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Jazz For The Deaf

SKU: FES4009
Label:
Free Electric Sound
Category:
Fusion/Jazz
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What would you call a power trio that veers seamlessly between shredding peaks, jazzy moods, and fat funky grooves? Mörglbl of course! Often compared to Primus meeting Steve Vai, Mörglbl hits like a heavyweight jab and makes you laugh while you bleed! Mörglbl is the punch you don't see coming!



Packaged in a limited edition digipak, "Jazz For The Deaf" is the fourth album from the world-renowned French jazz metal trio. This band with the unusual name is led by virtuoso guitarist Christophe Godin. Virtuoso bassist Ivan Rougny is complemented by the double bass of new drummer Aurelien Ouzoulias. With the release of "Jazz For The Deaf", Mörglbl has created an album with cross genre appeal. Fans of shred and fusion Gods like Allan Holdsworth, Steve Vai or Freak Kitchen's Mattias Eklundh will find much to sink their teeth into.



After entertaining crowds around the world, Mörglbl performed at Nearfest in 2008. It was the first time in the 10 year history of the festival that an opening act received two encores. This amazing performance sparked a flurry of interest from other festivals, culminating with Mörglbl receiving an invitation to appear at Progday 2009 in Chapel HIll, NC on 9/5/09.

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  • "Four years in the making, Norway's Triosphere returns with their third album, The Heart of the Matter. It was worth the wait. While reviewed previously on this site by another reviewer, this is my first experience with the band.There's many things to like about Triosphere. Not the least of which, for a female-fronted band, is that vocalist and bassist Ida Haukland is a pure melodic metal singer, not swaying to the extremes of operatic or death vocals. Another significant element is simply their superb sense of songwriting. They have an arsenal of weapons to draw from whether an abundance of catchy riffs, a strong melody, vocal harmony, notable rock groove, or sizzling leads. I think, more than anything, the guitar structure, riffs and leads, are rather immense and attractive, propelling the album. You can't avoid the swell of riffs and leads within songs such as Steal Away The Light or As I Call, melodic and inspiring. But Triosphere wraps all these elements up in imaginative and entertaining arrangements, nearing progressive metal, that make for essential melodic metal listening.While the entire album is a rich tapestry of melodic metal, a few songs deserve some attention thanks to some interesting passages within. One is Breathless, a steady sturdy number that has this interesting breakdown after the half way point. The riffs collapse for this light guitar work, almost fusion, over equally slight drums. Another terrific song follows in Departure. It has its share of riffs and some staccato drums, but once more, it's the latter guitar segue that grabs you. More emotive and lighter leads over subtle bass and drums. A third song of interest is the later Remedy with a smooth melody and enormous vocal harmony. But the kicker, once more, is the guitar breakdown in the latter half. Different than the previous songs, it's sharper and heavier, riff based yet fiery, and propelled by some intricate drumming. Finally, the entire swail of riffage is abandoned at the end of the album for the acoustic and gentle ballad Virgin Ground. A respite perhaps? All in all, Triosphere, with The Heart of the Matter, has turned out a rather terrific and enjoyable album of melodic heavy metal. Easily recommended." - Dangerdog
    $9.00
  • Latest from this Italian band create an intelligent mix of folk and power metal.  Love that violin!  Era is spiced up with some special guests: Jon Oliva, Teemu Matysaari (Wintersun), and Maurizio Cardullo (Folkstone).
