July 2015 – Page 4 – Wonderbox Metal

Bowel Stew – Debridement (Review)

Bowel Stew are an Italian Brutal Death Metal band. This is their third album.

Bowel Stew like their gore and their buckets of blood. But what they really like, of course, is huge helpings of Brutal Death Metal.

Across these 25 minutes, the band give us nine tracks of unrelenting brutality, including a Brodequin cover.

This is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for fans of pretty, polished Death Metal. This is as underground as it gets and Bowel Stew are interested in impressing no-one but themselves with their butchery.

The vocals are so low as to be almost inaudible. Almost. What we actually get is a voice that growls like an oncoming storm rumbles in the background. It’s inhuman and menacing.

The music is a murky and impenetrable mix of fast guitars and metronomic drums. There’s little in the way of songs here. Instead, Bowel Stew are essentially being as brutal as they can for the love of it. This is just a couple of steps away from completely unhinged Grindcore, and it’s only an undercurrent of Death Metal structuring that prevents this from happening.

This kind of ugly, atavistic Brutal Death Metal will appeal only to a small subset of a small sub-genre of a small genre, etc., but if you do want a fix of no-questions-asked raw barbarity and carnage then I would suggest you check them out, as Debridement is not without its gory charms.

Locrian – Infinite Dissolution (Review)

Locrian are a US Experimental Post-Metal band and this is their latest album.

Featuring an album cover that makes me feel uncomfortable and like I’m going to go insane, (courtesy of David Altmejd), this is music that caters to people who want more from the bands that they listen to, and more is what Locrian provide.

Locrian play Post-Metal that contains Avant-Garde, Black-Metal and Industrial elements. Electronics, keyboards, piano, samples and a whole host of other instruments grace this album in addition to the standard instruments. Two songs also contain guest female vocals as well. All of this should give you an insight into how much depth, variety and interest there is to be had here.

Elements of Drone, Noise, Industrial, Post-Metal and Black Metal all clash into a wonderful melange of music that reminds of some twisted cross between Russian Circles and Blut Aus Nord.

This is a highly textured and multi-faceted release that requires repeated spins to really make its wonders known. There’s a lot of different things going on here and it’s easy to miss some of it the first time around, especially as there’s a lot of subtle sounds and effects going on in the background, almost behind the main event, so to speak.

There’s a resplendent darkness that seeps from this music like a sentient and malevolent oil stain that’s searching for ways to get into your body. Something here doesn’t have your best interests at heart and it’s subtle, insidious and unfaltering in its desire to do harm.

This is music to get lost to and get lost in. The band have a talent for creating soundscapes that sear your thoughts and burn the mind.

Highly recommended as your dose of something different and sublime.

Interview with Desolate Pathway

Traditional Doom Metal band Desolate Pathway’s début album Valley of the King is best savoured loud and is a very engaging listen. I was moved to find out more about the band…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

We are Desolate Pathway. A traditional Doom metal band from England playing some Epic style music and telling a bloody good story.

Give us a bit of history to Desolate Pathway

I started the band originally as home based on my own while I was between tours with Pagan Altar. When the band became less active I decided to bring the project to life and start a real band in 2014.

Where did the band name come from?

Strange one really but I found a lot of bands I grew up on had a 2-word names and thought that worked really well. I wanted something dark, gloomy and sinister-sounding.

What are your influences?

Black Sabbath for the riffs, Manowar for the storytelling and Candlemass for the Epic doom style.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

The new Sorcerer material is excellent. We have also been compared to these guys so that’s superb.

What’s your favourite song on the album and why?

It changes every gig because I see the audience react differently but overall Shadow of the Tormentor. I think that track has like every influence I have in there and I think it’s the only track people can really headbang too.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

It’s all a mix up of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Lots of Epic battles, sword fighting and castles. The whole album is a concept based on a prince trying to reach a castle to take the throne but he and his army encounter lots of supernatural and evil things during their journey. Each track unfolds the story in full so it is recommended to listen in one session.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

I have an idea in mind then I write the guitar work first in demo form then add lyrics to them. After that the other guys do their bit, we rehearse and change things up until we are all happy to record.

How did the recording go?

I did all the guitars in my home studio. This way I have the luxury of time to make it perfect. After that we set ourselves deadlines to practice and complete. It was really a great experience but we have learnt a few things to take on board for the next album.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

They already have developed. We are now making the guitars more full with double tracking each guitar, more than one harmony in a riff section and more Epic.

What’s next for Desolate Pathway?

We have a single due for release on 31st October.
On the A side we have Kostas Solomidis who is the lead guitarist of Greek band Sorrows Path.
He is playing the 2 solos on a track named ‘Into the Realms of Poseidon’.
After that we are finishing our 2nd album that will be solely based on Greek mythology, so the single beforehand is a foot into the album.
To keep update visit our website at http://www.desolatepathway.com

Bearstorm – Americanus (Review)

Bearstorm are from the US and play Progressive Black Metal. This is their second album.

