This is the début album from Serbian Progressive Thrash Metal band Alitor.
Alitor play Thrash Metal with bite and a Death-esque Progressive edge. Straight out of the gate it’s high-octane stuff and has an immediate charisma to it.
The musicianship of the band is first-rate. There is some very skilled and technical playing going on here. This is true of all of the instruments, even the oft-neglected bass.
The songs combine snappy Thrash riffs with piercing Progressive melodies and hybrid Thrash/Death Metal vocals. The singer is quite varied in his approach and frequently veers into more Death Metal territory than that of classic Thrash.
These are involving and complex songs. The drums, bass and guitars are all played and executed at an advanced level and the strong recording makes the most of this. Imagine a classic Thrash band, mix this with Death at their Proggiest, add a splash of Death Metal and Alitor will be the result.
With every song, (bar the first), being longer than 5 minutes this is an album that has plenty of depth and a lot to offer. Eternal Depression is somewhat of a misleading title as there is nothing to get depressed about here.
Have a listen to Alitor and let them blow you away.
Inter Arma are from the US and this is their latest EP. Although calling it an EP is a bit of a stretch; at almost 46 minutes it’s pretty much an album.
Oh and did I mention that the entire running time is comprised of just one track? No? Well I have now.
I’ve not heard Inter Arma before, although I’m aware of them by reputation, so this is something that I was eager to listen to.
It starts off gently, with almost 3 minutes of soft, acoustic sounds, before the heavy guitars hammer down like Thor’s own wrath. Inter Arma play a highly talented form of Sludge/Post-Metal/Doom Metal. Ultimately it’s a Doom behemoth that takes in a variety of different genres and subgenres throughout the length of the song.
The Cavern is a very involving and captivating listen that has been masterfully put together with lots of thought to the weaving of the different elements into a complete tapestry of sounds.
Vocally, we get pretty much everything; cleans, semi-cleans, shouts, screams, growls; it’s all present and correct.
The song transitions through various phases and it’s complex and endearing. The band have invited a plethora of different guests onto the EP which only enhances the feeling of something truly special unfolding in front of your very ears. The guests all add something different, (female vocals, violins, synths), and their contribution is valued and integral.
The pacing and dynamics of this song are just astounding. This is the kind of Progressive Metal masterpiece that you always wanted Isis, Neurosis or Cult of Luna to do.
As the song progresses it takes in all available moods, from slow and despondent to psychedelic and expansive, to subtle and coy, to raging and tumultuous. This is an incredibly detailed journey into foreign soundscapes and as tour guides extraordinaire Inter Arma are well placed to blow your mind with their shockingly good display of songwriting. The performance and musicianship is flawless too.
Inter Arma take the Post-Metal template of the masters, (Isis/Neurosis/Cult of Luna), combine it with the extra-dimensional quality of Mastodon, layer it all in their own unique personality, add lots of individual flourishes and quirks and serve up scalding hot; The Cavern is here and it’s a delicious treat.
Nero Di Marte are from Italy and play Progressive Metal. This is their second album.
This is complex and dense music. There’s a lot of substance here, a lot to take in. Nero Di Marte are not your conventional band; they do things differently.
Rather than catchy riffs or hooks, instead they play riffs that merge and flow with each other to build up a complex tapestry over time. As the songs progress it becomes clear very early on that a lot of thought has gone into these compositions.
This is modern, heavy Prog; more akin to Gojira, Mastodon and Memories of a Dead Man than Dream Theater. This isn’t Post-Metal, but the band borrow the sense of dynamics and momentum-building that Post-Metal does so well and fuses them into their own sound.
These are masterfully crafted tracks that are as engaging as they are entrancing. The low-key vocals almost get lost in the churning maelstrom of guitars and percussive treats, yet they’re there, they add a lot to the already busy music and they help the band connect to the listener in a very visceral way.
Derivae sounds very warm, with the drums in particular having a very satisfying feel to them. This feels like real music, not just something pieced together and let loose with minimal feeling.
This is the début album from German Death Metallers Drowned.
With an album cover that gives nothing away I was, for some reason, expecting Old-School Death Metal. What we get, however, is far more interesting.
Their brand of Death Metal is complex and mature. Elements of both Doom and Progressive Metal have evidently taken root in their sound and have blossomed on this release.
Drowned have a warm, organic sound that allows the riffs and melodies to come to life and virtually jump out of the speakers. The guitar tone is thick and syrupy and the entire production is satisfyingly heavy and well-judged.
