Profundae Libidines: Procès de Sorcellerie (2019)

One day, back in either high school or college, my friend and I had just left Valentino's (a local pizza place) after picking up a carry out order that my parents had placed.  My friend was carrying one of the bags as we were about to get into my car and one of the containers of  French dressing fell out and splattered all over the ground.  Upon seeing this, my friend remarked that it was doomed to fail, because it was French.

Now, why the hell did I tell that story?  Well, mostly because this is my blog and I can do whatever the fuck I like with it.  The other reason is to illustrate that despite being the butt of jokes in the past, I fucking love French metal, particularly black metal.  A number of terrific black metal bands have come from France, including Vlad Tepes, Belkètre,  and Mütiilation, all of whom were part of Les Lègiones.  And then there is the avant-garde Deathspell Omega.  So, I am always on the lookout for some good French black metal.  I was not actively seeking out Profundae Libidines however, this particular album was a freebie in the order that I placed to get yesterday's subject Question and the band that will be covered tomorrow.  But I am happy to get this as a throw-in.

Profundae Libidines is the brainchild of Philoxera, who has done work with a number of other extreme metal bands.  This is primarily his project, although he does enlist help with violins.  Hey, he can't do everything can he?  The sound of Profundae Libidines seems to be rooted in the more melodic and atmospheric tracks of groups from the LLN, and in particular the later material by Mütiilation, with a little DsO thrown in.  It is melodic, for the most part, with repeating tremolo riffs and mostly slower pace.  The songs often feature clean vocals delivered in a sort of chanting tone which work well with the more common raspy vocals typical of black metal.  The whole thing has kind of an odd, off-kilter feel to it that keeps things interesting and fresh, which is necessary when the album is almost an hour long.  There are some sections that are just plain bizarre, such as the bouncy intro to "Les enfants de Veith-Pratzer".  But these sections add a lot of character to something that could just as easily descend into typical black metal tropes.

I have had kind of mixed luck with albums that were thrown into other orders.  There have been some less than impressive ones and others that just do not do much for me personally.  (Goatkraft, Venomous Concept).  This is undoubtedly one of the better ones.  I quite like it.  It fits in well with other French black metal bands.

Question: Question (2018)

The oddly-named Question is a death metal band from Mexico.  Why they did not name themselves "Pregunta" or something like that, I am not really sure.  It is a somewhat bizarre name for a death metal band.  I have lots of questions about it.  Maybe that's the point?

Mexico does not have a real well-known metal scene, though there have been some great bands from south of the border.  Cenotaph and The Chasm are personal favorites.  There is also the blackened death metal band Hacavitz.  Of course the most well-known Mexican death metal band is Mortuary, whose album Blackened Images is an underrated classic.  So with the bands named, there are about four different styles represented.  Cenotaph is a razor-sharp melodeath band.  The Chasm is more of a cerebral technical/progressive death metal style.  Hacavitz, as mentioned, has more to do with black metal.  And then Mortuary is more of an old-school death metal band.  So then, the question is, what is Question? 

Not to try to read Question's members' minds, but their influence seems to be more closely Mortuary.  This is a decidedly murky-sounding death metal album that owes a lot to the early material by groups like Obituary and some Immolation thrown in for the old school crowd, but with some impressive melodic passages and some nice solo guitar work.  The bass is probably the most impressive instrument in the band, doing some very unique lines and generally doing a lot more than just keeping rhythm.  The whole thing is awash with a very sinister atmosphere that is helped along by the occasionally atonal leads.  The gruff vocal style also helps. 

This is a very intriguing EP from a young band from a country not really known for its metal.  I am definitely looking forward to hearing more from the band.

Forest Whispers: Zamieć (2017)

Forest Whispers is another band I discovered through Bandcamp.  I was kind of expecting more of an atmospheric black metal band, in the vein of earlier groups I reviewed like Vvilderness and Saor, not this frostbitten black metal sound that owes more to Darkthrone and Immortal and the early material of their Polish countrymen in Behemoth.

After a spellbinding instrumental introduction, Forest Whispers sets the stage for most of the rest of the album with "Gniew".  The song features tremolo riffing and cold, raspy vocals that will carry forward.  Forest Whispers also utilizes a number of very pretty instrumental interludes, calling back to the introductory track.  This song would fit in nicely on Behemoth's Pandemonic Incantations album. 

It is the juxtaposition of the light and warm melodic passages against the dark and cold obviously black metal sections that is the highlight of this release.  Each song seems to have at least one section where the band lightens things up by including very pretty melodies where the drums and bass drop out.  Even in the band's heaviest moments, some of that melodicism is still present, creating a captivating sound that makes this a very impressive black metal release. 

I thoroughly enjoy this release, particularly the dichotomy of light and dark that is present throughout the album.  Unfortunately, Forest Whispers will likely have limited appeal due to the fact that the band's lyrics are all in Polish.  That's a shame, because the band definitely has talent.

Primitive Warfare: Primitive Warfare (2019)

I kept hearing great things about this demo.  So much, that I finally decided to check it out.  The fact that it kept getting compared to "war metal" bands like Impiety, Bestial Warlust, Tetragrammacide and others sealed the deal.  Also, I kind of love the band's logo. 

This is a very quick, three-song demo, but it will leave listeners exhausted.  It is a high-speed, balls-to-the-wall intense, hyperactive few songs.  And it really does sound what warfare must sound like, with the cannon-fire drums, neck-breaking riffs, and the gruff dual vocal styles, it is absolute chaos.  It is a punishing and brutal demo that hits hard, continues hitting hard and never lets up on the throttle throughout. 

The only issue with the release is that the songs kind of blend together.  I had a little difficulty telling when one song would end and the other start.  The last track is a little easier with the ambient noise lead-in.  But the songs do sound kind of the same.  But that is bound to happen with a band who just beats the listener into submission.  Maybe it's a good thing there are only three songs here?

Longtime readers know how much of a fan I am of the "war metal" bands.  Primitive Warfare fits in with those bands very well.  I am excited to have found another group.  I am eagerly awaiting a full-length.

Ruin: Human Annihilation (2018)

Ruin, or as they are also known, Ruin Death Metal Cult, is a group of musicians determined to bring back the old sound of death metal.  Back when it was intense and scary, and much more of an underground phenomenon.  It is the death metal that was spreading its ghastly wings in the early 1990's.  Filth-ridden and disgusting death metal, long before the mainstream media ever picked up on it.

The members that form Ruin know the sound, because Ruin existed during the time period.  In one incarnation, Ruin released a disgustingly depraved demo back in 1991.  The band went on a lengthy dry spell before re-emerging from the grave in 2015.  Since then, the cult has released a number of demos, EPs and more upon an unsuspecting public.  This is just the band's second full-length.

This is gritty and grimy death metal at its most decayed, most desiccated, and most foul.  There is absolutely nothing pretty here.  It is lo-fi, with a production that calls to mind the sound of early death metal when there were no slick production values.  Everything sounds coated with a layer of grime.  The riffs are ugly and mostly fairly simple, but add to the grimy feel.  The vocals sound like the singer gargled a bottle of acid prior to stepping to the mic. 

This is a particularly nasty release from death metal veterans that still remember how scary death metal was in its formative years.  They take that sound and continue to perfect it.  This thing is disgusting and rotten.  I love it.

Glacial Tomb: Glacial Tomb (2018)

Awesome band name?  Check.  Awesome album cover?  Check.  This is the debut album from Denver-based sludge/death/black metal band Glacial Tomb, who shares a member with the amazing doom metal band Khemmis, and one guy who was in briefly famous, but long-forgotten (despite technically still being active) blackened metalcore band Abigail Williams. 

The sound of Glacial Tomb is hateful and dark.  It is something of a less extreme version of Lord Mantis, but few bands are as extreme as Lord Mantis.  The sound seems to be based in sludge metal, but with obvious leanings toward black and death metal, such as the vocal style and the occasional tremolo riff.  But it is not nearly that simple.  Glacial Tomb reaches out into a lot of different styles and genres throughout the run time of this release.  The only constant is that it is dissonant and intense and ugly as all hell.

