Wonderbox Metal

The Juliet Massacre – Human Abuse (Review)

This is the second album by Italian Death Metal band The Juliet Massacre.

This is modern Brutal Death Metal/Deathcore

The vocals consist of pig squeals, deathgrunts, screaming and even the odd semi-clean.

The songs blend blasting brutality with breakdowns and the odd melodic passage. While it’s modern and energetic, unlike a lot of Deathcore bands The Juliet Massacre remember the Death Metal side of the Deathcore equation.

This will probably be a bit too “-core” for a lot of pure Death Metal fans, which is a shame as there’s a decent amount of brutality to be had here. The songs don’t let up and the album supplies the requisite hit of aggression.

I enjoyed this. With a slightly stronger sound and a little tightening up in the songwriting department The Juliet Massacre could easily ascend to the big leagues. Until then, I’ll still be listening to this again in the future.

For fans of Despised Icon, All Shall Perish, The Black Dahlia Murder and Job for a Cowboy.

Abyssal Ascendant – Chronicles of the Doomed Worlds – Part. I Enlightenment from Beyond (Review)

Abyssal Ascendant are from France and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

This is Lovecraft-inspired Death Metal that starts with ominous noises and otherworldly chants, designed to create an unsettling atmosphere before the Death Metal itself begins.

The band’s music is heavy and brutal, but not without atmosphere or nuance. This is Death Metal that has picked up a few creative flourishes along the way.

Elements of Cannibal Corpse, Nile and Morbid Angel conspire together, resulting in an album that has a lot to offer. Fast and brutal meets atmospheric and evil. The band do both very well. I like a band that can play ferocious brutality on one hand and then create dark, sinister moods with the other.

The singer has a terrifically deep growl that sounds absolutely abyssal. His voice fits the music perfectly and really drives the songs forward with a deathly charisma.

Tight, focused playing is apparent from the off and the drums keep everything in check. The production is very nice on this release; everything coalesces together in an unholy mass and all of the instruments are well-balanced against each other. Everything sounds great, with the drums sounding particularly satisfying and well-rounded.

This is a very impressive album, especially for a début release.

The Impala – Chapter One (Review)

The Impala are a Russian Post-Rock band. This is their début EP.

The band play Post-Rock that’s reflective and expressive, seemingly mirroring the lives of the band members and wearing their collective experiences openly.

The music has that ephemeral, fragile quality that a lot of Post-Rock has. Seemingly transitory and full of sunshine or some unknown cosmic essence, these tracks sparkle and fade during their brief playing time.

Apart from a brief section of spoken word there are no vocals. Instead, the music is the complete and only focus.

The music builds to crescendos and has many peaks and valleys to get lost in. Driving leads and hopeful melodies abound and the band members all seem proficient in their instruments.

Samples and other electronic accompaniments are used throughout, but these are largely subtle affairs and not overly obvious. They essentially work behind the scenes to add little extras to the songs that may not always be instantly noticeable but would be to the music’s detriment if they were absent.

At only 18 minutes in length this is a short release, but one that captures the imagination.

Check them out.

Interview with Ilsa

Ilsa are one of the best Sludge Metal bands out there. After the electrifying Intoxicantations and now their crushing new album The Felon’s Claw, I’ve been privileged to fire some questions at their drummer, Joshy…

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

Ilsa is comprised of five people: Orion is the vocalist, Joshy (me) plays drums, Tim plays guitar, Brendan also plays guitar, and Sharad plays bass guitar.

Give us a bit of history to Ilsa

We formed in early 2008 after the guitar player in our former band tried to punch somebody on the other side of a window that happened to be closed. After that, due to a lack of connected tendons in his arm he couldn’t play guitar, and we started Ilsa as a way to take up time while he recuperated. Obviously Ilsa ended up being the main band for us after that.

What are your influences?

Musically I’d say our influences are Bolt Thrower, Amebix, Asphyx, Townes Van Zandt, Dead Moon, Morbid Angel, Burning Witch, The Plasmatics, Thin Lizzy, a bunch of other stuff.

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

At this very moment I am listening to Pink Floyd, I would recommend them very highly. Other stuff I’ve been into lately would be Alan Parsons project, Primitive Man, Forn, honestly I listen to a bunch of really lame shit like Air Supply and Chicago and things like that. I’ve really been into Eddie Hazel lately, I think he’s a really underrated guitarist. Oh and the Saga demos from Iron Age are amazing!

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

I wanted to make the heaviest most thought provoking yet lunkheaded album ever recorded.

How do you go about writing the songs?

