Atrox - Orgasm (2003)

Now we are back to the beginning of the alphabet and it is time to unveil another cd that was gifted me by my brother. This is, quite possibly, the first time I have ever listened, really listened, to this album - which I have owned for quite some time!

Norwegian band Atrox are classified as "Avante-garde". This is defined as "innovative and experiemental" - in other words, a wee bit weird. They formed in 1988, using the name Suffocation, but changed that when they realised there were other bands with the same name.  In the beginning they were death metal, but by this album (their 4th) they had inserted enough other interesting elements to give them the above classification.

Now, how to describe the album? Well, it is a cardboard digipack, with booklet inserted into a pocket. The cover is a darkly surreal piece of art painted by the vocalist herself, Monika Edvardsen. Somewhat Bosch-esque, it depicts numerous deformed and distorted characters assembled in rows and staring at the viewer - some are cute, others downright creepy - a round-headed, three-eyed pyjama clad child clutches a red toy rabbit; teo horse-headed men bear a pole, from which hangs two pairs of legs, connected at the waist; little imps and goblins cavort in surreal and grotesque glory. It is all rather beautiful. On the back of the case are depicted various caricatures of the band - Afrox, Hatrox, Ratrox, Flatrox, Batrox, Fatrox, whilst a little lizard in spectacles points out his favourite. Crazy, crazy stuff! Inside the booklet, the lyrics are printed in a scrawled font only slightly darker than the background, making them downright undecipherable.

We rage into the steam-rolling, heavy dealing that is "Methods of Survival" with its loud, determined bass and husky, knife-edged vocals, which soar into a softer swoop for the chorus.  Their sound has been described as similar to Meshuggah, a band that I am not familar with. About halfway through it shifts from the immense thunderous wall of power into something distinctly progressive in sound, with screeching vocals and a rhythm that reminds me rather of Ritual, but with a distinctly heavier backing.

"Flesh City" starts similarly heavy, with repetitive thrash and female and male vocals twisting and twining around each other. The rhythms jerk and tug, the drum and bass fading so the guitar can take over, then charging back in. Faster, faster. Then suddenly, almost a jazz-vibe as Monika's husky vocals come in. Chugging, charging rhythms, distortion. The illustration accompanying the lyrics to this piece are frankly somewhat disturbing - although I do like the witch-pig-on-a-broomstick (wearing a gas mask).

Twiddly rhythms, over hand-clap drumming and Monika's low vocals usher on a "Heartquake" which contains lyrics about "little death". I'm not really much good at any genre excepting metal, but I suspect this may have some lounge/jazz sound to it. Or potentially cabaret. I can almost imagine her lying on a piano, kicking her feet in the air and tracing shapes in the air with a feather or some other sort of long and slender device.

"How long to experience a heartquake, but oh so afraid it will end with a heartbreak..."

We are whipped and whirled into the maelstrom of "Burning Bridges", the lyrics of which (for some reason) feature first in the booklet. Raw-edged, filled with tension and drama. Slower, gentler moments interplay with the aggressive; tidy guitar rhythms intercepting the raucous. Then into tiddly, organic rhythms of creeping deceit and lurking imps in the shadows, laughing. Theatrical. A swarm of hornets.

Dramatic, slow; "This Vigil" brings with it an air of the uncanny. Chugging rhythms, interspersed with the croon of the synthesizers (or the moog?) which add an otherworldly, demented air to the wailing vocals. Dirge like bass-line, banshee howls.

Sampling and a springy rhythm usher us into "Tentacles". Organic-sounding guitars, dropping into heavier depths and soaring with the spectral voice of the synthesizer. Tangled and demented. Grabbing, twisting turmoil. Disconcerting, disjointed, sampling and a faintly eerie sense.

"Second Hand Traumas" begins with a more mainstream approach, fast, competent guitar fingering and a mighty bass-line. Vocals with a hint of the shrill. Then more into the complicated, switching tempo and chaotica controlled.

Solid, determined, "Pre-Sense" sets Monika's voice rising into a shrill determination above a more classically metal sound. Going into twiddliness, finding a pattern, then abruptly stopping, jerking rhythms, disconcerting. She really does reach some surprising pitches. Towards the end we draw to a conclusion. Or not. Stop... start... stop... pause... start. The eerie and disjointed nature is messing with me, and I'm not sure I can listen to it through to its eventual conclusion.

Like Swedish band Ritual, there is something about the abrupt jerkiness of the rhythms and the switching tempos that makes me feel ever-so-slightly queasy, like it is messing a little with my inner ear equilibrium.

Strange and beautiful, like the art, the playful with a darker edge, demented and quirky. I can see why my brother decided to give me this. It comes to me in tones of sepia, with shadows and darting light and little creatures that lurk in the shadows and reach out to pluck at your senses with spider-like fingers.

Yes, definitely "Avantgarde" is the best definition.

Rating = 7.5/10

Kari Rueslatten - Other People's Stories (2004)

Released seven years after the other album of hers, this is a lighter weight, more internationally friendly album. For one thing, the lyrics and vocals are in English. Her voice is as sweet and lilting as before, delicate and fragile like a feather on the breeze, but with a power to it too.

The cover booklet is sophisticated and modern, with photographs "enhanced" by white vectored lines that are used to depict motion, perhaps? The paper is sturdy and quite glossy, high quality ink. It almost looks laminated.

The album opens with the gentle "Other People's Stories". The vocals dominate, the gently strumming guitars playing a pleasing background to the lilting vocals and autumnal rhythms.

Another pleasant and gentle piece with some folk-type rhythms, "Sorrow to My Door" is not a particularly cheerful song, although the litling vocals are sweet and pure as bells, even when singing sorrow:

"The house burned down, to the ground, to the ground, ashes and dust."

 "Dog Star" has a slightly bubbly sound to it, like a record. The vocals are playful and oh-so innocent, Kari's accent becoming more apparent. It's a very narrative song, with the lyrics being rather simplistic, befitting the mood.

"Cry" has a slightly technical edge to it, a twirling, whirling accentuation to the vocals - which are again soft and delicate.

"When Lillies Bloom on Winter Days" is like crystalline snowflakes drifting down to gild the frozen flowers. Pure, untainted, with an icy chill lit by sunlight.

Somewhat more modern, almost technical and with the rhythms more typical of one of the dance genres, "Push" is a faster paced and far more commercial in feel.

"Ride" is another combining the vocals with strangely electronically eerie noises and the stronger modern beats.

Even more spectral and vocal, "Fishing" relies entirely on the vocals. Kari's voice dancing up and down the rhythms, high and sweet and pure. Several verse in the instruments start, a whimsical accompaniment.

"Carved in Stone" is another pleasantly gentle piece with slightly more stirring choruses and light electronic accompaniment.

"Life" offers more of the same and "Orlando" offers little more, although it has a pleasingly melancholic feel to it.

 Overall, this is an extremely easy album to listen to - but not a very inspirational one. It makes for pleasing, soothing background music - along the lines of Enya (but less irritating) with its slow pacing and languid, relaxed rhythms. The tracks are short - the longest being just over 4 and a half minutes. Whilst Kari's voice is certainly sweet and aurally pleasing, each track blurs into one and it's a bit dull.

Rating 6/10.

Leaves' Eyes - Meredead (2011)

Following on in the wake of the Nightwish and Evanescence tide, a lot of female lead symphonic metal bands hit the scene - many were very good - and some, like German-Norwegian group Leaves' Eyes are excellent. Blending the heavy sounds of doom-death metal band, Atrocity, with the melodic warblings of vocalist, Liv Kristine (ex- Theatre of Tragedy). Their lyrics are based on nature (like early Within Temptation) and  mythology. There is a heavy folk vibe as well and the band make use of traditional instruments.

I have the digi-pack version, which is a nice hard-covered digipack (I am not so fond of those flimsy cardboard affairs) and additional live DVD. With the booklet being attached to the case, it's almost like a little, odd-shaped book. Very nice, even if it doesn't slot into my CD rack. The cover is beautiful and seems to show a dark-haired, elfin woman water bending.

 The CD begins with choral singing and chanting as we delve into the haunting "Spirits' Masquerade". The combination of instruments and the beat, with the flowing, water-droplet sweet voice of Kristine weaves a deeply spiritual feeling.

"Etain" is melodic and beautiful. She is from Irish mythology. It is easy to imagine a dancing blue butterfly, flitting along to this tune.

Violins and guitar herald us into "Velvet Heart", along with something that could be wind chimes. It has a stronger beat.

We then have the folk song "Krakevisa" which is the story of the Crow and the Farmer and a traditional Scandinavian folk song. I've also heard it performed by Tempest under a different name. It's very strongly folk, but also rather heavy, with much use of violins  (or do you call them fiddles?). This version is a lot slower and more melancholic than Tempest's rendition. In case you are curious, it's the story of a crow that attacks a farmer, and then gets killed and butchered, its parts put to various use. Kinda macabre.

Mike Oldfield's "To France" is next on the agenda and turned from a old-school pop-rock song into an epic anthem. Blind Guardian have given this song their own treatment too. It has a lot of power - I really should listen to the original. This one is quite melancholic and filled with longing.

"Meredead" is ghostly and sung in Olde English. I do not understand a word of it (I thought it was Norwegian) but it speaks of death in the sea. "Meredead" is a word that Liv Kristine coined herself.

"Sigrlinn" starts very folk, but is the first song on the album to have very clear "Beauty and the Beast" vocalising, with Krull growling in Norwegian - NOT his native tongue (he's German) and something he had to do phonetically. Also offering vocals in this song is Liv's sister, Carmen. This is a tale of an epic journey, and the changeable mood of the music reflects that.

Also in a foreign lingo, "Mine Jaror er ei Geimme" is a very soft, gentle song without the Atrocity acccompaniment. It is a medieaval ballad - a poem of a woman mourning her husband who has fallen in battle. Beautiful, ephemeral.

Followed up by the rather heavier "Empty Horizons" which reminds me of Atrocity's finer moments - the low - but not growling, vocals of Krull intermingled with Kristine's finer range. A haunting duet.

"Veritas" provides an intro to the traditional Norwegian stave of "Nystev".

Flutes and some form of string instrument (mandolin) lead us into the lovely "Tell Tale Eyes", in which the Beauty and the Beast singing style is exchanged for a melodic ballad, displaying the true vocal talents of Alexander Krull. The only accompaniment, the mandolin. The lyrics are slightly menacing, despite the beauty of the song.

The final, bonus track, "Sorhleod" is really lovely, even if I do not understand a word of it.

Overall, a beautiful amalgamation of folk, metal and power, establishing this group firmly amongst the best of the genre.

Rated: 9/10

Kari Rueslatten - Spindelsinn (1997)

Okay, so listening to someone whose first name starts with K is kinda cheating, but it was her or Kiske, and I didn't feel like listening to more Michael Kiske today. Pity I didn't buy that Kamelot CD, eh?

Kari Rueslatten is a Norwegian lass who is 6 years older than me, making her 41. And, she actually looks it. Her voice, however, is like liquid silver, dipped in honey. She, along with her symphonic doom band - 3rd and the Mortal, were inspiration for such greats as Nightwish. She has performed with several groups, integrating doom-laden metal with folk vibes and her haunting, ethereal* voice.

The elements of folk are strong in this CD, her debut solo one (albeit a remastered version). Alas, the lyrics are all in Norwegian - a language I do not speak, and thus I cannot comment on her song writing abilities. However, despite the language barrier, I enjoy the way she sings, the lilt to her voice and the various levels she can attain.

Except that I have found translations! And the lyrics are as haunting and beautiful as you might imagine. I'll link them from the songs, so you can at least know what the titles and themes are. In lack of understandable lyrics, instead we are treated to an evocative combination of intruments and voice, portraying the message through sounds, not words, that are understandable in any language.

So, let us begin. And yes, I know I should be using the appropriate characters for some of these letters, but I haven't figured out how to do the special Norwegian letters. My apologies.

"I Manens Favn" ("In the Moon's Embrace") is a song about a dancer, whose magical dance lures in the women. It is most definitely folk inspired, and has a very bouncy rhythm. I could dance to this. I SHOULD dance to this.

We get slower with  the haunting "Spindelsinn" ("Mind Web"). A song that weaves an enchanting tune.

Now that I know what the "Skogens Kjole" ("The Forest's Song") is about,  I cannot help but feel the spirit of the forest in the words. It's easy to imagine snow-shrouded branches and leaves dropping in the breeze. The song is delicate and fragile.

The very sweet "Agatha" follows. It sounds like a love song. Agatha strikes me as being a wispy, spiritual being - a guide from another world.


"Trollferd" ("Troll Journey") takes you to another world, into a boreal forest, where snow sticks tot he moss laden trees and a trail of strange footsteps leads you through the snow, while above the sky is pale with the promise of frost.

"Vintersol" ("Winter Sunlight") picks up a more upbeat tone, sunbeams glinting off the snow, banishing the cold and portraying the world as pure and clean. A perfect day for a winter walk. The music has the promise of spring in its step, and the inclusion of classical instruments makes it seem divine.

A tender, beckoning song - "Jeg Kommer Inn" ("I'm coming in"), with string instruments, singing alongside Kari's beautiful voice. There's a little bit of bounce in the middle.

"Hor Min Sang" ("Hear My Song") is a very sweet and gentle piece, as soft as a caress.

"Som Av Meg" ("As of Me") is beautiful and ephemeral, a delicate whisper.

The chilling and ghostly "Nordnatt" ("Night of the North") ends the album, a haunting song of long, chilling nights and a vivid tapestry of stars. It fades slowly, the music ghosting away.

There are two more tracks - live versions of "Spindelsinn" and "I Manens Favn".

This is a beautiful album, a soundrtack to a cold winterland. The folk aspects and the classical instruments are a flawless combination with the sweet, lonely voice of Kari Rueslatten. The only downside is that the lyrics are not in English, but it loses none of its beauty because of this - and perhaps gains an extra element of mystique.

Overall rating = 9/10.

I have another CD by Kari, and it is in English.

* You will probably hear this term a lot in these reviews, this is because I like females with haunting, ethereal voices and have quite a collection of these CDs. If I can think of a different adjective, I shall make use of it. Okay?