Back-to-back posts on bands from Australia… Did I not say there’s a massive music movement going on over there? Well fortunately, we’re just getting started.

Similar to Chaos Divine, Circles is a band that I believe will appeal to fans of many rock/metal sub-genres. What really made them stand out to me is their use of clean vocals. I have been turned off to a lot of progressive metal and djent because of the common theme of many bands being 100% screaming oriented. If you read my Chaos Divine post, I didn’t say that I dislike screaming. In fact I love screaming, but I love it the most when it’s used “strategically” (if that makes any sense whatsoever) rather than just nonstop, all over the place. Now don’t get me wrong… I, in no way, intend to disrespect all the talented screamers out there. Keep doing what you do for all the fans who love music with that great amount of screaming. It is just simply that I personally do not prefer it to be so constant.

That is why I became an instant fan of Circles. Not only do they write killer music… They have a very killer vocalist who has a very fresh, clean tone. Later on I would discover other bands with that similar feature, such as Alaya which I posted about earlier. The reason I added Circles (as well as many others of similar style) to Tool: For the Fans – Pt. II is because I know there are probably fans out there of either Tool or progressive rock/metal in general that will love this band.

Basick Records seems to be one of the best progressive metal labels out there, and if any new fans of Circles go to their page, you are sure to find other bands you enjoy equally. As far as Circles’ music goes, the band has very tight and technical musicianship and have added an array of electronic sounds that prove to be very tasteful and not overwhelming. Each track on their EP, The Compass, is worth many listens. Their newest single, “Another Me,” displays what are possibly the best vocals in a Circle’s song to date, along with my personal favorite from The Compass, entitled “Ruins” (which also features one of the bands most epic guitar solos).

If you follow bands such as Periphery, Skyharbor, Tesseract, or any other djent/progressive metal bands (even bands similar to Karnivool or Dead Letter Circus), I implore you to LISTEN TO CIRCLES!

Members:

Perry – Vocals

Ted – Guitars

Matty – Guitars

Drew – Bass

Dave – Drums

Location:

Melbourne, Australia

Label:

Basick Records

Facebook Bio:

“CIRCLES have been hard at work promoting their brand of Australian metal worldwide, basking in worldwide press attention since the release of their critically acclaimed debut EP The Compass in May 2011. Throughout 2012 the band have been on the road touring whilst also creating and writing much of their new material.

The result is a debut album that is set to take the band into previously unchartered waters with a fresh sound that is uniquely Circles. Mixing up cutting edge production techniques and innovative progressive metal that pushes the boundaries of the listeners experience, the album is dripping with melody throughout, with hidden elements of electronica , topped off with some of the finest vocal delivery since Mike Patton’s lungs arrived on the musical landscape.

Circles debut album will be released on Basick Records in Spring 2013.”

For Fans Of:

Progressive Metal / Djent / Heavy Progressive Rock

Albums:

The Compass (2012)

Recommended Songs:

“The Frontline” / “Clouds Are Gathering” / “Act III” / “Eye Embedded” / “The Design” / “Ruins” / “Another Me”

Video:

Connect:

http://www.circlesband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/listentocircles

https://twitter.com/listentocircles

http://www.youtube.com/user/dcd1983

http://instagram.com/circles_band

http://store.basickrecords.com/artist/circles

Our tangent from Australia continues… Chaos Divine is one of the heavier bands I’ve started following these last few months. Choose for yourself which genre(s) you categorize them into, but the great thing is that they can appeal to a fairly diverse crowd of listeners. Whether you are into progressive rock/metal, metalcore, djent, or basically anything heavy… and enjoy bands ranging from Soilwork, Katatonia, TesseracT, or even Tool (which is why I included them in the Tool: For the Fans – Pt. II post) I am fairly certain this band will be a quick addition to your music catalog.  Chaos Divine creates music that will most likely find an immediate spot in your catalog.

The music I prefer generally has either solely clean vocals or a combination of cleans and screams. In fact August Burns Red is the only band I’ve been able to get into that has absolutely no form of clean vocals. Chaos Divine does scream quite a bit. Their early-on stages seemed to be more focused on screaming and overall heaviness, but over time they have progressed into more clean vocals which I believe is a huge reason why they would appeal to those besides heavy metal fans. Chaos Divine truly takes metal to a whole new level. If you are not personally a fan of a lot of screaming and are turned off by the beginning of this band’s songs because of that aspect of their music, at least wait until you hear some of the clean vocals before deciding to move on. There’s a legitimate chance your opinion might change. Another recommendation would be listening to songs from each album so you can get a true idea of the way the band has progressed through each one.

