Thus Spake Memnathustra

[ALBUM REVIEW] Zgard - Spirit of Carpathian Sunset

2012-02-13T01:45:00.002Z

Genre - Pagan Black Metal

1. Sunset
2. Svarga
3. Invocation
4. Destiny Molphar
5. About Russ
6. Stream of Memory
7. Eruption of Anger
8. Autumn Buried the Ground
9. Spirit of Carpathian Mountains
10. Misty Skyline

Folky Slavic black metal is a vast subgenre in the all encompassing world of black metal, there’s an immeasurable number of bands that tread a precarious line between the unassailable status of Kroda and self parodying cheese . Sifting through the crap can be laborious, but when occasionally coming across a band like Zgard, it does have its rewards.

Spirit of Carpathian Sunset, the first of a duo of albums released by these Ukrainians, and upon first glimpse it’s damn near impossible not to be completely absorbed by the absolutely stunning artwork. One thing’s for sure, it’s certainly a fitting embodiment for the music on display here. Championed as recapturing the early pagan fire of Nokturnal Mortum and being among the finest in Slavic black metal today, it’s an audacious statement of intent for a band so new.

As is standard, the album kicks off with a token scene setting intro containing a menagerie of instruments I’d have severe trouble pronouncing never mind naming them. Such is the case for the whole album, the folky atmospheric aspect is hugely significant in Zgard’s sound, so much so occasionally it seems they’ve altogether forgot about the metal side of things. The folk instrumentation ends up completely overwhelming everything else at times mainly due to the lack of any sort of bass presence whatsoever and the paper thin guitars. The music noticeably suffers from this.

Looking beyond these dilemmas though and Spirit of Carpathian Sunset isn’t without its highs. The extended passages of meandering folk blended with traditional churning tremolo riffs and abrasive (if slightly one dimensional) vocals hark back to Kroda’s classic material and have more than enough for avid fans of the genre to sift through. Tracks like “Svarga” and “Destiny Molphar” are diverse and rewarding listens if given the time but more often than not I found the songs beginning to wander directionless and trailing off without leaving much of a lasting impression. It’s when the band crank the metal up a notch that they really begin to show their colours though, the aptly titled “Eruption of Anger” is just that; flat out brutality to remind you that you’re listening to metal and not some ambient forest sounds CD.

The similarities with early Nokturnal Mortum are there, sans the horribly dated keyboards and crucial hooks. All things considered I can’t help but wonder how much better this would have sounded had a touch more focus been placed upon the metal end of the spectrum, because when they do up the ante it sounds a lot sharper. Regardless, Spirit of Carpathian Sunset for its shortcomings shows a lot of promise and holds the attention more than long enough to fill a gap. As for its staying power though, that remains to be seen.

6.5/10

Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] The Obscene - The Torment of Sinners

2012-02-11T23:53:00.003Z

Genre - Death Metal

1. The Storm to Come (Intro)
2. Embrace Oblivion
3. Grim Discovery
4. Beyond the Hold of God
5. Skiprat Jane
6. The Final Silence
7. P.S.A.S.
8. Destroying the Heavens
9. The Man, The Martyr
10. Circle of Despair
11. And the Rivers Ran Black

“The Torment of Sinners” is the debut EP offering by UK Death Metal newcomers THE OBSCENE and is comprised half of new material and half material from the band’s previous incarnation. And if you look past the horrendously uninspiring band name, this actually contains some very competent Death Metal which musically isn’t a million miles off the likes of compatriots BOLT THROWER or MORBID ANGEL. Honestly with a name such as THE OBSCENE I was expecting some tech death or core nonsense, but this is nothing but old school to the bone.

The “The Torment of Sinners” half of the release is essentially six tracks of no-nonsense to the point pulverising Death Metal comprised of chaotic drumming (which thankfully remains from ever becoming overbearing) and an alternating twin vocal onslaught of high pitched scraping and more traditional deep gutturals which adds a welcome touch of variety into an at times otherwise uniform release. The riffing is a thick metallic grinding with a touch of groove (of the good variety of course!), which certainly more than hints at a touch of classic Trevor Peres. And like every self respecting Death Metal band, they make enough room for a good old horror sample. At least they’re better than MORTICIAN though eh?

The latter five tracks are from the bands previous guise, SALUTE TO THE SUN and follow pretty much that same path, with an even worse production but more variation and hooks to get your teeth into. The production certainly isn’t the most refined aspect of “The Torment of Sinners”, everything sounds a little thin and the vocals are slightly overpowering, especially on the first six songs. Regardless of this though, I would have to say I prefer the older tracks, overall they’re noticeably more engaging that the newer ones.

One thing’s obvious for certain though here, all the band members are visibly proficient in their own areas, and show more than a glimmer of promise between them. “The Torment of Sinners” is good for what it is, regulation unforgiving blasphemic brutality. On this evidence, THE OBSCENE are on the right track and with “The Torment of Sinners” have a formidable base on which to build from here on in, but shouldn’t be under any illusions as they have a long way to go before approaching the likes of the current underground UK Death Metal heavyweights CRUCIAMENTUM.

6/10

Orignally written for The Metal Observer

[ALBUM REVIEW] Ildra - Edelland

2012-02-10T19:43:00.009Z

Genre - Pagan/Black Metal

1. Sweorda Ecgum
2. Rice Æfter Oðrum
3. Hrefnesholt (Dæl I)
4. Esa Blæd
5. Ofer Hwælweg we Comon
6. Nu is se Dæg Cumen
7. Earendel
8. Swa Cwæð se Eardstapa
9. On þas Hwilnan Tid

Not a whole lot is known about this mysterious ensemble from England. ILDRA happen to be one of the very few Black Metal bands who sing in the ancient Anglo Saxon language. A number of bands recently have dipped their toes into ancient English history, most notably those such as WINTERFYLLETH, FOREFATHER and the only other one who I can think of who recorded a full album in Anglo-Saxon, EALDULF. None have really delved into it though to the extent which ILDRA have here on “Edelland”. It’s a welcome variation from the usual ancestral European pagan and celtic beliefs and a window into a history that seldom gets any attention at all in the metal scene.

The music itself is a lot more Black Metal focused than FOREFATHER though, there is a significant mid-period GRAVELAND influence throughout the structure of the material here, and not to forget also a large “Hammerheart” influence to proceedings as well. This is none more obvious than in the vast meandering instrumental passages to many of the songs; the dense surging riffing and the booming coarse vocals driven by the warlike pounding on the drums give the music a real presence of triumph. On top of this there is also that weathered organic sound constantly existent throughout, augmented frequently by some rather illustrious work on the acoustic guitar.

The first proper track, ‘Kingdom After Kingdom’ bursts in with aplomb, like some ancient British war hymn laced with the undulating riffs and thunderous drumming. The vocalist could just as well be the commander barking orders to his men. The accented delivery of the Old English lyrics certainly adds a certain grit to the overall spirit of things. The same could pretty much be said for the rest of the metal tracks here, and the frequent marriage of acoustic and electric guitar passages is incredible, and keeps everything sounding sharp. On top of this “Edelland” is also woven with frequent tact lead work, which can be difficult to achieve in Black Metal. Few bands can pull it off as well as this.

Most of the songs contain extensive brooding instrumental sections which accentuate that earthen, triumphant atmosphere to such an extent it’s pouring out your ear holes. And on the subject if instrumentals, this album has quite a few breaking up the main songs so to speak, and for once on a Black Metal album they complement the overall multi dimensional atmosphere perfectly, stirring that already present tempestuous air further. They pretty much sound like some arcane war tune with their acoustic melodies and menacing drum work.

Some of the rhythms do have a tendency to repeat themselves at times, you’ll be thinking “Did I not hear that riff before?” but thankfully this is only a minor gripe as it doesn’t occur too often to be a major problem. “Edelland” is an extremely mature and accomplished piece of work. It brings a certain degree of welcome inspiration and freshness to an area of Black Metal which is sorely missing something like this of late. Fans of WINTERFYLLETH and GRAVELAND need this, because while GRAVELAND have released some seminal albums, they also have the habit at times of sounding very contrived, especially these days, “Edelland” can easily stand on its own two feet against the best of the genre. And to be totally honest on this evidence, ILDRA aren’t light years away from making a “Thousand Swords” themselves. This will be a tough one to match not just by ILDRA themselves, but by anyone aiming to ply their trade in this area.

9.5/10

Originally written for The Metal Observer

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nekromantheon - Rise, Vulcan Spectre

2012-02-08T15:43:00.003Z

Genre - Thrash Metal

1. Cast Down to the Void
2. Blood Wisdom
3. Embrace the Oracle
4. Coven of the Minotaur
5. The Usurper Command
6. Rise, Vulcan Spectre
7. Twelve Depths of Hades
8. Raised by Dogs

Hailing from the hometown of none other than black metal legends Darkthrone, Nekromantheon unleash their sophomore effort to the formidable debut of unholy blackened thrash, Divinity of Death. So what would our true metal crusader from Norway make of all this then? Something tells me he wouldn’t at all be disappointed.

Rise, Vulcan Spectre follows where the previous Divinity of Death left off, thrash with a philosophy, and one philosophy only, to play as brutally fast as humanly possible. Only this time the production has been cranked up a gear or two to an acceptable level, clear yet gritty without ever venturing into Sneap territory, allowing all the components and various intricacies to shine yet still retaining an evil primal atmosphere that is required for this type of thrash metal.

An accurate comparison musically would probably be Morbid Saint, or as the sticker on the front said “For fans of old Sepultura, Slayer, Sadus and Sacrifice”. There is also a slight Teutonic influence among things here, certainly in the excessively vicious reverbed vocals of Arild which immediately bring Destruction to mind. The riffing is filthy and aggressive and never lets up for a second in the brief thirty minutes on show here and the leads are volatile and wild, breaking out of the mayhem with the ferocity of a feral dog. The drumming is as relentless as the guitar work and all combine together in what can only be described as a juggernaut of old school thrash which obliterates everything in its path leaving behind devastation and exhaustion. It is a short affair, clocking in at just over thirty minutes but probably no bad decision as thrash such as this does tend to get rather predictable after a while.

Rise, Vulcan Spectre will trample right over you leaving you broken, beaten and bruised. It’s no holds barred thrashing savagery with a pace which never gives. Indeed if you’re a fan of the aforementioned Sadus or Morbid Saint this will be right down your alley. Nekromantheon essentially present what is a big middle finger to the fashion thrash brigade. You can keep your Eviles and Gama Bombs, this is thrash performed the way it was designed to be. Raw, merciless and unsympathetic, and along with the likes of Midnight and Cruel Force who are making huge waves in the same scene as well, could decent thrash finally be making some sort of a push to usurp the current front runners? Let’s hope so.

9/10

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

[ALBUM REVIEW] Midnight - Satanic Royalty

2012-01-27T18:54:00.002Z

Genre - Black/Speed Metal

1. Satanic Royalty
2. You Can't Stop Steel
3. Rip This Hell
4. Necromania
5. Black Damnation
6. Lust Filth and Sleaze
7. Violence on Violence
8. Savage Dominance
9. Holocaustic Deafening
10. Shock Til Blood

After nine long years, Cleveland based sleaze machine MIDNIGHT finally rise from the mire and unleash their debut album of unkempt and filth laden speed metal upon the rabble, and what an album it is. In short, what is essentially the grime enveloped bastard child of eighties Satan loving shock merchants VENOM. The VENOM influence is so obscene that “Satanic Royalty” could almost be mistaken for a lost recording from the UK legends, and I’d be fairly certain that they’d also be the first to admit that this is nothing but shameless adoration at the altar of Cronos and co. But when it’s as good as this, why the fuck should anyone care?

The album’s title track explodes out of the blocks with the energy of a caffeine soaked cokehead, riffing straight from NWOBHM legends TANK and Athenar’s obnoxious snarling. Hell, Athenar could well be Cronos himself minus the receding hairline. The central hook to the song is absolutely enormous, dragging you into MIDNIGHT’s vortex of bitches, booze and blasphemy before spitting you out a disorientated mess. First impressions were “They can’t keep up such a high level of quality and ferocity throughout can they?” Amazingly they do, every single track on “Satanic Royalty” is nothing but high octane Speed Metal strewn with blistering heavy metal soloing and neck breaking riffing tied together with maniacal vocals.

The lyrics are another thing altogether, they’ve got everything from the divine “Marching out from the catacombs of hell, Kingdom’s falling, Bred to destroy the children of Christ” to the peaceful “Skullz will crack brains explode” and they even manage to make room for a love song in the ever so subtle “Lust Filth and Sleaze”; “You give me lust you give me sleaze, I'm gonna bust when you're down on your knees”. And who says romance is dead eh? If you’re looking for the ultimate leather studded and alcohol soaked soundtrack for 2011, then you can’t look much further than this.

It never deviates from what would be expected of a VENOM worship band but remains surprisingly diverse and so engaging that even after repeated listens it never gets old. This is the hurdle where most others attempting the same fall, and MIDNIGHT overcomes this with spectacular ease. “Satanic Royalty” is nothing but pure unadulterated mayhem manifested from a gutter somewhere in Ohio with no aim other than to defile and disgust. Bursting with the raw energy of the genre progenitor’s DISCHARGE and VENOM’s NWOBHM-esque demonic racket with the vulgarity of Blackie Lawless, MIDNIGHT offer thirty minutes of altogether unholy and thoroughly indecent speed metal which is certain to get the adrenaline flowing and horns throwing. VENOM even released a new album this year as well, but why bother when MIDNIGHT are currently doing VENOM better than VENOM themselves?

Orignally written for The Metal Observer

M8l8th/Nezhegol' - Wotanjugend

2012-01-23T15:02:00.003Z

Genre - Black/Pagan Metal

1. М8Л8ТХ - Эхо Грядущей Войны
2. М8Л8ТХ - Ран и Крови Пламя
3. М8Л8ТХ - Молот Белого Волка
4. М8Л8ТХ - Стражник Леса
5. Нежеголь - Хель
6. Нежеголь - Солнца Лучи
7. Нежеголь - Маршем Грома в Парад Осенних Ночей
8. Нежеголь - Скрежетом стали мечи запоют!
9. М8Л8ТХ & Нежеголь - Мы с тобой, Брат!

A lot of Eastern European NSBM to me for the most part tends to be nothing but a melee of uncoordinated Darkthrone and Burzum worship. On top of that you have the most extreme bands so transfixed on getting their own personal manifesto across they appear to completely leave all musical ability behind, or as unfortunately often appears to be the case, they never had the talent in the first place. This obviously isn’t true all the time, take the bands from the Blazebirth Hall scene in Russia for example, or acts such as Dark Fury and the Polish Arkona , bands who have the talent as well as a certain semblance of cohesion lacking in so many others. Moloth are one of these bands, they’ve been terrorizing the underground Black Metal scene in Russia for the last ten years or so and have two albums of tenacious and unsympathetic Black Metal bearing a flame of nothing but sheer hatred.

Wotanjugend is a split effort between the aforemented and compatriots Nezhegol’, who upon closer inspection appear to share a few members. It’s clear from the outset, this isn’t Black Metal for the casual or left leaning, the balaclava clad fellow on the cover certainly isn’t off to protest about socialism and the cuts anyway that’s for sure. Moloth kick things off with a steel toe cap right into the militaristic opener with its machine gun drumming and gritty riffing, which while thick and harsh manages to contain an astute sense of melody underneath as well. The vocals have that unmistakable Slavic accent to them and are rather well produced and complement the ‘no prisoners, obliterate all!’ attitude which Moloth are aiming to convey throughout. The next three tracks all follow the same formula and structure somewhat with some exceptionally crushing riffing at times. Though lacking a certain sheen and identity from the first, they still remain highly enjoyable; diversity is something you seldom find in NSBM anyway.

Nezhegol’ I’ve not heard before. They fall on the more pagan side of things, and refrain from being quite as assertive in their presence as Moloth, opting for the more atmospheric approach with their melodic guitar lines and cascading keyboard passages bringing a more ‘traditional European’ feel to proceedings. The clean vocals are unfortunately rather weak and don’t really fit with the style of music, they style of music to which they pertain is much more suited to harsh vocals. It reminiscent at times to Pagan Reign or a poor man’s Temnozor, which is no bad thing as both those bands are essentially benchmarks for the genre, but with a change in vocals they could really be on to something. Take the last song for example on their side, it is just screaming out for a Varrgoth styled vocal performance in place of Aleksander’s vocals. The riffing and drumming is flat out brutal and the keyboard arrangements are nothing short of exquisite, the vocals just prevent it from ever taking that extra leap into the territory occupied by Nokturnal Mortum or Temnozor. The last track is a collaboration between both bands (who are both essentially the same artists anyway?) and has a surprisingly Maiden-esque feel throughout with its riffing and is a glimpse of what could be were Nezhegol’ to take into consideration my previous points. The harsh vocals from the Moloth frontman work exceptionally well with this style of music.

As it stands though Nezeghol’ are nothing more than another slightly above average drop of water in the ocean of pagan metal acts which exist throughout Eastern Europe. Moloth on the other hand have proved themselves many times before, raw and abrasive NSBM which is much more bite than bark. First class musicianship with the attitude of Absurd, the Black Metal equivalent to a fist to the teeth. For those who like their Black Metal ugly and unforgiving, check them out, their debut especially is fantastic. The lyrical themes and band’s notoriety will turn many off, but since when was Black Metal ever about tolerance anyway?

7.5/10

Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Peste Noire - L'Ordure A L'etat Pur

2012-01-20T19:02:00.004Z

Genre - Black Metal

1. Casse, Pêches, Fractures et Traditions
2. Cochon Carotte et les Sœurs Crotte
3. J’avais Rêvé du Nord
4. Sale Famine Von Valfoutre
5. La Condi Hu

‘La Sale Famine de Valfunde’, or Famine as he shall be known from here on in, is somewhat of an enigma. The only way to describe his take on black metal is ‘unique’. He’s done almost it all, from bone grindingly raw to thrashy and Post-Punk to epic neoclassical dirges to eventually now what I can only describe as ’Carnival Black Metal’. “L’Ordure A L’Etat Pur”, the fourth full length to emerge from Famine’s deranged mind couldn’t be further from the magnificent, almost romantic “La Sanie Des Siècles”. This will only further the criticism of those exasperated at the direction Famine has steered the band in since then. Admittedly a return to that album would certainly be well received, but Famine doesn’t appear to be a man for nostalgia, and to these ears it’s almost as if “L’Ordure...” is another ‘fuck you’ to those who try to dictate what PESTE NOIRE should sound like. I don’t think Famine himself knows half the time what he wants them to sound like if this album is anything to go by. So what’s it like then? In short, one of those car crashes where everything is so mangled you can’t take your eyes off it.

The only traits that “L’Ordure...” keep in common with any of the previous PESTE NOIRE albums is the huge amount of nationalism ever present throughout the course of their career. From borrowing various works from French poets to naming your album “Ballad Against the Enemies of France”, it’s something Famine is obviously hugely passionate about. And of course the fact it’s Black Metal, albeit very different from anything they’ve ever really done before. “Casse, Pêches, Fractures et Traditions” sets the ball rolling with some light acoustics and peculiar guitar work before we’re lashed with Famine’s vocals, which if you’ve not heard before can be hard to get your head around initially. They cite themselves as ‘Hooligan Black Metal’, and you can see why when listening to his crude throat scraping howls which at times sound like a drunken Frenchman throwing a tantrum. Initially it doesn’t sound too far off “Ballade...”, and contains some fantastic strong riffing before the freak show comes around; horns, trombones, accordions and various samples including Famine belching and a cockerel proceed to warp what initially sounded like a solid Black Metal tune into something which leaves you with that initial thought of wondering just what the fuck you listened to. If I had to make any sort of comparison at all I’d compare it to a Black Metal carnival on the banks of the Seine full of zombies. I even hear what almost sounds like a French TOM WAITS in there at times. I realise that sounds a little absurd, then again so does half this album.

Now we come to the hard style-esque (yes that’s right) “Cochon Carotte et les Sœurs Crotte” with its incessant horrible thumping drum track and Famine’s demented wailing, it’s like a Black Metal equivalent to the music you’d hear at your local funfair. Only with lots of drugs.

“J’avais Rêvé du Nord” continues with the repressed pulsating electronics with added munitions sampling for around three minutes before transforming into an acoustic, folky passage with our ever enchanting Audrey Sylvain providing her alluring vocals as well as dove impersonations (that’s talent right there!). Eventually we get some welcome unashamed Black Metal after some medieval guitar work, thundering drums, razor wire riffing and slightly less bizarre vocals and the relief floods in that Famine still definitely has it. For a twenty minute song it’s incredibly diverse and engaging throughout, though monotony was never a problem for PESTE NOIRE; one of the attributes that set them apart from the others in the first place.

The final two tracks are more straight forward with the anomalies less frequent, though Famine still sounds as if he’s shouting random incoherent nonsense than singing lyrics more often than not. “Sale Famine Von Valfoutre” still has that melodic yet piercing guitar tone and altogether unattached and chaotic attitude PESTE NOIRE are known for while “La Condi Hu” for me is the highlight of the release. It’s shockingly laid back for PESTE NOIRE never mind the album itself, sounding more like something Neige would release with its light picking coupled with heavily distorted melodic riffs, Famine’s rather distressed vocals and spoken word by Audrey. This showcases Famine’s song writing abilities at their very best, proving that when he’s not fucking around he can write some extremely stirring music.

Casual fans of Black Metal I would suggest avoiding this, for it’s not an easy listen. The first half of the album is basically a menagerie of deranged inspirations and obscenities that Famine has concocted in his bizarre mind and unleashed them onto a disc. The latter half is unique, but still unmistakably PESTE NOIRE as we know them. At times it’s utterly fantastic and immersive, sardonic and brash; others will just end up giving you a headache and the rest will leave you perplexed, bemused and feeling a little bit used. You want a perfect representation of the album? Just look at the cover, their own amusing take on “Liberty Leading the People”. There’s a guy with a fucking toilet seat for a head for god’s sake.

7/10

Originally written for Metal Observer

[ALBUM REVIEW] Satanized/Framferd/Plutonian Shore/Katari - Nocturnal Tyrants

2012-01-17T21:06:00.003Z

Genre - Black Metal

1. Satanized - Xahhak
2. Satanized - Doctrine Of Thralldom
3. Framferd - Aatseleter
4. Framferd - Med Blottet Nakke
5. Plutonian Shore - Invoking Ereshkigal
6. Plutonian Shore - Lunar Rites
7. Katari - Darkening all
8. Katari - Mutilated and Reversed

Recently out on Turkish label ‘Extreminal Productions’, Nocturnal Tyrants, a split comprised of four up and coming black metal bands of various styles showcases the talent (or lack of) that these artists have to offer. Personally I have never really seen the point of split albums containing any more than two bands, they tend to lack any sort of continuity and end up feeling like some sort of half-assed promo, which is essentially what this feels like.

Satanized actually get things off to a brisk start, from Istanbul they bring to the table a style of Black Metal I’ve only really heard before in Saudi Arabian band Al-Namrood. The ethnic riffing weaves around Angramainyu’s deep deathy gutturals and bolstered by an almost Melechesh-esque atmosphere, Satanized actually sound fairly sharp and promising if these two tracks are anything to go by, which is more than can be said for the next band Framferd.

Out of Norway, the supposed ‘home’ of black metal, you’d probably expect them to be rather more accomplished at this than their Peruvian or Turkish label mates. Far from it in fact, for their two tracks are the weakest on this release. If monotonous raw black metal with horribly uninspired thin guitar riffing is your thing, then fire away. Personally I prefer my black metal with a touch of imagination. Dragging along without ever remotely threatening an interesting riff, you can pass these guys up and not be too worried about missing anything.

Plutonian Shore thankfully raise the quality again with their brand of melodic black metal awash with keys that’s not too far away from latter day Ancient or Swedish band Noctes. The drums are very muffled, though both songs contain some fantastic passages, especially “Lunar Rites” and its triumphant feeling to its guitar riffs. Along with Satanized, they’re definitely the only two who show any promise and any potential longevity.

Katari don’t fare much better than Framferd with their take on the raw end of the spectrum. The vocals are far too weak to have any impact for one, and the riffing thoroughly unremarkable for another, there’s just nothing that stands out and would ever make me want to listen to them again.

In fairness, none of these bands are doing anything revolutionary, but they’re all young enough and there’s plenty of scope for improval there, it’s just that some have a lot more to build upon than others.

5/10

Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre

2012-01-17T01:07:00.003Z

Genre - Psychedelic Rock

01. Unending Singularity
02. On The Wings Of Gloria
03. Die The Death
04. Within The Charnel House Of Love
05. Cruel Lover
06. She
07. The Thousandfold Epicentre
08. Fire Burning
09. Everlasting Saturnalia
10. The Madness Of Serpents
11. Feverdance

Retro 60’s/70’s psychedelic rock throwback seems to be somewhat on the rise lately. With bands such as GHOST, JEX THOTH, BLOOD CEREMONY and YEAR OF THE GOAT and such you’re spoilt for choice. THE DEVIL’S BLOOD were one of the first to appear on the scene with their sublime debut EP “Come Reap” full of memorable hooks and awash with psychedelia, and they’re back to show everyone how it’s supposed to be done.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last three years, THE DEVIL’S BLOOD are an occult obsessed act from the Netherlands peddling their wares from the JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, COVEN, BLACK WIDOW and even HAWKWIND’S school of rock. So basically, expect lyrics which would have your local priest running for his crucifix and traditional rock arrangements supplemented with long meandering passages of abstract psychedelic fuzz.

So onto the music itself, let’s be frank, debut full length “The Time of No Time Evermore” was just above average, only saved by one or two fantastic songs while suffering from a large amount of filler. “The Thousandfold Epicentre” is a vastly different and superior affair. From the utterly majestic and almost ceremonial “On the Wings of Gloria” (Ignoring the throwaway intro) right through to the fifteen minute labyrinth, “Feverdance”, “The Thousandfold Epicentre” almost never lets up the quality.

F., the band’s vocalist is what really sets them out from the crowd though; just take the closing vocal patterns in “On the Wings of Gloria”, they’re absolutely sublime and chillingly seductive. Couple this with the ever increasing sonic tidal wave of scuzzy distortion and compelling bass work and you have something very special indeed. Other highlights throughout include “Cruel Lover” with its initially snappy rhythm and subtle guitar work before descending into three minutes of obscurity. “She” has some fantastic lead work and vocal lines which slowly embed their claws in a little further each listen. “The Madness of Serpents” is probably the strongest track here. A simmering melody that just flat out radiates evil for its backbone and effect laden guitar work shimmering throughout before succumbing to a spacey, chromatic instrumental oddity which almost feels improvised, as a some of this album tends to feel at times, like a live performance without the crowd. “Feverdance” though I just don’t get, half a song of almost inaudible guitar twiddlings and sparse vocals before eventually coming to end with some pretty average instrumental work, what’s the point? Filler for the sake of it.

One thing that certainly can’t be faulted with these guys is the sheer effort put into the packaging. If you were one of the ones who got the 8/9” CD edition will know what I mean. A thirty six page showcase of artwork and lyrics which I must add is fantastic, it really makes this album feel like something special, and it is.

It’s also welcome every once in a while to come across a band in the rock/metal end of the spectrum who don’t solely exist to exploit the fact their vocalist is female. The Devil’s Blood are genuine to the core. They’ve improved vastly upon “The Time of No Time Evermore”, the song writing is more audacious and utilises some great experimentation. Yes a lot of it harks back to bygone times, but at the same time they manage to make it appear fresh and put paid to the claim they’re just a nostalgia act. Maybe before, but the truth is they’re much, much more than that now.

9/10

Website

Reverberation Across the Nation

2011-12-04T22:15:00.002Z

Ok, so anyone who knows me knows how much of a Sisters of Mercy obsessive I am. Thus I have decided recently to upload some of my bootlegs I own for download for anyone who is remotely interested. Some say the girls were the most bootlegged band from the eighties, a claim I can most certainly well believe.

The Return to Arkham

A
Afterhours
Alice
Lucretia my reflection
Body and Soul
Ribbons
Dominion/Mother Russia
B

First and last and always
Amphetamine Logic
Detonation Boulevard
Burn
Marian
C

This Corrosion
Gimme Shelter
Flood II
D

Temple of love
Valentine
Vision Thing
Something Fast
Jolene
1969
A nice release from the fanclub taken at the band's 10th anniversary gig at Leeds Poly. Decent sound if a little thin, but a great coverage of their career on show.

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Stonehenge

A
First and Last and Always
Body and Soul
Amphetamine Logic
Marian
No Time to cry
B

Possession
Walk Away
Heartland
Some kind of stranger
Body Electric

One of the best bootlegs I've heard sound wise. Recorded at the London Lyceum somewhere around 1984 I think, and has notably great versions of FALAA, Possession and Body Electric and a rare appearance from Some Kind of Stranger.

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In the Shadow of Angels

A:

Wide Receiver
Walk Away
Red skies disappear
No Time to Cry
Fix
B:

A Rock and a hard Place (instr.)
Black Planet (instr.)
Marian (instr.)
Candle (instr.)
Temple of Love
Poison Door

One from the twins at Palazzograssi, notable tracks here are the 'Red Skies Disappear" demo originally "Marian" and the demo which to this day Herr Von still can't remember writing "Wide Receiver".

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Kill the Lights

A

Flood II
Lucretia my reflection
Never Land
Untiteled
Driven like the snow
Flood I

B

Afterhours
Lights
Fix
Good Things
Walk away

Another Palazzograssi, with the Floodland demos and some unreleased tracks/demos on the B side.

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Remasters Sampler

A
On The Wire
Blood Money
Bury Me Deep
Some Kind Of Stranger (early)
When You Don't See Me (remix)

B
Never Land (full length)
Emma
Long Train

A recent bootleg which appears to contain the bonus tracks recently released on the rereleases of the 3 albums. Nothing out of the ordinary if you have the cds.

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Enter the Sisters

Rereleases of all the early pre-falaa singles, without the Damage Done tracks. Again if you have Some Girls this is a bit pointless, but here it is anyway.

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Live at the Electric Garden

A1 Burn
A2 Valentine
A3 Anaconda (song)
A4 Temple Of Love
A5 Heartland

B1 Floorshow
B2 Body Electric
B3 Kiss The Carpet
B4 Alice
B5 Sister Ray

A live gig from Stockholm 1983 which has only seen recent release. Not a great sound quality, though a nice tracklisting nevertheless.

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Victims of Circumstance/The Last Magician of Rational Thought/Good Things plus 2 Live Tracks/Floorshow EP/Nightmares

Uploaded these all as one. "Victims of Circumstance" and "The Last Magician" contain a few Falaa demos and songs which were later to appear on the Mish's debut. "Nightmares" is a short live EP recorded in norwich '83 with a fantastic version of Jolene. "Good Things" is what it says on the tin, with Sister Ray/1969 as the B. And the Floorshow EP has the great Teachers-Adrenochrome medley.

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Sign of the Jackal - The Beyond

2011-10-10T17:42:00.003+01:00

Genre: Heavy Metal

1. Hellhounds
2. Head Over Heels
3. Heavy Metal Demons
4. Paganini Horror
5. Night of the Undead

The Beyond is Italian horror-mad heavy metal mavericks The Sign of the Jackal’s debut EP. Recently signed to Heavy Artillery and a full length pencilled in for later this year, there’s not been a better time than the current for eighties throwback, spandex sporting testosterone fuelled heavy metal. With Enforcer, Cauldron, Portrait, In Solitude and Christian Mistress all making waves among a plethora of others, you’re spoilt for choice.

I mention Christian Mistress for they share one common asset, a female front woman with an ‘all out, balls out’ attitude, something which is unfortunately so few and far between these days. It’s gutsy, unadulterated metal ripped shamelessly straight out of the eighties, in the days where blonde perms and tight leather trousers were perfectly acceptable; a nostalgia trip perhaps, but when it’s executed as sublime as this, there’s nothing else in the world I’d rather listen to.

Our ‘Doro’ in question is Laura Coller, and she tears her way through this all too brief affair like a woman possessed. There’s no need to state the main influences by now, but if you guessed Warlock, Hellion and Maiden you’d be right on the money. Blistering duelling leads, high tempo drumming and Maiden-esque riffs driven by Laura’s compelling vocals, it’s a heavy metal aficionado’s dream.

From Killer’s styled intro on “Hellhounds” right through to the fantastic adrenaline pumping marriage of Bob and Max’s weaving guitar work and Laura wailing “Through the heat of the night” on“Night of the Undead” , I dare you to not clench your fist, even just once. Even the instrumental "Paganini Horror" is nothing but intense, flawless heavy metal, though something tells me they were listening to “You Give Love a Bad Name” before the recording. The resemblance is uncanny at times.

