Grave Desecrator - Insult (2010)

Brazil's underground black and death metal culture hasn't gotten a lot of attention lately, though the wealth of bands there is simply not in dispute. Grave Desecrator are a candidate for breaking out beyond their borders, as their brand of flashback death metal certainly brings to bear the influence of not only the early recordings of countrymen like Sarcofago, Holocausto and Mutilator; it also seems the perfect fit for the current wave of retro loving being given to bands who evoke the earlier 90s sounds of Incantation and their like. Their second full-length for Ketzer is not the first for Hells Headbangers, as they released an EP with Repulsion and Mortuary Drape covers just a few months back, but its easily an improvement over the debut Sign of Doom.

Part of this is the sheer wall of sound these Brazilians produce. Dark, carnivorous guitars embossed with just enough fuzz and fibrous Repulsion influence to represent the very graves the band desecrates, soil being churned aside with a rusted spade as the bones of the lost are uncovered and then molested. The riffing cycles channel through standard death and thrash patterns that range from Hellhammer to Bathory, and though the band is considered a hybrid of black and death, the former is quite clearly only derived through its recording aesthetics and inspirations; Insult is much more of a primal thrash and death piece, as heard clearly in the title track, "Serpent Seedline" or "Decline of Faith", or the evil indoctrination to "Stained by Blood". About the only unexpected track might be the instrumental "The Satanic Coven", which seduces and then spurns the listener with its wicked melodies.

Grave Desecrator write some pretty effective songs, but they do occasionally suffer from a little bit of familiarity and a lack of anything to look forward to. Once the initial thrust and momentum is captured, there is very little but variation on the standard themes, and I'd love to hear the band rip out some insane breakdown or more unexpected tempo shifts. That said, I do love their lead work, which is purely placed in the old school death camp, wailing monstrosities that shadow the rhythms like butchers awaiting their next shipment of flesh. Insult is a great sounding album, and should be worth at least a listen if you enjoy the gray areas of black, death and thrash that are inherent in many Hells Headbangers or Nuclear War Now! artists, but it might not be one remembered six to twelve months hence.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.gravedesecrator.com/

Black Witchery - Inferno of Sacred Destruction (2010)

There are few collectives of Christ trampling individuals here in the States that can quite match the level of miserable power being manifest through the recordings of Black Witchery, the Florida band responsible for such sacrilege as 2005's Upheaval of Satanic Might. However, I'm afraid their level of caustic, narrow, unrelenting aggression does come at a cost here, as there are almost no dynamics here aside from those of planting your skull under their heathen boots and then crushing, crushing, crushing, their bloated, hostile weight seeping through your cranium and making paste of the soft, pinkish contents that may or may not be contained within.

Yes, Inferno of Sacred Destruction is predictable, a one trick pony if you will, but a nightmare steed nonetheless that peppers its bleak, "Intromancy" or "Sepulchral Witchcraft" interludes with carnal sewage the likes of "Holocaustic Church Devastation", "Antichrist Order of Holy Death", and "Kingdom Against Kingdom". No, this is not a bunch of guys you want to drink egg nog and sing Christmas carols with. Their godless tumult would not only provide an instant ticket to the space below purgatory, but a season's fucking pass to the Damned Soul Olympics. Incredibly oppressive, raw guitars bludgeon over noisy, warlike drums while Impurath's hate is poured free like a conflagration of concrete, and at best you're going to get a number like "Ascension of the Obscure Moon", the unforgiving 4 minute closer which sounds remarkably similar to the rest of the contents.

Sadly, while I can appreciate the band's charnel onslaught, the riffs here simply did nothing for me, bludgeoning along like the very primacy of chaos from which this genre once originated, but never once configuring into hooks that are worth a damn. Thus, you are left with only the bludgeoning atmosphere provoked through their mesh of instruments and torn throats, and I found myself drifting away after even a few minutes. The album's pretty short, only about 22 minutes, so it never really becomes boring, but it's difficult to pay it much thought when you are sure nothing titillating is hovering at the edge of perception. That said, I don't really have anything negative to say. If you appreciate black metal at its most barbaric and primitive, and seek nothing but the affectations of loathing and treachery that this band revel in, or the Osmose and Hells Headbangers imprints in general, then it's not exactly a waste of space.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

