Mutation is the extreme metal side project of Ginger (of The Wildhearts fame) and Dark Black is the third album from the project. For this album Ginger has teamed up with Scott Lee Andrews (formerly of Exit_International) and they have succeeded in creating an album of absolute chaos and total sonic destruction. Dark Black is a combination of noise rock and extreme metal sounding like the most extreme end of Ministry crossed with grindcore.
It is an album which is completely unrelenting and the intensity levels are through the roof but there is also a certain degree of catchiness especially on Irritant. The album also features several guest musicians such as Phil Campbell and Devin Townsend amongst others. Dark Black is my first exposure to the Mutation project and is not a style of music I had associated with Ginger which is why this album is such a pleasant surprise for me. It's not an album for the faint hearted but is one that will appeal to fans of extreme metal and noise rock alike. A truly beautifully abhorrent album. 8/10
Decapitated: Anticult (Nuclear Blast)
Poland's Decapitated have been pushing the limits and sticking their middle fingers up at the so called rules of death metal for 21 years and continue to do so with their seventh album Anticult. First off if you don't like the direction the band have been taking since their reformation in 2009 then you are not going to like this album as it strays further and further away from pure death metal of the early albums. Decapitated build upon the changes they made to their sound on previous album Blood Mantra and take it even further displaying a far more streamlined sound with further emphasis on groove, simplicity and (to the horror of death metal fans everywhere) melody.
A far cry from their technical death metal beginnings. Despite this new approach the music has lost none of its ferocity with songs such as Kill The Cult, Anger Line and One-Eyed Nation still having the ability of reduce your neck to rubble. Old school Decapitated fans are no doubt going to find this album disappointing but this is a change that has been developing since the Carnival Is Forever album so should really come as no surprise. that with this new sound Decapitated have lost a lot of their own identity now sounding more like an extreme metal Lamb Of God. There's still plenty to enjoy here though. 7/10
Poland's Decapitated have been pushing the limits and sticking their middle fingers up at the so called rules of death metal for 21 years and continue to do so with their seventh album Anticult. First off if you don't like the direction the band have been taking since their reformation in 2009 then you are not going to like this album as it strays further and further away from pure death metal of the early albums. Decapitated build upon the changes they made to their sound on previous album Blood Mantra and take it even further displaying a far more streamlined sound with further emphasis on groove, simplicity and (to the horror of death metal fans everywhere) melody.
A far cry from their technical death metal beginnings. Despite this new approach the music has lost none of its ferocity with songs such as Kill The Cult, Anger Line and One-Eyed Nation still having the ability of reduce your neck to rubble. Old school Decapitated fans are no doubt going to find this album disappointing but this is a change that has been developing since the Carnival Is Forever album so should really come as no surprise. that with this new sound Decapitated have lost a lot of their own identity now sounding more like an extreme metal Lamb Of God. There's still plenty to enjoy here though. 7/10
Kill For Eden: Petty Crimes (Self Released)
Kill For Eden are a London based hard rock band and Petty Crimes is their self-released second album. Kill For Eden are not a band I had heard of prior to this review and reading up on them they sounded like an interesting band and something definitely out of my comfort zone. There are a myriad of influences apparent on this album from classic rock to contemporary hard rock to modern pop music to pop punk. There are many different sounds and styles to hear on this album which is a positive in that it keeps things varied but a negative in that the album feels rather disjointed.
The songs that work the best for me are the harder more driving songs such as Give In To Me and Toe The Line whilst special mention must go the blues leaning Halley's Comet which features guest vocals from the legendary Doogie White. Songs such as Woke Up Alone and Love You So are far too on the pop side of the spectrum for my tastes and leave me completely cold but thankfully this type of song doesn't dominate the album. The band put in impressive performances especially frontwoman Lyla D'Souza whose powerful voice definitely carries this album.
Petty Crimes is a decent hard rock album which works best with it's more classic rock and hard rock leaning songs. It is let down by some truly horrible songs which stray into pop territory for my liking. 6/10
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