HATE ETERNAL - Phoenix Amongst the Ashes CD Metal Blade Records Genre: Death Metal Rating: 4/5
I kinda doubt Erik Rutan cares that his old band (you know who) is putting out their highly anticipated comeback release this year. As for me I was actually looking forward to this one. Now I was kinda wondering when a follow-up to 2008's extremely brutal Fury & Flames, yeah I did praise that one to the high ceiling of hell, would come out. It's obvious Rutan's been kinda busy with other things like producing some of the best death metal releases over the past few years by bands like GOATWHORE, NILE and VITAL REMAINS, just to name a few. Thankfully he found time in between doing amazing things for others to record this also amazing beast. Phoenix Amongst the Ashes, the fifth full length from HATE ETERNAL, is simply another good release from Rutan. His greatest? No that's a toss up between 2005's I Monarch and 1999's Conquering the Throne in my not so humble opinion. So when it comes to this band, consistency rules and naysayers can just shut the fuck up already. I'm about as serious on that last point as the actual opening cut on here, "The Eternal Ruler" will seriously rip your head off. "Rebirth", aptly titled of course, is simply an intro to the wet your chops. Once "The Eternal Ruler" hits you with it's relentless riffage, excellent soloing and of course Rutan's monster vocals you'll forget about the three year wait. I know I did and what follows is "Thorns of Acacia" which continues the brutality. The key is proficiency which is suppose to unlock your brain.
One of the things I always read in reviews of HATE ETERNAL releases is how the critics want progression from them. Just putting out a good sounding intense musical release ain't good enough for some people. If Rutan came out with a more uber technical and progressive release these same critics would complain about it as well. Simply put this band's critics have no credibility what so ever since this is one intense sonovabitch. Personally I thought "The Art of Redemption" is fairly progressive with it's technical intro followed by relentless destruction by six strings of death. Drummer Jade Simonetto displays an incredible workout keeping up the pace set by Rutan. Remember people this guy is one of the greatest Death Metal guitarists of all time. That's not hyperbolic rhetoric again from me either since the editors of Decibel once ranked him at #10 which is not too shabby. While this release progresses onward this does get slightly melodic, slightly, like on the title cut which Rutan simply solos over half of it. After that interlude it's back to the oppressive punishment. "Hatesworn" is a repetitive mid-paced storm of a cut. "Lake Ablaze" is similar with a volley of riffage which really feels like a blazing firestorm. In the end this is all a moot point since consistently good Death Metal is what this is all about. Rutan returns to kick your ass, nuff said.
PRIMORDIAL - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand CD Metal Blade Records Genre: Celtic Black Metal Rating: 3/5
Sadly this has been sitting around since late April. I hadn't gone near it out of fear, seriously. You have to remember that this Irish band has released five incredible full lengths in a row, starting with 1998's A Journey's End and last with To the Nameless Dead in 2007. Their debut, Imrama, from 1995 wasn't so bad either. The band was on a roll putting great release after great release out but this one here took four years to appear which is longer than their usual release schedule. So here I am finally taking in all of their Celtic Folk mixed with epic blackened melodies on this new one and it didn't knock me back this time around. Redemption At The Puritan's Hand is a good release but in the past when I first listened to one of their releases I was automatically blown away. The opening cuts on those releases always exploded forth as if an army had charged out from the treeline screaming a battle cry that would send a chilling fright through the ranks of all those who opposed them. The first cut on here, "No Grave Deep Enough", is something which you might've found deep within a release of their's in the past. It's good just not amazing.
Strangely enough Redemption At The Puritan's Hand does sound like it's a step back for the band again not in a bad way but as if to rekindle some ancient wood from their past releases. I did not look at any pre-release material about this new one or read any interviews with the band. I pretty much wanted to keep all pre-conceived ideas away so the music would release itself like a storm. The second cut “Lain with the Wolf” is pretty good even with it's close to two minutes of build up riffs and then A.A. Nemtheanga's lets loose with his signature wail. The majesty of the guitars soar forth but never all the way through. Instead of epicness Redemption At The Puritan's Hand is a more dark brooding affair. The guitars really don't bite and the drumming sounds sloppy. "Bloodied Yet Unbowed" has a decent soft build up which turns into a dream scape atmosphere until finally charging forth with some power. Normally I have to turn the volume down a notch with PRIMORDIAL but on here it's the opposite. Something else different is that in the past I would look at one of this band's releases as a whole great body of work. This one is merely a collection of cuts, some fairly decent as well as memorable. You might even have some of them bouncing in your head for a week after playing this. Although I did say some of them like the just mentioned "Bloodied Yet Unbowed".
"God's Old Snake" is another great cut, a little faster, where the musicianship is good but mixed weird. On here the drums are up front of the riffs but A.A. Nemtheanga sounds for the most part like the song's namesake till the near end when he reverts back to clean vocals. Great clean sounding middle eastern flavored solo to close it. "The Mouth of Judas" is an extremely tragic sounding doom excursion since it's missing that treble-laden dynamic from guitarists Ciaran MacUiliam and Micheal O'Floinn. Nemtheanga sounds laid back at first but ends it with characteristic aggressive vocals. On "The Black Hundred" the band redeems themselves with another fast track with Nemtheanga going guttural some of the time as if he's singing through gulps of blood. The title track as well as the closer, "Death of the Gods", were both surprisingly forgettable which pissed me off. The latter one more of a traditional Celtic melody which could have been kicked a few notches up from what this band has been known to do before, but not on here. In the end it's a good record but I'll probably enjoy some of these new cuts better live then I did on here.
DIRGE - Elysian Magnetic Fields CD Division Records Genre: Doom/Post Rock Rating: 5/5
I must admit that I've spent more time writing about other bands of France's extreme metal genres, mostly black and death metal, that I've completely over looked most of their contributions to Doom. Case in point this band here DIRGE have been working hard on their craft since the mid-90s. I had to check in with my lady friend of Doom Knowledge just to ask her if she knew about this great band. She didn't. Alas I entered into this massive sounding atmosphere of drone and molasses dripping rhythms alone screaming "holy crap this is incredible." You've heard the term "move mountains?" This is like spending a day watching a whole range creep across the horizon, sounds of ground stone and cascading rocks included. At first I thought DIRGE was like listening to a NEUROSIS LP (or for you newbies think MASTODON) while on thorazine and with a ten pound weight on top of the needle. That's their post rock architecture at work within the eight compositions, all long by the way. Each cut on Elysian Magnetic Fields covers and crushes you all in due time of it's playing.
This is the fifth full length by the band which was originally formed by Marc T. (Guitar, Vocals and Programming). Over the years since releasing the first demo in 1994 the band, originally a two piece, has gone through many experiments in style and sound as well as additional bandmates. The five piece line-up finally solidified in 2001. Along with Marc T. there's bassist Christian M, Alain B on drums, Stephane L also playing guitar and finally Christophe "zomb" D. adding the samples. With all of that time together logged it it's fairly easy to see how they could create this masterpiece. I know I slipped in that post rock tag but that probably categories the hypnotic tones of the guitars mixed in with the samplings. Other then those beautiful moments, which run all through Elysian Magnetic Fields, the rest is filled with bone crushing doom. The drumming crawls along like the pounding pace of an ancient galley crossing the sea. Add the guitars and bass and instead of an ocean voyage you feel like you've booked passage for the river Styx.
