Wonderbox Metal

Convulsif – IV (Review)

Convulsive are an experimental band from Switzerland. This is their fourth album.

After the blackened mindfuck, (in a good way), that was CD3, Convulsif return with something a bit different that’s actually superior. It’s mostly instrumental, dark and surprisingly addictive.

Featuring bass, clarinet, violin and drums, this is an experimental foray into noise and unusual Rock. These instruments come together in a variety of ways to produce music that is always trying to push the envelope and always manages to be emotive, in one fashion or another.

Largely gone is the experimental Black Metal of their previous release, although stylistically and atmospherically we’re not a million miles away from it with some of he crawling Doom/Drone here; IV can still be dark and foreboding when it wants to, as well as displaying any number of other moods.

Instead, this release has an even more diverse approach than its predecessor. Doom, Post-Rock, Black Metal and Grind are all merely ingredients to be liberally sprinkled around during these 37 minutes, and Convulsif leave few stones left unturned in their quest for sonic excess.

Disturbing noises and unsettling vibes are frequently the order of business for IV, mixed in with Grindcore-level extremity and exploratory bludgeoning. Add in some Jazz and some sexy bass workouts and you end up with a compelling collection of twisted soundscapes that really succeed where such an eclectic, esoteric assortment of tracks could so easily fail.

If you’re in mind for something a bit different that has a lot to offer, check out IV; you won’t regret it.

Persona – Elusive Reflections (Review)

Persona are a Tunisian Metal band and this is their début album.

Featuring 46 minutes of modern Metal, Elusive Reflections comes replete with symphonic and Power Metal accoutrements

My common complaint, echoed in other reviews, with this kind of thing is that sometimes the emphasis can be too much on the singer and not enough on the music, specifically the Metal content; thankfully this is not the case here, (otherwise this would never have made it to the review stage), and the band remember the importance of a good riff and being able to hear the guitars.

With that in mind, the singer is still the star of the show a lot of the time, as is usually the case with Power/Heavy Metal bands. Her voice is easily capable of being both powerful and understated, and she successfully acts as a focal point to the music without distracting from or overpowering it.

Appropriately, the music stands on its own merits and we even get extended sections that are bereft of vocals and also feature guitar solos, both of which are frequently absent in female-fronted Metal.

The symphonic and electronic elements are omnipresent, but are employed in much more of a restrained manner than that of some similar bands. You’d miss them if they were gone, but they’re not the main event.

These are catchy and memorable songs, with more depth and ability than you might give them credit for on first glance. Although it’s definitely of the style it purports to be, within these stylistic limitations there’s more variety here than you sometimes get with this kind of music and each song has its own story.

With a good working knowledge of what constitutes a decent song, the band plough through these 46 minutes with enthusiasm and class.

Recommended.

Inverloch – Distance | Collapsed (Review)

This is the début album from Australian Doom/Death band Inverloch.

Featuring members of the legendary Disembowelment, this is a highly anticipated release in some quarters that lives up to the lofty expectations laid upon it, for the most part.

Here we have a flawless blend of Doom and Death Metal, so much so that you could almost classify the band as one or the other, really, if the Doom aspect wasn’t quite so all-pervading.

Inverloch are heavy, nasty and clearly know what they’re doing. Also, did I mention they’re heavy? The songs chug, blast and DOOOOOM their way through the 39 minutes of ugly misery contained on this release, and it’s barely contained at that.

It’s easy to like these songs, as whether the band are playing at a snail’s pace or blasting out with furious mayhem, it’s all done extremely well.

More than just a collection of devastating riffs and deep growls, (although there’s more than enough of both), Distance | Collapsed has an emotional resonance and depth that is surprising in its effectiveness, considering how harrowing and mind-numbingly dark these songs actually are.

The riffs are ominous, unsettling and frequently more than a little bit scary. To say Inverloch are an imposing proposition is putting it mildly. There’s just something about the darkened auras that they create… In some ways these tracks are like scraping at a raw wound; you know you shouldn’t, but it just feels so damn good. Or something. Oh I dunno, just listen to Inverloch, it’s worth it in every way.

Dead River Runs Dry – Hierophants of the Storm (Review)

Dead River Runs Dry are an Australian Black Metal band and this is their début album.

Here is a band that play evil, underground Black Metal that’s a little different from the norm. Their sound is brutalised-up with an ugly Death Metal influence, making the tracks on Hierophants of the Storm quite imposing. This is further added to by Thrash Metal elements in some of the guitar parts, ensuring that the album isn’t short on riffs.

Growls and screams are both performed well and both used appropriately as and where best for the needs of the song. Powerful-sounding cleans are sparingly employed to enhance more emotive sections too, and these are well-received by yours truly.

The guitars are a highlight of the release, taking on different moods and guises as the whims of the songs dictate. I should mention that the band also have the odd guitar solo, that rarest of things in Black Metal, although with their Death and Thrash Metal influences I shouldn’t be surprised, really.

All of this is not to neglect the strength of the drums though, either, as when they’re not blasting all over the place they take on some very satisfying rhythmic qualities.

The songs are well-composed and have enough content in them to keep me quite happy. It’s a satisfying and surprisingly varied release, relatively speaking. The rather beefy sound merely adds to this, and Hierophants of the Storm is an extremely strong début, one which I’ll be blasting out happily for some time to come. Repeated listens validate this opinion, and over time this album reveals itself to be a definite keeper.

Highly recommended.

Pogavranjen – Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem (Review)

Pogavranjen are a Croatian avant-garde Post-Black Metal band and this is their third album.

Pogavranjen are one of many Post-Black Metal bands who are not content with the base genre and are intent on pushing boundaries and experimenting with the genre to help them get to the sound they want. In this case, this means twisting the core style in avant-garde, progressive, jazz and psychedelic ways, mutating it into the end result on Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem.

In addition to the standard instruments, the band use keyboards, synths, trumpets and trombones to achieve their vision. All of these are well-played and the musicians clearly know what they’re doing, whether it’s playing more straightforward parts, more involved, jazz-inspired free-form chaos, or building atmosphere with grim intent.

Coming across as a curious mix of Ephel Duath, Arcturus, Manes and Solefald, the band spend 45 minutes building up intricate and textured soundscapes, taking the listener on a compelling journey into the abyss.

The vocals mainly consist of well-performed cleans that are full of presence and an authoritarian charisma. They immediately catch the attention and provide a focal point while the music travels down multiple paths of darkened delights.

Jedva Čekam Da Nikad Ne Umrem is a real slow-burner of an album, requiring multiple listens to truly give up its secrets, and even then it keeps some back, jealous of its esoteric knowledge. It’s worth the effort though, as Pogavranjen’s avant-garde stylings are definitely on the right-side of quirky and this album is full of impressive sounds and moods.

Recommended.

The Unguided – Lust and Loathing (Review)

This is the third album from Swedish Metallers The Unguided.

The Unguided play melodic Death Metal mixed in with modern Metal, soaring cleans and infectious keyboards. It’s a style which has been done before, proven to be effective and is definitely on the more commercial end of the Metal spectrum. If that sounds like an implied negative, it would be if it was done poorly, but Lust and Loathing isn’t and is in fact a very enjoyable listen.

Full of stadium-friendly hooks and bold melodies, this is catchy and unashamedly memorable. One of things I really like about this release is that it’s closer to the Euro-Metal side of things than the US Metalcore-style, meaning that we get a lot of proper Metal content. There’s even some solos. Combined with the heaviness of the guitars, the ubiquitous harsh vocals and a high-energy delivery, this album has a thoroughly Metal core and doesn’t suffer from being overly-commercial or sanitized as a lot of similar bands can be afflicted with; there’s a fire and a passion here beneath the polished veneer.

The songs are enjoyable and catchy, as mentioned previously. The melodic Power Metal streak that the tracks have saves them from sounding generic and there’s a real flavour of the band in the songs, pulling them up to be highly effective modern European Metal bruisers with a strong melodic edge.

A lot of the time this kind of thing ends up having style over substance, but in this instance it seems that The Unguided have both.

Recommended.

Entropia – Ufonaut (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Post-Black Metal band Entropia.

As a firm fan of their stellar début album Vesper, Ufonaut is long-awaited and well-received.

In Entropia, Progressive Metal and Post-Metal meet a fiery Black Metal heart; combined together they take the airwaves by storm and Ufonaut’s blackened blend of atmosphere, shoegaze, Post-Rock and psychedelia is a hit.

Heavier and darker than its predecessor, Ufonaut is a more mature beast to an already forward-thinking début. On the whole the songs are also shorter and more focused, resulting in an album that knows precisely what it wants to do and goes about doing it with shadowy panache.

High-energy blackened delivery meets more depressive, introspective moments. As the songs progress there’s more and more to get lost in as the band build momentum and atmosphere. Tsunamis of pounding drums and otherworldly synths add to the textures of the songs in places, creating the atmosphere in firm, energetic layers.

With involving and engaging tracks, this is an album that makes the most of its time in the abyss and furnishes the listener with all manner of listening pleasures, so much so that Ufonaut is a real embarrassment of riches in some ways.

After waiting three years for their second album I have not been disappointed. All hail Entropia!

Interview with Abyssus

Abyssus have been taking the underground old-school Death Metal scene by storm in recent years, culminating in their début album Into the Abyss and their recent compilation Once Entombed…. Fast becoming one of my favourite old-school Death Metal bands, I wanted to know more about these Greek death-dealers…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

Greetings!! I am Panos Gkourmpaliotis, the guitarist of Abyssus, an old school death metal band from Greece. Abyssus formed in 2011 by the vocalist Kostas Analytis, just to glorify the Metal of Death!!! I entered the band in 2012 and Kostas Ragiadakos (bass) joined us in 2015. Abyssus is just our passion for 80s and 90s Death/Thrash Metal.

Give us a bit of background to Abyssus

After the release of our first EP “Monarch to the Kingdom of the Dead” (2011) it was about time for the band to have a solid line up. We played some live shows and we recorded a few split releases (No Life in the Coffin with legendary Nocturnal Vomit in 2013 , “From the Abyss Raised the Morbid” with mighty Morbider in 2014 and “Obscure” with Slaktgrav in 2014). The songs included in the split with Morbider were remixed and remastered because we were completely disappointed with the sound of that release. The result was “Summon the Dead” in 2014 , an EP released only on tape. For many years we were giving final form to our style. In 2015 we entered Unreal Studios, one of the best studios in Athens and we recorded our début album entitled “Into the Abyss” (released in 2015 via Memento Mori) and some split releases that already came in 2016 and some others that will follow soon.

What are your influences?

Our influences are all those epic bands from 80s and 90s that served old school Metal with respect and passion. Bands like Bolt Thrower, Death, Asphyx, Autopsy, Obituary, Possessed, Massacre, Benediction, Death Strike, Cancer, Slayer, Sodom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

This period am listening to Rapture’s début album called “Crimes Against Humanity” and “Ways of Enclosure” by Dementia 13. Both are great albums! Don’t forget to bang your heads with “Exterminate!! Annihilate! Destroy! by Down Among The Dead Men. Hail to Dave Ingram , one of the best Death Metal vocalists ever!!!! Bow to none!!!!

Give us a bit of background to Once Entombed… – as a collection of your older work, how did this release come about?

Memento Mori and Κunal of Transcending Obscurity cooperate on album promotions. So we met him! Transcending Obscurity celebrates with us and honours our first days with “Once Entombed…”, a compilation that shows the evolution of the band through the years. Most of our early releases are difficult to find, so it is a good opportunity for someone who wants to get in touch with that stuff. So far our collaboration with Transcending Obscurity has been more than excellent. Kunal is a metal maniac and we couldn’t be more satisfied with the result !!!

How do you go about writing your songs – has this changed over time?

Me and Kostas Analytis write our own stuff and then we shall get in touch to play to each other the new ideas.. We are partners in crime!! Until “Summon the dead” Kostas Analytis was the main composer of the band and I had less responsibility on that material. That was something that changed after “Summon the Dead” so to speak , as and I am responsible for the biggest part of “Into the Abyss”.

To me, your EP Monarch to the Kingdom of the Dead is stylistically and sonically different to what came after – what prompted this?

Our first EP “Monarch to the Kingdom of the Dead” released in 2011 and as I talked, when Abyssus began to act was just an one man band. As it is logical Kostas Analytis had a different view from me. But we found a common path somewhere in the middle and this is the so called evolution of Abyssus from “No Life in the Coffin” till now.

What’s your favourite song on your début album and why?

My favorite song off “Into the Abyss” is “Echoes of Desolation”. It’s probably the most “epic” song on the album , so to speak! The one that evokes more emotions and makes you get into a different kind of dimension.

What does the future hold for Abyssus?

Right now we are working on new material! Very soon our début album “Into the Abyss will be released on vinyl format via Floga Records and a 4-way split on 7” vinyl, with Death Courier / Slaughtered Priest / DreamLongDead. Also we’d like to play live our music in the near future , as two years have gone since our last live performance!

And finally – how ace is Death Metal?

After a long time that passed from the glorious 90s, prevailed mediocrity in all genres of metal music!!! As Asphyx said on “Deathhammer”, pollution begins!!!! Decades after, we see the streams of great releases coming out one after another and we are really excited about that. We believe that Death Metal must remain pure and old school as it had begun!! We respect and we admire so many legendary bands that kill again and of course new bands that defend the old sound with passion and true inspiration! Hail true Death Metal.

Impavidus – Impavidus (Review)

Impavidus are a Metal band from the UK. This is their début EP.

Boasting 18 minutes of melodic Death/Thrash/Groove Metal, Impavidus have forcefully arrived on the scene with a decent display of modern Metal.

Taking cues from bands such as Arch Enemy, Carcass, The Agonist, The Haunted, etc., they proceed to play this style better than most bands who are just starting out.

The songs are well-written and enjoyable, and I especially like the more melodic parts featuring clean female vocals. This is somewhat of a rarity for me, as more often than not these kind of sections are my least favourite parts when listening to similar bands’ songs. Impavidus, however, do all of this extremely well and their vocalist has a very good voice, reminding of the singer of Leaves’ Eyes in some ways.

Apart from these cleans, we get Arch Enemy-esque growls, occasionally backed by male shouts. These all work well and the music thrashes along at a good pace, nicely heavy and riffy.

Leads and solos are plentiful and the band aren’t shy about showing off their musical skills. Nor should they be.

It all comes together nicely and Impavidus have produced an impressive EP that’s way better than I was expecting. Why? Simply due to the fact that on paper, this follows a familiar format, one that is easy to be lazy with. The reality, however, is that these songs have high energy, catchiness, obvious passion and melodies that really hit the spot.

Quality stuff.

Greenleaf – Rise Above the Meadow (Review)

This is the sixth album by Swedish Stoner Rock band Greenleaf.

Boasting the kind of album cover that you could lose hours staring at, Greenleaf return with 44 minutes of retro-themed Stoner Rock that’s as easy-going and as compelling as ever.

With a warm, well-rounded sound, Rise Above the Meadow is a very easy album to get along with. The band’s personalities seem to seep from every note and the songs effortlessly send out emotive vibes in a retro-friendly fashion that’s sure to light up many a classic Rock-fan’s eyes.

The singer’s anthemic, charismatic voice resonates with relaxed power and presence, complementing the analogue warmth of the music. Hearty melodies and hummable tunes are in abundance and the band really don’t sound like they’re native to 2016 in many ways.

There are so many good riffs on this album and the band are in no short supply of melodies and evocative catchy sections either.

This is good stuff. For someone who mainly listens to much more extreme music, I sometimes have to be in the mood for this kind of release. However, like a lot of things, when you press play and let the music comfortably roll out of the speakers, it’s all very nice indeed.

Somewhere between The Sword, Clutch, Rival Sons, and even The Beatles in places.

Top work.