TMR

Enzo & The Glory Ensemble – “In The Name of The World Spirit”

Posted by TMR on May 6, 2020 at 17:04 No Responses »

May 062020

Enzo Donnarumma truly knows how to set a mood. “Precariousness” has an uneasy feeling, and this sense of foreboding is ramped up to breaking point as the prelude transitions to “Nothingness (It’s Everyone’s Fate)”. The string arrangement and the percussion immediately propel me to the Middle East even as the ensemble cast sing of traveling from Africa, but the Glory Ensemble interrupt themselves by introducing a progressive rock run toward the middle of the song and suddenly I’m in a different world altogether. How mighty the guitar sounds when backed by a symphony orchestra! Against a choir singing “It’s everyone’s fate” there is a world
of clamouring voices and instruments and you realise very quickly that on the album, “In The Name of The World Spirit” there will be a lot to take in.

This album is the third in a trilogy by Enzo & The Glory Ensemble, and has certainly retained its fiery delivery. The band changes tack on “The Bronze Age”, where the sequenced elements suggest a hive of activity. A lilting acoustic guitar is introduced while the vocalisations of the choir stitch this peaceful interlude to the heavier part that follows. What keeps amazing me are the contrasts achieved in the music. “Try To Put In Pit The Fear” features Kobi Farhi of Orphaned Land. The earlier uneasiness has made way for a feeling of celebration. I have found myself listening to increasingly heavier music since we’ve been in precautionary lockdown and while it has matched my somber mood it has left me dejected. A song like “Try To Put In Pit The Fear” is the remedy that blows the cobwebs of negativity away. “To Every Chest” is a beautiful duet and a little slower in pace. The combination of the male and female vocals is very effective, and there is ample room for heavenly guitar solos. The Glory Ensemble are very good at combining instruments that invoke the ancient world with those that fit more squarely in the present, like in “Just In My Heart The Blame”. There is the thumb piano but also a stringed instrument towards the middle of the track that picks up the melody and truly stands out
amongst the modern orchestration. I love the inclusion of the harp on “I’ll Add More” and if ever there were a musical intro suited to the opening scene of a film, it would be this one. It feels like a very personal song, beautifully sung by female voices.

The World Will Burn – “Nothings As Real As It Seems”

Posted by TMR on January 25, 2020 at 23:16 No Responses »

Jan 252020

“Nothing’s As Real As It Seems” is the third album by alt metallers The World Will Burn. This transcontinental collaboration includes Dale Thompson on vocals, Alan Zaring on guitars and other instruments and Aaron Bushong on drums. There are also guest appearances by Troy Thompson (co-founder, Bride) and Tim Bushong, who produced the album.

I didn’t anticipate how groovy “Nothing’s As Real As It Seems” would be. Big guitars and bigger drums hit you on “Sins And Tragedies”, and Dale unleashes all kinds of fury on the mic. The care Tim took to balance all the elements deserves special mention. You’ll hear it in how Dale’s
voice, first singing and then screaming in the chorus fits despite the great differences in delivery.

The band sets a soulful, contemplative mood with the solo guitar that leads “Love and Life”, but breaks through any restraint in the first verse. I like this diversity, and I’m only two songs in! There’s a moody organ and vocalisations that push “Love and Life” off-kilter, like the world of the song is off balance. This sense of “nothing is as it seems” is brought into sharp focus later, in “Boxing Ring”. As I listen to the album, I am challenged by the lyrics. Why would no one believe in hell? Have we become as those who believe only in what the eye can see, and in what scientific experiments can measure?

Michael Sweet “Ten”

Posted by TMR on December 6, 2019 at 23:20 No Responses »

Dec 062019

Stryper frontman, Michael Sweet, released Ten – his tenth solo studio album, on 11 October.

Do yourself a favour and head over to Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives here and scroll his biography. So many releases, and with such consistency spanning a professional music making career of 35+ years. That is amazing!

I wonder what freedom he sought when he commented in a 2016 interview with The Aquarian Weekly about why he enjoyed making solo records: “it’s an opportunity to free myself up a little bit more… and try some things that Stryper may not be able to try.” In a recent interview with Mark of The Rockpit, Australia, Sweet said that each song on the new album was written with a different guitarist in mind. If you look at the track list, you’ll notice that “Better Part Of Me” features Jeff Loomis of Arch Enemy (and technical death metal supergroup, Conquering Dystopia) for instance. The risk then might be that each new guitarist’s unique style would result in divergent contributions to the album. As a songwriter, Sweet was able to unify the differing creative impulses into a cohesive whole. I agree with him when he says that “they all work and flow perfectly well together”. You can read the full interview here.

Lance King – “ReProgram”

Posted by TMR on October 5, 2019 at 18:54 No Responses »

Oct 052019

What would we become if allowed to grow into our own passions? Lance King raises this tantalising question right off the bat in his second solo album, “ReProgram” that was released on 29 March 2019. His concern for the death of a child’s creativity is underscored in the music. I hear the dread in the volleys of driving kick drum and plaintive keyboards, while the guitars point accusatory fingers at a dystopian status quo where conformity trumps originality.

King delivers a compelling performance in “Pointing Fingers”, and I can hear why his tenor has graced the likes of Pyramaze and Balance Of Power: liquid ease. I’m in love with Kim Oleson’s guitar work on “Stand Your Ground”. It is no doubt tempting to follow the vocalist ever upward into the song’s crescendo and then lose yourself in soloist heaven, but not Oleson. He plays with both feet firmly rooted in the ground. His modern tone suits King’s voice to a tee, and when he does solo it is technical and melodic at the same time – and with just the right amount of restraint. I’d also like to acknowledge how the keyboards were played in this song. Oleson and/or Fred Colombo played counterpoint to the rhythm guitar in a way that brings the sequencer to the fore. Not so much that it becomes a lead instrument but rather that it adds to the overall urgency of the track.

“Technology” celebrates how technological advancement puts the means of musical production into anyone’s hands and while this democratisation is to be admired, King also poses the question, “Where will it all end?” Made in an instant, and shared in an instant in a world that is media hungry. This critique of consumerism is akin to that found in Porcupine Tree’s “Fear Of A Blank Planet”. Continue reading »

Pyramaze – “Melancholy Beast” (re-issue)

Posted by TMR on September 9, 2019 at 19:48 No Responses »

Sep 092019

Whether fast and heavy or slow and atmospheric, this album is sure to please whether in a depressive or manic state. Great musicianship and excellent vocals, this album is great with a cup of joe to prepare yourself for a journey.

It doesn’t take much thinking to figure out what Pyramaze is all about in their first album, a re-issue, ‘Melancholy Beast’. They are all about the journey in this mood enhancing set of 10 songs going just about 5 minutes under an hour. This album originally came out in May of 2004, but the album seems just as relevant now as it did then. This Danish power metal band started in 2001 with Michael Kammeyer as a guitarist looking to start a band. Vision for this bands future couldn’t be clearer since introducing the story driven album to kick things off with a clear understanding of how to write a song already in place when ‘Melancholy Beast’ made its first appearance.

The Album starts off somewhat unexpected considering what the album as a whole has to offer. Just a couple of notes from the guitar for an atmospheric beginning to start with. The album is generally high energy with the exception of when the band goes to lengths to play slower and moodier. I think it balances these two concepts quite well where each song really is a journey for the ears. There is some great storytelling in the lyrics bringing up some almost forgotten folklore stories that make the album somewhat familiar to listen to while also adding a fresh look and new sound to what parents might tell their children at night before bed. Continue reading »

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