At last, Swedes Skyfire has finally completed their long-delayed fourth-full length work “Esoteric”, which was issued last September through US-based label Pivotal Rockordings. The wait was long and particularly arduous for the band, who suffered various blows in the last five years, namely, computer crashes, line-up changes and illness. You must be relieved and proud at this point with “Esoteric” finally out on the streets right?

“Yeah, definitely. Answers bassist and keyboardist Martin Hanner.
It has been a long wait, especially for our fans so it was about time we got ‘Esoteric’ released. But it is really nice to see that people haven’t forgotten about Skyfire, even though almost five years have passed.”

So, what really happened to Skyfire following the release of “Spectral” five years ago? Did the band actually called it quits?

“After ‘Spectral’ Jonas and Henrik left the band so we had to find replacements for those guys. Luckily, we’ve found Johan Reinholdz and Joakim Karlsson.
Another thing that did contribute to why it has taken so long for us to release another album was that our label at the time Arise Records went bankrupt which meant that we had start writing new songs, record them and so on. We got contacted by some labels, but in the end we signed to Pivotal and we are very proud to be working with them. They are all great guys.
We never thought of giving up as a band, but we didn’t just want to get signed to a label that signs a lot of bands and then don’t care, so we took things slow. So even though it has taken some time for us to get back on the scene, I think we have grown both as a band and individuals.”

Even though there’s a five-year gap between “Spectral” and “Esoteric” there aren’t too many stylistic changes to be reported, perhaps the new album sees Skyfire leaning towards a more progressive musical route. Guitar leads for instance play a prominent role on this new album, and sometimes they invoke memories of bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X due to its complexity and progressive texture. Was there a conscious effort to lean towards that direction, yet still retain the characteristic elements of the past?

“Well, when we started out we wanted to have a bombastic sound with a lot of melodies. We still use that as base for our songwriting, but I think we have matured and grown as musicians and therefore we have added some new elements that have helped us achieve more variety in our music. Like you mention we have taken a step further on ‘Esoteric’ when it comes incorporating more progressive sections. But we have also added some more aggressive and darker riffs which I really feel contribute to make the melodic parts stand out more. So it’s all about diversity. It is so much more fun to write songs when you can choose between a wide variety of styles to use, instead of just sticking to one. That way it’s also easier to avoid that the songs get repetitive and hopefully that is something that our fans will appreciate as well.”

“Esoteric” features the talents of new guitarist Johan Reinholdz from Andromeda and Nonexist and new vocalist Joakim Karlsson from Mark:Black. Did the recent addition of these two elements bring any changes to the songwriting dynamics?

“In terms of songwriting nothing hasn’t really changed except for that we have added solos to the Skyfire formula. It seemed stupid not to, now when we have a guitarist like Johan in the band. In the future though, it’s very likely that both Johan and Joakim will take part in the songwriting process.”

What kind of intentions and inspirations were the driving forces behind the creation of “Esoteric”? You’ve mentioned before on a press-release that you were particularly inspired by the work of Symphony-X and Bal-Sagoth.

“Yeah, personally I really like the atmospheric and progressive elements from these bands. ‘Esoteric’ is a mix of many different styles though. We have the traditional Skyfire parts with melodies and bombastic orchestral parts, but we also have more progressive sections as well as some darker sounding ones. When it comes to the more orchestral parts in our music I get a lot inspiration from music in films. For example, the soundtrack for ‘The Rock’ is really cool in my opinion. Other times I think bands like old Atheist inspire me along with bands like The Crown and Embraced, but most of the time I get inspiration from just sitting down and jamming on my guitar or keyboard.”

Looking into the future, where do you think Skyfire will go next?

“It is hard to say after being away for such a long time, but I hope we can get out and tour a lot more in the future. In the meantime we will continue to give 100 % and write the best music we can.”

