Crippled Black Phoenix - (Mankind) The Crafty Ape [2012]

First of all – dear band, I'm sorry. I really wanted to hold on to original release day, but I so need you these days, I couldn't refuse trying the leak. Still, I humbly promise to buy your album the moment it enters stores. But today's story isn't about my remorses – it's supposed to focus on newie from one of the most fabulous modern bands. Crippled Black Phoenix. (Mankind) The Crafty Ape. How ironic and yet actual this phrase is.

What can you do when everything you touch, turns into horror and failure? Yup, that was my today and I bet all of you experience it sometimes. So, any ideas? Well, if the lecturer kicks you out of the classroom, it is honestly a good idea to spontaneously go to the theater. It's not pretty bad to get lost as well. And that's where music becomes quite useful.

The Thread, they called the first part.
All of sudden, I find myself in the wrong bus. Scared, I jump out of it and recognize, I don't have a clue of where I am. Ok, calm down, J., just play some music and we'll find the way home. Hmm, let's check this new CBP. Oh, wow! That is indeed quite a threatening beginning! But it fades into idyllic shadow so soon... Let's buy some bread, I think we forgot about dinner again... Oh! My! Check the song's title, check that! Heart Of Every Country – what a guitar, mmm, I'm delighted. And it resolves with such a calm passion, wasn't Opeth like this before they fucked up? Or maybe rather Gilmour! Knopfler in his best years! That must be a great lyrics, pay attention next time! That bread ain't too fresh, but mmm, just eat it and walk. Awww, guitar solo and such deep piano! I think some people claimed it was 'one of the finest work by Pink Floyd', I second that!

No, I don't. That must be next track, Get Down and Live With It. Voices in the background, that's quite CBP's taste... oh, and drums like in King Lupus! Strings! Hmm, I really prefer female vocals like this, than those from Of a Lifetime, nice lows. Joe and cello! So much power do I feel. And isn't it the castle over there? If I get to it, I'll find out where I am. Yes, CBP will let me do that. Hah - le me walking dark streets with such epic passages in my ears! You can hide, Leo:P All post rock bands can hide as well. Next point? (In the Yonder Marsh) Well, that's probably what will offend PF fans most – a combination of heart beating, bells and electronic fuzzes in a space-like package. I don't think I mind though. Ups, did I sing And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking aloud? That guy gave me such a strange look.

Air gets thicker now, as I get into some darker streets and I can't say A Letter Concerning Dogheads and its pessimistic atmosphere raise my heart up. But hey, I already know this song! It's a famous The Brain / Poznan, inspired by us, Polish fans<3 That's upbringing indeed. I'll have to praise those amazing instrumental parts if I ever write a review! What's the time? Ok, minute 6, noted. Oh, look Joanna! It's Old Town! I'm almost home.

Chapter II (The Trap):
Laying the Traps... That song lays good in my legs, how about a little walk before we reach home..? A hot coffee would be good idea as well... OH MY GOD!! *spills half of the coffee* Aaaa! Those drums!! I so wanna play that rhythm on my imaginary drum! And the chorus is terrific, note to self: listen thousand times to this song. They apparently wanna keep up pace in this part... yes, I'm definitely gonna walk a while longer. Wow, saxo?! Is it saxo Born In a Hurricane? Love the rock&roll ending! And now they Release The Clowns? r&r slow motioned? That's a really sexy tune, guess if such a music freak as me wanted to seduce somebody, she could use it as a musical help:P (What?) is it? Judging by greek-like guitar and chapter's name – I'd say somebody successfully sent a Horse to Troy.

Chapter III (The Blues of Man):
Ok, we've reached home. We should study. A Suggestion (Not A Very Nice One). I think I'll choose finishing this splendid album first. This song has a great, lazy base (drums&bass and bluesy voice) + broken rhythm. Yay, my feet love kicking rebelliously to it! But there comes an oriental bridge (Dig, Bury, Deny) and I'm watching Asia-oriented pics with my mind's eyes. Not for long - Operation Mincemeat – moves me to England and its foggy fields in the early, cold morning. It's the most incredible waltz I've ever heard, drifting in melancholy and dew.  

