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Emeth – Aethyr (Review)

Emeth are from Belgium and play Technical Death Metal. This is their fourth album.

Emeth tread that fine line between brutality and technicality and manage to successfully incorporate both into their savage Death Metal assault.

Ultra-aggression and lightning speed riffage work together to melt faces whilst fretboard wizardry takes the technical side of the band to new heights of carnage.

Emeth can certainly play and play well, and they’re no stranger to brutality, but what sets them apart though is that they don’t purely rely on speed and technicality; they know when to inject a bit of atmosphere and quality instrumentation into the proceedings via some sharply written riffs and colossal guitar work.

The guitar work as a whole is a particular highlight of this record; there is plenty of inventive and interesting riffs and whether they are playing fast or easing off the speed slightly everything is precise, crisp and dynamic.

The singer does a great job and has a focused growl. He picks and chooses his vocal patterns well and knows when to let the music do the talking. This is not an album where the singer is the vocal point; rather the riffs take centre stage and the vocals are an enhancement, (albeit an important one), to the songs.

What an album! A whirlwind tour of destruction and creativity. Emeth have clearly put a lot of hard work into Aethyr and have been rewarded with an extremely strong album.

Into Death Metal? You need to get this.

Interview with Mourning Pyre

The début EP from one-man Ukrainian Atmospheric Blackened Doom project Mourning Pyre made an impression with me. It’s very good – go check it out! I was compelled to find out more…

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

Hello there, I’m Scott! I am the sole creator and writer for Mourning Pyre. Another one of those ‘one-man’ projects… I figured there weren’t enough of them, so I decided to make one myself! Mourning Pyre is a wide conglomerate of genres, but I suppose it can best be described as atmospheric doom / melodic blackened death. Say that three times!

Give us a bit of history to Mourning Pyre

Mourning Pyre actually came about earlier this year because I wanted a more versatile name to write under. I have a vast array of genres that I enjoy listening to, and I found that sometimes I had more “death metal” songs or more “black metal” songs… so I just wanted a name where I could put all that under one roof, so to speak, and not have to try to think of a new band name every time I write a song. It is convenient for me, but extremely difficult when it comes to trying to explain my ‘kind’ of music to others. Often, I’ll simply say I write ‘metal’ music.

What are your influences?

My main influence is my life. I fully believe that music is my gift that has helped me get through some really hard times in my life. I don’t want to sit here and say that I’ve had it worse than anybody else, or that my pain is worse than yours, but I can say that without the ability to write music, or at the very least the strong interest in music, that my life would be very different today and I’m not at all sure I could say it’d be better.

My musical upbringing was an eclectic one. My grandparents listened to jazz and classical which was a great addition to the heavy metal influences from my parents. As I grew up, I found death metal and black metal in the mid 90’s when I was on a quest for something new and even more brutal. This is about the time I got onto the Internet and used Napster to really broaden my horizons.

If we pinpoint specific genres… 80’s metal, 80’s synth pop, dark wave, trance, black metal, death metal, straight rock, movie scores, industrial, classical, etc.

As you can see, I like pretty much something from everything except rap and hip-hop and those offsets as I don’t even consider that stuff to be music.

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

Well, it’s hard for me to recommend certain types of bands or music… so I decided to just type the latest bands I listened to from my Google Play account:

Woods of Ypres, Nokturnal Mortum, Faith No More, Cannibal Corpse, Galaktik Cancer Squad, Belphegor, Dark Forest, Arx Atrata, Thrawsunblat, Nine Inch Nails, Aborym, Stuck Mojo, Static-X…

Obviously, I’d have to recommend pretty much anything by Woods of Ypres, though I’m particular to Woods V. Galaktik Cancer Squad, Arx Atrata and Dark Forest might be gems for people out there who want some more atmospheric black metal.

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

The main goal was to get a professional sounding release. I was lucky in that the guy I was working with was privy to the type of music I was playing and the kind of atmosphere I wanted to get from it. I was very particular about drums and guitars and meticulously recorded the guitars. There are videos about that on the YouTube page. However, ultimately…

Are you happy with how it turned out?

