Reviews – Page 574 – Wonderbox Metal

Star Insight – Messera (Review)

This is the début album by Finnish Melodic/Symphonic Black Metal band Star Insight.

First off – I like the album cover. A good start.

This is futuristic Cyber-Metal with Symphonic Black Metal elements in the style of Neurotech, The Kovenant and certain Samael material, and anyone familiar with these bands will immediately have a good idea of what Star Insight sound like.

The band are actually a bit more varied than a lot of this kind of stuff and have a good ear for a song. A lot of these tracks are catchy and filled with hooks and unless you’re completely inured to this style it’s hard not to like them. They have a good Power/Euro Metal influence which gives them an edge over similar bands. Add to this a harsher, Dimmu Borgir-style influence and you have a recipe for quite the enjoyable album.

Vocals are predominately harsh, slightly-deeper-than-the-norm Black Metal vocals. One of the main ways Star Insight differentiate themselves from the aforementioned bands though is through the inclusion of clean and semi-clean vocals, and these are extremely good. The singer has a good range and runs the gamut between these styles. Female vocals also appear on Poem of Misery which sound great and add another aspect to the band’s sound, even if it is for only the one track.

The songs never have a chance to outstay their welcome as only two of them breach the 4 minute mark. Instead, we get focused and catchy songs aimed at maximum enjoyment in minimal time.

The symphonic elements and effects are never overbearing and add to the songs rather than smothering them.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable album that I like way more than I thought I would; the band are more adventurous and varied than I was expecting and this is to their credit.

Give Star Insight some of your time.

Ass to Mouth – Degenerate (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Grinders Ass to Mouth.

Just under 31 minutes, 20 songs; you know it’s not going to be pretty. But do we want it any other way? Certainly not.

It’s immediately unsubtle and makes its mission statement known within seconds of the first track.

Angry shouts and sickening screams are spewed forth like vomit, backed up with some good old pignoise for good effect in the background. The vocals are relatively versatile for this kind of release and you certainly can’t accuse them of being monotonous.

The music is Grindcore of the crusty and blastbeat-fueled variety. The songs are short, tight and dirty. Punked up and furiously brutal, they lay waste to their instruments and sound pretty much exactly like I expected them to sound with a name like Ass to Mouth.

Some of the tracks have a good Metallic Hardcore groove to them, adding a different facet to the band which makes the album better than it would be if it was just a one-dimensional blastfest.

This might not be anything new but originality is overrated, sometimes you just need to GRIND!

Also, One Shot Too Far has a cowbell in it. So there.

A solid album that doesn’t outstay its welcome and is a perfectly adequate soundtrack to the crushing of pigeons. Or something.

Necropoli – I (Review)

Necropoli are from Italy and play Funeral Doom. This is their début album.

This is heavy Funeral Doom Metal with a strong Death Metal foundation underpinning everything.

There is background orchestration, keyboards and effects; these are not flowery or ostentations but rather eerie and aura-enhancing.

The long songs slowly unfold with the heavy barrage of slowed down brutality mixing with Dark Ambient sounds and faint glimpses Industrial Electronica.

The colossally deep vocals drive everything forwards like a relentless taskmaster.

Akin to recent releases from the likes of Eye of Solitude, Doom:VS and Decembre Noir, this is just as bleakly emotive and atmospheric but with longer songs and a lot more brutality and harshness on display.

This album reminds of the constant onslaught of a band like Esoteric if they had more Funeral Doom influences and keyboards.

Rich, layered and with a definite gloomy texture, this is an evocative release that mixes the best of the crawling slowness of Doom and the heavy crushing nature of Death Metal.

Nearly an hour of demolishing desolation for your consideration.

Usurpress/Bent Sea – Split (Review)

Usurpress are a Death Metal band from Sweden and for this split they have gone halves with International Grindcore supergroup Bent Sea.

Usurpress give us three tracks, the first of which is an intro.

The second song, A Tidal Wave of Fire, is the main meat of their split and is 7 minutes of impressive death-dealing, whilst the third is shorter but no less rabid.

The band play Crusty Swedish Death Metal with an underground swagger and a healthy groove. Rather than adopting that famous chainsaw sound though, the band have opted for a dirtier, less-produced sound. It’s raw and nasty but suits the nature of the music.

