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Emmerhoff & the Melancholy Babies Val Emmich Empyrium |
Enchant Enslaved Equimanthorn |
Equus Erdmöbel Ère G |
Etcetera Euroboys |
Gert Emmens (Netherlands) see: |
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Gert Emmens & Ruud Heij (Netherlands) see: |
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Electric Reverie (2005, 49.56) **½ |
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| Meltdown Sticks & Stones Afterglow Black Mark Cowboys Into the Black, Towards the Within New Silence Juggernaut |
Major/Minor In Reverie |
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Emmerhoff & the Melancholy Babies are a Norwegian indie/psych outfit, whose second (?) album, 2005's Electric Reverie, is one of those infuriating releases that could be really good, but isn't. It certainly has its moments - Into The Black, Towards The Within takes the prize for 'most psych track on the album', complete with Leslied vocals - but too much of it wallows around in the indie shallows, not to mention that it's probably ten minutes too long for its own good.
Jørgen Træen plays 'Mellotron', with squeaky string lines on opener Meltdown and Major/Minor and regular strings on Into The Black, Towards The Within, although I find it highly unlikely, from the sound of it, that they actually sourced a real machine. So; an album with definite moments, but too few of them to make it particularly worth your while.
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Slow Down Kid (2003, 35.40) *½ |
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| Medical Display Bury Me Privacy Attracts a Crowd The Boy Who Cried Wolf Separate Things Shock The Patient Patient A Voice |
Unstable Slow Down Kid |
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Val Emmich (a geezer, in case you were wondering) is a modern indie singer-songwriterly type with a vaguely punky edge, displayed on a couple of tracks on his first full-length album, Slow Down Kid. Confusingly, the album first appeared in 2002 on Childlike records with a different sleeve and tracklisting, being reissued the following year on Red Ink (an Epic subsidiary), the version reviewed here. Now, far be it from me to lay into something with a twenty-pound sledgehammer (what, me?), but this is truly awful, from the unimaginative, sub-sub-Velvets rhythm guitar work to Emmich's largely wispy vocals, doubtless relaying messages of great portent, or possibly merely whining on about his shit life. Actually, mate, you've just made mine slightly worse, too, as I've now spent a thankfully relatively brief thirty-five minutes listening to your dreadful record.
Emmich and Wayne Dorell allegedly play Mellotron, but the faint background strings on Medical Display and vague stringy things heard briefly elsewhere sound little like a genuine M400 (or, indeed, any other model). I'm not even sure this should go into samples, but given that it's credited, I'll grudgingly make an exception. Incidentally, not only has some of Emmich's music been used in TV shows, but he's even acted in some. You have been warned.
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Weiland (2002, 50.45) ***½ |
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| Kein Hirtenfeuer Glimmt Mehr Heimwärts Nebel Fortgang A Capella Nachhall Waldpoesie Die Schwäne im Schilf |
Am Wasserfall Fossegrim Der Nix Das Blau-Kristallne Kämmerlein |
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Empyrium were the duo of Markus "Ulf T. Schwadorf" Stock and Andreas Bach, one of those European death metal offshoot bands of the kind that discover their inner dark, Germanic symphonic folk side (see: their offshoot Noekk). 2002's Weiland (presumably not a tribute to the 'legendary' Scott?) was their last album and second non-metal release, which, despite its on-off overly-gloomy approach, is actually a very listenable record, highlights including opener Kein Hirtenfeuer Glimmt Mehr, classical guitar duet Nebel, the lengthy Waldpoesie and Fossegrim, although the gothic male vocals (not to mention the very occasional metal grunting) on a few tracks doesn't work so well.
Sample use is obvious from the off, the album opening with (realistic) 'Mellotron' flutes on Kein Hirtenfeuer Glimmt Mehr and a string part that drops well below its operating limits, with more strings on Heimwärts, although the rest of the album's string parts appear to be either synth or real. Overall, then, an album that probably takes itself a little too seriously for its own good, but if you don't mind a little pompousness and a dark prog/folk crossover sounds like it might appeal, you could do a lot worse.
See: Noekk
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Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 (2000, 64.24) **½ |
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| Paint the Picture Rough Draft What to Say Bite My Tongue Colors Fade Juggling Knives Black Eyes & Broken Glass Elyse |
Shell of a Man Broken Wave Traces Know That |
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Tug Of War (2003, 65.42/72.10) **½ |
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| Sinking Sand Tug of War Holding the Wind Beautiful Queen of the Informed Living in a Movie Long Way Down See No Evil |
Progtology Comatose [Some versions add: Below Zero (live)] |
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Enchant's debut album, 1995's A Blueprint of the World (***½) is actually rather good, being progressive metal without sounding too much like Dream Theater, although displaying a noticeable Rush influence. Sadly, it seems that their own sound has slowly been subsumed over the years into 'prog-metal by numbers', at least going by 2000's Juggling 9 or Dropping 10, which displays few signs of a band attempting to progress in any manner whatsoever. No, it's not all bad, but it's extremely derivative (the first notes of opener Paint The Picture are copped almost directly from Rush's Xanadu, of all things), overlong and, I'm afraid to say, rather dull, with the tracks merging into one long widdle-fest, with guitarist Doug Ott showing off a few too many times. 40 minutes of this might be just about acceptable; over an hour approaches torture. Oddly, the rather surprising Mellotron isn't played by keys man Mike Geimer, but by Ott and drummer Paul Craddick, with background strings on Bite My Tongue and something credited but entirely inaudible on Broken Wave. 'Strings' are credited on three tracks, too, but sound like real ones.
Two albums and three years later, Tug of War is, basically, more of the same, only fewer tracks spread over slightly more time, which is not a good thing. Far too many of Enchant's songs really don't have enough ideas to sustain their lengths, to be honest, although this album's best bits are generally better than Juggling 9's. I've also just realised: vocalist Ted Leonard's voice really grates after prolonged exposure - he sounds like he'd be just as happy in an AOR band; also not a good thing. New keyboard player Bill Jenkins doesn't get to play the 'Tron any more than his predecessor, with Doug Ott having another go on the naffly-titled Progtology on what are quite clearly rather poor 'Tron choir samples. 'Mellotron' indeed... As a result, I think it's more than likely that it's samples on Juggling 9, too, so that's where these are going.
So; two rather lacklustre albums, I'm afraid, although if you're into that prog metal thing, you may find them very listenable - certainly more so than Vanden Plas and their ilk. Dodgy 'Tron samples, too. Avoid.
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Monumension (2001, 59.40) ***½ |
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| Convoys to Nothingness The Voices Vision: Sphere of the Elements - A Monument Part II Hollow Inside The Cromlech Gate Enemy I |
Smirr Sleep: Floating Diversity - A Monument Part III Outro: Self Zero Sigmundskvadet |
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Below the Lights (2003, 46.21) ***½As Fire Swept Clean the EarthThe Dead Stare The Crossing Queen of Night Havenless Ridicule Swarm A Darker Place |
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Isa (2004, 51.07) *** |
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| Intro: "Green Reflection" Lunar Force Isa Ascension Bounded By Allegiance Biolet Dawning Return to Yggdrasill Secrets of the Flesh |
Reogenesis Outro: "Communion" (excerpt) |
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Ruun (2006, 46.01) ***EntroperPath to Vanir Fusion of Sense and Earth Ruun Tides of Chaos Essence Api-Vat Heir to the Cosmic Seed |
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Enslaved seem to be yet another Scandinavian metal band who have discovered that it's more interesting to be interesting, keeping a foot in both the extreme and progressive metal camps, as have Opeth and Spiritual Beggars, amongst others. The end result of this cross-fertilisation is a slightly uneasy compromise between silly 'cookie monster' vocals (no, you don't sound 'scary') and other black metal clichés and complex, progressive riffery with refreshingly unusual song structures, although they're probably too heavy to appeal to your 'trad' prog fan.