We Will Never Get Out This World Alive however – a sad, balanced piano miniature, urm, shall I say 'eargasm!' – puts my tired feet on the melancholic path leading straight to Faced With Complete Failure, Utter Defiance Is the Only Response – opus magnum – 15minutes of musical masterpiece, that proves CBP are beyond all genres, and no matter what elements of them they use – they become even better. I didn't joke about buying that album! And when I'm done, I'll find my old discman and take even longer evening walk.

Use your anger to creatively destroy your oppressors - as they say. Thank you my dear, now I'll study in peace.

Machine Head - Unto The Locust [2011]

Before the year comes to an end and the combat boots are changed to dancing shoes, I shall sing yet another hymn to you. A song about the album that shook my world in December and keeps me thrilled till tonight.
I can't say how come I listened to Unto The Locust, since I never liked thrash metal much. Maybe it was fate, maybe it's because I kept coming across it everywhere in Internet? But since I don't fancy philosophical speeches, let's allow music to speak.

I Am Hell (Sonata in C#) opens in a ceremonial, old-church-fashioned way almost like in Septic Flesh. But there's a hell in the title and it soon becomes touchable as the guitars and drums ride a devilish gallop, hurried by growls.
I am hell to thee
Down here all shall suffer with me
Well said, all will suffer from neckaches after that much headbanging.

The guitar introduction of Be Still And Know keeps the fire of sacral atmosphere. Further though they slightly distort, float with choired vocals and fly in bridges. What a power! What a melody! In the heaviness of this tale there is a lot of energizing optimism.

Locust was chose a promo single and I admit it was a damn right decision. It has absolutely everything that good metal song needs – fast solos, catchy chorus, good lyrics, amazing melody all song long and even an emotional bridge (some more famous metal bands would make a 5-minutes ballad out of it:P) Ay, que rico!

The beginning of This Is The End makes you think 'aha, now they'll slow down and get melancholic!' One awesome riff hurries another, and the dissonances in the chorus are like an ironic laughter on my first imagination of song.

Yet each metal album MUST have a song that's more melancholic than others. Darkness Within presents that point of view, changing growls for wonderful clean vocals and pressure hidden in acoustic and almost acoustic riffs. Yes, the sound explodes in chorus and following solos, but the general idea of a song is much calmer – the limited version of album contains acoustic bonus, as well as covers of The Sentinel (Judas Priest) and Witch Hunt (Rush). The strong point of Darkness are beautiful lyrics.
So pray to music build a shrine
Listen in these desperate times
Fill your heart with every note
Cherish it and cast afloat
Because god is in these clef and tone
Salvation is found alone
Haunted by its melody
Music it will set you free
Let it set you free

Pearls Before The Swine – is it a sad reflection after a concert? For sure it's a sad, dark tune with broken rhythms, quiet distortions and loud neckbreakers.

Who We Are? Children singing, adults screaming, raging drums or guitars mixed with cellos? Recently I heard an opinion that metal is much more popular among people from smaller towns and villages, among those who are bored with their everyday's reality and lies of modern world. The part -
We are the other American dream
Whose characters fight for their lives
And they scream
-seem to perfectly summarize the better part of metalheads' world – people who are not afraid to stand up for themselves and their opinions. And there's something about this song that wakes the fire burning deep inside my heart and makes me wanna scream, yes, scream, what I really think.

What do I think now? Be courageous and keep changing the world in the damn 2012, remember:
We are the young
And young at heart
The strong and the brave that are destined to start
We are the change
The world needs to see
Look in our eyes and see our belief !

Fever Ray - Fever Ray [2009]

Women are said to have a lot of dark secrets and live in their irrational, imaginary world. We like to present ourselves as reasonable, powerful and optimistic creatures though;) Yet when Karin Dreijer Andersson from The Knife began writing her solo album, she managed to mix both these natures and create the most female album since ages.


