Ghostwriter is the 3rd album from Nottingham based dystopian heavy metal band The Five Hundred. An absolutely superb album which combines electronic/industrial sounds with all of the things you can expect from modern metal bands.
The Death Of All We Know starts off with a synth intro before the band comes in with the heavy stuff. The first verse calms things down a bit with some synth, vocals, guitar and drums. A clean guitar comes in for the second half of the first verse. We get a really epic heavy chorus and then another little bit of clean guitar following the vocals in the second verse. There’s a chaotic bridge section with some nice lead guitar before an instrumental section. The final chorus starts with just synth and vocals before the band comes back in and we get some great harsh backing vocals.
The Death Of All We Know starts off with a synth intro before the band comes in with the heavy stuff. The first verse calms things down a bit with some synth, vocals, guitar and drums. A clean guitar comes in for the second half of the first verse. We get a really epic heavy chorus and then another little bit of clean guitar following the vocals in the second verse. There’s a chaotic bridge section with some nice lead guitar before an instrumental section. The final chorus starts with just synth and vocals before the band comes back in and we get some great harsh backing vocals.
Rainmaker is next and I absolutely love the intro, it sounds very heavily inspired by the new DOOM soundtracks. There’s a good mix of clean and harsh vocals throughout the track and then we get more of that DOOM sound for the outro. Ruin is a short filler track with some pulsing synth and piano. There’s a nice ambient sounding intro for New World, but the chaos quickly resumes. This one has a really good build-up to the final chorus.
In The Dark follows up with a glitchy sounding synth intro with the band coming in for a short and punchy heavy section before things calm down a bit again for the first verse. The breakdown in this track is fantastic, really great harsh vocals. Track 6 is Dragged Out. This one starts with some quiet vocals and droning guitars. The verses are really cool and there’s some nice lead guitar following the vocal melody while the other instruments chug away. The rhythm section speeds up and gets heavier for the chorus. There’s a chaotic bridge section and breakdown before the final chorus. Then there’s another chaotic part for the outro.
Bodies comes straight in with the first verse, being a bit calmer than the other songs so far. It’s mostly synth and vocals until the halfway point where the rest of the band come in for an instrumental section before dropping out for the bridge and then once again coming in for the final chorus. We get another nice and heavy outro.
In The Dark follows up with a glitchy sounding synth intro with the band coming in for a short and punchy heavy section before things calm down a bit again for the first verse. The breakdown in this track is fantastic, really great harsh vocals. Track 6 is Dragged Out. This one starts with some quiet vocals and droning guitars. The verses are really cool and there’s some nice lead guitar following the vocal melody while the other instruments chug away. The rhythm section speeds up and gets heavier for the chorus. There’s a chaotic bridge section and breakdown before the final chorus. Then there’s another chaotic part for the outro.
Bodies comes straight in with the first verse, being a bit calmer than the other songs so far. It’s mostly synth and vocals until the halfway point where the rest of the band come in for an instrumental section before dropping out for the bridge and then once again coming in for the final chorus. We get another nice and heavy outro.
Then it’s on to Empty Hope. It starts with some distant sounding vocals which are overtaken by synths before the full band comes in. For the first verse there’s just vocals, synth guitar and a heartbeat. The bass and drums come in as we get to another epic heavy chorus. The second verse is a little bit more lively with the drums and bass back in and we get a few sections with some nice guitar chugging. The track ends with some droning synth. 20 Days is another short interlude which keeps the droning synth from the last track. We get some more piano and synth before a short radio broadcast brings the track to an end.
It’s straight back to the chaos with Echoes. Heavy chuggy intro with some nice lead guitar, fast and chaotic verses with some more great harsh vocals. For the chorus, they bring the intro riff back in but with some clean vocals over the top. The bridge leads nicely into the epic final chorus. Chaos Sermon starts with a build-up of synths before some more magnificent DOOM sounding madness. Things calm down again for the verse with just synth and vocals.
It’s straight back to the chaos with Echoes. Heavy chuggy intro with some nice lead guitar, fast and chaotic verses with some more great harsh vocals. For the chorus, they bring the intro riff back in but with some clean vocals over the top. The bridge leads nicely into the epic final chorus. Chaos Sermon starts with a build-up of synths before some more magnificent DOOM sounding madness. Things calm down again for the verse with just synth and vocals.
It gets heavier for the pre-chorus and then the epic chorus. It’s back-and-forth with calm and chaotic throughout with a calmer outro featuring just vocals and piano. The last track is Where Is The Humanity? This one comes straight in with the first verse, just synth and vocals with some drums creeping in. The band come back in with the heavy for the chorus. There’s some more drums and guitars in the second verse and the second chorus leads straight into a breakdown. There’s another calmer part before the final chorus and then the outro wraps things up with just some piano and synth.
