Devin Townsend

I spent a few hours on Saturday and Sunday listening to some of the early music by Devin Townsend. Its amazing to see how progressive he was, but equally to see how little he has evolved as a musician during his musical career.

Yes he has different "modes" black metal, progressive/industrial rock, ambient/down tempo and even recently "country rock" (although I'd debate that its country), but he manages to delight me still with producing complex and layered walls of sound and vocal that has yet to be equalled. He is one of the few musicians for whom I hope he continues writing the same style of music.

My first introduction to him was as the vocalist on Steve Vai's VAI album. I remember being totally struck by his vocal range that went from screams and howls to heights that he reminded me of Cher. I never heard of his music after that, until I stumbled across Napster and saw his name again. The album was Physicist and whilst its considered to be his weakest album, it was enough to make me want to follow his music and enjoy each of his releases.

Ghost - Late to the Party

There was only one band that caught my ear in 2013, and that band was Ghost. A Swedish band labeled as Doom/Heavy Metal, but I’d say closer to the quality Heavy Metal riffing of Black Sabbath mixed with Lordi. Their debut album can only be described as a difficult album to break into. It took three listens before his voice (weak, but perfectly suited to this genre) melded with the simple guitar riffs. But lets go back to the beginning. I'm used to the heavy metal tropes of a keyboard intro, and this album delivers that, but the organ sound seems meandering and disorganised but does give a little hint of what is to follow. Despite the band having two guitarists and a keyboard player the music never drowns each of the other instruments out. You can clearly hear the simple effective drums leading a perfect bass, and as for the two guitars, one plays the rhythm parts perfectly, whilst the slightly distorted lead takes control from the lead singer perfectly. Yes there are guitar solos here, but you're hearing not epic shredding solos, but almost extended riffs which complement the song in the same way that a Twisted Sister guitar solo would.

The Devils Blood

So far its been a lean, “download and delete” kind of year so far, with very little new material surviving the recycle bin.

But one band has or did survive, and despite their 3 album output before their demise and ultimately the death of their lead guitarist ensured they would never output again, I present to you The Devils Blood. Mixing psychedelic guitars, Jimi Hendrix and a modern retro take on Black Sabbath, this female vocal led band surprised you with every song. I'll be the first to admit I dont always enjoy female metal/rock singers, but thats because of the handful out there, very few fit the bill perfectly. What you have with this band are two genuine full length albums, a handful of EPs and a posthumous release of a half finished third album before they split up. Very much like Kingston Wall before them (also released three albums before the untimely death of the lead guitarist and singer) they made a retro sounding music sound modern.

Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls

After their interesting Nostradus concept album last time around, and considering Judas Priest's track record ever since Painkiller, I have always been worried and concerned about any new release they make. It was Halford's solo albums that really set the bar for what a hard sound JP should be aiming for, but equally I miss the style of metal sound they had on such albums as Defender of the Faith and British Steel. Hard hitting music without too much production and embellishment.

Here's hoping all the excitement and media push on this is worth the hyperbole.

Uncharted

I enjoyed the game and the main theme that I just had to get the soundtrack. One of the few main themes that really lends itself to the adventure genre.

 

It was created by Greg Edmondson who had written all the music for Firefly and Serenity - so that would explain it then.

The Dark Crystal - OST - Trevor Jones

I was in the mood for some movie soundtracks on Sunday while clearing up the loft, and happened up Trevor Jones' beautiful and ethereal composition for The Dark Crystal.

He manages to meld such diverse sounds that one could say he is an equal to John Williams in the range of styles, from folk, to epic strains on brass and string.

There are several versions of this soundtrack, all of which are worth acquiring if you have no other choice. The music is uplifting, sad and haunting all at the same time, and whilst the movie can be scary for the younger viewer, the music manages to capture that suspense to perfection. My only wish is that the movie stayed closer to the book which had a far sadder ending than that which was presented in the film.

Along with Last of the Mohicans and Dinotopia, this is Trevor Jones' finest work.

Helloween on a Roll

Well after the triumphant return to form, Helloween's Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy can only be described as a powerhouse album.



It is a brilliant double album filled with classic Helloween music. So hot on the tails (well, almost 2 years later) comes another rocking release, the double live album;



Giving us barely enough time to break the pumpkins then released their next effort;



Gambling with the Devil. Now there is no rule or law which says how quickly or how slowly any band should release music, as long is its of the highest quality the band has to offer. I mean no one wants a double album full of fillers. Guns N Roses did it with their Use Your Illusion I & II albums. What you essentially had were about 8 good classic songs, filled out to a double album by including the kind of tripe that would be reserved for B-sides or perhaps a "Curio" release.

See the difference with Helloween is that they have a reputation that they have been living off of for many years, and their music can be very worrying, as you never know if their next release is going to be a hit or a miss. So with a sudden output of 3 albums in 2 years (albiet one is a live album) does have me concerned. Id rather they release an album every 3 or 4 years and know it stands the chance of being good.