You Stream Now! Vulture Industries, The Tower

I am really getting into, as my pal Axl framed it so eloquently, the “Danzig-by-way-of-Broadway vocal style” of Vulture Industries’ crooner Bjørnar Nilsen. MS commenter “Las7” pointed out that he sounds a bit like The Cult’s Ian Astbury, and that’s true, but I’d take it one step farther: what Ian Astbury might’ve sounded like if he listened to The Cure during his teenage years. One thing’s for certain: Nilsen’s vocals are certainly different than most of what we usually listen to. That makes for a welcome breath of fresh air in my opinion, although I’m sure there are many who would disagree.

I’d imagine there will also be disagreement about the band’s music, which I find as fresh and novel as their vocals. In his official review of the album, MetalSucks Reviews Editor Sammy O’Hagar sums it up nicely in the opening paragraph: “The Tower is both a granite slab of moody European metal and an amusingly flexible chunk of heavy prog.” And also, yes indeed: “Elements of wackiness do rear their goofy heads, but it works.”

With that in mind here’s their entire new album for your streaming pleasure, via Revolver. The Tower comes out on September 30th and can be ordered here.