Modern metal – Page 15 – Wonderbox Metal

Casket Robbery – Evolution of Evil (Review)

This is the début album by US Death Metallers Casket Robbery.

Casket Robbery play rhythmic Death Metal with a modern/groove Metal influence. They successfully incorporate into their assault elements of Lamb of God and Pantera along with those of Aborted and Kataklysm , as well as mixing in some European Metal influences that allow the band to inject some extra melodic streaks into the tracks that actually remind me of Septic Flesh in places.

Although there’s a lot of mid-paced grooving there’s also enough speed used to keep things varied. The melodic aspect, although not a huge part of their sound, furnishes the songs with enough leads and solos to add another tasty flavour to the tracks.

This is a release that’s heavy and full of riffs. It’s so easy to get carried along with the beat that before you know it your body starts with the twitching and spasming and there’s nowt to be done about it. Hmm, not the best way to describe toe-tappingly-good is it, but you get the idea…

Vocally the singer has an unfriendly snarl that pitches him between a growl and a scream. It matches the rhythmic muscularity of the music and cuts nicely deep into the meat of the matter.

After 37 minutes, some catchy songwriting and some memorable brutality later, Evolution of Evil has left a good impression. The band have produced a very enjoyable album that stands up to repeated listens well and positively encourages them.

Recommended.

Mano Humana – Sombras (Review)

Mano Humana are a Metal band from Chile and this is their début album.

Mano Humana play modern Metal that fuses aggressive Thrash Metal with the cold machinery of Meshuggah and the groovy heaviness of Soulfly.

The harsh shouted vocals are barked out in quite an abrasive, anti-social way. Mano Humana are not really on the commercial end of the Metal spectrum at the best of times, but these vocals really tip them over the edge into harsher territories. In my mind, of course, this is only a good thing.

Occasionally the brutality shifts up a gear too, and the vocals descend into deep growls and the entire thing is one hair’s breadth away from Death Metal at these points, recalling some of Brujeria’s work.

There’s some interesting parts in the music, with the band trying out all manner of different ideas to keep things from becoming formulaic as they tear through the 45 minute length. They take the time to add plenty of experimentation with the bass and guitars to their songs, resulting in relatively long tracks, (for the style), that keep their core Thrash Metal from becoming dull or one-dimensional.

This willingness to go that little bit further for some added depth ensures that Sombras is a more enjoyable listen than I was expecting, based on what most bands who can be described as Groove Metal offer.

Sombras is a very good listen and much more of a grower than you might think for the style. It’s brutal, heavy and full of good ideas and riffs.

Highly recommended.

Aterra – All Born in Pain (Review)

Aterra are from Poland and this is their début album. They play modern Metal.

This album is full of heavy guitars and enough beats to dance to. This is distinctly from the modern school of Metal that fuses Metalcore with elements of Thrash and even Nu-Metal.

This is quite a varied release, with plenty of different styles and flavours touched upon over the 37 minutes of music here. There are frequent small interludes between the main tracks and these take a wide variety of different forms, adding texture as the album unfolds.

How to describe the band…take a bit of Sepultura, (Chaos A.D./Roots-era, vocals and music), a pinch of Korn’s funkiness, some of the Metal stylings of Darkest Hour and Killswitch Engage, the added electronic parts of Rammstein…it’s quite a melting pot of influences that makes me quite nostalgic for this kind of music during the late 90s and early 00s in some ways.

This has the variety and pop-Metal foundation of Nu-Metal, hardened up by Metalcore’s grittier influence. And, unless you’re completely allergic to this kind of thing, it works well. This is helped greatly by the fact that the vocals, (for the most part), are mainly barked out at full volume throughout. Yes, there is the odd spoken-word and clean vocal, but for the most part they’re uncompromisingly un-radio friendly, which is always a bonus.

Very good. Loud, brash, unapologetic and shamelessly enjoyable. All Born in Pain works well.

Recommended.

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.

Devil You Know – They Bleed Red (Review)

This is the second album from US Modern Metal band Devil You Know.

Featuring ex-members of such high-profile bands as Killswitch Engage, Divine Heresy, All Shall Perish and Bleeding Through, you know there’s a wealth of experience and talent behind this album before you even press play.

When you do press play, I like that there’s no messing around with pointless intros or anything like that; it’s straight into the double-bass led action, with plenty of heaviness and groove.

The singer is on fine form. Whether he was shouting at the top of his voice in Killswitch Engage or Blood Has Been Shed, he has always had a top-rate set of lungs. The majority of his work on They Bleed Red is angry and harsh shouting, although other variations are also used, as well as his clean singing voice.

The music is heavy and full of rhythmic Metal that also takes influences from both Metalcore’s beatdowns and the more extreme, faster side of Modern Metal. Although it’s all thoroughly modern and new-sounding, they still find the time to add in some more Classic Metal influences, including the odd guitar solo.

The production, as should be expected from a band like this, is huge and crushing. Bands like this need a strong sound as otherwise the power of some the riffs can easily be distilled. No such worry here, of course, and you can feel every guitar riff and drum beat.

They Bleed Red is a good combination of the more commercial side of Metal mixed with a heavier, more extreme sensibility. It’s too heavy and shouty to be as popular as a band like Killswitch Engage, but it’s got a commercial edge and songwriting-calibre that will see it snapped up by those who like some catchy songs with their heaviness.

Give it a listen and see what you think.

Chugun – Virus (Review)

Chugun are a Thrash/Death Metal band from Israel. This is their début album.

Chugun’s sound combines Old-School Thrash Metal with some just-as-old Death Metal influences as well as a pinch of a more modern approach to produce this enjoyable 30 minutes of Metal mayhem.

The vocals alternate between deep grunts and higher screams. The singer does both styles very well and her voice is well-suited to both roles.

This album is an up-tempo rager, with the main bulk of the music having a healthy Thrash Metal base, onto which Death Metal and some Modern Metal elements are incorporated. There are a lot of good riffs on here and the bend seem to revel in what they do. It’s clear a lot of love and passion has gone into this release and this comes out in the songs.

My tolerance for Thrash Metal has lowered a lot of late, partially due to the over-saturation of the retro/comedy style; Virus, however, has none of this nonsense and this is a really enjoyable release. It’s more aggressive than most due to their Death Metal aspect and the songs motor along quite nicely.

The musicianship is tight and the recording loud and heavy. It’s a modern-sounding rendition of an older style, played with grit and devotion.

Unexpectedly good. Damn good, in fact. Check this out.

Show Me Wolves – Between Man, God and False Idols (Review)

This is the début album of Icelandic one-man Black Metal project Show Me Wolves.

So, this is a little different. Here we have Progressive Black Metal that takes elements of both Old-School Black Metal and cutting-edge Post-Black Metal as well as, believe it or not, bits of modern Metal here and there. Okay, so on paper it sounds a mish-mash of genres that normally never meet, but when you listen to it it does all make sense. For the most part, anyway.

Black Metal with a modern, Progressive flavour is the main order of business, but there’s a good deal of other stuff going on here. The modern Metal influence is not as jarring as it first might seem, as in reality this mainly means the Progressive Black Metal is added to by some stirring, upliftingly bright melodic guitars that serve as an icing on top of a Blackened cake. Think the types of melodies used by bands like Killswitch Engage and the like, only Blacken it up some.

It’s an unusual route to take but it works well due to the coherent delivery. Ultimately, this is Post/Progressive Black Metal that’s modern and forward-thinking, yet retains an atavistic violence at its core.

The vocals are harsh screams, unyielding in their extremity and a definite counterpoint to the largely shiny, resplendent music. He sounds angry, and I like that. Clean vocals also appear occasionally, lending a despondent, lonesome edge to things.

Before listening to this, the low-rent album cover led me to believe I was in for some Old-School Darkthrone clone, but I was quite wrong. Between Man, God and False Idols has impressed. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than a lot and shows massive promise.

