Wonderbox Metal

Minsk – The Crash & The Draw (Review)

Minsk are a Post-Metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

I’m a big fan of Minsk’s 2009 album, With Echoes in the Movement of Stone, so have been eager to hear this latest release of theirs.

Coming from a Post-Metal view that takes in the stunning panoramas of Isis, Neurosis and Cult of Luna, Minsk were never as well-known as their contemporaries but still managed to hugely impress those lucky enough to hear them.

They have now roused themselves from their six year slumber and produced a hefty piece of work in The Crash & The Draw – 11 tracks, 75 minutes of music.

Well, there’s a lot going on here. Minsk certainly don’t lack for either ambition or talent. This is an album of moods and atmospheres. In the best Post-Metal tradition they know how to build you up and then knock you down.

Psychedelic, Progressive and heavily percussive elements work alongside the crushing guitars and expansive sense of space that the band create.

Emotionally these tracks take in pretty much everything, from the beautiful to the nightmarish, sometimes even in the same song.

The songs are varied, multi-textured and rich with evocative and emotive soundscapes. There’s a lot of depth and nuance to these compositions and it takes a good few spins to fully grasp what’s going on here in some instances.

Much like Nero Di Marte‘s latest work, The Crash & The Draw seems to build upon itself with each listen until the music acts like waves, reinforcing itself so that eventually it just drowns everything else out and you truly begin to wonder how you ever thought there was anything else.

This is truly an album of wonders and otherworldly journeys.

What’s stopping you from listening to this right now?

Above the North – A Tale They Whisper (Review)

Above the North are a Hardcore band from France. This is their latest EP.

It starts off with melodic riffs that have a firm edge to them whilst serrated vocals scream out over the top. This is the kind of emotive Hardcore that’s easy to connect with if you like the style as it’s instantly engaging yet with a depth to it that bears repeated visits.

Some of the guitar parts and riffs even have a Post-Hardcore feel to them and have a resplendent sheen. The solid sound that the band have shows these guitars off to their full potential and the band sound immense.

Imagine a more traditionally structured Norma Jean, or From Autumn to Ashes minus the clean vocals, or a less abrasive/Metal Zao…Above the North have a lot of talent it seems, as these four songs ably showcase.

Alongside recent Hardcore releases such as Muck and The Black Lantern, Above the North show that you can play Hardcore that has bite without going the massively heavy/angry route that much of Hardcore does.

These songs have a thoughtful, introspective aura to them yet still have energy and passion in spades.

Very impressive. If they can keep up this level of songwriting for the future then their début album will be a thing of beauty.

Check them out.

Infernal War – Axiom (Review)

Infernal War are from Poland and play Black/Death Metal. This is their third album.

This is ultra brutal Extreme Metal that takes no prisoners and is utterly relentless in its taste for killing. It’s heavy, nasty and downright evil.

Infernal War play a hybrid of Black/Death Metal that’s right on the line between the two styles. Blackened Death Metal, I find, usually leans in favour of Death Metal rather than Black Metal, but occasionally a band appears who gets the mixture just right and we end up with a band that’s hard to categorise into just one of the two. Extreme Metal is an apt description for this reason.

Mixing influences from bands like Behemoth, Marduk and Satyricon, Infernal War proceed to spread spite and bile across these 11 tracks.

Bestial drumming and sharp riffing collide to create fast songs where the band spread their nefarious message with a distinct aggression.

The tracks mainly hover around the 3-4 minute mark and this is ample time to blast their wares out.

It’s enjoyable to hear a band take the direct approach and at the same time merge the two genres in such a competent way. This album is perfect for when you want something that’s hyper-aggressive but can’t decide whether to listen to Death Metal or Black Metal. Infernal War fill the gap and Axiom is a highly recommended listen.

Lucifer’s Fall – Lucifer’s Fall (Review)

Lucifer’s Fall are from Australia and play Doom Metal. This is their début album.

For fans of Reverend Bizarre, Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard; this is Traditional Doom Metal with a small nod to modern Doom, just enough to give it a dark edge.

With an audible bass that makes a valuable contribution, it falls to the bass and drums to provide a firm foundation on which the lazy rhythm guitar is built whilst the lead guitar sets off in hopeful exploration.

The vocals are as you would expect for this style; loose, mournful and performed with enough character to warrant attention.

The songs are classically composed and written with a true love of the genre. All of the requisite parts of a Traditional Doom Metal band are in place, with Reverend Bizarre in particular seemingly deserving of special reverence.

If you are on the fence with this kind of style or have just had your fill then you probably won’t especially take to Lucifer’s Fall. If you still have more room for another band like this in your collection though, then give this a listen and see what you think.

Lying Figures – A World of My Own (Review)

Lying Figures are a Death/Doom band from France and this is their second EP.

Funereal riffs and Doom melodies are a firm basis of these songs. The winding melodies and dirge workouts pervade the EP like a miasma of misery.

Screaming and growling vocals are used alongside sorrowful cleans to provide a multitude of vocal textures, including a Gothic feeling from the cleans.

The overall feeling is of a band taking the Death/Doom formula and updating for the modern era; whilst it is recognisable as Death/Doom, the band have tinkered with the style enough so that it has a contemporary feel to it.

The songs provide a relatively laid back take on the genre as well, even when the harsh screams and growls are taken into consideration. It’s Doom Metal easy listening, but in a good way. The aggression that they have is contained and channelled appropriately and the songs benefit from this focus of intent.

Lying Figures take elements of bands such as Amorphis, Moonspell, My Dying Bride and Katatonia and fuse them into their own work. Suffice to say, if you like the aforementioned bands I imagine you’ll like this too.

This is an enjoyable EP that bodes well for the future of the band. Let’s see what they do next.

Goatchrist – The Epic Tragedy of the Cult of Enlil (Review)

This is the first EP proper from Goatchrist, a one-man Black Metal band from the UK.

This is biting, icy Black Metal, played with enthusiasm, zeal, ambition and a considered concept.

A variety of extra instruments, (keyboards, church organ, mellotron, theremin and additional percussion), are used through out these 28 minutes in various places to ensure that this cold Black Metal is given all of the tools it needs to succeed. This are only enhancements though, as the core of Goatchrist’s sound is pitch black and traditional.

The riffs are fierce and frozen. Dark melodies seep out from the speakers to entrance the listener and there’s even Black Metal guitar solos, (gasp!), in attendance. Great stuff.

A slight Thrash feeling infuses some of the rhythm guitars, although this is obviously a Blackened version of Thrash Metal. There’s also a Middle-Eastern influence to some of the riffs and melodies that’s blatant enough to be noticeable but not overt enough to be overpowering or a defining feature.

All in all this is an impressive slab of Black Metal, clearly written by one with a lot of skill and talent in this area.

Very highly recommended.

Convulsif – CD3 (Review)

Convulsif are from Switzerland and this is their third album.

Well this is quite insane. Imagine Ephel Duath, Fantômas, Blut Aus Nord, Atomsmasher and Sunn 0))) all working together to bring on the apocalypse…it’s intense.

The recording is first rate, with everything sounding clear and precise, but not overly so. I especially like the bass presence, which provides a full contribution to the aural chaos.

This features eclectic Metal, freestyle Jazz and Progressive workouts as well as Drone/Doom sections, all plastered together in a melange of Blackened undertones. What to classify this as? Who knows, but it’s pretty damn good. I suppose you could loosely term it Experimental Black Metal, but Convulsif are a band that genre tags just don’t work for.

There are no guitars, which makes CD3 an even more interesting listening experience. Instead, we get drums, bass, clarinet, violins and electronica. Just what the (mad) doctor ordered.

And when you think you’ve heard it all, they do something else that makes you sit up and take notice. The unexpected, demented screaming that suddenly appears just when you’ve taken them for an instrumental band is a case in point.

This is highly creative and individual music that nonetheless manages to create coherent atmospheres across these 29 minutes. The eerie sounds and otherworldly noises emanating from this recording is a testament to the talent of the individuals involved in its birth.

CD3 just needs to be experienced. This is challenging, interesting music that demands your attention.

I love this. What’s not to love? You’ll love it too. LOVE IT!

Macabre Omen – Gods of War – At War (Review)

Macabre Omen are from Greece and play Black Metal. This is their second album.

I really enjoyed Macabre Omen’s first album, The Ancient Returns, and it’s been over a decade since that so I was very pleased when I found out they had a second one out, finally.

This is an hour of quality Black Metal that has an epic feeling and Pagan influences.

Staying mainly in the mid-paced arena, they do speed things up when necessary and they know how to make the most of these high-energy sections.

The songs are all well composed and this is a band that thrives on writing emotive Blackened riffs.

The guitar melodies are frequently stirring and full of grandeur. Macabre Omen fill their songs with an epic feeling despite not being an overtly ostentatious band. Subtle additions of keyboards and ethnic instrumentation/influences enhance the Blackened core and pay homage to their Pagan roots.

The vocals are mainly impassioned screams that almost turn into shouts in places, like the hoarse cries on an ancient battlefield.

Macabre Omen have produced a very impressive second album that may be long overdue but has definitely been worth the wait.

Worthy of a place in anyone’s collection.

Embrional – The Devil Inside (Review)

Embrional are a Death Metal band from Poland and this is their second album.

If the album cover alone doesn’t make you want to listen to this album then I don’t know what will.

This is evil and sinister Death Metal that blasts and thrashes around with the best of them but still keeps an air of the malevolent occult.

The sound is one of a good quality underground band; professional enough to do the music justice yet loose enough to allow the band’s black light to shine through.

Decent growling vocals are ably performed and the singer has a satisfying roar.

The songs are enjoyable slices of dark death and the band have enough ideas and variety within their brutal assault to provide something a little different from a straight ahead Brutal Death Metal band.

Strewn around the rubble of the main Death Metal assault are moments of bleak atmosphere and surprising detail. Elements of near-Black Metal introspection occur and are swiftly combined with the Death Metal assault to create interesting songs that definitely have their own personality.

The band clearly have a good grasp of pacing and know how to follow a good line of riffing to its (un)natural conclusion. In pretty much every song there are a few choice moments where you sit back and think “Ooooo this is a good bit”.

If you’re looking for some occult Death Metal that’s a little different and has more to offer than just pure brutality then The Devil Inside is definitely worthy of your attention.

Favourite Track: Hard to pick, but maybe Funeral March; it’s one of the more Black Metal/Doom inspired songs here yet still finds time for some blasting brutality and a breakdown-style section that would do Decapitated proud. Essentially, like the album as a whole, it’s just really damn good.

Revenge Division – The New Generation (Review)

Revenge Division are a Slovakian Metal band and this is their début album.

As the album title suggests, this is modern Metal but with a lot more earth and grit than is the norm.

Revenge Division have a rough and ready sound that’s nowhere near as polished as you might think for this kind of band. It adds a rustic charm to their aggressive Metal that wouldn’t be there had they opted for a more polished production.

The songs are halfway between Melodic Death Metal and a more modern version of the same. It’s almost Metalcore but I’m loathe to describe it as such as that genre tag has a lot of negative connotations, deservedly or not.

Modern Metal is a better descriptor than Metalcore really, but in either case it’s only part of their sound. A non-commercial Metalcore perhaps? Regardless, the Melodic Death Metal aspect of the music is prominent enough to be the main focus in many ways.

The vocals are quite varied, mainly featuring different types of growls and shouts as well as some higher screams. Cleaner vocals also appear – sometimes they share the same unpolished and rough texture that the music overall has, but sometimes, (first appearing on Satan’s Bride), they completely break from this and ring out pure and true, also with operatic female accompaniment. Quite unexpected but not unwelcome.

Decent riffs with lots of leads and solos abound.

For fans of Dark Tranquillity, Darkane, Withering Surface, etc.