Album Review: Deafheaven - New Bermuda

Experimentation isn't too welcome in the black metal community. This was made awfully clear when Deafheaven's previous album Sunbather, though it garnered widespread critical acclaim, was dismissed by the genre's many purists as "hippie metal" for it's unconventionally bright and triumphant sound. I personally despise this kind of close-mindedness. The album's innovation and diversity was one of the greatest reasons it was the best metal record of the year (2013) for me.

New Bermuda continues to expand on the band's experimental style, blending together various influences from post-rock, thrash metal and shoe-gaze, but somewhat follows the same overall blueprint as Sunbather - a mixture of despair and beauty, loud distorted passages accompanied by soft and melodic ones. The band has, however, significantly cut down on the vivid and vibrant atmosphere, which was a major element on Sunbather, and has turned to a comparatively darker sound The instrumentation is harsher and more abrasive, George Clarke's screams are sharper and sound chillingly anguished, and the lyrics are depressing, dealing with the idea of a life devoid of all happiness.

The album opens with the band in full-form, with Brought To The Waters. One of the instantly striking features is the drumming, which remains a highlight till the end of the album. It is a marvel how effortlessly Daniel Tracy transitions between drum rolls, never for a second faltering in his timing. The track is a solid one, successfully weaving in bits of melody into the gritty and chaotic instrumentation.

Next up, Luna kicks in with its Slayer-esque guitar riff. The thrash influence is distinctly audible throughout most of the song's length, with many of the riffs following the style of the genre's characteristic chugging and galloping sound, though the murk and atmosphere of black metal still takes the center-stage. Baby Blue, on the other hand, serves as a testament to the band's versatility, and stands as the most diverse track on the album, with a smooth undistorted intro, some thrashy riffing and a wah-wah pedal guitar solo. The most interesting track however, is the album-closer - Gifts for the Earth. The song features Clarke's distressed black metal vocals over soft and clean instrumentation in the background, sounding like a post-rock band with a black metal vocalist.

Deafheaven hasn't exactly matched the brilliance of Sunbather, which by no means is an easy task, but created a worthy follow-up to it. With just three albums into their career, the band has already won the spot for the best American black metal act in my list.

Rating: 9/10

Track Review: Megadeth - Fatal Illusion

Fatal Illusion, the lead single from Megadeth's upcoming album, has just been released on YouTube through Megadeth's official Vevo channel. When I first came across the track on the Internet, I was in a sort of dilemma whether to play it immediately or listen to it later. I was just too scared of being disappointed, since Megadeth is one of my favorite bands and it hurts me when they put out sub-standard music (like their previous studio album Super Collider). But as soon as the first riff blared through my speakers, I knew that Megadeth was truly back with something that'll kick ass.

The song is also the first piece of music we have heard from Megadeth's new line-up consisting of the newly recruited Kiko Loureiro (guitarist) and Chris Adler (drummer, Lamb Of God). If you're one of those fans worried whether they'll be able to keep up the quality, rest assured. Dave Mustaine has made the right choice, like always.

The first minute, with its prog-metal sounding riff and drums, creates an atmosphere similar to the song Five Magics from the band's cult-classic Rust In Peace album. Adler's skills are also given enough room to shine through, as he play a bunch of well-timed drum fills. A sick bass-line by David Ellefson follows immediately, kicking off the next three minutes of sheer head-banging awesomeness.

The riffs are thick and fairly intricate, standing as proof that Dave hasn't lost his songwriting genius even by a bit. Though it may sound strange, some of the riffs in the song's last minute reminded me slightly of Megadeth's Peace Sells...But Who's Buying era. Chris Adler's drums fit in well with the band's style, which serves as as a testament to his versatility. Judging from Kiko's solo, he is a better guitarist than the previous Chris Broderick; a little less robotic, I feel, but is a long way from Marty Friedman, the band's most loved guitarist who played on Rust In Peace, and that was expected since Marty is a once-in-a-lifetime talent.

The only criticism I feel the song deserves is that - Dave's vocal style did not suit the track. He should have used the raw high-pitched snarling voice (he is so known for), which would have added a great deal of energy and intensity to the already intense instrumentation.

Rating: 8/10

Track Review: Demi Lovato - Confident

Demi Lovato has previously said that her new album showcases her "badass" side and now, she has given us a glimpse with her new single Confident. The song sums up all the the intentions Demi has, with her new album, of telling the world that she is no longer the coy and cutesy teen she used to be, she has matured. After showing us the sexual side of her maturity with Cool For The Summer which I really enjoyed, Demi declares her unquenchable ambition to "run the show" and how she is "the boss right now" with Confident.

The song begins promisingly with blaring trumpets setting the song's triumphant mood. The booming bass-drum beats and snapping fingers kick in next. When Demi's voice enters the mix, I'm all ready for a catchy little tune. Though the song is fairly hooking, it left me disappointed. It is not a song that can be listened to on repeat. Hearing Demi sing lyrics like "Bitch, I run the show" is worth revisiting though.

Confident is a sassy statement and serves Demi's purpose of expressing her ambition and confidence, but is nowhere as well-written or catchy as Cool For The Summer which had gotten me excited for her album.

Rating: 6/10

Album Review: Slayer - Repentless

Slayer is undoubtedly going through the toughest time in their career. Guitarist Jeff Hanneman who wrote majority of the band's material has passed away, and their drummer Dave Lombardo has quit the band, and been replaced by Paul Bostaph. Bostaph is no amateur, but Lombardo's virtuosity is simply irreplaceable. Despite all of this, the band has managed to put together a decent album and that, I feel, deserves to be commended.

Apart from Jeff Hanneman's Piano Wire, the entire album is written by fellow founding guitarist Kerry King. While he does a great job maintaining the "Slayer" standard of quality, the absence of Hanneman's songwriting can be felt throughout the record. There are some solid riffs sporadically appearing on the album, but they're outnumbered by the average ones. It's easy to see that Kerry is playing it safe here, limiting the sound to Slayer's basic style.

Kerry continues with his trademark fashion of high pitched chaotic shredding with his solos, while the newly recruited Gary Holt's solos are refreshingly steadier, in comparison. What bothers me is how less of Holt's talent Slayer made use of. His solos appear only on 4 tracks and that I feel is grave injustice, considering how skilled of a guitarist he is.

The vocals on the album aren't as barbarous or brutal as Slayer's previous records and I don't blame Tom Araya for it. His style of vocals require a great deal of focus and energy which is almost impossible to maintain at an age of 54, and yet he comes through to give an enjoyable performance. Bostaph's drumming manages to keep up with the band's ferocity, with his talent put on full display in Cast The Fire Stone, but it's hard not to feel the gaping void that Lombardo's departure has created.

Most of Repentless follows Slayer's classic musical template. The title track, Take Control, Vices Implode are all typical fast paced Slayer songs. Cast The Fire Stone is a mid-speed track with chugging guitar riffs and When The Stillness Comes follows the style of some of the band's slower classics like Dead Skin Mask and South of Heaven. Lyrically, the album is more diverse than Slayer albums usually are, covering themes like alcoholism, war, revenge and society.

In all, Repentless is a quintessential Slayer record. Fast riffs, gory lyrics, frantic double-bass drumming, breakdowns - they're all here. But it somewhat misses the brutality and power Slayer is loved for, the kind of ferocious intensity that makes me feel uneasy (in an enjoyable way).

Favorite Songs: When The Stillness Comes, Cast The Fire Stone, Vices, Pride In Prejudice

Rating: 6.5/10

Music Video Review: Ghost - From The Pinnacle To The Pit

The entire enigmatic persona Ghost has created, of the lead singer being a Satanic Pope a.k.a Papa Emeritus and the other masked "nameless ghouls", is becoming more and more enjoyable with everything the band does. And it's a joy to see them continuously expanding this identity with their music, and now with their music videos too.

