Ador Dorath 3 Album Megareview

A couple of weeks ago I waxed lyrical about Ador Dorath; a new (to me) Czech metal band I had found via the magic of last.fm. After ordering their entire back catalogue and spending a week blasting my ears off I figured I'd best write the megareview I promised.

 Adon Nin Edeleth Ador Dorath
The "gothic" album

First up, the band's 2002 debut album. The sound is immediately reminiscent of other gothic symphonic bands like Nemesea and Nightwish, but with a healthy dose of blackened death metal male vocals smashed into it. It's much faster and thrashier than similar bands, too, which makes Ador Dorath more a death/black metal band that happen to have operatic female vocals than a symphonic rock/metal band.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the sound is a full on assault on the senses. This is proven from the very first noise that comes out of the speakers upon pressing play.

Aaaah! What!? It trips you up. It catches you unawares and makes you double take. It obliterates any expectations. As such, it's a pretty damn good opener.

As far as themes go, the album is very grim. Less introspective and more morose and despairing. Lots of mildly disturbing imagery, tolling bells, werewolves and other gothic elements. Many of the songs reflect on pagan imagery, humanity's place in the world, but more often just on symbolic and poetic musings on the nature of the world.

Of course, normally one would glean this information from the lyrics. Unfortunately I can barely make out a word of it. Maybe 5 lines out of the entire album. And that's with the lyrics booklet open in front of me! I'm pretty sure the band wrote a bunch of lyrics, stuck them in a book, then sang something completely different on the album.

The album art is pretty cool, with lots of pen-and-ink drawings in a vaguely mediæval style. The front cover is an x-ray of ouroborous, the serpent eating its own tail, and throughout the booklet other mythology is referenced.

There are a few standout tracks. Ubique Daemon I've already mentioned as the album opener. Arcana Lunis is instrumental and includes much gothic imagery. Circle and Rule Of Nyx are just catchy metal tunes that I like to sing along to, even though I have no idea what the lyrics are.

The title track, Adon Nin Edeleth Ador Dorath, I thought was sung in Czech, but Google Translate can't figure it out. It's a great track, though, playing the two vocalists off each other with an almost folky backing melody interspersed with operatic chants.

The bonus track will make your brain hurt.

Symbols
The "experimental" album

Next up is Symbols; Ador Dorath's second^* album from 2005. In many ways a world apart from Adon Nin Edeleth, and yet somehow very similar.

This album encompasses many different sounds. Every song seems to be unique not just through the melody and lyrics, but style. From black to death to electronic to symphonic to melodic, the sub-genres encompassed and woven into the sounds varies wildly from track to track, and yet always sounds coherent.

The sound throughout the album is far less gothic than Adon Nin Edeleth, and the balance of male to female vocals has shifted slightly in the male vocalist's favour. A bonus is that, for this release, the lyrics are actually decipherable. Many of them, certainly for Rosa, the album opener, are lyricised versions of famous (or not so famous) quotations about the nature of the world. The themes are very similar, although not nearly as dark and depressing as Adon Nin Edeleth. I particularly liked this little gem:

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth." - Umberto Eco

While the tracks contain a bit of everything they still flow well from one to the next. There are no jarring segues here. From the chugging death metal of River to the insane operatic electronica of Mountain, with a soprano ballad in the form of Desert between them, the listener is dragged on a journey through the album by one catchy hook after the next. This all culminates in Nin.E (presumably named for Adon Nin Edeleth) which includes the most off-the-wall church organ metal riff I've ever had the pleasure to have blasted into my head.

Continuing a theme for the album art, there is a lot of pen-and-ink stuff in Symbol's liner notes and cover art. Various different glyphs are used to represent various figures to stylise the lettering. The paper is a strange sort, somehow old fashioned and brittle to touch.

The bonus track will make you fall into a deep, happy sleep.

Bestiari
The "black" album.

Last, but by no means least, is the 2008 album Bestiari. With a new female singer and a completely new style (again). The whole album takes on a far more death/black metal feel with the female vocal parts used sparingly. And yet, while there are less of them, they are used well enough that they fit well and add to the whole.

Bestiari is not as varied as Symbols, but benefits from the consistency. The style from track to track does not change drastically, but each song is distinct in melody, riffs and hooks. The blackened death vocal is clearer still than Symbols so singing along, or just understanding the lyrics, is no problem. It reminds me quite a bit of Martriden's latest concept album, Encounter The Monolith. Except for the soprano singing in the chorus, of course.

