Kite play abrasive, ear bending music, it's not what you'd consider to be melodic either. Yes there are moments when there is a single ringing clean note from the guitars but mostly they stay fuzzy and dissonant. Hailing from Norway Kite's previous record was given a 7/10 review by Paul Scoble in May 2018 and pleaded at the end that another record shouldn't take 11 years and they have gone ahead and released a new one just two years later that is still as visceral as their debut. Irradiance is full of gurgling sludge the title track showing this perfectly with its repetitive riff and 9 minute run time it eeks its way into your psyche while Reveries blasts like an angry Nirvana, the grunge sound also mentioned by my colleague but it's the only track here, most of this album mainly crushingly bleak sludge metal. To be honest it's sludge so you'll understand what the record entails if you've heard it before but things open out into post-metal on Mistweaver giving it a little more depth. 7/10
Suffer: Heavy Silence EP (Self Released) [Liam True]
Hailing from the Black Country, Wolverhampton, Suffer are one of the newest Metal bands in the scene, only forming in 2018. In that time they’ve released one EP titled Slerm, three singles (Two of which are from this new EP), playing shows up and down the county and have finally released a new EP for us. Now I still stand by the remark made by me that the Metal/Deathcore scene is stale. But Suffer take everything from the the past 10 years, down tune it, beef it up and single-handedly create the most gut-churning 22 and a half minute EP that's been released over the past 5 years. With the revolting vocals of Chobba welcoming you in to the insane mindset of the band. The blend of Deathcore and Black Metal vocals provide a stunning backdrop to the almost tectonic plate shifting breakdowns provided by Jack (Drums), Ash (Guitar), Jack (Bass) & Kie (Guitar). The sound that they produce is so unique that it needs to be witnessed to take it all in. And with guest appearances from Tyler Shelton of Traitors & Hayden Shemilt of Old Wharf it just brings the EP together and creates the sickest sound in the Deathcore scene right now. 10/10
SÖLICITÖR: Spectral Devastation (Gates Of Hell Records) [Rich Oliver]
Let’s face it. Current times are fucking awful especially now in 2020 caught in the middle of a pandemic. In times like this escapism is key to surviving and music is a great way to escape the current shitshow that is existence. Music can transport you anywhere you want it to take you and if you just so happen to want to go back to 1983 then SÖLICITÖR are the band for the job. SÖLICITÖR hail from Seattle with Spectral Devastation being the debut album by the band. Fronted by the ferocious Amy Lee Carlson SÖLICITÖR have a sound that is very much rooted in the early to mid 1980’s with influences from the NWOBHM, speed metal, US power metal and early thrash metal. The resulting mix is eight heavy metal anthems bristling with power and bursting with speed. Opener Blood Revelations takes no prisoners and kicks the album off in tremendous style and pretty much maintains the quality for its eight song duration.
The songs are full of gnarly riffs, interesting tempo changes, the snarling vocals of Amy and a good degree of catchiness meaning that these songs have definite staying power. The Red Queen has a more technical edge to it with a nice acoustic outro which has a passing resemblance of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary Of A Madman. Leathür Streets has more of a classic metal vibe to it whilst the closing duo of Spectres Of War and Grip Of The Fist up the aggression with the inclusion of some blastbeats on the closing track. Spectral Devastation is a mighty fine piece of fast old school metal. It has a nice gritty production to it whereby it sounds rough but not too rough. It is just at the right level of raw and gnarly which perfectly suits the music but everything is nicely audible in the mix. SÖLICITÖR don’t break the wheel but play some bruising old school speed metal in fine style. Dig out your denim and leather, apply your spikes and bullet belts and wreck your necks. 8/10
Dissension: Dissension EP (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]
With no biography or background information, it’s always a challenge to check that you’ve even got the right band when doing a review. Having trawled the internet I finally discovered that this version of Dissension hail from Chesterfield/Sheffield. Formed in 2017 the band’s current line-up is Phil Newton, Nathan Mace, Paul Kelly, Neil Charlesworth and Rik Smith. This four track EP is a reasonable effort although the production on the version I’ve got isn’t brilliant. More old school tape style than current modern approach which is fair enough as it suits the band’s raw sound. Defiantly thrash in the style of Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust, it’s a raging inferno from start to finish. Opener Bloodfist is one frantic ball of chaos. Ragged vocals scream as the duel guitars compete with the blasting rhythm section for clarity.
Gravepool that follows next is the weakest track on the EP, some decent lead breaks the highlight of a song that doesn’t quite hang together right. Track three is Killz 4 Thrillz. A bloody awful title is rescued by some early Slayer-esque riffing and the solid drumming. Vocally, its once again loose and uninspiring, and probably about two minutes two long. This leaves the final track, King Of Bombs, a feisty piece of thrash which concludes this routine EP with a glimmer of hope. Dissension failed to qualify in their heat of this year’s M2TM in Chesterfield. That’s unsurprising on this offering, as there are far better thrash bands on the circuit. Having said all that, there are flashes of potential, with the playing at times neat. It’ll be interesting to see how Dissension progress in the next year or so. 5/10
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