River City Rockfest: San Antonio, TX 5/29/16

I did something last weekend I swore I would never do again.  I went to an all-day, outdoor music festival in the summer.  And I did it in Texas.  Don't blame me.  Blame my wife.  She was the one that wanted to go to this festival.  She has recently become a big fan of hard rock and heavy metal from the 1980's and the Scorpions are one of her favorite bands.  I like the Scorpions as well, though not quite to her level.  So she got it in her mind that she wanted to see them in concert, but the Scorpions do not really tour much these days.  They were going to be co-headlining the River City Rockfest in San Antonio though and so an idea for a vacation was formed.  The bands at the festival were mostly more modern rock-oriented, with some over-the-hill nu metal bands, and some older metal bands as well.

After two days of driving, we arrived at San Antonio the night before the festival.  We decided to skip the first act and get some lunch before heading over.  We missed Pop Evil, a band I am not at all familiar with other than my sister-in-law's boyfriend wearing their t-shirt all the time.  We also missed Avatar and Red Sun Rising, two other bands with whom I am not familiar.  The first band we saw was DevilDriver.  I have a couple of their albums, but I did not hear any of the songs from those releases.  To be fair, with as many bands as played, most of the setlists were fairly short.  Most of the songs kind of blended together.  They were decent, but I am not as familiar with their music as I once was.  Dez sounded great, as expected though.

After DevilDriver, we did not really pay much attention to the bands for a little while, trying to track down t-shirts and water, since it was 90 degrees and humid.  We barely heard Texas Hippie Coalition or Hellyeah, though to be fair, I am not really a fan of either band.  I also saw Hellyeah last summer with Slayer and King Diamond.  The singer gave the exact same "metal saved my life" bullshit speech that he gave last year.  We did get a look at the pathetic-looking third stage which was barely large enough for an entire band to stand on and rarely had more than a handful of fans watching.  I had not heard of any of the third stage bands and did not particularly want to move around much due to the heat.  We brought lawn chairs and positioned them in an area that allowed us to see and hear the first two stages.  The bands were staggered so that there was not typically two bands playing at the same time for more than a couple of minutes.

The next band that my wife wanted to see was Sixx A.M., Nikki Sixx's band.  This was fairly typical modern hard rock with a bit of the hair band flair.  The songs were catchy enough.  I doubt I will ever really like them myself though.  On the second stage after Sixx A.M. came The Sword, who I have seen before opening for Metallica.  This is another band I have not really kept up with, though I did recognize a couple of songs.  Their particular brand of psychedelic doom metal did not really appeal to too many in the crowd.

After The Sword, we had to seek shelter from the heat for a little bit.  Besides, the next two bands were Bullet for My Valentine (who I hate), and Hatebreed (who I am mostly ambivalent towards).  There was a sideshow called Hellzaopoppin that was performing in a small indoor area with fans running.  The acts were not very exciting though, other than one man who was missing his entire lower torso.  It was amazing he was even still alive.  We hid out there for a little while until close to the time that the band I was most excited to see would be taking the stage: Megadeth.

This was my second time seeing Megadeth.  Dave Mustaine was not quite as animated onstage and a lot of his normal commentary was missing, but they still sounded good.  They played a number of classic Megadeth songs like "Hangar 18", "Peace Sells", and "Holy Wars", but they also played a number of songs from their newest album, which is a pretty good release.

Once Megadeth was done, we moved forward closer to the main stage as the Scorpions would be taking the stage after the second stage band was done.  Fine with me, as P.O.D. was never exactly one of my favorite bands, even when I did like nu-metal.  A huge crowd gathered around the stage.  Amazing that a band that has been around for nearly half a century could still gather that much of a crowd.  The Scorpions were amazing and were definitely the highlight of the day.  The fact that men in their late 60's still could play that well, in the sweltering heat of Texas, was truly mind-blowing.  They played a number of their biggest songs: "No One Like You", "Big City Nights", and "The Zoo".  They acted like they were closing their show after an hour, but it was pretty obvious they would be back to play "Rock You Like a Hurricane".  And as expected, they did return to play two more songs, starting out with "Still Loving You" and closing with their biggest hit, which we all expected.

After that, we decided to take off, missing the last two bands: Sevendust and Disturbed.  I have seen both bands when I was in college, and did not have a whole lot of desire to stick around.  It had been a long day and hot.  The last all-day music festival I attended resulted in me getting heat stroke.  I was not looking forward to that happening again.  Luckily, I stayed hydrated and survived.  My wife did too, obviously, or this would be a much different post.  I swore after that last one that I would never do this again.  But I did, and we traveled all the way to Texas in what could have been a very bad move to do so.

Amon Amarth, Entombed A.D., and Ex Mortus in Omaha: 05/09/2016

Monday was my birthday.  Luckily there happened to be a decent concert in the area so my wife had the wonderful luck to get to see a few death metal bands live at Sokol Auditorium.  Sokol is not my favorite venue since there is no seating and I generally don't like to stand for several hours on end.  But it tends to draw some decent bands.

Ex Mortus was the first band up and they ripped through a fast-paced, intense set filled with shredding guitar solos and leads and deep-throated growling vocals.  I have only heard one of this band's albums but their speed and impressive guitar work makes them a band to watch in the future.  The highlight of their set was the ripping version of "Moonlight Sonata" they played late in their time on stage.

Up next was Entombed A.D., obviously a reformation of the legendary Entombed, who were one of the leading bands in the Swedish death metal movement of the late 80's/early 90's.  Entombed's final album was the 2007 death 'n roll masterpiece Serpent Saints.  Three of the four members from that version of Entombed are currently with Entombed A.D.  The resurrected group played a number of songs from their newest album and also some classics from the Entombed era such as "Wolverine Blues", "Left Hand Path", and "Revel in Flesh".  Their classic tracks were the strongest from their set, but their other stuff was entertaining enough.  L-G Petrov looks a little rough these days, but he can still command attention from the stage.

Finally, Amon Amarth hit the stage.  True to their image, they looked like vikings and had a large viking helmet taking up much of the center of the stage.  The drum kit was stationed on top of the viking helmet.  At several moments during the show, a couple of people dressed to look like Vikings and carrying swords, helmets, shields, bows, and more took the stage.  I did not feel that was really necessary personally.  Amon Amarth delivered a strong set encompassing much of their catalog.  I have not yet heard their most recent album, but it appears to be fairly typical of Amon Amarth: mid-paced, crunching melodic death metal with deep, roaring vocals.  The only real problem with their set was that most of the songs were about the same tempo, making it a little difficult to stay interested in the show.  Some dynamics would have been welcome.  It was a very good show ultimately, but it could have been so much better.

My wife was less than impressed with it, which is not shocking.  Surprisingly she preferred Ex Mortus of the three bands.  She really hated Entombed A.D., which I found hilarious.  It was a damn good show, and a great birthday.

Ghost and Tribulation in Omaha: 4/20/16

On Wednesday, my wife and I left work a little early in order to travel to Omaha, Nebraska (about an hour and a half away) to see Ghost perform at Sokol Auditorium with Tribulation as their opening act.  Tribulation's most recent album was my Album of the Year and Ghost is coming off of a Grammy win, so I was fairly excited to see both bands.

I believe all of Tribulation's songs were off of their Children of the Night album, which really is a terrific album.  Their music was terrific, dynamic and powerful.  The band members were really into it as well, in particularly one of the two guitarists who was all over the stage, shrieking like a wild animal.  They played for about half an hour and included some of my favorite tracks from their latest album.  It was an impressive performance, though it annoyed my wife.

