Heretoir-Heretoir (2011)

Shoegaze and metal are two genres whose only real similarities are the racket they cause. But the dourness of shoegaze intertwines most comfortably with the grimness and depressive atmospheres of black metal. Henceforth, a new subgenre arose: depressive rock. Heretoir are an obscure one man band from Germany and an example of what's good and bad about this type of music; an album that is brimming with dark atmosphere and melody, but is underwhelming in it's effect.

If you go into this album expecting a cold, raging blizzard beast, then you will be disappointed. The over all mood is an epic strain of melancholy, meandering in slow to mid-tempos, and even when it blasts into more familiar black metal territory, the tones are muted. The first song, 'Fatigue', epitomizes this approach, starting out with echo draped clean vocals, before blasting you with icy shrieks. 'Retreat To Hibernate' is a mostly mellow affair, with a sense of rage and desolation gradually building to wonderful effect. To follow the sun is the shoegaze drenched epic, beginning with muted black metal tremolo, and surprising you with crazed, dreamy female vocals, before shambling into melancholy again. But these are the best tunes, as the rest of the album is an unmemorable ramble.

Lyrically, this album is sung in English and German. It it's apparent that English is the second language here, as some of the English lyrics are rather awkward and appear to make up words:


"Dissany,
esperance in isolation.
Cold hands clutching at
something that is gone."

There are bands that do this sort of thing better, like Lifelover, Katatonia and later period Xasthur. Gotta admit, this stuff kind of grows on you, but I myself prefer my metal more caustic and cathartic.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Korpiklaani-Ukon Wacka (2011)

I was beginning to lose hope in this band. With their last album 'Karkelo', I was afraid that these Finnish folksters were wearing the formula a little thin, but I'm happy to report that Korpiklaani have returned with an album worthy of their predecessors. Once again, they have churned out a fun, gruff, headbangingly hummable set of songs that incorporate traditional folk instrumentation with the metal riffs.

Not much as has changed; these guys are still hummpa happy, and there is the obligatory alcohol anthem, but the enthusiasm for the music is high, the tempos a little faster, and the riffs are bright and snappy. Accordion and violin get just as much space in the mix as the guitars, with bagpipes, Jouhikko, and flute popping up once in a while. And there are a few surprises. This album features two covers, one rollicking cover of Motorhead's Iron Fist, with English lyrics, and a catchy ditty by Finnish 70's hard rockers Peer Günt, The alcohol anthem 'Tequila', sung entirely in Finnish, features a nice bongo breakdown and is the highlight of the album.

As I said before, most of the lyrics besides Iron Fist (which is actually only available on the digi-pac), are in Finnish. They were nice enough to translate Tequila into English, though:

Tequila

The men were itching to travel the world
And got away to unfamiliar paths
Beyond the seas and roads
That's where they wandered

Those tramps of the world
Played possessed by spirits
And were heard by unknown nations

Drinking to the thirst of life

Once the craving for drink had gone
Once they'd played far and wide
Once they'd gone to the ends of the earth
Once they'd thrown a good party

There was no reason for concern
Neither did cares ever cross their mind
But once the joy dwindled away
Homesickness struck 'em all

Our path led to Mexico
Where your life's tequila
Argentina, Columbia, Chile, el viva!
Our road branched off to Brazil
Where your life's caipirinha
Argentina, Columbia, Chile, el viva!

For some, hearing music sung in a foreign language is too grating and strange. Myself, I think Finnish is a perfectly suitable language for metal, sounding quite guttural and primitive.

If you want to check out this band at their absolute best, 'Tales Along this Road' and 'Voice of the Wilderness' are my recommendations, but this album would not be a bad place to start at all.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Hate Eternal-Phoenix Amongst the Ashes (2011)

Hate Eternal unleash another ultra fast, ultra pummeling brutal death fest upon the world. That's nice. Plenty of those around.

The secret to enjoying brutal death metal is, first, endure the music; then, develop the taste, gradually hearing the intricacies behind the blur. But, even on previous albums, I though it was kind of hard to penetrate behind the drum onslaught, to really enjoy the technicality. But on this album, the instruments are evenly mixed, and the tempos a little more varied, making it by far their most enjoyable album. The riffs come out much clearer, the clever dissonances that Eric Rutan concocts all the more jarring. But the rhythm section is still an astonishment; snare and double bass penetrating beyond light speed, slowing down occasionally for some Morbid Angel type grooving. Definitely a doomier feel.

