Moonspell : "Far From God"

The opening track to the Portuguese band's newest album finds them dropping the metal altogether with a more organic rock sound, and the sung baritone vocals being the dominant. That said, it's also a great song, so I am not complaining about it. There is a more Sisters of Mercy-like bass line to the title track. Though the vocals try to capture more of a Peter Steele-like resonance.  Then things shift to a more Pink Floyd-like atmosphere on "Biblical" that reminds me of what Tiamat used to. This progressive connection takes things in a mroe rock direction. More distorted power chords hit, at first they are not more metal, until the band continues to turn the dial and there is an even more aggressive vocal apporach. 

"The Great Wolf in the Sky" finds the bass digging into create the backbone.   While a haunted longing floats over this song, it's not the catchiest thing they have done so far. There are growled vocal accents that the song builds into. They get credit for not doing this most predictably. "Your Promise of Light" is even darker, with the vocals taking on a lower whisper. This is effective at building tension as long as it's not something they default to. The growled vocals returned, but it's still not heavy enough to make it into one of the death metal month posts. 

While they are not part of the Peaceville scene, this could have come from that era, as it is a dreary style of dark ambient hard rock, which bands like Katatonia evolved into. "For the Love of Mortals" works off the melancholy vocal melody that is one of the album's catchier moments. "Our Freedom to Fall" is a doomier pace brand of downtrodden rock with crooned vocals that feels stronger than past releases. The harsher vocals are delivered with a little more power here. Though the music is more emotionally heavy than it is heavy metal. The last song employs an aggressive vocal approach that reminds me more of Tom Warrior's vocal style in Celtic Frost, yet the guitars do not seek to replicate that band's overt metal riffage. Instead, they drone on a more sorrowful chord progression. I will give this album a 9.5. Fans of dark European rock should give it a spin. Out July 3rd on Napalm Records.

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Choke Chain :"Decomposition"

 

This project comes from the Skinny Puppy school of industrial, which I can appreciate as it's dark. Haunted by drifting saples that pass through the background of the song, I had to minimize windows on my computer screen to see what was making the noise at times. The opening track creeps more than pounds, and drones on a uniform groove. The vocals are snarled behind a mask of distorted filters. They do not conform to standard vocal arrangements and are like machine elves scowling from the corner. The first two songs find them taking a similar apporach to the abstract narrative formed. The beats are meant to cause anxiety, not get the dance floor moving. This is endearing in and of itself as it takes me back to what I always felt wa true goth, not doing predictable dances but shuffling a smoke-filled club on a ton of drugs. 

Going into "Morgue," it was important to me that they switch it up rather than have multiple songs working on the same mood. The reality is "Morgues' is an ambient intro for "Life Ends" where the beat is dropped in an early 80s flavored industrial fashion. The vocals are more aggressive. However the do maintain the stream of consciousness approach, which in comparison to Skinny Puppy is not as dynamic as Oghr could make abstruse musings, but also bring it together to pack a hookier punch. This project proves the can also accomplish this on "Imprisoned". It is also the first song where the vocals are articulated in a manner that really gets their message across in a powerful way, making it the album's best so far. 

The last two songs are remixes of previous songs, the first being the MVTANT remix of the title track, which makes it more club-focused with a more grooving beat brought to the forefront. There is a similar approach to "Imprisoned." I felt some of the synths softened the harder impact of the original version,but I can understand why this was done to make it more goth club friendly in that regard, so it works for what it is. Overall, this is effective, and I enjoy the mood it creates. I will give it a 9.5, one of the year's most authentic industrial releases so far.Drops July 10th on Negative Grain.  

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Death is June - Balmora - "These Graven Halls"

Here is another album that blurs the lines between metal-core and death metal. I suspect these kinds of kids feel cooler by having a label for themselves that is not just death metal, since that has become, in some circles, like thinking of it as dad rock. The second song does have a more breakdown-style riff, which could be divisive among metal purists. But there is not a great deal of space between what they do and the Black Dahlia Murder. Though these guys are more melodic at times and might even care more about writing dynamic songs if we are judging them by the impressive "Ophelia."

"The Beautiful Writing " is faster and blasty in places with melancholic guitar harmonies racing around in some places.A lower death vocal counterbalances the higher snarl. A sung vocal refrain comes in, which might lean it more in the metalcore direction, though it feels like it's from the early 2000s. They throw some hooky riffs in for good measure. There is qa very technical element to what they do that feels like it should put them closer to At the Gates than the karate in the pit crowd.

