Reviews – Page 532 – Wonderbox Metal

Sarpanitum – Blessed Be My Brothers… (Review)

Sarpanitum are a UK Death Metal band and this is their second album.

Sarpanitum take a three-pronged approach to their Death Metal that combines traditional Death Metal, melodic atmospheres and a touch of Black Metal’s heart of darkness.

The band’s melodic edge is a sharp one and it’s incorporated directly into their heaviness rather than seeming like an addition to it as is frequently the case with other bands that combine brutality and melodics.

Added keyboard sounds subtly enhance this already keen melodic sensibility they have and I really like the sense of atmospheric brutality that they create. There’s a Middle Eastern feel to a lot of the melodies that adds an exotic touch to the songs, as well as no small amount of epic grandeur.

The vocals are as dark as night; thick, deep, malevolent growls that are so low as to be akin to rumbling thunder.

Blessed Be My Brothers… has a thick, dense sound that’s uncompromising and combined with the band’s complicated riffing is impenetrable to the casual listener. This is Death Metal for real Death Metal fans who want something a bit more interesting than the standard generic fare.

Fans of Nile, Mithras, Lelahell, Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Sidious and Dying Out Flame should love this.

Highly recommended.

Natanas – смертность (Review)

This is the fourth album from Natanas, a one-man Black Metal band from the US.

Another month, another Natanas album…

Okay so I exaggerate, but the man is Hellishly productive. And it’s good stuff too. He may have manufactured some form of Black Metal assembly line but his Quality Control department are clearly paying attention to the goods that are produced.

Having said that of course, this is clearly not for everyone, which is something I’ve mentioned before about the last two Natanas releases All Is Permitted and Treachery; the casual listener, the casual Black Metal listener, even, will probably find this a tad challenging.

If you like your Black Metal dark, challenging, atypical and in the vein of bands like Xasthur, Portal, Mitochondrion, Enbilulugugal, Ævangelist, etc. then Natanas is worth checking out.

Also, I’m sure his screeching vocals have gotten higher, raspier and wetter this time. It sounds like he’s rupturing himself every time he opens his mouth. This is not a complaint of course, rather the opposite. He takes time out from trying to turn himself inside out though, as other vocals are included from spoken word to deeper screams that almost remind of Neurosis/Crowbar in style.

смертность has a good amount of variety within its self-imposed framework, with the album retaining the tribal, hypnotic, pseudo-Industrial feel that Treachery did so well. As such this is a very holistic album; listening to a song in isolation is all well and good, but for the full effect it’s best to put on the entire album and just get lost in the murk.

Every time I listen to Natanas by the time I get to the second or third song I’m totally absorbed in the dark, unfriendly, bleak, rotten, urban sprawl that seems to be described. The low-key, lo-fi, production actually adds to the feeling of the album rather than detracting from it.

Natanas has always been a band that goes against the odds for me. If I had just flicked through one of these albums I’d probably think, “No, I don’t think so”, but against all expectations and prejudices смертность, and the previous albums…well, they just work. The various disparate elements and the raw, uncompromisingly lo-fi sound gel into something that just does it; it hits that hidden spot that you didn’t even know you had.

As such, I’m a big supporter of Natanas and heartily recommend that you give смертность a try. It may not do it for you, but who knows, maybe it really, really will…

Atoj – Atoj (Review)

Atoj are from Italy. This is their latest EP and they play Hardcore.

Atoj’s music is a combination of abrasive Hardcore and 90’s Mathcore. It’s a gritty and dirty EP that showcases a band who have found a sound they’re comfortable with.

The songs are dynamic and interesting, never allowing the listener to slink into complacency, assuming that they know what the next bit will sound like.

This self-titled EP is well-recorded and even on the rare occasions when the band calm down there’s still a palpable intensity to the tracks.

They remind me of a compendium of the heavy parts of older Poison the Well, the aggressive, angular chaos of some of Zao’s work, the Hardcore know-how of Nora, a smidgen of some older bits of The Dillinger Escape Plan and the angry, non-singing parts of Letlive.

An enjoyable rage. Check them out.

Ingurgitating Oblivion – Continuum of Absence (Review)

This is the second album by this German Death Metal band.

Ingurgitating Oblivion is for lovers of dissonant, Doom-infected Death Metal replete with dark atmosphere and malevolent sounds. This is for fans of Gorguts, Morbid Angel, Immolation and other purveyors of interesting and atypical Death Metal.

That the band have talent and can play is apparent straight away. Add to this a production that settles nicely around the band like a foggy miasma and songwriting skills that have clearly been honed over time and you have an album that has all of the necessary ingredients for something truly special.

