Wonderbox Metal

Decimation – Reign of Ungodly Creation (Review)

Decimation are from Turkey and this is their third album. They play Brutal Death Metal.

Is it wrong that I knew I was going to like this album as soon as I saw the album cover? No? That’s okay then…

This is Brutal Death Metal at its most devastatingly direct. They have a Technical Death Metal side to them but it’s the raw brutality that makes up the lion’s share of their sound. There’s something timeless and eternally gratifying about Death Metal like this. Sometimes I just can’t get enough.

If you think that a mixture of bands like Suffocation, Insision, Defeated Sanity and Nile would make for a good listen then you’d be right and Reign of Ungodly Creation is the album for you.

The songs are tight, condensed balls of ferocity and blasting destruction. They’re not interested in taking prisoners that much is clear. They rip, tear, chug, blast and flail their way through over 37 minutes of prime brutality and long, complicated song titles.

The vocalist is a guttural beast who sounds like he chews on souls for snacks. With a deep growl that’s instantly satisfying his is a voice that’s easy for any Death Metaller to get on board with.

Decimation boast a strong production that sounds like granite has come to life and started crushing cities. There’s something hard and immovable about their sound yet it’s also imbued with life and doesn’t sound stunted or lacking in energy.

Well I have thoroughly enjoyed this album. With lots of heaviness, energetic riffing and blasting mayhem what’s not to like?

Time to get decimated.

Usnea – Random Cosmic Violence (Review)

Usnea are from the US and play Blackened Doom. This is their second album.

We’ve met Usnea before on their split with Ruins. This, coupled with their début album, (which is absolutely amazing, by the way), means that Random Cosmic Violence is an album that I have high expectations of indeed.

Usnea write riffs that are huge Blackened tsunami’s of tar and malevolent urges. This is Doom that’s as colossal as it is unfriendly. The Black Metal influence is still a definite part of their sound, albeit a little less closer to the surface on this release.

Multiple vocal styles of attack are present on this; from high-pitched screams, to bowel-shaking growls, to spoken word, to haunting cleans.

The interesting thing about Usnea is that their songs may be monolithic slabs of shaded darkness, but importantly they can write actual songs; the shortest track here is just over 12 minutes in length but Usnea have an exceptional ability to write songs that are catchy.

It may sound strange for a band like this, but the winding melodies really seep into your brain and it’s easy to find yourself humming along with the tunes. This was a hallmark of their début and they’ve carried this over to their second album with great aplomb.

The dark atmospheres that the band create are a pleasure to explore. Each track has its own personality, character and place on the album.

Everything about this album screams quality, longevity and depth. The songs draw you in and mesmerise. Even on first listen you know you’re dealing with a truly special album, and after multiple listens it’s confirmed; Usnea are just fucking brilliant.

What more can I say? If you like interesting, heavy music then this is essential.

Lord of Pagathorn – Nekros Philia (Review)

Lord of Pagathorn are from Finland. This is their début album of Black Metal.

Now this is the stuff! Underground Black Metal that’s both scorching and frozen to the touch. The fires of fury and the frost of winter combine in Nekros Philia.

Lord of Pagathon have got Black Metal’s aura of frosted damnation and Hellish torment down to a fine art. The vocals scythe and scathingly burn whilst the guitars ply their dark melodics and groovy Blackness like they were born to it.

The blistering speed is offset by mid-paced malevolence and small interludes. The band successfully set the stage for their icy Black Metal and then populate it with Blackened fire and storms of razor sharp ice.

This is passionately played and delivered with real bile and venom. There’s a palpable aura of darkness and hatred emanating from these songs and you can feel the weight of Black Metal history pressing down as you listen.

Lord of Pagathorn have produced an album that documents an aural descent into the maelstrom and straight into the heart of the abyss.

Check them out.

Anatomy of Habit – Ciphers + Axioms (Review)

Anatomy of Habit are from the US and this is their second album. They play Experimental Post-Metal/Doom.

This is music that will probably be dismissed by a lot of people as not being immediate or conventional enough. Their loss.

