In 2013, Norwegian prog rockers Airbag released their critically acclaimed third album ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’. Naturally, in some quarters of proggy fandom, people got excited. In some ways they were right enough to do so, since the album contained some fine music; it was all very well played and excellently produced. In other ways, it was hard to understand the hype. For all of Airbag’s obvious talents, the music all too often sounded as if it had been plagiarised from ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘The Division Bell’. There came a point – fairly quickly, too – where you could legitimately ask why you’d spend quality listening time with music derived from such classics in a very obvious way, when you could put on a Floyd disc and hear it all done properly?
Tag Archives: scandinavian
FOR THE IMPERIUM – Hail The Monsters
Finland’s For The Imperium are an intense bunch. ‘Hail The Monsters’, their second full length album, is one of those records that’s really hard to get through in one sitting. It’s frightening. Not just because it’s intense and heavy – this is by no means just noisy alt-rock or metal – but more for the fact that between the obvious grooves, these guys aren’t afraid to experiment.
DRAMA / PERDITION WINDS – Split EP
A release delayed several times due to label problems, this split EP eventually appeared at the end of 2015. Featuring previously unreleased material from Russia’s Drama and Finland’s Perdition Winds, the three tracks showcase two very different slants upon a black metal theme.
ENTHRING – The Art Of Chaos EP
This second r
elease from Finnish black metallers Enthring is an interesting affair. Sometimes more symphonic than flat-out grindy, the multi-layered aspect of their music is strongly evident from the very first notes and although comprising just three tracks, it gives a broad enough glimpse into their craft without becoming overbearing. Provided, that is, you’re not averse to the occasional bit of extreme metal, in which case, this just won’t be for you.
Norway’s Crest of Darkness posts new rehearal clip
In preparations for recording new material, Norwegian death metallers Crest of Darkness have been busy rehearsing. They recently posted a video clip of recent rehearsals which can be seen in full below.
On August 17th, the band enter the studio to begin recording a new EP (yet to be titled) to follow up 2013’s ‘In The Presence of Death’. The first things to be recorded for the new material will be drum tracks.