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Band: Draconian
Album title: Sovran
Release date: 30 October 2015
Label: Napalm Records
Sovran is a proof that the combination of gothic metal and doom metal works out perfectly if you have top notch musicians performing and composing it. While the pace of the album is a bit slower and not so direct like on some of their previous albums, the whole gloomy atmosphere is outstanding, songs are catchy, flowing, dramatic and absolutely racked by melancholy. Most of the melodies are stunningly captivating, guitar sound is gentle and heavy at the same time, often we hear those typical slowly gliding evocative trademark Draconian lines and riffs which brings tears in the eye, the rhythmic line is crushing, just right to give that necessary dose of turbulent doom metal and slight aggression into these compositions. The multidimensional ambiance gets often fulfilled with obscure gothy symphonic synths which give to the songs such an unimaginable depth and rich sound. All of the songs on Sovran are nicely building up in atmosphere, there are so many layers and the one who would like to take everything this album offers should be concetrated on the music as much as possible, possibly setting up a perfect mood. Sovran is magical, soothing, melancholic and dreamy adventure, yet it is ponderous, powerful and heavy by partly remaining loyal to the formula from their debut album, Where Lovers Mourn (2003), where the band made a deviation from their early death/black metal days into a dark and doomy metal style which convinced fans of bands like My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and early Anathema.
Read a full review HERE
Band: Erdh
Album: Sideremesis EP
Release date: 19 October 2015
Label: Apathia Records
When Erdh, a French two-piece outfit, released their debut Resilient, they've been tagged as a heavier version of Depeche Mode and their sound has been compared to a variety of well-known musical acts, from Nine Inch Nails and Ulver to Type O Negative and Paradise Lost. With Sideremesis - a four track EP, which in a way serves as a bridge between Resilient and the full length in the making, - the first thing that popped inside my mind was: this is an obscure version of Hurts. The riffing, which presented itself on Resilient is gone, the pace has slowed down and the ambiances spread out through the soundscapes deeper and further. And yet again, the conclusion is the same – this is not and obscure version of Hurts. It's so much more. It's Erdh. Nicolas Pingnelain and Emmanuel Lévy, who have been a steady duet for three years now, have decided to expand their horizons and again gave us a confirmation, they know no boundaries when it comes to music. When you slide through the tunes on the EP, you get the feeling the sound created on it came so natural to them and as it was composed effortlessly. Even though it does take quite a drastic turn away from Resilient, I'm more than sure anyone who was struck by the brilliancy of it will find the comfort in Sideremesis. More to it – even if this is your first encounter with their music, you can start from here and get entranced by the wondrous world of Erdh.
Read a full review HERE
Band: Near Earth Orbit
Album title: Trans Neptunian Objects
Release date: 9 October 2015
Label: Solar Lodge
We are back in the future, exactly in the year 2034. The second chapter of Near Earth Orbit invites us again to experience an imaginary movie created by the force of sound. Now the mother Earth is left behind, it went into ashes; do you remember the last words on End Of All Existence from the communication between the Mission Control Centre and Ashley Dayour? "OMG the apocalypse is fucking beautiful!", Ashley said in the end of the of the album which was released in May this year, and then it was only silence... Now Artaud Seth (Garden Of Delight, Merciful Nuns, Lutherion) and Ashley Dayour (Whispers In The Shadow, The Devil & The Universe, Coma Divine,...) are deep in the space. Trans Neptunian Objects reveals why the E.D.E.N. mission was discharged there and how it got there, the significance of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge and also which part a pre-human device buried deep in the desert sand has got to play in all of this. It's almost impossible to separate the first Near Earth Orbit's chapter, End Of All Existence, and the second one, Trans Neptunian Objects. Musically the new effort by Artaud and Ashley differs a bit from the previous one. While the biggest emphasis on the first chapter was on dreadful apocalyptic atmosphere, now the two based their sound a bit more on powerful, still very cinematic and atmospheric doomy gothic rock. Trans Neptunian Objects is a strong and dark album from every possible point of view, it's a solid and extraordinary release, perfectly capturing the feeling and experience of being in the vastness of space, yet it's very well produced piece of unique sonic darkness that shouldn't be missed out.
Read a full review HERE
Band: Cryo Chamber Collaboration
Album title: Azathoth
Release date: 06 October 2015
Label: Cryo Chamber
"Outside the ordered universe is that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes." H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Azathoth is the perfect demon for dark ambient artists to imagine through sound. With so many artists involved in the project, its as if they have found a way, which in H.P. Lovecraft's time was impossible, to make sounds that fit the description of this demon and its encounters with humanity. Azathoth is the most recommended dark ambient album I can tell you to experience. The listener should especially enjoy Azathoth on a dark rainy night or any time they are feeling their darker side take hold. Listen to this brutally beautiful project in its entirety every moment is worth it. Global collaborations like this, showcasing artists from all over the world, is an inspiring concept, especially during these increasingly troubled times.
Read a full review HERE
Band: Born For Bliss
Album title: Falling Back To Never
Release date: 16 October 2015
Label: Echozone
Born For Bliss is finally back with an album that's by all means a proper masterpiece, Falling Back To Never, which takes with such an ease the listener into a magical world that can be rarely witnessed. Falling Back To Never is like a story told in twelve chapters and as the opener "Innocent" is repetitively saying, "tell me your story, tell me you're innocent...", you know in an instant what will be about lyricaly wise. If the opening song can be counted like a rather hypnotic and psychedelic, yet very multidimensional introduction into Falling Back To Never, the real drama and whole new world opens up with "This Narrow Place". The sound on the album is somehow complex, constantly divided between the emotional, gentle, atmospheric new wave sound, and the one a bit more hypnotic, but still there's not a single second on it where it loses its extraordinary pathos. The vocal job is simply breathtaking, it's difficult to explain what kind of a power, passion and emotion is poured into it, let it be when Frank sings alone or in a duet with Lori, one of the finest examples of such a duet must be the driving "Better Than Me". The overall very atmospheric sound is often enriched with use of various electronics, synths, piano touches and much more other well thought insertions. The one who takes this sonic journey must be satisfied in the end, because albums like it's Falling Back To Never are rarely released these days. A masterpiece!
Read a full review HERE
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