Reviews: Satan, Crobot, Wolf Brigade, Caffeine (Reviews By Rich Piva & Matt Bladen)

Satan - Songs In Crimson (Metal Blade Records) [Rich Piva]

Brian Ross is one busy guy. The 70-year-old singer, just last week, put out the new record from NWOBHM legends Blitzkrieg, and now, one week after that, we get a new record from the other band he has sung with forever, Satan. The last Satan record, Earth Infernal, surprised me and a lot of others with how freaking awesome it was, so it will be tough to top. I don’t think Songs In Crimson does, but it is another very solid effort from a band that has no business being as good as it is this late in their career.

The first thing to call out is how great Ross sounds, not just for someone who is 70, but really for anyone. His voice is once again in top form, as it was on the Blitzkrieg record. For me though, I prefer Satan, stylistically and song wise, and the ten tracks on Songs In Crimson solidify this. 

Frantic Zero kicks us off with a bang and just rips the place up. It is not just Ross here, as the band is still in tact with their lineup from when they dropped their first record in 1983, and no one sounds like the have lost a step. The guitar work by Steve Ramsey and Russ Tippins is excellent, and the rhythm section of Graeme English on bass and Sean Taylor is super tight and drive the record forward. 

Era (The Day Will Come) is a perfect example of all of this, especially the great duelling guitar work. There are some killer tracks on Songs In Crimson, my favourites being Whore Of Babylon, Sacramental Rites (love the chorus and bass work), the total ripper Turn The Tide, and the closer, Deadly Crimson, which once again shows off the pipes of Mr. Ross. There are no bad tracks on Songs In Crimson and the just under 45-minute run time is perfect for this album.

I reviewed both the new Blitzkrieg and the new Satan, and Songs In Crimson is a way stronger record overall and can even hang with it’s predecessor, Earth Infernal, which is saying a lot. It’s not better, but it is right there and another amazing effort for a band with a new lease on life and killer late era discography. Let’s raise one to Brian Ross and his amazing impact on metal with this and all of his other great work. 8/10

Crobot - Obsidian (Megaforce Records) [Rich Piva]

Crobot is one of those bands that people mention in defence of other people who say rock and roll is dead or there are no good new rock bands out there, and I get it. They play heavy, yet radio friendly rock, leveraging all sorts of the heavy stuff, like grunge, stoner, hard rock, hair metal, southern rock, and don’t really stop there, never really allowing anyone to throw a tag on them other than rock and roll. 

I mention radio friendly, and they are certainly that, perhaps being a bit too polished in their sound, which tends to turn of some who like a bit more feeling and less built in a lab vibe. Their fifth album, the aptly named Obsidian, is all I said previously, but maybe a bit darker musically and lyrically, staying more on the grunge side than anything else, and the results are not bad at all.

The opening title track is right out of the stoner rock playbook, sounding more like Valley Of The Sun or Queens Of The Stone Age than anything else, and I am here for it. You will not be surprised that this is my favorite track on Obsidian. The band may have found something here, but after this little stoner ripper we head from their home state of Pennsylvania to the Pacific Northwest, as tracks like Come Down, From The Ground, and Disappear are more Jerry than Josh. There is definitely more of an edge to this record, led by the guitar work of Chris Bishop who has his guitar tuned to 1992. 

Nothing is an upbeat rocker that is more 90s alt rock than anything else, maybe, say, Fuel, but if Fuel was around in 1988. Metal is an interesting track, as the band seemed to want to put a thrash song on the record and I applaud them for the effort, even if it is more Reload than Master, but points for the cheesy yet fun lyrics. I dig the guitar work on the slower grungy track The Flood and the heaviness of the very metal titled Ancient Druid Crown. 

The second half of Obsidian may be even darker, with tracks like White Rabbit (thankfully not the cover) and Head Of The Beast all dark and brooding. I like how the record closes with the acoustic Happiness, which reminded me of Save Your Love by Great White for some reason, but if they were listening to Skynyrd right before they recorded it. A chill cleanser to finish this one out was a good idea.

I like Crobot, and I like Obsidian. It is a fun record, highlighted by Chris Bishop’s guitar work, and I hope fans of the band dig their edge and the bit of darkness this record brings. As much as I enjoyed the album, it is always so hard to escape the production, as I would love to hear these songs with just a couple of turns less on the slickness dial. 

I got to see the band live in a festival setting this year and they fit right in and sounded great, without the need for any kind of studio wizardry. Other than that, Obsidian is a solid record for a band that unfairly seems to be one of the poster children for saving rock. Obsidian doesn’t do that, but it certainly keeps it afloat a bit more. 7/10

Wolfbrigade - Life Knife Death (Metal Blade Records) [Matt Bladen]

An album of sub-four minute hardcore black punk n roll. Misanthropic and completely at odds with the world today, five years since their last album, things have gotten worse and the irony of that isn't lost on these angry, angry Swedes. Having been around since 1995 but only Wolfbrigade since 1999, Life Knife Death is a rip snorting record that unfolds organically, as if recorded live in one take before pissing off back to their respective holes.

In the accompanying press kit it states they are influenced by bands such as Discharge, Motörhead, Entombed and The Beatles(?), the latter coming from not only a subverted track titles but also the band constantly trying to find the "ultimate song". They may not have found that one here but there are some smashers, the bands retirement from touring (another The Beatles similarity) allowing them to focus their energy on creating new music, and the occasional festival show.

12 songs 27 minutes, let's go, Ways To Die bursts forth as the opener, the title track slicing and dicing while A Day In The Life Of An Arse is proper death ripping and Unruled And Unnamed has the melodic lead guitars, the thrash coming back on Your God Is A Corpse and Nail Bomb has a chug to it. Not much else to say about this one Life Knife Death in that order, play it loud. 8/10

Caffeine - The Threshold (The Lasting Dose Records) [Matt Bladen]

Like a steaming hot cup of java, injected straight into your veins, the first riff of The Threshold, will pump blood through your body and get you hyper focussed. Like their namesake Caffeine, gets into your brain, delivering much needed serotonin but leaving you a little dehydrated as you are guaranteed to want to throw yourself around to the sludge of these Germans. Inspired by Mastodon, High On Fire and Neurosis (their forays into psych and lo-fi).

Caffeine is made up of veteran members of the hardcore scene, this D.I.Y ethos and history of aggression imbues tracks such as Dead End with a tenacity and impatience, Last Train has the face melting progressive leads of Mastodon/Baroness, while The Agency is a keen blend of the ferocious and the psychedelic. At just over half an hour, The Threshold, doesn’t hang around for elongated passages, conversely these shorter run lengths are packed with sparkling technicality, punctured by interludes that bring texture.

The Threshold benefits repeated listens, an album recorded over a long period with two different guitarists, it’s coherent and compelling. 8/10

Reviews: Nightwish, Alunah, Giant Walker, Delilah Bon (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Nightwish - Yesterwynde (Nuclear Blast Records)

Their tenth studio album, Yesterwynde, despite a lot of rumour and conjecture will not be the final Nightwish record. They have plenty more to come on Nuclear Blast Records, however chances to see them perform live will be further and far between, for personal reasons they will not go on a world tour, but they still want to create music and when the music you create not only founded but transcended an entire genre, you’d be hard pressed not to encourage them. 

But what about Yesterwynde? The title coming from a feeling that is unknown; a memory, mortality, time, band leader Tuomas Holopainen puts it as a word not in the English language that describes this collection of feelings, if you’re a Welsh speaker you may say Hiraeth (they actually have a song called this).

The conclusion of the trilogy that began with Endless Forms Most Beautiful, singer Floor Jansen’s debut with the band, each record with her behind the mic becoming more progressive, more expansive, more lyrical, more personal. Through, turmoil, change, personal growth, families and sheer bloody-mindedness to make sure the album was 100% ready (it was mastered seven times!). 

After 3 years Yesterwynde makes its way into the public consciousness with two preceding singles, but much like both previous parts of this more expansive Nightwish, you have to listen the album as whole to get the full effect of Floor’s impassioned classical vocals, Tuomas’ cinematic keys/orchestrations, Emppu Vuorinen’s metallic guitars, Kai Hahto’s expressive drumming, Jukka Koskinen’s anchored bass playing and the secret weapon of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Troy Donockley, his impression on the band felt with a song such as Sway.

The additions of the latter have allowed Nightwish to take their music far beyond the standard symphonic metal trappings though on Yesterwynde, An Ocean Of Strange Lands begins the record with a nine minute epic which pulls both early Nightwish and early After Forever, this song alone will capture the imagination of those who have been here from the start but it’s so much more established. 

The sound is huge, crafted like soundtrack to awaken all your sense, (you can smell the sea air), the Uilleann Pipes that lead to a fade out, are evocative as the gothic tendencies and the riffs are increased for The Antikythera Mechanism, as on The Day Of… and The Children Of 'Ata they manage to put electronic synthwave-isms with choirs as Perfume Of The Timeless returns to the grandiloquent, orchestral style they pioneered.

I’m not going into the songs themselves too much as like with all Nightwish albums you need you need to hear the album yourself in full, like you would see a film or an opera, it’s creative media that has been meticulously perfected and as such needs to be devoured with the same reverence, a fantastical journey filled with creative wonder, you need to experience Yesterwynde for yourself. 10/10

Alunah - Fever Dream (Heavy Psych Sounds)

All things must pass and every era must end. When Siân Greenaway joined Birmingham doomsters for Velvet Hour in 2019, she became their second frontwoman, and that record was their fifth as a band, but their first on Heavy Psych Sounds, seeing them adding more stoner and psych influences.

They then released Strange Machine in 2022, again channelling the history of their home cities heritage in heavy. With Siân launching her solo Bobbie Dazzle project earlier this year it maybe doesn't come as surprise that Fever Dream will be her last with Alunah. It's a shame as Alunah seemed to have hit on something special with Greenaway behind the mic, the right mix of UK doom rock and throwback retroisms.