If you ever wondered what Enforcer would have sounded like with a female singer, well then here’s your answer. Straight from the church of true metal, The Beyond is twenty minutes of unrelenting metal excellence. If this is a taste of what’s to come, the full length better hurry the fuck up. From a country better known for its weak power metal and limp wristed ‘goth’ metal, I’m impressed!

10/10

Buy it!

Myspazz

[ALBUM REVIEW] Falloch - Where Distant Spirits Remain

2011-10-09T22:23:00.002+01:00

1. We are Gathering Dust
2. Beyond Embers & the Earth
3. Horizons
4. Where We Believe
5. The Carrying Light
6. To Walk Amongst the Dead
7. Solace

It’s not hard to see why this pair of Scots were so quickly snapped up by Candlelight. A native band who perform the same organic and grainy style of metal Agalloch, Alcest and the ilk are renowned for? With its recent boom in popularity, people are going to lap this up, and quite rightly so with such quality music as is on show here.

Ever since news of this project broke, I was cautiously anticipating this release, for the project is named after the Falls of Falloch in Scotland, a beauty spot in the heart of the Trossachs which I have visited myself a few times; a very fitting foundation for the album if you ask me.

Andy Marshall, backbone of the band also happens to be the same guy who was responsible for arguably the best Scottish black metal album ever, Askival’s Eternity. This came as a huge surprise as it isn’t exactly the first direction you’d expect an artist with whom the NSBM tag has been bandied about to take. It’s in a completely different boat altogether, and that’s none more obvious in the startling new direction Andy’s vocals have taken.

I’ll not lie, as soon as I heard the vocals initially my first thoughts were “Fuck, since when did 30 Seconds to Mars get heavy?” I despised them, though as time has passed I’ve grown accustomed to them. Hell I might even be starting to like, nay, maybe even love them. They will be like marmite to most though; a heavy immature slant to them, they are reminiscent to something from Kerrang’s filthy vaults. Then again, so would Neige if he sang in English, there’s not a big amount of difference between the two and it’s no surprise Alcest are a huge influence on While Distant Spirits Remain.

It’s fairly hard to categorize While Distant Spirits Remain. Loathe to use ‘post-black’, a tag which appears to get hurled around fervently and applied to anything which fails to fall within the traditional black metal template, it’s closer to the folk metal mould than anything else, Celtic in style with a fair amount of post-rock influence. I can even hear a slight hint of shoegaze from time to time. It’s not really black metal at all, borderline at times but nowhere near enough to be classed as such.

From “We Are Gathering Dust” with its echoes of Primordial in the riffing to the punch and driving rhythm of “Beyond Embers and the Earth” meshed so elegantly with tin whistle and acoustics, it’s almost impossible to pick any faults whatsoever with the music. Harsh vocals only appear sporadically throughout the album, a shrill howl that is the only remaining link along with the folky passages that remain on Askival. “Where We Believe” contains some of the best vocal lines of the album, dreamy yet flow perfectly around the acoustic guitar and ebbing riff work and blasting on the kit.

A special mention has to go out to the brief four minute instrumental “Horizons”. Bodhrán and flute are used together with such well constructed ease to create such an atmosphere that I can’t picture anything else other than myself sitting on the shores of Lomond as the sun creeps below the western mountains. Utterly inspiring stuff.

Fans of Alcest, Empyrium, Agalloch and all such bands similar could definitely do a lot worse than to check this out. Weathered, airy post-rock influenced folk metal which utilizes seamless transitions between the harsh distorted wash and the serene calm. The folk passages are presented with tact and authenticity unlike so many of those plastic European ‘folk’ metal bands. Sit back and let Where Distant Spirits Remain seep through your veins. It may not be instant, but when it does finally settle, it’ll be worth it.

9.5/10

Buy it!

Webshite

[ALBUM REVIEW] Blóðtrú - A Brighter Sun

2011-10-08T20:11:00.004+01:00

1. Rising
2. Damaged
3. In Purity and in Light
4. When No Animal Bled for Us
5. Holy

A Brighter Sun, the follow up to Blóðtrú’s debut The Death of the Spirit, is a strange one. On first impressions, judging by the eye catching cover art I was prepared for some sort of pagan-esque black metal. On the contrary, for A Brighter Sun essentially two parts black metal, one part droning ambient. I’m not going to beat around the bush here; initially I was extremely underwhelmed by A Brighter Sun, it is an extremely raw and inaccessible release. It will take time to sink in and get your head around what Trua has on show here, but putting yourself into the eyes of the figures on the cover and you may begin to understand Blóðtrú’s almost-nautical black drone.

The first two tracks are the weaker here, and they just so happen to contain the majority of black metal on the album. An obscure drone underneath some erratic drumming opens “Rising” which a pissed off sounding Trua rants over the top of like some sort of rally, before halfway through enters a dreary, continual black metal riff which follows Trua’s spite filled vocals to the end of the song. It’s extremely hateful stuff on show here, and by the time it gets interesting, it’s too late and the song is over. “Damaged” follows a similar pattern, a basic riff to begin before kicking up to some wholly unoriginal fast tremolo riffing and static drumming. I have to commend Trua’s vocals though, they have power behind them and when in unison with the final riff, it’s effective.

By now it’s pretty obvious that the main focus is around the building of an atmosphere rather than creating something that you might be able to nod your head to, and that's none more evident than in the nineteen minute colossus “In Purity and in Light”. It crawls along for the first half in that droning black style, with its ebbing riff work and outro you may be able to see where I’m coming from with the ‘nautical’ feel. “When No Animal Bled For Us” is the real highlight here though, and where Blóðtrú show a significant amount of promise. Discarding the metal altogether, they adopt a minimalistic drone approach that’s flat out hypnotising. An isolated piano melody over a vague drone create an introspective soundscape that’s utterly bereft of life and downright depressing, and the way in which the wind and accordion together with the samples close out the song is nothing short of unnerving. My only gripe lies in the vocals which are heavily processed and far too loud, a tad more subtlety and less volume needed here.

It’s a testing listen; not everyone will appreciate it first time around, but give it a little time before dismissing it completely. A Brighter Sun is impenetrable, stripped down droning black metal built around a core of hate and desolation, which at times sounds as if it doesn’t really know quite where to go. My advice to Blóðtru? Drop the black metal, the ambient aspect of this release shows a lot more promise than third rate black metal riffing.

6/10

Buy it!
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[ALBUM REVIEW] Acherontas - Fifteen Years Anniversary of Left Hand Path Esoterica

2011-10-07T19:18:00.005+01:00

Disc 1

Tat Tvam Asi
1. Alfa: Genesis
2. Tat Tvam Asi
3. Soma ''Elixir of the Ancient Ones'' 0
4. Kali-Yuga
5. Sophia
6. The Final Harvest
7. The Dreamer
8. Omega: The Seal of the Dragon

Sic Luceat Lux
9. Τύμβος
10. Velvet Aurora
11. Kornugia
12. Silentio Est Aurum

Disc 2

Theosis
1. bnH cEb kH can A
2. Pestilence of Mortality
3. The Winged Skull Rising
4. Oath of Fealty
5. Legacy of Tiamat
6. Dreams of Adam Kadmon
7. Theosis
8. Apethantos
9. Finis Coronat
10. Conjuration of the Five Negatives

...For the Temple of the Serpent Skull...
1. The Order of the Silver Serpent (I. Invocation / II. Sacrifice / III. Rising)

Greece has an extremely strong pedigree when it comes to quality underground black metal. Bands such as Varathron, Necromantia, Naer Mataron and Zemial among others have helped forge an undeniably important and oft overlooked scene in black metal. Acherontas itself is a relatively new venture, but are by no means newcomers to the Greek sphere, arguably stalwarts themselves having been around in one incarnation or another since their initiation as Worship in 1996. It’s not Greek black metal in the traditional mould; one listen to their previous project Stutthof will tell you that. Whereas bands like Necromantia and Varathron have that warm, bassy Hellenic sound, Acherontas adopt a rather more ‘Swedish’ sound while incorporating their own Greek mythology and various occult and spiritual themes. 15 Years Anniversary of Left Hand Path Esoterica contains four of their releases. Both albums Theosis and Tat Tvam Asi, and the two splits with Leviathan and Necromantia. So at the very least, you can’t complain about the value for money here.

The first album Tat Tvam Asi (Universal Omniscience), bears a lot in common with Stutthof, not quite as raw but still as vast and as downright abrasive as before. The guitar work is thick and scathing, the rolling riffing obliterating everything beneath it, the drumming is pedal to the metal and Acherontas’ vocals are absolutely ferocious. And the best part about it is? The fact they still manage to mantain an underlying melody throughout the whole album, and when those deep spoken word vocals appear, Tat Tvam Asi at times just couldn’t sound any more epic. They’re so fucking cheesy, but so good. It’s constantly morphing from one manifestation to another, never repeats itself and never leaves you with the chance to get bored, more impressive given the length of the album.

With an opener such as the title track, which bears a resemblance to Stutthof’s “Wampyric Metamorphosis” (one of the most barbaric and uncompromising black metal songs you’ll ever hear) to the grandiose, swaggering epic of “Kali-Yuga” and the intensity of “The Dreamer” with Acherontas’ spoken vocals making it sound like some sort of sermon, TTT is a great example of authentic and chaotic black metal. It isn’t completely without flaws though, one or two of the tracks drag a touch, and there are a couple of pointless instrumental tracks, but the vast majority of TTT is a tidal wave of pure unrelenting evil. The final four tracks on the first CD are off the Leviathan split, production remarkably worse, of which “Kornugia” is the only track worth anything. Fierce, hell-bent riffing for the grand majority before mutating into a sublime piece of guitar twiddling that sees the song to the finish.

Theosis, the second album here is the weaker of the two. It doesn’t quite have that ‘sweltering’ atmosphere TTT does. It’s a bit straighter up as well, although with tracks such as “Pestilence of Mortality” which is an absolute behemoth of a song, wall to wall of grinding riffs and thundering vocals, it’s still hard to complain. A special mention must go out to “Legacy of Tiamat” though, its echoing intro giving way to a piledriver of dense riffing, blasting drums and those spoken vocals which get me every single time. It’s occult and epic in every sense, and without a doubt the highlight of the two discs. The final track on disc two is off the Necromantia split, a huge number clocking in at seventeen minutes comprising of three movements, beginning with some creepy voices before the headbanging riffs and Acherontas’ huge vocals return. It’s impressive, though let down slightly by a shitty snare drum.

In the grand scheme of things, you’d be hard pressed to find a better collection of traditional black metal retaining the ethics and semblance of mystery of yesteryear, yet still incorporating its own unique identity at the same time. At times enigmatic and downright obscure and others flat out rabid, Fifteen Years is a glorification of everything occult, black metal that keeps you on your toes and as blistering as Satan’s sandals. Two words, buy it!

9/10

Myspace

Buy it!

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nocturnal Depression - Reflections of a Sad Soul

2011-10-05T16:07:00.006+01:00

1. Intro
2. The Whispering Sepctrum
3. Fading Away in the Fog
4. Solitude & Despair
5. Her Ghost Haunts These Walls
6. Nevica

France’s most wretched and pessimistic black metal band are back once again to spew forth their current pain and misfortune upon our unwitting ears. Reflections of a Sad Soul is their third outing and has recently been rereleased on Sun & Moon records, and our eternally perturbed duo of Lord Lokhraed and Herr Suizid are as downright fucking depressed as ever.

If you’re familiar with Nocturnal Depression, you’ll know what to expect; expansive dirges commonly reaching the twenty minute mark of a hypnotic and thought-devouring nature of which repetition is used to its full advantage. The formula hasn’t changed, but as the old cliché goes, why fix what isn’t broken in the first place? Nostalgia and Soundtrack were both very accomplished efforts which stand easily among the best the DSBM genre has to offer, Reflections of a Sad Soul maintains this quality, on a par with Soundtrack maybe but not quite reaching the devastating heights of Nostalgia, one of the greatest albums of this style ever, an album which encapsulates everything which is good about the DSBM genre.

So, getting down to the music itself, Reflections doesn't get itself off to the greatest of starts. A throwaway intro before it switches to the most disappointing track on the album, “The Whispering Sepctrum”. It knows where it wants to go, but is lacking that final quality catalyst to shift it up to the gear it needs. The guitars plod along at snail’s pace with a basic riff which it never really deviates from, backed by a relatively simple drum pattern and overlain by Lokhraed’s lazy sounding vocals. You could just split the song in half, remove the second half and double the first, and it would still sound exactly the same. Simply put, it’s just not very good.

It’s a good thing then that “Fading Away in the Fog” ups the ante a large amount, cranking up the speed a notch with more traditional tremolo style riffing with Lokhraed’s Kanwulf-esque vocals. The main riff which comes in around three minutes and recurs frequently throughout this song is fantastic, and the way in which it closes the song in unison with Lokhraed’s nauseating vocal lines and increased speed is fantastic. “Solitude and Despair” is a brief (for Nocturnal Depression’s standards!) instrumental minimalist piece containing rather hypnotic guitar picking which flows along quite effectively until the drums come in and totally ruin the whole fucking atmosphere.

Then, we have what I would consider Nocturnal Depression’s ‘magnum opus’, a track which they’ve never bettered. “Her Ghost Haunts These Walls” is eleven minutes of nothing but pure melancholy and torment, the light guitar picking throughout constantly hammering away at the back of your head like that one memory which just won’t leave, coming back horrifically more intense each time; An example of repetition being used to great effect. Things are kicked up a notch towards the end, and Suizid’s riffing together with Obeyron’s uneasy leads and Lokhraed’s vocals threaded throughout the closing stages of the song culminate in what is a crescendo of nothing but pure hopeless emotion. Any self-respecting fan of this style of black metal needs to hear this song; A perfect example at how to perform this style of music and avoid the pitfalls that snare so many other bands who end up degenerating into self-parody.

After such a stunning song, “Nevica” has a lot to live up to, though not a song about the ski brand much to my disappointment. Again, sticking with the brooding melancholy, in the same vein as before, while not as good as the previous it still keeps the bar high before with the second half of the song being a lot more engaging than the first.

One of the standout aspects of this releases is Obeyron’s lead work, subtle yet welling with misery, why this is his only performance with the band I don’t know. I guess only Lord Lokhraed can tell us. Yes it still has problems, flat and amateurish drumming at times and a shitty thin production, but fuck it, this isn’t Dimmu Borgir, this is a superb quality release which succeeds in being genuinely depressive rather than full of spotty teenage angst. It isn’t as good as Nostalgia, but being their out and out masterpiece they’ll probably never better it, but I am more than welcome to being made to eat my words on that. Roll on the next album, I already have my box of tissues.

8.5/10

Buy it!
Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Mord'A'Stigmata - Antimatter

2011-10-05T00:23:00.006+01:00

1. Blood of the Universe
2. Kinetic Dogma
3. De Magnum Opus Solis
4. Antimatter
5. Metatron and the Waters
6. Serpent Salvation
7. ...it Writes the names of Ghosts
8. Theophagia
9. Eternity is Pregnant

Mord’a’Stigmata are a band from Poland who have recently unleashed their latest offering on Sun & Moon records. Antimatter is fifty minutes of dissonant, avant-garde black metal containing various esoteric and spiritual themes which follow the same detached blueprints of the much lauded Norwegians Ved Buens Ende and French hipster darlings Deathspell Omega. This form of black metal certainly isn’t the easiest to replicate, and can be difficult to pull it off and avoid coming across a bunch of self indulgent pricks.

It’s a good thing then for Mord’a’Stigmata that Antimatter is actually a very solid effort but is extremely hard to digest on first go though, stick at it and you will be rewarded. Much like any prog album, it’s better to sit down with it, headphones in paying full attention. It’s an extremely varied and technical album, which being one of its strengths, is also its main downfall. It tends to lose focus after a while and any sort of structure collapses out beneath everything and it descends into a bit of an almighty free for all of guitar and drumming. The good points though do outweigh the negatives though, if only slightly.

Performance wise, Antimatter can’t be faulted, the drum work is fast, intricate and varied and the blasting is used tastefully throughout, something many black metal bands could do with a bit of help on, while the guitar tone is thick and disharmonic, ‘orthodox’ in sound, ranging from some huge riffs to off kilter leads. The guitar work on Antimatter does get notably heavy at times, and sometimes is more reminiscent of something off Altars of Madness or Cause of Death and this is also very noticeable in the harsh vocals of Ion, which are lower than your typical black metal shriek, a low guttural which occasionally ranges to clean vocals which are pretty weak. Not bad enough to spoil the album, but certainly nothing to write home about. One listen to “Serpent Salvation” and the death metal influence will be clear.

Antimatter musically is nigh flawless, the technicality and precision of the musicianship is superb, but its main problem as is the case with so much ‘avante-garde’ stuff is that much of it just isn’t very memorable. Towards the end of the album my attention began to wane, but there are a few inspired moments to be found here, most notably on the tracks “Kinetic Dogma” and “...It Writes the Names of Ghosts” which contain some astounding guitar and drum work. It lacks a certain cohesion and impact that may very well one day put them on the same pedestal as Deathspell Omega and Dødheimsgard. The ability is there, they just have to build on this.

6.5/10

Buy it Listen Here

[ALBUM REVIEW] Womb of Decay - Descent into Obscure Nihilism

2011-08-30T17:03:00.003+01:00

1. Geomagnetic Erosion Beyond the Fields of Horizontal Solar Eclipse
2. Cyclical Sado Nature of the Planets
3. Unearthly Existence
4. Massive Particle Transcendence Indepths Through Wormholes
5. Minimalist Isolated Lifeform
6. Swallowed Into the Shattered Dusk
7. Inharmonious Frozen Sunlight Over the Cathedral Neptune
8. Descent Into Obscure Nihilism
9. Fall Into Sinister Spheres

With the impossible to ignore extravagant song titles such as “Geomagnetic Erosion Beyond the Fields of Horizontal Solar Eclipse” and “Massive Particle Transcendence Indepths Through Wormholes” you’d be forgiven for thinking this album was a bunch of art fags playing some tech prog death garbage or a new Bal-Sagoth release. Far from it, in fact pretty much the polar opposite. Womb of Decay, now central point of focus for former Cenotaph vocalist Batu Çetin, have recently unleashed their debut offering on Turkish label Extreminal Productions. Although it never threatens to break new ground, Descent into Obscure Nihilism is a commendable effort, if at times slightly predictable release of festering funeral doom.

Turkey is not a country which is known for its funeral doom, but Womb of Decay certainly make a fine stab at it. The out and out highlight of this release is Batu’s stunning death gutturals, monstrous and crushing in their execution, they add an interesting dimension to an otherwise fairly passive release. He is obviously experienced in this area and as a result I’ll certainly be looking at his work with Cenotaph, they do just enough to save Descent into Obscure Nihilism from becoming another inoffensive release in a genre which is notorious for its plethora of sub-par Thergothon clones. The music itself is heavier than a pair of concrete boots, passages of dense bass heavy dirges of hypnotic down tuned riffing with Batu’s inhuman roaring on top, of which there is very little variation throughout the full fifty minutes, save for the useless outros to the end of each fucking song. I presume they’re in there to help create atmosphere, but rather than adding anything they end up performing the complete opposite, synthetic organs which rather jarringly interfere with the evil, cavernous atmosphere which Batu manages to execute very well with just a bass, guitar and his vocals. They just serve no discernable purpose whatsoever and are completely obsolete. Other than that, the other major bone I have to pick with this release is the production; it’s just too damn... good? For this type of music I find a much dirtier, low-fi production would help push the atmosphere which Batu is aiming for.

Originality and diversity never is a priority in the funeral doom genre and Womb of Decay don’t try to be anything else. Descent into Obscure Nihilism does succeed in dragging you kicking and screaming into its filth laden clutches for a while anyway at least. Each song manages just about to never overstay its welcome which is a significant problem with a lot of bands in this genre as if there’s an unwritten rule that no song should be shorter than ten minutes, but after a while you realise that it’s all been done before, and better. Fans of Thergothon, Evoken and Dismebowelment may well find something in this, but if you’re a newcomer to this genre, there are better, more established bands to begin with. There’s a lot of promise here, unfortunately it just doesn’t capture the imagination for long enough.

6/10

Originally written for Metalcrypt

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Kriegshetzer - Panzer Vorwarts

2011-08-16T23:40:00.005+01:00

1. Unser Rommel
2. Der Gott (der Eisen wachsen ließ)
3. Flamme Empor
4. Wenn alle untreu werden
5. Hohe Nacht Der Klaren Sterne
6. Schwarz ist unser Panzer
7. Mutspruch
8. Mutter
9. Kameradschaft
10. Einmal im Jahr
11. Panzerlied

Kriegshetzer are a Ukrainian black metal band who appear to have an extreme infatuation with Nazi Germany. Obligatory German band name (even though you aren’t German yourself)? Check. Cover depicting some item of Nazi military hardware and/or personnel? Check. Adoration of prominent Nazi figure? Check. Hell, we even have a reworking of a classical piece by the German poet Hans Baumann who coincidentally also happened to be heavily involved with the Hitler Youth. Now that is dedication to your ideology, never mind that poor Hans would be rolling in his grave if he ever heard this shit-encrusted, vacuous take on his work. Infact, the only thing this album is missing is the token Burzum cover which every single fucking NS band under the sun seems to have, as if it’s a prerequisite for releasing shitty, inane NSBM.

The music on display here really is nothing at all to write home about. There have been countless bands past and present who have performed and tuned this style of black metal that Kriegshetzer are aiming for to perfection; sadly you have to wade through all the muck to get to them in the first place, and unfortunately for Kriegshetzer, you better stick on your waterproofs.

The style of black metal for the most part revolves mainly around the fast break-neck riffing of Anders, which is a relief because the guitarwork is the only area on this release with any discernible quality whatsoever. Occasionally among the stock riffing, something half-decent will creep out and threaten your neck muscles, but before you know it you’re back to a jumble of derivative riffs again. The guitar tone is somewhat similar to that of Satanic Warmaster, the only difference is Satanic Tyrant knows who to write a decent track.

The vocals have (suprise suprise!) that unmistakable low, gruff German slight to them that so many black metal bands from Germany seem to like, and it’s not a style I’m a massive fan of. Too laid back and without any backbone or delivery. A tad more forceful and some genuine conviction behind them and we may be getting somewhere. This leads me on to the subject of the lyrics, which usually are something I never make a point of paying attention to in black metal, but when you hear “Deutschland ist der schönes Land” which pretty much literally translates to “Germany is the beautiful land”, it’s pretty hard to take seriously. The drum work isn’t too bad, but all too often it just ends up lost in the banality of the whole thing.

Panzer Vorwärtz all in all is just a bit of a non-event. It’s just flat out unremarkable and hollow. When most of the songs aren’t even five minutes long and they still drag, that’s not a good sign. It may be the case with a lot of black metal, but in all honesty you could play the album back as many times as you want and you still wouldn’t be able to pick out an individual song. It might as well be one song on repeat eleven times for all I’m concerned. There is much better coming out of Ukraine at the minute, with bands such as YGG, Ulvegr, Khors and the ilk, there’s really no need to bother with this.

15/100

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Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Cultes Des Ghoules - Haxan

2011-04-29T22:11:00.004+01:00

1. Baptised by Barron
2. The Covenant and the Sacrifice
3. Stregoica Dance
4. Scholomance
5. The Impure Wedding

It’s one of the, if not the most successful black metal album of all time, and as a result it’s influenced more than a few albums since its inception in 1994. It is of course De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, and Häxan is just another one of those countless albums that has its origins in that seminal album. Except it’s De Mysteriis... even more repulsive and grotesque bastard son. Every so often a band will come around and will divide opinions into polar opposites across the board, the sort of bands like Beherit, Von and Blasphemy, and although Cultes Des Ghoules may not be quite as primitive as these acts, they certainly contain the same aura of ugliness and inaccessibility.

This album caused quite a significant stir back in 2008 upon its original release, their brand of raw yet epic Lovecraftian black metal with its remarkably unpolished nature bore heavy resemblance to the aforementioned Mayhem album while containing a constant underlying atmosphere of such like bands such as Mortuary Drape et-all. It’s just not too often they come from a country like Poland though, more famous for its sawtooth blasting and nationalistic ideals.

As stated previously, Attila’s Mayhem are the biggest influence, just one listen to the vocals will tell you that that deranged, manic and obnoxious style can only be derived from our Hungarian crackpot Attila. Dynamic and sweeping, ranging from higher pitched rasping to low incomprehensible gargling, much more that just vocals, they’re downright terrifying and demonic and stir the atmosphere at will. The band has gone slightly over the top on the reverb at times, but on the other hand without it they wouldn’t sound half as evil, and the excess does help somewhat in filling out the void created by the lack of presence in the guitars.

The riffing while sometimes thin is devastating, ranging from slow funeral dirges to brief passages of a chaotic, crude and morbid mess. While the execution of the guitar work is remarkable, it’s the way Cultes Des Ghoules incorporate the bass into their sound. Where-as most old school bands tend to follow the Darkthrone school of thought and not bother at all with any significant bass contribution, Cultes Des Ghoules obviously prefer the Greek technique where there more bass there is, the better. The bass tone is pure filthy, surrounding the guitars and vocals like a thick cloud of sulphur threatening to overpower you at any moment with its noxious essence.

It's refreshing when a band such Cultes Des Ghoules come along and remind people that not all black metal has to be relentless blasting or full of sweeping keyboards, for they take the most hostile aspects of black metal and warp them even further. Slow paced black metal that invokes all manners of evil abominations. Black metal with an old school aesthetic and genuinely uneasy atmosphere that wouldn’t be out of place as a soundtrack to a number of Lovecraft’s works, the Devil is most certainly alive here.

90/100

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Flame - March Into Firelands

2011-04-24T22:15:00.003+01:00

1. Black Realm of Satanas
2. Doomed...
3. Burning Horror
4. Fireland
5. Rites of Endless Hatred
6. Destructive Saint
7. Flaming Magic Assault
8. Gateway to the Birth of Lunacy

Boasting a production handled by the infamous Necromorbus who’s worked with bands of a calibre such as Watain and Funeral Mist, Flame’s sophomore effort March Into Firelands has finally seen the light of day, and is a much improved step up from their rather lacklustre debut. A parallel project alongside cult Finnish thrashers Urn, Flame sound very similar, stripped down sand-blasted black thrash, obnoxious and uncompromising similar to that of their close neighbours Nifelheim. With their influences permeating from the usual sources such as early Bathory, Hellhammer and Discharge you can be certain you’re going to be in for brief but utterly intense half hour of vicious, bestial thrash laced with pure grit.

March Into Firelands isn’t going to win any awards for progression or originality, but then in this field of blackened thrash not much ever is. There’s never any harm in wearing your influences for all to see on your sleeve, and when you do it as well as Flame have managed to here it’s always welcome. The guitar shares that same low-fi sound production of Hellhammer while the riffing is just downright filthy and old school. Combined this with the malicious atmosphere from The Return and you’ve got the standard template as to what all self-respecting black-thrash bands should at least be aiming for. Blackvenom’s vocals are situated heavily on the black side of the spectrum and could be best described as a mix between Quorthon’s black metal rasp and Jon Nödtveidt’s, and then add on a heap of reverb for an extra evil cavernous effect. Pretty standard practise really but hey, it works.

With songs like “Destructive Saint” and “Gateway to the birth of Lunacy” it’s hard not to move your head even a little bit, catchy riffs, thundering drumming and Blackvenom’s feral snarl, and with the deliberately low fi production onto of it, it’s all unashamedly old-school. The one problem I have with it is that it’s just too predictable, whereas bands like Desaster and Nifelheim are able to inject a fair amount of identity into each of their song, the songs on March into Firelands begin to blend together after repeated listenings. When you’re not paying full attention it’s easy to miss the ending of one song and the beginning of another and you think you’re still listening to the same song you were ten minutes ago. It’s still a great album though regardless and fans of blistering blackened thrash should certainly check it out, the musicianship is top notch and the music is downright primitive and relentless. They’re going in the right direction, just a bit more focus and I can’t see why they won’t be up there with the leaders in the genre on their next release, but as it is March into Firelands is enjoyable if not wholly original, and has left a good impression on these Fins.

75/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Hypomanie - A City in Mono

2011-04-22T00:28:00.003+01:00

1. You Never Gazed at the Clouds
2. She Couldn't Find a Flower, But There was Snow
3. Smile
4. A City in Mono
5. A City in Stereo

The mysteriously dark and introspective Dutch shoegaze (and ex-black metal) outift Hypomanie is back again this time with their follow up to the début back in 2008, only this time they have, or rather Selwin has, undergone a complete stylistic change and appears to have a new, much more positive outlook on things. Gone are the days where he'd prefer to sing about all things dark and depressing, it appears these days the general atmosphere in the Hypomanie camp has taken a turn for the good with Selwin now penning wistful and nostalgic shoegaze bearing more than a slight nod to one of the genre's perfecter's, Slowdive.

If you've heard either of the two EPs previous to this release though, you will already know Hypomanie have been undergoing somewhat of a transformation or evolution the way I see it from average DSBM to the self titled EP while impressive, still heavily shackled with their roots to what we have now. A City in Mono only retains an ephemeral glimpse at Hypomanie's origins, for now their feet are firmly planted in thick shoegaze territory. Five songs and forty minutes of a huge wash of pulsating guitar surges and subtle drum work, all purely instrumental, which upon reflection was probably for the best as Selwin's vocals on previous works at times lets just say left a lot to be desired.

Straight from the off the album is absolutely dripping in Slowdive influence, you can hear it in everything from the riffing to the fantastic guitar breaks and the airy electronics which appear from time to time. One of the albums highlights is without doubt the opener “You Never Gazed at the Clouds” with its intense wall of distortion and the guitar break around the two minute mark which bears an uncanny resemblance to that of “I Saw the Sun”, giving that same sort of feeling you get when sitting by the coast and the sun breaks on the water and floods your head with nostalgia and that feeling you haven't got a care in the world. Following this up with some exquisite guitar work and more thick riffing and you've got something pretty special indeed. Consummate shoegazing bliss. The song kicks up a notch for the closing minute or two in an almost post-rock styled climax with a passing nod to the bands roots with the accelerated speed of the drumming and guitar, and slightly more conventional riffing style.

Some of the songs do tend to suffer from being repetitive, Alison-esque “She Couldn't Find a Flower, But There Was Snow” (which is guilty of having one of the worst song titles ever) drags a bit towards the end and might have been better cut in half, as is “A City in Mono” which after a strong start again wanes. But it's the albums long player, “A City in Stereo” which is my other main highlight of this release. Clocking in at almost ten and a half minutes, from it's delicate electronic introduction which carries its hypnotic resonance throughout the whole song which could have as easily been composed by God is an Astronaut through the chromatic and reflective guitar melodies which sound as fragile as life itself. Astonishingly beautiful and captivating and best likened to observing the eerie lull of a large cityscape in the dead of a clear winter night, awash with a hazy blur of ambers, reds and yellows.

There’s no doubt Slowdive are a huge influence on Selwin, and at times it does sound extremely similar, which believe me is no bad thing. Few bands have ever come close to capturing that ‘feeling’. Yes it is stretched a tad in the middle, but the sheer magnificence that bookends this album is pure genious. Dropping the vocals is the best thing Selwin has done to date, by transferring all the focus to the music itself it really allows the guitar work to shine. I would say this is the logical progression onwards from their EP’s, and leaps and bound ahead of the generic debut.

85/100

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Assaulter - Boundless!

2011-04-14T21:46:00.003+01:00

1. Entrance
2. Outshine
3. Into Submission
4. Slave to King
5. The Perpetual War
6. Exalt the Master
7. Dying Day
8. The Great Subterfuge

Three years after the highly impressive début Salvation Like Destruction, Aussie thrashers Assaulter have returned to the fore once again with their latest opus, Boundless. What it is about the constant stream of great old school thrash metal coming from our comrades down under I've yet to figure, with bands such as Destroyer 666, Denouncement Pyre and Razor of Occam among the many who've been busy with releases lately you're spoilt for choice with filthy blackened thrash when it comes to Australia.

Musically Boundless casts off most of the black metal influences from the début and as a whole is a lot more stripped down and focused bearing a heavy Teutonic influence especially in the vocal department. But where-as Berserker's vocals owe a lot to the Teutonic thrash scene, the rest of the music owes as much to the likes of Mercyful fate as it does Kreator and Destruction. Two of the most noticeable improvements upon the début are in the production department and the overall variation. As good as the début was, let's be honest, it had a horrible guitar tone and in general overall very hollow production. Now with Metal blade behind them presumably they were able to come up with something a little bit more substantial and produced something with a bit of weight behind it.

As for the variety, you have the straight up one two to the jaw with openers “Entrance” and “Outshine” with their huge riffing and blistering leads that could easily have come off Pleasure to Kill and then on to numbers such as “Into Submission” and “Dying Day” which have nothing really thrash about them at all other than their vocals. More than anything they sound like a dirtier and more depraved Mercyful Fate than they do anything thrash. Then you've got “Slave to the King” which at first listen to the opening guitar melody I did a double take to make sure I wasn't listening to Melechesh. The vocals, the middle eastern guitar tone and the drum arrangements are identical to those off Syphnx. Probably one of the last influences I expected to hear from an Australian thrash outfit, but no bad thing. This ethnic influence actually appears quite a bit throughout the album but it's at its most noticeable here. The standout number on the album has to be the closer “The Great Subterfuge” with its 'in your face' rhythms and overall 'epic' feel to it, utterly powerful and compelling.

What I like about Boundless is that while as successful as blackened thrash from Australia has been recently, they've decided to shake things up a bit. They still retain all their roots and core influences that got them noticed in the first place, but with Boundless they've injected a touch of influences from outside the circle, and it's worked impressively. It's a huge step up from Salvation Like Destruction and a wise move, because all Aussie thrash bands these days seem to be living in Destroyer's shadow, and Assaulter have sidestepped that to an extent and can only go onwards and upwards from here on in.

86/100

Originally written for Archaic Magazine

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Darkest Era - The Last Caress of Light

2011-04-04T19:57:00.004+01:00

1. The Morrigan
2. An Ancient Fire Burns
3. Beneath the Frozen Sky
4. Heathen Burial
5. Visions of the Dawn
6. To Face the Black Tide
7. Poem to the Gael
8. The Last Caress of Light Before the Dark

There are a huge amount of bands in Ireland that are constantly vying to catch the eye of some bigwig metal exec hoping to propel them on to bigger and better things, some more deserving than others, but at the end of the day if you put in enough effort and get your name out there through whatever means necessary, if your motives are clean, then there's nothing stopping you.

Darkest Era have proved exactly that, through endless gigging every bar in the country and cementing themselves on some high calibre support slots throughout Europe, they caught the attention of the high rollers up in Metal Blade. That's not to say the fantastic demo The Journey Through Damnation didn't have any part to play in that, it certainly did, but your 'fantastic new awesome' demo release isn't worth the plastic it's recorded on if you don't put in the effort to 'get it out there' so to speak. I'm not naming names but there's many bands in Ireland who should take precedent from the sheer amount of blood, sweat and tears that got them into the position they are now. The fact they had a decent amount of exposure in Europe as early as the demo release, eventually culminating in a distribution deal with Northern Silence speaks volumes in itself.

One thing which seems to be completely unavoidable with Irish bands these days is the inevitable comparisons both musically and non-musically to Primordial. Maybe it's to do with what the media expects Irish metal to sound like, and it's a stereotype which can't and probably wont ever be shaken. It's everywhere and I'm sure most bands are sick of it, but with Darkest Era it is certainly justified to an extent so they might as well make the most of it, but they are much more than just a cheap Primordial knock off. The influences permeate from every nook and cranny throughout the album, whether its the classic Slough Feg approach to the guitar leads, the atavistic doomy atmosphere with which Primordial are synonymous to the traditional Irish folk music influence.

“The Morrigan” is one of two songs which survived the cut to make it onto The Last Caress of light from the demos, and just as well too, as it was the stand out track from The Journey Through Damnation. It's one of those songs that encapsulates the whole paradigm of everything metal is and should be, evocative, powerful and downright invigorating. With it's NWOBHM influenced guitar riffing and Krum's commanding vocal performance reinforced by a thunderous drum performance, you really couldn't ask for more. The monotony of the vocals are my only slight gripe, and remains an issue throughout the album, but it's only a minor issue at that, the sheer effort and vigour in the delivery more than make up for it.

This is the standard pretty much throughout the whole album, from the surging “Beneath the Frozen Sky” with its vocal lines bearing a striking resemblance to Storm Before Calm era Primordial to the desperation shrouded “Heathen Burial” to the eleven minute opus of “The Last Caress of Light Before the Dark”, a spine tingling journey of foreboding and anxiety, and one of those riffs at the midpoint which basically reaffirms why you began listening to metal in the first place. Utterly phenomenal. They even managed to fit in an acoustic number, “Poem to the Gael”, a gorgeous bleak introspective ballad of Irish melancholy with nothing but Krum and an acoustic guitar for the most part, almost like what Agalloch would sound like if they were Irish.

It's infectious, galloping folk metal, but without all the pretence and frills that only the Irish know how to do, and not a fiddle or tin whistle in sight. None of your saccharine and synthetic faux-folk tripe most of central Europe is peddling these days, it's music performed straight from the heart and with an unbound maturity which only shows just how far Darkest Era have come in these few short years. And long may it continue.

90/100

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Originally written for Archaic Magazine

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nychts/Mortualia - Nebelstern des Nichts

2011-03-19T14:35:00.002Z

1. Nebelstern des Nichts

Fresh off the back of the tremendous Let the Devil In released at the back end of last year, the ever industrious Shatraug returns with Mortualia this time, and teams up with Swiss stargazers Nychts who themselves have been on the receiving end of a fair bit of acclaim lately. If you've heard “Zwischen Leere und Nichts” off the split with Wedard then you should have a good idea as to what Nebelstern des Nichts sounds like, and when combined with Shatraug's ability and experience the foundations are there for something very unique. Each band has their own 'movements' of sorts, they don't play in unison as I first thought, but Nychts handle the first twenty minutes or so and the last five, while Mortualia take the reins for the middle, with each section entwined by sampling and ambient work handled by the mastermind behind Nychts, Trähn.

Some brief electronic gibberish gets the ball rolling we're engulfed by Trähn's meandering guitar wash pierced by his wretched screams which I suspect wont be to everyone's taste, but when you're a Silencer fan I suppose you can pretty much stomach anything. I've yet to hear a metal band who can capture that astral sound anywhere near as good as Nychts, the way Trähn utilizes acoustic guitar, organs, piano and that Tangerine Dream like ambience is astounding, it's the same sort of sound present on Limbonic Art's Moon in the Scorpio but with more of an overall desolate and vacuous semblance with a massive funeral doom influence beneath it all. Some of the sounds and samples are just downright bizarre, emphasizing the sheer alien nature to Nychts music. Diverse doesn't even come close, hell we even get what appears to be a guest appearance from something that sounds suspiciously like Darth Vader at the nine minute mark. Trähn's vocals are strange, they aren't actually harsh in the typical black metal manner, more of a wailing scream submerged among the huge wall of spatial obscurity, creating an overall vibe that this track is one big acid trip through an astral wasteland gone horribly wrong. They've been described as 'musical jewelry' and in a way seems a very apt description, scintillating and absolutely enamoring.

After an interlude of a few minutes of strange beeping and a heavily echoed bass drum the Mortualia section kicks in and is a lot more orthodox than Nychts contributions, the vocals are raw and vicious, unmistakably Shatraug, a lot of the focus is centered on the guitar riffs and colourful lead work which remains tasteful throughout. The drumming is another excellent aspect about this release, it's comparable to the way Summoning programmed their drums on their later work, focused centrally around building the atmosphere first rather than just a backbone for the music, the sound off the bass drum is vast, echoing in the background as if it were a bell tolling doom. The last five minutes where Nychts take over again are incredible, the culmination of the destitute guitar melodies and Trähn's lost vocals backed up by that huge drum sound along with the night like ambience and what even sounds like a backing choir is pure audacity, but absolutely genius.

Ambitious would be one word, the concept of two bands performing alternating passages back and forth together throughout a forty minute song is something which as far as I'm aware has never been attempted before in black metal let alone metal itself. You'd expect something as elaborate as this to have some slight faults and potential conflicts and inconsistencies between both bands, but the execution and seamlessness with which it is performed and stellar arrangements which are truly astonishing. You can tell when each performer comes in and leaves again, but at the same time it doesn't sound as if it's two separate projects at all.

Bands like Darkspace etc take note, this is how it's supposed to be done. Atmospheric black metal which is as limitless as the universe itself, Nebelstern des Nichts is a terrifying journey into the undiscovered infinities of the cosmos; black metal which is utterly platonic and thoroughly engaging throughout every single minute of this release. The sooner Nychts release a full length album themselves the better. With Nebelstern des Nichts, these two black metal wizards unleash what could only be described as one of the finest attempts ever in the black metal genre at putting to record everything that is contained in the thought devouring wilderness of night's firmament. Essential.

98/100

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Wald Geist Winter - Teufelskreise

2011-03-17T20:11:00.004Z

1. Heimkehr
2. Der Nacht entrissen
3. Schwärze zersetzt die Farben des Morgen
4. König Lorak
5. Leblos im Moor
6. Kalter Schein
7. In so manch rauer Nacht

'Atmospheric' is one of those tags that many bands seem to get categorized with, more often than not solely due to the lyrical themes and even album cover alone at times. It's a tricky type of sound to achieve, when it's executed right it can be extraordinary, but more often than not when it boils down to it, it's no more than a group of chancers trying to pass off repetitive minimal tremolo riffing and vocals slapped with a huge dose of reverb as cold, frostbite inducing black metal. When in truth it's not, and is the category that Wald Geist Winter fall into.

Teufelskreise is their debut, and is thirty three minutes of middle of the road raw black metal bearing a passing resemblance to the second wave Norwegian scene with some elements of DSBM thrown in for good measure. The musicianship itself isn't actually too bad, the drumming is tight enough if slightly repetitive and the vocals par for the course with much of this type of music, alternating between a Dakrthrone-esque croak and something that wouldn't be out of place on a Xasthur album. It's the guitar work and shallow production which are the cause of much of Teufelskreise's shortcomings. The guitar work itself is weak and without any real substance, monotonous and lacks any sort of presence, and at times falls remarkably in and out of tune and as a result is severely jarring. The riffing in general is just flat out forgettable, not helped by the poor tinny production. The album might as well be one thirty three minute song split up into seven parts, because they all sound exactly the same and follow exactly the same formula.

Where Wald Geist Winter go next remains to be seen, but if they're to make any sort of headway onto better pastures they could do with some fresh inspiration, for Teufelskreise doesn't contain any unique elements whatsoever to make it stand out from the thousands of other bands peddling the same thing. One of those albums you put away into your CD rack and find a year or two later and think “Oh, I forgot I even had that”. Must try harder.

42/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Thallium - Armanenschaft

2011-03-06T01:05:00.004Z

1. Intro
2. Return From Near Death
3. Our Dreams Belongs To The Stars
4. Ordo Ab Chao
5. Eagle's Eye
6. II
7. Lay In Desease
8. Outro

Thallium are a rather mysterious project from which the only member, Warwolf, also contributes to the vastly overrated Brazilian act Evil. What it is about South American black metaller's and their penchant for national socialist ideologies I'll never know, but they seem to be everywhere at the minute and are hard to avoid. The majority of them are absolute shit, but occasionally you do get the odd one who's worth their salt. Thallium happen to be one of them, and while being nothing revolutionary, do bring to the table an intriguing take on the notorious sound from the early nineties Polish scene from bands such as Graveland, Infernum and Veles.

With a title such as Armanenschaft and the works of Guido Von List as the pool of inspiration for this release, you can hazard a guess at what the lyrical content is, but regardless of ideologies Armanenschaft is for the most part a fairly competent piece of work but at times suffers from almost over-ambition and lack of ideas which is evident in the similarity of all the tracks bar “Eagle's Eye” and the throwaway interludes which serve no practical purpose whatsoever. This can be forgiven to an extent though as Darken's work is extremely hard to emulate with only a handful of bands such as Nachtfalke ever producing anything of note.

As Thallium are a one man project, Warwolf handles all the instruments and does so sufficiently well, the guitar isn't focused on technicality, Warwolf utilizes simple repetitive riffing which is raw yet retains a crude sort of melody and when combined with the interwoven keys similar to those that appear on Following the Voice of Blood, culminate in an emphatic atmosphere of victory and ascendancy. Exactly the sound Warwolf was aiming for I'd imagine, and is Armanenschaft's forte. “Our Dreams Belongs(sic) to the Stars” is testament to this with it's surging riffs and reckless drumming closing off in stunning fashion with a passage even Rob would be proud of himself. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn't quite scale these peaks again but “Eagle's Eye” is a welcomed change in tempo, setting brutality levels to eleven with persistent blasting and wretched vocals. Warwolf's vocals are well performed though lack bite due to the large amount of processing used on them. They remind me more of Nazgul of Satanic Warmaster fame than the obvious choices on show.

Armanenschaft does contain some fatal flaws though, as previously stated the lack of variation and Intro/Outro and “II” which serve no conceivable purpose whatsoever other than to fill up space, and the production. The production is ragged and awkward and sucks the life out of what would otherwise be a couple of outstanding tracks. At times the music sounds like it's just going to collapse in around it's foundations, lacking an overall tightness holding it all together and would benefit from a lot more presence in the vocal department. Setting these predicaments aside though, Armanenschaft is still an enjoyable release, not least because its from a style of Black Metal which seems to be waning. They're not ever going to win any awards for technicality but that's not where this records vision lies. They've still a fair way to go yet before getting anywhere near the imperialistic sound of Graveland, but it's still a laudable effort indeed.

75/100

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Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Dalriada - Ígéret

2011-03-05T01:19:00.006Z

1. Intro
2. Hajdútánc
3. Hozd el, Isten
4. Mennyei Harang
5. Ígéret
6. Igazi Tûz
7. Kinizsi Mulatsága
8. A Hadak Útja
9. Leszek A Csillag
10. Leszek A Hold
11. Outro

Bands like Dalriada don't get much of a chance when in comes to the mainstream media. Apparently only two female fronted bands have ever existed of any worth, so when someone new crops up, they get compared to one of those two bands, Arch Enemy or Nightwish. With the press these days you'd think no-one else existed, and I'd stagger a guess that Dalriada are nigh sick on comparisons to Arch Enemy. Why? Because they happen to have a female frontwoman who growls. The truth is, Dalriada couldn't be any further from the sterile melo-death travesty that Arch Enemy have become. If you want a somewhat accurate representation of their sound, Russian counterparts Arkona would be a good comparison, but even comparisons to them are doing Dalriada a disservice, as they began a full four years before Arkona under a different guise, they just never seemed to get the breakthrough they deserved. Ígéret is, believe it or not, Dalriada's sixth studio release! That begs the question “Why have I never heard of them before?”, which is a question I presume many people will be considering. Many reasons maybe but I imagine being stuck on a tiny unknown Hungarian label with fuck all publicity doesn't help your case a lot. So with their latest effort they finally have a bit of a platform from which to get their stuff out there with AFM records, and it's not before time because Dalriada are just as good, if not better than Arkona.

A meadow of poppies and daisies. Doesn't exactly scream metal does it? Then again Dalriada aren't exactly metal's most masculine band. Satanic warriors and true defenders need not apply for Ígeret's roots are firmly buried in Eastern European tradition and the type of folk music Korpiklaani are infamous for. At times it's hard to keep straight-faced throughout the album, whether that's due to the overwhelmingly brazen and cheery attitude or Laura's unintentionally amusing clean vocals (which I've grown to love) I'll leave that open for debate. I'm not going to lie, I laughed when I first heard “Hajdútánc”, the way Laura delivers those clean vocals, it sounds almost like a karaoke version of the Numa Numa song, not least helped by the fact I haven't the faintest clue what she's singing about.. It's the type of thing if your mate walked in on you listening to, you'd turn the volume down as quick as you could to avoid any embarrassment. After repeated listenings though the song grew on me a lot. In-fact so much so I'd say it's up there with my favourite songs of the year so far. That chorus, one exposure and you're fucked, trying to get it out of your head is like trying to get rid of the clap. Then add on a fret tearing solo and you've got a formula you literally cannot go wrong with. This is one of (unfortunately) the few songs on the album where Laura utilizes her harsh vocals consistently, which is a shame because they're brilliant when they do appear and put so many of her male counterparts to shame. Think Masha from Arkona, they're pretty much identical.

Setting the amusing opening vocal lines aside, the rest of the clean vocals throughout the album are actually very good, especially on “Hozd el, Isten” and “Kinizsi Mulatsága”, though at times tend to suffer from a lack of variation. And back to the subject of Korpiklaani, Jonne performs guest vocals on track ten, which is the best thing he's ever put his vocals to, which wasn't really a tough feat to be honest. Metal-wise the album is firmly in power metal territory with the upbeat melodic guitar riffing and bridge-chrous structure, Andras and Mátyás contributions should not go unnoticed, along with Laura's vocals and the vast array of folk instruments are a major contributing factor in keeping the whole light-hearted vibe with the album.

They've come along way since the primitive beginnings of Fergeted, the development in the song writing and their ability is remarkable. With songs such as “Hajdútánc” and the title track, Igeret could well be a legitimate treatment for depression. Animated and with a wild, ragged enthusiasm, Ígéret finds that difficult balance between eccentric and serious, pompous and flamboyant. They sit firmly in the middle of both Korpiklaani school of “drink till you pass out” folk and the rather more subtle route of Arkona and Skyforger. Strongly recommended to all fans of folk out there, Ígéret is a damn fine effort by a band who are due some press, and with this album they just might get it. Drink, strange dances and instruments you never even knew existed, it's got to be Eastern European folk metal right?

86/100

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Originally written for Archaic Magazine

[ALBUM REVIEW] Mordgrund - Omnia Tereunt

2011-03-04T22:10:00.004Z

1. Leere
2. Neca Memoriam
3. Omnia Intereunt
4. In Dunkelheit liegt Stille
5. Lethargia
6. Marsch in die Finsternis
7. Todessehnsucht
8. Apokalyptische Visionen

Little known black metallers Mordgrund released their début album upon the masses through Black Devastation records at the end of 2010. After the short, and quite frankly throwaway introduction which so many average bands seem to think is essential for a black metal, Omnia Intereunt kicks in to half an hour of unbridled, old school black metal mayhem. With an overall atmosphere and riffing style not unlike Imperium Dekadenz or Nargaroth, this release sounds incredibly 'German', which is no surprise as Mordgrund are in-fact from Germany themselves.

Intimidating riffing, thick basslines and some superb work behind the kit from Mephir combine to produce an extremely commendable first release for this band. One thing I like a lot about this release is the constant variation between the flat out, and at times almost thrash like passages and the more drawn out sections where the focus is primarily on the hellish atmosphere being created by the guitar riffing and prominent bass work. The vocals of Apokalyptor are full of intent and delivered with a large amount of force, they do at times remind me of Joel Grind in both sound and delivery. The standout of the release though has got to be the drumming, varied and concise, Mephir gets the balance of blasting just right, something a lot more bands should focus on.

Helped with the remarkable production work, Omnia Intereunt is a more than acceptable debut release from these Germans, and puts some considerably more well known bands to shame at the minute. If you're in the mood for some no frills, stripped down, bare bones hellish black metal done the traditional way, with a hellish atmosphere to boot, then Mordgrund should set you on the right path. It's not treading any new ground but on the basis of this they certainly have the talent and material to take them a lot further. A great effort.

79/100

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

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[ALBUM REVIEW] (aura) - Invisible Landscape

2011-02-25T01:41:00.005Z

1. the furious march
2. vacuity
3. katharsis
4. parallel worlds
5. flowing textures
6. two steps for the gods
7. the faith woods
8. the frozen enchant of warmth
9. warm winter
10. cloud colossus

Rather than just being another run of the mill ambient/post-rock act, Portugese band (aura) have decided to shake things up a bit here, rather than doing what most bands do such as creating the music in their heads and then developing an image from that , (aura) have opted to do things the other way round first. Start out with the images and construct the music out of them. Andre has selected a few chosen works from photographer and fellow countryman Jose Ramos and attempted to build a story connecting the photographs (which are in the booklet) together in a sequence. Certainly intriguing to say the least, as the concept is something I’ve never come across before, but one which (aura) have left me interested in hearing more.

The influences on Invisible Landscape are vast; I can hear everything from Massive Attack-styled trip hop to echoes of God is an Astronaut and even contemporary classical. It’s an ambitious record and doesn’t really slot properly into one single genre, it’s extremely dynamic and compelling with a surprising amount of variation for ambient influenced works. From the fragile serenity of the oceanic lull of “The Furious March” and “Vacuity” right through to the glowing electronic overtones of “Warm Winter” and impending nature of “Cloud Colossus” it coils a mesh round you right from the very beginning. One special thing to note about “Cloud Colossus” is that it’s the only song on the album with vocals, which was a surprise as vocals in this style of music full-stop are a rarity. I would go as far as to say this is my favourite track on the album, the sombre guitar picking with the distortion and almost post-punk styled vocals works extremely well together, and as much as I love my post-rock, I would love to see the band continue down this route.

Invisible Landscape is a great debut effort by this Portuguese act, they manage to blend all the different styles together pretty much seamlessly and the whole album has a great continuity about it. The music does fantastic justice to the photos which I must add, are absolutely stunning themselves. It may not hit you at first listen, it didn’t for me, but then this is one of those albums you have to sit down alone and listen to with headphones in and immerse yourself in it. If ever there was a better argument against the mp3 fad, this is certainly a good one, for without the booklet, it wouldn’t even be half as enchanting.

85/100

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations

2011-02-17T03:20:00.004Z

1. The Fall
2. Lamentations & Ashes
3. Angels of Veiled Bone
4. The Third Hour
5. The One and the Many
6. Charnel Spirit
7. All Souls
8. The Number of the Word
9. Stained Glass Reflections
10. Stained Glass Revelations

Et in Saecula Saeculorum caused quite a stir in the underground back in 2006, and not without good reason. Out of the blue, this album appeared and floored everyone. Why? The fact that something so ingenious and erratic was still possible in a genre in which many have dismissed as exhausted through and through of anything innovative and original. This is true to an extent, black metal is a genre which has been suffering majorly from a drought of inspiration of late, though occasionally a band comes along every once in a while to try out something new and against the grain. Sometimes it works, but more often than not it doesn't and said band fades away to languish in obscurity. This is always going to be the way because black metal fans more than most are always skeptical of changes, they can be a tough bunch to satisfy at the hardest of times. This is where Negative Plane come in. If you've ever listened to a band for the very first time, and after one listen to the album sat up and thought to yourself “Wow, this is unlike anything I've ever heard before, yet absolutely astounding; these guys are going to be big” then you've felt the same as to what I felt when I first heard Negative Plane. They retain enough of the traditional ethics and basis of traditional black metal and fuse it with a bizarre amalgamation of gothic horror and archaic styling that will unite even the most fickle of black metal fans.

Picture yourself in a vast cathedral, enshrouded in an ancient horrific mist, gradually dragging you down into a fear induced delirium, a swirling myriad of primeval voices strangle the remains of any rational thought you may have left like the rat in it's dying throes to the python. Extravagant, yes, but an album such as this deserves nothing less. I have heard various people liken it almost to a Lovecraftian horror soundtrack, and in a way there could not be a more apt definition for the sound of Stained Glass Revelations. It's ominous, foreboding and terrifying, yet at the same time it has this almost ridiculous macabre carnival-esque atmosphere. This is due in no small part to the contributions of Nameless Void, who provides both the guitar work and the vocals. The guitar is swathed in layers of reverb and with the slightly more prog route they have taken in regards to the guitars this time around they have veered off into a more definitive psychedelic route, something along the lines of “A Church in Ruin” off their debut. The sheer variation and multiform nature of the guitar work is astounding, no second riff is ever the same, one minute NV is playing something similar to Celtic Frost, the next it's a totally abstract guitar lead where every note reflecting off every corner of your mind. I mentioned Celtic Frost before, and they probably are one of Negative Plane's main influences. Certainly on the debut at least, maybe less so on this album which is so unique it's a challenge in itself to try and compare it to anything. At times the album doesn't even sound metal, as I stated before at points it morphs into something almost like dark, twisted circus music, and the vocals of NV are the voices of cast; twisted and unhinged and spitting corruption. “The One and the Many” is a great example of this, rising and falling around the vocals of Nameless Void. The bass and drum work definitely shouldn't be ignored either, the bass resonating beneath the chaos above it and one of the main components of the overall atmosphere, while the drumming is best described as extremely unpredictable and unconventional. Bestial Devotion is a big fan of his cymbals, chaotic and complex at the same time with no holding back on the quality.

The atmosphere pours out of this record in waves, it's an atmosphere not dissimilar to that of Drawing Down the Moon or De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, one which is extremely dense, ambiguous and warped, an atmosphere that completely makes the album what it is. They also are one of the few bands who actually manage to use interludes to their full effect and not just for aimless filler, using them to build the suspense in between each song, and avoid using shitty samples and actually composing the interludes themselves. If I had to pick one song which would sum up the album thoroughly, it would be the enigmatic “Angels Veiled in Bone”. As dark and as depraved as the dungeons of Hades while throughout it all flicking a wry smile. Grandiose riffing and chromatic leads, psychopathic vocals and an atmosphere that puts almost every other band out there at the minute to shame.

With Stained Glass Revelations, Negative Plane move up to the top rung of the ladder and it would be a horrendous injustice if they don't get more recognition on the back of an absolute gem such as this. The move in a more psychedelic direction was an utter masterstroke by them, but I still don't think it's their 'pièce de résistance' as such, because I honestly think they have even better in them. I guess only time will tell. A work of unassailable genius. Obscure, mysterious and at times downright petrifying, all the while wearing a masque of perverse humour. Two words; get this.

99/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Todesweihe - Necronomicon Ex Mortis

2011-02-14T23:32:00.003Z

1. In den Nachthimmeln Transilvaniens
2. Tränen des Dionysos
3. Mit einem Herzen voller Verachtung
4. Instrumental
5. Das Sterben
6. Return of the Necromancer
7. Nacht des Werwolfes
8. Das Schloss
9. As Flittermice as Satans Spys
10. Mit einem Herzen voller Verachtung (live)
11. In den Nachthimmeln Transilvaniens (live)
12. VON (live)
13. Nacht des Werwolfes (live)

Every genre of metal has its own group of wide-eyed imitators aiming to recapture the sound of their heroes, it's part and parcel in the process of evolution within a given genre. On one hand you have the bands who bring new concepts and elements to the traditional sound, and then on the flip side, you have bands who have no qualms replicating the sound of their idols note for note. Todesweihe sit firmly on the latter side of the coin, and having read that they've previously played with Warloghe and Inquisition, two fairly reputable bands, first impressions were positive. But it's all downhill from here.

From the 'I'm too lazy to come up with an original cover so I'll just use the old faithful Gustav Dore' option to possibly the second most covered Darkthrone song ever, everything about Necronomicon Ex Mortis (or rather the sound of Todesweihe as a whole as this is a compilation) is amateur, derivative and downright tedious. Refraining from just pressing the stop button as I sat through this was frustrating to say the least.

Necronomicon Ex Mortis is a compilation of their second demo, Nachtmahre, their EP and a bunch of live tracks, but reviewing them separately would be fairly redundant as each song is equally as excruciating as the next. The vocalist does his best to capture Nocturno Culto's ice cold rasp and it does come slightly close but lacks in delivery and no amount of reverb will mask that. It's the best aspect of this release, but when placed against the guitar work and drumming, that's not saying a lot at all. The riffing is insipid and just flat out weak, following the three chord tremolo pattern but containing no discernible qualities whatsoever, none of Darkthrone's signature 'cold' sound or catchy riffing. For the most part it sounds like a couple of kids in their garage miserably attempting the “Transylvanian Hunger” riff over and over again. The drumming is no better either, haphazard, sloppy and lacking any sort of variation or timing whatsoever, anymore and I'd be wasting my breath.

The two EP tracks off the Nachts am Alten Friedhof release are of better quality than the rest, only marginally though, and are what save this release from getting an embarrassing score altogether. Whenever Todesweihe slow things down, they are actually surprisingly listenable. The guitar tone has some muscle to it and the music doesn't sound like a washing machine stuck on spin. Unfortunately this is only present on the two EP tracks. As for the live tracks tacked on at the end, they aren't even worth discussing at all. I guess if you're a completist they might be of some value.

Todesweihe may need to reconsider their vision of what they want to be if they're to make any sort of an impact, because as a Darkthrone clone, it doesn't work. There are much better bands out there who do it so much more effectively. They need to find the appropriate balance between their infatuation with Darkthrone and some distinct element to set them apart from the others. At the end of the day this is all demo material, so the shoddy production can slide, but it's still no excuse for crap music.

17/100

Darker than Black"

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nachtvorst - Stills

2011-02-05T17:25:00.004Z

1. Dawn of End
2. Murmurs
3. Stills
4. Wandering
5. Epitaph

Whenever someone metions Dutch black metal, the first bands that initially come to mind would be Countess and Urfaust. Not one of the Netherlands most productive genre's that's for sure. Nachtvorst's debut album Stills, released by Black Devastation Records in 2009 presents an extremely fresh perspective on European underground black metal, for it's compelling approach at blending the 'post-' with the 'depressive'. And for an attempt at blending in a style of which is for the majority American by name and nature, it's a commendable effort.

With four tracks no fewer than eight minutes long each, and an instrumental thrown in for good measure, Stills is no easy listen. Everything from funeral doom, sludge, death, depressive black metal and even post-rock is present in Stills, it's an assorted mix of genres which when combined most of the time can just sound awkward, but Nachtvorst manage to execute it well. Right from the off, opener “Dawn of End” comes crashing down like a colossal wave of misery, constantly lashing away with the ebbing guitars and heavy bass. The bass is prominent throughout the whole album, which is something which helps gives Stills a touch more identity. It contributes a great deal to the ominous, asphyxiating atmosphere Erghal and Leopold are aiming for. And talking about a crushing atmosphere, one listen to track two “Murmurs” and you're utterly crippled. It's nothing more than a crude wall feedback and bile encased distortion of guitar and hellishly low bass. It's no easy listen and I can certainly hear a bit of SWANS influence among others here.

The final three tracks are more in the traditional vein of black metal but it's the constant diversity in every aspect of the music that keeps Stills so engaging. “Wandering” would be without a doubt the best track on the album, and at times feels like it could have been an outtake from Storm of the Light's Bane. It's one of the more 'upbeat' tracks of the album if you could call it that, and in total contrast, closer “Epitaph” is pretty much just that, with it's roots firmly buried in the depressive black metal scene with it's hollowed out guitar lines and fervent desperation.

Whether it's Leopold's transitions between his higher pitched nail spiked shrieks or his guttural death growls more akin to something off a Dismember album, or the guitar riffing ranging from traditional tremolo riffing, to post-rock interludes to dirging sludgy passages. If you're one who complains about black metal being too monotonous with lack of variation and talent then I can't recommend this album enough. For the majority it's a slow paced, meandering behemoth of oppression, ranging from depressive black metal to sludge and everything in-between, and definitely makes Nachtvorst one to watch for the future.

85/100

Website

Orignally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Slough Feg - The Animal Spirits

2011-01-31T03:53:00.003Z

1. Trick the Vicar
2. The 95 Thesis
3. Materia Prima
4. Free Market Barbarian
5. Lycanthropic Fantasies
6. Ask the Casket
7. Heavyworlder
8. The Tell-Tale Heart (Alan Parsons Project cover)
9. Kon-Tiki
10. Second Coming
11. Tactical Air War

Slough Feg are one of those bands who deserve a lot more recognition that they have, eight full lengths of immaculate, classic heavy metal with a quirky manner and saturated with energy, there's really nothing to dislike about them. Toiling away in heavy metal's semi-underground ranks for the past twenty years now, Mike Scalzi has been around a bit, although you wouldn't think it as they sound just as fresh now as they did with the self titled fourteen years ago.

With The Animal Spirits now their eighth full length release and third in four years, they appear to be drawing from a freshly discovered pool of inspiration. I will admit I was slightly apprehensive as to the quality of material on this, as Hardworlder had a noticeable dip in quality to the previous material, and Ape Uprising wasn't a heap better, bar one or two outstanding tracks peppered here and there. Ever since they cut “The Lord Weird” from their name I felt there was slight decline in their music. As soon as the album had finished playing though, I felt the need to hit the repeat button straight away. This was the true Slough Feg I used to know.

