Mastodon – Page 9 – 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.

Sågverk – Sahataan ne Kaikki (Review)

This is the début album from Finnish Black ‘n’ Rollers Sågverk.

Angry, Crust-fuelled Black Metal with a modern Rocking aspect and plenty of attitude; Sågverk make this kind of music look easy, but also offer up something a bit different.

There are 8 tracks of Blackened belligerence and groove here, comprising 7 originals and a Metallica cover of Motorbreath.

Buzzsaw riffs and brutal guitars power the songs, but there’s a lot more control here than I was expecting to hear. The tracks are written with more than just Black Metal in mind – as well as the Punk/Crust there’s a bit of a Stoner vibe to some of the riffs, making Sahataan ne Kaikki a bit different from the norm.

The songs are well-written and make use of a strong riff-oriented approach. This is not a release that’s top-speed all of the time, but nonetheless maintains a high energy throughout.

The vocals are shouted screams that vary in tone and delivery a fair deal. Cleans are also used sparingly but it’s mainly all about the shouting. The singer plays his part well and gives a good performance.

The band have a very clean and clear sound; again, a bit different form the norm as this kind of Crusty, Blackened assault is usually a lot dirtier in delivery. It works though and allows the Rockier aspects to their style to come to the fore.

This is a really interesting release that smashes my preconceptions about what Black ‘n’ Roll can sound like. If you imagine a Black Metal/Crust/Punk hybrid, the likes of which we see relatively often, then make their sound cleaner and add in a combination of Kvelertak with a bit of (old) Mastodon to the riffs then Sågverk will be the end result.

Enjoyable and different, Sahataan ne Kaikki is a really good listen.

Highly recommended.

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.

Lord Dying – Poisoned Altars (Review)

This is the second album from US Sludge Metallers Lord Dying.

This is all about worshipping the riff and following the path of everything heavy.

Oh, and the album cover is just perfect.

Lord Dying shout and bellow their way through these 8 tracks with belligerence and a confidence born of too much alcohol and a natural ability. They know they’re better then most so why shouldn’t they show what they’re capable of?

If you’re a fan of Crowbar, High On Fire, Red Fang, Mastodon, The Obsessed, Orange Goblin, etc. then you’ll no doubt find a lot to enjoy here.

Essentially mixing High On Fire and Crowbar, Lord Dying provide a lot of meat throughout this 37 minute album. It’s not purely a riff-fest either as the band do concentrate on songs more than just stitching different guitar parts together.

The singer has a throaty snarl that has character and recalls a younger, angrier Crowbar singer. He also has a knack for catchy rhythms and vocal patterns that mark the brain like jagged grooves.

The attitude exuded from these tracks is as palpable as the riffs themselves. This is a visceral band that you feel you can almost touch, although I can’t help but imagine them being quite toxic if you did.

Very, very nice. Feel the poison flow through your veins and revel in it.

Astrakhan – A Tapestry of Scabs and Skin (Review)

Astrakhan are from Canada and play Progressive Metal. This is their latest EP.

This is powerful music with plenty of dynamics and personality.

Think Progressive Metal with a modern edge; kind of in the vein of what Mastodon do but without really sounding like them too much. Couple this with elements of bands as diverse as Alice in Chains, High on Fire and Metallica…

Hard Rock mixes with a Sludge feel and strong clean vocals dominate everything. Stoner simplicity and technical complexity merge together. They are at once cohesive and divisive; multiple influences congeal into a coherent whole and result in four very impressive songs.

The sheer force of charisma generated by the singer is draw-dropping. To further muddy the waters of genre-definition, he sometimes sounds like he could easily front an Avant-Garde band like Arcturus or Manes with ease.

The distortion feels alive and the riffs have a vitality to them. Each of the songs flexes its musical muscles and exudes feelings that are both epic and emotive.

Their music is textured and rich with riffs that propel the songs onward with real passion and vigour.

Top quality. If they can translate their obvious talent into a full length album they’ll be on to a real winner.

Inter Arma – The Cavern (Review)

Inter Arma are from the US and this is their latest EP. Although calling it an EP is a bit of a stretch; at almost 46 minutes it’s pretty much an album.

Oh and did I mention that the entire running time is comprised of just one track? No? Well I have now.

I’ve not heard Inter Arma before, although I’m aware of them by reputation, so this is something that I was eager to listen to.

It starts off gently, with almost 3 minutes of soft, acoustic sounds, before the heavy guitars hammer down like Thor’s own wrath. Inter Arma play a highly talented form of Sludge/Post-Metal/Doom Metal. Ultimately it’s a Doom behemoth that takes in a variety of different genres and subgenres throughout the length of the song.

The Cavern is a very involving and captivating listen that has been masterfully put together with lots of thought to the weaving of the different elements into a complete tapestry of sounds.

Vocally, we get pretty much everything; cleans, semi-cleans, shouts, screams, growls; it’s all present and correct.

The song transitions through various phases and it’s complex and endearing. The band have invited a plethora of different guests onto the EP which only enhances the feeling of something truly special unfolding in front of your very ears. The guests all add something different, (female vocals, violins, synths), and their contribution is valued and integral.

The pacing and dynamics of this song are just astounding. This is the kind of Progressive Metal masterpiece that you always wanted Isis, Neurosis or Cult of Luna to do.

