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ALBUM REVIEWS Latest Reviews:
If the denial we put in our heads from the half of Fiction that was awesome was enough to retain high hopes for the new record, Dark Tranquillity has finally entered the point of redundancy and proved most of us wrong. We Are The Void, bluntly and regrettably, pretty much lacks most everything that made every single past release enjoyable, this being strong lyrics (which make a handful of appearances), atmosphere with purpose, and the uncanny ability to write basic songs that are still awesome. Haven showed the band had faults, but was excusable since they were still experimenting. Damage Done through Fiction brought them back to a familiar yet re-polished style, and, most evident on Fiction (Blind At Heart, Terminus), still presented all too similar riffing patterns and cliché mistakes for a veteran band, but once again had enough awesome material to excuse it (Inside The Particle Storm, The Mundane And The Magic). We Are The Void is just another melodic death metal record with no redemption or character, yeah that was a pun so what. Usually I would say that “well this just isn’t something I enjoy” but honestly this is just purely poor. It pains me to say this considering I adore most everything else they’ve done, but after multiple listens of trying to find something with sustenance, all I hear is the same thing I heard the past 3 records. One may throw on the opening track and confront this point due to the Eastern influence, but once Dream Oblivion, The Fatalist, In My Absence, and so on, it’s almost indisputable that the songs are mechanical, and don’t convey the impression of passionate songwriting. The intro to Surface The Infinite sounding identical to Machine Head by Bush is enough of a red flag. Maybe it’s time for Niklas to step up to the writing table for the next record, but what will help the band as a whole is to do what they’ve done in the past and explore new ways of composition. This is only the first time Dark Tranquillity made a full-on misstep, so it wouldn’t be fair to write them off. To continue elaborating on this would lead the review to redundancy, so the positives would have to include Arkhangelsk, which is actually pretty awesome compared to the songs that precede it, as well as the closer, Iridium. Arkhangelsk has this really dark atmosphere and deters from the standard song format, making it a very refreshing track, and Iridium has this great metallic tone that doesn’t really resemble anything else they’ve done before, which is obviously noteworthy on this record, but even so gets a little old after the first half of the track. At the end of the day, Dark Tranquillity is 9 albums into their career, and should have known better. They’ve been around for over 20 years though, so they’re entitled to make a mistake, and if they’re legitimately pleased with this release, then kudos, but hopefully they regain inspiration to write a good record next time. (Danny Heater)
Lux Divina - From The Tomb To Nature's Blood - Release Date - 29/09/09 Lux Divina is pagan-ish black metal from Spain, however they sound nothing like the warm, climatic perception of their home. Nope, they’re very much in a blizzard mindset, and they don’t even need necro production to pull it off. With these long-awaited debut record, after being around for a decade or so, they obviously have a few concepts down pat, such as utilizing different tempos to a headbanger’s full advantage and, probably more importantly, where and where not to sing or scream. With that said, nothing’s exactly done wrong on the record, but at the same time they have leaps and bounds to cross before they become something truly substantial. For some reason I see a vague similarity between this band and Amesoeurs, and this could be due to the drum style or the overall atmosphere of songs like Praised Hymn To The Horned God and The Oracle Of The Funeral Trees, which compare in that they switch between blackened metal tremolo picking and groove-oriented clean sections. It’s a very metallic, cold tone that I think they do very well in their own right. They do have more “typical” black metal tracks like the first two openers, and they’re not bad, but considering the time period, they need to either step it up in the kvlt riffs department or try to incorporate something new with the black sound because at the end of the day, black metal with fast riffs and blast beats just won’t get you very far (compare the drums at beginning of Black Goddess’ Mountains with To Darkened Catacombs). However, the band does include two rather unusual tracks as far as the genre is concerned, which are a solo vocal track and a minute long acoustic interlude oh yeah speaking of the vocals, the growling is pretty great and somewhat high-pitched. The vocalist is impressive in that he switches between screaming and singing operatically no problem, however sometimes he falls under the “Eddie Vedder syndrome”, so he still has something to work on. Either way you look at it, From The Tomb To Nature’s Blood is a pretty good debut, despite the criticisms. What they do, they do well, and they represent Southern Europe’s black metal export positively. Before I say “they should try to expand their influences to create a more unique process of metal” or something like that, I’d rather just sit back and see what they do next because they give me a feeling like the next release will surpass this one by light years, which is exciting. The point is: good job, keep going, keep growing. (Danny Heater)
