July 2014 – Page 8 – Wonderbox Metal

Nefandus – Reality Cleaver (Review)

This is the third album of Black Metal from Swedish band Nefandus.

After enjoying their previous EP Your God Is A Ghost I was looking forward to hearing the next chapter in their development.

The first track starts out slow and sinuous, uncoiling slowly like a snake charged with lethal energy and ready to kill. The entire album has the feeling of something best left undisturbed, with a brooding malevolence bleeding from every unnatural pore.

Dark melodies are leaked out of a cold vacuum into a warm world entirely unprepared for what they herald. The menace and antagonism is tangible and each song brings this threat closer to reality.

The album name is strong and apt, for it does sound like reality is being assaulted from without, and the thin membrane that separates this world from the next is being slowly eroded to let something through. Nobody but Nefandus can say what will happen when the wall finally falls, but judging by these harbingers it won’t be anything good.

So let the hymns of hopelessness that Nefandus have come to spread into your life, but hide behind the sofa while you listen as this is not for the weak and you may not survive the sermon.

Harken!

Algebra – Feed the Ego (Review)

Algebra play Thrash Metal and are from Switzerland. This is their second album.

The music is complex and delivered by the band with a tight performance. Musically it’s an exciting cross between Slayer and early Sepultura. For all the popularity of these two giants not many Thrash bands seem to play styles reminiscent of them today, so this is a refreshing listen in this sense.

Vocally the singer spends the majority of his time legibly shouting over the top of the heavily aggressive Thrash. A cleaner style appears on occasion and these vocals are individual enough to enhance the songs rather than detract from them.

The songs Thrash their way through their playing time with a strong sound and furious drumming. Each track is played well and Thrash Metal is rarely executed as heavily as this. Solos are shredded and riffs are assaulted; this is a very satisfying listen.

Unexpectedly for a band who take their influences from the heavier side of Thrash Metal; the track My Shelf turns out to be somewhat of a ballad in the Testament/Metallica style. It shows a willingness on the side of the band to inject variety into the album, and overall I like it.

Algebra have produced a thoroughly enjoyable album that takes from the heavier and darker side of 80’s Thrash, the side that a lot of bands forget. Algebra remember, and they want you to as well. Pick up Feed the Ego and remember how good it feels.

Ecocide – Eye of Wicked Sight (Review)

This is the début album of Ecocide, a Thrash-influenced Death Metal band from the Netherlands.

After a very sci-fi intro the band start with a sprawling, heavy, mid-paced riff that showcases the fact that they have a nicely heavy sound and know what to do with it.

Old-School Thrash and Death Metal meet with a familiar feel and a welcome crash.

The singer has a very rough cookie-monster voice that sounds great set against the raging guitars. He reminds of the singer of Bolt Thrower, which is also a feeling given off by some of the music.

The band show good songwriting and use some memorable riffs during the running time of the album. They seem to have a clear vision of what they want to achieve; they know how to accomplish it and have the tools and skills necessary to do this. The result is Eye of Wicked Sight and very enjoyable it is.

Ignoring the intro there are only 7 songs here so the band make use of every second available to them to create crushing Death Metal. It’s a really good début that sticks in the mind after the last riff has faded.

If the band keep this level of quality up they’ll have a bright future indeed. Check out Ecocide. Do it now.

Luna – Ashes to Ashes (Review)

Hailing form the Ukraine, Luna play epic Symphonic Doom.

This is one single track, almost 57 minutes in length. It’s ambitious, epic and immense. If you’re a fan of bands like Monolithe you’ll love this.

The band boast a strong sound that they use to their every advantage as this weighty track unfolds.

Atmospheric Doom, Depressive auras, Funereal dirges, Egyptian-esque soundscapes, crushing riffs, symphonic stylings; this is a release with seemingly all bases covered.

This is splendid stuff, and so easy to get lost in. Rather than one long track it’s like listening to a full album of lengthy, (but numerous), songs and just sitting through the whole thing in one go.

Whether martial and marching or doomy and slow, the song works no matter what it does and ultimately the entire thing just sounds great. There are so many shades and textures on this album it’s simply stunning.

As you listen to it it’s easy to get swept along with the dark feelings the album evokes; it’s almost cinematic in scope and is thoroughly realised and executed. This is the aural equivalent of a massive Sci-fi scene that unfolds with grandeur and terrible awe.

There are no vocals, but they would probably just get in the way anyway. For a band like Luna the music is more than enough.

Haunting and special. A must listen.

Human Devastation – Condenacion (Review)

This is the début album from Mexican Death Metallers Human Devastation.

This is Brutal Death Metal, and thankfully there is no waste-of-space intro; the first song Bienvenido a mi Mente opens up straight into the action.

The band deal in savagery, aggression and misanthropy. The songs pummel and beat and the vocals sound inhuman.

My, my there are some nice riffs on this. The band may be all about the brutality but they still know how to pen a good tune. They can play too, as shown by the blistering solos that appear now and again like spikes through flesh. The drummer seems a bit of a monster too.

This has a bit of a mid-period Cryptopsy feel to it in places, as well as reminding of Iniquity now and again. For this style of music Human Devastation are relatively varied as they don’t remind of any one band overwhelmingly; rather they incorporate a smattering of influences into their brutal whole. Even the singer demonstrates a good range.

This definitely has its own personality and its good to see a new band forging ahead on their own rather than just following others and paying homage.

Condenacion is a very strong first release and if there’s any justice in the world should see the band become a key player in the Death Metal underground.