Lyrically, dark themes of monarchy, power, Satan, and dark spirituality prevail, more like a black metal band, instead of the graveyard obsessions most death metal bands explore. This passage sums things up nicely. Not exactly original, but very metal:

"Hear my prayers
King of the majestic crown
Grant them eternal rest
Cometh forth
In the name of the dark lord
As the abyss shall swallow them whole"


All in all, I enjoyed my ass kicking so much more.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Loner Metal

I was talking to Chris Eddy about "Loner Metal" the other night. He pointed out that Metallica's 'Escape' was his anthem. Chris is not exactly a misanthrope, actually, one hell of a nice guy, but has an independent, rebellious streak, as do I. Metal fortifies those feelings. It is the ultimate 'fuck you, world' type music. It symbolizes a rejection of shallow material pursuits that society encourages, the endemic conformism, and the insipid crap spewed forth as "culture".

Perhaps it was the music that ruined us. Perhaps. Metallica will explain things.



Feel no pain, but my life ain't easy
I know I'm my best friend
No one cares, but I'm so much stronger
I'll fight until the end
To escape from the true false world
Undamaged destiny
Can't get caught in the endless circle
Ring of stupidity

Out of my own, out to be free
One with my mind, they just can't see
No need to hear things that they say
Life is for my own to live my own way

Rape my mind and destroy my feelings
Don't tell my what to do
I don't care now, 'cause I'm on my side
And I can see through you
Feed my brain with your so called standards
Who says that I ain't right
Break away from your common fashion
See through your blurry sight

Out of my own, out to be free
One with my mind, they just can't see
No need to hear things that they say
Life is for my own to live my own way

See they try to bring the hammer down
No damn chains can hold me to the ground
Life is for my own to live my own way

All metal bands have this type of song in their catalogs. It is nearly a genre requirement. Even more, metal is repleat with stories of loners, misunderstood behemoths. The audience can relate to these tales of oppression and alienation. Take Iron Man by Black Sabbath, for instance:

Has he lost his mind?
Can he see or is he blind?
Can he walk at all,
Or if he moves will he fall?
Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
We'll just pass him there
Why should we even care?

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

Now the time is here
For iron man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him
They just turn their heads
Nobody helps him
Now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead
Fills his victims full of dread
Running as fast as they can
Iron man lives again!

The independent streak, the loner aspect, is a thoroughly American value. The British invented metal, and the Scandinavians turned it into high art, but it was in America that metal was given it's values. Only an American band could incorporate something as thoroughly apple pie as the Old West mythos into a metal song, as Anthrax do in 'Lone Justice', drawn directly from pop culture:

There's two kinds, of people in this world
The outlaws, and the lawmen that prevail
The bounty hunter's job is on the wrong side of the law
Intentions, of the truth and nothing more

Burn 'em, clear the streets as he rides into the town,
Cause the nameless one's gonna have some fun
He's gonna bring an outlaw down
Wasted, it's over quick he's nailed 'em three for three
Then with his squint-eyed grin and stubbled chin,
He rides through history

The jury, in his mind the choices weigh
The trials, if you're guilty you're his prey
No judgment otherwise can change the lust
That's in his eyes
The sentence, will be carried out in stride

No name, like a shadow on a moonless night
Real game, he'll be there to uphold
Justice, law and order
And you'll pay, the highest fee

When the gunslinger takes his piece

The money, it's the price you have to pay
When he calls, drop your eyes and look away
The man has taken life to balance scales
Of wrong and right
Existence, each day a moral fight

As metal matured, deeper, more personal explorations of existentialism developed. The entire Slaughter of The Soul album by At The Gates, can be seen as an exploration of existential themes, of a lone man's dent into a very personal hell, eventually into death. The song 'Nausea', explicitly references Sartre, and though not sung(screamed), directly quotes Charles Bukowski in the lyric sheet:

Release me from your world of lies
I cannot bear this pain
Degenerate machinery
The monsters we create

Nausea, oh sweet nausea

Genetic barcode hell
Mental genocide
Repulsive human shells
Choke on the fruits of life

Nausea, oh sweet nausea

Cold stare, starving eyes
Blinded, tired lives
Release me from this pain
Unknown to man

Nausea, oh sweet nausea

Cold stare, starving eyes
Blinded, tired lives
Release me from this pain
Unknown to man

'The family structure,
victory over adversity
through the family.
Mix the god and country
add the ten hour day
and you had what was needed...'
-C. Bukowski, 'Ham On Rye'


Other songs in metal find complete dispair instead of solice in their loneliness and alienation, and seek to escape it, finding a bit of peace in doing so. Crowbar's bruising song 'Still I Reach', is a surprising admission of this vulnerability:

