- Sydney act The Crooked Fiddle Band have released the soundtrack to the coming apocalypse with their second album, Moving Pieces of The Sea, which sounds a bit like the talented offspring of a union between Apocalyptica and Gogol Bordello: where symphonic metal meets acoustic folk-punk in soaring, neo-classical art-rock, with sepulchral gothic overtones. It’s a richly constructed, beautiful release: flowing, without perceptible trouble, from blast-beats and chaotic orchestration, to calmer, more traditional folk and classical pieces. What makes this album even more impressive, is the band’s stylistic insistence on real, acoustic instruments: eschewing any noticeable kinds of amplification, or digital effects.

A lot of bands try to achieve the sound that The Crooked Fiddle Band have mastered on their latest release, but few of them ever seem to be strong enough to accomplish it. Too much classical training, and you risk sounding too academic: losing the power, and passion that rock and metal are adored for. If you don’t have enough, you risk accusations of pretension: grafting classical elements on to unsuitable compositions in a misguided attempt to produce more meaningful music. It’s a credit to The Crooked Fiddle Band that they manage to avoid both of these pitfalls: translating common elements of heavy metal and rock music into classical settings, but respectfully, and with an obvious love and understanding of both genres. Their choices never seem like a pastiche, homage, or even an attempt to modernize traditional music: instead, the elements of their sound work together to create contemporary music that is distinctive, hard-hitting, and memorable.

Its reliance on traditional instrumentation gives it warmth and power that few modern artists could ever hope to match. This is an extraordinarily rich, and expressive release, which should be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates, symphonic metal, folk, or orchestral rock bands.

- Matthew Stoff.