Doomlord are from Puerto Rico and play Doom Metal. This is their début release, one half of a split with King Heavy.
This is Classic Doom/Heavy Metal with a good recording and enjoyable songs. Taking cues from early Doom Metal, the band have a strong sound that emphasises the Metal part of Doom Metal and clearly enjoy what they do.
The Spanish-language vocals give the album a nice flavour and helps differentiate the band’s sound. The singer has a good voice and knows his chosen genre well.
The music is well played and the songs have some good moments to them. Tasty riffs and solos abound in these 4 tracks. Keyboards/organs add an extra dimension to the songs and are a nice touch. There a lot of well-written sections in the tracks and the band are adept at creating atmospheric parts to otherwise rocking Metal tunes.
This flies the flag high and proud for True Metal and anyone with a passing interest in the original incarnation of Doom/Heavy Metal would do well to look this up.
In Love Your Mother are from Switzerland. The band play short blasts of heavy Metallic Hardcore that takes parts of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, System of a Down, Mastodon and Tool; Mathcore meets Progressive Metal.
Most of the songs here are angry and heavy but they also have a Progressive Metal edge to them so occasionally branch out into softer areas where clean vocals replace the harsher shouts; all of which is compressed into songs that are typically about the 1 or 2 minute mark, on average.
Although the album is 30 minutes long, the changeling nature of the tracks and the fact that there are 18 of them mean In Love Your Mother are a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of band. Although you could probably make a similar claim for countless Grindcore bands, the difference here is that In Love Your Mother are a much more varied proposition.
It’s an enjoyable release that benefits from a loud volume and thorough listen.
Under the Sun are from France and this is their début album. They play Post-Hardcore.
Post-Metal is a rich genre and an exceedingly varied one. Also, the line between Post-Metal and its sister genres of Post-Rock and Post-Hardcore is a blurred one and can sometimes be hard to define.
Although I’d probably call this Post-Hardcore, strictly speaking it doesn’t really matter which one Under the Sun fall into; what matters is that they play long, exploratory and expansive music based around the darkness of the human mind and the frequently negative emotions that go alongside this.
This is build/release territory and the band are adept at writing a good atmospheric tune. The length of the tracks gives them ample room to manoeuvre and all of the stylistic space is taken up with creating the mood that the band wants you to feel; usually this is one of heartbreak, tragedy and melancholy.
The melodies are luxurious and drawn out, with the band really drawing the listener into the performance. Lighter Progressive Rock passages rub shoulders with heavier Doom sections. A firm sense of dynamics sees the band well through the longer compositions and they inject enough variety to hold interest.
This is a very unhurried album as the songs unfold exactly as they need to. Vocals don’t even appear until the second song as the band are content to largely let the music do the talking. These vocals are essentially Hardcore in nature and lend a chaotic edge to their sound, although some calmer cleans appear also.
Here we have a band echoing the works of the likes of Pelican, Red Sparowes, Erlen Meyer, Mouth of the Architect, Year of No Light, etc.; they take the blueprint and stamp their own identity over it.
It’s hard not to like music that’s played well and has a firm sense of confidence and intent. Under the Sun know what they are doing and know they do it well.
The début album by Sorxe – Surrounded by Shadows – is an absolute stunner of an album that will hopefully find Doom fans everywhere frothing at the mouth in anticipation of getting their grubby mitts on it. It really is that good.
I manage to catch up with Tanner Crace to find out what makes this band tick, and just how they created such a good début…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We are Sorxe from Phoenix AZ . Shane Ocell – Drums , Tanner Crace – Guitar , Vocals and Synths Christopher Jason Coons – Bass Roger Williams – Bass
Give us a bit of history to Sorxe. Also – why two bassists?
The band was formed in the summer of 2012 after Shane and Myself jammed out a few improvs. When looking for a bassist to complete the sound we each had a bass player in mind. Both Roger and Chris already knew each other so it was just natural to have both guys join and just roll with two bassist, it felt right and sounds HUGE!
What are your influences?
Its like what are we listening to now or what influenced us while we were making a particular song? Hard to say cause at any time there could be a number of different influences during the writing process.
Shane is big into Helmet and the Melvins, I have always been partial to Mike Patton for his range vocally and also his choice in melodies. Old Metallica, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Pink Floyd is a big one, all the cliché. I learned the most from two specific groups – Fantomas’ 1st album was a huge eye opener in that there are absolutely no rules in music that one must follow and then Neurosis for the use of space and textures, peaks and valleys in their music.
We all love so many bands and different kinds of music this list of influences could be a book.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
T-Rex – the slider, Pallbearer’s new album – Foundations of Burden and Take Over and Destroy – vacant face.
