Review: Animals as Leaders' self-titled

Tracklisting:
1. Tempting Time
2. Soraya
3. Thoroughly at Home
4. On Impulse
5. Tessitura
6. Behaving Badly
7. The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing
8.  CAFO
9.  Inamorata
10. Point to Point
11. Modern Meat
12. Song of Solomon

Animals as Leaders? Can you name your band worse? It's pretty hard to top this one, but the music of the record is definitely something different. Animals as Leaders is a project of Tosin Abasi's, an American guitar virtuoso. With sound engineer Misha Mansoor (keyboards, drum programming, engineering, production) he has created twelve songs of instrumental music that is really difficult to put into a specific genre. The album blends together elements of metal, jazz, electronic music and various others, all without singing, like said. 

First, I'd like to make something clear: I like this album very much, but putting my finger on the greatness of this record is more difficult. One thing is for sure though. You guitar players will propably enjoy this a lot. Tosin Abasi, as a guitar player, is out of this world. Using 8-string guitars, he manages to master every technique you can possibly think of. Travelling into the album, a lightning-fast sweep picked solo might transform into some weird slapping style thing or beautiful yet chaotic clean part played with fingers. The variation of the sounds is one thing that makes this record so enjoyable.

The songs are all different, but they share a common atmosphere and sound. CAFO is a straight up progressive metal (djent) song with some really cool rythmic patterns and soloing, whereas On Impulse reminds me of classical with it's beautiful guitar passages. The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing includes elements that wouldn't sound out of place on a Pendulum album and Modern Meat reminds me of jazz. I'm by no means an expert of every genre of music (seeing I'm mainly only interested in metal), but these are the things that come to mind.

The most impressive thing though, is that with all these different influences and styles the album still sounds just like that, an album. It's not a collection of songs from various genres, but an entity of its own. Animals as Leaders is a really comforting and relaxing experience. The songs flow together really well and you can't really tell when one song ends and another one starts. With Abasi's exceptional ear for melody the album really starts to grow on you. Although some of the material here (well, most of it actually) is supermega technical guitarwise, the songs are not boring in the slightest. This is also the thing that separates the album from the other guitar-nerd-technical-instrumental things. Just good songs, which, after all, is everything music is about.

I'm not going to give this album full score, cause it's just not memorable or mindblowing enough to earn it. Still, Animals as Leaders is one of the better albums you'll ever hear and particularly suitable for home-alone listening sessions when it's raining outside and you just want to drift away...
92/100

James Bond 007 Skyfall

(Scroll down for English)

Kävin tänään katsastamassa uuden Bond-leffan, Skyfallin. Näistä "uusista" nollanollaseiska-leffoista oli itselläni etukäteen vähän ristiriitaiset fiilikset, varsinkin kun edellinen leffa Quantum of Solace oli melkoinen tylsä sekamelska. Casino Royale on toki edelleen varsin mainio pläjäys.

Bond on Bond, eikä siitä mihinkään pääse. Ketään ei varmaan yllätä se, että elokuva on täynnä toimintaa, räjähdyksiä, takaa-ajoja ja ampumista. Tällä kertaa koko hommassa on kuitenkin vähän erilainen fiilis. Tekijätiimi on selvästi ottanut pikkaisen erilaiset ennakkoasetelmat tähän leffaan lähdettäessä. Näistä piirteistä oli tosin viitteitä jo edellisessä kahdessa 007-seikkailussa. Skyfall tuntuu olevan "eeppisempi" kuin edeltäjänsä, ja varsinkin leffan loppuosiossa on onnistuttu rakentamaan melko vaikuttava, varsin tumma tunnelma. Tällaista ei Bond-elokuvalta äkkiä odottaisi. Itse kuitenkin tykkäsin aika paljonkin.

Näyttelijäkaarti tekee Skyfallissa hyvää työtä. Daniel Craig on varmaan kaikkein miehekkäin ja komein Bond koskaan, kyllähän sitä mielellään katselee. Asia joka pääsi yllättämään oli se, ettei varsinaista "Bond-tyttöä" oikeastaan ole. Leffassa on kyllä mukana liuta vaikuttavia kaunottaria, mutta kukaan heistä ei ole naispääosassa, vaan se kunnia on annettu hieman toisaalle... Lisäksi elokuva esittelee muutamia uusia, mutta samalla vanhoja tuttuja "Bond-mytologian" hahmoja ja muuta pientä yksityiskohtaa.