Disiplin - Radikale Randgruppe (2010)

Earlier this year brought a major surprise in Disiplin's Hostis Humani Generis, a massive shift in direction for the Norse underdogs as they decided to tread an obscure, industrial waste of potential, shucking the rampant black metal of earlier efforts like their 2003 s/t debut or 2005's Anti-Life. Fortunately, they excelled in this new terrain, providing one of the richer, more disgusting mechanical offerings of this type all year, and without wasting much time, they have stormed straight into the follow-up, Radikal Randgruppe, which is not a hell of a lot different. Still caustic, still effervescent, and still crushing. In fact, if there's any change at all, it's that a few of the songs here are more simplistic, basic without being accessible.

The formula is, as ever, intriguing. Program your cold, apocryphal beats, slosh them in heavily distorted black metal rasping, feedback and raunchy guitar lines and then festoon the funeral of sound with bizarre, climactic samples. "Me Ne Frego" chugs along with abandon, subtle textural wails being heard against the froth and swelter of aggravated noise, Wulfclaw's vocals not of this Earth. "Triarii" sounds like the black metal that might be conceived solely through soulless machines if they were given the run of the shop, writhing passages and haunting echoes over a steady, unswerving charge worthy of late 80s Ministry, a more hopped up Red Harvest. Some tracks channel almost pure noise, like "White Earth", which many will find harrowing, but the group also has a beautiful side to them, conjured in the dim, carnal spheres of "The Golden Age" or 15 minute downbeat finale "The Empire".

Granted, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Radikale Randgruppe is nearly as hostile as its predecessor, though I was never immersed to the same degree. Raw as fuck, filthy distortion, pain smitten, straightforward compositions that rarely fluctuate, and accidental melodies that shine like sweet razors in a rain of viscera. The album will not suit everyone, since industrial black metal is such a small niche, and it occasionally meanders along the homicidal path of a one track mind, but it successfully continues the tirade of creative impulse that the band lacked in their infant years, worth a gander if you were into Hostis Humani Generis, even if it lacks that record's element of surprise.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.wolf-axis.com/

Amia Venera Landscape - The Long Procession (2010)

On paper, we've heard it all before: Scream/Clean dual vocal tandem, post hardcore, mathcore, metalcore, grind elements, and even post metal. In execution, The Long Procession is anything but an exercise in commonality, and not only draws the best out of its influences but displays an understanding of songwriting that is wholly uncommon for such a young band to debut with.

Dense and epic, Amia Venera Landscape have crafted such a dynamic (hinging on schizophrenic, but it never totally loses its bearings) record it can be a bit overwhelming. Piano gives way to jagged, angular guitar riffs that favor the atonal and thick. Switch-hit song structure fades easily into post-metal drone and then on to lightspeed picking. Vicious roars and screams ebb into triumphant, epic crooning over guitar crunch. Chiming, crystalline leads intertwine in the background of minor-key chugga chug antics. It's a complex, layered record that works on almost every level, even if a few elements tend to overstay their welcome.

Front and center here is the epic ten minute "Nicholas", a song that goes from Between the Buried and Me antics and halfway through switches into a interlude that wouldn't be out of place on a Sigur Ros album. Someone hits a switch, and everything comes back in: Heavy, slow, and evil, segue into another interlude, and the clean vocals bring us back into the thick with a crescendo that may have been ripped straight off an effort from Isis, all with a thread of commonality in their post-hardcore lead lines that gently guide this rabid monster through its inevitable life cycle. It's extended running time and the deftly arranged songwriting allow this monstrosity to breathe and grow on its own, and it all feels completely natural.

This is not a disjointed effort, it all flows remarkably well: For a debut album, the transitions here are admirably well done, and something the previously mentioned BTBAM seriously needs to take a look at.

"Empire" is as nasty as an album opener as someone could hope for, followed closely by two other corkers in "A New Aurora" and "My Hands Will Burn First", both of which showing heavy influence from Underoath, Alexisonfire, Starkweather, and any number of post-metal acts. The two "Glances" songs are probably the most initially pleasing tracks, especially the second since it contains more than ambience, but will be the first that wear a bit thin. It doesn't make them necessarily bad, but in comparison to the power of the rest of the album, they are the weak point.