If I Had a Heart is indeed a dark, mysterious duo with a trembling bass and almost flat melody that completes the hypnotising atmosphere of the song. Do women have hearts? And if they don’t, is it because they are naturally black-natured or were their hearts stabbed to death?

What’s the favourite saying of every little girl? When I Grow Up, I want to be...!  our singer mentions a number of careers and seems a busy, dedicated person, yet she explains that part of her is still waiting for something/someone special to love her back. I’m addicted to the way this music fills me with energy, its electronic, dynamic melody immediately reminds me of how good it was to be a kid, trusting in a wonderful, dreamed future...

Dry and Dusty on the opposite seems a bit fearful, it’s a tune drowning in melancholy and slight jealousy of every good moment. The only burst of emotion:

Work as I’ve been told
In return I get money
Small feet in the hall
And I long for every moment 

is definitely enough though.

Seven is a much happier memoir, a picture of real female friendship (that indeed exists, I tell you!) and inspiration. It also has calm, but electrifying music with the loops that seem to sparkle like J.M. Jarre’s songs. One of my favorites.

I have to admit that even though I love Fever’s lyrics, for a long time Triangle Walks meant to me just one of the best rhythms in the world. Fantastic use of oriental drums and loops + croaking vocals = purr, purr, purr as Sheldon Cooper would say... And there really is something about this song that makes me think of legendary Pass This On by The Knife and song’s episode in Les Amours Imaginaires. Perfect for the end of a party.

Concrete Walls and its heavy, swinging loop would be better for a hangover though. It’s the most instrument-based song on the album and has entrancing, dark atmosphere.

Now’s The Only Time I Know is a heart-breaking Carpe Diem. For the first time in this album, Fever loses her Swedish harshness in her voice and becomes really delicate and romantic, you’d wish to say – like 19th centuries ladies. Subtle music gives a modern breath though, so we don’t drown in victorian sadness entirely.

La Donna Mobile as Italians say, and women don’t like to show their weaknesses anymore as I say. After a little breakdown, we must show our determination. And just as complex, dynamic music in I’m Not Done motivates to fight...

So, I lost my head a while ago
But you seem to have done no better

We set fire in the snow
It ain’t over I’m not done

Some do magic
some do harm
I’m holding on holding on
I’m holding on to a straw

But there comes a time for the best song of the album. As we once agreed with a fellow night traveler – Keep The Streets Empty For Me – is perfect for lonely trips in the dark city, no matter what you did before. The simple music eases the pain in legs and heart and slowly softening voice of Fever begs for company in singing, murmuring or both. It is also a thrilling story of desire, anger, regret, hope and all that storm that goes on in our female minds so often.

Coconut is more of an afterword, an entrancing tune, full of musical cookies, with much smaller emotional impact than its predecessor though.

To me, the phenomenon is that even though pop and electronic music usually bores me really soon, I've been loving Fever Ray for more than a year now... The catchy, but not boring sound and amazing lyrics speaking of both – most usual and most extraordinary things – made a real masterpiece!

Insomnium - One For Sorrow [2011]

Do you still remember April’s pretty days and that amazing single of Insomnium? We used to excite about little bit as it set the level so high, that One For Sorrow grew to be one of the most awaited albums. But so did a couple of others, that disappointed horribly – shall I even mention Hericrap? My nerves were in pieces as October came and it wasn’t at all due to studies’ begin. Did they manage the pressure???? Well, I’ll figure out for you.


Insomnium got us used to little introductions that help to focus all attention on them (doing 10things at a time may bring you to leaving unprofessional traces in professional works (silly comments in codes for example:P:P) or forgetting that your tomorrow’s dinner is yet on cooker... sec!) Well, Inertia is a really nice intro with a motive that will appear  in latter parts of album. To be honest, after hearing the album a couple of times I get excited about this part immediately (mhm, reminds of favourite song!).

Through the Shadows is a classic Insomnium medley original mainly because of extra vocals – sounding like metal version of gospel rock support. It’s a frapping song, as it’s really catchy, but making me question their seriousness on HOW catchy they want to sound. The song seems to lack balance a bit, yet it’s a piece of good fun.

Song of the Blackest Bird is however a declaration – it’s still us kids! – low-voiced whispers, melancholic bridges and this overwhelming power they are so unique to provide! Nothing new, but that’s what we love in them.

Ha, but don’t you think they don’t change! Only One Who Waits begins almost trashy and keeps high pace with minor exceptions – that synth use really made me think of Amorphis – yet it’s drums that are biggest hero in here.  If their concerts rock this much, shame on them for avoiding me!

A promo single – Unsung – is a furious song of frustrated, to-be-forgotten artist. A usual, epic composition with especially beautiful bridge
Only the frail words
Written in the stone
Retell my name anymore
How do we love this voice!
After madly growled Every Hour Wounds comes a calm, acoustic Decoherence – a cold stream between cracking rocks xd


It seems to me, that despite their energy, Insomnium must be very lazy guys, since they always make great songs with word ‘lay’ in titles. I loved Lay Of The Autumn, and I love Lay The Ghost To Rest – its melody, growls, drums and lyrics. For a moment I associate ‘lay’ with other words than ‘I’d love to lay down and sleep, just for a while’. Poor us, tired students.

But they make me Regain The Fire and my spirit screams with them
Destined to find my own way
To create the path to follow
And the scars of tomorrow
Will make you bleed only today

And the rain keeps falling
Pouring down from the sky
Washing footmarks from the mire
Leaving no trace behind
Oh, and that beautiful guitar combo in the end<3 Wake up, the best part of the album has began!

One For Sorrow is the highlight of the album. It’s growled, but  quite calm. The lyric is heartbreaking, two lines of vocals in verses blend into perfect harmony, subtly strengthened by deep, low  drums, even the simplicity of guitars seems a huge advantage. In one word – a masterpiece. Song I can listen to hundred times with getting bored. Thank you, Insomnium!

A bit unfortunately, the album doesn’t hang on this last, highly emotional notes, but remind of April’s single – Weather the Storm. My opinion hasn’t changed and you can find it in earlier post. I could only say I wish they put it somewhere before title song;)

How should I value this album then? They don’t bring revolution, yet I really like it. It’s hard to compare it with their earlier, pretty mature works (it's not as flawless as Across the Dark and has hardly as good songs as Last Statement) but none should feel ashamed, Insomnium is one of the few bands that may use mostly old tricks and a couple of new melodies and make a really solid thing that will make all of us headbang.. I’m in for it, rock on!

Kwoon - The Guillotine Show [2011]

There won’t be much blabling today as the modest author is surrounded with lots of issues, not even closely connected to music. But a tiny, stubborn albumito forces its way through science books and demands attention. Well, how could one resist this temptation? Especially for you – The Guillotine Show of Kwoon – or the main suspect in the case ‘how come J. got an F from physics?


The execution is opened with church bells – did you pray well, my dear reader? be sorry for your sins and ask God for mercy as you walk your last steps. When we think of death it’s always a bit surrealistic and therefore the scary-cabaret-light flow of our song perfectly catches the atmosphere. A show after all, isn’t it? Are you scared..? I’m terrified, but with the spicy noise and sweet vocals and the way they combine.

Wark could be a first encounter in the afterworld. Ethereal, peaceful melody and beautiful lyrics
Hello, my friend, let’s go and forget
but also a bit of an emotional, post-rockish instrumental clash. If you ever get a chance – and I bet you shall, they do lots of tours now – you should hear that break live. Quite a hypnotising experience, guess myself kept staggering for a good week willing to forget everything but that tune...

