Normally, I'm not into metal music. The posing, the fake aggression, the lengthy songs with terrible lyrics, the machismo. But I happen to come from the same town as one of the world's finest epic metal bands called ATLANTEAN KODEX. And what shall I say, they're geniuses.
They are five guys in their thirties, all working regular jobs. They've built up a recording studio and they've become kinda big in the scene with their first record "The golden bough", which was released a few years ago. This October, their new masterpiece finally saw the light, and it completely blew me away. It's called "The white goddess".
So if you happen to like melodic, slow metal (like the early Manowar, Solstice, Bathory, etc.) with a folk touch Atlantean Kodex are the perfect band for you.
Here's a link to the complete album on Youtube:
Musically, it consists of several long pieces, which contain epic melodic arcs, the typical solos and some lyrics worth listening to. If you're looking for the stereotypical "fight for honor" bullshit, this is the wrong place. "The white goddess" is centered around the idea of the downfall of Europe. It starts out with mythological references, continues with allegorical descriptions of the historical and cultural context and finishes off with a mind-blowing conclusion. But the lyrics are also written in a very "open" way. Surely there are several different possible interpretations.
The short interludes between the songs add a lot to the atmosphere and link the songs nicely to each other. I also really dig the sound of the record, as far as I know, they've only used analog devices, and you can really hear it. It's very transparent, yet powerful and well-rounded.
I hope some of you like the album as much as I do. Since I've got it, it's basically on infinite repeat. A masterpiece.
Personally, I don't really care for the style of vocals that this band seems to employ. It just doesn't sound powerful enough. Sounding powerful is, in my opinion, one of the defining characteristics of the entire genre of metal, and songs that lack power just don't sound very good.
It's just my own personal taste, however, so feel free to ignore this entire post if you disagree.
On December 05 2013 06:50 Fishgle wrote: Sounds a lot like Iron Maiden, imo, with all the historical, mythological, and allegorical lyrics.
yeah, but the musical style of Iron Maiden is vastly different. They do share the hymnical choruses and the doubled guitar figures, but Maiden songs are closer to the rock'n'roll side of things. They're also less influenced by doom metal, I think. And Dickinson's voice is what you'd expect in that genre. Manly, powerful and kind of over the top. The singer of Atlantean Kodex has that certain folk vibe in his voice, which makes it less powerful, but adds lots of colour in the quieter passages.
I think that his voice fits nicely to the music, even though he's really lacking some punch in the highest registers. But that's only a minor issue for me.
Reminds me just a little bit of Kamelot. It almost has a power metal sort of vibe to it, but not quite. The vocalist also classically trained like the singer in the video I linked below, but that's not really a fault. I've only done a quick listen to it though.
It's interesting the aspects of metal that you dislike, as I share your distaste for those elements, yet almost exclusively listen to metal. The genre is just so broad, so encompassing! There are thousands of talented metal bands which utilise the complex and technical aspects of the genre without the bullshit - they just need to be found!
Somewhat tangentially related, is this melodic metal album I have had on repeat for the past week or so:
@op sounds like a typical power-metal-band to me. Similar to the slower Hammerfall pieces, also gravedigger (especially the van canto cover of their "the clans are marching") comes to mind. Not bad, but i am not so much into power-metal any more. Still thank you for sharing it.
On December 05 2013 08:26 deth wrote: It's interesting the aspects of metal that you dislike, as I share your distaste for those elements, yet almost exclusively listen to metal. The genre is just so broad, so encompassing! There are thousands of talented metal bands which utilise the complex and technical aspects of the genre without the bullshit - they just need to be found!
Somewhat tangentially related, is this melodic metal album I have had on repeat for the past week or so:
EPT
