Reviews – Page 516 – Wonderbox Metal

Midnight Odyssey – Shards of Silver Fade (Review)

Midnight Odyssey is an Australian one-man Black Metal band and this is his second album.

Well, what an epic release this is. Eight tracks, lasting a colossal 143 minutes. Shards of Silver Fade demands a big investment of your time. Is it worth it? You’re damn right it is.

Midnight Odyssey has a Black Metal base that has been expanded to include Ambient, Darkwave, Funeral Doom and Post-Black Metal, resulting in the weighty collection of tracks here.

In many ways it’s difficult to review a release such as this. It would be far better for you to just accept the fact that this is an album you need to get and go and get it. Once done, make a night-time trip to the top of some local hill or mountain, put on your headphones, gaze at the night sky and get lost in Midnight Odyssey’s transcendental, elemental, cosmic embrace.

In lieu of this, however, a darkened room will suffice for now; just zone out and concentrate on nothing but the music.

Anyway, if you have yet to hear them then my feeble prose will have to do. This is not a band to dip into for a quick fix of whatever you fancy, this is a band to pay attention to and take notice of.

These songs combine spacious Progressive Ambient/Doom with ancient Blackened moods that sound like they were old before metal was even invented. The combination of Darkwave, Doom and Black Metal is one that works incredibly well and sounds flawlessly delivered.

Grand orchestral passages sweep across the heavens and invoke feelings of loss and grandeur, frequently at the same time. This is highly emotive music but probably not in the way that you might think. Moving, is probably a better description. This is music that’s moving.

The vocals don’t let the side down either, with croaking Black Metal rasps sharing the stage with charismatic cleans that seem imbued with some form of long-lost wisdom.

An intriguing, ambitious and ultimately victorious merging of Burzum and Vinterriket; Shards of Silver Fade is easily up to the task of fitting in with such hallowed company.

If I haven’t made this clear by now, Shards of Silver Fade is a must listen. It’s a long one, of course, but well worth it. I suggest you start now.

Dys Inbunden – One with Morbidity, the Opus Misanthropy (Review)

Dys Inbunden are a Swedish Black Metal band and this is their second album.

Dys Ibunden have crafted a ferocious assault on the senses with their new album. It’s an intense 87 minutes of music that will leave you battered, bruised and probably sacrificed to some underworld deity or other. And yes, you read the playing time correctly. There is a lot of Black Metal here.

The songs are on the longer side and no opportunity to spread their dark message is missed. The majority of the album is hyper-aggressive Black Metal, so beloved of the Swedish style. The band skilfully add a bit of atmosphere and depth to this, however, otherwise the long playing time would mean this would get very boring, very quickly. Dys Inbunden play a more mature, complex version of the Swedish Black Metal style, in many ways, and these songs work because of this.

The vocals are a cross between standard Black Metal screams and a more Cradle of Filth-esque piercing delivery. Occasional cleans appear; these are used sparingly and are kind of like semi-heroic, chanting hymns. Or something.

The band have a rather muscular sound, which is unusual for a Black Metal band. The bass makes its presence felt and the combination of the guitars and drums makes it feel like you’ve been punched in the face a few hundred times.

If hostile Black Metal is your thing and you’re not adverse to a bit of depth and atmosphere then check out Dys Inbunden

Wrvth – Wrvth (Review)

Wrvth, (otherwise known as Wrath of Vesuvius), are from the US and play Death Metal. This is their third album.

Well this is a little different. Progressive/Technical Death Metal is always a pleasure to hear when it’s done well and Wrvth pull all of the right moves on this release.

Although it has its fair share of fretboard wizardry and crazy, complicated playing, there’s a lot more here than is the norm for Technical Death Metal. This release also features a melodic edge and a good groove when it wants to. Add to this a keen Progressive edge that borders on the Post-Metal, (Post-Death Metal?), in places and this album is a stormer. Oh, a saxophone also makes an appearance too.

Mixed in with the chaos and carnage are some introspective moments of calm that largely seem to be there just to make everything else sound heavier and crazier. It works, of course, and the songs on this release are a complicated melange of Progressive restraint and chaotic mayhem.

The musicianship is first-rate and these songs expertly combine Progressive elements into a Technical Death Metal framework that allows the band to steal the best from both worlds. Technicality is apparent but the Progressive elements keep the songs focused and allow for emotive passages rather than just a procession of impressive riffs and time changes.

It’s like a strange cross between Protest the Hero, Pyrrhon, Gorguts and The Faceless. The reality is that Wrvth sound every bit as good as that mash up sounds. The only thing missing is the clean vocals.

Speaking of vocals, the singer does his best impression of someone attempting to destroy their throat. He screams himself almost hoarse and when that’s been accomplished he switches to hostile growls and roars.

This is an innovative and impressive release from a band who are clearly not content to be average. I love releases like this. Here we find a winning combination of aggression, restraint, feeling, depth, chaos and outright passion.

