Ador Dorath - Not your usual operatic metal

I've noticed lately that a lot of the female fronted symphonic metal bands I have liked in the past are caught up in the same trend. Strip out the male vocal, get rid of the growls, add a catchy chorus and far too many pop sensibilities. It's not a good trend.

Fortunately I have found something to fill this niche that seems to be opening up in the market. Ador Dorath are a Czech black metal band who use operatic female vocal alongside the male grunts, growls and general grizzliness. It's an assault on the ears, with the various layers mixing, splitting and competing for dominance. It's a formidable musical bombardment.

It's hard to find their albums for sale anywhere near the UK, and the band's label, Shindy, provided little information on how to get international shipping. They do allow cash on collection, though, which is interesting. I finally found obscene.cz, a Czech record store with no online shipping calculation. I've placed an order and now I'm waiting for them to tell me how to pay!

Coincidentally the band are touring with Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy in the Czech republic while we're over there on holiday. Unfortunately the venue is some 360km away from our hotel so we're unlikely to get to it. We'll have to plan our next Czech city break around the local gig guides.

I've ordered all three of Ador Dorath's albums, so I'll do some sort of massive review later on. In the meantime, here's the video for V.I.T.R.I.O.L. from Symbols, released in 2005.

You can hear more tracks from all the albums on the band's MySpace page.

Not So Mellow Cello

Perttu Kivilaakso showing how it should be done

It occurred to me while writing a review of Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy's new album Návaz that I really quite like the sound of cellos in metal.

Of course, SSOGE are not the only band to use cello extensively in their music. Perhaps the defining band in the cello metal / cello rock genre are of course Apocalyptica. Their debut album, "Plays Metallica On Four Cellos", made them one the most well known cover bands in the world.

After a quick Google around it turns out that Wikipedia has a whole page on cello rock. Apocalyptica are, of course, listed prominently. Another band I've previously reviewed, Grammatics, also get a mention. It is noted, though, that Electric Light Orchestra pioneered the current trend for cello rock, although influences go as far back as the 1930s. However, there are loads that I've never heard of.

Von Cello

Von Cello is the brainchild of Aaron Minsky, and is unique amongst cello rock bands in that he plays it like a guitar. This results in a sort of orchestral prog rock sound. They seem to still be active, too, having released their latest album, Celtar (a portmanteau, one presumes), in 2009.

Break Of Reality

Much like Apocalyptica before them, Break Of Reality are an instrumental cello rock band. Rather than perform covers, they seem to focus on their own material and have stuck to a core line-up of 3 cellists and a percussionist. They hail from California, it seems, having studied music together. Again, the sound is more prog than metal but it's not a bad sound. Might have to check out their latest album, Spectrum Of The Sky, if only because I like the album art.

Judgement Day

Another California based band, Judgement Day play a variety of metal, rock and classical sounds. They have a video spoofing Guitar Hero on their website; Violin Hero. It's quite amusing. They've also got a new album out that you can listen to in full at their bandcamp page. Definitely worth a look if you're into instrumental cello/violin/drum trios.

The 440 Alliance

Another American cello rock band, this time from Texas. They seem to play a mixture of their own stuff and some covers. Watch out when clicking the link; you'll get treated to a rendition of "Sweet Cello O' Mine".

Unwoman

Something a bit different now. Unwoman is a solo project of Erica Mulkey and is a sort of cello/eletronica goth rock sound with her own vocals. It's ... well, it's interesting. Her Wikipedia page states that her music is "often unclassifiable". Quite. Some of it's not bad, though. She also appears to be touring the UK in a couple of weeks, if you're into it.

Alamaailman Vasarat

Self-described as producing "kebab-kosher-jazz-film-traffic-punk-music", this cult avant-garde Finnish group are another that are somewhat hard to describe. From the sample tracks it appears they literally play a bit of everything. Not only that, they also have their own iPhone game, HammerBlast. I'm listening to Mamelukki & Musta Leski and boggling a bit, I'll be honest.

The Stiletto Formal

Like Grammatics, The Stiletto Formal are a traditional rock band who happen to use a cello. From what I've heard on MySpace, the sound is a pretty conventional Indie Rock with cello overtones. Very similar to Grammatics, then, but this time from Arizona instead of Leeds.

The umbrella label "cello rock" certainly seems to encompass quite a range of different sounds. Everything from the mundane to the frankly indescribable. If you like your music tuned in perfect fifths and a couple of octaves lower than average, check this lot out.

Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy - Návaz

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I'd pre-ordered Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy's (or SSOGE from hereon in) latest album, Návaz. This is their fifth full length studio album, and it's been six years since Relic Dances, the album that got me hooked on their doom/folk stylings.

Amulet, with artsy lighting

It arrived in the post a couple of weeks ago, and I've been giving it a good playing through. Notably this album is sung entirely in Czech, whereas Relic Dances was predominantly English. The 2006 EP Osamělí was also in Czech, and included versions of tracks from Relic Dances, so I suppose this is continuing the trend. I enjoyed both Relic Dances and Osamělí very much and was expecting good things from Návaz.

I'll start off by mentioning the presentation. My copy is a limited edition (first pressing only) digipack, complete with free amulet. The amulet is a strange little thing, but a nice little trinket for people impressed by such things. Such as myself. A nice touch is that the lyrics are all provided in both Czech and English so I can follow along in either language. Not that I speak more than a couple of words of Czech, but it's nice to listen to the vocals as an instrument in their own right.

From the album opener, Mokoš, it's obvious that the Moravian folk influence is very strong. It's a more densely layered production than Relic Dances, although not to the detriment of the sound quality. Most notably, to me anyway, Pavel Hrnčíř's growled vocals are much reduced throughout the album.

They are still there, sometimes shadowing Hanka Nogolová's strong female lead, but always somewhat in the background. There are more clean male vocals this time around, too. This slight shift in style does mean the songs seem to lose some of the doom/folk contrast of earlier albums.

Possibly the most notable song on the whole album is Slava. The simple, lively folk chorus makes it certainly the most catchy and easily recognisable track on the album. Skryj Hlavu Do Dlaní, Dva Stíny Mám and Pramen, Co Ví are perhaps most similar to previous albums, and notably they have the heaviest choruses and defined melodies. Some of the other tracks seem to be lacking a little in melody or any hook to make them stand out.

I wouldn't say this was my favourite SSOGE album. Relic Dances still takes that crown, along with the Czech versions of the same on Osamělí. Still, Návaz is a good album that stands much replaying and proves why Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy are one of my favourite folk metal bands.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead Preview

Indie Rock band, The Decemberists will be releasing their new album 'The King is Dead' on the 18th January.  After falling in love with their previous album 'The Hazards of Love' in 2009 this release is much anticipated by the TME team.

The band have made the full new album available to preview.  You should take a listen.

If a new album release wasn't exciting enough The Decemberists are also touring in 2011.  A list of their tour dates is available on their website.  On the 11th March Doozr and I will be heading to Leeds to see them live for the first time.

David Lynch's Hat

It's a band. Not a hat, and nothing to do with David Lynch. They've got a demo out called Stuff And Things, and I've been listening to it a lot. I would review this prog/death/industrial/jazz beast but frankly I don't have any words to describe it. It's ... I just ... Go listen to it. Here.

http://davidlynchshat.com/

Done? Good, isn't it. Just don't ask me to explain exactly why it's good, because I can't.

Northern Oak - Monuments

Late last year, in the depths of winter, Northern Oak unleashed their new album on the world. The more astute of you may have noticed that I already briefly mentioned it in my round-up of wintery black metal, along with a vague promise of a review "soon". This is that review.

When we found out about the new album release party at Corporation, it was decided that we must attend. A masquerade ball with folk, metal and burlesque? What could possibly go wrong? Sadly, the worst that could possibly go wrong; we didn't make it. Undeterred, I bought the CD online instead.

If you've only heard some of Northern Oak's demos before, you're in for a pleasant surprise. The production quality is in a different league to some of the earlier material and really lets the songs shine. Of the 12 tracks on the album, only 2 have never been previously released in some form on demos or EPs, but you really wouldn't know it. This is a polished record.

The gorgeous album art by none other than Travis Smith, the man behind some of Opeth's best artwork, adds to the high quality of this production. Having each song's page from the booklet as the MP3 artwork is a great touch. It takes the concept of album art in MP3s beyond simple identification and uses it to mesh the imagery, the music and the lyrics into a cohesive whole.

The music itself shifts between softer folk melodies and hard hitting metal riffs. Neither as soporific as Agalloch, nor as brash as Eluveitie, it's somehow both relaxing yet energising. A half growled, half whispered vocal over the gentle first half of Nivis Canto kicks up to a powerful riff-packed finish. The black metal rasp of Arbor Low gives way to almost an orchestral arrangement in Cerridwen's Round. The folk gives way almost completely in The Scarlet Woman to a great black metal track with intricate riffs layered with a harsh, thumping vocal.

Like all good folk metal, the songs are more than just their melodies and harmonies. They are entwined, too, with stories; with people, places and events. There are some well known classics included, such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the whore of Babylon. Others include a warriors defeat, an introspection of the impermanence of things and a consideration of the ancient rituals of Sun God worship.

While it's entirely possible to enjoy this album without ever listening to the words, it's an even greater pleasure to read the considered, thoughtful lyrics and read the tales that go hand in hand with the emotion locked in the music. On the other hand, if you'd rather dispense with the lyrics entirely, the band have also made an instrumental version of the Monuments available in MP3 format with every purchase.

Northern Oak clearly care very deeply about their music, and this is made even more apparent when reading the band's own write-ups about each track on their music page. This care and attention to every detail is what has helped build this album up and make it more than the sum of its parts.

The album is available for mere pence at Northern Oak's music page, along with a pressed and printed CD version that worth the asking price for the artwork printed throughout the booklet, illustrating every track. And for a few extra quid you can also get one of their awesome t-shirts. Hopefully we'll see Sheffield's finest purveyors of folk metal and waistcoats at Bloodstock Open Air this year. Head over to the Bloodstock forums to give them your support.