The blog has been moved!

Great Albums You've Never Heard Of is being continued as Like Music to your ears: www.likemusictoyourears.com ! Its purpose is to combine multiple themed blogs. For example Narrow-Minded Metalhead Reviews Experimental Music + Music quickies (quick, short & dirty reviews), live reviews and other subjects! All old reviews are also currently being moved there.

I will keep blogger up but I doubt there will be new updates.

Mona De Bo - Nekavējies, Šīs ir Spēles Ar Tevi

This latvian oddity is a different kind of beast to encounter, effortlessly combining post-rock, drone, metal, brass instruments and ambient with movielike atmospheres. Atmospherically somewhat resembles Noir by Callisto, but musically Nekavējies, Šīs ir Spēles Ar Tevi is much more experimental and drone.

Unlike many other droniacs the melodies here are almost uplifting even though the songs are usually very slow. Still the melodies rarely wander deep into melancholy or impenetrable heaviness. Playfully crooked, surprisingly soft under the surface; bursting with distortion. Often almost ambient.

Mona De Bo really does not spare the use of guitar-distortion, even the clean melodies are usually entwined with distortitive waves. Unlike Sunn O))) distortion is used with the guitar INSTEAD to replace the guitar. Wall-of-sound's are sparse on Nekavējies, Šīs ir Spēles Ar Tevi. It does not disguise itself behind 16 tons of guitarwall, a refreshing feat.

I even deeply adore the drone-ambience of Dejosim! that teethers on the verge of cracking for minutes but never pinnacles unlike Priekšpēdējais. With Mona De Bo its much more about the journey than about the destination. Just please ignore the cover art: a 70 year old hobo vomiting its entrails off.

9/10

The album is available for free listen and paid download on band's bandcamp: http://monadebo.bandcamp.com/album/nekav-jies-s-ir-sp-les-ar-tevi

Causemos - Infinite Event

How about a music quiz folks? Which band am I talking about:

The October of 2012 finally saw the comeback release of this Finnish epic melodic metal band. Their last release was dated at 2006, after setbacks and various other trouble they finally managed to get their new release out. And boy was it a blast. 

No I'm not talking about Wintersun, the band in question is Causemos. A melodic death metal band with plenty of bombastic a cosmic vibe. After waiting over half-decade for Wintersun to fill my melodic metal needs it was Causemos with their EP Infinite Event who did it, leaving the untimely epic of Wintersun drifting in space.

Infinite Event sees Causemos abandoning the Bal-Sagothisms that were visible on their early material and finding an own symphonic and technical sound. One the most surprising releases of 2012 packing fresh aggression, epic tunes, crunchy riffs and surprising technical mastery in a compact EP.


After the jaw-dropper beginning of Unrealized Reality 1|2, Infinite Event gallops on satisfyingly but lacks the utmost hookedelia and melodic-ecstasy that would take it to real masterclass. Until the fifth track Invariable blasts a top-notch melody and a memorable riff and keeps the intensity on the whole track. Fantastic. The catchiness of Herald and the wonderfully feisty and humorous Käteen escort the EP to a fine end. 24 minute length serves Infinite Event extremely well, very often I find myself tuning it right back in listening it twice in a row.

8½/10

Free download (pay what you want): http://causemos.bandcamp.com/

Ei oo leipääkään - Ei oo paskaakaan!

Once Were Ghosts - Transient Silence

Once Were Ghosts is a post-rock project originating from Las Vegas. When Las Vegas always brings in the image of flashing lights extravaganza, constant motion and hectic surroundings, Once Were Ghosts might be placed in this abstract moment when the city sleeps. Suitably Transient Silence clocks only a pinch under 7 minutes, the short wander you can make in deserted alleyways seeing shut down light signs, before everything bursts to flame again.

Transient Silence is driven by beautifully crafted guitar melodies setting the atmosphere high immediately. Imagine those November nights when it is raining, windy and cold outside and you are warm inside under the linen covers sipping warm blackberry juice and reading a book. The guitar melodies are accompanied by a drum machine which is a bit over the top, drums being a lot faster and technical than the guitars. Drums still manage to sound good but no doubt they aren't the perfect par for the stunning guitar lines.

