Review for The Matt Parsons Band – “Alas, Tyranny”

Review submitted by Zephyrus

It’s Opeth! It’s Emperor! No…it’s The Matt Parsons Band! Steamrolling out of Athens, Georgia, this solo project intends to make its mark on the underground. I received a free copy of his 2008 demo CD, Alas, Tyranny, directly from Matt Parsons himself. Onto the review then.As the opening interjections indicate, this project draws influence from the full spectrum of modern extreme metal. Metal-Archives.com labels it as “Symphonic Black/Death Metal”, which is appropriate for a band like Crionics. Matt Parsons, however, only comes close to this classification on the final track “Prometheus”, where a melody of synthetic strings sing over a crushing wall of guitar energy. So what genre does this band fall under? To determine that is an injustice because this demo sounds like four completely different bands; one for each song. That’s a good way to avoid being called generic, but not to be praised for cohesion and focus. Even within some songs, the mishmash of styles seems to interrupt the flow. Keyboard interludes and acoustic sections, while good for catching your breathe, feel somewhat unnecessary in the context of the song. It’s hard to identify core themes to the music. But it’s a useful method to put out a demo showcasing a range of styles, so that with feedback you can select your strongest direction. Each of these songs represents a possible path that is just as promising as the other three (personally, I would choose the symphonic death metal of “Prometheus”).

In regards to the sound, nothing short of a top notch production graces this demo with clarity, heaviness, and atmosphere. Vocals range from high to low growls, and are well-practiced, though not very unique (somewhat reminiscent of Vintersorg). The drum programming is done so well that one could be easily fooled into thinking it was a human producing those beats. Hiring a live drummer for the debut album is still recommended. The highlight is undoubtedly in the guitar section, where technical skill meets a flare for melodic leads and thrashy riffs.

Pay attention to this band if you are a fan of modern extreme metal, but be wary if you are an old-schooler. The Matt Parsons Band writes nothing but fresh material that represents what metal sounds like today. Check this band out if you like later Opeth, Dark Tranquillity, and/or Dimmu Borgir. But indeed there’s something here for everyone who has confidence in the current state of metal. And if not, be glad there are bands like these who can deliver inspiration to fans worldwide.

Alas, Tyranny was self released in January 2008. 5 songs. Total playing time: 22:50

http://www.myspace.com/parsonsmatt

Invitation to UMaine Students!

It’s been since last April that I’ve attended a metal concert (Dimmu Borgir/Behemoth at the New England Metal Fest), but soon that hiatus shall end. I’ve been invited by Ryan Page to attend Rotting Christ’s tour with guests Immolation, Belphegor and Averse Sefira at Mark’s Showplace in Bedford, New Hampshire. They show is Saturday night, February 9th.

Let this serve as an invitation to any UMaine student interested in joining an excursion over to New Hampshire. We can take two more people, three if you’re willing to squeeze for 4 hours straight (not counting the mosh pit). Our plan after the show is to crash at my place in Arlington, Mass. for the night and drive back north the next day. Ryan and I will pay for gas, and you can pay for your meals. What’s most important is that you purchase your tickets ASAP. Up until a week before the 2/9 show I’d say is a safe bet to get the tickets shipped to your dorm or apartment.

Tickets are $20 and can be ordered here – http://enterthevault.com/moreInfo.php?id=1287

Mark’s Showplace is an 18+ venue, so no kiddies please.

Please email me if you would like to join us. The sooner you confirm a ride with us, the sooner you can get your tickets. Time is running out!

Courses & Collections

After the first week since a triumphant return from the holiday maelstrom, I feel obligated to give an initial assessment of my Spring courses. Looking at the schedule gives the illusion that I have lots of free time this semester, but believe me that time is spent working. Not that I’m in over my head, but the load of reading, writing, and translating is coming down like carpet bombs. Heavy, but consistent.

College Algebra - I dropped this course after my first class session. The intelligence level required for this course is abysmally low, and it required that I sign up for a lab. That’s too much unnecessary work to add to my other 17 credits of work. And I’d rather take Computer Programming in the fall to satisfy my math lab requirement.

