BLACK ANVIL – Triumvirate CD review

BLACK ANVIL – Triumvirate CD
Relapse Records

Back in the 1980s the New York Hardcore music scene had its fair share of bands that leaned towards a more metallic sound. Some of them tried to deny it of course which was like me trying to deny my own New Jersey accent. Eventually a few of those bands just gave up and moved onto the more profitable Metal pedigree or in other words they just wanted to make enough money to eat and stop sleeping on floors. I start off with that history lesson because the three members of this Black Metal band used to be in KILL YOUR IDOLS, a Hardcore band from New York who might’ve played a CBGB’s Sunday matinee show before the place was closed down. I really don’t know their history other then name recognition since I gave up on Hardcore years ago. In fact this is my introduction to BLACK ANVIL, who have a previous release Time Insults the Mind. I think they’re on tour with WATAIN as well, a tour which will bypass my little ole neck of the woods. Be that as it may after a few listens to this I really can’t hear any previous baggage.

Triumvirate could’ve been made by any of this band’s European counterparts as far as the raw sounding BM template goes. Try blasting “The Evil of All Roots” to your buddy, who dresses up as Shagrath every Halloween, and ask which Scandinavian country he thinks this band might be from. Then spring the truth on em that they’re from New York, New York a helluva town. That’s only part of the fun because BLACK ANVIL also treats us to something else which is part of New York’s finest and that’s death metal grooves. For example “We Own You” and “Dead and Left” open with sickening riffs, courtesy of guitarist Gary Bennett, sounding from the filthy subterranean level then alternate em within the black tremolo picked rhythms. But blackening the blood stained streets of the metropolis is not the only thing these guys are into. BLACK ANVIL also adds bits of atmospheric alienation with short cuts like “Crippling” and “Eliminate”. Performance wise, vocalist and bassist, Paul Delaney has a somewhat harsh howling vocal style and probably doesn’t have any trouble hailing a cab in the city. Drummer Raeph Glicken does a decent job at alternating styles without sounding like he’s in the gray area.

Since I’m on a lower pay grade then with your typical media handlers I’ll just keep things in reality. Triumvirate is a decent release and adds to America’s blackened heritage of acts that can stand along with the European base. Although this is certainly not anything new under the black & death banner which has been waved for a long time by such greats like VITAL REMAINS or INCANTATION, also from New York. The only difference being that BLACK ANVIL play shorter songs which works out well for short dick hipsters to pre-ejaculate over in their unenlightened praise. Maybe with their third or fourth release they’ll get the dark denizens of the underworld to cum black blood.

Label: www.relapse.com

MySpace: www.myspace.com/blackanvilny

LIMBONIC ART – Phantasmagoria CD review

LIMBONIC ART – Phantasmagoria CD
Candlelight Records

Long time fans of this Norwegian Black Metal outfit hold their early years, 1996 – 1999, as the pinnacle of their creative greatness. No argument from me with that since I got introduced to LIMBONIC ART with their Ad Noctum Dynasty of Death release from 1999. When the end came in 2003 after mainman Daemon aka: Vidar Jenson decided to put a pitchfork in the band’s ass and called it done there wasn’t much of an outcry from people. Sometimes it’s better to just say it’s over with, I’m done, which is pretty much what Jenson did. A few years later he was back with partner Morfeus aka: Krister Dreyer in tow to rekindle some fire and that resulted in 2007’s Legacy of Evil. That one showed a complete turnaround for LIMBONIC ART as the duo pushed back the symphonic elements to the nosebleed seats and cranked up the guitars. It was one of the better BM releases that year. Since then Jenson and Dreyer had a falling out leaving Jenson to carry on as a one man unit.

Phantasmagoria is a good representation of modern symphonic black metal that hasn’t gone to shit. Let’s be honest here, thanks to the output over the past five to six years by bands like CRADLE OF FILTH, DARK FUNERAL and DIMMU BORGIR, the sub genre term of symphonic black metal is not very popular with the extreme crowd anymore. In fact it has more to do with hard rock, goth, Hot Topic mall rats and copycat bands (especially in the US) trying to make it big. What Jenson, who performs everything on here, has done is to remind us of the early greatness of the sub genre. Phantasmagoria is not a walk down the dark path of second wave nostalgia; on the contrary it’s cleaner sounding and volatile. Listening to this is akin to watching some lone figure in a room succumbing to uncontrollable fits of rage which has him screaming along with tearing at the walls in order to break free. Musically this is fine tuned to perfection with all instruments performed equally with none out shining the other.