Ghost took the stage soon afterwards, after a long lead-up with some church choir vocal recording.  It was quite obvious that they have been building a large fan base as a large crowd gathered around the stage, many of whom were not in attendance during Tribulation's performance.  A number of people were also sporting makeup similar to Papa Emeritus.  Some were even wearing a mockup of priests' robes and collars.  One person had rubber goat horns strapped to his head.

The musicians of Ghost had their customary black robes and demon masks, concealing their identities.  Papa Emeritus emerged from the blackness shortly thereafter dressed in his customary evil pope robe and mitre.  He stayed in that costume for about the first half of the concert, but did eventually ditch the mitre and robe.  I don't know if that is normal for him, but it was hot in the auditorium.

Ghost played a good cross-section from all three of their major albums.  Of course "Cirice" was performed and drew a big applause from the crowd.  Ghost were terrific performers and Papa Emeritus was very charismatic and interesting to watch.  My wife enjoyed this concert quite a bit.  As did I.  I was somewhat skeptical at one point about seeing Ghost.  I have enjoyed their albums, though they have not been particular favorites of mine.  But they were so impressive live, that I have achieved a new appreciation for them.

The Grammys Still (Mostly) Suck

Well I was reasonably impressed that Ghost won the Grammy last for Best Metal Performance.  I have seen the video of their acceptance of the award and I would have liked some reaction shots from the crowd, as Ghost definitely makes an impression visually.  Their song was the only nomination that I really like all that well.  The other bands nominated were Lamb of  God, Slipknot, August Burns Red, and Sevendust, none of whom I give a fuck about.  Ghost is apparently also going on tour soon with a concert date near here, I may have to go check them out.

Black Sabbath in Omaha: January 20, 2016

Last night, as part of my Christmas present from my wife, I got to see Black Sabbath finally.  The band had announced their last tour, entitled obviously The End.  Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne all returned for the last go-around, but were accompanied by Tommy Clufetos on drums.  Black Sabbath kicked off the tour in Omaha, NE of all places, because, and I am quoting Ozzy here "why the fuck not?"

I was not sure there was going to be an opening band until someone took the stage.  That band was Rival Sons, a band I may have heard of at one point, but never really heard.  Rival Sons was sort of a 60's/70's blues rock band.  The singer was very impressive and they did have some damn catchy songs, but I was not really sure they belonged at this concert.  I would have liked to have seen Black Sabbath bring on a young metal band to showcase, rather than this type of retro rock, personally.  Nothing against the band as they were enjoyable enough.

A short while later, Black Sabbath took the stage and opened up with fittingly, "Black Sabbath".  It was pretty clear from the beginning that Ozzy was not having the best night vocally, but that did not stop him from being the consummate showman, keeping the crowd going and interacting with them frequently.  Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler on the other hand sounded terrific throughout.  Iommi proved why he is one of the greatest and most influential guitarists out there and Geezer's trademarked rumbling bass sound was impressive.

The set list was mostly culled from the band's first four albums, much more of a sendoff than a tour focusing on newer material.  In fact, only one song did not come from that era, "Dirty Women" and it was off of their seventh album Technical Ecstasy, which still featured the classic lineup.  Other than that, the band played a bevy of favorites including "Behind the Wall of Sleep", "N.I.B.", "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Children of the Grave", "Into the Void", "Tomorrow's Dream", and "Snowblind".  Of course "Iron Man" made an appearance and the band closed with "Paranoid", while purple confetti (the most metal of all party decorations) rained down from the rafters.  One of the highlights was "Wicked World" which featured an extended drum solo, and Clufetos is one hell of a drummer.

I was a little disappointed the band did not play any material off of Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath as that is one of my favorite albums by Black Sabbath.  As mentioned Ozzy sounded pretty bad throughout the concert, he was frequently out of tune and definitely did not have the ability to hit some of the higher notes.  He was fairly active on stage though, despite kind of shuffling around like an octogenarian.   

All in all, this was a damn good concert despite Ozzy's vocal limitations.  I am very glad I got to see them before they hung it up for good.

Top However Many Albums of 2016

This is going to be kind of an ambitious post from someone who has barely posted in the last year and a half.  Because of that, I feel like I need to cover all of the albums I have picked up over the last year.  So there will be some less than good albums covered, don't take this to be a top albums list so much as ranking all of the albums I have bought over the year.  This is going to be a long one.  Even though I have not been picking up nearly as many albums this last year, there is still a pretty hefty stack sitting on my desk.

So, without further ado, abandon all hope ye who enter:

R.I.P. Lemmy

I was never the biggest Motorhead fan, though I did enjoy everything I heard from them.  I just never bought too many of their albums.   That being said, their influence was undeniable.  Lemmy will be missed.

So, My Wife Dragged Me to Two Concerts This Year...

I assume this is all in retaliation for dragging her to see Slayer.  She got us tickets to see two concerts which do sort of fit in here.  She has been going through a little bit of an 80's rock obsession, and in particular the hair bands.  I don't really get it either.

The first one came on the same night as our return from Las Vegas and was Def Leppard, Foreigner, and Night Ranger.  Going into the concert, my familiarity with the latter two bands was somewhat limited.  My mom used to listen to Night Ranger a lot, so I knew a number of songs pretty well, only one of which they actually played.  I had heard of Foreigner before, but did not really know any songs by them, or so I thought.  You see, Foreigner is mostly well-known for songs that make you stop and think "Huh.  I had no idea that was Foreigner."  Songs like "Cold as Ice", "Double Vision", "Jukebox Hero", "Head Games", "Hot-Blooded", and "I Want to Know What Love Is".  Def Leppard arrived at around the same time as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and did have a metal-ish album early on.  But they don't play any songs from that album because there are not any big hits there.  They played all of the songs you would expect from Def Leppard.  All told, this was not a bad concert, but I certainly would not have picked it out.

As if that was not enough, we went to see Alice Cooper and Motley Crue a couple of weeks ago.  Now this one was a little more interesting.  Alice Cooper was a big influence on other shock rock acts over the years and Motley Crue has some undeniably metal songs.  Alice Cooper was first to hit the stage and he played all of the songs you would expect from him: "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "School's Out", "Feed My Frankenstein", "Billion Dollar Babies", and "Poison".  His stage show was still very impressive despite his age.  The typical stage antics were there as well, the fencing foil with dollar bills stuck on it, the snake, the guillotine, the straitjacket, and the Frankenstein's Monster.  Motley Crue took the stage and played all of their big hits as well.  Vince Neil completely flubbed the lyrics to "Dr. Feelgood", which is one of the songs I actually really like by the band.  They did play "Shout at the Devil" and "Looks that Kill", which are also much more metallic tracks.  Tommy Lee did have a revolving drum set that moved across the auditorium on a track, often "playing" upside down.  I am not convinced he was actually playing.

The major frustrating part about the Alice Cooper/Motley Crue concert was that there was apparently a bomb threat and security (which was understaffed) was patting down everyone that came through the door.  This meant a nearly hour-and-fifteen-minute wait to get in from the time that we arrived.  Alice Cooper started his concert late and we made it just a few moments before he took the stage.  There were still a ton of people behind us that must have missed out on a lot of his show.

