Entheos - An End To Everything (Metal Blade Records) [Mark Young]
I reviewed their last full length release last year and was blown away by just how good it was. So, when this landed in my ‘to do box’ it truly lifted my spirits. An End To Everything is a 5 track EP which they hope will be received with the same positive reaction whilst showing that there is tangible growth from that last release.
Chaney Grabb is one of the most talented vocalists going in extreme metal circles and the performance on here is outstanding, bringing some of the most guttural sounds you are likely to hear on record this year. Kicking off with the title track, this is a controlled burst of musicality that allows Grabb to showcase that voice, slipping from the growls through to ethereal cleans and back again. Its that mix of technical ability and pure fury, with some absolutely massive riff drops.
Chaney Grabb is one of the most talented vocalists going in extreme metal circles and the performance on here is outstanding, bringing some of the most guttural sounds you are likely to hear on record this year. Kicking off with the title track, this is a controlled burst of musicality that allows Grabb to showcase that voice, slipping from the growls through to ethereal cleans and back again. Its that mix of technical ability and pure fury, with some absolutely massive riff drops.
It’s the perfect start that shows that they can dial in the heaviness and melody required to immediately elevate them above their peers. All For Nothing brings the brutality, lyrics spat like bullets that cannon off a simple but effective arrangement. That economical build isn’t the fastest you will hear, but it doesn’t need to be as the vocals drive the tempo onwards. There is a subtle change in singing style too which gives it an edge. It’s difficult to explain why that is, I think its possibly that I am receptive to it given that a single vocal attack can render the best music stale.
Life In Slow Motion is anything but, here the speed is given a kick and we have a propulsive blast that lifts the EP to another level. That economy of arrangement is present once more, combined with a well delivered lead break which sets up the cleans once more. The work done in support of the clean section is magnificent, with a touch of the drum-nastics taking place as the speed returns. The double bass in the final 40 or so seconds are excellent, as the track closes amongst feedback.
Life In Slow Motion is anything but, here the speed is given a kick and we have a propulsive blast that lifts the EP to another level. That economy of arrangement is present once more, combined with a well delivered lead break which sets up the cleans once more. The work done in support of the clean section is magnificent, with a touch of the drum-nastics taking place as the speed returns. The double bass in the final 40 or so seconds are excellent, as the track closes amongst feedback.
A Thousand Days is a stomper, with some fiendish fret work taking place that is matched for execution by the drums once more. Chaney changes up the singing style again, the vocals now possessing a raw feel, like skin dragged over broken glass. Watch for the solo too, showing that you can wring emotion from a technical style of play.
Final track is Return To Me. A quiet start is supplanted by pure technical fury. This is a barnstormer and is super-tight in its application. Those drums again are spot on, with the song building with each of the key components coming together as one. It is a storming end to proceedings and shows that they are growing in how they go to work.
If anything, choosing to release an EP has allowed them to apply a laser beam like focus to song writing and arranging, resulting in a storming release that provides a welcome respite from the fact that we are nearly into November. It takes everything you loved about Time Will Take Us All and amps up those qualities. Brilliant stuff!! 9/10
Underdogs – Nine Ties (Go Down Records) [Liam Williams]
Italian stoner grunge band, Underdogs, are back with a brand new album, Nine Ties, their first in 10 years! They are the answer to the question “what would you get if you stuck Queens Of The Stone Age and Alice In Chains in a blender and sprinkled a little bit of Metallica and Tool in for extra flavour?” Really great grungy sounds with a hint of heavy and a tiny dash of prog.
First track, Dogs Reunited, start things off with a very nice Kyuss sounding bit of riffage. It has a great chorus which sounds a lot like Alice In Chains to me. There’s a little bass solo just before a sustained distorted guitar and clean guitar come in to build the song up towards the end. And a nice little nod to Fuel by Metallica in the vocals too.
Knockin On Hell’s Door is up next and this one is a bit faster and heavier than the previous track. I really like the pre-chorus and the choruses. There’s a good little drum bit, which reminds me of Demon Cleaner by Kyuss, before the guitar comes in and does a little solo full of hammer-ons and pull-offs.
