June 2013 – Wonderbox Metal

Stellar Descent/Aylwin – Farallon (Review)

This is a split between Stellar Descent an Aylwin, and long, epic, Cascadian-style Black Metal is the order of the day here.

The songs by both bands are well constructed examples of this particular sub-genre and are positively brimming with atmosphere and feelings that evoke the harsh reality of a beautiful yet potentially deadly landscape.

I think this style of music has a lot to offer, especially when done well and with obvious passion such as is displayed here. Both bands also benefit from strong recordings and sound, whilst still within a recognisably Black Metal style.

Highly recommended this; for anyone who likes their Black Metal bleak and unforgiving, yet naturalistic and wild.

https://www.facebook.com/aylwinblackmetal

https://www.facebook.com/StellarDescent

Frostbitten – We Feared the Wrath of Lord Lucifer (Review)

Filthy, dirty, primitive, raw Black Metal with teeth and a real bite. Not for the faint-hearted. Primitive or no; there are still plenty of good ideas on display here. Slower songs as well as faster ones, mood as well as brutality, bludgeoning as well as razor blades.

Elements of doom rear their grim heads relatively frequently within the strictly blackened framework and this works extremely well. There is even a welcome variation in vocals; The Hooded Robe demonstrating that clean vocals (in a filth-ridden-doom-kinda-way) definitely have a place in Black Metal.

This is a prolific UK band that is not afraid to try new things and deserves support. Check them out now!

https://www.facebook.com/frostbittenblackmetal

Antero Sleeps – Titan (Review)

Science fiction Doom Metal. What could be better than that?

This is very well written and recorded; as soon as you start listening you know it’s going to be something special. No hastily-thrown together collections of riffs here, rather; well thought-out melodies and structures, with plenty of interest to be had throughout.

There is plenty here that can hit you full in the face the first time you hear it, but it also has the all-important nuances and subtleties that keep you coming back for more. Antero Sleeps draw you in and make their music just plain better than something more one-dimensional would be.

Be sure to check this out as soon as you can!

https://www.facebook.com/anterosleeps

Forgotten Woods – The Curse of Mankind

Forgotten Woods

This exceptional Black Metal album was released in 1996; if you like your depressive/suicidal Black metal then I recommend you track it down and get it immediately.

Considered by many the forefathers of this particular sub-genre, (alongside Burzum of course), their sound is archetypal and much-copied.

The album is typically raw and unpolished, yet still well-recorded enough, (relatively speaking), so that the songs shine, albeit in a murky, dank, grim kind of way!

This is the kind of album where you can easy drift off and become one with the repetitive guitars and the feeling they convey. For this reason I find this album very satisfying and worthy of inclusion in anyone’s collection.

A must.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Forgotten-Woods/90469455587

http://www.youtube.com/artist/forgotten-woods

Cut the End – Dawn’s Death to Dusk

After their good-but-rather-average 2008 release The Beauty is Inside, Cut the End returned in 2011 with something very special indeed.

Death Metal gone post-rock. Post-Death Metal? Cut the End could very well be to Death Metal what Enslaved are to Black Metal. Here we have some epic length songs that rely on solid writing and delivery to entrance the listener in each and every turn.

Imagine a band like Cult of Luna if instead of a hardcore/post-rock background they had a Death Metal one with some nice thrash-y riffs sprinkled liberally around. The songs grow and grow, twist and turn, in the pleasing manner of old-school thrash epics such as The Call of Ktulu, etc. High praise I’m sure you’ll agree, but this band are something a bit different and more than live up to it.

If you are a bit tired of Death metal and are looking for something a bit more, yet still within the Death Metal genre then this is the band for you. Or maybe you like your post-rock and shoegaze, but wish is had a bit more bite? This is the band for you.

Have a listen and I’m sure you’ll be hooked.

https://myspace.com/cuttheend

Hypocrisy – A Taste of Extreme Divinity

I have been a fan of Hypocrisy since their 1999 self-titled album, and since then I have been hooked. Across their many albums they have been quite diverse; playing everything from brutal Death Metal, to Black Metal and everything in between.

This album, from 2009, can best be described as melodic Death Metal – catchy songs with good choruses are abundant here. Comparisons can be made to bands such as Amon Amarth in this respect; as this album follows in a similar vein to their output. If you like this style of music, or indeed Amon Amarth; then it’s a safe bet you’ll like A Taste of Extreme Divinity.

With Peter Tägtgren behind the helm you should already know that the sound on this album is suitably huge, with his voice complementing this nicely.

Strongly recommended for some good headbanging fun!

https://www.facebook.com/hypocrisy

Birth Through Gore – Reign of Depravity

Here we have some brutal Death metal from Greece, and my my is this a brutal affair! Sticking within the constraints of the genre; they nonetheless do a very good job of creating a very satisfying Death Metal experience. Everything is in place here – massive, full-production sound; faster-than-everything drums; guitars that bite; and vocals that are deep enough to be brutal as hell, but not so deep as to descend into comedy pig-squeals.

The songs whizz by in a blur of technical riffage and brutality, but they are also not afraid to slow things down a bit now and again to break what might otherwise become monotony, (although this is a relative term of course – their slower bits would still be faster than a lot of other bands).

All in all a very satisfying release that grows in enjoyment on subsequent listens and as the nuances of the songwriting and guitar riffs start to make themselves known. Recommended.

https://www.facebook.com/BirthThroughGore

http://www.last.fm/music/Birth+Through+Gore

Bright Curse – Bright Curse

Bright Curse

Time for some doom!

This UK band is relatively unknown, but on the strength of this release hopefully that will change. This is blues-y doom with plenty of feeling. The singer has a very good voice that fits perfectly with the blues-y feel of the music on display here and is extremely enjoyable. I am listening to this in the car at the moment and it is one of those releases that even though you know is good; it just gets better the more you explore it.

The songwriting here is of a high standard, and something that you could be reasonably expected to hear from a band on their second or third album, and not just their first EP. This bodes very well for their next release and I look forward to it immensely!

Favourite track? Probably Unknown Mistress.

I hope there are good things in the future for this band, as they deserve the recognition and respect afforded similar (-ish) UK doom veterans such as the wonderful Electric Wizard.

A very enjoyable release that should reside happily in anyone’s collection. Good songs and good jams? Get it now!

Don’t take my word for it – have a listen…

https://www.facebook.com/BrightCurse

Misery Index – Retaliate

Retaliate is a quality grind album from 2003 – if you are a fan of intelligent grind then I heartily recommend this.

For fans of Napalm Death/Brutal Truth/Dying Fetus-style grind in the sense that there are actual songs with lyrics that are better than just the usual gore/sex/etc. tirade.

The songs are quite catchy in places, which just reinforces the quality of songwriting available here. Admittedly there is nothing groundbreaking here; but who needs groundbreaking when grind is done so well? I’d take Misery Index over a whole host of lesser “innovative” bands any day.

Check them out –

https://www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex

http://themiseryindex.tumblr.com/

Abnormality – Contaminating the Hive Mind (Review)

Female-fronted brutal/technical death metal, although if you didn’t know the vocalist was female you wouldn’t necessarily think so – that’s how brutal and guttural the vocals are.

If you like this style of music then you know what to expect here. What is to separate them from any number of other brutal death metal bands? Well, quite simply the’re just better than most! How so? Excellent vocals and tight musicianship; combined with a massive production and great songs mean this is a must for any death metal fan.

I seriously recommend this album.

Find out more –

https://www.facebook.com/AbnormalityOfficial