Reviews: Closet Witch, Generation Steel, Satan's Fall, Doomherre (Reviews By GC, Kira Hughes, Matt Bladen & James Jackson)

Closet Witch - Chiaroscuro (Moment Of Collapse Records) [GC]

When it comes to metal, we all have our favorite genres, I am an unashamed grindcore fan. It excites me in ways that other forms of extreme metal just can’t! I don’t know if it’s my childlike attention span, the utter chaos of it or the unrelenting nature of it but there is just something that puts it at the peak of the extreme metal mountain! And having said all that today I finally get some to review, and I have the new album Chiaroscuro from Closet Witch and to be honest, I kind of know I already like it!!

I do not however like Intro it takes up 39 seconds that could have been an actual song, anyway when the absolutely batshit Constantly Problematic flies out of the speakers all is forgiven it is furious and nasty and has everything you want from a grindcore song the blasting drums of Royce Kurth are sublime mixing with the scuzzy but sharp guitars of Alex Crist and the low end ruble of Cory Peak’s bass but the real star of the show here is vocalist Mollie Piatetsky, she sounds unbelievable and has a perfectly toned scream that cuts through and leaves a mark.

Haunting is more of the same savageness and chews you up and spits out within 41 seconds of its arrival and of course there is no let up on And Releasing and neither should there be, the pace and downright violent nature of this so far is perfect! My Words Are Sacred lengthens the of the song but that doesn’t mean its relaxed on the rawness and we even get some nice hardcore elements thrown into the mixer here. 

Infinite Imbalance is the second song in a row to clock just over the minute mark and does have a slightly slowed down pace with some crusty death metal antics thrown in for good measure. You, Me, and Venus In Decay clocks in a mighty 2:40 and while the songs seem to be expanding in length the savagery also keeps expanding and the mid-section hardcore tinged part of this song absolutely must be heard to be believed and once more, I need to mention the vocals because they add such vitriol to the songs it’s a thing of beauty. 

Arlington Cemetery seems to be a more straightforward mix of hardcore and death metal but not in like an easy metalcore way, the guitars are thick and beefy, and the pace is fast and raging and once again they don’t miss, making this style of music sound so unnecessarily horrible is a talent that should be applauded! Well Fed Machine then goes directly back to the grindcore playbook and is a scathing 38 second pummeling before We Met On The Park Boundary Trail once again shows that they can write short and longish songs but never have to dull their force, 1:30 may not sound long to you but when you put this much poison and nastiness into what you hear take it from me that is all you need and again at the end of this song when they slow it down and throw in more scuzzy breakdowns it just add yet more viciousness to the overall sound! 

Funeral Flowers is the last full-on attack under a minute and is full of screeching guitars that mix a healthy dose of hardcore again before leading us into Closer To The Cauldron which at 4:06 is practically an epic and it doesn’t fail to deliver either starting with the usual barrage of drums and wailing vocals they then slow the pace down but even then its not exactly slow but what they create is a whirlwind of sound that just batters you form all angles and never really stops the pace dips and comes back but overall the effect this song has is outstanding and closes the album perfectly before we get to Outro which again is really not needed and kind of just spoils the end of this otherwise mind blowing record!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaannnd breath! That was so much fun and is everything I could have asked for from this style of record, it’s fast, angry, vicious, relentless, and savage and has no other purpose but to chew you up and spit you out! I want to say there is not a second wasted but there was Intro & Outro so that’s not 100% true, but I can fully over look that because every other single second of this record is brilliantly fucking perfect and deserves every second of your time! 10/10

Generation Steel – Lionheart (El Puerto Records) [Kira Hughes]

Lionheart is the latest album from the heavy metal band Generation Steel. The album holds 10 epic songs that get your metal senses tingling. Baptized In Sorrow is incredibly gritty with super heavy guitar riffs and powerful vocals. The following track Bloodrage holds quite an operatic tone which makes this track stand out. 

Lionheart has a speedy beat, a guitar riff that is gripping as well as an awesome catchy hook within the chorus. Executor has an interesting start that immediately pulls you in with a riff that is raunchy and impressive vocals that show off multiple vocal ranges. Starting with a simple, steady yet effective drum kick beat and a slide of the guitar the track Wastelands has a smooth tone throughout the track. The Lost And The Damned has a quick and quirky guitar riff before introducing rough and gravelly vocals that emphasise the depth of the song. 

The drumbeat introducing this track Forevermore is incredibly upbeat and bouncy, with a euphoric guitar riff within the chorus. I adore the song title of this track, this has to be my favourite of this rocking album. The Ripper has such a strong and impactful start! The guitar riffs and melodies throughout this track are grippingly gorgeous. The vocals are gravelly which makes the guitar riff sound subtle and sweet underneath the demonic vocals. 

The penultimate song Left Alone has an upbeat intro with a fast-paced classic 80’s guitar riff and a speedy drumbeat, this is definitely a headbanging tune! The electric guitar riffs heavy before the drums kick start the finale track United. The vocals are giving me Iron Maiden vibes with deep, gravelly harmonies. Overall Lionheart is a trip back to 80’s heavy metal, with influences such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Megadeth. 6/10

Satan's Fall - Destination Destruction (Steamhammer/SPV) [Matt Bladen]

Destination Destruction, the second album from Helsinki band Satan's Fall has two covers on it. Both TV themes, the first is Es Wird Viel Passieren which is from German soap Marienhof. Something the band watched on TV when they were kids, probably similar to the way UK kids/teens watched Neighbours. Then the other cover is Go Go Power Rangers the theme to 90's classic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, having never heard the former I can't tell you how good it is but the song seems ok, the latter though is note perfect including the ridiculous amounts of guitar solos.

 
This about sums up the music of Satan's Fall they come from the trad metal revival featuring 8 tracks that are inspired by the late 80's early 90's style of heavy/trad/speed metal meeting NWOBHM with hair metal. That means dual guitars, big vocals and lots of posturing. Basically carrying on from their 202 debut. They have got a new lead guitarist and a new drummer for this record but they still sound as tight and impressive as they did ok the debut.

Politically and socially influenced lyrics are highlighted by the sound of Satan's Fall diverse style, slowing things down on Swines For Slaughter and the brooding Monster's Ball. While Lead The Way and Kill The Machine are played at light speed, No God's, No Masters and Dark Star stick to a strong mid range. Is Destination Destruction going to change the world? Probably not, however if you like some retro sounding metal revivalism then get stuck into the new album from these Finns. 7/10

Doomherre - Bonegoat (Self Released) [James Jackson]

Black Sabbath’s Black Sabbath springs to mind as I press play on this one; the whole album has that classic groove that’s also simultaneously doom and gloom, but the outro to the title track has an atmospheric haunting tone to it, there’s an eerie, barely audible vocal line but it’s the drum beat, the chime of a church bell and the building tension that brings to mind images of dark figures standing before me. 

We Come For The Witch begins with an equally Sabbath styled riff, there’s a fuzzy guitar tone to it and lyrically it’s easily something that you could imagine Ozzy would sing about. Sabbatsberg is the first of two instrumental tracks, the other being Spreading The Sound Of Doom which with an intriguing title like that seems a shame it’s an instrumental. Forgotten One brings back the doom and groove as does the following song Breaking The Seal, though this puts a silly smile on my face as breaking the seal has always meant something more to do with bodily functions to me than the devil worshipping inspired tale being played out here. 

Circle Of Blood and Man In The Tower bookend that instrumental track I mentioned earlier, both tracks showcase the old school doom metal that has inspired the band, I’m reminded of Cathedral and the band’s bio cites The Obsessed and Candlemass as examples of where Doomherre’s roots come from. 7/10

Reviews: Serenity, Angra, Hermano, Strigoi (Reviews By Matt Bladen, Richard Oliver, Rich Piva & James Jackson)

Serenity - Nemesis A.D (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Wait, wait, hang on. Georg Neuhauser and Marco Pastorino are now in the same band? Colour me excited, even if Pastorino is playing guitar, his addition as a backing vocalist is worth celebrating alone, though of course he's just a good of a player as he is singer. In another underpants messing moment Roy Khan (Conception/ex Kamelot) features on a track. Marco now makes Austrian symphonic metal band Serenity a dual axe wielding band, while the additon of Khan will get the hearts racing of Serenity/Kamelot fanboys like myself. 

