The Viking in the Wilderness - reviews and news

(57:27; Neuma Records) Track list: 1. Canarian Bayram 9:14 2. Fantasía Flamenca 6:52 3. Roxanne’nın Dönüşümü 5:48 4. Kara Toprak 7:38 5. Mikrop 4:49 6. Epulos 11:42 7. L’anello 11:24 Line-up: Elisabet Curbelo - electronics, voice with: University of Utah Ensemble (Conductor: Jason Missal) Beatriz Lopez Salinas - percussion Sanaz Nakhjavani - kanun Ulrich Mertin - viola Tommy Babin - double bass Steven Schick - percussion Renga Ensemble (Conductor: Steven Schick) US based composer and musician Elisabet Curbelo has been creating music of different kinds for the past couple of decades, and from what I understand she has also been experiencing cultural impulses from a number of different nations in the same period of time. This fall she is out with the album "Resonances Unbound" on US label Neuma Records. This album features a collection of compositions written in different time frames and in different locations, and that have been recorded in a few different locations too from w...

(30:19; Neuma Records) Track list: 1. The Serving 2:24 2. Also Known As 1:49 3. Laevinic Defeat 1:43 4. Culture 4:46 5. Four Words 1:41 6. Mirror 3:06 7. Day by Day 3:24 8. Deluge 3:55 9. Darkness into Light 7:31 Line-up: Ken Field - all instruments US composer and musician Ken Field is a veteran in US music circles, with tenures in bands exploring the fields of world music, jazz and progressive rock in his resume, as well as composing music for television shows. In addition he has been active as a solo artist since the middle of the 1990s, with more than a dozen albums to his name as of 2024. "The Canopy" is his latest studio album, and was released by US label Neuma Records in the fall of 2024. The music on this album was commissioned for a dance performance, where the topic of the performance were expressions of loss, love and resilience. These are emotions that all shine through in these compositions too, and besides the emotional resonances that comes with the different ...

(49:14, Neuma Records) Track list: 1. Drunkard Landlady 3:12 2. Inherit a Memory 4:33 3. Tell Me 6:58 4. Stealing of Cream by Blue Tits 4:10 5. White Light 5:23 6. Polly's Eyes 5:43 7. Aqua Diva 4:09 8. Wrinkles of Time 5:33 9. Crossroads 6:00 10. Drop in a Cascade 3:43 Line-up: Matthew Bourne - piano Michael Bardon - bass Sean Noonan - drums, vocals UK based threesome The Noonan Trio revolves around the creative process of composer and musician Sean Noonan, who has been releasing albums as a solo artist and in various collaborative settings for 15 years or thereabouts. The Noonan Trio is a new constellation, and released their debut album "Inherit a Memory" in the fall of 2024 through US label Neuma Records. While I'm more familiar with this label due to their classical music and experimental music oriented releases, on this occasion it is jazz that is at the core of what Noonan and his trio explore. As might be expected from this label this is more of an experimenta...

(31:59; Ubuntu Music) Track list: 1. Dew (Tal) 3:14 2. Homage to Chopin 2:24 3. On a Boat 3:01 4. First Step (Nur) 4:16 5. The Naked Streets 2:38 6. Dance of the Blinds 3:49 7. Not Alone 2:20 8. Echo of Regrets 4:03 9. Sandbox 4:20 10. Shades 1:54 Line-up: Maya Belsitzman - piano, vocals Uriel Herman - cello Israeli composers and musicians Maya Belsitzman and Uriel Herman are, according to the press release, seasoned and accomplished artists in their own right, with well established careers that have developed over the last couple of decades on a national as well as international level. While they got to know each other many years ago, they have never had the chance to create music together in earlier years. This has now been rectified with the release of the album "Pauses in Shades", which was released through UK label Ubuntu Music. While I understand that jazz is the main genre this label focus on, on this occasion they have released a production I'd classify as being m...

(64:56; M&O Music) Track list [CD Edition]: 1. Point Nemo 3:30 2. Refuse Tomorrow 3:47 3. The Wooden Idol 5:12 4. Fiery Dawn 4:10 5. The Lord and the Crow 6:36 6. Chiaroscuro Italiano 4:21 7. Tropical Survival 4:59 8. A Change of Heaven's Mandate 4:23 9. Untouched Boundaries 5:54 10. Pico da Neblina 4:24 11. Are You Dead Yet? 3:56 12. Gateways 4:54 13. Never Fade Away 4:28 14. Chiaroscuro Italiano [Italian Version] 4:22 Line-up: Not stated French project The Dawn Razor appears to have formed sometime around 2017, and is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Sylvain Spanu. Two albums have been issued under this moniker so far. "In Sublime Presence" is the most recent of these, and was released through French label M&O Music in the fall of 2024. I couldn't track down any line-up information about this album, which leads me to believe that at least as a studio venture The Dawn Razor is a one-man band. Since I see references to the band also performing liv...

(25:13; M&O Music) Track list: 1. Origins 4:03 2. Dimension 7:04 3. Master of Laws 5:10 4. To Be King 4:55 5. The Prophecy 4:01 Line-up: Nico Darklight - guitars, vocals Phil Nuke - drums, vocals Lö - bass, vocals Val Silmë - vocals Belgian band Vysion was formed back in 2019, at least if the information I can find on the internet can be trusted in that regard. Following a few years of preparations the foursome are now out with their initial EP. The name of this production is "Master of Laws", and has been released by French label M&O Music. It is a quite powerful take on metal we get from this band, and the recurring use of galloping riff and rhythm elements will probably see them placed inside of the power metal category by default. The songs on this EP see them mainly explore midpaced songs of that variety, and with a bit more of an old school take on this tradition unless I'm much mistaken. At least the busy and hectic high pace drum patterns I'm used to h...

(83:08; Rock Company) Track list: 1. A Dragon's Tale 2:01 2. Regnum Draconis 3:35 3. Aenoor 3:18 4. Glynyd 5:03 5. Gol Matoo - Meteorite Impact 9:02 6. Ael Hathor 7:58 7. Ieeryah 7:29 8. Pandor's Adoption 6:20 9. The Meeting 7:06 10. Tayla's Teachings 2:56 11. The Prophecy - Tayla's Mission 6:35 12. Consulting Serna 7:02 13. Certamen Ultimus 7:26 14. Salus Orbis 7:17 Line-up: Koos Thönissen - guitars, synthesizers, bass, mandolin, percussion, vibra slap, didgeridoo, drums, soundscapes with: Jeroen van den Biggelaar - guitars Ron van Rhee - flute Sascha Burchardt - vocals Emmelie van Deurzen - vocals Jacqueline van Elsbergen - vocals Cathy van der Valk - vocals Koos Thönissen - vocals Anita Alberts - backing - vocals Ian Jillings - voice Huw Lloyd Jones - voice Dutch project Cryptic Nature is the creative vehicle of composer and multi-instrumentalist Koos J. Thönissen, and with the double album "Pandor" he set out to create his very own rock opera by writing th...

  Swiss band Dead Born Vision are out with the album "Moving Through", and metal is the style explored on this production. Thrash metal is the name of the game for this band, and with gruff vocals leading the charge we get a band that are fond of their chugging and meaty guitar riff cascades just as much as they treasure some nice and neat circulating guitar riff patterns. With flowing and elegant guitar solo runs as a recurring element throughout, and with a little bit of a melancholic feel in some of the guitar lead departments to boot. The band also enjoy adding in a little bit of extra intensity along the way, with some of the more intense passages having a little bit of a flirt with the extreme metal tradition in terms of pace, momentum and vibrant energy. In addition they have chosen to add a few sound effects of different kinds to some of the songs, like the sound of a beer bottle being opened used to kick off the final tune 'Crack a Cold One'. An album to seek...

Swiss band King Sable are out with the album "Nothing But The Truth", and metal is the style explored on this production. The core foundation of this band is what I'd describe as a more contemporary take on the traditional heavy metal form, with a nice array of chugging guitar riffs and galloping riff and rhythm constellations being something of a mainstay. More distinct staccato riff and rhythm arrangements expand the boundaries somewhat though, and along with that we have the combination of more controlled and melodic lead vocals with a bit of a talk like mode of delivery alternating with more aggressive vocal displays that have a stronger attachment to the hardcore tradition. With liberal use of guitar solo overlays that adds a more distinct melodic touch to the proceedings that offset and contrast with the more aggro sometime vocal displays. An album to seek out by those who find the notion of melodic heavy metal seasoned with a bit of hardcore aggression to be an int...

Multinational band Lava Abyss released the album "Sacrificial Ritual of Primordial Fire" back in 2021, with a CD edition appearing now in 2024, and metal is the style explored on this production. It is a harsh and bleak landscape that is explored on this production, with a distanced, closed in sound aesthetic being the chosen path for the mix and production direction of this album. Where twisted and distorted lead vocals emphasize the bleak feeling of an otherworldly existence that the production values have established. The songs themselves do come with a little bit of a progressive attitude, with a high number of shifts and alterations in pace, flow and intensity. More intense riff and rhythm barrages is a part of the deal just as much as slower paced sections closing in on the doom metal tradition in form and execution, and with a little bit of thrash metal thrown in too unless I'm much mistaken. We also get a fair number of more melodic and atmospheric ...