Trepalium - XIII (2009)

Alright, let's look at that cover art. It's terrible. Absolutely, irredeemably terrible. What kind of a band would choose something like that? Strangely, a goddamn great one. Although it's my first exposure to them, XIII is Trepalium's third album, a killer medley of technical malevolence and a fresh new argument for the richness of France's current metal scene.

Trepalium play a unique take on tech death that contains as much stoner grooviness as it does brutality. Winding riffs playfully, ominously shift their way around odd tempo changes; the guitars peer from angles of uncertain reality, beckoning violently. Thankfully, Trepalium eschew the spastic seizure approach, choosing instead to create well-balanced, flowing songs full of prog, jazz, death metal, metalcore, and grind elements. Gojira is an obvious reference point, although the style isn't that easily compared. "Addicted to Oblivion" looks into an alternate dimension where Clutch became a death metal band - Keke's filtered roaring and the buzzed, off-kilter riffing bring the smell of spacegrass instantly to mind. Melodeath is taken on an inebriated tumble down a flight of stairs with "World Plague", even pausing for a metalcore breakdown that not only isn't terrible, but actually fits naturally into the song. As a one-time occasion, "Glowing Cloud" dampens the tech elements down while it struts out some Morbid Angel brutality, much like a French version of Aeon. Trepalium cover a bewildering span of styles, made all the more sweet by their impressive ability to knit them together seamlessly. The musicianship here is extremely tight and organic feeling - there is never a dull or (unplanned) awkward moment on XIII.

A shining gem for any tech death stalwarts, XIII should prove equally entertaining for fans of more progressive metalcore acts like Between the Buried and Me. Hopefully this album garners Trepalium the attention that they deserve, because it's too damn good to be passed up.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (half point lost for cover art)

http://www.myspace.com/trepal

Wolf - Ravenous (2009)

It seems like only yesterday that I first heard Wolf's explosive revival of pure 80s heavy/speed metal motif, anchored by Niklas Stålvind's high pitched, memorable vocal lines. The truth is they've been around for quite some time, well over a decade, and Ravenous is their 5th full-length. It is their most settled and mature sounding album to date, and a good one, but in places the lyrics felt a little too cheesy even for Wolf.

Many of the songs here seem focused on horror and legend: vampires, witches, psychopaths, etc. "Speed On" rocks forth with some well composed melodic guitar lines, and a fairly obvious chorus, but catchy nonetheless. "Curse You Salem" relates the tale of a witch hunt, and it's one of the better tracks on the album with some great riffs. "Voodoo" is very, very old school heavy metal style, though Stålvind's vocals take it over the top. Here is where you'll start to notice some of the really bad lyrics bleed in: when you put your hex, to get rid of your ex. Really? "Hail Caesar" is a cool track that reminds me of early Hexx with its rhythm. "Ravenous" is another riff monster, and Stålvind does a nice Dickinson-style vocal line in the verse. "Mr. Twisted" has riffs aplenty but the vocals and especially the lyrics suck:

I'm leaving, I guess I'm leaving, you'll never see me again.
I'm leaving, oh yes I'm leaving, you'll never hear from me again.

"Love at First Bite" is a vampire sex song which is just fucking hilarious lyrically in the way so many of those 80s songs were:

My tongue is licking, is licking your wicked body
Your writhing and moaning, but you don't want to stop me.

I rather enjoyed "Secrets We Keep" despite another almost painful lyrical streak. As for "Whiskey Psycho Hellions", what do you really expect? Fortunately the music again almost makes up for the embarrassing words. The final two tracks "Hiding in Shadows" and "Blood Angel" are both really good and the lyrics aren't quite as bad. The latter has some really nice acoustic guitars in it.

It's not that I expect Wolf to produce the work of a poet laureate, I actually expect a little cheese from any power metal album, but there are a few places where the lyrics just stick out like a sore thumb. Otherwise, Ravenous is a great album. The songs are well-written musically and Niklas' voice is gorgeous and in top form. As a whole, the album isn't as catchy as Evil Star or The Black Flame, but it will should still see some reasonable time in my car stereo.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (no, don't even ask)

http://www.wolf.nu/

Ribspreader - Congregating the Sick (2005)

I feel like a separate blog may be in order just to cover all of Rogga Johansson's many projects, since the man has almost single-handedly crafted a Swedish retro death metal scene (to be fair, he's had a lot of help from the right places). Fans of his newer projects like Revolting and Putrevore would do well to check out Ribspreader, one of his earlier efforts. They've released two full-lengths a few years ago; of these Congregating the Sick is the more recent and superior.