I give Jenson alot of credit since without Dreyer I was expecting this to be light on guitar extremity. It’s quite the opposite with black metal riffage that must’ve left Jenson’s hands bleeding after each recording session. His example of the blackened “wall of sound” is not as bombastic as some of the previous named bands nor does he rely heavily on keyboard usage for cover. From beginning to end Phantasmagoria presents a pure tortured atmosphere which is relentless on the nerves. Jenson’s vocals, actually painful screams, alone are enough to send the unintroduced to the ward with windowless padded rooms. I love music which seconds as a device for audio torment and torture. Another important note is how Jenson weaves elements of other genres within the template. Imagine a more majestic or grandiose sounding ANAAL NATHRAKH, and then your head explodes. If Vidar Jenson was trying to prove something with Phantasmagoria then he’s done so.


Label: www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/

MySpace: www.myspace.com/officiallimbonicart

TOMBSTONES – Not for the Squeamish CD review

TOMBSTONES – Not for the Squeamish CD
Razorback Recordings

Seeing that this band is fronted by Stevo Dobbins of IMPETIGO fame I was expecting something more intense. This is basically horror tinged Thrash/Punk. The title is a little on the hyperbole side of things unless this is supposed to be a Halloween party dink. Secondly having a Crypt Keeper/Yoda like voice intro to almost every song might have been a great idea when you were fuckin drunk but when you sobered up didn’t you consider it pathetic? One or two voice intros would’ve been cool but this many is ridiculous. Along for this sick ride Stevo has Patrick Bruss from CRYPTICUS on guitar and bass plus on drums it’s Elektrokutioner. There are technically sixteen cuts on here with only nine actual songs and the rest fuckin intros. Musically it’s not bad and Stevo’s vocals sound fairly sick and twisted. Patrick Bruss cranks out some simple but chunky thrash riffs that have a hint of DARK ANGEL or even SOD. In fact the latter dropped name sounds closest to what’s performed on here because the serious factor seems low. Still you can’t beat cuts like “Grave Undertakings”, “Roast of the Town” or “Horrific Howlings”. If this line-up simply did a straight forward release, yeah even with a voice intro and outro, then they would be fierce.

Label: www.razorbackrecords.com/

MySpace: www.myspace.com/tombstonesdeath

HAIL OF BULLETS – On Divine Winds CD review

HAIL OF BULLETS – On Divine Winds CD
Metal Blade Records

I ‘m not shy about expressing my appreciation for traditional Death Metal, or what people today refer to as “old school”, in fact I’m pretty in your fucking face about it. With that said (don’t get me started) I’ve always been a fan of Martin van Drunen as a vocalist, whether it was when he was in PESTILENCE, ASPHYX or BOLT THROWER. So when HAIL OF BULLETS released their debut full length Of Frost and War in 2008 I went into combat with it. Remember people I am a vet. At the end of the year I placed it, like the flag on Mount Suribachi, at the top of the Scumfeast Metal 666 favorite’s list of Death Metal. Not to anyone’s surprise Death the Brutal Way by van Drunen’s other band, the reactivated ASPHYX, landed in the top spot last year with GOD DETHRONED’s Passiondale placing second and was a great war themed epic in it’s own right. So if you think I’m about to be a little bias here well that’s an understatement.

The latest from HAIL OF BULLETS takes us to the Pacific theater during World War Two. Since this is only the Dutch Death Metal band’s second full length we’ve got plenty more tales of twentieth century war to come. Taking on war as a subject for songwriting, especially in Metal, is far from being a new concept. So many bands have done it that it’s become monotonous and at worse down right silly. What makes it intriguing nowadays is that some bands have actually done their research into the history. Add to that some traditional sounding death thrash riffage with crushing bass and drums plus a vocalist who actually sings. That’s what HAIL OF BULLETS has achieved once again on here. On Divine Winds is not a step up from Of Frost and War or even 2009’s Warsaw EP. It’s simply a continuation of the all encompassing theme of war all the time.

