Scorching Tomb, from Montreal enter the fray with an 8-song belter that should scratch the itch of anyone who has a hankering for straightforward death metal. It’s quite apt to name their album Ossuary, given that other descriptions relate Crypts, the grave and my favourite – Charnel House because this is deliciously old school in flavour without sounding like they have dialled back to the 90’s.
Their style is unrepentant, one that is at odds with the plethora of technical death metal bands that seem to be everywhere at the moment. Those acts are undoubtabley impressive, but sometimes there is a trade-off between virtuosity and songs that stick with you once the last one finishes.
Where Scorching Tomb get this right is that they keep their songs tightly focused and compact. They use all of the traditional death metal approaches – brutal vocals, machine gun double bass etc that you would be used to hearing. Adding into this is a clear sense of what works, and for how long they should use it.
Its straight to business on Blood And Jesus which is direct and to the point with some urgent punky hardcore guitars, layered over a driving and purposeful drum performance and a vocalist that sounds like he is spitting his personal issues all over you, everything is delivered with a venom and spite that is refreshing and energizing and there is even enough room to throw in some melodic death metal flourishes in to spread the sound out some more.
Where Scorching Tomb get this right is that they keep their songs tightly focused and compact. They use all of the traditional death metal approaches – brutal vocals, machine gun double bass etc that you would be used to hearing. Adding into this is a clear sense of what works, and for how long they should use it.
Stalagmite Impalement, as the opening track does a great job of establishing for you what you can expect. Time changes, razor sharp guitars that are just on that right side of chunky and an arrangement that will point you to either A: Continue or B: Turn off.
I appreciate that as a statement that could sound harsh but given that as a community there is nothing that metal heads like more than having an element of musical snobbery at play – X are faster than Y, play more notes, use 12 string guitars that they forget that sometimes simple is better. And on here, it is better because the songs are fully formed and do exactly what you want them to do. Did I mention the blending of hardcore into their mix? I didn’t? Well, there’s that too.
Skullcrush (ft Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg) marches forward, slowing down to allow for a more expansive method of attack, feedback leading into Diminished To Ashes, which picks up the pace once more with some instant riff magic and back on with the punishment. My problem (and its mine, not theirs) is that once you recognise what they are about, and that there is no change in terms of quality provided it leaves you with little to say about it. They achieve a level of consistency here which they don’t go beneath, but on the flip, they don’t exceed either.
Sanctum Of Bones (Ossuary) is a satisfying blast of death metal goodness, but I have nothing more to add other than that. If you liked the tracks leading up to this point, then you will like that tracks that follow, it really is that simple. Speeds vary, but the quality doesn’t and my worry is that this review won’t do the album or the band the justice it deserves.
Sanctum Of Bones (Ossuary) is a satisfying blast of death metal goodness, but I have nothing more to add other than that. If you liked the tracks leading up to this point, then you will like that tracks that follow, it really is that simple. Speeds vary, but the quality doesn’t and my worry is that this review won’t do the album or the band the justice it deserves.
Expired Existence puts paid to any doubt that there would be any fall off. It is a smasher, one of those downpicked nightmares that as a player you would love to be able to play. It feels a little looser, less fixed than the others and has a swing to it which makes its position as the last statement all the more welcome. For me it encapsulates their approach in one spot, one part crushing the other more insistent but totally effective.
It is a good record, it really is. I’m all for a resurgence in death metal that doesn’t rely on squeezing all the notes that are available to man or beast into one song. It seems that bands such Scorching Tomb are not afraid to trust in their instincts of what good metal sounds like. Give them a go, there’s no surprises on here but they wont let you down either. 8/10
The Lunar Effect - Fortune's Always Hiding (Svart Records) [Matt Bladen]
London rockers The Lunar Effect take classic rock drench it in psych and come out with new album that will be loved by anyone who has soft spot for bands such as Rival Sons, Greta Van Fleet, Wolfmother and even Green Lung. This is music drenched in 70's trappings, it holds a candle to Led Zeppelin, Free and Cream, but while they do derive their sound from that era, there's flashes of grunge/alt rock as well on QOTSA-like Scotoma.
It is a good record, it really is. I’m all for a resurgence in death metal that doesn’t rely on squeezing all the notes that are available to man or beast into one song. It seems that bands such Scorching Tomb are not afraid to trust in their instincts of what good metal sounds like. Give them a go, there’s no surprises on here but they wont let you down either. 8/10
The Lunar Effect - Fortune's Always Hiding (Svart Records) [Matt Bladen]
London rockers The Lunar Effect take classic rock drench it in psych and come out with new album that will be loved by anyone who has soft spot for bands such as Rival Sons, Greta Van Fleet, Wolfmother and even Green Lung. This is music drenched in 70's trappings, it holds a candle to Led Zeppelin, Free and Cream, but while they do derive their sound from that era, there's flashes of grunge/alt rock as well on QOTSA-like Scotoma.
Brothers Jon (guitar) and Dan (drums) Jefford, combined with vocalist Josh Neuwford, bassist Brett Halsey, and guitarist Mark Fuller, in 2017 to form the band and they've been building a name for themselves since. Personally I was really impressed with the band when I heard them on the 50th anniversary of Ziggy Stardust from Pale Wizard Records, I Disappear for instance has the piano driven sound of a Ziggy track.
So this is blues based, psychedelic hard rocking hooked on fat, fuzzy analogue riffs, a powerhouse rhythm section and vocals that are right up there with Andrew Stockdale's bleating delivery on a track like Five And Two. The balladry of Stay With Me, brings in some atmospheric British soul ala Cardinal Black, while Settle Down adds a slithering groove while the fat riffs return on Nailed To The Sky.
Fortune's Always Hiding, is The Lunar Effect hedging their bets by keeping their psychedelic hard rock style but fleshing it out with more dynamics on album three. 7/10
Blaze – Out Through The Door (No Remorse Records) [Simon Black]
You know once in a blue moon, something takes you completely by surprise. To be honest it’s why I do this reviewing lark – to discover new bands, because otherwise as humans we have a tendency to stick with what we like and not let many new bands creep into our playlists once we get past our mid-twenties.
Blaze – Out Through The Door (No Remorse Records) [Simon Black]
You know once in a blue moon, something takes you completely by surprise. To be honest it’s why I do this reviewing lark – to discover new bands, because otherwise as humans we have a tendency to stick with what we like and not let many new bands creep into our playlists once we get past our mid-twenties.
This gig forces you to re-evaluate this constantly, especially when you have an editor who sneaks things into your inbox that he unerringly knows are going to tickle my notoriously pernickety fancy. From the title I though this might be yet a rebranding project from one Mr Bayley; when I started listening, I thought it might be some long-lost gem from the late 1970’s. It’s neither of those things.
Blaze are a Hard Rock outfit hailing from Osaka in Japan and their identity is even further confused by sharing a name with another Japanese act from Tokyo, who also play in the same genre. The Tokyo bunch kept disbanding and reforming, and were out under the name Kaen when the Osaka band formed, so the name was probably fair game at the time, but either way the ones I have in front of me have been going for twenty-five years and the two seem to be able to happily coexist, so who am I to complain?
First off, as the instrumental opener 1335 lets rip, it’s clear that there is a lot of early Schenker-era UFO worshipping going on here. That’s no bad thing because sole guitarist Hisashi Q Suzuki is pretty darned good at his trade, creating rich and fluid rhythm and solo lines that ride the listener on waves of melodic bliss. It’s a clearly very tight band instrumentally, feeling like a living breathing cohesive entity from the get-go, and delivers nine well-crafted and arranged songs with nothing in the way of padding.
Wataru Shiota’s vocals at first had me thinking he was either doubling up on bass or rhythm, as he follows the rhythm melody phrasing very closely. Then it struck me – he is effectively acting as the rhythm guitar in the melody wall allowing Suzuki to focus on distinct guitar lines. It works really well, and his slightly rough edged but broad-ranged rock ‘n’ ready vocals work really well with the rest of the band.
All the songs work well, have infectious rhythms and arrangements that lead you in unexpected directions, building to a climax that would not have been obvious from the outset, this is radio friendly stuff that Planet Rock audiences are going to love, and who would work brilliantly somewhere like Steelhouse festival, if they can be persuaded to make the 6,000 mile round trip. What a pleasant surprise. 8/10
Valletta - Bitter Lucid Truth (Lifeforce Records) [GC]
With reviewing, sometimes you can get into the habit of listening to the same sort of stuff regularly, so every now and then it’s good to see something you would maybe not check out, today is one of those days I have the new EP Bitter Lucid Truth from black n roll outfit Valletta.
Blaze are a Hard Rock outfit hailing from Osaka in Japan and their identity is even further confused by sharing a name with another Japanese act from Tokyo, who also play in the same genre. The Tokyo bunch kept disbanding and reforming, and were out under the name Kaen when the Osaka band formed, so the name was probably fair game at the time, but either way the ones I have in front of me have been going for twenty-five years and the two seem to be able to happily coexist, so who am I to complain?
First off, as the instrumental opener 1335 lets rip, it’s clear that there is a lot of early Schenker-era UFO worshipping going on here. That’s no bad thing because sole guitarist Hisashi Q Suzuki is pretty darned good at his trade, creating rich and fluid rhythm and solo lines that ride the listener on waves of melodic bliss. It’s a clearly very tight band instrumentally, feeling like a living breathing cohesive entity from the get-go, and delivers nine well-crafted and arranged songs with nothing in the way of padding.
Wataru Shiota’s vocals at first had me thinking he was either doubling up on bass or rhythm, as he follows the rhythm melody phrasing very closely. Then it struck me – he is effectively acting as the rhythm guitar in the melody wall allowing Suzuki to focus on distinct guitar lines. It works really well, and his slightly rough edged but broad-ranged rock ‘n’ ready vocals work really well with the rest of the band.
All the songs work well, have infectious rhythms and arrangements that lead you in unexpected directions, building to a climax that would not have been obvious from the outset, this is radio friendly stuff that Planet Rock audiences are going to love, and who would work brilliantly somewhere like Steelhouse festival, if they can be persuaded to make the 6,000 mile round trip. What a pleasant surprise. 8/10
Valletta - Bitter Lucid Truth (Lifeforce Records) [GC]
With reviewing, sometimes you can get into the habit of listening to the same sort of stuff regularly, so every now and then it’s good to see something you would maybe not check out, today is one of those days I have the new EP Bitter Lucid Truth from black n roll outfit Valletta.
Its straight to business on Blood And Jesus which is direct and to the point with some urgent punky hardcore guitars, layered over a driving and purposeful drum performance and a vocalist that sounds like he is spitting his personal issues all over you, everything is delivered with a venom and spite that is refreshing and energizing and there is even enough room to throw in some melodic death metal flourishes in to spread the sound out some more.
Cold Death has a swaggering rhythm that is pure ear worm, it kicks in and engulfs you in a massive, grooving beast of a riff that is used expertly to break the song into sections then draw you right back in and back to that core sound.
Aggressor has the most death metal influences in the sound but is also a more measured approach in the melodic death metal vain, which is a decent switch up of tempo’s and shows you another side but I really wanted them to carry on with the full focus assault of the previous tracks!
Doing Well shifts the sound completely now and is like nothing else so far its an atmospheric acoustic track with paired back vocals and I’m not sure it really does anything for me, as its all just so one paced and mopey, there is a little bit of life towards the end but even this bit is still too slow and meandering for me.
Spitting The Word carries on with the slowed down atmospheric heavy sound and is a bit of a mix of heavy explosions and slowed down sections which is fine but also bit all over the place and tricky to pin down as a whole song and ends on a bit a flat and confusing note!?
It’s difficult to judge Valletta on one EP, Bitter Lucid Truth has some wonderful, heavy parts that were full of scathing emotion and sounded devastating in places, but they also like to slow things down and maybe to the detriment of the sound as a whole?
It’s difficult to judge Valletta on one EP, Bitter Lucid Truth has some wonderful, heavy parts that were full of scathing emotion and sounded devastating in places, but they also like to slow things down and maybe to the detriment of the sound as a whole?
I really enjoyed this EP and will most definitely be waiting for a new album and then I think I can give them a much better listen and judge a lot more clearly, but this was a promising introduction. 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment