Album Review: Manegarm – Manegarm

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November 4, 2015

Manegarm release their 8^th full album and celebrate 20 years of a metal legacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jagJ0xwloNA

https://vimeo.com/144708724

Text Review:

It is getting to a point where some European nations might as well change their national anthems to metal ballads for the amount of amazing music their nations are creating in the metal world and all its sub-genres. Sweden, Finland, Poland, ALL of the UK, it’s becoming clear that Europe is the heaviest land in the world.

And out of Sweden comes a folk-metal band that is now celebrating its 20^th year and 8^th full album. Manegarm’s style is one of the best fusions of Viking, folk, and black metal that anyone could ever discover and every time you listen, it sounds like it could be the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings – both in the Shire AND in the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

Bringing in so many different elements into an individual song, let alone an album, can sometimes cause new listeners to shy away. Adding strings and fiddles to your full onslaught drumming and monstrous screaming can confused someone not familiar to the method or intended goal.

Manegarm have now spent twenty years combining these elements and moving mountains with them. The refined skill and pacing in these songs to showcase each style while still continuing stories about Norse Gods and the underworld makes for an amazing listening experience. By description it may sound difficult to sit through, but once you hear it all becomes clear.

I could try to continue describing and attributing the talent that Manegarm has, but it is much easier for you to hear it. Out of Sweden comes a Viking ship screaming the praises of Odin and how he owns us all and that SOMEHOW is a reassuring thought.

The guitar shredding and riffs are completely on point while not overshadowing the vocals or drums in the song. The speed is consistently fast and doesn’t dip or take you out of the moment. Erik Growsio’s deep growling vocals add a level of thunder to a track that already feels like a storm and for over four minutes you get thrown right into the center of it.

Odin Owns Ye All is the style of song that a majority of metal fans will be looking for in this album. While there are other songs that definitely fall in line and fit well with this track, there is much more folk in this album than many people will expect. The tying threads in this album aren’t laid with screaming and shredding but with strings and acoustics.

While on definition there may be some death metal snobs who will instantly turn their nose up at what I just said, but the flow of crafted music that can come from combining the loud and the melodic into sequences is a unique experience that has to be heard to be appreciated. Once you hear it, you completely understand the goal and why it works.

I cannot claim to be a folk aficionado but at the same time I can tell what works. There is a gentle and uplifting feel to this song that fits VERY well with this album. When hearing the ominous Odin Owns Ye All to then be carried into tracks like this makes everything feel bigger than a separate track or two. It’s a progression and a movement as opposed to individual tracks on a list.

The are some inclusions of odd instruments that may take you out of the experience like in Barsarkarna fan Svitjod [BUBBLE], but even those moments don’t date the overall quality of this album. Unexpectedly hearing a female vocalist in the final moments or unison screaming in Nattramn or even the amazing progression of a song like Call of the Runes all adds up to an album that’s worth your time listening to.

Whether you want to classify Mangarm under Viking, Black, or Folk metal is your own clarification, but it’s very difficult to deny the quality results that came from a fusion of many elements. This is another case of finding something really good if you keep an open mind.

Overall, Manegarm’s self titled album celebrating 20 years in existence gives more creativity and energy than most bands in their prime trying to fill out an album. For metal fans around the world looking for something unique, Manegarm’s 8^th album will deliver you something special.

Album Review: Pyramaze – Legend Of The Bone Carver

By

Luke Spencer

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October 31, 2015

A look back at Pyramaze’s 2006 prog metal album Legend Of The Bone Carver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z06byhRPzf8

https://vimeo.com/144252468

Album Review: Puscifer – Money Shot

By

Luke Spencer

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October 26, 2015

Maynard James Keenan continues his legacy with Puscifer’s third album Money Shot.

https://vimeo.com/143697355

Text Review:

Of all the names to be thrown around in the world of rock and metal, Maynard James Keenan might be one of the most revered and impressive in our current generation. Along with being the voice of three high selling groups and running his own winery in Arizona, Keenan (now 50 years old) has shown no signs of slowing down.

There are many MJK fans who will die arguing whether Tool or A Perfect Circle has the superior music, the name Puscifer is in a totally different ballpark. In every sense of the word, this is the “fun” band for Maynard and his revolving door or musicians who help participate in lighthearted lyrics, hilarious stage presence, and AMAZING industrial sound.

Money Shot is the third album under the Puscifer name and the first in four years. The incorrect distinction for all of this is that Money Shot is just another album for a side project from Keenan. In his own words, Puscifer is not going away. With all its absurd lyrics and infused rhythm, Puscifer is still much more serious than many listeners will give credit.

The new album Money Shot might be the first album to finally get people to hop on board that have previously not given credence to the name. While with earlier albums the silliness was separated from seriousness, Money Shot the album infuses a bit of both in each track. All of which coming from the same extremely creative and untethered mind.

When asked about the new album, Keenan said: “It’s extremely satisfying to witness simple conversations and ideas transform into completed sonic landscapes …And to have these stories go above and beyond the initial ideas makes my grumpy heart swell three sizes.”

And if these sonic landscapes and stories are anywhere in the same realm as Money Shot’s title track, then there is more than enough proof that Puscifer have not lost a step in their crude insanity and harmonic melody paired with an industrial style oozing out of every sound wave.

The song Money Shot is exactly what you would expect from Puscifer, both as an opening single, a title track to their new album, and all around a song from a band that could make lyrics like those in the chorus work.

Putting aside the absurdism, there is a visceral baseline that carries this song and Maynard is on top of his game with the vocal delivery. His energy and growling throughout Money Shot matched with the drums make it very difficult not to get hooked into the track. It definitely stands out as the albums energetic track and carries the Puscifer banner with pride.

Putting the title track aside, a majority of this album feels much darker and more somber. While Puscifer may be known for being the soundtrack to shenanigans, there are many songs on this album with a much more serious feel, even from the opening track.

The style of Galileo and its broodier industrial signature is the most common sound in this album. More often than not on Money Shot are the rhythms brought low and Maynard’s lyrics told in a darker intense tone than in the past with vulgar lyrics and hilarious situations. The style of Galielo and many other songs on Money Shot work in the albums benefit. There are many songs that transition into each other fluidly and feel like a deep continuation.

While the insane situations are still present like with Money Shot and the story in Simultaneous, it’s the more serious feeling moments that stand out. Whether fans of Puscifer will enjoy the deeper tones or not will depend on the individual, it cannot be denied that more often than not that the songs stand out for their own musical merit as opposed to the smut lyrics.

There may not be enough of an argument that Moeny Shot stands out as Maynard’s best work or that this album is perfect from front to back, but with the masterful inclusion of female backup vocals, synthesized percussion and amazing bass, it’s incredibly difficult to deny how good it feels to listen to this album.

Overall, Puscifer have brought more mood than madness with Money Shot and it has paid off. Even with the hints of insanity peppered throughout tracks and even full choruses, this album still has moments of extreme clarity and well-composed melody that will not leave you unsatisfied.