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

Reviews: Die Ego, Nemesium, Leather Frank, Circus Cannon (Matt, Rich, Bob & Paul H)

Die Ego: Culto (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

The title track of Culto kicks off this record with some huge riffs, where the bass is very high in the mix giving you a groove laden thump that's noticeable on the solo section especially. Hailing from London and formed by Diego Fardel (Lead Guitar) and Gabe Scapigliati (Vocals and Bass) they released a demo Songs For Insanity back in 2018 after recruiting Dave Grosz but Culto is their full length debut and a chance for them to really show what they can do. Having toured regularly in London (remember when touring was a thing?) with special mentions to the Islington O2 and Camden Rocks Festival the trio play groove heavy metal with a major reliance on riffs and the shouted vocals.

Influences here are very obviously Pantera on Anger Is Yours and Demons Have Demons, to be honest most of the songs here are not too dissimilar to the Texan bringers of the groove but especially due to the rawness of Gabe's vocals, Die Ego are very much cut from the same cloth, I'd even say there are some of the more political fury of Exhorder too. Culto itself does sound a lot like Metallica but with a much more muscular, darker sound similar to Machine Head, in fact Mr Flynn and co rear their ugly heads a lot here too. On numbers like There Is No Tomorrow you can hear that aggression but with an ear for the melodic as Diego does foray into some killer guitar solos too adding soaring emotive playing on the occult thrashing of The Grave.

At just 8 songs it doesn't try to pack too much in letting the songs here breathe enough to give you an overview of Die Ego on record, and obviously finally record those songs that have been sitting in their set for ages. It's not world changing and musically very close to their influences but when Alien Weaponry can play the mainstage at Download by aping the sound of Sepultura then maybe the time is right for Die Ego's Pantera-esque approach? 7/10

Nemesium: Continua (Black Lion Records) [Rich Oliver]

Continua is the debut album from Australian death metal band Nemesium. It follows on from their debut EP Sentient Cognizance in 2015 and is their debut release for Black Lion Records. Nemesium take the death metal formula and add in elements of black metal and progressive metal whilst having a melodic sensibility about them. The melody is subtle enough that this is very much still death metal and the aggression of the music is the driving factor. The songs are all pretty much fast and relentless throughout and the song highlights are spread throughout the album. Annihilation Prophecy, Virch and The Dawn Of Retribution all impressed with their rage and intensity whilst The Fire And The Flesh is more of a slow burner with plenty of twists and turns and album closer Relive This Nightmare is the most melodically leaning song of the album. Continua is a very solid debut album for Nemesium. The quality of the playing is very high throughout and the songwriting on the whole is strong though some songs do feel a little repetitive. Minor criticisms aside this is a very solid debut and is recommended for death metal fans who like things a bit on the melodic side. 7/10

Leather Frank: Dark Forest (Self Released) [Bob Shoesmith]

From the information I can find, this four track E.P from the intriguingly monickered, Leather Frank (none of the band are called Frank, for the record) from Izmer in Turkey is their first release. They describe themselves rather accurately as; ‘dark, fuzzy, gentle rock’. If you add the words ‘stoner’ with ‘elements of psychedelia’ then you’ve pretty much nailed what you’ve got in the tin. One of the joys of stoner rock as a genre is that you know exactly what to expect. None of this genre-within-a-genre nonsense. Fat fuzzy guitars-check, slow echoey blues riffs – check, nothing too upbeat – check.

The opening nine minute track Comfortably Violent drifts slowly along and then drifts between slow stoner blues riffs, to soft slightly jazzy, psychedelic passages and back again. The occasional appearances of Bora Şentürk’s vocals are soft and complimentary but practically indecipherable lyrically being blended so far down in the mix or suffering clarity further from added distortion. Over the whole E.P, while the vocals are sonically pleasant enough, but its often tricky to detect what Bora’s actually singing about (or even what language its in) at all, that said, it kind of fits the whole stoner, hazy vibe.

All four tracks give the distinct impression of extended stoner jam sessions with the occasional appearance of vocals. This dream-like drifting quality is Leather Frank's biggest issue for me, nothing here sticks in the memory. Songs slowly drift in and out without leaving any kind of imprint or lasting impression. Out Of The Rain picks up the pace a fraction before another seven minutes of fuzzy drifting again and more instrumental jamming on the title track ‘Dark Forest’ (they do try and beef it up towards the end of the track but by then my attention had drifted).

I was hoping for something possibly a bit more energetic and muscular from this E.P, maybe in the style of Kyuss or Orange Goblin, but the songs are so genteel, trippy and generally pedestrian they are more akin to the likes of say King Gizzard for want of comparison. I really wanted a band from Turkey like Leather Frank to blow my socks off, I really did, as it’s a very under-represented area in the world of rock but unfortunately this is a pretty tedious outing, offering very little to get excited about. Perhaps with an injection of Hawkwind like psyche energy, or some mood elevation or even just something – anything - memorable, I’d possibly try them again, but this is too benign for me. If you’re suffering from insomnia or your listening pleasure is rolling a fat one, opening the Doritos and drifting away on your sofa, its maybe for you. 4/10

Circus Cannon: Drink Of Sleep (1268719 Records DK) [Paul Hutchings]

I know little about London outfit Circus Cannon. According to their Facebook biog they are ‘four idiots who got together to make unreasonably loud psychedelic rock’. Well, I’m not sure about the idiot label but this latest three track EP certainly soars into the astral plane with loud psychedelic rock. Opening song Stranded weaves its way around you, plenty of nice effects, reverb, shimmering guitar work and faraway vocals.

