Metal – Page 604 – Wonderbox Metal

Ævangelist – Omen Ex Simulacra (Review)

Ævangelist are from the US and play a Death/Black Metal hybridised sound. They should probably just be referred to as Extreme Metal as the starting points are Death/Black but these two genres have long ago been corrupted by the taint of Ævangelist and turned to their own purposes.

Indeed, the stench of corruption and a deep-seated malignance is strong with this album. It starts off slow and quiet, gradually building in disconcerting sounds and sinister effects before the Hellish guitars and drums kick in.

The evil sounding effects and noises never stop. It’s like having your sanity eroded slowly over 64 minutes, culminating in the final track Abysscape at which point you’re well and truly lost and without hope.

On paper this is essentially Extreme Metal forged of Death and Black, with added electronics and Industrial effects, however on album this translates into a horrific beast that’s surely the aural equivalent of damnation. Ævangelist create tortured sounds and daemonic vocals so well one begins to wonder if they know something the rest of us don’t…

There are many subtleties and nuances buried beneath this avalanche of twisted sound, and repeated listens are required to fully extract the hidden messages contained in this burning maelstrom of nightmare sounds. Do you have the stomach for it?

Beyond Mortal Dreams – Dreaming Death (Review)

Beyond Mortal Dreams are an Australian Death Metal band treading their own path on their own terms with this 18 minute, 4 track EP.

Three original songs and a Beherit cover are what we get, and this EP is over far too quickly as Beyond Mortal Dreams deliver the goods.

And those lead guitars! I love a good solo and there’s plenty of fretwork on these songs to keep me happy. The guitars generally are both aggressive and atmospheric, in the way that Nile manage so effortlessly; yet also take aspects of bands like Immolation. These are the bands that are not just concerned with aural bludgeoning, but who are also interested in immersing the listener in the mood of the song as well.

The drums form the bedrock on which everything else is built and it’s clear that the drummer is not human but rather some form of multi-armed cyber-mutation that’s been programmed to pound skins for all it’s worth. Impressive stuff.

This EP is a fantastic listen and I can’t wait to hear more from them in the future.

Nefandus – Your God Is A Ghost (Review)

Nefandus are from Sweden and ply their Black Metal trade with passion and gusto.

Black Metal gone stoner doom? Not quite, although second track Temptress of Thantifaxath makes a damn good case for it. At least for the first part of the song and then it changes into a galloping NWOBHM-style riff followed by the stoner riffing once more with a nice solo on top. And this is only one of the four top-notch songs on here.

The remaining songs are more traditional than this one, but no less special for it. The riffs speak for themselves, and the band makes full use of them.

Favourite Track: Temptress of Thantifaxath. Variety is great especially when done well.

At less than 20 minutes this EP simply whets the appetite and leaves the listener wanting more. But ’tis better to have tasted the fruits than to never have known…

Glorior Belli – Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls (Review)

Opening with a Stoner/Doom riff to die for, Glorior Belli know how to get things started. This French band play a Sludge/Black Metal combination with a heavy southern US vibe that makes them both instantly familiar, yet also very unusual. Like that estranged friend you have a bad feeling about from years ago but can no longer remember why.

The vocals sound like serrated glass being drawn across stone and are impressively savage. Initially such harsh vocals can seem slightly at odds with some of the more southern-style riffs; indeed the combination of the stoner and Black Metal vibes on the whole takes some getting used to on first listen. Later, you wonder why you thought there was anything untoward going on, as on subsequent listens the transitions from Black Metal atmosphere to all-out Stoner Rock-athon seem much more natural and unforced.

In fact; as you listen to the album and get to know it it’s precisely this seemingly-jarring, (at least initially), melding of disparate styles and feelings that elevate this release from just-another-Black Metal album, or just-another-Sludge album. These are the hooks that keep you returning, that lend a far more traditional Metal and Rock swagger to the Black Metal foundation.

