OzProg Content http://www.ozprog.com Progressive rock and metal. Made in Australia. Copyright 2007 Sat, 10 May 2008 06:22:02 -0700 brad@ozprog.com brad@ozprog.com The Butcher's Ballroom http://www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/41 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:00:00 -0700 Music Reviews
As D:S:O's debut album, The Butcher's Ballroom will be an extremely important factor in the development of the band and the gathering of their fanbase. It achieves both of these admirably – an extremely strong, if slightly unusual foundation has been formed for the style and future of the band. In the gathering of the fan base, it is evident that they have formed an almost fanatical cult following on Last.fm, their forums and Myspace. In fact, a fan on Last.fm led me to this band.

The first song on the album, the wonderfully and aptly titled "Balrog Boogie" is the groups main foray into swinging jazz style. It begins with a drum intro in the best swing improv style and the bass comes in with a delightfully bouncy line, followed by some extremely odd guttural vocals, which heavily contrast with Annlouice Loegdlund's Latin lines. The song continues in this wild style, careering along through style changes and allowing each member of the band to demonstrate his or her skills. One of the finest tracks on the album, it uses the concept of jazz improvisation used by legends like Miles Davis and adapts it to metal, making what can only be described as D:S:O.

The final notes – and giggles – of the boogie fade into the gothic styled "Heroines", which makes heavy use of Loegdlund's vocals – the best they will appear on this album – over staccato guitar and bass rhythms and swelling electronic sustains. Possibly the least 'alternative' song on the album, this one will probably get the most airplay, and it once again an example of D:S:O taking a genre, this time gothic rock/metal, and making it their own with unique vocals, an awesome cello solo and just fantastic song composition.

Poetic Pitbull Revelations', the next song on the eclectic mix, takes us on a trip to Spain. Foot-tapping trumpeted flamenco themes and acoustic guitars, along with crickets and percussion, fill out a detailed and atmospheric sound-scape, and Loegdlund's vocals and the cello and bass sound serve to make it even more epic. Probably my favourite song of the album, this one really captures D:S:O's talents as a band and as individuals. We also first hear the male singer, Daniel Håkansson, demonstrating his great versatility on the verses of this track.

The tolling of church bells calls you to the fourth track, "Ragdoll Physics", followed by a burst of static-y electronics. A burst of drums, guitars and bass, then the melodramatic opera vocals, again, in Latin. Håkansson sings again on this song, and really demonstrates the contrasts between his voice and Loegdlund's. In many ways, D:S:O subverts the "Beauty And The Beast" style that most bands with a male and female singer fall into – Loegdlund is the Beast and Håkansson is the Beauty. The song fades to black.

"D'Angelo" is an atmospheric ballad of acoustic guitar and soaring – somewhat overdramatic but nonetheless well done – soprano. There's not a lot to it, as it serves mostly as an interlude to lead into the next song: "Velvet Embracer". There's no other way to say it – it kicks arse. Guitar, drums and bass jump out of nowhere, building to an enormous crescendo of metal riffs and operatic vocals, in a way that's similar to Nightwish, but on crack. Suddenly, it's gone, and all that remains is a mournful cello solo. Suddenly, the palm-muting and cymbal clashes are back. I've changed my mind – this is my favourite song from the album.

Another interlude piece, "Gunpowder Chant" oozes menace, with a synthesised didgeridoo line serving as a base for acoustic guitars and drums to dance around and over, building to a slow climax, with the cello and electric guitar and bass jumping in, but still maintaining the feel. Suddenly, and once again seemingly out of nowhere, the tension is lost in a techno-like fade and mix. Then it's gone and a more traditional sound returns. Insofar as a D:S:O song can be typical, 'Infralove' is – not that that's a bad thing.

A sudden pause, and then the opening riff of "Wedding March For A Bullet" jumps around your ears, closely trailed by the patented D:S:O "Epic Crescendo©". Loegdlund shows off a bit more breadth in her vocal talents throughout this song, leaving behind the melodramatic opera style for a more rock-y and heart-felt sound, which I think is preferable. The riffs in this piece are particularly good, and the ending rates a special mention as a great performance by Loegdlund.

The keyboardist, Pontus Mantefors, leaps to the fore in "Qualms Of Conscience", the third and final interlude piece, with a well-constructed piano solo, which mixes various musical themes and genres to build and then fade into the guitar riffs and slightly eerie keyboard sounds of "Zodiac Virtues". Håkansson sings once more on this song, alternating parts with Loegdlund in a similar way to "Ragdoll Physics". The songs also features a well-constructed bass and synth bridge that allows for a rare breather in the CD. Håkansson deserves a second mention – his voice in this song is extremely impressive. Actually, the whole song is.

"Porcelain Judas", the second last song, begins in a similar way to many of the others – with a heavily palm muted and distorted guitar line, but continues differently. The band plays with Arabian flavours in the vocal and melody lines, as well as unusual voice filters in parts of Loegdlund's lyrics. Another well-crafted and variegated piece, messing with mixing and instrumentation more than anything. It features a particularly cool, complex and well-built guitar solo, showing that Håkansson and the others aren't just good at arranging.

The final song, "Pink Noise Waltz", begins with the beating of a heart and a show of cello solidarity, which interacts with a more metal-based riff to create something truly beautiful. Håkansson's mournful – in a good way – vocal performance is consistently great, and Loegdlund appears to avoid some of her more dramatically annoying aspects. The cello plays perhaps the largest role on this song, constantly dancing throughout, though every band member gets their little chance to show off their skills in riffs and solos, particularly the keyboardist. A fantastic ending to a fantastic album, "Pink Noise Waltz" seems to combine all the varying aspects of the album into one shredding song, finally fading out into a slightly bemusing ending of light guitar and bouncing drums.

