Album review- Blues Funeral: The Search

“The Search” is the debut album by hard rock band Blues Funeral and was released on July 30^th 2016. Blues Funeral first came onto my radar back in 2014 because I was drawn into their name honestly, I thought it was a cool name but unfortunately I didnt have much material I could hear from them until this album so they always remained a band I wondered about. Finally we have a debut record from these guys and I have seen a lot of positivity aimed at it so today we are looking at it in full depth to see how good this album really is.

Track Listing

1.Autumn Dream- Opening with some quiet psychedelic riffing this song, goes into a really heavy early seventies atmospheric tone with the heavier riffing and definitely feels faithful to that time period and retains a lot of catchy feelings and I love the organ in the quieter segments as well. It really is an amazingly written song that manages to be heavy, catchy and the vocals are very haunting and almost have a folk feel to them as well which I dig. The solo also has a lot of feel in it as well. Amazingly written track and definitely one of the major highlights on the album.

2.Harbinger- This song has a bit more of a Sabbath Bloody Sabbath vibe to it without obviously being a ripoff, the production just reminds me of that album. This sing has a lot of really haunting progressions especially through the chorus and still retains some of that Psychedelic structure from the late sixties as well. The solo almost has a more New Wave of British Heavy Metal feel to it which I really like especially in the more harmonic moments. One of the more straight forward songs on the album but very well written nonetheless.

3.Planet Void- The beginning riff to this song is very interesting and has a progressive feel to it which I dig, this band definitely takes a lot of elements from not only the heavier rock bands of the seventies but also the more progressive ones as well. This is a song that is on the faster side and definitely feels more like early eighties hard rock with Blue Oyster Cult like vocals leaning more on the doomier side and have some interesting harmonies during the chorus which really adds to the interesting structure of the song. Definitely one of my favorites on the album and the solo almost feels like I am listening to Testament which just shows how all over the place these guys are and it is in all the right ways.

4.Paragon of Virtue- This song has some really heavy organ playing with it and feels like doomed out Deep Purple which is pretty good. I really like the pacing of this song and the atmosphere they really convey as well. This song is a bit more laid back than the last one with its pace but it isn't necessarily a bad thing it definitely adds to the variety that there already is so much of on this album.

5.The Search- The title track is probably considered the epic song on the album because the composition is really well done and thought out with almost some classical elements in the beginning build up with it progressively getting heavier and lower which comes out to being really effective. It almost goes into a jazzy kind of jam that I really dig. I think this is the most interesting song on the album because of how many interesting turns it takes and the musicianship is impeccable here. It really is something you don't hear much of today and that makes this album very unique. Plus there is a bad ass organ solo as well and I always support that.

6.Palmdale- This is easily the heaviest song on the album. They channel that more Sabbathy vibe here probably more than any other song but that is mainly in how it is played. The riffs are really raw and heavy and I think this is a great way to end the album. Every instrument and the vocals are just firing on all cylinders. One think I give them huge credit for is that even being on the heavier side, this song still retains that catch that you have with the five before it and wraps everything up very nicely.

Overall, I give this album a solid 8.5 out of 10. Seriously what a debut album, I mean it really doesn't disappoint. Besides wishing it was a tad longer with maybe an extra track or two, I really have no complaints. These guys don't take the cliches most doom bands or throwback hard rock bands do over and over. They take the ideas and mold around them. They take virtuosity elements from the eighties, the heavy rawness and progressive writings from the seventies and the really psychedelic offerings of the sixties and mold it all into a really good heavy rock album. Pick this one up if you can, it definitely is worth it, now to wait for a vinyl release...

Album Review- Delain: Moonbathers

“Moonbathers” is the fifth studio album by Symphonic Metal group Delain and was released on August 26^th, 2016. Delain to me have been a band that I would hear a bit about and then not hear anything for awhile. They almost seem to just pop up randomly on my radar from time to time. I dig their style and always thought they had serious playing chops. However is their newest record something they expand upon within their sound or is it the same thing just rehashed again. Let us find out!