An album to divide; Sludge fans will probably find this easier to like than Black Metallers, although music is subjective of course and it’s always dangerous to make generalisations or assume too much. Combing the two different genres into Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls was always going to be a gamble for the band; I think it has paid off in the main, but the question is will people stick around long enough to accept it? Hopefully.

Like someone has smashed together Black Metal and Blues Rock then picked the best looking pieces and rebuilt them together in the form of Glorior Belli. If you can embrace the merging of the styles, (and you should), then you have an enduring album worthy of repeat visits. Try them out!

No Trust – Unfound (Review)

US band No Trust play aggressive Metal with plenty of bite and solidity.

Although the band are a duo they sound a lot fuller and more complete than many five-pieces. They have a huge, strong sound that makes the guitars feel like they’re right next to you, and the singer’s throaty roar is intense and immediate. I really like the vocals actually; very well done and extreme-but-emphatic at the same time.

There is no bass on this album, just guitar, drums and vocals. You almost wouldn’t know though, as the guitars have the kind of tone that seems to imply bass where there actually is none. While they may be limited with their range of instrumentation they make the most of it and are avid worshippers of The Riff; there is an abundance of Sludge-esque riffs in these songs, all wrapped up in a clean sound and plenty of Metal.

When the band lock into a powerful groove they are nigh unstoppable, such as the main riff to Bottom Feeder. Sounding almost like a cross between Dopethrone and Chimaira, this album takes elements of Sludge and gives it a hard Metallic sheen.

48 minutes of music to destroy speakers with. Check them out.

Interview with We All Die (Laughing)

In the very near future We All Die (Laughing) will release their first album Thoughtscanning, an ambitious and absorbing début that’s sure to earn them many an accolade. I was honoured to get to ask them a few questions about this involving musical journey.

For those that are unfamiliar with We All Die (Laughing) – introduce yourself!

Déhà (all instruments, vocals) : WAD(L) is a band (not a side project) from myself & Arno Strobl, making some weird but effective mixture of progressive dark metal, with black, doom, blues & jazz influences. Don’t expect something too fancy/avant-garde (yet?), this release is dark and depressive as it should be. We’re existing since 2012, we released recently the début, “Thoughtscanning”, a 33-min piece of dark metal, through Kaotoxin Records in 2014, preorders finish soon by the way, so get it since you’re getting a bonus track, which is a cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”. The album was recorded at my former place, in Belgium (HHStudios) – the mix & mastering was made by El Mobo from Conkrete Studios. The dream production.

As the band is a collaboration between two artists who are already involved in other bands – can you tell us a bit about the background of the band and how the project started?

D : It all started by having a normal contact with Arno concerning my German band “Maladie”. We discussed about plenty of things, musical & cooking mainly, and as Arno is one of my 5 influences with singing, I was really eager for him to listen to my stuff. I sent him the demo version of what became this album, and he was loving it so much that we finished talking by “We have to do something, asap” and voilà.
Arno (vocals) : As every single artist uses to say in every interview in the world : “It came out very naturally”. Sometimes you meet someone and click at first sight, it feels natural to launch a common project. Needless to say it’s not every other day that you feel the need to invest yourself in a new band with a person that you just met. It’s all about intuition, In that very case, my first meeting with Déhà was almost surreal. We were like “Guy, you just said what I was about to tell you”. A kind of magic, to quote that famous Genesis track (oh wait, was it The Police ?)

What was the inspiration behind Thoughtscanning?

D : As cheesy as it sounds, catharsis. Inner envies, self destruction, thoughts, philosophy, …
A : Years of mental cancer that eat you from the inside. Lack of self confidence, guilt, fear… Basically, the main disease of our era, along with back suffering of course. Both of us have a very different way of shouting out this kind of feelings to the world. But we tried to express it together; and here’s the result.

What influences did you draw on when creating this album?

