Reviews – Page 479 – Wonderbox Metal

Persona – Elusive Reflections (Review)

Persona are a Tunisian Metal band and this is their début album.

Featuring 46 minutes of modern Metal, Elusive Reflections comes replete with symphonic and Power Metal accoutrements

My common complaint, echoed in other reviews, with this kind of thing is that sometimes the emphasis can be too much on the singer and not enough on the music, specifically the Metal content; thankfully this is not the case here, (otherwise this would never have made it to the review stage), and the band remember the importance of a good riff and being able to hear the guitars.

With that in mind, the singer is still the star of the show a lot of the time, as is usually the case with Power/Heavy Metal bands. Her voice is easily capable of being both powerful and understated, and she successfully acts as a focal point to the music without distracting from or overpowering it.

Appropriately, the music stands on its own merits and we even get extended sections that are bereft of vocals and also feature guitar solos, both of which are frequently absent in female-fronted Metal.

The symphonic and electronic elements are omnipresent, but are employed in much more of a restrained manner than that of some similar bands. You’d miss them if they were gone, but they’re not the main event.

These are catchy and memorable songs, with more depth and ability than you might give them credit for on first glance. Although it’s definitely of the style it purports to be, within these stylistic limitations there’s more variety here than you sometimes get with this kind of music and each song has its own story.

With a good working knowledge of what constitutes a decent song, the band plough through these 46 minutes with enthusiasm and class.

Recommended.

Inverloch – Distance | Collapsed (Review)

This is the début album from Australian Doom/Death band Inverloch.

Featuring members of the legendary Disembowelment, this is a highly anticipated release in some quarters that lives up to the lofty expectations laid upon it, for the most part.

Here we have a flawless blend of Doom and Death Metal, so much so that you could almost classify the band as one or the other, really, if the Doom aspect wasn’t quite so all-pervading.

Inverloch are heavy, nasty and clearly know what they’re doing. Also, did I mention they’re heavy? The songs chug, blast and DOOOOOM their way through the 39 minutes of ugly misery contained on this release, and it’s barely contained at that.

It’s easy to like these songs, as whether the band are playing at a snail’s pace or blasting out with furious mayhem, it’s all done extremely well.

More than just a collection of devastating riffs and deep growls, (although there’s more than enough of both), Distance | Collapsed has an emotional resonance and depth that is surprising in its effectiveness, considering how harrowing and mind-numbingly dark these songs actually are.

The riffs are ominous, unsettling and frequently more than a little bit scary. To say Inverloch are an imposing proposition is putting it mildly. There’s just something about the darkened auras that they create… In some ways these tracks are like scraping at a raw wound; you know you shouldn’t, but it just feels so damn good. Or something. Oh I dunno, just listen to Inverloch, it’s worth it in every way.

Dead River Runs Dry – Hierophants of the Storm (Review)

Dead River Runs Dry are an Australian Black Metal band and this is their début album.

Here is a band that play evil, underground Black Metal that’s a little different from the norm. Their sound is brutalised-up with an ugly Death Metal influence, making the tracks on Hierophants of the Storm quite imposing. This is further added to by Thrash Metal elements in some of the guitar parts, ensuring that the album isn’t short on riffs.

Growls and screams are both performed well and both used appropriately as and where best for the needs of the song. Powerful-sounding cleans are sparingly employed to enhance more emotive sections too, and these are well-received by yours truly.

The guitars are a highlight of the release, taking on different moods and guises as the whims of the songs dictate. I should mention that the band also have the odd guitar solo, that rarest of things in Black Metal, although with their Death and Thrash Metal influences I shouldn’t be surprised, really.

All of this is not to neglect the strength of the drums though, either, as when they’re not blasting all over the place they take on some very satisfying rhythmic qualities.

The songs are well-composed and have enough content in them to keep me quite happy. It’s a satisfying and surprisingly varied release, relatively speaking. The rather beefy sound merely adds to this, and Hierophants of the Storm is an extremely strong début, one which I’ll be blasting out happily for some time to come. Repeated listens validate this opinion, and over time this album reveals itself to be a definite keeper.

Highly recommended.

Pogavranjen – Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem (Review)

Pogavranjen are a Croatian avant-garde Post-Black Metal band and this is their third album.

Pogavranjen are one of many Post-Black Metal bands who are not content with the base genre and are intent on pushing boundaries and experimenting with the genre to help them get to the sound they want. In this case, this means twisting the core style in avant-garde, progressive, jazz and psychedelic ways, mutating it into the end result on Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem.

In addition to the standard instruments, the band use keyboards, synths, trumpets and trombones to achieve their vision. All of these are well-played and the musicians clearly know what they’re doing, whether it’s playing more straightforward parts, more involved, jazz-inspired free-form chaos, or building atmosphere with grim intent.

Coming across as a curious mix of Ephel Duath, Arcturus, Manes and Solefald, the band spend 45 minutes building up intricate and textured soundscapes, taking the listener on a compelling journey into the abyss.

The vocals mainly consist of well-performed cleans that are full of presence and an authoritarian charisma. They immediately catch the attention and provide a focal point while the music travels down multiple paths of darkened delights.

Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem is a real slow-burner of an album, requiring multiple listens to truly give up its secrets, and even then it keeps some back, jealous of its esoteric knowledge. It’s worth the effort though, as Pogavranjen’s avant-garde stylings are definitely on the right-side of quirky and this album is full of impressive sounds and moods.

Recommended.

The Unguided – Lust and Loathing (Review)

This is the third album from Swedish Metallers The Unguided.

The Unguided play melodic Death Metal mixed in with modern Metal, soaring cleans and infectious keyboards. It’s a style which has been done before, proven to be effective and is definitely on the more commercial end of the Metal spectrum. If that sounds like an implied negative, it would be if it was done poorly, but Lust and Loathing isn’t and is in fact a very enjoyable listen.

Full of stadium-friendly hooks and bold melodies, this is catchy and unashamedly memorable. One of things I really like about this release is that it’s closer to the Euro-Metal side of things than the US Metalcore-style, meaning that we get a lot of proper Metal content. There’s even some solos. Combined with the heaviness of the guitars, the ubiquitous harsh vocals and a high-energy delivery, this album has a thoroughly Metal core and doesn’t suffer from being overly-commercial or sanitized as a lot of similar bands can be afflicted with; there’s a fire and a passion here beneath the polished veneer.

The songs are enjoyable and catchy, as mentioned previously. The melodic Power Metal streak that the tracks have saves them from sounding generic and there’s a real flavour of the band in the songs, pulling them up to be highly effective modern European Metal bruisers with a strong melodic edge.

A lot of the time this kind of thing ends up having style over substance, but in this instance it seems that The Unguided have both.

Recommended.

Entropia – Ufonaut (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Post-Black Metal band Entropia.

As a firm fan of their stellar début album Vesper, Ufonaut is long-awaited and well-received.

In Entropia, Progressive Metal and Post-Metal meet a fiery Black Metal heart; combined together they take the airwaves by storm and Ufonaut’s blackened blend of atmosphere, shoegaze, Post-Rock and psychedelia is a hit.

Heavier and darker than its predecessor, Ufonaut is a more mature beast to an already forward-thinking début. On the whole the songs are also shorter and more focused, resulting in an album that knows precisely what it wants to do and goes about doing it with shadowy panache.

High-energy blackened delivery meets more depressive, introspective moments. As the songs progress there’s more and more to get lost in as the band build momentum and atmosphere. Tsunamis of pounding drums and otherworldly synths add to the textures of the songs in places, creating the atmosphere in firm, energetic layers.

With involving and engaging tracks, this is an album that makes the most of its time in the abyss and furnishes the listener with all manner of listening pleasures, so much so that Ufonaut is a real embarrassment of riches in some ways.

After waiting three years for their second album I have not been disappointed. All hail Entropia!

Impavidus – Impavidus (Review)

Impavidus are a Metal band from the UK. This is their début EP.

Boasting 18 minutes of melodic Death/Thrash/Groove Metal, Impavidus have forcefully arrived on the scene with a decent display of modern Metal.

Taking cues from bands such as Arch Enemy, Carcass, The Agonist, The Haunted, etc., they proceed to play this style better than most bands who are just starting out.

The songs are well-written and enjoyable, and I especially like the more melodic parts featuring clean female vocals. This is somewhat of a rarity for me, as more often than not these kind of sections are my least favourite parts when listening to similar bands’ songs. Impavidus, however, do all of this extremely well and their vocalist has a very good voice, reminding of the singer of Leaves’ Eyes in some ways.

Apart from these cleans, we get Arch Enemy-esque growls, occasionally backed by male shouts. These all work well and the music thrashes along at a good pace, nicely heavy and riffy.

Leads and solos are plentiful and the band aren’t shy about showing off their musical skills. Nor should they be.

It all comes together nicely and Impavidus have produced an impressive EP that’s way better than I was expecting. Why? Simply due to the fact that on paper, this follows a familiar format, one that is easy to be lazy with. The reality, however, is that these songs have high energy, catchiness, obvious passion and melodies that really hit the spot.

Quality stuff.

Greenleaf – Rise Above the Meadow (Review)

This is the sixth album by Swedish Stoner Rock band Greenleaf.

Boasting the kind of album cover that you could lose hours staring at, Greenleaf return with 44 minutes of retro-themed Stoner Rock that’s as easy-going and as compelling as ever.

With a warm, well-rounded sound, Rise Above the Meadow is a very easy album to get along with. The band’s personalities seem to seep from every note and the songs effortlessly send out emotive vibes in a retro-friendly fashion that’s sure to light up many a classic Rock-fan’s eyes.

The singer’s anthemic, charismatic voice resonates with relaxed power and presence, complementing the analogue warmth of the music. Hearty melodies and hummable tunes are in abundance and the band really don’t sound like they’re native to 2016 in many ways.

There are so many good riffs on this album and the band are in no short supply of melodies and evocative catchy sections either.

This is good stuff. For someone who mainly listens to much more extreme music, I sometimes have to be in the mood for this kind of release. However, like a lot of things, when you press play and let the music comfortably roll out of the speakers, it’s all very nice indeed.

Somewhere between The Sword, Clutch, Rival Sons, and even The Beatles in places.

Top work.

Intensive Square – Anything That Moves (Review)

Intensive Square are a Technical Metal band from the UK. This is their début album.

This is Technical Metal played with a love of both complexity and crushing rhythms. There’s a Hardcore side to the band that’s combined with a firm Metal base, resulting an album that combines elements of such diverse bands as Botch, Converge, Johnny Truant, Meshuggah, Circle Takes the Square, Pyrrhon, Today Is the Day, Scarlet, Frontierer, Sikth, Periphery and many others.

Featuring a splenetic vocalist who has a vicious screamed shout, these songs provide a satisfying ear-bashing while also catering to those who like a bit of technicality and complexity with their beatings. It doesn’t go too far down the complexity route though, as there’s plenty of big rhythms and grooves provided to get the listener moving and jerking around the place in strange movements.

The album lasts 45 minutes and provides a meaty feast for anyone into this kind of thing.

Give them a listen.

Virulency – The Anthropodermic Manuscript of Retribution (Review)

This is the début album from Spanish Brutal Death Metal band Virulency.

I really enjoyed their 2012 début EP, Unbearable Martyrdom Landscapes, so when this much-anticipated début album found its way to me, I knew I had to give it a thorough listening as soon as I could.

First impressions – I like the album cover as it just screams BRUTAL DEATH METAL at the top of its blood-ridden lungs. Nice.

So, delve into the pit of Virulency and what do we get? We get ultra-brutal Death Metal that’s nicely heavy and suitably extreme. This is not the kind of thing that Joe Public would like. At all.

Elements of Grindcore and the slam-Death Metal styles are to be heard scattered throughout these tracks and the relentless hammering of the music definitely hits the spot.

They have retained the tasty sound that they had on their EP, with a satisfying guitar tone and nicely balanced drums. You can even hear the bass, which is always good, especially as it is played well and does some interesting things; it adds a strangely-tense undertone to the music and is a welcome constant companion as you tour these depths of corruption and mutation.

The only real disappointment for me is the vocals, as these appear to have gone a bit more into the realms of pignoise squeals than previously. This is not a vocal style I massively enjoy as when it’s over-used it tends to rob a singer of all of their power when compared to actual growls. To be fair to the singer though, his vocals tread just the right side of ridiculous, and he retains enough vestigial strength in his voice to just about pull it off, which I’m very grateful for. It’s just that, for me, in an ideal world, actual growls would have been so much better. On the odd occasion that growls do appear on these tracks it’s like a filter has been removed and all of a sudden the band are complete. But hey, that’s just my taste.

Overall, slight vocal issues aside, this is still a very satisfyingly brutal 29 minutes, one that I heartily recommend you check out.