crowbar, Eyehategod, Kylesa.

Hate Eternal - Phoenix Amongst The Ashes

It takes quite a bit for me to get excited by modern death metal. Aside from Nile, Dying Fetus and Goatwhore I don't really pay that much attention to it. Another name to add to that list would be Hate Eternal. I've always been enamoured by frontman Erik Rutan's undying love and passion for extreme metal, not to mention he is one of the most talented musicians the genre has ever had. Even though his career highlight of his stint in Morbid Angel has passed (witness the solo tradeoff between Rutan and Azagthoth in 'Summoning Redemption' - spellbinding), Hate Eternal still have a lot to offer.

In contrast to the suffocating production and incondite songwriting of 2008's Fury And Flames, PATA is far more clear and focused, without ceding any brutality for polishness. Rutan has once again tinkered with the lineup, but this appears to be HE's best yet. You can just feel the band's confidence coming out of your speakers, from the start to the finish of the album. Opener 'Rebirth' oozes hellish atmosphere, serving as a build up for the aurally sodomising 'The Eternal Ruler', which along with the following song, 'Thorns of Acacia', showcase everything that is to love about Hate Eternal - Rutan's trademark atonal riffage (employing excessive yet tasteful use of the tritone), his divine harmonised harmonic minor leads and savage blasting with clever usage of rhythmic patterns. The rest of the album continues in similar fashion - although if your eardrums haven't burst by the title track then you're doing very well.

An excellent record - perfect antidote for the dross that is the new Morbid Angel.

8/10

Highlights : "Haunting Abound", "Thorns Of Acacia"

See also - Morbid Angel, Nile, Suffocation, Dying Fetus.

Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain

Despite the misleading, Scandinavian-sounding name, Agalloch are in fact from the Pacific Northwest, an area more associated with the grunge era than folk-tinged metal. Yet Agalloch summon the same desolate, eldrich spirits as their Northern European counterparts, making for an epic, solemn affair.

Ashes Against The Grain, the band's third full length, once again has the critics and pigeon-holers scratching their heads. It's a mix of folk, post-metal, black metal, prog, without naturally falling into any category - a bit like Opeth. Indeed, the comparisons with the Swedish legends don't stop there - indeed, they could be seen as the American version of them. The album starts off in divine fashion - gorgeous progressions, flowing effortlessly and convincing the listener from the offset. Rasping and haunting vocals, punchy yet soothing guitars, epic song titles (This White Mountain on Which You Will Die) - all positive signs. Yet one's interest level doesn't sustain beyond even halfway through the album. The lead guitar work is somewhat lacking - the melodies are flat and unimaginative in many places, leaving one wanting. Long, languorous instrumental passages pepper the album, which do little for the overall feel of the music.

The potential is there, but the execution isn't. Agalloch may have mountains of critical acclaim but on this record I feel this praise isn't justified.

7/10

Highlights : "Limbs", "Falling Snow ".

See also - Opeth, Alcest, Fen.

Morbid Angel - Illud Divinum Insanus

Eight years after Morbid Angel's last effort, the indifferently received Heretic, the godfathers of death metal have finally returned with a follow up - Illud Divinum Insanus, the first featuring David Vincent since 1995's Domination. To briefly recap on the legacy of this band, the first three Morbid Angel albums are timeless masterpieces, phenomenal works sound just as fresh and twisted today as they did back in the day, for any music follower. Even though I'd been listening to a lot of extreme metal before I got into Morbid Angel, and thus been desensitized to the "evilness" of music to a certain extent, the feeling of hearing Altars of Madness for the first time was an unforgettable, almost unsurpassable experience.

When David Vincent (who did vocals/bass on the first four records) re-entered the Morbid fold back in 2004, expectations were understandably high, and judging by the awesome performance at Wacken 2006, with Erik Rutan as the second guitar player, there was a lot of hope for another classic. This, however, was followed by more tours, more stagnancy, and more confusion for the fans. What was taking so long? For a band that averaged an album every three years, regardless of change in band members, concern was justified. However, a new song, Nevermore, surfaced in the setlist in 2008, which helped to appease impatient followers. Finally, the band entered the studio last year to record, without longtime drummer Pete Sandoval (citing a back problem), replaced by the more than competent Tim Yeung, whose impressive CV include Divine Heresy, Nile, Hate Eternal and Vital Remains. Despite the series of delays, things were looking up - Eric Rutan was lending a hand with production, a good omen if any, given his good rapport with the band, and with his faultless work in the studio with Goatwhore and Cannibal Corpse.

Before any music was actually heard, eyebrows were really raised when the song titles emerged, names of juvenile simplicity and banality, a clear contrast from the themes of the classic albums. In an interview back in 1997, following the release of Formulas Fatal to the Flesh, Azagthoth stated that one of his regrets with Domination were the Vincents lyrics - that "they didn't really mean anything". He clearly has changed his perspective since on what exactly constitutes "meaningful" lyrics - there are some pretty laughable examples, as you'll read below. This, therefore dampened expectations, but not nearly enough, since the music was something else...

The album begins with a brooding instrumental, which instantly evokes memories of Doomsday Celebrations from the Blessed Are The Sick album. But the frailties appear when some shoddy industrial and gothic influences pervade the song, and set the tone for the rest of the album.

Lets get the bad points out of the way first. Radikult is embarrassingly bad, featuring some key reasons which let this album down badly - boring guitars, dance beat, tasteless industrial influences, and Vincent's awful, chanting vocals. Essentially, a Marilyn Manson B-side.. Profundis - Mea Culpa is another forgettable song, and Destructos Vs. The Earth/Attack will inspire a similarly distainful reaction. As I mentioned, the lyric writing leaves something to be desired. "We are the new religion...no religion!" might've sounded badass in Chapel of Ghouls", but it just comes across as lame here. Nevermore is full of the usual chest-beating pseudo-macho garb, which again feels tired. Beauty Meets Beast is something else though - "Oh beautiful child/Come to me moist/I’m the great connoisseur" - need I say more?.

The band (read - Vincent) might be trying new ideas, but it just comes across as platitudinous. Destructos Vs. The Earth/Attack can be considered a microcosm for half of the album - it has some alright parts to it, but they are drowned by the dross that surrounds it. In short, lacking all the vitality, aggression, creativity and sheer wow factor that elevated Morbid Angel to the apotheosis of extreme music.

Not wishing to dwell on the weaknesses, there are some ok bits on this record. The aforementioned Nevermore, is an enjoyable effort, as is Existo Vulgaré, both with scything riffage and twinkling hints of genius in Trey's lava solos. 10 More Dead has some genuinely cool grooves in it, but is again stained by the lame chorus with such pointless lyrics "10 more dead, the bodies piling higher, and higher". Yet, there are no riffs here that come close to licking the boots of Rapture, Maze of Torment or Rebel Lands. but there were a few moments when the hairs on the back of my neck gave a vague tingling sensation.

Notably, one of the albums picks, Blades for Baal, was written by Destructor, who joined the band in 2008. This has real death metal ferocity, and Tim Yeung's performance, like the rest of the album, is faultless. If you consider that on the non-Rutan albums, there was only one song written by the second guitarist Richard Brunelle (a minute long instrumental, the divine Desolate Ways), it's notable that Azagthoth has allowed the young Norwegian to write a few on this record - is this simply because Trey has run out of ideas?

Azagthoth has clearly both ceded a lot of creative control to Vincent, and lost interest in the death metal scene, with a notable percentage of the tracks on the album being the input of the latter. In addition, the mix gives too much prominance to the vocals, and not enough to the guitars. The vast majority of press surrounding Illud has been conducted by Vincent, when let's not forget, this is Azagthoth's band. He looks jaded and apathetic in all of the press shoots, whereas Vincent is full of gusto and pride in his work, yet far from the frontman we knew in the 90's - clad in PVC and with a Kiss badge on his jacket, he's looking disturbingly like Nikki Sixx these days. The contrast with Autopsy, making their comeback after a sixteen year absence with a killer new album, is stark.

Vincent claims that you'll like this album as much as the others if you are open minded - even if you take this album out of the context of Morbid Angel, and the huge burden of expectations that go with it, so much of this album is just ordinary, so the argument that just because the band have adopted new, non-death metal influences is invalid. Some critics have claimed that this is another example of Morbid Angel's intransigent attitude - they have, after all, gone against the entire fanbase by creating this album. Perhaps this should be applauded...if the music was of high quality.

Fans (well, former fans) have been joking that "Ignominious" would be a more appropriate album title (given it also follows the MA tradition of alphabetically-ordered releases), which isn't too far from the truth. This album isn't a complete abomination - a few songs save it from being so - but it will nonetheless be filed under "fallen from grace", next to St. Anger, Cold Lake and Risk.

4/10

Highlights: "Blades for Baal", "Nevermore".

Album Of The Week : Disincanate - Dreams of the Carrion Kind

Disincarnate were the brainchild of extreme metal mercenary James Murphy, whose impressive C.V includes death metal pioneers Death and underrated thrashers Testament. In those bands he was able to showcase his lead prowess, but only in Disincarnate did he finally get a chance to have almost sovereign control over the musical direction of the band.

Released in 1993, the peak of the genre, output and popularity wise, so Disincarnate were able to ride on the waves of death metal's success, snagging a deal with Roadrunner to release their one and only album, Dreams of the Carrion Kind.

Whilst there are some pretty tasty riffs and decent drumming, Disincarnate offer not much more than what you've already heard. It inevitably suffers with comparisons to Death - if you've heard the albums Individual Thought Patterns and Human, released in the same era, there's not a lot here that will surprise or interest you. In addition, Colin Richardson's production is excellent, but it confines the band within a set paradigm (that of generic 90's death metal), rather than to forge something unique and fresh.

6/10

Highlights : "Stench of Burning Redemption".

See also - Death, Carcass, Obituary.

Album Of The Week : Shrüm - Red Devils and Purple Ringers

Acid Bath's stature in the southern metal underground speaks for itself, and the fortunes of bands that rose from its' ashes such as Goatwhore and Agents of Oblivion have been more then adequately documented. However, bassist Audie Pitre's side project, Shrüm, a unique act featuring two bass guitars to create an insalubrious sonic effect, has been largely ignored.

