Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Blood Lust (2011)

Electric Wizard led me to Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, and I do admit I consider the latter to be an evolution on the other's sound, making it a fraction more mainstream and adventurous in the process since they bring in a lot of other 70s influences to the Sabbath style, namely the Beatles. If you heavily fuzzed out the Beatles, gave them cool horror lyrics and an edge, this might be the result, Uncle Acid is like the nexus between Hammer Horror, distortion-drenched pop rock and the Rise Above roster. They have never let me down on a single album, and though they've recently moved on to a more theatrical, progressive leanings, I still listen across all their catalogue fairly evenly, with the possible exception of the debut, which was decent but crushed by Blood Lust in almost every category.

From the opening notes of "I'll Cut You Down", the sophomore is just brighter and more creatively conceived, with a nice pomp to the bass tone, and a rhythm guitar that constantly evokes nostalgia and atmosphere no matter how primitive some of its trudging riff structures. K.R. Starrs' striking vocals give you an Ozzy vibe without really channeling the Prince of Darkness, or perhaps they live up to the band's moniker by sounding like a psychedelic drug trip giving a voice. The feedback and distortion used on these and the guitars are excellent, it gives you that washed out, raw feeling not unlike Electric Wizard, especially their records around this same period, but the difference is in the songwriting, these never feel like garden variety evil doom songs, the menace is "Death's Door" or "Curse in the Trees" is how they groove along like a dude in a pair of bell-bottoms kicking perceived scorpions around his feet. The bass playing is simple, but I like how it curves up to those fuzzy guitars, and the drum kit here sounds pretty awesome too, though like their peers, it never needs to be too technical or flashy...

Just lots of fills and crashing, and in fact they're interesting in psyche pieces like the proggier "I'm Here to Kill You" that they'd probably sound great even without the other instruments. But all combined, this band is a total force to be reckoned with, and Blood Lust is compelling throughout its 43 minute length, from the catchy chorus of the opener to the belligerent flow of "Ritual Knife", the glorious voo-doom of "Withered Hand of Evil", or the almost 70s pure 'eavy metal' charging of the main riff in "Over & Over Again". The one exception for me is the acoustic finale "Down to the Fire", it's nice to turn off the amps perhaps and does eventually seem like it's going somewhere, primarily because Starrs' voice works well with the louder acoustic guitars, but it feels half-formed to me and just doesn't add much to what is already a bananas great freaking record. I could live without that, but otherwise Blood Lust is one of the best albums in an obscenely consistent catalogue. Nothing complex, just let it hypnotize you until you resemble the woman on the cover.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.uncleacidband.com/

Dawnbringer - Three Soldiers Standing/Night of the Sinner EP (2011)

This was a weird little ditty to drop between Dawnbringer's two epic heavy metal albums Nucleus and Into the Lair of the Sun God, since it's a pair of unreleased tunes from back in the days shortly after Unbleed was released. As such, you can expect a much rawer style, and in fact, the mix on these is so disheveled and demo-level that it makes that debut album sound like it was recorded in an AAA studio by comparison. That does also limit my enjoyment a little, since the beats sound like a couple cans being slapped, the bass is just present on the edge of perception, and the overall effect is a little cringe. However, the guitars do sound pretty damn good, you can hear the brightness of the leads against the bustle of rhythm guitars performing a hybrid of heavy, speed, and melodic black metal, and the vocals are nasty in a good way, creating their own contrast against the cleaner backups belting out the choruses. Hell, they sound better than they did on the Sacrament EP, although I think the mix on that was overall much cleaner than this.

As for the songs themselves, they're both pretty good. They're not as rustic or melodic sounding or escapist as Unbleed, these have a more urban, aggressive, violent feel to them, with a bigger influence from thrash metal twisting into the other styles from that record. Granted, there are moments like the breakout rhythm in "Three Soldiers Standing" where it would have fit right in, but these feel more like they were being developed for a more asphalt-tearing sophomore effort that never quite manifest. The mix holds me back from giving this a higher recommendation, but if you did enjoy Unbleed, or if you like a lot of old demos from the first few waves of melodic death and black metal, or maybe some of the bands coming out through Invasion records back in the mid to late 90s, then this digital/7" release could be worth a listen. It's an artifact, for sure, and I think the songs could actually benefit from a re-recording if the band ever went back to that style. However, for anyone else who hasn't already heard Dawnbringer, the three full-lengths I mentioned in this very review are the better starting points. 

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

Broken Gravestones - Let Sleeping Corpses Lie EP (2011)

Broken Gravestones is a collaboration between prolific cult growler Kam Lee and several Spanish musicians including Noel Kemper who is known from a bunch of bands like Gruesome Stuff Relish and Altar of Giallo. My assumption is that this was meant to be the sidest of side projects, just another outlet for these gentlemen to celebrate their love for all things horror, pulp and gory through their common death metal medium. It's also a collaboration between Sevared and Comatose, two labels better known for their most extreme, brutal death metal, but as I predicted from looking upon the EP, this is certainly a more old school offering which relies on primal riffing and songwriting rather than trying to spin your head off with rhythmic excess. 

You get your obligatory, creepy sample/intro to set the mood, and then the guys just dig in with some steady paced, roiling death metal which more than anything reminded me of a Bolt Thrower, down to the little swerves and grooves they place against the central chugging momentum, with rhythm guitars that have that eerie, downtuned feel that always feels grindy. Kam's voice is a bit more gruesome than Karl, and the lyrical matter is much more in theme with what you'd expect than about endless warfare, but there it is, and its an aesthetic that continues throughout the majority of the tuneage. The leads here are quite nice, chaotic and whipping little affairs where they play around with the whammy bar or whatnot and add a much needed upper level or dimension to what is otherwise a bit too plodding and monotonous. However, it's the total package with the ugly instrumental tones, bucket-kicking drums and commitment to gruesome vocals that might place it higher for some.

The last two tracks are repeats, or rather demos of "The Rising Dead" and "Zombies Don't Run" which don't add a lot of value other than the fact that they are rawer, uglier, and more morbid, but not in a good way as I think the newer versions are superior. All told, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie isn't one I'd really chase after unless I had to have everything Lee sings on, or if you were really deep into the Spanish goregrind and death metal scene, which frankly this doesn't quite mirror in style anyway. It's not bad...Broken Gravestones love their zombies and their ancient death metal, but they haven't written the most interest or memorable epitaphs here.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

Machine Head - Unto the Locust (2011)

Unto the Locust takes the thrashing energy and ambition that the Machine Head crew resurrected from their earlier years as musicians onto The Blackening, and then ramps up it a notch by armoring it with a more modern sensibility and an obvious increase in overall heaviness. I wouldn't stay that there is as great a stylistic disparity here as between the two albums before it, or between Through the Ashes of Empires and Supercharger, but this is far from a repeat of their 2007 surprise. Tempos, dynamics, and riff patterns are explored more interestingly, and I'd say that the thrash riffs in particular, on tunes like "I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)" and "Be Still and Know", are more nuanced and memorable than those from the previous album, even if it set a sort of standard to follow.

Most improved for me on this album would be the vocals, which are more often given multi tracks or harmonies that strengthen them far more than just listening to Robb's delivery before. This is most felt in the chorus parts to tunes like "Be Still and Know" which are genuinely catchy, but you'll often hear this being done on various verses, so the distribution keeps an added intensity throughout the lion's share of the 49 minutes of material. Though you're still hearing a couple of grooves here or there, Unto the Locus really strives to maintain an air of respectability, and I could honestly say this one might impress fans into groups like Nevermore or Savage Messiah, even if they've had no interest in anything Machine Head had gotten up to before. It's not terribly technical, but it's hard hitting, half-intelligent and interesting. Other little nuances I heard hear were similar to bands like the French groove juggernaut Gojira, at least in some of the vocal delivery and picking patterns, or even Strapping Young Lad in how the vocals carry or the post-modern thrash atmosphere. You can also clearly hear a huge melodic Swedish death metal influence on tunes like "This is the End", and it's honestly not unwelcome because it's performed with the surging testosterone that fuels a lot of the better efforts from a Soilwork or Dark Tranquillity.