In Drink Of Sleep, the band maintain their record of releasing an EP ever year, the first being Clown Cave in May 2016, and the most recent Ashmedai in July 2019. If you enjoy this type of music, then there is little here not to like. Business Talk is the shortest track, an enjoyable instrumental that provides a laid-back vibe in contrast to the closing song Witch’s Haunt, a retro style track that circles the 1970s. By all accounts, Circus Cannon’s live shows are a chaotic. Maybe one day we shall see it for ourselves again. Until then, content yourself with three tracks that show their worth. 7/10

Reviews: Electric Mob, Divine Weep, Meridian Blank, Griot (Matt & Bob)

Electric Mob: Discharge (Frontiers Records) [Bob Shoesmith]

Having been knocking around in bands and listening and reviewing music for an embarrassingly long time now, I have lost count of the bio’s from bands that proclaim themselves to be ‘the next big thing’, throw self-aggrandisement around like confetti and promise the moon and stars. I once learned a valuable lesson from a (very) well-known music producer who said: “Compliments are far more palatable when provided by others”. Yes, I know you need to get heard above the crowd. Yes, I know it’s a metal trope to be bombastic and self-assured but, when I opened Brazilian classic rockers Electric Mob’s pre-release package, it had me reaching for the sick bucket, such are the extraordinary levels of bravado and self –aggrandisement offered. I’ll spare you the detail, gentle reader, but you get the picture?

So, naturally, having set the bar that high, my first response, even before the music gets near my headphones is ‘right then, let’s see if you’re as good as you say you are’. It’s either a super confident move or they’re setting themselves up to be shot at (or both). My combative mood is somewhat soothed on seeing the well-considered cover of the album – Discharge. It is a simple but clever representation of a rock venue’s back door (much akin the cover of Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust) all brickwork, posters and neon, but it’s a good selling point for a salty old musician and gig-goer like me, as it feeds into all sorts of warm nostalgia of sweaty classic rock gigs back in the day, their target audience, at places like The Marquee and The Whiskey, so it will chime well with the fans of that era who’ve ever tried to catch a glimpse of their heroes outside a venue. It should also be said that they do look every inch the rock band in their promo photos too, so let’s forgive their grandiose claims for now and move on to the album.

Electric Mob are clearly built around vocalist Renan Zonta. His TV appearance on Brazil's version of The Voice and his substantial, subsequent video plays on YouTube because of it, obviously needed a new vehicle. In a market, crowded with newly released rock and metal bands, I don’t blame them at all for making much of this their unique selling point, but, with the focus then placed firmly on him and the big build up, it certainly does ramp up the expectations and an anticipation of quality before you even hear them. They definitely talk the talk but do they deliver? Well actually yes, yes they do, or I should say, more accurately, HE does. Discharge is 12 tracks that are very much built to showcase Zonta’s immense vocal range. Let’s be honest, he didn’t clear The Voice auditions without having a set of pipes! He is very much a blues rock belter in the style of Axl Rose, Myles Kennedy, or Thunder’s Danny Bowes – there’s lots of over accentuation on words to highlight the vocal ‘styyyyyaaaayyyayyyaaal’ - a la Axl – you get the idea? (the Axl comparisons even stretch to some novelty G'N'R type whistling on Your Ghost) and he is never shy of hitting the ‘vocal gymnastics’ button throughout. 

So, we’ve established that Zonta is a really good singer, right? Musically though we are talking some fairly stock classic rock/hair metal riff and rock out fare, although for a first outing it is has been done incredibly well. No virtuosity by musicians over-shadowing the front man doing his thing and all the tracks are very well executed, well produced and clearly offers the appropriate platform for Mr Zonta to show off his wares. In fairness though, you would, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t put your Ferrari in the garage…They can also mix it up within the genre and are a very listenable classic rock band with some belting hook's and riff tracks such as Gypsy Touch and Burn and Higher Than Your Heels (with the addition of a cheeky brass section) and the crunching We Are Wrong.

