Realize : "Two Human Minutes"

 

Ok, I get that this Arizona band is really into Godflesh. So was Harm's Way on their new album however they blended who they are into the equation, three songs into this album and I am not hearing much of who this band is. They are a great tribute band, as they have this sound down. The sound Godflesh is not a genre in and of itself. It would behoove these guys to do more than just play a generalized version of metal in 2023. Sure Godflesh was an early industrial band.

'Unknown Fears" finds them experimenting more and tapping into some groove that works better toward the goal of finding who they are. "Killing Party" is more dissonant, which is a step in the right direction, but they seem to be still lost in celebration they dialed in the Godflesh guitar tone."Predawn Gloom" is a mood painted by a sound that goes nowhere as a song. There is more of a Ministry feel to "Subtle Movement" but the more punk-paced verse feels rushed by its own mania. However, it is the beginning of shedding the bulk of the Godflesh shadow. 

"Afterimage' is an industrial-tinged hardcore that works better for me."Nature Bot" finds them working off a darker vision of the direction the previous song had them heading. They lay into the riff of "Wishful Thinking"  with much greater authority, which sells the massive chugs they hit you with. The vocals sit further back into the guitars. "Voice Like Cold Running Water" veers off into a more electronic direction, but it is also only an interlude. "You Obey" has more groove, and works for what it is. "Crest Dispersal" offers more atmosphere and melodic possibilities. Though these are droned on and never really built into anything that tells a story with much emotion, even after the heavily affected vocals come in. I will give this album a 7.5, they have potential when they do their own thing. 

Diablerie : " The Catalyst vol. 1: Control"

This album starts off pretty interesting almost like a black metal version of Strapping Young Lad and then a couple of songs in the Slayer influence flairs up and speed seems to get the best of them. They eventually decide to check back into the more industrial side of what they do which is a wise move as this helps "Wear My Crown" rise above the over played metal muck. It could be argued that this is derivative of what Fear Factory has already done and that would not be untrue however there is enough of the blend of extreme metal these guys are about to make it relevant in 2017. There is more heading banging here than throwing down on the dance floor and I think that is there intention at times it reminds me a little of my old homeboys Daath I used to play with in how the electronic elements are well blended with the more metallic assault. The thrashing speed comes back with a blind fury after they have already shown a more creative side so I am not as impressed with this temper tantrum like outburst. The electronics come in to save the day a couple minutes in.

They do have a straight up ebm styled interlude midway into the album. "Gray" might dip back into the more mainstream metal sounds of the 90s again, but it is solidly written with a refreshing sense of melody that works and finds the band at the height of their prowess proving brutality is not always the most virtuous trait. This is proved again with "Osiris" which is ten times the song of the more driving death metal that precedes it which when compared to this song comes up a little flat. The vocals on this one are more sung though heavily processed it's still pretty effective. They end this album with some electronic atmosphere which is well done and has some musical merits, but feels like more of an indulgent outro until they crash back into it in more of  a Strapping Young Lad fashion.

This album is really well done even with some of the more Slayer like songs that kind of numbed me out the songs where industrial meets extreme metal in a manner that makes sense and does justic to the other genre are where this band is the strongest. I'll give this album an 8 though I am unsure if I will really get that many more listens out of it , I have enjoyed the time already spent with it.

Arkhe : "A"

If you are a fan of the Hungarian ban Sear Bliss then get ready for something that is a big departure from what that band. The whole point of this in the first place was for them to try on sounds they had not been able to delve into with Sear Bliss. Bands such as Sentenced , Opeth and Katatonia can be a reference point for this brand of melodic metal with a progressive edge to it. there are plenty of clean vocals and the angrier vocal tones are not at a full growl rather Celtic Frost like exclamation. Some of the vocal melodies are pretty impressive and then don't come in the most expected places. There is an almost 90's pop industrial tone to "Meditation in the Woods" .  "Ferteg Hava" has more of a an alternative metal feel. It's more of a European thing then a descent into nu-metal, almost like a metal version of Inxs. The chugs that do come in are catchy and well placed.They are more fully committed to industrial on the darker "Lelekolok". The vocals take on a more KMFDM like grit.

The atmosphere on 'Space Derelict" shows this willingness to experiment with different sounds pays of in a big way, even though it's more of an instrumental interlude. It marries jazz to space rock in a very original fashion. The pull of a very interesting cover of "Scum" by Napalm Death. It's much slower than the original and has clean singing rather than rabid barking, the pre-verse riff is really the most recognizable factor from the original. "Eredet" continues this breeding of electronic sounds with melodic metal in a fashion that grows increasingly dark as the album progresses. The trip hoppish ballad " Alom Hava" is not a shabby song it carries a slight Pink Floyd influence, but it is not the album's strongest song. The also close with a similarly paced dream filled ballad. This one is a little closer to Porcupine Tree. I'll give this album a 9 it's darker than most progressive rock coming out these days and melodic in a similar sense as Killing Joke, which puts it right up my alley.

Fear Factory : "Genexus" review & video

Not a lot has changed with these guys since the 90s except they sound a little less like Pantera from space. In fact production wise this has more in common with Meshuggah, though they are not tuned down to a. The only two original members are Burton and Dino. Admittedly I been out of touch with the band for a decade or more, but it seemed like their drummer was the secret weapon to their sound, so it must have been all in the triggers. On this album the drums are split between new drummer  Deen Castronovo who played with Burton in G/Z/RThey take a more sci-fi approach to the intro of the first song the synths factoring in heavily. This balances the big metal sound with the industrial crunch enough , then his more predictable vocals come in. The whole cyber-metal thing works better on the very Meshuggah like "Anodized" who you would think Fear Factory influenced , but the Swedes formed in 87, where Burton and the boys got together two years later.


"Dielectric" finds them taking a slight return to being space Pantera. Burton C Bell yells that they will never take his soul before they launch into something falling some where in-between nu-metal and djent, which if we are going to be honest is a proggier take on nu metal.I do like the tight syncopation on this one and it doesn't sound like it was a b-side from "De-manufacture".

Militant double bass leads into "Proto-mech' which seems like it might have some suffer bastards going on, instead it turns into another mid paced groove machine. With Bell spitting out the lyrics in a barked almost rap. Not that they are turning into Bio-Hazard. I like the clean vocals to this song , they are a little higher and not in the same chanted cadence they tend to lean towards with that sort of thing. They go a little more industrial strength in their chug on the title track. The drill sargent barking that dominates the song. He is singing something about being a cyborg that being enslaved. The clean vocals come in toward the end of the song and the synths coast along throughout. "Church of Execution" has a more solid groove to it than some of the previous songs on this album and breaks down on the verse more for the chorus to punch.

They hit on some more color by numbers metal grooves on "Regenerate" which truth be told if it wasn't for Bell's approach to clean singing and the synths they would sound like every other post- Pantera metal band, though the break down towards the end has some of their own flare to it. Bell's voice sounds good, giving more soul to what would otherwise come across as stiff. The typical head banging chug is beaten into your face on "Battle for Utopia" . Bell asks " what gives you the right" before they play good cop and bad cop, going into the clean vocals in one of the more predictable places. The last song "Expiration Date" is the albums' best.  It's not even a metal song, but more of a Killing Joke like take on electronica. The vocals work well with the music. The guitar just provides a distance coat of noise in the background.

These guys have been at it for over twenty years so they know what they are doing. But what are they doing to bring anything new to the table? To this album's credit they sound like this album did come out in today's current climate of metal as they have certainly influenced bands like Dagoba, and the album never wallows in too much sentiment or feel like a retro act, but then they have always been ahead of their time.I'll give it a 7.5 , not a bad listen at al go ahead and round it up if you kept listening to them over the years.

Die Krupps: "Metal Machine Music"

If bands like KMFDM have become to edm for you, here is an industrial album that makes no bones about it and kicks you in the teeth like its 1990. Before you try to compare them to Rammstein, take note that these guys beat them to the punch by ten years.  I first became aware of the band after they put out a Metallica  tribute album in the 90s . Then in the 2000s when it seemed every year another industrial tribute to something was coming out , these guys showed up on their fair share of those. There riffs have remained just as tough, and benefit from better production today's technology allows. While the initial assault is powerful it's  the ode to 911 and other terror from the air of "Fly Martyrs Fly" that really grabs me , sucks me in and weaves a sonic world around me that finely tuned, well composed industrial music can. These guys are not just pushing buttons and tossing samples around.