Lie here in a tortured world
So much I see
All the pain of a broken man
Still I believe
The truth never gets away
And so I reach
Want the answer to make it right
And so I seek

Isolated inside these walls
I do my time
Solitude is my enemy
I stay confined
Had to learn how to live again
Now it's complete
Found the answer to make it right
All I need


The music and lyrical nightmares of Cannibal Corpse have no pretense of introversion. They are a catalog of horrors, of mutilations and bodily fears; their perpetrators mostly human monsters, sociopaths, loners by definition, but thoroughly evil. But this type of song is really a descendant of "Iron Man', a revenge fantasy, a more explicit exposition of the wages of alienation:

Bleed for my pain
Revenge on treacherous snakes
They will pay

Slicing the flesh
Sculptured wounds my catharsis
I will stain

Into the heart
Needle injects gasoline
Convulsions

The one that they betrayed
Has made them this way

Plagued by the bastards
I will kill you
Killed by my rage

Scream at my face
The grisly scars went unavenged
Until now

Deep in the hole
You are not gagged and scream aloud
But unheard

Choke on your vomit
You watch your hands cut off
Then your legs

The one that you betrayed
Will kill you this way

Scarred by the bastards
I will kill you
Killed by my rage
I must kill you

Into the throat
The scalpel slices
Warm blood sprays out
The gushing entices

Pull out your heart
And let you watch
Shove in your mouth
Then stab your crotch

I watch your agony

I am released
From years of pain
Your death averted
My becoming insane
You are dead

I have killed you

But not all is despair, angst, and rage in loner metal. Blind Guardian specializes in heroic tales, this one ultimately an exultation of life itself, of gratitude:

I run through the dark fields
of the plains
reach level 99
the pain cuts deep down
through my vain
how will I break the ice
welcome to my reality
dream forever
sunlight instead of neon light
how will it be
welcome to my grave
and feel the dream is over
nothing can stop me
I reach out for the top

Bridge:
Caught in an old cage
the system failed
built up on lies
now I see that I'm alone
in asylum's cage
I'm left alone

Ref.:
I'm alive my friend
I can feel the shadows everywhere
I'm alive
I left the shadows
far behind me
another one is waiting in the dark

They say the system keeps
the last chance to survive
caught in this labyrinth
of walls and lots of lies
then I began to understand
there's more above than ice
to reach the top
I crept deep down
the answers given in the past
a sensless worth
in useless brains
magic runes
without a meaning
besides the dark
there should be nothing left

Bridge

Ref.

(Solo)

Outside they say death is waiting
but it creeps down through the shaft
finds pleasure in our helpless fear
fills empty rooms
with morbid thought
they've locked the door
and hold the key
sitting beside you
when silent screams
changing my mind and dreams
oh, it's never ending

Bridge

Ref.

I'M ALIVE!!!


That's enough for now. I will return to the theme of loner metal from time to time, as the subject is nearly inexhaustible. I hope this wasn't overly pretentious and boring.

cross posted at http://metalnight666.blogspot.com/

Blut Aus Nord: 777 - Sect(s) (2011)

In which Blut Aus Nord almost make a Godflesh album. That's going too far. What I meant to say is that the razor is my hand and the means to a uncomfortable end of days lays in this album's harrowing nihilism. That's pretentious. A dark Disneyland of dissonant chording and chaotic noodling. Closer to the mark, but this is getting out of hand. Blut Aus Nord have made an experimental nightmare come to life, and describing it is kind of trying to grasp the details of that fresh nightmare after waking.

I can't help but feel that this is a weird kind of Godflesh album, though. The dank rusted musical corners the music explores reside in the same bombed out neighborhood. The songs, or compositions, are demarcated as Epitomes 1-6, and longest of them, Epitome 4, is the greatest dirge never Justin Broadrick wrote. And in between the blistering, strangely churning black metal, when the music exhausts itself enough to slow down, it manifests as a slow industrial hell engulfed by a lava of molten iron. That's the strange new world these Frenchmen are exploring.

And when your guitars chime and resonate as they do here, when your percussion pounds like a million strange anvils, when the sound is as dense and impenetrable as a black hole, then yes, comparisons to Godflesh may apply. Not vocally, though. The vocals are still a very familiar black metal croak, a shrill witch/demon cry. And these songs/opuses are not nearly as repetitive, taking many jarring twists, blasting off into oblivion often, and then, unexpectedly becomes a quasi-dance/trance oddity.

