A View From The Back Of The Room: Paul Di'Anno (Live Review By Paul Hutchings)

Paul Di’Anno, Noturnall, Electric Gypsy, The Patriot, Crumlin 27/28.11.23

Two sold out nights at The Home of Rock provided a warming start to a cold week in the South Wales Valley. 

Such is the status of the former Iron Maiden singer, that after the first show sold out in a few hours, The Patriot was able to add another which also saw tickets quickly fly out of the door. Both nights saw the venue crammed to capacity, as The Beast Resurrection Tour 2023 rolled into Gwent. This was the mid-point of the tour, with London and Weston Super Mare completing the UK leg before Di’Anno and tour supports, Electric Gypsy and Noturnall head to mainland Europe.

Doors at 7:00pm on both nights saw queues form, with many fans unsurprisingly wearing their best Maiden shirts. The eager ones gathered at the barrier, probably initially willing to get through the two support acts to keep their vantage point. It turned out to be a good move, as both the openers and main support proved to be excellent value.

First up the high energy of Electric Gypsy (8). A vibrant quartet, they play a trashy hard rock style reminiscent of several bands from the eighties, including a mixture of Crue, Aerosmith and Whitesnake. With a hardened edge which gave their songs bite, the band blasted through their set with style. Lead singer Guzz Collins is the central focus. Possessing a good set of pipes, he’s a diminutive figure with a big stage presence. All rock star, he has the moves, the looks, and the voice to carry everything off with ease. 

The band rip through their set, which sees Monday’s crowd treated to a pulsating cover of Burn, whilst Tuesday evening sees an excellent version of Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher get the temperature soaring. They draw mainly from their Mothership album (produced by Thiago Bianchi – vocalist with Noturnall), with opportunity for audience participation on The Devil Made Me Do It well received. Fluid, confident and engaging from start to finish, Electric Gypsy earned many new fans.

Taking the volume higher, and the music at least two levels heavier, the second Brazilian band of the evening take the stage with vocalist Thiago Bianchi informing the now rammed venue that they are recording every show and urging the crowd to make their noise felt. The Patriot crowd don’t need any second invitation, and on both nights ensured that they must have been one of the loudest audiences on the tour. 

Although new to me, Noturnall (8) have been around over a decade and have links with the headliner through bassist Saulo Xakol and guitarist Léo Mancini, who have both played with Di’Anno in the past. The band have also had a certain Mike Portnoy drum for them, a fact which Bianchi is not ashamed to mention in both shows. If you search out their latest album, Cosmic Redemption, you’ll also find Dave Ellefson, James LaBrie and Michael Romeo involved.

Noturnall bring a progressive style of metal which probably isn’t heard too often in these parts. Yet the crowd lap it up, raging in a swirl of fists and arms in the air as the Brazilians power through a 45-minute set. We get a pounding Thunderstruck which is probably the cleverest move of the night. It’s impossible not to sing along to it and by then, the crowd are right on side. With four albums to draw from, they have plenty to offer. 

Try Harder opens the eight-song set, and they can showcase the breadth of their discography. By the time they reach Scream! For!! Me!!! They have the crowd lapping up every note and its little surprise to see several of their shirts being worn later in the evening. At least they should have made enough for the petrol to their next show in London the following night.

It's been a turbulent career for Paul Di’Anno (9). The man who was the voice of Iron Maiden and Killers is now a sad figure. Wheelchair bound, and not in great shape, we are lucky he’s made it after a health scare the night before in Blackpool. Regardless of what you think of him (and I know there have been some scathing reviews of previous shows), you can’t help but admire his determination.

He's lifted onto the stage by four members of the Patriot MC, and it’s clear he’ in a lot of discomfort. On night two, we see him need to stop during Wrathchild, and the fears that he might not complete the show surface. But to his huge credit, he fights on, and gives a strong performance, given the circumstances.

He’s got a tight band who provide faithful replications of 13 early Maiden classics, along with a cover of the Pistols’ Holiday In The Sun. It’s a set lapped up by the faithful in front of the stage, and there are more smiles as the band rip through Prowler, Murders In The Rue Morgue, and even Genghis Khan, which gives Di’Anno time for a breather. The music is delivered with power, those familiar lead breaks remain visceral, the dual guitar harmonies make the heart sing. For those around the first time, this is a journey back in time, but it still feels as relevant today as it was in 1981.

Killers still makes the hairs stand up on the back of the neck, whilst the version of Phantom Of The Opera finds Di’Anno still able to snarl his way through the most iconic of Maiden songs. As he hits the final notes of Drifter, it’s a poignant moment. Will we see Paul again? Who knows. He’s had his problems, but he remains a captivating figure. We can only wish him well. For now, it’s time to reflect on two stellar nights – ones that don’t come along all that often.

Reviews: Devin Townsend, Plini, Swansong, Skiltron (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Devin Townsend – Infinity: 25th Anniversary Edition (InsideOut Music) 

As he works on the next chapter of his innovative musical career, something that will take two whole years to complete, the illustrious Devin Townsend has remastered his landmark solo record Infinity for its 25th Anniversary, Inside Out releasing it as special edition version including the full album and a second disc of demos. 

Townsend reflects that Infinity was his first time engineering and mixing an album, and though now it sounds perhaps amateurish in comparison to latter releases, it’s a significant step towards the artist we now know. It was a turbulent time creatively and personally for Townsend so Infinity holds a lot of resonance with him (many of the songs are still played in his live sets), revisiting it must have been both joyful and difficult but Towsend has made the package worth it with the remastered album, bonus tracks, demos and even a present day recreation of the cover *shudder*. 

It’s a labour of love but if you were around at the time you can rediscover how good the record is and if you weren’t you can almost hear the genesis of Devin as a solo artist. From the epic hard rock of Christeen, the vaudeville of Bad Devil, the chug of War, all the trademark fractured genre bending is there, the instruments layered and composed in a way to make it unlike not only Townsend's beginnings in SYL but also anything else around at that time, firmly putting him in a category of one. The audio has been mastered for vinyl so it feels organic but also still as that wall of sound dynamic. 

If you’ve listened to the album you’ll know what to expect so really the bonus tracks are what will win you over, all seven of them coming from the Christeen EP, they are available for the first time on vinyl and give you demo and acoustic versions, something Devin has continued to do with his releases, giving a glimpse into the creative process. A neat package if you’re a fan but only adds a little to the original, Townsend’s rabid fanbase will lap this up but if you’re not familiar as much with his pre DTP work then I suggest listening to see where the beginning lie. 8/10

Plini – Mirage (Self Released)

With a fresh new set of compositions, delivered through his signature Strandberg guitar, signature amp software and all the other endorsements this Aussie virtuoso has, Plini returns with his new EP Mirage. 

Five tracks of guitar playing that pushes the boundaries of the instrument to their limit, reaching new levels of melody, technicality and composition, blurring genre boundaries with instrumental mastery, master being the optimal word as Plini teaches masterclasses all over the world, at some of the biggest music colleges. 

