Behemoth - Shit Ov God (Nuclear Blast)
Shit Ov God...ooh edgy, but then it wouldn't be a Behemoth album without a little bit of controversy, a bit of poking the bear in the political, ideological and religious realms. Band founder Nergal comments that, as they head into their 35th year, they are at a point where "words and statements mean less and less" if that's true then perhaps we'll won't hear as many controversial interviews with Nergal any more thankfully.Behemoth always do their loudest talking on their albums, it was really 2014's The Satanist that saw Behemoth ascend to legacy status and from there they have been consistent on terms of quality with their work. On Shit Ov God, they deliver eight, masterfully constructed, blistering blackened death metal tracks which have been perfectly refined for maximum impact.
This is album number 13, this auspicious number carrying weight throughout history, and here it represents the perfect distillation of what Behemoth are as a band, the finale, Avgvr (The Dread Vvltvre) the encapsulation of what Behemoth are as, acoustic guitars shift into choral swathes and the ravenous riffs come fast and furious.
It starts just as strongly with the blistering The Shadow Elite speeding along after industrial swells, the extremity at the level of some of their pre-The Satanist records but with all the theatrical movements of their more recent records. The title track bludgeons, To Drown The Svn In Wine is dripping with intensity and O Vevus, Come! expels melody for malevolence.
You will always get a quality set of songs on any Behemoth album, they're a blackened death metal juggernaut so stopping the chatter and sticking to the music seems like the right idea! 8/10
Ghost Bath - Rose Thorn Necklace (Nuclear Blast Records)
Ghost Bath are a bit of an enigma, created by Dennis Mikula aka Nameless, the band have moved past the trio of conceptual records that proceeded Rose Thorn Necklace into a new era. Mikula developed an extreme depression, spending hours on end composing and playing, obsessing over every detail, but this more intensely negative.
Ghost Bath are a bit of an enigma, created by Dennis Mikula aka Nameless, the band have moved past the trio of conceptual records that proceeded Rose Thorn Necklace into a new era. Mikula developed an extreme depression, spending hours on end composing and playing, obsessing over every detail, but this more intensely negative.
An abrasive sound led to his drummer leaving meaning that he Mike Heller Malignancy/ex-Feat Factor was brought in as the percussive weight behind Mikula's compositions (he plays everything else in the studio), his background in brutally sitting well with this more visceral version of Ghost Bath. Never a band to deal with 'light' subject matter Rose Thorn Necklace is uglier and more grotesque than previous records, escaping the conceptual cycle with a catharsis of complexity, pushing boundaries on this album the nine tracks.
The jarring contrasts between the eerie synths and blast beats on Well, I Tried Drowning, the almost romantic, spectral wanderings of Thinly Sliced Heart Muscle or the jangly post rock guitars and the pained vocals on doom-laden Dandelion Tea, the vocal side of Ghost Bath has always been of interest to me as it's a layered approach that is used as another instrument rather than stand alone. Rose Throne Necklace is an album bristling with gothic alt rock, twitchy industrial and glacial black metal, channelled through intrusive/negative thoughts in only the way Ghost Bath can. 8/10
Empire Of Dust - From Dust Till Dawn (Self Released)
In my review of Bristol sludge group, Empire Of Dust's performance at The Moon Cardiff for FHED I mentioned that the band had shades of Iron Monkey and Cough but we're plagued by tech issues meaning that you couldn't really feel the full force of their cataclysmic sludge/doom.
Force is the operative way to describe what this five piece do, they languish in crushing distorted riffage none of their tracks less thanks 4 minutes but the two shorter cuts in the middle of the record Bring Me The Liar and Living Moon, are both blast of hardcore disobedience that so often seeps into their sludge/doom dissonance. Tom Sturmey's bass I don't think has ever played a clean tone as he provides the wall of volume for drummer Kieran Edwards to fight against.
These two set the pace of these tracks steering the gargantuan grooves through your speakers while Hayden Bennet and Stan Taylor, wield down-tuned abrasive guitar riffs that bore a hole into tracks such as One Of Many or Smashed Glass. The album features two remastered songs from their EP, both of which have former guitarist David Watt playing on them but now have their audio enhanced by Rowan Deverson and Slow God Audio so they have the same sledgehammer sound as the rest of the record.
As David Cook barks his venomous vocals over these super-heavyweight slabs, you get the impression Empire Of Dust are on to something special here, From Dust Til Dawn is an audio demolition. 9/10
Firienholt - Night Eternal (Naturmacht Promotions)
As with so many atmospheric black metal acts Firienholt have a huge air of mystery around them, seemingly a trio splitting guitars, keys, bass and vocals between them, the fact that this album was recorded, produced, mixed and importantly written by Tom O’Dell (Battle Born, Dwarrowdelf), has me second guessing it as much of O’Dell’s musical output is just him.
Empire Of Dust - From Dust Till Dawn (Self Released)
In my review of Bristol sludge group, Empire Of Dust's performance at The Moon Cardiff for FHED I mentioned that the band had shades of Iron Monkey and Cough but we're plagued by tech issues meaning that you couldn't really feel the full force of their cataclysmic sludge/doom.
Force is the operative way to describe what this five piece do, they languish in crushing distorted riffage none of their tracks less thanks 4 minutes but the two shorter cuts in the middle of the record Bring Me The Liar and Living Moon, are both blast of hardcore disobedience that so often seeps into their sludge/doom dissonance. Tom Sturmey's bass I don't think has ever played a clean tone as he provides the wall of volume for drummer Kieran Edwards to fight against.
These two set the pace of these tracks steering the gargantuan grooves through your speakers while Hayden Bennet and Stan Taylor, wield down-tuned abrasive guitar riffs that bore a hole into tracks such as One Of Many or Smashed Glass. The album features two remastered songs from their EP, both of which have former guitarist David Watt playing on them but now have their audio enhanced by Rowan Deverson and Slow God Audio so they have the same sledgehammer sound as the rest of the record.
As David Cook barks his venomous vocals over these super-heavyweight slabs, you get the impression Empire Of Dust are on to something special here, From Dust Til Dawn is an audio demolition. 9/10
Firienholt - Night Eternal (Naturmacht Promotions)
As with so many atmospheric black metal acts Firienholt have a huge air of mystery around them, seemingly a trio splitting guitars, keys, bass and vocals between them, the fact that this album was recorded, produced, mixed and importantly written by Tom O’Dell (Battle Born, Dwarrowdelf), has me second guessing it as much of O’Dell’s musical output is just him.
Anyway not that it matters as musically Night Eternal is much more akin to the ‘dungeon synth’ genre that was spawned from black metal. It leans very heavily on the keyboards and synths to create these epic soundscapes of the Olde Worlde, soundtracks to perhaps anything from the Elder Scrolls series of games, or indeed the stories of Michael Moorcock, having a track called Black Wings In Cimmerian Skies is sort of a give away!.
Night Eternal is a place where folk traditions are called upon (The Vale Of Haunted Shadow), the use of clean electric guitar, raw squawks and flurries of black metal ferocity. This third album sees Firienholt strike a darker tone than on their first two records and it pays off if you’re a fan of dark age soundtracks with your metal. 7/10
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