The Tallest Man on Earth - Dark Bird Is Home

Artist: The Tallest Man On Earth
Album: Dark Bird Is Home
Year: 2015
Rating: 81/100

Kristian Matsson, the main man behind The Tallest Man on Earth, has always been an enigmatic fellow with bags of talent to match his ambition. Having only recently incorporated electric guitar into his melancholic but melodious indie folk sound coupled with his undoubtedly passionate lyrics, he heads for his most ambitious work to date in the form of his fourth full-length effort, "Dark Bird Is Home".

Unlike his previous albums, Matsson has pushed the musical boat out further this time around, opting for some fuller sounds in place of the sparse "one man and his guitar" sound that has served him well. That he pulls it off for the most part owes a lot to his own raw talent. The only track that is solely performed and orchestrated by Matsson himself is the piano-led "Little Nowhere Towns", which is as sparse as it is beautiful. Elsewhere, alongside Matsson's guitar work sit instruments such as violin, saxophone, and various brass on songs like "Darkness of the Dream", "Slow Dance" and one of the album's main standout tracks, "Sagres". The latter in particular is a more upbeat offering than usual, as is the track that follows directly after it, "Timothy".

"Dark Bird Is Home" is, on the whole, a solid record without being truly spectacular. It highlights that Kristian Matsson is a reliable and hugely talented musician and shows that his expansion of his sound on the whole with a full band has worked well. I'll be interested to see where he goes from here, whether he reverts back to his basic roots or whether he continues his full band sound, as either would work a treat. Definitely a solid starting place for those new to The Tallest Man on Earth.

Track list

1. Fields of Our Home
2. Darkness of the Dream
3. Singers
4. Slow Dance
5. Little Nowhere Towns
6. Sagres
7. Timothy
8. Beginners
9. Seventeen
10. Dark Bird Is Home

Goatsnake - Black Age Blues

Artist: Goatsnake
Album: Black Age Blues
Year: 2015
Rating: 84/100

Goatsnake are, by all accounts, rightly regarded as doom metal royalty. Having put their name to such monumental efforts as "Dog Days" and "Flower of Disease", and with appearances at festivals such as Temples under their belt, Greg Anderson and Pete Stahl team up yet again here for their first activity in the studio since 2004's EP "Trampled Under Hoof". "Black Age Blues" is their first return to the studio since then.

What follows on "Black Age Blues" is Goatsnake doing what they do best: slow, low and heavy as hell, with an even dirtier blues groove than they had previously exhibited. Greg Anderson's riffs are as fuzzed out as they ever were, and Pete Stahl is in fine voice as always, providing additional harmonica solos on the tracks "Elevated Man" and their tribute to Jimi Hendrix, "Jimi's Gone". Elsewhere, "Coffee & Whiskey" is slow, low and much more bluesy than before from Goatsnake, closing track "A Killing Blues" has a neat point where the musicians fade out leaving Pete Stahl on his own before the rest of the band comes back in for a wonderfully heavy outro, and the title track and "House of the Moon" provide some of the more soulful numbers, as does "Jimi's Gone".

"Black Age Blues" might not be quite on the same level as their magnum opus, "Flower of Disease", but it doesn't half run it close. All the songs are very well put together as always, but you just think that if Goatsnake can write songs as good as this in their sleep, you have to wonder how good they can really be if they put their mind to it. Not a truly excellent album, but a very good one.

Track list

1. Another River to Cross
2. Elevated Man
3. Coffee & Whiskey
4. Black Age Blues
5. House of the Moon
6. Jimi's Gone
7. Graves
8. Grandpa Jones
9. A Killing Blues

Danko Jones - Fire Music

Artist: Danko Jones
Album: Fire Music
Year: 2015
Rating: 75/100

Toronto rocker and Canadian HuffPost columnist Danko Jones has a reputation that precedes him; his good time party hard rock has been hitting ears for the best part of 15 years or so, putting Canada on the musical map for the right reasons, for a change. "Fire Music" is studio album number seven for him and the other members of the trio, bassist JC and new drummer Rich Knox.

"Wild Woman" opens the album, and it is very much business as usual for Danko Jones: three minute rock and roll songs packed full of power chords, thundering bass riffs, huge choruses, dirty guitar solos and drums that pound along steadily and reliably as ever. There's nothing new and different about the songs from a lyrical perspective either, but in Danko Jones' case, that's not a bad thing. "Gonna Be A Fight Tonight" boasts punk rock style gang vocals along with one of the bigger choruses on the album. "Body Bags" continues the fight theme, while the other standouts include "Getting Into Drugs", "Do You Wanna Rock" (which boasts some fantastic cowbell action) and "Watch You Slide". It feels a little bit like Danko was running out of ideas towards the end, however, as "Piranha" and "She Ain't Coming Home" feel a little bit like he was writing on autopilot.

Danko Jones works on the same premise as the likes of AC/DC, Motorhead and Agnostic Front in that the familiar territory is where the band produces their best material. This album is the musical equivalent of necking multiple shots of Jagermeister and running round in circles until you feel dizzy and about ready to pass out. It's not new, original or groundbreaking, but it's a LOT of fun.

Track list

1. Wild Woman
2. The Twisting Knife
3. Gonna Be A Fight Tonight
4. Body Bags
5. Live Forever
6. Do You Wanna Rock
7. Getting Into Drugs
8. Watch You Slide
9. I Will Break Your Heart
10. Piranha
11. She Ain't Coming Home

Enslaved - In Times

Artist: Enslaved
Album: In Times
Year: 2015
Rating: 92/100

Enslaved's musical trajectory has always been a tremendously interesting one to follow. It's staggering to believe that "In Times" is their thirteenth (yes, that's right) studio release, and that they only started recording in English on "Monumension", their sixth effort, back in 2001, and the most drastic change to their sound came on "Isa" in 2004, but one thing has always remained the same where their musical output has been concerned: it has always been of the highest quality, and "In Times" is no exception.

