A rich amalgamation of Black Metal and Doom; Monte Penumbra’s début album may be relatively short at only 35 minutes, but it is packed to the hilt with texture and interesting things going on.
Slow, doom-laden Black Metal played with skill and passion; Monte Penumbra know their art and know how to get the most out of their songs. Interesting riffs, atmospheric interludes, tempo changes; this is bleak-yet-Black Metal that hits the spot; sludge hijacked by Black Metal and bent to its will.
The vocals are varied – ranging from chants, screams to powerful almost-singing; a welcome change from the generic.
This is an enjoyable album for those times when you’re in the mood for something a bit more brooding and well-paced, thoughtful and introspective yet still drenched in Black Metal’s distinctive colours.
Funeral Circle play Epic Doom Metal. This album is all about the songs, the feeling of Doom, and the weighty guitars.
At 51 minutes it is a decent length and every track is really enjoyable. Harking back to an older time of more traditional song structures and Doom inspired themes and feeling, yet with a powerful production and sound that makes it sound contemporary, without ever sounding too polished or stale. Funeral Circle have a sound which is alive and warm, wrapping their arms around you like a comfy blanket. Only it’s a comfy Doom Metal blanket, of course.
The songs are well-crafted and perfectly judged, never outstaying their welcome or straying into pedestrian areas. The musicianship is first-rate and does justice to the songwriting, bringing each track alive. With vocals that are powerful and inspiring, the singer perfectly fits the music with a great range and depth to his voice.
This is traditional-style Doom Metal played with conviction and power. Along with bands like Pallbearer and 40 Watt Sun this is exactly what this genre should sound like in 2013. Strong harmonies, excellent vocals and everything focused on the song. A win.
Evergreen Refuge play instrumental Black Metal with hints of Post-Metal mixed in. Long songs, plenty of atmosphere and feeling as well as some fuzzed-up aggression and Black Metal mastery are all thrown in the mix.
On this release the songs are especially long and epic, and manage to hold attention throughout with clever use of dynamics and musical storytelling. You can almost feel the nature on this release; feel the cold breeze on the mountaintops and the eagles soaring high above.
Being an instrumental album there are no vocals but with music of this quality they are unnecessary. The feelings evoked by the compositions within are more than enough to carry the listener to the wilds of the natural environment where Evergreen Refuge dwell. As you sit and absorb what is going on here the full force of nature either crashes down on you or merely hints at its presence, depending on the part of the song. Ambient, single-guitar melodies or drums, Metal and chaos; they do it well either way.
Sapiency play modern melodic Thrash Metal. I don’t listen to a lot of this style of music as there is a huge amount of mediocrity out there – it seems to be that writing okay music in this style is quite easy, but being truly great is rare.
Their style is similar to bands such as Scar Symmetry, In Flames, Soilwork, etc. – the gruff vocals juxtaposed against the clean, huge soaring guitars and keyboards, epic melodies and punchy drums, etc. Although Sapiency don’t hit the heights of the truly great, they are certainly a cut above the mediocre, and dare I say it this is quite an exciting and enjoyable release.
Having more bite to their attack than a lot of the typical In Flames/Soilwork clones, (which they aren’t), certainly works in their favour. The gruff vocals are a bit harsher than the norm, and the clean vocals a bit more powerful. They dwell on the right side of catchy rather than sounding ‘pop’. The guitars are not watered down and actually have some meat to the riffs rather than just being there to accentuate the vocals, which seems to be a usual failing of certain bands in this genre. In fact, Sapiency are less In Flames/Soilwork and more Scar Symmetry/Dark Tranquillity – heavier and less polished, (relatively speaking of course), than their more commercial kin. Some would say ‘more metal’. Here we even have the occasional blastbeat, which is always welcome. Solos too. It’s good that they are not afraid of speed either; it’s too easy for bands in this genre to lose interest across an album as every song has the same mid-paced tempo, speed and feeling.
Albums like this live or die by their songs and Sapiency have these; energy and catchiness, wrapped up and delivered as molten melodic metal. It’s hard not to feel the enthusiasm inherent in these tracks. There is a genuine love of metal on display here and it exhibits itself in every track and imbues them with a vitality that is otherwise missing in so many catchier bands.
I enjoyed Sapiency more than I thought I would; which is a reminder that it’s far to easy to feel jaded and cynical these days and every band should be judged on their individual merits. A class album – if you enjoy melody with your metal then check them out.
Nightbringer start off proceedings, and the first word I think of is “Apocalyptic”. Theirs is the sound of the end times. Blistering Black Metal played with a depth of passion that is utterly convincing in its portrayal and delivery. This is ritualistic in scope and has the conviction of the fanatic.
Filthy dynamics, blackened songwriting and searing melodies imprint these incantations on the brain, ensuring their longevity in times to come.
Nightbringer provide two blackened hymns and then make way for Dødsengel. Starting with a very ominous chanting build up; the excitement and expectations reach fever pitch before the inevitable release. I was expecting it to culminate in a blastbeat inferno, but unexpectedly they instead opt for a mid-paced attack that works even better. The mood is thus set for their enticing take on Black Metal. Traditional-style with plenty of interest and feelings of darkness and hate in abundance. A good variety in vocals and tempo make these songs most enjoyable. Especially good is the second of Dødsengel’s songs which is a 12 minute epic of atmosphere and Black Metal aggression, with even some Post-Metal elements creeping into the mix.
