By Blood Alone - Seas Of Blood

As a reviewer—and an all-around obsessive music fan—I welcome unknown bands into my life with more fervent passion than new releases from bands I know and like. A few years ago I was fortunate enough to be asked to review Eternally by an unknown—to my ears—band called By Blood Alone. The EP was a great little piece of what I consider to be true gothic metal. In that first review I ranted a bit about the misconception of what today's everyday music fan considers to be "gothic." To put it simply, without repeating myself here: I disagree with most labels. I will, however, set this review up by quoting myself from that previous review:

"Like the legendary Bauhaus (arguably the most famous gothic rock band ever) stylistically mixed it up in the 80s, By Blood Alone have combined many different elements from rock, metal, doom, gothic romanticism and even a little pop, and created a tapestry that is undeniably gothic in style, but also much more if you can listen beyond the free-form, minimalist nature of the songs."

I've read a few reviews that suggest there is some prog-rock on this album, but I would disagree with that. On Seas Of Blood, not a lot has changed since Eternally, in terms of style. By Blood Alone still mixes it up pretty well, but they keep that musical sea a bit calmer than the term progressive—or the album cover—depicts. The album does, however, boast some very interesting and style-shifting pieces. But overall, Seas Of Blood seems to show a band that has kicked up the metal and symphonic elements a few notches. This is immediately evident on the opening track "Serpentarius," which starts like a lost 80s metal classic; it then shifts into a keyboard-heavy masterpiece with some excellent stylistic twists and turns which keeps its seven-plus minute length seem much shorter. "Wants Me Dead" (re-recorded from their 2004 demo) continues to carry the proverbial metal torch, its fire fed by John Graveside's galloping "fist in the air" breaks. However the song's heaviness seems to come not from the guitar but from the chilling keyboard work of Jenny Williamson, as if it were a mystical shroud that hangs heavy like a funeral pall. "Lovely Lies" and "Nidhogg" embrace a similar style, slowly exuding a sense of dread and foreboding like sweat from pores.

With four of the album's eight tracks walking a relatively similar path, it could have been very easy for the band to get bogged down in a well-traveled rut. Fortunately By Blood Alone understand balance. The creepy "Undead Friend" plays like a burial waltz for the recently departed—if it were the 1800s. And the twisted and quirky "Little Lady Lillit"—with Cruella doing her sadistic best at sounding cute and downright devious—reminds me of Emilie Autumn's post-Enchant foray into the self-dubbed Victoriandustrial style. A new recording of "Deny Yourself—which was on the Eternally EP—is the album's heaviest track, relying more on the crunch of guitar and double-bass than the atmospheric veil of keyboards, though that is still present. The epic—and arguably best—of the album is "Seas Of Blood," a graceful and expansive track that evokes a sort of sad beauty. The music rises and falls with the slow intensity of an ocean swell, with Cruella's voice lightly but passionately rocking on its surface.

By Blood Alone isn't a flawless band. Part of me wishes the guitars had a fatter tone, and others have mentioned that Cruella's vocals aren't as strong as some others. While those might be valid complaints for most bands, I think it actually adds to the character of the band's music. There's something real and warm in its imperfections. And there's nothing bad about this band, especially when it comes to the songs. A band like Linkin Park might have the luxury of spending two years doing pre-production, two more years of studio recordings and even more overdubs, for what ends up a thirty-minute album with not a note out of place; but it loses the human element in the process—it lacks the passion and defined character of something real. While not flawless, By Blood Alone is a band that is nearly so, in spite—or possibly because—of its flaws. Seas Of Blood is an outstanding album.

It's also worth noting that the album artwork is simply beautiful. The painting, A Mediterranean Brigantine Drifting Onto a Rocky Coast in a Storm, is a piece by Willem van de Velde, the younger, a Dutch painter of sea-pieces. The painting has obviously been slightly altered with added design elements, but the intensity of the image remains.

Video: Seas Of Blood, Lovely Lies, Nidhogg

Audio: Wants Me Dead, Undead Friend, Deny Yourself, Little Lady Lillit

Website: http://www.bybloodalone.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/bybloodalone

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Devin Townsend - Devlab

Devin Townsend has been one of the most prolific and unique musicians of the past 20 years, and he's not even been making music that long. His musical visions range from chaotic to serene, melancholic to happy, and everything in between. The man is a musical genius, a talent that knows no bounds. Whether it's the relentless onslaught of the controlled, chaotic mind-fuck that is Strapping Young Lad or the sweeping, sonic and majestic beauty of Terria, there is no denying that Devin Townsend is one-of-a-kind.

His musical tentacles extend far beyond metal, too (no pun intended). With his two Ass-Sordid Demos compilations we saw that he could stretch his musical being into realms not often explored on his main albums and still come up with some amazing music. But it's an album like Punky Brüster's Cooked On Phonics, for example, that really showcases the extent of his talent—and in a very simplistic way. The album is a tale of Cryptic Coroner, a Polish death metal band that sells out and goes punk because they weren't making any money (see Pyogenesis for a real life comparison—doom-death to pop punk). In 1995 Devin called up the record company and said, "Give me $1,500 and I'll give you a new record in a week." Cha-ching! And in that week, Devin wrote and recorded one of the best punk records you'll ever hear. A week! Seven days! And it's funny, too. Who does this? Who can do this? Granted, punk isn't the hardest style of music to write—which obviously helped—but it's the whole package: great riffs (much closer to metal than basic punk chords, though), killer vocals, hilarious lyrics and between-song skits, and excellent songs. One week. The man isn't even capable of writing a bad punk song.

More recently he's been branching out a little further, in a different direction. A few years ago, with the special edition release of Accelerated Evolution, there was a bonus EP included: Project EKO, three songs of light and fluffy ambient music, layered with clean guitar strumming and soloing, smoothed out with soft, swirling lullaby-like vocals. It wasn't anything mind-blowing, just an experiment with some new software that Devin had picked up, but it was still very good. And considering that there are people out there that make their living off of writing and recording music like that, it was simply another display of his seemingly endless prowess.

From Project EKO there spawned Devlab.

When this album arrived, upon first listen I started to realize that I would have a difficult time commenting on it. It's just plain weird; and it's definitely not for every Devin Townsend fan (read: not for the close-minded). Devin calls it "heavy metal ambience," but there's really no metal to be found. There is definitely ambient music in the mix, even a little techno ("Track 8"), but the metal aspect—or what I assume Devin here refers to as metal—is more in line with Japanese noisecore than anything metal. It is, however, exactly what I think Devin intended it to be: an experiment in sampling and loop-based music, much like Project EKO, but this time fleshed out and explored with a more focused passion for the end-product. In that respect I think it succeeds, and probably surpasses all my expectations.

There are fifteen untitled tracks on the album, so it plays like one song, one narrated journey through countless insane minds. Some of it is very mellow and sounds like the backing tracks to songs from Devin's various solo albums, while some of it is noisy and very disjointed; some both. The sampling throughout is captivating, the randomness and absurdity of some of it is just baffling because it works so well. Listening with good headphones makes it even better, the richness increases tenfold and it's clear that this is no lazy man's product; a lot of work went into the making of Devlab. As with Project EKO, there is not much in the singing department, at least not in the foreground. Devin seems to more or less hum and whisper his way through the disc (think "The Death Of Music" from Ocean Machine), which also adds to the album's haunting insistence.

When I first heard this album I wasn't anywhere close to being blown away, but then it caught me in the right mood, and then it was a stunning piece of work. I've now found a place of deep respect for Devlab. For the most part, though, this will be background music for many people; you won't always be able to give it the attention it demands, the time it takes to dig deeper and deeper to find the harmony in the shifting and seemingly unconnected layers. It's unobtrusive and subtle, but arresting in its own quietude. I give Devin credit for putting this out there. It's an ambitious album, and one that I think should be applauded.

Devin Townsend's willingness to once again try his hand at something different is even further proof that the mind of a genius never sleeps.

