Wonderbox Metal

Mind – Save Yourself From Hell (Review)

Mind are a Crust/Hardcore/Metal band from Germany and this is their third album.

This is primitive Crust violence, played with passion and honesty.

The songs rattle and bash their way from the speakers while the singer tries to compete with the local attack dogs to see who is the most rabid.

Songs like Lost carry a real feeling of threat but also, paradoxically, of camaraderie. Best to make sure you’re on the right side, eh?

They have an Old-School sound that could probably have done with a little more beef in some of the departments, but having said that it still fits the music well and hones the authentic feeling of Hardcore being played by lifers.

The feeling in general is Old-School, reminding of Hardcore bands from the 90’s such as Merauder and especially fellow German’s Ryker’s, as well as all of the standard Crust reference points. They also cover Napalm Death, which can never be a bad thing.

This is a 25 minute trip to the wrong side of the tracks. Will you survive the journey? With this as your soundtrack you might.

Shrike – Sieben (Review)

This is the third album from Germany’s Black Metallers Shrike.

Shrike impress with their unusual sound which is one of a band barely held together by their enthusiasm for their art, whilst concurrently holding it together long enough to breathe life into the 5 cold, dark tracks they offer us here.

There is a real authenticity and honesty to Shrike, and the lack of spit and polish on the songs is a plus as they live and pulse with an organic vitality that just wouldn’t necessarily be there if the band worked differently.

The songs are relatively varied and full of ideas for what is essentially primitive Black Metal. It’s a tribute to the band that they successfully inject a bit of personality into the genre and do their own thing with it.

At just over 30 minutes this is an enjoyable Black Metal album that has an elusive, intangible special ingredient that keeps you returning for more.

Favourite Track: Von den Farben der Sehnsucht. A very well constructed and nuanced song.

Lord Mantis – Death Mask (Review)

Lord Mantis are from the US and play Blackened Sludge Metal.

This is torturous, nihilistic Sludge with Blackened overtones and a deep, deep desire to do harm. They arm themselves with all kinds of sharp implements to rabidly experiment with in the search for the ultimate frenzied stab wound pattern. This manifests itself as 47 minutes of Blackened Sludge Metal with some noise components thrown in for good measure.

The songs are the aural equivalent of darkness made solid, with lurking dangers and scything evil hidden within and somehow free to move around in the impenetrable solidity of a corporeal inky black night.

Sounding like a more savage-than-normal Sludge band, Lord Mantis take vitriol to new heights and display a callous disregard for standard genre rules. Unlike some Sludge bands they also include blast beats and noise assaults in their armoury of nasty delights, and wield them with wanton brutality.

If you can handle the acerbic nature of the music then this is top of the league stuff. Depraved, vile, sinful and warped; this may be one of the best records of the year so far.

Skinfather – None Will Mourn (Review)

This is the début album from US Death Metal band Skinfather.

They may come from the US but their style of Death Metal is more Swedish than anything else. They are also named after a Dismember song, so you get the idea.

However, they are not just about the hero-worship, they also add some more contemporary influences into their sound – a bit of Entombed here, a bit of Crust/Hardcore there. It all adds up to a riveting listen.

That chainsaw sound is plastered all over every song and this gives proceedings a hefty amount of muscular backbone. The riffs are powerful and the band clearly passionate about their songs, which is obviously a good thing. Also; there are some seriously good riffs on here…

The vocals are halfway between the Death Metal standard and a more Crusty gurning, although when needed the growls do come out in their full bestial glory.

A very satisfying listen. Unlike a lot of bands who try this style Skinfather have managed to stamp their own mark on the Swedish Death Metal template, which is no mean feat.

Listen up – there’s a new pack leader in town.

https://soundcloud.com/earsplit/skinfather-ordeal-by-fire?in=earsplit/sets/skinfather-none-will-mourn

Bokluk – Taphonomy (Review)

Bokluk are from Spain and play Death Metal. This is their début album.

Primitive, atavistic Death Metal with a healthy Crust influence oozes out of the speakers and all over the floor. You try to run, try to hide, but to no effect. The gloopy, sinister ooze is already on you, infecting your brain and slowly turning you into itself. Soon it will have taken you over completely, and then there will only be Bokluk.

This is Old-School Death Metal mixed with the most filthy Punk/Crust influence imaginable.

The production is raw and unpolished, lending the songs real bite and an authentic aura of dirt.

Vocals are deep, guttural and indecipherable; a relentless battering of growls and grunts.

Whether playing fast or slow they have some tasty riffs, and the Metal keeps on flowing.

Play loud.

