Summary Judgments, Volume 3

It's not you, it's me.

This is an occasionally-recurring feature wherein I mostly apologize for deficiencies in my own taste. Hey, at least I'm trying. The numbers in parentheses show how much of the record I listened to before calling it quits.

Aluk Todolo: Occult Rock (2012)
(6 out of 8 songs)

Aluk Todolo's Occult Rock has some really cool music on it. Progressive, psychedelic metal that explores elements of many different genres. Generally, just a tour de force or whatever. The problem is, it's a completely instrumental double album. Considering the instrumental part, it's amazing that it's good enough to get me through one disc and halfway through another, but I don't think I want to go any further. If you like instru-metal, though, it's rare to find anything better than this.

Silent Leges Inter Arma: Silent Leges Inter Arma (2012)

Guest review by Patrick, proprietor of Beards, Etc.

Silent Leges Inter Arma are a German black metal/black'n'roll band who formed only a few years ago. They released their self-titled full-length debut October 12th.

This band, despite their Metal Archives classification as just "black metal", do not have a sound that I would describe as being at all typical of that sub-genre in its pure form. The guitar work, rather than creating a thin wall of coldly clinging notes, is much more open and full-bodied. The drumming rarely falls back on clattering blasts of speed, and instead it feels surprisingly straight-forward and rock oriented. The vocals, too, are not really standard black metal fare, as they frequently dip down into deeper reaches that at times sound more like they belong on a death metal album. The band have clear black metal roots that show through in many places and they stick to a black metal aesthetic, but they are not a straight black metal band.

Germ: Wish (2012)

Weird

Germ is a weird one. Wish combines all manner of synthesized sounds: electronica, ambient, synth-pop, the strings and choirs of Viking metal, and the first few seconds of every Steve Miller song. It adds drums, occasional guitars, and clean or unearthly vocals to create a sound you've surely never heard before. Think Ace of Base getting in touch with their Swedish roots and then torturing Attila Csihar. When they throw in the occasional straight-up heavy metal lead, comparisons to the soundtrack of an 80's action movie present themselves.

Last I checked, though, 80's action movies soundtracks and Ace of Base don't have blast beats and bloodcurdling screams.