Zom - Multiversal Holocaust EP (2013)

First heard of ZOM a couple years ago when folks were buzzing over their demo, and admittedly there's a certain novelty to the fact that they hail from Dublin, Ireland. Not the first place one thinks of when mentally referencing hotbeds of ugly, harrowing, old school death metal darkness, but this particular trio is obviously not privy to such generalizations, since they evoke one of the most wretched and entertaining sounds I've heard in this entire 'return to the roots' movement so popular in the past five years. Fusing together elements of raw black and death metal with an occasional death/doom sense of motion, I can only imagine that the  Multiversal Holocaust 7" EP resembles the sound of the devil in the throes of a terribly painful bowel movement. You might think I mean that as some sort of 'slight', but no, in fact, I think this is quite genuinely fucking awesome. ZOM throws all sense of intricacy, caution and taste to the wind, and it blows back septic, sulfurous and eminently rotten.

The title track ranges from ritual, dark intro ambiance, to a noisy, blasting epileptic seizure, to a morass of monolithic, dreary crushing doom over which a searing, depressive melody ranges, like watching cattle graze on some fiery plain of Hell. They even bust out a monstrous, roiling thrash passage near the close of the tune (and another in "Terror of the Cosmos"). Guitars have a tone the consistency leprous, festering flesh, while the bass lines are so corrosive that they could probably cleanse the nastier tile grout on your bathroom floor. Drums manifest a steady, crashing diatribe that functions beautifully alongside the genuine rawness of the riff progressions, and the vocals here are like a mixture of Martin van Drunen's coarse, grotesque guttural sustain with fits of unintelligible raving that reminded me of early filth-grind like Napalm Death's Scum, or some of the most suicidal post-Burzum black metal you can imagine. In fact, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to imagine the creators of this limiting their influences to that record, as well as the early works of Autopsy, Nihilist, Repulsion, Slayer, Possessed, Asphyx and Carcass. Nothing here sounds as if it was conceived past maybe 1991-2, with the exception of the vast, tumultous vocal mix with loads of reverb echoing out over the primal foundation.

Granted, there are only two tracks here, being a 7", and a few folks might already have them from the extremely limited demo they handed out last year, but not a second goes past on this EP in which I don't feel genuinely terrified, or at least as shaken as this style is going to get me being that I'm no longer 12.  I can't also claim that the individual components of the sound are also that original or perfect, whether being the choices in production or the riffing choices. Yet the way it all comes together like the mismatched limbs of a composite corpse in some Frankenstein lab definitely feels fresh and revitalized despite its hideous throwback stench. Few such younger bands are capable of such ugly songwriting that manages to retain itself in the listener's memory, even without the presence of novel melodies or terribly impressive riffs, but ZOM is so meticulously balanced on the precipice of revulsion and control that I just can't get enough of these songs. A win for Iron Bonehead Productions and for anyone who enjoys a whiff of a freshly opened tomb or unearthed grave. Death and puke forever.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ZOM/195971213790266

Waylander - Kindred Spirits (2012)

Of all the metal varieties in the world, folk is perhaps the most difficult to pull off effectively, since its very nature implies a heavily cultural influence that must be fused against the more decidedly aggressive elements. In the case of North Ireland's Waylander, it's been performing in this niche far longer than most, which shows in the band's tireless ability to implement solid riffing sequences and extreme metal blast beats, double bass, black rasping and semi-technical picking patterns with the melodies of whistles, mandolin, bodhran and other native instruments which help place Kindred Spirits on the map. But bear in mind that this is a metal album 'first', it's not just a faceless collection of toe tapping tavern jigs and gallantry permeated with pedestrian chugging, so if you're merely looking to dance about the moonlight naked with the elves with ethereal fairy vocals, step away.

I'm most reminded of Skyclad, but a more muscular interpretation of that group's Martin Walkyier fronted years with meatier guitars than the thrashing that comparison evokes. Lots of desperate, melodic lines cull the folk inspirations into a lattice of hostility in tracks like "A Path Well Trodden" or the rousing mug swinger "Twin Fires of Beltine". Many will evoke similarities to the melodic black/folk strains coming out of Sweden or Germany, but where a band like Suidakra might summon up strong Gaelic aesthetics in its writing, I feel as if Waylander has a more authentic stake in its heritage, and there's far more of a classic metal strain coursing through the band's veins, only wrought out in mightier, stomping beats and dense guitar textures. Most often, the multi-instrumentalist Dave Briggs will be responsible for the more evident, perky melodies, whereas your typical melodic death outfit would accomplish this through dual guitars. As one might predict, acoustic guitars also play a role in the songs here, but while I found their presence to be largely lackluster and serving only as ligaments between the album's metallic bone structure, they are never over abused or cheesy, not even in the "Grave of Giants" interlude with its cleaner, narrative vocal tone.

In fact, despite the glints of frolic and melody cast throughout, Kindred Spirits seems to be a belligerent and brooding experience, taking itself quite seriously, and therefore it's not bound to alienate the more extreme metal audience with frivolous lights of regrettable gaiety. The blooded rasp of the vocals, while not all that distinct from hundreds of other black metal front men, ensures that the music is kept gnarled, focused and punishing, not for the faintest of heart. In addition, Waylander fills out its tracks appreciably, even where they are 6-7 minutes in length you get enough dynamic versatility that they're never dulled down. That said, while the album is competent and consistent, few moments really leaped out at me. As solid as the band are at executing the varied patterns, I never felt there were many winning riffs or emotional peaks throughout the music, just a level 54 minutes of predictable, charging onslaughts contrasted with familiar folkish melodies whose novelty had worn thin a decade past. Fans who can fancy themselves an interest and investment on a crossroads between Primordial, Suidakra, Cruachan and early Skyclad may feast their hearts out with this, but I didn't get all that much from it. The execution is on point, the band members have a seasoned, solid skill set, but the songwriting never quite stuck to me.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.clanwaylander.com/fr_home.cfm

Eternal Helcaraxe - Against All Odds (2012)

Against All Odds is certainly competent enough as an execution of higher production standards within the pagan black metal niche, and it successfully contrasts its melodic overtones with a raging central fervor, but I couldn't help but feel that this had already been done with far more depth in the past. Not that Eternal Helcaraxe have the intention of heavily expanding upon the parameters that pioneers like Bathory, Enslaved and Immortal brought to light in the late 80s and 90s, but the Irishmen occasionally shoot themselves in the feet with rather predictable chord sequences and familiar melodic tremolo picking that doesn't exactly brand itself upon the memory.

That said, this is a well arranged debut with a number of considerable strengths to it that would be impossible to deny. I greatly appreciated the band's ability to arrange and pace out their dynamics so there is always something refreshing around the corner. The opening string, piano and hovering synthesizer piece "Claim Your Place With the Gods" is the sort that instantly calls forth emotion in the listener, gradually escalating with pangs of sorrowful beauty. They honestly orchestrate their acoustic segments quite well, especially the extended break in the titular track "Against All Odds (All the Battles to Come - Part II)" which saves the 11 minute finale from lapsing into monotony; or the similar intro to "Invictus". Synthesizers are placed liberally about the mix wherever they can drizzle an added sheen of glory or melancholy, and the guitars and rasped vocals are placed right front over the warlike performance of percussionist Tyrith.

A lot of the primary riffs are the usual mix of 90s influenced blast beats and the slower, mug swinging sorts of progressions like the verse of "Invictus", and I'm reminded of later period Immortal (Sons of Northern Darkness) if it were crossbred with bands like Moonsorrow, Thyrfing and Amon Amarth, with perhaps a dash of Insomnium's sad, arching melodic sensibility. The vocals are rather average for the style: audible and serious enough to convey the bloody conviction of the Gaelic, Norse or fantastical battlegrounds from which the band draws its lyrical inspiration, but never cutting or intimidating to the point that they live up to the vicious charisma in the timbre of the black metal forebears. The mix of the music is very clean and professional without sounding overpolished, and everything from the light texture of the keys to the cleaner vocals broken out for songs like "As the Snow Gathers" is well enough managed.

