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.

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.

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.

Leviathan: Scar Sighted (2015)

As I have mentioned many times recently, I have been on a major black metal kick.  This has resulted in checking out a lot of bands that I have previously either actively avoided or just plain did not care enough about to listen.  Some of the bands I have gotten into includes Drudkh, Shining, Drowning the Light and many more.  One particular black metal scene that I have largely missed out on is the American depressive black metal scene, which is kind of odd since you know, I am in the U.S.  I have a Xasthur album, but until recently just never really cared much for it.  Leviathan is another such band that has just never been a priority for me to check out.  I decided to change that.

Wrest, the only member of Leviathan, is something of a controversial figure, especially in the last decade or so.  He had legal troubles with Moribund Records and had some criminal charges as well.  He was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, but was found not guilty of everything except a domestic battery charge and was sentenced to two years of probation.  Despite being acquitted of most of the charges, it has been a long road back for Wrest.  Of course, he did not exactly help himself by releasing an album called True Traitor, True Whore afterwards.  By no means am I defending him here, the domestic battery is still a shitty thing to do.  But it was time to at least check out the music.

In reviewing information in anticipation of this review (I freely admit that I am not familiar with Leviathan's work previously), I learned that this album is fairly different from their previous material.  Specifically that there is more ambient material and some other influences that come forward.  So, I do not have much of a frame of reference for the band's prior material, but I can tell what is here.  There are definitely some odd moments and this is far from a straightforward black metal release.  At one point in the first true song, the music drops away to some subtle guitar noodling and narrated vocals.  At other points, the guitars come charging back in and Wrest affects an impressive death growl.  And at still other points, Leviathan barrels forward in a typical black metal style.  It is the constantly fluctuating style that makes this an intriguing listen.

One thing that is easy to tell from this release is that Wrest is going through some shit.  It is obvious how much of his heart and soul is poured into this project and it comes off strained and anguished and just frankly pissed off.  The emotion from this release is painfully clear.  It can be incredibly harsh at times, and at others, be absolutely gut-wrenchingly devastating.

This is my first experience with Leviathan and I came away very impressed.  It is one of the more emotional black metal releases I have heard in some time.  I am definitely going to keep my eye out for more of Wrest's material.  I may still skip True Traitor, True Whore though.

Cobalt: Slow Forever (2016)

It has been quite some time since I have checked in with Cobalt.  Back in 2009, their album Gin was a critical darling of the metal press, coming near the top of several year-end lists.  It was an American black metal album of the highest order, taking influence from mostly other U.S. black metal bands, throwing in some sludge metal and crafting their own sound around it. 

I loved the album too, but I had almost forgotten about the band, and it has been years since I have heard Gin.  I decided to check out their most recent album, apparently the only one I missed.  Some things have changed about the band.  Vocalist and lyricist Phil McSorley, who was an active member in the U.S. Army, is no longer in the band.  Replacing him on vocals is Charlie Fell, who was a drummer for Abigail Williams and is most recently known for his time with controversy magnets Lord Mantis.  

The first thing I noticed upon listening to this album is the increase in melodies and sections that have a very distinct American/Western feel to them.  In fact the album kicks off with one such melody in opening track "Hunt the Buffalo".  The title is also a dead giveaway.  There is also the cavalry cadence of the snare drums in "Animal Law" and the instrumental track "Breath" which sounds like something that would be at home in a John Wayne Western.  These influences and melodies continue throughout the entire album giving it a definite Americana vibe.  It is kind of odd because most of the music is very clearly black metal, with Fell's raspy roar and cold, razor-sharp riffs.

The other thing that I noticed, which is maybe not as much of a point in the album's favor, is the length.  This thing is almost an hour and a half in length and many of the songs eclipse the eight minute mark.  In other words, it is a little difficult to find time to sit down and just listen to this album all the way through.  And that is the way that the album works best, not in snippets, but in one cohesive whole because Cobalt does a fantastic job of having the songs lead into one another.  It just feels complete that way.

It has been a long time since I have heard Gin.  I will have to pull it back out to compare to this one.  I just remember that I really enjoyed it.  And I really enjoy this one too, perhaps even moreso.  I find the Americana elements add a lot of flavor to the still impressive black metal elements.  This is a truly American black metal album. 

Bell Witch: Mirror Reaper (2017)

First of all, I have to say, this is the best cover art I have seen in years.  It is incredibly creepy and imposing.  I would have probably bought this album just for the cover alone.  It looks so much better on the double gatefold vinyl sleeve.  But there is also the music, as Bell Witch has been rising as one of my favorite funeral doom metal bands over the last few months after picking up each of their recorded releases (including their demo) on cassette and vinyl.

Bell Witch's third album is an exercise in patience and attention as it is technically just one 84 minute long song called "Mirror Reaper (As Above, So Below)".  Several bands have attempted the one-song album over the years with some impressive results.  Just look at Edge of Sanity's Crimson, Sleep's Dopesmoker, and Insomnium's Winter's Gate, for examples of projects done well.  And Bell Witch have added their name to the list with this sprawling epic. 

It is not just the length of the album that requires fully immersing oneself into the music however.  As a funeral doom metal band, the music is painfully slow (in a good way) and drawn out.  There are no hooks, no memorable choruses, no real melodies.  It is just pure melancholic dread set to eerie, atmospheric, monolithic music.  Bell Witch accomplishes this task with just two members and no actual guitarist.  Their sound is bleak and massive without being heavy and loud.  It is a tribute to a former band member who had died.  In fact, one of the most poignant moments on the album is the use of previously unused vocal tracks recorded by the now-deceased band member, giving that much more weight to the heavy theme. 

Bell Witch have put out one of the great funeral doom releases with this.  It is so much more than just a terrific cover.  The music really fits in with the cover art and the music is dark and complex.  In my own opinion, it is much harder to make terrific slow music.  Bell Witch have made it an art form.

Evoken: Atra Mors

I have listened to this album over and over again today, just taking in the sound.  It is an extremely intense album and definitely takes some time to fully absorb.  That is what I have been doing today.  This is my first experience with Evoken, and what an experience it is.  This is an incredibly dense and challenging album, but once absorbed it is definitely worth it.

Evoken is about as bleak and desolate as music gets.  Fitting for funeral doom of course.  But the somber tone that Evoken has mastered is incredibly dark even for the genre.  The songs are all long epics with an atmosphere of desolation and pain.  But it is the clean vocals and clean riffs that really capture the listener's attention.  Many funeral doom bands utilize a wall of sound, oppressive and intense, but Evoken are able to convey the same misery and hopelessness with even their cleaner moments, soulful wailing and acoustic melodies.

It is extremely difficult to talk about this album.  I am not going to waste space talking about why you should check this out.  It is an all-encompassing experience.  It is truly something that one has to pay full attention to and interpret for themselves.  This is an incredible album, quite possibly one of the best albums in the funeral doom genre.  A modern-day masterpiece.