This is their first studio offering since 2022's live album Memoria and after the now de riguer intro track, The Fall Of Man gets the album going with that fiercer double guitar chug, of course emboldened by the orchestrations that are so typical of Serenity, The End Of Babylon giving that perfect example of what Serenity do. The Fall Of Man is also the track that features Roy Khan, Serenity hitting heavy and hard here from the off, showing that they are indeed back in business, orchestal swells and metallic gallops galore. Marco and long term axeman Christian Hermsdörfer are a glorious union to feature on top of founder member Andreas Schipflinger's resolute and muscly drumming, locking in tight with the bass of Fabio D'Amore who takes the proggy rhythm changes of the cinematic eight minute ballad Reflections (Of AD) in his stride. 

Again history is the big theme of this record, I mean it has to be when your singer is a Historian and Ethnologist, this time the focus is on painter Albrecht Dürer (The Leonardo Of The North) who was a major part of the German renaissance. Due to their admiration and respect for Dürer, Ritter, Tod Und Teufel (Knightfall) features lyrics in German for the first time, again brought with a pumping symphonic metal thrust. With the two faster paced tracks opening Soldiers Under The Cross, has slow Medieval sounding intro into a marching chug as Sun Of Justice brings classic sounding European power metal speed. 

With a double strike of Crowned By An Angel and The Sky Is Our Limit, Nemesis AD closes with a full orchestral version of The Fall Of Man as a neat bonus. It's another brilliant album for anyone who enjoys this symphonic style. Serenity continue to be one of the figureheads and Nemesis AD is the testimony. 8/10

Angra - Cycles Of Pain (Atomic Fire Records) [Richard Oliver]

When I was first getting into power metal one band that flew onto my radar and blew me away were the Brazilian band Angra. The mix of epic power metal combined with progressive songwriting, traditional instruments and symphonic soundscapes grabbed hook, line and sinker immediately and I have been a huge fan of the band since. Cycles Of Pain is the tenth album from the band and the third from this third incarnation of the band.

Cycles Of Pain is an album born from pain, challenges and adversity with founding member Rafael Bittencourt sadly losing his father, the tragic death of original Angra frontman Andre Matos as well as the pandemic and other setbacks putting the future of the band at risk. The emotions and frustrations from the five year period since previous album Ømni very much drive the album and the songs within and the band sound more driven and impassioned than they have in a good while. From the more emotionally driven and introspective songs such as the title track and the Tides Of Changes duo which comfortably sit alongside speedy power metal anthems like Ride Into The Storm and Generation Warriors. 

It really is a varied bunch of songs such as the nod to the band's Brazilian roots in Vida Seca which has vocals in their native Portuguese provided by Brazilian artist Lenine whilst the prog elements of the band shine bright on Faithless Sanctuary and the band showcase their classically influenced and operatic side on album closer Tears Of Blood which features guest vocals from Amanda Somerville.

The band’s strength and passion come across not only in the songwriting but in the performances with incredible guitar work from Rafael Bittencourt and Marcelo Barbosa whilst bassist Felipe Andreoli and drummer Bruno Valverde manoeuvre the twists and turns of the songs in fantastic style. When Fabio Leone first joined the band in 2013 I wasn’t too convinced having known him from his time in Rhapsody but here he puts in one of his all time great vocal performances and he will absolutely wow you with his vocal gymnastics throughout Cycles Of Pain.

Angra are a band that have some truly incredible albums in their back catalogue but have also been an incredibly consistent band. This third incarnation of the band has really hit their stride on Cycles Of Pain and it is the strongest Angra album for many many years. Quite possibly their finest since the sublime Temples Of Shadows in 2004. The range and diversity in the songwriting ensures that this is an album which will not bore you and if anything this album sounds so damn good that the time flies by whilst listening. There has been some astonishingly good power metal in 2023 and Cycles Of Pain is right up there at the top. 9/10

Hermano - Only A Suggestion: Remixed/Remastered (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]

Hermano is awesome. This is an established fact. Their three-album run is near perfect and extremely underrated. We all know the voice, John Garcia of Kyuss fame, and how influential everything he has done in the stoner/desert rock genre. That is why it is so important for more people who love the genre to hear this stuff. Which is why it is so cool that Ripple Music is going to be remixing, remastering, and repressing all the discography as well as releasing new music, but starting with the untouchable Only A Suggestion. Did I mention that f-ing Ty Tabor mastered it? I mean what more can Ripple give us that is cooler than this?

If you are not familiar with John Garcia’s work, then I am not sure why we are even talking. Hopefully you have heard of Kyuss, and you can start there as a reference point, but the songs from Hermano are more straightforward three-to-four-minute stoner rock rippers. Every single one is killer on Only A Suggestion. I mean the riffs, the guitar tone, of course the vocals, and now it sounds even bigger and fuller. The remastering is subtle enough that it doesn’t change any of the awesomeness of the original, but the sound is crisper and bigger than the first mastering. The vinyl pressing is even better than I could have hoped for, as it is one of the best sounding records that I have heard in a very long time. 

Just listen to Alone Jeffe and find me a better song that has been released any time recently from all aspects of what you want from stoner rock. I mean Senor Moreno’s Plan? Come on. I dare you not to listen to this then have it on repeat for multiple times after. Take that description, and make it even sound better than how we remember the original. That is the genus of what Tabor’s mastering, and the mixing of David Barrik, brings to this project.

If you asked me for a perfect stoner rock record this would be one of the ones that I would say off the top of my head, and now, somehow, it is even better after Ripple got their hands on it. Highest of recommendations for anyone who loves rock to check this out. The top of stoner rock, now even better. 10/10

Strigoi - Bathed In A Black Sun EP (Season Of Mist) [James Jackson]

I’m a Paradise Lost fan, having listened to them since discovering Icon, an album now celebrating its 30th anniversary; despite that I’ve not heard anything by Strigoi, Paradise Lost guitarist, Gregor Mackintosh’s blackened death metal side project.

In some way it’s a return to the early days of Paradise Lost when they had more of a death metal influence than they currently have, Paradise Lost have always written for themselves, making the album they want to make and as a driving force behind that it’s easy to see how Mackintosh can step away from the more melodic elements of doom and into something more extreme.

There are obvious similarities between the two bands, the main riff to opening track Bathed In Black Sun wouldn’t seem too out of place on anything PL could release, if anything a slightly cleaner production and the balance of clean/growled vocals that Nick Holmes performs and this could be a Paradise Lost song. Not a bad thing in any shape or form, though it does leave me wondering - what’s the point to a side project if it sounds the same as your main band.

The Grotesque puts that question to one side, well actually it takes that question and beats it to a bloody pulp with a really ugly stick, this is death metal as advertised, as is the 43 second long Beautiful Stigmata; I’ve not hidden my love/hate relationship with death metal, as I recently said in another review I am more than happy to be proven wrong but I find very little to differentiate between one band and another when it comes to death metal and if you put these two tracks with any other from the sub genre, I’m sure I’d find very little to distinguish them from the rest.

As I understand it, Strigoi was borne from the ashes of another side project Vallenfyre, which (again as I understand it) was borne from the passing of Mackintosh’s father; Vallenfyre had ran its course but that need to write something far more raw than PL.

A Spear Of Perfect Grief has more of a Thrash feel to it at times, far more rhythmical than the assault of guitar and drums found on the previous two tracks. Closing track The Consent Of Misery has a similar feel to it….. initially, it soon dips into familiar death metal territory before closing out at just over a minute and a half.

Of the tracks on offer here I only really took to one, the title track, the one sounding closest to the doom metal that I know Gregor Mackintosh for and honestly the more death metal influenced tracks of Paradise Lost are the ones I avoid the most. One for the diehard PL fans that’ll buy anything that the band touch no matter the quality or those that like their death metal raw and overly familiar. 4/10

Reviews: Spiritbox, Fuming Mouth, Sugar Horse, Infinty Ritual (Reviews By Danika Ulrich, Matt Bladen, Mark Young & Paul Scoble)

Spiritbox - The Fear Of Fear (Rise Records/Pale Chord) [Danika Ulrich]

Spiritbox's ascent through the years has been nothing short of phenomenal and with new release The Fear Of Fear they've created a thrilling, ominous, and intensely powerful piece of work. Spiritbox has always experimented with atmospheric beauty. In The Fear Of Fear, these atmospheric and electronic driven sections provide calm without sacrificing intensity. It is a tightly wound EP that shows a band gaining confidence and becoming more at ease with who they are, as opposed to hopping back and forth between the two extremes.

