Enslaved – Page 6 – Wonderbox Metal

Bearstorm – Americanus (Review)

Bearstorm are from the US and play Progressive Black Metal. This is their second album.

Bearstorm. Say it again, slowly. Bearstorm. Fantastic name. I was expecting something utterly ferocious with a name like that, but Bearstom are nothing if not surprising. They do have a ferocious element, but for the most part there’s a whole lot of other stuff going on here.

The music is a curious mix of Progressive wanderings, Blackened bite, Technical Death Metal Jazz-wizardry, Post-Metal experimentalism and Southern Sludge.

Their sound is pleasingly hard to pigeon-hole actually. The Progressive Metal influence is apparent from the start and infuses everything else at a deep level. The Black/Death/Sludge/Post-Metal influences in their sound take their cues from this and the band have interesting music at the very core of their being.

I suppose…Mastodon meets Enslaved meets Opeth meets Inter Arma meets Ephel Duath meets Pyrrhon…

The songs are varied and individual affairs. There’s a lot of ideas on display and Bearstorm never shy away from being different or going their own direction. It’s to their credit, as too many bands simply ape what has gone before them, so when a band like this comes along it’s a real pleasure to see them doing something different form the norm and attempting to forge their own sound.

Vocally the singer has a largely Blackened scream that’s supplemented with pitch-black growls on occasion. In many ways the guitars are the focal point of Americanus and the vocals provide an undercurrent to these. They’re done well though so there’s no real complaints from me on this score.

Clearly a lot of time and effort has gone into Americanus, to the point that the band have re-recorded the entire album for maximum effect; this is a re-recorded and re-issued version of their 2013 album. Having never heard the original version all I can say is that this version sounds pretty damn good.

An interesting, exciting and fresh-sounding record; Americanus is more than deserving of your attention.

Favourite Track: Glacial Relic II. An epic that’s Progressively atmospheric and even contains a Country influence. Amazing.

Jarun – Pod Niebem Utkanym z Popiołu (Review)

Jarun are a Black Metal band from Poland and this is their second album.

Jarun play Black Metal with Progressive/Folk elements.

This release combines considered reflection, passionate delivery and fiery Black Metal into a cohesive hole that does well to temper Black Metal’s dark flame with a subtle Folkier perspective. The Progressive Metal elements fit well into this musical tapestry and allow the music an even broader scope.

If you think of a merging of Enslaved, Thy Worshiper, Opeth and ugly, primitive Black Metal then you’ll be on the right lines. The juxtaposition of the raw Black Metal core with the sophistication and nuance of Progressive Black Metal is enough for many bands to contemplate, but add to this some Folk influences and Pod Niebem Utkanym z Popiołu becomes even more impressive.

The band have a guitar sound that they use well; when distorted it’s gritty and abrasive, but when the distortion fades it’s nicely clean and polished.

The vocals are gruff, savage barks that wouldn’t be out of place on an underground Grindcore release. They add real bite to the tracks and show that Jarun have that aggressive core, even when the music is more refined.

These songs are impressively realised beasts that have a lot of variety and content to them. They’re well-written and the playing time makes the most of the incorporated styles to take the listener on a journey through Jarun’s highly textured world.

Jarun strike the right tone with their songs and they get the correct balance between their particular influences. Acoustic and cleaner sections abound within the heavier, grimmer framework and the riffs, solos and leads all add a lot to the moods they create.

When I first approached this release I wasn’t sure what to expect; the cover gives little away, and I don’t read Polish so apart from knowing it was a Black Metal release of sorts, that was all. As it turns out, Pod Niebem Utkanym z Popiołu has been an extremely pleasant surprise. I love albums that have a depth to them and Jarun succeed in being able to write songs that capture the attention with their Progressive style and yet have ample enough aggression to satisfy.

I do fear this is somewhat destined to be a lost gem; let’s try to stop this from happening. Jarun are a band more than deserving of support; this is an impressive album from a talented band.

