Bleed From Within are a band that I had heard a great deal about from 2013 – 2015, even though I never actually listened to them. During that time they released three studio albums, an EP, won the Metal Hammer Golden God award for best new band, co-headlined a tour with While She Sleeps, signed to Century Media Records and supported numerous bands, including Testament and even a four date UK tour with Megadeth. But after 2015 they kind of dropped off the radar as I didn’t see them featured anywhere.
Fast forward 5 years, it’s 2020, an with the release of their 5th studio album Fracture, they’ve reinstated themselves to the forefront of the current Metalcore scene. Fracture is a brutal concourse through the previous two years since Era dropped in 2018, and while it’s not a change from their sound they sound more violent, faster, harder and have even gotten a guest solo from one Matt Heafy of Trivium on the blistering Night Crossing. From start to finish of Fracture it’s a no hold barred opportunity to prove that they are the band you need to know about.
With a small line up change by having guitarist Steven Jones from fellow Scottish Metal act, From Sorrow To Serenity take charge of the rhythm section of the band they hit fast and furiously during the 44 minute stampede. It’s as heavy as a cinder block falling on your nuts and as fast as an early morning tequila slammer. This album is quintessential for the dawning of the new decade of Metalcore. And Bleed From Within are at the front leading the charge. 9/10
Revenge: Strike. Smother. Dehumanise. (Season Of Mist) [Paul Scoble]
One of the biggest problems you have trying to review any album by Revenge, is getting across to anyone reading the review who has not heard the band, just how ridiculously savage, nasty and extreme they are. Most people who listen Heavy Metal will think they know what extreme sounds like, but Revenge take extreme so far that they make your average Death metal band sound like radio friendly pop music. Other than asking the reader to have a listen to see just how far Revenge have pushed music, words simply do not suffice.
The band, based in Edmonton, Canada have been in existence since band founder and leader James Read formed the band out of the ashes of previous band Conqueror. Revenge have carried on the extreme work that Read started with Conqueror, making ridiculously extreme music that fits into a Black / Death metal format which a lot of bands refer to as War Metal, Revenge however have never used the War Metal tag, preferring to use Extreme Black Metal or Chaotic Black metal, which are both apt as this is definitely extreme and chaotic. James Read is joined on this album by Vermin, who takes the Guitar and Bass duties while Read takes drums and vocals. Strike. Smother. Dehumanise. is the band's sixth album.
So, now I must make an attempt to describe this chaotic swirling insanity. Well, Chaotic Swirling Insanity is actually a pretty good place to start. Imagine really extreme Black Metal, you know the kind of thing, lots of blast beats, really fast, savage nasty riffs and vicious vocals. Now make it faster, savager, nastier. Add some grindcore to some of the riffs, add the world's harshest pick slides, add some very punishing processed vocals, and some of the fastest, most unrelenting drumming and you are getting close. This probably shouldn’t work, but it does, and it works so well. One of the reasons Revenge have made this craziness work is how well this is produced. The guitar and bass sound is huge, thick and full, the drums sound fantastic, and the mix is just right. Revenge have made sure you can hear the extremity properly, this isn’t a lo-fi, muddy mess of extreme metal, it’s razor sharp and that is one of Revenge’s most effective weapons. There is something metallic about the sound, as if this isn’t a band, but a machine. If someone made a machine that destroys civilisations, when you turned it on it would sound like Revenge.
The band can also do a little bit of variety, this is not just about ridiculously fast blasting (although they do that very, very well). The track Reaper Abyss (Real Rain) has some very slow and grinding sections that are some of the heaviest metal I have heard. They can also do mid-paced and powerful, Salvation Smothered (Genocide Of Flock) has a mid-paced section that is driving and has an unstoppable feel to it, like a runaway bulldozer. No matter what Revenge do it’s bigger, heavier, nastier than anything you have heard before. I’ve really enjoyed listening to this album, I get this sort of extreme, and no-one does it better than Revenge. This will not appeal to everyone, Revenge are definitely an acquired taste (I’m pretty sure the band wouldn’t have it any other way), but if you like extreme, you can’t get any more extreme than this. Ok, it basically does one thing, but it does it so well, if you want Swirling Insane Chaos, then nothing else will do it as well as this. 8/10
Oxidize: Dark Confessions (Wormholedeath Records) [Simon Black]
This is probably one of the saddest and heart-breaking album reviews I will ever write. Whenever I come across an act I am unfamiliar I normally try and listen to the album cold before doing any further research on the band. For me this has always been about the music first and foremost. So I have to tell you the good news first - that this is one of the best albums I have had the fortune and opportunity to review to date this year. The bad news is that this rather wonderful new act have had to deal with the most awful tragedy. In a week where death has stalked my personal life, to discover that Oxidize have lost Tommy Larsson (their Bass player formerly of Dream Evil and Fullforce) on the eve of this debut album’s release is a heart-rending knife twist for a band who really feel poised on the brink of something truly great.