Some actual singing bubbles under the dark robotic veneer on" the Truth", much of the vocals are the low whispered baritone narratives. The beginning of "Road Rage Rider" begins to take on a similar sounds that is dramatically altered at the chorus, as it takes on a more  melodious nature like Killing Joke might employ.   "Vampire Strikes Back" hits pretty hard, the guitars thrash but with the militant stiffness industrial is known for. They back off on " Alive in a Glass Cage" that has more of darkwave feel. Smart move as it gives the album a needed shift in dynamic range. The songs does build up into a metallic riff on the bridge.

Its back to harder hitting metal on "Branded" which blends the electronica on the verses. This song has an excellent groove and falls somewhere between head banging and dancing. Many artists have been giving a wink to Lars Von Tier on throwing in a "Chaos reigns" , but it is pretty fitting on "Kaos Reigns" that is like White Zombie on meth. "The Red Line" is another head banging groove fest.
" Bonded By Blood" is almost an  anthem .  The verses are dark and tense expanding to big rock at the chorus. The album ends on a straight forward industrial metal, that while heavy could have stood to have measured up to the other experimentation and atmosphere that colors the rest of the album.

Overall there is not a ton of industrial coming out so it is good to see in the lack of quantity we are making up for it  quality. I'll give this a 9.5, give it a shot on the iPod and see how it sits with me if you are a fan of classic industrial then this album is a must.

Cardinal Noire : "s/t"

The Finnish Industrial project brings it's apocalyptic cauldron to life with a buzz of synths and clashing samples. There is no way to talk about this band without stating the facts that they are clearly coming from the Skinny Puppy school of industrial, if they say otherwise they are lying. The vocals to "Narkomat" attack every thing just as aggressively as the clanging of the other jagged samples and sequences. The third song has a very similar feel to "Narkomat" the first song with vocals. Considering their influences they possess the same dark qualities of other industrial projects I like. The album is really well produced, the mix gives every thing the oppressive claustrophobia inducing feel it should have. There is almost a more metal feel to "A New Form of Machinery" . The presence of guitars is nil though at times some of the distorted sounds serve the same purpose as a guitar would.

"White Dust' is more of an interlude that feels like the intro build to "Flagellant"  where the pace really picks up. There is a cool groove when it backs off some. For programmed drums they sounds really good on this song. This is not to say that if you dislike drum machines...well I am not sure why you are reading a review of an industrial band, but the drums do sound inorganic as does everything on the album, but that's the point. There is more noise to "Black Sustenance" that makes it harder for me to really get into it.

The jumbled tapestry of robotic destruction that is "Purgation" reminds me of  some of Skinny Puppy's fast forward classic moments. However what this project does best is more aptly presented in the groove that rides the slink of "Mirror Shards". The chorus like section that comes in the last two minutes carries more melody than expected.I'll give this album an 8, they really captured a bleak destructive sounds that I like, some of the songs just could have been more song less destruction.

Porta Nigra : "Kaisershnitt

This German duo sounds more French than German to me. They do not carry the stiff militant  nature of most German metal bands instead opting for a much more experimental approach not unlike Peste Noire. The blast you into a sample heavy freak out with an almost industrial feel shadowing the groove. "Femme Fatale" might not be as extreme as the opener of any where close to black or death metal, instead falling in line with what the "decadent dark metal" label the band gives themselves, it does show the duo carries a wide range of musicality. They keep their heads way above the waters of becoming another Rammstein, the tight chugged syncopation still holds plenty of head banging appeal for fans of more mainstream metal.

They shift from groove to groove sometimes jerking you back from one more violently than they do from others. Choruses of clean vocals ooh and ahh in the back ground. They can lock into tight head banging chug fests just a deftly as any more mainstream metal band, but have a dirty edge to the ambiance. The stomp to a song like " In Stahlgewittern" might come across as monotonous if that is what this band was limited to but that is not the case."Mata Hari" almost feels like something from the most recent Mayhem album. It's oddly timed with a spoken German narrative on the verse. The rest of the song it's a throaty but not totally growled bellow and a few bars of clean singing tossed about. The oddly named "Hepatitis Libido" is more straight forward than it's name might imply, almost like Angel Dust era Faith No More.

There is more of a rock groove to " Ich -Zerfall" . There is one really straight ahead riff that doesn't do much for me. The song is well written and they continue to throw clever samples in not just to fill the gaps , but to coat the songs in a manner similar to old Ministry, even though I would not really say this is industrial, just industrial influenced. There is enough shreddy guitar on this album to make most aspiring guitarists happy. The closing song which leads off with the clean vocals reminds me of Enslaved. The initial listens had a little more impact as I did not know what to expect now after hearing this one a few times it's settled in and I am not as blown away with it as I was a few weeks ago. This is more off beat than mainstream metal, but in comparison to some of the stuff we review around here not so much.This also is not black metal, but it is a fun listen I'll give it an 8.5.

