Leaves are about to get crispy here on the East Coast of the United States. The evenings already are refreshingly chilly, zip-up sweatshirts have returned, and pumpkin beers are on the market. It’s the time when, as far as I’m concerned, nature is at its apex. It doesn’t get better than this, and I tend to dig into woodsy metal when autumn comes calling.

This is a time when bands such as Agalloch, Alcest, Primordial, Ulver and Woods of Ypres creep back into my collection, and while all of those bands don’t pay tribute to nature (in fact, only Agalloch explicitly do that), their styles make for smooth consumption these days. But a new band Falloch emerged from Scotland that shares the same philosophies and styles as the aforementioned groups, and their debut album “Where Distant Spirits Remain” not only will be one that remains in heavy rotation for me the next few months, but in subsequent years, this will be on the list of go-to records once the trees start changing colors. Needless to say, I’m excited.

Falloch’s style is described as post-black metal and folk metal, as those labels certainly fit, and their music is decidedly gorgeous. Yeah, I know it probably isn’t cool to tag a new metal band with that description, but can you not say the same about Agalloch, Alcest, Primordial? It’s OK to be more sensitive, and Falloch certainly address that side and let you fawn over the majesty unfurling when you simply look at a pocket of woods, a rushing stream or a lawn full of orange, red and brown leaves. This music fully engulfs you and fills you with wonder, and I found my blood surging many, many times when listening to this record. Funny, I did see some reviews elsewhere that derided this band for being labeled as metal because the music doesn’t fit into their rigid little window of what the genre entails. Don’t be so pigheaded, kids. You’ll miss out on an amazing record if you snub your nose at delicacy and melody, all of which are present in full.

What also stuns me about Falloch is this band is but a duo, which is amazing when hearing how full-bodied and dynamic this sounds. Andy Marshall and Scott McLean create something that sounds like six or seven people would be needed to achieve, and the vocals are clean, soulful and emotional, never reaching into growls or shrieks (other than over the chorus of “Where We Believe”) that most other bands of this ilk employ in abundance. That also gives “Where Distant Spirits Remain” a unique voice, because it seems so few bands are confident enough to just sing and use the ability with which they were gifted. Yeah, maybe it comes off as less brutal, but this music doesn’t sound intended to be savage in the first place.

Here’s where I’m contradicted, by the way. While Falloch’s music, to me, sounds best in the autumn, this duo has frost and snow on their minds. So we’re not in agreement on seasons, but it’s their music, so I guess I’m the one who’s wrong. Oh well. The band said that “Beyond Embers and the Earth,” a heart-stopping epic that begins aggressively before melting into gothy/poppy passages and folk whistles, was inspired by the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands during winter, and you can hear in this track how inspired and moved they were by the landscape. Opener “We Are Gathering Dust” has nice acoustic flourishes dancing behind the harder-edged stuff here, and the song eventually trickles out into babbling water and ambiance. “The Carrying Light” gets into some progressive rock and metal while also allowing in some shoegazey guitar squall to put the edge on this bloodletting, throbbing track that could be labeled a ballad; and “To Walk Amongst the Dead” has plenty of traditional folk in its mix and its lush for the most part, but the tempo and volume rise and caterwaul near its conclusion, making it a sweeping, surging song that’s nothing short of awesome.

Falloch officially, from just this album, are one of my favorite new bands. I could gush on and on, but why bore you with all of that? I love this style of metal, and I’m already setting some time aside Saturday afternoon to take this in again while I have some lovely brews. If you let yourself get caught up in “Where Distant Spirits Remain,” my guess is you’ll be hooked as well. It’ll give you a head rush, cause your heart to swell and connect you more spiritually with what’s going on outside. And OK, I’ll concede, maybe the winter is just as good a setting for these songs as autumn. Whenever you listen, prepare to be infected by one hell of a new band that should set the standard for post-black metal and atmospheric folk metal in the future.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.falloch.com/

To buy “Where Distant Spirits Remain,” go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=1045

For more on the label, go here: http://candlelightrecordsusa.com/

If you were into the first full-length and follow-up EP by Italian tech-death band Fleshgod Apocalypse, get ready to have your expectations shattered. In a good way or a bad way? That kind of depends on what you like in your death metal.

While always a band that relished in adding classical flourishes to their music, they really go full bore into orchestration on “Agony,” a record that certainly stands apart from “Oracles” and “Mafia,” both of which were released by Willowtip. The band moved to Nuclear Blast for this effort, and it sounds like they really put their money where their mouths are, beefing up the sound, adding a ton more dramatics, and overloading the thing with synth-lead symphonics. It’s an incredible-sounding album, one that just explodes from your speakers or headphones. But is it for you?

Most of the reaction I’ve seen to the record has been favorable, and I happen to really like the album and the changes that they made. It makes Fleshgod Apocalypse kind of stand out in the tech-death community and also cements them as one of the sub-genre’s most exciting bands. But there have been naysayers as well because, you know people. A band just can’t change without hand-wringing. And I understand that, too, even if I tend to have little patience with people who can’t handle when a group changes things up a bit, and as long as they don’t go too far from their core sound (um, Metallica), what’s the big deal? Let it sink in and maybe you’ll like it.

Anyhow, my review of the new Fleshgod Apocalypse is live over at Lambgoat. Check it out, read how I feel about the changes they made (I’m guessing you probably figured that one out), and look at some of the other stuff going on at Lambgoat. Also, if there’s a band you like who you’re fairly certain has a new record due soon, but you’re just not sure when, their release calendar is pretty comprehensive. Find the link to my review below:

To read the Fleshgod Apocalypse review, go here: http://www.lambgoat.com/albums/view.aspx?id=2941&band=Fleshgod%20Apocalypse&review=Agony

For more on the band, go here: http://www.fleshgodapocalypse.com

To buy “Agony,” go here: http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Search/flesh_god_apocalypse

For more on the label, go here: http://www.nuclearblastusa.com

I like an album that sounds like a 50-trucks-full-of-gasoline demolition derby. As much as I like spacious, atmospheric stuff, and as I get older, that tends to be my preference, I still dig a collection of songs that feels like war is being made and there’s true, bloody attrition.

That leads me to Landmine Marathon, who have been making crust-and-grind-stained death metal only since 2004, are one of those bands that seem to have won unanimous approval with those who have seen them live. They already have four full-length albums to their credit, as well as splits with Scarecrow and Funeral Pyre, and haven’t made their name by just sitting around. They’ve been road warriors in a time when, because of insane gas prices, it cannot be an easy thing to do. But they’ve done it, and show by show, person by person, they’ve developed a reputation as one of metal’s most vicious, exciting young bands.

My issue with Landmine Marathon has been their studio output. Not all of it, mind you. I love their 2006 debut “Wounded” and am pretty sure I was listening to that bastard from the moment it came out (granted, I was lucky to have a promo from Level Plane), and the follow-up “Rusted Eyes Awake” was a decent outing, though not quite up to par with the first one. Level Plane originally released that disc, too, but it was reissued by Prosthetic once the band signed a deal with the indie metal powerhouse. Last year, the band offered up “Sovereign Descent,” their actual Prosthetic debut and one of the most anticipated records of last year, from an underground metal standpoint. I know I was excited to finally hear it, and once I did, my hopes were deflated. It just didn’t get my juices flowing at all, and I blame most of that on the compositions. They sounded mailed in (though I’m sure they weren’t) and kind of uninteresting, something I never dreamed I’d say about this band. Over time and subsequent listens, my opinion hasn’t changed, and when I go back now, I still don’t find a lot about it that holds my attention.

But that was 2010, and this is now. Their new record “Gallows” is an absolute ripper, the heaviest and most explosive of their run. It’s a burly assassin. It’s that demolition derby I mentioned in the opening. Almost like how their last record drained my excitement from the first listen, this one ignited a fire in me from the first time I pressed play, revealing a band that has no interest in playing it safe or regurgitating the same thing over and again. Yes, they still have an unabashed affinity for the early Earache years in their music, and you’ll still probably get kicked in the face by singer Grace Perry if you get too close, but they’ve freshened up the guitar lines, added some doom and power metal flourishes, and the drum work is just nasty. Oh, and Perry is a fire-breathing she-demon, growling and shrieking in a way no human should be able to do without permanent throat damage. Here’s hoping her pipes are in good shape.

We get rolling with opener “Three Snake Leaves,” a classic death metal-laced anthem, where Perry howls, “Bury me alive,” as the rest of her bandmates sound like they’re ready for a battle. “Cutting Flesh and Bone” has a punk flavor to it, and a spastic one at that,  and “Cloaked in Red” is built in the same fashion. “Knife From My Sleeve” boils in a cauldron of doom, with Perry going more guttural with her vocals, and there are some guitar flourishes toward the end that remind me of Nile. Closer “Morbidity” also reeks of the same stench, with some wicked guitar lines over top. “Liver and Lungs” is a gorefest that would make Pig Destroyer jealous; “Dead Horse” is ravaging and thrashy; and “Beaten and Left Blind” has a bit of a hardcore groove that, at times, gushes into speed metal fury. It’s an astonishingly good record where every player showed up with her or his best, and I can’t state enough how much I like the guitars. They sounds great, they shred and slice, they gnaw on crust and filth, and they help elevate these songs to greatness.

Landmine Marathon always seemed like a band whose live fury would surpass their studio work, and there’s no sin in that. In fact, it’s great when you go see a band you already like on the strength of their records and are just flattened when you experience them on stage. But with “Gallows,” the band is proving they’re just as capable of boiling flesh making a record as they are reinterpreting their songs live. It’s the best thing they’ve done since “Wounded,” and I keep going back and forth on whether this new disc is the superior album. It just may be, and perhaps once I get to see the band live in support of “Gallows,” my mind will be made up for good. Until then, I’ll enjoy the carnage spilling from my speakers.

For more on the band, go here: http://landminemarathon.blogspot.com/

To buy “Gallows,” go here: http://prostheticrecords.bigcartel.com/products?search=landmine+marathon&search-submit=

For more on the label, go here: http://prostheticrecords.com/

It’s no secret at Meat Mead Metal that there’s a great appreciation for psychedelic-laced metal that lets you go on a journey without the aid of mind-altering substances. There’s something to be said for creating something that puts the listener on a path to exploration and discovery simply by making music that lifts and soars.

And not that we have anything against, you know, sitting down with some adult beverages and enjoying a piece of music. That’s pretty great, too, and that often happens in this house when the weekend is here. But it’s cool when you can sit on the couch, say, on a Wednesday afternoon, put in the earbuds and fly away with a record. The brand new one from Rwake (pronounced “wake,” if you’re unaware) is one of those albums, and as long as I’ve had the record, I’ve never listened to it with anything but a clear mind. Each time it’s enthralling and emotionally draining. “Rest,” the title given this fifth full-length, won’t let you get any of that, funny enough, because you’ll stay up trying to figure what it all means.

We haven’t heard from the Arkansas-based band since their 2007 album “Voices of Omens,” though Relapse did give us a reissue of their 2002 record “Hell Is a Door to the Sun” earlier this year. But this is the first time we got a full, new platter of monster sludge, and the wait was hellaciously worth all that impatience. “Rest” is an amazing, enthralling record and, in my opinion, is the best one of their career. It is unforgiving, and even when it quiets or lets in nice, delicate acoustic passages, you know it’s only because they’re getting ready to move onto something even more tumultuous.