How to describe Anatomy of Habit ? The share a similar very individual stylistic space with bands such as Swans, Neurosis, Fantômas, Burning Witch, Skullflower, etc. This is music that’s slow, Doomy and with lots of personality.

The vocals are a large part of the personality of the band. That’s not to denigrate the music of course, as this definitely has its own flavour, but vocally we’re in territory that’s reminiscent enough of Mike Patton to be instantly recognisable and familiar but not too similar so that it sounds like a rip off or bad copy. Couple this with an Avant-Garde feeling akin to Manes/Arcturus as well as the odd harsher scream and you have a performance that puts most singers to shame.

There are two tracks here and both of them are very finely crafted examples of how you can play Post-Metal and really have your own sound. Both are over 20 minutes long.

Radiate and Recede is a Drone Doom epic that is as hypnotic as it is powerful. I really love this kind of crawling, quirky, slowness that’s repetitive enough to become engaging but dynamic enough to keep the interest. It finishes with an extended Doom workout that would do Esoteric proud before the main vocals end it totally.

Second track Then Window continues the stylistic theme developed in the first song but with a slightly different spin on it. We’re still in Doom territory but the music is slightly more colourful and upbeat in a way that’s still subtly sinister.

Taken together, Ciphers + Axioms is a very enjoyable album that allows a creative band to flex their musical muscles in a worthwhile and involving way. They really have crafted a remarkable album.

I love music that’s a bit weird, a bit different and yet still remains a bloody good listen. Anatomy of Habit fit this description perfectly. They get a big thumbs up from me. Well done!

Tharsis They – Formless/Shapeless (Review)

Tharsis They are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Hardcore.

I’ve enjoyed this band’s previous work and this short EP is no different.

This is a band who take their cues from classic early 00’s bands like Converge, Botch, Coalesce, Nora, Zao, Most Precious Blood, etc. and combine both Metal and Hardcore into destructive behemoths of pure heaviness.

Here we have 4 tracks lasting just under 9 minutes. As such, it’s short, sharp and straight to the point like a red-hot branding iron.

The first track Wicked Response kicks off with angry guitars and equally angry vocals, snarling at the world, before the blast beats come in and the band begin a full on killing spree. Angular riffs and aggressive attitude dominates proceedings.

Suitable Appellation boasts equally demented riffing and some nightmare melodies. The singer sounds thoroughly pissed and gives a generally great performance across all of these songs. A guitar solo makes its first appearance and is backed up by some chunky rhythms.

New World Vultures is the shortest track here at a minute and a half. Consequently it wastes no time in getting to the meat of the matter and it’s abrasive heaviosity from the get-go.

They end the EP with The Felling, which once again ramps up the speed and intensity. The dynamics are strong and so is the writing. Winner.

I love this kind of Hardcore. Excellent work!

Listen to them here.

Decaying – One to Conquer (Review)

This is the third album from Decaying, who are a Death Metal band from Finland.

This is Old-School Death Metal with a solid sound and plenty of guts. Sharing stylistic space with bands like Hail of Bullets, Warlord UK and Bolt Thrower, this is War Metal in the Classic style that rampages over the landscape like a heavily armoured tank.

One to Conquer is played well and benefits from the band’s obvious experience.

The songs are straightforward tracks with Death Metal’s destructive sound and warlike spirit. It rumbles along at a satisfying speed and even finds the time to interject a couple of blasts here and there.

I particularly enjoy the band’s chugging riffs and winding melodies. Yes, the Bolt Thrower influence is strong in this regard but if you like that band you’ll like this one too.

Vocally the band are armed with a singer who deals out death with a very deep growl, Hail of Bullets-style. It sounds good.

Decaying’s War Metal will be a familiar style to many and fans of this sub-genre will find One to Conquer a capable battlefield ally.

Check them out and have a listen.

Orion – On the Banks of Rubicon (Review)

Orion are from India and play Progressive Death Metal. This is their début EP.

If you imagine Opeth with more of a Death Metal slant then you’ll have an idea of what Orion sound like.

The band are adept at the strong melodies and captivating leads but they also know how to take it to its brutal conclusion and unleash their inner beasts.

