Reviews – Page 594 – Wonderbox Metal

Terminal Prospect – Redefine Existence (Review)

Time for a bit of Swedish Melodic Death Metal in the form of Terminal Prospect and their second album Redefine Existence.

At 11 tracks in 34 minutes, most of the songs are quite short and to the point. This is from the same school of Metal as The Haunted, early In Flames, Darkane, At The Gates, etc. and it’s better than you probably imagine.

The album starts with the high-pitched screams of the singer, whose vocals appear to be designed to scratch at the brain while the music batters your chest. He screams and shrieks his way through the songs in an effective manner, and it works particularly well when he locks into a rhythm with the guitars and they work together as one.

The songs are streamlined and full of melodic flourish, while still keeping the Thrash feel of the riffs alive and well. There are some nice guitar parts and the band have a vibrant feeling to a lot of the riffs. This vibrant feeling is important; it would be easy for a band like this to have tired-sounding guitars. Although it’s exceptionally hard for any group to have completely unique riffs, melodies etc., and Terminal Prospect don’t fall into this category, (as most bands don’t); at least they still sound young, fresh and full of life. There is no going-through-the-motions here, it’s all done for the love of Metal.

A quality album that is easy to digest and leaves a pleasant taste in the mouth. Recommended.

Sammath – Godless Arrogance (Review)

This is Sammath’s fifth album of Black Metal misanthropy from the Netherlands.

Oh but this takes me back! This is for the people who couldn’t get enough of Panzer Division Marduk – this has the same intensity and visceral assault.

Straight away the band are a whirlwind of razorblade riffs and frenzied drumming. As brutal as a stabbing and as clinical as a missile; these songs are not interested in who gets hurt but only in the wanton amount of collateral damage they can cause.

Accompanied by savage vocals sharp enough to tear reality the music is ferocious and vicious as only scathing Black Metal can be.

Dark melodies cloaked under waves of rhythmic misanthropy truly manifest themselves over time in the 8 hymns to warfare and death that the band deliver.

This is cold and violent. This is murderous and intense. This is Godless Arrogance.

Thy Flesh – Thymiama Mannan (Review)

Thy Flesh are a Black Metal band from Greece who play a particularly Daemonic brand of Blackened darkness.

The songs have a ritualistic quality to them in addition to the usual razor sharp guitar lines that pepper a release like this.

The vocals are savage and vomit their word-made-shadow out into reality from places unknown.

Frozen and obscure melodies strike from these barren hymns of ice and lash out at the listener from behind barricades of pounding war drums. They speak of eerie atmospheres and unearthly longings, voiced in the language of Black Metal and oncoming apocalypse. Perhaps Thy Flesh herald something long forgotten, something returning to exact payment for a disturbed slumber that should have gone undisrupted.

Mixing elements of Dissection and Ondskapt, Thy Flesh have crafted an expertly delivered offering of occult Black Metal that more than hits the spot. The band have enough instant appeal to satisfy but have sufficient depth to their compositions to allow digestion over time to improve satiety even more.

Well played and decently written; this is a worthy addition to the genre and a quality début for the band. You can feel the darkness approaching, heralded by a storm of knives.

Avulsed – Ritual Zombi (Review)

This is Avulsed’s sixth album and the veteran Death Metal juggernaut shows no sign of let up in either the aggression or quality departments.

If you haven’t encountered Avulsed before then I heartily recommend you get hold of their entire back catalogue as they have released some great Death Metal over the years.

Their style is brutality spiced up with unexpected moments of melody and a large degree of catchiness. Yes; Death Metal with songs!

Their latest album is no different; here we get ultra-heavy song-based Death Metal with a production that melts faces all delivered by a band who have made Metal their true calling in life. This passion shines through and I think is one of the reasons that Avulsed are so good at what they do.

They’ve never shied away from the odd unexpected moment either; the odd keyboard-enhanced section or Spanish guitar track has been known to make it through the mincer on occasion to throw in a bit of light in all of the gore-drenched chaos. This is the exception of course, as the vast majority is pure unadulterated Death Metal.

This zombie-themed album smashes skulls and scores kill-shots with every song. Vocalist Dave Rotten once again putting in a stellar performance with guttural, bowel-loosening growls honed through decades of use.

There is also a cover of Death’s Zombie Ritual to chew on.

Avulsed continue to be one of the best Death Metal bands around. This album is expertly crafted, proficiently played and staunchly Death Metal; any fan of brutality should have this in their collection.

Ogre – The Last Neanderthal (Review)

This is the fourth album by US Doom/Heavy Metal group Ogre.

This is 70’s inspired Metal combining Hard Rock and Traditional Doom into a retro package with a healthy, organic sound.

The songs have a heady atmosphere and personality by the bucketful. The singer wails and croons over the top of unrestrained guitars and drums that sound very natural.

The band as a whole generally try their best to capture the essence of early Black Sabbath and the songs match accordingly. This is not simply some copycat band however as the album makes sense on its own and has more than enough merits to warrant its existence.

Alongside the hefty guitars the songs have a Blues Rock vibe to them that lets them dig into a comfortable slow groove until they spend themselves in a state of blissful satiety.

When the riffs are pumping and solos are blazing this is life affirming music. Feel the Metal and use it to club your enemies, Ogre-style.

Kaoskult – Secret Serpent (Review)

This is the first album by Polish Black Metallers Kaoskult.

