Coldsteel - America Idle EP (2013)

Though thrash metal was perhaps my greatest singular musical fascination in the late 80s, Coldsteel was not a band that caught my imagination or attention. I had a vague recollection of their logo and their 1992 debut Freakboy, which was frankly a bit late on the scene to make much of an impact on anyone. I can recall some iron-clad guitar tones, a nastier vocal inflection, and a good use of rhythmics, but the songs on that album shot straight into one ear and out the other, as did the corny cover artwork, which in the band's defense was improved for last year's reissue. Now, after disbanding in 1993, the band is in a period of renewed interest, with both that re-release and a collection of demos that was also put out in 2012 through StormSpell, and now this EP of new material.

America Idle (witty, I admit) is hardly a reinvention of Coldsteel's brisk old school power/thrash aesthetic, but to give the New Yorkers some credit, I'd say they've done a great job of 'updating' themselves to sound as if they belong in this decade. There are hints of 90s groove/thrash dispersed throughout the songs, but in general this is a good blend of meaty, aggressive guitars and more expansive, engaging power metal structure you might recollect from bands like Vicious Rumors, Abattoir, and Apocrypha back around 1990, or perhaps a bit of Testament influence circa The Ritual or Low, or the earlier Anthrax material with John Bush in the band (Sound of White Noise). Some depth and dual-harmonies in the riffing go a long way ("Ashes to Ashes" in particular). The lyrics harbor relevant social and political themes, and the vocals of Troy Norr seem mildly less goofy than they were on the old material. He's got an angry, thick, barking inflection married well to the occasional gang shouts, and he'll occasionally incorporate some nice screams and melodies to contrast against the thuggishness he normally radiates. The guitars, also provided by an older member (Joe Shavel) have a lot of drive and enthusiasm to them which alternates between chugging thrash hymns and storming pseudo-tech power metal, very evenly balanced against the consistency of the rhythm section.

The guys are not above braking for a brief acoustic segue, or even fucking with techno (the intro to "Blood Secrets"), and I'd say they've got a matured sense for pacing and ensuring the listener never becomes bored with their ideas. That said, I found a few missteps throughout the track list, like the uppity prog/groove thrash of "Blink of an Eye" which came off like a mildly cheesy combination of Prong and Ugly Kid Joe until the chorus kicked in, and "You Lose" suffered from a few uninteresting guitar rhythms. Neither was annoying enough to fully put me off the kinetic vibe the New Yorkers eschew, but I do hope any full length in the works hinges more on material like "America Idle" or "Ashes to Ashes", which are honestly the best tunes I've ever heard them write, clobbering their 90s fare. I'd go as far as to call "Ashes to Ashes" excellent. So, overall, while I wasn't obsessed with this disc, it was fun enough for several spins, the production was quite good, and it's such a rare thing that a band launches a 'comeback' which is superior to their old stuff. Looking for a missing link between East Coast obscurities like Slaughter House and Wargasm, and the power thrust of Agent Steel, Realm or Toxik? Look no further.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://coldsteelny.com/

Armed Cloud - Shroud of Rain EP (2013)

Although as a label tag, 'progressive' has always been shaky at best, the term has stuck since the adventurous rock of the 60s and 70s, and I think it pretty clearly denotes a certain set of expectations which can be extricated based on era. In the case of this young Dutch band Armed Cloud, they are subscribed to that 90s ideals of progressive metal, by which I mean not only bigger groups like Dream Theater, Symphony X, but that whole current congesting the European underground from the time US classics like Operation: Mindcrime or Images and Words hit into last decade. In listening through their debut EP, Shroud of Rain, I was very much reminded of acts like Ivanhoe, which is not a bad thing, though I can't promise this material is anything out of the ordinary.

