Reviews: Once Human, Firstdraft, Ty Morn, Hollis Brown (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Once Human - Scar Weaver (earMusic)

The Logan Mader/Lauren Hart metal machine return with their crushing sound for a third full length album. Scar Weaver goes further in terms of sound than their last two records, upping the technicality and brutality on this album. They did do something similar on the concept record Evolution, but this does it outside of the conceptual remit well, bringing the classic melo-death leads on Cold Arrival, but also fleshing the track out with huge synths in the background as it changes into almost an industrial battery. It's an intensely aggressive and hostile record, as all their albums are, this one though seems much more driven by rage than before. 

There's massive djent riffs (Eidolon), those oh so familiar Mader metalcore grooves, strewn throughout. Though Logan credits the bulk of this albums creative output to his co-guitarist Max Karon. This album has been almost on the back burner for a while, obviously due to the pandemic, but this extra time has meant that Scar Weaver features lots more experimentation. Much coming from vocalist Lauren Hart, who takes her place as one of the foremost vocalists around today effortlessly shifting between harsh growls and clean singing, but also everything in between. People will know Mader mainly from his time in Machine Head (he recently played with the band again), so it'll be a track like Deadlock that will really excite Machine Head fans as it features Robb Flynn. 

The songs are top drawer extreme metal, shifting through melodeath, death, metalcore, groove etc. There's quirkiness on Bottom Feeder which brings to mind Fear Factory, Deserted is thrashy, while their cover of SYL's is mega close to the original, even featuring Devy being Heavy. With a long gestation period, Scar Weaver is Once Human ascending to the lofty expectation that's been around them for a long while now. A superior release. 8/10

First Draft - Declines Are Long Gone (LyloProd)

First Draft are a French 2 piece consisting of Marine Arnoult (drums/vocals) and Clément Douam (bass), Declines Are Long Gone is their second album, 5 tracks of angsty, anthemic rock that has influences like, post-rock dynamism, Brit-pop haziness and shoegaze introspection. The lack of guitars is not at all a problem as tracks such as Time Hails No Sun benefit from Marine's propulsive percussion and attitude-filled vocals, Clément's bass playing, shimmering and thundering equally, driving the grooves of Kneel Down In Silence, has post-rock quiet/loud dynamism. 

The band fill their lyrics with philosophy and the challenges of the modern world, trying to inspire positivity. It's the sort of music that would have been featured heavily on those edgy TV shows in the mid nighties, big attitude and lots of feelings, that make First Draft part Garbage, part Mogwai and part Portishead. Delivering a message through inventive soundscapes that goes further than you'd expat for just a bass and drum duo. An intriguing listen but will appeal to a rabid fan base. 7/10  

Ty Morn – Last Villain Testament (Doc Gator Records)

First things first, I do love a good pun for an album title and this one is clever! Anyway back to the music and away from the realms of Susie Dent (sigh), Last Villain Testament is the second album from classic metal project Ty Morn, following the 2019 debut Istor. The main creative output for composer/musician Aron Biale, Last Villain Testament retains vocalist Raphael Gazal and drummer Per Mikkelsen from the first album, bringing in lead guitarists Joao Corceiro and Martin Szorad to flesh out the main bulk of the music created by Biale on bass/rhythm guitars/keys. Unlike Istor, the epic metal feel of bands like Manowar, Hammerfall etc has dissipated this time Aron much more focused on shorter more direct songs inspired by Diamond Head, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper, the tracks here balancing on that line between heavy metal and hard rock. 

Though it’s not as different to Istor stylistically as you may think, the songs are a little shorter but still performed with musical dexterity and a reverence for the influences. Hellastryke has got some backing choirs and galloping riffs, Wherever Demons Roam is a bit Teutonic coming from the Running Wild/Gamma Ray, Lifting The Curse has the pirate themes of Rockin Rolf. The only differences I can see is that there are one or two tracks that move closer to hard rock, but most of the album is still chest beating classic/power metal. It’s a partial concept record about and evil character called the Warlock and his observations with mans need for conflict and violence. 

There’s some war imagery, a bit of the occult and lots of classic metal tropes. But it’s an enjoyable record, for me the standout moment is Eyes Of The Many Gods, is one of the more theatrical songs here, feeling a bit like a Maiden epic, as that propulsive bass hook anchors the entire thing. However there is a lot to like and once again Aron Biale’s Ty Morn project is testament to the power of modern recording techniques and old school metal. 8/10

Hollis Brown – In The Aftermath (Mascot Label Group/Cool Green Recordings)

Recorded in one 24 hour session, fuelled by whiskey, In The Aftermath is New York band Hollis Brown’s recreation of the 1966 Rolling Stones album Aftermath. The band say that they wanted to capture their version of the album, which doesn’t always stay faithful to the original, as quickly and organically as possible. This is all well and good but my question would be why? I can understand perhaps recording an album of new material like this, especially since their last studio record was in 2019. Then throwing in a couple of covers at the end but recreating an entire album seems a little like jumping on a bandwagon. 

Now I know some of you will dive on me as we have reviewed the Ripple Music/Heavy Psych Sounds compilations that cover one artist or album, but that is usually various artists covering single songs. Not one band recreating an album, hell I wouldn't even mind if it was them re-recording their 2019 record for a more authentic feel. But no it's just them playing songs written by other people, in the public consciousness, no matter how 'lost' they may think this album is, it just seems a little pointless to rehash it, when a song such as Paint It Black has been done to death. 

They could have written a couple of their own tunes, along with a few covers, or even covers of different bands and put out an EP as a stopgap like most bands do. I'll give them it's well played, the Americana style of their music shines through but for me, I don't see the point. 4/10

Reviews: The Silent Wedding, Vorga, Zetra, Burned In Effigy (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

The Silent Wedding - Ego Path (Self Released/Dutch Music Works/Underground Music Studios)

Much like how Pink Floyd and Dream Theater used to connect their albums, so have Greek progressive metal band The Silent Wedding. The Eternal Enigma brings the same repeating beat as Hands Of Fate the last song on their previous album Enigma Eternal. It gives the idea that Ego Path is a continuation to the evolution of The Silent Wedding. 

This Athenian band have always taken a political and philosophical point of view with their lyrics drawing from bands such as Conception, Kamelot, Fates Warning and Queensyche, as the power metal flourishes are driven by tougher heavy metal rhythms and dramatic keys/orchestrations/samples (Sinners In Disguise/ Ethereal Walls). The band his led by the co-founders Marios Karanastasis and Jim Katsaros, Marios the powerful vocals and Jim the virtuoso guitar/samples/production. They have been the guiding force behind two previous efforts and numerous live shows that have seen them play shows with Fates Warning, Epica, Warrel Dane and Threshold a band they share a lot of similarities with musically and vocally too, the emotive The Sea Of Fate reminding me of the Britsh prog metal legends.

So what about Ego Path? Well it’s yet again a record that leans heavily on downbeat, introspective lyrics set against heavy riffs, emotive vocal lines, heavy use of keys and light/shade to ramp up the drama. The band includes Giannis Thermos (keyboards), Giorgos Kritharis (bass) and Renos Lialioutis (drums/percussion), these three really powering the dynamic shifts in Caught In The Web. The Queensryche influences looms large on Reveal The Rain. Ego Path is an intelligent metal record, adding various styles to the established prog metal style, even flirting with trip hop on ballad The Final Token, but still having everything that fanboys like me love it so much. 

Hopefully this record will get them much more recognition outside of their native land as they deserve to be spoken about in the same breath as Threshold, Redemption and Seventh Wonder and hopefully get themselves over to the UK soon! 8/10

Vorga - Striving Towards Oblivion (Transcending Obscurity Records)

Their debut EP Radiant Gloom got them signed to Transcending Obscurity Records, so with their full length debut, German black metal band have a lot to prove, if they are going to be featured on one of the seminal extreme metal labels. Thankfully Striving Towards Oblivion builds and improves upon the EP tenfold with compositions driven by a ravenous, glacial, intensity, that really only a power trio could deliver. Vorga are very influenced by bands such as Dissection, Immortal and even Darkthrone, as their style shifts throughout the album, giving a broad range of extreme metal sounds. Focussed and forceful Atlas' guitars flay the skin, with that biting tone powering through the tremolo riffs and explosive lead breaks when required. 

Jervas' drumming is ferocious and focused, yes there's speed but there is also some moments where things slow down, the percussion and Спейса's bass playing are allowed to breathe, through ominous phases like Death Manifesting or Disgust where the blasting is a counter to the atmospheric guitars. It's these slower elements that bring new depth to Striving Towards Oblivion shifting often into the sci-fi metal soundscapes that makes them evolve into a atmospheric black metal band, with scope of sound much broader than you'd expect from a trio. Striving Towards Oblivion is a startling debut full length from Vorga, announcing these Germans as ones to watch. 8/10   

Zetra - From Without (Church Road Records)

Following up their 2021 album From Within, London based duo Zetra, emerge with more Gothic gloom. Part doom, part shoegaze, part post-punk, part Goth, they are a band that are hard to classify soundwise. Featuring just guitar, synth and voice this 5 track EP is a neat snapshot of the Zetra sound. John Carpenter/Vangelis like synth swathes come through on the dreamy Ubiquity and the final ominous title offering (imagine it on the Blade Runner soundtrack) while The Raven's Game has some long slow riffing that belongs on the doom sphere. It's a partner piece to From Within, though if possible more gloomy than their previous EP. There's lots here to love if you subscribe to the black eyeliner, dark clothes and lots of moodiness lifestyle, it's Robert Smith and Brandon Lee's The Crow embodied into a band. They will be supporting Unto Others on their UK tour later this year so I for one will be getting down early! 7/10

Burned In Effigy - Rex Mortem (Self Released)

Sometimes a debut album comes around and surprises the hell out of you! Abhoria for example recently blew myself and my colleague Matt Cook away. Burned In Effigy, from Chicago, really impress on their debut full length in much the same way. They play melodic death metal that is clearly influenced by Children Of Bodom, In Flames and even Trivium, incorporating neo-classical guitar playing into their music Vito Bellino and Brad Dose's guitar playing intricately cutting through the breakdowns on Artorias as Nightfall opens with some classical guitar influences and features lots of tasty twin harmonies throughout. 

