Reviews – Page 508 – Wonderbox Metal

Loputon Suo – Loputon Suo (Review)

Loputon Suo are a Finnish Black Metal band and this is their début demo.

Lasting only 12 minutes, this is a dense, murky affair with elements of Melodic Black Metal and Death Metal included.

The vocals are bestial growls that are worryingly feral. They give the band a feeling of something dangerous and uncompromising. Decent riffs and a dark aura work with the melodic guitars in a complementary fashion.

When the ferocious growls are mixed with the atavistic music and Old-School melodies, something quite special emerges. This demo has an obscure and authentic feel above all else.

The recording is stripped back, raw and befitting of both the demo status and the style. However, that’s not to say it’s a bad sound, and it’s quite endearing in a harsh, violent way.

Very enjoyable. Check this out for your underground, Blackened fill.

Horrendous – Anareta (Review)

Horrendous are a US Death Metal band and this is their third album.

Playing Old-School/Traditional Death Metal, this is the follow-up to 2014’s impressive Ecdysis.

Following on from this previous release, Horrendous continue to offer a well-rounded Death Metal package, full of interesting riffs, decent melodies, intricate solos and actual well-thought-out songs.

Their approach to the material is refreshing, even given the Old-School nature of the music; it’s recognisable as instantly Old-School Death Metal but it doesn’t sound dated at all. Horrendous are one of the few bands that play this style who are trying to move it forwards rather than just wallowing in what was released decades ago.

There’s something deeply satisfying about this music. It demonstrates a band who are able to compose songs that have a lot of depth and atmosphere without ever devolving into filler-esque extremity or retro-parody. Horrendous have well and truly stamped their own personality and vision on a well-worn style.

Once again, the recording is warm and seems to pulsate with life. One of the things I enjoyed on Ecdysis was that you could hear the bass and on Anareta this is still the case.

The singer’s voice is still a pleasing mix of Obituary/Morbid Angel and he spends his time on Anareta providing a compelling focal point for the music.

On this latest album Horrendous demonstrate why they are quite rightly lauded as one of the best when it comes to this type of Death Metal. As much as I enjoyed Ecdysis I think on this latest album they’ve upped their game even more.

Impressive and essential.

Meuchelmord – Apathie (Review)

Meuchelmord is a one-man Black Metal band from Germany and this is his latest release.

This is Depressive Black Metal that starts gently with a soft piano intro and quickly descends into the kind of despondent, oppressive music that Depressive Black Metal is all about.

Aspects of Shoegaze are present in the mix and the songs easily invoke feelings of sadness and nostalgia in the listener.

The vocals are mainly high-pitched screams that are just as serrated and barbed as you would expect, lashing out from the down-beat music like savage whips.

There’s a decent, fuzzy guitar sound that strikes just the right tone between being cold and emotive. The tracks are straightforward takes on the sub-genre and have enough dynamics and content to work.

Piano parts are artfully laced throughout the tracks just enough to add a further veneer of melancholy to things.

I favour this kind of music the slower and more miserable it sounds, and Apathie is no different.

Try this out for size.

Favourite Track: Jahr.

Stellar Master Elite – III: Eternalism – The Psychospherical Chapter (Review)

This is the third album from German Black Metallers Stellar Master Elite.

Here we have Black Metal that managers to foster an air of festering rot alongside a sophisticated malevolent darkness. It’s an intriguing combination that gives Stellar Master Elite a distincive flavour when compared to a lot of bands.

Their music has a depressive, Doom-drenched Black Metal base that’s not a million miles away from a band like Forgotten Tomb in spirit, although in reality they don’t sound too similar. The music is powerful and atmospheric without being pompous or overblown. This is very definitely epic music, but in a miserable, negativity-infused way.

The deep growling vocals consolidate the feelings of Funeral Doom/Death-gone-Black Metal. The singer’s voice is full of dark promise and has a gruff, tight character that allows it to be both brutal and compact. The screamed vocals are more typical-Black Metal, but no less effective for this. Clean vocals appear on the fourth track, adding yet another dimension to the band’s music.

