Reviews: Bad Touch, Exhumed & Gruesome, Mushroomhead, Shakedown Suzies (Simon, Rich, Matt & Bob)

Bad Touch: Kiss The Sky (Marshall Records) [Simon Black]

Bad Touch have done really well in a relatively short space of time. In the 10 years since this bunch met at college the band have released 3 albums, toured with some respected names in their niche (The Quireboys, Tyketto, The Electric Boys, The Answer, Massive, Skid Row and the Kentucky Headhunters, Dan Baird and FM), delivered the goods at some high profile festival slots and got themselves properly established. Of course it helps when you have the likes of Planet Rock working hard to break them in a scene dominated by 80’s acts and fans of a certain age with fixed opinions, but credit where credit is due, because this one is a monster.

I hadn’t had the opportunity to listen to them before, but I have to say I was quickly hooked by the early Black Crowes vibe that is positively dripping from this, their fourth album and well cut at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Monmouth with Nick Brine (who has done some great work with Thunder recently). It’s a generous disk, with 13 tracks running at 46 minutes, and keeps the pace and attention well for the listener with an even variety of pace and tone, and a darn fine standard of songwriting, with lots of solid rockers keeping the energy going. Like all good blues-based rock’n’roll the instrumental interplay merges into a well-crafted homogenous whole, creating a solid groove but with some clever layering underlying it for the more curious ear to unpick. This is Richards/Wood style weaving at its absolute best, topped off by a really soulful vocal turn from Stevie Westwood.

It kicks off with a bang with Come A Little Closer, a solid riff-driven groove machine and I Get High takes this and runs to the boundary. With a title like that it is quite an unlikely love song, but one which really works. They also squeeze a stonking rendition of Kiki Dee’s I’ve Got The Music In Me, which works really well, epitomises this album and the band’s influences loud and clear in the same way that Hard To Handle did for The Black Crowes. Before I Die is a real foot-tapper, with a driving bass drum and groovy double layered guitar riff intro and chorus that sets the pace and gets the emotion through motion engaged, although very short at 2’28”.

There’s a couple of ballads on here, and they avoid the obvious cliché’s, but Can You Save Me is the strongest by far – with enough power to avoid mushiness but enough gentleness with the layering of acoustic and electric guitars so that you hardly notice the change of pace. However this is definitely a case of leaving the best ‘till last with closer Something About Your Kiss, although you will need the CD version to get this one as it’s a bonus track not available on the vinyl edition. The kick drum and acoustics interplay on this track keeps the tension up well past the halfway point before this track builds up to a soulful, intense and moving overdriven finale, leaving this ole hack really, really wanting more. For those of us in South Wales, these guys hit the Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff on the 1st October (well, here’s hoping – global pandemics and all that) and I for one intend to be there. 8/10
Exhumed & Gruesome: Twisted Horror (Relapse Records) [Rich Oliver]

I’m not the biggest fan of split releases preferring to focus my attention on a full release from a band but this one I was accepting of considering that both bands are the brainchild and are fronted by the same person - the mighty Matt Harvey. Exhumed are the longest running band of the two having been going since 1990 whilst Gruesome have been in existence since 2014. If you know anything about either band then you know what to expect but for those in the dark Exhumed play a vicious mix of death metal and grindcore very much influenced by Carcass whilst Gruesome play old school death metal very much influenced by and emulating the sound of death metal pioneers Death.

Twisted Horror (the name made up of the two latest releases by each band - Twisted Prayers and Horror) is five brand new songs with three from Exhumed and two from Gruesome. The songs from Exhumed follow the style presented on previous album Horror being short, sharp, fetid blasts of deathgrind which are also extremely catchy with opener Rot Your Brain being a particularly depraved little earworm. The songs by Gruesome are very much in that classic Death style sounding like long lost songs penned by Chuck Schuldiner himself with Led Into The Dark being suitable savage and gnarly. This is a lovely little release from two high profile extreme metal bands. As I said at the start of the review I’m not the biggest fan of splits but can more than get behind this one. Five brand new songs of filthy deathgrind and gnarly old school death metal. 8/10

Mushroomhead: A Wonderful Life (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Written over various tours between December 2018 to January 2020, Wonderful Life is the follow up to their 2014 album The Righteous & The Butterfly. It's their eighth in total and the nu-metal stalwarts show no signs of throwing in the towel yet, their brand of 'horror metal' blends punchy percussion driven industrial sounds, spooky synths, huge bass drops and groove metal to create the style of music Mushroomhead have been delivering since 1993. On A Wonderful Life they have also added to their masked ranks with two additional vocalists Ms. Jackie and Mr Rauckhorst joining longtime vocalist J Mann across the album, with Madness Within standing out as a way that all three work together. Now I said that Mushroomhead were part of that glut of nu-metal bands from the late 90's early 2000's and they retain the sound even to this day.

Their tracks carry that throbbing bottom end driven by the double drums/percussion of Diablo and founding member Skinny, along with the down tuned guitar and bass from Tankx (guitar) and Dr.F (bass) who also supplies keys with Sitch (keys/samples). The macabre and political lyrics are weaved through the highly polished production on this record that runs too 17 tracks including bonus tracks giving you 70+ minutes of music if you're a fan but for those with a passing interest it may all be a bit too much. Mushroomhead's 'horror metal' shows no signs of changing anytime soon, it's evolved but they are still the same band from those days of baggy jeans and wallet chains, this could be good or bad depending on your view. Fans will love it, others (like me) may find it a bit tedious after 10 songs. 6/10 

Shakedown Suzies: A Business Doin’ Pleasure (Picky Is Without Records) [Bob Shoesmith]

Yet another of the legions of rock bands currently marching out of Sweden, this one, an all-male (despite the ambiguity of the name) sleaze/hair metal four piece. Having been brought up on a diet of classic British/LA hair rock, Musipedia knew this was my kind of thing and put it my way, so, happy days. I had no idea what to expect from a band name like Shakedown Suzies, and having heard the album and seen the video it still doesn’t seem to sit comfortably, but whatever, it’s a name, they said the same about Led Zeppelin’s moniker to start with!

So… to the album, A Business Doin’ Pleasure. Any question marks on the name are dismissed with a great opener of a Motley Crue-esque, machine gun rattle of ‘Buckle Up’ which is a belter and then ably backed up by the fist pumping Delicious Vice with vocalist Ricki (unfortunately members are only identified by first names) doing a very passable impression of Vince Neil in his slimmer, early, frankly better, years. Throughout the album tracks are played with energy, grit and determination and importantly, like they really mean it. They play with a sort of ‘Airbourne’ tempo and intensity that some other bands of their ilk seem to lack. Apart from some great riff n roll there’s also lots of nods to the bands influences, like the G'N'R cowbell and the November Rain of I Don’t Do Regrets, the football chant anthemic choruses, the fast play outs (Alibi and Hair Of The Dog) and the thing is with sleaze/hair rock, these are exactly the tropes that your audience want, they WANT to hear all those elements and Shakedown Suzies certainly hit all the marks.

There are some standout tracks along the way in the shape of Forever Wild, the `Motorhead-ish Savage Hearts and the bump and grind of Rascal Remedy. There’s not an ounce of fat or filler on the whole album and, to be fair, I was half expecting a lazy but ubiquitous power ballad to be thrown in somewhere but no, it’s all hard edged, up-tempo and pretty kick ass. There’s no hiding from some of the obvious clichés that come with the territory but if you’re a fan of Motley Crue, G'N'R, Airbourne, Skid Row’s Youth Gone Wild or Hanoi Rocks you will overlook the rather awkward band name or the clichéd lipstick coated lips on the cover (they don’t actually do the whole “glam” thing). A couple of odd quirks musically for me, like the lead guitar solos, while excellently executed, they sound like they were recorded in another room, I wanted them front and centre, and the drummer rather over-does the kick drum triplets a little too much for my tastes, but these are really minor niggles and not damaging at all to the overall product at all. The odd name notwithstanding,

I really liked A Business Doin’ Pleasure s determination and effort, the band sound like they love what they do which will definitely win people over. I shall look forward to seeing if they deliver the same energy live. 7/10

Reviews: Lamb Of God, Vampire, Black Orchid Empire, Chaosaint (Liam, Rich, Bob & Matt)

Lamb Of God: Lamb Of God (Nuclear Blast) [Liam True]

Lamb Of God are one of the popular bands this side of the 2000’s, there’s no doubt. With every album they get inherently better, build a bigger fan base, churn out more riffs and chorus’ than you can handle. While between 2000 – 2009 they were a machine, bringing out 5 albums in that time, however since 2009’s Wrath they’ve gifted us with three studio albums, each being better than the last. Now fast forward to 2020. The release of their self titled was pushed back from May 8th to June 19th, and I’m wasn’t complaining, because you know LOG put all of their effort into every album they release. I didn’t listen to any of the single releases of the song as I wanted to sit through the album in it’s entirety because the Groove Metal adventure I knew that was coming needed my full attention. The album itself is reminiscent of VII: Sturm und Drang, through both from the sound and production of the band, with in my opinion was their best sounding record they put out. Memento Mori starts of as a soft ambient interlude with the clean sounding guitars of Mark Morton & Willie Adler with whispers of children telling you to wake up while Randy Blythe serenades you before lunging into his vitriolic roar of ‘Wake up!’.

From that moment the album doesn’t stop. It produces the classic LOG sound. Their signature breaks. The riffs are fresh, clean and the solos are better. Checkmate is full of urging you to ‘Make America Hate Again’ (Possible nod to Thy Art Is Murders song of the same name) while mocking the ‘American Dream’. The main thing you may be listening to is the drums. As it’s Art Cruz’s first studio album with the band he has a lot to prove. Sure he can play live with them and do it flawlessly, but this is where it all boils down. And he fucking smashes it. Through Gears and New Colossal Hate he negotiates his way through them with frantic tempo shifts and sublime double-kick polyrhythms. Willie & Mark are a cohesive unit of duel guitars providing the sharpest hooks and face-melting solos you could only dream of producing. Though Randy Blythe’s supreme vocal work is the forefront of the record. His vocal ability is insane, and replicated identically in a live setting. Hands down LOG’s self-titled is the best album in 2020 so far. While there are still may more albums to come this will be held high and band will need to work hard to beat this impressive work of glory and art. 10/10

Vampire: Rex (Century Media Records) [Rich Oliver]

Vampire are another metal band who take the retro sound approach and do it very well. Rex which is the third album from the Swedish band has a sound very much rooted in the mid 1980’s but unlike a lot of the retro bands who channel classic and melodic metal influences Vampire very much have a far more nasty and evil sound. There are three bands who very much inspire the Vampire sound and that is Celtic Frost, Slayer and Mercyful Fate. This is retro sounding blackened thrash with nods to classic metal and early death metal. It’s a lot of varying influences but Vampire make it work with gnarly riffs, melodic leads and reverb drenched harsh vocals.

The songs throughout the album are nicely varied with the title track, Pandemoni and Rekviem being the gnarly thrashers whilst songs such as Inspiritus, Moloch and Anima are far more melodically led with a greater emphasis on those Mercyful Fate influences plus some nods to Iron Maiden. Whilst there are bands very much trying to define a contemporary sound for metal in 2020 it’s also great to hear bands take things back a few decades and play music directly influenced by the bands they love. Vampire may be playing a retro sound and style but they are damn good at it. Being a massive fan of thrash and ranking Celtic Frost amongst one of my all time favourite bands there was no way I was not going to enjoy this. 8/10

Black Orchid Empire: Semaphore (Long Branch Records) [Bob Shoesmith]

Before I put my fingers on the keyboard today, I have sat with my Espresso and done extra due diligence on my research (working from home brings some benefits!) and there’s much to admire about London based Black Orchid Empire’s workman like progress leading up this, their second album, Semaphore. From being spotted at the Emergenza UK unsigned competition in 2013 through several singles, a well-received debut album and lots and lots of ‘gig miles’. They are attacking their craft with deserved self-belief and a very admirable, almost old-fashioned work ethic. No “I just wannabe famous” posing for them or hanging on the coat-tails of bands they wish to mimic. A talented three piece who have clearly worked hard at getting it right in all departments.

In these days of strict music genre adherence and a slave-ish creation of multiple sub-genres in the music business, I always smile to myself when a band can successfully straddle categorisation. Don’t be mistaken though, NOT being in a clearly identifiable genre can also lead to listener or record label apathy or even a confused fusion of ideas. Not so Black Orchid Empire. With one metaphorical foot in the Prog-Metal of Tool or TesseracT and one in the indie power rock of Royal Blood or Amplifier and even a nod to old school Police (the band obviously not the actual Rozzers) to these grizzled old ears. An opening Sci-Fi/spoken passage leads into track after track of very well balanced, tight, powerful song writing and excellent musicianship.

Lyrically and commercially they’re no slouches either. I hear a lot of bands who are musical technocrats and focus on long bursts of self-indulgent shredding and time signature gymnastics to the detriment of the actual song, but have forgettable back of a fag packet lyrics. All areas of Black Orchid Empire’s game have carefully created. Black Orchid Empire’s biggest strength is balance. Only one song sails over the four-minute mark, there’s tight, technical ability, well-crafted hooks and some admirable wordsmithing. Their time on the road has clearly provided an empathetic musical understanding and the collective sound is razor sharp. As well as being a talented guitarist, Paul Visser’s vocals are perfect for their fusion of style, a mix of James Maynard Keenan (Singularity) to an impressive and emotive Matt Bellamy (Winter Keeps Us Warm). This balance means they can compete on any stage with the power and technicality of their Prog-Metal cousins in Dust or Death From Above, or deliver the commerciality that often gets forgotten, in the face of technicality in Faces and Crash.

Semaphore is a remarkably good album. As I said at the outset there is much to admire about the band’s whole work ethic and sharp progress. In his day of bands seeking the instant gratification of social media and not willing to truly put the work into their craft, Black Orchid Empire show that there is no shortcut to quality and there is quality in abundance in this album. I am already recommending Semaphore to some of my rock DJ mates and possibly one of the best things I’ve heard in 2020 so far. 10/10

Chaosaint: In The Name Of (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

In The Name Of is the latest EP form Aussie Alt/Groove metal band Chaosaint, who formed as Exhale back in 2001 smack bang in the middle of Nu-Metal, before Jon Cribb (rhythm guitar) reformed the band as Chaosaint in 2015. It's got gruff aggression in the vocals, some LOG styled stomping groove riffs, with the more melodic styling of Trivium or Avenged Sevenfold on tracks such as the title track which has a clean solo and some slinky guitar playing. On this record the band have stated they wanted to add some of the 80's metal vibe to the record drawing from as they say "Metallica, Ozzy, Iron Maiden and Motorhead" while saying that they "began jamming on this in 2016 and turned it into the fist-pumping melodic thrash anthem you hear today." Well these are certainly some fist-pumpers ideal for anyone who likes either of the two bands I've mentioned earlier. From the blistering kick off Knives Are Drawn, through the 80's thrashing of Darkness Following and into anthemic finale of Blackened Days, In The Name Of is a great piece of very modern heavy metal with the promise of more to come due to the lockdown they have started work on a full length. On the back of this EP that bodes very well for this revitalised groove metal act. 7/10   

Reviews: Power Trip, Haunt, Viatorem, Stinky (Liam & Matt)

Power Trip: Live in Seattle (Dark Operative) [Liam True]

There’s no doubt that Power Trip have dominated the underground Thrash Metal scene since Nightmare Logic dropped back in 2017 and have been on some of Metals most notable tours since. Playing with the likes of Trivium, High On Fire, Cannibal Corpse and plenty more acts to give them a taste of the big tours. Their new live album, recorded back in 2018 when they were at the top of their release tour with NL, shows the band at their best. With the setlist packed full of their most notable hits (Executioners Tax, Manifest Decimation & Crucifixation to name a few) mixed in with songs they’ve barely played live (Conditioned To Death & Drown being the main ones) it’s a perfect live album for the band to flourish in and stands even better two years down the line.

The band themselves are on fire and are as tight as any Crossover Thrash band right now. With Riley Gale’s powerful Hardcore Punk voice surging through you like 1000 volts of stimulating rage with the demolishing backdrop of the nuclear Thrash that’s being deployed by the band. Guitarists Blake Ibanez and Nick Stewart play flawlessly entwining with one another amidst the solo’s and riffs they use to melt the faces of Seattle. Bassist Chris Whetzel provides the booming backdrop with his frantic playing & drummer Chris Ulsh keeps the tempo above the recommended headbanging speed but does so without a care in the world. The band are having fun doing what they love, it’s obvious. Hell, halfway through Executioners Tax, Gale tells someone named ‘Charlie’ to get off their phone before thrusting his chords to growl "Swing Of The Axe".

If there’s ever been a band you need to see, or even hear live, Power Trip are definitely on that list. From someone who’s seen the band twice, they put their all into their shows to provide the best possible time for themselves and the audience. Seattle was subjected to a pounding, and I don’t think it’s ever recovered. 8/10

Haunt: Flashback (Church Recordings) [Matt Bladen]

Trevor William Church, frontman/guitarist of Beastmaker returns with his solo project Haunt a more NWOBHM inspired record. Now I've reviewed pretty much every Beastmaker and Haunt release so I knew exactly what to expect on this fourth full length record but does familiarity breed contempt? Flashback opens with some of that NWOBHM-like punchy riffage of Tokyo Blade and Angel Witch, Church I believe plays everything on this album once again showing his musical dexterity as he cranks out the galloping riffage on Winter's Breath, it also marks Haunt's debut release on Church Recordings, Trevor's own record label.

