Wonderbox Metal

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.

Ufomammut – Ecate (Review)

Ufomammut are from Italy and play Doom Metal. This is their seventh album.

Ufomammut create confident, exploratory Doom that builds atmosphere in the best tradition of Neurosis, Yob and the like.

This is music that’s both heavy and nuanced, having the instant appeal to draw you in and the depth of longevity to last.

Ufomammut are undoubtedly heavy, but they also have their considered side. The songs are mature and well-written works of contemporary, otherworldly Doom that take you on a journey through waters uncharted.

I like that the band incorporate psychedelic influences into their sound without diluting the core nature of their Doom Metal aesthetic. Strange sounds and effects enhance the delivery of the tracks, giving the listener even more to bite into.

The vocals are low-key affairs in some ways, almost lost in the barrage of apocalyptic riffs and thundering, winding drumming. They’re used less as vocals in their own right and more as another weapon in their musical arsenal, merging with the music at a cellular level.

I’m always a fan of songs where the bass makes a noticeable difference to the performance and Ecate uses the bass wisely. It sounds good and works well across these tracks.

After this many releases Ufomammut clearly know what they’re doing and Ecate is yet another top album of quality Doom. If anything, this is a step forward for the band as Ecate really is pretty damn good.

Fathoms – Lives Lived (Review)

Fathoms are from the UK and play Metallic Hardcore. This is their début album.

The band play modern Metalcore with gruff, angry vocals and plenty of beatdown guitars.

The songs feature twisting, distorted guitars that are halfway between Djent and Hardcore, with more Metal influences sneaking into the mix on occasion.

It’s passionately played and delivered, and none could fault the band’s convictions. This comes across in the songs and the impressions they make.

The heavy riffs are performed with energy and enthusiasm. They seem to thunder out of the speakers and land causing furious damage.

Lives Lived is not all brutal riffs and angry intent though. The band do flirt with a melodic edge sometimes, and the shouted vocals even give way to some more melodic cleans on occasion. These moments are kept relatively infrequent however; enough to make an impact when they are used but not enough to become commonplace or boring.

Incorporating aspects of bands like Dead to Fall, Martyr AD, Martyr Defiled and Darkest Hour, Fathoms have created a very enjoyable début release that hits the spot like a lot of US Metalcore did in the mid-00s, before the style became mired in mediocrity and generic copying.

Highly recommended.

Offal/Zombie Cookbook – Dementia Trash/Motel Hell – Split (Review)

Offal and Zombie Cookbook are both from Brazil and both play predominantly Old-School Death Metal.

Offal are first up, with two tracks lasting 5 minutes.

The first song consists of some nice Old-School battery, with plenty of murk and the stench of the crypt about it.

It’s a very well written song with some really good riffs and a thoughtful structure. Good leads enhance the foetid aura and it shows that Offal have learned a thing or two from listening to their old Autopsy and Impetigo records.

Cavernous growls are the vocals of choice, sounding ancient and terrifying with their ominous presence.

The second song, Spinal Extractions Fiend for Blood, is much shorter, with more of a Grind influence, but even this is delivered in an Old-School style.

Zombie Cookbook are next, with two tracks lasting 6 minutes.

First song Motel Hell has an Old-School vibe as well, recalling a rotten mix of old Obituary and Death with a hint of Thrash Metal thrown in for good measure. The vocals lash out as if in pain and the sense of the underground is strong.

The second song, Eredità Maledetta, is shorter, faster and altogether tighter.

Zombie Cookbook sound like an undiscovered band from the late 90’s. That’s a compliment, of course.

A short and brutal split that reeks of the underground and revels in its Old-School nature.

Listen if you dare.

Natanas – Xylophar (Review)

This is the fifth album from Natanas, a one-man Black Metal band from the US.

As I’ve quipped before – another month, another Natanas album…

This time though, as prolific as he is, he’s really outdone himself. Xylophar contains 19 tracks, a whopping 88 minutes of music.

If you’re allergic to challenging, dark music then it’s probably going to be akin to torture for you. However, if, like me, you can’t help but masochistically enjoy this kind of thing, then Xylophar takes on the form of some kind of warped film score with each track representing a different scene and a variation on a malignant feeling.

This is almost ambient work in the sense that it draws you in and relaxes you…well, as relaxing as bone-chilling screaming over an empty abyss can be, of course.

As I sit here writing this on a Sunday morning, it’s absolutely hammering it down with rain outside and the ancient trees I can see outside my window look amazing. I note this as I’m struck by the thought that some Black Metal can act as the perfect accompaniment to nature, seeming to touch on something primal. Natanas, however, is more like the perfect antidote to nature. This is music that seems to want to blacken and despoil nature’s purity and scorch the earth with fire in its wake.

At least that’s my impression.

I find that my review of this latest Natanas release is noticeably less descriptive than previous ones, as once you get to a certain point, (as with any style of music), it becomes variations on a theme. There are differences between releases and songs of course, but it’s more a case of a slow moving progression rather than an evolutionary leap.

Having said that though, comparing Xylophar to the last release смертность, things have moved on, as they always do, and if you compare it to All Is Permitted then Natanas has come a long way indeed.

Building on his earlier work, this is somewhat of a twisted masterpiece. As such, I’d argue that Xylophar is Natanas’ best work, and probably his most bleakly consistent.

There seems to be a theme of a lone, mournful, off-kilter lead guitar running throughout the album too, almost like it’s documenting the activity of the protagonist in the fictional film that this scores in my mind.

As always. Natanas has produced some compelling work, and as always it’s not for everyone. Again though, as always, I highly recommend it.

I’m looking at those trees again. Hmmm…if I could only remember where I put my flamethrower…