All in all, a jarring and ugly industrial hellride. Recommended.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Crowbar: Sever The Wicked Hand (2011)

Crowbar have always secretly distinguished themselves by the quality of their classic rock/pop songwriting. This has never been so apparent as when the covered the Gary Wright song "Dreamweaver" a few years ago. Like Johnny Cash's American recordings, they take a seemingly incompatable song and made it their own, sounding like any other Crowbar song. Crowbar have one of the most singular sounds in all of metal, but behind the thick sludge riffs and hardcore attitude, there lays a songwriting ethos that can be translated into any musical vernacular. These songs could pass for quiet piano ballads, gentle folk songs, or churlish indy rock. The lyrics have a special sensitivity and the melodies are subtle and sublime. I would love to see what Johnny Cash would have done with these songs.

But first and foremost, this is sludge metal, which is an amalgamation of doom metal and hardcore. This is a formula that Crowbar have stuck to since day one without ever becoming redundant; a feat which I chalk up to the quality of the song writing. The riffs chug along with force and purpose, a pummeling wall of sound that serves to enhance the power of the songs, but never really dominating them (though they do obscure them somewhat). The rhythm section is a meat and potatoes workhorse; nothing fancy, just capable and powerful, expertly holding down the slow, lava-like sludge grooves, and the occasional hardcore bashing.

It is the singing and lyrics that really distinguish this album. Where, in the past, the lyrics were incantations of rage and regret, there is hope. This is apparent even from the song titles, containing such beacons of light as "A Farewell To Misery" and "Cleanse Me, Heal Me". The spiritual sentiment is obvious:


"I'm seeing a light but it's distant and dim -
At least it's bringing me hope
Created this world I am struggling in -
At last I am learning to cope
I'm all alone - fighting to live
It's taken my all - please God take my hand."

Not exactly a black metal Satan fest. There is Christian bent to these lyrics, but unlike Christian rock, it is never preachy or missionary. Kirk Windstein howls these hymns like a fallen angel, aching for Yahweh.

And hence the comparisons to Johnny Cash abound. These songs are full of sin and repentance, a nod to the band's Southern roots. It's an interesting niche for a metal band to occupy. All in all, this album stands up well against classics like Time Heals Nothing, which in my mind the genre standard bearer. Worthy, indeed.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Demonical: Death Infernal (2011)

Death metal doesn't have to be anything other than what it is. Originality counts for zilch. It is an elemental music, like blues or bluegrass. All you have to do is keep pumping out those thick, meaty riffs, churn up some throat shredding growls, throw in a few blast beats or 10 thousand, and you have the basic ingredients.

Demonical stick to the basic formula and deliver the goods with conviction and devilish glee. This is old school Swedish death at it's finest. The guitars are a buzz-sawed delight, and the band is tight and grooving. Actual, Entombed and Dismember never had so many good mid-tempo grooves, skins-man Ronnie Bergerståhl clearly driving this tank straight to hell.

If any criticism is due, it is for the lack of memorable 'songs', (you know, those things with a verse and chorus) or compositions. Nothing really stands out as a whole, this album being about the little moments(!), a deft drum fill here, a sick lead there. It all adds up, as this is music is meant for pure headbanging and pit slamming.

And, as a bonus, Emperors 'Night of the Graveless Souls' is covered, the complex chord work simplified into Swedish death, the only real experiment on the album. The weird dissonant, ambient riffing is almost lost in the thick buzzsaw, but it's still there, for what its worth. It's a strange experiment for band that takes pride in it's traditionalism and craftsmenship, but it's worthwhile, as is the album as a whole.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Negative Plane: Stained Glass Revelations (2011)

Dank, cavernous passages, taking you to tombs unexplored since Roman times.....this image first comes to mind when describing the music of Negative Plane. Tenuous fibers of reality shattering into nihilistic ecstasy? Yeah, that works to. Happened upon this band almost by accident, and what a happy accident, as this is one of the more unusual and delightful black metal releases I've heard in a while. Take Dissection's 'Storm of The Light's Bane', add some ludes and strong 'shrooms, and a flare for fugues and tremolo, and you are just beginning to understand this album's wonder.

The first thing you will notice is the strange tremulous guitar tones which would not sound out of place on a Ventures album. The entire production is draped in echo, not obscuring the music one bit, but drenching it in tomb like atmosphere. Lacking crunch and sheets of white noise, the din the band cooks up makes up for the lack of obvious metallic gusto. And melodies, such guitar melodies, not breezy, but angular, Bach-like, and evil.

Peer a little further in to the murk, and the outstanding drumwork; the deft rhythmic shifts, and clever fills become evident. This is mid-tempo black metal, but lack of frequent blast beats are not missed, as this band is creative and inventive enough to fill the space.

