Hypomanie - Calm Down, You Weren't Set On Fire (2012)

If you had asked me some few years ago if I could ever stomach a 45 minute instrumental blackgaze album, I can't promise that I would have answered in the affirmative. However, Hypomanie's third full-length effort Calm Down, You Weren't Set On Fire had me in its throes before even the first track subsided. That this is a Dutch solo project, all instruments performed by a single individual known by the abbreviation 'S.' (for Selwin), is nothing short of impressive, but more compelling by far is the album's ability to overcome the due predictability of its components to become this desperate, beautiful and hypnotic tapestry of guitars and drums that feels as if An Autumn for Crippled Children had jammed out with Explosions in the Sky.

I've no past memory of the previous Hypomanie records Sehnsucht or A City in Mono, but it seems that the project has followed a similar course to many in its niche: firm, raw black metal roots that evolved into a more accessible, melodic medium without sacrificing the appreciably lo fi atmosphere we often equate with the underground legends. In fact, beyond the production values, it would be quite difficult to classify any of this album as 'black metal'. Usually there is a layering of guitars with some gorgeous, keening melodic line being joined by a less evocative, more heavily saturated rhythm track. Great examples would be "19 Stars and the Sweet Smell of Cinnamon" or "If Only the Seas Were Merciful", but the technique is used everywhere as S. alternates it with cleaner calms redolent of shimmery 90s alt-rock or shoegaze music like The Cure, Lush or the Cocteau Twins (quite heavily showcased in "Alissa Loves Perfume" and "Lullabye for Ian") The percussion is also a treat, with simple beats ranging from the driving desperation of emotional torment to a more playful temperance.

If there were any complaints, I think they'd be the usual suspects involving excess repetition in some of the guitar lines, and perhaps a lack of variation that bounces back and forth between only two climes. Certain songs here like "You Never Listened to the Birds" are even more raw and grating than others, but they still thrive off the same wailing impetus. The riff progressions are often quite easy to predict in advance, so rarely does this spin off into the unexpected, and yet they're still pretty immortal. I was not put off by the 8-10 minute length of most of the songs, nor the lack of vocals, and that speaks volumes of the ability to grab the listener by the ears within the first few measures and then draw he or she into it for the distance. Calm Down... has its limitations, and not everyone will be invested in its jubilant emotional outbursts, but those seeking a chic aural backdrop against which to ponder the happy and sad shifts of their lives could find far worse foci.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/hypomanie

Judas Priest - Ram It Down (1988)

Though it's not one of my favorite full-lengths in the Judas Priest backlog, and I found the songs marginally less hooky than its direct predecessor Turbo, there is something Ram It Down did VERY right. Essentially, it would steer Halford and company back on the path they had abandoned with their divisive '86 record, and seemed the perfect staging for what would follow, the band's almost entirely unexpected, more aggressive masterpiece Painkiller. This album certainly curries a lot of the elements that seem to point at a Priest who had awoken from an oblivious torpor, shucking aside a security blanket and realizing that they weren't getting any younger, but they could still get HARDER, and thus assimilate themselves against the evolving metal landscape without betraying the traditional sound that they were so critical in helping create in the first place.

Perfect it is not, but heavy it most definitely fucking is, at least in comparison to the band's output up to its release. The guitars feel more pronounced and potent, the leads quavering, intense and more acrobatic than many others in their discography, and Rob's voice was becoming more dynamic and defined than even his youthful years. All the experimentation with the guitar synthesizers has been cast to the curb and they've gone for straight, ballsy songwriting with the huge vocal hooks that have immortalized them. Interestingly enough, they kept on long term producer Tom Allom here in conjunction with several of the band members, and though this is one of his last appearances in that role, he's managed to help get them back on track. For if I've got any complaints at all about Ram It Down, the actual studio sound is not among them, this is one of the finest 'sounding' albums the band have ever released to date, voluminous and balanced to a cutting perfection.

