2012 Top 30 Albums

I was a bit worried until October, but 2012 has turned out to be at least as good as 2011 from a musical perspective and I was able to find 30 more albums that I'm excited to write about. Once again, I've included genre approximations to help you decide what to listen to as well as, of course, hundreds of links to recommended songs. New feature: country of origin! If I've previously reviewed an album separately, the title links to the review.

30. Pallbearer - Sorrow and Extinction (Doom/post metal; United States)

Pallbearer's first album Sorrow and Extinction shows that metal can be slow without being dull. It is beautiful and pensieve, yet desolate and morbid, with perhaps a less dark, more melodic atmosphere than other doom metal that perfectly nails the balance between melancholy and hope without venturing into over-the-top or cheesy territory. (See "The Legend") The overall aesthetic and production sound like throwbacks from the '70s, or even a bit like vintage Black Sabbath. The vocals are good, but low-key and always complement the music, never stealing the spotlight. See also the epic final song, "Given to the Grave".



29. Burial - Kindred (Electronic/Ambient/Dubstep; United Kingdom)

A 3-song EP by the "interesting" British electronic artist known as Burial. Advertised by my electronic-loving friend as great for nighttime listening. Its use of dance, atmospheric synths and sparse, often-bizarre samples is almost spooky and kind of magical. The only vocals also appear to be samples, which echo distantly and indistinctly in the haunted soundscape. Not exactly my preferred style of music, but it's pretty cool and interesting. See either of the two 11+-minute songs, "Kindred" and "Ashtray Wasp".





28. Miseration - Tragedy Has Spoken (Technical death metal; Sweden)

Miseration is the current band of former Scar Symmetry frontman Christian Älvestam. But unlike SS's increasingly-melodic approach, Miseration has been unwaveringly heavy and aggressive since their second album. Tragedy Has Spoken is more insanely-fast, super-precise metal goodness that occasionally toys with Christian's melodeath metal origins with some interesting flourishes here and there. Not the most interesting of albums, but very cathartic if you like extreme metal. Recommended if you love blindingly fast blast beats and atonal distorted guitar riffs. Sample tracks: "Stepping Stone Agenda" and "On Wings of Brimstone".



27. Sigur Rós - Valtari (Post rock/Ambient; Iceland)

The latest release from Icelandic band Sigur Rós is delightful, but hardly surprising. More atmospheric and ambient than previous albums, it weaves entrancing, ethereal dreamscapes of sound punctuated by Jónsi's falsetto vocals in the beautiful, nonsensical language of "Hopelandic" as heard on "Ekki múkk". Sigur Rós reminds me of Explosions in the Sky with its masterful use of dynamic range to powerful emotional impact. Compared to older albums like Takk, Valtari is lower-key with fewer "highs" in this spectrum, though "Varúð" has an excellent climax. Don't listen to it when tired, or it might put you to sleep. (But not from boredom)



26. Linkin Park - Living Things (Alternative rock/Electronic/Rap; United States)

Wisely deciding that they couldn't possibly get any more experimental or multi-genre than A Thousand Suns, Linkin Park focuses more on the rap and electronic parts of their sound for Living Things. The result is, as usual, highly eclectic and nothing like any of their previous albums, even farther from their metal origins than A Thousand Suns though incorporating more of the fury of Hybrid Theory. Where its predecessor had conceptual ambition and unbridled musical exploration, this album seems much more focused on a particular "sound" and back-to-basics attitude. At times it feels more like a collection of singles than a cohesive album, like a bunch of musical ideas put into a blender. Not that "Lost in the Echo" with its well-layered synths and vocals or the slowly-building climax of "Castle of Glass" aren't excellent musical touches, but there are fewer standout moments and more of a run-together mood created by the succession of often-short songs. Overall, while this album still has the same energy of previous ones, Linkin Park is showing its age and the result has more of a restrained, weathered exterior.

25. Agalloch - Faustian Echoes (Post/Black metal; United States)

Faustian Echoes is an epic 21-minute EP/song that retells the story of Goethe's Faust, the man who makes the archetypal "deal with the devil". It has some of Agalloch's finest material yet interspersed with samples from the play spoken by actors, like a radio drama with metal interludes. Despite the sheer length of the piece, it never runs out of musical ideas, toying with both the black metal turn they took in Marrow of the Spirit and the more melodic post metal of Ashes Against the Grain. But this is far from an exhaustive list; the constantly evolving masterpiece meanders through many diverse subgenres of metal and can be considered a succinct summary of Agalloch as they are now.

24. Becoming the Archetype - I Am (Death metal; United States)

And the award for "biggest changeup" in 2012 goes to...Becoming the Archetype! Following the departure of three band members after Celestial Completion, including the last two founding members, BtA apparently decided to completely change their style from the super-brainy progressive sound of their previous albums to no-holds-barred brutal death metal. The result sounds like a totally different band. The songs on I Am are considerably shorter, on average, than on previous albums, and even less complex. This isn't all bad, however, and the result is tremendous fun to headbang to. Though the new vocalist isn't as intelligible as Jason Wisdom, the lyrics are about as awesome and Christianity-inspired as ever, consisting mostly of badass boasts God could make, as seen in the song titles ("The Ocean Walker", "The Time Bender", "The War Ender", "The Weapon Breaker"...). Not nearly as deep as previous release, but still a good deal of fun.

23. Varg - Guten Tag (Pagan/Folk/Extreme metal; Germany)

"Varg" means "wolf" in German, their vocalist taught us as they were opening for Wintersun and Eluveitie. They specialize in loud, in-your-face metal mostly screamed in German that is "pagan" in its savagery (similar to Eluveitie) and presumptive lyrics rather than in its use of folk instruments. Guten Tag actually sounds a little like "Norwegian party metal" band Kvelertak in its ability to be loud and heavy without taking itself too seriously. Though not especially brilliant or creative, and the songs kind of run together, it's great to headbang to (I may be a bit biased from having heard them live).  See "Guten Tag", "Blut und Feuer", or "Angriff" for outstanding examples. The big exception is "A Thousand Eyes", which I can't believe isn't a cover or by another band. Featuring clean vocals, English lyrics, and folk instrumentation (jaw harp!) while retaining Varg's usual fury, it represents a direction I'd love to see Varg take in the future. This album could use a few more surprises like "A Thousand Eyes", but overall pretty solid as a metal album.

22. Elvenking - Era (Symphonic/Folk/Power metal; Italy)
Honestly, I was hoping to rate this album higher. Era retains some of the symphonic trappings of Red Silent Tides, but less of Elvenking's wonderful folk metal roots than I'd have liked. I could tell from the aggressive, almost punk-like first track "The Loser" that they were taking this album in a different direction. To an extent, they combine the two styles, as on "Midnight Skies, Winter Sighs" and the epic "Chronicle of a Frozen Era", but except for "Chronicles", none of these efforts are terribly impressive. There is more exploration and less focus than in previous albums--"Through Wolf's Eyes" is a whimsical retelling of the story of Little Red Riding Hood, "Walking Dead" works surprisingly well as straight-up metal, and "I Am the Monster" benefits considerably from Jon Oliva's guest presence. Overall, Era sounds like the band trying, with limited success, to reinvent themselves, but it mostly makes me miss the way they were.

21. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (Instrumental post rock; Canada)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is known for their sprawling, polyinstrumental post rock compositions that bear more structural resemblence to avant-garde classical music than rock, so for fans of the band, 'Allelujah!--their first album after an eight-year hiatus--shouldn't represent anything terribly new. Consisting of two six-and-a-half-minute songs and two twenty-minute songs that seem to grow and evolve like living creatures, it covers a wide range of emotions and is an intriguing listen for the patient music lover. Trilling guitars, swelling strings, and a variety of stranger instruments interweave in ways dramatic, mysterious, and strangely relaxing. GY!BE has a talent for taking some truly bizarre musical concepts and somehow making them able to attract and draw in listeners, without selling out. Either of the two epics, "Mladic" and "We Drift Like Worried Fire", are worth checking out.

20. Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage (Progressive Death/Groove metal; France)

Gojira is one of the most interesting death metal bands to come out of Europe lately, taking a very different more riff and "groove"-focused approach to the genre than bands from farther north. L'Enfant Sauvage in particular tones down the death metal side of their sound in order to toy with more riffs and melodies. This progress is easily seen (and listened to) on songs like "L'Enfant Sauvage", "Liquid Fire", and "Mouth of Kala" that threaten to sweep you up in the elaborate, catchy riff/groove structures they set up. The songs, while not truly "progressive" in their structuring, do have several sections they like to alternate between to keep things from getting boring. "The Gift of Guilt", which has more of a focus on vocals than most of the tracks, has two faster riffs during the verses and a very interesting slow, somber trill during the chorus. Also of note, "Born in Winter" is mostly a quieter, acoustic version of the other riff-focused songs. the production on this album is also fantastic; the guitars either crash and crush or sing beautifully to suit Gojira's designs, every thump of the bass drum or tap of the cymbals has just the right amount of force and makes the technically precise drumming sound even better; the vocals are all at the perfect level, and the "robotic" backing vocals sound especially good. Possibly Gojira's best work yet and one of the best progressive metal albums of the year.

19. Be'lakor - Of Breath and Bone (Progressive/Melodic death metal; Australia)

Australian Be'lakor, similar to Ulcerate in 2011, is a rather unique metal band I've gotten into in the past year.  They play an interesting mix of progressive and melodic death metal that resembles a cross between Opeth and Amon Amarth, resulting in rather long songs on the slow side (for melodeath) that are as much about melody and atmosphere as they are about composition and structure. It's a nice balance that works very well. Except for the death growled vocals (which, while fairly intelligible, sound humorously like Yoda at times), they're actually pretty accessible. The lyrics are also quite interesting and good if you listen for them; "In Parting", for example, tells an abstract, somewhat surreal story of two brothers separated from each other and their tragic reunion. There isn't a huge amount of differentiation between the songs, but some other good examples of this album's style are the opening track "Abeyance" and "Absit Omen".

18. Primal Fear - Unbreakable (Power metal; Germany)

Primal fear may be power metal at almost its most formulaic, they may be German Judas Priest wannabes (literally, for their vocalist), their new album may be almost entirely predictable, but boy, does it rock. Arguably harder than its predecessor 16.6. They also ditch many of the grandiose, symphonic pretenses of previous work like Seven Seals and New Religion (except, notably, on the epic "Where Angels Die"). What is left is some seriously hard-hitting power/classic metal reminiscent of their first albums with the feel of a refurbished, well-oiled machine built for one purpose: metal. At least, this is the conclusion that the one-two punch of the mid-tempo opening tracks "Strike" and "Give 'Em Hell" brings me to. "And There Was Silence" and "Marching Again" are two other very strong tracks, somewhat more melodic than the first two. "Bad Guys Wear Black" and "Metal Nation" are classic examples of the "metal is awesome" song that would make Manowar proud. Nothing terribly ground-breaking here for Primal Fear, but still a pretty solid release worth checking out for all fearless warriors of power metal.

17. Anberlin - Vital  (Alternative Rock; United States)

As the name suggests, Anberlin's new album is possibly their most energetic one yet, as well as one of their strongest. Though it doesn't tread much new ground for the band, it feels tightly focused and well-executed, like the distilled essence of an Anberlin album. Each song seems to know what it's supposed to do for the album and does it exquisitely. It's much less on the quiet and introspective side than previous albums--expect more songs in the vein of "Godspeed" ("Little Tyrants", "Someone Anyone", "Desires") than, say, "Retrace". They also continue to team up guitars and synths in interesting ways--as on "Self-Starter" or "Intentions". overall, nothing terribly ground-breaking for Anberlin, but it feels like a culmination of their practiced style of extremely listenable, synth-driven alt rock worth checking out.

16. Thousand Foot Krutch - The End Is Where We Begin (Alternative/Rap metal; United States)

The End Is Where We Begin is TFK's first independent album in fifteen years, after nine with Tooth and Nail records. Perhaps because of the lack of label pressure, this album is a big return to their rap metal origins, as seen on "Light Up the Sky", "Let the Sparks Fly", "I Get Wicked", and "Down". There are still plenty of songs that will resonate with fans of their last two albums: some explosive anthems ("We Are", "War of Change"), some quiet devotional-esque songs ("Be Somebody", "So Far Gone", "All I Need to Know"), and a title track that strikes a balance between melodic accessibility and sheer force. Yes, it's formulaic, but the formula works about as well as ever. The string-driven song "Fly on the Wall" gets a nod for being the most interesting song on the album, both musically and lyrically. Unless you really like rap metal, there aren't any particularly new reasons in The End to get into TFK if you weren't already, but still a decent release.

15. Sonata Arctica - Stones Grow Her Name (Progressive/Power/Folk metal; Finland)
The Days of Grays has been one of my favorite albums for years. In 2012, the increasingly-eccentric Finnish rockers move from the more symphonic style of their last album to one more influenced by folk music of all kinds, up to and including bluegrass ("Cinderblox"). Unfortunately the album continues several trends fans of classic SA detest, like the move from straight-up power metal to what might be considered "weaker" music, even more introspective, "emo" lyrics ("Don't Be Mean", "Tonight I Dance Alone"), and some just plain questionable songs ("Shitload of Money"...yes, that is its real name, and it's actually kind of hilarious). Nonetheless, there are some really strong (or just enjoyable) songs, like, surprisingly, the aforementioned "Cinderblox", "Losing My Insanity", "Somewhere Close to You", and parts II and III of the epic "Wildfire" saga started three albums ago on Reckoning Night. Stones Grow Her Name is distinctive, but really hard to summarize; it has definite highs and lows and ultimately doesn't live up to my expectations from The Days of Grays or their earlier work, but is still a pretty decent album and introduces some interesting musical ideas that I hope they use to better effect on their next album.

14. Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball (Rock; United States)

From the title and artwork, you could almost think Wrecking Ball was a punk album, and lyrically is almost is. Springsteen has been writing songs about the toils and everyday drama of working-class Americans for decades (seen here on songs like "Jack of All Trades" and "Shackled and Drawn"), but this album focuses on current evens more than any since The Rising--in this case, the recession. So Springsteen's usual songs about the working class take a new angle of not only glorifying the trials and sufferings of people struggling to make ends meet, but contrasting them with the wealthy and powerful who live at ease and keep getting richer at the everyman's expense. Sometimes this contrast is only made offhand; at other times, like the passionate anthem "Death to My Hometown", it is front and center to channel the frustration of a nation that feels it has been wronged and somehow stolen from. While politically this message--almost like the Occupy movement's stance of class warfare--makes me a bit nervous, it makes for some of his best songs since The Rising, so who am I to complain? Besides the troubles and frustrations of the recession, which are the centerpoint of this album, it also has a gloriously reworked gospel version of the old classic "Land of Hope and Dreams" which, along with the title track, has the last saxophone work of the late, great Clarence Clemons.

13. Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (Progressive/Psychedelic/Symhonic rock/Ambient; United Kingdom/Sweden)

As you might expect from a collaboration between Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth, Storm Corrosion sounds absolutely nothing like either band, though it bears a slight resemblance to early-90s Porcupine Tree. This album is highly experimental, even "artsy", but generally stays on the more atmospheric, ambient side of things--except with more of an acoustic, string-powered sound than, say, Up the Downstair. Wilson and Åkerfeldt share vocal duties, both doing offering unsurprisingly excellent performances. (Just don't expect any death growls from Åkerfeldt) And, of course, Steven Wilson also handled the production, which is top-notch as well. "Drag Ropes" shows off the album's eerie use of strings and "Storm Corrosion" features more plucked guitars and light percussion. Perhaps a little slow-paced at times, like on the final, ten-minute song "Ljudet Innan", but otherwise it's hard to find faults with this album. Mysterious, entrancing, tense, and always defying expectations, it is one of my highest-recommended for non-metal fans. If only they could get Mike Portnoy for their next collaboration, they could make the greatest progressive rock album ever...

12. Meshuggah - Koloss (Technical/Experimental/Extreme metal; Sweden)

Meshuggah definitely knows how to build and meet expectations. The band's brand of heavily distorted, highly technical, palm-muted, polyrhythmic experimental metal helped spawn the whole subgenre of "djent" in recent years. But Meshuggah isn't content to simply reign as king of the djent hill and continues to relentlessly innovate on Koloss, seeming to pursue a different angle or possibility in every masrerfully-crafted track. It definitely isn't just about playing the fastest, loudest, most complicated riffs; the first track "I Am Colossus" has a slow, lumbering pace that seems to savor every guitar chug to the fullest. Then "The Demon's Name Is Surveillance" instantly accelerates to machine gun speed, with their legendary drummer Tomas Haake showing off his considerable rhythmic skill. On the rest of the album,  super-slow "Behind the Sun" flirts with doom metal, "Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion" somewhat resembles post metal, and the rolling, pounding triplets in "Demiurge" offer glimpses at what djent could be like without the insane speed. The whole album is full of songs like these that are as viscerally enjoyable as heavy extreme metal songs as they are intellectually fascinating to dissect over repeated listens.

11. Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme / Les Discrets - Ariettes oubliées (Post metal/Ambient/Shoegaze; France)
It's a tie! Two bands in the surprisingly specific French shoegaze-dream-metal scene released two strong, extremely similar albums this year and I thought taking up two spots on this list with them would be unmerited. First, Alcest, whose last album I mistakenly included in my 2010 list, actually released a new album early this year, Les Voyages de l'Âme (The Journeys of the Heart). It definitely has less of a black metal influence or abrasive sound than Écailles de Lune, tending to stick more to the ambient, meandering, metallic dreamscapes of the previous album's softer side. Neige's ethereal vocals seem to float over melodic guitar lines and slow, deliberate drumming; the result is almost impossible not to fall in love with. ("Les Voyages de l'Âme", "Summer's Glory") There are a few harsh vocals and blast beats, such as on "Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles", which seem increasingly out of place in the context of the rest of their sound. The related band Les Discrets was never black metal to begin with and has no clash of influence in their new album, Ariettes oubliées (Forgotten arias). Though they do throw in some extreme drumming from time to time. It's a bit more earthy-sounding than Alcest, with a deeper-voiced vocalist and a somewhat darker atmosphere, more like a cloudy day than a picturesque sunlight-dappled landscape. "Le Mouvement perpétuel" has a hauntingly beautiful descending guitar refrain and "Les Regrets" is a fantastic, undulating closer, but there are also some more "normal"-sounding songs like "La Nuit muette". Both bands are at the frontier of their chosen niche of metal (with how small it is, it's hard not to be) and both are quite worthy of your attention.

10. Muse - The 2nd Law (Alternative/Progressive rock/Electronic; United Kingdom)

The 2nd Law sees Muse somehow simultaneously growing more eccentrically bombastic, immediate and personal, and synthetic and artificial. The huge opening track "Supremacy" is a good example of the first sound, loaded with orchestral theatrics and Matt Bellamy's distinctive falsetto vocals; the next song, "Madness", is heavily electronic, with a slow electronic beat and sampled vocal refrain throughout. The whole album is like a lesson in creating and cultivating these contrasts, and somehow working them together into a great, catchy album. And all of this is leading up to the two-part title track to close the album; the first part, "Unsustainable" alternates between being extremely symphonic and extremely electronic, and the second, "Isolated System" is quieter, almost reflective; sampled vocals are used heavily throughout both parts. Touches like the ridiculous backing choirs in "Survival", falsetto vocal echoes in "Big Freeze", or the haunting beauty of neoprog gem "Save Me", all with Muse's talent for crafting catchy songs with attitude, make this one of their best albums yet.

9. Mumford & Sons - Babel (Indie folk rock; United Kingdom)
Mumford & Sons! Indie rock! Hipsters! Mandolins! (Sorry) Their second full album sees the English folk rockers' sound growing and blossoming from the seeds planted by Sigh No More. It sounds a bit less sparse and intimate than their debut album, with more of a sense of scale and grandiose beauty ("Lover of the Light", "Hopeless Wanderer", and "Whispers in the Dark" are the best examples). The strings-and-horns arrangements are lusher than ever the lyrics are worth hours of pondering, and in general the band does pretty much everything they did on Sigh No More better. Still, there isn't much on Babel that you didn't hear in some form on its predecessor, and some songs, strong as they are, could have been bonus tracks on it. ("Holland Road", "Ghosts That We Knew"). There's even the one song with questionably-necessary profanity ("Broken Crown")! Still, if you weren't already interested in M&S, this album makes them worthy of a second look.

8. Demon Hunter - True Defiance (Alternative metal/Metalcore; United States)
I'm not the biggest fan of metalcore--I tend to see it as America's attempt at melodic death metal--but Demon Hunter surprised me with their latest album. True Defiance strikes a good balance between the various disparate elements composing it: vocal-centric production, intelligent lyrics exploring aspects of the Christian faith, and good old metallic heaviness. The vocals are surprisingly good, with Ryan Clark utilizing fairly intelligible death grunts and distinctively deep-pitched singing both to great effect. The band never seems to let the harsh elements of their sound get to their heads or become the main point; this album seems to know what it's doing without being progressive and how to carefully throw its weight around. The result is an album that, while not initially that striking, you can keep finding more reasons to enjoy with each listen. As the title suggests, conflict is a central theme, as prominently seen in the dissonant, distressed-sounding "Someone to Hate". Some other strong tracks include plodding "God Forsaken", soaring "My Destiny", and anthemic "This I Know". It also has a few ballads ("Tomorrow Never Comes", "Dead Flowers") which, while they stick out like sore thumbs, are enjoyable as guilty pleasures of sorts.

