Extreme metal – Page 35 – Wonderbox Metal

The Parallax – Obliquity of the Ecliptic (Review)

The Parallax come from Canada and this is their début album of Extreme Progressive Metal.

The closest band for comparison would be the mighty Between the Buried and Me, although to the credit of The Parallax they manage to use the template but don’t sound like a rip off. Another good example of this would be a band like The Odious who also share the Between the Buried and Me influence but like The Parallax they have their own sound built onto it. Other bands that The Parallax are reminiscent of in places are the more recent Strapping Young Lad material and Lascaille’s Shroud.

Like Between the Buried and Me the band are hard to categorise as they have so much going on, but I suppose you could brand them as playing Extreme Progressive Metal, if you really wanted to pigeon hole.

The band have epic, sprawling songs full of high speed Metal and highly melodic riffing, where the solos and leads are plentiful and played better than most.

Keyboards and effects wash over the music in waves. Piano sections and 70-s style duelling synths are common.

Harsh vocals roar and clean vocals soar. The singer has a very good voice and ably manages the vocals whether they be Power Metal cleans, abrasive roars or anything else.

It’s all very well done and very proficiently played. As you can probably tell from the above the band are certainly not lacking in ambition. There are only 5 tracks but there is an hour of music here, including the epic 23 minute splendour of The Reformatting.

The sound is clear but my only slight complaint, (and it’s only a small thing really), is that it could do with a bit more depth to the sound; it sounds curiously compressed. It stops registering after a while, but when you first listen to this album after another band who, say, have a rounder sound to their recording, it stands out. Definitely not the end of the world, and it might not even be an issue for some people, but just a note for next time.

All in all this is a talented band who have produced a whopper of a début. I have no hesitation in recommending this album at all. If your tastes run to the Progressive and the interesting then Obliquity of the Ecliptic is for you. I fully expect this band to be snapped up by some enterprising record label soon, so get in on the action now.

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?

Antigama – Meteor (Review)

Meteor is the latest album from Polish Grind band Antigama.

Straight away you can tell that the latest Antigama album is just a top quality Grindcore release; the sound, the vocals, the playing, the delivery – it’s all spot on.

The recording is full and complete, with a devastating sound that makes the most of the band’s aggressive heaviness.

The vocals are brutal and satisfying with enough variety to keep things interesting but sounding good enough that the variety is a bonus and not something that’s necessary.

The playing of the band is tight and focused. They alternate between fast and aggressive, staccato stop-starts, brutal blasting and atmospheric heaviness with ease and the confidence of true professionals.

They’re also not afraid to experiment, with electronics and effects on some songs as well as guest and alternative vocals; it all adds up to something special.

Another solid, top quality release from these Grindcore masters; Meteor should see them at the head of the modern Extreme Metal pack.

Enthroned – Sovereigns (Review)

Enthroned are a veteran Belgian Black Metal band that need little introduction; this is their 10th album.

It opens with a massive ominous intro. Normally I’m against pointless intros as they usually serve little purpose, but this one is compelling and the horns sound immense; it sets the scene well for the approaching carnage.

It takes time to build up to a fast tempo; instead it starts slowly and ritualistically, taking advantage of mood and atmosphere. Once sated however, Hell is then unleashed and the band rip forth with scorching Satanic Black Metal.

For a band who are so well established and have so many releases there is still a hunger at work here and it comes across in the songs.

Some of the riffs and melodies they use are extremely tasty and designed to evoke feelings of almost tense uneasiness. Extra effects, horns, etc. further add to the mood and Enthroned show themselves to be on the top of their game. Just listen to the start of Lamp of Invisible Lights for example. I mean come on! Other bands just aren’t trying by comparison. The album is full of moments like these.

The band have an evolved sense of dynamics and the songwriting on this release is very enjoyable. They appear to have developed an aura of corruption and awe-filled terror for this album. It reminds me of the recent masterpiece by Corpsessed, only filtered through a razor-sharp Black Metal lens.

The band explore a variety of interesting ideas and songs structures within the confines of their chosen genre. This is not an album that sounds repetitive, and even features that rarest of things – the, (whisper it!), Black Metal guitar solo.

Enthroned appear to just be improving with age. This is a brilliant album and a must for all fans of Extreme Metal. I really can’t say enough good things about Sovereigns; this is exactly what I want from Black Metal in 2014.

Hiss From The Moat – Misanthropy (Review)

Hiss From The Moat play a modern brand of Blackened Death Metal.

After a perfunctory intro we’re straight into the action with Conquering Christianity which is full of solid blasting and evil mayhem. If you think of a band like Goatwhore and have them take their cues from the New-School rather than the Old-School you’ll be in the right ball-park for Hiss From The Moat.

Deep, guttural vocals and higher rasps steer the songs towards their logical conclusions, while well-played, hyperspeed drums anchor everything and allow the guitars to concentrate on the ultra-brutality or blackened rhythms, depending on how the mood takes them. Additional orchestration heightens the atmosphere in select places, and is strategically used for surgical strikes rather than mass slaughter.

Depth and carnage are the watchwords, for the songs stick around long after they have stopped playing, filling you with the urge to experience their nihilistic bludgeoning once more.

The riffs seem to flow like pulsating tar through veins of blackened darkness and spewed out into the unsuspecting light to corrupt and infect everything they touch. The songs offer nothing but hatred and want nothing in return but your demise. Misanthropy in more than just title.

The album is 30 minutes of extremity wrapped in malevolence and served up by a talented group of individuals and guests who know how they like their Extreme Metal, and I heartily agree with their obvious good taste.

