Magic Circle: Journey Blind (2015)

This is about as retro as retro metal can get.  Magic Circle is a heavy/doom metal band from Massachusetts that sounds as if they started out in the early 1980's.  It is surprising then to find out that the band has only really been around since about 2011.  This is the band's second album, and the first one by Magic Circle that I have checked out, but not the last.

The music here is an intriguing blend of a number of the early doom metal bands such as Trouble and Pentagram, and of course Black Sabbath, with more traditional styles of heavy metal.  The riffs are hard-driving with some killer fuzzy guitar tone.  The production overall is spectacular, clear and crisp with just the right amount of distortion to lend an authenticity to the band's sound.  It also allows all instruments to be heard perfectly.

One of the best songs on this album is second track "The Damned Man", which has a heavy, rumbling riff that Tony Iommi would have been proud to write.  The combination of that riff and singer Brendan Radigan's howling vocals make this a difficult song to resist getting swept up in. 

Magic Circle is at their best when they are playing faster-paced songs.  The slower ones sometimes tend to fail to keep the listener's attention, such as the lumbering "A Ballad for the Vulture".  Admittedly, that is an awesome song name however.  The latter part of the song, when the band gets locked into a heavy groove though is terrific. 

There is a lot of talent in this band.  Magic Circle manages to sound retro, without sounding dated.  There are some damn good songs on this thing and a lot of good riffs.  I was impressed enough to check out their 2019 release.  That will be reviewed soon.

Supergroups Pt. 1: Vhol: Deeper Than Sky (2015)

A supergroup is a band made up of musicians from other famous (or at least famous in the scene) bands.  Most of the names in this particular group are not going to mean anything to people who are not big metalheads, but believe me when I say that this is a supergroup.

On vocals, we have Mike Scheidt, primarily from Yob.  John Cobbett contributes guitars and he has played in a number of bands, most notably The Lord Weird Slough Feg and Hammers of Misfortune.  The drummer is Aesop Dekker from Agalloch, among others.  And the bassist is Sigrid Sheie, also from Hammers of Misfortune.  Agalloch probably has the biggest following of those bands, but the rest are more cult favorites.  I have seen Yob live, though I went primarily to see Bell Witch that day.

So what happens when these bands, who are primarily traditional-sounding metal bands but also include doom and black metal influences, get together?  Well, it is hard to pigeonhole this band.  There are definitely some traditional metal influences and some rock and doom metal influences.  But there is also a heavy crust/thrash metal influence and some black metal thrown in for good measure.  More than anything, this band just plain rocks.  The songs are typically fast-paced with rumbling riffs and some primal energy.  But there are a lot of truly odd moments thrown in that make this a schizoprenic, off-kilter listen.  Scheidt's raw, grunting vocal style fits in well, giving this album a grittiness and dirtiness that adds to the character of the riffing.

This is an impressive release.  I am not a huge fan of any of the bands that the other members of this group spend most of their time in (I like them all though), but I do really enjoy this album.  It is definitely weird and out there, but it is a ton of fun.

Cantique Lépreux: Paysages Polaires (2018)

That's a lot of French in that band name and title.  It comes as no surprise then that Cantique Lépreux hail from Québec.  Well, maybe a little.  Looking at the album cover, one would think that if this band were truly metal at all, that they would be atmospheric black metal focused on nature or something of that sort.  One would be wrong.

This is a surprisingly aggressive form of black metal, though not without its more melodic passages.  The music is very cold, owing a great deal to Canadian black metal bands like Gris and Tenebrae, along with some Immortal and Mayhem thrown in.  Featuring icy tremolo riffing and chilling shrieked vocals, you can almost see your breath while listening to this album. 

There is an overwhelming sense of isolation and foreboding doom hanging over this entire album.  The English translation of the title is "polar landscapes" and the title could not be more apt.  This album puts into music the sense of terror at being lost in a frozen wasteland.  It is cold and hostile and yet can be beautiful and atmospheric at some times. 

This is an intriguing album that stays with the listener long after it is over.  The band successfully captures a cold and lonely atmosphere throughout the entire album.  It is incredibly effective.  I am definitely looking forward to more.

Cyclone Temple: I Hate Therefore I Am (1991)

This is a hidden gem of an album.  Released at a time when thrash metal was on its way back out of the public eye (thanks to Metallica's black album and the rise in grunge), it captures the spirit of early thrash metal and evolves the sound.  Cyclone Temple was formed by the musicians from Znöwhite when vocalist Debbie Gunn left the band.  I first heard about this release when I saw that drum legend Gene Hoglan listed it as one of his favorite metal albums of all time.  I had to check it out.

The music fits in well with the direction that thrash metal was going.  And no, I am not referring to the more radio rock-friendly sound Metallica was heading in.  This is progressive-leaning thrash metal that retains a lot of the aggression of the past, yet develops a strong musical viability.  The musicianship here is incredible.  The riffs are complex, the bass is intriguing, and there are some amazing solos.

Now the band is not nearly as devastating as the Znöwhite albums, which were bordering on brutal thrash metal, challenging the likes of Slayer.  But Cyclone Temple is devastating in a different way.  There is a very somber tone to the entire album and the band tackles some weighty subject material, such as the death of a sister and suicidal thoughts.  Brian Troch's dry, yet melodic vocals capture this dark mood incredibly well.  The highlight of the album is "Words are Just Words" which is maudlin and melodic throughout the first half of the song and then turns punishing and brutally fast in the second half.  It is a bit of a callback to the Znöwhite era. 

Thrash metal was barely holding on in the early 1990's, but a few bands were still putting out quality releases.  This is easily one of the best albums I have heard from the genre around this time.  It is sadly forgotten for the most part because it arrived at such a bad time for thrash.  That's a shame.  This is a hell of a release.

Geheimnisvoll: Venomous Sorcery Through Hidden Darkness (2019)

Okay, then.  "Geheimnisvoll" is apparently German (obviously) for mysterious or arcane.  I suppose it is an apt name then, because the music on this release is certainly dark.  I picked this one up after seeing it reviewed in an issue of Decibel recently.  I do not frequently do that anymore, but I liked the description and due to my recent obsession with lo-fi black metal, I went out and grabbed it.

I cannot find much information out there about Geheimnisvoll, not even which country the band hails from.  It does appear to be a one-man raw black metal project.  Certainly not unusual.  This is a four-song demo, though it is not easy to determine when one song ends and the next begins.  If listening to it as background noise, it sounds like just one 20-minute long song. 

The influences on Geheimnisvoll are obvious.  The songs are fairly lengthy, composed of one or two riffs almost endlessly repeating and vocals delivered in incomprehensible shrieking.  Early Burzum and Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone are the reference points. 