All of the songs on here have major highlights but there are some that simply overwhelm. The opening cut, "Morphée rouge" starts off sounding like a electrical circuit shorting out (actually guitar feedback) and then at the 1:05 minute mark a mountain of sound just dropped from a few hundred feet into your lap. Yeah the first time I played this I had it turned up while I was leaning back in the chair and BOOM! That's the type of track you need standing by in your stereo on days when you really need to be shocked awake. I like how Marc T. alternates his vocals from caustic shots to almost mumbled whispers which kinda gives this a shoegazer appeal. "Cocoon" follows a similar line but with more emphasis given to guitar hypnotics and epic atmosphere. After only five minutes of it, and it's eleven minutes long, you feel drained because your body simply moves along with every beat. There's a three minute atmospheric relax point and then beat continues drag you along unforgivably. And it's only the third cut! Another favorite on here is the aptly titled "Falling". Simply put if have ever skydived then this should have been the song playing inside your helmet as you fell to the earth. Since I've already used the words "great band", "incredible" and "masterpiece" you get the idea.
CASTLE - In Witch Order CD Van Records Genre: Doom/Heavy Metal Rating: 5/5
What if Tony Iommi brought in a female vocalist to front SABBATH in the mid 80s after working with Ian Gillan? Well it would probably sound similar to this debut release by San Francisco's CASTLE. Here we have one of the better surprises for 2011. CASTLE are a power trio consisting of guitarist Mat Davis, drummer Al McCartney and bassist/vocalist Elizabeth Blackwell. There are so many reasons I have for liking this release but I'll start with the obvious and that's the band's sound/style does not pander to the cliche stoner/sludge theme within the present day Doom genre. Instead CASTLE reunite with some classic Heavy Metal influences. There is absolutely no song retreads on here, no long jams or faux psych drones. There's eleven cuts all relatively short with only one longer than five minutes. How they ended up on the German label Ván Records is a another surprise and actually works well in their favor. Europeans, especially Germans, love their Heavy Metal so a band like CASTLE would be treated as royalty over there. Look at Doro Pesch who is still looked upon as the Queen of Metal. If CASTLE wants to ride along within the Doom genre I can understand since anything is better that being called New Wave of American Metal. But as far as their sound and style is concerned they're not sludgey, not stoner, not from Atlanta, not epic, introspective, atmospheric or depressive, not the return of that Dutch band of the same name from the 90s and they're not a NEUR-ISIS copycat. Simply put CASTLE rocks!
In Witch Order rocks better then whatever flavor of the month band you've been told to like. Guitarist Mat Davis lays down these catchy, dirty sounding riffs which are not Iommi leftovers from the 1970s like what so many of today's Doom genre guitarists are picking through. He's simply taking the template and signing his own name onto it. He doesn't progress far with it but does keep things sounding fresh by not repeating the same riff for 6 to 8 minutes. Every song on In Witch Order contains a cool, catchy signature which sticks with you long after playing this release. Then there's the versatile talents of Elizabeth Blackwell. This woman might not be a disciple of Geezer Butler on the bass but rocks the four stringer a whole hell of a lot better than some others. You know how some bands shove a bass in a woman's hands just for the purposes of eye candy in order to get attention and signed? CASTLE ain't one of those bands. Blackwell's bass work along with drummer Al McCartney creates a complementary bombastic feel to the songs on here which make a perfect counter weight to Davis' riffs as well solos. "Sleeping Giant", "Knife in the Temple" "Spellbinder" and "Slaves of the Pharao" showcase the power trio chemistry this ban has in a great way. Then there's her vocals which are absolutely perfect since she fluctuates her delivery with various feminine accents all in the right places. On cuts like "Descent of Man" and "Fire in the Sky" she's got that nasty you don't wanna fuck with me type of vocal style going. On "Total Betrayal" she's down right sultry with an air of mystery that simply commands your attention. On "Shamen Wars" she's got this really aggressive bluesy delivery as if this was an L-7 song. On a few cuts Mat Davis' provides added vocals which once again makes things superb. There's nothing over the top or grandiose going on here people. It's just a perfect release that grabs a hold of you and refuses to let go. Once more with feeling, CASTLE simply Rocks!
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Split Roast compilation CD Condate Records Genre: Extreme UK Metal Rating: 5/5
I like a good compilation of extreme stuff that's not full of filler crap. The person responsible for this one, Ben Whitfield Director of Condate Records, needs to be congratulated (or at least buy the guy a beer) for putting this together. The basic premise of this comp is to showcase some really extreme UK underground metal. Trust me on this one because this dink certainly gets the job done. Split Roast consists of five semi distinct sounding bands who all run the gauntlet between Death Metal and Grindcore. There's twenty tracks on here in a few ticks less than an hour's time which is perfect for those of us who take a long lunch break at work. What, doesn't everyone listen to Grindcore on their lunch break? Anyway a few years ago Terrorizer Magazine had an issue with a feature story all about British Brutality. They even included eighteen extra tracks on their Fear Candy # 67 comp CD, which came with the magazine. According to Terrorizer the tracks were from "eighteen of the UK's most brutal up & coming or established acts." Well none of the five bands that appear on Split Roast were on that magazine comp. Furthermore these five bands ( COLONEL BLAST, CANCEROUS WOMB, MAGPYPES, DYSCAPHIA and DIASCORIUM) are far more extreme sounding then what the mag's editor's considered to be. Now of course that was in 2008 so I'm not at all sure if all of these bands were around back then but if they were well someone wasn't looking or listening very hard.
The first band to start things out is COLONEL BLAST who get my vote for best band name on here. FYI, I'm ex-military and if I served under someone by the name of COLONEL BLAST I would have followed that bastard to hell and back if he asked me. This band hails from Northwitch and has a full length which came out in 2010 on (surprise, surprise!) Condate Records entitled For the Greater Good. COLONEL BLAST contribute two cuts on here both decent Death Metal with a slight technical edge. Next up is CANCEROUS WOMB a three piece act from Edinburgh who keep the DM bludgeoning going on with three cuts. One of which is a live version of "Austrian Basement" which is the title cut from their 2009 self released EP. That cut runs heavily on the simplistic goregrind side of the dead body heap. I preferred another cut of theirs on here "Tepid Decrepit" since its a much better track with a lot more variety to it. Obviously Ben Whitfield likes the MAGPYPES since he gave these Grindcore maniacs from Leeds room for seven of their songs on here. Then again it is extremely fast grind. One of their cuts on here "North West Smash Test" should be the theme music for car crash videos. Listening is a test of will between you and the stop button. Next up are three cuts of brutal tech death grind by Manchester's DYSCAPHIA. Even though this band only has a two song demo out released in 2009 I thought they sounded the most interesting as well as accomplished in musicianship and songwriting craft. They've found that balancing point with their sound which doesn't annoy you with sheer noise nor are they in a race to see how quickly you will succumb to ADD.
The last minutes of Split Roast are given to another Leeds based band DIASCORIUM. I wonder if they deliberately asked to placed at the rear end of this comp? Seeing that if you survived all the previous material then here they are to finish what the others started which I believe was to peel your face off skin layer by layer. DIASCORIUM do their damnedest by throwing everything a Tech Death band can including a piano on "Interjection" which would have been right at home as an opening intro for a black metal release. All in all it's like the old saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At the begging of this review I stated that the basic premise of this comp is to showcase some really extreme UK underground metal. After enduring it three times in a row I'd say that there is a more sinister underlying motive at work. That one being if you survived then buy the band's other releases. Chances are if you are a survivor you will in fact do that.
PUTRESCENT SECRETANCY - Pyramid Scheme CDEP Self Released Genre: Brootal Death Metal Rating: 5/5
You know that feeling when you admit to yourself that you were completely wrong about something? I have that now after listening to this three song release. Back in February I reviewed this band's full length release, Reconfiguration Of Reality, and in all honesty I didn't give it a shining review. Now I'm here reviewing this their latest release and either this band has made some changes or I'm about to eat crow. I think both parts will become reality. Now I'm not crazy, well the doctors at the institution did say I was insane but that's beside the point, but this Orlando, Florida band has a alligator singing for them. Now I've seen band photos on their Myspace and Facebook pages and the guy, Franz (?), looks by all appearances human. Although the sound emanating from this guy's throat sounds completely inhuman.
You listen to the opening cut on here "Beyond the Senses" and around three quarters of the way through this guy lets out this, this SOUND (for lack of a better description) that should not come from something walking on two legs. Look I listen to a lot I mean a lot of extreme music. You have your harsh vocalists who sound like hissing serpents. Then there's your growlers who might be the offspring of cavernous beasts. This guy on here was either raised by alligators in the Florida swamps or he's one of those human/reptilian hybrids that you hear about on Coast to Coast AM late at night. Fuck I want a recording of this guy's voice for a door bell. I would never be bothered by door to door solicitors ever again. He's even more sinister sounding on the other cuts, "Irreversible" and the title cut. If I was in the audience at one of their shows I would not be standing directly in front of this guy. In between songs he might just bite your fuckin head off.
Musically this band is still technical but in an incredibly good way. I'm not a huge fan of bands who throw so much speed and guitar pyrotechnics at you that after forty minutes of listening you're just sitting in your chair shaking, pissing and shitting all over yourself. PUTRESCENT SECRETANCY structure their songs with an almost inviting avant garde essence that's part sickness part technical then once inside they bludgeon you. That is the kind of band progression I can handle. If you can imagine what KILLDOZER would sound like if they played brootal death metal then you might get it. I've listened to this for over an hour now and I'm feeling physically sore from it but in a good way because I'm a sadist. I can just imagine what a full length of this, their present direction, would be like. Yeah and I'd be bloodied but unbowed. This band should not be self releasing their stuff but instead should have a label doing it for them. There are way too many bands out there in the realm of extreme metal who liken themselves as "brootal". I'm not gonna mention names but the lion's share are simply noise for the sake of noise and that gets boring quickly. PUTRESCENT SECRETANCY are a mile ahead of them. Nuff Said!
PANZERCHRIST - Regiment Ragnarok CD Listenable Records Genre: Blackened Death Metal Rating: 3/5
It's kinda hard not to think of MARDUK when a band names themselves after one of their best releases. But that's as far as the Swedish black metal greats get when listening to this Danish band's sixth full length. It's been around a decade since the term "war metal" was first coined to describe certain metal bands into blackened or death throes who had a fetish for writing about war exclusively. Nowadays with the popularity of GOD DETHRONED and HAIL OF BULLETS both releasing some war themed CDs of late, all of which I consider excellent, it's not surprising to see one of the originators making a comeback try. I say that since PANZERCHRIST hasn't really done anything significant since they unleashed Battalion Beast on Neurotic Records back in 2006. Great release and they even had a Panzer tank on the cover, go figure?
PANZERCHRIST, the 2011 model, features band founder Michael Enevoldsen as the sole remaining member from the past. Enevoldsen's major problem was always keeping a solid line-up in PANZERCHRIST. I have to say that on Regiment Ragnarok he's recruited a decent bunch of soldiers for the latest mission. Enevoldsen, on bass now, is joined by his former ILLDISPOSED bandmate Lasse Bak on guitar and keyboards plus guitarist Rasmus Henriksen formerly of the band DIE. Also along for the ride is drummer Mads Lauridsen from another long time Danish death metal legacy band KONKHRA. Last but certainly not least is vocalist Magnus Jørgensen who might or might not still be in CROCELL. It's Jørgensen's mix of death grunting and harsh vocals which really captures your interest on here.
Musically it's decent sounding blackened death with the guitars doing their part admirably but definitely having Lauridsen behind the kit providing percussion destruction pushes the envelope. Listening to this I keep thinking VADER or maybe even BELPHEGOR since it's all very harsh, fast death metal being produced here. Of course there's some obvious clicheness going on. The opener "Prevail" starts with the sound of a tank rolling to a stop and firing a round to blast forth the salvo of guitar destruction which commences. "The Armour of Armageddon" and "Ode to a Cluster Bomb" are just over the top enjoyable cuts filled with armor piercing riffs and assaulting percussion blasting. "For the Iron Cross" is probably a standout cut since it does introduce some melody early on then switches into pure unadulterated combat. I wouldn't say this ranks up there on my list of more modern war metal themed greats like HAIL OF BULLETS' Of Frost and War or GOD DETHRONED's Passiondale nor will it replace your copy of Battalion Beast (shame on you if you don't have it). But I will say Regiment Ragnarok definitely sits well aiming for the kill zone.
GRAVEYARD – Hisingen Blues CD Nuclear Blast Genre: 70's Retro Rock Rating: 1/5
Scandinavian musicians have always been able to take certain American or English 70's rock music influences, re-shape em into their own and then sell it back to listeners in the country's of origin. It's not a bad thing in fact a lot of it (UNION CARBIDE PRODUCTIONS, HELLACOPTERS, NOMADS, etc.) have done some good shit. The important key is that no one with an ounce of self respect at the time, late 80's/early 90's, was trying to rewrite musical history when writing about these bands. I include myself in that category since I started into writing and publishing back in 1987. Those of us with keen ears and actual memories of the 70's music era (reading about it doesn't count) know the deal. We simply considered it retro which was either good, bad or bandwagon jumping copycat bullshit. Unfortunately nowadays you have this contingent of revisionists in the musical media, be they in print or on websites, who insist this is not merely recycled rock. Case in point, these prolific liars have recently decided that mediocre 70's hard rock was actually "proto doom". In all honesty there was only one band who were influential to those future acts who would later be categorized as Doom and that was SABBATH. Lets cut the fuckin crap and admit that all roads to Doom started with SABBATH. Even those early bands who are now considered the godfathers of Doom aka: TROUBLE, PENTAGRAM and SAINT VITUS can all cite SABBATH as their main influence, not LED ZEP, not BLACK WIDOW, not BUFFALO or SIR LORD BALTIMORE. I know of a download website were the creator makes comp CDs filled with obscure late 60's heavy psych/early to mid 70's hard rock bands and calls it all proto doom. Hey look some of those bands had a few cool songs but most of it sucked then and still sucks now. I see writers on Doom sites constantly use the words "proto doom". Now there's a fine way to sell some crappy records on Ebay. There are also labels who see how hipster retards have jumped onto the doom/stoner/sludge bandwagon and are now releasing products to cator to their cash. Obviously you should never believe everything you read on the Internet except that Pistachio nuts are the lowest fat nut, you can find anything at WALMART even a dead body, liberals really do hate black people and I have a bullshit detector that allows me to destroy revisionists.
Now after my psuedo op/ed on musical revisionism I give you GRAVEYARD from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band came about when a mediocre Swedish doom outfit named NORRSKEN split up in 2000. That gave birth to two new bands one of them was WITCHCRAFT, another 70's retro act, which was created by former NORRSKEN guitarist Magnus Pelander. The rest of the ex-band members went on to form ALBATROS which after half a decade failed to do anything so the next step was to create GRAVEYARD from it's ashes. The band membership got revamped and as luck, or Myspace self promotion, would have it. They got signed by Tee Pee Records. This is were my introduction to them came back in 2008 with their self titled debut on Tee Pee Records. Back then I was still writing about Punk, Garage and Psych bands and I'm still a fan of the BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. Tee Pee Records released a great BJM compilation years ago (BJM started out on Bomp Records) plus they also put out various 60s/70's retro rock acts. Since many scribes in the metal music media were former indie rockers, who scored pot from poor inner city negroes off campus, obviously they heard some bands off of Tee Pee Records while still in college listening to their university's radio station. (It's from these college radio losers that psych is now part of the Doom listings of sub genres.) This is no slight against Tee Pee Records since they simply found a way to expand their way into finding a wider audience for their artists to flourish. I've seen their ads in Decibel Magazine. Yeah those writers at "America's Only Extreme Music Magazine" like them some post hippie rock that's why they drop the "Metal" tag every once in a while out of convenience. They, Tee Pee Records, do have (had) some great bands on their label some of whom I do consider metal. Although I believe anyone who gets into the YA HO WA 13 needs to be shot point blank in the face with both barrels of a sawed off shotgun loaded with double odd buckshot. But getting back to GRAVEYARD, I thought their debut was a good attempt at recreating the sounds of second or even third tier mid 70's rock. I have no problem with music revivals since I still own a lot of records by bands from the late 80s/early 90s who have done the same thing be it 60's Garage Rock or Psych. I simply call it what "it" is without the hype.