Hanzel & Gretyl : "Black Forest Metal"

This is their tongue in cheek take on metal. "Black Forest Metal" opens the album and it's like a doomish riff through a mall metal industrial filter, which from what I have heard about the new In this Moment is what they are doing, though this might b heavier. The metal riff are rather cookie cutter, but the tone is well executed, so it really depend on how original you need this sort of thing to be. They do hit some pretty cool grooves at time, but you know the rule about cool riffs here, they alone do not a good song make.

The German trapping have remained intact. "Hexencraft" they stay on the same path, this song does less for me than the opener. If this had come out on Cleopatra records in the 90's I might have been more impressed on what is sounding like German take of Electric Hellfire Club. The hook to "Blood on My Horns" doesn't really make me bang my head, since I like actual black metal rather than this mock black metal, but it is catchy. They do use blast beats on the song "More Metal Than the Devil". I was under the impression the devil was more into classical so being more metal than him doesn't take much. "Burning Witches For Satan is similar but without the blast beats.

One of the strongest groove is on "Evil as Fukk". They keep the theme of this forest thing in the lyrics and throw in their whole hexencraft craft ting like there is a story that intertwines all the lyrics.There is another cool riff in "Mavro Metaliko", that gets pretty heavy for this sot of thing, before they default back to the cookie cutter.By this point after the past two songs the album is beginning to get better but it is almost too little too late for me. "Big Bad Kyzrwolf" takes a "Dead Skin Mask" like riff and blended it with winks to Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf", but the spoken vocal thing makes it feel like it never becomes a song. It feels like they are taking another stab at making legit metal on "Pentagram Sky". The Slayer worship takes place here again."Grimm Ritual" closes out the album with a collage of drum ma chin and samples but never turns into a real song. I'll give this one a 7.5 , if you love 90's industrial metal enough to forgive some of the cookie cutting then round it up.

What We Learned in 2013

Here's where we crunch the numbers and see where music headed to this year. After all what are all those top 15 or 10 lists good for if not for data. Sure from a pop culture perspective twerking and auto tune continue to keep the sheeple entertained, so heres a look at where music mattered.

Metal broke down as follows

40% of the best metal was black or blackened in some way.

 the following sub-genres each captured  13% of the best metal out there
progressive, death, post-rock, and retro/occult

and not flourishing but still holding 6% were doom and sludge

leaving thrash to pretty much suck this year

On the dark side Post-punk led the way by putting out 33% of the best bat-cave sounds.

Industrial Music pumped out 26% of the best jams. With the ethereal cloak of goth covering 20 %. Edm still has a little life in it  yet with 13%, leaving  cold wave on life support with 6 %.

Rock n Roll and all its bastards fared as followed.  Indie rock dominated with 33%.  Occult and post-rock both earned 20%. Rock and Punk are both not dead as they both earned 13%.  


 

Narrow Lands: " Popular Music That Will Live Forever"

Off the bat this band from Sydney hits like an industrial strength Jesus Lizard, and by industrial I mean Ministry infused. bands like Battilus, who are leaving the the myspace cyber dreads at home and bring back industrial by way of sludge are in the same sub division as these guys. Though this bands from the first song needs a luittle help with dynamics and song writing as they tend to take one riff and drone on that . The bass line to "Whores Rule" help solve this problem to some extent as they swerve off from the mechanical punishment to serve up some Amp Rep still abrasion.

When they gather the momentum they can distract you from the simplistic compositional structures. The staccato thumping of "Usefulness" is pretty useful to create a very Godflesh vibe, which is the influence that is marrying sludge to industrial. They slow things down for the intro to " gifted children" then bring it back up into a frantic tension, that is more post-punk in feel. The song sounds like it could have built into more of an explosion but halts in its track rather jarringly.

The noisy post-punk feeling continues on "blue blood" the distorted vocals sit back into the fuzzy density of the mix.They hit you with some really thick heavy riffage in the last couple of minutes. The vocals keep a calm monotone for most of the album resisting the urge to scream in order to match the violence stirred around them. "Black Blood" is understandably more abrasive. It begins with scraping noise and remains just an interlude. "December clone " starts off as a clone of another riff they used and goes into a drunken jazz like passage. It coils around it self in a more militant manner, to hammer at you like the Jesus Lizard or even the Butthole Surfers.

The album closes out with "invitation" it opens with a self indulgent  laze of ambient noise and various forms of feedback. At the two minute mark the album most industrial beat comes in. This drone on for another two minutes , not what you want to listen to if you are hung over. The more subdued but tense clean guitar riff comes in with a Killing Joke like vocal chant over the top of it all. The guitar playing here gets very Nine Inch Nails, think more With Teeth, than Downward Spiral, more jangle than metal, until it explodes into a vomitous noise, that pounds at you like older Swans. I will give this album an 8.5, it shows a lot of potential that needs to be realized in more dynamic songwriting, but I like where these guys are coming from and fans of industrial who are looking for where the genre is changing with the times need to be aware of this trend.      

Batillus "Concrete Sustain"

This four piece from Mew York features live members of A Storm of Light and Jarboe's band, so that shuuld clue you in on what's to come some experimental industrial strength metal side a side of sludge. While the electronic elements lay beneath the stacatto sludge it has the militant feel of industrial more than the sonics of it. The production contributes to this feel, though there is a lot of space left between instruments which reminded me of Helmet, though they are much darker.

The first track "Concrete" leads of with tight off time drumming and lets the low tuned guitar get poured in for the corners to fuzz out the edges as the barked vocals take up the spaces the center. It manages to feel very organic while clunking a like a cyborg with a tank for legs. The " sustain and dominate" chant reminds me of Author & Punisher. It takes a few listens for this to all fall in place for me mainly the nuances of the production is where the attention to detail was placed, I am immediatly interested in seeing how this plays out live which I'm guessing is heavier.

The bass becomes more present in the second track "Cast". I couldn't hear where it was falling on the first one but it becomes a focal point here. The snare takes on a more metallic clang and the vocals have a more black metal rasp to them, though not far removed from Today is the Day either. One unique thing bout this band is for what they do you would expect the guitar to all the work but it's not the case as it just adds and erosive rust to the edges of the machine, so they found like aunt rather than he came up with these riffs so we are working off that. If you told me the drummer wrote all the songs I wouldn't be surprised.

"Beset" creep to life with a rattle of fuzz. The tempo is more of a doomy lethargy. Where the other songs felt like the were coiled tight this one has a looser feel. the lower growled vocal contributes to the doom comparisons. The glitches of back ground vocals brings the evil in. The vocal production on this is excellent. Around the five minute mark something like a solo rings into the picture, not shredding just a single note thing that's more atmospheric than anything. I know every one wants to throw a blackens label on everything but I don't hear it here except on the vocals at times.

"Mirrors" has some weird electronics fluttering over the slow introductory guitar which goes into a riff more typical for what I would consider "New York metal" but this transitioning into something darker when the bass picks up the slack. Maybe some old Neurosis influence comes into play, but nothing worn to blatantly on their sleeves like say early Isis. One of the more straight forward moments on the album, but highly effective and heavy as an elephant fuck.

On "Rust" the bass gets things going again, the guitar comes in with a cleaner tone and goes into an almost Fugazi like pattern. This alternates with the dark drift where they hang on the chords, then congeal into more of a riff with it, truth be told what they go into is hard to categorize and very original in the execution. The riff in the last two minutes does remind me of Bloodlet, but once again their influences remain obscured .

The closer " Thorns" has clean vocals which are a low Swans like tone doubled with growls, almost like the end of " God of Emptiness" you know the "Bow to me faithfully..." I can see where Neurosis comparisons could crop up here and the vocal does more for me than the surypy guitar parts which don't really congeal. Four and a half minutes of floating out the murk has a stagnant feel. At the five and a half minute mark I hear the first guitar melody that clicks for me. Maybe if I was on drugs the pacing here would work for me, I think any opiate or depressant would work, these guys are not a meth or coke band for sure, so tweakers beware. So aside for lazy paced sludge of this song everything else clicks perfectly into place for me , it fits and odd place on my taste buds similar to the on Tombs used to occupy. With the tempo metal I normally go for the more morose funeral doom, but the electronic under tones and originality should give this solid footing in the ever evolving landscape of my iPod so this gets a 9. So that colors me impressed, not what I thought I was getting into as I expected something more Godflesh, from what I had read of these guys before pressing play. Instead it's much more organic but still has a rustic grime to it.