The album's course is a wild and twisted 50 minute journey, breaking genre and convention barriers the whole distance. Despite this, however, each song never feels disconnected from the others, each flow into the next with no major breaks, and the shared themes and very distinctive aspects of the band mean that it all carries through as one album from a unified band. Annlouice Loegdlund delivers flying soprano vocals that float above the mix, which I'm not certain I like particularly, but are certainly atmospheric and distinctive.

Daniel Håkansson and Pontus Mantefors provide the majority of the sound with well arranged guitars, keyboards and effects, and Daniel also adds his brilliant voice on various song. Andy Johansson and Andreas Halvardsson give depth and drive to the music with excellent bass and drum work, respectively. The bass is particularly fine, and you can hear it in solos well above the mix at many times. The final member of the band, Johannes Bergion, plays the cello that is such an important part of D:S:O's distinct sound and puts the final touches onto the tone of each piece.]]> Luke Gower: Sharing Space http://www.ozprog.com/interviews/view/19 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:00:00 -0700 Interviews The New Normal would be brought into being.

No one could have known it at the time, but with albums from fellow alternative metal acts Karnivool and The Butterfly Effect to follow in quick succession, Cog turned out to be the catalyst that began Australia's progressive music explosion, which would surge in popularity in the years that followed.

Two and a half years later - after debuting at #1 on the AIR chart, #19 on the ARIA chart and conquering the local touring scene (by now populated with the likes of Dead Letter Circus, Mammal and Sleep Parade, all of whom owe Cog a huge debt of gratitude) - returning to Weed and Massy to record The New Normal's massively-anticipated follow-up must have seemed like a great idea at the time.

But after running out of money, falling out with Massy and having to stick out the final two weeks of the session on their own, they must have wondered how it all went wrong.

Luckily they pulled through in the end, and the resulting album Sharing Space is a deep and confronting release, befitting the trials that Cog went through in creating it.

While the lyrics show a move towards the more direct and hard-hitting, there is a definite shift away from the driving riffery that underpinned The New Normal, as bassist Luke Gower explains. Liberal use of keyboards, strings, vocal effects and harmonies make for a far more, dare I say it, progressive album, at least musically.

"I think it was a bit of a natural progression for us, we love experimenting," says Gower. "[But] it's not like we set out to say 'oh in this song we want to put down three different keyboards' or anything like that. It could be, you know, you're tracking a song and making a cup of coffee in between doing something and you see an instrument sitting on a shelf that you've never seen before, so you go over and flick it on and fuck around with it for a while, and it's like 'fuck, that might actually work in that song'.

"We're very open to experimentation in terms of instruments and we all write on each other's instruments as well so there's a huge diversity of what we can come up with. All egos aside, it's just all about the song and what's best for that. I mean we put some things down and they don't work so we piss them off, but that's just the way we work."

Lyrically filled with overt political statements such as "I don't listen at all to the Government / the Government has gotta go", and written mostly in the lead-up to Australia's 2007 federal election, you'd be excused for thinking that the Cog trio had set out to write a protest album. But as it turns out they were actually almost completely unaware of the situation back home for the 10 months they were stuck in the studio.

"I suppose to the outsider, they would be like 'yeah they're talking about John Howard' ... but we didn't set out specifically to write about the situation that was going on in Australia. To tell you the truth we didn't really watch any TV and we weren't getting any newspapers, the only form of news we had was when you log in to Hotmail, and you know what that kind of news is like, they're more worried about Megan Gale and fucking 'the actor from Home and Away's been caught on the beach wearing a new bikini', you know."

Regardless of the lyrics' inspiration - the bushy-browed Howard, the bushy-tailed Gale, or neither - the candidness on Sharing Space may come as a bit of a surprise to existing fans used to Cog's extensive use of metaphor and allegory. That, though, was a conscious decision.

"(Politics is) something that we feel strongly about, it's hard not to with the things that are going on these days I think. I wanted to try and target specific issues, whether it be political or whatever the song was going to be about, I really wanted to try and hone in a bit more so as not to be as sparse as the last album."

Given that background, Sharing Space is a title as appropriate as it is poetic. Exploring themes such as time away from loved ones, fear as a tool of government to quell dissent, and the more obvious theme of political change, the one idea holding the album together is that we're all "sharing space", and that with the right to individuality comes a responsibility to ensure you're doing the right thing by your fellow man.

"Instead of saying 'thanks for having me' or 'thanks for hanging out', [Weed locals said] 'thanks for sharing space' ... and we all thought that was a fitting title for the album. It's applicable to the time we're living in at the moment on all sorts of levels, it can work on a macro or a micro level I think."

Cog will be sharing space with Jakob, Kora, Melodyssey and Sleep Parade on their "Sharing Space" tour, taking in five states throughout May and June.

Sharing Space is out now through Difrn't Music.]]> Things Can Always Change http://www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/40 Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:00:00 -0700 Music Reviews Things Can Always Change is epic, coherent, meditative, hard rocking, and cathartic for both the band and the listener. It's filled from start to finish with abundant colour, captivating musical journeying, slick studio production and raw human emotion.

Sleep Parade are extremely hard to pigeonhole in terms of "genre" or whatever it's called these days. They can be put in the general "new school of Aussie alternative rock" basket with Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus and so on (and they measure up to the bar), but as with any great band in that diverse basket, they're not quite like anything else. They cite Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Oceansize, The Mars Volta and Opeth as influences, and I'm surprised that Mutemath are not also on that list. The album combines a prog-alt-rock sensibility with fearless use of synths and electronic sounds, and when Sleep Parade are in charge of the fusing, it's as if the two realms were made for each other. And don't panic if you're a conventional rock fan, because a rock band is still essentially what they are.