7. Kamelot - Silverthorn (Symphonic/Progressive/Power metal; United States)
On Silverthorn, Kamelot does the impossible--they find a good replacement for Khan. Tommy Karevik's vocal abilities are similar to Khan and he retains that delicate balance of power and subtlety that characterized the vocals on previous albums; at times you can almost forget Khan ever left. Vocalist aside, the concept album Silverthorn sees Kamelot moving from the progressive, quasi-gothic style of Poetry for the Poisoned to take a more symphonic angle not unlike that of Nightwish. "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)" kicks off the action with bombastic flourish and is one of the band's best songs ever. After this it has plenty of treats for fans of the band, particularly "My Confession", "Solitaire", and the closing epic "Prodigal Son". It's a very diverse album, still less prog-power metal than pre-Ghost Opera, with some memorable songs, but it's definitely no Epica or The Black Halo. Still a solid release, and I hope their next one is better as they learn work better with their new vocalist as Nightwish did.

6. Coheed and Cambria - The Afterman: Ascension (Progressive rock; United States)
To give an idea of how this album has been growing on me, it was only slated for an honorable mention when I first made the final rankings. Coheed and Cambria's two most distinctive features are their unusually high-pitched (but awesome for it) vocalist Claudio Sanchez and their extremely eclectic, yet catchy style I would describe as "progressive hardcore pop punk". The Afterman: Ascension, the first part of a planned double album, is another tantalizing look at the world whose story C&C tell in their music. Like most of their work, this album is very difficult to summarize; the four-part epic "Key Entity Extraction" is the best example of this. The super-progressive first part, "Domino the Destitute", is one of their best and most multifaceted works to date; "Holly Wood the Cracked" is somewhat dark and slinky-sounding but still more on the pop side; the raucous "Vic the Butcher" is one of their more intense songs to date; "Evagria the Faithful" is a lush, slower-tempo song with more alt-rock influences. Also of note, "The Afterman" is considerably gentler with soft vocals and some very cool staccato guitarwork before coming to resemble Muse in the climax. Really, there isn't a single weak song on this album (I'm even kind of attached to the short intro track). With even more distinction between songs than previous albums but an overall sense of planned cohesion, Ascension keeps you on the edge of your seat, not knowing what's going to happen next but knowing it's going to be good. Sadly because of its status as the first half of a double album it clocks in at under 40 minutes, leaving me eager to get to part two. Alternately beautiful and raging, this album is as intellectually fascinating as it is emotionally turbulent, and demonstrates why C&C is one of the leaders of the "neo prog" scene.

5. Eluveitie - Helvetios (Melodic death/Folk metal; Switzerland)
Along with Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow, and a few others, Eluveitie pretty much sets the gold standard of folk metal. Some folk metal bands tone down their metal side to provide a more "folky" atmosphere or play regular metal interspersed with folk interludes. Eluveitie, on the other hand, is brilliant at combining the two simultaneously, with the uillean pipes, bodhrán, whistles, bagpipes, and others perfectly matching and complementing the savagery coming from the guitars. As both folk music and as melodic death metal, Helvetios is spot-on; in particular, see "Helvetios", "Meet the Enemy", "Havoc", and "Uxellodunon" as evidence of how well Eluveitie's formula works. This album is a tribute to the struggles and triumphs of the Swiss band's ancestors that successfully channels pride in the band's heritage into awesome metal, with many lyrics authentically written in the dead language of Gaulish. They manage to avoid much of the cheesiness associated with other folk metal acts by sticking rigidly to the male death growls/female singing pattern, which gets a bit repetitive over seventeen songs (three of them narration) but is broken up by two songs sung entirely by the female vocalist, "A Rose for Epona" and "Alesia". This is definitely a band with spirit (also the name of their first album); highly recommended for anyone with a stomach (and ears) for extreme metal.

4. DragonForce - The Power Within (Power metal; United Kingdom)
The Power Within is probably the biggest surprise yet from a band that has jealously guarded its reputation for never swerving from its chosen path of extreme power metal ridiculousness. It is their first album without their original vocalist ZP Theart; his replacement Marc Hudson sounds little like ZP, but has similar power, range, and ability to unironically belt out lyrics about eternally reincarnated warriors joining together as one to fight for the fate of the universe, and the quality of the album is affected surprisingly little by the switch. The bigger change is that the songs have been considerably condensed from previous albums where they would average 7+ minutes, which isn't my preference but could make DragonForce just a bit more accessible without diluting their essential nature of awesomeness. Lyrically, the band branches out just a bit more on this album, with songs about addiction ("Give Me The Night"), heartache ("Seasons"), and a salute to heroes of all kinds ("Last Man Stands"). Some standouts are the hyperfast "Fallen World" and the grandiose epic "Wings of Liberty", which I think is destined to become a classic in the vein of "Valley of the Damned" and "Through the Fire and Flames". Overall, just a bit of a disappointment (largely due to the condensed songs) coming from my favorite metal band, but still more than deserving of the #4 spot.

3. Sabaton - Carolus Rex (Power metal; Sweden)
Sabaton is well-known in the power metal scene for their lyrics about historical wars, but none of their songs before Carolus Rex had really strayed outside the 20th century, or to their native land of Sweden. Like Helvetios, Carolus Rex is a tribute to the band's national history--in this case, a concept album about the Swedish Empire, the height of Sweden's political and military dominance over Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Except for the short introduction, there is hardly a weak song to be found on Carolus Rex. From power metal classics-to-be like "Lion from the North" and "God With Us" to the triumphant and defeated marches "The Carolean's Prayer" and "Long Live the King" to epic, tragic ballad "A Lifetime of War" to the almost-industrial "Poltava", this album sees Sabaton's musical expertise expanding as broadly and invincibly as seventeenth-century Sweden. Every song is memorable, perfectly paced, perfectly distinguished from the others, and there is a strong sense of nationalistic pride behind the whole endeavor which previous albums lacked. (Particularly on the alternate Swedish-language version) The bonus version has some great cover songs, including an amazing rendition of Amon Amarth's "Twilight of the Thunder God" (with added vocal melodies) worth checking out. This album got me to take a second look at Sabaton's back catalog and helped me to enjoy them anew. Gott mitt uns!

2. Wintersun - Time I (Symphonic/Progressive/Power/Folk/Melodic death metal; Finland)
The first part of Wintersun's second album, six years in the making and very aptly named Time, was one of the biggest successes and smallest surprises of the year. It turns out a band can grow a lot when eight years pass between their albums. On Time I Wintersun has honed their unique multigenre blend of extreme metal to glorious perfection, with a full band, even longer and more complex compositions, amazing production (with songs containing so many tracks that Jari was delayed by the need for more computing power), better vocals, and, if it's even possible, even more of a sense of desolate winter night atmosphere than their debut album. Combine that with some surprises, like a blend of Japanese folk influences and a vastly increased use of symphonic elements (to excellent effect) to get a jaw-droppingly awesome album. Any of the album's three full-length songs is leaps and bounds beyond Wintersun; in particular, "Sons of Winter and Stars" is one of the best songs of any genre I have ever heard, and the title track "Time" is also very strong. The only problem with such a quality album is its lack of quantity, and so I eagerly await Time II next year.

