Album Review: PORTAL - Old World Order (Doom Metal)

There are many doom metal releases out there. This particular one brought back my interest in this genre by going back to the beginnings without just hanging in the past.

Historic events and wars are topics of the lyrics on Portals Old World Order.

Obviously the sound of PORTAL is based on old-school sound. You quickly feel taken back to the beginnings in the 1970's while sitting back and taking a listen. There's the full distortion coming out of the speakers that's so typical for it's generation. In every creation however you'll find a special melodic light that shines bright.

The song "Condemned to life" dances around in a slow, dark based tonality when it comes to it's basic riffs. But as the vocals start to come into the sound a fine melody adds a special finesse that set's the track apart of other doom metal pearls.

More groove and one of my absolute favorites is the title track "Old World Order". The rough and bright basic riff moves bold through the music. Later on the typical seventies feel jumps onto the music by a mixture of short vocal lines along with the second riff mixing a softer note through the wall of sound. 

Other tracks like "Shape Shifters" go again the slower formula but let the initial riff run into different endings that often end in melodic parts. This is surely going more into the experimental region but gives the music individual notes.

"River of Regret" comes as a more dreamlike number with a balladesque feeling inside of it. 

If you'd like to listen to some of these songs for yourselves go to the website of PORTAL. They are streaming directly on the start page. 

My favorites of the other six tracks were "Expiration Date", "Panic Room" and "Time Drifter" because of it's variation in vocals and the directly accessible song structures. They are amongst the most straight forward tracks and have a good mixture of groove and experimentation with a decent amount of melodies in them. 

Please consider a purchase of the music with a download in wave format available at the shop tab of the bands website. All albums are only five dollar plus taxes so you won't spent too much money on it.

The music has a high re-listen factor and there's lot's of fine details to discover and enjoy even after several rounds of listening. 

All tracks feature Michele Sanna (Jorn, Gamma Ray, Rhapsody, Sunstorm) and Bodo Schopf (Eloy, MSG, Sweet) on drums.

CD Review: Reclvse - Restless One's (Doom Split-EP with Lucifer's Fall, 2018)

Directly from the instruments to the tape - that's how the newest Reclvse effort sounds like. Having checked out the two previous records of the doom band I can say that this one is the most ambitious and technical one to date.

The cover of the split release of Reclvse and Lucifer's Fall

Reclvse contribution
Released as a split single with Lucifer's Fall the song starts out slow just to move up to a more riff-ripping tune. It comes out clearly but the sound remains as direct as on the other band's releases so you'll be able to capture the music as if the band is standing in front of you performing the music. It forms out as one piece making it a more dynamic track.

The new more compact form of the drums adds along with the riffs the basic for this. I would go as far to say that the band put together a new dynamic form of their sound that has been enriched with few new elements. If you loved the previous Reclvse releases you should love this one, too.

Lucifer's Fall contribution is a more agressive and uptempo piece of sound. They keep it faster on their side while the sound recordingwise goes a similar direction like Reclvse. The mix is louder but sadly the drums miss the clearness. It would have been great to have that changed along with a overall less pushing sound. The vocals stand out a bit. They feel like expressing how it is to be "Trapped in Satan's Chains" and wanting to escape this.

Pick the digital split single release from Bandcamp page of Reclvse and have a listen directly in the player below. Join Reclvse on Facebook for further updates.

Tethra to play and stream live show on empty venue

I dislike to complain. It's useless to me in life. But facing the fact that it's hard to make people attend a live show these days needs to be talked in my eyes. I know from self experience that we are all cut short of money.

But only attending performances through a livestream? I stream a lot here on the page through embeding stuff.  But it's all just to give everyone a quick check in to music.

At least one show at a time should be able to many people. So this experiment of Italy's melancholic doom/death metallers Tethra found my attention. This should help us all to get the focus on the topic.

The band says in their own words: "In recent years, many small and medium-sized clubs dedicated to metal music have closed or changed their genre because of the low attendance at the concerts.

It's a global phenomenon that, if it does not have a clear turnabout, will oblige all industry employees to make drastic decisions.

We would like to raise awareness among all fans of the genre, assuming a catastrophic scenario for the next future: what will happen when the last live club closes its doors? Will emerging bands play no more or will they totally rely on aseptic live streaming from rehearsal studio and improvised venues?

For this reason, Thursday 8th June at 22pm (CET time), we'll play a full set Live Streaming show in a real live venue open just for us, furthermore, to give everyone the opportunity to participate in this event, we'll keep the video online for 24 hours.

You can follow the event through our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TethraHell

The flyer for the Tethra show at a empty venue, (c) by Tethra, used with kind permission

This is our particular contribution to the cause, hoping to be able to induce a reflection before this catastrophic scenario becomes a reality, because that night we will create a paradox that more than one band has had to endure in its career: playing in an empty room ... will you be with us?"

If you don't know the band yet here's their current lyric video:

CD Review: Arcade Messiah - III (Instrumental Metal, 2016)

Massive guitars - these words were left behind in my mind after listening to the newest effort of Arcade Messiah. John Bassett impressively shows how to present guitar wizardry in modern sounds to the audience these days.

The album cover for Arcade Messiah's "III", (c) by Arcade Messiah, used with kind permission

Summary
 
The longplayer simply entitled "III" is packed to the brim with beautiful and massive guitar sounds. If you adore such sounds the first three tracks, especially "Citadel" and "Revolver" will make you alone more than happy. You don't need to read further - go straight forward to Bandcamp and buy the record for a few bucks. You can't go wrong here.

For all others it should be mentioned that the album builds up the tonality to a absolute peak in the first three tracks. Afterwards the tension falls down a bit to give air for some more breathing to the atmosphere. Those two numbers that follow go with less massive sound and examine the fragileness of guitar sounds with softer music.

What else has changed since the last record? "III" is compared to the previous album a output that comes in a much thicker presentation. Everything has been outworked to sound heavy from the start. Most of all the drums speak out clearly to me. They are much more brutal and present than on "II". Even the bass shines more through on this album. In addition some vocals can be heard. They fit well and don't ruin the listening experience. 

It's the fun that winds down in your ears while listening to the album that makes it stand out from other releases. John Bassett plays a lot with themes and motives on this one and it's simply a calming and positive feeling those notes leave behind.

Purchase-Link and Album Player

Please appreciate those efforts with a purchase. These time no physical format can be offered since John Bassett moved his home while creating these tunes and decided to go a safe route finacially. But the digital plattform Bandcamp happily offers losless formats so you will have the same quality with the files than having a pressed CD.  Enjoy a preview in the player below.

Contact Data

The story of Arcade Messiah goes on! Make sure to follow the project through their homepage or use Facebook to do so.