Neither concert was bad.  I have a new respect for Foreigner, though I am not likely to pick up any albums any time soon.  I did enjoy the show by Alice Cooper and can definitely see where groups like White Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and Gwar got their ideas.  Motley Crue sounded pretty good despite fucking up "Dr. Feelgood".  I would not have chosen to go to either concert myself, but I had a good enough time.  My wife was happier than hell and that is all that matters.  Now, next month, I will be seeing Black Sabbath.  That is one I am excited about.   

I'm Back After a Long Hiatus

Sorry, I have been very busy with work.  I have a ton to catch up with.  Let's start with the concert I attended this summer: Slayer and King Diamond.  And Hellyeah too, but they suck.

I went to Council Bluffs, IA for the Rockstar Mayhem tour which only included the main stage bands, not a huge deal though I would not have minded seeing Jungle Rot.  Nevertheless, I was not going to pass up a chance to see King Diamond and Slayer for the first time.

I missed The Devil Wears Prada which is absolutely okay with me.  My wife and I both had to work the day of the concert and had to stop at Raising Cane's for some chicken fingers before heading to the concert.  I would not have minded missing Hellyeah either, but we managed to make it to their set.

Hellyeah was about what I expected.  The singer, previously from Mudvayne made one of those "metal saved my life" speeches which is kind of meh.  The music was pretty bland.  I have never been a big fan of Hellyeah.  I just think they are kind of boring personally.

King Diamond was next to the stage and they sounded amazing.  King's voice got stronger as their set rolled on and they played some great songs.  They did not play "Don't Break the Oath" to the dismay of one fan that kept screaming for them to play it.  I did enjoy the inclusion of some Mercyful Fate tracks.  The decorations were a nice touch to the stage and King made things very entertaining with his onstage antics.

I ran into Kelly from Full Metal Attorney and we spent some time catching up.  It was the first time I have actually seen him since law school.  We chatted about the bands and other concerts we have been to and laughed at my wife who was reading the first Game of Thrones book during the concert.

Slayer took the stage and played a blistering set hitting all of the typical Slayer tracks.  "Raining Blood", "Angel of Death", "South of Heaven", and "Dead Skin Mask" all were played.  I was a little disappointed about the lack of "Seasons in the Abyss" personally, but that is a bit of an oddity in the Slayer catalog.

All in all, it was a great time.  I don't get to too many concerts these days, but I had to make it for Slayer and King Diamond.

Blog Update

My plan is to get back to posting soon.  I am very sorry for bands that have sent me stuff that I have not responded to.  I will try to get to everything.

Decisions, Decisions

A couple of weeks back I missed an opportunity to see At The Gates, Pallbearer, and some other groups.  I was a little bummed by that, but it turns out there are three upcoming concerts that I would love to go see.  Unfortunately, I can't justify the expense in seeing all three so I had a decision to make.

Here are the choices:
1.  Judas Priest with Saxon.

2.  Volbeat with Anthrax and Crobot.

3.  Mayhem Fest featuring Slayer and King Diamond.

As much as I would love to see Judas Priest at some point (and I probably won't get another opportunity), I don't really care much for Saxon.  I saw Volbeat opening for Megadeth a few years back and don't care for Crobot, but Anthrax would have been interesting.  Ultimately though, Mayhem Fest was the way to go.  A lot of the other bands there are terrible, though I do enjoy Jungle Rot.  But I cannot pass up an opportunity to see both Slayer and King Diamond.  I may not have another chance to see either of them.  So I made my decision.  I will probably just show for the last two bands, have work and all that since the concert is a Tuesday and two hours from home.

Fuck the Grammys

Call it morbid curiosity.  I really do not give a fuck about the Grammys, but I find myself checking out who won the Best Metal Performance Grammy each year.  Usually I do not even see the nominees until that night, but I check it out anyway.  This year saw Tenacious D win the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for their version of Dio's classic "Last in Line".  That is fucking ridiculous.  A cover version of a song written 30 years ago by a joke band headed by actor Jack Black is not a very good representation of where metal is today.  I'm not even mad about it, the whole thing is just so ridiculous that it defies explanation.  I would prefer it if the award show would just drop the Metal Performance Grammy altogether.  They have no idea about the genre and don't seem to care.  What's the point?

Odota: Fever Marshal (2014)

Some time ago I reviewed an album by a band called Talbot.  That was a pretty interesting sludge/doom album that I really enjoyed.  I was recently contacted by the former drummer/vocalist from the Estonian band to take a look at his new project under the name Odota.  Having enjoyed Talbot, I was eager to see what Odota had to offer.

Odota is actually quite dissimilar from Talbot, which is definitely not a problem.  It was just a little surprising.  Where Talbot played murky doom metal, Odota plays sludge-laden black metal with a bit of a psychedelic tinge to it.  It is fairly similar to the terrific Silencing Machine by Nachtmystium.  The experimental elements add a lot of depth and intrigue to the otherwise straightforward black metal riffing style.  The vocals are more aggressive black metal-style rasping which fits well with the music and distinguishes it from being too much like Nachtmystium.

There are some exclusively experimental tracks here, most notably "Staked Plains", that kind of drag things down a little bit.  I don't really understand the desire to throw in mostly atonal, noise tracks onto albums, but then it is not my decision.

I'm not really sure if there is some sort of lyrical theme here or not.  I do not have any access to any lyrics sheets, but the song titles seem to lead to the conclusion that this may be a Western-themed albums.  We have words like "marshal", "horse thief", "plains", "eagle", and "rattlesnake" in each of the titles.  Kind of odd choices really.  I suspect this is the first ever Western-themed psychedelic black metal album in history.

I thought this was a pretty decent release.  It is hard not to compare it to Jarmo Nuutre's other band, and I think it falls a bit short of Talbot.  But it is a very good effort and it will be interesting to see what this band can do in the future.

Vanagloria: La Dinamica del Miedo (2014)

Power metalcore?  Powercore?  What would you call this?  Whatever it is, it is definitely a unique take on a couple of metal genres.  Vanagloria is a Spanish metal band that actually got their start playing plain old power metal, well there is not really anything plain about power metal.  Over time though, the band began incorporating more modern, mainstream metal influences to the point that we get to this.  The promotional materials describe it as black/death/thrash, but I am not sure that really accurately reflects this, maybe power/thrash, but there are some definite breakdowns at times.

Well enough about the genre, what do we have here?  The riffing style is at times edgy and aggressive, and at others incredibly melodic.  The band makes liberal use of keyboards and techno/industrial elements at times, particularly in the intro track.

The vocals are definitely on the extreme end for this style of metal, but not all power metal features particularly melodic vocal styles.  Just look at Helstar and the weird Finnish groups like Children of Bodom and their ilk.  On occasion, the vocals are delivered with a more extreme backing track, or the vocalist actually uses more extreme vocal styles at times.  There was also a female guest vocalist on one track which brought quite a bit of dynamics to the track.  The vocals are all in Spanish, which is not surprising.  My Spanish is a tad rusty so I have a little bit of trouble figuring out what they are singing about.

Despite the disparate styles of metal combined by this band, the songs were surprisingly cohesive.  There are definitely some unusual things going on at times, but the band is talented enough to keep things from turning into a mess.  In fact, the album is quite interesting.  It is likely one I will need to hear a few times to really get a good idea of what is going on.  But it was definitely good enough to bear repeated listens.

Top 14 of 2014

It has been a pretty bad year for me on this blog.  I have been a little burned out as I have been very busy with work.  It has been hard to find time to listen to new music as much as I would like.  I have been really bad with bands contacting me.  I still heard a lot of great new music though.  And I managed to put together a Best Of list.  Here we go:

14.  AT THE GATES: AT WAR WITH REALITY

The reunion of the year finds the pioneering melodeath band releasing their first new album since the landmark Slaughter of the Soul.  At The Gates manages to recapture the spirit of that album without remaking it.  Sure a lot of bands copied it over the years, but At The Gates still manages to sound fresh, even after all these years.

13.  SEPTICFLESH: TITAN
Other bands have come around that do what Septicflesh does better than them.  Rotting Christ does Greek mythology better and Fleshgod Apocalypse does symphonic tinged extreme metal better.  Nevertheless Septicflesh keeps going and they still do their thing damn well, as evidenced by this terrific album.

12.  OVERKILL: WHITE DEVIL ARMORY
If I had to name a favorite thrash metal band, I would honestly have to consider Overkill at this point.  Mostly due to the fact that the band has never really softened their sound.  Sure they were groove metal for a little while, but they were still good.  And they continue to put out amazing, kickass thrash metal albums.

11.  GOATWHORE: CONSTRICTING RAGE OF THE MERCILESS
Slightly disappointing after the terrific Carving Out the Eyes of God and Blood for the Master, this is nevertheless still a very strong album.  Goatwhore continues to put out uncompromisingly brutal metal.  They get more extreme with each release.

10.  EX MORTUS: SLAVES TO THE SWORD
Ex Mortus bring a lot of symphonic and classical influences to their style of riffing.  The solos in particular display these influences.  The band even goes so far as to cover "Moonlight Sonata".  Seriously.  The rest of the album is unapologetically cheesy and metal as fuck.  It's campy and fun, and we need that once in awhile.

9.  INSOMNIUM: SHADOWS OF THE DYING SUN
Finland's Insomnium are easily one of the best melodeath bands still going.  Their somber and melodic style comes as a welcome change from some of the other groups in the genre.  This is yet another melancholic masterpiece from the band that just keeps getting better.

8.  LORD MANTIS: DEATH MASK
Easily one of the most controversial albums of the year, particularly due to the album's insane cover art, Lord Mantis's third release is also one of the year's best.  Their take on filthy rotten sludge metal puts a lot of the mainstream sludge acts to shame.  Those who refused to check it out due to the cover are missing out.

7.  GRAND MAGUS: TRIUMPH AND POWER
Grand Magus makes this list every year they release something.  That should tell something about the quality of this band.  They just continue to put out terrific album after terrific album.  They are quite simply on of the best traditional metal bands going today.

6.  CORPSESSED: ABYSMAL THRESHOLDS
First of all, awesome name.  Secondly, awesome death metal album.  Corpsessed reminds me most of groups like Angelcorpse and Teitanblood, filthy, disgusting death metal that blows everything else out of the water.  This is just the band's first full-length album, which is shocking because they sound like seasoned veterans.

5.  VADER: TIBI ET IGNI
Vader is simultaneously one of the most consistent and most underrated metal bands in the world.  They just never seem to get the respect and notice that they deserve.  Every single album by Vader is terrific and the fact that the band has been doing it since the mid 1980's is astounding.  This is once more a very strong album in typical Vader take-no-prisoners style.

4.  TRIPTYKON: MELANA CHASMATA
Triptykon was the release I probably looked most forward to this year.  After all, their first album was my Album of the Year and it did not look at all like this would be a disappointing sophomore album.  While I do thoroughly enjoy this album, some of the songs seemed to be a little too similar at times and the band was often comfortable plodding along.  Certainly not the case with the opening crushing track.  All in all, a great album, but one that pales in comparison to the first one.

3.  MASTODON: ONCE MORE 'ROUND THE SUN
I have always liked Mastodon, but none of their releases have been so great that I listened to them frequently over and over again.  Until this one.  This album features some of the catchiest songs I have heard all year.  Mastodon seems much more focused on crafting songs rather than the meandering psychedelia the band once used frequently and they are that much better for it.

2.  BEHEMOTH: THE SATANIST
One of the most hyped releases of the year managed to exceed even my expectations.  Behemoth has always been a favorite band of mine, but some of their releases have lacked dynamics, focusing instead on simply blasting away.  This release is incredibly dynamic and therefore blows away everything the band previously released.

1.  INNSMOUTH: CONSUMED BY ELDER SIGN
The debut album by this Australian death metal act is incredible.  Dark and mysterious with an obvious Lovecraftian influence, the album features twisted riffs and psychotic, gibbering vocals.  It is one of those death metal albums that simply grabs you on the first listen and will not let go.  I have mentioned that certain death metal albums, particularly lesser-known ones, sometimes have an intense quality that makes it difficult to turn them off.  This one has that same quality.

EP Briefs (I Need to Catch Up)

I am trying to clear out some emails here and figured since these were all shorter releases that a quick paragraph would suffice.  I found myself enjoying all three releases for different reasons, so don't take the brevity of the reviews as an indictment against them.

CREINIUM: PROJECT UTOPIA (2014)

Creinium is a technical extreme metal band from Finland.  It definitely starts out kind of weird, with some ambient synth work and some imposing narration but then kicks it into gear on the next track.  Creinium continues to use a lot of keyboards, giving the band kind of a death metal Dimmu Borgir sound, or a more technical Luna Ad Noctum.  The band combines a number of different metal genres into their sound, making a precise description somewhat difficult.  The keyboards are really the star here as they distinguish the group from others.  Without them, there would not be a whole lot to talk about.

PINEAL: SMILING CULT (2014)

This is the second post-metal band I have reviewed in the last week.  I suppose "post-metal" would be far too limiting a term, as Pineal clearly has a lot of sludgy riffs with some Alice In Chains-esque vocals as well.  The band is more of a cross between Crowbar, Alice In Chains, Neurosis, and some Tool for good measure.  The riffs are ridiculously heavy and of course slower-paced, and the haunting vocals add a sense of doom and gloom that carries forward through the entire release.  It is an overall dark and depressing release that sounds great on a cold, dreary night like tonight.

CRUSHING AXES: UNDEAD WARRIOR (2014)

Crushing Axes is a one-man death metal project from Brazil, although apparently a session drummer and bassist were used.  The vocals are the major standout.  Sounding something like Nespithe-era Demilich, they consist of deep, frog-like croaking, though not as extreme as the aforementioned Demilich.  The music is fairly simple mid-tempo groove-laden death metal with some interesting lead guitar work on the melodies.  The release in theme and sound does a pretty decent job of capturing the general feel of the catchier work by Amon Amarth.  I would like to see a Brazilian band like this cover some of Brazil's own badass mythology though.

In Memory of Dimebag

This is my all-time favorite Pantera song, and probably Top 10 songs of all-time:


I don't care for much later Pantera, but Cowboys from Hell is awesome.

Ovenizer: Exhibition of Thoughts (2014)

I have never really gotten into post-metal.  Groups like Tombs and Isis were kind of lost on me.  Maybe I just never really heard the right tracks to check them out more.  I did not want to pick something up without really checking it out particularly with that style of music and I guess a lot of that had to do with the fact that I am much more into the ultra-aggressive forms of metal.  The ethereal, dreamlike structures of post-metal don't speak to me in the same way.

So it was with a little bit of trepidation that I dove into this three-song EP from Finnish post-metal/doom trio Ovenizer.  I figured a three-track release would be easy enough to digest though without growing too painful.  I am actually kind of glad I took the chance.  Maybe I was just a melancholy mood when listening to it, but it really did capture my attention and I found myself enjoying it immensely.

It is true that the three song format was easy to digest, but I found myself wanting more.  The songs each move freely with a significant amount of melody and swirling guitar riffs creating a trance-inducing atmosphere.  The vocals are typically clean, though occasionally a death growl emerges.  The vocals though are just complementary to the music.  The band could have just as easily produced the same atmosphere without any vocals at all.

The songs are typically slow and depressive.  The band strikes a balance between the earlier works of groups like My Dying Bride and Katatonia with the heavier works by Isis.  It is a very dark and doom-laden sound that also presents some extremely strong emotions, in particular during second track "Hypnote", the strongest track on the album.

I really enjoyed this release, but the best thing that I can say about it is that it has opened up my eyes to a genre I did not previously get into.

Hellcrawler/Wölfe: The End of Humanity (2014)

Do other forms of music even do splits?  It seems like the only splits I ever hear about are in extreme metal and related genres.  Seriously, are there splits in rap music?  Pop music?  

Anyway, this is a split between two obviously extreme metal bands.  You don't get a name like Hellcrawler in the pop music realm.  Each band contributed about ten minutes worth of music, which does a surprisingly good job of introducing the band to someone like myself who is not familiar with either group.

Hellcrawler has taken the Entombed death 'n roll sound and run with it.  The Slovenien group (that's right, Slovenian) has one full length album under their belt before this split.  Their side of the split is three tracks of dirty, filthy death metal with some surprisingly catchy hooks.  Third track "Green Machine" is a cover of one of the greatest Kyuss songs.  They do a decent job putting their own spin on it.  

Wölfe is definitely extreme.  An odd mix of grindcore and blackened thrash.  The band apparently does not actually name their songs, titling them with Roman numerals only.  The production values leave a little to be desired as the sound is a little too high-pitched and grating.  The drums have that certain St. Anger quality.  The vocals are pretty terrible as well.  I will likely not be revisiting Wölfe.

So, two sides, one really good and the other really bad.  I will definitely be trying to track down some more Hellcrawler.

Cyrax: Reflections (2013)

If I had to pick just one word to describe the sound of Cyrax, it would be eclectic.  I think that is the most accurate descriptor for a band that combines such a wide and varied mix of music into their sound.  The Italian five-piece can go from blues rock to metal at the drop of a hat.  None of which would be possible if the musicians were not all as incredibly talented as they are.

The album starts off with the track "Doom Against True Hell", which features a hefty amount of synthesizer programming to open things up before diving into a much more standard power-chord-driven riff, which is easily the heaviest riff on the release.  That sound is frequently spliced with more programming, some choral vocal lines, and singer Marco Cantoni's howling vocals.  This sets the stage for most of the rest of the songs, which manage to throw a number of other influences in as the album progresses.

Along the way, there are some strange moments which may be considered missteps depending on the listener.  For instance, "My Kingdom for a Horse" features some vocal segments that can best be described as akin to rapping.  Which is strange, to say the least.  Other sections feature more of the choral style, which is typically done quite well.  Much of the album relies on keyboards to drive the melody, which can be interesting when done well, but some of the more experimental sections can be a little strange.  And of course the track "Feel the Essence of Blues" is much more of a blues song than metal, which is a bit of an unusual and rather courageous addition.

The members of Cyrax are clearly talented musicians, which is the only reason that they are able to pull this album off.  It is a very strange and varied release that sees influences from a variety of non-metal genres, as well as metal.  Is it for everyone?  Probably not.  But it is certainly an entertaining and interesting release.

Neoplasmah: Auguring the Dusk of a New Era (2014)

I'll be honest.  The cover art for this one threw me for a loop.  Based on the artwork of a man floating above a pool of water with multiple planets/moons in the background around him, I was thinking the music was going to be some kind of spacey progressive metal akin to Andromeda, Bal-Sagoth, and the like, or at the very least some overly technical metal wankery.  I was not expecting what turned out to be a death metal album.

To be fair, this is much more of a progressive death metal album in the vein of Mithras and Nocturnus.  The bass in particular reminds me very strongly of Nocturnus's classic The Key.  The science fiction theme, complicated song structures, otherworldly bass sound, and deep vocals combine into a cohesive sound that really does give off the feel of a sci-fi concept album. 

Each of the musicians is extremely gifted at their instruments.  The bass is definitely the star of the album but the drumming and lead guitars are also top-notch.  The drumming, while not as complicated as some progressive metal drummers (i.e. no polyrhythms and multiple time signatures) drives the music with its precision and intensity.  The lead guitar work provides a lot of the melody of the songs and can go from almost neoclassical shredding to dissonant chord progressions fairly quickly. 

The vocals of singer Sofia Silva are delivered in a raspy tone that calls to mind Sabina Classen of Holy Moses, who is one of my personal favorite female extreme metal vocalists, so I am on board.  There is not frequently a lot of dynamics to the vocals, but they nonetheless fit well with the urgency of the music.  On occasion the band utilizes clean backing vocals which provide a nice dichotomy to the otherwise more monotone vocal style.

One thing I did really enjoy with this release is that, unlike a lot of progressive metal bands, Neoplasmah craft complete songs, rather than a collection of musical segments.  Songwriting appears to be just as important to this band as showing off their technical skills.  The band takes things one step further by being able to blend all of the songs into a complete album rather than just a collection of separate and distinct songs.

This is an album that sounds better and better with repeated listens.  There is a lot going on musically that can be missed and revealed in hearing it again and again. 

Villainy: The View from My Ivory Tower (2014)

Villainy has not been around for very long.  They released their first full-length album in 2013 and then a collection of their demos in 2014.  This is a follow-up two-song EP from the power trio.  I was not previously aware of Villainy, so this is my first experience with the band.

The music is an unholy combination of doom, black, and crust.  The opening track crawls out of the gate with the pace of a snail slinking to its demise.  The pace increases to a more of a deathly gallop before returning to the dirge.  The song definitely has a Sabbathian feel to it, despite the more modern influences.

The second track is a much more fast-paced song that sounds like Motorhead playing Venom.  As a big fan of groups like Wastelander and Thargos, this song really catches my interest.  If this is what the rest of Villainy's material sounds like, I am all in. 

Unfortunately this is just a two-song EP, but it definitely piqued my curiosity to check out more by Villainy.

Sinister: The Unborn Dead (2014)

The Dutch death metal mavens Sinister have quietly put together quite the impressive and long-lasting career despite never coming close to mainstream death metal recognition.  Most of the reason for this is geographical, but it is quite unfortunate all the same. 

This release is a quick, two-song 7" EP.  Both songs are covers with the first being a cover of Grotesque's "Ripped from the Cross", and a second, much more outside-the-box cover of Chicago-based doom metal band Novembers Doom.  Both tracks are presented with the grinding bottom-heavy riffs and pounding drums that Sinister has perfected over their long career.  Vocalist/drummer (?) Aad Kloosterwaard has one of the most extreme voices in death metal, sounding much more like a deep, guttural croak.

There is not much to say about the Grotesque cover.  It is definitely within Sinister's wheelhouse, fast-paced, frenetic death metal.  It is unsurprising that Sinister is able to handle this song capably.  The much more shocking cover is the Novembers Doom cover.  Sinister infuses some clean vocals to capture the mournful tone of the original track.  But the band sounds a little clumsy trying to slow things down and has a hard time conveying the tragedy and loss that Novembers Doom is so well-suited to capture.  Sinister should probably stick to uncompromising, lethal death metal than trying their hand at doom.

So, two tracks, one pretty good, and the other not as well-executed, but certainly interesting.  It is only a two-track EP so it is only recommended for hardcore fans.

You're Probably Wondering Where the Hell I Have Been

I promise to get back soon.  Things might actually slow down here sometime soon.  I just won a Motion to Suppress last week and I have a jury trial in a couple of weeks.  I suspect after the jury trial I will be back.

See you soon.

Kult of Taurus: Divination Labyrinths (2014)

Without a doubt, one of my favorite black metal scenes of all time is the Hellenic scene. Groups like Rotting Christ, Varathron, Ravencult, Thou Art Lord, and others bring a unique melodicism to an otherwise bleak and miserable sound. The bands have a unique style all to themselves and it is a sound that other regional scenes simply do not possess. Kult of Taurus is another of these bands and has been around since just 2007.

The album begins in fairly typical fashion with a largely ambient track. There is some voiceover discussing the nature of mankind that probably comes from some horror movie or other, which lends a nice creepy vibe to kick things off. From there, we are off to the races with the kind of dark riffing this breed of black metal is known for. Musically, Kult of Taurus is probably most similar to Melechesh. There is a strong Middle-Eastern element to the band's sound, though Kult of Taurus do not use the constantly repetitive riff structure that Melechesh uses to great effect. The structure of the songs is very progressive as well, leading to room for experimentation.

The vocals should be discussed. These are not typical black metal vocals in that they are not the typical raspy shriek. Rather, they are delivered in a harsh, but mostly clean manner that is clear and easy to understand. That is not to say that the vocalist is crooning at all. It is still an aggressive and threatening style, it is just not the more typical black metal style.

This is a highly enjoyable release that fits in well with the Hellenic black metal scene. That is one of my favorite styles of black metal and this album is a perfect example of why.

Godhunter/Anakim: Vulture's Wake/The Whimper of Whipped Dogs (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

Godhunter was covered here fairly recently and I discussed how it was nice to hear some real sludge metal again. Here we have the same Godhunter paired with fellow Tucson, AZ sludge metal group Anakim. This is an incredibly short split, presented in physical form on a 7" vinyl. Each band has just one song on the split, so it is a very quick introduction to the bands.

I covered Godhunter recently and came away very impressed. This track by the group is a bit more of a stoner doom-styled track with heavier riffs and a generally much more rock-oriented sound. "Vulture's Wake" is a surprisingly catchy track though the vocals are still a little bit too one-note. On just one song though that can be overlooked.

Anakim is a band that I was unfamiliar with prior to hearing this. They are significantly softer and less-aggressive than their colleagues. Anakim's sound is much more ethereal and abstract than the much more straightforward Godhunter, at least for the first half of the song. The second part kicks off with a Sabbathian crunchy riff, similar to "Black Sabbath". The vocals are impressive, done with double track. One voice shouts while the other growls in the background. It adds to the dreamlike texture of the track. I found myself very impressed with Anakim's addition to this split.

It is unfortunate that there are only two songs here. Of course I have heard the entire album for Godhunter, but I am anxious to hear more from Anakim.

Cannabis Corpse/Ghoul: Splatterhash (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

Oh boy, this is quite the combination of bands to share a split. To be fair, I am actually not very familiar with Cannabis Corpse, but I am a big fan of Ghoul. Both bands are known for their outlandish lyrical content and their obsession with gore. The name of the split is a play on the album Splatterthrash by Ghoul. It of course references Cannabis Corpse's obsession with marijuana.

Cannabis Corpse kicks things off on the split. The band is a marijuana-based parody of Cannibal Corpse, which can probably be ascertained by the band's name. The band was created by Land Phil of crossover/thrash metal band Municipal Waste. He does do a fairly competent impression of Corpsegrinder Fisher. Many of the band's song names are direct knockoffs of Cannibal Corpse songs, such as "Inhalation Plague" from "Evisceration Plague". The references to Cannibal Corpse are pretty clear, though Cannabis Corpse does a pretty solid job of presenting their own style. The dual vocals are an impressive addition that is apparently new to the group these days. I have been previously reluctant to check out Cannabis Corpse. The fact that they were originally a parody band and their obsession with marijuana were turnoffs. However, the music is very strong death metal. I would be willing to give them another chance based on this.

Ghoul is a band that I am familiar with and like quite a bit. Their manic, horror movie thrash/death metal is a unique style that no other band has quite been able to replicate. Ghoul unfortunately is not very prolific with releasing music. It is likely that Ghoul is a side project for various members. They also add some different vocal styles, catching listeners off-guard with some black metal-style shrieking to go along with the typical gruff vocals. The two tracks here are a very good representation of Ghoul's sound. It is gory, intense, and surprisingly catchy, with the occasional oddball moment thrown in for good measure.

I still hate how short these splits are on occasion. Particularly with an inspired pairing such as this. There are only four songs on the whole thing with each band having just two tracks. Nevertheless, this is a good sampling of what to expect from both groups.

Godhunter: City of Dust (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

It seems like I have been reviewing an awful lot of sludge lately. That is fine with me. When sludge is done right, it sounds incredible. The heavy riffs, gruff vocals, and angry lyrics are a combination that speaks to me, particularly after a long day at work dealing with clients. Unfortunately, over the years sludge has become bastardized into an almost radio-friendly style by the likes of Mastodon and Baroness. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Mastodon and Baroness at times, however their effect on the style has continued to be felt to this day and few bands play the style the way Crowbar, Acid Bath, and others played it. But we seem to be seeing a resurgence of sorts very recently with groups like Lord Dying and Godhunter.

Godhunter are a Tucson, AZ-based band that plays a style of sludge similar to that of Crowbar. The songs are frequently moderately-paced, with thundering riffs and angry, shouted vocals from singer David Rodgers. The songs do possess some progressive structures keeping things varied and interesting. Godhunter is not concerned with making things simplistic, but at the same time, the songs do not linger longer than they should. There is something to be said for that.

The band kicks things off with "Despite All" which starts off with a spoken word segment explaining a lot of the ills of the world, including lawyers destroying justice, which I take a little offense to. It is a common complaint about my chosen field however and I certainly understand that. "Snake Oil Dealer" is clearly the best song on this release with the terrific guitar work and crawling riffs. The vocals work much better on this track as well. "Shooting Down the Sun" stands out as well due to the acoustic guitar melodies and generally somber tone. The non-spoken vocals are incredible on this track with a lot more emotion than the rest of the album. I could have done without the spoken parts though which tend to detract from the rest of the song.

The only real issue I have with this album is a small one. Apart from "Shooting Down the Sun", there is almost no variation in the vocals. Occasionally the backing vocals kick in, keeping things interesting for awhile, but for the most part, Rodgers is a fairly one-note vocalist. That is not unusual in sludge metal, or a lot of metal in general, but for some reason it seems much more pronounced on this album.

Apart from that one minor squabble, this album does a lot to recapture the feel and style of old sludge metal. And that is definitely a good thing.

Innsmouth: Consumed by Elder Sign (2014)

The works of H.P. Lovecraft have had a very long history of influence on metal.  Of course Metallica referenced his works in two early famous songs, "The Call of Ktulu" and "The Thing that Should Not Be".  Many groups have since tailored their music to create a sound worthy of the doom and gloom present in his stories.  Two subgenres have captured this feeling best.  One is funeral doom, lead by groups like Catacombs, Thergothon, and Tyranny.  The other is a form of primordial, occult death metal.  Innsmouth falls into the latter of these two subgenres.

