Reviews – Page 551 – Wonderbox Metal

Warfuck – Neantification (Review)

Warfuck are from France and this is their second album. They play Grindcore.

Over the last few years France has proven to be adept at producing quality Extreme Metal bands and Warfuck are no exception.

I have enjoyed their previous work and Neantification is just as pleasingly unhinged and rabid as the rest of their output. More so perhaps.

Warfuck play furious Grindcore with insectile screams and pinpoint precision guitars sharp enough to puncture flesh. The riffs are frequently angular, atypical and mark the band out as different from the larger part of the Grindcore herd.

There is a touch of the old noisecore scene about these tracks. Warfuck’s songs bleed out from a chaotic Hardcore base and the band channel this twisted spirit into something immense and dangerous.

In some ways they come across as the Grindcore cousins of a band like Uphill Battle, (who were already pretty extreme in their own right), and have similar levels of intensity.

Short songs, short album. This release may cater towards people with a short attention span but there’s enough content here to keep even the hungriest Extreme Metal fan satiated.

Why sell youself short by listening to only the latest Deathgrind clones? Get Neantification and remind yourself how interesting, exciting and devastating real Grindcore can be.

Top marks.

Natanas – Treachery (Review)

Natanas is a one-man Black Metal project from the US. This is his third album.

This is a very prolific project and this is the third album from Natanas this year. I reviewed the second album All Is Permitted not that long ago, and already I find there is this new release.

All Is Permitted was in the style of bands such as Xasthur, Portal, Mitochondrion, Enbilulugugal, Ævangelist and the like, and Treachery continues the theme.

Treachery feels like a good progression, (in a short period of time), from the previous album in that it, as a whole, feels more coherent and better constructed. The tracks are still raw, lo-fi expressions of hatred and malevolence, but this time they seem to gel and work better than previously.

The vocals have improved also, and this time they seem to have more bite to them, as well as being generally higher pitched and sharper.

Although the tracks here still have a pulsating organic looseness to them there’s also much more of a pseudo-Industrial and an almost hypnotic, tribal influence to them as well. Discordant, murky drum ‘n’ bass for the Black Metal generation? Maybe, but this album definitely has a more percussive edge to it regardless.

I said last time that this kind of Black Metal is not for everyone, and that still stands. It is, however, an enjoyable sidestep from the bog-standard and has a lot to offer those with the time, patience and stomach for it.

Give it a listen.

Calm Hatchery – Fading Reliefs (Review)

Calm Hatchery are from Poland and this is their third Death Metal album.

Calm Hatchery play Eastern-tinged Death Metal that’s brutal and precise. Their Death Metal is one that falls into the timeless school of music; it has elements of Old-School Death Metal but not enough to be considered retro and it has enough modern influences without sounding like one of the new breed.

Simply, these are proper Death Metal songs with an Eastern flair and if you’re a fan of bands like Nile, Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, Behemoth, etc. then Calm Hatchery should be on your “to get” list.

The recording is top notch with everything sounding clear and crisp. The drums give a capable beat down and the guitars crush and destroy as they should. The skills of the band are set at a high level and I particularly enjoy the squealing solos and rhythmic riffing.

Deep growls are used well to work with the music and complement it well. Some of the riffs are quite inventive and atypical. The vocalist does his part in the mechanics of the whole song by allowing these moments to shine by themselves when necessary.

Calm Hatchery have produced an enjoyably brutal album that honours its Death Metal past yet glints with a personality all of its own.

A recommended listen for any Death Metal fan.

Mourning Pyre – Mourning Pyre (Review)

This is the début EP from Mourning Pyre, a one-man Blackened Doom project from the Ukraine.

A mournful, desolate Classical piece begins proceedings at the start of Saudade before equally mournful, desolate Doom Metal kicks in. It’s highly atmospheric Doom accentuated by subtle keyboards buried beneath the guitars.

Emotive leads in the style of My Dying Bride/Paradise Lost are the main drivers of the songs with crunchy rhythm guitars backing them up.

The keyboard/Classical parts of the songs are done especially well and speak of good arrangement and composition. Rather than sounding like addons to the Metal it’s all integrated well into a cohesive whole.

