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May 2009 ~ July 2009
When In Hell
Pangea Recordings
Ambassador Gun's When In Hell is the bands first release since changing their name from A Second From The Surface. The grindcore trio from Minnesota deliver 16 songs in just under a half hour, and they are releasing the disc on their own label, Pangea Recordings.
Opening with "Killed Hooker's Money", the band blasts right into it, with breakneck speed provided by blasting drums by Patrick and blurred riffs and dual vocals provided by Luke and Tim. The band mixes things up a bit, with the almost progressive feel of "Ignorance This". I guess they don't want to be pigeonholed as a completely grindcore band, so they throw in some of these other elements here and there to keep us listeners guessing at what might come next. The title track is stellar, with stop-go blast beats carrying the riffs and great trade-off dual vocals. "Taylor Reign" brings us another little dose of something different, with the return of some slightly progressive riffs for much of the song.
If you are a fan of grindcore and want some grind with a little different (but not too much) edge, then you should enjoy Ambassador Gun. This disc is full of fast, angry, yet still quite catchy grinding attacks, interspersed with a bit of progressive riffs to make it that much more interesting.
B -Goz
Crushed Neocons
Exile On Mainstream Records
When I put in this disc and heard the first notes of "Downtown", I immediately thought, hey, this is way too happy sounding to be metal. Then the song kicked in and I started to think differently, but still not convinced this was metal. There are some heavy sounding guitars but not in a metal way, more like a Pavement kind of way. Yes, these guys sound a bit Alternative, and I don't use that term much anymore but that's the only way I can describe their sound with out using Indie. The singer sounds like the singer of CAKE a little bit and the drums also sound like that aforementioned band. "Fistful" has some nice psychedelic guitar sounds in it and "Sound Advice" gets a little funky, in fact there a quite a few numbers on this disc that get funky. The general vibe throughout is kind of an Art Rock slant mixed with Indie, kinda Sonic Youth at times. "Thin Line" really gets rocking and "Prsndcns (Remix By Monosylabikk)" is the most out of place on here but it breaks up the sameness of the album. There is a long empty space after the last song and another song starts about the 11 minute mark and then there's yet another hidden song that sounds like a joke.
The Antikaroshi have a unique sound and they are definitely original sounding so if you're looking for some intelligent music that strays from the ordinary check them out!
B -Matt Smith
Reflection
Metal Blade
Sweden’s As You Drown aren’t too different than anything else going on right now, but coming up with direct soundalike bands isn’t an either task. There’s some Behemoth in there, minus the Middle Eastern influences, but there are too many breakdowns to really say that they’re similar. Also, Dying Fetus rings a bell, as the driving brutality of Reflection somewhat mimics their sound. Finally, As You Drown takes a good chunk of old school death metal influences too, utilizing croaking Deicide-esque vocal patterns. The combination of sounds mold into a hybrid of both old and modern death metal, being able to please both new, young fans and old school sticklers.
The use of breakdowns on As You Drown’s debut record deserves considerable mention. When so many “extreme” bands use breakdowns now, they flood each song with them, making it the utmost focus of their sound. It quickly becomes stale and overdone. As You Drown’s breakdowns are what death metal breakdowns are meant to be: fiercely played, deliberate rhythms that help transition to the song’s next part. These breakdowns make you slam your head without sounding overtly –coreish.
There’s nothing special here, but there isn’t anything wrong either. Fans of extreme death metal will enjoy this release.
B -Adam
Death...The Brutal Way
Century Media/Ibex Moon
Asphyx has reunited, with original drummer and founding member Bob Bagchus being re-joined by master vocalist Martin Van Drunen, with the lineup rounded out Wannes Gubbels (who also played with Bagchus in Soulburn) on Bass and Thanatos/Hail of Bullets guitarist Paul Baayens. How does this lineup compare to the "classic" Asphyx lineup that released the masterful The Rack and Last One on Earth back in the early 1990's? Set aside 50-minutes of time and plop in this disc to get your own answer, or continue to read on and see what I think.
The disc immediately kicks you straight in the nuts with the opener, "Scorbutics". A brutal tale of a ship being inundated with scurvy and the resulting heinousness that comes with it portrayed nicely by the huge riffs, pounding drums, and of course the grating vocals. A vicious start to be sure. "The Herald" slows things down a bit, but is no less intense or brutal. Of particular note is the middle section, when the song slows down to a crawl, with a nice little guitar lead thrown on top of it, then transitions into a monster riff. Good stuff right there.
The title track was released a while back on 7" vynil, and here it is presented in pretty much the same manner - fierce, fast, and attacking from start to finish. This may be the best song on the disc, and it is definitely the fastest overall track. On the other extreme as far as song tempo goes is "Black Hole Storm" - a slow, plodding affair with a huge amount of slashing riffs, and some pretty wild, effects-laden guitar lead work in the middle part.
So, does Asphyx regain their classic form from the early 90's with this release? In my opinion, yes. All the classic stuff is here - doomy death metal with huge ass riffs, pummeling drums, and ear-ripping vocals. Asphyx delivered pretty much everything you could ask for with this disc.
A -Goz
The Weirding
Rise Above
Astra makes me feel like I've been transported to a time when Progressive Rock captured our minds with it's amazing wonder and tales of days gone by. Awesome song structures with PLENTY of Mellotron cooking throughout the disc make this truly a Space/Prog Rock delight. Soaring guitar solos peppered with acoustic guitars and King Crimsonesque vocals and lyrics. Nice long jams take up a good chunk of this album and they're all worth it and NOT filler! Tasteful psychedelic keyboards permeate the album and only add to the already spacey vibe. There are a few very lengthy numbers here, some clocking in at fifteen and seventeen minutes apiece!
This is a great road album or a great smoke-filled room with the black lights on album, as it rarely gets too aggressive or really, heavy, as in HEAVY, not as in METAL if you catch my drift!
A -Matt Smith
Evangelion
Metal Blade
Behemoth's last two discs were simply amazing, blowing my mind from the very first listen. Their latest, Evangelion, was one of my most anticipated releases for 2009. Now that it is here, does it hold up to their last two?
The band has taken the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach here. Evangelion is packed to the gills with super fast, technical blackened death metal. Inferno still wails away on the drums like few can, Nergal and Seth shred the strings with masterfully fast yet catchy riffing and intense soloing, Orion brings the low end thunder, and Nergal provides his intense vocals. There are hints of middle eastern influence ("Shemhamforash"), as well as the use of brass instruments ("Lucifer") - both of which add a bit of depth and diversity.
"Daimonos" opens with what sounds like a welcome to hell, and then you enter the true hell - the ferocious attack of snarling guitar riffs, blasting drums, and the belching of blasphemies. This is what we've come to expect, and Behemoth delivers. Of course, the riffs here are at once heavy and fast, yet catchy and memorable at the same time. The chorus of this song has some killer gang vocals, which I am sure will go over well live, when everyone will be chanting along. There is also some really good guitar lead work during the last 1:30 of the song. The aforementioned "Shemhamforash" opens with a sitar playing in the background while the guitars ramp up into a frenzied lightning quick riff to get the song going. The sitar makes numerous appearances throughout the song, adding a bit but never getting in the way or taking any of the intensity away from the song.
"The Seed Ov I" and "Transmigrating Beyond Realms Ov Amenti" tie for best songs on this disc. Both feature numerous tempo changes, while still unabashedly ramming your skull with all manner of intensity and ferocity. The opening to "The Seed Ov I" might be the heaviest part of Evangelion, too, which is saying something, considering how much heaviness there is packed into the 42 minutes of music here.
Behemoth delivers another insanely good disc with Evangelion. While I wasn't as impressed with it upon my initial couple of listens as I was with The Apostasy or Demigod, repeated listens hammered forth how intense and well done this disc really is.
A- -Goz
Feast of Flesh
Pulverised
Bone Gnawer is sort of an all-star death metal band. Featuring Kam Lee (Massacre, Denial Fiend, etc) and Rogga Johansson (Ribspreader, Paganizer, Demiurg, etc), alongside Morgan Lie (Naglfar) and Ronnie Bjornstrom (Ribspreader), this band has some semi-well known musicians joining forces to deliver horror themed death metal. Read on to find out how well they succeed.
Most of the music here is mid-paced death metal, with massive influences from early Swedish bands being the most prominent, but also has a good dose of early Floridian death metal mixed in. The riffs are big, and usually somewhat catchy, but often times get a bit too repetitive, even given the relatively short playing times of the songs. There are some good guitar leads thrown in here and there, which tend to help break up some of the repetition that plagues the disc. Vocals are pretty standard Kam Lee shouts with a bunch of growling thrown in at the appropriate times. The lyrical themes are pretty easy to figure out just by reading the song titles - "Cannibal Cook-out", "The Saw is Family", "Defleshed and Skinned" - pretty self-explanatory right there.
This disc was a big of a let down for me. From all the press and stuff that this disc received in advance of the release, I thought it was going to be a masterpiece of classic death metal. While there isn't anything overly bad about it, there really isn't anything overly great about it either. It is just kind of there, with repetitive riff after repetitive riff chugging along in mediocrity.
