Halestorm - Everest (Atlantic Records)
The foursome of Lzzy (vocals/guitar) and Arejay Hale (drums), guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith, collectively known as Halestorm return with their sixth album Everest and like the titular mountain it's named after, this record is their toughest and most accomplished yet.
Detailing their climb towards stadium superstardom with all the highs and lows that entails, Everest sees them producing a record that needs time, a couple of listens to really latch on to you. There's a real fusion of styles here but it's full of introspection and personal struggles along with songs of defiance and rebellion, all the things you'd expect from Halestorm but with a broad musical range of influences.
Produced by Dave Cobb, who spends a lot of time with country artists, the record is vinyl warm but achingly modern it's soundscapes, though Halestorm always lean heavily on their influences. Fallen Star, the opener of the record is mix of heavy and melodic that Metallica brought on the period of Self Titled/Load/Reload.
The thrashy down stroke beginning moves into haunting synths and huge chorus, as that "kick it!" refrain into the final part also reminds me of Avenged Sevenfold. That 90's Metallica sound reappears on Rain Your Blood On Me, even though it's titled like a Slayer track. So stadium anthems are locked in for sure with the title track another epic song of defiance and resilience with plenty of Guns N Roses-like lead guitars and a choruses with the power and wordplay of Lady Gaga (the piano too).
This is surely a future live anthem, but they don't stop there, Everest sees them plucking inspiration from everywhere, albeit mainly from the arena headliners of yesteryear but given a 21st century sonic overhaul and some Halestorm magic. With the industrial groove of K.I.L.L.I.N.G, which shows that Nu-Metal is still alive and well. It's with Shiver that the go into some dramatic 80's balladry, Halestorm drawing from the glammier side of their influence pool on this one.
As Gather The Lambs takes more a 90's alt rock turn, showcasing that Halestorm have always had quite a long list of influences behind them. From the swaggering I Gave You Everything having that raging attitude of Skunk Anansie or Garabage or the massive Queen-like anthem that is How Will You Remember Me, they easily absorb these different styles and make them their own.
Lzzy's vocals mature with every record, here she's at here most varied, with those low bluesy moments on the seductive, empowering Like A Woman, where Arejay's drums get a huge sound like how Quincy Jones did for the Michael Jackson records. Then there's the powerful rasp which has got more definition to it now, used brilliantly on the aggressive but melodic Watch Out! As a more left-field moment such as Darkness Always Wins takes Lzzy into Kate Bush at the beginning as it slowly unfolds into another track about resilience.
Everest is a journey through the evolution of Halestorm, their epic journey towards reaching the peak of the heavy rock mountain. When they play the UK towards the end of this year, they'll be unleashing many of the songs of this record but like any good climb to the summit, it takes numerous paths but through skill, grit and the sheer love of doing this they've managed to conquer it all. Not so much "because it's there" but "because they can” Everest takes Halestorm to the top of world! 9/10
Sinsaenum - In Devastation (earMusic)
There's been a lot of roadblocks standing in the way of extreme metal supergroup Sinsaenum's return, their last album was in 2018 but since then they've had to survive a global pandemic, the death of founding member Joey Jordison in 2021 and for co-founder Frédéric Leclercq, the death of his father.
However tragedy is often the best inspiration so In Devastation is a record of catharsis paying tribute to both Jordison and Leclercq's father as the emotional weight of both of these things inspired this third album and gave the band the resilience to carry on, to find strength when everything is taken away from you.
Reuniting Leclercq with fellow guitarist Stéphane Buriez of Loudblast, bassist Heimoth of Seth and vocalists Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Sean Zatorsky (Dååth), the band is completed by new drummer Andre Joyzi, who was Jordison's tech so they are very much keeping it in the family so to speak. He embodies Joey's role in this band with same level of precision Jordison had driving these blackened death metal movements with breathless pace.
In Devastation then is the sound of a band in flux but with focus on continuation, a band that alongside Lasse Lammert have created extreme music with a lot more happening than your traditional black/death units, there's power metal/melodeath shredding and solos, progressive time signature changes, classical arrangements, melodic synths and keys, a plethora of instruments that combine to produce aggressive, expansive music.
With blasts coming on Cedes To Thunder and the title track, some punishing mechanical/industrial grooves on Obsolete And Broken while Shades Of Black bring the melodeath acoustics and synths, the interplay between the guitarists, built on mutual virtuosity as the rhythm section rampages. However vocally there's some deviation as the clean/harsh vocals are both delivered well on track such as the introspective The Last Goodbye, where Sinsaenum again shift their style.