Guitar fans will be salivating at what is on offer but Burned In Effigy aren't just about these neo-classical touches they also play some really decent melo-death with drummer Eddie Dec and bassist Matt Watkins bringing thrash rhythms and grooves, to Hades, switching the time signatures on The Empericist as it moves between heavy and clean easily. Finally the vocals of Mark "Smedy" Smedbron are harsh and raw but also have clarity. Rex Mortem is a highly impressive debut from Burned In Effigy, my money would be on them being snapped up to a label sooner rather than later. 7/10

Reviews: Possessor, InVisions, Regulus, In Hearts Wake (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Possessor - The Speed Of Death (APF Records) 

A rip snorting four track EP from the serves as the final hammer blow from horror sludge thrashers Possessor. With this release, these purveyors of the filthiest music you've heard for a good long while, return to the crypt, put away their torture implements and will rest for eternity on their pile of cadavers. The band have always drawn from the macabre and B-movie horror films and this last EP is no different. Those thick syrupy riffs create a wall of noise on Twisted Nerve Endings, building with some Marc Brereton's bass grooves cutting deep, under the marching drum of Nathan Perrier. 

The song is intercut with news reports about Satan worshipping death fests, the corruption of Christian youth and all manner of other things that horrify the media at large, hell there's even some backwards vocals when the thrashier tones kick in driven by the Graham Bywater's fuzzy guitar sound and wild vocals. The pace increases rapidly on Medusa Lives! just under 3 minutes of crossover thrashing, it's intensity increased by the filthy production (or lack thereof) on this EP. Medusa Lives! segues into Paura a short intermission that sets the scene for the final track Draw Blood, which is a thrilling last shot from this well revered band. 

It leaves you with a smile on your face, as it distills exactly what Possessor have always been about. With their swansong there's no room to evolve or adapt, The Speed Of Death is Possessor just as you remember them, a dirty, grimy, occult loving trio of beard sporting, impressive facial hair and even more impressive riffage. They will be missed, so play it loud my friends! 8/10

InVisions - Deadlock (Self Released)

York band InVisions are vocalist Ben Ville, guitarists Lucas Gabb and Alex Scott, along with drummer Josh Hardy. They play volatile metalcore that draws inspiration from bands such as Architects, Bring Me The Horizon and Asking Alexandria, their PR even notes this, but the influences are pretty evident from the opening riffs, screamed vocals, massive breakdowns on the D V P E along with it's sister track D E A L E R and lots of electronic twitches on Annihilist. When approaching this album the band, went full on as they have on their previous records, Deadlock is their third album and it is a triumph over adversity self recorded during lockdown and mixed by producer Joe Graves. 

They once again take no prisoners but also they bring more maturity with the strings on Hindsight aiming for bigger arenas, however the album was written from the perspective that it may never have been played live, but also focussed on the idea that when played live each one would leave an imprint, drawing on mental health and infusing it with the own personalities. The band wanted to add more elements to their heavyweight origins. If you listen to the title track then you'll get a huge hit of a band like KoRn, while the beatdowns in Last Light are vicious having that effortless mix of crushing riffs, melodic leads, hooky choruses and those symphonic touches. Deadlock like the object it shares a name with, is a very heavy piece of metal, but won't render what's inside inaccessible, even though it is dark. 7/10

Regulus - Pulse (Self Released)

Sheffield psychedelic riff monsters Regulus haven't released an album since 2017 and between then an now there has been almost a wholesale change. Founding members Luke Jennings (vocals/guitar) and Joe Milburn (drums), have departed meaning that Thomas Osbourne (guitars) and Martyn Berwick (bass) have needed to find new members in order to continue with the band. It means that on Pulse, they have now expanded to a five piece as Adam Perkins takes up the drum stool, Billy Law-Bergen becomes the other half of the axe attack and Chloé Jolivel picks up the mic. 

So have these new members changed what Regulus do? In a word, no, they are still a heavy riffing band that bring the influences of Clutch and the NOLA sound to Sheffield, balancing the distorted grooves with explorative psych/space rock sounds. Pulse is more of rebirth than a reinvention, as yes they are experimenting a bit more with their style adding more heavy blues and hard rock flourishes but at their core they are still stoner riff machines. Speaking of stoner riffs, we get going with Into The Black as Osbourne and Law Bergen kick out the jams Perkins and Berwick laying down a thundering groove, that is full of slinky blues. 

Jolivel has some tough vocals, produced by many nights of shouting down a mic driven by whiskey. Fuchsia has lots of tasty dual guitar riffs, Hive Mind grooves, as Contagion has a big whack of doom. For me though the rhythmic desert rock of The Flood is the albums stand out, but really all of Pulse is great psych stoner metal, so Regulus' new era is starting off strongly. 7/10 

In Hearts Wake - Kaliyuga Booster Pack (UNFD)

The oddly named Kaliyuga Booster Pack is an accompanying release to their 2020 record Kaliyuga, now if you've heard that record, you'll know what it sounds like an will have long formed your opinion on it, so what I'll do here is tell you about this additional release. The band set themselves a challenge to write songs about dogs as a theme, so it features three new songs that are all about our Canine friends along with five live tracks recorded at the Brisbane Tivoli which is the only show they have been able to play. So first up we have Dogma which features fellow Australian metalcore mob Alpha Wolf. 

It makes for a beatdown heavy competitive sounding opener where both In Hearts Wake and Alpha Dog's vocalists dual screaming "You're all bark and no bite" at each other. It's full of muscle and power, Torn In Two adding a nu-metal groove, nodding to Korn, as War closes out the trio of new tracks with something akin to the frenzied battery of Slipknot. The live tracks give you an idea of what they offer on stage so with more shows pencilled in it's a bit of a warm up for what's to come. All in all Kaliyuga Booster Pack is a worthy little addition to their last album. 7/10

Reviews: Voivod, Napalm Death, SÖNUS, Needless (Reviews By Paul Scoble, Richard Oliver, David Karpel & Lee Burnell)

Voivod - Synchro Anarchy (Century Media Records) [Paul Scoble]

Voivod have been in existence since 1981. The Jonquière, Quebec based band was founded by original Guitarist Denis ‘Piggy’ D’Amour, and released their first album, War And Pain in 1984. In the forty one years they have been together Voivod have released a further 13 albums, with Synchro Anarchy bringing the number up to fifteen. Over the years Voivod have had different lineups with members leaving and in two cases re-joining, and also with very sad passing of band founder, Denis ‘Piggy’ D’Amour in 2005. The lineup that recorded this album has remained constant since 2014 with Michel ‘Away’ Langevin on Drums, Denis ‘Snake’ Bélanger on Vocals, Daniel ‘Chewy’ Mongrain on Guitars and Dominic ‘Rocky’ Laroche on Bass. 

Voivod were originally part of the first wave of thrash, they were contemporaries with Metallica, Slayer, Flotsam And Jetsam and Annihilator. Although Voivod were seen as a Thrash band, they were always different, Piggy liked using Jazz chords, Away loved using beats that were a little odd compared to the ones used by their genre fellows, the elephant in the room was that Voivod were different, they were fast, but not really thrash. As it turned out, Voivod had invented progressive metal, and all the progressive metal bands that have followed in their wake owe them a debt of gratitude. 

These days they play a very tight, avant guard style of progressive metal. This is the lineup that recorded The Wake, Voivod’s last album that was very well received by press and fans alike. I reviewed that album and was blown away at how good it was, it sounded like Voivod but at the same time was fresh, vibrant and absolutely cutting edge, not what you would expect from an act that, at the time, were nearing forty years as a band. 

Synchro Anarchy has a similar sound to The Wake, the production and tone of the instruments is comparable, which is a very good thing as The Wake sounded superb. However, this is definitely not The Wake part 2, Synchro Anarchy is it’s own beast, it takes what was so good Voivod’s last album, build on it, and pushes things further. Structurally the album is very interesting, the individual parts are simple and direct, one guitar, bass, vocals and drums, however the structure of the songs is complex as there are many parts, which on some of the tracks are very different from each other. The songs feel as if they are constantly changing, repeatedly moving from spikey staccato riffs to smooth, jazz infused sections, and then to an amazing guitar solo, or thundering bass line, the songs feel constantly in flux. 

This could sound like a mess of too many ideas, but Voivod handle it as if it’s the easiest thing in the world, effortlessly moving between disparate sections. This constant flux happens all over the album, but I found title track Synchro Anarchy to be the most impressive, particularly as the song opens with a riff that is based on strumming upstrokes, giving the riff a distinctive Ska quality, not what I would expect from progressive metal, but this is Voivod, and if there is one band that can pull off progressive ska metal, it’s Voivod. 