Spiritbox opens the EP with a jagged rhythm on drums and guitar before LaPlante bursts in with screams that are doused in delay. Cellar Door is a powerful, slow building anthem that proves to any doubters that Spiritbox are just as heavy as before, if not more so. What would usually be a breakdown for any other band is just their chorus. When the chorus is a breakdown you know the breakdown itself is going to be annihilating. 

The tracks frantic build that culminates in hammering, percussive chugs near the end show off how well developed Spiritbox's ability to oscillate has become. Knowing precisely when to input ballistic power and how to structure the journey there to maximise the impact of that power. With an atmosphere that will induce a feeling of unease its unrelenting barrage of warped riffs and drumming creates a brutal pace. It is an unsettling opener and easily the strongest track of the EP.

Jaded transitions into more melodic territory featuring an uplifting feeling chorus. Elements of melody and heaviness are balanced in this track. LaPlante exhibits her entire vocal range, ranging from powerful screams to softer, almost breathy wails. The way she alternates between the two in the first verse is especially powerful. This track demonstrates how they have developed into a major player in the metal scene. The band's signature mix of eerie melodies and powerful instrumentals is on full display in Jaded. The track transports into an auditory maelstrom that captivates from beginning to end thanks to its unadulterated emotion and high intensity. Jaded also strikes a profound and realistic chord with its lyrics, which explore themes of disenchantment and inner demons. As LaPlante transforms her feelings into a healing musical experience, her vocals soar.

Too Close/Too Late adopts the same mellow vocals and vintage synths as the band's older fan favourite Secret Garden. It's a melodic masterclass with lots of groove paying homage to their earlier, more progressive work. It blends pulsing guitar with blissful melodies resulting in a beautiful track. Spiritbox once again channels rage in the vocals on Angel Eyes, another song that features heavy, polyrhythmic djent guitars and sheer aggression. The use of electronica in the intro and outro is a stand out element of the track for me. It breaks up the heaviness the main body of the song entails. This is just another weapon in the band's armoury that they are utilising to their advantage in this EP. It's an intense three minutes of rage. With its groovy, dissonant riffs it is further enhanced and accentuated by its expansive, chaotic, and atmospheric breakdown.

When The Void starts it has an electronic beat at first but it quickly transitions into a powerful riff. The band creates a dynamic and captivating arrangement by skillfully fusing electronic elements into the soundscape. With LaPlante softly singing over pulsed electronics, the opening moments of Ultraviolet showcase The Fear Of Fear at its most exposed and minimal yet. The song builds to a suspenseful chorus that innately and instantly enthrals featuring incredible melodies and a stunning atmosphere throughout. The EP ends at the height of its beauty and intensity. All of this culminates in a breathtakingly beautiful breakdown towards the end with LaPlante adding flair to an already amazing ending.

In terms of structure, The Fear Of Fear feels much more in line with the band's progressive past work. While Rotoscope was a boundary pushing statement of what Spiritbox could be, The Fear Of Fear perfectly captures the essence of what Spiritbox is and shows how the formulas used to create Eternal Blue have been refined and perfected for this. Six flawless songs that not only show off the best of what they can do within the constraints of the metalcore sound, but also further demonstrate their development and their skills as songwriters. It is a sophisticated and astoundingly powerful sounding EP that is easily amongst the year's best releases. 9/10

Fuming Mouth - Last Day Of Sun (Nuclear Blast) [Matt Bladen]

A grinding dirge driven by one single drumbeat, feedback guitars and gurgled vocals is how Fuming Mouth open their second album Last Day Of Sun. It plants the seed for what is to come with death metal that adds, hardcore, d-beat and crust to the OSDM assault. An album that was created through struggle Mark Whelan (singer/guitarist/founder) has battled with Acute Myeloid Leukemia just as they began to record. Due to his battle Whelan re-wrote parts of the album to reflect what he was feeling, it means that Last Day Of Sun is personal and infested with rage. Whelan seeking catharsis through his art. With all clear the work began on this follow up. 

Recorded with Converges Kurt Ballou the album shifts between blasts of ultraviolent grind/crust on Respect And Blasphemy/Kill The Disease to the slower crush of the opener Out Of Time or the sludge landslide of Burial Practices and Postfigurement. The influence of Ballou proved invaluable as you can hear a lot Converge on this record as well as the early Bolt Thrower sound, Fuming Mouth even contributed to a In Battle There Is No Law cover album. This record was Bolt Thrower at their rawest and a lot of that is reflected by Fuming Mouth. But as with the Birmingham bruisers, the sound adapts and those slow dirges become more more invasive and impressive, even adding clean vocals shouts on The Silence Beyond Life. 

The more melodic fringes of Fuming Mouth throwing a curve ball as The Silence Beyond is the most 'American' song here. Thankfully Sign Of Pain brings back the filth, as guitars divebomb and vocals scream. At this juncture I want to say that Last Day Of Sun as the sexiest guitar tone I've heard all year, it's filthier than under a truck drivers bunk but my god is it fun. With that glorious tone the breakdowns of Sign Of Pain hit harder but the woozy Leaving Euphoria claims the melodics back with a Nirvana-like grunge haze. These elements where it's not ear shredding death metal, remind you that this album has a conceptual touch too, so there can be experimentation. Last Day Of Sun is triumph over personal adversity and an exorcism through noise. 8/10

Sugar Horse - Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico (Fat Dracula Records) [Mark Young]

Well, this is a bit of alright. 6 songs of quality Doom/doom gaze from your favourite decidedly average band (with acknowledgement to BC).

Truth comes in very slowly, with muted choir vocals as they are gradually joined by a rising arrangement that builds in intensity only to fall away for the absolute crusher that is Or to break that calm into a thousand pieces. Methodical, discordant noise with dirt and clean vocals that suddenly break for Consequences, which turns it around into another direction, a softer more melodic and uplifting one. 

Soaring vocals that once Comma starts with that militaristic riff are torn away by screams. Comma is a short stab at your eye, that riff is constant whilst those discords attack again. As soon as it starts it’s done, and Neu takes its place. Starting like a jam to bake up ideas left by Comma, with some Nirvana phrasing in there, what is apparent is that Ash has a scream that doesn’t quit. Or are afraid of halting a track with a wall of noise that runs until the final song, Mexico kicks the door in with a monolithic riff and a repeated mantra of inhale, exhale that is a carry over from Neu.

On vinyl or cassette, this would just be a seamless unfolding of a musical journey that feels like it could have been one song. Trying to give this a proper review is difficult as it is 17 minutes long but if you go back to it with the lyrics, it starts to take on a majesty that was hidden the first time round.

It takes its time to get under your skin and then stays there. For my sins I’d never listened to them before this review, like a lot of bands this year. To say that my musical horizons have opened like a barn door swinging open in a storm would not do these bands the justice they deserve. These, Gozer, Torpor amongst others just do it differently but with an end result of startlingly good music. What is exceptional about Sugar Horse is that they seem capable of anything, be it heavy, or subtle, light or dark. The 6 songs captured here give a brief flavour of what they are capable of, which just seems to be anything they put their mind to. 7/10

Infinity Ritual - II (Self Released) [Paul Scoble]

As the name of this album suggests, Infinity Ritual are just about to release their second recording. The bands first; an EP called EP, shows a certain literal approach to naming releases. Infinity Ritual have been making music since 2020, in their base of Taranaki, New Zealand. The three piece is made up of Jason Karam on bass and vocals, Mark Thomas plays drums (not to be confused with British comedian and activist of the same name), and Adam Colless on vocals and guitar.

Infinity Ritual play a mix of huge and quite sludgy doom and drone, the songs tend to grow to huge proportions where they end up becoming massive thundering grooves. The album is split into five tracks, an introduction and four long songs.

The album opens with the aforementioned introduction; FCG, a drone track with the occasional vocalisation, and lots of modulation, in a couple of places it is reminiscent to the beginning of Dio’s track Holy Diver. FCG leads us into the first full track, Succession, which opens with huge pounding riffs that are very aggressive with chanted vocals. The song builds to mid-paced sludgy doom, with lots of aggression, drive and feedback. The song does have a section that is measured with a brooding and boding feel to it before the track returns to big, heavy pounding riffs and the song collapses into feedback.

