Swallowed By the Moon
4/21/07
After partying all night, things were very slow going when I awoke. This is nothing out of the ordinary for these two-day metal festivals, but since Scarecrow and I had a room on the same floor as most of the bands, I ended up staying up real late chatting with the Europeans. After much Gatorade, food and a viewing of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters," it was time for Chicago Powerfest Day Two.
Thurisaz - I spent a long time the previous night talking and partying with these Belgian dudes (more on that at my MySpace blog), and I wondered how they kept it together so well when I was still feeling queasy. Along with Suspyre, I was really glad to have discovered Thurisaz via this year's Powerfest. Theirs was a strong mix of modern Eurometal styles, with of doom, black, goth and prog all bearing an influence. Smooth, sad melodies snaked through the music, yet the undeniably heavy sections - especially the fast parts, which resembled a glorious convergence of Opeth and Enslaved - kept their set from becoming too "pretty." Thurisaz has a great handle on that quintessentially European split between choppy and flowing, growling and singing, menace and bliss, dark and light. Although the keyboards were once again somewhat buried in the mix, the quintet created an epic atmosphere in that little stage, and created an impressive precedent for the rest of the evening. I hope these guys gain the stature their expertly beguiling sound deserves.
Novembers Doom - Local favorites Novembers Doom played Powerfest in the past, but back then their British-style doom/death stuck out among all the power and prog metal acts (in fact, I also saw this happen to them the other night at the Alehorn of Power II). This year, they fit the bill perfectly, and not just because the second day was littered with more extreme styles. As I've mentioned recently in this space, Novembers Doom has evolved a bit since their initial My Dying Bride-ish romantic trudge. Over the last few albums, they've kicked up the tempo to a sort of midpaced death metal rumble, injected some thrashy guitars and jettisoned the guest female vocals. They still sound more European than American (that's a compliment), with greater attention to atmosphere and morose melody than most of their countrymen. Live, the new selections absolutely steamrolled through the hall. Vocalist Paul Kuhr sang a ballad to his little daughter, who was experiencing her first ND show up in the balcony... it was a really sweet moment, not at all what you'd expect from a bunch of frowny longhairs, yet heartfelt enough to compliment the emotional weight of the otherwise darker material. The band's entire set was a perfect bridge between the energetic, wide-ranging Thurisaz and the dolorous coma that followed...
Saturnus - The announcement of this Danish quintet was what really got me excited about Powerfest this year. I have a couple of their earlier albums, which are great examples of European doom/death. I'm talking looong, slooow, paaaiinful songs based on incredible guitar lines that stretch to the sky, with deep, anguished growls from beyond the grave. They are a supreme example of the sort of swooning sledgehammer sludge that drew me to doom/death in the first place. Soaking in Saturnus' luxurious brand of misery in a live setting is one of those things I never thought I'd experience, yet here they were. I even managed to get up to the front of the stage for a portion of the set, enabling the only decent concert photos I've yet to take with my new camera phone. Saturnus crawled through the muddy mix and the booze-soaked haze (I believe bassist Lenny Jacobsen had been awake - and drinking - for about 30 hours at that point), doling out newer, slightly less oppressive and more progressive tunes among the beautifully torturous older gems. Although Powerfest offered a lot of different musical pleasures, due to Saturnus and Solitude Aeturnus, to me it was a mighty feast of Holy Fucking Doom. And now I can look forward to Swallow the Sun when they open for my favorite band in September... somebody pinch me, lest I turn Katatonic.
Martyr - As the evening's focus shifted from atmospheric to psychotic, the Canadian favorites stepped up and blasted everyone's hair back, tearing the room out of its doom-inspired lethargy. I had only heard one Martyr album before the show, and I expected them to be cool, but I was not prepared for the insane onslaught of technical prowess they displayed. Vein-popping bursts of intricate, polyrhythmic thrash metal spilled forth with tightly-reined vitriol, surprising pockets of sonorous melody peeking out from the chopping, slashing and grinding assault. Frontman Daniel Mongrain, whose resume reads like a virtual who's-who of Canuck tech-metal (Gorguts, Cryptopsy, Quo Vadis) kept making these amazing crazyman faces, popping his eyes and leering like a madman whenever he wasn't roaring into the mic. I mostly marveled at drummer Patrice Hamelin, who often had to play an array of rhythms with various limbs even though he and I got substantially intoxicated together shortly before their set. I couldn't believe how that dude held his shit together when I was feeling so effed up. Simply put, if you like technical, aggressive metal but are unfamilar with Martyr, do yourself a favor and dive in.
