Metal – Page 103 – Wonderbox Metal

Morality Crisis – Boats (Review)

Let’s face it – any band that has a song named Enormous Fucking Death Ass Knife are going to be brilliant. It’s inevitable. This also happens to be the first song on this rather excellent release – slow and sludgy and so ridiculously catchy you’ll find it buzzing around your head like a slow-motion chainsaw as you try to get to sleep at night.

Second track Lumberjane is a bit more upbeat, with a bit of a Mastodon vibe going on, only dirtier. Filth-ridden sludge is the main order of the day, but with a side salad of calm consideration and reflection which allows the band to show off the fact that they’re not just all about the bludgeoning and distortion, but can also do other shades of grim. Some nice progressive elements to this song too. And blastbeats.

Naptaker starts off with some guttural vocals winding its way to some nice Mike Patton-esque croaking and hardcore shouting. Overall the vocals on this release are diverse and accomplished, yet layered in so much grime and muck that it’s hard to focus on how good they are when they’re raping your face and stripping your ears raw. Same goes for the music really.

By track four Gary Plays With Fire I’m well and truly in love with this band. Essentially a short, crusty hardcore song with a twist – it hits the spot.

Next song Touched by an Adult cements the level of quality of the band in my mind. I find that the best albums are the ones that have enough presence to catch your attention but enough depth to keep it. Morality Crisis play a sort of highly-inventive sludge/hardcore mix that has a lot going on and more ideas in one song than a lot of bands manage in an album. And they have a wonderfully filthy sound – have I mentioned that yet? They may be from the US but they sound more like they should be from the UK with a sound that would sit perfectly alongside the best of the dirty, filthy, sludgy UK underground Metal scene past and present, (Raging Speedhorn, The Atrocity Exhibit, Extreme Noise Terror, Corrupt Moral Altar, Charger, etc).

Anxiety Rifle, (another great song title), starts off like a Converge song with Death grunts and proceeds to batter everything around it before dropping into such a nice groove that it’s all I can do to stop myself from dancing on the table.

By the time the final song Electric Friends rolls to a close I am a happy camper.

So many bands seem content to sound like their heroes, thus ensuring that bands like Morality Crisis are so needed. They take their heroes, mash them up in a bin and parade them in front of their loved ones before beating and eating them to absorb their essence. To sum up – this is special music that deserves to be discovered by any and every filth-loving sludge fan out there.

Essential.

Switchblade – Heavy Weapons (Review)

Well this is a cracking good listen. Israeli traditional Heavy Metal played by 5 guys who were obviously born to be Metal.

Switchblade have been around since 2005 but this is their first album. As they say – good things come to those who wait.

Top quality guitar riffing and guitar heroics place this firmly in the First Class section. Nice leads abound and each and every solo is well thought out; all backed by a very competent rhythm section.

Bands like this live or die by their songwriting and thankfully the band are no slouches in this department. I enjoy every single song on this album without exception, and each one feels like it has its own identity and purpose.

The singer has a voice dripping with Metal that perfectly fits the band with plenty of power and presence. Sometimes a band of this ilk with good songs and a good sound are just let down by the disappointing pipes of their vocalist and I’m happy to say this isn’t the case here.

This is such a great album that it would be tempting to say something like “They don’t make them like this any more” but the fact is they do; you just have to find them! How many excellent bands are overlooked purely due to being an unknown name, or because they’re unsigned or on a small record label, or because geographically they’re not from somewhere people traditionally think of when they think of Metal? These bands deserve your support, none more so than a quality band like Switchblade – you may not have heard of them before but they deserve a place in your collection. True Metal has rarely sounded this professional, or just this damn good.

Final Curse – Way of the Accursed (Review)

Sometimes all you need is some good old-fashioned Thrash Metal. Final Curse deliver.

A strong, punchy recording means that the guitars crunch, the drums pound and the vocals hit the spot. Their brand of Thrash takes its cue from the Bay Area and has the riffs to prove it.

The vocals are very good – clear but with bite; the singer really enunciates his words and has his own character and so avoids the faceless-frontman-syndrome that plagues some bands.

