This is Thrash with Grind-length songs. Jagged riffs and anti-social behaviour abound on this release.
The songs are short and to the point. The band Thrash like a maniac and then end before they can lose interest in whatever subject matter they’re currently vociferating about.
The vocals are snarled, primitive and sometimes backed up with gang shouts for added emphasis.
With a band like this you should know exactly what you’re getting into and you either like it or you don’t.
If you’re in the mood for short Thrash Metal heavy on the attitude then Dizastor are as good as any. See what you think.
This is the début album from Ireland’s Dread Sovereign and they play Traditional Doom Metal.
At 67 minutes this is an epic album full of True Doom that is executed to perfection by people with an obvious mastery and love for the genre.
The singer is none other than the singer of Primordial, so you know the vocals are not going to be a let down. As usual his very characterful voice is on fine form and it adds a singular amount of personality and drama to the tracks.
The songs themselves are exceptionally well composed, with lots of stand-out moments. They have a real strength about them and feelings of grandeur and Doom majesty abound.
The album is chock full of prime riffage and they utilise both overtly catchy riffs and more subtle, insidious ones. On occasion they also use extra effects to highlight certain sections increasing the overall effect of the songs.
All Hell’s Martyrs is both a slow burner and an instant win; the best combination. It’s strong enough that it comes across straight away as an obviously special record, but it has enough depth and longevity so that it won’t simply be forgotten in a month or two. Part of this is down to the striking, expressive vocals, but it’s in large part to the master-crafted songs that are expertly put together.
Doom Metal has a new great and terrible leader. Lower your heads in reverence.
This is the latest album from Russian veteran Thrash Metallers Shadow Host.
The album has a good, chunky sound and everything is clear, crisp, crunchy and very Metal.
This is mainly melodic Thrash with a riff-heavy sensibility, although there is the odd splash of Power Metal in the mix as well. They also have a nice selection of solos scattered across the 10 tracks, which is always a bonus.
Shadow Host concentrate their songwriting powers on hooks and catchiness, meaning that we get songs that stick in the brain and make you want to pound your fist and shout along.
A perfectly enjoyable romp through the Thrash Metal glory days via a modern crunchy sound and production. Shadow Host have written an album they can be proud of. Give them a listen.
This is the first EP from Polish Black Metallers Suffering.
They blast off straight away into hyper-speed Satanic Black Metal with fingernail-scraping vocals and a sound that can kill small animals.
They also know when to slow down though and lock into a prime Darkthrone-esque groove that lets the Blackness develop and embrace the listener fully.
The riffs are as sharp as swords and the bleak melodies are as cold as death. Each song passes by in a daze of frozen distortion and melodic twilight.
The vocals are to be commended as they are ultra scratchy and are absolutely full of venom and hatred for all. Spewed out over blast beats and icy melodies it can be quite the Hell-raising experience.
Almost 29 minutes of darkness and Devil worship. Who doesn’t love Black Metal, eh?
Epistasis are a US band that play experimental Metal.
It’s relatively hard to classify; combining elements of Black Metal, Hardcore and Progressive Metal. With a trumpet.
Let me see…if you take the urban decay and atmospheric barrage of a band like Red Harvest, mix in the experimental extremity from some of Converge’s work and add splashes of Ephel Duath you’ll be on the right lines. Add to that a singer who screams with the best of the Black Metal/Scream-core elite and you’ll have a package for a very interesting and gratifying release.
There is a lot going on in these songs and although they have brutality and intensity in spades they also offer a whole lot more than that. When they want to they can be very atmospheric and create darkened moods ripe with promise of arcane fulfilment, if only the price is right of course.
The use of the trumpet is inspired and is nowhere near as intrusive and incongruous as you might expect; its contributions are relatively subtle and work wonders in adding a further layer to their labyrinthine sound.
Unfortunately this release is only 26 minutes long, which is a shame as the band clearly have a lot to offer. However what they do give us as exceptional and worthy of repeat listens.
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
Dizastor come from the US and play Thrash Metal.
Wonderbox Metal 