Where I don't strongly succumb to its charms is in the songwriting. Most of what you hear on this record was actually intended to be released with the Turbo material as a double disc which would mix and match the heavier and more glam/pop inspired material, but it eventually was decided that they'd separate the two aesthetics into their own entities. Ram It Down clearly still has a few of the hard rock songs present, like Zeppelin-groove heavy screamer "Love Zone" or the melodic cover of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode". "I'm a Rocker" would have fit in quite fluidly with Turbo since it has that same sort of percussive guitar rhythm beneath the chords, and the same might be said for the nearly 8 minute, escalating "Blood Red Skies" which adheres to the heavy use of synth from the '86 album, though effectively. "Love You to Death" wouldn't have been out of place for KISS or Jimmy Page. Strangely, though, while I liked the summery party aesthetics of Turbo, none of these particular tracks have ever really stood out to me...

But then, the rest of Ram It Down is really quite good. "Come and Get It" is one of those classic mid-paced hybrid hard rock/power anthems which would influence about a hundred German bands not the least of whom would be Primal Fear (or U.D.O.'s solo works). "Heavy Metal" opens with some flashy, frivolous leads before evolving into some of the best Halford screaming lines on the album, not to mention a chorus so dark and catchy that it compensates for just how goddamn obvious you knew it was going to be. "Hard and Iron" and "Ram It Down" itself both serve as the foreshadowing of Painkiller, what with the driving double bass in the former, the scathing and effective leads, the more aggressive sting on the vocal effects and the general sense of added majesty, anger complexity that the band would pursue on tunes like "Leather Rebel", "Metal Meltdown" and "All Guns Blazing". Had this album never existed and those tracks were bonus material on the 1990 effort, they'd fit in quite fluidly, even though the payoff of the chorus hooks is nowhere near that level.

"Monsters of Rock" was another interesting piece, with a slow build to it that I would expect from a band like Manowar, and vocal elements that also match such a manly aesthetic. Even though the chorus (like a lot of "Rock"-titled tunes) is almost laughable, this song is perhaps the most individually distinct stylistically when compared to its neighbors, and I imagine Dave Holland must have had a lot of fun laying out those resonant, warlike drums which feel like you're in some alternate universe Sign of the Hammer. In general, though, this album is rather well balanced. You've got your non-ballad power-ballad epic, your mighty and crushing pieces, mid-gait fist smashers and rapid fire accelerations. It's not difficult to understand why so many fans breathed sighs of relief when it first arrived, having had negative reactions to Turbo. I think, pound for pound, that record had more songs I enjoy in the long term, but only because of the memorable chorus sequences.

In retrospect, 1988 was perhaps my favorite overall year in metal music, with an enormous amount of acts boiling over from the underground that took the genres of speed, thrash and power metal to new heights. Like its predecessor, Ram It Down could hardly compete with what else was happening. Albums like Riot's Thundersteel or Sanctuary's Refuge Denied walked all over what I heard on this record, and some of the exciting European speed/power records like Scanner's Hypertrace, Rage's Perfect Man and Running Wild's Port Royal remain among my favorite in all of music and examples of NWOBHM/power influences taken to a greater level of musicianship and bolder conceptual extremes. Operation: Mindcrime had vocal hooks that created orgasms in my eardrums. Even Iron Maiden's Seventh Son of a Seventh Son matured better than this record. But those comparisons aside, Ram It Down does not age poorly, and it's still fun to break out once in awhile. I mean, if you can't weight train to "Monsters of Rock", "Come and Get It" or "Hard As Iron", you are no hesher, in which case you should go listen to Adele or cuddle up to some butter-free microwavable popcorn and watch Dancing with the Stars. 'But I LIKE "Rolling in the..." SHUT UP.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (thousands of cars and a million guitars)

http://www.judaspriest.com/

Siculicidium - A rothadó virágok színüket vesztik EP (2012)

Siculicidium is a Romanian act who I've been sadly ignorant of in the past, and this EP is their second release through the Sun & Moon imprint from that same country. Being largely uninformed about most of the goings on in that scene, my first impulse is to compare this material to the earlier output of Negură Bunget; that is to say, traditional raw black metal with grimy rasped vocals but loads of inherent melody and texture. Listening a little deeper reveals that the band has a clear black/punk influence to some of their songs with some ties to Darkthrone or Hellhammer, which provides some contrast to the more atmospheric tracks, and for a shorter release like this, quite a degree of variation.

