Ihsahn
The Adversary
Candlelight
USA
The other day, I was listening to IX Equilibrium by Emperor, as one should, and I thought to myself: “What would Emperor had sounded like if those brutally righteous drum beats, as laid down by Trym, weren’t so in your face in the final mix?” Lo and behold, later that same day, the Dark Lord himself provided answer to my inquiry in the form of this solo album from the former Emperor front man and main song writer himself! Who says Satan doesn’t ever look out for a brothah?
(On a side note: what kind of name is “Trym?” Emperor were supposed to be the epitome of Satanism and evil, but yet, their drummer’s name was… Trym. I kept expecting Emperor to introduce a new member named “Dry Wall” or “Floor Board,” but sadly, that never happened. But I digress…)
Anyway, the answer to my inquiry, you ask? Eh.
Kasabian
Empire
RCA Records
Kasabian is the only band in existence that causes their listeners to suffer a mild form of amnesia. Once you finish listening to their music, you immediately forget what it had sounded like. This album is no exception to the rule. I would like to tell you that it’s a decent rocking album that you can shake your booty to, but I can’t. The only thing I can tell you though for a certainty though, is that the album does indeed exist.
Jesu
Conqueror
Hydrahead Records.
This album should come with a Surgeon General’s warning label: “Please do not operate heavy machinery while listening to his album.” Yes, Jesu is that boring.
Jesu is another band in a long line that gets compared to My Bloody Valentine by the critics. Of course, to the critics, this means boring, noisy guitars playing the same riff repeatedly at maximum volume. The great irony of this comparison is that My Bloody Valentine didn’t sound like that at all, they were brilliant! It’s all the copycat bands that make lazy music.
Another reason for me to dislike this album even more, as if the mistaken My Bloody Valentine comparison wasn’t enough for me: I had looked at the song titles on the back cover of the CD and I had gotten all excited to see that one song was called “Stanlow” figuring it was an Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark cover song of the same name. It wasn’t. Please don’t ever toy with my emotions like that again.
