I've been following the careers of Joseph Michael and Jake Dreyer since they were both in White Wizzard. As with nearly all the ex-members they only really started to flourish once they left the group as Michael is currently the voice of Midnight Reign and of Sanctuary (taking the place of the much missed Warrell Dane) while Dreyer has done stints with Demons & Wizards, Iced Earth and Kobra & The Lotus. Together though they have flourished forming Witherfall in 2013.
Creatively they work together well forging ahead with three previous albums of darkly progressive, power/heavy metal, now coming to this fourth full release in total creative control as they are releasing it through their own label DeathWave Records. Like with their last release they approached drummer extraordinaire Marco Minnemann to record drums for the album, though he is purely a studio member now, Chris Tsaganeas behind the drums in the live set up. They are all joined by co-founding members Anthony Crawford on bass and new member Gerry Hirschfeld on keys.
Inspired by many factors but mainly frustration and fear inspire this record, it's the reason why there are so many gothic and melodic passages that are unified with some intense technical metal workouts, They Will Let You Down, right from the beginning there's furious speed, constant pace changes and solos galore, it's Witherfall at their most progressive and powerful, but then they slow on the power ballads Where Do I Begin and When It All Falls Away, showing their other side, the one that will tingle the spine of Nevermore fans everywhere.
Dark textures, haunting keys and that voice, it's like a lost album track and I couldn't be happier, from there it's back to the intense workouts as Insidious goes to ridiculous lengths to shout "look how talented this band is" while making it all very evil. Ceremony Of Fire has a guitar melody that sounds like Hava Nagila, but the rest of it is crunchy riffs and snarling vocals, Opulent bucking the trend with some classical guitar brilliance against atmospheric synths. Witherfall excite again with this fourth album, this I'd definitely making my AOTY list. 10/10
Cobra The Impaler – Karma Collision (Listenable Records) [Zak Skane]
Cobra The Impaler brings in a progressive delivery to their sound that sparks influences from retro sounding bands like Mastodon and Ghost whilst also putting their own twist on it. The band goes from heavy thumping mid tempo riffs, death metal inspired grinding brutality outputs to spacey ambient textures which just a flip of a which.
Creatively they work together well forging ahead with three previous albums of darkly progressive, power/heavy metal, now coming to this fourth full release in total creative control as they are releasing it through their own label DeathWave Records. Like with their last release they approached drummer extraordinaire Marco Minnemann to record drums for the album, though he is purely a studio member now, Chris Tsaganeas behind the drums in the live set up. They are all joined by co-founding members Anthony Crawford on bass and new member Gerry Hirschfeld on keys.
Inspired by many factors but mainly frustration and fear inspire this record, it's the reason why there are so many gothic and melodic passages that are unified with some intense technical metal workouts, They Will Let You Down, right from the beginning there's furious speed, constant pace changes and solos galore, it's Witherfall at their most progressive and powerful, but then they slow on the power ballads Where Do I Begin and When It All Falls Away, showing their other side, the one that will tingle the spine of Nevermore fans everywhere.
Dark textures, haunting keys and that voice, it's like a lost album track and I couldn't be happier, from there it's back to the intense workouts as Insidious goes to ridiculous lengths to shout "look how talented this band is" while making it all very evil. Ceremony Of Fire has a guitar melody that sounds like Hava Nagila, but the rest of it is crunchy riffs and snarling vocals, Opulent bucking the trend with some classical guitar brilliance against atmospheric synths. Witherfall excite again with this fourth album, this I'd definitely making my AOTY list. 10/10
Cobra The Impaler – Karma Collision (Listenable Records) [Zak Skane]
Cobra The Impaler brings in a progressive delivery to their sound that sparks influences from retro sounding bands like Mastodon and Ghost whilst also putting their own twist on it. The band goes from heavy thumping mid tempo riffs, death metal inspired grinding brutality outputs to spacey ambient textures which just a flip of a which.
Magnetic Hex opens up with classic old school Slayer sounding evil harmonies that are produced though old boutique sounding amps which give it this distorted spank to them. The drums have this Bran Dalior performance to them, with the drummer doing some advanced rudiment delivered drum fills, whilst the track then descends into some mid tempo head bang worthy riffs that would make any riff connoisseur smile with glee. The second half of the track ramps up the intensity with tremolo picked riffs matched with ruthless kick patterns. The vocal accompanying this track have these sinister harmonies underneath to give it this evil hypnotic sound.
Godless Beyonder brings in some 2000’s era underground metal with the dissonant guitar chords, heavy sludgy riffs and exotic scales. The instrumental arrangements later on bring in some old Death inspired proggy influences with it’s fast accurate pedal tone riffs and fast scale runs. The vocals bring in this yin and yang sound with it’s harsh frantic growls which transcend into these hypotonic melodies. This track also leans a lot more into the Leviathan and Remission era of Mastodon with it’s sludgy arrangements and raw vocal delivery. Season Of The Savage still continues the Mastodon vibes but really leans in on the spacy elements that were prevalent on Crack The Sky.
Eye Of The Storm acts like a nice folky Queen Of The Stone Age styled pre-quell before we are greeted with the albums title track Karma Collision, which has these proggy tremolo picked riffs in the verses that take strong reference of one of Gojira's songs whilst the vocalist beings in his signature hypnotic harmonies. The track also features odd time signature built percussive breakdowns, exotic solos and some Ghost sounding catchy choruses.
The most proggy track on the album The Fountain, the track goes from subgenre to subgenre with it stemming from it’s classic mastodon inspired thundering riffs to effortlessly going into psychedelic choruses then to death metal inspired bridges that have these slam styled riffs containing chunky chords and tremolo picked melodies that are backed by blast beats. The track also features these nice twinkles of the piano keys that add this extra haunting layer to the song.
The other highlights on this album is thrashy track the Message, the metalcore style riffs and the Queen inspired harmonies on Assassins Of The Vision and the epic psychedelic closer on the last track Shifting Sands bringing the album to a climatic end. Cobra The Impaler have made another great concept album that takes us through another journey with their take on classic prog metal. The band have done an immaculate job of welding Mastodon and Gojira meaty riffs whilst summoning the ritualistic Ghost sounding choruses. 9/10
SIG:AR:TYR – Citadel Of Stars (Hammerheart Records) [Rick Eaglestone]
Canadian one-man act SIG:AR:TYR is back with a unique blend of epic pagan metal and blackened traditional metal on, weaving the past, present, and future on latest double release Citadel Of Stars. Opener Awaiting The Last Dawn is wonderful showcasing of musicianship, and its mellow pace is flooded with atmospherics which blends effortlessly into the albums shining glory the fabulously constructed Stars Beyond The Stars which has the perfect blend of soundscapes and really emphasises the over aesthetic of the album – easily my highlight of the release.
Canadian one-man act SIG:AR:TYR is back with a unique blend of epic pagan metal and blackened traditional metal on, weaving the past, present, and future on latest double release Citadel Of Stars. Opener Awaiting The Last Dawn is wonderful showcasing of musicianship, and its mellow pace is flooded with atmospherics which blends effortlessly into the albums shining glory the fabulously constructed Stars Beyond The Stars which has the perfect blend of soundscapes and really emphasises the over aesthetic of the album – easily my highlight of the release.
Forging on with heavier, bleaker approach is The Blood That Came Before You and again the solos that are sprinkled throughout are so well placed and for me the drumming in particular really stands out. There is then a directional shift focusing on a more acoustic approach for the albums instrumental title track Citadel Of Stars. Ascending The Stellar Throne is a joyous cacophony of enriching elements resulting in one of the albums heaviest offerings whilst I Sail On, Eternal leans into more of the pagan side which a subtle hint in the tones of early Immortal. Who Will Guide Me Now provides another instrumental interlude serving as a great introduction for the albums fiery penultimate track From The Last Of The North.
Finally concluding with Where The Sun Never Sets is another example of Daemonskald’s carefully constructed creation and again just like the album’s beginning the track length really allows Citadel Of Stars to be fully showcased as an artistical outpouring rather than a single bowed genre gathering. To celebrate the first new music in eight years Citadel Of Stars includes a 2-LP vinyl edition (first time that SIG:AR:TYR has had a vinyl release) and a limited-edition Digipack 2-CD version that includes the 200 3 acoustic demo that started it all... The Stranger, which has never been formally released.
A mournful dirge for a dying age. 8/10
Priest - Dark Pulse (Blue Nine) [James Jackson]
I don’t remember how or when it was that I discovered Priest, but their 80’s inspired synth music, reminiscent of the music I grew up with, instantly had me hooked.
Having already heard the opening track, Burning Love, released as a single last year and warmly received when played on their tour with Deathstars; I knew the album would be off to a good start. One of the things you notice about any Priest track is the inclusion of rather odd sounds, Black Venom is no exception to this and I’d hate to say what it is that punctuates the melody but it works whatever it is.
Something that attracted me to Priest was the rather nostalgic trip back in time, the Synthwave genre reminiscent of the 80’s, a decade I grew up in and which I look back on with an equal measure of childhood memories and cheesy cringe. Whilst the vibe and aesthetic of Priest, is dark, their stage presence punctuated by leather jackets and masks.
The accompanying artwork for the album a shock of red, blues and an 80’s thrash inspired logo, the general tone of the album musically is upbeat, melding dance beats with Techno highlights and catchy chorus lines, the lyrics instantly memorable, soon to become fan favourites and sung back in unison.
The new material blends well with the band’s previous offerings and for someone who likes to shuffle a band’s songs while listening to them, this new album will be a welcome addition. 9/10
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