Hail Spirit Noir - 2024 - Fossil Gardens

(42:34; Agonia Records)






















Formed in 2010 as a trio, this Greek psychedelic prog/black metal outfit has long experimented with different styles and the best way to describe this album is probably “eclectic”. On this release, founder members Theoharis (guitars, vocals), Haris (synths) and Demian (bass, guitar solos) have again been joined by Foivos Chatzis (drums) who started playing live with them in 2016 before becoming a full member in 2018 while Dimitris Dimitrakopoulos again provides clean vocals as he has on all releases apart from 2021’s ‘Mannequins’. Note, that was almost a side project in many ways and this album is seen as the successor to 2020’s ‘Eden In Reverse’, albeit with less people involved.

If one listens to some sections of some songs then it is obvious they are coming to music from the genre of black metal, yet highly polished albeit very powerful, aided again by Dimitris Douvras (Rotting Christ, Nightstalker) and Magnus Lindberg, member of Cult of Luna and world-renowned mastering engineer, who handled the production duties. But then there are plenty of others when the approach is more prog metal, and others when it is something which is quite poppy in nature. One never knows what is going to come next and if someone is looking for something which stays in one place without venturing into another then they will probably find this album way too distracting and without enough focus. But, if the listener wants to be taken on a journey where there is no clear path, then this might be of interest. The title track can be blasting along or move into a section where there are just held-down keyboard chords overlaying pounding drums, before moving into something which is massively over-produced and building into something anthemic. One never has the opportunity to rest and there is this constant feeling of a band who are not interested in staying in one place but instead will keep mixing it up.     

There is no doubt that the result is somehow challenging and interesting at the same time, as here is a band who truly are progressing the genres as they mix and meld them into something quite unusual. This will not be for everyone, but if you can follow their thought processes then there is no doubt this a very interesting release indeed.

Kev Rowland, September 2024

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Hail-Spirit-Noir-100063941775960/
https://www.agoniarecords.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more

Jay Graboski - 2023 - Authentic Fake

Image
(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol...
Read more