There is no surprise as to what you're going to find on the album: pure old school Swedish metal which benefits from a more modern, crushing production. Influenced by all the usual suspects (Dismember, Entombed, Grave, as well as early Death), Rogga and friends bludgeon through 9 tracks of consistent mayhem. Drums were provided by Johan Berglund (who also plays bass in one of Rogga's other bands Demiurg.), and some snappy leadwork is offered by Dan Swanö, who also recorded the album.

The album begins with one of its best tracks, "Autopsy Obsessed", a rush of primal grooving energy with a great flurry of leads over the first rhythm. "Morbid Reflections" is a little slower at first but picks up nicely. "Bleeding You Dry" is similar to the first two tracks with a mid-paced delivery packed with groove. "Breeding Sickness" is a little darker, with an evil bluesy intro riff that transforms into some very old school speed picking and carnal breakdowns. "Dead to the World" is a veritable feast of blazing early 90's Swedish death which would do any moshpit proud. "Maggots (Fucking Maggots)" may not be as great a hymn to the larval carrion feeders as that of the great GWAR, but it will suffice. Another of the album's best tracks is closer "The Crawling".

Your mileage with Congregating the Sick will vary based on your relative love of old school Swedish brutality, including many of Rogga's other works. The music isn't amazing but it's tight enough for an album trying to capture that lost magick so many death metal albums lack. The lyrics are pretty average, but unfortunately few death metal fans pay attention to such things. I consider this the better of Ribspreader's two full-lengths but some of Johansson's other work is a little better.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (when the hacking begins)

http://www.myspace.com/ribspreaderofficial

Funeral Mist - Maranatha (2009)

Maranatha marks the turning point of Funeral Mist's transformation into a solo project, with Arioch helming all instruments except drums, which are done by an unnamed session player. Even overlooking Arioch's work as Mortuus (of Marduk fame), it is easy to draw comparisons between these two bands, yet Maranatha never comes across as a polyp, and actually manages to interest me more at times.

Much like Marduk, Funeral Mist take the panzer approach with their up-tempo black metal assault. "Sword of Faith" opens Maranatha calmly, allowing the listener a few seconds of respite before trampling them with a stampede of blast-beats and raging guitars. However, the Marduk effect is then tossed aside by "White Stone", a stomping, stripped-down number that would only have to sneeze to find itself on the black'n'roll side of the line. Although it's a damn good song, there's definitely a feel of unrealized potential throughout, as if Arioch just needed to explore it a bit further to unleash something fantastic. The next few songs follow a similar pirouette of styles, switching back and forth between intense frenzies and more rocking moments. One of the stand-out tracks, "Blessed Curse", is a simple yet monumental dirge spanning 12 minutes of droning guitars and trumpets, propelled by a sampled doomsday prophet and the snarls of Arioch choking on his disgust. As usual, Arioch's voice is in spectacular shape, groaning and wheezing rage as distinctly as ever. The lyrical focus on Maranatha is entertaining in its focus on using Biblical quotes and samples for mockery, standing as a fresh, but still familiar, variation on common anti-religious themes.

Maranatha is a pretty fucking solid album, full of material that would be welcomed with open arms on a Marduk album, yet riddled with its own unique style. I even found it to be more consistently entertaining than Rom 5:12, and expect to come back to it more often.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (we will never drink of your blood)

http://www.myspace.com/thefuneralmist

Katatonia - Tonight's Decision (1999)

The transformation from Katatonia's death/doom roots into the melodic and somber entity they are today was a gradual one, through the bleak and beautiful Brave Murder Day into the mellow yet driving despair of Discouraged Ones. On this, their fifth full-length, they delivered a monolith of dulcet tones and miserable bliss, having finally realized the metamorphosis into the Katatonia we know today.

Tonights' Decision created a quandary in many of the band's original fanbase due to its accessibility. Long gone are the death vocals and droning repetitions. This is Katatonia lite. Katatonia pop, if you will. But anyone listening deeper, beyond the surface will realize Tonight's Decision is a spray of welcome mist on an overcast afternoon, an embellishment of personal despair with riffs that reflect it. It doesn't hurt that "For My Demons" might just be the catchiest track this Swedish outfit have ever unveiled. Creative clean guitar tone plucking initiates a flowing, grooving breath of sadness below Renkse's sedate lyrical musings. The lyrics to this, and the majority of the album, are essentially blues. If the blues were being played at an upclass gothic nightclub. "I Am Nothing" continues the bleak exploration with its acoustic laden percussion, taking its time to deliver the heavier guitars. "In Death, a Song" provides a melodic syrup of Renske at his catchiest, while the guitars of 'Blakkheim' and Fred Norman shine in all their doomed grace. "Had to (leave)" is a bit heavier and groovier, while "This Punishment" is entirely mellowed blues folk emblazoned with a seering organ sound. "Right Into the Bliss" is all too catchy and warm. The rest of the album is equally passionate, with other standouts including "A Darkness Coming" and "Black Session". The band also offers a reasonable cover of Jeff Buckley's "Nightmares by the Sea".

The mix has a very acoustic feel to it, as if Katatonia arrived in your mid-priced college tenement flat one evening and plugged right in to the amplifiers in your living room. The guitars are silky and gossamer but just powerful enough to pull off its heavier riffs. Jonas Renkse sounds sad. Mission accomplished. Tonight's Decision is my favorite Katatonia record, though Viva Emptiness has grown on me to almost rival it. There is much to offer here for an evening of sadness, to turn your smile upside down.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (cause you would never do that for me)

http://www.katatonia.com/

Unmoored - Indefinite Soul-Extension (2003)

Yet another band to slip through the cracks during the explosion of melodic Swedish death metal in the late 20th/early 21st centuries is Unmoored. Despite a level of ability rivaling the 'big 3' of In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Soilwork, they have never risen out of the 2nd or perhaps 3rd tier of bands. It really is a shame, especially with their third offering Indefinite Soul-Extension, because this is a band who can mix it up with the best of them.

"Unspeakable Grief" christens the album with blazing guitars ala At the Gates, accented with some synths and clean chorus parts similar to those used by Soilwork's 'Speed' Strid during this period. The song also delivers a few meaty grooving hook breakdowns. "Commit to the Fire" opens with a punctual, slower thrashing riff sure to transform any idly waiting mob into a roiling mosh pit, before unleashing some pure old school Swedish death. "Leave-Taking" arpeggiates into some progressive and twisting death, even busting into some atmospheric black metal segments and clean acoustic chorus. That's the strength of Unmoored: their ability to incorporate a myriad of sub-styles into cohesion. "Phase of Revulsion" features some big, moody melodies over charging drums and a choppy thrash verse not unlike Testament. "Morndraper" is short, fast, and furious death metal. "Cinders Veil" is another track balancing a brutal thrust with a catchy, clean vocal chorus and some slower grooves. "Spit Forth from Failure" is possibly the best song on the album, total death metal assault with huge sound. The album ends with the acoustic power ballad "Final State Part III: Posthumous Writings".

As mentioned, the sound here is just loud and clear...HUGE. The guitar tones crush when required, but the acoustics are graceful and the synths are mixed just right so that they always remain where they belong: in the atmosphere. Christian Ävestam's vocals are just right, I particular favor his death growl but his clean vocals do not insult. The lyrics aren't bad either. Indefinite Soul-Extension is a little less groove-laden than its predecessors Cimmerian or Kingdoms of Greed, but at the same time it's more memorable and has a greater depth. Definitely not an album to overlook. It's been years since we've heard from this band, but they are supposedly still active, maybe we'll get a new album soon.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (inmost nature set ablaze)

http://www.unmoored.com/

Lake of Tears - A Crimson Cosmos (1997)

Sometimes an album will come along that is just so damned unique and wonderful that you will find yourself screaming from the rafters on the injustice of its obscurity. How could this have come and gone with nary a whisper? Lake of Tears' 3rd album A Crimson Cosmos is such a piece, a beautiful effort of doom metal with folk and 70s influences, and psychedelic and fantastical themes to many of the lyrics. Their previous album Headstones was a strong one, but this takes the cake and remains my favorite of the band's career.