    $15.00
  • "Probably Bulldozer's most advanced release ever, Neurodeliri starts with a dramatic pipe organ intro that quickly evolves into the massive title track. Although this album still features many of the band's familiar traits, the result is considerably more focused, intense and memorable than IX. Despite some more serious touches, the music on the whole remains strangely uplifting and captivating. Highlights include the awesome title track and Art Of Deception, not to forget about Ilona Had Been Elected which appears to be another amusing song about the band's favorite Ilona Staller. These compositions are not without their rough edges, but eventually all the pieces fit together quite nicely and you can't help really liking some of this release. It seems that with Neurodeliri Bulldozer finally refined their style to the maximum effect." - Classicthrash.com
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  • "Kenny “Rhino” Earl is involved in two projects this year (so far). One is the new metal super group Death Dealer with Sean Peck, Stu Marshall, and Ross the Boss, offering their debut War Master. The other is this album Thundergod, the second appearance of his band Angels of Babylon.The two project are interesting juxtaposition in heavy metal. The former is bombastic, punch you in the face, kick you in the balls, even coarse, heavy metal. Thundergod is more towards melodic heavy and power metal. The emphasis in the metal here is more melody and harmony, while still remaining powerful and driven.Frankly, this is the more favorable, and accessible, of the two projects. For one thing, against the Death Dealer project and for AoB, you won't feel a need to take a break from this album because it's sledghammering your head into mush. Rhino takes a different approach in his songwriting, persuading you not only with metal, but a hard rock groove and an abundance of overt uncompromising melody. You get this throughout, but welcome, notable and enjoyable in Sondrio, Queen Warrior, True Brothers, or the racing metal rocker, Bullet. Sure AoB can get rougher, heavier, with The Enemy or King of All Kings, but it's never at the expense of good melody. This formula allows for some songs to develop into anthems with an epic feel with Redemption and Turning the Stone. Additionally, Rhino handles all the vocals on this album, and also adds to the timbre of the music with his melodic metal vocal style. Frankly, Thundergod is top notch melodic heavy metal. Very recommended." - Dangerdog.com
    $10.00
  • "Skewered blasts of noisome, Red metal shatters through rough and tumble landscapes of shuddering percussion, ominous, gravelly basslines and wheezing synths. An all-instrumental bulldozer of an album..." – i/eHappy Family first appeared in the early 1990s as part of the explosion of exciting, underground bands that came roaring out of Japan at that time, such as Ruins, Bondage Fruit, Tipographica and Boredoms.An instrumental quartet of keyboards, guitar, bass and drums, they released two albums of over-the-top, metal, King Crimson & Magma influenced avant-progressive rock for Cuneiform Records in 1995 (Happy Family) & 1997 (Toscco) and then fell silent...until now!Reforming with 3 of the 4 members of the group who appeared on Tossco:Kenichi Morimoto - keyboardsTakahiro Izutani - guitarKeiichi Nagasse - drumsand with new bassist Hidemi Ichikawa, 15 years later, they are back with a fantastic new release, Minimal Gods, and just as heavy and intense as they ever were and they still sound like no one else except Happy Family!
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  • New edition of this wonderful third album from one of Canada's best progressive bands. Originally released in 1976, Ni Vent...Ni Nouvelle is classic Maneige - a sumptuous blend of keys, reeds, guitar, bass and percussion. The instrumental sextet is augmented by a string section. The music is a bit reminiscent of Camel and Gentle Giant with more than a touch of jazz rock thrown in. This new version features four bonus live tracks. Highly recommended.
    $12.00