Besides the fantastic vocals (and incredibly well-written lyrics), you will hear very gifted musicianship which is deserving of just as much praise. Probably the best way for me to describe the band’s sound is in fact with the term Chaos Divine. Especially highlighted in their most recent release, The Human Connection, Chaos Divine has the proven the ability to balance out the more “chaotic” side of their music perfectly with the more divine or pure side. A perfect example of this is found on the opening track of The Human Connection (and one of my personal favorites), “One Door.” Around 2 minutes in, you’re taken from clean, pure vocals and guitars to a paralyzing scream along with the band kicking on the distortion into full gear… Definitely standing as one of my favorite moments. Another example is found in the album Avalon which includes mostly Chaos Divine’s most heavy, agressive work. But the last track, “Alone In the Sky” takes a much cleaner, ambient direction and, in my opinion, is one of the best tracks on the album.

Overall, I think Chaos Divine’s music will leave you thankful that there are still metal bands out there who spend a great amount of time perfecting the little, intricate details and melodies of their music rather than just seeing how fast they can shred through every track (I’m sure many listeners have experienced this). They are a very guitar-driven band (although I can’t go without mentioning amazing drumming as well for all the percussionists out there) and do a spectacular job of keeping listeners engaged through changes of pace and tone. Each track is a complete masterpiece, and similar to just about every band I’ll be writing about, there are no tracks by these guys that you’ll find a need to skip. I whole-heartedly hope all the progressive metal fans out there find this band to be just as much of a hit as I have and continue to support such great music!

Members:

Simon Mitchell – Guitars

David Anderton – Vocals

Ryan Felton – Guitars

Ben Mazzarol – Drums

Michael Kruit – Bass

Location:

Perth, Western Australia

Label:

Independent

Facebook Bio:

“The resume speaks for itself – two critically acclaimed releases, domestic and international tours and festival appearances, and a bag of music gongs from Triple J, the West Australian Music Industry and the Australian Heavy Music Awards.

In 2011, Perth’s Chaos Divine are without peer in Australian metal. Their intricate and melodic brand is pregnant with a progressive ambition that challenges both fans and band members alike. Now, with a world of possibility before them, Chaos Divine deliver The Human Connection – the band’s most accomplished album to date.

Engineered by Chaos guitarist, Simon Mitchell and mixed and mastered by Swedish metal guru Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Symphony X), The Human Connection is an aggressively adventurous canvas consisting of nine epic tracks that will satiate the most fervent fans of intelligent metal.

Like the band’s Avalon and Ratio releases before it, the new work is a fierce display of musical virtuosity and bludgeoning force. But where its predecessors served to establish the band’s formidable sound, Chaos Divine’s sophomore album is an exercise in evolution.

While the highly successful collaboration with Bogren has endowed the new record with a lustre rarely achieved by Australian metal acts, it’s the material that must be credited with the album’s maturity. Abrasive yet refined, organic yet tempered, The Human Connection is an exploration of the band’s abilities to create music capable of transcending genres and scenes.

While the driven five-piece have constructed the most inimitable musical statement of their career, it’s the live realm in which these new sonic formulas will be proven. Having graced stages with giants such as Slayer, Mastodon and Trivium, Chaos Divine have carved a reputation as one of Australia’s most devastating live acts – a reputation that precedes them at home and abroad.

With their dues paid up and an inferno in their gut, Chaos Divine are poised, ready to realise the next chapter in their ascension through the ranks of international metal.

The Human Connection is due for release in Australia through Firestarter Music & Distribution on March 25 early 2011. In all other regions the album will be available digitally through iTunes International.”

