Dormant Heart - Sylosis:
Sylosis are one of those bands that have stuck to their guns through and through but made a progression from album to album. I really started to get into their when Edge of the Earth was released, I loved their fast paced thrashy riffs but with much more technicality and atmosphere that your average thrash band. Fast forward a couple of years and we are here with another stellar release. Dormant Heart encapsulates Sylosis' essence nicely but is a definite step forward from Monolith. I feel that this album is much more of a package and flows nicely. Where The Wolves Come To Die is probably one of the best openings to an album I have heard in a long time, setting the scene nicely for what follows. If you are a fan of them but haven't listened to them in a while or someone who likes a bit of blackened thrash this is a great place to start.
The Congregation - Leprous
Coal has to be one of my all time favourite albums. It was something fresh to me and nice refreshing shift away from modern progressive metal, so when Leprous announced the release of The Congregation I couldn't wait to get hold of it. It does not disappoint. If you are expecting Coal 2 you are not going to get it. The Congregation has a different vibe to it and feels a little more split up. You can certainly dip in and out of this album whereas Coal was very much a whole project. That being said it doesn't spoil the album. Einar Solberg's vocals are haunting as ever, on this effort laying off of the screamed vocals a bit more. The musicianship on this album is top notch and I love what they have done on it. While the album is full of absolutely impeccable songs, are a cut above the rest. The Flood with it's throbbing bass pulse kicks the song off then Einar comes in serenely to rest above it. The emotion is gigantic when it you hit the drop sending chills down your spine. Fantastic synth and vocal work there. My only criticism is that, it should have been the first song on the album, they did it live and it worked so well. Moon again is just one of those immense pieces where the instrumentation works so well for Einar to come in and just use his voice to the best of his ability and soar over the top. The Congregation is just fantastic - a great album for those who want to get into the band but don't know too much about them and for the long term fans of the Norwegian prog titans. Expect to hear a lot about this band in the near future.
Solar Storm - Rendezvous Point
Whilst we are on the topic of Norwegian prog, Rendezvous Point have come out of the same group of musicians that Leprous and Ihsahn mix with but have adopted a more mainstream prog metal style resembling the likes of Haken and dare I say Dream Theater. For a debut album this is pretty stunning. I love Petter Hallaråker's guitar work on this album, and he can certainly pull it off live too. Through The Solar Storm is a great opener and leads nicely onto the lead single Wasteland. I do feel that vocalist Geirmund Hansen pushes his vocals too hard to fast into the songs though, particularly Wasteland, if he can sort this for the next album I feel they could be destined for great things. Each song on this album deserves a mention because they are equally good. If you are into your modern prog then do check out this band.
Bloom - Caligula's Horse
Another band that I happened to stumble upon in my heavily progged out year. Caligula's Horse are a fantastic modern prog outfit from Australia. I checked them out after Tesseract toured Aus with them and was pleasantly surprised by their intricate melodies and moods created by guitarist and songsmith Sam Vallen. Naturally people are raving about the album's single Marigold (which is a good song don't get me wrong) but I think the album's strength comes from songs like Daughter Of The Mountain. Firelight is another stand out song, an ode to those who we have loved and lost too soon. Overall this album is a really nice refreshing take on modern prog.
Hand. Cannot. Erase. - Steven Wilson
The follow up to the stunning The Raven That Refused To Sing (and other stories) landed in the first part of 2015 and it did not disappoint. This concept album is little short of a masterpiece by the progressive legend. I know I harp on about this one track but it is simply breathtaking, Routine steals the show on this album. Steven and Ninet Tayeb absolutely deliver a masterpiece on this track, the emotions are so thick that the live performance had me ever so close to tears, it is absolutely phenomenal. I don't think that Hand is quite at the same level as The Raven but it is still a stonking piece of work. Perhaps a tad difficult for a first time listener but one for the eclectic fan. If that wasn't enough Steven is releasing a stop gap album in the first part of 2016 to bridge the gap to his next full solo effort. People are asking when a Porcupine Tree reunion is coming and I am going to be bold and say, "Do we really need one?". Steven's solo work has been validated in its own right and he still plays the Porcupine Tree songs live so do we really need it. I don't think so.