Evereve - Seasons - Release Date 2007 Evereve, disregarding their current (shit) status, unveiled such indefinable, yet mesmerizing sounds for two records only, the individualism due to every element on the two records, as it should be, for the music is entwined in sublime orchestration and the vocals are personified with untrained roars. Seasons loves to put you down in the worst way, and in its own way. Firstly, this is gothic/doom metal like you haven’t heard before (how many times can you say that?). The way the album flows mostly as a single track, you must notice the fluid transitions between each song, let alone between each section of the songs. The band uses dynamics to the extreme with unique arrangements of the traditional instruments while incorporating older classical and neo-folk influence in the symphonic elements as they breathe on their own time throughout their eclectic parts. The piano especially plays a very important role in switching the mood from melancholic to horrific, doing so by rising out of the melodious sections with low pulsations that quickly and fiercely turn the atmosphere to much darker shadows. Seasons uses layers to their full extent whenever it fits, usually as the chord progressions are continued while other elements, either bass, guitar, or strings, build upon and feed off each other to gather that much more imagination to the sound. Every time an instrument adds something interesting to the songs it gives off a new feel, also due to the keyboardist using much more effects than a standard gothic metal outfit, making the whole album fairly easy to listen to in full. The vocals, while incredibly raspy, maintain a listenable status due to the even production, and when the vocalist turns to clean vocals, it sounds like a different person until he turns the singing into screaming. He also incorporates spoken word sporadically, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Current 93, so either way the vocalist is basically schizophrenic, but genuinely talented. Evereve have reinvented not only gothic music but introduced a fresh, blood-soaked delusion to depressing music. Seasons, even when you haven’t heard it before, sounds uncomfortably familiar if you’re in the right mindset, and that alone is an outstanding constituent for a debut record. What better time than summer to wallow and rage in desolation, kids? It never gets old. (Danny Heater)
The Foreshadowing are a doom rock band from Italy that have been in a cocoon since 1997, waiting for the right members to join Alessandro (guitar), Andrea (guitar), and Francesco (keyboard). Finally in 2006, Davide (bass), Jonah (drums), and Marco (vocals; How Like A Winter) fulfilled the lineup. According to their bio, their aim is to bring you into an atom-sphere of apocalyptic tragedy and alienation from humanity and everyday life with a moody and powerful music. Sounds pretty damn fantastic. Immediately as Cold Waste begins, the curtains have been closed. It starts off on a crawl with high clean guitar and suddenly crushes you with an immense, and even slower distortion-wall of sound…and then progresses into a fucking jam beat, reminiscent of Katatonia's Discouraged Ones. The song weaves in and out of these slow/mid-paced tempos, and the keyboards and lead guitar really create a genuinely abysmal atmosphere that makes me wonder if these guys even want to be alive. Another worthwhile track to mention is Eschaton, the intro and verse being truly something special. Slow and suicidal rhythms and melodies, depressing lyrics that are actually catchy (there's more of this on other tracks…those bastards), and an ethereal keyboard break that is moody to an extreme. Marco's voice is low, yet when he sings a bit higher than normal you can hear the lack of motivation, in that he sounds like he gave up on humanity long ago and uses the little strength he can muster to mournfully deliver. There is a flaw here though. The album never comes full circle, in that there is no ultimate symbiosis. It makes its point, pulls you in, bleeds you halfway, but never finishes off. This may really ruin it for people, or what may ruin it for people is the bland-sounding Ladykiller…whatever just skip that track it's ok. All aside, this is a damn great debut album. The production is very clear, and as far as accessibility goes, it really depends. Most doom enthusiasts will most likely enjoy this granted you can handle an album with an unforgiving pace. Then there are others who think doom can be too depressing but if you don't like depressing music, then why the fuck are you listening to doom? I would definitely keep your eye on this band; they're forging their own path of desolation away from the pile of mindless and generic doom bands. By the way, if you listen to the whole album, pay close attention to the final two tracks, because you should rid the room of all sharp objects and shoelaces. (Danny Heater)
Secrets Of The Moon- Privilegivm - Release Date - 18/09/09 From a pure standpoint of a composer, Privilegivm is a fantastic example of taking relatively simple music and transforming it into something far more than you would expect. Secrets Of The Moon are a doomy, occult black metal band from Germany and have remained in the shadows their whole career. However this may be the record that brings them from the deep underground to more honourable heights due to its mastery of black atmosphere and overall unity, both of which play massive roles in the album’s impact. Privilegivm is not held back by the genre’s standards of blast beats, simple structures, and Satanism. It’s almost progressive in its arrangement, not just because of the longer song lengths but because it includes outside influences only sparingly as to merely enhance the ambience and then it discards the idea to move on to another. However, even though it does this to keep from being repetitive, there still are returning components as far as compositional pieces goes, which helps the record preserve its identity as a single thought. In Sulphur alone you can hear fist-pumping sections, doom-inspired interludes, a lack of structure, and a traditional black metal chorus for the outro. You could say it’s not fair to simply label this band as black metal because they do in fact do many other things with their songs. An attention to detail is also apparent: In Black Halo, there’s a part where you suddenly hear a crowd cheer, the very select shouting vocals in Sulphur, or just the crescendo of the drummer’s parts throughout