UMUR "Black Days" is the 3rd full-length studio album by French alternative/progressive metal act Klone. The album was released through Season of Mist in April 2010. It´s the successor to "All Seeing Eye" from 2008 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Hugues Andriot has been replaced by Jean-Etienne Maillard.

The material on "Black Days" is a combination of alternative rock/metal and progressive rock/metal. The two major influences I hear are Tool and Gojira, although Klone aren´t as experimental as the former or as heavy and aggressive as the latter ("Immaculate Desire" sounds a lot like contemporary Gojira though). The organic and groove laden rhythms, heavy guitars, and atmosperic keyboards and samples are complimented by the strong voice and passionate delivery of Yann Ligner, who sounds like a combination of Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Joe Duplantier (Gojira). This is highly rhythmic music featuring great dynamics. Mellow atmospheric sections, darker heavy sections, and many intriguing songwriting ideas. The album features 10 original compositions and a cover of "Army of Me" by Björk.

One of the great strengths of "Black Days", is the high level musicianship on display. Klone are exceptionally well playing/singing, and it´s a great joy listening to them perform. Both the individual performances, but maybe more importantly how well they function as a unit. "Black Days" also features a powerful, organic, and well sounding production which suits the material well, so upon conclusion it´s another quality release from Klone, who are a band deserving much more attention and recognition than what they´ve experienced thus far. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "All Seeing Eye" is the 2nd full-length studio album by French alternative metal act Klone. The album was released through Season of Mist in February 2008. It´s been quite a few years since the release of the band´s debut album "Duplicate (2003)", but the band released the "High Blood Pressure" EP in 2004 to bridge the gap between the two full-length studio albums. Still a 4 year wait between releases from an act that at this point weren´t established yet is a pretty long wait.

In the case of Klone, they´ve spend those years honing their creative songwriting craft and playing skills and if I wasn´t impressed (which I was) by their early releases, I´m impressed now. Klone is a very well playing act and especially the skillfully executed and varied vocals by Yann Ligner elevate the band´s music to a very high level. The music on "All Seeing Eye" continues the alternative and sometimes progressive metal style of the band´s early releases, but the tracks are predominantly more clearly vers/chorus defined than before. References to acts like Gojira (Joe Duplantier guests on the title track) and A Perfect Circle are still valid enough, but other than taking some cues from those acts Klone don´t really live up to their name.

The material are genereally of a high quality. Memorable and catchy, but complex enough to entertain all the way through the album´s 54:54 minutes long playing time. Most tracks are around 3 - 4 minutes long, and as mentioned above vers/chorus structured, but usually featuring a couple of progressive tinged sections to spice things up. "Commonplace" and especially the 12:17 minutes long closing track "Nighttime" stand out because of the longer playing time and in the case of the latter (which actually ends after 9 minutes only to return after a couple of minutes of silence), the band focus on progressive playing and ideas.

"All Seeing Eye" is all in all a very strong release by Klone. Excellent musicianship, intriguing songwriting ideas and a powerful and organic sound production which suits the music well. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "High Blood Pressure" is an EP release by French alternative metal act Klone. The EP bridges the gap between the band´s first two full-length studio albums "Duplicate (2003)" and "All Seeing Eye (2008)". "High Blood Pressure" was released through Klonosphère in 2004. It´s an enhanced CD featuring six studio tracks, one live track and a live video of "Blessed Are the Blind" from "Duplicate (2003)".

The music on the EP is an experimental form of alternative metal with nods toward acts like Gojira, Alice in Chains, and A Perfect Circle. They play both heavy angular riffing in odd time signatures and more atmospheric and melodic ideas. Lead vocalist Yann Ligner is an incredibly skilled vocalist who delivers both raw shouting vocals (but always retain a melodic sensibility) and more subdued clean vocals. Usually sung with harmonies underneath.

The material are generally varied and well composed. It´s the kind of release where you are always kept on your toes because Klone like to introduce new ideas and sections at just the right moments during the tracks to keep them interesting throughout. There is usually a vers/chorus skeleton applied to the tracks but Klone skillfully enhance the tried and true formula. One of the things that works really well on "High Blood Pressure" are the tasteful samples and keyboards courtesy of Matthieu Metzger. They are actually not heard that often, but when he adds something to the soundscape it matters greatly for the atmosphere of that section of the track. The rest of the band are very well playing too and there is generally a great organic quality to the playing that suits the music well.

The sound production is powerful, clear, and detailed. It has to be mentioned how great it is to hear a bass so clearly in the mix on a metal release even though it doesn´t dominate the soundscape. The songwriting is actually the only thing the band could improve on this release. The EP starts out really strong with "Home" and the more raw "Introspection", but there are a couple of the tracks that follow that don´t stand out as much. It´s nothing too serious and "High Blood Pressure" is still a high quality release, but this was still very early in the band´s career and a few minor compositional issues are to be expected. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved. Great release this one.

Time Signature The eye of needle...

Genre: atmospheric sludge metal

French metal act Klone is perhaps among the internationally more obscure acts from the French scene despite the fact that they have several releases under their belt. Hopefully this EP will help them gain more status internationally and give them the spot in the limelight that they definitely deserve.

Described as an alternative metal band, Klone strike me as being more than that on this EP. The two tracks do admittedly sound inspired by the likes of Alice In Chains and, to some extent also Soundgarden, but there is a much more prevalent feel of both post-metal and sludge metal on this release, which is also much more progressive and even avant-garde than most other alternative metal acts.

"The Eye of Needle, Part 1" is a fairly mellow 10 minutes plus affair which emphasizes heavy beats and a dark atmosphere with plenty of emphasis on vocal melodies. Granted, there are distorted guitars on this track, but these mostly take the backseat serving primarily to help generate the dark and oppressive atmosphere that characterizes this track by providing slightly dissonant textures and heavy doomy riffage. Slowly working its way through its 10 minutes of song length, "The Eye of Needle, Part 1" may test the patience of some listeners, but if you like dark and atmospheric music to lose yourself in, then chances are that you will love this tune. "The Eye of Needle, Part 2" is, while stile atmospheric and dark, slightly more aggressive with its basic groovy drive and inclusion of more thrashy riffage in the second half – neatly countered by ambient synth effects.

Definitely an interesting listen across the board, perhaps the most attractive aspect of this EP is the use of a rather avant-garde saxophone courtesy of Matthieu Metzger, who also provides the keyboards and electronic effects.

The production is very professional, but there is a lot of reverb across the board. Now, while this might be annoying to some listeners, I am sure that the massive amount of reverb is the result of a conscious choice, because it does definitely serve the purpose of making the already atmospheric EP seem even more atmospheric and ambient.

Fans of post-metal and more atmospheric sludge metal along the lines of, say, Ghost Brigade should definitely not hesitate to acquire this fine piece of dark, heavy and expressive music.

(review originally posted as seaoftranquility.org)

Xaxaar I've never heard of Klone before this EP came out, but I must say it does inspire me to check out more of their discog. With obvious influences like Tool, Isis, and Devin Townsend (at least his more mellow stuff), this is one of the most well-done EPs I have heard. The album consists of two tracks, "The Eye of Needle (Part 1)" and "The Eye of Needle (Part 2)."

The Eye of Needle (Part 1) - I prefer this track over the second part. It's the calmer one of the two. It kicks off the EP with an ambient intro, setting up the whole mood of the album. The small orchestral element they add also helps the mood and this is very important. Since this album really isn't trying to be wow you with its technical prowess, it's good that it sets up an excellent atmosphere. The song structure seems very reflective of most post metal songs, meaning it starts off very collected and then hits a climax towards the last few minutes of the song. And as most of the song is in 4/4, it does throw in some odd rhythms once and a while. It's a very nice set-up to the more fast-paced (relatively speaking, of course) The Eye of Needle (Part 2).

The Eye of Needle (Part 2) - As it may not be as good as the first part, it's not bad by any means. It starts off a shuffle groove ,something I don't hear very often in this type of music, but it does work, I assure you. All though it is still not my favorite part of the song. Once the the drummer starts playing on the toms is when the song starts to get really good for me. Once again, maintaining that atmosphere that the album really never loses, but while still being interesting.

All in all, a very good EP and look forward to hearing more of Klone.