Things Can Always Change contains all kinds of tracks. Relatively mainstream "pop" songs like "Carry On", "Passengers" and "Open Up" are filled with goodies that are friendly enough for virtually any radio station, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Epics like "Everyday", "Barriers" and "Weeping Walls" reveal a compositional strength that is simply remarkable. "Underground" is an ambient, electronic-based piece containing a lot of 7/8 time. "All We Are" is an equally atmospheric acoustic trip. And "One Track Mind" combines all of these characteristics brilliantly.

"Minimalist" would be precisely the wrong word to describe this music. It's very layered and very studio-made. The band has three members. Five people sung on the album. Four people played synth. Three people did some drum programming, and the drummer was not one of them. The already legendary Forrester Savell did all three of these things, as well as bringing the whole project together with flawless production.

The band's attention to detail and the care they have taken in writing the music is phenomenal. It seems that not a single note played or sung by anyone on the entire album has slipped through as a result of carelessness or is just there for the sake of being there. Frontman, guitarist and chief lyricist Leigh Davies delivers a passion and honesty that makes the whole thing so human, despite the considerable amount of "artificial sound" going on. Bassist James Livesey adds another dimension with his musical consciousness and subtleties. Drummer Dan Teng is watertight, expressive and intense. Former keyboardist Paul Zubrinich left the band during the making of the album, but you can still hear his contribution on six of the ten tracks (although "Passengers", a track which makes extensive use of the synth as a lead instrument, is not one of them).

Lyrically, the album is pretty much Davies sharing his soul. The basis for the subject matter is his father's struggle with schizophrenia, but the lyrics come across more as contemplation of universal human themes than restrictively specific packages of literal meaning.

Although their music is heavily studio-oriented, and they even use some backing tracks on the stage, rest assured that Sleep Parade are a great live band. Every time I've seen them play, they've given everything to the performance regardless of how many people have or haven't turned up. These guys are going places, many more places than they've already gone, and it's all I can do to advise that you experience the inspired work of art they have created.

Things Can Always Change is out now Australia-wide through Shock Distribution. Check out Sleep Parade's music at their MySpace profile (www.myspace.com/sleepparade) or visit their official forum hosted by OzProg.

]]> Inhuman Rampage http://www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/38 Sat, 8 Mar 2008 17:00:00 -0800 Music Reviews Inhuman Rampage begin.

The first track on this album is the one that has probably almost single-handedly contributed to DragonForce's cult popularity via the internets. "Through The Fire And Flames" basically epitomises everything about this band – it's a seven-and-a-half minute shred-fest with lyrics that seem largely to be a drunken ramble about how amazingly cool dragons and friendship are, as well as the aforementioned silly keyboard sounds, and the infamous Pac-Man noise, in the middle of the... third solo, I think. But, damn, is it still fun to listen to. You can't help but sing along in the chorus and especially the 'whoa-oh-oh' section, you'll find yourself head-banging and tapping your feet along to the speedy rhythms and maybe even some air-guitaring. You'll be smiling, no matter what.

Sadly enough, this formula is followed almost without variation throughout the album – every song is pretty much a seven-and-a-half minute shred-fests with lyrics that seem largely to be drunken rambles about how amazingly cool dragons and friendship are. The second song, "Revolution Deathsquad", despite certainly being a contender for the 'Silliest Song Title Ever' award, fits neatly into this category. Singer ZP Theart – as far as I can tell, that IS his real name – has one of the traditional power metal voices, epic, powerful and with truly enormous range. He's also accompanied in many songs by growled and clean vocals from other members of the band, but often these aren't noticeable. "Revolution Deathsquad" also features some particular unusual synth sounds, some DJ scratching, for some bizarre reason, and one of the craziest series' of solos on the album – listed as 'Herman/Twin/Sam/Herman/Twin/Twin Blast/Herman/Sam/Herman/Sam' – yes, that's right, TEN.

Do I need to say the bit about seven-and-a-half minute shred-fests again? Well, track three, "Storming The Burning Fields" fits into the same category. It begins with the sound of a match being lit, which is then followed by the traditional keyboard, guitar and drum-pounding introduction. An interesting element in this song is a folk metal-esque vocal line near the end of each verse, where once again the growled vocals come to the fore. Well, nearer to the fore. The instrumental section before the solos shows another side to the DragonForce coin, though it still heavily features silly keyboard sounds and very loud, fast drumwork. This song's array of solos fades into another fun 'whoa-oh-oh' segment, and once again serves to be enjoyable without being mentally stimulating.

"Operation Ground And Pound", probably the second most famous track from the album, bears uncanny semblance to "Through The Fire And Flames" – compare the first line of each song's chorus.

Through The Fire And Flames: 'So far away, we wait for the day'.
Operation Ground And Pound: 'Far away will our eyes now see the day'.

Even compared to the similarities shared by the other songs on the album, these two are a bit worrisome. Once again however, it's great fun and the chorus is a particularly good singalong. The lyrics are a true classic of cheese metal and this is probably one of the most lasting songs from the album.

"Body Breakdown". Upbeat. Heavy drums. Bubblegum guitar. Silly synths. Stupidly clever lyrics. Or cleverly stupid, perhaps. Much the same as the above, though this does use a different structure, building up nicely to a climactic, solo-filled, of course, ending, instead of having a climactic ending the whole way through. It even features a 'Super bridge', according to the booklet. Awesome.

This song is probably my favourite from the album – "Cry For Eternity" begins with a crescendo of distorted guitar and drums, like many of the other songs, but somehow this one sounds better. I'm not sure why this track's so much better than the other songs that seem to follow much the same formula, but somehow it manages. Double-kick bass and ZP's voice get you head-banging and singing once again. In fact, right at this moment I'm attempting to type in time with the guitar riffs of the chorus. It's not too easy. The growls come out again at various points, and basically this cheesy shred-fest hits the spot that cheesy shred-fests are supposed to hit, for me. A highlight is the 80s keyboard interlude, which could bring a smile to almost anyone's face. No super bridge though, sadly.

The second last song on the album, "The Flame of Youth", seems formulaic to me. It's the afore-mentioned seven-minute shred-fest with lyrics that seem to be a drunken ramble about how cool dragons and friendship are, and this one doesn't seem to have the charisma and lasting value of "Through The Fire And Flames" or "Cry For Eternity". The vocal lines are cool, some of the guitar-work is well-done and it's generally happy and good, it just doesn't seem to hit the spot – though that may just be because by this point one's getting sick of the formula. I must admit, however, the end is notably awesome sounding, with some clever audio effects used.

The album's token slow (-ish) song, "Trail Of Broken Hearts", is the rough equivalent of "Dawn Over A New World" on their previous album, Sonic Firestorm, though I don't think it's nearly as good. The introductory guitar-fills and keyboards are very good and the vocal lines and lyrics are good, but voice-filters are over-used, as if the band have realised that their 80s sound and shredding is what gives them popularity, so they're not allowed to do anything else any more. It's good, it serves as a good ending to the album and exhibits that the band don't entirely just shred, but it's nowhere near as good as "Dawn" is, and I don't think it's as good as it could have been.

Inhuman Rampage, the third album by the self-proclaimed British 'extreme power metal' pioneers, DragonForce, is an interesting album to review. On one hand, it's almost scarily happy and enjoyable to listen to, fast and exhibits considerable musicianship – in some ways. On the other hand, it's repetitive, cheesy and stupid.

ZP Theart's vocals are quite brilliant, and well exhibited on the album, but sometimes they're filtered to hell and even lost in a mess of sound. The two lead guitarists, Herman Li and Sam Totman, both show that they're very good at wanking off with fast tapping solos and power chords, without showing much depth. Vadim Pruzhanov, the band's keyboardist, exhibits great skill, but as with ZP he is often obscured by the wall of sound and, to be quite honest, some of his keyboard tones are just idiotic. Dave Mackintosh, on drums, keeps the band together well and plays some brilliant fills and pounds the double-kick like few others can, but his drumming gets repetitive like the rest of the band after a few listens.

Overall, if you're new to metal, or even just to DragonForce, this album will serve as a very enjoyable introduction, but I'd say the band's second album at least is considerably better – this one just feels like they're trying too hard. For someone who already likes their metal, this should be fun for a few listens, but it does get old fast and, a warning, it is extremely cheesy.]]> Kuru http://www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/37 Fri, 7 Mar 2008 17:00:00 -0800 Music Reviews Kuru is their deep and powerful exploration of the oft-ignored subject of... cannibalism.

In 1976 Daniel Gajdusek received a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the 1950s and 60s discovering, identifying and subsequently eradicating a debilitating neurological disease known as kuru. The disease was endemic among members of a Papua New Guinea tribe known as the Fore people, who engaged in the ritualistic consumption of their recently deceased - unknowingly passing on a rogue protein known as a prion, which was responsible for the paralyzation and dementia suffered by those afflicted with kuru.

Diseases caused by prions, which includes mad cow disease in animals and its human brother Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, are completely untreatable and always fatal. When Gajdusek put a halt on the Fore people's cannibalistic practice of consuming the brains of dead people, the disease was completely eradicated within a generation. Humans normally have a natural genetic defence against kuru and other prion-caused diseases, suggesting that cannibalism has been so prevalent in human history that we actually evolved a gene to protect against it.

What's this got to do with anything? Well, Kuru is the title and one theme of the new album from Mushroom Giant, a prolific group of Melburnian instrumental rockers. A strange theme for an album, certainly, made stranger by the fact that the record is completely devoid of lyrics - meaning the only way anyone would know that it's about cannibalism, evolution, death or rebirth is by reading the short blurb inside the album that tells Gajdusek's story.

In similar fashion to Sigur Ros' seminal post-rock album ( ), the sparsity of the album's artwork encourages the listener to insert their own meaning into the music. The closest one gets to an explanation of the album's subject matter apart from the vague cannibalism-themed blurb is a single subtitle for each song, and a collection of quotes from historical figures such as Albert Einstein or the artist Edvard Munch. Everything else is up to you.

But once you get past its creepy subject matter and the foreboding artwork that envelopes the CD, the music contained within it has much the same beauty and dignity as death itself.

Mushroom Giant have been quietly perfecting their art over the past five years, and their proficiency is evident on Kuru. Evoking comparisons to Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Mono - bands who often teeter on the edge of out-and-out metal but also have a quieter, subtle side - Kuru is a rollercoaster ride from start to end.

In the album opener "Graven Image", one of post-rock's signature techniques is employed: gradually threading a melody into a repetitive rhythm, building closer and closer towards a crescendo. The difference here is in the upbeat, pounding drumbeat that drives the song at a speedy pace, making the song more dance-rock than post-rock. A crushing, distorted guitar effect in the final 20 seconds of the track offers one of many headbanging opportunities to come for those so inclined.

Putting a subtle spin on tried and true musical techniques is one of the album's hallmarks.

"Autumn Leaves The Dead", awash in the soothing sound of a violin, is decidedly more laid back in mood than its predecessor. Its subtitle, "Shedding Skin", evokes images of a transformation or rebirth, and that is exactly the mood projected by the song. "Sirenthia" is similar, though the violin is much higher in the mix, much more angular, much more off-key, turning the usually pleasant-sounding instrument into something much more uncomfortable to hear. The contrast between pleasant and unpleasant is perhaps an exploration of the dignity of natural death and the indignity of murder, although the listener is once again left to place their own meaning in the music.