the record. The collections of these minute alterations to the songs enhance the impact to a significant degree that further brings the record to a new level above its contemporaries. It’s executed very professionally, and if you’ve ever seen the band live you can feel how in tune the members are with each other, giving the atmosphere an even darker and intense turn due to such unity. Privilegivm succeeds in a unique manner where passion for the concept of the music is the pulsation of this band. From the intensity of For They Know Not to the drone-inspired Descent to the unexpected clean, yet dirty, vocals on Shepherd (let alone the first appearance of strings and solos), the band gives so much for the listener to experience amongst its interconnected discrepancies. Even the lyrics play a subtle role if you understand their meanings/references (this may take a bit of research on most people’s part). Anyone looking for another Darkthrone should ignore this, but anyone looking for the advancement of bleak, blackened, and inspired metal need look no further. (Danny Heater)
Katatonia - Night Is The New Day - Release Date - 02/11/09 The process of writing has the potential to be one of the most complex tasks one can partake in, though how in depth one intends to purge depends solely on the individual’s spirit and integrity towards producing something definitive. It isn’t fair to say one band is better at this than another, however Katatonia, being an act that’s certainly not easy to digest for everyone (especially on this record), is able to do this with ease for a majority of their audience due to their purging atmosphere, and able to reach out to a select few who transpire and expire within the unfortunately familiar state of mind. Night Is The New Day displays the most seasoned sound of any of their records in that what you hear is what comes after the post-apocalypse, where your mind is reborn from ash, and you’re fully aware of the despondent reality displaced from the rest. Night Is The New Day, contrary to popular belief, is far replaced from The Great Cold Distance given the extensive amount of layers and density this record holds as well as the diversity merely between the sounds of the songs. Given this new direction towards a more experimentally driven intensity, the band was bound to hinder before a few new concepts, but this only gives one more to hope for on the next outing. As far as what the record brings that’s fairly new for the band, or at least further developed/executed from the past, includes an extensive amount of electronic sample and keyboard usage, such as the piano-driven theme from New Night, the strings in The Longest Year, or the sample-heavy Departer. There’s also more of a folk influence in a couple tracks, namely Idle Blood and The Day And Then Shade, which really hasn’t been seen since A Darkness Coming, though one could argue it made a sparse return in Viva Emptiness’ Omerta. Though, the most overwhelming, yet subtle change is the atmosphere. Katatonia has always had a unified atmosphere within each record, but with Night Is The New Day, they give off a very strong element of the aftermath of ruination, post-nostalgia, and the imagery of the decay of weathered stone architecture, something that greatly enhances a three-hour mindfuck when you’re lost in the woods. There are a few improved qualities as well instrumentally. The guitar effects are not completely abused anymore since that role has been taken by the inclusion of keys/electronics, but when they are used, it doesn’t feel like they’re there for no reason, such as in The Promise Of Deceit. The bass is much more present with a very thick tone (ex: Inheritance), a very nice perk compared to the rest of the discography. The drums, which have never really been samey but, now play around with more rhythms than previously, which could be due to the numerous tempos or simply Daniel’s resourcefulness, exemplified on the tracks New Night or Onward Into Battle. There have been many complaints about Jonas’ vocals on here, as well as The Great Cold Distance, that they are too monotone and uninteresting, and even though there are numerous areas on this record that deliver a higher range (The Longest Year), the mid-range technique is called for due to the dismal tone of the songs (Nephilim, a highly doom-influenced track), and the vocals match so well that their hopelessness and despondence only enhance the songs, and complaining about this means you’re looking for the wrong things in this band. Temperament is the reason this album thrives as well as suffers. There isn’t exactly anything wrong with the songs overall, but it is apparent that the sound can be taken further. Katatonia is ever-growing as a band and as a concept, and the fact that they haven’t released a perfect record shows they aren’t striving for a peak, but rather multiple ways and styles to express themselves in consistent eminence. This naturally doesn’t guarantee everyone to be able to indulge, however this is not the purpose, further giving the extended privilege to those who can. The music that touches your life is the only reason to live, and embracing the music that becomes your life is the best way to die. (Danny Heater)
Syrach’s second release as a reformed entity, third total, ventures towards a more conceptual path while retaining the dark groove of the first record. While Days of Wrath saw the band disturb their dormancy to release a solid death/doom record full of epic riffing, A Dark Burial sees Syrach is actually sitting down wanting to write an album with a cohesive theme, that being a sort of story of a long awaited and carried-out death of some figure, possibly told in first-person, while the music tries its best to bring out the colours of the story. Even though Syrach succeeds in going through these motions, at the end they seem like they don’t know which style to embrace. A Dark Burial is a record that can stand out nowadays compared to other doom bands influenced by all the eras of the genre because it never mimics other bands, therefore the sound is always Syrach. The first three songs showcase their tone the best with Curse The Souls and The River’s Rage illustrating their 80’s death/doom groove riff mania and a coarse, dry, and aggressive vocal delivery. The title track, however, goes above and beyond the tone of the first two with simply more enjoyable, upbeat riffing and dynamics, making it one of the highlights. Unlike the longer songs on Days of Wrath, A Mourner’s Kiss 12 minute run time loses steam before it should, though the dual vocals are a fantastic touch. It illustrates a darker atmosphere than the rest of the album and the wah solo is a great touch to the slower section as it trudges along, possibly for too long. This is where you start to see the album’s faults, and the redundancy of In Darkness I Sigh plays out. The clean interlude and following solo is a good touch but not completely redeeming. Ouroboros’ crushing doom tendencies try to close the album on a strong note with yet another solo. While Syrach’s aesthetic works well enough, the arrangement as a whole could be improved with a little bit of experimentation with new styles of riffs or new atmospheres overall. If they could do that while retaining the dark presence they wish to carry, they could write a hell of a strong record. A Dark Burial is a necessary step towards this goal, but tries too hard to act as something that’s bigger than what it is, and this is where it finds its faults. The band is certainly moving forward though, and the following release is sure to become their strongest. (Danny Heater)
As of late, the Swedish black metal scene has seemed to dry up. Most its main attractions have since passed and it’s as if for every good black metal band to come out of Sweden, we get four bad ones (see Watain ->Satariel). Mörker is one of the bands inbetween, where they have the potential to go down the path of clichés or the path of righteousness, but haven’t yet decided. Being only the second release on an obscure record label, the band is still in their infantile stage, where they make the classic mistakes of writing songs that sound similar, especially around the second half of the album. Their sound is comparable to that of older …And Oceans and newer Dawn, with more piano, but just as many catchy riffs. For black metal, the production actually isn’t that bad, but the guitars are still 1000% on overdrive and the vocals use a lot of reverb, so I guess the producer was going for a clean necro sound? You can hear the bass, and the album isn’t riddled with blast beats. If you listen close enough, there are all sorts of different influences throughout the album. Dodsangest sounds like Bathory in the Twilight of the Gods era, and Djupa Spar Av Tvivel sounds like mid-paced Finntroll, for instance. Naturally you have your usual second wave of black metal influence, but it’s put to non-monotonous good use. Segertag is a solid track with tremolo guitars almost the whole song, and the song structure is very Norwegian. As the song progresses the drums do a great job at keeping your interest by being pretty consistent in switching up the rhythm. However, Mitt Arv completely owns this record, possibly one of the best black metal tracks of the year. It starts off a bit typical with the blast beats and “epic” riffing, but completely breaks down into this infectious 6/8 groove with dissonant lead parts. At this point it’s as if some death metal influences are seeping into the song. A surprise I found is that there are instrumentals, four in fact (that’s four more than on any black metal record I know of!). Undergangen plays its simplistic card and succeeds. It flows as elegantly as old Ulver, so that should say something. And then you have Falk, which is just purely the band’s own sound, and it’s glorious, the next best track next to Mitt Arv. Sure the band did a lot of things right this time around, but they also hurt the record with some very average tracks, as well as out of place tracks, out of place as in the order of the songs. If they cut the first and last track off the album, it would sound so much better and less tedious. There are a few generic tracks within the record too, but are masked by the enjoyable ones surrounding them. If you’re not a huge black metal fan, but still kinda dig it, the cleaner production and outside influences could lure you in. All in all, a worthwhile release, and a welcome addition to the Swedish metal family. Dig it. (Danny Heater)
Step aside for a moment from the unrelenting hate towards Behemoth due to their recent “lackluster” attempts at death metal records. The problem with a band like Behemoth not pleasing a section of the metal community is that, even though the lyrics are consistently intriguing, the passion they put into their playing is faltered by possibly trying too hard to upstage their contemporaries in terms of aggressive and cohesive songwriting. But what you could never deny them was their intelligence of constructing what were essentially history lessons, albeit skewed and slightly mythologized, in the form of music, and even though some people dislike them for being pretentious, redundant, or overproduced, in the most convenient nutshell, Evangelion retorts those claims in a manner as cold and unforgiving as a fake orgasm. To start off, Nergal does not overproduce the record, nor does he have eight layers of vocals every inch of the tracks. In fact his growl is as powerful and trained as it’s ever been, an obvious claim based on just hearing the behemoth(!) opener Daimonos. Another welcome change-up from monotony complaints is Inferno’s drumming. Rather than being straight double bass for the intro and blast beats for the rest of the songs like it seemed to be the whole last record, it’s more like it was on Thelema .6, that being controlled (Alas, The Lord Is Upon Me), varied enough (Ov Fire And The Void), but still ridiculously inhuman at parts. You could say his work on Evangelion has finally allowed him to fully live up to his name. While all