Protector - Reanimated Homunculus (2013)

Like many other thrash bands of the 80s and early 90s, Protector would enter its torpor around the time the genre died down on the world map, its superstars surviving through their established reach, and/or accessible sound shifts, the rest retreating into death metal, black metal, grunge, groove metal or electronics. This was not a total hibernation period for the Germans, a bunch of obscure compilations were released, a couple tracks demoed by Marco Pape and a shifting roster, but effectively the band dissolved for 20 years, until original vocalist Martin Missy would 'reanimate' it with a trio of Swedes by his side who had played/were playing in some lesser known bands like Grief of Emerald, Axis Powers and Suicidal Winds. For those who had missed Missy's presence on the 90s material, this was surely exciting, and though the band seemed hijacked by the unshakable metallic presence of Sweden, this would initiate the most stable portion of the band's career!

Reanimated Homunculus blazes forward with a complete return to that Sodom-like sound the band had manifest on records like Golem or Urm the Mad, but it definitely doesn't ignore some of the evolutions during the Olly Wiebel era. There is no pettiness, Missy and his new crew are attempting to catapult the entire Protector legacy forward and beyond (I know he's even brought Wiebel on stage to sing a few of the tunes from records like A Shedding of Skin). But what you are immediately confronted with is a continuation of that aggressive late 80s Teutonic thrash meat-grinder, Martin's vocals straddling the lines between thrash and death metal, much like Tom Angelripper did, but with some backups that are pure gutturals barking off in counterpoint to the verses in a place like "Deranged Nymphomania". The riffs are chunky, propulsive, and true to form, not the catchiest things you'll ever hear, but exciting and dynamic enough for fans of the genre that you'll be banging your head while throwing your milk cartons against the nearest wall. These guitars spit caustic intensity throughout "Holiday in Hell", "Birth of a Nation" and "Road Rage" at a level the band had rarely arrived at in the past, often like a mix of old Sodom and Holy Moses; and the rhythm section matches them with ease.

It's a good thrash album for purists, with the only drawback that it sometimes feels a little generic in structure and riffing. I've mentioned before that the band never quite rises to the level compositionally as Kreator or Destruction during their finer hours, the material just isn't possess of that timelessness, but they feel like a damn solid 'second-stringer' that will be replacing any of the starters out on the field should they fuck up or become injured. Beyond that, Reanimated Homunculus plants its heels out on the defensive line, ready for any tackles, and proves beyond any doubt that Protector is back, ready to fucking thrash with abandon, and continue their mission regardless of who is in the active roster. Hell, the title track is even a lyrical continuation of the "Golem" concept.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/Protector.666not777

Annihilator - Re-Kill (2013)

Continuing the zombie artwork theme of the last two releases, Jeff Waters and company decided to raise from the dead a bunch of their past tracks and bring them up to the production standards of the album that this one accompanies (Feast). This sort of practice always feels obligatory for bands that have been around decades, and it happens quite often in this particular genre. Something like Destruction's Thrash Anthems, where the band really wanted to bring their classics up to date with what the fans would expect from newer studio albums or live shows, and if you take it for what it is, I don't have much of a problem of it. Once upon a time, I might, but in reality nobody is taking Alice in Hell or Never, Neverland away from me, I can always go and listen through those versions, and I do.

The reason it works on Re-Kill is because the band is already on a roll, has obviously improved their new material after decades of neglect, knows what the audience probably wants, and remains impeccably loyal to the source material, especially on the hits like "Alison Hell". Dave Padden had by this point gone from a questionable choice in replacement for Joe Comeau to an actual asset for Annihilator, and even though he's not going to match the distinction of some of his predecessors, he does them a service with his performances throughout this track list, and he brings back a little of that smoothness to which works rather well in places on a tune like "Stonewall". I don't know that I'd call any of these de facto versions of the tracks, except some of the ones I didn't care for to begin with, but I don't at all mind listening through his versions. The mix of the album is super slick and 2013 ready, nearly identical to Feast, but it fortunately doesn't hinder the emotional power invested into any of the more memorable tracks in the lineup.

And that's maybe the one weakness of Re-Kill, not all the tunes are created equally, and I find myself drawn naturally more towards the classics, but even something like "Set the World on Fire" or "Ultra Motion" feels like its gotten a bit more pep and energy from this re-recording process. The drums are definitely better, the leads sound recharged, it's a pretty good time and if you can get this alongside Feast (I think they are included with the Digibook of the CD), I'd say it's worth it. If you're stubborn about this sort of compilation of re-recordings, then avoid at all cost, but if you enjoyed Thrash Anthems or maybe Voivod's recent Morgoth Tales, and you're already into Annihilator then I can't imagine you'd turn your nose up at this one.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.annihilatormetal.com/

Annihilator - Feast (2013)

Obviously encouraged by the righteous blitzing they provided with their 2010 eponymous full-length, Annihilator decide to follow it up with yet another outbreak of intensity and redemption for decades of middling or miserable output that never quite lived up to the band's initial promise. It's almost like someone told Jeff Waters he only had so much time left on this ball of mud rotating about the sun, and he had to make up for all those missed opportunities in a short span. Now, I'm not going to place Feast quite on the same level as its predecessor, there are a few areas in which this album is a bit more dynamic and different, and others in which the band falls back on a few questionable choices, but as a certain confirmation that we had entered the second 'Silver Age' for this specific band, it reasonably delivers and is possibly worth a listen whether you just like modern thrash in general, or felt let down by most or all of the band's material after Alice in Hell and Never, Neverland.

This one isn't quite as savage or relentless as the last, and you'll find more proggy elements, a little more melody, and even some of the band's groove metal peering through in tracks like "Smear Campaign".  And I won't lie, these are often the album's less interesting moments, but at the very least they are tasteful. "No Surrender" and "Wrapped" have some weird moments where the band imports everything from djent-like rhythms (without djent-tuning), some hard rock pizzazz and classic metal grooves which range from conventional to mildly experimental. "Perfect Angel Eyes" is another attempt at a pure ballad akin to "The One", and really does not belong on this album, but if I'm judging it by its own virtues, it's totally passable AOR radio-friendly pap that might have charted if some glam rock band had released it to the airwaves in 1987. All the tracks after that one, though, bring back the battery that is so missing from the middle part of this album.

Feast would unquestionable work better as a 5-6 track EP than a full-length, because it takes a few sidesteps, but some of those are actually catchy in their own right. They also seem to have stuck with the zombie cover theme and I think this is one of their better artworks outside the first two albums, but it's nice to see the logo return. Production is mint as long as you're cool with modern, polished studio wizardry, but never does it leech away from the harder-hitting, faster moments. I also don't think this is the best selection of Jeff Waters' guitars, the leads don't pop off as well as other albums, but I'm not complaining too much when I can just appreciate the speed and aggression and finesse. I'd also point out that most of my earlier reservations about Padden are dissolved, clearly he and Waters have really come together here and he understands what this band needs to honor its legacy, leaving most of the cheese by the wayside (other than the ballad, of course).

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.annihilatormetal.com/

Blodsgard - Monument (2013)

Blodsgard is a black metal project involving Stein Akslen and his sometimes collaborator Fredrik Rex from Minneriket (who I will go into more detail on elsewhere). It's a fairly stark contrast to Minneriket in that it's approach is vectored in from a more big budget, purely Norse black metal style rather than the more subversive, mechanical and ambient nature of that other project. Monument is the sole album thus far and it was put out well before the latest wave of newer bands who are headed back in that traditional 90s BM direction, worshiping their Scandinavian forefathers; and you can tell that these were already deeply involved with the aesthetics, because this album is beyond mere competence, and quite gripping for anyone who wants this genre delivered with an icy certainty.

It's quite intense, battering black metal here, not as mindblowing as a band like Nordjevel, but featuring some great if predictable riffing, a bold production and atmosphere, and the very hoarse rasped vocals of Mr. Rex, which are fucking monstrous, and from what I gather this album is mostly just his own baby, with Stein contributing the lyrics. The production of the drums and the unforgiving, wintry nature of the recording definitely bring to mind some of the mid-period Immortal records, although I think these guys keep the riffs a bit simpler and more immediately catchy than those frost-gods. All the songs have their own identity while flowing together seamlessly into the whole, and while the drums have a bit more pep than I'm used to in a lot of other records in the genre, they blend so well with the choppier low end rhythm guitars and even the tinsel-like synthesizer lines often sprinkled over the top.

This is a killer of an album, and in retrospect, one I wished I paid more attention to upon its release, it scratched all the right itches, and even goes one further in pieces like the title track which has the perfectly calm atmosphere to contrast all of the heavier barrages surrounding it, almost like the perfect 'eye of the storm' set right into the middle of the tumult. It's not all that novel, granted, but its simply a quality production on par with what a lot of the long-term pros can put out, and the only real downside is that they haven't put out anything more in the decade since...get on that!

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://blodsgard.bandcamp.com/

Hell - Curse & Chapter (2013)

It's strange and bittersweet to be reviewing this sophomore album posthumously, because at the time this one dropped, Hell had top-of-the-world potential, and they could do no wrong unless massively fucking up, which Curse & Chapter does not. While I might not have been a worshiper on the same levels as others I know, I still really enjoyed the amount of effort they put into the production and personality of their debut Human Remains. The fact that it was a reincarnated NWOBHM band, being given a fresh kickstart by a huge fan (in Andy Sneap) whose own legendary band Sabbat were pretty much the only one pimping this group through their own career, is just icing on the cake. Glorious.

As I hinted, Curse & Chapter does not disappoint, even if it doesn't possess quite the perfect set-up as its predecessor. Insane, operatically-informed heavy metal which infuses whatever aesthetics of power and thrash it desires, the material relies heavily on the vocal strength of David Bower, who just owns it once again. His frilly, shrieking, manic sounding voice is once again an instant win for the amount of character he gives it. He can snarl, growl, and freak out, then just belt out something more powerful and sustained effortlessly, and he is always bending his lines to keep each fresh and fearsome. He can also do some nice counter vocals with the backups, or the deeper sort of guttural narrative that we all know Martin Walkyier probably would have used had he stuck with the Hell reunion. Apart from his performance, the twin guitar attack of Sneap and Kev Bower is formidable, bringing a good degree of variance, between choppy and powerful chords, to acoustics, wild leads, and it all sounds fresh and modern like a lot of Sneap's studio work.

As usual, the theatrics and orchestration play an important role, used to great strength in tracks like in "The Disposer Supreme" or "Darkhangel" before they clobber you over the head with the heavy-ass, thrashing riffs, and then shift again into an almost Maiden-esque vocal harmony. This was pompous, adventurous, unapologetic heavy metal which, while carried over into the live performance, wouldn't even have required costumes because it just rubs off so well on the studio recording. Another thing I really dug about this album is that at times it reminded me of a British Nevermore...Bower's delivery is in some ways reminiscent of the great Warrell Dane, and certainly some of the more involved riffs, which is probably no surprise since Sneap worked on a lot of the Americans' albums from 2000-2011.

Curse & Chapter isn't always extremely catchy or memorable, but it's timelessness comes from how it takes command of you from the operatic opener and holds your attention as it transports you into its world of occult revelations and clerical conspiracies (see what I did there?), with a brazen, polished production and a level of identity you just weren't going to find in the old geezer British metal bands of the time. If I were Iron Maiden coming off The Final Frontier, or Judas Priest scraping together the lukewarm Redeemer of Souls, I'd be pissing down my leg when I heard this fucking band, because it might have made them irrelevant if they hadn't gotten their shit together (which, to be fair, they did). Exciting compositions, bewildering musicianship, and just the right amount of controlled chaos, it's a bloody shame that in hindsight this would be their last studio album. History repeated itself. We never got enough Hell in its original incarnation, and while they hung on for some years after touring off this material, we never enough in this one. Resquiescat in pace.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/HELLofficial

Hell - The Age of Nefarious EP (2013)

The Age of Nefarious EP is a limited run artifact that arrived around the time that Hell had really hit its heights, folks were stoked to hear the follow-up to the wildly popular 'debut' Human Remains from the reformed NWOBHM legends. It was largely a teaser, with the one title track that would be the first proper metal cut on the sophomore album, and then the rest of the this, the 'B-side', was a trio of live tracks. I'll go into "The Age of Nefarious" itself when I cover the album, but I wanted to cover the rest of this because it's not quite as disposable as one would think. In fact, the only thing limiting the quality of this is its short duration and low availability.

Because these live tunes sound AWESOME. Taken from their 2013 Bloodstock performance, they sound almost as potent as their studio versions, with the caveat that you'll get some of that live noise in between having your head spun off by the great sound. I don't know if Andy Sneap was working some of his studio magic on the live mixing board, or if he just taught someone else well, but the rhythm guitars are punchy and powerful, the perfect force to drive Dave Bower's vocals, which also sound incredible here. I've seen videos of some of their live performances, including possibly this one, and they REALLY pull it off. All three of the selections are taken from the debut, naturally, they didn't wanna give too much away from the new disc, so you're getting "On Earth As It in Hell", "Blasphemy and the Master", and their cover of "The Oppressors". Intense, fun as hell, this all reinforces the idea that Hell was this nuclear explosion of unstoppable, unique heavy/power metal.

If this had been a full length live album I'd be raving about it, but alas it's only a sampling of what might have been, and the studio tune is just a 'single' for Curse & Chapter, a format that I could care less about. But the live songs here are wonderful and I'd highly recommend watching a performance if you can find one on video, it's unlikely you'll be seeing them in person again.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

https://www.facebook.com/HELLofficial

In Solitude - Sister (2013)

It's a fairly common occurrence where a new band will come along, put out a few albums emulating a particular influence, style or 'scene', and then suddenly get struck with a storm of sporadic creativity that puts them a great distance from where they started. In Solitude's third full-length, Sister is a glaring example of such a game changer, a work that contains only a fraction of aesthetics that could be comparable to either of its predecessors, and even then that usually manifests in a little lead lick, or a vocal line that still captures a bit of essence of the legendary Danish bands that first inspired the Swedes' sound. For the majority of its running time, however, Sister has entered new ground, basically a fresh take on Gothic rock/metal that doesn't just sound like another doppelganger of Sisters of Mercy or The Cult, even if those do sound like they would have been among the influences that helped inform this transformation.

So damn different, and so brilliant, you could almost see this as an album that would foreshadow their fellow Swedes Tribulation and their own third album transformation. Sister mesmerizes instantly with its brooding, glistening acoustic intro "He Comes" and you will immediately be struck by the lower pitched gloom of the vocals. When the metal arrives in "Death Knows Where", you might actually get a little hint of a King Diamond-style guitar melody, but it just feels more shadowy and depressing to fall in line with that Gothic aesthetic, and here we get some awesome howling vocals which are at once frightening and as soothing as the grave. The riff structures still have a good share of metallic elements, like dour little melodies that play out along the chords, and the essence of occult heavy metal is still felt in the note choices, but there are also pieces like "A Buried Sun" which are like an edgy, airy, downcast rock and roll very similar to what Sólstafir transformed into with their own transformative 2009 stunner Köld. The difference there, however, is that feels more like an Icelandic roadhouse for Gothic cowboys, and this Sister is more like a black & white silent horror film...more Bauhaus...more vampiric.

Sister is by far my favorite In Solitude album, one so great that I felt a trace of emotional devastation when the band decided to call it quits, because I thought it sat so well in my collection with Climax by Beastmilk, which dropped in the same year, or the records the aforementioned Sólstafir was putting out. The evolution might have come as a shock to many, and I remember some bitching and moaning, but this is honestly so much more impressive than a band doing Mercyful Fate or King Diamond far less worthily than the genuine articles. And yet, some of that STILL creeps through, but relegated tastefully to some of the guitars. All of the songs here are my favorite songs from this band, like the amazing "Pallid Hands", "Lavender", "Horses in the Ground", or the creepy, crawling title cut, and this was one of the better albums the year it came out, and one I still spin often today, especially when that late Autumn chill starts creeping into my days. Not heavy on the surface, perhaps, but so heavy in its own way that it just drips sorrow and darkness  despite any overt need for chaos or destruction.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/insolitudeofficial

Helloween - Straight Out of Hell (2013)

Straight Out of Hell is another of Helloween's modern albums to mix the familiar with the new, and to benefit creatively from the merging of the two. It's another album that I feel goes underappreciated if only because these Germans are an embarrassment of riches...they're a band so great in general that I don't know if most can process them at an appropriate level. Take just about any random song of this album, and you'll find it's extremely catchy, involved and technical, dynamic and varied, unafraid to pull from the wells of traditional heavy, progressive and power metal, or even to add in a few other modern strains of aggression like some of those almost djent-like chugs in "World of War". It's great to hear them so embracing the heaviness and not drifting off into the distractions that a lot of their hard rock roots often used to inspire.

I mean this shit is on fire, gunning for the 21st century just like they once conquered in the late 80s and then again in the mid-90s (in my opinion). Is there a power metal band in Europe with this much talent? Lost Horizon was on the way, but folded. Rhapsody went from two fantastic albums to a long catalog of over-processed sounding symphonic pap that, while still fun, sort of runs together too much. I mean the Germans still rule the roost: Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, U.D.O., Grave Digger, Rage, Stormwarrior, Blind Guardian and probably at the top of the heap is Helloween. If you don't believe me, I repeat again, just take nearly any track off this album and be wowed at the balance of ferocity and melody that they conjure up so effortless. "Nabatea", "World of War", "Waiting for the Thunder" and the title track bring literally EVERYTHING to the table, in spades. There are a couple songs here that step out of the mold, like the power ballad ("Hold Me In Your Arms") or the Queen-like arena thumper "Wanna Be God", but even these are very well constructed and the production is fucking insane. But the metal is where this one is at, and to that extent it rules...

I mean one tune is called "Asshole" which has totally goofy and terrible lyrics like 'Asshole/typical human being/you motherfucker/stupid shit you make me flee', almost to the point that I wanted to cringe, but the music itself is so amazingly performed, the melodies and vocals sound brilliant, and even that level of unnecessary stupidity I found memorable. Helloween just couldn't fuck this album up no matter how hard they tried to ruin it for themselves, because they're clearly on a musical mission to show that bands going into their fourth decades are by no means slouches. With experience comes great responsibility! I shit you not, this was an album that I once thought was pretty damn good on arrival, but has continued to grow on me to the point that I think of the 13 tracks, it's about 10-11 deep with sheer excellence, something for just about any of their fans, regardless of the era, and the audacity to actually say 'Hey, we've still got a few ideas left.' 

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

https://www.helloween.org/

Ghost - If You Have Ghost EP (2013)

The strength of the If You Have Ghost EP, or Ghost's choice in cover songs in general throughout the band's career, is that they take them and make them their own, instantly broadening the pool of material they can pull on for their set lists. Granted, some of the songs might be kept closer to the belt of their originators, and others given a little bit more of a metallic injection, but for any flaw I might pick out in the band's career, the cover songs that they occasionally bless us with would never be one of them. And this is exactly that, a short-player with four tracks you might not expect but lend themselves very naturally to the band's influences in everything from progressive and psychedelic rock to disco.

"If You Have Ghosts" is a very accessible, sweeping, uplifting sort of rock cut that works well in their hands, or alongside the other tracks they've written themselves which give off a mock Christian arena rock vibe, such as "He Is" on Meliora. I've addressed the ABBA cover "I'm a Marionette" on the review of the Infestissumam full-length, but if you don't own the Deluxe version of that then it's a treat to have it here among its neighbors. I'll reiterate that Ghost could cover almost any single tune in that band's history and it would probably work, the groups, despite their genre differences, share that unbridled sense of ear-pleasing pop quality. I was not as familiar with the original "Crucified" or the band Army of Lovers, but this one definitely recurs that hymnal concept that the band really likes to play on with its blasphemous Luciferian theatrics. It's a little goofy when he gets to the more spoken word bit in the bridge, but it's certainly an aesthetically fit for the Papa Emeritus II persona Tobias was using to front the band at this time.

The cover I was most looking forward to, Depeche Mode's "Waiting for the Night", is given a more doomed, melancholic edge than it already possessed, with a pungent fuzz to the guitars, and little organs that glimmer through almost too cheerfully from the somber weight of the tune. Still pretty cool, but I see why they kept it tucked behind the others. There's also a live offering of "Secular Haze" to round out the material, which sounds good in that setting, but just isn't one I find myself revisiting often, much like its studio counterpart. The production on the covers is quite good, I'd say even a little better than the Infestissumam material, with the guitars balanced better against all the vocals, organs, percussion, and bass lines. The EP is a decent value if you're a fan of the band, I might have preferred a full-length of covers without the live tune interfering but this thing is usually sold for only a couple bucks, and if you don't have the tunes elsewhere it's worth a pickup if not some towering success of a product.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://ghost-official.com/

Ghost - Infestissumam (2013)

Opus Eponymous was an album that I found immediately distinct, enjoyable on the first listen, and it only got BETTER from there, so I was a paid passenger on the hype train around Ghost as it climbed the steep track towards international recognition. Naturally, there were some major expectations for its followup, and perhaps those were premature on such a novel act, as Infestissumam came along and hadn't a fraction of the same impact on me as its predecessor. I wouldn't say that I've ever 'struggled' with this sophomore, it's a pleasant enough progression of the concepts they had already laid out before us, but with the exception of a handful of tracks, I didn't find the material here so indispensable, and even on many repeated listens this remains my least favorite of the Swedes' full-lengths. Now, having said that, this one has continued to grow on me in the intervening years such that I still keep it on a semi-regular rotation, especially four particular songs and the second bonus track.

It's instantly clear that Tobias and company were attempting to ramp up the theatrics of their stage personas through the studio component, evident through the fact that the album sounds like you're sitting in a mock Church, complete with bloodstained glass and Luciferian hymnals, surrounding by a carnival on all sides. The organs and other trappings beyond the standard metal instrumentation are whimsical and subtly sinister. There's a wide array of rhythmic exploration which feels light and airy, like a troupe of inverted Christian hippies traipsing down a hillside tossing beach balls to and fro. I would assert that Infestissumam was the band's most progressive offering, covering more new ground than any of its successors (to date), even if it wasn't able to form that into the catchiest of individual tracks. That's not to say you won't hear ear candy-larva burrowing through the DNA of a lot of the songs, but to me the smoothness of how the production locks it all together lacks a little of the power and menace I felt from the debut. The overt influence of your favorite Danish metal royalty and escapist New York hard rock of the 70s and 80s is still present, but a wider net has been cast.

It's eccentricity and all-over-the-place-ness is a positive. For instance, the album doesn't really lose any points from me for shifting between the safe psychedelic pasture-rock and the haunted house rockabilly of "Ghuleh/Zombie Queen", one of my personal favorites here. "Year Zero" is an undeniable strong point with its creepy verse vocals and development towards its sweeping operatic chorus. "Depths of Satan's Eyes" sounds like a track cultivated from Opus Eponymous' outtakes, and the closer of the album proper, "Monstrance Clock" is another highlight with its oozing synth lines, eerie organ breaks, and another of Tobias' wonderful vocal performances. I mean there's a good EP's worth of kickass material that rivals anything else the band has released. To boot, the bonus tunes on the Deluxe edition are quite good, especially the cover of ABBA's "I'm a Marionette". I mean mock the source all you want, their catalog is just perfectly fertile ground for a group like Ghost to come along and transform into their own designs, and this song does it wonderfully. I would probably purchase an entire album of ABBA covers by this group.

I think where this one sinks for me is that it front-loads some of its weaker tracks. "Per Aspera Ad Inferi" has a few high points but doesn't quite deliver on its initial promise, and "Secular Haze", one of the most popular tunes here with its circus-like march, falls short of its potential. "Jigolo Har Migiddo" is fun enough, but doesn't really tickle me until the bridge. The guitars here, while active and occasionally inventive, seem to take a back seat to the vocal production and synthesizers, not to mention the bass which sometimes seems to overpower them. I felt as if the debut was more directly driven by the riffs, whereas here they only occasionally poke out, but when they do, as in the kickoff to "Zombie Queen", they're great. Tobias' vocal production here is quite involved, with a lot of harmonies, but again some of the melodies just don't hit the catchiest patterns and seem to play it a little too obvious rather than hitting you with some unexpected, unforgettable note progression.

Elsewhere, the aesthetics are quite nice. The song titles interesting, the Satanic lyrics hold up through a number of readings, and the artwork a nice continuation from the debut. The flimsy Universal digisleeve edition of the CD sucks, and I recommend avoiding it and tracking down a Deluxe with those bonus tracks that actually add a good amount of value to Infestissumam on the whole. There is no question that this was an important transitional step for the Swedes. Sure, I might like Meliora a lot more, but without this I don't think Ghost would have necessarily gotten there. So for that, and the quartet of originals that really resonates with me, I do think this is an interesting album with enough qualities to recommend, and I'm not surprised that a lot of the band's fans see is as their personal favorite.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://ghost-official.com/

Godslave - In Hell (2013)

Despite over a decade of existence, five full-length albums and a number of appearances on splits and other recordings, I have not actually listened or really even heard of Godslave before I sat down with this third record, In Hell. There's an obvious reason for that, as the rest of this review will reveal, but I have to say up front that I wanted to get into this. A band clearly rooted in the 80s, with a whole slew of influences that encapsulate a whole lot of the B-list or below of bands making their rounds back then. There's nothing overtly 'goofy' or exceedingly retro about what they write, they take those same influences and thrust them into a 21st century studio production; they are topical, they aren't just some self-flagellating 'thrash' band that wants us all to know just how 'thrash' they are.

So here's the issue...if you took about 20 or more of those thrash bands from the 80s, largely US stuff like Whiplash, Sacred Reich, Testament, Exhorder, and Exodus, but also traces of groups like Artillery, Forbidden, Xentrix, Mortal Sin and Destruction, put them all in a blender, both vocally and musically, and then removed any modicum of memorable riffing and choruses, you would end up with an album like In Hell. This is appreciably competent stuff, from both the dynamic range of the rhythm and lead guitars, the flexibility of the vocals, and the clarity of production, but so little of it really registers to a thrasher that has been there all along. It occasionally lapses into some really baseline Exodus neck-jerking riffs, but often has a bit more complexity to it, and normally the amount of effort put into something like that draws my attention, but the numerous times I spun the material I just found it sticking even less on each successive listen. None of the vocal styles are bad, you get a smattering of Phil Rind, Zetro, Chuck Billy, Chris Astley and even some Schmier sneering, but despite the chameleon-like scope they don't exactly develop a personality on their own.

The Germans also know how to put a track together with a richly busy, slick bridge section, some leads that feel like time was spent on them, and some nice atmosphere to the intros and how they progress into their verses, but it seems like a puzzle in which not all of the pieces were slid fully to where they belong. Certain re-sequencing of note patterns could have turned this into an absolute smasher of a 21st century thrash disc that looks both backward and forward at the same time. I mean, granted, when you look at this it seems more like some melodeath or metalcore disc with the band's logo and title font, so I was kind of surprised that the guys were so well practiced in a whole range of older bands that informed their style, but the music overall really just can't hurdle past respectable tribute to a whole era into something worthwhile on its own. Clearly Godslave have their shit in order organizationally, but this set of tunes is just not so inspired beyond the format itself. Quite possible that their other works are superior, but I'm not sure who is paying attention.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

https://godslave.de/

Death Angel - The Dream Calls for Blood (2013)

There are quite a number of classic thrash bands, both in the States and Europe, who for me really haven't survived their transitions into a more modern style and brick housed production. Okay, maybe they've survived on touring and tuning in a younger audience, but simply haven't been putting out the same caliber of material they were capable of in their fiending youth. Essentially the stuff has become 'dad thrash', competent and mixed for the times but lacking the essential soul of the 80s. Acts like Exodus and Onslaught have fallen to such a fate, but a few others, like Death Angel, make it work for them. I could level a bunch of complaints at this band's body of work starting with Relentless Retribution, but the fact is they handle their modern body of work just as infectiously as they did their seminal efforts. Nope, they haven't ever released a rival for their debut The Ultra-Violence and I doubt they will, that was such a distinct, fevered and evil slab of West Coast thrash, but when I hear their modern efforts I don't feel even vaguely like I'm getting ripped off, or that they're anything less than genuine.

Part of this is Mark Osequeda's angsty, nasally vocal style, somewhere between Joey Belladonna and Russ Anderson in strain and tone, he just injects this edge to the material which aids even the less inspiration riffs here. And riffs there are a plenty, some of them memorable and nasty, and others just seem like they're going through the motions to play with their pretty distortion, but like a modern Artillery, they keep throwing them after you and never really running out of ideas, and I think there are far more winners here on The Dream Calls for Blood than there are losers. It's also a creative record, they'll bust off into some hard rock grooves, or some floatier atmospheric section without warning, helping to round-out the majority of the meaty thrashings, Cavestany and Aguilar are legion when it comes to the rhythmic syncopation and if you're looking for some neckbreaking I think this album really delivers. Leads flurry on by with bluesy abandon, all flash and testosterone and entirely suited to the massacre going on, while the combination of Will Carroll's seamless beats and those rhythm guitars create an appreciably intense lower end to the record. Granted, I think the drums do lack a little nuance and personality, but they're not really what I focus on here.

The lyrics are all about rage, revenge and other thrash-worthy feelings, perfect for the adolescents attracted to this subgenre, but not written cheaply or stupidly. There's a cover of Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" which is played pretty close to the vest, but due to the mix it fits right in with their own original material, and Osequeda is up to the task although some of the oohs and aah lines have a cheesy delivery (not that they didn't in the first place). So when I think of veteran thrash acts who have thrived with a new, blockbuster sort of production fitting to the loudness levels of the 21st century, Destruction's The Antichrist always comes to mind as the exemplar, and there are no tracks here which are nearly on that level of me wanting to constantly hit replay until I've worn my finger to the bone (or the CD to slag). But I think much of Death Angel's modern material certainly passes a quality check, using its tools well and not just a overproduced, overinflated bore like these enduring bands often put out with their bigger studio budgets. The Dream Calls for Blood is frankly one of Californians' best albums period, a very well balanced attack. It's no Ultra-Violence, an anomaly borne from the members' then-youthful creativity and raw aggression, but it'll do in a pinch.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.deathangel.us/

Axeslasher - Anthology of Terror, Vol. 1 (2013)

My love for 80s schlock cinema, horror, gore and being eternally locked within the mindset of a 13-year-old pretty much ensure that something like Axeslasher is going to catch my attention, and I mean that in the best possible way. While I don't always get a lot of the results I'd like from throwback-looking bands whose members are also obsessed with similar cult horror and exploitation kitsch, I have to applaud the efforts to revive the cheesy sentiments of that era. With their thrash terrorist ski masks, great sci-fi drive in cover art and track titles like "Mark of the Pizzagram" and "Invasion of the Babesnatchers", this was either going to be entirely awesome or another retro-clone pizza-thrash piece of trash that fails to elevate itself from its puddle of audio-genetic influences.

Anthology of Terror is somewhere between these two extremes, an EP that rounds up some of the Colorado group's previous singles into a nearly 20 minute exhibition of slightly party-tinged death thrash that by no means feels cheap or played out, even if its not super impressive. You can certainly hear some of those primitive 80s West Coast thrash influences, like Exodus-paced jerking rhythm guitars, but I'm also reminded a lot of death/thrash outfits like Ghoul, Exhumed, Cardiac Arrest, Frightmare and their like due to the mix of snarled and growled vocals and the way they can occasionally weave in some melodic intensity and frenzied leads. The rhythm guitars have a firm, abrasive tone to them which is very mosh-ready while providing a seat for the sicker, often sustained vocals. The rhythm section is adequate for the task, with a lot of fills being thrown around everywhere, especially the double kick variety, and that certainly gives Anthology a bit of modernity rather than feeling like a pure 80s retro idolization.