B- -Goz
Forest of Equilibrium
Earache
Cathedral's monumental debut, Forest of Equilibrium, has been remastered and reissued with a DVD. It contains all seven tracks from the original release and it also includes the Soul Sacrifice EP that was released within a year after this album. In my opinion, Forest... is one of THE best Doom albums to come out in the last twenty years, and it was groundbreaking for it's time in 1991 and if you look at my Top 10 favorite album on this site it is there! Extremely slow, melancholic doom, with lyrics to match and guitar riffs that sound like a Cathedral itself. Lee Dorian's vocals are tortured and sad sounding and are still my favorite out of all Cathedral albums. Honestly, I really didn't think the album needed to be remastered and I don't really notice much of a difference in sound quality. I also was a bit disappointed they didn't include the demo that got them signed to Earache. I think they should have put any and all demo tracks on this and skipped the Soul Sacrifice EP, because in my opinion that is when their sound started to change from the Forest.. sound. Don't get me wrong, I love that they reissued this album, but I really wanted to get those demo tracks! There's a mini reproduction poster of the album cover but the color is off, which is a bummer because that's one of the things that makes the cover so great.
The DVD Return to the Forest, has a great documentary with a pub interview this year in Coventry with original members Gary Jennings, Mark Griffiths, Lee Dorian, and Adam Lehan reminiscing about how they came to be. Lee talks about his days with Napalm Death and how he started getting into slower music and how he and the other guys hooked up and started writing the material for Forest. They also talk about when they got signed and some funny stories about their first gigs. There's also a really cool section about the cover artist, Dave Patchett, whose work would go on to adorn future Cathedral albums as well as other artists. Dave talks about the concept of the cover (one of my FAVORITE metal album covers of ALL time) and what it means in relation to the concept of Forest of Equilibrium. The DVD also has the video for "Ebony Tears", which is really cool. Really, the DVD is what makes this a worthwhile purchase, it's 40 minutes of the documentary, which really is great to see if you love this album as much as I do, and then the music video.
If you have never heard this album and are even the slightest into Doom Metal, do yourself a favor and pick it up, you won't be disappointed!
A -Matt Smith
Houses of the Unholy
Rise Above
Japan's Church of Misery have been cranking out albums for quite awhile now and their newest, Houses of the Unholy really shows a band that has is a tight unit and hit the nail on the head with their brand of Stoner Rock Doom. If you're not familiar with their past work, I would describe their sound as Eyehategod meets Down and Clutch with a little Kyuss thrown in for good measure. Having said that, you get the idea of the music, now to the lyrics of this album. As in their past albums subject matter, the whole album is dedicated to infamous serial killers with each track handling an individual one. One example is Adolfo De Jesus Constanzo, whose song "El Padrino" kicks the whole disc off and let's us know what we're in store for the rest of the album. Others include Albert Fish ("The Gray Man"), Sir Lord Baltimore ("Master Heartache"), and Richard Speck ("Born to Raise Hell"). There are samples throughout the songs that have either the actual killers speaking or detectives or reporters reporting on the individual crimes each one committed. Morbid is one word that comes to mind but Heavy Metal bands have always been commentators on the sick and twisted world of criminals only news channels and True Crime books cover.
The music is smoking and the playing is seriously rocking, with some Sabbath type grooves and some great guitar solos that are Toni Iommi influenced. In general Church of Misery are a solid band in the Stoner Rock Doom genre. Fans of the bands I mentioned earlier in the review will no doubt LOVE this album but if you're looking for some great smoking twisted Stoner Rock Doom check this disc out!
B+ -Matt Smith
Ox
Relapse
Talk about a band that never lets down. This album makes it feel like they never stopped after 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening. There is something so raw about the songs these guys make and this album is no exception. The opening track "The Plot Against My Love" could be one of my favorite songs released this year. There is blues touch to this album, infact they have a song called "Wild Ox Moan" which has a feel of the movie Black Snake Moan.
There are 14 tracks of heavy, doomish hardcore here and each impress me in their own way. Like I mentioned there are some blues riffs on the album but it also includes some doom and classic metal. It's a really diverse album with constant changing tempos and even has some melodic vocals, a stark contrast to Sean Ingram's signature sound.
A -Eric
Money Never Sleeps
Blistering Records
This quintet have within their vocal ranks Thomas Vikstrom- who many may remember as being the first replacement for Messiah in Candlemass on the Chapter VI opus. His latest band Covered Call isn’t close to as heavy, with the 10 songs on Money Never Sleeps falling more on the early 80’s AOR meets Hagar-era Van Halen.
I tried really hard to enjoy myself with songs like “Never Again” and “Let’s Make It Real”, but the songwriting just seems to be recycled and uninspired riff-wise, there isn’t much axe solo action to raise the material to a fiery brimstone and the harmonies belong on the beach rather than in a rock group. You can’t fault Thomas’ rich and versatile voice- unfortunately this album is a clear case of one musician leap years beyond the others.
D -Matt Coe
Guardians
Metal Blade
The Crimson Armada sound brutal. Carrying. Melodic. That's always a terrific approach to metal. Uplifting? Spiritual? Now, that's different. These Ohio younguns have a fantastic sense of metal music.
That they have overly meaningful lyrics makes the whole that much more respectable.
Guardians is full of interesting songs. Metalcore without clean/'kid'
vocals from kids is a rarity these days, to say the least. There's a small amount of keyboards in the music but barely enough to notice or overpower. To also note, I liked that they used the classic 'piano'
tone on “The Serpent's Tongue.” Guitars and percussion hold the listener. Dueling cookie-monster and sinister scowling vocals (like Children of Bodom) throw off the listener, at first, to it's being overly spiritual. Ya, I wouldn't have expected that either.
All the songs on Guardians can be considered quality metal. I didn't notice any one song superior to the other. Yet. The feel of their overlaying essence is 'reaching,' 'striving.' Not only is the music intriguing, the lyrics are deeply meaningful. So much so that I can't not include a sample. This is from just their opening track “Guardian:”
“Restless in a mess of contagion strains and mismatched thought, lay the silent eyes of black heart nights eternally searching for missing parts.
The tunnels lights are dim without fractions of time to think for second thoughts.
Sink or rise there is no swim. You live, you rise, you drink, you die.
The sky emerged with the black of dusk and the scent of angels left us dust with aromas filled of conspired trust, as he could turn away from God.
The words unspoken fill syringes with not blood but black eclipses of our hearts not sanctified”
Now, I'm not a big fan of “holy rollers” or anything like that. I don't like things shoved down my throat without evidence. But I do have a healthy respect for [many aspects of] most faiths and admire poignant messages. Especially if they are given in a highly poetic manner. The intent is for the enlightenment of others and I can definitely support that. Blend it with some good metal and I get way more than I expected from a metal album.
A- -Alesha
Phlegeton: The Transcendence Of Demon Lords
Paragon Records
Brazil's Dark Celebration play a slightly technical form of death metal with tinges of black metal thrown in. Paragon Records has just released the bands second full-length release, Phlegeton: The Transcendence Of Demon Lords - a collection of seven songs clocking in at just about 30-minutes.
I'll start with the second song, "Sulphur", mainly because I love the opening bit to this song. The riff is superb and the dual guitar part after the gunshot sound effect is simply brilliant. Total 70's metal worship going on there. From there, we get a pretty standard death metal track with the weakest part being the vocals. In fact, the vocals seem to detract from much of the music on this disc. They just sound strained and don't really seem to fit with the well written and played music. "Ocularis Infernum" also has some really killer dual guitar work throughout the song, and some really catchy melody bits - it gets my vote for best track on the disc. "Soul's Harvester Machine" is probably the most straightforward death metal track on the disc - mid-paced, heavy riffs, gruff vocals, and some good breakdown parts thrown in before a good guitar lead mid-song.
The production on this disc is good, but not great. Everything is clear and audible, even the bass guitar. The drums do sound a touch thin, but not distractingly so. Overall, this is a good death metal disc with obvious influences from traditional heavy metal. If you can get by the vocals, this is a keeper.
B- -Goz
The Astonishing Fury of Mankind
Metal Blade
France's Darkness Dynamite are an OK choice as a heavier hard rock band but they're more average than great. It sounds like what they play on modern rock radio stations only slightly heavier. They remind me of a cross between early Sevendust, Devil Driver and maybe a Mudvayne or two.
On The Astonishing Fury of Mankind, Darkness Dynamite sounds like they're trying to put emphasis on blasting speed but there's too many radio-esque choruses that sort of cancel out the mock brutality of it all. The speed is good and the drummer is fast but the drum track recordings sound very flat and lifeless. Especially at that speed. The guitar riffs are average making the songs seem to run together. The only exception was late in the album with “Dare I Say,” the gem that had some umph in it. The guitar solos are actually really good but they're not too memorable either. Which could be attributed to everything else running together.
There was a more little umph noticed in a few of the other songs but barely enough to pick out favorites. Mostly for the solos like in “$15”
and “Vice”which had a very strong ending. There were also some slow, progressive elements to break up the album. Halfway through, there's a minute long quiet interlude before their blasting single “Vice” called “A Simple Taste of..." which didn't impress me at all as music but more like background noise for a boring dream. At the end of the album, before they go all progressive with title track “The Astonishing Fury of Mankind,” they have another 3+ minute quiet calm, “The Everlasting Grace of Mind.” This time acoustic with actual music in it at least but it sounded just as bland as “A Simple Taste of.” Then their lengthy experimental closing track, “The Astonishing Fury of Mankind,” starts the same way and takes almost a minute and a half to get going.
Speed and sing-a-long-y goes together like plaid and polka-dots. I've heard so much more memorable astonishing fury in a surprisingly violent burp after a good beer than I heard on this album. There were mellow acoustic interludes on here! Where would the astonishing fury be in those tracks? Hmm? I hear darkness but not too much dynamite.
C -Alesha
Dark Chamber Litanies
Self-released
Melodic death metal in the Swedish tradition from this Spanish quintet- Dawn Of Tears pushes forth with a new five song EP. The renewed lineup only contains two long standing members- as guitarist J.L. Trebol began the group in 1999, joined in 2001 by vocalist J. Alonso. The newest members all came in after 2007’s debut album Descene - second guitarist A. Perez, bassist Konrad and drummer I. Perez.
Arming themselves with good production and firm tones from producer Alberto Seara (Mago de Oz), Dark Chamber Litanies opens with the 7:38 epic “Cadent Beating”- a faster almost black metal number vocally while the music navigates between traditional metal in some of the hook-laden guitar lines as well as the death divide acts like Dark Tranquility and Arch Enemy have been known for through their careers. “Since They’re Gone” contains some lifeless double bass parts that almost could have been punched in by a computer, which is a shame as the arrangement features some cool harmonies and whispering horror-laden vocals as if channeling the best King Diamond songs. The keyboard use seems minimal and more for background enhancement rather than an equal upfront instrument- almost funeral-like in the crushing “Winds Of Despair” where J.Alonso alternates between a deep death gurgle and a banshee black scream display.
There’s nothing inherently poor regarding Dawn Of Tears or their sound- yet I can’t say it’s anything that will set the normal melodic death follower on fire to spread the word through blogs, message forums or social networking websites. With hundreds of releases the world over, Dawn Of Tears just sits in mediocre land and not ready for the big time.
C -Matt Coe
The Combination
Agonia Records
It’s no secret that Thrash is more successful and plentiful now than it has been since 1988. There seem to be three types of bands in the Thrash revival. One type are the ones continuing where Thrash left off and taking it in a new direction (Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust), while others unabashedly stick to the old school roots (Evile, Warbringer). The third is a set of bands labeling themselves as Thrash, who take –coreish tendencies of bands like Arch Enemy and create a sound reviewers are calling “groove thrash.” Dead Man’s Hand fit right into that category.
Like many bands of the groove thrash genre, Dead Man’s Hand focus more on being angry and volatile than they do on writing good songs. Their new album, The Combination, is exemplary of this. After multiple listens, nothing stands out on this disc, but it sure is angry. The songs themselves usually focus on one solid riff, feature some shouted vocals, have a chorus, then some breakdowns and a relatively amateur instrumental section, and finally a return to that riff. The riffs themselves aren’t that bad, they just lack passion. It’s almost as if the band sat around trying to think of riffs that fit their style, instead of writing what came to them.
Most irritating about this album, though, is its overwhelming “tough guy” attitude. It is imbecilic and unwarranted. Good thrash makes you sound tough by default. Sadly, Dead Man’s Hand seem to think sounding like you can beat someone up is more important than making good music.
C- -Adam
April Rain
Sensory
Delain play Power Metal with some Progressive stuff thrown in for good measure with a hint of Nü Metal. Now don't get me wrong, the band are very talented and I admire their musicianship and lead vocalist Charlotte Wessels has a powerful voice that is reminiscent of Heart and Melora Creager of Rasputina. I can't help but say they sound a little predictable, but this by no means should be a factor that takes away from the fact they can write some great powerful rocking metal tunes with keyboards accenting the guitars in every song. The songs are memorable enough, especially "On the Other Side" which has a melodic overtone to it that could be radio accessible. "Start Swimming" sounds like it could be a Heart song if they put out an album this year as does "I'll Reach You". "Come Closer" is a nice power ballad that closes the disc on a melancholic note.
A good solid album from a solid tight band if you like Power Metal with female vocals. Honestly I like them I just couldn't picture myself wanting to listen to this album more than every three months or something.
B- -Matt Smith
Uroboros
The End Records
This is Japan's Dir En Grey's seventh studio album, and believe it or not I really had never heard them before I was given this CD to review. One moment they're mellow melodic and the next they're frantic and heavy and never predictable. Vocalist Kyo has the most amazing range I've heard in a singer since Mike Patton (no lie) and he sings in English and Japanese so it sounds so much cooler! At times sounding like Death Metal like on "Doukoku To Sarinu" and at others like Tool "Toguro" the ranges of moods and vibes changes quickly. "Glass Skin" is a nice ballad that moves along at a nice progressive pace with some great guitar lines over the rhythm section. "Stuck Man" sounds like it could be a Tomahawk song with it's angular guitar riffs before it breaks into an almost Death Metal like song. "Reiketsu Nariseba" is a neck breaker of a song that starts off fast paced and breaks down half way through to a nice mellow middle with dulcimer sounds before it kicks back into the onslaught.
The best thing about this band is it's versatility to shift from crazed numbers to ballads like "Ware, Yam Tote." that have some very sweet melodies. "Gaika, Chinmoku Ga Nemurukoro" almost sounds like an electronic song when it first starts out but then it quickly turns into a thrashing rage-fest. The guitars are tasteful and there are some really great riffs throughout the disc and they never get stagnant. I highly recommend this disc to any one who is looking for something completely original.
B+ -Matt Smith
The Unkindness of Crows
Southern Lord
Eagle Twin are a two piece band that bluesy blend of drone, stoner, and some other forms of doom into an interesting pile of heaviness (and I mean HEAVY). The Unkindness of Crows is their debut disc, out now on Southern Lord.
The songs here are long (longest being 15 minutes, shortest just over 6 minutes), heavy, slow, and did I mention heavy? The heavyness achieved here with just drums and guitar is outstanding. Kinda like Black Cobra played at a much slower speed or something akin to that. Take a listen to "Murder of...", and you'll see just how heavy this stuff is. It might be pretty sparse as well, but it never seems to get boring lost my interest. "Crow Hymn" is my pick for best track here, is also the longest. The opening has a great slow-paced riff that is totally fuzzed out with distortion and delay effects, and gets the song off to a good start. From there, the song takes a few little turns, including a massive, feedback laden guitar lead in the middle of the song. They could probably make an entire live set just out of that song, with some extended improv jams here and there to stretch it out even further.
Speaking of live sets, keep an eye out for their tour with labelmate SUNN O))) in August and September. Those two bands together should provide enough droning heaviness to satisfy your needs.
B+ -Goz
From Afar
Spinefarm
From Afar is the fourth release from Finnish folk metal masters Ensiferum. It follows in the same pattern as their previous releases - that is, pretty basic riffs and beats with a mix of clean and harsh vocals, all smothered with a good deal of keyboard, violins, flutes, lutes, and all of that other stuff that makes up the folk part of folk metal.
Listening to "Heathen Throne", which at 11 minutes should be an epic track, one can't help but be a bit bored by the time the 4 minute mark hits. The riffs and melodies are extremely basic, the drumming fairly boring and uninspired (not to mention the constant double bass that needs to be toned down a bit), and the vocal lines are just about as boring as the rest of the song. At least it has a cool little sing along part in the middle that might make for a good drinking part of the song or something. Speaking of drinking songs, "Twilight Tavern" seems to be just that..until they go and ruin it with the cheesy female quoir interlude.
I am sure this album will sell well, as both times I have seen Ensiferum live there have been a ton of people there to see them, and they all seemed to enjoy the show. For me, though, this just doesn't really work.
B- -Goz
Hydra Lernaïa
Metal Blade
Hailing from Toulouse, France, Eryn Non Dae (formerly END) just released their first full length CD, Hydra Lernaïa. Their style is dark, doomy, experimental and intricate.
Very similar to Dillinger Escape Plan and a mite easier to digest. Eryn Non Dae is little less spastic, and still abrupt, progressive metal with lots of horror infused vibes. A definite contender in it's modern genre.
Though it takes time to really 'hear' the music in this experimental category. I found Eryn Non Dae had no trouble keeping their appeal evident in the maze of Hydra Lernaïa. More for the smooth, horror background noise and great heavy metal, and the different styles of the vocals. Three songs outshine the rest. Besides the heavy screaming vocals, there was some rhythmic spoken word in a few songs like the 11 minute closer “Pure.” The second halves of “The Decline and the Fall”
and “Opposites From Within” really caught my attention. Excellent music there and more spoken lyrics that brought to mind Fantomas and Mike Patton's gloomy style. Ummmm.