Bastard of the Skies/Grimpen Mire – Split (Review)

Bastard of the Skies are from the UK and play Sludge, and they have teamed up with fellow UK Doomsters Grimpen Mire for this split.

And what a very nice cover they have for this split.

Bastard of the Skies are the first up, and they contribute 4 tracks to this release.

Their half of the split consists of Earthy sounding Sludge with a distinct inhuman quality to the vocals. Some good melodies make appearances and add depth.

The tracks are heavy lumps of solid matter and rumble along nicely. The band display some really good songwriting and this small collection of tracks are top notch.

Taking their cues from the usual suspects of Sludge; Bastard of the Skies entertain with their half of the split and obviously have a good ear for what fans of this kind of music want to hear.

Following on from that, the second half of the release is by Grimpen Mire who offer us 3 tracks.

They’re not wildly dissimilar from Bastard of the Skies, although whereas Bastard of the Skies sound quite coherent and solid, Grimpen Mire have more of a loose, dangerous feel to them.

Their contribution has more of an Eyehategod influence and successfully manages to sound scuzzed up, dirty and raging. The inclusion of some cleaner vocals is unexpected, however, but these work well.

At 40 minutes in length this is a longer-than-average split and one worth taking the time to explore.

Hard Tension – Fear and Guilt (Review)

This is the second EP from Portugal’s Hard Tension.

The band play Heavy/Power Metal with plenty of steel and melodic edge.

The guitars are a mixture of Rock-y riffs, Iron Maiden-esque licks and lots of well-played solos.

The band court an almost spaced out aura on occasion with the keyboards and synthesizers, and use these in both prominent and subtle ways depending on what they believe the song needs.

The singer has a good voice. Not as clean as a pure Power Metal vocalist; he has a rougher edge to his voice that lends his voice an authority that it might otherwise lack.

Overall the songs are a good collection of rocking Metal tunes with added effects and keyboards that play to the bands strengths of simple songs and good beats, all backed up with some old-fashioned fretboard wizardry.

Although the band could do with polishing up their sound in a couple of places this is not a band release at all. The more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. Hopefully their début album will be even better.

Check them out.

Favourite Track: Heading for the Light. Reminiscent of a mix between early Queensrÿche and Iron Maiden; it’s got a strong chorus and is just a great tune.

Nights Amore – Subscribers of Death (Review)

This is the début album from Nights Amore from Sweden, playing Dark Ambient.

The album deals in weighty subject matter and negative emotions. These are realised through pianos and dark Electronica.

I’m not normally a massive fan of these kind of releases as they are not usually done that well and I can tire of them easily. The good thing about Nights Amore, however, is that they don’t really go in for the Drone aspect of this kind of music as much as some. Here, the songs develop and breathe rather than just repeat and turn stale.

That’s not to say, of course, that this is wildly dynamic and full of energy; by its very nature this style of music is slow, mournful, quiet and introverted.

It’s not pure misery though, as there are elements of their sound that sound almost hopeful in nature. It’s not all of the time, but it’s an aspect of their sound that prevents the album from becoming maudlin.

Musically this is good stuff, although there are too many samples for my liking; for the most part I think the music would be better off without them, but that’s just me.

This is late-night bedtime music; the kind of thing to throw on when you want to relax and soak up the melancholy.

If you’re in the right mood and have had your fill of Extreme Metal for the day then check out Subscribers of Death.

Super Fun Happy Slide – Drop Your Pants and Grind (Review)

Super Fun Happy Slide are from Australia – can you guess what genre they play…?

You guessed it – this is Grindcore. Nasty and aggressive Grind with massive balls and a baseball bat with a nail through it.

The guitar sound alone is enough to peel skin. It’s like they’ve taken the Swedish Death Metal tone, wrapped it in barbed wire and distorted and warped it into a tight, hard bundle of super-condensed matter.

The vocals are at both ends of the extremity spectrum, with deep growls and piercing shrieks vying for a place at the front of the carnage.

This is in the best tradition of a band like Regurgitate only with a bit more of a Hardcore feel to some of the riffs.

This is the kind of Grind that takes you back to a long time ago when you were just getting into the genre and everything sounded fresh and exciting. For that reason if no other you should seek this out and listen to it loud.

Senior Fellows – Ecclesiastical Servitude (Review)

Senior Fellows are from the US and play Sludge Metal.

Slow, heavy and very, very nasty; Senior Fellows impress from the outset with their crushing nature.

Like the vast majority of Sludge bands in existence you can hear some Eyehategod in their sound, but thankfully Senior Fellows are no mere tribute/copycat band and more than stand on their own merits. The riffs do deviate from the usual Eyehategod template, for example, to create their own atmospheres of hopelessness and societal judgement and condemnation.

The songs are short but devastatingly heavy. They crawl along slowly and inevitably, destroying everything in their path. Some of the riffs are good enough that they could easily be stretched out into songs twice the length of what we are given here, but it seems that Senior fellows are all for economy of action and are keen to avoid ever outstaying their welcome. Well there’s no danger of that.

The vocals are tortured and inhumane; I really feel for the poor sap they’ve demoralised and broken enough to produce the sounds their singer emits. What foul deprecations and torment has he suffered and gone through in order to be reduced to this savage wreck of humanity we find here? It’s impressively brutal.

A thoroughly enjoyable début that could easily be longer to my mind. A tar-covered trip through filthied up Doom that showcases the best of what Sludge Metal is all about.

A recommended listen.