The theme of death is revisited later in the song "Poor Tom", subtitled "Murder Scene". Simply harrowing to listen to, merely two minutes long but so perfectly projecting the mood of a violent murder that it would be quite at home on any serial killer movie score. Schitzophrenic in mood, it breathes in and out between pounding, rapid-fire heaviness and near silence, as if telling the story of a killer who blanks out with rage one minute and is totally calm the next, with no recollection of what had happened seconds prior.

This is what Mushroom Giant do best: project moods, paint scenes and tell stories, all purely using music, and without any lyrics. This is a rare skill.

Kuru is a truly deep album, one not easily judged after a single listen, but one that becomes more rewarding with each listen. Give it the time and space it needs to show itself to you, and the album's beauty will make itself evident.

If you buy this album, and I suggest anyone with an interest in post-rock or progressive metal should do so, when you bring it home you should close the door, turn out the light, turn up your stereo and let your mind wander. Kuru will take you places.

Check Mushroom Giant out at their website www.mushroomgiant.com or listen to more of their tunes on their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/mushroomgiant.]]> Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) http://www.ozprog.com/interviews/view/18 Thu, 6 Mar 2008 17:00:00 -0800 Interviews Fear Of A Blank Planet.

The album, released on Roadrunner Records midway through last year, tells the haunting story of technology's effect on the malaise of today's youth, more concerned with X-Box and the internet than social interaction. It received its fair share of acclaim, being named Classic Rock magazine's album of 2007 and receiving a nomination for Best Surround Sound Album at the Grammys.

More importantly, though, it cements Porcupine Tree's place at the top of the heap of "nu-prog", a collection of bands that combine complex compositions in the progressive rock tradition, but with a "21st century, modern, post-Radiohead approach", as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Steven Wilson describes it.

But it hasn't always been awards and worldwide tours for Porcupine Tree. Normally, it wouldn't take 15 years for a band to tour Australia, but Porcupine Tree spent the better part of a decade in absolute obscurity, releasing albums that are not only challenging to listen to but also to find. Until their 2001 breakthrough In Absentia, their material wasn't even available in Australia, and even then it was difficult to locate any store that would stock it.

However, in the years since the success of In Absentia, Porcupine Tree have found themselves in the possession of a sizeable fan base primarily through word-of-mouth, which has allowed them greater scope to release their music. Fear Of A Blank Planet was released on Roadrunner Records, home to Opeth and Dream Theater, which has meant their reach is greater than ever before.

"We and Dream Theater were both on the same label [before Roadrunner], which was Warner Bros, and it's fascinating to discover that actually leaving a major label and signing to an independent, albeit a very big independent like Roadrunner, will actually take your profile higher.

"It's really quite sad in a way for the major labels like Warner. I just don't think a label like Warner really understands the power of the fan base. They're so used to dealing with the entertainment end of the industry and the media, things like MTV, that they just don't understand this concept of fan power and street teams, and I think for bands like Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater and Opeth, those things are the lifeblood.

"Labels like Warner Bros will never understand that, and that's why I think they're all going to go down, because with download culture kicking in now, nobody really wants to pay for Britney Spears albums or Mariah Carey albums any more, but people will always want to buy Opeth records and Dream Theater records and Porcupine Tree records, because they know they're buying into something special."

And that fan base has also finally made it possible for the band to embark on their first ever tour of Australia, at the tail-end of the Tour Of A Blank Planet. With a new album to promote the setlist should be packed with more recent tunes, but he hasn't forgotten the old-school fans either.

"I'm getting the impression that a lot of people will have heard about the band for the first time in more recent years, so the emphasis probably will be on the new album or the more recent work, but we are also aware that wherever we go we have people that have been with us since the beginning back in the mid-90s and will probably expect to hear some of the older material too. So we'll try and create a good balance for people hearing it for the first time."

And Wilson assures us that they won't be skimping on any aspect of the show, with Danish filmmaker Lasse Hoille's twisted creations - he has worked on Porcupine Tree's album artwork since In Absentia - being beamed to a big screen at the back of the stage.

"Porcupine Tree have developed quite a complex multimedia aspect to the show. Although we're a rock band and we can rock at times, we also have more visual elements to the show than a lot of bands. We have films for all of the songs on the new record, so there are times during the show when the emphasis is very much on the projections, the movies, as opposed to the performance aspect. And we like to create a nice balance between that so there is a sense of musical journey and visual journey too throughout the show, so that it has a nice flow to it.

"Certainly when you come to a Porcupine Tree show you don't just get four guys standing up there belting out their latest album. It is conceived very much as an audio visual experience."

OzProg is currently running a competition in which you could win a double pass to see Porcupine Tree in your city. Check out www.ozprog.com/ptcomp for more details and instructions on how to enter.

Porcupine Tree's Australian tour will take in the following cities:

April 25th - The Palace Theatre, Melbourne
Tickets from Ticketek (132 849) and Missing Link.

April 26th - The Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tickets from Ticketek (132 849).

April 27th - The Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane
Tickets from Ticketek (132 849), Rockinghorse, Music Mania and Kill The Music.

Wiew the complete transcript of our conversation with Steven Wilson here.]]> Coheed and Australia http://www.ozprog.com/interviews/view/17 Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:00:00 -0800 Interviews
Coheed and Cambria are building themselves a strong reputation in the progressive rock world with a string of very in depth and dynamic albums that tell a story born in the mind of singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez.  The latest effort from the band, No World For Tomorrow however contains a lot more of the band's experiences over the past little while.  I had the chance to talk with Travis Stever of C&C to talk about the new album and the band's up coming tour to Australia.

"He [Claudio] writes the lyrics, so therefore the lyrics tell the story.  I mean we're all aware of what's going on, especially with No World for Tomorrow where a lot of the lyrics and the concepts were influenced by the things we went through in the last couple of years.  At the same time though, the story is Claudio's brainchild and lyrically he tells that story."