Skyfire belong to a third wave of Swedish acts that also includes names like The Duskfall and Arise, who were committed to carryout the torch of the melodically-driven death-metal of Dark Tranquillity and In Flames aflame into the new millennium. Although all their three full-length albums were accomplished and interesting pieces of melodic death-metal, when compared to other releases from similar groups like Soilwork, Scar Symmetry et all they ended up sounding slightly harmless and pale, and therefore never attained the level of success of their peers. This is probably why, the announcement of their return, following a period of inactivity imposed by line-up hassles, was not received with the greatest of enthusiasms.
Despite the five years separating ‘Esoteric’ from their previous album ‘Spectral’ and all the changes to their formation that occurred in between, Skyfire don’t sound drastically different from where they last left off. The cervical spine of their compositions continues to be a blend of progressive power-metal and symphonic death-metal. Perhaps ‘Esoteric’ displays a greater infatuation towards the progressive side of their sound, bringing to mind bands like Symphony-X and Pain of Salvation, and that’s probably due to the influence of new and extraordinary guitarist Johan Reinholdz from Andromeda. I guess it would be simply illogical to not take advantage of his incredible talent and skill on the six-strings, so throughout the eleven songs, arpeggios, leads and other guitar tricks abound like pilgrims on the holy week celebrations. The guitar work tends to be highly elaborated and technical, yet the harmonies that are expelled out are also highly contagious and memorable.
Another well-noted difference deals with the change of vocalists, Joakim Karlsson have jumped on board to replace Henrik Wenngren and his grunts are raspy and sharp, yet surprisingly perceptible.
The keyboards as always, continue to be much more than a simple decorative element in Skyfire’s compositions, and just like in Children of Bodom or Kalmah, they work in tandem with the nimble and fast guitars, and also have a chance to shine individually on various moments. Take for instance the prog tendencies of ‘Rise and Decay’, which is a tad slower in tempo when compared to most of the themes, and where the piano melodies provide the fitting background atmosphere for the notable duel of arpeggios between the two guitarists.
‘Darkness Descending’, is another song highlighted by keyboards, displaying a dark and diabolical atmosphere verging on the symphonic black-metal of Dimmu Borgir. Which is the same that can be said about the rabid ‘Under a Pitch Black Sky’.
While not being exactly an essential or groundbreaking album, on ‘Esoteric’ Skyfire have nevertheless demonstrated class and skill in a style of music style that very often tends to become pretty harmless and pedestrian. (6.8/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/skyfiremusic
Label info: www.PivotalAlliance.com

‘Ox’ is the type of record that I simply cannot stop listening to. It’s a completely addictive and gratifying aural experience, however, when I try to find the fitting adjectives in order to write a clever appreciation that could do justice to the storming potential of the record, my imagination fails roundly.
Long overdue, ‘Ox’ is their first work since the groundbreaking ‘012: Revolution In Just Listening’ and I can safely say it is well worth the wait. The cohesion and intensity the group demonstrates is surprising, as if the ten years that separate the new album from its predecessor never existed and all the line-up problems and breakups that assailed their career were nothing but pure speculation.
On their third full-length work, Coalesce pick up the trademark sound of their previous releases and inject it with a newfound sense for melody and off-kilter nuances. The Kansas-based quartet always had the tendency to defy conventional musical standards, revealing an absolute reluctance in being easily categorised and ‘Ox’ is not exception. Irregular time signatures, dissonant and complex riffs, country-driven chords, odd interludes and strange vocal harmonies abound and puzzle the listeners, without ever falling into self-indulgence. Sure enough, when ‘The Plot Against My Love’ begins, it’s quite obvious that we aren't in for one of those show-off works in vogue these days. Rather than bore the listener with tons riffs and arpeggios per minute, Coalesce strike in a familiar way with the nimble and punishingly effective guitar work of Jes Steineger coupled with powerful and idiosyncratic drum patterns provided by new drummer Nathan Richardson. Bassist Nathan Ellis adds a rumbling distorted bass sound, while vocalist Sean Ingram is his usual self, barking madly and eloquently. ‘Designed to Break a Man’, ‘The Villain We Won't Deny’ and ‘The Purveyor of Novelty and Nonsense’ all segue in a similar mode, downright heavy and intricate, yet incredibly overwhelming.
As mentioned before, there are moments in ‘Ox’ where Coalesce throw in a number of weird details, like the country-tinged start of ‘Wild Ox Moan’ that might seem odd at first listen, but in the end works remarkably well. ‘Come on loyal woman, I gotta hear that wild ox moan’ sings Ingram in a bluesy laid-back tone while Steineger dwells in bluesy-country-twang before breaching into a massive and dissonant mathcore riffage. Then, there’s the deliciously melodic chorus of ‘The Comedian in Question’ with Ingram giving us a taste of his clean singing style. Falsettos announce ‘In My Wake, For My Own’, a theme that has rapidly turned into one of my favourite songs, with a soulful and suffering chain-gang humming.
It’s tough to place ‘Ox’ into a single, all-encompassing style, so let’s just say it’s really damn good. Without any doubts one of the best albums of this year and I sincerely hope that it doesn’t take another 10 years for Coalesce to come up with a new album. (8.5/10)