Electric Mob will definitely be going on my playlist for sure and it IS an incredibly good debut. The vocal performance alone probably DOES deserve the hype they’re pushing out about themselves but would it be justified without the considerable talent of Renan Zonta fronting? Probably not. 9/10

Divine Weep: The Omega Man (Ossuary Records) [Matt Bladen]

Ah The Omega Man, a 1971 film featuring Charlton Heston traversing a post-apocalyptic wasteland to create an antidote for a pandemic, while using a massive gun (obviously). If it sounds familiar I Am Legend is basically a reboot and while these days of pandemic have yet to reach the infected zombie-like state of the film, Polish power metal band Divine Weep have brought the themes of those of then very dark sci-fi's to their second full length record. Now I've not encountered many power/trad metal bands from Poland as many of the countries metal acts are from the death/black, but Divine Weep are not a typical European power metal act, in fact they draw from the more American sound with a darker more thrash based edge on songs like Firestone which has some bludgeoning drumming from Dariusz Karpiesiuk who drives the heavier sounds of the first few songs on this record locking in with bassist Janusz Grabowski while guitarists Bartosz Kosacki and Dariusz Moroz play galloping yet down-tuned riffs.

Things get a bit more melodic and lighter on at the beginning of Riders Of Navia while that battering drumbeat kicks back in leading into the very thrashy Screaming Skull Of Silence that evolves into the big stomp at the end. If I had to make a comparison I'd say that Divine Weep sound like the long forgotten Ripper Owens project Beyond Fear due to the similarities Mateusz Drzewicz has to The Ripper especially on tracks like Walking (Through Debris Of Nations). It's no wonder why they have supported Blaze Bayley along with featuring on festivals with names such as Primal Fear and Behemoth. If you enjoy the dirtier end of the trad/power metal spectrum then I'd say it's worth checking out The Omega Man, at least before the world ends! 7/10

Meridan Blank: Scenes & Fragments (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

I bet you've always wondered what sort of music 5 pre-graduate engineering students from Athens and Crete, would make? Well I guess prog would be a good guess and lo-and-behold this is what we have here, 5 technically minded musicians all striving together to create intelligent, sonically dexterous music. So yes it is prog rock but with the introspectiveness of post rock band too, it means that tracks such as Endeavours and the beautiful Pivot have some shimmering Floydian guitar playing from George Kolombus who takes the David Gilmour roll as both lead guitarist and vocalist providing the driving melodic cleans. Elsewhere Sotiris Tragazikis (bass) and Chris Kastrinakis (rhythm guitar) provide the throbbing hypnotic backing to Lament which sounds a lot like Tool due to it's low grooves and odd time signature which relies a lot on the bass taking a lead roll.

I've mentioned PInk Floyd and Tool but there are also nods to Mogwai and Mono but also bands such as Deftones, Porcupine Tree and Anathema too. What is excellent about this record, other than the virtuoso musicianship on offer is the sequencing of this record with the instrumental Nature Of Life the first of two 9 minute plus numbers that that have long steady builds to them, it's almost as if the whole record is built around leading to these two tracks, Nature Of Life is burns at a steady pace as Panos Theodorou's drumming is both open and propulsive leading into heavier parts where Kolombus can once again show his dexterous guitars style. Underneath all this glistening post rock are the ambient keys/synths of Kostas Pantelakis who provides a buttress for the more melodic parts of this album almost trip-hop styled at times, on Endeavours he beats the keys as a duel with Kolombus' guitar. Scenes & Fragments is definitely the sort of record engineers would make, complex and intricate but with a passion behind it. Worth checking out! 8/10  

Griot: Elisabeth (Self Released) [Bob Shoesmith]

Elisabeth by Griot have quite a few parallels with an album I have recently been involved in releasing and I can’t help but notice that they liked on Facebook by a few of the same Prog DJ types, so should be an interesting review for me as I fully understand the complexities of producing this kind of project.

Griot are a Portuguese outfit who are essentially made up of the core of the project, João Pascoal and Sérgio Ferreira. They describe themselves as having multi-national contributors and, having been involved with a similar collaboration I understand how time consuming and complex a project like that can be. Even more so with this album when you consider there are seventeen other contributors credited, which shows a lot of ambition and attention to detail. This album is a concept piece that revolves around the tale of a woman (who I’m assuming is a fictional character) of the title, who also features on the front cover. As they say; ‘Griot tells a story about Gerald and Elisabeth, exploring their journey in search of something grand’. Each track is also given a chapter making it like a musical novella, which is further explored with the inclusion of an actual story book that comes with the album. This idea provides happy memories of immersive, when conceptual albums were done right, gatefold sleeves, lyrics and listening to the whole thing back to back. In these days of cherry picking 3 minute tracks from digital streaming platforms, a rare but wonderful thing and a habit we should definitely encourage.

The music drives deep into the heart of emotive Prog territory. From the opening track, A Weak Foundation. Chapter 1 to the closing and beautifully haunting Introspection it has an array of interesting percussion sounds and a wide variety of instrumentation, with tempo twists and turns all held together by the ethereal icing on the cake of the Dido-esque vocals of Maria Branco who elevates all of the nine tracks she appears on, from the good to the great across the album. Particularly on Atonement, Intertwined and Retrospection- she is a genuine class act. That said, Joao Rodrigues who shares vocal duties with Branco also has an amazing voice particularly on the closing track, so vocally these two are a real coup for Griot to have on the album and raises their game by some margin.

