Ecstatic Vision are from the US and play Psychedelic Rock. This is their début album.
Ecstatic Vision play music that combines elements of Stoner Rock with 70s Psychedelia and Progressive influences.
The music has the drugged-out aura of an older time, where music seemed purer and bands experimented in more than one way.
This is a guitar-oriented release with lots of riffs, solos and leads. In addition to this we get dreamy organ, throbbing bass and understated-yet-crucial drums.
A decent enough description would be somewhere between Hawkwind and Acid Mothers Temple. The songs easily take on a life of their own during their exploratory ramblings. It remains cohesive though and although you wouldn’t necessarily be in the mood to listen to this type of thing every day, when you are it really, really hits the spot.
Listen and absorb; open the doors of perception and visit other layers of consciousness.
This is the début album from UK Doom Metallers Desolate Pathway.
This is Traditional/Classic Doom Metal in the tradition of Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, etc.
Desolate Pathway sound authentic and have the recording to match. This infuses the music with authority and power, not that the songs themselves are lacking in this department, mind.
The singer has a good voice and carries the tunes with ease. He has the requisite presence for this kind of music and he manages to remain the main focal point for the music without detracting from the rest of the band at all.
There’s an Iron Maiden-esque Heavy Metal influence which rears its head here and there too, which is no bad thing. The riffs, solos, melodies and harmonies are forlorn, but not overly so.
It’s an engaging listen as the band clearly know their chosen sub-genre. However, as with any classic style such as this, your tolerance for it will dictate your reaction to them. If you’re sated on this kind of thing you’ll probably not be too interested. If you’re still open to it though, Desolate Pathway play their tunes better than most and Valley of the King is a worthwhile listen.
So sit back, turn up the volume and press play. It’s time to visit the Valley of the King.
This is the second album from Swedish Death Metallers Wombbath.
I knew I had to review this one as soon as I saw the band name. Wombbath. Womb. Bath. Well, that got my attention.
Here we have 32 minutes of gore-soaked Death Metal. Yes, they’re Swedish, and yes, they play Death Metal, so yes, this is Swedish Death Metal, chainsaws and all.
After a pointless intro we get some immediately tasty guitar brutality and I’m instantly reminded of why I have such a soft spot for this particular Death Metal sub-genre.
In addition to the requisite chainsaw sound of the crushing guitars, the macabre melodies are also present and correct. Old-School Swedish Death Metal may not be for everyone, but if you are partial to it then Wombbath certainly have all the right moves.
The vocals are daemonic-sounding growls that seem to scrape through into the world from a throat that has been to all of the dark places in existence. It’s an impressive roar and a little different from the generic deathgrunting that populates most Death Metal albums.
The songs tear and rip their way through the playing time and have a good diversity of speeds and tempos, from blast to crawl. The songwriting is good and if you’re into the style this is a good example of how it’s done right.
This is the début album of Slug Comparison, a Canadian Progressive Rock band.
Actually a solo album with guest/session musicians, Slug Comparison contains 41 minutes of modern Progressive Rock.
This reminds me of early 00s band Sunna mixed with elements of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and something like Steven Wilson. It’s extremely accomplished and very well realised.
The songs on this album are diverse and professional, with dark themes and a quasi-Industrial/Electronica feel to them on occasion; synths and electronic effects are frequent accompaniments to the standard instruments. These are used well to add extra flavour to an already tasty feast.
The singer’s voice has a contemporary feel to it and has a raw presence and charisma that money couldn’t buy. He has good range and deals with all of the challenges the material offers him with zeal and skill.
There’s a lot to be absorbed here, and repeated spins reveal the depth of nuance that these songs have to offer. It’s clear that a lot of work and effort has gone into this album, and it pays off spectacularly.
I have no qualms at all about highly recommending this album for your aural delectation. There’s a wealth of talent and expertise on display here, and it’s well worth the taking the time to explore it.
This is the third album from US Grinders Ambassador Gun.