Whether it’s the laid back sunshine of The Red Fox, the repeating jazz grooves of Five Days Of Rain, the synthy strains of Still Life which features Tosin Abasi of Animals As Leaders. Or the videogame influenced Aqua Vista and the closing fire that burns from Ember, Mirage is more of Plini’s incredible virtuosity, showing why he is so revered in guitar circles, but never just relying on one style to impress, complexity and congeniality in one. If you’ve never experienced Plini before, Mirage is a brilliant access point into his music. Prepare to be stunned. 9/10

Swansong – Awakening (Noble Demon)

A band formed in 2020? Album called Awakening? Must be a debut? Yep it’s the debut from Finnish melodic death metal act Swansong, who come out of the Suomi woodlands with a raging style of melodic death metal that comes from Dark Tranquillity and Arch Enemy, the death growls of Jemiina absolutely terrifying as the harmonic guitars of Topi Pitkänen and Tuomas Leskinen remind me of the Amott brothers on Blood Widow or Furiosa. 

Swansong bring some trad metal on Become, acoustic lilting on Frost Of Winter, folk/power both there and on Maiden Of Death, it’s old school for those in camo shorts but with parts that will appeal to a broader audience too. Swashbuckling rhythms from Jimi Myöhänen (drums) on One With The Waves as Lauri Huovinen’s bass keeps the pace moving on the shredfest that is Fight Or Die. Scandi melodeath with a little more, this won’t be the last you hear of Swansong, but they may need to do more next time. 6/10

Skiltron – Bruadarach (Trollzorn Records)

If there’s ever a sound to divide a listening audience its bagpipes, straight out of the gate with Triumph & Devotion, Skiltron hit you with bagpipes, using them as a key feature to their Celtic folk/power metal sound. Despite being formed in Argentina and now residing in Norway, but with members from all over the place, Skiltron attempt to sound as Scottish as they can with their sixth album Bruadarach. 

Now you get out of this what you want, it’s simplistic power metal that feels like full throttle or nothing at all, the vocals are decent enough and it’s polished to within an inch of its life but unless you can get past the extensive use of highland pipes then you’ll be screaming for it to stop. When put in occasionally they can carry power and mysticism but when it’s; Every. Single. Song, things get quite draining and very fast. 

Folk metal can be hit or miss but unless you’re a lover of Highland Pipes, there are plenty of others you can delve into. 4/10

A View From The Back Of The Room: Green Lung (Live Review By Joe Guatieri)

Green Lung & Boss Keloid, Thekla, Bristol 24.11.23

On a wet and windy Sunday night, the boat was about to be rocked as Green Lung and Boss Keloid played Thekla.

Arriving late meant missing some of the full Boss Keloid (7) experience, but they’ve left enough of an impression to explore further. Combining stoner rock with progressive metal, the band smoothly transitioned between riffs and passages in sync. In particular, the drummer Ste Arands really stood out as his playing felt so impactful and precise, making every moment matter.

Then it was time for the headliner of the gig, Green Lung (8). A band that I had seen the year previous when they played on the bill with icons Clutch at the O2 Academy and now the tables have turned as everyone in the crowd was there for Green Lung. On the back of their excellent new album This Heathen Land it was right in the middle of their triumphant headline tour. 

They mix classic heavy metal, doom metal, psychedelic rock, plus more, making for an anthemic experience, lyrics drawn from English folklore and a frenetic performance made for a stage of any size. Such contrasting styles of sludgy riffs and high-octane solos of Scott Black seem nonsensical in theory but mind-blowing in execution. 

Adding an organ brought an extra flavour, sometimes taking a welcomed lead to continue the balanced set, both from a perfomance perspective and also a setlist drawn from their three albums and one EP, the swirling psychadelic whilr of John Wright 

Commanding the set was lead singer Tom Templar’s operatic vocals, putting a bow on well-built crescendos. It’s unfortunate then that the quiet moments in between get lost amongst the crowd, (so often a problem with live shows), hindering the complete journey of slower tracks compared to the louder pieces, but when they're on they're on Joseph Guest (bass) and Matt Wiseman (drums) hammering home the occult anthems and blatant Sabbath worship. 

Altogether, Green Lung and Boss Keloid put on a hell of a night, showcasing what the UK has to offer for the metal genre. Bigger stages beckon, start saving your pennies!

Reviews: Stengah, Mind Control, Cryptosis, Demons Of Noon (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Stengah - Downward Mechanic EP (Mascot Records)

A brand new EP from French bonecrushers Stengah is a short blast of grooving modern prog metal that will excite anyone that loved their debut album Soma Sema in 2022. It was critically acclaimed, your humble writer giving it a respectable 7/10. They've been touring since then, but to keep the fans happy they have released Downward Mechanic, an EP filled with songs written during the Soma Sema sessions but not put on the final version of the album. 

For whatever reason they were left off, it wasn't beacuse they were any lesser than the songs on the record, the aren't any different either, they are born from the same creative soup so pack as much of a punch as the album tracks. The idea behind all of these tracks is a machine becoming human, learning to feel and moving from mechanical to organic, the climax of Inner Space, the final transformation with the harsh/clean dynamics showing this duality between machine and man, the last chapter of what they started with Soma Sema. 

This is the end but the EP gets going with The Earth Awakes, a blistering tech metal track that injects pace from the first moments and doesn't relent. From here is Reign Of An Apocryph, the djent increased to a higher level with palm muted riffs and more aggression, shifting into atmospheric middle section, before realigning at the end. It's the heaviest song here that moves into the most emotional song on the EP. Resurface (September's Gone), has a brighter atmosphere musically and lyrically, describing the escape from depression as Sheltered Within is a sucker punch to the face increasing the brooding heaviness again. 

Founded by drummer Eliott Williame, joined by bassist Benoit Creteur, guitarists Maxime Delassus and Alex Orta and vocalist Nicolas Queste, Stengah write the final paragraph of their first volume with Downward Mechanic, where they go now will be worth watching out for. 7/10 

Mind Control – Elements (Self Released)

From Italy, Mind Control are an extreme death metal band, a country that has its fair share of progressive death metal bands, but Mind Control sound a lot more Swedish than they do Italian, though there is some Fleshgod Apocalypse levels of pomposity, along with the alt metal hooks of a band such as Lacuna Coil on tracks such as Flames and Effluent. 

This second album has been a while in the making, nine years actually, due to line up changes and life getting in the way but they've returned with a record that is as good, if not better than their debut. Based around the melodic death metal of Scandinavia, with progressive metal virtuosity Mind Control will appeal to fans of bands such as Wintersun, In Flames or Scar Symmetry. The vocals from Stefania Salladini are diverse and powerful, the screams and growls of Angela Gossow fused with the soaring power of Christina Scabbia. 

With her at the mic, the band have a bonafide star, in the back room Stefano Tatasciore's bass gives some heavy grooves to Wind while the drums of Luca Nicolucci's drums present double kicks that doesn't quit, especially not be Devin-like Storm. This track also displays the keyboard/synths that permeate all of these songs provided by Massimo Boffa who's the bands guitarist and shreds/solos with a disgusting level of techincally. 

Now I will want you that Elements is 13 songs long, and none of these tracks are short either so unless progressive melodeath is one of your go to genres then you may get a little fatigued with this album. However if you stick with it you'll be rewarded with an album that is full of twists and turns, but in the end Elements is a progressive melodeath record that stands with the big guns of the genre. 8/10

Cryptosis - The Silent Call (Century Media)

Called Cryptosis? On tour with Cynic and Obscura? Made up of a trio where mellotron is named as an instrument? It's going to to progressive death metal innit? Tickle me correct as The Silent Call is an EP that has been put out to indicate that the Dutch band have been in the studio writing for a new album next year. 

This EP contains one new song, in the title track, an unreleased track from their 2021 album sessions and two live versions from their show in Athens last year. So to the music and yep there's that mellotron on the opening of the title track Frank Te Riet using it to maximum effect before cranking out the chonky bass riffs against the bombardment of Marco Prij's drumming. There's a lot of synth in the background much like tourmates Cynic which detracts a little bit you'll still be in awe of Laurens Houvast's guitar playing.

I actually prefer Master Of Life to The Silent Call as I think it relies less on the synths and more on technically gifted metal, it also gives a better account of Laurens' vocals. The live tracks, well they're what you'd expect, without the crowd noise and with a bit of overdubbing they'd sound exactly like the record. If the new album sounds more like The Silent Call than it does Master Of Life then I'd be a bit more wary, however it could sound toally different. 

Anyway this EP gives a taster of Cryptosis if you've not had the pleasure but ultimately is a stopgap. 6/10

Demons Of Noon - Death Machine (Evil Feast Records)

Kiwi occult doom now with Demons Of Noon, compared to Blood Ceremony, Hex Thoth, Lucifer and Purson, I'd say they sound more like Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats, Bloody Hammers or even Wales' Spider Kitten. The Auckland six piece are of course also indebted to Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard with their ultra distorted riffs of Abraham Kunin and Scott Satherley (guitars) and bowel rumbling low end on tracks such as Crushing Sun. 

This is their debut album, compiling all of those most recent singles including that black hole of Crushing Sun, the shamanistic Coward, driven by the percussion force of Joseph McElhinney. Where Demons Of Noon distance themselves is with the use of two vocalists, the haunting, cleans of Tamsyn Matchett enter ethreal realms as the gruff growl of Aria Jones envokes demons. 

Building the record from the ground up with the 8 minute Echolalia, they layer twisted guitars with chanting vocals and sparse drums to create unease before a chug continues the hypnotic beginnings of this record. The intent is for this album to be a ritual, doom, stoner, sludge and the occult meshed to make you lose your mind and make sense of the world though noise as Succession displays amicably. 

I'd compare Demons Of Noon to Church Of The Cosmic Skull, you have the light and the dark, the Yin and Yang, Death Machine definitely the Yin, Southern Hemisphere heaviness that will damage your eardrums. 7/10

Reviews: Cobra Spell, ORO, Weeping Silence, Slodder (Reviews By Matt Bladen, Mark Young, James Jackson & Erick Willand)

Cobra Spell - 666 (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Founded by ex-Crypta/ex-Burning Witches shredder Sonia Anubis, Cobra Spell is the kind of band that she always wanted to play in, a sleazy, 80’s inspired metal band the likes of W.A.S.P, early Crue (when they were dangerous), Skid Row, Dokken and Vixen. Mix that with some speed and NWOBHM and you get what Cobra Spell are about. Having released two previous EP’s previously the current line up is Anubis and Twitch streamer Noelle dos Anjos on guitars, Hale Naptha on drums, Roxy Herrera on bass and Kristina Vega on vocals. 

So what is 666 like? Well it’s a throwback musically, lyrically and production wise, choppy sleaze riffs, some shredding guitar solos and siren vocals. Anubis and dos Anjos cement themselves as a guitar duo to watch out for while the bottom end is groove an gets the hips shaking and heads banging. Unlike the macho, misogynist sleaze bands of the 80’s Cobra Spell take a female twist on the lyrics, empowering the listener with tracks such as Satan Is A Woman, Bad Girl Crew and turning the tables on the actions of the rampant womanising with You’re A Cheater, similar to the way Lzzy Hale and Halestorm place women as the dominant force in their songs. 

I will say it is refreshing not to have another male sleaze/glam band talking about drinking, partying and having lots of sex with as many women as possible, it’s old and outdated, and besides it’s about time the girls got a go at it, even if it is still a little cringe. On The Devil Inside Of Me they absolutely fly past with full on speed metal as Fly Away brings a AOR ballad, Love = Love features more AOR sounding synths and sax, slowing the album down into 80’s pop, rather than rock. Thankfully Love Crime brings back the riffs and off we go again. 

Glammy, sleazy, hard rock inspired by the decade of decadence, delivered with a feminine attitude, Cobra Spell will slither into your ears and you’ll feel their venom with this debut. 7/10

ORO - Vid Vägs Ände (Hammerheart Records) [Mark Young]

Sludge/Post metal is, at least for me similar to the act of drinking coffee. At first, its bitter, uninspiring and frankly a chore to continue making that drink until at some point there is something that clicks, and you start to like it and then explore different brands, different styles at which point it becomes normal.

Now that I’ve exhausted that analogy, what it is actually like? Well, ORO translated into English could be considered as concern, anxiety and botheration (thanks Google) and the music that follows is certainly heavy on the first two. Arvet & Tystnaden begins with barely audible spoken part with a soft guitar piece and then BANG the heavy comes in, with a delicious tone that is just royal. Petter Nilsson has this delivery that is guttural and clear, with building riffs that don’t forget that having something to say is important. 

The main verse riff has it in spades, full of movement and heavy as you like. There is some great stuff going on in just this first song, the length giving them chance to unwrap the ideas here in an unhurried manner. The closing arrangement is stunning, bringing that melody in whilst not forgetting that it needs to hit hard which It does and closes it out brilliantly, looping back to the opening chords. Absolute stormer of a song. Vid Vägs Ände is more immediate, but still in keeping with that balance between stabbing melody and heavy parts. It’s the heavy parts that seem to convey that anxiety better than the lighter ones, I think they just land better (with me) and when they open up around the 4:20 mark, it's simply wonderful.

Bältad treads a softer path, with an insistent drum pattern engaging before the riffs come storming back in. It’s still as urgent but could have been half its length and still would have been brutally effective with a shorter run-time. Siare, shares similarities with the preceding track by having that light / dark approach and again the same could be said about it’s run-time. When it does cut loose, it takes on a new lease of life, drawing you in and keeping you focused on what they will do next. Its closing moments are excellent and just hit so well.

Final track, Treriksröset slows things down to set the initial scene and then they do something that is just perfect. The main riff moves at a pace with a melodic piece played over the top that just makes the hairs stand up on your arms. It seems effortless and detonates like a laser guided missile. It’s one of my songs of the year (with Arvet & Tystnaden) slotting into that list like a ball of lightning. Its incredibly focused, tight and finishes the album off magnificently.

I have mentioned this before about song lengths, especially where they seem to be overly long for no apparent reason. Sometimes, I guess that bands get caught up in serving their art without balancing the need for it to do / go somewhere. Here, they almost get that balance spot on. Of the tracks, Bältad feels the weakest comparing against the others, but to be honest it’s a minor niggle when you look at the overall picture they paint.

It just sounds so good, the production is spot on, and the guitar tone just makes it for me. It's not muddy and possesses a clarity that is sometimes lost with other similar works. The craft on display, is just amazing and each of the songs has enough going on to keep you engaged. Its an absolute stormer of an album, one that is fully deserving of an 8/10

Weeping Silence - Isles Of Lore (ViciSolum Productions) [James Jackson]

Reading through the bio, Weeping Silence are a band who are constantly changing, whilst seated firmly in gothic rock/metal roots they’ve adapted their sound to incorporate more doom metal tropes. Along the way the line up seems to have changed in order to create the kind of music and atmosphere they were seeking.

