Agony & Opium

I discovered this band through Funerot's "And Then You Fucking Die Man" (great album) shortly before they disbanded. Funerot's old website link would redirect you to Christian Mistresses, who's logo fitted every single aspect I look for in a heavy metal logo, which is a big part of a bands first impression.

I'll start by reviewing Agony & Opium, a srs heavy metal masterpiece that got em signed to Relapse, not specially a good thing for most bands, but I think it works very well with a genre that isn't exactly meant to be underground. This band is the perfect mix between old 70's hard rock and trad heavy metal, going from killer solos and heart pumping drums, to slow but meaningful ballads and clean guitars. The whole record is pretty much perfect, but the first thing I got hooked on were the raspy, 70's sounding vocals that could not go along better with the looks of the vocalist, a sort of slightly chubby attractive long haired blonde woman in her late 20's, simply perfect. I honestly could not care less about how a band looks while the music is good, however, C.M.'s band members seem to know how to bring back the old school in every aspect.

The guitars are awesome as well, every single solo in the album is highly memorable, the harmonies are pulled off perfectly and some of the riffs are complex to the point you will notice how skilled the musicians are; all of the guitar work is played flawlessly. I don't think there's much to say about the drums besides the fact that the beats, fills and rolls are perfect fitting and played with tons of energy, nothing impressive but the dude gets the job well done. The bass is well played and its audible enough, again, it gets the job done.

So yeah, it's mainly the guitars and vocals that make the album what it is, you don't need that much technical skill to make an album interesting, you just need the right influences and the right people.

5/5 - The production could benefit from some more heaviness, not really a big deal though, perfect album.