The fourteen minute instrumental "Marasm" tends to drag in a few of the slower parts as well, but it's tendency to kick copious amounts of ass once it's hitting all its RPM's is a spectacle to behold.

Overall, this was a nice year-end surprise from this small band out of Italy. Powerful, dense, heavy as hell, creative, and executed with the deftness of a veteran band, Amia Venera Landscape deserves your eyes and ears to be on this monster of an album. Highly recommended.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/amiaveneralandscape

Zonata - Buried Alive (2002)

Buried Alive is the third and final full-length from Zonata, the cap on a career that all told, spanned about 4-5 years of meaningful if obscure discourse. It arrived the year after Reality, and perhaps this explains the overall similarity of the style, but there are a few details that deserve mention. For one, Buried Alive is the best produced of the band's efforts, with a richer focus on the guitars. Perhaps this is the addition of a new second player, but also the way the synthesizers are written to interact with the chords. This is also the strongest performance of Johannes Nyberg's vocals, which still carry their fundamental similarities to the Kai Hansens, Henning Basses and Joacim Cans out of Europe, but cut beautifully through the music.

This would also be the most 'progressive' sounding of their albums, but only slightly nudging out beyond Reality, as far as the dynamics and variety of riffs are concerned, whether that be the stilted anthem chorus of "The Last Step", pumping and scintillating hard rock pulse of "The Mourner's Tale", measured power of "In the Chamber", or high octane frenzy of the title track, which I'd consider the best individual track on the entire album, with a killer chorus hook and dense and effective rhythms that get the fist banging as hard as anything off their debut Tunes of Steel. There are a few other power house pieces like "Blade of the Reaper" and "Unleashed" which are nearly as thrilling, but a few dopier anthems like "Heroes of the Universe" or the mostly hit or miss melodic swagger of "A Dark Chapter" balance out the overall quality, which rests somewhere between their prior efforts.

For whatever reason, this would be the final hour of Zonata, with some members going off to similar, under the radar power mastiffs like Freternia. They never quite had the support or audience that they might have deserved, but then, they're not exactly what I'd think of as top of the line for their chosen genre, which was in clear overhaul at the time of this album's inception. More than enough adventure here for the melodic power/prog devotee, but such folks are few and far between. It's not like you could skip a rock down your suburban street and hit a few fans of Dream Theater or Fates Warning, never mind Zonata, so the potential here would likely be lost upon the more casual music fan or the bloodthirsty metal extremist. Buried Alive is a good record, maybe not as good as Reality, and with some pretty lacking lyrics, but a clear sign that the band were honing their strengths as opposed to looking sideways or backwards.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (blinded by the grace)

Zonata - Reality (2001)

With its thought provoking cover that is at once introspective and unusual, one might draw the impression that Sweden's Zonata had gone all out progressive for their sophomore outing. This is not quite the case, though there is an undisputed maturity brought across in their compositional skills, meshing their blazing German power metal roots with something slightly more unique than mere worship. Yeah, you can still easily trace the band's influences back to the Gamma Rays and Helloweens, with a dash of modern progressive/power metal like At Vance, a fleck of Dream Theater, but all elements come together here for what is in my opinion the best album of their limited career.

There is very little ballast to be cut from the 45 minutes of playtime, and what traces you'll find generally revolve around a handful of blase chorus sequences which rarely thrill over the more adventurous guitar work of John Nyberg. That's not to write off the other Nyberg, Johannes, however, whose vocals have improved here from the nasal Kai Hansen tones to something with a more unique weight. Not enough that you'd distinguish him from dozens of other competent power metal sirens emerging from Europe in the early 21st century, but enough to carry the torch for the band backing him, which includes his own keyboards. "Divided We Stand" spears his shrill attitude over neo-classically infused shredding, with a pompous, escalating chorus that slams through a mid-paced groove. "Symphony of the Night", "Wheel of Life" and "Evil Mind" simply surge, the keys and backing choirs adding grace and depth to the momentum, while "Dimension to Freedom" hovers on a more varied brink of all out, generic melodic anthem after a few moments of steadily climbing synthesizer-driven progression.

