Wonderbox Metal

Evilheart – Quinquaginta (Review)

This is the third album from Mexican Blackened Death Metallers Evilheart.

Essentially evocative Death Metal with a Blackened twist, Evilheart impress with their vision of Extreme Metal on Quinquaginta.

Think of a cross between bands like Behemoth, Morbid Angel, Melechesh, Belphegor and Nile; bands that are at home combining heaviness and mood.

This is full of impressive riffs, leads and solos. The dark melodics and shining leads are richly textured against the harsh rhythms and pounding drums. It’s apparent that thought and practice has gone into this, and it’s an album that’s as precise as it is passionate.

The band work their magic though a mix sheer ferocity and bright melodics, knowing instinctively when to use one and when the other is more suitable. This results in a brutally atmospheric set of songs, allowing the band to choose the best tools for the job, whether that’s churning, seething ambience or straight-to-the-jugular blasting.

Quinquaginta is full of energy, dynamics and choice riffs. The songs are well-composed slabs of well-thought out and proficiently delivered Metal that have a good combination of instant appeal and depth for longevity.

At almost an hour in length this is an album that you can get absorbed in. There’s a lot to enjoy here and the song lengths allow the band to spread their dark wings and disseminate their message on their own terms and in their own time.

If you’re looking for some advanced Death Metal with a brutal atmosphere and professional delivery then Evilheart are here to provide you with what you seek. Very impressive.

Wolfbastard – Wolfbastard (Review)

Wolfbastard are from the UK and play Black Metal/Hardcore. This is their début album.

Like a cross between Darkthrone and Discharge, Wolfbastard play Crust-infused Black Metal that’s as ugly a version of Blackened Hardcore as you’re going to get. D-beat fury and icy rage combine to fuel these songs with an unearthly layer of unhealthy grime.

Harsh screaming vocals are your guide as you traverse the difficult terrain ahead of you. Pounding drums and savage guitars are your constant companions on this unfriendly path.

The songs are short, unmerciless and barbaric. Like a primitive template of how to merge two already atavistic styles, Wolfbastard’s début excels at showing how enjoyable Blackened Hardcore can be. These songs are imbued with an Old-School fury; Hardcore energy and Black Metal hate, combined in just the right amount.

The music is surprisingly catchy in many ways. The songs may not last long, but while they’re around the band make sure the playing time is filled with good riffs and memorable vocal patterns, with many a chorus being quite singable. Well, assuming you want to run around shredding your throat raw by shouting things like Nuns for the Slaughter, Summoning the Antichrist or Wolfbastard. Which maybe you do, who knows? If that’s the case, have at it old bean!

At any rate, this is a release that once again shows how fertile and diverse the UK Metal scene is. Wolfbastard are a worthy addition to the UK’s growing roster of quality bands, and this album is both strong and enjoyable.

Highly recommended.

Skvara – Carpathian Pagan Terror (Review)

Skvara are a Ukrainian Black Metal band and this is their second release.

This is underground Black Metal with a raw, fuzzy sound. It’s dark and cold, just as we like it.

The guitars seem to slither out of the dark murk of the songs like snakes sliding through water. The frozen, Blackened melodies do well to create both atmosphere and aggression, while the bass is actually audible and makes a good contribution.

Seething, screeching vocals lash across the back of the music like a vinegar-dipped whip, with every scream a torrent of pain and outrage.

Throughout these 34 minutes Skvara show that they have a deep love for the Black Metal Old-School elite. Importantly, however, they also show they have ambition and talent for the music, as the songwriting on Carpathian Pagan Terror is already quite proficient for such a young band.

Good riffs, melodies and ideas are included and for the most part these songs are very well-composed and performed. Skvara pretty much have all of the necessary components for an enjoyable Black Metal release. If they manage to tighten up their songwriting in a couple of places then they will very quickly become a force to be reckoned with, as this release clearly shows they have a massive amount of promise and potential already.

Highly recommended.

Opus Inferii – Ancient Mysteries Unveiled (Review)

Opus Inferii are a Brazilian Black Metal band and this is a re-release of their 2012 début album.

Here we have 48 minutes of Occult Black Metal. It’s raw, infused with darkness and cold to the touch.

Ancient Mysteries Unveiled has a solid sound that’s underground enough to suit the music but strong enough to not do the band any disservices.

This has the air of 90s-era Second Wave Black Metal and there’s a Swedish Melodic Black Metal influence at play here too, alongside a Norwegian one as well. Kind of like Dimmu Borgir stripped of orchestration and merged with Dissection, as well as a hint of mid-period Immortal here and there. This allows the band to not be constrained by just a single style. There are quite a few nice touches and ideas on this release, including moments of introspection, atmosphere and grandeur alongside the ritualistic violence.