Next comes Earthdriver which starts with a riff that feels quite stoner, very heavy stoner, but stoner none the less, the song then drops the audience into aggressive pounding sludge with bellowed vocals. The song breaks down to just drums, before it slowly builds itself back up to massive, heavy proportions with the help of a really good guitar solo. The song comes to an end with massive riffs and layered vocals for a huge and bellowing climax.

Deceivers has a slightly different feel to the material that came before it. The song has a huge, heavy and very aggressive beginning, but then breaks down to just bass and drums, and when it builds back up things feels much more minimal than the other material on here. The sense is dark and brooding, there are parts that build but they seem to drop back as well, giving a feeling of ebb and flow, build and diminish. The song finally builds to huge proportions, at which point it ends, abruptly.

The album comes to an end with the song Stones, which at over eighteen minutes takes up nearly half of the albums full run time. The song is a mix of the huge and heavy sound featured on most of the tracks on the album, with the drone from the intro FCG. 

The song opens with droning tones with modulation, after about three minutes the song drops us into uptempo heavy riffs with quite a groove to them. The feeling is dramatic and aggressive, which is compounded by harsh vocals. The song then quickly drops us back into quiet droning before a single guitar plays a big riff, that then becomes a big, slow riff with echoey vocals, again this is transitory as a soft and brooding section with clean guitar smooths everything out again. 

The song then builds back from the minimal clean section back to the huge heavy and echoey section we met before. The song builds in complexity, while still maintaining the heaviness, before we are dropped back into a final drone section that has a bit of an industrial feel to it. The song has one last jarring surprise as the drone changes to fast, aggressive and pounding section that batters the listener till the end of the song and album.

II is a cracking piece of sludgy doom. The mix of drones and doom works very well, the doom is massively heavy and the angry, aggressive sludge elements don’t distract from that heaviness, they accentuate it, and the drones are not over used, just enough for the desired effect. The band also have a talent for writing riffs that are at the perfect head nodding tempo, and get into your psyche. 

Although the album is called II it’s a second recording, not a second album, judging this as a debut album, this is doubly impressive, it sounds like an album made by a much more mature band. If you want huge, heavy, angry and aggressive, tempered by some meditative drone, then this would definitely be an album to seek out. 8/10

Reviews: Suffocation, Insomnium, Carnation, Morne (Reviews By Matt Bladen. Paul Scoble, Paul Hutchings & Mark Young)

Suffocation - Hymns From The Apocrypha (Nuclear Blast Records) [Matt Bladen]

With the release of their ninth studio record you'll know what to expect from New York death metal legends Suffocation, technically gifted death metal that's as virtuoso as it is extreme. This is the debut record of Ricky Myers who has been the on stage vocalist for Suffocation for a few years outside of the USA but this is his official recorded debut taking over from band founder Frank Mullen. Anyone who has seen him perform knows how good he is, so his performance on this record is just another piece of evidence that he's the right man for the job. What I like is the clarity of his gutural roar, you can hear and understand every lyric. 

Hymns From The Apocrypha is their first album since 2017 and it's bloody good to have them back ripping other death metal bands to shreds with drumming from Eric Morotti that's inhuman, if there's blastbeat to find he'll find it and play it at double speed for good measure (Perpetual Deception/Dim Veil Of Obscurity). Derek Boyer is the low end devestation his bass playing informing that pulverising pummel on Immortal Execration and Embrace The Suffering. Rhythm guitarist Charlie Errigo chugs away as a bridge between Boyer on Descendents, and lead guitarist Terrance Hobbs, as techincally gifted as the long term shredder but without the need to crank out those face melting solos and lead breaks, case in point being Seraphim Enslavement. 

It's almost like Suffocation see what is happening in the world of death metal then try to make something that will wipe other bands off the map, constantly striving to be the most techincally proficient and the most brutal. The originators and the final boss of the death metal genre, Suffocation still reign. 9/10

 
Insomnium - Songs Of The Dusk (Century Media Records) [Paul Scoble]

Insomnium have been making music together since 1997. The band, who originally played melodic death metal and over the years have also dipped their toes into the doom and death/doom scenes, have released nine albums, the last one being Anno 1696 that was released this year, and three EP’s before Songs Of The Dusk. The band is made up of Niilo Sevänen on bass and vocals, Markus Hirvonen on drums, Ville Friman on guitars and clean vocals, Markus Vanhala on guitars, and Jani Liimatainen on guitars and clean vocals.

The EP opens with Flowers Of The Night, a big slow melancholy track that vacillates between clean sections with spoken vocals, and big, heavy sections with huge riffs and sad melody leads over the top, the vocals on these heavier sections are harsh, but are performed in a way that isn’t aggressive or jarring to the feel of the song. The song boasts a very emotive guitar solo and builds in intensity nearer the end, but still maintains the feeling of melancholy.

Next track Stained In Red has a more extreme and faster feel to the song that preceded it. Again the song has clean sections and much bigger, heavier parts, the balance on this track is definitely towards the heavier material. Several sections have Ttremolo picked riffs that are full of melody and the song boasts some great melodic riffs and melody leads. Stained In Red also has sections that feel dramatic and aggressive, but is still full of melody.

Final (nearly) title track Song Of The Dusk has some of the softer elements from the opening track and some of the more aggressive aspects of Stained In Red. The riffs are big, heavy and full of melancholy, in places the pacing is slow and drifting, almost dreamlike, and elseware the riffs are much more aggressive and faster. There is also a section with soft, clean crystal clear guitar and keyboards that remind me a little of Pink Floyd. The song and EP come to and end with a slowly fading huge riff with beautiful melody lead.

Songs Of The Dusk is a great EP, the three track are very enjoyable and fit together perfectly to form a great 22 minutes, to be honest my only complaint is that the EP is over too soon, it’s a great mix of heavy, beauty and melancholy that is just as affecting as it is enjoyable. 8/10

Carnation – Cursed Mortality (Season Of Mist) [Paul Hutchings]

It seems that Belgian death metal bruisers have been around longer than a decade. They have certainly been on my radar for some time, such is their intoxicating heavy brand of death metal which stands alongside the real beasts of the genre. At 35 minutes in length, it’s quality over quantity on offer with third album Cursed Mortality, but don’t let the running time put you off, for there is a power across this band that allows them to get their message across as succinctly as anyone who takes double that time.

Opener Herald Of Demise features a guest appearance from long-time King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque. It’s a snarling opening, with all the expected power and aggression that Carnation bring to the party. Screaming lead work rips out of the melee, adding a level of melody to counter the aural chaos that is erupting all around. Huge raging vocals from Simon Duson centres the focus. It’s a massive start, and unsurprisingly, the tempo rarely dips from hereon in.

Although it’s a relatively short album, the songs pack plenty of heft. Mainly rocking in around the four-minute mark, there’s no space for catching breath, as each song simply steamrolls along after each other. Shortest track Metropolis is brutal, ferocious in power and energy, with a darker edge that shimmers and glistens. Replicant features some clean vocals, which act in complete contrast to the venomous roars of Duson. It also provides a different take on the song, with a modern metal vibe acting in almost defiance of the band’s more usual crushing death metal approach.

After seven blistering songs, Carnation then change things somewhat with the title track which concludes the album. An epic seven and a half minutes in length, it builds slowly, in classic style, sinister tones setting the scene alongside a lone guitar. This evolves into a progressive, complex piece that ebbs and flows, switching clean singing with death growls, calmer, melodic passages with bruising segments and even an Opeth like breakdown towards the end. It’s quite the song, and whilst it remains true to the band’s roots, there’s an inkling of a necessary change of direction which bodes well for the next release. Thunderous stuff. 8/10

Morne - Engraved With Pain (Metal Blade) [Mark Young]

Boston is on fire this month (not literally) as Morne enters the fray with a 4 track EP weighing in at nearly 40 minutes long. It’s an intense offering, making the most of wringing out as much as possible from the form that mixes in sludge and doom against a backdrop of atmospheric touches. It is bleak, unrelenting and at the end, you know you have been through the wringer with them.

However, just because you can write a 10-minute song doesn’t mean that you should. Sometimes, a short sharp blast is more effective than a repeated riff or drawn-out sequence. I’m still on the fence with sludge/doom as a whole as I’ve reviewed some bands recently that have similar length songs but have so much going on or possess a feeling that makes them seem shorter than they are. 

Morne are actively attempting to make you feel fatigued from their music and it does. Its heavy, oppressive and opens with Engraved With Pain, which begins with a simple drum pattern that builds to usher in the song proper. As a statement of intent, this lays down a marker for the music to follow. A central riff anchors the arrangement allowing them to build the atmosphere around it. When the vox comes it suits the music down to a tee, completely in synch. The trouble is that it takes a while to get to this point and doesn’t really grab.

Memories Like Stone has a more urgent feel to it and has more happening with it but again is stretched out, with differing tempos coming in and out and be honest it could have been trimmed to a shorter runtime and still be effective. Wretched Empire has a great build to the intro, and there is a real momentum to this one, and rips through in a way the others should have done. The final track, Fire And Dust, is a slow and ponderous affair charting its way along that dark path with a mournful solo break. It accompanies what is a classic doom roof and it betrays the British roots they look to in their sound.

What I know is that it didn’t grab me in a way that I think it should. It just doesn’t elicit a response from me in either a positive or negative way. Fans of the band and of this music will like it and in all honesty that’s all that counts. For the casual listener, I don’t think there is enough that would maintain interest in it. 6/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Electric Callboy (Live Review By Alex Swift)

Electric Callboy & As Everything Unfolds, Great Hall, Cardiff, 27.10.23

Ten years deep into their career, the international success of Electric Callboy (10) throughout 2023 seems to have come as quite a surprise for the German dance-metal act. “We’ve played in the UK before”, lead screamer Kevin Ratajczack declares at one point, “but there were about 20 people there. We come back to the UK and we’re selling out venues of this size”. Of course, the success is richly deserved – Tekkno, the new album that the band draw on most in today’s set, proves a marked step up in almost every aspect of the bands sound, featuring vibrant production and cleverly written hooks, while leaning into the extravagant ridiculousness of their genre fusions. With this newfound success, the act has crafted an amazingly exciting live show that I was privileged to catch at The Great Hall in Cardiff!

Providing the main support was As Everything Unfolds (9). This criminally underrated post-hardcore band perfectly capture the ability to write songs that are as visceral as they are captivating, and certainly make an impression as with just a few encouraging gestures form the band, the crowd erupt into circle pits! The elements of electronica, metal and alternative within their sound perfectly compliment the zealous approach to genre-fluctuations, embodied by our headliner, while proving unique enough to stand out on their own terms. “The last time we played here was when we were supporting Holding Absence” frontwoman Charlie Rolfe notes at one point. Indeed, with the gigantic success of the acts they seem to open for, it’s hopefully only a matter of time before they are headlining venues of this size!

Prior to Electric Callboy taking the stage, the eye-patch sporting hostess from the band’s deeply hilarious music videos appears on the screen to remind the audience that “standing still is strictly prohibited for the duration of tonight’s performance!”. We don’t need to be told twice – from the moment the band erupts into Tekkno train the crowd becomes a frenzied mass of movement, never once letting up. 

While tracks like Spaceman and their brilliant reimaging of Cascada’s Everytime We Touch provoke the wildest reaction, even songs that we’re less familiar with like The Scene and Hate/Love provoked a huge response for their ferocity. In between songs, the band routinely taunt us to be louder, the on-stage chemistry between vocalists Ratajczack and Nico Sallach adding to the vibrant atmosphere, as its clear that everyone on stage is having just as fantastic a time as everyone off stage! Even the drum-solo from David-Karl Friedrich is a memorable moment, demonstrating the skill of these musicians, both as performers and instrumentalists.

While I have been to gigs that employ confetti, I’ve never seen quite this much. There are five songs where the band deploy different colours of shiny paper on to the heads of the excitable spectators, adding to the atmosphere of this being a party and an opportunity to abandon everyday worries! While all of the songs on display tonight are incredibly strong, this band know that making a live show special often means doing more than just playing the hits. There’s an acoustic interlude which sees the band encouraging the audience to sing along to stripped back versions of Let It Go! and I Want It That Way. 

This is followed by Hurrikan which initially see’s our two singers demonstrating their finest boy-band dance moves, before the lights turn a fiery red, and the rest of the band return to the stage to wreak carnage! Elsewhere, during Arrow Of Love, Nico kisses Kevin while giant pride flags are waved behind them. Hell, even Charlie Rolfe singing the female parts to Fuckboi adds to the feeling of this being an experience, that you can only get from seeing Electric Callboy live.

The encore feels like a triumph, of sorts for the band, the massively fun Pump It! Seeing the band don fake mullets and colourful tracksuits while the throng of revellers and ravers – many of whom are dressed the same – erupts into an intense yet riveting frenzy. Mindreader, meanwhile, is an opportunity for the band to show their versatility, as the darkened lighting on this one perfectly accentuates the more immersive, serious tone of the song. That’s before a pulsating beat sets in, with the ensuing two minutes giving us a chance to demonstrate that yes, Cardiff has indeed …Got the Moves! 

“Is this your first time seeing them?” I ask someone stood beside me at one point. “It’s my 23rd actually” they reply, having flown from Belgium to catch the show today. Such a level of commitment has to be admired and with shows this brilliant, you can see why someone would want to dedicate so much money and time to reliving them! It’s been two days since my first time seeing Electric Callboy and I’m already enthused about the prospect of hopefully seeing them again in future. While we may not be in “summertime” anymore, this concert is certainly a memory that “will never fade away”.

Reviews: Hawxx, Yawning Balch, Gozer, Acid Force (Reviews By Matt Bladen, Rich Piva, Mark Young & Paul Hutchings)

Hawxx - Earth, Spit, Blood And Bones (Self Relased) [Matt Bladen]

Hawxx are a band with something to say, with so many acts using their music to be political, Hawxx use there's to remind the listener that oppression against women, against the LGBTQ+ community, against minorities and the wilful disregard of the planet we live on will no longer be tolerated (Soulbreaking Machines). They have a message and this fourpiece loll to deliver it as loud and defiantly as possible. They also put their money where their mouths are attending campaigns and protests for all of the campaigns that they support, encouraging their devoted fanbase, Kettle, the collective name for Hawks, to do the same. 

The quartet come from Greece, Italy, Wales and England have been creating safe spaces at their gigs for a number of years. Encouraging anyone but especially women, trans and non-binary people to come and feel the catharsis of heavy music. And yes the music is as heavy as the subject matter, modern metal riffs with punk sensibilities are melded with massive choruses, it grips on to you by the lapels and shouts its message at you full volume, just to make sure you are listening. Having conquered big stages in support of Mark Tremonti, along with numerous festival shows, including Download, Radar Fest and Bloodstock, Hawxx have become a live force to be reckoned with and this album fully does their live show justice, it’s raw and savage but also contains hope and despair. 

Earth, Spit, Blood And Bones is a lot to take in at first, there are very direct moments that kick your ears into shape ready to listen but there’s lots of things to discover with repeated plays. The dual guitar assault of Anna Papadimitriou and Hannah Staphnill intertwine brilliantly, causing unison and oppositions as they carve out the palm muted riffs, snotty punk blasts and technical solo sections, they’ve been slated as a guitar duo to watch and the evidence is obvious on the brutal Embrace The Ugly, Filth and Fathertongue. The power of this album though is based in the organ rattling bottom end grooves of Julia B Cadau’s bass and the pneumatic percussion of Jessica Dann’s drumming, combing these with the guitars allows Hawxx to explore whatever sort of musical experiment they want, just check out the rumbling The Worst Thing or the thrashy Bite. 

Vocally too Anna snarls, spits, shout and soars operatically, her vocal style as dynamic and exhilarating as the music, from the anthemic chorus of Reckless to Trust Your Rage (good use of Dylan Thomas) or the ferociously angry opening of Death Makes Sisters Of Us All, that roar of "I want this city to the ground! For what he did to her" a cry against the killing of Sarah Everard and the slaughter of women by men that still seems to be more acceptable in the name of ‘morality’. Earth, Spit, Blood And Bones is the album with the strongest identity this year, defiant against all forms of oppression, Hawxx have cultivated a spirit of rebellion that will only broaden on the back of this debut. Join their cause and play this album loud and often! 9/10

Yawning Balch - Volume Two (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]

Now we have part two of the awesome team up of the original innovators of instrumental desert rock, Yawning Man, and Bob Balch from Fu Manchu, who is turning out to be one of those guys who just is a killer when he joins up with other great bands and lends his unique and downright amazing guitar skills to a project.

