Reviews: High Parasite, The Black Dahlia Murder, Serious Black, Cutlass (Reviews By Rick Eaglestone, Mark Young, Simon Black & Matt Bladen)

High Parasite - Forever We Burn (Candlelight) [Rick Eaglestone]

There is a new dawn approaching laden with dark, atmospheric, and sinisterly melodic tones, High Parasite have formed with some formidable creators to bring their debut creation to fruition with Forever We Burn.

The albums begins with a huge statement of intent with title track which is where the combination of this collective really showcases the musicianship first up is the guitar work and overall structure with has the immediate heartbeat of producer Paradise Lost’s Gregor Mackintosh which then burst through with vocals of longstanding frontman with doom metal maestros, My Dying Bride – Aaron Stainthorpe which are complimented with the ethereal tones of Tapping The Veins Heather Thompson.

This is followed the heavier delivery of My Syndrome before the Gothic post punk tones of Grave Intentions fires through adding another force in the form of bassist/vocalist/songwriter Tombs – a key player in the creation of High Parasite. This collaboration then moves into the narrative nature of Wasn’t Human into death-pop with Concentric Nightmares which delivers a slightly different soundscapes which immediately took me back 24 years as it’s reminiscent of Atrocity’s Taste Of Sin.

Providing the most atmospheric tones on this incredibly impressive debut is Hate Springs Eternal, which is complimented with an ominous nature on Parasite, I can see this being a future live favourite for sure. “This is not a side project. It’s a new touring and recording band, and with Forever We Burn, our debut studio album, we’re showing our love for all things gothic and grand, along with a collective belief that dark music doesn’t have to be confined to the shadows.” – Aaron Stainthorpe

Moving to Let It Fall is once again another demonstration of musicianship falling into place effortlessly before another unveiling of creative genius in the form of Widowmaker which contains my favourite vocal collective.

The album concludes with an industrial like anthem, We Break We Die with once again is flooded with influence and is a track that is not only catchy but is a track I am drawn to increasingly to which each listen. I do not think at this time it is no surprise to learn I am absolutely enamoured with release, it’s structured and produced so well with tracks that will no doubt prove timeless.

Absolutely brimming with brooding gothic overtones. 10/10

The Black Dahlia Murder - Servitude (Metal Blade) [Mark Young]

The Black Dahlia Murder is another band that I have never listened to and digging into online sources this is their 10th studio album and their first since long time frontman Trevor Strnad had passed away. Sometimes, not having listened to a band’s back catalogue means you can judge a release on its own merits or flaws especially in the instance where a band loses a member in this way. I’ll leave comparisons to their previous releases to others as I am sure there will be plenty of that online.

Servitude starts with Evening Ephemeral, a graceful piano segment bludgeoned to death by a death scream and a full-on metal assault. Its heads down and off, as they scorch the earth in front of them with an intensity that belies the fact that this is their 10th album. It provides melody as well as keeping the heaviness in place, suitably balanced and gives the album a great springboard from which to start from. Which it does, Panic Hysteria is next up and takes the baton and sprints with it to the finish line. Those melodic touches on here are royal, twined with some next level drumming that show off both speed and finesse. 

Now if they can avoid the overly slow third song, we are laughing sandbags. Of course they do, with Aftermath blowing in like a tornado. Dropping three songs like this shows that they are here to rage, and to bring some next level heaviness with them. It absolutely flies along, without becoming ludicrous in approach. It is full-on and I love it. What is does mean is that there is a danger of blowing themselves out, which they avoid on Cursed Creator which is more direct in the main but possesses a storming middle section and an outro passage which is has an emotional feel to it (you will get it as soon as you hear it) and sounds like it would be fun to play. There is a joy on display here, each of these tracks so far have been arranged with their best feet forward with each one adopting a melodic style that sounds fresh.

An Intermission, which is nice.

Let’s see if they can continue with the high quality following the intermission as Asserting Dominion is teed up. It has the necessary guitar work, including the mental early solo but it feels a bit thin when compared to the first 4 tracks. I must point out that on its own, it pelts along at a dent rate and isn’t bad at all but feels somehow lighter. Whatever was missing returns on Servitude, and it is not something that I can readily put my finger on. The title track goes for discord amongst the melodic flourishes as they leave no part of the guitar’s neck untouched. It feels that riff lines are coming from all angles here, all underpinned by those supreme drums. 