One to check out, for sure.

Simulacrum – Sky Divided (Review)

This is the second album from Progressive Metallers Simulacrum, who are from Finland.

This is an ambitious album, containing just over an hour of Progressive, sci-fi-themed Metal that incorporates elements of Power Metal and a slightly more aggressive, heavier Modern/Thrash Metal influence into its Progressive Framework.

As befits the subject matter, this is a very keyboard-heavy release, with both Classical tinges and Electronica coming into play. In many ways the keyboards are the stars of the show; they’re never too far from the action and are an essential part of it, as opposed to being an additionality that could be done without.

The songs are well-written and draw the listener into the vivid world that the band create. Simulacrum certainly know how to play and there are more than enough leads and solos to keep the guitar-fanatics happy.

The singer has a decent voice and his delivery suits the ostentatious nature of the music. Good harmonies and melodies are used and combined with the music it results in the majority of these songs being quite memorable and catchy.

A strong recording allows the band to develop an immersive atmosphere that they manage to keep up for the full playing time. While the keyboards do the most to promote the sci-fi elements of the music, (alongside the vocals/lyrics, of course), it’s the guitars and drums that lend the sound such a modern edge.

Simulacrum are to be commended on this album. They’ve managed to straddle a few different styles within their concept, and it all fits together and works wonderfully.

Well, I have very much enjoyed this. Highly recommended.

Appollonia – Dull Parade (Review)

This is the fourth album from Appollonia, a Metal band from France.

This is Modern Metal with a Stoner/Progressive edge, somewhat akin to a mix of Mastodon, Baroness and Deftones.

Dull Parade has a strong production and everything sounds loud and heavy. The band strike a good balance between polished and gritty.

The vocals vary between cleans, semi-cleans and rougher shouts. These are performed well and have an undeniable charisma to them. All three band members contribute vocals to this release, so there’s a decent amount of variety and vocal layering going on. Melodies and harmonies abound, all richly textured and enticing.

The songs can be rawkus and confrontational or more emotive and considered, either way there’s an undercurrent of raw emotional intensity to the tracks, helping to give them longevity and depth.

Dull Parade is a thoroughly enjoyable modern interpretation of Alternative Metal with catchy songs and emotive content. It’s also heavy and uncompromising in its vision for what loud music should be.

Highly recommended.

Vidian – Transgressing the Horizon (Review)

Vidian are a Polish Post-Metal band. This is their second album.

This is Post-Metal with some Progressive and Modern Metal elements, as well as a minor Death Metal influence, making for an interesting album with quite a few good ideas and interesting avenues explored.

If bands like Gorguts and Dementia Senex are Death Metal bands that are slowly evolving their Progressive Death Metal styles into Post-Death Metal ones, then bands like Vidian have already taken the next step. There’s hints of Death Metal lineage in some of the heavier parts, but for the most part this is firmly in Post-Metal territory.

Think of a band like Isis, then make the heavier bits heavier, the vocals harsher and throw in a trumpet here and there; now mix in a pinch of Tool and a few Modern Metal elements on occasion; Vidian don’t sound too far away from this description.

The vocals combine cleans and shouts, both being performed well. The shouts are tinged with a raw emotion and hark back to a more aggressive influence – almost Death Metal but not quite. The cleans have a certain amount of grit to them, allowing the songs to have an edgy feel even when there’s no shouting involved.

These songs are heavy and dark while also being surprisingly melodic and actually quite catchy on occasion. Post-Metal is not usually a sub-genre that lends itself to catchiness, but Vidian manage it in places on Transgressing the Horizon.

The light/heavy, build/release Post-Metal mechanics are maturely done, and the band have an advantage on the heavier parts as they’re just that little bit more crushing than the norm.

This is a solid album that probably won’t convince you of Post-Metal’s merits if you’re not a fan of the sub-genre, but nonetheless displays depth and skill throughout the 52 minutes playing time. Vidian have a knack for this kind of music and there’s a lot of decent material here.

Highly recommended.