On my recent trip to Greece I spent two days in Thessaloniki, which has a very fertile music scene. Taking in some fantastic beer at Stones Rock Club the woman behind the bar was playing some music over the speakers.
Her choices were excellent very much up my street and then I heard a track that sounded like Leviathan era Mastodon filtered through NOLA sludge. It was Kindred by the Thessaloniki based band Altar Of The Stag, an 8 minute riff fest that got me very excited as it switches from acoustic beginnings to fuzzing classic doom/stoner metal riffs. I listened to that track a lot after I came back and then I saw they were releasing their debut album in January.
Colour me excited as I now have had the chance to listen to Visceral Offering the first record from this Greek band. Decked out in a cover that reminds me of John Baizley's work with Baroness and others, the music too will delight fans of Baroness, Neurosis, Mastodon and Cult Of Luna. Long instrumental sections with atmospheric shivers, crushing riffs and progressive twists it's offers everything you could want if you're a fan of any of these bands. Playing as a three piece, Dimitris (guitar), Alex (bass/vocals) and Chris (drums/vocals) the music is dense, aggressive and emotional.
Nothing is short, the abrasive thrust of Sharpening The Butter Knife the tightest cut at just over 6 minutes, Jagten for example starts off with about three minutes of intro before the growled vocals come in, using that death/hardcore split that the Atlanta White Whales are known for. The elongated sludge atmospheres creep back in on Dyatlov, heavy use of bass and drums on this one as the guitars are peppered on top, this track is the most emotive on the record, cathartic in it's build, leading into the psychedelic dreaming of the fully instrumental Celestial Offering.
Concluding this debut with the epic Golgotha - Son Of Seth, all 12 minutes of it, Altar Of The Stag, play a style that does feature in a multitude of bands but there is tonnes of promise on this record if you're a fan of the style indeed a Visceral Offering and one you'll want to revisit. 8/10
Horrorgraphy - A Knight's Tale (Wormholedeath Records)
Founded by Dimitris Sakkas, aka Dimons Night, Horrorgraphy are a conceptual, theatrical heavy metal band where Dimitris plays all of the instrumentation and crafts the sound design/atmosphere of this album. Horrorography are symphonic metal band rich tapestries of orchestras and choirs as they put classical musicianship with the metallic sound. The album is based around Geoffrey Chaucer's seminal literary work A Knight's Tale.
So a symphonic metal band that uses classical musicians/instruments playing music that's based on the "father of English poetry", it's going to be pretty grandiose. With Dimitris taking all of the instrumentation he's brought in five different vocalists, two female singers in Katerina Sougklakoy and Sevi Spanou bring dual soprano's, while Jason Tsolakis has cleans, Ligmos brings black metal screams as Seek provides the operatic tenor, between them they conjure all of the lyrical themes on this record, the songs punctuated by spoken word parts to continue the theme.
From the Cradle Of Filth-like opener Prison and to the dramatic Palamon and the epic doom of Destiny, A Knight's Tale is certainly grandiose but I'd say a band like MaYan perhaps dose something like this a bit better. I think if it was a collaborative project, with more musicians as well as the singers then it would feel less like just a solo album created in one mans image. Still if dramatic, gothic, symphonic metal peaks your interest then Horrorgraphy will worm it's way into your listening habits. 6/10
The Magic Bus - Σε Άγνωστα Νερά (Self Released)
In my review of Το Κάστρο, the debut album from Greek language rock band The Magic Bus, I said that they were “A mix of alternative, pop and grunge rock; deeply indebted to these Greek rock leaders” and that is still true on this new EP, perhaps more so as it features two covers and two covers.
In my review of Το Κάστρο, the debut album from Greek language rock band The Magic Bus, I said that they were “A mix of alternative, pop and grunge rock; deeply indebted to these Greek rock leaders” and that is still true on this new EP, perhaps more so as it features two covers and two covers.
Σε Άγνωστα Νερά means Uncharted Territory and the spilt between having two covers and two originals means they have taken this title to heart as its original Το Κάποτε Εγώ that sounds the most like traditional Greek music, a slow steady pace, low emotional vocal following the beacon of love as a muse, driven by fuzzy guitars, it’s like the 90’s Greek rock scene all over again.
A bastion of the scene is interpreted through British NWOBHM as Nikos Ziogalas’ Βασιλική, a song about rather drinking poison than live without his Vasiliki, is given some gallop and twin axe harmonies, while Γιαρέμ Γιαρέμ gets some punchy grunge/meets 70’s riffs and percussion perfect for the repeating chorus.
Closing the EP with Καράβι Φάντασμα The Magic Bus again manage to meld musical influences for an uncharted journey through the history of Greek rock. 7/10
Corax B.M - Pagana (The Circle Music)
An interesting concept this. Corvax B.M are a pagan black metal band from Athens, recording an album with two bass guitars, a drummer and female vocalist too. It's Kostas "Corax" Katoikos who formed the band as a side project collaborating with Giannis "Morker" Chariskos on drums. Corax himself plays rhythm bass (four strings) and provides the scarred vocals which are in his native Greek. Joining them are Énnea on "whisper vocals" which are essentially haunting, ethereal voices against the harshness of the music.
Music that is build on two bass players like I said, the final piece of the puzzle being Thanos "Peisithanatos" Nanopoulos who plays Bass Vi which is a six string bass that starts on a low E but has six strings making it more versatile, it means that Corax B.M can play with their style venturing into thrash on the title track as they owe a lot to Rotting Christ and Necromatia. As the extreme end of the music spectrum is given groove, the breakdowns of hardcore coming on Taphos, having just basses playing against the blast beats making the album sound raw and bruising on Antara and Mythos. Black metal that is relies on low end thrust and that's what makes it interesting. 8/10
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