Metal – Page 89 – Wonderbox Metal

Cycle Beating – The Age of Depression (Review)

This is the début album from Germany’s Cycle Beating. They play a combination of Thrash/Groove Metal.

This is music with plenty of colour. The riffs are lively and energetic, giving the band an instant appeal.

The rhythm guitars lay a firm foundation for the band and although some of the rhythms are very much of the style, these are still enjoyable and the band are not short of good riffs. For me though it’s the leads that shine brightest as they lick and shred with style and verve.

The band employ catchy and interesting melodies with a distinct European flavour. This is not a band who play the overly-abused US-style of Groove/Metalcore, rather this is a real Metal band with proper Thrash roots and a modern slant to the music.

A good amount of variety and thought has clearly gone into this. They try, (and succeed), to add quite a few interesting and different things to the songs in order to stop them becoming repetitive or one dimensional. It works a treat and this is a very strong collection of Metal anthems.

Vocally we get blunt, ugly noises that are halfway between a shout and a growl. The singer reminds me more of a Hardcore vocalist in some ways, specifically fellow Germans Rykers. It’s a further way that they differentiate themselves from the average Metal band of this ilk.

Cycle Beating is a surprisingly good album. I know this sounds cynical, but usually when I see a band with the words Groove Metal in their description I can’t help but feel it’s going to sound quite generic. I’m very pleased to be proven wrong though and Cycle Beating have certainly done that. This is rip-roaring Metal that has enough style and individuality to earn itself a place in any Metal fan’s collection.

If you’re interested in Thrash Metal that has a modern slant but can’t stand the US/Metalcore/Commercial style of a lot of such groups then get your hands on The Age of Depression and get ready to rock out.

Highly recommended.

Black Sachbak – No Pay No Gain (Review)

Black Sachbak are a Thrash Metal band from Israel and this is their début album.

This is Crossover Thrash with an Old-School vibe and some furious riffing based on early Metallica.

The album boasts a good recording and the sound the band have is spot on for this kind of thing.

The band can obviously play, with the music being executed perfectly and the solos dispensed at lightning speed.

The singer has quite a versatile voice and is certainly full of character and personality.

Whether you enjoy this or not depends on your tolerance level for this particular sub-genre of Metal I suppose. Personally I’m not the hugest fan of the retro/crossover/humour/party/whatever Thrash as I appear to have had my fill of the style. Having said that though, Blach Sachbak do this at least as good as some and better than most.

Give them a listen and see what you think.

Funerals – Human Ruin (Review)

Funerals are from the US and play Hardcore. This is their début EP.

This is caustic, aggressive Hardcore which is heavy and full of contempt. Their sound is thick and syrupy and the guitars hit like hammers.

Fusing Crust Punk and Metallic Hardcore with even a hint of a Blackened influence here and there, these are three songs you wouldn’t want to mess with.

Veins of Black starts with a kick-ass Blackened Doom riff that slowly builds and builds until the vocals start and the chugging begins. The singer shows himself to have a charismatic snarl that fits well with the dark nature of the music. The riffs are catchy and there’s a good amount of 90’s Hardcore vibe lurking behind the contemporary sheen.

Human Ruin has an almost Dillinger Escape Plan feel to it before relaxing and sounding more like Gurd with just drums and bass with less angry vocals taking the stage. The guitars and shouting resumes once more though and the feeling of 90’s Metallic Hardcore asserts itself again.

The final song Sick of Sun continues in the same vein, with Sludge-tinged guitars laying a foundation of heavy riffs and catchy vocals. It’s the longest of the songs and twists and winds to its apotheosis.

Think elements of bands like Vision of Disorder, Earth Crisis, Sick Of It All, Sworn Enemy, etc. all mixed together; then give the resulting concoction a Crusty makeover and add a guitar tone that Crowbar would be proud of. Some Blackened Doom influences round off the package and Funerals have a heady list of weapons in their arsenal to utilise.

This is a decent EP that’s made me quite nostalgic for my younger days, whilst at the same time enjoying the fact that there are a raft of talented new Hardcore bands around these days like Funerals who are taking the template and running with it.

Support this up and coming band and check out their EP.

Nero Di Marte – Derivae (Review)

Nero Di Marte are from Italy and play Progressive Metal. This is their second album.

This is complex and dense music. There’s a lot of substance here, a lot to take in. Nero Di Marte are not your conventional band; they do things differently.