At just 31 minutes, there's no time to hang around as the songs come at you thick and fast with all those audio clues to that seminal 1980's UK scene. He has brought some of the occult touches from Beastmaker on Flashback as well with a little twiddling keyboard interlude behind the chorus of Electrified though One With The Universe has a lot of American speed metal to it, all frantic double kicks and some nifty flicks of the fretting wrist. Before you know it you're on your fourth beer and the eighth, and final, track of this record digging out you leather and studs ready for another mosh in your front room. A very genuine homage to the genre that have influenced so many, with a Terminator-like work-ethic I can only imagine how many Beastmaker and Haunt albums we will have later this year and next year, due to lockdown! For now though Flashback will have to satisfy those NWOBHM cravings. 8/10

Viatorem: No Saviours No Kings (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Politically charged progressive hardcore/deathcore band Viatorem (Latin for Traveller/Messenger) hail from the English capital, and use their music to call out the injustice in the world focussing on "parliamentary and political systems, the oppression and dehumanisation of peoples around the globe, the prejudice toward those needlessly deemed “not welcome”, and the rising threat of the far-right." So really never was there a more vital time for them to be trying to spread their vitriolic rage. Formed just a year ago, Ross (Vocals), Serge (Guitar), Pip (Guitar), Rodrigo (Bass), Finn (Drums), have already managed to bring together a self produced EP of 6 raging metal tracks that lay down Viatorem's manifesto against hate.

The crushing Obsolete opens up the album with blistering death riffs and snarled vocals, as with most of the core styles, the song evolves into a massive breakdown in the mid-section before bouncing into some bass-led crushing. Elsewhere we have bouncy Grendel, Exalt is fast and brutal, at least after the massive breakdown that opens it up, while Despair opening is stripped back before the aggression moves in once again climaxing this 6 track record. The production is very D.I.Y but that does give a rawness to these rallying cries. There is no quarter given on No Kings No Saviours it's pumped full of rage and puts anyone in a position of oppressive power on notice. Play loud! 7/10

Stinky: Of Lost Things (M-Theory Audio) [Liam True]

The Hardcore genre has a love/hate relationship with me. There’s only a few select bands I really like in the scene. Until Stinky came along with Of Lost Things. The record is pure pandemonium from start to finish. The French quintet have excelled from their previous releases with their song writing. While their sound has stayed the same, their ability to manufacture a great album from point A to point B has become outstanding from the instrumental side to the hellish vocals.

With Stinky, you know what you’re going to get. You're getting an explosively charged album with the raging guitar and the battering drums of Seb, Titouan & Paul respectively. Then you have vocalist Claire, who I thought was Alexi Laiho for a good amount of the album. The screeches and wails that protrude from her are breathtaking and blend well with catastrophic beatdowns in the background. Sure there’s a few songs here that are hit and miss, but Revival Fire & Nosedive more than make up for it as their crammed with riffs. It’s a pretty good album that shouldn't be missed. Even if you don’t like Hardcore, it may convert you. 7/10

Reviews: Beyond The Black, Dead Posey, Hank Von Hell, Sulferon (Reviews By Matt)

Beyond The Black: Hørizøns (Napalm Records)

We've watched the evolution of Beyond The Black across their previous records as they have re-defined the symphonic metal sound since forming in 2014. Beyond The Black is very much frontwoman Jennifer Haben's band, her voice is the integral part of the band's arsenal and the focus is very much on her stylistically and artisitcally, just check out the album cover that features just Haben three times. Still when you have a voice like hers it would be silly not to build the band around it, and from the opening moments of the title track her crystalline, powerful voice catches the ear above anything else. However that's doing  disservice to the the musical backing as her band: Stefan Herkenhoff (Bass), Chris Hermsdörfer (Guitar), Tobi Lodes (Guitar) and Kai Tschierschky (Drums) crank out symphonic metal that features the classic strings of the genre, along with some bagpipes on the massive Coming Home.

There are some darker tones, some melodic metal anthems, lots of electronic trickery and the hookiness of pop on tracks such as Misery a song that could have come off Lady Gaga's most recent album Chromatica. As with so many of the bands in the symphonic metal style, they have become more and more influenced by the Euro-pop sounds meaning that tracks like Wounded Healer sounds like a dance-metal ballad from Amaranthe, who's Elize Ryd duets with Jennifer. A very slick record Hørizøns is the culmination of what Beyond The Black have been striving for since their inception an album of powerful symphonic/melodic metal songs that move from string laden ballads such as Human and Out Of The Ashes, fist pumping rockers like Marching On which also showcase the excellent backing vocals from the guitarists while Paralysed sounds like it's from The Greatest Showman.  A much more inclusive sound here, aiming for a bigger audience that when they tour with Amaranthe (currently scheduled for November) will put them into the upper echelon of their genre. 7/10

Dead Posey: Malfunction (Sumerian Records)

Now if you've not heard the name Dead Posey before then get ready to be acquainted. Having already released one EP Freak Show in 2018, you will have heard Don't Stop The Devil from that EP featured everywhere TV shows like Lucifer, Jessica Jones, as well as WWE's Elimination Chamber 2019, suffice to say that song was pretty much everywhere propelling the band onto a 2019 tour with Theory Of A Deadman. Now that tour support will let you into what Dead Posey sound like they draw from left field influences that means they have a punk-infused, arty style of American radio rock, that dwells on the occult and the darker side of life. Dead Posey take their name from the old Nursery Rhyme "Ring Around The Rosey" so it's that spookiness that influences their music along with artists such as Rammstein, Joan Jett along with In This Moment and The Pretty Reckless.

What is surprising is that Dead Posey are a two piece comprised of Danyell Souza (Vocalist/Producer) and Tony F. (Producer/Multi-instrumentalist) but despite this the songs on Malfunction sound massive with throbbing electronic percussion the basis of every number giving a grind to the bluesy Parasite and a modern pop sound to Bad Things with it's clap-stomp rhythm. As good as they are as a band. Dead Posey aren't aimed at grizzled metal fans like me, they are very much for the youth market who love the rock with a huge heap of dark pop/electronic elements. The next in line to bands like Halestorm, In This Moment and New Years Day, Dead Posey's second EP is an amuse-bouche readying their fanbase for a full length. 6/10 

Hank Von Hell: Dead (Music For The Nations)

The former Turbonegro singer Hank Von Hell has unleashed a concept rock album, it's narrated by Frankie Loyal actor from Mayans M.C, produced by Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Rammstein and Opeth) who co-writes three tracks. It also features co-writes/performances by Cone McCaslin and Dave. Baksh of Sum 41 on the pop punk flavoured Radio Shadow. And his long term collaborator A.W Nine across 13 tracks that make up this 'death disco' where Hank muses over his dark past of drug addiction and resurrection due to scientology and getting clean, opening with the gothic, catchy as herpes, title track which sounds very much like Ghost possibly due to Tom Dalgety's influence as he produced the Swedes latest album Prequelle.

In fact this spooky Swedish rock sound cuts all the way through this album with a glorious amalgamation of 70's disco, 80's pop and sleaze garage rock, every song has a hook that will get you singing along with every chorus, it may even get you nice and sweaty with it's unashamed revelry. It's not all riffy party anthems though as he can turn his hand to muscular 80's ballads that remind this writer of the originator of glam/sleaze rocking Alice Cooper on Blackened Eyes. He's also got Disco which once again brings the spirit (pun intended) of Ghost (just listen to that synth) and a Crown featuring the addition of Guernica Mancini from the band Thundermother. Across this album Hank Von Hell is backed by his band, Jean Genus, Jones Kelly II, Mr.O who all pump these songs full of life, ironic considering the title. Dead could be the liveliest record of the year, filthy and furious, I'm sweating just sitting here. 8/10

Sulferon: Death And The Philosopher (Shub Niggurath Productions)

I've stated a few times in these pages, and it's really quite a well known fact, that Greeks love black metal, the gnarlier the better and on Death And The Philosopher we get some very gnarly old school black metal which has filthy production, a squawked vocal delivery, blistering blast beats and tremolo picking. Along with the many of the black metal underground Sulferon is also a one man project; Typhonas plays everything here including the keys that come in from time to time. Is it groundbreaking? No it's not it's basically D.I.Y black metal that favours quantity over quality, he's released 7 albums since his debut full length in 2015, sometimes two per year and they all pretty much sound like this so it's at least in keeping with the rest of his discography. Trve black metal cvltists will love it but I'm not too sure. 5/10

Reviews: Mordred, Elegis, Solaris, Lined (Paul H, Rich, Paul S & Matt)

Mordred: Volition EP (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

One of the crossover thrash pioneers, Mordred originally formed in 1984, releasing three albums and an EP before splitting in 1994. Often cited as a band ahead of its time, their first album Fools Game in 1989 blended thrash, funk, and metal with DJ Pause on the turntables, and spawned the MTV favourite Every Day’s A Holiday. Their second album In This Life was released in 1991 also received many plaudits unlike third release The Next Room which saw the band move to a Faith No More style sound. 2013 saw the band reform, the line-up including five of the original In This Life members minus drummer Gannon Hall who was replaced by Jeff Gomes of Fungo Mungo. It’s this line-up that now returns with their new EP, Volition. Mordred 2020 is Scott Holderby on vocals, guitarists James Sanguinetti and Danny White, Art Liboon on bass, Aaron (Pause) Vaughn on keyboards, vocals, turntables, and drummer Jeff Gomes.

The band released Not For You a few weeks ago, causing a bit of a stir amongst the thrash sites around the world. It’s a catchy release, full of the old-style fusion but with plenty of fresh energy and impetus. A strong message about the ‘American Dream’, it’s a punchy, chaotic, and addictive song that features some chugging guitar, the typically dangerous jagged edges, and more power than a jumbo jet. Repeated plays will have you moving. This is followed by What Are We Coming To, a harrowing powerful statement about social inequality and incredibly relevant at the current time. A slow-moving hip-hop track, it’s a contrast to Love Of Money, the third track which sees singer Holderby in full flight, matched by some driving riffing and DJ Purse’s trademark turntable abuse. It’s unmistakably Mordred.

The Baroness brings this refreshingly enjoyable EP to an end, and whilst the groove is definitely old school, the freshness of the self-titled bastard sons of the Bay Area makes Volition one of the most welcomed EPs in a year which is rapidly turning into one of the biggest steaming turds in the last 100 years. With some fabulous artwork courtesy of Andy Pilkington’s Very Metal Art, this is a package well worth checking out. 7/10

Elegis: Kultus (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]

Poland is very much a hotspot for quality extreme metal acts with many successful bands or highly renowned bands emerging from the country. Another band to add to the ever growing list of excellent Polish extreme metal bands are Elegis who have suitably impressed with their second album Kultus. Elegis very much follow in the footsteps of fellow countrymen Behemoth and Hate with a sound that sits somewhere between black and death metal and a dark, epic and grandiose approach taken to their style of extreme metal. Elegis definitely have a brutal sound but there is an epic and atmospheric feel despite the brutality of the music with symphonic flourishes maintaining the epic feel throughout the album. The performances throughout are excellent with fantastic musicianship and precise playing. 

The production is also of excellent quality being very crisp and polished yet punchy. The album is comprised of eight songs (including an instrumental and an outro) and it starts as it means to go on with the dark symphonic intro of Apollyon Ave leading into some very brutal yet precise blackened death metal. The ferocity continues with I Am A Shadow Of Thorns which also incorporates some Eastern style melodies whilst my personal favourites Aeon Omega and Deus Arcana just level everything in their path. Kultus is a great album and prime example of Polish extreme metal. It may lack a certain degree of originality (bearing a lot of resemblance to bands such as Behemoth and Hate) but it is impossible to deny the quality of the music being offered here. I for one thoroughly enjoyed. 8/10

Solaris: Un Paese Di Musichette Mentre Fuori C’è La Morte (Bronson Records) [Paul Scoble]

There are many bands called Solaris, a quick Google search of the name will reveal a very long list. This Solaris are a four piece Noise Rock band based in Cesena in Italy. The band have released one album before Un Paese Di Musichette Mentre Fuori C’è La Morte in 2017’s L’Orizzonte Degli Eventi. The style of music on offer on Un Paese Di Musichette Mentre Fuori C’è La Morte (A Few Seconds Of Doubts And Endless Hesitations) is broadly Noise Rock, with a bit of sludgy doom and a little bit of nineties grunge as well.

The band do a good line in big slightly doomy rock riffs, often with some very pleasing melody lead guitar over the top. In most of the songs these big riffs are separated by softer sections, with clean guitar and a fairly minimalist approach to the arrangement. It’s in these softer, minimal and brooding sections that the nineties grunge influence is heard. There's definitely a similarity to Soundgarden and Alice In Chains in these softer sections, it goes once the band get bigger and heavier, but it definitely gives the album an interesting addition to the musical balance of the album. There is some very impressive guitar work on Un Paese Di Musichette Mentre Fuori C’è La Morte as well. The melody leads that go over most of the big riffs are nice and blues infused, and the album also boasts some very impressive solos as well, very melodic, lyrical and expressive. A lot of the songs on here have a fairly relaxed pacing, nothing is frenetic but there is a lot of energy, whilst keeping the feel leisurely and unhurried.

If I was going to find fault with Un Paese Di Musichette Mentre Fuori C’è La Morte, it would be in the song structures on offer here. Two of the tracks are very short, opener Podio is a fast blast of noise rock, while Maledetti is a short Post Rock instrumental, are both under 3 minutes. The 3 remaining, longer tracks all have the same basic structure. Big noise rock intro, everything drops down to the minimal, softer, grungy sound, then it builds back up to the big riffs for the chorus, and then return to the softer, minimal sound. This is then repeated two or three times before the song ends. It is in no way a bad structure, but having about 80% of the album fitting into this pattern, does start to feel a little bit too familiar by the time you have reached the end of the album.

Un Paese Di Musichette Mentre Fuori C’è La Morte is a very good album. Yes, I would have preferred a little more variation in the structures of the songs, but considering the strength of the songs individually, this is a minor quibble. Hopefully the band can add a little bit more complexity to the next album, as this would make their style of Noise rock really fly, but for the time being this is a very good album is definitely worth a listen. 7/10

Lined: Soulcrifice (Art Gates Records) [Matt Bladen]

Just as a heads up before I start the review. A lot of music fans rely heavily on a band's social media for information about them, as reviewers too it is nice to have the information all in one place. Unfortunately there is absolutely 0 information on Lined's Facebook page other than a picture of the band and "PURE F*CKING METAl" and the release date of this album, they do give a link to to their record label and after some searching you find out that Lined are melodic death metal band from Spain, more accurately the Basque country. Their self titled debut was released in 2009 and since then there have been a number of line-up changes in the band that has meant that after 11 years we get Soulcrifice as a follow up and as a summing up of the record it has everything you'd want from the thrashier end of the melo-death pool of influence big thundering blast beats and twin guitar harmonies are met with screamed vocals. The songs are slick and well produced allowing these anthems to be pit ready with influences of Dark Tranquillity as well as Pantera, and these can been seen in all of the band pictures, as well as on tracks such as the groovy The Reaper, the propulsive Rotten Society while the melodic elements creep in on Buried Alive. All in all Soulcrifice is a pretty decent melo-death album, it's just difficult to find out anything about it. 7/10

Reviews: Constellatia, Cro-Mags, Dead Reynolds, Huanastone (Paul S, Paul H, Alex & Matt)

Constellatia: The Language Of Limbs (Season Of Mist) [Paul Scoble]

Constellatia are a four piece based in Cape Town, South Africa. The band feature members of Crow Black Sky and Wildernessking, and have been in existence since 2018. The album also features the vocal talents of Alison Rachel and Lucy Kruger. The main style on The Language Of Limbs is a mix of Post Metal and Post black Metal. Post Black blast beats with tremolo picked riffs are separated by lush, deeply melodic Post Metal sections, the album also features harsh male vocals and beautiful female vocals.

The album opens with the track All Nights Belong To You. The song opens with a Post Black Metal blast beat with tremolo picked riffs, it’s fast and frenetic but has that smoother feel that is common in Post Black metal, they feel similar to those use by Coldworld, Message In A Cloud or Violet Cold. Harsh vocals are added, but due to the nature of the Blast Beats and riffs this isn’t as nasty as it could be, there is still lots of melody and tune-fullness. The track then slows for some really melodic riffs, this slowly fades into an atmospheric ambient section. This section slowly morphs into clean guitar and female vocals which take the song to a really mellifluous ending.

Second track In Acclamation starts slow, mellow and relaxed before going into a very fast punky section, where the drums are bordering on D-beat, the energy in this section is very enjoyable. This then segues into a more traditional tremolo picked riff, with a big melody lead over the top. This riff and tune then slow down and we are back at the relaxed and mellow feeling that the song opened with. As the song moves along this section feels more purposeful and driving until it reaches the end of the track. Empyrean is the shortest track on the album, it opens with a part that feels like a slow Blast Beat, which then morphs into a faster more aggressive Blast, but with lots of melody. The track vacillates between these two feels until it comes to an end with a beautiful acoustic riff.

Final song The Garden has a soft, lilting opening with achingly beautiful female vocals. Harsh vocals are added and draw the song into a Blast Beat and tremolo picked riff, however the harshness of the Blast beat is tempered by really nice guitar melody. The song then slows down for a Post Metal section with a very tuneful guitar solo. These two feels of Blast Beat and the Post metal section are repeated, before a slow and comparatively heavy section takes the song and album to an end.

The Language Of Limbs is a beautiful piece of Post Black/Post Metal. The fast tremolo picked sections are full of energy and drive, but are also packed with melody and tunefulness. The softer, slower Post Metal sections are lush, and beautiful. What really make this album work is the interplay between the two main feelings on offer. This album has a beautifully realised ebb and flow, there is a fantastic balance the more savage parts and the lush beauty, which produces a cathartic feeling that is genuinely affecting. Highly recommended. 8/10

Cro-Mags: In The Beginning (Arising Empire) [Paul Hutchings]

Few would argue with the legendary status of Cro-Mags, the New York hardcore outfit who raged from 1981 -2002 and again since 2008. Numerous line-up changes have seen Harley Flanagan as the only original member, and amidst a background of legal action over the rights to the name, it’s something impressive that we finally get a new record at all. Flanagan returns to the vocals on this album after an 18-year gap, following the departure of long-standing singer John Joseph and he does a fine job. Flanagan remains the driving force behind the band, with the current line-up consisting of Flanagan (vocals/bass), and three former members in guitarist Gabby Abularach, lead guitarist Rocky George (Suicidal tendencies/Fishbone) and drummer Garry ‘G-Man’ Sullivan.

