Hail Spirit Noir.

The Black Progressive combo Hail Spirit Noir are due to release their debut album titled ‘Pneuma’, on March 5th, 2012 following their recent signing to the Aural Music Group sub label code666. The album comes wrapped in the demonic artwork provided by the American visionary painter Jesse Peper (In Solitude).
Founded in Thessaloniki, Greece in 2010 by Haris and Theoharis (also members of the avant-garde/symphonic combo Transcending Bizarre), Hail Spirit Noir entered into Lunatech Studios at in the foothills of the legendary mount Olympus, having already spent a year and a half on composing new material. The two masterminds gathered a team musicians to record their debut album and hunkered down to non-stop recording sessions for some severe experimentation.
Emerging from the studio, with the finished package mixed by Dim Douvras (Rotting Christ) and Mastered by Jens Bogren in Sweden (Opeth, Katatonia, Amon Amarth), ‘Pneuma’ is an amalgam of psychedelic elements, atmospheric horror and modern day black metal.
2 samples of this dark, complex sound are available to stream at the band’s Myspace page

Hail Spirit Noir – Pneuma is due for release March 5th via code666.

Opeth - Heritage.

The latest “observation” by Opeth always brings around an air of excitement for me. Having been witness to their brand of progressive death metal since 2005’s “Ghost Reveries”, I mercilessly scoured their back catalogue to discover one of the most interesting, prolific and batshit crazy bands to ever exist. Never putting themselves in one particular corner, Opeth have dabbled in every genre imaginable since 1994’s “Orchid” album. Death metal, Black Metal, Folk and progressive jazz are in the band’s blood.
Because of this, their loyal fanbase is likely to stick with whatever path front man Mikael Akerfeldt decides to take them. When he released to the press that their newest album would feature no “death growls” the usual response that a band who can be incredibly brutal would suffer would be “sell out”. Not so much for Opeth. And Heritage is definitely not an album that a “sell out” band would create. Opening on a very pretty piano ditty the title track “Heritage” sets up the tone for whatever may come. Lead single “The Devil’s Orchard” has been available for a while now, and the jazz elements present on previous releases come full circle here. Everyone has been going on about the Nietzschien “God is Dead” lyric like Opeth have some type of statement to make, but the song takes you so many different places musically that a message that strong really doesn’t seem relevant.
“I Feel The Dark” similarly takes on a number of twists and turns that make the Nick Drake influenced acoustic riff that runs through it seem quite irrelevant. The keyboards add a feeling of doom, however Akerefeldt’s beautiful voice holds your interest firmly in place for six minutes. Not boring yet. “Slither” is a fantastic song, unlike anything I can recall Opeth doing before. A fantastic, upbeat, progressive but not at all “wacky” track has everything that you could want from a rock song. A fast tempo, hellishly catchy riff, epic solo work and vocal hooks to die for. When it breaks down into folk territory for the last minute, you find yourself wondering what has happened to the last four minutes of your life, in a good way. Not like an alien abduction. “Nepenthe” will obviously draw in your attention because of the obscure name. A slow affair, with gorgeous guitar work that descends into a 1970’s Genesis prog breakdown after two minutes, again will please you if you like that sort of thing. Other highlights are “The Lines In My Hand”, a keyboard heavy song with plenty of gorgeous acoustic moments alongside Akerfeldt’s dual vocal harmonies pick up the pace considerably towards the end. Also the brilliant closing instrumental track “Marrow Of The Earth”, invoking a folk vibe that really requires no words at all. “Folklore” is a great song, invoking the ghost of Led Zeppelin in the happy hippy like vibe, while retaining a sinister feel throughout. When it kicks in proper at the six minute area, you will be glad you started listening to this album in the first place, fucking genius song.
Heritage is a very difficult album to rate. I love folk music when it’s done right (Fuck you, Frank Turner), I’m not the biggest fan of jazz, yet the jazz influences on previous records have been manageable for me, and I love Opeth when they go up tempo, something which this album really fails to provide for me. Yet the musicianship of this band is something that always demands respect. If you enjoy Led Zeppelin (which you definitely should) and you aren’t scared of the song structures of bands like Yes, Rush, Rainbow and early Genesis, you will enjoy this album. Opeth have always provided a challenging experience for listeners, but that’s why they will forever be, to me, the most interesting and talented band on planet Earth. They are geniuses. And this album is probably an absolute, stone cold masterpiece. But where do you put this masterpiece up against Watershed, Blackwater Park, Still Life and Ghost Reveries? To me, this isn’t as instantly as likeable. But you should definitely give it a try.

In the past fortnight there have been a few significant releases of non headliner bands in this years Download festival line up, with many being quite big names and others being curious surprises.
Returning to the festival are bands like Down and Killswitch Engage, Killswitch having played Download a number of times before with Down also aving the special pleasure of being the so called secret band of the 2006 line up.

In black and white, the new additions to the line up are:
DOWN, CHRIS CORNELL, PAPA ROACH, LACUNA COIL, JOURNEY, BLACKSTONE CHERRY, SKIN, TESLA, CLUTCH, KARMA TO BURN, PARKWAY DRIVE, OPETH, MESHUGGAH, DIR EN GREY, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, YOU ME AT SIX, STEADLÜR, LAWNMOWER DETH

2009’s Download Festival will also see a very special appearance from ex-Guns ‘N’ Roses bassist DUFF MCKAGAN, who brings his latest incarnation LOADED to Download for the very first time.

Most amusing of these announcements is the inclusion of America’s 5th greatest rock act, Journey. Best known for their song, Midnight Train (“Don’t stop Believin’!”) have reformed after a 12 year lul in gigging with a newly auditioned singer plucked from youtube for his dulcet tones.

This years lineup also features yet another UK festival appearance from already wel establised Japanese metal band Dir En Grey. This performance seems set to cause a stir with a number of UK J-rock fans and will be a trial by fire in one of the best UK out dopor festivals in recent years.
We’ll continue to keep you posted and look forward to covering the festival as it happens.