|
| |
|
|
|
Review Summary: Transcend the abyss… In 1902, when Albert Einstein started working at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern, a senior colleague came to him and said “This office has no real use, as there is nothing new to be discovered or invented”. In disciplines such as science or art, a somewhat misplaced consensus tends to prevail from time to time; all the important discoveries have already been made, and there is little (or no) room for new breakthroughs. In reality, their frequency is dependent on the amount of people that stand on the shoulders of giants and strive for greatness, through determination and hard work. With respect to death metal anno 2013, Switzerland’s Bölzer are an apt example of a band extending the genre's boundaries.
A simple quote of the inherent excellence surrounding the majority of Swiss metal outfits, regardless of genre, may seem adequate for introducing the band’s work, but this three-song EP really deserves a more elaborate description. With respect to the sound production, Bölzer have granted their material an analogue, thick and warm sound. The duration of the EP approaches that of a short full-length album (23+ minutes), while the length of each song does not fall under the 5 minute mark. To that end, the outfit unfolds an adventurous extreme metal hybrid, and prompts the potential listeners to give in to its primordial groove. Filtered through a veil of demented/majestic psychedelia, early ‘90s, muddy blast-beat death/black metal succeeds and it’s succeeded by abysmal doom metal passages. The majestic element is there due to the airy, transcendental "rhythm guitar" leads which sound as if they were played by a distorted synthesizer or a Hammond. Dementia, on the other hand, comes in the form of epic/pagan vocal invocations (Alan from Primordial may come to mind) that complement the excellent deep guttural ones.
In recent interviews, Bölzer stated that a complete concept for a full-length album is as yet on the works and EPs are, for the time being, the perfect packaging format for their music. In a time where most metal outfits release 12-song albums almost every two years, these words are a relief for those tired of listening to albums half-full with filler songs. In that light, Aura will keep death metal fans satisfied for all the right reasons.
|
Album Rating: 4.0
EP stream: http://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/b-lzer-aura
Constructive criticism is most welcome.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
You don't know how refreshing it is to see this album in the staff reviews section :D
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
it's interesting, definitely not my favorite thing this year but I def like it. just saying it's nice having a staff member who reviews relatively unheard-of metal
| | |
Sweet review, have a mind-pos. A few awkward phrasings though, namely:
a somewhat misplaced consensus tends to revel from time to time
revel?
and there is little (or none) room
as each song does not fall under the 5 minute mark
At times it feels like your English is impeccable but at times it feels as though you're translating from other languages. I don't know if you actually are but those few sentences could use a look-see
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
swee
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Thanks for the pointers Brostep, I edited everything you said, hope it's fine now.
When I am mentally tired - and I'm mentally tired these days due to other writing projects - I tend to make more phrasal mistakes than usual. I always recover though haha.
| | |
This is definitely one of my favorite reviews I've seen from you, man. You do a wonderful job here of bringing in additional topics to help make your point clearer. Would you like for me to take a closer look to this review in the next couple days?
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
By all means be my guest man, as I say in my introductory post, any constructive suggestion is most welcome.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
This one needed a review badly. Good to see you reviewing this Voi.
| | |
I think this is an exceptional review, very well done. I gotta give this a spin.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Thanks guys.
And I have to spin the recently released Obliteration album some time soon.
The initial version of the review needed some proofreading, I kinda rushed into posting my text.
As for the EP, it's one of the best things I've listened to this year.
Some trivia: The guitarist was born in Switzerland but he lived in New Zealand for quite some time. According to his words, he was influenced by the NZ extreme metal scene, which is quite prolific as of yet.
Also, Bölzer will release a new EP, entitled Soma in early 2014.
| | |
nice job voivod
been digging black metal hard lately will check
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
review and recommended albums have peaked my interest, well done sir. can't wait to hear this.
| | |
Summary really makes me want to listen
| | |
good review. this is a pretty ballsy album. really wish i could find the roman acupuncture tape at a decent price, but it's not looking good.
been digging black metal hard lately will check
this is more death metal really
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Like usual, your reviews are wonderful to read. Put this on my list!
| | |
O_O
| | |
Especially good first paragraph, as I pointed out earlier. I love the connection to Einstein, and feel the anecdote sheds some light on an album like this. The only advice I can leave on the paragraph is that this phrase could be deleted without an ounce of importance lost:
If only that man knew...
Switzerland’s Bölzer are a characteristic example of a band extending the genre's boundaries.
"Characteristic" feels wrongly used here. Maybe you could say "classic" or "apt."
Now, in regard to the following sentence, I have a question:
A simple quote of the inherent excellence surrounding the majority of Swiss metal outfits, regardless of genre, may seem adequate for introducing the band’s work, but this three-song EP really deserves a more elaborate description.
What purpose does this sentence serve if it's only mentioning a talking point that you don't feel is essential to the review? I think this review would fare better if you worked off the message of the next sentence instead.
the temporal length of each song does not fall under the 5 minute mark
"Temporal" is unnecessary in this sentence, since the word refers to the idea of time already.
the outfit unfolds an adventurous extreme metal hybrid, which prompts the potential listeners to resonate at its primordial groove.
The tail end of this sentence has wording that is a little confusing. Specially, "resonate"-- I would choose a simpler word to make the point you're trying to make.
Instead of a epilogue;
I would also delete this. I can appreciate the humor within it, but to be honest with you, your final paragraph is strong enough to survive without it-- and since the phrase disrupts the flow of your review a bit, its exclusion is no great loss.
Also, I really like your opening and final paragraph because of how they work in
as I said earlier, nice work as a whole! always feel free to let me know if you have any questions about reviewing. still figuring it out myself, but i'm glad to help if I can.
| | |
whoops, forgot to complete one of my thoughts above. i'll finish it here to preserve that beautiful formatting.
Also, I really like your opening and final paragraph because of how they work in information about the band. See, I think reviews with biographical information really bring in something special-- they paint a picture of the artist as someone more than "that dude who made this collection of music." I've always found such writing to be more difficult with metal-- perhaps why I haven't written about the genre in awhile-- but I do think your work with it here is admirable, and makes for a good read.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Thanks for the feedback Jacob, I really appreciate it, I followed most of your suggestions, hope the text reads better now.
| | | |
|
| |
