Wonderbox Metal

The Big Jazz Duo – Enemy (Review)

The Big Jazz Duo arre from Italy and this is their début album.

Looking at the album cover and knowing the band’s name, you’d probably never guess that they play Death Metal. But they do; Experimental/Atmospheric Death Metal/Deathcore.

This is sickeningly heavy with grooves and breakdowns aplenty. Speed and brutality are also present, as are pignoise vocals and scathing screams.

There’s a Djent aspect to their sound too, which seems to go hand-in-hand with a lot of Deathcore.

The band also include orchestral interludes, atmospheric sections and the like in their sound, which immediately makes them more interesting and raises their game.

Deathcore and Djent are two sub-genres that can get very stale, very quickly, if not handled well. The Big Jazz Duo avoid this trap by mixing these up with more traditional Death Metal and a melodic edge, as well as the more experimental aspects of their sound.

The songs are well written and the band understand the need for dynamics and pacing. A very polished and strong production rounds off the package and ensures that the songs have the best chance to shine.

These songs may be largely quite short but they’re packed to the rafters with goodies. Heavy groove, blasting carnage and atmosphere all merge together to create a listening experience that, in all honestly, makes me really fucking happy. I can always tell when I’m getting into an album when I start spontaneously bouncing along to it without realising. As you do.

If you imagine a cross between The Black Dahlia Murder, All Shall Perish and Xehanort then you’ll be on the right lines.

So, Brutal Death Metal, Djent, Deathcore, melody, atmosphere, orchestration…all in 31 minutes and all very well-written? I’m sold!

An extremely impressive album, especially considering the oft-dreaded Deathcore/Djent aspects of their sound.

Very highly recommended.

The Vintage Warlords – The Invisible Foe (Review)

The Vintage Warlords are a Doom/Death Metal band from the US and this is their début EP.

The Vintage Warlords play old, ancient Death Metal that’s slowly consuming the rotten husk of Doom.

The band’s sound is cavernous and heavy, yet a lot cleaner than I was expecting for this style. It’s Old-School and Doom-laden but a lot more polished than is usually the way for some similar bands.

The professional veneer of the music carries over to the vocals too; the singer has a tight, focused growl that is more like a surgical slaughter than a shotgun message. It’s a really satisfying voice and he uses it well.

The songs merge the best parts of Death Metal’s songmanship and Doom’s cranky demeanour. As such, slower parts vie for place with groovier sections and there’s enough rhythmic mayhem here to get the listener bouncing around quite nicely.

The Vintage Warlords are adept songwriters and there are plenty of good ideas on these three tracks. Each song has its own identity and the band capitalise on this well.

I’ve really enjoyed this release. If they can translate this success into a full-length then it’ll be a real treat.

Årabrot – You Bunch of Idiots (Review)

Årabrot are from Norway and this is their latest EP. They play Noise-Rock.

I have no idea what’s going on in the album cover, but it’s very striking nonetheless. Combined with the name of the EP, which I love, this is something I was itching to listen to. Having never encountered Årabrot before I was unsure what to expect.

It starts off with Cannibal Manifesto, which is a dramatic spoken word performance. I’m not a fan of this kind of stuff, so this is not a good start.

However, once you get past this pointless intro track and onto the first song proper, Time to Pull the Sticks, things are looking up.

Here we have some charismatic Rock with some nice Therapy?-esque riffs and vocals that carry high performance levels.

The music is Experimental Rock that still manages to be catchy and memorable. The songs have Punk undertones and a nervous energy to them.

I hear elements of bands like Therapy? and Smashing Pumpkins mixed up with their own brand of Rock ‘n’ Roll. There’s even some Progressive Rock influences, especially on the last song It’s Hot Drop It.

Once you get past the first track, this is a very enjoyable collection of songs and is even better than I was hoping for.

Check them out.

Witch of the Waste – Made of Teeth (Review)

Witch of the Waste are from Canada and this is their latest EP. They play violent Hardcore.

With some amusing song titles and an album cover that’s oddly disturbing, this is 14 minutes of intensity that’s almost guaranteed to fuck you up.

Full to the brim of technical frenzy and passionate delivery, Witch of the Waste are an exciting brand of Extreme Metal that incorporates aspects of Death Metal, Grindcore and dark Hardcore into their volatile mix.

