2009 presented a great harvest to all kinds of audience. Some bands brilliantly showed their value, others tried to re-gain credit and others just made us get bored and spend our precious time.
Here are my 5 favourite records for 2009.

5-Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
Released late in the year still came in time to make this an even greater year. The mix of melancholy and beauty wrapped in Jonas Renske's soft, warm voice is a total must hear.


4-Minsk - With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone
Now this is what I call original music. A blend of psych, stoner, sludge, sometimes with a bit of black and death and most certainly with tribal rhythm. They slay live!


3-Altar Of Plagues - White Tomb
After two promising EPs (Sol and Through The Cracks Of The Earth), Altar Of Plagues release a full length of landscaping and atmospheric black metal, showing that Ireland has more to give than the great Primordial.


2-Converge - Axe To Fall
I was not a big fan of Converge. The core genre was never appealing to me until... Until Axe To Fall. What a bomb! What a bomb! Just hear it.


1-Liturgy - Renihilation
I wrote about this album in the zine and all I can say is: wow. It's not a word, I know, but it's the only thing that comes to my mind when I remember their songs. Unique, fucking unique.



Still, 2009 wasn't - obviously - this short on music. With no particular order, you must hear Drudkh (Microcosmos), Shrinebuilder (s/t), Them Crooked Vultures (s/t), Thy Catafalque (Roká Hasa Rádió), Ancestors (Of Sound Mind), Blut Aus Nord (Memoria Vetusta II) and Celan (Halo).

And 2010 already began. I now eagerly await the records from the following bands:

Deftones - Eros
This working title is everything we know about the next 'Tones record.

The Firstborn - Lions Among Men
This will probably be the name of the new Firstborn album. The band will record it in Wales (again) and will surely try to make even better than the awesome The Noble Search.


ThanatoSchizo
The schizophrenic sounds of TSO will become acoustic, in an album that's being recorded in Vila Real and will be entirely produced by the band itself. With a still unknown title, it will consist of acoustic versions of the band's songs that were played in a series of concerts throughout 2009.

Concealment
The Portuguese tech-death outfit already recorded the songs for their long awaited new full length. After mind-blowing everybody with Leak, they won't sure let anybody indifferent.

Devin Townsend
Ki and Addicted are already past tense, and Townsend prepares to release two more albums in 2010. No stops in Planet Dev.

Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra
Half kidding, half serious, I do want to hear their new record. Yes, I spent my whole adolescence time listening to these guys and even watched their Download 09 performance online. Between the audience titties, I also listened to some old fashioned nu-metal which made me want to go back to my 15 years old.

Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Ways of OrwarriOr
Six years to release this eagerly awaited album. January 27th is the definite release date of an album which already seemed another Chinese Democracy. Middle East death-metal anyone?



Of course 2010 will have many other great records. And for those, Scratch The Surface will always be there.

António Matos Silva
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With dark ambiences, tribal percussion, psychedelic sounds, hypnotic rhythms and a crushing heaviness, “With Echoes in the Movement of Stone” is an engaging and rare musical experience.
On their third full-length work, Chicago’s Minsk have created a sound that could be described as all of their own, clearly distinguishing themselves from the overcrowded post-metal movement that have become quite popular in the last few years. Their songs still evoke a fervent and raw edge similar to Neurosis, yet they seem to go a step further with Minsk adding more variety to them by meshing diversified layers and textures. As a consequence “With Echoes in the Movement of Stone” is a demanding and intricate record, containing plenty of details and distinct emotions, but without ever falling into the let's-fuck-up-some-heads approach that some bands opt just for the sake of puzzling the listeners. The fluidity of the songs is vital to Minsk and on “With Echoes in the Movement of Stone” they ebb and flow as if they were alive, with bursts of primal savagery deftly intertwined with moments of atmospheric subtlety. On opener “Three Moons” such pendulous trait is heavily accentuated with the band oscillating between harsh, heavy riffs and bleak melodies, and the voice of Tim Mead come into a combination of enraged shouts and mournful cries that sound almost like shamanistic chants.
Following song, “The Shore of Transcendence” has a heavy 70’s psychedelic vibe to it, not too dissimilar to acts like Iron Butterfly or The Doors’ “The End”. The drummer Tony Wyioming does an excellent work by playing idiosyncratic and tribal drum patterns to build a drowsy and slow rhythm that meshes incredibly with slow-burning and down-tuned riffs, Arabic scales, wind synth effects and Hammond-generated psychedelia. “Almilra's Premonition” surges next in a similar dreamy and sluggish pace, emanating a soothing atmosphere that would not be out of place on the most depressive doom album you know.
Musically, the band is definitely tighter than ever as the songs are perfectly crafted, clearly the consolidation of everything Minsk has been aiming for all along.
(8/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/minsk
Label info: www.relapse.com
Distributed in Portugal by www.majorlabelindustries.com
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With an extremely exciting third album entitled “With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone” receiving worldwide critical appraisal, Chicago’s psychedelic metal experimentalists Minsk are poised to break into the big league and become one of the most creative and interesting acts extreme music has ever spawned. Their music has the power to stir up the senses of many levels: the cerebral, the emotional, the psychological, etc… as demonstrated on the follow-up to “The Ritual Fires of Abandonment”. We’ve approached the group by e-mail to understand more about “With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone” and vocalist Timothy Mead agreed to be the interlocutor.