I believe Monumension is their sixth album, the band having been active through most of the '90s and the first to take this more progressive approach. There are no straightforward thrashers here, although they do slip into cliché territory every now and again. Most interesting track? Has to be closer Sigmundskvadet, which can only be described as, er, a Nordic tone poem with chanted vocals, 'tribal' drumming and octave guitar? Completely unique, anyway. Guest Dennis Reksten is credited with 'MiniMoog, vocoder, synths/effects', while the 'Mellotron' is apparently sampled, with flutes on Convoys To Nothingness and strings on The Voices, Hollow Inside and Smirr, although none of it sounds that convincing, to be honest.
2003's Below the Lights carries on in a similar vein, unfortunately still featuring those rather silly vocals, although every bit as good musically. Opener As Fire Swept Clean The Earth actually opens with a 'Mellotron' string part; heard solo like this, they're quite clearly samples, as can also be heard on Ridicule Swarm, sorting out the 'real/sample' debate for once and for all. The following year's Isa (would YOU name an album after a form of UK tax-free saving?), sadly, sounds like the band's 'fresh' approach is growing stale, with a plethora of pointless riffs blasting away like they were going out of fashion, but ultimately going nowhere fast. The only obvious 'Tron samples are the strings on Lunar Force, with most of the other string parts sounding like generic samples, all of which adds up to: if you're going to buy an Enslaved album, don't make it this one.
Unfortunately, 2006's Ruun strikes me as more like its immediate predecessor than the band's earlier work, although some of the intro riffs work well before the songs themselves kick in. Best track? Probably mid-paced, mostly instrumental closer Heir To The Cosmic Seed, featuring reasonably sensible vocals. The album actually opens with a samplotron string part, with more of the same on a couple of other tracks, notably Fusion Of Sense And Earth, plus vague, not-very-Mellotronic choirs in places. So; Monumension is about the best of the above bunch and is likely to appeal to the more adventurous prog and/or metal fan, who can deal with Enslaved's 'black' past. The Mellotron samples, however, are far from the most important thing about this album, so I really wouldn't bother on their account.
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Second Sephira Cella (2004, 69.26) *** |
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| Entrance to the Ancient Flame To Enter the Tower of Shadows Rule of Utukagaba Refulgent Splendour Sephira Tephirot Miss Over Masshu Sixth Throne of Asaru Fashioning the Winds of 7 |
He Who Makes the Name of Masshu Abundant Where the Watchers Mourn Nindinugga Nimshimshargal Enlillara Reflection of the Last Rays of the Moon |
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Seemingly named for a Bathory 'song', Equimanthorn roots lie in the world of extreme metal, although what they do has progressed so far down that path that it's evolved out of the metal genre entirely. Their third album, Second Sephira Cella, is an intensely gothic work, without actually being 'goth', heavily influenced by Dead Can Dance, not least in the use of what sounds like a hammer dulcimer. More electronic than metal, singing isn't an issue here, all vocals being either chanted or intoned, while the instrumentation tends to be either modern synths or devices with their roots in the Middle East. Are you getting the picture? It's a shame the band seem determined to go for the 'Norwegian church burner' look, as it's bound to put potential non-metallic audience members off; at least they've dropped the corpsepaint... incidentally, every track title features a (sometimes lengthy) subtitle in parentheses, dropped here for the sake of brevity and common sense.
"Emperor Proscriptor Magikus" allegedly plays Mellotron and VCS3 (misspelt 'VC3' on the sleeve), amongst other devices, but what little 'Mellotron' appears on the album sounds somewhat sampled to my ears, with naught but a few string chords near the end of Refulgent Splendour (7 Conquerors And Their Multitude Part II). So; definitely interesting, certainly compared to the landfill's-worth of mainstream crud I seem to get through every few days, although also definitely not for everyone. Next to no 'Mellotron', either way.
