More B-Movie fuzziness from Torso as they release their third record Annihilation Day again through the denizens of disgusting riffs APF Records.
Now I said they but Torso is the exclusive mental property or is that maybe everyday nightmare of Graham Bywater, formerly of Possessor, his guitar, pedalboard and shouts about VHS video nasties, there been two previous records from Torso each developing the sound of the project which constitutes stoner, doom, black metal and punk twisted and tortured together with vitriol and bloodshed.
This third record builds on all that creating Torso's first concept album where they tell the tale of an escaped madman and two heroines/scream queens at a university in the mid 80's. So it's dayglo, lo-fi, bloodsoaked chaos that features some guest performances on vocals from Sam Marsh (Jacobs Mouse, Machismos) Paul Waller (OHHMS) and Thomas House (Charlottefield, Sweet Williams).
However Torso lives for the riffs and there's plenty to spare despite the record only being four elongated tracks, the frothing, chainsaw like guitars, furiously fuzzy bass (Show Your Face), ferocious thrashing, angular violence and of course spooky synths at the beginning of Blast Furnace which is very John Carpenter. Basically if you liked Torso before, Annihilation Day orchestrates those previous experiments into their most coherent monster yet. 9/10
Hexrot - Ruin Of Oblivion (Transcending Obscurity Records) [Mark Young]
Back on track with reviews!!
Next up is Hexrot with Ruin Of Oblivion, their second release via those fine folks at Transcending Obscurity who happen to know a good thing when they hear it.
And this is a good thing.
What Lies Veiled – a crushing, technically driven opening salvo with heavy Death overtones. Changing genre lanes is the order of the day here; death into grind that spins into a cacophony that is telling you that they standalone from everyone else. It’s a massive opening statement from them and one that segues into Heavenward and its on here that they start to open up, not reliant on just using a heavy attack to get the song across.
It changes shape so many times but without telegraphing that they are coming as you find with some bands. Heavenward unfolds in an unexpected manner as if they live to wrongfoot the listener. There’s discord within the blasts, tempos that shift with some fantastic drums from Melmoth who is putting on a masterclass here.
Consecrating Luminous Conflagration continues that momentum, dropping melody lines that come from all angles whilst still bringing the heavy side. Three songs into what I believe is one of the releases of the year. They bridge so many genres here and do it so easily you end up loosing track of where you are.
Ghostly Retrograde I is a short, nightmarish blast of electronica that serves as a holding piece and normally I would be decrying it as wasted time but its perfect here, the rising end launching into Clandestine Haunt. It’s as close to a heads down, traditional slab of death metal as you will find here. It charges along, gradually slowing in impetus until they decide that they want to crush instead of eviscerate. Those closing seconds are frenzied, even in its reduced speed and it crashes into Ghostly Retrograde II which runs in much the same manner as before. This one doesn’t land as well as before, and for me represents probably the only misstep here.
Consecrating Luminous Conflagration continues that momentum, dropping melody lines that come from all angles whilst still bringing the heavy side. Three songs into what I believe is one of the releases of the year. They bridge so many genres here and do it so easily you end up loosing track of where you are.
Ghostly Retrograde I is a short, nightmarish blast of electronica that serves as a holding piece and normally I would be decrying it as wasted time but its perfect here, the rising end launching into Clandestine Haunt. It’s as close to a heads down, traditional slab of death metal as you will find here. It charges along, gradually slowing in impetus until they decide that they want to crush instead of eviscerate. Those closing seconds are frenzied, even in its reduced speed and it crashes into Ghostly Retrograde II which runs in much the same manner as before. This one doesn’t land as well as before, and for me represents probably the only misstep here.
It does however set up the opening moments of Formless Ruin Of Oblivion which goes for an atmospheric, dissenting build. That slow burn start is lit up and then they decide to take you for a ride. This is a masterwork from them, a track that takes every facet of their sound and builds a Frankenstein’s monster from it, a lumbering stitched up patchwork of ideas that shouldn’t really work but does. At its heart is a constant push forward, they never look backwards with this and nothing is off limits in terms of how they put things together. Riffs come and go, measures speed up and slow down.
All of it is fed through different filters that affect the sound in a way as it breaks up, goes in reverse, arrives in waves. All of those different tags that have been affixed to them on socials fit as they go from one side of the extreme spectrum to another and do it without breaking a sweat. It is a stunning piece of music, and one of the best ends to an album you are likely to hear. Exceptional stuff! 9/10
Imperishable - Revelation In Purity (Everlasting Spew Records) [Mark Young]
With a line-up that have been in one time or another bands such as Nile, Hate Eternal, Olkoth and Enthean, Imperishable’ s debut release should bestow upon us some top-quality death metal. You don’t play in those bands unless you have got the necessary tools and talent required to perform at that highest level. What that experience brings to Revelation In Purity is the knack of writing songs that have all the right parts, hammered into form.
