Reviews

If Ray Bradbury decided to form a prog metal band, it would sound like Jupiter Society, and that really wouldn’t be a bad thing. There are several things in common: Bradbury was never one for believing in the benevolence of the unseen, a perspective shared by main Jupiter Society songwriter and keyboardist Carl Westholm. Bradbury enjoyed a sense of dark grandeur in his stories — a tainted nostalgia, if you will — and was not at all worried when his space stories went a little noir, with bad things happening to good people. Westholm’s musical bombast loves the dark corners of minor notes, big choral backups, dramatic shifts from quiet to loud. Both creative minds can be a whole lot of fun...
popdose.com/cd-review-jupiter-society-terraform

...Carl Westholm and his associates manage to create their own universe within this niche. The most central aspect of this, as well as the debut effort of Jupiter Society, are the dark atmospheres created. Ominous, brooding moods are central throughout, provided by guitars as well as synths and keyboards. The guitar sound of choice is one with a close resemblance to Black Sabbath, and perhaps even more so to Candlemass. Those who enjoy six string antics from the Dream Theater school will not find much to enjoy here. But if slow, thundering riff cascades and drawn out heavy riffs are to your liking you're in luck. Symphonic synth textures, often with a distinctly dramatic nature to them, accompany the at times brutal dark guitars along space-tinged sounds of a distinct electronic nature. And while these elements combined can, and at times do, produce passages of a nature Wagner might have approved of, Westholm takes care to avoid creating compositions where grandiose melodramatic effects dominate. Guitars and synths pretty often have a subdued nature, while subtle details are lifted to the front. Whether it's a swirling, spacey synth passage over a richly layered symphonic construction or a gentle piano theme underscored by riff cascades, there are a lot of subtle details to the songs on this disc...
www.progressor.net/review/jupiter_society_2009.html

Hmmmm…this I like a whole lot!!! Presenting an elaborate, very intelligent and original blend of Space Metal, Jupiter Society is back with their sophomore effort Terraform. Carl Westholm, key-member behind this stellar project, gathered a set of competent and thoughtful musicians that fully deliver the goods. I find the way the music is constructed, and very well produced btw, to be very curious, as JS’s sound seem to oddly and in a semi-indirect way, melt the principles of the majority of bands from which this band members come: Carl works with Carptree and has worked with Candlemass, and therefore includes the main characteristics of contemporary symphonic rock, with its sense of shift and keyboard layers, and then adds the tempo of the more melodic side of Doom Metal. Then there is Mats Leven who seems to bring the Epic operatic feel of groundbreakers Therion, and the other distinctive members of the board also contribute. In the end, the architectural aspects of the music inevitably lead the listener to make comparisons to the music of Arjen Lucassen in its brainchild project Ayreon. The result is really an epic form of sci-fi/space metal on the softer and darker side, with an attention to the details of the production that make the listener enjoy the experience to the maximum. There is a strange three dimensional aspect in the music that many times provide a sensorial feel of space void, as if the listener was drifting in space with his phones on. And this is probably the best compliment I can give this album: it is a full experience, not only a sonic but a sensorial one too. The music here has struck me from the beginning. There is a rare intelligence in the way the music evolves and the heavy and melody sides combine. The guitar soloing is always top-notch, so are the keyboards. The slow tempo does rule many sung parts, but only to allow the music to set the listener ready and willing for the explosions and changes in mood and direction. Very emotional and dark, but tremendously fulfilling, this is, for me, one of the best albums of the year…and keep in mind that the year is at its end. Essential!
www.proggnosis.com/PGRelease.asp?RID=29880

