Metal – Page 90 – Wonderbox Metal

A Breach of Silence – The Darkest Road (Review)

This is the second album from Australia’s A Breach of Silence.

The band play modern Melodic Metalcore. We’ve met this band before with their début album Dead or Alive which was a passionate display of the more commercial side of Metal. So what does the new offering sound like?

Stylistically we’re in similar territory to the first, although everything appears to be cranked up even higher this time.

The harsh vocals are harsher, the clean singing bigger, the heavy parts heavier, the melodic parts more so…you get the idea.

Importantly though, the band have improved their songwriting. Their début was perfectly enjoyable of course, but this album is just better. With the benefit of hindsight it now seems as if Dead or Alive was almost a trial run for The Darkest Road. Whereas the first was the band finding their sound, this is them refining it and obviously benefiting from touring and perfecting their formula.

The Power Metal influence has lessened somewhat, although it’s still a part of the band’s sound; this is most notable on songs like Immortal and Time Still Remains where it gets to shine brightly.

The recording is suitably huge, which is a necessity for a band like this. Everything sounds in your face and clear.

Well I’m suitably impressed by this. It won’t change the world but it is a very enjoyable slab of modern Metal. The band have improved on their sound and the songs are bigger and better than ever. Kudos to them.

If your tastes run to the more commercial then this is definitely a recommended listen.

Oecist – XVIII LIII (Review)

Oecist are from the US and play Post-Metal. This is their début EP.

This is instrumental Metal in the style of bands such as Cloudkicker, Red Sparowes, Pelican and the like.

At just under 20 minutes it’s a relatively short listen but it serves as a good introduction to the band and what they’re capable of.

And just what is it that they are capable of then? Well, they create expansive, emotive music that enjoys the freedom and grandeur that Post-Metal offers.

It’s melancholic, expressive and packs a pretty good punch. Unlike some Post-Metal bands who emphasize the Post- part of the style more than the -Metal part, Oecist seem to have the two pretty much equally distributed through this EP. They’re not afraid to let things get heavier when they need to.

This is an enjoyable début. Hopefully future releases will see the band expanding on their sound and building on what they’ve accomplished with XVIII LIII. Here’s to the future.

Skull Koraptor – Dead Ahead (Review)

Skull Koraptor are a Thrash Metal band from Greece and this is their début EP.

Skull Koraptor play Old-School Thrash Metal with a pinch of Heavy Metal added to the mix. They’re influenced by the old Big Four and wear their influences on their sleeves.

It’s energetic and played with passion. We may have heard this style many times before but there’s no denying the enthusiasm that the band attack the material with.

The instruments are played well and there are a fair few enjoyable solos sprinkled around.

Each song is well written and the band have a good grasp of what it takes to write a catchy Metal song.

The vocalist does a good job and overall this is an authentic recreation of Old-School Metal that should be recognisable to any fan of the genre.

If you’ve reached your saturation point with this type of Metal then there’s probably not much to tempt you here, however if you still carry a torch for this older Thrash sound then Skull Koraptor are actually way better and more authentic than a lot of those in the retro-Thrash movement.

Want some enjoyable and honest Old-School Thrash Metal? Look no further.

Threshold – For The Journey (Review)

Threshold are from the UK and play Progressive Metal. This is their 10th album.

The latest Threshold album, eh? Always a pleasure to listen to this band. They have put out some great music over the years so this was an album I was looking forward to listening to.

Although undeniably still Progressive Metal, they’ve added a little more Hard Rock in their sound, which shows up in some of the harder riffs they use from time to time. This is a subtle alteration however, as they’ve always had this aspect to their sound in varying amounts and For The Journey is still Threshold through-and-through.

Straight away the classic Threshold sound blares out of the speakers as soon as you press play. Threshold are remarkable in this style of music in that you can instantly recognise them; they don’t particularly sound like anyone else and yet even though it’s instantly familiar they still manage to avoid overtly repeating themselves. This speaks of a band with a lot of talent, which has always been apparent.

The songs on For The Journey are a well-crafted collection of strong tracks that showcase the considerable songwriting ability of the band. They walk the fine line between technical ability and emotive songwriting and manage to strike the perfect balance between the two.

Threshold have always, to me, sounded very easy listening in the sense that their music appears to effortlessly sink into the brain and it’s like listening to liquefied Metal that tastes as good as the finest of wines.

The musicianship is, of course, exemplary. Whether this is the powerfully understated drumming, the driving riffs, the exquisite solos and leads, the subtle bass or the mood enhancing keyboards; Threshold know what they’re doing and they do it extremely well.

Vocally as well, the band are onto a winner. A compelling and powerful voice provides clean vocals that are wide in range and incredibly self-assured and powerful. Some of the vocal melodies are enough to send shivers down the spine, especially when they merge perfectly with the accompanying music. The astoundingly good chorus to Unforgiven is one example of many.

Well, what an album. For their tenth full-length Threshold have once again created a masterpiece of Progressive Metal that raises the bar for any other band who are even vaguely playing this style.

This is essential listening from an exemplary band. Get this.

Sons of Crom – Riddle of Steel (Review)

Sons of Crom are from Sweden and this is their début album. They play epic Viking-influenced Heavy/Black/Folk Metal.

This is thundering music with an interesting sound; it’s somewhere between Old-School and New and gives the band an interesting sheen.

We’ve heard this style before, of course, but this is a veritable exemplar of the sub-genre as it’s done exceedingly well.

Taking elements of bands such as Enslaved, Arcturus and, notably, Bathory, this is an impressive distillation of the quintessence of those bands, birthed anew in the form of Riddle of Steel.

The music and vocals are epic beyond all reason and you just can’t help but get carried away by the obvious passion and enthusiasm here. It’s hard to credit that this is a début album really as the level of maturity displayed on these songs is staggering. Each track is fully realised and boasts more features than many bands manage in a full album.

Epic melodies abound and the guitars really do draw out every last tiny bit of emotion possible from the instrument. This is Metal through and through in the best possible way. It’s Bathory updated for 2014 whilst remaining faithful and true to the original.

The vocals are varied and accomplished; they span everything from darker, rougher shouts, to higher screams, to a mid-ground semi-clean, to choral overlays. The delivery is masterful.

The music is richly textured and almost suffers from stimulation overload at points as there’s a lot going on and it’s all so damned grandiose!

This will likely be snapped up eagerly by fans of the Bathory/epic Viking Metal scene who are still hungry for all things of this nature. Unless you think Bathory are the be-all and end-all of this style then you should find more than enough to feast on here.

Turn it on, turn it up and get swept away in the huge nature of the band.

(Sample is from their Conqueror EP which is a taster of two tracks from the album)

Doomlord – Almas Malditas – Split (Review)

Doomlord are from Puerto Rico and play Doom Metal. This is their début release, one half of a split with King Heavy.

This is Classic Doom/Heavy Metal with a good recording and enjoyable songs. Taking cues from early Doom Metal, the band have a strong sound that emphasises the Metal part of Doom Metal and clearly enjoy what they do.

The Spanish-language vocals give the album a nice flavour and helps differentiate the band’s sound. The singer has a good voice and knows his chosen genre well.

The music is well played and the songs have some good moments to them. Tasty riffs and solos abound in these 4 tracks. Keyboards/organs add an extra dimension to the songs and are a nice touch. There a lot of well-written sections in the tracks and the band are adept at creating atmospheric parts to otherwise rocking Metal tunes.

This flies the flag high and proud for True Metal and anyone with a passing interest in the original incarnation of Doom/Heavy Metal would do well to look this up.

In Love Your Mother – The Great Ape Project (Review)

In Love Your Mother are from Switzerland. The band play short blasts of heavy Metallic Hardcore that takes parts of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, System of a Down, Mastodon and Tool; Mathcore meets Progressive Metal.

Most of the songs here are angry and heavy but they also have a Progressive Metal edge to them so occasionally branch out into softer areas where clean vocals replace the harsher shouts; all of which is compressed into songs that are typically about the 1 or 2 minute mark, on average.

Although the album is 30 minutes long, the changeling nature of the tracks and the fact that there are 18 of them mean In Love Your Mother are a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of band. Although you could probably make a similar claim for countless Grindcore bands, the difference here is that In Love Your Mother are a much more varied proposition.

It’s an enjoyable release that benefits from a loud volume and thorough listen.

It’s heavy, it’s good, it rocks. Give them a try.

Sloths – Twenty Years (Review)

Sloths are from the US and this is their latest EP.

Sloths play a kind of Hardcore-tinged Sludge Metal that’s heavy, ugly and full of grim darkness but with shades of dawn.

There are three songs on this short EP and they are belligerent and emotive. The band show a good understanding of dynamics and the songs have more energy than the band’s name might suggest.

This is akin to some of the angular, atypical Hardcore bands out there such as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Norma Jean, Coalesce, Botch, etc. only not as clean cut; Sloths are like the angry cousin that plays dirtier and cheats in every fight they have. And they fight a lot.

Low-in-the-mix, throat-shredding shouts hide behind heavy music and tough, chaotic drums. The guitars, for all the ugliness and grime of the band, have a fair few moments that can only be described as having a Post-Metal beauty to them. It’s an enticing combination and the band work this juxtaposition well without it causing clashes of any kind.

These songs are varied, interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. I’m a big fan of this kind of angular Hardcore and the fact that this is delivered through the prism of Sludge Metal just makes it all the better.

Here’s to Sloths!

Malpractice – Turning Tides (Review)

Malpractice are from Finland and play Progressive Metal. This is their fourth album.

On first listen you think, “Wow, this is really good!”, and on subsequent listens you realise that it just keeps getting better and better.

The singer has a voice that drips off the songs like liquid silk. His voice is effortlessly melodic and flawlessly delivered. Power and emotion seem to come easily to him and his voice acts as a real focal point to these energetic and emotive songs.

Malpractice have a clean, minimalistic sound that captures all of the nuances and power of the songs. The tracks are all skilfully crafted and revolve around the clear voice of the singer and the masterful rhythm guitar work.

These guitars really do provide a lot of energetic feeling to the tracks and it’s really easy to get carried along with their obvious fervour and passion. They don’t slouch in the solo/lead department either, with plenty of dazzling fretwork to capture the attention.

Reference points? Think somewhere between Threshold and Queensrÿche.

This is a very impressive album from a band who have clearly refined their art over the years. There are no missteps here and every song has something to offer. If you like catchy, well-performed Progressive Metal then you could do a lot worse than checking out this album.

This really is a stunner. Top marks.

Osmium Guillotine – Osmium Guillotine (Review)

Osmium Guillotine are from the UK and this is their début album. They play Heavy Metal.

This is 80’s style Heavy Metal with a sexy guitar sound and plenty of attitude. The production is largely apt for this kind of band, although in a feat of differentiation Osmium Guillotine have a guitar tone that’s both thicker and heavier than most bands playing this genre and it works very well for them.

The music is played with passion and obvious zeal and everyone seems to know their job well. Nice solos too.

This is Old-School Heavy Metal that manages to encapsulate quite a few different feelings from early Metal and distil them into this release. Classic Metal is a given, but Doom Metal, Proto-Thrash and NWOBHM all get a look in. There’s even a touch of Punk to things now and again.

The vocals are great, and there’s not a hint of Power Metal to be seen. I love Power Metal as much as anyone, but it’s nice to hear a band like Osmium Guillotine who are just pure Heavy Metal without the more extravagant ostentation inherent in Power Metal. The singer here has a great set of lungs and possesses the charisma to do the tunes justice.

These are a strong set of songs with plenty of hooks and choruses to keep you coming back for more. Memorable melodies and good riffs flow freely and everything feels just as it should.

Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Anthrax…if these bands float your boat then Osmium Guillotine are a logical band to check out. Along with the recent stellar release from Johnny Touch this proves once again what any real music fan already knew – True Metal isn’t dead.

Great stuff.