The shortness of Transient Silence is also a charm as it is easy to listen 2 or 3 times. Especially the first 2 tracks are top notch melancholic post rock, bringing in mind the strongest outputs of Escape The Day and This Empty Flow. In only 7 minutes it is hard to give yourself up to a complete flow as you know the fun is not going to last for long, but nearly every time Once Were Ghosts takes me over on the very first notes. Give this one a try, it is one of the best 7 minutes you'll spend.

9/10

Free download: http://archive.org/details/siro442OnceWereGhosts-TransientSilence

Great Music Videos - Fall 2012 - A Forest of Stars, Swallow The Sun, Agalloch

Something different for a change. Music videos and fan videos that I have enjoyed lately.

A Forest of Stars - Gatherer of the Pure (official music video) (61 000 views)

At the risk of sounding like a fanboy, I will still label this as the best music video I have ever seen. It was released in June 2012 and made an intense impact. In fact with the second view. The first was stunning but after the second view I had time to focus on the other aspects besides the plot and music. Since then I must have rewatched it over 20 times.

The video is very game-like reminding of the beginning of a masterful game, Braid. It also has a Limbo-like dark colour and character scheme. But still does it uniquely that its clear its not a rip off of any single influence. The track Gatherer of Pure is a good one. First time ever, when listening the track from the cd; I actually wish I was watching the music video instead. Without the music video the track just isn't complete. It even works to that extent that for a lyrics freak like me, the lyrics of track are just a minor point. The most important point is the balance of the dramatic composition and dramatic events in the video which are very well adapted together.

The graphic illustrations are of course nothing short of stunning with absolutely beautiful shots from an imaginary place. The clever use of yellow and black and white colour scheme with at times sparked with red, blue and other effectcolours is a remarkable effect. After the video looks like just a misshapen love story, do not miss the end. It is such a distorted piece of plot-twists that will blow you away.


Swallow the Sun - Emerald Forest And The Blackbird (Unofficial Video) (4800 views)

In fact, it is a fan video of clicheic forest photography. But, the photography is so stunning that it doesn't bother at all. Absolutely beautiful forest shots encompassed with one of the best songs of 2011. A stunning view that takes you away for a wintery forest walk in Finland. Very topical as the winter is coming...









Agalloch - The Sowilo Rune ("The Sowilo Man" fan video) (2300 views)

A fan video, named "The Sowilo Man" is of course a take on the events from the move The Wicker Man (1973). One of my all time favourite movies. Taken from The White EP that encompasses a lot of elements and voice clips from the movie. For everyone who loves the film; this video is a welcome revisit to the lovely looking, beautiful yet in the end dark schemes of the movie.

And a word of advise for everyone not familiar with the original Wicker Man. Do not watch the Nicholas Cage version (2006). Find the classic Wicker Man of 1973 or better yet, the extended edit. It has lots of great scenes that were cut out of the theatrical version without the agreement of the film creators. Some of these parts are in this video as well.

Sergeant Howie: "And what of the true God? To whose glory churches and monasteries have been built on these islands for generations past? Now shall what of Him?"

Lord Summerisle: "Oh, He's dead. He can't complain. He had his chance and in modern parlance. Blew it."

The Amoeba / Boris Clitoris

This triple issue deals with three free download EP'S. The Amoeba - Gayest Shits (2009), Boris Clitoris Swastikat - Swastikore (2010), Boris Clitoris - Boris Clitoris (2012). Even with two different artist names the releases are in fact from the same artist and with the same style.

All of these albums are free downloads and good ones too. In total the three EP's combined clock just under 24 very entertaining minutes. A summary of the genres in the albums could be melodic breakcore comic metal lounge mashup. It's probably easier to just compare it straight out to Nero's Day At Disneyland but with some metal and psychedelic comics thrown in. 

The first EP, Gayest shits feels like more effort was given to it than the latter ones. It sounds to have the biggest number of layers and versatility. It is also heaviest of the three, Boris Clitoris has seemingly developed its sound towards more melodic and minimalistic output. Funnily, even though the music sounds more minimalistic, on the newest release the melodies are possibly more complicated than before. Just take the bass line of Difficult Listening or the god-knows what instrument driven melodics of Hyena Clitoris from the S/T EP.