On first listen this is an album that gels together instantly and on repeated spins it merely settles deep into your conscious even more, like a welcome indoctrination. This, of course, assumes that this style of Death Metal is one that you can take; if not then there’s no hope for you really, and you’d be better off with something simpler and easier to absorb.

This is Progressive Death Metal without any trace of pretension. The songs exist not to satisfy the musings of the musicians but to satisfy themselves. They operate purely in their own right and owe nothing to anyone other than their own sense of internal aesthetics.

This really is a first-rate release. The songs have longevity and depth oozing out of them and you know this is going to be an album that you’ll keep returning to in the years to come.

I love music that is a bit different, has something extra to offer; Continuum of Absence definitely has this.

Fans of challenging and interesting Death Metal take note.

Dysnomia – Dysnomia (Review)

Dysnomia are a Spanish Melodic Death Metal band and this is their début album.

Featuring a strong sound and an unexpected level of aggressiveness, Dysnomia quickly make their presence felt.

Their sound has plenty of melodic leads and solos as well as a hearty keyboard accompaniment that adds another layer to their infectious sound.

All too frequently Melodic Death Metal simply means a watered down version of Death Metal, essentially a weakened version of the original. This is not the case with Dysnomia. It’s like they’ve taken the melodic aspect of the genre, wrapped it in some keyboards and catchy songs and somehow managed to retain the savagery of the original style. This gives their sound a very fresh, energetic sheen and I’ve really enjoyed listening to this.

There is also a Black Metal influence to their sound, with the keyboards essentially meaning that they have somewhat of a Symphonic Black Metal slant sometimes. It’s more of an enhancement to their core sound though than a true Blackened Death Metal merging of the two and it plays its part in what I like about the band.

This is a top quality listen. If high octane Melodic Death Metal is your thing then Dysnomia will definitely hit the spot for you.

Ara – Devourer of Worlds (Review)

This is the début album from Technical Death Metal band Ara.

This is Technical Death Metal with plenty of brutality. They may have the required complexity of a band playing this style but they’re not above just lashing out and shredding either.

A good sound means that everything is clear and you can appreciate the tightness of the band. The musicianship is a pleasure to listen to, especially when it’s wrapped up in such a destructive Death Metal package.

The singer has an expressive roar that reminds me of a mix of the singers of Malevolent Creation and Vader. He provides a charismatic focal point for the glistening, polished music.

Complicated riffs seem to lurk just behind the omnipresent drums, winding and striking with impunity. This might not be music that you can easily hum along to but it gets inside your skull regardless. Who knows what damage it’s doing in there?

Even when they take their collective feet off the accelerator they still write interesting riffs that refuse to sit still.

If you yearn for the kind of Technical Death Metal that the likes of Iniquity used to churn out then Ara will be right up your street.

Highly recommended.

Solanum/Epi-Demic – Passages to Lunacy – Split (Review)

Solanum and Epi-Demic are both from Canada and both play Crossover Thrash Metal.

Solanum start us off with just under 18 minutes of aggressive Thrash.

Their contribution is underground and sharp, with a sound that wastes no time in ramming home their aesthetic.

This is Old-School, genuine and really rather good. I have a low threshold sometimes for Crossover Thrash, especially when done in a Retro style and I think this is one of the saving graces of Solanum; there’s no Retro nonsense here, just good, old-fashioned Thrashing out.

The other thing which earns them big marks is the fact that they can actually pen a decent song. The riffs are enjoyable rip-fests that tear along the road with the hungry appetite of the biggest gas-guzzler.

Oh, and the singer has a very satisfying bark to him as well.

Solanum have won me over.

Up next are Epi-Demic, with a shorter total duration of 13 minutes.

Epi-Demic are just as raw and intense as Solanum, and like Solanum they too dispense with any of the Retro nonsense and just concentrate on some lovely Old-School Crossover.

If anything, Epi-Demic’s sound is even more underground and aggressive than Solanum. Their riffs have more of a Hardcore feel to them in places too, although they still know how to Thrash it out with the best of them. Indeed, some of the guitar rhythms here are very tasty indeed.

You could pretty much land at any point in any of these songs and hit something good, but I think overall my favourite is Famine, with its combination of sharp, tight riffs and frenetic leads…or maybe Nuclear Dream with its swirly, twisting guitars…there’s a lot of good stuff on these four songs.

The singer has a higher voice than that of Solanum although it’s still aggressively based and hits the right Crossover tone.

So, Epi-Demic have also won me over.

If you’re looking for a quality Crossover release without any of the novelty bollocks then snap this up quickly.

Xibalba – Tierra Y Libertad (Review)

Xibalba are a Death Metal band from the US and this is their third album.

This is heavy, brutal Death Metal that takes Hardcore and Sludge influences to make a monster of an album.

Imagine a Metalcore band that played Death Metal…yes I know that this implies Deathcore, but Xibalba are not a Deathcore band. Xibalba don’t have an easy to categorise sound. Deathcore should cover it, but no; this is a merger of 90’s Hardcore and 90’s Death Metal where Morbid Angel and Madball meet.

Classic Metal songwriting merges with Hardcore fury and Death Metal aggression. These songs really hit the spot for me as they take me back to the mid/late 90’s but translated to the modern day with a crushingly heavy production.

The band’s sound is Hellishly aggressive and recalls lost greats like Merauder and Konkhra if they got their hands on some Obituary and Crowbar riffs.

The vocals are predominantly harsh shouts that straddle the line between Hardcore and Metal, successfully merging the two styles into a vitriolic whole.

Xibalba have a meaty, beefy guitar tone that can squash a tank at 1000 metres. The punishing music perfectly captures the feeling of rolling demolition and hate-fuelled terror. Little snatches of melody appear merely to offset the heavy rhythms so that when these moments of light disappear again the riffs sound even louder and heavier than ever before.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Putrid Offal – Mature Necropsy (Review)

Putrid Offal are from France and this is their début album. They play Deathgrind.

A mere couple of decades or so since they first formed, this début album is long overdue.

The band have a strong modern and professional production that makes their short bursts of carnage sound immense.

I do enjoy a good bit of Deathgrind; I like the winning combination of short, violent music with the added brutal riffing of Death Metal that allows for a bit more depth and variety than some purely Grindcore bands offer. This describes Putrid Offal well as they strike a good balance between the two styles throughout the 29 minutes playing time.

The band play rhythmic Deathgrind with enough blast to keep anyone happy. A good selection of riffs are deployed mercilessly and the fun never ends. It’s not all blood and gore though as they insert a few interesting ideas here and there to keep things fresh, such as the background choral chants on Garroting Way or the atmospheric melodics on Repulsive Corpse.

The deep growls are surgical in their assault; they’re focused, tight and sound supremely confident. Higher, wet screams join the party on occasion as well because who doesn’t enjoy some quality throat-shredding?

Sounding absurdly relevant and energised, this is Goregrind for the 21st century; assured, devastating and murderously capable.

Best get out of their way, as Putrid Offal have come to carve up the opposition.

Abstracter – Wound Empire (Review)

This is the second album from US Sludge/Doom band Abstracter.

After really enjoying their 2012 debut album Tomb of Feathers, this is a release that has been eagerly awaited in these parts.

The first track, Lightless, seems to slowly writhe up out of a dark pit of urban decay, attempting to smother the land with its malignant spread. It’s an insidious start to the album and before you realise what’s going on you’re trapped in a nightmare landscape of pitch-black smoke and evil.

But oh dear Lord is it good. Rarely has cloying, suffocating Sludge felt so visceral and nastily enticing.

Abstracter are heavy and grim in the best ways that Sludge and Doom can achieve. These songs are essays in crawling malevolence and destructive passion. The band emanate a very raw darkness that you can feel like a physical presence.

I like the combination of nuanced riffing, heavy guitars and brutally gorgeous delivery. Abstracter effortlessly combine the beauty of Post-Metal with the dirty horror of Sludge. Their songwriting skills are such that moments of ugliness and transcendence are merged together. When the shades of light and dark clash there’s only ever going to be one true winner, but even though the menacing and murky atmospheres encase everything, the light isn’t totally consumed; you can feel it pulsing, straining against its captivity by this Hellish beast. This tense undercurrent is what gives Wound Empire its hidden beauty.

There’s a Black Metal influence to their sound that fits flawlessly into what they do. It’s not overbearing and doesn’t detract from the Doom, it just adds a further layer of thickly encrusted grime to songs that are already intimately familiar with all things subterranean.

With each of these titanic monuments to apocalyptic dystopian futures, I think that Abstracter have outdone themselves and actually managed to top their début album. No mean feat.

With true depth of composition and a talent for wrapping the listener up in their vision of all things gloomy and heavy, Abstracter have produced an album that has blown me away.

Fans of Neurosis, Altar of Plagues, Indian, Inter Arma, Amenra, Yob, Wolvhammer, Thou, etc. should perk up and take notice now.

Essential listening.