Reviews: MWWB, Agathodaimon, Crown Magentar, Tyrannosaurus Nebulous (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

MWWB – The Harvest (New Heavy Sounds)

With the demise of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, comes the rise of the more palatable (for some) moniker of MWWB. Everything about this fourth studio record smacks of rebirth, coming off the back of their original trilogy of records, this fourth journey into the cosmic abyss was originally planned for March 2021, recorded the year previously with the master of heavy production himself Chris Fielding, however in January 2021 guitarist Paul Michael ‘Dave’ Davies suffered a stroke caused by the contraction of Covid 19, that left him fighting for his life. Thankfully Dave is a tough bastard and he has been rehabilitating at a much faster pace than expected. Out of respect for their friend and bandmate, they delayed the release of the record until they can all experience it together. A reminder if there was ever one needed that this pandemic has effected so many lives. 

Here it is one year later and The Harvest has unveiled itself on the world, the next phase in MWWB’s cosmic exploration. From a short intro track we are dragged into the title track and there’s the MWWB I know and love, swirling, unsettling synths, twisting and turning over chugging doom riffs. With bassist Stuart Sinclair and drummer Dom McCready (ex-Black Moth), who took over the stool for this record due to the pandemic restrictions, giving a thunderous bottom end that reverberates around your house when played at the correct volume, this is MWWB sounding as heavy as ever, layers of loudness piled on top of one another, Dave’s guitar playing full of fuzz and distortion as the synths and spectral vocals of Jessica Ball again add that other-worldliness. 

You may be reading and thinking ok, same old same old, but there you’d be wrong as The Harvest is the sort of album the band have been threatening to make for a while. Able to work outside the conceptual remit of their first three albums, The Harvest sees them experiment with more prog and art rock themes for a more rounded, at times, stranger listening experience. Anywhere you see this album reviewed you’ll read comparisons to John Carpenter and Pink Floyd, but I hear touches of Van Der Graaf Generator, Can and even Laibach as well, the use of synths being as pronounced as it was on their previous record, fleshing out the ‘cosmic doom’ label a lot more. 

Hawkwind on Quaaludes is what I wrote in my listening notes and, that style of analogue (because it’s Chris Fielding production) heaviness paired with Moogs and mellotron, is prime Dave Brock meets Vangelis/Alan Parsons meets Witchfinder General/Pentagram. The record is carried by cinematic interludes that meld the big riffers together, giving you a listening journey that, much like old LP’s should be devoured in one sitting, much like Dark Side Of The Moon, there’s no time for playlists or single tracks here, just listen to Betrayal and you’ll get the influence immediately. The Harvest has been crafted in a way that it’s one coherent piece of music, with a hint of concept (think dark sci-fi), and like the Pink Floyd epic, the sequencing is a thing of beauty, for an audio nerd like me especially, Chris Fielding again showing why he’s the absolute master of the heavy genres. 

Logic Bomb is almost euphoric Jess’ vocals soaring atop a relentless riff, Altamira is about as foreboding as this record gets, bowel bustingly heavy but with mind bending psych and shoegaze. This record lives for its heaviness right up until the final track Moonrise where everything except guitar and voice is stripped away, a suitably understated yet emotional ending to this spectacular record, almost like a ghostly Kate Bush number. The Harvest is a more than welcome return from MWWB, hopefully it’s a beginning rather than an ending. Album of the year? Probably! 10/10

Agathodaimon – The Seven (Napalm Records)

Having released their last album in 2013, Sathonys, the leader of this German band, put it on hiatus in 2014. However smouldering in the background were the fires of creativity and in 2022, the blackened, Gothic, occult force of Agathodaimon has come back from the shadows with their seventh studio album. If you’ve never heard of the band before then they play a symphonic/Gothic style of black metal that marries the sound of Cradle Of Filth (without the squeals) and Dimmu Borgir (due to the clean vocals). Although they have a multifaceted style that means that they’re a difficult band to nail down, although it makes for an exciting listen. 

Focussed on the idea of seven being a powerful number throughout history and in religion particularly, The Seven opens with La Haine, a track that has furious black metal flourishes and doom metal steadiness, drawing you in for the full symphonic blast of Ain’t Death Grand, a more traditional black metal offering. The massively orchestral Mother Of All Gods features the bands original singer Romanian Vlad Dracul, as nod to the their history. Wolf Within brings more gothic metal sounds, with lots of clean vocals, while In My Dreams (Part 2 – In Bitterness) has a Viking metal edge to it, leading into the enveloping darkness of Kyrie/Gloria one of the best songs on the album in my opinion, featuring Benighted frontman Julien Truchan. 

The duality between Ashtrael (harsh vocals) and Sathonys (clean vocals/guitar) is a strong reason why Agathodaimon are so impressive, add to this the varied extreme metal approach and you can clearly understand why there was expectation around this release. Back from the dead and no hint of rigour mortis, Agathodaimon impress on album number 7. 7/10

Crown Magentar - Alone In Death (Unique Leader Records)

They say nothing gives you an "OO" quite like Typhoo. But if the double o is in BROOTAL, Crown Magentar do a great job of stealing the English Tea brands thunder. This 6 track EP is 19 minutes long but it's the heaviest, nastiest 19 minutes of the year so far. This American tech death crew skillfully balance beatdown filled deathcore with more technical and blackened styles, these coming on The Pain Of Existence where there are ominous breaks in the track for atmospherics and the vocals shift from guttural growls to shrieks as Jamie Hanks of I Declare War brings his intensity. 

Rendering the listener either completely annihilated or ready to destroy everything around them once the final chords of God Is My Enemy blasts through your speakers, Alone In Death is an EP that you'll either love or have no time for at all as it goes full pelt in everything it does. A special mention to drummer Bryon London and singer Nick Burnett who both are mesmerising. I don't know if London is using triggers or not but his drumming is inhuman, at times sounding (and feeling through headphones) like sitting underneath barrage of artillery. Burnett too has one of the most versatile voices in deathcore able to switch between death, core and black metal styles easily, even at times in the same verse. 

As brutal as anything you're likely to hear this year, with a distinct bleakness as well. Fans of Lorna Shore and Thy Art Is Murder will be pitting hard to this EP. Will it win over the deathcore doubters? No but fuck me is it a heavy listen. 8/10

Tyrannosaurus Nebulous – Tyrant Lizard King (Echoed Past Records)

According to the background on this record “Tyrant Lizard King tell stories of a dystopian universe where a battle rages between man and extra-terrestrial forces of evil. Man’s only hope is to resurrect its greatest killing machine, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, modified with the best of modern killing and time travel technology.” OK. Radical. 

With sci-fi, UFO’s and dinosaurs all dealt with on these tracks, thought the three part title track is the major part of the concept. You may not think Tyrannosaurus Nebulous take their craft too seriously, but you’d be wrong as they are trying to bring about the future of rock music by delving into the past. Tyrant Lizard King is unashamedly retro and influenced by some of the best bands ever to do it. Deal With My Evil brings the twin axes of Thin Lizzy, there’s a bit of proto-metal on Underdog, Lead Foot and Raw Deal are all about the riffage of AC/DC. 

This is music for escapism, lyrics that deal in fantasy, music that throws back hard to the past, the Stourbridge foursome, relying on the power of the riff to pull through these current dark times. At 12 tracks I think there’s a bit of culling that can be done to make this record feel a bit more vital and vibrant as by Auto Pilot and Magnetar, I felt a little like I was in NWOCR 101. However the length aside, Tyrant Lizard King is an enjoyable record that brings a lot of retro hard rocking ready for sunny days with beer in hand. 7/10