Reviews – Page 606 – Wonderbox Metal

Lethe – When Dreams Become Nightmares (Review)

Formed by members of Manes and Eluveitie, Lethe play dark and multi-textured experimental music.

Combining the best parts of Rock, Post-Rock, Electronica and Metal to create 10 tracks of emotive songs that instantly capture your attention while also having enough depth to keep you satiated in the long run. Bands such as Ulver, Arcturus and Manes are the obvious starting points and Lethe should definitely appeal to fans of these groups.

The main vocalist is a very talented person. Her vocals are exceptional and she shows great range across the album. She has great character and talent, and infuses both of these into every song to create the right mood for each. The occasional male vocals that swim in and out of the various tracks simply add another dimension to the proceedings.

The music doesn’t let the side down though – each song is crafted to a high standard by experienced personnel who know exactly what to do to achieve the effect that they want. The songs are passionate and dark, with Gothic Rock stamped all over some of them but not in a commercial stadium-friendly way, rather in a more personal way that allows you to have a relationship with the actual songs rather than some stylised version that will eventually become stale due to overexposure and lack of substance. This is female fronted Rock for people that don’t like female fronted Rock.

This is an astoundingly good album that combines catchiness and intellect to produce sophisticated dark Rock. What a fantastic way to start off 2014.

Upyr – Altars/Tunnels (Review)

This is the first release from Bulgarian band Upyr.

They play Blackened Doom and do this extremely well. The first track Before the Altars of Necrotic Karma starts with towering slow riffing and alternates this with a more mid-paced attack that evokes murky landscapes and a blackness to get lost in.

Vocals alternate between high shrieks a la Black Metal, and deeper growling and vocalisations. These are quality vocals as the deeper ones sound really menacing and the shrieks, (the predominant style), are savage and as sharp as black ice. Neurosis-style clean vocals are also used sparingly and contribute to the grim whole.

I really like the mood that these songs set for the listener. Although it may describe a bleak and inhospitable environment for the average person, for the connoisseur this is the sweetest of delicacies. The combination of monolithic Doom guitars with a scything Black Metal sheen to them is a dark pleasure to savour.

Taking the blueprint of Doom and infecting it with the corrupting influence of Black Metal is yielding great results for bands like Usnea and Battle Path; now we have another name to add to this glowing list of honors – Upyr.

A top quality first release and may there be many more in the future.

Djinn and Miskatonic – Forever in the Realm (Review)

Stylish Doom with a real funeral feel; you can almost touch the misery in every sorrowful chord.

Vocals alternate between mournful, doleful cleans and coarser, Old-School Death Metal-style rough barks.

The music is Doom through and through, but quite varied in that it takes elements of Doom’s various sub-genres, (Doom Metal, Sludge, Death Doom, Stoner, etc.), and packages them neatly into 43 minutes. They’re not afraid to unleash a big box of groove now and again either; Book of the Fallen in particular sports a riff to rock out to that any Black Sabbath fan would be happy to hear.

Vulcan’s Forge appears to be all about alcohol; not only does this successfully recreate a really boozy atmosphere but it also boasts a great bass line and sound.

The crowning glory of the album has to be the final song Weird Tales which is a 17 minute enthralling epic. It starts with a lonely bass line that Reverend Bizarre would be proud to have written, and builds up from there; adding drums first and slowly bringing in everything else.

Forever in the Realm makes its mark on the listener in both the short term and the long term. There are parts of these songs that are instantly memorable, and others that seep into your consciousness over time.

As a début album this is certainly an impressive release and one that holds many treasures for even a seasoned Doom fan.

Get drunk and play loud.

Amon – Liar in Wait (Review)

As many of you will know; Amon started out life in 1987 and eventually morphed into Deicide. Now, a mere 25+ years later, we have their début album!

If you are familiar with Deicide then you know the general style here, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Among Us is the first track and sets the scene perfectly; muscular, rhythmic Death Metal with a strong sound and some excellent riffs and leads. I wasn’t sure how good this release would be, but this song instantly set my mind to rest. The remaining tracks follow this trend.

It’s clear that the passion and intensity that Eric and Brian Hoffman have for Death Metal is alive and well. This is not diluted or pasteurised in anyway – this is the real deal. What we get is riff/song-focused Metal that is effortless in its delivery and flawless in execution.

Being a very guitar-oriented album there are solos aplenty. Anyone who has been following my reviews for a while now may have noticed that I’m partial to the odd solo, so you can imagine how much I enjoy this.

The recording and general sound of this album is first-rate, as you would expect. The guitar tone is enough to bring me out in fits of excitement alone as it’s just so damn sexy, and the blazing solos on top of it is like listening to liquid gold.

It’s not all about the guitars of course, vital as they are. The drums are blasted out with passion and technique, and the vocalist is, quite frankly, excellent.

With Deicide being such a high-profile band I can imagine Amon causing a split in opinion between those that love the consistency of a familiar sound done extremely well, and between those who were hoping for something different and are disappointed. I am firmly of the former camp and I just can’t stop listening to this.

We All Die (Laughing) – Thoughtscanning (Review)

This is a sublime Progressive Metal album that consists of just one 33 minute song named Thoughtscan.

Useful starting reference points for this band are Green Carnation, Katatonia, Anathema, etc. although they have enough individuality to exist on their own merits.

This release takes the listener on a journey through splendour and horror; through new life and decay; never knowing where it’s going to stop but knowing that the experience is more important than the destination. And We All Die (Laughing) do so love to provide a great experience. Whether the parts of the song are quiet and considered, or heavy and energetic, they have a firm grasp on the quintessential essence of what makes this kind of music so appealing to Progressive Metal fans – being transported to somewhere else.

There are subtleties and nuances in abundance in this release, as well as stand-out moments that instantly grab you and soul-searching melodies and harmonies aplenty.

A thoroughly ambitious debut release that largely succeeds in reaching its goals and sets itself up nicely to build on this epic effort in the future. As a collaborative effort between two artists in their own right, I can only hope they work together again on this project as there is more to be had here; more to be explored and the veil torn back to reveal more hidden wonders.

Listen intently and absorb completely.

http://listen.kaotoxin.com/album/thoughtscanning

Aborted Fetus – Private Judgement Day (Review)

Aborted Fetus – Russian Brutal Death Metal that’s guaranteed to give you a shock in the arm early in the morning. Who said Caffeine is better than Death Metal?

This is ultra-brutal, almost-Deathgrind music that takes no prisoners and probably doesn’t even know what the word mercy means. As a point of reference think early Severe Torture, and then think how much of a compliment that is.

The songs are largely short and sharp with plenty of blast to remove the cobwebs and get the, (bloody), juices flowing.

Vocals are unintelligible and coarse – almost pure pignoise, but just the right side of this so rather than sounding stupid they actually sound pretty damn great!

I have a soft spot for this kind of ultra-brutality. Yes it’s never going to win any awards for originality but being unique is overrated sometimes; sometimes you just want to blast and grind it out, and when you’re in this kind of mood Aborted Fetus hit the exact right spot.

You can hear a track streamed from Comatose Music here.

https://www.facebook.com/Abortedfetusbrutality

Down from the Wound – Violence and the Macabre (Review)

Down from the Wound hail from the Philippines and play a rippingly brutal brand of Death Metal.

This is music to snap necks to. Wasting no time they’re straight into it with squealing barbarity in the first track Ill Fated Annihilation. The entire album is a viscous assault on the body. The sense of being crushed under a great weight pervades these songs, so dense is the guitar sometimes.

They play both fast and slow very well, but for me it’s the massive chug-squeals that they throw into the mix occasionally that really get me bouncing around in my seat, (and gathering some funny looks in the process).

The vocals are of the deep cookie-monster-style that do the job well and are vomited forth with precision and intent.

This music is full of effortless, almost casual brutality. The songs are long, on average, with most approaching or over the five minute mark, allowing the band to squeeze the maximum and optimal combination of blast and slower chug-squeals. The middle section of the title track has a particularly oppressive slow part that one imagines hordes of gorillas just leaping around and smashing things to. Which of course would be the appropriate reaction if they were ever played this album.