This is a tough question. I suppose I could start nit-picking… In terms of a pristine release at studio quality that is listenable? I’d say I achieved that and then some… though I think some of the character of atmospheric music was removed. It’s almost like it is a bit too clean and polished. This is not a knock against the guy I recorded it with, but there are things I wish I could have done differently now that I’ve had time to listen to it about 1,000 times. Overall, the E.P. sounds great and I’m fully proud of how it turned out.

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

Mourning Pyre isn’t very adept at lyric writing… though I wish I was. I think vocals, singing, and lyric writing is the final frontier that I need to tackle.

Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.

Good question! I actually posted a video talking about how I write my songs on my YouTube channel. Basically, I get the idea and inspiration, and then I go to town. In that video, I showed a very old program called Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 from 1999. I actually have forced myself to give that up and now I am writing new music using Reaper 4 directly with Kontakt and soft-synth patches loaded. This allows me to write in dynamics immediately and get a better feel for what the song will sound like. Doing it this way has lent my music a much more cinematic quality.

From there, I’ll either record it in Reaper 4 or in Sonar X3 Studio. I’m a big fan of Cakewalk, actually. I used Pro Tools 10HD for the Mourning Pyre E.P. and I see no particular advantage to using Pro Tools. I mean, if you have $800.00 to blow on over rated software, by all means!

Tell us about the Classical parts/influences.

As it turns out, my Grandparents were on to something when they exposed me to the Classical greats. I’m quite happy they did so. Classical instrumentation helps add the extra layer of dynamics that makes up for my lack of vocals and guitar ability. At this point, I think it’s the last piece to the puzzle of my music – effectively learning how to create the dynamics with strings and orchestral instrumentation… it’s the human quality in metal that gets lost, I think. I should add, also, that the type of instrumentation is more geared towards film score and not so much traditional classical parts… though I wish I had the ability to do that, too!

Some of the songs on this release have a bit of a Post-Metal feel to them on occasion – Holding My Breath (Until I Die), for example, has a guitar part in it that wouldn’t be out of place on a Red Sparowes record. Is the Post-Metal scene an influence at all?

Big fan of Post-Metal! In fact, there used to be a website called Depressive-INC that has since disappeared. It’s a real bummer because there were numerous bands that I had downloaded from there and really enjoyed. I have, unfortunately, lost the MP3 files and, as I said, the website is shut down. Does anybody know of a replacement?

The thing with post black metal that is interesting for me are the use of the tremolo picked chords. I’m fascinated by the types of chords they come up with. I’m more into the melodic aspect of it, obviously. I like the new release from Deafheaven, ‘White Tomb’ from Altar of Plagues, ‘Tenant’ by Ludicra is pretty good as well. The thing also with this type of music is that I need to be in the mood for something that I can just turn on and fly away with. I like it when a melody takes me away.

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

I’m always trying to grow and expand. 2014 hasn’t seen many new songs… in fact; I can say that 2014 has been my least productive year in terms of writing new music since I started writing music 15 years ago. That’s okay, though. I have a ton of ideas and directions to go. The song I’m currently working on has a very cinematic feel in the beginning. I’m also trying new writing techniques (such as writing riffs or leads ‘on the spot’). I used to write songs very quickly when I would get the idea… now I’m allowing that inspiration to flow, but I don’t force myself to finish the song.

I have always envisioned that 60 minute song… a story of some sort… something that would encompass all of the human emotion. I don’t think I’m quite ready to undertake that task yet, but I feel that someday soon I’ll be mature enough musically to be able to put something like that together.

Thanks a lot for allowing me to do this interview with you. I had to sit down and really ponder some of the questions you asked me. It was a pleasure!

Coraxo – Starlit Flame II (Review)

Coraxo are from Finland and play Industrial Death/Black Metal. This is their second EP.

Their first EP was not without its charms and this latest release sees them expand on their earlier efforts.

The sound has improved this time around with the songs sounding fuller and more polished. The band are clearly becoming more comfortable with their style and are even more confident in their approach these days.

The music continues to be a cross of bands like Dimmu Borgir and Neurotech. This means we get a good combination of dance-floor beats and faster, more aggressive sounds as the band uses both methods of attack to get their story across.

The vocals are sharp, high-pitched screeches that lash out at the listener like wires in a storm. These have improved on the previous EP and sound really good.