The drumming may be programmed but that doesn’t mean it’s perfunctory or basic; it’s filled with good rhythms and a nice amount of fills. They also don’t sound overtly programmed either as they have a decent sound.

This is Doom Metal rather than straight Doom, and the Blackened influence means that this EP has plenty of up-tempo moments. Some of the melodies used border on Post-Metal as well – Holding My Breath (Until I Die) is a good example of this.

I’ve enjoyed this EP. As début releases go it’s a good one. Here’s to the future and a full album of morbid delights to come.

Drowned – Idola Specus (Review)

This is the début album from German Death Metallers Drowned.

With an album cover that gives nothing away I was, for some reason, expecting Old-School Death Metal. What we get, however, is far more interesting.

Their brand of Death Metal is complex and mature. Elements of both Doom and Progressive Metal have evidently taken root in their sound and have blossomed on this release.

Drowned have a warm, organic sound that allows the riffs and melodies to come to life and virtually jump out of the speakers. The guitar tone is thick and syrupy and the entire production is satisfyingly heavy and well-judged.

Deep growls punctuate the journey into Drowned’s world as the guitars breathe tar into your lungs and the drums assault from all angles. It may be atypical Death Metal in some respects but this is to be applauded.

Idola Specus reminds me of a Proggier Incantation; Incantation crossed with Death, Gorguts and Immolation perhaps. Either way, it’s a great thing to hear and Drowned have certainly made an impression.

This is a class example of esoteric Death Metal that may have a firm base in the genre but is not afraid to incorporate more Progressive/Doom elements to enhance the core substance of the band.

It may have taken the band a considerable amount of time to put this album together but the end result has been worth the wait.

Have a listen to Drowned. Just remember to hold your breathe before wading in.

0 – Silence (Review)

This is the second release from 0, a Greek one-man Blackened Experimental Doom/Drone project.

0’s first album Simplifying a Demon was a surprisingly enjoyable slab of minimalistic Drone Doom in the vein of Khanate only with more Black Metal.

Once more the same foreboding atmosphere hits you. The cloying stench of something dark, dank, rotten and forgotten that slowly, agonisingly rises from the depths of some long lost pit of bleakness. But this time, something’s different.

This time around 0’s music is more considered and thoughtful. If Simplifying a Demon was the birthing throes of something horrific, then Silence is the sound of it growing and discovering itself, learning more about what it’s capable of.

Silence’s landscape is minimal and desolate, but for all this it is also a textured and alluring one. The songs wrap you in their deadly embrace and slowly take you into their world, warmly embraced by the darkness.

The Black Metal influence is still there on this release but it’s more subtle and less overt than previously. Silence has more of a droning Doom feeling, like some of the work by bands like Earth, Blackwolfgoat and Om, albeit a Blackened version of these.

The vocals have developed also. Black Metal shrieks are still in attendance but these are now very much a rarity. For the main vocals we are now treated to some very well performed and varied cleans that wouldn’t be out of place on more traditional Stoner Doom releases. Powerful and ominous.

Overall Silence is a positive progression for 0. The development shown on this album is really something and the songwriting has come on in leaps and bounds. I’m happy that 0 is not resting on its laurels and is continuing to push the boundaries of what a bass and a voice are capable of.

So get lost in the misery and enveloped in the Silence of 0.

Pineal – Smiling Cult (Review)

Pineal are from the UK and this is their début EP. They play Post-Metal.

Opening up with a clean, clear sound the band treat us to their take on the Post-Metal genre and like most things in Post-Metal it’s wonderfully individual.

As I’ve remarked on before, the one aspect of most Post-Metal bands which is relatively rare is clean vocals; most Post-Metal groups either go for harsh vocals of some description or no vocals at all, only a few have sung cleans. Pineal are one of the latter bands.

The cleans are initially unexpected but they do fit the music well. They sound very influenced by Alice in Chains and have the same kind of easy, laid-back power inherent in them.

The songs unhurriedly pass through their playing time with the band exploring the rich Post-Metal landscape and the singer producing plaintive, mournful tones on top of everything.

