Thaalam - Job, Charan, Yakzon (Malayalam)

The other day, a cousin of mine posted a link to this video below.






After doing some googling around the title of the track, I decided to check out the album. It turns out that Rex Vijayan of Avial fame was part of the production. A very excellent malayalam album. Unlike most other stuff that the pop industry from the state churn out, this had some very good compositions and Rex's mixing really stands out. And the three young artists, under whose names the album is, have done an excellent work on the vocals, with the exception of the track Iruthala Pakshi, in which the legendary Malayalam actor, Nedumudi Venu has lent his extraordinarily powerful voice.

One thing I particularly liked about this album is that the bass stands out. Like I often say on twitter, Bass guitar is to Beautiful music, what mascara is to a pair of beautiful eyes.

Do check out the album.

First Post from the Co-Author

If you have chanced upon this blog , then you are extremely lucky.Coz i am the Co-Author :) 

That means i ll mostly be out of action :)

Watch Out 

 - Shrecks

shrecks.blogspot.com

Enforcer : Diamonds

Heavy Metal is not old school, it is timeless - Enforcer

 Enforcer's Diamonds came as a throwback to the 80s, when I first listened to it. The riffs, vocals, drums, bass all remind us of the wonderful music scene created by the likes of Judas Priest  etc. The album maintains that feel throughout. It is basically an album where the guys went to the studio and had fun recording it. Not one for the serious listener, but certainly worth picking up and listening to, when in the casual mood.

The standout song for me is Katana. 6 mins of bliss, signature changes, cheerful music.

I would give the album 7/10. Just give it a listen and enjoy the time travel to the 80s!

Silver Clouds and the Black Lining

Never thought I would have to read something like this. It looks like a very well thought out decision from the man. I hope he comes back some time back in the future and the others will be ready to welcome him back.

That said, Dream Theater will never be the same without it's face. The man who nurtured it for 25 years. Possibly the best drummer alive. I was thinking about writing a review of his work on Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare when this news came. I think that should wait for later.

Summoning - Oathbound

When you hear the term Black Metal, your mind visualizes a few folks jamming in a dungeon and recording it in a very shitty quality and releasing it. The material, however awesome it is, sounds very poor and we wonder how brilliant it would've sounded if it the recording was good.

Summoning is one black metal project who give a lot of importance to the recording quality. The two guys Silenius and Protector, know their art well and put it out in the best possible manner. Oathbound is epic, both in terms of the lengths of the tracks, their quality and of course, due to the theme they depict in their albums, The Lord of the Rings.

I was wondering out loud one day on Twitter whether there are any atmospheric bands which are great to listen to while reading LoTR and Summoning was the response from one of my friends out there. And the track he directed me to was Mirdautas Vras, a track with lyrics in the dark language of Mordor. Now how cool is that?!

The standout track from the album is the 10 minute epic that is Land of the Dead. It teleports you to the Path of the Dead and back.

The atmosphere has already been talked about, but requires mention. While listening to the album, you'll feel like you are in the middle of middle-earth with tales and lores of the great deeds of the Men being sung to you.

The intro track Bauglir sounds more of a Celtic folks tune, but sets up the album nicely. From there on, the journey through Middle Earth goes on, all the way to Mordor.

Must listen for LoTR fans. Must listen for the rest of you too!

No flaws could be identified, if at all there are any.

I'll give it 10/10

Kalmah - 12 Gauge

The last time I heard Kalmah before this album was probably 3 years ago. I remember them sounding very similar to other melo death acts, which I was checking out at that time, like Children of Bodom, Dark Tranquility and Norther.

12 Gauge sounds very different. And at times, I feel they have gone moved from their melo death roots to create a very good album. I tried doing a track by track review of the album and it looked very nasty indeed. There were a lot of negative points when I dissected each track. However, as a whole, this is one of the albums of the year.

I'll post my track by track review anyway. (Again, I repeat, this may look very critical and make the album sound ordinary, but it is a very good album)

• Rust Never Ends: Very good track to start things off on the album. Some decent change of tempo. Unconventional solo for a melo death track.
• One of Fail: Fast paced. Keyboards lend that extra bit of fullness. Excellently backs up the solo also.
• Bullets are Blind: A very good riff to start. Keyboard is very subtle and lets the guitars be prominent. Excellent change of tempo in the middle. Again, an unconventional solo. Starts off like a thrash/metal core solo before moving to the melo death tone. The riff remains the same as at the start. Energetic drumming too.
• Swampwar: Sounds more like a black metal track at the beginning before moving to a folkish tune. Has some viking metal touch too. Definitely the song where they have experimented with some styles. Again, the solo. Very non melodeath type.
• Better Not to Tell: Keyboards are a little prominent again. Very atmospheric. Now, this is a melo death solo! Could've done away with the fade out ending though.
• Hook the Monster: Harmonics in the riff! Decent solo. Somehow, it seeemed rushed towards the end to get in sync with the drums and the riff. The keyboard solo was decent. A little CoB-ish though. The bridge at around 2:40 is very catchy. Chorus is good too.
• Godeye: Black metal beginning.  Double bass and very dark riffs. There are loose ends here and there. Riffs seem to be playing the catching game with the drums. Not good that. Nice solo and drums are spot on here. If there was one weak song, though, this is it. Just because of what I said earlier.
• 12 Gauge: Acoustic guitars to start off. The melo electric guitar lead is very good. The switch to heaviness could have been better. Not the way anyone would've expected it to progress. This is more of Gothic style. Keyboards is very prominent. But helps the atmosphere too. Lots of tone changes.
• Sacramentum: Sweet riff. Very lovely. Scale changes are Ok-ish. Could've been better.Excellent acoustic interlude around 3:30. Keyboard solo. Better than a few of the guitar solos in the album.
• Cold Sweat (Thin Lizzy Cover): Done justice to it.

Definitely worth checking out.

I'll give the album 8/10

http://www.myspace.com/kalmah

Vektor - Black Future

If you are someone who likes Thrash Metal and the technicalities of a progressive/technical death metal band, you are most likely to love this album.

Excellent screaming vocals, neatly executed signature changes, brilliant riffs etc mark the album.

The track to watch out for : Forests of Legend. The bridge section reminded me of the Indian act, Motherjane. :)

http://www.myspace.com/vektor

Saturnus - Veronika Decides to Die

I read about this album on Dimensional Bleedthrough. Epic in every sense of thw word. Doom metal at its trippy best. Works best with lights off and earphones plugged in.

Very atmospheric. Excellent mixing.

In his own words, it Fucking owns!

Camel : Progressive Rock

This is on band on which I have been tripping lately. They are a band formed in the 1970s. Haven't listened to all their albums. I've just checked out Mirage, Moon Madness and listening to "Camel" as I'm writing this.
Progressive rock is what they play with some jazz influence.
They give a lot of stress on bass, keyboards and drums. Vocals and the guitars complement these instruments very well.
Those who love Floyd will surely enjoy listening to them. One reason why I believe these guys didn't become as popular as, Floyd, Doors or The Who is probably because they didn't have someone like a Barrett, Morrison or Moon.

Porcupine Tree : Lightbulb Sun

This is one of my favorite albums by the band. The perfect album to start with, in case you want to check out the band. Starting with the title track, the album's pace is set by the track, Four Chords that Saved a Million which talks about how one trick ponies end up making millions.
People who love the sound of the bass guitar will not be disappointed. The bass lines for Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It is Recycled and Hate Song are some of the best out there.
Then, there is the Epicness that is Russia on Ice. Starts slowly, gathering pace all along.
A must listen for all music fans, irrespective of their favorite genre.

Track Listing

1. "Lightbulb Sun" – 5:33
2. "How Is Your Life Today?" – 2:48
3. "Four Chords That Made a Million" – 3:38
4. "Shesmovedon" – 5:15
5. "Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled" – 4:50
6. "The Rest Will Flow" – 3:36
7. "Hatesong" (Edwin, Wilson) – 8:28
8. "Where We Would Be" – 4:14
9. "Russia On Ice" (Barbieri, Edwin, Maitland, Wilson) – 13:05
10. "Feel So Low" – 5:16