As the song progresses it takes in all available moods, from slow and despondent to psychedelic and expansive, to subtle and coy, to raging and tumultuous. This is an incredibly detailed journey into foreign soundscapes and as tour guides extraordinaire Inter Arma are well placed to blow your mind with their shockingly good display of songwriting. The performance and musicianship is flawless too.

Inter Arma take the Post-Metal template of the masters, (Isis/Neurosis/Cult of Luna), combine it with the extra-dimensional quality of Mastodon, layer it all in their own unique personality, add lots of individual flourishes and quirks and serve up scalding hot; The Cavern is here and it’s a delicious treat.

Stunning.

Nero Di Marte – Derivae (Review)

Nero Di Marte are from Italy and play Progressive Metal. This is their second album.

This is complex and dense music. There’s a lot of substance here, a lot to take in. Nero Di Marte are not your conventional band; they do things differently.

Rather than catchy riffs or hooks, instead they play riffs that merge and flow with each other to build up a complex tapestry over time. As the songs progress it becomes clear very early on that a lot of thought has gone into these compositions.

This is modern, heavy Prog; more akin to Gojira, Mastodon and Memories of a Dead Man than Dream Theater. This isn’t Post-Metal, but the band borrow the sense of dynamics and momentum-building that Post-Metal does so well and fuses them into their own sound.

These are masterfully crafted tracks that are as engaging as they are entrancing. The low-key vocals almost get lost in the churning maelstrom of guitars and percussive treats, yet they’re there, they add a lot to the already busy music and they help the band connect to the listener in a very visceral way.

Derivae sounds very warm, with the drums in particular having a very satisfying feel to them. This feels like real music, not just something pieced together and let loose with minimal feeling.

Overall, this is a thunderously strong album.

A rewarding and entrancing listen.

Burn the Army – The Tide to Sink the Summit (Review)

Burn the Army are from the US and play Post-Metal. This is their début EP.

At just under 31 minutes in length this is a good-sized introduction to this new band. Taking their cues from bands like Isis, Burn the Army offer 4 tracks of well thought out Post-Metal in the familiar style.

Burn the Army are adept at contrasting passages of beauty against sections of much heavier anger. It’s the classic Post-Metal heavy/light, build/release scenario and the band pull it off like the naturals they are. On the whole though, Burn the Army have produced a much more varied album than just this.

The vocals are rich and varied, with the standard shouting for this style of Post-Metal being accentuated by more melodic voices that allow for a deeper exploration of concepts than purely angry barks.

The band are competent musicians and pour their passion into crafting precise riffs and emotive guitar work. There are even some quality dynamics and guitar widdling that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mastodon album and some higher-energy bits that have a modern Hardcore feel akin to mid-period Poison the Well.

The combination of the carefully crafted music and the impressive vocals mean that The Tide to Sink the Summit has a lot more longevity and appeal than even the standard Post-Metal band and for just a mere début release this is a very accomplished set of tracks.

So, a band that combines Isis, Mastodon and Poison the Well? Sign me up!

If the band can continue to refine their songwriting formula for the future then I have high hopes for their first album, as this shows a great amount of promise.

One to look out for.

Orbseven – .ismos. (Review)

Orbseven is a solo project from the US and this is the third album of Experimental Black Metal that the project has unleashed.

This is a combination of electric Black Metal, sleek Post-Black Metal and ambient/avant-garde darkness. It’s an interesting combination and the resulting album is an exploration of state-of-the-art Blackness and atmospheric expression.

Darkened sounds and interesting effects enhance the tracks in a way that’s subtle enough to not steal any thunder from the main driving force of the guitars but has enough impact to be noticeable.

The songs are propelled by Blackened melodies and experimental sound structures, but there’s also enough Post-Black Metal wanderings to allow the room for shades of both light and dark. They’re well written, have great dynamics and are potent affairs.

.ismos. fosters an atmosphere that’s vaguely mechanistic but overtly malevolent and mysterious. Everything about this album from the music itself to the album cover deals in these mysteries and although there are no answers forthcoming the search for them is what’s important.

The vocals are a curious and varied affair. Multiple styles collide as spoken/distorted words, barely audible pseudo-ethereal sounds and subtle cleans all appear at various times during the tracks.

If you think along the lines of Dødheimsgard, Aborym, Red Harvest and Arcturus then you’ll have a good idea of the basic building blocks of the Orbseven sound. There’s even a couple of riffs here and there that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mastodon album.

Orbseven is a creative and novel approach to what Black Metal should sound like in 2014. Taking the basic Black Metal template and building/distorting it is common enough, but the always interesting thing is where the band ends up once they have done this. In the case of Orbseven we end up with Experimental/Post-Black Metal that rolls smoothly out of the speakers.

A great effort – show your support.

In Love Your Mother – The Great Ape Project (Review)

In Love Your Mother are from Switzerland. The band play short blasts of heavy Metallic Hardcore that takes parts of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, System of a Down, Mastodon and Tool; Mathcore meets Progressive Metal.

Most of the songs here are angry and heavy but they also have a Progressive Metal edge to them so occasionally branch out into softer areas where clean vocals replace the harsher shouts; all of which is compressed into songs that are typically about the 1 or 2 minute mark, on average.

Although the album is 30 minutes long, the changeling nature of the tracks and the fact that there are 18 of them mean In Love Your Mother are a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of band. Although you could probably make a similar claim for countless Grindcore bands, the difference here is that In Love Your Mother are a much more varied proposition.

It’s an enjoyable release that benefits from a loud volume and thorough listen.

It’s heavy, it’s good, it rocks. Give them a try.