Mantar : "Post Apocalyptic Depression"

 

This marks the 5th album we have reviewed from this band. Each one seems to get better. They are also all stylistically different. Ranging from noise rock to sludge to death metal. This time things are more punk. Not just more punk, it is punk, well at least the first two songs are. This makes sense given the band said the recording process for this album was quick and dirty. They wanted a raw sound and just showed up to the studio and played whatever instruments they found. The third song finds the sounds beginning to be more tweaked and produced to bring out different nuances from them, but it is a raw live-sounding album. 

"Dogma Down" finds them grinding into a more grunge side of punk that reminds me of something from "Bleach".The grunge vibes picked up from the previous song carry over into "Morbid Vocation".  This gives the brought-throated vocals more room to work within. There is a more dynamic ebb and flow to the more grunge-tinged songs.  "Halsgericht" is the lead single, and leans more in a gritty punk direction. The guitar parts have more sonic depth than your average punk band. "Pit of Guilt" finds them still kicking around in the gutters of punk. The vocals still have a purpose to them and are not just hyperactive shouting.  

"Two Choices of Eternity" reminds me of Nirvana's "Negative Creep" but with a gang vocal chorus. "Face of Torture" finds them slowing things down in the verse and then getting pumped back up for the chorus.  It's not far removed from the songwriting formula that has been established for this album. "Axe Death Scenario" is grittier and digs into a rowdier style of punk. They lock in a very White Zombie gallop for the last song "Cosmic Abortion". But despite narrowing this riff I like the song, it might be one of the album's best.  I'll give this album an 8.5, as many of the songs carry a "Negative Creep" feel, some more than others, but this creates a uniform feel to the album's second half, even so this album is a great deal of fun, and has more thought invested into that most punk.  This album drops on February 14th on Metal Blade.

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Ritualmord : "This is Not Lifelover"

Lifelover's remains turned to Hypothermia and Kall. This comes from the guitarist who formed Hypothermia. This was where the songs that were too experimental for that project as they continued to evolve as musicians. This is the first full length of the project following three EPS. The mood is similar to what they have done before even if they are not using black metal to get there.  After an ambient intro piece, it gets into "Stonerpop" which is the first proper song working off a woozy ambiance. The vocals are spoken and grow increasingly agitated as the song progresses. This song is followed by another atmospheric interlude. 

"Spar" is the next actual song. Though it lingers in an experimental morass of sound. It's a kind of fog-enveloped post-rock when it manages to come together. They kept the depressive part of depressive black metal and dug into so darkly that it almost accomplishes the same thing, "Tjara" is the first song that crosses over into metal, and it's more of a post-doom. Though tormented cries are uttered from it to stay on brand for these guys. Harrowing intensity is certainly a phrase you could describe this with. "Tid' is more of a swath of post-rock sound with samples over it. Due to the experimental nature of Lifelover for a long time, I assumed they were from France when they were from Sweden. 

"Andetag" is more tortured mumbling crying out from the dense ambiance. This continues to be the formula though a more metallic backbone begins to form in the song that follows it. Though it shimmers in more of a post-rock fashion. "Slutna ogon" has more of an industrial clang to it, though it's much heavier on the atmosphere rather than finding these guys trying to be Ministry.  'Se Mig" shimmers with an even more opaque ambiance. "Var vantan..." has more melody to the guitars. Most of the songs have a more minimalist approach than what you expect from a project that evolved out of a black metal band. The strum does become fuller once they slowly build the dynamics. The vocals go into more of the pained weeping Lifelover made famous.

 If you were to ask me is this is more of a post-rock album or a black metal album, I would have to say it has more in common with early Mogwai, than early Darkthrone, and the last song only further proves this point. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me. They are great at what they do, but what they do also come with the expectations they respectfully toy with this regard. I was going to wait to publish this in Black Metal History Month since it does not drop until March 8th , but since this is not black metal, I'll go ahead and put it out there. 

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Maud the moth : "The Distaff"

 I really loved the last healthyliving album, so when I saw this project was their singer Amaya Lopez-Carromero, I jumped at the opportunity to give it a listen. In some ways, it's darker. It falls outside the realm of what we define as rock music, so if it's goth it's the same way Dead Can Dance is goth, but two songs in it's lush and grandiose at times but not dark. There is an almost prog-rock climax to "A Temple by the River builds up". Her voice is even more impressive in these songs than it was in healthyliving.  Scott Mclean from healthyliving plays guitar on this album. But it's not loaded down with guitars. Amaya handles all the piano, which is the backbone of the songs as more abstract sounds come in contact with it, 

In fact "Exuviae" wanders in this neo-classical ambiance, and holds less hook to its melody, but she is not writing anything in the realm of pop hear. Her multitracked harmonies work well on "Burial of the patriarchs".  The piano lines are not riffy like say Tori Amos or Elton John who adhere to more traditional song structures. Though this music owes more to classical than jazz, I can hear a slight hint of Kate Bush influence in how the songs hang in this hovering haze of magic. Her voice flows along this to add to the ethereal swathe of sound she is creating, at times darker modes shift into play as a dynamic, but not the overall mood of the album. The almost ten-minute "Despenaperros" serves as the centerpiece of the album. 

In comparison to some of the previous songs the four-minute 'Fiat Lux" is almost a pop song. It is certainly one of the album's most well-written pieces as it uses contrasts of sonic intensity well. The final song is possessed by a more dissonant ambiance. I will give this album a 9, while I  might listen to a new healthyliving album more I can appreciate the artistry and talent invested in creating this piece of sonic whimsy.

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Dirkschneider- "Balls To The Wall RELOADED"

Here we are with Udo making an interesting decision to re-visit the classic Accept album, but covering it front to back with guest appearances from a heavy metal Hall of Fame. The anthemic title track finds Sabaton vocalist Joakim Broden trading verses with him. Never really listened to Sabaton, so only weighing this against the original. Udo sounds like he can still pull off his Bon Scott-like squeal at 72. Taking some of the homo-eroticism out of "London Leather Boys"  Biff Byford of Saxon fame joins to make it more about heavy metal fashion than leather culture. Byford's voice does not sound as good as it is on the last Saxon album perhaps it's just out of his range these days at  74. It's a sobering reminder that all the elder statesmen of metal are now elderly. 

Mille Petrozza of Kreator is featured on "Fight it Back. He sounds like shit, and it's not Udo's best moment either which begins to make me wonder if he should not have just left well enough alone. Nils Molin of Amaranthe fares much better by bringing his Dio-like belting to "Head Over Heels". His voice does not have the grit of Udo's which makes the song feel darker when he utters the second verse.  Michael Kiske of Helloween fame still sounds great at 56. as he helps tackle "Losing More Than You've Ever Had" this is one of the album's strong points, though Udo does not really contribute much. Swedish singer Ylva Eriksson lends her voice to "Love Child" This feels more like a duet wondering the contrast of their voices but works pretty well. Her voice does give things a more commercial Pat Benatar feel. 

Danko Jones comes aboard for "Turn Me On". His voice has enough balls to keep things heavier. This was never the best song on the album even in its original form, so it works well enough here. Dee Snider's voice blends with Udo's well on "Losers and Winners" making it one of the album's strongest moments. Ripper Owens does not go as over the top as I expected from him on "Guardian of the Night". He can serve the song after all. The last song is a duet of " Winter Dreams' with Doro Pesch who worked well enough with the song, at 60 her voice is not belted with the same power as her early work, but I will have to check out her more recent work before making a final judgment on how her voice is holding up these days. I'll give this album an 8.5, rather hear him get back with Accept, so while this re-imagining is not something on my wish list, it's well done and there are strong moments, but prefer the original versions. 

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Mogwai :" the Bad Fire"

 

11 albums into their career, this Scottish band has a clear focus of their sonic journey. Vocals appear right from the first song though they are more of a smooth texture that sits into the swirl of sound. Things get more into their older bran of majestic melancholy on the second song. It's less pop-oriented than the opening track. If you came here wanting post-rock this is the song for you. "What Kind of a Mix is This" feels like it just spills out from the end of the lingering ebb of the previous song. It takes a minute for a guitar melody to establish the song's footing. These guys are one of the few largely instrumental bands that I like with "Rock Action" and 'Come On Die Young' as my favorites from them. I originally checked them out after reading an interview with Robert Smith where he named them as his favorite band. 

