Metal – Page 85 – Wonderbox Metal

Allfather – No Gods. No Masters. (Review)

Allfather are from the UK and this is their début release of Hardcore/Sludge.

Allfather seem to have cornered the market on Punked-up Metallic discontent. They’re pissed off and have come to put the boot in, big style.

This is underground and raw; music that’s ready for a scrap and happy to get its hands dirty.

The songs on this short EP are tight balls of fury with guitars that fall halfway between murky Sludge Metal and Hardcore anger. Energetic and heavy riffs make up the bulk of this release and there’s no let up in the 11 minutes playing time.

Allfather do heavy very well, but they also write actual songs; these tracks have a good flow to them and are quite catchy and memorable. This is not heaviness just for the sake of it; this music is focused and directed so that the compositions have meaning and purpose.

An enjoyable and promising EP. The UK seems to excel at this kind of dirty, gritty Metal. More please.

A cross between elements of Crowbar, Gutworm, dBh, Raging Speedhorn, Labrat and the like.

No Trust – The Cycle (Review)

This is the latest EP from US Metallers No Trust.

We know No Trust from their début album Unfound, so it’s good to catch up with their latest offering.

I stand by my previous statements about this band – they’re still huge worshippers of The Riff and still come across as a blending of Dopethrone and Chimaira.

The singer’s raspy roar is back once more and continues to provide very satisfying vocals for the unfolding Metallic carnage. His voice works even closer with the music on this EP to produce songs that gel together nicely.

The guitars seem to buzz and rage through the playing time with that interesting combination of Sludge and Modern Metal that they play so well. The production emphasizes the Metal side of the equation, but the Sludge quality is brought out in the music from some choice riffing and the singer’s acidic snarl.

The songs are more developed this time around and the time between releases seems to have been well spent; overall, No Trust sound more confident and professional than ever.

Well, I’m very happy with this. A 31 minute blast of quality Metal is never to be turned down.

Give them a listen and prepare to unleash the fury.

Relentless – Night Terrors (Review)

This is the second album by US Heavy Metal band Relentless.

Their first album, Souls of Charon, was a very enjoyable slab of Heavy/Doom Metal. This new release keeps the flag flying for Traditional Heavy Metal and all but drops the Doom Metal aspect of their sound.

In fact, Relentless seem to have gone further down the NWOBHM route on Night Terrors. The songs are upbeat rockers that value a chorus and are a lot rougher than their old incarnation, both in attitude and delivery.

The recording is grittier and less polished too. The band almost come off as some undiscovered garage Metal band, lost to the mists of Metal history.

The singer adds her own character to the songs and hearing her on this release is quite a contrast to her more laid-back style on their début.

The songs are proper Metal songs, full of swagger and upbeat energy. If you are familiar with Old-School Heavy Metal then this is quite the feast.

A change in direction, certainly; rawer, Traditional Metal with more attitude. I wonder, what will album number three bring for Relentless?

Albatross – Fear from the Skies (Review)

This is the début album from Indian Heavy Metal band Albatross.

We’ve met Albatross before, on their split with Vestal Claret. This is their first full length so it’s a pleasure to be reacquainted with their particularly interesting brand of Heavy Metal.

The songs on this release are all full of character and Albatross certainly put their own spin on things.

It’s the intention of Albatross to tell a story; while some bands who do this do it purely through the lyrics, Albatross strive to ensure that the music talks just as loudly as the words.

This is an album of two halves, with each half having its own story and theme. In line with the album cover, there is somewhat of a carnival feeling to the music on occasion, at least to the first half of the album. The second half is more straight-faced but just as compelling. Albatross are talented song-smiths and have a good ear for a good tale.

Quirky Heavy Metal is the name of the game and here Albatross are playing in the big leagues. Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Queensrÿche and bits of Thrash Metal are all melted down and consumed in some sickly-looking broth, only to be regurgitated in multicolour and in new and glorious ways by the band.

Taking these starting points, the band inject their own colourful personalities and passions into this lively release, resulting in an album that is a feast of delights. It’s extremely well-played and delivered, with some choice solos and vocal performances.

The track record of albums with concepts such as this is chequered at best, but Albatross have produced a winner here.

Neck of the Woods – Neck of the Woods (Review)

Neck of the Woods are a Progressive Metal band from Canada and this is their début EP.

Music like this is an exciting prospect; birthed of Metal in all its glorious forms, Neck of the Woods don’t constraint themselves with just one style and instead coherently incorporate lots of influences into their musical framework.

This is interesting, stimulating music for fans of Converge, Between the Buried and Me, Devil Sold His Soul, Mastodon, etc. – essentially any band that’s pushing the envelope, playing music from the heart and daring to be a bit different.

Under the overall aegis of Progressive Metal, Neck of the Woods pack Modern Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post-Metal and Technical Metal into nearly 29 minutes of playing time.

The throaty roar of the singer’s voice carries the deep resonance of Extreme Metal while the music explores the boundaries of its self-created domain.

The band can certainly play and they have a good side-order of technicality dished up with their meals. The complexity serves the songs though, rather than the other way around; the guitars carry the listener through landscapes that are familiar and yet fresh at the same time.

For all of this, the band are a very easy listen. The songs are vibrant and satisfying in the way that only good Metal can be. They have personality and seem to have been created purely for the love of it, as should be the way. Yes, there is aggression here, but it’s not of the nihilistic, hate-fuelled variety. Although I’d stop short of describing this as friendly music, it certainly is personable and agreeable. If you’re into heavy music, that is; the average person on the street would probably just view this as noise, as they tend to do with anything even vaguely Metallic.

Neck of the Woods are an exciting new addition to the worldwide Metal scene and I’m eager to hear what they do next.

Oh, and they also have a song called I Know Where I’ll Bury You. Class.

Distant Sun – Dark Matter (Review)

Distant Sun are a Russian Power/Speed Metal band and this is their début album.

This is Power Metal played in the European style with a nice influence from US Thrash/Speed Metal felt throughout.

The vocals are a little grittier than most European-influenced bands and this falls in line with the Thrash influence. The singer does have a good voice though and is reminiscent of the singer of Metallica in some ways, but thankfully not overly so.

The band are comfortable playing chuggy, Thrashy riffs as well as more stirring, melodic ones. Overall the album is quite riff-heavy and the guitars have a nice bite to them.

Distant Sun’s style is kind of late-90s, combining the Power, Heavy and Thrash Metal styles of the time into a kind of Blind Guardian/Testament/Iced Earth/Annihilator melting pot. Add to this a bit of an 80s Thrash influence too and you have Dark Matter.

The songs are a good combination of these styles and frequently result in tracks that are both high-octane and catchy.

The band members in Distant Sun are also active in Shadow Host and Starsoup; both are top-notch bands and Distant Sun is another great outing from them.

I firmly recommend this and suggest you check them out.

Tales for the Unspoken – CO2 (Review)

Portuguese band Tales for the Unspoken play Thrash Metal and this is their second album.

The singer has a nicely deep roar that’s almost a Death Metal growl. It lends a brutal air to already aggressive music. Ethereal cleans also appear but these are certainly the exception rather than the norm.

The music is solid Thrash Metal that locks into a good groove when it needs to. Faster sections are frequent while melody is used sparingly, usually in conjunction with the clean vocals.

The songs are largely quite short and sweet, hovering around the 3-4 minute mark in the main. The band revel in their portrayal of Metal and there are decent amounts of leads and shredding licks peppered throughout the album.

The guitars have a good crunch to them and the drums pound with the best of them. Tales for the Unspoken have a clear love for this style and this comes across in the music.

This is Thrash metal that’s on the more aggressive side of the spectrum. This can be considered Death Thrash in many ways, as even with the inclusion of the odd clean vocal here and there the majority of the album is harsh and heavy. I’d probably stop short of really describing them as such though as the music is almost completely Thrash Metal and it doesn’t really add much to them by describing them in such terms. I mention it mainly for completion, as there definitely are Death Metal aspects to their sound.