This was the best drumming Dave McClain (ex-Sacred Reich) had done on any of the Machine Head albums during his tenure, thundering and muscular and definitely making as much a statement as almost anything else on the record. The bass is solid and gives the heaviness much of its weight, and the lead guitar supply on this is simply inexhaustible, it's the most melodic album they've put out, but without losing the ballast it desperately needs to keep its groove-oriented audience in their seats, or out of their seats, kicking each other on the rump and flailing their inebriated limbs about. There are a few weirder progressive experiments like "Darkness Within", and you can get the impression that they were expanding themselves to see what would stick, not succeeding 100% of the time, but as an album emerging upon the popular metal landscape of 2011 I think this is probably the one most suited to its times, with the most weaponry to help the band compete with their often far younger peers in the groove, thrash and metalcore niches.

The lyrics are still a sore point, especially on tracks like "Who We Are" or "This is the End" which have all the artistry and cliche parades of angry teens, but let's face it, the overwhelming of majority is like this and those who accepted and enjoyed Machine Head's earlier material are not going to care one way or the other. Hardly embarrassing, just showing little to no thought as the lyricist just pulls the most obvious and basic images from the mind to the page. Otherwise, this is the best album in the Machine Head catalog, or the most 'worthy', still hovering below greatness, but a galaxy beyond some of the turds they've committed to tape before it. Not that this is in any way some mandatory band to experience, but if we reduced their career down to The Blackening, Unto the Locust and Machine F**king Head Live, it wouldn't belong in a dumpster. Of course, that's not the whole story, that's not reality, but 2007-2012 was clearly their peak and I can't formulate too much negative to say about it.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.machinehead1.com/

Machine Head - The Black Procession EP (2011)

The Black Procession is a special issue 10" vinyl with three live tracks taken from the two studio albums before it, recording during their 2010 tour of the same name. One could probably forgive the scantness of its content, since like many Record Day releases, Machine Head probably just wanted to have something packaged up fresh for fans; a lot of these things are directly meant for the collectors' market, and here they chose to just sift through a couple tapes of their recent performances and make it easy. I do like how the cover artwork is consistent with The Blackening's classic, minimalist style, and two of the tracks are taken from the first of their albums I'd actually consider decent, but that's really all that I can say positive about the EP.

Though they don't sound terrible, the live mix here is a bit raw and suppressed, I felt like I was hearing it muffled through a tent at a festival...maybe if I was standing BEHIND the tent and they were on the other sides moshing it up with the crowd. You can still make out most of the instruments, but a lot of them just don't sound good. The vocals are not the best, but the backing vocals sound absolutely horrible. The leads are also kind of cheesy sounding and don't have the same impact that they do on the studio releases. Of the three tracks, "Bite the Bullet" probably comes off the most even, but since I don't like that song it's hardly some saving grace. And to be honest, the others don't do much justice to their own studio incarnations, so this is literally just some EP you'd want to file away in your record bin if you solely value its existence as a product that you can throw money at and add to another pile of similar products just to say you did.

And then when you end up having to switch houses, apartments, dorm rooms this all becomes a big fat burden to load up onto grandma's truck with all your rare wax and DJ equipment. That may or may not be true for you and your situation, but what is definitely true is this is a complete waste of time, even if it's just 17 minutes and change.

Verdict: Fail [2.25/10]

https://www.machinehead1.com/

Stormheit - Chronicon Finlandiae (2011)

Folk metal records always make me nervous, as I've come across so many tacky and goofy examples in the genre that seem as if their entire exposure to the style is other tacky, goofy folk metal bands that they heard at a Renaissance Fair or from their LARPer friends. Predictable melodies, predictable instruments and metal ingredients that are reduced to boring chug rhythms, occasional leads and the tendency to clone the folksy melodies being played on the strings, horns or most often, the synthesizers. I'm not saying there won't be an occasional record of that type that hits it out of the park, sure, but so often it feels like bands are grasping to the notion of 'folk metal' than really digging their heads into the details of their own atavistic longings to create something really intriguing and not just a forgettable soundtrack for gallivanting about the dance-tent with a Pilsner.

Chronicon Finlandiae, the fourth record from Stormheit, may have a list of shortcomings attributed to it, but I can say that this isn't your average, shallow sort of folk metal effort. No, this is more like what would have happened had later era Bathory emerged from Finland instead of Sweden. This is laid back, airy, spacious mountainside rock which drifts at you with countless, tinny melodic guitar lines and some occasionally surges into a fraction more intensity with the drums picking up into a mid-paced beat. The drums sound as good as they need to, with some fills and grooves to help mediate the languid pacing of most of the tunes, and the bass lines, while nothing special, at least help to plug up some of the gaps left by the lack of a sturdy or voluminous rhythm guitar section in a lot of spots on the album. Acoustic guitars are spaced out across the album to give it more of a rustic charm, and keys are used liberally when further atmospheric escalation is required. Where they do break out some heavier riffs, like the picking progressions in the beginning of "Ukon Malja", they are actually pretty decent sounding, and I wished for a little more than this throughout.

On to the vocals...they are often a clear weakness here, as they possess a lot of those inherent flaws that you might remember Quorthon had, or some of Vintersorg's older solo stuff, only here it's another language and a different pitch. Once you accustom yourself to the more chanted phrasings, or the higher pitched, soaring inflections, or even the crowd shouted parts, they become quite pleasing, but it's when that layer of angst or harsher intonation is applied that they can become a little awkward, especially in the first track. The style should work on this really well, and in places it does, but I feel you have to go ever deeper into the record for them to really hit a confident stride. Almost all of the tracks are also quite substantial, from about 7-11 minutes in length, and while they aren't terribly boring in structure, a total playtime of 77 minute seems overwrought when the spectrum of actual ideas here might span about 50 minutes of worthwhile material. Don't get me wrong, the material doesn't suddenly take a nosedive in quality, it's just that you feel you've gotten it after about half the album and there aren't many surprised waiting deeper on.

I will say that Chronicon is on the verge of being a pretty solid album, turning out a lot better than I suspected after the first track. Tightening the tracks and improving the vocals would have gone a long way towards making a better impression, but if you're a real big pagan for Bathory albums like Twilight of the Gods, Hammerheart, Blood on Ice and the Northland two-parter, and want to hear a slightly different approach to that from across the Tornio River, this might be worth a listen.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

Eld - Krieg: An Odyssey in Misery (2011)

Krieg: An Odyssey in Misery brings absolutely nothing new to the butcher's block, but it's an album fairly well made in particular for a niche of Norwegian black metal fans who might want little more than to return to the days of yore and think entirely inside the box. Essentially an amalgamation of the earlier works of Satyricon, Mayhem, Darkthrone and Immortal, the duo that performs much of this record does so with sinister precision, and a genuine loyalty to their countrymen and influences; but apart from a few moments of atmosphere and nostalgia that elevate the experience above the din of average songwriting, it's black-metal-by-numbers that can often seem as featureless and indistinct as its unfortunate choice for cover artwork.

The full-length Eld debut spends an even amount of time between predictable blasted sequences, mid paced pounders (like "Delxot", one of the catchier tracks), and a slightly slower caste of rhythms that often accrue a little more atmosphere due to the faint hints of melody they incorporate. The vocals are dirty and savage, but don't develop a lot of character to themselves if you're already familiar with a Satyr or Nocturno Culto. They often do double up the vocals to include a cleaner tone, which I found interesting, but the practice is scarce enough that it's never a true feature of the record. The beats are brick-solid and fast as hell when needed, but in terms of fills or good grooving drums behind the slower parts of the album they don't quite stand out. Despite that, it's the rhythm guitars that for me were the weak point...saturated in nasty enough distortion, and pure enough that they could compare to other acts from the early 90s, but almost always what you've heard before and can be celebrated for no other reason beyond that.