Wrvth have just become one of my new favourite bands.

Skinless – Only the Ruthless Remain (Review)

Skinless are from the US and play Brutal Death Metal. This is their fifth album.

Skinless have returned! Anticipation is high with this release.

Immediately the band make a strong entrance with a massive sound, evil guttural vocals and those ultra-sexy Skinless riffs that only they do so well.

It’s a pleasure to hear the guttural stylings of the original vocalist once more. He personifies the stereotypically rough, ultra-low Death Metal growl and as such is absolutely one of the best at performing them.

Skinless have always had a certain special knack for combining aggressive carnage with brutal grooves. The slower, groovier riffs are a particular favourite of mine. Slow or fast though, there’s always an infectious energy about them.

The songs are all winners and each one earns its place in the Death Metal premier league. Although the band are Hellishly brutal, there’s more than that going on here as the riffs tell a bloody story and the drums thump out their malevolent beat. Memorable, impressive songs are the meaty main course in this sumptuous feast of rotten flesh.

Skinless are heavy and they’ve always been exceptionally heavy. Death Metal by its very nature is a heavy form of music, but there’s heavy and then there’s HEAVY. Skinless own the latter.

The music on this album should be a wakeup call for any band playing this style. Daddy is home. While Skinless have been away the Brutal Death Metal scene has multiplied and mutated, as these things always do, but who cares? Skinless are back and ready to show everyone how it’s done.

I’m incredibly pleased with this return to the fray by one of the best Death Metal bands out there.

Skinless, you have been missed.

Ashtar – Ilmasaari (Review)

Ashtar are from Switzerland and play Blackened Doom. This is their début album.

Ashtar play music that incorporates elements of Black Metal, Doom and Sludge. I do love a bit of Blackened Doom, and if you’ve been keeping up with the likes of Usnea, Mourning Pyre, Atriarch and Upyr then Ashtar should be your cup of tea too.

Even though the album cover screams Classic Doom, Ashtar’s musical aesthetic is more on the Black Metal side of things. Aspects of Classic Doom do make it into their sound, but these have been Blackened and corrupted into the sickening Sludge mass that they are now.

The vocals are mainly Blackened shrieks that seem to scratch at the back of your eyes like something unclean that wants to come into our world. The singer seems to have a knack for this kind of malevolent rasp, although she does occasionally use her voice in a few other ways throughout these six tracks.

The songs are bleak and sobering glimpses into the mindset of their creators. There are enough riffs and quality guitar lines here to keep anyone satisfied, but Ashtar are primarily about the mood and atmosphere that they create with their chosen medium.

The band are a duo and as such the music is relatively minimalistic, however it rapidly seems to expand to fill a large amount of space with its gloominess and it never seems like you’re listening to anything other than a full band. This is especially true when they incorporate additional sounds and instrumentation into their songs to further deepen the atmosphere.

There’s something extremely satisfying about this release. From the occult feelings to the Blackened bile; from the Doom aura to the impressive riffs; Ashtar have crafted a release that will appeal to the darkness inside.

Highly recommended.

Nightslug – Loathe (Review)

Nightslug are a German Sludge band and this is their second album.

Nightslug sound as their name suggests – ponderous and heavy. This is discordant, ugly Sludge that grips you by their hair and forces your face into the vomit. This, of course, is something you like. So eat it all up. Eat it now.

The songs have a good groovy swagger and the guitars steal the show with their cocky bravado and murky heaviness. The vocals shouldn’t be discounted, however, as they sound like the aural equivalent of an acid splash to the face.

The bass makes its presence felt like a steel girder that props everything up and works with the guitars to create a solid and crushing foundation for the songs to destroy everything around them.

Feedback, distortion and an overall dirty, grim aesthetic is par for the course with Sludge but Nightslug do it with style. They have a slightly unusual sound in their guitar tone and the way the vocals are mixed. It works exceedingly well though, and gives them a distinctive flavour. It reminds me of, (although sounds different from), the production of Rabies Caste’s début album Let the Soul Out and Cut the Vein, which also had an atypical sound. Like Rabies Caste though, they have taken the Sludge template as handed down by Eyehategod and made it firmly their own.

Also like Rabies Caste, Nightslug specialise in songs that are incredibly catchy and memorable. Certainly not in a radio-friendly way, of course, but these are riffs and tunes that stick in the head like an infected nail. It’s painful, but a twisted stroke of master workmen and the Sludge Gods should be proud of them.

I love a good Sludge band and Loathe will be firmly a part of my playlists for some time to come.

This is one you must check out.

Favourite Track: Vile Pigs. With a main riff that just won’t quit, this song is as catchy as Hell.

Void Paradigm – Earth’s Disease (Review)

Hailing from France, this is the second album from Black Metallers Void Paradigm.

Here’s a band who come from the Deathspell Omega school of Black Metal. They’ve learned from the masters and have now applied what they know to their own creation. This is music that’s hypnotic and warped.

