Black Metal History Month -Midnight : "Hellish Expectations"

 

Here is some blackened thrash punk for you. The Venom worship of this project has always been tangible. That is now dialed up way past 11. It is faster and more punk than Venom was in their glory days. The first hint of melody in the guitars is not evident until the third song. The album has better production value than you might suspect, as it sounds like they have gone to great lengths to create something that sounds raw and organic, but is ripe with overdubs considering in the studio this is the work of one man. It races with more of a thrashing rage than not. The guitar playing is gradually improving with each album. 

There is a rock n roll undercurrent to 'Slave to the Blade". The vocals are snarled with an even rougher rasp than Cronos spat out on "At War With Satan". The theme seems to be 80's streetwise metal tropes that could have come from a Twisted Sister album. The first song that strikes me as catchy is "Dungeon Lust" which is endowed with darker sleaze. The formula for songwriting seems to be shouting out the chorus. It works on this song but can be a trick they go to the well too many times with. While I find this entertaining for what it is, it is highly unlikely this is an album I am going to need multiple spins of. If you do you might like punk more than metal, and that is a valid life choice as long as you are honest with yourself about it. 

'Deliver Us to Devil" is more boring than a song about the devil should be, He should have saved the lyrics for the riffs he wrote for 'Mercyless Slaughtor" as it would have been more interesting. As it stands "Mercyless Slaughtor' is a better song by far. Most of the songs are under three minutes so there should not be enough time to get bored. However when it feels like the riffs are being recycled like they are on "Doom Death Desire" then perhaps it is asking more than I thought. 'Fuck Off and Live" is a decent song, even if I prefer the sentiment of dying instead. I will round this down to an 8.5, it's a solid punk record dressed up in black.It drops March 8th on Metal Blade.

pst69

Black Metal History Month - Seltsame Erden : "Gedankentempeln"

 

This week I learned there is an entire corner of the internet devoted to "fans' of black metal who developed this group of witch-hunting stormtroopers who compile videos and lists of bands they suspect are Nazis or Fascists. They have even pushed it so far as to say they are supporting left-wing black metal bands who align with their personal politics and thus seek to at the very least cancel black metal bands who do not see the world in the same way they do. Meaning they are themselves fascists who seek to control the narrative. Thus trading in corpse paint for clown grease paint. This band should be careful or they will most likely find themselves cancelled at this point for just being German. 

These guys are dark enough and bear a foreboding charge of blast beats. Though three songs in, there is a uniformity to the vocals that begins to lose me as the range of the dynamics here is fairly limited. For the first two songs, this works pretty well. The second song even slows down to more of a harrowing throb. By the fourth song, I thought I was listening to the third song still, so this sonic uniform causes the songs to eventually all sound the same. Sure there is a hypnotic buzz created by the tremolo picking that is not unlike the mood earlier Darkthrone created. If you already own those albums, why would you want more of the same? Here is where we find ourselves at the crux of this month's mission statement to find Black Metal that goes above and beyond the status quo.

The status quo is an ominous and recognizable sound of black metal, But it is just that a sound and not a song. These guys are great at capturing this sound. Perhaps this sound is all you need. You have no interest in songs as you are not that evolved. This is common in many teenagers whose brains are still forming, in fact, the adult human brain is not fully formed until the age of 25. The last track is just an outro that will be fun to play at Halloween parties. This means we have only four actual songs on this album which sways things percentage-wise in their favor. I  will then give this album a 7. as they are convincing in the sound of black metal and for some that is all you need, b ut they are skilled at it.

pst68

Sonata Arctica : "Clear Cold Beyond"

 I am always willing to give something a try once. Though it does not take but a couple of songs to confirm what I suspected about these guys all along. It is really hard to even call these guys metal. There is nothing that comes close to feeling metal until "Dark Empath' which is four songs in. Even then most anime opening theme songs go harder. To their credit "Dark Empath" is at least reflective enough of a song that the bulk of it is not so happy it curdles the creamer in my coffee. I remember when Helloween came out thinking they were a happier version of Iron Maiden, but when I go back to listen to "The Keeper of the Seven Keys" it is at least aggressive enough to work and is totally metal, This takes what that band did and dilutes it with video game like glee. There is such a lack of darkness to it that if you told me these guys were a Christian band I would believe you. 

