Reviews – Page 490 – Wonderbox Metal

Atrocious Abnormality – Formed in Disgust (Review)

This is the second album from US Brutal Death Metallers Atrocious Abnormality.

If you like the classic sound of Death Metal à la Cannibal Corpse, Defeated Sanity, Severe Torture and the like, then you’ll love this latest release from Atrocious Abnormality. This is ripping Death Metal with lashings of brutality and bloodshed, all delivered in 31 minutes of riff-hungry carnage.

Atrocious Abnormality really have got their songwriting abilities dialled in. As paragons of brutality these songs also have a whole slew of memorable riffs and just enough melody to cause the guitars to stick out without sacrificing any of the ugliness. Top work.

Each of these tracks do exactly what you’d want this type of Death Metal song to do. Here we have complexity and technicality without going too far down the rabbit hole; simple, heavy riffs without becoming too basic; catchiness without over-familiarity; speed and groove intertwined…Formed in Disgust really has a lot to offer the discerning Metal fan.

I’m very happy with this release. I love a good slab of timeless Death Metal, and Atrocious Abnormality have delivered. It’s especially pleasing as it’s quite easy for a release of this nature to come across as stale and boring – just a repeat of what’s come before. What’s nice about Formed in Disgust though is that the band somehow manage to breathe fresh life into the style they play through sheer force of will and decent songwriting skills.

I heartily recommend this one – get your fill and do it now.

Battle Path – Ambedo (Review)

Battle Path are a Progressive Blackened Doom band from the US and this is their third album.

After two extremely gratifying releases, Battle Path are back with a slight change in direction. This time the band have shifted to a more experimental version of their sound, adding keyboards and synths to create expansive songs with an increase in atmosphere.

The blackened bile is still here though, it’s just now wrapped up in a Progressive Metal coating that gives it quite a 70s sheen in some ways, although not properly of course as they didn’t have Black Metal back then. But if they did…

The crushing Doom is still here too. It’s also swaddled in atmospherics that makes everything sound grander and more epic than the band’s previous work. It’s heavy, emotive and devastating.

In reality, of course, there’s no clear delineation between the Black Metal and Doom aspects, with everything flowing and merging together quite nicely. The band have merely added to this already potent cocktail with keyboards/synths, as well as some Post-Metal influences here and there, reminiscent of Cult of Luna, (as embodied on the instrumental title track, for example); in some ways the band are mirroring Cult of Luna’s development into more experimental pastures that offer a wider, more expansive musical scope. Battle Path and Cult of Luna don’t really sound like each other though, it should be stressed, but they do seem to be on similar journeys in some respects.

Vocally we get harsh, blackened screams for the most part, although these are added to by some bowel-shakingly deep growls on occasion. These are used relatively minimally compared to a lot of bands, with the music being allowed to do the talking for the most part, even when the serrated screams are ringing out.

With this album Battle Path have improved and progressed on their already impressive sound and have produced an album that shows a band truly coming into their own. The added progressive elements have enhanced and improved their core delivery so that Ambedo is a truly wonderful listen.

I loved Battle Path before this, and it seems that I love them even more now.

The Great Curve – Something Grand Is Dying (Review)

The Great Curve are from the US and this is their second release. They play experimental/Progressive Rock.

The Great Curve play an interesting and richly-coloured form of Rock that involves a complex blend of technicality and emotion.

The music has a certain cinematic quality to it and could easily be viewed as a soundtrack of sorts. The tracks are synth, keyboard, strings and piano-heavy, featuring layers upon layers of instrumentation and vocalisations. This is Progressive Rock in the truest sense, sharing common ground with 70s sci-fi-influenced greats, albeit updated for the current era.

The singing on these tracks is used purely as another form of instrument that blends in with the overall musical framework. There are no “lead vocals” as you would expect from most bands, (well there are, they just blend in with the music so well). This leaves the band in the curious position of kind of being an instrumental band, but with vocals, (as odd as that sounds).

This is just one of many contradictions and juxtapositions that the band heartily embrace in order to get the sound that they have. Another example of this is that The Great Curve sound, in some ways, like a Djent band only without any of the Djent guitars. Yes, I know that also sounds odd, but it’s a strong impression; the band have the technical drumming, electronic enhancements and experimental mindset that good Djent can have, but without any of the Djent guitar riffs that mark the style so well as to make it an easily-stale sub-genre.

So, if you take a Djent band, (minus guitars), add a Devin Townsend influence, add a science-fiction-esque influence, add a touch of the instrumental, (maybe Russian Circles or Cloudkicker), wrap it up in Progressive music and frame it as a soundtrack…it’s a good start to understanding The Great Curve.

Or you can just give them a listen, which I heartily recommend.