Top marks for a top band. More please.

Suffering Hour – Foreseeing Exemptions to a Dismal Beyond (Review)

Suffering Hour are from the US and play high-energy Old-School Death Metal with elements of Thrash and even a tiny bit of Black Metal straight out of the Venom school.

Immediately from the first song Truths of the Unknown it’s clear that the band give their all to the music and they have plenty of ideas they want to include in their songs as well.

The riffs and melodies used are interesting and not simply genre-rehashing; and the variety of musical influences, (Vader, Morbid Angel, to name just two), that can be heard mean the songs hold interest with ease and before you know it the 29 minute running time is over.

The songs are written well with a good grasp of structure and pace. The tracks vary in length from the relatively short to the longer 8:35 of Enthralled in Lunacy Abyss, which shows that Suffering Hour are not afraid to do what they want and play the kind of Death Metal that pleases them without pandering to anyone else. As it should be.

The vocals are top quality and range from screams to deep growls, with plenty of range shown between the two.

They also have an instrumental song named Prog Thrashing Death which does exactly what it says on the tin.

The production is generally competent and has a very organic sound, however I feel it’s slightly uneven in places and could do with being slightly stronger for their next release. This is only a minor quibble though as it does the job well enough.

The quality and breadth of content in these songs should be envied by most Metal bands and this EP is a huge success for me. For such a young band to have found their musical footing so early on and produced a quality EP with such personality and individuality is a wonderful thing.

This really is fantastic. Support this band as they could go far in the world of Extreme Metal.

Ævangelist – Omen Ex Simulacra (Review)

Ævangelist are from the US and play a Death/Black Metal hybridised sound. They should probably just be referred to as Extreme Metal as the starting points are Death/Black but these two genres have long ago been corrupted by the taint of Ævangelist and turned to their own purposes.

Indeed, the stench of corruption and a deep-seated malignance is strong with this album. It starts off slow and quiet, gradually building in disconcerting sounds and sinister effects before the Hellish guitars and drums kick in.

The evil sounding effects and noises never stop. It’s like having your sanity eroded slowly over 64 minutes, culminating in the final track Abysscape at which point you’re well and truly lost and without hope.

On paper this is essentially Extreme Metal forged of Death and Black, with added electronics and Industrial effects, however on album this translates into a horrific beast that’s surely the aural equivalent of damnation. Ævangelist create tortured sounds and daemonic vocals so well one begins to wonder if they know something the rest of us don’t…

There are many subtleties and nuances buried beneath this avalanche of twisted sound, and repeated listens are required to fully extract the hidden messages contained in this burning maelstrom of nightmare sounds. Do you have the stomach for it?

A God or an Other – Towers of Silence (Review)

An epic, sprawling album of Progressive Black Metal. It seems that a lot of thought has gone into the composition of this album and it has certainly paid off as this is a release that the term Supreme Black Metal Art could have been coined for.

The Black Metal they play is far-reaching, without ever sounding sloppy or ill-conceived, and absorbs the listener in a trip to the underworld and back. Sometimes frightening, sometimes enlightening, always essential.

This is an album for people who are not afraid to take their time and get to know it. Yes there is plenty here to like on first, cursory listen, but it’s only on repeated listens that it gives up its secrets. A riff here, a melody there. Music to grow to and grow into.

I highly recommend this album. It twists and turns and takes the best that Black Metal has to offer and wraps it in a Progressive sheen and a sound that’s as sharp as betrayal. You must listen. You must submit.

Hybrid Nightmares – Hybrid Nightmares (Review)

Hybrid Nightmares are an Australian Extreme Metal band with Black Metal and Progressive leanings.

This band are clearly talented at what they do, and what they do is craft Extreme Metal songs. These songs have a solid foundation in Black Metal but have embraced Progressive Metal tendencies that lift the tracks outside of the original genre and into a wider arena. In fact the main thing that’s Black Metal about them is the vocals and logo really.

The Second track Upon the Cursed Wings is a perfect example of this. It starts with a Metal, almost rocky swagger before slowing down to a nice groove with the Black Metal vocals kicking in. The double-bass sections, solid melodies and nice chuggy riffs reveal a real knack for songcraft. Bands like Septic Flesh, Agathodaimon, certain bits of Dimmu Borgir, (sans orchestration), and even Amon Amarth spring to mind.

The recording is as good as anything out there at the moment – everything sounds crystal clear and full of life. There’s been no slacking in this department, or any other. This is a consummately professional release in every way. This doesn’t leave the music sounding soulless and clinical however. Actually the opposite is true as the songs are presented in an appropriate format that allows the listener to take in everything that is going on, and that’s quite a bit. Special mention should indeed go to the riffs – there are some stormers here! Ashes of an Astral Winter is a veritable riff-fest of top Metal calibre.

A really good EP. If they get their foot in the door of the international stage they could go far.

Mortal Decay – The Blueprint for Blood Spatter (Review)

Mortal Decay are veterans of the USDM scene having been birthed in 1991. This is their 4th album and their first in 8 years. And it’s good. Very good.

Blasting USDM in the classic mould with plenty of brutality, blastbeats and harmonics to satisfy even the most jaded Metal fan. Quite simply this album dares you not to bang that head and just destroys anyone foolish enough to get in the way of this juggernaut. This is Death Metal for Death Metal fans, pure and unadulterated.

They deal in precise, choppy songs filled with blasting and gore-soaked vocals professionally delivered and wrapped in skin. The stench of the last victim still present as they rip, tear and shred their way through the next one.

If you’re a fan of Death Metal then you can’t go wrong with this.