Soothsayer - Echoes Of The Earth (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Paul Scoble]
Soothsayer have been damaging buildings foundations since 2013. The five piece, made up of Líam Hughes on Vocals, Con Doyle on Guitars and Vocals, Marc O'Grady on Guitars, Pavol Rosa on Bass and Sean Breen on Drums. The band have released 2 Ep’s with The Soothsayer in 2015 and At This Great Depth a year later, and a live album; Live In Malta in 2020. Echoes Of The Earth is the bands first full album, it’s taken a while to get a debut album out, has the time been well spent?
Soothsayer have been damaging buildings foundations since 2013. The five piece, made up of Líam Hughes on Vocals, Con Doyle on Guitars and Vocals, Marc O'Grady on Guitars, Pavol Rosa on Bass and Sean Breen on Drums. The band have released 2 Ep’s with The Soothsayer in 2015 and At This Great Depth a year later, and a live album; Live In Malta in 2020. Echoes Of The Earth is the bands first full album, it’s taken a while to get a debut album out, has the time been well spent?
The album opens with the track Fringe, which feels ritualistic as it is mainly chanting with minimal percussion. This eases the listener into the album, and is a nicely atmospheric way to draw the audience in. Second track Outer Fringe begins with some huge and heavy Apocalyptic Doom, massive riffs with bellowing, harsh vocals. The song has a couple of faster, driving sections where the tempo increases along with the intensity. War Of The Doves opens with a minimal feel, just drums and vocals, this then crashes into a huge, aggressive doom section that reminds me a little of some of Yob’s heavier material, and maybe a little bit of Doom supergroup Shrinebuilder. This song also boasts a very effective, and very fervent vocal performance from Líam Hughes proving to be one of the standout factors on this album. Cities Of Smoke has a softer, more melodic and tuneful feel than a lot of the material on this album. It’s heavy in parts (particularly in the second half of the song), but is mainly about beautifully melodic tune-fullness.
Next up is the track Six Of Nothing, which has a dissonant opening, before going into slow, mournful Doom with a relaxed tempo. As the track progresses it slowly morphs into huge, apocalyptic Doom Metal. The song slowly moves towards a faster tempo, and the intensity increases at the same time until we get to a huge, fast and heavy ending. The album ends with the longest track on the album; True North. True North manages to be both more and less extreme than the rest of the album. More, as the track features several Blast Beats that have a decidedly Black Metal feel to them, they are nasty and savage and feel extremely viscous. Less, as the track also features some very nice softer parts that have some very pleasing guitar harmonies and a distinct NWOBHM feel to them. The second half of the song vacillates between savage Black Metal blasting, and softer, melodic traditional metal harmonies, making the track a fantastic way to end the album.
Echoes Of The Earth is a cracking album. It took me a few listens to really get into it, but when I did I listened to it obsessively. The album is packed with really great riffs, and the way the songs are structured is also a strong point of the album. The songs feel as if they are constantly changing, but at the same time don’t feel disjointed of thrown together. There is some very impressive songwriting on display here, that is highlighted by how good the individual performances are; each member excels themselves and adds to what is a very accomplished album. Echoes Of The Earth would be very impressive album if it was from a band that had a few releases under its belt; but for a debut, this is doubly impressive. Fantastic piece of Massive Doom. 9/10
Årabrot - Norwegian Gothic (Pelagic Records) [JT Smith]
This was a record I wasn’t expecting. This is a richly dark, gothic, romantic record evocative of darker, colder Scandinavian climes, and while not every song hits as well as intended, the songs that do hit hit with the same brooding intensity of Mer De Noms era A Perfect Circle, the less cringey moments of HIM and the better moments of Melissa Auf Der Maur’s solo record (how about that for an early 2000’s blast from the past?). In fact, The Lie is pure Auf Der Maur, the same, pulsating, drum pattern, wailing vocals, hypnotic bass, and delicious, slightly chorus-y earworm guitar licks.
The Rule Of Silence is extremely imaginative, because its opening drum work, a busy, hi-hat heavy shuffle is not something that you would expect to precede the winding gothic tale (Not unlike Nine Inch Nails’ Only) that the song weaves, but the descending chord progression from the guitars and the unexpected, but welcome cellos from a guest Jo Quail appearance quickly dispel that misapprehension, and Hallucinational shows off a more longing, more romantic side to this gothic offering, with an ambient heavy introduction, heavily muffled tide sounds, and quavering, Björk-esque vocals.
Kinks Of The Heart and album closer Hard Love manage to take the sound of straightforward rock songs and add the same gothic brooding romance present in the whole album, but for my money, the best moment on an album full of excellent moments has to be the opening track Carnival Of Love. The only ways I can accurately describe this song is part mantra, part love song, part warning, and that goes equally for the vocals, the guitar work (seriously, what an opening riff), the sampled orchestral backing, and bass driven second verse. I mentioned A Perfect Circle and Mer De Noms earlier, and this song is the reason why. It is both its own beast, and evocative of The Hollow and Judith all at the same time.
This is an absolutely fantastic offering. 9/10
This was a record I wasn’t expecting. This is a richly dark, gothic, romantic record evocative of darker, colder Scandinavian climes, and while not every song hits as well as intended, the songs that do hit hit with the same brooding intensity of Mer De Noms era A Perfect Circle, the less cringey moments of HIM and the better moments of Melissa Auf Der Maur’s solo record (how about that for an early 2000’s blast from the past?). In fact, The Lie is pure Auf Der Maur, the same, pulsating, drum pattern, wailing vocals, hypnotic bass, and delicious, slightly chorus-y earworm guitar licks.
The Rule Of Silence is extremely imaginative, because its opening drum work, a busy, hi-hat heavy shuffle is not something that you would expect to precede the winding gothic tale (Not unlike Nine Inch Nails’ Only) that the song weaves, but the descending chord progression from the guitars and the unexpected, but welcome cellos from a guest Jo Quail appearance quickly dispel that misapprehension, and Hallucinational shows off a more longing, more romantic side to this gothic offering, with an ambient heavy introduction, heavily muffled tide sounds, and quavering, Björk-esque vocals.
Kinks Of The Heart and album closer Hard Love manage to take the sound of straightforward rock songs and add the same gothic brooding romance present in the whole album, but for my money, the best moment on an album full of excellent moments has to be the opening track Carnival Of Love. The only ways I can accurately describe this song is part mantra, part love song, part warning, and that goes equally for the vocals, the guitar work (seriously, what an opening riff), the sampled orchestral backing, and bass driven second verse. I mentioned A Perfect Circle and Mer De Noms earlier, and this song is the reason why. It is both its own beast, and evocative of The Hollow and Judith all at the same time.
This is an absolutely fantastic offering. 9/10
Unknown Refuge - From The Darkness (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Formed back in 2016 by the then 15 year old singer/bassist Alex Mancini, since then it's been an upward trajectory for the band competing in numerous Battle Of The Bands and always coming high. These shows also improved the bands songwriting culminating in some well received singles and the watchful eye of Rob Stampede who is mentoring the band on their journey to rock stardom. So then From The Darkness has a lot riding on it. Now it features those three singles To The Light, Shadows and If The Gods Be Good but that's only the beginning of the story as the remaining songs on the record are what will put Unknown Refuge on the map.
First single To The Light is the opener and it's certainly one that makes you sit up and listen, an element of Volbeat/latter-day Metallica comes from the vocals while the music itself is a more hard hitting heavy rock shifting between Metallica (post-Black Album), BFMV and even some Alter Bridge. The maturity of the record is far beyond the members years (they are still ridiculously young), a muscular rhythm section of Alex, Morgan Deveney (drums) and Harry Skinner (rhythm guitar) drives heavy rockers like Battle Hymn which almost hits thrash level, but also adds an anthemic quality to not only this song but to big strutting rockers like Shadows and the more melodic Palace Walls.
Rounding out the band is Jack Tracey who is the next generation of guitar hero from the school of Mark Tremonti adding the gutsy, fluid soloing to this album on songs like Wall Of Lies and To The Light, along with the lead guitar harmonies on final track Journey adding some Maiden galloping. From The Darkness would be a very strong debut album from a band who have been playing for 10 years, not one who have only been around for five. They are still very early in their career but on the back of this debut, these Bolton rockers won't be unknown for long! 8/10
Cryptosis - Bionic Swarm (Century Media Records) [Charlie Rogers]
It’s alright. 6/10.
Ok ok ok, I’ll elaborate.
Previously known as Distillator, these Dutch thrashers have undergone an identity shift and rebranded as Cryptosis. The bio that accompanied the album that landed in my lap talked a very big game regarding the music, using phrases like “a sound that defies expectations and limitations with equal intensity” , “An invigorating shot in the arm for the entire metal scene, it’s guaranteed that their album is to be one of 2021’s most talked-about debuts.” and my favourite, “Cryptosis is what happens when metal is allowed to evolve”. If this is evolving, it’s evolving backwards.
The album itself is has its own distinct take on Thrash, with a clear focus on melody and hooks. While it’s got your attention, it’s quite listenable, easy to bop along to, with no real barriers to enjoyment. The problem I have with it, is staying power. The songs are all completely forgettable. Upbeat, thrilling, fleeting. Instruments are very busy, as you’d expect from the genre, with swift picking from both guitar and bass, and furious drum attacks to accompany. I’m not a fan of the thrash vocal style, favouring more the gravelly end of the spectrum, but I can’t say it doesn’t fit.
In terms of production, it’s very clear, everything coming through well and no one part feeling like it dominates the rest. In particular, some tasty bass licks get time in the spotlight, which is great. Box ticked. Upon multiple listens, I found myself enjoying track 3 Death Technology the most of the 8 song and 2 interlude offering. Can’t recall how it goes now the record has finished, but that’s the crux of my problem with this release. I don’t pretend to know the formula for writing songs that lodge themselves in my hippocampus, but it doesn’t appear that Cryptosis know either.
For thrash fans, I’m sure there’s a lot to enjoy here, and if this was released in the 1990’s I’m sure it would’ve earned all the bluster I mentioned earlier. However, I feel it falls short for a 2020’s release, and for those of us on the heavier end of the scale I recommend the following 3 bands that start with the letters C-R-Y-P-T instead: 1. Cryptopsy 2. Cryptic Shift 3. Cryptworm. So 6/10.
It’s alright. 6/10.
Ok ok ok, I’ll elaborate.
Previously known as Distillator, these Dutch thrashers have undergone an identity shift and rebranded as Cryptosis. The bio that accompanied the album that landed in my lap talked a very big game regarding the music, using phrases like “a sound that defies expectations and limitations with equal intensity” , “An invigorating shot in the arm for the entire metal scene, it’s guaranteed that their album is to be one of 2021’s most talked-about debuts.” and my favourite, “Cryptosis is what happens when metal is allowed to evolve”. If this is evolving, it’s evolving backwards.
The album itself is has its own distinct take on Thrash, with a clear focus on melody and hooks. While it’s got your attention, it’s quite listenable, easy to bop along to, with no real barriers to enjoyment. The problem I have with it, is staying power. The songs are all completely forgettable. Upbeat, thrilling, fleeting. Instruments are very busy, as you’d expect from the genre, with swift picking from both guitar and bass, and furious drum attacks to accompany. I’m not a fan of the thrash vocal style, favouring more the gravelly end of the spectrum, but I can’t say it doesn’t fit.
In terms of production, it’s very clear, everything coming through well and no one part feeling like it dominates the rest. In particular, some tasty bass licks get time in the spotlight, which is great. Box ticked. Upon multiple listens, I found myself enjoying track 3 Death Technology the most of the 8 song and 2 interlude offering. Can’t recall how it goes now the record has finished, but that’s the crux of my problem with this release. I don’t pretend to know the formula for writing songs that lodge themselves in my hippocampus, but it doesn’t appear that Cryptosis know either.
For thrash fans, I’m sure there’s a lot to enjoy here, and if this was released in the 1990’s I’m sure it would’ve earned all the bluster I mentioned earlier. However, I feel it falls short for a 2020’s release, and for those of us on the heavier end of the scale I recommend the following 3 bands that start with the letters C-R-Y-P-T instead: 1. Cryptopsy 2. Cryptic Shift 3. Cryptworm. So 6/10.
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