There’s a lot to enjoy here, so much so that you’ll need a few spins to properly appreciate just how good this is. For all its initial impact, it’s definitely a grower too, like all of the best music really. Something Grand Is Dying worms its way into your head and stays there, subtly working away at its own agenda. Before you know it you’re returning to it again to revel in its sense of grandeur.

Hopefully, this grandeur isn’t dying; hopefully it’s just getting started. Hopefully, there’ll be more where this came from in the future.

Stellarvore – Tehom (Review)

This is the first release from Stellarvore, a Black Metal band from Germany.

This is slithering, dark Black Metal that epitomises the style and uses the tools at its disposal to great effect.

Shards of melody are used as weapons and Stellarvore have a good melodic grasp of what makes an enjoyable Black Metal song.

These tracks are both melodic and atmospheric without being overly so; you wouldn’t describe this as Melodic Black Metal or Atmospheric Black Metal, for example, even though both aspects are used effectively throughout.

These songs are paeans to darkness and evil, manifesting in dark worship and malevolent moods. The singer’s cold rasp is like liquid, carrying with it a fluid quality that speaks of melted ice.

Discounting the intro and outro tracks, we get 4 longish songs that demonstrate a band who understand how to make music worth listening to. This is Black Metal that has its roots firmly in the second wave of Black Metal, but that also incorporates melody, atmosphere and even a bit of Post-Black Metal reflection into its delivery.

Tehom is an involving and engaging 35 minutes. It’s an impressive début for a new band and I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.

Go check them out.

Pokerface – Divide and Rule (Review)

This is the début album from Russian Thrash Metal band Pokerface.

Pokerface play Thrash Metal with a modern sheen that nonetheless takes its cues from the early, aggressive style of the genre. Think a modern take on older Kreator and Slayer via a bit of Dew Scented.

The singer has an impressive snarl that she uses to great effect. She varies her attack and includes higher and lower screams, as well as even the odd bit of spoken-word.

The musicianship is tight and first-rate without being flashy. There are solos aplenty and these are very enjoyable.

The production is strong enough to showcase the band at their best but not polished enough to give them that manufactured feeling. Pokerface are the real deal and Divide and Rule is 36 minutes of ferocious underground Thrash Metal.

The songs are sharp and fast, going straight for the jugular with lethal intent. Songwriting ability is clearly valued highly and there are lots of hooks and catchy moments across these 10 tracks. The songs are well-written and the performance is energetic. There’s a lot of content on this album and the band offer up a meaty feast to be hungrily devoured by Thrash fans everywhere.

It’s really nice to hear this kind of Thrash Metal. In an age where a lot of Thrash bands seem to be take the retro/comedy route, seem compelled to have some form of nonsense gimmick, or blend their Thrash with other styles, it’s great to hear a band like Pokerface who play no-nonsense aggressive music, backed up by talent, skill and confidence.

I could easily imagine this band being snapped up by one of the larger labels and given wider exposure. Let’s hope that happens, eh?

If you’re looking for a bit of satisfying Thrash Metal with good songs and a killer instinct, look no further.

Highly recommended.

Latitudes – Old Sunlight (Review)

This is the third album from UK Post-Metal/Sludge band Latitudes.

Latitudes are the kind of band who are off doing their own thing and everyone should be happy and pleased that they are.

Latitudes have an apocalyptically heavy sound that masterfully utilises the wall-of-guitars approach to create cascading tsunamis of distorted feeling. Unusually though, this is shot through with streaking arcs of bright melody, raising the emotive levels of the tracks tenfold. Needless to say, this is a talent that most bands lack.

There’s a distinct Sludge-fuelled Progressive element to their Post-Metal that lends the album a cinematic quality, as if the songs are describing various scenes and stories throughout. This is further enhanced by the fact that a sizeable chunk of Old Sunlight is instrumental, with the vocals only appearing at key points throughout.

When vocals do appear, they’re soft, angelic and gloriously melodic. Adding a melancholic sweetness to the tracks, it shows how well Old Sunlight treads the fine line between negativity and positivity, or classically; darkness and light. This is a theme for Latitudes, with their music managing to blur the boundaries between these two points, so much so that they frequently do both at the same time, as hinted at in the name of the album.

The band certainly have a talent for writing these dual-purpose songs, with yet another example of this being complexity vs simplicity, again, usually concurrently. When channelled into creating soundscapes that are both bright and hopeful, yet dark and hopeless, it’s a very beguiling and enticing combination.

This is the kind of album you return to repeatedly, never quite having fully explored all of its winding avenues.

Join me and bask in the light of the dying sun.

Aterra – All Born in Pain (Review)

Aterra are from Poland and this is their début album. They play modern Metal.

This album is full of heavy guitars and enough beats to dance to. This is distinctly from the modern school of Metal that fuses Metalcore with elements of Thrash and even Nu-Metal.

