Checking out that Ihlo's second album Legacy made me up for doing the same with their other album, the 2019 debut Union. The album spawned two different categories of listeners; the fans who think it's brilliant and the purists who think they're ripping off other bands. I'm closer to the former category, finding potential brilliance in this album. At the time, this UK djenty progressive metal band had a 3-man lineup of vocalist/keyboardist Andy Robison, guitarist/bassist Phil Munro, and drummer Clark McMenemy. They would expand that lineup for touring shortly after this album's release. And while they're not copying bands like Tesseract, Haken, or Leprous, the influences show...

Tesseract is actually the most common band to compare Ihlo to, since they're djenty prog-metal bands from the UK. They don't sound that identical to each other. If there's a Tesseract album that sounds like Ihlo, it would be Altered State. What they do is add more melodies to balance out with the heavy downtuned riffing. And the vocals are all clean singing, flowing smoothly with those rhythms and electronics. There actually a couple issues that don't make Union as amazing as Legacy. Here the production sounds like it's a little too much. Even though there's real drumming, it almost sounds like they were programmed. But what am I to judge? The sound still impresses me and the band was really making their leap into the scene.

The opening title track is a solid start to this album and the band's discography. You already know what they're going for; progressive songs while making simple catchy twists. "Reanimate" is greatly structured as the riffing blends in with the strong choruses. I guess if you wanna be technical, that's the actual first taste of Ihlo, being the first single, and one of my favorite ones at that! "Starseeker" starts off tough then leads to more ambient verses. The band is in full force is in the chorus and the ending section.

"Hollow" is the best song to put in the middle of the album. There's a lot of electronic texture, with a few bursts of heaviness to make that song a highlight. "Triumph" almost lives up to its name. Beautiful riffing melody to bless your djent heart!

We're already getting to the climactic last leg of the album, starting with "Parhelion". Lots of insane synthy prog-metal talent! A nice stylistic homage to Periphery from start to finish. "Coalescence" ends the album as a 15-minute epic. This is where the band put in all their strength and talent to make a djent symphony full of riffing and ambience. The best for last has to be the glorious second half, when riffing rhythm and ambient melody collide for an out-of-this-world spell of hope.

All in all, Ihlo show their influences while having the uniqueness people seem to overlook. The blend of melodies and riffing show what geniuses those guys are, and if you stick to the bitter end, you get to witness all of its grandeur. Lots of creative energy in Union, though they would have more of that in their next offering....

Favorites: "Reanimate", "Hollow", "Parhelion", "Coalescence"

I've checked out this band Genitorturers before, and I thought their material was pretty great. However, what was holding me back from fully enjoying this band is the amount of NSFW and BDSM they have in their aesthetics and lyrics. While I don't totally mind all that, it's obviously not the kind of band to share in the world outside the internet. With that said, I'm up to revisiting a release from this sex-fueled electro-industrial rock/metal band...

Flesh in the Law is a release made in around 2001 or 2002, compiling new tracks and live renditions of earlier tracks. They still have this kinky fetish sh*t that's actually kinda cool and intriguing if you're used to hearing about it. The music can entertain me quite well.

First track "Lecher B***h" is best known for appearing in the soundtrack for the video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. Sadly for me, it's f***ing bad. This is where I draw the line in the band's BDSM themes being too on the nose. "Public Enemy" is better but not that exciting. Luckily we have the title track which I absolutely love and has let me know about the better side of the band. "Guns Are Good" is also a good favorite of mine.

Now the live tracks are in the same kind of mixed ratio as the new tracks, starting with the great "House of Shame". Then "Terrorvision" falls as flat as those first two tracks. "All Hell Breaks Loose" makes up for it with its sheer intensity. "120 Days" is a good encore yet it has made me remember the original version from the debut that I prefer.

Besides the energetic music, the vocals of Gen have that perfect primal edge that fits in well with the sound. And honestly, the usage of electronics blended with this metal sound is similar to that of one of Fear Factory's earlier remix releases. Maybe if this band wasn't so BDSM-heavy, they would have the mainstream success Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails have. Nonetheless, Flesh is the Law is a good EP worth listening to. Just skip the bad tracks and keep the highlights to yourself....

Favorites: "Flesh is the Law", "House of Shame", "Guns Are Good", "All Hell Breaks Loose"

Pillorian dropped onto my radar in 2017 with the release of their debut, and sadly only release, Obsidian Arc. I recall it was well spoken of amongst internet peers of the time, and it retained at least one play a year in the ensuing nine-year period with me. Apparently, somebody in Pillorian said something that was deemed unsavoury by the rest of the band and so they split up in 2019. I have no idea what the comment/s were and nor do I care to find out, I only mention the incident to provide context of the band being no more despite releasing such a promising debut. Hailing from the hotbed of metal music that is Portland, Oregon, the band consisted of Agalloch’s John Haughm on vocals and guitars, bassist/guitarist Stephen Parker and former Uada drummer Trevor Matthews. Eisenwald records recently had a sale, I needed some more vinyl and Obsidian Arc got nabbed, putting it onto my “to review” pile.