This is not a terribly original sound, and yet, despite that the release is entrancing.  It builds an impressively dark atmosphere even in its simplicity.  This is lo-fi, raw black metal done right.  It belongs on a playlist with other groups in this vein, such as Drowning the Light, one of my favorite current black metal bands.  I'm anxious to hear more.

Cosmic Rayz: An Underground Tribute to Gamma Ray (2019)

One of my earliest metal albums was the first Nativity in Black tribute album to Black Sabbath (in fact it was my sixth or seventh as I bought Megadeth's Youthanasia at the same time and it came after I picked up the first five Metallica albums).  That album helped broaden my horizons and introduced me to a number of bands.  Ever since then, tribute albums have held a soft spot in my black heart.  I don't pick them up frequently, but I do get them once in awhile.  I recently picked up this one, which features a number of lesser-known power and speed metal bands performing covers of songs by Gamma Ray, the band formed by Kai Hansen after leaving Helloween.  I was only familiar with one band here and I am not real familiar with most of Gamma Ray's music (just Somewhere Out in Space), but I figured I would take a chance on it.  In order to do this post, I listened to each of the new songs back to back with the original Gamma Ray version.  Here we go:

"Tribute to the Past" by Steelballs

It is hard to take a band seriously that calls themselves Steelballs, but power metal is inherently cheesy.  The singer does his best interpretation of Ralf Scheepers, but comes out with a little higher register voice and the cover's riffs do not quite have the same heavy crunch and aggressive drumming.  The middle section of the cover also does not quite have the same dynamics as the original.  This is pretty decent though.  I probably prefer the Gamma Ray version, but this is not bad.

"Gardens of the Sinner" by Airborn

Airborn is a band I have heard of, but not heard.  I feel like this is a song I have heard before, but not sure where that would have been.  I do not really care for the vocals on the cover.  Unfortunately I was not able to find an original version of this song, so I had to listen to a live version.  So my comparison may not be really great.  The vocals are at least close to the live version I heard.  Tough to really tell which version is better since I did not hear the true original.  Airborn's version is decent though.

"Land of the Free" by Tritton

We have our first major change.  The vocalist of Tritton is a woman and sounds nothing like the Gamma Ray singer, but she's quite good nonetheless.  The Gamma Ray version sounds heavier, though the vocalist of Tritton sounds more aggressive.  I like the softer beginning of the Gamma Ray version a little better and the riffs are quite a bit heavier.  I prefer Gamma Ray, but Tritton is good.

"Heaven Can Wait" by Ice War

Ice War is the only band on this release for whom I previously owned any recordings.  This one is quite a bit different.  Ice War takes more of a punk approach to the song, making it sound almost as if it's covered by The Misfits or something.  His vocal approach also does not really fit the original.  I am not a big fan of the original either, but it is better than the Ice War version.  

"Send Me a Sign" by Allagash

Allagash is more of a thrash metal band, and they brought that much more aggressive style to this song.  The vocalist definitely does not have the ability to hit the higher notes that Hansen can hit and so the vocals are about an octave lower.  I can relate.  The music also does not have quite the same melody, being more of a crunchy thrash/heavy metal song.  Finally, there is no back-up vocals in the chorus.  This is the first song on the album that I might prefer the cover though, so there's that.  I'm not 100% on that, but first impressions I kind of prefer the cover.

"Fairytale" by Black Phantom

I do not see the point of this one's inclusion.  The song is less than a minute long.  There is just nothing to this one.  The vocals on the cover sound kind of out of tune.  I don't know, the Gamma Ray version is probably better, but this is just a superfluous song to appear on this release.

"Somewhere Out in Space" by Energema

Hey, I actually really know this song.  I love it too.  Energema's vocalist definitely does not have the intricate vocal style of Hansen, but he does well with what he has.  Once again, the vocals just are not there with the original.  I also think the original is faster and more dynamic.  It is one of Gamma Ray's faster songs.  Energema does their best to keep up, but Gamma Ray can really burn when they want to.  I definitely prefer Gamma Ray's version, but Energema is decent enough.

"Dethrone Tyranny" by Silent Knight

This one is pretty close.  Silent Knight sounds a lot like Gamma Ray on this song.  The only real difference is the use of blasting drums.  If you can get past the trigger sound of the drums, this is a pretty close cover.  I can get past the sound of the drums, but still prefer the Gamma Ray version.

"Space Eater" by SpiritBell

This is an unusual choice for a band to appear on this album.  SpiritBell is more of a doom metal band, a polar opposite of power metal.  So they bring some extra crunch and aggressiveness to their track.  Granted, with the name of the song, one would probably expect a stoner/doom metal band.  It is one of the slower, heavier songs by Gamma Ray and SpiritBell does a great job with it.  I might check this band out.

"Rebellion in Dreamland" by Masquerage

This is probably my favorite song on the album, and I had to track down the album afterwards.  First of all, the original song is one of the best Gamma Ray songs I have ever heard.  It is incredibly dynamic, featuring some terrific riffs and solos and is one of Kai Hansen's finest vocal performances.  And if anything, Masquerage manages to do the song justice.  It is easily the best cover on the album, even if it is not quite as good as the Gamma Ray version.  

The major thing I have learned from this tribute album is that it is damn hard to replicate Kai Hansen's unique voice.  But there are some damn good covers on this thing.  It makes me want to explore both: Gamma Ray's material and many of these bands.  That's what cover albums are for.  

One and Done? Pt. 14: Control Denied

Control Denied was an ambitious new project created by Chuck Schuldiner of Death to explore more progressive styles of metal.  He brought on world-class metal musicians and frequent collaborators Steve DiGiorgio (he of the bewildering fretless bass) and Richard Christy on drums.  He also brought on Shannon Hamm to play guitar and Psycho Scream's Tim Aymar for vocals.  It was an incredible collection of musicians.

The band released one album, 1999's The Fragile Art of Existence.  Unfortunately, it would be Schuldiner's final album as he succumbed to brain cancer in 2001.  But it was a terrific album.

The album is so obviously a Schuldiner project.  His very distinct style of progressive, extreme metal riffs is on display throughout the album.  It sounds very much like the direction Death was logically heading after the very progressive The Sound of Perseverance.  It also provides multiple opportunities for the other musicians, particularly DiGiorgio, to shine.  The songs sound incredible with some truly amazing musical moments.

The only weak point in the album is some of the vocals.  Aymar is obviously a talented singer and has some great moments on this release.  However, when he is attempting to shriek at the top of his lungs, it sometimes comes out sounding flat and powerless.  I wonder what the album would have sounded like had Schuldiner provided the vocals.

There were plans to release a second album and several songs were recorded, but after the death of Schuldiner, the band abandoned plans to release it out of respect for him.  This album is a testament to the immense talent the metal world lost when Schuldiner died.