Add some tasteful keys here and there, some troll vocals, some ambient noise, and an actual piano fugue halfway through, and you've got one of the stellar black metal releases of the year. Highly recommended.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Amorphis: The Beginning of Times (2011)

It's been a while since I've checked out an Amorphis album, but not much has changed. Their early 90's release, Tales of A 1000 Lakes, is a death prog classic. The later Elegy, is an amazing, somewhat more mainstream metal album, with flourishes of folk, power metal, Deep Purple like keys, as well as having an assortment of tasteful growls and heaviness.

The latest album doesn't stray far from that formula. It is a breezy, easy kind of metal, very hopeful and heroic, keeping the dark tones to a minimum. Unfortunately, not much sticks to the wall. These tunes, though well played, and tasteful, are worth only a few spins. You've heard better on previous albums. 'My Enemy' is the noted exception, the infectious Deep Purpleish keyboard riff, followed some trollish vocalizing, makes this the standout track on the album. 'Escape' is also another standout, featuring a nice piano riff. And that only underscores the main problem with this album.....the lack of memorable guitar riffs, 'Crack in The Stone' being the sole exception.

Skip this album, and go check out Tales of 1000 Lakes and Elegy.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Krallice: Diotima (2011)

Black metal has always had pretensions and intentions, bad ones at that, but the past few years has seen the rise of so called "hipster" metal. This is a metal that appeals to the scraggly bearded, arms folded in scrutiny at the mosh pit type youngsters who might have at one time listened to Sonic Youth to get their hipster points; who aspire to so-called high art through low brow means. This has so far been the domain of sludgy sounding bands like Isis and Big Business, but lately, bands like Krallice and Liturgy have invaded black metal's negative space with their forward thinking and downtown attitudes.

But the case with Krallice, innovating in a genre where experimentation and mutation are the norm not the exception, their approach is to strip down the sound, tone down the evil elements somewhat, and replace with vaguely jazzy, chimey chords. The pacing and tempo is unrelenting as any Darkthrone album, and the vocals range from high pitching shrieks to demon growls, but the chording, like the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, suggests something almost hopeful, which is a new element in this most nihilistic, as well as ambient, of musics.

The lyric sheet, suggests something more hopeful as well, and referencing certain philosophies and mythologies and is quite, well, pretentious:

"Beyond the realm of will, while the living self
Fragments into quanta
Is this the next step? Minds disolved in the
Aether, a split species"

"Diotima, your sun, the more beautiful age, has
gone down
and now the storms quarrel in frost-covered
night"

"Petrifying the cast-offs of time
Seeking the balance
Acknowledge the dust and light
Acknowledge divinity's mortality"

And so on.

All in all, a high-minded, abstract, if slighty overblown, whirlwind of a black metal album. May require repeated listenings to obtains it's groove.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Pestilence-Doctrine(2011)

Pestilence, one of the great death metal bands of the early 90's, return with the second album of their comeback, a different sounding beast all together, but still disappointing.

The album is a collection of rough shards and angles; of half baked ideas and a million half formed riffs; a change of direction from their comeback album, with it's straight forward brutality. Nothing really sticks to the wall with this album; the attack is as ferocious as ever, and the fretless bass, though outstanding, belies the jazz intentions. Their earlier 90's album, Spheres, was a straight up attempt at jazz metal, with mixed results, and though lacking Sphere's quiter parts, is no less a mixed bag, and perhaps even more of a failure. Spheres was an example of failing as none dare fail, where Doctrine just fades into unmemorable sterility. And most memorably, where the music shift's into staccato Mushugga-like heaviness, it is mostly derivative and predictable, almost deathcore-like(though not quite as annoying). Problematic is Patrick Manelli's change of vocal tone, the deep growl of the previous album as turned into a hoarse croak. The production is also a problem; too much treble, and clanky in the worst way.

Add a few quiet whispers here and there, and you have a fairly annoying album. You are advised to check out this bands early material. Consuming Impulse is a pure death metal classic. Malleus Maleficarum is ultra sick thrash. Even their previous album, Resurrection, is palatable compared to this tripe.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Darkthrone-Dark Thrones and Black Flags(2008)

I didn't know about this one at first. There are almost too many contradictions, but in the end, it all sort of makes sense, mainly after the glue takes hold. Darkthrone are best know as the proto-typical evil Norwegian black metal band, a band known as the Ramones of Black metal for their minimalist three chord all corpse fucking approach. They have evolved into an evil band for wise-ass misanthropes, smirking metal gods content to piss off their fan base by calling attention to the punkisms that were always inherent to their sheets of white noise.