Band info: www.crashandbang.com
Label info: www.relapse.com
Distributed in Portugal by www.majorlabelindustries.com

Once described by Alternative Press as one of the ugliest creative nadirs heavy music has fostered, Kansas based-quartet Coalesce always defied easy categorisation, showing a total disregard for conventional musical standards and a reluctance to avoid honest and confrontational matters in their lyrics. I mean, what other collective had done an EP featuring only Led Zeppelin cover songs, had the guts to sing the chorus of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and named their songs ‘Maybe Selling Out is Waking Up’?
Their latest work ‘OX’ certainly doesn’t lack this unique sense of song writing and boldness, and just recently I’ve traded e-mails with guitarist Jens Steineger to find out more about the successor of ‘012: Revolution In Just Listening’. Initially planned to be published on Scratch the Surface, the outcome of our conversation can now be read on Sonic Dice site. Read the entire story here.


Following 10 long years from their benchmark work 012: Revolution In Just Listening, multiple breakups and line-up changes, and talk of resurfacing under a new banner, Kansas’ ugliest and most idiosyncratic hardcore act Coalesce has recently returned with a new full-length record called Ox. The story behind the band’s latest comeback in 2005 is well-documented, the principal motif being the invitation to play at Hellfest festival alongside other resuscitated bands like Youth of Today, Bold and Public Enemy. What was initially designed to be a farewell show has evolved into a handful of gigs and eventually ignited a creative spark to do another full-length record. Do you care to elaborate more on that need and desire to write new songs for Coalesce?

“There isn’t much to elaborate on, actually. We have a good time hanging out when we’re together. We like making music together as a way of making sure we make time to hang out. There’s something exciting about laying demo tracks for new music and thinking about how it might go over in a live environment when we can really cut loose and experience the song in its deeper moments. I tend to romanticize a lot about the relationships and live experiences in Coalesce; but as ideal as I make them in my head, I still somehow get something out of it all. In other words, the event called Coalesce still delivers for me. I’m positive that it does for the other guys too."

Did you feel it was a good time to get back together, especially with hardcore and metal on the upswing again and the whole nu-metal and grunge generations dead and buried?

“We certainly have no idea which scenes and genres are on ‘the upswing’ these days. It’s nice that some people are still willing to care a bit about Coalesce and what we make, but OX would have come about regardless of any outside opinions or support. I can say the same about any future records we decide to make. If Coalesce somehow contributes to the death of nu-metal, however, I can say I will die happy; but I don’t think Coalesce is the type of entity that could ever affect something as big as the death of nu-metal. The grunge generation never died in my mind. I still think Louder Than Love is one of the best albums ever written. If I could go back and re-do Nothing New Under the Sun, I’d probably choose to do Louder Than Love in its entirety. Who knows? Maybe some day after Coalesce, I can start a new band that tries to rip off these Soundgarden songs…haha.”