Having not heard of anything by Weeping Silence before, I can’t truly pass comment on where this ever evolving process has come from but Isles Of Lore has a very melodeath feel to it at times, reminding me of Insomnium within the first few tracks.

Opening track The Watcher On The Walls is a great example of what’s to come for the rest of the album, it has sweeping solo’s, semi acoustic bridges, clean and guttural vocals, moments of death metal inspired guitar picking followed by more melodic riffs.

The songs are based on folklore from the band’s native country of Malta ranging from spirits to monsters lurking in wells to the epic sixteen minute long track The Legend Of Matteo Falzon - a Maltese sorcerer who fled the Inquisition, though a Google search reveals more information on Malta’s football players than it does ancient mystics.

There are a few odd moments on the album where I can’t quite see the point, the drum intro to The Beast And The Harrow feels a bit unnecessary, the song kicks in with a beast of a riff and that initial impression feels like it could have come across better without the drum solo to begin with, but that’s a slight niggle amidst an album that is otherwise pretty solid.

The bio states for fans of Anathema, Draconian and Moonspell, My Dying Bride and Amorphis, I’d definitely add Insomnium to that list and the more I’ve listened to the album the more that comparison rings true. 7/10

Slodder - A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things (Majestic Mountain Music) [Erick Willand]

Sweden’s not usually known for producing a lot of filthy swamp drenched sludge metal so this alone puts Slodder somewhat in a league of their own. Having formed from some nasty misanthropic primordial ooze sometime in 2018 they have dropped two EPs and two full lengths including this fantastically titled heep. Let’s get our wellies on and get mean and muddy.

Instantly greeted by feedback that bleeds into a fuzzed out riff and soggy, insistent drums punctuated by the raw throated bellows of a dude simply known as H. He literally sounds on the verge of just breaking down into a screaming fit. Like a swarm of flies that feedback never actually goes away and leads through the cypress trees to the title track A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things. Opening with a slower drudge of a riff that quickly opens up to a rolling groove that keeps your head moving while you skip across dark, gator infested waters on Slodder’s filthy airboat, your face soaked with swamp water.

Slodder uses feedback like the songs of massed cicadas, it permeates the under-background of almost every second of this album and Shitwalker is no exception. It rips open reality here to bring in a swaggering rhythm and down right mean vocal beating. When H croaks out “Shitwalkerrrrrrrr” you feel that and are glad he’s not aiming it at you. 

There is no quarter asked and none given on this album, no peace among the misanthropic swamps as the endless feedback brings us Warpaint next for yet more sonic punishment in a somewhat longer form at 5 seconds shy of 7 full minutes, like getting your feet stuck in that deep black swamp mud while ‘locals’ pelt you with alligator apples and watch you sink. Bumrush just continues this beating but ups the crunchy groove while still keeping the sodden aggression, vocals duties are seemingly taken over by the legendary and very angry Skunk Ape. These songs each feel like a trilogy, feeding and fitting together very well, like a lead line through the swamp fog from one hunting shack to the next.

If the first half of this album is the ‘woe is you’ part, then the last three tracks are the ‘woe is me’ part. 

Starting with Still No Friends and its slower, anguished, almost ritual-like vibe that haunts and lingers like swamp gas. Then, in an attempt to blow that gas out of the space comes a short, punky gust of humid wind in the fuzzed up form of 46, like a blast of nitrous in the engine for that last boost. That being the aptly titled Reptile, a song that proves these grudge holding mud kickers are competent hunters and have saved the epic for the final gator fight. At 7 minutes and 36 placing this in the final slot was clearly the right choice, reading after the fact that this album was recorded in one solid go like a live set makes it just that much spicier. You need to hear it, something I don’t usually say in a review but, yeah, there it is.

As impressed as I am not all was a happy airboat tour here, when I said that feedback and reverb drench every inch of this I wasn’t kidding, no rest from it and kind of bleeds the songs together a bit. Though it gives the whole album a non-stop insistent vibe that works, if you find that stuff annoying then you will clearly be annoyed. Lastly, the logo is cool but the cover art is kind of lazy, no points there I’m afraid.

Anyway, I’m going to squeeze into my Gator Waders (real item btw) and see if I can get some pics of a Skunk Ape. A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things fogs up at 7/10

Reviews: Orphaned Land, Paradise Lost, Unprocessed, The Company Corvette (Reviews By Paul Hutchings, James Jackson, Matt Bladen & Paul Scoble)

Orphaned Land – A Heaven You May Create (Century Media Records) [Paul Hutchings]

I think it’s reasonably well known that I like this band, a lot. There’s something about their fusion of styles, their ability to cross boundaries and their ability to shift from heavy to light that makes the Israeli outfit something a bit special.

I’ve seen them live a few times, although not for a few years now, although I am hoping to get to their show in London in early 2024 if the stars align. Anyway, I digress, for this is meant to be a review of their 30th anniversary show, played in 2021, in a gap between lockdowns. Set in the ‘hall of fame’ of Israel, the Heichal HaTarbut in Tel Aviv, 2500 excited fans joined the band in celebration. But not just the fans, for a symphony of 60 players were also part of the event, making this a very special night.

Live albums are often a bit hit and miss, with studio edits, reduced crowd noise and numerous other elements making them appear a bit artificial. This is nothing like that. From the opening crowd cheers as the band take to the stage and launch into Mabool, this has the hairs standing on the back of the neck. Kobi Farhi remains the central figure of the band, but this is an evening when the sum of the parts was clearly greater. Orphaned Land have always been driven forward by bassist Uri Zelcha and he is once again locked in tight.

The show spans the three decades of music that the band has created. From The Storm Still Rages Inside through to The Cave from most recent studio album Unsung Prophets And Dead Messiahs to the emotion of Brother and All Is One, this is an epic release. It’s evident that the partisan crowd are fully invested, chanting along at will, whilst all the time lapping up the expansive guitar work of Idan Amsalem and Chen Balbu, enjoying the choral harmonies, the delicate passages of play, which contrast with some crushingly heavy sections.

In a time of darkness in the world, bands like Orphaned Land shine like a candle. The complexities of Israel and Palestine are far too detailed for most of us to comprehend. Orphaned Land’s message is unity and understanding. Here, we just appreciate an amazing rock band performing at their peak.

If the likes of All Is One, Sapari or Norra El Norra don’t stir emotions in you, then maybe you need to have a word with yourself. This is a band at full power, and after 30 years, there appears to be much more yet to come. 10/10

Paradise Lost - Icon 30 (Nuclear Blast) [James Jackson]

Re-recorded and re-mastered… so many albums from band’s early, formative years are getting the same treatment for various reasons. Cradle Of Filth did it with Cruelty & The Beast and Dusk & Her Embrace, both great albums from the start but remastered to provide more creative control or just to right a few recording studio wrongs. So when it was announced that Paradise Lost were re-recording their Icon album my first reaction was an obvious why ? The album is now 30 years old, but hasn’t aged like some albums of a similar life have, it was as it is now, an absolute classic of British Heavy Metal and the album that really put Paradise Lost on the map. 

So why fix it if it clearly isn’t broken, the answer lies within content control, to actually own the rights to the material that they had written, Nick Holmes and company have not only re-recorded the album but redesigned the artwork and undoubtedly all other aspects of the album. One of the biggest differences you notice throughout the album is the drum sound, it sounds thicker and fuller, little accentuations that either weren’t in the original recording or weren’t as prominent now fill the pattern, there’s more timbre to the drum sounds. 

The same can be said of the lead guitar work, though without listening to the songs from both versions of the album at the same time, it’s hard to tell whether anything has been added or whether it’s just that this version is clearer. It’s certainly apparent with Nick Holmes vocals, there are points within the songs that his vocals seem harsher than before, emphasis added to certain lines in order to give them more depth and meaning. Icon 30 is a clearer, better sounding album, though that’s a sign of the times, as developments in sound recordings have changed immensely in the 30 years since the original version was released, for fans of the band this will undoubtedly be a great addition to their collection, a tonne of new merch has come out, with a rather limited UK tour taking place this month. 

For people just discovering the band this is a great place to start, it’s an iconic (I tried not to) album. Whether it’s the original version of the album or this new release, Icon is Paradise Lost at their best. 9/10

Unprocessed - ...And Everything In Between (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

Do you like your metal music to be non-linear, indirect, hard to grasp, technically gifted and unworried about boundaries or expectations? Great there’s a new Unprocessed album dropping this week and you’ll be scratching your head and awkwardly dancing into Xmas. 

Always proponents of complex song writing and virtuoso performances, they have broken out of the djent mould successfully, moving away from the heavy with their last album as they embraced pop, trip-hop and other non-metal soundscapes. On this new record, which seems to be released independently, the German band have bridged several musical gaps with a thrilling and intense album of multifaceted music. 

Manuel Gardner Fernandes (vocals, guitar), David Levy (bass, synths), Christoph Schultz (guitar) and Leon Pfeifer (drums) make up this foursome, establishing what happens on this record as the next step of their collective journey, drawing from what has come before and refining it all into the defined Unprocessed sound. In the accompanying PR they are likened to The Dillinger Escape Plan (on Purgatory/Hell), Bring Me The Horizon (on I Wish I Wasn’t/Thrash) and tourmates Polyphia (on Die On The Cross Of The Martyr); Tim Henson and Scott LePage appearing on the album as guests, the confidence needed to be all of these things and more is startling. 

Somehow though Unprocessed pull it off, weaving angular, obtuse soundscapes that swell with palm muted basslines, subsonic throbs, brain melting guitar playing, that’s intricate one moment then crushing the next, drumming that rivals most jazz players, all swept up in the most brutal music the band have produced, a sonic black hole that eviscerates expectations. Whether it’s the angsty cleans or ferocious harsh screams, vocally Manuel gives his best performance, switching between the two with ease, knowing just when to dial up the anger, just listen to the industrial gloom of Abysm. 

It’s the musicianship that needs the most time to digest. The drumming first does things I’ve not heard, blasts when you don’t expect them then absolute silence when the rest of the band go nuts. The bass too is used as a lead instrument on tracks such as the unhinged Lore, underpinning the clean beginnings of Blackbone before those djent grooves crash in for some meaty beatdowns. 

Switching between the thunderous grooves, to fluid cleans and screaming solos is mesmerising, I can only dream about having that much talent in my fingers, but the virtuosity doesn’t stand in the way of song writing as the choruses are huge and it all just makes sense with a track such as Glass where the space is used well to build atmosphere before it finally comes down with heaviness. 

Unprocessed stride into their future with music that is forward thinking and breathtaking, after being disappointed with their last record, ...And Everything In Between is Unprocessed out on their own and thriving. 9/10

The Company Corvette - Little Blue Guy (Strange Mono Records [Paul Scoble]

The Company Corvette have been making huge and heavy noises since 2006. The three piece, who are based in Philadelphia, have made three albums before Little Blue Guy; The Company Meeting in 2009, End Of The Summers was released in 2011 and their last album Never Enough was released in 2016. Making the aforementioned Huge Noises are Ross Pritchett on Bass and Vocals, Zach Price on Drums and Alecei Korolev on Guitars.

The Company Corvette play a very stoner style of doom, the sound is very bass heavy and other than in a couple of places is not fast. Although the style is mainly Stoner Doom, there are places where the pacing and aggression are taken up a notch to near Sludge proportions.

The album opens with the title track Little Blue Guy, a long, slow very bass heavy track of simple Stoner Doom. The tempo feels drifting and definitely will not be hurried, there is a minimal, introverted section that brings everything down before the song builds itself back together again, but this time the song feels more purposeful, and has some very good guitar work. Next is Marshmallow, a track that starts with slow, simple and fairly minimal Doom that builds in intensity and heaviness, adding a nasty discordant guitar solo and some harsh vocals.

Tremolo picked riffs come in making this feel a little like Blackened Doom, and the song continues to get nastier, near the end this is all feeling huge and very nasty, before everything drops back into the slow and minimal that we started with, for a great ending.

Out Of Control is another slow and very heavy track, it features some very good guitar solos, great harsh vocals and builds to a huge end. Next comes the wonderfully titled Brain Cells...But Who's Buying, it’s big and slow and has an alternative rock feel to some of it. Coming in at just over three minutes it’s short and to the point. The next track is another song that does not outstay its welcome, at two minutes seventeen seconds Stupid is the shortest song on the album. The song is a mid-paced piece of school yard bullying, that sticks in your head and is an equal mix of infantile and brilliant.

The next track is a short, brutish piece of Punk / Sludge called Drag. Drag is a fast punky piece of Doom with harsh vocals and a great guitar solo. The song is full of energy and drive, surrounded by all the slow and heavy on this album, Drag really stands out. After the short blast of Drag, comes Ted Tedder, a song that is all about build and collapse, ebb and flow, the song builds and diminishes and then builds back the intensity. The song is full of melody, and has a great head nodding tempo, right up to the huge and very intense ending.

Little Blue Guy comes to an end with the track Lit The Wrong End. Lit The Wrong End is a great piece of lazy, fat Stoner Doom. The guitar is nicely Wah-Wah infused, the bass is warm and full of melody and the song has a great chorus that will stick in your head. The song has a very heavy section in the second half of the song before going back to slow and very melodic for a great end to the song and album.

Little Blue Guy is a great album. Once the tunes and choruses have wormed their way into your head you will be humming this to distraction, the mix of very heavy with very melodic is great and it’s nice to review an album by a band that has a sense of humour. Hugely enjoyable album, highly recommended. 8/10

Reviews: Hyperia, Tol Morwen, Aeolian, HumanKind (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Hyperia - The Serpent's Cycle (Self Released)

Hyperia's third album The Serpent's Cycle improves on the techincal thrash/heavy metal that was established on their 2020 debut Insanitorium and their second album Silhouetts Of Horror. Singer Marlee Ryley has been compared to Kyle Thomas but I'd also say she reminds me of Tony Foresta (on Automatic Thrash Machine), but also Holy Moses' Sabina Classen as with tracks such as Psychosomatic, where she really let's the screams go.