Extremely highly recommended.

Psycroptic – Psycroptic (Review)

Psycroptic are from Australia and play Technical Death Metal. This is their sixth album.

Psycroptic’s brand of Death Metal is sharp and finely edged, honed to a fine killing point through years of mastercrafted precision and expertise.

As such, they offer us 9 tracks of advanced-level Technical Death Metal over 39 minutes.

They’re not a band to get overly technical at the expense of the song though, as there are plenty of songwriting skills on display here too.

They also know how to write some emotive passages that have a kind of modern Blackened feel to them, almost akin to some of the harder, faster sections that bands like Enslaved do so well.

The vocals are aggressive shouts that also bring in semi-cleans and screams as appropriate. It’s typically the semi-clean parts that are the most emotive and remind most of a Technical Death Metal version of Enslaved, if you can imagine such a thing. Well, imagine no more!

They’ve incorporated a decent amount of variety on this release too, which, alongside the well-composed song structures, stops the album from becoming a one-dimensional blur of technicality.

I love the Progressive Metal elements of these songs, which help impart the feeling of a journey through Hellishly complicated waters with only the band as guides.

The playing is impressive all-round, of course, but I feel compelled to give special mention to the drummer as he puts in an astounding performance, especially for someone with, (presumably), the normal number of limbs.

An exceptionally good album.

Keep of Kalessin – Epistemology (Review)

Keep of Kalessin are from Norway and play Black Metal. This is their Sixth album.

Keep of Kalessin return, and it’s a very welcome one.

Fusing the best of bands like Emperor, Satyricon and Enslaved, Keep of Kalessin have produced an album that’s as epic and soaring as they’ve always promised.

Elements of the symphonic, majestic and even Avant-Garde combine with a state-of-the-art Blackened core to produce tracks that are brightly textured and rich in colour and taste.

Expertly performed cleans act as a central highlight of many of these songs, whilst expressive screams provide an acidic hit of aggression.

Highly emotive music connects with you on a visceral level as the band work their way through 52 minutes of top quality Metal.

The band may have a firm Black Metal core but they have used this to create music that almost transcends genre boundaries. Almost. Ultimately though, this is Black Metal, and it means business.

Their songwriting skills have been further refined since their previous work and this is a relatively varied album that takes in the past whilst leaning towards the future.

Intricate, inspired and sometimes warped riffing is impressively integrated into the wider song structures to create tracks that don’t always do or sound as you expect them to.

The musicianship and production values are first rate of course. Everything is played and recorded extremely professionally and the clean vocals in particular seem vibrant enough to jump out of the speakers.

A must listen for all Extreme Metal fans.

Dust Sculptures – Far Above The Pines (Review)

Dust Sculptures is a US Post-Black Metal band consisting of one person – this is his second release.

An album like this would be a very impressive achievement even if it was the product of a full band, never mind that this is all from one person. The musicianship and songwriting is first rate.

This is a blend of Black Metal, Shoegaze, Progressive Rock and Post-Rock; the various elements are skilfully combined into this release so that you never quite know what exactly you’re going to get next, yet it all gels together and flows seamlessly from one part to the next, from one song to the next.

All of the genre/sub-genre tags above essentially let you know that this is an album that takes a Black Metal base and builds it into something more. The songs have real depth and lasting power. There is a lot of music to explore here and that feels like the essence of the album to me; an exploration through an unknown wilderness.

Soft, crooning clean vocals share space with tortured screams and Blackened agonies. Like the instruments the vocals are perfectly judged and performed flawlessly.

Shades of modern-day Anathema can be heard alongside Blackened parts. Post-Metal highs and Shoegaze wanderings rub shoulders with blast beats and dark melodies. Progressive keyboards and chaotic riffs work together to build sound structures greater than the sum of their parts.

It’s clear that a lot of care, love and attention has gone into the making of this album. Every last part of it has had a lavish amount of focus placed on it and this has resulted in an album that’s a true revelation.