At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss Witchbreed for another generic act dwelling through the tepid and often uninspired fields of female-fronted-gothic-metal. They’ve the fitting image, which is dark and obscure, have an esoteric moniker, their cover artwork boasts a semi-naked and attractive woman, are fronted by the gorgeous Ruby Roque, and belong to a record label created with the purpose of further exploring that style of music. Yet, upon hearing their debut full-length work ‘Heretic Rapture’ it’s perceptibly that the Portuguese five-piece don’t seem particularly interested in following that trendy path. Witchbreed don’t want to be the next Nightwish or the next Lacuna Coil, in fact their songs reveal more things in common with someone like Doro, Nevermore or Communic than the aforementioned acts.
Overall, the impression is of a band structuring their songs around a traditional-metal framework with a melodic power-thrash gallop and a dark edge, sometimes nodding towards a slightly less technical Nevermore. Songs like ‘Symphony for the Fallen’, ‘Thy Eclipse’ and ‘Rebel Blood’ strongly point in that direction, with beefy thrash-driven riffs, a pronounced bass work and Ruby’s powerful and deep voice. The vocalist, in fact, shines brightly throughout the whole album with a strong and sweet performance, free of over the top theatrics and operatic wailing. Sometimes she reminds me of a darker Doro Pesch.
It should be mentioned that the record was produced by Waldemar Sorychta who is renowned for working with such bands as Tiamat, Moonspell and Lacuna Coil and his experience as producer clearly puts this record one step higher of similar releases.
‘Heretic Rapture’ is not perfect though, there’s still room for improvement in the song writing, especially when Witchbreed delve into power-ballads which sound blatantly bland and pedestrian.
Anyway, if the prospect of a Doro Pesch fronting a band like Communic or Nevermore sounds extremely appealing to you then grab a copy of ‘Heretic Rapture’ straight away. (7/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/witchbreed
Label info: www.ascendancerecords.com

Clocking at a short 29 minutes, this second full-length work from Brazilians Dark Celebration exudes that obscure and vintage death-metal vibe so typical in third-world countries. If the recent works of Abhorrence, Rebaelliun and Ophiolatry aren’t completely alien to your ears, then you know the drill: bloodcurdling death-metal barbarity with minimal, but effective production values and satanic hocus-pocus expressed in the lyrics. It’s not pretty, it’s not nice and god bless them (sorry folks!) for that, but also it doesn’t add nothing new to a style of music so doggedly abused over the years and save for in Latin American nations so obviously passé. But then again, there’s not too much room for improvement in this line of work in playing old-school death-metal is there? Otherwise it wouldn’t be old-school.
Throughout seven tracks, it should be mentioned that this Brazilian four-piece don’t limit themselves to blasting old-flavoured death-metal as there is a substantial dose of German-thrash-infused riffs creeping in as well, which unfortunately sound awkward and pedestrian for most of the time. Sure enough, Dark Celebration are a lot more palatable when they’re spitting out riffs that are more reminiscent of Morbid Angel and Krisiun than Sodom or Kreator.
Ultimately, there’s potential in Dark Celebration vintage death-metal sound, but nothing which clearly suggests the band can rival with a more skilful Krisiun or Vital Remains. (5.5/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/darkcelebration666
Label info: www.paragonrecords.org

From Spain comes Dawn of Tears with a new EP called ‘Dark Chamber Litanies’, which follows an unheard full-length album entitled ‘Descent’ released two years ago. The accompanying press release cites Dark Tranquillity as their major influence, though you can hear other names like Cradle of Filth and Sentenced in their impassioned blend of death and black metal as well. See, album opener ‘Cadent Beating’ sounds like the sort of thing that Cradle of Filth could have written in their early days. The dark orchestral flourishes, the guitar harmonies woven between harsh riffs, the caustic rasps and shrieks ala ‘midget filth’ and the deep narrated passages are all unequivocally redolent of the Brits’ gothic-tinged black-metal sound. However, on the following theme ‘Since They’re Gone’, Dawn of Tears progress into a more death-ly direction hinting at the mid-period of Sentenced, though not as depressive or imaginative as the Finns. The third theme, ‘Winds of Despair’, starts with a fast and harsh black-metal pace, but soon evolves into a gentler style not too far removed from Dark Tranquillity’s softer moments. The influences of Dawn of Tears are well diversified, and although the end result from their convergence is for the most part very likeable, at times it seems to be poorly articulated.
Ultimately, if Dawn of Tears really want to stand out from the crowd, maybe more effort and innovation are required from them to come up with some truly defining moments. (6/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/dawnoftears or www.luggamusic.com

