Converge – Page 8 – Wonderbox Metal

The Nepalese Temple Ball – Arbor (Review)

The Nepalese Temple Ball are a UK Post-Metal band and this is their début album.

Combining elements of bands such as Neurosis, Light Bearer, (who they share a member with), Isis, Converge and No Anchor, The Nepalese Temple Ball have created over an hour’s worth of exploratory, expansive music on Arbor.

This is a diverse album that’s full of different influences and styles, all collected under the widely variable Post-Metal umbrella. Doom, Progressive Metal, Hardcore/Post-Hardcore, Sludge, Psychedelia…even a hint of Black Metal…these are all gathered by the band and melted down to form the songs on Arbor. They have a wealth of skill at doing this, it seems, and Arbor is much more accomplished than it probably should be for a début album.

Lots of different moods and feelings are covered, but the overall impression for me is one of a strange apocalyptic landscape where the world is drowning a chaotic, messy death.

This is music that’s non-standard, atypical and not afraid at all to do its own thing. The band are clearly walking the path that they want to and should be commended for doing this and exploring such rich musical possibilities. This has resulted in a quality album full of interesting areas to explore, with plenty of diversity and depth to attract and hook the listener. This is assuming you like challenging, interesting music of course. If all you’re after is more of the same, then move along now.

Highly recommended.

Moloken – All Is Left to See (Review)

This is the third album from Swedish Atmospheric Sludge/Post-Hardcore band Moloken.

This is Cult of Luna/Isis-inspired Post-Metal that has been combined with Converge-style Post-Hardcore to create individualistic songs that are sharp, nasty and boiling with heated darkness.

Caustic, throat-shredding screamed vocals provide a brutally simple focal point to the apocalyptic music. The band are here to sow darkness and reap pain. Their music is a dense, claustrophobic affair, ripe with urban decay and full of disturbed interest for the observer to become upset by.

Varied and nuanced, there are a lot of good ideas on display throughout these 29 minutes and Moloken make the most of the relatively short playing time by filling the album with bleak sounds that captivate and enthral.

Equal parts Sludge, Hardcore and dark atmosphere, All Is Left to See is enjoyable and recommended.

Immortal Bird – Empress/Abscess (Review)

Immortal Bird are an interesting Death Metal band from the US. This is their début album.

This is not a typical Death Metal album. In fact it’s only Death Metal in the loosest sense really. Elements of Black Metal’s darkness and Grind’s chaos infuse it like diseases, while the brutal core only gets stronger and stronger due to these infections.

The singer has an absolutely scathing voice and her vocals seem to lash out of the venomous music like angry barbs.

The songs are an extremely impressive collection of styles and sub-genres. Fusing the atypical Death Metal of Gorguts, the emotive Grind of Cloud Rat, the Hardcore fury and aural inventiveness of Converge, the classic-style aura of Death and the Blackened taint of Ludicra – this is a real merging of different aspects of Extreme Metal, underpinned by a Death Metal core, resulting in an album that really is an incredibly impressive release.

As well as having a certain soft spot for some well-worn and classic genres/sub-genres, I also absolutely love it when you encounter a band that are doing something a bit different. Immortal Bird are the perfect kind of band for this, and I love that they throw so many Extreme Metal influences into their melting pot. The important thing, though, is that they’re doing it extremely well. This release is well-realised and sounds completely natural and unforced. The songs are just that well-written.

These tracks have it all, from blasting to angularity to atmosphere to melody to high-energy. For all the extremity on display here they still manage to throw in some hooks and the entire thing is actually very memorable, quite quickly.

This is the kind of music that causes you to take a sharp intake of breath and say to yourself, “holy shit”.

What more is there to say? You absolutely need Immortal Bird in your life.

This is going in my end of year list, make no mistake.

Neck of the Woods – Neck of the Woods (Review)

Neck of the Woods are a Progressive Metal band from Canada and this is their début EP.