I just finished reviewing Chelsea Wolfe's new album which is her excursion into trip-hop and it is way heavier than this. "Cure For Everything' reminds me more of Europe, another band who no matter how big their hair got was not metal either. The lyrics are like self-motivation for kids who can not do more than three push-ups They do find their balls for one brief riff, so they know what metal is they just do not play it. That's cool just be honest with yourself and your fan base about it. "A Monster Only You Can't See" should be angry based on the lyrics, but instead get a bowl of shredding and cheer. "Teardrops" is a ballad that aligns with Nightwish's least aggressive efforts. The tempo picks up but the song does not seem focused when it comes to having melodies with hooks. There is plenty of heavier music that is much hookier. 

"Angel Defied" is an attempt at getting more metallic, but faster does not mean heavier without the heft in your tone to back it up. This album also fails to make an argument for keyboards in metal, as they become only a tool for further wanking here. By the last song, it is apparent there are easier ways for guys to come out of the closet than trying to convince themselves that this is a metal band. I know Finland is not Broadway, but these are clearly pieces for a musical and not even rock songs. They are skilled musicians and somewhere out there is a production of 'Cats" that needs their skills. I will give this album a 5.5, and scoring that high only due to sheer musical talent. Powerless Metal is even a stretch here as we are still using metal to describe it.

pst67

Modern Witchcraft : "s/t"

 

These guys play an ethereal style of atmospheric doom that owes more to The Cure than Black Sabbath. At times this puts them closer to Deftones on songs like "Corpse Painter". The melody is given more emphasis. The emotion of the song washes over you. Sounds swirl around you. It is heavier in feel than it is heavy metal. The groove is an undercurrent. Though considering the Lander sisters of Kittie fame appear on this album, there is some nu-metal in this band's DNA. Thus making Deftones comparisons not unfounded. They dive deeper into the shoe gaze glaze of hypnosis on "Bible Belt Baphomet". The sluggish doom ambiance is more about depression than mourning. There is more shadow than light, but it flickers with introspective speculation. The haunting echo of the song is certainly a mood. 

The post-nu metal throb of "Honey Creeper" moves with a syrupy groove. They are one of those bands who are heavier sonically than they are metal. Not unlike today's Deftones with more in common with Hum than Korn. The dense echo of "Faithful Lies" sits back like dusk on an overcast evening. Shades of gray rather than the dark of night. The vocals continued to be crooned rather than forceful, when the more bellowed vocals come they are mixed in the background like the rumble of distant thunder. This creates an even doomier tone. 

There is a more organic feel to "Goodbye Again" that finds the guitars more fully engaged in the song. The melody reminds me of Mazzy Star's  "Fade Into You" . The jangle of the guitar creates a more post-punk feel. The vocals are belted out from a lower register than what we have heard earlier in the album. The vocals do get much more aggressive on the last song "Sugar For Rats" which finds them erupting into a growl at the chorus, in a call and response with Morgan Lander who responds in a higher black metal-like shriek. It reminds me of Neurosis's heavier moments. They maintain their grace by not abandoning the melodic verses. I will give this album a 10 as it flows perfectly and taps into some of my favorite sonic shades.

pst66

Chelsea Wolfe : " She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She"

 

Wolfe's 8th album, yes we are counting "Mistake in Parting" finds her diving into more of a trip-hop feel. That is trip-hop that is thicker on the trip than the hop. Tv on the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek is the wild card in the creation of this album. It opens with  "Whispers in the Echo Chamber", which is less of a surprise than the tempo drive to "House of Self Undoing". This gives it more of a 90s feel like recall bands like Curve. "Everything Turns Blue" was also released ahead of the album, so it was less than a surprise as well. Her voice is front and center, and it is yet another song that is bound to draw comparisons to Portishead. 

The most conventional approach to songwriting she takes thus far can be heard in "The Luminal". It holds a steady groove, and melodic hook without descending into the kind of murky ambiance that is this album's calling card. Both choices are equally effective here. Things do not get really experimental until "Eyes Like Nightshade". Her fragile vocals drift over an assortment of sounds that might even feel avant-garde on a Bjork album. This is a purposefully disjointed excursion into playing with sounds. One that might even have to grow on me, though I appreciate her willingness to experiment.   

A song like "Salt' resonates with me more, as the vocal melody is solid enough to warrant a more minimalist accompaniment. There remains a languid desperation in her voice that really sells me on it. I really like the exotic grandiosity of "Unseen World" that really grabs you. She wanders off into an almost Tori Amos-like balladry for "Place in the Sun". The album closes with "Dusk" which she released back in September. It's a great song that needed a second to listen to fully click, though the guitar solos at the end are cool. 

