Metal – Page 519 – Wonderbox Metal

Old Witch/Keeper – Split (Review)

Old Witch are from Canada and Keeper are from the US. Both play Doom. This is their split, containing 58 minutes of crawling, evil music.

Old Witch start us off with their half of the split. Their take on Doom is dirty, nasty and filled with malevolent hatred.

Taking the template as laid down by Khanate, Old Witch proceed to bury this in the soil for a thousand years before digging it up and slowly flaying it alive.

The slow, thoughtful assault of their earthy-sounding Doom combines at once an unforced naturalism and a feeling of urban decay and darkness. The minimalistic Khanate-style approach is enhanced with eerie melodies and textured nihilism that has shades of Funeral Doom.

Other apt comparisons would be the murky Sludge of Culted, only without the Blackened elements, or the marathon of filth that is Venowl, only with more of an emotive presence.

At any rate, this is my first encounter with Old Witch and they have turned out to be an extremely gratify proposition. Their name held a lot of promise as it pretty much evoked images right from the off that gave me high expectations of their sound. I have not been disappointed.

After the grim majesty of Old Witch, many bands would be found wanting. Thankfully, Keeper are not just any old band. Unlike Old Witch I’m already a firm fan of Keeper’s crushing Doom from their recent split with Sea Bastard and their EP The Space Between Your Teeth.

Keeper are heavier than Old Witch and sound like an avalanche of Sludge Metal descending from a great height to destroy anything it lands on.

The acerbic vocals always provide a wonderfully acidic focal point that the guitars seem to congregate around as if feeding off them.

Maybe it’s keeping company with Old Witch, but Keeper sound blacker and darker on this release. The shining, contemplative Post-Metal side of their style is still present and correct, but even this sounds more villainous than usual.

These two songs are just as impressive as I’ve come to expect from Keeper and the entire split, almost an hour of Doom, is a fantastic release that I can’t recommend highly enough.

Definitely one to get.

Regicide – Fall of an Empire (Review)

Regicide are from the US and this is their début album. They play Thrash Metal.

This is Thrash Metal mixed with a bit of New Wave of American Heavy Metal, resulting in energetic Thrash that’s largely Old-School but has a touch of modernity to it to give a little bit of an edge.

The songs are simple Thrashers played with a clear passion for the genre. The band recreate the old feelings with ease and this could easily be an album that has simply been lost to the mists of time and recently uncovered.

The songs are well-written and are obviously a labour of love for the band. They work well and have a youthful vigour to them, speaking of earlier Metal times and simpler Metal pleasures.

The singer’s voice is halfway between clean and gruff, sometimes changing between the two types and sometimes occupying the middle ground.

The recording is earthy and a bit muted, but it gets across the message of the band. I can’t help but feel it would have benefited from a stronger sound to give it more presence and forceful impact though, as sometimes it seems as if the songs are being smothered by the production.

Sound issues notwithstanding, this is a good album that has a lot to offer Thrash Metal fans.

Have a listen.

Interview with Expenzer

Expenzer’s début album Kill the Conductor is a no nonsense, no frills Thrash album that hits the spot. Their vocalist Tom gave us some more information on the band…

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

We are Expenzer, a 5-piece Thrash Metal band from Switzerland. We create Metal that is alive and evolving. Formed in 2014 we just released our début album “Kill The Conductor”.

Give us a bit of history to Expenzer

All members of the band played together in various combinations on projects and have a long history together. I (Tom; Vocals) joined the the four guys (Jeff and Sean: Guitars; Reto: Drums; Lou: Bass) who just played their last gig with their old band Pigskin that existed for about 18 years. They looked for a new singer to restart the band, and it felt right from the beginning. But it was a different thing, so we decided to change the name too. With the focus on all our individual strengths, we created a monster that just tasted its first fresh blood…

Where did the band name come from?

We wanted to call the band Bud Spencer (hehe) … but then we thought it was a bit to lame just to steal a name…. I mean you have to live with that then….but we liked the sound of the words, so we came up with Expenzer. It means nothing, just sounds cool and we are in good company with the EX- at the beginning…

What are your influences?

The spirit of the untamed Thrash Metal. All dudes in the band are very into stuff like The Haunted or Testament, Pantera, Darkane… just bands who took this kind of music and put their stamp on it. We all are not bound to a certain style and there would be so much you could miss if you just focus on a genre, but with Expenzer we want to make music that we are rooted in, that’s our homebase.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

Oh man…this could fill a double page…I worked for a long time in a CD store and still talk about bands without end… I just check my albums, ah here..

Sadus 2006 Album Out For Blood (A pissed off singer & the coolest bassplayer and a super weird/angry production ).

Anacrusis 1991 Manic Impressions ( Visionary music, still ahead of it’s time.)

Non Human Level 2005 Self titled: ( project of Darkane, Meshuggah and Devin Townsend Band musicians…you get the point)

and some newer cool shit:

Alkaloid 2015 – The Malkuth Grimoire ( Death Metal in the spirit of Gojira, no blinders here.)

Gorod 2012 A Perfect Absolution ( So much music to discover on this; songs, not just riffs.)

Zatokrev 2015 Silk Spiders Underwater ( A Swiss Band, heavy as fuck, Neurosis-like)

And always every Overkill Album….

What’s your favourite song on your new album and why?

I think our album works the best, as a whole. Each song fulfils its purpose in the order we’ve put it on. We just rehearsed today and “Play for the Deaf”, fourth song on the record, just feels awesome to play live. I look forward to every part of the song, it flows and kicks you in the teeth at the right times. Tomorrow I’ll maybe say the same thing about another song, I love them all…

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

Most of the time I try to put the music into words. I like Metal Songs who sound like Monster Movie Titles, “A Dying T-Rex”, “Lightspeed Heartbeat” or “The Silence of The Amps”, just come to mind over a certain riff, then I write the lyrics around it. I don’t have a concept or a defined message, I just paint bloody pictures over killer riffs….

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process.

On “Kill The Conductor” Jeff wrote most of the stuff. 3 Songs came from Sean and 1 from Lou. We all work on songs by ourselves, we can trust each other that no bullshit will come through, and if so we are vocal and open about it. I get the instrumental version of the song and, as mentioned , try to support the riffs and rhythms and give the ugly baby a name….

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

I think you can’t make plans on that. I have a vision for the new stuff, but so have the other four guys in the band. So our goal is to combine the strength of everybody, to create the best we can at that moment in time.

What’s next for Expenzer?

Play gigs as often as we can, record the next album and have fun playing exactly what we want and know what that is.

Hope Drone – Cloak of Ash (Review)

Hope Drone are an Australian Post-Black Metal band. This is their début album.

Well this is a long one; 7 tracks across 77 minutes. Hope Drone don’t do things by halves it seems. But then why should they? This kind of music demands complete immersion and Cloak of Ash provides ample opportunity for this.

The music has a Black Metal base onto which is built Post-Black Metal wanderings and Atmospheric Sludge Metal influences.

Hope Drone take the Cascadian Black Metal template and use it to fashion themselves a wide-reaching, emotive album that’s highly textured and richly delivered. All speeds and tempos are catered to as well as heavier and lighter sections, which means that Cloak of Ash is a diverse and pleasurable listen that succeeds in painting in shades of darkness and light.

The Black Metal is never too far from the surface. Even the Post-Metal and Sludge/Doom elements of their sound have that Blackened twinge to them, although that doesn’t stop them from dripping with a darkened beauty. The band can play ugliness and aggression extremely well, but there are enough moments of resplendent glory and delicate allure here that it’s easy to become mesmerized with the band’s hypnotic performance.

The lighter elements are augmented with some Ambient/Drone interludes. When these segue gently into incredibly effective mid-paced atmospherics it’s a very uplifting and transcendental experience. Of course, I’m aware that words like transcendental get bandied around far too often when describing bands like Hope Drone, but it fits like a glove and conveys the appropriate feeling that the band can sometimes create.

The agonised screams are harsh and unforgiving, reminding you that no matter how the music sounds or where it takes you, this is still music forged from the underworld.

Hope Drone have truly created a wonderfully realised piece of Blackened art. I’m thoroughly impressed and completely in thrall to it.

An essential listen.

Bowel Stew – Debridement (Review)

Bowel Stew are an Italian Brutal Death Metal band. This is their third album.

Bowel Stew like their gore and their buckets of blood. But what they really like, of course, is huge helpings of Brutal Death Metal.

Across these 25 minutes, the band give us nine tracks of unrelenting brutality, including a Brodequin cover.

This is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for fans of pretty, polished Death Metal. This is as underground as it gets and Bowel Stew are interested in impressing no-one but themselves with their butchery.

The vocals are so low as to be almost inaudible. Almost. What we actually get is a voice that growls like an oncoming storm rumbles in the background. It’s inhuman and menacing.

The music is a murky and impenetrable mix of fast guitars and metronomic drums. There’s little in the way of songs here. Instead, Bowel Stew are essentially being as brutal as they can for the love of it. This is just a couple of steps away from completely unhinged Grindcore, and it’s only an undercurrent of Death Metal structuring that prevents this from happening.

This kind of ugly, atavistic Brutal Death Metal will appeal only to a small subset of a small sub-genre of a small genre, etc., but if you do want a fix of no-questions-asked raw barbarity and carnage then I would suggest you check them out, as Debridement is not without its gory charms.

Locrian – Infinite Dissolution (Review)

Locrian are a US Experimental Post-Metal band and this is their latest album.

Featuring an album cover that makes me feel uncomfortable and like I’m going to go insane, (courtesy of David Altmejd), this is music that caters to people who want more from the bands that they listen to, and more is what Locrian provide.

Locrian play Post-Metal that contains Avant-Garde, Black-Metal and Industrial elements. Electronics, keyboards, piano, samples and a whole host of other instruments grace this album in addition to the standard instruments. Two songs also contain guest female vocals as well. All of this should give you an insight into how much depth, variety and interest there is to be had here.

Elements of Drone, Noise, Industrial, Post-Metal and Black Metal all clash into a wonderful melange of music that reminds of some twisted cross between Russian Circles and Blut Aus Nord.

This is a highly textured and multi-faceted release that requires repeated spins to really make its wonders known. There’s a lot of different things going on here and it’s easy to miss some of it the first time around, especially as there’s a lot of subtle sounds and effects going on in the background, almost behind the main event, so to speak.

There’s a resplendent darkness that seeps from this music like a sentient and malevolent oil stain that’s searching for ways to get into your body. Something here doesn’t have your best interests at heart and it’s subtle, insidious and unfaltering in its desire to do harm.

This is music to get lost to and get lost in. The band have a talent for creating soundscapes that sear your thoughts and burn the mind.

Highly recommended as your dose of something different and sublime.

Interview with Desolate Pathway

Traditional Doom Metal band Desolate Pathway’s début album Valley of the King is best savoured loud and is a very engaging listen. I was moved to find out more about the band…

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

We are Desolate Pathway. A traditional Doom metal band from England playing some Epic style music and telling a bloody good story.

Give us a bit of history to Desolate Pathway

I started the band originally as home based on my own while I was between tours with Pagan Altar. When the band became less active I decided to bring the project to life and start a real band in 2014.

Where did the band name come from?

Strange one really but I found a lot of bands I grew up on had a 2-word names and thought that worked really well. I wanted something dark, gloomy and sinister-sounding.

What are your influences?

Black Sabbath for the riffs, Manowar for the storytelling and Candlemass for the Epic doom style.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

The new Sorcerer material is excellent. We have also been compared to these guys so that’s superb.

What’s your favourite song on the album and why?

It changes every gig because I see the audience react differently but overall Shadow of the Tormentor. I think that track has like every influence I have in there and I think it’s the only track people can really headbang too.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

It’s all a mix up of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Lots of Epic battles, sword fighting and castles. The whole album is a concept based on a prince trying to reach a castle to take the throne but he and his army encounter lots of supernatural and evil things during their journey. Each track unfolds the story in full so it is recommended to listen in one session.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

I have an idea in mind then I write the guitar work first in demo form then add lyrics to them. After that the other guys do their bit, we rehearse and change things up until we are all happy to record.

How did the recording go?

I did all the guitars in my home studio. This way I have the luxury of time to make it perfect. After that we set ourselves deadlines to practice and complete. It was really a great experience but we have learnt a few things to take on board for the next album.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

They already have developed. We are now making the guitars more full with double tracking each guitar, more than one harmony in a riff section and more Epic.

What’s next for Desolate Pathway?

We have a single due for release on 31st October.
On the A side we have Kostas Solomidis who is the lead guitarist of Greek band Sorrows Path.
He is playing the 2 solos on a track named ‘Into the Realms of Poseidon’.
After that we are finishing our 2nd album that will be solely based on Greek mythology, so the single beforehand is a foot into the album.
To keep update visit our website at http://www.desolatepathway.com

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.

Nightbreed – Nightbreed (Review)

Nightbreed are a Greek Thrash Metal band and this is their début album.

This is aggressive Old-School Thrash Metal in the style of Kreator and Exodus. It’s ugly, raw and not for the weak.

This is not for Retro-Thrash fans, nor is it for modern Thrashers who are used to huge, gleaming productions. This is for people who like the original Speed Metal template and are quite happy listening to a band who sound like they recorded this in the 80s and then sat on it for a few decades.

The singer has the right kind of angry snarl for the style. He seems to ride the riffs on waves of attitude and never misses an opportunity to add a belligerent edge to his voice.

The music is fast and furious. Solos are included, obviously, and these are well-played and most enjoyable. The riffs seem to lash out like barbed tentacles. The drumming is a relentless pounding that seems to only let up as the songs die off.

The songs blur by in a fit of rebellious fists, spikes and horror. The attitude and style is palpably Thrash Metal and the band don’t lack for presence.

If you’re looking for Thrash Metal that’s true to the original aggressive style then look no further and check out Nightbreed.

Amputory – Ode to Gore (Review)

Amputory are a Death Metal band from Finland and this is their début album.

Amputory play Old-School Death Metal, and they play it very well indeed.

The singer has a deep guttural growl that sounds like concrete breaking. He uses enjoyable vocal patterns and his voice is just the right side of illegible.

The music has a good groove and there are some nice chuggy riffs that are fat and brutal enough to get the head banging easily. The riffs come thick and fast, making the tracks thoroughly engaging. They also know when to put their foot on the accelerator where necessary and just give it some blasting.

The songs are strong and memorable. The Old-School style lives or dies by its songs as it doesn’t have the pure brutality/technicality/whatever of other sub-genres to fall back on. In this respect it’s a very honest style and Amputory shine due to the well-structured and well-written songs on Ode to Gore.

The band have a very satisfying production and Ode to Gore sounds great. This gives the songs the necessary freedom to crush and maim with impunity.

Some Old-School Death Metal can sound a bit stale, but Amputory have perfected their mixture it seems, as Ode to Gore has a brightness and spring in its step that belies the classic nature of the sub-genre. Amputory may be Old-School but they sound born of the here-and-now; this is still bloodily relevant music.

I heartily suggest that you give this a listen, you won’t regret it.