The downside here is that for all the considerable energy and propulsion Axeslasher metes out across these five tracks and intro, very few of the riffs are actually that catchy, and the songs don't burrow themselves into your head as much as the band's image, moniker and artwork might. Lyrically they have some fun topics like aliens conquering humanity and feeding them to their pets, supernatural serial killers, and witch-hunting, and the band is musically competent without any doubt, but I just didn't find the note choices or vocal lines here really resonating with me beyond a fleeting initial fun factor. I do like the style they go for, and a number of established acts with comparable sounds, so being that this material is already six years old or more, I wouldn't be surprised if they land some full-length record with a lot of improved songwriting chops some time soon. But this isn't quite there yet.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.axeslasher.com/

Dead Reptile Shrine - Praise Cemetary (2013)

I remember my first exposure to Dead Reptile Shrine, probably about a decade ago, and being quite disappointed that a band with such an amazing name wasn't really delivering an appealing mesh of noise and black metal. Perhaps I wasn't listening to it with the appropriate mindset, since their approach was such an unusual, raw sound that placed them well out on the experimental fringes of Finnish black, well past Oranssi Pazuzu or Jumalhämärä and out where only enigmas like Circle of Ouroborus dare to dwell. Or perhaps the project just hadn't borne out the most interesting of eclectic, musical fruits it was capable of producing. I can promise you that ten years later, as I've gone back to discover their later, more recent efforts, that Dead Reptile Shrine has gotten no less strange than their formative recordings. If anything, Praise Cemetary is an even more anomalous concoction than those I've heard before it, but I have to say, despite the fact that this sort of album is only going to grok with a niche within a niche of gonzo extreme metal fans, there's a bizarre form of hypnosis that overtook me as I was listening through, which allowed me to bypass some of its flaws and focus in occasionally on its mesmeric abstractions.

The biggest factor working against this album is its lack of consistency, as it sort of warps all over a landscape of ideas, without any overarching cohesion, no method to its madness. To that extent it feels like a group of random recordings pasted together to form a full-length, and that can hurt the experience of listening to it. However, when I look at it as a collection of individual tracks and not so much as a structured, aesthetic exercise, the little hooks begin to sink in. On the surface, it's a raw as fuck bedroom black metal recording, with buzzing, droning or distorted guitars, wretched rasping vocals, and a slight penchant for dipping into a few more traditional BM riffs in spots. But as the track list gets deeper in, there's a transformation towards more of a pure, sparse ambient style that is occasionally littered with guitar or vocal effects. This is where the album really started to earn its keep for me, since I found pieces like the 12 minute "Death of a Sorcerer King" trance-inducing and eerie, like a rustic Lustmord tracking an indie horror film out in some woodland. The experimental edge of this doesn't always work, like in "Dimension of Mirrors" where some similar ritualistic ambient music and weird, distant spoken words are crapped on by a distorted, low guitar or bass tone that does them absolutely no service except to sound like its trolling the rest of the song.

Perhaps most interesting are the cuts that dwell between these two polarities of ambient noise and black metal, like "Unicursal Hex" or "Inside the Marble Polyandrium", which are truly unique, capturing the pure rawness of rehearsal-level demo black metal but playing out in such clamorous, often grooving, deconstructed forms that I couldn't tear my ears off of them. Weird, swaying guitars that occasionally bite off some disjointed Eastern melodies, as bass lines swerve through unapologetic patterns that seem entirely sporadic since they never land on a single damn note you want or expect. Meanwhile the vocals are being splayed out in tormented, husky groans, or cleaning wails to create a cacophony of unrest. The percussion is very unkempt, crashing snares and almost random thuds which make the whole thing lurch along with a drunken pacing. I'm sure there must be some improvisational components to Dead Reptile Shrine here, or rather an illusion of such, because to write this way intentionally would be sadism of a high order, but that's not to say that I wasn't fascinated by trying to figure out what in blazes was happening.

Don't get me wrong, it's disharmonious, dissonant, atonal, often painful and directionless, to the point that I can't imagine more than a small handful of listeners would be able to tolerate it for more than a short period. Not every track is equally grating, but just the fact that some of the more sensible pieces are wedged up against such counter-rational nightmares can manifest a degree of frustration. I can't say Dead Reptile Shrine is quite 'there' yet, because often what they do is just so far afield of the consonants or familiars of the metal genre, and this album doesn't have an answer to pulling it all together. So it's not a recommendation from me, but there is a compelling pulse beating somewhere within the black heart of this serpent, its just too irregular at this time to promote long term survival.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.neuroscan.org/drs/

Lacrimas Profundere - Antiadore (2013)

Lacrimas Profundere is a band which has more or less followed the trajectory of legends Paradise Lost, originating with a Gothic doom aesthetic and then gradually transforming into a far more accessible brand of man-mascara rock which mirrors the sounds that Finnish acts like H.I.M., Entwine and Charon made pretty popular in the earlier 21st century. That's not to say it can't be done well, for instance I really enjoy the band To/Die/For, who brought a lot more of an 80s pop flair to the style with some catchy keyboard lines in amongst the head banging. But there's certainly a trend that a lot of these bands end up with their backs against a wall, using the same familiar chord patterns repeatedly since bands like Sisters of Mercy or Type O Negative made them redundant, and I feel that these Germans, despite having an unquestionable level of class and professionalism, don't really stick their toes outside the safe zone enough to leave much of an impact...and they haven't in a long time.

Antiadore is their 10th full-length record, and it more or less employs the tropes and conventions we've come to expect from this sort of watered down Gothic metal which lacks most of the frills and genuine darkness of the genres which inspired it. Safe verse/chorus song structures, choruses that are not too high in pitch but go for a clear level of radio appeal, solid fashion sense, marginal use of electronics which can add some nuance to the predictable chord patterns. Once you've heard a track or two on a record like this, you're pretty much heard them all, the only variations are in the minor details like subtle shifts in tempo or particular melodies used to layer over the chords. Rob Vitacca has a seasoned, graceful voice, but there is little range, and for that reason a lot of his lines feel rather samey with not only their neighbors here, but the last half dozen or so discs the band has released. The drums and bass are well mixed and appropriate, but never stand out on their own, leaving the full emphasis on the riff passages and vocals, which unfortunately do not deliver much beyond the usual four chords. When the band goes 'heavier', it's simply safe groove metal patterns which are used to get the blood flowing temporarily until another of these maudlin, mediocre choruses...

Occasionally you'll hear a harsh vocal, but it sounds really out of place, overwrought in an attempt to channel genuine pain and emotion, where proper Goth rock or Goth metal needs no such gimmick. The lyrics and song titles are generally just cliches or cultivate imagery you've already seen in this niche a million times, and in truth there is next to nothing which separates the songs on a record like Antiadore from commerial, mass appeal rock music, except maybe a little more guyliner or the clubs and crowds that this might be played at or adhere to the genre. Here in the US, this style had very little impact beyond H.I.M. or Sentenced; even when Paradise Lost was nailing this sound with a catchier and slightly 'edgier' record like One Second it wasn't being talked about. It seems like by about 2013 this would feel out of date, or the band would adapt once more into something new, or a blend of their older/later styles for variety, but Antiadore is about as bland and insipid as you can get...I kept waiting for one song to really hook me in, but most of them were simply the sort that might have been memorable if I had heard them 'first', 25-30 years ago. It's far from a bad album, since the band is so slick and confident at playing it safe, but they need to throw a lot more curve balls, atonality or dissonance or eeriness or haunted atmosphere to do their meta-genre justice.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.lacrimas.com/

Infera Bruo - Desolate Unknown (2013)

How to follow up what was possibly the best New England black metal demo/album I've heard since some point in the 90s? Carry on, and that is precisely what Boston's Infera Bruo have accomplished upon Desolate Unknown. A proficient paean to both the Norse and Swedish roots of its genre, which compares favorably to the more modern works of its enduring progenitors. Not quite so progressive in nature as what Enslaved, Ihsahn or Arcturus have written in recent years, but more of a balance of the style's primal precision and intensity as translated from late 90s Immortal or Emperor, and then further enriched by the inclusion of cleaner, mid ranged vocals which provide several of the record's catchier phrases. Beyond that, their writing style is such that you never exactly know what's around each corner on the record...will they drop off the blasting to focus on something more scarce and atmospheric? Will they soften the blows where appropriate?

Yes to all of that. Swelling dark ambient/ritualistic 'Segues' are placed at strategic points on the album to break up the duration of its lengthier tracks (9-13 minutes). Not merely noise, they also involve elements like eerie vocal looping or distorted voice samples. Acoustic guitars are brought out briefly, and the band will often just cede the structure and riffing to pure feedback which also ironically helps to smooth out those mammoth songs. But more vital here is the instrumentation. The bass lines often have a rough, distorted thrust to them which generates an excellent balance to the more pinpoint and polished tone of the guitars. Chord progressions, if not unanimously catchy, manage between just the right levels of dissonance and glory, and while they often occupy the same general terrain, few of them sound exactly alike, nor do they ever wear out their welcome through exhausting repetition which could turn a tune like "Ritual Within" or "Invoking Collapse" into a monotonous nightmare if mismanaged. The beats wander everywhere from the rock grooves necessary to fuel the mid paced Bathory rhythms, to the seamless blasts and double bass sequences; always pretty pronounced so that you can make out all the individual toms, snares and crashes, yet not overly loud.

Most of the vocals are dual black rasps which create a pretty effective gravitas against the energy of the drums and guitars, with loads of little flaws and deviations to keep the ears glued, and the cleans which are understated but excellent. If one were to strip out and analyze specific elements, I'm sure they wouldn't find Infera Bruo's material to be the most distinct or unique in the field, but they operate as a 'package deal', where every component of their creative process is well executed. Had Desolate Unknown been released by some second or third tier Norwegian band, they'd probably find themselves on a label like Candlelight or Indie Recordings in no time flat, that is the level of polish here. Along with Spaniards Foscor, these gentlemen seem like natural successors to the early 21st century evolutions of their Scandinavian forebears, a pretty big sandbox to play around in, and one that I am eager to see shaped further.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/InferaBruo

Black Magician - The Pursuivant EP (2013)

Black Sabbath. Electric Wizard. Black Magician. It stands to reason that there is aesthetic lineage taking place in the UK which seeks to refresh and perhaps embolden the roots of doom metal. My own attraction to bands like this is that I'm seeking out spooky and psychedelic swaths of atmosphere induced by evil riff progressions, deceptively simple bluesy grooves which teeter my imagination upon the precipice of darkness, horror and despair, only to yank it back into reality with workmanlike force. I sought after Black Magician for that very same reason, but while their 2012 debut Nature is the Devil's Church had its moments, others were tepid and/or dry; I simply didn't find it as evocative as other bands conjuring up antiquity like Seremonia, Blood Ceremony, Occultation, select Cathedral records, or the masters I mentioned in opening. Not to write them off, because I think these guys have their fingers on the pulse, they simply have to sink their collective fangs into that vein and sup on it.

The Pursuivant EP seeks to do just that with some stoic, majestic riffing interwoven with Gothic organ melodies. The best way I could describe the title track is as if Candlemass adopted a lot more of a 60s or 70s atmosphere with raunchier distortion, and they were joined by Lee Dorrian on vocals. Liam Yates adopts that same, vile sounding, no-fucks-given inflection which he'll spin off into some sustained gutturals, and comes across a lot like a 'poor man's Dorrian', with the exception that he keeps it really dingy and doomed and doesn't take a lot of the same charismatic riffs that his predecessor does within that limited range. It's interesting in how it really grounds the more grandiose concoction of the keys and rhythm guitars...as if to state that no matter how beautiful its sepulchers and monuments, the graveyard is still an ugly fucking place, and the ghastly caretaker is covered in the soil and remnants of the departed. The drums jam along with what is really a contrast in motions, from the lurching obelisks at its onset to the thickened grooves in the late bridge, and there is an undercurrent of that same prog rock you'll usually find as a cooperative inspiration for so many of this genre's practitioners in the 21st century.

The other tracks here deviate mildly, with the lush balladry of "Grene Knyght" led by its lush acoustic guitars and folksy yet stark, haunting harmony vocals...this is EASILY the best cut I've ever heard from Black Magician, and I would love it if in the future they could blend pieces of this quality with surges of heavier, atmospheric power chords. The vocals are just so much more interesting than the haughty growling. This tune is the one thing here I really felt like listening to over and over again for its dreamy departure to ancient English glades and spells and encroaching darkness. Things take another turn entirely for the closing "Black Henbane", which is more like an aggro doom, jammy nightmare rock & roll track festooned with banners of grating psychedelic organs, and simplistic leads which give off a trippy chase through a Hammer Films haunted house vibe, if it were enacted by surf bums. Kind of a strange, righteous closure for this 14 minute EP, but then it's nigh on impossible in such a limited space to really pace out material beyond its mere presentation. And that's really the major flaw of this format: The Pursuivant seems like a smattering, a mere sampling of ideas, several of which would have kicked royal ass in a full-length format where there is more space to flow from one pole to the next. It succeeds at that, but ends before your psyche has had the chance to truly get invested.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (abandoned by the dwindling flock)

http://www.blackmagician.co.uk/

Ingested - Revered by No One, Feared by All EP (2013)

Ingested could have just as easily taken what they did with The Surreption and made the sound even further 'core-based, possibly to a broader level of success since I know there's a fairly prominent scene in the UK for that stuff, and yet...the Revered by No One, Feared by All EP seems like a reverse directional back towards the persistent brutality of their debut album, and probably even a little further. Sure, there are some pretty banal slam/groove sequences on this recording, but the proficiency and excitement levels on the purely death metal frenzies littered throughout these four cuts are infectious, and it really feels like the proper successor to the 2009 album and like The Surreption was a mildly deviant distraction.