Carl Westholm has the privilege to be equally known to two -in first sight - distant metal genres, namely doom and progressive metal (though a closer look will reveal that these two genres are quite similar). For years companion of Leif Edling in Abstract Algebra, Candlemass and Krux, rear guardian of the progressive metal/rock act Carptree and now Chairman in the Jupiter Society, an assembly of talented and acknowledged musician, Westholm has always been an enchanter with his keys. "Terraform" is the second album of the Society, after last year's "First Contact//Last Warning" and it is an obvious remark from the very beginning that this album easily stands as the crown of all his personal albums. With a science fiction concept driving the band and with quite enough similarities with other projects, like Ayreon, Westholm and his "Board Members" present a very dark metal album that loans stylistic elements from doom and progressive metal. I think that his style is framed by three A’s: Ayreon, Arena and Abstract Algebra. While the late reference might give you the impression of a very intense album, the truth is that it resembles to songs like "April Clouds". Of course his co-existence with Mats Leven is reinforcing this resemblance. Moreover, the album has a slow development pace and the atmosphere is very heavy ("Black Friday" it was called by a friend of mine), just like "Immortal?" by Arena was unfolding its virtues. The connection with Ayreon is easy to be made. The musicians accompanying him are doing a wonderful work. While I have the utmost respect and admiration for Mats Leven (a superb vocalist), I have to admit that Nils Erikson and Aivin Tronstad are doing a litttlllleee bit better work than him. Competition worked for the project's side. In conclusion, "Terraform" is a very pleasant surprise by Westholm. "Terraform" is not an easy album; not at all, but definitely is a very interesting option that many of you have. This is dark as dark matter, and both are out there.
www.metalperspective.com/reviews/jupitersociety.php

...The music on Terraform comes in the form of 7 longish tracks most around the seven or eight minute length and to make the point again this is heavy symphonic prog at its best. The proceedings get off to a fine start with “New Universe” [9:01] the intro consisting of a spacey tentative ‘beacon-like’ synth before roiling guitars fill the air with a dramatic arpeggio and then the vocals complete the introduction to the piece. It does have a distinct mix of Carptree and Therion. Heavily melodic and heavily operatic and yet packed with nuance and complexities. Then, a couple minutes into the piece, things pull back to a moody interlude before Mats Leven returns for some subdued vocals to set the stage. Then he moves into the song’s next segment with the vocal line ‘I miss my life…’ featuring one of the highest and sharpest vocal attacks that just sends tingles up and down your spine. It’s absolutely brilliant! The lush orchestration goes from full on assault to more restrained atmospherics time and time again. There’s really no need to describe more of the tracks because this same compositional feel runs throughout the disc. The music on Terraform, is hugely dramatic, with many powerful low gut wrenching chords and plenty of finely tuned synth string arrangements providing a perfect contrast. Add to all this massed choirs of vocals and you have a musical production of epic proportions. How could you not love this?..
www.jerrylucky.com/reviews%20f-j_032.htm

A progressive album with a space theme usually means one thing. Hawkwind. Fortunately keyboard player Carl Westholm’s (Krux/Carptree) all-star project sound a lot more like a sinister Ayreon than any kind of ’70s nostalgia. A sequel to 2007’s First Contact/Last Warning in many senses, some of the characters and stories from the original songs are revisited here in a darker way, and the whole album turns out surprisingly down-beat and ominous (Siren’s Song/Black Hole is practically doom metal), even in the lighter moments. The same vocal trio of Mats Levén (Krux), Öivin Tronstad and Nils Erikson handle all of the singing, along with most of the same collection of bassists and guitarists as the first album, including Candlemass bassist Leif Edling. New additions to the Jupiter Society fold are Tiamat’s drummer Lars Sköld and Royal Hunt’s Marcus Jidell, who provides all of the guitar solos...
www.jukeboxmetal.com/2009/jupiter-society-terraform

