From the dark North East comes some deathcore that is bound to annihilate anything it touches, but also transforms what many will think deathcore is about. A much maligned genre with metal fans it used to be scene kids playing death metal but now deathcore is much less of a dirty word, due in a major part to the Unique Leader label who seem to attract all of the most popular modern deathcore acts. Acts such as Osiah, who have joined the roster to showcase their style of extremely heavy music.
Crusty, gnarled guitars and gargling vocals are all trademarks of band such as Obituary, as are the slow deliberate riffs but Osiah manage to inject the trademark's of deathcore with a breakdown so big on Momento Mori that pitting to it would have to be done in slow motion. It's ominous and all-encompassing as the guttural roars shift into black metal shrieks with was, the jerky riffs, whizzing through your ears like a kid when they've had too much sugar. This second EP is more experimental and braver than their last few releases, carrying on with the journey they started on their second full length Kingdom Of Lies and through their third Loss which was critically acclaimed.
From this set off point we get Chronos which is Osiah looking forward to what's to come, almost adding a flair for the progressive as well as other genres across 20 odd minutes of music, with more beatdowns on Elder King which features Josh Davies of Monasteries, The Golden Throne is blistering while the last track Hues Refract, the longest here, is more ambient than what proceeded it, ending the EP with something more cathartic and dare I say radio friendly than the rest of the EP concluding with a great solo. Osiah have come of age with this EP, following a spectacular album, Chronos is their next step and a indelible one. 8/10
This release is in fact a compilation of material from the bast two decades, newly cleaned up and offered as a taster for their new home, presumably whilst this Boston-based quintet craft something new and with a taste of what’s to come in new single FILTHY and the title track. The sound mix is fairly consistent for all the songs, presumably as a result of a thorough remix or master process, but you can tell from the writing and arrangements that the material covers quite a span of time due to the stylistic stretches it takes across it’s dozen songs.
With a blend of touches modern metal, alternative rock and even bits of country in terms of the vocal arrangements (yep, like but not at all like Black Stone Cherry), this is a band that sounds like it belongs in the arenas. To be fair they’ve toured their backsides off the hard way, so it’s more than about time that a wider audience outside the USA for their songs was found. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t heard of them before – the whole point of this release is to allow you to catch up. It’s eclectic and with enough aggression and energy to justify inclusion on these pages, and I would be curious to see what they are live, given that the songs are very studio effect heavy.
Elderseer - Drown In The Shallowness (Meuse Music Records) [Paul Scoble]
Drown In The Shallowness is the debut album from Elderseer, who have been making huge noises since 2017. In the time they have been together Elderseer have released an EP in 2018’s Bind Us As One. The Guildford based band is made up of Freddie French on bass, Richard Hartley on drums, Barry Copestake on vocals/guitar and Vinny Konrad on lead guitar.
Elderseer play a fairly traditional style of death/doom, so, huge riffs with a sombre feel to them with melody leads over the top that also have a sorrowful tone, harsh and clean vocals with the balance being on the harsh side, but as this is death/doom the vocals, although harsh, aren’t aggressive or hostile, the vocals fit with the music rather than being barked in an antagonistic way.
The album opener Gilded Shackles is a good example of their sound; the song opens with guitar harmonies before big, sad riffs are added with harsh vocals and a piano. Initially this feels faltering and very slow, but the song picks up the tempo a little for more purposeful riffs that move the song along. In the second half of the song we get some more expansive riffs with keyboards and very good clean vocals, after this we return to the big guitar harmonies and heavy riffs to take the song to it’s end.
This Aesthetic Life (possibly a reference to the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard) is another good example of the sound on offer on Drown In The Shallowness.
This Aesthetic Life is again a mix of huge doomy riffs and sad but melodic lead guitar work with a little keyboard for atmosphere, and much more minimal sections with clean vocals. The song also features a cracking chorus, that sticks in your memory, something that this band have a talent for writing, as this is not the only great chorus on this album. She Is The Ocean is another song with a great chorus you can sing along with. The song is a slow walking pace and feels brooding, until you get to the chorus where the pacing picks up speed and a lot more melody is added. The song also boasts a great solo and gets more melodic the closer it gets to its conclusion.
It’s not all slow and sad with big melodies, sometimes Elderseer get nasty. The track The World Is Your Cloister (lovely pun) is brooding and dissonant, the riffs feel nastier and more putrid than anything else on Drown In The Shallowness, there is a melody lead, but its far more wailing and droning than the leads we have encountered before. Some of this reminds me a little of Autopsy when they are being slow and sickening, it also reminds me a little of blackened doom in particular a blackened doom band from Australia called Obed Marsh. There is a minimal clean section near the end, but that also feels disturbing and dirty.
The album comes to an end with a song that is the least mournful and isn’t that disturbing, Bind Us As One has a mid-paced tempo and very tuneful and expansive riffs, the song has a great chorus with loads of melody, a great guitar solo and lots of drive and energy, it’ll have your head nodding strait away, and is a great way to end the album.
Drown In The Shallowness is a great piece of death/doom. The style is quite traditional, but at no point feels generic or lacking in ideas. This album is packed with great melodies, lots of sad and desolate riffs and tunes, great vocals and great atmosphere. I’ve really enjoyed listening to it and have found that the songs grow on you and are very memorable, I have been humming all the tunes on this album to distraction over the last few weeks. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that this is Elderseer’s debut album, if this is their first try, then I am already eager to hear their second album! 8/10
Warp - Bound By Gravity (Self Released) [Rich Piva]
I can never get enough of great stoner rock, and the trio from Tel Aviv, Israel, Warp, bring it with their second album, Bound By Gravity. The riffs are real on this one…these guys have taken it to the next Iommi worshiping level with their latest offering which will be much loved amongst the crowd that digs the holy riff.
Right off the bat with The Present you get some killer stoner rock with amazing guitar work and a kind of sung but shouted vocal that really works. If you dig Ripple Music stuff, like High Desert Queen for example, this will be right up your alley. The Hunger brings more of the heavy riffing same which I can consume all day and night.
This trio makes a ton of sound. There is a fuzzy aspect of the guitar tone that is pretty much perfect and is highlighted on this track throughout the eight plus minutes of riffs and some cool tempo changes. Your Fascist Pigs Are Back is some more excellent heavy stoner goodness with some doomy influence as well and of course more killer riffs. Head Of The Eye is three minutes plus of stoner awesomeness and should be on every playlist for 2023 while Bound By Gravity crushes you with Sabbath worship but never leaves you thinking Warp is any kind of cheap imitation.
This is next level stuff for the genre as there is nothing generic or boring anywhere on Bound By Gravity. I love the way that song transition into the next track, Impeachment Of Abdication, which just flat out kills. The closer is just amazing, a sort of nod to Children Of The Grave for the first two minutes (I hear it, do you?) until the tempo change comes and slowly crushes you into nothing.
This is next level, top tier stoner rock that needs to be heard by the people who love the stuff.
A perfect example of how I want my rock to sound. Great production, amazing guitar work, excellent songs, killer riffs, never outstays its welcome, and simply crushes everything around it. Warp have a stoner classic on their hands with Bound By Gravity and it will be near the top of my list when all is said and done in 2023. 9/10
Lansdowne – Medicine (AFM Records) [Simon Black]
Lansdowne are one of those acts that have been around for a while but failed to register on my radar. They’re also a challenging bunch to find out any information about, given that their internet presence is on a par with a really obscure underground act. That said, they have a distinct buzz about them, with their Spotify page indicating that their five most popular songs have amassed an impressive 35 million plays, which is way more than you might expect for a band with only one full album and an EP under their belt, both of which are a decade old. There have been singles in between, and plenty of buzz but now major label AFM has picked them up off the back of some impressive Billboard chart success for some of them and things feel like they are about to scale up somewhat.
Lansdowne – Medicine (AFM Records) [Simon Black]
Lansdowne are one of those acts that have been around for a while but failed to register on my radar. They’re also a challenging bunch to find out any information about, given that their internet presence is on a par with a really obscure underground act. That said, they have a distinct buzz about them, with their Spotify page indicating that their five most popular songs have amassed an impressive 35 million plays, which is way more than you might expect for a band with only one full album and an EP under their belt, both of which are a decade old. There have been singles in between, and plenty of buzz but now major label AFM has picked them up off the back of some impressive Billboard chart success for some of them and things feel like they are about to scale up somewhat.
This release is in fact a compilation of material from the bast two decades, newly cleaned up and offered as a taster for their new home, presumably whilst this Boston-based quintet craft something new and with a taste of what’s to come in new single FILTHY and the title track. The sound mix is fairly consistent for all the songs, presumably as a result of a thorough remix or master process, but you can tell from the writing and arrangements that the material covers quite a span of time due to the stylistic stretches it takes across it’s dozen songs.
With a blend of touches modern metal, alternative rock and even bits of country in terms of the vocal arrangements (yep, like but not at all like Black Stone Cherry), this is a band that sounds like it belongs in the arenas. To be fair they’ve toured their backsides off the hard way, so it’s more than about time that a wider audience outside the USA for their songs was found. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t heard of them before – the whole point of this release is to allow you to catch up. It’s eclectic and with enough aggression and energy to justify inclusion on these pages, and I would be curious to see what they are live, given that the songs are very studio effect heavy.
It adds energy, but it’s a bitch to recreate live without a sneaky cheating click tape, so time will tell. Catchy, commercial but with enough of a political edge lyrically to get me interested, this is one to watch. 7/10
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