What C&C have done so well however is being able to write music that people can enjoy without having to be completely entrenched in the story or knowing the whole background of all of the characters  This is something that they are very much aware of.  "We are a rock band and you can connect with our music without even having to know the concept, and that's what we want.  What we want is for people to know that they don't have to be involved in the concept.  What we find is that once people become fans of the band they get interested and want to know what's going on with it anyway.  So it's like an addition."

Australian fans of C&C were recently disappointed in the band's sudden withdrawal from the Soundwave Festival in order to go on their current tour with Linkin Park.  Travis however made it very clear that while they did this, their intention to make a dedicated C&C tour happen was very important to them.  "We figured it'd be better to come back there and do all our own shows anyway.  We haven't been there for 2 years so for us to just come through with the festival thing doesn't seem like it would be appropriate."  It is clear that by the speed the new shows were booked that the band wanted to appease their Australian fans.  "We wanted to get there as soon as possible to make up for the fact that we had to cancel certain dates."

Fans heading along to C&C on the up coming tour will be treated to quite a new experience from the band with recent growth in the live show production including obviously new music, but also new players.  "This time around we'll have new tunes and we'll have Chris (Pennie) with us now who has added a lot to the band and I think has made everything really great...We're bringing the whole show out.  We had keyboards [last time] but it was more just triggers and samples, this time we're coming around and actually have somebody playing keyboards and background singers...it makes it sound very full.

"We're not a band who want to sound exactly like the album but we make it sound pretty close to what it is.  I enjoy when listening to a live band having it be a little bit different which is one of the reasons you go and see them live. Last time we were there the shows were amazing, and I think this time they will be even better."  Despite being under the weather on the last tour, Travis enjoyed both the country and the crowds.  "...I think they were really into it and we had a great time playing for them...I even got sick and still had a great time!"

While Pennie's involvement with the band had started before No World For Tomorrow was recorded, due to contractual issues he was unable to play on the album.  Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was called upon for that duty.  "We had chosen a producer called Nick Raskulinecz who had produced a couple of Foo Fighters albums prior to producing ours and he was really good friends with those guys.  So when he found out that Chris might not be able to play on the tunes...he had mentioned it to Taylor Hawkins and proposed to him that he would do some pre-production and then we would go in and record the tracks and he accepted and was excited to do it.  It worked out really well.  We had all the tunes demoed out with Chris Playing on them, so the ideas were already there."

With all of their success and growing as a band, it's interesting to note that the name of the band comes directly from characters in the story being played out across their releases.  However unfortunately all stories have to come to an end.  Will the end of the tale being played out see the end of Coheed and Cambria as a vehicle for Sanchez's story?  "It's kind of up in the air.  There's numerous different ways and routes the band could take, so who knows, we'll see.  I'm more concerned with getting that prequel out there."  With the way the story has been told out of order, the band's next album will actually be part one of the tale.  "It's just the way that Claudio wants to tell the story."

Travis has recently seen the release of an album by his main side project, English Panther on iTunes which will have future CD release including some new versions of tracks.  "I've really been setting my sites on if I do anything myself it's with English Panther.  That's really just my ideas that I'll lay down at home that most likely are a little bit different than you'd usually hear in Coheed or anything else...I'm sure I'll keep doing stuff after that because no matter what, be it Coheed or anything else I always love doing music, so I always need to have that outlet.  Whether it's likable or not.  I'm pretty proud of some of the tunes I've come up with to put on CD when I release that."

The mention of iTunes almost always brings up the concept of digital music downloading both legal and illegal and the revolution of digital delivery.  "It sucks for the music industry to be honest, because being on a major label like we are, we can see that it's kind of tough for everybody.  I mean they definitely make do, Sony has been really great to us, but I mean there are a lot of people just stealing music.  It's a different world, and it's a different world to what it was even five years ago.  So you have to figure out ways to get around it, and if you're going to make a living doing music, then there's a whole bunch of new steps that people will have to learn to take to be able to do that.

"...in a lot of ways people have been put on a pedestal for being musicians and entertainers, and lived like kings and queens, while other people had to completely struggle who were just as talented and just never had the chance.  And I guess in this you kind of learn that everybody is kinda cut down to size and we're all in it at the same rate.  I mean you take Radiohead and what they did, and they still sold a shit load of albums, so the fact is they had the ability to be able to take that chance.  Not to say it wasn't a great thing what they did, and in some ways I fully back it.  But in some ways it's tough to see somebody do that when you know they have the means to do it.  Because they already have the comfort of the albums they released before and the success they've had, so they're in a different situation."

The advances in online delivery of music also have their pros and cons for emerging musicians.  "It helps in the way that it gets their name out there, it hinders in the way where things are at everybody's fingertips now, so their attention span is so quick.  So you've got this one thing, now onto the next.  Oh I like this!  On to the next thing.  So it's helpful, but it's also tough to keep anybody's attention in this day and age and I think it's all about doing what you love and being yourself with it and as a band, and if it works, then you're lucky."

Travis went on to name bands such as Midlake, Minus the Bear, The Duke Spirit and My Morning Jacket as new bands that he is into at the moment, however when it came to appreciation of Australian music, he needed a little guidance.  "I would be open to knowing more...of course I love AC/DC but I don't know if that's what you mean.  Wolfmother, I admire what they did, they're pretty good, but not really my cup of tea."

Coheed and Cambria's latest album No World For Tomorrow is available now through Sony/BMG at all good music retailers.

The band will be performing live across Australia in March and April.  Tour dates are as follows:

Sunday, March 30th - The Tivoli, Brisbane (18+)
Tickets from Ticketek (www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849), Rockinghorse and Kill The Music.

Monday, March 31st - UNSW Roundhouse (Licensed All Ages)
Tickets from Ticketek (www.ticketek.com.au).