The songs contain both blast beats and mid-paced sections, with a good balance between rhythm and dark melodics. The riffs are bleakly emotive but also know when to get heavier and meatier as required.

The singer’s Blackened rasp is one that does the genre proud. There are no issues with his performance at all.

This is such a classic style and it’s always a joy to hear Black Metal that’s played with such conviction and with talent. Add to this an infectious sound that allows the band to show off their wares without impediment and you have a recipe for success.

I really enjoyed this. A great combination of older Black Metal styles wrapped in darkness and shrouded in mist. Opus Imferii have impressed.

Wederganger – Halfvergaan Ontwaakt (Review)

Wederganger are a Black Metal band from the Netherlands. This is their début album.

This is largely mid-paced Black Metal with a haunting, mystical sound. They have a knack for combining typically dark Black Metal auras with more hopeful/heroic feelings to create music that is a double-edged blade, with one side sounding evil and malevolent and the other sounding epic and heroic.

Let’s start things off by saying that this is a damn fine record, with strong songs and interesting ideas.

The vocals combine strangled screams and confident cleans. These work with the dual nature of the music to create an atmosphere that’s both epic and grim. You can kind of think of it as Darkthrone meets Bathory, with probably a little more of the former in their sound rather than the latter. Either way, it results in Halfvergaan Ontwaakt sounding a bit different to the usual Black Metal norm, which is to be commended.

Wederganger continue in this vein for just under 44 minutes, working their black magic on the listener and weaving a spell that’s quite enticing. Their interesting take on Black Metal is infectious and it’s quite clear that the formula they’ve developed on Halfvergaan Ontwaakt works. These are enjoyable songs that perfectly straddle the boundaries of Orthodox Black Metal and epic, Folk Black Metal.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable release that uses two very old styles as its musical base, allowing the band freedom to create their own vision of what Black Metal should be.

And do you know what? Their vision looks pretty damn good.

Favourite Track: Dodendans. Perfectly judged, sorrowful cleans with just the right amount of vigour, powerful leads and a hypnotic, crawling delivery make this track a winner among a wealth of strong songs.

Norylsk – The Catholic Dictatorship (Review)

This is the second album from Polish Grinders Norylsk.

This is ugly Grind for fans of Regurgitate, Brutal Truth and Squash Bowels. It’s fast, brutal and the epitome of savage.

Norylsk largely have an Old-School sound but they do have some modern elements and ideas here and there. This is enhanced by a heavy, modern production.

Growls, screams and something that sounds like gargled broken glass are the main forms of attack from the singer. I worry about the health of his throat.

Norylsk blast, groove and tear their way through these tracks with clinical precision and furious focus. It’s a near-unrelentingly heavy assault and the band clearly know what they’re doing.

This is Deathgrind for people who like the Old-School style delivered in a modern way. It’s an impressively brutal album but one that doesn’t become too one-dimensional thanks to good songwriting and a few non-standard ideas in places, (including clean female vocals and spoken word on Mental Selection).

For Grindcore with weight and substance, look no further.

Interview with Seven7

Seven7’s third album The Follower is a feast of Modern Progressive Metal that’s big on riffs and melodies. I asked Nicolas some questions about the band and their latest release…

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

We are Seven7, from around London. Luke Nelson on drums, Arran McSporran on fretless bass, Dave Brown on vocals, Sally-Jo on violin, Nicolas Meier on guitar.

Dave and Nicolas met about 10 years ago and started to write the basic songs and looking for the sound of Seven7, mixtures of heavy grooves, tribal, with some world sounds and instruments. Big melodic choruses and crazy guitar parts. Year after year, Arran, then Luke then Sally joined the band.

We are now on our third album (The Follower) and we are really happy with the writing and the sound. We also have 4 videos out, including “Free” and “Fall” from our latest album, “Run” from Under Eye and “Changing” from Different world.

Where did the band name come from?

The number 7 has been following me a long time, kind of a good luck number. Then I saw already bands with 7 so we went for Seven7…

What are your influences?

Lots of type of metal, but we can use Korn, Alice in Chains, Dream Theater. But also a lot of world music and classical music too…

Seven7 Band What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

Well I just came back from Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic and really enjoyed Sepultura, Kreator, Triptykon, Vader, Annihilator and Cannibal Corpse… loved it all.

Otherwise I just got a beautiful album of a jazz pianist on ECM Records called Marcin Wasilewski.

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

I love the song “Why?”, because it’s epic, it’s prog, it’s heavy and has some world music elements and very melodic.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

Our singer Dave needs to reply this one… but “The Follower” the song is about sects… crazy leaders and blind followers. It’s about a cult, any cult. A man who joins the cult and he can’t leave.