This album is not Transylvanian Hunger by any means. The title should tell you that this is not a grim blizzard beast, but an obvious nod to punk. Old school black metal riffs pop up from time to time, but this is scuzzy crust punk for than anything. It's kind of hard to put a label on it, really. Jokey Manowar we love our metal so much that we border on parody lyrics; sloppy musicianship; simple 4/4 mummy daddy mummy daddy drum patterns; mighty riffs tinged with square peg sounding hardcoreness; I don't give a fuck English as second language vocal stylings; the occasional power metal howl; raw but clear production values, with more bass than a band that has gone for years without a bass player should legally be allowed to have.


Hiking Metal Punks is the straight up punk rock song. Norway in September is a bargain basement metal epic with a fantastic riff. The Winds They called Metal Shaker is one of the strangest songs in their repertoire, featuring an slow building, old school riff, jokey power metal vocals, and sets the shambling feel that most of this album displays. Grizzly Trade is Celtic Frost worship that would not be out of place on Panzerfaust.


I think this is a band trying to reinvent itself by playing up it's eccentricities while staying as close to the minimalistic formula they invented. All-in-all, a likable concoction from a band that has always strived to be the opposite.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Battlefields-Thresholds of Imbalance(2009)

Such pretentiousness has invaded our genre that formally took pride in a kind of adolescent self indulgence, gleefully rolling in the mud, enjoying every bit of its depression. But now, Sludge Metal is the new proving ground of thoughtful young men and their highfalutin ideas and moonscapes under the influence of mild to hard drugs, but unfortunately has lost that sense of graveyard reveling. Such is the case of Battlefield's sophomore epic.

There are many long, boring excursions into the musical ionosphere, too many for anyone looking for a little arhhh in between the art, too much ambiance and not enough element. This is not due to lack of inventiveness on behalf of the musicians, as there are many inventive riffs and rhythm patterns. This is due to a philosophical shift in the post-metal landscape, and is indicative of the genre as a whole. The heavy parts are not nearly as abrasive as to make the long, quiet parts ring with an eerier putrescence that lays the foundation of catharsis and release, which is vital to the whole Heavy Metal experience. The guitars are much too muted and hollow sounding, with out that deep throb that makes sludge so satisfying.

The quiet parts reek of Sonic Youthful artiness, which seems to be the focus of the album; long dissonant passages that do succeed to create an atmosphere of subtle disquiet, but indulge in too much whispery navel gazing to be considered truly metal.

This album succeeds as heavy indy rock, but not as metal. Label under Isis-clone and pull out the Exodus and Manowar to clear the sinuses.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Kratornas-The Corroding Age of Wounds(2009)

This is the latest third world obscurity from these purveyors of black metal filth. I'm not at all impressed with this release.

The guitar sound is chaotic and buzzsaw-like, if a little thin. The recording, as a whole, is hampered and dominated by repetitive percussion via drum machine, one dimensional song writing, and demo-like production values. The songs do not distinguish themselves from each other; everything descends into a chaotic blur, without any sense of brutal hypnotic ambiance that usually makes this kind of blackened thrash successful. Bathory and Mayhem this tries to be, but doesn't come close.

In other words, this is a crap album. Even when, from time to time, the tempo slows down, as on Flood of Fire, the riffs are so awkwardly played that it elicits only a rudimentary head bang. Occasionally, some weird back masking effects and ambiance are used, such as Chaosblade, but you've heard it a 100 times before by better bands. Actually Chaosblade is one of the better songs on the album, distinguished by a weird use of high and low rasps and screams, and slightly more variety tempo-wise. Occasionally, a trebly bass line can be discerned, only to disappear into the muck.

Interstellar Doom is also a song that almost works, containing a few imaginative riffs, but screams out for a real band to interpret them, and in the end is overwhelmed by the crap thump thump drum sound. Otherwise, this is completely disposable. It never quit evokes an atmosphere of evil, just a few cheesy grunts and cheap gimmicks. Get a real drummer, dude.

Rating: 3 out of 10

Sadus-Swallowed In Black(1990)

Sadus was a band that I overlooked back in the day as being sound alike thrashers with little variation in the brutality. Now, as I give them another try, with a more mature outlook upon such juvenalia, I must say..........this shit rules!!!!