This one here, Hisingen Blues, is their sophomore effort and I haven't seen a release with this much pre-release hype since ELECTRIC WIZARD's Black Masses. Now there was a huge failure for ya. You don't see many people talking about that one since the clowns who were sucking are still wiping the gunk off of their faces. But getting back to Hisingen Blues, it is simply FM radio classic rock (blues, jazz and folk rock) re-tooled for modern ears who don't listen to classic rock unless they're in a store and it's blared over the intercom system via satellite radio. This band has gotten compared to LED ZEP as far as the blues and folk influences go. But that's more Dave Mason guitar soloing then Jimmy Page. Quickly now witless scribes, go google Dave Mason so you can include his name in your next GRAVEYARD write-up (hype-up actually). Joakim Nilsson's vocals do pay homage to Plant's bluesy croak especially on opener "Ain’t Fit to Live Here" as well as the ballad "Uncomfortably Numb". So do these Swedes play "Communication Breakdown" or even a Willie Dixon cover live as an encore? Maybe not since it would be too obvious since Nilsson's vocal delivery has undergone a change since their debut. In fact that can be said about the music as well. Their 2008 debut might have been decent retro but Hisingen Blues is nothing more than retread. It's a fuckin placebo for the masses carefully crafted for people who were not born yet when "Stairway to Heaven" or "Dyer Maker" were being played on the FM dial every day. That's the main reason why people started snubbing the mainstream AOR snore-fest and discovered underground/alternative sounds. There's nothing wrong with slapping a new coat of paint on an old relic but why choose LED ZEP unless you're shooting for an audience of coffeehouse worms who actually consider SXSW or Rolling Stone magazine the outlets for determining their musical tastes. The simple fact is that this is a celebration in banality. Just because some college radio losers who cite PEARL JAM as their introduction to metal (and still play cornhole in their back yards) like this doesn't mean you or I should. Finally this band or release has absolutely nothing to do with Doom so Fuck Off!
OMNIUM GATHERUM - New World Shadows CD Lifeforce Records Genre: Melodic Death Metal Rating: 2/5
Here we have the fifth full length from this Finnish melodic death metal act and I have to admit that I never got into this band before. Obviously the "mello death" tag keeps me away from the lion's share of bands from this genre. It's not that I don't own any mello death band releases. I do but it's the smallest of stacks in my collection. Yes I store my CDs by genre because I'm a bigot and I'm also a sexist since I have a lot of ARCH ENEMY releases in the stack as well. Be that as it may I do know that OMNIUM GATHERUM has bounced around the label market be it Nuclear Blast or their last home on Candlelight. Now they've found a new place to reside with Lifeforce Records where I believe the shitworkers all walk around in metalcore band long sleeves. Think I'm kidding then look at their roster.
But anyway the nine plus minute opening cut, "Everfields", is very epic, progressive and not too far from what fellow countrymen AMORPHIS have transformed into, minus the poppy tunes. Then "Ego" wakes you up to reality and you're like oh yeah mello death. The guitar chugs along but never really bites you were there will be a mark left behind. Things are all very melodically and the synthesizers are as pleasant as sitting in front of an air conditioner. I'm sitting back in the chair listening to this thinking the last NIGHTWISH release was heavier then this one. Really the only thing aggressive about OMNIUM GATHERUM is vocalist Jukka Pelkonen who sounds like a polar bear with an Eskimo spear in his side. A beast in pain is always extreme sounding but sadly, as evident on the title track, it's wasted when the beast is fronting ASIA with a death metal guitarist.
OMNIUM GATHERUM's sound on here is almost skirting progressive or proggy doom territory with introspective cuts like "Soul Journeys" or the extremely long and epic closer "Deep Cold". Remember that air conditioner analogy? I believe if I ever succumb to hypothermia (I spent two years in Alaska so I know how not to) then the sounds of New World Shadows is what I expect to hear. What a boring way to die hearing some prog aesthetic act. I'd be praying for a family of starved polar bears to come along and tear me to shreds. But please don't let my neanderthal musical prejudices deny your opportunity to bath in fifty two minutes of progressively minded mello death. We'll come by afterwards and poke you with a stick just to revive your frozen mind.
GRAVEHILL - When All Roads Lead To Hell CD Dark Descent Records Genre: Death Metal/Thrash Rating: 4/5
Back in 2009 I thought this California band had a decent debut release with Rites of the Pentagram. So after about half way through this their follow up I was like "whoa what a fuckin change for the better". Great way to open a release with an intro sound bite with the spoken words "abandon all hope, motherfuckers." When All Roads Lead To Hell displays a band that has taken their brand of blackened death and thrash to a higher level or should I say lower depths? "Unholy Executioner" comes out at you like a maniac but it's on the next cut "Devil Worshiper" where the full on bludgeoning influences of VENOM meets DISCHARGE at Helvette's record store basement come into play. Normally you would equate something this harsh with a Euro band or maybe some sick fucks from an isolated burg in Illinois. Speaking of the sick, vocalist Mike Abominator still sounds like a venomous python who gargles with hot coals.
But there is one huge change to GRAVEHILL from their last outing. The band sacked one of their guitarists, Adam Pinelli aka: Zyklon-A, from the line-up. In his place they have freakin Matt Harvey of EXHUMED, DEKAPITATOR and REPULSION. The guy is like one of the best death metal/thrash guitarists around. By the mid-point of this dink his style really jumps out at you like on the phenomenal "Suffer No Man To Live" which is like OBITUARY on steroids. "Hell Metal Holocaust" is pure insanity. I can just imagine these guys on stage playing that one with the crowd going ballistic, body's flying everywhere along with body parts. This is not a perfect release of course. On a few cuts there's these momentum killing breakdowns which really suck. Other than that When All Roads Lead To Hell is pure quality worth grabbing onto onece you unclinch your fits. It excels way past their debut. I believe this will just be a notch in the belt for this band who in the future will end up being known as one of America's great extreme metal acts.
FLAME - March Into Firelands CD Hells Headbangers Genre: Blackened Thrash Rating: 5/5
If ever you want some extreme metal that's as hot, blackened and necro as the hearth of a satanic whorehouse then go to Finland. This amazing nation that's situated with a quarter of it's landmass above the Arctic Circle in northern Europe's right corner has always been the home of the over the fuckin top extreme. OK there are a few exceptions but rarely have I ever used the word "weak" when it comes to Finnish extreme metal. It is from this place the band FLAME resides and has released this uber blackened thrash masterpiece. Am I speaking hyperbole once more? You damm right I am because one look at the label and you know it's going to be bestial for fans and dedicated to giving jaded losers the frights. Looking for something progressive? Fuck you hippie! March Into Firelands is so freakin hot I could use it to brand your face. Think of HELLHAMMER and HORNA tag teaming a thrash slut in the bowels of Hell with Satan waiting for sloppy thirds. Now that's definitely hotter then two rats fucking in a sack.
Even though this is their sophomore release, their debut being 2005's Into the Age of Fire, FLAME are not young Finnish deviants just making a loud fast racket. The band started out as a side project by former BARATHRUM and URN members. There's two bands familiar with vomiting your soul onto the floor just to let their cloven hooves dance upon it. On here they've created an evil aura that's covers your body almost as if someone doused you with hell spawned filth. If that's too much for your puny brain to figure out then look at the cover art. The release is balanced out with fast blast beat driven thrashers and mid-paced diabolical cuts which creep along like blood on a floor. The production, courtesy of Necromorbus, is the key to this beast. You don't have to "feel it", you are thrust into a realm of reds and black imagery. Special consideration goes to Blackvenom's evil as fuck sounding vocals which leave welts on your skin.
From start to finish this release is superb. "Black Realm of Satanas" just jumps right out at you as if you've awakened up in the rightfully named place. As the release progresses along its as if you're treated to every sort of unpleasantness performed sadistically by these hell bound torture merchants. Stare at the cover art as the song "Burning Horror" blasts out of your speakers. Soon enough you'll see your own image in the picture. The further along the release goes the more the picture becomes your reality. Early BATHORY and MAYHEM influences come to bear on songs like "Rites of Endless Hatred" and "Destructive Saint" as well as the final cut "Gateway to the Birth of Lunacy". All in all this is a tremendous effort of chaos driven fright. A perfect release for the whole family especially if you hate them and wanna see em disappear.
RUINS - Chambers of Perversion CD Negative Existence Genre: Blackened Thrash Rating: 4/5
When it comes to the first era of Thrash while most people will cite the early works by the US Big Four as the epitome of it all, I'm more inclined into selling my soul to the Teutonic forces of evil, aka: SODOM and DESTRUCTION. Even to this day when it comes to newer Thrash acts I still lean towards bands who have more of a old school German influence then West Coast Thrash. Simply put, with the exception being SLAYER, the Germans were creating some down right evil fuckin shit. Now since the lion's share of US Thrash revival acts take influences from West Coast giants of the past (mainly SLAYER, EXODUS and TESTAMENT) it seems likely that a German band like RUINS would look to their own home grown Thrash legends. RUINS even dub their sound "blackened speed metal" just like DESTRUCTION. There's also a modern harshness to this release not unlike what TOXIC HOLOCAUST has been doing plus RUINS is also a one man band, whose only previous full length effort was titled Satanic Bitchpenetration from 2008.
Chambers of Perversion originally was released last year as a 10"er but quickly sold out since it was limited to 250 copies. So now Negative Existence Records has thankfully re-issued it on CD which includes some very memorable cover art work by Mark Riddick. OK memorable is putting it lightly since the cover depicts a satanic goat stabbing a zombie Jesus with an inverted cross while he's enjoying some fellatio with a few dead babies looking on. I'd say that's some down right evil fuckin shit then comes the music which is primitive fast blasts. So fast that repeated listenings is mandatory. Think SODOM, think DESTRUCTION, think you'll play this every day for a month early in the morning with your windows open. You think your neighbors talk about you now? Let em deal with this blasphemous rage for a month. I can't wait to hear what this guy comes out with next.
SPEEDKILLHATE - Out For Blood CD Hammerfist Records Genre: Death Thrash Rating: 3/5
This is the side project of Dave Linsk from OVERKILL. Dave actually started SPEED\KILL/HATE back in 2003 then released their full length debut Acts of Insanity the following year. As luck would have it, his job as guitarist in OVERKILL took presidence and as we all know they have been on a good roll of late. In the interim the band members of Linsk's side project decided to take a walk. So now he's back with a new line-up consisting of drummer Tony Ochoa from SINDROME, bassist Dave Bizzigotti from RIPPING CORPSE and on vocals it's Phil Anselmo wannabe, Bob Barnark. Well he's not all the time but seriously a few song's worth is enough for yours truly. Which brings us to this band's sound which they self reference as East Coast Thrash. Obviously I've been out of the loop because I didn't know death thrash and deathcore was East Coast Thrash. But then years ago I didn't know New York Hardcore actually meant metalcore.
For those of you out there who are long time OVERKILL fans I have to say hold on. Now for all of the newbie crowd who have jumped on the OVERKILL bandwagon these past few years, you might actually like this. Hate and violence is the narrative on this long player with plenty of "core" as well as PANTERA influences. Dave Linsk can crank out some angry chugging riffs worthy of a beatdown. As far as his solo work is concerned it's also superb. The players he's assembled all do a great job at creating this hate core fest of brutality that might not be fresh to older ears but adequate in giving the slam pit crowd something to beat on each other to.
SHROUD OF DESPONDENCY - Objective:Isolation CD Self Released Genre: Black Metal Rating: 2/5
Back in February, better known as Black Metal History Month, this Milwaukee, WI overly progressive black metal act released their Dark Meditations In Monastic Seclusion full length. It garnered some good reactions from critics as well as fans looking for something interesting within the genre. Seeing their ball rolling the band's guitarist and mainman, Rory Heikkila, decided to release this which is material he recorded back in 2009 but shelved for various reasons. On here he's responsible for guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals and drum programming. After he stopped working on this is when he met the other musicians who would become full fledged SHROUD OF DESPONDENCY band members and go onto record Dark Meditations In Monastic Seclusion. I believe there's some irony with in the album title and the story after it's shelving but I'll digress. After a few listens to Objective:Isolation I believe Heikkila's decision to release it as it is now was a huge mistake. He would have been better off re-recording the material with his present line-up, making a few changes and then releasing it as all new.
The bulk of this is melodic black metal treated with modern style progressive elements some of which work out well but there are obvious problems. Opener "An Opposing Shore" showcases the progressive/melodic marriage perfectly with the extended keyboard ending unfortunately it's not the only cut that ends with one. "This Transcends Belief" and "A Life Well Lived" push the envelope on the technical side, unfortunately they drag on too long. Also both cuts suffer with spoken word audio samples which sound out of place as if someone who thinks they're edgy threw them in. "Struggling With The Current" is one of the better cuts on here. It opens with pure venomous blackened hate then midway through turns into territory treaded by ENSLAVED. "Wound" is a out of place type of cut. Starting off as something a more avant garde progressive guitarist would have on a solo instrumental record but it ends with harsh blackened growls and screams. "My Carrion" and "Silence After The Downfall" both standout on here especially the latter's acoustic opening that bleeds into the more electric then finally closing down the release in a blackened melancholic overtone.
ECHANCRURE / ATRABILIS split EP Self Released Genre: Post Black Something or Other Rating: 4/5
I tend to look at post black metal in two ways. The first and one I care for is when the band or artist in inviting the listener to an exercise in shape shifting. The other reminds me of a spilled glass of wine on a table with most of it's contents dripping over the edge. This two act split release touches on both of those aspects. Both acts turn in one cut a piece also exceeding the nine minute mark. The first act, ECHANCRURE, hails from France. Their contribution on here, "L'Irréparable", kinda reminds me of that famous Gaston Leroux novel. The theme is horrific and yet only a minute in things turn to sorrowful beauty. The song starts out with blackened style tremolo picked riffs but quickly turns into a melancholy passage of keyboards. The vocals are of a tortured narrative and in a caustic sounding French dialect. The guitars reappear for a time just to enhance the agony. If misery was the objective then ECHANCRURE achieved it. ATRABILIS, who hail from Spain, contribute more of an industrial ambient number with "Sexta parte". Their goal throughout is pure unsettling noise done with gloomy repetition and vocal agony. They do give way to a droning break around halfway in but not enough to catch your already weathered senses. This is an ambient drone horror soundtrack to a Poe novel. I believe listening to this has given me a few more gray hairs.