Ghost's latest video for From The Pinnacle To The Pit brings the strange dark world of theirs to vivid life like never before.

It tells the story of Papa Emeritus' evolution from an ordinary kid to the evil leader he is now. The video begins with Papa Emeritus as a boy in school, drawing an inverted cross on his desk and being taken to the principal for it. What follows is a twisted turn of events which I'll leave for you to see for yourself.

Apart from the bizarre story, what makes the video such a winner is the vintage art style. The imagery and the style of motion graphics are highly reminiscent of the cult classic 1930 sci-fi film Metropolis and clips from various vintage films have also been used. I truly feel that there couldn't be a better visual style for the video. It beautifully complements all the spookiness of the story and the song.

Rating: 8.5/10

Quick Album Review: Iron Maiden - Book of Souls

Most legendary bands reach an inevitable point in their career, when they are struck with the realization that their days of artistic glory are over. Though their latest releases sell well, the band is loved mostly for the achievements they made 20-30 years ago. They realize that they have gained the "legend" status and cannot perform concerts without playing their old hits and set a limit to experimentation to preserve their "classic" sound which the fans have grown to love over the years. With Book of Souls, Iron Maiden boldly refuses to be such a band and proves they're still the unstoppable force they were in the 80s.
  

Book of Souls is beyond anything we could have expected. Creating 90 minutes of sheer theatrical epic-ness is, by no means, an easily achievable task, but Maiden makes it seem effortlessly simple. Though the lyrics follow the same old signature Maiden themes of battles and adventures accompanied by melodic dual-guitar, soaring dramatic vocals and of course bad-ass bass-lines, the album sounds more grandiose and ambitious than anything the band's done before. The 18-minute closing track Empire of Clouds stands as proof.

Starting off with Bruce Dickinson singing over a lone piano harmony, the song builds itself up slowly, with guitars and drums kicking in, into a beautiful metal symphony. It is nothing less than watching a long spellbinding theater performance.

The Red And The Black is another gem. Throughout its length of 13 minutes, with its clever riffs and Bruce's vocal delivery, the song keeps you captivated. The "Whoa oh oh oh" chants are just infectious.

The mid-sized tracks on the album, are just as strong, the opener If Eternity Should Fail, being my favorite out of them.

If you are one of those people who lost faith in the power of Maiden, after listening to their previous album The Final Frontier, you definitely need to hear Book of Souls. Though they've made it 40 years into their career, the album is one of their best.

Favorite Songs: If Eternity Should Fail, Empire of Clouds, Book of Souls, Red and the Black

Rating: 8.5/10

Quick Album Review: The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness

I usually enjoy sexually expressive music, being a huge fan of artists like Marvin Gaye and Prince. Curious with all the hype surrounding The Weeknd and his upcoming album, I decided to look into some of his previous work. Though I wasn't very impressed, it made me look forward to hearing Beauty Behind The Madness.

The album has a fair share of catchy moments, and also a decent amount of skippable tracks. Tell Your Friends, produced by Kanye West, stands out as the album's brightest jewel with it's hooking vocal melody and light production, slightly reminiscent of Kanye's Bound 2. The Michael Jackson-esque Can't Feel My Face is another highlight.

When it comes to lyrics, The Weeknd has done the best he can to make sure that the album never feels pleasant, not even for a moment. His rambling on about his obsession with drugs, money and loveless sex maintains a dark tone till the end, and he warns us about this in the first song, Real Life singing "Tell 'em this boy wasn't made for loving".

This theme just didn't work for me. When I play a sexual R&B album, I expect it to be passionate, something which gets me in the mood, even if it is dark. But Beauty Behind the Madness gave me a bitter, obsessive and misogynistic perspective instead. Come on, there are a million better things to do with sex than obsess over it - enjoy it, for instance?

Favorite songs: Tell Your Friends, Can't Feel My Face


Rating: 6/10