Although it doesn't lack for heaviness where it counts, a light heart is mandatory to appreciate the band's whimsical lyrics and flights of fantasy. "Boogie Bubble" begins the album with the slow pace you will come to expect on most of the band's tunes, with a catchy doom rock riff complemented with organs, softly tolling bells, and sweet little leads. "Cosmic Weed" rocks harder, with an unforgettable chorus and a perfect chugging gait. The simple and repetitious lyrics to this song exemplify the band's sad but beautiful perspective. "When My Sun Comes Down" is a sorrow-filled, slow moving folk rock epic, enveloped in glorious atmosphere. "Devil's Diner" is a pure rocker, with sweeping pianos. Try and imagine Elton John or Jerry Lee Lewis playing Swedish stoner rock. The lyrics are menacing in the sweetest possible way:

Oh devil dire, save a chair for me
Oh devil dire, for me and my lily
A table set for three, my lily, him and me and a chandelier, and a chandelier
All seven candles lit it scares a little bit oh little lily dear
As the bell strikes twelve, he speaks the evil spell
he speaks the evil spell as the bell strikes twelve

"The Four Strings of Morning" picks up with a pumping bass line, sparse but excellent use of rocking chords, more of the graceful pipe organ sounds in the distance, and an excellent chorus hook. Brennare's vocals sound particularly vulnerable and powerful here. "To Die is to Wake" is a beautiful and inspiring instrumental. Seriously, wake up some morning, look over the arctic wastes of winter New England as the sun breaks the horizon to this. Some of you might not live there, but try and imagine. Because imagination is what this album is all about, as evidenced by the next two tracks. "Lady Rosenred" is a catchy folk jig duo with Brennare and a female guest. The lyrics are beautiful as they recall times of olde and time of fantasy. Any song that talks about 'bards singing in the shadows' and 'jamming with angry mages' is alright with me. "Raistlin & the Rose" is an amazing track which recalls 80s radio rock in its use of synthesizers, yet the doomy chords are still plugging away beneath. Dragonlance fans should get a kick out of its very somber but catchy lyrics, but it's a vague enough romantic interlude that all should apply.

As they dance under the moon
they bring doom
he calls her friend
and says he'll change
she calls him friend
and he deceives again

The album ends with the very folksy and psychedelic title track, recalling Pink Floyd. It's a chill and fitting end to such an amazing experience. And I mean that; this was the first album of its type that I had heard, and a rousing success at mixing its various elements. If Tiamat, Iron Butterfly and Pink Floyd hung out, tripped their balls off, and wrote a record, it may sound like this. This is the also the turning point for Lake of Tears, as it departed from the more straightforward folk/doom of its predecessors. The band continues along this route even on their latest, the excellent Moons and Mushrooms (second only to A Crimson Cosmos).

Brilliant and under appreciated.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (close my heart, hold on to evil)

http://www.lakeoftears.net/

Doom:VS - Dead Words Speak (2008)

Doom:VS' debut in 2006 firmly established the project as a second-tier melodic death/doom outfits with it's solid, yet not quite amazing take on the genre. Aeternum Vale was a well-balanced effort that showed off Johan Ericson's solo abilities outside of Draconian and, with its pleasant focus on heavy synthesized atmospheres and oftentimes funereal pacing, stood as a sign of good things to come.

Dead Words Speak opens up well enough with "Half Light", which, after a slow fade-in, exhibits a richer production with some heavy riffs and ominous synth lines. But, even as this song progresses, it becomes readily apparent that this isn't exactly a step forward. The earliest sign of this comes in with the vocals, growled cries whose last syllables are monotonously dragged out to effectively double the length of each word. These aren't necessarily new for Doom:VS, yet the less spacious, more up-front sound of Dead Words Speak gives the singing a more prominent position that highlights their deficiencies. They're also far more pervasive on this album, barely ever leaving space for the music to breath. Even the clean vocals have dropped in quality, although this can't be blamed on the production - Aeternum Vale's enjoyable mixture of sung and spoken styles has been largely tossed in favour of often cornily phoned-in, My Dying Bride-lite spoken sections that generally do more to highlight the unimpressive lyrics than anything. Although actually sung parts do pop up, and still sound great, they don't get nearly enough use. Lyrically, Dead Words Speak has a self-pitying, depressive vein running through it that has very little doom to it - rather, it makes me wish that Johan would get out in the sun and play with some puppies. Keeping par with the rest of the review, the music on this album is likewise less inspired, chock full of riffs whose only claim to doomship lies in a miasma of repetition. The melodic leads and atmospheric touches, hell, even the rare low-key sections, are still quite dismal, but they don't make up enough of the songs to save them, appearing instead as bubbles of fresh air to sustain listeners through the doldrums.