OREMUS - Popioly CD Toxic Holocaust Records Genre: Black Metal Rating: 4/5
For some folks thirty five minutes of raw brutal yet atmospheric black metal from Poland is outright torture and considered worse than waterboarding. For me it's a blissful excursion into the dark depths and I'm also a fan of BLAZE OF PERDITION who the two members of OREMUS are part of. Whether or not this new duo's debut full length will give em a new lease on music's life remains to be seen. That will have to be left up to fans but in all honesty I'd encourage them aka: S. on vocals and VCIII guitars, to keep this project going. The release title translates into "Ashes" which seems adequate since the music doesn't burn you. Instead it's more lamenting, a fact that it's burnt. There are only four cuts on Popioly all quite long obviously but all the while exciting. The close to twelve minute opening number, "Siódma Pieczec" (The Seventh Seal) is a powerful blackened opus that carries your senses to the highest peaks and then lowest of pits. It's quintessential orthodox black metal DARKTHRONE minus Fenriz's drumming skills and fills. The influence is more evident on the shorter "Tyrana Grób" (Grave of the Tyrant). VCIII's guitar work is invitingly eerie as well as an assault especially since S. sounds like blood is flowing from his mouth as he barks out the lyrics. It's all in Polish but hey anyone into BM can understand a pilgrimage into darkness and despair.
The title cut is also a shorter number and coveys a more somber tone albeit frosty. It doesn't last long and by the two minute mark the song turns into a torrent of painfully harsh riffs, blast beats and S screaming like it were all a storm of discontent. It's the epic production on Popioly which turns something so simplistic into a ferocious saga. The triumph of this style is best represented on the final cut, "Białe Oblicza" (White Faces). It's on here that the unswervingly weight finally crushes you. I found it truly enjoyable the first time out listening to this. VCIII's riffs even go a little beyond the simplistic orthodoxy of early DARKTHRONE. There's a surprise chanting sequence at the end of the cut which also keeps you from being entranced by the riffs which really drain and drag you in. Listening to this is equal to staring at a strobe light with some unseen hand controlling the speed of the bursts. That would be my one misgiving about this since other then the assault on your senses there's no real break from the monotonous tone. It's an audio version of hyperthermia and will take a few minutes of quiet time to thaw out from it's effects.
TURBOCHARGED - AntiXtian CD Chaos Records Genre: Scum Punk/Metal Rating: 5/5
Once I saw that this was Ronnie Ripper Olson's latest musical project I knew it was going to good. For those of you who are not up to speed, Ronnie Ripper was once vocalist for VOMITORY and technically he's still playing bass for blackened thrash punk scum rockers GEHENNAH. Back in 2008 TURBOCHARGED released their Branded Forever demo which contained a damm good cover of G.G. ALLIN's "You Hate Me and I Hate You". I think they also did a SODOM cover as well. Anyway from what I gather this originally came out as a demo in 2010 which also had a VENOM cover, "Witching Hour" on it. From there it was released on vinyl in late December on some Polish label and now here it is on CD with different cover artwork. Along with Ronnie, vocals/bassist, there's drummer Freddie Fister and Old Nick on guitar. This Swedish trio is doing something which is not so far from what Ronnie was involved in with GEHENNAH. This time around it all sounds like a more metal version of certain Confederacy of Scum bands like LIMECELL or ANTISEEN. In fact Ronnie sounds a lot like Jeff Clayton from ANTISEEN on here.
If you haven't figured it out by the title, this full length is all about anti christianity strung up with some scum punk attitude and metal elements like Hardcore and Thrash. The songs do alternate with one style be it punk or metal which dominates the structure. For example the title cut is more of a simple scum punk number with gang shouts to get the crowd into it. In fact there's a lot of gang shout songs on here. Where as "Ghetto of Eden" is a full on thrasher, the same with "Nekronobodies". All of it is damm good but I'm guessing those into the scum punk side of things will find this more to their liking than any typical thrash fan. That's because the more memorable tracks on here are full of scum punk style chord selections like the very impressive "Golgotha 33 A.D" and the borderline thrash of "Species of Jesus". Old Nick might not be pulling out solos and riffs on here to the standards set by Trey Azagthoth fans but to a bunch of crazed, leather clad scum punks he'll be a guitar god. That's why this release deserves top honors since in it's own right it stands unbowed, unabashed and would be great to play on a Sunday afternoon.
ASTRAL REBIRTH - The Axis Of The Utter Black Ocean Demo Self Released Genre: Black Metal Rating: 3/5
Not much on quantity with this demo, only two actual cuts with an instrumental intro and outro. That notwithstanding since this Mexican duo comprised of Aneurysm on synths and vocals plus Oblivion on guitar are more interested in producing quality. When it comes to the band's sound then the devil is in the details. According to them their music is Atmospheric Black Metal which is something I'd agree to. The sub genre term has been battered around so much by the creative artists, BM fans and chat room trolls for many years now. Debating it is really a waste of time. So I'll just say this as bluntly as I can. If you're some clown who says you like black metal but can't sit still for a song longer that three minutes without scratching your nuts, go away. Everyone else who revel in the inaccessible please continue.
Skipping the intro and outro completely, sorry guys, the first cut "Distortion Mental Process" builds upon a foundation of distorted tremolo picked guitars, blastbeats and tortured vocals all of which was laid out by a certain infamous Norwegian BM artist many years ago. The almost twelve minute song doesn't linger in homage but quickly moves off into a more modern Atmospheric BM direction. This is done by slowly slipping in the synth as a back drop and transforming it into a more prominent role at around the five minute mark. I thought it was unfortunate that the guitars tended to overwhelm the production at such a key point. Hey it's still a demo but some bands can put out a demo that's more satisfying then what you hear from a major indie label.
The second cut "Astral Rebirth" is by far the best of the two. Only chiming in at a few ticks short of nine and a half minutes it's on here that the duo marries the instruments perfectly. There's a majestic DRUDKH type of influence to it which I like. Still Aneurysm's vocals, which are actually beast like roars, are over shadowed by the music. One only needs to wonder what would it all sound like under different production standards? This is just their second demo so who knows, at least they're keeping it within the BM template instead of dripping off the side like so many post-bands do.
VOMITORY - Opus Mortis VIII CD Metal Blade Records Genre: Death Metal Rating: 4/5
Speaking for myself I listen to the various forms of extreme metal to take the place of venting my frustrations upon others, especially if I've had a shitty day at work. Some people like to go to bars to drink and bitch. Others take out their frustrations on their innocent family members. For me it's music which releases the tension and death metal is perfect for me to calm down to when I come home from work with a case of the ass. Case in point, I had to deal with this asshole a few times during the day. It wasn't for the whole day but just enough times that it kinda ruined the whole fuckin day if you know what I mean and I bet you do. Luckily I had this laying around to blast loudly when I got home and let the music help release some of the anger that was seething within me. Seriously if you don't let it out then you'll be climbing up upon your roof with a rifle and start unleashing lead poisoning on the people walking below. After the authorities finally kill your ass, they always do, then the investigators will come into your home. There they will find the VOMITORY CD sitting next to the stereo. Of course that will open a whole fucked up can of worms with accusations and suspicions thrown around. Better to just listen to the music right.
VOMITORY has long been one of the pills I've taken over the years to stave off the anger. 1996's Raped in Their Own Blood, 2002's Blood Rapture and 2007's Terrorize Brutalize Sodomize, these are all unadulterated brutal classics in Swedish Death Metal. Now that's not just in my not so humble opinion but the majority opinion of death metal fans the world over. I will go on to state that their other four full lengths have their own bits of greatness. Yeah I'm bias, fuck you. Over the years VOMITORY's critics, although few but definitely whiny bitches in some music media outlets, have complained that the band is too consistent and lacks progressiveness. Look here cookie pusses if the drug works then why fuck with the formula? Let me put it another way. I'd rather stick with a consistently great fuck than run around experimenting with the "next big progressive thing" which the whiny types have to shove up their asses and spin upon in order to feel "special". Be that as it may VOMITORY's latest and eighth full length Opus Mortis VIII is another good pummeling provided by these Swedes.
