Tag Archives: 2022

Classic Rock, Doom Metal, Genre, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Song Posts

Avatarium – Death, Where Is Your Sting

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“But I know I’m in your calendar”

I don’t know what the UK Christmas Number One was last year but mine was Avatarium’s Death, Where Is Your Sting. Taken from the album of the same name, Death, Where Is Your Sting is one of the Swedish band’s most affecting and memorable songs: dark, sumptuous pop with a doomy bottom end and a stirring vocal performance from Jennie-Ann Smith. I treated myself to the album in December and listened to it tons over the holidays. Mostly because it’s tremendous but also because its lush Scandi-mood made it the perfect soundtrack for 2022’s other festive obsession: playing the Ticket To Ride: Nordic Countries boardgame! Crisps, dips, Appletiser, losing because I forgot to finish my train line to Lieksa, and Avatarium. Now that’s what I call Christmas!

Black Metal, Death Metal, Genre, Song Posts

Artificial Brain – Celestial Cyst

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“A map to a constellation out in space”

As Xmas and New Year approach I’ve managed to drag myself away from my usual festive fare (KISS, Magnum, Steeleye Span) and revisit some of my favourite albums of the 2022. Artificial Brain’s self-titled album has been the most-played of the bunch in December and is definitely a front-runner for the year’s top spot. Here’s one of its best tracks, Celestial Cyst. It’s turbulent and rumbling death metal with relentless blastbeats and subterranean vocals but topped with spacey layers of guitars and keyboards that give it a tranquil, melancholic mood more associated with black metal. It’s a brutal and enthralling combo. Artificial Brain is the third album in the band’s stellar career (and the last in a dystopian sci-fi trilogy) and they are at their absolute peak. Metal fans in search of strange new worlds should get onboard.

Black Metal, Genre, Heavy Metal, Song Posts

Abbath – Make My Day

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“Can’t scare you if you can’t be scared”

Abbath’s Dread Reaver failed to make my day with its frustrating lack of oomph. But on the album’s bonus track, a cover of Motörhead’s Make My Day, the band give it some extra welly and conjure up the kind of excitement that’s missing on the main album. The chorus is anthemic enough to poke through the band’s wallop of noise and Abbath does a good karaoke Lemmy. Normally, he sounds like the kinda guy that does battle with mountain lions but here he sounds more like he makes love to them. If he can start capturing some of this swagger in his own material then he might be on to something.

Black Metal, Genre, Heavy Metal, Thrash Metal

Abbath – Dread Reaver (Review)

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Abbath – Dread Reaver (2022)

Abbath’s third outing Dread Reaver is the most uniquely frustrating album I have heard in many, many moons. Not because it’s completely absymal. I’d take a disaster like Morbid Angel’s Illud Divinum Insanus over this any day. That was a hoot! The problem with Dread Reaver is that it’s stuck at this infuriating point of being solid but never exciting me or blowing me away. A noisy, thrashy, black metal album from one of the genre’s greats that takes in all sorts of brilliant influences (Manowar, Motörhead, Mayhem, lots of Bathory) should make me feel something. Either Abbath’s considerable craft and experience has taken over in lieu of genuine inspiration or passion or he’s overworked the thing to the point where any human factor has been ground out. Whatever’s happened, it leaves me cold. And not in a cool, “grim permafrost” way.