The vocals on your album are especially impressive. Anything to reveal about them?
I try to add some variety to the vocal lines, and I also like to texture certain passages, the phrasing is the most important part, lyrics come 2nd. The vocal phrasing is written usually in the early stages, and most of the lyrics for this album were actually the last thing written – some times the lyrics don’t come till I’m actually about to lay down the vocal track – since we recorded the album on our own terms I had the time to experiment and write the lyrics while recording.
What did you want to achieve with your new album? Any specific goals?
We just wanted to put out a dynamic album packed with music that can best possibly portray where we are as a band right now. And also something that will leave a mark on the people who enjoy the tunes.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
Yes, we are proud of having done everything ourselves. But I will never do it like that again cause its a major time consuming bitch!
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
The lyrics are for the listener to interpret in their own way.
Your songs are richly textured and very well composed – give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
Most of our songs come out of improvs, a lot of the riffs we jam out in practice and then I’ll have Shane lay down some beats and refine them later on back at my home studio. Then bring them back to the rest of the guys and work out all the kinks. We don’t really sit down by ourselves and write, that would defeat the purpose of this bands mission.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
We are just still learning how to write together so I feel that we will get a lot tighter, and more comfortable together in our jams which will lead to better songs. I already have an outline for the next album based on about 20 songs/riffs that are in the back catalog. Its going to be a lot deeper, darker at times and lighter at times.
Tell us about the Sorxe live show.
Loud, relaxed and crushing.
What’s next for Sorxe?
The 1st half of October we will be on our 1st tour with Godhunter, then Southwest Terror Fest opening for Neurosis in Tucson Oct 18th.
Stench are from Sweden and play Death Metal. This is their second album.
Opening with a wowzer of a riff, Archways sets the bar high straight off the bat and continues in this vein for the whole 39 minute running time.
Stench play Old-School Death Metal that may be influenced by the Swedish sound but isn’t defined or limited to it. Theirs is a more varied sound that incorporates elements of Black, Heavy and Doom Metal into their Death Metal core.
Subtle aural enhancements are added at strategic points throughout the album to create an extra layer of mood to these songs. Combined with the emotive nature of the riffs and the half-growl, half-shriek of the vocals it means that Stench have somewhat of a Blackened feel to their songs.
There is somewhat of an eerie, otherworldly feeling to these tracks. It’s as if they’re channelling some nameless horror and are acting as a lightning rod for all things mysterious, dark and rotten.
It would be a mistake to dismiss this band as a standard Death Metal band, as although this is exactly what they appear to be on the surface of things the reality of the situation is quite different. They have a further depth to them that is made up of the extra influences and added parts of their sound as mentioned above. These work together to create a true journey of an album that straddles multiple genres in its quest for Metal perfection.
This is a band who have produced an album that’s just so much more than I was expecting. Stench bring something powerful and dangerously individual to the Metal table. I cannot recommend this album enough.
Favourite Track: Road. Quality riffing, infectious bass and atmospheric mood.
Sloths are from the US and this is their latest EP.
Sloths play a kind of Hardcore-tinged Sludge Metal that’s heavy, ugly and full of grim darkness but with shades of dawn.
There are three songs on this short EP and they are belligerent and emotive. The band show a good understanding of dynamics and the songs have more energy than the band’s name might suggest.
This is akin to some of the angular, atypical Hardcore bands out there such as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Norma Jean, Coalesce, Botch, etc. only not as clean cut; Sloths are like the angry cousin that plays dirtier and cheats in every fight they have. And they fight a lot.
Low-in-the-mix, throat-shredding shouts hide behind heavy music and tough, chaotic drums. The guitars, for all the ugliness and grime of the band, have a fair few moments that can only be described as having a Post-Metal beauty to them. It’s an enticing combination and the band work this juxtaposition well without it causing clashes of any kind.
These songs are varied, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. I’m a big fan of this kind of angular Hardcore and the fact that this is delivered through the prism of Sludge Metal just makes it all the better.
Puteraeon are from Sweden and play Death Metal. This is their third album.
Old-School Swedish Death Metal will never die, and I for one am happy about this.
So what of Puteraeon? Think early Entombed with dirty great Doom riffs and some punkier influences to boot. They faithfully reproduce That Chainsaw Sound as all real purveyors of this style must and the concentration is firmly on the songs and the heavy-yet-melodic riffs.
As you can see this is the usual fare for Swedish Death Metal, but that’s not to denigrate the band at all. They may have chosen a well-trodden route but they’re not without ability; the songs here are enjoyable romps through the blood-soaked Swedish landscape and the vocals in particular sound more bestial than most.
