This is the second album from French Black Metallers Sühnopfer.
Sühnopfer play Black Metal that’s sharp, atmospheric and full of Blackened melodies bubbling beneath the blasting surface.
The vocals sound genuinely unhinged. They consist of high pitched screams that are piercing in a way that demands attention.
The songs are richly written with an emphasis on grandiose melodies and expressive guitars. This is Black Metal that’s absolutely played on its own terms to the beat of an older drum. Well, an older set of blast beats mainly.
The sound of the drums is infectious and the guitars seem to shine like crystal. This gives Offertoire a brightness that stands out, even with the dark core that’s inherent in this style of music.
Recalling melodic late 90’s dark delights from the likes of Setherial or even Satyricon, Sühnopfer rarely let up the pace and it works for them very well.
The band manage to create a medieval quality to these tracks, with the rhythms and leads frequently seeming to be inspired by this era; further enhanced as well by the album cover.
This is an album that hits the right spots and ends up as a very satisfying listen.
Ur Draugr are from Australia and this is their début EP.
This release is 20 minutes long and features Ur Draugr’s captivating take on Atmospheric Death Metal.
Unseen Golgotha is just under 7 minutes long and opens softly, with some light acoustic guitar guiding the way.
This slowly builds in atmosphere until the crashing guitars and thundering drums enter proceedings. Finally we get pitch-black growls entering the song and the dark atmosphere is ramped up by a factor of ten.
Tense melodies and charismatic music means that this song is an instant revelation.
Up next is the title track The Wretched Ascetic. This serves as the EP’s centrepiece at just over 10 minutes in length.
It’s a churning maelstrom of a song that builds like an oncoming storm with a heavily percussive backdrop and immense rhythms powering it along.
Like the first song, this second track is extremely impressive and ably showcases the band’s aesthetic of organic, atmospheric Death Metal that has some undertones of Black, Post- and Progressive Metal.
The final track on this wonderful début is Sombre Moribund. At 3 minutes in length it’s the shortest track here and serves as a gentle outro to the EP.
If you long for the olden days of classic Opeth but don’t want an Opeth rip-off band then Ur Draugr are the band for you.
This is a hugely impressive release. I can only imagine how good their eventual album will be. Here’s hoping and waiting expectantly.
Blame Kandinsky are from Greece and this is their debut EP. They play chaotic Hardcore.
This is angular Hardcore in the style of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, et al. They play their chosen brand of mayhem with pride and skill, peeling off riff after riff of controlled chaos and deliberate discord.
These songs have a passionate energy to them that’s an essential part of any band that plays this style.
Thankfully, Blame Kandinsky are more than just a few hastily slapped together riffs as that can easily become dull; they know the importance of following riffs through to their natural conclusion and of creating atmosphere, no matter how fleeting or obscured by chaotic frenzy.
The singer has a charismatic voice that’s somewhat of a scream-ier version of the Every Time I Die singer’s style.
It’s always good to hear this kind of music, especially when delivered with obvious passion and ability.
These five songs, (and one pointless intro), showcase a talented band who have developed their sound into a force to be reckoned with already. If they can build on these strong foundations and continue to develop their individuality then their eventual album should be a stunner.
Highly recommended.
Favourite Track: Nascency.Admittance.Guilt.Rebirth. Some top quality riffing and vocal patterns combined with some Converge-esque atmospherics mean this song is a firm favourite of mine.
Comaniac are from Switzerland and play Thrash Metal. This is their début album.
Boasting a crisp, clear sound where you can feel every bit of crunch, Comaniac sound remarkably fresh considering this is Old-School Thrash Metal.
The songs have a kind of used vitality to them; it’s a well-worn genre but the band play it well and with such passion that it’s hard to feel jaded around them.
The riffs are frantic and well written, with plenty of leads and solos thrown around to make things sound even more Metal than they already are.
