Reviews – Page 593 – Wonderbox Metal

Paramnesia/Unru – Split (Review)

Paramnesia are a French Black Metal band and their half of this split is a track enigmatically named III.

This is epic, searing and mystical Black Metal with some atmospheric Post-Metal/Doom sections included in the 15 minute play time. If you think of Black Metal such as Deafheaven you’ll be in the right area stylistically.

The song is very well laid out and evokes the appropriate feelings of Blackened tragedy and remorse. The sound, and in particular the drum sound, is flawless and allows the song to shine brightly.

Unru are from Germany, play Black Metal and they contribute a song called Die Welt in der wir sterben to this release.

Unru’s offering is a real mood-builder, with melody and Post-Metal influences tempered against the harsh, icy Black Metal core. The anguished vocals slice through the music and as with Paramnesia’s track the sound is first-rate and everything flows perfectly.

The song is almost 13 minutes of involving and caustic Black Metal that draws the listener in and holds attention.

A top quality release from two top quality bands. I can’t see any reason why you shouldn’t get hold of this Split straight away. Do it now!

Die Choking – Die Choking I (Review)

Grindcore band Die Choking are from the US and this is their first release.

With only 5 tracks in just under 6 minutes this is fast and brutal. Die Choking like their Grind raw and rough, with Punk and Crust elements to the songs. Think of a band like Misery Index only with shorter songs and you’ll get the right idea.

Even with such short tracks the band show that they can play insane blasting just as well as heavy and brutal.

The playing is tight and focused and the sound does the songs justice. The passion and enthusiasm of the band is obvious and this is fresh and above all savage. This is Grindcore to pay attention to.

As an opening salvo into the world of Metal this short EP is an excellent warning shot. Let’s see what they can do with a longer release now.

Rotengeist – Start to Exterminate (Review)

Rotengeist are from Poland and play Thrash Metal.

The band have a good, strong sound that they use to launch their Thrash attack from. I also quite like the album cover.

This is heavy, aggressive Thrash with almost a Progressive edge to some of the songs. This additional penchant for melodic and interesting instrumentation scattered across the album pushes the band above the average, and is definitely something I would be keen to see the band develop and build on for future releases.

The vocalist’s voice is pitched somewhere between singing and shouting, almost like the singer of Testament on occasion.

The instruments are well played and the riffs and licks are endless. You can hear the bass and it makes an above-average contribution to the songs rather than just following the guitar at all times. They have some good solos on offer as well.

A strong album that is a bit of a grower, as all good albums are.

Taurus – No/Thing (Review)

Taurus are from the US and play experimental Drone/Doom with Psychedelia and Blackened influences.

This is genre-bending Doom full of ideas and Psychedelic darkness. The songs sound as if they have leaked from some sonic other-dimension and are strange translations of another musical language that can’t exist in its original form in our world.

Varied and strange vocals pierce the heady shroud of the music and are used as effects or instruments rather than traditional voices. A sound collage of extreme vocalisations set to unhinged music describing who knows what.

Twisting, angular rhythms and unusual soundscapes collide to produce Avant-Garde extremity and hypnotic time lapsed aural events. Taurus try to both lull and shock at the same time, producing an unexpected listening environment where transcendence is waved before you only to be snatched away and replaced with a veiled fist.

Each of these 5 songs is a nihilistic trip into other cultures that may or may not exist in our reality. It is a privilege to experience these slices of unreality and the band know this, revelling in their status as elite tour guides to places alternate.

Listen to Taurus if you have the constitution and self-confidence to explore uncharted climes and return unscathed. Enjoy reality while you have it.

Barbelith – Untitled (Review)

This is the latest from US Depressive Black/Post-Metal band Barbelith.

Their first EP was a corker, so I was looking forward to what this 2 track release would bring.

As with their previous release the band enshroud themselves in bleakness and woe, with anguished, tortured vocals lashing out at an uncaring world and a fate undeserved.

Barbelith manage to combine a mournful atmosphere with a style of Blackened Hardcore for the first track Caverns of the Mind. It’s interesting as the song seems to gain and lose momentum multiple times during its 6 minute length, switching between Depressive Black Metal and Blackened Hardcore as if it’s never sure whether it wants to end it all now or persevere for one final, desperate lunge at life.

The second song Rebirth takes less of its cues from Hardcore and more from Post-Metal, while retaining the aura of misery and lost hope. It has somewhat of a Deinonychus feel to it and as such is swamped in negative feelings and emotions; unlike the pure-strain misery of Deinonychus however, the net result here is strangely uplifting. The addition of angelic clean vocals as a background juxtaposition is an inspired choice.

2 tracks, 12 minutes. Utterly worth it.

Junkyard Lipstick – The Butcher’s Delight (Review)

Junkyard Lipstick are from South Africa and play Thrash Metal.