Tuesday, April 1st - Billboard The Venue, Melbourne (18+)
Tickets from Ticketek (www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849), Billboard (www.billboardthevenue.com.au) and Missing Link.

Thursday, April 3rd - Metro City, Perth (18+)
Tickets from BOCS (www.bocsticketing.com.au), 78 Records, Planet Beat Music and Moshtix (www.moshtix.com.au and all Moshtix outlets).]]> Tuomas Holopainen (Nightwish) http://www.ozprog.com/interviews/view/16 Wed, 6 Feb 2008 17:00:00 -0800 Interviews
All of this negative energy was brought about by the sudden split with former frontwoman Tarja Turunen in 2005. With rumours flying left, right and centre about who would replace her, Tuomas and crew fled deep underground to begin brewing the new album and finding their new voice.

"The only thing we knew was that we did not want to have a Tarja clone," says Tuomas on the search for the replacement vocalist. "We did not want another classically trained, operatic singer. Other than that we kept all the options open." The band sifted through over two-thousand audition tapes before settling on the unknown Swede Anette Olzon.

The band resurfaced in 2007 with Anette at the helm and immediately unleashed the new album, Dark Passion Play. This album sees an angrier Nightwish, but also a more dynamic Nightwish. Soaring and spiraling, with beauty and balls, the album makes a strong statement. Nightwish will move ahead at full-pace, and those that can't handle the change will simply be left behind. But even with an unprecedented amount of media coverage and non-stop touring since the album's release, the band is in no danger of running out of steam.

"We have been doing this for ten years so we kinda know what to expect, but I think some things that are happening are like a sledgehammer into the face for her. She didn't really know what to expect, which is only natural. But we are there for her and she is doing a wonderful job." Tuomas says, with a touch of pride in his voice.

"When you're a singer you are always the most vulnerable. We can go and perform when we have forty-degrees of fever, but she can't. So she really needs to take care of herself, save her voice, so it's always a bit harder for her."

January 2008 saw Nightwish returning to Australian shores, with dates in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. This gave Aussie audiences their first chance to see exactly how well Anette has fit into Nightwish when she tackled some of the songs that Tarja made famous.

"Personally I think she can pull off every single song well," Tuomas assured me, mere hours before I saw the band for myself. "But there are some songs that she just does not feel comfortable singing. For example "The Siren" or "She Is My Sin". I think she does them beautifully but she disagrees... There are some songs that she can pull off perfectly, like they were made for her. I think "Nemo" is one of them, "Everdream", "Dark Chest Of Wonders", "Higher Than Hope"...

"I notice when we start to play the older songs it's usually like the crowd goes totally quiet and everybody's like this for one or two songs," he says with his hands cupped behind his ears in a listening gesture. "Which is totally understandable. [But] after that the crowd reaction has been really good. I mean we have done 48 shows now with Anette, and I have seen one middle finger, that was in Philadelphia, and I have heard one time in Finland people calling "Where is Tarja?" One time. So I think the percentage is in our advantage."

As the band move forward with Anette and Dark Passion Play, they're also leaving something behind. Nowhere on the new album is this more prominent than in the song "Bye Bye Beautiful".

"It's no secret, of course it's a song about Tarja. But it's not made in a bad spirit at all. I hope that people won't be offended by the song. As a songwriter of course I need to do songs about these matters, because it was a very big happening in my life. It's just like a farewell song to her. It's not apologising, it's not accusing. It's just like a bitter-sweet testament of 'Why did this have to happen?' In this thing, in the end, nobody was innocent."

Innocence and childhood have always been main themes for the band. With all of the turbulence of the split now behind them, is the search for innocence still the driving force behind the music? "It very much is," Tuomas explains "not only innocence, it's like the goodness of people and the goodness of the world we live in that gets me, and inspires me to do songs."

But once that childhood innocence is lost, can it ever be found again? "Damn, it's hard," he says. "I've been trying to... but I drink more and more all the time. I smoke more all the time. I'm a pain in the ass for some people, more than ever.

"I think that making music and sharing all this with the whole world, it has helped me to find this path towards home," Tuomas adds. "So maybe if we keep on doing this for another ten years I think I will find back home again...

"Home is finding balance within myself and being finally happy with who I am. I really hate myself in many ways. I really want to get rid of that feeling and be happy with myself."

 

But if music is Tuomas' vehicle in his quest for innocence, his search for home - what happens to Nightwish if he ever finds that home?

"It's a bit of a scary thought... I think Dark Passion Play is our best album and it was born under a great deal of depression and sadness and sorrow and being incredibly pissed off all the time. So it's a scary thought that we need to go through all these feelings to be able to create art. But on the other hand, the previous album Once was done when I was feeling happier than ever and it still ended up being a good album. As long as you feel, whether it's good or bad, that's the most important thing."


Dark Passion Play is out now through Roadrunner Records. Nightwish have just completed a national tour but you can be certain they'll be back!]]> The Roundhouse Tapes http://www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/36 Tue, 8 Jan 2008 17:00:00 -0800 Music Reviews
As far as performance is concerned, The Roundhouse Tapes is incredible. The band are as tight as they've ever been, and never put a foot, finger or throat wrong. Early songs "Under The Weeping Moon" and "The Night And The Silent Water" are transformed by a passion that brings the entire setlist into a unified realm beyond album borders.
 
Thanks to producer Jens Bogren, many of the songs here (especially those from the first three albums) sound better than their original versions. The album sounds fantastic in and out of headphones, and the vibe is utterly tangible. It absolutely feels like you're at the gig. The first time I listened to it, I was looking out my window at the baking grass on a sunny Australian December afternoon, but I was still completely transported to the world of Opeth.
 
As sad as it is that Peter Lindgren is no longer a member of Opeth after all these wonderful years, this release is perfect as his last recorded material with the band. In contrast, the album is new drummer Martin Axenrot's first Opeth release (with the exception of the Deep Purple cover "Soldier Of Fortune"), and what a great way to start. He honours Martin Lopez's style and the way the drum music was written, but exactly mimics the former drummer's playing considerably less than he did at The Forum in Melbourne on the same tour a few months earlier. At times this can make the music "feel wrong", but there is still no doubt whatsoever that he is the right man for the job. He strikes a good balance between "it was written this way" and "let's face it, Lopez is no longer in the band". And is that a Lucius Borich fill near the end of "Face Of Melinda"?! That moment is as strange and unexpected as it is inspiring.
 
Both phases of Mikael Akerfeldt's voice are in amazing form, although keyboardist Per Wiberg's voice is not quite loud enough, leaving the powerful effect of vocal orchestration somewhat diminished (no pun intended).
 
There are a couple of very small but iconic musical details which have been changed from what they are on their respective albums. I won't give too much away, you'll notice them if you know the music well. And they aren't major enough (again, no pun) to seriously reduce enjoyment. I'll just say it's amazing how much can change when you shift a single snare drum hit one semi-quaver into the past. But I would still give the album a perfect score if it wasn't for "Ghost Of Perdition" and "Bleak" being slightly too fast throughout, and consequently not feeling quite as awesome as they could.
 
The setlist contains some of Opeth's finest masterpieces, and aptly showcases the enduring quality of music that has always been the chief element of what they are. 2002's Deliverance is the only album we don't hear from, which clearly disappointed a couple of very vocal fans. "Windowpane" is thankfully played at the right tempo, unlike most of the Damnation material on the Lamentations DVD, recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire (also in London, interestingly) in 2003. After that relatively accessible masterpiece from the mellow album, Opeth hit the audience with two of their darkest, heaviest songs back to back, explosively ending a fantastic show that covers the vast musical scope of their catalogue. "Blackwater Park" is very intense, and is a highlight of the show whichever way you look at it. You can really feel the crowd on this one, from before the song begins, although they're not the most rhythmically gifted bunch.
 
The crowd-banter is at times almost as engaging as the Aker-banter, and they both add a lot to the experience. From start to finish, the crowd are absolutely ecstatic to be a part of this event, and they won't let you forget it.
 
Each track, and the gig as a whole, is such a grand journey, proving once again just how breathtaking it is to experience the music of this fine band. If you're a fan, buy this album. If you're not (yet) a fan and you don't like this album, Opeth is probably not for you, although you should definitely check out 2003's Damnation. Wherever you are in the world, get excited about the next time these guys pay you a visit. If The Roundhouse Tapes is any indication whatsoever, it will be an unforgettable experience.
]]> Paper Champion http://www.ozprog.com/reviews/music/view/35 Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:00:00 -0800 Music Reviews
Heavy and soft, complex and simple, acrobatic and consistent; Paper Champion is all these things. Be aware, though, that the album never comes close to any of those bands in the heaviness stakes, filled more with emotion and nuance than pure chunkiness.

Named after a song from the Oceansize Music For Nurses EP, Paper Champion formed in 2005 and in the time since have built up touring credits including Birds Of Tokyo, Mammal and Dead Letter Circus. The EP was recorded with Rick Hollis, who has previously worked with Sunk Loto, but don't let that deter you. It actually sounds pretty good, production-wise.

"This Mute Tide" starts the record off safely, with a slow bass groove gradually building up to a chorus filled with vocal acrobatics from singer Grant Spencer, pushing the song ever closer to the cliff, but never quite going over the edge. The song builds up and the listener anticipates a mighty heavy crescendo, but the song subsides before the moment of truth. After the second verse the promise of an arse-kicking is finally fulfilled, with driving guitars and evocative vocals bringing the track to a close.

The second track ("Blindingly Confident") puts a stronger focus on the vocals, which is OK if you have Kim Benzie for a singer, but in this case I found myself hoping for something a little more interesting from the instrumentation. Spencer clearly has the chops to hit all the notes, but there's something about his tone which doesn't work as effectively when he is the sole focal point of a track, and the music doesn't have enough to hold the song together.

This is exemplified perfectly by "Teeth", which is a flurry of angular guitars, wandering bass, a constant, driving drum beat and vocals reminiscent of Mammal's Ezekiel Ox. Spencer really shines on the track because he's not so focussed on the aerial acrobatics, and his natural range is given room to shine.

"Undone" borrows the vocal talents of Erinn Swan (of Brisbane band Nina May) for a few well-placed vocal harmonies, starting out with an up-beat and sunny introduction and erupting into an epic second half. Guitarist Dom Alessio is given a lot of room to demonstrate his ample abilities throughout "Undone", and Spencer again provides incredible emotion through the high-rise vocal lines.

Swan's voice is once again heard on the final track, "Arithmetic", which is also the track most easily compared to another band. Its rolling guitar riffs, driving drumbeat and liberal use of vocal delay are reminiscent of The Butterfly Effect's "Always", but it does provide a little variety with a mammoth climax. The slow-building orchestral vocal chorus threaded with Swan's impossibly high operatic accents abruptly gives way to the most aggressive, pounding riff on the EP to bring it to a headbanging close.

Overall it's a good album with a dash of brilliance thrown in every now and then, and is undoubtedly a debut EP of which any band would be proud. It's packaged in a gorgeous digipak (yellow should definitely be used more often in cover artwork), and contains some good, solid rock songs; but it's clearly a first effort and Paper Champion will definitely be better for the experience. I'll be keeping an eye on them for the future.

If you're a fan of The Butterfly Effect or Mammal but want something more focussed on subtlety and emotion and not so much on heaviness, I strongly urge you to give Paper Champion a go.

You can hear Paper Champion on their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/paperchampionband.]]>