Gottwut’s sonic brew is rooted in the 90s. Not just industrial, techno and symphonic elements – Konglomerat integrates alternative, gothic and occasional hard rock riffs. In spite of constantly shifting its sound and tempo, the record manages to hold its atmosphere. Drawing from a broad spectrum of influences it simply packs enough ammo — more than enough to capture the attention of a goth or an industrial head. Needless to say, those vocals and compositions structured for live shows will inevitably draw well deserving comparisons with this massively influential industrial band from Berlin.
An Easter weekend music fest might seem whimsical – but it’s heavy metal – and it is Decibel fest. Except for some metalheads and lost travellers, an otherwise crowded Philadelphia streets were absolutely deserted by Sunday. At the Gates on Easter Eve and those picturesque Old City images on a drizzling Sunday morning – Decibel fest Day 2 had the best of preludes.
Spectral Voice, with an absolutely dim stage lighting and a matching sound is an ideal opener. Dial down those doom metal like qualities and we pretty much get the sound created by New York City death metallers — Incantation. The final three bands seek no introduction or picturesque settings. They would simply make their mark even in the void. The calmness with which Repulsion vented dissonance might have defied all the laws of physics. These grindcore veterans, perfectly composed on stage, wrecked pandemonium below.
Needless to say, Mayhem would simply double down. After that initial intimidating stage presence, an unprecedented frenzy befell. The Fillmore has seen its performances, but here the decibels were off the charts. Only the fittest survived to finally face Carcass. Two days of beer and dissonance ending with an unyielding train — of grindcore and melodic death — riffs which simply explain metal as we know it.
So, Pain of Salvation makes a grand return to their metal roots — album does manage to pack more than adequate amounts of dissonance and melody. ‘The Beatles’ like undercurrents still remain intact. In short, along with caustic riffs and coarse vocals, we get more than subtle glimpses of blues rock — vividly expressed through the same old characteristic Pain of Salvation torment.
Drums run a tad out of phase with hardcore punk like riffs — effortlessly blending into those matching vocal screams — add those precise temporal switches and the rare combination of aggression with progressive metal harmony is complete.
Heavy and mellow – discordant and melodic – In the Passing Light of Day integrates not just sonic contradictions, but emotions uncomfortably fragile for heavy metal – “You’re watching me slowly slip away, Like the passing light of day, Watching our colors turning grey, Like the passing light of day”
Five days of listening to Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, another couple of days with Octavarium — no doubt, with this band mind is always in a great place. But, “just when I thought I was out…Bryan pull me back in”. Black Clouds & Silver Linings is the last Dream Theater album I thoroughly enjoyed. Always play it from start to finish – like how all progressive albums should be explored. On top of their usual run-of-the mill complexity; we get to hear some grungy riffs, narrative vocals, extended melodic passages and a violin. Essentially, it’s another astonishing display of Dream Theater School of craft.
Years ago I used to be a regular at this metal bar. The place had two categories of head-bangers — ones who resented Dream Theater, but admired Tool. Then there was the faction obsessed with the former, but at best indifferent towards Tool. Most of the Dream Theater critics were tripped by that brazen exhibitionism. Usual complaints include: they take themselves too seriously, or the band is mostly about Rudess and Portnoy sharing time slots whenever Petrucci takes a break. LaBrie is awfully off-pitch was also a rather popular opinion. Myung was generally spared from these searing insightful dissections.
Perpetually warring metal tribes aside, Tool is also a lot about that brazen self-indulgent exhibitionism. As much as these bands differ musically, they do share that striking quality. So it’s merely a question of choice – of your brand of pretentiousness. My preference is obvious, but more crucially, Dream Theater tickets are affordable.
Image Attribution:
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By dxburbuja [Public domain or Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons
From classical music to thrash metal, all within six degrees of musical separation. For Dream Theater, channeling this stunning wealth of influences is nothing novel. But, a concept album clocking 96 minutes and without any weak moments is extraordinary.
Covering the full spectrum from Overture to catchy choruses — “Are you justified, Are you justified —- Justified in taking, Life to save life” — they comfortably elevate progressive musicianship to stratospheric levels. Layered passages with grinding riffs and complex time signatures — that sheer jazz like drumming with adequate doses of coarse and clean vocals. These drawn out compositions simply demand our undivided attention.