This is quite a varied release, with plenty of different styles and flavours touched upon over the 37 minutes of music here. There are frequent small interludes between the main tracks and these take a wide variety of different forms, adding texture as the album unfolds.

How to describe the band…take a bit of Sepultura, (Chaos A.D./Roots-era, vocals and music), a pinch of Korn’s funkiness, some of the Metal stylings of Darkest Hour and Killswitch Engage, the added electronic parts of Rammstein…it’s quite a melting pot of influences that makes me quite nostalgic for this kind of music during the late 90s and early 00s in some ways.

This has the variety and pop-Metal foundation of Nu-Metal, hardened up by Metalcore’s grittier influence. And, unless you’re completely allergic to this kind of thing, it works well. This is helped greatly by the fact that the vocals, (for the most part), are mainly barked out at full volume throughout. Yes, there is the odd spoken-word and clean vocal, but for the most part they’re uncompromisingly un-radio friendly, which is always a bonus.

Very good. Loud, brash, unapologetic and shamelessly enjoyable. All Born in Pain works well.

Recommended.

Temisto – Temisto (Review)

Temisto are from Sweden and this is their début album. They play Death Metal.

This is unusual Death Metal that falls somewhere between the primitive, atavistic side of the spectrum and the more exploratory, mystical side.

The band have some interesting riffs, as they are not afraid to let a bit of complexity and technicality sneak into the guitars. They also allow a bit of melody to appear here and there, resulting in songs that have a lot of different facets to them. It’s a welcome change of pace for something of this ilk, and the songs have a kind of morbid sophistication to them because of it.

The tracks are a beguiling combination of speed, atmosphere and darkly occult feelings. The atypical melodies and dynamic leads and solos really add spice to the songs and the band have a real talent for taking the foundations of the genre and warping them with foul black magics.

The singer’s feral howlings further cement the feeling of listening to something a bit special, as they too are just that little bit different to the norm for Death Metal, enough to add another dimension to the band and to give the songs a rather old-school feel.

This album is all about the guitars for me though, although clearly everything else plays a major role in helping this album to ascend to the higher, more rarefied Death Metal peaks; the riffs, melodies and interesting ideas just don’t stop, and I’ve really, really enjoyed this release.

It’s also quite rare for a Death Metal band to have a more considered and reflective side, so this is a nice touch on the album too.

Top marks. Looking for something a little different with your Death Metal? Check out Temisto.

Rectified Spirit – The Waste Land (Review)

This is the second album from Indian Metal band Rectified Spirit.

The band play Thrash Metal with a modern edge and both Progressive and Power Metal influences.

Clean vocals that are reminiscent of the singer of Nevermore are twinned with harsher screeching shouts that recall the singer of Soilwork if he had a less-deep voice. There are lots of very memorable melodies and the singer has considerable vocal talent.

Musically the band’s songs take a modern view on aggressive Thrash which they then add Progressive/Power Metal flourishes to. The resulting tracks are very enjoyable and have a lot to offer the discerning Metal fan.

The Waste Land is a well-written slab of Metal and owes equal debt to both the American and European Metal scenes, taking cues from both and combining them effectively into their own identity.

The band know their way around their instruments, but this is never at the expense of the songs themselves. There are boatloads of decent riffs that are arranged well; the band firmly concentrate on their songsmithing and the album greatly benefits from this focus.

This is a quality release with a lot of mileage in it.

Grieved – Grieved (Review)

Grieved are a Swedish Hardcore band and this is their début album.

Grieved play dark Hardcore with plenty of venom and bite. This is a grim, nightmare vision of Punk and Metal, where destruction is commonplace and fear is everywhere.

Riffs are darkly emotive in a downbeat style and the songs take the positive energy of Hardcore and turn it in on itself, cannibalising and tearing at itself so that only the energy remains, inverted and corrupted. It is still a vibrant energy though, and these songs bristle with life and dark potency.

The singer screams out his words sounding like shattered glass given voice. His delivery is consistently engaging and has enough charisma and character despite essentially just shouting through these 29 minutes.

Across these songs the band show themselves to be adept at songwriting. These tracks are well-thought-out and have an emotive energy to them that’s undeniable. This is brought to the fore by the guitars and their interplay with the vocals, both of which are very satisfying in their own right.

There’s very little speed or urgency on this, it’s pretty much mainly mid-to-slow paced, revelling in its broodiness and building intent. When faster parts do appear, it’s like a coiled serpent has suddenly decided to strike.

I have really enjoyed this. I like that it focuses on songs and structure to deliver its negativity rather than overly relying on pure brutality or rage; this is more Born from Pain or Throwdown than Converge, although the positive message is entirely missing.

Highly recommended.