In the end, when it comes to the task of songwriting, Against All Odds doesn't offer the same compelling sense of adventure that some of its contemporaries or influences once culled, but that's not to say it is entirely without value. Despite being 50 minutes long, for instance, there are very few points at which the music ever becomes particularly trite or boring. There's a sense of airy, broad sadness affixed with robust enthusiasm that captures the 'epic' motif the band were obviously aiming towards, and though I found the lyrics (that I could make out) a bit cliche in their imagery, Eternal Helcaraxe manages to somehow avoid the claptrap of 'giddiness' that often fouls up this sort of atmospheric pagan/black sound. Nothing novel or necessarily inspirational here, but a decent soundtrack for tracking your enemies' bloodied footprints across the frozen wilderness.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (we stand with generations past)

http://eternalhelcaraxe.net/

Altar of Plagues - Mammal (2011)

Words of advice: when you're going to kick off your album with a 19 minute long track, make sure you front load it with some interesting material, or at least some sense that you'll be escalating towards such. It's this very tedium which offers a crippling initiation unto the Altar of Plagues sophomore Mammal, and a flaw that I've found difficult to circumnavigate in subsequent returns to the material. Sure, I can just skip this track and move onto the fluffier, marginally superior remainder of the disc, but it's presence alone ensures that my overall relationship to the Irish band's latest will be fleeting at best. A shame, really, because I've liked much of the band's work up this point, and in particular White Tomb proved a promising specter of spacious, urban black metal which directly addresses the cracks in civilization.

Now, it's not solely that Altar of Plagues compose such lengthy songs that is the problem here. They've done it before, and Mammal has the same four-track configuration as its predecessor. But where White Tomb had this gripping, dark miasma about it that slowly suffocated and drew the listener into its callous concrete folds, "Neptune is Dead" does next to nothing. Ambiance begets a cyclic two note progression that remains the same through the oncoming blast beat, and we're subjected to over three minutes of sameness until another minimalist sequence ensues. Of the 19 minutes of this song, there are maybe two points where it's not empty and droning: the warmer melodic sequence at about 5:30 and the more frenetic tremolo after the eight minute mark. Both are decent, but really, in a song this swollen shouldn't we be able to except something truly amazing to happen? It doesn't.

The rest of the album. Not too shabby. I like the dense, sludgy guitar tones in "Feather and Bone", and the steady muted thrash sequence above which the angst laden vocals bark out and tiny, spooky guitars pan out almost like incidental pianos in a tense horror scene. There's also some tapping in there reminiscent of Gojira, with cleaner vocal accompaniment. The wailing ethnic vocals that open and close "When the Sun Drowns in the Ocean" are compelling, as is the use of creeping strings and looping drums, though this should largely be considered an ambient piece. And "All Life Converges to Some Center", the last and second longest track is somewhat emotional and expressive black/post-rock sludge with a brief electro-noise finish.

Mammal isn't all that bad, it just takes too long to get anywhere, and much interest is lost in the waiting room. Fans of spatial, wide open post-rock or shoegazer black metal like Deafheaven or Lantlos will undoubtedly find this an absorbing experience, but then for many such folks you could simply juggle 2-3 notes and apply feedback and rasping and it would seem a Renaissance. In truth, despite its few appreciable moments of warmth and texture, this is naught more than the law of averages, a 52 minute journey into emptiness. The lyrics are decent, using a streamlined conceptual appeal (I like the 'horses are rapid and ready' line refrained in two of the tracks), but the vocals delivering them aren't particularly effective. Ultimately, I just didn't wring out the same level of immersion here that I did with the debut, and the appeal of these Irishmen might have reached its plateau.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.altarofplagues.com/

Altar of Plagues - Tides EP (2010)

Altar of Plagues are easily one of the most promising acts brought to bear on a largely vacant Irish metal scene in decades. Their brand of baleful, beautiful post-black metal does inhabit the same, worn space as many trend-driven acts of the day, but they manifest a strange, suburban sincerity that is impossible to escape, and I find their output far more valuable than a large number of the other acts to which the craven hipsters offer ritual masturbation. They're also no stranger to the EP format, having spread their buzz through the underground with previous 30-minute outings Through the Cracks of the Earth (2007) and Sol (2008), so I had every confidence they'd be able to fill up another half hour with appropriate aural decay.

