Tag Archives: Progressive

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Children Of Nova

I’ll be honest, my astrophysics aren’t very far advanced so when it comes to knowing what a nova is, I had no real clue despite having an overall fondness for the word for years but yet having some idea what a supernova is… I’ve never dropped it into everyday conversation and I haven’t needed to. A nova anyway is the thermonuclear detonation of the surface of a white dwarf which causes a brightening of the star as a whole. In simplistic terms, a huge expulsion of energy from a star makes it brighter at night. So if children can be birthed from this astrological phenomena, and they are capable of playing tremendous progressive rock that resonates with such wonderful radiance and burning passion, then why haven’t more come to this planet? In any case, Children Of Nova are settled in the domain that Coheed And Cambria reign over, but in a more contemplative light that their slower-burning songwriting is far more suited to. It retains the same magnitude of soaring guitar work, just with a more impressive vocal dexterity and a tone that strays just south of intense to stay relaxing. Harmonics can drift into sombre stretches and the throttle can be thumped however over the course of 2012’s Impossible Landscape, the ride remains a mostly gentle series of peaks that can be jagged on the way down. Kaleido, the second track in, certainly starts calmly before skyrocketing into some cosmos-reaching guitar playing, whether in perfect harmonic unison or as light and heavy compatriots. It also serves as the real introduction to the astounding vocal range of singer Teo Lopez, whose performance on this album propels the already astonishing musicianship to such magnificent heights. To stumble across a band that drives home such enchanting, heartfelt progressive rock is a true rarity and yet it is the bands like Children of Nova that could sit for months, years or even decades before their star bursts into light for the world to see. Nonetheless, the discovery alone is fantastical.

The band are currently on an indefinite hiatus unfortunately, so it’s unknown whether they’ll make a return, but at least both albums Impossible Landscape and 2009’s The Complexity Of Light can still be bought from their Bandcamp page, their webstore and at most respectable music retailers.

https://www.facebook.com/childrenofnova?fref=ts

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Canopy

A canopy, according to the Oxford English dictionary, describes a layer or material above our heads, normally suggested as a form of shelter or cover. This actually stems from the Latin word conopeum which means ‘mosquito net over a bed.’ Who says this blog isn’t educational? Any which way you look at it, staring at the word canopy, the image of a Swedish melodic death metal band doesn’t immediately come to mind. But upon listening to the bludgeoning force split between three guitarists, who breathed new life into a dying breed of metal, that vision attaches substantial weight to that single word and a monster of skull-crushing compositions is at your disposal. In tune with the original Gothenburg melo-death trinity of In Flames, At The Gates and Dark Tranquillity, the sextet of Canopy bring the multiple guitar harmonies and unmistakable death growls, but with the aid of heavyweight, denser guitars tones that technology couldn’t produce twenty years ago and the creative influences of some of the more experimental names in the metal game a la Opeth and Strapping Young Lad. Their acclaim for easing emotion and atmosphere out of a darker, heavier style of music speaks for itself. Where 2010’s Menhir succeeds is taking that creativity and ramming it into a combustible yet massively textured furnace, burning with the intensity of a forest fire. Speaking of fire, third track in Earth Splits Into Fire prophecies the self-destruction of our planet and our species through a booming death sentence, led in by acoustic plucking with the inevitable pulverisation of three guitars worth of distortion and downtuning and hammerblows of double kick pedals drawing ever closer, before they collide in a detonation of riffs, shredding and blast beats. Canopy blend the old breed with new techniques in such a way it comes across a fresh approach to metal entirely. Between the six combined muscle powers of these gentlemen, there lays a myriad of incredible musical and technical masterworks that have sunk so far under the radar, it seems ironic that they should bear the name Canopy.

Menhir, their most known album can be purchased either via Bandcamp, or via Dissension.se, where as their previous two albums, Will And Perception and Serene Catharsis can only be bought through Dissension.se.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canopy/7778617518?fref=ts

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Hibernal

More often than not I talk about journeys that music takes you on, and soundtracks that keep you deeply involved and invested into that atmosphere. No matter what genre of music you listen to, you can always count on artists and bands to tie tales and tunes together to create experiences that can stimulate not just aural sensations, but mindmap an evolving story in line with moods and emotions expressed by the soundscape. Some artists record concept albums. Others record an entire novel. Such is the case of Brisbane’s Mark Healey, who not only is a published science fiction author, but scores some of his written works also under the name Hibernal. His plotlines mainly focus on near future, dystopian cities and worlds, and likewise, the music reflects a rich, vivid environment in which the story unfolds in. Armed with a keyboard, guitar and drums, he hires additional voice actors to communicate with one another, as well as an omnipresent narrator, whilst the music underneath sets the scene. As far as the realms of post rock go, there’s not often something that encapsulates drama so well, before it strays into bombast. From the opening acoustic bars of The Restless Man, there’s an immediate tinge of tragedy attached to the protagonist, before the feisty electric guitar kicks in and you get a sense of action emerging from movement, imagining fast travel into the city’s limits, or the mind and thoughts racing through the lead character’s head. The fact Mark Healey devoted time to both an instrumental and narrated version of the story, and how coherent they both sound without knowing the other translation is a testament to sheer talent and musical ability. The expansive, deeply emotive score of Replacements, his second story in his Silent Earth saga, sits somewhere in the vein of Blade Runner and recaptures that creativity and spark that film directors have tried to replicate for decades. A true original in every sense, this is listening at its most focused and incredibly worthy of your investment.