Like an answer to shaky walk comes The Last Trip Of A Drunken Man – a cute, cute song I’m gonna sing to my kids someday:)) Kwoon has a luck to have 2-3 really good guitarist that make little wonders and a charming Mr Drummer (greetings from my bf!) who plays lovely effects on this one.

Emily Was a Queen so she got an enthusiastic support from the band. Though to me it’s a bit weird to sing ‘I feel down, so down’ while making such a merry noise, oh I love how Sandy’s leading his voice and Yoann has a really nice bassline pulsating with drums so nicely, that my heart will never slow too much down.

But getting to the guillotine isn’t a nice experience. Even if you accept your fate and step onto landing yourself, there stays some sadness. But be a Bird, my love, find a tree, heal your wounds and sing all your hope, despair and regret aloud. This song is a tear jerker, but it’s so mindblowingly beautiful! No other words from me!

The EP contains also acoustic version of I Lived On The Moon – the best hit of band so far (if you haven’t heard it yet, google video, NOW!) – it’s not better than original and I dare to say I like Wark equally and Bird incomparably more, still, nice accent, guys! See you again next year, as you promised! With a full album this time;)

Gojira - The Link [2003]

Ashamed I must confess that for a long time (way too long!) Gojira meant to me one of the Guitarist’ cards with best virtuosos of that instrument (and quite a hottie in that case) + a few songs I quite enjoyed. The rest seemed too technical and boring to my ‘sophisticated and progressive taste’:P Yet this spring when I decided to clean my hard drive, Gojira ‘accidentally’played itself showing quite a different image of themselves...


Dry, thick drum rises and in The Link with powerful guitar creates an original song with a catchy riff, irregular, trancing rhythm and lovely out-of-tune chorus. What else is linked in this piece? a declaration of independence with will to build, create things and ‘being there’ for other people. And how could you expect such a declaration not to be screamed?!

Death of Me was caused by jumping elephants in the intro and a mad argument between Duplantier brothers (oh pity their mother if they did argue like this in childhood!). Yet in the later part everything gets more polite – repetitive drum and riff and growl-recitation (did you know growls can be polite?). Connected is a small interlude made of tiny wooden drums that have great power of shaking my arms...

But we’re not playing games here! Remembrance shall show it – since the very beginning – raw guitar, regular drum and a threatening scream of Joe’s. From the half everything slows, guitars get lower and drums more intense. Accompanied by the sounds out of this world we come into Torii, an unearthly beautiful and peaceful bridge ( a delicate, caressing guitar reminding a bit of Opeth’s acoustics...) What story could such a wonderful music tell? When you can’t find light in your life, search in your memories, past is something you can yet control.

The curtain of water falls with Torii and we’re on the Wild West! Indians musically (and rhythmically at most!) picture stupid White Faces attacking great Red Skins. So, there is a march (technical, regular part) and a chaos of war (another argument). Let’s scalp those lame badasses!

What if the only to cut away from evil is to drown it? Duplantiers repeat 'I Embrace The World' as a kind of mantra, that unites them with nature. And I have to say I get very fond of ground&grass when those exotic, mad sounds rise my body.

Yet Inward Movement brings the euphoria to an end. Everything is freezing in sadness:
Slow inside I take my time
will come and fill the empty space
my wound I'll nurse I'll understand
my pain one day will disappear
If Lars von Trier enjoyed metal, I’d recommend him using guitar outro of the song to prom his new Melancholia. You can literally feel how the music becomes roots and mug that forbid you to run.

But Gojira doesn’t want you to die, they just want you to *think*. That’s why Over the Flows talks about examining your heart and finding proper solutions. So the music is a beautiful solution – shadow of drums and a simple, anxious guitar line.

He who learns must suffer
and even in our sleep
pain falls drop by drop
upon the heart

Against our will
wisdom comes
And as it comes, all our world is shaking! The trembling, cold guitar line brings to my mind music with which Pegasus kept informing me ‘you’re time is running out, expect game over’

The anxiety reaches its top at Dawn – all the earth forces break lose. Guitars weep, squeak, scream, tremble and the drums swing from mad fury to sad march. Pure, well-organised chaos (and as you know – entropia always wins). So how could it end? in no other way than birds’ singing.