Civilizations: Past, Present & Future II - now with Dr. Passman (who teaches two other of my courses) instead of the infamous Professor Haggerty, I expect a bit of a break here for the second installment of the Honors gauntlet. But it’s not cake-walk either. I still have weekly reflection papers due after the lecture, and another buffet table full of classics, such as Dante’s Inferno, Machiavelli’s Prince, and St. Augustine’s Confessions. So far we have read The Golden Ass by the Roman author Apuleius, and I quite enjoyed this humorous yet critical tale of the aging Empire in the 2nd century.

Roman History – to give you an idea of how much reading I do for this class, I had to buy four textbooks that I have to read between every class session. But the content is of paramount interest to me, and should greatly help advance my education as classicist.

Honors 180: A Cultural Odyssey – this weekly class is a requirement for all Honors students, and its aim is to develop our appreciation for the range of visual and performing arts. Among the six major events we must attend are performances of The Marriage of Figaro and Julius Caesar, the latter being my favorite Shakespeare play for obvious reasons.

Readings in Latin Literature II - just as last semester, I benefit from translating on my own time, from the comfort of my desk chair as I convert into English writings focused on Roman history, mythology and culture, from Aeneas to Augustus.

Education in a Multi-Cultural Society - this will probably be my least favorite class, and not because I’m a racist. The goal of the course is to guide aspiring teachers past the barriers of their cultural worldview to effecively teach a diverse classroom. So far we are focusing in introspection and becoming aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our own personalities. Myself, I am an ISTJ.

Roman Philosophical Thought - unfortunately, thanks to last week’s snow emergency and today’s national holiday, this weekly class has yet to meet, but Dr. Passman has given us our first assignment, to start translating Lucretius’ magnus opus De Rerum Natura.

To help maintain both a focus on academics and a financial consciousness, I have imposed upon myself a moratorium on CD-shopping, whether from the store or internet. I vow not to purchase any more albums (or patches) until Spring Break begins at the very end of February. I bought roughly 25-30 CDs over the break and I got nearly as much additionally, in electronic form, from my pals Pat and Gabe. My collection has swelled to over 215 albums, and to prove it I arranged them all on my dorm room floor and had Zev take a few shots.

Zev, the photoshop savant that he is, created a high-resolution composite image of the layout, which can be viewed here through Zoomify, which lets you zoom in on specific details with remarkable clarity. Thanks again Zev!

http://zeveisenberg.com/dropbox/cd_covers/

Interview with Ryan Page

Well it’s about damned time. After some creative editing and gargantuan uploading, I am pleased to present at long last ZephyrBlog’s first interview! With our subject living just down the hall, and a media-savvy ally, I engaged the benefit of conducting a video interview, the first of hopefully many more, by whichever medium. After watching the two-part interview be sure to check out Ryan Page’s bands through the links I have provided under “Band Sites”. These Myspace sites let you enjoy free streaming of the bands’ material, and your input is encouraged.

Part I

Part II

Day Trippin’ (Take Two)

After a couple miscues such as uploading the wrong cut and duplicating the original, Zev finally got the extended version of “Dissonance” up on Youtube. This edit features much more of me making a fool of myself as well as Zev’s cello shredding.

Day Trippin’

After three weeks of recreation with family and friends, making a few bucks tuning pipe organs, and stuffing my face (I gained 10 pounds if you can believe it), I am now set to resume my academic pursuits. Spring semester at UMaine starts tomorrow, and with 20 credit hours per week, I’ve been served quite the cut of work on my plate. However I should still have some time left over to continue my blog-oriented activities, which include a couple new reviews to be written on some underground bands from the Southeast US. I extend my gratitude to Blue Wizard and The Matt Parsons Band for sending me free copies of their material.

At week’s end I’ll give my first assessments of my Spring classes. These include Roman History, Education in a MultiCultural Society, and Roman Philosophical Thought.

Another plus to being back at school is I can now directly encourage my producer Zev Eisenberg to get our video material online and available to the public. So far he has released one video, that being the short version of his Design Basics project, titled “Dissonance”. It features both Zev and yours truly, as well as a 60’s tune that you’ve likely heard of. The full-length director’s cut of the film should be released shortly, a version that has most of the song in it. Enjoy.

