Vomitron - No NES for the Wicked

No NES for the Wicked is a tribute to the 8-bit music of NES by the American Peter "Vomitron" Rutcho (e.g. Armory, Graveheart), and its style is in vein of symphonic power metal, a bit like his other band Armory's. Video game tribute bands seem to be a relatively common occurrence across the big pond, and other popular North American acts such as Armcannon, Minibosses, Powerglove and Stage 3-1 also represent the genre (albeit not strictly limited to any particular console).

The album was released already in 2011, so a lot of water has flown under the bridge since then giving me ample time to get to know this record well. And the more I listen to it the more I am convinced that No NES for the Wicked is the best console video game tribute in whole, surpassing even such releases as Legvacuum and Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man by Armcannon and Powerglove respectively, which I'd considered top releases of the genre for long.

The tracks on the album are more or less based on classic NES games, but curiously enough, such popular titles as Mega Man and Super Mario have been completely excluded. Perhaps this is suitable to its purpose since both themes have been remixed and covered to no end by both well and lesser known artists. Instead of that, Vomitron focuses on Ninja Gaiden (European title Shadow Warrior) for two tracks worth spanning all six acts, and doing it with quite a masterly touch, totally toppling Minibosses' Ninja Gaiden song which I previously regarded as The Ninja Gaiden remix. That isn't to undermine the Minibosses' version but to further highlight the skillful touch and genius of Vomitron.

Other high points of the album are Blaster Master – a title somewhat unfamiliar to me –  and of course everyone's favorite pieces, both Zeldas. Especially the relative nutcase of the game series, Zelda II, gets such a treatment in Vomitron's hands that it reaches the top of the album along with Ninja Gaiden.

Three pieces of Tetris have also been included as certain types of intermezzos, but unfortunately they never quite manage to hold my attention, and frankly I'd rather have seen them dropped altogether. Not a big hit or miss in any event due to their short lengths and spacing around the album.

When the legendary Castlevania themes are finally finished, Vomitron's style hasn't trembled at all. No NES for the Wicked is premium quality and deserves a permanent place on my cell phone's playlist. One must hope that Mr. Rutcho will invest in the game music genre in the future as well, maybe in the form of No SNES for the Wicked? I dare to think that the mister's treatments to certain Final Fantasy songs would bring tears to one's eyes and make shivers run down the spine. And in case the Final Fantasy series feels too worn-out already, there are lots of other potential SNES titles for such material. Failing that, there are a bunch of NES tunes still to plow through, or what say thee Shadowgate, or a little less known masterpiece called Tecmo Cup Soccer (JP: Captain Tsubasa). Here's hoping!

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You can buy the album (along with a nice t-shirt and a poster you wouldn't want to miss for life) on the Vomitron website.

No NES for the Wicked is also on Spotify along with some of Vomitron's earlier works.

Machinae Supremacy – Redeemer

From the northern Sweden hail Machinae Supremacy, a band renowned for their "SID metal" sound which incorporates synthesizer sounds from a device known as SidStation – a device capable of "mimicking" the MOS 6581 aka SID sound chip found on old home computers such as the famous Commodore 64.

MaSu originally rose to fame by covering old game tunes such as The Great Giana Sisters or the Sidology medleys using metal-like approach backtracked by the SidStation. These tracks would then find their way on the MaSu website in the early 2000s for redistribution – a method which proved immensely popular at the time.

Following their internet-based success MaSu released their first album titled Deus Ex Machinae in 2004 via a UK based label MDB Records. In autumn 2006 one of the better known metal labels Finnish Spinefarm took MaSu under their wing.

Redeemer was released in early 2006 – first as a self-release (titled Underground Edition) – and later in 2006 officially by Spinefarm, simply dubbed as "Retail". This review is about the retail version, and it's worth pointing that out as its tracklist is different to that of the Underground Edition's.

Redeemer follows in the Deus Ex Machinae vein but takes things one step further, a natural evolution process that is. The musical genre is still glued to what one could well describe as power metal with SID-like synthesizers. The singer and main songwriter, Robert "GaZ" Stjärnström, still has his easily identifiable, somewhat creaky voice, which one will either love or hate, and the guitar melodies and synthesizers are just as high-blazing as on Deus Ex Machinae. The main changes stem from slightly more serious lyrical themes as opposed to writing tracks (mostly) about video games. In fact, one of the clearest video game reference tracks, Fury, was indeed left out of the retail release which is a huge shame as it's a very good song.

Most tracks are fairly mid-tempo with some faster beats here and there, but one thing they all have in common: memorable choruses. The songs are very easy to get into despite their musical prowess and showmanship of instruments. The album ends with the slow, darkly atmospheric and perhaps a bit sad Reanimator which is also the 3rd installment in the March of the Undead series.

