Just a few days after Charlotte Wessels and her band returned from their biggest tour to date with Epica and Amaranthe, she reveals that she will be taking The Obsession on their first headline tour in 2027, spanning major cities across Europe and the United Kingdom! Not only that, but joining her will be Melissa Bonny, vocalist of modern metal outfit AD INFINITUM!
The tour will kick off on February 4, 2027, in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, and conclude on February 27, 2027, in Charlotte’s hometown of Utrecht, the Netherlands. The full list of dates can be found below. Be sure to grab your tickets quickly at https://charlottewessels.nl/tour/
04.02.27 BE – Sint-Niklaas / Casino 05.02.27 UK – London / Islington Assembly Hall 06.02.27 UK – Glasgow / Slay 07.02.27 UK – Manchester / Club Academy 09.02.27 FR – Paris / La Machine Du Moulin Rouge 10.02.27 CH – Zurich / Komplex Klub 12.02.27 IT – Milan / Legend Club 13.02.27 DE – Munich / Backstage Halle 14.02.27 CZ – Zlín / Masters of Rock Cafe 15.02.27 AT – Vienna / Szene Wien 17.02.27 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra 18.02.27 PL – Krakow / Hype Park 19.02.27 DE – Leipzig / Werk 2 20.02.27 DE – Hamburg / Gruenspan 21.02.27 DK – Copenhagen / Pumpehuset 23.02.27 DE – Berlin / Lido 25.02.27 DE – Aschaffenburg / Colos-Saal 26.02.27 DE – Essen / Weststadthalle 27.02.27 NL – Utrecht / TivoliVredenburg Ronda
Charlotte Wessels on the tour:
“After the unforgettable Arcane Dimensions tour with Epica and Amaranthe, announcing our own headline tour across Europe feels surreal. It’s such an emotional next chapter. The energy we’ve shared with all of you over the past months has been incredible, and we can’t wait to take that even further, with longer sets, new songs, and deeper moments together every night. Finishing the tour in my hometown Utrecht, at TivoliVredenburg – Ronda, is something I’m especially proud of and looking forward to.”
Charlotte Wessels’ latest release, The Obsession (2024), has been widely praised for its dynamic range, artistic growth, and emotional depth. Ever Metal highlighted its “skyscraper melodies” and Wessels’ “masterful vocals,” while Blabbermouth noted the album’s impressive variety. Louder Sound described it as “an auspicious and metallicized spin on her dark fairytale aesthetic,” while Metal Sucks called it “a transcendent collection of moving yet forceful and complex compositions,” further cementing her reputation as a versatile and evolving artist. You can even check out our review of it here!
Another huge week of new albums for us to check out, from metal to rock to country! Let’s not waste and time and dive right in!
Spiritbox: Tsunami Sea
It’s no secret that I don’t quite get the Spiritbox hype. I gave their debut a slightly generous 7/10, but have not revisited it once since. It wasn’t bad but outside of a couple of bangers… meh. So, I was cautious about sitting down with their highly anticipated sophomore release. However, this may have won me over! I didn’t check out any of the singles so went in completely blind, and liked a lot of it. I feel like it’s a touch more riff-oriented this time, some of them easily being highlights of the album as a whole. Honestly, I feel like the more pop-based tracks surprisingly did a lot less for me compared to when the band went hard. It was a bit of a shame that we have these heavy-ass riffs to open tracks and then it’d drop down to synth-based clean stuff for the most part. Still, ‘Fata Morgana’ is the perfect opener, and tracks like ‘Soft Spine’ and ‘No Loss, No Love’ are awesome additions to the band’s quickly growing discography. Clearly I just want them to be a hardcore band!
However, the more I listen to this, the more the average outweighs the good. There’s a lot of good elements in the tracks I’m not too into, but there’s a LOT of synthy, clean pop stuff, which I don’t enjoy as much as the metal. Even when the heavy, distorted riffs come in, more often than not it’s steady pop still around those guitars. I completely get why they have such a huge and growing fanbase, as the appeal is very much there. But it still isn’t really my sort of thing. The opening track did its job of getting me hyped, but the rest of the album didn’t keep me at that level. There are some good moments and songs and breakdowns, but overall I don’t think I’d listen to it much again. This is completely my own opinion and I know most will rank it higher, but this is a 6.5/10 from me.
Neil Young: Oceanside Countryside
The country rock legend and future Glastonbury headliner is back with yet another studio album. We checked out a couple of his last releasesand didn’t mind them. This is another one one of his ‘lost albums’, recorded back in 1977 and never released. It’s very country, a style it feels like he and his band haven’t done in a long while at this point. It’s good, but very typical of the country scene at the time. It’s pretty Don McLean/ Hank Williams in its pacing and sound and chilled-out-ness. That’s certainly not a bad thing, but it does make for a slightly trying listen by the second half when it’s all the same slow stuff. He’s a legend for this stuff just as much a the rock or other genres he’s explored, but I don’t favour it as much as some of his other styles. Still, tracks like ‘Goin’ Back’, ‘Field of Opportunity’ and ‘It Might Have Been’ are all worth checking out if you’re into his particular brand of country-Americana. So yeah, not a bad album at all, and I’m glad Neil finally got the chance to release it. But it’s not something I’ll be rushing back to outside of a song or two. 5.5/10
Whitechapel: Hymns in Dissonance
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here.
The Wildhearts: Satanic Rites of the Wildhearts
Despite having a turbulent few years as a band and musician as a whole, Ginger has powered on and produced a damn good return album after nearly four years away. The man’s modern, unique brand of heavy punk, almost bordering on metal at times, is on full display through this, sounding as good as ever! The opener sets the tone perfectly, feeling like the perfect mix of their early stuff and Renaissance Men. Then you have tracks like ‘Scared of Glass’, the ‘cleverly’ titled ‘Kunce’ and ‘Blue Moon Over Brinkburn’ that are all certified bangers in their own right. However, if you’re a fan of their sound like I am, you’ll love all of it as there really isn’t a bad track on the album. I
t’s a lot of fun to listen to, and may actually be my favourite release from Ginger since maybe even The Wildhearts Must be Destroyed. Yep, that’s how truly good I believe this album actually is. It’s quirky, heavy and catchy all at the right levels and like really only Ginger can do. And while he had a questionable fallout with his previous members, it’s nice to see the guy coming back strong after years of struggling with his mental health. And to hear some of that emotion bleed into his songwriting is even better, and makes for a fascinating listen. This is a solid 8.5/10 from me, and I’ll definitely be listening to it again in the coming weeks and months!
Destruction: Birth of Malice
The German thrash legends are back with their first album since 2022’s Diabolical (which we also enjoyed!). This one is no different, as it’s another awesome release from a band that really don’t get the credit they deserve as they have a discography full of them! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been a massive thrash fan so of course I was going to love this, but I honestly can’t recommend it enough to any fans of the genre or metal in general!
Right from the quiet intro track into the band’s namesake, it sets the tone perfectly and doesn’t let up for another 45-minutes of awesomeness. Between ‘No Kings – No Masters’, ‘God of Gore’ and ‘Greed’ there are plenty of tracks that I’d put up there among some of the band’s best. Yet, every song on this release feels pretty unique to each other and are all great in their own right. It didn’t feel like it went on for nearly an hour at all, my listens going by in a flash. Their sound really feels like the perfect blend of modern and old-school thrash, as well as having just a sprinkling of NWOBHM for good measure. It’s just a good metal album, there isn’t much more to say! The band are extremely talented players and songwriters, and all get their own times to shine throughout. I’ve gotten into the band a lot in the three years since their last release, and I’d honestly put this one up there with some of their better releases. It gets a solid 8/10 from me!
