moving

seems like the time has come to move to a more customisable, better-looking blog. not that i don't like it here, and i'm not going to remove this domain in fact. i'll use it as a sort of back-up space in case something goes wrong with the new one.

oh! before you guys start bewilderedly groping for the cennsor's ravings' new home, i'll give you two tips where to find it.

that should do it.

by the way, i've also moved there all the old articles i put here. comments are still welcome anywhere you prefer.

so move on to my wordpress place now! -- it's a minefield for your mind, but you know you want it.

harsk - promise of a brave new world (2008)

i don't usually do demos. so guess why this one landed here? to everyone's big surprise, yes, because it was worth it.
one positive note about promise of a brave new world (and perhaps the most striking one) is without doubt the singer's voice (rarely this steady at such a young stage of a band), staying quite harsh from beginning to end, thus fitting perfectly the band's hard rock/heavy metal proposal. secondly, and about as important, none of the instruments ever overshadows the others. through that, harsk are able to keep the sound clean and very melodic throughout the whole recording.
the starting couple, "fight the beast" and the title track, are the heavy pair of the lot, soon giving way to a tightening and darkening of the sound. "end of me" has actually a double-faced structure, fading from a ballad-esque approach into faster tempos and a much darker atmosphere. "lazarus" brings in some even dimmer atmosphere, yet strongly supported by melody -- thus staying away from any possible doomy inclination.
a videoclip of "promise of a brave new world" is also featured on the demo. it's obviously nothing mind-blowing, being self-produced, but you can tell the guys have taken it all pretty seriously from the fact a professional hand clearly lies behind it.
harsk ("rancid" in norwegian) couldn't be farther from playing stale. they're good, skillful enough to play with confidence and quite a high degree of personality, but also down-to-earth enough not to let mere technicality prevail. their songwriting is clean, catchy enough to make an impression, and so is the mixing, resulting in an overall fresh and convincing sound.
to kind of close the circle, let me insist that these guys are worth a listen. it's not that often that you come across an exception (especially in the AOR/prog area) to the it-feels-like-i-heard-this-a-thousand-times-before rule. you can find out yourself at the band's official site, as they've made the demo available for download. a rare form of generosity you won't regret taking advantage of.

thus spake the cennsor: 7/10

evergrey - torn (2008)

if i were asked to list last year's most disappointing releases, evergrey's torn would sadly have to be atop. the fact no one will ever ask me that obviously doesn't keep me from presenting you my thoughts about these eleven tracks.
but let's get it immediately straight: this is far better than their previous, let me say, maimed work.
there had been quite some expectation around this album, made grown bigger and bigger by a handful of updates to the band's own blog, namely: nice and actually appealing excerpts from the album to be, as well as some funny bits of the recording. now, the harsh truth is that the final product doesn't live up to the high expectations it had aroused.
one can actually hear some not even needed improvements to the overall sound - thanks to tom edlund's ever-growing mastery of the mixing - but that's quite about it. they had promised there would have been sort of a return to the origins, which was supposed to take us back to the indeed glorious times of recreation day. that has simply not happened.
maybe evergrey are trying to compensate their pretty clear lack of ideas with a push on the aggressive side of their music -- an important, recurring element of their sound that is always welcome anyway. what really harms this album though, is right the lack of ideas. to indulge in the same, indeed powerful riffs may be good for a couple of songs, but a truly good comeback (especially after the blunder they made with monday morning apocalypse) requires something more.
the album is listenable all in all; the thundering drums-driven, never-hasty lines may appeal many a listener, including some of their die-hard fans as well. but for those who are still hoping for something in the region of their mid-career heights, no, this is not the messiah you're waiting for.
atleast the songs have come out of the single-hinting lenght of their closest predecessors, and several steps out of the monday morning apocalypse pit HAVE been taken. let's say we're back on the right track here, yet far from the end of the road. it doesn't have to be a road back to the sound that made them stand out from the prog bands crowd; but it's not a crime to hope so either.
keeping the album afloat are "fail"'s second part, where some nice lines appear to have been built, the pretty decent title track, and a promising "numb". the only totally convincing piece though is "fear", but even here you can't help pointing out it would have all worked better IF -- if the piano notes were made more audible, as far as to this track.
the hurting truth is, there's this constant, creeping lack of originality (same riffs over and over again) underlining the whole album, that gives you the restless hope to find something worthy before the ending notes. which, again, won't happen. however our much talented swedes are still there, and they certainly don't need me to point them the way -- especially while they're still selling well and are not disappointing that half of their fans. i just happen to be on the other half.

thus spake the cennsor: 6/10

alkemyst - through painful lanes (2008)

just one warning before i start (rambling): this album has been a totally out-of-the-blue discovery for me lately, and the huge impression it's made on me is atleast half due to of how much i did NOT expect it to be such a pretty, good gem.
but that's what it honestly turned out to be, after just one listening already. which alone should tell pretty much of how much i liked it. but since that's not the subject matter, let's try and put the good impressions i got into words.
we could start from the labels. not the best starting point possible, and that's exactly the point. now, the french combo is tagged as "power melodic" pretty much anywhere. and as it often happens with such descriptions, that's not far from true. yet of course it needs some explanation.
these guys sure play fast; so the "speed" label is certainly not out of place. the choirs and choruses do pay due to the german power inheritance these guys bring along - which is also made pretty blatant with helloween's "eagle fly free" classic cover at the end of the album.
and the melody, she's to be heard throughout the whole album. which brings us straight to the core of this work's brilliancy: the hard-to-find ability to merge blasting rhytms with an almost neoclassical vein, reminiscent of how symphony x master their own songwriting -- and to have it clear for good, for this is important: the similiraty is to be found in HOW the two acts put different styles together; alkemyst are miles far from being flimsy copycats.
the album's opener, "the beast within", could be seen as a five minute long example of what i'm talking about here. it already contains all the elements i mentioned, that keep re-emerging as the melodies unfold. all in all, we're dealing with an excellent example of the never-enough praised ability of combining catchy rythms and good melodies together. when you can do that, and keep it polished in the mixing process, a shiny outcome is around the corner.
and this is indeed the case. from the epic, powerish grandeur of the short "grand illusion", to the nice ballad "everlasting farewells"; to the prog-prone title track and the semi-ballad "restless show" (the two true stand outs of the album) - you will find yourselves caught in a bombastic maze of greatly conceived and very well played music. if there's one way to marry power music of the proudest tradition (which is to say, that of the good old german school) to the odd, curvy lines typical to prog, these guys alkemyst seem to have found it. and they master it with quite some confidence, too.
i've heard far enough of last year's releases to count this one within the very best. is this still due to the fact i've discovered it only just recently? i don't think so. i think it has more to do with the fact these guys seem to be able to do what symphony x (enough said) do, but their own way. which is to say, much more powerish and lots less baroquesque. but also almost as perfect.

thus spake the cennsor: 8,5/10

unrequested apologies and half a comeback

alright, so it's more than half a year of inactivity. i know two questions are lingering in your minds now, the first being "why such a long break?", and the second "but why would we care anyway?".

as the latter's much more of your own problem, i'll provide you with an answer to the first dilemma. with a slight hint: yes, the first possible reason to come to your mind IS the answer. the magic word being: laziness.

along with a number of other, much less appealing to tell, reasons. but the point is, the cennsor's back, like it (did i say "like"? i meant "care about") or not.

it's actually quite funny i gained a reader DURING this break. now i have someone i cannot disappoint.

or, someone i can finally consciously try and disappoint. we'll see how that goes.

now, there's quite a bunch of albums i've been thinking about writing something on for a while. i guess i'll just pick some of them and actually write a few lines about them.

of course writing this is not quite like coming back with a handful of reviews ready to be uploaded. but what can we do. so stay tuned, if you like, and together we'll find out if i can wipe away some rust off my battered english -- oh and sure, get my lazy ass to "work" back again.

edenbridge - myearthdream (2008)

where symphonic- meets prog metal. here's the easiest way to describe myearthdream. the album (and the band, for that matter) remains steadily symphonic though; the few progressive breaks aren't enough to let the album stray from its deeply symphonic nature. but you can't deny producer karl groom (threshold's mastermind) left his unmistakable mark on the songwriting, thrusting in his unique, trademark guitar sound and spreading it here and there all across the album. he's credited for providing a solo effort on "shadowplay", but you can hear his influence throughout the whole record, especially on the title track and the aggressive, strongly guitar-driven "adamantine".
the album is a good piece of symphonic metal, as i said. the title suite is a testimony to that. as every well-constructed suite, it ranges through different kinds of sound, from the darkish beginning to the melodic vocal passages - sabine's voice is just as beautiful as always. all in all, the only remarkable turn the band took with this record, is a shift towards a more guitar-driven sound, yet without denying the keyboards the very important role they've always played in their music. as a matter of fact, the rhythmics are, say, crunchier than usual - but other than diverting the overall sound from melody to mere rhythm, that rather provides a new, efficient background to the underlining, driving melodicity. you can say the crunchy riffs blend perfeclty with the otherwise clear sound of the album.
to sum it all up, we're dealing with a very good mix of melody and rhythm here. all the songs are very good, and each in its own right is worth several listens. the slow-paced "whale rider", for example, stands out thanks to its delicacy; "undying devotion", "fallen for grace" and "place of higher power" all stay faithful to the typical edenbridge sound - yet undergoing the influcence groom brings in. it is remarkable, again, that even the "old school" songs (in terms of closeness to the "old" band sound) leave room to the novelties; and, the "backbone" these novelties provide never betray the originality of the band's trademarks.
a catchy album - that goes without saying by now. and what may appeal the most, with this new approach to the guitar riffs, the austrian quartet really found even something else new and original that raises them quite above the symphonic metal average.

thus spake the cennsor: 8/10

testament - the formation of damnation (2008)

to put it short: the comeback of the year. to add a few words: far better than anything i've heard so far this year. now, who doesn't know testament? it's simply thrash at its finest. it's of the most influential bands hailing from the bay area, the forefathers and founders of the genre along with the once glorious metallica. but that's rethoric. what matters here, is that this one album kicks ass. i might have something for much awaited releases, just like symphony x' paradise lost last year. same thing here. testament haven't been still and unactive during this hiatus; they've been playing, touring, and, as we can appreciate now, writing new music. whatever made them find their old thrash vein back again, the guys are back. and they're making quite a statement with the formation of damnation. they rock their way through the whole album, shouting in chuck billy's raw voice: we are back to rock your heads off.
nothing really new, no experimental mix of different styles, nothing of the sorts. but do you need that to make a great album? each song stands out of its own, and that alone should speak for the band's creativity. my personal hits are "more than meets the eye" (preceeded by an intro which flows perfectly into it), "the persecuted won't forget", "henchmen ride" and last and foremost, "F.E.A.R.", perhaps the catchiest among the catchy. but it's almost random picking, as the whole album is a constant, sharp, fast-paced cavalcade through energetic riffs and the great solos that skolnick's mastery is expected to bring out.
one great thing about this album, is that it never tires you out. no good album should; this one really doesn't. it's not too long (it slightly fails to reach the 50 minutes mark), nor too short. and once you've listened through, it'll most likely have you press the "repeat all" button - over and over. there are not many albums you never really get bored with; and this is definitely one of them. and unlike many albums, no lowlights are to be found. every song is worth many a listen - not meaning they need many in order to be appreciated, rather you will want to hear them over again.
some said the album is not so technical, not virtuosistic at all - is that a bad thing? yet it's fresh, powerful and catchy, and that's what matters. i think it's no blasphemy to say some of the new songs will soon share the testament's classics' fortune. the stage will be the ultimate test - and no doubt they'll pass it. as of now, let's enjoy this recording. especially if you're in the need for something fast and massive. that's two things testament can quite combine.

thus spake the cennsor: 8,5/10