There's a brighter, folksy interlude in "Várnak a varjak (the crows are waiting)" and an outro with guitars and vocals but no percussion ("Bakarasznyi mumus"), but the rest of the cuts are pretty much pure black metal. "Holnap majd felgyújtom az erdőt (I will burn the forest tomorrow)" is one of the aforementioned tracks influenced by older black metal, a simple sequence of cruel chords grooving out under the hostility of the Romanian vocals, but they throw a curve ball when they arrive at the quiet breakdown with clean guitars that later erupts into hideous laughter. There are also a few rehearsal cuts here, "Halványan az idő ellen (faintly against time)" and "A sajnálat utolsó lehelete (last breath of regret)", the finalized versions of which are present on their 2009 album Utolsó vágta az Univerzumban, so one should expect some contrast in the production levels throughout this release.

Personally, I found the first four songs on the album to represent its better side, especially the driving, anthemic mid pacer "Ökörtej" for its use of the more nasally, droning vocal timbre over the simple structure of the chords; or the opener "Zuhanás (Falling)" which has a leaden, fluid sadness about it that seems more structured and matured than the remainder of the material, thanks in no part to the subtle synth lines stretched beyond the rabid guitars and echoing grit of the vocal progressions. I'm no speaker of the language, but the band's exploration of dark and historical topics is very much in line with the sound of the music, even their very name is drawn from the 18th century slaughter of the Székelys by the Habsburgs.

Whether or not the writing here is good enough to warrant attention really depends on one's desire for honest, oppressive black metal which maintains its core, raw aesthetics and straight lineage from the niche's origins. Siculicidium do not distinguish themselves highly from the wealth of such bands out of Europe, but they do offer some decent ideas and dynamics which round out the driving, diabolic foundations of their music. I wasn't in love with what I heard on this, and there is no argument that it's comprised partly of odds and ends, but it was certainly evil enough that I'll have to make some time for checking out the full-length, because the Romanians are clearly competent for the style.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Siculicidium/294107330600018?sk=info

Vowels - Hooves, Leaves, & the Death/As December Nightingales (2012)

Vowels' first proper full-length release sees a combination of their 2011 EP Hooves, Leaves & the Death with another mini-album in As December Nightingales, all totaling 5 tracks and about 33 minutes of content. The Italians were previously unknown to me, but they've certainly got an aesthetic about their music which involves much of the post-metal or shoegaze elements that are currently explored by a number of other bands with roots in the black metal sphere. While I wasn't able to make a huge personal connection to the writing here, there's no argument that the quartet knows how to elicit a great deal of atmosphere through their composition, and even where the EPs reach their least memorable moments, there are still situations in which they would serve as appreciable background noise.

As usual, this is a bit of a 'deconstruction' of black metal elements into a landscape of flowing, swelling sounds and sparse percussion that relies just as heavily on what is NOT there as what actually plays out across the disc. The Hooves EP is where most of the metallic ingredients are involved, especially "Wolves Eating the Sun" through which dissonant tremolo distortion is threaded like some ghastly approximation of the dramatic wastelands that so characterized early to mid period Sonic Youth. The drumming is often reserved to lower, tribal toms slathered in a din of crashing cymbals, and the vocals range from decrepit, drawn out throat groans/whispers to a more massive, almost operatic timbre that opens up in the bridge of "Wolves..."

Several of the other tracks here take on an atmospheric, experimental folk vibe like the dreary "At Night" in which a lower voice hovers over strings and a numbing background synth when all manner of natural percussion sounds escalate into the arrival of a solid beat. The dreamy closer "Wake" follows a similar path, but the drums are engaged immediately, a bass line swerving and captivating beneath the drift of ambient strings and guest female vocals which serve as more of an ebbing, flowing phonetic muse than something complex or lyrical. I actually found that these two tunes, in particular were wholly mesmerizing and left more of an impression on me than the heavier material, so I can only imagine how effective a full-length in this style might be. That said, the one other piece included from As December Nightingales, the piano driven "Vespri" was not quite to my liking, despite the arrival of the vocals and the ensuing, brief psychedelic breakout jam around 2:00 deep.

Ultimately, I felt that as a sum 'album' experience, this was somewhat inconsistent in its ability to grasp my ear, from the more epically structured, 12 minute "Wolves..." with loads of guitars to the dreamier cuts that lead us out of the experience like a minimalist hybrid of The Decemberists' darker and more folksy introspective breaks and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. I do enjoy the band's internal variation, and how they approach their sounds as more of an obscure soundscape than a pop fixture, but it took a bit long in getting there. As painters of aural imagery, however, I think there's a lot of potential here if Vowels can arrive at just the right balance of brushes and canvas.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vowels/99417200795

Judas Priest - Turbo (1986)

Turbo has always caught a bit of flack from a segment of metaldom due to its ridiculous levels of accessibility, but let's be honest about this: Judas Priest, bless their hearts (up to and including 1990) has never exactly but Public Enemy No. 1 in terms of the aggression they incorporate into their music. Nonsensical accusations of subliminal messaging aside, they've always had a knack for the huge, friendly chorus parts that thrust them into the spotlight alongside the rest of the popular hard rock/metal radio of the 70s and 80s, and while their music might have seemed edgy in '78, hits like "Breaking the Law" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" always held an appeal to a wide cross-sampling of society, from the rich to the poor to the young to the elderly to the black brown white yellow green purple or whatever other compartments we place ourselves in.

So it's not really hard to believe that Priest would follow up the success of such pieces with an album that is largely wrought of a more 'commercial' party rock aesthetic that might have been generally associated with but not limited to KISS and Twisted Sister. For me, Turbo has always been THAT album, that cutting loose of the more serious elements you'd heard on most of their prior efforts and a focus squarely on catchy rock tunes that could appeal to the average high schooler of its day (or middle schooler, in my case). Granted, 1986 was the year of such lauded monoliths as Master of Puppets, Somewhere in Time, Reign in Blood, Fatal Portrait and Awaken the Guardian, so it might not have been in Priest's best interests to pursue this course when such quality was emerging from the underground (or from their own British peers). When held up against any of those records, or many others, Turbo seems trite, silly and juvenile by comparison, but in of itself I think this is still a fun record for a road trip to summer camp, arms and legs flailing out of the bus or your parents' station wagon en route.

If I've got any complaints, they'd revolve more around the actual production of the record and the fact that, despite nearly every song having some catchy sequence somewhere in the vocal progressions (Judas Priest was not a band known for much 'filler' on their early albums), not all are equally memorable in the long term. This is perhaps the most 'synthetic' sounding of their full-lengths, with the guitar synthesizers sounding immensely cheesy dowsed in their post-prog relish (the intro to "Out in the Cold" being a prime example), but in general the guitar tone does not feel adequately vibrant or powerful to really carry its hooks into infinity. The songwriting is of course meticulous, with tracks like "Turbo Lover" perfect sequences in alternated verse-chorus pop bliss, and very little flair or flash to the guitars beyond their measured, muted verse riffing, emboldened power chord chorus escalations and the requisite leads, but in retrospect I think the sound Judas Priest and Tom Allom settled with here might have benefited from actual fucking balls, as opposed to the timid tones of a turtle half afraid to emerge from its shell.

As for the consistency of the cuts, I will say that it's hard to tell Turbo was extracted from the theoretical double LP that the band initially proposed (Twin Turbos). All of the tracks seem to flow smoothly, the first half loaded with memorable choruses like the instantly recognizable title track, the desperate and uplifting "Locked In", the beefy mid paced rocker "Private Property" with its clapping electronic percussive strikes and the youth anthem "Parental Guidance" which felt like a more constrained lyrical alternative to Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It". As the album progresses, you get some moodier, slightly more serious pieces like "Out in the Cold" which might have been a passable Journey, Foreigner or Triumph track sans the slicing timbre of Rob Halford, or the ballsier "Wild Nights, Hot & Crazy Days" which is total cock rock that could just as well fallen under the banner of KISS, Mötley Crüe or the Scorpions, but catchy nonetheless. Some of the later tracks, "Hot for Love" and "Reckless" don't exactly stand out to memory, but they're flush enough stylistically with their lead-ins.