D : We’ve been destroying plenty of limits we had. We released ourselves for this album, for lyrics but also for our ways of singing. Arno & I are what I could call “polyvalent vocalists” and we used it for the better on this album. But I can’t say it brought only good stuff, since it’s quite hard to listen to this album without going down with it.
A : Thoughtscanning has been quite a challenge to both of us. We felt we had to spit out the best of our artistic skills while at the same time being true to the initial purpose of the album, which was the lyrical bottomline around disease. It’s a tough thing to stay true to yourself while trying to create something that doesn’t sound too 1) miserable 2) childish 3) exaggerated 4) no 4, sorry. It’s been my constant fear while recording the album not to sound like a parody of depressive metal. Looking back upon what we achieved, I feel relieved, because it definitely sounds like what I/we wanted.

How did you go about writing this album? What was the process involved?

D : I started it in the beginning of 2012, wanting to make something different from what I’m used to do, a bit more complex music but still affordable / digestible (since I’m a huge fan of chaotic music). I took 6 months to make it. Then, like I told you, meeting with Arno, we made the first demo with voices. Then I unfortunately lost my backup harddisk, so I had to re-track everything (which I did in one week in 2013), then one week of cooking / recording voices, sending all that to El Mobo and voilà. We had a lot of funny moments, as well as unfunny moments (hence the music), but we were not stressed about anything (time, deadlines, etc) so this is an amazing memory.

Why did you decide to produce one very long track instead of a selection of shorter ones?

A : This was no choice nor any of a decision. We had this long track that was begging for us to play it and dress it up with sincere words. Therefore we just had to focus on it and give it all our best.
D : I believe that for any length of music, a trip has to be settled. Which means simply that if you feel, as an artist, that this trip shouldn’t be finished in several minutes, you should let it go and vary it. This song, Thoughtscan, is long because the concept demands it. You have to feel the slight variations throughout the album, and the same riffs coming up again sometimes but different, so you can just… feel it.

The album takes the listener on a musical journey through different moods and feelings – how important was this to you when creating the song?

D : That goes perfectly with the previous question : the trip I was talking about, that’s the reason. Plenty of moods, from sad complaints to harsh primal violence, to philosophical questions, to inner wars…
A : Once again this may sound very cheesy but the track is the exact Xerox of life itself, at least the harder moments of it. It’s a succession of sadness, anger, introspection… Depression is a complicated matter. The end of the album that sounds like a light of hope could well be also like the new start of the cycle, and a new dive into darkness. Because that how it goes.

What plans do you have for We All Die (Laughing) in the future?

D : We all will make more music (or die trying). Believe me, this is just a beginning.
A : That’s for sure : we’ll soon have more work on the slab together. I just hope we’ll come out with an album that won’t be as painful to record. I’m not talking about our relationship that’s been great from both ends, but because we had to come out with personal things there that were hard to handle.

Thanks for your time!

Pogrom – This Is What I’ve Always Wanted (Review)

From the darkest reaches of Canada, Pogrom appears like a moving shadow on the horizon.

This Is What I’ve Always Wanted contains one track of the same name that lasts 32 minutes and envelops the listener in a bleak landscape of futility and despair. This is Drone Doom designed to unnerve and disturb through the application of aural stress.

It starts off with a basis of tension and preserves this throughout, adding noises and effects as the track creeps along. The feeling is one of electrified pressure being applied and the corresponding mood evoked is surprisingly effective.

I’m not a massive fan of Drone as usually it just doesn’t do it for me, but I did enjoy this as I like the fraught atmosphere that is both created and sustained. This is like an extended soundtrack to a film scene intent on raising the tension levels and then keeping them there throughout.

It all builds to a head where the release comes through a bass-heavy fuzzed out Black Metal vocal assault to end the track, successfully dissipating the mood and allowing the horror you’ve been expecting to finally appear.

If you’re a fan of Drone then you should love this. If however you’re not usually a fan, then check this out anyway as it’s done well and is all about the atmosphere.

