Moaning Silence - this isn't going to be happy-go-lucky pop punk, not by any stretch. This Athenian band once again visit the Nordic shores on their second album evoking the desolation Katatonia but also UK miserableists such as Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, what separates them from the numerous bands playing this sound, is much like fellow Greeks On Thorns I Lay they have studied and broken down this style of music, to its most ethereal/emotional level creating songs that bewitch you with their Gothic doom sound along with some dramatic ballads such as the 7 minute Song For Winter which breaks you if you're in the wrong frame of mind.
Much of the depth comes from the beautiful soaring vocals of Eleftheria Aggeloudi who counteracts the gruffer style of Christos Ntounis, he is not only the co-vocalist but also the provider of the downtuned riffs and the songwriting. His is the mind dark enough to conjure tracks such as Stormbirds and Right Of Decay, as the main songwriter his lyrics carry weight as does his flowing guitar playing, that is not only anchored by Vangelis X (drums) and Antonis Mantis (bass) but also bolstered by the keys of the records producer/mixer Bob Katsionis (a man who is very busy). His wistful keys leading I Am The Sorrow a song that could easily feature on a Paradise Lost record due to it's chugging riff and ascending lead. A Waltz Into Darkness is an excellent Gothic Doom metal release that counteracts the sunny weather with a lot of cloudy misanthropy. 8/10
Deathvalves: Slaves (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
From Karditsa, Greece comes Slaves the new album from hard rockers Deathvalves, now I picked up their previous album Dark Stories From The Past and I gave it a 9/10 praising the heavier sound the band brought to the record than their alt-metal tag belied, making references to Mastodon and Gojira. So have they managed to maintain this high quality on Slaves, well let's say that the musicianship is still high but the heaviness of their previous album has been defused a little by some more melodic tones especially on Against The Time an Alter Bridge styled ballad. In fact this style of American metal is the overriding sound on Slaves, there's atmospheric grunge on Lost Again, big Volbeat rocking on Memories while On The Edge has some thrashier tones highlighting the gritty but anthemic vocals of T.Syndrome who locks down the riffs with Thanasis Valeras, on In A Rut though it's the bass of Chris Sven and drums of Sakis that lead it's middle section. However unlike their previous album nothing here lasts, it's all a little flash in the pan lacking bite, this unfortunately means that it doesn't live up to it's predecessors high grading. 6/10
Shadowgrin: Shadowrise (Self Released) [Simon Black]
It’s been a busy month for new releases, and it’s always nice when a new band raises your eyebrows in a positive way. Shadowgrin hail from Greece and this is their first full length album, following on from a self-titled 3 track EP way back in 2015 (all of which tracks find themselves on this album). Musically this is a strong fusion of Thrash and Power Metal, and has a remarkably polished sound and production for an independent first full album release, something I usually cut new bands a bit of slack on. This really helps, because so often in the early days of their recording activity a band hasn’t quite worked out how to capture their sound effectively despite having the tunes and the ability. Often it’s the case when there is a strong technical element in the band’s sound, that there’s usually a good understanding of recording techniques somewhere in their camp, because I cannot fault the sound achieved on Shadowrise at all.
What we have here are 8 tracks of very tight and technical Power Metal, with a strong undercurrent of 80’s Thrash – particularly in the vocal style, which alternates between a full on Thrash roar, with some top notch high end and well-sustained screaming from lungsman Chris G. Vamphyri, who could give a young Paul Di’Anno a good run for his money. The musicianship is really tight, and this is a band used to playing tightly together, and with some technical twists that are tighter than a gnat’s rectum. Land Of The Blind is a cracking example of this and probably the strongest track on the record, with time and tone changes galore along with some absolutely blistering guitar work from Antonis Alexandris and Manos T. This is definitely a band to watch out for, and I also recommend that you give these guys more than one spin before making any judgement. The more I listen to this, the more the style grows on me. A darn fine start. 7/10
Shadow In The Darkness: Erstwhile Befell (Sliptrick Records) [Matt Bladen]
Grunty, techy, death metal from Athens, 8 songs of technical death riffs that blow your face off. That is after the opening to Benign builds into blast beats and chugging riffs galore. Erstwhile Befell worships the polyrhythm, they are in every song on this record the virtuosity bleeds out of every guitar riff, bassline and blast beat. Imagine Obscura, Necrophagist and Cryptopsy and you'll be in the right ballpark, Interdisciplinary Sectarianism is a rampant blitz of finger blistering riffs with solos almost thrown away. Recorded as a three piece Erstwhile Befell smashes you around the chops, Aspalathus (Prelude) lowering the heaviness with an acoustic prelude that leads into the synthy 21. It goes on like this through the remaining tracks with the drummer especially earning his keep. It's tech-death folks, unless it really grabs you, you won't like it, if you do it will get you analysing every little nuance/ 6/10
It’s been a busy month for new releases, and it’s always nice when a new band raises your eyebrows in a positive way. Shadowgrin hail from Greece and this is their first full length album, following on from a self-titled 3 track EP way back in 2015 (all of which tracks find themselves on this album). Musically this is a strong fusion of Thrash and Power Metal, and has a remarkably polished sound and production for an independent first full album release, something I usually cut new bands a bit of slack on. This really helps, because so often in the early days of their recording activity a band hasn’t quite worked out how to capture their sound effectively despite having the tunes and the ability. Often it’s the case when there is a strong technical element in the band’s sound, that there’s usually a good understanding of recording techniques somewhere in their camp, because I cannot fault the sound achieved on Shadowrise at all.
What we have here are 8 tracks of very tight and technical Power Metal, with a strong undercurrent of 80’s Thrash – particularly in the vocal style, which alternates between a full on Thrash roar, with some top notch high end and well-sustained screaming from lungsman Chris G. Vamphyri, who could give a young Paul Di’Anno a good run for his money. The musicianship is really tight, and this is a band used to playing tightly together, and with some technical twists that are tighter than a gnat’s rectum. Land Of The Blind is a cracking example of this and probably the strongest track on the record, with time and tone changes galore along with some absolutely blistering guitar work from Antonis Alexandris and Manos T. This is definitely a band to watch out for, and I also recommend that you give these guys more than one spin before making any judgement. The more I listen to this, the more the style grows on me. A darn fine start. 7/10
Shadow In The Darkness: Erstwhile Befell (Sliptrick Records) [Matt Bladen]
Grunty, techy, death metal from Athens, 8 songs of technical death riffs that blow your face off. That is after the opening to Benign builds into blast beats and chugging riffs galore. Erstwhile Befell worships the polyrhythm, they are in every song on this record the virtuosity bleeds out of every guitar riff, bassline and blast beat. Imagine Obscura, Necrophagist and Cryptopsy and you'll be in the right ballpark, Interdisciplinary Sectarianism is a rampant blitz of finger blistering riffs with solos almost thrown away. Recorded as a three piece Erstwhile Befell smashes you around the chops, Aspalathus (Prelude) lowering the heaviness with an acoustic prelude that leads into the synthy 21. It goes on like this through the remaining tracks with the drummer especially earning his keep. It's tech-death folks, unless it really grabs you, you won't like it, if you do it will get you analysing every little nuance/ 6/10
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