Keyboards/synths/Hellsounds add a considerable amount to the already emotive Blackened dirge and it quickly becomes apparent that this is an integral aspect of the band’s music. They’re also creative and atypical in many respects, which is something I like.

This is a diverse and well-paced album, with lots to keep the listener interested and many different moods and palettes used effectively. There’s plenty of feeling thrown into the mix here, as well as a decent helping of prime-riffage. Occasionally the streamlined darkness that the band peddle brings to mind Enslaved and their sterling work in similar areas.

This is an impressive collection of long songs that successfully fuses Black Metal, Doom and all things dark and evil into 63 minutes of quality Metal.

Enjoy.

He Whose Ox Is Gored – The Camel, the Lion, the Child (Review)

He Whose Ox Is Gored are a Progressive Doom band from the US. This is their début album.

The band have in interesting and individual take on music, fusing elements of Doom, Progressive Rock, Shoegaze and Psychedelia, into a tight ball of Progressive Atmospheric Doom, (for lack of a better term).

This is music that uses Doom as a base and adds Progressive Rock and Shoegaze elements to it to create something a bit different and a lot special.

The music has multiple vocal styles, delivered by both male and female singers. These are diverse in delivery and used sparingly as necessary to complement the needs of the songs. Frequently understated, but always relevant, the vocals act as additional instruments used to enrich the music further.

Synths are employed to enhance the already well-textured songs and allow the eclectic music to have a firm, emotive foundation on which to build their diverse music.

This is highly textured music that plays with mood and emotions freely and easily. There’s a resplendent Post-Metal quality to the music that rubs shoulders with the grittier nature of the Doom influences and harsh male screaming, as well as the in-the-background-but-essential-anyway nature of the synths.

The Camel, the Lion, the Child is an exemplar of individualistic music done right and a shining example of a band ploughing their own path through the overburdened musical scenery. If you like music with a lot of character that isn’t afraid to be itself then I heartily recommend this album.

Analepsy – Dehumanization by Supremacy (Review)

This is the début EP by Portuguese Brutal Death Metallers Analepsy.

This is a Slam Death Metal release that may only last 22 minutes but makes its presence known in no uncertain terms.

Deep pignoise vocals are the order of business, with the singer squealing and growling for his life.

The music is largely devoid of blast beats, (although not completely), but what they lack in speed they more than make up for in heaviness and intensity. These are short, violent tracks that feature a crushing collection of riffs rather than sped-up extremity for the sake of it. Heavy and brutal it may be, but it also teeters on the atmospheric on occasion, which is unexpected and great to hear.

There is some good writing on this short release, with some interesting ideas. Due to this, the band largely avoid becoming just Devourment/Dying Fetus clones and instead create songs that actually have a bit of longevity to them, which is saying a lot for many bands, never mind one of this style.

There’s a vibrant immediacy to these tracks that can’t be denied, and fans of Brutal Death Metal full of breakdowns and chugging heaviness should take note. If you can’t get enough of bands such as Coprocephalic and Infecting the Swarm then Analepsy should be another one who are high on your must-have list.

By God, this is enjoyable! It’s hard to form cogent thoughts when all you want to do is bounce around to their high energy carnage. Slick, professional and boasting an album cover that’s very striking, Analepsy have found a definite fan in me.

You should definitely get this one.

The Unravelling – Tear a Hole in the Collective Vision (Review)

This is the second album from Canadian Progressive/Industrial Rock band The Unravelling.

The Unravelling’s music is modern, Progressive Rock with Industrial elements. It’s layered with emotive content and depth of songwriting.

Recalling elements of bands such as Filter, Nine Inch Nails, Sunna, Gravity Kills, Tool and Katatonia, Tear a Hole in the Collective Vision is 44 minutes of music that draws you in with its dark edge and personal themes.

This is a diverse collection of songs with a great variety in mood, pace and dynamics across the 10 tracks. It’s easy to view a band such as this as providing the listener with a musical journey to go on, travelling down the various routes and paths with the band as they explore the moods and atmospheres of their self-created landscape.

Strong vocals provide a focal point for the music and the singer’s slightly atypical voice fits the atypical music to a tee.