Therion: Lepaca Kliffoth (1995)

Don't ask.  I don't know what that title means.

There are a lot of metal bands that have incorporated symphonic elements into their sound.  Whether that be through the actual use of string instruments or synthesizers.  There is also a wide variety as to just how much that influence shows through into the band's sound.  There are few metal bands that have incorporated symphonic influence to the extent that Therion has.

Early on in their career, Therion were a fairly typical death metal band from Sweden.  They had the kind of sound one would expect when listening to a Swedish death metal band.  But it was on this album where the band basically abandoned their death metal roots and went for something completely new and different.  Sure, there is the occasional harsher riff and the much more gruff vocal style at times, but by and large this album went in a completely gothic and symphonic direction. 

The band uses some truly beautiful, melodic passages, such as in the breathtaking "The Beauty in Black".  That song features a male and female operatic singer for much of the verses of the song.  That is in stark contrast to the much heavier "Riders of Theli" that follows immediately afterward.  There is an overriding atmosphere of darkness and mystique, so that even the prettier moments still have a dangerous undercurrent.  It certainly helps that the primary vocal style of the lead singer is a harsh and angry bark.  I still think the band is at its best when it combines the aggressive riffs with the more melodic moments seemlessly than when they favor one over the other.  The best songs are able to incorporate both disparate sounds without sounding forced, for instance the highlight: "Black".

Therion experiments with a lot of Middle Eastern-sounding melodies throughout the album.  This is something that would become quite typical of their later albums.  The lyrical content too deals with Middle Eastern mythology and Jewish mysticism.  Very interesting stuff.

I have been aware of Therion for a long time, but I was somewhat disappointed with the album Gothic Kabbalah.  But recently I remembered checking out some of their earlier material so I decided to look into their history a bit more.  It was a good move because this album is terrific.  It takes some getting used to, but it is worth it.

Edge of Sanity: The Spectral Sorrows (1993)

I do not really know why it is that I have only recently begun looking into Edge of Sanity's prior discography.  I loved Crimson, the one-song, 40-minute epic.  Yet, I never really considered going back, or forward for that matter.  For many years, Crimson was the only thing I really knew existed by Edge of Sanity.  Last year, I finally picked up Unorthodox (a perfect description for the band by the way) and loved it.  And so I have now come to this one.

Edge of Sanity is a typical Swedish death metal band in a lot of ways, but they are also so much more.  There are the chainsaw-sounding riffs and the guttural vocals, the rhythmic stomp and the raw aggression.  But Edge of Sanity has more.  They have a sense of melody and a some delightfully weird moments.  For instance, there is the random keyboard interlude in "Lost" on this release.  They also have more of progressive structure, best exemplified by the aforementioned Crimson which would not work if it was just one long Swedish death metal song.  They are much more dynamic and dramatic than other bands from their country and scene.  They can go from a pure death metal song, to a jazzy acoustic interlude, to a gothic rock song with ease and without it sounding out of place.  And in fact, they do on this album.

Edge of Sanity has always been more of the brainchild of the immensely talented Dan Swanö.  There may have been other members at various points in time in the band, but Swanö has always been the driving force.  His vocals are terrific on this album.  Most often they are delivered in a typical death metal growl, deep and rumbling.  But there are a few occasions in which he sings cleanly, as in the Manowar cover "Blood of My Enemies" and the off-kilter goth rock song "Sacrificed".  His clean vocals are remarkably powerful and makes one wonder why he did not use them more often. 

There is a lot going on in this album.  Edge of Sanity is simply not content to play just one style, even though their foundation is always in death metal.  They experiment and progress seemlessly.  It is a wonder that they never really captured attention the same way that other bands from their country did.  As I listen more and more, they are quickly becoming one of my favorite groups from their scene.  That is really saying something.

Black Mold: Tales of Degradation (2019)

Here is another demo that I picked up from Hell D Productions.  The label has something of a fixation on bands who combine black metal with crust or punk or thrash metal.  Black Mold is not an exception with their own thrashy, punky take on black metal.

This is a very short four-song demo with none of the songs breaking the five minute mark.  The riffs are heavily-laden with bass and there is a raw and primal energy to each of the songs.  Black Mold is not full of the most competent of musicians as most of the music is fairly simple and straightforward, but their rawness is what is most appealing about them.  This is absolutely filthy and dirty music played with a youthful cockiness and a fuck you attitude.  The vocals are typically shouted, going along with the heavy punk influence. 

Most of the songs carry along at about the same pace, meaning there is not much variety here.  And looking for melody is a completely lost cause.  Black Mold is at their best when they are just tearing shit apart, and that is what they do on each of these songs.

This is by no means an essential release.  It is a demo of a young band.  But their energy is intriguing enough for me to keep an eye on them. 

Cosmic Void Ritual: Vitriol Tablet Instructions: Rehearsing Speeches for When You Die (2018)

This is my third release from Cosmic Void Ritual, including another demo and a split that the so-called "Unknown Entity" did with Fetid Zombie.  The band has six releases, none of which is a full-length, since forming in 2017.  So Unknown Entity has been pretty busy.

The title to this demo is probably longer than the actual runtime of the demo.  There are just two songs here.  The band seems to like to title their songs in such a way as to lead the listener to believe that they are continuations of prior songs.  For instance, the second track is called "The Veil of Space Prevails (Dead Stars: II)", but I cannot find reference to a "Dead Stars: I".  Kind of confusing.

The music is riff-heavy death metal with something of a progressive bent to it.  The songs usually focus on one or two riffs, but do not seem to have a real conventional structure.  It sounds kind of spacey and weird, which is what the band is quite obviously going for.  My only real issue is the lack of bass.  The releases of Cosmic Void Ritual would sound a little better with some hefty bottom end that is lacking.

As could probably be guessed by the fact that I already have three releases from this band that has yet to issue a full-length, I quite like the band.  This is probably their best release yet.  I have a feeling the best is yet to come though.

Inquisitor: Dungeons of Fear (2016)

Inquisitor's label still sends me promos on occasion, but I do not recall whether they sent me anything by Inquisitor since their split with Decayed and Irae.  I was not even completely sure the band still existed until I recently placed an order with the label, Hell D Productions.  I saw this demo from 2016 there and decided to grab it since I always liked Inquisitor's take on thrash metal.

Well, we are still waiting on a full-length from Inquisitor.  This is their most recent release and it is just a four-song demo.  Granted, it is a fast and dirty four-song demo and that is typical of the band, but it would be nice to get a full-length.

Inquisitor's sound is blackened thrash/speed metal very similar to a number of South American bands.  This becomes more obvious with the track "Anjo Exterminador", which is a cover originally done by a Brazilian band called Flageladör.  The riffs are fast-paced and there are frequently soaring guitar solos played over the top of the riffs, giving the release some very impressive melody.  The blackened element comes more from the vocals, which are delivered in a typical black metal rasp. 

Inquisitor would fit in well on a playlist with groups like Witchtrap, Victimizer and Atomizer.  The music is aggressive and fast, but with a lot of melody.  I am still waiting for that full-length.

Bal-Sagoth: Starfire Burning Upon the Ice-Veiled Throne of Ultima Thule (1996)

Yep, that title is a mouthful.  That is just the tip of the iceberg for the weirdness in this album.  Bal-Sagoth is a deeply weird and unique band, which will be described later on.  I have been familiar with Bal-Sagoth and all of their weirdness for some time.  Suffice to say, you kind of have to be in the mood to listen to one of their albums.  I wondered if the band had always been so weird, so when I had an opportunity to pick up one of their earlier albums, I took it.

This is Bal-Sagoth's second album, and yes, they have apparently always been weird.  The music is damn impressive, an epic-feeling take on black metal.  The music is bombastic and triumphant, with big riffs and lots of keyboards.  The album starts off with some keyboard-laden majestic fanfare before kicking off into the first real song on the album, which showcases the band's black metal influence, well at least in the early riffs.  From there it takes on the more typical epic, melodic sound.

The weirdness of Bal-Sagoth, and their most identifiable characteristic is the vocals.  Bal-Sagoth's vocals are performed in two distinct styles.  The first is a somewhat typical raspy screech that is normal for black metal and often performed when the music is considerably more aggressive.  The second though is a baritone-heavy spoken style, used to narrate the story line and sounding like someone telling scary stories around the campfire.  It is a very unique aspect that sets Bal-Sagoth apart.

The lyrics tell a story and basically read as a book with complete paragraphs and sentences, rather than song lyrics.  It just so happens that it is put to music.  Even the song titles are long-winded.  The first song is called "To Dethrone the Witch-Queen of Mytos K'unn (The Legend of the Battle of Blackhelm Vale)".  And that is one of the shorter titles.  The story combines dark fantasy, science fiction and horror elements.  One day I will actually sit down and read the damn thing to try to figure it all out. 

As I said, this is not for everyone and it is something that takes a lot to get used to.  It is a very unique sound for a band.  This is however, one of the better albums I have heard from Bal-Sagoth, and once one gets used to the bizarre nature of the band, it is rewarding.

Nebraska Metal: Borealis

I was at a concert a few weeks ago and these CDs were being handed out for free at the front door.  Not one to pass up free stuff, especially if it is an album from a Nebraska metal band, I grabbed one.  This is kind of an odd one to pop up between Borealis no longer exists and this EP was from 2009, but that's not a problem.

Borealis is from Omaha and previously went by the name Frozen Embers.  Neither band was on my radar at any point, but that's not a problem.  The cover art definitely makes an impression.  This is some very brightly-colored and very disturbing artwork.  I was not really sure what to expect musically, maybe some kind of stoner doom/death metal fusion.  That is definitely not what this sounds like though.

Borealis is much closer to a thrash metal band with some melodic death metal tendencies.  The music is generally fast-paced with a load of riffs.  Second track "Darkened Lights of Affinity" has some pretty awesome leads and soloing going on in the early moments before breaking into something akin to At the Gates-influenced metalcore groups like Killswitch Engage, Darkest Hour and Trivium.  The energy is infectious and I frequently found myself nodding along to the riffs.  The album is dynamic too, with slower sections breaking up the ever-going riff-fests in the faster tracks.

What is really surprising about this release is how polished it sounds.  It is crisp and clear and sounds terrific.  This is no raw recording of a brand new band.  Even though this is the first release from this group, it is clear they have real talent and have honed their abilities somewhere along the way.

It is kind of a shame I am just now hearing this band.  I would have enjoyed seeing them in concert. 

Abigail: Intercourse & Lust (1996)

I have been exploring the Japanese metal scene little by little over the last couple of years.  I have long been familiar with groups like Sabbat, Coffins, Gallhammer and Sigh.  Lately though I have been furthering my exploration of the scene, focusing on the early works of the aforementioned Sabbat and Sigh, but also checking out Loudness and X Japan.  I have also checked out this album, the debut release from Abigail, a band that rivals Sabbat for productivity.

Abigail considers themselves the most evil band in Japan, and their music definitely lives up to that billing.  The band is likely named after the first solo King Diamond album and takes their influence from Mercyful Fate, Motörhead, Venom, Bathory and the early German thrash metal bands.  The music is fast and aggressive, filthy and raw.  Despite this, the songs actually vary widely in sound.  Opening track "A Witch Named Aspilcuetta" is a blazing fast bulldozer of a song.  Later songs take the Motörhead influence and run wild with it, actually managing to sound like the band with blast beats and shrieking vocals.

The most interesting song on the album is "Hail Yakuza".  The song is the most dynamic on the album, consisting of several movements, including some slower spots.  In addition, the music is complemented by several sound clips from what I will assume are Japanese movies.  I really have no idea as I do not speak Japanese. 

This album is terrific.  I highly recommend it for fans of black/thrash/speed metal in the vein of the early pioneers of the black metal scene.  There are a lot of terrific metal bands from Japan, and Abigail is definitely near the top of the list.  I definitely need to check out more of their stuff.

Darkthrone: Old Star (2019)

I am not really sure what Darkthrone is anymore.  Of course, during the Norwegian duo's long career, it has often been hard to really nail them down.  This is the band's 18th album and that is incredible.  At one time, they created the blueprint for every single lo-fi and bedroom black metal band with Transilvanian Hunger.  But despite that, Darkthrone has never really released the same album twice in a row.  At this point in their history, Darkthrone releases a new album every few years and remain champions of underground metal (the band did after all have a hand in the emergence of Ghost from obscurity).

Old Star sees Darkthrone utilize their standard format.  Fenriz and Nocturno Culto each contributed three songs to the album, and it is often somewhat easy to tell which song was written by which member.  Fenriz's songs generally exhibit more of an old school metal influence, while there are moments in the Nocturno Culto tracks that call back to the more black metal style of the early days of the band.  There is also a lot of German thrash and Celtic Frost influence in some of the riffs.

The biggest musical shift on this release is the heavy doom metal influence.  Fenriz did boast that the album had a lot of Candlemass-style riffs, and that is accurate.  The songs on this release tend to be much longer and slower than on albums that have come before.  There are a couple of much faster tracks, with some impressive galloping riffs, such as on "Duke of Gloat" and "The Hardship of the Scots".  Of course even Candlemass had some faster songs, so this is not totally foreign to doom metal. 

It is not all positive however.  Some of the songs do tend to drag a little bit, and in general the Fenriz tracks are not quite as good as the ones penned by Nocturno Culto.  Several songs are on the longer side, and the slower tempo make them seem even longer.  Obviously a big part of this is the doom metal influence, which is a little new on a Darkthrone album.

I try to check out every new Darkthrone album, but I have missed several.  That being said, I love the classic metal influences Darkthrone has been incorporating over the last several releases.  This is a terrific release, though I do still prefer Circle the Wagons for latter-era Darkthrone. 

Malevolent Creation: Stillborn (1993)

Ah, the days when Roadrunner Records actually had legitimate metal bands on their roster.  The early '90's saw Roadrunner as one of the leading labels in releasing death metal bands.  And Malevolent Creation was one of many.  Malevolent Creation was always one of my favorite band names, but I have not really gotten into much of their music.  Not really sure why that is. 

I decided recently to check out one of the band's earlier releases to see if I could see why they are revered in the death metal scene.  This is the band's third release, and it does not have very good reviews on the Metal Archives, so I may have missed the boat here, but if this is a bad early Malevolent Creation album, then I definitely need to hear the good ones.

I love this album.  The riffs are rabid and hard-hitting and the vocals have an incredibly aggressive bark that is captivating.  There are some damn impressive riffs here that stand out from a lot of the other bands in the Florida death metal scene and the solos absolutely slay.  The vocals are not the typical early death metal fare, bearing more resemblance to brutal thrash metal than death metal. 

The only real issues with this album are fairly minor.  The production is a little murky, but that is not unusual for death metal of this time period.  And the album tends to sound a little too much the same at times.  There are not a lot of melodic moments, with Malevolent Creation preferring to just bludgeon the listener.  But again, these are minor complaints.

This is just the third album I have picked up by Malevolent Creation, and I think I need to check out more.  Next stop will be the first two albums I think.

Destruction: Mad Butcher (1987)

I talk about German thrash metal a lot.  Well, I am a huge fan of thrash metal, and despite discovering German thrash significantly later in my life, I actually prefer it to Bay Area thrash metal.  In general.  There are obviously bands such as Metallica, Testament and Exodus that I love, but I really do tend to like the more aggressive, rawer style of the German bands. 

There are of course three primary bands that most thrash metal fans know of as the German Big Three.  Of the German Big Three, the only sure thing is that Destruction is my least favorite.  My views on Kreator versus Sodom change almost daily, but Destruction generally lags behind.  That is not to suggest in any way that I dislike them, I just like the other two more.  I love Release from Agony, and I believe Destruction is probably the best of the three currently, but those early albums cannot be ignored.

That brings us to today's review, Destruction's Mad Butcher EP.  This was released shortly after the band's sophomore release and it featured two new members who were extremely technically proficient at their instruments.  That is likely the reason the members were brought on as Destruction sought to distance themselves from the raw and dirty sound of their countrymen.  It worked reasonably well as Destruction is generally known as the better musicians than Kreator or Sodom.

There are just four songs on this release, including the title track, which has become something of an anthem for Destruction with the Mad Butcher basically becoming the band's mascot.  The song acts as a showcase for the new members and the band's new direction.  The second track is a cover of a Plasmatics song, which is emotionally-charged.  I am not familiar with the original version, but the song is impressive.  The third (and last real song) is a slow-burning one with more advanced composition than anything the band had done previously.

This is an impressive EP.  It is not really a vital release, unless one is a huge fan of Destruction (particularly in light of its combination with the previous album into a compilation), but it shows the band maturing and is an interesting step in the band's progression. 

Crossfire: Second Attack (1985)

I could be wrong about this, but Crossfire may have been one of the first metal bands from Belgium.  Forming in 1981 in a country not exactly known for the genre, it is a pretty good guess.  This is sort of a hidden gem of an album.  I first found out about it seeing it in some forum posts and kind of took to the album cover.  I mean, just look at that, it is simply awesome.  Eventually I tracked a copy down.

Crossfire's sound takes a lot of influence from the NWOBHM and groups like Judas Priest and Accept.  This is the band's second album, as could be guessed by the album title.  I am not familiar with anything else as I targeted this album first, so I do not have much point of reference compared with any of their other material.

The songs are generally somewhat fast-paced with riffs that are mostly in line with the hard rock and metal styles at the time.  "Highway Driver" for instance is reminiscent of Deep Purple (the classic "Highway Star" is the obvious comparison).  It is more of a hard rock, driving (no pun intended) song with muscular riffs.  Then there is the frantic "Atomic War" which is much more of a speed metal track with blazing fast riffs and a catchy chorus.  There are a few slower moments, such as the sort-of ballad "Running for Love".

This is neither a well-known album, nor band, but is a lot of fun.  It is a great example of good heavy metal from the 1980's.  Unfortunately this was mostly it for Crossfire.  They released a live album and a split later on, but never released another full-length.  As such, this is a hidden gem.

Running Wild: Under Jolly Roger (1987)

It took me a long time to discover Running Wild's music.  I had always heard about them of course, the German band is a major influence in the power and speed metal genres.  Running Wild is often mentioned in the same breath as Blind Guardian and Helloween when discussing the origins of power metal.  But so much of their material was hard to find and out of print, so it took a long time to find anything.  That started to change last year and this is now the third album by Running Wild in my collection, joining Death or Glory and Blazon Stone.  This is also the earliest of the albums in my collection and was one of my primary targets when I began looking into Running Wild's music.

This album may be Running Wild's first to take on the pirate theme that the band would become well-known for.  I could be wrong about that, but it is certainly when the theme became the most obvious.  This is obviously different than groups like Alestorm, who take the pirate theme to the next level, but Running Wild did have a strong lyrical theme about pirates.  It showed through in the title track here which also featured various sound effects to sound like cannon blasts.

The songs are here are melodic, yet heavy and catchy as all hell.  There are a number of fist-pumping choruses that make the listener stand up and take notice, including the obvious "Raise Your Fist" and then "Beggar's Night" and "Raw Ride".  The riffs take obvious influence from the likes of Accept, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and there are some incredibly impressive galloping guitar solos as well.  The guitars are of course the major drawing card on this album, but the rhythm section shines through as well and is a bit of an underrated part of the band.  The vocals are delivered in kind of a sneering snarl, but are still quite melodic and powerful.

I am still in the process of discovering Running Wild, but this is my favorite album to date.  It packs a punch while retaining an infectious melodic sound.  The pirate theme is not all-consuming at this point, as only a couple of songs deal with pirates.  It is an interesting theme, and at the time was definitely unusual.  This album is a lot of fun and is influential for a very good reason.  This is a great example of what power metal from Europe used to sound like, back when "power" was the operative word.  I will be continuing to explore Running Wild in the future, I have a long way to go.

Knotfest: August 8, 2019

Yes, I went to Knotfest, Slipknot's annual (?) traveling roadshow.  That may come as a little bit of a surprise for people who have been reading this blog for a long time, because I generally have not had many positive things to say about Slipknot.  I liked them in the early years, when the self-titled album was released, but felt there were diminishing returns on each of the two follow-ups.  I never picked up anything after the third album because I simply did not like it, other than a few songs.  So why did I go?  Because the other bands were Volbeat, Gojira and most importantly, Behemoth.

Unfortunately, the night was a huge disappointment.  Due to circumstances beyond our control, my wife and I were late in arriving and missed the first band.  That band turned out to be Behemoth, the primary reason I wanted to attend the concert.  We had some issues getting to the venue, the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, due to road work and the fact that we both had to work that day and we live two hours away.  And for some inconceivable reason the concert started at 5:30.  Plus, my wife insisted on listening to Disney music on the way down, so there was that.  I guess I misjudged the popularity of Volbeat, thinking there was no way they would be playing anywhere other than first that night.  So, when I figured out that we had in fact missed Behemoth, I was pissed.  I seriously considered calling it a night.  But, I did not think that was a reasonable response so I tried to make the most of it.

There were some definite things working in favor of enjoying the night.  My wife looked amazing first of all.  Secondly, we got the tickets for free, and were in the luxury suites, thanks to my dad who got the tickets from his company's lottery.  The company he works for built the arena so they have a luxury box.  There were free snacks and drinks provided, and I was able to enjoy the high quality meat from the meat and cheese tray provided (I am on a bit of an unusual diet and mostly just eat meat these days).  So the seats and snacks were great.

The first band we saw perform was the terrific Gojira.  I am not great about checking them out every time they release something new, but the albums I have checked out have been amazing.  I was a bit disappointed they did not play "From the Sky", which is still my favorite song from the band, and one of the heaviest riffs ever.  But their performance was amazing and with any luck, their exposure on this tour should help increase their popularity.

Next was Volbeat, who I have seen previously when they opened for Megadeth and Rob Zombie a few years back.  I like some of their stuff and own one of their albums, but their more recent material has been less than impressive.  Their eclectic mix of metal and rockabilly is a lot of fun when it is working.  I will say they put on a great performance and definitely got the crowd going.  My wife really enjoyed them, even though she kind of hated them the first time we saw them.  Although I don't think anyone on Earth enjoys them as much as the guy in front of us did.

Finally, Slipknot took the stage.  I do not know if it was because I was annoyed about missing Behemoth, but they just sounded bad.  All you could really hear was the percussion, which sort of makes sense since they have three percussionists.  But Corey Taylor's voice sounded off, and the riffs could barely be heard.  And with nine fucking people running around, you would think the show would be more exciting.  I still cannot figure out the official job of the one idiot who spent half the show walking around on a conveyor belt while flailing his arms around.  I could not see his mask close enough to identify which one he was.  They also sounded a little flat, without much energy.  I was annoyed enough that we ended up leaving about three quarters of the way through their show.

Despite the huge disappointment at not seeing Behemoth, the reason I wanted to go to the show, it turned out to be a pretty decent night.  Hopefully I will have another opportunity to see Behemoth again soon.  My wife suggested going next weekend to see Knotfest in Kansas, but I feel like they got enough of my money Thursday night.

Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar: August 7, 2019

This has been a pretty busy week for concerts.  I went to shows on both Wednesday and Thursday.  And that could have been even more if not for my wife's sister's birthday on Saturday, otherwise I could have seen Decrepit Birth as well.

Wednesday's show was the better of the two as it was headlined by Corrosion of Conformity, a band of whom I have been a fan since I was just getting into metal.  It also featured the legendary Crowbar and a couple of opening acts.  The venue was The Slowdown, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues in Omaha.  The fact that it keeps getting the best shows in the area certainly helps.

The opening act was a group called Lo-Pan from Columbus, Ohio.  Their sound made them fit in quite well with the two lead acts as they played a style of stoner metal/rock music.  The fact that the band is named after the villain in Big Trouble in Little China is just a big plus.  They had some catchy songs and a terrific vocalist.  That vocalist was the highlight of their show.  He had some massive lung support and had a very melodic, crooning style.  The drummer was also damn impressive.

The second band was called Quaker City Nighthawks.  They were more of a rock band and looked like throwbacks to Lynyrd Skynyrd.  The vocalist had long hair, a cowboy hat and rose-colored glasses.  They were decent, with a Southern rock style that called to mind a mix of Skynyrd, Johnny Cash and ZZ Top.  Not bad, but not my particular style.

Next up was Crowbar.  Now, my first exposure to Crowbar was Beavis and Butthead.  And for some reason I have never really gotten into them that much.  I enjoy their music quite a bit, but I have not often gone out of my way to pick up new albums.  But after their concert, that may change because holy shit did they put on a great show.  Kirk Windstein (who was involved in Down, still my favorite supergroup) complained that his voice was a little off, but with his vocal style, having throat issues just made it sound that much better.  They played a shockingly energetic set given their general downer style.  Crowbar was probably the highlight of the night.  And hey, I got to shake Windstein's hand after their set.

Next was Corrosion of Conformity.  Pepper Keenan returned to the band recently and the band returned to their Southern metal style from his tenure on their latest album.  The show was likewise primarily covering Keenan's time in the band instead of their earlier crossover/hardcore style.  I still believe that one of the greatest three-song openings to an album is the first three tracks off of Deliverance, and all three were represented in the concert, with "Clean My Wounds" being the encore selection.  In general the band played all of the songs I expected and even included "Vote with a Bullet", a highly underrated song from Blind, the Karl Agell record, though it features Keenan on vocals.  It was one of the more energetic and crowd-engaging concerts I have seen in awhile. 

Honestly, this is going to rate highly as a favorite concert this year.  Both Crowbar and Corrosion of Conformity were on top of their games that night, and the songs sounded great.  I never considered skipping this concert even though I knew there was going to be another show I would attend the next day.  I'm damn glad I didn't because I missed C.O.C. a couple times recently.  And seeing them with Crowbar was just that much better because the two bands complement each other quite well.  This was a terrific show. 

Demolition Hammer: Tortured Existence (1990)

This may be one of the heaviest thrash metal albums I have ever heard.  I have been well familiar with this band, and even this album, for quite some time, having acquired it in a two CD release covering all of Demolition Hammer's music.  But there is nothing quite like having the album in its original format.  It feels more natural that way, the way the album was supposed to have been heard.

Demolition Hammer released just three full-length albums, and the last one was supposed to be released under the name of a new band, so really, they only had two albums.  This is the band's debut and it is a terrific one at that.  The band is still very raw, but their unbridled aggression and brutality shines through.  It is because of this rawness that this album has gained a cult following among metalheads. 

The songs are fast-paced and intense with neck-breaking riffs.  I love the sound of the bass, which is a massive part of Demolition Hammer's sound.  It is clearly audible, driving the riffs and playing some complex rhythms at times.  It is one of the better bass performances in thrash metal, though not quite on the same level as work by Steve DiGiorgio or Cliff Burton. 

The only complaints I really have about the album are the somewhat limited production and the vocals.  With regard to the production, it would have been nice to have a meatier sound with the heavy, bass-driven riffs.  The vocals are just sort of plain for the genre and do not really do enough to stand out.

This is yet another thoroughly underrated thrash metal album.  Demolition Hammer straddle the line often between thrash and death and end up with an amazing, brutal thrash metal album.

Reevaluating To Mega Therion by Celtic Frost

First off, I am never going to claim that I did not care for this album at any point.  This has always been my favorite album by Celtic Frost.  And it has never been particularly close.  The album is legendary and for very good reason.  There are multiple classic songs here, songs like "Circle of the Tyrants" and "The Usurper".  And so it has earned its legendary status.

The album stands as a landmark in the creation of a number of extreme metal genres, including thrash, death and black metal.  What I have realized however, is that it may contain some of the very first death/doom metal tracks.  Death/doom is largely considered to have started in the early 1990's with groups like Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Morgion.  But several songs on this release (and several on the criminally underrated Journey Into Mystery by Dream Death) have all of the elements that came together into the fusion genre.  Songs like "Dawn of Megiddo", "Necromantical Screams" and the aforementioned "Circle of the Tyrants" all sound like something that could easily be on an early Paradise Lost album with their slow and lumbering, yet massively heavy riffs.  And the tone on the guitar and bass during the riffs is something of which Asphyx would be proud.

Finally, I think that "Endless Summer" is one of the most underrated songs in the entire Celtic Frost library.  It never seems to be mentioned among the band's many classic songs, but it absolutely should be.  That opening riff is absolutely amazing and it is one of the heaviest and fastest songs the band has ever released.

I am by no means saying anything controversial when I refer to this album as a legendary release.  It gets massive amounts of credit for its influence on death and black metal, I just think it is equally important to the genesis of death/doom as well.

Whiplash: Ticket to Mayhem (1987)

Despite the kind of ridiculous album cover on this one, I have been looking for it for a long time.  Whiplash is kind of known for having a few ridiculous album covers.  Their debut puts this one to shame.  This is one of those hugely underrated thrash metal albums that has been a target of mine for quite some time, just like Wargasm's Why Play Around? and a few others that I have picked up recently. 

After an introductory track featuring the sounds of intense warfare, the band immediately kicks off into some high-octane thrash metal on "Walk the Plank".  Right off the bat, it is clear that this is a much more aggressive and brutal type of thrash metal band than many of the Bay Area bands of the time period.  Whiplash is from New Jersey, but they are also more aggressive than the Garden State's favorite thrash metal band, Overkill. 

Despite a somewhat slower, yet still very intense, second track, the album generally continues in the same fast-paced and aggressive style throughout most of the rest of the album, other than a few slower melodic moments.  Whiplash write some damn catchy riffs which often sound like a mix of Bay Area and German thrash metal bands.  Something of a mix of Exodus and Destruction.  Several of the songs are highly infectious and should be thrash classics if this album was better known.

This is a terrific thrash metal album from the 1980's, but it just fell by the wayside in a big scene.  That is a shame, but it has gained cult status among old school thrash metal fans. 

Decoryah: Fall-Dark Waters (1996)

Back when I was in high school or early college, I don't remember which, I picked up a Metal Blade sampler CD at a used music store.  I was not familiar with many of the bands on it, though I had heard of a few, but I viewed it as a way to discover some new music.  Back in the late 90's, there were not too many ways to really do that as a metalhead.  That CD led to me checking out groups like Mercyful Fate, Immolation, Desultory and Crisis.  But late in the compilation came a track by a group called Decoryah, whose song "Fall-Dark Waters" quickly became the highlight of the release for me.  It was atmospheric and mesmerizing, and its lack of aggression made it stand out from the rest of the album.  I filed the name of the band away, figuring I would check them out eventually.  But for a long time, I never got around to it.

Until now.

It is kind of hard to describe this album.  It is unlike virtually anything else I have heard.  It is also tough to express what my expectations were for it, given the unusual nature of the title track.  Metal Archives has the band listed as "gothic metal", and I guess if I HAD to place it in a genre, that would be the one to pick, but it is overly simplistic.  I do not think it has much in common with many groups often lumped into the gothic metal category.  If I had to pick the closest comparison, it would be Tiamat's A Deeper Kind of Slumber, but I like this one much better than that one. 

There is very little structure present here, the sounds seem to flow freely from one to the other without any real rhyme or reason.  Many of the song titles reference water in some way, and that seems very appropriate because listening to the album is almost like floating down a calm river without much in the way of a real direction or destination in mind.  There are a lot of strange elements thrown out along the way, such as crooning, female vocals, keyboard noodling and occasional oddball instruments like flutes.  It is often trippy and one never knows what to expect next, even after repeated listens.

Despite the unusual nature of this release, I quite like it.  It is incredibly soothing and calming, unlike virtually anything else in my music collection.  It is a good album to listen to to relax and just drift off. 

Heathen Fury: Heathen Fury (2011)

Here is a one-man band from West Yorkshire, England whose sound is derived almost completely from the early days of black metal.  I am not really sure what is currently happening with this project.  This demo was released back in 2011, and there has been no follow-up since.  The sole member has about 20 other projects going so it is entirely possible that this was meant to just be a one-off.

The cover is a tad misleading.  One would think with the colorful cover and the font and everything else that this would more likely be a a traditional metal album or at least a viking metal sound.  Instead, this album has much more in common with early black metal artists like Bathory, Mayhem and even a little Master's Hammer.  Opening track "Russian Winter Sacrifice" in particular sounds like an early Master's Hammer track, due to the weird groove it locks into.

The sound is raw and primal, with heavy, galloping riffs.  Several of the songs have a very retro sound to them.  "The Power of Mighty Thor" for instance sounds like something that an early doom metal band (think Cirith Ungol or Trouble) would produce.  With the gang vocals (where did those come from by the way?), it is easily the catchiest song on the demo.  "Valkarye" then is the slowest and most melodic track on the release, but with a deep sense of unease.

This is an intriguing demo.  It would have been interesting to see something more from Heathen Fury, but I really think this is probably it from them.  It was a Hel of a ride.

Reevaluating Schizophrenia by Sepultura

Yeah, I know I just did a similar post for a Sepultura album earlier this year when I covered Arise.  Well, this album has been kind of begging for a closer look for some time as well. 

