Currents

Currents

The Place I Feel Safest

SharpTone Records

Growing up with my two brothers one of us would ask “Who wants a fight?”.

The sofa was eased back and to protect our pocket money, breakables were safely stashed behind it.  The Place I Feel Safest by Currents would have been the perfect accompaniment to the flailing limbs and the punishment we exchanged.  Coming from Connecticut, above New York, with a new vocalist in Brian Wille, and a new label in SharpTone, Currents have released an exciting dynamic djent album full of brutal riffs, aggressive vocals, perfectly weighted bass and the drums of founding member Jeff Brown.  Extreme metal may be polarising but this band impressed me with the technical brilliance of their onslaught on the ears.  Screaming vocals dominate each track for a journey through the soul of the vocalist.  Interest is maintained by the balancing of the gloomy songs with the buoyant guitars of Ryan Castaldi and Chris Wiseman.  What I liked about this band is they know how to build drama through the clever use of either melody, exquisite clean vocals or harmonies that demonstrate they possess a complexity with hints of a broader appeal than this heavy genre is sometimes criticised for.

NE

Cellar Darling

Cellar Darling

This Is The Sound

Nuclear Blast

Swiss outfit Cellar Darling, formed only last summer after musical differences in the folk metallers band Eluveite, create a multifaceted alternative pathway using the reinvention of folk tales for the modern age as their inspiration.  The band is driven by the intelligent and powerful drumming of Merlin Sutter, leaving space for his fellow musicians , Ivo Henzi  (guitars/bass)  and Anna Murphy (vocals/ hurdy gurdy/flute/ keyboards),  to fashion their new musical direction with confidence and panache.

Heavy riffs, an extensive vocal range from sheer power to the ethereal, and compelling percussion, produce an engaging and refreshing encounter. The hurdy gurdy (a stringed instrument that looks as terrifying as a crossbow), gives the sound a timeless feel with its drone-like quality.  It became popular in the Renaissance period, which means “rebirth” in French.  It’s a very apt description for this experienced trio for their debut album “This Is The Sound”.

NE

Wintersun - Metal Review

Wintersun

The Forest Seasons

Nuclear Blast Records

My spirit and soul soared at the intensity of the listening experience of the third studio album from Wintersun, a Finnish metal band that is fronted by Jari Mäenpää (vocals, studio guitars, and programming) with Kai Hahto providing an impressive energy on drums especially with his pummelling blast beats.  The whole band was involved in the production of this breath-taking release.  It is the elaborate delivery of the imaginative ideas on this project over four tracks (54 minutes running time) that holds your complete attention. Like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, each track gives a musical expression to a season but the difference here is this is a year seen through a mythical forest and the album demands a listen in its entirety to fully appreciate the genius of  this masterpiece.  Black metal and clean vocals - especially on the last track Loneliness (Winter), intricate mixes, recurring themes, choral and orchestral arrangements  are spliced with the ferocious guitars of Teemu Mäntysaari and new addition  Asim Searah.  The peerless time-signature and tempo changes that feel so much more natural than many other bands help to make this recording one of my top ten albums of all time.  It’s hard to find fault with a release that Mr Mäenpää  calls his first perfect album he’s ever done.  The Forest Seasons could become a present-day classic.

NE