Otargos : " Xeno Kaos"

This band raised the bar so high for themselves with their "No God, No Satan' that proved to be one of the most vicious pieces of black metal ever so "Apex Terror " was a little bit of a disappointment. They are coming back harder with this one. Normally I prefer hearing people who can actually play , but I got a little scared by the dramatic Dark Tranquility like opening, but the come back with more brutality. By the second song I'm accepting this is not going to be as mean as "no God, No Satan" which would go in my top fifty black metal albums of all time list...which since it's October is totally do able, but it is for for what it is.One of the reasons this will not be "No God, No Satan" Dagoth the singer/ guitarist is the only memeber of the band who played on that album with the guitarist from nightcreepers making his debut here. The guitar solos are cool an angular and vocals plenty angry enough. "Chariots ov the Godz" find them beginning to get back into the more feral craze that infected the classic era. They slow down into a more melodic part killing the momentum, but it's dark so it works for me. As my rule for black metal is be possessed by chaos unless you can be possessed by darknes then be possessed by darkness.

 "Dark Mechanus" might not start off as black metal but its heavy and goes into a more Dimmu like double bass section, which is heavy as hell, but in a different way and a little closer to conventional metal. It stays in this syncopated groove, which might not be cvlt but sounds good. I think some of the sting was taken out by the fact their was an album in-between to help me readjust my expectations. Some times in hindsight you can be thankful for those albums that let you down. There a more Behemoth thing going on with " Phase Shifters" which is more like the stuff from "Apex Terror". The title gets a a few degrees heavier with some guitar dazzle to coat it. They are a machine and a very smooth on at that so I think the rough around the edges quality to " No God , No Satan" gave it the extra abrasion, might have been a production choice, but some of it is in the precision of their playing. There is more groove to the riff that punches "Realm of the Dead" forward. If you are going to do groove metal then this is the way to go about it.There is a weird break that sounds like the mumbles of a possessed robot that is so weird it works.

 The close they album with a crazed blast beaten rage. The riff turns towards thrash slightly but focuses on full blast ahead. So fast it is like punk in the sense it is short and to the point. Almost feels a little obligatory to prove they can play that fast. While it's not the best album they have done it is moving in the right direction and a vast improvement from the last album so I'll give this one an 8.
   

Otargos: Apex Terror

For a band whose last album "No Go No Satan"  had some of the most lacerating guitar sounds of any black metal album, this album is too slick and commercial for it's own good. It almost doesn't even sound like the same band, in fact I would lump this in along side Behemoth as blackened death metal. The title track that opens this thing has a punishing almost industrial pound to it , but it all feels to clean. The solo sound like the could be on a Meshuggah album. So its not to say it isn't well played, it just lacks the originality in its brutality the last album had.

"Fleshless Deathless" sounds almost just like "Where the Slime live" and its not the only place you can find t he post-Covenant Morbid Angel influence, which at least means you know their drummer can play. This song has a good groove its not just what I want to hear from these guys.When they do blast off for nastiness, it lacks the dense grit they use  to have and makes it sound more like thrash. This is competent playing but it sounds like every one else, even when on "For Terra" he goes into his lower growl. There is some smart catchy writing which "Remnant of a Long Dead Star" is a testament to. They play on a lot of the same strengths Behemoth does in the strong syncopated grooves but without all the pageantry. So if Behemoth is to grandiose for you then these guys might be your speed.

They wink at industrial with out really committing and go back into half hearted blasting roars in "Fallout" . There are similar elements to "Drone" as well, samples in between pounding pulses before the main riff fires off like a Dissection gallop.They give the song room to breathe, which defies the almost claustrophobic sonic rending of their last album but at this point in what they are doing its a wise change of pace.The fluctuation they use in dynamics on "Aftermath Hyperion" find back back in Behemoth's backyard, though the abrasive assault of the verses do feel the closest they come to their former glory, but its still more on the death metal side of the fence. There is also the punk tinged sneer on "Versus" where they tell the world to fuck off . I'll give this album a 5 as it's well played for what it is , and there is certainly a market for that it's not as unique as their former glory and nothing sets this album apart for me.