Metal – Page 468 – Wonderbox Metal

Synthetic – Here Lies the Truth (Review)

Synthetic are a Metal band from the UK and this is their début album.

This is modern melodic Metal that features a EuroMetal style with aspects of Scandinavian melodeth. There’s a bit more depth involved to these songs than you might expect from the description, however, as the band also incorporate elements of classic and progressive Metal, allowing them to stand out from the pack a bit more than the average proponent of this type of music. Continue reading “Synthetic – Here Lies the Truth (Review)”

Interview with Sunwølf

Sunwølf’s fourth album Eve is an extremely engaging Post-Metal release that has quickly wormed its way into my heart. Curious to find out a bit more about the album, I got in touch with head honcho Matt to tell me a bit more about Eve…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

We’re Sunwølf, an instrumental band from Scotland. We formed in 2012 and have released 3 records with a fourth (Eve) due out on 18 April.

Give us a bit of background to Sunwølf

We formed four years ago in Leeds as a duo. We had been playing a lot of ambient music in another band but wanted to create something more abrasive, whilst keeping a hand in the ambient scene also. We had a busy few years of touring and releasing records, playing with some great bands along the way (Chelsea Wolfe, Forest Swords, Dragged into Sunlight, Bossk & more).

Continue reading “Interview with Sunwølf”

Phazm – Scornful of Icons (Review)

Phazm are from France and this is their fourth album. They play Black Metal.

Phazm’s brand of Black Metal is influenced by the Death ‘n’ Roll style as well as old-school Black Metal. These elements combine to produce a very likeable collection of songs that focus on being a catchy and enjoyable combination of blast beats, groove and inhuman vocals.

Continue reading “Phazm – Scornful of Icons (Review)”

Palace of Worms – The Ladder (Review)

This is the third album from US one-man Black Metal project Palace of Worms.

Here we have Black Metal that manages to retain a raw and nasty demeanour while simultaneously offering enough melodic aspects to be enticingly emotive. It’s not overly melodic, but there’s enough colour and texture through the sinister melodies to add another dimension.

Continue reading “Palace of Worms – The Ladder (Review)”

Imperium – Titanomachy (Review)

Imperium are a technical Death Metal band from the UK. This is their second album.

Ahh, Death Metal, most reliable of all musical styles in many ways. All you need is some decent blasting, aggressive vocals, a production with punch and you’re in business. Enter Imperium.

Continue reading “Imperium – Titanomachy (Review)”

Ordem Satânica – Ventos de Ódio (Review)

Ordem Satânica are a Portuguese Black Metal band and this is their latest release.

Well, if this isn’t just one of the rawest, grimmest, most foul-smelling, decayed corpses of stinkingly evil Black Metal that I’ve stumbled across in a while. This should be approached with extreme caution by everyone save the hardest of hardened Black Metal fans. It’s not for the meek.

Ordem Satânica offer up 35 minutes of blasting bile and blackened atmosphere, sounding utterly lethal as they do it. Ventos de Ódio seems to have found a way to strike back to the heart of second-wave Black Metal, torturing its soul until it gives up its infernal secrets.

The interesting thing is that although I’ve probably painted this as a pretty one-dimensional release so far, it isn’t. Amidst all of the blackened chaos and cutting, frosted riffs, there’s a surprising amount of variety here; not so much that it would stray too far from the original template, but enough to keep the listener hypnotised and slaved to its dark will. Snatches of melody, reflective introspection and frozen atmospherics all get a look in, especially during the near-17 minute final track O Negro e Eterno Vácuo.

The crackling, icy production is judged just right. It’s primitive and ugly, yet somehow manages to use this to lend power to the band, rather than leech it away as some low-quality recordings can do. This is probably due to the fact that Ordem Satânica channel the pure essence of the original Black Metal style so very well that everything just fits perfectly.

If you like your Black Metal grim, necrotic and filled to the brim with raw, underground hatred, then I heartily recommend this release.

Get it while it’s cold.

Exalter – Obituary for the Living (Review)

This is the latest release from Bangladeshi Thrash Metallers Exalter.

Featuring three new songs and four older ones, this release showcases what Exalter have produced up to this point in their existence.

After being suitably impressed by some recent Thrash releases, (Artillery, Crisix and Exumer, for example), I’m in the mood to be wooed once more by Thrash Metal, and I’m pleased to say that Exalter don’t disappoint. Continue reading “Exalter – Obituary for the Living (Review)”

Mindshift – Horizon (Review)

This is the second album from Swedish Metal band Mindshift.

