Reviews: Vltimas, Bongzilla, Atrophy, Leather Lung (Reviews By Paul Hutchings, Paul Scoble, Richard Oliver & Rich Piva)

Vltimas – Epic (Season Of Mist) [Paul Hutchings]

In those uncertain times mere weeks before lockdown, a stellar package rolled into London for a one-off show. Headlined by Norwegian Black Metal legend Abbath, the undercard included 1349, Chilean thrashers Nuclear and the gargantuan death metal sound of Vltimas. The latter were touring their debut release, Something Wicked Marches In, and they played that show as if they were the main attraction. 

It was unsurprising, given the personnel involved in this extreme metal supergroup. For those who are unaware, Vltimas comprise Norwegian guitarist Rune "Blasphemer" Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, Aura Noir), American vocalist David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), and Canadian drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy). Rounded out by Dutch bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and Portuguese guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii), they make a formidable line-up.

Epic has been a long time coming, but that’s not really a problem, for good things definitely come to those that wait. Written in Vincent’s Texan ranch, it’s evident from first plays that this is one fluid mother of a record. Vincent explains. "The writing sessions were as organic as they could be. There were times when, at the end of the night, Rune would take his guitar and play something ridiculous. Flo would play something even more ridiculous on top of it. I'd say to the guys, 'I need to capture this.'

Having established that Vltimas work better as a unit, thriving when together, the proof is in the finished product. The horror-tinged intro Volens Discordent provides a jarring start, the first minute an edgy, uncomfortable ride which gives way to a hypnotic riff, the first of many that rain down throughout the 40-odd minutes. It’s a brooding start, the title track presenting as immense in sound and size, razor-edged guitars chug over Mounier’s thunderous delivery, whilst Vincent hasn’t been on such form for many years. His sinister, gravel throated vocals adding a touch of the demonic.

We’ve already been treated to three singles, the piledriver that is Miserere, along with Scorcher and Invictus, all of which grab the extreme in different ways, the first possessing an explosive and majestic tempo that cascades with relentless power and energy. But what about the lyrical content. Whereas Something Wicked Vincent focused on the apocalypse, the goddess Lilith and truth, this time around the former Morbid Angel front man has changed the focus here. 

Everything we're doing and messaging is about strength and honour," says Vincent. "These are the fundamentals that I incorporate into my life, which I believe in. I want to share with others, hoping they'll incorporate strength and honour into their lives. I wouldn't say I like spelling lyrics out. I use a lot of double meanings on purpose because I want to inspire the listener to think. I'm not a short attention span guy, and I don't appreciate it. Epic is holistic and meant to be experienced that way”.

If this type of chaotic extreme metal does appeal, then tracks such as the ferocious Exercitus Irae and the groove and swing of Mephisto Manifesto, both poles apart in their tempo, should impress. The latter has a swagger that glam bands would die for, as Vincent throws verbal shapes around that work in time with the underlying riff.

There remains that Gothic tint that worked so well on the debut. Nature’s Fangs blends the atmospheric flavours of those early 80s heroes like The Sisters of Mercy with the savagery of epic melodic death metal outfits. It’s a soaring ride, freely crafted and captivating from start to finish.

By the time you reach the finale, the longest track on the album in Spoils Of War, you’ll be somewhat battered and bruised. At the same time, you’ll want to be diving back in to experience what this band can offer. At times gargantuan in sheer scale, Vltimas won’t appeal to all. If they do float your boat though, then Epic comes highly recommended. You won’t find a better performance this year. 9/10

Bongzilla – Dabbing (Live) Rosin In Europe (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Paul Scoble]

Bongzilla have been stalwarts of the doom and stoner scenes since 1995. The band, based in Madison, Wisconsin, have had two distinct periods of activity, 1995 – 2009, and after a six year hiatus, 2015 up to the present. During that time the band have released six albums and innumerable EP's and splits. Bongzilla’s first album was released in 1999 and was called Stash, the bands last album was released last year and was called Dab City. The band is made up of Magma on drums, Spanky on guitars and Muleboy on bass, guitars and vocals.

The album is split into seven songs that were recorded at The Duna Jam, in Posnan and in Belfast.

Bongzilla’s style is big doomy stoner rock, so huge riffs that are simple but effective, the songs tend to grow as they progress, so a stoner riff will build to a huge groove with faster tempos that drive everything forward.

There is definitely some Black Sabbath influences in the material, not surprising really as Sabbath created doom, and also gave the stoner genre a kick start with Sweet Leaf. There is Sabbath influences in pretty much every style of doom or stoner, however on the tracks King Of Weed (Live In Posnan) and Greenthumb (Live In Belfast) you can really hear the Iommi influence in the riffing, something I really enjoyed.

The aforementioned grooves are really good on this album, the live setting definitely gives these parts a bit more verve and energy than on the originals and this really helped the live atmosphere come over, I particularly liked the grooves on the tracks Sundae Driver (Live At Duna Jam), H.P. Keefmaker (Live In Belfast) and Gestation (Live At Duna Jam). Another thing I really enjoyed about this album was the many guitar solos, pretty much all the songs have solos and they absolutely rip, really tuneful, melodic and they really add to the songs.

