Hypomanie – Calm Down, You Weren’t Set On Fire

posted by Zamo on April 25, 2012

Even if some people could have some complaints about the lack of innovation or variation between tracks, “Calm Down, You Weren’t Set On Fire” is a decent release, with a very ethereal and dreamy atmosphere, completed by some blackgaze elements, merged with the post-rock / shoegaze flavor. From my point of view it is an improvement over the previous release and it will be interesting to see how this evolution of Hypomanie will continue.


Rating 7.8




Tracklist:


1. 19 Stars And The Sweet Smell Of Cinnamon
2. Alissa Loves Perfume
3. If Only The Seas Were Merciful
4. Lullabye For Ian
5. Pale Blue
6. You Never Listened To The Birds


Links:


Hypomanie on Myspace

Din Brad – Dor (review)

posted by Zamo on April 21, 2012

Band: Din Brad
Country: Romania
Style:  traditional Romanian soundscape / neofolk
Label: Prophecy Productions

Din Brad, the side project of two members of the current Negura Bunget, Negru and Inia Dinia, has been a long mystery to many of us. It has been announced as “neofolk” project, some time ago, but with the departure of Hupogrammos and Sol Faur from the band it was said that Din Brad would carry on Negru’s vision of Negura Bunget. Strictly, from this point of view, the things were soon clear, Negura Bunget would continue its work but with a different line-up, Dordeduh was created by Hupogrammos and Soul Faur, the only project that was still a mystery remained “Din Brad”.

The waiting for the first Din Brad material, English for “from the fir tree,” lasted until 2011 when the band recorded its first album entitled “Dor” (Yearning, Longing in English).
To my surprise “Dor” is focused very much on the traditional Romanian music. It is an album inspired one hundred percent by Romanian folklore, an album with 11 songs divided between a personal view on authentic Romanian traditional music and traditional songs, sung by local performers.

The fir tree, longing, these two elements may seem ordinary to some, but they manage to create that strong link between traditions and those far away, isolated and forgotten lands and places. There, the purity of these feelings and lyrics that are found in the songs haven’t lost their true meaning.
I never had the impression that we, as a nation, are the most joyful people out there. Grief, longing, this two feelings are the main themes of traditional Romanian music and specific to our nation, this songs are called “Doină”.

Din Brad – Dor, as a whole, is a doină, a melancholic and mournful 40 minute experience. “Dor” is exploring this emblematic feelings.
It’s like they say, a traditional Romanian soundscape, imbued with traditional instruments, a specific theme of this area and pure folklore. All of these elements describe “Dor” as a unique Romanian feature.

The album should be viewed separately, not as a direct connection between Din Brad and Negura Bunget. I’m sure many have thought about it or they were expecting it. Some similarities can be found on keyboards, which renders the atmosphere that is found in some Negura Bunget songs. We are used with Negru handling the drums, but perhaps we were not expecting female voices on this project. The vocals on “Dor” are provided by Alma and Inia Dinia. To be honest I have a problem with the vocals, the interpretation often lacks any substance, it is more like a recitation, simply it does not seem strong enough, it does not wake any feelings.

“Dor uses traditional authentic Romanian folklore music as a way to capture forgotten times and feelings”, indeed, this is what it does, it is a way to preserve and spread our traditions, music and ancestral folklore.





Tracklist:


1. Amar

2. Imbratisat de dor

3. Poarce’n Suflet Greu Pacatu

4. Doina

5. Cîntecul Cununei

6. Dor

7. Of, of, viata

8. Durere

9. Foaie Verde, Odolean

10 Cine Iubeste si Lasa

11 Bradule, Bradutule


Links


www.dinbrad.com
www.facebook.com/dinbrad
www.myspace.com/dinbrad

Fading Waves – The sense of space (review)

posted by Zamo on March 15, 2012

Band: Fading Waves
Country: Russia
Style: Post Metal
Label: Slow Burn Records






Honestly, this is the first time when I have contact with this band, and from what I’ve seen, Fading Waves is a one-man, Rostov on Don-based post-metal project. The man behind this project is Alexey Maximuk, also “The sense of space”, the album we’re going to talk about is the first full length release.

The album begins with “Airs” a short song of 2 minutes and 45 seconds, call it a short intro for “The Sense of Space” album. 2 minutes of eerie music, some spacey and really atmospheric sounds effects. In the background you can hear some voices, it’s like someone’s talking over the radio, something that makes you immediately think of those space missions seen on Tv.
Although “Airs” is not last long, that calm atmosphere continues with “Flashes”. We find the same passages of synths that bring the feeling of infinity, some calm guitar notes and something I was really not expecting, an angelic female vocal.All these elements are clearly described in the lyrics, they create a image “Imagine how you sail in these clouds, slowly, lying on your back”. Well, this is how the song sounds like.

“Destroying the time”, the third song on the album is a little bit more aggressive, it starts with some distorted guitar riffs, some fast drum rhythms and it keeps its intensity until the end. I was really pleasant surprised when the harsh vocals made their appearance. I heard something familiar with “Snohtbaen Son”.
“Perforated the time” is a mix between “The Sense of Space” and “Destroying the time”, a blend between what is worldly and celestial.

The final song on the album, “Through the veins” hits you hard, right from the start with some really heavy drumming, there’s a lot of energy into this song. After 2 minutes played, we have again those harsh vocals, but somewhere at the middle of the song, the intensity starts to drop and the female vocals appear. This moment of calmness is short, the ending is yet again very energetic, quite apocalyptic, insane guitar riffs, hard drum beats, this ending goes straight trough your veins.

The album is more worldly than the name says, “The sense of space”, only the beginning of the album gives the sensation of space, infinite and silence. After the first two songs that spacey feeling is slowly fading away, all becomes “mortal”, rushed, harsh and explosive. “The sense of space” is good release, something for the people who like the “metal” approach in the post rock movement, well yeah, that’s why it’s called post metal.


Rating: 8





Tracklist:
1. Air
2. Destroying the time
3. Perforate the sky
4. Through the veins


Links:


Label: Slow Burn Records
Official Site – http://fadingwavesband.com/
Myspace – http://www.myspace.com/fadingwavesband

Cold Body Radiation – Deer Twillight (review)

posted by Zamo on March 13, 2012

Band: Cold Body Radiation
Country: Netherlands
Style: Blackgaze/Post-Rock
Label: Dusktone






“Deer Twillight” is the second release of the Holland’s shoegaze black metal band Cold Body Radiation. After the high worldwide acclaimed first album “The great white emptiness”, Cold Body Radiation are back with another interesting studio album.

Released at the end of 2011, “Deer Twillight” is an album quite hard to classify, just like the previous release. The first song of the album, the song that also gives the album its name, directly induce you into a very dreamy and atmospheric world. If we’re going to talk about the whole album, the elements that gave “The great white emptiness” its black shoegaze “flavor”, the aggressive touch, have almost disappeared. Even if there are enough distorted guitar passages, those passages lack in power and depth. The “Deer Twillight” album is heading more towards the post rock / Shoegaze scene.

After the first three songs, the one who stands out a bit is “The night reveals”. The beginning is very similar to what is heard through the newest post rock scene, some very spacey guitar riffs for the intro, but after that the song catches in intensity through some really nice blast beats. This drums have a post punk touch, giving the song a real good pace. The vocal part on this song is present only trough the end of the song and it’s mostly whispered.
“Concept of Forever” is the only song that recalls most of the blackgaze concept or call it a metal song. The blast beats are also present in this song, screamed vocals, high tempo guitar riffs, but even so, after a period of time the song loses in intensity.

The entire album has lost some of the intensity found in “The great white emptiness”, yet the album won some points in songwriting. The big difference between “The Deer Twillight” and “The great white emptiness” is that the last release has a big inclination towards the post rock / Shoegaze scene, it’s a more cosmic. calming release and less metal.
The album is dreamy, the emphasis is put more on clean guitar passages, all of this giving the song a melancholic, atmospheric and even psychedelic feeling. Sure, I miss the black and metal touch from their first release, but I’m sure quite a few people will enjoy this release, especially if you’re into the post rock scene.


Rating : 7.5





Tracklist:
1. Deer Twillight
2. Make Believe
3. The Night reveals
4. Shimmer
5. A change of pace
6. Concept of forever
7. Yes, maybe the stars


Links:
www.dusktone.eu
myspace.com/coldbodyradiation