Isis – Page 11 – Wonderbox Metal

Enola – The Light Fröm Below (Review)

Enola are from France and play Post-Metal.

This is the band’s first EP, although at 36 minutes it’s longer than some albums.

They start off confident and only get more so from here. Post-Metal is such a loose term for a lot of different potential sub-genres that all vaguely fit around the quite open-to-interpretation blueprints left behind by the masters – Neurosis/Isis/Cult of Luna.

After this it’s up to the individual bands to make of it what they will, and even combine with other genres and make wonderful things happen. This is one of the reasons it can be such a hotbed of talent and creativity.

So what of Enola then? Well, as stated above they have made their own way in this now crowded genre and have injected a bit of a Screamo/Hardcore element into the equation and could quite comfortably be termed Post-Hardcore.

The songs are big on melody and atmosphere, created by just the basic instruments. They’re played with a passion and an emphasis on musical exploration and expression of angst and rage tempered with something more subtle.

The Light Fröm Below brings to mind two recent releases I’ve reviewed – Eryn Non Dae and N. Tesla; Enola seem to share common ground with both bands while adding the aforementioned Hardcore influences into the mix.

This is a very accomplished and proficient band; confident too, as stated earlier, as the songs have a strong sense of self and direction you might not always expect from a first release.

The songs have heaviness with an in-built fragility. The vocals share this seeming dichotomy as they are largely rough and angry sounding whilst remaining emotive and open at the same time. There are also frequent spoken words and semi-sung parts that have a clear link to their Hardcore lineage. Clean singing is rare, but when it does appear, (first on The Door), it’s exceptionally handled.

This is a truly remarkable release, especially so for such a new band. It’s bands like this that always make me happy to be into this kind of music. This is a real treat. If this is only an EP then their first album should be devastating.

Do yourself a favour and get this.

Fleshworld – Like We’re All Equal Again (Review)

Fleshworld come from Poland and play Post-Metal.

After a perfunctory and over-long intro the first track-proper Hereinafter starts and we instantly get a nice bit of Isis-esque Post-Metal that pushes all of the right buttons and has an immediate presence.

The vocals are gruff and aggressive; a perfect counterpoint to the often fragile and iridescent music. In fact, for an album that deals with the themes of war and the consequences of war, it’s surprisingly a largely delicate and beautiful release, with haunting melodies and calm, soothing musical meanderings.

These are broken up with heavier sections, but even these carry the melodies with them and the sense of beauty is retained. Songs like Dust Eater merge the two at a cellular level and the feeling is one of controlled and restrained fury, fettered by graceful chains of the strongest polymers.

With the quality of music on offer here this could easily have been an instrumental album. The fact that we have near-Death Metal vocals bellowing over everything though takes things to a higher level and the results are breathtaking.

This is an album that deserves many accolades, and let the first start here. Stunning.

North – Metanoia (Review)

North are from the US and play Post-Metal.

Whether it’s build and release or tense and relax; having light and dark or beauty and brutality; these are some of the staples of Post-Metal, that most varied of beasts, and North provide an exemplar of how to do this while layering the entire thing in raw, Sludgy vocals.

Picture a band playing their favourite parts of Isis and Year Of No Light and condensing these resulting compositions into shorter songs than typically either of those bands; this will give you a good idea of the ground that North tread.

The vocals are rough semi-cleans that provide an interesting counterpoint to the clear music. They are expressive and emotive in all of the right ways. The same can be said of the songs themselves. Taken together these tracks explore the emotional depths and heights of whatever the subject matter is. As someone once said of Radiohead – I don’t know what he’s singing about but I can tell he means it, (or something along those lines).

Each of these four tracks is a mastercrafted example of Post-Metal at its best, especially as it doesn’t aim to simply mimic Neurosis/Cult of Luna as a lot of Post-Metal ends up doing to some extent. Here we have a band travelling their own path to the beat of their heroes but with a singular intent all of their own.

I had never heard North before this EP, and I quickly come to the conclusion that this is a crying shame as the quality and effect of these songs is undeniable.

Expand your horizons, and make sure you travel North.

Stoneburner – Life Drawing (Review)

Stoneburner are a Sludge/Doom band from the US and Life Drawing is their second album.

The band combine aggressive Sludge with minimal Doom in a pleasing and refreshing way, taking elements of the masters such as Eyehategod and Neurosis and combing them with an eclectic mix of bands like Electric Wizard, Warhorse and even a splash of Isis on occasion.

They have a punchy, buoyant sound for a group of this type, with the guitars seemingly larger than life and ready to pop out of the speakers at a moment’s notice. For all this vibrancy however theirs is a filthy sound, mired in dirt and caked in sin.

The vocals are low-in-the-mix rumbles that sound as if something lurking just underneath the surface is threatening to break through and wreak havoc, yet is restrained by the thick, syrupy music.

