SAOR - Amidst The Ruins (Season Of Mist) [Matt Bladen]
Andy Marshall returns with yet more 'Caledonian Metal' from the mists of the rugged, mystical Scottish landscape his project SAOR has been carving a niche for itself since 2013.This is the sixth album from SAOR and with his sound fully established now there's an expectation of what it will sound like but this is always quickly washed away by the scope and beauty of each release. The core of SAOR's music is black metal, atmospheric black metal at that, influenced by the likes of Winterfylleth and Agalloch, similarly to both bands writing and composing music that uses the landscape itself as a source of greatest inspiration.
Amidst The Ruins sees them again in epic mood, Marshall again handling all composition, writing and instrumentation, this is a musical trail through the wild, barren beauty of Scotland through the folklore and ancient traditions but comparing and contrasting them with modern issues and how many reflect each other and how you can find solace in one away from the other. Conceptual in nature, SAOR's albums and live shows are like sacred rituals carrying the spirits of the ancestors channelled though the music Marshall creates. He is no longer alone, on record or live, he is the harsh vocals, tremolo picking, the furious black metal blasts, as well as the triumphant synth moments and clean croons add the duality.
Marshall is joined by Carlos Vivas behind the kit, the percussive heart of this ceremony as Ella Zlotos adds the wind instruments for those Celtic phases. By wind instruments I mean Tin Whistles, Low Whistles and Uillean Pipes, the main triumvirate used in traditional Celtic music and the driving force behind Glen Of Sorrow. Ella also provides the beautiful female vocals too, the haunting whispers from the Glens and Highlands. As any classical music fan knows, SAOR can really be classed as a classic music act with metal trappings, you can't have wind instruments without strings and the strings here come from Miguel Izquierdo's viola, Samuel C. Ledesma's cello, Àngela Moya Serrat violin, the string arrangements are wondrous, a vivid compliment to the metallic and the Celtic folk.
On the dissonant, spectral The Sylvan Embrace, the brooding but shortest song here features a guest cello performance from the magnificent as always Jo Quail. Amidst The Ruins is the crowning achievement in the SAOR catalogue to date. An exhilarating journey through the history of Scotland's landscape, stunning. 10/10
Obscura - A Sonication (Nuclear Blast Records) [Mark Young]
And now a touch of German technical metal from Obscura, who drop a high-level 7th album in A Sonication via those lovely buggers at Nuclear Blast. Now, this is a band that has not been on my radar in anyway since their inception in the early 2000’s but that has certainly changed.
They waste no time at all in getting your attention as Silver Linings blows forth, mixing in some heads down riffola with virtuosity. The way they set it up in terms of battering you with high octane rhythms and the slower sections that show off those face-melting leads and melodic parts in one exceptional album opener. And while you could argue that it isn’t ground-breaking in terms of what it is, what you cannot argue with is how good it sounds and by extension the gusto in which they attack it.
On the dissonant, spectral The Sylvan Embrace, the brooding but shortest song here features a guest cello performance from the magnificent as always Jo Quail. Amidst The Ruins is the crowning achievement in the SAOR catalogue to date. An exhilarating journey through the history of Scotland's landscape, stunning. 10/10
Obscura - A Sonication (Nuclear Blast Records) [Mark Young]
And now a touch of German technical metal from Obscura, who drop a high-level 7th album in A Sonication via those lovely buggers at Nuclear Blast. Now, this is a band that has not been on my radar in anyway since their inception in the early 2000’s but that has certainly changed.
They waste no time at all in getting your attention as Silver Linings blows forth, mixing in some heads down riffola with virtuosity. The way they set it up in terms of battering you with high octane rhythms and the slower sections that show off those face-melting leads and melodic parts in one exceptional album opener. And while you could argue that it isn’t ground-breaking in terms of what it is, what you cannot argue with is how good it sounds and by extension the gusto in which they attack it.
