Wonderbox Metal

Heaving Earth – Denouncing the Holy Throne (Review)

Heaving Earth are from the Czech Republic and this is their second album.

Now this is the stuff! Just take a look at the album cover and tell me you’re not sold on that alone. Class.

When you press play all Hell breaks loose. It’s like the essence of Death Metal just floods out of the speakers and everything is okay with the world again.

If you like Hate Eternal, Immolation, Morbid Angel and Gorguts then I feel pretty confident in recommending Heaving Earth to you. And recommend them I do, whole heartedly.

The singer has the perfect kind of Death Metal voice; it sounds like he’s chewing granite and he’s got that deeply satisfying style of growling that really hits you where it counts. It’s guttural but still expressive.

The music has a quality production that allows you to hear everything that’s going on without giving it too much of a polish.

Angry riffs and boatloads of leads make for songs that are both brutal and emotive in the way that bands like Immolation do so well. The songs on Denouncing the Holy Throne are well written, well played and just plain rule. As well as the ripping and the tearing there’s no shortage of atmosphere either.

There’s a good degree of interest and variety here, (within the genre confines obviously), and lots of good ideas are explored. A malevolent aura hangs over the entire album pulling everything together so it all sounds very complete.

Well this is just great. Top marks for Heaving Earth. What are you waiting for? Get out there and hunt this down now!

Sativa – 100 Years After Never (Review)

Sativa are from Bulgaria and this is their latest release. They play instrumental Post-Rock.

This is winding Post-Rock with a nice Progressive Rock edge to their sound. There’s also some Psychedelia and Stoner elements to their sound that essentially mean 100 Years After Never is a very relaxing, easy listen that washes over you like a rippling tide.

That’s not to say it’s all calm sailing as the band ramp it up a bit when they need to, but there’s no real heavy aggression here or anything of that sort.

Ethereal Post-Rock guitar blends with down-to-earth bass to create a listening experience that’s tranquil and charged at the same time. Sativa do well in this combination of beauty and gritty realism and the songs on this EP are nicely judged.

With the Stoner connection it’s the usual thing to make lots of comparisons to deserts, etc. but the reality is that Sativa have got somewhat of a watery vibe going on in some ways. This is especially strong on track 3, which gives the distinct impression of bubbles…

Maybe it’s just me, but I can hear it, I swear…

Overall this is a neat little EP that hits more times than it misses.

Recommended.

Inharmonic – Flesh Inferno (Review)

This is the second EP from Finnish Death Metallers Inharmonic.

Inharmonic play Death Metal with a classic 90’s feel via a very modern production. It’s a brutal and traditional style that recalls Deicide or Decapitated’s catchy simplicity.

The band do have a modern sheen characterised by the strong production and the razor-sharp riffing.

Some nice winding leads appear to enhance their core brutality. Solos also appear but for me the real star of this recording is the rhythm guitars as they’re both memorable and infectious.

The crisp sound makes the punishing rhythms almost crash out of the speakers and the band take full advantage of this to pummel the listener into submission.

Flesh Inferno is an effective Death Metal war machine designed to tear through the weak like a carefully honed weapon. It’s surgical, precise and deadly.

I look forward to their first album; if Flesh Inferno is anything to go by it’ll be a right fiery treat.

Good stuff.

Evisorax – Goodbye to the Feast..Welcome to the Famine (Review)

Evisorax are from the UK and play Grindcore. This is their latest EP.

Violent, intense and uncompromising; Evisorax have entered the building.

What can you say about Grind as demented as this apart from advising people to run as far away as possible? This is only advice to the normal people of course, for if you’re a fan of Grind then you should be hurrying to embrace the carnage that Evisorax deal as quickly as you can.

Evisorax are a whirlwind of destruction. It’s an apt image as their music twists, turns and convulses in ways that defy the listener to keep up.

I’d say if you combine the intensity of Discordance Axis, the unhinged brutality of Brutal Truth and the Sludgy extremity of Labrat then you’ll have a starting point for Evisorax.

Hidden behind the pure maelstrom of visceral lunacy that they play the band have a strong sound and actually have compositional skills. To the uninitiated it may seem that a band like this simply turn up, turn on and play whatever they like, but to the Grindcore connoisseur it’s clear that thought and refinement has gone into these tracks.