This album flows with her body of work. Nothing feels out of her wheelhouse. It is going to take a few listens for the more experimental moments to really click with me, but the moods she invokes are once again welcome. I will round this up to a 10, I foresee it getting a great deal of play from me, and have already sat with the lead singles for some time, so none of this was a surprise except for the deeper cuts. 

 

pst65

Black Metal History Month - Malist : Of Scorched Earth"

This one-man band from the Czech Republic plays a very straightforward style of modern black metal. Modern means there are going to be post-rock moments and atmospheric interludes, but the hyper-fast tremolo-picked guitar maintains its static tension. It does ring out with a bit of melody. It is important that the second song was given more room to breathe rather than just blasting back into things. In the middle of the song, things flow into this moodier more post-rock atmosphere. This proves to be what really makes the song most effective. There is not a great deal of darkness to what is going down, as the album's message has nothing to do with the Left Hand Path, but is an apocalyptic prophecy of the Earth's undoing due to nature striking back, so more like musings of a vengeful hippy. 

"The Ship" feels like Agalloch at its most aggressive. The vocals carry a similar snarl. It does not break any new ground for black metal or this album thus far. As far as one-man bands go there is normally one area they excel at most. This guy seems to be a guitarist first and foremost. This is very evident going into "Winds of Change, Carry Me" The dizzying flurry of fretboard pyrotechnics is not really my thing as it seems too busy. If you are a fan of technical death metal and trying to get into black metal then this might be the album for you. This song takes you down a long and winding road with an orchestral sense of wonderment serving as window dressing for its indulgences. 

"Rotting into Primal" is another hyper-fast blitz that charges at you with rabid hunger. There is almost an Immortal-like feel in the grandiose nature of the scope of sound captured. Does that translate into catchy songwriting/ Not really. There are many sounds layered here, and the vocals shift to a lower-death metal growl. By the time we get to the last song, it feels like the climax of the previous song and things are running together. I will round it down to a 7.5, he is good at what he does, and what he does has an audience that I am not part of. However, it is being scored as such due to how it is done. 

pst64

Black Metal History Month - Vincent Crowley : "Anthology Of Horror"

\

 When it comes to early black metal bands Acheron gets overlooked all too often. Their 1991 album "Rites of the Black Mass" is an underrated classic. They are also one of the few bands who are actually Satanists, and Peter Gilmore played synths for the band at one point. Now his solo work finds Vincent Crowley in more of a horror mood, with darker more focused songs, that hold a narrative not unlike what King Diamond does. Unlike King Diamond, Crowley uses growled vocals and makes no attempts to actually sing. The songs are more deliberate than death metal and seem more focused on painting dark pictures than just an outlet for aggression making them more of a black metal band. 

"That Which Lurks Below the Sea" has an interesting atmospheric interlude in the middle that creates a great solo break. This guitarist is highly skilled at creating modo and not just shredding. "Under the Hanging Tree" is darker and more melodic. Crowley uses his voice to create phrasing in a song, much like an actual singer would, but growling with a dynamic range rather than singing actual notes. His style is articulate enough for the lyrics to create a fleshed-out narrative for the songs that makes the lyrics take center stage. We might think of the middle ground this occupies in terms of intensity as classic metal when it really just boils down to being a good songwriter and not trying to create a heavy sound to compensate for the lack of songwriting smarts. 

Things speed up for "Nowhere to Hyde". It is not as engaging as the first three songs, but there is some impressive guitar work going down. The same can almost be said for "Blood Moon Lycanthropy" but it has a little more in the way of melodic dynamics when it comes to the guitars. The more deliberate gloom of "Gods of Crimson Cullings" finds the vocals creating more urgency to the flow of the song. This is when all the pieces of the project fall into place just right.  'Coupe de Poudre" is a thrashing zombie tale, that falls back on the voodoo origins of zombies that are forgotten these days. He continues down the voodoo with "Madame Laveau". It is less thrashes less and moves with a doomier march.  They cover King Diamond's "Killer" from "the Spider's Lullabye" album. While I give them credit for covering a King Diamond, Crowley's style of vocalization does not come close to doing it justice. I will give this album a 9, it';s very impressive and I will see how it grows on me. 

pst63