Edenbridge – ‘Solitaire’, Napalm Records; 2010

As with many female-fronted symphonic metal bands of late, anyone who’s new to Edenbridge or merely never got around to giving them a listen might (or might not) be hesitant to give them a try. And though they are indeed an established band who don’t fall under the heading of “Nightwish/Within Temptation knock-offs”; it may be perhaps be fair to regard their latest album ‘Solitaire‘ as not being the best representation of their work altogether. This may be because overall, the impression one receives is that the record is largely filler material.

An Interview with Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride)

Yes, ladies and germs (and all you fawning goffs out there). I am very grateful to have landed this email interview with the frontman of My Dying Bride; especially since I still like to tell people about how tall he is and so easy to talk to last year at Hellfire Festival.

On with the show!

Lantlôs – ‘.neon’, Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions; 2010

Marking the second release from black metal/post-rock Lantlôs, a side-project currently between Herbst and Alcest mastermind Neige; ‘.neon‘ seems to come across as an attempt to gradually wean themselves away from the harsh intensity of the former genre whilst maintaining that established sense of distance and nostalgic loss.

Nàttsòl – ‘Stemning’, Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions; 2010

Distributing a debut album without any demos or EPs beforehand seems to be a potentially risky decision, but for Norwegian black metal outfit Nàttsòl this doesn’t appear to be too much of a problem. Their first full-length ‘Stemning‘ delivers a precise idea of which strand of the genre they’re after, even if the end result is rather familiar.

Demonic Resurrection – ‘The Return of Darkness’, Candlelight Records; 2010

After having been supported through frontman/guitarist Sahil Makhija’s Demonstealer Records before moving to UK-based Candlelight, Mumbai progressive black/death metallers Demonic Resurrection most certainly come across as one of the most ambitious set of newcomers to the global metal radar. And their third full-length album, released through their new label this year; is a fitting example of the clear enthusiasm for what they do.

Dark Covenant – ‘Dark Covenant’, 2009

Perhaps one of the more elusive genres, doom has plenty more to offer apart from the well-known “gothic” sound, and it shows from the crop of emerging bands who are mining the traditional template for all its wealth. Canadian newcomers Dark Covenant seem to be a good example of this, as taken from the down-tuned grandiose of their self-titled demo release (2009). And interestingly, it looks to be that they also drag in elements from other genres into the mix such as – wait for it – thrash. Yet as paradoxical as that looks on paper, it’s when this is out into practice that slowed-down thrash is not necessarily a poor decision as the band demonstrate throughout the release.

Hello, Google Earth!

Testing, testing…

Alrighty, this is just a brief introduction of Me(n)tal Meltdown; which shall hopefully be my music blog for reviews (songs, albums, gigs), interviews, commentary drawings/cartoons and maybe something more in the mix.

Stay tuned!

– Ann Sulaiman