And this is precisely what they do over the two tracks and 36 minutes of Tides, which shows all the strength of their 2009 debut White Tomb, giving its constituent halves even more time to individually breathe. Like most bloated compositions, the listener should expect long, drawn out passages, with few tectonic shifts in pacing, as Altar of Plagues transport you into the numbing miasma of their existence. It might be shortsighted to really call them 'black metal', as they best resemble an epic disciple of Neurosis or the oft lauded, fellow disciple Isis, but certainly there are surges of monstrous tremolo picking and snarling vacuum that pepper the landscape of "The Weight of All", which somehow succeeds in absorbing you through 20 fucking minutes of bleak, riveting content. Periods of vapid calm and sludgy menace alternate through a dour, minimalist panorama of graying and sepia hues, and it's the better of the two pieces, though the shorter, 15 minute "Atlantic Light" should likewise titillate if you appreciate its somber heft.

Like most albums of this variety, there is a time and place for Tides which is not constant. This is not the sort of record you'll put on when you're in need of a burst of energy and enthusiasm. This is the soundtrack to a slowly wasting, mass consciousness, and should be treated as such when you choose your time and location. Driving or walking through the abandoned urban streets, so blank that you feel zombies are going to launch themselves at you from hidden precipices, or an overcast, ugly countryside where even the cattle waddle about in disinterest, these are the ideal vehicles of appreciation for such hymnals that Altar of Plagues evoke. Tides is proof that there is some life left in them to leech, that perhaps this will not be a one shot wonder, that their suicidal oppression will persist into a new scheme, but the next time out, it might be compelling to hear them branch into various spectra of emotion rather than flogging the same dried tears.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.myspace.com/altarofplagues

Haud Mundus & Wormlust - Oblivio Appositus Split EP (2009)

Oblivio Appositus brings together the talents of two of the younger, dour acts of the North Atlantic Ocean, a form fitting collaboration that sees its share of both atmospheric metal riffing and long, beautiful passages of ambiance. Ireland's Haud Mundus is the product of Wann and Gast, both members of the more traditional black metal band Myrkr; Gast also late of the promising Sol Axis and Slidhr. Wormlust is the brainchild of H.V. Lyngdal, who spends time between his native Iceland and England. I had already some exposure to the latter, reviewing the 2009 Wormlust demo called Seven Paths, which consisted of a single, 12+ minute long track, and a damned good one at that. But outside of Sol Axis and Myrkr, I had not heard Haud Mundus prior to the split...

Clearly, judging by their contributions to this release, I have been missing out, because their two tracks here are quite magnificent examples of the balance possible between the black and ambient genres. "Veins of Stone" is over 13 minutes, opening with a cavernous cacophony of morbid gloom and ringing hammer-like strikes, from which a slicing, huge guitar tone soon erupts, and becomes even huger as the duo lumbers through a number of devious, crashing poles. "Forever Desiccate the Seed" is briefer, at around 8 minutes, but its also denser and faster, more of a traditional black metal at first, then branching out into a number of ambient segues, like a mix of Shining and Raison d'Etre. I'd also point out that the production used by Haud Mundus is massive and accessible, a sure sign that the band could be taken very seriously in this particular sub-strain, courted by labels who value fidelity alongside other credibility.

Wormlust, too, has adopted a more bold if calamitous sense for production, and his two pieces here trumph the Seven Paths demo by measure of aggression alone. Truly, this is a frightening experience, Lyngdal's full, bloodied throat casting a ghastly pallor over the surging threads of "Surge - About the Death of a God" and the dusky, swelling phantasm that is "The Larvean Inauguration (Or: A Feast for the Animal of Reflection)". Thematically and stylistically, the material is not a far shot from Haud Mundus, so together the two flow like of wet stream of cursed concrete, its mortar drawn from the blood of angels and innocents. I felt that Wormlust was inherently more caustic and chaotic, with almost random segues into wild ambient, but he compensates by being the more horrific entity of the split.