If you’ve so much as a passing interest in grindcore then, you’ll probably know who Scott Hull and Agoraphobic Noosebleed are. So, let’s jump over the introductions and just mention that the band is back with their fourth full length work six long years and several split releases on from their near-legendary album ‘Altered States of America’. A lot has changed within the ANB camp during these last few years and a quick look at the album cover immediately reveals a radical change in their way of doing things. Only 13 songs! Wow, that’s a new considering their previous record crammed 100 songs into a short 20-minute play length. Rather than writing frenetic spasms of sonic violence that lasted no more than a brief few seconds, the band have built new songs that exceed the two and three minutes mark, injecting a more… imagine the surprise… directional maturity into the song writing. Those of you looking for or expecting Agoraphobic Noosebleed of yore you’re shit out luck because this is a new and improved band peddling far more varied areas than just relentless cyber-grind. Their songs have gained an enjoyable accessibility, with coherent song structures that actually stick in your mind and a creative guitar work. Nowadays, Scott Hull’s riffs veer from the frenzied grind of previous works, to a hardcore aggression and a speed-thrash metal attack, yet nonetheless they still sound lethal and vicious as ever. The drum programming sounds infinitely more diverse and organic, for the first time it actually seems like a common human being could have played them without studio trickery.
Another notable evolution is the inclusion of Katherine Katz from sludge act Salome on vocals, joining male growlers Jay Randall and Richard Johnson on a three-vocalist onslaught. Each vocalist brings their own distinct and harsh style to the table, yet it is Katz’s brutal growls and screams that raises the whole experience to another level.
There are still plenty of full-on grind moments here, so let’s not get the impression they’ve a suffered a complete makeover in the style of say Cryptopsy. Yet, for the most part, it seems like Scott Hull and co. have decided to expand their horizons and stray into a more mature and dynamic path as evidenced on ‘Agorapocalypse’, the most musically enjoyable thing Agoraphobic Noosebleed has ever written. (7.5/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/agoraphobicnb
Label info: www.relapse.com
Distributed in Portugal by www.majorlabelindustries.com

Previously known solely as End, Eryn Non Dae is a young collective from Toulose – France that self released an EP called ‘The Never Ending Whirl of Confusion’ in 2007, which garnered lots of media recognition in Europe and the US, and caught the attention of Metal Blade’s head combo Brian Slagel. Two years later, with a different moniker and with the support of one the strongest metal labels in activity, the band unleashed their debut length work entitled ‘Hydra Lernaïa’. More dense and eerie than their previous EP, each track from their newest work delves into distinct human feelings that are on the genesis of our everyday life struggles. Scratch the Surfaced quizzed bass player Mika about this intriguing lyrical concept and other pertinent matters. Read on…

Named after an ancient serpent-like beast from Greek mythology that possessed 9 heads, the debut full-length album from French collective Eryn Non Dae, “Hydra Lernaia” lyrically explores nine feelings like hate, distrust and devotion that basically sets us humans apart from other races and are the genesis of our everyday life conflicts.
What motivated or inspired the band to develop this lyrical concept based on nine human’s feelings and their convergence towards negativity and self destruction?

“Our singer Mathieu wrote these lyrics according to his own personal feelings but while coming to the end of the writing process he was searching for a strong image to embody this lyrical concept and he came with the idea of the ‘Hydra Lernaïa’, this nine-head mythological beast was the perfect image for these nine human destructive feelings.”

It’s an interesting and intriguing theme that totally fits the ambiguous and extreme nature of their sonic creations, which ranges from a pummeling and byzantine aggression reminiscent of Meshuggah to a dense and dark atmosphere similar to Neurosis. Did this album come together pretty easily and are you completely satisfied with the end results?

“Easily isn’t the word I would use, our composition process is quite slow and due the fact that most of us had a regular jobs and families and during the past years we often had to interrupt the composition process to rehearse live sets for the gigs. But when we decided to stop gigs to finish up the songs for the album, I remember that things came together pretty naturally during rehearsal, I mean everybody was full of ideas for the songs. Considering just the music I think we’re totally satisfied with ‘Hydra Lernaïa’, I mean at the time this was best music we could produce, but since we carry on our expression path we’re focused on writing a better next record and not very much to judge ‘Hydra Lernaïa’, but yes we’re proud of these nine songs, concerning production and sound one more time the band and Mobo (the sound engineer) did the things that way at this precise moment, but we will do a few things differently with the next record, I think we have a huge work to do on the drum sound for instance…"

Your principal influences seem to derive from the likes of Meshuggah, Neurosis, Gojira, etc… What other artists and sources of influence have had a profound effect on your music that might not be as evident?

“These great bands surely have their influence on our music but there is also more and more of everyday’s feelings when it comes to write songs, I mean we work more with trying to express a mood or an atmosphere than trying to play a precise type of riffs or things like that…But just to speak about musical influences we could mention Metallica for their song writing quality, Breach, Converge and Tom Waits are musicians that speak directly to our heart I think.”

