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Thank goodness for the great Chris Black, whose latest High Spirits album (one of many projects he has on the go) remembers that it’s perfectly okay for heavy metal to smile, to have fun, to love life. As strong as it is, it’s also another reminder of how heavy metal is plenty capable of deriving its power from melody and restraint than simple extremity for extremity’s sake.Īfter a year that saw the world seem to collapse into turmoil, metal fans in search of new music in 2016 desperately needed something to smile about. All the while it still feels like an Opeth record, still capable of plenty of moments of dark, haunting beauty and majestic guitar work.
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The heaviness of Opeth’s music remains, but it’s more along the lines of classic Deep Purple, Rainbow, and Uriah Heep, and besides, Sorceress is actually more rewarding the further off the metal grid he wanders. His decision to walk away from what fans wanted and toward what he wanted was the best decision Åkerfeldt has ever made, as three albums into that transition he has Opeth sounding more vital and varied than ever before. The winding musical journey of Mikael Åkerfeldt continues to make its way through classic progressive rock on Opeth’s 12th album, which undoubtedly annoyed plenty of fans who wish he’d return to the doomy death metal of old. The band sells it well, which is why this album is guaranteed to please the old-school metal crowd, and likely surprise even more new listeners this time around. Best of all, it’s pulled off with a sense of authority: there’s no hint of caution nor trepidation, just supreme confidence. Unlike Pallbearer, who transform classic doom metal into a meditative progressive rock hybrid, Khemmis steer their sound more towards a New Wave of British Heavy Metal direction, offsetting slow, mournful passages with thunderous gallops and twin harmonies. They wasted no time putting the follow-up together, and Hunted is already a big improvement on a very cool sound. Part Candlemass, part Witchfinder General, part Maiden, Denver band Khemmis was a revelation a year ago when Absolution seemingly came from out of nowhere to the surprise of many. Touches of Americana creep into his already unique mix of progressive metal and black metal, giving the music an elegiac touch, yet at the same time it never comes at the expense of the music, which as “Hunt the Buffalo” and “Beast Whip” prove, is just as raw and primal as ever. Part of it is Fell’s own persona and vocal style, which is less confrontational than McSorley’s, but most crucially, Wunder’s songwriting it a lot more well-rounded, less raw. In McSorely’s place, Wunder brought in former Lord Mantis vocalist Charlie Fell, and the resulting double album Slow Forever, not surprisingly, is a very different beast than Cobalt’s past work. Seven years after the instant-classic Gin following up one of the most acclaimed metal albums of the 2000s was already a tall order, but even more so when vocalist Phil McSorely parted ways with longtime collaborator Erik Wunder.
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Toss in some very impressive singing by guitarist Kenny Cook, and you’ve got a supremely confident album that’ll have many excited to hear what this band has up its sleeves next. Instead, every choice they make serves the song, and the end result is a collection of tracks that leave an immediate and lasting impression, whether it’s the barnstorming opener “Following the Voice” or the daring, Tool-esque “Ibex Eye”. It’s all about the discipline on Voice of the Void, as these tracks never slip into self-indulgence. Having found a very unique middle ground between mid-2000s Mastodon and 1990s Opeth, it’s very impressive - not to mention gratifying - to see these guys keep their hyper-ambitious arrangements concise. After a longer-than-expected wait between albums, Vancouver foursome Anciients returned in 2016 with a second album that comes closer to realizing their enormous potential.