Bloodthirst – Chalice of Contempt (Review)

Poland’s Bloodthirst play Black/Thrash Metal with a hard edge.

This is harsh music that positively bursts forth with pure belligerence and arrogance.

For all their severity they also find the time to introduce some melodies and leads into the proceedings which provide depth and interest.

The addition of Blackened riffs and blastbeats into the Thrash Metal template is a welcome change from the hordes of Thrash bands who all want to be Testament. Some songs are more Thrash-based than others, while others sport this Black Metal influence more openly.

In fact, sometimes I’m torn between describing them as a Blackened Thrash band, or a Thrashy Black Metal band. Not that it really matters, but it demonstrates that they do something more with the the Thrash template than simply repeating what others have done before them. Either way; it’s Metal to the core.

The vocals are abrasive and uncompromising, falling more into the Black Metal camp than the traditional Thrash one. Snarling and raging; they’re not to be underestimated.

A very good album – give it a listen.

Black Tar Prophet – Deafen (Review)

Black Tar Prophet are an instrumental Sludge/Doom band from the US. This is their second album.

This is heavy. This is slow. This is DOOM! This is good.

The band live up to their name, with Sludgy, bass-heavy riffs leading the way in a tsunami of sound designed to crush the senses and render the mind inert. Sonic sensory overload.

Destructively slow riffs meet with, (sometimes), up-tempo sections and pummelling drum rhythms to create forceful and energetic songs that soak up the raw essence of what it means to be Sludge, even when only playing for a short time; Judgement Whore is only 1:40 in length for example, but is pure filthy Doom greatness.

Imagine a mix of Eyehategod, Bismuth, Ghold and Khanate; now remove the vocals, remove the guitars and distil the essence into, (mostly), short songs. Black Tar Prophet are here. All hail.

Eskhaton – Worship Death (Review)

This is the latest album from Australia’s Eskhaton.

The band play Blackened Death Metal and don’t waste any time introducing the listener to their thick, filthy sound.

The reverberating vocals sound like they are being howled out of a void and the music similarly evokes images of warp storms and dimension-ripping tornadoes.

This is savage, bestial and relentless. Like some form of primeval Death Metal ritual, swathed in the occult and daring you to lock stares with it. I wonder who will blink first?

Raging guitar assaults compete with inhuman drumming which always seems just one step away from the drummer losing all control and just beating his kit into a pile of rubbish.

It’s only on the fourth track, (and title track), where we start to see the first signs of let up in the hyper-extreme blasting, with a mid-paced section easing us into the song. At least for 30 seconds or so, after which it’s back to the mayhem as chaos and unholy cacophonies are unleashed once more.

Eskhaton epitomise brutal, Extreme Metal with some lightning flashes of Blackened melody striking out from the maelstrom. Are you brave enough to risk getting caught in their way?

Decembre Noir – A Discouraged Believer (Review)

Decembre Noir are from Germany and play Depressive/Doom/Death Metal.

This is a release dripping with emotion, raw and bloody. The songs are instantly recognisable as carriers for the dark disease of misery and hopelessness.

They take their cues from bands such as early Opeth, Katatonia, Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. They build on this classic template by injecting their own vital sense of songwriting into the mix and effectively breathe life into a subgenre that can easily become stale and overdone in the wrong hands.

Decembre Noir know what they’re doing though. The crisp and powerful production meshed with the emotive riffs and the highly accomplished growled vocals mean that this is no amateur piece of work.

The tracks summon up their negative energies and deliver them with a strong Metal wrapping that can easily hold its own.

And just when you think you’ve got them down, the last song Escape to the Sun throws up some gorgeous clean male/female vocals in a gloriously luxurious section. It’s brief, and all the more special for it.

The band take the listener on a journey through melancholy conveyed via the medium of Metal, and what a trip it is.

Decembre Noir have that certain special something that the bands mentioned above all have/had in abundance. Get your ears around this one, it’s a keeper.

Chiral – Winter Eternal (Review)

This is the first demo release from Chiral, from Italy.

For a demo the sound is better than you might expect.

The music is melodic and frozen Black Metal with utterly dark, deep, guttural Death Metal utterances bubbling just undeneath. Occasional screams break the surface and leave ripples of discontent where they appear.

Old-School Swedish Black/Death Metal influences can be heard, but these are not plagiarised, merely used for passionate inspiration.

The demo cover reinforces the cold nature of the music, with the shrouded sun promising a brief hint of hope amongst a forlorn scene, characterised in the songs by the melodic riffs vying for position with the darker, icy aura.

Three tracks, 10 minutes in length. Very enjoyable for the short time it’s with us. I look forward to seeing what comes next from Chiral.