I also like the fact that Tales for the Unspoken don’t go down the retro-Thrash route with this. CO2 is fully-contemporary Thrash Metal with an aggressive streak and quality riffs aplenty.

A thoroughly enjoyable release. Tales for the Unspoken sound good and CO2 is fit for consumption.

A Secret Revealed – The Bleakness (Review)

A Secret Revealed are a German Post-Metal band and this is their début album.

This is emotive Post-Metal that has a good mix of upbeat misery and negative energies.

The Bleakness is an interesting listen as it combines a few different styles of Modern Metal into a coherent assault on happiness. Post-Metal, Modern Metal, Post-Hardcore and even the odd bit of Doom, Shoegaze and Extreme Metal all get incorporated into their overarching depressive aesthetic.

The vocals consist of impassioned screams that are very much in the blood-curdling, emotive Hardcore style.

The music is nicely varied and revolves around the central motif of the band which is ultimately one of bleakness, it seems, (hence the album title).

Although it’s largely a heavy affair, the band never go too far into ultra-heavy territory and instead use the guitars for maximum emotional content. This is backed up and reinforced by the expressive leads and melodies as well as the odd bit of orchestration here and there.

This is a band who are enjoying the freedom of Post-Metal by doing their own thing with contemporary Metal music. They have eschewed the Doom route that most Post-Metal takes and instead has chosen the road less travelled by bands like Deftones and Devil Sold His Soul, only more Metallic.

The Bleakness may be just that, but it’s also a triumph.

Highly recommended.

Yonder Realm – The Old Ways (Review)

Yonder Realm are from the US and this is their début album. They play Folk/Melodic Metal.

This is music that combines the bite of Melodic Death Metal with the jauntiness of Folk Metal, resulting in songs that have Folk Metal’s quirkiness and Melodic Death Metal’s seriousness but without going too much in either direction; reminiscent of Ensiferum.

The harsh main vocals have a good presence throughout whilst more epic cleans are used very sparingly.

The violin is a strong component of the band’s sound and juxtaposes against the more Metal guitars in a way that is pleasingly disruptive yet separate from the main music.

The Folk melodies are a constant companion to the Metallic riffing. Yonder Realm are interesting in that usually the guitars of bands like this follow a Folk theme as with the rest of the music. The Old Ways is a bit different in that it’s almost as if two bands are playing; a Melodic Death Metal band and a Folk instrumentalist group. It’s like the two aspects of their sound just happen to fit into the same song structures.

Although this is potentially a recipe for disaster, Yonder Realm avoid this simply by having the two styles fit together and compliment each other. If you removed the violin and keyboards, etc. you’d still have a perfectly serviceable Metal band, but with the Folk instrumentation it’s better than it would be without.

This is a rare case of the Folk stuff sounding just tacked on to a Metal band and it actually working in the band’s favour. How on earth they managed this feat is anyone’s guess. I call black magic.

Overall I’ve enjoyed Yonder Realm’s début. They have a harsher edge than some bands of this style, which I appreciate. The very-Metal core identity of the band is simply enhanced by the Folk inclusion and the album as a whole is a rocking good listen.

Check them out.

XII Boar – Pitworthy (Review)

XII Boar are from the UK and this is their début album. They play Stoner Rock/Metal.

This is gritty, Metallic Rock ‘N’ Roll in the vein of Orange Goblin that will find a nice home in the hands of fans of Corrosion of Conformity, Down, Lord Dying, Crowbar, High on Fire, Apostle of Solitude, etc.

XII Boar play feel-good music with an earthy, raw quality. The singer is full of charisma and attitude, as is the band as a whole really.

The songs are catchy and memorable slabs of rocking distortion and hot guitar licks.

It’s an easily identifiable style but the band play with such passion and conviction it’s easy to get swept up in their enthusiasm. The NOLA influence is apparent in their riffs but this has been filtered through the UK and Orange Goblin’s legacy is definitely felt in XII Boar’s style.

Pitworthy is an enjoyable album with a good sound and belligerent swagger. Have a listen.