Smiling Cult is a skilful display of songcraft and shows a very adept band finding their sound and working out what feels best for them.

This largely eschews the normal Cult of Luna/Isis/Neurosis triumvirate in favour of a sound that condenses elements of Tool and Alice in Chains into this 25 minute EP.

Already in their short career Pineal show big promise. This EP is an enjoyable listen and if they continue to develop their sound even more then a full album from this band should herald great things.

Lavatory – Morbid Terror (Review)

Lavatory are a Death Metal band from Malaysia. This is their début album.

Just like the shambling, rotten monstrosity that graces the album cover, Lavatory’s brand of Death Metal is a putrid and corpse-ridden ode to that oh-so-satisfying of sub genres – Old-School Swedish Death Metal.

The album is aptly named as the band use all of the chainsaw-shaped tools available to them in their box of chainsaws to create Death Metal that’s heavy in both guitar tone and deathly dread.

If you know Swedish Death Metal, (and I know you do), then you know what to expect here; the chainsaw riffs, the haunting melodies, etc.

It’s all delivered by a band that sounds a little bit more unhinged than is the norm for the style though. It’s almost like the levels of rot have taken hold so much and so deep that they’re in danger of falling apart.

It’s like they’ve mixed Old-School Death Metal with an equally Old-School brand of Hardcore and taken the energy levels from the latter and messily transplanted them into the former. Well, the operation may have killed the patient but it’s been a success anyway.

The singer sounds like he’s going to rupture something and the guitars sound like the chainsaws haven’t had maintenance in a very long time.

The album reeks of the grave and sounds as ancient as a curse. The songs are primitive and stubbornly refuse to be anything other than what they are; there is no pretension here and the band are completely true to their decaying roots.

Check out Morbid terror; just make sure you bring clean underwear.

Rings of Saturn – Lugal Ki En (Review)

This is the third album from US band Rings of Saturn. They play Technical Deathcore.

This is hyper-technical and full of crazy time changes and enough complex riffery to send even hardened Metallers into hiding.

Rings of Saturn have an extreme Deathcore aspect to their sound that lends them that ultra-modern edge whilst retaining every single aspect of brutality that any form of Extreme Metal has. In this way they’re similar to the excellent Infant Annihilator; this is modern, complex and devastatingly heavy music.

Vaguely Electronica/Sci-fi-influenced melodies abound and stick out from the studied chaos like serrated knives ready to carve up the unwary. The band combine frenzy and precision like few others and these songs are exemplars of what happens when a clearly talented band combine Deathcore with Technical Death Metal and proto-Progressive tendencies.

The sheer mind-numbing extremity of this release is a joy to behold. Some may criticise the band for this and they may find certain aspects of the band’s sound distasteful or too fashionable, or whatever, (poor, much-maligned Deathcore), but it’s hard to care about such facile remarks when the music is this energetic and outright extreme.

My personal complaint with a lot of Deathcore, (and also Djent), is that it’s a style that lends itself to mediocrity too easily. Mediocrity is a word that could never be applied to Rings of Saturn though; love it or loathe it, Lugal Ki En is an album that is bright enough to transcend the mediocre and shine brightly with a thousand burning stars.

Me? I love it. Bring on the chaos.

Lo-Pan – Colossus (Review)

Lo-Pan are from the US and this is their fourth album of Stoner Rock.

Bursting straight out of the speakers with the kind of direct, fat riffing that lets you immediately know where their priorities lie, Lo-Pan make a noticeable entrance.

The lazy, melodic vocals recall the early 90’s where there was an embarrassment of lean, hungry vocalists filling the airwaves with choice melodies. Lo-Pan’s singer reminds me of these times and his voice is like liquid honey.

Like a joyous cross between Soundgarden and Torche; Lo-Pan give me a big happy smile and make me want to stomp around to their colossal riffs whilst grinning like a maniac.

The songs on Colossus are instant gratification and sound like they’re very much written with a live audience in mind. As such they’re high energy, catchy and have an easy rolling attitude about them.

Lo-Pan are surely the latest incarnation of the Stoner Rock gods, sent from on high to teach us lesser mortals to rock the fuck out.

So let’s do it.