Hyperia play thrash that is virtuoso, melodic but also extremely aggressive, tracks such as Prophet Of Deceit are full of twin axe harmonies, shifting guitar riffs and widdly solos, it'll have you getting your air guitar out in no time, but with Spirit Bandit they have also made sure that your neck will ache for weeks. Hammering out three albums in four years is a pretty impressive feat, especially when you consider the quality of these tracks.

The playing is immense, the guitar playing is probably my favourite part of what this bands does, they swirl with complexity and savagery but the vocals are snarling, the drumming lightspeed and the groovy bass riffs are all to be commended. It's got a real feel of Sanctuary before they added the really progressive/introspective parts, the riffs shift at rapid pace on the title track as Trapped In Time puts it foot on the gas for speed metal, a few other cuts remind me of Skeletonwitch.

Rapidly attacking you from all sides The Serpent's Cycle is Hyperia consolidating their sound, the conclusion of the vision, so comfortable now with what they want to sound like they close this album with a cracking cover of Crazy On You, which ups the heaviness but doesn't sacrifice those acoustics, though Marlee is no Ann Wilson, she gives her all within her style. Still love it or loathe it, the rest of this album is ferocious thrash metal with bags of impressive playing. 8/10

Tol Morwen - Rise Of The Fury (Self Released)

Italian Viking Metal, yeah ok I'll go with it, seeing as Roman history had been taken by Ex Deo (though Tol Morwen have a go). Dealing with Emilian (Northern Italian) folklore and a passion for Norse Mythology. 

Tol Morwen embrace Yggdrasil and set sail to conquer with a new crew since their 2018 EP. Drawing heavily from Norse mythology and with a melodeath sound, all the songs here can be compared to those of Amon Amarth but with fewer jaunts in to power metal. The EP contains re-edited/remastered versions of singles that preceded the EP along with 2 unreleased songs. Berserkgang is a vicious opener that tells of the Beserker wrath, while Unchained about the giant Fenrir is almost doom at the climax. 

All the songs except one are about Viking history and stories, Fate Of The Gods is pure Scandi melodeath while the apocalyptic Ragnar chugs with those early Amon Amarth-isms. The one song not about Vikings or Norse mythology is Terror Of Rome which talks about Hannibal, the Carthaginian (modern day Tunisia) general who marched all the way to Rome over mountains replete with elephants. This is obviously much more Ex Deo in sound relying on a more aggressive style of death metal. 

Rise Of The Fury is a great Viking metal EP from these Italians, worth checking out if you want to take a trip to Valhalla. 7/10

Aeolian - Echoes Of The Future (Black Lion Records)

There can't be a massive metal scene in Mallorca can there? Well Aeolian look set to show the world that there is and that they are one of the brightest stars in it with Echoes Of The Future. It's the third part of their album trilogy that is focussed on the future and how humans have to deal with a planet that is dying, they do this through a style of metal that is intense and technical, progressive death metal that hangs it's hat on the guitars of Raúl Morán and Gabi Escalas slick guitar playing. 

While The Miracle slows with some classic metal in the mid-pace, Her Grief blasts away with Pedro Martinez double kicking the shit out of it until the emotional piano changes the shape of the song. Echoes Of The Future was mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swanö and shares a lot of influences with the music he helped pioneer. Acoustic guitars are used brilliantly on Like A Blackened Sun and Into The Flames adding to the melodic elements that are fused with the death metal assault. 

Chronicles Of The Fall closes out the album with chunky grooves that come from Leoben Conoy's bass while Dani Pérez doesn't vary his vocals, that harsh scream is definitive, even when put against the trombones and trumpets of the title track. Aeolian conclude their trilogy with a exemplary final chapter that will open up new fans to Mallorcan metal. 8/10

HumanKind - An End, Once And For All (ROAR! Rock Of Angels Records)

HumanKind play metalcore that is as modern as it gets, electronics sprinkled behind the grooving, breakdown driven angsty metal. It’s a throwback influenced by bands such as Architects, Bring The Horizon and others, though the band are less than a year old. 

An End, Once And For All is their debut album and it was a difficult album to write, with lyrics inspired by mental health, life experiences and finding catharsis through music; Samuel (vocals), Maria (guitars), Tobias (guitars), Dominik (bass), and Marco (drums) wrote and recorded it over a year and a half, the intention being to have it as an outlet for anyone struggling themselves. 

It’s an album about empowerment, a trait so often used in metalcore where the emotional side is linked intrinsically to the heavy music. Tracks such as Shadows are more towards the emotional side as is Dead Girl Walking, however No Man’s Sky brings the punching heavy riffs. The album does linger a bit too much in the mid-pace, choruses that are big and wring out with sentiment, the synth parts bringing melodies leaving the guitars to come in for some palm muted modern chugging when a bit more muscle is needed. 

It’s slick but nothing new really, metalcore has been around for years at this point so trying to do something new is often difficult. HumanKind do their optimistic music well but without taking risks. 6/10

Reviews: Sadhus The Smoking Community, Beyond This Earth, Cargo Lift, Emperor Of Myself (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Sadhus The Smoking Community - Illegal Sludge (Ouga Booga And The Mighty Oug Records)

It's been five years since Sadhus The Smoking Community released their second album, but now they have crawled their way out of the Athenian underground again for a third album of sludge/doom. Mel O.D reminds anyone who may not know the band or forgot in the five year gap (people have short attention spans now) what STSC do. 

It's angry music served low and slow to a steady drumbeat, with distorted guitars and enraged shouts. They're clearly influenced by Sabbath (they even pinch the Iron Man riff at one point) but while Fuckin' Apes goes more towards the early blasts of Mastodon, they manage to edge more towards Sleep, Bongzilla et al with the irate and raw heaviness. 

Stavros' never sings a single clean note, choosing to go full Anselmo in Superjoint Ritual, but when he injects venom into the bluesy, shamanic repetion of Fuck Off & Die then it's worth the mountain of Strepils he probably needs after recording. Greg's drumming is spacious but hits like a blacksmiths hammer.

Nikos' bass contouring the songs pacing and giving that bubbling blues on cuts such as Eye On Man. Thomas G. chugs (Illegal Sludge), stabs (Woodman) and even brings clean reverbed wooziness to Filthy Trust with his guitar playing while Steve is their 'fifth Beatle' as a rolling engineer, whatever that means. 

Take a hit of whatever device you take your medicine from and delve into the weed induced bad trip that is Sadhus The Smoking Community's sludge smothered doom metal. 8/10

Beyond This Earth - Portraits Of The Absurd (Self Released)

Heavy, fat, grooving riffs, a stoner/biker attitude and bellowed vocals? That’s the stuff right there. If a band sounds like Orange Goblin or Fireball Ministry then there’s a pretty good chance I’ll dig it. So I dig Portraits Of The Absurd the second album from Beyond This Earth. 

The Lividia City riffers remind me of Nightstalker, and that my friends is a very good thing. Kicking off the chug with In Orbit, this second album pours petrol through the engine and ignites the record brilliantly, swaggering rock n roll riffs that move into psychedelic lead breaks/solos towards the end it’s greasy, grubby and barrel chested rock from blue collar backgrounds.

Having been around since 2013, they are honed machine 10 years later, touring all over the country like any road-dog should, I assume getting heads banging and beers drunk, the comparisons and linage of Nightstalker, Planet Of Zeus and 1000mods traceable through their previous release and this new record. 