I’m really impressed with this album. This band knows when to go full throttle and when to dial things back a touch. The lyrics are just as hard-hitting as the music itself. It all sounds great, I especially enjoyed the vocals. A good mix of clean and harsh. I can tell this is one that I’ll be coming back to a lot. Really great stuff, well done to the band and everyone else involved with making this album! 10/10
Scorpion Child - I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me (Noize In The Attic Records) [Rich Piva]
Austin, Texas’ Scorpion Child released their second album, Acid Roulette, in 2016, and then kind of disappeared. The band has had a revolving door of members, players who went to other bands, and even a partial record was recorded then scrapped in 2020 amid reports the band was done, and they certainly seemed to be, much to the chagrin of their fanbase. The band is now back, with a new lineup and a new record, I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me, with the only original member remaining being singer Aryn Jonathan Black. Oh, yeah, and this record rocks.
Black has gone through a lot of shit over the past few years, so there is good reason why this record is the darkest amongst the three in the band’s discography. Where the first two albums drew the usual Zeppelin, Rainbow, Sabbath, etc. comparisons, the band has now gone down a gothier path, incorporating elements of bands like The Sisters Of Mercy into the fold. At least that is what other reviews have said. As a huge Sisters fan, I really don’t hear it. What I hear more of is the band leaning into the darker songs from the group they got their name from, The Cult, and partnering that with a proto metal thing creating eight tracks of heavy ass emotional rock and roll.
I’m really impressed with this album. This band knows when to go full throttle and when to dial things back a touch. The lyrics are just as hard-hitting as the music itself. It all sounds great, I especially enjoyed the vocals. A good mix of clean and harsh. I can tell this is one that I’ll be coming back to a lot. Really great stuff, well done to the band and everyone else involved with making this album! 10/10
Scorpion Child - I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me (Noize In The Attic Records) [Rich Piva]
Austin, Texas’ Scorpion Child released their second album, Acid Roulette, in 2016, and then kind of disappeared. The band has had a revolving door of members, players who went to other bands, and even a partial record was recorded then scrapped in 2020 amid reports the band was done, and they certainly seemed to be, much to the chagrin of their fanbase. The band is now back, with a new lineup and a new record, I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me, with the only original member remaining being singer Aryn Jonathan Black. Oh, yeah, and this record rocks.
Black has gone through a lot of shit over the past few years, so there is good reason why this record is the darkest amongst the three in the band’s discography. Where the first two albums drew the usual Zeppelin, Rainbow, Sabbath, etc. comparisons, the band has now gone down a gothier path, incorporating elements of bands like The Sisters Of Mercy into the fold. At least that is what other reviews have said. As a huge Sisters fan, I really don’t hear it. What I hear more of is the band leaning into the darker songs from the group they got their name from, The Cult, and partnering that with a proto metal thing creating eight tracks of heavy ass emotional rock and roll.
In an interview, Black mentions bringing post punk and darkwave into the mix, and you certainly can hear that on the record. The title certainly screams “goth”, and you definitely get some of that. The ripper of an opener, Be The Snake, certainly has that post punk thing happening, and the opening riff of track two, Actress, sounds like there could have been some darkwave going on, but I hear more AFI in this one than anything else. No matter what band I say these songs sound like, they are both excellent. OK, sure, the opening of Outliers could be a Sisters riff, but I go back to the dark punk of AFI more than any other band, and man do they pull it off, because this one rules.
See The Shine is a swirling track, bringing more of that 80s darkness you may have heard from Love And Rockets but if they were listening to too much Whitesnake at the time (compliment). AFI meets The Cult is what I get from The Starker, and I am here for it, and boy does it rip it up towards the end. Scorpion Child continue to be this big, anthemic entity, with Wired Corpse brining a huge arena sounding vibe, with a band like My Chemical Romance coming to mind.
Scoff if you will, then go listen to The Black Parade and get back to me. Godskin is in the same vein, but with a slower tempo and more soloing. Of course, I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me ends with an acoustic track, reminding me of how dark punk legends Alkaline Trio ended some of their best records, and it is exactly how it should close and is their closest to their old Zeppelin comparison you get.
Black has done a masterful job a weaving in his life experiences over the past number of years to create what is the most real, raw, emotional, and dark record of the three Scorpion Child albums. The hard rock goodness is still here that you expect from the band, but the vibe and atmosphere of I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me is the sounds of a band hitting their stride and taking that next step forward. Dark as it may be. 9/10
You, Infinite - You, Infinite (Pelagic Records) [Mark Young]
Pelagic Records brings us a reunification of Jeremy Galindo and Raymond Brown who had previously founded This Will Destroy You. As things do, they continued on their own path until both intersected at the right time and they began to form their new approach to how instrumental post-rock should sound.
Black has done a masterful job a weaving in his life experiences over the past number of years to create what is the most real, raw, emotional, and dark record of the three Scorpion Child albums. The hard rock goodness is still here that you expect from the band, but the vibe and atmosphere of I Saw The End As It Passed Right Through Me is the sounds of a band hitting their stride and taking that next step forward. Dark as it may be. 9/10
You, Infinite - You, Infinite (Pelagic Records) [Mark Young]
Pelagic Records brings us a reunification of Jeremy Galindo and Raymond Brown who had previously founded This Will Destroy You. As things do, they continued on their own path until both intersected at the right time and they began to form their new approach to how instrumental post-rock should sound.
I’ve not been shy with how I feel about instrumental bands, generally ones I like are few and far between (Mountain Caller tops that list) and I find that often there isn’t enough to grab me and make me stay the course. That is not to say that I don’t appreciate what it is or the effort expended in putting it to tape but by and large its not for me.
This release hasn’t been able to shift that opinion, so I might as well get that out of the way. This is a collection of thoughtful and measured music that takes you through a journey of different moods, relying on the careful stewardship of Messrs Galindo and Brown to carefully curate each song so that each one stacks up nicely with the one before and the one after. There are no glaring or jarring moments where a track stands out for the wrong reason. Its just not for me, but putting me to one side, here comes a review with a non-metal hat on.
Focus On Reflection starts us off with a gentle push and its nice enough, but about half-way in there was a sense that this would be the general approach to the songs that followed. This isn’t aimed at certain demographics; its target is those that can really dig into the moods that the songs create.
Thoughtlines does that, piano and drums coming together with a melodic line that keeps it centred around the lighter side of things and it sounds good doing it. Cutter opens with more of a space-tinged feel, similar to what you may hear being played over video of the Moon landings or walks in space. I mean that most sincerely because the way it plays out, it reduces in size to something comparable to rain falling or a spider spinning a web is remarkable. I’m sure that those who already love instrumentals and dug TWDY will be straight on this.
Loop Continues in that vein; the use of subtlety and choice of gentle chords as it rolls along, expanding in scope in its own unhurried way whilst The Elder offers a harder edge. The use of that more metallic sound doesn’t mean that they have thrown the softer side out of the window, its still there and having that heavier start makes it sound that little bit better, or at least resonate more with you.
Moving towards the end, Dormant is their final statement here. There is a little more grit in the sound on this one, and life in the drums that accompany it. It still possesses a positive nature to it, one that is looking to push you forward and make the most of whatever situation you are in. If there is a message to the album, I think its one of staying positive and for me I felt that there was an underlying happy vibe running through it. For that, I can’t fault it. It sounds superb, and each song has its own uniqueness and there is a high level of arrangement that is present.
So how do I score it With my non-metal hat on, I can say this is. 7/10
Rise Of Tyrants - The Chronicles Of Cardinal Pablo Mendoza (Brutal Records) [GC]
Another Friday, another release week and another death metal album for me, after a quick check, from what I can find Rise Of Tyrants are a death metal band form Bergamo, Italy and this is their fourth album, I think? Theres not really that much else I can tell you so I should probably just get on with the review.
Skipping past intro Colle De La Croix De Fer which is just some spooky orchestral rubbish, Parigi-Napoli gets us going for real and it’s a good way to start with a thrashy vibe mixed in with some scuzzy sounding death metal that throws in some interesting time changes to keep the song flowing, Don Mario Pederasta is never really going to stray too far away from what preceded it and it’s another familiar sounding death metal track that will keep purists happy no doubt but it almost sounds like the first song has just carried on into this one, structure wise, sound and vocally it just sounds like a carbon copy, hope this doesn’t become a theme!?
This release hasn’t been able to shift that opinion, so I might as well get that out of the way. This is a collection of thoughtful and measured music that takes you through a journey of different moods, relying on the careful stewardship of Messrs Galindo and Brown to carefully curate each song so that each one stacks up nicely with the one before and the one after. There are no glaring or jarring moments where a track stands out for the wrong reason. Its just not for me, but putting me to one side, here comes a review with a non-metal hat on.
Focus On Reflection starts us off with a gentle push and its nice enough, but about half-way in there was a sense that this would be the general approach to the songs that followed. This isn’t aimed at certain demographics; its target is those that can really dig into the moods that the songs create.