The individual performances on Turbo are enthusiastic without hinging on the provocative. Rob clearly paves the way, his melodies the most impressive on the album, but Downing and Tipton throw in a few good, curving hooks while the rhythm duo of Holland and Hill keeps pace like a team of horse-drawn metronomes. The guitar synthesizes, which are careening and cavorting about the structure of the songs as if they were just testing the ice and afraid to go skating, can prove distracting in places, and the leads in tracks like "Locked In" and "Rock You All Around the World" are worthwhile if not their most memorable. But as usual, they practice enormous restraint in their performance, with no undue fills or excess wanking (aside from perhaps the over use of the synth atmospheres), letting Halford run the show, and for this reason the divisive reaction of some of the metal audience to Turbo, or Priest in general, is not unsubstantiated, even if I happen to disagree due to the typically great hooks the band tended towards.

After Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith, two of the better albums in their entire canon, Turbo did and still does feel like a mild disappointment, but only in the way that this was the first point at which they felt like they were not keeping current with what was happening elsewhere in the genre. The momentum seemed to grind to a halt, even if they were still able to elicit some fun from the songs. With thrash, speed and power metal exploding, death metal just on the horizon, Turbo feels like an evolutionary step backwards, and Judas Priest weren't really able to reinvent or reinvigorate themselves until the explosive, and unforgettable Painkiller which stood out even against a far heavier landscape of thrash. As far as its song selection, I do prefer this record to its successor Ram It Down, of which a few tunes were also drawn from the 'Twin Turbos' writing sessions, but when held up against their greater legacy, Turbo doesn't emerge a favorite. A sunny, melodic and lighted hearted romp that I'll break out seasonally, fun for the whole family (including the girlfriend, who will generally rock out to at least "Turbo Lover") but nothing exemplary is happening and it doesn't feel like a direction I'd want Priest to further explore.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (you'll know you're defenseless)

http://www.judaspriest.com/

Meatshank - Scavengers (2010)

Meatshank is a three piece crossover/thrash band out of Missouri, with a stronger emphasis on the latter genre in terms of how they structure their compositions. They've been kicking around for a few years, and Scavengers is their second self-released album which was released a couple years ago in 2010 but is just now getting a surge of additional promotion. Normally, I don't go out for a lot of the material I hear in modern bands of this niche, because too often do I feel that they rest on the laurels of the 80s forebears like Cryptic Slaughter or D.R.I. and don't offer any sort of ambition or forward momentum. That said, I felt that Scavengers, while not entirely blowing me over in terms of its song craft, is rather a dynamic and hopeful sophomore which doesn't ever come across as either derivative or excessively nostalgic in its execution, and the level of variation employed by the band often pays off.

You definitely get a hint of that explosive, faster paced crossover riffing in the driving tunes like opener "Meet Your Maker" which seems a mix of violent 80s US thrash (both coasts) and some of the splatter core stylings of Cryptic Slaughter or The Accüsed; as riff-oriented as heroes Municipal Waste but not so goofy in its demeanor. However, a good portion of this album is devoted to a more traditional, mid-speed thrashing gait, and here is where the band delivers most of their best riffs, like the bridge to "Rape, Murder, Arson, Rape", or the straight late 80s Anthrax/CoC/Exodus vibes of "Atmosphere of Violence" which had my neck quivering and my teen years flashing before my eyes. I think where the band really explores that pure thrashing side, they actually do a decent job of capturing that decade, with the caveat that the vocals of Vincent Camarillo are more distinctly angry enough that they might have drawn a little influence from Exhorder, Pantera or Pissing Razors.

But to their credit, they vary things up even beyond this, with the atmospheric clean intros to "Sweet Release" and "Hell Road" which are rather well plotted, or the melodic/speed sequence that inaugurates "Symbiotic Annihilation", one of the better songs outside of the admittedly lacking inclusion of the more guttural vocal experimentation. All proof that Meatshank are not just a bunch of skate rats trying to relive another age, but a band actively trying to balance its attack with a well-rounded aural architecture. The very meaty tone of the guitar and its organic interface with the rhythm section only adds to this charm, though I'd certainly like to hear a slightly fatter tone on the bass (since he can obviously play). If I had some criticisms, I think I greatly prefer the more sneering, faster paced percussive vocals than the more 'tough' thrash timbre on the slower sequences, and the rate of sticky, memorable guitar progressions here is only about 50/50, with the leads feeling little more than filler that never capitalizes on the excitement of the rhythms. Sequentially, I found the first few tunes forgettable and then it grew more interesting over the course of the remainder.

Overall, though, Scavengers is not in any way a bad effort, and these guys clearly have the chops and sincerity to go the distance. There's nothing pretentious, cheesy or needlessly complex here, just abusive, street ready thrash, and even if my reaction to the end product was lukewarm, I do sense a caged potential here which might either burn itself out or go nova.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://meatshank.angelfire.com/

Bloodsoaked - The Death of Hope (2011)

When I was reading up on Peter Hasslebrack to write this review, I realized with some astonishment that there was a local connection here, since he once played in the Massachusetts thrash unknowns Deslok, whose first demo Instant Death...Just Add Water! got a lot of rotation from me at the ripe age of 14-15 (the chorus to one of their tunes, 'I am a relic of depression - of misery!' was one of my disaffected teen anthems). Now, Hasslebrack wasn't on that demo, but rather their second the year later, I just thought it was a rather amazing coincidence and proof that the world is smaller than I think. Nevertheless, the guy has moved on to North Carolina and greater things, not the least of which is Bloodsoaked, his one man death metal juggernaut which has to date produced three albums through the stylin' Comatose Music.

Peter performs all the guitars, bass, and vocals here while using a mix of session (Brent Wiliams) and programmed (Shane McFee) drums to support the solid old school riffing. He's also managed to wrangle the iconic James Murphy to perform a few of the leads here, and it's a good fit, for surely some of Murphy's old stomping grounds provided a lot of the influence to what Peter is trying to achieve here. This is essentially late 80s/early 90s death metal with a modern spin concocted through the very precise guitar tone and overall productive values. I hear traces of early Morbid Angel, Death, Obituary, Disincarnate, and all manner of Floridian gods in the bowels of this album, but was much more surprised at the similarity to Dutch forebears Pestilence, in particular their Testimony of the Ancients record or the more recent reunion effort Resurrection Macabre (which drew on the former for much of its riffing structure). The songs have a mechanical, vital semblance to them which meshes solid guitar progressions of menacing mute streams, octave and/or minor chord slides ("The Death of Hope"), repetitious Mameli meets Schuldiner meets Vincent vocal patterns and leaden yet cutting grooves.

Bloodsoaked has the ability to make even the most derivative chugging riff pattern seem somehow fresh and warlike (as in the opener "Lies"), so while you get the feeling you've heard this all before you still can't help but to jerk about in violent libation. Personally, though, I rather preferred the more clinical sounding sequences through the album which focused in on the more delicate, crisp floods of notes. Now, The Death of Hope is not indiscriminately old school in tone: the intensity of the drums is like meticulous brickwork in both the blasted and double bass sections that give it a more modern, brutal edge that you'll hear in a lot of younger tech death acts, if not as acrobatic. However, Hasslebrack's compositions never fly off the handle in terms of self indulgence or wankery. Each practices a measure of restraint, ranging from about 2-3 minutes on average and cycling through only a violent but controlled burst of riffing with near perfect lead placement and no danger of succumbing to ennui.

Admittedly, this utter precision gives The Death of Hope a feeling of tight-assedness that some might feel too callous or inflexible, but I for one welcome our new robot overlords and, like the aforementioned Resurrection Macabre, find this a pretty interesting approach even if it lacks for much range and variation. Not all of the rhythm guitar progressions on the album really stood out to me, but regardless they seemed intense and refreshing despite their obvious sources. The lyrics left a lot to be desired, fairly average ruminations on violence and gore that never become to graphic or interesting, yet I'm sure this is not a deal breaker for most into the genre. Even more, one has to appreciate that Hasslebrack is not just jumping on the current trends in retro death metal. Bloodsoaked doesn't sound remotely Swedish circa 1990, nor does it try to emulate the cavernous atmosphere of Autopsy or Incantation. It belongs to a crop of newer US bands like Nocturnal Torment, Never to Arise and the late Godless Rising in tempering a firm respect for its influences with a contemporary recording aesthetic, and as such it's worth experiencing.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (cancelling this life on lease)

http://www.facebook.com/bloodsoaked666

Never to Arise - Hacked to Perfection (2012)