“Hydra Lernaia” is Eryn Non Dae’s debut full-length work and follows their acclaimed EP called “Never Ending Whirl of Confusion” released in 2005, which caught the attention of a Metal Blade Records’ employer and eventually led to a record deal with the home of well known artists like Amon Amarth, Cannibal Corpse, Mercyful Fate and so on. I understand that your deal with Metal Blade has the approval of head combo Brian Slagel, is that something that gave you extra confidence?

“It’s a hard question. I mean, of course it’s a kind of honor to think that someone like Brian Slagel put some interest in Eryn Non Dae, but this kind of consideration doesn’t last very long for me, it’s quite personal but pretty soon you began to think wow!! We have to make our best to keep their confidence and that’s something very weird for me; hard to explain, there’s a part of 'wow our music is worthy of interest” and a part of “we are just a minimal number of CD sales before they say goodbye'…”

Do you feel that now with a strong label like Metal Blade Records behind Eryn Non Dae, there are more doors to be opened for you guys?

“Yes and no, since “Hydra Lernaïa” is out we gave a lot of interviews, we have good reviews and some attention it’s evident, but at the same time we will be able to stand out from other bands by keep working very hard as we done during the EP time. Of course we hope it will help, but things seem pretty different now with billions bands and the dying music industry, everything is hard for a new coming band, but until now we’re very happy about Metal Blade’s job for us.”

Eryn Non Dae were previously known as END, but following the signature of the deal with Metal Blade they opted to change their name and adopted some worlds that could play some significance with their previous moniker, hence the new name Eryn Non Dae. So how did you come up with the name Eryn Non Dae, is there any particular meaning in the name or is just an intriguing set of words?

“Both yes and no! When we‘ve been asked to change the band name we were quite sad, but the reason was easily understandable. We were very attached to END, so we decided to keep the letters trying to find something with that, but quickly we realized that finding something satisfying with such restrictions was pretty hard. We had about five days to find a new one since everything was ready to go to the factory, so we decided to focus on finding nice words to set a kind of mysterious mood more than finding something with a deep sense which we do with everything else!! Ha, ha!
But the funny thing is that just after deciding for Eryn Non Dae, one of our friends who were helping us told us that these words could have a meaning in an elfic language, something like “low sound from the woods” or something like that, pretty black metal isn’t it? As if these words were waiting somewhere around us…”

Was the name change something that the recorded label demanded to avoid confusions with other bands that had the word in their name like for instance The End, or it was a decision from the band?

“No you’re right it’s something asked by Metal Blade US to be more precise, Metal Blade Europe didn’t seemed worried about that kind of thing, but Metal Blade US just said that it was almost impossible to pull out the records with only END in front of it without having some legal problems with other bands, but I understand the differences between the European and the American office, so change our band name was the best thing to do, but quite a hard time as I said above.”

What’s next Eryn Non Dae? Will there be some kind of tour in support of the album?

“We’re actually looking for gigs, we really want to play everywhere we can, the live thing is really important for Eryn Non Dae. A few gigs are coming and I hope for more and more. We have also a few songs ready for the next records!!”

More info at: www.erynnondae.com

A band like Amberian Dawn could only come from the cold and sunless Finland. I mean, the Finns seem to have a soft spot for symphonic power metal, exuberant, pompous and with neoclassical tendencies. Truth be told, the Dutch are also spawning a great deal of groups treading on such overbeaten musical trail lately, yet the biggest and most successful purveyors of the style originate from Finland and are called Nightwish. And there’s a considerable flow of bands coming out of those shores trying to follow in the footsteps of Nightwish into worldwide adulation like this sextet called Amberian Dawn. ‘The Clouds of Northland Thunder’ the band’s second full-length work reveals a flagrant paucity of fresh and individual ideas as sole composer, keyboardist and guitarist Tuomas Seppälä is clearly enamoured with all things Nightwish fronted by Tarja Turunen. Like their compatriots, Amberian Dawn plays epic and symphonic metal with female operatic vocals, laced with lush orchestrations and classical references. Throughout twelve songs, the Finns don’t break out from the winning characteristics that led Nightwish into stardom. It’s all here; soprano singing provided by the classical trained Heidi Parviainen, sporadic duets with male vocalizations, Helloween-type power-metal riffing and Yngwie Malmsteen’s guitar-leads virtuosity, pompous and bombastic keyboard melodies.
Sure, the song writing is sufficiently solid and Amberian Dawn seem to be highly proficient musicians, yet their music is completely unchallenging, and perhaps only provoke some enthusiastic reactions on Nightwish’s fans still mourning the departure of Tarja Turunen from the band. (4.5/10)

Band info: www.amberiandawn.com
Label info: www.ascendancerecords.com

It’s incredible to witness how far Callisto had progressed since their humble post-hardcore beginnings leaning heavily towards the Swedes Cult of Luna as nowadays the Finns sound completely unrecognisable when compared to those early steps in their career. It is as if we’re dealing with two distinct musical collectives. Indeed, the band has evolved considerably on every album since their debut ‘True Nature Unfolds’, embracing new influences from diverse musical sources, and becoming more unpredictable and individual along the way. With the new album ‘Providence’ the story is no different.
The greatest difference between the new record and the previous one ‘Noir’ lies in the vocal department. Whereas in ‘Noir’ the vocalizations were sporadic with guitarist Markus Myllykangas grunting occasionally, in ‘Providence’ with the inclusion of new vocalist Jani Ala-Hukkala, the vocals play a predominant role. The crystalline, deep and baritone voice of Hukkala (imagine Layne Staley crossed with Jeff Buckley) confers a larger accessibility to the new compositions as there are songs here that could get airplay on a generalist radio station, tough they cannot be seen as more commercial. The sound of the Finns is still demanding and impenetrable at first for most listeners, it takes time and patience to fully soak up their melodramatic melodies and dark overtones, but once it does it’s extremely gratifying. Eschewing conventional song structures, Callisto indulge in slower, despondent ambiences that sound almost cinematic at times, intermittently interwoven with slabs of anguished heaviness. This quiet/loud dynamic isn’t something we haven’t before in multiple of Neurosis/Isis devotees, but in Callisto’s case it works remarkably well and on many levels as the use of various instruments like saxophone, cello and mellotrons never fails to add substance and diverse nuances to the songs.
‘In Session’, the album opener, is a lugubrious tune that slowly morphs into a maelstrom of grievous emotions, cranking out denser riffs and throwing in sporadic grunts. Both ‘Dead Weight’ and ‘Drying Mouths (In a Gasping Land)’ follow in a similar style with Isis-type progressions and are clearly the two harshest songs of ‘Providence’. Elsewhere, the slumbering and dark ‘New Canaan’ is an awkward tune. It consists of saxophone, clean guitar and jazz percussion, and transports us to a scene in those noir and crime melodramas with a surreal and dreamlike ambience.
Don’t let your judgment be guided by the adverse criticism floating around against the band’s most recent phoenix-like recreation and listen to the album without preconceptions. Maybe you’ll see ‘Providence’ for what it is, an intelligent, elegiac and emotionally-touching record. (8/10)

Band info: www.callistochaos.com
Label info: www.fullsteamrecords.com

With Autumn comes those rainy and bone-chilling nights, excellent conditions to experience the music we cherish the most in the comfort of our cosy little homes. And there are a handful of new releases coming in the next few weeks that are perfect for those languid hours at home doing nothing, Baroness for instance have crafted a splendid record that will surely rank among this year’s top 10 releases. Katatonia’s follow-up to ‘The Cold Great Distance’ is also one of the most anticipated releases for this year and shall not forget that Swallow The Sun, Shrinebuilder (yep! The super group featuring Scott Kelly from Neurosis, Dale Crover from Melvins, Scott "Wino" Weinrich from… well as if you don’t who he is, and Al Cisneros from Om), Pelican, Converge and Russian Circles between many others will all issue new albums in following weeks, all of which we will try to review in these pages. We’ll also be working on new interviews with some of the most fascinating artists we’ve heard lately, and on that chapter I can already confirm that a conversation with France’s Eryn Non Dae is about to be uploaded on the following days.
On a side note, it’s extremely gratifying to witness that Scratch the Surface is getting more and regular visits from all over the world (yep! We’ve a program that tell us that, how voyeuristic right!). Since January we’ve had nearly 24.000 unique visitors, and although in the immeasurable world of the internet-nation that’s a pretty small number, it’s an important feat for us. I’ve to admit that some of these visitors came after illegal downloads, which won’t be found anywhere in these pages, so sorry to disappoint them! Anyway, whether you seek contents to download, stumbled here by accident, or preferably added us to the favourites I hope you enjoy what we’re doing and make sure to let us know what you think about Scratch the Surface. Comment our posts, send us mails, encourage us or depreciate our efforts! Tune in…