Unfortunately, in the band's efforts to combine a number of disparate genres into one big grab bag, the songwriting kind of suffers.  I enjoy listening to the album while it is playing, but after it is done, I sometimes have difficulty remembering any particular passages or songs that really stuck out.  It is not just the lack of hooks and catchy choruses, there just is not much truly memorable about this release.  Certainly disappointing when the group has a member of Khemmis involved, a band who is infectious as fuck.

This is not a bad album, not by any stretch.  It just doesn't stick when it's over.  That's a disappointment.  Glacial Tomb is fairly new yet though.  In time, perhaps they will improve on that deficiency.

Apostasy: The Sign of Darkness (2018)

Apostasy can trace their origins back to the late 1980's.  The band formed in Chile, which has birthed a few metal bands I thoroughly enjoy, including the terrific Thornafire.  Apostasy released just one full-length album, Sunset of the End, before disbanding.  Guitarist Cris Profaner recently reformed the band, this time taking on bass duties, and this is their first full-length since that reformation.

As a fan of thrash metal worldwide, I was all over an opportunity to hear some good South American-style thrash metal and Apostasy definitely delivers.  This album has the feel of classic Sepultura mixed with some Slayer to it.  The first song definitely has a tempo and style similar to pre-Reign in Blood Slayer.  It is fast, with razor sharp riffs, and often air raid siren vocals.  I kept waiting for him to shriek "Hell Awaits".  The entire album possesses a dark, raw and evil atmosphere carried forward by the sinister riffs and hellish wailing vocals.  Even when they slow things down, there is still a sense of unease building, a sense that nothing is entirely safe.

Apostasy builds on that early promise throughout the album.  This is truly a callback to a time when Slayer was still playing Venom riffs as fast as possible and Sepultura was still shedding their blackened death metal sound.  As that is my favorite era of Slayer's music in particular, I am fully onboard with Apostasy. 

I love this album.  I was always a little more partial to this type of thrash, barely skirting the surface of black metal.  This is exactly the kind of sound I was looking for.

Black Viper: Hellions of Fire (2018)

How could you not get sucked in by that album cover?  That thing is ridiculous, insane and awesome all at once.  It helps to justify picking up the album that the drummer was in Deathhammer at one point, so I am fully on board now.

From the opening strains leading into the siren howl of vocalist Salvador Armijo, it is very clear that this is a direct call back to speed/heavy metal classics of the 1980's.  It is a breathtaking cavalcade of riffs and melodies that flies by at blinding speeds.  In fact, the speed is so intense and breakneck, it is a wonder that the individual musicians are able to keep up.  At the backbone of all of this is the aforementioned Deathhammer drummer, one Cato Stormoen.  His ability to keep time while propelling the band forward is amazing and is the biggest highlight of the album.

On first listen, it seems like a lot of the songs are more of a collection of ideas than cohesive songs, but subsequent listens tend to reveal more of a common thread.  There are multiple different sections and speed changes during most of the songs.  But they manage to hold things together and the songs always come full circle. 

This album definitely captures the sound and the fury of 1980's speed metal, without sounding out-dated.  I love it.  It's a ton of fun. 

The Rite: The Brocken Fires (2018)

I was a little surprised by what this band sounded like.  Based on the name of the band and the album cover, I was expecting possibly a traditional doom metal album, maybe something in the vein of The Reverend Bizarre.  Despite the demonic presence on the album cover, the vintage artwork seems to be the kind of thing a doom metal band might unearth.  And so it was a little surprising that The Rite is much more of a black metal band, though with some obvious doom metal in their sound.

This is a short EP with five tracks, one of those being a fairly typical creepy intro.  The last song "Acid Orgy" is a Goatlord cover (that would be the U.S. Goatlord, the more active of the several bands called Goatlord).  Upon examining closer the song titles, I should have expected the cold black metal that emanates from the speakers.  Not many traditional doom metal bands have prayers to Satan and pacts with Hell, and whatnot.

I do love the guitar tone on this release, particularly in the first real song "A Pact with Hell".  It is appropriately dark and doomy, and sinister as all Hell.  The title track is where the real doom metal sound comes in, with its slow-burning malevolence and creeping riffs that builds into a frenetic crescendo destined to break some necks.  It is easily the best song on the EP.

This is a nasty little gem of an EP.  I find myself going back to it frequently.  I am hoping the band releases a full-length soon. 

Hellwitch Demos

Today is a two-fer.  Because they are pretty short and I got them at the same time, I will be covering both Anthropophagi and Transgressive Sentience.  Hellwitch has their own online store where you can acquire most of their recordings in most formats, including demos.  I am still looking for Syzygial Miscreancy on cassette, which is not easy, nor cheap to find.  But the store is very helpful for most things.

TRANSGRESSIVE SENTIENCE (1986)

Starting off, we have Hellwitch's second demo.  The first track is the only one that would appear on the band's first album.  Due to how early in Hellwitch's career this one was released, it is no surprise that this one is a little bit rough.  But most of the elements that Hellwitch would later make up their sound can be discerned.  The band sounds like a slightly more technical blend of early Death and Venom.  Listening to it back to back with the next demo sounds like listening to two different bands.  Despite this, the rawness is endearing and this is a pretty intriguing demo.

ANTHROPOPHAGI (1994)

First of all, love the H.R. Giger artwork on the cover of this.  Of course, it has appeared on other albums before, including Triptykon's Melana Chasmata.  As this demo was released after Hellwitch had already put out their first full-length album, it finds the band in a much more finalized state.  All of the technical elements and the typical whirlwind of riffs that made Hellwitch so intriguing are present.  Oddly, one of the songs, "Fate at Pain's End", appears on Transgressive Sentience as well, but not on the album.  This is probably the better of the two demos, even if only based on how much more mature the band sounds.  This would be the last release from Hellwitch for several years.   

Saor: Forgotten Paths (2019)

After falling for the Vvilderness album a few months back, I decided to seek out some similar bands.  The sound I was looking for was a sort of atmospheric black metal with folk elements, something that reminded me of nature but still had a dark side.  And that search led me to Glasgow's Saor.

This album is full of haunting, sweeping melodies that can go down a more traditional black metal path at a moment's notice.  The opening title track is a perfect example of this as it features impressive tremolo riffing and blast beats on top of some beautiful lilting melodies.  "Monadh" starts off with a stirring piano solo and leads into some heavy use of wind instruments and strings.  These are the folk elements that meld well into Saor's brand of Drudkh-esque atmospheric black metal.

The vocals, when they are present, are often performed in a typical black metal rasp, but they are absolutely never the focal point.  They are often buried deep in the mix.  Saor is one of those bands that might just be more effective as an instrumental band, honestly.  The vocals really do not matter much at all, other than to add one more undeniably metal element to the sound.  It just is not totally necessary.

I definitely got what I was seeking when I picked up this album.  It is an absolutely beautiful sound that Saor pulls off here.  It is metal enough to satisfy that side, yet melodic and emotional at the same time.  Definitely an impressive release.

Dokken: Under Lock and Key (1985)

I guess it is time to discuss "hair" metal again.  I know I had a fairly lengthy post a couple of months ago about "hair" bands that do not suck.  There are definitely some good bands from the time period of massive amounts of hairspray.  Dokken is generally one of those bands.

Dokken's previous album Tooth and Nail is a classic from the time period and features a number of hit melodic metal songs.  This album though finds Dokken headed in more of a mainstream direction.  Not that that is necessarily a bad thing...what the hell am I saying?  This is a far inferior album to their last one, and a lot of that reason is due to Dokken chasing the almighty dollar.  Gone is the nail-spitting vibe of tracks like "Into the Fire" and the title track.  Most of this album is the kind of fluff that was guaranteed MTV airplay in the time period.  The photo of the band members on the cover does not really help things a lot either.

It is not all bad though.  There are some impressive tracks, such as "Unchain the Night", "The Hunter" and "Lightnin' Strikes Again".  While they mostly pale in comparison to the better songs from the previous album, at least they are a reasonable facsimile.  Unfortunately there are far too many ballads on this release for it to come out all that well.  About half of the tracks are power ballads.

