Kulk : "Choosing to Die"

 

This British band thinks of itself as doom; well, perhaps their record label wants to market them as such, as they are on Church Records, but what I am hearing is noise rock. Noise rock is having its biggest moment yet, and I think the new Chat Pile will elevate it to larger stages, so this is not the time to try to jump off that bandwagon for one that has a more settled niche. Feedback squeals and the vocals are shouted as they continue to bang on their instruments into the third song, so the first three songs run together. Granted, the minute and a half "We're Worried About You " is the song that gets lost in the shuffle as the lines are blurred as to whether it is the outro for the opening or the intro for "Being Forgotten" .

I wonder what these recording sessions were like, as it seems like msot are trying to noisegate the feedback where these two want it erupting from every chord and corner of the song. This is carried to extremes on "Collapse".  The first darker, more melodic moment is on "For Blood" , though there are still some explosive riffs that take over. 'To Take Life" finds the grooving on a pound that meets somewhere between "Filth Pig" era Ministry and early Helmet. It's more deliberate, making it one of the album's best songs so far.

"The Saddest Holiday" is not far from what they were doing in the previous song. "Ache" is more like early Swans in its bleak pulse. The vocals are barked with a similar anger. It has a more droning nature to it than the other songs. The last track is just ambient noise. I will give this album an 8, now remaking the feel here, but they do have an interesting love of feedback; they get the job done. Sure, fans of heavier noise rock like Karp should find much to love here. This album drops August 28th.

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Witchsorrow : "The Devil And All His Works"

This is the 3rd album we have reviewed by this band, so it is unlikely there wil be any major surprises. On their last album, which had begun to move in a direction that combined the rumble of Electric Wizard with the grit of High on Fire. The opening track finds the moving into the more hypnotic side of this equation, which works for me, though with an eleven and a half minute song, there is room for fat to be trimmed. The fuzed-out stomp is deliberate and sounds great, but in terms of songwriting leans more into the sound than the song.  The longest song they save for the first, as the other songs hover around the six to eight minute mark. 

If you are really high and playing "Bacchus" at a high ear ringing volum it is more impressive. The vocals are more of an accent than a hook on the first two songs. They use more effects on this album, so it creates an interesting atmosphere, but dynamically, they tread similar ground. The guitar solos do create a more jammy feel, but there is always room to switch things up more, arrangement-wise.. The vocals build to more of a shout than the creepy acid thing they were doing earlier. At least more dynamics than we got from the previous song. "Hades Chains" finds the drummer waking up and building the tempo. Serena Cherry of Svalbard adds some roars to the occasion..This is where they begin to lean more in that High on Fire direction I mentioned earlier, but the vocals are sticking to what they do, which works better here.  This carries more of a sludge drive.

"Altar" carries a weighty throb. I like the approach of the vocals, but I feel they could come up in the mix. By falling back into the guitar, they feel more like an afterthought, but this song is darker and works more for me. It reminds me of Atriarch. 'In Triumphant We Rot" has a more traditional metal gallop, but the vocals are more Snake from Voivod, so it's almsot like Snake fronting old Iron Maiden."Lamentation" is more of an interlude and feels like the intro to the last song. The last song wallows more in diusmal doom, but is not as atmospheric or dynamic as I prefer. They rock out more on this album, and that works better for them. Overall, this album is an improvement over their previous work I will give it a 9. Dropping on Church Road Records. 

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blanket : "Ceremonia"

This album has been on my list since its March release, but I am just now getting caught up enough to give it a proper listen, The band follows in the post-hardcore shoegazing steps of bands like Hum and Failure. The guitars crash and shimmer with enough conviction, but it's not as original as these guys might think it is. It does sound good and displays ample dynamics. Things move in a brighter almost happy direction on the title track. There is a slicked-over angst, that carries about as much actual anger as any Foo-Fighters song. Their vocals are not as hook-focused as Ole Dave Grohl's. The guitar carries enough of the woozy shoe gaze effects to make fans of 90s rock satisfied if that is where their tastes lean. I think when they head in this direction it works better for the band since heavy is not their forte. 

There is more hard rock radio riffage going down for "Kaleidoscope". The reprise of "Sea of Bliss' is a piano ballad that is more of an interlude, than a song they are committed to.  "Loom' brings back some of the more surreal waves of shoe gaze sounds they have hinted at earlier in the album. It also benefits from a grooving bass, and guitar textures that give the vocals space to get weird. This might make it my favorite song thus far on the album. They tried a similar sonic space with "the Lucky Ones" though the vocal lines are more deliberate. You draw marginal comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins here. The other version of "Sea of Bliss" is like Deftones toying around with indie rock. 'Euphoria" finds them using ample atmosphere and rock guitar to muse about their panic attack. It feels more like a lost Weezer song. 

The last song, finds the strummed guitar jangling against the effects as the whispered vocals drift in. I wait a minute for something to happen, and the jangle drones one. Then they waste another minute on this introspective mood that has long since bored me. Now three minutes and it's evident that if they are going to exceed the length of a Ramones song, just building up to go anywhere, then they are not really going anywhere in the first place. I will give this album an 8, it's solid, and if you like more atmosphere than hard rocking this might be for you. Was released on Church Road Records.  

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