Atheist - Talk about bands I never thought I'd see. Atheist broke up in 1993, once their then-unprecedented mix of death metal and jazz fusion had thoroughly confused everyone. Today, technically demanding extreme metal is actually trendy with the kids. Clichés aside, Atheist was truly ahead of its time. Having reuinted for a handful of festival gigs with members of drummer Steve Flynn's band Gnostic capably handling the guitars, this was their last-ever non-hometown U.S. appearance (unless they stay together and make another record). Atheist's participation was a coup for Powerfest, and shame on anyone who ever liked the band but wasn't there. Following up Martyr's jaw-dropping display would be tough for most bands, but these guys had it down, and being more familiar with Atheist's stuff (I have it all), I couldn't help but headbang and holler along. Vocalist Kelly Shaefer's high-pitched growl, so different from what you think of in death metal, was in pretty good shape as he bounded around the stage. Positioned where I was, I got to see a lot of bassist supreme Tony Choy, who through his stints with Atheist, Cynic and Pestilence is the linchpin of early prog-death. It was an honor to see the man play. Crackling with energy from start to finish, Atheist's set was rare case of a reunion show where nostalgia came second to in-the-now harmony. I wonder if those Cynic dates are going to be half as good.
Please take some time to enjoy the 2007 mp3s that are still in the player. I will wipe them out with my next post to make room for another lesson in metal genre greatness (you fondly remember my guide to ethnic metal from January, no?). Hey, I recently wrote some CD reviews: Dir en grey (meh) and Superchrist (yay!).
In other news, it pleased me to learn during a recent YouTube search that Mac Tonight is alive and well... in Singapore?!?
After partying all night, things were very slow going when I awoke. This is nothing out of the ordinary for these two-day metal festivals, but since Scarecrow and I had a room on the same floor as most of the bands, I ended up staying up real late chatting with the Europeans. After much Gatorade, food and a viewing of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters," it was time for Chicago Powerfest Day Two.
Thurisaz - I spent a long time the previous night talking and partying with these Belgian dudes (more on that at my MySpace blog), and I wondered how they kept it together so well when I was still feeling queasy. Along with Suspyre, I was really glad to have discovered Thurisaz via this year's Powerfest. Theirs was a strong mix of modern Eurometal styles, with of doom, black, goth and prog all bearing an influence. Smooth, sad melodies snaked through the music, yet the undeniably heavy sections - especially the fast parts, which resembled a glorious convergence of Opeth and Enslaved - kept their set from becoming too "pretty." Thurisaz has a great handle on that quintessentially European split between choppy and flowing, growling and singing, menace and bliss, dark and light. Although the keyboards were once again somewhat buried in the mix, the quintet created an epic atmosphere in that little stage, and created an impressive precedent for the rest of the evening. I hope these guys gain the stature their expertly beguiling sound deserves.Novembers Doom - Local favorites Novembers Doom played Powerfest in the past, but back then their British-style doom/death stuck out among all the power and prog metal acts (in fact, I also saw this happen to them the other night at the Alehorn of Power II). This year, they fit the bill perfectly, and not just because the second day was littered with more extreme styles. As I've mentioned recently in this space, Novembers Doom has evolved a bit since their initial My Dying Bride-ish romantic trudge. Over the last few albums, they've kicked up the tempo to a sort of midpaced death metal rumble, injected some thrashy guitars and jettisoned the guest female vocals. They still sound more European than American (that's a compliment), with greater attention to atmosphere and morose melody than most of their countrymen. Live, the new selections absolutely steamrolled through the hall. Vocalist Paul Kuhr sang a ballad to his little daughter, who was experiencing her first ND show up in the balcony... it was a really sweet moment, not at all what you'd expect from a bunch of frowny longhairs, yet heartfelt enough to compliment the emotional weight of the otherwise darker material. The band's entire set was a perfect bridge between the energetic, wide-ranging Thurisaz and the dolorous coma that followed...Martyr - As the evening's focus shifted from atmospheric to psychotic, the Canadian favorites stepped up and blasted everyone's hair back, tearing the room out of its doom-inspired lethargy. I had only heard one Martyr album before the show, and I expected them to be cool, but I was not prepared for the insane onslaught of technical prowess they displayed. Vein-popping bursts of intricate, polyrhythmic thrash metal spilled forth with tightly-reined vitriol, surprising pockets of sonorous melody peeking out from the chopping, slashing and grinding assault. Frontman Daniel Mongrain, whose resume reads like a virtual who's-who of Canuck tech-metal (Gorguts, Cryptopsy, Quo Vadis) kept making these amazing crazyman faces, popping his eyes and leering like a madman whenever he wasn't roaring into the mic. I mostly marveled at drummer Patrice Hamelin, who often had to play an array of rhythms with various limbs even though he and I got substantially intoxicated together shortly before their set. I couldn't believe how that dude held his shit together when I was feeling so effed up. Simply put, if you like technical, aggressive metal but are unfamilar with Martyr, do yourself a favor and dive in.Atheist - Talk about bands I never thought I'd see. Atheist broke up in 1993, once their then-unprecedented mix of death metal and jazz fusion had thoroughly confused everyone. Today, technically demanding extreme metal is actually trendy with the kids. Clichés aside, Atheist was truly ahead of its time. Having reuinted for a handful of festival gigs with members of drummer Steve Flynn's band Gnostic capably handling the guitars, this was their last-ever non-hometown U.S. appearance (unless they stay together and make another record). Atheist's participation was a coup for Powerfest, and shame on anyone who ever liked the band but wasn't there. Following up Martyr's jaw-dropping display would be tough for most bands, but these guys had it down, and being more familiar with Atheist's stuff (I have it all), I couldn't help but headbang and holler along. Vocalist Kelly Shaefer's high-pitched growl, so different from what you think of in death metal, was in pretty good shape as he bounded around the stage. Positioned where I was, I got to see a lot of bassist supreme Tony Choy, who through his stints with Atheist, Cynic and Pestilence is the linchpin of early prog-death. It was an honor to see the man play. Crackling with energy from start to finish, Atheist's set was rare case of a reunion show where nostalgia came second to in-the-now harmony. I wonder if those Cynic dates are going to be half as good.Please take some time to enjoy the 2007 mp3s that are still in the player. I will wipe them out with my next post to make room for another lesson in metal genre greatness (you fondly remember my guide to ethnic metal from January, no?). Hey, I recently wrote some CD reviews: Dir en grey (meh) and Superchrist (yay!).
In other news, it pleased me to learn during a recent YouTube search that Mac Tonight is alive and well... in Singapore?!?
posted by SoulReaper at 10:35 PM
1 Comments:
Dir en grey, The Marrow of a Bone (Warcon) **
Like many of its aging American nü-metal patrons (Korn, Deftones, etc.), Dir en grey alternates between melodramatic atmospheres and screamy, rhythmic tantrums. All the while, the Japanese aggro/goth act possesses a distinctly foreign element which may convince a listener they're hearing something substantially unique.
Vocalist Kyo is the main culprit for this. On Marrow, the band's second LP aimed at the U.S. market and sixth overall, his thick accent will send listeners to the hard-to-read CD booklet to verify whether he's caterwauling in Japanese or English. (He does both.) This guy has more vocal tics than Jonathan Davis, Serj Tankian and Dani Filth combined, is more convincing than any of them and will be a sticking point for mainstream metal fans who think they like such "crazy" singers.
Things start okay with the piano-driven "Conceived Sorrow," which sounds like one of those melodramatic pop ballads you hear at the end of anime videos, but beefed up with metal instruments. Immediately afterward, "Lie Buried With Vengeance" strikes a sour note with its collision of twiddly metalcore breakdowns and Slipknot clatter.
Throughout the disc, Dir en grey exhibits a melange of sounds, from the "spooky" shimmering guitar accenting "Grief" to the overdriven bounce-thrash of "The Deeper Vileness." The slower Japanese-tongued "Ryoujoku no Ame" and "Namamekashiki Ansoku, Tamerai ni Hohoemi" fare best, as they allow Kyo to show off his croon. "The Pledge" even steps into prog territory with a shifting, gauzy rhythm that suggests a lazier Katatonia.
There's a lot to take in on Marrow, and its multiple personalities are certainly weird. In an ever-changing metal scene where genuinely creative oddball acts (HORSE the band, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Genghis Tron) are starting to turn heads, mere weirdness does not make Dir en grey special. Casting off dated American influences and crafting more engaging songs, however, might.
*******
Superchrist, Headbanger (Professor Black LLC)
The brainchild of bassist, vocalist and metal gadabout Chris Black (Dawnbringer, Pharaoh), Superchrist delivers 10 greasy punk/metal anthems just in time for this summer's biker rallies. No progressive or trendy tendencies here, just an energetic mix of high-flying Iron Maiden guitar wrangling ("My Way Is the Law," "Wipe You Out") and irascible Motörhead grime ("Built for Sin," "Bloody Hell"). The indie recording gives the disc a warm sound reminiscent of the old British records Superchrist obviously loves, Black's bass throbbing fiercely beneath Ron Rokken's sharp guitars. This is good-time rock 'n' roll with a charming bad attitude.
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