Audio: Track 10

Website: http://www.hevydevy.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/devintownsenddtb

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Assemblent - Equilibrium

Portugal is not a country known for its abundance of metal bands. For many, if asked to name a Portuguese metal band, the band that would likely come to mind would be Moonspell, probably the most well-known metal band from that region, at least outside of the country. Portugal may not be overflowing with internationally known metal bands, but rest assured, like in any country, they do exist.

Enter Assemblent.

Formed in 1998, the band was then simply just a group of friends playing cover tunes under the name of Dawn. It wasn't until 2002, as the band members matured, that Assemblent was born and the band began to write their own original material. A 2-song demo followed shortly thereafter and garnered positive reviews. After touring throughout Portugal in 2004, the band decided to record a full-length promo album with Miguel Fonseca (Thormentor), for the purpose of generating label interest. It worked. A young Portugal-based label going by the name of Nemesis signed the band. The label felt that the 10-song promo was strong enough to be released after being properly mastered, as the current promo version needed a little added boost.

Enter Equilibrium.

Assemblent are going to find themselves constantly being compared to one band: Moonspell. Not a bad band to be compared to, and not a completely inaccurate comparison, but one that should be taken lightly. Assemblent simply has far more to offer that is of their own making. Equilibrium begins with a short atmospheric instrumental of the same name. Nothing to sweaty yourself up over, but it's a good intro, a nice segue into "Heartwork," the album's first true song. "Heartwork" sees the band getting right down to business with a death metal groove chock full of heavy riffs, double-bass, keyboards and raw, tormented vocals. "Into My Sleep" follows suit, but with more of a driving industrial lilt and a great chorus. Things slow down a bit with "A Dying Moment" and "Silent Cries." Both songs bring the Moonspell comparisons to light, the former for it's clean, somber vocals during the verses and the heavier chorus; the latter for the same reasons, but more so because Moonspell's Fernando Ribeiro actually performs guest vocals for the entire song. Excellent tunes, and though "Silent Cries" could easily pass as a Moonspell song, it does not detract from the integrity of the album.

The second half of the disc begins with "Grammaton Cleric," a brutal song that essentially has its own intro. One that sounds like the beginning of a sci-fi concept album: an atmospheric backdrop and an apocalyptic narrator talking of a third world war and the creation of a "new arm of the law, the Grammaton Cleric, who's sole task is to seek out and eradicate the true source of man's inhumanity to man, his ability to feel." The rest of the album traverses a similar path of industrial-tinged metal with hints of death metal and thrash, the keyboards and atmospherics lending a light gothic element. "From Red Core To Black Sky" is a standout, with its speedy riffs mixed with a pounding groove. "Terria" is another short instrumental not unlike "Equilibrium." The album ends with "Subtellurian Darkness" and "Fears." The former starts out with a great riff and has its moments throughout, but kind of falls apart in too many spots (definitely the worst on the album); the latter of the two solidifies the overall quality of the rest of the album as it, too, is a commanding slab of industrialized thrash-death metal.

Although only meant as a promo-only release to send out to labels, Assemblent created something that deserved more exposure than A&R trash bins or the inside of a box stored in a basement or closet, never to be heard by the masses. Equilibrium is an impressive debut. The mix could be better and the guitar tone stronger, and while the production is raw and gritty, it all works well within the dark, monolithic confines of the album. And though the band will be compared to Moonspell, I feel that the comparison should only be used as a reference point and it is no reason to not lend an ear to this band. The comparison is valid, but the band stands on their own merit and has their own distinct personality outside of that similarity in style. Equilibrium is not a masterpiece, there is room for improvement, but it is a highly recommended debut.

Video: A Dying Moment, Heartwork
Audio: Heartwork (Radio Edit)

Website: http://www.assemblent.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/assemblent

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Juliette & The Licks - Four On The Floor

Famous Hollywood actors have been trying to make the transition into music for...well, probably forever; and most did so with little success. Remember Keanu Reeves and his horrible Dogstar album? Jared Leto shocked me, however. His band, 30 Seconds To Mars, is outstanding, and the dude has a tremendous voice. And it's not studio magic making him sound so good, he pulls it off just as well in a live setting. But generally its musicians making the transition into acting that's been successful. And they usually continue to maintain both careers. So I was skeptical when I'd heard that Juliette Lewis had a band called Juliette & The Licks. But then I figured she was probably just insane enough to pull it off.

