Wonderbox Metal

Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern/Eternal Sleep/Chiral – Sed Auiss – Split (Review)

Here we have a split between three different one-man Black Metal projects. All bands have contributed two songs each to this release.

Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern, from Germany, is the first to perform and offers up 15 minutes of music, longer than both other bands.

These songs have a good sound and provide emotive Black Metal with strong vocals and good riffs.

There are quite a few nice aspects to Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern’s sound. Crisp, raw guitars, Post-Black Metal interludes, near-static screaming vocals; it all adds up to a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

The music takes the listener on a journey and covers various moods across the running time. As well as being Blackly aggressive the mood is also a reflective one.

This is my first encounter with Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern and I have to say I’m very impressed.

Next we have Eternal Spell; hailing from Chile and contributing 8 minutes to this split.

In contrast to Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern, Eternal Spell’s take on Black Metal is a more primitive and straight-for-the-jugular affair.

This Black Metal takes the raw template and infuses it with elements of Speed Metal and Punk to produce two tracks that kick you right where it hurts.

It’s resolutely Old-School and unreservedly underground. It’s honest, enjoyable and not lacking in charm.

Finally we have Chiral, from Italy, who we have met before, here, here and here. It’s always a pleasure to hear new work from this talented individual so a further 12 minutes of music is most welcome.

As usual it’s high quality, high calibre Black Metal that continues the development that the artist has shown so far of actually improving with every release.

This is sharp Atmospheric Black Metal that contains a decent amount of melody without blunting the strength of the attack.

The melodies, grooves and speed captivates from first listen and the well-performed vocals are authentically fierce. Both the screams and growls sound great and they help bring everything else together.

Whether playing faster or slower the songs are well-written and capture the dark essence of Black Metal straight from the off.

Another win for Chiral.

Overall this is a worthwhile split to get your hands on especially for Nebel Über Den Urnenfeldern and Chiral’s contributions, which are my favourites.

Incinerate – Eradicating Terrestrial Species (Review)

This is the third album from US Technical/Brutal Death Metallers Incinerate.

With a quality Death Metal album cover, this is the kind of band that it’s easy to like. Once the usual pointless intro is out of the way, we get lots of brutally satisfying USDM-esque carnage with plenty of chugs and squeals to keep fans of the style happy.

This is a well-oiled Death Metal machine that chews you up and spits you out with a mechanistic relish.

Ultra-guttural vocals are the order of business although some variation is added by some screaming. They hit the spot nicely.

The playing is precise and surgical, with enough technicality to please and enough straight-ahead brutality to satisfy.

If you like your Death Metal in the classic US vein then Incinerate have what it takes to scratch that deep, bloody, sore itch.

For fans of Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Defeated Sanity, etc.

Aegrum – De Arrival (Review)

This is the second release from Aegrum who are an Indonesian Symphonic Black Metal band.

This is underground Black Metal with an atmospheric element characterised by the added keyboards. Coming off like something that should have been released in 1995, De Arrival is an endearing and honest paean to lost times and old glories.

The guitars are as paper thin as anything from the mists of Black Metal history but retain a dark lustre nonetheless. The Blackened melodies are sharp and provide an underpinning backdrop for the mournful keyboards.

The vocals are like solidified lightning and flash out on top of the music with evil intent.

For me, there’s a lot of nostalgic character present in a band like this, and it really does take me back to an earlier time. I have a similar emotional response to Aegrum as I do to Cosmic Infusion, which is one to savour.

This is really enjoyable. Be sure to check this out and get your hit of well-performed mid-90’s style Symphonic Black Metal.

Veld – Daemonic: The Art of Dantalian (Review)

This is the fourth album from Belarus Death Metallers Veld.

Sometimes, only Death Metal will do. Sometimes, it’s the only thing you want to hear. To someone like me an album like this is right up my street, so to speak.

Here we have a flawlessly produced album that has a shockingly strong sound and contains Death Metal that’s non-generic and padded out with interesting enhancements and ideas.

The press blurb touts similarities to Nile, Behemoth and Hour of Penance; all hard hitters and all equally hard to argue with.

Veld are a talented band it seems as they’re equally at home creating an impressively brutal noise or revelling in dark atmospheres. The fact that they can equally play these differing styles of Death Metal and do it well makes this album very listenable and enjoyable.

Some top riffing and melodies accompany the skilful drumming. Quasi-Black Metal influences make the cut too and it all adds character to the assault.

Veld have created some involving music here. Blasting Death Metal with enough variety and interest to make them interesting and enough core violence so they don’t lose their edge.

Highly recommended.

Forgotten Tomb – Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love (Review)

Forgotten Tomb are from Italy and play Black Metal. This is their eighth album.

Forgotten Tomb specialise in negatively-charged Black Metal with a healthy amount of Doom influence thrown in. I’ve always found their work to be highly engaging and have always viewed them as sounding akin to what Paradise Lost might have ended up like had they discovered and embraced Black Metal early on.

Like Paradise Lost, Forgotten Tomb have a good ear for the melodies. They twist, turn and wind their way through the songs with an emotive passion that brings these seven tracks alive with a rich despondency. The melodic leads may form a central point of focus, but the rest of the music rallies around it effectively too.

Having said all that though, Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love has a bit more bite than previous releases; not that they’ve lacked for this in the past, it’s just that this latest release has more of a vicious snarl to it than some of their other work.

They haven’t turned into Anaal Nathrakh, of course, and the depressive element of their sound is still their major driving force; but there’s an increased aggressive side to the band on this release. It’s as if they’re no longer content to merely be vessels for the misery and they’re now wanting to take a more active role in its propagation.

The music has a professional recording and is nicely heavy. The guitars have a very satisfying tone and the vocals are sounding as good as ever, maybe even a little more evil than normal.

Forgotten Tomb have mastered the art of sounding catchy without drifting too far into commercial-sounding waters. They’re a band who, after so long, know exactly how to write a good song, and Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love is full of them.

This is an extremely strong album that demonstrates how to write Depressive Black Metal with enough kick and personality to truly engage and connect with the listener. Bleakly wonderful.

Sonic Prophecy – Apocalyptic Promenade (Review)

This is the second album by US Power Metal band Sonic Prophecy.

Sonic Prophecy play Heavy/Power Metal with grand ambitions and enough rocking riffs to fell a house. Think a mixture of Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Manowar, Blind Guardian, etc.

The songs are rousing and catchy. Galloping guitars and upbeat drums mean Apocalyptic Promenade is powered forward at a good pace and there is enough variety and interest throughout to stop the listener from becoming bored.

The songs concentrate on good structure and composition rather than being concerned with technicality or speed purely for the sake of it.

The musicianship is polished and tight with plenty of leads and solos included. Keyboards work well with the guitars to create the themes and atmospheres that the band employ. The Heavy Metal component of their sound stops the Power Metal from becoming too ostentatious but that doesn’t mean they lack creative flair or passion.

The singer knows how to carry a good tune and has the ability to back this up. To my ears he reminds of the Queensrÿche singer with a bit of Iron Maiden mixed in.

Sonic Prophecy have released an impressive and ambitious 73 minute album chock full of Power/Heavy Metal goodness. Highly recommended.

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.