Keyboards and effects lurk just behind the central music and provide highlights and accompaniment to the Blackened tunes.

This is a band that continues to develop nicely and this EP should see them winning over a slew of new fans.

Have a listen and see what you think.

Nesseria – Fractures (Review)

This is the second album from French band Nesseria. They play Hardcore/Grindcore

I’m a fan of their previous work so it’s good to see another round of explosive, violent Hardcore from this talented band.

Nesseria have a sound that’s dense and heavy. If you take a band like Converge as your starting point and mutate it with violent Metal and Grind then you’ll have an idea of the angry space that Nesseria inhabit.

This is intense music that’s not for the weak of heart. Like Converge though Nesseria are not all about the brutality and violence; there’s enough subtlety, nuance and emotive riffing here to give the band a real sense of dynamics and lend the songs a keen emotive edge despite the crushing nature of the music.

Nesseria’s songs have depth and longevity that belies songs as aggressive as this. The album has a good flow though so that the blasting extremity is offset by slower Doom/Sludge sections as well as lighter moments. The ambient menace of the title track allows the listener a bit of breathing room in the middle of the album before the devastations begins once more.

The twisted, rage-filled vocals seem to channel pure anger as they punctuate the Metallic chaos with venom and bile. His is a voice for the ages, heralding in the apocalypse.

Nesseria have produced another album of exceptional merit; a clawing, grinding monster of an album destined to set many a speaker on fire.

Highly recommended.

Laster – De Verste Verte Is Hier (Review)

Laster are from the Netherlands and this is their début album.

I’m a fan of Laster’s first release Wijsgeer & Narreman so was looking forward to hearing this. The quality album cover was the first thing I liked, and the music soon followed.

Laster play raw, underground, atmospheric Black Metal that’s epic in length and epic in scope.

The band seem to play from beneath a shroud of distortion and hazy guitar fog. The drums and vocals swim just beneath the surface, prowling like unnatural predators seeking the souls of the weary and weak.

De Verste Verte Is Hier is less about individual riffs and more about dark feelings evoked by the instruments that howl and gust like the wind. Laster create dark sonicscapes of reverberating nightmares and ever-present darkness.

Atmosphere is a big part of Laster’s identity and they wield it like a weapon. Desolation, despair and negativity are commonplace, but less common are the little rays of hope that occasionally pierce the gloom, such as on the main starting riff of Tot de Tocht ons Verlicht.

These are not songs to idly listen to, these are songs to experience.

For fans of bands like Vinterriket, Fell Voices, Ash Borer and the like.

Mare Cognitum – Phobos Monolith (Review)

This is the third album by US one-man project Mare Cognitum. He plays Atmospheric Black Metal.

This is Black Metal of the most expressive and epic variety. Inspired by the mysteries of the cosmos and powered by Blackened harmonies and thick atmospheres, Phobos Monolith takes the listener on a journey through the unexplored natures of the universe.

The songs on this album are exploratory and impressively composed and performed. It’s almost a full 6 minutes before any vocals first appear, so confident is the music in its ability to capture and hold the attention alone. With good reason; the music is an impressive blend of Atmospheric, Post- and raging underground Black Metal.

This is an album that, for all its grand designs and lofty concepts, actually manages to forge an emotional connection with the listener and the result is a very personal-feeling experience. These songs are simply that good.

There are so many bands/albums/etc. these days that simply sound as if they are going through the motions. For Mare Cognitum, however, this is clearly not the case at all. This is an album that has the true mark of a labour of love, and it’s this, combined with the impressive sonicscapes that have been created, that resonate so strongly with the listener.

Find somewhere open to the sky, play this album loudly, stare up at the stars and get absorbed in the endless possibilities that there are out there.

This is an album that has surpassed all of my feeble expectations.

Climates – Body Clocks (Review)

Climates are from the UK and play Hardcore.

This is melodic Hardcore mixed with a bit of Metalcore for good measure.

The vocals are a mixture of screams and cleans, alternated in the usual style for a band like this. The screams are passionate and the cleans well performed. I like the fact that they’re not high enough in the mix to dominate everything, which gives the music the chance to take centre stage.