Die Or Dance has a cool intro on the guitar. Another nice pre-chorus. Great playing from the guitar and bass throughout but I do love the little bass solo which is followed up with a very Tool sounding guitar solo with layers of guitar coming at you and causing your head to feel like it’s spinning. Very nice! The vocals on this track in particular sound a lot like James Hetfield to me.
Crawl And Burn starts off with a great fuzzy bass intro. Almost sounds like Cliff Burton but not quite as fast and flashy. It’s soon joined by a really cool little guitar riff before the whole band pick up the speed. When the vocals come in, the song gets epic. It had a very bouncy feel to it which is sure to get your head bobbing along! It has a very groovy guitar solo and again does a brilliant job of using layered guitar tracks.
A Grass Saga has another cool intro and sounds almost thrashy when the song kicks in. The vocals in this one are also pretty good. B.O.G. is another dirty grungy track which slows down halfway through for another groovy but chill guitar solo. Matrix has some quite interesting verses and gets a bit more lively and energetic in the choruses. There’s a pretty repetitive guitar part halfway through but the drums manage to keep things interesting.
In Days Unchained, although the guitar comes in first, it almost feels like the drums have the lead part in this track. There’s a nice part with panned vocals before a very fuzzy guitar solo. Stoner Land has a nice drum intro but it sounds like there’s an effect being used on the drum tracks, almost like a fuzzy sound, which was a pretty cool little addition.
That effect is gone by the time the song kicks in properly and some nice dirty, heavy sounding guitars help drive the rhythm of the song. It changes about halfway through and gets a bit more upbeat and bouncy. But then it slows right down again for the outro.
I really enjoyed this album, there are some parts which don’t quite add anything new or interesting, but most of it was really fun to listen to. The songs are cool and you can hear each of the band members pretty clearly in the mix for the majority of it. Really good, solid playing and the vocals were pretty good too. Very well done! 9/10
Lay Of The Autumn – Of Love And Sorrow (Rockshots Records) [Zak Skane]
The first part of the album starts off as a slow burn, for example the opening instrumental track When It Rains opens up with soothing piano melodies, whilst gentle rain fall pitter patters in the back ground whilst subtle reverse sound effects play in the background. The following track again opens up with the pianos pounding in before walls of guitars, double kick beats and elevating synth layers come in with majestic force, whist Irina's gentle voice rides on the back of it the metallic strength to guide us through the vortex of chaos till the track descends into gently strummed acoustic guitars and keys.
The sci-fi inspired track Lost In Your Eyes brings in some retro sounding sci-fi keyboard melodies with it’s filtered Moog synths and pumping 80s toned arpeggios along with the spacey sound effects that are buried in with their power/synthonic metal approach. After All This Time smoothens the edges out with its piano driven rock ballad showcasing Irina's vocal abilities which can swing to tinkling high falsetto notes to powerful tenor ranges whilst the track harnesses up lifting strings and heavenly choirs.
To close the first half of the album Thrown Away comes in as the heaviest song on the album by bringing the yin and yang approach with the guitars, keys and drums upping the anti by providing heavy chugging patterns and the drums approaching more extreme territories by pushing the tempos to match the intense keyboard runs. Throughout the track the singer goes into operatic territories that would approve of any Nightwish Fan.
When it comes to the second part of the album the band really takes it up a notch, for example Undergo Deconstruction continues with the heavy approach with it’s chugging patterns which stride along side furious double kick grooves whilst the elevating choir sections ramps up the tension of the track. The track also brings in interesting instrumental sections from Cesare bass parts collaborating with Michele drums to create these proggy elements.
Other highlights on this album is the musical virtuoso filled track Si Sta Come D'Autunno which brings in the technical intensity with it’s odd meter drum beats, technical hammer one and pull off riffs from Davide, L whilst Davide, S’s key board work takes another level giving Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater good run for his money.
