wonderboxmetal

Interview with I Am Noah

The Verdict by I Am Noah; here is a heavy-as-Hell metalcore album that has melodic, almost post-metal flourishes to it, making for a very satisfying listen. It’s definitely one of the best recent releases of this sometimes-maligned sub-genre and is good enough to easily remind anyone of just how effective metalcore can be when played with passion, conviction and substance. I took the time to catch up with the band just as The Verdict is being unleashed on the world…

Explain the concept behind the band name

I Am Noah is our way to address things and share our emotions. “Noah” is a fictional character who questions and condemns the boundaries of our intellect and behaviour which are omnipresent. On our record we intended “Noah” to be thought-provoking. He should speak for us as a band and reflects all our feelings, opinions, positions. Continue reading “Interview with I Am Noah”

Polar – No Cure No Saviour (Review)

This is the third album by Polar, a UK Hardcore band.

Polar offer us 40 minutes of passionate music, tinged with elements of punk and post-hardcore delivery. It’s heavy and abrasive in parts, but not without subtlety or melody in others; it strikes the right balance between both.

As soon as the record starts it’s immediately apparent that Continue reading “Polar – No Cure No Saviour (Review)”

Behexen – The Poisonous Path (Review)

This is the fifth album from this Finnish black metal horde.

There’s something remarkably pure about Behexen that manages to encapsulate everything I like about orthodox black metal, without ever becoming stale or tired.

There’s a lot of music on The Poisonous Path; 58 minutes of utter Continue reading “Behexen – The Poisonous Path (Review)”

Interview with Tothem

Tothem’s latest release Gemini shows a band that are progressing their sound, making best use of all of their assets and stripping away those parts which are unnecessary. The end result is an album that takes the Gothic metal style and imprints its own personality on it. I got the chance to find out a bit more, so read on…

Introduce us to Tothem!

Tothem is a band of five musicians sharing the same passion for music and art in general. We’ve been together for many years and this is definitely a positive thing for the cohesion of the band.

What are your influences? Continue reading “Interview with Tothem”

Dark Funeral – Where Shadows Forever Reign (Review)

This is the sixth album from this Swedish black metal institution.

With a new lineup, (including a new vocalist), this is the first Dark Funeral album in seven years, and it lands with the impact of a swinging broadsword.

Make no mistake; this is Continue reading “Dark Funeral – Where Shadows Forever Reign (Review)”

Blakk Old Blood/Black Devotion – Split (Review)

Blakk Old Blood are from Switzerland and Black Devotion are from the US. Both bands play Black Metal and have teamed up for this split release, each contributing one song.

Blakk Old Blood start Continue reading “Blakk Old Blood/Black Devotion – Split (Review)”

Omega Monolith – Fungus (Review)

This is the latest album by Greek Doom Rockers Omega Monolith.

Omega Monolith fuse Doom and Heavy/Progressive Rock together to create three sprawling tracks that constitute Fungus. At 43 minutes in length, their musical vision gets a thorough exploration and no avenue for drawn-out claustrophobia is left out.

Fungus is born out of Continue reading “Omega Monolith – Fungus (Review)”

Gridfailure – Ensuring the Bloodline Ends Here (Review)

Gridfailure is a one-man solo experimental project from the US.

This is a mutated, corrupted, experimental release that incorporates all manner of guitars, electronics, keyboards, noises, violins, bongos, harmonicas, and much, much more into its aborted embrace.

Okay, but is it any good? This is the Continue reading “Gridfailure – Ensuring the Bloodline Ends Here (Review)”

Eclipse – Clandestine Resurrection (Review)

This is début album from Indian heavy metal band Eclipse.

This is melodic heavy metal played in the old-school style and backed up with bright keyboards that add some ostentation and punctuated highlights to the music’s already colourful charms.

The singer has a powerful and clear voice that soars above the music with character and passion. A good singing voice can make or break a band like this, and I’m pleased to say that there are no real issues in the vocal department. Continue reading “Eclipse – Clandestine Resurrection (Review)”

Devildriver – Trust No One (Review)

This is the seventh album from this US metal band.

I’ve always enjoyed Devildriver’s combination of modern metal, melodic death metal, thrash metal, NWOAHM, classic metal, nu-metal and crushing groove metal. Sure, they’ve had their ups and downs over the years with some albums being noticeably stronger than others, but they’ve always had enough meat on their metal bones to make me happy to listen to them in some capacity or other.

This moves us onto Continue reading “Devildriver – Trust No One (Review)”