Reviews: Frayle, God Alone, Abraham, Arknsaw (Matt Bladen)

Frayle - Heretics & Lullabies (Napalm Records)

Frayle are a band on the rise having played Damnation and Desertfest here in the UK their eerie style of post doom has led them to international acclaim. Now the Cleveland band return with their third album Heretics & Lullabies, another journey though claustrophobic, gothic doom, that borrows from atmospheric blackgaze and occult alt rock for a sound that feels like the woozy parts of MWWB but without the building destroying heaviness.

That's not to say Frayle aren't heavy, the guitars of Sean Bilovecky are down tuned and filthy, cranking out heavy doom riffs on the punchy heavy rock of Heretic or the thumping Boo but on tracks such as Souvenirs Of Your Betrayal or Glass Blown Heart the riffs are used to punctuate the ghostly beckoning of Gwyn Strang's vocals. She moves from ethereal whispers to spoken incantations throughout the record, opening up their sound to a much wider audience than just doom metal fans.

There's a lot of modern doomgaze here with comparisons to Darkher, Messa, King Woman and recently Cwfen, the flecks of pop too as they rework Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness into their own doomy atmosfear. Heretics & Lullabies lulls you into the spectral heaviness of Frayle, expect their name to everywhere soon. 8/10

God Alone - The Beep Test (Prosthetic Records)

The PR Company behind this Nyos and Omnivide have been testing my writing and listening skills with their records for this week.

There was virtuoso tech death, looping post rock and now some quirky electro, dance, art, punk, that has influences from all over the place, but settles into the rapid shifts of bands such as Fugazi, Dillinger Escape Plan and Turnstile, where one minutes your faced with abrasive math metal and then instant it's a groove that comes out of Berlin club at dawn.

Much like the titular Bleep Test, this record is a way of testing your listening stamina, there is a lot happening here from this Cork based band. The opener is a unstoppable force, while Sir Laplage has a indie twang to it, Tony Gawk the first blast of angular extremity, in three track offering up that God Alone are not your regular kind of band.

They thrive in the weird and intense, kinetic movements through the Avant Garde with pop sensibilities on Pink Himalayan in contrast to the shoegaze of Hold Tight, the repeating loops of Bluesine the blissful counter point to the oscillation of the wild eyed Rubber Hands or the twitchy Rinser.

Co-produced with Joe Clayton of Pijn, God Alone, shapeshift their way though a gamut of styles on The Beep Test, innovative and experimental but making your feet twitch too, there's plenty here to like. 7/10

Abraham - idsungwüssä (Pelagic Records)

This Swiss post metal band have supported Cult Of Luna and The Ocean in the past so they have found themselves under the leading tree of the leading lights of their genre. 

Abraham have had four studio album and on their fifth they close a trio of concept records that's started two records ago. The Apocalyptic storyline concludes on idsungwüssä, taking us away from Earth altogether into the desolate realms of space, this is record that is heavy in multiple ways.

Lyrically distant and destructive, musically it's a delicious devastation of atmospheric post metal, crushing sludge and ear bleeding noise all sung in Swiss-German dialect to totally immerse you in this mind bending journey. 

Much of the intensity from this record comes from the way it's recorded as they shifted towards a three pronged guitar where left and right channels provide a harmonic volume while the middle provides the melodies accompanied by use of the Farfisa Louvre Organ, Piano and Moog.

So there's lots more to Abraham than there would be in a normal post metal band. They have dalliances with the experimental that add to their heavy delivery. 7/10

Arknsaw - Vindicta (Self Released)

Starting as a home studio based project in 2008, there was hiatus, rebranding but finally now as Arknsaw (I get it) release their debut EP Vindicta. This is modern metalcore, the vocals filled with vitriol adopting similar tones to Corey Taylor and early Matt Heafy as the death growls, blackened shrieks and cleans all make up the Arknsaw sound.

The band are all scene veterans and and that shows in the way they play, the songs are quite complex with the guitars moving from riffs to technical solos easily while the engine room lays down a ferocious groove on cuts like Ceasefire or the modern feel of Sands Of Time. There's little time to rest, they barrel at you with power and aggression from the first song, only easing off the gas for Hear Our Ghosts which ends the record.

While there's nods to several extreme genres throughout Vindicta, much of what they do is 2010's metalcore, which is currently having a resurgence (10 year anniversaries and all that) lately, so Arknsaw have delivered this EP at just the right time to create an impact, my advice would be to pick up Vindicta but go see them live for the full impact. 7/10