This is a soulful, explosive, flowing, ever-changing, complex and elaborate instrumental album. I actually hesitate to say instrumental rock album because Valerian Swing are far beyond any particular label and box, this is metal, rock, even jazz sometimes, eventually contemporary heavy music. Many times technicality kill the soul of the music, but this is not the case of Valerian Swing, extremely complex themes, impressive breaks, twists and turns make their music dynamic, but without loosing anything from its sensivity and expression. Incredible depths, incisive riffs, colorful lyricism, different moods and tones are revealed by this extremely young, but very talented trio from Correggio, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Formed in 2002 by Stefano Villani, David Ferretti and Alan Ferioli, only one year later including of Johnatan and Davide on vocals they recorded their first five track EP which gained excellent reviews and it was followed by explosive live shows around northern Italy, sharing the stage with established Italian underground bands. Read more Valerian Swing – A Sailor Lost Around The Earth (2011)
Metal
Enemy Logic – Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (2011)
Enemy Logic is a 4 piece metalcore band from Cork, Ireland. The title “Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind” sounds pretty exciting and provocative, so, I get into it. Started in 2002 as Windfall on a hard rock path, in 2008 they turned to a heavier sound and approach and shift their name to Enemy Logic. Classic thrash riffs, raw death like vocals, but also melodic hooks and emotional vibes are merged into one, European taste-like metalcore. With influences from bands such as The Sorrow, Caliban, Heaven Shall Burn, Arch Enemy and Soilwork, Enemy Logic find their own way, blend melodic death and crushing thrash sounds onto their own noisy and groovy aggression. Read more Enemy Logic – Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind (2011)
Minkus – The Shape Of Things To Come (2011)
Merging thrash and groove metal traditions, Minkus from Switzerland sounds like a collision between Pantera and Overkill or some any other Bay Area sound-like classic thrash combo. Still, this music breathing and crushing, it has edge. Death Angel is another name that coming up listening Minkus. Minkus from Switzerland because once again this name is used by a few other bands, a punk band from Omaha, Nebraska, US and another ska/punk band from Oakland, California, US. Gabz – vocals, Akouel – guitars, Giro – guitars, SM – live guitar, Zarch – bass and Vulvic – drums delivered 10 groovy, intense metal tracks, the classy taste of them having a nice, cutting edge modern shape, but somehow this kind of metal never really have age. Read more Minkus – The Shape Of Things To Come (2011)
Brotherhood Of Sleep – Dark As Light (2011)
It’s not quite my favorite genre, but “Dark As Light” still stir up the interest, it’s a gloomy and dynamic travel into the psychedelic soaked heavy side of instrumental doom. It’s quite funny, a warm, glowing orange cover for this kind of pretty dark and – no better match right now in my mind – oppressive music.
The band was formed in Athens, Greece, in Autumn of 2006 by George G. – guitar (ex-Choir Macabre) and John K. – guitar (Afformance). Later they were joined by drummer Serafim G. (also of Uranium Cardinals) and without pre-set ideas on how or what to play they’ve started rehearsing giving birth to the first main riffs that would later on constitute the nucleus of what was next to come. They released their self-titled debut album in 2009 and “Dark As Light” is their second full-length album consist in four elaborated and extensive tracks – the shortest one have 11.32 minutes. Read more Brotherhood Of Sleep – Dark As Light (2011)
Orchid – Capricorn (2011)
There are at least six bands called Orchid: a hardcore band from Amherst, Massachusetts considered by many to be one of the pioneers of the post hardcore sound and disbanded in 2002; a doom metal band from San Francisco, California; an indie-pop band from Poznan, Poland, a rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia; a “post-prog” band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, etc. Theo Mindell – vocals and percussion, Mark Thomas Baker – guitar and moog synthesizer, Nickel – bass guitar and Carter Kennedy – drums are the members of the San Francisco’s based doom metal band and “Capricorn” is their latest release through The Church Within label. And hell yeah, this is Black Sabbather than Black Sabbath. It’s enough to listen songs like “Black Funeral” for instance. A world of witches, spells, dark forces and mystic fires breaks loose. And you believe it or not, this sounds goddamn fresh, still have hypnotizing power and unbelievable strength. Read more Orchid – Capricorn (2011)
