As we all know Jamey Jasta is the vocalist of hardcore legends Hatebreed but he also has had 3 solo records which have nothing to do with his ‘’day job’’ today I have his latest solo record …And Jasta For All, I now have to remember that this is NOT a Hatebreed record and should not be compared to them as this is stand alone venture and should be judged as such!
The slow and brooding opening of They See Us As Prey definitely throws a nod to the band who he has ripped the title of the album off and close your eyes and you might think this could be a lesser heard Metallica track its thrashy but not the 80’s 1000mph thrash, more of the early 90’s polished thrash and it’s not what I was expecting at all, which is probably the whole point anyway its an enjoyable beginning to proceedings and the we get Amor Your Mind which definitely has a much more familiar sound from Mr Jasta, its more thrilling and urgent thrash but has that hardcore attitude and anger flowing throughout and has some lovely mid-section groove fueled beatdowns,
The Last Of Lucy - Godform (Transcending Obscurity Records) [GC]
Along with 20 Buck Spin, Transcending Obscurity seems to be one of those labels who just know what a good band should sound like and release banger after banger and with that ringing endorsement its time to listen to what The Last Of Lucy have to offer in the shape of their latest release Godform.
It all starts off in gloriously batshit fashion on Wormhole which is a whirlwind of dazzling technical death metal goodness that sounds like there are at least 3 guitarists being recorded but its only Gad Gideon and that’s absolutely mental when you hear what is going on, also a huge shout to Josef Hossain-Kay because his drum work here is also insane!
WOW! Seriously, just wow! I do not have one single negative word to say about this album, like seriously I cannot find one fault anywhere from the very first second to the very last! Everything was executed with utter perfection and is an absolutely world class showing from The Last Of Lucy. If you listen to one album this week, make sure it is Godform because you will not regret it because believe me, this is an absolutely phenomenal album. 10/10
Soulline – Reflections (Massacre Records) [Matt Bladen]
Environmentally conscious melodic death metal is not something I thought I’d be writing today but here we are. Swiss band Soulline have been riding the melodeath train since 2000 and with their seventh album they have decided to embrace cultural activism and use their music to give environmental concerns a voice. A voice that has all the traits you’d expect from melodeath such as thrashy riffs, blastbeats, melodic lead guitars and vocals that are harsh and cleans.
The slow and brooding opening of They See Us As Prey definitely throws a nod to the band who he has ripped the title of the album off and close your eyes and you might think this could be a lesser heard Metallica track its thrashy but not the 80’s 1000mph thrash, more of the early 90’s polished thrash and it’s not what I was expecting at all, which is probably the whole point anyway its an enjoyable beginning to proceedings and the we get Amor Your Mind which definitely has a much more familiar sound from Mr Jasta, its more thrilling and urgent thrash but has that hardcore attitude and anger flowing throughout and has some lovely mid-section groove fueled beatdowns,
Create The Now REALLY REALLY sounds like it could be off one of a certain other bands records and because of this I fucking love it! it’s the familiar hardcore/thrash crossover that has become Jamey’s signature sound over the past 25 years and has added Chuck Billy on guest vocals to really put the icing on the cake! R.M.P.C is a bit of a funny one for me, its not that its bad as such, it just feels a little cheesy and this has Scott Ian guesting and because of that it sounds exactly like Anthrax and I have never enjoyed them, so ultimately this is one of my least favourite tracks on the record, kicking things back up to speed is Suicidiality with its "LETS FUCKING GO" opening its another raucous hardcore punk infused thrash rager that has guest spots from Phil Demmel AND Kerry King, so its always going to be a winner even if the title is stupid!
Assimilation Agenda is another glorious throwback to the thrash heyday of the 80’s and has Steve Souza from Exodus guesting to add a bit more weight and credibility to the song. Ring Of Truth finally has no guest vocals or guitarists involved and relies solely on Mr J to do his thing, and as you would expect he does so with gusto, and he doesn’t just fall back into the expected hardcore but continues to create some entraining thrash that while not exactly ground breaking or new is still fun to listen to.
Terminal Lucidity doesn’t do much different and is another solid track, but it all does start to get a bit one paced now and while that pace is of course breakneck as would be expected, my problem with thrash is, the longer it goes on it tends to get a bit samey and one dimensional after a while!? There is something about No Dream Is Free that I just don’t like, it might be the vocals, or it could just be that the song feels a bit laboured and ultimately should be filled under album filler type track, which is worrying on such a short album! Anyway, The Phoenix Way is the last track and were treated to much more slowed down and death metal influenced track, I mean its thrash again but has a definite sharper edge and is a decent way to close things.
In my opinion there is only so much you can do with thrash and on …And Jasta For All you get a thrash 101 album, it’s not trying to reinvent the style and its no frills, all out action from start to finish, does it get a bit one dimensional, yes it does but, I don’t think it’s really meant to be looked at that deeply!? If you want a no nonsense easy to listen to record then crack open a beer, get your board shorts and high tops on and have a listen to this! 7/10
Elvellon – Ascending In Synergy (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Releasing an EP in 2015 and an album in 2018, Elvellon give us their second full length and while I always approach symphonic metal albums with a little trepidation (it’s probably the most oversaturated genre other than death metal), I have to say I’m very impressed with these Germans.