Soft and sensitive storytelling combined with some harder edged Prog metal passages throughout. Ferreira’s drums are hard hitting and very technically adept with Peart and Portnoy fills when he gets going (if maybe a little bit OVER-zealous at times) in those rockier passages, on tracks like ‘Lights Out’ for example. There is an abundance of light and shade within all the tracks plenty of nods to Gilmour and Peter Gabriel along with modern influences to keep all flavours of Progressive Rock fans happy. The multi-instrumentation (a LOT of different instruments make guest appearances throughout) is cleverly interwoven, each track is immersive and given the amount of work that must have gone into putting it all together and making it sound as competent and cohesive as it does, was obviously a labour of love. Make no mistake, this is a great Prog album. It’s by no means perfect and if I wanted to nit-pick; why the technically excellent drummer would choose the rather nasty cymbal sounds he does, is a bit of a mystery and why Maria Branco and Joao Rodrigues are guests and not snapped up as permanent features is another, but I can see why they’re being closely watched by the Prog crowd. A comprehensive and quite outstanding piece of work. 9/10

Reviews: Ritualistic, Orgone, Isolates, Witches (Paul H & Liam)

Ritualistic: Hollowborn (Self Released) [Liam True]

Mixing various sub-genres has always proved to be a difficult task for most bands, it’s even harder when the sub-genres you’re mixing are basically the same. With this mixing being all things Death Metal. Ritualistic blend these genres together seamlessly to produce an intense album filled to the brim with demolishing riffs, furious blast beats and sickening vocals. Having only released one EP prior to their debut album they’re already a force to be reckoned with.

First song and title track is a furious introduction with one of the best riffs I've heard for a while behind a destructive backdrop of instrumental technicality that only a few Death Metal bands can harness. It’s a doorway to show what the band can do with their respective instruments. And it’s a hell of an opener. From every song that follow it get’s faster. It gets more technical. It gets heavier. The band get three songs in and deliver a blistering performance on The Will Of Ba’al which is a face melter of unfathomable chaos. Beyond and Rebirth are brilliant separate tracks but played back to back they blend together perfectly to crate one giant song which is even better. The feral witch like vocals of Anthony Michelli echo across the impending doom of a battlefield that they’ve created, laying waste to all Death Metal bands releases in 2020 so far.

For a debut album it’s an impressive start, but the band themselves are no strangers to the Death Metal scene. For starters the guitarist Jacob Nates has played in Deathless and F.E.A.R. Octopus like drummer Shane Polk was also a previous member of Deathless. Frantic bass player Brian O’Leary has played with Rotting Phallus and Shrieking vocalist Anthony Michelli is the current vocalist for The Enigma Code. Together they’ve combined their efforts into Ritualistics phenomenal debut album that have shown the band are on top form and won’t stop until they’ve laid waste to all bands in their path. 9/10

Orgöne: Mos/Fet (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Paul Hutchings]

This album is one of the most challenging I’ve ever had to review. The first studio by French band Orgöne comprises four 20 minute tracks that make up a double album, and delivers a cosmic range of science fiction mythology in an immersive kaleidoscope consisting of 70’s pop culture, ancient Egypt, pan-Africanism, spatial and paranormal exploration against the backdrop of Cold War and USSR. Self-produced, the album opens with Erstes Ritual, a 19-minute opus which envelopes the listener in a wild and chaotic ride that is unpredictable, crazed and somewhat bizarre. The wild vocals of Olga Rostropovitch blend Siouxsie, Kate Bush and PJ Harvey in a maelstrom of confusion, shrieks and groans, the atmospheric delivery combined a spiky punk rock arrogance. Badged as Space Rock, sweeping passages certainly push the band forward. 

Formed in 2015 by Nick Le Cave (bass) and Marlen Stahl (guitar), veterans of numerous Indie-Rock, Free Rock and Rock In Opposition/Avant-Garde French bands, they decided to create a back to basics rock band, in their hometown of Rennes (Brittany). The arrival of the French-Polish Rostropovitch on lead voice, Allan Barbarian on drums and Tom Angelo on keyboards completed the line-up (the latter two also members of stoner outfit Djiin). 

The 80 minutes here allows the band to freely explore virtually every style they wish, with the long suites of music allowing an assembly of experimental soundscapes; the use of motorik rhythms, tribal and Arabic sounds and a mixture of organic space and Kraut rock with psychedelic textures. Tracks in the second 20 minutes see an almost hallucinogenic mind trip, a wall of noise and the fabulously titled Soviet Hot Dog! The whole album is an assault on the senses, driven by noise and rhythms so varied that trying to describe them is pointless. Closing with another 19-minute-long song Astral Fancy, I was left bewildered, confused and conflicted. This is an album that few will listen to. It may be a journey too far. But should you decide to take the trip, you may find hidden gems to satisfy. 6/10

Isolates: Hollow (Self Released) [Liam True]

Being a mainly instrumental atmospheric band is always a turn off for me in terms of bands. Isolates however are a 50/50 mix of this and Djent. While the instrumental songs and sections are extremely beautiful, they get old quite quick. I usually hate instrumental songs but Reboot, 1111 & Elm are perfect in their own ways and are crafted by gods. The main songs however are Just as good. The Fear is a Djenty-atmospheric blend of beautiful chaos with Carmen Eliza’s gorgeous voice at work. Forces is as heavy as it is soft with Drew Mackenzie providing his own take on the already great song. Frost and Hollow combined together to end the album is an exquisite way to finish off the masterpiece.