There are some definite folk elements still there, especially in Only The Man Has The World/And Is Inside The World, along with the same basic thematic elements. Space gets a look in this time, too, with the anthropomorphisation of the entire cosmos into female form in the aptly named Space Odyssey. Attitude Gyroscope continues this theme and brings some of the crazy keyboard riffs from the earlier albums into play.

As the album progresses, it starts to slowly become less like Martriden and more like a black metal version of Nightwish. Race For Life and Words are very much like Oceanborn era Nightwish, but with Ador Dorath's own manic electronic riffs and harsher vocals layered into the guitar and drum tracks. Dead On Arrival (Nice And Easy) brings some great melodic death riffs and really showcases not only the vocal talents of the two singers, but also their chemistry.

The album art for this one hurts my head. The digipak shows the artist and album title in braille. Inside, there is no book. Instead, there is a square double sided poster. One side of the poster shows the band reflected in a pond. The logo is upside down. The other side is shiny metallic cellophane. Half the elements of the shiny side are upside down, and the band name is jumbled up all over the place. At least the individual tracks' lyrics are coherent.

The bonus track will make you think you're in an 80's sci-fi movie. In the desert.

Phew

There you go; three for the price of one. And I for one think it was worth it. For me, Ador Dorath provide the ideal compromise between heavy, growl-laden death or black metal and lighter, female fronted symphonic metal. They should be a guiding light to all the female fronted bands currently losing their way with commercial pop sounds, concept albums, tie-in movies, comic book gimmicks and a distinct lack of heavy, metal music.

* aside: does anyone else detest the word "sophomore"?

Anathema @ O2 Academy 2, Sheffield - 11th Feb 2011

I first saw Anathema play live in Sheffield's O2 Academy 2 a couple of years ago. That gig sticks with me as possibly the most perfect live performance I have ever experienced. When I found out they were returning to tour their latest album, We're Here Because We're Here, previously reviewed by me, I knew I had to go. 23inertia also attended just to find out what it was about Anathema that prompted the outpouring of praise since their last visit.

We arrived in time to see North Atlantic Oscillation, a shoe-gazery type band with similarities to Anathema, Sigur Rós, and even 65dos. A pleasant to start to proceedings and set the mood to take us into Anathema's set.

I'm not sure I have words sufficient to describe Anathema's set. Starting out by playing We're Here Because We're Here in full, and continuing with a selection of their best work, the sound enveloped the room, shut out the world, and made the music the only focus. There is something about the way Anathema play live that captures a mood, a moment, even more than their recorded albums. A palpable emotional weight carrying sadness, happiness, melancholy and serenity in equal measure.

Rather than try to describe the set, I will instead post a selection of photographs I took during the evening. Put on your headphones, play your favourite Anathema album (if you don't have any, listen on Spotify) and immerse yourself in the music. When they play again, I for one will be in attendance.

Images copyright (c) Craig Andrews, 2011, all rights reserved

Metalbore

Finger nails scraping down a blackboard. A dentist's drill breaking the enamel to burrow into the soft nerve beneath. Feedback squeals as the karaoke singer stands too close to the speakers. Did that make you wince?

Metalcore, or metallic hardcore, or deathcore, or, in fact, any metal subgenre ending in -core is very popular at the moment. Identikit bands are springing up all over the place, each sounding subtly different in musical style, but not so much as you could identify any one of them without knowing who recorded a particular song. Not the songs are drastically different from each other anyway.

The vocalists all seem to sound the same, either with the undeveloped whine of the pubescent vocalist or the uncontrolled screaming of the supposed chorus, it's hard to distinguish any one from the other. With a half-octave range in the clean vocals, and no discernable attempt at musical accomplishment in the screams it would be difficult to classify any of them as vocally gifted.

And to me, it is as bad as any of the toe-curling, wincing, sickening sounds I listed a moment ago.

Now, I am well aware of my curmudgeonly status. I'm sure I'm just too old and jaded for all this. Or at least, that's what I'll be told. But really, I have come to find commercial music (that is, music produced with commercial gain as a principal driving force) and music that imitates it to the point that they become indiscernible to be entirely tiresome. There is little or no artistic merit to it. It's being loud and obnoxious for the sake of it.

Speaking of obnoxious, I have noticed something else. I have been going to metal gigs for a long time. Have I ever been pushed, jostled, unduly molested or in any way inconvenienced by another metal fan? Honestly, no. The pit is there if you want it, and if you don't, you're free to stand as still as you like.

Well, not until recently anyway. If anyone is causing a problem at a metal gig, you can be certain that they are under the age of 23 and think that to be metal they have to be objectionable. The same problems occur at every single "popular" music gig I've ever been to. Fighting in the crowd, beer being thrown directly at other people, barging to the front and shoving other people out of the way. The sort of behaviour that ruins gigs for everyone else.

From bitter experience I have discovered metal fans to be the ones most likely to help each other enjoy the music, and pop music fans to be the ones most likely to behave like wild animals. I know which gig I'd rather go to. But what happens when those wild animals get into something as deliberately repulsive as metalcore? We all suffer for their misbehaviour.

A great example occurred recently. Bring Me The Horizon, a band I have been previously bored to tears by, had the power to their gear turned off when they played Wembley. They said it was because they were "too awesome". In reality, it was because they were trying to incite the crowd to violence. The band then destroyed their own kit. They looked for all the world like stroppy children, although I'm sure in their own minds they were rock and roll gods.

Idiots. They're making it worse for the rest of us who just want to enjoy the music, the atmosphere, the socialising and who don't particularly want to be barged into by kung-fu kicking chavs with floppy fringes.

End of rant.

70,000 Tons Of We-Wish-We-Were-There

Metal Injection have posted their 20 minute round up of 70,000 Tons Of Metal, the most awesome metal festival in the history of the world, and now we are sick as dogs and more jealous than ever.

Also, 100 posts! \m/

Northern Oak @ West Street Live, 1st Feb 2010

After the disappointment of missing Northern Oak's album launch gig in December, I was on the lookout for a suitable local gig I could go to and hear the album live. The last time I saw Northern Oak play was almost exactly a year ago in the Corporation, so it was high time for another dose.

The show was to be a long one, with four bands over the course of the evening. Thanks to Errant Tentacles Productions and Mentholmans @ West Street Live, it was also a freebie. I'd never heard of any of the other bands; Setudan, Infernal Creation and the headliners, August 80. Fresh sounds to soak up were a nice bonus.

As is the way with these things, the path to musical nirvana did not run smooth. I'm not sure of the fine detail, but I think Infernal Creation got rear-ended (well, their car did, anyway) and they didn't make it. This just pushed back the start of the show to 8:45 instead of 8pm. Not a big deal, though, and we were quite comfy on the strangely high window seats.

Setsudan

You know a set is going to be interesting when the band start out by asking if anyone can sing because they don't have a vocalist. I thought petitions like that were reserved for stewards of doomed aircraft searching for a pilot among the passengers. But sans vocalist they were, and so they proceeded.

At first they sounded a bit trip-rock. A slow, ambient music style that, I'll be honest, didn't do a great deal for me. It didn't seem to have an edge to it. It didn't bite. Still, it was pleasant enough.

First impressions, it is said, count. But they aren't always right. The guitar's gentle wail turned into a snarl. The drums gentle patter transformed into a driving force that transformed the sound into a thundering, thrashing post-rock soundscape. It was impressive stuff, reminiscient in parts of the best of Pelican or 65dos.

But one thought struck me within the immersive cocoon of sound blasting out from the tiny stage. Where would the vocalist fit? The melodies were complex, the riffs were hard, and the song structure twisted and changed completely. As instrumental rock, this is good stuff.

This was Setsudan's first ever gig, and it was a good one. I hope that adding a vocalist into the mix doesn't dilute the complexity of this little band's big sound.

Northern Oak

After a short break to change the stage around, Northern Oak took to the stage to bring the tempo down a notch. Opening the set as they opened the album, Sun God's Wrath turned attention of the audience back to the stage.

The set continued with Nivis Canto, one of the softer songs on the album and definitely one of my favourites. The atmosphere created by the gentle melodies was almost soporific. It's a great feeling to find your concentration being sucked into a performance. As the signature black crescendo grew louder and stronger, so too did the energy in the room.

Next came Arbor Low, followed by Silvan Lullaby, both beautifully combining metal riffs with folk melodies. The set was certanly downtempo, at least for the most part, giving ample opportunity to really savour the songs. The band were on good form, throwing themselves into the performance and giving a good show.