Very few of the numbers are the sort to go down in history as 'classics', but Reality is more thoroughly engaging throughout than its predecessor. A few tracks in the lineup sag below the level of the rest, but not for long, as even these produce spikes of melody to put the listener back on the fast track. "Life?" is the most obviously accessible sing-a-long here, but it's fortunately pretty good, with a catchy guitar bit beyond the chorus that almost matches the dreamy sun scape of the cover, strange devices sailing through a clear sky across the works of some foreign industrial renaissance. The production was not a strong point on the debut, and I feel that it's not a great deal better for the sophomore, but it's crystalline enough for you to get the idea, and the vocals thankfully don't bury the rest of the band. Not necessarily a marvel of an album, but it's the most easily recommended work of Zonata, and I bet with a little more of a push from the band's label Century Media, could have stirred up greater waves of appreciation.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (nature bleeds for our disposal)

Zonata - Tunes of Steel (1999)

Sweden has certainly loosed the melodic lightning of many a power metal act in the past decade, but even the best or more successful of these (Hammerfall, Nocturnal Rites, Lost Horizon) draw fairly heavily upon influences south of the German border. That is certainly the double edged sword that dominates the debut of late 90s bloomers Zonata, Tunes of Steel. At its very best, the album sounds a lot like Gamma Ray or classic Helloween, given the surges of nasal vocal wailing that Johannes Nyberg constructs, but though the performances are all around competent, it somehow falls short of the impact crater left in the wake of a Walls of Jericho, Keeper of the Seven Keys or Somewhere Out In Space, and since it arrived at a point which its influences were faring so strongly, there simply wasn't enough room left for this niche act.

They did manage to score a deal through Century Media Records, alongside their countrymen Nocturnal Rites, but the album wasn't promoted here in the States whatsoever, so it was largely a product of the power metal boom at the turn of the century. Though it exhibits a slight flair for the dramatic and progressive ("Criticized" or the power ballad "Beyond the Rainbow"), its far more apt to nail your attention when it's shuffling through Scanner, Gamma Ray or Metalium styled material such as the blazing "Geronimo" or "Bring You Down to Hell", through which Nyberg channels a balance of Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen both. But even in this frenzied terrain, the band often throws out a forgettable blitz like "The Evil Shadow" or "Welcome to the World of Fun", with a lot of riffs happening, but a real failure of the vocals to form the notes necessary in an enduring power anthem.

I'll give the band some credit in that they're fast and efficient, enough so that even the worst tracks on the albums rarely hinge on boring. In fact, if you're in search of a blast of energy in the vein of State of Triumph, Hypertrace or Terminal Earth, then the field is rather narrow, and Zonata might just have your ticket. Unfortunately, this is just not enough to leave a lasting impression, musically or lyrically, and most tracks would require a lot of slicing and reconfiguring to escape their habitual prisons. This is arguably some of the heaviest material manifest from these particular Swedes, but with their maturity will come superior songwriting, so it's the last I'd recommend out of the three they released in their career. For screaming, Germanic power metal fanatics only, and even then you won't regret passing over it.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] (angry and ready to fight)

Zyklon-B - Blood Must Be Shed EP (1995)

Zyklon-B must be one of the shortest lived collaborations in the history of the black metal elite, with its collective output limited to 4 tracks total, all of which appear on the 2004 re-release of the original Blood Must Be Shed EP, and all of which were issued elsewhere on a pair of limited splits. It's unfortunate, because, well, I rather enjoy what is happening here, but understandable given the band's other attentions at its time of conception. Samoth and Ihsahn were busy conquering the world with their prime project Emperor, drummer Frost with Satyricon, and Draug Aldrahn probably hoping for the same from his excellent Dødheimsgard.

Formed in 1995, and releasing this in the same year, there is a clear dissimilarity to other 'super groups' like Wongraven or Storm in that Zyklon-B express themselves not through the sidereal excursions into the folk/ambient climes, but through beastly and straightforward black metal savagery. This is 11 minutes of fast, loose and lethal extremity, more expedient than Dark Medieval Times, more puerile than In the Nightside Eclipse, and more focused than Kronet Til Kronge, yet startling in its efficiency and not lacking in the melodic department, you simply have to survive the initial velocity of its opening charge, the unbridled eruption that is "Mental Orgasm". Scintillating, slicing walls of guitars channeled across several standardized but excellent riffing patterns, breaking around :45 into a grinding velocity that is heralded by a simple voice sample. The finale of the track arrives like a nuclear cowboy tossing his hat into the oncoming fallout.

"Bloodsoil" is one better, a more atmospheric piece with an almost jazzy ambivalence created through the streaming tremolo notes and walls of majestic synthesizers, but it too shows its repulsive, bestial heart, performed at lightning pace for the first 1:30 of the song, before the drum fills shift the piece into a brief, warlike segue. "Warfare" is about the same length as the other two tracks combined, 5:30 of storming disgust that once again uses the choral synthesizers to create this rampant mystery above the monotonous but beatific razor-din of the guitars. At around 1:00, it collapses into a purely 'symphonic' black metal bridge, Draug Aldrahn's barking the best here on all the EP. The final track, if you've got the 2004 re-issue or the limited split with Mayhem, is "Total Warfare (Sea Serpent Remix)", which mixes "Warfare" with various industrial and hip hop beats to mixed effect. It's completely unnecessary, but as it's not a part of the original release, I can't really fault it.

I like Blood Must Be Shed quite a lot, and at times I bear a curiosity as to what a continuation of its exploits might have manifested, but at the same time, it's so narrow and harrowing that it just sort of stands on its own, so I can understand why the participants might not have wanted to do anything further. Samoth would of course return years later with a band known simply as Zyklon, but the similarities are limited, since he transforms that into more of a modern, molten black/death hybrid. The mix here is rugged, but fitting to the level of manic rage being churned out through Frost's drumming and Samoth's guitars, and it's quite 'fun' to hear these four men making music together, though never underhanded or humorous. Really, if you're a fan of almost any Norwegian black metal of the mid 90s, from the works of the constituents to Kvist, Burzum, Gorgoroth or Immortal, then this is very much worth owning.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

Gorgonea Prima - Black Coal Depression (2010)

Gorgonea Prima can be summed up quite easily in my eyes: they are absolutely, completely fucking awesome, and their riffs are largely worthless.  I have no qualms about this opinion, which as you might imagine poses a bit of a conflict.

So what are they?  Nothing more or less than the rebirth of With No Human Intervention-era Aborym, upgraded and touting a couple extra sticks of RAM.  Check the (completely fucking awesome) neon blue Mortal Kombat outerspace rave armor action they have going on.  I mean, Aborym used black light corpsepaint how many years ago, yet no one copies them.  Now Gorgonea Prima step in and change the whole game with goddamn battlesuits.  And since we're talking about how cool these guys are, I have to mention I love the atomic pentagram.  Best new band symbol in forever, and all they did was erase some lines and throw balls in there.  Satan is science, Satan is the future!  Brilliant.

Oh and they play music, too.  "Daylight Pollution" kicks off this spacejam like some genetically-mangled clone of "With No Human Intervention," synths lancing through the trees, reptilian vocals broadcasting on every frequency, little industrial samples kicking up knots of survivors here and there.  The only thing missing is, well, the riffs.  Gorgonea Prima take the usual industrial metal approach of using guitars as a textural foundation for everything else without imbuing them with any significant substance.  It works here because the "everything else" is generally mesmerizing upon first listen, and the overall production is excellent - thick, crunchy, layered, and still clear - but it doesn't help the lasting power of the songs one bit.  Eventually the left-panned guitar introduces something that almost sounds like it's supposed to be a melody, but it's mostly disconcerting and makes me feel awkward listening to it.  Then "Blast Furnace" kicks in with some chewy hardstyle four on the floors, getting you amped before you can even parse any of the other data being hurled at you.  The song structure is totally hardstyle as well, all builds and breaks and a couple glorious climaxes.  The guitars are still those primal black metal chords that the last tenants left in the basement, but they don't get any real focus and are never left alone long enough to break anything, so you just can't be mad. 

