Album Review: Opeth – The Last Will and Testament

Band: Opeth | Album: The Last Will and Testament | Genre: Progressive metal, Progressive rock | Year: 2024

From: Stockholm, Sweden | Label: Reigning Phoenix

Apple Music

Opeth is a band that really needs no introduction, so I’ll try to keep this brief. They’re one of the giants of progressive metal with some of the best albums ever in that genre. Their run from 1996-2008 is nigh unimpeachable.

But ever since Mikael Åkerfeldt decided to move the band away from metal with their 2011 record Heritage, I’ve been less taken with their music. None of the albums since then have been bad, but they’ve all just kinda lacked that ineffable spark that makes a truly great record. It’s been a lot of decent, fairly heavy retro-prog, but Opeth doesn’t really stand out from the field in that particular style. There’s even a difference between their recent stretch of records and 2003’s Damnation, their first foray into non-metal. Damnation feels much more like classic Opeth than, say, Sorceress. Damnation’s contemplative folkiness suits Mikael’s voice and songwriting better than his recent attempts at drawing from acts like Uriah Heep and Jethro Tull (or at least Tull’s heavier stuff).

The Last Will and Testament, Opeth’s fourteenth full-length album, sees the band return to something closer to their classic mid-aughts sound, making this their strongest release in a while. The album tells the story of a wealthy family and their sordid secrets in the form of the reading of the recently-passed patriarch’s will. Seven of the eight songs on this record are titled “§1-7”.

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Album Review: Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja

Band: Oranssi Pazuzu | Album: Muuntautuja | Genre: Psychedelic black metal | Year: 2024

From: Tampere, Finland | Label: Nuclear Blast

For fans of: Hail Spirit Noir, Krallice, Sigh

Bandcamp

Black metal is one of relatively few styles of metal that seems to mesh well with psychedelia. (Or maybe only black metal acts are disproportionately willing to dabble in it.) It makes sense how one can make that leap, since classic psych often was categorized as such primarily on its instrumental tones, and black metal often focuses on having an atmosphere that ebbs and flows fluidly with searing tremolo picking and expansive walls of guitar. Just take a look at Sigh, Hail Spirit Noir, or these guys, Finnish five-piece Oranssi Pazuzu.

Their last release, 2020’s Mestarin kynsi, was a really solid release that I enjoyed a lot. Its hazy, swirling atmosphere made it a prime candidate for repeated listens, as something new always emerges from the sonic slurry. Muuntautuja sees Oranssi Pazuzu push some new boundaries, incorporating synthesizers and electronic elements to a significant degree.

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Album Review: Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere

Band: Blood Incantation | Album: Absolute Elsewhere | Genre: Progressive death metal, Space rock | Year: 2024

From: Denver, USA | Label: Century Media

For fans of: Wills Dissolve, Cynic, Morbid Angel, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream

Bandcamp

Blood Incantation has been a bit all over the place on their last few releases. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. 2019’s Hidden History of the Human Race is both brutal and intelligent. It features nasty, complex riffs alongside brief interludes of Floydian atmospherics. Their last two releases, though, have seen them go in a much more explicitly astral direction. 2022’s Timewave Zero was fully electronic and honestly not really my jam. If you’re more into Tangerine Dream than I am, it might be for you. Then last year, they released the EP Luminescent Bridge. One of the two songs on it was a fantastic synthesis of their usual death metal alongside more cosmic space rock and classic prog. The title track, though, is simply too ambient for my taste.

Their new LP, Absolute Elsewhere, sees the band expand upon the ideas put forth in “Obliquity of the Ecliptic”, off Luminescent Bridge. Death metal and intergalactic progressive rock both feature prominently, and the band strikes a great balance. (Though, like so many other metal bands that decide to incorporate non-metal elements into their music, they go on about “leaving the notion of genre behind” on their Bandcamp page. And I’m just not nuts about that sort of framing. Blood Incantation didn’t leave “genre” behind. They’re just playing two genres on this album, instead of one.)

Like their last EP and the ambient LP before it, this record consists of just two long compositions: “The Stargate” and “The Message”. Each of these pieces is split up into three parts, called “tablets.”

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Album Review: Diskord/Atvm – Bipolarities

Band: Diskord/Atvm | Album: Bipolarities | Genre: Technical death metal, Progressive metal | Year: 2024

From: Oslo, Norway/London, UK | Label: Transcending Obscurity

For fans of: Atheist, Artificial Brain, Gorguts

Bandcamp

I’ve covered at least two split records on here before, both from Ripple Music. (There have been a couple others I’ve considered, but I’m not sure I’ve actually written about them.) One is the stellar stoner/post-/prog metal collaboration between Howling Giant and Sergeant Thunderhoof. And the other is a study in contrasts with Wizzerd and Merlin taking opposing spins on stoner metal and heavy psych. Bipolarities is more in line with the former, as both Diskord and Atvm play complex, tangled varieties of death metal.

Diskord hails from Norway, and they’ve been around for a while. They’re not the most prolific band out there, but they’ve got three solid albums of tech-death under their belt. Atvm, meanwhile, is a newer band whose debut record I absolutely loved.

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Odds & Ends: October 7, 2024

Band: Chafouin | Album: In C | Genre: Minimalism, Krautrock, Math rock | Bandcamp

For their latest release, Chafouin tackle minimalist composer Terry Riley’s 1968 work, In C. This work has been covered by a number of other rock bands, most notably Acid Mothers Temple. The music has a tense, anxious feel to it, and the ritualistic repetition calls to mind other proggy subgenres, like krautrock and zeuhl. King Crimson’s work on THRAK also bears similarities, with the jagged, hypnotic, interlocking guitar lines.

