January 2016 – Page 2 – Wonderbox Metal

Thy Worshiper – Ozimina (Review)

This is the latest EP from Thy Worshiper, who play pagan/folk Black Metal.

The band’s previous release Czarna Dzika Czerwień is one that I really enjoyed, so this EP I was eager to hear.

Featuring music that’s heavy on percussion and non-standard instruments, (such as didgeridoo, darbuka and djembe, to name a few), Thy Worshiper continue their individual and characterful melding of folk, pagan and Black Metal influences into their enticing brand of music.

These tracks are rich and layered songs that cover themselves with emotion while providing enough substance and grit to back it up, ensuring that they have produced a real collection of songs and soundscapes, rather than novelty or throwaway music.

Vocally, the female vocals sound even more beautiful and powerful than before, and combined with the rhythmic pulsing of the music are a real highlight. The male vocals remind me of those of The Meads of Asphodel in places on this release more than on their previous album, which adds a different slant for me.

Clearly a lot of work has gone into arranging and composing this EP, and the end result speaks from the heart and burns as deep as fire.

Another sterling release from this important band.

Bosque – Beyond (Review)

Bosque is a one-man Doom band from Portugal. This is his third album.

This is mournful, slow Funeral Doom that’s wonderfully despondent and drenched in desolate negativity. The music reeks of isolation and loss.

The guitars have the timbre of a Black Metal album, but enslaved and put to work down the Doom Metal mines. This lends Bosque quite a distinct blackened feel while still staying mainly in the Funeral Doom camp.

There’s a severe minimalism here too, fed further by the Black Metal aesthetics, that manages to successfully convey a huge amount of darkly emotive themes with limited tools.

The vocals are low-in-the-mix cleans that sound completely anguished and forlorn. Their sorrowful delivery reminds the listener in no uncertain terms that everything is pointless and nothing has any meaning, other than what is given, and even that is probably worthless.

The songs are quality exemplars of the style and it’s easy to get lost in the misery on Beyond.

It’s rare that you hear Funeral Doom quite this nihilistically bleak and delivered with such conviction.

Recommended.

Favourite Track: Paradox.

Zlang Zlut – Crossbow Kicks (Review)

Zlang Zlut are a Swiss Rock band. This is their second album.

So here we have something a little bit different for you. Zlang Zlut are a two-piece featuring a drummer/singer and an electric cello player. Unexpectedly, this isn’t some strange left-field experimental release, but a full-on hard-rocking bunch of songs for fans of AC/DC and the like.

The singer has a lot of charisma and injects the full force of his personality into these tracks. He comes across as one of those people born to sing in a Rock band, and this very much comes out in the music.

The songs are simple Rockers that are upbeat and instantly enjoyable. The cello is similar enough to a guitar to make the transition to Zlang Zlut’s music easy, but different enough to give the band their own sound. Some of the cello solos even give the songs a Country-twang, which is not entirely a bad thing, believe it or not!

This isn’t novelty music though, far from it; these are well-written songs that are chock-full of hooks and catchy melodies. Zlang Zlut clearly know how to write a good tune.

This is feel-good music and listening to this album does exactly that – it makes me feel good. The cello shows itself to be a very versatile and nuanced instrument, adding something special to these songs.

Very enjoyable and very recommended. Check this out.

Atrocious Abnormality – Formed in Disgust (Review)

This is the second album from US Brutal Death Metallers Atrocious Abnormality.

If you like the classic sound of Death Metal à la Cannibal Corpse, Defeated Sanity, Severe Torture and the like, then you’ll love this latest release from Atrocious Abnormality. This is ripping Death Metal with lashings of brutality and bloodshed, all delivered in 31 minutes of riff-hungry carnage.

Atrocious Abnormality really have got their songwriting abilities dialled in. As paragons of brutality these songs also have a whole slew of memorable riffs and just enough melody to cause the guitars to stick out without sacrificing any of the ugliness. Top work.

Each of these tracks do exactly what you’d want this type of Death Metal song to do. Here we have complexity and technicality without going too far down the rabbit hole; simple, heavy riffs without becoming too basic; catchiness without over-familiarity; speed and groove intertwined…Formed in Disgust really has a lot to offer the discerning Metal fan.

I’m very happy with this release. I love a good slab of timeless Death Metal, and Atrocious Abnormality have delivered. It’s especially pleasing as it’s quite easy for a release of this nature to come across as stale and boring – just a repeat of what’s come before. What’s nice about Formed in Disgust though is that the band somehow manage to breathe fresh life into the style they play through sheer force of will and decent songwriting skills.