It's not quite as immediate as their golden works, none of the songs jump right out and shout 'classic' like “Vargr Moon” or “Sky Chariots”, The Animal Spirits is a lot more subtle in it's execution with the grainy almost warm riffing taking time to pierce you with their doom tinted talons. Scalzi's vocals are as you'd expect them if you've heard Slough Feg before, his signature drawl with a slight nod to cult U.S. Metal hero Mark Shelton. It's primarily his unique vocals that set Slough Feg aside from everyone else, he's always been in a completely different league than most when it comes to his vocal abilities. Take for example the patterns he utilizes in “Second Coming” or even “Free Market Barbarian” with a chorus as good as such hasn't been heard in a while from these guys. But let's not just heap all the accolades and acclaim on their iconic frontman, Harry Cantwell's drumming is intricate yet not overpowering and complementing that 70's hard rocking groove created by Adrain Maestas' crude throbbing basslines and the guitarists Thin Lizzy-esque riffing. Song's such as “The 95 Thesis” and “Heavyworlder” both hark back to the days of Traveller yet at the same time have a unassailable uniqueness to them, an almost primal feel which is present throughout the whole album. Plus “Tactical Air War” has Bob Wright from Brocas Helm on vocals, one of the bands who has played the biggest part in Slough Feg's sound. How can you possibly beat that?

There's one thing you can always count on the 'Feg for, and thats the outlandish and ridiculous lyrical themes, here we have song's about vampire love, shameless puns on religion and Mike even has time for a brief spot of reminiscence in “Second Coming”. Unfortunately there isn't anything about canine space ship pilots. Maybe next time eh? The Celtic influence is even greater this time round and a major factor in the improvement in the quality of the material on this release, this is their 'softest' release yet, for want of a better word and has more in common with the celtic icons Thin Lizzy than anyone else really. At times it remains refined yet bewitching, and others saunters on in a hazy drunken swagger. This is right up there with Down Among the Deadmen and Traveller, and if you thought the previous two were a bit drab, sweep them under the carpet and buy this!

92/100

Originally written for Archaic Magazine

Myspazz Offical

[ALBUM REVIEW] Chelmno - Horizon of Events

2011-01-30T01:41:00.003Z

1. Intro - The Lament from the Horizon of Events / Raging Eagles
2. Dance of the Shadows
3. Four Fucking Wolves
4. Astral Journey
5. Into the Fog
6. Seeking Inside the Memory
7. Silence Squadron
8. Old and Cold

Chelmno play some of the most raucous, dis-harmonic black metal you are likely to come across. Harsh and downright primitive, Horizon of Events is the second outing by these Italian chaos merchants. Veering closer to Clandestine Blaze territory with the sheer filth clad attitude to their take on black metal, Horizon of Events isn't going to be one for your casual fan of black metal. Stormlord this is not.

Take Darkthrone at their best and early Graveland and completely remove the bottom altogether. There is a bassist credited on the release, and call me a cloth eared false if wrong, but I struggle to hear anything remotely resembling that fabled four string instrument. I know production and lack of bass is common place in obscure black metal but when I mean the production on this release is bad, I mean it is absolutely fucking horrible, not quite transcending Ildjarn boundaries yet though. Luckily for Chelmno though, the music is downright brilliant.

I'll admit, the cover did throw me at first, I was hoping for something similar to Kataxu or even Darkspace, but I'll certainly take this though. Right from the opening drone of the intro right through to the fade out of “Old and Cold”, Horizon of Events is thirty seven minutes of almost punkish riffing which at times is disgustingly catchy (see “Four Fucking Wolves” circa 2:20) and others totally malign and immersed in feedback. Repetition is used tactfully and within reason throughout, remaining just long enough to envelope the listener in the austerity before transforming into another riff before ever becoming monotonous. The songs range from the higher tempo (early) Bathory-esque punk influenced numbers to longer mid paced numbers such as “Into the Fog” which is rather more gradual and foreboding. Asides from the fantastic guitar work here the other stand out element of Chelmno's sound is the drumming, performed by Vidharr of Tenebrae in Perpetuum fame, who effectively dictates the tempo of the music with the drumming acting as the backbone. It's simple yet at the same time alternates frequently throughout each song, avoiding many of the snares other drummers get caught up in. The vocals are typical to most underground black metal, they float about just behind the guitars and appropriate enough. Not amazing by any stretch but fit for their purpose.

When I first approached this record I was hoping for something 'atmospheric' you could say, and that's what I got, but not in the manner I anticipated. Syrupy keyboards and clichéd sampling foregone in favour of the more traditional form of creating an atmosphere of blood curdling malevolence solely with a guitar, a set of drums, a voice and that elusive bass as well; that takes a whack more talent than some idiot playing with his downloaded nature sounds CD. This album wont appeal to everyone, not least because of the drab attempt at production, but I suppose in a way it adds character to the release, but I still think a lot more muscle could have been put on the guitar tone and the bass turned up to an audible level, if it's there at all. As for the music itself though, it's an illustrious attempt a style of black metal which is becoming somewhat endangered of late. Definitely one for the fans of Clandestine Blaze, early Bathory and Graveland.

79/100

Sun & Moon

[ALBUM REVIEW] Massemord - Notes of Antihate Profound

2011-01-29T20:40:00.004Z

1. Cognition of Fear
2. Masskilling Masshealing

Notes of Antihate Profound is a short two song EP by Polish black metal stalwarts Massemord. Active since 2000 and with three full length albums already on the mantelpiece, Massemord know what they're doing. They've been around long enough to establish their name as one of the more relevant and successful acts to come out of the Polish scene in recent years.

First thing's first, if you have heard Massemord before, then you should know exactly what to expect, for the two tracks on this release follow exactly the same procedure as before; hammering the shit clean out of the drums until they're obliterated, traditional styled tremolo riffing and raw scathing rasping vocals straight from the book of Legion. “Textbook definition of old Marduk?” you say? Almost but not quite. The comparisons are inevitable to anyone playing this style of Black Metal these days but the two song's “Cognition of Fear” and “Masskilling Masshealing” are saturated with dynamic and pulverising riffs speared by Namtar's savage vocals, and conjure an arctic, knife laced atmosphere to boot, which is where so many of these bands fail. It may follow a fairly washed-out formula, but Massemord are one of the few in the small percentage who can pull it off without sounding completely derivative.

Notes of Antihate Profound is extremely well performed on a whole. It is only an EP so it was always going to be short, but I suppose is an apt showcase of the bands sound, because the rest of the material doesn't differ from this at all. It's the band's forte for being able to create some distinctly impressive riff driven black metal that snared me. No it's not original or revolutionary, but it will fill a gap and is certainly more than engaging. In short, fans of Marduk will love this short chaotic release of unholy violence, for others who aren't too sure, it's a good sampler of what the rest of their releases have to offer. One thing though, have they been taking lessons from Dimmu Borgir on how to name their releases?

80/100

Website

[ALBUM REVIEW] Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit

2011-01-25T17:55:00.005Z

1. They Escaped the Weight of Darkness
2. Into the Painted Grey
3. The Watcher's Monolith
4. Black Lake Nidstång
5. Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires
6. To Drown

Possibly one of the, if not the most highly anticipated album of 2010 finally hit the shelves in late November. Their unique brand of heavily post-rock influenced Black/Doom hybrid has earned them a substantial following in both metal and non-metal circles alike. So how does their first full length since the majestic break through album of Ashes Against the Grain fare then? Well put simply, it's not a disappointment in the slightest.

There's no denying black metal has been somewhat finally making waves into territories never considered viable before, and depending on your outlook this is either 'about time' or heresy of levels unimaginable. Many hate Agalloch solely for this reason alone, they along with bands like Alcest and Wolves in the Throne Room have introduced what they would describe as 'undesirables' into their sacred genre, and frequently used the scapegoat that they've been diluting the 'black' in their metal progressively since their début. Well that isn't a valid excuse anymore, as Marrow of the Spirit is probably the most 'black metal' album they've done.

The post-rock influences are still there, but the album is a lot more Katatonia and In the Woods than it is Godspeed! or Swans. The most notable casualty of the increase in intensity is the omission of John Haughm's clean vocals, as I always considered these a big part of Agalloch's identity. Enough of what isn't in the album though, because what is in the album is six magnificent tracks, dynamic, melancholic and yet compelling and still managing to retain that primitive heathen aura that's unmistakably Agalloch. The album starts out with “They Escaped the Weight of Darkness”, effectively a prelude to the album, and nothing more than a solitary cello over the sound of running water and birdsong. An appropriate mood setter but nothing overtly remarkable. The first proper track “Into the Painted Grey” is where the increase in intensity is most recognizable. From the blistering drumming of Ludicra drummer Aesop Dekker to the traditional black metal style riffing, it's Agalloch as vicious as we've ever heard them. Haughm's vocals never vary from his throaty rasp, but luckily enough, his harsh vocals are just as impressive as his clean. The guitar throughout the album is heavily layered with acoustic passages and leads seamlessly interwoven with the heavier riffing. Agalloch always had a penchant for long songs, and no-one does it quite so well. Each song remains highly engaging due to the effortless transitions between various sections in the song and the sheer diversity in instrumentation is but a part of this operation. Take for example the atavistic yet absolutely stunning “Ghosts of Midwinter Fire”, from it's serene, echoed opening notes right through to the ending of a climax which is not far off from something Mogwai would produce. The real pinnacle of the album comes in the shape of “Black Lake Niðstång” though the apocalyptic introduction with forebearing drumming, classical guitar passages and Huaghm's ominous whispering through a cold doomy centre of total desperation and bleakness ending in a mix of obscure electronic sounds and a more traditional black metal sound, it's Agalloch at their most downright depressing and is utterly emotionally draining. “The Watcher's Monolith” is one of the more upbeat numbers on the album and has more in common with the Agalloch albums of old than this and the closer “To Drown” in typical Agalloch fashion finishes the album leaving the listener totally entranced, and to be perfectly honest, could have easily been a Godspeed! song just as much it is Agalloch.

The album is unequivocally their most ferocious release to date, but it still retains that whole post-rock atmosphere they're famous for, more so in structure than sound this time around though. They pull off the whole untainted, primal earthen sound better than anyone else. This is mainly due to their influences from neo-folk bands such as Sol Invictus and Death in June. It may not be obvious in the music, but this neo-folk influence and coupled with the post-rock influence provide the base to Agalloch's sound, while the metal forms the backbone. Agalloch are unrivalled at what they do, and if you're a fan of that natural, ashen sound you probably need no introduction to Agalloch. But if not, and looking for the textbook soundtrack to the dreary, washed out portents of Autumn, I don't know a better album. Imitator's will come and go, some are better than others such as the likes of Gallowbraid, but at the end of the year Agalloch have come back just to remind everyone that they're still around, and to show them just exactly how it's done.

95/100

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Bahal - Ikelos

2010-12-12T16:54:00.002Z

1. La Tormenta
2. Il Sentiero
3. Erebo 10:40
4. Il Bardo
5. Il Labirinto
6. La Rosa
7. Danza Del Crepuscolo
8. Tra Le Braccia di Morfeo

Obscure Italian Black Metal band Bahal unleash their latest offering, and with a logo designed by the renowned Christopher Szpajdel, virtuoso of all things spiky and symmetrical, initial reactions are fairly impressive. With a lyrical theme based upon ancient Greece, as evident from the title Ikelos, is a welcomed deviation from the typical satanic theme.

Bahal's sound is best comparable to an amalgamation of Satyricon, Necrophobic and most surprisingly of all Opeth. Frequent transitions between a headstrong assault of blasting and tremolo riffing, brief acoustic interludes and long guitar solos turn the stigma of all black metal being derivative and repetitive on it's head. It's certainly progressive in every sense of the word, but ends up ensnared in the most frequent and frustrating trap of so much progressive music; self-indulgence. Let me get this straight, Bahal is an extremely talented guitarist, the solos on this album are exceptionally good, but they're stretched out to almost ridiculous levels. You've only got to look at Peste Noire for guitar soloing performed tactfully in black metal, whereas with Bahal they're not added to compliment the music, rather merely the guitarist showing what he can do.

With that out of the way, this is actually a very good album though at times does tend to suffer from it's length. Some songs burn out before they even get going, and the opening track is not the strongest and “Erebo” is just flat out boring, but the second half of the album is a significant improvement from the first, most notably last track “Danza Del Crepuscolo”. Bahal's vocals are low and hollow sounding with a heavy swab of reverb, he actually sounds very like Sakis from Rotting Christ. The guitar has a significant shade of Necrophobic off it and has a good prominent tone to it.

Ikelos main faults lie within it's most standout feature, which is the progressive element Bahal is using. Reduce the length of some of the songs and some restraint on the guitar soloing and maybe then they'll have something special worth talking about. As it is, it's a promising and fresh perception on performing black metal, but more often than not just becomes sluggish and self indulgent. It's main weakness is that which makes it unique in the first place. There's a certain balance which needs to be found, but here the scales remain heavily skewed.

55/100

Website

Written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW]Astrophobos - Arcane Secrets

2010-12-09T20:31:00.003Z

1. Divine Necromancy
2. Arcane Secrets
3. Crossing the Abyss

Swedish? Early nineties styled Black/Death Metal? That can mean only one thing, and that's Astrophobos play extreme metal heavily influenced by Dissection. Genuinely good Dissection worship is a difficult thing to come by, most recent imitators Thulcandra are so successful at completely replicating that sound they are basically featureless clones. While they can pull the sound off perfectly, they're missing that certain spark than others that came before them such as Vinterland or Sacramentum were able to emulate. Arcane Secrets, the debut EP by Astrophobos has the potential to put these rookies on the same pedestal as those aforementioned greats, and although I say rookies, make no mistake these three are far from inexperienced at this style of music. It may be their first release but according to the band they have been playing this style of music for years, and judging by the quality and professionalism of the music on this EP, I can well believe them.

The EP is extremely short, but being self financed and self released with no label backing whatsoever you can obviously forgive this slight shortcoming. Being completely DIY, the production's gotta be pretty amateur then? Wrong, nothing could be further from the truth. This is what struck me most about this release, how clear and polished the production is for a self-release. And no wonder whenever it's Peter In de Betou who did it. Also known for working with Watain, who have been known to dabble in a bit of Dissection themselves, at least he's experienced in the field. It has a lot more in common with The Somberlain era Dissection than it does Storm of the Light's Bane with more emphasis on the drumming and guitar work yet still retaining that melodic backbone. “Crossing the Abyss” for example, might as well have been a track lost from those sessions. The guitar work is as you'd expect it, slick and unmistakably Swedish in tone, with intense razor sharp riffing. Micke's vocals are oppressive and strong, as they should be, because Jon is an exceptionally hard guy to emulate. As for the drummer being seventeen, I find it completely fascinating at how developed his sound and technique is for such a young age.

According to the band they have a full length album in the works of which I will be waiting with high anticipation. Cover art from Caspar David Friedrich, and three highly impressive tracks kneeling at the altar of Dissection, what more do you want? A label needs to sign these guys up fast, because judging by the quality of material on this short but striking release, they're going to get a lot bigger, and more than just mere pretenders to Dissection's golden throne.

80/100

Website

Written for Metalcrypt

2010 - The year in metal.

2010-12-05T01:56:00.004Z

Well folks it's almost upon us, the end of 2010. Just like 2009, it has been an exceptionally good year for metal with some surprising releases both positively and negatively. There were so many great albums to chose from to try and squeeze into 15, but I've managed to narrow it down and here are my choices of what I believe to be the absolute best to showcase metal from 2010.

1	Alcest Écailles de lune The enigmatic Neige managed to perform the incredible feat of actually topping the band's debut, Souvenir's D'Un Autre Monde. This fantastic fusion of majestic yet unrelenting Emperor-esque Black metal and sullen shoegaze guitar passages comes together in scintillating fashion, eclipsing all the would-be imitators to their debut in 2007 and showing them how it's really done. And to be honest, I can't ever see anyone other than Neige himself coming anywhere near to bettering this style. Monumental.
2	Sargeist Let the Devil In This latest unholy plague unleashed by mastermind Shatraug exploded completely out of the blue and struck me senseless. Shatraug may be a bit of a vagrant when it comes to black metal, but when push comes to shove he does it extremely fucking well. Yes this is even better than Behexen. Uncompromising and beguiling, this is how black metal should be done.
3	Atlantean Kodex The Golden Bough I have a feeling this will be at the top of many peoples lists, and it's not hard to see why. The doom tinged epic metal of these Germans is straight out of the instruction manual of Hammerheart-era Bathory and Doomsword. If you thought The Pnakotic Demos was impressive, you're in for a surprise. The next time someone asks you to define metal? Just hand them a copy of this CD.
4	Inquisition Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm A surprise addition for me here, mainly because I was never that big a fan of Inquisition. They often receive a large amount of flak for their comical image and ridiculous titles. It's slightly unfair as many pass them off without even listening to them because of this, especially when they've managed to release an album of this standard. Immortal worship at it's most pompous and grandiose without ever becoming self indulgent from these Columbian veterans.
5	Enforcer Diamonds The traditional heavy metal revival peaked in 2010, and while many bands were just looking back through rose tinted glasses and completely lacking in substance, Enforcer rose to the top of the heap. Quitely rightly so too, as with Diamonds, Enforcer have managed to carve out a sound of their own yet retaining all the pizzazz and attitude which made heavy metal in the first place. Dense, commanding and extremely catchy, Enforcer are an exciting prospect for the future and surely destined for big things.
6	Watain Lawless Darkness Sweden's satanic trio Watain returning in 2010 with the follow up to Sworn to the Dark, and continue the form that saw them so revered ever since Cacus Luciferi was unleashed upon us. Unashamed Dissection worship, only now with an added touch variation, it's the logical step forward from their previous release. They even managed to fit a fourteen minute blasphemous epic in the form of “Waters of Ain”, which features the legendary Carl McCoy. It may just be the best black metal song of this year.
7	Iron Maiden The Final Fronteir This is a band which need no introduction. If you know metal music at all, you know Iron Maiden. The Final Frontier removed any doubt about the band's ability these days since the disappointing A Matter of Life and Death. Kevin Shirley has worked a fantastic production here, and with the band's extremely progressive approach to the song-writing yet still retaining that unassailable identity which make Maiden who they are, they've produced their most memorable album since Brave New World.
8	Weapon From the Devil's Tomb A band who I've only recently come across, Weapon play caustic brand of blackened death metal. Blistering drum work and riffing with a bile draped atmosphere to boot, Morbid Angel are just as much influences as Mayhem. The alternation between blood blasted brutality and macabre processions are the record's forte. The Ajna Offensive have a seriously impressive roster, of which Weapon are another compelling addition to.
9	Aorlhac La cité des vents A high flier in my end of year list last year, Aorlhac have managed to return again this year with La cite des vents. Still spewing forth their own brand of Occitania influenced black metal with the medieval tendencies of Peste Noire, it's a worthy successor to Opus I. They haven't made the impression on the scene I imagined they would, but provided they keep releasing material of this quality, the breakthrough is bound to happen sooner than later.
10	Agalloch Marrow of the Spirit Probably the most anticipated metal album of 2010 finally hit the shelves in late November. Their brand of heavily post-rock influenced Black/Doom hybrid draws influences from everyone from Sol Invictus to Katatonia. There was extremely high expectation placed upon this release, but Portland's favourite heathen's have done it again. If you are looking for the textbook soundtrack to the dreary, washed out portents of Autumn, I don't know a better album.
11	Witchrist Beheaded Ouroboros Invictus have been releasing some extremely impressive albums lately, and this is top of the pile. Possibly one of the most downright putrid and unrelentingly heavy albums you'll hear all year, with insanely decadent gutterals from this esoteric horde. Genuine old school death metal with a big middle finger to the vapid facade of 'technical' death.
12	Kerapshorus Cloven Hooves at the Holocaust Dawn It's Helmkamp, need I say more? For those unfortunate enough to have completely passed by Order from Chaos and Revenge, primitive war metal tyrants James Read and Pete Helmkamp join forces once again to conjure up a release of nothing more than all out depraved violence. Comparable to no less than a bullet straight down your throat. Utter barbarism.
13	Christian Mistress Agony & Opium Bearing the Fenriz seal of approval, Christian Mistress and their take on classic heavy metal put many to shame on much bigger labels. The raw, DIY ethic and solo littered songs with Christine's enamouring vocals show all the self indulgent 'gothic' metal bands how proper metal is supposed to be performed, for here, the flame of the eighties is brighter than ever.
14	Briton Rites For Mircalla Hour of 13 mastermind, Phil Swanson joined forces with Howie Bently of Cauldron Born fame here, and though on paper it's hard to comprehend how it could possibly work, it does. Taking the blueprints from Black Sabbath and Witchfinder General, add an occult horror movie-esque atmosphere and Phil's unmistakable vocals and you get this; the best doom metal album of the year.
15	Winterfylleth The Mercian Sphere How could you not love a cover like that? Weathered atmospheric black metal in the same vein as Drudkh with a heavy acoustic slant to it, Winterfylleth are a gem in the British scene at the minute. Focusing on their Anglo-Saxon heritage rather than typical Satanic musings, it's a welcome change. Dynamic and brooding, yet exceptionally vicious as well, with The Mercian Sphere are cementing their place as important players in the UK scene.

2010 also threw up a few surprising disappointments...

1	Blind Illusion The Demon Master The Sane Asylum, an absolute thrash metal classic and one of the most sought after metal albums ever. This? A shocking, direction-less attempt at some sort of hippy grungy nonsense. Blind Illusion are about sixteen years too late with The Demon Master, and even then it still would have been shit.
2	Skyforger Kurbads Previously with four classic albums under their best, together with a seven year wait amounted to the second biggest disappointment of the year. With Kurbads, Skyforger diluted much of the folk that made them popular in the first place and downtuned the guitars to almost nu-metal levels at times. Boring and completely uninspired riffing and awful vocals from a band who should know better.
3	White Wizzard Over the Top They chose wisely in picking the title track as the single, because along with 40 Deuces, they are the only two decent songs on this. Utterly shallow and lacking in substance, Jon needs his ego deflating slightly, because he hasn't actually ever done anything noteworthy to warrant it.
4	Drudkh Handful of Stars Drudkh were, and still are a favourite band of mine, so when I heard the new album had begun to incorporate shoegaze into their sound, I was quietly grinning with anticipation. Then I listened to it. What shoegaze? Someone needs to read up on their definition of what shoegaze really is. Insipid riffing and a horrible sterile production, just what the fuck exactly have you done Drudkh?
5	Negura Bunget Vîrstele Pămîntuluis Not horribly bad as such, but when you put it up against the magical Om, it doesn't even come close. The Dordeduh EP was what this should have sounded like.

Written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

[ALBUM REVIEW] Heathen Foray - Armoured Bards

2010-12-03T20:06:00.003Z

1. Armored Bards
2. The Blight
3. Bifrost
4. Ascension
5. Messenger of God
6. Endless Sorrow
7. A Brother's Tale
8. Walls of Vienna
9. Hopfen & Malz
10. Carthage's End

Naming yourself after one of Falkenbach's best songs is making a bit of a statement. So you'd expect Heathen Foray to sound somewhat similar to them then? Well that's not the case here, as Austrian five piece Heathen Foray have more in common with Dragonforce musically than they do Falkenbach. From a country that hasn't produced much else to many other than Abigor and Summoning, this is definitely going to be a welcome new arrival to some.

They are described as Viking metal, but I would take that label with a pinch of salt as the lyrics tend to deal with European history as a whole rather than specifically Viking themes. Hannibal and the fall of Carthage and the Ottoman's siege of Vienna are but two of the various themes dealt with here so it's not really Viking metal as such, I would hesitate that the term 'battle metal' would be more suitable to their style, in the realm of bands such as Turisas and Equilibrium. I've never viewed Viking or battle metal as legitimate genres, but that's a discussion for another time.

Take the stadium-esque death metal sound of Amon Amarth and incorporate it with the neoclassical sweeping arpeggios of Dragonforce and you've got the formula heathen Foray use. As much as I loathe to use the word when describing music, 'epic' is certainly one of the terms I would use to describe Armoured Bards overall sound. Opener 'Armoured Bards' is by far and large the best song on the album, perfectly suited to the live environment with it's bombastic chorus and extremely melodic, power metal styled guitar leads. The first thing I noticed was just how similar Robert's vocals were to Johan Hegg's, it's so uncanny if you didn't know otherwise you'd swear blind it was him. The whole album is extremely well structured, the production is crystal clear and the guitar playing is absolutely fantastic, but after the first song it never really threatens to scale those heights again. Other notable songs worth mentioning would have to be 'Bifrost', with it's acoustic intro, which would be even better if it wasn't so long and 'Ascension' which actually reminds me of fellow compatriot, Ray Well's project Raventhrone more than anything else. Don't get me wrong, the whole album is very good, it's just with an opener as good as 'Armoured Bard's' (which if it were in Amon Amarth's discography, would be a live classic) it was always going to be a huge task for them to hit that standard again. At times it comes close, but not enough.

Armoured Bards is a commendable attempt at a style of music which has been absolutely flogged to death in recent years. At times it is utterly fantastic, and at other times it does get pretty average, but this style of music does have a massive market, and the potential and opportunities for Heathen Foray to go on to much bigger and better things are there, they just have to find a touch more identity to stand out. If melo-death with fretboard tearing soloing sounds like your cup of tea, Armoured Bards is certainly sure to fill a gap anyway. Just don't expect anything revolutionary.

70/100

Myspace

Originally Written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

[ALBUM REVIEW] Deep-Pression - 4. Void of a Morning

2010-11-28T21:49:00.003Z

1. Intro: Requiem for Tommorows
2. Part 1: Night Struggle
3. Part 2: Just a While Before
4. Part 3: Awakening
5. Part 4: All This Pain for Today

Ignoring the ridiculous attempt at a pun for a name, Polish act Deep-Pression have been somewhat of a revolving door to various members over the years. Having split up in 2009, 4: Void of a Morning is that last release before the split. Recorded over a rather long timespan of two years, and nine performers in total, it's certainly an intriguing piece of work. Previous Deep-Pression releases would have generally fallen into the ambient, droney black metal bracket, but Void of a Morning has pretty much forsaken all black metal elements in favour of an apocalyptic form of dark ambience that at times could be comparable to say a variety of Cold Meat Industry acts. Described as a concept album 'from dreaming, through awakening to the devouring mouths of reality'. Maybe bordering on the edge of pretentious, but when you apply the description to the music, it couldn't really be any more fitting.

Introduction 'Requiem for the Tommorows' (Glaringly obvious spelling mistake aside) is, as far as setting the tone for an album goes, pretty much ideal. It's nothing more than a bleak, oppressive droning with an isolated industrial-esque pulse breaking the monotony a few times. It works well in encapsulating the final throes of consciousness before sleep, before the nightmare arrives in the form of 'Night Struggle' with it's barren soundscape structured by the dissonant, distorted ambience created by the guitars and electronics. There's sparse vocals in the song, performed by a guy called Razor and are a restrained whisper, who does the vocals for part two and three as well. Each track, or movement, is split up by an interlude, and really serve as nothing more than a transition between each stage of the protagonist's dreamstate. 'Just a While Before' continues with the detached air, though more-so this time due to the almost Fields of the Nephilim like atmosphere created by the bass of none other than Vrangsinn of Carpathian Forest fame. It almost sounds as if it could have been taken off Elizium and completely stripped down of everything except vocals and bass. I don't know if it's supposed to make me feel uneasy or what but when listening to this song I actually end up more relaxed than anything. 'Awakening' is pretty much the same as the first track in its ambience, with an unfettered air of torture hanging around it like a wet fog while the protagonist enters the neon realms of the end of his sleep. Then the reality of 'All this Pain for Today', the only song with any connection at all to Black Metal, and that's only in the extremely scant guitar and howling vocals performed by Letaliis.

It's extremely repetitive, but it works. If you know anything at all about the dark-ambient genre, you'll know progression is most certainly not it's forte. There's a certain satisfying feeling of dread in the subtlety of it all. A lot of metal fans wouldn't normally listen music like this, thus is why Deep-Pression probably get so much flak when people do come across their music. With their background in Black Metal and associations with bands such as Trist and Happy days it doesn't help. If obscure dark-ambient is your thing I'd definitely recommend this. It's by no means ground breaking for music of this style, and it does tend to drag on a bit at time where it could do with a little variation, but it is certainly competent enough, and in the right mindset is an engaging listen. If you're a newcomer to the genre though, there are probably better places to begin.

67/100

Myspace

Thanks to Robert @ http://www.valsesinistre.com

[ALBUM REVIEW] Crystal Viper - Legends

2010-11-27T00:54:00.002Z

1. The Truth
2. Ghost Ship
3. Blood Of The Heroes
4. The Greed Is Blind
5. Sydonia Bork
6. Goddess Of Death
7. Night Of The Sin
8. Secrets Of The Black Water
9. Man Of Stone
10. Black Leviathan

Polish heavy metal upstarts Crystal Viper are back again with the follow up to their critically acclaimed 2009 release Metal Nation, and this time continue their crusade for everything true and heavy with the subtly titled Legends. The debut, The Curse of Crystal Viper was unashamedly retro, the nonchalant old school vibe was what attracted me to it in the first place, with Metal Nation they somewhat lost some of that appeal to these ears, although it was still certainly an entertaining listen nevertheless. What I've always admired about Crystal Viper is that they avoid exploiting the fact they have a female vocalist, thus they avoid all the pitfalls and pigeon-holing that snare so many other bands. It's not very common in metal in general, never mind power/heavy metal, and when you do come across it it's usually some faux romantic gothic tripe, but Marta Gabriel's vocals are firmly rooted in the orthodox heavy metal style, of which many budding female metal singers should take note.

Crystal Viper wear their influences on their sleeve. A short delve into their recorded history will tell you that, covers from bands such as Running Wild, Accept, W.A.S.P. and Agent Steel will tell you all you really need to know about their sound. If I had to put a slightly more accurate description on things, a reasonable combination of American legends Omen and German privateer's Running Wild with the attitude of W.A.S.P. I'd say is accurate enough. If the thought of that doesn't get your metal sense tingling then I believe the low level lighting should guide you safely enough to the nearest exit in the hall. Legends is in pretty much the same boat as Metal Nation, a great piece of heavy metal, but this time it seems that there is something not quite right, lacking a certain staying power or that final clinical veneer that made the début so great.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's bad, not by any means. This is Crystal Viper as I've always loved them, but where the band was able to run riot on the début, I can't help but notice they sound a little restrained here. First and foremost the album appears to lack any anthems such as as 'Metal Nation' or 'The Last Axeman', although I'd say the album is a lot less 'impact' and a bit more of a 'grower'. Opener 'The Ghost Ship' is one of the stronger tracks on the album, the guitar riffing could easily have been lifted off Death or Glory, it's quite literally that obvious. It even sounds 'piratey' for want of a better word. The chorus is almost what you've come to expect with Crystal Viper, catchy and flamboyant, and with a guitar solo thrown in for good measure. But it's this predictability which is Legends downfall as well. It's all too easy to tread the same beaten paths over and over again. Every song follows the same verse-chrous-verse structure. “Sure they've always done this?” Well yes, but whereas the first time around they sounded genuinely inspired and fresh, it now just sounds tired and slightly tedious. This is most noticeable in the choruses throughout the album, just as it threatens to reach it's pinnacle, it hits a glass ceiling and doesn't really go anywhere before falling back again. The musicianship is top notch, as always, the guitar riffing is tight, though slightly more melodic than before almost verging into power metal territory as is the drumming, but it sounds as if there's something restraining Marta, holding her back from shifting into top gear. All songs follow the same pattern pretty much, except the ballad 'Sydonia Bork' where Marta actually sounds very like Kimberly Goss only with an accent. This song shows Marta's vocal talents best, at her most prominent and powerful. The band still maintain all the pomp and extravagance from before, most evident on the closing two tracks 'Black Leviathan' with it's Running Wild-esque swagger and the lead littered 'A Man of Stone', but the majority of the album just never quite reaches the dizzy heights they are capable of.

This viper may have had some of it's venom removed, but it's still just as vicious regardless. All the main attributes of Crystal Viper are still there, the melodic yet ripping guitar work, Marta's unmistakable vocals, galloping bass and drums. If you've already a fan of Crystal Viper and power/heavy metal in general you should get this, just don't expect anything quite as immediate as before. Since first listening to this my opinion has improved considerably, but I still think they need to come up with some new ideas, as the current formula is starting to sound exhausted and stagnant. It may be a little tame this time round, but they're still showing the wannabe Nightwish's and Epica's how metal is supposed to be done.

73/100

Myspace

Originally written for Archaic Magazine

[ALBUM REVIEW] Blood Devotion - Defile of Innocence

2010-11-23T22:02:00.002Z

1. Intro
2. Rotting of Soul
3. Renouncing from Light
4. Codded Untouched Creatures
5. We Are Eternal
6. Outro

Defile of Innocence is the short debut release from young Russian band Blood Devotion. They play a form of Black Metal not dissimilar to the style of the Scandinavian bands from the early nineties. Anti-Christianity is the order of the day here, as if that wasn't obvious by the ridiculous cover, and though not in any way treading new waters, it is somewhat competent with some brief glimpses of what may be to come, from a band who still sound like they're trying to find their feet.

Chaotic riffing, unbridled drumming and throat shredding vocals, all the basic aspects of Black Metal are here, but on a whole it is extremely generic. There is nothing about this release which really stands out and grabs your attention, it's all just very passable and formulaic. The frustrating thing is Blood Devotion, who go by the monikers 'Inside' and 'Gorgon' are not average musicians, technically they are fantastic, and I believe they are capable of performing material way above this station. The drumming is the stand-out aspect of this release, fast, unrelenting and most importantly, varied. The vocals are powerful and raw and the riffing is tight, but lacks any sort of lasting qualities. It does remind me a bit at times of Windir if anyone surprisingly. Some of the songs actually contain short guitar solos which is a bit of a surprise and you can tell the guitarist is more than your average bedroom warrior who's just picked up a guitar and learnt the riff from 'Transylvanian Hunger'.

It's just that as a collective, it lacks a certain cohesiveness to form any sort of lasting impression. Defile of Innocence has a shockingly professional production for such an underground release, and being the bands first recording, I can only commend them on that. It helps accentuate everything , especially the drumming, which is as I've stated is nothing short of brilliant. But in emphasising the good; the drumming, it just removes any doubt as to the passive effect of everything else. 'Codded Untouched Creatures' is by far the best song on the EP, impressive riffing and has a certain spark to it the rest of the songs don't. Not that there are many songs though, three others and two pointless attempts at atmosphere for an introduction and an outro for which the time could have been better allocated to another song.

The unfortunate thing for bands releasing music in Russia, is just that, the music very rarely ever gets any attention outside of the country, and if Blood Devotion are wanting to make any sort of waves outside of their homeland on their next release they're going to need to up the ante quite a bit, for Defile of Innocence in a nutshell is just an extremely tepid release from a band who are capable of so much more. They're clearly talented musicians, but together on this release it just comes across as rather uninspired and just flat out drags.

47/100

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

Website

[ALBUM REVIEW]Sargeist - Let the Devil In

2010-11-14T01:02:00.003Z

1. Empire of Suffering
2. A Spell to Awaken the Temple
3. From the Black Coffin Lair
4. Burning Voice of Adoration
5. Nocturnal Revelation
6. Discovering the Enshrouded Eye
7. Let the Devil In
8. Sanguine Rituals
9. Twilight Breath of Satan
10. As Darkness Tears the World Apart

One of black metal's most famous vagabonds, Shatraug, is back again, and this time with the latest Sargeist album. Shatraug likes to keep himself occupied, already having multiple releases with various projects already this year. And who can blame him when you're one of the most critically acclaimed artists still operating in the black metal scene? Sargeist were always a band I had an extremely large amount of time for. There is a subtle malevolence about Satanic Black Devotion and Disciple of the Heinious Path which always keeps dragging me back to them. They're not groundbreaking releases by any means, but it's Shatraug's penchant for being able to write an infectious riff and Hoath Torog's fantastic vocals patterns that always kept my Sargeist albums at the top of my CD pile.

If you're a fan of any of Sargeist's previous releases, then in short, this album will blow your skull clean fucking through. Whereas the previous albums did tend to be fairly inconsistent at times, Sargeist take the best aspects of everything produced before, and conjoined them all into one grandiose manifestation of pure old school black metal genius. The general sound of Sargeist isn't really comparable to much of that say in the original Norwegian Scene, Sargeist quite clearly have that recognizable Finnish sound, in fact he had a significant hand in helping develop that sound. It's the overall attitude and atmosphere within the recording that is comparable to bands such as old Gorgoroth and Emperor. It has always appeared to me that Shatraug is a clear believer in doing things the traditional way, and with material such as this, how can you argue?

If you've heard Behexen, which you most likely have if you're a fan of Sargeist, Hoath Torog's vocals are pretty much identical to theirs. As he's a member of both bands, that's pretty much a given, but whereas Behexen are an all out blasphemic hailstorm, Sargeist are much more brooding. Hoath Torog's vocals are utterly intense, when I say he's one of the strongest vocalists in the scene at the minute, I mean that. He coils each phrase, each word, writhing perfectly around each chord. Budding vocalists take note, this is exactly how black metal vocals should be done, delivered with an iron authority, driving the music without ever becoming distracting. The vocals have a good amount of reverb on them, as Sargeist have always done, and when done properly, such as here, add that tormented touch perfectly. The riffing is deceptively melodic, Shatraug's style here varies from fast to slow, mainly utilising traditional tremolo riffing, but with a certain almost rockish feel to it a times. The riff in “Discovering the Enshrouded Eye” for one is a good example to this. Horn is still the drummer, and adds a heady amount of brutality to the proceedings, from hyper-speed blasting and fills, to almost punk like rhythms, it compliments the melodic guitar lines flawlessly, avoiding ever becoming overpowering. My only problem? The album name. I can't help but get an image of old Lucifer standing outside your house soaked to the skin in the pouring rain, knocking to get in, and your nagging wife telling you to let him in.

Of all Shatraug's projects, and there are many of them, I can safely say this is the best release by any single one of them by far. It was a fairly unexpected drop, this album, but oh so welcome. In a scene which some may say is starting to lose sight of it roots, Let the Devil In is a modern benchmark of how it should be done for any burgeoning black metal band to strive for. Combining the 'true' ethics of old, and building upon their previous work, Sargeist have created a majestic work of tyrannical black art, spiralling oblivion. You can tell they put a hell of a lot of work into this release, because it shows. With Let the Devil In, Sargeist have evolved into something mighty. The bar is set, people.

100/100

Written for Metalcrypt

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW]Diamatregon - The Satanic Devotion

2010-11-13T17:17:00.002Z

1. Cerbere
2. Earth Rites
3. The Pilgrim's Song
4. Abode a Rats
5. Helleva Screams
6. Diamatregon
7. Demon Rides the Nuns
8. Satan is My Pride
9. Satan War Spit
10. Satanic Devotion

Usually France is reasonably reliable for black metal, a lot of the albums coming out of the country at the present time are absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately for Diamatregon though, they are certainly not one of the better acts to come out of the Grenoble region, never mind France itself.

First thing's first, it's hard to even tell initially if the band are being altogether serious or not, when you have song titles such as “Demon Rides the Nuns” and “Helleva Screams” which begs the question, 'Are they just bad at English or are they genuinely trying to be humorous?'. In which case if it's the former, I prefer bands to sing in their native language rather than embarrass themselves, and if it were the latter, which I suspect, then they should just give up altogether.

Apparently they have been around for thirteen years or so, and if this is the quality of material they are happy to produce then more power to them. On the basis of this release, I'm just glad my eardrums won't have to experience such sonic torture ever again.

The music itself completely lacks any sort of cohesion or consistency whatsoever. Right from the outset, the very first thing which you cannot in any way fail to notice is the excruciating feedback screech coming through the guitar in every single song. Leaving stuff like this in the final recording is farcical, you wouldn't find a production job as bad on this on ninety percent of any black metal demo out there today never mind for a full length album. It's actually so bad at times it quite literally did hurt my hears and I had to turn the volume down. It's pretty much the way the rest of the release goes as well. The vocals are heavily processed and as a result sound extremely unnatural, the complete lack of bass presence only manages to emphasise this. The drumming sounds like a child randomly beating a biscuit tin, infact I'd even hazard a guess that there are kids out there who could perform better behind the sticks than Antoine. The guitar riffing is the only aspect of this release which is remotely interesting, and on “The Pilgrim's Song” or “Satan is my Pride”, it at least works towards at least some way of making a sitting through the song bearable.

The Satanic Devotion is certainly an album I won't be revisiting again in a hurry, and the same can be said about the band themselves, because on the basis of this, a half-assed attempt at offensive black metal, I'll be glad never to even hear of the band again. Beneath the mind numbingly bad production attempt, the music itself just doesn't cut it, because there is not one iota of any identifying factor or aspect of this release that would set them apart from the hordes of sub-par black metal projects. I am never specifically looking for originality and revolutionary new techniques when exploring new bands, but I do expect the music to at least be able to stand on it's own two feet.

I wouldn't recommend this abomination to anyone, unless you like your black metal sounding exactly like it was recorded in a mishmash five minute session in a toolshed, then avoid. Apparently it's been re-released, but I have to ask myself, how in the name of hell did this manage to shift enough copies to warrant a re-release in the first place?

10/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Grave Digger - The Clans Will Rise Again

2010-11-11T15:35:00.003Z

1. Days Of Revenge
2. Paid In Blood
3. Hammer Of The Scots
4. Highland Farewell
5. The Clans Will Rise Again
6. Rebels
7. Valley Of Tears
8. Execution
9. Whom The Gods Love Die Young
10. Spider
11. The Piper Mcleod
12. Coming Home
13. When Rain Turns To Blood

Grave Digger need no introduction to any self respecting fan of heavy metal. Being at the forefront of the German metal scene since their debut in 1984 has engraved their name into many metal fans hearts. 2010 sees the band return to the album that many fans regard as their 'magnum opus', Tunes of War. Kilts, bagpipes, clans and war, it can only be about one thing, Scotland. In-case you've been living in a cave for the last number of years, Grave Digger play a gruff, anthemic variation of power metal.

The recent output of Grave Digger to be totally honest left a lot to be desired. Ever since the fantastic Rheingold, Grave Digger's releases have been pretty unremarkable. The Last Supper was just flat out dull and the equally boring Liberty or Death no better. Ballads of a Hangman was somewhat of an improvement but lacked the spark of previous releases. The Clans Will March Again fortunately amends this recent dip in the Digger's form, and is certainly the best since Rheingold, if not better.

What Grave Digger manage to do so well is create a levelled mixture of bombast and infectious choruses, refraining from ever entering into self indulgence. This is what makes them one of the most effective live bands you will ever see. The songs just carry over so well into the live environment, and it's where Grave Digger really shine. If you ever get the chance to see them live, I would highly recommend you do so.

Songs like “Paid in Blood”, which is pretty much certain to be a live staple with its unashamedly catchy chorus are exactly what's been missing from the Grave Digger roster recently. The album is riddled with solos and substantial, crunchy riffs, which is owed to the introduction of new guitarist Axel Ritt. He appears to have added some much needed ardour into this metal behemoth. Chris Boltendahl's vocals never change. They sound almost identical since day one, and set Grave Digger far apart from everyone else and give them their identity. Name another vocalist who sounds similar, because I can't. Technically no, he's certainly not the best by any means, but it's his token gruff accent that makes Grave Digger who they are. “Coming Home” again is another highlight of the album, as is the headstrong “Hammer of the Scots”. The obligatory ballad appears at the end, “When Rain Turns to Blood”, and to be honest is probably the weakest song on the album, certainly not one of their best ballads, it's almost as if something is stopping it from going anywhere, in the end it just trails off without really ever provoking any sort of emotion. There isn't anything quite up to the standard of songs like “Rebellion” or “William Wallace (Braveheart)”, but they're stone cold classics of not just Grave Digger themselves, but of metal itself. It's also good to see the bagpipes making a return again, and used in moderation, we wouldn't want a metal version of Runrig now would we?

This a very welcome return to form by these German veterans, it's classic Grave Digger and Grave Digger by numbers at the same time, and Grave Digger by numbers is better than ninety percent of anything in being called power metal today. It's majestic, dynamic and inspired, it's great to see they can still cut it in the studio.

87/100

Originally written for Archaic Magazine

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nocturnal Depression - Nostalgia, Fragments of a Broken Past

2010-11-03T16:14:00.003Z

1. And Fall The February Snow
2. A Life To Suffer
3. Intermezzo Pt I - Fragments Of The Past....
4. Suicidal Metal Anthems
5. Intermezzo Pt II - ... Lie Broken And Lifeless
6. Nostalgia
7. In My Dreams

Nocturnal Depression are somewhat of a cult act in the depressive black metal scene. They've been around for a good six years now and weathered the worst of the storm when the 'depressive' scene was at it's most saturated a couple of years ago. Now it's started to recede quite a bit, and Nocturnal Depression are still around, and still going strong with an album out this year, so that must must count for something at least? Add also to that they're French, and from my viewpoint the French scene is one of, if not the strongest scene operating at the present time. Without going into to much detail, it's swarming with fantastic bands.

Nostalgia – Fragments of a Broken Past or Nostalgia as I'll just call it from here in, was the début full length from Nocturnal Depression, originally released in 2006 on a limited run of tapes, and has seen a reissue on CD by Romanian label Sun and Moon. As far as releases by Nocturnal Depression go, Nostalgia has always been their strongest release, and with the re-recording and general improvement on this re-release, has only made it even better.

First impressions of the cover is that it is extremely cheesy, but the more you dwell on it, the more you realise that the cover is the perfect symbolism of what this album's whole concept is, the bleak sentimentality Nocturnal Depression are aiming to portray. Nostalgia by name, and most certainly nostalgia by nature.

From the hypnotic repetition of the opener with it's isolated guitar drifting beneath the wall of distorted riffing to the almost ballad-esque 'Lying Broken' with it's lone piano and Lord Lokhraed's jagged rasp the only other accompaniment, the album emits nothing but but nihility and hopeless melancholy. The real highlight of the album though lies within the longplayer 'Nostalgia' (of which there is a video of on the album as well), a sixteen minute suicidal dirge into a vacuum of emotions, again we have the melodic lead guitar working well with the oppressive riffing and thick bass. Think something like Nagaroth's Herbstleyd album, but substitute the rawness for melody. Even Lord Lokhraed's vocals are nigh identical to Kanwulf's, but Nocturnal Depression are much more that Nargaroth imitators. They draw the best out of early Xasthur and Forgotten Tomb as well and combine it with sublime effect. Plus when a band are able to include a Clint Eastwood movie sample in the middle of a song, they've got to be awesome, right?

The album isn't completely without fault, the drumming has always been Nocturnal Depression's weak point, and such is the case here. It's extremely hollow sounding and lacks weight behind it, it's not terrible by any means, but you can't help but notice with the standard of everything else around them. It's the guitarwork which is the real highlight of the album though, the riffing and leads have a soft, haunting tone and the riffing; foreboding, managing to keep authority and that typical black metal tone all at the same time.

Each song uses it's repetition to draw the listener in, while the album itself contains enough variation and identity throughout to make this album completely unique and a benchmark in a sub-genre full of bands who are content to sound exactly like each other. It requires a lot of listening and attention to let this album sink in, at least it did for me, but it's extremely rewarding. It's not too often you get DSBM which genuinely succeeds in being totally and utterly despondent, but when you do, it's fantastic. Nostalgia is much more than a simple black metal record, a misty eyed gaze back through life. Someone hand this man a tissue and some prozac, he needs it.

90/100

Myspace

Written for Metalcrypt

Thanks to Robert @ Sun & Moon

[ALBUM REVIEW] Shadowthrone/Funebre - Forever on the Darkside

2010-11-01T15:33:00.003Z

1. Lonely emptiness of a burning god
2. Come whore come bastard
3. Forever on the dark side
4. Az Én Poklom
5. Az Én Szenvedéstörténetem

It's not very often that both bands on a split are from the same musician, but Shadowthrone and Funebre are both the respective projects of Hungarian Khrul, though he does have some help in the guitar department for Shadowthrone with a guy by the name of Padre. I suppose one advantage to this is that with the same musicians in both projects, there's never any concerns about the other bands material. The packaging and artwork to the release is very murky and minimal, does it reflect upon the music? Not at all.

Shadowthrone are presumably named after the monumental Satyricon album, and it is instantly noticable in the riffing style Shadowthrone incorporate, Satyr's style of slow, razor sharp chop. It's a slow, dirge of black metal, but in no way doomy. It's clear that Khrul is aiming here predominantly for an under-worldly pestilential atmosphere, with help from the caustic vocal delivery together with the whispering vocals which crop up from time to time, and bass heavy sound. It is very listenable, if a little rough along the seams but it's the Funebre side of the split which is by far and large the most impressive material on this split.

You would expect with both bands sharing the same member they'd sound somewhat similar, but far from it. Khrul's involvement with fellow Hungarian act Siculicidium is crystal clear here, they sound extremely alike. The vocals vary. From the Inquisition-esque croak to a harsh rasp more akin to Shadowthrone, it's a welcome variation. It's slightly faster than the material on the Shadowthrone side of the split and where my attention with it would wane, with Funebre's material I was immersed in the ominous haze for the full fourteen minutes. 'Az En Poklom' has some fantastic triumphant riffing and warlike drumming while 'Az Én Szenvedéstörténetem' has a more mournful feel to the guitar and overall atmosphere.

This is definitely an EP worth picking up if only for the two fantastic tracks by Funebre. The Shadowthrone material isn't bad at all, but if Khrul had to pick one project to stick with, I know which one I'd prefer it to be. This is one for the fans of black metal with genuine atmosphere and feeling. If you prefer older Gorgoroth and Inquisition to norsecore such as Dark Funeral and Setherial, then it's definitely worth your time.

70/100

Thanks to Robert @ Sun & Moon

Shadowthrone Funebre

Written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Permixtio - Il Canto Dei Sepolcri

2010-10-21T00:06:00.003+01:00

1. Introduzione 02:14
2. Il Canto dei Sepolcri 06:57
3. Notturne Rievocazioni 07:08
4. Trascendenza Mistica 06:14
5. Rivela a Te Stesso l'Essenza 04:38
6. Egoico Delirio Spirituale 06:04
7. Torneremo all'Alba di un Nuovo Sole 06:00
8. Epilogo 02:15

Permixtio come from Italy and upon the back of three demos and a split have released their first full length. I have to say, I'm not too pushed on Italian black metal, from experience most of it tends to be tainted with that nauseous 'gothic' sound which is seemingly so rife in Italian black metal bands. Permixtio thank god, don't sound anything like that.

Umbra, the sole member of the band claims the band are not what is known as 'suicidal black metal' rather they go a lot deeper than that. It's true, to an extent. Yes the lyrics avoid all the pitfalls of typical DSBM, taking up the rather more thought provoking subjects of chaos theory and transcendence in place of juvenile angst about wanting to blow your brains out. Unfortunately as I can't read Latin, the lyrics mean as music to me as Egyptian hieroglyphics. Regardless of Umbra's claims, the music lies firmly rooted in DBSM ground, and the main focal point on this release lies with the atmosphere with which the guitar and vocals help conjure. The music itself for the most part is fairly slow and brooding, with the exception of scattered acoustic passages and slow guitar leads. Vocals are well done, they are sporadic, and are a throaty rasp and work well together with the enigmatic air about the rest of the music.

Apparently Permixtio is Latin for 'chaos'. Slightly misleading as this music is anything but chaotic, more a thick dirge of oppressive black metal with a dense and malign atmosphere. The riffing is ominous and drumming is tight, almost like a dense fog enshrouding the music suffocating you, and with the scathing vocals this release ticks all the right boxes. The title track with it's colossal opening riff and “Egoico Delerio Spirituale” littered with it's unhinged acoustic flutters would be but two of the highlights of this very impressive release.

As for comparisons? I suppose fellow countrymen Beatrik would be apt, as would German band Anti. It isn't forging any new paths, but what Il Canto dei Sepolcri is, is a high standard piece of entrancing, archaic black metal, and if you want DSBM which avoids the cringe-worthy theatrics synonymous with the genre, and is focused on the music and atmosphere, Permixtio are your band.

83/100

Website

Thanks to Robert @ Sun & Moon

Written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Hypomanie - Hypomanie

2010-10-20T16:28:00.003+01:00

1. Zondagmorgen 05:55
2. Heimwee 06:38
3. Herfst 06:37
4. Innocentie 05:28
5. Slaap Zacht 05:12

Hypomanie is the relatively new project of Selwin, member of other bands such as Deep-pression, Isa and Zelfhaat. They are another one of the many shoegazey black metal bands which the underground seems to be awash with recently. Ever since Alcest's debut, everyone seems to be trying their hand at it. Most of them are nothing but poor imitators, merely jumping on the bandwagon not actually aware of what the whole aesthetic of what Shoegaze was about. On the other side of the coin, you have bands such as Hypomanie who are genuinely able to replicate that vibe of wistfulness and dreamy sound bands like Slowdive pioneered and fuse it with something different.

At this stage of the game, mixing Black Metal with post-punk and shoegaze is nothing startling, Alcest opened that door before everyone else, but it's spiriting to finally hear another band who are able to carry on that sound without sounding completely and utterly contrived, Musically this EP leans more to the dreamy, nostalgic side of the shoegaze spectrum rather than the sonic deluge of My Bloody Valentine.

The guitars are light and alternate between that 80's post-punky twang and pedal washed distortion of early 90's shoegaze. If you're looking for heaviness, then look elsewhere, I'd struggle to call this EP metal at all, more dream-pop in sound than anything else. There are some heavier, more metal moments in the release when the riffing takes on a heavier more Black Metal approach, but they're few and far between. At times it reminds me of the lighter moments of lifelover, the vocals are very similar to Kim Carlsson's squeaky high pitched shriek, not dissimilar to someone dragging a wire brush down a chalkboard. It's the bass which helps give the EP it's underlying post-punk feel as well, resonating through all the distortion with a constant pulsation, giving the songs a bit of muscle from which to base everything else on. The drumming sounds programmed, but it's not a hinder at all, the light cymbal splashing and restrained rhythms add to the hypnotic atmosphere if anything. The whole feel to the EP is extremely melancholic, but at the same time manages to be almost calming in nature. It's certainly on the better side of line than most bands trying their hand at shoegazey black metal today.

Hypomnie is essentially one big hypnotic wave of distortion, all the elements that should be there, are. It captures the essence of Slowdive and depressive black metal perfectly and entwines those sounds together fantastically. It wont convert shoegaze purists though as both scenes are lightyears apart, most fans of bands like Alcest and Lifelover lie in the metal scene rather than shoegaze anyway, but if you're already a fan of those types of bands or are looking for a decent introduction to the genre, you could do alot worse.

80/100

Myspace

Thanks to Robert @ Valse Sinistre

[ALBUM REVIEW] Exaltation - Tale of Total Sickness

2010-10-12T21:03:00.002+01:00

1. Beaten, Butchered, Brutalized
2. Autostrangulation
3. Prenatal Violence
4. Crucified By Hellwrath
5. Necrobirth
6. Massive Mutilation
7. Human Bodybag
8. Intravenous Ejaculation

The first full length from German quartet Exaltation, titled Tales of Total Sickness is the follow up to their demo similarly titled “Tales of Mental Sickness”. This is my first experience with the band, and with song titles such as “Beaten, Butchered, Brutalized” I think it's safe to say what type of music I'm in for.

In short, the most accurate summary would be 'unrelenting blast beats', and upon initial listens it seems pretty hard to get past the incessant blasting. I'm being totally serious when I'm hazarding a guess that of the twenty nine minutes of this release, twenty fives of those consist of nothing but blast beats. The only time there's any respite from the unmerciful hellish blast beats are the occasional breakdowns in the middle of some of the songs where it's more of a slow pattern. It's on the rare occasion that when the foot is taken off the gas that the album is actually fairly promising, the breakdowns have a decent groove to them and you'll find that surprisingly enough, there are actually other instruments on this release besides the drums. The guitar, when I can hear it beyond the excessively loud drumming, is fast, typical death metal riffing. It's tight and rapid and surprisingly well played. I also think I can just about hear a bit of bass in there at times, or that could just be me imagining things again. Who knows, it genuinely is impossible most of the time to distinguish what's going on beyond the drumming. The vocals are your average brutal death metal guttural, never ever changing pitch, nothing really remarkable about them. They achieve what they're set out to, and that's about it.

I can't help but think the band have tried to use the drumming as a selling point of their album, and as a result have succeeding in completely choking out the rest of the band who seem to be pretty decent at what they do . Yes, we get that you've finally figured out how to blast beat, but that doesn't make you in any way good, you've just ruined what could have otherwise been a listenable release.

I prefer my Death Metal with sincerity and atmosphere, so-called 'Brutal' death metal such as this just comes across as sterile and a bit of a gimmick to be honest. If you want death metal drumming done well, take a leaf out of Autopsy or Impetigo's book. They know what they're doing, and how to mix things up a bit.

As it is, this is just another one of those ten-a-penny 'brutal as can be' bands, and they're all interchangeable. If that's really your thing though, and you don't mind drumming which is not just off the Richter scale, but fucks the whole thing up completely, then give it a go. As for me? Filed under 'Must Try Harder'. Tales of Total Sickness? Tales of Total Blandness would be more fitting.

21/100

Myspace

Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW] Mare Erythraeum - S/T

2010-10-10T22:18:00.003+01:00

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV

Mare Erythraeum is the debut EP from the Hungarian oddballs of the same name, recently released on the Valse Sinistre label. It's an extremely brief showcase of the band's material, and trying to pigeon hole this into any sort of genre classification at all for me has proved quite fruitless. The music straddles the borderlines between some sort of ferocious discordant black metal and a bleak psychotic form of post-industrial.

If you were to take the Odinist era abstraction of Blut Aus Nord and blend it with the expansive, spacey black metal performed by Darkspace, it could come close in describing the sound of Mare Erythraeum. The first track is an intro of sorts, a disjointed guitar tone backed up by a slow drum pattern, although I don't particularly see it as a separate intro, as the EP is better viewed as one entity rather than four separate tracks. The whole sound is extremely unhinged, as if it could 'unravel' at any time, the guitar never really follows any particular pattern, its extremely unconventional in tone, the riffs don't particularly sound like riffs at times, descending into an eerie wail, and at other times it takes up a higher, spacey tone. The vocals are fantastic, as if what I think is true, that the band are going for a deranged mentally unstable sound, they fit perfectly. They're a wretched sort of crying, but avoid the corniness of many so-called 'depressive' black metal bands. The drumming is brisk, pretty much standard fare, arguably the most conventional thing in the release, but still managing in keeping with the surroundings.

In the second track, constantly throughout the song there is a errant electronic beeping constantly chipping away, and the atmosphere this creates is incredible, almost like an abandoned satellite perennially orbiting nothing but terror, and the knowledge there's nothing that will ever break that orbit. It's something I've never ever really come across before, it's extremely unique.

It's fantastic work, as I've stated, it's impossible really to pin a sound on these guys, but it needs to be heard by anyone who remotely calls themselves a fan of Blut Aus Nord, Darkspace and industrial/spacey black metal in general. It's unique black metal wavering on the dizzy edge of sanity. If you want it, be advised, you'd need to get it quick, as it was only pressed in 100 copies. The only points that are lost are due to the length, it's too brief an affair, but hopefully we'll be seeing a full length soon, and seeing these guys making waves too.

95/100

Originally written for Metalcrypt
Thanks to Robert @ Valse Sinistre Productions

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Godless North - Fimbulvetr

2010-10-09T19:53:00.003+01:00

Disc 1
1. Intro 01:39
2. Glory of the Past Returns 06:17
3. Dark Skies over Vinland 05:56
4. Under the Veil of the Night 07:23
5. Winter of Cleansing 07:16
6. Upon Heathen Battlefields 06:16
7. Dawn of a New Empire 07:50
8. Wisdom of the Ancient Cults 08:53
9. ...The Wolf Unleashed (Outro) 00:47
Disc 2
1. Intro 01:33
2. The Fading Cause of Light's Crusade 03:55
3. Sombre Reflections of Hate's Crusade 07:44
4. Carnage on Holy Soil 04:26
5. In Mourning for the Night 02:54
6. Dunkelheit (Burzum cover) 07:36
7. Intro 00:51
8. Northern Hordes 04:16
9. Wolf's Kin 04:02
10. Everlasting Winter Winds 03:32
11. Warmoon (Outro) 03:47

Fimbulvetr is the re-release of Godless North's debut album Summon the Age of Supremacy and a compilation of the band's demo material and split work. Basically it's a retrospective look at all the bands work prior to the hiatus in 2003, and at the same time a marker for the beginning of the new line-up. My only previous experience with Godless North lies with the split with French band Chemin de Haine, which was unabashed Darkthrone worship. Luckily for them, I happen to like a bit of decent Darkthrone worship every now and again.

The overall sound of Summon the Age of Supremacy could be comparable to a continual blast of needle sharp gales. It's extremely piercing, but not in an discomforting way. The guitar work is standard fair, high velocity tremolo riffing with a thin razor edged tone, and together with the barbed-wire, echoed vocals and chaotic drumming it equates to one thing. Pure old school Black Metal carnage. There isn't a whole heap of variation though, and after repeating listenings it can end up becoming derivative, as do most Darkthrone clones. The drumming is excessively repetitive though, continuous blasting only ever interrupted every once in a while by a short fill before falling back into the blasting. Coming to a band like this though and looking for originality and innovation is ignorance though. It's what you would call 'cult black metal', and doesn't try to be anything else.

The second disk is a bit of a duck shoot really, the tracks off the split with Chemin de Haine are similar enough to the album tracks apart from the atmosphere being a bit more suppressed and the drumming is a lot more professional and varied. 'Mourning for the Night' is from the Black Metal Endsieg II split, and shows a more premature form of the band we saw on Summon the Age of Supremacy, the drumming is hollow and sloppy, and lacks the icy atmosphere of the full length, and sounds like it was recorded in a biscuit tin. The same applies for the demo tracks at the end of the disc, with the horribly wet and weak guitar tone and nigh inaudible drumming. All this is forgiveable though as it was demo material and the band were just finding their feet. Hell, they adore the old school so much they even included a cover of 'Dunkelheit', which isn't bad but doesn't really hold a candle to the original.

Summon the Age of Supremacy is good for what it is, it's highly satisfying reverence of the genres progenitors, simple raw black metal going for that glacial atmosphere, and it succeeds in that. It does get old after repeated listenings though, and this is it's main downfall, It has limited replay value and lacks depth to a certain extent. When you've heard one track you might as well have heard them all, and thats where the old guard could work so well, their variation throughout the albums. The second disk is really hit and miss, but if you're a fan, and haven't got the rest of the bands material then Fimbulvetr is definitely worth the money. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it is enjoyable cold and abrasive black metal.

Originally written for Metalcrypt

68/100

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW] Pantheon - Vargrstrike

2010-10-06T23:58:00.002+01:00

This version of Vargrstrike by American NSBM trio Pantheon recently saw reissue with cult label Darker Than Black Record with the band's Thangorodrim demo originally from 1998. Musically, Vargrstrike on a whole to be totally honest, is rather flat and unremarkable, which I suppose is keeping consistent with all the 'middle of the road' bands that happen to be a part of the mini-scene Pantheon is from. From what I've heard of Gestapo SS, Valaskjalf, Hrodvitnir and now Pantheon, they've all got one thing in common, they're as dull as dishwater.

Vargrstrike isn't a terribly bad release, it's just there's nothing which stands out, nothing which would ever get me excavating the CD back out from my record pile to listen to again. Then you have the lyrics which primarily deal with paganism, but sometimes veer off into ridiculous NS territory. I'm no prude when it comes to lyrics, national socialist tendencies don't bother me at all in music, but when you're screaming out “Seig Heil” constantly for the first half of a song, for example in 'The Atavism into Ginnungagap', it's pretty hard to take them seriously at times. This really just leads me to believe Vargrstrike is more of a political plinth than it is showcase of the bands talent.

You can tell each member is good at what they do in the band, but it does not gel together well at all. The guitars are the best thing about the release, the riffing is one of the few things which could hold my interest for any period of time during Vargrstrike. It's typical black metal tremolo riffing and never gets overly irritating or repetitive. What's that I hear also? Bass on an underground black metal release? Yep, Reubus has a distinctive bass sound on the release, and it's refreshing to actually hear bass for once, there's only one problem though, it's way too loud and just ends up pushing the guitar sound down through the mix. The drumming again, is fairly competent. The drummer you can tell knows what he is doing, but again the production kills them, the snare sound is way to high and piercing, inadvertently throwing your attention away from everything else, and what Pantheon have succeeded in doing is rendering the one stand out aspect of Vargrstrike completely toothless, and that's the guitarwork. The vocals are a low rasp, and sound as if they were performed sitting down. They have no power or conviction in their delivery. They're slightly Rob Darken-esque, but completely lack his power, Graveland are obviously a big influence on the bands music, but they don't get anywhere close to the epic feeling for which latter day Graveland are famous. The production on the album is just rough and shoddy and one of the biggest pit-falls of the release. It may have been a slight more listenable with an even production.

The three bonus tracks, which are the Thangorodrim demo are significantly more promising than the album itself which is rather strange, back then the band seemed to be more synth oriented and the drumming isn't half as annoying as in Vargrstrike and the music is better produced. For a demo to have better production than an actual album is pretty poor it has to be said. Thangorodrim could actually pass off well for a decent underground black metal release, and with riffing like such is present in 'Divine Frames of Luciferian Light' with it's monstrous elite atmosphere , such is also the direction the band should have taken for Vargrstrike. When it comes down to it, this album has no real personality at all, and Reubus himself has stated himself that he doesn't care at all for this release, and I can't say I care a whole heap either to be honest. When the only saving grace is the three bonus tracks at the end from a demo release, it's a distinctly poor show all round.

28/100

Website

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nocturnal Blood - Devastated Graves

2010-10-06T00:38:00.003+01:00

Debut full release Devasted Graves – The Morbid Celebration from the occult US black metal act Nocturnal Blood has finally arrived. Previously only having heard their The True Spirit of Old demo, which was a fantastic piece of old-school South American-influenced venom, I was fairly eager to get this one on the decks. How does it shape up? Extremely well. A forewarning though, if you prefer your black metal abound with sugar coated synths, this is most certainly not for you. On the other hand, if you prefer your black metal primitive and downright dripping with filth, something akin to Beherit and Blasphemy, then look no further.

Upon the initial listen, it's quite clear the band aren't at all ever going to venture into new pastures, trying out something unique or less than ordinary, it was clear as daylight upon seeing the cover what type of music I would be in for. Devastated Graves... is pure homage to the old-school black metal and death metal scenes, worshiping at the altars of Beherit, Sarcofago and Autopsy. Nocturnal Blood is just a guy playing the music he loves, with no desire at all for originality or anything modern, and that's exactly why I love this release.

The music itself is basically the bastard child of Autopsy and Beherit. Long, slow, procession-like dirges interchanged with chaotic riffing and turbulent flaying on the drums. Occasionally we are also treated to short, twisted guitar leads, such as "Impure Devotion" and "Chaos Blood", and also some catchy riffing. The intro riff to "Ritual Lust" is monstrous. The vocals on the first half of the album are a deep death guttural, pretty much indecipherable and soaked in echo and reverb, while towards the last few songs, Ghastly Apparition opts for a nauseating whisper extremely like those off Drawing Down the Moon. Couple this with the stifling production it almost sounds as if this record was recorded in a cavern. I'll leave that up to you to decide whether that's a good thing or not, as for me, it's the perfect production for material like this. Some slight complaints about the album mainly lie with the drumming. The snare at times appears too high in the mix, and at times I can hear the infamous 'pots and pans' sound championed by Lars Ulrich, for example in track one "Devastated Graves". It's only a small complaint though as the rest of the album is such a high standard, it can be ignored.

There's no technical garbage here, little variation. The chances are if you are a fan of this type of music, Archgoat, Beherit, Morbosidad, Teitanblood and such like that, it's exactly how you expect it. This isn't black/death metal for the weak willed. If you're looking for originality and technicality, then you're looking down the wrong road, if you like your music putrid and with an extremely ominous and absolutely evil atmosphere, this is sure to please. A fine first album by a band I now have on my 'watch list'.

80/100

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Originally written for Metalcrypt

[ALBUM REVIEW]Nuclear Throne - Demo IV

2010-10-05T23:37:00.004+01:00

First impressions of Finnish band Nuclear Throne aren't that invigorating. First off we have the terribly generic band name, in a genre of metal which off the top of my head can think of countless bands with either 'Nuclear' or 'Throne' in their name, their name isn't going to make them stand out from the throng of sub-par talentless hacks who are continuously swarming in the lower echelons of the genre. In the extreme metal genre, to stand out from everyone else, first impressions are everything, and what is the first thing people notice about a band? It's name of course. It's as if one member spoke to the other and said “What's the most clichéd Black Metal band name you can think of?” and this was the tripe they thought up. Couple the name with the 'Hey look I can use photoshop!' cover, comprised of yep you guessed it, a nuclear explosion tacked over the back of a black background with the logo down the sides in finest Times New Roman which looks like it was thrown together in about five minutes, saying it's not a great start is a bit of an understatement.

Well enough of disparaging the external, ultimately it's all about the content. So how does the music stand up then? Not much better I'm afraid. The vocals are a deep death guttural and are jarringly loud in the mix, and on drawn out growls where the vocalists pitch rises, it's pretty akin to someone dragging a piece of plywood along a concrete floor. Technically the vocals are actually pretty good, it's just the horrendous production on them completely nullifies anything positive about them. The guitar work is heavy, but that doesn't make it good. The riffs are the fairly simple run of the mill black/thrash type, and the guitar tone is extremely tinny and thin, probably only exaggerated by the complete lack of bass anywhere on this release. Add to that the ridiculously predictable and flat drum programming the whole way through the release, it ultimately all comes off a bit lackadaisical. Music about nuclear devastation should be full of blast beats and double bass, not some weakly programmed limp nonsense. The music just feels bottomless and lacks any sort of depth or dynamics whatsoever. There are some positives about this release though, namely in the last song 'Gas Mask Cult'. The vocals here refrain from scraping the roof of your skull like the previous two songs, and has a rather effective main riff at the mid-point before bursting into a completely unexpected and wild solo that closes out the song.

When it comes down to it though, two minutes of acceptable material on even a three song release is just not acceptable though. They've been around a few years already and have a further three previous demos under their belt, and to be brutally honest, if they keep this up, I can only see it staying that way. The band need to concentrate on the riffs, as I can only recall one memorable riff in the whole release, and potentially hiring a real drummer as the music suffers badly without one. Either that or use a better drum program. This release on a whole is pretty sterile and completely lacks any sort of punch or impact at all, and when your 'war' metal lacks any sort of ammunition, it's pretty futile isn't it?

Myspace

25/100

Originally written for www.archiac-magazine.com

Just my 2 cents...

2010-09-10T01:29:00.003+01:00

One of the things of which I feel I have to speak out against is the constant condemnation Ireland's metal scene, not by metalheads throughout world and Europe, no, but the very people who claim to be a part of this scene themselves.

So often have I been talking to an Irish 'metaller' at a festival in Europe, at a bar or major gig (such as Iron Maiden) and you get the same old attitude and comments every time; “Ah there's never any good gigs on” or the exceedingly fustrating “Ah sure all metal bands from Ireland are shit!”.
Why is it that this attitude so prevalent among metallers in Ireland? Jealousy? Laziness? Recession? Unrealistic expectations? Arguably a mixture of all.

The most recent, and notable casualty of of this attitude and ignorance would be the recent closing of Sentinel Records in Dublin. Sentinel had initially began as a label in early 2000 and soon developed into a webstore and late 2004 opened up shop in Temple Bar. As of June, the shop closed its doors for the final time, and what was an asset to many metal fans throughout Ireland and even indeed Europe has all but been lost, with only the webstore remaining. Whenever news first came around that a dedicated metal store was opening up in the capital, the underground was buzzing with people speculating how great this was for the scene, but therein the problem lay. The underground alone is never enough to support a shop dedicated to one style of music, especially in a country like Ireland whose whole population is shy of that of London by a million or so. These days for independent record shops such as Sentinel, gaining the support of those outside the underground, casual metal fans and such is paramount, and there is most certainly enough of them in Ireland. I have spoken to many people from Ireland, mentioning Sentinel only to receive blank stares in response. Yes, it would be ignorance to deny the recession had exerted an extreme influence on the closure of Sentinel, with music now available cheaper online and the “Sure you can get it for free” attitude of todays youth, but ignorance of many people who never realised it even existed was also another undeniable factor. Lack of publicity and advertisement in this day and age as an argument just doesn't fly, any quick internet search or one of the many flyers that were present at gigs in the country would have told you that. It's not that the shop didn't put the effort in, moreso the metal listening public never put the effort in. The key for shops like this in the eighties and nineties was the youth who had disposable income, and before the internet came around, if you wanted your music, you had to make the effort to obtain it. Now the same youth with disposable income are more content with downloading their music fix for free, and it's the genuine fans who actually care for the music that suffer. Even the underground scene itself has to take some of the flak, many people championed the shop about how great it was, and how sorely missed it would be, but how many actually visited on even a semi-regular basis and bought something? Guaranteed not too many. The most annoying aspect about the whole thing is, that but a handful of people, no-one will even bat an eyelid that it's gone. And there most certainly will never be another one on the island again when The Soundcellar closes, and that's only a matter of time.

I couldn't help but laugh at a recent facebook group which had been set up recently with many people requesting a metal festival in the country. Who were you expecting to set this up then? You expect a Wacken or a Hellfest in Ireland? How incredibly naïve can some people get? If anything it's an indication of the aforementioned people in the paragraph before who are completely and utterly detached from the scene as a whole, never mind the cogs and machinery of how the scene actually operates in the first place. The scary thing there was a few thousand people in this group. These people seem to expect gigs and festivals handed to them on a silver platter, it's not like ordering a fucking carryout, it requires absolute blood sweat and tears to even begin planning. No matter how much you harry and heckle, no-one is going to do it for you, the bottom line is if you want it so much, get off your asses and do it yourself. Maybe then you'll see how difficult it is.
The thing is with a country like Ireland, large metal festivals are just not feasible. The cost for a Graspop or Hellfest sized festival is astronomical, and if you think that it could work on an island miles from mainland Europe, with a population lesser than that of greater London then more fool you. Even with all the fairweather fans and the underground put together you still wouldn't get anywhere near enough to break even. Festivals rely heavily on external traffic for much of their income. Take for example Hellfest and Wacken, why do they work? Simple, their location is central to all of Europe with easy access, not even taking into account the significantly larger population of their countries themselves. How many people would be bothered with the hassle of flying out to an island for a festival, when they could get to similar a fraction of the price on their doorstep? Then you have the added costs of transporting bands over via plane. At the end of the day, it just wouldn't work, and it never will.
That's not saying that no metal festival would ever work in Ireland, far from it, smaller to medium sized festivals could certainly work if there was a lot more participation from the guilty parties. People have tried in the past, there have been numerous smaller metal festivals. But every single one has failed heavily time and time again. Most notable of these was Day of Darkness, which struggled on for a good six years making extreme losses every year, and why? Ireland just doesn't have the numbers in the scene to make it work with the bands it was bringing over. Organizers were , and still do have blinkered expectations as to what will pull in the crowds over here. Going by what a portion of the underground would like to see does not mean the thats what the rest of the population want to see. When it comes down to it, bands like Watain, Doomsword, Candlemass and Desaster with a rake of locals bands tacked onto the end of the bill will not fill the ranks when they can't even fill the venues independently when gigging in the capital city. If there ever is to be a successful festival in the country then organizers will have to swallow their pride and bring in a few of the more mainstream bands that the younger generation would want to see. It would be a task, but there's no reason at all why it wouldn't work.

Gig attendances in the country, and lack of gigs are always a talking point, but ultimately it boils down to two things, again laziness, and ideas beyond peoples stations. One quick look at the gig listings for Dublin on last fm shows a plethora of metal gigs between now and Christmas, nevermind local gigs listed on metalireland. Why don't more people know about these gigs? It's not that the bands are in anyway too obscure or lack of promotion. Far from it, I come across many flyers for gigs and a few clicks on the internet will also bring results. Again it's the fairweather metal fan in this country seems to expect everything to be at their fingertips. The concept of 'if you want something, do it yourself' seems alien to them. “Why aren't suchandsuch playing here but they are in England?” is all too common an occurrence. If you stopped for a minute to think, 'How much would it cost to bring them over? Would they really pull enough of a crowd to make it feasible money wise?'. At the end of the day, the bands are out touring to make money, and it is even more important these days with faltering record sales, because if a band is going to lose a heap of money flying over to an island where no-one wants to see them, what really is the point? Many people could do with putting their selves in the shoes of a few of the gig promoters in this country and see how hard it actually is, they work their asses off twenty four seven, around daily jobs bringing bands over for next to no profit at all, sometimes even losses, just for music you want to hear. If you really think you can do better, them try it yourself and see how long you cut it. Just don't come crying there's nothing on when you haven't made an ounce of effort to look yourself.

The local metal scene of late is actually starting to thrive again. It may not be instantly noticeable but there are an extremely healthy amount of good bands doing the rounds. Too often you hear people slating the quality of homegrown metal out of the country, but I tend to think of this as just a mixture of laziness where if it isn't put in front of you, it simply doesn't exist. Envy also plays a part, people hear of so many bands coming out of England and Europe, and don't even realise what's sitting right on their doorstep. Just because it isn't plastered over the pages of Terrorizer doesn't mean it isn't there. There is a lot more to Irish metal than just Thin Lizzy and Primordial. A lot of local bands grind away 24/7 gigging all round the country to poor crowds, and as seems to be the attitude with many in this country, because they are Irish that automatically makes them shit. Yes there are a lot of sub-standard bands doing the rounds, but that is far outweighed by the talented ones. With a bit of effort they can be filtered out. The problem with a lot of the locals bands is that they sit back and moan about people not attending gigs and how in all it's a pointless affair, expecting fame or a record label to arise some day out of the blue. It doesn't work like that, and seems to be a big fault with bands in this country. Primordial and Waylander never got international record deals by resting on their laurels and waiting for a record executive to knock on their door one day. It takes unfathomed determination and belief to achieve, and many bands in Ireland could easily do it, but never will purely because of their attitude. Take for example Gama Bomb, who only a couple of years ago were touring every backstreet bar in the country, and as of last year were signed to high flyers Earache. Gama Bomb are not a wholly original, or in my opinion a good band, but if you put yourself out there enough and grab any support slot you can in a different country, as they did, then for god sake go for it. Then it is only a matter of time.

You could argue that Finland's metal scene is absolutely thriving, and with a population similar to that of Ireland, you be forgiven for thinking we're hard done by. Many factors attribute to this, but in my opinion this has more to do with Ireland's thick rooted conservative Catholicism than anything else. At the end of the day I'm not saying you have to support the scene, no-one should be forced to go to gigs that don't interest them, but when you don't make any effort at all you have no right to complain about the state of the scene. The scene is exactly what you make of it. It could be a hell of a lot worse, saying it's shit just doesn't fly with me.

[ALBUM REVIEW]Christian Mistress - Agony & Opium

2010-09-08T21:04:00.003+01:00

The infamous Fenriz has been on a bit of a 'true' metal crusade of late, championing many bands he believes to be keeping the 'flame of old' burning. One of these bands is the Washington five piece, Christian Mistress. Having just been signed to 20 Buck Spin on the back of their critically acclaimed demo last year, their debut album has just hit the shelves and is a piece of traditional heavy metal straight from the textbooks of Warlock and Judas Priest. In short, 'Agony & Opium' is six, to the point tracks of pure refined classic heavy metal, centred around duelling guitar leads and the sharp vocal performance of frontwoman Christine Davis.

Straight from the off, the twin guitar attack of 'Riding on the Edges' lets you know what you're up against. The vocals then come in and are reminiscent of an amalgamation of Doro and Dawn Crosby. Technically, the vocals are pretty below par, but it's the absolute grit and honesty they are delivered with that makes them so fantastic. They may be frayed around the edges, but then again in metal's golden era, what wasn't? I'll take vocals like these over processed, commercialised Lacuna Coil clones any day of the week. The vocals are surprisingly infectious, take for example the chorus of 'Desert Rose' or the ending verse to 'Home in the Sun', I find it very hard not to involuntarily sing along to half this album even while writing this. 'Desert Rose' is an absolute stormer of a track, one of the highlights of the album with Christine's vocals over the NWOBHM-esque twin guitar leads of Ryan and Oscar tearing their way through the song. Finishing up with a fitting, tasteful solo of which there are many throughout the album, never entering the territory of aimless masturbation, if you didn't know otherwise you'd swear blind these guy were thirty years older than the really are. And that is most certainly a good thing. The bass is fairly prominent in the album, at times utilising the famous Harris gallop, and others retaining a more conventional style and holding up the rest of the music.
The B side to the album is just as strong as the A, if not even more so. 'Poison Path' is the only song which is retained from the demo, and is given to customary facelift to album standards, and has a heavy Diamond Head vibe to the whole thing. 'Black Vigil' again is three short minutes dripping with the intensity of the eighties and before you know it you're at the last track already. It isn't long in coming, the album is short, but the sheer enjoyment you get from this unfortunately just accentuates this. 'Omega Stone' starts out extremely slow, almost ballad like. 'Heresy!' you say? Not quite, for it is done tastefully and is possibly Christine's best performance on the album. It kicks up gear towards the middle of the song and sends the album out in a blaze with duelling solos, galloping basslines and frenetic drumming. The drumming on the album is the only thing which could be described as being 'standard', holding together well, dictating the tempo of the album. Not that it's a complaint, but when set against the rest of the musicians, it's hard to focus on anything else but them.

Christine may be no Doro, but she certainly has the balls to cut it with the rest of them, When you get a song which makes you want to clench your fist and sing along, you know you're on to a good thing, and there's six of them here.
Unfortunately the thing with Christian Mistress is, with a raw DIY production like this, they will never break into the 'big time', which is a crying shame. Twenty five years ago it would be a whole different story, and this is why metal in the underground continues to trounce the tame sterilized muck being passed off as Classic Metal these days by the major parties, because it lacks the most important thing of all; heart.
One thing Christian Mistress are not is subdued, they're a band doing what they love and not bowing to any trends or pressure, and for that I love it. For anyone who appreciates their metal littered with shredding leads and the fire of the eighties, then I don't think I need to say much more than go out and get this.

97/100

Merch

[ALBUM REVIEW]Al-Namrood - Atba'a Al-Namrood

2010-09-08T14:11:00.003+01:00

Al-Namrood are relatively recent on the scene. They play a brutal form of symphonic black metal with a twist. What is this so called 'twist' I hear you say? Well rather than playing on their new Casio's they got for Christmas and trying to emulate Dimmu Borgir, Al-Namrood are rather more attached to their roots, infusing black metal with wisps of traditional Middle Eastern folk music. Upon hearing they came from the metal wasteland that is Saudi Arabia, my interest was peaked. Although unlike many other countries, Saudi Arabia has it's own socio-political factors as to why metal isn't a widely performed genre in the country. Considering public music performance is banned in Saudi Arabia and 'Western-ised' music is still heavily taboo, it is extremely surprising to come across a band playing a genre which is built upon anti-religious sentiments and nihilism. Considering this, it is refreshing to see them breaking the mould and bearing the flag for the genre's future in the country, as these guys and Mephisophilus (who are the same guys) are the first black metal band to have a release of this nature from the country.

'Atba'a' Al-Namrood' is the name of the EP which is the band's debut offering. It clocks in at a short twenty minutes, and opener 'Atba'a Al-Namrood' sets the mood and atmosphere perfectly with its simmering, ethnic introduction, and combined with the drumming which is a mixture of traditional Middle-Eastern patterns and more typical metal rhythms which are used with tact and refrain from ever entering pretentious territory. Much more invigorating than the usual aimless blasting or lazy programming so common with naïve, fledgling black metal bands. The guitars are set very low in the mix and completely overpowered by the vocals. This is the stand out problem of the release. Just when there's an interesting passage with everything else, the vocals come in and completely smother everything else beneath them, suffocating all the instruments in the mix, and most notably on the guitar as it already sounds like a swarm of bees in a can. The guitar does get to shine a bit more on the second track 'Fe Zafraz Almouz' as the vocals are less oppressive, and it's pretty much standard fare tremolo picking and slow dirges which hark back to the likes of Celtic Frost. The vocals are sufficient, nothing more nor less really. They do enough to fit the music, with Mukadars opting for a more restrained, sinister style rather than all out aggression. When they aren't completely overpowering, such as in tracks two or four, they are certainly enjoyable. 'Fe Zafraz Almouz' would be the strongest song on this release, as the folk style is used to good effect with the steady riffing and drumming. One of the main problems with this EP is the guitar, whereas it is actually fairly interesting in track two where you can hear it clearly, it is also incredibly amateurish in tracks one and three, incorporating all of the traits of 'bedroom' black metal everywhere, with that heavy hanging static sound which sounds as if there's only one or two notes being played for much of the song. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not comparing the actual band to any of your 'Johnny-come-lately' one man cookie cutter's, they're a lot more talented than that. It's just the guitar work one song is completely uninspired, and the next it is in a different league altogether, The last track 'Youm Tusar Nar Aljaheem' is along with track two, the strongest here. The guitar here has a distinct arabic feel to it as well and along with the keys create an extremely fantastic atmosphere, it's almost as if this song could be the soundtrack to some ancient demon summoning in Arabic lore. The vocals keep their place well, and helps set a fitting closer to the EP.

The drumming and the atmosphere on this release are certainly the strong points. The guitar work is too inconsistent, where one minute it's considerably varied, playing some Middle Eastern inspired riff, the next it's playing derivative dross you'd expect to hear from a spotty 'misunderstood' middle class teenager sitting in his bedroom. The vocals are competent enough for the release when they aren't drowning everything else in the song, and considering it's the bands first effort and the country it's from, they certainly get plus marks for that. Bass is non-existent, even though there is a bass player credited in the linear notes. It is more than likely the awful production has nullified any bass presence.
It is fantastic to hear of bands like these starting to make waves out of countries like Saudi Arabia, and more-so whenever they are incorporating music from their own culture, and this will certainly play into their hands in the future if they keep with this concept, but on the basis of this EP they need to work on the basics of black metal before improving on anything else. Remove the lacklustre guitar riffs which crop up and concentrate on developing a sound like that of the fourth track. Some slight variation or distinguishing factor in the vocals wouldn't go amiss either nor would some more bass on the drumming. Adding the one thing which is missing completely, bass guitar would definitely be a wise move, because if Al-Namrood are going for a Middle Eastern sound, then they should take note from other 'warm' sounding black metal bands such as those from the Hellenic scene as bass is paramount to their sound and I certainly feel it would be a significant cog in the sound they are aiming for. If they were to follow these they will certainly begin to go places.
As of writing this review, the band have two full lengths out, so I believe they must be doing something right, and I will most certainly check those out based on the merits of this release, but based on 'Atba'a Al Namrood' there is ample room for significant improvement to the metal side of their sound, but that can almost be forgiven considering they come from a country who's first metal release on came out in 1999. Well there's one thing that lots of people believe, and that's the best black metal comes from countries with the harshest landscapes and political/religious histories.. Lets see if that's true then?

65/100

Myspace

[ALBUM REVIEW]Mournblade - Time's Runnin' Out

2010-07-03T23:01:00.010+01:00

The main attraction initially to ‘Mournblade’ was their connection to Michael Moorcock’s Elric saga. Me being the Moorcock geek that I am had to listen to this as soon as I could. Sister sword to the soul stealing hellblade ‘Stormbringer’, ‘Mournblade’ completely robbed me of all my attention for a brief, but extraordinary twenty five minutes.

‘Time’s Running Out’ was the debut by this all but forgotten NWOBHM band and has drifted into the dusty vaults of time with numerous other bands that fell by the wayside at the back end of the scene. Many of those bands have regained a cult following almost, acts such as Desolation Angels, Virtue and Hell, due to the internet and/or underground labels re-releasing old material. This is something ‘Mournblade’ should look into for the future, because frankly material like this deserves to be heard.

‘Battlezone’ opens the album, and is, in a nutshell, everything the NWOBHM was all about. Lyrics about war, gritty guitar riffing, an infectious chorus coupled with the token blistering guitar solos so synonymous with this music, how could you possibly ask for more? The production isn’t great, infact it’s pretty dismal, but it’s that low-fi DIY quality that gives this release so much character. The vocals are delivered by a figure only known as ‘Drunken Mullet’, and really couldn’t be more apt, as his voice gives the impression of that boozed up, overweight, patch-jacketed fan who sits at the back of the gig at the bar swaying in his stool singing every word from his heroes in front of him. Influences shine clear, similar to most bands from the era, Motorhead play a large part in the whole attitude, and the layer of keyboard has a heavy air of Deep Purple about them.
The rest of the album doesn’t quite stay at the same grade as ‘Battlezone’, but ‘Sidewinder’ comes close with its brisk pace, slick soloing and brash hard rock style of the guitars. It’s almost as if ‘The Who’ recorded a metal song with an intoxicated Roger Daltrey. The vocalist can also execute a mean scream as heard in ‘Hunter Killer’, though he’s no Halford.
Not the entire album is flawless NWOBHM though, ‘Titanium Hero’ is an odd, futuristic number, a fairly repetitive riff is repeated throughout the whole song which lacks the contagious passages the first four songs contained, but is more of a song which you go to the gig and yell the words as loud and aimlessly as you can. The ridiculous intro which sounds like a cut-out from Dr. Who could have been dropped though. The last song returns more to the style of the start of the album with the focus on the lead guitar and gruff vocals.

It’s bands like this which in their heyday toured all the dim lit, grotty old bars of London, and I can only wish I was there back then. Only one band from that scene ever made it ‘big’, and I think we all know who that was, but ‘Mournblade’ could have been up there with the likes of ‘Cloven Hoof’, ‘Angel Witch’ and ‘Satan’ had things went their way, but as is the story with so many other bands from that scene, they have been designated to a lifetime in obscurity, save for those denim jacketed NWOBHM aficionados still marvelled by the scene which started it all. This is long out of print though, but still attainable if you don't mind spending a few pennies on ebay. In brief, if you’re at all a fan of the NWOBHM scene, this is definitely worth hearing.

86/100

Website

Mediafire

[ALBUM REVIEW] Windbruch - Collision of the Worlds

2010-06-10T23:12:00.006+01:00

According to ‘I.O’ the creative force behind one man Russian Band Windbruch, ‘Collision of the Worlds’ is, according to the aforemented, “A Story about a person who is trying to capture his visions and fulfil his dreams, which in the beginning were unimaginable, in the end become reality. It’s an album about dreams, desires, and otherworldly feelings.”
An intriguing foreword and it certainly is an ambitious attempt at creating atmospheric black metal as a concept album on an extremely low budget.
This is the band’s debut release, out on Romanian label ‘Sun & Moon’ and is extremely nature inspired, dripping with influence from atmospheric black metal titans Wyrd and Drudkh. The first track is a simple introduction, purposefully serving as an opener to the album or ‘journey’, with a lightly picked guitar backed up with a similar pattern on the bass, setting a very solemn tone for the album, and this lasts for pretty much the whole album. For all it is ‘atmospheric’ it is also just as ‘depressing’ and could easily be slotted into the DSBM side of things at times, but it’s much more than just run of the mill depressive black metal flipped off as ‘atmospheric’ due to a few samples scattered here and there and an excessive amount of reverb on the vocals, for the guitar riffs undulate with intensity and grandiosity in the same way Drudkh could in ‘Autumn Aurora’. Okay, they are maybe not quite as good, but they are certainly getting there and a lot more can be said about the guitar work in this album than the abundance of third rate Darkthrone riffing doing the rounds these days in this scene. There is more than enough variety in the guitar playing to keep your attention, with lulling picking transforming into convulsive riffing and anguished lead guitar and so forth. I will pick a gripe with the lead guitar though, when it does appear, such as ‘Day VII (Stairway to Heaven)’ and especially the ‘Theme of Laura’ cover, I can’t help but notice it sounds slightly out of tune. Whether this was intentional or not, only IO will know, but it removes from the otherwise fantastic songwriting from IO.
Vocals in this album are very sparse, the main focus in the album is on the soundscapes being created by the other instruments, but when the vocals do appear they are a rather hollow rasp, very distant, and add to the detached atmosphere brilliantly. For once in a black metal album, the bass also plays a significant role, holding the music together cohesively. The drumming I believe is computerised, from what I can tell, but doesn’t really detract all that much from the listening.
Sampling is used a lot in the albums, and at times it just gets irritating, breaking up otherwise promising passages, and wasting time. This is one thing that gets on my nerves with a lot of bands, and ‘Atmospheric’ album does not need to be justified with samples which are deemed to be so, it is fairly redundant. If you must use something, make it interesting and specifically relevant to the music.
Apart from the slight problems mentioned though, this is an impressively strong release from a new band, and if the character of Wyrd and Drudkh coupled with the Nostalgia aspect of Alcest interest you then definitely give this album a try.

80/100

Myspace

Thanks to Robert Sun @ Sun & Moon Records.

[ALBUM REVIEW] Mörbid Carnage - Night Assassins

2010-05-28T23:05:00.004+01:00

“Night Assassins” is the blistering debut from Hungarian thrash outfit 'Morbid Carnage'. Hungary isn't a country known for thrash metal, so how do the Hungarian's fare against the deluge of other new thrash bands around at the minute? Not too shabby at all, to put it bluntly. “Night Assassins” seems a fairly short offering, clocking in at thirty six minutes, but infact only has seven tracks.

Right from the off-set, the band get straight to the point with fast riffing, cut-throat vocals and pedal to the floor drumming, if you're looking for melody and intricate technicality, then you'd be wise to look elsewhere. Overflowing with influence from the teutonic thrash coming out of Germany in the eighties, this is by no means original, as is evident from opener 'Warlust' which bears a heavy resemblance to Kreator, with the frenzied riffs and vocals which could quite easily be Mille Petrozza's. Mid-point the song disintegrates into a breakdown, but this let-up doesn't hang around for long before the intensity picks up again and the song finishes up with an exceptionally groovy riff for which you could be forgiven for nodding along to.
The style of music in the first song is pretty much par for the course for the rest of the album. 'Slaughter' is crammed with cranium nodding riffs, machine gun drumming and malevolent vocals, couple this with the flaying intesnity of 'Funeral Pyre', it's gang vocals and strapping exit riff which could easily be a lost exceprt from 'Pleasure to Kill', any fan of savage thrash will be onto a winner with this. The main problem though with this album is that it remind me so much of the 'classic' thrash metal bands that I said to myself “Sure I'll go and listen to a bit of Sodom or Kreator now”, because what Morbid Carnage make up for in sheer energy, they lack the variety and longevity their hero's possessed. Towards the end of the album it becomes a little tiresome, the blitzkrieg and battery never gives an inch. “Empty Graves” and “Deviant” have the attitude, and they have the riffs, but you can't help but say to yourself “Have I not heard this all before?”. The album does drag quite a bit at points, and none more so than “Castle in Pain”. The main fault with it is that it is far too long, it could quite easily have been sliced in half, shorter, and more to the point. It does contain some decent passages, but these just end up swallowed by the lackadaisical chugging bloating the song. If you want the perfect blueprints as to how to execute a lengthy thrash song well, look no further than Canadian's 'Vektor'. The weakest song on the album without a doubt. The title track caps the album with higher quality at least than the previous song. Shorter, with turbulent riffs, and Slayer-esque sections, and is on a whole very catchy, ending the album on a high note.

The music is right in your face, and 'Morbid Carnage' mean business, there's no denying that, but they could do with broadening their horizions, for for this is a straight up eighties thrash stampede with little originality whatsoever, not that I find that bad, many people prefer that, but if the band want more exposure then it would be a wise move to find more inspiration from elsewhere. One thing I've got to hand to them is that they aren't another Bay Area rip off, as is so common in the current 'thrash revival' which is happening, although it isn't wholly original in any sense, it is still way ahead of the bland, vapid tripe Evile and the likes are producing. I could definitely sit to this and have a few cans, but if for long term playability, it doesn't really hit the spot. One thing's for sure, they get a definite ten out of ten for effort and genuinity. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of Nocturnal, Witchtrap, Hellish Crossfire and the ilk for a listen. One thing to take into consideration for the next album though, change the damn cover art, it's incredibly clichéd, and pretty much just terrible.

65/100

Written for Archaic Magazine

Myspazz

Ronnie James Dio | 1942-2010

2010-05-25T23:59:00.004+01:00

On the 17th March, the headlines all over the rock and metal world were of the passing of one of the
most influential and unique figures ever to grace the world of music. Ronnie James Dio, one of the worlds most dazzling frontmen lost his on-going battle with stomach cancer suddenly after apparent improvements in his health. His wife Wendy broke the news on that morning:

“Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

When I heard the news I was gobsmacked, just as it looked like he was improving, all of a sudden we are greeted by the news no-one wanted to hear. It is immensely saddening news in a year which has already been rocked by many high profile deaths in the music scene.