Caylee Hammack: Bed of Roses
The modern country star is back with her sophomore album after a rather surprising five year break. She’s been plenty busy in that time, with four awesome singles on top of the other four released to hype this album. As a fan of her work, though, it’s definitely nice to have a longer collection from her again! It also helps that it’s an awesome release, too!
Her voice is as incredible as it always has been, flipping from powerful, effortlessly and delicately soaring and brimming with emotion and attitude with ease. And her writing, be it the lyrics or instrumentation, is great throughout, and surprisingly varied through a few different country-adjacent styles. The album is packed full of highlights too, it being a very easy 46+ minute listen that goes by in a flash. From the opening track to the beautiful ballad ‘Mammas’, to the more Americana ‘The Hill’, to the likes of ‘Bread & Butter’ and ‘Cleopatra’, there is so much amazingness on the album! Heck, I’d put them up alongside any of her top songs, for sure!
My only slight complaint is about the arrangement; there’s a lot of slower stuff at the start and maybe putting in another of the more upbeat tracks in the mix earlier may have kept the energy more consistent. However, it’s a minor gripe when everything is this high quality! I’m gonna be listening to this a fair bit moving forward and I just hope she tours over here again soon as I’d love to hear a lot of this live! 9/10
Jethro Tull: Curious Ruminant
When I started this site back in 2021, I had no idea that I’d end up reviewing THREEJethro Tull albums. Heck, the fact that they’ve been going this long (nearly 60 years!) and are still regularly releasing music is honestly commendable and fantastic, even if I have now accidentally signed myself on to reviewing each of Ian Anderson and co’s quirky prog-folk rock until either he or I die. While I wasn’t a fan of the bands last release, I still jam out with some stuff off The Zealot Gene every so often. So, I’m morbidly curious to see what they have to offer here…
It’s certainly Jethro Tull, that’s for sure. It’s weird, proggy, folky and rocky all in rather equal measure, and has more flute than I’ve ever heard in any other bands music. However, as a legitimate fan of the band, I did find myself enjoying this the more I listened. There’s some really great Tull tracks on here, like the title track, ‘The Tipu House’ and the honest to god prog masterpiece, journey that is ‘Drinking from the Same Well’. And Ian doesn’t sound anywhere near as tired as he did on RökFlöte, both as a vocalist and as a songwriter. Who knew that taking nearly two years off to recharge, especially in your seventies, would be helpful, ey? The highs, I would say, are better than Zealot, but overall I didn’t enjoy the album as a whole quite as much. To (surely not just) my shock, the band have once again knocked it out of the park with their whopping 23rd studio album. I wasn’t expecting this at all, but it’s another solid 7.5/10 for them!
P.S extra points for the sick album artwork!
Alex Runions: Above the Clouds and on the Ground
A fantastic, popular mainstay of Canada’s country music scene, Alex released his highly anticipated third studio album, a full decade after his last one! Right off the bat, it reminds me a lot of his contemporaries like Julian Taylor and ?, in the best possible way of course. Heck, it gives slight vibes of a local easy-listening/soft rock guy to us, Jodie Blunt. I love his stuff so of course I love this! Tracks like the opener, ‘Watching the World Go By’ and ‘A Song for My Dog’ are all awesome and personal highlights, nit honestly it’s a very easy 35-minute listen packed full of awesome, chilled-out tracks. If you’re into the slower side of country music, I can’t recommend this enough. I’ll certainly be listening to this again, and it’s the best release of this style I’ve heard in a while. It’s a solid 8/10 from us!
Deathless Legacy: Damnatio Aeterna
The sixth album from the symphonic/industrial metal has been pretty highly anticipated by us here at Overtone as I personally loved their last release. This album doesn’t disappoint either, certainly living up to my hype for it! Honestly, two and a half years has been two long between releases because I LOVE this band, and this is another excellent addition to their discography. I’d put it up there with Master Larvarum for sure, too. There really isn’t a bad song on the album, so it’s nearly impossible to pick highlight tracks. However, the slower, almost jazz-bar-like ‘Get On Your Knees’ is utterly fantastic, and maybe my favourite song the band have done. However as I say, every song is awesome, and this certainly doesn’t feel like nearly an hour at all, it goes by in a flash.
It all has such an epic feel to it, bordering on power/folk metal as much as symphonic and industrial stuff. The closest band I can think of to them is Lacuna Coil, and I’d honestly put this up there with their awesome new album, which is saying a lot! Then again, Steva has just a hint of P!nk to her vocals too, which surprisingly fits perfectly with this sound! And the whole thing feels so cohesive, the dark culty style and themes being only emphasised by the chanting and organs. So, if you’re a fan of any of the styles or bands I’ve mentioned already, or are just into metal in general, I can’t recommend checking this out enough. It’s an easy 9/10!
Jason Isabell: Foxes in the Snow
The folk/Americana singer-songwriter returned last Friday with his first album in a couple of years, and his first solo venture (sans The 400 Unit) in a decade. While I do generally prefer his work with a bit more of a backing band and instrumentation to it, this is still a good listen. Much like Alex earlier on, it made for a relaxing, easy time, even if it did feel like ever so slightly more of a slog than the aforementioned album, given in large part to this just being one man with his vocals and guitar. Still, tracks like ‘Ride to Robert’s’ and ‘Open and Close’ are fantastic and big highlights for me. It’s not an album I’ll be rushing back to listen to often, but it’s certainly not a bad listen and I wouldn’t turn it off if it came back on. It’s a solid 7/10 from me, and it’s another I’d happily recommend to any Americana fans out there!
Sierra Hull: A Tip Toe High Wire
We don’t cover nearly enough bluegrass on this channel, so whenever I get the chance to I love it. This is no different. Don’t get me wrong, I do prefer the genre when it has a bit more to it and has a bit more energy and almost a rock edge, but this is still a damn good, fun album that I enjoyed listening to a lot. It’s an easy listen again too, only being 10-tracks and 35-minutes. In that time it still has plenty of time for highlights, from ‘Come Out of My Blues’ to the awesome instrumental jam ‘Lord, That’s a Long Way’ and ‘E Tune’ to ‘Truth Be Told’. Honestly, the best parts of this album are when they cut loose instrumentally and jam out some amazing, quicker stuff. But I do like the contrast between them and the more ballad-like, folkier tracks featuring vocals. If nothing else, you can’t possibly be bored listening to this! It’s a lot of fun and the Sierra and her band are clearly incredibly talented players and songwriters. I’ll certainly be listening to this again, and I’d recommend anyone reading this, the whole album is definitely worth a try! It’s a solid 8.5/10 from me!
Another week, another collection of awesome EP releases in the rock, metal and country world. Let’s look at some!
Delain: Dance with the Devil
Okay, I’mma have to stop ragging on country now, this is easily the longest EP I’ve checked out! I completely get where they’re coming from though, with the three studio tracks and then the live releases. It’s a way of underlining and highlighting the band’s still-new vocalist, adding her voice to the old tracks in a legacy, yet inventive way. And while there are a whopping 15-tracks on this thing, I’m really only going to focus on the three studio tracks at the start. However, the live tracks are also fantastic, demonstrating how tight the band are and how well Diana has fit in. Also, the instrumental tracks to close were a fun addition.
Now, I have to admit that when the band returned with a new singer and album last year, I wasn’t blown away. I thought it was good, but lacked the spark and intrigue that the band had with Charlotte fronting. Whatever that spark was, they’ve found it here. The opener and title track I’d put up there with any of the band’s prior hits, it really is that good. And honestly, ‘The Reaping’ isn’t hugely far behind it! And while I question the intention behind the re-recording of ‘Sleepwalkers Dream’, there is no denying Diana pulls it off fantastically. All three tracks combine together to breathe new life into the power metal band, and sure proved me wrong from my thoughts last year! This is easily an 8/10!
Georgie Nevada: The Bright Side of the Dark
The debut EP of the rising UK country star is an absolutely amazing listen, and a must for any fans of the genre. Or for any rock or blues fan, for that matter! It’s five excellently-written radio-rock tracks with a country twang to them, and draws from plenty of different sounds and inspirations. I heard everything from The Cadillac Three and Kyle Daniel to Miranda Lambert to Bad Touch to even a bit of Highly Suspect at times, and I can’t complain about any of that! Whether it’s the boot-stomping rock of the opener/title track or the slower, more acoustic-ballad of ‘A Day that Makes Sense’, there is plenty of variety and plenty to love. Honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the EP, it’s impossible to pick specific highlights! Georgia has got a huge future in the burgeoning UK country scene, and this release further proves that! I’d check this out if you are in any way into country, rock or even pop! 9/10
Verbannt: Falsche Versprechen
Another change of pace again in the article as we check out the London black metallers debut EP. It’s rather full on, let me tell you that much! It’s full-on, even for a black metal album, and definitely took me some getting into. However, the band are all insanely talented, both as players and songwriters, and it’s a damn good release in the genre, that’s for sure! I also feel like the timing of an EP detailing the racism immigrants still face in a country they weren’t born in when our brothers across the pond just had that election result is horribly perfect. It’s certainly not gonna be for everyone, and was a lot for even quite a seasoned black metal listener like myself at times, but if you like the genre it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s one hell of a debut release, and shows the sky is the limit for the band 7/10
Sol Invicto: Loosely Aware
This release has been a pretty long time coming, and is highly anticipated at this point! The love-child of Deftones’ Stephen Carpenter and Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill have been teasing something for years, making this announcement just over a month ago, and it’s finally here! Rounding out the lineup is Sikth’s Dan Foord on drums and Sean Plague of Plague to Pyres offering his scream.
And honestly, if you’re into quirky-heavy alt-death metal, it is certainly worth the wait! I definitely hear the Deftones and also the Sikth in there, and it also has heavy elements of Mr Bungle I feel. Sadly, outside of Sikth neither band is really my sort of thing, and I didn’t get that much out of these three tracks. I completely get the appeal of it, and I imagine I’d love it live, but I’ve listened to the tracks multiple times and something just isn’t clicking for me. The band are super talented, but I almost feel like it’s not the combination of members of the bands that I’d actually want to hear together, if that makes sense? Still, it’s not bad by any stretch, and gets a 6.5/10!
Symphonic metal band Elvellon are set to release their sophomore album this coming Friday. A full six years after their debut, the band look to build on that, and put out one hell of a release. I hadn’t heard of them until I got their album through our emails, but love the genre so I’m excited to check this out!
Album opener ‘Unbound’ starts things off in the most epic way possible. Operatic vocals and strings build up, soon backed by the metal instrumentation as a HUGE riff explodes in. Heck, we get multiple great riffs before the soaring, powerful vocals come in for the verse. It instantly gives off Within Temptation/Nightwish vibes, fitting in with that style perfectly. The heavy verse leads into a massive, arena-filling chorus, catchy and huge. We get a great, modern Maiden-esque bridge in the middle before it all drops down again, similarly to the start building into a massive, epic final chorus. It’s an awesome song, and the perfect album opener to give listeners an idea of exactly what the band are about.
‘A Vagabond’s Heart’ fits the song title perfectly, immediately having more of a pirate feel to it. There are certainly the heavy symphonic elements too, plenty of strings and the operatic vocals, but it also definitely feels different to the previous track! It all leads to another huge, massively catchy chorus, too. I love the heaviness of the track overall, it adding an awesome layer behind the orchestral elements and epicness. It drops down for the bridge, going back to a greater focus on the strings like at the start, which sounded awesome. And yet again, it built to a huge final chorus. This would be awesome live with a big stage show. I loved this track, and it’s one that easily makes our playlist!
The same sort of feeling continues through the following track, ‘My Forever Endevour’, but has a touch more of a folk feel. It almost reminds me of the Game of Thrones intro, but obviously heavied up. The vocal melodies are once again catchy as anything, especially through the chorus! Part of me is a little shocked at this point that, three tracks in, we are still getting orchestral bridges in the middle; part of me was really expecting a guitar solo by now. Still, I can’t complain, as they fit the tracks so well, and this is another awesome song!
Sadly, by the time I’d reached ‘Ocean of Treason’, I felt like I’d heard much of what this album had to offer already. Songs like it, ‘The Aftermath of Life’, ‘A Legacy Divine’ and most in between are all pretty similar. They’re great, but all share similar structures and feelings and elements. The one in that collection that’s different is ‘Last of Our Kind’, a beautiful piano-led ballad brimming with emotion. The strings sound so good filling it all out, and the vocals fit perfectly. The drums and distorted edge add enough heaviness to it but keep it still slow and ballady. And, shockingly, this is the song we get a guitar solo in, full of emotion and fitting the track perfectly. This was an incredible song, and another that easily makes our playlist!
Another incredible, slower and this time proggy song is ‘The Aeon Tree’. From the folky intro and first half, it being a beautifully epic tale, including some amazing spoken word poetry. It makes it all fantastically uplifting, in a crazy way, and would fit absolutely incredibly as part of a film score. It all builds and builds, the distorted guitars helping out, into a truly fantastic final three minutes. We even get a piano solo, only adding to the epicness. This is storytelling and songwriting domestically to perfection, and is another huge highlight of the album.
It’s almost a shame that the band go back to their typical sound after the epicness of the previous track. It’s certainly not a bad track by any stretch, but pales in comparison to ‘The Aeon Tree’ and it feels like the two should have been swapped round in terms of the order. Still, it’s a great, huge-sounding song that still feels like a fitting conclusion to the album!
Overall: I enjoyed this! It’s not the best symphonic metal album I’ve ever heard, don’t get me wrong, and at times is certainly on the generic side of the genre. However, the songs were well written and performed incredibly, and there were plenty of highlights. And that epic prog track… *chef’s kiss*. I certainly wouldn’t turn this off if it came on again, and will certainly be listening to a few of the tracks more going forward! But as a whole album, it did feel a slight bit of a slog at times, as fun as it was.
This week is for the country fans! Sure, there is some power metal and NWOCR sprinkled in for good measure, but at least four of the albums this week are considered country. Not that I’m complaining at all, in fact I’m excited. Let’s dive in!
Kenny Chesney: Born
The country legend is back with his whopping 20th studio release. It’s somehow the biggest gap in albums in his 30+ year career, too, with Here and Now being released back in 2020. It’s also rare to see someone have such a long, prolific career in the genre, with almost every album from 1997 through to 2020 producing one of his biggest hits. It’s honestly insane.
Shockingly, this album is no different, either. A couple of the singles have already received huge country-radio airplay globally, and it’s easy to see why! ‘Take her Home’ channels very ‘Get Along’ vibes and feelings, but a love song version. Meanwhile ‘Just Say We Did’ is a typical modern era Kenny banger. The album is pretty front loaded though, as the opener is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and songs like ‘Few Good Stories’ and ‘Guilty Pleasure’ are good, with the latter also being a single.
However, it was at that point that I started to feel the length of the album. There are certainly still good songs after this point, don’t get me wrong. But there are eight more songs, and a lot of them all have a similar feel and tempos. I can complain all day about the too-long length of modern country albums, but I’ll leave it at: this definitely suffers with that issue. Still, it’s a good album with some great songs on it. And regardless, it’ll still be massive just like Kenny’s other releases. I’ll be listening to plenty of this a lot moving forward, so it’s an easy 8/10
Chris Young: Young Love & Saturday Nights
A modern country megastar, Chris returned on Friday with his ninth studio album, and first since the dreaded Covid times. I feel like I’ll never see him at this point after he dropped out of his UK tour and The Long Road 2022 headline slot, so at least new music’s something, right?
It helps that said new music is really quite good. The opener is classic Chris Young stadium-country goodness, while the ‘Rebel Rebel’ homage of a title track is incredible. Other big highlights include ‘Country Boy’s Prayer’, the almost TC3-like ‘Double Down’, the beautiful ‘Gettin’ Older’, ‘Knee Deep in Neon’ and ‘Right Now’. Don’t get me wrong, it very much has the same issue as the previous album in that it is so long. 18 songs and nearly an hour is a lot, especially when the vast majority of it sounds pretty similar. The album definitely hits a slump between ‘Double Down’ and ‘Gettin’ Older’, even if all five of the tracks between them are great. I also love the final three tracks a hell of a lot. That’s 12 incredible tracks that I am in love with, and six that are really rather easily cuttable.
Because of this, it makes it very hard to come up with a ranking for this. On the one hand, at least half of this album is up there with some of his best work, in my opinion. The seven tracks I’ve mentioned I will be listening to a hell of a lot, and have made me want to see him live somehow even more badly. And as I’ve said, none of the other tracks are especially bad. They’re just slow-ish and sameyand one after another. Still though, it’s a truly fantastic country album, and will most likely not get the love it definitely deserves, given how many other major players there are in the genre these days. I’ll be playing this a lot moving forward, and would recommend it to anyone. 9.5/10
Hammer King: KÖNIG UND KAISER
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here!
Gossip: Real Power
The US indie band are back with their first album since 2012, and a whopping two reunions later. I was a fan of their stuff back in the day, with Standing in the Way of Control and Music for Men being awesome albums. However, I didn’t even know they’d broken up, let alone gotten back together. Sadly, this album doesn’t quite do it for me. The title track is fun, as is ‘Turn the Card Slowly’. However, in general, it feels like the band are simply trying to recapture an old magic that died long ago. It’s less Brave New World and more Chinese Democracy. It all kinda blended together into a blur of meh, sadly. It’s not bad, but the genre and music industry as a whole has evolved so far past this in the last 12+ years that this feels pretty stale. I know I’m certainly not the biggest indie fan so I’m sure there will be some out there whole like this. I’m not one of them, though. 3/10
Sierra Ferrell: Trail of Flowers
Owen: The follow up to a strong debut in 2021, it’s hard to believe ‘Trail Of Flowers’ is only the second release from Sierra Ferrell. The success she’s seen in the time between these two albums (a myriad of featuring spots with artists big and small, as well as involvement with major film and tv productions) seems only to have empowered the blend of styles unique to Ferrell’s solo work. The 12 tracks presented are expertly paced; winding paths from upbeat galloping beats such as 2023 single ‘Fox Hunt’, through to the slow wrenching ballad of ‘Wish You Well’.
In the latter stages of the album, we are given two songs that have suffered the same fate. Fans that discovered Ferrell through YouTube will be familiar with both ‘Why Haven’t You Loved Me Yet’ and ‘Rosemary’. Both songs have been circulating the platform with various performances over recent years, each rightly celebrated by the fanbase. As a long-time fan, I’m sure I’m not the only one happy to see both of these stand proud on a full-length release. In future releases, it would be great to see Ferrell push the limits of her vocal range and natural talent a little further. Having witnessed the power of her voice live I wish this came across more in the album recordings. 8.5/10
Borris & Coaltar of the Deepers: “Hello There”
The odd Japanese band are back, this time experimenting with a 90s alt rock band. The third helping of the band on this series, and sadly I think it’s the one I enjoyed the least out of them. It had more of the band’s psychadellic inspiration to it, adding it to Coaltar’s alt rock in a very weird way. I feel like live some of the stuff wouldn’t be too bad, especially with a good stageshow, but on track it did nothing for me. I honestly can’t even pick out a highlight track; it’s all one big blend of weird noise.
Don’t get me wrong, I have massive admiration for Boris. Being able to collaborate with so many different artists for full albums and adapt their sound accordingly takes insane amounts of talent. There are certainly going to be fans of this music out there too, as Coaltar have tens of thousands of monthly streamers. But yeah, this is not for me at all. A couple of nice riffs but that’s sadly it. 3/10
Cody Jinks: Change the Game
We’ve checked out this album already too! Read our review of it here!
Stone Angels: Up in Smoke
An interesting release up next, as the NWOCR band have decided to release solely physical copies of the album currently, releasing each track as a single on streaming in the coming months before putting out the full album on them after. It’s a bold strategy for sure, and one I haven’t seen before, so I’m curious to see how it plays out!
As for the actual music, it’s pretty good! There’s a grungy/alt metal edge to their brand of hard rock which keeps things interesting and made it a fun listen. The riffing throughout is amazing and there are plenty of catchy vocal hooks and melodies to appease more radio listeners. Tracks like ‘Gambler’, ‘Western Dreams’ and the more ballad-like title track are all personal highlights.
I’ve already seen a lot of fans of this album, and I did really enjoy it myself, though it does feel like it’s missing something that puts it on the upper level of albums in the genre. I have no idea what that something is, but it does feel just a small step below the likes of Bed of Nails or Inhale/Exhale. It’s still good, don’t get me wrong, and I’ll be listening to it a bunch after this review still. But at the time of writing, I’mma give it a 7.5/10
Gary Clark Jr.: JPEG RAW
The blues master returned with his sixth album last week. It immediately gives off an old-school, more raw sounding Lenny Kravitz style. Between the obviously awesome, grungy guitar work and great vocals, the album had me hooked right from the opener, ‘Maktub’. There’s also some clear jazz/soul influence on songs like ‘Alone Together’. Meanwhile, tracks like the title one and ‘This Who We Are’ incorporate more of Gary’s hip hop influences, which I LOVE. The latter is a huge highlight of the album and one of my favourite tracks Gary has put out. Other highlights include ‘Hearts in Retrograde’ and the almost proggy ‘Habits’.
The talent and variety on display throughout the album is incredible and I was never once bored. The nearly-hour went by in a flash. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone but damn, I really enjoyed the album! It’s an easy 8/10 from me!
Hideous Divinity: Unextinct
The tech/brutal death metal band are back with album number five and damn, it’s a good one! I usually don’t get a huge amount out of stuff quite this straight-forward heavy, but the band had me hooked on this album from ‘The Numinous One’. It was a big highlight track of the album, as is the epic, Zach Jeter featuring ‘Atto Quarto’. However, the whole album is pretty great, and if you’re into the heavy stuff you’ll love this! There isn’t too much more I can say about it, if you’re familiar with the genre you know exactly what to expect, and it delivers in spades! 7.5/10
Leaves’ Eyes: Myths of Fate
The German symphonic metal band’s first album in nearly four years is fucking awesome. Of course, it’s easy to draw comparisons to genre giants like Nightwish and Within Temptation, but from the soaring, powerful operatic vocals to the awesome growls and screams and the overall epic feel, I’d say this is definitely up there with those two. Right from the excellent opener to the massive closer, this album had me hooked throughout. There isn’t a bad track on the album but songs like ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’, ‘Fear the Serpent’ and the beautifully folky ‘Godess of the Night’ are definite highlights for me.
My only ever so slight issue with this album is that it doesn’t really do anything different. All are great songs, but there is so much amazing power/symphonic metal coming out these days that it may just fall into the sea of white noise. Still though, that shouldn’t dissuade anyone from listening to it. If you’re a fan of any of the bands or genres I’ve previously mentioned, you’ll love this. 8/10, it’s a great album!
The Staves: All Now
The folk duo of sisters have grown pretty darn popular over the last decade or so thanks to a rabid fanbase and some consistently high-quality releases. It’s an incredibly chilled-out album filled with big, open choruses and almost hypnotic vocal harmonies from Jessica and Camilla. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not especially my sort of thing, but I can appreciate how well written and performed it is. It doesn’t have as much of a folk sound as it does electro/synth pop with Fleetwood Mac-style vocals over the top. The highlight for me was probably ‘Make a Decision’, but honestly I wouldn’t turn any of it off if it came on again. If you’re into more chilled out music, check this album out! 7/10
Sweden’s own genre-blending power/symohonic/eletronic/heavy metal band Amaranthe are back with their first album in nearly four years. Anticipation is pretty high after some fantastic singles, two of which I have become addicted to, so I cannot wait to check out the rest of the album! Let’s get straight into it!
The opener/title track kicks things off in grandiose fashion with an extended synth intro. It’s very Stranger Things. The heaviness soon explodes in with the massive guitars and heavy scream, Amaranthe ‘s signature sound being immediately present. Elize’s powerful clean vocals soon come in for the verse, duelling with the other two vocalists just as masterfully as ever. The dynamics between the three of them really sets the band apart from others and adds a constantly interesting element to their music. It all builds to a HUGE, powerful chorus, the harmonies between the vocals being perfect. We get a short but pretty great solo tucked in the middle too, alongside a heavy bridge part. It’s a fantastic opening track that gives a little bit of everything Amaranthe is about, sound wise!
Single ‘Insatiable’ keeps things rolling perfectly with an incredible, industrial-style riff. I’ve had this track on a lot since it was first released and honestly haven’t gotten bored of it yet! Again, the dynamic between all the vocals are so fun, while when they all come together for the choruses it makes it infectiously catchy. And between the huge chorus, the main focus on clean vocals and the three minute-length, it may be their most accessible, radio-friendly track yet. Having said that, it still has time for a fantastic, impressive solo and some awesome screams from newcomer Mikael. It was one of my favourite singles of last year, and easily makes our playlist!
Next up is another single. ‘Damnation Flame’. The opening immediately gave me Castlevania vibes, which I am fine with. The riff comes in over the top, the melody of that and the subsequent vocals keeping the almost halloween-like vibe. It all builds to yet another fantastically written chorus, catchy and built for arenas or huge festivals. The Nightmare Before Christmas vibes return for the bridge, almost having a folky element to it all too. And then the heaviness slowly builds back up over the top. Man, I can’t wait to see this live! A second track in a row to make our playlist!
‘Liberated’ is another great track, though after a run of three fantastic ones it does feel like the first time you can breath a little. Still, I LOVED all the screams throughout, them feeling like more of a focus than the other tracks. And it’s a typically great chorus by this point, too. Meanwhile most recent single ‘Re-Vision’, is another fantastic track with a heavy leaning towards their more synth/electro sounds. It’s still a metal track for sure, the heavy guitars and fantastic screams make sure of that. But there’s a lot of synth too. I’m loving this new evolution of the power metal sound that these and Metalite are doing recently, like a sci-fi power metal. It’s another good song and a really interesting choice for a single!
The album tracks between ‘Interference’ and ‘Breaking the Waves’ are all good. However, for the most part, they all follow a pretty standard formula that the band have for this album. It’s not a bad thing at all that a band have a signature sound and stick to it, and Amaranthe are fantastic at said style. However, when listening to a full album, the whole duelling-vocalled verses, massive choruses and guitar solo/heavy screamed bridge in the standard rock song structure can get a little old by the 8ish tracks in.
The exception to this is the beautiful piano-led ballad ‘Stay a Little While’ and, to a lesser extent, ‘Breaking the Waves’. The former is fantastic; slow and emotional and full of some incredible vocals from Elize and Nils. The two’s vocals somehow fit even better with this track, too, feeling more like a romantic duet this time. And of course, the chorus is phenomenal. It honestly gave me Goosebumps and easily makes the playlist, what an incredible song! Meanwhile the latter, while heavier than the former, also doesn’t feature any of Mikael’s screams untilt he bridge, having much more of a power/symphonic metal lean to it. Also the drop-down parts in it are nice.
Back to the singles with ‘Outer Dimensions’, it’s another one I am very familiar with by now. THAT vocal hook from the opening/choruses has been routinely stuck in my head on and off for months. The song is all about that chorus and I don’t even care, it’s fantastic. And it very much reinforces my point from earlier about it being a modern, sci-fi spin on the symphonic/power metal sound. I love it!
The closing two tracks, ‘Resistance’ and single ‘Find Life’ are two more awesome Amaranthe tracks. I LOVE the heaviness of the former, again focusing on more of the screams, and some of the riffs behind them are brutal. It doesn’t overstay its welcome too, being a high pace and in-and-out in under three minutes. Elize almost does some Poppy-style rapped delivery at times too which was sick. It honestly makes our playlist, it’s that good. That breakdown/bridge is amazing. Meanwhile the closer and lead single is the perfect representation of an Amaranthe track. The vocals are fantastic, the riffs and drums are heavy and the chorus is massive. It’s a very good way to close an amazing album!
Overall: This is an incredible album. As I said, a couple of the tracks in the middle did get a tad repetitive, but they were also broken up perfectly by ‘Stay a Little While’. And there isn’t a bad track on the album, while some of the tracks are some of my favourite the band have ever produced, and some of the top in their genre. It’s my favourite album the band have put out, for sure, and any fan of the band or the genre as a whole will love it!
Another stacked week of New Music Mondays this week, with everything from country to extreme metal, and plenty in between!
Blackberry Smoke: Be Right Here
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Check out what we thought of it here!
IDLES: TANGK
I have never quite ‘got’ this band whenever I’ve tried in the past. Surprisingly enough, that didn’t change with this release. They’re somehow Avant-garde indie/punk, like the Dillinger Escape Plan of the indie world. I don’t get it. Then again, as a country/metal fan, I doubt I’m exactly their target audience. They certainly have fans, and I’m sure they’ll love this album. And heck, at least they look good fun live. Maybe that’d win me over, but on track they do less-than-nothing for me. The closest thing to something I enjoyed was ‘Gift Horse’, but it was in there with a lot of very questionable music. 3/10, sorry lads.
Middle Kids: Faith Crisis Pt 1
The Australian alt/indie rock band are back with their third album. Honestly, though it’s not typically the sort of music I’d go for, it’s a good, incredibly chilled album. It’s very similar in sound to the likes of Cold War Kids and Young the Giant, that early 10s radio-indie, Life is Strange sound. I’m a fan of the sound for sure, and this is maybe the best release it has had in years.
Tracks like ‘The Blessings’ and ‘Terrible News’ are awesome. However, as an album as a whole it’s a good listen, from start to finish. There’s nothing bad on it! It’s perfect to stick on and relax to or have on in the background while doing stuff. My only slight issue is that it doesn’t have that single on it, nothing stands out as a massive radio hit. Then again, that’s not exactly a bad thing when talking albums! Nothing quite gets Twenty-One Pilots quirky enough to make it to that. But they are clearly a massive band with a huge following, who will no doubt all love this! 7.5/10, good stuff!
Kalah: And Yet It Dreams
Honestly, I have no idea what to think of this album, aside for the fact that I love it! It’s chaos in the best possible way. I’d classify it as extreme metal despite the vocals, it definitely has clear influences from old Cradle of Filth. However, there is also deathcore, and symphonic metal, and electronic influences that all mash together surprisingly perfectly. The two-part opener ‘This World Factory’ is the perfect example of what I’m talking about, and is very much a highlight track of the album! It’s heavy, insane and yet also somehow structured and catchy. And there is no denying everyone involved’s talents and writing ability; they are all on full display just in this track alone.
Other highlight tracks include ‘Runtime Error’, ‘Gentle Gears’ and ‘Helichrysum’. However, there really isn’t a bad track on the album, I could name any of them as highlights. The former even brings in more of a prog/djent sound to the mix, while ‘Helichrysum’ has more of an epic power metal ballad feel to it, and I love it! And yet it still gets heavy, of course! There is not a second of this album that is boring and I didn’t feel the length at all, happily listening to it from start to finish and it was over in no time. I completely understand it won’t be for everyone, but I thought it was a fantastic album and if you’re into metal, you should check this out! 9/10
Mother Mother: Grief Chapter
Even more indie rock for this week, though I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It’s an odd one, that’s for sure. It’s like early 2000s radio-rock meets the weirdness of Queen or Muse’s stranger discography. Sometimes it works and is cool and a lot of fun. Other times it doesn’t and is jarring and odd for the sake of it. What I can say is the band are certainly all talented. There are some insane, math-rocky guitar licks that are far too good for indie music, and vocalist Ryan Guldemond almost has an air of Mika at times, that’s how good a singer he is. Heck, some of the pop elements like in ‘Explode!’ are VERY Mika.
The aforementioned track is actually a big highlight of the album, and a real turning point for me. Tracks like ‘Days’, ‘Normalize’ and ‘Matrix’ after it are also interesting and fun enough for me to love, with the latter again being a massive highlight for me. But yeah, when I finally ‘got’ it, I loved this album. Everything after ‘Explode!’ had me hooked and hanging on every weird turn and note. It’s not all fantastic, but it is all interesting enough to enjoy, and there is enough truly incredible tracks on the album to make me love it. If they put on a good show too, I feel like I’d LOVE to see this live. They remind me of AJR or early Twenty-One Pilots in their creativity, and I can’t help but love it. There are easily four or five tracks here I’m going to be listening to a lot moving forward. So, it’s gotta be at least an 8.5/10 from me!
The Obsessed: Gilded Sorrow
I feel like we don’t cover enough doom metal on this site, so whenever a band like this comes along and releases a killer album like this, I instantly love it. Of course the riffs are top notch, but so is everything else. The songs are very well crafted, the vocals fit perfectly and are catchy in the choruses, and the drums and bass hold everything down perfectly. It’s old-school, plodding doom metal in all the best ways. The whole album is packed full of incredible tracks, but my favourites include the opener, ‘Wellspring’ and the title track. I also have to bring up the fantastic production, something a little rarer in the genre but whoever mixed this NAILED it. Honestly, there isn’t much to say, it’s a solid doom metal album through and through. No frills, no crazy prog or genre changes, just a great album for fans of sludge. 8/10
ILLUMISHADE: Another Side of You
The Swiss metal band released their sophomore album last week after a near four year gap, and their first with Napalm. The band have been making waves since their inception in 2019, and look to continue their momentum with this release.
They’re symphonic metal for the most part, but are definitely on the heavier end of that spectrum. The combined intro track into ‘ELEGY’ perfectly encapsulates the band’s sound and style, and I personally love it. It has an edge and moderness to it that the big bands in the genre, Nightwish and Epica, do not have. It feels like the next step in the genre for sure, this band spearheading the way for the 2nd generation of symphonic metal bands alongside the likes of Metalite and Ad Infinitum. The guitars are chunky and almost have a prog/djent style and feel to them. The drums and bass are heavy too, while the synths, keys and operatic vocals ground it firmly in symphonic metal. It’s a really cool listen!
Honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the album, either. Songs like ‘ELEGY’, ‘ENEMY’, ‘Here We Are’ and epic ballad ‘Fairytale’ are certainly highlights, though. The band are incredible players and songwriters, and it’s no wonder they feel like they have a rocket strapped to their backs. They are going to be a massive name in the metal scene sooner rather than later, and this album will play a big part in getting them there. It’s an awesome release, and worth checking out for any fans of the genre. If I had but one complaint… it is a tad long. However, when it’s all this high quality, that’s hardly an issue! 8.5/10
Volucrine: Etna
The modern melo-death band released their first album in half a decade last week, and third overall. I have to say I wasn’t familiar with the band before this review, but found myself loving it. It had just as many elements of metalcore and hardcore as it did melo-death, and blended the genres together perfectly. The mixture of low growls, hardcore screams and great clean vocals are all great and hugely impressive. That’s not to take away from the rest of the band too, who all work their asses off here with some fantastic riffing and drumming.
It’s yet another album this week packed to the brim with awesome songs, too. Though every track is amazing, personal highlights include the opener, ‘Old Friend’ and ‘Godsized’. This band deserve to be so much bigger than they are, especially with the genre having a bit of a resurgence currently. I would 100% recommend this album to any metalheads reading, and I have my fingers crossed that this helps push them into the mainstream, they more than deserve it with their incredible songwriting skill! 8.5/10
Frontier Ruckus: On the Northline
This is not at all what I was expecting from this album. It was advertised to me through a country site, so I was expecting that, folk, Americana etc. Instead what I got was closer to The Presidents of The United States of America, Lazlo Bane or Pinegrove. It’s quirky, early 2000s indie-radio-rock, and while not at all what I was expecting, I did enjoy it! Don’t get me wrong, there are some elements of Americana to it; there’s a pretty prevalent banjo throughout and the opener is pretty folky. But yeah, mostly it’s more strange indie stuff. Highlights for me were ‘Magdalene’ and ‘Clarkston Pasture’. It’s another great album to sit back and relax to, and some of the lyrics are really interesting and well written. If you’re into the slower, more chilled-out stuff, this is definitely the album for you! 7/10
The High Hawks: Mother Nature’s Show
A much more traditional country/Americana sound now, from the debut of the supergroup. Featuring members of Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth and Hard Working Americans and boasting a sound akin to The Grateful Dead, the band are of course going to have a hit on their hands with this release. And after listening to the album, I’m sure they do. It’s packed full of highlights, from the singles to tracks like ‘Fox River Blues’ and ‘Backwater Voodoo’. It’s a very fun album for someone who’s into folk, Americana, rock and blues, as it combines all together perfectly. And yet again it’s another album to stick on and simply chill out to. It’s all simple yet hugely effective, and written and performed by some of the best in the genre. 7.5/10
Canadian-Mexican metal band Cabrakaän return this week with their brand new album. leaning into the mythology, traditions, and sounds of their home country and looking to build off of previous album, Aztlán, this release may be their must ambitious yet. Let’s check it out!
