Dark Chapel - Spirit In The Glass (MNRK Heavy)
Dario Lorina is a long time member of Black Label Society, he is the guitar foil for Zakk Wylde, not only a great six stringer but on the basis of this record a good singer and producer too. He's released a solo record and one with another band but this is the first under the name Dark Chapel. Like I said Dario is a part of BLS and before that was a member of Warrant, but there's a lot more of the BLS style on Spirit In The Glass.
Fat biker riffs are the order of the day on Afterglow and the choppy Corpse Flower, Dario and Brody DeRozie the guitar duo here, showcasing their talents across these 10 tracks. The muscular backroom of Mike Gunn (bass) and Luis Silva (drums) giving the swampy grooves to these blues driven rockers such as All That Remains, or the melodic Glass Heart.
The real surprise though is not Dario's instrumental prowess but his voice, smooth, soulful very like Chris Cornell on ballad such as Dark Waters. He frequently uses the reverbed vocals sound that both Zakk and Ozzy are known for, making those BLS similarities glow brightly on Gravestones Humanity as Dead Weight smacks of In This River.
Spirit In The Glass is a decent enough debut from Dark Chapel, if you're a fan of Black Label Society then you won't find anything too different here but it's enjoyable nonetheless. 7/10
K L P S - S/T (These Hands Melt)
Swedish sludge meets post metal from K L P S who play loud, exploratory music. This self titled debut has got a colossal sound to it, raging torrents of aggression, with a focus on instrumental mastery, as the dissonant guitars conflict with the rumbling percussive power. There's peaks and troughs throughout as the band move through their sonic journey.
The vocals are raw and catharitc too, never moving out of visceral screaming as their vocalist shouts above the huge waves of riffage. K L P S bring something different to their sound though against the heaviness, they shift into atmospheric realms building towards release on tracks such as Tribulation or the dramatic Aureola.
K L P S instill their music with atmospheric flights and mountains of heaviness. 7/10
Betrayers - Falling Through The Hourglass EP (Self Released)
Betrayers rage again, using politically motivated lyrics, samples and outright aggression they present Falling Through The Hourglass and this EP has quite a long gestation period to it, with songs going back to the pandemic, but like with Weapons For Killing Cattle their last EP many of the themes remain the same, I suppose depressing showing how little things have changed since their last release.
Recorded in the Forest Of Dean, it's an EP that utilises every element of Betrayers sound, from hardcore punk, to crushing sludge, raw black metal to enveloping doom. It highlights their shifting roster too with Extra Angela, a re-recording of Angela Lansbury VS Nicolas Cage with Svalbard's Mark Liley behind the kit for a bit more thunder. It's quite interesting to chart the evolution of Betrayers with this EP, their journey towards being the monster they are today.
If you want metal on the extreme side then Falling A Through The Hourglass will make your ears bleed. 7/10
Confessions Of A Serial Killer - Audio Violence (Self Released)
Confessions Of A Serial Killer made their blood drenched imprint on the South Wales metal scene last year, getting all the way to the final of the South Wales Metal To The Masses, impressing crowds with their gore soaked, murder obsessed nu-metal meets groove metal sound and terrifying visual presentation, it's about time they released a record and here it is their debut EP Audio Violence.
Influenced by the likes of Mushroomhead, Mudvayne, Static X, Coal Chamber and Slipknot, there's plenty of chunky groove riffs that straddle thrash and death, alongside percussive barrages from the rhythm section, some ominous industrial electronics and a wider range of growls, grunts and snarling vocals, spitting out tales of murder and mayhem at rapid fire pace.
Yes there's lots of Nu-Metal but it's also really heavy, aggression is the buzzword here as the blasts of rage are tempered by some interludes which are used to keep the EP like a cinematic soundtrack of violence. As if their own penchant to cause harm wasn't obvious they borrow a song from Limp Bizkit making Break Stuff a bit nastier.
Confessions Of A Serial Killer are a band that will welcome you into their cult on Audio Violence, prepare to be a victim. 7/10
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