Saint Vitus: Saint Vitus (2019)

A lot of bands have a self-titled album among their releases.  Not many bands can say that they have two.  Saint Vitus can though.  This is the band's second self-titled album, with the first one coming way back in 1984.  That was the band's debut and is a landmark album.  Saint Vitus was one of the first bands that took what Black Sabbath was doing in the early 1970's and really ran with it, becoming one of the first doom metal bands in the process.

This album sees the second return to the fold by original vocalist Scott Reagers.  Guitarist Dave Chandler has been the only member of Saint Vitus to stick with the band throughout their history.  The band has featured the legendary Scott "Wino" Weinrich in the past, during times in which Reagers has not been in the band.

With the Sabbath comparison from before, one can get the impression of what this band sounds like.  Dark, fuzzy riffs and slow tempos with mourning, soulful vocals with a harder edge.  The band does sometimes lock into a rumbling, faster-paced groove which breaks up the slower songs.  The band sounds absolutely raw, like they just woke up from a massive hangover and rolled into the studio to record.  There is nothing pretty here, just whiskey-fueled mayhem.

The minor quibble that I have is the guitar tone on the solos.  I do not have a ton of experience listening to Saint Vitus, but my god, Chandler uses an ugly, squealing guitar tone on his solos.  It fits reasonably well with the music because it is not the kind of thing that a well-trained classical guitarist would play.  It is ugly and gritty and it definitely matches the attitude of the band.

Saint Vitus has been around for a long time and their sound is truly timeless, sounding like a band who has been through some hard times and learned some tough lessons.  It is gritty and dark, doomy and gloomy.  But fuck, if I don't love it.  Pass the whiskey.

Full of Hell: Weeping Choir (2019)

One of the most hyped releases of the year is Full of Hell's follow-up to 2017's Trumpeting Ecstacy and the band's first release since signing to Relapse Records.  This is a particularly hyped release from the Decibel crowd.  Full of Hell started their existence as a powerviolence/grindcore band, but began incorporating more and more death metal influence over the years.  The album cover this time around is also a bit of a variation of the theme of the band's last album cover, though I thought that was more visceral and stood out more. 

The first thing to note is that this album is incredibly short and incredibly violent and loud.  The band makes a lot of noise incredibly quickly and before you know it, it's over.  The album starts off with the incredibly chaotic trio of "Burning Myrrh", "Haunted Arches" and "Thundering Hammers".  The opening track is the lead single from the album and these three songs are among the strongest on the entire album.  Featuring extreme riffs and almost pig-squealing vocals, the songs are in-your-face and extremely aggressive.

Things kind of hit a brick wall on the follow-up track "Rainbow Coil" which is much more of an abrasive industrial noise track.  It does not help that it is one of the longest tracks on the album either.  It gives a sense of uneasiness throughout, but it kind of breaks up the flow of the album.  It might have worked better had the track been at the album.  Luckily, it gets back on track with the very next song.

"Armory of Obsidian Glass" stands out the most as it is the longest song on the album, at six-plus minutes, it is twice as long as the next longest.  It is also the slowest, being based around doom-laden deliberate riffing, as opposed to the grindcore-influenced riffs in most of the rest of the songs.  From there, the band takes on much more of an experimental style, shifting frequently and leaving the listener in a daze from the barrage.  The one constant is the raw fury present in every song.

Full of Hell have delivered one of the heaviest and most chaotic releases of the year.  It is pure aggression from start to finish with very little breathing room.  While I tend to lean towards the more obviously metal albums, this kind of death metal-infused grindcore does catch my attention from time to time.  I do not know how often this one will be played as it is definitely a tough listen, but it is truly impressive.

Funebre: Cranial Torment (1989)

Here is one of the earliest Finnish death metal recordings.  Funebre was one of the first Finnish death metal bands and this is the band's first demo.  Unfortunately, Funebre did not last very long, releasing just two demos, an EP, a split and one full-length album, which was released in 1991.  None of the members appear to have done much in metal after the band was done either. 

This is a quick and dirty five-song demo.  None of the songs appear on the band's full-length.  The band's sound is pure gory death metal with meaty riffs and deep, guttural vocals and an absolutely massive bass sound.  The sound is based on early death metal bands from the U.S. with more of a gore focus, such as Obituary and Autopsy.  The songs are generally more complex than one would expect with such an early demo in a band's history too.  Not to say this is super technical death metal, but there is generally a few riffs and some damn impressive soloing.  The lyrics are standard gross death metal fare, but cannot really be understood anyway.

This is an extremely impressive demo.  It is hard for me to comment about how essential or historical it may be, because the fact is that Funebre did not last long and do not seem to have a massive lasting legacy.  Their only full-length only has three reviews on the Metal Archives, so I suspect that Funebre's legacy is as a hidden gem.  That's really not so bad.

Slugathor: Circle of Death (2005)

Of course I'm going to pick up an album by a band called "Slugathor".  What a great name.  Slugathor is a death metal band from Finland, which has produced a number of off-kilter death metal bands.  Demilich is the best example of this with their tech-leaning riffs and frog croak vocals, but there is also the cavernous sound of Convulse to consider.  Slugathor is another in a line of such death metal bands.

Slugathor's sound on this release is heavily reminiscent of Bolt Thrower's Realms of Chaos with a little bit of Asphyx thrown in, particularly in the opening salvo of "Cycle of Destruction" leading into "Slow and Painful Death".  It is a down-tuned, grinding guitar riff that sounds like a massive war machine headed into battle.  The vocalist utilizes a dual vocal technique.  The primary vocals are deep and guttural, but underneath throughout the album are black metal-esque shrieking.  It is a technique used frequently by Deicide among other groups.

The most interesting aspect of the album is Slugathor's ability to fuse disparate sections together.  Not content to stick with just one riff throughout a song, the songs on this album ebb and flow into a variety of unpredictable movements.  Add to that the amazing guitar soloing and no two songs sound the same.  Slugathor is constantly shifting and never standing pat for more than a minute or two at a time.

I love this album.  This is an overlooked gem from a country and scene that has a lot of them.  Slugathor was not around for very long, but they definitely made a statement when they were around. 

