Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou: The Helm Of Sorrow EP (Sacred Bones) [Matt Bladen]
May Our Chambers Be Full was one of the most spellbinding albums of 2020, encapsulating a year of hardship with two idiosyncratic acts blissfully working in unison for an album that was certainly on many peoples 'must have' list. However it was not an immediate record, only after numerous plays did it weaves it's magic and revealed it's brilliance, it was also apparently too short! This is because Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou have returned with an EP, called The Helm Of Sorrow, it contains four tracks that were conceived during the May Our Chambers Be Full but never made it to that record. Why this is really doesn't need to be explained, as it's certainly not to do with it being 'lesser' material in any shape or form, neither is it due to it being stylistically different, the four songs here are still 90's grunge/alternative music drenched in the band's own styles.
So it is yet again more mystery added to this project and as the evocative Orphaned Limbs starts off very in the ERR vein of atmospheric post-rock before it buildings into the raging sludge of Thou, so essentially a song of two parts that is followed by the thundering heaviness of Crone Dance where the down-tuned fuzz is floated upon by ERR's ethereal vocals as the numerous breakdowns that come seem to be anchored by some hurdy gurdy in the background, the song slowing to a doomy crawl, Recurrence melding grunge with an almost black metal-like rage as the EP closes with a cover of The Cranberries Hollywood which is essentially a heavier version of the original, vocals and all. A perfect accompanying release for May Our Chambers Be Full. 8/10
Antre: Dark Spectrum (Withered Hand Records) [Paul Scoble]
Antre are based in Nottingham, and have been making the midlands a much noisier place since 2017. The five piece have released an EP and an album called Void before this release; I reviewed Void in 2019 and found it to be a very good piece of Orthodox Black metal. So, how have the band developed since their very well received debut. The EP contains 4 tracks. Opening track Through These Dead Eyes is probably the most strait-forward of the songs. It opens with blasting Black Metal before settling down for a more mid-paced section that is driving and purposeful, before a slow, heavy and discordant ending. Second track Become The Damned opens with some mid-paced riffing that is very tuneful and has a strong melodic centre, with some very pleasing tremolo picked riffs.
The song then takes a turn towards some very effective Black Thrash riffs which are packed with energy, before the song takes a further turn towards some very slow and heavy riffs which take the song to its end. Mask Of The Saviour is probably the most interesting track on the EP. It opens with thrashy Black Metal riffing before getting nicely slow and discordant. The thrash returns for a moment, before we get a single acoustic guitar and spoken word part. This acoustic guitar part slowly morphs into a heavier and more powerful form of the same riff, this then slowly changes into some very good Depressive Black Metal riffing. The track comes to an end with a very slow and heavy section. Final track Cursed Existence starts with some very savage, blasting Black metal before a soft acoustic part signals the return of slow and melodic Depressive Black Metal section.
The song ends with a faster and more thrashy section bringing everything to an end in a very energetic way. Dark Spectrum is a great EP. Every track is very good, and the ebb and flow of the EP is very good, it never gets boring as the songs constantly change. It feels as if the band is developing their sound very well, the tracks are more complex than the material on their album, Void. This bodes very well for their next release (hopefully a full album). 8/10
Kabbalah: The Omen (Rebel Waves Records) [Richard Oliver]The Omen is the second album from Spanish occult rockers Kabbalah. It follows the bands debut album Spectral Ascent released in 2017 and a string of EP’s that preceded that. Kabbalah are a three piece consisting of Carmen Espejo on drums, Marga Malaria on bass and Alba Ddu on guitars with all three contributing vocals. Kabbalah play a fuzzed out mix of occult rock, psychedelic rock and proto-doom metal. It is a sound that harks back to the late 60’s and early 70’s with nods to bands such as Coven, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult and Pentagram. The band do a very good job of capturing the spirit of that era with doom laden riffs soaked in mystical atmosphere, haunted vocals that exude evil and enough darkness to summon the devil.
Midnight Spell: Sky Destroyer (Iron Oxide Records) [Simon Black]
It’s amazing how things come around again. When I was a teenager in the 1980’s, the Metal underground was all about Thrash and the emerging Death and Extreme Metal scenes, with NWOBHM and Trad Metal that predated it very much perceived as old school (even whilst acknowledging the debt of gratitude given that’s what generally got our attention in the first place). And let’s not even go into the commercial sensibilities underlying the Hair/Glam/Sleaze Metal scene at the time... So when I read a press release that talks about this act emerging from the underground I cannot help but smile. Things really have come full circle. Midnight Spell hail from Florida, USA and this young five piece’s debut album has been brewing since 2017.
I’m very much reminded of the first two Iron Maiden albums musically (although vocally Paolo Velazquez is more in the Bruce Dickinson mould). Even though publicity photos evoke this image, although this band are far, far more than just a Maiden clone. There is that raw ‘as live’ energy captured on this record that does not feel over produced, there’s that crisp bass high in the mix and harmonised twin guitars flowing melodically. There are hints to more modern tropes as well, although the time changes and instrumental pieces would not sound out of place on early Thrash albums. The opener Blood For Blood is a harsh burst of in your face Speed Metal and not really a representative track for their sound, so it’s an unusual choice for single. Velazquez feels like he’s forcing his voice a notch too far on the streams, and his style settles down a lot more with Between The Eyes – a far more straight ahead rocker, of which there are a few examples which Midnight Spell competently deliver. By the time we get to Lady Of The Moonlight, we’ve added some galloping rhythm lines and some good old fashioned Melodic Metal shredding to the mix, and really they can do no wrong from this point.
When things do speed up again, say on Midnight Ride, we can see that there's a really tight rhythm section hidden away in here, and since their sticksman Brian Wilson has previously pounded the skins for Yngwie Malmsteen, this is perhaps not surprising, and bassist Cam Martell is clearly a student of Steve Harris. The weakness of the album lies for me with the production, as the danger with trying to emulate the sound of the past is that you miss out on the technical opportunities of the present. The positives are that the sound captures each instrument clearly and crisply, but the overall sound is not as rich, fat and heavy as the more melodic aspects would most benefit from. Definitely a highly promising start and a refreshing opener for 2021. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment