This is the third album from US one-man Black Metal project Palace of Worms.
Here we have Black Metal that manages to retain a raw and nasty demeanour while simultaneously offering enough melodic aspects to be enticingly emotive. It’s not overly melodic, but there’s enough colour and texture through the sinister melodies to add another dimension.
Imperium are a technical Death Metal band from the UK. This is their second album.
Ahh, Death Metal, most reliable of all musical styles in many ways. All you need is some decent blasting, aggressive vocals, a production with punch and you’re in business. Enter Imperium.
Ordem Satânica are a Portuguese Black Metal band and this is their latest release.
Well, if this isn’t just one of the rawest, grimmest, most foul-smelling, decayed corpses of stinkingly evil Black Metal that I’ve stumbled across in a while. This should be approached with extreme caution by everyone save the hardest of hardened Black Metal fans. It’s not for the meek.
Ordem Satânica offer up 35 minutes of blasting bile and blackened atmosphere, sounding utterly lethal as they do it. Ventos de Ódio seems to have found a way to strike back to the heart of second-wave Black Metal, torturing its soul until it gives up its infernal secrets.
The interesting thing is that although I’ve probably painted this as a pretty one-dimensional release so far, it isn’t. Amidst all of the blackened chaos and cutting, frosted riffs, there’s a surprising amount of variety here; not so much that it would stray too far from the original template, but enough to keep the listener hypnotised and slaved to its dark will. Snatches of melody, reflective introspection and frozen atmospherics all get a look in, especially during the near-17 minute final track O Negro e Eterno Vácuo.
The crackling, icy production is judged just right. It’s primitive and ugly, yet somehow manages to use this to lend power to the band, rather than leech it away as some low-quality recordings can do. This is probably due to the fact that Ordem Satânica channel the pure essence of the original Black Metal style so very well that everything just fits perfectly.
If you like your Black Metal grim, necrotic and filled to the brim with raw, underground hatred, then I heartily recommend this release.
Get it while it’s cold.
This is the latest release from Bangladeshi Thrash Metallers Exalter.
Featuring three new songs and four older ones, this release showcases what Exalter have produced up to this point in their existence.
After being suitably impressed by some recent Thrash releases, (Artillery, Crisix and Exumer, for example), I’m in the mood to be wooed once more by Thrash Metal, and I’m pleased to say that Exalter don’t disappoint. Continue reading “Exalter – Obituary for the Living (Review)”
This is the second album from Swedish Metal band Mindshift.
Mindshift’s latest album is 56 minutes of downtuned aggression in the Metalcore style that pushes the tried-and-tested style of heavy verses and melodic choruses, à la Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and the like.
The singer’s harsh voice reminds me of the singer of Atreyu, and he provides a good performance for the most part. The clean vocals do what they’re here to do, with decent melodies and hooks, some of which are really quite tasty.
The songs are, overall, a bit heavier and more aggressive than some that play this style, which I like, although the radio-friendly choruses clearly show their aspirations.
Although this style has been done to death, with some catchy choruses and good songwriting this is still an enjoyable release if you’re partial to the style. I probably would have loved this about 10-15 years ago. Nowadays I still quite like it, mainly due to the fact that it’s done well and sticks to basic song structures that are as familiar as they are pleasing in their simplicity.
Despite all of the things that are stacked against a band playing this style, I like that Horizon doesn’t play it completely safe and doesn’t just take the easy option of completely regurgitating stuff that’s been done a million times before. This is mainly down to the guitars and clean vocals – the former sound like a lot of consideration has gone into their structuring and layout, while the latter really do add a lot to the tracks and are performed with a passion that’s apparent.
There’s some good riffs and emotive melodies knocking about here too, and the electronic component to their sound is infrequent and used lightly, adding what is needed to the songs without getting in the way.
Ultimately Mindshift have put together an album that is easy to sit back and enjoy. The decent riffs and vocals do their job well and the songs pass by in a quite personable way. I can easily imagine myself listening to this a few more times in the future, despite a slightly over-long playing time.
Have a listen and check them out.
This is the fourth album from Swedish Sludge/ Doom band Pyramido.
Saga was a very strong album, and now that Pyramido return with Vatten it’s clear that it wasn’t a one-off fluke.
Pyramido are heavy and crushing. Vatten exemplifies these traits and the album is 38 minutes of emotively flattening guitars and distorted atmospherics.
Anguished screams tear out of the music as lonesome leads and tortured melodies rise out from the body of the music. Although the heaviness is a constant companion, it’s not Pyramido’s only weapon in the war against silence, as they also show they can play introspectively in more of a Post-Metal way.
On Vatten the band seem to have injected a little more nuance and shading into their songs; even though they had this on Saga for sure, it seems more developed here, with the time being taken to cultivate greater mood and feeling via the leads and rhythms.
Even when all of this happens though, the heavy riffs are not too far away, and the Sludge Metal gets its way in the end. The truly wonderful moments occur when the heavy riffs are providing the emotive content, and on those occasions Vatten is at its best.
These tracks compel you to pay attention, as the groovy and emotive guitars draw you in, engaging with their fury and hypnotic delivery.
Highly recommended.
This is the latest EP from US Post-Black Metal band Tombs.
Tombs continue to be one of the better and more interesting bands in Metal today. Here we have 34 minutes of new music, in equal parts heavy, atmospheric, grand and intimidating, as only Tombs do so well.
Blending Metal, Sludge, Black Metal and Hardcore into a potent brew, their last release Savage Gold is a firm favourite of mine and it seems that All Empires Fall is going the same way, albeit for a few different reasons; Tombs have progressed and changed in some ways since their last release, and the Black Metal component of their sound is much further to the front now, along with added keyboards.
The World Is Made of Fire is a short intro track that essentially sets the scene and sounds quite imposing and epic in scope.
Second song Obsidian showcases the band’s Black Metal side to great effect, with scything screeched vocals and cutting, frozen riffs. Blasting aggression, energetic atmosphere and blackened Hardcore thuggery combine with some deft melody to create a really enjoyable darkened exploration.
After this we get Last Days of Sunlight, which is quite different. Featuring some exotically alluring clean croons, the song stalks along like a hungry predator, all menace and lethal intent. It’s a highly atmospheric slow-burner that showcases a different side of Tombs and once again demonstrates their multi-talented skills.
Deceiver is up next. It’s heavy, memorable and has a catchy, punky, blackened sheen that would do Wolvhammer proud.
The final track is the longest and simply named V. Here we get a mixture of pretty much everything that has come before it, including cleans, blackened riffs, melodic sharpness and catchy delivery.
Like the mighty Rorcal, Tombs are at the top of their game when it comes to modern Post-Black Metal that seethes with power, recognises the past and combines non-blackened genres into its stylistic package.
An essential listen.
The Zenith Passage are a Technical Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.
Featuring former and current members of The Faceless, Oblivion, Fallujah and All Shall Perish, you already know that there’s a wealth of talent behind this band before you even press play.
The aforementioned bands also give you an idea of what type of material that The Zenith Passage play too; combining the modern/futuristic Death Metal of The Faceless and Fallujah, complete with keyboards/electronics and otherworldly atmospherics, gets you a pretty good idea of how Solipsist sounds.
The music is mostly frenzied extremity combined with seasoned atmospherics that’s both highly melodic and brutally sharp. Guitars shift and turn while the drums are an endless exploration of blast beats, double bass and maniacal rhythms.
As should be expected from the people involved in this, the level of musicianship is absurdly high. With so many complex guitars parts, twisting melodies and outright mind-ripping axe-shredding, Solipsist doesn’t leave the listener wanting in the technicality department. That the mayhem is occasionally punctuated by more atmospheric and relaxing moments just serves to make the extremity all the more powerful.
The singer has the kind of rapid-fire bark that suits this type of frenetic music. He seems almost in a race to keep up with the speed of the guitars, and although he’s always destined to fail at this, it doesn’t matter as the trying is the important part.
If you’re a fan of the style of music that The Faceless play, but prefer their earlier material which had less/no clean vocals, then I would heartily recommend you check this out. Hell, if you’re a fan of techdeath at all, I would recommend you check this out. Basically, check this out.
Omophagia are a Death Metal band from Switzerland and this is their second album.
Playing a brutal and precise version of Death Metal, Omophagia know how to pen a good riff and a memorable song.
Alongside the speed and brutality there’s also some nice technical aspects to the songs as the band know their instruments well.
Included also are some very enjoyable solos and leads, and the band aren’t afraid of including some melody here and there. There’s a militaristic, impersonal feel to some of the heavy riffs which is deftly counteracted by the colour and warmth that the solos, leads and slices of melody provide.
These songs are well-composed and the band show a keen awareness for structure and pace. I like that they know how to use the rhythm guitars to great effect, always making sure to inject them with energy and rhythmic memorability. Rather than peeling off throwaway filler riffs, it feels as if the different parts of these songs have been thought over in detail. Combined with the mechanistic and relentlessly pounding drums that track with the guitars, it makes for an effective and efficient rhythm section.
The vocalist has a rapid-fire voice that barks out deep growls in a clipped, decisive manner. His voice is very satisfying and alongside the well-recorded music these songs hit the spot quite nicely.
Omophagia have the full package, and In the Name of Chaos is one of the more fully-rounded Death Metal releases I’ve heard of late.
Very highly recommended.
This is the third album from Brazilian Sludge/Stoner Metal band Monster Coyote.
With a colossal and crushing sound, Neckbreaker holds nothing back. The album is aptly named, let’s just say that.
Living in the same hinterland between styles that is inhabited by bands such as Ilsa, Serpent Eater, Northless, Colombian Necktie and the like, Monster Coyote play heavy, nasty music that’s too upbeat to be Doom, too gnarly to be pure Metal, and too rocking to be Death Metal. It’s somewhat how you might imagine Mastodon would sound if they had fallen in love with heavier, nastier music after their first release, or maybe Clutch if they developed a love of Sludge Metal.
The singer has a formidable roar that doesn’t let up. His caustic, gruff tones are a joy to listen to as the music rumbles and chugs its way through the 40 minutes of playing time.
The music is all about the crushing riffs and relentlessly aggressive heaviness. What separates them from some of their peers though is that instead of fusing this with Doom or Hardcore, they instead choose to fuse it with a Stoner Rock sensibility that means these tracks are all endowed with high energy and furious vitality.
The band know their stuff when it comes to playing and some of the longer tracks give them ample opportunity to develop their art. The drums in particular are a really satisfying listen, all rolls and pounding beats.
Emotive without being weak and strong without being brutish, Neckbreaker is the perfect recommendation for anyone into heavy, aggressive music that knows how to rock the fuck out.
Highly recommended.
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