Imperishable - Revelation In Purity (Everlasting Spew Records) [Mark Young]
With a line-up that have been in one time or another bands such as Nile, Hate Eternal, Olkoth and Enthean, Imperishable’ s debut release should bestow upon us some top-quality death metal. You don’t play in those bands unless you have got the necessary tools and talent required to perform at that highest level. What that experience brings to Revelation In Purity is the knack of writing songs that have all the right parts, hammered into form.
Would I say that its essential for you? Well, that depends on your personal tastes but the songs here are what I would say are the kind of death metal that stands up to repeated listens. Oath Of Disgust takes no time into kicking in that high gear and was exactly the kind of opening track I was hoping for from them. You can hear where they are taking the best from the bands they have been in, the control of tempo, knowing when to strike forward and when to pull back but always done with an eye on keeping it aggressive at all times.
Brian Kingsland is on point here, vocals delivered in a style that sits between deep growls and screeching, and completely fits the music behind it. Exclusion Continuum has that classic dual starting build of big riffs and trem picked melody lines, Its nothing new but that doesn’t stop you from enjoying it. The expected blast off follows, but with some excellent tightly packed guitarwork. Its that knowing of what works and when, combined with what I take is a freedom to write music that they want to record. They don’t rely on the bottom string chug either to get things moving, there is an element of their sound that could be attributed to Nile, the use of those higher strings to slice through the mix such as those used on Revelation In Purity.
That avoidance of one form of attack pays off meaning that although each song follows a familiar path, they don’t take the same steps each time. What they do take from Nile and co is the insane speeds for throwing guitar lines together and then possibly my favourite moment courtesy of Spewing Retribution. The furious start including mentalist lead break drops down into an ice-cold down picked that is just chefs kiss. The later solo has a classic metal vibe going on which they somehow shoehorn into an outro that races to its end. It’s mad but works because of that approach.
And speaking of approaches, Iniquity changes things up a notch. It’s a crushing slow crawl that changes quickly, using the exemplar drumming from Derek Roddy to manage that feeling of speed, allowing the guitar and bass to do good work and give it a range that the others hinted at. Where Dead Omens Croon follows up and shows that they can do short stabs too when the opportunity arise and still cram it full of ideas.
And speaking of approaches, Iniquity changes things up a notch. It’s a crushing slow crawl that changes quickly, using the exemplar drumming from Derek Roddy to manage that feeling of speed, allowing the guitar and bass to do good work and give it a range that the others hinted at. Where Dead Omens Croon follows up and shows that they can do short stabs too when the opportunity arise and still cram it full of ideas.
The elongated scream that heralds The Enduring Light Of Irreverence announces we have reached the end and Imperishable go out on fire. This is them giving flight to their most ambitious track, and rightfully left it for the end. Those high string lines cut through once more and that flying by the seat of their collective pants method of writing riffs and leads is present and correct. It manages to bring a healthy dose of OSDM into the fray without sounding old hat.
I kind of started the review the wrong way around, in that I nearly presented my closing words at the start. This is class death metal without it being groundbreaking. Because of the bands they have been in, the shows they have played they know exactly what is required from them in order to grab the listener from start to finish. Does it lean a little into their previous bands? Well, yes but not to the degree that you think. They share breakneck speeds, and fractured melodies but then you could say that about anyone.
I kind of started the review the wrong way around, in that I nearly presented my closing words at the start. This is class death metal without it being groundbreaking. Because of the bands they have been in, the shows they have played they know exactly what is required from them in order to grab the listener from start to finish. Does it lean a little into their previous bands? Well, yes but not to the degree that you think. They share breakneck speeds, and fractured melodies but then you could say that about anyone.
Give it a go and be pleasantly surprised. 8/10
Tumanduumband - Hail Satan, Triumph Awaits (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Unholy, ritualistic instrumental doom from the West Midlands as Tumanduumband return to edge allegiance to the dark lord on their second record Hail Satan, Triumph Awaits. Classing themselves as a band who play 'ultra heavy' music, the duo rely on just drums (Luke Duum) and bass (Scott Cooper) to create apocalyptic soundscapes where ritual and rites collide in a union of psychedelic Satanism.
Tumanduumband - Hail Satan, Triumph Awaits (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Unholy, ritualistic instrumental doom from the West Midlands as Tumanduumband return to edge allegiance to the dark lord on their second record Hail Satan, Triumph Awaits. Classing themselves as a band who play 'ultra heavy' music, the duo rely on just drums (Luke Duum) and bass (Scott Cooper) to create apocalyptic soundscapes where ritual and rites collide in a union of psychedelic Satanism.
The use of samples of occult films on tracks such as Alive In Death and the overall feeling of discontent the title track gives you. It's glacial in it's pace slow, heavily fuzzed slabs of molten doom which woozily weave their way though your headphones and into the darkest reaches of your brain.
Heavy enough to rattle your fillings out, draped in ropes and mysticism, this duo known as Tumanduumband return with more demonic heavy fuzz. 7/10
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