Bearstorm. Say it again, slowly. Bearstorm. Fantastic name. I was expecting something utterly ferocious with a name like that, but Bearstom are nothing if not surprising. They do have a ferocious element, but for the most part there’s a whole lot of other stuff going on here.

The music is a curious mix of Progressive wanderings, Blackened bite, Technical Death Metal Jazz-wizardry, Post-Metal experimentalism and Southern Sludge.

Their sound is pleasingly hard to pigeon-hole actually. The Progressive Metal influence is apparent from the start and infuses everything else at a deep level. The Black/Death/Sludge/Post-Metal influences in their sound take their cues from this and the band have interesting music at the very core of their being.

I suppose…Mastodon meets Enslaved meets Opeth meets Inter Arma meets Ephel Duath meets Pyrrhon…

The songs are varied and individual affairs. There’s a lot of ideas on display and Bearstorm never shy away from being different or going their own direction. It’s to their credit, as too many bands simply ape what has gone before them, so when a band like this comes along it’s a real pleasure to see them doing something different form the norm and attempting to forge their own sound.

Vocally the singer has a largely Blackened scream that’s supplemented with pitch-black growls on occasion. In many ways the guitars are the focal point of Americanus and the vocals provide an undercurrent to these. They’re done well though so there’s no real complaints from me on this score.

Clearly a lot of time and effort has gone into Americanus, to the point that the band have re-recorded the entire album for maximum effect; this is a re-recorded and re-issued version of their 2013 album. Having never heard the original version all I can say is that this version sounds pretty damn good.

An interesting, exciting and fresh-sounding record; Americanus is more than deserving of your attention.

Favourite Track: Glacial Relic II. An epic that’s Progressively atmospheric and even contains a Country influence. Amazing.

Nightbreed – Nightbreed (Review)

Nightbreed are a Greek Thrash Metal band and this is their début album.

This is aggressive Old-School Thrash Metal in the style of Kreator and Exodus. It’s ugly, raw and not for the weak.

This is not for Retro-Thrash fans, nor is it for modern Thrashers who are used to huge, gleaming productions. This is for people who like the original Speed Metal template and are quite happy listening to a band who sound like they recorded this in the 80s and then sat on it for a few decades.

The singer has the right kind of angry snarl for the style. He seems to ride the riffs on waves of attitude and never misses an opportunity to add a belligerent edge to his voice.

The music is fast and furious. Solos are included, obviously, and these are well-played and most enjoyable. The riffs seem to lash out like barbed tentacles. The drumming is a relentless pounding that seems to only let up as the songs die off.

The songs blur by in a fit of rebellious fists, spikes and horror. The attitude and style is palpably Thrash Metal and the band don’t lack for presence.

If you’re looking for Thrash Metal that’s true to the original aggressive style then look no further and check out Nightbreed.

Amputory – Ode to Gore (Review)

Amputory are a Death Metal band from Finland and this is their début album.

Amputory play Old-School Death Metal, and they play it very well indeed.

The singer has a deep guttural growl that sounds like concrete breaking. He uses enjoyable vocal patterns and his voice is just the right side of illegible.

The music has a good groove and there are some nice chuggy riffs that are fat and brutal enough to get the head banging easily. The riffs come thick and fast, making the tracks thoroughly engaging. They also know when to put their foot on the accelerator where necessary and just give it some blasting.

The songs are strong and memorable. The Old-School style lives or dies by its songs as it doesn’t have the pure brutality/technicality/whatever of other sub-genres to fall back on. In this respect it’s a very honest style and Amputory shine due to the well-structured and well-written songs on Ode to Gore.

The band have a very satisfying production and Ode to Gore sounds great. This gives the songs the necessary freedom to crush and maim with impunity.

Some Old-School Death Metal can sound a bit stale, but Amputory have perfected their mixture it seems, as Ode to Gore has a brightness and spring in its step that belies the classic nature of the sub-genre. Amputory may be Old-School but they sound born of the here-and-now; this is still bloodily relevant music.

I heartily suggest that you give this a listen, you won’t regret it.

Immortal Bird – Empress/Abscess (Review)

Immortal Bird are an interesting Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.

This is not a typical Death Metal album. In fact it’s only Death Metal in the loosest sense really. Elements of Black Metal’s darkness and Grind’s chaos infuse it like diseases, while the brutal core only gets stronger and stronger due to these infections.

The singer has an absolutely scathing voice and her vocals seem to lash out of the venomous music like angry barbs.

The songs are an extremely impressive collection of styles and sub-genres. Fusing the atypical Death Metal of Gorguts, the emotive Grind of Cloud Rat, the Hardcore fury and aural inventiveness of Converge, the classic-style aura of Death and the Blackened taint of Ludicra – this is a real merging of different aspects of Extreme Metal, underpinned by a Death Metal core, resulting in an album that really is an incredibly impressive release.

As well as having a certain soft spot for some well-worn and classic genres/sub-genres, I also absolutely love it when you encounter a band that are doing something a bit different. Immortal Bird are the perfect kind of band for this, and I love that they throw so many Extreme Metal influences into their melting pot. The important thing, though, is that they’re doing it extremely well. This release is well-realised and sounds completely natural and unforced. The songs are just that well-written.

These tracks have it all, from blasting to angularity to atmosphere to melody to high-energy. For all the extremity on display here they still manage to throw in some hooks and the entire thing is actually very memorable, quite quickly.

This is the kind of music that causes you to take a sharp intake of breath and say to yourself, “holy shit”.

What more is there to say? You absolutely need Immortal Bird in your life.

This is going in my end of year list, make no mistake.

Kronos – Arisen New Era (Review)

Kronos are a French Death Metal band and this is their fourth album.

I’ve heard enough French Death Metal by now to expect good things from bands who are from there, and Kronos don’t disappoint.

This is Brutal Death Metal that wastes no time in crashing into your life as soon as you press play, ready to take over and ruin everything with its aural destruction.

This is precise, modern and professionally executed Death Metal. The band have a top quality production and everything sounds razor sharp, massively in-your-face and as deeply satisfying as only Death Metal can be sometimes.

Crisp solos, hyperspeed riffs, rhythmic guitars and pummelling licks all rage and tear their way through the 37 minutes of music. As undeniably impressive as everything guitar-oriented is on this release, the rest of the instruments are equally important, with the drums in particular sounding especially nicely done.

The vocals are impenetrably deep deathgrunts that are as impeccably delivered as the rest of the musical onslaught.

I love this kind of Death Metal, I can’t deny it. It has enough modern verve to be cutting edge but enough components of Classic Death Metal to have longevity and depth. Couple that with the insane blasting brutality that the band do so well and I’m sold completely.

A Brutal Death Metal masterclass.

Moanaa – Descent (Review)

Moanaa are an Atmospheric Sludge Metal band from Poland and this is their début album.

This is an interesting and multi-faceted release that combines elements of Sludge, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal together into an overarching framework of Atmospheric Sludge lasting just under 60 minutes.

Soft acoustics and Post-Metal melodies clash with harsh Sludge and Progressive workouts. Heavy riffs and ethereal melodies create soundscapes that merge the best of both. This is a richly textured and layered album and the songs have a lot of depth and dark energy. Even when the tempo drops there’s a brooding undercurrent of repressed power and understated grandeur.

The vocals snarl and gnash their way through the songs. Ugly, vicious and essentially Death Metal in style, they’re juxtaposed against cleaner vocals nicely, in the same way that the music trades brutality with transcendence, darkness with light. There’s a lot of shading here though and the vocals pretty much run the whole spectrum from ethereal cleans to deep growls and everything in the middle.

The playing is tight and the recording perfectly judged. The album sounds great in every way.

I love albums like this. Quality songwriting and flawless execution combine to result in an album that’s an engaging journey and a real treat for anyone into atmospheric music, be that Sludge, Doom or Post-Metal.

Loved it.

Mindful of Pripyat – …And Deeper I Drown in Doom… (Review)

Mindful of Pripyat are an Italian Grindcore band and this is their début EP.

This is Old-School Deathgrind with a devastating sound that’s heavy enough to crush a tank.

Mindful of Pripyat are all about the brutality. Blast beats and energetic fast-paced mayhem is the order of business and business is good.

The vocals are a three pronged approach, consisting of deathgrunts, pignoise belching and serrated screams. All are performed well with the main growls sounding especially brutal.

The music is short and to-the-point, as you would expect from the style. The guitars are half-way between Death Metal and Hardcore which lends the album a vitality that can sometimes be lacking in some Grind.

Like the best Extreme Metal, Mindful of Pripyat are just plain satisfying. Everything about their music from the overpowering sound to the merciless riffing to the barbarous vocals just appeals to my sense of what savage music should sound like.

Like a mash-up of Napalm Death, Terrorizer and Misery Index, Mindful of Pripyat have unleashed a storming first release here, and one can only imagine what they will get up to in the future. If they can retain this level of production value and songwriting skill then they can only go from strength to strength.

If well-produced Deathgrind is your thing then Mindful of Pripyat have got you covered. This really is quite an exceptional release; not because there’s anything ground breaking or innovative here, but purely because of the strength of the music alone. …And Deeper I Drown in Doom… is invigorating and like a welcome, painful shot of adrenaline right through the skull.

Quality Grindcore can never be kept down.