What separates Boris Clitoris from many electronic artists is the sheer quality and variety of melodies. There are for example 8-bit melodies (super nerd, Comic Sans), heavy melodic riffs (evil satan!, I'm An Alligator), odd distorted melodies (Swastikat, Mooie Man), some sort of progressive lounge (?) (Hyena clitoris, Difficult Listening), overly happy melodies with sound clips (Yellow is the color of the sun, Organ Grinder). Each song has a vibe of being an unique successful experiment, though every EP has the sort of trademark heavy tracks and overly melodic tracks. But the tracks are full of surprises, the heavy as shit riff may be suddenly entwined with a melody straight out of kindergarden, and as well the child's play may have a distorted ear-bleeding-beat. Or even the occasional noisewall. You never know whats in store, and that makes the experience immensely entertaining.

If I have to nitpick on something it would be the volume levels, through all albums the tracks have different volume levels, meaning the listener has to keep adjusting the volumes. Given the versatility of tracks it is no wonder that there are glitches like this. Also, maybe its the nostalgia-syndrome, but the output of Amoeba / Boris Clitoris has goon slightly downhill with every new release. While i'd rank Gayest shits near 10, Swastikat Swastikore is probably just under 9 and the self-titled a solid 8.

If you are into Venetian Snares or Nero's Day At Disneyland The Amoeba / Boris Clitoris is for you. And if you happen to like metal as well, all the better.

I could say all of the above all just summarize all in Boris Clitoris's words "Fucked up, epileptic, retarded, spastic, childish, bedroom produced, free to download music."

Free Downloads:

The Amoeba - Gayest Shits

Boris Clitoris - Swastikat Swastikore

Boris Clitors - Boris Clitoris (free download when you name your price to 0, I didn't)

Music Video of Mevrouw van Iersel

Night In Gales - Necrodynamic

In 2001 when Necrodynamic was released, Modern Melodeath was on a really big ascension with names like Soilwork and In Flames leading the pack. Night In Gales previous effort Nailwork was released in 2000 and while being a bit of an oddity, still had most of that 2000s' melodeath touch.

Criminally underrated stands Night In Gales Necrodynamic. It is often referred with a shrug as the weakest effort of a mediocre melodeath band. While it may be true that Night In Gales never were better than a mediocre melodeath band, they did succeed in composing memorable songs and good album entities. In Necrodynamic Night In Gales is probably as far from melodeath as they've ever been. Ironically lyrically they are almost only about death. The songs usually encompass a sort of thrash metal-edged drive with nicely raw and muddy sounds; far away from the typical "modern melodeath sound", but still melodic and heavy.

The most unusual thing about Night in Gales has always been the compound words in their lyrics. In earlier albums their guitar work was at times also very odd and while not always perfect, still original. Like guitar work the lyrics turned less experimental with time, but still have a pinch of old. How about:

Down for more of those nothings
Neonecrononsense and unlight
Saw a skeleton eatin' its gravestone
But I keep these words inside

The songs have plenty of groove and while the lyrics aren't filled with oddcompoundworks anymore; they are still pretty fun.

I really got into Necrodynamic nearly 10 years ago and the song trinity Deathmouth Daisies, Song Of Something and Right From The Morgue is still as fun and rocking as they used to be. There are a lot of albums which I then thought as masterpieces but find hardship in appreciating now. Necrodynamic is still fresh. An album which I've always enjoyed and never mixed it up as being a masterpiece.

It is the sort of album you may have heard about; but didn't know how good it is. Hell, rest of Night in Gales albums were re-released in 2008, but not Necrodynamic. While it may be because of copyright reasons, it still does criminal injustice to the album. I think it was just the wrong time for a modern melodeath band to release an album which was not modern at all.