This is not music that’s purely of the ultra-chaotic variety, although they do have that aspect to their sound; rather, there is a controlling intelligence to the mayhem that tells the players to either let loose or restrain themselves. Dynamics are important and Witch of the Waste have this locked down, seemingly able to hold themselves back or unleash chaos on-demand.

The vocals are savage and abrasive, with insectile screaming and deathgrunts mixing together with the greatest of ease. Like the music, the intensity never lets up.

Releases like this are a great listen. These songs are complex and nasty, yet can change up in an instant to something more atmospheric and considered.

Top release – more please!

Angakok – Angakok (Review)

Angakok are a Sludge band from Belgium, and this is their début album.

Angakok play Sludge/Doom mixed with moments of Drone/Ambient respite.

This is Neurosis-inspired Doom that’s nicely heavy when it needs to be. Mix the Neurosis influence with that of, say, Zatokrev and you have an album that, (slowly), stomps over everything around it.

The Ambient and lighter moments give the album some shading, but the heavier side of the band is the main event; these asides are essentially delaying the heaviness so that when it returns it sounds even more immense.

The music really takes Doom to its black heart; the heavy guitars are slow and crushing, although they do pick up the pace when necessary. There are some good, winding melodies used on these songs and the mood of despondency and bleakness never ends.

The songs are darkly enjoyable, and it’s a collection of tracks that make for a engaging journey with the band.

The vocals are anguished, drawn-out screams, not dissimilar to those used in Neurosis. The style sounds a natural fit with the Sludgy guitars and the performance is not one to find fault with.

The album is well-recorded and seems to be able to be both murky and clear at the same time. It suits the band’s style and the music benefits from it.

I enjoy music like this, especially from a band like Angakok as they clearly know the genre inside out.

Check them out.

Thorns of Sin – Destroy the Light (Review)

Thorns of Sin is a one-man project playing Melodic Black Metal.

This is well-played and well-recorded Melodic Black Metal in the Dissection vein.

The music is very professional and accomplished, with plenty of shine and polish on display. This would be notable for a full band and is even more so as one person played and recorded everything.

Keyboard accompaniment adds highlights and splashes of colour while melodic guitars shine in their time in the light.

This is Extreme Metal easy listening, and that’s a compliment; Thorns of Sin positively flow out of the speakers and are received most gratefully by yours truly.

The vocals remind me of Dimmu Borgir and there’s a little bit of their, (older), style to this release, as well as a touch of Arch Enemy here and there..

The songs are very enjoyable slabs of Metal and make me nostalgic for the late 90s/early 00s too. There’s 6 originals and a faithful cover of Death’s The Philosopher.

A quality release and one that’s easy to enjoy and recommend; make sure you check out Destroy the Light

Mercy Brown – Mercy Brown (Review)

This is the début album from US band Mercy Brown. They play Metal.

This is a band that takes Heavy Metal and Death Metal, stitches them together and then sits back with satisfaction as its creation takes on a life of its own.

The music is on the harsher, heavier end of the spectrum and this is frequently augmented by more melodic moments and other Metal accoutrements.

The singer has a diverse voice, varying between deep growls, high screams and cleans. She has a powerful and charismatic voice no matter the style she sings in, and her different vocals work well with the more Death Metal-oriented music.

The band have a heavy sound that makes the most of their crushing delivery. This is Metal through and through. The sometimes-angelic female vocals shouldn’t make you think of bands like Lacuna Coil and Nightwish; this is more akin to Whitechapel mixed with Arch Enemy, only with clean vocals added in.

There’s a decent amount of stuff going on here. Apart from the straight-ahead Death Metal and Heavy Metal there’s plenty of other things happening to add depth and atmosphere. The band take the time to slow down and relax a bit on occasion, increasing the effectiveness of the heavier parts as well as these more reflective sections working well in their own right too.

I like this a lot as it’s a little different from the norm and well-delivered. Check them out.

Tempel – The Moon Lit Our Path (Review)

Tempel are from the US and this is their second album. They play Progressive/Post-Black Metal.

Tempel are an Instrumental Black Metal band. Their music is a combination of the Melodic and Progressive styles, giving The Moon Lit Our Path an epic scope and even epic-er, (it’s a word, honest), songs.

Their tracks harbour provocative imagery in the music. Without vocals to hide behind, the music is laid bare for all to see and relishes in the fact. Tempel are as expressive with their music as many singers are with their voices.

This is music that you can get your teeth into; music to get involved with; music to get lost in. Involving, engaging and compelling; Tempel have created a richly textured musical landscape across these 54 minutes.

Tempel are slowly shedding their Black Metal roots. This album still has its fair share of Blackened influences, but less so than their début release. On The Moon Lit Our Path there are more Post-Black Metal and Progressive Metal elements to their sound. It ultimately doesn’t matter, of course, as the important thing is the music itself and the journey it takes you on as you get absorbed by it.

Riffs, solos, leads, atmospheres, moods…Tempel excel at each of these and the songs on this album are filled to the brim with musical content and features.

This album may have a Blackened base but it transcends Black Metal, as Post-Black Metal must, As such, this has a potentially wide-reaching audience and any fan of Progressive Metal can and should enjoy this.

Fragile Existence – Cataclysms and Beginnings (Review)

This is the second album by Canadian Death Metal band Fragile Existence.

Featuring the extremity of Hate Eternal, the groove of 90s Death Metal and the Progressive tendencies of Death, Fragile Existence’s second album is 48 minutes of timeless Death Metal that pays homage to multiple Death Metal styles yet remains its own beast.

The songs are interesting and varied enough to hold attention while retaining the core heaviness of Death Metal’s angry bite.

Although they can pile on the blast beats when they need to, the songs are more about creating moods and telling musical stories than anything else. Cataclysms and Beginnings is full of mature songwriting in this sense, as these songs are very accomplished.

The vocals are mainly fleshy and deep; growls that are somewhere between a roar and a rasping shout. Staying at the deeper end of the grunting spectrum, the singer has a fluid aspect to his voice that stops him sounding completely guttural.

The guitars on this album are very enjoyable. Tasty riffs and licks abound, and the amount and length of some of the solos make me a happy camper too.

The Progressive elements in the songs work seamlessly with the more brutal aspects to create songs that are satisfying on both levels. The band have taken the time to craft songs that have a purpose and meaning, rather than just stringing riffs together for the sake of it. The rhythm guitars, drums and bass work together to further the needs of the songs and all instruments have their chance to shine, but only when necessary.

This is a very complete album and by that I suppose I mean that it has a lot of different facets to it and enough depth of composition and delivery to make a lasting impression. It reminds me, in some ways, of Helping the World to See by Vehemence. The albums are similar in many ways, and both take the listener on a journey through interesting and thoughtful Death Metal.

Cataclysms and Beginnings is a very thorough, engaging and impressive slab of mature Death Metal. Definitely one for you to investigate further.

Dew-Scented – Intermination (Review)

Dew-Scented are a German Thrash Metal band and this is their tenth album.

I hadn’t heard anything from Dew-Scented since their 2002 album Inwards, which was a good album to Thrash along to. As such, I was keen to catch up with them 13 years later.

13 years. Blimey.

Anyhoo, in the interim it seems that little has changed in the grand scheme of things. Dew-Scented still offer high-octane, spiky Thrash Metal and once again I’m more than happy to lap it up.

With a crisp, heavy production, the band tear through 55 minutes of chunky, aggressive Thrash, (including covers of Solstice and Repulsion songs).

This is a very riff-centred album. The songs are collections of hungry Thrash riffs, artfully threaded together into paeans to Metal. Ripping Thrash is the bedrock of their sound, but more emotive guitars provide some depth where needed. The band use melodies to their benefit; frequently subtle affairs, they’re used to enhance the feelings of a particular passage or section.

Guitar solos are plentiful on Intermination and I always love a good solo. This is a very guitar-oriented album and the songs just satisfy.

The vocals sound better than ever. The singer’s voice is aggressive and brutal, barking out the lyrics with angry abandon.

It’s good to hear Dew-Scented again. It also reminds me of why I enjoyed Inwards so much. I’d say that on Intermination they have tightened everything up; the added experience they’ve notched up over the years means that this is a highly focused album from a band that know themselves very well.

As heavy, aggressive Thrash Metal goes, this is definitely a winner.