The characteristics are all present: an accessible, clean mix which is most concerned with listener clarity rather than aggression. Keys used to elevate the basic rock ingredient to a more symphonic plateau, which occasionally burst into outrageous solos, and comparable to the spurts of trained, slightly indulgent lead guitar work that exhibit techniques beyond the ken of the average player. Drum beats that incorporate anything from jazz, 70s prog rock and world music into the shuffling rock rhythms. A bassist that generally is not content as a mere subordinate to the rhythm guitar, and speaking of which: rhythm guitars that heavily rooted in lower end grooves, another indicator of that 90s influence where bands of this ilk were beginning to shy away from the traditional NWOBHM/speed metal licks, and more in line with Rush-based groove/rock if it were played with less overdrive and hostility. And let us not forget the vocals, which are, as you'd expect, a guy who actually sings, as opposed to the harsher stylings of extreme metal. Armed Cloud manage to infuse all of these ingredients into the three tracks here, showing some restraint, highly centered on the practice of songwriting rather than just 'going off', which frankly wouldn't fit concise 4-6 minute pieces like these.

Now, I'll be honest: apart from the niche's most successful contemporaries, there aren't many markets in which this sound is still prevalent, and these early compositions are certainly not the most explosive, exciting or innovative in this chosen paradigm. There's always been a certain stigma among many metal fans that this stuff is too poppy or geeky, because it's just as relaxing as it is jarring; but I honestly cannot be counted among the style's detractors, because if played well, music like Shroud of Rain provides its own sort of entrancing escape. What I appreciated most here is that the band throw out numerous techniques to keep the material varied and refreshing. For instance, in hearing the fist song, "This Dream", I wouldn't have expected the bluesy, Pink Floyd-like leads and synths in "Helping Hand", and these Dutchmen are quite adept at being able to convey and intensify emotions, coming in with those jammy, hard riffs right at the point where the tracks couldn't become any more sugary. The synth pads definitely whisked my imagination straight back to the 80s and 90s, and though his voice took some getting used to, Daan Dekker has a very soothing mid range and never tries to bite off more than he can chew. The vocal harmonies are also well arranged.

Ultimately, Armed Cloud is only going to appeal to an increasing minority audience which longs for that dreamy balance of ballast-heavy rhythm section, airy keys and melodic vocals. You're average Slayer fan is not going to take away a lot from the EP, and there are undoubtedly a few sections here where I felt the music became a bit too 'safe' for even my own taste. Certainly, there is much room to grow. That said, I found most of the instruments here well performed. I wouldn't mind some crazier bass lines, or a bit more intensity and sharpness to the vocal delivery, but Shroud of Rain is not an unpleasant way to kill 15 minutes, especially if you're pining for that wave of Euro progressive metal weaned on Rush and Dream Theater. Bonus points that the band is able to implement so many subtleties, catchy licks and melodies despite not writing like they were borne on a thunderstorm of technicality.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.armedcloud.net/

Evil Army - I, Commander EP (2013)

It's a wonder Evil Army hasn't blown up with more of a radius by this point, since their no frills, back-to-basics formula seems as if it would hold an inherent appeal to many fans of 80s thrash, speed, crossover. Let's face it? Have you been to gigs lately? I have, and I've been seeing more of these teens and 20-somethings sporting denim and leather 'compilations' of their favorite band patches than even the late 80s, when I myself was most obsessed with the practice. Many of these would be proud to bear the Evil Army cloth, and the fraternal Tennessee duo's simplistic demo and album covers seem perfectly fit as patches. Yet another detail of how they've gone straight back to the demo era of the early through mid 80s to fine tune their blistering aesthetics, and at least done some justice to the medium without devolving into high school pizza party thrash.

So yes, expect nothing here that sounds as if it could be dated past 1986-7. Evil Army is clearly a huge advocate of that proto-German sound, which explains the vocals which are a pretty clear imitation of Tom Angelripper and Mille Petrozza, with a harsh, sleazy bark which sounds like he smokes gunpowder and broken glass like crack cocaine; to the extent, really, that if I didn't know any better, I'd swear Rob Evil had a European accent much like his idols. The guitar progressions are pure, vicious speed metal in the vein of early Tankard or Iron Angel; dirty tones that sound like they were recorded in a garage somewhere, sound-proofed with aluminum trash can lids. Leads are spurious and sloppy, hardly the product of excess edits and overdubs, more of like someone would just rip out on a whim. The drums are brash and splash, without a lot of bass depth, but furious as they burst along to the unapologetic speed of the rhythms. Mostly though, this is just a feral sort of no-nonsense junkyard thrash which feels like a Teutonic interpretation of the Road Warrior films manifested into audio.

