Reviews – Page 481 – Wonderbox Metal

Sunwølf – Eve (Review)

Sunwølf are a Scottish Post-Metal band and this is their fourth album.

Sunwølf play Post-Metal that takes elements of Doom, Stoner and Post-Hardcore into the mix.

This reminds me of UK Doomsters Palehorse if they were mixed in with Earth and wrapped up in the Post-Metal trappings of someone like Red Sparowes.

Slow, mournful guitar parts crawl along the frost-battered ruins of long-dead mountains while Post-Metal melodies effortlessly gleam resplendently under the uncaring sun.

These tracks paint pictures of dangerous-yet-beautiful landscapes that form a rich and textured release, laced with sorrow and despondency. The songs have a raw, emotive edge to them that’s hard to deny and even on just the first listen you find yourself getting drawn into them. Subsequent spins reveal additional features to catch the attention and the heart.

Vocals are sparse and uncommon; when they do appear they are used well, as required by the song. This includes screams that are tinged with anguish and pain, occasionally taking on a cleaner hue to give vent to a more plaintive side, as well as spoken word sections and chants that are almost buried under the music.

This is a very engaging release that has a lot of content to enjoy over the 51 minute playing time. This is an album that deserves a lot of exposure, although I doubt it will get it, which is criminal.

Highly recommended. Check this out immediately.

Uboa – Coma Wall (Review)

Uboa is a solo Doom artist from Australia and this is his latest release, which comprises one track that lasts almost 23 minutes.

Holy shit. Okay, that could be my entire review, really. Holy. Shit.

I suppose I should write a bit more though, here goes.

So, it starts off with a sample, some feedback and some slowly-added in noises. Immediately an unsettling atmosphere is created which is maintained throughout in one form or another. Shudder.

Then, all of a sudden, it’s as if all Hell’s daemons are unleashed, as twisted pain-filled screams and maniacal percussion are unleashed on you in a barrage of chaotic frenzy. It’s not pretty, but it certainly is engaging.

Coming across as a depraved mix of Atomsmasher, Khanate and Venowl, Uboa effectively spends these 23 minutes creating a horror-filled semi-organic nightmarescape that defies conventional music in favour of pure mood and feeling, seemingly dredged up from the abyss.

Birthed raw as a twisted combination of sparse Doom and eclectic noise, this is surprisingly enjoyable music, although I suppose I should point out that to most people neither the words enjoyable nor music would seem to apply here. Their loss. This wall of anguished sound hits the right spot with me, and that’s all that matters.

There’s a tense undercurrent to all of this that I find quite tasty; I always like music that uses tension well and on Coma Wall there’s no let up until the final dying sounds have disappeared into oblivion. During the latter part of the track the mayhem subsides, but the tension does not, and just when you think it’s settling slowly into a dying ambience, it gets heavy, sludgy and apocalyptic.

Phew! Very nice. Or nasty. Whatever. Either way, after 23 minutes I’m raring to go and listen to this again.

For true Doom/Noise connoisseurs only; check this one out if you dare.

Burial – Unholy Sedition (Review)

This is the second album from Black Metal band Burial, who are from the UK.

Burial play raw Black Metal with speed and malice.

Pure venom seems to seep out of every corrupted pore as the band aggressively attack the material with the fervour of the fanatic. The guitars have a very pleasing tone and have that razor-like quality that suits Black Metal so well.

The songs don’t outstay their welcome, and the entire release blurs by in 31 minutes of dark, angry malevolence.

The brutality of the music is threaded through with bands of melody that add a bit of depth to the attack. Some Darkthrone-esque groove is introduced when the band slow the pace a little, and these parts are just as good a listen as their faster brethren.

Throughout the album it’s clear that Burial know how to shape and channel these kind of grim incantations, and the songs are a very enjoyable listen.

Vocally we get traditional blackened screaming which hits the spot nicely, but in addition to this there are also deep growls which are very satisfyingly performed, sounding, as they do, pitch black and evil.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Have a listen and see if they do it for you.

Exumer – The Raging Tides (Review)

This is the fourth album from these German Thrash Metal veterans.

With a crisp, punchy and professional sound, Exumer return with another album chock full of Thrash Metal anthems.

The songs are well-written and both catchy and memorable. The old-school Thrash vibe is present and correct, but the production and delivery is quite modern, resulting in an album that manages to tread different eras with ease, which is no mean feat.

The band sound focused and tight, intent on delivering a flurry of riffs and pounding drums strong enough to get even the most jaded of Metal fans moving.

I particularly enjoy the guitars on this release; Exumer have a talent for writing good riffs. I also like that the vast majority of these riffs sound energised and perfectly judged; a lot of old-school Thrash can easily sound stale and done-to-death, but Exumer seem to have the secret, (whatever that is), to producing songs that just hit the right spot.

Frequent solos accompany the cutting riffs and the singer’s vocals use good rhythms and pacing.

The Raging Tides is criminally enjoyable and I haven’t been this enthusiastic and excited by Thrash Metal for some time. For an album full of ripping Metal tunes you should look no further.

Bustum – Demonolosophy (Review)

Bustum are a Croatian Black Metal band and this is their début album.

Bustum play their Black Metal raw and traditional, fuelled by the second wave and filled with Satanic might.

The vocals are harsh shrieks, performed in the classic style. The singer also uses deeper growls here and there, which is less expected and a welcome addition to the general violence and misanthropy on Demonolosophy.

The songs slice, cut and lacerate with frozen blades and seething malevolence. Dark, blackened melodies seem to writhe just below the surface and add depth to the band’s musical endeavours.

The songs are simple, underground hymns to dark forces that carry themselves well and provide for a quite enjoyable 33 minutes. It’s a well-written album and included in these tracks are some nice riffs with enough sections that show they’re capable of more than just hate-filled speed; they display a good grasp of pacing and compositional structure on these songs too.

I enjoyed this. If you like Black Metal then I’m sure you will too. Check it out.

Valgrind – Speech of the Flame (Review)

This is the second album from this Italian Death Metal band.

This is USDM-style destruction, influenced by the Florida scene from back in the day. This 90s fixation serves them well and Speech of the Flame offers up 44 minutes of solid Death Metal.

Blasting drums and rhythmic beats are backed up by a nicely heavy and dark production that allows them to get the most from their chosen implements of assault; there’s no shortage of speed on this album and the band wield this like a weapon. It’s not all high-velocity though and the band lay off the accelerator enough so that although they’re almost always playing fast, it’s not all complete blasting mayhem.

The guitars have a nice tone to them and there’s some good solos and leads included. These are used to create little pockets of more emotive and atmospheric sections among the carnage of the rest of the music.

The singer’s voice is gruff and clipped just enough to make him sound quite aggressive, providing a decent performance and accompanying the music in a most satisfying manner.

The songs channel the likes of Deicide and Morbid Angel, paying homage to what came before and continuing the legacy of their spiritual predecessors.

If you have a yearning for the particular era of Death Metal history that Valgrind espouse then you’ll probably get along with Speech of the Flame very well indeed.

Have a listen and see what you think.

Abyssic – A Winter’s Tale (Review)

This is the début album from Norwegian Symphonic Doom/Death band Abyssic.

Well this is an absolute monster of an album. At 79 minutes in length and featuring just four tracks, Abyssic certainly know how to provide the listener with a lot to get their teeth into.

A decent stylistic reference point for Abyssic would initially be the old Peaceville roster, with bands like Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost all providing an idea of what the base of the band is like. Only longer and more epic, of course. Once you have this in your mind’s eye, mix in some more modern, epic funeral Doom from the likes of Monolithe, as well as a sterling Classical influence, and you’ll have a good idea of what Abyssic are getting up to here.

The symphonic aspects of Abyssic’s sound are big, bold and unashamedly impressive. Abyssic don’t hold back, and nor should they. This is a band that manage to incorporate the symphonic and Classical elements into their sound in a holistic and complete way, rather than having them just added on at the end. The music easily takes on a cinematic legendary feel and each of these long songs feels like a story. Nay, a saga.

A Winter’s Tale benefits from a huge and lavish production that allows all of the different parts of their repertoire to sound clear and crushing. Thick guitars and textured keyboards merge together with the crushing drums to provide the listener with a very engaging and absorbing listen. The songs may be long, but if you have the time to spare for them then there is so much here to enjoy.

For the most part the vocals are deep, dark growls, of the kind that are pretty much standard for Death/Doom. That’s not to say they’re not effective or don’t do their job though.

Long they may be, but these songs justify their own existence by being so damn impressive and well-put together. The band know their stuff, that’s for sure. Amazingly, given the length, these tracks don’t get boring and the lavish, lush orchestration is a constant joy to listen to, especially when combined with the heaviness of the guitars.

This atmospheric album really nails the best parts of the Death/Doom style for me, and the overwrought symphonic elements are just candy to my ears, pulling the whole thing up to another level.

Very highly recommended.

Crisix – From Blue to Black (Review)

Crisix are a Spanish Thrash Metal band and this is their third album.

This is an endearing mixture of old-school Thrash and modern know-how. It’s fun without being stupid and authentic without being retro nonsense. I approve!

The album boasts a strong production that’s crisp and clear, lending the songs a sharp edge and professional veneer.

The singer grunts, groans, shrieks and screams his throat hoarse throughout these 39 minutes. Alongside a plethora of backing and gang vocals, he provides an energetic performance and one can’t help but wonder if he survived the recording process with his sanity intact.

As would be expected from the style, solos and leads are tossed around like they’re going out of fashion, alongside so many punchy riffs you could knock someone out with them. With some minor movie and Hardcore influences too, there’s a lot of catchy material here.

There’s a lot of enjoyment to be had on From Blue to Black, especially if you like early Anthrax and Pantera and always wondered what it might sound like if they collaborated on a Thrash Metal sideband. It probably wouldn’t sound too far off how this does.

Very enjoyable. Check this out.

Echoes of the Moon – Entropy (Review)

This is the second album from this one-man US atmospheric Post-Black Metal band.

This has a rich, warm sound, making it clear very early on that Entropy is all about the emotive content and taking the listener on a journey.

High-pitched near-static screams are employed to provide a focal point for the colourful music. I favour this brand of ultra-shrieked screams for this kind of extremely atmospheric Black Metal, so was not disappointed to hear them when they first appeared. Deep growls also appear here and there; these are unexpected but work well alongside the mellifluous music.

These songs have a good grasp of mood and feeling, effortlessly played out across long tracks and glorious soundscapes. This can be essentially seen as one 72 minute piece of music broken up into smaller slices, but however you look at it it’s an extremely effective work.

Featuring elements of psychedelic, progressive and depressive Black Metal, this is very atmospheric and richly textured. Resplendent melodies, extended guitar solos and understated synths all enhance the flavour of the emotive riffs and Entropy is an album to be savoured and enjoyed in its entirety.

I’m very impressed by this, and it’s criminal that this will effectively get no real exposure other than a few lucky people that stumble upon it; it really is that good.

Abstracter/Dark Circles – Split (Review)

Abstracter are a Sludge/Doom band from the US, and Dark Circles are a Hardcore band from Canada.

Both of Abstracter’s full length albums, (Tomb of Feathers and Wound Empire), feature regularly in my listening. And with good reason; their brand of heavy, blackened Sludge/Doom is expertly done. On this release they contribute 2 tracks, lasting almost 20 minutes in total.

Barathrum starts off showcasing the band’s blackened aspect, with dark, murky blast beats charging through a sea of tar. This rather quickly spends itself, leading into a slow, sludgy crawl through murkiest waters as Abstracter embrace their dirty Doom side. Occasional forays into speed and groovier territories comprise the remaining running time, with the singer’s thick growl accompanying you the entire way.

If you haven’t encountered Abstracter before then this song is as good an introduction as any into their harsh, underground Sludge Metal.

But we’re not done yet, as there’s a second track; Where All Pain Converges. This is a little longer than the first and generally a bit slower and more considered. If Barathrum showcased the band’s harsher side then this one showcases their more atmospheric. That’s not to say this isn’t harsh and heavy, (it is), but that it also has more of a blatant emotive quality to the guitars than the soul-crushing nihilism of the first. Mixing slower sections with some more upbeat parts, the overall mood is maintained throughout and Abstracter once again show why they’re so very good at what they do.

After this onslaught of despair and misery, we leave Abstracter to wallow in their pit of pain, and approach, timidly, Dark Circles. This band offer up a different form of gloom with their characterful brand of dark Hardcore. Being familiar with their previous work on MMXIV, it’s good to catch up with them again and here they give us 4 songs, lasting just under 13 minutes.

Ashen starts us off with a squeal of feedback before violently picking up the pace with the band’s dark blend of abrasive Hardcore. One of the things I like about Dark Circles is their ability to inject an emotive bleakness into their raging chaos, engaging the listener and prompting them to move closer, despite the inherent danger. The second track Void follows on in a similar theme, (but with added atmosphere), and both initial tracks blur by in a haze of anger and distorted malice.

After these typically short and nasty affairs both of the next tracks are much longer by comparison, relative to this split and to their work on MMXIV. Isolate starts immediately, all blackened teeth and bile. The longer playing time allows the band the opportunity to flesh out the more atmospheric side of their sound that briefly reared its head during Void. This shows itself to be an apocalyptic Sludge/Doom influence, heavy and foreboding, before the Hardcore energy picks up once more.

The final track is called Epilogue (Quietus) OP. 28 No. 4 and is a little different, as the name suggests; here the band give vent to a dark ambient side and swamp the listener with a slow-building tense piece of drone that creates a nicely unsettling and worrying atmosphere.

Both bands have contributed some very nice work to this split release, and although they do play different styles they also have more than enough overlap and similar themes to complement each other perfectly. As splits go, this works a treat and is definitely one you should check out.