Last year I checked out the most recent album from the solo black metal project, Blackbraid and it turned out to be one of my more enjoyable metal records from the year. I figured that, since I do not partake in the extreme variety of metal as much as I would like anymore, now seems like a good a time as any to show some love for one of Blackbraid's formative albums; so let's go back and hear how 2023 Blackbraid differs from the modern day sound.

I must admit, this album took me a while to get into. This is not helped by the "Autumnal Hearts Ablaze" intro before the record beats you over the head with "The Spirit Returns". However, the main reason is because Blackbraid II just feels a little tardy. I can let some of that slide given this is an older record, but even for normal black metal standards, it does feel cheesy. Some of the transitions are so wacky that I honestly thought that they must be a joke. "Twilight Hymn of Ancient Blood" strikes me immediately as it begins with this sludgy, almost doom metal groove, which (if you ignore the interlude "Celestial Passage") is a great segue out of the high intensity, foot on the gas pedal of "A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn". But then, about halfway through the song, it switches gears and becomes a thrash anthem...without the anthem part. Sgah’gahsowáh retains their poetic delivery of the words rather than hammering home one particular line of dialogue as one would expect from a band like Warbringer, Havok, or Enforced. The shame is that it actually sounds really cool on its own, but as an extension of the first half of the track, it becomes corny as hell.

Not all the transitions on this record are bad mind you. "The Wolf That Guides the Hunters Hand" is a song that has an impactful punk flare to it, before gradually mellowing out for its conclusion down to a crawl. I enjoyed how "Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon" builds over its runtime, only to collapse right back down into a doom-y groove the same way it began. And I would be remised if I didn't mention the incredible chemistry between "Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon" and "A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn". The way the first one ends on a standstill before the next song ramps up the intensity at a blistering pace was well done. It was a shame that tempo could not be maintained throughout the first section of "A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn" though. 

I felt like, after a few listens, Blackbraid II grew on me. I can hear the vision and how that vision has evolved to the point where Blackbraid are now after Blackbraid III. The record does have some significant hurdles that need to be ascended in order to appreciate what is on the other side, but if you can weather the turbulence, you'll find a very respectable melodic black metal album.

Best Songs: The Wolf That Guides the Hunters Hand, Moss Covered Bones on the Altar of the Moon, A Song of Death on Winds of Dawn, Sadness and the Passage of Time and Memory

I have made my metal origin story public for quite awhile now but for those who are uninformed, I was not listening to metal early in my lifetime. It was not until I became a rebellious teenager that my musical interests broke off from the adult contemporary that my family was listening to. And I knew I did not want to listen to the mainstream pop of the Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, or the Black Eyed Peas. I didn't discover Alice in Chains or Tool until my first year in high school! But the thing was I still didn't feel like I fit in with the other "cool" kids in school because the metal I was listening to was so much different than theirs. So I asked "what are you listening to?" and they showed me a copy of The End of Heartache by Killswitch Engage. I did not love it at first, but as my ear for music changed, so did my appreciation for the album and the band who created it.

So, in 2006, As Daylight Dies comes out and the promotional single, "My Curse" is everywhere! And it's a great single too. Some might even go so far as to say its the greatest melodic metalcore song of all time. And with this year being the 20th anniversary of the album that changed metalcore, I went back and listened to it and checked to see how it stand up and... I mean, it's still a pretty solid mid 2000s melodic metalcore record, but perhaps my older (and wiser) ears have soured on it more than I thought they would.

I don't know what it is about As Daylight Dies that has changed over the years because all of the pieces are there for a solid metalcore album: the use of breakdowns to compliment choruses, a mammoth refrain led by the unmistakable vocals of Howard Jones, great bass presence and tasteful percussion, and a strong variety in keys, tempos and styles between the tunes. And yet, I'm not sure I feel the excitement from songs like "Break the Silence" and "Daylight Dies" as I did twenty years ago. Maybe it's... stagnation?

I do not listen to metalcore like I once did and that might be to its benefit. Because if I listened to a new metalcore album (or more) every week, I would be more likely to rate this album poorly, despite its cultural significance. So much of the modern melocore sound (i.e. Architects, Born of Osiris, Polaris, etc.) use Killswitch Engage, and more specifically As Daylight Dies, as the framework for their newest releases and there isn't a whole lot of innovation. And it leaves the whole genre as a whole feeling like it's been left behind. I know there are modern melocore bands who are growing from the As Daylight Dies era of Killswitch Engage, but even listening to this record twenty years later, I cannot help but feel like it has lost its grandeur... and I wish it hadn't.