The band play occult-influenced Black Metal steeped in the raw stuff of other worlds.

The vocals are primal and operate almost as a form of chanting over the slashing guitars. Utterly evil and devoted to darkness, they’re mainly deeper than a lot of Black Metal bands get away with. They also experiment with some subtle clean vocals that seem to swim under the knife-like guitars and these work well.

The guitars rip and slice their way through the 39 minutes of offerings and know when to slow down as the ritual demands rather than being full-on all of the time.

Certain tracks lock nicely into a satisfying mid-paced groove for parts of the song. When the faster sections arrive they are no less gratifying however. We also get treated to some chuggy, almost-Thrashy riffs on occassion. Eternal Threat, for example, has all of these within its 6:10 playing time.

The black melodies infect the brain and there are some choice riffs on these songs.

A quality album full of spite and bile.

Lucifer’s Hammer – Night Sacrifice (Demo MMXII) (Review)

Chilean band Lucifer’s Hammer have released this EP/Demo full of Traditional/Classic Heavy Metal.

First thing I want to note is the excellent cover – simple and effective. Love it.

As for the music? One could almost apply the same terms to it. This is resolutely Old-School Classic Heavy Metal, taking cues from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

For a demo the sound is not that bad, although they could certainly benefit from a slightly better recording. The songs work however, regardless of this.

Each track is straightforward and has enough catch and hook to be enjoyable. The vocalist sings with gusto and appears to have gotten the Old-School Metal attitude and harmonies exactly right. He lives up to the images of his idols well, as do the band as a whole.

It will be interesting to see how they develop when they eventually put out a full length album. Time to keep an eye on this band I feel.

Alterbeast – Immortal (Review)

Alterbeast are from the US and on this their début album they treat us to a Technical Death Metal showcase.

Immortal is 8 tracks in just under 30 minutes of a band showing that they can not only play insanely well but that they can craft enjoyable Metal while they do it.

It shreds, rips, blasts and batters in all the right ways and at the end of it you’re left wondering what the Hell just happened. And where did your teeth go?

Their sheer wanton love of Brutal Death Metal and technical proficiency combines effortlessly to produce one hell of an album. Alterbeast manage to straddle both brutality and technicality at the same time so that one doesn’t overpower the other. This effortless sewing together of the two sub-genres of Death metal means that Immortal is a very complete album with both songs and fretboard domination. They can also be surprisingly melodic whent hey want to be, further emphasizing their advanced songwriting skills.

The singer has an amazing voice whether he is growling deeply or screaming his lungs out; either way he stays on top of the melodically-chaotic mayhem and demonstrates a gleeful attitude to his attack.

The sound of the album is just immense; all of the instruments are crystal clear and the guitars have a great heaviness to them that translates into molten gold when the solos and leads appear. As for the drummer he is technically precise without sounding sterile and forms a real backdrop to the carnage that the guitars wreak and the aggression spewed by the singer.

I won’t hide my love for this kind of ultra-modern, ultra-slick Death Metal. This is essential.

Hounds of Annwn – Stirling (Review)

Hounds of Annwn are from the US and play Folk Metal.

This is chirpy, Folk inspired Metal that uses plenty of non-standard instrumentation to bring the themes and images that it wants to portray to life.

The vocals are clean, clear and nicely done. The singer’s voice is restrained and laid back but has depth and power readily available when needed. He has talent in abundance and is one of the main highlights of this release for me.

There are only two songs on this EP but it’s still a meaty 14:43 of music to get your teeth into. The songs are catchy and well written, as well as being high energy and with a lot going on. To my ear they come across as a kind of mixture of Primordial and Korpiklaani and it works really well.

A really enjoyable couple of songs. Hopefully the’re building up to a full album; if they can keep up the standards set on this EP then it should be something good.

Enthroned – Sovereigns (Review)

Enthroned are a veteran Belgian Black Metal band that need little introduction; this is their 10th album.

It opens with a massive ominous intro. Normally I’m against pointless intros as they usually serve little purpose, but this one is compelling and the horns sound immense; it sets the scene well for the approaching carnage.

It takes time to build up to a fast tempo; instead it starts slowly and ritualistically, taking advantage of mood and atmosphere. Once sated however, Hell is then unleashed and the band rip forth with scorching Satanic Black Metal.

For a band who are so well established and have so many releases there is still a hunger at work here and it comes across in the songs.

Some of the riffs and melodies they use are extremely tasty and designed to evoke feelings of almost tense uneasiness. Extra effects, horns, etc. further add to the mood and Enthroned show themselves to be on the top of their game. Just listen to the start of Lamp of Invisible Lights for example. I mean come on! Other bands just aren’t trying by comparison. The album is full of moments like these.

The band have an evolved sense of dynamics and the songwriting on this release is very enjoyable. They appear to have developed an aura of corruption and awe-filled terror for this album. It reminds me of the recent masterpiece by Corpsessed, only filtered through a razor-sharp Black Metal lens.

The band explore a variety of interesting ideas and songs structures within the confines of their chosen genre. This is not an album that sounds repetitive, and even features that rarest of things – the, (whisper it!), Black Metal guitar solo.

Enthroned appear to just be improving with age. This is a brilliant album and a must for all fans of Extreme Metal. I really can’t say enough good things about Sovereigns; this is exactly what I want from Black Metal in 2014.