Amorphis: Forging the Land

The Finnish death metal band, Amorphis, owns a complex and storied history. In a career that spans two decades, the early years show a band intent on exploration and stretching the boundaries of the metal genre. Known for complex stories from their native mythology (drawing on epic Finnish poetry) and combining death metal, synth elements, and folk influences, Amorphis has produced some of the best progressive heavy metal over the last twenty years.

Over the last six years, they have continued churning out expansive compositions set to elaborate themes of native mythology, demonstrating that these titans of progressive heavy metal are not letting up. After vocalist Pasi Koskinen departed in 2004, the band hired Tomi Joutsen to take the reins. This is the Amorphis that I’m familiar with, specifically from 2006’s Eclipse and 2009’s Skyforger.

Singer Jousten delivers soaring vocals mixed with bellowing screams and deathly growls. Snake-like keyboard runs enhance the raging guitar work, driving percussion and synth flourishes. Touches of delicate piano with muted distorted guitar, like in “House of Sleep” from Eclipse, provide the foundation for Jousten’s dense vocals before tearing into scorching choruses. The result is an immensely lush and full sound. Continually changing textures and ambient effects shape Eclipse into a powerful album. There is something different to discover with each listen.

Skyforger begins with bright piano and heavy guitars on the 6-minute “Sampo.” “Silver Bride” rocks just as hard with both guitars and keyboards backing Jousten’s theatrical vocals. Death growls returns with a grand synth accompaniment on “Majestic Beast.” The unlikely pairing is complimented with tight, arpeggiated guitars, double-bass drumming and clean vocals. The title track follows the grand lyrical themes forged on the preceding tracks: “This here is my place, it my work/ I was made the maker of the sky.” Elaborate compositions are distilled down to digestible song lengths. There are no 10 or 15-minute suites as you find in some progressive metal. Instead, Amorphis uses the entire album as the canvas for their stories, providing the casual listener with enough hooks to draw them into the grander vision.

Amorphis is preparing to release their 10^th studio album, The Beginning of Times, in May. The first single, You I Need, can be heard on their Facebook page. They released a compilation of material from their earlier albums in 2010, making this the first new album since Skyforger. Judging by the new song and the track-by-track preview (also on Facebook and Youtube), this new one will be just has heavy, technical, and epic as everything we have come to expect and desire from Amorphis. This is rock. This is life. What are you listening to?

Sky Is Mine (Live)

House Of Sleep

Looking for more? http://amorphis.net/ ; www.facebook.com/amorphis

Let me know what you think and what else you want to hear. Thanks!

Straight Line Stitch

Male vocalists tend to dominate the world of metal music, but there are many female singers who easily stand their own at the microphone. The contrast between heavy music and elegant vocals creates drama and tension in the overall sound. Bands like Evanescence, Lacuna Coil, We Are The Fallen, and others execute this contrast with epic results. The style of alternating aggressive and clean vocals is also effective at driving up the emotion and intensity of a song. Perhaps less radio-friendly, death metal growls offer a unique emotional edge when coupled with clean vocals. Straight Line Stitch is among a group of bands fronted by a ferocious female singer who uses both vocal styles. They’ve released three albums with Alexis Brown at the helm (I just recently bought the 2^nd, When Skies Wash Ashore, which was their first major label release) and given what I’ve heard, they’re definitely a band that I’m looking forward to seeing on tour this summer.

When Skies Wash Ashore kicks off with brutal, chunky riffs and pummeling drums followed quickly by Brown’s throat-ripping vocals. Her screaming is intense and in pitch, a positive departure from the too-often atonal American hardcore. And as if the death metal growls and howls weren’t evidence enough, her softer side is gutsy and soul-soaked. A number of tracks switch back and forth, pushing the emotion and feel of the songs in varying directions.

In addition to the opener, Never See The Day, there are a number of standout tracks including Eucharist, which features clean vocals with soaring choruses backed by churning riffs. The song Black Veil highlights Brown’s dueling vocal personalities. High-speed hard rock rules on the blistering, yet catchy, What You Do To Me. The album closes with Yesterday’s Gone, a tender track about reflecting on loss. Its gentle acoustic guitar work exposes Brown’s voice and soul, never losing the intensity demonstrated on previous songs. Having just released a new album, Fight Of Our Lives, Straight Line Stitch continues honing its own brand of heavy metal. This band is definitely worth more than a few listens.

Check out the videos for What You Do To Me

... and Black Veil.

This is rock. This is life. What are you listening to?

Who Needs the Grammys Anyway?

Do you watch the Grammy music awards? Yeah, me neither. Over the years there seems to be a lack of metal in the Rock and Metal categories. I heard that the award show was going to make some changes to the categories and to the way that they keep categories and genres relevant to the styles of the day. Perhaps there would be an expanded (or even remotely realistic) rock and metal categorization. This is the not case however. Starting next year, metal will be lumped into the same category as rock and the total number of awards between the two will be reduced. Oh well, so much for staying relevant and in-tune with musical trends.

Country music has its own award show. The CMA’s were on just the other day. I don’t follow country music that much anymore, but I certainly respect and enjoy the genre. The musicians deserve recognition by the industry, peers, and fans. Metal has been trying to the much the same on its own. Revolver Magazine hosts the Golden God awards, which allow the fans to vote on bands, athletes, and celebrities deemed worthy enough for the metal salute. Metal fans nothing if not passionate about their music. With mainstream music generally subbing this talented musical genre, it’s important for fans to have a voice.

I understand that part of this about making money and recognizing the bands that sell the most. For better or worse, the internet has made music cheaper to buy. I pay half what I used pay for CDs 10 or 15 years ago. Music is also more accessible. A band doesn’t have to have songs on the radio and sold-out stadium tours to reach an audience. Combine iTunes, Amazon, and eMusic with social media and there are more outlets for selling music and connecting with fans. However, with so much music at our fingertips, it is easy to get overwhelmed. For every new sound, there could be a new category within a music genre. Suddenly there would be a ton of obscure award categories. A show like the Grammy’s would probably take a month and a half to air on TV.

Unfortunately, this means that even popular metal is relegated to the fringes of mainstream music. Somebody once asked if everyone started listening to my music would I still want to listen to it. The answer is yes! I want everyone to listen to metal. That’s the point of music. And that's why I talk and write about music as much as I do. How do you know that you don’t like something if you’ve never really tried it? Decisions like the ones made by the Academy of Music only serves to narrow the field and keep musicians from reaching a wider audience. In the end, metal will live on.  In the waning hours of the apocalypse, the pop stars will be hiding in their bunkers; metal heads will be singing Pantera. This is rock. This is life. What are you listening to?

Check out Lemmy from Motorhead and Slash playing at the 2010 Golden God Awards. The 2011 show is on April 20th. More info: http://www.revolvermag.com/beta/goldengods

Next week: review of my latest downloads: Trivium, Straight Line Stitch, and Amorphis

Summer Concert Primer

After a long, snowy winter I think I can finally say that spring is here.  It’s a time of renewal and rebirth; a time to drag out the grill and annoy the neighbors with some head-bangin’ tunes. More importantly, it’s time to start thinking about concert season. There are a ton of tours ramping up for this spring and summer and I’m hoping to catch as many as I can. From reunited bands to multiday festivals, there’s a lot to look forward to this year.

Over the winter, both System of a Down and A Perfect Circle reformed for tours. While all the members have been busy with projects, neither band has released a new album in years. Instead, it appears that the driving force is simply the performance. APC is touring the US this summer and bringing new songs. I’ve heard mixed messages about a new CD, but either way, I’m hoping to grab some tickets when they come to Boston. System of a Down is touring on the West Coast – but there’s no East Coast love. Maybe next year.

Widespread Panic is celebrating their 25^th year. I’ve seen these guys three times, both solo and on tour with the Allman Brothers Band. Sure, you can go and download any of their live performance (and I have), but there’s no replacement for seeing them live. It’s hard to believe that in 25 years they’ve never repeated a set list. There are rumors circulating about the life of the band beyond this year’s touring. After all this time no one would blame them for taking a break, but the summer wouldn’t be the same without a Driving Song or some Chilly Water.

It’s been about 10 years since I was at a metal music festival. Lately it seems like all the good stuff is in Europe or Australia. But this year I’m looking forward to heading north to Canada for the Heavy MTL fest in Montreal. Toronto is hosting its own version the same weekend. The lineup for this 2-day fest was too crazy to ignore. Day 1 features a stop by the Rockstar Mayhem tour including Godsmack, Disturbed, In Flames, Trivium, Kingdom of Sorrow, and Straightline Stitch. Day 2 (which alone is worth the ticket price) features Kiss, Motorhead, Opeth, Anthrax, Devildriver, Times of Grace, and others. The Toronto festival also features Rob Zombie and Megadeth with Slayer and Mastodon.



Also check out Trivium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsmWOZRtN8s&feature=related
and Mastodon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3HVLyI-t3E.

There’s one festival that I never miss: Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA. Ten days of music, awesome food, and beer by the mug-full: Musikfest is the only place to be in August. If you’ve never been, I strongly recommend it. Every night features a big concert from mainstream genres including Country, Classic Rock and Pop. But you don’t have buy a ticket to get in. There’s music throughout the day and night. From Blues to Latin to World… and even Polka, there’s plenty of music for every palate. (http://www.fest.org/)

My advice this summer is to get out there and get a heavy dose of music. What else is the summer for anyway? This is rock. This is life. What are you listening to?