83/100

Yona-kit - Yona-kit LP

"A day later, Yasuko was shot out of the whale's blowhole, landing safe on the deck of the yacht, still at sea. She spoke of bizzare goings on withing the whale's gut...Progressive, avant-experimentalism, hardcore, ambience, metal, and a few less savory things all being digested together to form a racket the likes of which had never been heard. Days passed and Chiller Whale was nowhere to be found. The Skin Graft crew began to lose hope of ever seeing their pals again, until just moments before the search was to be called off, Chiller Whale appeared at the ship's bow! He opened his mighty jaws to reveal the castaways, stronger than before, shoes shined and united under the moniker Yona-Kit (Jonah-Whale). They : stepped out and rejoined the Skin Graft crew. "I've got it all on tape!" exclaimed Steve. "

Math rock with a pinch of Japanese obscurity

Dirty, raw, psychedelic, odd and well, slightly annoying at times. Truly one of its kind. Yona-kit's only LP is a real menace, the groove is on and the sounds are just right when you want your dose of lo-fi crunchiness. The tracks have a real energy and live feeling, but instruments also have their own space to operate and are visible parts of the entity. The image of the band is also stunning and the LP cover looks like it's been ripped out from a cheap copy of Alejandro Jodorowsky's or Terry Gilliam's pupptshow rip-off movie. And that is just right!

Initially I came across this record searching for covers of an English child ballad Two Corbies (also covered by Sol Invictus); and the cover shone out by its sheer uniqueness.

The album boasts three clear hits with Franken-Bitch, Skeleton King and Two Corbies; i would also add the obscure (well everything else about this album is obscure too) instrumental Dancing Sumo Wrestlers near their rank. Hey, a song name like that alone is close to a classic!

The 23 minute anti-magnum opus Slice of Life is a very fitting way to end the album. After about 5 minutes the rest of the 18 minutes is a repeat of the same riff. Oh how I was disappointed at first listens that the blissfull jam just stalls its development. I later came to appreciate the feeling of stopping the album in the midst of a great riff!

SDSA - Drug Life mixtape

They say that rock does not have danger anymore and they are right because most of what normal people label as rock is done by rich men in their 40-50's or corporate money making machines. Back in the day the best selling rock was filled with real cocaine-flavoured fantasies. But now those same people are still making songs. Or those who were smart enough to survive it.

"I'm steady noddin' out like I got the narcolepsy
girl I like you so I put the GHB up in your Pepsi"
- SDSA - Operation (Feat. Spunky Smith) (Prod. By FluiD)

They say that metal does not have danger anymore and again they are right. The 90's church burnings and mainstream's ideology of heavy metal being of satan is far out sight.

But we are only talking about mainstream. With a short dive underground you can easily find music where danger still lives. Take for example an Iraqese band Acrassicauda who played metal literally between bombings and in the fear of authorities finding out what they are doing and shooting them. So when Esa Holopainen of Amorphis (or any other renowed metal musician) tells that metal does not have danger anymore of course it is like they say...

Danger is definitely not out of underground music and that is why it is such a juicy goldmine to find real emotions of. And if there is a single album that has been the definition of danger lately it is SDSA's brilliantly named "Drug Life". And what the hell, the album is a free download from Bandcamp.

SDSA is short of Suicidally Depressed Substance Abusers but this is no emo-shit. Apparently most tracks are influenced by really fucked up real-life situations and that is why they don't end up making tracks often.

Fuck, im talking about rock and metal, but the stuff that's tweaked my built-in danger meter lately the most; is underground hip-hop from Detroit. I never knew I could like hip-hop quite this much, but I always knew there must be jewels like this somewhere. Stuff that is too raw to ever be in public attention. Stuff that doesn't have much distinctively good beats so to fully appreciate you have to dig deep to the drug-infused lyrics and mean vocal lines.

This stuff is full of danger and disfigured streetviews. Listening them, you can really hear that things in Detroit are fucked up.

education is shit, you cant live in this country without staying lit
- SDSA - Operation

The beginning of Drug Life contains more humour and is more on the fun-loving side of abusing drugs and yourself. The middle part (Japan Remix (Feat. Katha Underground) (Prod. By De-Paul), Midnite Snack and Mos Cryptic is the weakest. However it does lead way to brilliantly gloomy last 30 minutes of the album which makes the album a tight entity.

Is it really SDSA from 2010 or the 80s'?