The release itself is quite attractive, with a striking bloodied crown on its face, and a lyric booklet included with the digipak. I'm not accustomed to splits with great art direction, and though by all appearances this is minimal, I really loved the cerebral imagery it projected as I was listening to these interesting bands. Haud Mundus and Wormlust are both worthy of taking the reins from the now-defunct Xasthur, perhaps Leviathan, oining their voice into the chorus of obscurity championed by many devotees of Burzum and other dire progenitors. Their pairing here can be no accident, because they both share the same skill at creating discomfort through laxing and swelling climes of glacial fascination.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://wormlust.blogspot.com/

Moral Crusade - An Act of Violence (1990)

Moral Crusade were really just another of countless hundreds of thrash bands, no doubt inspired by the success of Bay Area greats like Metallica, Exodus, Testament and Slayer to form their own act and give it a go. But they do have one particular distinction: they were one of the tragic few groups of this style to hail from Ireland. Considering the angry stereotypes we usually associate with the place, it's almost surprising, but then, there has always been but a small knit circle of metal acts in any substrata from that nook of the world, so why should the late 80s thrash wave have been any different?

The band produced a demo in the year of their creation, 1998's Immoral Condition, and later spat out this sole album, which fell far below the radar as there was only so much coin to pass around to the legions of better known bands struggling to try and break that 'Big 4' or 'Big 3', dependent on your individual preference. Unfortunately, even if they had benefited from some mass exposure, I fear Moral Crusade would not have made much of a difference, as the music they wrote here was all too middling and typical of its day. Crisp, crunchy and angry thrash that reminds me of so many 'lesser tier' bands like Defiance, Wargasm or honestly, about a thousand bands that never made it out of the rehearsal or demo stage here in the states. The album contains a few of the demo tracks in "Hate War" and "When the World Dies", and the remainder was written for this release, so it's safe to assume that it represents the bulk of their brief career.

I say the record reminds me more of US thrash due to the clumsy but charismatic barking of the vocalist, 'Pincher', who has a pretty typical style found often in street-thrash or crossover bands California and beyond, and the riffing seems to focus on that mid-paced schematic we have come to know from a Wargasm or Anvil Bitch. In fact, from what I've read, the band actually evolved out of a crossover/hardcore band known as Chromatic Death. There are, however, some wild breaks of speed during certain segments or leads which remind me of Exodus or the German scene, and I for one wish there had been more of this material, like the solo bridge in "When the World Dies" or the cruel, twisting anger of "The End".

Otherwise, so many of the tracks just pump along like a forgettable train of nightly barroom brawls. "Streetwise" has a seasoning of Destruction in its violent escapade, and "Premeditated Murder" threw a few undeniably raw riffs right in my face, but I found even the moments of nostalgic fervor I feel for this genre to fade rather quickly when I listened through this again. It doesn't help that the production is meek, with the guitars so loud and chunky that the bass becomes close to a non-issue, the drums trebly and crashing enough to at least provide a seat that the guitars and vocals can sit their fat asses into. The lyrics delve into the typical thrash subjects of its day, from hatred and domestic violence to the broader strokes of Armageddon.

In all, there's nothing necessarily bad or poorly contrived about An Act of Violence. It offered a bit of headbanging for your bucks, but nothing that would last in the tape deck or record player for more than a few spins before the attention sought out the more vivid musical statement made by a myriad of others. The same record could have come out of any 'burb in the States during the 1988-1992 period, so there's not much of a cultural distinction in the rhythms, and thus it once again returns to the dark side of memory, the dust of long settled aspirations, the twisted visage of its cover mascot (Spider-Man's arch nemesis Venom with a beard, anyone?) leering from a forgotten place.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/moralcrusadehcthrash

(You can download the tracks from the album through a link on their site).

Sol Axis - ...To Mark the Ages (2009)

Once again I am bummed to find that I have arrived too late to appreciate a band during its existence. Sol Axis was an Irish black metal project with a vicious and shredding tone painting trails of blood across the malleable darkness of an unforgiving atmosphere. ...To Mark the Ages is a collection of their previously released and now re-mastered 2004 demo, and an EP of the same name. In addition there are two Bathory covers ("Raise the Dead" and "The Return of Darkness and Evil") and an unreleased track. The band featured some members of lesser known Irish bands like Abaddon Incarnate, Kingdom and Dreamsfear.

