Wonderbox Metal

Mass Infection – For I Am Genocide (Review)

This is Greek band Mass Infection’s third album full of Brutal Death Metal treats.

Soundwise we’re immediately treated to a prime recording with everything sounding as it should and with all instruments ready to pulverise on command. The band play their Death Metal fast and rhythmical; a blend of Malevolent Creation and Hate Eternal let’s say.

The drums fly by at escape velocity while the guitars shred anything in sight. The songs are not overtly technical but neither are they simply constructed; the musicians know how to play that much is certain, but they never put showing off above a good riff. There are even some almost, dare I say it, hooks here; Hierarchy of the Highest Abomination contains bits that easily stick in the mind, for example.

The songs are written well and at 36 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome.

The vocals are nice and deep just as we like it, and the singer growls his way through the tracks like his life depends on it. Who knows, maybe it does?

For I Am Genocide is an album that’s hard to fault played by a band at the height of their powers. Mandatory listening for every Death Metalhead out there.

Black Aces – Instru-Metal (Review)

Black Aces are from Brazil and the secret to what they play is cunningly hidden in the album title…

The band know how to play their instruments and write short, bouncy songs with plenty of energy and flair. Their sound is somewhat akin to how Korn would sound if they were instrumental and had more leads. Black Aces have that same kind of bass sound and drum/bass interaction that Korn used so well on their first album.

The band show considerable talent and potential for a début, especially from such a young group.

Hopefully the future will bring bright things for them.

Enthrallment – The Voice of Human Perversity (Review)

Enthrallment are from Bulgaria and play Brutal Death Metal. This is the fourth album from these veterans.

The riffs roll over the drums like a sinuous reptilian in search of a fresh kill. The sense of flowing, lean musculature and predatory instinct is strong with this one.

Speed and technicality are not the be all and end all of Death Metal, (although they certainly have their place in The Voice of Human Perversity), and Enthrallment seem well aware of this fact. More important to them are the songs themselves and a heavy, catchy riff. Of the former we get 8 hymns to brutality in just under 35 minutes, and of the latter we get absolutely bucketfuls.

Interesting and darkly passionate; the riffs slide out of the speakers and into the wound. The solos are equally penetrating and the bass is vibrant, clear and utilised fully; the benefits of a quality recording.

The singer treats us to a nice deep grunt that works with the music to bring the songs to life. He has vocals that fully engage; rhythmic and brutal without sacrificing delivery.

This is a compelling offering that has a timeless quality; the kind of album you could imagine listening to when Death Metal was fresh and new to you, but conversely still sounds fresh now even though you’re a jaded Death Metal warrior.

This is why Metal will never die and inspires such passion in its adherents. Is there any better form of music? The answer is no. No there isn’t. Enthrallment embody this indomitable spirit.

Verdict – The Meaning of Isolation (Review)

Verdict are a veteran German band who play Thrash Metal with some added Death Metal. The Meaning of Isolation is their fourth full-length release.

They have a crisp, professional sound that allows the Thrashy riffs to glitter and shine. The nine tracks are steeped in Germanic Thrash and are savage and immediate. Imagine Kreator given a Death Metal makeover then add in a few elements of New-School Thrash and you’ll have an idea of Verdict’s mode of attack.

Snarling vocals take the centre-stage and sound as if a caged, rabid dog has been given the microphone. These are backed up on occasion with deeper growls that reinforce the hostile nature of the band.

The drummer keeps up a good pace, but the band also know when to lock into a good groove. Killing Fantasies is a good example of this; the band has a good groovy bounce for the first minute or so before going into full-on Thrash mode for the next section.

This is a well-written Metal album that manages to capture the essence of what Thrash is about while bringing it up to date with some more modern, aggressive influences; all the time retaining authenticity and never coming across as commercial or sanitised.

A recommended listen.

Shin To Shin – Shin To Shin (Review)

Coming from the US this is a Metal/Hardcore release with lots of muscle and attitude. I hesitate to call this Metalcore as that brings up negative associations for many; this is of the original Old-School Metal/Hardcore crossover period.

The guitars are heavy and want you to know this. They destroy everything in their path with a certainty born of experience.

The vocals are gruff shouts and speak of a singer who is at home on the rough side of things.

The songs are generally short, with an Old-School Hardcore belligerence filling every second with attitude and confidence. The Metal influence is not found wanting either though, with the aforementioned guitars being thick and beefy and the occasional solo played well.