"now we're all getting raped like the drunkard out of party

that smoked too much chronic and drank too much bacardi

but this type of rapist is being sponsored by our government

i feel like i'd be fake if i wasnt speaking on this shit

they way they keep cutting my grandfathers pension

makes me want to hang myself with my own fucking intestines"

- SDSA - Operation

Like I said they are not emo-shit; their lyrics are full of pitch-black humour and abusing people, or themselves. To close this review, here is one of the juiciest bits of the pitch-black-humour sort. In my minds eye I can see this scene in JAM.

"We're in a parking lot and the visions all hasty -

if you think i'll let her go then you must be crazy

i wasnt about to drop of and ask for a number

i tore off her clothes and we fucked in a dumpster

you can call it sin but i threw her in

she had leftover tacobells on her chin

and a banana peel upon a heel

saw some bloody puke so i didnt kneel

grabbed a garbage bag and i took a seat

pulled out my dick and fucked her feet

we got trashfucked girl knew how to suck

she never woke up you can call it luck

tried a dozen positions i loved her style

she was my centerfold and i was Jay Geils"

- SDSA - Crash The Club (Prod. by ProBangers.com)

Overall score: 9/10

Download the album for free from here: http://trashfuckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/drug-life

Weeping Birth - Anosognosic Industry of the I

Weeping Birth must be one of the best hidden gems of Brutal and Technical Death Metal. This project of Metal monster mind Vladimir Cochet released its first album in 2003 but robbed the bank with their second effort in 2008. "Anosognosic Industry Of the I" destroys, chills and occasionally even puts in a beautiful melody. Mainly destroys.

Seventy-plus minutes of monster riffs and huge tempos is, as a thought, very hard to digest but somehow "Anosognosic Industry of the I" is made fluid. For times when the listener may feel sated of crunching riffs, the occasional melodic bits are the perfect relief. These moments are for example the crazy guitar solo of "Hurle à la Mort", "Orgasmic Fetid Breath"'s ominous guitar lead turning into a melodically outbursting chorus, or the beautiful track "Shadowless". Most memorable melodics are, you guessed it, topped over crunching high-speed riffs. The album does have dynamics but it is truly itself only when the gas pedal is stuck down.

The clean vocals and the over done, bit dull-sounding drum machine aren't at par with the rest of the release but they are nonetheless only minor inconveniences as especially the drums are very well-programmed. The only clearly weak track is "Detestable Birth Tapestries With Snakes Embroidered", which verse riff is simply just off, making an otherwise strong track rather annoying. With deep self-examination one might also come to note that "Love, Death's Betrothed" is perhaps too technical for its own good, putting in massive disruptions after each other. On early listens it can be mindblowing in a WTF-fashion, but later on the surprise wears off.

The album is a surprisingly flawless piece, having almost no weak moments. "Anosognosic Industry Of the I" excels at constant variation, wonderful riffs and well-timed dynamics to give the listener a breather now and then. The top moments include for example the frantic and devious last two minutes of "I Was" and the evil break of "Der Tanz der Toten" with French vocals seemingly ready to gnaw the skin off your bones. But most of all "Shadowless", an almost Classical composition, which seems to consist of a continuous bridge slowly leading towards the inevitable orgasmic peak.

Prepare to get bewildered, amazed and confused. "Anosognosic Industry Of the I" brings in a similar shock factor as Havoc Unit's album "h.IV+"  - for me these two are the best Extreme Metal albums of the 2000s.

Overall Score: 9+

The review was originally released in Metal-observer: http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=18866

FluiD / John 3:16 - The Pursuit of Salvation

The Pursuit of Salvation is a split record of two very notable electronic musicians, currently surprisingly much under the underground. FluiD is a veteran presence, having released albums since the early 1990s. John 3:16 is a Drone/Industrial/Dark-Wave/Guitar-driven project from Switzerland, active since 2007. FluiD and John 3:16 produce a great split pair, both having similar haunting and enigmatic atmospheres which at times even become soothing. Artwork is also stunning, having only the webrelease I can only imagine how good it would look in my hands as the physical release 12" Vinyl.

The intro Angels Pt II is particularly impressive - melodic ambient with lots of hooks. A very definition of a catchy intro escalating the atmosphere sky-high. The next two songs develop a more industrial sound but retain the hooks almost as well. Plague could be explained as a bastard-child of melodic dark ambient and industrial, when Forewarning rolls with a massive beat and vague soundclips, which provide more music than voice.

John 3:16 relies mostly on ambient touch similar to Angels pt II. Inside the two tracks there is a lot of variation and surprises. Compared to his earlier release Sinner's Prayer which I described as "psychedelic gospel ambient" the two songs in The Pursuit of Salvation are even more ambient, melodics being less straighforward. God of Light fills up the continuum by progressing from rich soundscaping ambient to a very FluiD like industrial beat in the end. Toward The Red Sea evokes beautifully corrupted images of a deserted town with wind blowing through and deteriorated objects rattling in the wind to the sound of a distant gloomy church choir.

I can easily imagine both artists progressing to reach more vast audiences if they keep up the quality of their releases this high. The vast industrial and ambient soundscapes are truly thrilling to listen and most of all flow greatly together to form a compact release.

I do not know if Toward The Red Sea is an Isis reference, but having the Isis lyrics in memory I couldn't help but noting how the last line of Isis's - Red Sea quite suit the overall atmosphere of The Pursuit of Salvation.

The ocean spreads beneath the skin
Fluid fills blackened lungs
Tar seeps across the eyes
Away in the sea of red
- Isis - Red Sea (1999)




Overall Score: 8+

On comes the overall scores!

After reviewing quite a few releases I can finally start keeping track on the overall scores of every album (from 0 to 10). To sum up, here are all the releases on this blog so far and the overall scores; which will be updated to releases as well.
In alphabetical order:

Alex Tiuniaev Treedreams EP (modified) 8-
Blueprint Human Being - Heaven Is All 8+
Master Toad & Pollux - Offer Their Souls 9+
Mythological Cold Towers - The Vanished Pantheon 9+
Shuji Morimoto - Mies Kaukaisuudesta 8½

P.S. If you have a better word than "Overall Score" or "Ranking" throw it at me and i'll consider changing them all. I don't fully like the tone of "overall score".

Alex Tiuniaev - Treedreams

Surprisingly grand for a wee EP

Ever since I've been a kid I've been exposed to sequencer, synthesizer and ambient music from the likes of Klaus Schulze, Mike Oldfield, Jean-Michel Jarre etc. Even though they are undoubtedly geniuses, revolutinees of the music field and whatnot, I have never became very close to their music, though I have always kind of liked them. Still, Im sure this exposion has left some mark. Often things you've listened as a kid hit you hard later on and I think I finally found my first knack of sequencer-type music on Alex Tiuniaev.

Alex Tiuniaev is an ambient and piano composer from Russia. His EP Treedreams is a small piano driven release consisting of two tracks, both freely downloadable from last.fm. Small does not necessary mean simple, and minimalistic doesn't mean it doesn't have a lot of textures. Alex Tiuniaev's work reminds me subconsciously of Klaus Schulze's sequencer outputs (which of them, I cannot say). 

Treedreams I consists of a rhythmic melody circling around a rhythmic beat. Treedreams II:n has a similar beat present but it is more piano driven, than sequencer driven.Of these two Treedreams I is the simpler and clearly more memorable having a great catchy melodyline which took a few listens to materialize to its full potential. Treedreams II is a fine closer having more variation and more ambient. However for me Treedreams EP is not complete without a track from Alex Tiuniaev's newest album Blurred. Another free last.fm download "The Wild Winds Weep" can be cleverly bootlegged to serve as a brilliant intro to Treedreams. The Wild Winds Weep is my latest random find; a full on goosebump effect in the middle of a walk.

While I have only listened Blurred once I can say it does have lots of potential, especially the cinematic "We Were All Fishes Once" caught me unaware on first listen. I cannot fully express why, but somehow Alex Tiuniaev's music is extremely likable. If Treedreams or any of the synthesizer-artist-household-names-above make any impression to you Treedreams is, and free-to-listen Blurred may very well be, a shimmering find.