Formed in Sweden in 2017 when guitarist Per Stålfors wanted to start afresh from previous projects with a bunch of like-minded souls, Oxidize have formed from a team of experienced musicians but with the energy and drive of a young band just starting out. This energy is instantly felt from the blistering album opener Heading For Tomorrow – confident opening chords, solid heavy drums with plenty of tightly controlled double bass work and that thundering bass sound that is the backbone of this band, and a strong confident vocal performance from Anton Darusso that immediately makes me think of Jørn Lande. This is confident solid Melodic Metal, unafraid to hint at the technical skill of the artists behind it – but without shoving the virtuosity down your throat. When they let rip, they do so subtly with a clever fill and twist, or a blistering little solo that doesn’t drown out the overall melodic structure.
After the dark and heavy start, the album changes tone with the much lighter but no less-proficient Bleeding Heart, the galloping and short Coma, to the pounding, heavyweight and much slower Not An Angel, highlighting that this is a band who can turn their hand to almost any pace and tone, all the time retaining a clear and distinctive sound that I really hope they can hang onto in the future. Even when they move into ballad territory with Tell Me Why (which at one point effortlessly twists into a far more extreme vocal style and back again without jarring in the slightest), they retain the dark and evocative tone without losing any of the heaviness, creating the same kind of subliminal emotive effect that Paradise Lost do at their best, whilst sounding absolutely nothing like them. And they keep this going for the whole record, and without an average sounding filler anywhere to be found.
The experience shows in the production too, and this is a band who know how to capture their sound, with every instrument clearly audible in the mix, whilst still holding onto a clear and distinctive signature sound. I really don’t want this to be a hit for the wrong, macabre reasons - this is an absolute blinder of an album and deserves to be a success for that alone. I really hope that Oxidize can recover, especially in this most challenging of times for the whole industry because this band deserve your ears for mere 52 minutes of your life. You will not be disappointed. Horns raised, gentlemen. 10/10
These Wicked Rivers: Eden (Rock People Records) [Bob Shoesmith]
Having been involved in the music scene since the mid 70’s I have had the fortune to witness a lot of “waves” of different genres of popular music coming through and (often) dissipate, leaving only the best of the best to survive. Hell, I can even remember when ‘classic rock’ was just plain ‘rock’! Often these eras are born from opposition to the music industry attempting to direct the populace to what is easily marketable, dictating what people must like and buy whilst filling its heads with disposable pop nonsense and attempting to consign the very notion of guitar based bands to history (I mean, have you ever seen a band on X Factor?). Now in 2020, we are currently seeing the current trending of the so called ‘New Wave of Classic Rock’ with bands like Massive Wagons, Kris Barras, Those Damn Crows, Gin Annie, Revival Black and several other compulsorily bearded guitar slingers, recycling their 70’s forefathers with long haired riffing and strutting. To be fair, rock music has just about managed to endure in spite of certain media mogul’s best efforts, but this latest ‘wave’ is clearly a much-welcomed nose-thumbing at ‘the man’ and you’ve got to love that.
Step forward Derby based, These Wicked Rivers and their debut album Eden. These guys are safely housed in the NWOCR camp, in fact they already share the same management as a fair few of their contemporaries, who are currently working overtime on the music press at promoting their acts. But look, if there’s a wave to ride – I’m all for this one. So, on to TWR. An album cover reminiscent of 70’s psychedelia. Stripped back 70’s blues/rock n roll -check, beards - check, big fat rumbling riffs (Shine On, Hit The Ground, the crushing riff of World In Chains and the single Floyd) – check. You can hear right off the bat TWR are tailor-made for a festival. They sound like a whiskey soaked barroom rock n roll band, speaker stacks and a 70’s Sabbath like riff-fest.
There’s more than a touch of the Ricky Warwick's about singer John Hartwell’s voice and in his deep, gravelly lower register really nails the style, (but there’s still maybe a little growing to do in his range and control in the higher). Some good old fashioned, complimentary emotive guitar solos are ripped out (not the techno-shredding that has become so ever present) and they do exactly what it says on the tin. TWR, despite their first outing have also been bold enough to vary up the tempos (This Train, Ceasefire, Count To Ten) and show some great light and shade, interspersing crushing riffs sandwiched by some softer edges, but most importantly have successfully avoided any sound-a-like comparisons to their predecessors and swerved obvious clichés despite the retro nature of the music.
For a debut album Eden is a really chunky, big old slab of riffing, swaggering classic rock (new wave or otherwise) and while there is still room for a bit of growth and honing their writing skills it’s a really promising introduction. Eden is going onto my playlist and I will watch this space with interest. They already have some backing, so let’s hope “the wave” doesn’t get too crowded. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment