The Best Things In Life Are Free

Magazine covermounts have always been a great way to get access to a collection of new stuff to listen to. It's more concentrated, condensed and accessible than endlessly browsing a million and one websites, and occasionally presents wonders that you might never have thought to check out otherwise. Unfortunately, I'm useless with them and frequently lose the CD before I get chance to listen to it.

This month, though, was different. I got a copy of Bloodshot Dawn's new album with Terrorizer, and gave it a listen. So impressed was I that I dug out the pile of random assorted CDs in my "to deal with later" pile and dug out a couple of other covermount albums I've received in the last few months.

Bloodshot Dawn - Self Titled

Bloodshot Dawn are pretty new on the scene, having just release their debut self-titled album. It's a heavy mix of brutal death metal with some thrash thrown in and some insanely good riffage thanks to the dual lead guitars. The combination of explosive drum work and those guitars make for an eye opening experience. Each song works this unrelenting force with some quite intricate melodic sections.

The album itself is very well produced. The sound is deep and resounding and feels full and overwhelming. The artwork, too, is something to behold. Having seen a sample of the full CD booklet on No Clean Singing's review I'm wondering if the freebie cardboard sleeve just doesn't cut it. This is heavy metal as a work of art.

Mortad - The Myth Of Purity

When I got the Mortad CD, I was nagged by a feeling that I should know who these guys are. And so I should, because they played Bloodstock last year. Hearing them now makes me wish I'd thought to see them when I had the chance.

Mortad are a female-fronted death metal band founded and by vocalist Somi Arian. Somi was raised in Iran and started Mortad in 2010 in London. The lyrical content, then, is very political. It also resonates into your eardrums and thumps its way into your brain. Much of the vocal is death growls, but there are screams and even clean vocals worked in too. Probably the most earwormy track is the anthemic "I'm Not Interested In Being Interesting" with its chanted chorus sure to be shouted back by the audience during live sets.

Zonderhoof - Hakken

With a name like Zonderhood, what else could these Welsh metalheads be than stoner/doom/groove metal? I'm not sure what label (if any) the band use, but that seems good enough to give a summary of the band's eclectic style. The track names back this up, with such wonders as "Smoking Ears Screaming Teeth", "Hogslayer" and "Bring Me The Head Of The Shark God".

Musically, the distorted, bass heavy sound reminds me of a cross between Engines Of Armageddon and Mastodon, while the clashing cymbals and drum work remind me of the heaviest bits of Pelican. It all makes for an enjoyable mix of riffs and detuned, gut rumbling heaviness. The band made a conscious decision to avoid vocals to allow the listener to focus on the music, and it works bloody well. The sound is immersive and complex, drawing in the unwary listener and, from personal experience, making them forget whatever the hell else they were supposed to be doing. Like work. Also, the album art consists of a hog in a pentagram. Which is awesome.

A Spectacular Symphonic Selection

Fans of female fronted symphonic metal are going to find it hard to be disappointed with 2012. Only three short months in, and already three albums released by some of the genre's finest. Most recently, Epica have released Requiem For The Indifferent, their follow up to 2009's Design Your Universe. Xandria have produced Neverworld's End, their first album in 5 years and first with singer Manuela Kraller.  Finally, Pythia, featuring Emily Ovenden of Mediaeval Babes, have released The Serpent's Curse, their second album after 2009's Beneath The Veiled Embrace.

One name conspicuous in its absence from this list is Delain, whose new album We Are The Others seems stuck in record label purgatory. Some hoo-hah to do with label buyouts has meant that the band are having a tough time getting the album actually produced and on the shelves. Hopefully it'll be sorted by the time they tour in May!

Pythia - The Serpent's Curse

The Serpent's Curse, Pythia's second album, is an unrelenting torrent of power metal to batter your ears into submission. Unlike other symphonic metal bands, Pythia never seem to go the way of the ballad. Instead, they have mostly power metal verses with the occasional operatic chorus. While often being compared (as all female fronted bands are) to Nightwish, their sound is much more like Blind Guardian meets Dragonforce. It can get a bit much sometimes; in parts it can feel that the music could be replaced with any loud, repetitive noise because the vocals carry the melody and the mood. The music is just there for volume. It has its moments, though, and if you like your power metal fast, loud and with operatic bits, then you couldn't really ask for more. One odd thing about it is a nagging feeling of déjà vu. I'm sure I've heard half the songs on this album before, but can't quiet put my finger on it. I'm wondering if it's just a little too similar to music I've heard in the past, but not similar enough to make that connection.

Xandria - Neverworld's End

When a band gets a new singer with a dramatically different vocal style, the music often has to change to accomodate it. That's exactly what Xandria have done, to great effect. However, I'm going to go against my previous statement about Nightwish comparisons and make one myself. The new Xandria line up sound uncannily like Nightwish circa 2004. If you liked Once, you'll like this.  And given that Nightwish themselves don't sound like themselves (a bad thing, according to many), Xandria look to be well placed to step up and fill the void in the market. I've struggled to find details of Manuela Kraller's musical abilities beyond "soprano", so I don't know if she can match Tarja's 3 octave lyric soprano, but for the purposes of symphonic metal she does a bloody good job of it.

Epica - Requiem For The Indifferent

Requiem For The Indifferent is classic Epica in most respects, but with some nice progressions from earlier works. It's the only album of these three to use the "beauty and the beast" vocal styles, and the beastly growls seem to have stepped up a notch. As a result the album feels nicely heavy and gothic, with choral elements and excellent orchestration building the whole. In fact, the whole band seems to have stepped up a notch, from more varied vocal delivery from both vocalists to a complex intermixing of styles to make Epica sound even epic...er (sorry, had to do it). This is a well balanced album, possibly more restrained than Design Your Universe with its growl and bombast. On the whole it leans toward a softer, more introspective feel. The beautiful Delirium showcases the band's softer side wonderfully and is as emotionally wrenching as it is perfectly delivered. A fine addition to an already accomplished repertoire.

Professor Elemental feat. Northern Oak

March 3rd saw a very unusual night at the Corporation in Sheffield. The mighty Northern Oak were providing support for the eccentric, the dapper, the tea-obsessed Professor Elemental! A cracking Northern Oak set, punctuated by burlesque turns from one Kassandra Killjoy, preceded an evening of hair touching, animal dancing, and free-styling cephalopods. The local steampunks turned out en masse, and the room was awash with goggles, hats, and general fine attire. Quite fitting. And the evening ended with a never before seen folk metal/chap hop crossover extravaganza as Northern Oak supported the Professor in a rousing rendition of Fighting Trousers. Here are a handful of photos to mark this stupendous occasion.