Music like this is an exciting prospect; birthed of Metal in all its glorious forms, Neck of the Woods don’t constraint themselves with just one style and instead coherently incorporate lots of influences into their musical framework.

This is interesting, stimulating music for fans of Converge, Between the Buried and Me, Devil Sold His Soul, Mastodon, etc. – essentially any band that’s pushing the envelope, playing music from the heart and daring to be a bit different.

Under the overall aegis of Progressive Metal, Neck of the Woods pack Modern Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post-Metal and Technical Metal into nearly 29 minutes of playing time.

The throaty roar of the singer’s voice carries the deep resonance of Extreme Metal while the music explores the boundaries of its self-created domain.

The band can certainly play and they have a good side-order of technicality dished up with their meals. The complexity serves the songs though, rather than the other way around; the guitars carry the listener through landscapes that are familiar and yet fresh at the same time.

For all of this, the band are a very easy listen. The songs are vibrant and satisfying in the way that only good Metal can be. They have personality and seem to have been created purely for the love of it, as should be the way. Yes, there is aggression here, but it’s not of the nihilistic, hate-fuelled variety. Although I’d stop short of describing this as friendly music, it certainly is personable and agreeable. If you’re into heavy music, that is; the average person on the street would probably just view this as noise, as they tend to do with anything even vaguely Metallic.

Neck of the Woods are an exciting new addition to the worldwide Metal scene and I’m eager to hear what they do next.

Oh, and they also have a song called I Know Where I’ll Bury You. Class.

Cloud Rat – Qliphoth (Review)

This is the third album by US Grinders Cloud Rat.

Cloud Rat haven’t really been around for that long in the grand scheme of things, but they’ve still managed to clock up an impressive number of releases and gain themselves a well-deserved reputation for quality Grindcore that’s not afraid to think outside the box.

This is definitely atypical Grind. The requisite genre hallmarks of savagery and short songs are present and correct, but with Cloud Rat there’s an additional layer of intelligence, sophistication and raw emotion that few of their peers can emulate.

This album takes the listener on a journey of many disturbing sights and vicious sounds. For all of the finesse and refinement of their music, Cloud Rat still know how to GRIND!

The intensity of the music is layered with nuance, subtlety and emotive performances all around. The band can happily rage and curse, that’s for sure, but more impressive is their ability to weave slower and more progressive parts around the chewy Grindcore centre. Progressive Grindcore, maybe? I’ve heard worse ideas.

The singer screams her throat raw with an impressively feral snarl and yet still finds time amidst the carnage for introspection and distinctive mood-setting when she needs to.

The songs are full of depth and there’s more than enough to satisfy over many repeated listens for a long time to come. Their richly textured music stands leagues apart from the majority of their peers and Qliphoth is a real force to be reckoned with.

Cloud Rat share the intensity of Converge with the quirkiness of Circle Takes the Square, and the ingenuity of both. It’s no wonder that their name is whispered in reverential tones by those in the know; Cloud Rat have proven they have massive talent and the ability to deliver the goods.

After 41 minutes in Cloud Rat’s world you feel drained, but satisfied and happy.

I cannot recommend this enough. You need Cloud Rat in your life.

Muck – Your Joyous Future (Review)

Muck are from Iceland and play Hardcore. This is their second album.

The first song on this album is called Provoke Me, and this serves as an ample motto of reference for Muck’s acerbic and violent Hardcore. This is music to fight to.

The band play with a kind of focused looseness, which means that although the band are tight enough to deliver a professional album they also have enough vitality in them so that everything sounds naturally dangerous and beautifully aggressive.

The riffs are a combination of the more modern, aggressive Hardcore breed and a more traditional, Old-School feel. The merger of the two together makes for an intriguing and enticing listen as the band rage through ten tracks of carnage.

Inhabiting the middle ground between Converge’s sharpened aggression and Martyrdöd’s D-beat extravaganzas, Muck form a bridge between the two that allows the listener to enjoy both styles in one package.