In my opinion there is only so much you can do with thrash and on …And Jasta For All you get a thrash 101 album, it’s not trying to reinvent the style and its no frills, all out action from start to finish, does it get a bit one dimensional, yes it does but, I don’t think it’s really meant to be looked at that deeply!? If you want a no nonsense easy to listen to record then crack open a beer, get your board shorts and high tops on and have a listen to this! 7/10
Elvellon – Ascending In Synergy (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]
Releasing an EP in 2015 and an album in 2018, Elvellon give us their second full length and while I always approach symphonic metal albums with a little trepidation (it’s probably the most oversaturated genre other than death metal), I have to say I’m very impressed with these Germans.
Having played countless gigs since their debut full length gathering up plenty of YouTube views and tour slots, they have been given the often dubious ‘next big thing’ tag by a lot of the press but while I debate if that’s a blessing or a curse, there’s no doubting how talented the band are, the vocals of Nele Messerschmidt a highlight. She has a dexterous, broad range, conveying emotion whether through fragility on the nine minute cinematic epic The Aeon Tree or through power on the galloping metallic Ocean Of Treason.
I was genuinely floored by how good her vocals are but that’s not to do down the band in any way. The strings are densely arranged, with the keys bringing both the influence of Epica and Nightwish, meanwhile the guitars, bass and drums are tight in keeping the metallic quotient strong. It sounds both retro, I’m talking that early 2000’s glory days of the genre but also bang up to date. Unfazed with the continual move of the whole genre towards electronics, the band are focussed solely on the classical string arrangements meeting with power metal and dramatic vocals.
There’s a nostalgic joy to it if you were brought up with the early bands in the style but there’s also life left in what they do so they can evolve as a band as woodwinds on My Forever Endeavour, adds a folk metal edge, while Last Of Our Kind is a ballad your metal hating partner would enjoy. I’m surprised and pleased by this album, I always have a wariness of symphonic metal but Elvellon is a treat for the ears. 9/10
The Last Of Lucy - Godform (Transcending Obscurity Records) [GC]
Along with 20 Buck Spin, Transcending Obscurity seems to be one of those labels who just know what a good band should sound like and release banger after banger and with that ringing endorsement its time to listen to what The Last Of Lucy have to offer in the shape of their latest release Godform.
It all starts off in gloriously batshit fashion on Wormhole which is a whirlwind of dazzling technical death metal goodness that sounds like there are at least 3 guitarists being recorded but its only Gad Gideon and that’s absolutely mental when you hear what is going on, also a huge shout to Josef Hossain-Kay because his drum work here is also insane!
Empyreal Banisher continues the barrage of scattergun riffing and gloriously mad guitar work mixed with more phenomenal drumming, the levels shown on these first 2 tracks are unbelievable and I feel a bit for bassist Derek Santistevan because you never really manage to pick his parts out as they are swarmed by everything else but if he’s holding all this together you can guarantee he must be a beast of a player.
Twin Flame is yet more punishingly technical death metal layered with precision, thunderous beatdowns and also some more reserved sections in which you finally get a chance to compose yourself and prepare for the inevitable onslaught of Shedim Séance which unsurprisingly is an absolute beast of a track littered with virtuoso level guitar work that melds perfectly with the more straight forward knuckle dragging death metal sections but one style never outshines the other which is the true beauty of everything so far!
We smash through halfway with Sanguinary Solace which has probably the least technicality so far and concentrates on a furious pace and savagely heavy beatdown style of death metal that is invigorating and uplifting yet still manages to be ungodly heavy all the way through.
Sentinel Codex then doesn’t exactly slow down but throws in a more djent heavy style which gives the room for a bit more simplicity if that’s seems impossible then believe me its not, the more ‘’laid back’’ speed adds another level to the whole flow of the album and another shout out for Josh De la Sol on vocals because it would be easy to get lost in the background to such phenomenal musicianship but he more than holds his own and commands everything with force and ferocity.
Darkest Night Of The Soul doesn’t hold back and re-dials up the intensity levels yet again with another scathing, djenty bombardment of heaviness and brutality that leads directly into Angelic Gateway which is obviously not angelic in anyway, its an ugly and menacing display of how to mix relentless savagery and also intertwine more melody into the song but never lose any of the power needed to smash your body into pieces and all done in 2:40, splendid!
Anima Flux is another drumming masterclass and also full of chugging riffs and more intense beatdowns that flesh out the song in between more guitar wizardry and the end section is just absolutely world class! Godform is the last track on the album and of course it doesn’t stray far from what we have already heard and gives us one last blast of world class drumming, guitar perfection and disgustingly brutal vocals to round off this unbelievable record.
WOW! Seriously, just wow! I do not have one single negative word to say about this album, like seriously I cannot find one fault anywhere from the very first second to the very last! Everything was executed with utter perfection and is an absolutely world class showing from The Last Of Lucy. If you listen to one album this week, make sure it is Godform because you will not regret it because believe me, this is an absolutely phenomenal album. 10/10
Soulline – Reflections (Massacre Records) [Matt Bladen]
Environmentally conscious melodic death metal is not something I thought I’d be writing today but here we are. Swiss band Soulline have been riding the melodeath train since 2000 and with their seventh album they have decided to embrace cultural activism and use their music to give environmental concerns a voice. A voice that has all the traits you’d expect from melodeath such as thrashy riffs, blastbeats, melodic lead guitars and vocals that are harsh and cleans.
There’s passion in these tracks, but unfortunately nothing that a million other bands haven’t done, the addition of some keys as backing textures adding a bit of uniqueness. I found my attention wandering a little as they embraced some metalcore-like compositions too. The playing is experienced and technical, the song writing is good but there’ nothing that stands out for me, perhaps only Human Corruption which features a bit of Sepultura-like percussion.
Reflections may carry an important message but it doesn’t engage me as much as perhaps it should have. 6/10
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