Generally I write songs in my basement and record them on my computer, then bring them to practice and show everybody and we go from there. Or somebody will bring some riffs to practice and we’ll work with them and build them there. I personally write much better when I’m by myself in my little dungeon

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

Well Orion would be the best at explaining the lyrics, but I can say that one goal that he has always had was to think of our songs as spells and our concerts as rituals. I don’t personally believe in mystical or supernatural powers, but I think that if words were capable of any tangible power like you would find in a ritualistic setting then it would be the veracity behind them that produced it. In that sense, I feel like our songs would have more power than you would find at any church.

What is your favourite song on the album and why?

I think my favorite is Buried In the Bedrock and Concrete of Our Cities, because I think it’s the most successful in my attempts to make a song that has memorable, heavy, and simple riffs.

What do you feel the main differences are between Intoxicantations and The Felon’s Claw – how have you changed between the two releases?

I don’t think there’s a ton different between the two, except I think this one is more focused. I think we were able to approach the idea of making music that is as stripped down as we could make it while still retaining a certain amount of brutality and heaviness in a way that we hadn’t been able to before.

Are you happy with how the album turned out?

I’m very happy with it. It’s my favorite album yet. Of course there are always things you wish you could have changed or tweaked in retrospect, but there are way fewer of those things on this album than any before it.

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

Like I mentioned before, the goal for me is to make songs that are as simple and basic as they can be without being boring. I think there are few things that sound as good as a heavy guitar with a solid, driving beat behind it to bang your head to. That’s really all I’m personally trying to do with Ilsa. The other guys may have different goals, but so far whatever our individual ideas are they seem to all be reachable by the same approach, so that’s good.

What’s next for Ilsa?

We’ve got a couple of splits coming out, one with the awesome Japanese death/doom band Coffins, and one with the Hardcore/D-beat band Greta. There’s another split that could possibly happen, but it’s too early to talk about at this point. If it does work out, it could possibly be the heaviest split ever released! We’ve got a few local shows coming up, and we will be playing at Don’t Call it a Fest in Detroit this year with Eyehategod, In Cold Blood, Noisem, and a bunch of others.

Demon Lung – A Dracula (Review)

This is the second album from US Doom Metal band Demon Lung.

Having really enjoyed The Hundredth Name, this new release promised much.

Demon Lung’s Metal is the Traditional Doom Metal variety. Taking the occult route, the band have produced 45 minutes of material that sparkles with an evil majesty.

The songs speak of midnight heresies and sacrificial rites. The music has dark atmospheres and melodies that seep into the brain and stay there, unwilling to move.

The singer’s voice is drenched in occult blasphemies and reaches new heights, (or depths), of worship. Her voice already sounded great on their début album and here she sounds even fuller and more emphatic than ever.

They pepper the songs with some upbeat moments of course, but ultimately this is all about the DOOOOM. The band know this, and that’s where the true power of this album lies.

Like their first album album, A Dracula features a strong production that gives the band’s music a very satisfying sheen. Coupled with the songs themselves, it cements Demon Lung as a particular favourite of mine in the sea of bands that play Traditional Doom.

After their enjoyable first release, Demon Lung return with an album that does them justice. A Dracula is a very enjoyable listen and is firmly recommended for all Doom Metal fans.

Right. Now, where did I put that goat…?

Allfather – No Gods. No Masters. (Review)

Allfather are from the UK and this is their début release of Hardcore/Sludge.

Allfather seem to have cornered the market on Punked-up Metallic discontent. They’re pissed off and have come to put the boot in, big style.

This is underground and raw; music that’s ready for a scrap and happy to get its hands dirty.

The songs on this short EP are tight balls of fury with guitars that fall halfway between murky Sludge Metal and Hardcore anger. Energetic and heavy riffs make up the bulk of this release and there’s no let up in the 11 minutes playing time.

Allfather do heavy very well, but they also write actual songs; these tracks have a good flow to them and are quite catchy and memorable. This is not heaviness just for the sake of it; this music is focused and directed so that the compositions have meaning and purpose.

An enjoyable and promising EP. The UK seems to excel at this kind of dirty, gritty Metal. More please.

A cross between elements of Crowbar, Gutworm, dBh, Raging Speedhorn, Labrat and the like.

No Trust – The Cycle (Review)

This is the latest EP from US Metallers No Trust.

We know No Trust from their début album Unfound, so it’s good to catch up with their latest offering.

I stand by my previous statements about this band – they’re still huge worshippers of The Riff and still come across as a blending of Dopethrone and Chimaira.

The singer’s raspy roar is back once more and continues to provide very satisfying vocals for the unfolding Metallic carnage. His voice works even closer with the music on this EP to produce songs that gel together nicely.

The guitars seem to buzz and rage through the playing time with that interesting combination of Sludge and Modern Metal that they play so well. The production emphasizes the Metal side of the equation, but the Sludge quality is brought out in the music from some choice riffing and the singer’s acidic snarl.

The songs are more developed this time around and the time between releases seems to have been well spent; overall, No Trust sound more confident and professional than ever.

Well, I’m very happy with this. A 31 minute blast of quality Metal is never to be turned down.

Give them a listen and prepare to unleash the fury.

Relentless – Night Terrors (Review)

This is the second album by US Heavy Metal band Relentless.

Their first album, Souls of Charon, was a very enjoyable slab of Heavy/Doom Metal. This new release keeps the flag flying for Traditional Heavy Metal and all but drops the Doom Metal aspect of their sound.

In fact, Relentless seem to have gone further down the NWOBHM route on Night Terrors. The songs are upbeat rockers that value a chorus and are a lot rougher than their old incarnation, both in attitude and delivery.

The recording is grittier and less polished too. The band almost come off as some undiscovered garage Metal band, lost to the mists of Metal history.

The singer adds her own character to the songs and hearing her on this release is quite a contrast to her more laid-back style on their début.

The songs are proper Metal songs, full of swagger and upbeat energy. If you are familiar with Old-School Heavy Metal then this is quite the feast.

A change in direction, certainly; rawer, Traditional Metal with more attitude. I wonder, what will album number three bring for Relentless?

Kingcrow – Eidos (Review)

Kingcrow are an Italian Progressive Rock band and this is their sixth album.

This is Progressive Rock that sounds to these ears not too far removed from a modern version of 70’s Progressive Rock with a bit more of a distorted guitar. The music has a similar feeling and immersive quality, only updated for the present day.

The songs are easily assimilated, with honey-dipped melodies and top quality Progressive riffing seemingly on-demand.

The playing is exquisite and their songwriting skills are highly developed and advanced, as would be expected for a band of their pedigree.

After six albums Kingcrow have nothing to prove and this is an album that’s put together extremely well. The interplay between the vocals and the guitars is well-judged and everything fits together flawlessly.

Modern Progressive Rock doesn’t always sound this professional, slick and polished, but there’s still an edge here and a hunger and depth to the songs. Kingcrow still feel what they’re doing, and this comes out in the music.

This is a really enjoyable album.

The Meads of Asphodel/Tjolgtjar – Taste the Divine Wrath – Split (Review)

The Meads of Asphodel are from the UK and play a very individual brand of Black Metal. Here they team up with US one-man Black Metal project Tjolgtjar, who you may remember from 2012’s Kjal Tjormejn.

As such, this is an interesting and exciting split release from two atypical Black Metal bands that succeeds in putting two very individual and different spins on this well-worn genre.

The Meads of Asphodel are up first and contribute 16 minutes to this release.

The Meads of Asphodel always manage to imbue their songs with such personality and character, due in no small part to their charismatic singer Metatron. On this release he’s as expressive as ever and has his performance aided by other vocal styles such as croaking screams, ghostly chants and female vocals.

The music manages to be underground, extreme and catchy all at the same time. Classic Blackened blasting and experimental pseudo-Pop share space on this impressive collection of tracks and whether they’re playing fuzzed-up, dirty Black Metal or synth-heavy atmospheric sections, The Meads of Asphodel are at the forefront of Experimental/Progressive Black Metal.

Oh, and track three is a cover/re-imagining of Candi Staton’s You’ve Got the Love, retitled You’ve Got the Hate. It works.

After this it’s on to Tjolgtjar, supplying 18 minutes of music. It’s an odd, atypical expression of Black Metal, with a more garage, underground feeling than the more flamboyant tendencies of The Meads of Asphodel.

In some ways Tjolgtjar remind more of a conventional raw Black Metal band, but this is only superficially true. Upon closer inspection, the riffs and general composition of the music is unusual. Even when the blast beats are flowing swiftly, the guitars are playing Blackened rhythms and melodies that are almost like semi-distorted Country/Folk acoustics. Almost. It’s as if this music came from decades ago and is a Black Metal version of 70s Progressive Rock.

The vocals are screamed croaks but also benefit from cleaner accompaniments. It’s an added extra that, when combined with the music, reinforces the 70s music connection, at least to my mind.

Black Metal, Classic Rock and Progressive Rock, combined. Nice.

But this is what Tjolgtjar do so well; their music is not your average Black Metal and their contribution to this split is superbly delivered and realised.

This is a very impressive release from two impressive bands. If you’re looking for Black Metal that’s challenging and different from the norm then this should be your first stop.

Very highly recommended.