For Fans Of:

Progressive Metal / Metalcore / Djent / Heavy Progressive Rock / Melodic Death Metal

Albums:

Ratio EP (2006)

Avalon (2009)

The Human Connection (2011)

Recommended Songs:

“Contortion” / “Our Delusion” / “Refuse the Sickness” / “Avalon” / “Cages” / “Brand New Eyes” / “The Carnal Thirst” / “Rapture” / “Narcosis” / “Alone In the Sky” / “One Door” / “At the Ringing of the Siren” / “The Beaten Path” / “Chasing Shadows” / “Beautiful Abyss” / “Silence” / “Invert Evolution” / “Astral Plane” / “No Road Home (Solastalgia)”

[Chaos Divine writes A+ albums all the way through. It simply wouldn't do them justice to leave out any songs here. Just pick one.]

Video:

[The band recently covered Toto's song, "Africa" - available here.]

Connect:

http://www.chaosdivine.net/

https://www.facebook.com/chaosdivine

https://twitter.com/ChaosDivine

http://www.youtube.com/user/ChaosDivineband

http://www.last.fm/music/Chaos+Divine

As promised, part 2 of the Tool post. In the first section I went over some of my “favorites” as a way to pay respect to the band who has completely carved the taste in music I possess today. For me, Tool has become more than a band… As stated by Soen vocalist, Joel Ekelöf, We are inspired by Tool but I consider them not only a band but a genre. Over the last few years, that is exactly what Tool has become for me – A whole genre. I have seen many complaints throughout the internet by “hardcore” Tool fans out there aimed at other bands who have taken inspiration for the great forerunners of such a unique sound. The main complaint is that the other bands are “Tool rip-offs.” Though possibly this is true here and there, I am still thankful that there are bands that have not been too scared to dabble in the “Tool-esque” sound that has enlightened us for the last couple decades. One thing is for certain…it cannot be easy. It is also obviously not a 100% popular thing today. On YouTube I have even seen many bands receive comments diluted with profanity for “trying to hard to imitate Tool.”

I’d like to address a few issues. I mean no disrespect if you have been harsh toward one of these such “Tool-inspired” bands. But I would also appreciate my thoughts to at least be taken into consideration before plaguing another band with swear words without a second thought.

Tool knows how great they are (at least they better know). Whenever any kind of movement is started, people are sure to follow. Tool has an incredible fan base – one of the strongest in the industry. Personally, I would almost view it as disrespectful if no one attempted to follow in their footsteps. If no bands attempted to continue on the path Tool set out to tread, it would almost be like the world saying, “Your music isn’t good enough to continue.” So if you come across a band who has obvious strong Tool-influence, rather than being angry or offended, it would seem more reasonable to share the feeling of honor Tool lives with, knowing there are people out there who love the band as much as you do and want to take their own stab (at that genre mentioned earlier).

Now it might be possible, but I doubt many bands, if not any, set out thinking, Let’s try to copy Tool as much as we possibly can. Searching for bands has become one of my major hobbies. As embarrassed as I am to admit (not really), I’ll sit by the computer for hours, going through Facebook and YouTube in search of a new band. I am very particular about what I listen to. I don’t just automatically “love” any band I come across. But I must say this… Out of the hundreds of bands I’ve listened to, not ONE has resembled Tool too much to the point where that is the reason I don’t prefer their music. My point is, I strongly believe people (Tool fans) really need to open their minds a bit, pry open their third eyes, and be much more accepting of bands who draw inspiration from the legendary band we all love (even if you don’t want to follow them in the long run). Going around spreading hate over the ambition of others does absolutely no good to anyone. Most people have a pretty particular taste in music, and everyone comes across bands or artists they don’t prefer. But if that’s the case, it doesn’t ever justify writing hateful comments to the band telling them why their music doesn’t appeal to you (whether it’s their Tool-resemblance or anything else).

So two points.

1. Let Tool be honored by other bands who attempt to follow in their footsteps (many of which succeed, in my humble opinion).

2. Bands don’t set out with the mindset to duplicate another band as much as possible and piss off music fans. You might not like their music, but no one is forcing you to listen to it! There’s no reason to pick apart bands for the sole purpose of being a hater. And if you must criticize, at least make it constructive.

That being said, the purpose of this blog is to share bands, and the purpose of this particular post is to share bands who show that Tool-influenced sound I’ve been talking about this whole time. You might not be thrilled with each band’s particular sound, but who knows… There might be one, or two, or more that you end up loving. I will simply list out the bands here without many links to their music, social pages, etc. (although each band is linked to their Facebook page). As quickly as my schedule allows I will begin to write more in-depth posts about each band listed here. This page will also be updated each time I come across another band that fits this category, and they will instantly be added to the list.