Finally! Ever since Brutal Truth have announced their plans to get back together to participate in a benefit compilation to support EyeHateGod, one of the many victims of the devastating hurricane Katrina, that fans are foaming at the mouth for new material from this genuine grind-institution.
“Evolution Through Revolution” succeeds the seminal “Sounds of the Animal Kingdom” and demonstrates that Brutal Truth remains as vital and creative today as when they had prematurely broken-up in 1998. And as ever with a stiff refusal to compromise or bound to trends. I mean, once “Evolution Through Revolution” gets started, there is no relenting, no release and no mercy as this 20-track long-player is a brutal, lethal and visceral grind-assault that offers everything you’d hope for and expect from the band. There’s plenty here to please the most demanding fanatic of grindcore, just plug your ears to tracks like “Sugardaddy”, “Daydreamer”, “Afterworld” and “Lifer”. The drumming of Rich Hoak is vertiginous fast, Danny Lilker’s bass lines are muscular and groovy, the voice of Kevin Sharp is caustic and freaky, and new guitarist Erik Burke formerly of Lethargy delivers razor sharp, dissonant and heavy riffs at break-neck speed. There’re however, slight and highly appreciated detours from the overall chaos dominating “Evolution Through Revolution” like “Therapist… Spare The World” and “Detached”. While on the first track, guitars chug up and down with a straightforward and old-school hardcore vibe, the second theme sees Brutal Truth slowing down the tempo to burst out some sludgy and dirty death-metal riffs that brings to memory the mid-period of Entombed. “Semi-Automatic Carnation” is also a song that deviates from the norm, with the band experimenting with noisy and dissonant atmospheres and jazzy drum beats in a style not too far removed from Naked City.
All these extremely exciting factors combined make of “Evolution Through Revolution” an excellent return. (8/10)

Band info: www.brutaltruth.com
Label info: www.relapse.com
Distributed in Portugal by www.majorlabelindustries.com

I’ve heard a lot of hype about this band before, though I never actually felt compelled to seek out their lauded debut album “Alpha Chapter”, so I really can’t tell what I’m missing. Anyway, the opportunity to testify all the reasons behind such amount of buzz surrounding Dawnrider have presented itself with “Two”, which just like its name suggest it’s their second full-length work. I don’t know if my expectations were a little too high or something due to the all adulation I’ve read and heard about this Portuguese act, but I didn’t quite connected with it mentally or emotionally. Not because “Two” disappoints altogether, but it does seem to lack some really standout moments to trigger enthusiastic reactions on the listeners, well me. Sometimes Dawnrider are capable of delivering great strokes of doom-tinged metal, while other times their songs get terrifically annoying and substandard. One of these standout moments is opener “Scared of Light”, a loud, groovy, gritty and slightly psychedelic stoner-doom-rock piece bending towards Sea of Green and Monster Magnet. The riffs are massive and downright infectious, and although the voice of F.J. Dias needs some time to get used as it seems to be enwrapped in reverb-effects, it gives a nice psychedelic touch to song.
The rest of the album unfortunately never rises up to that standout opening note, both “Evil Deeds” and “The Hallow Path” sound fairly competent doom-metal tunes in the vein of Saint Vitus/Sabbath, but elsewhere there isn’t much to keep me enthralled. “Irinia” for instance perpetuates for eternity, 12-plus minutes to be precise, with a tiresome slow-motion riff that could well be a cure for insomnias. “Redemption” is an odd song, it has a punk and straightforward vibe that doesn’t really fit with the rest of the songs (it should be noted that several members of Dawnrider come from a punk background).
Definitely not the greatness I was excepting to hear. (5/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/dawnriderdoom
Label info: www.myspace.com/ragingplanetrecordsportugal