Ambassador Gun play their music with harsh melody, Hardcore abandon and Grinding brutality. On paper their Grindcore is no different to many others’, but in reality the riffs and melodies used are quite atypical and interesting.
The band are upbeat and have their blasting moments, but this is more about the songs having an energy about them rather than speed for the sake of it.
The tracks are somewhat of a cross between the Hardcore d-beat of a band like Martyrdöd, the experimental, unusual Grind of Cloud Rat, the insectile mayhem of Discordance Axis and the Sludge edge of Colombian Necktie.
There’s lots of dynamics on display here and these are songs that are built to last. The band use melody well, but not in a melodic way; I know this sounds almost contradictory, but this is not a melodic band in the obvious sense. However, they achieve it in a muted, angry way and their songs have their own internal colour and sparkle because of this, despite the abrasive, serrated veneer.
This really is an exceptionally enjoyable release with enough bluster and brutality to have an instant appeal, yet with enough nuance and depth to be long lasting once the initial appeal of the violence and carnage has faded.
This is 26 minutes of exciting, visceral Extreme Metal. Highly recommended.
Thy Art Is Murder are from Australia and this is their third album. They play Death Metal/Deathcore.
Thy Art Is Murder have produced a mature and interesting record that brings Deathcore and Death Metal together in such a way that both styles are enriched. Deathcore, as I’ve said before, is really, really easy to do badly. With this in mind, Holy War is somewhat of a different beast to that of the Deathcore masses.
Heavy riffs and breakdowns are in attendance, make no mistake, but the more Death Metal side of things ensure there’s enough straight-ahead brutality on display to please the most virulent Metal maniac.
More interestingly, however, are the Post-Metal and Black Metal influences. “What?”, I hear you ask? Well, these are not the biggest part of their sound, admittedly, but they’re an important component of the songs here as these two influences help raise Holy War up from an enjoyably brutal listen to an enjoyably brutal listen that has more to offer than is normal for the style.
The Post-Metal influence shows in the melodies. Alongside the blast beats and the chugging beat downs are the occasional transcendently resplendent melodies, which are not normally associated with Extreme Metal of any kind, unless you’re the likes of Fallujah, of course.
The Black Metal influence is more subtle, more subversive than the Post-Metal element. This manifests itself through some of the riffs, lending a Blackened bite and atmosphere to the proceedings where another band might go for un-emotive blandness.
Both of these influences are second to the Death Metal/Deathcore side of the band, of course, and ultimately Holy War is an aggressively heavy and nastily brutal listen that takes no prisoners and expects nothing but total domination.
I have yet to mention the vocals. Suffice to say that the singer positively roars his way through these 40 minutes like a man possessed by an urge to kill everything possible. Supplemented with higher screams, his performance cannot be faulted.
In a world where Deathcore is ruled by a handful of top quality bands who oversee a multitude of mediocre ones, Thy Art Is Murder have definitely ascended to the upper echelons of Deathcore royalty. Like most Deathcore bands, they’ve achieved this through a combination of good songwriting skills and by moving away from the core of the genre itself, (pun intended), and into more individual waters.
Winter Calling are a Progressive Rock band from the US. This is their début album.
Winter Calling play polished and professional Progressive Rock that sounds perfectly modern in many ways but realistically has probably missed its era; I can easily imagine this band selling out huge arenas in the past.
Stylistically, the closest reference point is probably Threshold meets Evergrey.
The songs are well-written with plenty of hooks, catchiness and memorable choruses. The singer has an excellent voice that sometimes has a slight grainy quality to it on occasion, lending it an earthy quality that feels natural and unforced; other times it’s as soft as silk.
There’s a confidence and assurance to these songs. It stops just short of cockiness, but the band certainly know what they’re doing and are not shy of showing it off. Not that they should be, of course. Progressive Rock is not a style known for its shyness, and Winter Calling have enough talent and skill to be justified in their obvious self-belief.
The songs that span this hour of music, (including an Iron Maiden cover, or rather a reinterpretation), are all expertly played and benefit from not just the normal core instruments but also keyboards that add a plethora of little touches and extra levels to the already full music.
The album feels like it’s taking you on a journey, although you never get to quite find out where as the journey is what’s important, not the destination. I find that the best albums feel like this and I’m looking forward to exploring this release even more over the next few years.
Mature and emotive, this is an album that’s worth spending some time with.
Hladomrak are a Swedish Black Metal band and this is their début album.
This is underground Black Metal that’s raw but not overly so. Hladomrak play with passion and a steely professionalism that sees them produce charismatic songs.
It’s as cold as ice and the band rely on decent riffs and dark melodies rather than go the atmospheric or brutally harsh route. This approach serves them well as the songs are a really enjoyable collection of well-written tracks.
Don’t think this is Melodic Black Metal though. When I reviewed Ctulu’s Sarkomand I said that “this is not Melodic Black Metal, but rather Black Metal that has a lot of melody in it”. I feel that this is extremely relevant to Hladomrak too and describes them well.
There’s a Thrash influence to some of the guitars. I wouldn’t describe them a Black-Thrash band though; rather, they’re a Black Metal band that’s very riff-oriented. This is combined with a more orthodox Black Metal approach and results in some very fine musical darkness.
The vocals are high-pitched and see the singer scraping his metaphorical nails down the metaphorical blackboard with his voice. It goes well with the sharp delivery of the music and the spike-like riffing.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable Black Metal album, all the more so for being a bit different to what I was expecting. The writing is top-notch and the performance levels just as high.
A recommended listen for all followers of the Blackened arts.
Carnivora are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Modern Melodic Death Metal.
This new 18 minute EP showcases Carnivora’s blend of Modern Death Metal and Groove Metal to good effect.
Carnivora’s début album Eternal was a great listen, and this latest release cements their up-and-coming status in the modern heavy music scene.
They successfully mix brutality and melody, without sacrificing either; kind of like an (older) In Flames meets Lamb of God meets Death Metal sexiness.
The songs blast and groove their way through the playing time and each one has a good grasp of melodics, heaviness, choruses and dynamics. There’s a Thrash Metal influence on display too, but this is usually buried under the melodies, covertly adding to the sharp energy that the band exude.
The music is not without subtlety when it needs to be. The band have an ear for a decent riff and there’s plenty to hook and snare the listener into their world, as well as some good ideas too.
The vocalist grunts, shouts and screams depending on what the music calls for. He has an obvious passion and works with the music to get adrenaline pumping, heads banging and fists smashing.
Carnivora have followed up their impressive début album with a quality little EP that definitely signals big things for the future.
Khemmis are a US Doom Metal band and this is their début album.
Now this is an interesting release. The album cover might lead you to believe that Khemmis are a Traditional Doom Metal band, and although this is certainly a big part of their sound there’s also more going on here than that.
Khemmis combine Traditional Doom Metal with Sludge Metal. This is not a common thing to do and it works much better than you might think.
What does this mean in real terms? Well, it means the ancient Traditional Doom approach is melded together with a heavier, Sludgier sound that’s partially one and partially the other. Imagine a cross between 40 Watt Sun and a cleaner version of Primitive Man.
The vocals also display this duality of Doom purpose; dreamy, traditional clean vocals are occasionally supplemented with deeper growls that seem like they’re about to tear the Earth apart with their ferocity.
I love the way the band manage to take the clean Doom Metal sound, mix it with the dirty Sludge style and come up with a winning combination of the two. This is usually within the same song too. Southern-inspired riffs share space with heavenly cleans, (the singer has a top quality voice), before descending into the pit once more and the Deathgrowls rule the roost for a while.
This is an album that cries out for repeated spins, and repeated spins it gets. In addition to its obvious charms there’s a lot of hidden gold on Absolution.
Ecstatic Vision are from the US and play Psychedelic Rock. This is their début album.
Wonderbox Metal 