Track Listing

1. Hand of Gold- opening with some very melodic riffing, this album comes right of the gates with a very nice booming production in the instrumental department. The only thing that slightly irks me is that the vocals seem to be a tad buried to me. I do appreciate Charlotte's vocals they really compliment the music very well. The chorus is pretty catchy but seems to be missing a push to it, maybe its just my ears but hey we all have opinions. The song is pretty straight forward in terms of Symphonic Metal with some cool death growls that a first time listener would totally not expect on first listen. Pretty good opener.
2. The Glory and The Scum- I really like the keyboard in this song it really adds to the epic atmosphere they are trying to achieve. It gets a lot more heavy at the end with some awesome solo trading that I appreciate but again there seems to be something lacking in the chemistry to me just a bit.
3. SuckerPunch- This song begins like almost like an 80's pop number which I like. It really blends different sounds together and the lyrics have a very 80s feel to them as well. This is a very good number that blends both brute heaviness with good musicianship.
4. The Hurricane- This song starts familiarly like the last one but is a lot more mellow and has a brash ballad-like structure to it that changes up the pace a bit and bringing more emotion to the album as well. Probably my favorite song on this release because they balance their core sound with more emotion and it is done very well.
5. Chrysalis- The Last Breath- I love the beginning to this track because well I am a sucker for soft piano compositions and the foreboding violins in the back really at to it as well. For some reason I like when Delain do more soft numbers because I feel like all the members shine with their crafting and it really breaks up how the album started to me and actually makes for some interesting listening.
6. Fire With Fire- This song returns to the heavier sound and I think is the best upbeat track on the album as well. It has really catchy riffing and the vocals really follow the rhythm very well. It is probably the most straightforward song on the album as well. This one definitely would work extremely well live for these guys.
7. Pendulum- This track contains probably the most death metal-like influences with heavy down tuned riffing and growling vocals in a lot of parts that contrast with the very beautifully sang verses. The song feels sort of stagnant for me as it doesn't feel like it really goes anywhere but it isn't a bad song by any means.
8. Danse Macabre- I really like the synth in the song with the almost Accept feeling in the riffs I get at times. It is another number that blends heavy melody with heavy riffing and this one does it fairly well creating some interesting sounds with the piano being out front during the chorus riffs as well.
9. Scandal- There's some cool synths in here and has that heavy 80s techno sound blended in it as well which I dig. This is another one of my favorites for how catchy the melody is within its structure. Easily one of the best on the album as well.
10. Turn The Lights Out- The opening is really well thought out and composed and almost feels like the score to a film which shows off the crisp flowing production. This song however, in the end, seems very similar to “Danse Macabre” and almost blends with it and that can be slightly a problem to me. It feels like parts of the songs are recycled between the two and that doesn't always spell good but there are still things to like here as it has some really awesome vocal harmonies with an orchestra toward the middle that I really appreciate.
11. The Monarch- Again, I love the beautiful echoing piano with the strings as well it creates such an amazing atmosphere, This song has a lot more focus around the orchestra and is probably the shortest and perhaps most beautiful song on the album and is a nice way to wrap up all eleven tracks.

Overall I give the album I'd say, a 6.5 out of 10. If you dig Symphonic metal you will probably enjoy this album, it reaches the core sound that most expect from that genre. The only problem for me is that a lot of it follows a similar formula that ultimately leaves me wanting more. I want to see what else they could do but especially in the guitar department, it sticks to the same riffing style almost all the way through it seems to me. I understand a lot of the bands I listen to are predictable, they follow a lot of the same formulas and everything I essentially just rapped this album about. However, that is what I expect from those artists and with most groups from this genre I expect elements that are going to surprise me and really make the lasting power of said album. With “MoonBathers” I feel like they had some interesting things and some interesting songs sprinkled throughout, but unfortunately that doesn't make up a whole album for me. I wish Delain all the success, they definitely put the work in I guess it just wasn't for me. You can pick up “Moonbathers” on August 26^th at NapalmRecords.com