Manos Six is becoming the go-to performer for Dark Americana in Greece, be it with Manos And The Muddy Devil or with :Skull & Dawn:, the Southern Gothic side of American folk music is explored through all of his projects. This second album from :Skull & Dawn: is about "dead lovers, serial killers, lone cowboys, and lost souls" so it'll be a cheery romp I'm sure.
Formed in 1999 under another name they were originally an industrial act but shifted into their current guise in 2009, releasing a debut in 2016 that fused their industrial beginnings with neofolk/Americana of Nick Cave (Gold Is The Metal) or Tom Waits (Trouble Was Her Name), fusing traditional instruments such as banjo, violin and acoustic guitars with electric guitars and bass, drenched in heavy reverb and atmospherics.
The core band features Manos Six's gruff drawl, guitar/banjo/percussion, long-time collaborator Stamos A. on bass , Chris Abatos on electric guitar, Alex Tabakakis on drums/percussion and Vassilis Kemanidis on violin. There's also some guests such as Okoi Thierry Jones (Bölzer), Perikis Tikof (Opened Paradise), Ioanna Noir Zacharopoulou (Glitter Grotesque) and Vasso Jism.
Formed in 1999 under another name they were originally an industrial act but shifted into their current guise in 2009, releasing a debut in 2016 that fused their industrial beginnings with neofolk/Americana of Nick Cave (Gold Is The Metal) or Tom Waits (Trouble Was Her Name), fusing traditional instruments such as banjo, violin and acoustic guitars with electric guitars and bass, drenched in heavy reverb and atmospherics.
The core band features Manos Six's gruff drawl, guitar/banjo/percussion, long-time collaborator Stamos A. on bass , Chris Abatos on electric guitar, Alex Tabakakis on drums/percussion and Vassilis Kemanidis on violin. There's also some guests such as Okoi Thierry Jones (Bölzer), Perikis Tikof (Opened Paradise), Ioanna Noir Zacharopoulou (Glitter Grotesque) and Vasso Jism.
So it's a big band for a big sound and you can hear how they utilise the fusion of instruments on tracks such as the murderous Knoxville Girl, the dramatic storytelling of Born Dead or the synthy Old Testament. They draw lyrics from all sorts of places too be it musical firebrand GG Allin on Hail To The King they're perhaps quoting the legendary Ash from Army Of Darkness.
So this is gothic storytelling, brooding, dark Americana and as the CD version closes with a thrilling version of Louis Armstrong's St. James Infirmary, you know that it is all played with reverence to the original purveyors. 8/10
Crystal Tears - Athanato (Sliptrick Records)
Modern thrash/power metal now from Crystal Tears who return with their fifth album Athanato, Crystal Tears have a sound that's aggressive, they take a lot inspiration from Americans be it thrash on the title track and Bloodstorm or the heavier style of power metal on the dramatic balladry of Naked which features Helena Josefsson (Roxette/Per Gessle) or the riffy Crawl Into Your Grave.
Crystal Tears are a Greek band but have a multinational team around them with plenty of guitarists adding solos to the record, including Mike Wead of King Diamond/Mercyful Fate as Jay Walsh from Xentrix adds snarling vocals to their cover of Guns N Roses' You Could Be Mine. Produced by drummer Chrisafis Tantanozis, Athanato is mixed and mastered by Matt Hyde to give it a modern sheen, perfect on the modern thrashing of Nosi Balasi.
They take a melodic route on the instrumental Eros And Psyche while Ghostdance brings some prog metal and the heaviness builds on Ov Flesh And Pain and Chaos Thy Name. Chrisafis Tantanozis (drums), Alex Chamalidis (bass), Kostas Sotos (guitar) and Antony Hämäläinen (vocals) create another great album of modern power thrash. 7/10
Humanity Zero - Cursed Be The Gift Of Life (Satanath Records/Rude Awakening Records)
A big mournful album of funeral death doom now from Humanity Zero. The duo of Kydoimos on vocals and Dimon's Night on guitars/bass/drums, have been stirring up the Greek extreme scene for a while now, having been through several members since their inception in 2003.
Then they were a death metal band but with their fourth album they changed to death doom and became the duo they are today and really doubled down on getting slower and nastier with their music. Seven years after their previous album Proselytism, they return with more harrowing tales of delivered though nightmare inducing metal.
Humanity Zero are a nihilistic act and their music moves at glacial pace, five tracks, four of which are between 9 and 12 minutes, for some it may be a little inaccessible but fans of gargantuan noise will love it. 7/10
Penthos - Erevos (Darkness Shall Rise Productions)
Founded in Athens in 2017, Penthos released their debut post pandemic in 2022 and now they are following it up with sophomore album Erevos.