Final Curse have also realised that speed is not the be-all and end-all of Thrash. They can Thrash out with the best of them when required of course, but mostly their song structures and tempo are more considered; based around the needs of the guitar, rather than having the drums set the pace. There are some lovely leads on this album – these are also considered and well-played.

Overall a very satisfying Thrash Metal album, with a foot in the past and an eye on the future.

Iron Kingdom – Gates of Eternity (Review)

Canadian Heavy/Power Metal with plenty of ambition and ideas.

A useful starting point would be Iron Maiden/Iced Earth with more Power Metal-style vocals. Epic melody, memorable riffing and considered song-structure are all contained in these songs, as well as plenty of solos and atmosphere.

These guys really do know how to play their Metal! The band are very adept at their trade, whether it is during more atmospheric, classical moments, or going full-on Metal with duelling guitars and galloping drums. Either way they are very confident, talented musicians, and this comes across in the songs.

The singer belts out the tunes as would be expected of the Power Metal style, with the vocals soaring above the music with a high degree of gusto. The vocals, and the music in general, are well-recorded and sound very organic. The drums and bass in particular have a very warm, live sound that is a pleasure to listen to.

Favourite track? It has to be the penultimate song; the 15-minute epic Egypt (The End Is Near). A triumph.

Like a satisfying Metal meal in a commercial-Metal famine, if you long for traditional Heavy Metal with some tasty Power Metal thrown in – then this is a nine-course meal that is bound to hit the spot.

Sanity’s Rage – You Are What You Swallow (Review)

Imagine, if you will; Anthrax and Kreator jamming together to create an unholy Thrash-tastic side project. Sanity’s Rage are that theoretical band.

Hailing from Belgium this is an absolute stormer of an album. Tight playing, and galloping, exciting riffs mean there is never a dull moment. A strong production accentuates the dynamic songwriting of each track and there is real bite to these songs. This is no nostalgia-fest. Rather than looking back to the past they drag it fully into the present and it’s like the Thrash heyday is alive and well and centred on Belgium.

Each song on here is focused, mature, and full of more chops, riffs and solos than most bands manage in an album. And it’s relentless. No pseudo-ballads here; just pure, unadulterated Thrash metal.

Pummelling. Pounding. Shredding. Shred-fest. I could go on, but you get the idea. Like a breath of fresh air this album fills you up with all of the goodness of Thrash Metal, before ripping your face off with speed and precision steel.

Cellador – Honor Forth (Review)

Cellador play very lively and speedy Power Metal. The songs are chirpy, upbeat and have good composition. Their version of Power Metal is the hybridised Speed Metal version, with even the odd blastbeat appearing. This may bring up visions of Dragonforce, and although it’s undeniably the same genre they are not overly similar.

Plenty of musical chops and guitar heroics are displayed but an ear for a good tune and good song structure is not forgotten either. Vocals are passionate and well-done, not falling into the trap of being overly theatrical, (which there is nothing inherently wrong with as such, but it takes exceptional skill to pull off correctly to my mind).

Cellador are a very talented band, and very proficient at what they do. Both guitar and keyboard solos are incorporated into this EP increasing its enjoyability by being nicely embedded in the songs rather than sounding out of place.

Overall I liked this release and look forward to what the future holds for the band.

Coven 13 – Destiny of the Gods (Review)

Well this is an enjoyable romp of an album! Traditional Heavy Metal mixed with elements of Revered Bizarre-style Doom, 70’s psychedelic influences and some good old rock ‘n’ roll swagger for good measure.

Attitude and plain old metal fun is the order of business here. Not to imply that they are a novelty band or “jokey” in anyway. Not at all; rather they have a joyousness to their sound that I imagine would translate very well live and that their performances would be, well, fun!

Traditional song structures and strong choruses abound, as well as some nice fretwork and solid tub bashing. The vocals immediately strike the listener as the most noticeable element of the band as the sheer enthusiasm and character that they have is a welcome change – there’s no way you could accuse this singer of not giving his all. The vocals appear to be imbued with the full force of his personality in a way that is relatively rare these days. In fact the entire album sounds out of place in today’s modern metal climate in many ways as it is a very individual record with scant regard for trends and cliques, etc.