Straight from the start the band show that this is abrasive, discordant Black Metal that sings to its own twisted hymn sheet set to music that shouldn’t rightly exist in our reality.

Corrupted riffs spread their strange melodies and nefarious, atypical sounds abound throughout these five songs. The creative flair of a flawed genius is clearly on display, clashing with the ingenuity of a madman.

Speaking of madmen, the singer would certainly seem to qualify. His emotive-but-jarring shouts will be an acquired taste for some I’m sure, but his performance level and passion of delivery cannot be doubted.

So, this is not your standard Black Metal affair and Void Paradigm should be applauded for this. Earth’s Disease features a treasure trove of interesting ideas and different sounds. The songwriting of the band is unusual but the result is very pleasing.

The aesthetics of the band are familiar even if the music is not. That these have been filtered through the prism of a very creative and aspiring band makes Earth’s Disease a release to be savoured and enjoyed at length.

The dark, swirling core of the music is augmented by Avant-Garde elements and there’s enough stimulating and inspired flourishes here to really impress. Progressive and Experimental elements also combine with these aforementioned aspects of their sound, firming up Void Paradigm’s mastery of their chosen dark art.

It’s an off-kilter and disturbing world that the band have carved for themselves across these 39 minutes, and one that cries out to be explored; just be wary on your travels.

For Black Metal that’s individual, charismatic, esoteric and wonderfully obtuse, look no further, for Void Paradigm are here.

Barús – Barús (Review)

Barús are a Progressive Death Metal band from France and this is their début EP.

The music that Barús play is complex and unforgiving. This is not music for the weak.

The band’s take on Death Metal is one that combines the Technical and Progressive Death Metal sub-genres into something pretty special. There are even some hints at Post-Metal and Black Metal here and there.

The songs evoke complex reinterpretations of bands such as Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Mithras, Nile, Akercocke, etc. – bands that are not content to be constrained by the norm and reach for greater and higher. Barús now join their hallowed ranks.

The dense guitar riffs seem to layer on top of themselves and Barús’ music seems to have levels upon levels of extremity to hide itself in. For all of this though they are also aware that sometimes simpler is better, but even here there’s usually a lot going on.

Sometimes twisted melodies appear to float up out of the chaos to bring an otherworldly element to their already esoteric sound. A great deal of variation exists across these 4 tracks and each song is both self-contained and part of a greater whole.

The vocals are predominantly deep grunts but a whole load of other vocalisations are used too, from semi-clean moans to spoken word to chants and everything in between, including, briefly, actual singing.

I love it when you find a band like Barús who are willing and able to take the standard Death Metal template and experiment with it until it’s mutated into their own personal view of the genre. This EP has a personality and style of its own and these songs are involving and engaging from start.

An extremely promising beginning for Barús. This EP is a strong start to their existence and if they manage to keep up the quality levels then their début album will be fantastic. Here’s hoping.

Distant Sun – Dark Matter (Review)

Distant Sun are a Russian Power/Speed Metal band and this is their début album.

This is Power Metal played in the European style with a nice influence from US Thrash/Speed Metal felt throughout.

The vocals are a little grittier than most European-influenced bands and this falls in line with the Thrash influence. The singer does have a good voice though and is reminiscent of the singer of Metallica in some ways, but thankfully not overly so.

The band are comfortable playing chuggy, Thrashy riffs as well as more stirring, melodic ones. Overall the album is quite riff-heavy and the guitars have a nice bite to them.

Distant Sun’s style is kind of late-90s, combining the Power, Heavy and Thrash Metal styles of the time into a kind of Blind Guardian/Testament/Iced Earth/Annihilator melting pot. Add to this a bit of an 80s Thrash influence too and you have Dark Matter.

The songs are a good combination of these styles and frequently result in tracks that are both high-octane and catchy.

The band members in Distant Sun are also active in Shadow Host and Starsoup; both are top-notch bands and Distant Sun is another great outing from them.

I firmly recommend this and suggest you check them out.

Maruta – Remain Dystopian (Review)

This is the third album from US Grindcore band Maruta.

This is one I’ve been looking forward to. Maruta play ferocious and ultra-modern Deathgrind with plenty of violence and brutality.

There are some top quality guest vocalists on this album, (At the Gates, Pig Destroyer), but that is merely the icing on the vocal cake, as the grunts and screams that populate these seventeen tracks are more than competent enough to hold their own.

The songs are short and nasty. There’s lots of blast beats and chaotic drumming going on while the guitars rage and tear through the playing time.

Strange and atypical riffs share space with more traditional Death Metal grooves and there’s a touch of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s unorthodox take on brutality on this release, as well as a feeling of Crowpath’s equally unorthodox style.

There’s a little here for all Extreme Metal fans. However, mashed up together like this it ends up being a formidable proposition for those not fully inducted into the league of Deathgrind. For paid-up members though, Remain Dystopian is a twisted, nasty joy to experience.

Deathgrind for the modern connoisseur.