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Thursday 20 September 2018

Reviews: Metal Allegiance, Freak Kitchen, Chthonic, Four Seconds Ago (Reviews By Paul H)

Metal Allegiance: Vol II Power Drunk Majesty (Nuclear Blast)

The success of the debut release from this admittedly mighty supergroup in 2015 earned an 8/10 from me. Live I wasn’t that bothered, only watching a bit of their appearance at Bloodstock but with the follow up release containing several of my favourite vocalists, this was an album that I was keen to listen to. I suppose it’s unsurprising that the tracks on Vol II tend to fit the vocalists rather than the other way round. Take Mother Of Sin for example. What else would you expect from Overkill’s Bobby Blitz than a stomping thrashing beast that takes no prisoners and allows Blitz to deliver his trademark scream? Terminal Illusion features Accept frontman Mark Tornillo and yeah, it sounds like a track of the next Accept album. Now, that’s no bad thing, as Accept fucking rule and I love his gravel-soaked delivery. It’s a thunderous track, with Mike Portnoy, for it is he on the drum stool once more battering the shit out of his kit.

King With A Paper Crown sees Alex Skolnick riffing for his life, with Amon Amarth's Johan Hegg delivering in the only way he can, gruffly. By far and away the best track on the album however, is the anthemic Voodoo Of The Godsend. Tribal drum patterns and down tuned guitar make way for Soulfly’s Max Cavalera who gives a stellar performance. In fact, this would fit perfectly on the forthcoming Ritual album. Elsewhere we have Troy Sanders from Mastodon and ‘house’ vocalist, Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda who not only delivers strongly on Impulse Control but gives his all on Power Drunk Majesty Part I before Floor Jansen adds a bit of feminine style to Part II. With Dave Ellefson and Mark Menghi superb in their execution alongside Skolnick and Portnoy, the musicianship is unsurprisingly first rate. This is an enjoyable release which allows all those involved to let rip. 8/10

Freak Kitchen: Confusion To The Enemy (Thunderstruck Productions)

One of the joys of writing for Musipedia of Metal is the range of music you are exposed to. Freak Kitchen is a typical example. A band I’d never heard before, they formed in Gothenburg in 1992 by guitarist Mattias ‘Ia’ Eklundh, Freak Kitchen soon earned a reputation for their ‘corny heavy pop rock Latin world jazz avant garde metal blues straight from hell’and Eklundh was in high-demand, with his guitar playing featuring on albums by Soilwork, Evergrey, Bumblefoot (Sons Of Apollo/Guns N Roses), Jonas Hellborg, amongst others. 

Album number nine reflects the band’s singular vision which has been a constant on all their albums. Citing influences as diverse as Dean Martin to Slayer, Kiss to Zappa and Indian Carnatic music, approaching Confusion To The Enemy requires an open mind. It is certainly as promised: a wide-reaching, experimental/progressive/metal smorgasbord. From the opening comedy skit of Morons, the Electric Six style Alone With My Phone, through to the mellow sentimentality of By The Weeping Willow, the thumping title track and the jazz fused The Era Of Anxiety, Eklundh along with Christer Hysén (bass/vocals) and drummer Björn Fryklund provide one of the more interesting and eclectic albums of 2018. Definitely worth checking out. 8/10

Chthonic: Battlefields Of Asura (Century Media)

I’ve seen Taiwanese black metal icons Chthonic twice live. Once at BOA in 2012 and supporting Satyricon at the Limelight in Belfast in 2013. Both times I was distinctly unimpressed. Battlefields Of Asura is their eighth album and their first since 2013’s Bu-Tik. In the intervening five years the band have focused on domestic issues, raising families and in the case of frontman Freddy Lim, who is one of the most principled and right on people in metal, forming a new political party and being elected to the Taiwanese parliament. Kudos to him for that achievement. 

However, despite that, and the presence of Randy Blythe and Denise Ho, iconic freedom fighter and singer from Hong Kong, this is an album I really struggled with. I love black metal but the vocals on this release are just appalling. I’m fully in favour of the concepts that run through the 11 songs on the album, depicting the adventure of deities in Taiwan carrying messages about resistance, freedom and fraternity. Musically there is much to be impressed about, with the synth work mixing neatly with the frantic blast beats and tremolo picking but I’m sorry, the vocals just destroy it. 5/10

Four Seconds Ago: The Vacancy (3 Dot Recordings)

The combination of Periphery guitarists Jake Bowen and Misha Mansoor, The Vacancy is the debut release on 3Dot Recordings, the label devised by the whole of Periphery. It’s fair to say that this is far away from our usual fare, with organic electronics, analog synths, lush guitars and ethereal vocals layered through 50 minutes of electronic music. The downtempo dreamscapes intertwin perfectly on an album which provides numerous calming tranquil moments, programming has never been particularly interesting or attractive but there are moments on this release which sweep over you in waves. Galaxy and Bloodfrenzy immediately catch the ear, the ambient sounds combining strongly. The album culminates with the title track, a seven-minute piece which explodes with high tempo in mid-section and which also features Axel Mansoor on additional vocals. Whilst I’m still not taken with the whole electronic music field, this is ideal for calm, relaxation as well as helping with insomnia. 7/10

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