Built Beneath The Lies is an incredibly strong start to the album. Fuzzed out, bluesy, heavy as all hell and with a staccato, almost gunfire beat, it’s the sort of songwriting you’d expect from the NOLA sludge metal titans. The nasty, raspy, almost shrieking vocals of Mike IX Williams seem to have a more urgent feel to them this time around, and the band have actually gone on record as saying that the last three years of political turmoil, science denialism and the pandemic have had a definite influence on the songs, despite not being an explicitly political band. It’s evident on tracks like Fake What’s Yours (“Post-Death Ballot Box/Hands off the stabbing block,”) and High Risk Trigger (“Infection is the way, disruptive crowd takes aim/ Burn down the rail yard house, destroy the U.S.A.”). That being said, it doesn’t feel preachy, and is a remarkably easy record to digest despite how dirty, dirgy, and straight up *nasty* it sounds… But it’s a nasty sounding record that’s got a remarkably high level of polish.
The muscular, fuzzy, apocalyptic sounding blues riffs are punctuated with squealing slabs of feedback, but are backed up by really crisp sounding drums (which is a pleasant surprise in a genre known for woolly sounding tubthumping), and song lengths that don’t outstay any particular song idea’s welcome. The Trial Of Johnny Cancer is, for example, almost poppy in its composition, and contains for this writer, the catchiest and most bouncy of riffs. Clutch could have written this (“The Undertaker tells jokes/A comedian he is not,”). Some people won’t like that a band known for the layers or dirt and grime caked onto their sound has had a comparatively high sparkle applied to it, but I think it genuinely works well and doesn’t detract at all away from unsettling, filthy sound the band are known for. It’s not a full makeover, it’s more a clearing of the throat. 7/10
Bound In Fear – Eternal (Unique Leader) [Liam True]
Bound In Fear – Eternal (Unique Leader) [Liam True]
Since their debut hit the scene in 2019, Bound In Fear have been touring relentlessly around the UK & Mainland Europe to spread their absolute monstrous sound. Now fast travel three years ahead and touring in non-existent, BUT, the saving grace of this is how many bands have been working on new material. BIF have entered the game and changed the level of the playing field in 22 minutes with the ever-so-heavy destructive tones that shatter the Earth's crust. Eternal is the EP that pretty much encapsulates their older sound, but with a slightly refreshed line up, it brings a new sense of nuclear waste to the table.
Cardinal Sin hears the distant harrowing guitar tones of both Ben Sutherland & Steven Hunt as they are chaotically interrupted by the bulging bass of Keir Campbell and the machine gun octopus wielding limbs of Alex Richins. The band in unison are a terrible foursome that inhabit the dirtiest tones and sound this side of the world. But, alas, it’s stepped up one more notch. The sickening vocals of Ben Mason break through and you’re greeting by the devil himself creating an unholy wretch.
Left To Drown is a complete slaughterfest mowing you down with the down tempo Deathcore powers, as if you’re being crushed by the slowest circle pit you can imagine before picking up the tempo with Campbell being more audible than Richins drums at times. My Mind, My Prison is a down tempo wet dream as the low guitars really shine here behind the vicious vocal assault of Mason eats you alive from the inside.
Everblack & The Harrowing are two equally brutal songs that ooze misery & pain with every snare shot. It’s a unique, almost horror style outro from the band as the EP fades into nothingness. And like that, your 22 minute thrill ride through a concoction of brutal, violent and hellish sounds comes to an end. The band themselves prove that they’re severally underestimated in the scene at the minute. But, hopefully, with their headline tour going ahead later this year, we can expect to hear the absolute epitome of down tempo Deathcore beat through the hearts of us all. As with the release of this EP, a huge wall of death is need to celebrate this gargantuan release. 8/10
Chez Kane - Chez Kane (Frontiers Music) [Matt Bladen]
Chez Kane is the vocalist of Kane'd where she shares vocals with her two sisters. However there's no sharing the mic here, it's very much a solo project Chez's classic rock vocals bringing to mind Lee Aaron, Lita Ford and Pat Benatar with her soulful lows and powerful rock highs. This project came about when Crazy Lixx's Danny Rexon's was looking for a vocalist for songs he had written. With a little bit of Frontiers music he came across Chez and this album was born. Heavily drawing from the hard rock/AOR sound of the late 80's/early 90's. There's firework guitar soloing, big synth walls and even some slinky sax
Chez Kane is the vocalist of Kane'd where she shares vocals with her two sisters. However there's no sharing the mic here, it's very much a solo project Chez's classic rock vocals bringing to mind Lee Aaron, Lita Ford and Pat Benatar with her soulful lows and powerful rock highs. This project came about when Crazy Lixx's Danny Rexon's was looking for a vocalist for songs he had written. With a little bit of Frontiers music he came across Chez and this album was born. Heavily drawing from the hard rock/AOR sound of the late 80's/early 90's. There's firework guitar soloing, big synth walls and even some slinky sax
Only really Rocket On The Radio has that Crazy Lixx/Motley sound to it, The remaining 9 songs running the gamut of 80's hard rock from the Def Leppard styled All Of It, Better Than Love which is very Bon Jovi, the REO Speedwagon-esque ballad Defender Of The Heart while Ball N Chain has the driving rock n roll of Europe.
It's full of huge pop choruses and keyboard driven songs not heard since 1989 (well 1993 before grunge ruined it), this culminates in it being as chessy as a raclette served with a side of Fondue but it is bloody enjoyable. I challenge you to not smile at least once when listening to this album.With Rexon writing/arranging/producing and I believe playing/programming all of the instruments here, it's a powerful way for Kane to launch her solo career. Any song here could be a single but as a whole it sees Chez flying the flag for Welsh hard rock. Exciting and full of retro rock anthems! 8/10
Death Embrace - Unholy Trinity I (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
DM (guitars, bass, keys, vocals) is the solitary member of Death Embrace, so yes we have another black metal solo project with one member playing everything. As we've said before, these projects are often very hit or miss, some scale heady heights others dwell in basements forever. It's with the latter that I try to give the benefit of the doubt so unfortunately that's really what I have to do here. The ominous organ and bell tolling of Unholy Sabbath kicks off this EP, creating an atmosphere that is all but washed away on Heretic...Act Of Faith, it's here that the problem arises, the production/mixing of this record is painful. I'm unsure if it was deliberate perhaps harking back to the first wave black metal but it's as if the instruments were recorded in a different room, while the vocals were laid down far too close to the mic in an echoey bathroom. It's a shame as musically it's pretty decent black metal but the unintelligible growls draw focus away from everything else. If you're a hardcore cassette collecting extreme metal fan then I'm sure you'll be playing this at night during a summoning but it's really not for me at all. 4/10
DM (guitars, bass, keys, vocals) is the solitary member of Death Embrace, so yes we have another black metal solo project with one member playing everything. As we've said before, these projects are often very hit or miss, some scale heady heights others dwell in basements forever. It's with the latter that I try to give the benefit of the doubt so unfortunately that's really what I have to do here. The ominous organ and bell tolling of Unholy Sabbath kicks off this EP, creating an atmosphere that is all but washed away on Heretic...Act Of Faith, it's here that the problem arises, the production/mixing of this record is painful. I'm unsure if it was deliberate perhaps harking back to the first wave black metal but it's as if the instruments were recorded in a different room, while the vocals were laid down far too close to the mic in an echoey bathroom. It's a shame as musically it's pretty decent black metal but the unintelligible growls draw focus away from everything else. If you're a hardcore cassette collecting extreme metal fan then I'm sure you'll be playing this at night during a summoning but it's really not for me at all. 4/10
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