A record that pays tribute to lost friends and family, channelling grief through music, In Devastation pulls this collective through their harshest history yet with exemplary extreme metal. 8/10
Blessings - Blodsträngen (Pelagic Records)
Blodsträngen which translates to 'The Bloodline’ (no Roman Reigns here though) or ‘The Blood String' is the third record from Swedish experimental heaviest Blessings, released through Pelagic Records you can anticipate what to expect on the whole but Blessings use a lot of quirks to separate them from the 'atmospheric big riff' crowd that are so prominent on the label.
Now this pigeonholing of the bands on Pelagic may seem mean but it's not I love most of the bands on this label and low and behold, I love Blodsträngen too. All four members of the band are all veterans of several other groups in Awesome but they came together in a rehearsal room to make noises that they all enjoyed despite all being from different genre backgrounds.
Like a ear bleeding alchemy in the rehearsal room, they create distorted, abrasive sound walls that owe much to the likes of Converge or Cult Of Luna but also showcase a mastery of modular synths, loops and the tendency to utilise unappreciated instruments such as cowbell (No Good Things) and this forces them into the weirdness of Between The Buried And Me or At The Drive-In.
The foursome of Fredrik Karlsson, Mattias Rasmusson, Johan G. Winther and Erik Skytt, craft their music with ferocious precision and attention to detail, but never lacking in power as a track such as Copper + Dirt brings that sludgy progression of Baroness and Mastodon, as the propulsion slithers into the striking Middle Eastern promise and crushing heaviness of Through Veils Of Glass And Silica, which transitions at the back end towards a dreamy throb built on a repeating guitar and bass line and sparse percussion.
There's continuituly here to with another song called Strings Of Red, a psychadelic expulsion of emotion that draws all the elements of Blessings together. They've had one on every album so far, and it keeps up with Blessings goal to keep their music as experimental and angular as they can. At no point is this more evident than on Clean which grumbles in the low end has an abrasive guitar tone throughout and ranges between slow roaming and moments of explosive angst.
This Blodsträngen continues grow larger and more complex with each record Blessings release. Exquisite experimental noises! 8/10
Fourwaykill - Pacifying The Aggressor (Self Released)
Formed in 1997 Fourwaykill came together in the South West of England and we t through a few line changes throughout the early 2000's as they laid waste to stages around the country with plenty of high profile supports as well as a long standing association with Bloodstock, playing the early days of the festival along with a few Bloodstock oriented tours.
In 2007 they decamped to Philia studios along with producer Nick Hemingway to recording and album, but the music business is fickle and 4WK ceased to exist as members of the bands formed/joined other notable British metal bands. However after and impromptu jam drummer Rob Hicks (ex-Panic Cell), guitarst Jay Walsh (Xentrix/Bull-Riff Stampede) and vocalist Chris Neighbour (Trapped in Purgatory), decided that there was life in this machine yet.
Going back to the unreleased album the remastered it totally, reinvented two live favourites and added new single in Speedball, to reactivate their legacy and pay homage to their former bassist Podge as they set to release their 'new old' album.
Accompanying the album they will also be making a return to Bloodstock to decimate it one more time with Rob Boston from Bull Riff Stampede joining on bass, so if your going get done to the Sophie Stage on Thursday to witness a part of history, but this review is about the record and Pacifying The Aggressor is a raging 7 track groove metal release that laments the collapse of society by offering the way out being loud, violent fun.
So it's groove metal gang, aggressive, riff-tastic groove metal, the style of which was extremely popular in the mid 90's to mid 2000's think Exhorder, Prong and Machine Head and you'll be on the right track. From the gnarly breakdown of Speedball to the thrash moments of Human Kill Kind, there's plenty long time fans will recognise and also a lot of pit starting fury for new people.
Rob is a proper powerhouse behind the kit, matching his force with some finesse, whilst Podge's big bass bounces out of the speakers as Jay's riffs a thick, distorted and chuggy with some slides and lead breaks. Of course groove metal has pretty much one style of vocal and Chris has it nailed down with some big, chesty, macho roars on the strutting groove of Anti-All and and croons on Aggressor.
Very much of it's time, though experiencing a resurrection 20 years later, Pacifying The Aggressor is a throat ripping, slab of groove metal that would have never seen the light of day had it not been for three buddies reconvening, it's a a tribute to their lost friend, their own legacy and will lead to a celebration at Bloodstock. Get down the front! 8/10
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