Deep growls punctuate the journey into Drowned’s world as the guitars breathe tar into your lungs and the drums assault from all angles. It may be atypical Death Metal in some respects but this is to be applauded.
Idola Specus reminds me of a Proggier Incantation; Incantation crossed with Death, Gorguts and Immolation perhaps. Either way, it’s a great thing to hear and Drowned have certainly made an impression.
This is a class example of esoteric Death Metal that may have a firm base in the genre but is not afraid to incorporate more Progressive/Doom elements to enhance the core substance of the band.
It may have taken the band a considerable amount of time to put this album together but the end result has been worth the wait.
Have a listen to Drowned. Just remember to hold your breathe before wading in.
This is the third album from US band Rings of Saturn. They play Technical Deathcore.
This is hyper-technical and full of crazy time changes and enough complex riffery to send even hardened Metallers into hiding.
Rings of Saturn have an extreme Deathcore aspect to their sound that lends them that ultra-modern edge whilst retaining every single aspect of brutality that any form of Extreme Metal has. In this way they’re similar to the excellent Infant Annihilator; this is modern, complex and devastatingly heavy music.
Vaguely Electronica/Sci-fi-influenced melodies abound and stick out from the studied chaos like serrated knives ready to carve up the unwary. The band combine frenzy and precision like few others and these songs are exemplars of what happens when a clearly talented band combine Deathcore with Technical Death Metal and proto-Progressive tendencies.
The sheer mind-numbing extremity of this release is a joy to behold. Some may criticise the band for this and they may find certain aspects of the band’s sound distasteful or too fashionable, or whatever, (poor, much-maligned Deathcore), but it’s hard to care about such facile remarks when the music is this energetic and outright extreme.
My personal complaint with a lot of Deathcore, (and also Djent), is that it’s a style that lends itself to mediocrity too easily. Mediocrity is a word that could never be applied to Rings of Saturn though; love it or loathe it, Lugal Ki En is an album that is bright enough to transcend the mediocre and shine brightly with a thousand burning stars.
Promethean Horde are from the US and play Black Metal. This is their début album.
This is epic Black Metal that blasts out of the speakers with vitality and passion. Immediately a few things are clear – they have a good sound, the bass has a good presence and it’s fast and furious.
The band have a healthy melodic streak to their sound with a good amount of leads and solos rearing their heads amidst the Blackened landscape.
Mainly screamed vocals are used, although deeper growls and cleans also appear. All are performed well.
Ashes of the Empyrean boasts fast and aggressive Melodic Black Metal that’s dark and sharp. These are Blackened melodies in use here not the joyous, pseudo-Pop of their more commercial cousins. This is hateful, spiteful and lives to cut lives short.
Some of the compositions also feature a bit more of a Progressive influence to them, as if the band are just beginning to tentatively experiment with Post-Black Metal/Folk elements. It’s not a large part of their sound for sure, but it’s an additional touch that keeps things interesting.
All throughout the album the band treat us to thick guitars and scathing vocals that lay the foundation for this enjoyable release. Reminding of old Dimmu Borgir without the keyboard ostentation, this is a pleasing album that is easy to like. The Blackened riffs wash over you like a welcome flagellation and the subtle Death Metal touches give their attack an added edge.
Tantal are from Russia and this is their second album. They play Progressive Melodic Death Metal.
This is upbeat and Melodic Death Metal in the vein of Arch Enemy, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Nightrage, etc. Tantal differentiate themselves though by having more of a Progressive edge to their sound.
The vocals consist of harsh male screaming and clean female vocals pairing off against each other. Both sets of vocals are performed admirably and the clean melodies in particular are quite enjoyable and remind of classic Lacuna Coil back when they were still a rising power to contend with.
The band’s progressive influences mean this is a relatively lengthy album and the songs have some good meat on them due to this. Everything is played well and the songs make an impression.
This has a strong European flavour to it, (despite originating in Russia), and takes me back to a time when European Metal still sounded quite exotic and had a unique flavour to it. Although this is still quite true in many respects, it no longer feels new to me any more, having heard it for decades now; Tantal remind me of a time when it all was still new and exciting, so that alone endears me to them even before you take into account the fact that they actually write good songs too!
If you like the more modern, melodic style of Heavy Metal yet eschew the more commercial tendencies of a lot of bands that play in this genre and want something a bit meatier to sink your teeth into, you could do a lot worse than check out Tantal.
Threshold are from the UK and play Progressive Metal. This is their 10th album.
The latest Threshold album, eh? Always a pleasure to listen to this band. They have put out some great music over the years so this was an album I was looking forward to listening to.
Although undeniably still Progressive Metal, they’ve added a little more Hard Rock in their sound, which shows up in some of the harder riffs they use from time to time. This is a subtle alteration however, as they’ve always had this aspect to their sound in varying amounts and For The Journey is still Threshold through-and-through.
Straight away the classic Threshold sound blares out of the speakers as soon as you press play. Threshold are remarkable in this style of music in that you can instantly recognise them; they don’t particularly sound like anyone else and yet even though it’s instantly familiar they still manage to avoid overtly repeating themselves. This speaks of a band with a lot of talent, which has always been apparent.
The songs on For The Journey are a well-crafted collection of strong tracks that showcase the considerable songwriting ability of the band. They walk the fine line between technical ability and emotive songwriting and manage to strike the perfect balance between the two.
Threshold have always, to me, sounded very easy listening in the sense that their music appears to effortlessly sink into the brain and it’s like listening to liquefied Metal that tastes as good as the finest of wines.
The musicianship is, of course, exemplary. Whether this is the powerfully understated drumming, the driving riffs, the exquisite solos and leads, the subtle bass or the mood enhancing keyboards; Threshold know what they’re doing and they do it extremely well.
Vocally as well, the band are onto a winner. A compelling and powerful voice provides clean vocals that are wide in range and incredibly self-assured and powerful. Some of the vocal melodies are enough to send shivers down the spine, especially when they merge perfectly with the accompanying music. The astoundingly good chorus to Unforgiven is one example of many.
Well, what an album. For their tenth full-length Threshold have once again created a masterpiece of Progressive Metal that raises the bar for any other band who are even vaguely playing this style.
This is essential listening from an exemplary band. Get this.
Neverworld’s debut album Visions of Another World is a talented and energetic display of Metal prowess. I wanted to find out a bit more about them, so I quizzed lead guitarist/vocalist Ben Colton about their impressive début and the universe of Neverworld…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
Hello! I’d describe us as an epic/traditional/progressive metal band. We try to take all the best elements of the old school styles and put a fresh twist on it. Come and check us out!
Give us a bit of history to Neverworld
Well we were born in late 2009 forming from the demise of a couple of bands. Basically I was trying to put my old band Sentinel back together but when I couldn’t get everyone on board, those of us that were formed Neverworld. It’s been a busy and brilliant 5 years. We’ve worked very hard behind the scenes and it’s slowly starting to pay off. We’ve been very lucky with gigs, reviews and our fantastic fanbase right from the start. In 2010 we released our début EP ‘Welcome To…’, hit the road for a couple of years and back in March finally released our début full length album ‘Visions Of Another World’!
Tell us about your band name – where did it come from?
Picking a band name in this day and age is incredibly hard! Everything’s been done before so choosing a suitable name was difficult. We wanted a name that reflected our vision. Something with huge scope for song writing ideas and imagery. Right from the off we’ve considered ourselves to be an audio visual band and Neverworld just fitted that perfectly. It’s the place where we all go to when we go to sleep. The dream world if you will, where anything can happen!
What are your influences?
Personally I have loads. My taste is generally metal but quite diverse. I just love great well played well written music. I really admire bands who do something different every album but retain their signature sound. Bands like Fates Warning and Winger deserve a special mention for that. I’m also a huge fan of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Manowar, Crimson Glory, Redemption, Mr Big, Thin Lizzy, Slaughter, Kings X right through to stuff like Alice In Chains, Dan Reed Network, Blue Oyster Cult etc. It’s a huge list and I could quite easily be here all night! I have a massive CD collection and I’ve probably been influenced by most of it at some point in my life!
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
I’m about to release an album with my side project All Seeing Eyes so that’s getting a lot of my attention atm! The new Winger and Fates Warning albums are great. I’ve also been listening to Dan Reed Network and The Mob quite a bit but in terms of new bands or music I’ve just been introduced to I’d have to say go and check out my buddies Avenging Benji, Elm Street, Neuronspoiler and Wardrum. Insanely talented musicians and song writers and there’s a fantastic prog band from Italy called Astra. Amazing stuff
What did you want to achieve with your new album?
As much as possible really. We aren’t silly and we aren’t on a major label. There’s only so much we can do but what’s important is reaction and the reaction has blown us away. We’ve been blessed with great fans and glowing reviews. Something I’m very proud of. Sales wise it’s done quite well too. All in all we are happy with what it’s done. It’s paid for itself and our CV looks a lot better now than it did before its release!
Are you happy with how it turned out?
Absolutely. Mainly because of what other people have said about it. I think there comes a point when you’ve heard it too many times and your own judgement becomes clouded. All you can do then is turn it over to the people that matter and cross your fingers which is exactly what we did. It was a very hard and long process making this album so in the end we were happy it was finally done!
What can you tell us about the lyrics and any themes/stories the songs have?
The themes of the album are quite diverse. We have a duet about a vampire and a girl falling in love. Sounds like Twilight right?! Not so, never even seen it. Very much influenced by Let The Right One In and Bram Stoker’s Dracula that one. We have a track about the movie They Live which is one of my favourites, there’s a song all about revenge, one about being haunted by spirits. There’s kinda something for everyone I think on the album. The track This Fire is all about having a desire so strong the flame will never go out. We’ll be experimenting more with themes on the next album and exploring Neverworld a bit more.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process
Well a lot of the first album was written a few years back. When we started out we needed 5 songs so we could go out and play live so I sat in my room and wrote some riffs quite quickly, took them to the studio where the others could have a say about it and laid them down. We were just a 4 piece then. Our original keyboard player left before we’d played a single show! So it was quite a straight forward process. Tracks like Ghosts and Eminent Reprisal came about a bit later and had more band involvement. We’ve started writing the second album already and it’s a completely different process now. Everyone’s involved. We are all sitting there in the studio laying stuff down, changing each others ideas slightly and stuff like that. The next album will very much be a complete team effort and I’m loving it. This band has some brilliant musicians and they all have their own influences so it’s going to be interesting to see what we come up with!
How did the duet with Christina Gajny come about?
I’m quite an impulsive fellow. I literally woke up one day and thought wouldn’t it be awesome if we did a male/female duet. I went on my laptop and started looking for a good lady singer. The first one I came across was the amazing Christina Gajny! I thought wow she’s the one. I messaged her but didn’t hear anything back for about a month! I figured she didn’t wanna know! Luckily she did reply and we wrote Blood And Romance. The rest is history! She’s a very talented young lady so I consider her involvement an honour. It was also a masterstroke because of her we had people actually turn up to see us when we started playing in London! Haha! She’s a great girl and if we do ever need a female vocalist again she will be it.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
As I said earlier the song writing process is already under way. We are trying to write the ‘perfect’ album. Visions got a lot of great reviews but we have to better it. It’ll be tough but a task we are all up for. As far as music goes I believe in progression. I think that’s a really important part of being a musician. No part of us wants to make the same album again. The next album will have a lot of depth and variety. There will be out and out rockers, a couple of epics and hopefully some more prog style tracks. It’s early days yet but we have 6 ideas on the go at the moment and all are sounding like they could make the album. I’m excited and I think Neverworld fans should be too! Like I said we are on a mission to better Visions and we won’t stop until we have!
What’s next for Neverworld?
We play our final show of the year on September the 20th in our local club. Looking forward to that one. We are playing with Desolation Angels, The Deep and Death Valley Knights. All great bands so should be an epic night. Then we are concentrating on the follow up album. With our début we were recording and playing shows all over at the same time which didn’t really work. The album got delayed massively because of that and we don’t want to do that again. So we plan to hit the studio in a big way and get about 15 tracks done. The best 10 will make the album. We will also be making a video soon for a track off the new album. Really hoping we can get this all recorded this year and then spend next year back on the road. That’s the plan anyway! Wish us luck?!
In Love Your Mother are from Switzerland. The band play short blasts of heavy Metallic Hardcore that takes parts of bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Meshuggah, System of a Down, Mastodon and Tool; Mathcore meets Progressive Metal.
Most of the songs here are angry and heavy but they also have a Progressive Metal edge to them so occasionally branch out into softer areas where clean vocals replace the harsher shouts; all of which is compressed into songs that are typically about the 1 or 2 minute mark, on average.
Although the album is 30 minutes long, the changeling nature of the tracks and the fact that there are 18 of them mean In Love Your Mother are a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of band. Although you could probably make a similar claim for countless Grindcore bands, the difference here is that In Love Your Mother are a much more varied proposition.
It’s an enjoyable release that benefits from a loud volume and thorough listen.
This is the début album from Serbian Progressive Thrash Metal band Alitor.
Wonderbox Metal 