Reviews: Slaegt, Hellfrost & Fire, Expedition, Mines (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Slaegt - Goddess (Century Media Records)

So if the Godfather of the Gothenburg scene is a fan there's a good chance everyone who loves their metal with an edge. Luckily Goddess is edgier than Joe Rogan with six songs of hard to categorize heavy metal, that yes has growled vocals but also plenty of Gothic chiming, solos aplenty, proggy drumming and even some sax, and that's all just on the first song! There's a real sense of where Slaegt come from here, building on the template of bands like Celtic Frost/Triptykon and Tribulation for experimental, blackened metal that never stays in one style for long enough to be pigeonholed. 

The title track for for instance is a deeply progressive and almost feels like Mastodon or Baroness but with black metal snarls, though it evolves into a final instrumental section where there are influences of Rush, as it closes out with acoustics. Goddess is their fourth studio album and it's a climax of what has come before, it's the most mature, expansive, impressive record of their career so far. Just 6 songs, it has 40 minute run time, the cuts on the record explorative, but straightforward. Recorded and mixed by Martin 'Konie' Ehrencrona (Refused, Tribulation) and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult Of Luna), it has polyphonic, analogue meets digital approach. 

Which is sort of the ethos for the whole band, decidedly retro numbers such as the biting Deceived By An Amethyst, bringing almost NWOBHM inspired black metal (or Venom), with airy echoed guitars ala post metal. Then of course Kiss From A Knife, gets some blasting punk/black from the Darkthrone playbook. There's so much going on, you have to listen to it a few times to really let it sink in properly, but when it clicks, you are drawn into Slaegt's musical cauldron, from the blistering industrial-tinged doom of Hunt Again that moves into stoner riffs, while Fealty, Thunder Whip is more traditional black metal, followed by an acoustic interlude, that shifts into that excellent closing title track. Goddess sees this Danish foursome evolving into a band, who take risks but retain a whole heap of classic influences. 8/10  

Hellfrost & Fire - Fire, Frost & Hell (Transcending Obscurity Records)

If a death metal record features Dave Ingram, then there's a good chance it'll be heavy as a bag of nails, the former Bolt Thrower, Hail Of Bullets and current Benediction growler is death metal royalty so Hellfrost & Fire, already lines you up for something brutal. He's joined on this project by DM veterans guitarist/bassist Rick “Dennis” DeMusis and Travis Ruvo on drums as Memoriam six stringer Scott Fairfax provides the razor sharp soloing. Fire, Frost & Hell is very much old school death metal, taking from obviously Bolt Thrower, Benediction and Celtic Frost, full of 90's style death metal, along with touches of grindcore too, that melds furious blasting and enveloping grooves Sonance Of The Swords is slower paced, full of down tuned grinding as does Within And Without The Emperor's Frontier which closes out this band's debut. 

Ingram's vocals are of course right on point, growling, snarling and grunting through these 10 tracks, proving why he has reverence on his name. A track such as Meridian's Acquisition gives you the full Hellfrost & Fire experience as Ingram roars over the top of aggressive riffs from DeMusis and machine gun drumming from Ruvo, Fairfax cutting in with melodic, technical soloing throughout the record. Enriched by the raw production a track like The Lost King And The Heir Apparent adds more dramatic atmospheres as A Crown Of Conquest is creeping doom. Death metal 101 from Dave Ingram and co, from the the fires of hell, they bring with them the blueprint of OSDM. 7/10    

Expedition - A Good Day To Die (Self Released)

From Donegal Irish Thrashers release their debut EP A Good Day To Die and if you're that guy often seen at festivals with a Fistful Of Metal back patch then you'll love this debut. Feeling like the old school bouncing thrash the New Yorkers have been delivering since the 80's, throw in a bit of Megadeth on Repent, and you get the style the Expedition bring to this EP. Packed with a stomping groove, dirty thrash riffs, and sneering vocals, there's enough here for thrasheads to get their heads banging, flashes of crossover on Deathwish. 

As Divide Conquer is the most Anthrax sounding track here with shifting time signatures while the title track continues in this vein as well. With a D.I.Y production it sounds as if this EP could have easily come on a cassette tape, all pointy guitars and high tops, but with a political message in a lot of their lyrics. Thrashaholichs will love this EP as it displays the untapped potential of what the band may achieve in the future. The basics are there but with some refinement they'll be storming the UK thrash scene very soon. 6/10

Mines - Your Ever Failing Happiness (Trepanation Recordings)

Have you ever wanted music to hurt you? Great then I suggest you immediately seek out Your Ever Failing Happiness by South Wales noisemakers Mines. Their debut album is a five song record that clocks in at 35 minutes of bowel crippling, headache inducing sludge/noise/extremity that is hard to categorize and even harder to experience. Especially on headphones where you get the full force of their desperation, angst and intensity. 

Having expanded to a five piece since their first recorded music, musically they are trying to make you uncomfortable, the throbbing synths burning a hole through tracks like Inadequate And Vulnerable, in both unison and opposition to the crashing down tuned riffs. It's Inadequate And Vulnerable is so different to opener No Other Way that you could think it's another band but this is sort of the point as Mines bring a Avant Garde approach to their music. It was recorded in a dilapidated mansion and they have somehow managed to channel this into the record, from the D.I.Y production that makes a song such as the hardcore influenced beginning to Your Pain Will Only Get Worse but as with all of this record it then moves into something totally left field a post metal reverb and a frenzied freak out driven by the schizophrenic percussion. 

Wildly instrumental, using the elongated run times to explore but when there are vocals the are throat shredding. Your Ever Failing Happiness is a difficult album to review if I'm honest as there's so much going on you have to listen to it to really get to grips with it. Dark, aggressive and experimental, Mines have unleashed a unique monster on the world. 7/10