Overall score (modified EP): 8-/10

Download Treedreams for free here: http://www.last.fm/music/Alex+Tiuniaev/Treedreams+EP

Shuji Morimoto - Mies Kaukaisuudesta

Melancholic folk rock with sympathetic oddness

A Finnish-Japanese (?) bluesy folk rock coalition who released their first self-titled release as a cassette and free download on their bandcamp-site in the beginning of January. Shuji Morimoto is one of the many projects of Päijänne Suurjärvi, others of note being Päijänteen suopalloilijat and Guggenheim-projektz. All three share the same spirit of absudism yet have a clear own facet.

Mies Kaukaisuudesta is something of a mixture of EP and full-length album, consisting of 6 tracks clocking some 25 minutes. The overall atmosphere is very Finnish, but there is an odd heart of far-away-places and absurdism beating under the surface. The compositions are very airy and vocals mostly clear folk rock-vocals, but at times wander to stranger surfaces. 

The vocals avoid the biggest pitfalls successfully even if sometimes they dance on the edge of that wire. Not being that balanced and expected, the vocals and lyrics add a lot freshness and could even say danger to the music. Lyrics are particularly nicely crafted, awaking images of a land far beyond but sometimes they do turn naive. Even if the main image is such a cliche as japan, the lyrics avoid the manganisms and animenisms simply putting in an image of a distant and mystical land.

In this type of music the vocals and lyrics are particularly important but the compositions are surprisingly catchy and thought evoking as well. "Mies kaukaisuudesta" with a superbly catchy chorus and "Nousevan Auringon Maa" both have a lot of groove and swing under a relatively simple surface. After multiple listens it becomes clear that the record indeed has a lot of class under a simple surface. Distorted guitars, synthesizers, clean electric guitars and acoustic guitars take their turns and just when the track asks for it, they provide classy lead-sections bringing the whole matter to the next level.

The next three tracks: "Planeetta Punainen", "I don't know anything about Japan" and "Radiation is not good for your health" slow down the tempo and atmosphere from near-ballad to clear ballad. Surprisingly, in the midst the language also changes from Finnish to English and Shuji Morimoto does it effortlessly keeping the atmosphere intact. And how about saving the best melody for last? Gojira's stylish jam of a steady melodic beat and guitar leads closes up the album.

Is it really a Japanese-Finnish folk rock coalition? Or is it just one man and a made up figure, which even has a facebook page? Here I am suspecting a persons existence but guess what, I do not want to know. Not just yet. This type of mystery is bound to make a project seem somehow more secret and mystic adding its value. In short, I cannot get enough of Shuji Morimoto and Mies Kaukaisuudesta has been spinning regularly on my evening-chilling playlist for multiple months. Extremely recommended.

Download the release for free from their Bandcamp site:
http://shujimorimoto.bandcamp.com/album/mies-kaukaisuudesta

Master Toad & Pollux - Offer Their Souls

Dark Ambient with a sense of melody

However clicheicly titled, this free to download ambient release is a real jewel in the weblabel rough. It was released in 2010 by TRASHFUCK Records and Kitty on Fire Records as a webrelease and a cd-r. When an album is co-released by two such brilliantly named weblabels it cannot be all bad! In fact, it turned out to be one of the best Dark Ambient records' I've listened and one of the ones that really got me in the genre, along with NOTHING (best known as a side project of JWW from Agalloch).

All the songs are freely listenable and downloadable from last.fm which is linked to the title of the track when first mentioned. For whole packet, scroll to the bottom of the review.

Master Toad starts the split with 4 tracks, and 3 are instant hits. The vaguely hearable I Stood Upon The Beach of Lost Souls has a scary atmosphere and an unexplainable dark tower vibe, somehow still manages to stay interesting. If I was you I wouldn't tune up the volume, as Dark Insects of the Catacomb whirrs right in with a dark egyptian atmosphere about 20DB louder. Extremely solid and gloomy, and fitting to the title! Curiously, the track delivers an atmosphere alike Mythological Cold Towers' release The Vanished Pantheon. Similar atmosphere continues with Frail Raft Through The Rivers of Hell and if possible, it fits its title even better. A grim journey, but stays pleasant by growing up to a wonderful guitar melody in the end.

Unicorn Dreams finishes up the first half with a lighter tone and a beautiful melancholic melody.

What stands out in Master Toad's side is that is so organic. As nighttime music goes, it is hard to top tunes that combine an interesting Ambient wall with a tangible story and as a cherry on the cake, a guitar melody.

Pollux's side is less organic, but it still delivers great melodies. Black Hope has a big Braid -vibe. As Braid happens to be one of the best indie games of all time, this is very pleasant, though again, quite unexplained. Blue Hope is, if possible, the best track on this album with a light piano and very pleasant pulsing soundwave. The album finishes up Ghosts (Eternal Version), which is an interesting dark ambient wall, with a similar scary vibe than I Stood Upon The Beach of Lost Souls, concluding this album in fitting manner.

In free download weblabel releases, you rarely hear such well crafted passion and skill packed in a compact packet without any fillers.


Download the release: http://www.archive.org/details/kof078MasterToadPollux-OfferTheirSouls

The text was originally released as a part of last.fm journal "Great albums you've never heard of I" http://www.last.fm/user/Takkeri/journal/2011/12/12/58q703_great_albums_you%27ve_never_heard_of_i_-_mythological_cold_towers%2C_blueprint_human_being%2C_pollux%2C_master_toad

Blueprint Human Being - Heaven Is All

Avant-garde progressive rock with doom metal influences

Being a big fan of obscure rock music, but not having many glimpses to prog bands, let alone avant-garde prog, Blueprint Human Being's Heaven is all -ep made a huge impression on me some years ago. The band is best known as a sideproject of only a bit better known Finnish doom trio, Garden of Worm, which is exactly the way this quartet came to my attention. 

Heaven is all consists of 5 tracks, one being a noise outro track and one a short instrumental passage. But the three main tracks make this a fine entity. Especially Vojaganto and Hotelli Kognitio: b. Carrots in the Garden of Worm have an incredible groove. The singing in the record ranges from mediocre to weak and plain odd, but luckily the album largely consists of instrumental sections. When you can overcome the singing and concentrate on the obscure guitar lines, melodies and wicked rhythms, this is an almost throughoutly enjoyable release.

After all these years, the record is still available for purchase on a label Paradigms-recordings. So if you are into progressive rock music and can stand some oddities - this could be something for you. At least download and listen to the sample 11 minute track Vojaganto.

The review was originally released in my journal:
http://www.last.fm/user/Takkeri/journal/2011/12/12/58q703_great_albums_you%27ve_never_heard_of_i_-_mythological_cold_towers%2C_blueprint_human_being%2C_pollux%2C_master_toad 

Mythological Cold Towers - The Vanished Pantheon

"Epic monumental doom metal"

The Vanished Pantheon was released in 2005 by a Finnish label Firedoom music. Even though it was definitely one of the best releases of 2005, it was perhaps too odd and distant for most Finns to understand. It stands as only the 3rd release of the Brazilian Mythological Cold Towers, found in 1994. Their first two releases were received with quite indifferent reviews. The first, Sphere of Nebaddon got more positive publicity, but for me the second, Remoti Meridiani Hymni is stronger of the two. However neither of the first two albums become even close to the 3rd release.

It seems Mythological Cold Towers really found themselves on The Vanished Pantheon. Massive doom metal accompanied with a feel of mythic remote civilizations, and old cultures getting grinded to the dust.

The gigantic atmosphere sometimes slips to being humorously overdramatic. But if you have a personality that can appreciate extremely dramatic compositions (à la Bal-Sagoth) you should find this a very interesting release. Quite raw and unpolished, yet very natural sounds fit Vanished Pantheon perfectly and give a lot of primeval power to the compositions. The sounds remind me of Keep Of Kalessin's Kolossus, but unlike KOK, Mythological Cold Towers succeeds in having lots of strength and rage within a natural sound. Mythological Cold Towers already released their 4th album Immemorial in October on the German label Cyclone Empire. I sincerely hope that The Vanished Pantheon wasn't just a one album miracle.

Loved tracks:
[track artist=Mythological Cold Towers]The Vanished Pantheon[/track]

Also released in my journal:
http://www.last.fm/user/Takkeri/journal/2011/12/12/58q703_great_albums_you%27ve_never_heard_of_i_-_mythological_cold_towers%2C_blueprint_human_being%2C_pollux%2C_master_toad