Jeff Buckley - Grace [1994]

Few men prayed love and music with such a dedication as Jeff Buckley. And few managed to get as much love with just one album. Few listeners didn’t fall in love with Grace and THAT voice – and it has fans between both pop and metal musicians, young and old people... Ladies and gentlemen, musical masterpiece of love!


I'm lying in my bed, the blanket is warm
This body will never be safe from harm
Still feel your hair, black ribbons of coal
Touch my skin to keep me whole
Dreamingly whispered spells of love fill Mojo Pin with love from their first notes. But this song is in fact a struggle with oneself – from ‘my love, give me more’ to ‘don’t wanna weep for you, don’t wanna know’. And it perfectly shows how capricious a heart can be. So does the music swing between shy arpeggios and intense rides.

Title song is an astonishing combination of simple acoustic guitar parts, dry drums and strings. And as Jeff sings ‘Wait in the fire’ it really seems that this song burns marks on your ears. Marks reminding you to come back to this tune. Singing gets much braver in this song and together with distorted parts of synthesizer it really blows my head off.

Last Goodbye drops on peacefully – cute, fat bass riff, simplified background and slowly growing voice shows how wide and deep it is. Shouldn’t all splits be that happy in sound? Even though it’s a little bitter:
Kiss me, please kiss me
But kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation
Jeff’s goodbye is full of peaceful regret not anger.

Lilac Wine is harder tune to me. The cover of James Shelton however greatly prepared, can’t charm me as much as Jeff’s original songs. Lullaby-like, with 80s singing manners and hardly any music apart from vocals. Yet it’s one of the best lyrics and a really good song after a couple of listens.

So Real(ly) thrilled I am each time I listen to nr 5! Amazingly suiting guitars and crawling vocals (not to mention lowly whispered bridge!) easily make one of the rock masterpieces. Again Jeff shows how much he can do with his voice still being more passionate than all modern singers taken together. He’s shaken and mysterious while he wonders but clear in his scream ‘Oh it was so real!’

Since I come from poor generation that was raped in the youth with Shrek’s Fiona’s Hallelujah obsession, I never could enjoy song in original L. Cohen version without instant image of green ogres swimming in the mug. Yes, that sucked. But when I heard Jeff’s remake a few times I began to appreciate beauty of this song. Hoarse voice of young man that spends way too much time kissing and whispering love spells, ascetic guitar (and well, a couple of views of live performances) and green horror disconnected from the music;)

Lover, You Should've Come Over is a song about unability to keep a relationship despite much love.
Yes I, I feel too young to hold on
And I'm much too old to break free and run
Too deaf dumb and blind to see the damage I've done
Sweet lover you, should've come over
Oh love well I'm waiting for you.
Music is a lovely, well-learned homework (to do: listen to some good classic rock, e.g. Dire Straits, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin) with a bluesy vocal melody. Yummy!

Corpus Christi Carol as a remake of old english carol shows more elegiac, spiritual intrests. Oh happy thee if thoust church has singers like Jeff!

But our boy was obviously a rock soul with some punky ideas, so Eternal Life is a thrilling, rocking tune with magnifying  guitar (those cracks!<3) and passionate, aggressive struggle with microphone. I could really love hard rock if it was a bit more like this. A curious fact – someone told Jeff that he can’t sing louder than violin. Well he tried, check result in last minute.

Yet it’s a magnifying Dream Brother that sticks to our hearts most. Sad, very sensual song with a beautiful lyric and amazing musical background (lovely combination of acoustic guitars, harp + hypnotising drums). Last note hanging in the air won’t make you forget it...

... but if you enjoyed that romance, check bonus disc from Legacy Edition as it holds equally amazing songs with an opening perfect Forget Her (that almost made it to standard edition) that shall tear you apart.