It's been a while since the last Metalscape episode and even longer since the last post on the Metalscape blog. But the regular episodes are BACK at http://www.metalpodcast.net.

However this isn't the Wacken special you've been waiting for, that will be coming next week due to some technical difficulties. And expect more updates to the blog while we work some things out.

To-Mera - "Delusions"

I first heard of this prog band some time ago, back when Emperor was doing their reunion tour and they were the opening act. I checked them out since people kept praising them for their great live performance and musical creativity. I got their debut album, "Transcendental" and gave it a good listen. While it did not immediately grabbed me by the balls, I did hear some truly good stuff going on in this band. Further listening allowed me to truly appreciate the music, as "Transcendental" is not really the kind of album you can readily enjoy the first time through. Very heavy and indeed very creative, To-Mera's sound was truly fresh and distinctive enough to separate them from the rest of the prog pack. The only thing that kept it from reaching greatness was the lack of truly memorable themes. The entire album was entirely riff-driven and while there are some great moments there's nothing there that could drive the music that extra mile. I was pretty impressed nonetheless.

So when their second album was announced to be in the works, I was genuinely intrigued. Would they be able to maintain their sound but kick it up that extra notch or would they just fail miserably like many other of those one-album wonder bands? The result is neither: "Delusions" is more of the same ol' To-Mera and while it's not horrible is not really great either. Their sound, comprised mainly of heavy, chugging guitars accompanied by light/jazzy piano and synth elements all going crazy with some airy female vocals on top of it all is still here. They do kick it up a notch in terms of technicality and diversity; they certainly have expanded on their standard sound palette beyond distorted/clean/acoustic guitars and piano interludes. I do miss the old simple acoustic passages though, and while they are still here (in a more elaborate way), they don't have the same warmth or poignancy as before. But although the sheer display of musical pyrotechnics certainly makes for a pretty cool show, it fails to deliver some actual solid music. It seems To-Mera approaches their songwriting with a "let's prog the shit out of this bitch" mentality and in the process they forget the value of quality over quantity.

I loved the production on "Transcendental", it was very thick and blunt yet still precise; "Delusions" on the other hand sounds thin and plastic, like that "I Can't believe it's not butter" thing spread over too much bread. The rhythm guitars used to have this awesome chunky tone and now they sound fizzy and digital up the ass. The drums also seem to have taken a punch to the balls, since they lost that sledgehammer quality to them they had before. Synths and piano are less prominent in the mix and vocals sound thinner than before.

Overall "Delusions" is not a bad album, and while "Transcendental" was definitely better, you can still get some entertainment out of its technicality and ever changing songs, but it's certainly not something you'd want to listen to more than maybe once or twice.

7.8/10

These new devices, called the iPod touch offer all the features of the iphone without the phone. So you can browse the internet, check the weather, etc. However, the space is limited to 16GB in the largest model.

I don't understand how they can up the regular ipods size up to 160GB, and yet this iPod touch which is clearly made for video content can only hold 16 gigs so much for the "your entire music collection in your pocket" tagline. This just seems like a huge step backwards.

 In an interview with heavymetal.dk, frontman for the most well known death metal band, Cannibal Corpse, George "Corpse-fucking-grinder" Fisher went off on a tangent about a video game.

 In between spewing obsenities about gnomes and elves, he talks lovingly about his wife and children, then there's more bitching about being corpse camped whilst obtaining the elusive "Motes of Air".  Then praising the greatness of Orcs and giant cow men. The whole thing is both ridiculous and hilarious.

Click here to see the video 

At first glance, this band may appear to be awesome and ass kicking in every way Fear Factory was in their prime. The nonstop drum assault, the somewhat simplistic yet ultimately headbangalicious riffing, and the constant quick pace which keeps the album moving along quite nicely.

All of these fantasies will end, however, as soon as the vocalist (new comer Tommy Cummings) chimes in, his overly -core inspired vocals bring a tough guy/invisible ninja pit vibe into the album that this band really doesn't need.

In the song “Impossible is Nothing” the music is great and has some moments where you can't help but get into and give a couple head bangs to. Almost like old groove metal, only not shitty. However this really gets ruined when our boy Tommy tries his hand at a harmonic interlude.

You would think that, after all those years with Fear Factory, Dino would have the sense to realize when a harmonious part just doesn't sound right. But alas, these parts of the album come off sounding more like Fall Out Boy's lost death metal demo.

If you can set aside the hideous harmonizations, and stop visualizing the vocalist punching the ground and swinging his elbows like an epileptic getting raped, you are left with some good music that probably needs another album or two (and another singer) to fully evolve. This album gets a slightly above average, 70%

The Leviathan did a good job with the numerous changes within the songs, none of them feel awkward or out of place and do a good job of moving the album forward. The standout song on this release is “Remember with Fear” it starts out with some great thrashy riffing and keeps you interested throughout the song.

There is little soloing on the album and what is there is somewhat simplistic, consisting mainly of scale runs up and down the neck. But I can't dock them to much because they fit the music nicely.

John Maulding did a good job with the production of the eighteen minute EP, providing nice balance and clarity without sounding over processed.

You can listen to the review on Episode 43 of the Metalscape Podcast 

• staple them randomly throughout your city
• put a stack at your favorite record store or metal hangout
• if they won't let you do the above, stick them randomly in between your favorite metal albums so browsers can find them.
• hand to every slightly metal looking person you see

Frejya smiles upon those who help in our quest to greatness.

download the file here

Upon first listening they may seem like a standard, maybe slightly above average modern thrash band, but once you know what they’re about and you allow yourself to have a little fun, you can’t help but enjoy the band.  When you first hear the enthusiastic shouts of “yo ho” during the track “Drink Up” you realize that this band is about having fun and doing whatever the hell they want, just like like their fabled lyrical muses.

The song writing is solid and manages to stay fresh throughout the album, although there is only one song that stands out as a truly great track, “’X’ Marks the Spot”, the album doesn’t have any tracks that are particularly bad either.  The soloing, while not the most complicated or technically amazing, is solid and shows that they know what their limits in playing currently are. They don’t feel the need to try to force anything out, subsequently making the album sound sloppy.

The album is scattered with shorter, folk-like songs, which provide a break between the heavier songs, almost like, the band has come into a port and your hanging out with them at the tavern or something.

If you aren’t the type of person who makes an opinion on a band based on whether or not their style or lyrical content is tr00 enough for you. You’ll be wanting to set sail and, put hands on the starboard bow or some shit, before long.

8/10