Much of the material ranges from good to great. In particular I enjoyed "Dirge for All Nations" from the 2004 demo, which alternates a modern Satyricon-like groove with a somber blasting segment. "Through Red Soil" from the EP has some barbaric drumming and churning black atmospheres conjured through the chords and apocalyptic vocals, with a nice Norsecore style arpeggiated breakdown. "Scars On Earth" features a grim, flowing riff along with a minimal rocking drumbeat before blasting out. Both Bathory covers are decent, "Raise the Dead" the better of the two.

The project is listed 'On-Hold' at their MySpace page, so with luck these guys might strap together a full length onslaught. While I can't call their writing truly unique, it's got that an intangible blackened freshness to it I find rare in a lot of black metal. It also wouldn't hurt to have another Irish band to follow besides Primordial and Altar of Plagues.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/solaxisireland

Altar of Plagues - White Tomb (2009)

After a tasteful pair of EPs, Ireland's Altar of Plagues issue their debut full-length through Profound Lore records, and if you were a fan of their brand of swelling ambient and melodic, melancholic black metal then you are unlikely to be disappointed with this.

White Tomb consists of two tracks, each divided into two sections, and clocks in just beneath 50 minutes. "Earth Pt. I: As a Womb" sets off the album with a crisp grace; a monotonous, progressing synth saturated in sparse guitar plucking and then a crescent of feedback, migrating into a blast beat and wall of driving chords beyond the 2 minute mark. The track wanders through numerous sequences of chords, all are very pleasant if at times repetitious. "Earth Pt. II: As a Furnace" is even more breathtaking, with some scintillating aggression and lush acoustic/folk segments, a post-rock edge throughout much of its discourse. "Through the Collapse: Watchers Restrained" opens with some of the heaviest black metal on the album, but then devolves into a creeping, minimalist landscape of snarled spoken word over chagrin inducing black doom. "Through the Collapse: Gentian Truth" is a majestic piece which winds across the morning hills like a mist, again breaking down into minimalism, but in its case a sort of ambient with distant vocals...perhaps the most telling moment on the album.

The imagery conjured through Altar of Plagues is not one of abandoned forests and mountains, but the dark and forgotten underbelly of urbane, mundane existence, transformed into a dark beauty often overlooked. Listen to this as you overlook an empty city at 5:00 am sunrise. This isn't something one is often exposed to through this medium of metal music, and it's certainly this band's forte. White Tomb also sounds quite good, the guitars are immersive throughout. The vocals tortured. The drums flowing and expressive. It's a difficult journey to leave once you set foot down its path, and superior to their previous EPs, which had already promised at a rare potential.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.myspace.com/altarofplagues

Graveyard Dirt - Shadows of Old Ghosts EP (2007)

Shadows of old ghosts indeed - Graveyard Dirt are an Irish band that formed back in 92 and called it quits after one demo in 96. Yet, more than a decade later, they're at it again with a fantastic ep well worth any doom fan's time.

Graveyard Dirt play a very classic British style of death/doom, strongly reminiscent of the Peaceville Three in its spacious sound, yet still original and quite compelling. There is a strong feel of the romantic, pagan pride that many of the Irish bands seem to have moving through the humming guitar leads, to speak nothing of the lovely accented spoken sections that pepper the songs with Celtic glory. The vocals otherwise stick to a gruff, shouted style full of character, although it can get a tad strained when he tries to get more melodic without giving up the guttural aspect. Of course, as is necessary for doom, Shadows of Old Ghosts has a rock-solid, heavy churn to the guitars to give a ponderous weight to each song. The lyrics move with an anguished, quasi-religious theme running throughout that harks to the ongoing Christian troubles of Ireland, but they're first and foremost full of despair, and it works well.

The surprising part? Much of the material on this album was actually written around the time of their original demo, although it wasn't recorded until recently. If this had been released back then, Shadows of Old Ghosts would easily have become a classic, or at the very least, a huge cult favourite. It will be interesting to see how completely new material will sound, what with the large amount of time that has passed, and we'll have to wait and see if they can produce enough material to create a compelling full-length effort, but I'm confident that these blokes won't drop the ball if they continue on.

Verdict: Epic Win [5/5]

http://www.myspace.com/graveyarddirt