Every single piece of music which Dio touched glittered. He was a performer in every aspect of the word. And much more. How many artists can boast such a legacy as he has left behind? From bringing Black Sabbath out of a pit of languid musical desperation, helping develop the modern metal sound as we know it today with Rainbow and an unrivalled solo career to boot? Not many, if any at all.

From his blues-rock beginnings in ELF in which Dio got his breakthrough, he garnered the attention of a certain Mr. Blackmore of the recently deceased Deep Purple, and together with Cozy Powell they brought about one of the most influential hard rock bands ever to have existed.
I will never forget the first day I heard that riff on the opening song of my dad's haggard copy of 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'. The song in question is of course 'Man on the Silver Mountain' and one of rock's all time greats. Of course Rainbow were always Ritchie's plaything so to speak, it was always his band, but what made the first three albums so seminal were Dio's powerful and passionate vocals and enthralling live performances. When Dio left Rainbow, they were never the same. Sure they had commercial success with Bonnet and Turner, but with Dio they lost that unique sound which was soon to play a huge influence on a new style of hard-rock arriving, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
Although the debut has a certain place in my affections, their best, and the best album Dio ever sang on in my opinion was the follow up, 'Rising'. Rising was, and still is an absolute monolith of heavy music. From the sheer vigour of the opener 'Tarot Woman' to the proto-power metal styling of the epic 'Stargazer', it remains to this day one of my favourite albums ever.

One of music's biggest injustices was the slating of Black Sabbath when Dio joined to replace Ozzy in 1980. Everyone claimed it was the end for Sabbath and refused to give them the time of day, and still do, such was the influence of Ozzy. What he did infact do with Heaven and Hell was act as a catalyst for pulling them out of the mire after two dreadful albums with Ozzy who was more interested in getting coked up. 'Heaven and Hell' is my personal favourite out of the two Dio era Black Sabbath albums, but they are both fantastic albums in their own right and deserved a lot more attention than they got.

After Sabbath, Dio began his solo project. Whereas previously Blackmore and Iommi were the string pullers,now he was able to do what he willed for once and developed the guise in which most of us heavy metal fans know him from now. And what a solo career it was, spanning from 1983 until the very day he passed, with ten solo albums under his belt, very few people can attest to having such a career as Ronnie did.

My top tracks and albums featuring Dio?

Tracks

1.Tarot Woman
2.Stargazer
3.Long Live Rock and Roll
4.Heaven and Hell
5.Last in Line
6.Man on the Silver Mountain
7.Children of the Sea
8.Holy Diver
9.Evil Eyes
10. A Light in the Black

Albums

1.Rising
2.Heaven and Hell
3.Holy Diver
4.Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
5.Last in Line

One thing I will always regret is never getting to see Dio live. Whether it have been with Heaven and Hell or solo, I wouldn't have cared, and for that I will be forever kicking myself. Here's to one of the forerunners to Heavy Metal as we know it, one of the biggest personalities to ever grace modern music. Your legacy will never, ever be forgotten. Rest in peace Ronnie.

As a leaving note, I suggest you all watch this video.

[ALBUM REVIEW] Skyforger - Kurbads

2010-05-12T19:31:00.004+01:00

Skyforger have finally 'hit the big time' some would say. Relatively recently they appeared on a BBC documentary about Latvian Folk music and more importantly, signed to major players 'Metal Blade' which set a lot of tongues wagging over what direction their new album would take. Metal Blade have an inconsistent roster of fantastic bands coupled with a lot of turgid, commercial metalcore. So has this affected their sound as some predicted, have they toned down their sound in conjunction with a larger label supporting them now? In short, the answer is yes.

I will readily admit, first I detested 'Kurbads' completely, it just wouldn't sit right with me. Maybe it was just I was really yearning for 'Thunderforge' or 'Latvian Riflemen', for this album is a lot different to their early material. After a bit of time, the album has grown a touch, but something still doesn't click.
The Black Metal influence has all but disappeared on this album and in it's place are rather mediocre thrash riffs and a stronger general atmosphere of traditional heavy metal than anywhere before. 'Curse of the Witch' opens the album, and I had to take a double take initially whether I was listening to Skyforger or infact Lamb of God. The guitar has been down-tuned from before, and the main riff which forms the backbone to the song has a strong whiff of 90's groove off it, and is incredibly flat and dull. The whole song to be honest is just flat out boring. The vocals have no real power in their delivery, and lack the character of their earlier material. Luckily, the whole album isn't this terrible and uninspiring though, as 'Son of the Mare', the second track proves to us. Starting out with the traditional Skyforger flutes, with bagpipes strewn throughout the song. This song is much more like the old Skyforger, but still the guitar playing is remarkably average and the man riff to the song at the beginning is so simple and drab, but eventually things get faster towards the end with a traditional duel between flute and bagpipe and the guitar picks up a bit and is fairly diverse for once. 'The Nine Headed' basically follows on with this formula. Getting this far it is hard not to remark upon how much slower the album is compared to their other efforts. Rather than being Black/Folk metal as was their sound before, 'Kurbads' is essentially a slow thrash album with folk influences here and there. The whistles and bagpipes help avoid complete mediocrity, some songs they are used to great effect, such as 'Bewitched Forest', and in some it sounds if they've been merely tacked in at the last minute, almost as if to try and remind people of their roots. The vocals stand out a little more in the mix this time as well, they aren't really any different from before, except Peter does use some questionable techniques where it ends up sounding rather comical, and the lower death growls which are sometimes heard are pretty weak. These don't appear too often thankfully. As the album gets pretty good towards the middle, it drops off again towards the end unfortunately. Songs like 'Black Rider' and 'Kurbads' are just not up to level I have come to expect from Skyforger. The production of the album doesn't help matters either, it is as if it is too 'clean' sounding or sterile. The guitar lacks vibrancy while the vocals are too loud. In all, it is exactly the production I feared.

This is still recognisably Skyforger, there's no question about that, but I keep getting a sense of them having diluted their sound slightly. The Black Metal has been all but removed while watered down thrash riffs have taken it's place. The album is extremely heavy, their heaviest to date, but it it just lacking that certain attribute which made Skyforger so unique and revered when they first appeared on the scene. The album is a decent, there are certainly worse out there, but put it against their back catalogue, it is extremely poor. For 'Kurbads' just doesn't cut it when it comes to anything near the majesty of 'Thunderforge' or flaying folkish brutality of 'Latvian Riflemen'.

If you are a fan of folk metal who has never heard Skyforger, and are drawn in by the nearest hint of an Eastern European wind instrument then by all means get 'Kurbads'. For major Skyforger fans I would suggest a little caution first before heading out to buy this. Is it a good album? Average. Was it worth the seven year wait? Definitely not.

53/100

Written for Archaic Magazine

Myspace

Hot Metal and Methedrine

2010-04-28T22:44:00.005+01:00

I decided to post up a few photos of my ever-increasing collection of 'The Sisters of Mercy' material I have on vinyl. From my first ever vinyl purchase of 'Floodland' to now, i think it's turned into an addiction rather than a hobby. Everyone has that one band though that they would go to any length to aquire everything by, warts and all, and The Sisters would be mine. Maybe someday i will actually get around to reviewing the albums, but for now you can make do with this :D I still have along road ahead though, especially in trying to aquire 'Damage Done' and 'Body Electric' and the vast array of bootlegs that exist. Someday though.....*cackles*

[ALBUM REVIEW] Nychts/Wedard - Zwischen Leere und Nichts

2010-04-26T19:52:00.003+01:00

Nychts

1. Zwischen Leere und Nichts

Wedard

1. Masochist
2. Winter, My Final Chapter Pt. 1

When you hear the term 'Astral Black Metal', immediately bands such as Darkspace, Limbonic Art and Paysage D'Hiver would spring to mind. Whereas Darkspace are more akin to being stuck on a desolate space barge and drifting into a stellar oblivion, Nychts remind me more of 'Moon in the Scorpio' era Limbonic Art, a psychadelic acid trip through a dark velvet void flecked with millions of tiny flickering stars. Though I would use the term 'Black Metal' loosely for Nycht's side of the split, it is much more than simply Black Metal, for the musical focus where Nychts are concerned is not based around the guitar riffing or vocals, but rather the vast spatial atmosphere Trähn is creating with the synths.
The song begins with a slow meandering guitar lead but the most notable thing is the hollow synth sound that lingers about in the background, and only very slightly changing every now and again for the first half of the song. The guitar is not used in the traditional sense as you would expect in Black Metal, it is remarkably doomy and restrained, a slow dirge with a continual mystical lead over the top, as if it was carrying you through the gargantuan galactic ocean. The vocals are extremely sparse, and there are no apparent lyrics to the song, the vocals seem to be a mere isolated wail cropping up from time to time, as if they were coming from some damned soul in another dimension. The lack of lyrics just adds to the whole mystery of the 'journey'. Around the halfway mark, the first half of the song climaxes with a rather wild solo, and the song changes from a weightless journey into a freefall, capitulating into a serene reverie for a minute or two before the second half begins with an acoustic guitar playing a sorrowful and reflective melody, and then another despondent howl erupts from the depths before the slow, distorted guitar reappears but this time playing a rather majestic, almost militaristic riff, with the vocals intertwined with a large amount of echo on them which duly sees finish of this epic, twenty minute journey. It is remarkably original piece of music on this side of the split, a Black Metal Tangerine Dream is the best comparison I can come up with, with a significant amount of focus placed upon the ambience created by the synths and echoing guitar. Trähn has created a fantastic piece of work, a cosmic journey through the stars in a galaxy in which the nearest sun has long since burned out, and the only light is that emitted from distant stars. It's only one song, but if Nychts decide to release more material in future, they could easily be up there with Darkspace and Limbonic Art in exploring the final frontier.

Wedard are a band I am quite familiar with, but have always failed to grab my attention in the way so many others of their ilk can. Sternenfrost has a penchant for releasing a lot of his material on split EPs with other bands, but as is the case here, it usually just proceeds to prove how distinctly average Wedard's material is in comparison with the other band's material on the split. From the opening notes on 'Masochist', it's your plain old 'by the book' depressive Black Metal. The production is extremely condensed and the guitars and vocals are washed with excessive reverb and buried in the mix. The songs are fairly up-tempo, helped by the brisk drumming which is the best thing about Wedard, and always has been. Programmed or not, they are executed with fine professionalism, and help to shift the rather lack lustre music along and maintain some attention. One thing about the first song that is completely off setting are the numerous breaks that appear in the song, which I assume are there to break up certain 'movements' but only succeed in making the cd sound as if it's faulty or even gives the impression of an album sampler. That's not to say it's all as stimulating as watching grass grow though, 'Winter – My Final Chapter pt 1' starts with an exquisite, softly picked tune before morphing into a ferocious charge backed up by heavy blastbeats and turbulent guitar riffing, surprisingly similar to early Immortal, with a high pitched widdling lead guitar over the top. But again the song needlessly stops for another pointless interlude, cutting short the rather fantastic beginning, and leaves you just thinking to yourself.... “why?” before continuing with an off kilter lead guitar which sticks out like a sore thumb, and ruining what would otherwise be a great song. As with most DSBM bands, the biggest influences are drawn from Burzum, and again this is the case here, for the vocals are your average Varg like shriek, that is, when you can manage to hear them when they're not buried beneath ten tonnes of off key guitar work. The riffing is also heavily generic for most of these two songs, I can barely recall any riffs except for the first half of the second song.

If Wedard stuck to the faster, brutal style showcased on their second song then they could maybe begin to go places, but as it stands, it is otherwise bog standard Suicidal Black Metal, that so many other have done before, and produced better. Wedard will have their fans though that will like the material on this split, for it doesn't differ any from the rest of their back catalogue. It isn't bad as such, it is listenable, but why listen to this when I could easily just put on Nyktalgia instead who do it so much better?
You should still definitely pick up this split though if you can, if only for the shining piece of music displayed by Nychts though. This is highly original, trance inducing Black Ambient that needs to be heard.

70/100

Wedard Nychts

Thx to Robert Sun @ Sun & Moon

[ALBUM REVIEW] Alcest - Ecailles De Lune

2010-04-08T18:09:00.004+01:00

1. Écailles de Lune (Part I)
2. Écailles de Lune (Part II)
3. Percées de Lumière
4. Abysses
5. Solar Song
6. Sur L'Océan Couleur de Fer

Alcest are a fairly household name in the metal scene these days, their hybrid of metal and airy shoegaze propelled them to the forefront of the french metal scene back in 2007. Many black metal purists were appalled by this apparent 'wuss metal' which Neige was now producing, such a contrast it was to his humble beginnings in Mortifera and Peste Noire who admittedly produced some fantastic black metal, but nothing anywhere near the magnitude of 'Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde'.
Opinions on the album were polarized all throughout, the other side of the coin, people were lavishing praise on Neige for attempting something completely contradictory to the norm in Black Metal and refreshing in a genre otherwise fast becoming stale. Niege probably never anticipated how revered Alcest would manage to become in the following year or so. So much so infact, that 'Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde' basically spawned a new sub genre of metal on it's own, it was that groundbreaking.

Three long years have past since their seminal debut album, and finally the long awaited follow up is upon us. It has a lot to live up to, and that, and beyond, it does. The first track bears a striking resemblance to Amesoeurs, it could basically be described as a continuation of his work in said project, but sans Audrey. The shimmering guitar melodies from before are back only with that guitar tone which cult eighties post punk/shoegazers 'The Chameleons' were so synonymous with. It sounds like it could be any one of Neige's sung tracks off the Amesoeur's album, except with an added air of esoteric beauty which was present on neither the debut or Amesoeur's album. The vocals are clean and enngulf the song with a wave of sentimentality and serenity, sweeping around the guitars, as if they were trying to entrap them. The song breaks mid-point where the lead guitar, thick with reverb picks a sullen passage, an insight of what's yet to come, before moving up a gear towards the end again.

'Ecailles de Lune' part 2, in contrast to the previous song, starts out with surprisingly vicious, the drums blasting and this is the first we encounter Neige's piercing scream, which caught me off guard, as I thought he had done away with them altogether in Alcest. What's great about his harsh vocals is he doesn't over do it, unlike the demos or his work in Mortifera, as good as his vocals were, he had the tendency to strain a little too hard and ended up off key and sounding quite amateurish at points. His vocals here are perfect, and although he doesn't use his extreme vocals a lot, they're among the best in the black metal scene by a long shot. There's no shoegazey elements to be heard in this section of the song, most comparable to Peste Noire with the fast riffing and howling vocals. After a few minutes though the real beauty of this album stands out, the Black Metal dies off and the buoyant guitar picking shines down, playing an exquisite melody with an almost 'midnight' like ambience, as if each note being played were reflected off the moon and gently glimmered back while the thick, feedback laced guitar filters through, comparable to the sound of Slowdive more than anyone.

Third track, 'Percées de Lumière' previously appeared on the split with 'Les Discrets', and is a harrowing hybrid of depressive Black Metal and writhing reverberation of early nineties shoegaze. The vocals display both Neige's shrill screaming and more tranquil side, and for the non Black Metal listeners, will probably be the hardest song to 'digest' on the album. It is slightly similar to the material previously seen on the 'Le Secret' EP early on in the bands career, where we were only getting a glimpse of what was to come, but the alternation between the clean vocals are executed with a lot more maturity than the much more primitive EP. This is the closest to a 'Black Metal' song on the album.

'Abysses' is a brief interlude of swirly ambience, nothing remarkable, but could serve as the most appropriate way to split the album into it's two halves, as the second half completely drops all traces of the majestic, Emperor-esque riffing and lovelorn brutality giving way to 'Solar Song', with it's undulating, 'Cocteau Twins' like swell. More of a grower, a gradual impact rather than the immediacy of the previous songs, this is a pure shoegaze song, with the wall of distorted feedback hanging over the chiming vocals like a setting sun looming out over a twilight sky. It is a beautiful, drifter of a song, with a nonchalant haziness about it, that the genuine fans of shoegazing dream pop will appreciate more than anyone else.

Closer 'Sur L'Océan Couleur de Fer' could be none more fitting. The slow echoing guitar clothed with Neige's harmonious vocal pattern draw the curtain with a beautiful night like ambience, a musical journey to an elysian paradise befitted with only the silvery reflection of the moonlight off the ocean and romance. That is the one standout quality of this album beyond anything, the sheer romantic aura that emanates from the music. You may have heard of 'Romantic Black Metal' before, but there is no band more fitting to this term than Alcest, for what way to make the likes of music from Peste Noire and Celestia even more enchanting? But to bind it with one of the most romantic forms of modern day music of course.

One of the things that draws me to certain bands are their ability to conjure certain soundscapes subconsciously in your head, and in this field, none can rival Alcest. The multiple textures all intertwined, the hypnotic vocals, the effervescent guitar all combine to drug you into a utopian dreamstate of nostalgia, love and past affections full of dark hazy blues, pale mauves and glimmering silver. This is an album to listen to with headphones alone, and lose yourself completely and alleviate all the pangs and burdens of everyday life, even if only for a brief time.

Alcest seem to encounter a lot of comparison to Agalloch. Yes there are a few similar aspects to both bands, but Alcest are away above and beyond what Agalloch were ever capable of. Agalloch had their weakpoints, on the otherhand with Alcest, I can't honestly find one. As much as I loathe to use the word perfect when reviewing albums, this is one which deserves beyond all others I have heard this year so far. Neige has completely outdone himself, building upon that of 'Souvenirs D'un Autre Monde' and finally completed the next step in the evolution of Alcest. With how he plans to develop the sound further, one can only wait. There is no doubt now that Neige has firmly distanced Alcest from their Black Metal roots, and if there was any doubt in your mind about the debut album, then this one will only further distance you from them. This album wont change the opinions of bedroom black metal warriors everywhere, Neige never cared for these opinions anyway, why should he when it is that which he was obviously distancing himself from before? This album is a piece of sophisticated beauty emerging from a genre fast becoming stagnant with lifeless clones and banality. A seminal work of art, which you can guarantee will be copied, but doubtful ever matched.

100/100

Myspace

Professor - Academizer [ALBUM REVIEW]

2010-03-29T00:06:00.005+01:00

1. Professor
2. Immatriculation
3. Into the Auditorium
4. Numerus Clausus

You don't come across a record with the lyrical themes about University and studying too often, so you'd be forgiven for thinking 'Professor' are a joke band. 'Academizer' is their only release and they are virtually unknown. Forgiving, this is not, the EP is an intense barbaric assault of Death Grind done the traditional method, light speed blasting, putrid gutteral growls and grinding guitar riffing. The heaviness of this record lays waste to everything that calls itself grind these days, this is grindcore paying homage to the genre's forefathers Napalm Death, Carcass and Terrorizer, but with it's own unique twist. Where as the aforementioned bands were more into their politics and thinking of fun things to do with the human anatomy, Professor are more like three discontented students who got kicked out of university, and could think of no better option to vent their anger than through a blistering piece of grind on seven inches of black wax.

Opening track 'Professor' consists of three and a half minutes of pure sonic obliteration, the guitar playing is unbelievably fast and even sometimes breaks into an almost groove like thrash riff while the vocals sound like someone dragging a sheet of plywood over a concrete floor. 'Slayer on steroids' would be an apt term to describe them. Unlike a lot of grind, each track is distinct in many ways from its predecessor, 'Immatriculation' sounds like early german thrash only doubled in speed with an underworld demon for a frontman. There is even a strong nod to early Bathory in 'Into the Auditorium' with the ragged, loose guitar riffing and feral nature to the song. Closer 'Numerus Clausus' again keeps up with very thrashy riffing, and at forty nine seconds, clearly play a section of the infamous 'Reign in Blood' riff, which I would say is more a homage to their heroes than blatant plagiarism.

Grind isn't a genre which interests me at all, apart from the main players, I tend to find a lot of it banal and brutal purely for the sake of it, but with Professor my attention didn't wane a single moment as the music is so diverse and incorporates many different styles of metal, from thrash to Black to Death. The music is surprisingly dynamic for a grind record and this is what sets it apart from the sea of other acts, it's a shame this is all the band produced as there was a mountain of potential in this release. If you're a student who is feeling the stress of exam time, and want a musical outlet to vent your frustrations, certainly let the grinding juggernaut Professor give you a hand.

83/100

Myspace

Vostok - From Lofty Peaks [ALBUM REVIEW]

2010-03-28T22:55:00.011+01:00

1. From Lofty Peaks
2. Badbea
3. The Last Days of Autumn
4. Leaving

The Scottish black metal scene has been producing a lot of notable upcoming bands somewhat of recent times, from a scene which was basically non existent circa ten years ago. From Askival's emphatic debut last year to the 'Velvet Cacoon' idolatry of 'In Vino Veritas', it has certainly been flourishing of recent times. This short EP is from another new project, 'Vostok'. The music envelopes everything from the twisted black end of funeral doom to the antagonistic wailing of Shining and short passages of clean picking. I'm not sure sure if it is what's intended, but this EP gives me the impression of 'In the Woods' except with a shedload more malignance and shorter songs.

The first track 'From Lofty Peaks...' is an introduction, and my stance on introductions on ninety percent of black metal albums is the same, pointless and to fill up space. Although being an EP, that can be forgiven because there's no real point to trying to fill up room on one. It consists of a two minute dirge, more reminiscent of Candlemass suprisingly than anything else. Towards the middle a nifty guitar lead appears and sounds almost as if it's coming from well... a 'lofty peak' before Hamish, the lone hand behind the project, vomits out something completely incomprehensible. A very fitting introduction to the EP, although I do feel the second half could have been put to better use incorporated into another full length song instead. 'Badbea', the longplayer of the disc, starts off with a short picked section before you are blown back by the drums and riffing which can only be likened to a black metal jack-hammer, the riffing is mid-paced and ominous, and vocals an anguished howl. The pace is dropped towards the second half where the music becomes a twisted maelstrom of harrowing cries and funeral dirges. Definitely the highlight of the EP. 'The Last Days of Autumn' is a lot less direct at the beginning, a light, buoyant melody for the first half of the song before we are reintroduced to the misery of before. The main riff that sees out this song is absolutely pulverising, an undulating grind that imprisons the tortured wails buried beneath it, trapping everything in the agony. Closer 'Leaving' is suitably titled, closing out the EP, best described an occult wake drenched in feedback and filth, even more petrifying than it's predecessor.

The production I must add is extremely fitting. A clean production would completely ruin music like this, but Hamish has opted for a largely claustrophobic atmosphere, highly compressed and burying the reverberated vocals in the mix, which adds highly to the mood being conveyed. The guitars are extremely distorted and fuzzy, the traditional 'beehive in an amp' sound as is commonplace these days, and Hamish has clear talent on his guitar, a lot more than can be said for a lot of bands pertaining to this style of music. The drumming is competent enough, with a nice organic feel to it, a lot more preferable to the sterile drum machine so oft used everywhere these days. The bass is also quite distinct, which again is nice to see for a change.

All in all, this is an extremely good release, of which I can't find really anything to dislike about. If I was going to nit-pick, I would have made the first song/intro longer, but other than wishing the actual release had more material, I can find nothing wrong. Another extremely fine release for the genre from Scotland, I can't wait to see what else the genre has to offer this year.

90/100

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[ALBUM REVIEW] Soror Dolorosa - Severance

2010-03-27T22:55:00.003Z

1. Beau Suicide
2. 43
3. Dare Me
4. Trembling Andrygenous
5. Thousand Clouds
6. American Chronicle

The glory days of the brooding, misery enshrouded goth music are long gone, you wont find a goth connoiseur who will try to tell you otherwise. The beginning of the nineties heralded the arrival of the synthesizer to the fore of the alternative goth scene, with the traditional sound of jangly guitars and throbbing bass finally left to languish in the netherworlds, in favour of a more dancable and arguably more commercial style of music. Bands like 'The Cruxshadows' and 'London After Midnight' opted for 'New Order' and 'Clan of Xymox' rather than the post-punk style of goth fathers 'the Sisters of Mercy'. Some bands stayed true to the old guard, but very rarely got as much notice as their knob twiddling peers. Rather than merely acknowledging the development of the new sound, many of the jackboot and leather crowd embraced the deathrock scene which was garnering a significant amount of attention at the time, a style which stayed true to the original values and ideas of the genre. 'Christian Death' paved the way in the deathrock scene and are a significant influence on the French band 'Soror Dolorosa' who debuted their EP 'Severance' late in 2009.
Suprisingly, the band have their origins firmly in the metal scene. Drummer 'Andy Julia' fronts the faerie aficionados 'Nuit Noire' currently, while previously having brief stints in 'Peste Noire' and 'Celestia'. Generally when metal musicians dabble with goth, it ends up as some overweight pseudo-operatic vocalist trying to pass themselves off as seductive, over lacklustre doom riffing, rarely do they actually ever end up producing 'real' goth music. Before hearing 'Soror Dolorosa' I was firmly of the opinion than metal musicians should keep themselves from sullying the goth tag, and keep at what they do best. I would say that opinion now is firmly open to debate.
'Beau Suicide' is the ideal opener, and if you didn't know better, you would swear blind this was lifted directly out of the late eighties. The main guitar riff is swaying and hollow with large delay, and incredibly dark and gives way mid-song to an angular jag. The vocals are exactly what you would expect, Andy clearly idolizes Rozz Williams, the vocals are sombre yet infectious. Andy has managed to capture the theatrics with which Rozz sang so well, while maintaining melody and avoiding the try hard pit into which so many end up falling in to. The basslines are thick, and stand out in the way the Sisters could make them, and as so many bands seem to forget, the bass is an extremely important part of goth. Try dancing 'Temple of Love' with the bass removed, you couldn't.
The music is extremely bleak, none more so than closer 'American Chronicle', an rather long player at over ten minutes, it contains passages of anguished vocals coupled with long passages of empty guitar echoing. 'Thousand Clouds', the most 'uptempo' song on the EP could easily be an absolute dancefloor classic with more exposure, the bassline pounds while the guitar screeches about in the background with Andy's even more distressed vocals over the top, with an added sense of urgency than before. I can imagine nothing better than swaggering about to this on a smoke filled dance floor, black aviators together with cowboy hat and boots with vodka and cranberry in hand.
This is a record which you can end up humming the basslines for hours after you've turned it off it's that catchy. This is extremely passionate music, just as detached as Christian Death and the ilk, 'Soror Dolorosa' have got the eighties goth sound down to a tee, the oscillating basslines, scratchy, jagged guitar drenched in delay, the thumping bass drum and the over the top vocals with what was so synonymous with goth when it first began. They have managed to gain quite a bit of interest so far due to this EP, but unfortunately in the wrong scene. With the band having the background the do, most of their fans seem to be from the Amesoeurs/Alcest crowd, while virtually unheard of on the goth side of the coin. I can't help but think this is hindering them, and it would be a criminal if it did, because there are so many other more famous bands out there doing the 'goth revival', but are mere second rate 'Joy Divisions'. The best thing for this band would be a change of label to a more appropriate one, for on Todestreib, as good a metal label it is, it isn't for them.

90/100

Myspazz

Levellers - Levelling the Land [ALBUM REVIEW]

2010-03-18T01:06:00.005Z

1. "One Way" – 4:08
2. "The Game" – 3:28
3. "Fifteen Years" – 3:11
4. "The Boatman" – 5:56
5. "Liberty Song" – 4:29 (co-written by original member Alan Miles)
6. "Far From Home" - 3:22
7. "Sell Out" – 4:17
8. "Another Man's Cause" – 4:35
9. "The Road" – 4:00
10. "The Riverflow" – 3:02
11. "Battle of the Beanfield" – 3:41

The Levellers are a bunch of grubby Socialists from Brighton. In a nutshell, they don't like 'the man' and they don't like Sobriety. 'Levelling the Land' is the second album, following on from the debut 'A Weapon Called the Word'. A lot more rounded and complete than the debut, you can tell this was the sound the band were aiming for, opting for a more level balance between the punk, folk and more general rock sounds.

The album beings with a trio of songs which I feel are among the band's best material they have ever written, and if these don't grab you then maybe this album isn't your cup of tea, 'One Way' opens the album, arguably the band's 'Dearg Doom', and quite rightly so, an anthem promoting independence and free thinking and fairly straight forward in it's delivery and to the point. No abstract pretense or cryptic referencing here, Mark claims “There's only one way to life, and that's your own”. The bombastic, singalong chorus upheld by the throbbing, funk bassline make this a bona fide classic, and a perfect introduction to anyone wanting to get into this band. 'The Game' is an infectious fiddle laden jig, again with a memorable chorus, like so many other songs on this album. '15 Days' is slightly darker that the first two songs, a more sombre number about a drunk beyond redemption. Again, the fiddle playing is extremely prominent, the bass bandies about in the background while Mark delivers his simple, but animated vocals. The next few songs don't live up to the quality of the opening trio, but they're by no means bad. 'The Boatman' never really grabbed me too much, it lacks the fire with which I associate the band with. Maybe it's just because it's much more subdued than the stunning openers, but to these ears it's just a mediocre sea shanty. 'The Liberty Song' on the otherhand the Clash influence sticks out like a sore thumb, its upbeat, 'in your face' tempo and brash political lyrics pointing fingers at the powers that be would not be out of place on any seventies punk album, while 'Far From Home' is the kind of song that wouldn't be out of place playing in the background on a summer's day with a cider in hand. 'Sell Out' is heavily akin to the pounding, boot-heel pomp of 'New Model Army', again with very outspoken lyrics about modern day bureaucracy. 'Another Man's Cause' is an Anti War protest song, relevant at the time with the ongoing fighting in the Persian Gulf while the next two songs 'The Road' and 'The Riverflow' are both sweet, jovial folk-pop ditties, while simple yet discerning at the same time. The last track is the absolute stand out on the album though. A snarling, boot stomping punk anthem of anti-authoritarianism concerning the infamous incident at stone henge in 1985 where a large group of travellers were assaulted by Wiltshire Police, accused of extremely heavy handed tactics. 'The Battle of the Beanfield' is a true modern protest song, ferocious and un-relenting in a brief four minutes, it documents a piece of modern history fantastically in a handful of verses. It reeks of 'The Clash', the influence is obvious, in the lyrics as well as the music. But that's nothing to complain about is it?

This is the type of album which would have appalled many a middle class parent back in the seventies, but it wasn't a case of the band being outspoken for the sake of it, 'The Levellers' were a band with a genuine issue and opinion and stand by it to this very day, and for that they deserver utmost respect. The topics toyed with here are all still extremely relevant today, the economy, war, restriction of religion and bent politicians. 'The Levellers' were born in the wrong era, I know this will have been said many times before, but had they have been around in the sixties/seventies, they would have garnered a lot more appreciation, but they only achieved minimal success with this album, more than likely due to the grunge and nu-metal emergence of the early ninties. Teenagers didn't care for genuine world issues then, nor do they now, more concerned with 'being different' and full of angst for no apparent reason.
This isn't an album for those extremely sensitive about lyrics, nor is it album for 'Sieg Heil Sammy' who lives down the road, but I would recommend this album for anyone who appreciates music with a message, music with the fire and punch of the seventies. If you appreciate Horslips, The Pogues and The Clash, this album is a must. Grab it, get drunk and invade your neighbouring farmer's land.

80/100

Myspazz

Dekadent Aesthetix - Dekadent Aesthetix [ALBUM REVIEW]

2010-03-07T02:38:00.004Z

01. Audio Curse From Transilvania (1:13)
02. Plethora (3:44)
03. Suicide Hobby (5:04)
04. 17 (Ladytron cover) (3:23)
05. Track 0 (4:32)
06. Rock'n'Roll Machine (6:21)
07. Ziua in Care Decizi Sa-ti Cumperi o Arma (4:56)
08. Incantatie (8:44)
09. Shyny Morning (2:10)
10. Whore Rifflefuck (5:18)
11. Prohodul Domnului (7:27)

Dekadent Aesthetix are a strange band. Previously having only heard their split with the eccentric 'Joyless', I was waiting this release eager to hear with what oddities they would come up with next. It's impossible to pin a sound on them, for the split with Joyless was a mix of searing, almost shoegaze like guitar lines, and an avant-garde form of post punky black metal, with an almost carnival-esque attitude to it. Their debut album basically follows on from where they left off on the Joyless split, but shifting up a gear.