I haven’t heard an album of this style for a while. Reminding of a band like Madball only with more of a Metallic edge; this is an enjoyable 22 minutes that’s best spent in the pit followed by a nice lie down to recover.

Interview with Blowsight

Blowsight’s new album Life & Death is a breath of fresh air for the more commercial side of hard music, and as I said in the review of the album it makes me realise that perhaps all is not lost for for this brand of Rock. Let’s catch up with the band’s singer/guitarist Nick Red to see what he has to say…

For those that are unfamiliar with your band, introduce yourself!

We’re a four piece Stockholm based rock band, formed back in 2003. We’ve been touring all over the world, mainly Europe but some shows in the states have also been done. Done a handful of albums and had a good time along the way, to put it simply…!

How did the band form?

Me and [guitarist] Seb started jamming on our favourite songs from our favourite bands, Machine Head, Pantera, Metallica, Sepultura, that stuff, in a smokey basement in Stockholm. I had been writing songs for a couple of years, he heard them and liked them. So we teamed up with [drummer] Fabz and [ex member] Flavia Canel and started rocking the Swedish underground scene. Nowadays we’re boosted by the bass lines of Mao, who joined the band a couple of years ago.

What are your influences?

It depends. My rock influences are Metallica, and in particular James Hetfield. The reason why I picked up a guitar in the first place. Amazing stage appearance, amazing rhythm guitarist… that dude is a machine. A soul filled machine. I picked up the guitar and jammed along to their latest album “Death Magnetic” the other day, and there’s some quite challenging stuff going on there that I didn’t think of while just listening to the tracks. So definitely Metallica. Apart from that, I have to mention Refused, Sikth and Machine Head in the metal area.

What are you listening to at the moment that you want to recommend?

At home, I rarely listen to a lot of metal music. Sure, I’ll pop some Slayer albums every once in a while, but I preferably spin a lot of Björk, Radiohead, Sofia Somajo, Frou Frou, more electronic and no-guitars-to-be-found kind of music. But to recommend? Mao played me this band called I See Stars, in the car the other day, and that was pretty damn brutal. Heavy stuff. I’d recommend them, check ’em out. Also, Fit For A King kicks some major ass. I would love to mention We Butter The Bread With Butter, but I haven’t heard enough. Fuckin’ love the name though! *laughs* Also, this Swedish band called Durango Riot rocks my shirt off, very energetic and fiery stuff, and contains one of the wittiest, nicest singers I have ever met.

What did you want to achieve with your album?

Achieve? To produce some good, high quality music. Music with passion, music that speaks to you. Previous albums, I’ve been showing my darker, angrier side, but I’ve become more mature and on the latest album came to realize that it feels better to sing about hope, joy, you know. Focus on the good things in life. That’s why I love the band Hatebreed, their lyrics are very “think for/believe in yourself”, and I endorse that. I think the next album, planned to be released this fall, will show a lot more of that. Those themes inspire me.

Blowsight

How did you come up with the songs on your album?

I write about 95% of the music, in our Studio “Shed Evil” here in Stockholm. I record almost every day. Not always Blowsight material, but for other artists or just to keep the creative muscle busy. When my band brothers come by, I play the stuff for them and they add their own flavour to the songs, pitch in ideas and “maybe try this?” or “I hear this instrument in the background”, whatever. The main idea for Blowsight that we had since day one, is to record whatever we wanna play live. Doesn’t matter if it’s punky, metal sounding, poppy, electronic. A lot of genres fit under the Blowsight umbrella. Hell, on the new album I even convinced them to go a tad country!

How did the recording process go?

We actually just refreshed the demo versions I recorded. Added [drummer] Fabz drums, recorded the guitars and bass lines over and threw in more dubs, more synths etcetera. That’s the benefit of having your own studio – you can go in and add, change, twist, rearrange whenever you feel like it. I produce and mix every project. I guess you can call me a control freak. I know what I like.

Are you pleased with the end result? Would you do anything differently next time?

There’s always, ALWAYS things you want to change. Every musician feels that. I’m my own most evil critic, hands down. I’m the one thinking “damn, I should’ve tried this scale on that solo”, or “maybe if I would have sung it THIS way”. But that’s what keeps me ticking as an artist. Imagine recording the “perfect” album. That would be horrible. Where would you go from there? *laughs*. But I am very, very pleased with the result.