Mindshift’s latest album is 56 minutes of downtuned aggression in the Metalcore style that pushes the tried-and-tested style of heavy verses and melodic choruses, à la Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, Soilwork and the like.

The singer’s harsh voice reminds me of the singer of Atreyu, and he provides a good performance for the most part. The clean vocals do what they’re here to do, with decent melodies and hooks, some of which are really quite tasty.

The songs are, overall, a bit heavier and more aggressive than some that play this style, which I like, although the radio-friendly choruses clearly show their aspirations.

Although this style has been done to death, with some catchy choruses and good songwriting this is still an enjoyable release if you’re partial to the style. I probably would have loved this about 10-15 years ago. Nowadays I still quite like it, mainly due to the fact that it’s done well and sticks to basic song structures that are as familiar as they are pleasing in their simplicity.

Despite all of the things that are stacked against a band playing this style, I like that Horizon doesn’t play it completely safe and doesn’t just take the easy option of completely regurgitating stuff that’s been done a million times before. This is mainly down to the guitars and clean vocals – the former sound like a lot of consideration has gone into their structuring and layout, while the latter really do add a lot to the tracks and are performed with a passion that’s apparent.

There’s some good riffs and emotive melodies knocking about here too, and the electronic component to their sound is infrequent and used lightly, adding what is needed to the songs without getting in the way.

Ultimately Mindshift have put together an album that is easy to sit back and enjoy. The decent riffs and vocals do their job well and the songs pass by in a quite personable way. I can easily imagine myself listening to this a few more times in the future, despite a slightly over-long playing time.

Have a listen and check them out.

Pyramido – Vatten (Review)

This is the fourth album from Swedish Sludge/ Doom band Pyramido.

Saga was a very strong album, and now that Pyramido return with Vatten it’s clear that it wasn’t a one-off fluke.

Pyramido are heavy and crushing. Vatten exemplifies these traits and the album is 38 minutes of emotively flattening guitars and distorted atmospherics.

Anguished screams tear out of the music as lonesome leads and tortured melodies rise out from the body of the music. Although the heaviness is a constant companion, it’s not Pyramido’s only weapon in the war against silence, as they also show they can play introspectively in more of a Post-Metal way.

On Vatten the band seem to have injected a little more nuance and shading into their songs; even though they had this on Saga for sure, it seems more developed here, with the time being taken to cultivate greater mood and feeling via the leads and rhythms.

Even when all of this happens though, the heavy riffs are not too far away, and the Sludge Metal gets its way in the end. The truly wonderful moments occur when the heavy riffs are providing the emotive content, and on those occasions Vatten is at its best.

These tracks compel you to pay attention, as the groovy and emotive guitars draw you in, engaging with their fury and hypnotic delivery.

Highly recommended.

Tombs – All Empires Fall (Review)

This is the latest EP from US Post-Black Metal band Tombs.

Tombs continue to be one of the better and more interesting bands in Metal today. Here we have 34 minutes of new music, in equal parts heavy, atmospheric, grand and intimidating, as only Tombs do so well.

Blending Metal, Sludge, Black Metal and Hardcore into a potent brew, their last release Savage Gold is a firm favourite of mine and it seems that All Empires Fall is going the same way, albeit for a few different reasons; Tombs have progressed and changed in some ways since their last release, and the Black Metal component of their sound is much further to the front now, along with added keyboards.

The World Is Made of Fire is a short intro track that essentially sets the scene and sounds quite imposing and epic in scope.

Second song Obsidian showcases the band’s Black Metal side to great effect, with scything screeched vocals and cutting, frozen riffs. Blasting aggression, energetic atmosphere and blackened Hardcore thuggery combine with some deft melody to create a really enjoyable darkened exploration.

After this we get Last Days of Sunlight, which is quite different. Featuring some exotically alluring clean croons, the song stalks along like a hungry predator, all menace and lethal intent. It’s a highly atmospheric slow-burner that showcases a different side of Tombs and once again demonstrates their multi-talented skills.

Deceiver is up next. It’s heavy, memorable and has a catchy, punky, blackened sheen that would do Wolvhammer proud.

The final track is the longest and simply named V. Here we get a mixture of pretty much everything that has come before it, including cleans, blackened riffs, melodic sharpness and catchy delivery.

Like the mighty Rorcal, Tombs are at the top of their game when it comes to modern Post-Black Metal that seethes with power, recognises the past and combines non-blackened genres into its stylistic package.

An essential listen.