With a new album recently issued to promote on the road entitled “With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone”, Chicago’s Minsk have completed their first-ever European tour last May with Poland’s Ketha as supporting act. How did that go?

“The tour was great. It was our first trip to Europe, and we were overwhelmed in every sense. It was an absolute thrill for us to meet people across the ocean who were interested in what Minsk is doing. Ketha was great, really great guys and a great young band. The tour was thrown together very quickly and at the last minute, and still there were good crowds, lots of interest, amazing hospitality. If we had tried that in the States, it would have been a totally different experience. We can't wait to come back to Europe in the fall with A Storm of Light.”

The tour started with a performance at the Roadburn festival in Holland. Did you enjoy the experience at Roadburn? It seems that Minsk’s performance had caused a strong impact on the audience, Steve Von Till from Neurosis for example has posted the following message at Beyond the Pale at Roadburn blog: “Arrived this morning... who needs sleep? It is so good to be here. Just watched Minsk. They were awesome!”

“The whole festival was unreal. I cannot imagine a more perfect setting for this type of festival. Great bands, relaxed atmosphere, great sound, IN HOLLAND! Walter and his army of hard working staff make the whole thing run so smoothly. I can't say enough about that. There are no attitudes or other things that ruin other festivals. It was great. We were surprised at the impact our performance had as well. The room was full of enthusiastic supporters, and we met so many people there who were happy that we'd come. It was humbling to be among such great bands from all over the world. And any time you can get a complement from SVT, well, that's just plain awesome.”

Long time collaborator and Yakuza’s vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Bruce Lamont have accompanied Minsk on this recent European jaunt playing saxophone and other instruments live. What was like having Lamont on board to play with the band? Did you have to re-think some of the songs to play them live and incorporate his musical input?

“Playing with Bruce is always a joy for us. As you mentioned, he's played on a lot of our recorded material, and he's played live with us several times in the States as well. But this was the first time he did an entire tour with us. It went very very well, and it's something we hope to be able to do again, especially in Europe. But to answer your question, no we don't ever really have to rethink too much when Bruce plays with us. He knows our music, and he understands what we are doing artistically. He always finds a way to be a part of that when he performs with us. But as the tour went along, it was really exciting for us to begin to gel as a unit more and more. Once everyone was comfortable playing with each other night after night, Bruce was able to step forward more and add other elements. I hope we get to do it again soon.”

While playing live, since the music is so demanding, how hard is it to replicate in a live setting? Do you think the songs from the new record are more challenging to play live?

“The songs are always challenging to replicate, to an extent. These are songs we've written, and so they feel natural to us in a way. But they are also demanding, as you say, with lots of elements happening simultaneously, etc. To get that mixture perfect does take some time for us. But we also don't view what we do live in exactly the same way as the recorded material. I think it would be extremely neurotic and unfulfilling for us to try to put forth exactly what you hear on the album night after night. Sometimes the live material resembles the recorded material, and sometimes it strays. When it strays, those are sometimes the most thrilling experiences for us performing. For me, the new songs are a bit more challenging still, because they are new still. In the long run, I think these songs present the same sorts of challenges and possibilities that the older songs do.”