“Rest” makes you think a lot. There’s a lot of philosophical ramblings and apocalyptic warnings intertwined in their music and delivered in full-throttle growl and shriek by C.T. and Moog/sample artist B. One thing I always thought was cool about Rwake is, if you were unaware as to their lineup, you’d never know you were listening to one of the most vicious guy/girl vocal assaults of all time. That carries over here, and I often can’t tell who does what. And who cares, really? It all works so well together, and all parts operate in unison. After a quick intro “Souls of the Sky,” that sets the stage for the rest of the record, the band launches into “It Was Beautiful But Now It’s Sour,” a woozy, swirling masher that is delivered mid-tempo but always with fists hammering down full force. “An Invisible Thread,” the record’s shortest song that’s not an interlude (and it’s still 8:45 long) has a bit of that Southern rock sludge that Mastodon made so famous and eventually settles into a guitar pocket that sounds like Black Sabbath playing Slayer. It’s the doomiest thing on a record that had end times at its heart. “The Culling” is moody and spacey, one of the most atmospheric songs on “Rest,” and the split vocals are utterly terrifying, sounding like a pack of wild animals shredding meat.

As awesome as the record is before the final two cuts hit, the album’s dual finale really pushes this over the top. Interlude “Ti Progetto” pulls the words from Arthur C. Clarke from the opening to “2001: A Space Odyssey” and gets you ready for what’s to come on the album’s blowout “Was Only a Dream,” a song awash in creation’s origin, how we’re interconnected, how we survive, and how we’ll one day fade away. Or at least that’s what I got out of it, and while I allow that my interpretation may not be what Rwake intended, it made me think a lot about these things and how we’ve come to accept some of the theories or beliefs by which we live. The song is astonishingly sorrowful at times, and the raw, primal vocals sound both cathartic and foreboding, with the band setting up a psyche-washed soundscape that’s unsettling violent. At about the midway point, the first part of the song fades away, and a new, trippier passage sets in that repeats the first half’s mantras. The song eventually fades out to a reading of Rudyard Kipling’s “If…,” another piece that a reader could derive many meanings. It’s also one of Kilping’s most moving pieces, which makes sense that it would be connected to Rwake’s most emotionally stimulating record. Really good choice.

Rwake’s music may be nasty, bloody and crust-caked, but it’s delivered with an open mind and with intelligence. You probably will have to sit down with the lyric sheet in order to properly absorb all the meaning (something I’ll have to do once I have a physical copy), but chances are you won’t mind. It’s nice to have something that provokes thought and inhibits your bestial side at the same time. Rwake always have done that, but never as much as they do on “Rest.”

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/RwakeBand

To buy “Rest,” go here: http://www.relapse.com/search_result.php?search_by=all&q=rwake&x=0&y=0

For more on the label, go here: http://www.relapse.com/

This has been a super-busy month for metal, and it’s not even over yet. The next two Tuesdays bring a ton of new stuff, and I’m still trying to get into my ears all the things that have come out the first two weeks of September.

There are a few albums to which I’ve devoted time that I haven’t gotten to write about yet, so this is as good a time as any to do a quick roundup on said albums. Two of them can be had right now by hitting up your local record joint (or you can get in your car and go to a far-away record shop … what do I care?), and one of them comes out this week. All three sound completely different from each other and are likely to draw different audiences, unless your tastes are like mine and you end up into all three of them. Let’s get started by taking a deep walk into the woods.

Pacific Northwest atmospheric black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room are down to just two permanent members, the brothers Weaver, vocalist/guitarist Nathan and drummer/synth player Aaron. On their new album “Celestial Lineage,” they complete a trilogy they started with their masterful 2007 album “Two Hunters,” my favorite album of that year, and continued on 2009’s “Black Cascade,” a more stripped-down album that wasn’t bad but also wasn’t up to par with the band’s capabilities. Their new opus is far more in the vein of “Two Hunters” and even their debut album “Diadem of 12 Stars” in that the epic songs are more dramatic, built with soundscapes, and are absolutely riveting in nature. In fact, after my first listen, I knew this is exactly the type of album I’d hoped the band would deliver. Subsequent visits confirmed that.

Frequent collaborator Jessika Kinney is back, and she makes her presence known right away by delivering the gorgeous vocal introduction to opener “Thuja Magus Imperium,” bellowing out, “Redness in the east beyond the mountain, the wheel begins to turn anew.” She just grabs you and pulls you in, and by the time you’re enraptured, the rest of the band blasts in with a tidal wave of woodsy black metal, Nathan’s shrieking storytelling and gargantuan guitar work by guest Milky Burgess (Master Musicians of Bukkake, Asva, Earth). “Subterranean Intuition” rips open with a furious melody, a rush of keys and almost demonic vocals, and it’s one of most effective songs on here. It’s almost like prog black metal. Almost. “Woodland Cathedral,” also featuring Kinney, simmers in a dream state, and you might find yourself reaching out for the fog if you day-gaze away. It’s that mesmerizing. The track also features Aaron Turner (ex-ISIS) and Faith Coloccia (Mamiffer) on chants and other mind-altering sounds. Both “Astral Blood” and “Prayer of Transformation” are your typical Wolves epics, and I mean that in the best way possible. Really effective use of the time, as both tracks are blood-surging and even magical in the way they unfurl, with “Prayer” the slower, more contemplative of the two.