While I can't remember the last new act to emerge from the Florida death scene (must have been Hate Eternal) worth getting worked up over, Never to Arise seems well up to the task. If the material on Hacked to Perfection is any indicator, this is just about the most riff driven duo of butchers to hearken from the US since the superb Horrendous. Don't be fooled by the lackluster cover art and logo font, this pair is not some come-lately group of indistinguishable brutes writing the same song and dance we've heard erupting from a million tween mosh pits, but fairly intricate songwriters who hold true to the precepts of the genre without losing the requisite edge of hostility so important to maintaining the audience's attention span.

The album does come with one caveat: the drums are programmed, which for some purists might prove a distraction. But that said, I think Gordon Denhart has done an ace job of balancing the levels and keeping the blasts, double bass tempos and fills dynamic enough that they adjoin themselves to the structures of the guitars most fittingly. And, frankly, with riffs that are written this strongly, the percussion itself soon fades into the backdrop as you pummel your neck through each twist in direction, each manic and muscular breakdown, and each flurry of clinical death/thrash infusion that permeates worthy exhibitions like "Hyperbaric Torture Chamber", "Bereft of Conscience" and "The Femicidal Impulse". There's not a single track that goes by without something engaging to the ear, some fit of brilliant execution which highlights not only the mechanistic proficiency of both guitarists (Denhart and Michael Kilborn), but the wealth of old school influences they bring to the table without seeming dated or erratically nostalgic.

I heard everything in this from the choppier Floridian forefathers like Malevolent Creation, Death, Monstrosity and Deicide to the more technical, formative aggression present in the Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse records of the mid through late 90s, with even a hint of Dutch demigods Pestilence (Consuming Impulse) in the heavier chord sequences and vocals. Speaking of which, Denhart has a great, blunt tone to his gutturals that he offsets with more salacious snarls and growls for this claustrophobic effect that feels like being imprisoned in a malpractice ward as you await both torture and the extraction of your vital organs. Plenty of leads and tremolo picked, creepy melodies cut into the meat of the low end that the album constantly offers contrast and variety, while remaining wholly consistent for 50 minutes.

I can't say that every single riff offered up on the album is equally irresistible, but the fact that they can pull off a 9 minute tune ("Misogynistic Acts of Barbaric Sadism") without even bordering on banality speaks volumes for their effort and creativity. Almost any complaint I could possibly launch against this album comes would be rooted in mere aesthetics: I thought it was ugly to look at (and not in a good way), the drum programming will not suit everyone and perhaps a bit more could be done with the bass (it's present, but rarely stands out against the guitars and vocals). Otherwise, Hacked to Perfection is very near to its title in delivery, a duly noted and impressive debut which helps curb death metal back to its origins: confident and ghastly compositional skill that spikes their pathos into your skull like the gravedigger's spade striking the cemetery dirt after midnight.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Never-To-Arise/117489404980631

Ivanhoe - Lifeline (2008)

Much like Polarized put the first two albums of the Germans' earlier lineup to the whetstone and sharpened them to a gleaming finish, so too does Lifeline improve dramatically upon the direction Ivanhoe was taking with their post-hiatus effort Walk in Mindfields, to the point that this is overall their most formidable and consistent work to date. Mischa Mang's performance here is impressive, and the songs themselves are penned into a memorable panorama of contrasted melodies, grooves and uptempo twists that are both immediately accessible and difficult to forget many months after exposure. Now, I admit that there needs to be a moratorium on using female models posed as 'fairies' or 'angels (with present or clipped wings') on album covers, and Lifelife does indeed 'go there', but place aside such this lamentable choice in facade and you've got yourself one charmer of a progressive metal disc.

Just about every song here brings something new and refreshing to the table, with Mang's voice so engaged to the cornucopia of riffing that it wrings additional splendor out of even the simplest of grooves. Though the guitars still seem as enormous as Walk in Mindfields, they are far more controlled, surprising since they've got Chuck Schuler back in the line-up for this record, making them a six piece. But there's just enough restraint to never hamper the moody atmosphere of the synths. The simple, driving chugs that support "Mad Corner" escalate beautifully into the romance of the chorus, where on "Lifeline" itself this gorgeous melodic riff opens a barrage of choppy, memorable chords that allow both Mang and the organs to pour their souls out. I will say, though, that "Suffering" is my favorite song on this album, potentially ALL their albums, a piece that jerks between groovy, chug driven verses, thundering, epic pre-chorus and woozy, atmospheric chorus while the guitars strut their strings all over the place, escalating into one of the better leads I've heard in their entire canon.