A refreshing blast from the past come to liven up the present.

Sapiency – Tomorrow (Review)

Sapiency play modern melodic Thrash Metal. I don’t listen to a lot of this style of music as there is a huge amount of mediocrity out there – it seems to be that writing okay music in this style is quite easy, but being truly great is rare.

Their style is similar to bands such as Scar Symmetry, In Flames, Soilwork, etc. – the gruff vocals juxtaposed against the clean, huge soaring guitars and keyboards, epic melodies and punchy drums, etc. Although Sapiency don’t hit the heights of the truly great, they are certainly a cut above the mediocre, and dare I say it this is quite an exciting and enjoyable release.

Having more bite to their attack than a lot of the typical In Flames/Soilwork clones, (which they aren’t), certainly works in their favour. The gruff vocals are a bit harsher than the norm, and the clean vocals a bit more powerful. They dwell on the right side of catchy rather than sounding ‘pop’. The guitars are not watered down and actually have some meat to the riffs rather than just being there to accentuate the vocals, which seems to be a usual failing of certain bands in this genre. In fact, Sapiency are less In Flames/Soilwork and more Scar Symmetry/Dark Tranquillity – heavier and less polished, (relatively speaking of course), than their more commercial kin. Some would say ‘more metal’. Here we even have the occasional blastbeat, which is always welcome. Solos too. It’s good that they are not afraid of speed either; it’s too easy for bands in this genre to lose interest across an album as every song has the same mid-paced tempo, speed and feeling.

Albums like this live or die by their songs and Sapiency have these; energy and catchiness, wrapped up and delivered as molten melodic metal. It’s hard not to feel the enthusiasm inherent in these tracks. There is a genuine love of metal on display here and it exhibits itself in every track and imbues them with a vitality that is otherwise missing in so many catchier bands.

I enjoyed Sapiency more than I thought I would; which is a reminder that it’s far to easy to feel jaded and cynical these days and every band should be judged on their individual merits. A class album – if you enjoy melody with your metal then check them out.

Interpreter – Introspection (Review)

So what do we have here then? Some sort of Black Metal/Post-Metal/Sludge album? Actually it’s kind of hard to say. Elements of all said genres, and more, make up this impressive album.

Too fast to be merely Doom; too metal to be merely sludge; too aggressive to be merely Post-Metal; too encompassing of other genres to be merely Black Metal…I could go on. Suffice to say that for all its variety it still retains a cohesive identity that marks it out as a Metal album, so as far as genre goes maybe that’s enough.

Almost every track brings new surprises – a different style of vocals here; a change of pace and style there – but it all flows together into a seamless whole that delivers a very complete, very diverse and weighty collection of songs. The vocal styles range from throaty shouts and growls to Black Metal shrieking; it’s all here. Interpreter were previously unknown to me and as such I did not expect this release to be of such outstanding quality. But it is. Oh yes.

Fusing the best of the Sludge, Post-Metal, Doom, Black Metal, (etc.) genres into a seamless whole, Interpreter are like the proverbial breath of fresh air. A top quality recording job rounds this release off nicely and i can only add to this review by heartily recommending you get this as soon as you can.

Not for the average.

Anciients – Heart of Oak (Review)

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Mastodon and Enslaved got together and released an album? Well wonder no longer, as it would probably sound like Heart of Oak. Imagine a 50/50 collaboration between both of those bands – the melodies, both vocally and musically displayed here are reminiscent of both groups and are hugely enjoyable.

This is not to say that Anciients are a rip-of band of course – far from it – the Mastodon/Enslaved comparison simply serves as a useful starting point when describing Anciients and they certainly have their own individuality and flair – more so than most bands. Amazingly this is only a debut album – a release of this calibre is usually not heard of on a first full-length and is as refreshing as it is enjoyable.

The songs on display here are arguably simpler/less complex than a lot of Mastodon/Enslaved songs, (to use these bands as a reference point again), but this is not to their detriment, as this album is all about the melodies and the song structures. This is probably one of the catchiest metal albums you’ll hear all year, and yet it still manages to retain its edge that will allow it to age well and not become tired as some melody-driven albums can become after time.

An album that is as long as it is good. Worth it.