It turns out Volume Two is also pretty f-ing awesome. As a reminder, the aptly named Volume Two comes from five hours of Bob and YM jamming at Joshua Tree (of course it does) and the results this time are the three additional epic tracks of desert/stoner instrumental genius. Track one, A Moment Expanded, is a spacy, dreamy, eighteen-plus minute swirl that is all about atmosphere and floating over your desert base camp. It is super chill and spine-tingling led by Mr. Balch showing his ability of be restrained and flow with the laid back, psych vibes of the song. 

Flesh Of The Gods flows almost seamlessly from the previous track and is very much more of the same in the best possible way. These could be one song, but it works on its own as well, the highlight being Balch’s work about halfway through. You lose none of the quality with the third track, Psychic Aloha, which to me is the best of all of the tracks on both volumes due to Balch’s unique work that melds beautify with the steady YM backing.

So, I say once again, yes, give me all five hours of the Yawning Balch jam session. I called Volume One the instrumental album of the year so far along side of the amazing Clouds Taste Satanic record, and now we have a three-way race with Volume Two. I don’t go instrumental often, but when I do 2023 is giving me some great options with Yawning Balch leading the way. 8/10

Gozer - The Path Always Leads To The End (Trepanation Recordings) [Mark Young]

There has to be something in the water in Sheffield given the amount of talent we see (and hear) in the UK scene. Gozer present their latest EP / mini-album (take your pick) and in doing so bring us one of the releases of the year.

The Beginning ushers in a rising soundscape, all ambient noise to unsettle and to allow what is one of my favorite songs of the year, Celestial River to kick in. Instantly the balance within the song just hits with that sort of movement that is constantly building and progressing. The use of keys to echo/mimic and then BOOM the vocals come in and we are off.

Implored to follow the river, the arrangement of guitar and keys is just fabulous and it’s a journey with a start and end. It reminds me of 28 Days Later, the final act instrumental when Jim goes postal on the soldiers who have trapped him and friends in a manor house. Apologies if you haven’t seen it (it's good). To add urgency there is a gradual increase in tempo to it before falling away with that ambient noise present once more, conveying the feeling of being out of one's body. Just excellent.

Gone Away brings that futuristic science fiction to the fore, grinding ever so slowly, stepping forward with barely audible spoken word until it dissipates and the final song comes in, with the sound of lapping waves and viola that underpin plaintive vocals. Where The River Meets The Ocean is a tender, acoustically driven belter that as soon as it establishes that form its skin is shed and the electrics come in. The build is fantastic, with a power to it and a real majesty and it’s a fantastic bookend to the songs here.

Gozer just seems to be able to write and record music that hits so well, and you know that there is so much to come from them. Presented possibly as an essay on life and death there is a constant movement within the arrangement of the songs here which reflects on that continual cycle that is part of our existence. Celestial River just has that something that makes it a song you can listen to over and over. I wish I knew how to describe that something, but I think you get my point. 8/10

Acid Force – World Targets In Megadeaths (Jawbreaker Records) [Paul Hutchings]

“What caught my attention on 'World Targets In Megadeaths'“, says Jawbreaker Records boss G.G. Sundin, “is that is not stuck in the same old grooves that most thrash metal albums coming out nowadays are. Instead, Acid Force have created a fresh mix of thrash, speed, and traditional heavy metal.”

A bold statement indeed, but having given World Targets In Megadeaths a few plays, I’m included to agree with old G.G. The Slovakians have put together a pulsating burst of vibrant thrash and speed metal which I must admit, works on every level. There’s a fresh approach to the band’s music and whilst the inevitable influences are still apparent, there is something a little different about their style.

The vocals are gruff, at times ragged, but completely fit the music that Acid Force deliver. The opening salvo Out Of The Trenches isn’t the most inspiring though, one of the more basic tracks on the album. But despite the thrash by numbers that crashes out of the speakers, there’s something here that grabs the attention. Whether it’s the high tempo which reminds me of early Raven, or the Metallica-tinged riffs I’m not sure, but fast, frenetic, and with a raw edge, it’s enough to keep the attention.

Two other punchy thrashers fly by before we reach Rebirth Of The Sun, and it’s here that things get extremely interesting. A more expansive, progressive, and slightly more crafted song, it’s still got the high intensity that Acid Force bring to every song, but there’s a blacker metal (circa Venom 1983) approach here, albeit with far better musicianship. There’s some fine lead guitar work from Erik Leško whilst the engine room holds things solidly in place.

Confident enough to rip through a five-minute instrumental, Acid Force show their chops with one of the best tracks here. Definite shades of Metallica, but with the style of Maiden also present, Beyond The Concrete Fields demonstrates a maturity in writing that is welcome. This leads us to the final track, the title track and it’s another explosive thrasher to conclude what is an enjoyable release. If you like your thrash, then Acid Force should really be in your sights. And I’ve not even commented on the album cover art… 8/10

Review: Green Lung (Review By Matt Bladen)

Green Lung - This Heathen Land (Nuclear Blast)

 

"It's Good To Be The King" - Mel Brooks. Those words stuck with me when This Heathen Land, the third full length from Green Lung arrived in my inbox. Because I'm the editor of this publication it means I can pick and choose what I want. I usually ship out a lot of the best stuff to other writers as I'm benevolent in my dictatorship but this one is mine. Already teetering at the top of my AOTY list on the singles along the occult rocking of Green Lung ticks all the right boxes for me. Stoner grooves, classic rock histrionics, occult lyrics, huge organs, biting guitars and wailing vocals, it's like Xmas has come early, or should that be Yule? 

The five piece of Tom Templar (vocals), Scott Black (guitar), Joseph Ghast (bass), John Wright (organ) and Matt Wiseman (drums), refine and enhance their sound again. Giving you another album of classic heavy metal, that makes you realise how good a band like Ghost could be if they dropped the theatrics and stuck with the heavier end rather than 80's pop. Called "the most complete manifestation of the bands vision to date", Tom Templar describes it as the soundtrack to a "folk horror film in our heads", I have to agree as I've always just instantly thought of Hammer Horrors when listening to Green Lung, a band I assume would have given anything to play a show with noted metal fan Christopher Lee. With the influence of Sabbath still the grounding, This Heathen Land brings the quirk of Blue Oyster Cult, with the crunch of Sir Lord Baltimore, channeling it through Deep Purple muscle, Opeth/Camel's folksiness and Queen's melodic shape shifting. 

What I love about the band is how they research all the topics they sing about, this authenticity to the folk/occult/pagan history of the UK is what sets them apart from their Swedish counterparts. They celebrate the occult, rather than using it for schlock value. Green Lung revel in Folklore, inspiring their songs, their artwork and their stage presence. Don't take my word for it though as Green Lung are rapidly rising to be one of the UKs most bankable acts, their tour in November is sold out and I'll assume they'll be a major draw at Bloodstock next year. 

Back to This Heathen Land and the band wanted it to sound like a Martin Birch record, collaborating with producer Wayne Adams and Tom Dalgety to capture the magic of Dio-Sabbath, Rainbow and even early Maiden when they were at the height of their bombast. The Forest Church Intro welcomes us to This Heathen Land as The Forest Church, kicks off with blaring organs set against the brooding, slithering riff. It starts the album off on a dark and mysterious note, the simplistic drum beat permeating the heavy use of organs, the guitars brought in for the epic chorus. As this ebbs and flows with Queen-like guitar harmonies/solos shift rapidly into an organ solo, before Mountain Throne gives us a hook-filled bounce, you can hear the hordes shouting “MOUNTAIN THROOONE” at the top of their voices. 