  • "Much like my addiction to Swiss roll, for some people more is never enough. You’d have thought two wildly successful “day jobs” would be enough to keep some folks busy. But not so for Katatonia lead vocalist Jonas Renkse and The Pineapple Thief front man Bruce Soord. Clearly they've got too much time on their hands as they have come together to create Wisdom Of Crowds. I can tell you now, I am eternally grateful that these two chaps did a bit of moonlighting. As will you.Originally written for Renkse’s voice, Soord sought out the acclaimed vocalist to complete the compositions and release the music to the masses. In doing so, Bruce Soord has found the perfect foil for the music he has written. Which is all at once jagged, sharp, melodic, aggressive, tender, sparse and loud. What anchors it all together, what makes it a cohesive mix, is Renkse’s vocals. His delivery is sublime. But we’ll come to that in a bit…Album opener ‘Pleasure’ sets up the album with Renkse’s weary and plaintive voice stretching across the track as it morphs from electronic intro to a upbeat mix of live instruments, effects and sounds. This album is different to their respective bands yet retains enough familiarity to comfort fans of both. Title track ‘Wisdom Of Crowds’ evokes a faint vibe of early Gotan Project with its horns and sparsely placed guitar lines whilst ‘Radio Star’ leaves you haunted…. leaves you looking for something as Renkse sings "give you the lights, give you the stars, give you a sign".Standout track of the album is ‘Frozen North’. It’s simply stunning. A melancholic guitar line awash with strings coupled with Renkse’s beautifully evocative vocal melodies and lyrics transporting you to a place of reflection. When, 4 minutes into the song, we descend musically into a fantastically out-there blend of electronica with jagged shards of glitchy noise rhythmically pounding towards the conclusion of the song. It just feels right and natural. It feels magnificent.Next up we have ‘The Light’, a more traditional (as in what the uninitiated imagine it to be) prog tune that is reminiscent of Saucerful-era Floyd with its backwards guitar and drumbeats. It’s 7 minutes of pure progressive music: bluesy guitar licks on a bed of synths with again startlingly intimate vocals.  ‘Pretend’ counters this with aggressive shards of guitar playing from Soord.With that we head into the final 3 tracks on the album. The triumvirate of the album in fact. I’ve genuinely never heard an album FINISH with such breathtakingly songs. Most artists would have put these tracks at the top of the album such is their magnificence. ‘Stacked Naked’ shimmers into view with a tenderly melodic  intro backed with some wonderfully harmonised vocals. Renkse’s lyrics painfully urging "if anyone should ask how the story goes just pretend we're almost there just pretend....pretend.....". ‘Centre of Gravity’ is a song that made me think of the bond of friendship, of the shared experiences, of the sharing of secrets and hopes and dreams. It ends with Jonas repeating "hold out your hand", a plea to never let go of what once was but also as an offer of support. And finally ‘Flows Though You’ arrives with a wail of siren and simmering aggression. Renkse defiantly proclaiming "I can lose but I will never break" as the song heads towards a cacophony of drums, guitars and electronica.So. After all that what is this album like?Jonas Renkse’s vocals and lyrics are the highlight of this album. They are the lynchpin of the entire record. No matter where the music goes, no matter what genre it delves into, the guiding light is his voice, his delivery and inflection. In Soord, he has found a collaborator that can create music that uses every aspect of his voice and talent.It is a stunning album in both depth and range of emotion and music. It captures so many genres and yet defies labels. Part rock, part electronic it's all blended together to create and album that lifts you up, makes you think and most importantly makes you FEEL. There is a hypnotic use of space and dynamics from the frailest most intimate ambience to bombastic guitar driven sections that lift your spirits. It is everything you can want from an album and more." - Echoes And Dust 
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  • After Peter Baumann left the band, Froese and Franke experimented with different lineups.  1979's studio album features new member Klaus Krieger who adds drums to the mix.  Froese dusts off the guitar and lays down some of his great tripped out solos.  This adds another dimension to the heavily sequenced sounds and frankly the melding of space rock and electronics is quite successful.New edition - remastered from the original master tapes includes a bonus track.
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  • This is another one of those classic Renaissance radio broadcasts that tape traders have circulated for years.  It gets an "official" release courtesy of Purple Pyramid.  It was recorded on the Turn Of The Cards tour at the Academy Of Music in NYC on May 17, 1974.  If you are fan and you don't have a cassette squirrelled away somewhere you need to own it.
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  • Remixed and remastered edition comes with a bonus CD with instrumental tracks and demos."Death was unquestionably one of the, and arguably the primary innovators of the death metal genre, but it was with this album that Death truly built their legacy as one of the greatest metal bands ever. This marked a new phase for Death, turning them from a band into essentially a Chuck Schulinder solo project, with every song on this album, and all future Death albums, being written by Chuck alone. This also marked the beginning of a series of releases of rare, extraordinary quality culminating in the release of the phenemenol Sound of Perseverance, which I consider to be the best Death album, and one of the few greatest albums ever recorded by anyone. If you haven't heard any Death, that is perhaps a better place to start, but this fantastic release still belongs in any metal fans collection, and is probably my second favorite Death album.Though Death was initially a pure Death metal band, this release and all future Death releases are better described as progressive death-thrash, perhaps leaning a bit more towards the thrash side. It's difficult to say why this is, other than to say that it feels more like thrash than death, to me anyway. Though it maintains much of the increased brutality of death metal, the riffs are very thrashy structurally, and they are always clean and crisp, not blurry and noisy as they tend to be in fast death metal. As a whole the riffs come a cross as a stylistic melding of those found in Reign in Blood and Beneath the Remains. Similarly, the drumming tends to be more thrashy, avoiding the blast-beat style drumming also common to death metal. Speaking of the drumming, Sean Reinert of Cynic is a fantastic drummer, though I prefer the later work of Gene Hoglan and Richard Christy. Sean doesn't seem to have as much personality stylistically as do those 2. To his advantage, he is probably the most accomplished double bass drummer I've ever heard, with even more extensive use of them than the latter 2. He can do them incredibly fast, but still mixes up the tempos more than any drummer I've heard. The rhythm guitar work is excellent as well, some of the fastest and most technically accomplished work around. Chuck seems unable to write an uninteresting riff. The solos/leads are good, but not great, and not nearly as good as they'd become just one album later. They still have their moments, particularly on the instrumental Cosmic Sea and and Lack of Comprehension. The bass is, sadly, pretty much MIA except on the aforementoined Cosmic Sea, where he does a nice, if short solo. Chuck's inimitable vocals fit the music very well, and he writes some thoughtful lyrics.The only real conceivable complaint against this album is that other than the relatively mellow instrumental it has little variety. The intensity rarely relents, and it tends to focus on the extremely fast tempos, though every track drops down to more mid-paced tempos at leat occasionally. However, though it lacks variety, it is very consistent, with the track quality ranging from very good to brilliant. The opener, Flattening of Emotions is probably my favorite track, and is the fastest and most unrelentingly intense track on the album, though it still has a very memorable chorus. The next track, Suicide Machine, is another standout. A bit slower, though it still knows when to kick it up to speed and its got another strong chorus. Lack of Comprehension is another speedy number, with some nice stuttering, jumpy riffs and short leads thrown in as well.(It also has the best solo on the album.) Anyway, enough about the individual tracks. They all rule.Thats really about all I got to say. Truly, a great metal album. Get it."
    $13.00
  • The seeds for The Fullness Of Time were planted with the band's self-titled debut in the summer of 2002. That album features members of Fates Warning, Steel Prophet, and Symphony X. Redemption leader Nick van Dyk prevailed upon his close friend, Fates Warning lead singer Ray Alder, to take the producer's chair.The band quickly gathered a following in the metal underground, and received rave reviews from the press, which recognized the band for its combination of intensity, progression and melody. The German magazine Rock Hard awarded it 9 out of 10 points. The accolades culminated in a performance at ProgPower in September 2002. Alder also joined the band on stage as a guest performer.With a newly revised lineup in place, Van Dyk set to work writing and recording the follow-up, and upon hearing the completed music, Alder asked to join the band as its full-time vocalist in the summer of 2004. The band recorded its sophomore release, The Fullness of Time, and van Dyk selected Tommy Newton, known for his production work with such bands as Conception, Ark, Helloween and UFO, to mix and master the record.Once again, the music combines heaviness, complexity and irresistible melody drawing on such diverse influences as Kansas, Savatage, Iron Maiden, Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Rush and Megadeth. The Fullness of Time promises to be one of 2005's most unique and compelling offerings in the prog/power genre.
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  • After a 10 year absence Enchant are back.  The band started in 1993 making them one of the earliest prog metal band.  Actually they are sort of an interesting band in that they seem to exist in both the prog rock and prog metal realms.  Some metal fans think of them as a bit lightweight and some prog rock fans think they are too heavy!  One thing is for sure they are wildly successful.  This is definitely prog but it never loses sight of the melody.  Fronted by the great Ted Leonard (who is now doing double duty with Spock's Beard) this one is a no-brainer - whether you are metal or prog head.  "irst impressions are the similarities to Spock’s Beard. Hardly surprising since Ted Leonard has been singing with them since 2011. He’s been with Enchant longer; their first CD came out in 1993. And familiarity doesn’t breed contempt here, fortunately.Bay area progressive rockers, they steer a straight course composing guitar-structured songs that they extemporise over. Guitarist Douglas A Ott is also the band’s main producer, with The Great Divide having been recorded at his own studio, but if in the past the band’s followed his direction they’re now more involved after a ten year gap working on other projects. Also, while integral, Ott doesn’t dominate Enchant’s sound but flows in and out adding a hard rock bias to their generic musical flavouring. Drummer/percussionist Sean Flanegan and bassist Ed Platt have the solidity of early Kansas and musically there are some pretty snazzy and often too brief keyboard solos from Bill Jenkins.A rolling cyclical bass line forms the basis of opening number ‘Circles’ with Leonard pondering life going round well, like a circle – while the lyrics aren’t profound they feel right and though this isn’t a concept album, despite the band stating otherwise, there are common themes concerning the human condition in a loosely existential manner. Mainly straight verse and choruses ‘Circles’ breaks out into more complicated time signatures before an acoustic comes to the fore, vocals return, an electric guitar take over and it concludes with a nicely warm keyboard solo. ‘Within An Inch’ follows with a steady rock backbeat over which Ott’s playing echoes Camel’s Andy Latimer interrupted briefly by some John Ellis punk-styled sirening. ‘The Great Divide’ follows suit in a more epic manner, the arrangement akin to Genesis in their golden period.Enchant don’t play with the fairies, despite what their name suggests. If anything they’re two steps removed from an AOR sound leaning in towards early Asia with some latter day Beatles thrown in, and a less grandiose take on Spock’s Beard. One might refer to them as technically proficient rather than emotionally overwrought, meaning there is a heartfelt flavour to their songs, and they tend to grow on you.The subdued opening to ‘Life In A Shadow’ throws a brief curveball echoing the Canterbury sound of Hatfield & The North before a heavy chorded chorus takes this into a rocking tune with soulful harmonies. ‘Deserve To Feel’ pours on the technical drumming and dribbling triplet bass figures with some flashy pyrotechnics predominantly on guitar but with keen keyboard flourishes, moving into a more intricate musical score as Jenkins and Ott trade inspired lines towards its conclusion. Likewise, ‘Here And Now’ builds reflectively moving towards emotional drama.Finely composed, played well, Enchant’s The Great Divide might not have you falling under its spell, but you may well be surprised how you find yourself being drawn to playing it." - The Midland Rocks
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  • • A NEW 3 CD/1 BLU RAY REMASTERED BOXED SET EDITION OF THE CLASSIC BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST ALBUM.• FEATURING A NEW REMASTER OF THE ORIGINAL ALBUM MIX, ALONG WITH NEW 5.1 SURROUND SOUND AND STEREO MIXES BY STEPHEN W. TAYLER.• PLUS A RARE BBC JOHN PEEL CONCERT APPEARANCE FROM 1971,RARE OUT-TAKES AND THE 1972 SQ QUADROPHONIC MIX.