My goal is to make this a community where music-listeners (who share similar tastes to each other and myself) can come to find bands, talk about them, and suggest their own favorites – basically like a forum.

Scale: 1-10 // 1 being sounds least like Tool – 10 being sounds most like Tool //  [This scale is merely based on my perception of each of the bands listed below. I do not actually know exactly how much each of them was influenced by Tool, or if they were at all! But I can say with fairly confident certainty that many of them are. If a band doesn't hate a number it just means I haven't listened to their music enough to give them one yet.]

Bands are listed alphabetically (if you didn’t catch that)…

Absent Hearts (side project by Daniel Tompkins of Skyharbor (previously of Tesseract) // 1

Absolace // 6

Alaya // 2

Aperture // 4

Archetypes (formed Bill Sanchez & Jason Broussard of Ceterum & op·aq·ue) // ? (only instrumental demos released)

Ashes Divide (solo project by Billy Howerdel, guitarist for A Perfect Circle) // 6

Birds of Tokyo (vocalist is Ian Kenny of Karnivool) // 1

Blindspott (now Blacklistt) // 3

Boil // 5

Breaking Orbit // 5

Ceterum // 9

Chaos Divine // 3

Circles // 2

Cog // 6

Cold Bloom // 5

Dead Letter Circus // 4

Deligma // 1

Dharmata // 2

DispersE // 1

Divine Ratio // 8

Etched In Red //

eye (Empty Yard Movement) //

Fading Hour // 7

Fair to Midland // 1

Feersum Ennjin (project by Paul D’Amour – original bassist for Tool) // 4

Glass Empire // 4 (only one single released)

In the Silence // 2

Jericco // 3

Jurojin // 4

Karnivool // 6

Katatonia // 3

Nature By Numbers // 3

Neotokyo // 2

Nothing More // 2

The Occupants (featuring Flynn & Luke Gower, formerly of Cog) // 1

op·aq·ue (solo project by Bill Sanchez of Ceterum & Archetypes) // 4

Order of Voices // 3

Pandemic // 4

A Perfect Circle (vocalist is Maynard Keenan of Tool) // 8

Rincon // 5

Rishloo // 7

Riverside // 2

Sadhana // 6

Serial Killer Smile // 3

Saturate // 6

Skyharbor (vocalist is Daniel Tompkins, ex-member of Tesseract) // 1

Sleep Parade // 5

Soen (drummer is Martin Lopez, ex-member of Opeth) // 10

Socionic // 8

Sounds of Sirus // 3

Spinning Black Circle //

S.T.E.M. (guitarist is Greg Bolomey [Axe of Creation], famous for his incredible Tool lessons on YouTube) // 3

Tesseract // 1

Tool (wait…) // ∞

Transience // 5

Traverser // 7

Tread // 2

Uneven Structure // 1

Ursa // 2

Varliiba  (couldn’t find a Facebook page for this band so the link will lead you to CD Baby where you can purchase their album) // 6

When Prophecy Fails // 6

I probably didn’t do a stellar job on the number scale. I honestly didn’t spend that much time on it, and some of them are prone to be changed in the future. It just seemed like a decent way for people who view this page to pick which bands they’d like to check out. Some might think, I want to hear a band that sounds really close to Tool. So they could choose a 9 or 10…or the opposite of that. You get the idea. As promised, I will be giving each of these bands it’s own separate post to highlight their individual work. They are ALL killer, so stay tuned! Thanks for bearing through these drawn out articles (if you even made it this far without skipping over half of it).

Also, a huge shoutout to The Aussie Alternative! Many of the bands listed here have been shared by their page, so I definitely recommend checking them out.

Happy Listening!

I hadn’t seen these boys in ages, so I took the night off work and went down. It was amazing.

Full album.

One of my favorite covers of the year! Australias, Chaos Divine take on Totos classic, ‘Africa‘. Check it out!

Chaos Divine Official Facebook

Chaos Divine Offical Website

Toto Official Facebook

Toto Official Website

After settling in with a smoke and a glass of water, everyone got down to getting their make-up, hair, glitter, wigs, costumes etc on. Yesterday was a very wig centric show, with myself, Tanya Cheex and the Schlep Sisters all tossing hair about. Darlinda Just Darlinda really impressed me though, with her ability to wear one wig for her first number (a Schlep Sisters number with Minnie Tonka that looked great although was a challenge on the tiny triangular stage), then to take it off, shake out her hair, and quickly wrap it up with a hair pin for her second number, coincidentally, a “Hair” piece (… see what I did there, hur hur hur). Total sex-bomb hair! I’ve never been able to have nice hair after a wig act, so I usually just leave it on for the rest of the night.