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, I loved Sepultura when I was in high school.  But this album eluded me for many years and it was the last of the Max Cavalera albums that I picked up.  It was not until well into my first job after law school that I finally managed to track it down.  And by then, my obsession with Sepultura had long since passed.  So, it just did not make the impact that many of the band's early albums made.  Add to that the kind of crappy production, at least on the copy that I picked up and there were a few reasons why this one really did not make much of an impact.

Schizophrenia is a transition album of sorts.  It is Sepultura's sophomore full-length, arriving just a year after the proto-death metal stomp of Morbid Visions.  That album helped pave the way for not only death metal, but also black metal.  Two years later came Beneath the Remains, which is the band's most straightforward brutal thrash metal album.  So Schizophrenia sort of exists in a state of limbo between the two sounds.  It features the best of both sounds with the raw animal aggression of Morbid Visions and the uncompromising brutality of Beneath the Remains.

In addition, there are some terrific, classic Sepultura songs on this release.  It features pit classics like "Escape to the Void" and "R.I.P. (Rest in Pain)".  But it also contains the spellbinding instrumental "Inquisition Symphony", which remains one of the band's most ambitious songs from their early years.

This album is finally sinking in more these days.  It is a fantastic raw and brutal album and exemplifies the amazing talent that Sepultura had in the early days.  It is a shame that Sepultura spent so much time chasing trends.  A few more albums like this would have been much preferred to the nu-metal direction the band took in the mid 1990's.

Nightwish: Wishmaster (2000)

Ah, this takes me back.  In my college days I was kind of obsessed with highly melodic bands with female lead singers.  It started with Evanescence, who my girlfriend at the time really liked, and then built into groups like Tristania, Leaves' Eyes, Within Temptation and Lacuna Coil.  Of course the most famous band fitting that description is Nightwish, who was a particular favorite.  These were in the days when Tarja Tarunen was still the singer.  I had a couple of the band's albums but then grew out of the phase and have only occasionally revisited those albums.

Recently I decided to revisit one of Nightwish's earlier albums because I heard a couple of songs kind of randomly and remembered how much I once enjoyed the band.  Nightwish always stuck out from the legion of similar bands.  For one thing, there was the beautiful, operatic vocals of Tarunen, someone who is clearly well-trained.  This influence was particularly obvious on Century Child's cover of "Phantom of the Opera".  Secondly, there is the music.  Nightwish is quite plainly a power metal band, one with significant symphonic influences, but it is not hard to imagine a group like Sonata Arctica playing the same type of music.  Most of the other bands have generally had a much more mainstream sound, almost rock, instead of the clear power metal sound of Nightwish. 

Wishmaster is one of Nightwish's most highly-regarded albums and was a pretty good bet for the one I would check out if I wanted to rediscover the band.  The album actually pre-dates everything I have heard from them.  That being said, it is still the band's third album and their sound was fully-formed.  The music here is generally fast-paced power metal that would fit in well on an album by any European power metal band.  It is melodic and bombastic with some impressive riffing, terrific solos and a lot of keyboard melodies.  Generally, the music is even better on this release than on their subsequent ones, most likely due to the fact that the band was still pretty far from hitting any sort of mainstream popularity which resulted in a streamlining of their sound.  Songs like "She is My Sin" and the title track are pretty much guaranteed to get stuck in the head.  Then, there's "Crownless", and holy hell this is an amazing track.  With lightning-fast keyboard melodies and riffs, this song stands out as one of the band's best songs of their career, much less just this album.

Of course no discussion of Nightwish would be complete without discussing the vocals.  Tarunen has an amazing voice with a multiple octave range and is able to do some truly impressive vocal gymnastics.  She can easily go from a whisper to a high-pitched howl in the very next note.  She is terrific on this release.

I really think this album has supplanted Century Child as my favorite Nightwish album.  Does that mean I am going to get back into this band?  Probably not to the same degree.  I do appreciate their ability to play true power metal better than most bands who hopped on the bandwagon of placing a beautiful woman in front of the mic to make some money, but this is still music I really have to be in the mood for.  But just maybe that mood will strike me a little more often.

Churchburn: None Shall Live...The Hymns of Misery (2018)

After his departure from death metal veterans Vital Remains, guitarist Dave Suzuki helped form Churchburn, somewhat abandoning the death metal sound and going for something even darker and more malevolent.  The band sounds quite a bit different, but the animosity towards religion is definitely still there, based on the band's name alone.

Churchburn is much more of a sludge/doom metal band, but this is not the kind of almost rock-ish, radio-friendly sludge played by groups like Baroness and Mastodon.  No, this is the kind of sick and demented sludge from the early days of Eyehategod and Acid Bath.  It's hateful, raw and undeniably heavy, with fuzzed-out riffs, slow-burning tempos and psychotic vocals, and there is precious little that can be remotely called pretty or melodic.

The album continues in that vein for the entire running time, only occasionally taking a breather with a less punishing moment.  For instance, the beginning of "Authorized to Cleanse" is a rare melodic moment with searing guitars, building into an extremely caustic atmospheric sound.  It also makes it the standout track on the album.  And then there is the eerie opening to "Before the Inferno", before it delves into utter madness.

This is one of the more interesting sludge metal albums I have heard in a long time.  It distances itself from what modern sludge metal has become and turns its sound back in time to the early days of the genre.  As a result, it achieves the kind of evil atmosphere that Dave Suzuki always sought in his days with Vital Remains.  This is not at all catchy or melodic, it is a blistering assault on the senses.  And it is all the better for its unrelenting aggression. 

Azaghal: Valo Pohjoisesta (2018)

A few days back, I covered a couple of Finnish death metal bands, which scene is well-known for its experimental and weird sound.  Well today I have a Finnish black metal band, and one of my favorites at that.  I like Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat, Behexen and others, but for some reason Azaghal has been my particular favorite since I first heard Omega.

This is Azaghal's eleventh full-length release, and just my third.  I have a long way to go to get into the band's full discography.  But that tells you how great their music is when I have heard so little of it and consider them one of my favorite Finnish black metal bands.  Particularly since I have no idea what the lyrics mean.

This album starts out like so many do, with a creepy instrumental introduction before descending into the madness of the first real song "Mato joka sinut turmelee".  Featuring pounding drums, a whirlwind of riffs, deeply unsettling atmosphere and shrieked/snarled vocals, the song is a good look at what Azaghal is all about.  But the title track is my personal favorite song on the album with its uniquely melodic chorus breaks which is at odds with their otherwise merciless assault.  That is largely what makes Azaghal such an intriguing band.  They will be playing a perfectly normal and traditional-sounding hateful black metal riff, when, out of the blue, they will begin playing a dark and twisted melodic riff that is unlike anything heard before in black metal.

Azaghal has impressed me once again.  I will have to do some research into their other albums because every one that I have heard is amazing.