Wonderbox Metal

Wilt – Moving Monoliths (Review)

Wilt are a Canadian Black Metal band and this is their début album.

Wilt play Atmospheric Black Metal that takes its time, fleshing out its expansive vision with Doom-drenched splendour and releasing negative vibes for all to feel and react to.

Despondent and glorious, Wilt play music that doesn’t lack for bite or venom, despite the fact that they know how to foster mood and atmosphere. Here, the two go hand in hand with a Blackened spite that seems to coast along the seas of guitars like a predator looking for prey.

The main bulk of this album is taken up by three long songs that are textured soundscapes writ large in considered, resplendent Black Metal. The riffs and melodies used are subtle and overpowering at the same time, creating songs that know when to use a splash of colour, and when to use shades of darkness.

Blast beats appear on occasion, underscoring the band’s Blackened core, but the majority of the material is slower and devoted to dark auras. Mind you, this is not too different a situation when the drums are going fast, as the main intention is not one of brutality, merely a dramatic emphasis on the shadowy feelings that the band evoke.

A Post-Metal influence can be heard in some of the guitar melodies, although this is only an aspect of their songwriting and is subsumed by the general Blackness and atmosphere of the music; Wilt can’t really be described as a Post-Black Metal band.

And the vocals? Despairing screams that stop short of the Depressive style, but not by much. Needless to say, you can’t go wrong with vocals like this and the singer’s performance works as a focal point for the ever-expanding atmospheres of the music. Creeping whispers also appear on The Elder, working gently to soothe the listener before the darkness closes in once more.

In the spirit of Epic Black Metal and the Cascadian style, Wilt have crafted a worthy addition to the sub-genre for anyone who likes this kind of music.

Kowloon Walled City – Grievances (Review)

This is the third album from US Sludge Metal band Kowloon Walled City.

As a fan of their previous work, this is one I was looking forward to listening to.

Slowly expanding their Sludge Metal sound over the years to incorporate more elements of Post-Metal/Post-Hardcore, the Kowloon Walled City of 2015 is a lean, hungry beast that produces slow, heavy songs that pulse with an underlying energy.

Like a lot of their album covers, including this new one, their music speaks of an urban minimalism and decay. Haunting melodies and and riffs are covered in a modern veneer that’s showing the age of what lies just underneath. Rather than being a bad thing as one might assume, this allows the band an air of instant authority and gravitas, as if their music is older than it actually is.

The songs explore this broken down landscape with the relentless inevitability of something that knows what it’s going to find so can therefore take its time in getting there.

The vocals have a little less sharpness to them on this release and sound a little smoother, more liquid and malleable in delivery. The singer still has a quirkiness to his delivery though, and if anything this side of his voice is more apparent on Grievances than on previous releases.

Kowloon Walled City have returned with another slab of melancholic, dystopian Doom-Sludge, and I’m all the happier for it.

As the singer shouts out on the title-track – “Celebrate”!

Christian Mistress – To Your Death (Review)

Christian Mistress are a Heavy Metal band from the US. This is their third album.

Taking influence from Traditional Heavy Metal and 80s NWOBHM, Christian Mistress play easy-listening, Hard-Rocking Classic Metal.

The singer has a smooth, charismatic voice that slips effortlessly out of the earthy music. Her voice carries feeling and depth without lacking in force and power where necessary.

In some ways this album really is like stepping back in time. Quite simply, they don’t make this kind of music any more. Or more precisely, they do, but only rarely as it’s just so hard to pull off in any form of meaningful, authentic way. The fact that Christian Mistress manage to do this well and have good songs at the same time is somewhat of a miracle in this day and age.

The warm, analogue sound, the duelling harmonies, the vibrant, galloping bass, the satisfying-yet-slightly-understated drums, liquid solos…it all speaks volumes for this kind of music, one that sounds both dated and timeless at the same time.

This is a strong collection of eight honest songs that just want to Rock out and unleash the primal Metal soul in the listener. Well, it works, and I’m certainly feeling the need to bang my head and raise my fists.