Lyrics mostly deal with individuality and choices in life, often times telling a kind of a story while leaving the exact meaning and background open for listener's interpretation. Some political criticism (Seventeen) is up in the air as well.

Overall Redeemer is a rock solid album, standing on its own from the first seconds on until the end, with only small bows inbetween. To me Redeemer defines what Machinae Supremacy are about, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone with keen interest in (old) games and (new) metal. Once you've been bit by the MaSu bug it's difficult to let go – and why should you, there are other albums like this one waiting for you out there, including the brand new Rise of a Digital Nation, of which a review is coming up within the next weeks!

You can listen to Redemeer and other Machinae Supremacy albums on Spotify.
Through the Looking Glass musicvideo.

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Grayscale - When The Ghosts Are Gone

Album of the week is not necessarily an album review, nor the album presented a new release, but it's something that has impressed lately, for whatever reason we say.

At the beginning of the 2000s a band called Grayscale took off from the dark forests of Mikkeli, Finland, playing melancholy and slightly gothic metal. Prior to Grayscale, at the end of the 1990s, the band was known as a quartet called Four Bitches, but on the only full length album the band ever released, When the Ghosts Are Gone, the crew comprises six people. Grayscale was buried apparently after the demo Interior World, which was to be their last, in 2004. Later on some of the band members have appeared in such bands as Crimfall and Enthrope.

Basically, Grayscale is Four Bitches taken onto the next level. After using merely harsher vocals during the Four Bitches era, clean vocals have been added beside them, leading the album more towards gothic metal, reminding one of older Entwine and To/Die/For. The same feeling is also prompted by synthesizers which were not yet used during Four Bitches.

Some tracks on When the Ghosts Are Gone are remakes of songs found on Four Bitches' demos, others are previously unheard, newer material. Old songs have been transformed into excellent adaptations for Matti Hämäläinen's clean voice, while some contrast is provided by the guitarist Miika Partonen with his rough voice – just like on the demos. The songs flow delicately accompanied by keyboards and melodic, albeit fairly simple, guitar lines. Melancholy self-destruction theme is present in most songs, and I would hazard a guess certain Lopakka's lyrics notebook has been open somewhere in the background.

It's difficult to point out individual tracks above others, but the most memorable are straightforward and melodically simple The Fire Inside Me, which is about a fading will to live, and musically more saucy Shape In The Shadows. Otherwise the style of the songs throughout the whole album is quite similar – a feature which could be considered a flaw as well.

Grayscale is probably quite an unknown act outside Finland, and hardly particularly famous even when domestically speaking. When The Ghosts Are Gone is still very high-quality material for the lovers of gothic metal, and it's still available for a reasonable price at least in Finnish record stores. All in all, Grayscale is an excellent combination of Sentenced, To/Die/For and Entwine, and quite recommended to the fans of the genre.

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Dreamtale – Epsilon

Album of the week is not necessarily an album review, nor the album presented a new release, but it's something that has impressed lately, for whatever reason we say.

Dreamtale's Epsilon may be picked up for two reasons: firstly, it is a particularly good album to be an album of just any week. Secondly, it was officially released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux countries a few days ago by Rock It Up Records. Although the album was first released in Finland in 2011, its release in the aforementioned European countries is remarkable as well. While I'm looking forward to their next album and hopefully a lot of gigs in local bars here, I also wish the guys could gain success abroad as well – they have all the potential.

And what makes Epsilon so fancy? It's Power with a capital, Erkki Seppänen's magnificent power metal voice and Rami Keränen's grand and creative compositions, backed up by a talented band. And by saying "particularly good" I meant "particularly strong" – none of the ten songs on the album are weak. Lack of speed doesn't add to the lack of strength, and while some tracks—such as Angel Of Light—keep releasing energy right from the very first second, others build it up for a bit longer to be released later, like Lady Of A Thousand Lakes or Reasons Revealed. And something has to be said: the combination of energetic and vigorous (guitar) melodies and moments of nearly perfect silence works very well.

The album has many songs which make awesome live songs too – so many of them are likely to set you in motion one way or another, whether you feel like banging your head or even dancing. (Yes, Epsilon has actually dominated the playlist I listen to when exercising.) One of the most ingenious parts is the C one of Fly Away, being something that reminds one of something else but metal, but is still very... metal. And most melodies are just simply very catchy and nice. Firestorm opens up both gigs and the album equally well, Where Eternal Jesters Reign has excellent synthesizers and backing vocals, Mortal Games rules with its interesting drums and chorus.

Hopefully Dreamtale's next album will be at least something equally stunning – and if it's much better, it has to be something... woah.