I heartily recommend this one – get your fill and do it now.

The Black Dahlia Murder/Benighted/Ingested – Sound Control, Manchester – 21/01/16 (Live Review)

I like Sound Control as a venue, and tonight, even though I’ve definitely seen it busier, there’s still a decent amount of people here and the place has a good atmosphere.

I think I’ve seen Ingested before. Maybe. If I have, it was a long time ago and neither the band or the details left too much of an impression. Tonight changed all that. It seems they’ve either come a long way or I just wasn’t paying close enough attention. Probably both.

So, as you’ve probably gathered I arrived in time to catch Ingested, and I’m eternally grateful I did. They positively explode out of the stage, full of high energy, revelling in their status as show-openers and doing a damn good job at it.

Ingested’s slamming Death Metal deals in plenty of blasting and groove. They’re essentially slam machines with colossal breakdowns that somehow fail to sound one dimensional. The singer has a voice like a demon and bellows, roars and screams himself into fits of slamcore delirium.

Tonight they benefit from a huge clear sound, which is downright shocking for an opening band and allows them to display what they do best at full power. They got me moving which is more than most support bands do.

Mixing parts of Despised Icon, The Red Chord and Dying Fetus, Ingested just destroy the stage. Their music is clearly designed with mosh pits in mind, and the crowd give a suitably good account of themselves throughout.

The set ends and most people seem happy. Me? I’m very happy.

After Ingested’s impressive performance, Benighted had their work cut out for them, or so I thought.

Being unfamiliar with Benighted, I was not sure what to expect, (except in general terms), but they rose to the challenge nicely.

Like Ingested’s set, we are treated to another strong sound; the venue should be proud of itself and tonight it appears to be support band heaven in this regard.

Benighted are aggressive and sharp, with a more focused, refined assault than that of Ingested’s raw muscularity, although that’s not to say they lack direct brutality or strength; far from it.

Their polished and professional style takes modern Death Metal and dips it in an impassioned performance. The band’s twisted melodics and grooving blasts come from the same school of nastiness as Cattle Decapitation and Aborted, combining quality musicianship with streamlined brutality. Elements of their sound have a tribal, rhythmic quality, frequently interrupted by a tirade of blast beats for maximum effect.

They make quite the impression and it’s clear that they have more than a few fans in the crowd, and there’s plenty of movement too. The groovy parts get the bodies moving hard and the fast, blasting sections just demolish. In fact, I particularly like it when they play fast. The evening’s first stage diver even makes an appearance mid-way though the set. He looks like he’s enjoying himself.

The singer has a commanding presence and a great voice. He also looks like a smaller version of powerlifter Jeremy “Couch” Hamilton, which keeps me amused the entire set. The bassist has an infectious grin and even indulges in a bit of Steve-Harris-from-Iron-Maiden-machine-gunning, which is always nice.

Their penultimate song starts with a sample of an alarm clock that sounds exactly the same as mine and freaks me the fuck out. What follows is much better than what usually follows though.

At the end of their set me and a large chunk of the crowd are left with smiles as large as the bassist’s. Nice.

And now for the band everyone’s been waiting for, the USA’s premier Melodic Death Metal masters.

I’ve seen The Black Dahlia Murder before, but they were playing in a support capacity and were marred by a weak, muddy sound. In keeping with the theme of the evening so far though, there are no such problems tonight, and the band absolutely slay. Boasting a crystal clear sound that demonstrates a band at the top of their game, the band’s performance tonight is exemplary.

When the bassists asks if we wanna hear a very fast new song, you know we do.

The major selling point of The Black Dahlia Murder for me is their peerless brand of fast, razor-sharp melodicism, and tonight it’s on such fine display that I’m amazed I don’t leave with lacerations.

Opening with Receipt off their latest album, they power through a veritable greatest hits package. Although, like any greatest hits collection, you can’t please everyone, (I was hoping for Climactic Degradation…). However, there are enough quality songs here to please, spanning the band’s entire discography. Vlad, Son of the Dragon makes a welcome appearance and Moonlight Equillibrium (about a werewolf that eats English breakfasts, apparently) is a particular favourite. Abysmal, the title track from their latest album, sounds even better and more savage live than it does on record, and then Funeral Thirst absolutely just melts faces. Raped in Hatred by Vines of Thorn, (about the Evil Dead, he tells us), is a real catchy crowd-pleaser, as is Statutory Ape. They end with the one-two punch of Deathmask Divine and the iconic I Will Remain, which features one of the best intros and outros to any song. And the bit in the middle isn’t bad either.

The band themselves are on fine form, and focus inevitably finds itself being directed towards their charismatic frontman; he attacks the songs with such enthusiasm it’s palpable, sometimes seeming to take the role of a mad conductor.

As befitting the band’s status, the crowd have a strong reaction to the songs and there is stage diving and moshing in abundance, including some relatively immense circle pits. One stagediver arrives on stage just after a song finishes and gets to be interviewed by the band, (his name is Lawrence, and he likes slam). At the behest of the band the audience give a good attempt to carry him to the back of the venue during the next song, but he doesn’t quite make it. It’s a valiant effort though.

When a crowd casualty seems to occur, the band take the time to make sure everything’s okay, and also lead a chant of “Live! Live! Live!” which is most amusing.

After this long in their career The Black Dahlia Murder are a well oiled machine live, but it’s good to see that they aren’t just going through the motions and there’s real passion here.

This was genuinely one of the best shows I’ve been to in a long time. All three bands did themselves proud and I am left with nothing but fond memories and a slightly tired neck, exactly as it should be.

Battle Path – Ambedo (Review)

Battle Path are a Progressive Blackened Doom band from the US and this is their third album.

After two extremely gratifying releases, Battle Path are back with a slight change in direction. This time the band have shifted to a more experimental version of their sound, adding keyboards and synths to create expansive songs with an increase in atmosphere.

The blackened bile is still here though, it’s just now wrapped up in a Progressive Metal coating that gives it quite a 70s sheen in some ways, although not properly of course as they didn’t have Black Metal back then. But if they did…

The crushing Doom is still here too. It’s also swaddled in atmospherics that makes everything sound grander and more epic than the band’s previous work. It’s heavy, emotive and devastating.

In reality, of course, there’s no clear delineation between the Black Metal and Doom aspects, with everything flowing and merging together quite nicely. The band have merely added to this already potent cocktail with keyboards/synths, as well as some Post-Metal influences here and there, reminiscent of Cult of Luna, (as embodied on the instrumental title track, for example); in some ways the band are mirroring Cult of Luna’s development into more experimental pastures that offer a wider, more expansive musical scope. Battle Path and Cult of Luna don’t really sound like each other though, it should be stressed, but they do seem to be on similar journeys in some respects.

Vocally we get harsh, blackened screams for the most part, although these are added to by some bowel-shakingly deep growls on occasion. These are used relatively minimally compared to a lot of bands, with the music being allowed to do the talking for the most part, even when the serrated screams are ringing out.

With this album Battle Path have improved and progressed on their already impressive sound and have produced an album that shows a band truly coming into their own. The added progressive elements have enhanced and improved their core delivery so that Ambedo is a truly wonderful listen.

I loved Battle Path before this, and it seems that I love them even more now.

The Great Curve – Something Grand Is Dying (Review)

The Great Curve are from the US and this is their second release. They play experimental/Progressive Rock.

The Great Curve play an interesting and richly-coloured form of Rock that involves a complex blend of technicality and emotion.

The music has a certain cinematic quality to it and could easily be viewed as a soundtrack of sorts. The tracks are synth, keyboard, strings and piano-heavy, featuring layers upon layers of instrumentation and vocalisations. This is Progressive Rock in the truest sense, sharing common ground with 70s sci-fi-influenced greats, albeit updated for the current era.

The singing on these tracks is used purely as another form of instrument that blends in with the overall musical framework. There are no “lead vocals” as you would expect from most bands, (well there are, they just blend in with the music so well). This leaves the band in the curious position of kind of being an instrumental band, but with vocals, (as odd as that sounds).

This is just one of many contradictions and juxtapositions that the band heartily embrace in order to get the sound that they have. Another example of this is that The Great Curve sound, in some ways, like a Djent band only without any of the Djent guitars. Yes, I know that also sounds odd, but it’s a strong impression; the band have the technical drumming, electronic enhancements and experimental mindset that good Djent can have, but without any of the Djent guitar riffs that mark the style so well as to make it an easily-stale sub-genre.

So, if you take a Djent band, (minus guitars), add a Devin Townsend influence, add a science-fiction-esque influence, add a touch of the instrumental, (maybe Russian Circles or Cloudkicker), wrap it up in Progressive music and frame it as a soundtrack…it’s a good start to understanding The Great Curve.

Or you can just give them a listen, which I heartily recommend.

There’s a lot to enjoy here, so much so that you’ll need a few spins to properly appreciate just how good this is. For all its initial impact, it’s definitely a grower too, like all of the best music really. Something Grand Is Dying worms its way into your head and stays there, subtly working away at its own agenda. Before you know it you’re returning to it again to revel in its sense of grandeur.

Hopefully, this grandeur isn’t dying; hopefully it’s just getting started. Hopefully, there’ll be more where this came from in the future.

Stellarvore – Tehom (Review)

This is the first release from Stellarvore, a Black Metal band from Germany.

This is slithering, dark Black Metal that epitomises the style and uses the tools at its disposal to great effect.

Shards of melody are used as weapons and Stellarvore have a good melodic grasp of what makes an enjoyable Black Metal song.

These tracks are both melodic and atmospheric without being overly so; you wouldn’t describe this as Melodic Black Metal or Atmospheric Black Metal, for example, even though both aspects are used effectively throughout.

These songs are paeans to darkness and evil, manifesting in dark worship and malevolent moods. The singer’s cold rasp is like liquid, carrying with it a fluid quality that speaks of melted ice.

Discounting the intro and outro tracks, we get 4 longish songs that demonstrate a band who understand how to make music worth listening to. This is Black Metal that has its roots firmly in the second wave of Black Metal, but that also incorporates melody, atmosphere and even a bit of Post-Black Metal reflection into its delivery.

Tehom is an involving and engaging 35 minutes. It’s an impressive début for a new band and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Go check them out.

Pokerface – Divide and Rule (Review)

This is the début album from Russian Thrash Metal band Pokerface.

Pokerface play Thrash Metal with a modern sheen that nonetheless takes its cues from the early, aggressive style of the genre. Think a modern take on older Kreator and Slayer via a bit of Dew Scented.

The singer has an impressive snarl that she uses to great effect. She varies her attack and includes higher and lower screams, as well as even the odd bit of spoken-word.

The musicianship is tight and first-rate without being flashy. There are solos aplenty and these are very enjoyable.

The production is strong enough to showcase the band at their best but not polished enough to give them that manufactured feeling. Pokerface are the real deal and Divide and Rule is 36 minutes of ferocious underground Thrash Metal.

The songs are sharp and fast, going straight for the jugular with lethal intent. Songwriting ability is clearly valued highly and there are lots of hooks and catchy moments across these 10 tracks. The songs are well-written and the performance is energetic. There’s a lot of content on this album and the band offer up a meaty feast to be hungrily devoured by Thrash fans everywhere.

It’s really nice to hear this kind of Thrash Metal. In an age where a lot of Thrash bands seem to be take the retro/comedy route, seem compelled to have some form of nonsense gimmick, or blend their Thrash with other styles, it’s great to hear a band like Pokerface who play no-nonsense aggressive music, backed up by talent, skill and confidence.

I could easily imagine this band being snapped up by one of the larger labels and given wider exposure. Let’s hope that happens, eh?

If you’re looking for a bit of satisfying Thrash Metal with good songs and a killer instinct, look no further.

Highly recommended.

Latitudes – Old Sunlight (Review)

This is the third album from UK Post-Metal/Sludge band Latitudes.

Latitudes are the kind of band who are off doing their own thing and everyone should be happy and pleased that they are.

Latitudes have an apocalyptically heavy sound that masterfully utilises the wall-of-guitars approach to create cascading tsunamis of distorted feeling. Unusually though, this is shot through with streaking arcs of bright melody, raising the emotive levels of the tracks tenfold. Needless to say, this is a talent that most bands lack.

There’s a distinct Sludge-fuelled Progressive element to their Post-Metal that lends the album a cinematic quality, as if the songs are describing various scenes and stories throughout. This is further enhanced by the fact that a sizeable chunk of Old Sunlight is instrumental, with the vocals only appearing at key points throughout.

When vocals do appear, they’re soft, angelic and gloriously melodic. Adding a melancholic sweetness to the tracks, it shows how well Old Sunlight treads the fine line between negativity and positivity, or classically; darkness and light. This is a theme for Latitudes, with their music managing to blur the boundaries between these two points, so much so that they frequently do both at the same time, as hinted at in the name of the album.

The band certainly have a talent for writing these dual-purpose songs, with yet another example of this being complexity vs simplicity, again, usually concurrently. When channelled into creating soundscapes that are both bright and hopeful, yet dark and hopeless, it’s a very beguiling and enticing combination.

This is the kind of album you return to repeatedly, never quite having fully explored all of its winding avenues.

Join me and bask in the light of the dying sun.