It’s been a while since I have reviewed anything, so I chose to pick something randomly from our files and have ended up with the new EP form Hanabie, Hot Topic. They are listed as Harajukucore, I will be the first to admit I am a sucker for a ‘core, hardcore, deathcore, metalcore and so on, but have absolutely no clue what harajukucore might be? Guess I am about to find out!?
It all starts out in a suitably bonkers way with Iconic and I’m not totally sure what is going on. One minute there are lots of electronic beats over-layed with cutesy high pitched Japanese vocals, then it’s all screams and guitars and beatdowns then there all mixed together and a sprinkle of pop dust is scattered all over before they decide to kick off again and to be honest, its mental and I think I like it but also not sure if I fully understand it at the same time!
It doesn’t get any clearer on Spicy Queen either, it has a bit more of a structured beginning with some nicely done metalcore and scattergun time changes all over the place and it certainly keeps you on your toes with the way one sound cascades and explodes into the next, you are never really sure what is coming next which is probably the most fun bit about it all and to be fair when they throw in some more beatdowns they are very effective done.
トキメキAbout You has an undeniable nu-metal influence all the way through with a hip-hop bass line running throughout and providing a firm back drop to the intertwining styles the vocalists throw around the guitars are all suitably scuzzy and have just that edge to lift it above sounding muddy, its probably the most ‘normal’ track on the EP but I’m not sure what ‘normal’ would even mean I this context but still a fun track to listen too!
Girls Talk goes for the all out fury approach and thunders in on a wave of bruising guitars that have all the electronic edge added that usually might not sound any good but here, of course it works because there appear to be no rules on what you can and can’t do and it’s a refreshing breath of fresh air to listen to because very crazy idea you could think is squeezed into every track and makes everything unpredictable and interesting.
The last track はなびえんちゃん。のテーマ is where the wackiness gets a bit too much really an I’m glad it’s the last track because if there was much more it could have gotten very silly and ruined all the previous good work.
This really was an experience to listen to! I went in completely clueless as to what I was going to hear and to be honest I am still clueless as to what I heard! It defies explanations and boundaries and sets its own tones and if this is what harajukucore is then I think I might be a fan? Maybe!? What I do know is this was a fun EP and if you are open minded enough then you should give it a listen you never know you might just like it! 7/10
Blackened Halo - Sovereign (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
We've covered Blackened Halo in these pages before (seriously check out their website) so I went into Sovereign with some expectation of what they were going to deliver. They are a modern thrash band inspired by Machine Head, Exodus and Testament, playing that aggressive style of thrash that also pulls in some groove tendencies.
The Munich based four piece have been around for almost ten years, with a full length album and two EP's behind them they followed up live dates alongside Suicidal Angels, Exhorder, Nervosa and Extinction AD, by heading in the studio to record Sovereign their third EP. They call it a 'mini-album' but it's still an EP to me and with six new tracks including the two proceeding singles Of Lions And Sheep and Ozymandias, there's a lot of new riffs to bang your head to here.
As I said Blackened Halo play thrash metal but it's one that's from the contemporary scene, riffs coming thick and fast with big slabs of groove behind them plenty of lead guitar. The EP produced in a way that you can hear everything (especially the bass) but it doesn't quite have the sonic power of a Machine Head, but that being said it still makes an impact with a mix of good songwriting and technical playing. 7/10
Hollow Peak - Obsidian Cult (Massacre Records) [Matt Bladen]
This one took a few listens, and I'm still not quite sure what I think of it. Hollow Peak are a Norwegian melodic metal band who are reasonably recent additions to the scene, having released an EP in 2023, Obsidian Cult is their debut full length and it apparently has them taking them down a darker path.
I can hear what they're going for, it's that modern style of occult heavy rocking with some dreamy female vocals and haunting atmospheres that linger over the huge slabs of melodic riffage. There's inspiration from bands such as Insomnium and Amorphis, introspective, emotive style of metal that has lyrics that deal with "alienation in the digital age, inner battles, and personal renewal."
The problem is it's a bit too safe, the songs blend into one another and the vocals don't have much in the way of variation. If this music is your style then you'll enjoy Obsidian Cult but for me it was a record that did what it did but nothing overly exciting. 6/10
Oraculum - Hybris Divinia (Invictus Productions) [GC]
It has taken fifteen years for Oraculum to release this debut album!? That’s a long time by anyone’s standards, there have been EPs in that time, but Hybris Divinia is finally here as their first full length, South America is a breeding ground for glorious death metal and hailing from Chile is always a bonus, so I’m expecting big things here!
A Monument To Fallen Virtues is a slow and drawn-out intro that doesn’t really give too much away or whet the appetite for what you can expect from Divinia- The Great One which is much better and should have opened the album really, it’s a slow and brooding death metal sound for the most part but does open up a bit more a couple of minutes in but never feels like it gets out of second gear, it feels like they are holding something back, I can appreciate a slower death metal sound but that doesn’t mean I really like it and it almost seems like they run out of steam about halfway through and aren’t really sure what else to do with the song and just sort of drifts to a conclusion.
Divinia- Mendacious Heroism follows the same sort of path but starts with a bit more gusto and incorporates a black metal influence into the sound but they are never far away from dropping the tempo right down and trying to reign it in too much, the black metal flourishes do peak through every now and then and this is the best bit of this track because it makes it less formulaic because when they get back to just mid-tempo death metal noodling it gets slightly tedious and the songs just seem to go on for far too long.
Divinia- Carnage does try to keep you on board and goes directly for the blackened death metal sound from the very off and doesn’t really stop in the way it just keeps going but then for some reason they decide to take their foot off the gas and go all mid-paced again and honestly it just starts to sound like one long mish mash of not very much the solos try to create some interest but get a little lost in the mix, I honestly think time control is an issue here because if they trimmed a couple of minutes of each of these songs they would be much more interesting and focused.
Divinia- Dolos is one of the longest tracks on the album and boy does it feel like it! It starts slowly and has a kind of doom element to it which is done well enough but it just feels like such hard work to get though as nothing really grabs hold of you and pulls you in you just sort of sat listening thinking why is this song so long and what am I actually listening to, there are many people who will disagree with me no doubt but this for me, is not how death metal should be done.
When I see that Divinia- The Heritage Of Our Brotherhood is only 2:15, I think I might be in for something closer to the death metal sound I crave but of course it’s nothing of the sort, it’s just a mid-album stop-gap of slow guitars and shamanic vocals that fall directly into the interlude category, bin it off please, next!
Hybris Divinia- Spiritual Virility finally has something about it with blasting drums and wailing guitars mixed with the buzzsaw black metal style that was evident earlier and made for some interesting listening, it might not break any boundaries but after the slow and droning nature of most of this album it very welcome listening. It reinvigorates you for Hybris Divinia- Posthumous Exultation which clocks in the longest run time at 7:42 and it tries to mix everything you have heard into one final hurrah, it works in some places and really drags on in other places and it really suffers from trying to hard syndrome for the most part, less would definitely been more here and it feels like a long drawn out ending.
Going to be honest and say that this album was not really very inspiring or interesting, it was fine in places and excessively boring in other places. They might have something about them, but I feel that they struggle to show it all the time and always tend to reign it back way too much. This lies firmly in the ‘’was just ok’’ camp and will most likely not make it into my regular rotation anytime soon. 5/10
Going to be honest and say that this album was not really very inspiring or interesting, it was fine in places and excessively boring in other places. They might have something about them, but I feel that they struggle to show it all the time and always tend to reign it back way too much. This lies firmly in the ‘’was just ok’’ camp and will most likely not make it into my regular rotation anytime soon. 5/10
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