Best Songs: This is Absolution, My Curse, Still Beats Your Name, Eye of the Storm, Desperate Times

If you read existing reviews of this album there seems to be a conflict of styles that undoes any possible value in the record before it even gets going. That is true. I am one hundred percent in agreement that sludge and hardcore just do not work together. The clash of tempos is too much conflict to be able to remedy, no matter how much of the heavy lifting the riffs do on the record. Still, I must admire the tenacity of Jamey Jasta. Whilst infamous for the less than desirable Hatebreed, and being one-dimensional in his vocal approach, the guy has wrked with seemingly everyone from Dee Snider to Lamb of God to Devin Townsend and of course his two-album collaboration with Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down.

Here, on KoS’ sophomore release he just sounds like an angry child that a sludge band brought to a recording session, and he wouldn’t shut the fuck up the whole time, so they just left his shouting as “vocals”. It is a shame when an album exhibits such potential in the form of those biting riffs, only to be let down by some other central element contending with them. Not that there’s much else going on across the record, the drums are tepid at best (which considering Nick Bellmore was part of Toxic Holocaust at the time is surprising to say the least) and if there’s any bass floating around in here then (Nick’s brother, Charlie) it is lost behind the guitars and vocals.

As a record this is a sorry sounding affair overall. Comments I have read bemoan how quickly this passes by, but for me I could not wait for the record to be over and done with as it was dragging on and on with every song.

The band Ufomammut and I have history, as anyone who has read my review of Idolum knows. Coming into Eve, my circumstances are very different. Gone are the nights away from home in hotels and the endless paperwork of the travelling consultant. Now I have more time to listen to music in the comfort of my own home than possibly at any other point in my life, and as such my dalliances with Eve have been from a much more stable and centered environment. That is not to say that there is a lot in the way that Eve sounds in comparison to Idolum, it is just that the experience of it lands differently, if no less positively than its predecessor.

If you are familiar with the Italians already, you’ll know that 2010 was very much the classic line up of the band. Existing as a trio since their sophomore release, Eve was back when Vita still did the drums (as he did until 2020). With a decade of releases under their belts, Ufomammut’s fifth album sounds like a band really hitting their stride. There is not one hint of hesitation in any of what gets performed here. Likewise, for a record that opens with a fourteen-minute track, Eve manages to hold the attention for the whole experience. Playing as on track split over five different headings that are named simply by numerical, chronological title, this forty-four-minute plus opus showcases the Italian’s brand of spacey, psychedelic rock combined with crushing and sludgy doom.

Driven by heavy bass presence and a mixture of haunting and grinding synths, Eve is an all-encompassing experience. Again, it takes me back to my days of listening to Hawkwind (almost inevitably) but there are plenty of more modern references to the metal in their sound with the likes of Sleep and Yob immediately springing to mind. I would usually find the more instrumental approach over such a decent run time an issue, but if I am honest, more vocals just would not work all that well if the band had decided to take a more lyrically expressive approach. This is music that speaks to me without the need for a lot of words and that my fellow Metal Academy students is a sign of a great record.

Dreams D’Azur is a re-imagining of Novembre’s debut album, Wish I Could Dream it Again… The album is completely re-recorded with new compositions and played in their newer style. Wish I Could Dream it Again… is a Death Doom record through and through, while this one trade some of the Death Doomy sound for a more contemporary Progressive Gothic Metal sound, though still retaining the Doom influence.

The biggest weaknesses with the debut were the rough production and amateur performances. It goes without saying that both issues are completely mended here. Through the years, Novembre have adopted a smooth and lush production style that contrasts and compliments their heavy style, allowing for dense compositions that sound fantastic. The bass is given especially great treatment on this album, being very audible and having plenty of excellent lead parts. The playing as well has improved dramatically, with the band transitioning from a slightly messy, green footed band to masters in their genre. The drumming on this album in particular is the best in the band’s career up to this point. The poor clean vocals from the debut are improved with harmonized, reverby vocal lines that act more like another layer of instrumentation.

What about the compositions? One issue the debut had absolutely no problem with was compositions. Novembre were already crafting amazing songs right from the beginning, and in my opinion the debut still stands on its own as an amazing Death Doom record. Here, the compositions become a bit denser, with scant layers of synths and more atmospheric guitars weaving in and out of the compositions, crafting a much more dreamy and surreal feel than the debut. From a technical standpoint, the compositions are improved quite a bit, and have more going on in each track to add to the density.

However, I will say, it’s a trade off for me. While almost everything has improved in terms of quality, I do find myself… preferring the original style. Progressive Death Doom is, to me, preferable to Progressive Gothic Metal. I loved how heavy and melancholic the original songs were, how they charged forth with energy rare to the genre but carried intense gloom and beauty. As I said before, these compositions lean a bit further to the “dreamy” side of things, and they definitely still sound amazing. But, unlike a lot of people who think this album completely negates the debut, I see different strengths in each, and this far from eclipses the original in my eyes, instead offering a different take on the incredible compositions.