Blame Kandinsky are from Greece and this is their debut EP. They play chaotic Hardcore.
This is angular Hardcore in the style of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, et al. They play their chosen brand of mayhem with pride and skill, peeling off riff after riff of controlled chaos and deliberate discord.
These songs have a passionate energy to them that’s an essential part of any band that plays this style.
Thankfully, Blame Kandinsky are more than just a few hastily slapped together riffs as that can easily become dull; they know the importance of following riffs through to their natural conclusion and of creating atmosphere, no matter how fleeting or obscured by chaotic frenzy.
The singer has a charismatic voice that’s somewhat of a scream-ier version of the Every Time I Die singer’s style.
It’s always good to hear this kind of music, especially when delivered with obvious passion and ability.
These five songs, (and one pointless intro), showcase a talented band who have developed their sound into a force to be reckoned with already. If they can build on these strong foundations and continue to develop their individuality then their eventual album should be a stunner.
Highly recommended.
Favourite Track: Nascency.Admittance.Guilt.Rebirth. Some top quality riffing and vocal patterns combined with some Converge-esque atmospherics mean this song is a firm favourite of mine.
Comaniac are from Switzerland and play Thrash Metal. This is their début album.
Boasting a crisp, clear sound where you can feel every bit of crunch, Comaniac sound remarkably fresh considering this is Old-School Thrash Metal.
The songs have a kind of used vitality to them; it’s a well-worn genre but the band play it well and with such passion that it’s hard to feel jaded around them.
The riffs are frantic and well written, with plenty of leads and solos thrown around to make things sound even more Metal than they already are.
Comaniac certainly know their Thrash. These songs could easily have been written in the 80s, although the 80’s Thrash bands never had such a crisp, modern production as this of course.
The singer screams out his lyrics with a kind of focused insanity, one step away from mayhem but controlled enough for the moment. It’s quite charismatic and makes a good impression.
Considering the fact that I’ve been a bit sated on Old-School Thrash for a while now I wasn’t expecting much from this but Comaniac have firmly won me over. The combination of Thrash know-how and a punchy, energetic sound makes for a great listen.
Wömit Angel are from Finland and play Crust-infused Black Metal.
This is their latest EP, which is the follow up to their 2014 release Holy Goatse. There are three tracks of odious Black Metal lasting all of seven and a half minutes.
It starts off with the title track Maggotmouth, which is all blasting hatred and frothing at the mouth. It’s primitive, underground Black Metal crossed with a Punk/Crust aesthetic that’s rough enough to hurt.
As opening statements go it’s a good one.
The next track Children of Moon follows up Maggotmouth with equal fury. Vocals are rasped threats and the music is suitable ascerbic. Deep, gargling vocals back up the higher ones and they sound suitably disgusting.
The final track King-SM is a re-recorded version of a track from their début demo Gnitimov fo Gninnigeb Eht. This follows the same format as the previous two songs and cements Wömit Angel’s enduring appeal.
This is a band who write attractively murky riffs that do the Blackened Crust thing well and leave no doubt in my mind that Wömit Angel are the real deal.
If anything I’d say that Maggotmouth represents a good step forward for the band and an improvement on Holy Goatse, which in itself was no slouch.
Quality work from these peddlers of filth. Keep it up!
This is the début album from long-running Heavy Metallers Twilight Zone, who are from Italy.
As I’ve said before, one of the most important components of bands like this is the singer; the vocals can make or break the band for me. Twlight Zone have a very capable singer with a strong voice and an able set of pipes, so I’m happily placated. The vocals are easy to enjoy and the singer hits the various highs and the lows without issue.
The music is Classic Heavy Metal with plenty of bluster and verve. Colourful leads and emphatic riffs are the order of the day and they have a decent amount of variety so that it doesn’t become too repetitive or one dimensional.
The band have a very slight Thrash influence to some of the guitars here and there as well as a bit of a Hard Rock style to their sound in places. Mainly though, it’s pure Heavy Metal.