The vocals are grim growls that alternate with infected screams, as well as a bit of semi-sung spoken word.

Bent Sea are up next with 8 tracks of furious Grind.

In contrast to Usurpress’ rawness, Bent Sea have a more professional sheen, albeit one that’s still heavy and very aggressive.

Taking cues from Napalm Death, Terrorizer and Repulsion, they savagely hack their way through the songs with aplomb and violence.

That the band is comprised of seasoned veterans is never in doubt, as their mastery of the genre is apparent from the start.

Each song is expertly executed and delivered with venom and bile. I’ve always loved the singer of Aborted’s voice and to hear him on these tracks is a great pleasure.

A very enjoyable split, with the Bent Sea tracks in particular shining bright.

Worth it.

Scutum Crux – The Second Sun (Review)

Scutum Crux are from Poland, (although now based in the UK), and this is their Black Metal début album.

The album starts with a Classical piece with a martial feeling that leads into first track-proper, Chaos Ritual; this is fast, scathing Black Metal with snarling vocals and lots of hyperblast.

Scutum Crux’s Black Metal is dark and razor sharp, with blast beats used frequently and interspersed with either fast drumming or slower, groovier sections.

The guitars are steeped in Blackened melodies and the riffs are fast and solid. Occasional atmospherics and classical sections raise their heads out of the whirling maelstrom before being subsumed once more by the Blackened attack.

Demon Scutum is a great example of this as near the middle of the track the song stops and an atmospheric section starts which is soon replaced by an epic heavy guitars and drums part. This even has a guitar solo in it, (welcome and unexpected in Black Metal), before the speed returns once more.

The vocals are snarling creations bellowed out of the darkness. Although they don’t really deviate from the Black Metal template they do benefit from being more rabid than most.

A solid Black Metal release. Be sure to give them a listen.

Morthus – The Abyss (Review)

This is the début EP from Polish Blackened Death Metallers Morthus.

This is a 3 track EP that contains such wonders in its short playing time!

It starts with the track Torment; suitably titled, it seems to be the usual kind of perfunctory intro until it redeems itself with some actual music about halfway through. This segues into the second track Beast from the Abyss and it’s clear that although this is their first non-demo release, it’s impressively professional and has a great sound.

The band play with a Death Metal core while adding some melodic Black Metal influences to the riffs and the occasional scream that enhances the main growling vocals. Merging the two genres of Black and Death can sometimes create mixed results, but they have distilled their influences into the right measures it seems.

The guitars take the Death Metal base and throw in some tricks from both Black and Classic Heavy Metal, including some duelling guitars and some excellent leads/solos.

Stylistically they remind of Hypocrisy in the sense that they combine these three elements quite naturally and seamlessly, although it should be stressed that they don’t actually sound too much like Hypocrisy except in a very superficial way.

The third song is named In the White Wolf’s Kingdom and is another master-crafted combination of the various Metal styles. It slowly unfolds with a Blackly melodic Metal riff into a mid-paced jog before introducing faster elements. They also add additional choral elements to their repertoire and these work very well. It’s another win for Morthus who suitably demonstrate their talents on this all-too-short EP.

Morthus are a perfect example of why the Extreme Metal underground deserves so much support – there are hidden gems tucked away everywhere in plain sight, all you have to do is go looking for them and you will be rewarded.

This is an absolute top-notch release and I cannot wait until they release a full album. If it’s even half as good as this it will be better than most.

Essential listening.

Untimely Demise – Systematic Eradication (Review)

Untimely Demise are a Canadian Thrash Metal band and this is their second album.

Straight from the go we’re into high octane Thrash territory with solos shredding and drums clanging. Technical riffing and rasped vocals lead the way while the rest of the music rips things up.

Musically this is Thrash Metal with a Megadeth/Testament/Death/Arch Enemy flavour. Extremely competent and played with feeling, Untimely Demise show from the off that they have talent.

The singer mainly uses a harsh rasp, but also uses some rougher semi-cleans that shows he’s capable of depth. It adds texture to the impressive playing of the rest of the band. A cross between Death and Arch Enemy, it fits the music well.

The band avoid the issues of the over-saturated Retro-Thrash scene by just being themselves and adding some harsher/technical/more European elements to their sound. It’s honest, direct and more worthwhile than 100 Retro bands trying to recapture old glories without any real feeling. Untimely Demise have come to show them how it should be done; a nod to the past, a spotlight on the present and a battle-plan for the future.

Morbidity – Revealed from Ashes (Review)

Morbidity are from Bangladesh and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

Wow! The first track Decaying Souls immediately has my attention! Only 2 minutes long; it’s an intro essentially, but a damn good one! Bleakly tuneful bass, horror-filled melodics and a creepy vibe enhanced by an ominous church bell, this is a brilliant start to the album that catches and holds the attention straight from the off.

The second track is named Incarnation of Death and picks up where the first one leaves off, introducing the more brutal side of the band. The eerie, creepy riffs are still there, they’ve just been made heavier. Holy shit this band knows how to write some good riffs.

The vocals are deep and cavernous, sounding like something inhuman that’s pulled itself up from The Pit.

The sound this album has is just amazing. It’s deep, heavy and warm. Although it’s an immensely strong sound it doesn’t come off as over-produced and still reeks of the underground and of things left to rot.

The songs are exactly that; songs. They have character and personality, with each song being memorable. There is no filler.

Revealed from Ashes has an element of Swedish Death Metal to its sound in the sense of the creepy, grave-tinged melodics and the heavily tuneful songwriting. All achieved without resorting to That Chainsaw Sound or straying too far into Sweden’s territory.

This may be Old-School Death Metal but this is one decaying cadaver that smells as fresh as the day it died. I can’t write enough good things about this album without it coming off as some form of hyperbole, but suffice to say I love this release.

Morbidity have created an outstanding slab of pure, uncompromising Death Metal. If other bands had even a pinch of their songwriting skills and sense of dynamics and pacing then the Metal scene would be an even better place than it already is.

Okay, so if there’s just one Death Metal album to get this month this is it.

MORBIDDIITTTYYYYYYYYRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Secrets of the Sky – To Sail Black Waters (Review)

This is US band Secrets of the Sky’s début album.

Secrets of the Sky play interesting Progressive Doom/Post-Metal that has a good dollup of Post-Black Metal/Blackened Doom mixed in as well. So many sub-genre labels! As you’ve probably gathered they have a fair bit going on.

The band have a firm grasp of dynamics and of the heavy/light aspects of their sound, and although the songs are of a good length, they also raise the tempo when they need to.

A very sturdy production allows the instruments to sound very solid. Everything is played proficiently and the songwriting makes the most of this.

The music is a pleasing blend of the above, already diverse, sub-genres. Doom riffs, Post-Metal meanderings, Blackened melodics and sound-walls all contribute to the feel of a very colossal album. Extra instrumentation/effects enhance the tracks on occasion adding to an already rich palette.

Largely, the band are are both heavy and dark. Wisely, however, they juxtapose this against lighter, acoustic sections, more hopeful refrains and moments of brighter atmosphere amidst the murk.

Vocally the singer grunts and screams his way over the towering guitars and iron-cast drumming. It’s not until the second song Decline that clean vocals are used for the first time; these are expertly delivered and raise the bar extremely high.

This is a highly accomplished album, all the more impressive for being their first. Highly recommended; whatever secrets the sky holds is obviously serving them well. Seek this out and learn from them.

Favourite Track: Decline. A masterwork in emotive expression and dynamic melodics.

Grue – Rake (Review)

Grue are from the US and play Black Metal.

This is their latest EP – two tracks, 12 minutes of music.

The first song All Mortal Greatness Is But Disease starts with an immediate and gritty sound. This is fuzzy, underground Black Metal with a good sense of dark melodics and some fiery riffs. The production may be decidedly Necro but the passion displayed is evident.

When the vocals start they’re somewhat surprising on two counts; the first is that they sound much clearer than everything else, recording-wise; the second is they’re not the standard Black Metal shrieks I was expecting, instead they’re a little deeper and have more character.

Overall an enjoyable song that trades between speedy melodics, a riffy swagger and slower, darker moments. Almost 4 minutes in they even inject a lighter, almost-Medieval section. A good song.

The second track Rake is a Townes Van Zandt cover, only all Black Metallified, (yes it’s a word…). The track works very well as Black Metal and I am left with the definite desire to hear more from Grue.

As a taster for whatever they’re going to do next this is a great little release. I know you’ve got room in your collection for this EP, so pick it up and put it on.