They may know how to unleash chaos but it has it’s own warped version of dynamics and pacing, which only increase the power of the impressive noise that they create. This is especially apparent on the penultimate track So Many Fat People, During the Famine, which sees the band expand their sound into wider Extreme Metal territories.

I was already a fan of Evsiorax’s 2011 release Isle of Dogs, but this new one has taken the extremity to a whole new level, and I love it.

Get this.

Karma to Burn – Arch Stanton (Review)

Karma to Burn are from the US and this is their sixth album. They play instrumental Stoner Rock.

Karma to Burn are one of those bands that I’ve been aware of ever since they first came out, but for some reason I’ve never actually heard them. As such, Arch Stanton is my first experience of them.

This is riff-heavy Stoner that is not lessened by the lack of vocals. If anything it improves things as it allows both the band and the listener to concentrate on the music exclusively.

Karma to Burn have an ability to write relatively straightforward Stoner songs that have a good energy and vibrancy to them. They quickly capture the listener’s attention with their riffcraft and easily hold it with emotive fretwork and enjoyable, easy-to-digest songwriting.

The album’s just under 38 minutes long and the playtime just melts away as the band do their thing and the listener gets drawn in.

A thoroughly enjoyable romp through the land of the riff.

Holotropic – Permeate (Review)

Holotropic are from Slovakia and play Progressive Technical Extreme Metal. This is their début album.

I wasn’t sure what this was going to sound like and was afraid it was going to be some wishy-washy, formless nonsense. I’m not sure why. This was all dispelled shortly into the first song; what I expected to be some throwaway intro track turns out to be masterful Extreme Metal that wouldn’t be out of place on an album by Between the Buried and Me or The Faceless.

More fool me.

No, cynical me has taken a firm beating and I’m very glad too. Permeate is a very impressive album.

Holotropic mix brutality, progressive sections, melodic parts, piano interludes, Jazz, heavy riffs and chaotic rhythms together into a cohesive whole that they’ve then weaved into their comprehensive Extreme Metal tapestry. This is either a Progressive Metal band that have taken Death Metal as their own, or a Death Metal band who have learned the value of expansive variety. Which it is doesn’t really matter.

Death Metal is an apt genre, but the nature of the riffs, the modern cadence, the exploratory nature of the music…it’s simply more than most Death Metal bands get up to. Again the comparisons to the aforementioned Between the Buried and Me and The Faceless come to mind, as this is Extreme Metal that has a modern Progressive slant.

The band can play very well and there’s a boat-load of technicality on display here too. As Technical Death Metal goes it can give most a run for their money.

For all the variety and interesting ideas of the music, the vocals are mainly pitch-black growls. It works well though as it provides a central anchor for the band’s extremity and musical meanderings. They sound great too. Occasional cleans appear sparingly and are professionally done.

Permeate is a varied and interesting début from an extremely promising band. I insist you take note of Holotropic and get your hands on this. They have a bright future ahead of them.

Highly recommended.

Dehumanize/Nihilism – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed – Split (Review)

Dehumanize and Nihilism are both French Death Metal bands. They’ve conspired together to unleash this split on the world and have clearly given it some thought rather than just chucking some old songs together; each band has contributed two new songs, a new version of an old song and a cover of one of the other’s. As ideas for splits go it’s better than most.

We start off with Dehumanize, who offer us 16 minutes of sharp Death Metal.

Dehumanize have a good amount of both savagery and brutal melody in their sound. Solos and leads are used well and there’s lots of meaty guitar action.

Their style incorporates an Old-School feeling as well as some Thrash influences in the riff department.

This is an interesting collection of tracks and, for whatever reason, I enjoy each one more than the previous. This culminates in their final song Don’t Be Scared with it’s driving rhythm guitar and subtle melodies that combine with some brutal thrashing and an emotive vocal performance. It’s almost as if you’re watching the band warm up – the start of their side is good but it definitely improves as it goes along.

After Dehumanize, Nihilism have 20 minutes to show their stuff.