"Corroded Landscape" is the highlight here and the major sign to me that these guys are the real deal.  Opening with nice, spacey phased synth layers and a mellow instrumental section probably co-written by Akira Yamaoka, you're tricked into thinking this is going to be the chill filler of the album until everything else kicks in and you're suddenly nipples-deep in a wormhole of hooting vocals, spoken word, double bass, female operatics, four on the floor, sliced beats, and just about everything else awesome on the periodic table.  The pacing is fucking great, the guitars never leave it hanging, it's introspective yet exhiliarating, and the whole time I'm shuffling with my claws in the air like some modern Internet-adrift victim of bastardized cultures, not knowing how to venerate all of my impulses and just mashing them together like a dung beetle making a nest.  Gott mos!

"Eclipsed by the Sun" is a commando assault in the dying night, blasting off with synth turbulence before wending its way towards more precise electronic maneuvers.  "Biomechanic Soul" likewise starts on a two-minute spree of escalation, then lowers the resource drain to even its keel. "100 Years of Industrial Burial" is that chill filler I expected "Corroded Landscape" to be, all space horror ambience, loungey drum programming, and some really buried black metal lurking in the middle, but calling it filler really isn't fair, as it's one of the more interesting tracks here.  "Digital Desire" brings the mood back up with some breakcore and final boss keyboard chorus pomp; even a new riff!  It's a nice way to go out, since all of the other tracks after "Corroded Landscape" don't quite pass the good mark.

Industrial metal has seen some significant progress in the past few years, with bands like Control Human Delete exploring the terrors of hyperspace and more degenerate entities like CSSABA tapping into the potential of dark matter.  Since Aborym are going in more progressive directions, it pleases me to know that a band like Gorgonea Prima is here to rapidly fill that niche.  Yet, while I find everything else compelling about them, this duo is really being held back by their guitarwork.  This would be the perfect opportunity to find a more technical guitarist and one of the original two to captain the synthesizers during shows.  Or they could just pay more attention to the riffs.  Either way, as you should have noted from the first sentence of this review I'll be anxiously waiting for the next abduction under the arboreal awning, gazing longingly at the stars while eating out of cans and squirrel nut hoards.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.gorgoneaprima.com/

Zanister - Fear No Man (2001)

Symphonica Millenia didn't exactly re-invent the wheel, but there can be no argument that the lineup of Zanister might have represented a bold new hope in US traditional metal. Well executed compositions, almost unparalleled ability in the two guitarists, an excellent rhythm section to back them up, and a promising new singer. It wasn't perfect, it might not have even been great, but there wasn't anything negative to be said for the Ohio based project. Fear No Man attempts to follow this up, and while it largely sticks to the same formula, and in some cases amps up to a more lethal dose of aggression, it's ultimately just not the measure of the debut, and a few pretty dumb songs really throw off the rest.

The fact that the lineup remained the same between the two albums speaks to me that this Zanister was meant to be a pretty serious band, and not a revolving door of guest musicians from the Leviathan Records family, and the first song here, "The Shades They Color Thee", picks up where the debut left off, with a slightly more modernized, angry tone to it, Brian Sarvela's voice almost picking up to a Hetfield level of angst, and "Generation Breakdown" is quite good. "The Fallen" opens with a groovy, almost Zeppelin-like rhythmic pattern which seems at first flightier, but then the bridge is a little more straight forward. "Got to LIVE MY Life" is another tune almost worthy of the debut, and the bass driven title track is very Chastain, you can almost picture Leather Leone singing it on Voice of the Cult or some other, sadly obscured album. Unfortunately, there are also some semi cheesy, simpler heavy rock tracks like "Hell On Earth" and "You Live for Greed" that are just not worth the time, and "Grip of the Groove" is downright laughable as it attempts to pummel you with seductive rock rhythms.

All in all, there are very few moments in which the potential brilliance of the debut, or the classic feel of David Chastain's playing really shine through, like the mixed quality "Egyptian Nights" which seems like something that could have been on his instrumental Within the Heat, with vocals added in. The Zanister lyrics were not exactly a strong point before, but here they feel even more 'meh', though not without some meaning behind them. Even the cover image lacks some of the inspiration of its predecessor, and in the end, Fear No Man is just another of those cases in which you wish you could reach back through history, salvage half the material and dispose of the rest. Supposedly, this was not to be the end of the project, but it's been nearly a decade so the hope of hearing more material has dulled. The mix here is as tight as the debut, and not every moment is wasted, but this is not something I'd recommend giving a chance unless you're a total die hard for Chastain and Harris' finer days, which very rarely turn up.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]