Anyone who's given Acid Bath a listen will be more than aware of Audie's musical prowess, and Shrüm serves as another example of his riffwriting talents, in a slightly different context. Shrüm doesn't have the organic sludgyness of any of Acid Bath's works, instead favoring a more processed, industrial soundscape. However, they maintain the lurid, nefandous nature of Audie's main band, perhaps even more so given the total absence of clean vocals, with similarly OTT lyrics, such as "fucking her as she dies" from Psychedelic Abomination

While the material never comes close to bona fide classics such as Finger Paintings of the Insane and Venus Blue, it has a few high points, such as the pretty instrumental Michelle Song and the Iommi worshipping riffage of Tears of a Marionette. The sheer aggression and ominous industrial textures make this an interesting listen, even if the rather one-dimensional death growls start to grate after a while.

This was to be Shrüm's one and only album, and bassist's Audie Pitre's last ever, as he was tragically killed in a drink-drive incident the same year. Not essential by any means, but those wishing to delve deeper into the enigmatic legacy of Acid Bath could do a lot worse than give this a listen.

6.5/10

Highlights : "Drip", "Michelle Song", "Tears of a Marionette".

See also - Acid Bath, Goatwhore, Nailbomb, Buzzov.en.

Ian Anderson - Live at Citibank Hall, Rio de Janeiro, 15th May 2011

And so to my final concert in Rio de Janeiro. The gig was of enough importance to merit a mention in Brazil's prime media corporation O Globo. The article pointed out how Anderson had mentioned to journalists at the time of Jethro Tull's first concert in Brazil (1988) how he preferred Scotland's grey skies and subzero temperatures to Rio's eternal summer, which causou polêmica among weather-proud Brazilians. Fortunately for him, the gods seemingly answered his prayers, with torrential rains before the gig and the lowest temperature recorded in Rio this year (a brutally chilling 18° Celsius...).

The gig was at the same venue as Ozzy's show last month, and benefited from the same excellent acoustics. This was my first all-seated show ever, which was fine by me - I could sit back and drink expensive beer to the awesome music of Jethro Tull all night, which is what I do on many nights anyway. Much criticism has been banded about regarding Anderson's weakening voice - this can't be denied, but his flute playing and stage presence is still awe-inspiring. For a 63 year old he is far from sedentary - Anderson struts around brandishing his small metal instrument, playing some excellent improv. and acting as a great showman to boot. His backing band do a quality job too, all brilliantly proficient at their instruments, giving their own take on the old stuff too.

Despite being billed as a rarities setlist , a great deal of Jethro Tull classics were played - the excerpt of 'Thick As A Brick' being undoubtedly the highlight, and for the obligatory set-closer "Locomotive Breath" the crowd abandoned their seats and moved as close as possible to the stage. Slightly disappointed at the lack of anything from Heavy Horses though, but it was good to see a few hidden gems - 'Up To Me' from the Aqualung album and 'Budapest' from 1987's Crest of a Knave. The instrumental jams were excellent too - the band paying copious amounts of homage to Bach and World music in equal amounts. You wonder what the average Brazilian makes of the lyrical content - what other artist can sing about their pets, dervishes, sardonic takes on religion, backstage encounters with girls and the Vietnam war over the course of one gig? 45 years in the business now, Anderson may have fallen from such heights as the folk-rock trilogy era of the late 70's, but he certainly isn't Too Old For Rock 'n' Roll just yet.

Jack

Album Of The Week : Soilent Green - Confrontation

Soilent Green, the legendary head bludgeoners from Louisiana, released their forth album in 2005, Confrontation. Famed for their unorthodox approach to metal, adding jazz and blues into their frenetic deathgrind mix, even if they're not everyone's cup of tea you can't deny their sheer originality and audacity

Confrontation, like it's predecessors, is the aural equivalent of having a binbag put over your head and dosed with copious amounts of LSD before being thrown into the lion's den. The third track, "A Scream Trapped Underwater", being a perfect example. It opens with an off-kilter groove riff before morphing into some classic death metal and blastbeats, with vocalist Ben Falgoust screaming "Blood on my hands, Blood on my hands" in a satisfyingly er, brutal fashion. Then you have the mind-boggling middle section, a classic blues lick fed through guitarist Brian Patton's tech-orientated mind, there's no way you can headbang to this, one has to just sit back and let the weirdness flow over you.

This is undoubtedly the highlight of the album, but the first real song, "Leaves Of Three" is a good track too, in fact there are quite a few other decent numbers found across the record. In between the more savage metal assaults are short intro tracks which wouldn't be out of place on a country record. Even if this is nice respite from the intensity of the rest of the record, they feel a touch contrived, unlike the small preludes to tracks on Sewn Mouth Secrets, which for me fit perfectly and enhance the song greatly.

This serves as a good introduction to the rest of Soilent's stuff, if you are struggling after the first few songs on this record you might as well give up. Definitely worth checking out if you enjoy the wacky nature of The Dillinger Escape Plan and southern metal.

7/10

Highlights : "Leaves of Three", "A Scream Trapped Underwater"

See also - Goatwhore, Eyehategod, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge, Pantera.