that’s good and tasty, the main element that has evolved to a mature form is Nergal’s songwriting, including the arrangements of all three members’ parts. Every section of Evangelion sounds thought-out while maintaining that “impulse” feel that makes music sound that much more natural flowing, probably most apparent in Transmigrating Beyond Realms Ov Amenti, a fun track starting out in a smooth 15/8 time. However, the most obvious difference with Evangelion is it’s variation in song structure, riffing patterns, and tempo variation. This is what makes this record such a pleasure to listen to multiple times because it really doesn’t blend together much at all. I’m pleased to say that Behemoth has achieved a big feat here. Evangelion strides infinitely higher than their other releases due to its strong increase in quality within literally every characteristic. The band’s attempts at combining intelligent subject matter, the passion of writing chaotic and cohesive music with a message, and worldwide influences musically and lyrically have been fully realized, so here’s hoping Behemoth can continue their stride in the future, but for now we can let those choir chants haunt our souls as they shout “Christians to the lions!” (Danny Heater)
Madder Mortem - Eight Ways - Release Date - 11/05/09 Madder Mortem is downright weird. They aren’t terribly complex or “avant-garde”, but they’re just weird. Starting out as a gothic doom band, they released two records, both with good reception, which allowed them to gain a larger audience while touring with Tristania and Rotting Christ. Soon enough they landed a deal with The End records to release their third record, “Deadlands”, a darker and heavier album that caught a certain Mr. Akerfeldt’s (Opeth) attention, giving Madder Mortem the opening slot on the Deliverance tour. Further evolving their progressive doom edge with “Desiderata” (2006) and the new release of “Eight Ways”, they effortlessly stand apart and above their contemporaries through their sheer, passionate, and eclectic arrangements. Within the jazzy drumming and the fluidly performed, harmonized guitars, the voice of one female Agnete cordially soothes your soul before shrill shrieks tear it apart with said metaphorical beastliness because Eight Ways is all about polarities. The opener Formaldehyde induces lounge sensibilities for the first minute and a half before breaking into more doomy and aggressive territory; however the drums are still stuck in their jazz patterns. This track is perfect for showing off what Agnete brings to table as well. Songs like Amour and Resolution follow a more gothic metal representation but maintain that amorphous song structure as the music goes wherever it wants, whether it be polyrhythms or catchy choruses. Madder Mortem is very good at being audacious is such ways, furthermore adding to the excitement of hearing really groovy bass lines (When Dream And Day Collide) in between the album’s heaviest tracks or the almost nu-metal stylings of A Different Kind Of Hell that combines harmonized doom leads and slow, low rhythm lines as Agnete blows out her lungs. Also noteworthy is the guitar tone, especially the clean sound. It is the epitome of lush, bringing the King Crimson influence out of nowhere straight to the table. Eight Ways is hard to pinpoint as far as its status of enjoyment goes because its melding of unconventionalities with clichés is frankly remarkable. Think what you may, you’ve never heard something like this before. Listening to this is like being swept away to a blue-filtered meadow picking flowers only with the biggest thorns while smiling unmercifully. Madder Mortem is without doubt a black sheep in the metal scene, and that’s just how it should be because not everyone can appreciate such rare flowers. (Danny Heater)
Unholy Matrimony - Croire, Decroitre - Release Date - 06/06/09 Working as a one-man composer in any realm of music presents two things: firstly, you have the freedom to do absolutely anything without worrying about the token band mate whining “…man I’m just not feeling that, it’s too unconventional for me”, and secondly, you have a lot of mental work on your plate. Yet in the world of Vladimir Cochet, this clearly doesn’t serve as a barrier since he does this with five different projects. Putting aside the “It’s impossible to play, it’s a classic” mentality for a bit, Vlad’s music has really never held even a short-running interest by any means, but now he finally realizes that restraint is a PLUS, and necessary in his case. Unholy Matrimony is a Swiss blackened metal band with blast beats being a rarity. That being said, none of the double bass is possible for most humans to perform. If you’re not new to Cochet’s projects this is fully understood already, but if not you will either think it’s pretty tasteless or it’s just fun, it varies. However, unlike 'Weeping Birth' and 'Mirrorthrone', Unholy Matrimony has always had some staying power due to multiple things, one main thing being the apparent consciousness of the compositions as opposed to dragging neoclassical death metal out for over an hour. This was what made ‘Love And Death’ so special, amongst many other elements, as well as what made Misologie a blunder, but it is this artistic growth that makes Cochet’s 2009 output so fun to listen to and it has nothing to do with everything sounding like a wall of snares and the tremolo of six guitars. Croire, Decroitre introduces the concept of mental disease, with suitable audio accompaniment, French lyrics, and of course enough brutality to make manslaughter an enjoyable hobby. As mentioned before, Cochet learned from his mistakes in Mirrorthrone, allowing his ten minute tracks to not die out after one minute, also incorporating mostly shorter song lengths to make one listen that much more bearable. He has toned down the drums to a point where it seems he actually tried to write drum parts that complimented the other instruments (see , and though it does eventually go back to being blisteringly fast, the breaks of tasteful drum parts in between allow those ridiculously fast parts to be an actual attributing component. Basically, in every aspect Cochet had previously failed in, he put forth the same ideas but did them right. His songwriting is so much more interesting, obviously apparent in the first ten minute opus D’Elegance et de Dereliction, and his use of variation between riffing styles, tempos, and structures make this album what it is: a strong, headbangable metal record completely compromising his other disaster-filled releases. Between the explosive introduction of Innocence Abusee, the acoustic breaks of La Lente Mort Sans Panache, and the maniacal chanting and giggling of Le Poids de Leur Chute les Rend Dignes’ clean folk interludes, Cochet has succeeded for once. His riffs shine, and the variety he explored in Love And Death is finally starting to seep back through, if only slightly in comparison. Either way, Unholy Matrimony just might be a force to be reckoned with this year, because next to Shining, Wolves In The Throne Room, and Blut Aus Nord, black metal has very little representation thus far, so take this album with strides across your backs, men; the evil is in your spirits. (Danny Heater)
On my journeys through
the depths of our beloved internet I frequently came across the opinion that
Whitechapel was a deathcore act actually worth
listening to, compared to say Waking the Cadaver and should thus be my next
review victim. Why not, I thought. If it is good it will help me unwind a
bit in this stressful period of sending applications to universities and if
not then I can happily slaughter it. The drums don’t sound
as laughable as they do on other deathcore albums but I still find them
lacking in punch. The cymbals sound good but the bass drum ticks away like a
very large metronome in a way that makes me shake my head in wonder. Why do
people think this sounds brutal? It sounds ridiculous. Overall though are
the drums probably my favourite part of the album. The drummer can play, he
doesn’t do any spastic wankery or understate his play. He plays some blasts
and fills and beats and overall that’s alright. Not great, but alright. The lyrics aren’t BMTH
emo nonsense but singing about killing someone and then doing interesting
things with the corpse has become old twenty odd years after
Cannibal Corpse no matter how much you try to
use complicated language. So some good drumming, a nice if completely not fitting outro and lots and lots of deathcore idiocy. Buy it only if you already like deathcore and need another fix. 4/10 (Nils Hesebeck)
Norway is literally one of the very few musical regions of Europe that has not secured a big name in the doom metal scene, so when Syrach debuted back in 1996 with Silent Seas, a reasonably enjoyable but fairly generic record, why did they not continue? Regardless if it was due to intense band development or endless line-up alterations, after 10 years of absence Syrach has been reborn via Days Of Wrath, a fiery doom metal record with an evil, yet conscious groove. With influences ranging from all over the doom world sans symphonic, there’s plenty here for one to draw from, whether it be Semper Ardens’ hard melodic pulsations suggestive of October Tide, A Death Tear’s atmospheric, yet riff-laden aggression of My Dying Bride, or the downright evil tone of the whole record more or less absent since Candlemass’ glory days. Forgive all the comparisons, for Syrach’s 10 years well spent has found them redeeming individuality. Their compositions are demanding, and because of the rock n’ roll influences some areas of the album come across as really coherent jam sessions. Plus, while most doom records have to start out all serious, quiet, and introspective, Are You Able To Breathe Fire begins instantly with thunderous low grows and double bass. In fact, Syrach only takes their time developing a song during The Firm Grip Of Death, a 14-minute trek that mixes funeral influences with well-arranged melodic passages. Another interesting concept the band undertook was having four guest singers: Silje Wegeland, Gruntle Kjellson, Yoko Homo, and Bjornar Nilsen. Yes, four guest female vocalists, and because they are intentionally spread out through the album, they consistently breathe a fresh flame to the sound. Possibly the most significant instant of this is on the closer The Twilight Enigma. Easily the heaviest track on the record (and possibly the best), the middle section features the song collapsing into quiet, clean arpeggios with soulful, falsetto female vocals in accompaniment. They are also featured later on during the heavier sections, adding a new dynamic to that specific sound. Needless to say, this is an exceptional release, but not without its share of hindrances…mainly two. Firstly, the growled vocals are completely one dimensional. Whether or not that was a conscious decision is unknown but personally there were multiple instances where some higher screams or even dual vocals would have made a much stronger impact. Secondly, other than the clean sections, the sound across the record is virtually at one level. Dynamics are a good thing in doom and elsewhere, especially when you’re dealing with how certain passages come across. Though, the band is planning a July release for their next album, and it’s evident from this record that they are trying quite hard to improve as a band, but even so Days Of Wrath is a rather fun doom record you can listen to anytime to spur the demons inside. (Danny Heater)
Sthenos - Opus Macabre (Demo) - Release Date 2009
I recently took another Step into completely unfamiliar
territory; this time into the haunted world of ambient black metal.
“The End of My Existence”
sounds like something savage and cold, right? But it is yet another ambient
track, this time piano driven. Not actually bad but just pointless. At 1:40
more generic black metal is served with more tremolo melodies. It’s nothing
new but it has the same effect as the end of the second track. It creates
expectations which are never fulfilled.