It really isn't hard to see that Johan knows what he's doing. However, his work with Doom:VS has suffered in the transition to a more professional sound. Simple and unexciting, Dead Words Speak is a competent yet soulless work that belies the promise of the debut, although it still retains promising elements that will hopefully feature more prominently on further releases.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/doomvs

Therion - Lepaca Kliffoth (1995)

Though it was their fourth full-length, and we had been given a sampling of their symphonic/gothic direction with Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas, Lepaca Kliffoth remains the stunning and memorable masterpiece of the band's career. A transitional phase between the band's death metal roots and the hybrid of symphonic, gothic metal they would carry forward for the rest of their years. This is an extremely dark album. The band retains their fascination with obscure occult magicks and prophecies within the lyrics, and the music revolves around very simple mid-paced metal riffs drenched in the vocal libations of Christofer Johnsson.

The album starts off strongly with "The Wings of the Hydra", and from there on the serpent has snaked about your spine. An addictive piece with an obvious Celtic Frost influence, chanting vocals, simple synth tones and arabesque guitar melodies which evoke the mythical age of the song's namesake. "Melez" begins with an unforgettable bass trot, soon covered in glorious octave chords and speed-picked, almost flamenco acoustic guitar, then breaking into a simple but mesmerizing verse, an interplay of keyboards and more of that Middle Eastern feel to the guitars. But the true joy is the excellent, creepy flute/guitar exchange late in the track, which feels like the introduction to some daemonic snake charmer. "Arrival of the Darkest Queen" uses flutes and keyboards to herald the album's 'hit single', "The Beauty in Black". Glorious and gothic, it uses a pair of operatic vocalists (male and female), a sort of predecessor to the revolving door of guest musicians the band will use on later albums. Other excellent tracks include the charging "Riders of Theli", the crushing doom of "Black" which would have fit almost perfectly on Into the Pandemonium. Speaking of Celtic Frost, and as if to prove the massive influence they have, Therion offers a cover here of "Sorrows of the Moon". The rest of the album is equally dark and enchanting, with other standouts being the title track and "Evocation of Vovin".

Some might have found the production on the album crude yet I love it to this day. Synthesizers, flutes multiple vocalists, and the core of the band are all clear and precise throughout, yet it still carries a very raw and dark, ominous tone to it which trumps the later studio efforts. This may not be quite as symphonic as many Therion fans demand of their material in recent years, but it clearly marks the point where this band transformed from a slightly above average death metal band into the gods of crushing gothic death. There are very few parallels to something like this, and it belongs in the collection of any fan of quality occult metal.

Verdict: Epic Win [10/10] (give up your gods)

http://www.megatherion.com/

Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence (1993)

There are classic albums and there are cult albums. The Nocturnal Silence is both, one of the best early statements of the Swedish death metal uprising of the early to mid 90s. Unlike a Left Hand Path though, this one wasn't an instant personal attraction. It took several years to develop on me, but one drunken evening I was listening to it with a friend at university and it suddenly dawned on me...this is awesome.

Necrophobic tend towards the occult side of the death metal spectra, with grim lyrics about hell and vile philosophies. They have a similar guitar tone to their contemporaries, but otherwise do not sound quite the same as far as how they present their riffs. I once thought this album was a rambling mess, but it is in fact pinpoint in its delivery of grinding guitars and the barking of ex-vocalist Anders Strokirk. The album is produced by the infamous Tomas Skogsberg so you know what to expect.

As a complete work The Nocturnal Silence is extremely consistent, each of the nine tracks destroys. "Awakening" begins with some spooky keyboards, soon joined by some slower leads before the churning guitars herald the apocalypse. Simple old school death rhythms commence a dark mood on the diabolic "Before the Dawn". "Unholy Prophecies" has a few rhythms which recall Slayer when they were good. The title track begins with haunted acoustics, again building into a grim lead melody. "Inborn Evil" has a slower groove to it, while "The Ancient's Gate" starts with the sickest groove on the album. Also of note are the barbaric and fast-paced "Sacrificial Rites" and the creepy "Where Sinners Burn".

Though the album has been remastered, it still sounds great in its original form. There is nothing overly polished about it, it simply manages to retain a dark intonation that many death metal albums only wish they could have. So often we forget what the pure evil of this genre used to sound like, jaded from endless overdubbed albums with focus on technical precision to the detriment of atmosphere. The Nocturnal Silence remains my favorite of Necrophobic's albums, and a true relic of extreme Swedish metal.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10] (leave the spell of Christ)

http://www.necrophobic.net/