International Blackjazz Society - Shining
After the astounding One One One I was super excited to see what Shining delivered. To be honest I was a bit disappointed when I heard IBS it wasn't, in my opinion, anywhere near the same quality of its predecessor. However, there are some jems on the album the most notable being House Of Control which is brilliant. I was getting to the end of what seemed to me a mediocre album when suddenly this came on which made me sit up and take note. House Of Control is in some respect a bit of a ballad, if Shining could do such a thing, but the way they do it is astonishing. Jørgen Munkeby's vocal performance particularly on this track conveys a ton of emotion, giving it a very personal vibe that is often lacking on "ballads". While the rest of the album has hints of greatness it is a very mediocre effort with a gem hiding in its mix. I look forward to hearing what Shining do next.
De Gjenlevende - Galar
Ok I am so late to the game with this band. I was looking through someone else's top ten albums of the year and I must say the artwork caught my eye so I thought I would give them a listen and see what they were like. I must say I was blown away with what I heard. If you're looking for some well composed atmospheric Black metal then seriously check this album out. What I like about this album so much is that it feels more like a composition than someone just sitting down with a guitar and blasting out riff after riff. A number of different classical instruments have been used on the album and it all helps to build a dark brooding atmosphere. For me there is no bad track on the album and even the classical track Ljós is simply stunning and fits right in. Another great track is Bøkens Hymne, it starts with this funky little classical section before replicating the same section this time with crushing guitars and wondrous black metal vibes. Even though it is entirely in Norwegian, it doesn't detract from what an amazing piece of work this album is. Don't knock the bassoon, listen to this album!
Silence In The Snow - Trivium
Right the gloves are off. I have had it. I am done. What on earth were Trivium thinking with this album. Some people say it's "a natural progression" or "Matt Heafy has found his voice and is doing what he always wanted to do, sing". Bollocks. I am sorry but it is not just the vocals on this album that have wound me up so much with this band. I was a massive Trivium fan and I liked the way that the band were changing and growing all the way up until In Waves. When In Waves came out I thought, ok this is good but I feel it could be better, I like the way that you're heading back to the Ascendancy kind of vibes. Then Vengeance Falls came out and I was severely disappointed. Whilst there were glimmers of good riffs most of the songs structuring was poor. So Silence was announced earlier in the year and I thought "Ok this will be interesting to see what they do here". The song Silence In The Snow wasn't actually that bad. I thought ok this a bit more technical, Heafy is trying to be Dio which is pretty annoying but its not a bad song. Then I heard the rest of the album, and my head sunk. Most of the songs are very short, repetitive and unimaginative with the most boring drum lines from Mat Madiro - who has subsequently been dropped by the band. I'm sorry but you can't tell me that the band are now making the music they "always wanted to make" when you look back at the complexity of something like the Shogun or the hardcore values of Ascendancy. Silence In The Snow is extremely underwhelming and falls short on all fronts. I just hope with the addition of Paul Wandtke on the drums they can work back to what they used to be. I am not asking for Ascendancy 2 or Shogun Strikes Back I am just asking that they simply stop messing about trying to be radically different with each album, find a style and work on it. They have polarised their audience and are fast becoming a joke.
The Book Of Souls - Iron Maiden
This may not be what you expect, don't worry after what you have just read I am not about to light up one of the biggest heavy metal bands of all time. I will say though that The Book Of Souls did disappoint me. I have huge respect for Maiden, I think any metal fan does, and I couldn't wait for a follow up to The Final Frontier which was in my opinion a pretty solid release. I heard the single Speed Of Light and was a little disappointed, but nevertheless the song grew on me and I quickly picked up my guitar and started playing riffs from it it. When the album came out I couldn't wait to put it on and the disappointment hit again. Am I forcing myself to like this? Is it genuinely bad? Is it me? I would say that The Book Of Souls is not a brilliant album in comparison to what the band have recently released. It feels like they have bitten off more than they can chew, with this being the longest album they have ever released. There is something to be said for a band releasing a live sounding album dont get me wrong, but I really feel that if they had spent a bit more time on this album, cut some of the crap then they would have had another great album on their hands. So for me The Book Of Souls is an ok release but as every fan would admit, I can't wait to see what they do next!