Born from the dark belly of the blues, Beyond This Earth crank up the distortion as the woozy The Overseer and the punkish ...Of The Absurd, are propelled by Vagelis Katsampekis and Chris Adam’s guitars, Adam and bassist Valantis Dafkos keeping the rhythms muscular as Vagelis explores the space rock leads. 

Those first few Orange Goblin albums must have been played to death by the band as it’s got major Frequencies From Planet Ten vibes, The Fall Of Reason especially, Utopia though is Sabbath worship pure and simple. 

Behind the guitar trio is the tight, instant drumming of Paris Gatsios and topping things off is the gruff shouts of Akis Kosmidis, the drumming skull rattling while the vocals grizzled and gritty. Portraits Of The Absurd has won me over to Beyond This Earth a band I’d not heard of before. 

The balance between heavy rock riffs and space rock journeying is just right so I’ll be following them closely. It’s high voltage rock n roll and I like it a lot! 8/10  

Cargo Lift - When Least Expected (Self Released)

Thessaloniki based alt/prog metal band Cargo Lift's second album brings a more diverse sound than their debut. Since forming in 2016 they have been influenced by the likes of Tool, Faith No More The Ocean and many others, these influences have all been amalgamated on When Least Expected, the psychy grooves of Destroyer and the bass heavy swirls of Crawl are definitely very Tool, while Buy Me Again goes more toward bands such as Gojira. 

Since their debut they have changed a bassist/vocalist and the grungy tone of their debut have led to these heavier tunes, though a track such as Betray/Pretend is still a rock track in that post-grunge ethos but Out Of Hand towards the darker end of bands like Deftones, changing styles a few times in 6 minutes of dark dreamscapes. 

The change in personnel has been the trigger for this refocus of writing, When Least Expected louder, brasher and more progressive than what has come before, Cargo Lift embracing the more introspective outlook with the Type O Negative misery of Never Ends. 

Embracing a different direction while keeping true to where they came from, Cargo Lift have the goods to reach higher. 7/10

Emperor Of Myself – Vita Post Mortem (Self Released)

Vita Post Mortem is the ninth full length album from Emperor Of Myself since 2006! I suppose it’s much easier to write and record music as a duo than it is with a whole band. Even more so when that duo are brothers (though The Kinks and Oasis would disagree). 

Originally a one man project of Dimitris Polizos, his brother Alex joined as a full time member after programming the drums originally. So with Alex on drums/bass and vocals, while also producing/mixing/mastering, Dimitris takes guitars and vocals, the band playing atmospheric black metal that has had them compared to Ewigkeit, a comparison I can hear when they experiment with gothic textures and shift into post-black realms too. 

After eight albums you may think the well has run dry, and with a track like And Night Falls and The Wait, that would be true, it’s simple and not particularly interesting, but at other points Emperor Of Myself shake things up enough to make your ears prick up. It’s decent but doesn’t make me that excited, still there’s obviously enough love for the duo to keep releasing music so good on them. 6/10

Reviews: Laang 冷, Void Below, The Last Eon, A Hill To Die Upon (Reviews By Matt Bladen & Mark Young)

Laang 冷 - Riluo (Talheim Records) [Matt Bladen]

There are bands who sing about dying and then there's Laang 冷 vocalist/guitarist Haitao Yang, who after a carkacking gone wrong was shot in the head and declared medically dead, he experienced hallucinations of the other side and had to deal with the post-traumatic stress of the incident, the result of which came more inspiration for Laang 冷 which translates to cold. The music is catharsism for Yang, joining him is bassist Willy "Krieg" Tai, while Zak King provides the session drums, for this thrid studio album.

They blend Chinese Taoism with Indian Buddhism combining them with indigenous cultures and black metal that is not always what you expect it. Reminding me of Chthonic, but also Blackbraid, where extreme metal meets traditional music and the more Avant Garde side. Sung in Mandarin Chinese, using swelling orchestations and instruments native to China such as the erhu and guzhenh they provide a soundscape to the Riluo (sunset) as Yang says goodbye to the man he once was.

Through black metal (Yequ 夜曲), indigenous instrumentation (Honghai 紅海) and metalcore angst in the vocals (Gui Xiang 歸鄉).Laang 冷 continue to write their story as a band with this impressive third album. 8/10

Void Below - World Undone (Self Released) [Mark Young]

Four songs, 30 minutes, lets go!! Whitehaven’s Void Below present their new EP for your consumption. Heavy on the Lovecraft influence which gives them an incredibly deep well to draw lyrical inspiration from, they promise a dense mix of OSDM and Doom which sounds as brutal as can be. And what follows is pretty cool, Eldritch Incarnate begins with the expected atmospheric combined with spoken word introduction and brings with it a satisfying mix of doom and death metal. It has that movement to it that keeps you onboard and has some epic riff moments that build into a crescendo that is well built and well presented. 

Pillars Ov Pestilence opts for that promised OSDM approach but again filtered through that doom lens. This one absolutely reeks of the early 90’s in terms of its feel, taking influences and spinning it to suit their needs. Its pitched perfectly and stacked against Eldritch Incarnate offers a neat one-two punch that shows they are comfortable with both genres. Beyond The Black Mire, holy smokes is a sludgy, speed infused number that makes light of its run time. On this one they take the exceptional work on Pillars and then raise their game again. It has one of the gnarliest, teeth being ground down guitar tones going and some whammy bar abuse which is always acceptable. EP Closer World Undone is just a monster of a thing, imagine one of Lovecraft’s creatures made flesh and laying waste to all in its path. It doesn’t stay still bouncing between Doom to Death as they see fit, throwing solos in just for fun and its ace. Absolutely love it.

What I love about it is how clear it sounds, everything is right up and, in your face, from the guttural roars to the guitars, all of which are sat perfectly together. One of the things they get right is making these long songs stay interesting, they have put a lot into each of the songs here, imbuing them with an individuality so not only do they continually move forward each song lives by itself. It’s actually difficult to pick one song over the others as a standout because of the quality displayed here so I’ll go with Beyond The Black Mire. Fans of Doom / OSDM will lap this up and if there is an EP of the year list then it should be on it. 8/10

The Last Eon - Infernal Fractality (Soulseller Records) [Matt Bladen]

I haven't heard something this unrelentingly heavy since the final Strapping Young Lad album. This Norwegian band have put out a debut album that is unbelievable in it's technicality. Founded by Ødemark, Infernal Fractality is a psychadelic, extra-terrestrial trip though punishing extreme metal, he is inspired by mind altering trips, Luciferian ideals and the need to push boundaries. 

Consider the boundaries pushed with this record, black metal is the root here, wizardry that is brought by nordic winds, frostbitten and hyper aggressive, with influences of Emperor on The Black Legion or Immortal on Asthetamine, though on the latter only when the dubstep subsides. The fusion between extreme metal and electonic music bringing the industrial punishment of Godflesh. The Birth Of No-One mixes both well with the repeating throb of Fear Factory, swelling with an undercurrent of pulsating synths. 

Ødemark brings in drummer Jarle Byberg, his unhuman playing perfect for the maelstrom that is Kosmicalypse or DMT - Infernal Fractality. Starting out with 300 tracks, things have been whittled down into the cinematic soundscape you hear on this record. For some it maybe too much in terms of just how heavy and battering it can be, but if you love SYL or Mesuggah, you'll love The Last Eon. 7/10

A Hill To Die Upon - The Black Nativity (Rottweiler Records) [Mark Young]

After a six-year break, A Hill To Die Upon return with The Black Nativity and have decided to do something a little different. A collection of classic Christian hymns, given a blackened make-over with some special guests (Nile, Extol amongst others) helping things along. It’s not a joke album, each of the songs is approached in a serious manner and given a treatment that gives them a whole new lease of life.

Hymn To Marduk (ft Karl Sanders) opens with a dusty, almost old west feel with loping drums and a guitar sound straight from the 50’s rockabilly era. It’s that unmistakable near-clean tone with a lush solo and it completely wrong footed me. In there are some quasi-middle eastern strings that betray a darker image to follow. It’s a prime opener and they do it again with an almost hard rock riff that anchors the Black Metal stomp along Venivenimmanvel.

Imagine Back In Black AC/DC with the blackest vocals added to it. It’s mad and could be one of the most original things I’ve heard this year. And then it gets weird. We Three Kings is given the metallic once over, played completely straight. And I mean completely straight. The Christmas Carol favourite is transformed, comprising some of the deepest growls, double bass and that Viking metal type of riffing that really fits.

The folk influence on these songs really shines through, a great example of this is on What Child Is This as it switches over to a clean vocal and you start to hear these in a completely new light. Left-Handed Wizard (My Eyes Look West) is surprisingly heartfelt in how it is presented, treated with a suitable reverence and is a stand-out here. That isn’t to say it’s a blast from start to finish, and I guess your enjoyment of this will depend on a few things. One of them being if you have kids and have been to carol services with their school then like me you will still bear the scars of Little Donkey.

What is apparent is how serious they have approached it. It isn’t just a walloping blast-beat Trem picked furious thing, although they throw some quicker ones in there such as Entre Le Beouf (a French Carol), given a punky spin whilst Auld Lang Syne is full of atmosphere and gently plucked strings. It’s the way they have been placed together that gives the album real sense of variety as no two songs sound the same. It’s this attention to detail that allows the songs to land so well and continue to confound you at every turn. Sacred Harp 133 is a barnstormer, absolutely brilliant.

As I said, it’s not all stormers. Minuit Chretien with its gramophone aesthetic and chanteuse style vocals could have been left as a bonus track but to be fair it is left to the end to close out the album. In terms of what it is, it isn’t a joke album. In their hands each of the songs take on new life and you will never be able to listen to them the same way again. 7/10

Reviews: Celeste, The Dialectic, Ex Everything, Call Me Amour (Reviews By Matt Bladen)

Celeste - Epilogue(s) (Nuclear Blast Records)

Following their 2022 album Assassine(s) French avant-garde act Celeste release a three track EP of bonus tracks recorded during the sessions for the last album. The band play a type of extreme metal that melts together like a Raclette over toasted bread, they share vivid soundscapes like fellow French bands Alcest as well as Regardes Les Homme Tombre, post metal dissonance and atmospheric lingering combined with blistering black metal.

Plisse Les Yeux Jusqu'au Sang indulges heavily in the latter, Antoine Royer's sublime drumming a highlight as are Johan Girardeau's savage vocals. He locks in with Royer as the concrete bottom end for the band, low end frequencies that take the lead rhythms when Guillaume Rieth and Sébastien Ducotte, share the tremolo picking leads. Having already released 6 albums and one EP previously, Celeste are veterans to the game.

However they can still suprise you with a track such as With Idle Hands which features, haunting Chino-esque (Deftones) vocals, by Tim from US shoegaze band Grivo, which is why the Deftones comparison. It's also got English lyrics/title which is a rarity in the work of Celeste. If this is pointer to their next album then it should be interesting, if not it's a neat bonus for any fans of the band. Epilogue(s) is an EP with three off cuts that deserve to be heard. 7/10

The Dialectic - Crawl To The Throne (Seek and Strike Records)

The NWOAHM is alive and well with The Dialectic and theor new EP Crawl To The Throne. Those clean guitars on Obey, will bring you into the sounds of Lamb Of God, Devildriver et al, the melodic intros and solos so often paired with the thunderous metalcore breakdowns and groove metal riffs, Murder Machine especially. The Texan band also do this, clean guitars are used to lighten up these crushing moments where The Dialectic lean on their other influence which is the ultra-heavy, ultra-modern sounds of deathcore (they are on Seek & Strike).

Electronic twitches are used beneath the sledgehammer beatdowns, influenced by Whitechapel and Fit For An Autopsy. They also manage to add some of the more blackened tones on Harvest The Young which reminds me of Black Dahlia Murder, due to the speed, turmoil and twin axe harmonies. It's on the title track that The Dialectic slow the pace but keep the aggression, showing another part of themselves through the sludge landslide and those fretslides.

If your cargo shorts and trucker cap are on hand then get ready to slam dance to Crawl To The Throne as this EP is cut from a few different cloths. 7/10

Ex Everything - Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart (Neurot Recordings)

Post-hardcore noise from the Bay Area as Ex Everything bring their aggressive riffage and impassioned rawness on their debut album Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart. With a line up that comea from some of the most frenzied bands around, Ex Everything step up all of their other bands volatility with this unhinged, abrasive metal record with bass of Ben Throne fuzzes like an electrical current, an anchor for the math/noisecore changes in direction that this album, throbbing on Exiting The Vampire building tension and threat.

Andre Sanabria's vocals having a hint of a serial killer switching from ferocious screams to disconcerting cleans on tracks such as A Sermon In Praise Of Corruption. Inspired by the continual change of the Bay Area for the worst, the constant renewal for profit and the gentrification that has meant those from lower incomes are now forced to leave.

No wonder then that the band sound pissed off, Jon Howell's angular guitar playing twitching with the precision of a mine, always just in the edge of going off the rails on Slow Cancellation Of The Future while the punishing drum beats of Dan Sneddon are intimidating from the outset. Hoping to inspire some community action and inspiration to change things for the better, Ex Everything provide a call to arms for their home town with this tumultuous debut. 7/10

Call Me Amour - Revolution (Circular Wave Records)

Revolution is the debut EP from electronically tinged post grunge/alt rock band Call Me Amour. Having toured with Pop Evil recently, all the members of the band have had success in previous acts but due to politics, money etc those bands all broke up, leaving just the friendship between the members of this band. After touring with New Years Day and touring the UK during the pandemic they set got together in the Isle Of Man to record this debut EP. 

Inspired by emotions and the love of performing and music itself, these are the first six songs to introduce anyone who hasn't seen the band to what they do. My initial go to when I first listened was that Revolution sounds a lot like a latter period Linkin Park record. The throbbing electronics behind big open chords, while the acoustic and electronic drums provide union. Though it's the vocals of Harry Radford (ex Yashin) that really makes me think of the much missed Nu-Metal pioneers on IMFKD and Girl On The Wall. He has a set of pipes that convey fragility and catharsis. There's also a massive amount of Asking Alexandria on Blackout and Drop The Knife. 

Pulsating NIN-like synths, alt metal riffs and massive choruses, there's a lot to like and much much more to love in the future of Call Me Amour. 7/10