I love the way the guitar and bass rarely play the same thing, there's no mirroring going on on this album. The guitar riffs are complex, as are the bass lines, it feels as if the guitar riffs and the bass lines bounce around furiously, and occasionally into each other, it should feel chaotic, but the musical brownian motion always seem to work. At their best this effect feels as if the music is swirling around you, feeling chaotic, but the listener can sense an underlying order, which is so powerful. 

A lot of the guitar and bass work is like this, but on Sleeves Off it reaches its zenith, amazing guitar riffs and churning bass lines make this such a great song. Sleeves Off also features another great aspect of this album, smooth, Jazz infused riffs that have a tempo that is beautifully full of energy whilst still having feeling mellow and relaxed, Away has excelled himself with some of the beats on this album. This smooth feel is on a lot of the tracks, but is probably best demonstrated by the track The World Today. 

I can’t review a Voivod album without mentioning Snake’s incredibly distinctive snarl. Snake’s Vocals are great throughout the album. He uses his voice in many different ways, and in places his vocals are layered; the layering is used on the sections that I have mentioned before that have a smoother feel, the layering accentuates the smoothness of his singing and makes those sections feel like they are wrapped in silk. Snake tends to fit his voice to the song and lyrics, so his voice always works with the song, in some places where the music is a bit more extreme, his performance is bordering on deranged, which is just fantastic. 

The track Quest For Nothing features a nice amount of derangement. Synchro Anarchy is a fantastic Album. It is probably a bit more of a difficult listen that The Wake, and will take a little longer to really appreciate it. On first listen this album is close to being overwhelming, there is so much going on, the album feels as if it is in constant flux, but if you give a little time it will reveal itself to you as a work of incredible creativity, that is filled with amazing riffs, bass lines and beats, all held together by fantastic vocals. After 15 albums and over 40 years, Voivod are still as important, vital, groundbreaking and deeply enjoyable as they were 4 decades ago. 9/10

Napalm Death - Resentment Is Always Seismic: A Final Throw Of Throes (Century Media Records) [Richard Oliver]

Napalm Death are a band that need no introduction if you are a fan of extreme music. Legends is a term that doesn’t quite do the band justice and the influence and impact they have had on underground music. Despite having been going since 1981, the past few years have seen Napalm Death release some of their finest work from 2015’s ferocious Apex Predator - Easy Meat to 2020’s experimental and jaw-dropping Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism. Having recorded an abundance of material in the Throes sessions the band have put together a bunch of these leftovers in the form of new E.P. Resentment Is Always Seismic - A Final Throw Of Throes. Much like the material on the parent album from where this material stems, it sees Napalm Death in equally caustic and experimental form. 

The E.P. is made up of five original songs, two cover versions and a remix. The new songs range from the absolutely furious By Proxy and Slaver Through A Repeat Performance to the sluggish and brooding Resentment Always Simmers which has plenty of influence from acts such as Killing Joke and Swans. Industrial band SLAB! and hardcore punk legends Bad Brains both have their songs being given the Napalm Death treatment and shows the varying influences that the band have on their sound. 

The last song sees Shane Embury bring his dark ambient Dark Sky Burial project into the Napalm Death fold with a remix that is bursting at the seams with dark and oppressive atmosphere. This E.P. really is testament to the absolute roll that Napalm Death are on these days in that it feels like a fully rounded mini album rather than an E.P. of leftovers. This feels like more of a companion piece to Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism rather than the odds and ends which were left on the cutting room floor. If you loved the last Napalm Death album then this E.P. is essential listening and like any good E.P. it leaves you wanting more. 8/10

SÖNUS - Usurper Of The Universe (Forbidden Place Records) [David Karpel]

While David Wachsman and company have an obvious affinity for Black Sabbath and Monster Magnet, SÖNUS ekes out their own space in that wide galaxy spanning heavy music by including some Stooges cynicism and Hawkwind space oddities. The result is a collection of epic songs that progress like a smoke induced narrative worthy of a film project like Heavy Metal or The Spine of Night. Straightforward lyrics get right to the core of each song’s tale, making them easy to sing along with and so damn infectious. Moving from the personal to the cosmic, the songs on Usurper Of The Universe story a sick-of-it-all perspective morphing into a large scale fantasy of total destruction before the narrator fades into the light of the sun.

The opener, Nuclear God, introduces us to all of these themes and promises no guile from the first bass lines taking the listener into a wall of doomy flower misted grooves through the right side of the mind and a hopeless prayer for destruction. The power of Wachsman's voice, gruff and soulful, gives this–and every–song an earnestness that pulls the proverbial tongue right out of the proverbial cheek. Blow this world all to hell. The planet, the entire cosmos, they’re sick of us anyway. By the end of the song, without an ounce of sarcasm, we’re agreeably singing along with the riff addicted universe pointedly telling us over and again: "Fuck you"

Drummer Eduardo Salazar lets loose on Pay Me Your Mind, the angry punk infused tune that slams like it's blasting out of a grease-stained garage in Detroit with a 72 scarlet red Buick Skylark catching the last rays of a dying sun as it pulls out of the driveway. While Nuclear God moves at a steady plod, Pay Me Your Mind revs up to a pummeling tempo and gives Salazar room to flavor the space with fills and dramatics that lend urgency to the sardonic narrative.

The title song transitions to include the more prog elements, expanding the narrative to include the Usurper Of The Universe, the braggadocio of his own glory and power. The last three songs, The Golden Path, the lovely instrumental Amaranthine, and the concluding rocker and D&D referencing Tanelorn, continue to groove into the arena of the epic. While The Golden Path and Amaranthine are appropriately the longest efforts here, clocking in at almost 8 minutes each, the other four songs run 4 and a half to five minutes long but feel a lot longer–and that’s a good thing.

Usurper Of The Universe combines Sabbathian riffage, a double middle finger punk rock ethos, and bombastic psychedelic proto-prog, all packed into about 35 minutes. David Wachsman–rock guru (an actual anthropologist), multi-instrumentalist creative behind SÖNUS, and avowed 2-tab minimum, psychonaut worshiper of all things Dave Wyndorf–creates a colorful sci-fi graphic novel fantasy soundtrack of nihilism and demonic bong hits providing bombastic visions of the end of all that we know. 8/10

Needless - The Cosmic Cauldron (Uprising Records) [Lee Burnell]

Progressive extreme metal quintet Needless return with their second album, The Cosmic Cauldron- and if you put a gun to my head and asked me to describe this album in one word, the honest answer is “underwhelming”. This is my first experience of the Hungarian heavy hitters but after reading about who they’ve played with, including bands such as Flotsam And Jetsam and Nervosa, I was expecting big things from this album. Unfortunately, it falls flat. Granted, it’s heavy but the material is just uninspired. 

The album is full of songs that don’t quite hit the mark but offer glimpses of their potential. Warvoid A.D. and Mournful Heavens are the standout songs by offering two different sides of brutality with the former coming straight out of the blocks with fury and the latter slowing the pace and letting the guitaring of Fogl Botond and Tamas Barany coupled with the drumming of Botond Kasper deliver a heaping of bone shattering metal but try something more melodic with Planet Oblivion. 

The Cosmic Cauldron does offer something for fans of extreme, thrash and melodic metal and I’m sure this album will be a hit in some circles but for me, it falls flat and doesn’t impress. Needless are technically proficient, aI am keen to see what Needless do going forward but this album won’t live long in the memory. 4/10

Reviews: Amorphis, Cult Of Luna, Near Death Condition, Lesoir (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Amorphis - Halo (Atomic Fire Records)

Amorphis have never been a band to shy away from their melodic side. As their career has progressed the usage of folksy power metal elements and clean vocals have become more pronounced. Under The Red Cloud and Queen Of Time, the two albums before this have been very determined focussed on telling more tales from the Kalevala heritage of their native Finland. Halo is the third act in this trilogy, closing out what has been a musically fruitful period for the band. Fourteen albums into their career and on the last two (as well as this one), they sound as if they have discovered the band they have been aiming to be since their formation over 30 years ago! 

Halo casts yet more mythological and historical magic, all delivered by the outstanding versatility of Tomi Joutsen's vocals, growling like a beast one minute then becoming a poetic bard the next. A track such as War, displaying this fantastically, the marching, stomping verses, full of rage and fury changing into the clean sung chorus where the refrain "While my house burnt to cinder, burnt to cinder" really just hits home. Joutsen's voice carrying, Pekka Kainulainen's lyrics brilliantly. The band consider this album to be stripped back, in comparison to previous releases and it's plain to see why. It's still full of progressive and arty flourishes but it feels a bit more deliberate and direct, most of the songs built around the choruses. In fact I've not come across an album with as many anthemic, sing along choruses for a while, you'll find yourself humming the title track and Northwards for hours if not days afterwards. 

There are still orchestrals but Santeri Kallio's keys are used much more for some Jon Lord like organ solos than the 'symphonic' sound, though some electronics pop in on tracks like The Wolf. Olli-Pekka Laine's persistent bass is the heartbeat, as Jan Rechberger's drumming style is broad and dextrous. If say Halo features more classic and power metal sounds than any previous Amorphis albums, not a bad thing as they're plenty heavy enough for fans but there is a lot more interplay between guitarists Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari, lots of lead breaks, solos and acoustic interludes. Culminating in the beautifully melodic finale My Name Is Night. 

They may be sacrificing more heaviness than they did on Queen Of Time, however it feels as if the time is right, the band is in it's 32 year and as someone who is 32, you try to do things with much more conviction but not as aggressively as you may have in the past. A new Amorphis album is always met with anticipation and on Halo they have delivered once more in their own unique way. 9/10

Cult Of Luna - The Long Road North (Metal Blade Records)

Cult Of Luna are a band who command a fanatical audience. If you love the band then you will absolutely love them no matter what anyone says. It doesn't matter about the opinions of writers such as myself, they will always support the band on every release. Thankfully then I won't invoke the ire of these fans by criticising The Long Road North the Swedish post-metal originators' 9th album which, in a theme of albums reviewed here is the end of a journey that began on 2019's A Dawn To Fear, through the 2021 EP The Raging River and culminates with The Long Road North. The entire lyrical meaning behind all these albums was the emotional and mental journey vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Johannes Persson went through after their Mariner release with Julie Christmas in 2016. 

It was this that inspired their trio of records and the closing, acceptance is on this album. To that end there were even some unfinished recordings from A Dawn To Fear brought to the studio before the recording, to add to that continuity between the three albums. Recorded in a few studios but as with a lot of bands the rest of the recording was done in their own studios at home, this isolation meaning that the 8 tracks on this record are brooding, dark and ominous, the lengths of them all extended, into sprawling, multi-dimensional musical landscapes. 

There's huge moments of outright savergry on the title track and opener Cold Burn both tracks undulating between periods of ferocity and shimmering atmospherics. The band describe the record as cinematic, perhaps more so than any of their other albums and you can hear this almost grandiose style presented across the album, the tracks are built on dynamic layering, the instruments all creating a cacophony as Magnus Lindberg's production makes the album sound colossal. 

On the raging Blood Upon Stone, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz of French band Phoenix add their own unique guitar sound to Persson and Fredrik Kihlberg's titanic riffs. The middle section of this track gets very insular and echoed Andreas Johansson's bass the hook here. Elsewhere though there are experimentations, Cult Of Luna are a band constantly adapting their sound, due to the gigantic nature of some of the tracks, there's lots of musical influences that creep in but nothing is ever too indulgent. Thomas Hedlund's percussion adapting to whatever style they wish to explore. 

The throbbing The Silver Arc is brimming with shoegaze, repeating guitar riffs, though Kristian Karlsson's keys are brought in as a way of making these songs denser, on Beyond I and Beyond II especially the former featuring the dark, jazz vocals of Mariam Wallentin on a twinkling synth backing, the latter meanwhile features soundtrack artist Colin Stetson, who also adds drama to the Tom Waits feeling An Offering To The Wild. The Long Road North is the end of the beginning for Cult Of Luna, after two decades they came to the collective consciousness they are still reinventing themselves. 9/10 

Near Death Condition - Ascent From The Mundane (Unique Leader)

Switzerland has a history with bleak, blackened heavy metal. The mountainous tax haven is of course the home to Tom G Warrior, who has single handedly spearheaded the extreme metal scene in the country. Near Death Condition are intent on carrying this Swiss extreme metal bastion with some of the most angry evil sounding music I've listened to in a while. Ascent From The Mundane is Near Death Condition's fourth album overall but their first since 2014. 

Dealing with the duality of good and evil, the record sounds as if it's a raging indictment of the world but the band explain that the record is "a hymn to the spark of light trapped in the darkness of the world." It's essentially about embracing the darker parts of the world to let the light shine through brighter. Not that you'd get that from this record unless you really focussed as Ascent From The Mundane is a blistering blackened death record, built around production techniques that mean the instrumentals are very much in the background and the vocals are right up front. 

This means that when there is instrumental breaks such as in Wisdom Of Meaning, unless there is no singing it's difficult to focus on them. I understand that they are going for the wall of sound technique, (it's an album that certainly suits headphones) however to me it feels like Patrick Bonvin (guitars) and Tony Petrocelly (bass) are left in the background a little no matter how intricate the compositions are (also it seems like there's no drummer either), Magnus' frenzied, unhinged vocal dominates. There are things to like about Ascent From The Mundane you can hear the influences of Obituary, Nader Sadek and Sinister but the production and vocals throw me a little, though if nasty, dissonant yet melodic extreme metal is your thing then Near Death Condition will be as desirable as a Swiss watch. 7/10

Lesoir - Babel (Glassville Records)

Now we are about to break a rule here at Musipedia Of Metal, as many will know we don't review singles. However I wouldn't really consider Babel, the new release from Dutch art rockers Lesoir, as single. Yes it is one song but that song clocks in at 20 minutes and 20 seconds. "That's a number I never want to see again!" I hear you say but as it turns out this run time is deliberate as Lesoir don't want to to remember 2020 that fondly either. Due to the numerous lockdowns in the Netherlands in their home country, the idea of a new album was shelved instead ideas were forged for this 'interim project', which has now been brought to light fully formed as, labyrinthine, progressive rock track that encompasses everything that Lesoir have been delivering since their formation. 

These long form compositions are not anything new to prog fans, so it is sure to be met with excitement, more so as the track/EP itself will be released on vinyl, handmade and limited to only 250 pcs. It is a sonic exploration that builds on the use of melody from their previous album as we set out with keening synths and electronic beats, from Eleën Bartholomeus (guitar/synth) and Ingo Dassen (guitar/programming) who are part of the guitar trio along with Ingo Jetten (bass/pedal steel/guitar), forming the main body of this epic number. It's based around the Tower Of Babel, but makes it an atmospheric exploration of the year 2020 where the pandemic took hold but also the influence of humans was diminished meaning nature was allowed to flourish again. 

In the early part of the song, and really throughout, there are influences to King Crimson abound, from the deft fragility of Bob Van Heumen's drums/percussion to the extensive use of flute from vocalist Maartje Meessen, it's like you're in 1970 all over again. Meessen's voice again is a brilliant, full of fragility along with a sense of romance, but it's another instrument in the bands arsenal. A track that started as a way to keep them occupied, has morphed into the foundation (I hope) of new material from Lesoir. 8/10 

Reviews: Saxon, Korn, Venom Prison, Lawnmower Deth (Reviews By Simon Black, Zak Skane, Matt Cook & Paul Scoble)

Saxon – Carpe Diem (Silver Lining Music) [Simon Black]

So the thing about Saxon, the thing that has well and truly earned them the ‘Mighty’ prefix, is that they never fail to deliver. OK, maybe that’s not quite true, in 1989 they well and truly messed up, but that’s down to major label intervention pushing them to try and sound like American radio rock just in time for the genre to die on its arse, and then promptly dropped them. The result was the frankly dire Destiny album, which is probably why the stalwarts of NWOBHM didn’t really cross my radar until I was a little older, as what I heard from that album at the age when my love of the genre of all things metal was starting to explode led me to write them off completely, although I could see that the love was there from the older members of our community.

That all changed in the early 1990’s when they played at an old theatre in my University town of Loughborough. Now Loughborough was well and truly in the boondocks back then, sandwiched as it is as a small town halfway between the venue-rich cities of Nottingham and Leicester. I went because as there wasn’t a lot that happened in the town, but it felt like that the mighty had fallen for them to be playing there at all. I could not have been more surprised. 

They played a set rich in material from their core eight album history pre Destiny and wisely not one track from that turkey was included. They were fantastic. Added to this we got treated to the full stage set of the eagle landing (it was bigger than the stage) and suddenly I understood why everyone loved them. It was full throttle unashamed and in your face Heavy Fucking Metal. From that moment to this on I have seen them every chance I can, and I have yet to be disappointed live. 

Album wise, in those intervening years Saxon have stuck to their guns with their original recorded output (although I am deliberately going to ignore last year’s Inspirations, as it was a hastily assembled lock down project of covers and really is best forgotten). They learned their lesson with style choices in 1989 though and like the many of their studio records in the intervening years, Carpe Diem with its cover evoking the classic Crusader delivers ten slabs of full-throated Traditional Metal – the kind that when done right does not age. 

Someone else seemingly immune from the years is vocalist and all round legend Biff Byford. For a man now in his seventy-first year, he has clearly gargled from the Larynx of Eternal Youth as his performance on here does not sound like the constant front man of a band who have been grinding the Wheels Of Steel since the late 1970’s. 

I think no small part of this lies with the considerable skills of producer Andy Sneap, a man who ‘gets’ the genre better than most and who really has done Saxon proud over their last few albums. Sneap is notorious for pushing bands further than they think they can go and captures the essence of Saxon live fabulously in the studio. 

But the material he has to work with here is really solid, from the opening to the closing this record gives us material that is just Saxon doing their thing. The title track followed by pile-driver Age Of Steam are familiar Saxon territory, as indeed is the whole record. But the key word here is “familiar”, not “samey” because we don’t want Saxon to go changing, and we certainly don’t want them to go stale. There’s no sign of that anytime soon. 8/10

Korn – Requiem (Loma Vista Recordings) [Zak Skane]

The godfathers of Nu-Metal and seven string riffs have returned to release their fourteenth studio album Requiem. With classic albums such as their ballsy self titled debut with iconic singles like Blind and Shoots And Ladders to the experimental sessions featured on the Path Of Totality that featured collaborations with Dub Step artist such as Skrillex producing singles like Get Up! and Narcissistic Cannibal, this band covered all your needs.

Opening up this album with Forgotten we’re introduced with the faint calm before the storm jangly guitar riff before it comes in with a wall sludgy sound hitting us like a sledgehammer like Korn does well. Jonathan Davies comes in with lyrics that put, his heart on his sleeve and make us connect to him on a personal level and grabs us to take us on the journey. 

Let The Dark Do The Rest brings back the cold dark angst that reminiscent of classic songs like Dead Bodies Everywhere and Falling Away From Me with the eerie sound effects at the start to the dark scale note choices that Munky and Head built their riffs upon. The first single of this album, Start The Healing mixes classic Nu-Metal groove with hard rock Alice in Chains inspired vocal melodies and pop styles structures and hooks. 

Lost In The Grandeur shows shows that the band still know how to push the envelope of their sound with the intro riff mixing between straight eighths and triplet eighth rhythms and their drummer Ray Luzier kicking the song off with combining 3 over 4 polyrhythm drum beats. 

Other highlights from this album are Disconnect in which the band focus more on the melody and song structure, Penance To Sorrow and My Confession are the bands darker efforts an ode to the classic Korn sound and Worst Is On It’s Way brings back the classic sound with Jonathan Davis’s classic vocal scatting to the experimental bass lines. The only weak song on this album is Hopeless And Beaten, from the first listen the band go down a more sludgy route sounding that they have taken more influences from Crowbar and Alice in Chains instead of their classic peers such as Metallica and Faith No More. 

I also think that the songs structure is not a fluid in comparison to the other songs featured on this album. In conclusion this album is another fantastic effort from the Nu-Metal veterans. Jonathan Davis’s vocals sound more melodic than ever especially on Disconnect. The musical chemistry is still as exciting and intense since their debut with Munky and Head trading riffs and experimental leads and Ray Luzier accompanying them with tribal inspired grooves especially on the song Lost In The Grandeur. I will happily and proudly give this album full marks. 10/10.

Venom Prison - Erebos (Century Media) [Matt Cook] 

Metal tends to bring to light topics and ideas that are, well, quite metal. Take, for example, the contents found within Erebos, the fourth full-length courtesy of Venom Prison (and their second album since the pandemic started). The name itself is the personification of darkness within the realm of ancient Greek mythology. Additionally, the Greek goddess of misery, anxiety, grief and depression makes an appearance. I guess there really is a god or goddess for everything. Oh, and there are also female humanoids with snakes instead of hair. 

So let’s get started. Larissa Stupar again manages to deliver vocals that sound both chaotic and abrasive yet paced and pleasing all at the same time. Comfort Of Complicity is straight-up heavy and leans towards death or thrash, however it still reeks of structure and simplicity despite the sandpaper screaming. The harsh/clean combination in the chorus of Castigated In Steel And Concrete smashes it and there is even an effective mashup of overlapping singing on Gorgon Sisters, a technique that often ends up sounding repulsive more than anything most other occasions. Stupar saves the best for last with their most coarse delivery on album closer Technologies Of Death. 

How about those lyrical themes? Pain Of Oizys takes its name from the previously mentioned Greek goddess of misery, anxiety, etc. in a stout mix of soft and heavy; the mellower introduction gives a short respite before transitioning into Golden Apples Of The Hesperides. For those keeping track at home, the Hesperides are a collective bunch of nymph guardians who protect golden apples and have the backing of a dragon because of course they do. The song itself incorporates a Howitzer for drums and the furious tremolo elicits fears of the world collapsing in rapturous soloing à la Slayer. Not to be lost is also the excellent use of echo effects in the guitar intro – a rarely heard technique utilized wonderfully. The female snake-haired humanoids make their appearance on Gorgon Sisters, accompanied by a rollicking-good riff. 

Venom Prison is anything but a one-trick pony, and Veil Of Night is further evidence. It descends into a sludgier number and upon multiple listens, dips its feet into a very shallow puddle of melodicism and an impressive atmospheric tone underneath the morass. The vocals are incredibly pleasing; the riffs aren’t too overbearing; and the UK-based five piece doesn’t try to be anything they aren’t. What they are, in fact, is a collective of highly talented musicians who have a penchant for crushing melodies and badass mythological topics. Erebos is infinitely more than a hardcore-tinged death metal record. It has character, structure and the confidence of a group on the precipice of becoming the hottest metal band of the post- (I wish) pandemic age, if they haven’t done so already. 8/10

Lawnmower Deth - Blunt Cutters (Dissonance Productions/Cherry Red Records) [Paul Scoble]

Lawnmower Deth started life as a side project of Explodin’ Dr Jaggers Flymo who at the time went by the much shorter moniker of Mr Flymo. Mr Flymo recorded all instruments and did vocals for the bands debut Demo, It’s A Lot Less Bother Than A Hover. Mr Flymo then recruited a full band to record the second demo Mowdeer, and Mower Liberation Front, Lawnmower Deth’s half of a split album with Metal Duck (Metal Duck’s half was called Quack ‘Em All). 

The band quickly scored a record deal with Earache, and released their first album, Ooh Crikey …. It’s Lawnmower Deth in 1990. The album was packed with silly songs about Vampiric Snooker Player (Spook Perv Happening In the Snooker Hall), Arthurian Legends (Lancer With Your Zanzer), Work Stress (Judgment Day, Assume The Position), and Billy Milano (F.A.T. Fascist And Tubby), silly lyrics backed up by Lawnmower Deth’s competent cross-over Thrash. The band built up a decent following due to how much fun they were live, the band started doing Christmas Gigs at The Astoria in London, which became legendary gigs. 

I was a big fan at the time, I have vivid memories of driving around rural East Sussex, in my mate Steve’s Vauxhall Astra (Steve was the first of us to hit seventeen so he was the first of my friends to have a car), singing along to Sheep Dip or Cob-Woman Of Death Meets Mr Smelly Mop at the top of our voices, and upsetting the upper middle class burghers of Ashburnham or Winchelsea. After Ooh Crikey…. came Return Of The Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns in 1992. Musically Return… was more complex and better played than Ooh Crikey…. it was also probably a little less funny. 

Funny is a difficult thing to pull off; it’s not always easy to know what other people will find funny, humour is probably the most subjective artistic thing to attempt. As far as my sense of humour is concerned the lyrics on Return….. feel a little bit more forced than the previous album, but that's just my sense of humour, another listener might see it the other way round, funny can be a very difficult mistress. Two years after Return... Lawnmower Deth released their third album Billy. Billy is a very melodic and tune filled piece of Pop Punk. I genuinely enjoyed Billy, it’s not thrash, or any kind of metal, but it was full of energy, fun tunes great choruses. The album was also not going out of its way to be funny or wacky, so combined with the change in musical direction, the album was a failure for fans and critics alike, and the band split. I have always thought that Billy was a little ahead of its time, by the late nineties its brand of Pop Punk would have fitted in very well with the wave of Pop Punk that hit around that time. 

Fast Forward to 2008 and the band reformed to support Bullet For My Valentine, a few other gigs follow, and after that a series of appearances at Bloodstock (where I saw them, headlining the Sophie stage in 2011), reminded lots of middle aged people, how much fun Lawnmower Deth were live (even if going nuts up the front does wreck your back). After a few years of festival appearances and live gigs, talk of a new album became inevitable. I must admit I was a little nervous of having all of my fond memories of Lawnmower Deth smashed by the band bringing out new material that was crap, or worse, unfunny. 

However, my nervousness was unfounded, as Blunt Cutters is pretty good. Firstly, this is the first Lawnmower Deth album in twenty eight years, which is a lot of time to practice, so this is the most musically accomplished album the band have made, and is also the best produced, in fact this all sounds fantastic, tight fast riffs, blasting drums and cracking vocals give this a far better sound than any comedy record has a right to have. As you’d expect most of the tracks are very short, and to the point, five of the songs are under a minute and only eight break the two minute barrier, this is fast crossover thrash that does not mess about, most of the songs turn up, kick you in the teeth, and run away immediately, giggling. 

The album features one track that is bordering on Death Metal (old school, obvs.), Deth! Maim! Kill! is a blast of a song that has a definite death metal feel, it reminds me a little of Welsh Death Metal Legends Desecration’s song Aim, Fire, Kill! There are short and funny tracks like Swarfega or Space Herpes that come from the same place as classic tracks like Icky Fickie, Weebles Wobble But The Don’t Fall Down, or Egg Sandwich. Beautiful little bits of surreal comedy, that are part Motorhead, part Bertolt Brecht, and part Jasper Carrot. The album also features a couple of fairly complex songs that, for Lawnmower Death, are bordering on epics. 

The tracks Raise Your Snails and Agency Of C.O.B. are proper songs that have a certain amount of complexity and genuine musical talent, something the band should be rightly proud of. Blunt Cutters is a lot of fun. Lawnmower Deth are now properly competent musicians who have made an album that works on a musical level and doesn’t need the comedy to justify the release of the album. However, I have laughed at several tracks on this album so I think they still have the ability to be funny; will you find this album funny? Well that's up to you, I’m not responsible for your sense of humour. They don’t have the youthful exuberance they had back in the early nineties, but they do seem to have replaced it with a crusty, grizzled, curmudgeonly exuberance that seems to be just as good! 7/10    

Reviews: Mortuary Drape, El Moono, Naked Gypsy Queens, Nasson (Reviews By Paul Scoble, Rich P, Simon Black & Matt Bladen)

Mortuary Drape - Wisdom Vibration Repent (Peaceville Records) [Paul Scoble]

Anyone who knows their underground black metal will be familiar with Mortuary Drape. The Italian band formed in 1986, and released a series of demos and one EP before releasing their incredibly influential debut album All The Witches Dance in 1994. This was when black metal was in its infancy and Mortuary Drape are one of the bands who helped define what it was. Over the years the band carried on releasing albums; Secret Sudaria in 1996, Tolling 13 Knell in 2000, Buried In Time in 2004 and the bands last album 2014’s Spiritual Independence. The band have been quiet since 2014, but are now back with a new EP (their 4th) and a new record contract with Peaceville Records. 

One constant in Mortuary Drape is Vocalist/drummer Wildness Perversion who is joined by S.C. on bass, S.R. on lead guitar, D.C. on rhythm guitar and M.T. on drums. The EP opens with In A Candle Flame which has a clean, brooding intro before going into slow and very heavy Black Metal. Mortuary Drape always had a certain amount of doom in their sound, in many ways they can be seen as the originators of blackened doom. The riffs are nasty and packed with tri-tones, in some ways this is like a black metal autopsy, extreme metal that is just as effective being slow and putrid. Next comes All In One Night, which also has slow and nasty sections, but this time the nasty and slow is mixed with some very effective thrashy black metal that is fast and savage. 

The middle track on the EP is a great cover of Mercyful Fate’s Nightmare Be Thy Name. Musically this is spot on, especially the guitar solos, and vocally Wildness Perversion does a very creditable impersonation of King Diamond. Circle Zero (0) is fast and aggressive black thrash with a spooky, doomy part in the middle. The track is full of great riffs that stick in your head. Final track, Where Everythings Fall is a mix of the slow and doomy blackened doom sound and the black thrash sound, it’s a great track that brings the EP to an end in a very enjoyable way. 

Wisdom Vibration Repent is a great EP, the Mercyful Fate cover is a great version of the song, and the 4 other original tracks are really good songs that remind me that the early days of black metal was about so much more than just Norway, Mortuary Drape’s use of really slow and nasty riffs has been massively influential on black metal, and it’s great to hear them putting out material that will be just as influential. 8/10

El Moono - Temple Corrupted (Lockjaw Records) [Rich P]

Being of the age I am when you throw the grunge word around my ears automatically perk up. El Moono use this term liberally, and for good reason. But there is a lot more going on than a nineties nostalgia act. The Brighton UK based boys bring the heavy with their riffage and bring the emotion with their sometimes screamed and always passionate vocals. Elements of shoegaze and some notes of post hardcore shine through as well. But how do all these elements come together? Turns out it works darn well. 

Starting off with a brief instrumental passage, Temple Corrupted blasts into the heaviness of Final Execution, which sets the tone nicely for the rest of the EP. The next track, Requiem, brings the slow heaviness of Soundgarden and sprinkles in some shoegaze ala what you may hear (or at least want to hear) from the Deftones, only to break it down hardcore style to close out the track. Sounds like a lot going on but it all works. Forced To Smile sounds a bit like an effort to break through onto rock radio at first, until the slow breakdown starts to drag you through the sludge, slowing you down and screaming you into submission, and subsequently requesting you to start a circle pit. 

White Gold closes out this strong EP, with a slowed down, shoegaze inspired, emotion filled track that is the perfect ending that still leaves you wanting more. In White Gold I swear I heard the line “grunge is dead” (I may have misheard, I do not have the lyric sheet, but it works for my narrative…). I’m not sure I agree if we are putting El Moono in that category. This is a killer EP that really shows a ton of promise from this young band. Heavy riffs with some excellently placed quiet-loud-quiet moments and emotionally impactful vocals leave me playing this one on repeat and will be a consistent listen for a while. Many aspects borrowed but brought together for a unique blend of heavy that I highly recommend. 8/10

Naked Gypsy Queens - Georgiana EP (Mascot Label Group) [Simon Black]

Sometimes it’s just nice to get back to your musical roots. Younger me was very much more into music with cleaner dotted or direct lines back to the blues or the early years of European Rock ‘n’ Roll. I blame my Mum – she loved The Beatles, having grown up through that period - but The Stones were the business for me back then. The point is that I’m no spring chicken myself, but that this music is still influencing and spring boarding new bands the world over - including this bunch of four youngsters from Tennessee. 

Its music which, if done properly, with love and affection to the roots but enough of a modern flair for the current generation to feel fresh and relevant then it’s still got the potential to be a floor filler the globe over. The five tracks on here are full of that early 70’s sentiment and lots of Southern groove, but with enough of a down-tuned weight to pull in the stoner and metal communities without too much effort. This is important, as when acts come along like this with the potential to cross the boundaries, they can pretty much carve their own groove as long as they stay focussed on the quality. As far as these five songs go, quality is an appropriate word, with strong music with that elusive hypnotic quality of songs taking their time because the journey can be more interesting than the destination. 

That said, these are far from rambling doodles – the songs are actually quite short, but somehow feel like there’s a lot packed in there. They probably need to get a couple of punchier crowd pleasers similar to the opener and title track to get them noticed more broadly moving forward when it’s time for a full length album, but these more cleverly crafted songs taking up the rest of the EP are clearly what they are all about. Singer/guitarist Chris Attigliato has a wonderfully soulful turn and because the chemistry he shares with fellow guitarist Cade Pickering is positively tangible, but to be honest these boys have absolutely got the groove, the tunes and most importantly of all that weaving fluidity and groove of a band able to anticipate each other at an almost chemical level. 8/10

Nasson - Scars (Frontiers Music Srl)

Nasson Prudant will be known to some as the multi-instrumentalist behind Chaos Magic and Sinners Blood. He is a guitarist/producer and songwriter so it was probably only a matter of time that Frontiers set about getting a solo record out of him. This is actually his third solo record but the first on Frontiers. 

As it is a solo record, from a polymath, Nasson plays everything except drums (handled by Rodrigo Leiva) and even shows off his vocal prowess, aided by the backing vocals of Chaos Magic frontwoman Caterina Nix. As with most of the Frontiers releases there are a few guests, all coming from the South American bands who have been signed to Frontiers, Gui Oliver (Landfall), Mizuho Lin (Semblant) and James Robledo (Sinner's Blood) all lend their vocals to the record, as does Alessandro Del Vecchio, on the duet When It Rains while Ignacio Torres provides some guest guitar solos. 

Scars is a melodic metal album, touches of gothic rock and prog also sneak in, with the glitchy electronics and keyboard runs on Not Today, the swelling orchestral of Mother Moon, or the dark drama of On The Otherside all contributing to the mature melodic metal sound of this record. If I were to make a comparison it would be that Scars reminds me of Kamelot and Evergrey, as the heaviness is counterpointed by an almost romantic flavour. It shows that Nasson is a very talented musician and yet again that the Frontiers machine will always make the most of talent. 7/10 

Reviews Nordic Giants, Mass Worship, Obsidian Sea, Kraemer (Reviews By Richard Oliver, Matt Cook, Rich P & Simon Black)

Nordic Giants - Symbiosis (Self Released) [Richard Oliver]

Nordic Giants are a band that I have heard nothing but universal praise for but it has taken me until now to actually take the time to check them out with the release of their second full-length album Symbiosis. The band are an anonymous duo based in the U.K. with the stage names of Loki and Raka and have gained a tremendous reputation for their unique cinematic post-rock but also the spectacle of their live shows. Symbiosis is an experience of an album. This is not just to be played in the background but a musical experience that demands your full attention. The cinematic descriptor for the band is certainly appropriate as it comes across as a luscious and layered soundtrack with the visuals being whatever is conjured up by your mind at the time of listening. 

There are a myriad of different instruments used in the music from piano, guitars, vintage analogue synths to such varied instruments as Tibetan bowls and a Carnyx horn. The majority of the compositions on the album are instrumental but two have guest vocalists with Alex Hedley adding emotive vocals to Faceless whilst Freyja adds her ethereal voice to Spheres. The music on Symbiosis is varied to say the least with delicate yet atmospheric songs such as Hjem and Spires Of Ascendancy mixing with more powerful and dramatic pieces such as Philosophy Of Mind and Convergence. 

Music that demands patience and repeated listens is generally the most rewarding and Nordic Giants certainly fall into that category as Symbiosis is an album that peels away its layers with every subsequent listen. There is a lot going on not just musically but emotionally with the varying feelings and moods that the music evokes. If you have the time and patience to dedicate to this album then I cannot recommend it enough, An absolutely captivating listen. 9/10

Mass Worship - Portal Tombs (Century Media) [Matt Cook]

It’s not an easy task in 2022 to conjure images that can still creep out metalheads, given the plethora of gore-filled Slam or puke-fest Grindcore that riddles streaming services across the internet.

Extreme metallers Mass Worship bring to life the spine-chilling imagery of a literal hill of disintegrated humans: “Ruins of man/Crumpled to stone/Buried and gone/Under dunes of done.” Alright then. The aforementioned Dunes Of Bone is but a mere taste of what is to come within the confines of Portal Tombs, the Scandinavians’ sophomoric album. 

Empyrean Halls slips into a brooding Blackgaze behemoth thanks in part to Claes Nordin’s vocal delivery, aided by the metronomic drums from Fred Forsberg. Guitarist Gustav Eriksson uses Revel In Fear as a platform on which to show off his disgusting thrashing ability, relentlessly finger-tapping and pirouetting solo skills. The droning doom comes on Deliverance, which sees a lengthy intro descend into utter harshness. Nordin sounds pained and implements a ferocious kill-or-be-killed style. Eriksson concludes proceedings strongly with a solid riff that forms. 

Yet a large portion of the nine tracks seems to have an overabundance of intermittent soft and/or acoustic sections. Much of the 38-plus minutes feels like it drones off into space - pun certainly intended. It’s hard to find many defining or distinguishable parts aside from what’s already been gleaned. It is by no means a flop or a showing of ineptitude; rather, what I enjoy from Portal Tombs is the range of singing styles and the exceptional instrumentation. But overall, it left me desiring more extreme metal and less of the slowed-down quasi-breaks. Just when Mass Worship seemed to be gaining speed or momentum, they would take their foot off the gas. 7/10

Obsidian Sea - Pathos (Ripple Music) [Rich P]

Full disclosure: The Bulgarian Doom scene is not one I am intimately familiar with. I have, however, been a fan of the leaders of said scene, Obsidian Sea, ever since I happened upon their 2019 full length, Strangers, delivered to us from the lead purveyor of stoner/doom, Ripple Music. Obsidian Sea, while given the doom label, brought their own take on what can be the “Same old, same old” for many of the Candlemass/Sabbath worshipers churning out their records today. Strangers took doom to some new places, so I was excited when the preorder for their fourth album, Pathos, was announced. 

Pathos builds on Strangers and expands even further on their brand of harmony filled doom, while never straying too far from the melancholy we all love within the genre, but exploring new tempos, instrumentation, and a sense of dare I say hope in the seven tracks making up the album. Pathos kicks off with the up tempo Lament The Death Of Wonder, a track that brings the proto heaviness, with some great doomy/psych breakdowns that any discerning fan is expecting, with some amazing harmonies sadly missing from most of the genre today. I love the vocals on this record, with the opener being a perfect example of why. The Long Drowning feels exactly like that (in a good way), slowing down and putting you behind the eyes of the sailor lost at sea, with soaring vocals that bring you right into the narrative. 

Sisters is a standout track for me, showcasing the tightness of the band, with harmonized vocals right off the bat and Iommi-esque riffage throughout. The track should be on any doom playlist immediately. The Revenants slows it down but never lays off the heavy, with more classic riffs and more traditional doom feel, and it is pulled off perfectly. I Love The Woods is what can only be described as beautiful doom, while the final track, The Meaning Of Shadows, closes out with some spooky guitar work, changing tempos, and an epic closing three minutes which may be my favorite moment on Pathos, bring it home strong and leaving me wanting more. 

There are a lot of doom bands out there, but bands like Obsidian Sea and the excellent 2021 release by Restless Spirit are taking the genre to the next level. I don’t throw around these terms lightly, but we may have a modern-day doom classic on our hands with Pathos. It has everything, the musicianship, the writing, the excellent harmonized vocals, the storytelling, and the raw emotion that you can truly feel from these seven tracks that never stay too long and leave you wondering what’s next. Go listen to this one. 9/10

Kraemer - All The Way (Frontiers Music Srl) [Simon Black]

Kraemer is new project from Simulcrum vocalist Eric Kraemer and is a classic Frontiers collaboration with the usual cast of session players that adorn many of their projects. It’s very much in the Melodic Metal / Hard Rock / AOR vein, although we do get a few touches of the more Progressive threaded throughout, as is more Eric Kraemer’s normal style on Simulcrum’s output. This plays in the project’s favour actually, as so many of these Frontiers records end up being a bit by the numbers to the point when it becomes a challenge to differentiate between them, not helped by the fact that in so many cases they are sharing musicians and / or producers with at least half of the label’s output. That said, it’s worth wading through the lot, because occasionally you get something worthwhile, although sadly this one lacks the strength of identity to stand well on its own.

There’s elements that are annoying me – the 90’s keyboard driven melody lines that probably ought to be paying Gary Hughes royalties can get wearing, but it’s the little progressive flourishes peppered in there that stop this from being repetitive. Kraemer’s voice is a big factor here though – I’ve not heard his work before, but he’s got a strong and clear voice that certainly holds the attention even when the overall song arrangements fall flat, which they sometimes do. Ballad How Can I Survive is one of the highlights, purely because his voice gets to take centre stage, even if the arrangement is lacking in originality.  To be honest a more focussed six track EP and some selective editing would have been a real help here, as some of the filler tracks on here aren’t doing anyone any favours, but when it works it works well – it’s just sadly that’s not often enough. 4/10

Reviews: Persefone, Abhoria, Abysmal Dawn, Cosmic Order (Reviews By Matt Bladen, Matt Cook, Dr Claire Hanley & Rich P)

Persefone – Metanoia (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Following their excellent 2017 release Aathma was always going to be difficult for Andorran progressive/extreme metal band Persefone but now signed to Napalm Records they have unleashed their sixth opus Metanoia. Like with their previous 5 albums there is incredible technicality on display, but also melody and emotional power as well, all of this brought together in some of the most exciting progressive/melodic death metal of the year. 

Wilderun may have thrown down the gauntlet but Persefone are happy to step up to the challenge of trying to beat the Americans. Mixed by David Castillo and mastered by Tony Lindgren, Metanoia unleashes flurries of blast beats, swelling symphonic, hotshot guitar playing and versatile /clean/harsh vocals stylings from the opening moments Architecture Of I really displaying their experimental nature with off-kilter riffs. 

However following song Leap Of Faith is an evocative string laden instrumental that builds its orchestral layers across five minutes, to bring you into the middle part of the album. That kicks off with the symphonic metal styled Aware Of Being Watched and moves through the ferocious Merkabah a song that draws from Andorran heritage, into the 11 minute instrumental Consciousness (Pt.3), this again acts a transitional number into the closing three song suite Anabasis. 

This trio of songs displaying the full power of Persefone as a band as Pt 1 is an atmospheric, ethereal piece that is suddenly broken by the full bore tech death of Pt 2 the palm muted riffing and growls returning as it shifts into the dramatic piano refrains and electronic blips, the progressive nature of the band really being showcased as the 8 minutes flies by into the closing Pt 3 which has those strings and introspective piano again. 

The interplay between guitarists Carlos Lozano Quintanilla, Filipe Baldaia and keyboardist Miguel Espinosa Ortiz is absorbing throughout, they are the musical trifecta that drives this album. In the back room though Toni Mestre Coy’s downtuned basslines and Sergi Verdeguer Moyano’s explosive drumming are also at virtuoso levels, doing their bit on the heavy songs especially. Rounding things out is the duality of vocalist Marc Martins Pia adding depth and dynamism. Metanoia is a superior extreme metal album, which will certainly be featuring on some end of year lists. 9/10

Abhoria - Abhoria (Prosthetic Records) [Matt Cook]

After three or four complete playthroughs, Abhoria’s self-titled album resembles that of a well-oiled machine, familiar company firing on all cylinders with a backlog of acclaimed material to justify their confidence. The only problem? It’s the band’s debut. Despite the fact Walthrax utilizes vocal techniques and runs the table like he’s been doing it for 15 years. Despite the fact Vor assaults and manhandles their guitar in both groovy and frenetic ways. Despite the fact the band recorded their Prosthetic Records effort remotely and weren’t actually able to jam together in the same room until after the album was recorded. The band - self-appointed dystopian Black Metallers - immediately made it clear they have every right to share the spotlight with labelmates such as Undeath, Pupil Slicer, Venom Prison and Astralborne. 

The Thorn and Grave Expectations are particular standouts. The vocals are barbaric and imposing; the drums (courtesy of Jaud) bombastic; and the solo is equal parts chilling and cavernous on the former. The latter sees a catchy-as-fuck headbanger full of groove and chaotic drumlines that would certainly receive a nod of approval from behemoths Lamb Of God. False Idols, as the opening track, creates almost an epic fight scene, aided by raucous drumming and kick pedaling. Jaud also puts on a drumming clinic on Unevangelized. Hollow is a straight run-through-a-brick-wall rager thanks to Walthrax’s consistently forceful vocals. 

It’s truly remarkable to think Abhoria’s discography has only just begun. Not only because of how polished and veteran-like the album sounds; there is much to be enthusiastic about in terms of what lies ahead. The folks over at Prosthetic knew they got their hands on something special. And Abhoria delivered a monumental collection of heavy riffing and galloping percussion that in eight tracks, firmly places them in the conversation when it comes to the leaders in modern black metal. 9/10

Abysmal Dawn – Nightmare Frontier EP (Season Of Mist) [Dr Claire Hanley]

While their 2020 full-length Phylogenesis, showcased the band’s evolution and desire to push the boundaries of death metal, the follow up EP is a record heavily rooted in the past; featuring only a single new track alongside a reworking of a previous song, and two covers. The new material does not disappoint. A Nightmare Slain is full of attitude; a solo-laden offering, packed with frantic guitar riffs, blastbeats and cleverly composed, syncopated drum patterns. It’s absolutely crushing while also being incredibly melodic – not something that is easy to pull off. Apparently, it was written as a homage to the game ‘Bloodborne’, which means absolutely nothing to me, but I’ve included it here as useless trivia. You’re welcome. 

Unfortunately, the reworking of Blacken The Sky (from 2006’s From Ashes) was not as satisfying. It’s still got that groovy intro that builds into something far more menacing, and a thrash-esque intensity to the drumming, but the raw energy of the track has vanished in the production. Some of the intricacies and flair of the drumming are gone, and the vocal diversity and higher elements have been replaced with what come across as comparatively monotonous mids, despite my enjoyment of that signature raspy growl. Like putting a muzzle on a vicious animal, this feels muted and almost dull – when it comes to metal though, I’d sooner be mauled to death than be in the safe zone. 

Onto the covers. Up first we have Behind Space, taken from the album Lunar Strain by the one and only In Flames (one of my favourites from the band - more useless trivia for you). The punchy drums and razor-sharp guitars give the track the essential momentum it requires, and it’s certainly a solid tribute, but it’s not quite on par with the original. Lastly, we have the mother of all curve balls - Candlemass classic Bewitched. Hearing the band take on the Doom titans is certainly an experience – credit where it is due. As grindingly heavy, slow and laboured as it should be, the instrumental elements plod forward, with a Warrell Dane style vocal performance complimenting the darkness of the track. 

While the vocals play on the theatrical element, and are a terrific homage to Messiah Marcolin, not quite hitting those highs does leave the track somewhat lacking. Looking forward to hearing more new material from Abysmal Dawn although this particular EP largely failed to excite me. 6/10

Cosmic Order: Inner Temple (Argonauta Records) [Rich P]

Attending high school and college in the nineties, the bands of the “grunge” era are obviously a trigger for me when I see how artists of today describe themselves. This is especially true for me when you include names like Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, two of my absolute favorites, in your band bio. France’s Cosmic Order does just that (they listed Tool also, but more on that later), obviously piquing my interest immediately. But this can be a double-edged sword; now I am on high alert for the soaring, once in a lifetime vocals and unmistakable crunch of Soundgarden and the drug-addled, desperation and unique sound of AIC, which can be a distraction from what a great record that Cosmic Order has released with Inner Temple. You get some of that, but you also get so much more. 

I get the comparisons; kicking off the record with the track 8:16AM which you could have heard on rock radio or as an MTV buzz clip in 1994. Or Old Hag Attack, which could have been their cross over hit, slowing it down Black Hole Sun style. Or my favorite track, Plea(se), that would fit perfect on side two of Dirt. But what you also get are the gothic/Dark Wave vocals that could be from a band opening for the Sisters Of Mercy, reminding me of the great release by White Void from last year. I also hear the proggy elements that the Tool comparison brings, especially on a track like Better Life. But my mind went more to more of the nineties Voivod material than to Tool, which is a good thing. 

Cross The Line is another strong track, invoking that Tool comparison musically, but like on the rest of Inner Temple, the strong vocals make the songs their own, borrowing the best of what they love for something unique and truly enjoyable. Never mind the comparisons, this record rocks. Cosmic Order brings it on their debut. There are so many bands these days revisiting the glory days of nineties grunge, but Cosmic Order does it as good or better than most. The songs and production are all here, add the excellent vocals and you have an album that will stay with you and be on my year end list for sure. 8/10

Reviews: Rolo Tomassi, Silent Skies, Lana Lane, Praying Mantis (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Rolo Tomassi – Where Myth Becomes Memory (MNRK)

At the end of their PR for this album there is one sentence that sums up everything you need to know “There is no band on Earth quite like Rolo Tomassi”, never has a truer word been spoken as the Brighton quintet have been I a league of their own since forming in 2005, playing what used to be called math metal these genre leaders have spawned many imitators but have always been one step ahead of the game when it comes to innovating. Shifting towards a style only really shared by Dillinger Escape Plan they can shift from frenzied wild eyed aggression to peaceful tranquillity at moment’s notice, switching between the two with head spinning frequency. 

After their previous release Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It in 2018, Where Myth Becomes Memory has become a very anticipated release essentially finishing the unintentional trilogy of albums that started with 2015’s Grievances, climaxing things in their own unique way of massive cinematics and apocalyptic destruction. For 17 years the genre originators are now the leaders and on the back of this record it’s going to take a lot to knock them off their perch, tracks such as the incredibly impressive Drip essentially creating new genres as it plays, building from a persistent single snare, into the a song that is brain melting, volatile and display a wealth of technical know how but also the ability to refine and recalibrate their assault to keep the listener (and journos like us) guessing. 

Chris Cayford’s impressive guitars can be sparse and echoed then rapidly shift into furious rage the next, the rhythm section of Nathan Fairweather (bass) and Al Potts (drums) leaning on jazz signatures heavily but doing so in primal hit it as hard as possible style, eagerly waiting for tracks such as Stumbling or Closer where the dreampop and shoegaze elements wrap around you created by the James Spence’s lush keys/piano. Of course there are also the incredible vocals of Eva Korman who can be a haunting on dreamscapes such as Almost Always or Stumbling to confrontational on the vicious Mutual Ruin or Labyrinthine which is probably the heaviest track, so often though it’s both. 

Where Myth Becomes Memory closes out with the beautiful The End Of Eternity, a spectral track that is a release full on release of emotion with a slow burning intensity. The album feels like as if it’s the releasing of all the emotions many of us have been feeling this year, a type of catharsis driven by frustration, worry and at times near madness, coming just as there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s brandishing hope and continuing Rolo Tomassi’s run of incredibly complex records that also have a broad appeal. A wonderful album., that will be more than just a memory. 9/10 

Silent Skies – Nectar (Napalm Records)

Sometimes metal can get a bit too much, so an album such as Nectar is needed to revitalise the soul and rest the ears. It of course helps that the vocalist here is Evergrey’s mastermind Tom S Englund, who, for the second time has teamed up with producer/keyboardist/pianist Vikram Shankar for a second album of atmospheric musical soundscapes, that will enchant and enthral from the stirring openings of Fallen From Heart to the closing title track. Richard Oliver gave the debut record a big thumbs up so would the sophomore collaboration be as successful. Well as a pressed play, the swell of strings, heartbeat like electronic beat, those rich, full vocals came in and I was hooked. 

The music and lyrics are matched perfectly, meaning that this is more than side project but two men who are trying hard to complement each other, Shankar stripping back to highlight the vocal, but then cranking up when Englund is in full Evergrey mode, the emotion ringing out of every syllable, the cinematic backing hooking you into an ethereal, poignant songwriting where the simplicity of the compositions is what makes them endearing. 

The occasional contributions of Leprous cello player Raphael Weinroth-Browne adds another dimension but the record is very much a showcase for VIkram and Tom, the latter reaching a level of soulful, performing he can’t in his more metal based day job. I bet money you could place songs such as Neverending on a mainstream radio station and listeners would assume it’s someone akin to Lewis Capaldi. 

The impassioned, yearning vocals and instrumental dexterity means that Nectar is a beautiful record to drop into your listening habits, perfect for late nights in front of the fire, the analogue strings, virtuoso piano and electronics all melding with that ever impressive voice, meaning you get lost in the duos musical vision on songs like the darker tinged Leaving. Nectar proves this to be more than a one off, the lushly composed, excellently performed record that is a break from blasbeats and screaming. 8/10

Lana Lane – Neptune Blue (Frontiers Music Srl)

Having released her last album in 2012, Lana Lane returns on the Frontiers label for her newest album Neptune Blue. Joined by her husband Erik Norlander who plays keys/bass and produces the album, this record is draws from the work Norlander has done with John Payne’s Asia with a prog/pomp soundscape. Joined by Jeff Kollman and Mark McCrite on guitars, Greg Ellis on drums and Payne himself on backing vocals. So with this band the comeback was on ready for Lana to return to stages and recording. 

Neptune Blue is a comeback album that does exactly what you’d want a record from this accomplished rock vocalist. Lane has been releasing music since the mid 90’s much of it lapped up by Japanese audiences (she was signed to Marquee/Avalon), having met Norlander she was dubbed “The Queen Of Symphonic Rock” and her back catalogue is littered with various genres and styles, but on this record they stick to the prog-pomp sound songs like Really Actually, the organ drenched Remember Me and the acoustic Come Lift Me Up. 

There are all manner of styles on this record (it is prog) but nothing goes off the rails into complete virtuosity, the songs are all written around Lane’s excellent soulful vocals, the grooving Bring It On Home an ideal comeback single, though Miss California comes close. Neptune Blue is a Lane re-establishing herself in the rock scene with another record of rock anthems that will appease her fandom. 7/10

Praying Mantis – Katharsis (Frontiers Music Srl)

On their 12th studio release Praying Mantis continue to forge ahead with the same melodic rock style they have been peddling for a long while now. Brothers Tino and Chris Troy still lead the band joined by long time guitarist Andy Burgess and most recent additions Hans In’t Zandt (drums) and Jaycee Cuijpers (vocals), both having been there since 2013. The brothers are the creative force of this long running act but the other members also get creative input so there is a decent mix of new and old. 

Opener Cry For The Nations sounds an awful lot like The Scorpions, with its anthemic chorus and general feel. It’s a long way from the NWOBHM that the band found themselves a part of back in the day, despite having formed in 1973. A victim of circumstances they never really hit the heady heights of some of the contemporaries however they were able to adapt their sound towards the melodic rock style you can hear on this 12th album without the intense media scrutiny that bands such as Def Leppard had for doing the same thing. 

So Katharsis is a melodic rock album, from front to back there is very little trace of their NWOBHM past, but then if you’ve been following the band you’ll know that this is where they sit now musically, big ballads and punchy rockers sit side by side, often one directly after the other. There’s a sense of nostalgia on Long Time Coming, Sacrifice features some heavy percussion while Wheels In Motion is saccharine 80’s cheese ala Journey. The same can be said for a lot of the ballads on this record, most of them slow and piano driven. 

If the melodic rock stylings of Praying Mantis have not driven you away yet then there’s lots more to like on Katharsis, however those who recognise the name, but may have not listened to the band for a while may feel a little confused when presented with this slice of AOR. 6/10