I still have to give the edge to “Two Hunters” as my favorite Wolves album, but “Celestial Lineage” is a damn-close second. This album lived up to and surpassed all of my expectations, and it made good for what I thought was a bit of a mundane, though not bad, album in “Black Cascade.” This band, by the way, is incredible and powerful live, and if you get a chance to catch them, definitely do so.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.wittr.com/

To buy “Celestial Lineage,” go here: http://southernlord.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/store.php

As ashamed as I am to admit this, I really didn’t get into a lot of hardcore until early last decade. I’m not sure why, but that’s just the way it happened. When I did, it wasn’t really pure hardcore that got me going (I admit that bands such as, say, Judge and Terror just aren’t my thing), but more post-hardcore and stuff that used that style as a base and went elsewhere with it were the ones that swayed me. We’re talking Cave In, Thursday, Boysetsfire, Knut, and Botch. And while NYC newcomers Tiger Flowers don’t exactly sound like those bands, and in many ways they are much heavier and much more metal, there’s something about their self-titled debut EP that takes me back to those days. Maybe it’s the in-your-face thrashing, maybe it’s the shout-out-loud airing of grievances, maybe it’s the passion of their music, but it reminds me of what made me love this stuff in the first place.

Their debut is but four songs long, but it’s damn good, and it’s really, really heavy. I listened to it last week when I was running on the treadmill, and I noticed immediately that my adrenaline kicked into high gear just minutes into nine-minute opener “Drag,” a song that owes a nice debt of gratitude to sludge. It’s a calculated pounder that squeezes the living daylights out of you, and once it goes for pretty about halfway through the song, you’re too bruised to feel comforted. “Last Horse” has more of the hardcore feel, and it even mixes in some Dillinger Escape Plan-style trickery to its assault. When the dudes shout, “These scars that we wear are scars that we’ve earned,” you believe the sentiment blindly because they’re that convincing. “The Weight” is super-charged and will get your fists pumping by way of its unbridled energy, and moody, yet pulverizing closer “Cuts” also goes for shifty guitar work and zig-zagging, and when it’s over, you’ll probably be sorry there’s no more left.

Tiger Flowers are a band on which I’ll keep close tabs in the future. I am enthralled by this four-track effort so much that I actually can’t wait to hear what they can do with a full-length record.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TIGER-FLOWERS/149290739547

To buy their self-titled EP, go here:  http://tpltr.bigcartel.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.thepathlesstraveledrecords.com/

Speaking of trickery, New York tech-death metal band Pyrrhon do some wacky, brain-bashing stuff on their debut full-length “An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master” (love the title, by the way), but luckily they remembered to write songs and not just crazy licks. I’m in the group that can’t quite get our heads around tech-death because so much of it feels like show-off time, and there’s not enough thought put into writing compelling pieces of music. Maybe it’s because I don’t play an instrument, and if I did, perhaps I’d be all into it as well. I certainly admit that’s possible. But as much as I like to hear dudes and ladies play the craziest stuff they can dream of, I want to walk away remembering something more than how wowed I am by technique. Pyrrhon made me think of their songs instead.

Another thing I like about “An Excellent Servant” (Selfmadegod is re-releasing this after the band out it out on their own) is the portion size. There are eight songs, and the whole thing runs 45 minutes. Yes, their songs are a little longer than most, but they’re not overbearing. They get in and get out in the right amount of time, not allowing themselves to bloat this thing. I hear a little bit of Meshuggah, Gorguts and Death in what they do, three other bands that have/had a lineup of excellent players who almost always remember/remembered to make strong songs. “This too shall pass!” the band shouts along in unison on opener “New Parasite,” a song that hooked me right into the band. “Glossolalian” has some off-kilter mashing, with frontman Doug Moore going for a deeper approach to his growling; “Correcting a Mistake” opens with a cool bass run that eventually runs headlong into a cacophony of violence; “Gamma Knife” manages to sneak a little sludge into the room, keeping things fresh and you guessing; and “Fresh Isolation Chamber” (with a nice quiet mid-section to bring you down and then back up) and “A Terrible Master” (with fierce, confrontational, reflective vocals from Moore), both more than eight minutes long, end the record on a note of total demolition.

I really like what I hear from Pyrrhon, and this album made me go back and seek out their debut EP “Fever Kingdoms,” itself an impressive piece of work. Like Tiger Flowers, I’m excited to hear what this band does next, and hopefully they keep intact the formula that makes their debut so special and damn exciting to visit.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pyrrhonband

To buy “An Excellent Servant But a Terrible Master” go here: http://selfmadegod.com/pl/shop

For more on the label, go here: http://selfmadegod.com/

One does not actually have to play metal for a living to be metal. Sure, maybe the music doesn’t sound like metal coming from some artists, but the uncompromising ethos, the passion, and the brutality, even if not by decibels, can be felt from these people, making them more genuine, more meaningful, more, well, metal than some of the people who claim to make contributions to the genre.

That’s the idea behind our Outer Edges feature, which we bring you from time to time, to give you a look at artists you won’t find in the metal bin at your local record store (here’s hoping you still have one) but that may still grab a hold of you and move you the way a thrash, death or black metal band could. Crossover appeal, they call it, and the two albums we will discuss today feature artists that have had some dabblings in metal, but their music is far from that sound.

First up is Chelsea Wolfe, one of the most arresting artists I’ve come across in a few years. When I first read about her, she was described as playing doom folk, and there’s something to that, and that her attitude and philosophy was closer to black metal as some of the young upstarts playing it today. It also helped that she tackled and totally mastered and reimagined the Burzum song “Black Spell of Destruction,” video of which you can find below. She also has a dark, dark image for such a pretty California girl. I’m sure she’d roll her eyes at that, but you get what I mean. Her darkness is key to her, and while many other musicians who tend to explore dark roads seem to want their photos in magazines as much as they want their songs heard, you can tell the music is priority No. 1 to Wolfe.