The Beginning has a rather underground production for this style of music, but it does add an earthy earnestness and honesty to their sound. I really like the bass sound – it has an Iron Maiden-like presence and adds to the songs a fair bit; particularly noticeable on Death Swarm.
The songs are enjoyable and well written, with a good few hooks to snag the listener. If you enjoy this style then you could do a lot worse than checking out Twilight Zone for some resolutely Old-School Classic Heavy Metal.
This is the début album from Spanish band Deprive. They play Old School Death Metal. Actually I should say “he plays”, as Deprive is helmed by just one man.
Into Oblivion has a morbid, ancient sound that evokes images of graveyards in decades past. For all this though the production is still warm and suited to the feel of the band.
This is 90’s-style Death Metal with a sound that’s even older than that. There are some eerie, emotive melodies amongst the riffs and the mastermind behind the band also has a nice grasp on some Doom licks, which are spread out liberally around the tracks.
Blast beats, mid-paced sections and Doom riffs all coalesce in Deprive’s songs to produce an album that sounds both authentic and satisfying.
The singer has a quality voice that’s deep and aggressive yet still as old and as venerable as the music.
Sometimes I feel I’ve reached my saturation point with Old-School Death Metal, but then a band like Deprive comes along and I can’t help but totally dig it. Their incorporation of blasting aggression and Doom-inflected passages into the standard Old-School template makes Into Oblivion a compelling listen.
The best thing, of course, is the songs themselves; all of these different elements are arranged naturally so that the band end up with tracks that are actually song-based as opposed to a collection of knitted-together riffs.
Arthedain are from Germany and play Black Metal. This is their second EP.
Arthedain play Black Metal that’s powered by the frosted winds and icy to the core.
Razor sharp Blackened riffs cut though the chill and the blasting drums pummel all who dare expose themselves to these bitter elements.
When the band slow themselves down they show themselves perfectly capable of getting themselves into a good groove.
Subtle atmospheric highlights enhance the compositions and the band create suitably darkly majestic soundscapes to accompany their art but without ostentation or vulgar overtness.
At 14 minutes in length this only a short introduction to the band really, but it’s one that I have really enjoyed. Arthedain play their Black Metal very well indeed.
Here’s hoping their début album will be as good as this.
Half Gramme of Soma are from Greece and play Hard/Stoner Rock. This is their latest EP, their second release.
Half Gramme Of Soma have a sound that rolls out of the speakers with earthen grit and a confident gait.
This EP has a warm sound that makes the guitars come alive with a glorious fuzziness. The production is top notch and thankfully the songs match the sonic quality levels.
The singer’s voice is all gravel and character. He has a powerful voice that’s like a slightly dirtier version of the singer of Disturbed. It sounds great and the performance level is always high.
These songs speak of a confident band who know what they want to do and know exactly how to go about achieving their goals. These are very mature compositions that may sit neatly in the Stoner Rock genre but also borrow from others, such as Hard Rock, Modern Metal and Doom.
This refusal to play entirely by the Stoner template works entirely in their favour and as such Marche au Noir has a lot of different flavours across its 5 tracks. From the upbeat opener Marche, to the jaunty/doomy juxtaposition of Hitch Hike and the crowning centrepiece Cage, this EP has more to offer in 5 songs than most bands of this ilk do in 10.
Marche au Noir is a decent length EP at 25 minutes that showcases the band’s ample talents.
Bloodscribe have a produced an extremely satisfying first album with Prologue to the Apocalypse. Spreading the word about his band and all things Bloodscribe is their vocalist Jasan…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We’re a 5 piece death metal band currently made up of Jasan (vocals), Joseph (Guitar), Michael (Guitar), Jesse (Drums), and Dennis (Bass).
Give us a bit of history to Bloodscribe
Bloodscribe was formed by Jesse and myself (Jasan) in 2004 strictly as a way for us to spend time and have fun with music, never did we imagine playing so many shows and getting as far as we have now. After a few member changes we seem to have reached a pretty solid line up that has giving the band the sound we have today.