What’s next for Blowsight?

We’re releasing this song called “Winter Show Mercy” at the end of February, dedicated to the homeless people having an extra hard time during the winter season. It will be a charity song. I recorded it and got help from my brother Kristofer laying the bass tracks, due to Mao being out of town. He’s an amazing bass player, so I know he’d do the job done. And Seb’s ears are surreal, so I put him on the task to master the tune. Turned out great.

We’re gonna go play some Swedish shows this spring, and then we’ll try to head over to the US in the summer. More info about that will be posted on our Facebook page, as soon as we got… that…. info *laughs*. I also have this EP that I recorded for a person I loved about five years ago called “The Eli EP” that might, MIGHT be released. We’ll see. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Nidra – Coma (Review)

Russian band Nidra play Depressive/Funeral Doom with a Blackened atmosphere thrown in for good measure.

Bleak, doleful melodies softly cover this album like a deathly blanket. Solemn musicality frames every note and the threat of melancholy is never far away.

Nidra conjure up this atmosphere through the standard Metal instruments as well as keyboards, effects and pianos. The overall effect is quite satisfying as this genre goes and Nidra peddle their woe well.

The vocals have good variety, alternating between growls and cleaner singing, all in keeping and time with the mid-paced sombre funeral marching of the songs.

As a bonus there is also a rather excellent Blut Aus Nord cover on the end of the album.

A good release that allows you to wallow in the darkness without being swallowed by it. It may paint a bleak portrait but it’s one worth looking at.

https://www.facebook.com/Nidraproject

Gravehill – Death Curse (Review)

This is US band Gravehill’s third full length album, and they play Old-School Death Metal with a nice bit of Thrash and Black Metal added into the mix as well.

After the usual perfunctory intro we get blasted into the action with the album title track.

The band play their Death Metal morbid, primitive and ancient. The vocalist sounds like a long-dead corpse who has risen up to assault the living with tales of what they have to look forward to when they die. Both high screams and deeper growls are used, with the higher vocals sounding particularly deranged.

Gravehill combine fast and slow riffs with their twin-pronged vocal assault to create unexpectedly catchy songs, a consequence of their Thrash influence creeping into the mouldy Death Metal. The guitars are solid and heavy with momentum and aggression but also a good bit of crusty Thrash melody, while the solos are whipped out at hyper-speed and get the job done.

A thoroughly enjoyable album full of catchy hooks and memorable riffs. Let Gravehill’s festering carcass enter your life and take a good long whiff.

Gloom Warfare – Post Apocalyptical Downfall (Review)

German band Gloom Warfare play a form of Industrial Doom/Death that takes the blueprint laid down by old Godflesh and Pitchshifter and uses it to build their own world.

This is a slow-burning, gradual-destruction kind of album, where the tracks move inexorably towards their ultimate conclusion. The nihilistic atmosphere builds as the songs do.

The mood radiated by each track is the kind where you just need to fall into a bit of a semi-trance-like state and soak up the vibes of the album. Long distance journeys or getting a large tattoo; something you can almost zone-out to.

The onwards martial march of the songs is an almost-unbearable constant. Initially when listening to this I wasn’t too impressed, but slowly the relentless driving force that powers this 61 minute album gets under the skin and worms its way into your brain. If you give it the time to saturate your senses then Post Apocalyptical Downfall has lots to offer; this is not an instant album and not one for light listening.

I would prefer a slightly more even sound, with a bit more emphasis given to the clarity of the guitars, but it’s not a deal-breaker.

If you’re in a particular kind of mood then this is a really good album. With a few tweaks to the sound the next one could be great.

Impactor – Arise In Decay (Review)

Impactor are a German Thrash Metal band who have taken it upon themselves to safeguard the Germanic Thrash Metal legacy.

This is Old-School thrash in the Kreator vein, with a fine dollop of extra extremity added into the proceedings for good measure.

The songs rip, shred and pound their way through the 51 minute playing time and not a single person is left unbattered, unbruised or undazed by the Thrash attack.

Choruses and hooks abound and the last couple of decades are completely forgotten as your head involuntarily bangs itself against the nearest wall over and over again.

The vocals sound like a hysterically deranged Mille Petrozza and they rage over the spike-laden guitars with fury.

Enjoyable and angry – check out Impactor.