1. David Crowder Band - Give Us Rest (Or a Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]) (Christian contemporary/Worship; United States)
After all my drifting away from the CCM scene and all the metal on this list, my top album of the year is a worship album. Like Time I, this album (sadly DCB's last) sees the band virtually reinventing themselves and massively improving on all fronts. Unlike Time I, it is the very opposite of short and incomplete, clocking in at 34 songs and 100 minutes of music vastly exceeding the breadth of any of the band's previous work but all suffused with the agony and ecstasy of the gospel. Tracks like "God Have Mercy (Kyrie Eleison)" and "Fall on Your Knees" continue the electronic trend of Church Music, and there are also some great acoustic songs ("Oh My God" and "I Am a Seed"), traditional hymns ("Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", "Because He Lives", and DCB's attempt at a hymn, "Jesus, Lead Me to Your Healing Waters"), and even a seven-part progressive suite, "Sequence". Even songs that are more in the vein of their previous work like "Come Find Me", "Sometimes", "Let Me Feel You Shine", and especially "Oh, Great Love of God" seem transformed and rejuvenated. I mourn the untimely passing of David Crowder Band, but they have left us with one of the greatest works of contemporary Christian music of all time. If you are a Christian, I cannot recommend this album highly enough; if you aren't, it might just give you a new perspective on what it means to be one.

Concert Impressions: Varg, Wintersun, Eluveitie

Last night I want to my first metal concert in years: Varg, Wintersun, and Eluveitie at Station 4 in St. Paul. Given that my last one was Dream Theater at the Orpheum in 2009, it's safe to say that this was pretty new to me--my first European metal show. The Orpheum was a huge theater with seats, a balcony, and an indoor lobby; Station 4 was (it's safe to say) a "dive" bar with no seats, a big floor to stand on, and the guests got to stand in line outside in the snow. My friend and I were some of the first ones in, so we had a while to wait before everyone got in and the show started.

The first band on stage was Varg, who I had just listened to for the first time the previous day. They were all warpainted up like in their Metal Archives picture (which I had seen, or I would have been shocked by all the "blood" in the men's room sink) and pretty much looked like they'd been shipped right from Germany. They played loud, in-your-face "pagan" metal with lyrics screamed entirely in German. Despite it not really being my kind of metal and not being able to understand any of the lyrics, they were still pretty fun. There was an exhilarating sense of energy at the show between the volume and the crowd, and freedom; the freedom to scream at the top of your lungs, bang your head, raise your fist, or pretty much enjoy the show however you wanted.

But the whole time they were out, I was just waiting for them to be done so I could see who of the bandes I came to hear would play next: Eluveitie or Wintersun. The answer, it turned out, was Wintersun, who played the following set list:

1. When Time Fades Away
2. Sons of Winter and Stars
3. Land of Snow and Sorrow
4. Battle Against Time
5. Death and the Healing
6. Darkness and Frost
7. Time
8. Beyond the Dark Sun
9. Starchild

With little to compare it to, I'm not sure how to describe Wintersun's show, other than that it was (insert profanity of choice here) AWESOME. Obviously the music was better when played live at near-dangerous volumes, even if the live instruments did tend to drown out the orchestration (played by a temporary fifth band member on a MacBook). To my shame, I realized that I couldn't sing along to every line of their set (it's hard to sing along to screamed vocals anyway), but I was able to get most of the choruses. Of course the highlight was the ending of "Sons of Winter and Stars"; just before the first chorus, people started cheering in excited anticipation.

It was also great to see the band in person and know for sure that they weren't jerks or something. They mostly just played (I was expecting a joke about the snow storm and how the Finns felt right at home), stopping only for Jari to introduce the songs and tell us how much they loved us. Drummer Kai Hahto was, of course, a beast, playing almost too fast to see, especially on "Battle Against Time". I was hoping to hear something from Time II or "Beautiful Death", but this was hardly disappointing.

Unfortunately, after Wintersun finished my friend told me he wasn't feeling well and wanted to leave early. I agreed to stay only through Eluveitie's first song, which I strongly (and correctly) suspected would be my favorite, "Helvetios". In contrast to Varg (which was bare-bones metal) and Wintersun (whose symphonic elements you could barely hear), Eluveitie had a full, eccentric complement of musicians and folk instruments on stage; the singer had a slew of odd instruments on his mic stand, including some uillean pipes he took up several times. The concert seemed to hit peak energy in that song and I was sad to have to leave afterward, as they were beginning "Luxtos".

In summary, I want to go to more metal concerts (and dearly wish Kamelot and Nightwish had come here).

The Way of the Audiophile

As I mentioned in a previous post, my old Total Bithead headphone amp/DAC suddenly lost all sound in its right channel a few months ago. Rather than consider it a setback, I took this as an opportunity to make some long-planned upgrades to make my music sound even better. This resulted in me finally getting these:

And this:

And ordering one of these to put between them:

And later got a great deal in a group buy on these:

A bit of terminology: every digital audio system has four components: the music as bits stored on a hard disk, CD or flash; a DAC (digital-to-analog converter) to translate the bits of sound output into an electrical signal resembling an actual sound wave; an amplifier to bring the signal up to a suitable listening level; and an output to turn the signal into sound waves. Computers and phones all have built-in DACs and headphone amps so you can plug headphones directly into them and listen away. But audio enthusiasts with more demanding ears prefer to use higher-quality external devices instead.

So anyway, my headphones (Sennheiser HD650s) and DAC (an HRT MusicStreamer II+) both came from Amazon within a week. My amp, a do-it-yourself Bottlehead Crack, is from a small company and took almost a month to ship, so I had plenty of time to break the headphones in without it. When it did come, it looked like this:

I was responsible for installing all the parts, soldering and wiring everything correctly, and assembling, staining, and finishing the case, after which it looked like this (the amount of time and effort involved is greatly understated):

So, over a month later, I was finally able to connect all the parts of my system and turn it on. The vacuum tubes in the amp dimly glowed and I knew it was ready to listen.

This amp is specifically designed for high-impedance headphones like the 650s, so I can't easily compare them directly with my previous headphones, Sennheiser's HD555s. I also don't have all the hardware to separately test every component of my system, so I will be reviewing partially the HD650s and partially everything at once.

The HD650s are my first real "audiophile"-grade headphones, a few steps up from my old entry-level cans. They lack some of the convenience features of the HD555s like a single-sided cable and are high-impedance, meaning they sound somewhat wimpy without a proper amp, but they are definitely superior in clarity. Everything sounds just a bit more realistic and clear, especially the treble and transients in my music. It was shocking to hear the headphones that changed my life in 2009 sounding noticeably worse than something else. They appear to lack the "Eargonomic Acoustic Refinement" reflector of the HD5xx line, so the imaging is actually a bit worse, but the superior clarity more than makes up for this.

I didn't test the difference the amp and DAC made separately, but together they definitely get the most out of the headphones. On their own, the HD650s seem a bit quieter on both the high and low end of the frequency range on top of how hard they are to drive in the first place. With the DAC and amp powering them, the high and low ends both sound "just right". The bass is satisfyingly present and powerful without sounding excessive or "boomy" in the least; it sounds balanced over the entire range of my hearing. The treble is similarly sparkling and vibrant, but again not overpowering. Without some really high-end gear I can't comment on how neutral the setup really is, but it definitely makes my music come alive like never before, without overly revealing the problems of my lower bit-rate recordings. The amp seems to drive them effortlessly; I only dare to explore the bottom third of its volume dial's range and I could very easily test which could go louder: the headphones or my ears.

On a design level, the HD650s are probably the most best-fitting headphones I've ever worn. My ATH-AD700s have a softer fit, but I constantly worry about them slipping down or off my head when I move. The 650s are comfortable enough that I can easily forget I'm wearing them, but at the same time I never worry about them shifting at all. They also have a split-pad design on the band to avoid putting pressure on the apparently-sensitive center of the head; I didn't notice this until I put on my old HD555s and immediately felt the contrast. The build quality is excellent overall, with the extendable sections of the band made of metal and the rest made of solid-feeling plastic. They have already survived being dropped once, but I hope not to test this again.

Anyway, as mentioned above, I also found a too-good-to-pass-up deal on some Beyerdynamic DT990 headphones a few weeks after finishing the amp. The DT990s come in three versions with three impedances: 32Ω, 250Ω, and 600Ω. Since my amp can easily drive the HD650s to uncomfortable levels at a quarter of the full volume, I went for the 600Ω version, which is hilariously quiet on my Walkman but still an easy match for the Crack.

Having had time to compare them, the DT990s really seem like a perfect counterpoint to the HD650s. The clarity and imaging are of fairly similar quality, but the frequency responses could not be more perceptually different. As the graph below shows, the DT990s have a big bass hump at around 100-200 Hz, and the highs are 5-15 dB louder. This difference in the highs cannot be overstated and is almost hard to get used to at first; after wearing the HD650s, the DT990s seem blindingly bright, even sibilant; the other way around, the HD650s seem dead and muddy. After some more listening, I'm more able to appreciate each headphone for what it is as well as the differences between the two.



Fit-wise, the DT990s are also very different from the HD650s. They have much, much less clamping pressure, which is kind of a relief, and the earpads are incredibly soft and comfortable. They do lack the split-band design of the HD650s, though, and actually get less comfortable (at least on the top of the head) after a few hours' use. It's not nearly as big an issue as with my Grado SR60is, though. They also have a handy single-sided cable design (which, sadly, is not detachable) and nice construction incorporating more metal. Despite this, they still manage to be amazingly light.

Overall, I think I actually prefer the DT990s. Yes, it's much less even, with a small boost in bass (which seems like it was overstated in peoples' opinions of the headphones) and massively boosted treble. This means that the drums (my favorite instrument in my music of choice), particularly the bass drums and cymbols, sound more emphasized with them, whereas the vocals and guitars feel stronger with the HD650s, which make metal sound a bit more substantive with their balanced approach to the mids. Both are great for metal in totally different ways. For lighter, particularly acoustic music, the DT990s are clear winners. If you ever feel like trying my setup and ruining sub-$250 headphones for yourself forever, let me know and I will be happy to oblige.

The Hours That Remain

Mercenary's 2008 album, Architect of Lies, with its great blend of melody and raw aggression combined with innovative and catchy songwriting, has become one of my melodic death metal mainstays. I've found that once I get really into one of a band's albums, it serves as a sort of beachhead from which I can easily explore the rest of their catalog. In this case, I have recently gotten into their previous 2006 album, The Hours That Remain.

Two things immediately strike you about The Hours That Remain. One is that it is almost devoid of harsh vocals and is consequently not much more extreme than a DragonForce album. Mercenary is between harsh vocalists on this album, so Mikkel Sandager, who did the clean vocals on Architect as well as earlier albums, does double duty here. So The Hours That Remain doesn't benefit from having two vocalists like its successor or the band's earlier work. But Sandager nonetheless does a fantastic job in his singing and takes the album in a  more polished, melodic, (dare I say it) "poppy" direction. And it works. One other lineup thing to note: the bass on this album is played by none other than Jacob Hansen, who was the vocalist on a certain other Danish metal album I immensely enjoy.

The other thing is that this album is ten minutes longer than Architect of Lies at 62 minutes, despite having the same number (ten) songs. Doing the math, this means each song is on average a minute longer, allowing the band to take their time in their epic compositions (two of which span over eight minutes) and play plenty of guitar solos. The production on the album is excellent, with a reverb-heavy (and just plain heavy) guitar sound similar to Dream Evil, but for how polished the album sounds it feels as raw as a Mercenary album should.

The opening song "Redefine Me" is a good, relatively succinct musical summary of the style of this album. The guitarists cycle through an arsenal of riffs, including a slow arhythmic one with keyboard melodies sneaking underneath in the verses and a fantastic, ultra-melodic riff with the kind of guitar strumming/bass pedal synchronization that is more easily experienced than described. So experience it!

Another highlight is song #5, "Lost Reality", the first of the two epic-length songs. Its main riff has a strong synth melody over/roughly following an equally melodic guitar riff. The effect of the guitar-and-synth cooperation along with Sandager's notably impassioned vocals is spine-tingling, dramatic, and cathartic. It's not exactly an epic in the progressive sense, as there are no clear divisions of the song into parts, but there are plenty of gear changes in riffs, vocal sections, and moods. This has become one of my favorite Mercenary songs.

As one more case study, see the second epic/final/title track, "The Hours That Remain". Nothing radically different about it: again heavily focused on clean vocals, with a strong, driving main riff exhibiting strong guitar/bass drum synchronization. The tempo is (relatively) slower, though, and relatively steady; it sounds almost like a combination of "This Black and Endless Never" and "Public Failure Number One" from Architect, with a slower, more expansive chorus reminiscent of "Execution Style". (Remember, though, that this song came first) Once again, just give it a listen and it might take your breath away.

Lyrically, like Mercenary's other work this album takes a break from mythology and dragons for more abstract lyrics about personal tensions and inner struggles. Though they are written poetically enough to connect with just about anyone, they don't come across as "emo", partly because the music is quintessentially European metal and partly because of Sandager's superb vocal performance on both fronts. He is as passionate and powerful in his singing as the best, and even his harsh vocals, heard for the only time on this album, are pretty nice and underrated. This album is "poppy" in that it is rather more focused on the vocals than most melodeath, but this is hardly a bad thing with how well it works.

This is almost, almost, my favorite Mercenary album. Perhaps even more than its successor, it succeeds wildly at being ultra-melodic and intensely heavy, not trading off but in a simultaneous metallic cocktail. What this looks like in practice is songs built on a solid, head-bang-worthy foundation of dual guitar and keyboard riffs, and some of the best vocals of their career. My main criticisms of it are that while it has some very strong songs like the above ones, it also has several relatively forgettable ones (that may just be overshadowed by the good ones), and while Mercenary does work admirably well with one vocalist, that fact certainly doesn't do them any favors. While this album isn't as good as Architect of Lies in my view, it seems to lay down a lot of the raw material that is machined and polished into its successor album, and has managed to give me a great time over many listens.

The Sound of Space

This is not music. This is a recording of electromagnetic radiation from Jupiter, translated into sound waves, made by Voyager as it passed by.

The description:

From an original CD: JUPITER NASA-VOYAGER SPACE SOUNDS (1990) BRAIN/MIND Research
Fascinating recording of Jupiter sounds (electromagnetic "voices") by NASA-Voyager. The complex interactions of charged electromagnetic particles from the solar wind , planetary magnetosphere etc. create vibration "soundscapes". It sounds very interesting, even scary.
Jupiter is mostly composed of hydrogen and helium. The entire planet is made of gas, with no solid surface under the atmosphere. The pressures and temperatures deep in Jupiter are so high that gases form a gradual transition into liquids which are gradually compressed into a metallic "plasma" in which the molecules have been stripped of their outer electrons. The winds of Jupiter are a thousand metres per second relative to the rotating interior. Jupiter's magnetic field is four thousand times stronger than Earth's, and is tipped by 11° degrees of axis spin. This causes the magnetic field to wobble, which has a profound effect on trapped electronically charged particles. This plasma of charged particles is accelerated beyond the magnetosphere of Jupiter to speeds of tens of thousands of kilometres per second. It is these magnetic particle vibrations which generate some of the sound you hear on this recording.

I find it absolutely astounding that we can listen to signals from places in the universe we consider to be desolate, places with no relation to us that we knew nearly nothing about before the space age, and hear sounds that aesthetically resonate with us so strongly. Can this be accidental?

Also, iTunes apparently has a ten-track compilation of these kinds of sounds recorded from all over the Solar System--over five hours for $10! Listen to some music that's literally out of this world. (Sorry, bad pun)

Time (Part I)

Okay, with that Kamelot review up, time for the other long-awaited album I received that week.

Wintersun's first, self-titled album has been a favorite for melodeath fans for years, all of whom have eagerly (and patiently) awaited Jari Mäenpää's second creation, the very aptly-named Time. Finally, six years in the making and eight after the first album, the Finnish Chinese Democracy is here (the first half of it, at least).

Wintersun was an unprecedented experiment that seamlessly blended the genres of melodic death metal, black metal, power metal, and numerous others. As diverse as it was, Time I completely blows it out of the water, as the alphabet soup of genres I've tagged it with shows. This album took six years to make and sounds like it's been sent back from the distant future. Part of the reason for the delay was that Jari had to wait for computers to become powerful enough for him to produce it. The epic songs apparently have upwards of 200 tracks. The insane attention to production and detail on this album make comparing it with other metal like comparing St. Peter's to my church's cool, but relatively plain hundred-year-old Swedish-built building. Let me assure you that Time I does not disappoint.

One unexpected turn this album takes is its use of Japanese folk influences, which are nowhere more evident than in the instrumental intro track, "When Time Fades Away". Its gently rolling melodies interweave more standard synths and orchestration with beautiful strings seemingly inspired by Japanese folk music for a song that seems to ebb and flow like swirling, falling snow. It creates a gradually thickening atmosphere of myth and wonder that fits the album's crazy-awesome psychedelic graphic design perfectly.

And then it transitions seamlessly into the first epic, "Sons of Winter and Stars". This 13-minute song is amazing. If Wintersun had just released it and called it the new album they'd been working on for six years, I'd only have been slightly disappointed. This song is entire dimensions beyond anything I have heard from Finland in the past, even on Wintersun. It is broken into four parts for easier processing:
Rain of Stars: After the soft melody of the intro track continues for about half a minute, it is suddenly eclipsed by a huge guitar fanfare, which is quickly replaced by an even louder torrent of blast beats and soaring orchestrated horns. It is at this point that you realize and fully appreciate how much a band can advance in six years. The whole first part is almost like an anthem or invocation for the rest of the song, with a repeating call to "Rise!".
Surrounded by Darkness: Less insane than the first part but still fascinating. It is largely built around a quick, steady synchronized guitar/bass drum riffing pattern with synth and orchestral harmonies prominent over it. It's the most progressive-metal part of the album and sounds very futuristic.
Journey Inside a Dream: As the last chord of part II fades out, it is replaced by a lone acoustic guitar. This part is a quieter interlude, the calm before the storm; all the vocals in this part are clean and it is surprisingly close and personal after the grandeur of the first two parts. The end of this part almost sounds like a lullaby with twinkling synths and ethereal strings providing the only instrumentation/ It provides a nice breather and perfect contrast to the final part...
Sons of Winter and Stars: I'll just skip right to the hyperbole, because all of it is fully deserved. Part IV is the single most epically, over-the-top awesome thing I have heard in any metal song, ever. The lyrics approach DragonForce-like levels of narm/awesomeness and surpasses even Rhapsody of Fire in sheer scale and bombast. Especially the last repetition of the chorus with the whole band singing choral vocals. For anyone with a soul, this is pure ecstasy. Not recommended for anyone with a heart condition.
All told, "Sons of Winter and Stars" is a perfect epic, masterfully composed, amazing to listen to, like nothing I've ever heard before. Probably one of my favorite songs of all time.

The next song, "Land of Snow and Sorrow", is relatively short at eight and a half minutes and, for a welcome breather, is considerably slower and less intense. Like "Sleeping Stars" on Wintersun's first album, it flirts with doom metal, built largely around a slow, grinding, climbing riff that sounds equal parts snow and water, with prominent synth harmonies echoing overhead. It evokes the image of a vast, desolate, snowbound expanse. It is considerably overshadowed by the much more exciting "Sons of Winter and Stars", but is still a strong song in its own right, better than "Sleeping Stars".

Before the second epic is another instrumental prelude, "Darkness and Frost". Considerably less organic and more spacey than the first one, it is largely a cool solo for plucked strings (can't tell which of the voices is the guitar) with a healthy amount of "raygun"-type synths that help create a picture of swirling snow.

And then the second epic, "Time", continues some of the musical themes of the prelude in metal fashion. This song kind of has two "modes" it switches between, each with its own chorus about time: a slower, majestic pacing which is the continuation of the prelude, and a faster, louder 3-time rhythm more similar to something in "Sons of Winter and Stars". Overall, "Time" has more of a synthesized, almost futuristic feel to "Sons of Winter and Stars"' symphonic metal sound, notwithstanding the moment of epic at around 6 minutes in just before the guitar solo and switch back to the slower mode. Then it switches back to the faster mode for the epic climax, with repeated invocations of "TIME/Fades away!" just before everything fades away for a final piano solo, leading into an ambient outro similar to the album's beginning.

If I hadn't made it clear already, Time I is amazing. Simply amazing. The band shows the kind of development you'd expect from six years of touring and studio work. For one, the band has doubled in size, now boasting a dedicated guitarist and bassist, and allowing Jari to focus more on singing and keyboards. His singing in both styles has improved noticeably, allowing the vocals on Time I to share center stage with the amazing instrumentation. Completely expectedly, the production is top-notch; the album is a real treat to listen to on my audiophile-quality setup. It takes the disparate elements that Wintersun played with--melodeath speed and intensity, Jari's epic viking metal roots, synthesizers everywhere, and surreal winter-inspired lyrics--and flawlessly combines them into some truly glorious metal. And it adds a few new surprises, like the blend of European and Asian styles of folk music and the vastly increased emphasis on orchestral parts--both of which, in my book, are improvements.

If Jari had kept Time as one album, it would be objectively perfect, by far better than Wintersun, the best album of 2012 (or 2013), and one of my favorite albums of all time. As it is, the only, only problem with Time I is that there isn't more of it; it clocks in at just 40 minutes with five tracks. Get this album. It was completely worth the wait. Get it now.

One more time...

