Post-Metal – Page 55 – Wonderbox Metal

Ur Draugr – The Wretched Ascetic (Review)

Ur Draugr are from Australia and this is their début EP.

This release is 20 minutes long and features Ur Draugr’s captivating take on Atmospheric Death Metal.

Unseen Golgotha is just under 7 minutes long and opens softly, with some light acoustic guitar guiding the way.

This slowly builds in atmosphere until the crashing guitars and thundering drums enter proceedings. Finally we get pitch-black growls entering the song and the dark atmosphere is ramped up by a factor of ten.

Tense melodies and charismatic music means that this song is an instant revelation.

Up next is the title track The Wretched Ascetic. This serves as the EP’s centrepiece at just over 10 minutes in length.

It’s a churning maelstrom of a song that builds like an oncoming storm with a heavily percussive backdrop and immense rhythms powering it along.

Like the first song, this second track is extremely impressive and ably showcases the band’s aesthetic of organic, atmospheric Death Metal that has some undertones of Black, Post- and Progressive Metal.

The final track on this wonderful début is Sombre Moribund. At 3 minutes in length it’s the shortest track here and serves as a gentle outro to the EP.

If you long for the olden days of classic Opeth but don’t want an Opeth rip-off band then Ur Draugr are the band for you.

This is a hugely impressive release. I can only imagine how good their eventual album will be. Here’s hoping and waiting expectantly.

Wells Valley – Matter as Regent (Review)

Wells Valley are a Portuguese Post-Metal band. This is their début album.

Blending the claustrophobic swirl of Neurosis with the exploratory mindset of Tool and a touch of the Avant-Garde, Wells Valley have created an album that plays by its own rules and lives by its own aesthetics. I think the closest comparison would kind of be a cross between Rabies Caste and Scarlet.

This is not a normal album, and I mean that in an entirely good way. The band have chosen to take a sub-genre that has pretty lax rules at the best of times and experiment with it to create something that may not be entirely new but it’s as close as we can reasonably expect these days.

The band play around with the Post-Metal formula just enough so that Matter as Regent sounds innovative and fresh, but not so much that it strays to far from what makes Post-Metal such a compelling and interesting listen.

The music is involving and engages the brain as it twists and turns through its various incarnations. The band write songs that seem to be mutations of the standard template; it’s as if the music has been stripped back to the bare bones of the style and then rebuilt in Wells Valley’s vision of what this kind of music should sound like.

The emphasis on the diversity, dynamics and pacing of the songs on Matter as Regent is noticeable, both in the music and the vocals. They don’t seem to like to repeat themselves too often.

The guitars are set to a level where they’re intense and emotive without being overly heavy. Expansive riffs and atypical rhythms run the gamut from expressive to functional to esoteric; there’s enough instant appeal to be endearing but enough depth of composition to keep you returning for more.

Wells Valley have released an intriguing and ambitious album that not only largely succeeds in being greater than the sum of its parts, but also achieves the even greater accolade of sounding mainly like itself.

Quality.

Abstracter – Wound Empire (Review)

This is the second album from US Sludge/Doom band Abstracter.

After really enjoying their 2012 debut album Tomb of Feathers, this is a release that has been eagerly awaited in these parts.

The first track, Lightless, seems to slowly writhe up out of a dark pit of urban decay, attempting to smother the land with its malignant spread. It’s an insidious start to the album and before you realise what’s going on you’re trapped in a nightmare landscape of pitch-black smoke and evil.

But oh dear Lord is it good. Rarely has cloying, suffocating Sludge felt so visceral and nastily enticing.

Abstracter are heavy and grim in the best ways that Sludge and Doom can achieve. These songs are essays in crawling malevolence and destructive passion. The band emanate a very raw darkness that you can feel like a physical presence.

I like the combination of nuanced riffing, heavy guitars and brutally gorgeous delivery. Abstracter effortlessly combine the beauty of Post-Metal with the dirty horror of Sludge. Their songwriting skills are such that moments of ugliness and transcendence are merged together. When the shades of light and dark clash there’s only ever going to be one true winner, but even though the menacing and murky atmospheres encase everything, the light isn’t totally consumed; you can feel it pulsing, straining against its captivity by this Hellish beast. This tense undercurrent is what gives Wound Empire its hidden beauty.