The band have some quality Old-School Thrash riffs in their repertoire and know how to use them.

The vocals are similarly Old-School, with good melodies and lots of character. Her voice reminds me of a female version of the Agent Steel and Pagan’s Mind singers somehow mixed together. Add to this the odd raspier L7 moment and you have a voice laden with personality. Vocal experimentation rears its head on occasion though, especially on House of the Holy and when it does it’s just wonderful; she can do more than just rasp for sure.

The songs are short and the band wear their their Metallica/Anthrax influences on their denim sleeves.

The combination of youthfully exuberant vocals and passionate Thrash hero-worship means this short EP is very infectious. As I listen to it I can’t help but feel my heart filling with Metal and the urge to mosh along rising.

Check them out and give them your support.

Favourite Track: House of the Holy.

The World State – Flier (Review)

Danish band The World State have released their first EP Flier.

Orchestral sounds and touches of Rock and Metal collide in this ambitious release.

The ex-Sirenia singer shows that she still has an amazing voice and her vocals here are exquisite.

The tracks have lots of ideas and effects to hold attention. Ambience and subtlety are used effectively as well as heavier and more intense sections.

Well written songs with a great sense of dynamics and pace pound or slink their way out of the speakers and it’s clear that this is a very talented band.

Each song captures a different mood but all of them are involved and have a playful experimental edge that sounds fresh and exciting. There are three main songs and one piano instrumental.

After listening to this over and over I can’t get enough of it. It’s simply wonderful, that’s all there is to say about it.

At under 20 minutes across 4 tracks this EP is brief but effective. A full album of this would be most welcome!

Cultfinder – Hell’s Teeth (Review)

This is UK band Cultfinder and they play Black Metal with a hefty Thrash influence.

A relatively short release of 24 minutes; after a perfunctory intro, (and one interlude), we get 5 tracks of blazing, bestial Blackened Thrash full of Satanic energy coursing through its corrupted veins.

The songs are primitive and atavistic, harking back to simpler times of a purified Metal lineage without outside influences or detractions. The band are fully aware of the path they tread and do so with pride.

The vocals bark their way from the gutter and scrape like nails down a blackboard. Even so, they manage to effectively deliver a wealth of hooks.

The wills of the various musicians are nefariously bent towards the creation and propagation of primeval Metal, and they do this admirably and to full effect. The songs and the riffs stick in the brain even after the final song The Scourging Angel ends in a squeal of feedback.

Apart from a previously released demo this is the band’s first release, and thus is laid a foundation for the future. A terrifying future where Cultfinder’s Blackened vision has come to pass. Get in on the action early and have a listen to Hell’s Teeth.

Eissturm – The Purpose (Review)

This is US band Eissturm and they play Black Metal with Ambient and Folk touches.

This is Black Metal in the style of Vinterrikket with Metal tracks interspersed with more Ambient, Folky numbers.

In the Metal parts the guitars are fuzzy, atmospheric and concentrate on building mood with layers of ice cold depth. It’s heavily distorted and laden with reverberation.

The guitars aim to create maximum emotion and the extra effects create a veneer of feeling that radiates outwards from the songs like a cyclone.

The vocals are either emitted like static; scratching and screeching their way through the storms, or howling and tortured; crying out in anguish against the wind.

The ambient tracks reinforce the fact that this is Black Metal born of a frigid, desolate environment where survival is hard and night is perpetual. Each one adds to the mystique and flavour of the album and draws you into their world even more.

Like walking through a snowstorm in a barren landscape with no food or shelter for days. Icy and atmospheric Ambient Black Metal done well.

Cauldron Black Ram – Stalagmire (Review)

This is the third album from Australian Death Metal band Cauldron Black Ram.

The band have a very striking sound that instantly forces you to sit up and pay attention. Sort of like Six Feet Under crossed with Venom and Celtic Frost.

There is an air of Sludge to the songs; a foetid whiff of mouldy corpses long sealed in a basement. Add to this a decent Black Metal influence on occasion, and you have a bumpy ride over the screaming bodies of countless poor passers by as this Metal juggernaut rolls into town.

They have a very fluid sound in the sense that the songs can morph into different shades of Metal quite quickly, with different riffs, vocals and drumming patterns all asserting themselves dominantly depending on the song. All of this happens within the Death/Black/Sludge Metal framework of course, but it does mean that there’s never any chance to get bored when the band have so many tools to club their way into your attention.

Although I wouldn’t call them Old-School per se, there is a definite Old-School streak to them and they even have some prime Heavy Metal, almost Iron Maiden-type moments now and again.

This is an interesting and gratifying Metal album. All the more so for the fact that it’s a little different from the norm. A lot of talent and effort has gone into these songs, and it shows.

Get your fix of Cauldron Black Ram today.