The show was super smooth, no hiccups or need to stall (yay!) although the stage was sort of difficult to work on (just because it was small and in the corner of the room with a step-up). Everyone did a fantastic job though, especially Aviva and Chaos Divine. Despite it being an overall great show and concept from Chaos, when you see her new act keep in mind that everything was hand-made by her without patterns!!!! That bitch! Haha, I hate sewing and I really hate drafting so I really commend her, it’s very slinky, sexy and beautiful. And Aviva was just very effing spot-on. Her bellydance abilities were really able to shine on the small stage since she could still be doing a lot of controlled movement without having to actually move back and forth or side to side. Very smiley, sweet with a few naughty implications.

And of course it’s always a pleasure to hear April March speak. She’s such a genuine sweetheart with so much to talk about in her crazy life. Unfortunately, she’s had a very bad experience recently with trying to publish a book. The person who wrote it for her, based on tapes of her telling stories she wanted included in it,  and her written information apparently embellished and mixed facts, consolidated stories and she had to pull it. So please, do not buy this book if you come across it, or if you have it/have read it, note that it is false information! April has lead a very amazing life and there is not reason to not portray her exactly as it happened.

MOPO as very kind to take us to McDonalds after the show, everyone had been to busy running around all day after work and school etc to eat properly (not that McDonalds is eating properly, buuuut)..it really hit the spot.

Wish I took pix but I forgot my card in my card reader, danggit Will have to take some tonight and Sunday in Ottawa.

Hope to see you at Revival tonight!

Books
As of 15 December, I had read 156 books in 2011, which I suspect will mean a total on 31 December of slightly less than last year’s 178 books. But then I probably wrote more this year than I did in 2010. Of my reading, 4% were anthologies, and 12% non-fiction… which means of the remainder that 28% were books by women writers and 56% by male writers. I still need to work on that. Genre-wise, 44% was science fiction, 16% was mainstream, 8% was fantasy, and 16% were graphic novels.

Of those 156 books, I have picked six which were, for me, the best I read during the twelve months. They are:

Evening’s Empire, David Herter (2002), should come as little surprise as I raved about when I read it back in April. Initially a Crowlesque fantasy, it takes a peculiar turn halfway through which makes it something weird and wonderful all of its own.

Synthajoy, DG Compton (1968), is another work by an author who continues to astonish me with each novel of his I read. This one has the most beautifully-handled non-linear narrative I’ve come across in fiction, not to mention one of the best-drawn female protagonists in science fiction. I honestly don’t know if this book is better than The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe or merely just as excellent. I wrote about it here.

CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed, Frédéric Chaubin (2011), suffers under a somewhat forced title, but who cares. Because it contains loads of photographs of amazing Modernist buildings from the former Soviet Union and its satellites. Not all of the buildings still exist, and many of them have weathered the years badly. But there they are, captured in all their glory in this book.

Voices from the Moon, Andrew Chaikin (2009), was published to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, and of all the books published at that time this one is perhaps the best-looking. Chaikin went through the many thousands of photographs take by, and of, the Apollo astronauts, and picked out ones that had rarely been seen before. And then he married those photographs with the words of the astronauts themselves – taken from interviews, transcriptions, etc.

Red Plenty, Francis Spufford (2010), was a book I read under a misapprehension. Though it was shortlisted for the BSFA Award for Non-Fiction, many complained it was partly fictional – inasmuch as it told its story using a cast of real and invented people in a threaded narrative. However, I’d mistakenly understood that Red Plenty not only covered the years of the Soviet Union’s existence but also extrapolated it into an alternate present in which the Soviet system had succeeded. That would the be the “sf” part of the BSFA Award, you see. Not so. But never mind, I still loved it.

Isles of the Forsaken, Carolyn Ives Gilman (2011), I pre-ordered because I’d thought Gilman’s 1998 novel, Halfway Human, very good, and because a write-up of the plot sounded as though it would appeal. And so it did. A fantasy, but not in the traditional epic/heroic mould. I wrote about it here.