There is a deft mix of technicality and fierce attack. The structure is pure thrash, but the ferocity, recalling Kreator and Devastation in shrillness, pushes it towards death metal category. Saving this from a complete generic blur in the fret board agility of the guitar section. They mosh it up in places, can go from slow to lightening at the drop of a hat, and do all the required heroics, but it is the swift, dissonant riffery that truly kills. But most impressive is the rhythm section, especially the devilish bass work of Steve DiGiorgio. Standing out in the mix, unusual for metal, the bass adds a jazz fuckery, ambiguous in it's evil intentions, and in no way detracting from the slicing and dicing. Skinsman John Adams keeps up nicely. The shrill, witchy vocals of guitarist Darren Travis, doing double here, adds a nice rhythmic counter point, though gets repetitive at times.

Lyrically, this is standard thrash ranting. There is much fretting about environmental decay, much nihilistic venting, none too inventive, perfectly garbled, written to provide rhythmic counterpoint. Those looking for sensitive poetic subtlety (or sick gore) must look elsewhere.

Over all, a fine technical metal album that does not call attention to it's shredding, instead focusing on pure ferocity, straddling both death and thrash camps, but with a unique sound that owns.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Zoroaster-Voice of Saturn(2009)

What we have here is a second full platter from these sludge doomsters. As the last album pulverized well within the confines of the sludge formula; slow tempos, crushing repetition, epic Sabbath inspired riffery, with smatterings of psychedelia. this sophomore effort finds these dour druids expanding on said formula, injecting more melody and trippiness, with refreshingly unexpected results.

The melodies come via a Jesu-like attention to shoegazer dourness, accompanied by some unexpected piano and acoustic work. The vocals are an echoey bellow, focusing on memorable chantlike screaming, not unlike Godflesh or Jesu, but with more evil intentions. But that is but one facet, adding an interesting aspect to what used to be simple one dimensional doom growlings.

But if you are in anyway related to the stoner metal genre, and the title track of your album is 5 minute ambiant space drone called Voice of Saturn, then Hawkwind comparisons are inevitable. The space rock drones are everywhere, in abundance, and add to the variation. This is not simply homage, as it enhances and elevates the songcraft, bringing to mind a bad mushroom trip while staring at the sun.

Production wise this is an old fashioned sludgy affair, the guitars sounding almost muted, removed of most grind abrasiveness due to what I suspect is all vintage amplification, giving this a warm album a volcanic analog feel, melting the guitar and bass into a thickness.

And the riffs, oozy and foreboding, not straying to far off the doomster path, but providing the meat and potatoes along with the cilocybin. The album ends with more ambiance and 10 minute drum solo!!!

All in all, this is great sludge with hipster credibility, an expansive sophomore effort, perfect for bong hits, bad acid trips, and repeated listens.
Rating:9 out of 10

Vomitory-Opus Mortis VIII(2011)

The new album from brutal death metal stalwarts Vomitory is really anything but new. And once again, that is not necessarily a bad thing, but this album simply fulfills genre requirements, though it's intense performance and overwhelming sound raise it a little above the muck.

Production wise, this is a crystal clear, state of the art metal album, a Metal Blade sounding album. The guitars are overwhelming heavy, bludgeoning away in to the night, rarely ever letting up. No variety of tones, either, just a blur of wanton brutality, though most of the instruments are distinct from one another. Same goes for the drum work, not much subtlety or variety, just unrelenting bashing.

Slayer circa Reign In Blood is the band most explicitly referenced. Often, this borders on plagerism, but mostly comes across as homage. "The Dead Awaken" is where this is most obvious, right down to the spastic blur of the guitar solo. Things only really slow down during "Shrouded In Darkness", a crawling double bass driven grind that is the best track on the album.

If you feel the need to check out Vomitory, start with their earlier albums, as this album is as generic as they come, saved only by it's intensity.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Decrepitaph-Beyond The Cursed Tombs(2010)

Decrepitath are a death metal combo from Texas who unashamedly wallow in old school death metal filth. I don't mean to make this sound like a bad thing, because these trolls do it quite well. It is hard to make such a well explored art form sound as fresh as the corpses they celebrate, but these dudes remember to stir things up a bit. It seems the formula here is "when in doubt, slow things down". A variety of tempos are employed, creating a dynamic rhythmic base, allowing the thick, Swedish sounding guitars to generate lots of slow, heavy atmosphere in between the mid tempo chugging and the blast beats, which are used sparingly, and dare I say, tastefully.

Since this is an old school death metal retro affair, influences are almost explicitly referenced. Autopsy are brought to mind, with the campy horror and gore obsessed lyrics, and samples before almost every song, if not nearly as blood thirsty.

