Vile and vicious, Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation is an incendiary record from Arizona natives Languish. Crafted in their home studios this third studio album has a thematic sound to it, linked by the music but also a sense of rage and disappointment. The nihilistic overtones, pricked with optimism all neatly finished in 25 minutes.
They said that their time in lockdown, at Homewrecker Studios in Arizona gave them 'hyperfocus' as bassist Ryan Bram mixed and mastered. This hyperfocus, allowed them to Languish play grindcore, abrasive, political grindcore that has inspiration from Woody Guthrie and other socialist performers, however it also meant they had time to expand on their sound. Sean Mears uses his guttural vocals to scream about the class war, world weariness, unfairness, the wage gap and our lightspeed journey toward annihilation.
They shift their grindcore sound too as i said earlier, bringing in some grooving death metal, on Judas Goat and Failed State, which is where that thematic approach comes. Many of the riffs of Matthew Mutterperl feeling similar, but vary enough to keep an atmosphere of beautiful violence. He links with Ryan Bram's fuzzing bass for flesh ripping aggression as Zack Hansen's blistering drumming and noise is piercing and brutal, but also more technical than on previous albums.
In just 25 minutes of unregulated brute force, Feeding The Flames Of Annihilation is Languish experimenting but never straying far from their signature sound. 7/10
Charlotte Wessels - Tales From Six Feet Under Vol II (Napalm Records)
Yet more tales from Charlotte Wessels' Six Feet Under studios and yet more eclectic musical experimentation. This is her second solo album again supported by her Patreon community, where she makes a new song every month, putting them together here. Like the first album Wessels plays everything you hear here, from the dramatic symphonic metal of Human To Ruin, which feels like her previous band though it's a much more progressive number. To the more emotive Against All Odds which is stripped back and beautiful Timo Somers providing the guitars to this acoustic pop masterpiece.
The powerful The Phantom Touch feels like The Gathering, Wessels using her vocals similarly to fellow Dutch singer Anneke Van Giersbergen, which is brilliant for me as I love Anneke's vocals and Charlotte's are as close as you can get. She sings beautifully on this album, no matter the genre shift her voice floats above it. The electronic rocking A Million Lives, works well, the electronics returning on The Final Roadtrip, both featuring massive choruses, but the latter brings back the pop power. Much like the first album, where Vol 2 makes its bones is in the eclecticism of the songs, take for example Toxic which is terrifying, brooding and dark, leading into I Forget which has some guest cello to make for a evocative penultimate track.
Much more than just fan service Tales From Six Feet Under Vol 2 is yet more brilliant music from this excellent musician. 8/10
Bloody Hammers - Washed In Blood (Self Released)
Everyone favourite kreepy and kooky, occult doom rocking couple Anders Manga and Devallia return with their 6th studio album of tricky treats, just in time for Halloween. With Manga taking vocals, guitar, drums, bass and keys and Devallia on keys and bass, this two piece has been bringing horror-themed doom rocking pretty much every few years. They have adapted their sound though as the first few record were heavy, moody, gothic doom records with lots of slow riffs and fuzzing bass lines, still there on Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. Recently they’ve brought more pace and dare I say poppiness to their sound, giving the bounce of bands such as Unto Others Danzig, Type O Negative and even Ghost (the nerve).
Bloody Hammers - Washed In Blood (Self Released)
Everyone favourite kreepy and kooky, occult doom rocking couple Anders Manga and Devallia return with their 6th studio album of tricky treats, just in time for Halloween. With Manga taking vocals, guitar, drums, bass and keys and Devallia on keys and bass, this two piece has been bringing horror-themed doom rocking pretty much every few years. They have adapted their sound though as the first few record were heavy, moody, gothic doom records with lots of slow riffs and fuzzing bass lines, still there on Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. Recently they’ve brought more pace and dare I say poppiness to their sound, giving the bounce of bands such as Unto Others Danzig, Type O Negative and even Ghost (the nerve).
The chugging Black Sunday kicks off the album as the pounding Phantasmagoria, brings those NWOBHM gallops, they keep things quite heavy for the first part of the album the Peter Steele influence really shining on Water To The Dead and Dead Will Walk, while The Last Rites Of Lucifer gets going like The Misfits. These Transylvania County, NC, dwelling ghouls have plucked out yet more tales of the macabre to tantalize, yet now they do it with a bit more melody and pace. 7/10
Lost Society - If The Sky Came Down (Nuclear Blast Records)
What the hell is this? Lost Society used to be a pretty good thrash band but now...I'm not too sure what they are, or what they want to be. Frontman Samy Elbanna says this is their proudest moment, songs coming from the heart, the album their most proud about but for me If The Sky Came Down, is a jarring mix of bands such as Bring Me The Horizon on Hurt Me, Bullet For My Valentine on 112, Slipknot on (We Are The) Braindead and Linkin Park on Awake. And it goes on like this with a lot of influences looming large, but never consolidated into one overall style.
It's unfortunate that they are influences that been done better not just by the bands themselves but plenty of others too. I couldn't last much longer than one listen to this record and I won't be listening to it again, I'm afraid, the music is a bit to random and feels like a covers record of bigger bands than anything else. This will gain them more fans but if like me you preferred them as a thrash band, then If The Sky Came Down is about as far as you can get from that. 5/10
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