Númenor – Sword And Sorcery

If ever there was a subgenre with tons of potential waiting to be excavated, it would be symphonic black/power metal. It’s no secret that both black metal and power metal are awesome when saturated in endless layers of cheesy keyboards, and as power metal bands begin experimenting more and more with harsh vocals, it seems only natural that this subgenre would gain more prominence. This is where Númenor, from Serbia, comes in. “Sword And Sorcery” is their second-full length record, and is the equivalent of taking Rhapsody of Fire’s music and adding harsh high-pitched, raspy vocals. Amazingly, however, the band doesn’t stop there. They also feature clean singing (both male and female) that rival anything a power metal band could do. In general, there is a much greater proportion of harsh vocals, but the clearer sections are certainly quite prominent on tracks like “Dragonheart”.

Musically, Númenor is pretty authentic in their Rhapsody worship. In fact, since the only primary difference is the singing, you’d almost think you’re listening to a band like Dark Moor, who similarly apes Rhapsody. This means a thunderous cacophony of double bass, aided by soaring keyboard melodies and heavy, chugging guitars. There is little deviation away from this standard formula, though compared to their Italian counterparts, Númenor’s symphonics and shredding are decidedly less classically influenced. 

One area where Númenor does differ from other power metal bands is that they’ve kept “Sword And Sorcery” down to the bare essentials. This album barely exceeds half of the length of a typical power metal album, and benefits greatly from this. As a result, it feels more energetic and less indulgent. In large part, the length also prevents the switching between clean and harsh vocals from getting tiring. Though both are performed at a high level, so few bands can really make combining the two styles work, and to be completely honest, Nùmenor would benefit from just sticking with one or the other. Overall though, there is no doubt that this band is a unique entity in the power metal scene. Their enthusiasm for this style of music (and Rhapsody in particular) shines through in their performance, and ultimately makes “Sword And Sorcery” an enjoyable release.

Be sure to check out and like Númenor on Facebook!

Highlights

"Dragonheart"

"Dragon of Erebor"

Final Rating

4.0/5 or 80%. 

Written by Scott

Oneuro – Deivore

“Deivore” is the debut album from Oneuro, a solo technical death metal project by Christopher Thayer. At 66 minutes, this album is an absolute monolith of a release, filled to the brim with incredibly intricate solos and riffs, tight rhythm playing, and monstrous vocals. Before that, however, “Deivore” opens with “Three Realms Broken”, a symphonic instrumental track. While this song sounds absolutely nothing like the rest of the record, it is actually the most ambitious and interesting track, as it is driven by an evocative, haunting melody. Though this album is admittedly quite bloated; the somewhat indulgent intro is actually a breath of fresh air, as there is little variation throughout the rest of the record.

Once “Omen To The Gods” begins, Oneuro’s sound becomes quite clear. Showing homage to any number of incredibly technical bands like Obscura or Neuraxis, this track easily moves from speedy bizarre harmonies, to downright brutal chugging. These latter moments show the band with more of a brutal death metal sound, which is only enhanced by the production. Indeed, this album’s sound makes the low-end crushing in its attack. By contrast, whenever Oneuro provides more melodic passages, it is the bass that shines. Technical death metal is practically heaven for bass players, and Thayer’s skills make it clear that Oneuro is no exception. His vocal performance is good, but not particularly unique. In the context of “Deivore”, growling does not seem to be important, as much of this album’s runtime focuses more on either dazzling displays of technicality, or skull-crushing breakdowns and rhythmic assaults.

While “Deivore” is clearly well executed, it does fall short from a songwriting perspective. The aforementioned harmonies are, at times, so jarring that it makes them difficult to digest. It feels like an attempt to one-up the band’s contemporaries, though in that respect it does succeed. In fact, this is an appropriate description of the direction of the record: it takes the established technical death metal formula, but often gets off track, and feels as though the songs are written to be weird for the sake of being weird. To be fair, these sections are not so pervasive that they ruin the record, but they do appear far too often. The strange, circus-like interludes in “The Roulette” provide an example of this sound; not only does this section feel out of place, but it begins to switch between the clean guitar and bass interlude and a second or two of death metal. On their own, the two sounds are fair, but when combined, they seem strange.