No atmospheric openers to tease the listener, just a quick bass intro by Erik Rundqvist and then all hell breaks loose with "Regorge in the Morgue". VOMITORY's consistency to do that is exceptional but they can still drop in a standout surprise or two. This release is no all out kill spree since the band has slowed things down a bit adding more cuts with mid pace thrash riffs and doom structures. "The Dead Awaken" is a perfect example as the band throw multiple speed tempos at you within the song. "They Will Burn" jumps out of no where with a galloping headbanger of a riff. Yeah that will be a great cut for Euro Fest crowds to go nuts to when they do it live. Raise the horned fist to no pretentious bullshit metal. "Hate in a Time of War" has SLAYER written within it's riffs and a slashing solo all beaten upon by the utter heaviness of these Viking heirs. Yeah production wise this is much heavier then their past couple of releases. A song like "Torturous Ingenious", which is classic Swedish brutal DM, sounds like it has weights attached to it. Even the melodic solo break leaves a deep scar. "Forever Damned" is the standout track which will get into your head like some sick parasite and never leave. Guitarists Peter Ostlund and Urban Gustaffson go on a rampage, Erik Rundqvist vocals are like those of a cave beast and Tobias Gustafsson is just pulverizing on the drums and fills the gaps not letting one drop of power escape.
When this release ends with "Requiem for the Fallen" it closes another chapter in VOMITORY's history book of brutality. It's especially sinister when Erik Rundqvist growls the words "This is where your life ends" seconds from the last note being beaten out of the song. Perfect but of course they'll be back and I won't have to worry if VOMITORY will return with a Cold Lake or Load. Remember fuckers they started back when Swedish Death Metal was exploding upon extreme metal listening audiences. They were releasing demos, garnering underground support and kept on until released their debut full length came out in 1996. By that year the Swedish DM scene had changed or mellowed out but that didn't stop VOMITORY. They just plowed through and fans of the extreme followed the path of dead burnt bodies to this point in time. Opus Mortis VIII doesn't rank up there with the earlier mention classics this band has wreaked havoc upon the world with but it's in the pack which is right behind em. Remember friends any time any place any where, if you can't convert em? Then kill them brutally.
My good friend (and former Scumfeast print zine co-hort) Andy and I have been in a recent discussion on the forth coming MORBID ANGEL CD. Andy's perspective is simply Altars of Madness is all you need, everything else? Ahhhh!. I tend to agree since as far as greatness goes MORBID ANGEL, as well as almost all of the early Floridian Death Metal greats, started out on top then slowly rolled down hill to average status or irrelevance.
So here is a preview song from the new soon to be released MORBID ANGEL CD Illud Divinum Insanus. (out June 7th, 2011) Are you excited? I'm not BECAUSE I've already read the pre-release responses from people who have heard the whole thing. David Vincent is back in the fold and there's some industrial elements within a couple of songs. I'll get to it in a review some day but for now here's a cut from it.
I'm going to forecast that this CD will be a) praised by people who haven't listened to anything from the band's early days in an "age". b) praised by hipster indie rock losers who don't even own any MORBID ANGEL releases but quickly put in an online order for a t-shirt, short sleeve of course. OR c) will be given the hesitant thumbs up by old fans, who listened to Altars of Madness yesterday, and will be hoping to see em on tour this year which is going to be better than a new CD.
You know I might have a "real job" that's keeps me in fairly good shape. I said fairly dammit! OK so I like my beer, fuck you! But anyway after a hard session of typing away at the computer I need to stand up, stretch a little and follow the simple steps from the PAUL BALOFF WORKOUT video. Yeah the vid is a little dated (ya think?) but it's a classic from TALES FROM THE PIT VIDEO MAGAZINE.
NETHER REGIONS - Into the Breach CD Self Released Genre: Doom Rating: 5/5
"To all of my stoner friends out there, have you ever smoked yourself straight? If you said yes then you can understand my feeling towards the current stoner rock musical trend. It's gotten over saturated to the point where almost all the bands sound the same. Nowadays it's not who's good or not but to what degree are the humping the SABBATH/VITUS corpse." That's my quote from back in the late nineties during the last Stoner/Sludge trend or back in the last "Bong-Age" as it were. I was writing for a second rate music magazine then, after retiring my own first rate fanzine, and started off a review of yet another stoner/sludge act with that. So here we are again over ten years later except this time around there's no one culling the herds of bands. Label signings did that back in the day but now anyone can release their own CD and call themselves "a unique style of stoner, sludge, doom metal". Some schmuck at a Doom Metal site gets the release and does his or her best to slap a new coat of Thesaurus paint onto the brick shithouse. All in the hopes that if said band get's big they're be remembered for it and raise their own status. Well as for me it's the music which should be remembered first and foremost. Also I'm not so jaded to think there are no bands out there creating some decent and unique stoner/sludge doom.
Take this Portland band for example with the aptly titled band name. Yes it's aptly titled because it conveys the attitude I just put forth. This band's style is NOT the same old SABBATH-ian dick fucking the same even older stoned whore. There's a metaphor for their release title in that last sentence as well. On Into the Breach this four piece act has not re-invented the wheel but does have a unique style which marries the past and present, floats in just enough Eastern influenced psych and just might have some influences hiding that are not so obvious to under forty year old ears. First off this recording (done at Smegmatone in Portland, OR) sounds like a band from 1993 making a record in a studio with 70's equipment plus a pot head engineer wearing a faded CACTUS t-shirt twisting the knobs. I swear to you I was expecting to hear the "pops" and "cracks" of playing a vinyl LP. To put it bluntly upon my first listen I thought it was HIGH ON FIRE meets BLUE CHEER and jamming together at an after show party somewhere in the North California hills. The opening cut "Into the Breach/Spanish Werewolves" reeks of late 60's/early 70's fuzz and hippie killing power. At other times, like on "Do You Live?", I was thinking someone in this band was once in a crust/d-beat act at one time. I mean they're from the Northwest so it's possible. Guitarist Kyle Bates includes solos on here as if he was schooled by an Iomni/Page master. Of course there's some late 70's SABBATH riffage mixed with Middle Eastern opium den psych. Drummer Ryan Moore tosses in those Ginger Baker like drum fills when the band is kicking in that 70's groove euphoria. Guitarists Bates and Todd Pidcock are without a doubt a perfect tag team. Last but not least is bassist/vocalist Joe Wickstrom who channels Dickie Peterson and Geezer Butler fairly well on the four string while also supplying the "every man" (Punk Rock/Hardcore) type pitch perfect vocals. The guy is never over the top screamer nor a gravel throated growler.
Taking past influences and adding first class musicianship is one thing but NETHER REGIONS know song writing craft. Basic stoner metal/sludge rock song structures are enhanced with a more free form jazz technique. This release builds upon itself one song at a time. It's starts out great with the songs I've already mentioned. By the midway point, with the over seven and a half minute band jam showcase cut "Pale Faced God", you're like 'Holy Mountain this is great!" That's as close to any "pass the bong I think I'm Matt Pike" moments this release has. By the near end of Into the Breach with "A City Far Enough Away" you have reached the summit of excellence and a 70's drug hazed flashback. And there's still the last cut "Outrun the Sun" which is an opus which mixes Eastern tinged SABBATH/FLOYD atmosphere with mid period NEUROSIS shock and awe power. After a half dozen plays I'm here to tell ya that NETHER REGIONS have surpassed their influences as well as their peers. This is their debut full length, yes you read that right, it's their Fuckin First Full Length! From what their promo material reveals Wickstrom is the old hand here and the rest of the band is young guns performing like seasoned veterans. Into the Breach is clearly one of the best Doom releases I've been lucky enough to hear in 2011. Go to their Bandcamp link to check it out yourself then purchase the download. Don't thank me, thank the band for creating something unique in a genre of mimics.