"Thurisaz Dreaming" kicks things off nicely with a typically black metal assault; blastbeats, screamed vocals and ferocious guitars, seamlessly blended with cleaner singing and a more prog approach. If there's one thing Enslaved have done superbly in their work since "Isa", they have mastered the art of allowing their songs some breathing space and development time, and as they unfold and the ideas need a change, the band times the moment perfectly to change things up as they see fit. Elsewhere, both "Building With Fire" and "One Thousand Years of Rain" favour a more straightforward approach from a musical perspective, but it's a flawless decision as both songs work beautifully and are delivered with passion and fire in equal measure. Similarly, "Nauthir Bleeding" boasts the best guitar solo on the album and some excellent viking chants, and the epic title track is the only track that clocks in at 10 minutes in length, but the band keep things interesting in the only way they know how; their own outstanding musicianship.

"In Times" picks up superbly where Enslaved's previous effort, "RIITIIR", left off. However, it is more than simply "RIITIIR" mark II; it's a brilliant album that stands on its own two feet with some killer moments. While Enslaved were great as a black metal band, they have evolved so far from their original musical path that they are now arguably one of extreme metal's best bands active today. Undoubtedly a high quality album with much to recommend it; this IS Enslaved we're talking about, after all. Definitely worth a look.

Track list

1. Thurisaz Dreaming
2. Building With Fire
3. One Thousand Years of Rain
4. Nauthir Bleeding
5. In Times
6. Daylight

Elder - Lore

Artist: Elder
Album: Lore
Year: 2015
Rating: 94/100

Every now and then, the heavier side of music throws up something unique that simply defies description in terms of actual style, but leaving the listener no doubt in terms of quality. Fairhaven, Massachusetts trio Elder are one such band. "Lore" is their fourth full length effort, and boasts everything the discerning heavy music fan loves: killer musicianship, plenty of outstanding guitar riffs and drumming, all topped off with the excellent vocals of Nick DiSalvo.

No track on "Lore" clocks in at shorter than 9 minutes long, with only "Deadweight" at less than ten minutes in length, and that gives Elder the perfect opportunity to showcase precisely what they're made of. Opening track "Compendium" is a monolith that sounds like a heady blend of early Mastodon, Colour Haze and Motorpsycho. The structures of the songs might sound straightforward and formulaic (melodic verses, fantastic solos, extended bridge, built up tension, more riffs and solos before being brought back full circle to the vocal melodies), but in reality, it's anything but. The title track is 16 minutes of expansive magnificence that makes it impossible to properly describe just how truly outstanding Elder are. And just when you think you've heard them do everything they possibly can, closing number "Spirit At Aphelion" throws the listener a complete curveball by adding acoustic guitars and keyboards to the mix before the vocals kick in and normal service is resumed.

"Lore" is, to be completely blunt, a masterpiece. Every time the band gets the feeling that their ideas are either slightly boring or just don't seem to be going anywhere, they change things up to keep the listener constantly guessing at what it is they might possibly do next, and it works a treat every time. It's hard to pick a true stand out track because everything is just so cohesive and flows beautifully, and each song keeps on giving new ideas until the creative well has run dry. Do yourselves a favour and get hold of this album by any means you possibly can.

Track list

1. Compendium
2. Legend
3. Lore 
4. Deadweight
5. Spirit At Aphelion

Riverside - Shrine of New Generation Slaves

Artist: Riverside
Album: Shrine of New Generation Slaves
Year: 2013
Rating: 88/100

When it comes to the harder edge of music, Poland's primary export has been death metal, with the likes of Behemoth, Decapitated and Vader all imposing their wares on the music buying public, meeting with widespread acclaim. Warsaw quartet Riverside, are a prog metal band more in the vein of Dream Theater and Tool who have largely remained under the radar in spite of releasing high quality material, such as "Second Life Syndrome" and "Anno Domini High Definition". Effort number five, "Shrine of New Generation Slaves", looks to follow in exactly the same vein.

Opening track "New Generation Slave" roars into life with a sumptuous blend of abstract time signatures, fantastically atmospheric keyboards, distorted guitars and the impassioned vocals of Mariusz Duda (who also happens to be the main man behind the equally brilliant Lunatic Soul). However, it is obvious from second track "The Depth of Self-Delusion" that Riverside are certainly not afraid to mix things up if they need to, pulling back from the harder edge of the opening track and keeping the coherence with one key element that appears to be lacking in most prog; the ability to write a damn good song. Lyrically, Riverside's primary focus on "Shrine of New Generation Slaves" turns its attention to non-conformism and a cynicism towards contemporary life: consumerism and fleeting relationships, particularly on songs like "Celebrity Touch" and "Escalator Shrine" are fantastic examples.

When you have a first proper listen to Riverside, you'll wonder why they ever escaped your attention in the first place. "Shrine of New Generation Slaves" is merely a continuation of what made them so good in the first place; the heartfelt, impassioned songs and the outstanding musicianship. A true gem of an album.

Track list

1. New Generation Slave
2. The Depth of Self-Delusion
3. Celebrity Touch
4. We Got Used To Us
5. Feel Like Falling
6. Deprived (Irretrievably Lost Imagination)
7. Escalator Shrine
8. Coda