Single Review: Zarthas - 4 Letter Word (Alternative Metal, 2018)

Are electronics to be tolerated in our music ? I think we should be to open to going new ways. I am glad I did check the new single of Zarthas out. It gave so much so I felt the need to share the word.

The cover of Zarthas new single "4 Letter Word"

This single proves why this can have advantages. While the overall sounding is sharp and going in straight it's those little electronical effects that have been cleverly placed all over the durartion that makes the track stand out a bit. It gives it a exciting kick and prevents the music from becoming monotone.

Don't worry anyway Zarthas make sure the music remains kicking in forward with
lot's of heavyness so the music never loses itself in all the effects. Besides that there are also clear parts to be found which bring in a calming note to the overall riffhacked tonality of the single. The vocals change all the while which also adds to the fun of listening and discovering.

I hope this will be the beginning of something new in the release circle of the band. No one know's for sure yet so it's safe to keep a eye on the homepage or socials of Zarthas to stay up to date.

Homepage
Facebook
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You can check the video below or listen to the track on Spotify. The song has been released through Inverse Records so I think it should also be available for streaming and purchase through most of the other common plattforms.

CD Review: Amoth - Revenge (2016)

A young progmetal band from Finnland unafraid of offering their own style of progressive music. With a solid production suporting the tracks Amoth change the style and tonality inside each track within a moment without any further ado.

Short Introduction

The brand new album "Revenge" is a continuum to their 2011 released debut "Crossing Over", which got great reviews around the globe. One common factor among critics was the "uniqueness" and "own sound" of Amoth's music. This time around they keep paving their own path and prove that they belong to the forefront of Finnish progressive metal scene. With new singer on the line-up and experience from the first album all the pieces truly lock into place.

The cover of Amoth's Revenge album, (c) by Amoth, used with kind permission

Summary

The power of this record sources of the originality of the ideas and the inconstant structure of each and every track on the album. There are times where the band pushes on forward with raw power ("Die Young" and "...And So They Fueled These Veins With Chaos") bringing out the heavier taste of the band for prog music. On other times like the both excellent singles "Tattered Wings" and "Shadow Of The Beast" they show their fine sense for details and sensible song structures. Both tracks breathe a sheer blast of emotions with them which gives the listener a lot of moving moments and sometimes a sort of ghostly feeling with it.

The accoustic ballad "For The Moon And Mercury" somehow gives a moment to get back some breath and leads over to the second album part. This see's us listening to even more diverse and mostly fast album tracks. The sounds change even faster and the spontanous style change in them often amazes the reviewer. Finally the title track put's a crown upon this record. It features all the strenghts of the previous efforts in one, long track.

The production is kept down to earth which is a good choice in my eyes. You feel it's not overworked and the sounds not expanded on postproduction to the bitter end. Instead you can listen to a direct sound which let's you feel the joy the band may had while recording. Most of all the album remains followable and the pure sound gives it some purity with it. That's a good feeling in my ears. The album's rounded out by a remarkable album sleeve that adds a mysterious feeling with the golden bird and the horizon in various dark but also partly warm colors.

Player and Purchase Link

The full "Revenge" album can be heard via Spotify.

For all those who don't have a Spotify account I've added the two video singles for a quick check out. Both videos are also strongly recommended by me also if you've listented to the audio before. "Tattered Wings" has a strong redemption feeling with it. The breaking waves give it somewhat of a moving moment to the listener/watcher. And that's a good feeling.

You can purchase the whole album through the band's record company Inverse Records. Another chance is to download the record from Amazon as a mp3 file. For fans living in Finnland it's notable that you can also order the album at Recordshopx.com or cdon.fi.



Contact data

The band has a own website and is present of social pages such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. 

CD Review: Charm Designer - Everlasting

A dark and mysterious Gothic / Doom record. Besides the typical growling vocals it features a lot of groove, melody and a lot of blistering, haunting atmosphere. If you like a mixture of these ingridents you shouldn't hesitate and take a close look at "Everlasting".

Short Introduction

Charm Designer is a Gothic / Doom metal band located in Columbia. It was the first time for me that I had the chance to listen to a band from that country so I was extremly excited how they would attempt writing songs. Plus I didn't listen to a album of that genre for some time so I felt it would be a good idea to check it out.

My attention was raised even more as I got to know that the follow-up to 2008's “Blood Sounds” was recorded with legendary producer Waldemar Sorychta, known for his work with Samael, Tiamat, Lacuna Coil, Sentenced and Moonspell among others, being the first time for him to produce a Latin American band. The artwork was designed by Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu (At The Gates, Arcturus, Vulture Industries, Primordial, Arch Enemy, etc.).

The cover of Everlasting, (c) by Charm Designer, used with kind permission

Summary

Charm Designer did a outstanding job on this one. The album contains eight brand new tracks that will take you on a wild ride through your inner feelings and emotions. It's filled with all that makes us humans and it goes to all the extremes we all endure and are pushed through every day. It sounds extreme and will give you pain at some points but after all the harsh parts and heavyness there's always release and silkness coming back in giving you freezing chills and giving you the breath back. In the end it will strenghten you for all that still is yet to come.

The album lives of it's contrast of dark, brutal vocals and the much lighter contra female voice parts. The same goes for the music. Sure there's darkness and heavyness all around but it never presses you down. It still pushes on forward through the groove and there's always some melody shining through. Black clouds and silver linings. The best way to quickly check out if the record is for you is to see the lyric video of the title track which you can find at the Player and Purchase Link section further down in this review. If you feel like it touches you the you should give the full album a listen, because there's a lot more yet to come so prepare yourselves for the ride...

Album Overview

The album is well balanced but there are some tracks I'd like to point out. Besides the title track my personal favorites are Never After and most of all Inertial Dream for their very heavy attitude and remembering me of old classic Gothic metal times.

Disruption is one of the most flexible cuts of the full length bringing together a good mixture of oldschool and slightly modern elements. But all the modern stuff is kept in a discret way. They are never overused and only taken if they add to the mood so it sounds authentic. Some tracks have a length of nearly seven minutes but never sound lengthy. If you prefer the shorter one's make sure to listen to Mentors, it goes out as a very straight number.

It should be mentioned that the band did a cool cover version of Depeche Mode's "Policy of truth". The song remains intact in it's structure through the cover conversion, but you can heavily hear that Charm Designer put their signature of Doom 'n' Gothic brutality on it. It's a good cover I can see this going down quite well in Gothic or Metal clubs on a saturday night with many people handbanging along to it.

Player and Purchase-Link

The album is available through the store of the band's record company Inverse Records as a physical CD.
There also the chance to buy a mp3 version of the record from Amazon. 

Update 2016/02/20: You can also place your order via the band's Facebook account. Read this info sheet they released for detailed info. They also have some nice goodie packs available with T-Shirts plus CD and you can also ask for other combinations. Just send them a message and they'll put together a nice package for you.

As far as I've seen there's no album stream available so I've added the official lyric video of "Everlasting" here to give you a quick idea of the band's sound and style.

Update 2016/02/22: The album has been uploaded to streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer. I've added the Deezer widget under the YouTube lyric video of the title track. Also if you're not registered to the service you can at least listen to some 30 second clips of the album.


Links

www.facebook.com/charmdesigner
www.twitter.com/Charm_Designer
www.reverbnation.com/charmdesigner
www.soundcloud.com/charmdesigner
www.youtube.com/charmdesignervid