Sinistral King: Serpent Uncoiling (Vendetta Records) [Alyn Hunter]
Super-groups or side-projects. Often short-lived or disappointing, failing to achieve the sum-of-its-parts idiom. Sometimes just a flash in the pan of brilliance that is rarely repeated. Either way I've historically approached such prospects with equal parts trepidation and optimistic intrigue. Enter Sinistral King - a bombastic black/death metal trio with some savage pedigree behind their line-up. When you have members who are moonlighting from Unlight, Triumph of Death & Vredehammer (the latter of which has only recently unleashed a relentless beast of an album), you've already laid the foundations to build a monster. Produced by Christoph Brandes of Iguana Studios (think Necrophagist, Imperium Dekadenz & Thron) and you've got the modern, crisp & full production that'll emphasise the brutality and soften the barriers of inaccessibility. Despite this, they've done an outstanding job of flying underneath the radar as listening to this is the first I've heard of them and that's an honest shame as I've spun this album consistently for at least a day now. Years ago there was a Belgian Melodeath outfit named "Axamenta" who released an ambitious concept album named "Ever-I-Arch-i-tech-ture" - it's like someone killed that and it has crawled back out of the ground with anger. Appreciating that this description probably doesn't help, here's an in depth breakdown:
Serpent Uncoiling murmurs into existence with the eerie & unceasing buzzing of flies laiden with bass chanting, but this is a short foreboding as the meat on the bones is very quickly made apparent with some thundering battery and hard hitting riffage. Once the scathing vocals enter there's no doubt that immediate comparisons will be drawn to latter era Behemoth but Sinistral King carve their own signature into their product with some adeptly placed atmospheric elements and they've not shied away from garnishing the track with some guitar virtuosity. Solo work isn't often found amongst black metal outfits, but this is tasteful stuff. There's a sincere venom behind the vocals that have that Shagrath (Dimmu) rasp with a truck-load more heft. If anything there's a little danger that they break up the track a little too much with the atmospheric elements if you aren't looking at the bigger picture, and the pacing of this number is a little unusual but to these ears it works.
Super-groups or side-projects. Often short-lived or disappointing, failing to achieve the sum-of-its-parts idiom. Sometimes just a flash in the pan of brilliance that is rarely repeated. Either way I've historically approached such prospects with equal parts trepidation and optimistic intrigue. Enter Sinistral King - a bombastic black/death metal trio with some savage pedigree behind their line-up. When you have members who are moonlighting from Unlight, Triumph of Death & Vredehammer (the latter of which has only recently unleashed a relentless beast of an album), you've already laid the foundations to build a monster. Produced by Christoph Brandes of Iguana Studios (think Necrophagist, Imperium Dekadenz & Thron) and you've got the modern, crisp & full production that'll emphasise the brutality and soften the barriers of inaccessibility. Despite this, they've done an outstanding job of flying underneath the radar as listening to this is the first I've heard of them and that's an honest shame as I've spun this album consistently for at least a day now. Years ago there was a Belgian Melodeath outfit named "Axamenta" who released an ambitious concept album named "Ever-I-Arch-i-tech-ture" - it's like someone killed that and it has crawled back out of the ground with anger. Appreciating that this description probably doesn't help, here's an in depth breakdown:
Serpent Uncoiling murmurs into existence with the eerie & unceasing buzzing of flies laiden with bass chanting, but this is a short foreboding as the meat on the bones is very quickly made apparent with some thundering battery and hard hitting riffage. Once the scathing vocals enter there's no doubt that immediate comparisons will be drawn to latter era Behemoth but Sinistral King carve their own signature into their product with some adeptly placed atmospheric elements and they've not shied away from garnishing the track with some guitar virtuosity. Solo work isn't often found amongst black metal outfits, but this is tasteful stuff. There's a sincere venom behind the vocals that have that Shagrath (Dimmu) rasp with a truck-load more heft. If anything there's a little danger that they break up the track a little too much with the atmospheric elements if you aren't looking at the bigger picture, and the pacing of this number is a little unusual but to these ears it works.
Track one drifts away with more choir, chants & ominous piano. It's certainly one hell of an entrance. Nahemoth, by their own admission is straight Mephorash worship. Full occult death/black metal vibes lurch into the fray right from the off. The track builds quickly into a peak of intense carpet rolls before it's killed in its tracks. Enter more synthesized choir passages. I think this may be where my first real criticism comes in and that's only having some experience with VST software in building choirs - it sort of feels like a word-builder has been randomised for what's being "sung". Musically fine, just felt a little peculiar if you pick apart the details. That doesn't last long though once the blasting bursts back in followed by a yet again very well composed solo segment. This is the where the album really clicked with me, it just sounds so huge. There's another synth section which this time round feels a little gratuitous but it's not long until the ferocity returns and continues until the track's end.
Isheth Zenunim fades in dissonantly into an alternating mid-tempo/blast-beat passage. Some familiar melodic tropes present but welcome. As is possibly expected, they break again to synth but this time with organic vocals that fit a lot better before reintroducing some hair-raising blasting and back into shred. Admittedly this time round it's not quite as neatly crafted as the previous two solos were. There's definitely an element of formula in the structure of these tracks so far as this track fades out into chant, but the body of the tracks have the mettle to help you see past it. Another chant intro for Fields Of Necromance but when sticks hit skin it's pure bombast and melodic grandiose. Definitely hints of "Thron" & classic Dimmu coming through this arrangement as it flits back and fore between break-neck and bludgeoning. There's some red hot lead lines over the top of large sections of this number. The formula changes slightly in timing as Fields gets a lot more meat on the bones before breaking but there's still a ripping solo followed by choir (replete with weirdly selected syllables again) before continuing with the blasting. Where things change up is in the looming and tribal-esque outro.
Where Nothingness Precedes Cosmos wastes no time coming straight in with thunder. The brass synth is a tad too reverbed and the synching feels a little awkward, but it's not long before it rolls into some proper Nick Barker era Old Man's Child style drumming & riffing. The stellar work is all with the performing musicians and in this case it would've been a welcome change to have one track uninterrupted as it happens twice here with segments that take up a little too much of the running time for me whereas before they were limited and felt less at odds with the pacing. I'd almost find it odd if they performed this one live for that reason (and this is me quietly hoping they take it live), but fortunately we're treated to one last hurrah of ferocity before album's end. Weighing in at 41 minutes and consisting of 5 lengthy slabs of brooding fury it is definitely an album best served in full. Sinistral King have done a fine job of ensuring that despite a generous average track length and some questionable synth choices none of it really feels like a slog, although by the same merit you'll be hard pressed to pick out a song and say it'll be the next iconic black/death track. This record puts an onion to shame in how many layers it has and whilst the almost storytelling like song structures may not gel with everyone, it takes the best parts of some of blackened death's stalwart artists and paints a harrowing picture with finesse. It's a rather delightful abomination. 9/10
Isheth Zenunim fades in dissonantly into an alternating mid-tempo/blast-beat passage. Some familiar melodic tropes present but welcome. As is possibly expected, they break again to synth but this time with organic vocals that fit a lot better before reintroducing some hair-raising blasting and back into shred. Admittedly this time round it's not quite as neatly crafted as the previous two solos were. There's definitely an element of formula in the structure of these tracks so far as this track fades out into chant, but the body of the tracks have the mettle to help you see past it. Another chant intro for Fields Of Necromance but when sticks hit skin it's pure bombast and melodic grandiose. Definitely hints of "Thron" & classic Dimmu coming through this arrangement as it flits back and fore between break-neck and bludgeoning. There's some red hot lead lines over the top of large sections of this number. The formula changes slightly in timing as Fields gets a lot more meat on the bones before breaking but there's still a ripping solo followed by choir (replete with weirdly selected syllables again) before continuing with the blasting. Where things change up is in the looming and tribal-esque outro.
Where Nothingness Precedes Cosmos wastes no time coming straight in with thunder. The brass synth is a tad too reverbed and the synching feels a little awkward, but it's not long before it rolls into some proper Nick Barker era Old Man's Child style drumming & riffing. The stellar work is all with the performing musicians and in this case it would've been a welcome change to have one track uninterrupted as it happens twice here with segments that take up a little too much of the running time for me whereas before they were limited and felt less at odds with the pacing. I'd almost find it odd if they performed this one live for that reason (and this is me quietly hoping they take it live), but fortunately we're treated to one last hurrah of ferocity before album's end. Weighing in at 41 minutes and consisting of 5 lengthy slabs of brooding fury it is definitely an album best served in full. Sinistral King have done a fine job of ensuring that despite a generous average track length and some questionable synth choices none of it really feels like a slog, although by the same merit you'll be hard pressed to pick out a song and say it'll be the next iconic black/death track. This record puts an onion to shame in how many layers it has and whilst the almost storytelling like song structures may not gel with everyone, it takes the best parts of some of blackened death's stalwart artists and paints a harrowing picture with finesse. It's a rather delightful abomination. 9/10
Aeons In Solitude: Mourning Cloak (Rock Company) [Matt Bladen]
You'd be forgiven for thinking Aeons In Solitude hail from Sweden, due to their gothic doom style they have the maudlin, desolate sound of Katatonia and Draconian. However as much as you can listen to album and imagine the frozen tundras of Scandinavia especially on creeping, overly Gothic tracks like the chant-filled The Innocent Abandon. However Aeons In Solitude hail from Athens Greece and Mourning Cloak is their debut album. Starting as a solo project by frontman Alex Roussos, it evolved into a full band around 2018 with Roussos taking the mic along with guitars and keys, he's the albums main writer especially the depressing/despondent/poetic lyrics that are this style of music's trademark. Vocally too he's got things spot on with a big booming delivery that often moves into some growls and mournful crooning (The Beast Within), The album is very high quality in terms of songwriting, A Rotting World has touches of Depeche Mode, The Innocent Abandoned has some soaring lead playing at it's beginning, while the opening track White Witch builds the atmosphere. Mourning Cloak is a gloomy beginning to the career of Aeons In Solitude, the Katatonia comparisons alone should be enough for you to give it a listen. 7/10
One Step From The Edge: The Deafening Silence (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
I got some really big Bleeding Through vibes from this album. One Step From The Edge blend metalcore with djent and melodic death metal, the Bleeding Through sound coming from the keys of Maria Moscheta which buzz on album opener Inside My Head what you also hear are the amazing vocals of frontman Alex Seretis who not only has an aggressive bark/growl but also has powerful clean vocal style sounding similar to Iced Earth's Matt Barlow or Killswitch/Light The Torch's Howard Jones when he lets loose. Believe brings the djent grooves from Kostas Pourgiazis (bass) and Nikos Stakas (drums) in the middle section but mainly it's battering melo-death the dual leads of Bill Pappas and Michael Mamakis which add those classic metal touches. Behind The Walls and Ashes add more djent, 310 (Lines In The Sand) has speedy thrash while the keys and the impressive vocals raise these songs higher than so many of the metalcore bands around. Despite not being the biggest fan of metalcore influenced bands I really enjoyed The Deafening Silence, perfect for starting pits in your own home! 7/10
Danzig: Sings Elvis (Cleopatra Records) [Simon Black]
Yes, really.
The comparisons between former Misfits main man and the King of Rock’n’Roll’s vocal style have been around forever. He’s always been open about his love for the man and after a few Elvis cover dalliances tucked away on previous releases or live, he’s finally bitten the bullet and done a whole album’s worth - which considering the average run time of 3 minutes a pop means you get 14 tracks for your bucks. So far so good … until you actually have to listen to it. Let it not be said that ‘ole Evil Elvis does not have a sense of irony and humour. Sadly what he needed here was a bit of nonce, because this joke does not carry over a 40 minute album well. This might have made a noteworthy EP, particularly if the choice of tracks had been more varied and less obscure – I mean would have paid actual money to hear him do a cover of Hound Dog.
The main point to note is that most of the songs take a notably slower and darker mood than their originals (as you might expect from Danzig), but this one tone show gets very wearing after a few tracks. Baby Let’s Play House or When It Rains It Really Pours are the only notable exceptions. This is not a Heavy Metal band covering these songs, but an attempt to sound like instruments of the time would have, well more or less – there’s a slight distortion peppered around, but yawn and you miss it. This for me is why this project fails. If they had played this as Danzig reworking these songs for his audience, this would have worked. As it is, it falls flat and hard on its face, quickly becoming dull and repetitive. Fever is a great example of this wasted opportunity – slow, dull and dying the slow death-rattle of a doomed intubated patient. 1/10
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