• INCLUDES A LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED BOOK WITH ESSAY BY KEITH AND MONIKA DOMONE.Released in February 1971, Barclay James Harvest’s second album was recorded at Abbey Road studios and was produced by Norman Smith. Widely regarded as one of the band’s early masterpieces, ‘Once Again’, the album was critically acclaimed upon its release and featured the Barclay James Harvest symphony orchestra and eventually attained Gold disc status.This new expanded edition features three CDs and an all-region Blu ray disc and comprises 44 tracks. The set features the original UK stereo mix remastered from the original master tapes and also includes stunning new 5.1 Surround Sound and stereo mixes by Stephen W. Tayler, a new remaster of the 1972 SQ Quad mix of the album and a multi-channel version of the 1972 Quad mix.In addition, there is also a rare live performance recorded for BBC Radio One’s John Peel in February 1971, and seven further rare bonus tracks, including an early version of ‘Mocking Bird’ and the full version of the unreleased piece ‘White Sails (A Seascape). The set also includes a lavishly illustrated booklet with a new essay Barclay James Harvest experts Keith and Monika Domone and a replica of a 1971 promotional poster.Track Listing:DISC ONEOnce Again – The original stereo mix remastered1 She Said2 Happy Old World3 Song for Dying4 Galadriel5 Mocking Bird6 Vanessa Simmons7 Ball and Chain8 Lady LovesBonus tracks9 Too Much on Your Plate10 Happy Old World (Take One)11 She Said (BBC John Peel Concert 1971)12 Mockingbird (BBC John Peel Concert 1971)13 Dark Now My Sky (BBC John Peel Concert 1971)DISC TWOOnce Again – The new stereo mixes1 She Said (new stereo mix)2 Happy Old World (new stereo mix)3 Song for Dying (new stereo mix)4 Galadriel (new stereo mix)5 Mocking Bird (new stereo mix)6 Vanessa Simmons (new stereo mix)7 Ball and Chain (new stereo mix)8 Lady Loves (new stereo mix)Bonus tracks9 Mocking Bird (first version – May 1970)10 Too Much on Your Plate (new stereo mix)11 White Sails (A Seascape) (complete version)DISC THREEOnce Again – The 1972 SQ Quadrophonic mix1 She Said (1972 SQ Quad mix)2 Happy Old World (1972 SQ Quad mix)3 Song for Dying (1972 SQ Quad mix)4 Galadriel (1972 SQ Quad mix)5 Mocking Bird (1972 SQ Quad mix)6 Vanessa Simmons (1972 SQ Quad mix)7 Ball and Chain (1972 SQ Quad mix)8 Lady Loves (1972 SQ Quad mix)Bonus tracks9 Galadriel (non-orchestral version)10 Mocking Bird (non-orchestral version)DISC FOUROnce Again96 kHz / 24-bit new 5.1 Surround Sound mix / new Stereo mixes /original stereo mix & 1972 Quadrophonic Mix1 She Said2 Happy Old World3 Song for Dying4 Galadriel5 Mocking Bird6 Vanessa Simmons7 Ball and Chain8 Lady LovesBonus tracks9 Too Much on Your Plate10 White Sails (A Seascape) (complete version)
    $36.00
  • "‘Idiosynchratically beautiful’. These are two words that have stuck with me for nearly 20 years and which I recall almost every time I hear or read the name Arcturus. These words were quoted on an advert for the Norwegian band’s 1997 release, ‘La Masquerade Infernale’ within an issue of either Terrorizer or Metal Hammer magazine; I can’t remember which. What I do remember was that I was deeply into a stage of black metal discovery at the time and this quote resonated with me for some reason. I took the punt and received the album as a Christmas present. It wasn’t love at first listen; instead it was a slow and steady slog that has ended in a lasting and deep love affair. It was the track ‘Ad Astra’ that was the catalyst for repeat listens. Full of drama, avant-garde vaudevillian oddness and a compelling crescendo, it impressed me and forced me to listen to the remainder of the album more than perhaps I might otherwise have done.It is arguable that in the intervening years, Arcturus have never managed to hit the heights of ‘La Masquerade Infernale’. Neither 2002’s ‘The Sham Mirrors’ nor ‘Sideshow Symphonies’ spoke to me in the same way and despite containing some outstanding moments, I came away both times with feelings of slight disappointment. And that, as they say was that. In terms of original studio albums, nothing has been released since; indeed after the release of ‘Shipwrecked in Oslo’ in 2006, the band called it quits with the individual members going on to do different things. And so it has remained until now.Rumours were rife from around 2011 when various members made comments that alluded to a resurrection of the band and later that year the rumours were confirmed. However, for one reason or another it has taken until 2015 for a new original recording to see the light of day, a development that has been greeted with great euphoria amongst the loyal Arcturus following.Arcturus version 2015 is comprised of Steinar Sverd Johnsen (keys), Hellhammer (drums), Knut Magne Valle (guitar), Hugh ‘Skoll’ Mingay (bass) and ICS Vortex (vocals). Together, they have created an album very much worthy of their lofty status and one that I would argue just about manages to match the quality of ‘La Masquerade Infernale’. The only reason I hedge my bets and say ‘just about’ is because I’ve only had about three days with ‘Arcturian’ as opposed to the 18 years I’ve had to enjoy ‘La Masquerade Infernale’. That said, I’ve listened to ‘Arcturian’ more times than I care to mention in recent days and it gives me chills on each and every listen. It is complex, quirky, brilliantly composed and professionally executed. I have no doubt that with even more time and attention, it’ll delight and captivate me even more than it does already.The one thing that perhaps I wasn’t expecting was the sheer amount of melody and accessibility that ‘Arcturian’ displays. It’s no exaggeration to say that for all of the complexity and raw heaviness, almost every track on the album contains a melody, lead vocal or some kind of hook that makes me sit up and take real notice. When I listen to new music, I have a tendency to make an ‘oooh’ noise and smile broadly if something excites me. I suspect that there will be some of you out there who do something similar. On ‘Arcturian’, I admit to ‘ooh’-ing all over the place.One of main reasons why this album feels so melodic and accessible is, I believe down to vocalist ICS Vortex. Yes he is an acquired taste but so unique is his delivery and so impressive is his range that seemingly very little is off-limits. He complements the music beautifully, managing sound both majestic but also a little unstable, as if he could spiral out of control at any moment. I mean, at times, he sounds like he’s yodelling for heaven’s sake; it’s superb.Onto the compositions themselves, they are all dense, multi-layered affairs that contain an abundance of richness. There are no songs that tend to extend over six minute mark and yet, such is the ambition of Arcturus that it feels like a million different ideas are injected into each composition, testing the listener and toying with them at every turn. I strongly suspect that this has been done with a certain playful, yet mischievous intent. Those strong Vaudervillian overtones of the band’s past make a welcome return, as do a number of various influences that pull Arcturus away from being simply discarded as a black metal band. As they demonstrate on ‘Arcturian’, there are elements of black metal to their underlying sound but they deliver so much more that to pigeonhole them in such a way would be inaccurate and disingenuous.Opening track, ‘The Arcturian Sign’, starts off somewhat disconcertingly with weird electronic noises and sounds. It’s a typically eccentric beginning which soon gives way to those unmistakable vocals of ICS Vortex and, at its core, a black metal meets prog composition. Dominated by powerful synths and relentless double pedal drumming, those odd sounds like laser guns nevertheless re-surface throughout. But within the tumult and idiosyncrasies is a really catchy, hook-laden chorus.‘Crashland’ has a light and breezy feel to it, taking in influences from space rock, folk music and more extreme climes. The sweeping synths are immediately reminiscent of the ‘La Masquerade Infernale’ era, as they are during my personal standout track, ‘Game Over’ with its addictive melodies and the way it builds and morphs so elegantly from one guise to another almost imperceptibly, ending in a crescendo of sorts that elicits another ‘ooh’ from my lips.‘Angst’ is a powerful and more extreme slab of metal, dominated by a blistering tempo, tortured screams atop another strong synth melody and the threat of a descent into chaos on more than one occasion. ‘Warp’ on the other hand introduces more electronic influences but has such an imposing and catchy melody that it’s impossible to ignore. ‘Demon’ has demonstrable Gothic synth pop overtones whereas ‘Pale’ delights with a marvellous driving central riff, a great chorus of sorts and some of the most varied and brilliant vocals on the entire record. The album ends with ‘Bane’, a track that further backs up the gorgeous ‘The Journey’ by providing amongst other things, some truly beautiful and subtle acoustic guitar playing which is a real joy.For all that, I have to say that ‘Arcturian’ is an album that’s best enjoyed in its entirety rather than picking and choosing individual songs. The album has a distinct flow and overall feel that helps to make it as special as it is, something that could be lost if listened to in a piecemeal manner.For the sake of balance, my only small gripe relates to the production which I think is a little on the weak side and robs some of the aforementioned richness from the music. Occasionally, the layers of music come together is a slightly messy muddle of impenetrable white noise which is a bit disappointing. But then again, there’s a certain ‘old-school’ charm to the mix too, reminding me of their heyday more than once. Maybe therefore, the production is entirely deliberate, those naughty scamps.It’s almost impossible sum up ‘Arcturian’ in a concise manner and do it the justice it deserves, except to say that if you’re a fan of Arcturus at their most original, challenging, audacious and quirky, prepare to take ‘Arcturian’ straight to your heart." - Man Of Much Metal
    $15.00