It is important to say that I have little time for Agalloch. I find pretty much anything that they have done to be dull and over-indulgent. I am aware that places me in a minority, but nonetheless, it is the truth. Whilst I cannot say that Pillorian stray miles away from the Agalloch template (the second half of the album at times gets uncomfortably close in fact), they do possess enough nihilistic misanthropy to present as a black metal band that are much more in the boundaries of appeal for me. The themes here do speak to my general derisory view of humanity and my particular interest in societal collapse, although the depth does get a little too reflective at times for me. Yet, as perhaps you would expect, everything is written to a high standard. Song structures are robust and the arrangement is thought through as opposed to just a scattergun approach to proceedings. The instrumentation is of a very high standard, and the production is professional if not perhaps a little too clean at times for a black metal record.

Genres are explored here alongside sub-genres, and these explorations do wander outside of metal altogether at some points with post-punk vibes appearing to my ears. In the main however, you have a combination of atmospheric black metal with elements of doom thrown in for interesting measure which I have seen noted in an online review as resulting in “easy listening black metal”. That seems a tad of a stretch for me, especially given the very negative tones of the themes of the record, yet this is not a record for fans of raw bm by any means.

As I understand it, Agalloch was on hiatus (or believed gone for good) when this album got released, following a relatively poorly received final record from them. I have no knowledge of that album to provide any comparison and given this is a different band also, it would seem unfair to try and draw any. Taken on individual merit, Obsidian Arc is finely crafted as a black metal record that is unafraid of a little exploration. More importantly, the members have the maturity and ability to carry that experimentation off and make the record a success.

"Harbinger of Metal" was released in 2003 as an EP between the trio's first two albums and in the midst of a spate of split releases with the likes of Minotauri and Orodruin. I say it was released as an EP because it has a runtime of over 73 minutes, more than most full-length albums, but was still steadfastly labelled an EP by the band themselves. I am not sure why this would be because most of the material is consistent with that on the three main full-lengths, but then again Albert Witchfinder tended to do things his own way and for his own reasons so who am I to question the decision.

Anyway, there is some great stuff on here, with Strange Horizons and its awesome doom-laden riff (one of the band's best) being my pick. Of the seven tracks available three are quite short with "Harbinger" being a kind of introductory scene-setter and "The Ambassador" and "Into the Realms of Magickal Entertainment" being little more than interludes, so the bulk of the hour and a quarter is taken up by just four tracks, which is pretty much par for the course with the Reverend. To say that Reverend Bizarre know their shit when it comes to traditional doom metal is an understatement. During the mid-2000's they pretty much wrote the book on producing epic-length trad doom sagas and are still very much the yardstick against which I personally measure any other trad doom act of the last 25 years. The simple fact is that if a band are going to produce tracks that rely so heavily on the lengthy repetition of riffs then those riffs need to be pretty damn good and in this regard Rev Biz have very few equals. It is very hard to think of any other doom metal band that manage to do so much with so little but the sheer ponderous momentum they achieve with Witchfinder's prominently mixed bass boosting the crushing weight of Peter Vicar's riffing is a marvel to behold. That said, if you are of a more impatient mindset then maybe RB aren't the band for you because they really do like to draw things out and sometimes go to extremes on this front, repeating a riff over and over, well past the point of comfort, a charge which could certainly be levelled at the first part of "From the Void", at least until it turns into an Earl of Void drum solo! I am not the biggest fan of drum solos, so the five minutes in the middle of the track here is a bit of a challenge even for me I must admit. Things are certainly redeemed though with "The Wandering Jew" being another classic slab of doom metal goodness with yet another top RB riff. For this track and "Strange Horizons" alone the EP is well worth the entry fee, but throw in Rev Biz's hulking, doom-laden interpretation of Burzum's "Dunkelheit" that adds crushing weight to the icy, frigid melancholy of the original and we have another doom metal winner on our hands.

Reverend Bizarre truly were one of the finest traditional doom metal bands ever with a distinctive and authentic sound (and sometimes a wicked sense of humour) that pushed trad doom to its extremes whilst still remaining exceedingly listenable. Whilst this EP may not be their best release with, admittedly, a couple of weaker moments, which the band may have realised themselves hence the reason why it was separated from the main full-lengths by the EP designation, when it is good it is absolutely top drawer and as such is definitely worth the time of any discerning doom head.

Since forming in 1997, Elvenking has made their nearly 3-decade journey of blending the power metal of Blind Guardian and Helloween with the folk metal of Skyclad. They were one of my favorite bands of that sound when I was listening to a lot of those two genres at the time when this live album first came out. And revisiting them all those years later, the best live renditions of songs from their first 8 albums are all in here!

The Night of Nights consists of a special concert filled with different guests. Two hours of material from all their albums at the time in incredible live quality to please fans new and old. Released in December 2015, it was a spectacular early Christmas gift that has something for every Elvenking listener.