To be fair, the two musicians S. Winter and Laeturnus are each handling multiple duties here, with a couple guests contributing other guitars, pianos or keys (including Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved on the track "Rebirth"). But compared to another duo like Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, there is very little of nuance to how they put together their songs. The organs, the scant clean vocals, a sample, and little touches like a techno pulse ("Rebirth"), or the more spacious raw guitars used i the outro, are really the only times this one deviates from the standard, and while that's honestly enough that I'd consider Krieg a 'well-rounded' record, there are just too few inspiring or memorable measures here that I'd ever grab it from the overstuffed line-up of Norse black metal albums available to me. I don't want to sell Eld too short...they are competent, and if you're just in the mood for an inoffensive, Satanic slab of convention, you could do worse, but they drop enough hints here that they're capable of superior mood and structure that I'd prefer to wait until they expand those concepts outwards.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

https://eldlegion.bandcamp.com/

Ossuaire/Ysengrin/Aorlhac/Darkenhöld - La Maisniee du Maufe - A Tribute to the Dark Ages (2011)

I'm years late checking out this four-way split, but as a fan of three of the four French bands participating on my way into it, I figured it was just about mandatory. The common thread running through the creators here, apart from the shared nationality, is that they all have some devotion among their own projects to atavism, diving into the distant past for lyrical and musical inspiration, and I feel this micro scene, more prevalent in Europe than my own USA, offers a cool counterbalance to the more modernized strains of black or death metal which head off towards more progressive ideals. I also thought the layout for the split album was interesting: at about 31 minutes, three of the four bands all feature an instrumental intro or outro along with a harder, metallic track.

All three of these instrumentals consist of a clean guitar component, with Aorlhac's album opener being the most purely rustic and folksy, pure acoustic bliss. Darkenhöld's is a little more dingy and tribal, with some ambient sounds hovering just at the crest of the guitars. The finale of the split, Ysengrin's "Herege", features some electric guitar along with the acoustic, and cedes into a more funereal synth as it comes to its close. All three of these pieces were very well done, highlights of the recording, and for their small differences flow together rather well with one another and the slightly divergent styles of the bands. Fortunately, just about everything else on offer is also worthwhile, from Aorlhac's savage, riffy "Les charognards et la Catin", to Darkenhöld's mid-paced, evil piece and fittlingly titled "Eerie Plain at Dawn", to Ysengrin's morbid amalgamation of death, doom, heavy and black metal "La Procession Noire" with its more atmospheric, guttural vocals and weird, snaking riffs and leads. Each of these tunes is quite fluid with what the band was releasing individually at the time, and like a lot of their material easy for the Dark Age headbanger trapped in the 21st century to lose oneself in.

Ossuaire was new to me, but their sole track also seems like a microcosm of what their peers had on exhibition, with some acoustic guitars that transmute into some chunky, dissonant black/death metal with, yet again, guttural vocals rather than the black rasps that you'll hear from the first two bands on the split. I did think this tune was okay, but perhaps my own issue was the dingy, dissonant tones and overall production once the heavier sections kicked in stood out a little much from the rest. Some of the style here reminded me a lot of another French band, Suppuration, which is cool, and I did like this enough that I'll track down their 2010 full-length Mortes Fables at some point to check it out, but I'd say of any of the selections for this release, it was probably the one I would have cut out to make the rest flow a little more smoothly. That aside, and its a minor gripe at best, La Maisniee du Maufe is a very cool release which delights for much of its runtime. France has by far one of the best scenes in all black metal these years, and even though the bands included on this would be considered second or third 'tier', they are all well worth hearing, following and supporting.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.facebook.com/ysengrin.official/
https://www.facebook.com/Aorlhac
https://www.facebook.com/Darkenhold/

Trial - The Primordial Temple (2011)

I notice a lot of 'Swede fatigue' when talking shop with my fellow metalheads, but it's hard not to be humbled when a single country seems to excel in so many individual branches of the medium, hearkening back to the 80s when artists there were starting to meddle with the most baseline strains of the genre. This is of some importance when discussing Trial, because here is a group which mirrors countrymen like Portrait, Enforcer, In Solitude, or even Ghost in turning the clock backwards. However, unlike most of those I just listed, a Mercyful Fate influence is not the foremost imperative for this band, but rather a sounding board of antiquated European and USPM acts whose glory days existed within that same time frame. In experiencing The Primordial Temple, and the records to follow, I felt myself drifting back to the Walkman Days of the first three Fates Warning albums in particular, mixed with a little Omen, and some Swedish forerunners like the first couple Europe records and even a handful of atmosphere, obscure bands like Proud, whose Fire Breaks the Dawn disc is underrated to this day.

In particular, this debut is an effort which evokes the Metal Blade period of the mid 80s, with some forcibly structured rhythm progressions intricately laced with more melodies than you could fire off a can of hairspray at. In addition to the bands I tagged earlier, I caught the wafting fumes of old Lizzy Borden, Exxplorer, Helstar, Sound Barrier and other bands that wrote these hazy, dreamlike heavy metal escapes which delighted in skirting the realms of the then-fantastic, without the boldest or heaviest production and entirely negligent of the concepts of grooving and moshing that usurped the public perception metal throne throughout the 90s. At its core, much of the composition on this album is a pretty straight shot from the Iron Maiden school of thought, but brought to an Awaken the Guardian level of complexity. Controlled wanderlust. The album lacks nuance or innovation of any sort, but it does seem to tap directly into the lifeblood of what so many of us metal dorks envisioned in our youths when we fantasized about Corvettes and big-haired blondes & brunettes in Def Leppard tees that would not give us the time of day when any greaser of an even cursory muscular physique was present. That is to say, there is little to nothing original about The Primordial Temple, but it sure sounds like a lot of heart and spirit were fomented in its assembly.

Linus Johansson's vocals might be a sticking point for some listeners, since they don't manifest the glass-shattering range or unique qualities that many of the great 80s front men were known for. His syllabic delivery is quite similar to the great John Arch, albeit with less of that unearthly, ethereal shrieking quality, and more of the stunted, everyman quality that populated the middle and lesser rungs of the metal catalogs of that decade. I do think he's a work in progress though, since his presence on subsequent recordings is an improvement over this, and sometimes the wavering notes and 'flaws' in his voice actually give the phrasings a little bit of character and vulnerability. But the real stars on this record are the guitars, the harmonic passages populated the depths of tunes like "Progenies of the Avenger" and the thundering of "The Sorceress' Command". Bass lines here are a little more pronounced than your average recording from the old days, with the notable exception of Steve Harris who is quite obviously an influence. The drumming is solid, with a lot of energy, splash and pop that help kick the riffs in the ass even when they're slacking off a little.

The album also seems to grow in quality as it proceeds through the seven cuts, with "Opener of the Way" and the 13-minute epic "Phosphoros" numbering among my favorites, though I'd say the strength of the material overall is consistent enough across the entire 40 minutes. Trial doesn't make broad leaps in style or substance here over its inspirations (with even lyrical callbacks to Fates Warning, though they might not be conscious), and there is no reason to believe they are in any shape to do more than tickle the nostalgia centers of our brains, but if you're looking for a direct, dextrous exhibition of melodic heavy/power metal which eschews the prospect of modernity and conventional, overly loud and compressed production, this does serve as a decent second stringer to the formative works of In Solitude and Portrait, and if you're constantly mining the rosters of labels like High Roller and StormSpell for a new aural time machine, I can save you some of the trouble and instruct you to just check this band out right now.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (this is my home, I'm here all alone)

https://www.facebook.com/TrialHeavyMetal

Breathless - Thrashumancy (2011)

Another record that seeks to enamor itself to a particular audience before a single note is heard, Thrashumancy instantly claims our attention with its vivid artwork and inane portmanteau title...but perhaps not so inane if your past decade consisted of the lauding over pizza thrash, or 're-thrash' acts who fit their vintage hi-tops, tear their jeans and have moms who can sew a whole lotta patches. Because, let's face it, it isn't a real battle jacket if your mom doesn't help you sew it. Well, fortunate for us, Breathless play 'real' thrash metal, of the garden variety, of course, without much ambition behind it or nuance or that pesky concept of songs that the listener is going to remember afterwards, which to me is rather missing the point...we didn't love thrash metal in the 80s because of it's 'look' or it's 'style' alone, we listened to it because of the bloody songs that stick on the brain 30 years later...not just a lifestyle or a style of clothes we wore to party with a few beers.

To be fair, I'm sure Breathless 'means something' with a lot of the messages besides their songs, and I'm not ready to write it off as just some senseless party thrash entirely. But it just doesn't help that they all feel as if they were drawn from a lottery of their influences. On the musical side of things, they've write in a mold that straddles the border between mid-paced, West Coast American headbanging variety ala Exodus, Forbidden, and Vio-Lence, and the much closer to home German scene, in particular Destruction, whose clinical picking progressions from both the 80s and later Antichrist era seem to provide a major influence to more than half the cuts here, and generally the better individual riffs, because a lot of the slower neck-break parts seem really forgettable and they just don't possess that innate meanness of something off Pleasures of the Flesh or Reign in Blood or Eternal Nightmare, something timeless and violent and raw. Riff construction definitely falls in a space between the more serious, regimental thrash of the longhairs and then the crossover crowd of the 80s, I heard little nods to bands like Crumbsuckers in their prime but these Spaniards go more for the palm mutes than the open chord barrage of most bands in that early NY wave.

The vocals have character, burly and messy and prone to lean into outrageous snarls and sound pretty goofy somewhere between Ron Royce (Coroner), Schmier (Destruction) and Roger Martinez of Vengeance Rising, but I never felt like they were used to full effect, getting more hectic on the verses than the choruses, where they really might have been refined into a sticking point. Bass lines are good and thick, a good fit for the rhythm guitars, which I thought had a punchy but regrettable tone that might have worked better with a lot more edge to them. The drumming is fine but doesn't really catch my ear, especially without high quality riffs that keep me focused. A lot of the album is spent by the veteran thrasher playing 'guess where I've heard that before', and there overt nods, whether conscious or unconscious to anything from Xentrix to The Antichrist to Coroner's No More Color. Lead guitars seem few and far between, rather noncommittal where dissonant frenzies might have been better suited to the more surgical guitar phrases that represent the best on the disc, but even that I could forgive if the songs were good...

And that's simply not the case here. 'Shockingly average' would be a better descriptor. The album is by no means as lamentable as its title had me dreading, and I didn't feel like I had just had a couple of slices of extra cheese and pepperonis smeared across my cheeks, but it's another pretty picture among a sea of them that have been released over the last 5-10 years by bands trying to tap into that nostalgia. The Spaniards don't draw directly from any one source on the whole (just in certain parts), but that would not be a bad thing either if they were so damn good at it that they could properly resurrect nostalgia or even contend with their very inspirations. As it stands, just another walk in the nuclear theme park, potentially impressive to supplicants who were just getting into the music in the 21st century and have exposed themselves only a small amount of the niche, but for experienced thrashers this just isn't going to plug anywhere into the collection that isn't already occupied by some release that is light years ahead of this, and was so even decades back...

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/BreathlessAttack

Ingested - The Surreption (2011)

Manchester, England's Ingested released a rare anomaly back in 2009, a slammier death metal album that I actually derived a little enjoyment from, due to its rock solid production and crude but effective songwriting mechanics that carved out some memorable guitar grooves and a street-like brutality which definitely left me with an impression with the death metal medium much like what a lot of old NYHC did back in the 80s. Not to say that it was any sort of mandatory acquisition or necessarily flirting with greatness, but I had a fun time listening through it until inevitably buried with a lot of other sorts of death metal that I liked more. When the lineup's sophomore The Surreption was issued, I think I listened to it once and passed; but as a prelude to critique their latest 2015 album I've decided to go back and tackle the material once more, to see what I might have been missing...

As it turns out, not so much. One area in which this differed from the debut was that the 'hardcore' elements, the cleaner gang shout vocals used in tunes like "Crowning the Abomination", took on a more prominent role, but never to the music's benefit. The Surreption has more of an asphalt street mentality that its predecessor, and that manifests not only through this element but the structure of several breakdowns and also the sort of strange division in the song titles and lyrics, which seem pretty evenly distributed between brutal death tropes ("Manifesting Obscenity", "Crowning the Abomination") and stuff which seems more straight up hardcore... ("Decline", "The Consequence", "Kingmaker", etc). Whether or not this was a conscious decision or the band just didn't deign to concern itself with how its aesthetics were discerned at large, it's definitely a little strange and I did feel like this record felt more like a mild identity crisis than countrymen like Dyscarnate who might cultivate a cleaner appearance than the standard cemetery hesher, but are for the most part playing exclusively within the Floridian death metal wheelhouse of inspiration.

There are still a number of moments framed within this album that give me exactly the same sort of fist-balling, pummeling thrill as I found on Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering, and yet as a whole this album felt largely inconsistent, with any decent tune separated from its qualitative peers. A lot of the faster, tremolo picked riffing patterns are lifted directly from your usual sources like a Cannibal Corpse or Suffocation, and even when they get something going they often throw in those gang shouts which completely took me out of the carnage. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to that sort of vocal approach in a lot of classic hardcore, even some thrash metal songs, possibly even outside the normal sphere of where it belongs, but I just didn't feel like in these particular tracks, the tactic was really adding as much of an eclectic departure as Ingested might have hoped. A few other distractions like the predictable squealing breaks ("The Digusting Revelation") often felt like they were just sort of incorporating the death metal playbook rather than improving on it or writing their own combinations. And many of the rhythm guitars just feel like the first thing someone lacking inspiration would mete out when first lifting an instrument...

Production is still crystal clear here, with an appreciable processed crunch to the guitars and a lot of volume to the vocals. Some of the drums sound fairly mechanized due to the mix, especially the tom tones, but this is par for the course when we're talking about most modern death metal so I don't think that would detract from younger listeners or fresher ears who aren't overburdened with nostalgia for 'the way it used to be' to the point that they'd challenge the decent level of skill and energy here in the performance. All told, though, The Surreption never hits that almost hypnotic, battering stride that the debut did on 4-5 of the tracks of its run time. I won't argue that there is more variation to this, but that variation does not translate into quality and the few bits where they adhere to what made the prior disc a solid, forceful experience are mundane by comparison. Lyrics are also pretty obvious and bland in most cases, fiery but vague and cliche.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10] (my time is almost near)

https://www.facebook.com/ingesteduk

Walpurgis Night - Under the Moonlight (2011)

Under the Moonlight gets a few things very right, and a few things seriously wrong in the way a lot of Mediterranean region heavy and power metal bands traditionally have...but probably the biggest affront to my expectations was that the record looked like it was going to be some campy horror heavy metal deal and turned out to be a mash up of Euro-power metal tropes more aligned to the Helloween branch of colorful but not necessarily seasonal sounding school of thought. I was highly enamored with that style in the mid 80s, and still listen to the Keepers discs consistently, but I don't really gel so much with it anymore. Walpurgis Night are not even in the same ballpark as songwriters, so that probably gives you a pretty good hint of how much value I took away from this, though I shouldn't write it off as having no redeeming values whatsoever.

At its best, this is energetic, flavorful heavy metal glazed with loads of melodies and a rich guitar tone...though it does feel somewhat more 'processed' than usual, especially when it comes to the flurries of lead guitars. Don't get me wrong, a lot of effort seems to have been spent on the solos that they fashion together memorable, emotionally effective strings of notes, but they often blaze in and totally steal control away from the rhythm component. Sometimes the rhythm guitars will carve out a meaner sounding, 'street metal' progression as in "Laser Smash" which almost takes on an aspect of thrash-lite, but it does direly lack an effective 'edge' to pull off that brash cruelty; or total old school hard rock ala "Nightrider". A lot of the riffs and melodies also bear a striking resemblance to the earlier works of a band like Labyrinth or Eldritch, only lacking a lot of that prog/power polish and just not as interesting or memorable. They will also inevitably be compared to another Italian group, Trick or Treat, with a similar level of tongue in cheek lyrics, and for touting the sort of cheesy Halloween/horror imagery when the actual musical aesthetics don't pan it out beyond the most superficial connections.

Some credit should be given in that about half the tunes on this records have guitar patterns that at least strive to be creative, even if they don't ultimately succeed; in particular I'd point out tunes like "Castle Ghoul" and "The Assassin" which at times reminded me of Scanner's sophomore Terminal Earth, lighter and flightier heavy/power which has some genuinely catchy parts. The drums are decent, the bass doesn't cultivate much of a presence for itself, but if I've got one real gripe with this record, it's the vocalist. He's well capable of hitting pitch and harmonizing, he has some range, and there are moments of pure feel-good soaring Euro-power escapism, but his normal range verse tone seems to reveal a little too much accent, and a little too sloppy and disjointed what with all the backup lines being hurled around by the guitarist. In the end, the guy's just not that powerful or distinct, nor does it generate a lot of personality through its flaws. I'm not saying front men like Fabio Leone or Rob Tyrant are incredibly original, but they were pretty pro and this might seem a little too blue collar at times, a little half-assed compared to some of the music.

But, hey, if you really into those Underground Symphony years when an entire scene of this Italian stuff was booming in import record shops, I doubt they'd prove too great an obstacle; like I said, they do hit moments where they come together with the guitar melodies and transcend their limitations. Overall, though, such inconsistencies sort of strangle Under the Moonlight, robbing its better ideas of breath, and filing it into that dusty drawer of Italian heavy metal records few people will ever want to listen through. The lyrics are also really weak...I was hoping for creepier paeans to cult monster movies and stories, but these are average at best and cover a pretty broad net of subjects. If you look at the cover and expect some campy romp through the graveyard, it really isn't. A shame. They've got another record the following year which I have not heard, so I can't really comment if they improved, but the cover art is abysmal, even worse than on this one (which is charming in a juvenile way), so it doesn't exactly bode well for its content. Anyway, unless you practice the fetishization of a lot of the lesser tier Italian, Spanish and Portuguese heavy metal of the 21st century, I wouldn't bother.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10] (I don't want to see what's behind the dark)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Walpurgis-Night/173799769311902?fref=ts

Midnight Priest - Midnight Priest (2011)

I doubt Midnight Priest is a band that would ever shy away from the inevitable comparisons to Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, since that set of influences serves as the brick and mortar to their own sound; yet there are actually a few distinct traits which place them slightly further away from the Swedish bands like Portrait, In Solitude and Trial. The native Portuguese lyrics & vocals being the most obvious, while simultaneously throwing a barrier to those who aren't interested in music outside the English sphere. Beyond that, the vocals of 'The Priest' also tend to incorporate a more nasally mid range than 'The King' would use, sometimes reminding me of Euro power singers like Kai Hansen, at least until the falsetto shrieks or harsher, almost narrative Diamond-like barks enter the frame.

Also, the guitar riffing here is very solidly produced and, while wholly traditional heavy/power metal in construction, the primary reason I was compelled to come back to these songs repeatedly and remember to write about the album come Halloween month. This is hands down one of the better records I've heard on the StormSpell Records roster. Not to sling any mud at the Californian label, because I certainly appreciate how it helps carry the torch for this niche, but I have occasionally come across some supbar records there which seem to be more heavily interested in the inhalation of their own nostalgic fumes than in really recreating the 'magic' of 80s thrash, speed and heavy metal. As for Midnight Priest, they seem like they're right on the edge of snatching that spirit back from the ether, by combining "Abigail" meets "Them" meets "Don't Break the Oath" era eloquent lead work with some meatier, middle class charging metal thunder riffs. It's far from a masterpiece, nor would it have been in 1984-5, but it's absolutely capable of evoking some of that old escapism when it tries.

You've got the obligatory acoustic, crystalline guitar parts reminiscent of how they were treated on the later 80s King Diamond material (including The Eye), and also the haunted churchyard intro which felt like someone translating a Poe piece into atmosphere. And then you've got those sturdy, mid-paced, roiling, lightly rusted iron guitars that climb up and down the spires of mystique and horror, while 'The Priest' will occasionally throw out some dead-wringer for KD's ethereal falsetto in tunes like "Segredo de Família". Yes, the tragic bloodline theme of records like Them and Conspiracy is also present in the lyrics here, which I couldn't completely translate, but seem rather obvious on the surface. The drums have a nice splash and crash to them, and the bass is audible if not interesting, but it's truly the vocals and guitars which drive my affectations for the music, especially when they lay out some unexpected, evil groove that would have killed me dead when I was 15. And then, in tunes like "No Calor do Inferno", they show an equal propensity for knocking out straight old Helloween style raging power metal anthems, so it never really feels like a complete xerox of that old Danish aesthetic, which works in the record's favor.

Production is good and beefy, not polished to a sterile finish, with the guitars really loud to the point that they often convey a bit of graininess in the ears. Just enough reverb in place to create those crucial moonlit night atmospheres, as the mind revels in fantasies of chilling after hours in the European autumn or winter, and I think the eponymous proves that Midnight Priest had a very clear, concise vision of where they wanted this to go, the music reflecting the artwork and vice versa. This is not at all an ambitious sort of album that reveals to me that the band can go 'further' than its influences, which frankly we could use a lot more of among today's retro-flavored metal scene. But provided you're open to the Portuguese vocals, which you should be unless you're a rabid ape, this is a good, solid, 37 minutes of melodic heavy metal which pays its dues.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/midnightpriest

Realmbuilder - Fortifications of the Pale Architect (2011)

One of the most interesting aspects of New York's Realmbuilder is how, in the construction of their fantastical mythos, they often approach the world-building from a 'ground level' perspective. That is, they tell the tails of the highwayman, the builder, the miner, the peasant, the beholden of the heroic setting, rather than taking the easy way out and scrawling out some woefully generic fantasy tripe involving a cut & paste warrior and his cakewalk over evil wizards and/or dragonkind. Basically, they're the anti-Rhapsody. It's all in their chosen moniker, and the duo's proves all too loyal towards the themes of their sophomore Fortifications of the Pale Architect, a consistent and well written bridge between the first and third records, both stylistically and qualitatively.

Yes, Realmbuilder is the polar opposite of all the frivolous, ribbon-wearing flower metal which thrives upon speed, sugary melodies and fits of classical orchestration to make its point. This is the metal of masons, of craftsmen, laborers who serve beneath their masters, trying to eke out a stable living in an age of sorcerous and barbaric oppression. As 'worker placement' games like Agricola or Pillars of the Earth are to the board game genre, so Fortifications is to the world of heavy/doom metal, and it's a major draw for me. I feel that the instinctual comparisons to Manilla Road or Manowar remain intact: there are obvious Sabbath-borne riffing progressions, and some melodic glazing redolent of Omen, but the honest timbre of Czar's voice reflects that Man-ly sensibility, a guy working with what he's got and not what the genre stereotypes tell us we need. So no screaming, or excess musicality or ability to his music, just pure working class sincerity, with which he manages to work wonders. I mentioned in my review of the third album that it took some getting accustomed to, but going back in time, I wonder why I ever might have hesitated...he's distinct, and plugged into the harmonic vocal arrangements that often spring up in these songs, quite a flawless fit.