Despite taking some time to get used to the water, Hydra Lernaïa is good metal with a great horror edge. This album deviously zones you out and then wakes you up over and over. You feel messed with and tired after listening. The Mike Patton-esque vocals got me good. Sold. Much respect for Eryn Non Dae's skills and for Hydra Lernaïa. The first of many let's hope.
A- -Alesha
Grand Union
Rise Above
In case you don't know, Firebird is Bill Steer of Carcass' 70's groove rock band that has been around since 2000 or so. Their latest release, Grand Union, is a collection of rockin' bar blues songs with a modern feel to them. Not in a Blueshammer way (see the Ghost World movie), they're much more genuine than that fake generic fictional band. At times like a funky boogie jam band and others almost Stoner Rock but every song would fit really well in a smoky beer-filled bar with an audience rocking out in a drunken sway, with biker chicks and guys having a rip roarin' time!
Some great playing here from all members, Ludwig Witt, the drummer keeps a good rocking steady pace with bassist Smok Smoczkiewicz following him in a groove-filled fashion and the guitars are riff-heavy with smoking solos throughout them! Speaking of solos, "Worried Mind" has some great blues harp playing that totally rocks and "See The Light" is a real groove blues jam that reminds me of the Black Crowes. "Four Day Creep" really gets rocking with one of the tastiest guitar solos on the album.
Nothing ground breaking here, just some good old fashioned bluesy rock tunes, but hey, even I love to have some good ol' meat and potatoes blaring out of my speakers on a nice warm sunny Summer day!
B -Matt Smith
The Crown of Winter
Candlelight Records
Russian metal is pretty rare. There have been plenty of bands over the years, but due to issues such as promotional difficulty and language barriers, the bands never seem to garner international, or even domestic, success. Looking at the 1,598 bands hailing from Russia on the Metal Archives, only three or four dozen ring a bell. Hopefully, Forest Stream will be able to transcend their native hindrance. Luckily, now that they’re signed to Candlelight records, that will likely change. They deserve it too, as their new album The Crown of Winter is a hybrid of many of the great aspects of modern heavy metal, combining quality symphonic black metal, doom, and extreme prog.
Symphonic black metal has become synonymous with the overdone pomp and pretentiousness of bands like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. Forest Stream avoid such problems (although there are some very “Dimmu-esque” passages) by incorporating Isole sounding doom influences and more subdued classical influences. Instead of overmixed violins, Forest Stream use soothing ambient bits. The doom influences reflect the slower moments of Blackwater Park era Opeth. The riffs are sprawling, and transition from one to another seamlessly. More importantly, the songs transfer mood. At one point, they will be conveying power and might, but at another mayhem and confusion, and underscored by pity and moroseness.
This release isn’t going to receive the credit it deserves—a monumental opus from an unknown band bound to be overshadowed by their less deserving contemporaries.
B+ -Adam
Carving Out the Eyes of God
Metal Blade
Even though Goatwhore has been around for over a decade now, my first exposure to them was when they were announced as one of the support acts for Celtic Frost's US tour. I decided to go pick up their earlier efforts so that I would know something about them and not be going to see them blind. I wasn't overly impressed with their discs, as they seemed to just sort of chug along with what seemed to be the same song over and over again. Then I saw them live about 5 or 6 times within a one year period. The band seemed to come across completely differently live - maybe it is the outstanding stage presence or vocalist Ben Falgoust, but I think it is a combination of his great presence and the fact that this type of music just sounds better in a live environment. Anyway, I still found them tough to listen all the way through on disc, but they were outstanding live. This leads us to Goatwhore's newest release, Carving Out the Eyes of God. Is it diverse enough to keep me entertained from start to finish, or does it get mired in mediocrity by the midway point as their other releases did?
"Apocalyptic Havoc" kicks off with some raging guitar work and snappy drums accompanying Ben's half black metal rasp and half death metal growling vocal style. The varying riffs and tempo changes here are promising to say the least, and there are some kickass guitar leads thrown in here, too. "The All-Destroying" is just that - an all destroying showcase in how to tie riffs together in a seamelss manner - the riff that is played at about the 0:45 mark is insanely good and is a theme that is carried through a few spots in the song. The band is obviously influenced quite a bit by Celtic Frost, not only with the frequent Warrior like death grunts, but also in much of the guitar and drum work. One only need listen to "Reckoning of the Soul Made Godless" to hear a riff that is obviously influenced by the Swiss masters of metal. "Razor Flesh Devoured" is a stand out track to me, with frequent tempo changes - the beginning is a blasting black metal bit, and towards the end it has transitioned into a mid-paced riff-monster of a song. A good blending of styles to keep things interesting.
Goatwhore has taken their longstanding style of blackened death metal and delivered a disc that is diverse enough to not get monotonous and boring by the mid-way point. They keep things moving and changing in a manner that never lets the listener get bored or uninterested in the music. Goatwhore finally captured the power of their live performance on disc, or maybe it is just that with time, they have become better songwriters, and this translates to a really good disc that is by far the bands best effort to date.
B+ -Goz
Worship
Prosthetic Records
The Thrash revival has hit full global reach. Grief of WAR has now released their blazing slab of old school Thrash metal, Worship, all the way from The Land of the Rising Sun. These guys don’t sound a thing like their fellow countrymen Sigh and Loudness, they retain the ferocious punk tinged onslaught of the American bands. With one listen, the band will distinctly ring a bell to any thrasher, as Slayer is an immediate soundalike. The opening track, “Crack of Doom” starts out with an “Angel of Death” styled riff, followed by Tom Araya like shouts. Sounding like old school Slayer certainly isn’t a bad thing, as the band should probably take a few hints from grief of WAR themselves!
Like many more Thrash acts around today, grief of WAR continue where Thrash originally left off around 1991. The riffs roll along like freight trains as vocalist Manabu Hirose shrieks over everything, adding the chaos. The solos, oh God, these solos…they really shred. I hate using such inane terminology, but these solos are fast and unrelenting, hearkening back to Kerry King when he actually practiced. Ken Sato is a hell of a find, and second to only Akira Takasaki as the most skilled Japanese guitar player that I’ve heard.
There so much potential here. Grief of War has the necessary talent to captivate the world metal audience. When Anthrax hits Japan next, these guys better be on the opening slot.
A- -Adam
Warsaw Rising
Metal Blade
After blowing us away with ...Of Frost And War last year, Hail Of Bullets return with a new EP, Warsaw Rising. Consisting of two new songs, a cover song, and three live tracks from the bands performance at the Party San Open Air festival, you get just enough here to tide you over until their (hopeful) next full-length release.
The two new songs are just what you'd expect - war-themed, brutal as hell death metal with kickass sound and amazing vocals. The cover song is of Twisted Sister's "Destroyer", and while they stay fairly true to the original, they absolutely add their own touch with the super heavy guitar work, pounding drums, and Martin's vocals. The three live tracks all sound great, and it sounds as if the band was spot on with their performances and having a good time playing (much like they did at the Maryland Death Fest in May).
This EP, to me, is just a tease. A couple new tracks, an interesting choice for a cover song, and some great live recordings. Hoepfully, the band will be working on a new release in the not to distant future. This, however, will satiate the urge for new Hail of Bullets material for a bit.
A- -Goz
Två Sidor Av Horisonten
Crusher Records
Sweden's Horisont mark their debut with Två Sidor Av Horisonten, thanks to Crusher Records. This 10-song, 40-minute slab of bluesy, groove filled 70's style rock is sure to please fans of Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, and just good damn music in general.
From the super catchy opening track "Nightrider", to the cowbell laden "This Ain't Right", to moody and quieter side of the album closer "Efter Min Pipa", Horisont delivers all manner of 70's rock, blues, and some slight hints of jazz for good measure. The songs will have you tapping your foot, nodding your head, playing air guitar, and singing along in no time at all. "High Time" has the biggest Sabbath influence going on in it, although it isn't as obvious as, say, sHeavy is. "Horisont Boogie" shows off the slide guitar abilities of the band, as well as some killer piano work in mid-song. I won't pick a favorite song here, because each song stands out in one form or another, and all are worth a listen - trust me, you will be remembering the melodies and vocal lines to these songs for a long time after even just a single listen.
The production on this disc is stellar - everything has that warm, live feeling to it. I would have to guess that there were a lot of tubes and what not in the recording studio, in lieu of modern, solid state equipment. Everything is mixed well, and the guitar tones achieved here vary from song to song, always fitting the mood and style of the music perfectly.
Let down your hair (if you can...I sure as hell can't anymore, as I don't have any), let your beard grow to mountain man proportions, put on some bell-bottom jeans, and rock out like a madman to one of the best records that I've heard this year - Horisont's Två Sidor Av Horisonten.
A -Goz
At the Going Down of the Sun
Candlelight Records
Imperial Vengeance is a two piece featuring none other than Charles Hedger of Cradle of Filth (here going under the pseudonym Mr. Charles Edward-Alexander). The style here isn’t too far removed from the CoF, but calling them a clone would be unfair. Unlike the ridiculous, over-the-top symphonic metal flag wavers, Imperial Vengeance aren’t following any trends. They use more traditional, riff heavy black metal style, sounding somewhat like late period Immortal. They retain the grandiose eeriness that black metal has always had the ability to create, without resorting to ultra-simplistic compositions.