Nhilism’s Death Metal is rhythmic and Old-School. It’s primitive and atavistic with an underground sound and vocals that sound like they’re issuing forth from a daemonic cavern. Interestingly though, the band aren’t above using semi-clean vocals when they need to; this, coupled with some nice melodic/atmospheric work, lends them an air of early Amorphis/Anathema/Sentenced on occasion.

The songs have a fuzzed up bounce to them and a rotten energy that’s undeniable. The Old-School is strong with these, and the more interesting elements of atmosphere and harmonies make the band even more compelling than if there were just playing Old-School Death Metal alone.

An enjoyable split from both bands.

Aenemica – Empty Inside (Review)

Aenemica are from Germany and this is their début album. They play Progressive Rock.

This is modern Progressive Rock that has influences from both Progressive Metal, Modern Rock/Metal and even a splash of Djent to some of the riffs.

The singer has a voice that’s soft like silk and flows like liquid gold. He’s instantly engaging and very listenable. His voice is very versatile and the harmonies and tunes used are infectious and very more-ish.

The songs are a merging of the more modern, commercial style of Rock/Metal, (incorporating elements of Djent and Stadium Rock), and a more classically influenced Progressive Rock style. It’s played and delivered extremely well so that they successfully blend the different aspects of the music into their sound. The result is one that’s pretty much pure aural candy.

Imagine a combination of Evanescence, Device, Queensrÿche and Pain of Salvation; it’s quite a combination but it works together well.

The focal point is clearly the vocals though. Personally I’d like to hear the music slightly higher in the mix so as to create an equal emphasis on the music/vocals, but this is only a small complaint really.

Aenemica are a worthy addition to the world of tuneful Metal. Have a listen.

Voices – London (Review)

This is the second album from UK group Voices. They play Progressive Blackened Death Metal.

Featuring former members of Akercocke, this is an album full of promise from the start as Akercocke were one of the best and most individual bands that the UK had to offer.

As soon as the dark acoustic opener Suicide Note starts I’m instantly hit with the feeling that Akercocke gave me in their more restrained moments. Then Music for the Recently Bereaved blasts out of the speakers and I feel warm and fuzzy inside and out.

If voices aren’t the heirs to Akercocke then I don’t know who is. They’re definitely their own entity but they channel the same primordial power and majesty that Akercocke did so well.

Blasting Death Metal, scathing Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Avant-Garde and everything in between make up these tracks. Progressive Blackened Death Metal is as good a term as any, but it seems so small. Voices are just bigger than that and have a whole lot more on offer than that mouthful of a genre tag implies.

The songs here are varied and full of interesting ideas and avenues for exploration. The band essentially just do what they want and I’m incredibly glad of this as it has resulted in a top quality album full of modern Extreme Metal that stands alone.

Growls, screams, cleans; the band do it all with style. It’s like Akercocke, Arcturus, Opeth and Emperor were crushed up together, digested and vomited up as a slick, professional, fully formed Extreme Metal machine. It’s classy and in a class of its own.

I love it when bands do their own thing and inject their art with personality and character. It’s even better when they do this with obvious talent and a passionate hunger. London is all of these things and more.

This is ambitious and hugely impressive. For a snapshot of everything that Extreme Metal should be these days then London is flawless.

In fact that’s all I need to say really; London is flawless.

Falloch – This Island, Our Funeral (Review)

Falloch are from the UK, and this is their second album. They play Folk-tinged Post-Rock.

This is the kind of album you’d listen to when trying to relax at the end of a hard day, or when you want something light and non-invasive to tinkle away in the background.

Falloch specialise in nature-inspired songs that take the slow route and utilise the build/release nature of Post-Rock to carve out their ethereal sounds.

This Island, Our Funeral is somewhat of a mix of bands such as Agalloch, Anathema and Blueneck only with more of a Post-Rock style and an elemental, windswept feel.

Guitar melodies and leads conjure images akin to the album cover and the organic production has some steel to it despite the nature of the music.

The vocals are well-performed with layered harmonies and angelic tones. The singer’s voice is well judged and fits the music well; it shares the same Folk-edge that the music does and the vocal melodies seep out of the speakers like honey.

Falloch have crafted an album that attempts to forge an emotional connection with the listener and its success largely depends on how receptive the listener is to what they have to say. They clearly believe in what they’re doing and I think they’re definitely worth a listen or two. Have at it.