The songs are free form expressions of the darker side of life where not everything works out in the end. The album cover is quite evocative and one can imagine this album chronicling the life and times of the figure in the painting. Which is possibly why the album sounds so bleak, yet with moments of uplift; even in a drab life there are moments of colour. Of course the actual lyrics are probably about something completely different, but this is my impression and it seems to fit the mood of the album.

At over 66 minutes in length this is a long and rewarding journey through a damaged life that culminates in the final, epic track The Pheonix. A moment of hope as the final curtain falls? Maybe.

Music to captivate and absorb.

The Lion’s Daughter & Indian Blanket – A Black Sea (Review)

I’ve been following The Lion’s Daughter for a while now and enjoyed their previous outings into the world of Blackened Sludge, so when I found out they were collaborating on an album with Folk group Indian Blanket I was intrigued.

I wasn’t sure what to expect upon pressing play, but it wasn’t this. I though it might be good, but this? This is a jaw-droppingly stunning album. In much the same way that Panopticon successfully incorporated bluegrass into Black Metal on their album Kentucky; The Lion’s Daughter and Indian Blanket, against all odds, have managed to successfully incorporate Folk into Sludge. The results are as astounding as they are fantastic.

If only I had heard and reviewed this at the end of 2013 it would probably have topped my end-of-year list I can tell you that now.

The album combines heaviness and softness in equal measure, using the best tools for the job depending on the needs of the song. Regardless of style it’s always dark, always emotionally charged and always tinged with melancholy.

Sludge Metal and acoustic passages; blast beats and strings; raw-throat shouts and delicate crooning; it’s all here. Taking the very, very best bits of bands like Neurosis, Isis, Year Of No Light, Agalloch and Wolves in the Throne Room then combining them with haunting Folk-inspired orchestration and Dax Riggs-style acoustics and vocals; this is a masterpiece of music awaiting discovery by any Metal fan looking for the best in unconventional heavy music.

To the cynical reader this may all smack of hyperbole, but the simple fact is that I absolutely love this album and it really is just that good. Do yourself a favour and get it immediately.

Absolutely brilliant.

The Restitution – Waves (Review)

From the US The Restitution are a Progressive Metal band who aim to take a more cerebral approach to harder music.

According to the band they are influenced by modern Metal giants such as Deftones. The Restitution combine both clean and rough vocals over a more thoughtful and progressive musical background to create some good songs, and I hear elements of bands such as Isis, Devil Sold His Soul, Cave-In and Tool in their sound as well.

Melodies are used well and there is enough aggression strewn in with the Post-Rock elements to keep the energy of the tracks moving.

It’s obvious that a lot of attention and hard work has gone into crafting these songs and it all pays off. Whether they are raging and shouting or crooning and lulling, everything feels deliberate and you get the impression that every single second of this release was meticulously thought through and passed rigorous quality control methods before being confirmed as an actual part of the album. All of this leads to a varied and enjoyable collection of songs that work well individually but even better as a complete package of tracks – a listening experience.

Overall this is a high-quality release combining melodies and aggression seamlessly in a modern Metal style that leaves out all of the clichés and rookie mistakes that a lot of more accessible Metal usually makes. Recommended.

Kongh – Counting Heartbeats (Review)

Swedish band Kongh play a captivating type of Doom/Sludge Metal that is exhilarating and apocalyptic at the same time.

Originally released in 2007; this is Kongh’s début album that’s been recently reissued with a bonus disc featuring their 2006 Demo and their split with Ocean Chief; that’s 2 hours and 15 minutes of music guaranteed to satiate your Sludge hunger.

Taking their cues from the best parts of bands like Neurosis and Isis while also injecting some crusty Metal into this formula, Kongh have produced a corker of an album that is a 100% Grade A prime Sludge classic.

Doom, Stoner, Sludge, Post-Metal, Crust – all these elements and more collide to create Counting Heartbeats and it really is something special. The build up and release; the dynamics employed; the crushing apocalyptic Doom. Songs to get lost in.

As if the original album wasn’t good enough, the inclusion of their demo and split just sweetens the pot of this sumptuous aural feast. The 25 minute Drifting on Waves is especially good.

If you only get one Sludge album in the near future get this one.

Maeth – Oceans Into Ashes (Review)

Doom? Stoner? Post-Metal? Progressive? All of the above? How are we to label Oceans Into Ashes? Ultimately all that matters is that Maeth have attempted a very ambitious undertaking here, and they have succeeded.

The songs mix all of the aforementioned genres into an intelligent and well-written whole. Long songs, short songs, all have their place contributing to a very diverse album full of ideas and depth.

Vocals are sparse and infrequent, used when necessary to highlight one part or another and then fading away once more to keep the focus on the music that Maeth so very passionately play.

Guitars are very melodic, but also not afraid to become abrasive and harsh as the song demands. Frequently changing from stoner riffs to Doom to Post-Metal, you can’t help but be drawn into their world.

Diverse, eccentric and very well-constructed. Given a chance Maeth could go very far indeed. I think we have a strong contender to fill that Isis-shaped hole in Post-Metal.