In essence, In The Beginning is a bastard mutation of thrash metal and a hardcore attitude. It’s a punishingly brutal assault but does it really catch the ear in a way you might expect? Well, I’m no hardcore expert but this album ticks all my boxes. The thrashing stomp and screaming guitars on songs like There Was A Time and No One’s Coming sit nicely in the metal camp, the muscular opening on Don’t Give In returns to the band’s ferocity on their debut The Age Of Quarrel and the battery on Drag You Under will certainly get pits moving. It’s been 20 years since Cro-Mags released an album, Revenge being their fifth release and whilst it’s been a long time, In The Beginning is certainly a blistering piece of work. From The Grave features the guitar work of one Phil Campbell, and it’s one of the best tracks on the album, a true rager which smashes from start to finish.

Whilst the album is relentless in its approach, there are certainly surprises as it progresses. The savagery of No One’s Coming contrasts with the intro to PTSD which is atmospheric before reverting to a fist pumping second section, Flanagan’s growling roars as raw and violent today as they have ever been. We even have the brooding Between The Wars, almost six-minutes of instrumental music featuring violin and a smouldering bass line. The emotive style which lends itself to the space rock of bands like Hawkwind is a massive change of approach but amid all the chaos, it really works. Elsewhere, it’s thundering, angry and everything you would want from a band cited as such a massive influence. The heritage of NY hardcore remains intact in this album. The band are due to return to the UK next year and those shows should be immense. In the meantime, this is a savage return from a legend. 8/10

Dead Reynolds: Frontier (The Fort) [Alex Swift]

East Anglian five-piece Dead Reynolds command their powerful rhythms and strong hooks with the precision of acts in the vein of Shinedown or Black Stone Cherry, and the ferocious angst of bands like Rise Against or Gallows. There’s a certain forcefulness present throughout Frontier, which speaks of a desire to make an impression in a succinct amount of time while living up to their influences. Nothing here necessarily reinvents the wheel and you wouldn’t expect that from an EP. Neither would you hope for that necessarily, as there’s an earnestness which comes from seeing these musicians flaunt their influences while making those sounds their own. Take a moment such as Bright Lights, where the soaring notes create a feeling of cosmic inspiration, beautifully lending a sense of balance to the aggressive presence of the bass and the vigorous bridge, which makes for a startling if captivating change of direction.

Alternatively, look to By Your Side – a pop-punk/post-hardcore rager, led by the frenetic rhythmic prowess, the huge chorus, and the layers of harmony which bring to mind joyous memories of summer and camaraderie. Looking to another influence, Lines bears more of a rustic, DIY indie feel, yet is imbued with changeable guitar passages, and variable drum patterns – there’s the metal fandom shining through. We finish on the contemplative P.S (I Loathe You), which feels slightly disparate and jarring compared with the other tracks, yet no less energetic. In short, there’s very much a ‘something for every rock fan’ approach being trailed here – I don’t know whether that’s a description they’ll take kindly to, though I totally mean that as a compliment, as…well…it’s what I heard when listening. I only hope they outlive the acts they clearly admire, as I’m sure with refinement and experimentation, these combinations could be a winning and successful formula. 7/10

Huanastone: Third Stone From The Sun (Argonauta Records) [Matt Bladen]

Third Stone From The Sun is the latest album from Swedish fuzz merchants Huanastone, it's their second release and deals with the same kind of explorative heavy stoner riffs that they had on their debut merging thick heaviness of The Sword on Viva Los Muertos and Bad Blood which brings some killer Sabbath-like riffs from Tobias Gonzalez and Carl Lambertus Olofsson, while Tobias's vocals are similar to that of The Sword's John D. Cronise, these first two songs on this record are deep in the stoner metal groove with Bad Blood bringing some great bass and drum work from Filip Larsson and Victor Hansson who even brings cowbell. Now from here on out we go into the outer reaches of the stoner rock realms the acoustic interlude of Oliver Pt 1 leading into Part 2 which brings things into the woozy sounds of desert rock as things get Kyuss inspired with the title track and the jazz-inflected blues of Carnivore which also brings some QOTSA funk as Tobias' voice adopts a Josh Homme soulfulness. A fuzz, riffy, bluesy treat from this Malmö quartet worth some lazy summer night head nodding. 7/10

Reviews: Michael Angelo Batio, Beyond Deth, Zilf, Dim Gray (Simon, Rich, Liam & Matt)

Michael Angelo Batio: More Machine Than Man (Rat Pak Records) [Simon Black]

I’ve said previously on these pages that Shredder Guitar albums are very much a niche appeal thingie. To be honest an album that is basically there to show off one guy’s technical virtuosity on the guitar for the best part of an hour is a hard listen for many who are not musicians themselves. It’s also quite often a turn-off for the ones who are because let’s face it, it’s depressing to discover just how good some other people are in comparison to ourselves. Personally I love them, but then that’s because I grew up in an environment where I got exposed to a lot of classical music and had already decided that the complexities of the Baroque period … er rocked. When we talk Neo-Classical in the metal world, we are talking people equally influenced by Mozart and Motörhead, or where Black Sabbath are considered as relevant as Bach, so technical complexity and blistering speed are nothing new and every shredder has this in their DNA. The challenge is making it accessible to a wider audience, and to be fair the mighty Joe Satriani is probably the best example of someone who has.

Batio has been at this a long time and this is his 13th solo affair, although it’s been 7 years since Intermezzo. It’s a purely instrumental album (apart from one track) and he has chosen to strip back some of the traditional Neo-Classical tropes, so you don’t get any prodigious interplay between keyboards and guitar here. The overall effect is very much more of a strong rhythm and lead role for the guitar sound, making this a more metal album than many of his previous ones. More Machine Than Man is an incredibly strong album musically. For me where it scores is that although it’s ostensibly a vehicle for the man whose name is on the cover, every other musician on here is just as proficient - with some great guest performances from the likes of Ex Lamb Of God drummer Chris Wisko (whose footwork on the title track is nothing short of incredible), bassist Victor Wooten and fellow shredder Andrea Martongelli all putting in great performances.

The challenge remains accessibility, as a lot of the fifty-minute runtime is playing to those of us who appreciate this kind of thing. That said there’s some much more accessible stuff in there, which doesn’t downplay the skill in any way and consequently gives some of the best moments on the album. Put All Fear Aside is one of the strongest tracks, with a mid-paced catchy bassy riff interspersed with moment of blistering speed and time changes that will blow you away live, assuming Batio can find a human being physically capable of not dropping dead on the stool after playing it live. Avtd continues the futuristic theme of the title track, is again accessible, has some nifty hand drum work and a haunting verse line creating a slightly cheesy but effective ambient sound, interspersed by moments of technical brilliance. I also really liked the acoustically led Rhythm Reprise, which avoids the usual approach of high-speed guitar in favour of a more gentle picking style and the chance for some moody keyboards. Simple, but really effective, proving speed is not all in this space.

The trouble is that when you are working against the stereotypes, having possible one of the worst covers I have seen in decades is not going to help your cause and man that’s a truly bad cover, displaying a cartoon half robot-half Batio holding his traditional double guitar in the air. All I can say is ignore the cover, what’s inside is fantastic. 9/10

Beyond Deth: Accept Your Fate (Vargheist Records) [Rich Oliver]

I’m a simple man. If it thrashes hard and thrashes well then I am pleased and pleased is definitely my response to Accept Your Fate the second album by Chicago thrashers Beyond Deth. Beyond Deth play a raw, gnarly and aggressive form of thrash with some elements of black metal, death metal and even melodic metal mixed in. The resultant mix is a heady mix of thrash riffing, blast beats, guttural vocals, tremolo riffs, and a keen sense of melody. It is a winning formula and used to great effect in raging thrashers such as Live Again, Infernal Dreams and Kill The Weak whilst the melodic aspects are brought to the fore in songs such as Servants and Astral Invasion whilst Endless Repent brings that old school thrash stomp. The intensity and aggression is through the roof during the album which is always guaranteed to bring a smile to this thrash and death metal freak. If the aggressive excesses of thrash tickle your fancy then Accept Your Fate comes very much recommended. A potent extreme metal cocktail that is guaranteed to get your head banging and your horns up in the air. 8/10

Zilf: The Album (Self Released) [Liam True]

I’ve never understood why Math Rock is a genre. If anything it should be joined into Progressive Rock, but I’m not here to argue about that. We’re here to discuss the absolute madness that is Zilf. I can’t tell you enough how hard this album was to review. The absolute fusion of genres together in this 45 minute epic crusade through the divisions and sub genres of Metal is just unreal. How the band twist and twined everything together to make a massive organised mess of a studio album is incomprehensible. As you can image the band, composed of just two people, Joe Campbell-Murray and Bret Ware, don’t take themselves serious at all. Their band is listed a ‘Heavy AF Indie band’ on their Facebook page, the lyrical content is sometimes tongue in cheek and their debut album is literally called The Album. The record is about two friends having fun making music together. And that’s great.