With a name like Innsmouth and the title of the album here, you can probably guess that there are a lot of Lovecraftian references to be found herein.  You would be absolutely correct.  Song titles like "Thrice-Blessed Shub-Niggurath" and many of the lyrics also keep that going.

But along with the obvious lyrics and band name, the sound really conveys the hopelessness and foreboding doom of the Lovecraft stories.  The sound is otherworldly, dark and intense, with rumbling riffs and psychotic growling vocals.  There is a creepy atmosphere that carries throughout the entire album, which is conveyed the best through the use of audio effects such as those at the beginning of "Thrice-Blessed Sub-Niggurath".

The riffs in this release are not particularly ground-breaking.  They are not overly progressive or strange.  But they work incredibly well, particularly with the vocals.  The riffs are fairly repetitive, but that is definitely not a bad thing when they sound this good.

This album is definitely a contender for Album of the Year for me.  It is one of those death metal albums that just grab you and refuse to let go.  Definitely a must-hear.  

Ass to Mouth: Degenerate (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

You just know what to expect with a name like "Ass to Mouth". Hint: it's not radio-friendly. It is not the kind of thing that is going to be heard on pop radio or MTV. It's going to be nasty, it's going to be extreme, and it's going to be very short.

It's grindcore of course, though not the overly noisy, chaotic type. There is a pretty obvious structure to the songs here and actual riffs. Ass to Mouth incorporate a lot more thrash metal elements into their particular brand of grind. Thrash riffs and shouted vocals are utilized frequently. What results is grindcore in which the vocals can actually be clearly understood and there is a coherent rhythm to the songs. That is pretty rare in this style.

Occasionally, Ass to Mouth throws in something completely out of left field, such as the almost funky bass rhythm at the end of "You Have 0 Friends", the cowbell opening to "One Shot Too Far", and the almost upbeat beginning to "Here Comes Mr. Pig". Those are the moments that stick in the brain. It is clear as well that Ass to Mouth have a sense of humor, based on the above song titles, among others. Plus, their name is Ass to Mouth. Come on.

The vocals are the element that stands out the most to me. As I mentioned, they are presented in a thrash metal-style shout rather than the death metal grunting. There are the occasional pig squeal vocals, but they are used mostly as backing vocals on the occasional track. It is much more of an extreme punk style than a brutal death metal style.

This album flies by in just over thirty minutes. With twenty tracks on it, it is pretty obvious that Ass to Mouth do not really attempt to do anything progressive. In fact there are only a couple of songs on the album that are even more than two minutes long. Most of the rest fall in the minute and a half range. Ass to Mouth simply scream and thrash their way through a couple of verses and call it a song.

Ultimately, this is a fine grindcore album. It is interesting enough to me, though grindcore is not a favorite style of mine. It remains varied enough to maintain interest and is something I could listen to again and again.

Fear of Domination: Distorted Delusions (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

Seriously? There are still bands like this out there? Not to mention newish ones? Immediately when this album began I felt like it was 2000 all over again. I would have loved this early in college. Jaded, lawyer me is not nearly as impressed. That is to say, I found this barely listenable. I was even more annoyed with the band photos which portray a group looking like a cross between Mushroomhead and Hollywood Undead.

Musically this band sounds like a cross between Spineshank and mainstream-leaning In Flames. There is some melodic death metal present in there but the industrial tinges overwhelm them frequently to the point where the keyboards are about the only thing that can be heard. The music sounds incredibly juvenile, the kind of thing that 16-18 year olds would play loudly on their car stereos to freak out the neighbors. I know this, because I was once one of those kids. But now that my tastes have matured I find myself avoiding schlock like this.

The vocals are not impressive, pretty stereotypical melodeath shrieking. There are a lot of samples used and the riffs, when present, are as basic as could be. This is basically nu-metal, folks.

That's really all I want to say. I did not make it through the whole album.

Verscythe: A Time Will Come (2013)

Bands have been progressively adopting sounds that were mostly popular in the 1980's these days.  Much of that has been groups trying to recreate the Bay Area thrash metal sound.  Every once in awhile, a group comes along aiming at a slightly different target.  Verscythe is a group whose sound is rooted in 1980's heavy and power metal.  But this is not the European style, this is real American-style power metal.

The band that Verscythe reminds me of the most is a little-known group called Lethal.  Much of the reason for that is the higher-pitched, plaintive vocal style of Justin St. Pierre.  His vocals really drive the band forward with their air raid siren quality.  He has an impressive vocal range and the ability to hit some astonishing high notes.

Musically, Verscythe is melodic and powerful with some Maiden-esque dual guitar melodies.  They are not as progressive as the aforementioned Lethal, but it is still uplifting and infectious metal.  The guitarists complement the galloping riffs with blazing solos.  Almost all of the songs roll along at a brisk pace but are performed exceptionally well for a band that plays as fast as Verscythe.  They do slow things down at times to prove that they are a multidimensional band, as skilled at playing fast and heavy as they are at slow and melodic.

The only misstep is the ballad "Wednesday's Rain" which comes off sounding like the kind of song Warrant or Extreme would have written.  It comes off a little cheesy and insincere.  The kind of song written just to gain female fans and some radio play.  That is certainly not a problem with anything else on the album.

This is an impressive release from a new band.  While this is not likely a style that will gain them a ton of fans, it should be able to foster a devoted following.

Lord Mantis: Death Mask (2014)

Originally reviewed here.

Lord Mantis have never been exactly politically correct. That has been the point. They had a very vile cover on their last album and this one is possibly even worse. The album itself, and most certainly the cover, has been called "transmisogynistic", which is a word I think was just made up for this album cover. It certainly sounds like a thing, but probably not one which gets bandied about very often because it has an extremely limited scope. Essentially hatred of trans-women. Okay, sure. I am not sure Lord Mantis is really making a statement here other than just to piss people off or disgust them. I definitely do not believe there is anything really political here, but I could be wrong. Maybe I just listen to music just to listen to it. I do not go out of my way trying to find any messages in art really. I just enjoy it for what it is.

I recently reviewed an album by a band called Drug Honkey, and I thought that was an extremely hateful and vile sound. Lord Mantis is similar in that they play the same type of sludgy, doom metal, but they are quite a bit more conventional in their sound. This is much more obviously metal, with a focal point on the riffs rather than the vocal effects. It is not pretty, not by any means. The music is suffocating and pummelling. It is extremely harsh and violent. But the band does actually get locked into a groove at times, so while it is certainly unforgiving and malevolent, it is surprisingly infectious. Which means it is listenable and has that replay factor. That comes into play particularly toward the end of "Death Mask" and "Negative Birth".

The only real respite from the spiteful sound is the track "Coil" which sticks out quite a bit for its much more laidback groove and Cynic-like mechanical vocal effects. It is a welcome change of pace and makes the final track that much more effective.

This is unfortunately an album that could get a lot more attention for the odd choice of artwork than for its musical merits. That would be a shame, because this is actually a very well-crafted sludge metal album. The type of sludge metal that the genre was originally known for, think Acid Bath, Eyehategod, and the ilk rather than the much cleaner, radio-friendly stylings of the earlier works of Mastodon, Baroness, and any other band with a John Baizley cover. This is quite likely a Top Ten album for me. It really is that good.

Drug Honkey: Ghost in the Fire (2012)

Originally reviewed here.

