Severed Angel give me the impression of being one of those bands who recorded a load of albums in the 90's and then going on hiatus only to reconvene in recent years. However they have actually only been a band since 2022 but have released two albums so far as When Eternity Ends is their third.
The band hail from North-eastern part of the US, a region that has some serious kudos when it comes to melodic/progressive metal as it's the home of Dream Theater, Fates Warning, Shadow Gallery and Symphony X, so Severed Angel have a pretty good pedigree to lean on with bands from their religion and they manage to hold their own, my one criticism is that Alex Repetti's vocals are much better when they're in the Dave Mustaine snarl than the clean parts.
He links up with Lou Mavs as the guitar duo on this record shredding up a storm on the nastier tracks such as Like Lightning while they embrace the more melodic sounds on the Marc Muchnik's synth powered Wolf In Sheep's Clothing, the organ drenched drama at the beginning of The Demon's Alive ruddered by Wayne Noon's huge drum sound as George Dimitri's bass giving groove to One Life To Live.
With prestige of a long line of legendary acts to take inspiration from Severed Angels will appease any long time melodic/power/prog metal fans on their third album When Eternity Ends. 8/10
Stainless - Nocturnal Racer (High Roller Records/Soulfood) [Mark Young]
And now, an unashamed blast of what I would call classic rock and metal, the sort that would have been everywhere in the early 80’s and most certainly used in the Demon’s franchise (mid 80’s check it out). I mean this with total sincerity, because from the opening strike of Nocturnal Racer, it immediately transports you to a time when Motorhead, Priest and Maiden were everywhere.
And now, an unashamed blast of what I would call classic rock and metal, the sort that would have been everywhere in the early 80’s and most certainly used in the Demon’s franchise (mid 80’s check it out). I mean this with total sincerity, because from the opening strike of Nocturnal Racer, it immediately transports you to a time when Motorhead, Priest and Maiden were everywhere.
The four piece from Oregon have placed their focus on this less complicated time in order to put an EP together that captures that vibe, from solid riffing to incendiary leads and a powerful vocal performance from Larissa Cavacece who brings the required hard edge that backs this music up.
Nocturnal Racer kicks off and it’s a straightforward hard rock blast that does everything right without trying to reinvent any wheels. It’s not deep, it’s not trying to be political it’s all for having a good time. It’s not a pastiche, its delivered with passion and they carry this over into Shot For Shot with a cracking wah-infused lead break which is proper foot up on the monitor. This is party music, without a shadow of a doubt.
Believer comes straight in with tempo’s set in the red and its hard to not nod along to this as it tears its way through to the uplifting lead break, replete with harmony parts. Its as the 4th and final track starts that I think was put in the wrong order. The Evil Lies has a pace to it that would have been perfect as ‘track number 3’ where you have the ascent from Nocturnal/Shot and this would have kept it at that level until the high blast from Believer would kick in and we finish on an energetic high.
Nocturnal Racer kicks off and it’s a straightforward hard rock blast that does everything right without trying to reinvent any wheels. It’s not deep, it’s not trying to be political it’s all for having a good time. It’s not a pastiche, its delivered with passion and they carry this over into Shot For Shot with a cracking wah-infused lead break which is proper foot up on the monitor. This is party music, without a shadow of a doubt.
Believer comes straight in with tempo’s set in the red and its hard to not nod along to this as it tears its way through to the uplifting lead break, replete with harmony parts. Its as the 4th and final track starts that I think was put in the wrong order. The Evil Lies has a pace to it that would have been perfect as ‘track number 3’ where you have the ascent from Nocturnal/Shot and this would have kept it at that level until the high blast from Believer would kick in and we finish on an energetic high.
This is nit picking in all honesty, as The Evil Lies fits in with that feel the first three songs have built so well. It’s a song that cultivates that mid-pace tempo well but placing it at the end takes a little of the momentum away. Like I said, its nit picking and if you dug the first three then you won’t dislike this one. It’s a showcase for Larissa’s vocals as well as a touch of guitar pyro from Jamie Byrun and there is a storming riff set running under the lead break that closes the song out.
Your appreciation of this will depend on how much you like those bands I mentioned at the start, and if you don’t mind good time rock. Everything I thought It would be from looking at the album art it delivered. Could they sustain it over a full-length album, on this display I would say yes. 7/10
Guiltless - Teeth To Sky (Neurot Recordings) [Mark Young]
From the early 80’s stylings of Stainless to the enamel stripping effect of Guiltless with Teeth To Sky. This is a 42-minute-long monolith of a thing, where they bring in their aural stamp with Into Dust Becoming and effectively set the blueprint for the rest of the songs that come battering through. It starts at a high level of intensity and then stays there, with Josh Graham’s hard as nails vocals cutting through each track.
Your appreciation of this will depend on how much you like those bands I mentioned at the start, and if you don’t mind good time rock. Everything I thought It would be from looking at the album art it delivered. Could they sustain it over a full-length album, on this display I would say yes. 7/10
Guiltless - Teeth To Sky (Neurot Recordings) [Mark Young]
From the early 80’s stylings of Stainless to the enamel stripping effect of Guiltless with Teeth To Sky. This is a 42-minute-long monolith of a thing, where they bring in their aural stamp with Into Dust Becoming and effectively set the blueprint for the rest of the songs that come battering through. It starts at a high level of intensity and then stays there, with Josh Graham’s hard as nails vocals cutting through each track.
This is what is technically known as a ‘hard as fuck album’ with that reliance on stabs, bends and the non-stop percussive blasts from Billy Graves who turns in a masterwork in how drive this music forward. All of this point towards a promising round of ear-flattening which we all love. Except that it’s not quite like that, because the songs are built in similar ways that over the course of a listen feel ‘samey’. It is an accomplished piece of work in terms of delivering an experience that brings in aspects of noise, sludge and other areas into play but after the initial blast I fought the urge to skip forward. This does point towards me not being aligned with it, but what can I say? I have to be honest.
What I would say is that fans of experimental, noise, sludge, doom will go to town with this. It hits each of those targets dead centre with subject matter to suit. It’s played with passion and talent, and I’ve already mentioned about the drum performance which is spot on in giving this the sort of forward movement that I think is required to keep my engagement in place. Despite this, its still an absolute beast of an album in terms of how it sounds. It sounds absolutely massive, landing like a sledgehammer but that is not enough for me. 6/10
Aeonian Sorrow - From The Shadows (Self-Released) [Matt Bladen]
Scandinavian melancholy meets Greek tragedy as Aeonian Sorrow bring us their new EP From The Shadows, not as this is death doom, an EP can often be as a long as some albums and here we have 31 minutes of music over four songs.
The band are now in their tenth year together and have racked up shows all over the place, the pandemic leading to some line up changes but since 2023's Anemos they've stayed as they are with From The Shadows a follow up to Anemos, continuing the funeral/death/doom dystopia they created on that record.
Inspired by isolation and longing the band composed songs that move between fierce blasts and atmospheric stillness, the duality of the vocals is well done throughout harsh male grunts and soaring female cleans give Your Blackened Forest an epic scale, packed with emotion, the keys and guitars synching well for maximum impact, strings swelling in the background.
Inspired by and for fans of bands such as My Dying Bride, Draconian and Swallow The Sun, Aeonian Sorrow's new EP invokes introspective darkness with brief glimpses of cathartic light. 8/10
What I would say is that fans of experimental, noise, sludge, doom will go to town with this. It hits each of those targets dead centre with subject matter to suit. It’s played with passion and talent, and I’ve already mentioned about the drum performance which is spot on in giving this the sort of forward movement that I think is required to keep my engagement in place. Despite this, its still an absolute beast of an album in terms of how it sounds. It sounds absolutely massive, landing like a sledgehammer but that is not enough for me. 6/10
Aeonian Sorrow - From The Shadows (Self-Released) [Matt Bladen]
Scandinavian melancholy meets Greek tragedy as Aeonian Sorrow bring us their new EP From The Shadows, not as this is death doom, an EP can often be as a long as some albums and here we have 31 minutes of music over four songs.
The band are now in their tenth year together and have racked up shows all over the place, the pandemic leading to some line up changes but since 2023's Anemos they've stayed as they are with From The Shadows a follow up to Anemos, continuing the funeral/death/doom dystopia they created on that record.
Inspired by isolation and longing the band composed songs that move between fierce blasts and atmospheric stillness, the duality of the vocals is well done throughout harsh male grunts and soaring female cleans give Your Blackened Forest an epic scale, packed with emotion, the keys and guitars synching well for maximum impact, strings swelling in the background.
Inspired by and for fans of bands such as My Dying Bride, Draconian and Swallow The Sun, Aeonian Sorrow's new EP invokes introspective darkness with brief glimpses of cathartic light. 8/10
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