Her second full-length effort “Ἀποκάλυψις” (pronounced apokalypsis and Greek for both apocalypse and revelation) is the finest non-metal album I’ve heard this year. It is absolutely enrapturing, and every time I listen to the record, I find myself in something of a daydream. That makes sense since her music, while folk at heart, does have a lot of trance-like qualities to it, and she achieves noise-scapes that sound like they were culled from lucid dreams. But she’s not just here to freak you out, but also to move you, as her haunting, unforgettable melodies will do easily. Her gorgeous voice can sounds somber, frightened, frightening, and otherworldly, depending on her mood. She’s someone you can’t help but give all your attention. She gives you no other choice.  I can’t say enough about Wolfe, and if she’s not mentioned in the same breath with other super-hyped indie artists such as The National, St. Vincent, My Brightest Diamond and Dirty Projectors, it means your bloggers aren’t really paying attention and just have an agenda to serve. Well, ha, of course they do.

If you had the pleasure of hearing or owning Wolfe’s 2010 release “The Grime and the Glow,” then you’ll recognize a couple of cuts on here. “Moses” is reworked, this time with a gloomier melody as its spine and with extra damaged guitar, and “Demons” is a grainier, scarier version of “Bounce House Demons,” which is a song that may make you want to dance and lash out equally. Plus, good luck removing the chorus from your brain. Wolfe had benefit of an actual studio on this record, as opposed to doing her debut on her own, so she was able to breathe new life into these tracks. “Mer” is an awesome, abrasive folk song, packed with weird noises and echoey voices; “Tracks (Tall Bodies)” has a seductive, late-night-friendly melody that reminds me of Stevie Nick’s early work; “The Wasteland” is a pushy, electronic-style song that also spits warmth; “Pale on Pale” is bluesy, spooky and trippy, and it’s my favorite track on here; while ghoulish closer “Movie Screen” is a slow, noisy howl of a song, with Wolfe unleashing primal shrieks as it fades to black.

All of Wolfe’s music comes highly recommended, and trust me, you won’t hear anything else like her anywhere else. Also, put on the bloodiest, goriest black metal album you got this year and match it up with “Ἀποκάλυψις” and see who scares you more. My guess is Wolfe.

For more on Chelsea Wolfe, go here: http://chelseawolfe.net/

To buy “Ἀποκάλυψις,” go here: http://pendusound.com/releases/psr-0045/

For more on the label, go here: http://pendusound.com/

If you question whether Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter’s psychedelic-laced, moody, sometimes country-fed music can be seen as metal philosophically, ask yourself this: Would Southern Lord sell the vinyl version of her last record is they weren’t? Answer is no. And with the arrival of the band’s fourth full-length effort, first under the Station Grey Records/Thirty Tigers banner (her last was on rock-solid Polyvinyl), we hear a more muscle-bound, aggressive band than we’ve gotten before. And it’s pretty damn awesome to experience.

For those unaware, Sykes lent her mournful, sometimes gravely, always distinctive voice to the Sunn 0)))/Boris collaborative album “Altar” on the song “The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep),” the standout track on that effort (see below).

Furthermore, she’s played live with the bands, and her own music, while beautiful and delicate in spots, also has an unapologetic, scarred-heart-on-sleeve approach that make her one of the most willing, blood-shedding artists in the singer-songwriter genre. Her powerful band gives her even more strength, and do they ever make their presence known on “Marble Son,” a record that thematically has Sykes looking back at things she perhaps didn’t appreciate when she was younger but now embraces with a greater understanding. And vice versa.

The record rips open with the eight-minute “Hushed By Devotion,” a loud, swelling, guitar-rich psychedelic rocker that’s got both a hippie vibe and a sinister smirk. “Come to Mary” is quite a different song for the band, as Sykes lets her voice blend in with her bandmates’, as she only takes full control on the chorus; “Servant of Your Vision” is a tasty slice of Midwestern rock that reminds me a lot of Magnolia Electric Co. (one of my favorite bands, by the way); “Pleasuring the Divine” is an out-and-out smoky smasher, the pushiest song on the entire record; and “Your Own Kind” has a ’60s lovelorn-advice approach, but it’s dressed with buzzing guitar work and a total electric dust storm that makes you want to assault a potted plant. Yet the band has its contemplative moments, found on the lovely, gently plucked title cut, where Sykes admits, “I wish I’d found you beautiful before”; the dark reflection of “Be It Me or Be It None”; and the blended harmonies of “Birds of Passerine.”

Sykes’ voice, like Wolfe’s, is one that commands you to take heed. Her words are not to be missed, and her delivery, while sometimes laid back and seemingly sleepy, always bites hard.  Each of the band’s albums stands on its own, and “The Marble Son” arguably is their best one yet. It’s certainly the one that’ll challenge your speakers the most, and on nights when you just want to reflect and ice your troubles, Sykes and the Sweet hereafter will get you there every time.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.jessesykes.com/

To buy “Marble Son,” go here: http://www.theconnextion.com/jessesykesandthesweethereafter/jessesykes_cat.cfm?CatID=48

Sometimes something so obvious practically stares you right in the face, pokes you in the chest and screams at you, yet you don’t realize it. I’m guilty of that quite often. I try to find some deeper meaning or reason why a path broke off and headed in another direction that occasionally I can’t see the warning signs. I’d be a horrible first responder.

When I first heard the rumblings about Opeth’s 10^th record “Heritage” and the fact that it doesn’t include even a second of growling or death metal intensity, I was concerned. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who felt that way. Yes, they did the “Damnation” record in 2003, but it was more of a compliment to “Deliverance,” which was recorded at the same time but released five months earlier. So you got the dose of Opeth’s prog-death first and then got the curveball. But after three years with no new music from the Swedish stalwarts – their last was 2008’s “Watershed” – it seemed daring for them to run away from the sound for which they were known in order to go for a warmer, more progressive rock sound. Would their fanbase accept a new record devoid of all signs of death metal?

Then I heard the record, went back and listened again, took a break, and revisited it multiple times this past week. Something then hit me: This was where Opeth were headed all along. I remember the first few times listening to “Watershed” that it surprised me how melodic it was, how much more singing frontman/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt was doing, how much bluesy groove was being injected into their music, and how it seemed to be pulling away from the death metal pattern. Åkerfeldt growled, sure, and the music did have some heavy, aggressive parts, but it seemed like the beginning of an evolution. “Heritage” seems to prove that. If only I had my eyes and ears truly open all along. I just hope they haven’t closed the door on death altogether.

Before I jump totally into the songs on the record, let me comment on the production. It’s crazy warm, very ’70s feeling, and it’s going to sound great on vinyl. In fact, I’m going to seek that out, because I really want to hear this emanating from my turntable. Åkerfeldt, who produced the album, has a huge affinity for vinyl and the ’70s folk and prog movement, and it’s clear from this record that his and the band’s approach was designed to capture that same sonic quality.

Now for the music. If you’re only into Opeth because they’re a death metal band or for that aspect of their music, you might not like this. In fact, you might consider this record an atrocity similar to what Metallica regurgitated in the mid-1990s. That would be a silly point to make, however, because there’s no comparison of quality (Opeth’s new one is better by miles), but maybe you’ll be offended in the same way. If you prefer Opeth’s deathier stuff but have an open mind about them, by all means sit down with this. If you are an Opeth disciple through and through, my guess is it’ll be dork-out time, and what the hell is wrong with that? These 10 tracks sound great, and their decision to scrap the death template and indulge their (or Åkerfeldt’s) prog-rock fetish isn’t a disaster at all. Simply put, Opeth are a really good band made up of excellent players, and to think anything else would be possible would be ignorant. I admit that I shared in some of that because I was more than a little worried.

After a quiet, piano-led, title cut intro, we jump right into “The Devil’s Orchard,” one of the album’s punchier songs, with a nice jazz-fusion sound pumped in and their trademark lush keys playing a role. The only songs that match the sonic style of “The Devil’s Orchard” are “Slither,” another blues-laden song with an outpouring or organ and strong, tasty soloing, and “The Lines in My Hand,” that has an outer space vibe and is probably the most aggressive thing on here. Yet, calling it a metal track would be pushing it. Doesn’t matter. It’s a damn good song. The rest of the material is heavy in folk passages, eerie ambiance, and razor-sharp musicianship, with Åkerfeldt clearly demonstrating he’s never been more comfortable as a singer. “Nepenthe” and “Famine” have similar skeletal structures, as both open quietly, yet emotionally, and both have a spastic prog jam section that bursts out in the middle, before they go back to their original tones. “Haxprocess” is the slowest track on here, rising barely above a hush at times, and standing as the moodiest track. “Folklore,” the second-to-last cut (only instrumental “Marrow of the Earth” follows), is my personal favorite track. It’s also the longest, at 8:19, which would be a normal running length for a typical Opeth song on any of their other records, but here it’s the epic. Here is where you can hear the acoustic squeaks the most, the changing of frets on a dime, the hissing. Also, there’s a flush of goth keyboard courtesy of Per Wiberg (who has since left the band) that rises up out of nowhere, and from there the guitar interplay of Åkerfeldt and Fredrik Åkesson come alive, and Martin Mendez’s bass gallops through the opening.

I still think the album art is a little silly, but having read more about the meaning of the piece, I get it. The roots going to hell signal their death metal past, Wiberg’s head falling from the tree indicates his departure, the skulls beneath the tree symbolize the band’s past members,  the people picking fruit means Opeth’s flesh tastes good. Uh, I made up that one. I can give credit where it’s due in that it’s different and eye-catching, so there you go. Job done. As for the music, it took me a while to get into it, but now I like it. It’s not my favorite Opeth record, and I do hope their death metal days aren’t entirely behind them. But it’s a well-intentioned project, and from what Åkerfeldt said in interviews, had they just gone and done another typical Opeth record it may not have come out sounding very good, and it could have killed his interest in the band. I kind of wonder if that’s entirely true or just how he felt at the time, but Åkerfeldt and Opeth made the record they feel that had to, and it works on a lot of levels. Now it’s up to listeners to decide how they feel. I expect the response will be mixed.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.opeth.com/home/

To buy “Heritage,” go here: http://store.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/Opeth_2

For more on the label, go here: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/

The last month or so has been good, personally, for beer consumption. Going on vacation to a place that houses the Dogfish Head restaurant surely helps that venture, as just about anything they offer (unless it’s out of season or they just don’t have any left) is at your disposal, so it was a nice time for sampling.

But once we got back, there was more to be had. I’m always interested in trying new beers, mainly if they’re of the craft variety or from a microbrewery, and I was able to try a few new things the last couple weeks that made me happy. Luckily, the revamped (and recently relocated) Carson Street Deli has a great supply of all kinds of beers, and both of what we’ll discuss today were purchased there. If you’re ever in Pittsburgh (or live here) and find yourself near the South Side, definitely check them out if you have a taste for something sudsy. They’re food’s pretty damn good too. (http://www.facebook.com/CarsonStreetDeli)

I love coffee a lot, and because I’m not insane, I love chocolate too. So Southern Tier’s Imperial Mokah seemed to be something I’d really enjoy, as the beer is described as a mix of their Javha and Choklat brews, both of which taste great alone but together form something otherworldly. I’ve heard and read some people complain of the sweetness of both beers, as well as their offspring Mokah, but that never really bothered me at all. This one, which has a delightfully high ABV of 11.2, does have a sweet taste, but I didn’t find it overwhelming at all. It’s a rich drink, and it comes off like you’d expect of a dark beer. The 22 oz. bottle took a little time to get through, but that seems by design. This is a sipping beer, not one you guzzle, smash the bottle, and go for another. You need to spend quality time with it and let it set up shop, and once it does, my guess is you’ll find it pleasing.