Where does the name come from?
The name was actually completely made up by Jesse after skimming through and dictionary and seeing the word “describe” and simply added “blood” to it. There’s no real wow factor to the name and in no way is it related or influenced by Lamb of God.
What are your influences?
We all agree on 3 major influences, Dying Fetus, Disgorge, and The Black Dahlia Murder.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
We all listen to different thing aside from metal if you’re open minded then definitely check out.
What did you want to achieve with your new album?
The goals for this album are endless and by no way have we set limits going in to this album but we definitely want to play some shows out of the country.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
We’re certainly happy with the end result but we have already raised the standards for the next album.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
Well the lyrics are influenced by current events in society as well as ongoing ones, one big topic for us is religion and its weakening influence on its followers.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
We all tend to have our own unique ideas which we bring to practice to share and build on as a band. We usually pick one idea and grind it out till we’ve written something we all agree on.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
We all really took a liking on “Enslaved by Deceptions” because it really portrays the sound we are going for thus making it an easy choice for our first single and video.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
We’ve actually already started writing for the next album and feel we are headed towards a heavier and better plotted sound that will make an impact in the metal scene.
What’s next for Bloodscribe?
For now we plan on really pushing the album by promoting and touring as much as possible, while doing that we will continue to write and hopefully have some new material to go into the studio with in the near future.
This is the début Technical Death Metal album from US band Apocrophex.
Building on their short but very promising EP Wheels Within Wheels, Apocrophex are now back with a full album, one that I’ve been quite looking forward to.
Opening straight up with some dense widdling and technical mayhem, Apocrophex make a grand entrance. I love the fact that their sound is equal parts heavy brutality and technical mayhem.
But what’s this? There’s an increased depth and maturity of songwriting here that was absent on their first release. It lends these songs an air of gravitas as they are an impressively realised collection of Technical Death Metal tracks.
Importanly, the technicality never takes over from the songs themselves and there are some quality emotive passages and high energy riffs here amidst the chaos.
Some Technical bands concentrate too much on what the lead guitar is doing, leaving the rhythm essentially providing just filler material. Apocrophex do things differently though; they put just as much effort into the rhythm guitars as they do the complicated and flash leads/solos. The result is songs that marry the best of both worlds and Suspended from the Cosmic Altaar is a real gem of an album because of this.
The vocals are as equally impressive as the music. The deep growls have come a long way since the EP and are hugely satisfying. High screams accentuate the aggression and there are even some semi-clean shouts that rise up out of the carnage on occasion to really add emphasis where it’s needed.
I think I’ve just found my new favourite Technical Death Metal band.
After releasing their fourth album – Towering – Unhold are in a great position with such a strong album under their collective belts. I wanted to find out a bit more information and background to this impressive album. Let’s delve in…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We’re four guys and one gal: Daniel on drums, Leo on bass, Miriam on piano/synths and vocals, Thomas on guitar and vocals, and Philipp also on guitar and vocals, I’ll try to answer your questions on behalf of the band.
Give us a bit of history to Unhold
Unhold was born from the heads & hearts of four teenagers, we decided to get instruments and give it a shot. That was around 1990, ages ago. At first we just jammed around, occasionally riffing after bands like Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, Entombed. We started making our own songs pretty quick, that was more leaning towards Death/Thrash Metal. After the first couple years and a bunch of shows we gave it a more serious thought, changed our name to «Unhold». Around 2000 our original drummer decided to quit, we were lucky to have Daniel join, he also was from our little community who listened to heavy music and visited shows out of town. We released «Walking Blackwards», our début. That already had elements of Noiserock and Stoner on it. Not the heaviest production, though. 2004 we released «Loess», I think the angriest of our albums. That as well as «Gold Cut» (2008) was recorded with Serge Morattel in Geneva. We toured with that album for a good two years, then got back to work on new material. In 2012 we celebrated our 20 year anniversary, had a lineup change and started working to finalize the fourth album.