That's a hard track to top, really, due to its perfect amalgamation of grace and power, and yet the Germans do not let up for the emotional "Angels Hologram" with its sparser percussion and light piano adorned verse, or the thudding grooves of "Time Machine" and "Finally". The latter half of the record seems to be stretched a bit, possibly due to the fact that it possesses the longer tracks (most are 6-8 minutes), and there are a few segments that miss the mark in terms of utmost, memorable quality, but once the album erupts into the more Eastern vibe of the epic Egyptian finale "Cheops", it all seems to come together as this truly solid, ambitious work that really binds all of the band's past into the 21st century context of the enormous production values. This thing sounds loud, with Mang's weighted, silken timbre the perfect balance to the sheer power of the chords. Stunningly, this doesn't seem to be so much studio tweaking as it is the band's sheer skill, because if you've seen live videos they sound quite close.

Ultimately, apart from the trite dalliance of its cover art, Lifeline is an incredibly mature album that demonstrates why so many more people need to check out this band. There are so many weapons at work here, from Soulas' pristine bass lines to Mang's distinct voice to the grooves and leads of the guitars. Really, if you've been waiting for your next Dream Theater or Fates Warning to come along, look no further. They aren't so flashy as the former or sultry as the latter, but they certainly scratch the itch for a niche that seems sadly underrated. Despite several videos, gigs at events like ProgPower in Europe, they don't seem to have culled the level of attention they deserve, so please, whether your tastes range from Pagan's Mind to Ark to Myrath, at least give this record a try.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (there is someone to be found)

http://www.ivanhoe-band.com/

Nexhymn - Black Horizon EP (2012)

Those learned in Western US death metal might remember a band called Throcult who released a few albums earlier in the 21st century and generated some small amount of buzz. Nexhymn is essentially an evolution of that group, formed by guitarist Ivan Alcala and pursuing a no-nonsense brand of pure death metal with flirts with some level of technicality but reins it in under the banner of unforgiving brutality reminiscent of Vile, Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and even a few hints of late 80s Pestilence. They've acquired one of the better female front women I've heard in this genre since Rachel Van Mastrigt-Heyzer (Sinister, etc), named Holly Wedel, whose applies her guttural percussion with appreciable volume, but the real star of the show here is the production, so loud and level that it feels like a shower of bricks descending upon your delicate brain-box.

Harried and intense without ever feeling over-indulgent or wanky, Black Horizon pummels out six tracks of potent and balanced devastation that are sure to win them some attention. I can't say that the composition here is all that original or that the vocals distinguish themselves from such a large crowd of similar acts in the field, but once Nexhymn begins to beat on you they simply will not let up, and tracks like "Undetermined Supplication" and the charnel dynamics of "Rapacious Tempest" are sure to win over the brutal purist. The drumming of Pete Gonzales is insanely flexible whether the band is blasting away or pursuing one of their choppier sequences or dissonant, atmospheric passages, and though there's a consistent aesthetic that binds the first five cuts (the closer "Death Emotion" is a slower instrumental), the band explores an effective level of dynamics in each track that they never feel backed into a corner.

It's not the most memorable material, in terms of possessing those 'money shot' riffs which make you want to put the songs on an endless loop, but I think what they might lack in catchiness they do compensate for in sheer ferocity. Goddamn, though, that production seems as if the band are already 10 or 15 years incubated (which, if you include Throcult, I guess they are). Each piece of this puzzle contributes at exactly the necessary level, I simply think the compositions could use some sticker sequences of notes. That said, there is little to stop this band from being snatched up in short order and seeded upon the world like a newfound plague. Fans of either the Polish death metal diatribes of bands like Behemoth, Hate and Vader or the elder Floridian masters owe it to themselves to check this out. Neck braces imminent.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nexhymn/114334125249755