Like I mentioned earlier this battle takes place in the Pacific which is a strange place for a Dutch Death Metal super group to take us but remember, it’s all about the research. After the obligatory one minute symphonic intro, ”The Eve of Battle”, the release gets going with “Operation Z” which hits you like the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that it was code named as. The combined punch of guitarists Paul Baayen and Stephan Gebedi will not excite the ADD crowd but for fans of “old school” bludgeoning it will and afterwards you’ll be dusting off those BOLT THROWER LPs for reminiscing. Baayen and Gebedi plus bassist Theo van Eekelen and drummer Ed Warbly simply create a sound that reminds the listener of battle. This works well on the fast thrash cuts like “On Choral Shores”, “Strategy of Attrition” and “Kamikaze”. Seriously you’ll want to grab that vintage M1 carbine you’ve got hanging on the wall and charge into the front door of the nearest Japanese Steak house. Also when the band decides to down tune things like with “Full Scale War” the death/doom crushes like the sinking of a ship. All through this van Drunen’s caustic and tortured vocals cry out as if he were the narrator of a live documentary. As with history of that war this ends with a big bang, “To Bear the Unbearable”.

Some critics today say that “old school” Death Metal has become an official trend du jour for people protesting against the genre’s technical and progressive moves. I think they’re part right but they miss a major point especially with a band like HAIL OF BULLETS. The sound and style might be a throwback to times when pure aggression was the key factor but lyrically it’s progressed. That’s the difference people should use as a stick to measure things by. On Divine Winds is a perfect example and another great release by this band of veterans.

Label: www.metalblade.com

MySpace: www.myspace.com/hailoffuckenbullets

Official: www.hailofbullets.com/

THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH – The Id Will Overcome CD review

THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH – The Id Will Overcome CD
Black Market

This is average sounding GRIEF and EYEHATEGOD worship on this band’s sophomore effort. The songs tend to lean more to the Anarcho Punk side of the isle considering most are short with titles like “Two Black Helicopters” and “A Nation of Ignorants” to name a few. The only exception being the thirteen plus minute “Heterodox Nonconformists” which really sounds like a practice jam where they just Could Not Stop Dude. Ya know with their band name I was figuring this was going to be something along the lines of GNAW THEIR TONGUES or MOSS. I’m guessing they’re trust fund babies who think Obama is not as leftist as they’d like. Coming to a hipster third tier sludge fest near you.

www.blackmarketactivities.com

THE FORESHADOWING – Oionos CD review

THE FORESHADOWING – Oionos CD
Cyclone Empire Records

I thought this Italian band’s debut Days of Nothing from a few years ago was more “goth” then gothic doom. On this their sophomore effort they have embraced an approach more in line with ANATHEMA or MY DYING BRIDE with a different style vocals. Marco Benevento sings clean and yet very foreboding which fits well with the songs which are about war and its aftermath aka: loneliness, death and loss. Oionos is a perfect album for the excessively gloom. The opener “The Dawning” starts the theme off with some militarist cadence drumming and hits you with some serious riffs that forge images of a war torn battlefield. The title cut is fairly magnificent with it’s opening chugging riffs with some eerie sounding Hammond organ played in behind to set a gothic tone which doesn’t steer away from the doom. I also like how they took an instrumental interlude type of cut “Soliloquium” which ends with Gregorian chants and bleed it into “Lost Humanity” with its crisps riffs. “Chant of Widows” is probably the most upbeat and at times heavy cut on here which actually breaks out into a rhythmic pace. The latter part of the release gets deep into the gothic realm. There’s a STING cover of “Russians” which THE FORESHADOWING give the doom and gloom treatment to. I still hate STING. The final cut “Revelation 3-11” is an interesting keyboard driven instrumental which opens with the now famous speech by J. Robert Oppenheimer after the first atomic explosion. From there its pure melancholic guitar riffs ending with Oppenheimer’s words “Now I have become death the destroyer of worlds”. If these Italians planned on putting out the most miserable and depressed feeling release of the year I think they did it.

www.cyclone-empire.com/

SECTIONED – Purulent Reality CD review

SECTIONED – Purulent Reality CD
Paragon Records

The wrath of the pissed off strikes again in that here’s another entry into the old school death metal sound and fury crowd, this time from England. SECTIONED are heavy as fuck, with double bass pounding, strong yet melodic rhythms and leads that will slice you to ribbons. Plus they don’t give a rat’s ass if their sound reminds one of early GRAVE or MORBID ANGEL in fact that’s a complement. The songs on this band’s debut, Purulent Reality, are for people who feel the genre has moved so far to the progressive technical degree that it’s soulless noise. Count me in on that one since the genre itself is at its lowest creative point in years.

www.paragonrecords.com