Album Of The Week : The Hidden Hand - The Resurrection Of Whiskey Foote

Scott "Wino" Weinrich, is unquestionably one of the biggest legends in underground heavy metal. Turning fifty later this year, the man is in his Indian summer, currently on an acoustic tour of the U.S with a fellow acolyte of uncompromising heavy music, Scott Kelly. It's beginning to seem a little clichéd for an aging metal frontman to pick up an acoustic and calm down, but for Wino it has no feel of contrivement - just check out some of the tracks off Adrift, it's nothing less than stunning. Some have labelled this as a rebirth for the doom metal godfather, but the truth is that he has never died, his creative flame hasn't even flickered. Over thirty years of stunning songwriting in a variety of bands, each with their own idiosyncratic nature, and with an intransigent attitude to music that has seen him garner tonnes of respect from his peers, Wino has burnt a mark on heavy music that few others can claim to have done. I thought this is as good time as any to reflect on his career and have a look at one of his albums.

Anyone sad about the demise of the excellent Spirit Caravan in 2002 didn't have long to wallow, as Wino wasted no time in assembling a new band the same year, by the name of The Hidden Hand. The first two albums are damn hard to get hold of, so I had to settle for the band's final effort, The Resurrection Of Whiskey Foote. The album opens with the short but sweet Purple Neon Dream, with everything you'd expect from a Wino encarnation, with his trademark fuzzy guitar tone and soulful vocals, yet still sounding incredibly fresh and exciting. Aside from a few less-than-excellent tracks, the rest of the album is filled with raw, melodic and soulful post-doom/stoner rock. The highlight has to be the albums closer, Slow Rain. Co-vocalist and bassist Bruce Falkinburg takes the mic. for the first half, a psychadelic sludgy affair, before an awesome instrumental jam mid-song is concluded by Wino's vocals entering, sounding incredibly powerful and commanding, his lyrics as inspiring and poetic as ever.

People will point to the anthemic Born Too Late and Wino's work with The Obsessed as career highlights, but little of the man's output can be considered weak. This is another excellent chapter in Wino's career, and a great starting point for first time listeners.

7.5/10

Highlights : "Purple Neon Dream", "The Lesson", "Slow Rain"

See also - Spirit Caravan, Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath, Sleep, Clutch, Down.

Blackfield - Welcome To My DNA

Blackfield, the on-off collaboration between Israeli singer-songwriter Aviv Geffen and prog rock mastermind Steven Wilson recently released their third album, entitled "Welcome To My DNA". It had a lot to live up to, given that Blackfield`s second album was a stunning piece of work, even if it was too damn depressing to listen to the whole way through, and so I approached Welcome To My DNA with high expectations.

The album opens with a typically Blackfield track, "Glass House", with the irresistable melancholic melodies and clever songwriting which makes the band what they are. Then comes a real head-scratching moment, the second song, "Go To Hell". If it wasn`t for the reasonably good instrumentalism this song would be a total dud - the highly incongruous lyrics of "Fuck you all, fuck you, I don`t care" are almost laughable it's so bad. This is the kind of dross you`d expect in some awful metalcore song. The album manages to dig itself out of this rut though, the rest of the record is peppered with decent pop/art-rock numbers, with the succulent, uplifting melodies of "Oxygen" being a definate highlight. In addition to the more straightforward material, Blackfield have given themselves some room for experimentation on this record - "Blood" is an obvious nod to Geffens origins, with the Middle Eastern riff which is central to the song. I can see many fans being put off by the melodramatic and cringeworthy nature of the lyrics (they are pretty emo, it`s a credit that these two men in their 40`s can so perfectly put themselves in the shoes of a depressed teen). Not to mention rhyming couplet of "small town" and "roots down" used in "Far Away"...remind you of anything?

Overall, this album has failed to live up to the very high standards set by Blackfield II, but nonetheless it`s definately worth a spin. Wilson's recent collaboration with Mikael from Opeth, due for release later in the year, should provide more interest.

7/10

Highlights: "Oxygen", "DNA"

Ozzy Osbourne - Live at Citibank Hall, Rio de Janeiro, 7th April 2011

In the latest issue of Road Crew, Brazil's most popular metal magazine, the editor defended the image of the country of being a place for aging rockers collecting their last run of paychecks. Fair enough, as the editor claims proudly, the country does recieve some acts in the youth of their careers (erm, Avenged Sevenfold!?), but the percentage of gigs played by international artists that are over the age 50 is significantly higher than in Europe or North America. My gig calender reads to confirm this - Iron Maiden last week, Ian Anderson on 15th May, and in between Ozzy Osbourne.

Say what you want about Ozzy appearing in multimillion dollar adverts with Justin Bieber or Sharon's seemingly sovereign control of his career, if he can keep getting the reaction he did from the Brazilian crowd on Thursday, he can keep touring "until he dies" (as he said he would in a recent interview). The Citibank hall was packed full of punters who, like at Iron Maiden last week, pogoed around to the tunes and sang each and every lyric almost without fail.

The setlist was a pure nostalgiafest, only one song from the last twenty years worth of studio albums was played, the gaggingly commercial single off the latest record, Let Me Hear You Scream. This made for pleasent listening, seeing as songs like "Bark at the Moon" and "Crazy Train" are classics, but personally I was disappointed at the total dismissal of the "Diary of a Madman" album - one of the two albums recorded with legendary guitarist Randy Rhodes.

Anyone who's still interested in Ozzy's career (a gradually diminishing number) will be keen to see how Ozzy's new backing band are doing, particulary the most revered spot, lead guitar. It seems fairy ironic that former guitarist Zakk Wylde's much maligned use of pinched harmonics was one of the reasons fans were happy to see the back of him, yet Gus G is fairly liberal in his usage too. Other than that, the Greek guitarist stays faithful to the Rhodes/Lee/Wylde originals, with the exception to the occasional fill to give his own spin on the old songs.

On stage, Ozzy, nearly 45 years into his career, still acts like a child who's eaten too many haribos, but for him it seems hardly incongruous. The man still has an puerile grin on his face throughout the show and took great pleasure in dousing the crowd in water at regular intervals. Although it has to be said, Ozzy really needs to learn more stage banter - "I can't fuckin' hear you!!" in between every song grates after a while. His voice held up for most of the gig, partially aided by an extended instrumental jam, including a rather tedious drum solo (90% of drum solos are boring for me, admittedly).

Overall, a good night's entertainment, not sure quite worth another £45 spent, but as is the standard in South America, you pay a lot of money for musicians 20/30/40 years past their peak. A final note - the playing of War Pigs and Fairies Wear Boots made me realise again how important a Black Sabbath reunion would be...fingers crossed.

Album Of The Week : Ian Anderson - Rupi's Dance

It must say a lot about the sheer quality, diversity and timelessness of Ian Anderson's music that this is the 17th album I have by him/Jethro Tull, yet I'm far from bored of his music.

Considering Anderson's monopoly over songwriting in his main band, and the fact that Jethro Tull's music has become so eclectic down the years, it has become a quite grey area as to what exactly makes an Ian Anderson record not a Tull record. It's worth noting, however, that this is Anderson's forth solo album, following from the electronically driven Walk Into the Light, the entirely instrumental and ethereal Divinities: Twelve Dances with God, and the more straightforward folk rock of The Secret Language of Birds.

The album starts with the uptempo "Calliandra Shade", a very lithe, jolly song, and continuing in similar fashion, full of bright, vivid tunes that could only have been written by Anderson, such is the idiosyncratic nature of his compositions and style. The orchestration is done brilliantly throughout, exhibited best in "Griminelli's Lament", an elegy to an Italian violinist who's music Anderson was very fond of. Although classical influences have always been present in Anderson's works, this has become a more pivotal part of his music - there is a lot of depth to the record with the various orchestral elements, giving tasteful light and shade.

The lyrics are utterly typical of Anderson's - covering a range of quirky topics such as drinking capuccino in a market square to the death of his cat. The man's voice may have been on the wane since a throat operation back in the mid 80's, losing much of it's richness and warmth, but he's clearly adapted to such limitations. Even though I find it hard to listen to him signing Tull's 70's classics these days, I don't long for his old singing style when listening to his new music.

Sadly, like Tull's last studio effort, 1999's Dot Com, Rupi's Dance
has plenty of mediocre moments and forgettable songs, but when it's good, it's very good, and not a bad effort at all for someone 35 years into their songwriting career.

Highlights : "Calliandra Shade", "Old Black Cat", "Griminelli's Lament"

See also - Jethro Tull, Curved Air, Genesis, Yes

Iron Maiden - Live at HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, 28th March 2011

I had a premonition of the events of sunday night - the metal barriers that were used outside to make the queue of people snake (as opposed to a straight line) were pushed and climbed over as over-zealous fans were desperate to get in - security did nothing, of what security there was. The atmosphere was at fever pitch - incredible tension and anticipation, I've rarely seen anything like it.

Clearly the passion of the fans couldn't match the quality of the safety arrangements - halfway through the opening song, the barrier separating the stage and the crowd collapsed. Bruce immediately picked up on this and the band stopped and left the stage. After 20 minutes waiting Bruce came back on stage to announce that the barrier was irreparable and the show would be delayed 'till the followingnight. Cue civil unrest, but the audience left in disbelief and peace. Having spent 10 reais on the bus (3 hour return to my flat in Copacabana) and 25 on expensive beer inside I was pretty cheesed off at the amateur organisation of the concert, but happy that Bruce had the balls to tell the crowd himself as opposed to having some crew member or venue staff do it. Rearranging the concert for 24 hours later was no issue for me, and can you imagine Guns 'n' Roses being so benevolent? Bruce poiniently noted that the Japanese had two Maiden dates cancelled recently for far more serious reasons, which puts things into perspective.

So fastforward to monday night, Iron Maiden take two. The atmosphere was a lot more subdued outside, and there were notably less people than the previous night, but once the intro tape started playing all the calamities of yesterday were forgotten.
A setlist consisting of a healthy number of both old and new, the fervent Brazilian crowd lapped up every note, with "The Trooper" going down especially well, and new numbers such as "Coming Home" fitting into the setlist perfectly. The band still display energy levels to make many metal bands look positively static during performance. The intensity of the crowd was awesome - rarely have I been to a gig when the singing of the audience almost eclipses the band, and I owe the predicted bout of post-gig tinnitus more to the sound of the people around me rather than what was thundering out of the Marshalls. I have only seen Maiden once before, but I wasn't aware that pogo-ing was the dance of choice at their gigs - must be a Brazilian thing, a slightly bizarre change from the usual headbanging and body slamming of your typical metal concert.

This hardly seems like the final frontier for these 50-somethings, even if the quality of the studio material isn't as strong as it used to be, Iron Maiden in the live setting are still an awesome act.

Cavalera Conspiracy - Blunt Force Trauma

The reuniting of the Cavalera brothers after Max's acrimonious split from Sepultura fifteen years ago was greeted with unbridled joy amongst the metal community. Their debut album, "Inflikted" was a decent effort, but for me was overrated. Many critics were effectively reviewing the album before even listening to it, judging it simply on the fact that Brazil's meanest metal duo were back together. Even though there were some genuinely good moments on the first record, such as the title track and "Sanctuary", Soulfly's sixth record, "Conquer" which came out in the same year was arguably Max's best record since "Roots", with stronger, with better songwriting and more diverse material.

Cavalera Conspiracy kind of music is like fast food - it gives you an instant, gratifying, but not very deep hit of metal. The songs are all straight to the point and never meander unneccesarily. Max's lyrics are of the usual banal nonsensical variety which he has become known for, but the man's vitriolic vocals are still as angry as ever. He can never be accused of mincing his words : "Torture, motherfuckin' torture" he screams on the second track, and the rest drip with similar rancour. Marc Rizzo, Max's second guitar player since 2004, and arguably the guy who reignited his career, is once again on fire here. If you were to pick the most memorable moments from the last 7 years of Soulfly/C.C., a great deal of them would be Marc's solos - always tasteful and melodic yet displaying the amazing dexterity of a modern shredder. "Killing Inside" has some rather delightful lead work on it, as does the title track.

Undoubtably the material on here isn't as memorable as the debut album. Songs like "Torture" hardly inspire, but I can imagine that live these songs would be pretty energetic and exciting. I'll be spinning this record for a week or two but I can hardly imagine myself going back to it regularly in the coming years.

6.5/10

Highlights : "Killing Inside", "Warlord".

Album of the Year 2010 : Santeria - Year Of The Knife

This was meant to be completed before Christmas but circumstances intervened....

I've digested upwards of a hundred albums this year, so to pick a top one is quite the challenge. Although I listened to some incredible Neil Young and Dax Riggs records for the first time this year, as well as some nefandous extreme metal in the name of Neurosis and Goatwhore, the accolade has to go to "Year of the Knife" by Santeria, a little known band from the Deep South who blend hard rock, psychadelica and gentle but sometimes ragged acoustic to awesome effect.

It was thanks to Dax Riggs that I was able to discover this band - they were heavily featured on his now defunct website, theskeletalcircus. Having given a few of their songs a spin on myspace, I got myself a copy of the band's latest works, "Year Of The Knife".

For me, it perfectly combines the gritty edge of 80's GNR with Southern rock stylings, whilst simultaneously amalgamating psychadelic and world music influences. The record positively oozes hedonism and a lust for life, and is ideal for lifting you from the day to day monotony of everyday life. The band manage to give so much life to simple power chords that end up aching with emotion and might. "Nowhere To Go" might as well be the title song for Bukowski's Factorum, the novel I was reading at the time when I first gave this record a spin. The stop-start rhythm of "Haunted Heart" and the gorgeous Les Paul leads of Primo, topped off with Dege's inpassioned and permeating vocals make this an instant classic.

Aside from these pulsating rock moments, the band change the gears to mellower tunes. Check out the beautiful, graceful "Mexico", Dege paints a vivid picture of the ghostly backwaters of the U.S.´s southern neighbour. And if you think you´ve sussed the band out you´re in for a surprise for every subsequent song on the album - the variety on offer is impressive.

This is far more than a collection of songs - this is an album lovers album, one that ebbs and flows and demands to be listened to as a whole, an odyssey of awesomeness. A prominant feature is the use of different,eclectic instruments - the orchestration on the title track is incredible, and perhaps a direct artistic tribute to "Have a Cigar" by Pink Floyd, although only the band would be able to answer that question. The band never come across as ostentatious i.e. "lets cram as many instruments in as possible to look cool" - it´s always tasteful and creative.

This album is a kick in the teeth to anyone who thinks good music, rock music, is on the wane - Santeria have just thrown another huge log on the proverbial fire of rock.

Album Of The Week : The Howling Wind - Into The Cryosphere

The Howling Wind are the brainchild of Unearthly Trance's frontman Ryan Lipynsky, and Into The Cryosphere,released last year, is the act's second album, following on from the promising but patchy debut Pestilence and Peril. ITC is a vast improvement.

The awesome opening track, "The Seething Wrath Of A Frigid Soul" , sets the tone for the rest of the record, full of hyperborean atmospherics and sything black metal riffage. There's enough variety to keep the listener interested through the whole record - the instrumental "Impossible Eternity" is melodic and graceful, while the middle riff from "Will Is The Only Fire Under An Avalanche" is probably the most chillingly epic one on the whole album. Props to Lipynsky - the man not only displays marvelous fretboard pyrotechnics (with some tasteful yet dexterous soloing), he handles the bass and vocals, which for me are one of the highlights of this band. You may have noticed the epic nature of the songtitles - this is complimented by the majestic, if a little clichéd album artwork.

Highly recommended if you like your metal to be like a soundtrack to being lost in the icy tundra with little hope of salvation.