Kaiken kaikkiaan näin yhden katselukerran perusteella voin todeta, että sain sitä mitä halusinkin. Skyfall sisältää räjähtävää toimintaa, ällöttävän karismaattisen päähenkilön ja tukun eksoottisia tapahtumapaikkoja. Näiden lisäksi mukana on tällä kertaa myös hieman syvempää juttua ja hienosti onnistunutta tunnelmanrakennusta. 60-luvun hassunhauska herrasmies-Bond on kaukana takanapäin, ja tilalle on tullut moderni ja tavallaan myös vähän geneerisempi salainen agentti omine psykologisine kamppailuineen, mutta Skyfall on silti hyvää viihdettä ja ehdottomasti katsomisen arvoinen elokuva.
78/100

Musajutuista voin sanoa sen verran, että viime aikoina on tullut kuunneltua aika paljon erilaista death metal -settiä sekä vähän melankolisempaa tunnelmointimusiikkia. Ensilumi on satanut, ja siihen teemaan on mukava etsiä kuunneltavaa. Tästä lisää varmaankin myöhemmin.

In English:
Today I went to see the new James Bond film Skyfall. The previous 007 adventure, Quantum of Solace, was to my mind kind of boring and confusing, not very good at all. I kinda enjoyed the first of the "new" Bond movies, Casino Royale, though. I had heard that this new film is the best of Daniel Craig's Bond movies, and well, I decided to go and see it for myself.

As always, this movie is full of action, explosions, chases and shooting, but this time it all feels different. With Skyfall the makers of 007 movies have clearly taken a new perspective to the whole thing. It all feels more epic, so to speak. The movie, and especially the grand finale of the film clearly has a more atmospheric, dark and brooding feel around it.

The cast does a pretty good job. Daniel Craig is propably the most handsome Bond ever, and his charisma is undeniable. The film introduces some new faces to the "Bond mythology", but what suprised me, is the lack of a real main female character. I mean this as in the ultra-sexy mistress Bond is either protecting or working with. Of course there are some women like this in the movie, but the main female role in the film is played by a totally different lady...

All in all, after one time of seeing the film I can say I got what I expected. Blazing action, a charismatic protagonist, beautiful women and a nice package of different exotic settings. In addition, this time there are also some deeper things involved, and an atmosphere I've never seen in a Bond film. The era of the James Bond of the 60's is far behind, as we now have a far more "generic" secret agent, but I'd still recommend you go and see this movie, it's definitely not a waste of your time.
78/100

As for the music things, I've some things in my mind as well. I've been listening to a variety of stuff lately, but mainly various death metal acts and some progressive, melancholic stuff. The first snow has landed here in Finland and I just love how some things really fit to the landscape outside. More of this later, propably.

 

Review: Wintersun - Time I

First of all, I have to say it's pretty difficult for me to be totally objective about this record, since I'm one of the biggest Wintersun-fanboys you'll ever encounter. Secondly, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the "story" of creating this album (if you haven't already). I can tell it's quite interesting. Also you might want to check some basic things about the band before reading. For third and for the Finns especially, I'm sorry about this text being only available in English.



Tracklisting:
1. When Time Fades Away
2. Sons of Winter and Stars
3. Land of Snow And Sorrow
4. Darkness And Frost
5. Time
Total running time: 40.08

So, Time I. Finally. The eight years of wait are now over and the second album of this band is available for everyone. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's been waiting this very impatiently. The bands first album, Wintersun, is one of the most overwhelming, beautiful, powerful, majestic and just plain fun albums of all time, at least in my books. The debut portrayed a snowy, cold landscape under a star filled sky with magic around it, and Wintersun has since been known for that style. I'm not going to explain the long story and hype of making this album (use Google!), but I want to make something clear: What I expected this to be was no more or less but the best album ever.

First thing coming to your mind when you get this album to your hands must be the artwork. Let's be honest, it's pretty... different to say the least. There seems to be a man's face (maybe Jari Mäenpää's, who is the mastermind, guitarist, singer and songwriter of the band) and a tree growing from the top of his head. Around the man and the tree there seems to be explosions of energy, falling snow and some other weird colorful elements. The cover looks somewhat messy and full of stuff. When you listen to the album you might understand why.

