Lamb of God – Page 5 – Wonderbox Metal

Inner Sanctum – Legions Awake (Review)

Inner Sanctum are an Indian Thrash/Groove Metal band and this is their début album.

After a rather cinematic opener, Inner Sanctum reveal themselves in their full glory as Thrash/Groove Metal with some Death Metal influences included for added impact. Think the mid-00s-type NWOAHM, only with a darker, more classically Death Metal side to it that emphasises the European Melodic Death Metal heritage of the American style.

The album boasts a sexy, professional sound that’s polished and strong.

The singer has a gruff voice that shouts out with the best of them, occasionally including some semi-cleans that remind me of some of Darkane’s work in places.

The songs are well-written and it’s clear that these tracks have been constructed with care and enthusiasm. The Thrash and Groove influences never take over or embrace the mediocre side of both styles; Inner Sanctum play their brand of heaviness with vibrancy and passion. They deliver everything on here with skill and it’s clear that the band have the talent to succeed.

Legions Awake is a strong collection of songs that make a good impression and showcase a band who really know what they’re doing. If they were American and picked up by a large music label then they would get very far indeed, I think. Unfortunately that isn’t the case, so make sure you support them – bands like this deserve it.

For fans of – Pantera, Lamb of God, Chimaira, Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour, Legion of the Damned, Kreator, Arch Enemy, Testament, etc.

Voros – Diseased Deity (Review)

Voros are a Death Metal band from Australia and this is their début album.

If heavy Death Metal with good riffs and pacing is your thing then look no further. Voros feature a thorough approach to Death Metal that sees them take the Classic style and infuse it with a modern energy.

Believe it or not, but Diseased Deity covers a lot of bases; Death, Thrash, Progressive, Technical and Modern Metal are all thrown into the blender and feed into this Death Metal feast.

The vocals are savage shouts full of anger and hatred which seem to lash out of the music like diseased barbs. The singer has a touch of the Meshuggah about him, giving his voice a different edge to that of the normal Death Metal vocalist.

The songs are well-written and see the band showing off what they do, whether it’s riff-hungry, mid-paced Thrashing, faster complexity or blasting destruction.

I like the combination of older and modern influences that give this a feel of Lamb of God and Gojira conspiring together to cover Morbid Angel, Death and Immolation tracks. It’s a really good way to approach this album; modern fire with tried-and-tested Old-School steel. On Diseased Deity it all comes together perfectly and the songs are an interesting, varied and engaging vision of what the band want to achieve.

The various influences work together very well to produce an album that takes from several different styles, with the band having enough skill and talent to make it all their own. Diseased Deity is very impressive and these songs have both immediate appeal and longevity of delivery.

This is a great find. I recommend you get hold of this immediately.

Suppression – Chained and Dragged (Review)

This is the début EP from New Zealand Metal band Suppression.

This is Groove Metal in the vein of Lamb of God, Vision of Disorder and Dead Earth Politics.

The vocals vary between clean singing and shouts. The cleans are a little more muted than the norm and work really well as understated enhancements or choruses – somewhat akin to the Vision of Disorder singer’s style. The shouting is similar to the Lamb of God singer, only not quite as deep. Both sound good and do their jobs well.

The music is riff-heavy and groove-laden, although the band still find space to insert melody and leads where necessary to give the songs an added dimension. They also have guitar solos, which is always something that I appreciate.

Supression tread the line between the commercial and something a bit rougher. Their style is of the sort that bands like Lamb of God, Vision of Disorder, Chimaira, etc. played just before they got bigger. This doesn’t mean that Suppression will also hit the big time, of course, but given the right label backing and a tightening/tidying up of their sound it’s at least possible.

I have enjoyed this EP and it shows great promise for the future.

Check them out.

Favourite Track: Fuel the Pit.

Designs of Chaos – The Darkest Storm (Review)

Designs of Chaos are a UK Metal band and this is their second EP.

This short 3-track release is a 14 minute statement of intent from Designs of Chaos, and it’s clear that they mean business.

This is Modern Thrash Metal in the style of Lamb of God, As I Lay Dying, et al. It has a rightfully powerful sound, as befits bands of this nature, and sounds punchy and direct.

One of the good things about The Darkest Storm is that while bands of this ilk can easily fall foul of having too commercial a sound, Designs of Chaos largely avoid this by having a more thoroughly Metal and aggressive approach than many. Yes, the band operate in this more-commercial side of Metal more than they don’t, (such is the nature of the style), but they do it with a more aggressive and downright Metal approach than a lot of their more commercially-minded peers. This is clearly music played for the love of it and not to be the next one-hit wonder.

The songwriting is good and the riffs and structure of the songs hit the spot. I like that this has the immediacy necessary for this style but also leaves room for a bit of depth in the guitar department to allow for a more satiating musical meal, rather than one which was satisfying on first listen but quickly left you wanting something more. The band clearly want to incorporate a bit of substance to their songs and this is only to be encouraged.

Each of the songs are upbeat and feature enough speed to get the head banging and enough groove and heaviness to keep it moving.

The singer has a nicely brutal voice with the shouting and yelling coming thick and fast. It’s a raw and aggressive approach which adds a sharper edge to the band than if they would have opted for a nicer or prettier style. Some of the vocals, backing and otherwise, approach Death Metal levels and it all works really well. There is no clean singing.

Although not perfect, this is still better than most bands of this Modern Metal style and Designs of Chaos have shown massive potential and promise on this EP.

I really enjoyed this. The UK has birthed yet another band to keep a firm eye on. Let’s see what they do next.

Carnivora – The Vision (Review)

Carnivora are from the US and this is their latest EP. They play Modern Melodic Death Metal.

This new 18 minute EP showcases Carnivora’s blend of Modern Death Metal and Groove Metal to good effect.

Carnivora’s début album Eternal was a great listen, and this latest release cements their up-and-coming status in the modern heavy music scene.

They successfully mix brutality and melody, without sacrificing either; kind of like an (older) In Flames meets Lamb of God meets Death Metal sexiness.

The songs blast and groove their way through the playing time and each one has a good grasp of melodics, heaviness, choruses and dynamics. There’s a Thrash Metal influence on display too, but this is usually buried under the melodies, covertly adding to the sharp energy that the band exude.

The music is not without subtlety when it needs to be. The band have an ear for a decent riff and there’s plenty to hook and snare the listener into their world, as well as some good ideas too.

The vocalist grunts, shouts and screams depending on what the music calls for. He has an obvious passion and works with the music to get adrenaline pumping, heads banging and fists smashing.

Carnivora have followed up their impressive début album with a quality little EP that definitely signals big things for the future.

Into the pit!

Equaleft – Adapt & Survive (Review)

Equaleft are from Portugal and this is their début album. They play Groove Metal.

This is modern Metal with a modern Thrash edge and a love of all things heavy and chuggy. Think Lamb of God, Sepultura, Hatebreed, etc. and you’ll be on the right lines.

Having said that though, Equaleft are definitely at the heavier, less-commercial end of the Groove Metal spectrum. It’s clear that the band’s main focus and passion lies with the heaviness and the Metal, which is only to be encouraged of course.

The vocals are angry and flit between throaty shouts and raspier screams. I like that they’re quite relentlessly aggressive and the vocal assault does well to keep up the intensity throughout.

This is a very riff-oriented release. Now, where most bands of this ilk fall down is by an over reliance on done-to-death Metalcore riffs and too many breakdowns. Pleasingly, Equaleft don’t overplay this aspect of their sound and instead mainly concentrate on beating the listener’s skull in with brutal riffs and heavy guitars that are more 90’s Metal than 00’s Metalcore.

Another couple of areas that set them apart are those of speed and melody; they can put their foot on the accelerator when needed and also inject some melody into the proceedings. Both aspects stop the album from becoming a one-dimensional riff-fest and allow for some increased dynamics. And they also allow the heavier parts to sound even heavier, which is never a bad thing.

This is a very promising début. Groove Metal can be a tricky thing to master and Equaleft are well on their way to high levels of proficiency with this release.