Also; Puteraeon do inject a few influences outside of the standard Swedish template – hints of Carcass, Pestilence, Autopsy and Bolt Thrower can be found here and there, buried beneath the chainsaws. That’s the beauty of Death Metal, no matter which particular subgenre a band specialise in there’s always room to throw in other influences.
If you’re fed up of this style then there won’t be much here to convince you otherwise, but if you still enjoy this particular brand of Death Metal then The Crawling Chaos hits the spot. It’s also a release that gets better the more you listen to it, which is always a good thing to be able to say about an album. It has top cover artwork too.
Internal Bleeding are from the US and this is their fifth album. They play Brutal Death Metal.
This is Death Metal that prizes brutality and heaviness above all else. Internal Bleeding were one of the earliest bands who took a so-called Slam approach to Death Metal and this latest album continues this trend.
This means they play heavy Death Metal with lots of chugging and groove mixed in with the blasting; plenty of double bass and mid-paced mosh-friendly chugfests to get you moving around and bouncing like a loon. It’s infectious stuff.
The obvious comparisons would be bands like Dying Fetus and Suffocation, but Internal Bleeding cradle their own inner monster and deliver a collection of songs that really just want to be let loose to rip your face off.
The songs are rabid and nearly unhinged; there’s a very real impression of a band being hungry and wanting to prove themselves. After all it’s been 10 years since their previous album and there’s now a lot more competition in the Brutal Death Metal world than ever before. Based on the evidence here though Internal Bleeding have a made a more than welcome return to the fray and can easily still cut it amongst the newer breed.
Play Imperium at full volume, then quickly get out of its way as it destroys everything nearby.
This is the second album from Sweden’s Crucifyre. They play dark Death Metal full of personality and great songs.
The first track starts in a very unexpected fashion, with darkly melodic Doom riffing and clean female vocals that sound quite ritualistic. It’s a bold start to the album and when the song starts “proper” it doesn’t disappoint.
Calling Black Magic Fire Death Metal is a bit of a disservice in a way, as there’s a lot more going on here than just a straight ahead Death Metal album. Bringing to mind a mix of bands like Usurper, Venom, The Meads of Asphodel, Cathedral, Celtic Frost, Gravehill, Black Sabbath and Dismember this is a strong release that captures an occult feeling and channels it through a Heavy Metal core with a Death Metal exterior.
The band have that Old-School Death Metal style going on but there’s also more than enough Classic, Heavy and Doom Metal touches/riffs to go around. This means that the album is incredibly well-rounded and complete. Back this up with a set of very solid songs and you have an album that is extremely impressive in nature.
When I mentioned The Meads of Asphodel earlier it was because I hear echoes of this band in the vocal department and the vocal patterns/rhythms; Crucifyre have the same talent for catchy rhythms and Blackened shout/growls that have a similar character and personality. Semi-clean vocals even make an appearance and these are just great.
Albums like this are more than just one style; this release has a plethora of weapons with which to ensnare the listener and hook them in. The brutality is rhythmic and this is very song-oriented so that each track has an actual identity rather than just taking up space. The personality and character of the vocals spills over to the music as well and the passion and fervour of the band for all things Metal is never in doubt.
This passion is backed up by talent though and they ably pull off everything they try, whether this is the cleaner sections, the ugly brutality, the catchy songs, organs, sound effects, impressive solos or the female enhancement; it’s all performed and delivered at a masterly level.
There’s enough here to appeal to almost any Metal fan. This is Metal as it should be done. I love it.
This is the début EP from UK Death Metallers The King Is Blind.
This 16 minute EP is brimming with solid Death Metal that is brutally melodic and darkly Metallic.
The band come off as a cross between Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel with a touch of Behemoth and even a bit of Celtic Frost to some of the riffs. As you can imagine, it’s a heady combination.
The vocals are deep and have an air of the occult about them, as if there’s more going on here than just mere vocalisations and maybe, just maybe, something is being summoned. They sound otherworldly, venomous and nasty all at the same time.
The recording is clear and heavy. There are some lovely riffs on this release. When the band hit their stride, be this with blastbeats or mid-paced riffs, they sound colossal and meaty in all the right places.
This is a great collection of songs from a band who may be relatively new but have a lot of collective experience to their members, (Extreme Noise terror, Entwined, The Blood Divine, Cradle of Filth). This means that The King Is Blind have bypassed the early getting-to-know-our-sound stage and emerged fully-blooded into the Death Metal killing pits.
An album from these will be eagerly awaited I’m sure. Ones to watch.
Doomlord are from Puerto Rico and play Doom Metal. This is their début release, one half of a split with King Heavy.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
Wonderbox Metal 