Take whatever you thought you knew about Bleed From Within, and metalcore, for that matter. The times, well, they are a’changin’, and the high-pitched, clean-as-a-whistle hooks have been tossed out the window in favor of husky, harsh goodness. Shrine boasts a dozen bone-chilling presentations. To say it’s relentless and a cardiovascular-busting undertaking is all well and true, though that’s only scratching the surface of a pounding, determined product. Par for the course is the interplay between harsh (Scott Kennedy) and clean (Steven Jones) singing, but the clean is really anything but, and the harsh is so much more than that.
Sovereign thrusts an uppercut directly to your mandible before the bell is even rung. It’s cataclysmic, ferocious and an expert exhibition of heavy and methodical metal. If you’re even still standing after that, take solace in Flesh And Stone disintegrating your teeth with a well-placed brass-knuckled jab. Subtle symphonics coupled with a breakdown bait you into thinking you might get out alive. Stand Down laughs in the face of calmness. Kennedy’s vocals could lead a charge over the top through the morass of Passchendaele. Shrine employs clean vocals that are about as spotless as the port-a-potty at a three-day outdoor metal festival in Florida. Jones is coarse and corrupt, displaying a dominance which realistically could stand as its own vocal performance that fronts an entire album by itself.
Even as belligerent as Levitate is, Bleed From Within manage to implement groove and strings/orchestral elements. Invisible Enemy touches on Nu-Metal influences without putting a blemish on the album. If this is any indication of how the Metalcore scene is going to be anchored moving forward, expect more of this remarkably appealing brand of punishing angst. Oh, and before I let you go, the drumming is colossal. Ali Richardson also blasts the skins for Sylosis, and on Shrine, his command of the kit is a site to hear. 8/10
All Things Fallen - Shadow Way (Black Oak Records) [Matt Bladen]
If you love any of the Swedish style of dark, brooding but melodic progressive metal played by bands such as Evergrey, Soen, Pain Of Salvation and Darkwater, then the second album from Swedes All Things Fallen will excite you as much as it did me. having released their debut record in 2019, the band formed by Darkwater guitarist Markus Sigfridsson, draws heavily from his main band but also adds more than a few different flourishes. There's some Dream Theater on Kiss Of Death definitely.
Even as belligerent as Levitate is, Bleed From Within manage to implement groove and strings/orchestral elements. Invisible Enemy touches on Nu-Metal influences without putting a blemish on the album. If this is any indication of how the Metalcore scene is going to be anchored moving forward, expect more of this remarkably appealing brand of punishing angst. Oh, and before I let you go, the drumming is colossal. Ali Richardson also blasts the skins for Sylosis, and on Shrine, his command of the kit is a site to hear. 8/10
All Things Fallen - Shadow Way (Black Oak Records) [Matt Bladen]
If you love any of the Swedish style of dark, brooding but melodic progressive metal played by bands such as Evergrey, Soen, Pain Of Salvation and Darkwater, then the second album from Swedes All Things Fallen will excite you as much as it did me. having released their debut record in 2019, the band formed by Darkwater guitarist Markus Sigfridsson, draws heavily from his main band but also adds more than a few different flourishes. There's some Dream Theater on Kiss Of Death definitely.
He plays guitars, bass and keys/programming on this record, the organs especially prevalent on tracks such as Desert Of The Real and Chaos System/Pandemonium which brings elements of Kamelot as well as that huge Evergrey feel in the vocals of Erik Tordsson (End Of September), but is also the most progressive track on the album, full of keening violin by Maria Grigoryeva. Pandemonium marks the center point of the album, as the Gothic Path Of Dismay takes from 70's progressive rock and also Pain Of Salvation. Its their drummer Leo Margarit that drives the heavier parts of Path Of Dismay along with opener The Sentinel.
Unlike the debut record Shadow Way is a lot darker in tone, but without getting rid of the melody, Narcissistic Ritual is an ideal example, as Tordsson adopts a Geoff Tate delivery on top of a mid paced emotive rocker built on the programming and the grooves of bassist Raphael Dafras (Edu Falaschi, Almah). Swedish progressive metal does have a particular sound to it and All Things Fallen do all they can to stay as true to it as possible. If you like any of the bands mentioned earlier in the review then you'll enjoy Shadow Way. 8/10
Sadistic Ritual – The Enigma, Boundless (Prosthetic Records) [Matt Cook]
Ten years elapsed since the formation of Sadistic Ritual and the release of their debut album in 2019. After a bit of member reshuffling, the Atlanta-based band return with their sophomore effort, The Enigma, Boundless, featuring nine rambunctious songs doused in filth. Unmistakably categorized as blackened thrash, the production itself is swampy and fetid, while simultaneously showcasing a sneaky good musicianship coursing through the band’s veins.Charlie Southern is a Swiss Army knife guiding force. He throws down top-tier riffs (End Of All Roads, Dire Avidity) that could be measured on the Richter scale (Murmur). Dire Avidity also sees Southern implementing exceptional tremolo wails on a track that evolves into a brooding death ‘n roll number. Southern, who is also the vocalist, crawls out of his septic-tank abode long enough to unleash heinous growling (And You…), cavernous bellows (Murmur) and moldy, molasses-soaked lines, quite appropriate in a world that has increasingly relied on hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes.
This record may not be suitable for the faint of heart, but what did you expect? It’s disgusting, repulsive, insert-grosser-sounding-adjective here. As for the artwork, drummer Joe Sweat and artist Erica Frevel teamed up to produce a psychedelic-inspired color wheel of security cameras, mushroom clouds and skulls.After a full decade and nine different recruits coming and going through the Sadistic Ritual camp, the band is on a forward trajectory and is only building more momentum. Armed with a reputable record label, let’s hope the four piece doesn’t crawl back into their musty domicile for too long before album number three. 7/10
Fireproven - Epilogue (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Fireproven come from Finland, they are a progressive metal band who take their inspiration from bands such as Epica and Scar Symmetry, the clean/squawked vocals of Sanna Solanterä met with the roars/growls of bassist Juha Väätämöinen. Despite only releasing their debut full length, Future Diary in 2018, this first album with Sanna behind the mic, is actually their last as the band announced in january 2022 that after the release of Epilogue, they will disband. So what legacy have they left us with? Well what we have here is a collection of progressive metal tracks, that change time signatures, tempo and sometimes style all within one track a lot of the time.
The grooves of Juha on Haunted creep along with guitarist Janne Väätämöinen, as Juha and Sanna both show their growl/screams as they stay heavy on Time To Heal again relying on the harsh vocals and some thrashy riffs from Janne, Nuutti Hannula a monster behind the kit. Where Fireproven very much sit in the European style is when Ilari Hannula's keys are in full effect such as on Dream Catcher when he has full on keyboard solo. There's a slight cinematic nature to Epilogue, but mostly it stays in the heavy style of prog metal, however Waves Of Extinction is a ballad that stays in that symphonic metal sound of the mid-2000's.
With only two albums Fireproven never really got to show more of themselves but Epilogue is a great show of what could have been. 8/10
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