The lead single "Fanzine Made of Flesh" is more upbeat, and on more of an indie rock vibe than I expected from them. But it's effective songwriting and works for me. There are some hilarious song titles like "Pale Vegan Hip Pain".  The one carries a more depressing lethargy that fits the song title. It drones a bit as the chords slowly modulate. This floats into "If You Find This World Bad, You Should See Some of the Others" which feels like the climax of "Pale Vegan Hip Pain", but this is not uncommon when it comes to instrumental albums. Though oddly this has more vocals than any other Mogwai album I can recall hearing. "18 Volcanoes" almost feels more like an Elliot Smith song when it comes to how the vocals are handled. As the song builds they do drift to the back of the mix. 

"Hammer Room" is more upbeat, with synths working overtime to create something torn between retro and futuristic. "Lion Rumpus" has more rock n roll to it's drumming. The synths continue to color the songwriting. It feels like this is what marks the biggest change in their songwriting sounds like synth melodies drive the songs where it was once more guitar dominant. They split the difference on this song. The last song drifts off into space, which is a fitting conclusion, they do use some interesting sounds in the excursion. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me I think there is some growth in terms of songwriting and how vocals are used here.

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Ingrown : "Idaho"

 Off the bat what I like about this band is they pack a great deal of riffage into the minute and forty seconds, of the opening track. They have in-your-face pummelling sections that are rapid-fire but give you something to sink your teeth into and headbang a bit. Their eponymous song however is just over a minute and finds its groove about thirty seconds into that time frame. So groove is their mission statement and not really in the breakdown sense either. There is some common ground with Nails, though these guys are more punk and less metallic. The vocals do take on more of a growl at times on "Cold Steel". 

They dish out a more burly Entombed-like beating on "Enemy". This less rabid approach works well also. When they slow things down they can stretch the songs out to two minutes  They do accelerate up to a healthy gallop for this one It even has a guitar solo that would not be out of place on a death metal album."Dead' is more of a beating, though it finds its groove. It might have the most grindcore tendencies so far. They come closer to what you might expect from hard-core on 'Unite" which comes complete with gang vocals. They cover a song by guitarist/ vocalist Ross Hansen's dad who was in State of Confusion. It's pretty much 80s hardcore.

There is more commitment to death metal on "Hellbound".  The title track is a banjo piece, that is more of an outro than a free-standing song on its own and much like covering his dad's band it's a tribute to the musical heritage that inspires these guys to not just make music that is heavy as fuck, but to keep you engaged in the songs where most bands are just going to pound you in the head with a dense sound rather than write catchy songs. I'll round this up to a 9.5, as it's only a couple of weeks into the year but hard to imagine a band putting out a heavier album, but when this drops on March 7th Closed Casket Activities, Sanguisuggabogg, is going to be heading into the studio to record their next album, which might see release before the world ends so too soon to say, though I expect those guys to land more on the death metal side of the fence this time around. 

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Christian Mistress : "Children of the Earth"

 

It's been 10 years since we reviewed their last album "To Your Death". They were heading in a more 80s metal direction then, and away from the retro-proto vibes, that found them lumped in with the other female-fronted stoner rock bands at the time. The opening track finds the guitar attacking with a more Judas Priest-minded aggression. In fact, the guitars do a better job of capturing this than Priest did on their last album. The mix is very raw, with the clunk of the bass sometimes rising over the drums. The second song is not as compelling as the opener. Christine Davis' voice sounds fine, just not as empassioned as we have heard from her.  I can also hear a fair amount of Thin Lizzy in the guitar harmonies on this album. 

"Demon's Night" lyrically does not flow as well for me. It's kind of dialed in and working off a sound they might be assured of but not as urgent as the first track which set the bar for this album. "Love of the World" finds them still good at what they do, what they do just seems to be lacking the intangible fire that marked their earlier work. This one has a more jammy feel, so some of you might be into that. "Mythmaker" has a more metallic attack with intricate guitar interplay.  "Death Blade" holds fast to the 80s metal playbook, and rides the line between Dokken and the Scorpions. Which works for me. 

There is more groove in the riffing of "Lake of Memory". This gives more room for the vocals to flow, making this one of the album's strongest songs.  I'm not hard to please I just need things to have catchy dynamics and vocals that mean something, not much to ask. This song is moodier though, I would not go as far as saying it's darker. The last song leads off with vocals, bringing hope that the vocals will continue to have a greater purpose. There is an early 80s rock feel to the anthemic nature of this one. It kind of feels like what might have happened if the Cowboy Junkies had been a hair metal band. Overall I enjoyed this one though it's not their best work I would say it's on par with 'To Your Death" so I will give it an 8.5, as well. This album drops on March 7th on Cruz Del Sur Music. 

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