7.5/10

Highlights : "The Seething Wrath Of A Frigid Soul", "Will Is The Only Fire Under An Avalanche"

See also - Emperor, Mayhem, Bathory, Darkthrone, Unearthly Trance

Album Of The Week : Oxbow - The Narcotic Story

Oxbow have been going a while, and 2007's "The Narcotic Story" is their 6th and latest album.

Vocalist Eugene Robinson manages to channel the avant-garde insanity of Mike Patton, the howling depravity of Eyehategod's Mike Williams and the claustraphobic demonic nature of The Jesus Lizard's David Yow, to awesome effect. "It never rains...it fuckin' pours" he lugubriously yowls in "A Winner Every Time", but "She's A Find" has him almost crooning along, accompanied by soothing but subtly unnerving violins. It's pretty unsettling and at times draining listening, but the kind of album that unravells itself after multiple listens.

Despite the singer mumbling and stumbling his way through the album, the instrumental side of Oxbow is formidable - there are some big riffs to be found here, as well as some tripped out clean guitar lines almost reminiscent of 70's/ post rock.

7.5/10

Highlights : "Down A Stair Backward", "She´s A Find"

See also - Mr Bungle, The Jesus Lizard, Eyehategod

Album Of The Week : Scott Kelly - Spirit Bound Flesh

Having delved extensively into experimental metal legends Neurosis's discography it was inevitable that I'd explore the solo projects of the members of the said band. I'd already been blown away by Steve Von Till's own work, such as the sombre, chilling "Breathe" and the excellent cover of Neil Young's "Running Dry", where he somehow manages to make the song even more mournful and mirthless than the original. I was expecting more of the same from fellow singer/guitarist Scott Kelly's work.

After such gargantuan, at times extremely dense and sludgy records as "Through Silver In Blood" and "Times of Grace", by his main band Neurosis, Scott understandably wanted a record with a little more breathing space.

This is exactly that, at times incredibly minimalist. The album's opener "I Don't Feel You Anymore" sets the tone for the following seven songs - essentially just Scott with an acoustic guitar. As you might've guessed, this isn't beer drinking party music, just as grim and heart-on-sleeve as Neurosis - never less than totally honest. "Sacred Heart" is an interesting tune - four minutes of a cappella , which to be honest drags a little, but the experimentation and audacity has to be admired. "Flower" is another great brooding number - there's certainly a lot of quality on the record, perfect for reflective moments late at night.

8/10

Highlights : "I Don't Feel You Anymore", "Flower"

See also - Neurosis "I Can See You", Steve Von Till "Breathe", Johnny Cash "I Walk The Line", Wino - "Iron Horse/Born To Lose"

Album Of The Week : Julian Cope - Peggy Suicide

When one is searching for new musical inspiration, one only has to take a trip to Dax Riggs's Myspace page and peruse through his large and eclectic list of influences. This resulted in me finding Julian Cope, probably the best musical discovery I have unearthed for myself so far this year.

I chose to buy the highly acclaimed double album, Peggy Suicide. Like the Rolling Stones classic Exile on Main Street, Cope's album has eighteen tracks, and also like the Stones album the record reads as a DNA for much that is great about rock music - from the swirling guitars in Safesurfer, the funky bass of East Easy Rider and the poetic crooning in Las Vegas Basement, there is so much to enjoy here. The depth and texture to the music is impressive too, as is the fact that Julian himself plays a great deal of the instruments.

The lyrics and vocals have flashes of the twisted eccentric nature of Nick Cave and Devin Townsend, and even though much of what the album is about alludes towards English politics and Margaret Thatcher's reign as Prime minster it hardly feels like a political record.

Trying to find a definitive Julian Cope track is like trying to give an alien an example of which country most represents typical life on earth, such is the versatility of the man. Even after listening to the entire record I clearly haven't got to the bottom of his music - after giving a listen to China Doll, an exquisite ballad off an earlier album, I found it hard to believe it was the same artist. I can't recommend the guy enough - to put it bluntly, if you like rock music, buy this album.

8.5/10

Highlights : Safesurfer, Promised Land, Las Vegas Basement

See also - Nick Cave, Syd Barrett, Iggy Pop, Devin Townsend.

Nile - Live at Redemption, Derby, 10th February 2011

Even though it was little more than a year since Nile last toured the U.K, the South Carolinan death metal stalwarts came back for an extended jaunt of Europe, with four other bands in tow, including Israeli black metallers Melechesh. Although openers Darkrise had some decent riffs and German thrashers Dew Scented gave the crowd a chance to warm up their neck muscles, Melechesh were disappointing - for all the hype (including a recent appearance on the front cover of Zero Tolerance) there wasn't much substance at all, and the reaction was pretty apathetic. None of this mattered though, when Nile took to the stage at 10:15pm.

For any gig to be good the crowd and the band need to feed off each other, and in Derby the synergy was awesome. After a brooding, threatening instrumental intro track consisting of cacophonous horns and militant percussion taken from In Their Darkened Shrines, the gathered masses exploded into a frenetic frenzy upon the start of Kafir. From the opening chant of "There is no god" to the classic set closer Black Seeds of Vengeance the band were positively dripping with vitriolic energy, the three prong vocal attack as potent as ever. Particularly impressive was Serpent Headed Mask, taken off the debut album, a ridiculously concise and brutal song. It says a lot about Nile's consistency that half of the set consisted of their latest works, 2009's Those Whom The Gods Detest, yet the new songs fitted seamlessly into the miasmic maelstrom along with the old classics. The fretboard pyrotechnics unleashed by Dallas, Karl and Chris were staggering to watch live, not to mention George holding it all together with some of the most precise double bass and blastbeats you'll hear.