Carl Westholm created this project last year and this is the bands 2nd record now. Carl is best known for being in Carptree, Krux and Candlemass but this is something quite different. It features 14 different musicians and three different vocalists. The music is very dramatic, intense, and sometimes spacey. This is a very good mixture of heavy guitars, melodic themes and dark keyboards. The voices range from very intense almost screaming to very melodic and beautiful singing. The CD features 7 different tracks. The CD artwork and booklet are quite cool and futuristic and you get all the lyrics and the list of whom of the 17 different people performs on what tracks. The tracks are mostly between 7 and 9 minutes except two shorter pieces. Despite the special themes in the music and dramatic nature of the compositions, this is very vocal focused music in many ways. Pretty impressive CD. I will have to try to hear the first one now.
www.lowcut.dk/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1017:jupiter-society-terraform&catid=29:album-reviews&Itemid=54

Interview with Carl
www.lordsofmetal.nl/showinterview.php?id=3061&lang=nl

...This is a lot more varied than most prog metal, the operatic edge (a more gothic and slower version of Rhapsody) giving an extra dimension. The vocals are at time slightly screamed, suiting the music well, and at times the guitars can get quite noodly. Not quite Malmsteen but you get the idea. Very progressive. Most of the tracks are over seven minutes and at times get quite atmospheric. Many 70s influences, a nod to Eloy (but much heavier), and modern solid production. Really well worth a listen.
www.getreadytorock.com/reviews2009/jupiter_society.htm

...Formed in 2008 their first trip out was with the album First Contact / Last Warning. Chairman of the Jupiter Society, Carl Westholm (Krux, Captree, Candlemass) clearly has an eye and an ear for grandiose drama. Just search on the word Terraform to find out what this is about and then press play. This is the equivalent of the very best Sci Fi writing put to music. When you do play ity, be prepared for something quite extraordinarily powerful and intense. It is as though your speakers are struggling to deal with its sheer scale and your house is fit to burst at the seams as it tries to contain it all. Huge operatic choral sequences help move from delicate melody through to massive walls of sonic imagination. It is dark, deep, and dense. Space and time here dictates that the albums concept is best explored by the listener. Suffice it to say, there is a vibrant imagination at work here but one with the ability to transform even the most ambitious of ideas into sound...
blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-eurorock-in-sweden-bonafide/page-3

...The sound is big, bold and very obviously progressive. This is a record that refuses to hide it's influences and passions in the background. Saying that it's all strangely approachable and, although it's self-indulgent, the music is impressive and a pleasure to listen to again and again. Top track for me is 'Rescue and Resurrection'. It features some stunning orchestrations and vocal performances. The near-ten-minute length shrinks around a body of clever musicianship and atmospheric layers, and it's all too easy to be drawn into the emotional sub-structure of the song...
www.rockrealms.com/archive/j/js_terraform.php

Terraform is continuation of First Contact // Last Warning - both conceptually and musically. The band lead by Carl Westholm consist of people from bands like Tiamat , Royal Hunt, Therion etc delivers again an album, which is so professionally done that it at times sounds, too perfect for its own good. However Jupiter Society managed to create an different environment that known from a most symphonic prog metal release out there and they do that by some very heavy Sabbath riffs, dark melodies and textures in symphonic arrangements that far from those typical ones known from neo-classical prog bands. Arrangements are huge part of the bold atmospheric experience, but it’s all three above mentioned elements that together define what this band is all about. At the same time this album has enough to offer to the fans of less challenging approach to symphonic prog metal and that makes it appealing for just about any metal fan out there.
metal-revolution.com/plugins/content/content.php?content.2763

...The album gets off to a brilliant start: New Universe and Rescue And Resurrection have got to be amongst the most enjoyable progressive tracks written recently. New Universe is really catchy, it has hooks hidden lying in wait, as if anticipating the resonance with your auditory and, later, mental systems. It’s riff-laden, it’s powerful at a good tempo, the choral-effect synths are effective; the singing is good: it’s lush! Rescue And Ressurection kicks off with a glorious symphonic passage; the music becoming heavier later in the piece; the timbral synth sound is very full and meaty as the tempo builds, a real wall of sound – it’s an exceptional sonic experience with the volume turned up...
www.dprp.net/reviews/201006.php#jupiter