Musically, Imperial Vengeance plays the so called “third wave of black metal” style as a base to their music while switching off between black metal and death metal style vocals. They call their style “dark aristocratic metal,” and I guess that fits. It’s pretty epic stuff. But it’s a simple case of a band not knowing how to be epic. They struggle to find structure in their multilayered sound. The keyboard lines fly freely and are unrelated to the rest of the music. They employ softer, vaguely neo-classical influences that transition poorly. Almost randomly placed, these softer parts have a place in the music, but Imperial Vengeance cannot find it. Closing out the album is the 10-plus minute track “Trinovantes,” which is exemplary of both their songwriting skills and lack thereof. Each part is very fine in its own right, but doesn’t flow to the next.
Imperial Vengeance isn’t as irritatingly melodramatic as Charles Hedger’s other project, but they still have some work to do. They try to do too much. Nevertheless, they’re still able to capture the cold essence integral to any black metal project.
B -Adam
Terroreign (Apocalyptic Armageddon Command)
Agonia Records
This is not an album of stellar technical proficiency or soaring melodic passages. This album is made with only one purpose—to destroy your eardrums. Impiety’s mouthful of a new album, Terroreign (Apocalyptic Armageddon Command) combines thrash and black metal influences, all based upon hyperspeed, ferocious death metal. At any given part of the album, Impiety utilizes influences from many different facets of metal. At one point they’ll be chugging along with a thrash riff while playing violent death metal drumming. At another, a Burzumesque passage will be played underneath abrasive growling. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it’s convoluted. Impiety tries to do too much on this record. The drumming is overmixed, with the intention of creating a chaotic mood, but instead they muffle out certain pivotal facets of the music, like riffs and bass lines.
Terroreign’s strengths lie in stripped down death metal. When impiety refuse to go all over the place with influences, and play straightforward death metal they create driving and intense extreme metal. A few times, they’re able to blacken their sound slightly, and create a dark, majestic feeling, reminiscent of Deströyer 666.
As I said, the mixing on this record is amateurish. It’s a plight from which many Southeast Asian extreme metal bands suffer. Maybe with a more talented man working the controls in the studio, Impiety’s next record will have the proper mixing to create a more polished sound. It would benefit them greatly.
B- -Adam
Controverso
Supernatural Cat
Italy's Incoming Cerebral Overdrive unload their second blast of math induced metalcore, Controverso, by way of Supernatural Cat. I found this disc to be a chore to get through, as there were really never any musical ideas explored for any amount of time. Riffs come and go, tempos change way too frequently, and nothing is catchy or memorable. The only segements of this disc I would really enjoy listening to again would be the ending of "Science" and the beginning of "Magic". Aside from those short bits, this is a disjointed mess of unconnected riffs, unlistenable vocals, and crackpot songwriting. I suppose some people will like this, because there are a bunch of "math metal" and "mathcore" band out there that must have fans, but I just don't find much enjoyment in this at all.
D- -Goz
Godless Rising
Forcefield Records/KVN
Philly's Infernal Stronghold are a DIY band through and through. They are releasing the CD version of their latest disc themselves, while Forcefield Records will be releasing the vynil version (limited to 700 copies). Godless Noise consists of 10 songs of raw, blistering black metal, clocking in at under 27 minutes total.
From the opening "Curb The Trend", to the closing "Buried by Grime & Crust", your ears will be assaulted by a unrelenting raw attack of noise. Punky, thrashy black metal with minimal melodic elements, delivered with more energy than a massive powerplant can generate, and tons of anger to boot. There isn't a whole lore more to say about it than that. If you want your black metal raw and spastic, then this is what you need to get.
B- -Goz
Ruination
Metal Blade
I've never given Job For A Cowboy much of a chance. The first time I heard them was at a live show at The Palladium in Worcester, Mass. They looked like total posers on stage, complete with stage boxes so they could all take turns jumping up there and over-playing to the crowd. The crowd was the other thing that turned me off to them - they all acted holier-than-though and just seemed like a bunch of dipshits. I know I shouldn't give up on a band merely because of their fans, but these fans defined douchebags. I guess the combo of the lame stage antics and lamer crowd left a bad taste in my mouth, so I just never bothered checking the band out after that. Then, Metal Blade sends along the bands latest offering, Ruination, and I decided to give it a listen and take the review for myself, instead of immediately sending it off to one of our other writers to tackle.
My initial impressions were that this isn't so bad. The riffs are mostly pretty good, the drums are played well (although a bit overdone at times, and they sound like complete garbage), and the majority of the vocals are pretty strong. I say the majority of the vocals, because the screaming vocals are just terrible and completely grate on my ears. Just listen to "Regurgitated Disinformation", and you'll hear what I mean. It is a decent enough song, but the screamy vocals ruin it for me. The same can be said for a lot of the songs here.
JFAC have put some decent ideas into their music here. Get rid of the crappy vocals, calm down on the over drumming a bit, and get some better drum production. With those improvements, it might actually put them back into a category of bands I'd care to see live again, but as it stands now, they are merely a below mediocre band that doesn't do anything for me.
C- -Goz
In Memorium - Demo #1
Labyrintheory is Matthew P. Davis' Gothic Doom Metal project that he's been working on for the last few years and it has finally seen the light of day on this five song EP. Ethereal in spirit, this collection of songs has a slow Gothic feel to it while maintaining classic Doom elements similar to Candlemass and Type O Negative without the Peter Steele-type vocals. Instead, the vocals range from Black Metal influenced to Gothic Opera, melodic at times and never predictable. Nice melodic guitars and keyboards layered add an extra dimension to these songs and keep them fresh sounding from all the other copy cat Goth Doom bands out there. "Jehovah's Witless", is the heaviest track on this CD sounding almost Black Metal at times and flows nicely from double bass drums to classic Doom beats. "Mythical" has a great mellow vibe to it with somber sounding vocals that almost sound like Robert Smith on a Doom binge.
For fans of old school Gothic Doom Metal I highly recommend you check this out.
B -Matt Smith
Rusted Eyes Awake
Prosthetic Records
Arizona's Landmine Marathon recently signed with Prosthetic Records, and the label has just re-released the bands second effort, Rusted Eyes Awake, which was originally put out by Level Plane last fall. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on their next release, due out later this year.
In the roughly half-hour of music delivered here, Landmine Marathon doles out their flavor of old-school sounding death metal, with major hints of Bolt Thrower worship in many of the riffs. Check the opening to "Xenocide" for a prime example of this, although there are many other examples throughout the disc. There are many nods to the bands Swedish predecessors present as well, so the band shows that they know where their roots are. The vocals are a bit different, ranging from slightly guttural to a screaming that borders on -core (although not quite getting there, thankfully - and never going to clean or whiney). At first, the vocals kinda bothered me, but the more I listened to it, the more I got accustomed to them, and they seemed to fit better.
This is a decent release by a young band, although not earth shattering by any means. I'll be very interested in seeing what they come up with on their Prosthetic debut when it comes out.
B -Goz
The Hero Cycle (re-issue)
Prosthetic Records
In early 2010 (postponed from the initial August 2009 date), Prosthetic Records re-issues the debut album of San Fransisco's Light This City. Originally released in 2003 on their own label, Reflections of Ruin Records, The Hero Cycle is ten tracks of heavily motivating, very melodic thrash metal. The feel of this album is a balance between modern metalcore, minus the [clean] kid-sounding vocals, with a hearty, classic death metal prominence throughout.
The distinctive old-school style is mainly from the vocals. I'm listening to The Hero Cycle, and I realize the singer sounds just like Death's Chuck Schuldiner! Like Human meets Unearth's The Oncoming Storm or something. A pleasing blend. I go to find out more about Light This City and BAM... it's not even a dude singing it's Laura Nichol. She gets extra extra credit for not only sounding like the Father of Death Metal himself, but pulling that off when she was in high school.
The Hero Cycle is a great metal album on the whole. Of the average-to-short length tracks, four stand out so far. Opener “Apostate” is a powerful melodic start to fit the album and also the longest track at four and a half minutes. Halfway through, they pay tribute to Swedish death metal band At the Gates with “Cold” from Slaughter of the Soul (1995). Next on “Laid to Rest” I noticed a pattern that reappears in many tracks; they seem to get heavier and meatier later in the songs. “The Weight of Glory” was the best head-banging, angst filled track (despite a couple short bursts of the only 'kid' vocals on the album that didn't take away from The Hero Cycle just the classic feel of that track).
For Light This City to put out a metal album that sounds that good while they were mere teens is noteworthy. It sounds like experienced musicians that jive well together or they put everything they had into their music. I can only hope they kept up the good work in their three subsequent albums before they “disbanded” in 2008. I'm sure I will eventually get around to checking out their other releases but I am content just to revisit The Hero Cycle for now. Often. Thank you.