Rather than catchy riffs or hooks, instead they play riffs that merge and flow with each other to build up a complex tapestry over time. As the songs progress it becomes clear very early on that a lot of thought has gone into these compositions.

This is modern, heavy Prog; more akin to Gojira, Mastodon and Memories of a Dead Man than Dream Theater. This isn’t Post-Metal, but the band borrow the sense of dynamics and momentum-building that Post-Metal does so well and fuses them into their own sound.

These are masterfully crafted tracks that are as engaging as they are entrancing. The low-key vocals almost get lost in the churning maelstrom of guitars and percussive treats, yet they’re there, they add a lot to the already busy music and they help the band connect to the listener in a very visceral way.

Derivae sounds very warm, with the drums in particular having a very satisfying feel to them. This feels like real music, not just something pieced together and let loose with minimal feeling.

Overall, this is a thunderously strong album.

A rewarding and entrancing listen.

Arcturon – Expect Us (Review)

Arcturon are from Switzerland and this is their latest EP. They play Melodic Metal.

With this EP they give us 4 tracks lasting a total of just under 17 minutes.

This is upbeat Metal with a modern slant and added keyboards/effects. Think Dark Tranquillity as well as bands like In Flames, Arch Enemy, Soilwork, Darkane, etc.

These four songs are well-written and well-presented tracks that are on the more commercial side of Metal but if you don’t mind that then there’s a good amount of enjoyment to be had from them.

The singer has a good voice and switches between shouting and singing with ease. It’s designed to promote emotive responses and as long as you’re amenable to the genre it does the job.

This is the kind of band I could imagine getting a good degree of success if they have the right backing/are in the right place at the right time/etc. They have this particular genre of Metal down pat and inject enough variety and personality into the formula to make it work.

Give them a listen and see what you think.

Heroes of Vallentor – The Warriors Path Part I (Review)

This is the début of Heroes of Vallentor. They’re from Sweden and play epic, heroic Heavy Metal.

It’s starts with an intro to end all intros, one that’s so full of heroic themes and fantasy imagery that it’s quite staggering.

When the music itself starts it’s no let down as it’s just as theatrical and heroic as I was hoping for. This is big, bold and brash Metal that owes as much to Manowar and Conan, (not the band though), as it does to European Epic Power Metal.

However; although the Power Metal aspect of Heroes of Vallentor’s sound is there, it’s not that large compared to the gritty and unpolished Heavy Metal that makes up the main part of their music. This is real Metal made my men who carry swords and axes to the supermarket.

The music is solid and played well. Leads and solos come and go and the riffs are Metal to the core. There are some catchy moments and lots of hooks to ensnare the unwary.

Each of the songs has clearly had a lot of thought put into it with the music the backdrop for the epic saga the band are spinning. The musicians attack their muse with passion as the tale unfolds.

The sound is warm and satisfying; gritty and raw but well-rounded and full nonetheless.

The singer tends to alternate between rough cleans and histrionic wailing. It does the job and ticks all of the right buttons for this kind of music.

At 56 minutes in length this is a long album, but if you’re in the mood for bravado and epic, heroism then these are the men for you.

It’s a very rough and ready album and certainly won’t appeal to everyone as this is a very niche form of music really. I can’t help but find it endearing however, and if you aren’t completely adverse to this kind of thing I suggest you check them out and make your own mind up.

Today is the Day – Animal Mother (Review)

Today is the Day are from the US and this is their tenth album.

A new Today is the Day album is always a bit of an event and it’s always interesting to hear what they come up with because you’re never quite sure what it’s going to sound like. The only thing you can be sure of, or course, is that it’s going to be nasty.

Animal Mother is no exception. It is, however, probably their most complete and well-rounded album to date. Animal Mother combines elements of all of their previous albums to either a greater or lesser extent, from the psycho aggression of Kiss the Pig, to the Sludge heaven of In the Eyes of God with even a touch of the experimental harshness of Sadness Will Prevail.

This is further enhanced by acoustic and melodic flourishes that act as bridges between the more usual caustic noises and abrasive sounds that the band create.

The songwriting as a whole is dynamic and complex. Today is the Day have never shied away from unusual rhythms, sounds, etc. but Animal Mother takes this willingness to experiment and explore and manages to shape it into a cohesive package without ever losing its edge.

The production is solid and tight, and similar to the album as a whole it’s a lot fuller than Today is the Day normally sound. This allows all of the songs to really impact on the listener with full force.

Their singer sounds as venomous as always, although his performance is more varied as well. His is a unique, piercing roar and this is complemented with other vocalisations that allow for nuance of delivery.