Honorable Mentions:
There are a number of these this year, more so than usual. First, Kameron Hurley’s God’s War and Infidel, a very strong debut with some very interesting elements, and some that didn’t quite work for me (see here and here). Eric Brown’s Wellsian The Kings of Eternity is his strongest work for a number of years, and he deserves to be read more than he is. Women of Wonder: The Contemporary Years is an excellent anthology that does exactly what it says on the tin and introduced me to several authors I’m determined to read more (see here and here). Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge (see here) and Zoo City by Lauren Beukes (see here) were the best two novels from my challenge to read twelve books during the year by female science fiction writers. Stretto was an excellent end to L Timmel Duchamp’s Marq’ssan Cycle, and Jed Mercurio’s American Adulterer managed to make fascinating a topic in which I have zero interest, John F Kennedy’s presidency. Finally, a pair of rereads are worthy of mentions: The Female Man by Joanna Russ and Icehenge by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Films
By 15 December, I had watched 183 films. That’s including seasons of television series watched on DVD. Twenty-seven of them I reviewed for VideoVista.net and The Zone. Only one I saw at the cinema: Apollo 18. I’m not a huge fan of science fiction film or television, though I will happily watch them. This may well explain my choices for my top six of the year:

Moolaadé, Ousmane Sembène (2004), is Senegalese director Sembène’s ninth feature-length film, and the first one by him I’ve seen. It is set in a small village in Burkina Faso, and revolves around the refusal of three girls to undergo the traditional female genital mutilation. They are protected by the wife of one of the village’s important men, who herself refused to let her own daughter undergo the same disgusting procedure. This leads to a revolt by the village’s womenfolk, but it ends badly.

Mammoth, Lukas Moodysson (2009). I very much liked Moodysson’s earlier films Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål), Together (Tillsammans) and Lilya 4-Ever, but thought the experimental Container was pretty much unwatchable. Mammoth, however, is not only a welcome return to form, it is a superb indictment of the West’s exploitation of the East. Judging by some of the comments the film has generated, I may the only person to see it in that light. Ah well. Gael Garciá Bernal is astonishingly good in the male lead role – and that’s in a cast that is uniformly excellent.

Norwegian Ninja, Thomas Cappelan Malling (2010), is a Norwegian spoof. The title may have been a bit of a giveaway there. It posits an alternate 1980s in which Norwegian traitor Arne Treholt was not a spy for the Soviets but the head of a secret royal force of ninjas. As a spoof of late 1970s / early 1980s action films, Norwegian Ninja is pitch-perfect, but it is its use of real-life footage, and the way it neatly twists real history, that turns it in to a work of genius. I reviewed it for VideoVista here.

Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik (2010), was not a film I expected to appeal to me: a noir-ish thriller set among the hillbillies of the Ozarks. I not only enjoyed it, I thought it very very good indeed. It takes place in a world peopled by some of the scariest people I’ve seen depicted on celluloid. And they’re not scary because they’re psychopaths or sociopaths, they’re scary because they need to be to survive in that culture.

Underground, Emir Kusturica (1995), was recommended to me, and it was a good call. A black comedy following the fortunes of a pair of rogues during WWII in Belgrade and the years after under Tito. One rises high in the post-war government, while the other remains hidden in his cellar, convinced the war is still going.

The Time That Remains, Elia Suleiman (2009), is the most recent film by a favourite director, so its appearance here should not be a surprise. It’s perhaps less comic than Divine Intervention, but neither does go all bizarre and surreal towards the end. A series of autobiographical vignettes, it builds a narrative of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the lives of the Palestinians under Israeli rule. Some parts of it are a delight.

Honorable Mentions:
No science fiction films, I’m afraid. Instead: Israeli thriller, Ajami, set in the titular district of Jaffa; The Wedding Song, which is set during the Nazi occupation of Tunisia in World War II and follows the friendship of two female friends, one Jewish and one Arabic; the BBC’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing from 1984, starring Cherie Lunghi and Robert Lindsay, and the best of the Bard’s plays I watched during the year; The Secret in their Eyes, a clever thriller from Argentina, which beat Ajami to the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2010; and finally, Michael Haneke’s The Seventh Continent, which is one of the most unsettling films I’ve ever watched.

Albums
I didn’t think 2011 was shaping up to be a good year for music, but that all changed during the second half of the year. I think that might have happened in previous years too. I bought a reasonable number of new albums and old albums. The best of those are:

Harvest, The Man-Eating Tree (2011), is the band’s second album, and it’s a more commercial and slightly heavier-sounding offering. And Tuomas Tuominen still has one of the best and most distinctive voices in metal. I suspect The Man-Eating Tree are going to be the new Sentenced. Certainly when you think of Finnish metal, it’s The Man-Eating Tree you should be thinking of,  and not Lordi.

The Death of a Rose, Fornost Arnor (2011), is this UK band’s second album and, like their first, was also self-released. Some have said it’s the album Opeth should have made this year. Certainly it borrows the Swedes’ trademark mix of crunching yet intricate death metal and accomplished acoustic parts. It’s very much an album to lose yourself in, and I’m already looking forward to the band’s next offering.

Weaver of Forgotten, Dark Lunacy (2010), was annoyingly expensive as it was also self-released. But in Italy. (And I see now it’s much cheaper. Gah.) It is… epic. There’s no other word for it. It’s melodic death metal, but of a sort to fill vast spaces. I thought Dark Lunacy’s previous album, The Diarist, was excellent, but Weaver of Forgotten is an order of magnitude better.

Brahmavidya : Immortal I, Rudra (2011), is the third of a trilogy of albums, including Brahmavidya : Primordial I and Brahmavidya : Trascendental I. The band are from Singapore, but sing in – I believe – Sanskrit as well as English. It’s three blokes making death metal, but singing about their mythology. Rudra were one of this year’s discoveries, and I now have the T-shirt.

One for Sorrow, Insomnium (2011). Apparently, the only people who don’t like Insomnium are those who’ve never heard them. Each album finds them more polished and technically accomplished than the last, and it continues to astonish me they’re not better known. Insomnium are the dictionary definition of Finnish death/doom metal.

The Human Connection, Chaos Divine (2011), is one of those albums that blows you away with the first track… but then can never quite scale those heights again. Opener ‘One Door’ is a blinding song, and if the rest can’t compare, that doesn’t mean they’re not good. This is a proggier effort than the band’s first album, and it’s the better for it. Chaos Divine is a band you can tell will improve with each new album.

Honorable Mentions:
I’m sorry, I have to do it: Heritage. I’m giving Opeth’s latest album an honourable mention because, though it took numerous listens before it grew on me, it does contains flashes of brilliance. It’s totally prog, of course, with nary a growl to be heard, and that has to be disappointing… but as a warped vision of old school prog, Heritage is worth its mention. However, Of Death by Byfrost, The Light In Which We All Burn by Laethora and Psychogenocide by Nervecell all get mentions because they’re good albums which are very much in keeping with their bands’ sounds. Byfrost I first heard at Bloodstock, and I enjoyed their set so much I wanted the album. Nervecell are from Dubai and, while I was aware of them before, I saw them this year supporting Morbid Angel and they were excellent. Laethora is just Laethora. Finally, Sowberry Hagan by Ultraphallus deserves a special honourable mention for being a fraction away from sheer noise, yet still remaining powerful and heavy and an excellent listen.

FOLK
Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Indie/Folk/Pop)
Eddie Vedder – Ukulele Songs (Folk)
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Indie/Folk)
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo (Indie/Folk)
Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts (Alternative/Folk)

HIP HOP
the Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part II (Rap/Hip Hop)
the Roots – Undun (Rap/Hip Hop)
Talib Kweli – Gutter Rainbows (Rap/Hip Hop)

INDIE
Company of Thieves – Running from a Gamble (Indie Rock)
Stateless – Matilda (Electro/Indie)
Tune-Yards – W H O K I L L (Experimental/Indie)
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light (Indie Rock/Alternative)
Vetiver – the Errant Charm (Indie Rock/Folk)
Yukon Blonde – Fire/Water (Indie Rock)

METAL
Animals as Leaders – Weightless (Progressive Metal/Instrumental/Djent/Fusion)
Between the Buried and Me – The Parallax: Hypersleep  Dialogues (Progressive Grind Metal)
Chaos Divine – The Human Connection (Progressive Metal)
Circles – the Compass (Progressive Metal/Djent)
Corelia – Nostalgia (Progressive Metal/Djent)
Cynic – Carbon-Based Anatomy (Progressive Metal/Fusion)
The Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction (Progressive Extreme Metal)
the Haunted – Unseen (Melodic Death Metal)
the Human Abstract – Digital Veil (Progressive Metalcore)
Leprous – Bilateral (Progressive Metal)
Mastodon – The Hunter (Progressive Doom Metal/Rock)
Monstro – Monstro (Doom Metal/Hard Rock)
Protest the Hero – Scurrilous (Progressive Metal/Thrash/Punk)
Red Seas Fire – Red Seas Fire (Progressive Metal/Djent)
Revocation – Chaos of Forms (Death/Thrash Metal)
Scale the Summit – the Collective (Progressive Metal/Instrumental)
TesseracT – One (Progressive Metal/Djent)
Textures – Dualism (Progressive Metal/Djent)

ELECTRO
Bjork – Biophilia (Experimental/Pop)
James Blake – James Blake (Indie/Experimental)
SBTRKT – SBTRKT (Electro)

POP
The Black Keys – El Camino (Alternative/Blues/Rock)
Foster the People – Torches (Indie Rock/Pop)
Gotye – Making Mirrors (New Age/Indie/Pop)
Jamie Woon – Mirrorwriting (Pop)
The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar (Alternative Rock/Pop)
Little Dragon – Ritual Union (Electro/Pop)
Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do (Motown/Soul)
Mutemath – Odd Soul (Pop/Rock)
Sublime with Rome – Yours Truly (Alternative/Pop)

PROGRESSIVE ROCK
The Dear Hunter – The Color Spectrum (Progressive Rock/Alternative)
the Devin Townsend Project – Ghost (Progressive Rock/New Age)
Fair to Midland – Arrows & Anchors (Progressive Rock/Metal)
Opeth – Heritage (Progressive Rock/Metal)
3 – The Ghost You Gave to Me (Progressive Rock/Metal)

PUNK/HARDCORE
Glassjaw – Coloring Book (Post Hardcore/Punk)
Le Butcherettes – Sin Sin Sin (Punk/Alternative Rock)
Thrice – Major/Minor (Hard Alternative Rock/Punk)

MY TOP 10
1. Gotye – Making Mirrors
2. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
3. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
4. TesseracT – One
5. Radiohead – the King of Limbs
6. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
7. Stateless – Matilda
8. the Black Keys – El Camino
9. Rival Schools – Pedals
10. the Joy Formidable – the Big Roar

Party on.

Starting last year in Brissy, BASTARDFEST is a new (N-E-W not N-U) Metal Festival, popping its Sydney cherry this year at the Sando. With a great line up of local talent, and the chance to win one of these electric skateboards when you buy tickets from any outlet (like moshtix), its sure to a good night of some fairly brutal tunes, awesome door prizes and metal markets (?!?).

Psychroptic

Headliners are Tassy metal band Psychroptic who, since touring their last album Ob(servant) in December 2010, have been recording a yet untitled new album. Bastardfest 2011 (across the country) will be the only shows Psychroptic will be doing in 2011 and their set will feature many of the new songs of their forthcoming album.

Blood Duster

The line up also features Blood Duster who have stood proud for 20 years as Australia’s most misunderstood and most maligned grind band. Not bowing to any particular scene, not playing music industry games, not giving a fuck about whats hip, whats current or what anyone else thinks, Blood Duster simply are what they are. Next along the line are Perth originating, Melbourne living high speed hard core grinders, Extortion. The bill continues to grind and screech with Dreamkillers, Tassie’s black metal Ruins, Claim the Throne, ACT’s Pod People & I Exist,  Bane of Isildur, Ouroboros, Daemon Foetal Harvest, Anno Domini, Chaos Divine, Enforce, Dawn Heist and Ignite the Ibex.

Extortion

As a show case of great Aussie Metal, Bastardfest picks up where other metal fests have left off. For more information you can check the bastardfest website, and if you’re so inclined, sign up to their street team and hassel everyone you know to come along \m/

BASTARDFEST 2011

Saturday 10th September

The Sandringham Hotel, King St Newtown

Tickets: $27 + bf (moshtix)

Doors @ 12:30pm

First 100 presales through the door get a free sausage sizzle \m/O_o