One of the tracks, "Ashes of the Nuclear Fire" seems a bit more muddy than the others, with a thicker bass end to the mix that pops along, so there's a whiff of inconsistency when listening through, but all in all, this is made for people who want a violent, thrash metal boot camp to the face, free of complexity, melody, and anything hinging on progress (which is both a strength and weakness, depending on who you'd ask). I wasn't in love with the material, if simply because I've heard it all many times before and there aren't any new ideas or ridiculously good songwriting to elevate beyond the median of quality, but it's good to hear that they're still putting out music. I know they took a hiatus for a couple years after Rob was incarcerated, and the bassist Bones had sadly passed away, which stuck a fork in their momentum; but the tunes here haven't really skipped a beat from their eponymous debut in 2006, and there's no argument that this is the 'real deal', or at least it was 25-28 years ago. Fans of records like Endless Pain, Finished With the Dogs, Sentence of Death, Zombie Attack, Obsessed by Cruelty, who seek that sort of authenticity should enjoy this, also those into more crossover-focused acts like Children of Technology.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/EvilArmyofficial

Beheaded - Resurgence of Oblivion EP (2000)

I'd be the last person to argue that Beheaded's 2000 EP Resurgence of Oblivion offered the listener some advancements in production quality over their debut Perpetual Mockery, but stylistically I felt like there was something more stylistically paint-by-numbers, or statistically average in the five tracks here which wasn't nearly so compelling or balanced as the earlier full-length. Almost as if I could just interchange this material with any number of other acts fielding similar excursions into brutality. Though it would be years before they actually signed to Unique Leader Records themselves, there was definitely a similar aesthetic underpinning this EP's songwriting to acts like Disgorge, Mortal Decay or Deeds of Flesh who would also end up there at some point.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, but certainly in the case of Resurgence of Oblivion we've got more of a hard on for punishment than personality, and it shows stiffly through the seams of the members' jeans. The note patterns have become more complex, but no less percussive than their earlier songs, but though they're induced with more clarity in the superior guitar tone, they feel no less muddled as any number of the less technical, less interesting progressions present on the debut. Certainly the numerical increase in lightning mutes and oppressive harmonies, or the more surgical picking sequences here could have lent themselves to a taut and impressive effort, but most of the songs on this EP blend together entirely, to the point that I find them very hard to discern from one another in the memory. Despite the ceaseless tirade of notes being thrust past my nose, none of them really smell like the reeking, festering corpse I desire from the best of death metal, and thus I'm left on the sidelines of the football match fan base to which this sort of material generally appeals. As always, I'm never one to search for a record to which my action is merely 'dude, that was so brutal', but poignant and soul scarring music I'll want to revisit 10 years hence.

Resurgence of Oblivion is nothing of the sort, but I suppose I should point out that at least the disc sounds better, with a more pinpoint accuracy to the guitars' distortion that complements both their more urgent sense of intensity and the muscular drumming, which is frankly still a fraction loud in there. The bass lines here are far better than on the debut, with a rumbling, popping, and colon rupturing presence that generates acrobatic contrast to the rhythm guitars. The leads are wilder and more frivolous than on the first album, just screaming off into the darkness of the rhythm section under the tenets of bands like Slayer or Pestilence. I will say that the newer vocalist on this, one Lawrence Joyce, seemed like a step down from his predecessor in terms of charisma. His guttural, staccato timbre plays out like a natural sibling to the kick drum through the disc, but at the same time it's a lot more monotonous in structure and never really interesting. Then again, this was what a lot of the most intense/brutal death bands at the dawn of the 21st century were gunning for, and I can hardly fault the overall banality of this material with his performance.