Now Penthos play black metal but rather than being influences and inspired by the more muscular Hellenic scene, they have instead chosen to invoke the glacial maladies of Scandinavian black metal, though lyrically they take from the darkest reaches of Greek Mythology (as a classicist, I know there's plenty of horrific tales to take from).
Nekyia though may betray all of this, as an industrial sounding, synth driven intro, it brings you into the record with bright production but quickly this Eastern flavoured beginning is cleanses by the fires of blistering blast beats and tremolo picking. Their name means 'Grief' in Greek and there's plenty of it on this second record.
This is black metal, pure and simple, the second wave aggression where the production attempts to make it sound raw and filthy, meaning the drums are tinny and the bass is raised up loud on track such as Charon, but as I said they are deliberately trying to capture that 90's sound with a full dynamic production job where they can even bring some classic metal soloing for Echoes Of The Sanatorium.
Inspired by the frozen North, Penthos delve into mythology and monsters with their second record and while not from the Hellenic sound they can really deliver black metal. 8/10
So this is gothic storytelling, brooding, dark Americana and as the CD version closes with a thrilling version of Louis Armstrong's St. James Infirmary, you know that it is all played with reverence to the original purveyors. 8/10
Crystal Tears - Athanato (Sliptrick Records)
Modern thrash/power metal now from Crystal Tears who return with their fifth album Athanato, Crystal Tears have a sound that's aggressive, they take a lot inspiration from Americans be it thrash on the title track and Bloodstorm or the heavier style of power metal on the dramatic balladry of Naked which features Helena Josefsson (Roxette/Per Gessle) or the riffy Crawl Into Your Grave.
Crystal Tears are a Greek band but have a multinational team around them with plenty of guitarists adding solos to the record, including Mike Wead of King Diamond/Mercyful Fate as Jay Walsh from Xentrix adds snarling vocals to their cover of Guns N Roses' You Could Be Mine. Produced by drummer Chrisafis Tantanozis, Athanato is mixed and mastered by Matt Hyde to give it a modern sheen, perfect on the modern thrashing of Nosi Balasi.
They take a melodic route on the instrumental Eros And Psyche while Ghostdance brings some prog metal and the heaviness builds on Ov Flesh And Pain and Chaos Thy Name. Chrisafis Tantanozis (drums), Alex Chamalidis (bass), Kostas Sotos (guitar) and Antony Hämäläinen (vocals) create another great album of modern power thrash. 7/10
Humanity Zero - Cursed Be The Gift Of Life (Satanath Records/Rude Awakening Records)
A big mournful album of funeral death doom now from Humanity Zero. The duo of Kydoimos on vocals and Dimon's Night on guitars/bass/drums, have been stirring up the Greek extreme scene for a while now, having been through several members since their inception in 2003.
Then they were a death metal band but with their fourth album they changed to death doom and became the duo they are today and really doubled down on getting slower and nastier with their music. Seven years after their previous album Proselytism, they return with more harrowing tales of delivered though nightmare inducing metal.
Humanity Zero are a nihilistic act and their music moves at glacial pace, five tracks, four of which are between 9 and 12 minutes, for some it may be a little inaccessible but fans of gargantuan noise will love it. 7/10
Penthos - Erevos (Darkness Shall Rise Productions)
Founded in Athens in 2017, Penthos released their debut post pandemic in 2022 and now they are following it up with sophomore album Erevos.
Now Penthos play black metal but rather than being influences and inspired by the more muscular Hellenic scene, they have instead chosen to invoke the glacial maladies of Scandinavian black metal, though lyrically they take from the darkest reaches of Greek Mythology (as a classicist, I know there's plenty of horrific tales to take from).
Nekyia though may betray all of this, as an industrial sounding, synth driven intro, it brings you into the record with bright production but quickly this Eastern flavoured beginning is cleanses by the fires of blistering blast beats and tremolo picking. Their name means 'Grief' in Greek and there's plenty of it on this second record.
This is black metal, pure and simple, the second wave aggression where the production attempts to make it sound raw and filthy, meaning the drums are tinny and the bass is raised up loud on track such as Charon, but as I said they are deliberately trying to capture that 90's sound with a full dynamic production job where they can even bring some classic metal soloing for Echoes Of The Sanatorium.
Inspired by the frozen North, Penthos delve into mythology and monsters with their second record and while not from the Hellenic sound they can really deliver black metal. 8/10
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