Idle Hands: Mana (2019)

When was the last really great gothic metal record?  Moonspell?  Type O Negative?  Paradise Lost?  Can we consider Cradle of Filth?  Eh, probably not on Cradle of Filth.  They are kind of their own beast.  My point is that gothic metal seems to be a genre that has fallen by the wayside for the most part since it had kind of a heyday in the late 1990's/early 2000's.  Moonspell is still decent enough, but most other bands have disbanded or worse (R.I.P. Peter Steele).

That brings us to Portland's Idle Hands, and, wait a minute.  Another Portland band?  Damn right, I could do a whole month with Portland bands lately.  Idle Hands has released their debut full-length album earlier this year after a well-received EP from last year.  I saw a lot of hype leading up to this release with many calling it a possible Album of the Year.  I think a lot of the hype has to do with the fact that Idle Hands plays a genre that is mostly M.I.A. in the last several years.  But the album is actually damn good.

One thing that Idle Hands does remarkably well is striking a balance between gothic rock and metal.  Vocalist Gabriel Franco's crooning voice sounds like a cross between The Cure's Robert Smith and Moonspell's Fernando Ribeiro.  The guitar leads are light and airy, but the heavy metal influence is obvious.  The band also manages some truly catchy hooks and songs like "Give Me to the Night" and "Nightfall" stay with the listener long after the album has ended.

The second half however is a bit weaker, abandoning most of the aggression and the metal riffing prevalent on the first half.  The band sounds much more gothic rock, which is fine, if that is what you are into.  The songs are still melodic, somber and very catchy.  They just do not hit as hard as those on the first half.

This really is a damn good album.  I don't yet have any clue where it will end up on my end of the year list, but it does produce some of the catchiest songs of the year.  This would fit in well on a playlist with Tribulation.

Colosus: Blestem (2013)

This one kind of found me.  This was a throw-in by the record label when I bought the Ataraxie album.  It is fairly unlikely that I would have sought this one out myself, though I do recall looking at it when I ordered the Ataraxie album.  I think I decided it did not sound like something I would have been that interested in.  And for the most part, I was correct. 

When a band names itself "Colosus" (never mind the spelling mistake), one would assume that the band's sound would be slow and lumbering and monolithically heavy.  Well, the slow and lumbering part is absolutely correct, but this is not particularly heavy.  This Colosus is much more devoted to creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere.  The riffs, when present, more resemble the Norwegian black metal groups like Burzum and Darkthrone, other bands whose primary concern is atmospherics over heaviness.  Think Darkthrone riffs in a Burzum ambient track and that is halfway there.

I will give the band credit for managing to provoke an extreme sense of dread and unease throughout the album.  Unfortunately the songs, and album as a whole, are just so damn long that it is sometimes difficult to maintain interest.  Colosus has a tendency toward creating large gaps of ambient noise and mindless noodling that is a little too much at times.  The truly great moments tend to get lost in the shuffle.

I do not really dislike this album, but I likely would not have picked it out myself.  Atmospheric black metal can be done really well.  Just look at my previous reviews of groups like Saor and Vvilderness.  Unfortunately Colosus misses the mark more than the band hits it.

Ataraxie: Résignés (2019)

I talked about slam the other day, so now it is time to talk about one of my other favorite subgenres: funeral doom metal.  It seems to be a little easier to find funeral doom metal bands these days than it is to find slam death metal.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that generally bands like Ahab, Evoken and Bell Witch have been embraced by the metal press whereas most slam bands are shunned.  That is not necessarily surprising as slam death is often violent and can oftentimes be misogynistic whereas funeral doom is neither of those things and is often thoughtful and powerful.  I first got into funeral doom through nautical-themed German band Ahab and things kind of sprouted from there.  One of my favorite albums is the Lovecraftian horror-drenched sole release by Catacombs and I am always on the lookout for something similar.

That brings us to the French band Ataraxie, who I am hearing for the first time despite the band having been around for nearly 20 years now.  Ataraxie's particular brand of funeral doom metal is often complemented by influences from early death/doom metal bands like Paradise Lost or Morgion.  It is at times atmospheric and at others rumbles along like an oncoming thunderstorm.  The songs are lengthy, as is the album, with just four songs and clocking in at nearly and hour and a half in length.  But each song has several rather distinct sections that keeps things moving and interesting.  The album is never boring despite its length. 

The most interesting track on the album, and a bit of a microcosm for the album as a whole is the stunning title track.  Early on in the song, Ataraxie embarks on a crushing riff that would make death/doom pioneers like Asphyx envious, complete with sepulchral croaking vocals.  They then follow that up with a sweeping melodic section which cleanses the palate just enough to lead into ominous thundering drums and riffs leading into an absolutely chaotic climax before everything crumbles back into the void.  It is at once beautiful and devastating.  And the band picks up the pieces just to do it all over again on the next track.

Ataraxie's album is a glimpse into what is so compelling about funeral doom metal.  It is cold and harsh and absolutely bleak, but at times a strange melody shines through and there is something truly breathtaking about it.  This is a terrific example of the genre done right.  Ataraxie should be held up with the leaders in the genre and it is a shame that they are so unknown at this time.

Agalloch: The Serpent & the Sphere (2014)

Yesterday's post was on a Portland, Oregon band called Bewitcher in which I discussed how much of a metal hotbed the Northwestern city has become.  When one thinks of metal from Portland, Oregon though, mostly the first band to come to mind would be Agalloch.  The band has become the quintessential band that has come to define the scene and the so-called "Cascadian" black metal sound in particular.

It has only really been recently that I have gotten into Agalloch.  For a long time I kind of avoided them due to their being lumped in with groups like Neurosis and Isis and their post-metal leanings.  It did not help that the band was often embraced by the more hipster-leaning metal crowd.  And so, it took some time before I got around to checking out the band.  I am sorry it took so long.

There are a lot of post-metal moments, moments where the aggression drains from the music and what is left is some melodic guitar noodling and not much else.  But these are often juxtaposed against much heavier sections, and in moments like "Celestial Effigy", even though the post-metal noodling is the primary part of the song, the band keeps things ever interesting by combining it with blackened growled vocals.  Tracks like "The Astral Dialogue" are as close to the band's black metal foundation as it gets, but even that one is not immune from some post-metal musings.  Much of the album is somber and there is a heavy doom metal influence.  The various sound textures explored by the band come off as beautiful, yet hostile, a sound that reflects nature itself, something the band has sought to do from the very beginning.