This is for fans of expressive giants like Deafheaven, Enslaved, Wolves in the Throne Room, et al.

Albums like this don’t come along very often and when they do they spirit you away on a very special journey. Let Dust Sculptures be your guide.

This is one for the album of the year pile, methinks.

Get this.

Execration – Morbid Dimensions (Review)

This is the third album from Norwegian Death Metallers Execration.

So what do we have here then? This is a bit different to what I was expecting. The name certainly implies straightforward Death Metal, but the album cover looks more Black Metal to me. And when you press play…you get a straight up Doom Metal Black Sabbath riff. So far so interesting…

Execration are not your typical Death Metal band. Theirs is the sound of a band experimenting with their chosen medium and pushing the envelope.

They have included elements of Doom, Black Metal and even a bit of Post-Metal into their repertoire. This is Progressive Death Metal that spiritually leaves off where Death ended and builds on the firm foundation left by the masters.

The music on this album is carefully crafted and considered Metal that makes it clear that the band are no longer interested in the old genre restrictions and are more than willing to incorporate whatever Metal influences they feel like to get the sound they want. And more power to them for this.

These songs are very impressive and finely realised. This is atmospheric Death Metal that still has the power of the style but has a firm Progressive edge to it that allows them to ably tread new territory with ease. Blackened riffs, technical solos, blasting drums, slow and building Doom, Post-Metal atmospherics, Progressive meanderings; it’s all here and it’s all done remarkably well.

The mixing of styles never sounds forced and each track sees the band develop their sound into a force to be reckoned with.

Mixing bits of bands like Death, Cynic, Atheist, Enslaved, Morbid Angel, Gorguts; this album is a firm winner.

I highly recommend this album. Seek it out now and prepare to be impressed.

Sons of Crom – Riddle of Steel (Review)

Sons of Crom are from Sweden and this is their début album. They play epic Viking-influenced Heavy/Black/Folk Metal.

This is thundering music with an interesting sound; it’s somewhere between Old-School and New and gives the band an interesting sheen.

We’ve heard this style before, of course, but this is a veritable exemplar of the sub-genre as it’s done exceedingly well.

Taking elements of bands such as Enslaved, Arcturus and, notably, Bathory, this is an impressive distillation of the quintessence of those bands, birthed anew in the form of Riddle of Steel.

The music and vocals are epic beyond all reason and you just can’t help but get carried away by the obvious passion and enthusiasm here. It’s hard to credit that this is a début album really as the level of maturity displayed on these songs is staggering. Each track is fully realised and boasts more features than many bands manage in a full album.

Epic melodies abound and the guitars really do draw out every last tiny bit of emotion possible from the instrument. This is Metal through and through in the best possible way. It’s Bathory updated for 2014 whilst remaining faithful and true to the original.

The vocals are varied and accomplished; they span everything from darker, rougher shouts, to higher screams, to a mid-ground semi-clean, to choral overlays. The delivery is masterful.

The music is richly textured and almost suffers from stimulation overload at points as there’s a lot going on and it’s all so damned grandiose!

This will likely be snapped up eagerly by fans of the Bathory/epic Viking Metal scene who are still hungry for all things of this nature. Unless you think Bathory are the be-all and end-all of this style then you should find more than enough to feast on here.

Turn it on, turn it up and get swept away in the huge nature of the band.

(Sample is from their Conqueror EP which is a taster of two tracks from the album)

Uburen – Withered Roots (Review)

Uburen are from Norway and this is their début album. They play Black Metal.

This is Viking-themed Black Metal with hints of Death Metal thrown into the mix here and there. Heavier than the norm for this style, Uburen play to the more extreme side of the Viking sub-genre.

The vocals alternate between Black Metal screams, rasps and deeper growls, with some spoken word and other styles making the odd appearance. The singer puts in a great performance and his vocals are quite varied compared to most monotonous vocalists who have maybe one or two sounds at most that they make.