To me this album sounds like the culmination of everything the band have been building towards over the decades. It sounds utterly complete and very, very good. The creative energies have been focused just right and the resulting heavy nastiness is without peer.

I’ve been a fan of this band since 1999 and this is the album they’ve always threatened to make. A dark revelation and an apocalyptic realisation of intent.

Essential listening for any Extreme Metal fan. Get this now.

Dawnbringer – Night of the Hammer (Review)

This is US band Dawnbringer’s seventh album. They play Heavy Metal.

Night of the Hammer has a strong 70’s vibe and mixes Heavy Metal with a good dose of ancient Doom to create something that’s drenched in the past yet remains potent today.

The brittle-sounding production lends the proceedings a proto-Blackened aura and enhances the feelings of authenticity and sheer audiophile-esque pleasure that this record gives off.

The important thing about a band like this is the quality of the songwriting and Dawnbringer are not found wanting in this regard. These are simple songs that are all the more powerful and effective for it.

Each track is stripped-back Heavy Metal as raw and emotive as when the genre was born. The rocking riffs and solid drums breathe life into the songs. The bass provides a firm bedrock for the band to build on and the solos and leads add colour. The odd Black Metal influence raises its head, mainly on Not Your Right, and strangely only sounds a little out of place.

The band play upbeat, downbeat and all kinds of mid-paced riffs in-between. The songs have plenty of darker moments but Dawnbringer are not afraid to sound chirpier on occasion also. True, it never reaches Power Metal levels of happiness or Folk’s sometime’s jauntiness, but they can certainly sound brighter than a lot of Metal when the need arises. Xiphias is a great example of this.

The music and exceptional vocals definitely have a 70’s vibe but the album also transcends this to have a certain timeless quality about it.

This is a most enjoyable album when you want a Classic Metal sound that harkens back to the time when Metal was born.

Undermine the Supremacy – Ashes (Review)

Undermine the Supremacy are from Australia and this is their début EP. They play Metalcore.

After an atmospheric, expectation-building intro the first track, (and title track), starts and it’s actually heavier than I was expecting. It’s almost Deathcore in places. Almost, but not quite.

It’s groove-based and relies on heavy riffs and melodic interludes to propel the songs forward, as is common in Metalcore, but it’s more extreme than a lot of the more commercial-edged bands that populate this scene. It’s less Killswitch Engage and more Lamb of God; less concerned with anthemic choruses and more concerned with flattening everything with heavy rage.

The vocalist is quite the beast, with his voice being much more extreme than the norm for this style. It adds a layer of real bite to the tracks.

The constant level of aggression on display here is good to see and the band are clearly into what they’re doing. Also pleasing is their avoidance, (mostly), of some of the more obvious riffs that usually make up Metalcore. Okay they’re never going to be described as innovative but they don’t fall into the trap of being generic either, which is no mean feat for a genre such as this.

Fans of Lamb of God, Chimaira, Hatebreed, etc. take note.

Check them out and see if they can reduce you to ashes.

Kattah – Lapis Lazuli (Review)

Kattah are a Power Metal band from Brazil and this is their second album.

This is Power/Heavy Metal with varied and exotic world influences and an Iron Maiden flavour. Mix in a bit of Kamelot and Queensrÿche and you have a good idea of the area Kattah inhabit.

The singer does his best Bruce Dickinson/Geoff Tate impression and for the most part pulls it off admirably. It allows him to have an instantly recognisable charisma without sounding like a clone.

Kattah have an ear for a good chorus, with plenty of the songs having decent hooks and catchy melodies. The band obviously have well-developed songwriting skills and they put these to good use.

The songs are able demonstrations of the Power Metal style with the Heavy Metal influence reining in the more extravagant tendencies that Power Metal seems to have. The songs are not devoid of ostentation, however, and the musicians are definitely a capable lot.

There are lots of good riffs and more than enough leads and solos to appeal. I’m very partial to some good shredding and this album features enough to satiate.

Another strength of this release is that it’s certainly no one-dimensional affair; it may stick within the Heavy/Power Metal template but it’s a much more varied release than most offerings from similar bands.

At 56 minutes in length there is a lot of material here and the band obviously have both ambition and talent. Given the right exposure Kattah have the potential to make quite a mark on the Metal scene, as they have both extravagance and accessibility in their favour.

Overall it’s a good collection of songs and Lapis Lazuli is a strong album.

Have a listen and see what you think.