Old Corpse Road - The Echoes Of Tales Once Told (Demo) - Release Date 03/09 To be honest I was kind of hoping to get something genuinely bad for my first review because it would be easier to write a long list of complaints. But OCR first demo has the nerve to be both folk black metal and actually enjoyable so there goes my hope. OCR hail from the leafier parts of north-east England and looking at the cover (a picture containing nothing but a rock covered with moss or lichen, some stinging nettles, grass and other pieces of foliage) and their logo (actually decipherable) one would not suspect black metal. One only gets about 40 of actual black metal in any case but more about that later. I actually sketched out a song by song review because it is only a demo after all, but it didn't really work because I just ended up repeating myself. Not that the songs are too similar, but they are all of the same breed. It is a bit like the fact that the average Opeth song can be summarized with 'hard passage, acoustic break, hard passage, acoustic break fusing into climax'. In this case the formula is something like 'black metal part, atmospheric part, black metal part, atmospheric part, black metal part, climax'. Despite this the Old Corpse Road is not repetitive but in fact quite scenic. The black metal parts are quite sameish but I think that's a genre problem rather than the band's fault and it is not like they do eight minutes of blasting with the same two note riff. The atmospheric passages in particular are very diverse, ranging from Opeth style acoustic guitar pieces to spoken word interludes with additions of choirs, chants, a harsh voice and ambient effects. This works especially well on the second and third song, but not so much in the first where the initial melody is a recurring motif, which would be less a shame if it wasn't so damn annoying. But I don't mind because the song is quite short and the next two redeem it easily. In conclusion I think the songwriting has a lot of potential but it is not perfect, for two main reasons. First several passages, especially the harsh ones, feel copy/pasted at times, which is not exactly bad but creates an odd feeling with me, but since it is a demo I think we can overlook that. Second point is that at times, especially in the first song, the soft passages appear for no real reason, there's no slow breaking down or any feeling of 'there should be something happening now'. From songwriting we turn to the instruments. The guitars play mostly fast tremolo riffs which come as no surprise but since it is a folky and we have some melodies over the riffs and a lot of them during the soft passages, which is very good because if they had relied solely on keyboard ambient effects I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much. The drums blast and
fill and while they do not really stand out they are certainly competent and
support the rest as good as probably possible. On top of all this competent musicianship lounge the vocals and it has to be said that they are the strongest piece in the band. The vocals range from common black metal shrieks to semi growls to somber spoken passages which sound really, really good, deep and able to shift from soothing to intimidating with no effort at all. Impressive. I would love to say something about the lyrics but there weren't any with the demo or any on a few websites I tried so I have to guess at the content. The shrieks are pretty indecipherable but here and there I understood something and the spoken parts also gave some hints. The lyrics seem to reach disjointedly from some mythic stories about death and doom to praising of trees which is probably as far as lyrical variation can go in this genre. Also I never heard the word Satan uttered or screamed which upset the little prejudice man in me but calmed the reviewer. The last point in a review is the production and often the critical one for a demo and to my surprise the band was indeed right when they promised a good quality in their press statement. Ok, so the fuzzy guitars are a bit thin at times and they bury the bass and the drums could be louder but what the hell I say, it is almost up with Kampfar's Kvass in terms of production and for a black metal demo that is good indeed. So this is, all in all, a good demo. It gives you a small dose of standard black metal and a huge kick of atmosphere. Definitely recommended. 8/10 (Nils Hesebeck)
InnerFire - Of Legends And Allegiance - Release Date - 2008 Within the bounds of present day melodic metal, insipid is a word that comes to mind. Take that as you may, though also understand that bands such as InnerFire are still trying to break those molds. Hailing from Belgium, this melodic death metal band (whom actually plays death metal) presents an invigoration to the scene. They present not fancy intros, but bombastic and emotive riffage, only trying to impress you with their raw, enveloping composition skills. No, they are not innovative, but they sure as hell know how to write original songs as an album rather than a bunch of cool tracks. The main sound on Of Legends And Allegiance is epic, furiously brooding, and surprisingly catchy. A character shared between the first two songs brings to mind the Classical era where the band is insistent on presenting a piece of music and continuously building upon them while intertwining various moods and tempos. Each instrument is pulsating while retaining their own qualities, something especially prevalent in the guitar solos and keyboard interludes. Even a bit of a jazz influence seeps through on Circles Of Sadness, a rather repetitive track in theory, but without losing anything interesting. They use older influences rather than contemporary ones, but still incorporate their twist, giving a sort of “back to the future” sound, most noticeable on The Blast Of Decadence, a definite highlight. The faults you can find are typical, however. There are moments in songs like Samonios and Sordid where the band seems to fall back on predictable melodic metal rhythms and riff structures, with the low vocal style rarely changing its mantra. The band also implements keys in every inch of the record, and at times it serves no purpose to the song but is simply just there. Also, there are only two settings used: synth and piano, which can become a bit redundant at times. Though, do not lose faith in the band, it’s easy to see in the music that the band is putting their hearts into their material. The fallbacks in the compositions could easily be due to the exceptionally numerous line-up changes the band underwent, and even if not, the prowess of the record does not match infantile stage of the band, making InnerFire someone to watch out for in the future, as they are without doubt miles ahead of their contemporaries and, given time, have the potential to become leaders in their scene. (Danny Heater)
Ironwood - :Fire:Water:Ash: - Release Date - 2009
Ironwood's debut
album, :Fire:Water:Ash:, is most likely one of
2009s best unsigned releases by far. These four awesome musicians from Sydney
have yet again outdone themselves with this release. Since hearing their debut
EP I have been waiting anxiously for this album to come into the light, and I
must say, it's certainly refreshing to hear something so different to everything
else that I hear these days.
Futility - Futility - Release Date - 2009
Futility are one of Australia's
premier Doom metal bands, and this year they
released their debut self titled album, which includes a full listing of 6
reasonably lengthed songs. Futility hail from Canberra and are doing their best
to mark their own section in the Australian metal community. In my opinion
Futility are yet to meet their peak, but that doesn't mean that this album isn't
good, in fact it's quite the opposite. This album will likely be one of my most
played Australian albums throughout 2009, and I can see this band being one of
few I follow that keep getting better. (Mat - Metaholic) - Metaholic Review - Futility Launch Show
October Tide - Rain Without End - Release Date 1997 (re-issue 2008)
1996 was an extremely significant time in Sweden.