From the off, it is clear the band don't appear to take themselves too seriously. Song titles such as 'Audio Curse From Transylvania' and 'Whore Rifflefuck' make it clear from the off the band are obviously not the norm of 'Post Punk Black Metal' such like Swedish self harmers Lifelover or the French gloom peddlers Amesoeurs. Even the intro is obscure, which is something sounding like a deaf leper playing 'Auld Lang Sang' on a badly out of tune fiddle. The music sways between fast, tremelo picked black metal with snappy, rasping vocals and a long, contemplative guitar wash which recalls the likes of My Bloody Valentine among a plethora of other styles. The vocals can never really be pinned down to one style, as they are never exactly the same on each song. Take for example 'Suicide Hobby', one of the highlights of the album, it sounds as if Prong invaded a Jesus Mary Chain recording session, and each side as it were are battling it out as the song alternates from chugging riffing to extensive pedal abuse on a 10th generation Shergold. The vocals in this song have a heavy reverb effect to them, slightly raspy but not enough to be called 'Black Metal'.
'Rock n Roll machine' almost have a stonery feel to it, and again those hollow guitar passages appear amid the chugging riffs and moping vocals. The harsh vocals on the album remind me of Nocturno Culto's style, short throaty rasping. One song which I feel I must comment on is the fantastic, dreamy 'Track 0'. It was originally on the split, but the band have re-recorded it completely and it shows. It is almost purely instrumental, consisting of a lightly strummed acoustic guitar at the start, before eventually succumbing to a sullen piano melody combined with a spacey swirl of a guitar lead which ascends out of the wash of melancholy and soars above all else. There are no vocals as per-se, rather an angelic female voice appears towards the end of the song, not singing anything as such, but following along with the ebb of the guitar which only increases the celestial nature of this piece. For me this song emanates everything that was great about the dream pop of the early 90's, the sweet mystical vocals and hazy guitar tone so synonymous with the genre. It's a pity this song is the only one really like it on the album. Other songs do incorporate this style, but not exclusively like 'Track 0'. That's not to say the rest of the album is bad, far from it, the rest of it is so different you can't really be expected to compare them.

I would recommend this album especially to fans of the Amesoeurs album, as they draw the same influences, and sound fairly similar, but are a lot more diverse and eccentric. If you like the idea behind Lifelover, but can't stand the vocals and theatre, then the least you could do is give this album a try at least. It isn't flawless, some parts do wane, and the 'strangeness' and diversity as it were, can also be slightly jarring, but the pros do out-weight the cons. They even managed to fit a Ladytron cover on the album. However the fuck did they manage that? It's ….'special', I'll give them that.

70/100

Myspazz

Siculicidium - Utolsó Vágta Az Univerzumba

2010-03-06T01:11:00.008Z

1. Utolsó vágta az Univerzumban
2. Halványan az idő ellen
3. Bizonytalan ideák 1-2 - Ellenállás! (Bizonytalan ideák pt. 2)
4. Talán (ha hallanám...)
5. A sajnálat utolsó lehelete (Taxidermia)
6. Lebomlás, lelassulás

I have been meaning to review this album for a while, but only got round to doing it now. This was one of those CD's that you find sitting in a record shop, you see the cover and a war erupts in your head whether to buy it out of pure curiosity because it looks like you might enjoy it, or be sensible and save your hard earned (or not so hard earned) cash. I chose the former, I am a complete sucker when it comes to buying music blind.

'Utolsó Vágta az Univerzumban' is the debut by Romanian black metal outfit 'Siculicidium', which roughly translates to 'The Last Gallop of the Universe'. Worth noting as well are that the band are also from Transylvania, an area of infamously horrific folklore and legend, which many other black metal bands write about, but can only dream of experiencing. I suppose an apt term for describing Siculicidium's music would be 'Transylvanian Black Metal', for they embody everything of the legend that shrouds Transylvania and her many mysteries. They play a very undermined style of black metal, the type of slow, brooding venom that Inquisition produce. Inquisition appear to be the biggest influence on 'Lugosi Bela' here, the guitar riffs are the same type of rolling, throbbing rhythm present in their Columbian peers. Rather than just remaining content with being an Inquisition clone, the music is sporadically intertwined with melodic, acoustic guitar, giving it an added edge of originality, take for example in the first song at 2:30, it helps in breaking up the music from its macabre procession and keeping you from pressing the skip button. What is notable too is that the music is extremely melodic but still holds the acutely evil atmosphere they are aiming for. Although don't get this mixed up with 'Dimmu Borgir-melodic', for it doesn't contain any keyboards at all, the melody all comes from the guitar riffing and vocal patterns which LB uses almost in unison with the turbulence of the guitar. The vocals are again heavily influenced by Inquisition, akin to Dagon's morbid crowing but slightly more 'sung' and less like they were being spoken. The drumming is fairly simple and straight forward, which is more that suitable for this music as it doesn't require a Hellhammer or Frost to hammer the kit to pieces. Simple rhythms and patterns keep the music at it's lethargic, underworldy pace, where as anything else would just be a distraction. If I had to pick a comparison, I imagine the best I can come up with is twenty percent Barathrum, and eighty percent Inquisition.

The production here is thick and dense, it's good to see the band have also went to the effort of getting a decent production as more often than not it hinders a lot of black metal albums. The band look to have gone for a completely different style than is the trend at the minute, while we are infested with swarms of 'DBSM' clones at the minute, 'Siculicidium' have gave us a very unique album in 'Utolsó Vágta az Univerzumban'. It stands out from the crowd, and I would love to see these guys getting more recognition, because based on this album, they deserve it. If you like your black metal with a real evil atmopshere, catchy riffing and identity, and detest the 'blast and flail norsecore' style then I would strongly recommend this album.

85/100

Sun & Moon

Nokturnal Mortum - The Voice of Steel [ALBUM REVIEW]

2009-12-26T20:50:00.007Z

They've come a long long way from the days of 'Lunar Poetry' and 'Goat Horns', back then they played an extremely primitive and endearing form of symphonic black metal awash with sugary synths and reverb drenched vocals. 'Goat Horns' was one of my personal favourite albums of the genre, and after the much maligned transition to a more brutal form of Black Metal, I resigned myself to the fact that anything ever as good as Goat Horns was just not going to happen. 'Weltanschauung' was the band at their absolute lowest ebb, they had lost all that made them unique and stand out in the first place, from 'NeChrist' on, they were just another average face in the crowd of generic NSBM bands, it just seemed that all the inspiration and motivation had vanished. Not so, as from completely out of the blue, they have managed to produce their most inspired work to date, bettering the majestic 'Goat Horns'.

The first track is an intro, in traditional Nokturnal Mortum fashion, and starts off with a a brash Ukranian wind instrument playing an almost militaristic piece before taking on a more traditional folk piece with martial drums rumbling along in the background. It sets the tone for the album well, as introductions are supposed to, it's good, but it's no 'Black moon Overture' that's for sure.

The first song, 'Голос Сталі' continues the militaristic drumming, and a slow brooding riff gets the song moving, and a violin swaggers around in the background. Instantly, the first change the band have seemingly made is to the production. They have improved it alot. A crap production may have worked on their earlier albums where it was purely symphonic, but on the direction which Weltanschuaang was heading, the lack lustre production only succeeded in making the guitar sound very muddied and all over the place. The improvement in production allows the traditional folk instruments to stand out alot more, and the guitar tone is alot more muscular and intense, whereas before it felt very limp. There is also a welcome additon of some acoustic passages as well throughout he first song. Coming just after the half way mark the song shifts up a gear, the drumming gets faster and a sopilka comes to the fore playing a repetitive, yet mesmerizing melody before eventually cutting out and returning to the rhythm from the beginning and eventually seeing out the song. The vocals have a lot more conviction and direction than the previous album, maintaining the newer, deeper style but with alot more fervor and grit in the delivery.
Another observation about this album is the lack of synth, it seems the band are continuing to phase out the synth from their sound in favour of traditional slavic folk music, but the main focus in this album is not the folk music, it is actually on the guitars. It always seemed to me previously that in Nokturnal Mortum's case, the synth/other instruments almost took precedence over the guitars, but there is alot more authority in their prescence now, and there is no better example than the mid section to the third song, 'Валькирия'. The song starts off as the previous finished, but soon slows down completely to an oscillating guitar rhythm, and unlike anything the band have ever done before, out of nowhere appears a soaring guitar lead with an astral tone to die for. During the four minutes or so of this solo, it just feels like you could be anywhere Carpathia, staringly blankly in the great stellar void above, it's completely unlike anything they have ever done before, and unfortunately this type of guitar lead doesn't re-appear again on the album. That's not to say the other guitar solos on the album are inferior though, far from it, they're just a different style, more fast and frenetic, less reflective and pensive.
The album also manages to re-capture the infectious rhythms of past as well, for the first time since NeChrist the song's contains hooks that refuse to leave your head. Remember 'Perun's Celestial Silver' and 'Kuyaviya'? Well those type of infectious passages are back, and none more evident than on 'Україна'. Another aspect which I also must remark on are the clean vocals, although sparse, when they do come around they are in fully fitted with the music, and not just for 'atmosphere' as many bands seem to do, and throw them in at any excuse. They help give the album an almost 'viking' feel.
One last song I feel which needs mentioning is 'Небо Сумних Ночей'. The song is solely an acoustic folk song, and is absolutely beautiful, the vocals are all clean, but don't mean anything to me, as they are all in Ukranian, but it is easy to visualize what the song is about. This song just about embodies all that the Slavic pagan metal scene is about, their ancestors, pride of their heritage and the struggle against the complete extinction of their culture and roots with the influence of Americanization.

Nokturnal Mortum need no introduction really, anyone who is even half into the Eastern European metal scene will know who they are, but for all those who have brushed them aside due to their recent efforts, make this your re-introduction. Varggoth's vocals are the best they have ever been, the guitarwork is the tightest it has ever been, the lead work is out of the world and the drumming is inch perfect as well. With the exquisite melody's, fantastic riffing, coherent songwriting, it seems that finally the band have fully matured into exactly what they want to be, this is the most professional album they ahve ever done. The gradual move from their roots to this more traditional folk sound is obviously reflected in the lyrics, which are all in Cyrillic
This album is basically this album is the continuation of 'Weltanschauung', but with going back slightly to what brought them to the fore in the first place, and incorporating it into their current sound with the added prominence of the guitars and folk music, they have created something extraordinary. It is extremely well executed, and I'm completely astonished they managed to produce something so good after so many years of uninspired nonsense. You could put this album in the same bracket as Kroda and Temnozor and the likes, but to be fair, as much as I love those two bands, this is far and beyond anything they ever have done, which is saying alot. Infact, there is something beneath it all which keeps reminding me of 'Blut aus Nord's' latest masterpiece. I can't put my finger on what it is, but if you have listened to it as well, you'll be able to see what I mean. Maybe it's the stunning guitar work, maybe it's the sheer epic majesty of the songs, I don't know. What I do know is though, that if you're even half interested in pagan black metal, this is the album that you have been looking for, this is what so many others strive to achieve but will never even come close. It is fitting that the best album of 2009 , and one of the best of the last decade, arrived at the very end, and for me it represents just how good a year 2009 was for metal.

100/100

Myspace

The Class of '09

2009-12-15T15:48:00.061Z

So the time has come to share my opinion on what I believe were the best albums to come out of this year. There was so much good music released this year it has almost been impossible to pick. I was going to do a top 50 but realized there was no way I could create an order past 25 or so. So here I have listed what I believe to be the absolute best music released this year that has graced my ears.

1	Blut Aus Nord Memoria Vetusta II: A Dialog With the Stars It was excruciatingly hard for me to pick a number one, but this probably had to be it. The seventh album from this one man project from France, and by and large the most epic, otherworldly thing that Vlad has ever produced. Deciding to go back to the band's roots after the trio of industrial obscurities 'the Work Which Transforms God', 'Mort' and 'Odinist' we have the continuation of 'Memoria Vetusta I', and this albums far succeeds it's predecessor. The sound is a bit cleaner than that of their early albums, and it lets the almost celestial guitar tone shine through. the drums are still programmed but to be honest you can bearly tell. The guitar tone is stunning, and what I like most about this album, for example on the song 'The Meditant' it is allowed to roam and wander, as if you were floating in the vast of stars above. The vocals are sparse and fairly buried among the instruments giving the music that distant feel, perfect for the theme of the album.
2	Amesoeurs Amesoeurs After the fabulous 'Ruines Humaines' EP, expectations for this release were astronomical. What direction were the band to go? The more Black Metal style seen on the first half? Or the more Post-Punky/Goth feel to 'Fablisse Des Sens'? Thankfully the latter as the black metal material to me seemed like a poor mans Mortifera, but song with Audrey on vocals was something else, something unique. The album initially drew a large amount of criticism from bedroom black metal warriors, claiming the band were 'gay' and 'poofs' for selling out. This couldn't be further from the truth though, as this is the darkest, most dissonant album Neige has ever written in his vast multitude of projects. Tremelo riffing and lyrics about the occult do not make a band 'dark'. The album itself is 80% audrey and 20% neige on vocal duties. Music wise, it is post-punk with a thick edge of shoe-gaze from My Bloody Valentine's book, aka noisy as fuck. Some basslines sound suspiciously familiar, showing a clear Joy Divison influence as is also evident from the riffing which is very 'Cure-like'. The music is bleak and introspective, a prismatic soundtrack for modern man and his hollow superficiality. This album is something very special and unique, it has already spawned alot of imitators, but none can, nor probably ever will match the sheer gaunt feel and desolate majesty of this.
3	Aorlhac Opus I Number three, and yet another french band? Aorlhac draw alot of influence from Emperor, as do their peers 'Peste Noire', and have probably been taking a sneaky chunk of their efforts as well. 'Opus I' is the debut of the band, and came from absolutely nowhere when released and floored the underground. Much of the appeal was due to the resemblence to 'Peste Noires' first album, 'La Sanie Die Siecles', which Peste Noire fans lapped up because they had recently released the rather poorly-received 'Folkfuck Folie'. This does continue the same style of romantic black metal as Peste Noire gave us on their debut, but doesn't rip it off. Incorporated here are lots of folk passages throughout the songs, frequent NWOBHM riffing, which is most notable in 'Le charroi de Nîmes', the odd blast beat, and most importantly the melodic guitar leads that brought Peste Noire to the fore. The music here is very Nationalistic, focusing on French history and the middle ages and such. Extremely catchy, diverse and intriguing black metal, which contains a variety of influences. If you're a fan of Emperor and Peste Noire, you could do alot worse than checking this out.
4	Razor of Occam Homage to Martyrs The long overdue follow up to their highly acclaimed debut EP 'Pillars of Creation' finally came in 2009 and absolutely obliterated the field of black/thrash metal and took it to a whole new intensity altogether. Sharing the same guitarists as Destroyer 666, you'd expect it to sound similar, and you'd be right in assuming so. This is just as vicious and rabid as 'Unchain the Wolves' and epic as 'Pheonix Rising' and certainly sets the bar high for future releases by either bands. Machine gun drumming, pummeling riffs, ripping vocals, this is the best extreme thrash album to be released this year. If you can imagine the final battle between good and evil, this may come close to describing what these guys have unleashed. This is apocalyptic, this is a sonic destruction of all that is divine. This is music to go to war to.
5	Immortal All Shall Fall From the opening sounds of wind blowing through a valley I just knew they were back, and just as strong as they left. Abbath still sounds like a frog with a throat infection, but that's what gives Immortal their identity. A sub-zero atmosphere lingers behind the music, the guitars crunch with an almost industrial like force, marauding and crushing everything beneath them. Horgh is just as good as before, an absolute force behind the kit, never misses a beat and smashes clean through the myriad of riffs in perfect timing. The album still retains the antartic atmosphere of albums past, and sounds closet to 'At the Heart of Winter' with the ferocity of 'Blizzard Beasts'. Immortal are one of the biggest runners in black metal, and this album retains proof as to why. Epic and vast yet overwhelmingly pulverising, this is the Immortal we all know and love. It's an almighty avalanche, and you just got caught in it. Someone should go inform Al Gore, as we have just found the cure for global warming.
6	Altar of Plagues White Tomb Fresh off their signing by the renowned 'Profound Lore', which is no less than they deserved after the fantastic 'Sol' demo, Altar of Plagues unleash their debut album into the fray. Consisting of four tracks, each averaging around twelve minutes in length, this isn't your average black metal fare. It is rather, a mixed bag of Black Metal, Post-rock and drone, something the Hydrahead sheep would lap up. Although don't let that put you off, as to compare them to that would be a complete disservice, this is far different from the irony laiden, directionless waste the likes of Liturgy and Krallice play, Altar of Plagues are genuine. Much like 'Wolves in the Throne Room', they play drawn out black metal with long ambient/drone sections which build up to a climax at the end. Though they are not a carbon clone of their Portland peers, the vocals are less shrieked, more of a lower, crusty growl, and among these we also have some odd, hardcore styled vocals as well as female. You could say it is alot more varied as WiTTR but just as hypnotic, if not more so. So easy is it to put a few synths in your music, or long stretched out passages of 'ambience' and claim you're playing atmospheric Black Metal, but most of the time it comes accross as forced and unnatural, but far from the case here. Just flick it on, close your eyes and let your mind take over. The best album to come out of Ireland this year, no contest.
7	Excoriate On Pestilential Winds This is heavier than a fart at a funeral. And probably just as putrid as well. Excoriate split up in 2006, but the album has only managed to get released this year. As .to why, one can only guess. It is relatively short at thirty four minutes, but being utter filth in the same furrow as Autopsy, you wouldn't expect anything more would you? Containing only five original songs, a cover and a short intro, you may intially feel as if you've been ripped off, but once you put this in your stereo, at full volume no less, you will curse yourself for not having bought it earlier. This is brutal death metal summoned from the southernmost bowels of hell, some of the most disgusting (in a good way of course) death metal you will set your ears upon. The production is fairly compressed, creating a dank, extremely clammy atmosphere, but all instruments are allowed to be showcased fairly. The guitar riffing is fairly punkish in feel, very similar to early sepultura, but cleaner, and the vocals a thick gutteral growl with a heavy dose of reverb added. The drums sound like they were recorded in a cave, a very soggy cave. The bass is also fairly brutal galloping along at breakneck speed. If you prefer death metal in the veins of Autopsy and Sepultura, well what are you waiting for? You'll find no technical wankery here, no melodic interludes, no 'bangin' breakdowns nor any pro-tools production, this is pure rotten organic death metal which is aeons ahead of the soulless tripe being slapped with the term 'death metal' in the mainstream these days.
8	Destroyer 666 Defiance Ok, yes they have an undeniably amateurish name that just screams 'angsty spliknot kid'. They also have the obligatory, cliched umlaut in their logo. The music however, is some of the greatest, blood pumping black thrash to ever see the light of day. Destroyer 666 gained their big break this year, being snapped up for a distribution deal by Nuclear Blast. Rather than releasing some soulless crap usually produced by NB, they continue on with their previous sound, with this album being a heavier mix of 'Pheonix Rising' than 'Cold Steel'. There is an obvious Bathory influence here, most notably in the trademark squealing guitar solos so oft heard on Quorthon's early masterpieces, the riffing is brutal and the vocals are utterly primordial and raucous. Lyrically they are far to the right, which has caused controversy in the past, but do you really want music like this to be about everyone fighting for equality and being nicey nice to eachother? Nah..... didn't think so. The main issues dealt with are anti-religion, Nihilism and Social-Darwinism, so it is pretty extreme lyrically too. I wouldn't go as far as to say this is their best effort, that is an accolade reserved for the majestic 'Unchain the Wolves', but it does come close. Plus, you won't hear a song better than 'A Sermon to the Dead' this year.
9	Rome Flowers From Exile He could be described as the musical and spiritual heir to Leonard Cohen, with a voice to make you surrender completely at the instant you lay ears upon it. Jerome Reuter is the driving force behind Luxembourg neo-folk act 'Rome'. This is above and beyond typical neo-folk though. The main observation is that Jerome can actually sing, and I can't think of anyone better to draw your influences from than Leonard Cohen himself. Freeing himself from the chains of conformity in the genre, Jerome adds touches of everything from pop, post-punk, darkwave and even flamenco music, taking it far beyond the limits expressed by Tony Wakeford and Douglas Pierce. From the grandiose, imperial 'The Secret Sons of Europe' to the alluring nautical ballad 'We who Fell in Love with the Sea'. This is the sound of ancient Europe, recalling the glories of the Roman empire and the might of Constantinople, this is neo-folk free of the extremist ideals that plague others of the genre, it is something of austere equisitness, with an ability to combine the breadths of beauty with the depths of pure despair.
10	Pensées Nocturnes Vaccuum Another album which made a big impact on the Black Metal underground was this one man project from France, 'Pensées Nocturnes'. The music is something very preculiar indeed, for this is depressive black metal infused with flurries of neo-classical music, and even dives into the blues during 'Coups des Blues' which is slightly jarring, albeit strangely seductive. In practice it shouldn't work, but it does, and magnificantly at that. There are many influences drawn upon in Vaerohn's music, from Jazz, blues, traditional black metal and doom. I can hear everything from My Dying Bride to Chopin in this album. The vocals are pretty typical of the DSBM genre, an agonizing howled shriek, but most certainly not a bad thing. My only gripe is the drum programming, if this album had a real drummer, it would be something completely unsurpassable, but if you let that slip, this is definately a very fine album, which brings a touch of much needed change to this genre of black metal which is fast becoming stagnant with third rate Xasthur clones. Watch out for this band in the future, I have a feeling the next album will be Vaerohn's make or break....
11	Arizmenda Within the Vacuum of Infinity.... Very little seems to be known of Arizmenda, other than they are from the US and are a member of some strange movement called the 'Black Twilight Circle'. "A bunch of amateurs trying to imitate the LLN then!" will probably come to your mind. They may be, or maybe not, who knows. But onto more important matters, the music itself is very lo-fi, production is not an important factor here, for these guys are aiming for pure psychotic terror. The guitar tone is fairly all over the place, frenetic and mesmerizing at the same time, save for a few breaks of twisted, unearthly screeching on the strings before it turns back into a delerious maelstrom. The drumming is chaotic and sounds slightly muted, intentional or not I don;t know, but works towards the atmosphere well. As with lots of lo-fi black metal, bass is non-existant, while the vocals are mediumish gutteral black metal rasp, heavily buried in the production giving the impression of someone suffocating or buried six feet under. Imagine you are falling through an endless cosmic void, your psyche is corrupted beyond all extremities and all you can hear are the faint sounds of other condemned souls, taunting, jeering and piercing, as you fall ever on. Possibly the best way to describe this album basically. Pure terror. One for the Deathspell Omega and Leviathan fans without a doubt.
12	Vektor Black Future Previously having reviewed this release in depth earlier in my blog, there's not much more I can say about such a fantastic release that I haven't already said. If you haven't done so already, the review of the album is here. Bottom line is, if you call yourself a fan of technical thrash such as Cynic, Athiest, Voivod and Dark Angel, go buy it.
13	Panopticon Collapse Panopticon are a highly polically charged band from Kentucky. No not a far right band as you might expect, but rather Austin Lunn is a radical anarchist. His music contains many references towards Emma Goldman, the infamous Haymarket affair and a heavy anti-american sentiment among his heavy leftist views littered throughout the music. Lyrically this will prevent many people from checking it out, I'll admit at first i was sceptical if such a project was genuine and worth listening to, or merely a plinth for Austin to vent his political ideals and fustrations. Upon listening to the first song it seems that the latter was correct, as there is a two minute excerpt from a US news show discussing the bush administration, the state of the economy and Wall Street. The song eventually starts properly and blasts into a frenetic drumbeat with the guitar in the background weaving in and out of the drumming, sort of an empty wail. Vocals are sparse and a low erratic growl, and only appear sporadically. The bass ebbs about underneath of everything else and is very free flowing and pulsating. The biggest suprise is the various almost bluegrass music that appears out of nowhere throughout the album, most notably on the first song, appearing out of nowhere and descending into a twangy guitar melody, an upbeat 'yee-ha' jig, the type of thing you'd hear especially from the big republican states, which struck me as slightly odd. I was floored at first, not knowing what to make of it, but it is absolutely fantastic, and unlike anything ever heard before in metal, let alone black metal. It mixes in fantastically with the chaotic black metal. This country like music re-appears on the last track 'Idavoll' but is more downbeat. It is clear from the lyrics and music, Austin is a remarkable musician, character included, and highly intelligent. If you're looking for atmospheric black metal with a crust influence, and highly original, this is definately something to look out for. I would be highly interested if more bands decided to follow Panopticon's direction.
14	Askival Eternity Askival appeared in 2007 and released a demo under the name 'alba'. It was nothing to write home about, a pretty average affair in my eyes, and then dissappeared completely. They finally re-appeared again in early 2009 to release their debut album 'Eternity'. The band has a sole member, 'Tuagh', who does all the instrumentation and vocals himself. The music is a very epic and grandiose style of folk black metal which draws alot of influence from latter day Graveland. The music is highly diverse, soft guitar interludes break up the faster, more aggressive black metal sections, and Tuagh employs a few different vocal techniques, mainly a howled shriek, but also a quiet whisper and clean singing as well in some songs. The music is extremely organic, tranquil and reflects the primitive beauty of nature, take for example 'Sorrow of the Sun', which is breathtaking, and hard to believe came from Scotland, and not some Slavic country, as you'd normally associate with this type of music. There is a certain Scottish feel to this music as well, there may be no bagpipes, but the album places you right in the heart of the higlands among nature, areas untouched by human hand. A couple fo years ago, if you told me scotland would be starting to produce good black metal I would have laughed at you, but it's a totally different story now. Askival have produced the best black metal album ever to come out of Scotland, if not best metal album ever to come out of it, and sets the bar extremely high. I should also use this opportunity to plug some other Scottish Black metal band such as Daemonolith, Cnocantursa and Maelstrom who are all very good, upcoming bands. They also have probably the best logo ever.
15	Shackles Traitor's Gate More unholy black thrash, and from where else but Australia. There must be something in the water down under, the only explanation I can think of as to why they are unsurpassable at Black Thrash. Apparently the band split up recently, which is a real shame because this is some relentless, blistering thrash metal, not unlike Destroyer 666, but more heavy metal oriented. This is most visible in the guitar tone, not quite a lowly tuned as their peers, but every bit as tight and vicious. The whole album is a flat out, all guns blazing piece of satanic filth, which will not dissappoint any fan of Destroyer 666. The main thing thats sets them apart from their peers though is the guitar leads which swarm throughout the whole album, extremely melodic and well thought out, sounding quite like a solo you would hear from Adrian Smith. An extremely barbaric album, which deserves alot more attention than it has received.
	16. Drowning the Light - An Alignment of Dead Stars --- 17. The Devil's Blood - The Time of No Time Evermore --- 18. Beherit - Engram --- 19. Diocletian - Doom Cult --- 20. Amorphis - Skyforger --- 21. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind --- 22. De Silence et Ombre - Ascension --- 23. Cruciamentum - Convocation of Crawling Chaos --- 24. Solstafir - Kold --- 25. Peste Noire - Ballade cuntre lo Anemi Francor --- 26. Helvetet's Port - Exodus to Hell --- 27. Teitanblood - Seven Chalices --- 28. Ad Hominem - Dictator: A Monument of Glory --- 29. Portal - Swarth --- 30. Austere - To Lay Like Old Ashes --- 31. Arkona - Goi Rode Goi!!! --- 32. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns --- 33. White Lies - To lose My Life --- 34. Hunter's Moon - The Serpents Lust --- 35. Glorior Belli - Meet us at the Southern Sign --- 36. Funeral Mist - Maranthra --- 37. A Place to bury Strangers - Exploding Head --- 38. Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy --- 39. Lisa Gerrard - Black Opal --- 40. Deiphago - Filipino Antichrist --- 41. Lonewolf - The Dark Crusade --- 42. Old Wainds - Death Nord Kult --- 43. The Gates of Slumber - Hymns of Blood and Thunder --- 44. Absu -Absu --- 45. Ingnovomous - Death Transmutation --- 46. Myrkr - Black Illumination --- 47. VNV Nation - Of Faith Power and Glory --- 48. Katharsis - Fourth Reich --- 49. Crystal Viper - Metal Nation --- 50. Wodensthrone - Loss

Free Metal!

2009-11-23T21:05:00.007Z

Free albums are always a good thing, here are various band sanctioned metal albums which i recommend.

Aethyr – …Reign of Mind Black Metal Download
Altar of Plagues - Through the Cracks of the Earth Post Black Metal Download
Anacrusis - Suffering Hour Thrash Metal Download
Beithíoch – An Sealgaire Ambient Black Metal Download
Cor Scorpii - Attergangar Black/Viking Metal Download
Demilich - Nespithe Brutal Death Metal Download
Doomshine - Shining in Solitude Doom Metal Download
Ereb Alter - The Awkening Viking/Doom Metal
Váli – Yggdrasil Doom Metal Download

[ALBUM REVIEW] Vektor - Black Future

2009-11-20T20:09:00.003Z

First thing that struck me about this album is the logo, as it is clearly homage to Canadian progressive thrash pioneers Voivod. Vektor are a a band of similar mould from south of the border to Voivod. Recently signed to Heavy Artillery, they unleashed their second album earlier this week, and I have to say, it's an absolute needed kick up the ass to modern thrash metal. The lyrics are not your standard thrash fare, no inane political agenda, no bone headed 'lets party, drink and fuck till dethhh!!!' philosophy here, but Vektor deal with... Astrophysics? Certainly an odd one, but very interesting.
Musically, Vektor sound like what Voivod would sound like, with Schmier on vocals. The music teeters on the boundary between the crossover styling of thrash and a more progressive type of the genre ala Voivod. The first song 'Black Future' opens with a heavy chugging riff which immediately runs into a melodic lead and snarling vocals which do not disappoint. The album is full of fresh, rolling heavy riffs certain to get the head banging. A suprising aspect of the album is that we have three songs over 10 minutes each, which is extremely suprising for a thrash album. The songs never get tired, no riff ever outstays it's welcome and before you know it, the band change rhythm completely or unleash a face melting solo of technical prowess or even both. The guitar playing is extremely tight and varied throughout the whole album, and the vocals are probably the best point about the whole album, vicious and in your face, the way it should be, but most importantly original, which is alot more that can be said about the like of Evile and such. The drumming is precise and very very well executed as well giving the rest of the music a sturdy backbone.
Instead of just sitting back and aping their heroes, as is the case with their peers, they take their style and push the perceived boundaries to what is regarded 'thrash' these days. It is an extremely well received breath of fresh air to the thrash scene in my eyes, and for such a young band, they can only go onwards and upwards. Heavy Artillery seem to have a knack for finding extremely talented young bands, long may they keep it up. It's great to hear music with such magnitude and direction these days.*

90/100

Myspazz

* Vector, magnitude, direction? Hahaha.... ok I'm sorry :(

You spin me right round......

2009-11-15T16:19:00.010Z

One thing that has always interested me are the inscribed messages in the run out of a lot of records, ranging from the quirky, the philosophical, the obscene and to the just plain fucked up. Just one of the many things I love about vinyl, it adds a touch of identity to the records. Some of the ones I have come across on my collection:

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands 12" WEA "
A - "Verfaillie"
B - "William, Rona and the baby cats..."

Death in June - Operation Hummingbird 12" TESCO
A - "We're king process in reserve.."
B - "This is not a dream, this is a memory"

The Chameleons - What Does anything Mean? Basically 12" STATIK
A - "What does anything mean.."
B - "...you bastard!"

Christian Death - Only Theatre of Pain 12" FRONTIER
A - "Here kitty kitty kitty!"
B - *unrecognisable scrawlings*

X-mal Deutschland - Tocsin 12" 4AD
A - "Harte zeiten - Harte Herzen!"
B - "Townhouse"

Skeletal Family - Promised Land 12" RED RHINO
A - "Bilbo tape 1"
B - "Denis tape 1"

Witchfinder General - Friends of hell 12" PIC LP HEAVY METAL
A - "No comprehendy!"
B - "Think your best 15p"

My Dying Bride - Symphonaire Infernus Et Soera Empyrium 12" PEACEVILLE
A - "On tour with Autopsy in '92"
B - "Enjoy the Darkness"

Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead 12" SMALL WONDER
A - "Teeny"
B - "Weeny"

The Mission - Children 12" MERCURY
A - "For Hannah and Jessica..."
B - "... and the child's flight of fantasy"

Echo and the Bunnymen - Pictures on My wall 7" ZOO!
A - -
B - "The revenge of Voodoo Billy"

A Place to Bury Strangers - I Know I'll See You 7" ROCKET GIRL
A - "Total sonic annihilation"
B - -

Alien Sex Fiend - Dead and Buried 7" ANAGRAM
A - "Stiff your Stereo and Knacker Your Needle"
B - -

Anyone who has any information on the meaning of any of these please leave a comment.