WE ARE THE SONS OF WINTER AND STARS
WE'VE COME FROM AFAR BEYOND TIME
FOREVER THE FIRE BURNS IN OUR HEARTS
OUR WORLD SHALL NEVER DIE!
IN THE ARMS OF THE WIND WE RIDE 'TILL DAWN
AS THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN GRIND SO STRONG
WE WANDER THE STARS UNTIL WE'RE GONE
OUR FATE IS SEALED BY ETERNAL SUN!

Silverthorn

I got Kamelot's new album on Halloween. Let's get started, shall we?

Like DragonForce's new album The Power Within earlier this year, Silverthorn is Kamelot's first album with a new vocalist, in this case Swedish singer Tommy Karevik of Seventh Wonder. I've made no secret of the fact that Khan was one of my favorite metal singers of all time. And yet, shockingly--Karevik is very nearly his equal. Rather than go for a completely different-sounding vocalist which would almost certainly have been a losing bet for Kamelot, they tried to find as close a replacement for Khan as possible, and in Karevik they have succeeded as much as anyone possibly could. He doesn't just fill the same need like Marc Hudson did for DragonForce, but manages to sound (and look) very similar to Khan. He has nearly all of Khan's passion, nuance, and raw power that made albums like The Black Halo so memorable, at times sounding like a slightly pitched-shifted version of his precedessor. Though I still prefer Khan  perhaps because I was more used to him, the vocals on this album are all superb by any standard--certainly better than on Khan's first album with Kamelot, Siege Perilous.

Overall, Silverthorn is a bit of a turning from the quasi-progressive experimentation of Poetry for the Poisoned back to the symphonic grandeur of Ghost Opera or earlier albums. The songs are generally more normally-structured, like on Kamelot's earlier albums. It is, however, a concept album, though like with The Black Halo this may not be evident on first listen. The storybook I got with the deluxe edition of the album helps. Also like The Black Halo and unlike Epica, the songs are less narrative than they are thoughtful and introspective, the musings and remembrances of an imprisoned man looking back on the tragic course of his life. It's a good story, but I won't spoil too much of it here.

Anyway, on to the actual songs. The first song "Manus Dei" is a bombastic, choir-and-orchestra driven intro along the lines of Rhapsody of Fire and Nightwish, the first sign that this album is more symphonic and less experimental than the previous one. The first we hear of Tommy Karevik is his recitation of the first verse of "My Confession" at the end. And then we launch into the album standout, "Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife)". My jaw dropped as soon as this song started and I was practically rejoicing by the time it ended. Beginning with a booming guitar riff with echoing horns above and double-bass drumming below, it easily surpasses the energy of anything on Poetry, beyond even the title track of Ghost Opera or "When the Lights Are Down" on The Black Halo. It has a standard soft-loud contrast between the verses and chorus, but what a chorus--possibly the best of any Kamelot song, ever. (Especially the penultimate time, when it is echoed by guest vocalist Elize Ryd) Quite possibly my favorite Kamelot song ever.

Unfortunately, after the mind-blowing amazingness of "Sacrimony", the album can't help but go somewhat downhill from there. Where it soars through the clouds, "Ashes to Ashes" chugs along more slowly, with a much heavier atmosphere and some cool riffs in the chorus that would not sound out of place on a Meshuggah album. (Only with Karevik's sparkling vocals on top instead of crazed death-howls) Its other highlight is the cool dueling guitar and synth solo. It would be a fine song if it hadn't come right after such a strong one. "Torn" is considerably more melodic and "power metal" and showcases more of Karevik's higher register (fine chorus; again, it's just hard not to compare it with "Sacrimony"). If my audiophile gear and ears are not mistaken, the verse also has an interesting harmony going between the guitar and bass.

After that, "Song for Jolee" is a fairly excellent ballad, with piano and synth-orchestra as the only instrumentation for most of the song before a marching drumbeat prefaces the whole band joining in for one last hurrah. Like "Eva" for Nightwish, this song serves to show that Kamelot's new vocalist is still great when he's not going full-throttle. And don't worry--the lyrics are part of the album's concept and the song doesn't come off as cheesy. It's no "Abandoned", but surprisingly good.

"Veritas" has more of a marching rhythm (as long as I am comparing this album to previous ones, like "March of Mephisto"); its main feature is the choir that sings the Latin part of the increasingly-raucous chorus. (You know it's proper Latin because Luca Turilli of Rhapsody of Fire is credited as "Latin consultant") I'm not as big a fan of Karevik's vocals on this song. Also of note: the cool accordion outro in the end.

"My Confession" starts with a rather awesome phased chugging guitar pattern over a string quartet (this album has a lot of guest talent) Karevik's vocals in the chorus flow like a picturesque river and make this song another of my favorites. The during/after chorus riff on this song has a great, driving tempo to it that catches my ear. "Silverthorn" seemed like one of the album's lowlights at first, but it's been growing on me. Thomas does an excellent job on the guitar, seeming to take the spotlight and yield it to Karevik at just the right times. The slow, meandering vocal style in the chorus almost reminds me of Khan in "The Edge of Paradise". Truly Tommy is a singer of many talents.

"Falling Light the Fahrenheit" is one of the slowest songs, kind of in the same vein as "The Mourning After (Carry On)" and carrying a kind of stately majesty in its deliberateness. Sadly, though, it is not as cool as its name sounds. "Solitaire" (the second Kamelot song of that name), by contrast, is a considerably faster song, with prominent and rapid double-bass drumming (with synchronized guitar!) in the intense chorus, a welcome shift after the last few songs. It also has one of the best lines of the album, as Karevik/the narrator drinks a glass of "I forgot the name" in the first verse.

The epic of the album, "Prodigal Son", is a three-part compositional masterpiece. Though they are nothing alike, it's hard to resist comparing it with "Memento Mori" as they are nearly the same length, a comparison in which "Prodigal Son" doesn't fare well. It's still fascinating, though. The first of three segments evokes a funeral mass, with tolling bells, a quiet, solemn organ melody, and very subdued vocals. The second time through the verses, these are replaced by an acoustic guitar followed by, drums, bass, and strings. It could almost sound like a ballad as the second part gets considerably heavier and more passionate, keeping the same plodding tempo. Finally, things really start to pick up in the third part, which ditches the funeral pretense and is one of the strongest parts of the album, as if all the musical threads Kamelot has been spinning in this album come together for one majestic conclusion. After this, symphonic piece "Continuum" winds down with Cinzia Rizzo (last heard singing cabaret in Italian on The Black Halo) doing an ethereal, wordless vocal solo as if to transport us back to the mortal realm.

I hesitate to call Silverthorn a disappointment, but it kind of is. Perhaps because of their focus on replacing Khan (which I think they succeed at), Kamelot doesn't really reinvent themselves on this album as they have been in the habit of doing. Maybe the album just needs more time to grow on me, but it seems like for every amazing, memorable song ("Sacrimony", "My Confession", "Song for Jolee", "Solitaire", "Prodigal Son"), there is a merely so-so song; there is less distinction than on previous albums. So-so for Kamelot is still, of course, good by any standard. I was hoping that Silverthorn would have more power metal influences from Epica and earlier, which it does not. Still, the orchestral turn this album takes does work, moving them a bit more into the vein of Nightwish than before. It's a great album for fans of the band (for whom I highly recommend the limited edition with the storybook and bonus disc), but people interested in Kamelot from my constantly promoting them would do better to start with The Black Halo or Ghost Opera.