Opeth were touring for Morningrise,
Edge of Sanity just released Crimson, and
Katatonia…well, they broke up. No one really knew
about it because only a year later they released Brave Murder Day, but it did
happen. During this time, Anders started his Diabolical
Masquerade project, leaving Jonas and Fred to themselves. So, what did
the pair do? Well, they’re Swedish musicians, so naturally they released a solid
metal record. They started one of the most overlooked death/doom bands at the
time called October Tide, with Jonas and Fred doing
all the instruments, vocals and production themselves.
Progressive, experimental and full of ambition. If that's what you're
looking for in a new Satyricon album then you might want to wait for
the next one. The Age of Nero, the new chapter
in the Satyricon library is in much the same vein as its predecessor
Now Diabolical, which is far from a bad thing
at all! Where as Now Diabolical was of a higher
tempo and
full of angst The Age of Nero seems more flat
and less punchy from the offset. The track My skin is
cold, also released as an EP earlier in the year bares all the
trademarks of the band, Solid head banging riffs mixed with distinctive
vocals. The guitar work is as you would expect from the band, chunky
repetitive riffs that you can nod along to instantly. Few tracks jump out at
you but at the same time there aren't tracks you want to skip through. An
average format of 8 songs, ranging from four to seven minutes means you
definitely won't
find this album a drag. If your a fan of Satyricon
then your sure to love this installment yet still consider it far from one
of their best. Overall a very solid album, well produced however lacking that
extra
spark we've come to expect from the band. -
7.5/10
Nine LP's have been released since they
first appeared in our eyes and their tenth LP "Vertebrae,"
has 8-tracks of pure norse mythology and viking nature that just crushes
you.
"Clouds," which cover the misty plains these vikings have set foot upon causes a progressive style of musical sensation with keyboards bring a creative introduction to the mixture, as the drums are building up a heavy beating display in the back drop. The vocals come in as ghoulish as they can be spoken as the keyboards continue to give this erry feeling with the drums backing them up with an on-going beat as the guitars go into a nice pacing riff. "New Dawn," brings the fastness to the vikings having the ghoulish vocals keep in tone with the blast beats from the drums as the keyboards do a creepy solo making this song a lot more spooky than its name. Enslaved brings to name Immortal and Dark Funeral among other black metal artists that have inspired us and destroyed our minds. In concluding "Vertebrae," we have 'The Watcher," which mellow acoustic guitar solo goes slow then breaks free with the growling tones of the vocalist coming in with the keyboards right behind, going back into that medium fast beating tone but keeping that black metal progression at a pace we can focus on and learn to admire. Enslaved's tenth release is one to add to any black metal collection, if you like Immortal and Dark Funeral's black magic spells than you'll fall head over hells for these viking masters. - 8.5/10 (thrashmag)
If there was ever such a thing as memorable death metal, Laethora would be a hell of an honorable mention, and yet you would never expect Niklas Sundin of Dark Tranquillity paired with Joakim Rosen and co. from Goth rock’s The Provenance to produce a death metal record in the first place. At the same time, don’t expect another record filled with blistering drums and cool riffs. March Of The Parasite has a certain aura about it, due to multiple elements that will be further discussed, and fails to fall into a niche, other than being unrelenting in all its moods. According to interviews, Sundin said the purpose of the band “was to create something very organic and gritty sounding that would differ from most of today's lifeless and overly clinical death metal productions. More dirt under the fingernails, so to say.” While not everyone is as critical about the scene, it can be hard to disagree at times, and when hearing tracks like Black Void Remembrance or Y.M.B. the intense dedication to the overall composition of the record is obvious. You will notice that the production greatly impacts the sound of the album as well. A hefty amount of music these days tends to want to sound over-refined in terms of production. Laethora made a conscious decision to put a layer of sand paper across the mixing board to fuck it up until it was just right. Another quote from the band pertaining to the sound: “The sound of rusty nails driven through the heart of the world while one-eyed S&M gimps in Emperor shirts whip themselves silly under showers of clown blood and red wine.” Perceptions are a beautiful thing. In terms of this organic element Sundin referenced, it could be perceived by how enthusiastic the record surges through its runtime, what with the almost nostalgic quality seeping through the band’s unique feel. They can create an atmosphere in a remotely similar way of early 90’s black metal in that they don’t need keyboards to develop their aura, and this characteristic in death metal can be rarely mentioned. Aside from that, the attitude is a prevalent component of the album’s impact. Songs like Imposters and Scum Of Us All reek of the passion of demolishing present death metal stereotypes (let alone your room), even lyrically. Some of the lyrics are improvised on the spot, which gives a sense of urgency that you can’t necessarily get with “assembled” lyrics. With Jonatan Nordenstam’s throat-tearing vocal style that’s more vicious than a hammer smashed face at his worst mixed with Sundin and Rosen’s malicious riff style, these songs become fairly hard to ignore. March Of The Parasite is not an album to take lightly. It’s more than a side-project for both the members and the fans, and if you can mix pinches of doom and grind with this new edge on the same song in multiple accounts then you may have entered post-death metal territory. This isn’t revolutionary by any means, but it’s damn original, and certainly not your older brother’s death metal. This record gets four out of five horns in the air for being the whirlwind of new, filthy breath in today’s music. The agonizingly measured, malevolent death everyone unwillingly deserves. (Danny Heater)
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