REVIEW: IVAN MIHALJEVIC & SIDE EFFECTS - COUNTERCLOCKWISE

My first time listening to Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects I thought, “These guys just need to play a show with Mr. Big.” Then there it is, right in there biography, they’ve played gigs with multiple members of the band famous for “To Be With You.” As a guy who will fight someone to the brink of death about the merits of the mighty Lean Into It album, these Croatian rockers can even give Mr. Big a run for their hairspray money. On their third album, Counterclockwise, Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects channel the monster ballad abilities of Extreme and ‘80s Kansas and combine them with the heavy progressive rock of Dream Theater and clean-singing Opeth with great success.

Let’s address this right away: Ivan Mihaljevic has a voice that can part the clouds and summon sunlight. He has serious pipes and belts these songs out with searing passion and soul. He over-sings a little on “Gilded Cage” but the rest of these songs bow to the majesty of his vocal cords. He nails some notes that just floored me, plus provides sizzling six-string solos. The rest of the band is similarly skilled and can flat out play with impressive cohesion and chemistry. Marko Karacic’s slap bass really steals the show when they play heavy funk, like on “Build Your Destiny.” Then there’s resourceful drummer Alen Frljak, who provides solid, intricate support that is so essential for music this technical. This is a supremely talented trio of musicians, but it would matter very little if they couldn’t write songs.

Luckily for us all, they can. With enormous radio-friendly choruses and guitar hooks that lure you in with deceptive grace before kicking into hard-edged rock, these are songs that demand to be heard and will have you singing along after one listen. “Driving Force” and “Gift of Life” both feature some of the darker moments on the album but Mihaljevic guides the songs to the light with his dependable croon, keeping each song focused and melodic even when the double-bass pummels and the guitars crunch. But for me the real highlight is “Eclipse,” an epic that absolutely earns its length and has endless sonic ideas. From the sweeping, orchestral intro there’s a true sense of tragedy. The song shifts with great confidence and range, morphing fluidly from progressive metal with momentum and teeth to heartfelt solos to a haunting march that ends the song. This track alone could convert non-believers to the power of Ivan Mihaljevic & Side Effects’ eternally-burning triumphant rock.

Counterclockwise may turn the clock back to pay homage to some past guitar heroes, but it still feels fresh and modern. While the length of some of their best songs don’t easily translate to radio success this band is the whole package and their polished, eclectic rock is waiting to conquer you. Set your clock: Now is the time to be conquered.

Check out their music over at their official website:  http://www.ivanmihaljevic.com/

REVIEW: ANCIIENTS - HEART OF OAK

Sometimes potential legal battles over band names lead to the addition of “B.C.” or maybe the simple precursor “The.” In the case of Anciients it was an additional “I” smack-dab in the middle, assisting the logo’s symmetry. It was a worth-while modification for a band eager to avoid future conflict, especially when their material is so god damn good that anyone eager to suck the teet of the black-hearted cash cow might come running when this band explodes in the rock world. I don’t often think of albums in terms of future “Top Ten” list rankings but after finishing Anciient’s first full-length, Heart of Oak, I can say with as much confidence as a perpetually self-deprecating pessimist can muster that this album will be on a slew of end-of-year lists.

Heart of Oak is destined to be a word-of-mouth metal phenomenon, shared fan-to-fan with countless excited listeners anxious to blast this album into a friend’s ear with the opening plug, “If you dig [Insert Band Here] you are going to love this shit.” All band references within this review are not meant to say that Anciients are riding on coat-tails, impersonating, or even receiving inspiration from the mentioned acts, they are just the convenient reference points, the kind used when hyping a new album conversationally when you’re shoulder-to-shoulder at a bar, eager to talk about THAT album that kicked your butthole into a blackhole in the past month.

Anciients have brewed up a wily batch of songs on Heart of Oak that combine the earthy harmonies of Baroness, the slippery, progressive leanings of Opeth, and a meaty layer of metallic sludge like the blue-collar please-hold-the-horseshit crunch of Howl. Kenny Paul Cook’s clean singing sounds a bit sweeter than Baroness’ Baizley, like he gargles with honey straight from the comb. But when he screams it feels like his voice is a leaf curling in a fire, becoming this seared, gnarled pile of ash and organic membranes. He’s a fitting narrator for the expeditions detailed in Heart of Oak, where flanked by ominous acoustic passages and nimble aggression Anciients creates a world with inspiring vistas and lethal wastelands.

Between the doom-drenched lurch of “Falling in Line” and the suitably winding nine-minute highlight “The Longest River,” Anciients initiate you into the kaleidoscopic nature of their music and all the shifting shapes and colors it includes. Despite having a firm grasp on the enchanting power of melody they rarely stay in one place long, building and sustaining suspense, sort of like the movie monster who hides out of frame as long as possible as the body count grows. From the jagged black metal of “Faith and Oath” to the dope-smoking Summer of Love jam “For Lisa” (which totally sounds like they hail from Alabama instead of Vancouver), Anciients cover a lot of musical ground on Heart of Oak, and all of it with a natural, organic quality that feels excavated directly from the soil of some long-forgotten mass grave, now covered in poisonous mushrooms and moss. The energy does dip a bit in the second half of this album, but there is still so much technical prowess and songwriting skill from start to finish that this is a minor complaint. Not everything can be as symmetrical as that logo with those two gorgeous I’s.

This is the time to buy into Anciients. Support the band by seeing them on tour (on tour now, actually, on the DEATH TO ALL bill), purchasing their music and some of their beautiful merch (I’m seriously crushing on this album cover). Then, in a couple years when the trust-fund kids with hundred dollar haircuts are digging the band too, you can own the right to be smug about the fact you knew they were awesome first.

Listen to Heart of Oak over here at Bandcamp and see for yourself:  http://anciientriffs.bandcamp.com/

Then visit their page at Season of Mist and put some of your rainy day money down, ‘cause it’s raining somewhere:  http://season-of-mist.com/bands/anciients