Architecturally, the riffs are still extremely simple, as are the drums, with the bass taking a mere support role (not a forte on this disc). But here's the catch: they're relatively memorable, and for all the head scratching about where I've heard them individually in the past, which often soils my experience with a record, I feel like they actually have a unique quality, making chord choices that I really would only expect from this band. As usual, the material is slower in nature, steady and very stripped down...no complexities to distract from the duo's strict adherence to theme. You will feel, in every single track on this sophomore, exactly as if you'd been thrust into the world they've created, which seems like a pastiche of pulp 60s-70s fantasy influences ala Howard, Moorcock, Lewis, Wolfe, Lieber and Saberhagen. Blue collar melodies are about the only uptempo component which breaks from this mold, but when we're in the mood for tales of empires being carved from wood and stone, the pacing here really is effective in relaying the appropriate atmosphere, without ever reducing itself to a glacial procession as you'll find in much monotonous doom.

Seven tracks, nothing wasted, nothing exceedingly repetitious or welcome-wearing, even though the lyrical themes might even arguably lend themselves to such. The rhythm guitar tone is a bit dirtier than on the debut, but we're talking only the most miniscule difference. Aesthetically this throws no curve balls from Summoning the Stone Throwers, but the songs generally rule, in particular "Iron Wheels of the Siege Machines", "Highwayman" and the ridiculously-Bal-Sagoth-titled "The Stars Disappeared from the Sky When We Uncovered the Bones of the First Gods". But really, there is not one I would replace, because this band casts such a unique shadow of escapism that expands the history of their imaginative worlds...but unlike so many fantasy-based power and heavy metal bands, they show a willingness to first place the cornerstones, to harvest the soils, to hunt the beasts, and give us a rare glimpse of a humbler perspective, without betraying the grand concepts we hold so dear in that literary genre. Realmbuilder is a GREAT band, though the polished minimalism of their compositional aspirations might turn away those who seek something more solemn and crushing.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (stack the stones)

https://myspace.com/realmbuilder

Ignivomous - Blood and Mercury (2011)

I've seen discussions which place Ignivomous uncomfortably close to being waived away as an Incantation knockoff, but even though I think that's such an obvious influence in their sound, I have really enjoyed the total package of what this band brings to the table. Their influences have themselves moved on to a more accessible (but still excellent) sort of songwriting aesthetic, and Ignivomous simply takes a healthy heaping of that cavernous, turbulent early to mid-90s NYDM, slathers it in some Finnish viscera from the same time period, and then produces the audio equivalent of sentient, roiling magma that wishes very much to consume its listeners flesh. Otherworldly, hostile and consistent are all qualities that come to mind when experiencing their debut Death Transmutations, and so too do they apply to the earlier material featured on this comp.

Blood and Mercury is more or less a 'perfect' collection of the band's pre-full length recordings, perfect in that it spares a lazy arse like myself from having to track them down individually. The Path of Attrition demo (2007), Eroded Void of Salvation EP (2008) and a split track they did with Tzun Tzu are gathered up and presented in chronological order, then topped off with a previously unheard cut called "Corpse of the Redeemer". Nothing unexpected, but low end, grinding death metal with a fibrous, diseased tone to those rhythm guitars which possess an unerring level of anger redolent of war metal bands like Blasphemy, only affixed with the Craig Pillard-like guttural vocals and primal aesthetics more prevalent on the first few Incantation albums. There's a natural dissonance incurred through the tuning and tone alone, but it's not as if the Australians are playing a slew of unusual riffs here, this is all rather straightforward from the blasted side to the more sparing, death/doom passages. Bass lines are engraved into the riff progressions, but there is still a 'hovering' din of the low end over the ripping flesh guitars, while the drums are feisty and energetic but not so polished or soulless as you'd find on a modern tech death recording.

If I were to gauge the quality of songwriting here to that of the debut or its successor, then Blood and Mercury does represent the weakest in their career. There isn't a lot of natural malevolence here, nor are the patterns much more than acceptable for the genre, trying perhaps a little too hard to pass on production alone. Not that I expect a sense of melody when listening through death metal of this style, but sometimes the guitars are too muddied and sporadic sounding to really consider the axis of notation upon which they trudge, so there's a lot of sameness and running on here precluded only by minor production shifts between the releases that make up the comp. I actually found that they progressed in quality, with the tumultous closer offering the more compelling structure with that noisy feedback and distant whispered chanting that arrive in the bridge segue. Death Transmutation wasn't wildly varied, but it was stronger overall, with riffing components that translated into evil signals in my brave and just felt oppressive and so, so ugly. This is ultimately one for the collectors, not as an introduction, but at least they ensured that it was an 'all-in-one' deal and you wouldn't have to further track down a bunch of obscure cuts.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] (your flock of wretchedness)

https://www.facebook.com/Ignivomous

Grief of Emerald - The Devils Deep (2011)

My heart was hardly broken when Grief of Emerald took a seven year dirt nap, but nor was I really surprised when they returned a half decade later to produce a demo recording that was essentially 50% of their forthcoming fourth opus The Devils Deep. It's a little disappointing that all this time was put to poor use, since the material here is vaguely distinguishable from even their 1998 debut Nightspawn, and yet I think the subtle advancements in production techniques paired up with their already sharpened musical ability to produce what was possibly their most 'accomplished' record to its day, or at least the best looking, since it has the first cover art I actually thought was pretty cool.

The Swedes always suffered from the fact that, despite their general level of competence and proficiency, they were essentially a retread of many other bands who released music like this when it was freshly infernal and resonant, albums that still spin in the regular rotations of a million extreme metal fans to this day. So if The Devils Deep would have already seemed generic by late 90s standards, what does that make it by the Anno 2011? Clearly there has been no popular retrogression back towards this style. A few other Swedish bands like Watain had championed the more Dissection/Dark Funeral-esque style to some degree of notoriety (more through their inconsistent and confrontational personalities than some of their music), but the genre as a whole had moved on to other territories...depressive black metal, 'blackgaze', or folksy, veiled Nationalism. A disc sounding like The Devils Deep was never in high demand, and yet, there are certain nuances to the material here which allow it to surpass all the older albums through Listenable.

The sound is tighter and sharper than any since arguably their debut, with a lot of those razor-snake riffs and melodies compounded into punishing fruition with another tireless battery of blasted and slower contrasts. I felt like the lead-work in particular here was the best they'd yet recorded, parting a veil to reveal another level of malignancy in composition, and the decision to toss on a few soaring, cleaner vocals is also managed rather well. The level of structural variation here also reached a new peak, though there was still a tendency to lapse into derivative and predictable riffs during blasted sequences which almost make everything else more compelling by association. However, there are at least a dozen sweet riffs in among the lattice of the forgotten, whereas the keyboards have more compunction and resilience. When Grief of Emerald fire on all cylinders here, they can at least stay in the race with much of their competition, and though three of the seven tunes are mere re-recordings from the first two albums, these versions are very much superior. Not a good album itself, perhaps, but The Devils Deep is adequately seasoned enough to taunt that the Swedes were capable of writing one.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (there the blood of the ancient boils)

http://www.griefofemerald.se/

Stormwrath - Swords of Armageddon (2011)

Posthumous album reviews for newer bands have always been a little strange for me, if only because I feel like I just missed some party that I was invited to...perhaps the card got lost at the post office, or a jealous neighbor swiped it and then impersonated me for free liquor, but I feel this sudden sense of tragedy. Of course, it might be for the best in this particular case, because I get the feeling any party with Valencia's violent Stormwrath would have involved lots of bottles being broken over my head and spikes impaling my flesh from all the moshing and bear hugging. Swords of Armageddon, adorned in beautiful cover art that will instantly appeal to fans of groups like Skeletonwitch, Toxic Holocaust and Lich King, is the group's only album, in fact their only release that I know of, and while it's a candle of incendiary 80s-styled thrash that burns out a little too quickly in terms of ideas, these guys were clearly no hacks...I mean they have a drummer named 'Hellstabber'. You don't get to DO that without a majority consensus of approval from some daemonic house of representatives.