The guitars are rhythmically melodic, stirring up the appropriate emotions and have a good double bass foundation that they build their songs on top of. This is not pseudo-commercial fodder, this is the real deal. Rather than the heroic songs and style-over-substance façade of most Viking/Pagan bands, Uburen have got to the blood and guts of the matter and their interpretation of the genre is altogether dirtier and heavier.

There are some really enjoyable, powerful scything Black Metal moments on this release and the combination of the higher/deeper vocals merely enhances this.

Imagine Enslaved if they were less Progressive and more aggressive, or maybe Amon Amarth if they used Black Metal as the basis for their sound rather than Death Metal.

Uburen deserve a wider audience than they’re probably going to get. You can help remedy this however – check out Withered Roots today and feel the blood run hot through your veins once more.

Favourite Track: Asmegin. Fast and furious.

Giant of the Mountain – Moon Worship (Review)

This is the latest album from US Blackened Progressive Death Metal band Giant of the Mountain.

Blackened Progressive Death Metal? Sure it’s a bit of a mouthful but it is a more-or-less adequate description of Giant of the Mountain’s music.

Their songs have distinct Progressive tendencies with complex riffs and structures congealing around an exploratory Metal core.

Death Metal serves as the largest percentage of that core, albeit a form of Death Metal that relies on melodics and technicality rather than sheer brutality.

And the Blackened part? This is sprinkled on top of everything really. It’s not as if Black Metal is a massive part of their sound, but it’s definitely a feature and they would sound quite different if this aspect of their music was removed. It’s a quality of some of the riffs, it’s in some of the vocals and it’s apparent in the distinctly non-Death Metal recording.

Couple all of the above with a bit of Sludge and a DIY attitude and you have Moon Worship.

Apart from the Blackened vocals we also get Death Metal grunts and some Viking-esque epic cleans.

The involving songs make the most of their play time with melodies and passages that seem to draw you in before going off on another tangent. These tracks really have been well written and the underground production enhances the feeling of listening to something special. This is a very creative and enjoyable release.

If you combine parts of bands like Enslaved, Opeth, Death, Gorguts and a whole slew of others then you’ll have an idea of the Giant of the Mountain sound. It’s refreshing. My only slight complaint is that even though the production on the album is adequate for the most part and for some instruments, (like the bass), it’s perfectly judged; for me the drum sound is a little weak and timid sounding. This is very subjective of course, (like all things music-based), and it’s not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this album, it’s just that it sounds a little flat to me and for a band that are as good as this I would prefer fuller-sounding drums.

Slight sound issues aside though, this really is the kind of album you want to take your time to get to listen to; absorb and repeat. It’s well worth the time.

As you can see, this is not your average release and certainly stands out from the pack. Get your fill of Giant of the Mountain and get worshipping the moon as soon as you can.

Salvaticus – Hidden Manna (Review)

US Black Metal band Salvaticus have just released their début album Hidden Manna.

The first thing that strikes me about Salvaticus is their raw sound that actually adds to the power of the songs rather than detracts from them. It’s raw in an underground way yet still strong enough not to sound weak or low quality. It somehow manages to capture the barbarity necessary for the heavier bits whilst remaining clear enough for the lighter ones. Either way, you can always hear and appreciate everything that’s gong on.

And what is going on? Quite a lot actually. This is an interesting brand of Black Metal that explores the state of the genre in 2014 and takes from multiple incarnations of the style to suit the vision of the band.

The songs are nature inspired/influenced and although based on the second wave of Black Metal there are elements of other sub-styles in their songs as well, the most notable being a combination of the Cascadian style and a strong Post-Metal feeling in places.

Coming across as a rougher version, (in a good way), of bands like Enslaved and Entropia, Salvaticus have hit upon a great formula for their sound.

The four songs here are epic in scope and pulled off due to the obvious talent and songwriting skills of the band. The album is full of powerful riffs, ideas, melodies and dark feelings.

Albums like this are very easy to get lost in. Listen to Salvaticus. Now.