If you listen carefully to the samples in the midsection of “The Follower”, one of the samples is Charles Manson. He tells you to do something and you have to do it, if not he is going to do it for you…

Each song has different subjects but quite dark; “Free” is about a man who gets accused wrongly and stays in prison, but finally escape; “Fall” is about a plane crash, and 2 men surviving; “Business” is about selling drugs; and “Magic Box”, a box of Hell.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

Well in general, I come up with the music, send it to Dave, get some feedback, and when he is happy we record the demo. Most of the time I write with an acoustic guitar, and we say a good song should sound good with one guitar or with a full band…

How did the recording go?

I have a home studio, so does the drummer Luke, so we can get a great quality ourselves.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

That’s always a surprise… but I guess it’ll start from The Follower.

What’s next for Seven7?

More concerts, festivals next year, more videos and hopefully a new album soon…

Horsebastard/Noisebazooka – Split (Review)

This split is brought to us by the UK’s Horsebastard and Austria’s Noisebazooka. Both bands play Grindcore.

Horsebastard are up first and deliver the goods with 6 tracks of furious blasting Grind in four minutes.

High pitched screams slice through the noise as if made my by some form of giant insect come to feast on man.

The drum sound is unusual and is frenetic and frenzied. Surely this must be the work of a twisted, multi-limbed insect? I think the term insectile Grind must have been invented for Horsebastard.

The tracks blur by in a haze of shrieking, blasting and abrasive guitars. It’s unhinged, unhealthy and reeks of fabulously wanton violence.

It’s all pretty much over before you’ve blinked and Horsebastard have left a funny taste in your mouth that you’re quite happy to experience again.

After that we have Noisebazooka with 7 tracks of even more crazy Grindcore in just under 7 minutes.

The vocals are strange shouts where the singer sounds just a hair’s breadth away from losing it totally. The music is even more manic than Horsebastard; this is not of the insectile variety though, it’s more experimental, almost, with unusual riffs, ideas, effects and time signatures alongside the traditional blasting.

Noisebazooka definitely have an individual take on Grind and theirs is a sound that will not be for everyone, even within Grindcore’s already limited audience; this is due in large part to the shouting-style of the singer.

If you can get on board with their unorthodox style then there’s a lot to like here and the music is very well crafted and pieced together.

Overall this is a good split showcasing these two different-but-complementary bands. Check it out.

Myrkur – M (Review)

This is the début album from this Danish solo Black Metal project, although on this release she is joined by other musicians too.

This is second-wave Black Metal with supplemental ethereal flourishes. Angelic clean vocals and harsh, daemonic screams play out across music that’s as frozen as it is beautiful. Think bands like Burzum and Vinterriket, only with added atmospheric instrumentation and stunning female cleans.

And stunning is the right word, as the brains behind this outfit has an amazing voice. Sounding transcendentally beautiful and uplifting, her voice is an incredible tool that gets used just right. The screaming doesn’t let the side down either; this is the kind of scratchy, static-like high-pitched shrieking that works so well in Atmospheric Black Metal.

If the music was straightforward Black Metal I think that it might be put to shame by her voice. However, in reality the Black Metal core is added to by so many other instruments and elements that the beauty of the clean vocals and the icy nature of the guitars don’t reveal too much contrast as there’s a lot of other music going on to bring the two closer together; in addition to the standard Black Metal instruments we also get piano, violin, horn, tuba and other traditional Scandinavian instruments used on the tracks.

The main juxtaposition comes when the angelic cleans aren’t being used; here we get malevolent Black Metal with frosted fury and malignant intentions. These sections segue nicely into the more atmospheric/Folkier parts though, so there’s no massive disconnect, only a compelling and involving soundscape that contrasts the beauty of a frosty landscape with the dangers inherent in such a scene.

M doesn’t contain songs in a traditional sense; the tracks are movements designed to showcase an emotive musical tapestry that takes the best from second-wave Black Metal and adds extra layers to it via clean singing and bright atmospherics.

There’s not really anyone playing this kind of Black Metal at the moment, certainly not with this level of proficiency at any rate. It’s definitely a less-travelled path that Myrkur is treading and it’s going to be pretty exciting to see where it leads in the future. My hope is that the songs become lengthier and even more epic in scope, as my only real complaint about M is that it is over far too quickly.

But I digress. For the moment let’s ignore what the future holds and concentrate on what we have; authentic Black Metal with an individual and highly emotive take on the source material. M is a success in every way, and after the tantalising glimpse into her world that was her début EP, we have not been disappointed by the promises it contained.

This is a class album; doing something a little different with Black Metal while still retaining the core of the style has worked wonders.

This album will garner all kinds of praise from all kinds of people. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Interview with Behold! The Monolith

The latest album from US Doom Metallers Behold! The Monolith has landed like a falling box of iron weights. Architects of the Void is a varied and exciting release that takes Doom, Sludge and pure Metal into its emotive embrace and produces an album forged from heaviness and darkness. I wanted to find out more about this album so I cornered their guitarist Matt Price…

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

Hello, I’m Matt and I play guitar for Behold! The Monolith.