In the end, enjoyment of the EP comes down to a question of whether or not you're a fiend for this brand of face clubbing, unwavering brutality and business to the level that you're willing to forgive a lack of strong dynamics and interesting riff construction just to have more of it. Personally I had hoped the band would continue its more atmospheric paths off the debut, tighten the production and build themselves a Maltese masterwork of murder. Instead, this is something that failed to distinguish itself beyond a nod towards the band's obvious levels of ability. Not bad, perhaps, but had I not been determined to explore through their entire discography again, it would still sit stolidly in the oblivion it celebrates.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]  

http://www.facebook.com/BeheadedMT

Beheaded - Perpetual Mockery (1998)

Apart from its historical significance as a point of conquest for a great many regimes, from the Greeks and Romans to the French and British, there is not a lot I know about the Republic of Malta. It's an island chain in the Mediterranean which I presume bears some similarities to places like Sicily, Tunisia, and other surrounding cultural environs. They speak English about as well as their own, national Maltese, and like any other unsung corner or hole of the world, no matter how obscure, they've produced a healthy if small metal scene. This began to take shape in the 90s, through influences of doom and death metal, and has ultimately resulted in a few of their most extreme bands gaining a cult following worldwide, the best known of which is Beheaded of Fgura, which is in the south of the country.

Though formed in 1991, once these gentlemen started becoming productive we were well into the age when brutality, as an aesthetic, had begun to grow independent of the thrash-based songwriting which had birthed death metal in the first place. Bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Suffocation were already immensely popular despite how far underground the genre had been wedged, and thus it's really no surprise that Beheaded tear off more than a page from the bible black of these artists. Murky, impenetrable rhythm guitar tone anchored by a lot of slower, trudging groove rhythms. A strong blasting element here, used often against a mid-to-fast tempo chugging guitar, with drums playing a rather voluminous role overall in the mix of this 1998 full-length debut, Perpetual Mockery. Guttural, hoarse thug vocals which often remind me of Frank Mullen or Lord Worm but never descent to the level of toilet bowl flusing; with a predilection for bursts of snarling mayhem redolent of how Deicide or Carcass introduced this sort of schizoid, sinister technique, though each of the inflections is often set up individually to bark specific lines.

But what really set Perpetual Mockery apart from many other, forgettable records of its age, is the strong presence of ambiance and atmosphere through both the ominous chord selection and implementation of synthesizers and acoustic guitars to break up the potential palm-muted monotony. Later in their career, the Maltese evolved into more of a straight, overly brutal USDM style, but here on the debut there is great deal of variation and 'measured intensity', by which I mean Beheaded were very much concerned with the balance of their songwriting techniques, creating metal that was admittedly accessible to a broader range of listener than your typical, estranged cannibal mosher. I wouldn't go so far as to dub this with the ever so ebullient 'progressive' tag, but clearly if the band had continued along in this direction that would have been applied to their legacy. Tracks like the lush "Ethereal Passages" with its cleans and spatial organs, or the moody intro to "Vae Victus (Prayer for the Vanquished)" provide a welcome contrast to the more percussive oriented bludgeoning elsewhere throughout the record.

I also noticed, in addition to the occasional squeals amidst the chugging, that the Maltese had a heavy influence from technical death/thrash of the late 80s, in particular bands like Atheist, or more precisely the first two Pestilence records (Mallevs Maleficarvm most of all). Whether this is entirely conscious or not I can't say, but there is definitely a harried, clinical subtext to many of the faster-based riffing sequences which often become the most compelling throughout the 45 minutes. Leads and melodies are also well utilized; even where the note progressions aren't exactly memorable, their solemn vacuity helps balance off against the more meat-headed, primal rhythm guitar/drum patterns. I couldn't notice a lot of bass through the album, other than an occasional distorted break or burst, but this is in part due to the band's focus on making those low end grooves feel dense and meaty, which leads me to what I actually don't enjoy about the disc...

The production. Granted, Beheaded were emerging from a smaller metal market and thus not one used to handling this sort of record, but I'm just not a huge fan of the dense and squawking rhythm guitar tone, which at best reminded me of some of the Morrisound disappointments. The drums have a level balance to them, and are very much in the listener's face the whole time, partially reducing the guitar to this kind of annoying, muffled drone when the instrument is not actually exploring the fretboard. To their credit, all of the cleaner guitars, the leads, and the synthesizers are plainly heard, as are the vocals, and intricacies of the more involved guitar sequences, but there points here where I just felt as if I was beating beaten on the ear with a rubber mallet, and not in a good way. I also wish the bass just stood out more in general from the mutes.