Taken at face value, “Deivore” is not only an interesting listen, but a respectable one. It is astounding that one individual came up with something so eccentric. Even though it doesn’t always hit the mark, and is largely devoid of memorability, there is still a lot to like here. The fusion of technical and brutal death metal is particularly interesting because so few bands can capture the traits of each subgenre and switch between them instantly this competently. If Thayer cut back on the absurdity, dropped about half the songs, and focused on keeping just the best riffs and solos, this would be a top-tier modern death metal release. Of course, that would probably defeat the initial goal of this project, but the key point is that the ingredients for success are here, they just need to be refined a little bit. 

Be sure to check out and like Oneuro on Facebook!

Highlight

"Three Realms Broken"

Final Rating

3.4/5 or 68%. 

Written by Scott

Starblind – Dying Son

One year removed from their debut record, Sweden’s Starblind has returned with another album of Iron Maiden-inspired tunes. “Dying Son” is a step even closer to mimicking the style of the metal giants as this album’s harmonies, melodies, and riffs sound even more authentic than the last record did. Once again, the primary differentiating factor is the band’s singer, who sounds nothing like Bruce Dickinson. His approach covers a similar range, but with more grit and less clarity. This is especially obvious when he unleashes wicked screams that push the limits of his voice. While nobody can top Bruce, having a distinctive singer definitely helps Starblind to be much more than a Maiden clone. Instead, they’re more like a band that follows Iron Maiden’s old formula to create great songs.

As you might imagine, this means that the album has a lot of galloping. “Sacrifice” for example, has the trademark mid-paced rhythmic thump that Steve Harris has made a career of writing. By contrast, “Lighthouse” is a song that is built around a faster galloping charge, not unlike songs such as “Run To The Hills” or “The Trooper”. Even the drumming reminds one of Nicko McBrain’s, with its triplet ride cymbal abuse. Taking the similarities to their limits, the most noticeable throwback to Iron Maiden is in “Blood Red Skies” where the many of the rhythms are reminiscent of “Where Eagles Dare”, particularly in the rhythm section underneath the first solo.

Not to be left out in all of this worship, Starblind’s guitarists do their best to channel the spirits of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. While there are no excessive trills such as the ones the latter guitarist loves, the way that the harmonies and solos are constructed on this record shows that Starblind’s shredders have put in the time to study the composition styles of Smith and Murray (though one of the melodies in "The Man of the Crowd" is very reminiscent of a melody from Monument's "Carry On", a band that is quite heavy on Maiden worship themselves).

“Dying Son” is not an Iron Maiden record, but it much more genuine sounding than “The Book of Souls”. This album doesn’t waste time repeating choruses 1,000 times in each song, or having too many excessive quiet intros (though “Firestone” and “Sacrifice” show that these intros are not inescapable). While it is not as good as that record, it does sound much more like any of Maiden’s classics from the 1980s. If you crave more of that sound, Starblind’s “Dying Son” is an essential listen.

Be sure to check out and like Starblind on Facebook!

Highlights

"A Dying Son"

"Blood Red Skies"

"Sacrifice"

Final Rating

4.25/5 or 85%. 

Written by Scott

Goblet – On Tap

“On Tap” is the second EP from American thrashers Goblet. Featuring 5 tracks, it is a mixed bag of a variety of sounds that cause both headbanging and head scratching. The former sound is achieved when Goblet is playing faster, more aggressive riffs. The band’s singer draws most of his influence from the crossover scene, as he spends most of his effort yelling (though the ending of “Full Metal Jacket” does show some much more brutal screaming, as does “Party Monster”). Like many of the subgenres vocalists, Goblet’s singer isn’t the most technically proficient, but it works. He doesn’t unleash any wickedly fast passages, but again, the more simplistic approach is effective.

The middle three tracks on this EP are the best because they follow a tried and true formula. When the band experiments, however, things go awry. A great example is the start of the EP. Similar to many other intros, it begins layering instruments as it attempts to build to something heavier. Unfortunately, the tame production makes the single guitar sound weak and thin. The other strange song is “Acid Rain”, which brings more of a doom/stoner vibe. Though these aren’t my subgenres of preference, their brief appearance here isn’t my chief complaint; instead, it is the contrast with the crossover sounds of the other songs that makes it out of place. It also doesn’t help that the lyrics are not the best.

The problems with “On Tap” do not make up a significant portion of its playing time, which is why it is a worthy EP that displays quite a bit of promise. If the band can tighten up the production, and stick to playing more intense riffs, Goblet will definitely be a group to watch.

Be sure to check out and like Goblet on Facebook!

Highlights

"Forced Blunt Trauma"

Final Rating

3.25/5 or 65%. 

Written by Scott