Anorak – Sick (2011)
And once again, there’s a band named Anorak from Spain, another band called Anoraks from Ireland and at my third shot I founded what I’ve been looking for, Anorak from France. Really guys, get a grip, it’s absolutely no use to kick off from making noise and ending up in the court yard! On the other hand I can understand that playing music it’s much more exciting than talking legal issues with some lawyers, but still…
“Sick” is a noisy, contorted, experimental post-metal material, intense and crushing, cutting edge guitar riffs, raw vocals, balanced and colorful drums, heavy bulldozer like themes and technical shifts, turns, twists are gonna run through to you like a racing car. Still, they have some interesting, psychedelic left-over themes, quieter moments which make their music much more exciting. The eight tracks of “Sick” are an intense, shaking experience. Read more Anorak – Sick (2011)
Camion – A Serenade for Yokels (2011)
From Rome, Italy, here it comes Camion (truck). They are a grinding, noisy, stoner rock band, have cutting edge riffs, raw vocals, pumping bass and smashing drums, it’s that kind of metal what made Soundgarden to be kings in the “Badmotorfinger” era. And some of they themes, riffs, verses may sound familiar form different places. “Here Comes the Harlay” and “Here Comes the Cadillac” had a riff – the same one – which is very “I’m Broken” (Pantera), “Route 666” obviously contains the verse “six, six, six, the number of the beast” ( 😆 😆 😆 ), “Cowbell From Hell” ( fuck me! 😆 😆 😆 ) keeps adrenaline high with the perfect tempo and some wining riffs. “Beers On Wheels” could be a Manowar song played by a punk/hardcore band, well, with your boots on or high on beers and wheels, life it’s just Rock N’ Roll. “Can A Truck Splat A Lollypop” may had a place on any earlier Social Distortion album and in the end, “A Serenade for Yokels” reminds me of Green Jelly. Read more Camion – A Serenade for Yokels (2011)
Caligula’s Horse – Moments From Ephemeral City (2011)
Caligula’s Horse started in early 2010 as a solo project for Quandray guitarist Sam Vallen to express the heavier and more guitar centric side of his musical personality. The music began to take a more modern form, incorporating influences as diverse as Frost*, Steely Dan, Meshugga, Devin Townsend and Porcupine Tree. At the begining the project was a primarily instrumental blank canvas, things changed by introducing vocalist Jim Grey from progressive metal band Arcane. Jim’s vocal created a musical invention much greater than it’s constituent components; highly melodic music of intense mood and depth, with strong, memorable hooks and intense, technical instrumental performance.
“Moments From Ephemeral City”, consist of 7 elaborated songs was release in April 2011 and it’s available for free-download (Download this entire album [in whatever format you like] for whatever price you think it’s worth, and please feel free to put in $0 if you see fit. All I ask is that you share it with a friend or two if you do!) at the band’s official site. Read more Caligula’s Horse – Moments From Ephemeral City (2011)
June DeVille – Swan Songs Of The Coyote (2011)
If the Google do not make a sucker out of me ( 😀 ), Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and from there are this three piece band called June DeVille, founded in December 2007 and as they say: “not split up yet.” 😀 And actually I didn’t stumbled into them, they found me. (Thanks Max!)
Their music is what we call post-metal and they flavor it with some grunge left-over spices, that kind of noisy and heavy grunge what once was the driving force behind Soundgarden. And well, June DeVille was a quite nice surprise. First at all, they have nerve. Sometimes it sounds like Zakk Wylde does it in his better days with Ozzy and Black Label Society. Secondly, but not at least, they wrote and recorded a couple of great songs. Read more June DeVille – Swan Songs Of The Coyote (2011)
Samael – Lux Mundi (2011)
Samael was a hell of a guy! 😆 😆 😆 Actually an important archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic lore, a figure who is accuser, seducer and destroyer, and has been regarded as both good and evil. Also called Sammael and Samil, he is considered in legend both a member of the heavenly host with often grim and destructive duties and a fallen angel, equatable with Satan and the chief of the evil spirits. One of Samael’s greatest roles in Jewish lore is that of the angel of death. In this capacity he is a fallen angel but nevertheless remains one of the Lord’s servants. As a good angel, Samael supposedly resides in the seventh heaven, although he is declared to be the chief angel of the fifth heaven. It is said that he was the guardian angel of Esau and a patron of the Roman empire. Read more Samael – Lux Mundi (2011)