There’s a Black Metal influence to their sound that fits flawlessly into what they do. It’s not overbearing and doesn’t detract from the Doom, it just adds a further layer of thickly encrusted grime to songs that are already intimately familiar with all things subterranean.

With each of these titanic monuments to apocalyptic dystopian futures, I think that Abstracter have outdone themselves and actually managed to top their début album. No mean feat.

With true depth of composition and a talent for wrapping the listener up in their vision of all things gloomy and heavy, Abstracter have produced an album that has blown me away.

Fans of Neurosis, Altar of Plagues, Indian, Inter Arma, Amenra, Yob, Wolvhammer, Thou, etc. should perk up and take notice now.

Essential listening.

Unhold – Towering (Review)

Unhold are a Sludge Metal band from Switzerland and this is their fourth album.

Unhold play Sludge Metal with a good grasp of Space Rock, Doom, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal.

The band boast multiple talented singers and each of them brings something to the table, be that Neurosis-style rough vocals, effortless cleans or powerful female vocals.

This is a diverse selection of tracks that feature shades of light and dark, build and release mechanics, dynamic pacing, rich texture and atmosphere by the bucketload. You can just taste the quality dripping off this album like fat.

A warm sound translates into tracks that feel very organic and natural. These songs sound alive and vibrant.

I love albums that feel like a complete listening experience; where each song seems to have its place and has its own identity. Towering is such an album.

Whether it’s gritty Sludge, colossal Doom, Southern-baked meandering or epic Progressive workouts, Unhold play their songs with style, conviction and depth.

There’s a lot of variety here that’s a pleasure to explore. The band have both the discipline and experience to craft songs that have a large amount of depth and longevity. The tracks are composed in ways that seem effortless and unforced. Ideas from all manner of subgenres and styles are incorporated into their repertoire and it seems that every aspect of musical expression they dabble with comes out a winner.

Unhold have produced an exemplar of Sludge Metal that’s going to be hard to top. Be sure to check them out.

Fleshworld/Gazers/Viscera/// – Split (Review)

This split is between Polish band Fleshworld, French band Gazers and Italian band Viscera///. All three bands play variations on Post-Metal/Doom.

Fleshworld kick off the split with 18 minutes of music spread across three tracks. We’ve met Fleshworld before with their début album Like We’re All Equal Again. They play Post-Metal with very harsh vocals that act as a counterpoint to the emotive music. Continue reading “Fleshworld/Gazers/Viscera/// – Split (Review)”

Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2014

As 2014 closes it’s time to take stock of the year and revive the annual End of Year tradition once more. So, are you ready for another best of 2014 list? Of course you are…

As always, the order below is potentially fluid due to the subjective nature of music, etc.

A lot of good music was released in 2014. Before we delve into the main event, (this year it’s a top 25 list), I want to acknowledge a few runner ups. The following bands all produced some great sounding releases in 2014 but ultimately didn’t reach into the 25 best ones. So here they are, in no particular order –

Corpsessed, Suffering Hour, Pyrrhon, Infestus, Silence the Father, Morbidity, Azooma, Narrow House, Crucifyre, Solace of Requiem, Epitaph, Annihilated, Enthroned, Lord Mantis.

What a great bunch of albums! There are loads more that I could mention of course, but those are the cream of the crop that spring to mind at the moment. I know I’m bound to be accidentally overlooking some though – it’s inevitable.

Okay then, starting at the bottom and working our way up – I give you the Wonderbox Metal-approved Best of 2014 list…

Fallujah start us off at number 25 with their unique take on Death Metal with their very impressive album The Flesh Prevails. Boasting Progressive/Technical Atmospheric Death Metal songs that positively drip with emotion and feeling, Fallujah unleashed a monster on the Death Metal world. After living with this album for a while now it really is a very enjoyable listen, and any band trying to do something a bit different from the norm – and doing it extremely well – should be supported.

At number 24 we have Insense with De:Evolution. Theirs is a highly developed take on Modern Metal that’s full of atmosphere, feeling and top quality songwriting. Insense have a great singer and music to match; full of melody, hooks and enough heaviness to sink a battleship. They also have a suitably massive sound that allows them the space to do what they do best. Insense are the real deal.

Tongues are at number 23 with Thelésis Ignis. Actually an EP rather than an album, it’s so damn good it still warrants inclusion in this list. They play otherwordly Black Metal that immediately grabs your attention and forces you to recognise that a new and important player has just burst into the Black Metal arena. All fans of soul-eating Black Metal should seek this out and pay tribute.

At number 22 sit Columns with their devastating début album Please Explode. This is groovy and passionate Grindcore that’s dynamic and purposeful. There are no wasted moments on this album and Columns are poised to become forerunners of the genre if this collection of tracks is anything to go by. As the only Grind band to sneak into my list this year, (despite some notable releases), Columns have everything to play for in the future.

The mighty Threshold are at number 21 with For the Journey. Threshold are always a pleasure to listen to and this latest album of theirs, (their tenth), is no exception. This is an album of masterly crafted songs full of Progressive Metal treasures and catchy melodies. Threshold have released an album that does them justice as the veterans and leaders that they are.

At 20th place we have Salvaticus with Hidden Manna. A little-known Black Metal band from the US, this album made a huge impact with me as it really drew me into its dark embrace and is an album very easy to get lost in. A raw brand of Black Metal that’s almost on the cusp of bordering on Post-Black Metal but doesn’t quite fully transition due to the inherent Blackness and purity of intent of the music. An exceptional release.

At number 19 is The Great Old Ones with Tekeli-li. This is a real journey of an album that spans Black Metal with a good spread of Post-Metal thrown in. Depth, longevity and class are synonymous with The Great Old Ones and Tekeli-li is a great example of why. In an album of dark moods and emotional resonance there is enough here to satisfy any Extreme Metal fan.

Fisthammer dominate position 18 with the infallible Infallible. Cheap puns aside, this is a truly remarkable album, full of exceptional songs and crushing delivery. Melding a Brutal Death Metal core with a varied and wider Metal approach, Infallible is an album that combines a lot of different influences. Death Metal may be at the beating heart of Fisthammer but there’s a lot of enhancements here too. Pulverising.

At 17 is the enigmatic Dust Sculptures with Far Above the Pines. A Post-Black Metal album that seemingly came out of nowhere, fully realised and ambitious in scope. Taking a Black Metal base and building into it elements of Shoegaze, Progressive Rock and latter-day Anathema; Far Above the Pines is a very impressive release. If you enjoy expansive music that is both intimate and revealing then this is a release you must track down.

In at number 16 is the legendary Cannibal Corpse with A Skeletal Domain. Who can argue with the Death Metal masters? Whenever they release an album you know at the very least it’s going to be good. A Skeletal Domain though was a very, very good release. With such choice cuts as High Velocity Impact Spatter, Kill or Become and Vector of Cruelty A Skeletal Domain has featured heavily on my playlist this year.

A change of pace at number 15; here we have Lethe with When Dreams Become Nightmares. An intriguing project featuring members of Eluveitie and Manes, Lethe play dark and multi-textured experimental music that combines catchiness and intellect to produce a very accomplished and sophisticated dark Rock album. With a wide range of moods and emotions to explore, When Dreams Become Nightmares is an album that keeps on giving.

The Wolves of Avalon take the 14th spot with Boudicca’s Last Stand. An ambitious and impressive release, this is a heavily orchestrated album that features wonderfully diverse instrumentation and female accompaniment. Iceni Queen Unfurl’d In a Tempest of Crows is definitely one of my favourite songs of the year and the whole album is rich in delights and highlights. It’s an hour of interesting, captivating and unique Metal.

Riddle of Steel by Sons of Crom takes the 13th position. An album of epic Viking-influenced Heavy/Black/Folk Metal that’s awash with so many gorgeous melodies and harmonies it’s a veritable embarrassment of riches. This is a shockingly grandiose album that is very easy on the ear and doesn’t just hold up to repeated listens it positively demands them. Epic Viking-Metal rarely sounds as good as this.

At number 12 we have Apostle of Solitude with Of Woe and Wounds; crunchy Doom Metal with a flavour half-way between old and new. This is an album that connected with me instantly and has the kind of direct appeal of a band who are hitting their stride. Strong songwriting, massive grooves and catchy harmonies mean this is an album I’ll regularly revisit. The songs on this album have a longevity about them that most bands would kill for. Great stuff.

In 11th position is the mythical Eyehategod with their self-titled album, the first in 14 years. I love Eyehategod and this album being in my end of year list is a no brainer really. The band that essentially invented Sludge have done it again with an album filled with negative anthems and a flawless delivery of everything I love about them. Why they aren’t higher up this list is beyond me. What was I thinking?

Usnea are in 10th position with Random Cosmic Violence. Usnea are pretty much the best Blackened Doom band there is, and ever since 2013’s amazing self-titled début I’ve been wanting more. After a brief tease with their split with Ruins, they unleashed their new album and I was a very happy camper indeed. For a band that’s swathed in darkness it’s an important plus that they still write actual songs, just long, heavy, grim ones.

At number 9 is Hyperion by Dirge. This is an album that I fell in love with from the cover alone, and I was extremely pleased that the music matched expectations. Hyperion is crushingly heavy Doom with elements of Post-Metal, Sludge and an Electonic/Industrial flavour. A wide vocal variety and expertly compsoed tracks elevate Hyperion to the ranks of the very best the genre has to offer.

In 8th position are Enabler with La Fin Absolue Monde. Well, what can you say about an album that’s the aural equivalent of an adrenaline shot? This is aggressive Hardcore that specialises in dynamic, emotive songs that are just master crafted examples of the angry arts. Putting lesser bands to shame, Enabler have created a top quality album that screams out to be heard again and again. Leaders, definitely not followers.

At 7th is All Seeing Eyes with Trinity Road. An almost obscenely long release at 1 hour, 48 minutes in length; this duration is only matched by the equally-obscenely talented musicians and their formidable songwriting skills. The album never gets tiring or boring; this is Power Metal at its best and most engaging. As I stated in the review – this is a stunning album and I absolutely love it. What more can I say?

Sorxe are at number 6 with Surrounded by Shadows. Sorxe play textured Doom/Sludge with layered vocals and two bassists. It’s heavy and it’s pretty, both at the same time. With diverse and well-written songs, Surrounded by Shadows is a masterpiece of light and shade. An album this good is just pure listening gold and everyone should get to experience Sorxe as they were intended to – loud.

Wolvhammer are in position 5 with Clawing Into Black Sun. A colossal album and the highest-placed Black Metal release this year. Clawing Into Black Sun has it all, from the groovy catchiness of tracks like Slaves to the Grime to the dark majesty of A Light That Doesn’t Yield. This is a phenomenal album that places songs at the centre of the darkness and no other band has managed to touch them this year for sheer blackness of heart.

At number 4 is Lae with Break the Clasp. This was an unexpected hit with me as I hadn’t heard of them before and wasn’t expecting much but they just blew me away with their hauntingly beautiful sound. Featuring the vocal talents of Steve Austin from Today is the Day; this is an album of heartbreaking depth and personal revelation. The songs managed to connect with me intimately with real passion and feeling. A stunning album.

In the 3rd position is Temple of Void with Of Terror and the Supernatural. Doom Metal and Old-School Death Metal collide to create one of the year’s best releases. This album boasts exceptional songs; crawling Death Metal-laced Doom has never sounded so good. This is an album that gives the listener that rarest of things – real substance and content combined with an excited adrenaline rush at hearing something that’s ultimately just pure-blood Metal.

At number 2 is Execration with Morbid Dimensions. This is non-typical Death Metal that takes elements of other genres, (Doom, Progressive Metal, Black Metal), and makes it their own. Morbid Dimensions is such a ridiculously strong release it’s just silly. The sheer quality of the songs here…these are the rightful heirs to the throne of Death in my mind. This very nearly made it into the coveted number 1 position, as this album is just that damn good.

Finally we come to the number 1 slot, and this is taken by Inter Arma with the absolutely amazing The Cavern. What can you say about this? It’s just a perfect slab of colossal Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal. At three quarters of an hour in length this single, phenomenal track does pretty much everything you could want it to. I cannot stop listening to this and show no signs of getting bored with it in the future, either. Releases like this are the reason that I still love heavy music so much. The Cavern is definitely my pick of 2014 and it’s going to be a long time before something tops it I feel. Just brilliant.

And there you have it! It’s been a great year for quality Metal, and here’s to 2015!

Happy New Year!

Amniac – Infinite (Review)

Amniac are from Greece and this is their début album. They play Post-Metal.

This is Post-Metal that’s largely moulded after the trinity of Isis/Neurosis/Cult of Luna, although they also have a more Metal quality to their sound akin to Gojira; both bands share a love of emotive, winding leads as well.

The singer has a clear and powerful voice. It’s legible and deep at the same time. It’s a very strong focal point for the band to have and he puts in a commanding performance.