This album has torn me due to the contents. I love the instrumentals here, but normally I hate instrumental songs. The Djent style of the album is magnificent. But Djent is one of my lesser favourite genres. If anything Isolates may have turned me around to atmospheric instrumentals. But not quite Djent. Not yet anyway. But right now this record is one of my favourites. The blend and production is astonishing. A divinely crafted album. 8/10

Witches: The Fates (Mighty Spell Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Originally active between 1986 and 1990 and again between 1991-1999, it was in 2006 that the blackened thrash of French outfit Witches reformed for their current run. Early attempts at recording were limited to several demos before their debut long player 3.4.1. arrived in 1994. A further record, 7, was released in 2007. Two EPs and a plethora of demos and compilations have followed, with the line-up since 2014 consisting of sole original member Sibylle Colin-Tocquaine (vocals and guitar), bassist Oliver Herol, drummer Jonathan ‘Sangli’ Julé and guitarist Lienj. The Fates, album number three in case you weren’t counting is fast, extremely fast and races through nine tracks in 29 minutes. Now, Reign In Blood is the same length, so duration isn’t an issue although it is the only Slayer reference here. 

The Fates is one ferocious, explosive ball of curled up aggression that fires hard from the opening song, We Are and doesn’t let go until the final track, Death In The Middle Ages. In between it’s a flailing, wind milling eruption of battering blast beats, jagged riffing and gravel-soaked vocals that need little explanation. It’s ruthless, vicious, and intense. 

No standing on ceremony for this release, as Witches launch into We Are, a punishingly hard and heavy bulldozer of power. There is a similar approach for every track, although the band do slow down on occasion to a more measured death metal style, such as Feared And Adored which contains a massive chugging middle section, albeit with powerful blast beats underpinning it. The two slowest tracks, Last Wishes and Off The Flesh, retain the ferocity of the other tracks, and in some places the pace is even more relentless. It’s raw, it’s guttural and overall, it’s a decent release that will appeal to those who enjoy the more extreme styles. 6/10

Reviews: Paralydium, Behold...The Arctopus, House Of Lords, Denied (Matt & Rich)

Paralydium: Worlds Beyond (Frontiers Records) [Matt Bladen]

Previously known as The Paralydium Project and formed as an off-shoot of Dynazty their debut EP in 2015 was well received by progressive metal fans so it was only time that they would be releasing a full length record so five years later they have signed to Frontiers Records to unleash a full length on the world. Now lets get this out of the way, there aren't too many elongated flights of fancy here, like so many other prog metal bands *cough* Dream Theater *cough* their longest songs are 7 odd minutes which means that they never fall into blatant fret-wankery, not that founding member guitarist John Berg doesn't play with as much conviction of Pagan's Mind's Jørn Viggo Lofstad, Symphony X's Michael Romeo or ol' John Petrucci himself in fact his guitar chops and intricate solos provide the main part of all these songs. 

He's duelling with Mikael Blanc's keys on Within The Sphere while bringing the riffage with Georg Härnsten Egg (drums) and Jonathan Olsson (bass) before it gets more melodic in the later period even featuring some tasty classical guitar in the middle. Now I mentioned the likes of Symphony X, Pagan’s Mind and Dream Theater earlier in the review and these are the major bands that influence Paralydium along with fellow Swedes Seventh Wonder, especially on numbers like Finding The Paragon which has that definite Seventh Wonder electronic fizz and lashings of keyboard/guitar duels. I haven't mentioned the vocals of Mikael Sehlin but he too is a very accomplished singer with a soulful delivery that gives these multi-faceted, extremely musically dexterous songs a rapport with the more melodic minded audiences who don't indulge in prog metal usually. You can hear this on the poppier tones of The Source and the throbbing Into Divinity.

With lots of little nuances in these tracks to keep you guessing, incredible musicianship throughout and little of the beard stroking self-indulgence that can sometimes come with the genre, Worlds Beyond is one of the best prog metal albums of the year if you love deeply melodic but heavy progressive metal with hints of power metal, edm and djent throughout then, I implore you to seek out Paralydium and Worlds Beyond. 9/10  

Behold...The Arctopus: Hapaleptic Overtrove (Willotip Inc) [Rich Oliver]

There is an unwritten rule book for what defines metal. Usually but not always it means downtuned guitar riffs, technical guitar solos and a pounding rhythm section. It is not always adhered to and there are bands out there who want to stretch what can be termed as metal and take the genre into unexplored and experimental territories. Behold...The Arctopus are one such band in that they take this unwritten metal rulebook and tear it to absolute shreds.