See: Absu | Proscriptor
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Eutheria (2008, 67.49) ***HyracotheriumOrrorin Tugensis Epona |
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Equus are a Swiss post-rock/prog/metal crossover outfit, if that makes any sense, whose debut, 2008's Eutheria (a genus of mammal, apparently) is essentially one long track, split into three to make it look less scary to the uninitiated, I suspect. It has moments of great beauty, particularly in the proggier parts (I preferred closer Epona to the rest of the album), but the downside is its sheer length; concentrating on something this ethereal for this long is actually fatiguing. I would imagine it's meant more as mood music, in a manner of speaking; allow it to drift over you and it's an excellent listen.
David Mamie is credited with Mellotron, but I don't think I'd be wrong in labelling it sampled; most of its use is on thirty minute opener Hyracotherium, with a major string part six minutes in, a flute melody around ten minutes and some muted choir towards the end, with more strings near the beginning of Epona. So; one for prog fans looking for something more ambient or metalheads looking for something a lot more ambient. Borderline boring in places, but seems to do what it sets out to do.
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Für die Nicht Wissen Wie (2005, 39.54) **½ |
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| Für die Nicht Wissen Wie Au Pair Girl Lied Über Gar Nichts Farbe, der Man Schwer Einen Namen Geben Konnte Ich Wollte, die Welt Ginge Immer Bergab Russischbrot Nah Bei Dir Eidechse |
Am Arsch, Welt, Kannst du Mich Kaputtschlagen Was Ich an Deinem Nachthemd Schätze Für die Nicht Wissen Wie (2) Nichts Zu Verlieren |
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I can't tell you an awful lot about Erdmöbel, as they're one of those continental Europe outfits who only really appeal to their home audience, so English-language info is hard to come by. I can tell you that they've been around since at least the mid-'90s, though and that 2005's Für die Nicht Wissen Wie seems to be a lounge tribute of some kind, including Bacharach & David's Close To You and Nothing To Lose by Henry Mancini, in German, which is a little weird. I can't say this especially appeals, to be honest; much of the band's own material is irredeemably cheesy, although I'd imagine that's the point, Farbe, Der Man Schwer Einen Namen Geben Konnte being a particularly bad example. Want to hear autotuned German? Thought not.
Now, what exactly is credited here? Some sources have (Wolfgang) Proppe and Ekki "Ekimas" Maas playing Mellotron and some Mellophone. Huh? What we actually get is what sounds like sampled Mellotron strings on Was Ich An Deinem Nachthemd Schätze and flutes on Für Die Nicht Wissen Wie (2) and Nichts Zu Verlieren, all clustered together at the end of the album, for what it's worth. I can't honestly recommend this to any but Bacharach fans who have a strange yen to hear their deity's works sung in another language. Next...
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Au-Delà des Ombres (2002, 46.10) ****La Course aux PapillonsLa Traversée La Rose de Stalingrad Infantes Mille Couleurs Au-Delà des Ombres Ardeur Ternie |
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Ère G are the brainchild of Robin Gaudreault, who plays just about everything, drums excepted, on his debut album, Au-Delà des Ombres. By and large, he's influenced by '70s progressive outfits from his region (Harmonium, Morse Code et al.), although bits of neo-prog leak through occasionally and disconcertingly. Overall, though, the album's excellent, with inventive song structures and unexpected melodic interjections; what more could you ask for?
I was actually fooled by the 'Tron samples (no!), until I read that he uses the M-Tron plug-in; very good at what it does, and holds up well without being buried in the mix, but there are plenty of working 'Trons in Québec... Anyway, recommended, but can we have some real 'Tron next time round, M.Gaudreault?