Suffocation and Incantation also come to mind, especially in the vocal department, which is an echoey, buried gurgle, with Napalm Death-like shrieks punctuating occasionally. And since this is a slowfest, Obituary, comes to mind, as well as the occasional slow parts in a Dismember tune.

Over all, nothing new here, just a comfortable ride for fanatics of the genre, providing many sick grooves to headbang to.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Vintersorg-Jordpuls(2011)

If you've never heard Vintersorg before, the first thing you'll notice is how damn catchy this album is. Even if you are familiar with with their work, you notice more clean vocals, harmonies, synths, and an over all more positive atmosphere. You'll notice an abundance of folk melodies, quiet acoustic interludes, complicated chord work and song structures, crisp (almost sterile) production, weird electronic bits here and there, and yes, just the right amount black metal grit to keep this from becoming a total prog fest.

But, if you've heard their other albums, you know that this is just another Vintersorg album. Nothing really new happening here, just a talented musician streamlining and perfecting his craft. The only problem with this album is that it may be too much of a good thing, as the songs start to sound the same a little more than halfway through, which may be the fault of the too sterile production values, also a problem of just needing to cram as many songs as you can on a disk. The lyrics are entirely in Swedish, so English speakers may want to use their Google translators to further appreciate the frosty yet ethereal vibe put forth.

Rating 7.5 out of 10

Dødsengel- Mirium Occultum(2010)

You would think that black metal would be dead by now. You would think that it would have remained a strange anomoly from the early 90's, a sub-genre amongst sub-genres, forever remaining stuck in it's own singular conventions; an adherence to three chord nihilism stilting it's growth.

But that never happened. Upon further study, black metal was really just too weird, too unformed, to simply molder in the tomb. It's very existence suggests experimentation. It really was just a form of ambient music, at least when the Norwegians unleashed their formations upon the unsuspecting. And as a genre, it has been expanded upon and multiplied, sub genres forming out of sub genres, each mutation subtly altering the soundscape.

And over 20 years later, the Norwegians are still on the vangard, breathing new life into a form that has every right to be a rotting corspe. Take Dødsengel new album, Mirium Occultum, for instance. Currently the darlings of the underground, these necrofiends find new ground for their gravework. This is a dank, echoy scream from the crypt, a true demon conjuring.

The album recalls Mayhem at their best and also the new wave of American audio fiendry like Leviathan and Xasthur, but it really is hard to put your finger on what makes this album work. Perhaps it's how the raw production values lower your expectations. You really are getting a raw black metal experience, but one with so much subtle variety and layers. The guitars are layed on thick and bloody, with hints of gentleness in the quieter parts, the bass a distant rumble. The drums are a crisp racket, with much fine cymbal work. The vocalist is a evocotive screamer, applying a variety of shrieks, bellows, murmurs and even a few plaintive cries from the abyss. Evocation of Amezarak is the centerpiece of the album, a nearly 20 minutes musical invocation of darkness, that doesn't come across as a formless jam.

Also, the lyrics are a pleasant surprise, poetic and chilling, but not without humor. A Word To Conquer the Aeon contains this gem, delivered with an evil smirk:

"In the beginning was the word,
and the word was with god.
And the word was the word,
what a wonderfull word it was!"


later declaring,

"And the word is NIHIL"

This album is not all perfection, as the songs tend to blur into one another, almost too intense for a single listen. But for the most part, this is state of the art black metal, containing everything that is true and cvlt about the genre without decending into cliche.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

www.metal-archives.com/bands/D%26%23248%3Bdsengel/3540274142

Sturmgeist-Manifesto Futurista(2009)

Ho-hum. That's the first reaction to this thrashy blackened side project of the lead alchemist behind prog wizards Solefad. Obviously, a return to roots and simplicity; a few of the riffs are of evil quality, but too many tracks are delivered with a lack of passion and strictly by the numbers genericism. It is professional sounding and tight, perhaps too much so, as a low-fi approach might have livened things up a bit, the music not quite delivering the epic proportions the crisp production would enhance.

Himmelen Faller contains a quirky creepy sample. The Seifried is a slow, dissonant plodder, featuring ethereal, echoey clean vocals in the chorus, and is the best track on the album. Ritornio Glorioso is an neo-classical instrumental prelude that recalls Laibach. But it's at higher speeds that the creatively dips, as Sturmgeist 89 proves, simply regurgitating Immortal and Satyricon to minimal effect.

If you are a black metal completist, Manifesto Futurista is worth a couple spins, but you are better off checking out the Solefad discography.

Rating: 6 out of 10

http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Sturmgeist/32309