B+ -Alesha
Incubus
Agonia Records
Italian black metal band Malfeitor bring us their second full-length release, Incubus, on Agonia Recrods. This is the follow-up to their well received 2007 debut, Unio Mystica Maxima.
On Incubus, Malfeitor deliver more or less straight forward black metal, in the veign of Immortal, Marduk, Dark Throne, etc. The opening track, "Down With Me", gives a good idea of what to expect - it has the blasting drums, fast, tremolo picked riffs, and raspy vocals. What Malfeitor does a bit differently, though, is the dual tracked vocals - pairing the higher, raspy vocals with death metal style growls. Sure, it has been done by others (like Deicide), but it is slightly unusual for a band playing old school style black metal to use this so often. The rest of the disc meanders on in much the same manner (save for the last track, which is all ambient noise, and seems pointless to me), with little variation from track to track. While it is all good music, the lack of variation tends to make it a bit boring to sit all the way through in a single sitting.
B- -Goz
Tombs of the Blind Drugged
Rise Above
Moss hits the nail on the head with their sludgy slow riffs and holy shit heaviness right from the first track, "Skeletal Keys". Screaming effects filled vocals bring the sound to an even heavier level and the drums crash and thud in just the right way to make this a most punishing listen. Moss is not afraid to let the heaviness flow in Redwood Forest-sized tree style. "Tombs Of The Blind Drugged" continues the bludgeoning heaviness with more tortured vocals and some nice droning organ that flows during the last 4 minutes of the song that adds to the already sinister vibe. "Serpent" is also quite massive and the disc ends with "Maimed And Slaughtered" which only cements the vibe of the whole disc with more brutal intense heaviness to last you all day long.
I want to bring up a nice comparison to a band I reviewed a few issues ago. They are called Rigor Sardonicus and I wasn't too impressed with the CD of theirs I had to review and I wanted to point out that I believe THIS album by Moss is what they were TRYING to achieve, at least I THINK that's what they were trying to do.
Slow Doom Sludge doesn't get much better than this so if you're a fan of this music check out this CD!
B -Matt Smith
New Distances
Deathwish Inc
I was actually trying to review this for the last slew of reviews but couldn't get my hands on a copy of this in time. I really anticipated this release, I loved the ep and being a Botch fan I was excited to see what Dave was going to put out. First let me get this out there...
when i heard the ep it made me miss Botch so badly I couldn't wait for the full length. However, when i popped this on for the first time it didn't really make me miss Botch so much as it made me really like Narrows!
There are nine tracks put together that I feel show this band is very talented and driven to do something they haven't done in previous projects. I think the tracks "Chambered" and "Gypsy Kids"
both show the different elements of this band and are worthy of catching your attention if you like a mathcore or hardcore. Since this is kind of like a hardcore supergroup you can see there is a lot of creative input with these songs and personally I like it a lot.
There are math-riffs, rock-riffs, melodic parts, mosh parts and frankly a little bit of everything I can think of mashed together.
B+ -Eric
Omnicide - Creation Unleashed
Metal Blade
Sometimes, you can do nothing more than look at the song lengths on an album and get a grasp of what it is. Such is the case with Germany’s Neaera. Just seeing that no track is under 3:45 and no track over 5:00 tells us two things about them. They probably rely on one song formula (which happened to be the case) and they probably have a more mainstream sound (which also happened to be the case). The order of the day here is standard melodic death metal with hints of mainstream modern thrash bands like Arch Enemy and The Haunted. This style started out in Gothenberg circa 1997, and now it’s reached every nook and cranny of the metal world. I won’t lie; right when this album began my immediate thought was “Oh man, not another one of these.”
The negative response wasn’t based upon the album’s poor quality, but because there’s just nothing left to say about this style anymore. It’s been done by In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Darkane, Soilwork, and thousands of other bands. Neaera are more tolerable than some of the trend riding bands in the aforementioned list, however. Their riffs have groove and tautness that can only be found through inspired songwriting and extensive practicing. This two attributes help the band separate themselves from the myriad of melodeath bands continuing to sprout worldwide. Even the minute separation is significant.
New bands are playing Neaera’s style every day. Despite the fact that they play it with more passion and technical proficiency, they cannot help but blend in with the rest.
B -Adam
Satanic Blasphemies
Regain Records
On the heels of their recently released Death To All, Regain Records has seen fit to release Satanic Blasphemies, a collection of Necrophobic's two demos, 1990's Slow Asphyxiation and 1991's Unholy Prophecies, and their 1992 EP, The Call.
This is an interesting listen, as you can hear the band transform quite a bit from their first demo to the second. Slow Asphyxiation could be described as thrash metal, although it has death metal leanings to it for sure. There are lots of stacatto riffs and the like used here, which show where the bands main influences were coming from at the time. The Unholy Prohecies demo has an almost totally different sound, thank in no small part to being recorded at the legendary Sunlight Studios with Tomas Skoksgber. Gone is the muted riffing and thrashy vocals, replaced now by that infamous Swedish buzzsaw guitar sound and guttural vocals. The transition to death metal is complete, as was likely the case with a lot of young bands that started as thrash band in the late 80's and saw the need to change with the times as death metal became more prominent in the very early 90's. The Call EP finds the band adding a bit more melody to the music, which was another logical transition at the time.
I hadn't heard any of this stuff in a LONG time. Thanks to Regain for putting it together in a nice package. The sound quality here is ok, but given that the recordings here are all 15+ years old, that is understandable. By far the worst sounding stuff here is from The Call EP, which almost sounds like it might have been sourced from vynil. If not, then whatever they used was in bad shape.
B+ -Goz
The New Black
AFM Records
Great- a German band now following the American radio rock scene and spitting back at us large grooves, soulful melodies and a southern, dirty swagger to their quick fix songwriting on this debut album. They love Black Label Society, Nickelback and Pantera- along with a singer who certainly knows the John Bush catalogs along with Corrosion Of Conformity during their major label heydays. The non-discriminate music lover who doesn’t mind what’s thrown down on your biggest corporate modern rock airwaves may get a kick in the rear at songs like “More Than A Man” or “Superman Without A Town”- but albums like this are the reason why I enjoy my own personal play lists over suits and ties dictating what should be popular.
The dual Thin Lizzy spider web guitar work during “Simplify” (I closed my eyes and thought it was 1976) and “The Man Who Saw The Universe” with its Lynyrd Skynyrd guitar/ drum interplay are the best of the bunch.
Non-offensive and probably will sell bucket loads- The New Black cleaned up the wax build up in my ear drums, as I now move onto something more substantive.
D+ -Matt Coe
Half Truths & Hand Grenades
DRP Records
Pennsylvania based Ninetail release their second disc, Half Truths & Hand Grenades, thanks to DRP Records. Blending a bit of groove metal with a healthy dose of hardcore (mainly in the vocals), the band delivers what I would dub "though guy metalcore" or something like that.
The music here is riff-driven, catchy, and full of grooves. Breakdowns are present, but not completely abused and overused (for the most part at least). The keyboards and samples are used a bit, but don't really add too much to the music if you ask me. While there are many catchy and entertaining riffs thrown around here, the vocals take away a lot from the music (multiplied by the fact that they are mixed way too high). The tough guy chanting isn't too bad I guess, but the clean vocals are poorly done and really drag this disc down.
This is overly generic and ultimately boring music. Maybe as the band matures they'll be able to create more interesting and listenable music, but thus far they haven't achieved that at all.
D -Goz
Worlds I Create
Candlelight
Upon my first listen to Pantheon I's latest, Worlds I Create, I immediately figured this was something I would be listening to numerous times. The band combines a massive black metal attack with layers of string instrments and other melodic bits, keeping everything fresh and inriguing.
The sheer power and brutality that spewed forth in the blasting opening minutes of "Myself Above All" quickly transitioned into a melodic, cleanly sung chorus with a cello being the main instrument providing the musical background. Well-written, well played, and well-done pretty much sum up that opening track. "Ascending" is a bit quieter and slower song, with the strings playing a much more prominent role throughout the entire song (even during the blast parts), instead of just in little bits and pieces. Also of note is that Katatonia's Jonas Renkse provides some clean vocals to this track. I'm going to say that "Burn The Cross" is my favorite track here, with the cello laden intro, the blasting mid-section, and the absolutely tortured sounding vocals making it a song to remember and revisit often.
My initial thoughts were that this was an outstanding disc. After repeated listens, I still think this is a great disc, but maybe not as outstanding as my first impression would lead me to believe. I do like the great combination of black metal and the quieter string instrument passages, and Pantheon I has done a great job at arranging these so they blend well and don't sound like a disjointed mess.
B -Goz
Tropic Rot
Ferret Music
I rather enjoy this album... its feels like a good continuance of their last album Versions. Love them or hate them Poison the Well changed the face of melodic hardcore/metalcore 10 years ago with The Opposite of December, and haven't looked back since. I'm happy they are constantly growing and enhancing their sound. I don't know if they can ever duplicate that first full length in the eyes of a lot of hardcore kids but I feel these last 2 albums are a step in the right direction. Their music is maturing with them and there are a lot of really good elements.
The songs are solid melodic hardcore and have a good drive behind them. Riffs are unique and stand apart from eachother, the vocals are very strong, the signature singing parts sound great and are placed well... and this is Poison the Well...
there are a few well placed buildups and mosh breakdowns. If you are a long time fan or a big fan of the last release, versions, you will enjoy the album a lot.
B -Eric
Lightbringer
AFM Records
Break out the devil horns, grab your nearest denim jacket and head out with your friends to partake in the new wave of traditional heavy metal. Hammerfall may have resurrected the proceedings, but I believe another Swedish band Wolf really kicked a new generation into re-discovering the wonders of Priest, Accept, Dio and Maiden. RAM finally unleash their second full length after starting in 1999 with guitarist Harry Granroth- filling out their lineup over the next 4 years with vocalist Oscar Carlquist, second guitarist Daniel Johansson and drummer Morgan Pettersson (they lost their bassist in 2007- Christian Stromblad recently gained the slot). They haven’t been idle in their developmental years- self-releasing an EP in 2003 and their first album Forced Entry two years later, plus playing gigs with Gamma Ray and Dark Tranquility across Scandinavia.
Lightbringer harkens the chilling theatrical nature of early Mercyful Fate, the twin guitar sounds of Judas Priest and recalls the developing independent metal movement circa 1980-1984. Acts didn’t care about pigeon-holing their songwriting, synchronizing their stage moves or writing to formulas- RAM’s mission is merely to entertain with instruments of death on a bed of warrior-like lyric landscapes and the occasional nod to epic, sprawling songwriting. “Suomussalmi (The Few Of Iron)” for instance is a 9 minute track complete with a quiet mid-section that features a slow building drum/bass march and a radio-transmission spoken word background. Harry Granroth has a roar and sneer perfect for the band- his personality rolls like the great metal singers of all time.
“Blood God” and “In Victory” represent the best of Lightbringer. I can hear why it took them awhile to gain a deal though- RAM appear to play with fury while having an issue piecing together songs that flow from riff to riff convincingly. Good but not outstanding- I’d rather listen to older Wolf or Bullet when it comes to the new Swedish brigade.
C+ -Matt Coe
The End Of Tomorrow
Metal Blade
Pride and perseverance are two words that easily spring to mind when looking at this homegrown Massachusetts traditional, power and slightly thrash influenced quintet. My first encounter with Ravage occurred in 2002, at a defunct Jarrod’s Place in North Attleboro. I hadn’t seen dual leads played in a Priest meets Maiden way from a local act since my college days. Fast forward through the past six years, Ravage have impressed the European world first with high reviews in the biggest publications, a debut album with a small German label and festival appearances abroad. Gaining attention with their self-released Freedom Fighter EP, The End Of Tomorrow contains 4 songs from that release in “Freedom Fighter”, “Damn Nation”, the faster Forbidden-ish “The Shredder” and “Grapes Of Wrath”- plus 7 other originals and their interpretation of Judas Priest’s “Nightcrawler” off of their return to form effort Painkiller.
How would I describe Ravage’s sound? Well, they have their share of American influences like Overkill and Iced Earth, yet I also hear within material like “Reign Fall” and “Into The Shackles” European rhythmic riffing appeal a la Rage or Running Wild. Vocalist Alec “Ravage” Firicano injects a diversified vocal approach throughout the album- he can sustain notes like some of the bigger known names in the traditional field yet likes to add a Lizzy Borden or NWOBHM styled fierceness in terms or drawing out certain words or sneering to make vengeful impact. “In Shattered Dreams” represents a roll call to the legions, the solos and rhythm guitars taking a stand to ensure the hordes ample soccer chanting or general crowd participation.
Completing the picture for Ravage are the detailed artwork from Ed Repka (Megadeth, Death) and the stellar, capable production at the hands of Graveheart guitarist, all around super-metal guy Peter Rutcho (Seemless, Revocation).
We’ve known in New England metal has never gone away in it’s close to 40 year history. Invest in its future with Ravage- calling the young and old to prepare for the resurgence!
A -Matt Coe
Everest
AFM Records
Though not as popular as hotbeds like Germany, Sweden or Finland, Switzerland has quite a potent conventional hard rock scene. Obvious at the top of the movement is Krokus (forgiving their Americanized moves in the mid to late 80’s), but people in other parts of the world are starting to recognize acts like Gotthard and this quintet Shakra- releasing their seventh studio album in 12 years with Everest. The name of the game with these 12 tracks are hard hitting guitar riffs, catchy verses and hook laden choruses- stripped down to the bare essence for excellent lift off to the stages of the world.
“Ashes To Ashes” opens with charging Dokken-like riffs circa Under Lock And Key and Mark Fox multi-tracked yet energetic harmonic vocals. The follow up “Love & Pain” features one of those get up and kick ass hypnotic guitar riffs that forces body movement no matter what age, another addictive mid-tempo anthem. Their sound definitely comes from a mix of lighter melodic metal and just old school hard rock philosophy- influenced by the European greats past and present, as I feel they share kinship with Gotthard and Jaded Heart, at the same time spreading their wings away from their early AC/DC affinity. Lead guitarist Thom Blunier employs a Slash meets Michael Schenker overtone during his note bending solo within “Let Me Lie My Life To You”, and the band strip down to acoustic basics with the power ballad “Why?”, something Americans consistently expected on any hard rock album throughout the mid to late 80’s.
For most G.A.S.P. Etc. readers this definitely is on the lighter side of the listening palate, but I’m sure there are some followers who sneak out those conventional, melodic hard rock albums from time to time ( for me it’s Tooth and Nail, Back For The Attack, Mechanical Resonance and Born Into Darkness from Germany’s Letter X). Everest delivers from the heart superb songs and pirate sized hooks, and that’s what matters when laying down your cash.
A- -Matt Coe
Unreal
Sensory
Based on band name alone, the listener should know ahead of time they’ll be embarking on a progressive trip when handling this French act. The seeds of this five piece began in 1999 with guitarist Vince Benaim and bassist John Drai, gaining keyboardist Fred Columbo in 2001 and finally becoming Spheric Universe Experience in 2002. By 2003 vocalist Franck Garcia moved in first as a session singer then joining full time- while the group went through a series of drummers through their first two albums before drum teacher Christophe Briand came into the SUE fold. Unreal comes two years beyond their sophomore album Anima- and I believe the group illustrate both the highs and lows of a genre determined in its forward thinking mindset while trying to satisfy a picky audience base.
Songs like “White Willow” and “Lakeside Park” feature a heavier guitar tone and more of an underlining groove- bridging the sounds of Dream Theater and Pain of Salvation in the rhythm section and keyboard play with the crunch of say Evergrey or Symphony X from Mr. Benaim. Christophe Briand comes up with some inventive Neil Peart meets Latin percussive passages during “3rd Type” while the main riffing alternates between jack hammer off time insanity and smoother chords perfect for multi-track Franck Garcia harmonies (or back and forth speaker work during the bridge).
The singing for the most part sticks to a palatable range of notes, with Franck finding comfort with what James Labrie has done during the Dream Theater years. What can be difficult for the native English speakers to handle are obvious mispronunciations - making the chorus of “Dragged” possible ear torture due to incorrect syllable emphasis (‘inseparable and inexplicable’ the worst offenders). The abstract distortion technique employed on the album cover adds to their vision of establishing their own path.
Final conclusions? Unreal contains 7 songs and 2 instrumentals that combine progressive arrangements and furious theory and technique, while never forgetting that the material needs to be molded into cohesion with proper flow. Spheric Universe Experience should gain appeal with the old and new breed- and the strengths outweigh the occasional weakness.
B+ -Matt Coe
Code Of Conspiracy
Blistering Records
Danish thrash/death quintet who are releasing their second album after beginning in 2003. Probably the best known of the five musicians would be drummer Morten Lowe Sorensen, who has played with The Arcane Order, Hatesphere, Scarve, Nightrage and Soilwork in either an album or touring capacity through the years. New vocalist Lasse Sivertsen bellows between a furious scream roar and convincing clean choruses that belong in the Scar Symmetry class. After separating from Listenable Records following 2006’s Failure To Perfection debut, gaining a fresh deal with Blistering appears to be an excellent transition, as I think they’ll gain a good foothold across the world with their addictive riffing, dynamic drum parts and a swirling heavy nature to the proceedings.
Tracks like “A Terror Within” and “Determent Infiltration” blend the chops of Mercenary and Nevermore along with the off tempo appeal from Meshuggah, Textures, and Scar Symmetry. I also enjoyed the Morse code-like guitar tapping that opens the first two riffs of “In The Eyes Of Tyranny”- which quickly transitions into a mid-tempo effort perfect for audience thrash and bash action. Still in his early 20’s, Morten proves his weight in technical mastery throughout these 11 songs, establishing all of his blast and off tempo tricks in “Deservant” for instance where he comfortably allows his hands and feet to mutate through like Richard Christy or Paul Bostaph. Jacob Hansen once again twists a brilliant sounding effort- not an easy task with some of the chaotic guitars, rhythmic rumbles and vocal screams in a winning track like “Celebrate The Dead”.