Recommended.

Never Again – Death Metal Tsunami (Review)

Never Again are a Death Metal band from Italy. This is their début EP.

This may be from Italy but here we have Swedish Death Metal, although not quite as we’ve come to expect it. It’s eleven and a half minutes of face-melting fire and revving chainsaws though, regardless.

Usually there’s not a lot to say about this style. Most of the time people either love it or they hate it. I’m always a sucker for the pure version of this type of music, but it’s nice to hear it shaken up a bit on this release, as Never Again have a more modern interpretation of this classic sub-genre than most.

Superficially we have Swedish Death Metal here, although once you look a bit closer there are a few things that mark Never Again as different from a lot of the Swedish clones.

The vocals are a bit raspier and wetter than is the norm, which does provide them with a bit of differentiation, and though the sound does have that chainsaw quality to it, it’s not quite as overtly done as the pure Swedish production style.

The main difference is the guitars; the riffs and melodies have a modern, New-School sheen to them. There’s definitely still a good amount of Old-School, of course, how could there not be? This is mixed with a fresher, newer take on things though, resulting in songs that sound vibrant and reinvigorated. It’s kind of Swedish Death Metal by-way-of Melodic Modern Metal. Don’t let that put you off though, as this means business.

Very promising. I wonder how their sound will develop in the future?

Black Lord – Black Ritual Forest (Review)

This is the début album from Black Lord, a Mexican Black Metal band.

After a rather pointless intro that goes on for far too long, we finally get to the meat of the matter as the first song erupts into life. Black Lord play underground, raw Black Metal that’s unfettered from any form of niceness.

The Blackened riffs have a Thrash influence on occasion. As well as using some dark melodies to enhance the songs, they have a loose, primitive style that nonetheless manages to gather the quintessential Black Metal darkness to it like a magnet.

The singer sounds like he’s howling into the abyss, almost independently of the music. Unhinged and maniacal, his performance is unforced and probably quite something to see in the flesh. Screams, growls, moans and chants emanate from the songs while the music charges forward with wild abandon and grim determination.

Black Ritual Forest is an expression of Blackened intent, with the band showing their passion for the style across 36 minutes.

Check them out.

Favourite Track: Spell of Darkness. Speed and rolling thunder propel the song forwards while the singer screams with spectral torment.

Narbeleth – Through Blackness, and Remote Places (Review)

This is the third album from Cuban one-man Black Metal project Narbeleth.

As I said about his second album, A Hatred Manifesto, this is the real deal. Here we have 35 minutes of Underground Black Metal, spreading darkness, disease and terror through all the lands.

Like the second album, this contains seven originals and one cover, (this time by Judas Iscariot).

It’s dark, icy music that sticks to the well-loved Orthodox Black Metal left-hand path and pays homage to the 90’s Scandinavian scene.

The production is sharp and clear, allowing the songs to scythe through the airwaves like a cold blade through flesh.

The songs are enjoyable and never attempt to be anything they’re not. The riffs are good and the guitars frozen in time. It’s a style that’s instantly familiar and comfortable to any fans of the genre, and on Through Blackness, and Remote Places it’s played well and with passion.

This is a release that it’s easy to like; unless you never got into the style or you’re just tired of it, you’ll find plenty to satisfy here.

Chugun – Virus (Review)

Chugun are a Thrash/Death Metal band from Israel. This is their début album.

Chugun’s sound combines Old-School Thrash Metal with some just-as-old Death Metal influences as well as a pinch of a more modern approach to produce this enjoyable 30 minutes of Metal mayhem.

The vocals alternate between deep grunts and higher screams. The singer does both styles very well and her voice is well-suited to both roles.

This album is an up-tempo rager, with the main bulk of the music having a healthy Thrash Metal base, onto which Death Metal and some Modern Metal elements are incorporated. There are a lot of good riffs on here and the bend seem to revel in what they do. It’s clear a lot of love and passion has gone into this release and this comes out in the songs.

My tolerance for Thrash Metal has lowered a lot of late, partially due to the over-saturation of the retro/comedy style; Virus, however, has none of this nonsense and this is a really enjoyable release. It’s more aggressive than most due to their Death Metal aspect and the songs motor along quite nicely.

The musicianship is tight and the recording loud and heavy. It’s a modern-sounding rendition of an older style, played with grit and devotion.

Unexpectedly good. Damn good, in fact. Check this out.

Mammoth Salmon – Last Vestige of Humanity (Review)

This is the début album from US Stoner/Doom band Mammoth Salmon.

We met this band previously with their enjoyable Call of the Mammoth EP.

On this new release the band continue their warm, organic and massively chunky and fuzzy approach to the genre. The songs are like a friendlier, less-evil, more-welcoming version of Electric Wizard mixed with a bit of Melvins.

The band also seem bigger and better this time around, in pretty much every respect. The guitars are more in-your-face and the vocals more confident.

The riffs are big and the grooves are colossal. The guitars and charismatic vocals are frequently in perfect sync, complementing each other and creating songs that have real presence.

Occasionally the distortion fades somewhat and the band indulge in a bit of lazy, exploratory mood-setting with a casual solo over the lonesome bass, almost as an afterthought.

Very nice.

This album has personality, songs and giant riffs. What more do you want from this kind of band?

Satanic Assault Division – Kill the Cross (Review)

Satanic Assault Division are from Denmark and this is their second album. They play Black Metal.

I’m guessing that the name alone is enough to let you know what kind of music this is. Yes, here we have Traditional Black Metal with lots of bite and plenty of violence. What might surprise you, however, is just how damn catchy and memorable this record is.

The songs are full of decent and substantial riffs. The guitars are dark and sharp, exactly as this kind of Black Metal should be. The band demonstrate very early on that they have good songwriting skills and these tracks make an impression.

Blasting drums provide plenty of speed and groovy, mid-paced riffs lend the music an extra energy, with the band firing on all cylinders. There’s even the odd guitar solo; these are usually understated and brief but provide extra interest when they appear. The solos, alongside some of the more Rocking guitars, lend this a Black ‘n’ Roll feeling in places, although this is but part of their sound.

The singer’s voice is full of bile and hatred, croaking out from the Blackened tunes as if in a murderous trance.

This is a band who have produced a Black Metal album with an emphasis on catchy music and the kind of songs that it’s easy to like.

14 tracks, (one a cover) – 55 minutes of scathing Black Metal. Best experienced at full volume.

Chiral – Night Sky (Review)

Chiral is an Italian one-man band. This is his second album.

I have enjoyed watching Chiral’s development over the course of his releases that he’s put out so far. From the primitive Proto-Death/Black Metal of Winter Eternal, to the frozen Blackened landscape of Abisso, to the more ambitious Atmospheric Black Metal of his splits with Haate and Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern/Eternal Sleep…the brain behind Chiral as consistently impressed with both the quality of his music and his progression within it.

So what of this latest release then? Showing that he doesn’t sit still, Night Sky continues the previously developed themes of Atmospheric Black Metal, only this time adding a Post-Black Metal element to the music, resulting in an album that favours mood and texture over all else.

For a surface comparison to to other bands, I’d say Night Sky combines elements of Wolves in the Throne Room, Falls of Rauros, Falloch, Vinterriket, and Opeth.

The songs are long and ambitious tracks that show a love of both Black Metal and a more naturalistic sound that is quite atavistic in its realisation. Folk melodies and influences would be an appropriate description, although it feels somehow older than this.

Acoustic passages, Folk instrumentation and Progressive Metal tendencies work together with the icy, Blackened core to create Atmospheric Post-Black Metal that takes in many influences over the 58 minutes of material and ably demonstrates the talent and skill of Chiral.

These songs are slow-builders; ramping up the atmosphere and emotional content over the span of the playing time and layering just enough keyboards and extra instrumentation on top to really provide a consistent sense of space, flavour and feeling.

So there you have it. Another quality Chiral release, his best work yet I’d say.

Fans of Atmospheric Black Metal take note.