In the current musical climate there is probably no band as vital in death metal as Nile. The godfathers of the genre Morbid Angel are putting the finishing touches to their first album in eight years - in that time Nile have gone from strength to strength and released some of the most groundbreaking extreme metal imaginable. Morbid Angel originally set the standards of death metal, but now Trey Azagthoth and co. will need to pull something special out of the bag if they are to catch up with Nile...

Album Of The Week : U.S Christmas - Eat Of The Low Dogs

Since I have spent the last three weeks drifting indolently across the Iberian peninsula (see jacktstravels.blogspot.com) I had to put Album of the Week on a brief hiatus. For me, travelling always brings out the best in any music, and the soundtrack to me fruitful meanderings in Spain and Portugal was the album by U.S. Christmas, psychedelic rockers from deepest Appalachia.

As a rule, I'm very discriminate about buying music. I have a list of CD's that I want to buy as big as Dave Mustaine's ego so I don't often just buy any album on a whim - it needs to merit the money I spend on it. With Eat Of The Low Dogs it was different. I heard the song Silent Tongue on Last.fm radio and was so enamoured by it that I had to buy the record based on just that one listen. And I wasn't disappointed. In fact, that very track pales into comparison when measured against some of the other behemoth songs on the album.

U.S. Christmas are on Neurot Recordings (record label of extreme metal masterminds Neurosis), and if Scott Kelly and co. give your band their blessings then they must be worth shouting about. Both bands share the same lonesome, bleak landscapes but project them in different fashions. Like Neurosis, U.S. Christmas have the ability to take a few chords, milk them to near saturation point and create a simple yet awesome song - take Say Sister for example, only four chords are used up until the epic, gorgeous, undulating outro section. There's not a chugged power chord in sight, and it would be unsuitable to call this metal at all, even if the vocals are raspier and harsher than your average rock band. The band owe a lot more to 70's space rock legends Pink Floyd and Hawkwind than any 80's and 90's metal.

I can see some listeners objecting to the use of the perhaps ostentatious modular synth and the heavily echoed vocals, but for me it adds depth to the sound. Nate Hall's vocals are strained and beautifully impassioned. As he screams "And I don't ever change" in Uktena you really feel a haunting conviction in his voice. The guitars and used delicately and abstemiously, never over-indulging, and focusing on creating an eldrich atmosphere and giving awesome texture to the record. The overall sound created is one of a band jamming out live, yet the songs are never desultory.

The follow up to this album, Run Thick In The Night, as been very well received by critics, and a support slot for Neurosis's show last month in San Francisco shows that the band are heading on a upward trajectory. Great things are to come from these guys.

9/10

Highlights : Say Sister, The Light of All Time, Uktena

See also - Pink Floyd - Us And Them, Hawkwind - Hall Of The Mountain Grill, Neurosis - Stones From The Sky.

Album Of The Week : Big Star - Number 1 Record

After being mightily impressed with Big Star's other classic album, Radio City, back in March last year, I thought the band's debut album, Number 1 Record, would have a lot to live up to for me. However, upon listening to it it gave a reminder of when I first gave When The Kite String Pops by Acid Bath a first spin. No, there was no sludgy misanthropic riffs or demonic vocals, but it was more in the sense that I never thought the first album I heard by the band (Paegan Terrorism Tactics) could be beaten, yet the predecessor (in terms of my order of listening) totally blew the other album away. Even though I still rank Radio City as an awesome, awesome record, Big Star's first album manages to top it.

The song that got me into the band was September Gurls - an absolute rock classic, with gorgeous vocal melodies, catchy guitar lines and with a simple, to-the-point structure. Number 1 Record is full of these oh-so-succulent moments. If it wasn't for the bands commercial failure (blamed on their record labels poor promotion and distribution of the bands works), the songwriting duo of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell could've been the McCartney/Lennon partnership of American Power Pop. The songwriting oozes class and creativity - the twelve tracks on the album are both instantaneously appealing but won't get boring after repeated listenings, surely a sign of great music.

Within the album there's a lot of diversity, a fine sum of the greatness of 60's and 70's rock. Thirteen could be seen as a prototype for Skyway by The Replacements, one of many bands heavily influenced by Big Star, whilst the angsty Don't Lie To Me and the melodic delight of The Ballad of El Goodo are just more examples of the ecletic nature of the songs. I wonder even if Alice In Chains were influenced by the albums closer ST 100/6 - the vocal harmonies are surprisingly similar to what Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell became famous for in the early 90's with grunge titans Alice in Chains.

Each of the twelve tracks have their own merits. This is 70's pop-rock at its absolute best, an unmissable yet criminally underrated album. Buy without hesitation.

Highlights : The Ballad of El Goodo, Thirteen, My Life Is Right

See also - The Replacements - Skyway, The Ledge, Big Star - September Gurls