LORD: Fallen Idols (Dominus Records) [Matt Bladen]
Having been a staple of the Australian metal scene since 2003 Sydney/Wollongong metal titans LORD have been abiding by the idea that "a good song, is a good song" since then over the course of four previous full lengths (their most recent being Digital Lies in 2013) and numerous EP's Lord have climbed to the top of the pile in the Australian metal scene though they may not be known to any of our non Aussie readers despite having played with Megadeth, Queensryche, Helloween, Nightwish and Saxon in their own country. Still led by vocalist/guitarist Lord Tim their sixth album Fallen Idols breaks out of the gates early with the blistering United (Welcome Back) a thrash/death riff fest that leads off with blastbeats from Darryl Murphy, breaks occasionally into some lead bass lines from Andy Dowling letting Tim and Mark Furtner throw some guitar pyrotechnics on a song that shifts styles at will moving from destructive thrash into big power metal choruses along with lots of solos.
It's a bloody impressive way to start off an album 6 years in the making immediately setting out Lord's stall as a force to be reckoned with. Next is the battle metal of Immortal which brings more than a whiff of the leather clad bravado of Manowar as the title track brings more galloping classic metal and twin guitar attack. Lord have always taken a jukebox approach to their music never discarding a song if it doesn't fit their genre, for all of the classic heavy metal posturing on this album such as the speed metal of Nod To The Old School and Kill Or Be Killed, there's modern groove metal on Chaos Raining, while Counting Down The Hours is a muscular ballad but on the other hand The Edge Of The World brings some black metal mastery. A delicious Mezze of styles but all in the heavy metal vein played by a band who are experienced in what they do. Fallen Idols deserves to be heard by a wider audience than an Antipodean one. 8/10
Carnifex: World War X (Nuclear Blast) [Liam True]
I have a small history with Carnifex. I was due to see them play in Bridgend in 2018. The show however was cancelled due to the weather conditions. Not the bands fault, but still unlucky for me and the other fans. Fast forward a year and a few months later, Carnifex have made their most destructive and powerful offering to date, with the appropriately titled World War X. The opening, and title track, is a bombardment of Deathcore brutality. Opening with gunshots and firefights the album is a concept of the world we know today. With the first line that spits from vocalist Scott Ian Lewis' throat "Death To All Humanity", you already know the foreshadowing theme here.
Albeit the title of the album. From here on out the band produces an absolute venom filled, breakdown leading and headbanging inducing look into society today. With guest appearances by Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White Gluz and guitar god Angel Vivaldi, they too unleash a torrent of violent vocal and furious fretwork to add to the records apocalyptic scenes. The American Deathcore kings have produced one of this years best albums so far. Here's hoping they announce a UK tour with a Welsh stop. 9/10
Bushwhacker: A Fistful Of Poison (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Consider this...a progressive stoner metal album based around a sprawling Western concept, created by a band from Canada. I mean the Western theme is not really surprising seeing as British Columbia could be considered the last remnants of the Old West, but this one is a story of some varmints who are in search of a shitload of weed, but there journey doesn't go to plan causing it to turn into a Tarantino Western at the end. Bushwhacker are Cavan Egan Guitar/Vocals Geoff Woods Guitar/Vocals, Rory O'Brien Bass/Vocals and Sean Komaromi Drums, A Fistful Of Poison is their second album and is a truly conceptual piece starting with a mostly instrumental Prologue setting the scene in a Morricone-style a lone harmonica backed by country acoustic guitars.
From there it's music made very much in the style of Baroness or Mastodon, a number heavy stoner/sludge tracks with some expressive drumming, thundering basslines and guitars that move between thick, molasses heavy riffs and lighter more melodic fluid playing that, to make things sound especially cinematic. The songs are interspersed by small spoken word interlude to drive the concept along (though at times the acting/characterization is a little cliche). The first proper song is And They Rode West is mainly instrumental but it sets the pace for the record letting Knives And Teeth bring more aggression and The River Black some doom as it evolves into a bludgeoning beast showing the vocal diversity on this record between the three string playing members. A Fistful Of Poison is a brilliant concept record which stands up there with Gold & Grey as one of the top progressive albums of the year, saddle up partner and play loud. 9/10
Blood Church: God Complex (Self Released) [Matt Bladen
From the hell on earth that is...Telford Shropshire, Blood Church beckon you to worship at their unholy altar. This blackened death metal band certainly have the visual stimuli you'd want in a band such as this clad in cloaks and covered in corpsepaint and blood. Their blackened death metal is influenced by one thing...Satan. Yes folks don't play this EP in Sunday school, these four tracks are here to rally against God and organised religion. A tolling of a bell and a singular downtuned guitar backed by some synths is how God Complex opens with the chanting intro We Are The Blood Church, the raw sounding music then blasts out of your speakers like an assault on the senses, now whether the rawness is deliberate is not known but it works well taking you back to that first era of angry, God hating black metal.
Furious riffs, squaked grunts and even a downtuned break at the end lead into the more melodic opening to Jesus Wept built around a bass riff and a quote from Star Wars Episode III it breaks into yet more tremolo riffage and the main section is more of a death metal grind. False Idols on the other hand has a whiff of punk to it ending the EP by showing you that Blood Church has a lot more up their sleeve than their blackened metal assault. A very brief look into the world of Blood Church and their anti-religious manifesto, let's see what they can do on a full length. 7/10
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