Review for Tarsonis – “The Fall of Antiga Prime”

Review submitted by Zephyrus

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There exist several genres in metal, such as Viking Metal, which are based around a lyrical concept, while the musical component is often variable. Therefore, you cannot determine the type of sound being generated by Tarsonis until you have heard their debut EP, The Fall of Antiga Prime. I gave this quadruple assault its first listen knowing nothing beyond its moniker as a “StarCraft Metal” band. For those of you out of the loop, StarCraft is a popular computer strategy game similar to Rise of Nations and Age of Empires, with a major difference being that it’s set in the distant future, where Terrans (humans) vie in galactic warfare with other sentient species, including the hideous “Zergs”. So violent a context is a fitting foundation for a metal band’s lyrical theme.

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Now let’s explore how the music figures into so unique an idea. A futuristic sound-scape is set by synthetic drum rhythms, digitally-distorted guitars, and atmospheric vocals which range from hardcore growls to the blackest shrieks. Perhaps a tad overdriven, but they certainly accomplish the thematic aim. Bringing it all together, these Mainers forge a punishing style of black metal with splashes of death metal and grindcore. It is a style not far removed from Anaal Nathrakh. In fact, the song “Waste Deep in Zerg Frag” sounds like it came straight off The Codex Necro. For those of you familiar with that album, you can expect a barrage of steady, fast riffing, gratuitous blast-beats and a transcendent aura of violence.

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Now this is not at all a copy of the aforementioned British duo. Tarsonis spice up their formula with spacey, melodic solos, storm-blown vocals and intros of humorously nostalgic samples from StarCraft cut-scenes. Catchiness, atmosphere, pure aggression, and intriguing thematic elements combine to create an extended-play worth the attention of fans of all-guns-blazing metal, especially the ones who have devoted a tad too many hours of their lives to “building additional pylons.”

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For a full taste of Tarsonis’ offerings, check out Tarsonis @ Myspace, and for your viewing pleasure, the band has created the following music video for “Wrath of the Ultralisk”.

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Tarsonis is one of a handful projects involving Ryan Page of the University of Maine, with whom I have conducted a recent interview to be premiering hopefully in the next few days.

1,000 Hits and Counting

Less than a month since its inception, ZephyrBlog has reached the 1,000-hit mark. I can only attribute this to the gratuitous amounts of support I have received from family, friends, peers and fellow forum-goers. I thank all of the bands who have contacted me for reviews and who have added ZephyrBlog on Myspace. Keep those requests coming.

I’m starving for reviews at the moment, but my video producer Zev Eisenberg is soon to unveil ZephyrBlog’s long-awaited first interview with Ryan Page. The video will be split into two parts and both will be hosted on this site, on Myspace, and on Youtube.com.

Along with the interview video, there will be released two versions of Zev’s recent New Media project, which features a popular Beatles tune. That video will be posted here exclusively and will be made part of the new Videos page, which will contain self-produced films as well as music videos by relevant bands.

1,000 hits and counting, Zephyrus pledges to deliver. Stay tuned.

Top 10 Black Metal Albums of 2007

Happy New Year! 2007 has drawn to a close and now it’s time to reflect on the year’s best releases. I was considering doing a list for metal in general, but since the year’s acquisitions have been mostly black metal, I will limit my assessment to albums from that genre. Make note that the #1 of this list is not my personal favorite for the year. That honor goes to stoner doom metallers Electric Wizard with their opus Witchcult Today.

And before we go to the formal list, I’d like to give credit to those bands who have put out quality albums this year but have not quite made the top 10. Those bands are Xasthur, Naglfar, N.I.L., Eldrig and Be Persecuted. For bands not under the black metal genus, I grant my praise to Dark Tranquillity, Crionics, Behemoth, and of course Electric Wizard. So here we go…

10. DIMMU BORGIR – IN SORTE DIABOLI

Despite low expectations, these infamous “symphonic extreme metallers” have returned with a thoroughly enjoyable serving of malefic bombast, symphonic grandeur, and a few more operatic climaxes provided by ICS Vortex. The fact that this is a concept album shows evidence of not just lyrical but also musical consistency.

9. ARKHON INFAUSTUS – ORTHODOXYN

After Perdition Insanabilis saw this French death squad tying a leash to their formerly chaotic brand of blackened metal, Arkhon Infaustus managed to inject a heavy dose of their past into their new formula of calculated chaos.