Until the more symphonic passage of "Inheritance & Solitude," I thought it was still connected to "The Beautiful Writing," even though they do not let their songs sprawl out like that . There is one song later in the album that breaks the six-minute mark, but generally speaking, things are pretty concise, though at times experimental, yet always anchored in the heart of death metal that pulses from this album's sinister core. The more gurgled lows attached to what kids call the slam genre begin to surface here and there. What I like the most is that they are not afraid to break away from the pummelling to create melody and atmosphere, before taking off on a racing riff. 'Needles and Rags" drops this in one of the more unpredictable ways. 

"The Day You Died" has more of a bouncing hardcore cadance from the vocals, though the rest of the band is buzzing and blasting under it. The epic squeal of the guitar melodies is pretty metal. "Augustyne" is all over the place but somehow keeps it together. By the time we get to "Moonlit Hysteria' there is a more uniform quality cast over the songs, but they have left it varied for the bulk of the album. The six-minute Timor Mortis" is darker and one of the most memorable songs of the album. It finds them keeping things at a more deliberate pace. "NOV" closes the album with an odd turn as they go into a Ghostmane-like hip-hop feel, but run through a more hazzy lo-fi, which ends up in a shoegazey pop melody, that is not going to be for everyone and seems like a weird choice, but you can accuse them of playing it safe. I will round this up to a 9.5, as I appreciate the chances they take. 

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Death is June - Deicide's "Once Upon the Cross"

 

The band's third album finds them really dialing everything into its final form, and is some of the most classic death metal production to be commited to an album. It compliments there riffing, which opens the album with something equally brutal and catchy. However, when this album came out, the more mainstream vocal approach from Benton had me thinking they were becoming too much like other death metal bands, so it is good for me to listen back to get a better perspective, as even "Christ Denied," which I would not have called my favorite song when I first bought this album, is some tight-ass riffing. The vocals are more about where he places his voice than the layers of demon vocals. 

"When Satan Rules This World" is more streamlined, but it balances the brutality out. It is not as blistering fast, though there are passages where the double bass does pick up the pace. Lyrically, things are consistent with who they are without being over the top. Even when they speed up going into "Kill the Christian." The first song that feels like filler is "Trick or Betrayed," as it races to hell on a flurry of rabid drumming. Without a doubt, the best song on the album is "They are the Children of the Underworld," which runs off some amped up thrashing chugs. It certainly has the strongest chorus. 

They resort to some blasting for " Behind the Light Thou Shall Rise," which sounds the most like what they did on the "Legion" with the locked-in bass creating a machine-like rumble to streamroll. The vocal preformance is a little more obligatory and Cookie Monster. I forgot about "To Be Dead" as I must have not made it past "They Are the Children of the Underworld" most of the time. Like the previous song, it resorts to the approach used on "Legion". They close the album with "Confessional Rape" showing they were groundbreakers in the # MeToo movement. It coasts on the wave of the double bass, with the vocals having more purpose than in some songs. I will give this a 9.5 as the songwriting has matured for what would do down as one of the heaviest and best dialed in death metal albums.

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Death is June -100 Demons :" Embrace the Black Light"

 Not all metalcore is as bad as you assume it might be; in fact, some of it is much more metal than core, to the point that you can't tell the difference between something like the opening track from this band's album and the bulk of death metal that came out in the early 2000s. There is a more omnious punch to "Made For Nothing"; the vocals on this one are really the only things keeping this from being death metal, even then, the wall of double that comes crashing in is pretty impressive. "Through Seven Eternities" hammers even harder as they speed up coming out of the verse, before chugging their way into some headbanging riffage. 

"Meat For the Beast" is running off a Slayer-like drive. While their vocalist rides the riffs well with his gritty bark that sometimes comes clsoer to a growl, he is rather one-dimensional, but I did not notice until I was four songs in. It is also four songs in until they hit the first breakdown riff. "Nail it Shut" races more likea punk song, but that could also be said of Entombed. In the second half of the song, they lock into more of a groove. "Cold Wind of the Cross Roads' finds the vocals taking on more of a growl at first. The mean riff that is metal as fuck is what elevates this one. Sung vocals also show up here; they are counterbalanced by growls.

"Han Hammer" is blessed with some great riffs, which seems to be the common trait shared on this album. There is a super mean but simple riff that is the core of "Night Parade of 100 Demons".  Their drummer is getting it on "Foul," which works off a huge guitar sound. As a whole, this album benefits from immaculate production. "Werewolves at the Wall" starts off racing at you like At the Gates. The vocal trade-off on the chorus is more hardcore. "Return to Zero" carries a convincing menace as it finds a thrashing groove.The last song also follows a similar path. The album sounds great, the vocals are a little one dimensional is my only complaint but they have no shortage of ripping riffs to balance it out. I will give it a 9.5 , and see how it grows on me.

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Death is June- Deicide- "Legion"

 

Their second album finds the production tightened, creating a more fluid machine of sound they wield like an instrument of war. Glen's vocals are more balanced in the mix with the overdubs. The riffing sounds like it's played with tighter palm muting. Lyrically, the themes are more focused, even if they are questionable on the opening track. "Dead But Dreaming" is even tighter than the opener, with Benton's vocals finding a punchier lower growl to attack from. These guys show you how to play fast death metal as it does not work off blast beats, but it has a smooth, steamrolling feel. 

"Repent to Die" finds them hammering at you harder, though the songwriting is not as memorable as the first two songs. The vocals are pretty deliberate, which works. The arrangements are also more intricate this time around. Glen's bass playing is underrated, as he is keeping up with some crazy flourishes better than most. "Trifixion" is another silly lyrical concept rooted in sheer occult poppy cock for the sake of it. He sounds more like Cookie Monster on this one. But even with all that, what they are doing works. Still not sure how evil controlling the way he dies works with anything, but I loved it as a kid.

"Behead the Prophet" is another brutally hammering thrash fest, but it felt more unique back when this album came out. There is something about how he spits out the lyrics on "Holy Deception" that always worked for me. You can hear the Slayer influence on this one. "In Hell I Burn" is a speed fest. But they do lock into a powerful gallop that balances it all out going into the chorus. They learned from Slayer well on the last song at being blazing fast but still writing hooky songs. This album si not as raw and more controlled than the debut, which makes for a better overall sound. I will give this album a 9.5, as the refinement takes away some of the magic from the first release, as silly as it was.

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Death is June- Nothingness : "Godslaughter"

These guys refer to themselves as digressive death metal, which is an overstatement. To digress would mean they are going backwards, and I do not hear that they are going back any further than any other death metal band. They keep it pretty simple and grind into their unrelenting riffs. By the third song, it almsot feels like they are just taking a step back into just being brutal and not caring about the song, but then they throw in a little bit of nuance, but the case seems to be they are just pummelling and aggressive. At times, this leads to being a little one-dimensional, but they know they need to throw in some hooky groove here and there, putting them on the level of brutality as a band like Cannibal Corpse.

"Trenchant Glucnh" finds them getting mired down in the aggression and not enough dynamics to make them more effective. There are a couple of songs that almsot sprawl out to the seven-minute mark, but things are typically fairly concise with these guys. "Vanquishing Providence" grinds along a more deliberate path than the previous song, but it does not even break new ground for what we have already heard from them on this album. It is dense and tormented-sounding so for some death metal fans, that will be enough. It is midway through this song, which is also the midway point in this album, that it begins to bore me a bit. There is a more breakdown-like riff which is more interesting, but it should have been introduced earlier. 

"Divine Irresponsibility" just kind of blasts by in the blur of growling and hammering guitars; it is heavy, but that is about it. I think part of the problem is that the most iconic death metal bands were not influenced by other death metal bands, and these guys seem like they just listen to the same kind of stuff that they play. There is some ambiance at the beginning of "Umbral Spear' before they dish out the most deliberate beating yet, which is more effective than what they have unleashed on you previously, as the song has more room to breathe. While they do find their way back to a similar shade of brutality, at least there is enough of a respite here.

The last song opens with a cleaner guitar tone and a more melodic riff, which is what this album needed six songs ago, but here we are. It feels darker due to this. The slower crunch here works better than everything else we have heard from these guys. The double bass is more effective when the riffs are paced in this fashion. Sure, they speed up into the buzzing blur of riffs that have been dominant on this album, but at least there is something to create a more dynamic juxtaposition. This might be one of the heaviest death metal albums to drop this year, but not one of the most original or dynamic, but at least they proved on the last tow songs they are capable of more, they just choose violence. I will give this one an 8. Drops in July on Everlasting Spew.

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