The music on Hapaleptic Overtrove is to put it mildly an absolute headfuck. The standard tropes of the metal sound are all but eliminated with the compositional style having more in common with free jazz and seemingly having a very improvisational nature. The instruments played by the band members also tap into this experimental nature with guitarist Colin Marston playing a Warr guitar which is a tapped instrument with the range of both a guitar and a bass. Drummer Jason Bauers reinvents metal drumming here not playing a steady rhythm or a beat but using the kit as a purely percussive instrument. The hi-hats, crashes, and ride cymbals have been replaced with almglocken, wooden plank, metal pipe, broken stacks and bell/chimes whilst mallets are used instead of sticks. 

The drums are really the star of the show on the album with Jason performing stunning percussive compositions rather than rhythms which perfectly compliment and enhance the abstract playing of the instruments. When it comes to the guitars there is not a riff to be heard on the album with the guitars playing dissonant collections of notes with random widdling and the creation of atmospheric soundscapes. There are songs such as Adult Contemporary and Hapaleptic Perspective Respect which are just completely offbeat and abrasive compositions whilst songs such as Other Realms and Perverse. Esoteric. Different delve far more into the atmospheric having moments which sound like the soundtrack to some avant-garde cinema.

Behold...The Arctopus have truly a unique album here. It is pointless trying to compare it to anything and it certainly sounds unlike any heavy music record I have previously heard. Its forward thinking and experimental nature can only be applauded but it might be too much for most listeners. This is very much a niche and leftfield record that will only appeal to a minority but I think that’s the way Behold...The Arctopus would like it. With my tastes being based in the traditional styles of heavy metal this was a completely bewildering listen and although there was plenty I took away from this it is probably not something I would ever listen to out of choice. Hats off to the band for a bold experiment and long may bands challenge what can be termed heavy music but I need my riffs to be satisfied when listening to a metal record. 6/10

House Of Lords: New World - New Eyes (Frontiers Records) [Matt Bladen]

Since 1988 vocalist James Christian has been leading American hard rockers House Of Lords, he is now the sole original member of the band after being given the blessing by founding member Gregg Giuffria to continue the band after he left the group. So here we are 10 albums into their career and with the seasoned band of Jimi Bell (lead guitar), B.J. Zampa (drums) and Chris Tristram (bass) they continue on their path of playing hooky, driving up-tempo melodic rock mixed with strutting numbers and ballads built mainly around Christian's vocals and Bell's guitars though this time there are a lot more keyboards in the mix.

As with most of the House Of Lords material there's an undeniable slickness to these songs which are about as AOR as you can get the tinkling synths on Change (What's It Going To Take) lead into a country inflected rocker which serves to incite some change (apt at the time) however the faux-street sound on it does sound a little too similar to modern Bon Jovi as does New World New Eyes. Things pick up with the harder One More while the first ballad is Perfectly (Just You & I) though it's not the last (obviously) there are more mid-paced/faster songs on the record thankfully, the closing song The Summit is a real fist pumper. The influence of bands like Journey, Bad English is evident and speaking of Bad English Mark Spiro collaborated on these songs along with Tommy Denander, Chris Pelcer, and Richard Hymas all adding their songwriting chops to the band's already well developed skill of creating catchy rock music. 10 albums and over 30 years House Of Lords still fly the flag for classy melodic rock. 8/10

Denied: The Decade Of Disruption (SWEEA Records) [Rich Oliver]

The Decade Of Disruption is the fifth album by Swedish power thrashers Denied. They have been joined on vocals by Søren Adamsen (formerly of Danish thrashers Artillery) whose melodic yet aggressive vocal style perfectly compliments the music on offer throughout this album. The music on The Decade Of Disruption is very much thrash meets power metal with nods to classic heavy metal, hard rock as well as traits of groove and contemporary mainstream metal. The songs are varied throughout from all out ragers such as opener Throwing Bones, anthemic rockers such as Hey Let’s Go and We Play Rock ‘n’ Roll, the softer ballad leaning Freedom Reign and slower slight doomier tunes such as Walk You Through Darkness and Undergang. This variation throughout keeps the album interesting throughout though the songwriting sometimes feels a bit lacking. Denied have a solid album here with The Decade Of Disruption. It is well played, fairly well written and is catchy enough to appeal to melodic and power metal fans. Not a mind-blowing release but a very solid melodic metal record. 7/10

Reviews: Foetal Juice, 16, Calling All Astronauts, Everlore (Charlie, Matt, Liam & Rich)

Foetal Juice: Gluttony (Gore House Productions) [Charlie Rogers]

Northern death grinders Foetal Juice are a good bunch of lads. The self proclaimed “Masters of Absurdity” have a 15 year record of producing catchy, aggressive death metal, with a grindy edge that often pushes over the boundary of the surreal. Opening the album is a track named Take Your Face For A Shit, leaving my head sore trying to work out what on earth they’re talking about. Back to their usual tricks you’d assume, and largely they are.

