Opeth part ways with Per Wiberg

Blabbermouth reports that Opeth have parted ways with their keyboardist, Per Wiberg on mutual consent. This is extremely unfortunate and I have reason to believe that Opeth fired him. For what reason, I can't tell.

Per added a new dimension to Opeth's music. His work on Ghost Reveries, especially on tracks like Baying of the Hounds and Grand Conjuration was remarkable and made the album much more beautiful. Not to forget the solo on Burden, from the album Watershed, which is one of my personal favorite works of his. As Mikael Akerfeldt put it once, Per is one of the best metal keyboardist of all time. I am not acquainted with other works of his, but his work with Opeth definitely ranks high up there with the best amongst the limited amount of music I have explored.

I was lucky enough to watch them perform live at Chennai and it was one wild night. The keyboard part on Heir Apparent's intro set the tone for the rest of the show. I just hope that the work he has done with Opeth on the new album, which is due later this year is better than Ghost Reveries and Watershed.

Opeth will never be the same without him. :(

Electro Quarterstaff

I read about this 5 piece instrumental band on metalinjection.net and I have been hooked ever since! They are very trippy to listen to. And technical. That there is no vocalist to divert your attention from the awesomeness that they create with guitars and drums is an added advantage. Check them out on their myspace page.

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