I have really enjoyed this. The combination of speed and groove perfected by the band and then shot through with heaviness and more squeal-y bits than you can wave a severed arm at; this is an album to return to.

Want to get your ears wrapped around some tasty, slamming Death Metal played well and executed like only true fans of the genre can? Look no further.

Favourite Track: Contesting the Sacred. Like a roller-coaster of pain.

Kongh – Counting Heartbeats (Review)

Swedish band Kongh play a captivating type of Doom/Sludge Metal that is exhilarating and apocalyptic at the same time.

Originally released in 2007; this is Kongh’s début album that’s been recently reissued with a bonus disc featuring their 2006 Demo and their split with Ocean Chief; that’s 2 hours and 15 minutes of music guaranteed to satiate your Sludge hunger.

Taking their cues from the best parts of bands like Neurosis and Isis while also injecting some crusty Metal into this formula, Kongh have produced a corker of an album that is a 100% Grade A prime Sludge classic.

Doom, Stoner, Sludge, Post-Metal, Crust – all these elements and more collide to create Counting Heartbeats and it really is something special. The build up and release; the dynamics employed; the crushing apocalyptic Doom. Songs to get lost in.

As if the original album wasn’t good enough, the inclusion of their demo and split just sweetens the pot of this sumptuous aural feast. The 25 minute Drifting on Waves is especially good.

If you only get one Sludge album in the near future get this one.

Thy Worshiper – Czarna Dzika Czerwień (Review)

Thy Worshiper are from Poland/Ireland and play Black Metal with a very tribal/folk feeling and influence.

There is a very ritualistic feeling to these songs, added to considerably by tribal drums, female vocals, driving percussion, unorthodox instruments, etc. All of these enhance the flavour of the album and contribute to a 46 minute listen that explores a very rhythmic, pounding Black Metal. A modern version of a folk tale nightmare; the feelings and images described by Czarna Dzika Czerwień are astounding.

The folk influences are poured neatly into the Black Metal mould and solidify seamlessly to create a work of art that simply demands to be heard.

For me personally a lot of “Folk Metal” just sounds weak, wishy-washy, and more-often-than-not simply heralds a band unsure of their direction or of what to do with their Folk influences. None of these criticisms can be levelled at Thy Worshiper. The combination of Folk and Black Metal they create is handled with expert ease and every track sounds alive with history and tradition.

It can be a cliché to describe something as a “hidden gem” but the term definitely fits Thy Worshiper. This is a very strong album that deserves a much wider audience than it’s probably going to get.

An absolute pleasure to listen to and one of my favourite finds.

Year Of No Light – Tocsin (Review)

French act Year Of No Light have released their new album and it’s brimming with Sludge/Doom/Post-Metal delights.

The band may be instrumental but they never let the interest waver once throughout this 57 minute release.

All band members put in an excellent performance and you can’t fault the musicianship. More than that though the compositions are original and well thought out. Second, (and shortest), track Géhenne is a prime example of this; eerie riffs slip and slide over thundering blastbeats providing a hectic juxtaposition that works wonders to wake you up first thing in the morning.

The heavy riffs are inventive and imaginative; crashing around the listener like waves from an unfathomable ocean. There really are some colossal sounds on these tracks.

Other parts are calmer and more considered, full of crescendos and build/release dynamics that may be a staple of the Post-Metal scene but reach their apotheosis here. Third track Désolation is a 10 minute slow building Doom dirge that captures you and won’t let you go until the song comes to an end and it slowly morphs into the terrible beauty of the next track Stella Rectrix; fully replete with tension and apocalyptic grandeur.

This is a state-of-the-art, sophisticated album that has the potential to appeal to anyone who likes guitar-based music. I fail to see how anyone with an ear for a good melody and an appreciation of atmosphere and mood can not like this.

Over the years Year Of No Light have consistently released top quality albums, and this is no exception. Do your ears a favour and add this to you record collection as soon as you can. Essential listening for the brain.

Favourite Track: The harrowing majesty of Stella Rectrix.