An absolutely fantastic intro track, ‘Tonantzin’, beings the album. It sets the scene perfectly, an epic, medieval/piratey number that builds slowly through strings and and tribal drumming, soon adding in some chanted vocals and then finally some distorted guitars in the back. It’s very rare I talk about intro tracks or interludes in-depth in these reviews, but this one was so good I couldn’t not. And it was nearly four minutes long, so I had to!
The scene is set perfectly for the first offical track, ‘Fuego’. It explodes in with a big riff and immediately into vocals. Speaking of which, the vocals are incredible. An operatic style reminiscent of symphonic metal bands like Within Temptation or Nightwish. However, there still remains that traditional Mexican style under it all that works so well with the heavier sounds. The dynamics of the track are great, too. Whether it’s catchy, operatic vocal parts, heavier riffing or the more traditional instruments shining through, there is so much going on, and it all clicks together perfectly. Around the midpoint of the track it also takes a surprising but awesome turn into death metal with a heavy riff and some great extreme metal screams. It’s a fantastic first track and the perfect way to introduce new listeners (me) as it hits them with a bit of everything they’ve got!
‘Tlaloc’ is another track that bursts right in, the awesome screams making the riff even heavier. The verse is more fast, epic symphonic stuff and it builds perfectly back into the heaviness. I also find it really interesting that the songs don’t seem to follow the typical structure. There are definitely choruses and verses etc, but there’s a lot of other stuff thrown in there to keep the listener guessing. it’s all almost prog, which is fine by me! An awesome guitar solo is tucked into the middle of this track, too. It’s a really interesting, fun track which again combines their elements together well!
‘ Luces y Sombras’ is a massive highlight track of the album, for me. Right from the combination of the heavy drums and epic strings, I was hooked. And, the structure seems a tad more radio friendly, a little easier to follow. The verses are great with the clean, beautiful vocals, the harmonies on them incredible. The choruses are suitably epic too, maintaining the symphonic metal feel. And we still get plenty of heaviness in the bridge/breakdown verse. It’s definitely another single waiting to happen, I’m sure. It’s an awesome track, and easily makesour playlist!
‘Malintzin’ is another highlight track of the album as I love the interplay between the two vocals and two styles. The verse switching from the beautiful operatic vocals to the heavy screams was masterful, especially when it then transitioned seamlessly back for the chorus. The bridge is fun too, the strings adding an awesome layer of doom and epicness over the top of the heavy guitars. It’s another awesome song and the second in a row to get onto our Spotify!
Single ‘Mictlán’ and ‘Yolot’ are more of the same. The latter at least felt a little different as it was a slower, beautiful opening, and the drop-down in the middle to the more tribal sound was cool. However, generally there isn’t much new in the tracks.
‘Xóchitl’ is the ballad of the album. A simple acoustic guitar opens the track, and the soft, clean vocals fit so well over the top of it. It stays at this level throughout it’s 2:40 runtime too, and is honestly fantastic. It’s beautiful and breaks up an otherwise heavy album rather perfectly. One of my favourite ballads of the year!
Finally, we reach the most recent single, ‘La Cigarra’. It’s one hell of a fun track that brings back the Mexican Tradition sound in spades. The metal is still there, feeling more of an accompaniment, which I love. It reminds me of a more serious version of Nanowar of Steel’s ‘Chupacabra Cadabra’, having a similar style to inject metal into. It works perfectly with her vocals, too. It’s an amazing song and a really interesting addition to the album, given how heavy a lot of the rest of it is. It’s another that easily makes our playlist!
Overall: This was a great, interesting listen. It was all over the place in terms of style and sound, sometimes for the better, occasionally for the worse. Some of it did feel a tad messy, I must admit. While not every single track here is one of my favourites, there is a lot I love here, and as an album as a whole it’s solid. The band seem like they are pretty new and I cannot wait to see where they go in the future. Building on this would be awesome!
StormbounD are a symphonic metal band all the way from Israel. Their debut album, December, is released tomorrow. We got our hands on it a little early and just had to check it out and let you know what it was like! Join us in checking it out!
Opening on some strings, operatic vocals and synth, the album and ‘Desert’s Roar’ opens beautifully. It heads into an EPIC guitar riff, aided perfectly by the vocals and strings again over the top of the start of each bar. Yael Horwitz’s amazing vocals come in for the verse, some great instrumental stabs behind her. Ofer Friedman sings the rest of the verse, building up perfectly into the huge, incredibly catchy, duel-vocalled chorus. Man, when symphonic metal is done right like this I LOVE it.
The bridge reminds me of Evanescence Yael’s vocals soaring over the top of some great lead guitaring. We then get some awesome, heavy riffing and even a key change before inevitably heading back to the chorus. It was dropped down for the first reprisal, always a fun technique, especially when done in a live setting. What an incredible way to open an album. I loved this song and it’s easily made the playlist!
‘Alter of Innocence’ builds up strings over the top of an interesting spoken word sample. the melody and rhythm to it is a little swingy and gives off heavy Halloween vibes. A mixture between Nightmare Before Christmas and A Little Piece of Heaven. It all sets the tone perfectly. The rest of the track is full of fast guitar riffs, typically soaring vocals and plenty of catchiness in both the vocal and guitars melody. There were even some harsh vocals from Ofer, a nice touch to break things up. The band are so far two for two with awesome songs on the album!
‘Sacred Lies’ dives in with an almost thrash/extreme metal riff, another great change of pace. We get another excellent riff afterwards, them being another huge highlight of the album alongside the vocals and symphonic elements. After three mega riffs we head into some more harsh vocals from Ofer. We don’t get Yael’s vocals (or clean ones in general) outside of the choruses, and even then they feel like they have a more rocky, aggressive edge to them than before. We also get an incredible guitar solo to break up the choruses, fill of technical ability and emotion. This was another awesome track and another to make our playlist!
A beautiful piano melody opens ‘Away From Here’ and runs through the opening verse and chorus. Yael’s voice fits so well over the top, it all sounding beautiful and full of emotion. Heck, even Ofer’s clean vocals sound great too for it. The heaviness picks up for the second verse with the drums, guitars and synths. It’s fun, but almost feels a little too full on for me immediately for some reason. A fun guitar solo breaks up the traditional song structure, it taking to 2:30 minutes before we get a second verse. There was even a fun, albeit brief, keyboard solo in here, again mixing things up and keeping me on my toes! I loved the opening of this track and the chaotic nature, but I have to admit I preferred the previous tracks over it.
The album’s title track is an epic, 10+ minute prog song. Now that you’re prepared, let’s get into it. After a beautiful intro and some more awesome riffs, we get a clean verse after over 1:30. We don’t reach the first chorus until nearly three minutes into the song but it’s definitely worth it, catchy and brilliantly written. Some more awesome riffage leads to a longer keyboard solo, a real lost art in this day an age done well here.
I cannot get over how talented the instrumentalists are in this band. They get to show it off so much in this track and it’s amazing. Ofer’s screams come back at around the six minute mark, adding some aggression to the track. We then get an INSANELY good guitar solo for nearly a solid minute, which was awesome. It drops back down to keyboard and synths afterwards, Yael’s beautiful vocals coming in over the top. It then builds up into the most epic closing couple of minutes of a track since GnR’s ‘Coma’. The emotion expressed in the vocals gave me goosebumps and everything behind them worked perfectly and added so much. AMAZING stuff. CHECK THIS OUT.
The most recent single, ‘Shadows’, opens slower again with strings and an acoustic guitar. It’s very much the ballad of the album, staying at a similar pace and level throughout. It is amazingly beautiful and emotional, Yael being the highlight though everything else is also amazing. I don’t even know what else to say, it’s a perfect slow track. Check this out too no matter what genre of music you’re into, I promise you will love it as much as I do! Playlisted!
‘Flying High’ picks up the pace again, the opening riff sounding right out of Iron Maiden’s discography before a more folky feel took over. A thrash riff came in soon after, leading to a heavier verse. There’s some cool mathy drums and guitar through it too at times. Ofer’s vocals in the pre reminded me of David Draiman, leading perfectly into another catchy chorus. It’s the closest thing to a straight-up rock track on the album, and it’s a lot of fun.
‘Fragments’ is another good, fun song, but at this stage in the album doesn’t give us anything we haven’t heard already. The main riff does remind me of old-school BFMV though, which is fun! Then we reach the closing track and another single, ‘Child’s Play’. It’s another long track, clocking in at nine minutes. It opens on some more horror vibes with a creepy child’s voice, building up slowly into a great riff after a minute or so of lead guitar and strings. Both the verse and chorus have catchy vocals, call and response between the singers through the verse while they harmonies the choruses.
We get plenty of great instrumentation, lead or rhythm, for the middle portion of the track, and it doesn’t slow down once. It’s another showcase of their incredible talent and skill, not at all making me jealous… What a way to close an album. While not quite as epic-feeling as ‘December’, it’s still huge and a fitting way to finish such a monumental album. Great stuff.
Overall: Move aside Nightwish. Move aside Within Temptation. There’s a new symphonic metal titan in town. In all seriousness, this was fantastic. I have a very up and down relationship with the sub-genre but this was a ridiculous high for me. Everyone is insanely skilled and very good songwriters, and created a well put together album as a result. I cannot wait to hear more and hopefully see them live soon!
We thought we’d try and do something a bit different this time. Ancient Waters was released back in December and we have been speaking to Jehanna about an interview for a while, so we thought we’d combine it together into one big feature to give you a good idea of what she is about!
How would you describe your sound?
‘I like to describe it as Bluegaze since it’s like the water, which can be calm but also wild. I think it’s a mix of Symphonic Metal and Blackgaze, with some rock, some folk elements and classical music.‘
As somewhat confusing as ‘Bluegaze’ could be, it is actually a very fitting description. Opening track ‘Rán’ is definitely symphonic rock/metal, and it does flow back and forth between the harder stuff and a softer sound. The harmonies in the choruses are a highlight, as is the bridge riff which somehow reminds me of both Black Sabbath and Madness, what a pairing! Jehanna’s vocals are impressive too, soaring high and fitting the music perfectly. My only issue, and it will probably be with the album as a whole, is that it isn’t terribly well mixed. It may just be my laptop speakers finally giving up on me, but the instrumentation didn’t quite pack the punch I was hoping for.
‘Nøkkens Svig’ even fittingly opens on the sound of bubbling liquid, an almost ominous, creepy piano melody over the top. The rest of the instruments join in and make it heavy (though again I wish they were louder), before dropping out and making the verse feel slower and quieter, adding to the menacing atmosphere. In fact, the whole track is slower than the previous one, giving it a much more epic feel to it. It’s a great track!
The above track ‘Ice & Wind’, picks up the pace again, this one almost having a Norse feel to it! The vocal harmonies are again a massive plus, and the melody for the vocals itself is heavily rooted in folk. The blend of styles here is really interesting and sounds great. Also, the drums stood out a lot in this track, but they have been solid and enjoyable throughout so far. This one makes the playlist, awesome stuff!
How was it making the album, given that you made it on your own?
‘It was definitely challenging me as a musician, since I started to learn to play the guitar and even the bass, for I didn’t have the musicians at hand. Luckily, my former guitar player helped me on the guitars. I also had to program the drums, which was the most nerve-wrecking part and no fun at all. But I liked how this showed me how much I am able to do all by myself. It builds more trust in you as a person and in your skills.‘
Is there a particular theme or story throughout the album, or is it more on an individual track basis?
‘It’s actually a chapter of my life which was filled with new experiences. All songs came to me in dreams, so I wasn’t writing them consciously.’
Speaking of dreams, ‘Sailor’s Tears’ opens on a beautiful string soundscape that does sound almost ethereal. It also builds perfectly, adding a simple drum fading in and out behind Jehanna’s powerful vocals. The distorted guitars and synths build in after time as the drums pick up, adding some great dynamics to the track. In fact, this song goes up and down beautifully throughout, it has some great quiet bits as well as the heavy stuff. With the right production, this could have been a MASSIVE single. Still the sound is growing on me, and it doesn’t hamper my enjoyment of the song too much!
Do you plan on getting a band together to play some shows and tour it?
‘This is definitely something I want for Ancient Waters. I hope that when the Covid-situation is better and there is someone to give the musicians and me the opportunity to play, the first tour will happen. Of course it’s not that easy for me as a one-woman-band, for someone needs to pay the other musicians, but I’ll make it happen in one way or the other.‘
‘Boreas’ is another slow starter, a simple piano melody backed up with some ‘ooo’s. The lyrics soon come in over the top, again fitting the tone perfectly. It has even heavier folk vibes than before. Especially since it doesn’t actually get heavy at all. There are no guitars at all in this, just piano, vocals, strings and the same singular drum throughout. It’s a really enjoyable track, and one I could easily hear on a movie soundtrack, it’s that epic. Playlisted!
Where would be the dream place or venue for you to play at?
‘I think at any beach in the world with the sound of waves in thebackground.‘
Even though you have only just released an album, are you already planning and writing for a second?
‘Yes! The 2nd album is already written and the demos are recorded. Last week I finished most of the artwork and soon I’ll start to record it. This one is a bit heavier, for the melodies mostly came to me while sitting there with a guitar. I wrote it when Covid was at its core and we were in lockdown. There were many dark thoughts and dreams and this album expresses that.’
The rest of the album is equally as great as the first half of it, epic soundscapes of symphonic folk rock. ‘Havets Datter’ is another highlight, a nearly eight-minute epic of a track. But overall there isn’t a bad track on the album, it’s thoroughly enjoyable!
Score: 7/10
If you could collaborate with one artist or band, who would it be?
‘Tomi Joutsen from Amorphis. I even asked him already do to some growling on the 2nd album but he didn’t reply. So like always, I tried, haha.’
And finally, we asked her if she had anything to plug and the answer was a very fitting sign off for this article…
‘Yeah, go listen to the new album “Cølestine”, give it some love, purchase the CD… It’ll give you some escapism if you’re in a dark place right now.’
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