Within a world of carefully orchestrated concept albums, this level of spontaneity with elaborate structural progression is uncommon. In short, brazenly intricate and yet restrained, Dream Theater composes a rare aesthetic blend of metal and prog mindset. Musically and emotionally complex, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence is a progressive epic even without attempting to be one.
Featured Image : Shot by yours truly (San Francisco, circa 2012)
I feel we reached a new level with the band with that song. It felt like I had broken some kind of code for the band in terms of communicating something emotional, atmosphere. We kept the rawness and aggression, but we managed to sneak in something more tender, a bit more fragile into the body of destruction, aggression and madness that extreme metal is about.
“Enslaved blends that melancholic overtones of ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ with the ferocity of Viking metal….We can safely state; abstraction of the quirky melodic aspects of a ‘Selling England by the Pound’ and placing it within the context of 90s extreme metal has now been accomplished – with captivating surgical precision.”
Excuse the brazen self-promotion, but the mighty Ivar Bjørnson did sort of confirm my modest take. Or maybe it’s just my sleep deprivation and high blood caffeine levels talking — that 35000 ft perception – from a flight to the Atlantic coast for an Easter weekend with the likes of Incantation, Mayhem, At the Gates and Carcass.
“I remember when I first heard DECAPITATED’s ‘Organic Hallucinosis’ and it just blew me away!!!!”–Tomas Haake, (MESHUGGAH). This was in the context of Vitek’sunfortunate death, at the age of 23.
Importance of Decapitated cannot be exaggerated. Intensity aside, that layered pattern of rhythm, leads and drumming — synchronized and complex. Whether it’s “Day 69”, “Post(?) Organic” or the intricately progressive “A Poem About an Old Prison Man” – Organic Hallucinosis shifts technical death into demanding musical terrains. And Decapitated accomplishes that by remaining rooted in old school structures.
Extending the scope of an established genre mandates more than just musical skill – a broader grasp of the context is equally crucial. Essentially, the album captures those alien progressive tendencies into the confines of a tried and tested death framework. Needless to say, it’s a surgical balancing act. Sheer progressive melody brewed into old school death — and without significant deviations from the genre playbook. In short, Organic Hallucinosis is a ruthless exhibition — of musical and aesthetic craftsmanship. A masterful swan song too.
Among the best to have emerged from Down Under is this band named Deströyer 666. Feels like they only entertain one single goal – destroy even the last remaining understated qualities in metal. And that’s exactly what they accomplish. Synthesized from black and thrash elements, Phoenix Rising takes extreme metal aesthetics to unprecedented loudness.
Rough harping choruses, over-the-top guitar melodies, black metal screams and galloping old school riffs. In short, 80s/90s heavy metal signatures exaggerated to the point of no return. From “Rise of the Predator“ to “I Am the Wargod” to “The Eternal Glory of War” – lyrics pretty much mirror exactly what the music conveys. With this brazen approach, they will manage to get through to even the most obtuse of listeners. With no frills old school structures, a style absolutely devoid of pretenses and adequate in substance – Deströyer 666 becomes that essential cross-over band to darker genres. Needless to say, album is rated 666/666.
Morbid Angel to Archspire is an interesting shift – from morbid dissonance to morbid like precision in about 30 years. There are numerous incremental steps between them, but this systematic dial up in technical intensity is a broader pattern evident across all metal genres. But, whether this is a progression or regression is a matter of perspective. Definitely there is no absolute hierarchy for benchmarks, they are always personal and often idiosyncratic.
These broader genre shifts are eventually propelled by all aspects of the music industry — listeners, artists, labels — everyone plays their own structural role. Within the economic constraints of the real world, music evolves only when all the involved factors reinforce each other. In other words, independent of our personal opinion, aggregate benchmarks are constantly emerging. It’s sort of a dispersed process with its own layered feedback loops. Artistic shifts experiencing positive feedback simply thrive. And in turn also become a factor propelling broader genre trajectories – just like any other interconnected ecosystem.
Progarchy 