In the end, though, Perpetual Mockery is still an impressive outing, especially from such an unexpected territory, and it was more seasoned and dynamically pleasing than a great deal of dreck emerging from, say, the US underground at the same time. Its production values definitely 'place it' back in the mid through late 90s, and it doesn't have the same timeless resonance as several other, higher budget records, but it was a nice alternative for fans of Suffocation, Pyrexia and Cryptopsy to explore. With its intelligent lyrics and interesting compositional choices, this still largely holds up as one of their finest hours, alongside the more devastating 2005 effort Ominous Bloodline.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (sowing seeds of adversity)

http://www.facebook.com/BeheadedMT

Sjenovik - On the Infinite Universe and Worlds (2012)

The US black metal underground is in a state of flux at the moment, with two of its most infamous practitioners in somewhat of a hiatus from the medium. Malefic (Xasthur) has turned his attention to acoustic music, and who can say how much more output we'll be getting from Wrest (Leviathan), who has also slowed down for real life reasons. Well, I'd cast a vote into a hat any day for a band like Arizona's Sjenovik to take up some of that slack. Primal and inventive in equal measures, they've got a specific take on the genre that, while certainly comparable to other tortured specters of the past, seems quite renewed and fresh, as it strips down to the raw components of the style and then slightly reinvents them to provide a truly visceral, compelling and ultimately harrowing listen.

On the Infinite Universe and Worlds is a short album, admittedly, with just four tracks and not specifically lengthy ones at that. It's also a lot less experimental than its predecessor, the excellent Zephaniah (2009), removing many of the atmospheric elements like keys, or the noisy soundscapes like what manifest in the perturbing but incredibly "Day of Wrath". This yields more of a metallic core, plodding along for most of its duration at a measured pace, with lots of double-bass driven rhythms that occasionally break into a faster, more traditional fit of speed. The riffing style is straight black metal: tremolo picked progressions that are just dissonant enough to precipitate an unsettling darkness on the listener, but hardly chaotic or calamitous. A bit of a Scandinavian architecture to their composition, with a lineage from Burzum, Darkthrone or Ildjarn, but only in terms of mood and surface tension. The bass is loaded with slight and immersive grooves that help compensate for the fact that a lot of the guitars are cycled quite repetitiously. It's not very complex in structure, but the tracks are actually pretty varied. For instance, the closer "...Nothing" is more melodic and airy than those leading up to it, with just a hint of a 'blackgaze' appeal, but it's still aesthetically consistent with the remainder of the cassette.

Where this is really different is in the drumming and vocals. Sure, the techniques of the percussion are nothing out of the ordinary, but the duo's focus on playing slow as the rule and not the exception, giving the music a more warlike, deliberate effect than if they were running off into blast beats for most of the play length. The vocals are absolutely incredible, blood-curdling cries that come across more emotionally than the lion's share of raspers you'll hear across the underground. Burzum-like in origin, but the level of isolation and suffering they contribute to the music immediately elevates the simpler riff-set and the subtle curves of the bass. This sounds like someone parched and freezing to death on some cold desert night, voicing the experience to the uncaring stars above, and it scared the piss out of me much like a great black metal front man always should. I'd hazard a guess that On the Infinite Universe and Worlds, despite its stripped down nature, will hold more appeal to those interested in the atmospheric spectrum of the genre; acts like Mortualia and maybe the less ambient Lunar Aurora material.

Be warned, though, Sjenovik is not your average Scandinavian blast fest laden with obvious tremolo melodies, corpse paint and spikes. This is lonely, painful, personal, and hollow, best served out of earshot of other human beings who just wouldn't understand. In summation, this obviously didn't evoke that same wealth of noise and suffering that so captivated me on the sophomore album, but nonetheless it delivers an effectively nihilistic, emotionally crippling experience in the short time it allows itself. Suicide from your speakers.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.sjenovik.com/

KLLU - UpsideDownCrossRoads (2012)

Though I listen to and enjoy electronic music in a multitude of forms, almost as much as metal, the amount I receive here at the site to cover is obviously disproportionate to all the death, black, thrash, doom and whatever else. And it makes sense: I've been trying to stick with one broad aural/cultural medium to build my critique chops, and just haven't felt so comfortable delving into other spheres of sound. I bring this up, because like myself, the members of KLLU are also involved in some heavy shit: specifically the Illinois experimental doom lords Drug Honkey, whose fourth full-length Ghost in the Fire still spends a considerable amount of time in my CD player, whenever the whiskey and pills run dry. Specifically, this is a project of drummer Adam Smith and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Paul Gillis, who throw down here with a few other experimenters in Eraldo Bernocchi and Mark Piotrowski to create a panorama of beats and noises both lush and taxing. So as hard as it might be step outside of my comfort zone, I will damn well attempt to describe what this is.

Downtempo, cerebral, haunting, and yet very often possessive of an unexpected warmth. Not the warmth of an angel's radiance, or a hearth, perhaps, but that of a subway light fixture on a cold winter night. A sense of being snug deep in the rectum of humanity, cigarette butts heaped by your feet, strangers passing you by with nary a glance to affirm the species connection. All of this is conveyed through a palette of programmed beats, waves of depth and distortion, and lots of glitchy alien electronics providing a surreal backdrop. Like a lot of experimental industrial/electronic music, there are times where you'll feel as if the presentation doesn't have much purpose aside from tweaking around with a certain set of sounds, but that's really the joy of UpsideDownCrossRoads: 30 minutes of escape into the unknown. There were pads and effects here that reminded me of anything from The Orb or Orbital to the dark ambient/noise-scapes of a dozen more obscure artists, and they incorporate filtered sounds that might have been vocals or strings in origin, but have been twisted into a matrix of mutation. Truthfully, there's quite a lot of variation present through the give tracks, even though they maintain central themes of feedback, contrasts of dark and light in the effects. It's as deliberate as it is formless, as live-wired as it is decaying.

We're not talking fraternity bro-step here, with freak-out breakdowns and scattershot hip hop dance club associations. It's not Skrillex, fuel for a next generation of rave culture. No, this is the voice of living rust, machinery, and urban arcana. Things you forgot on a back street, in a basement, finding their own means to communicate. It's not overly harrowing despite the members' tendencies towards balls-out oblivion-level heaviness in other projects. It's cryptic, but you won't require Neal Stephenson to translate it for you. The production is gorgeous, eloquent even, with addictive noise panning through the headset and each sound a pleasure to interpret. The beats are paramount yet duly minimalistic, but on the closer "Impossible Dark" they actually drop the percussion altogether for a more freeform experience. My personal faves were "Dead, Like Me" which is complex and mesmerizing; or the warbling, wailing "Keep Us Forever", a lexicon for robotic subterranean whales, but in truth the whole of the album is pretty level in terms of its uncanny magnetism. KLLU gets you concurrently high and low. Psychedelia of asphalt and alleyways, well worth your abuse.

Verdict: Win [8/10] 

http://kllu.bandcamp.com/album/upsidedowncrossroads

Harvest Gulgaltha - I DEMO (2012)

Probably one of the most oblique and unassuming works I've received lately for coverave, Harvest Gulgaltha's first demo is also one of the most devastating, compacting so much tortured emotion into a blend of death, black and doom metal aesthetics that you have to wonder if whoever wrote and recorded this is even still alive?! I don't have much information on the project, other than that it's a US band who have released this as a limited edition, handnumbered cassette through Aphotic Sonance, a label which also harbors the nightmarish black metal act Sjenovik. But, really, as obfuscated as its membership might be, as hidden its creators from the light of recognition, the message in this music is perfectly clear: you are all very fucking dead, and let this ritual serve as a reminder.

Complexity is not in the cards for Harvest Gulgaltha, but instead the most bare bones, simplistic chord progressions and primal death metal picking patterns, especially in the first track "Infinite Black", which spends much of its time bouncing back and forth between two notes; or the finale "Scepter of the Shadows of Death", which is nearly drone/doom in construction, like a darker, shadowy Neurosis. Just a hint of dissonance. The purpose here isn't to wow a listener with musicianship, but to club him/her over the head slowly and repeatedly. It works, and pretty damn well, thanks to the steadied, ebon ichor of the bass lines, the rich textural depth of the guitar tone and the forceful grooves of the drumming. That's not to say that the demo consists solely of slower material, because there are a few tracks like "Manifestation of Nightmares" which pick up the pace to a blackened death metal surge, but even then the riffs are all pretty familiar and the primary motif is the dense, roiling mass of the vocals, which are basically sirens of oblivion, grating and hoarse death metal gutturals laced with screams...almost like the guy is slowly jerking out his own entrails with a rusted, sharp tool in step with the rhythm of the drums and guitars.