This is an impressive album and should definitely be checked out by anyone who enjoys this electronic approach to atmospheric Rock.

Give it a try.

Iniquitous Savagery – Subversions of the Psyche (Review)

Iniquitous Savagery are a Death Metal band from the UK. This is their début album.

This is raw, underground Brutal Death Metal that’s just as comfortable grinding it out with a groovy riff as it is pounding along with blast beats.

The songs are well-written slabs of barbarism, but are not without a sense of dynamics and pacing. The band know full well when to take their collective feet off the accelerator and throw in some breakdowns or slower, crushing riffs to keep things interesting.

Subversions of the Psyche has a production that’s warm and wet, as if it’s covered in the blood of a fresh kill. It’s rough around the edges just enough to lend the music an air of the unstable without actually compromising the strength of the songs at all.

The deep growling vocals are what you’d expect for the style, but they’re performed well nonetheless. The singer has a quite satisfying growl that seems to share bandwidth with the guitars, working in sync with them to commit carnage in the name of suffering and mayhem.

There’s plenty of chug ‘n’ groove ‘n’ blast ‘n’ squeal ‘n’ breakdown on Subversions of the Psyche and it all adds up to a very gratifying experience for the listener. This is Brutal Death Metal from the underground, played with enthusiasm and love for the genre.

A recommended listen for fans of brutality.

Deluge – Æther (Review)

This is the début album from Deluge, a French Post-Black Metal band.

The album cover alone was enough to entice me to listen to this as a priority, never mind anything else. For me, it’s a cover that promises much.

So on to the music – does it deliver on these early promises?

Well, it starts off without any fanfare or pointless intros; blast beats and an absolutely thunderous sound erupt from your speakers, and it’s like being hit by a wave of churning, violent noise. It’s a very strong opening.

Deluge play fast, violent Black Metal that’s enhanced and added to by more restrained and atmospheric Post-Metal influences. Merging these together, the band create Post-Black Metal that employs the best tools from both styles. But this is a merging that, for the most part, preferentially gives free rein to one or the other of the two; switching between styles with the effortless ease of a professional.

The songs benefit greatly from this approach. The blasting venom is first-rate and the more considered atmospherics are top-of-the-line as well. Resplendent melodies combine with the vitriolic Blackened delivery to create songs that are more powerful than if they were simply one thing or the other.

The vocals are angry Hardcore-esque screamed shouts that spit the French lyrics like they’re hot and poisonous.

Apart from the strength of the songs, (which is the main thing of course), and the album cover, the other main strength of Æther is the positively immense production. Sharp, modern and colossal; this is a recording that suits the band’s delivery and character.

So, back to the original question – does Æther deliver? Yes. Very much, yes.

Simulacrum – Sky Divided (Review)

This is the second album from Progressive Metallers Simulacrum, who are from Finland.

This is an ambitious album, containing just over an hour of Progressive, sci-fi-themed Metal that incorporates elements of Power Metal and a slightly more aggressive, heavier Modern/Thrash Metal influence into its Progressive Framework.

As befits the subject matter, this is a very keyboard-heavy release, with both Classical tinges and Electronica coming into play. In many ways the keyboards are the stars of the show; they’re never too far from the action and are an essential part of it, as opposed to being an additionality that could be done without.

The songs are well-written and draw the listener into the vivid world that the band create. Simulacrum certainly know how to play and there are more than enough leads and solos to keep the guitar-fanatics happy.

The singer has a decent voice and his delivery suits the ostentatious nature of the music. Good harmonies and melodies are used and combined with the music it results in the majority of these songs being quite memorable and catchy.

A strong recording allows the band to develop an immersive atmosphere that they manage to keep up for the full playing time. While the keyboards do the most to promote the sci-fi elements of the music, (alongside the vocals/lyrics, of course), it’s the guitars and drums that lend the sound such a modern edge.

Simulacrum are to be commended on this album. They’ve managed to straddle a few different styles within their concept, and it all fits together and works wonderfully.

Well, I have very much enjoyed this. Highly recommended.