The music is equally strong and commanding though and ultimately this is the real star on Infinite. The build/release nature of Post-Metal is present and correct, although Amniac are probably a bit heavier than some who play this style, with chuggy Metal riffs and Sludge influences thrown into the melting pot.

Amniac seem to have a firm grasp of good songwriting skills and of what makes a good riff. The guitars are very emotive and manage to carry the emotional content well whilst retaining that strong and forceful side.

This is a very accomplished album, especially for a début; lots of thought and skill has clearly gone into its composition.

Give Amniac a listen. Highly recommended.

White Arms of Athena – White Arms of Athena (Review)

White Arms of Athena are from the US and play Technical/Progressive Metal. This is their second album.

The album starts with harmonies upon harmonies. From here, the band launch their brand of Metal and the album as a whole shows that White Arms of Athena are nothing if not interesting and varied.

This is technically-minded, expressive Progressive Metal that has a distinct personality all of its own and a will to deliver the goods. The band clearly know how to play but they also know how to write; these are songs first, and ones that are distinctly above-average at that.

There’s a lot going on here. The songs are complex and engaging with depth, creativity and longevity stamped into them.

If you take the less extreme/chaotic parts of The Dillinger Escape Plan/Between the Buried and Me and add a plethora of Progressive Metal and Post-Metal influences then you might start to have an idea of the treasure trove of delights that this album holds.

Plenty of ideas and interesting enhancements are included in these songs. Ambient/Drone sections, Psychedelia, heavy riffs, technical wizardry, atmospheric build-ups; White Arms of Athena use all of these tools and more to create impressive soundscapes filled with moving music.

The singer has a charismatic voice that’s somewhat stony in flavour and very emotive. The vocals are very assured and confident and do a great job of providing colour and nuance to music that’s already very coloured and nuanced in its own right. The term rich tapestry could have been coined for White Arms of Athena.

Shockingly good and dangerously individual, this is an album to threaten the average band’s mediocrity. White Arms of Athena have raised the bar with this album. You’d better pick this up immediately.

Wayfarer – Children of the Iron Age (Review)

Wayfarer are from the US and this is their début album. They play Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Black Metal.

For fans of Enslaved, Cobalt, Wolves in the Throne Room, Altar of Plagues, Entropia and the like – Wayfarer are a band to add to the list of top quality, interesting Black Metal.

As soon as the record starts we’re treated to this quality; immediately we get emotive Black Metal with a Post-Metal-wall-of-guitars-style riff and sharp screams that can cut through steel.

The riffs and guitars are an instant hit with me; emotive and textured whilst still staying true to the Quintessential essence of Black Metal.

They certainly have a good Post-Black Metal element to their sound though as it’s not all darkness and icy guitars. Light and shade is used extensively; the songs contain rich textures and encompass a multitude of feelings.

There’s enough aggression here to satisfy fans who want a straightforward fix of the good stuff, but Wayfarer also include enough nuance and subtlety to draw the listener back into the fold and keep them engaged. This is music with depth and capability. They have a desire to rule, to rise above the mediocre and they don’t lack the ability to do so.

This album is full of wide, expansive music that seems to fill the horizon with its ambitions.

Children of the Iron Age is a stunning début. A definite one to get your hands on.

Devil Sold His Soul – Belong ╪ Betray (Review)

Devil Sold His Soul are from the UK and this is their latest EP. They play Progressive/Post-Metal.

I’m a big fan of Devil Sold His Soul’s early work, but somehow I never kept up with them and this is my first exposure to them in a while. I was interested to hear this EP for this reason, especially as this is their first release with a new vocalist.

As always their music is impassioned, expansive and very heavy when it needs to be. Their songwriting has become even more developed than their older work, however.

It’s immediately apparent that their new vocalist fits the band like a glove. Scathing screams seem to spike painfully into your mind, but you like it anyway; soaring cleans rise gracefully from the emotive riffs whilst cascading leads swell up around them. Replacing a vocalist can be a very tricky thing to do successfully, but I’m immediately sold.

These tracks, (of which there are five), combine crushing guitars and soothing, sombre tones to create a collection of songs that pluck at the heartstrings as well as trying to pull them out.

The combined fiery melancholic nature of the guitars mix with vocals that veritably drip with emotion; these songs reveal a band that are at the height of their powers.

It’s like the power and passion of Year Of No Light, the dynamic energy of Deftones and the flawless delivery of Cult of Luna all rolled into one exciting package.

I love this. You will too.