The songs are enjoyable cuts of lean Metalcore with good energy. They’re the kind of band that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the old Trustkill roster back in this style of music’s heyday, which is a pretty big compliment really.

Angular riffs are thrown out quite frequently and it’s good to see the band not always taking the easy route by using tired or recycled riffs. Instead, they offer up their own take on the genre and some of the riffs are atypical and quite inventive; some even having a bit of a Mathcore twist to them.

There’s a good amount of diversity on display on Body Clocks and the band are confident enough to explore quite a few interesting ideas in the songs. More power to them for this.

This is a quality release from a band who are not only sounding very good in the here and now but are also showing massive potential for the future if they continue to embrace their personality and stamp their identity on their music even more.

A recommended listen. Play loud and get swept away in the pit.

Misericordia – Throne of Existence (Review)

Misericordia are from Sweden and this is their second album of Black Metal.

This is, unsurprisingly, in the Swedish style and aimed squarely at fans of Marduk, 1349, Immortal and Dark Funeral – high speed blasting and frosted melodies.

The sharp riffs come thick and fast as the drums blast and the Blackened melodies seep into your every pore. The guitars embrace their atavistic, icy Black Metal legacy and they ooze windswept hatred.

Some of the vocals are deeper than normal for this style of Black Metal, although they alternate with more traditional higher screams in addition to these growls.

Solos and leads are played well and the band are very focused on what they want to achieve. The drumming is tight and precise and the songs as a whole are quite satisfying.

If you’re a fan of unholy hyperblast then this is the Black Metal for you.

Singularity – Singularity (Review)

This is the debut album from US Black Metal band Singularity.

Technical Black Metal is not the most common of sub-genres, especially Symphonic Technical Black Metal, which is what this essentially is.

The synths are heavy and thick and give the band a colourful sheen under which to ply their trade. Said trade consists of sharp, crazy guitar work, widdly bass and precision-point drums. It’s as if a band like Dimmu Borgir had overdosed on Technical Death Metal and angular riffs in the style of some of Mayhem’s work. It also puts me in mind of the first Ephel Duath album.

The songs are still here though. This is an enjoyable riff-fest with inhuman drumming and layers of atmosphere and jagged darkness.

The technicality and Blackened atmospheres combine in a way that most bands never attempt and the resulting mix of styles works primarily because they never sacrifice the songs for the riffs. The playing is very impressive but the Black Metal framework always reins them in before they become overbearing or surplus to the needs of the song.

That being said, there is certainly a lot of flash playing on this album, but as I say – it works.

The tracks are quite varied as the guitars never stop and are always interesting and entertaining. The singer gives his all to the screams; they’re high pitched and very pointed. The cleans that appear are professionally delivered also; another string to Singularity’s impressive bow.

The production is top quality and everything sounds crisp and clear. You can really hear every note.

Singularity is extremely impressive in many ways. I always like a band that puts a different spin on things and the rampant technicality on this album really gives them a flavour all of their own. The fact that they mix this with a Symphonic base and have managed to produce an enjoyable set of songs without everything sounding messy or forced speaks volumes about their talent.

Take a chance on this and listen to it now.

Internal Rot – Mental Hygiene (Review)

This is the début album from Australian Grindcore band Internal Rot.

This is short and hyper-aggressive Grind where every track, (bar the last one), is under 2 minutes in length and most are a lot shorter than that.

Noisy, angry, fuzzy and filthy; Internal Rot stink up the place with their destructive Grind.

As the first track, Muciferous, shows though, they also know how to slow it down when warranted and take a heavier, Sludgy route to devastation. Granted, this slower side of the band doesn’t appear much over the 20 tracks but it’s good to see the band are capable of more than just instrument demolition at top speeds.

One of the enjoyable things about this band is that they do get into a nice groove now and again in between bouts of blasting. Now, I love me some blasting grind, but it’s also nice when it’s interspersed with other tempos as otherwise it can risk becoming dull.

Mental Rot have this covered though. This is music for those with short attention spans and even shorter tempers, so dullness is not an issue here.

The proto-Hardcore chugging and brutal Deathcore riffs are condensed into violent blasts of Crusty Grindcore that really hits the spot.

I’ve really enjoyed this album. Grind on.