Those of you who wonder what going to happen with Scar Symmetry and hate the fact that Mercenary are without a US deal despite their great abilities, Submission would be a worthy band to consider adding to your listening station.
A- -Matt Coe
Years Old
Forcefield Records
Brooklyn quartet Tournament unleash their new LP, Years Old, their first for Forcefield Records. Available on both CD and 180 gram LP, the music was recorded live to 2" analog tape - I mention the last bit because it gives the music a sound and feeling that is often lacking in most of todays over-compressed, overly digitized music.
Tournament deliver 10 songs and about a half-hour of often discordant, groove laden post-rock/post-punk or whatever the fuck you want to call it. While the guitars are venturing off playing discordant melody lines, the bass acts as a rhythm guitar for much of the disc, keeping the grooves in check and thundering along all at the same time. In fact, some of the bass work here reminds of Mike Watt from his fIREHOSE days - I think it is a combination of the playing style and the tone of the bass here that brings that to mind. Check out "Smokelore" for a good example of this. "Snuff News" goes in a different direction, as it is more of a straight ahead rocker, with everyone synching in together to bring the heaviness. The band blends both of these styles throughout the disc, many times in the same song, creating a good diversity and interesting mix of music.
As mentioned, Years Old is an analod recording. As such, you can hear tape hiss and what not, especially during the quiter parts and intros/outros. To me, this truly fits with the bands music. The fact that they recorded it live is also great - I wish more bands would do this because it give the music a much more organic and realistic sound and feel. My interest os piqued, and now I want Tournament to come to the Boston area and play a show so I can see them live.
B -Goz
Infected
AFM Records
Metal markets have never been singles driven- but I do think EP’s serve a purpose, especially if you want to give a preview of your next studio album and couple the offering with unreleased tracks, alternative remixes and/ or live material to fill out the release. Germany’s U.D.O. consistently keeps his productive songwriting on a 15-18 month release timetable, thus we have the first single Infected from the upcoming Dominator album scheduled for late summer.
The title track opens with a slightly modern drum groove but within 20 seconds the one of a kind screeching from Mr. Dirkschneider carries the mid-tempo track much like the latter Accept days. Group vocals sweep in for the chorus, speedy melodic guitar solos weave in from the mid-section through the conclusion- a perfect teaser that should be a permanent part of their festival set list. Next you’ll get two exclusive to this EP originals- “Systematic Madness” the more memorable of the two because it’s a faster version of “Man and Machine” while “Bodywatch” is typical Accept-like riffing and gang vocals. The final two songs are perfect for the international audiences as Udo throws in foreign language offerings “Platchet Soldat” and “Poezd Po Rossii” (live from Russia) with folk/polka touches to the material.
Collectors will scoop this up- and for me it’s a signal of what I’ve always come to expect from one of the German innovators in the traditional metal style. Love him or loathe him, U.D.O. still garners a fervent crowd the world over- let’s hope we’ll get a North American return as it’s been 8 years since his last tour in our homeland.
B -Matt Coe
The Invocation of Demise
Metal Blade
The Invocation of Demise was originally released in 2007 by Northern Silence Productions. Since Sweden's Valkyrja recently signed to Metal Blade and commenced working on a new record, Metal Blade has seen fit to re-release their debut album worldwide to get some exposure for the band.
Valkyrja reminds me a bit of fellow country-mates Watain. They play a very similar style of black metal, with catchy riffs, more gruff vocals (vs. the higher raspy style used by many), and a good blend of blasting fast tempo and mid-paced tempos to keep things changing and interesting. Just listening to the first song, you can hear this - with the blasting opening that segues into a slower, more melodic part, eventually breaking down to a really slow bit before returning to the blasting pace from the beginning of the song. "The Vigil", compared to most of the other songs here, is downright doomy and slow - which makes it seem to be twice as heavy as anything else on the disc. The discs closer, "Frostland", is a song that has been around since the bands demo days, and might be the most furious track here. Blisteringly fast, with vicious vocals, and downright bowel erupting drum work. It's the type of closing song that leaves you wanting to hear more.
Thanks to Metal Blade for re-releasing The Invocation of Demise. It should be enough to tide people over while the band records their new disc, which they are doing right now.
B -Goz
Viatrophy
Candlelight
The bands myspace page proudly proclaims this:
"In a scene saturated with over-produced and uninspired bands, the current line up, completed Gavin Thane (bass), John Jones (guitar) and Craig Reynolds (drums), cut a thrilling presence as anyone whose witnesses them live will testify."
And goes on to say that their debut disc is awaited with bated breath. I've listened to this numerous times now, looking for the inspiration and non-overproduced sound, but I can't find it. All I can find is pretty uninspired and generic sounding deathcore, with and overproduced, squeaky-clean sound that I've heard from a million other bands recently. Maybe they are fun to see live, but on disc they are as cookie-cutter as can be.
D+ -Goz
Infini
Relapse
Infini is the final Voivod album with founding guitarist Piggy's guitar work and I must say it is really great they were able to do this because I for one would have felt cheated if they left his unfinished work to stay on the laptop he recorded it on. The first track, "God Phones" is very Dimension Hatross sounding as is the next track "From The Cave", and this makes me happy as that has always been my favorite Voivod album of all time. To be quite honest with you this is the most reminiscent of Hatross of all of their albums, even "Earthache" has that old Voivod sway that keeps you swinging to its beat. Piggy's solos sound are very inspired (then again, when DON"T they?) and Away's drumming is right on as always and is Snake's vocals and Jasonic's bass playing. "Global Warning" has some of the best riffs I've heard on a Voivod album in a long time and "A Room With A V.U." has some really cool synth type sounds in the intro as the song takes on a mellower tempo than the other tracks. "Treasure Chase" has a great melody line to it and "Deathproof" sounds like a song from The Outer Limits. "Pyramidome" has a great intro before it kicks in to a twisting melody and lyrics amd "Morpheus" is by far my favorite track on the disc with it's almost chanting and space piano sounds. "Volcano" finishes the disc on a old school Voivod note almost like a space version of "Tornado".
In my opinion, this is the best Voivod album in years and it makes me sad to know that this will be the last new Voivod album with Piggy's playing on it, but I DO look forward to what ever the rest of the guys in the band decide to do for the future! To the future as they always have gone...
A -Matt Smith
I
Candlelight Records
With a band called Xerath and an album simply titled I, I expected an avant-garde act, especially since the Metal-Archives has them listed as “orchestral/progressive/groove metal.” Well, the Encyclopedia Metallum can scratch off orchestral and progressive from that classification, because this is nothing more than Groove. This trendy music with the guise of artistic experimentation slapped upon it. This is the debut album for Xerath, and they’ve hit just at the right time. It’s safe to say that playing this sound, with the backing of Candlelight Records, they’re bound for more popularity in the mainstream metal world.
Groove metal has become the new metalcore. Thankfully, that trend-riding genre died a painfully long death. But it’s been replaced by the equally unartistic and derivative groove metal. While Xerath do integrate some orchestral bits, they are always secondary. Additionally, their time changes are poorly placed and seem random, much like seemingly every band (except Leprous!) with progressive influences nowadays. The resulting sound is scattered and unfocused.
There’s nothing more to say here. Xerath aren’t any good, but we’re going to be hearing about them for a while.
D -Adam
The Great Cessation
Profound Lore
From the first crushing guitar riffs to the distorted screaming vocals of the lead off track, "Burning the Altar", YOB delivers mind blowing heaviness that I can only describe as Neurosis meets Electric Wizard. Clean guitar breaks throughout add some nice contrast to the heavy riffs pummeling the listener. Dirge-like doom and clocking in at over twelve minutes this first track is the type that transcends time and will leave you feeling like you just had a session in an opium den! "The Lie that is Sin" kicks it in the same heavy manner with a really nice melodic clean guitar section before sliding into a gradual build up into more crushing heaviness with floating reverb and echo-drenched vocals adding an ethereal feel to it.
"Silence of Heaven" kicks off with a chord that rings out into feedback backed up by sparse drums and vocals with some more echo effects, but this song is by far the dirgiest track on the album. "Breathing from the Shallows" has a more up tempo feel to it, but only in the slowest Iron Maiden-song way. It also is the shortest track on the disc at only seven and a half minutes and has some smoking guitar solos peppered throughout it. "The Great Cessation" starts off real mellow with melodic guitar and drums and drags you into it's peacefulness with some cool wind blowing effects and what sounds like analog synth sounds. The song finally kicks in but not in the heavy manner the previous songs have. This one has melodic vocals without any aggression in them and it's a nice diversion from the other tunes on the disc. This track is definitely the most mournful sounding and melodic of the whole disc and probably my favorite and clocking it at a whopping twenty and a half minutes it's a nice send off to the album.
Fans of slow, dirgy, doom will love this as will fans looking for a Neurosis-style band that REALLY delivers! Highly recommended!
A -Matt Smith
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