The album kicks off with an instrumental intro, a song called When Time Fades Away. The song introduces majestic soundscapes with some really strong Japanese vibes, which is just the thing Jari has been talking about all these years. There is nothing metal about this track, it's just plain orchestral, very beautiful movie soundtrackish music. The thing that separates this from, let's say Ensiferum's album intros, is the sheer amount of professionalism and skill behind the composition and production. The song is, hands down, the most complete and professional intro on a metal album. Ever. Like many have said, it's like The Lord of The Rings of the east. The song has its peak, then it quiets down and flawlessly transforms into the second song of the album.

What is next is the clear winner of the album, the ultimate pinnacle of Jari's work. Sons of Winter And Stars starts with themes echoing from the first track, building the tension with some bursts and then exploding into a blizzard of sound right into your face. This is something you have to experience for yourself. The beginning of the song really shows the power of hundreds of tracks playing at the same time, with the drummer Kai Hahto's blast beat supporting the madness perfectly. After you've gathered the shattered pieces of your mind from the floor, you notice that the orchestra is still there. It definitely is, and it stays there for the whole album. Because that's what this album is about. The orchestral elements are as important to the sound as the metal stuff, maybe even more important. Like you've propably gathered so far, there are dozens of things playing at the same time, creating layers of different melodies and sounds. What's the most impressive thing is that they all fit together and form something different. Everything about Time I is just so elaborate and well crafted. Even if majestic music with beautiful melodies and kickass modern riffs is not your thing, you just have to appreciate the creator of this whole thing, Mr. Jari Mäenpää. A guy with no musical education, no help, no professional studio, creates these massive mind rending atmospheres with just his guitar and home computer. Sons of Winter And Stars is the track that shows this the best. The song has four parts, each with their own characteristics but with a common theme and sound and tons of things to concentrate on. There are some choirs, clean singing and screaming vocals as well. Jari has really improved his abilities in singing, as they are now majestic and powerful as ever. Listening to this musical journey is best experienced with some quality headphones just listening and not doing anything else. SoWaS is to my mind one of the best songs ever. One could say buying this album is worth it just because this song.

I ́m flying through the darkness
The fire casts a shadow on me
I tear a part of my heart for creation of dimensions
And we fly beyond the restless shadows
We fly beyond the stars
We fly beyond the birth of the worlds 

What is there for a listener after the last magnificent piece of art? Well, plenty. After SoWaS, which is quite a fast song, the album slows down with Land of Snow And Sorrow. I have to say, from this point on the album just can't reach the limitless excellence of the previous tracks, but it definitely doesn't mean the rest of the album is worthless. LoSaS paints some really great images that remind me of the debut albums cover artwork, some snowy wilderness with northern lights in the sky and a small house in the horizon, light in the dark that promises safety from the coldness outside. The song's structure is quite basic, if you compare it to the other material on the record. The main riff is really simple, but the orcestral elements are enough to make it interesting. Some very sad melodies are introduced throughout the song, and maybe that's why it has its own unique atmosphere. Again the singing is really impressive and fits to the song perfectly.

The last bit of the album is crafted into the songs Darkness And Frost and Time, the former being just an intro to the last track. DaF is again very oriental influenced with a nice melody and some interesting stuff happening in the background, as always. Time kicks off with the same theme, but it then progresses to something rather different. This is a song that is very difficult to grasp. It doesn't really have any riffs per se (excluding the beginning), but the melodies are presented with orchestral layers. The song contains some breathtaking operatic vocals and a really strong lyric. An interesting point to make at this time is that this song features the only guitar solo of the whole album. The lack of solos is quite strange, considering the fact that the first album had a lot of them. After dozens of listens I feel I still haven't kind of gotten the grips of this song, although I have to admit it's very different than anything Jari has ever done and definitely has a magic of its own. The song ends in a short piano outro, and after that comes an ambient part reminding that the second part is still coming...

TIME! Fades away!
When time fades away!
And I ́ll never feel the same
And I fade away!
When time fades away!
And I ́ll never feel the same

Summary:
Time I is truely breathtaking. I had huge expectations, but this album managed to fulfill them. Comparing to the first one, this is totally different. It's slower, more majestic, more mature, more detailed. Like promised, this albums is a musical journey. The thing that makes it so great is the atmosphere of the whole thing, a thing I can't quite put into words. What prevents it from being fully perfect is that the second part of the album cannot match to the starting two. Especially the title track is very weird in its own way, I still cannot fully say what I feel about it. All in all, I must say this is definitely one of the best albums I've ever listened to, and the replay value seems to be near infinite. What's the best about this all though, is the fact that this is just the half of it!
97/100