Score: 79/100

Artist: Clarissa Connelly | Album: World of Work | Genre: Progressive folk, Experimental pop | Bandcamp

Before addressing the music, let me just compliment this album cover. I love that goofy, devious-looking piano. The music on World of Work is piano-forward, and Connelly’s voice is distinctive and emotive. Arrangements are minimal but inventive, and the vocal arrangements are intricate and charming. Things are rather sonically similar song-to-song, so it can kinda bleed together into a bit of a mush by the end of the album. I still like it overall, but a bit more variation would’ve been nice.

Score: 75/100

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Album Review: Papangu – Lampião Rei

Band: Papangu | Album: Lampião Rei | Genre: Progressive rock, Zeuhl, Jazz-rock | Year: 2024

From: João Pessoa, Brazil | Label: Chumbo Grosso Records

For fans of: Magma, King Crimson, Sigh, Herbie Hancock’s ‘70s stuff

Bandcamp

Papangu are back three years after their absolutely spectacular debut album, Holoceno. Their new album, Lampião Rei, carries on in their unique vein of zeuhl, prog, and metal, but there have been some changes between the records. Holoceno is an unrelenting assault of Magma-tinged sludge metal. It’s an eco-apocalyptic tale, and the music serves to build intense senses of dread and unease. Lampião Rei, in contrast, is quite a bit lighter. Significant chunks of this album are metallic, but the band draws more clearly from jazz and classic prog here.

Part of the reason for this shift in sound (aside from adding new members to the band) is that the subject matter here isn’t quite as grim as on their debut. It tells the story of Lampião, a Brazilian bandit leader and folk hero whose heyday was in the 1920s and 30s. This album doesn’t cover Lampião’s betrayal, capture, and beheading (though the band says they’ll do that on a future release), so there isn’t the same need for Holoceno’s oppressive mood.

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Odds & Ends: September 2, 2024

Band: Burnt Log | Album: Time Is a Heron Waiting for Prey | Genre: Progressive rock, Dream pop | Bandcamp

Burnt Log is a one-man project based out of Scotland. The songs skillfully combine intelligent, progressive song structures with floating, dreamy atmospheres. Melodies are smart but accessible, and there’s a vague sense of nostalgia to much of the music here. Touches of post-punk, new wave, and even post-rock crop up here and there. Some passages are perhaps a bit too dream-poppy for my taste, but this is still an overall solid and interesting release.

Score: 72/100

Band: FILESHAREMAIDEN | Album: Veuve | Genre: Progressive metal, Technical death metal | Bandcamp

The first full-length release from Quebecois death metallers File Share Maiden is a swirling, tangled thicket of finger-twisting riffs, guttural vocals, and even moments of surprising lightness. There are many exciting, fun passages that demonstrate both technical skills and songwriting smarts. However, this band also falls victim to the common excesses of other tech-death acts. Many songs are longer than they need to be, and a number of cuts border on purposelessness. That said, there’s still plenty of great material here.

Score: 70/100

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Album Review: Leprous – Melodies of Atonement

Band: Leprous | Album: Melodies of Atonement | Genre: Art rock | Year: 2024

From: Notodden, Norway | Label: InsideOut Music

Bandcamp

Leprous have returned three years after their last release. I’ve been pretty blunt in my disappointment with Aphelion, Pitfalls, and Malina. (Malina came out before I started this site, but I’ve mentioned it.) They went from being an inventive, dynamic metal act with some creative songwriting to a rather bland art-rock act that leaned way too heavily on sudden quiet-loud contrasts. Bilateral is one of my favorite albums of all time, so the last decade or so has been rather disappointing.

Vocalist and primary songwriter Einar Solberg said he wanted to strip away the orchestral elements that have been prominent on their last few records for this release, and that experiment largely pays dividends. Melodies of Atonement is Leprous’s best album since The Congregation, though I wouldn’t quite call this “good” as a whole. They’re on the right path, however!

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Album Review: Ætheria Conscientia – The Blossoming

Band: Ætheria Conscientia | Album: The Blossoming | Genre: Progressive metal, Atmospheric black metal | Year: 2024

From: Nantes, France | Label: Frozen Records

For fans of: ‘70s King Crimson, Krallice, Mare Cognitum

Bandcamp

I always like it when bands work in non-conventional rock instruments to their music. Even if it’s just a one-off solo in one song, that sort of timbral variation can go a long way in making a band’s music that much more enjoyable. What I like even more is when a band can fully integrate a non-typical rock instrument into their music in a key way, like Kansas’s violin, or Titus Groan’s many wind and reed instruments.

Ætheria Conscientia is a band that does an excellent job of integrating saxophone into their music. Their 2021 release, Corrupted Pillars of Vanity, saw them weaving saxes into every nook and cranny of their compositions. That warm, reedy buzziness complemented the chug and crunch of their guitars, while also underscoring their jazz influences. Saxophone remains prominent on The Blossoming, their new release; it is an integral part of their overall sound.

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Album Review: Ulcerate – Cutting the Throat of God

Band: Ulcerate | Album: Cutting the Throat of God | Genre: Death metal, Progressive metal | Year: 2024

From: Auckland, New Zealand | Label: Debemur Morti

For fans of: Gorguts, Artificial Brain, Blood Incantation

Bandcamp

Barely a month ago, I commented on how infrequently New Zealand shows up on this site. (Indeed, that was the first time I had featured any Kiwis here in three-and-a-half years.) And now here I am, covering (what is most likely) that country’s most respected metal band!

I covered Ulcerate’s last album, 2020’s Stare into Death and Be Still, and I liked it. I didn’t revere it quite as much as many others, but it’s a solid album overall. My thoughts on it haven’t moved much since my original review. This trio’s new release though, Cutting the Throat of God, takes the thundering, intelligent death metal of their last album and further refines it into something spectacular.

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