#avatarium

[erikrovanpera]

Artwork done by me that’s on display at the Total Metal exhibition at Kulturhuset Stockholm Sweden.

Go see it if you can!

[lillyli-74]

[debbieharryiscoolerthanyou]

Do you ever listen to a band and think "yeh, I like that" and then they slowly sneak up in your estimation, until you suddenly realise they might be one of your favourite bands.

[dosbox]

source

[vinylspinning]

Krux: Krux III: He Who Sleeps Amongst the Stars (2011)

No one would mistake the bare-bones artwork seen on Krux's first two albums for compelling eye-candy, but did the Swedish doom supergroup have to redress the balance with the orgiastic rainbow explosion used on their third?

Lucky for Krux, I wrote in the All-Music Guide, my review would focus on the music, not the eyesore cover of 2011's Krux III: He Who Lives Amongst the Stars; then I proceeded to denigrate said music for falling short of those first two efforts.

What was I thinking?

Well, distance obviously makes the heart grow fonder, because I thoroughly enjoyed my reacquaintance with this swan song from the since disbanded Krux, which still stands as my favorite side project helmed by Candlemass bassist and songwriter Leif Edling.

Looking back at the talent involved, it's easy to see why: Mats Levén (Abstrakt Algebra, Candlemass, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, etc.) on vocals, Fredrik Åkesson (Arch Enemy, Opeth, etc.) and Jörgen Sandström (Entombed, Grave, etc.) on guitars, Per Wiberg (Opeth, Spiritual Beggars, etc.), on keyboards, and Peter Stjärnvind (Entombed, Nifelheim, etc.) on drums.

Wowza!

Together, this wrecking crew helps make Edling's wildest doom dreams come true, as he seeks to move beyond the style's solemn dogma with a healthy injection of progressive and psychedelic sounds, topped by a mixture of sinister and fantastical lyrics.

To that end, it's Levén, Wiberg, and Åkesson who deserve special credit for their contributions, so I'll highlight some of these, in turn ...

First up, the versatile Levén, who growls like Cookie Monster at the end of "The Hades Assembly," caws like a crow midway through "Emily Payne (And the Black Maze)," and recalls underrated Black Sabbath stand-in Tony Martin on "Small Deadly Curses."

Second, Wiberg, who enlivens the galloping title track with his swirling, outer-space synths, adds churchy organs to "Emily Payne," and drapes atmospheric sound effects behind the colorfully-named ten-minute epic, "Prince Azaar and the Invisible Pagoda."

Now that's a song title!

And third, Åkesson, who haunts the latter track's mid-section with both ghostly arpeggios and white-hot lead runs (these also save the otherwise dull "The Death Farm"), and then unleashes exquisitely emotional guitar solos on "The Hades Assembly" and the album's majestic closer "A Place of Crows."

In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that Åkesson's command performance on this LP unofficially sealed whatever audition process he had to undergo (if any) to officially join Opeth that same year.

Whether it was his departure or my unfairly negative review (yeah right!) that convinced Edling to shut down Krux, I cannot say, but I heartily recommend the group's first, second, and now also their third LP (crap cover art and all) to all doom lovers.

More Krux: Krux II; plus Candlemass: Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Nightfall, Ancient Dreams, Tales of Creation, Live, Candlemass.

[unspokenmantra]

[leifedling]

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[sun-killer]

BAND RECOMMENDATIONS

I will recommend to you guys some bands that I like that I think should have a bigger fanbase because they are really good, some newer than others, but all of them are worth the listen.

1.- Diabulus In Musica [x] They are a symphonic metal band from Spain lead by Zuberoa Aznarez, they are one of my favorite bands, I believe they could go big in the scene.

2.- Edenbridge [x] A band from Austria with a long trajectory but not enough exposure, despite their big talent in music with Sabine Edelsbacher as their vocalist.

3.- Imperia [x] They are such and amazing band, Helena Iren Michaelsen is such a good vocalist, with a very diverse range, formerly known for being in Trail of Tears and Sahara Dust, before turning into Epica.

4.- Kobra and the Lotus [x] A heavy metal band from Canada, really talented with Kobra Paige as their vocalist, who has been one of the Kamelot girls in some of the tours.

5.- Unleash the Archers [x] A band that mixes melodic death metal and power metal, with Brittney Hayes a.k.a Brittney Slayes as their vocalist, who has one of the best voices in metal.

6.- Dark Sarah [x] The new band of Heidi Parviainen, former singer of Amberian Dawn, playing symphonic metal, or as she call it, cinematic metal, bringing interesting stories to life with their music.

7.- Trillium [x] Amanda Somerville’s melodic metal band, she is know for working with different bands, like Epica, Avantasia or Exit Eden, but her project is not very known.

8.- Avatarium [x] A doom metal band lead by Jennie-Ann Smith, they lso incorporate some hard rock vibes to their sound, bringing a new and refreshing sound to the metal world.

9.- Once Human [x] A melodic death metal band, for the fans of heaviness, with Lauren Hart as the vocalist, who is now know for working with Kamelot in their album  The Shadow Theory.

10.- Temperance [x] Originally lead by Chiara Tricarico, now with Alessia Scolletti and Michele Guaitoli in lead vocals and Marco Pastorino in bass and second vocals, with a sound that mixes symphonic metal and melodic metal.