Of course, those who don’t like dark or bitter beers probably won’t be too psyched about Mokah, but whatever. It’s not for everyone, but it’s for me. And it goes great with cake and cookies. I know that from ample experience. Southern Tier also has, pretty much, a never-ending line of various concoctions, and next on my list to try is their Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale. I shall report back.

For more on Southern Tier, go here: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/index2.html

For a closer look at their many brews, go here: http://www.southerntierbrewing.com/beers.html

 

Another interesting beer came my way when my friend Sam brought me a couple bottles of Coney Island Craft Lager for my birthday, of course from Carson Street. There were two bottles, one being the Albino White, the other being Human Blockhead, a nice bock I expected to be a little darker than it is, but once I got to drinking it, it was damn pleasing. It tastes like and feels like a darker beer, and at 10 percent ABV, it goes to your head fairly quickly. That also suggests a sipping beer so you don’t all of a sudden have no idea where you are, but its smoothness lends itself to gulping, I would imagine. I went slowly with it, but I could see someone trying to pound the thing because it tastes good and goes down quite well.

The Coney Island collection is a newer line from Schmaltz, a relatively new brewer that’s been making tasty beverages since 1996. You might know their other products – HE’BREW – better, dubbed an “American Jewish Celebration Beer.” Coney Island didn’t kick off until 2008, and it’s a venture that includes non-profit arts organization Coney Island USA. Their arty bottles, that look like old circus posters and kind of have a freak show vibe, really stand out on the shelves and have eye-catching names. I’m very new to their products, and I have yet to drink the bottle of Albino, but from what I got out of Human Blockhead, I’ll be back for more.

For more on Schmaltz Brewing, go here: http://www.shmaltzbrewing.com/

For more on Coney Island beers, go here: http://www.shmaltzbrewing.com/CONEY/hb.html

For more on Coney Island USA, go here: http://www.coneyisland.com/

Of course, we’re here for metal, too, and it’s usually playing when I’m in the lab testing these beers. This past weekend I got through the new Opeth album “Heritage,” which we’ll discuss very soon. After a few listens, I’m still formulating my opinion on the thing, and we should have something for you this week. Also, I finally got a stream of the new Mastodon album “The Hunter” from our friends at Warner Bros. That one’s taking some time to reveal itself. Not sure how I feel yet, and don’t take that as a good or bad comment. Along with that, I’ve been playing new ones from The Atlas Moth, Tiger Flowers, Rwake, Brutal Truth (the song “Butcher” will make you want to become one) and Landmine Marathon, whose last record I wasn’t that psyched about, but I feel way differently about the new one. Look for some of these to pop up on Meat Mead Metal soon.

It’s not going to be frosty and cold where I live for many months now, though it’s supposed to be in the mid-50s on Thursday and Friday, which will feel damn close to that since we’re so used to warmer weather this time of year. That might make for suitable weather for the debut full-length  “Bluostar” from Germany’s Fyrnask, a record that feels like an arctic chill on your neck that leaves your skin prickly with goosebumps and your ears and nose numb. That’s at least how I feel about it.

After a well-received demo “Fjorvar ok Benjar” in 2010, this one-man project led by Fyrnd (though some artwork and lyrical portions were contributed by someone named Blutaar) sounds well on its way to establishing itself as one of black metal’s most exciting new acts. What you hear on “Bluostar” isn’t terribly different from any other icy, atmospheric black metal bands, as there’s a nice mix of violent, yet melodic playing and eerie, nature-embracing ambient sections. Many others have done this sort of thing before, such as Negura Bunget, Agalloch, Fauna, Wolves in the Throne Room and Arckanum. But like those bands, Fyrnask manage to carve out a passionate, memorable album that, while using familiar elements, makes a strong statement and etches its way into your mind. It’s a record that, since receiving a download, I’ve sat down with many times. I can only imagine how much better it will sound when the ground is frozen and I have dark, powerful winter ales to enjoy.

The lyrics on “Bluostar” are written in German, so if you aren’t fluent, you might be scrambling to find meaning in all of this – admittedly I know practically zero German, so I can’t quite cull the proper translation, at least lyrically – but it’s impossible not to feel the album’s spirit. Fyrnd dug back into old Northern European tales and rituals and what was intended for passage from the continent’s ancestors to those living today. It sounds like this would be perfect emanating from the deep woods, late at night, while some of those old ghosts still may be wandering, trying to find willing eras to hear their tales. It appears they may have encountered and enraptured Fyrnd one night, and this is what resulted.

The record opens on a gentle conjuring with the ambient cut “At fornu fari,” which sets the stage for the savage and thundering “Evige stier,” proving there’s menace and danger amongst the trees and in the waters. The heavy chanting that opens “Ein eld i djupna” eventually allows the song to unfurl into a dark, creaky blast of metal that might even be appreciated by those who like very early Immortal recordings. It’s one of my favorite songs on the disc. “Bergar” has an oddly digital-style opening that hints at the storm ahead, and that makes its way over land in a calculating manner, making the most of its nearly 10 minutes, eventually opening sky and blasting the earth. It’s both steeped in folklore yet crackling with modern electricity. “Ins Fenn” has moments of a power metal-style gallop and a black-and-roll style, but it has many peaks and valleys over which to cross before your journey ends; and the title cut (translated means offering or sacrifice) begins majestically, and even when it gets heavy, it metes out the crushing in a mid-tempo, but no less heavy manner. It’s an incredibly cathartic song that feels like Fyrnd has torn open his chest and let out everything he stored inside of him.

Aside from the music, the packaging of the record is gorgeous. It’s an attractive digipak created by At the Ends of the Earth Designs (Kampfar, Drautran) that captures the heart of this record perfectly. It’s one of those designs that by looking at the cover, inside and through the booklet, you almost can imagine how this is going to sound before you play it. That’s good news for people who still buy records based on presentation. You won’t be led astray.

As someone who listens to a lot of, and sometime is inundated by, this type of black metal, I found this record incredibly rewarding and, despite the epic running time of many of these songs, nicely timed. The ambient stuff allows moments to take a breath and relax, and Fyrnd keeps the metallic parts interesting, changing on a dime, and always wholly inspired. I’m glad I have my hands on this thing now, because as daylight decreases and the cold air returns, I’ll have a record to complement that time. You can’t have enough of those. At least I can’t.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fyrnask/114847128596890

To buy “Bluostar,” go here: http://templeoftorturous.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=386&XTCsid=53ndjc7vdrhjm0ku2i9it9bcu1

For more on the label, go here: http://www.templeoftorturous.com/

Everyone who knows me well is aware of what kind of year I’m having. It’s been one for the books as far as terrible years are concerned, and it’s only September. But what are you to do? Some things are just out of your control, and you try to live around these matters, no matter how evasive they can be from time to time. We all go there now and again, don’t we?

Many people, when having bad years, weeks, days, whatever, often turn to things for solace or distraction or just to take their minds out of the tank. That could be a book, a walk, cooking up some elaborate dish, talking to a friend, or listening to music. I tend, when going through a particularly tumultuous time, not to lean toward music containing vocals. Let me explain that. See, I want the distraction, but I don’t want words associated with what I’m hearing sometimes because I don’t want that heavy of an emotional connection. I’m thinking enough as it is, and no matter how innocent a line may be, it can drive my mind crazy if it, through no fault of its own, gets associated with something in my head. It’s hard to explain, but a lot of times when I’ve gone through particularly bad moments, songs or albums have taken on a negative connotation because of what I was experiencing at the time. The words got connected to my experiences. Instrumental music, however, seems to flow with me fine, and while the melodies may trigger emotions, for the most part it soothes rather than hurts me.

So I’ve been listening a lot to the new album from Barn Owl, an instrumental duo we’ve discussed before who just offered up their new record “Lost in the Glare” for Thrill Jockey, which follows this year’s mini-release “Shadowland” and 2010’s “Ancestral Star,” which was their first for the label. There’s something reassuring and serene about the songs Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras created for this album, a sort of pathway for concentration and healing that’s created by what these guys do on guitar and keyboard. Typically, when listening to “Lost in the Glare,” I can breathe and sort out what’s in my mind. The chaos seems less disruptive, reality unravels itself a little more succinctly, and while the problems don’t go away, the record allows me that space to work through the fog. I’ve often felt the same way about their other recordings, but this one is on another level, another plane, and for the multi-pronged badness of this year, it’s been one of my go-to escape routes. It’s great for reading, by the way. I know that might sound like I’m calling it background music, but it’s anything but that. Because it stimulates my mind and generally sets me at ease, I find I can absorb what I’m reading better in its presence.

There’s another thing I really love about “Lost in the Glare,” and it strikes about halfway through the album. “Pale Star,” “Turiya” and “Devotion I” all have that beauty, calmness and psychedelic exploration I appreciate so much, without sounding hokey, but once “The Darkness Night Since 1863” strikes, the shit just hits the fan. It’s a smoky, droning, doom-laden cut that hulks and bubbles up like Sunn 0))) or Khanate (minus the manic shrieks), and, for me, it’s been that part of the journey that lets my anger and frustration erupt. It’s OK, when going through a rough stretch, to be furious. You can’t control everything, and why not? That’s amazingly frustrating. It makes me want to pound my hands against granite, but all that’ll cause are broken knuckles and more issues. So this burner is a release and is the most metal composition they’ve ever conjured. And once it’s over, things settle down again. It’s like a cooling-off period, but a richly rewarding one. “Temple of the Winds” has a touch of ’70s acoustic folk, cosmic blips and Western strumming, while “Light Echoes” sits in hypnotic noise drone and eerie melody and closer “Devotion II” opens at ease before turning up the volume and emotion for one hell of an outpouring. It’s the perfect curtain closer for this incredible piece, which is Barn Owl’s best yet.

The guys also used some special techniques to create the rich, organic, spacious sounds of this record, but as I’ve long said, I tend to concentrate less on that stuff and go more for how the music makes me feel. I did include a link below if you’re interested and reading more about their recording approach, as that piece will explain it far better than I ever could. For me, this has allowed me to lapse into daydream, figure out ways to get through the issues of the day with humility and calm, or simply open up my mind so I can see things for what they are. “Lost in the Glare” is a record that, funny enough, is helping me find my way through the darkness, if only a little bit at a time. If you’re having a better year than I and just want to dissolve into a great piece of instrumental art, you’ll find this the perfect setting for such a venture.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.electrictotem.com/

For more on how Barn Owl achieved the sound on this album, go here: http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/index.html?id=12625

To buy “Lost in the Glare,” go here: http://www.thrilljockey.com/catalog/index.html?id=105353

For more on the label, go here: http://www.thrilljockey.com/