And it's true. She's like the female version of Iggy Pop (just watch the live clips on YouTube)! After digging for opinions, many people encouraged me to buy the band's albums. I had heard plenty of their songs online, so I knew I'd dig them. And today I finally found Four On The Floor, their third release, in the used bin for $5.99. Schwing! Musically, the band plays a nice mix of sleazy 80s rock and gutter punk, like AC/DC meets the Rolling Stones meets Babes In Toyland. Four On The Floor features Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) on drums for the entire album. Not an official band member, but his skills as a drummer surely enhance the already great songs (just listen to the fills). Four On The Floor is excellent. Juliette Lewis has made the transition from actress to rock-and-roller with ease. She's a natural.

Video: Hot Kiss
Video: Sticky Honey

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/julietteandthelicks

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Midnattsol - Nordlys

Midnattsol's rise within metal community was probably a bit premature. They're a so-called "gothic metal" band, fronted by Carmen Elise Espanæs, who just happens to be the sister of Liv Kristine (Theatre of Tragedy, Leaves' Eyes). Instant exposure! But at least they live up to some of the hype. Their full-length debut, Where Twilight Dwells, was a solid album, even though it was a faceless album in a sea of faceless albums (i.e. unoriginal).

On Nordlys, they haven't deviated from that style much. But I don't look for originality; I look for quality, and to their credit Midnattsol has kicked the songwriting up a few notches on this album. It's a bit heavier, faster, and catchier. While still not original, this album is much better than a lot of similar albums out there. The limited edition—which I bought—also has a badass bonus track called "Octobre", sung entirely by guitarist Daniel Droste. Male vocals add a nice dynamic to the band; they should have used him on other tracks. He actually sounds like Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), when he sang in a clean tone on Projector. Either way, if you like this style of music, definitely pick this one up.

Video: Northern Light
Video: Octobre
Video: Desolation (from Where Twilight Dwells)

Website: http://www.midnattsol.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/midnattsolfolk

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.

Great White - Rising

I've heard a lot of rumblings about Rising over the past few weeks. (One thing I hate is when people get online and piss and moan about an album they downloaded/stole. Just shut up until you've sacrificed a little hard-earned cash.) The main complaint has been that it's not very rockin', too mellow. To which I ask: when the hell has Great White been anything but that? They've had their moments, of course, especially on the first few albums. In general, though, all their albums have mixed in those mid-paced bluesy rockers with ballads and slower numbers. Rising is no different.

On the heels of the excellent Back To The Rhythm—an album with more "rockers," which may explain why some fans had their expectations in the wrong place—this new album is no slouch. If you're looking for a comparison point, look no further than Can't Get There From Here, a very underrated album. Rising is more mellow than not, with a handful of slower tracks, like "I Don't Mind" and "Is It Enough," and the ballads "Only You Can Do," "Last Chance" and "My Sanctuary." Standard fare material here, but done very well. Then there are the rockers...you know, those tunes that apparently are too few on this album.

The album starts with "Situation" and "All Or Nothin'," the proverbial one-two punch, and the result is a knockout. Both tracks channel some old school ZZ Top; the former with some excellent Billy Gibbonsesque lead work, and the latter with a main riff that is without a doubt way too similar to "Sharp Dressed Man," but they mask it well with some great melodies. "Shine" and "Danger Zone" bolster the heavier side of the album, but it's "Down On The Level" that really solidifies things. It's another rockin' track, but it pulls in some of that old time 70s rock/funk, big harmonies, horns, and a smooth groove. Definitely the highlight for my (increasingly hairy) ears.

All in all, Rising should please longtime fans of the band. It's another solid effort in a long line of really good albums.

Video: All Or Nothin', I Don't Mind

Website: http://www.greatwhiterocks.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/officialgreatwhite

Note: Many of these links are external. In time, they may become obsolete.