The first track is based on a horror flick while this is inspired by the victims of witch trials, that mix of history and fiction/mythology balanced well by the band, giving both importance. Two tracks down and Green Lung are already on different level to their previous record, then come Maxine (Witch Queen), inspired by the 1960’s ‘Witch Queen’ Maxine Sanders, this track has all the hip shaking danceability of the Swinging Sixties, it’s the sort of thing Ghost wanted to do with Kiss The Goat, but Green Lung do it better. It’s flirty and filthy, the Witch Queen cursing our poor narrator, another massive sing along that is followed by the most personal track here, Templar in mourning on the gothic doom of One For Sorrow. One For Sorrow builds the noise and slows the pace, nodding to Edgar Allen Poe in the lyrics as well as the nursery rhyme, using them to describe mental health worries. 

As the tone is brought down, Songs Of The Stones bases itself on and 1892 ghost story, musically mixing Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd. Ritualistic and percussive, Songs Of The Stones, is a pastoral break from the distortion, though The Ancient Ways returns with more bombastic riffs and synths/keys, hard rock riffs,along with a killer guitar solo. Climbing the lyrical mountains as the concept of the right to roam is continued on the galloping Maiden-esque Hunters In The Sky, this love of freedom and nature prevalent in all of Green Lung’s music, their deference to and assimilation of the old ways is to be commended. Especially since they bring this retro tinge to their music but it remains extremely modern in the execution. 

Closing This Heathen Land is another ‘Vampire Love Song’ Oceans Of Time, inspired by Bram Stoker’s version of the Transylvanian Count, it’s shamelessly romantic, ostentatious and evokes the drama and pathos of Jim Steinman, building into a theatrical crescendo to end the record. I listened to this album numerous times but the late night spin on Samhain raised the hairs on the back of my neck, as if the spirits were present. There are few albums and bands that can do this, but Green Lung have hit upon that perfect balance of accessibly and authenticity. Definitely AOTY. 10/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Tailgunner (Live Review By Matt Bladen)

Tailgunner, Helldown, Madicide & Rites To Ruin, Fuel Rock Club, 26.10.23

Another Thursday gig another chance to see some great local supports and headliner on the rise. Feels like the Vexed gig all over again but tonight had a much more 'old school' flair to it.

Three supports can be wearisome but luckily South Wales/South West area can boast some of the best bands around kicking things off were M2TM 2023 finalists Rites To Ruin (8) who get better with every viewing, dipping into their debut but also bringing new songs, Krissie's vocals are still unearthly but the rest of the band are drilled technicians Matt, Paul and Tom linking for a some heavy rocking that blends thrash, prog and NWOBHM/power metal. Getting the crowd going it would have been nice to hear Lee's lead guitar when he was clearly shredding like a mutha. Still as I said Rites To Ruin get better with every viewing and they were on fire in Fuel.

Next however were Madicide (7) who did nothing to get rid of my thrash bias as the crossover foursome were a ball of molten energy, swearing and cursing (despite kids being present) to try to get the crowd pitting. Looking at the crowd that wasn't going to happen but good on them for trying despite the language. Unfortunately musically they play fairly standard thrash metal, the rawness of the vocals the only thing audible over what was a mess of distortion and fuzz. Thrash is not my favourite genre by a stretch but I can see some talent in Madicide, shame then that nothing could be heard over the drums, squealing leads (too much lead this time).

Next though were the band who were the slickest of the night, their sound was spot on, the songs were anthemic and the riffs heavy as M2TM 2023 Finalists Helldown (8) who once again smashed the Fuel stage with their modern groove/thrash metal that owes a lot to Machine Head but manages to fit on this classic metal billing too, they would support Gama Bomb a few days later along with Madicide. With all four of them gelling together on stage, there was little room for chit chat as they blasted through a masterclass of modern thrash influenced metal from the Swansea quartet. A rhythm section that punches you in the guts anchoring some killer leads and riffs, topped with growled vocals, Helldown are aggressive and formidable. If you're local get out to see Helldown as soon as possible as they are at their peak right now.

The headliners were only band on the bill hailing from England, the trad metal revivalists Tailgunner (7) seem as if they have been picked to be the latest band to break out of the trad metal pack, signing to Fireflash Records with their debut album Guns For Hire, they have been rising the ranks since. This extensive tour is evidence of that and watching Tailgunner you can see that they have a flair for performing, the professionalism of the band is obvious. Storming out of the gates with Guns For Hire and White Death it was twin axe harmonies and speed metal ferocity from the first moment.

Packing in most of the debut with some choices covers, the first part of the set flew by, but there was a little fatigue as a lot of what Tailgunner do is quite similar and aimed at their niche. Putting in a solo section that moved in to Grieg's In The Hall Of The Mountain King was a brave move but I'm not sure it paid off, perhaps Savatage's Hall Of The Mountain King would have been better. They did manage to get the crowd back though with a storming version of Painkiller. The excitement now back in the room some flag waving kept the crowd on side as the shifted at pace to their finale of Don't Talk To Strangers, originally by Dio.

Polishing off a night of solid heavy metal again these Thursday gigs deliver quality on a school night.

A View From The Back Of The Room: Thy Art Is Murder (Live Review By Danika Ulrich)

Thy Art Is Murder, Whitechapel, Fit For An Autopsy & Spite, O2 Ritz, Manchester 23.10.23

As I’m walking down Oxford Road with my friends we’re all surprised by how far back the queue went, everybody clearly wanting to get inside on time for easily this year's biggest deathcore line up.

Spite (10) opens the evening. With a mix of hardcore punk and modern deathcore, they definitely made an impact. Even with doors only just opening they got the crowd going like they were hours into the show. Vocalist Darius Tehrani spent the whole set stomping around as if he were deranged. Spite truly astounded me with the amount of energy they brought to the stage. For an opener on a bill of four bands they were up there acting like they were the act everyone was there to see. They performed with such intensity that the crowd had no choice but to start moshing early.

The formidable Fit For An Autopsy (10) are up next. They opened with massive track, A Higher Level Of Hate, with its 40 second build up getting the crowd ready for half an hour of non stop savagery. Even at such a large venue they manage to create an intimate atmosphere in such a vast space. Fit For An Autopsy’s shattering sound is purposefully gritty. The group masterfully combines atmospheric groove with extreme force driven death metal. Hellions demonstrates the band's extreme and unwavering intensity. The song effectively broke up their set with its beautiful moments of blackened death metal. The band took their time slot and gave the crowd 100% the best performance of the whole night. They ended with Far From Heaven which got one of the biggest pits of the entire night, it's impossible to stand still for this track. I would’ve been happy with these as headliners with the standard they brought. The whole band were relentless in delivering a brutal assault to Manchester.

Deathcore titans Whitechapel (6) are third on. The band opened with I Will Find You, a more recent track. With a fast moving, catchy chorus, brilliant riffs and the impeccable growls from Phil Bozeman. With This Is Exile, a cornerstone of the deathcore sound, the band gave the audience an opportunity to experience the brutality of their sound. Their set included a healthy mix of old and new to please all. But, I did have one issue with their set. Although they sounded amazing there was no stage presence. None at all. I would’ve got the same excitement watching a recording of their set. For such titans of the deathcore scene you’d expect more. The set sounded unbelievable but the performance was placid. Although their presence was a little subdued, the music was still excellent. Whitechapel demonstrated to us how brutal their music can still be after all these years but, it can be a bit underwhelming when the songs sound amazing but the band are stood there not hyping the crowd at all. I highly anticipated their set but it ended with me feeling a little underwhelmed.

Thy Art Is Murder (7) are here to give the audience what they came for, a gruesome show. But first, they opened with Venga Boys and a room full of rainbow lights for a fun but confusing start to their set. A band's live reputation can drop rapidly with a vocalist who has such a drastic change in personality to the latter. Unfortunately, I thought that was the case that evening. Although Tyler is obviously talented with his brutal vocals, I thought something was lacking live. 

The band opened with a newer track, Destroyer Of Dreams. Quite a primal song it was a good choice to start their set. It all felt a bit too mellow until the band got to their fourth song of the night, Make America Hate Again. This is when the crowd started acting like they were watching such pioneers of the scene. Having listened to their newest album, Godlike, a lot since its release late last month I have been looking forward to hearing my favourite track off it live. The excitement was short lived. 