Well I’ve really enjoyed this. Listen loud and get ready for violence.

Cowards – Rise to Infamy (Review)

Cowards are from France and this is their second album. They play a brand of Hardcore that’s a blend of Sludge and Black Metal.

This is the kind of discordant, ugly, abrasive, extreme Hardcore that I absolutely love. Throw in a Blackened Sludge influence as well and you’ve a love affair just waiting to happen.

Well, actually it’s been happening ever since I discovered their début album really, but this new one affirms it.

Cowards incorporate interesting ideas and riffs into their aural assault and every song brings something slightly different to the table.

The granddaddy of this style is, of course, the mighty Converge. Cowards take the template laid down by the masters and dirty it up with Sludge and Black Metal influences until it’s firmly their own. I like a band that stamps their own identity on the style of music they choose to play; Cowards do this with jackhammers.

Toweringly slow, blisteringly fast, chuggingly heavy, Blackly aggressive, sadistically spiteful…I could go on. Suffice to say that Cowards have created an album that’s heavy and extreme in all of the right ways.

And have I mentioned the riffs? There are some choice ones on here. Slow, fast, atypical, angular, you name it.

The singer is appropriately intense throughout. This kind of music needs a singer who sounds like he’s about to lose it and explode into a fit of violence and this is what we get.

Great stuff. If you like music that’s heavy and aggressive you’ll love Cowards.

Baring Teeth – Ghost Chorus Among Old Ruins (Review)

This is Baring Teeth’s second album. They are from the US and they play Progressive/Technical Death Metal.

With a cover that gives nothing away, I was intrigued to find out what lay within…

Baring Teeth play dense, complicated music that mixes technicality and progressive forays to create an unusual beast of an album.

This is an interesting and unusual listen. Like a Jazz-Metal fusion of Uphill Battle, Converge, Crowpath, Gorguts and Pyrrhon.

Angular riffs and complex drumming make for impenetrable songs that take time to reveal their hidden treasures. The bass has a good presence and role to play too.

The songs meander along the highway of distorted frenzy. Sometimes restrained and relaxed, in no hurry to get to their destination; sometimes frenetic and unhinged, desperate to get somewhere, anywhere; sometimes the calm before the storm takes over; sometimes the controlled chaos of true genius.

Frequently; all of the above at the same time, and then some.

The vocals sound like they’re struggling to be heard behind the wall of noise that the band make. They’re perfectly serviceable but it’s the chaotic music that provides the real focal point here. Human noises are simply an addition to the trauma of the rest of the band’s cacophony.

Definitely an acquired taste this one, but definitely one worth persevering with.

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.

Nesseria – Fractures (Review)

This is the second album from French band Nesseria. They play Hardcore/Grindcore

I’m a fan of their previous work so it’s good to see another round of explosive, violent Hardcore from this talented band.

Nesseria have a sound that’s dense and heavy. If you take a band like Converge as your starting point and mutate it with violent Metal and Grind then you’ll have an idea of the angry space that Nesseria inhabit.

This is intense music that’s not for the weak of heart. Like Converge though Nesseria are not all about the brutality and violence; there’s enough subtlety, nuance and emotive riffing here to give the band a real sense of dynamics and lend the songs a keen emotive edge despite the crushing nature of the music.

Nesseria’s songs have depth and longevity that belies songs as aggressive as this. The album has a good flow though so that the blasting extremity is offset by slower Doom/Sludge sections as well as lighter moments. The ambient menace of the title track allows the listener a bit of breathing room in the middle of the album before the devastations begins once more.

The twisted, rage-filled vocals seem to channel pure anger as they punctuate the Metallic chaos with venom and bile. His is a voice for the ages, heralding in the apocalypse.

Nesseria have produced another album of exceptional merit; a clawing, grinding monster of an album destined to set many a speaker on fire.

Highly recommended.