What are your influences?
Sometimes it’s hard to distinct between bands that we just purely like to listen to and bands that actually influence the way we do our music. Definitely there’s bands like Neurosis, Unsane, Black Sabbath, Helmet, Clutch, Melvins, Kyuss that made an impact. Younger bands also of course don’t pass us without notice, we’re often referred to bands like Isis, Kylesa, Cult Of Luna and the like, but they’re more like a big cousin with the same ancestors, than an actual influence.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Let me think, what was played and discussed in our van… Royal Thunder, Chelsea Wolfe, Watter, Type O Negative. I’d personally recommend Ty Segall’s «Manipulator», Mojave Lords «Unfuckwithable», pretty much everything by Killing Joke…
What did you want to achieve with your new album?
I think the main focus was to implement the new members and the new elements into an existing skeleton framework of songs. To take Unhold and make the next natural/logical step.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
Yes! Very much so! We took a bit a different approach this time, recorded locally with Remo Häberli at Hidden Stash and mixed/mastered remotely with Latch Manghat from Gonga and Andy Henderson at Retrosonic Studios in Bristol. Perhaps with the new lineup we also instinctively took a step aside from a full on cutting edge metal production, more basically thinking about rock songs when editing and mixing.
What’s your favourite song on it and why?
That’s really hard to say. One song that excites me a lot is «Southern Grave», because it strikes a new chord in regards of songwriting and the use of vocals. Maybe we’ll see more stuff in that manner in the future, who knows.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
Generally our lyrics are more focused on the inner realm of being a human in this day and age. For me personally «I Belong» is probably the track I have the strongest relation to because of the story it tells. When I tell people I’m a quarter native american they ask me if I can hear trees talk… good fun! Specifically it describes my attempt to relate to the past, although geographically dislocated I feel a strong connection and I try to find words to describe what goes through my head. Every human being has an urge wanting to belong, to be remembered, recognized, to leave a trace of some sort. The song also deals with the slow and quite silent passing of a rich culture and tradition.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
We have a pretty democratic way of working on songs, basic ideas come from individual members, yet we also have a jam-based method where we gather pieces and bits. The process can be time-consuming, but I think we gain a closer relation to the resulting song in the end, you know which piece belongs where and for what reason. We’ll see with the new members if that still suits best or if we find new ways to come up with material.
As you have multiple singers in the band, how do you decided who sings which part?
Basically who comes up with lyrics gets to vocalize the song. With «Southern Grave» we made an effort to actually explore our voice-range a bit, which was exciting and also a challenge, but I think we’ll try to investigate further what we can do as a «choir».
How do you see your songs/direction developing for your next release?
It’s a bit early to foresee what it’s going to sound like exactly. Our aim and hope is to make the new material even more dense and entangled. Having all instruments from the beginning contributing to the building of the song. Maybe also start with the voices for a change or maybe pursue a theme/concept for the whole album. The first song we made since finishing «Towering» came pretty natural and all in almost one evening, so I hope there’s more up the sleeve!
What are your thoughts on the current state of the wider Metal scene and your place within it?
All in all it’s good to see that the good and strong stuff survives. Younger kids dig the newer Metal a well as the old classics. As long as Metal allows a certain amount of innovation and renewal I think it will keep evolving and stay exciting. When you’re in it for such a long time it’s interesting to observe who and what survives. For the kind of «Metal» we make there seems more and more an established niche evolving with festivals and a loyal following. We’ve always been a bit between scenes, since we also don’t really have one back home it’s not such a big deal. Although I sometimes miss to have a couple brothers in arms, so to speak.
What will the future bring for Unhold?
We hope for a broader audience, good opportunities to play live and tour. For sure also a next release, we’re looking forward to have more exclusive time to write new stuff and experiment.
Blame Kandinsky are from Greece and this is their debut EP. They play chaotic Hardcore.