Never have I been so disappointed at how different a track sounds live compared to a studio recording but this was the case for Keres. It felt flat and void of life, what should’ve had the crowd (and the vocalist) stomping about was a dead track. The addition of vocalist Tyler Miller felt like a good fit when listening to Godlike but after watching the full line up Darius from Spite or Joe from Fit For An Autopsy would be a better live fit. Overall, Thy Art Is Murder were fantastic at delivering each song with an extreme level of aggression and brutality, but I can't help but think Tyler needs to work on his showmanship.

Reviews: In This Moment, Elm Street, Bacterial Husk, Aeonian Sorrow (Reviews By Zak Skane, Paul Hutchings, Mark Young & Matt Bladen)

 In This Moment – Godmode (BMG) [Zak Skane]

Opening up this ten track album The Purge greets us with the seductive pulses of electronic 808 kick drum rhythms, which lures us in to Maria Brinks venomous rap styled vocals which transcend into silky smooth vocal harmonies in the choruses. The guitars and drums lay down sledge hammer weighted grooves to the let the style of electronic arrangements glaze the track into it’s new direction. This is just the beginning to this new bands direction. 

Sky Burner brings in some sexy swinging riffs matched with some swooning half time grooved melted with some sleek shoegazing choruses that would please any Deftones fan. Maria Brink strictly reminds us that she is not retiring the harsh vocals anytime soon in Sanctify Me, with it’s gruesome gravelling verses to it’s sharp tearing classic screams that echoes of the nostalgic era of the band, whilst bringing in some Meshuggah influenced bowl rumbling riffs and precise double kick grooves. The angry sexy vibes of Sacrifice brings in some euro dance inspired 808 beats, filtered guitar effects and additional vocal layers, which takes some notes from Nine Inch Nails. To close the first half of the album the cinematic piece I Die For You which has been featured in the Keanu Reeves stared movie John Wick 4. 

The track brings typical cinematic tropes that would originally feature in film score compositions with its big reverbed percussion and moving strings to co-exist with the bands ballad. Highlights on the second half of the album are Fate Bringer which brings in poppy swinging rhythms and catchy choruses, whilst Everything That Starts And Ends With You comes in as a personal highlight with one of the best songs in their back catalogue with it’s throbbing and grinding synth riffs, polyrhythmic snare beats accompanied with fuzzy guitar riffs and soaring choruses. The rap laced verses of Damaged showed some chilling trade offs with Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills and their closing track Army Of Me brings in crushing riffs, industrial pulses and the tearing vocal lines.

It’s safe to say that this is most electronically driven album that the band have delivered to date, but it’s an album that is still thrives with In This Moment style. The guitar riffs and drums are bombastic as ever, the vibes are as sleazy and sexy like they were on their 2012 and 2014 releases Blood and Black Widow. This is also an album that shows the band still growing in their 18 year career, Maria and crew are still growing as musicians and especially as songwriters. 

The opening track The Purge and The Sacrifice showcases the band exploring into more electronic influenced arrangements, to highlighting songwriter moments with Everything Starts And Ends With You and finally to new career heights with their major film featured song I Die For You. If you think this band have covered it all, trust me they are just getting started. For fans of Deftones, Nine Inch Nails and Bad Omens. 10/10

Elm Street – The Great Tribulation (Massacre Records) [Paul Hutchings]

Aussies Elm Street graced these pages back in 2016 with the subtle second album Knock Em Out … With A Metal Fist. That was the last album this four-piece had recorded until now, when The Great Tribulation has arrived. There has been an EP release between then and now, before the purists pick me up on inaccurate reporting. Anyway, The Great Tribulation provides an opportunity to reacquaint oneself with the band, whose vocalist Ben Batres delivers in raspy style throughout.

 
Whilst Elm Street sit with the thrashers, there is a wider style to their approach, with a combination of styles that switch from the punk tinged Take The Night, to the impressive opener Seven Sirens, which at 11 minutes long is an ambitious way to open any release. 

Apart from Take The Night and the groove-soaked Price Of War, both of which are short and punchy, this is an album which favours the longer song, something quite unusual for a thrash album.
The longer songs allow Elm Street to expand on their writing style, which they do with some enthusiasm. 

Whilst some of their songs follow a more traditional groove/thrash approach, it’s the ballad The Darker Side Of Blue, the penultimate song on the album that sees the band include with orchestral arrangements complimenting a heartfelt performance from Batres. It allows the band to show a more composed side to their writing and it’s not to the detriment of the overall record. Indeed, the guitar work of lead guitarist Aaron Adie is sublime.

 

Ultimately, The Great Tribulation is an album that is more enriching on every listen. If you are expecting a pure thrash metal record, then you may well be surprised. If you like variation in your metal, then this is an album that should be of interest. 7/10

Bacterial Husk - Anthropogenic Ruin (Label 2318) [Mark Young]

Boston, Mass. Not keen on tea but very keen on death metal as the following platter will inform. Bacterial Husk, active since 2015 brings their latest to the table and it's another top addition to what feels like a classic year for death metal.

Spores Of Hallucinosis starts with what could be described as an over-under-sideways-down intro riff that boots straight into a trem picked twinned with some stabbing guitar that sets the whole thing up with that filthy kind of death metal complete with submerged-in-slime vocal delivery. There is some razor-sharp guitar going on here with that baton picked up by Flayed By Anomalies. Underpinned by a simple structure, it takes the conceit of Spores…and keeps the foot firmly pressed to the neck. It has that sort of riff that is just mint to play and to headbang to. 

It's not ground-breaking in any respect but not every release has to be. It knows what it needs to do, and it does it very well. Plague By Pollination is dominated by that swing style with a firm emphasis on getting people to move. There are thrash elements in there which come out during the solo break. The arrangement is just so solid, and it can be said for the album as a whole, the slow start into tight triplets on Corrupted Hydrosphere and the drum battering in the final moments that usher in Enshrined Gravitational Aberration, it’s a great set of brutal, modern death metal that you will return to again and again.

Umbilical Sewage drops some nice technical touches in there without forgetting their core statement of bringing the brutal whilst Mystics Of Transmutation just goes for it, with a guitar tone that sounds similar to a swarm of murder hornets looking for a feast. It has to be said that there is enough going on to the engagement high, and similarly, the energy level is kept up, I think that they could have done with shortening one or two tracks, making them like shotgun blasts – devastation delivered quickly and on the next one. That is me being mean in some respects, but hey I’m reviewing it. 

The final track – Starving The Immortal unleashes a furious attack that grooves and finishes it off, ensuring that they close out on a high note. Fans of death metal should love everything on here, it does what it is supposed to and to that end, they have delivered an album that does no wrong 7/10

Aeonian Sorrow – Katara (Self-Released) [Matt Bladen]

In the death/doom sphere most bands either come from the UK, the Nordics or Greece, so when I saw that Aeonian Sorrow has Finnish and Greek members and played music that was ‘FFO’ Daylight Dies, Draconian, Swallow the Sun, then I immediately felt the temperature drop at MoM Towers and dark clouds gather outside. Aeonian Sorrow have been peddling maudlin, sorrowful, atmospheric doom since 2015. Their music has been described as cathartic, and with the dual vocals, clean and harsh, usage of keys and long slow riffs they bleed out every moment of emotion. 

Having had a few line up changes since their debut album and their last EP, they now return with their second album Katara, named for the mountain pass in the Pindus Mountains, which has numeorus tragic stories surrounding it due to weather. As someone who is married into a Northern Greek family I can tell you the weather in the North is not all beaches and sunshine, in the winter it can be cold and desolate. Greek singer/keyboardist Gogo Melone was also inspired by death of her grandparents, written in their empty house which was only accessible through the Katara roads. With that kind of inspiration, the music produced is guaranteed to be despondent. 

Gogo's vocals are ache with remorse and regret, introspective but purgative using the keys as a gothic vein that pulsates through these elongated songs. The distorted, deliberate riffs of Taneli Jämsä and Jukka Jauhiainen, set a funeral pace, melody a stranger to downcast heaviness. Counteracting Gogo's voice are the snarls of Joel Notkonen coming in to their own on Ashes And Death, he's just a big of a part as Gogo, the light and shade in the vocals evoking those influences of Draconian. As Anemos and Elumia are perhaps more gothic led by the measured drumming of Achilleas Papagrigoriou, he does get to open up when they pick up the pace though the power on Her Toment can't be denied. If you're death/doom fan then this atmospheric/gothic record will be the soundtrack to your cold winter nights. 8/10