This is taken from the instrumental adaptation of Replacements, as not to spoil the story of the narrated version. All versions of Replacements, this year’s After The Winter and 2013’s The Machine can be found on Mark’s Bandcamp page. His published works I believe are available on most leading online retailers.

https://www.facebook.com/hibernalband?fref=ts

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Vulture Industries

Circumstances make me wonder if opinion polls are ever conducted on whether the world needs more metal musicals. Currently the best example may be cult classic Repo! The Genetic Opera, certainly a polarising experience at the best of times however. The music itself was very well composed, especially for the sheer scale of original songs written for the score, but the lyrics at times, came over as unintentionally hilarious. Very few bands nail that balance between theatricality and musiciality perfectly, so when a new avant-garde metal band emerges onto the fray, attention spreads like wildfire. Enter Norway’s Vulture Industries. European metal circles are quickly cottoning onto their amalgamation of styles, instruments and notably the quirky vocal menagerie of frontman Bjørnar Nilssen. While most likely not conceived in that matter, each song written by Vulture Industries takes its place as a scene or chapter in a blackened, twisted storybook, exploring the depths of emotion and the human condition. Most recent venture, 2013’s The Tower is their most ambitious tale to date. Stretching beyond an hour in running time, this five piece have taken extra cues from symphonic metal, as well as enlisting the help of various session musicians and choruses along the way. Divine-Apalling is the second track in, and from the get-go takes you into the warped pantomime of a slightly Vaudevillian landscape. There’s so many well thought out touches in what becomes a carousel, or a carnivalesque waltz of joyous and melancholy tones, but amplified like only a metal band can realise. Vulture Industries have the inner workings of utter genius, and are creatively one of the most unique bands around right now. Take the stage, this applause is all yours.

Their three albums can be purchased on their own Bandcamp page as well as their website, whereas their earlier works and demos, are no longer in print. As usual, these can also be bought at most respectable music retailers too.

https://www.facebook.com/vultureindustries?fref=ts

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Deadists

At least some point in your life, you may ask yourself the question: How is it that I’d like to die? No matter what state of mind you are in, it seems to be an intangiable fact that we as the human race, are oft fascinated by the realms of the morbid. After all, life does come to an end at some point. But say if for example, you are in a Swedish metal band from Gothenburg, and your music so happens to be very heavy, addled with enough riffs and raw power to haemorrage a tower block, you may ask yourself: Is death by sludge possible? Deadists would like think so, their waves of black tar swallowing you whole, whilst the crushing weight squeezes the air from your lungs. Meeting somewhere between doom and sludge, none of Time Without Light’s five tracks falls under the five minute mark., giving enough exposure in one sitting to completely pulverise your eardrums into dust. The full-out fuzz assault of Human Stain is a seemingly endless tide of meaty guitar grooves and highly intimidating barking, all the time while drums beat and bloody the faint of heart into a pulp. Deadists may play with an appetite for destruction, that much is clear, but the size and skill of which this fairly original brand of addictive sludge is performed, leaves little doubt that these gentlemen from Gothenburg are a wrecking crew capable of global domination.

Deadists are in a strange state, they haven’t died but are evolving in terms of sound and personnel, of which change hopefully bring new material with it. In any case, 2010’s Time Without Light can be found on their Bandcamp page for an absolute steal.

https://www.facebook.com/deadists?fref=ts

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Fjodor

Better get a beverage of choice and get comfortable for this one. This is by far the longest song you’ll have heard on this blog. But in the best of ways, as a two part space epic absolutely cram filled with unique musical and cultural ideas that keep this a truly fascinating listen. Comparisons to the works of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd and the heydays of krautrock have all been ushered to these four (now three) Croatian gentlemen, but the first part of 46 minute long St Anthony’s Fire, reminded me a little more of Ozric Tentacles, at least from the psychedelic scale of their music. While somewhat of an extended jam, the influences from Balkan and Oriental scales and dipping into jazz territories, even classical compositions at times, keep a gorgeous constant flow throughout the unbelievably tight evolution of both pieces. Electronics haze, phase, swirl and whirl in and out of multi-textural guitar exhibitionism, pace changing as quickly as British weather thanks to an insane drum performance, but there is never a lull in its running time. Consistently exciting from beginning to end, music oft doesn’t sound so free and unrestricted by traditional music conventions, and that what makes Fjodor and St. Anthony’s Fire from 2013 a stroke of genius from a band of phenomenally talented musicians.

St. Anthony’s Fire is readily available from the band’s Bandcamp page, whereas their previous work is much more difficult to come across, so research is definitely needed to unearth that.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/FJODOR/71237823451?fref=ts

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Maeth

Some of the best kinds of music ensnare you for a listening experience unlike any other. Pink Floyd. Mastodon. Ozric Tentacles, if you know of them, just to name a few. Minnesota’s Maeth take cues in what makes these three bands world class songwriters, yet are very much their own unique beast, with extra emphasis on the beast. What you’re getting is a progressive metal band that are unafraid to take their music above and beyond tired barriers. The entirety of 2012’s Horse Funeral EP is one song broken into five segments in which the title track here, goes on as much as a flight as the rest of the album. Starting in space almost, sludge mode engages for an impressive show of strength and a surprisingly catchy riff, colliding head on with excellent off-kilter drums. The soundscape is then hushed into a repetition of that riff, supported by a gentle touch of bass before an ethereal flute takes hold of the proceedings. See, progressive music doesn’t get that spiritual sounding nowadays, but these gentlemen can take it there or wherever they please, as their near-leagues below sea level depth is astounding. Maeth aren’t musicians, they’re dreamweavers. Whether that’s a psychedelic tour of space, or a terrifying avalanche solely to crush, they deserve to breach their cult status as one of progressive metal’s most exciting new bands.

The Horse Funeral EP was only the beginning. Please go check out their 2013 album Oceans Into Ashes on their Bandcamp, as it expands the groundwork covered here into a fully-fledged masterpiece.

https://www.facebook.com/MaethBand?fref=ts