With the album itself however its almost impossible to label a genre to. Every song uses a different formula to construct the song from the lyrics to the music. And it’s unfathomable how great this record sounds. It utilises numerous genres from Metalcore all the way to Jazz-Fusion. I don’t want to ruin the album for you, but it starts off like a sludgy mess, but picks up by the time Endless starts. Then that’s where the riffs come into play. The catchy chorus’. Where the genres really start to integrate with each other and make the wackiest and ambitious sounding album I've ever heard. I can't describe it to you, but it’s 100% worth a listen because there some stand out tracks. Zef is a riff based adventure. When The Cat Has Your Tongue is a homage to the older side of Hardcore. Tarantula Hawk is the calmest song on the album but still retains the Zilf sound. A ridiculous sounding album but Zilf have smashed all expectation by creating it so well. 9/10

Dim Gray: Flown (Grim Day Records) [Matt Bladen]

Dim Gray are: Håkon Høiberg (guitars, vocals), Oskar Holldorff (vocals, keyboards) and Tom Ian Rogne Klungland (drums, vocals) a Norwegian trio, that play anthemic, post-progressive soundscapes that bring together chamber pop, dark indie, acoustic folk and art rock through a continuous story of loss and loneliness where the drama and emotion are brought through the enveloping musical dexterity and ambition. Filled with aching, haunted vocals and shimmering guitars that evoke the artistic prog Steven Wilson and Radiohead along with the post-rock realms of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Rós, in fact there is also quite a lot of Peter Gabriel genre-bending on Flown as 52 minutes of music that dreamily carries you through the story that links it with focus on the loud/quiet dynamics that come throughout. 

Dim Gray are actually a band who revel in silence, similarly to the impact of the the Jaws theme, the parts of this record where there are gasps for air it allows the plucking of strings on Again to ring out in your mind until they return again. Now as I said earlier there are so many different stylistic changes on this album that it needs to be heard in one sitting from the joyous Closer, the jaunty Rath, the introspective piano-driven Wandering that leads into the ambient title track which is a small segue into the beautiful twosome of Light Anew and Yore. Flown is a difficult album to put into words as it is supposed to be a strictly musical journey. I suggest you just listen to it and be carried away with Dim Gray's intuitive sound. 8/10   

Reviews: Vile Creature, Protest The Hero, Atavist, Cadence Noir (Paul S, Dr Claire, Matt & Paul H)

Vile Creature: Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm (Prosthetic Records) [Paul Scoble]

Vile Creature have been making huge and heavy noises since 2014. The duo, made up of Vic on Drums and KW on Guitar and Bass and both on vocals duties, hail from Canada. The band released their debut album, A Steady Descent Into The Soil in 2015, an EP called A Pessimistic Doomsayer in 2016, the fantastic Sci-Fi concept album Cast Of Static And Smoke in 2018. All the bands releases were put together into a compilation album when they signed for Prosthetic Records in last years Preservation Rituals, which I reviewed for Musipedia Of Metal and got a 9 out of ten, and considering you get 2 albums and an EP was incredibly good value. As this is Vile Creatures first new album for Prosthetic and as there is quite a lot of noise being made about the band, there is a lot of expectation for this album; is it as good as people are clearly hoping it will be? Let’s see:

The album opens with Harbinger Of Nothing, the song crashes into life with a huge, sludgy riff, powerful drums and some very angry harsh vocals. The tempo is slow but driving and purposeful, it’s one of those tempos that makes keeping your head still an impossibility. There is a section where everything gets much looser and more expansive, the driving nature of the song loosens off for a while, before Vile Creature build everything back up again and the huge opening riff returns, and we are back in huge and very heavy territory again till the end. When The Path Is Unclear starts with slow and very echoey clean guitar and harsh vocals. This section is disturbing, dissonant and in a strange way feels minimal. The track then increases in hugeness, heaviness and drive. This song is all about building from the minimal feel at the beginning of the track and making it bigger and more and more intense. The last couple of minutes are almost ridiculously heavy and huge.

You Who Has Never Slept opens with a great drum pattern, before Guitars and and harsh vocals come in. This is probably the most uptempo track on the album. The track is big and heavy, and has an unstoppable feeling to how it evolves. This feels like it has a certain amount of hardcore sensibility to it, live it would probably inspire one hell of a pit. The drumming is a little bit reminiscent of Children Of The Grave by Black Sabbath, this is a fantastic piece of uptempo doom. So, we now come to the first of the two title tracks. Glory, Glory! Is very different to what I would have expected from Vile Creature, as it is mainly a Gospel Spiritual. The track features clean, twangy guitar with layers of clean, choral vocals. As the song develops they add more and more layers until it feels huge and lush, and incredibly beautiful (this track is as beautiful as the front cover of the album is vile). The track reminds me of some of the Spiritual music used on the soundtrack of the Cohen Brothers film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? It sounds like music you would normally hear in a cathedral, stunning!

Apathy Took Helm! opens with the last few notes of the previous track before the opening riff explodes out from the beautiful vocals turning everything huge, heavy and nasty. We get a massive riff, but that clean twangy Guitar is back playing melodies over the huge riff in a way that reminded me of the band Opium Lord. As the song develops some of the choral vocals from Glory, Glory! are added, it’s very subtle at first, but more choral elements are added to the huge sludge as the track moves on. The song gets bigger and faster as it progresses until the track comes to a huge ending with lots of choral elements giving this track a truly original and unique feel. Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! is a fantastically original and ingenious album. The band have answered all of that expectation with something really special. The mix of Sludgy doom with post metal elements gave the album a very interesting sound, and the addition of choral spirituals takes this to another level. The album is full of great, hummable riffs and rhythms and great vocals, but by adding the amazing choral vocals lifts this from being a great album to being something original, groundbreaking and important. So, yes this is every bit as good as people were hoping it would be, in fact this album has massively exceeded the huge expectations that were placed on Vile Creature. Fantastic album, highly recommended. 9/10

Protest The Hero: Palimpsest (Spinefarm Records) [Dr Claire Hanley]

The impending release of Palimpsest marks the end of a challenging time for Protest The Hero. A full length follow up to the 2013 studio album Volition was already well overdue, when in 2018 news of frontman Rody Walker’s struggle with vocal issues further delayed progress. Thankfully, the wait is finally over as the progressive Canadian powerhouse make their much anticipated return. An atmospheric introduction with a twang of all things Western sets the tone for The Migrant Mother, an opening track of substantial stature. Intricate riffs and innovative drum patterns dominate from the outset, showcasing the level of technical ability and proficiency in song writing that Protest The Hero are known for. It is truly mind-blowing how the band can create such tracks that flow so seamlessly yet comprise of distinctive, dynamic components. Building on the groove laid down by the preceding song, The Canary is every bit as anthemic. Punchy and uplifting, every instrument is perfectly positioned in the mix to create a fist-clenching, voice-splitting gem of a track.

Instantly catchy, From The Sky, demands attention with yet more quirky tangents to the main guitar lines that shift your focus as you traverse through the song. It encapsulates a more laboured and purposeful aura yet still delivers as a rousing track. The sudden pause leading into a stripped back piano and string section is exquisite. An incredibly powerful moment allowing for reflection on the subject matter, with drummer Michael Ieradi pounding the kit, while Rody unleashes those soaring highs - the minute wavering in the notes accentuating the sincerity of his performance. After another opportunity for quiet contemplation during instrumental track, Harborside, the momentum is kicked up a notch. All Hands features the signature offerings of a metric tonne of groove and choppy, jarring riffs but this time they’re at odds with the vocals - on different paths, set to collide spectacularly. It’s enticingly unpredictable, unnerving, uncomfortable, and expertly executed.

With a killer introduction, The Fireside, gets off to a solid start. A track with more grit to it than much of the other material, darker tone riffs greet the listener in the mid-section. The backing vocals are a welcome addition, and provide further texture to the track, but the presence of the faster ‘machine gun’ vocals doesn’t mesh as well. Considering the calibre of the preceding tracks, Soliloquy appears comparatively bland but develops a real sense of prominence towards the end, with the incorporation of a string section and choral elements. Reverie and Little Snakes pull the listener back from the darkness to signal the return of the more upbeat tracks, invoking that classic heightened state of alertness. The duelling guitar work between Luke Hoskin and Tim MacMillar is especially impressive during the former. The dominance of the bass from this point of the album is also noteworthy, which is particularly prominent throughout Gardenias and the closing track, Rivet; both of which also showcase the extent of Rody’s vocal range. An album of contrast and precision, Palimpsest kept me thoroughly transfixed. 9/10

Atavist: III - Absolution (Candlelight Records) [Matt Bladen]

After a long 10 years UK death/doom band Atavist returned from the murky shadows of hiatus in 2017 and have now convened to follow up their 2007 release II: Ruined with four new tracks that culminate in 58 minutes of devastatingly heavy death/doom as the songs here crawl at a glacial pace as they evoke the sounds of funeral doom, deafening drone but also with sheer ferocity of death metal. Self-Realisation shows this with it's tolling bell and long passages of just dense doom, despite being the shortest track here, a mere 9 minutes, it could be the most affecting on a record the band describe as "A soundtrack that travels through the depths of human emotion, from losing everything, mourning loss, realising your own mind, right through to finding your way again."