The album seems to be a concept piece, which would not be unusual for Agalloch.  Sort of a universal creation centered around the idea of a great serpent eating its own tail: where something ends, something begins.  And the album itself follows suit with the final track "(Serpens Cauda)" leading back into the opening track when the album is played over again. 

This is Agalloch's final album and they went out on a high note.  It takes a few listens to begin to understand and it is certainly not as immediate as say, the album from yesterday.  There are a lot of layers to the album's sound and repeated listens inevitably lead to more discoveries.  That being said, it is an incredibly thought-out and dense release that wraps up the band's career remarkably well.

Bewitcher: Under the Witching Cross (2019)

Bewitcher is yet another great metal band from the Pacific Northwest, and in particular, the recent metal hotbed of Portland, Oregon.  But unlike a lot of the other bands from the region, Bewitcher blends their black metal with speed and thrash metal.  The band's debut was a very good, if somewhat unoriginal, release.  But the infectiousness of it stood out far more than the lack of innovation.  And so, I was interested in how the follow-up would turn out.

The band has gotten more melodic on this release, honing their NWOBHM chops and oftentimes sounding more like a more blackened version of Venom.  Throw in some Riot and Iron Maiden riffs and you basically have Bewitcher.  Nowhere is this more evident than in second track "Hexenkrieg" which features a number of moments that could almost be mistaken for Venom references.  And tracks like "Heathen Women" are almost anthemic with a fist-pumping chorus and pedal-to-the-metal riffs.  And the thrash break toward the end is definitely going to snap some necks.

Far from being one-note and boring, Bewitcher is able to switch things up as needed.  "In the Sign of the Goat" is a far more deliberate song, slowing things down just enough to truly stand out from the rest of the songs.  It also features the catchiest chorus of all of the catchy choruses on this release.  That is saying something.  And the solo toward the end is face-melting.

This is a terrific album from yet another terrific Portland-based band.  There is definitely something in the water up there because the city continues to churn out amazing metal bands all the time.

Aborted Fetus: Devoured Fetuses (2005)

I love slam death metal, but finding new bands to listen to is not always easy.  The biggest issue is the lack of a "slam" genre tag on the Metal Archives, or at least a very infrequently used one.  So I am often relying on word of mouth or reviews, neither of which is always accurate.  The other option is to stick to bands I am already familiar with, which brings me to Aborted Fetus.

I previously reviewed the Russian slam band's 2010 full-length Fatal Dogmatic Damage, and quite enjoyed it.  I especially enjoyed the ridiculous lyrics and song titles like "Aquarium with Dead Souls".  I came across this 2005 EP when I was searching for some other stuff and decided to take a chance on it since I did enjoy other material from the band and I am always on the lookout for more slam.

This is just a five-song EP and the last song is a cover of song by German pornogrind band Gut.  The EP was released a few years before the band released their first full-length album, and as such, is quite raw.  And that is saying something for slam.  The production is actually really impressive for the style with a nice tone on the guitars and clear instrumentation.  Of course the riffs are big and heavy.  At this point in the band's existence, the band has more in common with brutal death metal than slam.  There are moments where the band gets into a breakdown, but there is generally much more still going on than the typical slam parts.  The vocals are fairly typical for the genre though.

I enjoy this EP quite a bit, though it is maybe borderline in the slam genre.  It is highly competent brutal death metal that goes for quite a bit of extra brutality.  It's crushingly heavy and intense and absolutely sick and vile in all of the right ways. 

Behemoth: Messe Noire (2018)

As a general rule, I am not a huge fan of live albums.  I would much rather actually see the band live.  I do make exceptions from time to time, but usually with bands I am already a big fan of, a group that I want to check out but live albums are the only available option, or with groups I know it is unlikely I will ever get to see live.  This album falls into the first category.  And in fact, I might get the opportunity to see Behemoth live in September.  We will see.

This is an abbreviated version of the album unfortunately.  My version is about half as long as the full release and, since it is just an audio recording, I do not get the full effect of the stage show.  This is a recording of the band performing in Warsaw in support of their The Satanist album, which is an absolutely incredible album, and one of my favorite Behemoth albums ever.  Behemoth performed the entire album, interspersed with classic tracks.  This abbreviated release still has the entire album The Satanist on it, it mostly cut out some of the classic tracks.

The sound quality is impressive, and it would appear that Behemoth puts on a very powerful live show.  It is almost difficult to tell it is a live album as there is minimal crowd noise and the band really does sound like they are do on the recording.  Nergal occasionally yells something to pump up the crowd, but that is usually the only time it is obvious this is a live album.  In addition, there does tend to be a lot more raw emotion present during particularly up-tempo portions of the songs, particularly in the chorus section of "Ora pro Nobis Lucifer".  The big highlight in my eyes though is the closer "Slaves Shall Serve", which is one of the band's most energetic and evil-sounding songs.  It comes across incredibly imposing live.

I am quite glad I picked this one up.  I look forward to seeing Behemoth live, this release has really gotten me intrigued as to what the band sounds like.  Unfortunately, their performance is as support for Slipknot, a band I am not looking forward to seeing live.  Maybe I'll skip out early, after Behemoth is done.

Belphegor: Blood Magick Necromance (2011)

I like Belphegor, but I have never considered them an essential band.  I like the albums I have heard from the band, but I do not really go way out of my way to pick up new releases from them.  And here I am reviewing an album from the band that was released eight years ago, but hey, it's new to me.

Belphegor is not a band to take seriously, though that has not stopped Russia and several other countries from forbidding the band to play concerts.  Their lyrics are mostly cartoonishly evil.  They are often obsessed with deviant, fetishistic sex and blasphemy.  The result has been albums like Bondage Goat Zombie and Goatreich - Fleshcult.  And of course we have this album.  Just look at this album cover and song titles like "Impaled Upon the Tongue of Sathan" for the evil and "Discipline Through Punishment" for the sex.

The band definitely accomplishes a grim and evil atmosphere.  It takes form from the very beginning with "In Blood - Devour this Sanctity" which has a powerful Egyptian/Middle Eastern main riff.  Melechesh does this better generally, but Belphegor has done a pretty good job of it.  The rest of the songs are generally slower and plodding, which is a little unusual for Belphegor.  The riffs are generally terrific though, blending black metal tremolo riffs with heavy death metal seemlessly.  The highlights of the album are the aforementioned "In Blood - Devour this Sanctity" and "Impaled Upon the Tongue of Sathan", which is just plain evil as fuck.

Ultimately, this is probably my favorite album I have heard from Belphegor to date.  There have not been many and the other ones kind of blend together.  This one stands out a bit more for the impressive evil atmosphere.  One of these days, I may decide to check out more of the band's material, but for now I am fine with what I have heard.  This one has definitely captured my attention though.

Dream Theater: Images and Words (1992)

I might get in some trouble for this one.  I have never been the biggest Dream Theater fan.  In fact I can count on one hand the number of albums I have checked out.  Two.  It's this one and Awake.  Truth be told, I actually really like Awake.  It has some excellent songs and even the ballads are generally pretty good.  But my favorite Dream Theater song has always been "Pull Me Under".  So recently I had a chance to pick up this album with my favorite Dream Theater song on it and decided to pull the trigger. 

The album starts off with the great song and it is a little extended from the version I have previously been aware of, which is not really a problem.  It is still a great song.  But from there, things quickly decline.  The very next track is a ballad.  James LaBrie's vocals sound somewhat strained hitting the high notes and there is a saxophone solo that really sounds like something Kenny G. would record.  Sax in metal is not inherently bad, for instance Amorphis has done some tremendous songs featuring sax solos, but this one just sounds laughably cheesy.  Unfortunately, the band never really gets back to the high point they set in the first track.  I kept waiting for another "Pull Me Under", but it never happened.

"Take the Time" is decent, but has something of a clumsy beginning and it kind of goes in a million directions throughout the song, including kind of a weird funk section.  But then the band throws in a second ballad in the first four songs.  That just can not stand.  I do not mind ballads generally, if they are not overused, but Dream Theater does overuse them on this album.  It would be okay if the ballads were better than these were as well.  For instance, "Space-Dye Vest" from Awake is an amazing ballad for a metal band, it is poignant and powerful.  The ones on this album are just boring.

Much of the rest of the album features most of the hallmarks of progressive metal: long, meandering songs ("Learning to Live" is eleven-and-a-half minutes long) with lots of solos, riffs and Rush-like song structures.  There are some good moments, but the band still fails to live up to the excellent first track. 

I can not really envision checking out this band much further.  I still really enjoy Awake, but I found myself very disappointed in this album.  I was hoping that an earlier album and one that featured my favorite song by the band would be even better, but it did not work out that way.  I know this is a landmark album and considered a masterpiece by a lot of metalheads, but it just does not do much for me.  

Ironborne: Hellion Battalion (2019)

I'm almost positive that "Ironborne" is a Game of Thrones reference.  I could be wrong, but as I recall that's what men from Pyke, led by the Greyjoys called themselves.  That would not be shocking for a band to adopt that name.  It sounds metal as fuck.

Ironborne, the band, is a decent heavy metal band from Northern Ireland who now has two demos to their name.  Their first one was released a couple of years ago and featured a Thor cover.  This one is real damn short, consisting of just two songs.

The first song is the title track and is a rollicking four minute track with some damn catchy choruses about unchaining the wolves of the night.  It's kind of cheesy but damn is it fun.  The second track "Stormchild" is shorter and not quite as good.  I like the chorus but a lot of the rest of it reminds me of some of KISS's heavier material, with the vocalist in particular sounding like Paul Stanley at times.  Maybe that's just me.  It is still decent enough and fits in well with the other song, but it is just a tad weaker.

I quite like this demo overall.  I am anxious to see what Ironborne can do on a full-length.

Possessed: Revelations of Oblivion (2019)

We are kind of beyond the point where it is surprising when bands reunite.  That has been a trend over the last 10-15 years or more so the only surprising reunions would be groups like Death and Dissection where the principal member is currently dead.  Even then, Static-X pulled it off.  So it is unsurprising that Possessed is back with their first album of new material since 1986's Beyond the Gates.

Truthfully, this is not a complete reunion.  Bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra is the only original member.  Most of the other band members have been in other death metal bands like Sadistic Intent and Gruesome.  Possessed is of course notable for being one of the earliest death metal bands, and many would argue the first.  Their debut Seven Churches is a landmark for the death metal genre.  With so much time passed though, it was questionable how new material would sound from the band.

The album starts off in similar fashion to their previous releases, with an ominous bell ringing and atmospheric sound producing a dark and sinister tone.  Eventually this gives way to some classical-sounding music that would be at home in The Exorcist.  That then is punched through by one hell of a death metal riff and we are off.  The first song is called "No More Room in Hell" and possesses all of the hallmarks that one would expect from a Possessed song, including fast, razor-sharp riffs, pounding drums, Becerra's rabid snarl and blasphemous lyrics.  From that point forward, it is clear that even though a lot of time has passed, Possessed still sounds as fresh and vital as they did in the mid 1980's.

Some of the lyrics on this album are a little ridiculous.  Obviously in this genre we have a lot of lyrics that attempt to sound evil and scary.  This would have turned some heads in 1985, but it is no longer ground-breaking.  I am not really singling Possessed out because this is fairly normal for the genre, but sometimes it does sound a little tired.  Luckily I can overlook that when the music is as good as it is on this album.  This really does sound like something the band would have released to follow up their last proper full-length.

I was much more impressed with this album than I thought I was going to be.  It is a terrific return of a legendary pioneer in death metal and a worthy follow-up to the band's prior work.  It is also possibly an Album of the Year contender.

Mayhem: Grand Declaration of War (2000)

De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is quite possibly the greatest black metal album of all time.  So the big question is: how the hell do you follow it?  Do you try to replicate its success?  Do you try to top it?  Or do you do something completely off the wall and weird?  Well, Mayhem tried the last one, releasing an album completely different than the previous album.

Anyone with a general knowledge of Mayhem knows that a lot of things happened with the band after their landmark release.  Guitarist Euronymous was murdered by bassist Varg Vikernes.  Vikernes went to prison for his crimes.  The band was embroiled in controversy after controversy.  It is unsurprising that it took six years before the band was able to release anything new.  And of course by that point, for obvious reasons, the band looked significantly different.  Only Hellhammer remained from the lineup that released the previous album.  Blasphemer and Necrobutcher took over on guitar and bass respectively.  Maniac returned to the fold as the vocalist.  And with a new lineup, the band's sound changed as well.

The change is evident from the beginning of the album.  The music is slower and doomier.  The vocals are the biggest change and likely caused a lot of "What the fuck?" reactions.  There are some typical black metal shrieks, but they are mostly relegated to backing vocals behind spoken word vocals delivered in an almost campfire horror story tone and cadence.  These take the form of dramatic speeches about warfare and philosophy.  It takes some getting used to, but these are generally the better parts of the album.

There are some major missteps along the way.  "A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun" is almost completely worthless.  Featuring menacing whispers over an electronica beat, it sounds completely out of place with everything else that is going on in the album.  There are other moments where the experimentation goes off the rails as well.  The use of robotic vocals in a few places sounds ridiculous and off-putting.

Despite the weirdness, missteps and the unexpected general sound, this is a decent enough release.  It does not hold a candle to what came before, but Mayhem still put out an intriguing release.  Perhaps it is better to think of this as a completely different band, or to acknowledge that some bands are not content staying in one place musically.  That definitely seems to be the case with Mayhem after the issues with Dead, Euronymous and Varg.

Ripped: Easter Island (1992)

Ripped congealed in the same Ohio cesspool that produced the likes of Embalmer and Necrophagia.  The band straddled the line between thrash and death metal and began incorporating more progressive influences as thrash was fading into obscurity.  This is a very short little EP that was released between the band's only two full-length albums, and judging from the cover, is not to be taken too seriously.  It was released on Wild Rags which had something of a controversial history as a label.

This EP consists of just five tracks, none of which make it to three minutes in length, and only three of which are actually songs.  The songs are definitely weird, with spastic riff changes and the psychotic barking vocals of singer Rick Fisher.  The band proves adept at changing speeds and time signatures.  The bass is particularly intriguing, not content to simply provide rhythm, it is playing something of a funk-inspired throbbing bass line.  Beyond that, there is some truly bizarre stuff happening with the guitar solo on "Happy Trails".  The whole album is something of a mind-bender.

This one has been something of a grower for me.  I really did not like it much at all the first time I heard it.  It is kind of jarring, off-kilter and abrasive.  There is definitely nothing melodic or pretty here, not that I expected as much, but the EP struck me as too much weird for weirdness sake.  Repeated listens have uncovered some intriguing rhythmic talent in the band members.  I still would not recommend this to just anyone and I am still not totally sure I like it all that well, but there is some interesting stuff happening and I definitely do not dislike it anymore.

Reevaluating War and Pain by Voivod

Tastes change over time.  That is not a controversial statement.  For instance, I once considered Coal Chamber one of my favorite bands.  Now, I cannot even listen to them.  Which brings me to a less stark change.  My tastes in Voivod's music.

I have been a big fan of Voivod for some time now, even though I got into them very late.  They were always on the periphery of my musical tastes.  I liked Negatron since it was the first album I picked up by the band in the mid 1990's, but I never got much into their earlier material other than songs like "Killing Technology" and "Astronomy Domine" appearing on a couple of compilations I owned.  Much later, I finally picked up Nothingface and grew to love the album.  Then, I went through a period of time where I started to check out everything Voivod ever did.  The first five albums are legendary (and rival any other band's five album run) and quickly became my absolute favorites.  Of the five, Dimension Hatross became my preferred album because it combined the raw thrash metal of Voivod's early material and saw the band headed in the progressive direction they perfected on Nothingface.  I still like Negatron, but nowhere near as much.  But this is not about Negatron's place in Voivod's history.  It is about War and Pain.

Of the first five Voivod albums, I previously considered War and Pain the band's weakest.  That is not terribly surprising as it was the band's debut album and was incredibly raw and almost sloppy.  It contained few, if any, hints of what the band would later accomplish upon incorporating prog rock elements.  Quite frankly, listening to War and Pain back to back with Nothingface, it is difficult to tell that it is even the same band. 

Something has changed recently.  I have no idea what, but upon repeated listens to the band's discography, it has been War and Pain that I have been going back to time and time again.  What I once heard as sloppy has become endearing and just a sign of a very young and raw band doing the best they could with what they knew at the time.  Several of these songs have become favorites of mine, including "Blower", "Warriors of Ice" and "Iron Gang".  There is a lot of punk influence here that adds to the raw, unrefined sound of the band and makes it that much more intriguing. 

Honestly, picking out a favorite Voivod album is very difficult.  The band has changed so much over the decades they have been around that almost every album is truly unique in some way that sets it apart from any other Voivod album.  That is what is so interesting about this band in the first place.  They were never content to just put out album after album of the same stuff.  And so even though War and Pain has risen in my eyes, who knows if it will stay in such a lofty place?  

One and Done? Pt. 15: Meanstreak

I am not really sure how to check this, but Meanstreak may have been the first U.S. all-female metal band.  Girlschool from the U.K. was likely the first all-female metal band, but it gets kind of fuzzy after that.  At some point, Phantom Blue arrived, but that seems to have been a couple of years after the formation of Meanstreak.  Also, Meanstreak was likely the first all-female thrash metal band, though the band was more of a borderline band, straddling the line between thrash and heavy metal.

Even more interesting is the fact that three of the members are married to three current and former members of Dream Theater.  Guitarist Rena Sands is married to John Petrucci.  Guitarist Marlene Apuzzo is married to Mike Portnoy.  Finally, bassist Lisa Pace is married to John Myung.  Sort of an odd fact there, but ultimately completely irrelevant to the music at hand.  Meanstreak sounds absolutely nothing like Dream Theater.