Recommended.

Letallis – Resonate (Review)

Letallis are from the US and play Progressive/Melodic Death Metal. This is their second album.

Originally a full band; for this release everything was performed by just one person, showing a large amount of talent in doing so.

Scandinavian Melodeath is the main point of comparison for Letallis, as well as a smidgen of Metalcore and a pinch of Modern Death Metal. Imagine a band like Lamb of God with a higher level of musicianship and Progressive Metal tendencies.

Vocals occasionally venture into the territory of screams but are largely deeper affairs that aren’t quite full growls, more like guttural shouts. Clean vocals do appear but these are a rarity.

The songs are very guitar-oriented, heavy on the leads, solos and melodics. Good riffs are frequent and the direct Melodeath-influence merges with Progressive Metal tendencies to create a long, ambitious album, totalling 68 minutes of music.

I have enjoyed this. It veers into the more commercial end of this style of music without going too far into that territory as some of the originators/followers of the Melodic Death Metal style have done. Resonate is further saved from this error by the incorporation of the Progressive Metal elements which give the songs more depth and longevity than they would otherwise have if they were absent.

For fans of Lamb of God, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, etc.

Hybrid Sheep – Free From the Clutches of Gods (Review)

Hybrid Sheep are from France and this is their début album. They play Deathcore.

This is state-of-the-art Deathcore with a massive sound and a crisp method of attack.

Hybrid Sheep play their style in the vein of bands like All Shall Perish and Acrania. A few Metalcore influences from the likes of Lamb of God and As I Lay Dying are thrown in also, as well as some Modern Death Metal similar to bands like Revocation and The Black Dahlia Murder.

If you’re not a fan of this modern style of Extreme Metal then Hybrid Sheep are unlikely to convince you, but if you are then Free From the Clutches of Gods has enough meat to satisfy that’s for sure.

This is a well played and produced album with lots of heaviness, melodies, aggressive riffs, blasting and breakdowns. I find this style very easy listening in the sense that if you’re in the mood you can just stick a band like this on and start bouncing around like a maniac. As you do.

Just listening to this now I can’t help but have a little wobble around in my seat. Always the sign of a good listen.

The songs are enjoyable and satisfyingly aggressive. The standard alternation between deep growls and high screams is done well and there’s plenty of guitar widdling included with the heavy riffs.

Hybrid Sheep have produced an enjoyable album of Deathcore. Check them out.

Mandatory – Catharsis (Review)

This is Austrian band Mandatory’s second album. They play Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore.

Mandatory play clean Melodic/Modern Death Metal with some Thrash elements thrown in.

Catharsis comes across as mixing elements of Lamb of God, Illdisposed, Darkane and Arch Enemy…kind of a cross between the European melodic style and the North American modern Metalcore style.

Their melodic sensibilities are finely honed and this is mixed in with heavier moments.

The vocals are mainly deep growls but some spoken word sections and melodious cleans are used occasionally too. These are kept to a minimum though and are not overused.

Mandatory’s sound is big, clean and crisp, as you would expect for a band of this ilk. The songs play out quite nicely and the slightly-longer-than-average length of the tracks mean that the band take the time to explore where and what they want to.

Have a listen.

Unsaint – Watch Them Bleed (Review)

Unsaint are from Poland and play Death/Thrash Metal. This is their second EP.

I enjoyed Unsaint’s début EP so this latest one is a welcome listen.

Unsaint’s chosen style of Metal is a combination of Death and Thrash Metal. Some of it has a modern sheen to it that recalls bands like Lamb of God, whilst other parts harken back to bands like Kreator with their aggressive brand of Thrash.

The singer has a personable growling shout that works well with their particular style. It’s gruff and aggressive but not totally indecipherable.

The instruments are well-played and there are some nice solos and leads on the songs. Sharp riffs and tight drumming make for songs that are focused and directed.

Watch Them Bleed has a good sound that allows the band to make the most of their energetic Metal anthems.

This is a nice collection of songs that showcase the band’s aggressive Thrash style.

Have a listen and see what you think.