Normally I wouldn't go out for such a primitive aesthetic, but Harvest Gulgaltha had me convinced despite itself, due to the sheer weight of the performance. Even if I've heard these riffs (or similar progressions) a thousand times in the past, the intensity of how they are delivered on this demo cannot be ignored. It's just as hypnotic as sitting in a rehearsal space while your friends, drunken and drugged, hook into a minimalistic groove and just let it hang there, the natural ambiance of the drudging, evil chords enough to create the nightmare stuff of woken hallucinations. I've had a similar reaction to this demo after drinking too much absinthe. It's not rocket science: these primates are blissfully unconcerned with technicality, progression, melody, or anything else beyond the impending escape unto death and emptiness, but there is certainly a place for a recording like this which can so effortlessly drain your soul while bruising and blackening your exterior. Kills you inside out, outside in. No light awaits you in these depths, not even the faintest spark.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

Terminate - Ascending to Red Heavens (2013)

As heretical as it might seem to some fans, recent months have had me forging a debate with myself over whether or not I anticipated hearing newer, American or European bands, at least in terms of this wave of old school death metal worship that is all the rage these past 4-5 years. After careful consideration, I'm choosing the former. Not because there aren't great examples, or exceptions, in either category. No, largely because so many of the bands overseas seem to be about meticulously recreating the sounds of classic albums and only rarely deviating from the norm (outside of the obvious advancements in production); but the American advocates seem to derive more from a hodgepodge of scenes and influences, which can naturally result in a more interesting and unique end product. Translation: I guess I'm just burned out on so many bands sounding too close for comfort to Left Hand Path, Mental Funeral, Indecent & Obscene, and other cult classics. It's becoming redundant.

Ascending to Red Heavens, the full-length debut of Illinois' Terminate, being released through Polish imprint Selfmadegod Records, is hardly a revelation, and translates its sound from all manner of late 80s and early 90s death metal pioneers, to produce something slightly more refreshing. Yes, I can clearly trace some of the Autopsy heritage due to the band's filthy, unforgiving sound and vocals; and yes, the grime encrusted over the guitars is not unlike a number of Swedish forebears and their followers, several of which the band itself cites and an influence. But at the same time, I felt a lot more of an old deathgrind sensibility in how many of the riffs were constructed. Some Bolt Thrower here, or Repulsion there. Some of Martin van Drunen's earlier works, like The Rack or Consuming Impulse. They also favor a generally fast-paced, tremolo-dense brand of riffing which lands them somewhere between the Swedish and Floridian classics, and crazy atonal leads that ascended from the wilder West Coast thrash/speed metal acts of the 80s. Most of all, though, I really enjoyed the vocals here, which had more depth and resonance than many of the usual Petrov/van Drunen style frontmen, fired off across the bow of the grinding, saturated guitar tone. Totally warlike, and measured directly against the volume of the guitars in the mix.

Now, this is not an album inundated with the most gifted, distinct or memorable set of riff progressions you're like to hear, unlike, say the latest albums from Morbus Chron, Horrendous or Necrovation, which all did some pretty interesting things while staying loyal to the medium. Most of Terminate's tunes involve tried and true, familiar sounding patterns that deliver largely because of the band's sense of brutal sincerity more than an engrossing grasp of composition. This group is under no illusions about itself: it makes death metal ugly again. Uncaring, and faintly evil, its own atmosphere manifest through its miasma of hellish sounds and that freakish, all-consuming landscape on the cover. Creepy! I did feel that the songs, while consistent, did occasionally run on together in terms of distinctiveness, and there are several production issues, like the leads seeming difficult to hear below the weight of the boisterous rhythm guitar, or the drums feeling a little too tinny to support that swarthy tone. Bass? It's there, but whether due to the distortion or volume, also can't seem to breach the two rhythm players. In the end, while I didn't love Ascending to Red Heavens, at least it kicked my ass down memory lane without feeling too much like I'd taken the exact same trip before (even if I have). Not bad. One for the purists.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

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Will 'o' Wisp - Kosmo (2012)

Though the involved acts haven't created quite the ripple they deserve these past few decades, Italy has long been a hotbed for progressive death metal projects. Some, like Illogicist or Gory Blister, take the post-1990 aesthetics of Death and Cynic to another level of harried composition, while others, like Sadist, have struck a more fertile territory of jazzy inclinations, which they've been performing just as long as higher profile outfits (Pestilence, Atheist, etc). This last reference is quite important, because Will 'o' Wisp possess quite a similar rhythmic discourse to Sadist, in particular the masterful Season in Silence (2010) or the eponymous Sadist (2007). Interestingly, one of that band's former drummers (Oinos) is a part of this group, who have themselves been around for quite some time, releasing a few efforts over a decade past which I've simply never heard. This latest effort, Kosmo is their third official album, and the first since 2001; so considering this gulf of time, it's impressive that they've constructed such a solid and compelling selection of tunes.

Let me clear the air: yes, this sounds like Sadist, quite a lot in fact, but not to the point where I felt like it didn't have much of its own to offer. Season in Silence was an album I truly enjoyed, and continue to spin to the point that I'm expecting my CD to crack. But I might argue that Will 'o' Wisp are a bit more indulgent and experimental than their neighbors, and it's this sense of fearlessness that I really admired in Kosmo. To better define what they're chasing, think what Season in Silence might have sounded like if it were influenced less by jazzy/fusion works, and more by experimental 70s or 80s electronic music; anything from Goblin to Kraftwerk. Metallic instrumentation is the dominant force here, with loads of chops and a busy rhythm section second to none, but they'll often throw in exotic, Middle Eastern or Oriental instrumentation or eerie female vocals to round out the pummeling undercurrent of meaty guitars, rampant bass and drums. Some of the synthesizer tones and beats in the more experimental pieces like "Going Back (My Samsara)" might seem a fraction cheesy or antique for those with no investment in immersive old school industrial, electronic or progressive rock and metal, but I found them wonderful and inventive addictions that often trumped the harder hitting components of the songs.

Will 'o' Wisp implement a denser and more bludgeoning guitar sound than Sadist, but otherwise the riffs bear a similar load of shifting rhythmic impact. What was interesting is how they can alternate between a less friendly, more punishing framework and then some fits of accessible chord patterns, especially the lead sequence in "Kosmos" itself which is, to put it bluntly, beautifully explosive and memorable. That said, I didn't find there to be quite so many catchy pairings of synth and guitar as I'd have liked, and aside from giving a sense of scripted kinetics to the music, the riffs only stick with the mind about 50% of the time. The bass lines are enormously well written, busy and perhaps to an extent improvisational, lending crucial depth to even the simplest of death/thrash guitar progressions, and the drummer offers a meticulous, aggressive back beat and nuanced fills without becoming overly technical or difficult to follow. The vocals of Deimos have that loud, visceral sneer reminiscent of Kelly Schaeffer or Trevor Nadir; basically a more brutal Schuldiner style, which you'll either love or hate based upon your reaction to comparable records like Piece of Time, Season in Silence, or Omnipotent Convocation.

I did find the latter half of the record, starting at the sixth track to be marginally more interesting than the first 4-5 cuts, but not a single song passes without some distinct rhythmic idea. The random swaths of synthesizer, the tireless, thumping bass lines, and the dense production keep the listener's blood flowing throughout, but I almost wish they had incorporated even MORE of their bizarre diversions to balance off the heavier material, if only because it seems like the stranger the album gets, the more unforgettable. Tracks like "Going Back (My Samsara)" and "Bardo Thodol" are clear indicators of Will 'o' Wisp's sense of adventure, and I wouldn't have minded if this eclectic style was threaded more evenly through the remainder of the disc. Granted, I'm a pretty open-minded guy, and much of the Italians' audience is probably there for the death thrash metal, but Kosmo feels like it hovers right at the precipice of genius and afraid to drop off the edge. That said, this is still pretty damn good, from the introspective, deeply philosophical lyrics to the musical execution, and it begs the question: why I haven't heard them before? Well worth checking out if you're into any of the other names I've dropped in the review (especially Sadist).

Verdict: Win [8/10] (a new shape forms by colours from the dark)

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