But as I said all things much last so what is the final album to feature the foursome of Siân on vocals, Jake Mason on drums, Dan Burchmore on bass and Matt Noble on guitar. Recorded in home of riffs that is Foel Studios, the record was crafted out of extended jams in the studio, Fever Dream is like snippets of a long, hallucinogenic infused journey.

Huge doom riffs such as Never Too Late and Far From Reality, worship at the altar of Sabbath, via Thin Lizzy on the former. There's slow burning prog moments in the woozy title track, Celestial/The Odyssey features a bit of flute but ala Jethro Tull, Trickster Of Time has a bit of psych blues from the Jefferson Airplane/Starship.

For me though final track I've Paid The Price, the closer, which is one of the finest tracks on the record, with lyrics that carry extra weight, it ends this Fever Dream in stone cold reality. An end of this chapter, let’s hope the next is as critically acclaimed for both. 8/10

Giant Walker - Silhouettes (Church Road Records)

Silhouettes is the second album from Newcastle born, now Bristol based progressive riff slingers Giant Walker. Formed due to their love of bands with grooves such as Karnivool, Vola, Soundgarden, Deftones or countless bands who have played ArcTanGent, Tech Fest and Radar Festival (where the band kicked off the day brilliantly). Giant Walker manage to pair the start stop crushing modern prog riffs and breakdowns with a Seattle grunge atmospheres mainly coming from the lysergic vocals. Using their music as a catharsis for dealing with mental health problems, the songs are conceptually minded by all standalone from the wider record.

A track such as Make Me, has a propulsive drum beat, snarky lyrical delivery, technical guitars but is hooked on a big groove, but the title track brings a moodiness, underpinned by bubbling bass and drum patterns, it burns slowly into a huge chorus and refrain, counteracting the pace for emotion. Here and on stomper Use On You, there’s some soloing which brings more blues to their prog/grunge, the intricacy of Jamie’s playing is marvellous. So You Say changing the pace with poignant introspection.

Giant Walker for me sound a lot like Kiwi band Devilskin, especially Steff’s powerful vocals, and how they throw alt rock, nu-metal, prog and all manner of other things into their broad sound range, the rhythm section of Jordan (drums) and Alex (bass), fashioning heaviness on the Eraser, Obscurer that transcends into dreaminess at the end, Round And Round We Go, batting away any dreaminess for more headbanging riffs and snippets of psych.

There’s a complex sound from Giant Walker, modern prog infused with 90’s/2000’s heavy rock, Giant Walker remind me of Spiritbox, and with Silhouettes they will look to emulate their success. 8/10

Delilah Bon - Evil, Hate Filled Female (Self-Release)

I once again find myself as a CIS Straight White Male reviewing a feminist band so of course my opinion doesn't really matter, but I can comment on the music on this second album from Delilah Bon, the alter ego of Lauren Tate, "fully flourishing in her villain era."

Evil, Hate Filled Female is a record that is full of tongue in cheek, feminist lyrics, crossover rap metal sounds and is a very personal record, I'd describe it as sort of the mirror world Limp Bizkit, the soundscapes are similar, pumping beats, jagged guitars and fast firing vocals but from female perspective no, frat boy machismo, but brat, punk, no fucks given.

Inspired by a comment from a man on social media, Evil, Hate Filled Female is here to empower anyone who is marginalised, victimised and put in a certain box by the media or the internet. In fact on the song The Internet these things are called out loud and angrily. There's also a lot of similarities for me to an act such as D-12 where the samples, genre blurring and rap vocals all melded together as My Girlz uses that particular sound of early 2000's R&B.

Having played Download, 2000 Trees and supporting fellow anti-establishment artist Scene Queen, there's a huge upward career trajectory for Delilah Bon, using a style of music (Nu-Metal/Rap) that is very male dominated and shifting toward a feminine focus, this second album will gain her a larger army of devoted fans, who she gives a voice too. 8/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Ten (Live Review By Simon Black)

Ten & White Skies The Globe, Cardiff, 14.09.24 Review By Simon Black

Tonight is all a bit last minute for me. Normally attending gigs, especially if they fall on weekends, requires some advance planning and family juggling, but I only found out about this event when a friend contacted me at the eleventh hour and told me that he was planning an equally last-minute trip down from Nottingham to attend. And here lies the rub – hardly anyone else knew this show was happening either. 

So poorly publicised was it, that even the venue didn’t seem to have room for a poster for the event (although to be fair given that the walls were plastered with publicity for the endless tribute bands that dominate the live circuit, that’s all right then). The turn out was correspondingly low (although again to be fair on the other side of Cardiff, Fuel was hosting a sold-out Marillion tribute band, so that’s all right then). Which pisses me off no end, because if live music is such a money spinner for these venues, why will no-one turn out for original artists, especially ones of the calibre we get treated to tonight?

When I arrive openers White Skies (10) are a song or two into their set, and already lifting the mood very well indeed, despite the thinness of the crowd. A new band of old hands, these gentlemen have plenty of experience to draw on, and consequently their brand of Melodic Hard Rock bordering on the AOR draws on this very well indeed. Experience makes it sound easy, but to craft songs that don’t sound tired and formulaic under these circumstances is another thing entirely, and White Skies do so with considerable panache.

I have not come across these chaps before, but with a set largely comprised of 2022’s debut album Black Tide I was impressed enough to splash out on a copy of the record. In fact, so generous was the support slot’s run time, that the band pretty much played the whole thing, as well as airing new single If This Is It (Get Ready). The songs themselves are all very well structured and consistently so, but the live delivery was on another level. Frontman Mick White has a huge amount of energy, stage presence and a fantastic set of pipes and within no time at all the crowd is thoroughly on side. In fact, I was concerned that these chaps may be in danger of blowing the headliner off the stage… because these chaps owned it utterly for the duration of the time I spent standing there watching them.

Ten (10, what else) are unlikely to be found in such a position.

The band have been relatively quiet of late, and this is the first full UK tour they have done for what seems like an eternity, which probably impacted the turn-out, but again publicity is key. It’s also not helped that their label is notorious for not taking tour support seriously, but the band have done more live performances in the last couple of months than they have in a decade, so to some extent need to rebuild their profile and remind people that they exist. The fact that there were people from all over the country, plus a gentleman who came all the way from Germany especially proves that this is a band whose absence had left something of a void.

It's been many a moon since I last saw them live, and the first with this line-up, despite the fact that it’s been more or less stable for a decade, but they clearly are all very comfortable together, with a chemistry that positively bristles from the stage. I’ve also lost track of their more recent recorded output over the last few years, and technically this is a much overdue tour for of both 2023’s Something Wicked This Way Comes and Here Be Monsters, but Ten pulled out a set list that ran the gamut of the decades, with only one song from those last studio sessions and does not disappoint.

Frontman Gary Hughes may look a little more grizzled than last time I watched him perform, but my word the years have not diluted his presence, power and voice one iota. The band flawlessly flow with him, and the fifteen odd song set positively rushes by. The turn out has been bolstered by the time they hit the boards, but this audience makes up for its numbers with a full throated voice, and looking round the room there are a lot of smiling faces here, because Ten have been sorely missed. And it would seem that they are properly back, with a new album on the way, and more UK shows next year and I for one am very glad to see them do so.

Reviews: The Jesus Lizard, Flotsam And Jetsam, Typhonian, Mordkaul (Reviews By Rich Piva & Mark Young)

The Jesus Lizard - Rack (Ipecac Records) [Rich Piva]

I didn’t think we would ever see another Jesus Lizard record. Not because they broke up in some fantastic and dramatic way; after Capitol dropped them from the label, after not knowing what to really do with the band after signing them at the time when every band that sniffed “alternative” or “grunge” was scooped up by majors, they called it quits (record label exec: “…but they did a split with Nirvana!!!”). 

There were a couple of successful reunion tours but I could not fathom a new record, plus singer David Yow really didn’t want to record new material, and he seems like a guy who would stand pretty firm with his decisions. To me, the band said all they were going to album-wise, and all of said material is just different levels of wonderful, from the 1989 Pure EP to their last record, the criminally underrated Blue. Thank goodness I was wrong, because 26 years later we get Rack, the seventh Jesus Lizard record, with all of the key players back together and sounding just amazing.

There is nothing old or stale sounding about Rack. This record is alive and vibrant, and dare I say, in some parts, catchy as hell, especially for the Jesus Lizard. Look, they didn’t make a pop record, but there are a couple songs on here that will stick in your head all day. The opener and first single, Hide & Seek, would have been a hit in 1995. The guitar work by Duane Denison is just excellent and Mr. Yow sounds energized and in top form, especially for a guy who didn’t want to do a new record for so long. 

In classic JL fashion, let’s take that momentum with the single and slow it down to a doomy pace and challenge the listener next with Armistice Day, lead by the rhythm section of David Wm. Sims on bass and Mac McNeilly on drums, and highlighted by the one-of-a-kind vocals of Yow, this song creates the perfect JL total album vibe as it transitions to the rocker, Grind, which will be a live classic, especially given Denison’s work here. Jesus Lizard and Steve Albini will always be connected, with Albini always knowing how to make this band sound perfect. The last couple records didn’t quite get there production wise without him, but Paul Allen has created what is the best sounding Jesus Lizard record since those Albini albums, with What If? being a perfect example. 

The drums and bass shine on Lord Gadiva, especially Sims whose bass is turned all the way up here and leads the way. If there was a trademarked JL song on Rack it would be Alexis Feels Sick, and it is wonderful. Tracks like Is That Your Hand, Falling Down, Moto(R) and Dunning Kruger are full of the band’s sweat, as you can feel the Jesus Lizard energy returning to full force three minutes at a time listening to these songs. I love that the band closed with the weirdest song on Rack, Swan The Dog, reminding you that JL is never afraid to challenge the listener and really do whatever they want.

I saw an interview where David Wm. Sims basically said the band is did a new record because they all thought it would be fun. What better reason for a new Jesus Lizard album than that? You can hear it too, as the band sounds like they were all in and for the right reasons, as Rack stands up to the storied history of the legend that is The Jesus Lizard. 9/10

Flotsam And Jetsam - I Am The Weapon (AFM Records) [Rich Piva]

Is there a more criminally underrated 80s thrash band than Flotsam and Jetsam? Maybe Death Angel? One of the main differences between the two, career-wise at least (a musical comparison would make for a great podcast discussion) is volume. F&S continue to make quality music into the 2020s, up to album number fifteen with their new one, I Am The Weapon, and two records since 2020, while DA has been less prolific, with their last album coming in 2019 and nine records total. Now this could lean to the positive either way, depending on the quality of that work, but one thing is for sure; late era Flotsam and Jetsam has been anywhere from good to great, with I Am The Weapon falling into the ladder category. This record rips it up, nonstop, for 48 minutes.

For a band more known for their former bassist who left to join some other metal band or who’s most played video was their Elton John cover on Headbangers Ball, they certainly do have some serious classic records, such as No Place For Disgrace and When The Storm Comes Down, but their total body of work over the 15 records is very strong, including the three records over the last five years, with I Am The Weapon being the best of them. The album sounds great, rips from end to end, the musicianship of this incarnation of the band is excellent, especially the drumming of Ken Mary, and Eric "A.K." Knutson’s vocals sound great, especially for a guy who has been belting it out since the early 80s. 

Kings Of The Underworld, Primal, and the title track just kick ass, with the title track forcing me to look up who that drummer was to make sure he was a human and not a machine. I mention Kings Of The Underworld, that and the other of the last three tracks on I Am The Weapon flat out rule, as Running Through Fire none stop punches you in the face (“certificate of evil on your shelf” …love that line) and Black Wings that has an epic feel to it, leveraging what I think are some synths, and closes the record perfectly. You can’t go wrong with any of the tracks on here, as the opener, A New Kind Of Hero, sets the table and expectations perfectly, and The Head Of The Snake poisons you as well.

Flotsam And Jetsam deserve more credit and love, especially given how killer their material has been over the last five years and this late into their career. I Am The Weapon is an excellent modern thrash record and should be up there with other bands who have records this good this late in their career, like Overkill for example, or really any thrash band out there today. Another excellent record from a band who has no business still being this good. 9/10

Typhonian - The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Mark Young]

Celestial Salvation, quiet, muted piano driven introduction that is basically a wasted 44 seconds. Luckily, they come in and bring a little brutality with Cosmic Throne. There is a subtle orchestration deployed, along with a noticeable discord in the opening moments between the drums and the rest of the band. It’s something and nothing but it is there, it feels as though it is intended as the pattern is repeated following a melodic section that is straight out of the Slayer songbook. Moving the opening instrumental to one side, Cosmic Throne is quite a strong track. They don’t linger with one pattern for too long, and there are some guttural vocals courtesy of M.W. Styrum and a decent lead break (can’t credit which player) amongst some solid rhythm. It is after this opening salvo that they change gears and hit us with Primal Deceptive Light.

Primal Deceptive Light is a banger. Starting with a Swedish 90’s style melodeath riff, they quickly stamp their own identity on proceedings with some quality riff work. The opposing rhythms, of taking that Swedish attack and combining it with a touch of the OSDM is just what you want to hear. Again, there is a quality lead with a cheeky arrangement underneath it, powering along at a decent lick. The upward curve is maintained with Crimson Rivers, a trem-picked blast of death metal goodness. It is a quick run and gun and is possibly the simplest in execution but works because of it is so straightforward. 

On The Gatekeeper they successfully mix in more of those blackened touches following an atmospheric start and here we see them really stretching themselves. This is 7 minutes of class death metal, where they take what they deem to be the most important parts of different genres and then make a silk purse out of it. The balance in the slow and fast measures, the combination of the black and death metal tropes all arranged to a fantastic effect. It doesn’t feel like a 7-minute song either, there are no moments of lag, and it is a definite high point. Towards The Chamber Of The Omnipresent Mind mines the melodeath genre as a starting point and as elsewhere they take and expand it to suit their own perspective. 

There are moments where it reminds me of ATG which I suppose is unavoidable but what they do is embrace and expand it rather than trying to rehash. I must say that there is nothing wrong with it but sandwiched between The Gatekeeper and A Glimpse At The Starless Ocean, their personality seems to be more visible on those. A Glimpse... brings the blackened motifs back into the fold as it develops, a lolloping swing complete with some quality lead breaks, especially the one that closes out the song is a perfect example of how to do it, bringing the right amount of emotion and technical wizardry to it.

The final track is Cath’un – The Gate Of The Veiled Beyond. An epic-sounding start and we are off, with a mesmeric closing piece that takes all of what they have delivered, wrapped up into one package that brings all of their influences together. It is tied with The Gatekeeper for best song, both representing a high watermark, but I think this has the edge. It has that otherworldly feel to it, a cosmic approach that they embrace whilst still bringing the heavy metal. It is a heady brew of what we love about extreme music and considering that this is their 3rd release it is nothing short of remarkable. Cath’un takes us on a journey that lasts nearly 20 minutes and is a wonder that they can create something like this that doesn’t repeat any ideas they have delivered before this point. It is an ambitious and fantastic end to a cracking album.

What is apparent is that they have really come through with making good on their comments of adding and refining what they believe death metal should sound like in the modern era. I think we can agree that there is a subconscious ticklist we use when listening to any new music. It doesn’t sound like other bands who offer a modern take on extreme metal. What I mean is that it doesn’t have a sound that immediately dates it. I hope that they can continue to release music of this quality and you should make every effort to get hold of this. 9/10

Mordkaul - Feed The Machine (Massacre Records) [Mark Young]

Belgium death metal? Don’t mind if I do! The 2nd full-length release, according to the accompanying PR sees them taking onboard further influences from some of the OSDM masters as well as the ‘Swedish’ sound of the 90’s. It also appears that the album itself was recorded in two stages (unless I’m reading it wrong) but doesn’t feel as though there is any kind of split in attack or execution.

Crown Of Worms, now this is comforting. A 90’s guitar tone and some riff building that could be favourably compared to At The Gates. Its straight in with no messing or extended introductions as they drop a call back to earlier times when melodic death metal was new. Its all here, urgent guitar, furious drums and in terms of its execution it is to a high standard but it’s nothing new. In Dead Eyes with its super thick riff, almost prehistoric in attack and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Using their influences well, they split from ATG worship to bring in some OSDM breaks and a quality solo and then we are back in ATG land, which I had hoped they would move beyond. 

Welcome To The Sixth Stage Of Grief, n the early opening moments, this feels more representative of their own identity, but as it progresses, we fall back into that Swedish sound and arrangement. There are signs of them trying to escape it, but they are continually pulled back. As we progress, I believe that the remainder of the album will be in the same vein unless they do something dramatic. And to an extent they do on For I Am Machine, there are moments where Morbid Angel comes through. This one has more of that old school flavour to it and suddenly it is game on. There is some crushing riffs on here, mixed in with the right amount of blast-beats and this is more like it, less of the hero worship and more of their own identity. 

Beast Of Dread starts well, but still within that narrow focus of Swedish death metal. It doesn’t matter how well it sounds, or if the song is a good song (which it is) it is just annoying me that with the talent they have which is there for all to hear they just seem trapped. There are melodic touches that remind you of Death, towards the latter stages of their recorded output but they need that to be front and centre, not closing the album out. Dead Heart Awake is more of the ATG worship. The main riffs are straight from Slaughter Of The Soul, and a built to a high level, its good stuff in that its fast, its heavy and sounds well but I wanted to hear more of Mordkaul’s own identity that you know is in there. It is frustrating because you think, well is it going to be the more of the same as they move through the remaining tracks?

Well, not quite.

They change it up on They Burn, with a more pulled back attack that still has elements of that sound to it but instead of the high speed they bring in some chunk within the riffs and there is a storming closing section which is just royal, and you wonder why they haven’t brought this in before? However, Shadowlord sees them return to their area of comfort, and there is not a lot to say at this point other than there is a guest solo by James Mcllroy (ex-Cradle of Filth) who lights it up but other than that it’s more of the perfunctory Swedish style melodeath. Hellspawn is a decent mid-paced stomper, complete with an incendiary lead which is scorching but doesn’t offer anything new on here. Passage To Oblivion – is the last track on what is a decent album, there is no denying that. It is also an instrumental. Again, it is a suitable closing piece, with piano by Maarten Vandenberghe as it gently wraps.

One thing you cannot say is that it is a boring album. It isn’t, as I’ve said it has everything you want in melodic death metal, unfortunately, it suffers from being too in debt to their influences. I’m all for taking the best cues from the bands you love but put your own stamp on it. For me this is a love letter to the Swedish sound of the 90s which doesn’t show me what Mordkaul are all about. I wanted more of the promised Morbid Angel / Death influence in there, which appeared in fits and starts. It feels that they have let that love of the Swedish sound cover their own identity, and whilst what they have recorded is done well it only became exciting once they started to push themselves and their vision to the front. Devotees 6/10

Reviews: Big Big Train, Firtan, Find Me, Gargantura (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Big Big Train - A Flare On The Lens Live (InsideOut Music)

Recorded over two nights at London's Cadogan Hall, in the midst of their longest tour ever, British prog rock icons Big Big Train have committed full show from the second of their two nights alongside seven songs which were played only on the first night.

Available on CD/LP/Blu-Ray as A Flare On The Lense. A concert film that has all the bells and whistles, a carefully selected tracklist that sees A Boy In Darkness from English Electric performed for the first time live. It's a brilliant song that works so well on stage, dramatic and bold it's a obvious tribute to the writing of former BBT singer David Longdon who tragically passed away in 2021.

The whole record is a celebration of Big Big Train and shows why they are so revered in the prog world, the second disc especially comprising an Acoustic Medley, with two BBT classics; the epic East Coast Racer and brilliant Victorian Brickwork, showcasing how they infuse their music with the traditional English folk traditions, the use of fiddle/flute and brass, evoking everything from Canterbury troubadours to Northern Colliery bands.