Thoughtlines does that, piano and drums coming together with a melodic line that keeps it centred around the lighter side of things and it sounds good doing it. Cutter opens with more of a space-tinged feel, similar to what you may hear being played over video of the Moon landings or walks in space. I mean that most sincerely because the way it plays out, it reduces in size to something comparable to rain falling or a spider spinning a web is remarkable. I’m sure that those who already love instrumentals and dug TWDY will be straight on this.
Loop Continues in that vein; the use of subtlety and choice of gentle chords as it rolls along, expanding in scope in its own unhurried way whilst The Elder offers a harder edge. The use of that more metallic sound doesn’t mean that they have thrown the softer side out of the window, its still there and having that heavier start makes it sound that little bit better, or at least resonate more with you.
Moving towards the end, Dormant is their final statement here. There is a little more grit in the sound on this one, and life in the drums that accompany it. It still possesses a positive nature to it, one that is looking to push you forward and make the most of whatever situation you are in. If there is a message to the album, I think its one of staying positive and for me I felt that there was an underlying happy vibe running through it. For that, I can’t fault it. It sounds superb, and each song has its own uniqueness and there is a high level of arrangement that is present.
So how do I score it With my non-metal hat on, I can say this is. 7/10
Rise Of Tyrants - The Chronicles Of Cardinal Pablo Mendoza (Brutal Records) [GC]
Another Friday, another release week and another death metal album for me, after a quick check, from what I can find Rise Of Tyrants are a death metal band form Bergamo, Italy and this is their fourth album, I think? Theres not really that much else I can tell you so I should probably just get on with the review.
Skipping past intro Colle De La Croix De Fer which is just some spooky orchestral rubbish, Parigi-Napoli gets us going for real and it’s a good way to start with a thrashy vibe mixed in with some scuzzy sounding death metal that throws in some interesting time changes to keep the song flowing, Don Mario Pederasta is never really going to stray too far away from what preceded it and it’s another familiar sounding death metal track that will keep purists happy no doubt but it almost sounds like the first song has just carried on into this one, structure wise, sound and vocally it just sounds like a carbon copy, hope this doesn’t become a theme!?
I’m not sure if I am missing something (I probably am) but looking down the tack listing I notice some weird titles and Slyvester Stazione isn’t even the weirdest one, musically it is a slight shift and slows the pace right down and shows another side to Rise Of Tyrants, with more room for individual players to show what they can do, the guitars show that it doesn’t need to be all full speed madness and the different styles they use really make a case for variety being a good thing and not some dirty word, the bass provides a thundering pulse all the way through the song and its all-round a fun listen.
Holly_Beppe (Only The Brave) is another prime example of the weird song title choices, and I wonder if something is getting lost in translation? I don’t know, musically this is an ode to the muddy sound of the 90’s death metal sound it stomps and crashes around but alas doesn’t really do much, its an ok song but just lacks any real depth, Gerry Smashed Table (I mean? Seriously?) ups the ante speed wise and throws the shackles off again while managing to mix in the more fuzzy sound to good effect and its another good track but nothing you haven’t heard before.
The saving grace is the force with which it is delivered, you really feel the power in the delivery and it elevates this track from ok to good, Cardinal Pablo Mendoza is a bit of weird one, the way the song is structured, it almost sounds like a power metal band trying to play a death metal track and for the vast majority of the song the snare drum sound is horrific, like someone is hitting a packed lunch box with a wooden straw, I do not like this song and have to move on.
Celine di Orio is a better song, but it sounds exactly like you expect it to again! A noisy mix of crashing drums and the snare seems to have been mixed back to how it sounded before, the guitars cloak everything in a thick and chucky blanket and the vocals ably back everything up well, and now we get onto the worst of all the song titles (deep breath) How Can I Fuck Capitalism If I’m Stuck On The State Road Of Seriana Valle I almost fell asleep typing that its so stupidly long.
The opening chords sound like Rush have entered the room but it doesn’t take long to fall back on the familiar death metal sounding territory and once again its all done well enough and I cant really complain too much apart form the fact it sounds exactly like about 5 of the other tracks, unfortunately with both Mirella Silver Tongue and Armando The Preacher it is the same story, heard it all already and neither stands out as anything to write home about.
My overwhelming feeling from The Chronicles Of Pablo Mendoza was that is needed to do more to grab the attention of the listener, it started well and some of it was good but towards the end it all just gets so samey and slightly too pedestrian and on this listen it doesn’t make me want to go back and give it another try, which tells you everything you really need to know. 5/10
My overwhelming feeling from The Chronicles Of Pablo Mendoza was that is needed to do more to grab the attention of the listener, it started well and some of it was good but towards the end it all just gets so samey and slightly too pedestrian and on this listen it doesn’t make me want to go back and give it another try, which tells you everything you really need to know. 5/10
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