Wonderbox Metal

Obsolete – Riven (Review)

Obsolete are from the US and play Progressive Rock. This is their latest EP.

This is a band who play melodic music that has a good energy to it.

The melodic vocals have a dark edge to them, somewhere between System of a Down, Autumnblaze, Breed 77 and Ignite. Musically this doesn’t fall too far from the mark either, actually.

It’s an interesting combination that sees the band delivering upbeat rockers and acoustic ballads with ease.

The band have largely good songwriting skills and clearly have ambitions for themselves, as well they should. Although some of the compositions are a little rough around the edges, this is nothing that a bit of practice and time won’t solve as all of the essential components are present and correct; a little polish here and there is all that’s required.

Riven suffers from not having the best recording, which primarily manifests itself when the distorted guitars kick in. It’s not an awful sound by any means, but it’s just something to be improved on for the future.

This EP shows great promise for the band. A few recording improvements and a little bit of tightening up and I think they could be a force to be reckoned with.

Give them a listen and see what you think.

Apophys – Prime Incursion (Review)

This is the début album from Apophys. They are from the Netherlands and play Death Metal.

I enjoy an album that has no pointless intro and starts off as it means to go on – brutal and direct. It’s uncompromising, harsh, and just how I like my Death Metal in the morning.

This is professionally played Death Metal that knows a thing or two about the genre, (featuring members and ex-members of a whole slew of other bands), and sets out from the start to blast and batter you into the ground.

The riffs are dark and brutal and the drums form a constantly aggressive backdrop. It’s largely high-energy, high-hostility stuff, and you wouldn’t want to get caught standing in front of it when it’s at full speed.

There are some nicely melodic solos included which flow like liquid gold through the jaggedly brutal riffs of the rhythm guitars.

The style is predominantly a US-influenced one, (think Morbid Angel-esque), mixed with a bit of a modern groove for some additional flavour. It works a treat and the songs sit well on their throne of xenos skulls.

At just under 40 minutes in length this is an enjoyable and satisfying blast of Death Metal that should fill that need for violent carnage that I know you have deep down. Turn this up and watch everything around you wilt and die under Apophys’ relentless assault.

Invigorating.

Sigh – Graveward (Review)

This is the tenth Sigh album. If you’ve never encountered them before, they’re from Japan and they play Black Metal. At least, that’s what they started out as and they’ve just kind of evolved from there. Avant-Garde Black Metal/Extreme Metal is probably closest to the mark these days, if you have to label it at all.

Sigh are one of the few bands in existence that come even close to being able to be called unique. They definitely have their own sound and identity, even if this has changed quite a bit through the years.

So on to Graveward. This is dense and complex music that features a lot of different parts to the songs. Clearly a lot of work has gone into these compositions.

The Black Metal base is present and correct, as well as the Avant-Garde tendencies. Add to this is a psychedelic influence, powerful cinematic qualities as well as a strong theatrical component and you have an album that’s born to stand out from the pack.

The theatrical nature of the release belies the horror-themed core of the album, but ultimately serves to reinforce it.

As you might think, each track has a lot going on and it’s a lot to take in on first listen. Subsequent spins reveal all kinds of nuances and little things that you didn’t necessarily consciously pick up on first time around.

Choirs and orchestration rub shoulders with Thrash riffs and Blackened croaks. Psychedelic keyboards and operatic vocals join horns and saxophones in backing the distorted guitars. It’s a true melting pot of influences that probably shouldn’t work but it really, really does.

Befitting music that has a lot of different components to it, Graveward features a wealth of guest appearances from well-known members of bands such as Trivium, Dragonforce, Shining, Rotting Christ and The Meads of Asphodel, among others.

Somewhat of a cross between Emperor, Therion, Arcturus and some form of crazy Progressive Jazz, Sigh can always be relied upon to liven things up with their presence and Graveward is no exception.

This is a truly exceptional release that many will probably find overwhelming with its multicoloured assault on the senses. Those who endure, however, are rewarded tenfold for their perseverance.

Essential listening.

Sea of Disorder – Merging Land and Sky (Review)

Sea of Disorder are a Post-Metal band from Austria, and this is their début album.