Conspicuous in his absence was Elliot Sinclair. Instead keyboards were handled by one Digby Brown. There were a couple of glitches with the sound causing problems, but this was handled expertly by Martin Collins and Chris Mole, deftly plugging the merchandise while things got sorted out. We never did find out what exactly Chris does with his CDs, though ...

Turning things up a notch for the last two songs, Gawain (or is it Gary?) and, not from Monuments, Madness Of The Feral Moon from Into The Attic. This last song in particular has a joviality to it that lifted the spirits of everyone in the room. I might have even had a little jig over by the bar, but I don't think anyone was looking.

Home so soon?

Sadly this was the end of the night for us. An early start, things to sort out and an overwhelming tiredness overtook us, so out into the night we headed. We never got to find out what August 80 were about. It was a good night, though, and great to finally hear some of my favourite Northern Oak tracks live after listening to them so much at home. Now I just need to see them play the rest of Monuments and I'll be happy. In the meantime, it's time to put the kettle on, my earphones in, and the world on hold.

Within Temptation Go Conceptual

As a big fan of Within Temptation the announcement that they would be releasing a new concept album in March 2011 was extremely exciting.  Tickets were bought for their UK tour date and anticipation and impatience ensued.

The Unforgiving is the bands fifth album release; a concept album based on a comic strip written by Steven O'Connell and illustrated by Romano Molenaar.  Although the band have previously been seen as gothic and symphonic metal, this new album will show the band taking a completely different approach to their music.  They have used the comic book concept to give them the courage and inspiration to change their sound and write what they believe are the best songs of their career.

Prequels for the comic book started to be released through the bands website in November 2010 and tell the story of a young woman called Sinead Harkin and the action she takes to protect her friend from a violent abuser. 

The album track 'Where is the Edge' was released on the 15th December 2010 and is not only the first release from the album but is also included on the soundtrack for the movie 'Me and Mr Jones'.  The track is particularly creepy and in conjunction with a video based on the movie, it leaves you with a distinct chill.  That said, I found the track to be a little softer and milder than I was expecting.  I really hope that this is more to do with the fact it was being used in a movie and that it doesn't represent the album as a whole.

In addition there are 3 short films which will provide further insight into the album concept.  The first of those films was released on January 31st entitled 'Mother Maiden'.  The film introduces Mother Maiden, a medium who recruits lost souls to be part of a task force for fighting evil.  Each recruit carries a specific guilt about something that they have done in their lives and Mother Maiden offers them the opportunity to redeem themselves.  She gives them missions to hunt down evil as penalty for their sins.   The film ends and goes straight into a band performance of the single 'Faster'.  A teaser after the band performance leaves you itching to view the next instalment.

'Faster' is a very catchy song that had my four year old dancing around the kitchen last night, singing along.  It is very easy listen to and has a very memorable repetitive chorus that will ensure this track's popularity and commercial success.

So, what do I make of all of this?  Well, I am not traditionally a graphic novel enthusiast and so some of the prequel hype has been a little wasted on me.  Updates have been provided by the band in many different forms using an impressive array of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Spotify and their own website.  As a student of e-communications I can appreciate how effective these tools have been in generating the excitement it has amongst fans.

The story of 'The Unforgiving' is intriguing and this first short film is very cleverly put together.  Mother Maiden's voice is particularly blood-curdling and the dark scenes are quite chilling.   I am not sure about the sudden jump from this dark and terrifying setting to Within Temptation singing what sounds like another classic rock song however. There seems to be a sudden jump from the dark into the light. Perhaps that is the point?

I still can't put my finger on what the new musical style really is either.  So far it seems to sound like very classic pop rock which is particularly commercial.  I had hoped for a darker and harsher sound from their new material.  I feel the build up to the album's release so far has suggested that this is something we could expect.  I really hope we are being further led on by the band and that when the album is released they haven't sold out to commerciality completely.

'The Unforgiving' is released on the 25th March 2011.  The band have rescheduled their European tour now that Sharon is expecting her 3rd child and they have added some additional venues in the UK:

Tuesday 8th November - Birmingham O2 Academy
Wednesday 9th November - Manchester O2 Academy
Friday 11th November - London O2 Academy, Brixton

Musical direction concerns aside, I will be grabbing my copy of 'The Unforgiving' as soon as it is released and am heading for Manchester on the 9th November.  Within Temptation really have made incredible use of the Internet to create a massive buzz over their new material and I am very excited about what is to come from them this year.