To be more specific, what Stormwrath were going for here was a more 'blackened' or 'deathened' take on some of the more extreme thrash acts of the 80s. In particular, there is a massive Slayer influence in how they construct their faster picking, not to mention the moodier, slower songs like "Black Legions" in which the drumming and rhythms and cleaner backup vocals seem to have a little South of Heaven inspiration. But I don't think you could exclude some Sodom and Kreator influence which is felt in the harsher vocals that sound like a median between the styles of Mille Petrozza and Tom Angelripper, and also the warlike sort of riffing sensibility that this album constantly evokes. To their great credit, Stormwrath seems to involve a measure of versatility you don't always hear on a lot of these post-Teutonic retro-thrash outings, and that's probably because most of the guys involved with this have also played (or are still playing) in other acts as ranged as Graveyard, Altar of Sin and Extreme Noise Terror. I won't laud Swords of Armageddon unendingly, because it's nowhere near as charming and memorable as its spiritual forebears in the 80s, but this album never feels like a cheap ploy to cash in on a prevailing trend. It's rather genuine...

...just not entirely compelling. Namely, most of the faster riffs here just seem paraphrased from a grab bag of thrash to predate them, and there are treacherously few that stand out. The guitar tone is robust and fat, and often to the detriment of the harsh vocals that seem somewhat monotonous as they bark out their lines...but without a number of striking note progressions that gave US and German thrash such distinction when they arrived, the music here can only connect with me on a visceral level. The leads and transitions are all pretty well integrated, but these too don't really evoke memorable moments that beg of me to replay the record. At best you'll get a few of those creepy Slayer harmonies like the one near the end of "Militant Messiah", and enough of a balance being struck between the fits of speed and the chuggier groove passages. Surely you can headbang along to Swords of Armageddon, but if you're trying to summon up a chorus phrase in your head while driving (like "Nuclear Winter", "Pleasure to Kill" or "Mad Butcher") it's probably not going to happen...Stormwrath means well, but you can probably figure out why they themselves decided not to stick around too long: it's been done, and so much better.

But on the other hand, that means the record sort of serves its purpose. It's pounding and angry, especially the drum mix which sits right alongside those pudgy guitars, and the entire low end sounds good on your speakers. The lyrics are pretty good, in fact they lit a fire under my ass almost more than the music itself did, and there's no built-in advertising 'we are soooo thrash' bullshit. Stormwrath wanted to pay tribute to the music that inspired them in their several other projects, and that is precisely what this does. It's competent and moderately well executed, just not too inspiring in of itself. I'd compare it to a group like Germany's Cruel Force, where the authenticity of the experience trumps the songwriting. Not as acidic or volatile as Antichrist's Forbidden World, which is perhaps the best example of this throwback action I've heard in a great long time, because the riffing and vocals are so excellent and infectious. But Swords of Armageddon is decent, it's not a bunch of poseurs pulling your chain, and the seriousness of its construction goes a long way towards a hearty respectfulness, even if this is a party we can all survive missing out on.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (cursing the infidels with fire)

All Shall Perish - This Is Where It Ends (2011)

Disclosure: I still dislike the All That Perish logo, but this fatter version of it is aesthetically more pleasing than its predecessors, which seemed like they were about to dissolve right off the album covers. So, yeah, the font choice is still pretty dated, a 90s, tattooed tough guy relic (which might be more acceptable if these guys were an NYHC band), but for once it doesn't look like an ugly scratch distracting from the artwork. Also, if you'll pay attention to the title coloring, the fiery 'Ends' seems like it just might be hinting at This is Where it Ends as a swan song for the band; not that they made such a claim, and we now know it not to be true, unless they decide to call it quits now that Hermida has moved on to Suicide Silence, but I can't help but feel a little gypped. This is Where it ENDs. Sad times? Good riddance? Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out? That will really all depend on the music...

And yeah, this is probably the best All Shall Perish record, by baby steps if not a country mile. Or at least, the one I'd point out if someone asked me where to begin with their catalog. Not that I'd recommend this band over others in their niche, but at least they've maintained an upward momentum throughout the four records that hints at further greatness. For the most part, This Is Where It Ends plays out like a hybrid of faster-paced brutal death metal and At the Gates-styled melodic stuff, with the band integrating more dissonance and interesting embellishments to their chug-off breaks, and a better hand at integrating a more fulfilling, psychotic atmosphere into the tunes occasionally via whispers, spoken word, etc. Granted, there are times when this plays out like a pretty straight AtG-melodeath extravaganza with little of its own personality, such as the opening to "There Is Nothing Left", or the verse of "The Past Will Haunt Us Both", which are a lot like The Black Dahlia Murder's pugilistic spin on Slaughter of the Soul, but elsewhere you've got really bouncy, djent-like brutality, or Necrophagist-style lead technicality and it ultimately creates a fair balance over the 12 tracks.

I pretty much lost any interest in Hernan Hermida here, because he really just sounds like another standard Tomas Lindberg with some deeper growls that he can shift back and forth into. There is obvious anger like you'll find on any deathcore outing, but his retching doesn't seem remotely distinctive, nor as vicious as his peers like Trevor Strnad or the late Mitch Lucker, who he is now replacing (good luck with that). The songwriting here is also so busy that I often lose Mike Tiner's bass lines in the mix, apart from the few softer moments where he can stumble through. It's just that the tunes rely on such a hectic pile of precision riffs that my ears had a hard time following anything other than the guitars of Beniko Orum (who was on his last leg with the band) and newcomer Francesco Arturato, which take center stage. The new drummer Adam Pierce is also good, but like most modern brickwork players, his hard strikes and technical prowess just don't seem to distance him from any of a widening pool of peers who play at the same level. There's really just not a lot of personality anywhere on This Is Where It Ends...the record functions more as a technical behemoth where the riffs and tempo shifts take charge.

Fortunately, they really do take charge, and a few tunes like closer "In This Life of Pain", with its traumatic transition from piano to intensity. actually stand to memory awhile after the dust clears and you've moved on to something else. What I appreciated was that the constant strands of melody over the album keep the material fractionally more compelling than if they went with the bare, punchy rhythms...nothing bewilderingly complicated, but lots of distractions, and an overall incline in maturity. The drawback is that this is just not much of a creative boost over Awaken the Dreamers, and it would be difficult to pick this band out of a lineup of others who attempt to fuse those same hardcore/metalcore backgrounds into their Suffocation, Morbid Angel and At the Gates influences. The great attention to melodic and harmony detail here does ultimately negate any ability for the music to become frightening, tortured or genuine. This Is Where It Ends is ultimately a clinical, meticulous study in modern 'extreme' metal that lacks the timelessness of hooks that defines what might make a 'classic' record in this field. From a technical standpoint, it doesn't disappoint, but I want a little more tangible, memorable emotion, and sadly they've yet to produce something that I'd choose to quantify/rate as a 'good' album. This is another close call, but that's the best I can say, and there is not a major gulf in quality between this and the two albums preceding it.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (this place is set for ruination)

http://www.allshallperish.com/

Lamentations of the Ashen - EKIMMV (2011)

With three tracks eclipsing 15 minutes each, one of which nears the 23 minute mark, EKIMMV is an album that demands a large degree of patience and contemplation from the listener. It's a demand that I'm not sure is consistently warranted, for while there are some pleasant and engrossing riffing progressions throughout, and the sole musician behind Lamentations of the Ashen, Bon Vincent Fry, is adept enough at building layers of tension and sadness through a mixture of fell snarls, atmospheric tremolo picking and subtle bass contours, these behemoth compositions seem to drift, drift, and drift some more through a series of overt, patchwork transitions. So, the earnest attempts to imbue them with highly necessary variation tends to meander, never quite achieve a climactic payoff, and only a handful of the rhythm guitar patterns really stick.