It's not all good however, as we now run into the most divisive feature of Bongzilla’s sound, and that is the vocals. Most stoner rock has clean, sung vocals, some has harsh vocals, Bongzilla have the most extreme harsh vocals I have heard on stoner or doom. To my ears the vocalist that Muleboy sounds most like is Maniac who used to do vocals for Mayhem and Skitliv, both much more extreme in style that Bongzilla. 

In some places it sounds as if he is trying to eat his own lips, in other places it sounds like the vocals were performed by an Intestinal Tract Infection, to my ears they sound affected and ridiculously over the top. There were quite a lot of places where I was really enjoying the music and felt that this was spoiled by Muleboy vomiting in my ear.

Dabbing (Live) Rosin In Europe, is a great live album with one issue. Musically I really enjoyed this album, and thought the grooves in particular were fantastic, but every time the Vocals came in it all just falls apart. Musically this is a nine out of ten, but the vocals drag the score down.

There is no reason for Bongzilla to care what I think of their vocals, if this is how they want their sound then they have no reason to change, I just know that if they had clean Vocals, or less ridiculous Harsh Vocal, I would have spent much more time listening to their music. 7/10

Atrophy - Asylum (Massacre Records) [Richard Oliver]

Atrophy are one of those cult thrash bands who, outside of people who listened to them back in the day and in the thrash obsessive community, aren’t really too well known or remembered. They formed in Arizona in 1987 and released two very well regarded albums Socialized Hate in 1988 and Violent By Nature in 1990 before they decided to call it a day in 1993. 

The band reformed in 2015 and resurrected their thrash attack for a number of years before vocalist Brian Zimmerman departed in 2020 when the band’s European tour was cut short due to the pandemic. The remaining members forged on with a new singer before rebranding as Scars Of Atrophy but then to many people’s surprise Atrophy reformed with Brian Zimmerman at the helm and a whole new line-up and now after 34 years the band’s third album Asylum.

With such a long gap between albums, Asylum doesn’t pick up where Violent By Nature left off but the heart of the old Atrophy is still very much there but with a beefed up sound which is still very much old school thrash but with a few contemporary elements thrown in the mix. 

Album opener Punishment For All wastes no time in breaking faces with its crushing thrash assault and the album rarely lets up from there until its conclusion. There is speed and aggression in plentiful amounts such as on Bleeding Out but the riffs are quite chunky and there are some groove elements that can be heard throughout in songs such as in Distortion. The only break in the aggression comes in the clean opening and closing to Close My Eyes but the main body of the song is an absolute thrash battering containing some of the most pummelling riffs on the album.

Brian’s voice has aged (unsurprisingly after 34 years) but it is a gruffer and rougher vocal attack that he brings to Asylum and he still sounds fantastic. The new line-up comprises Mark Coglan and Nathan Montalvo on guitars and despite being unknowns they impress with a barrage of crushing thrash riffage and some really sweet solos especially on Seeds Of Sorrow. The rhythm section is made up of Josh Gibbs (Malevolent Creation and ex-Solstice) on the bass and Sage Johnson (ex-Master) on the drums and they both provide a fat and brutal rhythmic attack.

Asylum is a solid thrash album and a welcome return for Atrophy. Much like their two prior albums, it struggles with a lack of its own identity but if a straightforward and crushing thrash attack is what you need then Atrophy delivers in full here. Asylum doesn’t offer anything new to the thrash plate but thrash has never been the most innovative of genres and it doesn’t need to be. When this album strikes it is guaranteed to have necks wrecked and circle pits swirling which is exactly what thrash does best. 8/10

Leather Lung - Graveyard Grin (Magnetic Eye Records) [Rich Piva]

Time for some groovy sludge with Boston’s Leather Lung! Graveyard Grin is their latest output and what feels like their first real album. I know they have put out stuff before, but Graveyard Grin feels like their real coming out party and most realized album till date. You get a little bit of lots of genres and a whole lot of heavy with these guys, who were born out of hardcore and raised on heavy stoner sludge goodness.

Spit In The Casket has all sorts of Pantera vibes going on with its riffs and sludgy take on groove metal. The vocals will not be for everyone as the lean a bit towards blackened, but the match is perfect for the music. These dudes are heavy, there is no denying that. A cool bluesy stoner riff opens Big Bat Bodega Cat, and this one shows these guys really know how to groove and this is the most fun song on this record. 

More heaviness coming at you with Freewheelin’ Maniac, where you should really heed the advice of the lyrics and kindly get yourself out of the way of this filthy groove. Glass shaking bass leads the way on Empty Bottle Boogie that rips and breaks you down like any good hardcore influenced band would do. I dig the addition of the clean vocals on this one too. Speaking of blackened, Guilty pleasure starts off just like that until so Korn (?!) vibes hit.  Don’t be scared, it is kind of fun and all the way heavy. 

La La Land is in the same vibe, but more Down/Pantera then Korn. I really do enjoy when they bring in the clean vocals to pair with the dirtiness like they do on the slower burn Twisting Flowers. Headstone has more of that bluesy stoner sung by the dude from Midnight vibes while Cornered Animal has a Pantera type crush to it. Down but sludgy-er closes us out with Raised Me Rowdy. We may be one song too many, as this album may have connected a bit more with one less song.

Leather Lung have finally arrived for real this time bringing the heavy groove and bluesy stoner metal sludge to the masses. Graveyard Grin is a heavy, filthy party that has shown up ready to break stuff in your home, so be ready for sludgy circle pit. 7/10