The vocals consist of deep growling and fine-sounding cleans. The growls are perfectly serviceable but to me it’s the cleans that steal the show here. They soar effortlessly and have a tone to them that’s quite refreshing.

The band know how to play and bend their talents into creating Progressive songs that yearn to tell a story as much as they ache to set fire to things. The guitar work is enticing and the combination of aggressive music and more considered approaches makes for an enjoyable and satisfying listen.

Each of these songs is Metal to the core and the winding leads, forthright riffing and Progressive tendencies mean that this is an EP worthy of respect. There are lots of good ideas and interesting riffs here and the band produce enough variety within their self-imposed template that these 4 tracks just fly by.

Having been around since 2008 with only this and a demo to show for it, they may not be the most prolific band but let’s hope that changes soon.

Definitely ones to watch.

Wolf Blood – Wolf Blood (Review)

This is the début album from US Doom Metal band Wolf Blood.

Wolf Blood play Doom Metal – a cross between Traditional Doom and Stoner Doom.

The tunes here are memorable and kicked out with obvious passion and no shortage of charisma. It’s a testament to the band’s talent that the melodies and riffs that the band perform sound both familiar and fresh; ancient yet vibrant.

A mix of Traditional Doom and Stoner Doom could theoretically have descended into the mediocre quite quickly but Wolf Blood manage to side step this pitfall by taking the best aspects of each. This has resulted in a collection of songs that have the power and majesty of Doom with the energy and drive of Stoner.

The band have a really warm, welcoming sound that embraces the listener with good feelings and Doomy vibes. It’s not too polished and keeps an underground feel but it does the band justice and the songs sound authentic and engaging.

There’s a lot to like here. Wolf Blood clearly know what they want to achieve and I think their début album succeeds in this.

Listen up Doomsters, there’s a new power in town.

Mangel – Mangel (Review)

Mangel are from Germany and play Melodic Black Metal.

After a nice piano intro the blasting starts and we’re into wind-swept, frosty Black Metal territory. Dark melodies and Blackened riffs abound.

The band create their grim atmospheres well and some of the riffs and moods are inspired.

This may be Melodic Black Metal but don’t make the mistake of thinking this is the overly-polished commercial variety. This is underground Black Metal with quality guitar playing and lots of lead work.

The vocals are sharp and sound as if they’re forged from pure evil. They work in conjunction with the music to spawn fertile breeding grounds for hordes of Black Metal Hellspawn to fester and lurk.

These are quality songs that have good structure, pacing and dynamics. They do the job they set out to do and this is a remarkably enjoyable listen.

At only 16 minutes in length this is a relatively brief introduction to the band, but to my ears Mangel could become a force to be reckoned with in this particular sub-genre.

Have a listen and decide for yourself. Me? I’ll be listening to this again quite a bit, as well as eagerly awaiting a début album from them.

Imperial Conquest – Hammerûn: Monarch of Serpents (Review)

Imperial Conquest are from the US and play Black Metal. This is their début album.

This is upbeat and grim Black Metal with fantastic symphonic accompaniment. The Metal is hot out of the furnace and is likely to melt flesh upon contact.

The symphonic elements are very well-performed and are a highlight for me. They’re subtle enough most of the time that they become fully enmeshed with the music so that it sounds like a natural part of the band’s repertoire, yet when needed it comes out to the fore and really adds its weight to proceedings.

The symphonic effects really are a master-stroke for this band as they’re not overwrought, perfectly fit with the music and are very well delivered. Considering this part of the style usually just sounds tacked on for most bands of this ilk, having it completely engrained with the rest of the music is no mean feat. Impressive.

The songs as a whole are full of dynamics and have an epic streak to them that never becomes overblown. The music is dark and suitably Blackened, but the relentless riffs and the symphonic keyboards allow the band to work with a rich palette and each track is extremely enjoyable because of this.

The vocals are scything high-pitched screams and the album features guests from Promethean Horde. Nothing not to like here!

I’ve really enjoyed this album. It has almost the perfect ratio of beauty to ugliness, with the symphonic elements being particularly stunning, especially as they sound so damn good set against the rest of the pitch black music.

Very highly recommended. In fact, go and get this right now.