Interestingly, the wordy song titles like "Eventide Sentinels Bedecked with Ineffable Twilight" and "Viperine Shades Linger Quiescent Among Erstwhile Passions", while lovely, seem to really set up the expectations that this is going to be quite indulgent and channel a Romantic, poetic sensibility which I feel it definitely does accomplish. This is clearly true of the lyrics, which have a classicist sense of wonder in capturing their imagery which dial back centuries. The rhythm guitar structures are largely rooted in tremolo picking sequences, which encapsulate an antiquated, Gothic longing rather than the sinister despotism I generally equate with much of the black metal genre. This is statuary black metal, regal and lonely and meant to elate the listener's spirit to a state of soaring and sadness, not to repeatedly prod the audience with aural pitchforks, and I don't believe anyone seeking out such an aesthetic would be ultimately disappointed with what Fry concocts here. He also doesn't shy away from anything: understated, atmospheric synth pads implemented sparingly across the course of the record. Samples in numerous languages. Solemn, ambient drops within the meat of the metallic content. Or cleaner, sparkling guitar passages that could be just at home in an alt rock context as this. Predictable this is not, but at the same time the pieces seemed to be wedged into the puzzle at random.

Where I find no faults at all would be the production, which is impressively clean, and even without losing the emotional depths of each instrument. Guitars are bright enough to cut right into the imagination, but gain a little power and traction when blossoming into denser chord patterns. The drums sound live and fresh, with an effortless capacity to handle the variety of beats through lumbering kicks and steady snare strikes, not to mention there are some experimental percussion sections as you'll hear in "Viperine Shades..." that might take you by surprise. The bass is pretty bleak and smooth, often just wallowing along in the wake of the guitar but always somehow managing to add another tonal tier to the experience. Fry's rasping is nothing necessarily out of the ordinary, but he generates enough of a nasty sustain that it fits the mood of the music rather well, even if there are few individual lines that I might consider gripping or interesting. Most impressive are the subtle nuances, sounds you'll hear on the edge of perception that are constantly woven in and out of the music; even if they're just synth or feedback, they often generated a compelling, panoramic effect. I'll also note that Patrick A. Hasson of Black Chalice lends his clean, haunting vocals to the track "Veiled in Clairaudient Litany" which felt like it veered into a minimalistic Dead Can Dance territory before picking back up with the guitars.

Ultimately, though, I found myself struggling to retain interest the more journeys I made through this. For one, the 5 minute instrumental intro, "...of Wraiths in White", which is essentially a piano leading into some glaring feedback and then a few droning notes, seemed the driest and least worthwhile piece on the whole album, and might just have been left off. The outro, "Ascent into the Empyrean", built on angelic synth choirs, also seems a fraction cheesy and not living up to its potential. As weighted and swollen as the three primary tunes are, they're far less irritating and decked out with generally more interesting ideas. Just not always configured into the most climactic or emotionally resonant progressions, so I often had to dig around to find a few truly inspirational moments. That said, EKIMMV's conflagration of components does feel somewhat if not entirely original, and fans of dreamier, spacious bedroom/basement black metal which doesn't adhere to any specific set of rules might find this a journey worth experiencing.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

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One Man Army and the Undead Quartet - The Dark Epic... (2011)

Had anyone asked me if I would have missed One Man Army and the Undead Quartet if they disbanded after dropping from Nuclear Blast, I would have answered with indifference, but once Johan Lindstrand and company stopped farting around and got down to business with their Massacre Records releases, we were seeing a fairly strong contender for that 'vacant' Swedish death/thrash throne that bands like Carnal Forge never quite mounted, Darkane kept sitting on and then promptly absconding, and The Haunted never deserved, because let's face it, they eventually started to suck even worse than anyone could have ever imagined. The Dark Epic... isn't exactly a masterpiece, or even a great album in the end, but as the One Man Army swan song it suffices, a balance of hooks and aggression which faithfully carry the torch for Grim Tales while changing a few of the rules. Though the band had already become less active by the time of its release, with Johan about to return to The Crown, this certainly doesn't sound like phoned in contractual filler, though it's not quite good enough that you feel the three years were spent honing it to perfection...a first, since they earlier fired off three full lengths in three years.

This was the one album from the band I admit to having had little knowledge of, being so busy listening to and reviewing metal records in 2011 that it must simply have passed me by; so I apologize for the mild delay in covering it. Nonetheless, The Dark Epic... is interesting immediately because of the change in art style gracing its cover. A scythe-wielding, Solomon Kane-like figure surrounded by crows with the band's logo imposed over him seems almost a kitschy, comic book/horror presentation, created by none other than Björn Gooßes, front man for the German band Night in Gales. Beyond that, the album has a more blunt and straightforward production that lacks a fraction of the gloss of its predecessor, but compensates with a little more punch to the rhythm guitars (like the first album), thick bass lines and another intense performance from Marek Dobrowolski; who I'm surprised hasn't been picked up by some major European band, since he's one of those 'total package' drummers with great, snappy snare tones, plenty of solid fills and capable footwork whenever required. As far as the songwriting goes, I found this was actually a little more diverse than Grim Tales, not that it's ultimately superior (it's not), but they cast a broader net and pulled back a wider selection of riffing patterns and tempos which help pace out the 48 minutes (their longest record since the debut, if I'm not mistaken).

Granted, few of the riffs themselves are truly inspirational or unique, what with 25 years of thrash, death and eventually admixtures of the two behind them, but no question they're busy enough and imbued with enough melodies to satiate the modern melodic death metal fan who has followed that scene since At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, Carcass and others pioneered it in the earlier 90s. It certainly wouldn't have been out of place to hear these rhythm guitar progressions on a record like Slaughter of the Soul, Heartwork or The Haunted Made Me Do It, but that's not to accuse them of painful familiarity. Solid, dense palm muting and intensity dispersed at a measured clip, and the lead sequences here are among the most developed in the band's discography. The titular "Dark Epic" uses some acoustic guitars to set up a slower, steadier, and more dynamic, melodic sequence than much of the album, adding to the well-rounded impressions it leaves. Johan Lindstrand seems pretty confident here, as well, not so explosive as he might have been on a few of those Crown records, but at least he's not wasting half the album experimenting with cleans; he focuses in on his harsh, semi-emotional barking vocals which snuggle him safely between the raspier Carcass timbre of Tomas Lindberg and the less pronounced Tony Kampner (ex-Witchery).

This is definitely a record for fans of Swedish bands like Carnal Forge, In Thy Dreams and 21st century efforts from The Crown, so don't expect a lot of 80s personality in the thrash elements. It's meatier and marginally more brutal, and like its predecessor Grim Tales the lyrics take a pretty interesting tour through classic horror concepts. Well-written and meaningful rather than just gory. I think ultimately this is the disc I would have liked 21st Century Killing Machine to have been, a debut which I found as piercing and effective as particles of sunlight on a rainy, overcast day; it bears a pretty close resemblance to that in sound, but the riffs are more driven, stylized and entertaining like the third album, the only one it doesn't meet or surpass in quality. The Dark Epic... has nothing on other albums from this region in 2011, like Morbus Chron's Sleepers in the Rift, which was rewriting the script for death metal nostalgia, or Antichrist's Forbidden World, a deathlike thrashing which was so fucking phenomenal that it was like having Hell ejaculate into your ears, but to their credit, One Man Army and the Undead Quartet had a closing chapter they could at least feel content with. Nothing special, but well ahead of where they were four years earlier.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (stitch me the fuck together)

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