Unexpectedly good.

Unscarred – Fake Democracy (Review)

French group Unscarred play Thrash Metal the way it was meant to be – catchy and crunchy.

Apparently this is a demo, but it sounds good enough to be their first ‘proper’ release if you ask me. Everything is recorded clearly and all of the instruments shine through, (yes, even the bass).

The band play Thrash Metal with a nod to both Old and New-Schools. To me they come across as a mixture of Annihilator, Anthrax, Lamb of God and Megadeth; all about the songs and riffs.

The singer has an exceptional set of lungs, I could listen to her all day. She has a varied approach using the full spectrum from rougher shouts all the way to much higher cleans. The shouts are okay, but her cleans are exceptional as she has a really powerful voice full of character and strength. Lay this over some razor-sharp Thrash music and throw in some good catchy hooks and you have a very memorable set of songs.

When it’s done well Thrash Metal is one of my favourite genres as you can just get caught up in it and before you know what you’re doing you’re bouncing around throwing obscene shapes and playing the invisible guitar. At least that’s what I hear. I’ve never done anything as unseemly as that of course. Honest. Moving on…

A really enjoyable release, especially for a demo. If the band can build on this for a whole album, and just clean up some of the small niggles in their sound then their next release should be fantastic. Here’s hoping for a bright 2014 for them.

Favourite Track: 100 Lashes. Ludicrously catchy, and sticks in your head for days.

Temple of Baal – Verses of Fire (Review)

French veterans Temple of Baal offer up their fourth album to the sacrificial gods of Blackened Death Metal.

Having not heard Temple of Baal since their 2003 debut Servants of the Beast, it is an interesting transformation that the band’s sound has undergone. Originally Black Metal; now they give us a combination of both Death and Black Metal with some quite varied sub-styles and influences apparent throughout the 60 minutes on Verses of Fire.

Sometimes brutal, sometimes more laid back, always dark; songs are played at all speeds and tempos, mainly in an attempt to create a gloomy atmosphere for the listener to get absorbed in. For this release the band have emphasised the importance of a good atmosphere and have created one via rich textures of overlapping genres of Extreme Metal.

Moments of Old-School Death Metal are toyed with; elements of discordant Black Metal; Thrash riffs; Doom sections; full-on blasting – a wide sample of extremity is taken and fused into the songs on this album.

Vocals are mainly in a darkened Death Metal style, although screams and yells are used on occasion to add a splash of colour to the sinister emanations of the singer.

Verses of Fire boasts a very well produced sound that shows off everything very organically and gives a very satisfying listen. You could place this next to pretty much any band and not have it sound weak or inferior in quality.

Temple of Baal have taken a risk by changing their style from their Black Metal beginnings, and with risk comes either reward or failure. I think the risk has paid off and they have been rewarded with a much richer and more ambitious sound that will serve them well moving forward from here.

If you weren’t sure about Temple of Baal in the past, or have just been unfamiliar with them, then this is the album for you. An hour long of top quality Extreme Metal.

Manes – Teeth, Toes And Other Trinkets (Review)

Norwegian band Manes have released this anthology album that collects together alternative versions, unreleased, obscure and live songs.

This is of the Avant-Garde style, replete with dark melodicism and atmosphere. It’s heavy on the electronics and effects, both of which are used skilfully to craft memorable songs and melodies.

Even if these tracks are essentially B-sides, the talent of the band is still apparent. Combined with the soulful, melancholic vocals the tracks portray the same kind of depth and nostalgic feelings as some of the best of 80’s pop/Darkwave music.

Some of the songs are unfinished or works-in-progress, but as a whole the album works surprisingly well and doesn’t sound as disjointed as one might expect from a release of this nature.

A quality band with quality songs; even though they are off-cuts this is an enjoyable collection. This should appeal to more than just completists and also serves to adequately whet the appetite for the next album that this always-evolving band release.