Half Time Review 2012

It's that time again; June, halfway through the year, the summer solstice. Half the year done with already, but what a cracking half a year it's been, musically speaking. Some surprises, few disappointments, many new and exciting things.

Getting straight on with business, here are my top 5 albums of the year to date. These are the albums I've got most excited about, tweeted about, played over and over and over, and generally got "in to". So, in no particular order:

Cormorant - Dwellings

A complicated mix of progressive black metal, a touch of folk and a good dose of hard rock. Starting the year with style, Dwellings was the first album I bought this year, and is still one of my favourites.

Anathema - Weather Systems

Anathema doing what Anathema does best, following nicely on from We're Here Because We're Here but improving in almost every respect. Heavier, noisier, calmer, cooler, and perfectly orchestrated.

Woods Of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Light

Doom, gloom and epic riffs. A collection of utterly miserable, yet somehow wonderfully listenable songs. More than a passing nod to the style of Type O Negative, throw in some black metal influence and add an oboe. Perfect.

In Mourning - The Weight Of Oceans

In Mourning create precisely the sort of melodic death metal I like. From the strident, monumental opening track to the more progressive latter half, this is as much a musical journey as it is an fantastic listening experience.

Krokmitën - Alpha/Beta

Why have multiple songs when you can have a single 46 minute death metal opus? When I first heard of the multimedia event that is Alpha/Beta I was fascinated. Then I heard it, and was amazed.

Of course, the problem with choosing the top five in a year like 2012 is that there are loads that don't quite make the cut, while still being great albums. Some honourable mentions include: Bloodshot Dawn, a cracking death/thrash explosion with some amazing artwork, Sanguine, with their self-titled debut hot on the heels of last year's Bloodstock New Blood appearance, Mortad, female fronted politic death metal with some clout, Gwynbleidd, proving that prog metal really can be all heavy, all the time, and Alcest, whose soporific blackened folk still chills me in two senses of the word.

There are a few albums who I would have liked to have heard this year but haven't. Maybe I'll get round to it later? A.A. Lucassen's Lost In The New Real is definitely on my to-get-round-to list, as is the new Before The Dawn, Phoenix Rising, conspicuous for its lack of clean vocals.

So, that's my quicky round-up for the first half of 2012. Marvellous. And now, on to Bloodstock, where much metal, mayhem and mild inebriation await!

Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme

I forget where I first heard it, but when I was introduced to the concept of shoegazer black metal, I knew it would be something I'd fall in love with. Having been a fan of post-metal for some time, and in recent months having found a renewed affinity with the more esoteric sub-genres of black metal, I almost knew what to expect from Alcest's latest album, Les Voyages de l'Âme (The Journeys Of The Soul), before I ever heard it. It did not disappoint.

Alcest have been around for quite a while, in one guise or another, although starting life as a solo project of Neige (Stéphane Paut) in 2000. Originally a black metal band, the band has slowly been moving away from straight black metal into an otherworldly mix of dense soundscapes, post-metal grooves and black metal influences. The concept behind the band's direction are childhood memories of distant, imaginary worlds.

“Alcest - that is music from another world, a world that is real, but that exists beyond ours and cannot be grasped by our senses. A world where all appearances - trees, glades, streams - emit a pearly light and where a faraway and celestial music fills the air like sweet perfume. A world inhabited by infinitely benevolent and protective beings of light, communicating in a wordless 'language' directly from one soul to another. A world where the soul knows neither pain nor sickness nor sorrow, but is filled with a deep peace and an ineffable bliss. A world that lies 'before' and 'after,' 'beside' and 'behind' our world and the awareness of which stills mankind's fears of death.” http://www.alcest-music.com/

Despite my GCSE grade French not being up to the task, the French lyrics pose no problem in enjoying the musical experience. The production is densely layered, and the mix of clean and screamed vocals merge in and out of the droning, resounding guitars, making them an integral part of the music. The drum work, too, comes forward, and fades away, carrying the heartbeat of the songs as the melody carries the spirit. The imagery is easy to get lost in, despite the specifics being lost on me, and the tone and soft melodies are almost hypnotic.

The music is not, as most black metal derivatives, depressing or angry. There is melancholy, or at least nostalgia, caught up in what can only be described as an uplifting, if somewhat unreal, experience. As with other shoegazing music, I find it easy to listen to this music before sleep, to guarantee a pleasant, peaceful night. This album has been described as a culmination of what Alcest is about, and eschews dark imagery in favour of lighter refrains. The music seems to completely embrace the listener, but never feels heavy or stressful.

All things considered, it's hard to find fault with Les Voyages… at all. Despite several listens, the songs do seem to run together somewhat, so I can't imagine listening to any one track in isolation. It's all or nothing with this album, but then, I suppose that's the nature of this type of music. A 50 minute musical journey to fairyland, and not understanding a word of it.

Metal En Route

It's been a quiet sort of a January. I've not really had a great deal of time for finding the new and the terribly exciting. Fortunately it appears that there are some amazing albums in store for 2012. Death metal from Bloodbath Barren Earth (oops) , Before The Dawn, Mithras and Paradise Lost. Symphonic metal from Epica, Delain and Pythia. In fact, I could just post a single up-coming album a day and it'd probably carry me through to the end of the year. 2012 is going to rock.

And to get it all started, I have 3 new musical morsels winging their way to my doormat so I can savour them properly. In no particular order, except the order in which they were ordered, here's what I have to look forward to this week.

Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Âme

Starting off with a bit of French shoegazery, Alcest recently popped up on my radar via Terrorizer magazine. With a mix of prog rock, black metal and post-metal thrown in, it's a little bit of everything but somehow just sounds like itself. I'm a sucker for mid-tempo atmospheric rock that overwhelms you with layers upon layers of sound that work their way into your mind and provide a perfect chill out. Alcest fits the bill nicely.

Swallow The Sun - Emerald Forest And The Blackbird

They're a death/doom band. They're from Finland. The have an enigmatically titled new album. This is going to be soul-crushingly bleak. But it's also going to be awesome. I've had a sneaky preview of a few tracks, including Cathedral Walls, which has guest vocals from Nightwish's Anette Olzon. It's a gentle number, to be sure, and even the growled bits are somewhat disquieting. An interesting diversion from their usual style, which is still present on other tracks like Hate, Lead The Way.

Illuminatus - Glasnost

A fairly recent discovery (as recent as yesterday), Illuminatus have been described as being a sort of cross between Alternative4 era Anathema and Devin Townsend's more recent works. While I can't really see it, it was enough to pique my interest. What I actually heard was a sort of beautifully complex progressive rock album with a good amount of metal riffage and a healthy dollop of guitar noodling to boot. And as you will see on the video, they're a pretty well turned out bunch, too.