And of course the most interesting fact is that this album is fucking good.  Featuring big, meaty riffs and the howling vocals of Bettina France, this is a straightforward rocking album.  Meanstreak is at their best when they are playing the faster, more thrash-oriented stuff.  Songs like the title track, "Searching Forever", "Nostradamus" and "Lost Stranger" are terrific with loud and nasty guitar riffs
and the sneering vocals of France.  There are some weaker tracks here such as "Snake Pit" that just does not really do enough to keep the flow of the album, but the weaker moments are few and far between.

Unfortunately with just one full-length to their name, Meanstreak is kind of a forgotten band.  That's a shame because this is a very good album.

Nocturnus A.D.: Paradox (2019)

Taking a cue from Entombed, whose members re-formed after several years' hiatus under the same moniker plus "A.D." at the end, Nocturnus has returned with their first album since 1999.  Due to legal issues with ownership of the name "Nocturnus" several original members (who were not on Nocturnus's last album) have re-formed, adding "A.D." to the end of the name to distance themselves from the original band.  Sounds complicated, but essentially this is Nocturnus.  The sound is generally the same and this is a sequel to the concept album found on the Nocturnus The Key.  And I could not be happier about it.

Nocturnus is a highly-underrated band from the Florida death metal scene and The Key is quite possibly my favorite album from the entire scene.  It was just so different from anything else out there, combining Morbid Angel-style riffs and leads (Browning was Morbid Angel's original singer and drummer) with lots of keyboards and a science fiction theme, Nocturnus stood out among all of the death and brutality in the scene.  The Key told the story of a cyborg sent back in time to assassinate Jesus, thus preventing Christianity and beginning a new empire.  Sure it borrows from Terminator, but it was different than what the other death metal bands were doing.

Paradox tells the story of Dr. Magus who, ravaged by disease, creates a bio-suit in order to survive.  The music is a return to form of The Key.  It features tons of riffs, leads and solos and keyboard lines that sound like the soundtrack to a bad sci-fi b-movie.  It really does sound like a continuation of the band's debut album, almost like the last 20 years never happened.  Browning's voice has weathered a little bit and he delivers most of the lyrics in more of a harsh grunt, but otherwise it sounds as if absolutely nothing has changed.  Sure it's ridiculous and cheesy, but it is so damn much fun.  And that is something that is often missing in today's death metal.

This is a return to the form of a band who created one of my absolute favorite death metal albums, even though it is technically a different band.  I am thrilled to death that Nocturnus A.D. has managed to recapture that magic.  This is an Album of the Year contender.  It is that good.

The Chasm in Omaha: July 9, 2019

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to see The Chasm in concert, along with a few other bands.  The show was at The Slowdown, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues.  The show included a couple of Nebraska local bands and a couple of other groups.  I will get to all of them.

ORPHEUS

The first group out of the gate was the Nebraska native group Orpheus.  This was not my first time seeing them as they were one of the groups that was opening for Goatwhore awhile back, so I knew what to expect.  I liked them quite a bit, they were loud, fast and aggressive, and it appears they have been improving with time.  Nothing really stood out, but they did a great job setting the tone for the evening.

EZRA

Ezra is still kicking after all these years.  The band has been around since the early 1990's and have undergone a number of sound changes over the years.  The Ezra that appeared last night seemed different than the Ezra I have seen on previous occasions.  The music was more raw and primal, and heavier.  Also, I don't recall but it seems like the last couple times I saw Ezra there were only three members.  They may have added a guitarist.  They sounded terrific last night, probably their best performance of the times I have seen them.

INFERNAL CONJURATION

Now we get into the primary bands, not to infer anything bad about the Nebraska groups.  I had not previously heard of either Infernal Conjuration or the next band and I have seen both of the Nebraska groups before.  Infernal Conjuration is a death metal band from Mexico and they blew me away.  They were fantastic.  Obviously influenced by The Chasm, Infernal Conjuration uses progressive structures and riffs upon riffs upon riffs.  They were extremely impressive.  I picked up a record, so look out for a review on that at some point.

CRUCIAMENTUM

Despite the name, Cruciamentum is the only of the three touring bands that is not from Mexico.  Cruciamentum is a UK death metal band.  They were the most straight-forward death metal band of the night, but they were crushingly loud and extremely intense.  They played a long set, but had great riffs and were also very impressive.  I ordered an album when I got home that night, since the band did not have anything in my preferred format.

THE CHASM

Finally, we get to the headliners.  I have always been more of a fan of Daniel Corchado's previous band Cenotaph a little more, but I do definitely enjoy The Chasm as well.  I thought I knew what to expect from The Chasm, but they absolutely blew me away.  They were amazing.  They played some of their more straightforward stuff without a lot of the real progressive structures.  Daniel Corchado sounded great and the riffs were crushing.  They played one or two instrumentals and The Chasm is a band that can really do instrumental music well.  I met Corchado briefly after the show and thanked him for the terrific concert.  He seems like a genuinely nice guy and was just happy that people turned out for the show.

Gatecreeper: Sonoran Depravation (2016)

This is technically the second time I have acquired this album.  I bought it a couple of years ago but apparently lost it during the course of moving into my new office (a lot of CDs found their way into my office and just stayed there).  I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I wanted another copy.  And since I never covered it on the blog, it works out to get it in here.

Gatecreeper is pure Swedish death worship.  In particular, Gatecreeper worships at the altar of the great Dismember, taking some of their d-beat riff-o-rama and expanding upon it.  Gatecreeper is primarily interested in the more melodic-leaning middle-era Dismember stuff.  Though Dismember was never exactly melodic, they just incorporated a bit more in some of their material.  Massive Killing Capacity is probably the album I would point to as the primary reference point.  Throw in a little Bolt Thrower and that is a pretty good idea of what Gatecreeper sounds like here.

There is nothing terribly original here.  Gatecreeper is another in a long line of bands trying for that old-school Swedish death metal sound.  Obviously I referenced Dismember.  The songs are loud and heavy, with very little breathing room.  But Gatecreeper generally does a better job of playing Swedish death.  Just look at "Desperation" for an example.  It is fast, intense, and has a terrific riff at the center.

There are a lot of bands trying hard to sound like the old Swedish death scene when Nihilist, Dismember, Grave and others were starting out.  Not many pull it off as convincingly as Gatecreeper.  There is a reason I have now bought this album multiple times.

Imha Tarikat: Kara Ihlas (2019)

Imha Tarikat (and no, I don't know what that means) is a German black metal band.  Despite Germany's impressive history in various metal genres (heavy, speed, power and thrash in particular), there is not nearly as much black metal that has made an impression on me.  There are definitely a number of bands that I have enjoyed (Dark Fortress, Bethlehem, etc.), but compared to the country's other scenes, there is not quite as much representation in black metal.

Apparently, Imha Tarikat has Turkish roots and takes some measure of influence from the Quran, which is definitely an unusual lyrical theme in metal, in particular the often anti-religious black metal.  But apart from having song titles in Turkish, there is not really much to set this album apart from most other black metal.  I would expect some Middle Eastern folk music elements or chanting, or something, but there is not really anything of the sort here.

None of this is to say that the music itself is disappointing.  Musically, Imha Tarikat derives a lot of influence from the nastier moments of Norwegian groups like Darkthrone (A Blaze in the Northern Sky) or Enslaved (Frost), although almost exclusively the relative bands' obviously black metal output.  The band is a duo consisting of a singer/guitarist and a drummer.  Most of the riffs are pretty standard for black metal, and the drumming is fairly typical as well.  The most interesting aspects are the frequent blazing solos and the harsh, yelled vocals.

I actually really enjoy this release, even though it really is not ground-breaking.  It is a fairly safe black metal album with some great songs and terrific riffs.  Just because it does not break the mold does not mean that it is bad by any stretch.  There is a lot of talent here and this is the band's first full-length.  I look forward to hearing more from Imha Tarikat.

Omenfilth: Devourer of the Seven Moons (2019)

Here we have Omenfilth, a black metal band from the Phillipines.  They have only been around since 2013, but they have already proven to be prolific, releasing three full-length albums, a live album, a demo and a couple of splits.  This is my first experience with the band.

Omenfilth blends a couple of seemingly disparate black metal sounds into a surprisingly cohesive new sound.  On the one hand, there are influences from the early South American scene from when thrash and death metal were first crossing over into black metal.  It is the raw, aggressive warfare sound of groups like Sarcófago and Bestial Devastation-era Sepultura.  This influence is clear from the fact that Omenfilth covers Vulcano's "Bloody Vengeance".  And then there is the Hellenic black metal sound from Greece.  This is a far more atmospheric, haunting sound calling to mind groups like Kawir, Varathron and Rotting Christ.  Omenfilth combines these two influences into something new and interesting.  The result is an album that can be bestial and primal one second and ethereal and atmospheric the next.

There are a couple of complaints I have about the album.  First off, the production is not great.  That is not really shocking, particularly in light of the South American influences, but the album is sometimes difficult to listen to.  Secondly, there are two live tracks tacked onto the end of the album that seem very much out of place.  For awhile, I thought this was some kind of compilation release.  Adding live tracks to a full-length at the end does not add anything to the release except to make it longer and this album does seem very long as a result.  The complaints are minor, but they do make this a somewhat difficult listen.

This one has been growing on me since I first heard it.  At first, I was turned off by the production, but as I have listened to it more and more I have been very impressed by it.  It is not quite what I thought it would be, but there is quite a bit to discover with time.

Bewitched: Rise of the Antichrist (2002)

Here is the fourth and final post in this brief series looking at the albums of Bewitched.  One of these days I will consider tracking down their last album, Spiritual Warfare, which was released in 2006.  These four albums were all released in the box set.  I am not sure why their last album was not included in the box set, though the fact that their last album was released on a different label might explain it.

Enough of that though.  It is sort of odd that an album titled Rise of the Antichrist would come so late in the band's history.  Seems like a better title for an earlier album.  Oh well.  The band added another guitarist, giving them a two-pronged attack this time around.

After the minor disappointment that was the third album, the band changed some things up a little bit.  Obviously with the addition of a second guitarist the sound was a little more full and the two guitarists played off each other quite well.  The band also stopped trying to be a Venom clone and forged their own sound.  Bewitched sounds more like a thrash metal band with some minor black metal influences on this album.  Think early Sodom or Kreator.  The vocals have also improved significantly, delivered in more of a harsh shriek.

Though some things have changed on this release, Bewitched still maintains their ability to write infectious as hell songs.  This time around, the band has given "Worship the Fire", the title track, and the explosive "Hell's Triumph".  The opening riff to the latter is simply amazing.

This is one of the better albums from the Bewitched box set.  I would probably rank them from best to worst: Pentagram Prayer, Rise of the Antichrist, Diabolical Desecration, At the Gates of Hell.

Bewitched: At the Gates of Hell (1999)

This is the third post in a four-part look at the first four albums released by Swedish black/thrash metal band Bewitched.  This was the band's third album, released in 1999.

Bewitched remained a power trio on this release, but there was a lineup change.  Drummer Reaper was out, replaced by Stormlord.  Meanwhile, Vargher settled in as the primary vocalist/guitarist while Wrathyr continued on bass.  While settling in as a power trio, the band began to truly emulate another such trio: the legendary Venom.

The band stripped down their sound even more on this release, which is sort of impressive given how much extraneous stuff the band eliminated between their first and second albums.  At this point, the band is not at all concerned with creating a dark atmosphere and more interested in simply rocking.  The result is a no-holds-barred assault on the eardrums with traditional metal riffs, catchy choruses and gruff vocals.

Unfortunately, some of the songs sound a little TOO much like Venom.  Songs like the title track and "The Devil's Daughters" sound like outtakes from Welcome to Hell.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, but Bewitched seems to be losing their identity, going too far in this direction.  The cover song of Thor's "Let the Blood Run Red" is also a little out-of-place, especially with the drastic change in vocal style.

This is not the strongest album in this box set, but it is still decent enough.  The songs are a ton of fun, even if Bewitched at this point sounds too much like Venom.

Bewitched: Pentagram Prayer (1997)

This is the second of the four-part series on Bewitched thanks to my purchase of the The Dawn of the Demons box set, which includes the first four Bewitched albums.

Just a year after releasing their debut album, Bewitched released a follow-up.  In that year, Blackheim was out of the band other than some appearances doing vocals on this album.  Bewitched became a power trio here.

Bewitched steers into the skid on this album, fully embracing turbo-charged speed metal with blackened influences.  The black metal is a little more prominent this time around as the band sounds more like a hyper-active Mayhem or Darkthrone.  They are not interested in spending a lot of time establishing a foreboding atmosphere though.  They just want to break necks with their balls-to-the-wall riffing and blasting drums.

The songs are also catchy as Hell, turning dark lyrics into infectious choruses and hooks.  Of particular note are "Hallways to Hell", "Night of the Sinner" and "Satan's Claw".  The songs are generally short, but they are fast-paced and explosive.

Bewitched did not change much of the formula on this release, but they improved on what they were already doing.  This was a great follow-up to an already terrific debut.

Bewitched: Diabolical Desecration (1996)

Not to be confused with the sitcom from the 1960's, Bewitched is a Swedish blackened thrash metal band with a short, but rather impressive career.  I am not really sure why they are so little-known, but flaming out within a decade probably did not help.  I recently picked up a box set of the band's first four albums, so each of the next four days I will look at a Bewitched album.

I guess referring to the band as a blackened thrash metal band is an oversimplification and more of a broad generalization for their entire career.  We will get to that over the course of the next few days.  But this album in particular is more of a speed metal album with some black metal influences.  The riffs on this album would sound in place on an album by Venom or Motörhead.  The only real black metal influences come in the form of the raspy vocals and the fact that a lot of proto-black metal bands tended to sound a little like this.

The songs are insanely catchy and there are some truly great riffs here.  My particular favorites are the main riff to "Born of Flames" and "Holy Whore".  The guitarist (and vocalist) on this release is Blackheim who would go on to be a fairly important man in the Swedish extreme metal scene, spending time with Bloodbath and also creating the Diabolical Masquerade project.  The lyrical content is mostly silly, juvenile attempts at sounding evil ("Burnin' Paradise") or sexual content ("Hard as Steel (Hot as Hell)").  So it is not the most mature-sounding album in the world, but for this type of metal, that is not shocking.

Diabolical Desecration was Bewitched's first album and it was a decent-enough start.  There is nothing mind-blowingly original here, but it is a competent take on a genre that has been around for quite some time.  Bewitched had not really found themselves here, but it is still an enjoyable album.

Mystik: Mystik (2019)

This band could be huge.  Mystik released their debut full-length album this year and they have some things going for them that could definitely attract attention from the metal press.  For one, they fit in quite well with the revival of 1980's-sounding true heavy metal.  They would do quite well on a playlist with groups like Enforcer, Haunt and other groups carrying the torch for true heavy metal.  Two, they are quite good.  This album sounds terrific, just a good old-school metal album.  And then there's that other thing...

Okay, fine.  Here is that other thing:

This is three of the four members of the band.  So now, you see that other thing.

As I say frequently about stuff I review here, this review is solely about the music.  The fact that three (now actually two, as one member has since left the band) of the members are beautiful women is not important to this review.  What is important is that Mystik fucking rocks.  The songs are generally fast-paced with Maiden-esque riffs and Julia von Krusenstjerna's smoky vocals soaring over the riffs.  It helps that the songs are catchy as hell, with sing-along choruses and head-banging riffs.

Mystik's debut is a terrific slab of traditional metal with roots in groups like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and of course Warlock.  The playing is tight and the songs infectious.  It would not be a surprise to see this band become metal press favorites, but hopefully people will realize that this band is so much more than three women playing metal.  They are fantastic musicians first and foremost.

Abhor: Occulta Religio (2018)

Abhor fits in well on a playlist with Fleshgod Apocalypse.  For one thing the music is fairly similar: extreme metal with symphonic elements.  In addition, both bands are from Italy.  But that is where the superficial similarities end.  Abhor bases their metal sound in black metal whereas Fleshgod Apocalypse is more of a death metal band.  And of course, the symphonic elements are toned down considerably in Abhor's music, but they are a major element in that of Fleshgod Apocalypse.  I guess I really have no idea where I am going with this.  I am not sure how this band escaped my notice for so long, because I really enjoyed this release.

The album title here is definitely appropriate.  Abhor's music is generally slower-paced, doom-laden black metal but with some symphonic elements.  Many of these come in the form of organ music that gives off the atmosphere of an occult ritual in most parts.  In other parts, the effect is of the soundtrack to a cheesy ghost movie.  The vocals are often delivered in a guttural raspy voice, but there are moments of clean singing and even chanting which just adds to the occult ritual and/or ghost  story soundtrack.

Abhor strikes a perfect balance between traditional black metal and symphonic elements.  Those elements never overwhelm the black metal foundation and complement it quite well.  This is a very impressive album from a band I was not previously aware of, but will definitely be checking out further now.

Oyhra: На язычніцкай зямлі (1996)

I could be wrong, but I think this is my first album by a band from Belarus.  That seems likely because Belarus is not exactly known as a metal haven.  There may be quite a scene there, but I can not think of any bands from the country.  I had not even heard of this band for instance.  This album was a throw-in from the seller from whom I bought the last several bands reviewed here (Batushka, Kroda, Nokturnal Mortum and Maniac Butcher).  And so, here we are: most likely my first band from Belarus.

Oyhra had a very short career and released very little music.  It is a one-man project of Radzim that released three demos from 1996 through 1998, and a compilation of two unreleased albums from 1998 through 2000.  Unsurprisingly given the one-man status, origins in a small Eastern European country, and only releasing a few demos, this is a black metal band.

This is raw and primal pagan black metal with heavy doses of folk melodies and some very intriguing almost-tribal drumming.  The production value of this demo is decidedly lo-fi and it is not incredibly "heavy" in that there is very little bottom end.  The distortion does not come through very well either, mostly due to the production job.  So it is a decidedly rough offering.  Repeated listens reveal some impressive guitar melodies and a stark, ritualistic atmosphere, however. 

This is a grower.  It did not do much for me the first time or two through, but it has become more interesting to me with repeated listens.  I do not know if I would track down anything else by Oyhra, but at least it is one of the more interesting throw-ins I have gotten recently.