Foetal Juice have a very distinct sound, from Rob’s expert use of high energy beats - blast or otherwise - synergizing with Ryan’s frantic riffing and Lewis’ solid bass playing. Derek’s vast vocal range offers both shrill screeching and bog monster growls, cementing his place near the top of the UK vocal totem pole. Massive props to both Lewis and Derek here, as they’ve stepped into some massive shoes left behind by founding members, and done so with gusto. Throughout the album we’re treated to a very consistent, fast paced deluge of riffs. It rarely slows, keeping the excitement maxed, and lending the music to no doubt lead to much movement once the shows start once more.

There’s less obvious humour on this release, with many of the tracks having fairly standard names such as Trepidation, Metamorphosis, and Carnage”. And yet we still see the spirit of the band’s nutty past shine through in titles like Septic Mollusc and Antagonistic Bastard. While fans of the humorous side may be disappointed in this move to more standardised naming, the groove, the thick production, and the copious invitations to circle pit are all still very much present in their tunes. Perhaps it’s this more serious tone that’s struggling to embed any one particular song in my memory, with a post-listen malaise setting in once the auditory bludgeoning stops. However, every song absolutely deserves to be on this album - there’s certainly no weak track in particular I’d take out, and that should speak volumes for the consistency Foetal Juice have brought to the table here. Looking forward to running around to this in a live setting real soon. 8/10

16: Dream Squasher (Relapse Records) [Matt Bladen]

For the first time since their reformation in 2007 the San Diego sludgers are a very trim four piece with the erstwhile guitarist Bobby Ferry stepping up to the mic for lead vocals on what could be their most affecting album yet. Ferry comments that their was "A conscious effort was made to inject some positivity into the lyrical themes," however he goes on to say that this positivity takes the shape of "loving your dog so much, you'd end up killing yourself if your dog dies." (Me And The Dog Die Together). Since 1991 16 have been delivering punishingly heavy sludge metal with a streak of hardcore through it edging towards the sounds of Trouble, YOB and Godflesh. Which means that within the sludge sounds there's a element of psych/drone on Summer Of '96, there is monolithic doom on Acid Tongue and some more world music and melodic tones on Agora (Killed By A Mountain Lion) making for the most musically dense offering from this long established but sometimes overlooked metal act. On Dream Squasher you can understand where bands such as Mastodon and Baroness got their influences from but 16 bring something more... they revel in misery, almost like an omen they appear when things are at their worst reflecting what's happening with their visceral musical offence. With the absolute misery of the world currently once again the portent that is 16 have returned and Dream Squasher is their current snapshot of the evils in this world. Not for those of a nervous disposition. 7/10 

Calling All Astronauts: #Resist (Self Released) [Liam True]

Labelling yourselves as Electro-Goth-Punk makes it sound like an interesting combination of two worlds colliding into one to make an exciting sound. And I can safely tell you that Calling All Astronauts have killed all expectations I had for it. What I was hopefully expecting was a mix between Pretty Hate Machine & Rocket To Russia. But instead was greeted by a poorly sounded, washed down Ministry cover band with worse sounding synths. While their schtick may be Electo sounds, they hammer in to many sythwave elements that are joined by a decent guitar tone. Unfortunately, the guitar is using the same three chords through every song with a pitch harmonic about four times a song. The vocals sound boring and uninspired, almost as if vocalist David B didn’t want to be there.

The only thing that draws me into the album is the bass work by Paul Buzzsaw McCrudden. Dark and dreary resonates with the feel of the already mucky album and actually gives the record a glimmer of hope. Beyond the bass tone, there’s nothing else this album has to offer. It’s as if The Smiths and The Cure had a baby. But it was brought up to disrespect the surroundings it was offered. You may also notice on some songs it may seem a bit out of time. Whether this was intentional or not is a mystery, but it doesn’t handle well. This record is forgettable and bland. Shame really. I was hoping for more. 2/10

Everlore: Everlore (Self Released) [Rich Oliver]

Everlore are a power metal band hailing from Finland with this self titled album being the independently released debut album from the band. Everlore formed back in 2013 and have released a steady stream of singles since 2017 culminating in the full length release this year.

Everlore perform a very back to basics style of power metal. It is less over the top and grandiose than a lot of power metal released these days and is far more rooted in classic heavy metal and some of the earlier power metal bands. The formula is simple and the songs follow a fairly standard pattern but Everlore know the art of power metal and the songs on this album are damn fucking good. Nothing is particularly overstated but it is just great power metal with stand out songs such as Stranger Skies, The Poet, the magnificent title track and my personal favourite the nifty speedy number that is Brighter Tomorrow that should probably come with a catchiness warning.

The musicianship on display is to an excellent standard with great performances all round and the vocals by Joonas Kunnela are more understated than your average power metal singer being in a lower register but they are very effective and compliment the music tremendously. Everlore have a great release here and a very promising debut album. It is more subdued than a lot of the power metal released today and very much goes to the roots of the genre. It’s a great bunch of songs that are extremely well written and performed and that’s all you can ask for really. 8/10

Reviews: Vega, Aversions Crown, Curse The Son, Tia Carrera (Paul H & Matt)

Vega: Grit Your Teeth (Frontiers Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Two years almost to the day since Vega released the excellent Only Human, the British melodic rockers return with their sixth album Grit Your Teeth. Now entering their second decade together, the band are tight and confident, walking the line between arrogant and belief with a sure footedness which demonstrates how they have matured since those early days of debut album Kiss Of Life. Witness the conviction on Man On A Mission, a stomping anthemic crowd pleaser which purrs from start to finish or the closing duo of How We Live and Done With Me, all power and self-belief.