So what you have here is a musical journey for the sign of the times, many across the world are dealing with their own personal demons along with much mourning happening, so when you listen to III: Absolution it hits home just that little bit more in the world of pandemic and protest are all that feature in the news. The tremolo picked riffs and general six string ambience coming from Winterfylleth's guitarist Chris Naughton, who also gives provides this record with his extreme metal vocal style along with Toby Bradshaw. The dense, devastating mournful low end comes from bassist Shane Ryan and drummer Callum Cox who give a resonance to the longer, melancholic tracks such as the beautiful closing number Absolution.

As well as the traditional instrumentation the record also features the string expertise of cellist Jo Quail (solo artist, Myrkur, My Dying Bride) with Winterfylleth alumni violinist/violist Bianca Blezard and Mark Deeks also providing the atmospheric synths for those additional doses of despondency. III; Absolution is a staggering return to form from a band who have been silent long enough. With the world at its most broken sometimes you have to take stock with music that cuts to the bone and wish for your own absolution, stunning. 9/10

Cadence Noir: A Reckless Endeavour (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

Cadence Noir’s blend of Punk, Thrash, Folk Metal, Celtic Rock and Pop had flirted with me when they won the North Wales M2TM final in June 2018 and subsequently played on the New Blood Stage that year. I interviewed the band before their appearance but admit I was unable to catch much of their show. Sitting in the garden on another baking hot lockdown Sunday in South Wales listening to this second EP from the UK Gothic Folk 'n' Rollers, I admit I hadn’t been paying perhaps as much attention as needed to the first listen, as I usually allow songs in any review to do their thing on the first sweep before I take a deeper dive. Then track four Down The Park arrived. The opening lines went “ Tell me why must we hate, why can’t we play, like we used to when we were all in the park, ‘cause when you’re young there’s no colour, there’s no difference or another”. As I listened, I’d been scanning the news, soaking up the reports from the USA as rioting, looting, the arrival of the National Guard on the streets and protests in support of #Blacklivesmatter occurred not just in the States but in other countries. Timing is everything and this track, with its simple message coincided with the tragic scenes in America and the latest utterings from the orange buffoon.

A Reckless Endeavour features three brand new songs, a re-recording of the band’s 2014 single My Place, their 2015 single, the title track A Reckless Endeavour and a rather bizarre song which the band teased was “Dave, the whole Dave and nothing but the Dave”. This turns out to be a four-minute drum solo called Dave’s Turnip Tart, and that’s all I’m going to say about that track. The opening duo, Weighing Owls and Hammered And Sickened may come across as jovial and upbeat but the dark subject matter ensures hesitation. The combination of Emma Bennett’s violin and the driving guitar work of Adrian Perrie and Nick Chamberlain inevitably draw comparisons with The Dropkick Murphys and The Pogues, although there is plenty of differences; this is not a tribute band.

I’ll state here and now that bands with fiddles rarely do much for me and although I’m not wild about this EP there is plenty to enjoy if you like the Celtic flavours which run through this release. My Place, first written in 2007 has an honest raw quality about it, the band clearly honing their skills during their first decade. It’s tight and gels neatly. Closing track Hey Yeah has an earthy quality and is well positioned with the violin working well in the final song. Cadence Noir’s line up is completed by Tom Smith on bass and David Budge on drums and percussion. The band don’t take themselves that seriously despite their subject matter. It’s an EP that their die-hard fans will love and that those who don’t know much about the band are probably going to be reluctant to spend much time exploring. I’d certainly suggest getting into it with a couple of spins before making your mind up. 7/10

Reviews: Ulthar, Pale Divine, Kult Mogil, Soulthern (Rich & Paul H)

Ulthar: Providence (20 Buck Spin) [Rich Oliver]

I’m of the opinion that death metal should sound nasty. There is a great deal of death metal out there which is stunningly performed and produced but just lacks that dirty, grimy feel that to me is an integral part of the genre. Ulthar are a contemporary death metal band who definitely follow the same aesthetics to death metal as me when it comes to how it sounds as Providence, the second album from the Californian band, is monumentally filthy. The band have an interesting sound in that they have the murk and dirt of old school death metal mixed with the technical and progressive tendencies of bands such as Voivod and Gorguts mixed with a blackened serrated edge. There is a heavy use of dissonance throughout with the riffs taking many twists and turns going from brutal caveman simplicity one minute to technical dissonant wizardry the next.

This approach is highly effective and used to great effect in songs such as clobbering opener Churn and the fantastic Through Downward Dynasties. My favourites were the songs which veered more into blackened territory such as the ever shifting Furnace Hibernation and the melodic yet blackened ferocity of Undying Spears which also has a fantastic acoustic intro which catches you off guard. Ulthar have a fantastic album with Providence. It covers a lot of bases and juggles a lot of different sounds and influences yet manages to combine these into a very cohesive, very violent and very ugly sounding album. These guys are definitely gonna be a band to keep an eye on in the metal underground. 8/10

Pale Divine: Consequence Of Time (Cruz Del Sur Music) [Paul Hutchings]

I was rather enamoured by Pale Divine’s self-titled record that they released in December 2018. The Glen Mills, Pensylvannia outfit are back with album number six and once more the crushing riffs, fuzzy distortion and Sabbath influences are all present and correct. Most exciting, the addition of guitarist and vocalist Dana Ortt who brings not only more guitar but takes lead vocals for much of the album. The band are reaching quarter of a century and their experience is evident from the start with Tyrants & Pawns once more making the earth rumble thanks to the thunderous bass of Ron McGinnis.

With the additional guitar the sound is beefed up and the interplay between Ortt and Greg Diener offers extended duels and solos that add a psychedelic edge to proceedings. Phantasmagoria is sadly not a cover of the Annihilator thrasher but a meandering, gothic echoing, fuzzed up track which is as heavy as a heard of megalodon. Ortt’s high pitched vocals are at times effeminate but effective and combined with Diener’s harmonies to good effect. Centre piece to the release is the ten-minute title track that reeks of Sabbath with it’s crunching Iommi-esque riff kicking off proceedings. Full of atmosphere and retrospective feeling, this sixth album is another nod to the past but fresh enough to make it a worthy addition to the band’s burgeoning collection. 7/10

Kult Mogil: Torn Away The Remains Of Dasein (Pagan Records) [Rich Oliver]

Torn Away The Remains Of Dasein is the second album from Polish death metal band Kult Mogil. It is their first album with a new line up and sees the band going in ‘a more classic death metal sound, if not in an old-school 90s style’ and ‘going back to the roots of death metal even more than before’. Having not heard any of the bands previous material I can’t say how this album compares but it is definitely reminiscent of mid to late 90’s death metal with lots of face ripping ferocity and a generally frantic pace. The band aren’t afraid to slow the pace at times with some sections that are far more on the atmospheric side in contrast with the all out aggression. A good example of this is the song White Death Implosion which starts in explosively violent fashion but has a very atmospheric mid section before returning to the violence and carnage. The albums weakness is the lack of memorable riffs which really affecting this albums staying power though there are some absolutely ripping guitar solos throughout the album. Kult Mogil have a solid death metal album here. It is full of energy and intensity but just lacks in the riffs department. A solid if unremarkable piece of death metal. 6/10

Soulthern: Riding To The End (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

Back in 2015 the demo for a Brazilian four-piece called Soulthern was reviewed by Matt. He rated it highly, a 7/10 and noted that the tinny production gave it an authenticity which placed it slap in the middle of the era it was emulating – the 1980s NWOBHM. Roll forward five years and we have an album from presumably the same band. I say presumably, because there is nothing to confirm it is the same outfit, not even a picture of the four-bullet belt clad members of the band. The internet provided a blank. Not one hit. So, taking it on face value, I’ve assumed this is the album that followed that demo/EP. I haven’t heard that release but it’s not hard to imagine what it sounded like. 

Riding To The End is an average and uninspiring record. Nine tracks competently played, all very much old school prototype power/thrash metal style. Duel guitar work ala Iron Maiden and Helloween, high speed patterns and all marred by a screeching vocal delivery which sounds like the horrible mutated love child of Michael Kiske and King Diamond. Much as Matt may have rated it in 2015, the improvements appear miniscule and with many old school bands from that era making solid new albums, this is something that pales into insignificance by comparison. 4/10

Reviews: Angelcrypt, Restive Nation, Moonlight Haze, Rubber Tea

Angelcrypt: Dawn Of The Emperor (Boersma-Records)

Now every critic/reviewer/music lover has genres they love and ones they hate. For me I've never been a big fan of thrash, metal/deathcore or melo-death, the reasons for this are that for me many of these bands have latched on to one of 'influences' and ridden them out until the end. However there are always exceptions to the rule *cough* Testament *cough* but in terms of melo-death I've always been fond of Maltese melodic death metal act Angelcrypt, maybe it's there WWI themed songs, or the fact or they are one of the leading lights of the small Maltese metal scene. Having been around since 1997 Dawn Of The Emperor is only their second full length coming off the back of their debut full length in 2016, it serves as a tribute to perseverance in a very underground scene.

In fact former drummer Robert Friggieri who also plays in the previously reviewed Blind Saviour told me that in Malta there are only usually one metal gig a month as anymore may split the crowd. Despite this Angelcrypt have played with numerous huge acts all around Europe honing their more extreme style. Dawn Of The Emperor opens with a choral/string into, the kind of music that would be featured in a WWI movie or video game. A spoken word passage tells of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, one of the major catalysts of the start of WWI. After this is Clockwork Blood Red which opens with some rampaging melodic death metal driven by the artillery barrage that is new stickman Paul Formosa's drumming as Jean Cutajar gives the fast paced rhythmic grunt.

They strike a balance between thrash and death metal with the meaty rhythm section running riot like a marching army of evil on On Killing Fields as Joseph Grech's guttural croak sings of the horrors of 'The Great War'. Of course though this is melodic death metal so all the heavier parts are counterpointed by the cleaner riffs and technical soloing from Shawn Mizzi and Peter Grech the six string double team bringing down-tuned riffs to Iron Creed but also the soaring leads on tracks like Martyred Soul which sounds a lot like the leaders of Melo-death genre Amon Amarth and also the frantic assault of As Death Endures. Dawn Of The Emperor is a cinematic, aggressive sophomore album from these bastions of the Maltese metal scene, do yourself a favour and put it on your 'to buy' list. 8/10

Restive Nation: Lucidum (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Formed originally as a quartet after witnessing a NIN, this Dublin band were created to play industrially driven metal music similar to that of Mr Reznor. Uniquely the band had no vocalists relying on a guest singers for their shows, shortly after they became a trio of Chris Cahill (guitar/sound design), Ciarán Timmy Lynch (bass), Cion O’Callaghan (drums). From here on, there were numerous shows and singles released, as well as an EP, culminating in their cover of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (well the part featured in The Exorcist) being chosen as Hotpress' track of Halloween.

Now here's where things really get interesting as the band have now swelled their ranks from a trio to a septet adding Ben Thonett on synths and three permanent vocalists in the shape of Tony Carberry, Pawney and John Atmahead all brought in ready to unleash another EP called Lucidum. So with all this in mind it was time to press play on this 5-track EP to see exactly what this Irish band's electronic/industrial/metal crossover style was like. A discordant opening is Tapetum which has a grinding guitar stomp, it's more of an intro leading into the bouncing Coma which shows that metal-meets-electronica sound reminding me of Jayce Lewis, Gary Numan and even Fear Factory, the tribalistic drumming mixing with the twisting synths and industrial bleeps.

Next up is the darker tones of The Prouder Ones while the NIN influence is all over Heretic Head (If Ya Die On Me). Lucidum is a very intriguing album from a unique band, three distinct vocalists and a true crossover sound fusing metal and electronic/industrial music. Try something a little different and check out Restive Nation. 7/10   

Moonlight Haze: Lunaris (Scarlet Records) [Simon Black]

So, this is the sophomore album from Italian Symphonic / Power metallers Moonlight Haze. I’ve not heard their 2019 debut De Reum Natura, but the fact that this album has followed so quickly implies either that the first one had a long gestation period or this band has a prolific song-writing engine. They are a five piece, so the sound is more stripped back than many of the genre for most of the album and the Power and Symphonic elements have an equal weight in the blend. It’s hard not to compare any female fronted Symphonic acts with Nightwish, but this bunch are closer to the other Finnish bunch, Stratovarius in tone and mood.

Opener and one of the singles ‘Til The End, is an engaging start to the album, and works well as a commercial earworm to wing in the less arcane fan, which let’s face it, most of us who enjoy Symphonic Metal definitely are. The Rabbit Of The Moon (the first single from this album) is an equally accessible track with an even beat, ambient keyboard feel and gentle chugging underpinning of guitars that isn’t going to offend anyone. Title track Lunaris starts to take things up a notch and is definitely much more heavyweight than its predecessor’s with more in your face guitars and some more effective double bass pounding of the skins coming out to play, along with a bit more.

Vocally the first couple of tracks are clear, operatic and radio friendly but Chiara Tricarico’s (ex Temperence) voice works well when she pushes herself into the more full on rock vocals that she is more than capable of, which starts to show on the title track. Under Your Spell is the traditional power ballad, and to be honest is a fairly predictable affair until half way through when once again pushing the vocals into more aggressive territory brings some much needed rawness and emotion to proceedings. Enigma is a much more full on Power metal track and sung in Italian (although there is also an English version), which actually works incredibly well in the original because let’s face it even ordering a bag full of poo in Italian is going to sound beautiful compared to English or German. Also at this point some more extreme backing vocals also start to be introduced, generally making this a much more interesting sound than the more inoffensive material at the start of the album. It’s also the first time on the album that we get to see a nice bit of high speed neo-classical interplay between the keyboards and guitars, and I can’t help feeling that if there was more like this on the album it would be getting a much higher score from me.

Wish Upon A Star keeps the pace going and Chiara’s pushing her voice from the get go here, creating a more pacing engaging song, and a really nice keyboard solo and some really nifty rhythm work in the fills. The Dangerous Art Of Overthinking is the epic centrepiece of the album and far and above the best piece of music on the album, bringing all of the strongest elements of the band’s sound together for long enough to actually go somewhere, and the song I keep coming back to. The PR blurb says we can expect more folky melodies on this album as well, but apart from Of Birth And Death, (which features a guest turn from Elvenking’s violinist Fabio Lethien Polo) this is not the case, but you forgive them because it’s a cracking track and the best of the ballads on offer on Lunaris. The album closes with another lengthy track Nameless City which has a cracking bouncy power metal riff driven by some cracking interplay between drums and keyboards, which is let’s face it, not something you write in a review every day, and brings closure to the album. 

Although I’m the first to criticise if an album sounds the same all the way through, in essence, when this album is playing radio-safe, it’s merely OK. When the instrumentals turn on the Power metal, the vocals get more gutsy, and is unafraid to use their mother Italian tongue then this baby rocks up 5 notches and makes you wish that the whole album was like that. 7/10

Rubber Tea: Infusion (Self Released) [Bob Shoesmith]

My 18-year-old daughter is quite the ‘hipster’ and like most Dads throughout time, I have often found myself sticking my head round her door to enquire, “what on earth is that you’re listening to” in a way only Dads can. Much to my surprise she tells me of how her age group are not all into Drill, manufactured girl groups or singer/songwriters like Lewis Capaldi. No, it seems that these days if you are truly trendy, you’re into retro indie like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Velvet Underground or The Smiths (who knew?) also, modern day purveyors of some pretty eclectic, trippy, left field stuff by Mac DiMarco or King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard. Why do I mention this? Well during my second listen to Infusion by Rubber Tea (see what they did there?), I had to ask ‘hipster-daughter’, whether what I was listening to was its own thing or part of this latter young indie style, I’m clearly out of touch with. She confirms this most definitely NOT the new wave of trippy indie and rolled her eyes at me. So that me told.

Rubber Tea, a five-piece band from Germany have released this, their debut seven-track album. It has an animated album cover that harks back to the animation of the Beatles Yellow Submarine cartoons (they also have some prototype animations on their Facebook page in a similar style as well) or the Gong/Steve Hillage illustrations. But the music Rubber Tea produce is particularly hard to pidgeon-hole. It’s quite bipolar in that it is half genteel and floaty and sits closest in style to acid jazz, with tinkling piano, sax solos and swing beats and half early Pink Floyd (early Floyd references appear in most tracks). I could see Rubber Tea making appearances on several Prog playlists with their more old-school neo prog parts on tracks like, ‘American Dream’ with its spoken passages and Trump samples, straight out of Dark Side of the Moon, ‘Storm Glass’ or the nod to the Barrett era Floyd of ‘The Drought’.

Vocalist Vanessa Gross has a soft pleasant singing style that floats on top of the songs but unfortunately, she only makes brief appearances as they mostly favour the meandering jazz meets prog instrumental sections. ‘Plastic Scream’ for example, is a more traditional ballady type track that creates space within the tempo that provides gives Gross the opportunity to stretch out a bit and show what a decent singer she can be. She is however, sadly under used and side-lined to cameo roles. Rubber Tea plagiarise from modern Jazz and an awful lot from traditional Proggers like Floyd, Yes or Tangerine Dream. They’re all very competent musicians, but this stylistic mish-mash and lack of a clear identity makes the final product slightly confused as to what it is, what it could be and where they’re taking it. I liked their jazzier, cooler side, I really liked the parts where Vanessa Gross appears which I wish they’d explore more, but they just can’t seem to leave their early Pink Floyd albums alone and keep going back there. Its been 47 years since this was on point. Infusion really feels like their song writing is pulling in the two different directions leaving quite the identity crisis. 7/10