Dødsengel may not be as elemental as Nightbringer, but they are certainly complementary in style. I am definitely drawn to explore further works by both bands. This is a top quality release in its own right however, and if you are partial to a bit of ritualistic occult Black Metal then you can do a lot worse than this.
A special note must go to the artwork. Daemon Worship always seem to have very high quality artwork to go with their releases, but I have to say this one has taken my fancy in particular. Excellent work.
So what do we have here then? Some sort of Black Metal/Post-Metal/Sludge album? Actually it’s kind of hard to say. Elements of all said genres, and more, make up this impressive album.
Too fast to be merely Doom; too metal to be merely sludge; too aggressive to be merely Post-Metal; too encompassing of other genres to be merely Black Metal…I could go on. Suffice to say that for all its variety it still retains a cohesive identity that marks it out as a Metal album, so as far as genre goes maybe that’s enough.
Almost every track brings new surprises – a different style of vocals here; a change of pace and style there – but it all flows together into a seamless whole that delivers a very complete, very diverse and weighty collection of songs. The vocal styles range from throaty shouts and growls to Black Metal shrieking; it’s all here. Interpreter were previously unknown to me and as such I did not expect this release to be of such outstanding quality. But it is. Oh yes.
Fusing the best of the Sludge, Post-Metal, Doom, Black Metal, (etc.) genres into a seamless whole, Interpreter are like the proverbial breath of fresh air. A top quality recording job rounds this release off nicely and i can only add to this review by heartily recommending you get this as soon as you can.
Sometimes music can seem more than just music – sometimes it seems like a force of nature. MCMXV is like that. Only two tracks, but over 50 minutes of music. Heavy, colossal, doom. This is the début album by this Irish doom band. Their first release was an EP (XLI) which whet the appetite nicely and this album follows hot on the heels of that.
Their style of doom is a filthy, dirgy, primal one. Primarily slow, (obviously), but not afraid to mix it up now and again in true sludge fashion. Indeed; both songs have their faster moments, but even these are covered in grime and filth, and the atmosphere steadfastly remains one of decay and neglect, further enhanced by the effects in the background of the primary instruments.
This is an album that will only improve with time. The repetitive nature of some of the dirgy riffs burrows into your subconscious and refuses to leave. A most welcome, if rotten, earworm; loudly insisting that you return for more foetid delights in the dank recesses of the Abbotoir.
With this release Abbotoir have proved that they are not one-(bong)-hit wonders and instead are capable of carving a niche for themselves in the doom scene. And I, for one, hope they continue to do so far some time to come.
This is a little something for all those who worship at the altar of sloooooow. Almost a UK version of Burning Witch/Khanate; the basic template should be familiar to anyone into this kind of doom, although Bismuth inject enough of their own personal brand of misery and woe into the music to differentiate it from their peers.
This is a one-track release lasting 16 minutes and every single minute is a hymn to distortion and doom. Bass, drums and tortured screeching.
Slow and agonised; the music drags itself into the darkest corner of your forgotten fears and festers, waiting patiently and growing all of the time. Occasional screams of growing pains punctuate this hidden time bomb of malignancy like something trying to escape, but ultimately realising the futility.
This is doom. This is slow, bass-heavy, doom. There is nothing else.
Oh this is wonderfully dirty underground Black Metal! Gritty and raw. The kind of sound that can garrotte the unwary listener at 100 yards.
This is a collection of three demos, (Within the Flesh of the Satanist, Violated Hejab and Para Bhakti…Salvation), all remastered by Lars Broddesson of Marduk. The sound is brutal and distorted; filthy and fuzzy. This is the sound of a band expressing themselves with whatever means at their disposal – straight for the jugular.
For the main the vocals are guttural shouts – almost what you’d expect from old-school Death Metal rather than Black Metal, but it suits the style well. There is also some variety in places; from almost-spoken harshness to slightly higher-pitched-but-still-quite-deep; enough to keep the listener interested.
The music is slithering, sharp and surprisingly rhythmic in the drum department on occasion. The riffs are simple and classic for the most part, but they are not afraid to experiment as the needs of the song dictate, with plenty of interest and ideas to be had throughout. The emphasis here is on expressing feelings of darkness and hate and vomiting them forth into the recording, a tone which is captured well.
The sound may be primitive but that shouldn’t put you off – here we have some perfect examples of aggressive underground Black Metal that any true fan of the genre can’t help but appreciate.
Overall I would rate this release very highly indeed. It’s non-generic, interesting and has plenty of feeling and passion. What more could you want?
Infected Society play a modern form of grind that nonetheless harks back to a golden age of grindcore where grinding was more than just about speed; swagger and attitude counted for something.
This EP is very short but packs a punch. Four original songs that certainly leave their mark on the listener, and two covers. The original songs are catchy and diverse, and recall Groinchurn at their punky, grinding best. No 20-second-wonders here – each track has thought put into it and feels crusty but fresh, ready for the challenges ahead. As a taster for a full length some time in the future this does its job perfectly.
The two covers are by Napalm Death and Pantera. Wearing their influences on their sleeves, Infected Society pay homage to their heroes with honour.
One of the most noticeable things about this release is the energy levels – this is frantic and frenetic stuff. That’s not to say it’s sloppy of course, not at all; the band are obviously extremely enthused about what they’re playing. This comes through in the music and it’s a joy to hear. This is not tired music-by-numbers – this is fresh and exciting.
Very short but very worthwhile. Seems about time now for an album!
A rich amalgamation of Black Metal and Doom; Monte Penumbra’s début album may be relatively short at only 35 minutes, but it is packed to the hilt with texture and interesting things going on.
Wonderbox Metal 