Give us a bit of history to your band

Well, it was something I started doing by myself in 2006…just for fun, for myself. Just stockpiling and demoing riffs here and there. I met our bassist and vocalist Kevin McDade in 2007 and just did a bit of off and on jamming with him, then at the beginning of 2008 we decided to make it a band. We just started writing and recording and playing shows. We put out an EP and two full lengths ourselves. Then in June of 2013 Kevin died in a car accident. Our drummer Chase (who has been with us since 2010 or so) and I took a little time off but decided to move forward. We have since added Sasquatch bassist Jason “Cas” Cassonova and Fractalline vocalist Jordan Nalley to the ranks, and here we are about to put out a new album “Architects of the Void”.

Where did the band name come from?

It was just a name I came up with when I first started compiling riffs by myself, just so it had an identity, you know? I originally just wanted to call it ‘Monolith’, but there were already 4 or 5 bands using that name. I’ve always loved the word ‘Behold’. I’ve always listened to Judas Priest’s “Sad Wings of Destiny” starting with what is technically side 2 with the song “Prelude”…I think that was how the band intended. Anyway, the first word in “Tyrant” is “Behold! (tis I the commander)”. It’s just such an epic word. I had forgotten about it and was trying to think of names and someone said it on TV and I was like “that’s it!” and put ’em together. So when we started the band we wound up just going with that.

What are your influences?

As far as the band is concerned, too many to mention. We all come from different backgrounds and tastes with heavy music. Cas is the Stoner Rock guy and a lot of Jordan’s background is with Prog and Death Metal. Chase and I are into a lot of classic Metal and old Progressive Rock, plus I’m into dark, weird stuff and riffy Doom and Sludge type shit. I think we pretty much all come together on Black Sabbath, but we are pretty all over the place.

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

Since we got done recording I’ve just been mostly listening to a lot of old, mostly Proggy stuff like Yes and early King Crimson. As far as new, new stuff, I’m digging the new Arcturus album, and the new Cattle Decapitation is pretty sick. Not my normal “go-to” stuff but my brain needs a break from the slow and low stuff lol.

There’s a variety of different styles on this album, incorporating Doom and Sludge as well as bits of Classic and Post-Metal. How did this arise from your songwriting?

It’s just a catch all of the stuff me and the other guys like. I’m not a huge fan of the whole sub-genres of sub-genres thing. I get that it serves a purpose to some for categorizing or keeping things pure or whatever. But I think a Death/Doom thing or something inspired by Zeni Geva can co-exist with a part inspired by Angel Witch or Iron Maiden if it’s approached the right way. It keeps things interesting, to me anyway. It’s not like we are truly “genre-splicing”…to us it’s all just Metal or Heavy music at the end of the day.

Behind the obvious fact that it’s being released for wider consumption, this strikes me as quite a personal release. In my review I say “This sounds more like music played for the sake of musical catharsis and outlet than for the need to simply rock out or any such thing” – is there any truth to this?

Yes! Particularly for this album. I know we put a lot into this one. Losing Kevin was really hard on me and Chase, and we really wanted to do right with what we started with him. I think we were all going through our own personal stuff on one level or another, so there was some genuine release there, especially in hindsight. This one just hit a deeper chord in all of us I think.

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

That’s a tough one actually! I could tell you what my least favorite one is, but I won’t do that haha. Right this second I’d say the album intro “Umbral Vale” into “Philosopher’s Blade” could be my favourites because they were actually the very last things we wrote right before we recorded, and they were completely written fresh and with the new lineup in mind. But I really love “The Mithriditist” and I really like the way the song “Architects of the Void” closes out the album.

Tell us about the album artwork

The art was once again by Dusty Peterson. He’s just great. He’s always gotten what we’re going for and this time he just knocked it out of the park! I had a basic idea or two in my head, and he just nailed it.

How did the recording of the album go?

It was at times awesome and at others really stressful. We had a few technical issues, mostly with equipment and whatnot. But I think some of the frustration may have actually benefited the performances.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

It’s hard to say. We can plan for one thing but it can very easily wind up sounding like another. I have been going down the Prog wormhole lately – and I feel like we abandoned a lot of our vibey space-rock I originally wanted to do, so maybe more of that. But who knows? There’s a lot of potential and the slate is clean right now.

What’s next for Behold! The Monolith?

Getting this record out! And some touring for sure. We really want to make it to Europe, that is at the top of our list for sure. And there has been talk of getting right back into writing…but I’d say promoting “Architects of the Void” as much as possible is the priority right now!

 You can order it here https://beholdthemonolith.bandcamp.com/album/architects-of-the-void