This is meaty, chugging insanity which seamlessly shifts between its grooves, heavily laden with big double bass jackhammer force; and these instant flights of blasted death metal with more clinically constructed tremolo note patterns which are, if still not quite unique, at least a lot more effective than similar progressions on the sophomore disc. Though the production on the rhythm guitar still has that clean, crunchy, visceral effect, this album somehow seems darker and deeper and there were places in which the churning brought back memories of a lot of treasured, influential death metal of the late 80s and early 90s (Pestilence and Suffocation both represented, among others). The vocals are still the standard array of snarls and growls, but they feel far more bloodthirsty and they make you want to flip your shit and introduce all those people mocking you behind your back to your butcher knife. Or something psychotic in that ballpark, at least, which is really how I want an album upon which a large heap of naked impaled corpses to sound...I don't know about you, but I'm...just...sayin'.

All four songs are pretty evenly balanced when it comes to punishment, with the first "Titanomachy" likely my favorite, but it all holds up, and at around 15 minutes there's not much possibility to get bored. Some will likely brand this as deathcore due to the structure of the breakdowns, the vocal variation and general image of the band, but I think once we've started to go too far down that road we'll have to retroactively brand a lot of the shit that came out in the 90s and 00s since the dynamics and riff composition is almost exactly the same. In the end, even if it's not perfect, I thought this was really a solid bounce back from the slumping Surreption and the guys should be proud that they managed to lay on the suffering to a degree many fans of Surpassing would find admirable.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.facebook.com/ingesteduk

Yearner - The Second Howl (2013)

The second Yearner cassette is something quite different than its predecessor Winternight, comprised of three longer untitled pieces and not so much going for the 'chill factor' as it exhibits a more curious and bizarre collection of sounds over fuzzier rhythmic synthesizers. It's at once both noisier and more experimental, especially the second piece with its acid, head-melting tones and throbbing subtext, but I wouldn't go so far that it feels entirely unplanned and sporadic. It seems L.V. sat down with a bunch of sounds he hadn't explored in other ventures and then tried to formulate them into something more coherent...there are some stabs at melodies here, so it's not entirely unfriendly, but this is certainly 'on the edge', more left field than the stuff from Astral Order of Impurity, for example.

That said, it's equally evocative of a lot of obscure and strange imagery. The second track reminded me of late summers in my youth when I'd watch in fascination at moths fluttering around the bug zapper lights in my grandfather's back yard...but mashed up with spending an evening at S.E.T.I. listening to the radio signals from space. The third track has these distorted pads which almost create a form of percussion under the prime, buzzing melodies, and I found that this was easily the most glorious and memorable among the three, though once again it's more a mood piece despite it's more easily discerned 'riff'. There are also some points in that one where the haunted organs of the first tape return for a few seconds, almost like L.V. is switching radio channels and tuning in to his earlier visions. A weird self-awareness that emerges among all the roiling, fuzzy tones and experimentation.

While it was successful at reincarnating some old memories, and an intriguing listen, The Second Howl did not quite live up to its predecessor as something I'm going to want to break out time and time again, nor was it as strong as the rest of the Voldsom tapes I've been covering. But I wouldn't dub it a disappointment, because what I did like about it is how it almost seemed like L.V. was using this as a further launch pad for a project that involved 'grounded' technological feedback. Where Astral Order of Impurity was a veritable lunar lander or space station, this is more a soundtrack for a being lost in a labyrinthine landfill of ancient computer game cartridges, radar dishes, and other antiquated computer or arcade machinery, factory castoffs and all sorts of outdated paraphernalia. Strange, but sometimes soothing if you like a little challenge in your minimalistic ambiance.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://voldsom.net/

Yearner - Winternight (2013)

Winternight is all too apt a title for this tape, Yearner being another project in the Voldsom lineup, composed and recorded by musician L.V. But I might have gone even a bit further with that imagery, dubbing it Winter Nights in a Fell Church Buried Beneath the Snows, for this is hands down the most longing and isolated piece of work I've yet encountered from this musician, and my favorite release to date among the Voldsom catalog. Nostalgic, horrific, completely lonely and heavily repressed due to the subdued, submersed production sensibilities that will probably be exponentially more pronounced when you're actually listening to the cassette on an old tape deck (I am listening to this digitally). Proof yet again, that in a world of overdubs, heavily layered orchestration, pop melodies refined to a bleeding edge and/or Pro Tools guitar rock, it's a wonder what a guy can do with a few organ and synthesizer tones and a metric ton of sincerity...

Not all of the tracks on Winternight are uniform in mood, but there is enough linking them together that by the end you've felt like you just wandered through some German Black Forest Odyssey during the snowfalls and lowest temperatures of the year. The organ tones here, especially in a piece like "Silent Nocturnal Snowfall", resonated with me incredibly well, as if Captain Nemo had been forced out of his undersea vessel and made to perform among the evergreens at absolute zero. It's chilling and also evokes a hint of nostalgia for cult Gothic horror films, and to be truthful would not make a bad accompaniment for some silent black & white replete with imagery that someone might have felt was pretty creepy in the earlier 20th century, or even today if they actually have perspective. These passages are played in repetitive waves, joined by antiquated synth tones which would have belonged more to a Tangerine Dream and/or Vangelis, which bring a little more of a Technicolor palette to the atmosphere, like whorls of deep purple or crimson snow erupting over a monochromatic landscape. This is really where the record transforms and transcends beyond the reality of a guy and a keyboard.

But Yearner also disembarks from this motif, with more dissonant, jarring pieces like "Obscurity" which have a more immediate, brooding horror appeal with some electronic pipe-like sounds that really freaked me out, or "In Days of Yore" where the synths feel more saturated and distorted beneath a more glorious melody...it wouldn't be out of place in some dreamy 80s film like Legend. "Winternight" itself has a slightly more Medieval folk/castle feel to it, adding yet another facet to the album's ability to successfully manifest fragments and scenes of the imagination. Combined with the murky, raw mix, all five of its tracks function entirely as intended and were a perfect mood-setter for a few brisk New England nights here in mid-November, though I definitely have the feeling I'll be breaking this out in another month or two repeatedly as I become increasingly surrounded in frigid whites and darkness. At 20 or so minutes, it never wears out its welcome, and probably more than any of the other tapes I've heard from L.V's other projects (Astral Order of Impurity, Til Det Bergens Skygenne, etc), grants a haunted, seasonal escapism.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.voldsom.net/