Never a band to search for labels to wear, Vega took a few more risks than usual, focusing on the music that they wanted rather than trying to please anyone else. This strategy has worked well, opening with Blind, picking up on Man On A Mission and catching the stadium rock vibe with Don’t Fool Yourself Again. For much of the album Vega have grasped a harder edge than in recent times, with some driving guitar to compliment their clean and crisp sound that has become their trademark over the past ten years. Blending sweet harmonies with the powerful vocals of Nick Workman, Grit Your Teeth has a modern and vibrant sound whilst retaining the quality of previous releases. Utilizing the production skills of the Graves Brothers who have produced Asking Alexandria amongst others is a key reason why this album possesses a sharper edge, the melody blended with power. The musicianship is top class, the songs here fit neatly and with a massively impressive production, Grit Your Teeth may just be the best album that they have released so far. 8/10

Aversions Crown: Hell Will Come For Us All (Nuclear Blast) [Paul Hutchings]

Technical deathcore isn’t my favourite genre. Whilst the brutality comes with with a bruising malevolence as standard, it rarely ignites any passion. Picking up Hell Will Come For Us All was therefore a bit of a challenge. Australia has produced several high-profile bands in this genre, Thy Art Is Murder being possibly the highest profile. Add to the list Aversions Crown, who hail from Brisbane, and formed in 2009, issuing their debut self-titled EP in the same year. Three full length releases have followed, the most recent being Xenocide in 2017. The band have changed vocalists a few times, with Tyler Miller making his debut on this album alongside drummer Jayden Mason and guitarists Michael Jeffery and Chris Cougan.

Hell Will Come For Us All is 37 minutes of explosive deathcore which rarely lets up from breakneck speed. Blisteringly fast drumming, guttural vocals and shredding guitars combine although the band do use breaks in tempo to slow matters down, such as opening track The Soil, which changes from 100 mph aggression to calmer passages with schizophrenic ease. The rage is intense, Caught In The System a muscular aggressive assault which piledrives with thick riffing, blast beats and Miller’s wire wool delivery intense and focused. The title track dominates the middle section of the album, a massively volatile and unstable piece of work which is laced with broken glass, such is the danger with which it is delivered. Plunging breakdowns, jagged riffing, and a massive sound; it all adds up to quite an album. There’s a desolate feel about Sorrow Never Sleeps, an edge which creates the most impressive song amongst these works. It may not be an album that I’ll return to often, but the power and passion that is contained within this ferocious fourth long player is savage enough to rip flesh from the bones. 7/10

Curse The Son: Excruciation (Ripple Music) [Matt Bladen]

I'm going to try not to mention the S Word in this review despite them being the biggest influence on this fourth album by New Haven trio. I suppose you can also say that they are influenced by Candlemass on the slower doomier sounds on the crawling heaviness of Novembre where Ron Vanacore channels Johan Längquist, though on Disaster In Denial has the sonic wooziness of Soundgarden and sees Vanacore reach those high notes of Cornell, a trick repeated on Worry Garden. Categorized as a stoner/doom band, they pay homage to their influences from the brilliantly titled Suicide By Drummer to Phoenix Risin' they never stray to far outside of the bands that made this style of music what it is today. Oh hell with it, Curse The Son sound like Sabbath, if you like Sabbath then you'll like Excruciation, if not (what's wrong with you) then you won't get anything out of Curse The Son's blatant homage. 5/10

Tia Carrera: Tried And True (Small Stone Records) [Matt Bladen]

Named (in a misnomer) after the 'mega babe' actress who played Cassandra and stole Wayne's heart in iconic rock/slacker movie Wayne's World, as well as taking the lead in Relic Hunter an early 2000's action adventure series. I was a little disappointed that there was no covers of Ballroom Blitz, Why You Wanna Break My Heart, Fire or Touch Me from the film on this records. However what we do get is 7 tracks of heavy psych based in the blues with lots of sonic exploration from a classic power trio line up. You can imagine the band kicking out the jams in a blaze of tie-dye and kaleidoscopic colour, with the fuzzy bass and guitar from Curt Christenson (bass) and Jason Morales (guitar) rampages through 71 minutes of instrumental freak outs all anchored by the expressive drumming of Erik Conn. Keeping the old school sound the LP version is 5 tracks but on CD you get two elongated bonus numbers, Visitors and Early Purple, were previously only released on vinyl. Tried And True is the kind of exactly that, the music here is the sort of thing you'd listen to in the middle of the afternoon during Woodstock as the 'herbal' smoke fills the air, the transcendent journey through the psych rock ether. 6/10