The band play a combination of Post-Metal and Doom that combines the atmospheric with the harsh.

As well as the standard instrumentation Sea of Disorder also use keyboards and effects to get the sound they like, as well as including a fair few guests from other bands.

As alluded to earlier, Sea of Disorder mix the lighter, more introspective elements of Post-Metal with the louder and heavier aspects of Doom to create long songs that tell a tale in atmospheres and moods.

Deep vocals that seem to come from the bowels roar out accompanied by large riffs and atmospheric heaviness. This is juxtaposed against the more Post-Rock instrumental moments of tranquillity as the band build themselves up to a peak.

Cleans also appear on As the Clouds Disperse and they fit Sea of Disorder’s style well.

Overall I liked this quite a bit. Check them out.

Yonder Realm – The Old Ways (Review)

Yonder Realm are from the US and this is their début album. They play Folk/Melodic Metal.

This is music that combines the bite of Melodic Death Metal with the jauntiness of Folk Metal, resulting in songs that have Folk Metal’s quirkiness and Melodic Death Metal’s seriousness but without going too much in either direction; reminiscent of Ensiferum.

The harsh main vocals have a good presence throughout whilst more epic cleans are used very sparingly.

The violin is a strong component of the band’s sound and juxtaposes against the more Metal guitars in a way that is pleasingly disruptive yet separate from the main music.

The Folk melodies are a constant companion to the Metallic riffing. Yonder Realm are interesting in that usually the guitars of bands like this follow a Folk theme as with the rest of the music. The Old Ways is a bit different in that it’s almost as if two bands are playing; a Melodic Death Metal band and a Folk instrumentalist group. It’s like the two aspects of their sound just happen to fit into the same song structures.

Although this is potentially a recipe for disaster, Yonder Realm avoid this simply by having the two styles fit together and compliment each other. If you removed the violin and keyboards, etc. you’d still have a perfectly serviceable Metal band, but with the Folk instrumentation it’s better than it would be without.

This is a rare case of the Folk stuff sounding just tacked on to a Metal band and it actually working in the band’s favour. How on earth they managed this feat is anyone’s guess. I call black magic.

Overall I’ve enjoyed Yonder Realm’s début. They have a harsher edge than some bands of this style, which I appreciate. The very-Metal core identity of the band is simply enhanced by the Folk inclusion and the album as a whole is a rocking good listen.

Check them out.

XII Boar – Pitworthy (Review)

XII Boar are from the UK and this is their début album. They play Stoner Rock/Metal.

This is gritty, Metallic Rock ‘N’ Roll in the vein of Orange Goblin that will find a nice home in the hands of fans of Corrosion of Conformity, Down, Lord Dying, Crowbar, High on Fire, Apostle of Solitude, etc.

XII Boar play feel-good music with an earthy, raw quality. The singer is full of charisma and attitude, as is the band as a whole really.

The songs are catchy and memorable slabs of rocking distortion and hot guitar licks.

It’s an easily identifiable style but the band play with such passion and conviction it’s easy to get swept up in their enthusiasm. The NOLA influence is apparent in their riffs but this has been filtered through the UK and Orange Goblin’s legacy is definitely felt in XII Boar’s style.

Pitworthy is an enjoyable album with a good sound and belligerent swagger. Have a listen.

Shrine of the Serpent – Shrine of the Serpent (Review)

This is the début release by US Doom band Shrine of the Serpent.

Heavy, slow, filthy, nasty. These and other words like this. Shrine of the Serpent are a like a crawling, slithering, Leviathan-like monster, relentlessly advancing over the bones of its enemies.

Dirty great Sludge riffs are physically restrained and forced to do the bidding of Doom’s unholy work.

The stench of the occult is strong and this is a release not to be approached lightly. In fact, there’s nothing light about Shrine of the Serpent at all.

This evil brand of Doom Sludge also takes aspects of Death Metal and Black Metal into its dark, foetid embrace and bends them to its will.

The songs are top quality exemplars of Doom’s overwhelming ability to suck additional styles into its orbit like a black hole, forging them into its core identity and resulting in something different each time. Here, it’s the darkest of Doom.

A mandatory listen.

Nervous Impulse – Time to Panic (Review)

Nervous Impulse are from Canada and this is their second album. They play Deathgrind.

This is a band who worship extremity and brutality above all else. Surely their motto must be “everything sicker than everything else”?

Their take on Grindcore is an interesting one because of this, as they don’t limit themselves just to their parent genre. Instead, they branch out into related areas and claim the most brutal elements as their own; Death Metal and Deathcore, being the main ones.

The songs are frequently complicated affairs that marry the short, chaotic brutality of Grind with the still-brutal, more song-structured nature of Death Metal. The end result is somewhat of a cross between Cryptopsy, Brutal Truth, Cattle Decapitation and Circle of Dead Children.

Speaking of Cryptopsy, the production on Time to Panic is not a million miles away from that of my favourite Cryptopsy album None So Vile, so you know that the sound is tight and precise.

Oh, and there’s an Agoraphobic Nosebleed cover. How ace is that?

Nervous Impulse write their songs to be heavy and extreme but still make sure they are written well rather than just a selection of strung-together riffs. It’s really quite tasty.

Vocally, we get pignoise, deathgrunts, screams; anything and everything to make the harshest noises imaginable.

If you like Extreme Metal with enough chaos and brutality to stun and enough songwriting skill to hold interest then check this out. I just can’t stop listening to the fucking thing.

In Cauda Venenum – In Cauda Venenum (Review)

In Cauda Venenum are a Post-Black Metal band from France and this is their début album.

Consisting of only two tracks, each lasting a touch over 21 minutes in length, this is an ambitious release that makes good use of the longer playing times to explore darkened themes and Blackened music.

Post-Black Metal is such a rich sub-genre that has so many opportunities to impress, and In Cauda Venenum take advantage of all of these.

The band play harrowing Black Metal that’s epic in scope and spiced up with enough Post-Rock/Metal elements to claim the Post-Black Metal tag as its own.

The music is masterly crafted and very atmospheric. Blackened riffs and blasting drums meet introspective restraint and Progressive explorations.

Both songs are very well written and it’s clear that a lot of time and effort has gone into their composition. Dynamics, pacing and mood have all been carefully considered and the end result is 42 minutes of elite Post-Black Metal that in many ways skirts the best that both genres have to offer.

The vocals are of the ultra-high, almost-static variety that work so well with Atmospheric Black Metal.

The recording is a quality one with the guitars in particular having a good tone. A clear, powerful sound gives the drums plenty of strength and as a whole the production strikes the right balance between underground ice and polished darkness.

As I say; in addition to the vocals and drums though, I do particularly enjoy the guitars on this album. They have the requisite Blackened bite and melodics in spades but they also benefit from being heavier than the norm for the style and employing some choice riffs throughout the songs.

A hugely impressive release. In Cauda Venenum have produced two remarkable songs of high Blackened art.

Top work.

Obsidian Sea – Dreams. Illusions. Obsessions. (Review)

This is the second album by Bulgarian Doom Metal band Obsidian Sea.

70’s-style riffs flow out of the speakers with the ease of a player who was born to the style. The guitars on this release are catchy and even hummable in places. The songwriting in general backs this up and the album has a lot to offer people who enjoy song-based Traditional Metal.

The band have a lovely warm, meaty sound that may hark back to a decades-old style but does so with the benefit of modern technology.

The band flirt with some psychedelic elements but for the most part it’s Classic Heavy/Doom Metal all the way. Think Black Sabbath and the like and you’ll be on the right track.

The vocals rise out of the riffs smothered in reverberation and haunting cadence. They’re ably performed and really suit this genre of music.

Yes, there are a lot of bands playing this type of Metal, but Obsidian Sea have that ineffable something that differentiates them just enough to force you to take notice. I’m can’t fully put my finger on what it is, but I think it’s essentially just how well-delivered everything is here. The songs are just goooood.

If you’re a fan of Traditional Heavy/Doom Metal then Obsidain Sea are one of the more talented bands operating in its murky waters. Give them a listen.