Yep, Drug Honkey. I think it is pretty obvious right from the get-go what kind of music Drug Honkey plays. Sludgy, stoner-y doom metal with lots of feedback and lots of almost psychedelic sections. But this is one really bad trip. This is vile, hateful, and crushing. It is the soundtrack to an overdose of heroin and crack combined, with a little bit of methamphetamine for good measure. It is a dark and twisted album that lurches and crawls and heaves itself at you. It's a nightmare.

The sound of this release is spacey, yet malevolent with a lot of reverb and tortured screaming. This album is basically full of the kind of bad moments from Eyehategod, when they were at their most drug-fueled, alcohol-soaked antagonistic. The difference here is that Eyehategod would occasionally snap out of it and provide some lighter moments. Drug Honkey never does this. The entire album is full of that kind of spiteful, twisted malevolence.

The vocals do the most effective job at conveying how bad of a drug trip this is. The effects given to the vocals cause them to sound at times echoing, at others almost as if they were in slow motion. They are never pretty, often shouted, and always angry. They have a very strong hallucinogenic property to them. I have never done any type of illegal drugs in my life, but have been around enough people that have that I have a vague idea of what it feels like to have a drug overdose. This album conveys that.

Musically, Drug Honkey is fairly simple with plodding drums and dissonant chord progressions. The vocals are definitely the star here. Not to suggest that the band is not capable musically. They are, but they are not really doing anything remarkable other than conveying atmosphere at any point.

This is definitely not an album to listen to in the dark. It really is a nightmarish, hallucinogenic mindfuck of an album.

Update

Getting a new computer this weekend.  Mine is pretty well fried, which explains the lack of posts lately.  I would anticipate that I will get back to work early next week.  Sorry for the delay.

Halahkuh: Desecration (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

I'm not totally sure how a band can claim that their music is influenced by a historical figure.  Maybe I just don't understand.  But here we are with Halahkuh, an Indian melodeath/thrash metal band who claim that their influences are Genghis Khan and his son Hulagu Khan.  I admit to being a little in the dark as to Genghis Khan's son, but I am certainly aware of Genghis.

Halahkuh take influences from extreme thrash metal bands from the 1980's and mesh them with earlier Swedish melodeath, prior to the softening and bastardization of the Gothenburg sound.  Think heavier At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity meeting Kreator.  It is a heavy and aggressive sound.  Much like their historical influences the music is relentless and driven with fast-paced riffs and abrasive vocals.

There are a few breakdowns throughout this release.  I am not someone who completely opposes breakdowns, as long as they are used sparingly and written reasonably well.  Sodom did them well on occasion and of course Suffocation does as well.  Halahkuh does incorporate them well into their music.  They come at a decent time and are not overused.

The songs are mostly on the shorter end but they pack a lot of energy into them.  This is an EP, so there are only four tracks here.  Again, not really a problem.  It is enough of a teaser to whet the appetite for more.  I have to say I am kind of surprised that this is a release from an Indian band.  It really does sound more like the kind of thing you would expect from a European band.  It is impressive, just sounds out of place.

Albatross/Vestal Claret: The Kissing Flies/Black Priest (2012)

Originally reviewed here.

If you can parse this title then I am impressed.  I think I represented it correctly.  Essentially, this is a split album from Indian heavy metal outfit Albatross and the former vocalist of Hour of 13's new band.  Now Indian metal is not something I am overly familiar with.  I was not aware there was much of a scene in India.  I have a lot of mental associations with India, mostly due to my first real girlfriend being from there, but metal music is not one of them.  Anyway, enough of that.  Only one band from this split is Indian anyway.

Albatross kicks things off with four out of the five songs on the split.  Why so many?  Well Vestal Claret's song is 18 minutes long, that's why.  Albatross's music strongly resembles King Diamond's solo work and that seems to be the major influence.  The songs generally tell some sort of horror story and feature very impressive lead guitar melodies weaving through traditional heavy metal riffs.  The vocals are higher-pitched and include a lot of wailing and the occasional blood-curdling shriek.  Singer Biprorshee Das does not have the range of King Diamond, but his voice is effective enough to match the horror atmosphere produced by the eerie melodies.

As previously mentioned, Vestal Claret is the new band from Philip Swanson, formerly of Hour of 13.  I am well-familiar with Hour of 13, being one of my favorite recent traditional doom metal bands.  They had a strong gift for songwriting, putting out some truly catchy material.  I am not sure what happened to them but seeing Swanson in a new band makes me feel better.  Sure enough, that is exactly what this song is, catchy, traditional doom metal.  It is slow but demands attention.  Swanson's voice is terrific, exhibiting the gothic horror quality it has always had.  The song is a trip.

I enjoyed both parts of this split.  Vestal Claret probably did a little bit more for me on initial listens, mostly due to the fact that Das's vocals are definitely a grower.  Both bands are impressive though.

Hiss from the Moat: Misanthropy (2013)

Originally reviewed here.

I have been exposed to an awful lot of Italian bands recently.  I won't complain about it.  I love finding metal from other countries, especially countries that do not have a real deep and well-known metal scene.  Italy definitely fits that.

Hiss from the Moat is a blackened death metal band with their leanings much more toward the death metal side of things.  This is definitely not a Behemoth clone, the production is much cleaner, with the razor-sharp riffs not as grimy or decayed, though they definitely have an overall evil vibe.  The drumming is crisp and clear while maintaining the typical relentless pounding and blastbeats common in this style of metal.  The vocals are delivered in two different styles, an Immolation-esque grunting roar and a more blackened raspy shriek.

The album starts off very interesting with some nice acoustic strumming and some storms and demonic voices in the background prior to leading into juggernaut "Conquering Christianity".  The rest of the songs are fairly straightforward, there are not a lot of instrumental segues, once the band gets going, they do not let up.  The music is chaotic, yet refined.  Hiss from the Moat do not do much experimentation.  They know they are here to break some necks and defame religion, and that's what they do.

Hiss from the Moat are nothing particularly original.  It's straightforward blackened death.  It does have a certain evil vibe to it that is necessary for the genre and some impressive riffwork and vocals.  It is interesting enough to hold attention, but is probably not a necessary album.

I.C.S.: National Blasphemy (2014)

I've been getting lots of Italian bands sent to me lately.  Most of them have been rather impressive.  That's notable because Italy has not had a lot of really great metal bands over the years.  Graveworm, Lacuna Coil, Necrodeath, and Fleshgod Apocalypse have been among the more notable groups from the boot-shaped country.

I have no idea what "I.C.S." stands for.  I have not been able to find anything on it either in the material from the band, it's probably in Italian.  Or not.  Oh well.  There have been a lot of bands with acronyms as their names sent to me lately too.  It's an epidemic.

What we have with I.C.S. is a thrash metal band with some very strong punk inflections, to the point where they are almost a crossover band at several points.  Influences are clearly Overkill, Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and other groups.  It is fast-paced and almost upbeat at times.  The lyrics border a bit on the grotesque occasionally which is a little strange for thrash metal.  Song titles like "Overrotten Anal Supremacy" and "Erection and Resurrection" are typically the type of titles you would see in a goregrind band.  But the band also stays true to the genre with the far more thrash-like "Toxichrist" and "Foolish Party".
I am impressed with this group.  They write extremely catchy, crunchy riffs with a good sense of the style.  There is nothing really here that no one has heard before.  I.C.S. do not reinvent the wheel, but what they do is write some damn infectious retro-styled crossover/thrash metal.  That's perfectly acceptable.  Plus it makes great driving music.