“With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone” seems heavily accentuated on dynamics, constantly contrasting between passages of psychedelic and melodic subtlety and violent bursts of primal aggression. I'm curious to know if the band starts the writing of a new record with some conversation and conceptualization between all of you or if one of you basically starts showing up at rehearsals with new ideas. In your opinion what was done differently this time around?

“I think our writing process is a little bit of everything that you mention. Sometimes there are conversations, sometimes there are simply musical ideas. But every song comes together in its own way. It seems like we definitely have ideas in mind about the concepts and dynamics of each album as we're working on it, but ultimately it just comes out the way it does, and we follow that path for a while. I think our subconscious motivations, fears, and head spaces determine these as much, if not more, than our intentions... in terms of the larger dynamics and moods of each album. As for "With Echoes...", we prepared as much as possible before the sessions, and then began the second aspect of the writing which takes place in the studio. This time around, we did the album in fewer longer sessions, rather than several shorter ones, and I feel that we were better prepared before entering the studio in some way. The entire process felt shorter to me, though I'm sure it was equally as gruelling as the last one for Sanford as a producer.”

With each new album, do you find the process of writing and composing songs to be easier and more natural, or do you find it increasingly more difficult to keep a fresh approach, without rehashing ideas from the past?

“I'm not sure if I can give a clear answer to that question. To me, writing seems both as natural and difficult as it did in the beginning. I'd like to think that we've matured as individuals and song writers since then, but I think we get just as wrapped up in that challenge as we used to. We have always just enjoyed the music that happens when we get together, and that is still the case. It still feels natural, without too much worry about what it sounds like or if ideas are reused. It is always challenging to try to put forth something better than the last thing you did, but that's also the joy. For me, I feel that we have managed to do that thus far. That matters more than the subjective and varied ways that people are going to receive it.”

“With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone” was once again produced by bassist and rising producer Sanford Parker at Volume studios. There’s an obvious advantage of having someone in band that has a vast experience as producer and owns his own recordings studios like Sanford, it means that you can record new songs whenever you feel like it. Is that the case or do you still like to commit new songs to tape only after they’re fully developed at rehearsals?

“Yes, it is a great luxury to have a producer in the band. Sanford is amazing at what he does, and he completely understands and is invested in what Minsk does. Bands dream of having that kind of relationship with the person that is going to produce their album. But so far for Minsk, we typically only record when we're working on an entire project, like a new album, or a vinyl release. The studio is a business, with bills to pay, and lots of bands coming and going. We always have enough time to do what we need, and unlimited access to Sanford, but studio time still costs the studio, and the band, some money.”

The enigmatic title of the record “With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone” seems to underlie a some kind of elaborated lyrical concept. Do you care to explain the themes behind the album’s lyrical work?

“I hesitate to say too much, because I honestly believe that the entire experience of the album paints a picture. My hope is that these words and this music are full of meaning, in many different ways at different times. Themes of loss and regret are certainly strong. Simultaneous opposites like fear and joy, suffering and triumph, are present. If we talk about what these lyrics "mean" and isolate them from the songs of which they are a part, then we're setting them aside as having value and significance on their own. They, we are trying to read them like a text, rather than a poem, a song. On this album, perhaps more than the previous ones, they present a continuum of emotion, hopefully something larger than isolated meaning, something richer that can continue to speak to us and to people who wish to dig deeper. It seems a ridiculous thing to hope for, I suppose.”

So what’s next for Minsk?

“Well, the album is out now, and we've just completed a tour of the western US with Wolves in the Throneroom and a trip to New York to play with Keelhaul and Unearthly Trance, two of our absolute favourite bands. We'll be home for a few weeks before heading back to Europe in October for Damnation Fest in England and a three week tour of the UK/Europe with A Storm of Light. We're very excited about that. Then, we'll probably tour the eastern half of the US in the spring and begin planning our next trip back to Europe as soon as possible!”

More info at: www.myspace.com/minsk

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