AJATTARA - Murhat CD Osasto-A Records Genre: Death/Doom Rating: 3/5
This is my introduction to Finland's AJATTARA even through they've been pumping out full lengths since 2001 and this is their seventh so fuck me running. Maybe calling them Death Doom is somewhat misleading since these Finns bring a lot to the mixer as far as musical styles go. Opener "Kunnes taivas meidät erottaa" borders on melodic black metal like DARK FUNERAL until the song breaks into a cleanly sung chorus. I'll give one thing the guitar sound on this cut is cold and brutal like their Swedish neighbors. From the background info on AJATTARA they were not always this way. Supposedly their past releases were more on the Avant-Garde side of the aisle. There are touches of that with some cuts like "Aura" which even leans into the groove metal thang. So is AJATTARA a bunch of gothic dressed Finnish rednecks? Maybe so since the cut which follows it, "Sokea liha", dabbles in the "core" zone for a stretch until it turns into some atmospheric doom break, then it's back to the pit.
The best I can say about Murhat is that it's varied to the point where there's a bit of everything being put upon it. The song "Routalempi" is pure death doom with harsh screaming, growls and even whispers plus chanting. The closer "Veljet" is raw Finnish blackened bliss with some extra crispy doom elements ala AMORPHIS. The only thing missing is the kitchen sink. Normally when I hear a band that throws a bit of everything at you my bullshit detector starts sounding off. But in this band's case it's quiet since there's is a foundation which AJATTARA has obviously built upon over their career. Instead of being "OK this is our doom metal or black metal song". The band simply incorporates everything into their cache. Seeing that there's only one original member, Ruoja on guitars, keyboards and vocals, with the rest joining in 2007 and closer to now then it's obvious to why their sound is not honed into one genre. If I could sum it up with one word I'd say it's "heavy". Unfortunately one word won't cut it especially since the title translates into "murder" and I would not go as far as to say this dink kills. It has a bit a swagger albeit wrapped in a dark metal construct.
DARK COVENANT - Eulogies for the Fallen CD Emanes Metal Records Genre: Doom Rating: 2/5
This band's release came my way by it being called a Canadian version of early CANDLEMASS. I was like hold on now bucko we're talking about the Swedish kings of Doom. People who get over excited in the clutch shouldn't be writing promo material or doing Internet podcasts for that matter. After a few listens I must admit that DARK COVENANT borrow a lot from the early days of CANDLEMASS. There are some exceptions for instance instead of a Messiah wannabe on vocals this Quebec band went with a guy, Christian Verreault, who reminds me of a cross between Peter Steele and Johan Edlund from TIAMAT. We're talking uber gothic uber dracula type vocals. Then there's the music which basically can be summed up as trying to be like a one dimensional CANDLEMASS. Strangely enough this band is not new either since they originally started out back in the 90's under the name DAWN OF SORROW and were also playing similar music, ahem? As it turns out that band went no where and split up but after a 16 year separation the principal members, Yves Allaire and Christian Verreault, rekindled their love of epic doom and got back together. They also included Christian’s brother Stephane to complete the depressive trio.
Eulogies for the Fallen is bookended by two interesting cuts. There's the intro "The End-Time Congregation" and the outro "Dirgevows" both of which sound like they were ripped from a epic movie soundtrack. In between it all is plodding depressive doom which is not what you were expecting from the opening intro. CANDLEMASS had their mournful times as well but this is more akin to a funeral dirge. The songs are all average down tuned riffs with a few change ups when things get melodic and the guitarist starts picking away on solos. The lion's share of this is depressive riff after depressive riff. By the fourth cut, the over seven minute dirge "Ascension Denied", I was burning myself with a cigarette just to stay awake. One perfectly good reason is that there are times when you can't tell if there is any bass in the mix. This release lacks that crushing sound which their influences not only knew about but swam in it. Getting back to Verreault's vocal performance by the halfway point of this release I was hoping the guy would just die. What a miserable fuck he must be on forced depression medication and work in a morgue. If it wasn't for the outro which shocked my senses awake, I would had become one with the chair I was sitting in. Either way this is about as raw as it gets with depressive doom. There's nothing epic about it which shatters the CANDLEMASS comparison.
ANAAL NATHRAKH - Passion CD Candlelight Records Genre: Black Metal/Grindcore Rating: 4/5
To be totally honest with you, and I'm as honest as the day is long, I thought ANAAL NATHRAKH's last release 2009's In the Constellation of the Black Widow was an uninspired frisbee. It was background industrial noise for the sake of the office cubicle dwelling metal fans whose lives literally suck and look just like the two guys (Dave and Mick) in this band. It was a continuation of the mindless noise this duo had been putting out for quite a while. Yes I know I'm in the minority as far as general opinions about those releases go but it shows that most reviewers are mindless sheep who go along with the herd (aka: the music media) as long as they can still get a good sodomizing. To me their music appreciation abilities and critical thinking is like clicking the "like" button on Facebook. Now don't get me wrong since I have a few ANAAL NATHRAKH releases that I've actually given praise to albeit they are earlier releases. So to my surprise this English duo somehow found their way back to their blackened days of yore and kept their experimenting streak at bay on Passion. Well it makes sense since their early releases were passionate embraces of two genres Black Metal and Grindcore.
Of course opener "Volenti Non Fit Iniuria" had me looking at my wall for a nice spot to fling this dink into. That had more to do with V.I.T.R.O.L. aka: Dave Hunt's clean vocal annoyances then the sounds played by the act's musical mastermind Mark "Irrumator" Kenny. Yes Hunt's clean vocal delivery grates on the senses unless he's sounding hoarse like the screams of a drowning man. Most of the time his harsh vocals are brutally blood curdling as long as he's singing a damm song and not providing a vocal back drop to a proverbial noise fest for the numb skulls with short attention spans. It wasn't until the second cut "Drug-Fucking Abomination", which is like seven and a half minutes of AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED in corpse paint, that I stopped thinking about tossing this dink and enjoying the destructive beauty of it. Passion is a slight step up from their 2004 full length Domine Non Es Dignus which relied on pure speed and blackened harmonies. With the exception of "Drug-Fucking Abomination" most of the cuts on here are short blasts with even shorter grinding interludes. "Le Diabolique Est L'ami Du Simplement Mal" is definitely a standout with it's twisting of blackened atmospheric melody and sheer terror grind with Hunt screaming as if he was being boiled in oil.
Probably their most blackest moments are far behind em and now it's overwhelming brutality all the way. "Paragon Pariah" is a perfect example as if two bands were in one practice space competing for notice. Obviously the Grind elements overwhelm everything dark plus with slash and burn cuts like "Locus of Damnation" along with "Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria" there's no choice but to give in to it. I will say "Who Thinks of the Executioner?", which comes towards the end of the release, is where their past efforts were perfectly recaptured. From that point on everything else was lost in a blur. Overall Passion is much better than anything I've heard from ANAAL NATHRAKH in years. There are times when they fall back on their present characteristic industrial noise approach but that simply keeps the album varied. Since I survived the keyboard like clicking insanity of the trigger drums and Hunt losing his mind like an over worked office cubicle drone on "Tod Huetet Uebel" then maybe all is not lost with my appreciation of this band.