Comaniac certainly know their Thrash. These songs could easily have been written in the 80s, although the 80’s Thrash bands never had such a crisp, modern production as this of course.
The singer screams out his lyrics with a kind of focused insanity, one step away from mayhem but controlled enough for the moment. It’s quite charismatic and makes a good impression.
Considering the fact that I’ve been a bit sated on Old-School Thrash for a while now I wasn’t expecting much from this but Comaniac have firmly won me over. The combination of Thrash know-how and a punchy, energetic sound makes for a great listen.
Wömit Angel are from Finland and play Crust-infused Black Metal.
This is their latest EP, which is the follow up to their 2014 release Holy Goatse. There are three tracks of odious Black Metal lasting all of seven and a half minutes.
It starts off with the title track Maggotmouth, which is all blasting hatred and frothing at the mouth. It’s primitive, underground Black Metal crossed with a Punk/Crust aesthetic that’s rough enough to hurt.
As opening statements go it’s a good one.
The next track Children of Moon follows up Maggotmouth with equal fury. Vocals are rasped threats and the music is suitable ascerbic. Deep, gargling vocals back up the higher ones and they sound suitably disgusting.
The final track King-SM is a re-recorded version of a track from their début demo Gnitimov fo Gninnigeb Eht. This follows the same format as the previous two songs and cements Wömit Angel’s enduring appeal.
This is a band who write attractively murky riffs that do the Blackened Crust thing well and leave no doubt in my mind that Wömit Angel are the real deal.
If anything I’d say that Maggotmouth represents a good step forward for the band and an improvement on Holy Goatse, which in itself was no slouch.
Quality work from these peddlers of filth. Keep it up!
This is the début album from long-running Heavy Metallers Twilight Zone, who are from Italy.
As I’ve said before, one of the most important components of bands like this is the singer; the vocals can make or break the band for me. Twlight Zone have a very capable singer with a strong voice and an able set of pipes, so I’m happily placated. The vocals are easy to enjoy and the singer hits the various highs and the lows without issue.
The music is Classic Heavy Metal with plenty of bluster and verve. Colourful leads and emphatic riffs are the order of the day and they have a decent amount of variety so that it doesn’t become too repetitive or one dimensional.
The band have a very slight Thrash influence to some of the guitars here and there as well as a bit of a Hard Rock style to their sound in places. Mainly though, it’s pure Heavy Metal.
The Beginning has a rather underground production for this style of music, but it does add an earthy earnestness and honesty to their sound. I really like the bass sound – it has an Iron Maiden-like presence and adds to the songs a fair bit; particularly noticeable on Death Swarm.
The songs are enjoyable and well written, with a good few hooks to snag the listener. If you enjoy this style then you could do a lot worse than checking out Twilight Zone for some resolutely Old-School Classic Heavy Metal.
This is the début album from Spanish band Deprive. They play Old School Death Metal. Actually I should say “he plays”, as Deprive is helmed by just one man.
Into Oblivion has a morbid, ancient sound that evokes images of graveyards in decades past. For all this though the production is still warm and suited to the feel of the band.
This is 90’s-style Death Metal with a sound that’s even older than that. There are some eerie, emotive melodies amongst the riffs and the mastermind behind the band also has a nice grasp on some Doom licks, which are spread out liberally around the tracks.
Blast beats, mid-paced sections and Doom riffs all coalesce in Deprive’s songs to produce an album that sounds both authentic and satisfying.
The singer has a quality voice that’s deep and aggressive yet still as old and as venerable as the music.
Sometimes I feel I’ve reached my saturation point with Old-School Death Metal, but then a band like Deprive comes along and I can’t help but totally dig it. Their incorporation of blasting aggression and Doom-inflected passages into the standard Old-School template makes Into Oblivion a compelling listen.
The best thing, of course, is the songs themselves; all of these different elements are arranged naturally so that the band end up with tracks that are actually song-based as opposed to a collection of knitted-together riffs.
Arthedain are from Germany and play Black Metal. This is their second EP.
Arthedain play Black Metal that’s powered by the frosted winds and icy to the core.
Razor sharp Blackened riffs cut though the chill and the blasting drums pummel all who dare expose themselves to these bitter elements.
When the band slow themselves down they show themselves perfectly capable of getting themselves into a good groove.
Subtle atmospheric highlights enhance the compositions and the band create suitably darkly majestic soundscapes to accompany their art but without ostentation or vulgar overtness.
At 14 minutes in length this only a short introduction to the band really, but it’s one that I have really enjoyed. Arthedain play their Black Metal very well indeed.
Here’s hoping their début album will be as good as this.
Half Gramme of Soma are from Greece and play Hard/Stoner Rock. This is their latest EP, their second release.
Half Gramme Of Soma have a sound that rolls out of the speakers with earthen grit and a confident gait.
This EP has a warm sound that makes the guitars come alive with a glorious fuzziness. The production is top notch and thankfully the songs match the sonic quality levels.
The singer’s voice is all gravel and character. He has a powerful voice that’s like a slightly dirtier version of the singer of Disturbed. It sounds great and the performance level is always high.
These songs speak of a confident band who know what they want to do and know exactly how to go about achieving their goals. These are very mature compositions that may sit neatly in the Stoner Rock genre but also borrow from others, such as Hard Rock, Modern Metal and Doom.
This refusal to play entirely by the Stoner template works entirely in their favour and as such Marche au Noir has a lot of different flavours across its 5 tracks. From the upbeat opener Marche, to the jaunty/doomy juxtaposition of Hitch Hike and the crowning centrepiece Cage, this EP has more to offer in 5 songs than most bands of this ilk do in 10.
Marche au Noir is a decent length EP at 25 minutes that showcases the band’s ample talents.
Bloodscribe have a produced an extremely satisfying first album with Prologue to the Apocalypse. Spreading the word about his band and all things Bloodscribe is their vocalist Jasan…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
We’re a 5 piece death metal band currently made up of Jasan (vocals), Joseph (Guitar), Michael (Guitar), Jesse (Drums), and Dennis (Bass).
Give us a bit of history to Bloodscribe
Bloodscribe was formed by Jesse and myself (Jasan) in 2004 strictly as a way for us to spend time and have fun with music, never did we imagine playing so many shows and getting as far as we have now. After a few member changes we seem to have reached a pretty solid line up that has giving the band the sound we have today.
Where does the name come from?
The name was actually completely made up by Jesse after skimming through and dictionary and seeing the word “describe” and simply added “blood” to it. There’s no real wow factor to the name and in no way is it related or influenced by Lamb of God.
What are your influences?
We all agree on 3 major influences, Dying Fetus, Disgorge, and The Black Dahlia Murder.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
We all listen to different thing aside from metal if you’re open minded then definitely check out.
What did you want to achieve with your new album?
The goals for this album are endless and by no way have we set limits going in to this album but we definitely want to play some shows out of the country.
Are you happy with how it turned out?
We’re certainly happy with the end result but we have already raised the standards for the next album.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
Well the lyrics are influenced by current events in society as well as ongoing ones, one big topic for us is religion and its weakening influence on its followers.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
We all tend to have our own unique ideas which we bring to practice to share and build on as a band. We usually pick one idea and grind it out till we’ve written something we all agree on.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
We all really took a liking on “Enslaved by Deceptions” because it really portrays the sound we are going for thus making it an easy choice for our first single and video.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
We’ve actually already started writing for the next album and feel we are headed towards a heavier and better plotted sound that will make an impact in the metal scene.
What’s next for Bloodscribe?
For now we plan on really pushing the album by promoting and touring as much as possible, while doing that we will continue to write and hopefully have some new material to go into the studio with in the near future.
This is the second album from French Black Metallers Sühnopfer.
Wonderbox Metal 