The folky intro "The Manifesto" starts it all. I was kinda hoping it would leading to that 13-minute epic "King of the Elves", but that doesn't happen. At least we really blast off with a classic in "Trows Kind", which I once thought was their own take on DragonForce's "Through the Fire and Flames". But that's nothing compared to the highlight that is another track from The Winter Wake, "The Wanderer". You can really rock out to the happiness and sorrow from the guitars and violins. It is one of those tracks that test out your enjoyment for this band. If you love that song, you'll love this band and the rest of this offering. Otherwise you're out of here. Everything has the right amount of cheese in this Gamma Ray-gone-Skyclad sound. "Runereader" from Red Silent Tides has the band's typical including and epic blend of metal sections and acoustic bridges. "Pagan Revolution" is fun banger of folky power metal worth many listens. The guitars, drums, and vocals are all energetic without ever relying on overproduction. This is probably my second-favorite track of Pagan Manifesto behind that 13-minute epic.

"She Lives at Dawn" is a short melancholic interlude from their acoustic/hard rock album Two Tragedy Poets. Nothing much is added here other than a nice break from all that metal fun. "Jigsaw Puzzle" is a wonderful surprise, originally in their only album without lead vocalist Damnagoras, Wyrd. Lots of Maiden-esque guitar and bass melody there. "Elvenlegions" is another short track that can still provide a lot from the band. Amazing as f***! "The Cabal" is quite catchy, and I can hear why that was released as a single. Another short atmospheric interlude "A Prayer to Cernunnos" is exclusive to this offering, basically just some eerie narration.

"Moonbeam Stone Circle" shows an increase of maturity in the band's sound, though it's still their usual folk/power metal. The melody/rhythm interplay stays strong as ever. Then comes a drum solo by Symohn with background electronic noise, aptly titled "Symohn's Bash". Quite a unique addition to the setlist! The amazing "From Blood to Stone" follows. Despite being pretty much all acoustic, I enjoy the non-electric riffing and the chorus I can almost sing along to, "Fall-ing, fall-ing!" One of the only tracks I love from Two Tragedy Poets, and one of the only acoustic folk tracks I love in general. We finally get a song from the band's classic debut Heathenreel, "Skywards". It also starts off sounding acoustic then rises into metal, even heading close to black metal. "Disillusion's Reel" allows you to take a breather as an ethereal acoustic ballad.

Then disc 1 ends, and disc 2 begins with "Elven Aftermath", an intermission track with samples of songs that weren't performed. The band comes back on with perhaps the centerpiece of this entire offering, the debut's epic "Seasonspeech". The original track included guest vocals from different vocalists, with each one representing one of the 4 seasons. Here the band stands by that aspect with two guests, female vocalists Chiara Tricarico and Whisperwind. In between the metal sections is a flute-infused acoustic bridge. And we can't forgot about the glorious ending climax. You want something from the Era album, you got it with "Through Wolf's Eyes", which is more folky while still metal. And how about the sole track chosen from the "controversial" The Scythe, "The Divided Heart". The riffing and soloing has certainly made that track a memorable one. "Neverending Nights" is another great epic! It dives deep into winter darkness, a little unlike their happier side of folky power metal. Very well done, those not as festive as "Seasonspeech". Some more headbanging power metal comes on in "The Winter Wake", which has more experimentation, particularly in the original version's guest vocals by Destruction vocalist Marcel Schmier. A solid way to end the concert, before the well-deserved encore...

As the encore approaches its start, an orchestral overture "Era Theme" plays. Then comes one more song from Era, "The Loser". This is the song that marked Symohn's entrance into the band, since Era was his first album with Elvenking. His drumming is out of this world, in perfect synergy with the folk and metal sides of the coin. No sh*t, just THE SH*T. He can do all this complex stuff at ease, and it just adds to the fantastic magic of this song. And the fact that they saved that song for the encore shows how much confidence he and the rest of the band have. There's one more track for the encore, but that doesn't come until after the flute/string intro "To Oak Woods Bestowed". You all know where this is going... The show ends with the one track that started their journey, and also the one that got me into listening to Elvenking, "Pagan Purity". The vocals and guitars shine for their last round, the latter assisted by two more guests, former members Jarpen and Gorlan.

The concert can be viewed on DVD or listened to in two CDs, and if you get the DVD, you also get some music videos they've made over the years and a teaser for Pagan Manifesto. The Night of Nights is a night for new and longtime Elvenking fans to remember, and you don't wanna miss out on getting your hands on this live gem!

Favorites (one or two tracks per album plus one new track): "The Wanderer", "Runereader", "Pagan Revolution", "Jigsaw Puzzle", "Elvenlegions", "Symohn's Bash", "From Blood to Stone", "Seasonspeech", "Through Wolf's Eyes", "The Divided Heart", "Neverending Nights", "The Loser", "Pagan Purity"