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Fin de Siecle (1999, 52.55) ***½Charles' Unhealthy PicturesInfinite Chords Gongtric Vuggevise Anagrams Anagrams Pentagrams Absolute Dance Party III Fin de Siecle |
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Tales of Ardour & Deceit (2003, 59.38) **** |
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| The Song of Marsh Stig Premonition Deceit Despair Outlaw Songs Kentish Suite The Lady of Castela Inês de Castro Dom Pedro |
Lament The Ghost of Yang pt.I Ardour Nepotism War and Escape The Exit The Ghost of Yang pt.II |
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Etcetera (not to be confused with '70s Québecois Et Cetera), released two demo albums in 1998, following up with their first 'proper' release the year after, Fin de Siecle (properly fin de siècle: 'end of the century'). It's an eclectic effort, veering between choppy opener (and amusingly-titled) Charles' Unhealthy Pictures, the (fake?) Clavinet-driven Gongtric, which starts off as a dead ringer for Gentle Giant before shifting into (guess what?) a Gonglike jamming section, the dancey, synth-and-drum-machine Absolute Dance Party III and the album's best track, the Yes-ish Fin De Siecle itself. Guitarist/keyboard player Frank Carvalho (the band are only a trio) adds a vaguely Mellotronic string part to Infinite Chords, although the only major samplotron part is the skronky strings on the title track, so not exactly a major player on that front.
Their second album, Tales of Ardour & Deceit, is a damn' good slice of post-millennial prog, mostly influenced by the '70s 'greats'; Songs has a distinct Gentle Giant feel to it and the overall vibe is of a classy first-wave outfit with the odd modern bit thrown in to keep you on your toes. Much of the material's instrumental, although the vocal stuff's fine, too, while the instrumental work is excellent throughout. The band boast that they're 'the only active progressive rock unit in Denmark, as far as they know', to which I can say; almost the only full-on symphonic outfit I've ever heard from that country, although I don't know what Zaragon sound like. Carvalho gets a fair bit of Mellotron samples (although he owns an M400) down here, mostly strings, with particularly fine work on Lament and The Exit, but there's a brief flute part in Kentish Suite and some coruscating choirs on The Ghost Of Yang Pt.I, too.
Frank promised that he'd going to use his real M400 next time round, but I believe the band split the year after the release of Tales..., putting the kibosh on that one. Anyway, Tales... is the better of these albums, although both have their moments.
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Long Day's Flight 'Till Tomorrow (1999, 74.15) *** |
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| Deliverance Filadelfia Down the Road of Golden Dust Transatlantic Phonecal Gallery Oslo Sex Kabin Invisible Horse Electric Dandruff |
Rock & Roll Farmacia In Farfizium 99° Degree Black Fez Ambulance Cruiser Gibraltar |
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As I've already stated in my regular reviews, Norway's Kåre & the Cavemen formed around 1990, becoming the Euroboys in the late '90s for the international audience (good call: I can't imagine what most non-Scandinavians would make of the 'å'). 1999's Long Day's Flight 'Till Tomorrow is their third album and the last to be released under their original name for the Norwegian market, an overlong, '60s-inspired effort that succeeds despite its outrageous length. More notable tracks include eight-minute opener Deliverance, with its dreamy late '60s feel, Invisible Horse, featuring a full-on Doors-style organ solo, the borderline proggy (and superbly titled) Electric Dandruff and the ripping Ambulance Cruiser. I forgot to mention: the album's mostly instrumental, a rare vocal on 99° Degree (guys, that '°' symbol replaces the word 'degree') proving the point that they should leave the singing to someone else.
Kåre Joáo Pedersen and Knut Schreiner are pleasantly honestly credited with Mellotron samples, although the only possible use I can spot is some faint strings on closer Gibraltar. And it took two of you to do this? Were it relevant, this would barely rate a half T, although the album itself is actually surprisingly good, certainly better than 2004's (supposed) Mellotron-containing Soft Focus.
See: Euroboys