The closing track Who Is To Blame ends the album with all members firing from all cylinders, the lead guitarist come straight in with mimicking the chorus melodies followed by the key boardist tagging along with the Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater) level of keyboard playing backed by the spectacular drum parts. The vocalist brings in some high octane vocal melodies along with the angelic harmonies for the albums closer.
Of Love And Sorrow brings a promising start to the bands sound. Tracks like Si Sta Come D'Autunno, Undergo Deconstruction and Lost In Your Eyes really showcases the bands musical abilities and how they can push their limitations whilst also adding something new to the symphonic metal sound.
Other tracks like After All This Time and Love You To Death show cases their ability as songs writers. The only caveat this debut release has is that the first half of the album sounds formulaic with every song pretty much starting softly before the track gradually build and has a gentle end which I feel makes the albums momentum linger, but don’t let that stop the band from creating a promising debut. 7/10
Black Throne Productions is turning into one of my favourite record labels, delivering us killer heavy rock from bands like AAWKS, Sons Of Arrakis, Occult Witches, The Hazytones, and many others, representing the Canada stoner/doom scene in all the best ways.
Now they bring us the 70s leaning occult/stoner rock band The Pale Horses with their debut four track EP, Enchantress, which hangs with all the other excellent music the label is putting out these days. The Toronto band love Satan and make this very clear on Enchantress, as this is some evil occult rock straight out of 1976. This is some seriously fuzzy and scuzzy goodness that is ready to invoke the evil father at any moment. The title track flat out rules, with its riff that sounds like Kiss’ War Machine but done by a band that is actually scary. I love the production on these tracks, particularly the guitar sound. Bands such as Sahg and Early Moods come to mind when thinking about some contemporary sounds.
The opener, Never Know, has more of that very cool guitar sound partnered with shadowy vocals that sound like someone with a hood needs to be delivering. Every good and evil EP needs an old horror movie opening sample and this is what you get before the killer riff of Morning Star kicks in. This is the fuzziest of the four and leans in on some psych guitar vibes and a countdown to the apocalypse. Speaking of fuzzy, the slower and doomier Bad Love is killer too, turning up the evil even more and firmly planting these four top notch tracks as some of the best stuff put out this year.
My only complaint with Enchantress is that I want more. Four songs are a nice introduction, but it is also a tease. I can’t wait for the full length from The Pale Horses and what additional evil they have in store for us. 8/10
The Pale Horses - Enchantress (Black Throne Productions) [Rich Piva]
Black Throne Productions is turning into one of my favourite record labels, delivering us killer heavy rock from bands like AAWKS, Sons Of Arrakis, Occult Witches, The Hazytones, and many others, representing the Canada stoner/doom scene in all the best ways.
Now they bring us the 70s leaning occult/stoner rock band The Pale Horses with their debut four track EP, Enchantress, which hangs with all the other excellent music the label is putting out these days. The Toronto band love Satan and make this very clear on Enchantress, as this is some evil occult rock straight out of 1976. This is some seriously fuzzy and scuzzy goodness that is ready to invoke the evil father at any moment. The title track flat out rules, with its riff that sounds like Kiss’ War Machine but done by a band that is actually scary. I love the production on these tracks, particularly the guitar sound. Bands such as Sahg and Early Moods come to mind when thinking about some contemporary sounds.
The opener, Never Know, has more of that very cool guitar sound partnered with shadowy vocals that sound like someone with a hood needs to be delivering. Every good and evil EP needs an old horror movie opening sample and this is what you get before the killer riff of Morning Star kicks in. This is the fuzziest of the four and leans in on some psych guitar vibes and a countdown to the apocalypse. Speaking of fuzzy, the slower and doomier Bad Love is killer too, turning up the evil even more and firmly planting these four top notch tracks as some of the best stuff put out this year.
My only complaint with Enchantress is that I want more. Four songs are a nice introduction, but it is also a tease. I can’t wait for the full length from The Pale Horses and what additional evil they have in store for us. 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment