Alerion - VII Sanctvaries

I have to admit that I forgot about this release which was sent to me by Le Crepuscule Du Soir Productions a while ago,found it while digging' in the crates the other days,so anyways,better late than never right? I thought I'd give justice to them since they sent me the album.

Alerion which is located in France, released this album 2012,to me they are a new experience.

Their music is what I would call melodic black metal at times a bit melancholic feel to it.

 

It's overall a pretty good album with good variation throughout ,that goes for both music and vocals, which is in the old school spirit in my opinion.These guys do not rush through the album as there are a lot of breaks and calm parts which fits very well mostly.

The only thing I could have been without is the guitar solos at some parts, do not misunderstand me as most of the guitarparts are well done and helps building the atmosphere, actually one might call this progressive at times as it's quite different from what I've heard before, the straightforward metal parts is more 'usual' though and as for the guitar solos I mentioned it's just a tiny part so it doesn't really do any harm to the overall impression.

It's a good album ,but still somewhat predictable at times, they have some excellent ideas here and there though, but apart form that it becomes somewhat boring as I feel like I've heard this many times before, it has that typical melodic black metal sound and for me it becomes to melodic.
I mean one thing is to bring in melodic elements,another thing is overdoing it.

To be honest I found it pretty entertaining the other day, but while listening now I'm somewhat bored.
It's not easy to say if it's my mood or if it's the record.
It's an eight track album and most of the tracks lasts longer than 5 minutes so you get value for the money.If you like melodic black metal I suggest you give it a try as it's not a bad album ,it's just a bit too much for my taste at times.    

          Listen & buy the album here : Le Crepuscule Du Soir

Frail Grounds Set To Release Debut Album ‘The Fields Of Trauma’ worldwide

Norwegian progressive metal quintet Frail Grounds recently signed a deal with UK based indie label Hostile Media to see the release of the bands debut album ‘The Fields Of Trauma’. Mixed by Øyvind Larsen (Lionheart Studios) and mastered by acclaimed producer Jens Bogren (Fascination Street Studios) ‘The Fields Of Trauma’ was originally self-released by the band in 2012. This release sees the record getting proper distribution for the first time.

Frail Grounds formed late 2005 with a musical vision to create interesting and flowing soundscapes, merging elements from different genres ranging from traditional heavy, progressive and extreme metal, yet always maintaining a melodic baseline. The band released their debut record, an EP titled ‘Corrosion’ which led to many in the media earmarking the band as one to watch. Most of 2010 was spent in the studio as the band began work on their concept debut album ‘The Fields Of Trauma’. The story follows an expedition deep into Siberia, questioning how far a person might go under extreme circumstances in order to achieve a sense of resolution.

Vocalist Morten Andre comments, "We are very excited to be presenting "The Fields of Trauma" to the UK metalheads and beyond.” “The album took a long time to finish, but listening to it now we are confident it was worth the effort and time. There are so many details in between the musical layers; hopefully you will hear something new every time you listen to it. This musical endeavour is wrapped up by a faustian inspired conceptual horror story, which fits well with the musical theme. Enjoy!" "First time listeners, expect a chilling musical journey leading you through acoustic melancholic moments and into more brutal epics! Throughout this trip you will be treated with lots of melodies, guitar solos, heavy riffing and complexity leading up to the grand finale, the emberstorm!" 

You can read the review I did for Norskmetal.net when it was first released in Norway 2012 here : 

          http://www.norskmetal.net/frail-grounds-the-fields-of-trauma-review/

 

                                                     

                                       1. Prologue: Arrival 
                                       2. The Expedition 
                                       3. Freeze Me 
                                       4. A Rural Trauma 
                                       5. The Sinister Road
                                       6. Triptych 
                                       7. Origin 
                                       8. Deathlines 
                                       9. Siberian Nights 
                                      10. Emberstorm 
                                      11. Epilogue: 

Completion ‘The Fields Of Trauma’ will be released on 3rd March 2014. www.frailgrounds.com www.facebook.com/frailgrounds