I want to be clear that I do not hate this album, I just do not like it as much as Tooth and Nail.  Most of the musical elements that have made Dokken one of the better bands of the style are present.  Don Dokken has terrific vocal range and George Lynch is a fantastic guitar player.  The album just could have been better.  Unfortunately, things would not get any better for Dokken from here on out.  Their best days were already behind them.

Witchfinder: Witchfinder (2017)

With a name that references either a Cathedral song, a Vincent Price movie, or one of the original doom metal bands, you can bet that this is going to be some form of doom metal.  And then there is the hazy-looking band logo and thus stoner doom becomes the obvious conclusion to be drawn.  And so it is with France's Witchfinder.

This is just a four-song album, but each song lasts somewhere around ten minutes.  Witchfinder's influences are pretty clear right from the first fuzzed-out riff.  Take a little Cathedral, mix in some of the most psychedelic offerings from Electric Wizard, some Dopesmoker-era Sleep and a whole shitload of weed and voila, Witchfinder.  The songs are slow dirges with spacy, bass-heavy riffs and smoky vocals that sound like they were recorded in a cave.  Every so often, the band throws in a curve, like the crunchy mid-paced riff early in "Smoke a Weed Prayer", but by and large this is a band emulating the reefer madness of the aforementioned Sleep and Electric Wizard.

Despite the fact that I have never (and I mean absolutely never) used marijuana, or any other drug besides alcohol in fact, in my life, I absolutely love stoner doom.  At least when it is done well.  Witchfinder is highly derivative of some of the genre legends, but that does not mean that they do not do a damn fine job.  There may be no real discernible difference between this and Dopethrone, but it is still damn fun to listen to.  That's all I really want from my metal.

Vessel of Iniquity: Void of Infinite Horror (2019)

Well, this one is perhaps a cautionary tale.  I remember adding it to my cart while placing the order for Mystifier, Altarage and Vltimas as I vaguely recalled reading some positive reviews about it.  I probably should have looked back at those reviews or at least done a little more research on this release before buying it.  Oh well, too late now.

This album is basically like if Altarage completely gave up on any semblance of musicianship.  It is a cross between drone doom, black/death metal and just pure noise.  There are riffs present, but they do not really resemble anything coherent.  They are played extremely fast while drums pound away mechanically and other instrumentation plays extremely loud, resulting in a massive wall of sound that only occasionally relents.

This is essentially an instrumental album.  There are vocals, but I am not sure there are lyrics or any words being conveyed.  The vocals are typically delivered in blood-curdling screams that melt into the larger wall of sound and essentially just become another instrument.

I will say that the title of the album is quite fitting because this release is definitely horrifying.  It is good for what it is, I want to be clear on that, but I just do not believe it has much replay value.  There are no real songs here, just differing collections of noise.  I probably would not have picked it up had I known that.  I will keep it, but I doubt it will be played too often.

Mystifier: Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia (2019)

Brazil's mighty Mystifier has been around for a LONG time.  Though they released their first demo in 1989, they have only released five full-length albums.  In fact, this is their first full-length album since 2001.  Nevertheless, they do not seem to have broken up at any point, though there has only been one long-lasting member.  Beelzeebubth has been the only consistent member, with a revolving door for the other members of the band.

Mystifier's sound is pure, unadulterated evil.  It is a very dark and ominous album that alternates between doomy atmosphere and high-octane Venom-ous riffs.  It is an incredibly dynamic album for a black/death metal release, with impressive songwriting and razor-sharp riffs, while the vocalists growl and wail over the maelstrom.  When the band is not shredding, they utilize creepy organs and chanted vocals in attempts to summon demons.  There is a lot of chemistry between the individual musicians, resulting in an incredibly tight and punishing album.

This is an incredible album that only gets better every time I hear it.  I am honestly not overly familiar with Mystifier's back catalog, but after coming out blown away by this release, I am planning to get into their previous material.  There is a reason that Mystifier is among the pantheon of essential Brazilian extreme metal bands.  Simply put, this album is incredible.  This album is a possible contender for Album of the Year. 

Altarage: The Approaching Roar (2019)

One of the more fascinating death metal albums of 2017 was Altarage's Endinghent, which showed some intriguing evolution for the genre.  It was dissonant and dark, sounding like the soundtrack to the void.  It was incredible.  And so, when I saw that Altarage was releasing a new album this year, I wanted to see where the band would go from there.

There is absolutely nothing pretty or melodic about the music of Altarage.  This album is ugly, abrasive, chaotic and absolutely crushingly brutal.  This is death metal taken to an absurd extreme cutting out all semblance of humanity and becoming a massive wall of sound.  There are riffs present, this is metal after all, but there is so much dissonance and distortion that the riffs sound murky.  Occasionally, there are softer moments, but those just highlight how brutally intense the rest of the album is.

There are vocals on this, but they too are often buried in the rest of the sound.  The vocals are delivered in a deep growl.  The lyrics deal with heavy topics like existential dread, horror and chaotic evil.  The atmosphere of the album fits in quite well with the lyrical topics.

This album does not fit in neatly with any well-known subgenres of death metal.  Rather, it sounds more like a cross between the genre-defying bands Ulcerate and Gojira, yet heavier and more intense than both.  It is a complete mindfuck of an album that should probably not be listened to in the dark for fear that it may just open a portal to The Void.  We wouldn't want that, would we?

Vltimas: Something Wicked Marches In (2019)

Here we have a blackened death metal supergroup.  Only time will tell if this one will be a one-off like I or if it will be a long-lasting one like Bloodbath.  Vltimas is made up of three members, each from a very famous band.  On drums is Flo Mounier, primarily from Cryptopsy.  The guitarist is Rune Eriksen, better known as Blasphemer, from Mayhem and Aura Noir among others.  And finally, playing bass and providing vocals is David Vincent, the better-known singer for Morbid Angel.  That is quite the lineup.

With supergroups, you can never quite tell what kind of quality you are going to get.  Sometimes the group is able to call upon all the disparate talents and release something truly amazing.  Other times, the egos of the members get in the way and the result is a sloppy, overwrought mess.  There was some concern with this release, particularly with the outlandish personalities of the three members.  But even more than that, there is the sharp decline in quality of each of the members' main bands.  Cryptopsy has not been very good in years.  Vincent has been mostly exploring non-metal music with his outlaw country project and his involvement with Genitorturers.  Only Blasphemer has been putting out decent material, but with Aura Noir, not Mayhem.  So there were some obvious concerns with how this album was going to turn out.

Those concerns were wiped away the minute the album begins.  The band members each sound revitalized.  The drumming is absolutely insane with Mounier turning in his best performance since Lord Worm was still with Cryptopsy.  When he was at his best, he was one of the greatest metal drummers of all time.  This album sees a return to those heights.  Vincent's vocals are every bit as impressive as they were during his first turn with Morbid Angel.  He does not deliver his vocals in a standard death metal roar, choosing instead an articulate harsh yell.  He does pull out some of the deep ominous clean vocals as used on "God of Emptiness".  Even Blasphemer turns in some truly impressive blackened death metal riffs.  The members each bring out their own style throughout, rather than trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  The chemistry is fantastic as they work extremely well with each other.

The album is mostly a mid-paced death metal release, with some more blackened tremolo riffs shining through at times.  This is not terribly shocking given the members involved.  While it would have been an interesting change of pace to hear the members completely let loose, the album is punishingly heavy, intense and evil as all Hell.  There are some faster moments here, but it never quite sounds like they have truly hit the limits of their abilities.

I was honestly shocked by how great this album really is.  It is a definite contender for Album of the Year.  Supergroups rarely go beyond being a curiosity, but Vltimas sounds like a band that has been performing together for years.  Seldom are supergroups so fresh and vital.  This is one of the best ones I have ever heard.

Hellripper: Coagulating Darkness (2017)

Here we have Hellripper, which is a completely different thing than Hellbringer.  See, Hellbringer brings Hell.  Hellripper is much more dangerous because they are strong enough to rip Hell.  Or something.  I don't really know.

Hellripper is a one-man band from Scotland whose musical influences appear to have stopped evolving around 1983 or so.  The first song on this album, "Bastard of Hades" lifts the main riff from Metallica's "Hit the Lights".  That was probably a tactical error.  It is one thing for a band to take real strong influence from famous bands, but this one is pretty egregious.  Everyone knows the song and it is real obvious.

But once you get past that, the rest of the album is a pretty decent take on black/thrash metal built around early Venom and Slayer, and of course the pre-Ride the Lightning Metallica sound when the band's NWOBHM side was at the forefront of their sound.  Throw in some early Sodom and you have a pretty good idea what Hellripper sounds like.  The songs are all fast-paced and short with blazing solos and the psychotic shrieking vocals.  The riffs are bound to cause broken necks and are absolutely infectious.

This is not the most original album in the world.  Hell, groups like Skeletonwitch and Toxic Holocaust have been doing this same mix of old school metal for years now.  But quality of music is just as, if not more, important than originality and this is a damn fun album.  I'm on board.  Keep ripping Hell.

1914: The Blind Leading the Blind (2018)

Just last week I covered an EP from 1914 during which I lamented that it was not a great representation of the band's sound.  Well, here is 1914's second full-length album that was released last year.  And so this then, is an accurate representation of what 1914 sounds like.  And it is brutal.

Most of the songs on this album are morosely slow with grinding, gargantuan riffs.  The effect is that of a heavily-armored tank slowly creeping across the battlefield.  And to drive that point home, several moments feature samples of just that.  As a result of the songs being so slow and the riffs so heavy, the entire album is definitely a downer.  That fits in well with the lyrical themes though.  It just works for 1914.

There are occasionally moments of light, such as an almost melodic lead during "High Wood.  75 Acres of Hell".  The band also picks up the pace occasionally, such as during the rollicking cover of The Exploited's "Beat the Bastards".  They do put their own spin on it, but it is faster-paced than most of the rest of the songs.

1914 has an obsession with World War I.  Every song by the band deals with the extremely deadly war.  Tanks, trench warfare, mustard gas are all given their due.  The album starts off with what might actually be a recruitment song from the time period.  It also features samples from the movie All Quiet on the Western Front, including a moment in which Ernest Borgnine (who was poorly cast in this) espouses the virtue of using a shovel to decapitate an enemy in lieu of a bayonet.

Other bands have done the World War I theme.  The first band to come to mind is God Dethroned who released the soul-shattering Passiondale.  That album featured the previous best metal song about WWI in "No Survivors" which included a spine-tingling guest vocal performance by Marco Velde.  But no other band quite captures the hopelessness and dismay of the war quite like 1914.

This album was in a lot of peoples' top albums of 2018 lists.  It was due to that that I wanted to check it out, and I am glad I did.  This is a terrific album, though I think one would probably have to be in the mood for it.  It is definitely a dark album, moreso by the fact that everything 1914 sings about really happened.  I have a hard time watching war movies based on real events (Black Hawk Down is particularly rough), and this album hits that same nerve.

Saccage: Récidive (2017)

Quebec has a very rich history of producing amazing metal bands.  There are bands like Gorguts, Kataklysm and Cryptopsy, and of course Voivod is quite possibly the most famous metal band hailing from Quebec.  In fact, there are very few metal bands from the Canadian province that I can honestly say I dislike (though Despised Icon does come to mind).  And so, when I see a metal band from Quebec, my interest is piqued.  Such was the case with Saccage.

Saccage is not as weird as most of the other Quebec bands listed.  Their style is a decidedly old-school mix of thrash metal, black metal and crust.  Think a mix of Venom, early Sodom and Discharge and that is a reasonable approximation of the Saccage's sound.  The songs are all fast-paced with rampaging riffs and the full-throttle roar of vocalist Phat Labrosse.  Despite the ever-present speed and intensity, Saccage have managed to add in a lot of dynamics to the recording.  It never grows stale and retains interest throughout.

The only thing at all unusual about Saccage is that all of the lyrics and song titles are in French.  That is not shocking given the band's home, but it is a little unusual.  Having never learned French myself, I have not the slightest idea of what is being said.

Saccage blends elements of multiple extreme metal and punk styles seemlessly.  This is a filthy and raw release from a band who has thus far made that their calling card.  It is a lot of fun for those interested in the style.