SEEN AND HEARD: ETERNAL CHAMPION, AUTOKRATOR, GLACIATION, TAKAAKIRA “TAKA” GOTO

 

Once again, I’m behind in posting round-ups of new music and videos. I have a long list of new things that emerged this week, just not enough time to write about it… because once again my day job has sent me away from home. More about that in a later post today.

But although I can’t write about all the good new things I saw and heard this week right now, I’ll throw a few diverse tracks your way in this post and try to collect more tomorrow.

ETERNAL CHAMPION

I’m going to start with the most unlikely of choices for a site like this one — it’s an exception to our inconsistent “rule”.

Eternal Champion are an epic heavy metal band from Austin, Texas, named after a character premise in Michael Moorcock’s fictional universe and featuring an ex-Iron Age vocalist (Jason Tarpey) and Power Trip’s lead guitarist Blake Ibanez.

The singing is all clean, and the music is a variant of one of my least favorite metal genres (power metal). But Eternal Champion recently released a new single (which follows a 2013 demo) that has really sunk its hooks into my had.

The single is a combination of an intro segment (“Rise For Revenge”) and the main song (“Retaliator”). It’s a galloping piece of ear heroin, and the strong high vocals are really good (people who are into this brand of metal may be reminded of other vocalists, but in my case they sound like a young Ozzie Osborne, except maybe better). It’s a ridiculous amount of fun.

Listen below; it will be released by No Remorse Records on March 6.  (And thanks to blend77 for the tip on this.)

http://eternalchampion.bandcamp.com/track/ride-for-revenge-retaliator
https://www.facebook.com/eternalchampion
http://label.noremorse.gr

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTOKRATOR

I have a bad habit of finding albums that I’d really like to listen to in-depth and then review, but not following through due to a limited attention span and even more limited time. Knowing this about myself, I sometimes feel compelled at least to mention the album in a post like this one in the hope that people will go explore it for themselves.

In this case, the album is a self-titled work released today by a new Parisian project named Autokrator, and it’s available on Bandcamp. I’ve listened to a grand total of one song so far, which is the alum’s opening track — “Act 1: The tenth persecution”. I would describe it as a combination of death metal, industrial metal, and drone, a highly distorted blast of thoroughly pulverizing industrial rhythms, filthy vocal abrasion, attention-grabbing snare hits, and an atmosphere that’s something like the fire-bombing of Dresden.

Am I going to listen to more of this? You’re damned right I am.

https://autokrator.bandcamp.com/releases

 

 

 

 

 

 

GLACIATION

NCS supporter eiterorm pointed me to this next song, and then I discovered that I had overlooked a promo for the album from which it comes that arrived in mid-January. Based on this one song, I really need to hear the rest of the album.

Glaciation are a French black metal band founded in 2011 by keyboardist François Duguest and guitarist Hugo Moerman, and its ranks also now include vocalist Rose Hreidmarr (ex-Anorexia Nervosa, CNK), bass-player Indria Saray (Alcest), and drummer Jean “Winterhalter” Deflandre (Alcest). Their debut album, entitled Sur les falaises de marble (“Upon the marble cliffs”), was released late last month by Osmose Productions and includes a variety of guest appearances, including Neige from Alcest.

The one song I’ve heard is “Le Soleil et lacier”, and it’s an engrossing piece of melodic black metal that’s by turns rocking, ravaging, and ethereal. It includes sweeping, dramatic melody, a mix of vocal styles (both flesh-rending and clean), and grinding riffs capable of riding you into the ground.

http://www.osmoseproductions-label.com/bands/glaciation/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAKAAKIRA “TAKA” GOTO

Takaakira “Taka” Goto is a composer based in Tokyo, Japan, who is best known as the lead guitarist and composer for Japanese instrumental rock band MONO. In 2003 he recorded a solo album named Classical Punk and Echoes Under the Beauty that was not completely finished or released at that time — but will now be released on April 27 by Pelagic Records.

This morning I listened to one track from the album, an instrumental piece named “Delicate Madness” that premiered within the last week. It includes piercing strings, electronic noises, and a melancholy piano melody, which all combine to create an atmosphere that’s both dark and enthralling. Not metal, but I thought it was cool — so here you go:

http://www.takagoto.com/
http://www.pelagic-records.com/