Reviews: Sumac, All Souls, Iron Angel, I Am Waiting For You Last Summer (Rich, Paul H, Simon & Matt)

SUMAC: May You Be Held (Thrill Jockey) [Rich Oliver]

May You Be Held is the fourth album from Canadian atmospheric sludge metal band SUMAC. SUMAC is a name I have seen mentioned but not a band I have previously listened to anything by. They are a trio comprised of Aaron Turner (ex-Isis) on guitars and vocals, Brian Cook (Russian Circles) on bass and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) on drums. An impressive resume and promises for some dense and challenging music. Challenging is certainly a term that can be used for this album. The sound presented is a mix of dense and crushing atmospheric sludge metal in the vein of bands such as Isis and Neurosis mixed with improvisational pieces which are more in the vein of noise rock. 

 The chunks of the songs which were far denser and sludgier and altogether heavier were very much my thing and very enjoyable with some clobbering heaviness in songs such as Consumed and the mammoth title track. Where I struggled was in the improvisational segments which to my ears sound like aimless meandering with little in the way of form or structure. I particularly struggled during The Iron Chair which to me sounded like a cacophony of noise (which is probably the intention). I appreciate there is an art to this improvisational style but being someone who listens to a lot of tight rhythms in music this is not a style I can get along with. I struggled far less with the closing song Laughter And Silence which although consisting of soundscapes had a flow and an ebb to it and a wonderful atmosphere. SUMAC were a mixed bag for me. There were parts of this album I loved and parts that I did not agree with at all. This is very much an album of art driven music which on the whole I found a bit pretentious and unfulfilling. Give me a whole album of crushing sludge and I’ll be far happier. This is an album where I appreciated the intent but it just wasn’t really for me. 6/10

All Souls: Songs For The End Of The World (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

Los Angeles quartet’s sophomore album Songs For The End Of The World is the culmination of a whirlwind four years where the band have progressed from their formation and local gigs to support slots with the likes of Tool, The Jesus Lizard and Melvins. It’s not hard to see why. Their lyrically dark, desert style rock n’ roll contains catchy hooks, driving riffs and a rolling fusion of rock, indie and alternative style anthems. They are unafraid to steal the odd riff, such as the Jam’s Beat Surrender on Twilight Times. They launch into dreamy soundscapes on the seven minutes plus Winds which explodes with a dramatic climax and elsewhere the jangling guitars and ethereal tones bring together everything from the raw power of The Stooges to the polish of the Foo Fighters. 

All Souls are no fresh behind the ears outfit of course. The band features Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson, Josh Homme's Desert Sessions, Deep Dark Robot with Linda Perry) Antonio Aguilar and Meg Castellanos (Totimoshi) and Erik Trammell (Black Elk). Having released their eponymous debut in 2018, they then crafted the follow-up, recording this record in late 2019. Songs For The End Of The World is a polished, intelligent piece of work. Just shy of 40 minutes in length, the band traverse darkness into light, with Aguilar's distinctive vocals at times bleak, the music clever and intricate. 

You Just Can’t Wait steers the line between The Cure and Rival Sons, the powerful emotive feel surging through with just the odd tinge of seventies psychedelia cast into the mix. An album that demands repeated plays, this is more than your meat and two veg guitar led rock. As their PR states, “one could say they are connecting the dots between Led Zeppelin to the Pixies, Soundgarden to The Cure all the while carving their own road with authenticity”. That’s as good a summary as there is. 8/10

Iron Angel: Emerald Eyes (Mighty Music) [Simon Black]

Hamburg’s Iron Angel have been hammering at this lark since the early 80’s, being one of the main influences on the German Speed Metal scene back in the day, although sadly not making much more of an impact since then off the back of a couple of albums that aren’t too well known outside of Germany. Then nothing for years. The reformation game hasn’t been an easy ride for them either it seems, as this is the second time they’ve tried it over the decades, although since they now have 2 albums under their belt in recent years I think we can safely say they’ve found their corner and are coming out fighting with this, their fourth album. This record definitely feels like they have something to fight for, despite the passing years and has all the energy and aggression that made this musical movement so relevant back in the day. 

It’s fast, furious and flies past effortlessly, with blistering drum work, good old fashioned twin axe attacks deploying some equally old fashioned top-notch metal shredding - taking me back to the kind of material that opened my eyes to this world of music in the first place. Vocalist Dirk Schröder’s voice is down, dirty and hailing from the Lemmy end of the spectrum, although at times you feel he’s trying to pull of tricks that need a slightly younger larynx. Actually that really adds to the raw immediacy of the overall sound that so many bands try to capture with technology and tricks, when all you really need is limited cash and time in the studio to provide a sense of pressure, energy and creativity. Think early Priest, Slayer and Motörhead in a blender and you won’t be too far off the mark. 

Stand out tracks include the blistering Demons, the heartfelt shredder What We’re Living For, the inescapable old school thrashiness of the title track (complete with middle eight time changes) and the superb Sacrifice, which takes all the elements that work and beats you round the ears until you like it. I was ready to write this off as a middle of the road thrash metal affair on first listen, but actually I’ve found them growing on me as that honest rawness, the no nonsense approach to songs and a focus on delivering the goods made this worthy of multiple spins. Even if the pace and tone of the songs didn’t vary too much, this was an entertaining and enjoyable forty-six minutes of life that feels like a launchpad for bigger and better things. 7/10

I Am Waiting For Your Last Summer: Self - Defence (Trou Blanc) [Matt Bladen]

I'm not overly sure whether or not we should be covering this album from Russian instrumental band I Am Waiting For Your Last Summer. There is very little here that can be considered to be metal or even rock as the majority of this record sits in the ambient/synthwave style of music, however this sound has broken the barriers of the rock world with acts such as Ghost taking bands of this type on tour with the so I can't really jump on the "thatz not metulz" bandwagon here. What you get on Self-Defence is keening post-rock atmospherics with layers and layers of synths occasionally cut through with some rippling clean guitar playing. There are some influences drawn from Mogwai here but also I can hear a little Portishead too with a trip hop pulse. Apparently the band draw heavily from Sasha Sokolov's (multi-instrumental/guitar) work on the trailers from Jurassic World, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Insurgent. This imposing instrumental sound is cinematic in it's delivery, it's almost all-encompassing but it is just instrumental synth music. If you're looking for something that doesn't involve blast beats, screaming or songs about wizards then Self - Defense may be worth looking into, especially if you've got a late night journey planned and you feel as if you want to be Ryan Gosling. 6/10