Entering the final third, Mammoth’s Hand starts with an almost whimsical feel, and they give themselves a little breather (well, relative to the speeds they have attained earlier) whilst still hitting those sweet spots required for this genre to sound good. There is a similar approach on Transcosmic Blueprint, and it is remarkable that having got to this point they are still dropping bangers of this quality. There is an extended lead section that borders on virtuosity without sounding twee. It is the sound of a band that is on fire, and with Utopia Black they reach the end of that journey having provided 9 (the acoustic intermission is not counted) songs that show they have the ability to sustain a high level of craft right through. 

Melodic death metal is a difficult genre to stand out in, there are bands who fall into the trap of repetition but not here. Possibly they had a point to prove that they were not done, I’m not sure. What I do know is that this is a damn fine album, one that should be played loud. 9/10

Serious Black - Rise Of Akhenaton (AFM Records) [Simon Black]

Power Metal Supergroup’s are getting hard to keep track of nowadays. You can see the attraction – either as side projects from the main event when the big names are on hiatus, or as a way of former members to keep earning a living when no longer a part of them, these collaborative projects have been coming thick and fast over the last decade or so. 

I blame Tobias Sammet, although to be fair his Avantasia project has now put the now defunct Edguy that spawned it into the shadows, but there have been hundreds of similar projects, mostly revolving around Helloween, Blind Guardian, Masterplan and the revolving door of contributors therein (and there’s a one in four chance that Ralf Scheepers or Ripper Owens will grace them with a vocal contribution at some point, so nepotistic is the scene). There’s a whole label in Italy doing nothing else but putting these sorts of collaborations together, so there’s clearly a market for it, although here in the UK, the whole Power and Melodic Metal scene is very much a niche taste.

Serious Black have been at this for a decade now, with a respectable seven album discography to back them up and a stable line-up since 2021, but this is the first time they have come across my review platter. A bit of a scan over the back catalogue shows that this is a band that has struggled with consistency and quality, but to be fair I can only judge what I am hearing for the first time, and I’m not hearing anything to complain about.

Quite the reverse indeed. The eleven songs on here show a mature and reliable song-writing team at their heart, with each track standing out as a well-structured, catchy and anthemic bit of power metal. The musical performances are all robust, and I’m particularly take with Nikola Mijić’s vocal performance, which is believable, charismatic and holds the attention well. The guitars are a little too far back in the mix, and dominated by the rhythm section at times but the songs all stand on their own. Sadly, the songs may all stand alone well, but the highlights seem a bit thin on the ground when taken as a whole. 

Syrupy ballad When I’m Gone is best glossed over entirely, but Silent Angel is a real standout moment and album closer Metalized comes close, but this is still a strong offering from a band now settling into their sound. 6/10

Cutlass – Walk The Plank (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

The band FKA Pirates Of Metal now go by Cutlass, which is a much better name, evoking the early days of NWOBHM, their music too does the same thing as this debut album is all too keen to highlight. Formed by vocalist Ewan Mackay and guitarist Alistair Hodgson, they recruited Primitai shredder Srdjan Bilić and Milan Jejina recorded drums. This is the line up for the album as Radek Koval has joined as bassist, Bilić playing it on the record itself. But enough about whose in the band, what do they sound like? Well do you like gritty early-Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, the early days of thrash and of course Running Wild?

Well you’re going to love Cutlass’ heavy metal from the privateer age, there’s much less of the silliness given by BeerTyphoon (work it out), but the songs still give you a big fat grin and get your fist in the air the way Red Rum and Tailgunner, two bands Cutlass will be/have been touring with this year. Hailing from London, their rebrand is due to the band wanting to move away from the stereotype of ‘Pirate Metal’ too the early days when it was speed metal/proto-thrash but with lyrics surrounding one topic.

Not afraid to be realistic or bloodthirsty tracks such as Buried At Sea, Blood In The Water and No Escape see the twin guitar harmonies slicing like the curved sword of their namesake, the rhythms careening like a brigantine at full sail, while Mackay gives a throaty cry to warn of the Jolly Roger. If you think there’s been a lack of speed metal piracy recently then Cutlass are set to join the raiding party started by Rock ‘n’ Rolf nearly 40 years ago. 8/10