Apparently this album is quite the Big Deal in the synth/industrial world and it's not too hard to understand why -- Necro Facility's music is essentially catchy, angst-ridden emo/pop/mallpunk performed with keyboards as opposed to guitars. I don't mean that as a diss either; while it's not the sort of thing I'd ever seek out on my own, I know well-crafted pop when I hear it no matter what subgenre affectations it assumes and there's no denying that "Wintermute" has sure-fire mainstream crossover appeal. If you like My Chemical Romance or Nine Inch Nails, you'll probably like this a lot and hopefully it'll lead you deeper into the underground. Also, if you find yourself strangely drawn to those weird, seemingly out-of-place techno parts that crabcore bands sometimes employ, you might dig this too. Me, I think it sounds a lot like a shiny, polished version of Skinny Puppy's "The process" with Ogre's brilliant abstract lyricism and heavily processed vocals replaced by crowd-pleasing singalongs and a smattering of those good cop/bad cop dual vocalizations that make me sigh and feel old. Again, no disrespect intended -- I have no doubt that Necro Facility made exactly the record they wanted to make and their target audience will justifiably love them for it. There's nothing wrong with that at all. - Avi Roig
It's safe to say at this point that In Flames will never make another "Jester race", so expectations must be adjusted accordingly. Even though the chorus sounds like Finnish pop-metal (see: late-era Sentenced, Lordi, etc.), I think I must admit that I actually like this. Trust me, I'm surprised too.
Swedish atmospheric prog/neofolk act Rising Shadows are giving away their latest album "Finis Gloriae Mundi" as a free download, either as mp3s or lossless files: http://www.risingshadows.net/
Said album was recorded with the always-interesting/always-analog Mattias Olsson and features a guest appearance by Stefan Granberg of Randy on bouzouki.
As first revealed here, has officially signed long-running Swedish indie act Tennis Bafra and will be releasing their debut album in fall: http://nomethod.se/?p=494
As the label so wisely states, "If you're a fashionblogger writing music reviews for a big Swedish paper, you'll probably hate them. If you're into Sonic Youth, Polvo or Archers of Loaf (for example) you´ll love them." Wise words, sample tunes here: http://www.tennisbafra.org/
The new Ane Brun single "Do you remember" has been confirmed for release on May 17 and you can check out a short preview clip at her website: http://anebrun.com/
Necro Facility