8. BLACK FUNERAL – WATERS OF WEEPING

Influences of recent dabblings in dark ambient and industrial music have contributed to this band’s uniqueness in the USBM scene. While the previous album Ordog saw a consistent slew of bizarre chord progressions, this album combines more traditional black metal odes with sections of disturbing ambience and ritualistic noise to invoke waves of trepidation from the mind of the listener.

7. ALATYR – ALATYR

2007 features quality releases by some of black metal’s most respected veterans, but notable contributions have been made by newcomers, such as China’s Be Persecuted. However, the award for best black metal debut goes to Slovakia’s Alatyr, who through their eponymous genesis blend atmosphere, emotion and a shot of Slavic tradition into a work of melancholic beauty. As a bonus highlight, there is a cover of Darkthrone’s “Transilvanian Hunger” to close this album, played with no compromise to Alatyr’s fresh new style.

6. ANAAL NATHRAKH – HELL IS EMPTY, AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE

Ever since the relentless debut titled The Codex Necro, these Brits have added new dynamics with each successive album yet have managed to retain the vitriolic onslaught that defines their sound. In Hell Is Empty…, new flavors come mainly out of the vocal department, which range from the mainstay throat-ripping screams, to Attila-esque growls and snarls, to Ihsahn-ic clear vox, and even low gurgling grunts characteristic of brutal death metal bands such as Wormed.

5. ABIGOR – FRACTAL POSSESSION

These Austrians never fail to manufacture parcels of diabolical guitar riffs of technicality soaked with malevolence. 2007 sees Abigor applying these riffs to a radical new formula of avant-garde drum patterns, tempo changes, and clinically-clean production. It was a risky move to shed so many elements of their past, but it paid off so long as they kept honing their potential for riff writing, which they did.

4. LIMBONIC ART – LEGACY OF EVIL

When these masters of symphonic black metal called it quits after The Ultimate Death Worship claiming they were emptied of creative potential, there was reason to be wary of their recent resurrection to release their new opus, Legacy of Evil. While it does share many commonalities with the previous album, such as the straightforward guitar and blast-beat volleys, these years of hibernation have sufficiently recharged these Norwegians’ skill for composing anthems of symphonic violence. And where they may lack in new ideas, they make up for it by paying homage to their past works (compare the opening of “Twilight Omen” with the song “Abysmal Necromancy” from In Abhorrence Dementia).

3. WATAIN – SWORN TO THE DARK

It’s dirty yet well-produced. It’s melodic yet resonates tones of misanthropy. It’s awesomely epic yet downright rockin’. Watain and their recent contributions have taken up the fallen torch of Dissection and have risen to the epitome of Sweden’s violent yet agreeable brand of black metal. Sworn to the Dark is the perfect mix; it provides a channel for your hardest aggressions but with plenty of room for aesthetic to please the enlightened metal enthusiast.

2. MARDUK – ROM 5:12

When one mentions Marduk most people think of 30-minute blast-beats like Panzer Division Marduk, where razor-sharp riffing synchs far too easily with the constant drum pattern and the emotion rarely shifts from that of satisfying hatred. Rom 5:12 sees Marduk both reinventing themselves and taking the best parts of their past into a mix of varied drum patterns, dark melodies, and a more visceral production. Slowed down tunes intertwine with the Swedes’ trademark sound in the band’s most dynamic opus yet. Most notable are Mortuus’ signature vocals and a guest appearance from Primordial’s frontman on “Accuser/Opposer”.

1. DEATHSPELL OMEGA – FAS – ITE, MALEDICTI, IN IGNEM AETERNUM

This ever-so mysterious French entity has helped spearhead the storming third wave of black metal through a trilogy of unrelenting chaos. This latest output sees an evolution that pushes the genre’s boundaries where jaw-droppingly technical riffs and tempestuous drumming give way to moments of unsettling ambience. Even after multiple listens, the sudden detonations of lightning fast riffing and percussion still feel unexpected. Yet behind all this seems to be a demonically mathematical harmony that distinguishes this album as a manic masterpiece rather than a jumble of blasting and wankery. It’s a strange feeling to gain such an appreciation for an album that only so subtly exhibits the elements one expects from a typical black metal album. It’s a labor to get into this album, but patience pays off gratuitously.