That technical feel is writ large on Evenfall in the way the bass takes a central role, setting it up for the whole band to come with a massive wall of sound. I have to say that listening with a decent set of earphones makes a difference as you hear all of the little moves each instrument makes as it navigates its way to the end. Like Silver Linings, it’s a showcase for their respective talents but is delivered in a way that engages as opposed to being technical just because they can.
In Solitude comes back with a punchy pace and a stunning drum performance from James Stewart who is on fire here. This is one of those tracks that rages in the right places and coupled with a shorter run time is just the sort of frenzied blast required to keep that engagement level high and then they go and punch harder with The Prolonging, which delivers a 2-minute masterclass in melodic technical attack.
Obviously, they have to go and ruin it by dropping an instrumental in there with Beyond The Seventh Sun (That is a joke, just in case) which gives them a near 5-minute platform to show off their skills and to be fair after the songs leading up to it I can forgive them. Normal service is resumed on Stardust, as they tear through what is another high-class arrangement from them.
In Solitude comes back with a punchy pace and a stunning drum performance from James Stewart who is on fire here. This is one of those tracks that rages in the right places and coupled with a shorter run time is just the sort of frenzied blast required to keep that engagement level high and then they go and punch harder with The Prolonging, which delivers a 2-minute masterclass in melodic technical attack.
Obviously, they have to go and ruin it by dropping an instrumental in there with Beyond The Seventh Sun (That is a joke, just in case) which gives them a near 5-minute platform to show off their skills and to be fair after the songs leading up to it I can forgive them. Normal service is resumed on Stardust, as they tear through what is another high-class arrangement from them.
Some bands after dropping an instrumental half-way in lose some of that momentum or intensity but that is not the case here. It is like they have reset but without losing any of that energy built previously. Its machine built in its precision, with each part of it put together with an eye on what came before so that it fits perfectly. It has the riffs, the leads and a quality vocal performance from Steffen Kummerer who has the prerequisite grit to counter any clean parts of their sound.
The Sun Eater is just royal, a stomping riff set that brings a level of brutality to proceedings and some low vocals too. Its probably the most straight forward song here which works in their favour and shows that they are at home in bringing some quality death metal into the equation and once it finishes, we are left with the title track, A Sonication.
The Sun Eater is just royal, a stomping riff set that brings a level of brutality to proceedings and some low vocals too. Its probably the most straight forward song here which works in their favour and shows that they are at home in bringing some quality death metal into the equation and once it finishes, we are left with the title track, A Sonication.
I think you always look to the last song to deliver, and with this they are more than up to the task. This is where they have taken every good thing on here and put it in one spot. It is a blitzkrieg that combines not just speed, but stylistic intent too which is focused on making this final track the best it can be. Some of the work on this is breath-taking and weighing it up against the album as a whole represents the band in one song.
This is an album that should appeal to a massive cross-section of genre fans (ok, apart from Doom fans) as it has everything that is a joy about extreme metal. I’ll repeat what I said earlier about it not being ground-breaking because it has been done before. What I would like to say is that there are not many who can do it as well as Obscura who make it an essential listen. You must check this out and then after that, buy a ticket to their tour too because I reckon that these songs played in a live scenario would be something else. 9/10
This is an album that should appeal to a massive cross-section of genre fans (ok, apart from Doom fans) as it has everything that is a joy about extreme metal. I’ll repeat what I said earlier about it not being ground-breaking because it has been done before. What I would like to say is that there are not many who can do it as well as Obscura who make it an essential listen. You must check this out and then after that, buy a ticket to their tour too because I reckon that these songs played in a live scenario would be something else. 9/10
Sidewinder - March Of The Eternal Heretic EP (Self Released) [GC]
When you think of thrash, the Bay Area springs to mind, the ‘’Big Four’’ and various other things one thing I guarantee you don’t instantly think of Leeds do you? Well, Sidewinder wants to put a stop to this with their latest release, March Of The Eternal Heretic. I can freely admit that thrash is very, very hit and miss for me, so I go into this hoping they can convince me otherwise!
It all starts off promisingly enough on Two, Zero, One with its slow and measured build up it doesn’t scream thrash metal but it doesn’t take long to explode into life and its got everything you need to make a good thrash track, its got all the groove, it’s got fast sharp riffs and plenty of thundering drums that all amount to a fun listen overall and a decent way to kick things off!
When you think of thrash, the Bay Area springs to mind, the ‘’Big Four’’ and various other things one thing I guarantee you don’t instantly think of Leeds do you? Well, Sidewinder wants to put a stop to this with their latest release, March Of The Eternal Heretic. I can freely admit that thrash is very, very hit and miss for me, so I go into this hoping they can convince me otherwise!
It all starts off promisingly enough on Two, Zero, One with its slow and measured build up it doesn’t scream thrash metal but it doesn’t take long to explode into life and its got everything you need to make a good thrash track, its got all the groove, it’s got fast sharp riffs and plenty of thundering drums that all amount to a fun listen overall and a decent way to kick things off!
March Of The Eternal Heretic has so many elements of one of those ‘’Big Four ‘’ bands you think this could be and unreleased Slayer track, granted probably not from peak era, but certainly one of their latter day releases, and there is an undoubted hardcore tone in the music also and look they wear their influences on their sleeves here for sure and it pays off in a way but I just cant help but just think, I have heard this so many times before, it doesn’t really shine as much as it should, shame really?!
From Beneath They Shall Rise keeps the pace fast and the riffs tumble forward with out a care in the world and the little two-step rhythm they thrown in here is a real highlight from the song but once again it all just sound so familiar, if you like everything to sound like something you have heard before then that’s good but of course if you want to hear something new then maybe this isn’t such good news, I get that thrash has rules and codes or whatever but I want it to sound different and interesting also this song is about 2 minutes longer than it needs to be.
Ashes Of Reality takes note of the point I just made and is a nice way to round things off, it again has all the elements that make thrash vital and interesting, and parts of this song are absolutely killer and some parts are just good and the guitar solo that they throw in is executed brilliantly and overall it’s a good way to end this EP.
So? Is this likely to add Leeds as a go to destination for thrash metal? Unfortunately, I don’t think so, what I heard I enjoyed but at the same time it never really blew my mind, everything was well played and sounded good but ultimately, have I heard it all before? Yes! Overall, March Of The Eternal Heretic is worth a listen if you don’t expect too much from it!? 6/10
Di’Aul - Eva Ave (Minotauro Records) [Dan Sierras]
Out of Milan, the quartet of Di’Aul return with its third full length LP, Eva Ave. A slow burn, sludgy-doom laden album that failed to capture my attention.
While this album may be a hit with fans of the genre, it just didn’t resonate with me. The opener Duende really didn’t leave anything to be desired for my tastes. Kind of a slow paced song that picks up towards the end. The next two tracks Tar Wing and Mad Dalena just kind of blend into each other. Unfortunately (for me) much of the same for the rest of the album.
Even though this album didn’t appeal to me, Di’Aul has been around since 2010 making music. Heck, they have released three LPs and a handful of EPs, so obviously they’re doing something right. 5/10
So? Is this likely to add Leeds as a go to destination for thrash metal? Unfortunately, I don’t think so, what I heard I enjoyed but at the same time it never really blew my mind, everything was well played and sounded good but ultimately, have I heard it all before? Yes! Overall, March Of The Eternal Heretic is worth a listen if you don’t expect too much from it!? 6/10
Di’Aul - Eva Ave (Minotauro Records) [Dan Sierras]
Out of Milan, the quartet of Di’Aul return with its third full length LP, Eva Ave. A slow burn, sludgy-doom laden album that failed to capture my attention.
While this album may be a hit with fans of the genre, it just didn’t resonate with me. The opener Duende really didn’t leave anything to be desired for my tastes. Kind of a slow paced song that picks up towards the end. The next two tracks Tar Wing and Mad Dalena just kind of blend into each other. Unfortunately (for me) much of the same for the rest of the album.
Even though this album didn’t appeal to me, Di’Aul has been around since 2010 making music. Heck, they have released three LPs and a handful of EPs, so obviously they’re doing something right. 5/10
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