Midnight Priest
Midnight Priest
2011 Stormspell Records
There are worlds other than this one. There exists an entire multiverse of infinite worlds with limitless possibilities. My point? I'm getting to that. Have you ever wondered what might have happened if Iron Maiden had a different pair of well-known guitarists back in their early days? Instead of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, what if Hank Shermann and Michael Denner had joined Iron Maiden? The answer to that question of course cannot be conclusively answered, but Portugal's Midnight Priest do give us an idea of what might have been in this little hypothetical question of ours. We are, of course ignoring the vocals in all of this. Singer "The Priest" does have a good voice, but he comes much closer to Kai Hansen than Dickinson or Di'Anno. The nine tracks here all have that well-known Maiden "thump" to them, but in terms of the guitar team, their tunings, soloing style, and just overall sound are right in line with the old Mercyful Fate albums. For the best proof of all this, look no further than "Segredo de Familia." This track sounds like it could easily have been written by Shermann back in the glory days of Fate. In fact, the further into this album one gets, the more it begins to sound more like a Mercyful Fate album than an Iron Maiden one (although "Cidade Fantasma" has the most Maiden-like sound of any track on the album). So it might even have been that Steve Harris would not be the main songwriter in this theoretical band of ours. Lucky for us, Midnight Priest then, is a real band! One small interesting point of note: on their debut ep, Midnight Priest displayed little or no similarity to Mercyful Fate's sound. Had I written this review at that time, we'd be talking a lot about Running Wild instead!
In Solitude
The World, The Flesh, The Devil
2011 Metal Blade Records
As the years go on, it seems that more and more bands are becoming content with merely imitating their influences, rather than letting those influences actually do what they're supposed to do. Which, of course is to play a part in the direction of a band's sound, and not be the sound itself. If you really need an example, just throw a rock at a gathering of black metal bands formed ten years ago or less. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll hit one that sounds like a pale imitation of one of the bigger bands in the scene. So what's that got to do with In Solitude? Simple. While a good portion of their sound is based off of the 80s releases of Mercyful Fate, they don't sound exactly like Fate. Singer Pelle Åhman's (aka "Hornper") voice may have a bit of a resemblance at times to King Diamond's mid-range, but he's not hitting the impossible highs, or the almost gutteral lows. No falsetto to be found here. As for the lyrics, if anyone was afraid they' tone down the satanism because of signing to a major label (major, that is, by the standards of the metal underground), let me allay your fears with this simple statement; those elements are still very much present, but in a more esoteric form. Subtlety is the key. All in all, these guys are fairly young, and if the two albums they've done so far are any indication, we can expect big things from them in the future.
Goreaphobia
Apocalyptic Necromancy
2011 Dark Descent Records
I don't know the current status of Bloodstorm, but judging what I hear on "Apocalyptic Necromancy," I'd have to think that Chris Gamble is folding much of that band into the now resurrected and revitalized Goreaphobia. The songs on this album have a lot more in common with black metal than death metal. The songtitles, lyrics and philosophy are also much more in line with the mythology of Bloodstorm. The production doesn't focus on the same heavy side of things as before, and the whirlwind drumming is going to come as a shock to some. This is not the same vile beast of abomination that we've become used to. Only once you realize and accept all of that will you be able to begin appreciating the direction Goreaphobia have chosen to go in.
Mordbrand
Necropsychotic
2011 Deathgasm Records
Per Boder, where the hell have you been all these years? After the breakup of the utterly brilliant (and much missed) God Macabre, just about all of the members disappeared. Ola Sjoberg has popped up again in Space Probe Taurus, and now vocalist Per Boder has resurfaced in Mordbrand. Of course this is an old school death metal band, and the songs remind me a lot of something other than just the old Stockholm sound. Listen closely to the faster parts, and you may recognize some similarities to the almighty Massacre. For those who are unsure of what is meant by old school brutality, these six songs are all perfect examples.
Arch/Matheos
Sympathetic Resonance
2011 Metal Blade Records
This year saw what could well be the biggest event in prog metal history ever. I'm not talking about Mike Portnoy's exit from Dream Theater. I'm of course referring to something much more important. That, of course, is this album. This collaboration between Jim Matheos and John Arch. It was big news when John put out that two track disk a few years ago. But let's face it. That was only two songs. What we've got here is a full album. There's a few ways to look at this album. On the one hand, it sounds virtually nothing like the first three Fates Warning albums. So it's not a straightforward metal album. But it's also nothing like what came after "No Exit" once Ray Alder took up the vocalist spot in FW. At least for me, FW became far too progressive, and were, well, ...boring. While still in the prog vein, the songs here manage to stay on the level and are fairly focused, or at least they have a decent flow to them. Given how long some of them are, this is no small feat. John doesn't sound like he lost anything vocal-wise and is still as powerful and instantly recognizable as ever. With any luck, this won't be a one-off release and we'll hear more from John Arch sooner rather than later.
Portrait
Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae
2011 Metal Blade Records
When Portrait virtually exploded onto the scene a few years ago, everyone was struck with two things about the band. First, singer Phillip Svennefelt's voice bore an uncanny resemblance to that of King Diamond. Second, Portrait's song structure was very similar to that of the original Mercyful Fate albums, and KD's "Fatal Portrait" release as well. Here on album number two, that structure is even more prevalent, but Phillip Svennefelt has been replaced by Per Lengstedt. The band is better for the change in frontmen. Phillip Svennefelt seemed to be locked in the pattern of singing one line in a high KD style voice, and singing the next line in a low, more sinister KD style voice. He would then repeat this style not only for the rest of the song, but for the rest of the album as well. As much as I like the debut, this really became grating after awhile. New frontman Per Lengstedt has a more subtle style, where he does not instantly sound like KD. Indeed, at first he doesn't really stand out from other power metal singers of this era. But as you listen more, the more you realize that he takes quite a few queues, not from King's exact sound, but from his phrasing, vocal flair, and the ability to create one hell of a macabre picture with his voice and lyrics. That said, on "Darkness Forever," he does use a specific phrasing that King used on "Into the Coven," and I promise you that you'll know it the first time you hear it. But that aside, his vocals combined with songs that have a strong similarity to old Mercyful Fate (but with far better production) makes for the kind of package that most other bands can't even conceive of, let alone compete with.
Hell
Human Remains
2011 Nuclear Blast Records
It's been a long road for Hell. Originally formed back in the glory days of the NWOBHM, they've been little more than a cult favorite for many years. And truth be told, the number of those who had even heard of the band was small indeed. Virtually everyone here was an original member except Andy Sneap, and sadly Dave Halliday, who committed suicide in 1987. As main songwriter and vocalist, the loss of Dave was a huge one, but as heard on this album, the rest of the pieces are in place, and the players are all in top form. For those lucky enough to buy the 2CD version, all of the songs are on the second disk, but in their original demo form, with Dave Halliday on vocals. Other than the album versions having David Bower on vocals instead, and better production, not much is different or has been changed in their occult metal sound. While this album holds its own against young newcomers like In Solitude, Enforcer or Portrait, it remains to be seen if Hell can maintain this level of greatness with another album, one containing new material.
Midnight Priest