There are classics like closer Judas Unrepentant, Curator Of Butterflies and new tracks like Oblivion and Love Is The Light, on which frontman Alberto Bravin made his recorded debut, here he handles all of the music brilliantly, singing with a familiarity but also his own way of presenting these songs.

Amongst their own songs, there are chances for the band members to show off; Apollo the fantastic instrumental driven by band founder Gregory Spawton's bass or Drums And Brass which is a showcase for Nick D'Virgilio's superior drumming. This track features a rhythm from a well known prog song but it's really bugging me that I can't remember which one (answers on a postcard please).

A Flare On The Lens Live is a fantastic live showcase from one of the UK's most important prog bands. Essential. 10/10

Firtan - Ethos (AOP Records)

Featuring guest performances from J.J. (Harakiri for the Sky, Karg) and L.G. (Ellende), Ethos is the newest album from German extreme metal band Firtan. Those guest should be an indicator about what you should expect if, like me, you have never heard the band before. Emerging from the raw black metal sound, Firtan have layered their style now to bring a sense of the atmospheric and the progressive to the black metal style.

Ethos is their fourth full length and comes as the culmination of the evolution they have been on since their debut, it's an existential album which brings melancholy and abstract ambivalence, the more melodic dissonance of their lyrics is put against blasts of black metal aggression from the double kick drums and tremolo picking, slowing down to a weighty chug when they need too and utilising the violin/piano of Klara Bachmair for additional melodies on tracks such as Arkanum and the closing Wenn Sich Mir Einst Alle Ringe Schließen.

Firtan play serious music, it's hard hitting and thought provoking, but violent and vicious, C.S and Phillip Thienger's guitars furiously assault the ears with counter pointed riffs and leads, Thienger's vocals savage. The engine room of Oliver König (bass) and David Kempf (drums) unleash a battery on tracks such as Contra Vermes where the synths weave their way into the middle section, as they bring acoustics in the middle of the cathartic Komm Herbei, Schwarze Nacht.

Firtan impress with their fourth album, anyone that likes a bit more introspection and exploring with their extreme metal will want to pick up Ethos. 8/10

Find Me - Nightbound (Frontiers Music SRL)

The musical alliance between Robbie LaBlanc (vocals) and Daniel Flores (keys/drums) returns with their fifth album. Featuring a collection of songwriters including Jim Peterik.

Its another collaboration project spearheaded by the Frontiers label boss, but one that has been very fruitful, the songwriter's giving LaBlanc the words to sing with his brilliant voice while Flores' production and arrangements are performed with slickness by Danny, Andi Kravljaca (guitars), Jonny Trobro (bass), Rolf Pilotti (piano/organ) and Fernando Brito (percussion).

This is AOR as slick as it gets, I See You In Everyone an anthemic semi ballad, while Can't Wait Here Anymore shimmers with the glint of the Sunset Strip. There's an ideal mixture of ballads and rockers as songs such as Distant Lovers, Speechless, Walk Through The Fire and Savage Blue all make sure that Find Me stands out in the AOR/Frontiers collection as one of the more success projects. 8/10

Gargantura - Primary Pulse (Self Released)

French heavies Gargantura, not to be associated with French band Gargantua, are a progressive death metal band with nods to groove and a melodic streak. Influenced by Gojira (Torment), Lamb Of God and others on that sort of heavy groove driven sound Primary Pulse is a three track EP which looks to announce Garagantura's sound.

Their sound is pretty generic if I'm honest, for fans of bands such as Trivium (Behind The Beyond), they will certainly appeal to anyone that likes that wave of melodic metalcore that was so popular around 10 years ago. It's a Primary Pulse with a few progressive shifts, but for me Gargantura will have to add a bit more variation to really land more than they do now. 6/10

Reviews: Slomosa, Torso, The Nail, Stryper (Reviews By Joe Guatieri, Matt Bladen, Simon Black & Rich Piva)

Slomosa - Tundra Rock (Stickman Records) [Joe Guatieri]

Slomosa are a Stoner Rock band hailing from Norway. Their debut album was released in 2020 in the heat of the pandemic, I found it in 2021 after hearing about it on a random podcast that I listened to where the host drew comparisons between it and the first Queens Of The Stone Age album. Ever since my first listen I became obsessed with it to this very day, going on to see Slomosa twice live touring with Sasquatch and Elder respectively. It’s therefore safe to say that Tundra Rock was my most anticipated record of the year and now it’s finally here.

The opening track Afghansk Rev has us in undiscovered territory with the band as they give us their first take on an instrumental track. The slow drone in the background is immediately reminiscent of the opening to Blues For The Red Sun by Kyuss before we are dawned with chorus pedal effected bends which arch and curve into a hammer smash of distortion and continue to try and flutter afterwards while in distress like a bird attempting to battle against the elements.

Going on from that point, I would like to discuss the next two tracks in one, that being Rice and Cabin Fever as I consider them to be siblings of each other. Not only were they the first two singles off this record but they have a few similarities, they both carry on the instruments motifs from the first song, that being these rising and falling passages, I can relate it to the waterfall which spills across the album cover into the unknown below. 

They both also see Slomosa approaching new dynamics within their sound, for example, there’s a search for answers that takes place on Rice between 2:45 and 4:03, covering yourself from dangers above as the instrumental is brought right down to almost a whisper before waking up and baring your brave head again, ready for what’s to come.

Later still we go into track six with Battling Guns. Just before this though, piano chords are played and the strike of midnight to mark a moment in time. The song presents shifting verses at pace, feeling dangerous much like the track title suggests. Honestly, the first time that I heard this song was at 3AM in the morning and I cried and I couldn’t understand why at the time but now it’s all so clear to me. 

Battling Guns has three moments, the bass solo from Marie is heard loud and clear above the guitar riffage and plays with the trajectory from 2:24 to 2:55. Then from 3:00 to 3:53 Jard’s drumming is as smooth as butter and fits the rise in intensity from Benjamin and Tor’s guitars perfectly, before everything stretches out for relief like Jesus on a cross. Battling Guns is a beautiful song and is my favourite on the album.

Overall, Tundra Rock takes the catchiness of Slomosa’s debut and marries it with atmosphere providing more ideas and outcomes than ever before. This is a fantastic follow-up but they still have potential and are far from done. Slomosa are my favourite Stoner Rock band and I feel like that this album provides a very good reason for that. 9/10

Torso - Brain Cells (APF Records) [Matt Bladen]

It came from London in 2022 after the demise of Possessor, Graham Bywater's visceral horror thrash machine Torso shrieked bloodily from the grave with A Crash Course In Terror. Dirty, raw riffs, howled vocals, B-movie samples and horror themes are all pure Torso, continuing where he left off at the death of Possessor.

Brain Cells is the follow up to the debut and Graham again attacks his guitar and rages at his mic with more gore soaked nastiness. A bubbling blend of KISS schlock worship, hardcore thrash and even dirgy grunge, Brain Cells is a short stab of gruesomeness, oppressive and ferocious, though there's also a heavy influence of Goblin or Morricone on their Italian horror era, especially on the title track, which also features vocals from Lisa Bywater.

You Belong In Hell kicks off with the lo-fi fuzz, grinding bass and drums haunts Blood Frenzy as there's a shifting break on the psychedelic Savage Magic before more riffs come. Brain Cells is the follow up you would want, it's darker, meaner and takes a few more risks. This Torso continues to have a heart that beats to the sound of a Dario Argento score. 9/10

The Nail - The Nail (Frontiers Music Srl) [Simon Black]

Another day, another Frontiers Records Srl mash-up… or is it?

To be fair, Frontiers Records have been getting rather better at the kind of projects that are all about introducing new, younger talent across different markets, rather than their staple of career resurrection / Supergroup projects for label main man Serafino Perugino’s nostalgia list of 80’s Hard Rock and Metal heroes. I cite the label’s success with the likes of James Durbin as a great example of this and point out that they do well at finding such diamonds in the rough, giving them a shot at a broader audience than they might achieve on their own.

The normal modello operativo for the Naples-based label is to take such uncut stones and throw them together with a house production and session musician team, but this project is different (although, with the absolute keystone of that in-house approach Alessandro Del Vecchio recently parting company with the label after fourteen years perhaps the label did not have much choice…). The Nail (note the definitive article, and not to be confused with noughties Hardcore outfit Nails) is all about airing not one, but three such youngsters – Indian hot shot Girish Pradhan on vocals, plus brothers Efe (on guitars) and Reis Ali Eroglu (on pretty much everything else, plus most of the songwriting). Oh, and it’s produced by their dad, Cenk Eroglu. Maybe their mum did the catering too, but that’s not credited on the press release…

But you get the point – the usual Italian house team is not involved at all and that lends a different feel to the release, which for me is hugely positive, because in recent years that house style and team has lent too many releases a feeling of repetition when you have several of them coming across the review queue each month.

That leads me to the record itself. I’ve not come across any of the projects that this team has worked on previously and given that the multi-instrumentalist co-writer Reis Ali Eroglu is only seventeen, that’s perhaps not surprising. That’s why Frontiers previously de-risked such things by having safe in-house hands deliver the bulk of the work, but this family affair has their musical chemistry already pre-fermented, with frontman Pradhan being the one that has to fit into someone else’s groove. Which he does remarkably well…

The fact is the two things that work best here are Pradhan’s hugely entrancing performance and the moments of sheer shreddery from the elder of the Eroglu brothers, but unfortunately the writing is a little too by the numbers for me, with the rhythm section just really driving a straight edge complimentary backline, rather than feeling like a living, breathing band entity of more than one player on the backline. OK, I guess it’s almost impossible for anything in the safe and commercial end of the Hard Rock / Melodic Metal pond to sound truly original, but it can sound relevant and modern – in fact I would argue that it absolutely has to with so many potential substitute products in this crowded marketplace (especially when half of them probably come from the same label).

That said, this is not a bad album by any stretch, and one I could happily listen to throughout, but it does feel a little unfinished. That’s a direct consequence of having one musician, and a very inexperienced one at that wearing four of the six hats in the ring, but one easily fixed by bringing more players into the fold and sharing a bit. Promising, but a bit more polish needed on this particular rock is needed. 6/10

Stryper - When We Were Kings (Frontiers Music Srl) [Rich Piva]

Someone is still listening to Stryper. If not, then why would we have three new studio albums from the band since 2020? That is quite an impressive clip, so there has to be a fanbase out there for more of their hard rocking, Jesus loving, way over produced rock and roll. The latest record, When We Were Kings (I assume they are referring to 1986, but I could be wrong) is more of what the other ones from this decade and actually the past three or so decades have been with very little difference. Let me break it down for you if you don’t mind. 

First, these songs sound like the Stryper of the past 20 or so years. I am not sure if even the biggest fan could tell the difference between the songs on the last few albums. Second, the band actually sounds great and still has in musically. Oz Fox has been through a lot medically but, assuming he did most of the guitar work on here, still can shred. Third, people either love or hate Michael Sweet’s voice, but one thing is for sure is that outside of some potential studio wizardry (see point four) his voice still sounds huge. Fourth, this is on Frontiers, so it is immediately confirmed that it is way overproduced. Fifth, the band is leaning on in “heavy”, as Stryper continues to bring the more aggressive side, for them at least. Sixth, you are going to have to deal with Jesus songs.

So that being said, if you like Stryper, you will like When We Were Kings. The highlights include the opening rockers End Of Days that really gives Oz a chance to shine and he takes it on perfectly, Unforgivable, which has a nice chunky riff and more great playing by Oz, and Raptured that has a hair metal via heavy blues rocking riff and more of Sweet being Sweet. The band is best these days when really rocking out, so songs like Betrayed By Love and Grateful I could do without, but there are no really bad tracks on When We Are Kings, which is saying a lot for many Frontiers releases. 

The slickness will always get to me production-wise and there is only so much Jebus stuff I can take in my rock, but overall, this is a pretty solid release from a band who has been doing this for a very, very long time and have been counted out as many times as they have been praised. Good for them, and When We Were Kings is good for Stryper fans. 6/10

Reviews: Spirit Mother, Agrypnie, Eddie & The Wolves, Jade/Sanctuarium (Reviews By Rich Piva, Mark Young, Liam Williams & James Jackson)

Spirit Mother - Trails (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

Spirit Mother is a US based dark psychedelic rock band that has been off my radar somehow until now, thanks to Heavy Psych Sounds bringing us their new album, Trials. Spirit Mother is full of atmosphere, with their swirling guitars, psych folk leanings, and full-time violin player leading that charge.  

There is a shoegaze vibe I get too, with some serious 90s influence ala bands like Swervedriver, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive, and maybe even very early Smashing Pumpkins. Band member SJ not only brings the violin to the party, as her haunting female background vocals partnered with Armand lead voice adds something even more ethereal to the ten songs on Trials, bringing a unique sound to the usual stable of HPS bands and a fresh take on some of the bands mentioned, with the Spirit Mother twist.

Trails opens up with the instrumental intro, Passage, that sets up for what the atmosphere of this record is going to be all about; dark, brooding, but not without some light via the psych guitar and the gorgeous background vocals.  The riff on the first full track, the title track, reminds me of the band Walin’ Storms, but Spirit Mother are a bit more contained than Walin’ Storms, as this track is darker and more beautiful rather than frantic and urgent. I love what the violin brings to this track and across the record.  Veins is in the same, but brings the 90s alt more to the table. There is a lot of this on Trials, which I am very here for. The layered vocals on this song are just great, and the band picks up that urgency I mentioned earlier and brings their version of heavy on this one, but never losing that atmosphere they have built. 

Emerald is a rocker in Swervedriver territory, which of course, rules, but maybe just a bit chunkier than that legendary band.  The middle part when it gets all noisy reminds me of something from Verve’s A Storm In Heaven, but again, Spirit Mother rocks more. Below slows it down, leverages SJs background vocals, and really screams 90s goodness.  I love how the guitar and violin pair up and the guitar work in general on this one.  Tonic is all about the violin and riffs, bringing me back to the Walin’ Storms comparisons with those more urgent vocals. 

I love when the band throws in these vibes, creating an excellent yin and yang effect to the running order of the ten tracks. Vessel is my favourite track as it has the quickest pace and has the band at their most rocking and shows they can bring the riffs when they want to. Voyeur is in the same category.  Given, on the other hand, is an acoustic driven track that is a bit spooky with the haunting vocals and violin ever-present. The closer, Wolves, starts out acoustically but launches into straight up 90s alt/shoegaze goodness that would make any fan of that genre and time very pleased. 

The 90s vibe is strong on Trials, not just musically but overall, (all the song titles are all one word, sound familiar?) but never is Spirit Mother a parody of that time in music. The band, via their psych and heavy folk leanings, male lead and female background vocals, and soft and atmospheric but heavy when they want to be direction, create an excellent record that is not your usual offering from Heavy Psych Sounds. Good stuff. 8/10

Agrypnie - Erg (AOP Records) [Mark Young]

Erg is the latest full-length release from Agrypnie, the post-black metal duo of Torsten and Flo, who between them have been incredibly busy since their inception in 2004, with erg their 7th album. Post-black metal is somewhat new to me, but I have to say that this is quite an experience. A good one at that. 

Aus Rauchlosem Feuer (ft. Phil Crone – Secrets of the Moon) explodes into a wall of sound. The fury is there, distilled by the drums whilst the guitar carves out its melodic path. It carries the same kind of approach that Heretoir has, in those ringing chords and it sounds mint. I had some misgivings at first, with that slowly developing start but that soon disappeared. The confidence in having the two opening tracks coming in at 7 minutes a piece is amazing. Meer Ohne Wasser is slower, more focused but still has those mint guitar lines ringing through. 

There is some magical stuff on this one, and already its shaping up to be one of those releases that you return to. Their build is just solid, a heady mix of apocalyptic assault and melody that permeates and creates a high bar for them to follow. In terms of following, Sturm (ft. Hupogrammos) comes in as this raw, almost primeval attack that evokes traditional black metal patterns. The drumming on this is just top-notch. Flo, possesses a supernatural touch and skill, putting fills in amongst the blasts. The drums provide a lot of support here, constantly moving and pushing forward and they are a delight. 

Blut is a two-part journey, and to me provides the first misstep. Part 1 is presented as an instrumental and is fine within the larger context but feels like they put the brakes on the momentum built so far. For me I don’t believe it makes the album any better for its inclusion and Part 2, if it had been on its own would have kept that momentum going. It does its level best to kick on and drag you along with it, the melody is there, the drumming but it now feels like it is on the back foot. Entität rights that almost straight away. With double bass firing like a minigun spitting bullets into the jungle of Val Verde, its like a controlled demolition as they pepper your ears whilst Torsten offers an almost subtle arrangement, of those ringing chords and keys. 

This is them leaving Blut in the distance, it is glorious, the choice of melody lines used is just spot on, and they manage to combine heaviness and clarity at the same time. It’s something they continue to do, mining a rich seam of inspiration with Stunde Des Wolfes going for the throat now with a newfound urgency in their attack, mixing up-tempo for the guitar parts, knowing when to speed up and when to drop that speed off. The speed parts are always welcome, but the songs fly when they are using those ringing lines whilst the drums are taking off. Keeping the speed picking to a minimum makes you sit up and listen to what is actually happening in the song and there is a lot going on here. I was getting ready to write off Geister as another instrumental until Torsten kicks in half-way through, offering more tortured vocals amongst another solid arrangement. 

Their final track, Unter Sand is where they bring it all together, and is the album distilled into one track. It has everything – the speed, melody, the clarity of the guitars, all pulled in to make an irresistible final track. It has an energy to it that belies its length, and it doesn’t lose any of its intensity from the moment it starts to the moment it finishes. That intensity is something that can be attributed to the album, each track grabs you and makes you listen, demanding your attention. The only gripe was the instrumental at the start of Blut, others may find it engaging but for me it was unnecessary, and it’s a minor thing especially when you have a collection of songs as good as this. 8/10

Eddie & The Wolves – Tasty Sin (Revolver Records) [Liam Williams]

A brilliant album by UK bluesy rockers Eddie & The Wolves. This album has a bit of everything in it. At times I can hear snippets of Aerosmith, ZZ Top and even some funky goodness which sounds very much inspired by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. A solid album which displays this bands musical talents very well. My favourite part of this album has got to be either the vocals, or the guitar solos. I can’t quite decide! Standout tracks for me are title track Tasty Sin which has some nice tribal sounding drums that come in just before an absolute facemelter of a guitar solo, very reminiscent of Crazy Train. 

Different Kinda Girl which has more of a funky blues sound. Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us is more of a ballad which helps to bring down the pace a little towards the end of the album. My only complaint about this album is with the last track, Crawling. It is a decent song but I feel it ends a bit too abruptly after the guitar solo and maybe could have done with being a little bit longer, maybe even fade out at the end instead of just coming to a stop out of nowhere. But all in all, a fine effort and a fun album to listen to. 8/10

Jade/Sanctuarium - The Sempiternal Wound (Pulverised Records) [James Jackson]

A first for me in the form of a split EP, from two Death/Doom bands based in Barcelona, Jade and Sanctuarium are quite entwined according to the press release, having shared band members, helped with recording duties and at times stepping into help on a more musical level; so a shared album would indeed make a lot of sense.

 
Up first are Jade, offering three of the five songs featured upon The Sempiternal Wound and their tracks, Third Creation, Cascade and Essential Formulas For Life Transition are probably more in line with a Melodic Death Metal style of songwriting than outright Death Metal, for while the trademarks of Death Metal are in full flow there’s a dramatic air to the songs, Cascade has a particularly interesting and memorable intro, a refrain which is later repeated to great effect.

 
Jade have a great sound, the songs are layered and composed with no small amount of detail and emotion, big riffs supported by an assault of drums allows the more melodic elements to weave themselves together perfectly and whilst I’m not a huge fan of the endless growled vocals, there is enough raw emotion bleeding through that it all feels so very right.

Sanctuarium are more on the Doom spectrum than their co hosts upon this EP, the proof of which is seen in the duration of their first track, Recomposition Of Carbonised Corpses, a title you’d expect more from Carcass than a Doom Metal band. The equally lengthy track Malodorous Osteophagy in Acrimony follows and both tracks are prime examples of raw, earthy Death/Doom; the chugging riffs, guttural vocals and melodic leads, for me it’s much in the vein of early My Dying Bride.

 
There’s not a lot to get into with only two tracks but musically it’s a pretty solid affair with my only gripe being the vocal style and levels, it’s low in the mix and more often than not sounding heavily echoed.

Overall a pretty impressive album though Jade most definitely has more of a draw for me. 7/10

Reviews: Legions Of Doom, A Killer's Confession, Zetra, Bones UK (Reviews By Rich Piva, Liam Williams, Mark Young & James Jackson)

Legions Of Doom - The Skull 3 (Tee Pee Records) [Rich Piva]

I guarantee there is not going to be an album this year or for the foreseeable future that will have more of a profound effect on me then Legions Of Doom’s The Skull 3. Eric Wagner’s passing in 2021 took a huge toll on me, given when and how and what we all were experiencing in 2021, and just how much he had been a part of my musical life for so long. Trouble’s Manic Frustration is not only my number two album of all time but is also one of the most important records in shaping what my musical taste is today. 

That love of Trouble extended to all of his projects, be it LID, Blackfinger, or what we will be focusing on for this review, The Skull. At the time of his passing, Eric was on tour with The Skull and was starting to put together the material for the next and third record from the band. This material was unearthed from his laptop by former Trouble and at the time of passing current bandmate Ron Holzner and along with The Skull guitarist Lothar Keller shaped what would have been The Skull’s third album but is now the debut from Legions Of Doom. There is more to this story, but rather than give you the history here, let’s talk about how killer the eight tracks on The Skull 3 are and how awesome it is to get one last contribution to our musical lives from the lost legend.

Legions Of Doom is a supergroup for sure, and that status is confirmed on the first track, Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt, with the legend himself Karl Agell (check out the Lie Heavy record) on vocals, along with the trademark sound and riff of The Skull. Karl’s vocals are amazing and he stays with his style rather than trying to fit what Wagner’s performance may have been, not that anyone could. This is pure Skull goodness, as the riffs and rhythm section pick up where the last record left off and elicits all sorts of emotions in me. The guitar work of Keller and Scott Little is pretty much perfect here. 

Same goes for the second track, All Good Things, also with Agell on vocals. This one is more up-tempo at times and has an amazing hook to it. The riffs, again, are killer, and Agell does his job like no one else could on a song like this. Amazing stuff. This is a song of the year candidate for sure. I may be a broken record mentioning the riffs, but I mean the riff on Lost Soul is something else. How about reaffirming supergroup status on this one with Saint Vitus vocalist Scott Reagers taking the leader here, delivering a different yet still killer interpretation of the vocals to Wagner’s lyrics. I love when the pace picks up on this one and the guitars just shred it up. 

A Voice Of Reason is what would be a ripper from The Skull’s point of view, as this one chugs along quickly and highlights the guitar work once again. Between Darkness And Dawn just rules, with Agell back on vocals, and sweet classic doom bassline to lead the way. This one of my favourite traditional doom tracks this year. I love the soft part during the first solo as well as Agell’s extremely heartfelt vocal performance. Agell gets his chance to rip it up on Insectiside, which reminds me of something on his Lie Heavy record, and is the most up-tempo rocker on The Skull 3. The solo reminds me of Manic era Trouble. The most obviously heart-breaking song is Heaven, the acoustic driven track with Eric Wagner’s own vocals. Just listen to it, I am not going to describe it. The Skull once again looms large on Hallow By All Means, where Reagers adds his trademark voice to the doomiest and low end heaviest song on here. A great way to close it out.

The Skull 3 is the absolute perfect way to celebrate Eric Wagner’s legacy and ensure that it lives on, finishing these eight tracks in the most respectful, realized, and straight up awesome way. Musically, taken all of the other stuff out of it, this is the traditional doom record of the year. Adding all of the other stuff around it makes it even more special. Legions Of Doom did this right, thank you, boys. 10/10

A Killer’s Confession - Victim 1 (MNRK Heavy) [Liam Williams]

This album by modern metalcore outfit A Killer’s Confession is nothing short of a masterpiece! The album is made up of 10 absolute certified bangers which will have you moshing and dancing from start to finish. They have effortlessly created a very unique blend of metalcore and nu-metal. Each member contributes a spectacular performance with the epic guitar riffs, groovy basslines and powerful drums. But I have to say the vocals from frontman Waylon Reavis are absolutely phenomenal and really stand out as the best part of the album for me, from his melodic clean vocals which at times remind me of Maynard from Tool, to his gnarly screams.

The first track Tongue kicks off the album with a fast tempo and ferocious energy which is followed by 2nd track Sun, which is more of an “arena anthem” with a slower tempo but very powerful choruses. Greed has to be my favourite track, from the sick metalcore riff in the intro and the massive breakdown halfway through with a very catchy chorus making this one which will surely get stuck in your head as it did for me. The album closes with the track Wasteland which I can only describe as being the result of sticking Tool and Rammstein into a blender and making a tasty smoothy. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and it works well. Overall, there is not one bad track. This album is an absolute blast to listen to and it’s definitely one I will find myself coming back to regularly, and I hope the same goes for some of you too! 10/10

Zetra - Zetra (Nuclear Blast) [Mark Young]

Zetra landed on my radar late last year, providing quality support to Svalbard on their national tour. Armed with corpse paint and some quality songs, the duo announced themselves as someone who could offer something different. Effectively, they consist of a guitar and synth to deliver (in their words) ‘Gothic heavy shoegaze’ but what they fail to mention is that:

A, it is chock full of riffs.

B, it makes you want to dance.

And yet I’ve genuinely found it difficult to write this review, in that I’m struggling to articulate why I like it. They don’t sound like anything I normally listen to and yet growing up in the 1980s, especially the early to mid-80s, there was a ton of synth-driven music in the charts, where guitars took a back seat. Vocals were delivered in soft and subtle ways, sometimes barely above a whisper. That approach carried over into the indie/alternative scene, often offset against a loud chorus, forming a template that exists today. Zetra use the softly driven vocals as a way of disarming whilst they deploy weapons of sonic destruction to get their hooks into you.

Suffer Eternally phrasing like it’s the 90’s, with vocals that are delivered so softly by Adam, and an incredibly joyous riff that makes this low-key opener come in, gently preparing us for Sacrifice, a strong, stabbing riff that forms a more balanced partnership with the synths. The way they stretch out their sound in the latter half whilst those vulnerable vocal lines are delivered over a hard-edged guitar is a prime example of how to write brilliant songs. Starfall (ft. Serena Cherry of Svalbard) starts with a piano line that is straight from the classic synth-driven pop of the 80s, with overdriven guitar rolling over the top and it’s a perfect arrangement. 

As they open up Serena’s extreme vocals come in and suddenly the balance is shifted, the light versus the dark. It’s refreshing that they don’t go heavy with the arrangement at this point as others would ramp up the sound as those vocals come in. They maintain that steady course and let Serena’s vocals do the heavy lifting. It’s simple but devastatingly effective at the same time. There is an excellent guitar line on The Mirror, it’s a brilliant riff on this one and is probably the most ‘gazed’ track here in the way they drop those chords during the middle section, and it moves like it wants you to get up and dance.

Shatter The Mountain (ft. Sólveig Matthildur of Kælan Mikla) makes great use of the additional vocals from Sólveig on another banger, as they explode out of the blocks with an immediate arrangement that steps back to an extent to provide that quiet/loud dynamic. The guest vocals are superb, providing an ethereal feel that is just fabulous. Their choice of guests (like Serena) bring another dimension to their songs and improves them. 

What you find is that with or without guests their songs have a quality to them, it Is the way they put them together in how they consider both the synths and guitar as equal parts, for example on Holy Malice it’s a slow burner, one that knows its pace and stays true to it. In other hands, it might have come across as dull, but they do enough with the arrangement so that trap is avoided. Inseparable occupies that same space, a sprawling piece that enjoys a synth-driven approach. It’s lush and has an almost hypnotic effect and leads us into Gaia which comes at us with their gaze shoes on.

Moonfall (ft. Gabriel Franco of Unto Others) then decides it wants to shake things up, as if they have been saving themselves for it. There is a harder edge to the guitars on this one, more of an aggressive tilt to it that is almost hidden. The arrangement is just class, and if I said that one of the reasons, I found it difficult to get my thoughts down was that the three songs – Holy Malice through to Gaia were quite similar in execution, albeit to a good standard. 

Moonfall is just light-years ahead of those songs. Once you hear it, you will know EXACTLY what I mean. It is in the vocals, the way it is phrased, the emotion within it, and the keys from Jordan come together to drop one of the songs of the year. After that soon to be classic, Miracle brings the album to a close. Running with the same energy as Moonfall, there is a triumphant feeling running through it, one that must come from putting together an album as strong as this.

I don’t think I have had this amount of trouble with a review like I did with this one. I liked every song on it, and wanted to get that across but even though realised that there was a lag in some ways before we got to the final pair of belters. Taken as a whole, it is a fantastic experience and one that I would recommend sharing with you. 9

Bones UK - Soft (Sumerian Records) [James Jackson]

There are a ton of genre tags attached to this band; Punk, Industrial, Blues, Electro Pop and the self proclaimed “Future Rock”, from my perspective the band, vocalist Rosie Bones and guitarist Carmen Vanderburg have created an album that at times sounds very personal, the desperation in the vocals of Knee Deep combined with a guitar solo that seems to carry just as much raw emotion, is a stand out track for me; other tracks upon the album are more vibrant, some more so than others, the lyrically intimate Teeth has quite a pulse to it, opener Bikinis is sultry yet full of swagger, so this turn of mood comes as a surprise.

Whilst there are elements of those genre tags I previously mentioned within the album, Soft is in my opinion more of a Dark Pop album with touches of Punk attitude and Industrial nuances that add emphasis to the already pulsing beats. This is Bones UK’s second album, their self titled debut album was released in 2019, five years after the band initially formed and whilst I’ve not heard the album, after listening to Soft I intend to give the debut a listen. Much better than anything I could have anticipated. 8/10

Review: Oceans Of Slumber (By Matt Bladen)

Oceans Of Slumber - Where Gods Fear To Speak (Season Of Mist)

As their previous album Starlight And Ash got rid of any of the extreme metal machinations Texan prog metal band Oceans Of Slumber had in there music before, you would be forgiven in thinking that they may stay on this more atmospheric, lighter, southern gothic sound. Moving towards a rock direction but no, thankfully for fans of of the quiet loud dynamics of Opeth and others, Oceans Of Slumber bring back the blistering blasts of death metal and growled vocals on Where Gods Fear To Speak.

Not only have they brought it back, but they seem more venomous than it has been before. Much of this due to their conflicting vision with their previous label who wanted more of the same but got them introspective but on Seasons Of Mist now they are able to spread their extreme metal wings again, more aggressively, while also having those Southern gothic, dark romantic notions, putting both together no matter if it's embraced it not, 

They have somehow gone more progressive with continuously shifting syncopated riffs from guitarists Chris Jones and Chris Kritikos, blasts of heavy, played in odd time signatures, but they haven't forgotten about their soulful, lighter side blending both better than they have before. I don't say that lightly as I'm constantly astounded but Oceans Of Slumber, consistently giving them high scores but this record I've played it multiple times. There's just something addictive about it. Whether it's the educated blast beats or evocative piano of Dobber Beverley (I Will Break The Pride Of Your Will) or expansive, cantering basswork of Semir Ozerkan, there's such a variation in the rhythm section, as the gothic moments are twisted into black metal, showcasing a band who are near the top in terms of talent but yet still aren't recognised as well as they should be.

I'll get the cover out of the way first as there's always a cover, the band even have an EP of covers. It's Wicked Game, a song that has been attempted by many bands, but here it has an added darkness, a gothic sensuality that's miles better than Tenacious D's recent effort. As far as their own songs go, the record follows a concept of future dystopia, the cinematic sound of the band always evident but again bolstered on this record, it's grandiose and epic, inspired by huge Hans Zimmer soundscapes and given Wall Of Sound production to fully involve the listener. Take something like Don't Come Back From Hell Empty Handed, the introspective Wish and Poem Of Ecstasy they still have the more mainstream, darkly romantic style they highlighted on their last album.  

So much of my love for the band comes from Cammie Beverley's incredible vocals, gospel infused brilliance which carries resonance and emotion so well counteracted by her newly acquired guttural stomach churning growls, experienced on the first time on the epic title track. She's in my to five singers list for sure, each note fitting perfectly to make you pay attention. Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquility adds his rasp to the dramatic Prayer, as Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell features on the gloomy Run From The Light, bulking what is already a fully stocked vocal delivery. Going back to Poem Of Ecstasy, Cammie uses some black metal snarls as they shifted between emotion and explosivity. It's the perfect pairing of the two sides of Oceans Of Slumber's sound. 

Each band aspires to make a record better than the one before, bigger than the one before and Where Gods Fear To Speak, feels like a culmination of Oceans Of Slumber's journey so far. Multifaceted and magnificent, it'll be in my AOTY for sure! 10/10

Reviews: APEP, Victory, Bodysnatcher, The Blacktones (Reviews GC, Paul Hutchings, Zak Skane & Rich Piva)

APEP - Before Whom Evil Dwells (War Anthem Records) [GC]

Having had a bit of a break from the death metal grind, today I am back on the scene and have the second release from German death metal band APEP, Before Whom Evil Trembles a completely new name for me and a quick read up says that there is a technical style attached to their sound but that’s about as much as I have been given!

It starts with blistering force and beautiful chaos on Enslaving The Putrefied Remnants Of The Deceased which is a whirlwind of pummelling death metal that has no room for any nicety and instead just is just set to all-out attack, there is a slight slowing of pace midway that maybe dulls the overall force of the song slightly but it’s a good way to begin and carries forward into The Pillars Of Betrayal but it doesn’t take long for the speed to return and the familiar death metal racket is with us again and while there isn’t much originality on show the way they put it all out there with a bucket load of conviction, makes for a passionate and endearing song, much the same happens on Tombs Of Eternity which is full of technical and dexterous guitar work with a fantastic drum showing as has been the way from the start and while I can admire what I am listening to and enjoy it.

I just cant shake the feeling that I have heard it all before and that’s not trying to sound harsh because it seems like to me it does take a lot to stand out if you’re in death metal band and if you haven’t got that x-factor to really stand out above the crowd it really can feel like a case of death metal deja’vu at times. Wanderers In The Waste is a little eastern tinged interlude and then it hits me like a brick falling from a pyramid, the sound is rooted firmly in the Nile-like Middle Eastern mindset and it has the familiar sound patterns but so far doesn’t fully live up to that lofty comparison. 

Then Goddess Of Carnage is unleashed, and it sounds just unbe-fucking-leavable!! and make you wonder why they have been waiting until now to show us what hey are really capable of playing, it is just an unrelenting and savage run though with not one note wasted and no slow parts it’s just a beautiful showing of how vital and invigorating death metal really can be and as the shortest track on the album so far really leaves its mark on you. The urgency continues with The Breath Of Kheti and will leave you slack jawed and slightly amazed that its taken this long for APEP to really open up and show there hand because if the first half of this record had sounded like this we could have been on course for an absolute worldie of a record and the Nile comparisons may have been actually considered, this is a breathless and savage, snarling assault on the ears in the best way and it is wonderfully relentless all the way to the end.

Then unfortunately we get the mammoth Swallowed By Silent Sands which clocks in at an unhealthily long and unnecessary 10:23 and with the marathon length we get back to the more paired back and slower sound which seems to go on, and on and on and on and just absolutely stunts the ferocity that has been building and feels like somewhat of a dissatisfying and annoying end to the album.

This album felt like a game of 2 halves for me and looking back now I can see that the first few tracks, while not really hitting as hard as I would have like they were building towards something furiously enjoyable but that burst of fantasticness didn’t last anywhere near long enough for my liking and also, for album that only lasts 7 songs to have an interlude/instrumental on it just seems lazy to me?? Anyway, a pretty decent listen overall that any death metal fan will no doubt enjoy but can’t see it troubling any AOTY lists or anything. 7/10

Victory – Circle Of Life (AFM Records) [Paul Hutchings]

I believe that Circle Of Life is Victory’s 11th studio album. We last encountered the German quintet in 2021 when they released Gods Of Tomorrow, their first album for a decade. It was described by Simon Black as “good but not great”, and I can see exactly why he said that at the time, for Victory don’t do anything that is mind-blowing but what they do produce is solid hard rock and heavy metal that could sit under the moniker of hundreds of other bands. 

A football analogy? The steady dependable goalkeeper who rarely drops a bollock, whose presence behind the back line is reassuring, dependable, but who is missing the flamboyance and dynamism of the risk-taking peer. Think David Seeman rather than Bruce Grobbelaar, if you are of that vintage. If not, contact the Editor, and I’ll think of a modern equivalent! 

Victory is, of course, the vehicle for German metal legend Herman Frank, the former Accept stalwart who has been the mainstay of the band since 1986. The current line-up appears to be settled, with Frank joined once more by singer Gianni Pontillo, Mike Pesin (guitar), Malte Frederik Burkert (bass) and drummer Michael Stein.

Ten songs of solid composition spread over 45-minutes. It’s not a chore by any stretch to listen to Circle of Life, but there is little to really spark the excitement. Tonight We Rock and American Girl, the duo that open the album, are reasonable if cliched. It’s all a bit one-paced, and on songs like Moonlit Sky the song just lumbers along with no real drive.

Musically I can’t fault it. The playing is impressive, Pontillo’s vocals are strong and powerful, and the guitar work weaves and winds its way through each song. One might call some of these songs anthemic. Falling is a posturing track that sounds just a little dated, a real 80s throwback, and whilst there is a polish here, it’s not holding the attention in any great manner. Money does have the riffs and hooks to draw you in, but it doesn’t really snare you in any great way.

That’s not to dismiss Frank’s lead work, which is a highlight, or the overall musicianship. But in a world of saturation, songs like Reason To Love, which is a rather drab semi-ballad, just fade into the ether. Sure, if you like melodic hard rock with harmonies and soaring choruses, then Circle Of Life might float your boat. Sadly, I’m sunk on the rocks, and although there is no danger of me drowning, I might not do much more than drift. 6/10

Bodysnatcher - Vile_Conduct (MNRK Heavy) Zak Skane

The brutal deathcore outfit that creates music that matches their grotesque imagery. The band has paved themselves away in the underground scene to be one of the brutal deathcore acts in the modern metal scene along side bands like Spite, Filth and Slaughter To Prevail. The band have got almost got ten years worth of brutality under their blood stained belts with releases like Abandonment, Death Of Me, This Heavy Void and Bleed Abide, whilst following their up and coming E.P, Vile Conduct.

Vile Conduct still comes with Bodysnatchers tried and tested formula of beatdown in cased Deathcore, but with Will Putney at the mixing and producing helm, the bands sound has become more refined than before. For example, the bands song writing has become more catchy as well as heavy on songs like Severed, which brings in the punches by taking us back with mid 2000’s influences with it’s pounding chugging patterns, tremolo lead playing and pumping breakdowns. 

Whilst also bringing this mainstream song structure approach that just gives this sweet and sharp catchiness whilst the closing track Say Goodbye brings in some rusted coated hooks. The quad tracked guitars that Will Putney engineers sound as crushing as ever before, especially on tracks like the opener Infested, which just hit you like a freight train from it pick digging tremolo sections to the colossal sounding beat downs. Another high light is the concrete slabbed riffs on the track Human Disdain, which the drummer and the guitarist create this brutal assault on the ear drums with those chugging kick drum patterns working in tandem, whilst the bass parts are wrapped in this crushing tone. 

The vocal tracks sit a lot more cleaner in the mix in comparison to previous releases, which gives the vocalist more of a platform to spew out the bile and venom filled lyrics that the band have conjured together, whilst Will Putney ensures the vocalist still keeps the aggression consistent, especially on songs like the bioweapon like catchiness of Severed, the hardcore delivered tag team from Jamey Jasta guest appearances on Murder8 to the vindictive closer on Say Goodbye.

Even though the delivery is short, it doesn’t soften the audio assault that Vile Conduct is willing to give. Will Putneys collaboration to the bands sound basically lifted the lighting out of it’s existing bottle and amplified it by putting it into the electrical grid. The breakdowns sound more brutal but yet dynamic, whilst the drums and vocals sound a lot more polished in the mix whilst keeping it’s serrated edge. For fans of Spite, Filth and The Acacia Strain. 8/10.

The Blacktones - The Longest Year (Sleaszy Rider Records) [Rich Piva]

While the name The Blacktones sounds like a blackened ska band that Moon Ska or Asian Man Records would put out, alas, they are actually a sludge band from Italy. Instead of unleashing the horn section on you they are bringing the absolute heavy on their third record, The Longest Year. This is some good stuff, combining heavy riffs, clear and screamed vocals, and some serious musicianship for fifty minutes of some high-quality sludge that starts to lean more towards cleaner modern metal, but still executed very well.

What makes it so good? Well take the first full track opener, The Threshold. You get some very cool clean vocals, answered by that scream, with this dreamy Deftones type vibe over the track. Now I don’t love the Deftones, but I think you will get what I am saying when you hear this one. Like you know how the Deftones wish they were a shoegaze band? Then you get it. The Blacktones tower over you on The Longest Year, with case in point being that opener and a track like Noise Pattern, when the band rips you up with riffs but still maintain that shoegaze meets sludge vibe that I can only assume they were going for. 

The band can thrash it up when they really want to also, check out about a minute into this one. There is a modern metal feel to The Blacktones as well, as Greenhouse sounds almost radio friendly, adding some synths to the mix with high quality results. A song like The Parade sounds more like Katatonia than anything remotely stoner, so I would use that as a reference point more than say, a band like Baroness or Mastodon, but either way this is some good stuff. The record may run a bit long and drag in some places, but overall, the third record from The Blacktones is big and heavy, a cleaner product but still sludgy, and worth your time. Check out The Longest Year. No horns necessary. 7/10

Reviews: David Gilmour, God Is An Astronaut, Vestige, Copse (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

David Gilmour - Luck & Strange (Sony Music CMG)

Pink Floyd is dead baby. David Gilmour said so. Each time he's been interviewed over his new album Luck & Strange, they ask him about the legendary British prog band he was a part of and it seems the split between him and Roger Waters is irreparable.

Don't fret though as there are 100's of Floyd tributes and at least three of them are brilliant, Nick Mason tours with Saucerful Of Secrets playing the pre-DSOTM material and for a long time David Gilmour has been a solo artist playing with all the emotion and drama he infused into Floyd's music for years.

Luck & Strange is his first solo album for nine years, again it has music written by David himself as the personal, romantic lyrics of Polly Samson, and Charlie Gilmour are sung with that oh so familiar voice, the strain of age starting to show on the title track where the highs break with fragility of a man who is 78 years old.

Much of the record was written and recorded during lockdown, between Brighton and London, alongside, friends, long term collaborators and family perform on the record. Yep Gilmour's daughter Romany sings and plays the harp on the reworking of folk classic, Between Two Points by The Montgolfier Brothers and the final number Yes, I Have Ghosts. Her voice compliments her father's well, with a similar timbre to Dido and many of the UK prog rock acts.

The title track has a long history, presented here in two versions the original elongated 'Barn Jam' version features keys from the much missed Richard Wright. Clad in an atmospheric, esoteric Anton Corbijn cover artwork, Luck & Strange is possibly the darkest, most experimental work to date as co-producer Charlie Andrew pushed him to write music that was naturally opposite to what people would historically expect.

Well that is with the exception of The Piper's Call which is 'Proper Floyd', though A Single Spark owes a debut to the likes of Nick Cave, while Dark And Velvet Nights is a smoky ode to long lasting love/lust and the Beatles-esque Sings which has plenty of Cümbüş Guitar, looks back on David and Polly's life together.

A record of nostalgia, set to a varied musical background that has the distinctive David Gilmour touch, Pink is dead but his spirit carries on here. 9/10

God Is An Astronaut - Embers (Napalm Records)

Hypnotic, sonic soundscapes are the order of the day for any God Is An Astronaut album, whether it's on record or in their live shows, the instrumental prowess and compositional mastery of the band always grabs the audience.

Things are no different on Embers, the latest offering from these Irish post rock veterans and it has brothers Torsten and Niels Kinsella alongside drummer Lloyd Hanney, taking along for another journey through genre and style. Be it post rock, shoegaze, krautrock or psych and many others in between Embers treats you to probably the most buoyant material the band have written, though the concept of our finite existence is the overarching theme of the record. Falling Leaves is dreamy, as Embers takes a synthwave route.

Odyssey leans on folksy acoustics with world music flourishes from Sitar and other eastern instruments as Dara O'Brien (not the comedian) and Sean Coleman bring their multi-instrumental prowess while the majestic Realms and Prism has the cello brilliance of Jo Quail. Another beautiful record from God Is An Astronaut who continue to be at the apex of post rock. 8/10

Vestige - Janis (Season Of Mist)

Vestige is the vessel for vocalist/guitarist Théodore Rondeau to exercise his demons, following an emotional journey that brought some kind of catharsis for all involved not just Théodore. Joining him are Pierre-André Krauzer on the bass, Quentin Regnault on drums and Thomas Petit on guitar.

Krauzer, Regnault and Rondeau were all part of Naraka who toured with Alcest, the reason why Alcest's Neige appears on Automne Part 2. Janis is a debut album that has been a long time coming the end of a personal journey the band signing to Season Of Mist to get their debut out there.

What about the music then? Well Janis is an album of atmospheric post metal similar to Alcest as they shift into the the progressive alt style of Deftones too on Corrosion, the layered guitars playing angular melodies against the grooving backline on Démence De l'Âme, but don't think it's all blissed out ambience, there's a bite to Vestige and while Alcest lean into black metal, they have more modern metal aggression with track such as Appel De l'Âme.

As they drift away with Avant la Fin, Janis ends in a beautiful way, securing Vestige as a band who have a bright future in front of them. 8/10

Copse - MMXXIV (Church Road Records)

MMXXVI is a compilation of both Copse's previous EP's, making a five track album at 40 minutes in length. For fans of bands such as Møl and Deafhaven, you could call Copse blackened shoegaze as dissonance and atmospherics sit hand in hand. There's a surplus of post metal too with Modrem leisurely making its way with a disconcerting ambiance that is broken several times in this 9 minute number.

Much of Copse's power comes from their use of pace and anticipation, the slow burning tracks build into raging flashes of extremity, screamed vocals and blastbeats with Mara the initial display of this, Old Belief the song that is the most direct and ferocious song here, counteracting their established song writing blueprints, New Despair though is a 15 minute way to reconnect with Copse's core sound.

Having already played ArcTanGent last year Copse are a band who show masses of talent and rather than searching for their EP's they are presented here for easy listening by Church Road Records. 8/10

Review: Winterfylleth (By Rick Eaglestone)

Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon (Candlelight/Spinefarm) [Rick Eaglestone]

As we come into the latter part of this particular trip around the sun, Winterfylleth return with a sonic blizzard rammed with a plethora of atmospheric black metal in the form of grandeur composition The Imperious Horizon.

Opening with icy soundscapes and an immediate ominous presence is the instrumental First Light which effortlessly weaves into the blistering Like Brimming Fire showing off an ever-evolving maturity and early on showing that seven releases in just why they are so revered in these isles. As a collective every element is meticulous and by the time Dishonour Enthroned has ended with it captivating narrative there is no doubt for me that is going to end up in a lot of lists this year.

Now although have playing this for what feels like an eternity and pre ordering different formats it is only now that I can sit down a fully digest and appreciate fully the spectacle that this album has formed into, recently the band have announced some accompanying UK dates and in particular I am very much looking forward to hearing the combination of the majestic Upon This Shore and title track The Imperious Horizon.

The longest track of the album In Silent Grace is a great showcasing of the bands musicianship and contains for the most part a slower more purposeful element that really has its own heartbeat with swirling solos and big drum patterns, the addition of Primordial also adds another dynamic.

To The Edge Of Tyranny brings a visceral tone with it, this time with prominent basslines and catchy riffs underpinned with real charge which is complimented with an acoustic folk laden piece Earthen Sorrow is melodic and melancholy in its own right and its short nature is a wonderful introduction to the final track The Insurrection which really completes this 8th releases by really encapsulating the overall aesthetic of the overall creation.

Guitarist/Vocalist C. Naughton commented: “In some ways, the album is a reflection on the mania of the years since the last album, how the world has changed for the worse, and moreover how we all feel like we are living in a more divided and upheaved world ever since! The title speaks to a looming sense of some dominant power or agenda that is coming, just over the horizon. It’s on its way, and we don’t know quite how it will manifest, but we know that it is creeping ever forward, and it is inevitable.”

There has certainly been an outpouring of feelings and emotions throughout this listening journey from utter joy to a deep wavering sorrow which I would not trade in for a single second it is quite simply my album of the year. 10/10