One thing I have noticed about the modern era for this band is that there is less of a moody grunge noise and more of an upbeat jangling element to the guitars..Undoubtedly influential when it comes to post-hardcore and modern indie rock. "No Friends" finds the jangle given more rock context andd the vocals carrying a hint of melancholy; some of the riffing brings Neil Young to mind. This album carries a warmer, more organic sound than most of their previous material, with "Everything at Once" representing more of their classic sound and serving as one of this album's best songs it brings the introspective melancholy and melody I want from these guys.
There is more of a rowdy rock clanging to "Take Me With You". the layered guitar sounds balance this one out. 'Blowin' Up" is more deliberate. The vocals take the spot lightliek they are once again ready to take their place on 90s rock radio. Lyrically, it is also interesting. "Gone Off" is more up-tempo, but not as immersive as the previous song. First song that almost feels more like filler, though it is a decent song for what it is; they have already raised the bar pretty high for themselves here. 'Clam Along" finds the more straightforward rock elements falling in place more naturally.
"Walk Me Back'works really well at staying true to the ghost of their classic sound. "Read the Room"has the vibe of fumbling along like a 90s slacker."Put It Down made me think I had clicked somewhere else in my iTunes, and it was one of the 80s metal bands doing a ballad. One of the album's most melodic songs, though a bit out of character. They pick up the tempo a little into more of a country strum for the last song. I will give it a 9.5 for now, as I am sure it will grow on me. They don't have to prove they know how to write a s ong but did anyway.
This duo has gotten a great deal of hype for their jangly take on punk, blending garage boogie with grunge and 90s indie rock. New Orleans is not the place I would expect this to come from, but it makes sense over time. The first song works well, but I am going to need more dynamics as the album progresses, as a full album of this won't work for me. The second song counters this malady but brings in some blues-based clean guitar and more swagger. Yes, it is a step away from punk, but it works. 'Swamp" is the first song that feels more like filler, and the truth is I already have the Viagra Boys who do this better.
The title track has them mumbling along with an acoustic strum that sounds like any band that could be playing any dive bar. They continuethe rockn roll jangle on "Guided Thunder", Part of the problem lies in the vocals, which are the same for every song. Not every one hasto beMike Patton, but I prefer a more dynamic performance in this regard. "Top of the World HwyNo 2" has some atmosphere in the background that marginally help butwe are beginning to hit monotony. "Cncealed Weeping" is not as interesting as "Riding," which has more of a groove and a better vocal performance.
Things continue to be hit of miss as "Business" is an interesting song while "Javelina" feels less inspired even with it's cocuntry influence. "Weather the Season" has more of a 50s feel."Dancer" finds someone coasting over the tension being built. At this point, the vocal totally bored me. It ends with the strum of "Sun Go Down," which is pretty run of the mill. I'll give this a7.5 as it is interesting for what it is for people who are looking for this sort of thing, but it's not my thing.
This band's 2022 album earned a 9, which is impressive considering how their angular math rock takes on black metal had begun to dull on me over time. Yet this album dials back the math and puts songwriting and nuance back in focus, rather than letting a technical labyrinth of buzzing riffs take center stage. This is not to say some of the more adventurous sonic trademarks of the band are not still in place, but the vocals sit differently in the songs, the drumming is more deliberate, and everything has more organic space in the mix. Things had almsot become clinically sterile with them, so the changes made lure me back into what they are doing here. Granted, six minutes into the eight-minute opener makes me wonder how long they can jam on this, but somehow they make it work without boring me.
There is a more racing, thrashy feel to "Grievous Corrector". The vocals return to their older, more death metal howl. The higher tempo makes things feel like a busy blur of ringing notes, rather than riffs you are following. Lots of accents fall out of the corners of this arrangement. The melodic passages work best for me, though thi si clearly hipster metal. The patter of blast beats runs under the chors that are allowed to breathe in the storm of guitar they unleash. There is more aggressive metal crunch to "Kill the Guardian," a more traditonal metal songtitle for sure, and the pounding riffs accent this fact. The vocals are more shouted than growled. At seven and a half minutes, they leave me unsure how they are going to keep this going for another five minutes when I am two and a half into the song. The anser is shifting guitar tension while keeping the tempo brisk.
They slow things down going into "Unceasing Path," though it is clear once again that their intention are more in line with being a technical death metal band than a progressive black metal band. The drums revert to the pitter-patter of blast beats. There is something creepy about this song's angular nature. Palm-muted picking once again creates the tension. We are back to the more familiar buzz of blast beats on "Living Useless Ritual," which should find them doing something more interesting as the song progresses in order to keep my interest. The second half of the album finds them cruising along in a high-speed jam that runs together but is still somewhat effective.
The 13-minute title track closes out the album. The first mintues seem like they are trying to get their bearings and figure out where to go. The direction turns out to be in your more typical blasty mcnasty black metal tremolo picking drone. There are some darker dissonant undertones sburied in this din, but there should be for black metal, and this might be the only actual black metal song on this album, as it is the only one with sinister vibes. At four minutes in, I am uncertain if this warrants nine more minutes of said vibes. There is a hypnotic amabient break down that does not last that long before swelling back up into the more typical black metal. At the eight and a half minute mark, a guitar melody emerges over the slow throb. I will give this one a 9, putting it on par with the last album I heard from them. I respect what is being done here, but overall it is not dark enough for my tastes, and feels more like hipster death metal, but there is still an audience for this, and they deliver it well. It drops September 8th on Profound Lore.
The 9th studio album by the wonderful Ms. Wolfe opens with the soulful "Cold" that finds less of the ghostly reverbed vocals and her singing out at full voice in a more accesible manner. The also worked with producer Jennifer Decilveo who has also worked with the Gossip., Miley Cyrus, Bat For Lashes, and Hozier. Her voice sounds great nd it fits comofrtably in her hweelhouse. She continues this more raw vocal production on "Seethe" which is also more straight ahead rock. It is not as dark as her previous work. Not too far removed from say Florence and the Machine. The drums groove thanks to having Tori Amos' drummer Matt Chamberlin playing on this album fand Troy from Queens of the Stoneage / Failure also lends his guitar talents, but serving the song so much you would not notice it was him.
"Humours" is more back to the shadows basic for her, which she knows she needs to return to based on her fanbase which includes people like me who expect this sort of thing. If anyone was wondering if she coulkd sing ofr was just hiding behind the stylistic apporach with effect this album clears that up. It ameks sense consdiering artists she influenced like Ethel Cain are playing bigger venues. There is a more rock feel to "Swallower" though it does include many of her sonic staples like tinges of haunting guitar notes that ring out.
"Halo" ambles along with a hooky flow. So far the vibes of this album remind me most of "Birth of Violence'. It is weird tha Angel Olsen collaborator Ben Babbitt lent a hand on the title track as it's stripped down to her just playing guitar. It is not until two minutes in that other layers of sound begin to rise around it. So they just helped her flesh it out. "Turn the Key" finds Robin Fink of Nine Inch Nails dropping some guitar in. "I'm Not There" is a slice of Americana tinged songwriting that is not foreign territory for her.
"Death is Not the End' goes from themore delicate fragile vocal to aheavier sonic dirge of emotion drivintg thesong. The album closes with "Dancer in the Sky" which is another introspective ballad. She slowly builds it up from the minimalist piano line, andit is one of her most compelling vocal performances. I am not sure if her new found soberiety is what is making her more comfortable in her own skin but that is what it sounds like to me ,and it is clearly working as it's another flawless album from her,. I will give this one a 10. Out on LornaVista.
The black marrigage of goth and metal has been attempted with various results bands like Type O and My dying Bride being the most triumphant in this regard, but other bands like Atriarch and In Solitude who did not garner as much of a c ult following were still artistically sucessful and left a void in their wake, that has only come close to being filled by a band like Grave Pleassures, who still lean more on the goth sidde of things with more punk tenencies than metal, Unto Other has mad eand effort and the new Final Graps is perhaps closer to what I want , though this band from New Yporkfinds themselves on the more metalic sie of what In Solitude once tried.
The vocals are the only shakey part of this foundation, they work on the first song, but are more uncertain on the second so hey are goibng to be what makes or breaks them here. I orefer the more atmospheric balance they strike on "Snakeland's Pull". There is more ghoulish aggression on "Knight Rider". The romanticized darkness they linger in holds melody even when the vocal drop into more of a growl. Their more aggressive side is not as death metal as say Tribulation, but carries more of a punch than Unto Otthers.
The moodiness brings a new level of emotional depth to the sonic pulse found in "Dungeon of Love", here there is more of a Feilds of the Nephilim feel. The vocals are working better but they are sitting further into the mx. There is more of a 80 vibe to "Sanctuary' which I appreciate. This is one of the album's best vocal performances andd perhaps the album's hookiest song.. "Trouble With Demons" finds the vocals almost more spoek on the verses which does not work as well to my ears.The last song works well, as the vocal deliever and the mood is gloomy enough for me in it's introspection.The vocals are effective enough to get the job done so I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on.
If you took a hardcore band and gave them a sludge band's production, then this is what it would sound like. The guitar tone is blown-out, dense sludge of fuzzed-out meaness. They are plenty angry and have a bit of thrash in their aggressive attack. On the first song, the one lead guitar is the only element that feels out of place, and that is because it sits too forward and too cleanly in the mix; it is an overdub that was not managed into the present wall of sound, or the guitar tone itself needed to be tweaked to blend it."In the Mire " is the band working of a more deliberate chug and none of the over dubbed guitar is there to distract me from it. It also feels like an extension of the previous, so there is not a great deal of overall dynamic range to what they do so far.
"Potent Sea" finds them building more memory as the barked vocals fall into the background. The husky vocal delivery on this one sounds more like something a sludge band would do, as it has that lumberjack feel. Though all of this lies in the pacing and the phrashing as it becomes more punk on "Martyr Tombs". Though even in this song they allow themselves to evolve and blend genres. There are moments where this also reminds me of early Mastodon, with plenty of powerful chugs to back up this theory. The drumming is not as frantic as Brann's. They fall back into the more uptempo take on sludge with " Cautionary Tale". The guitars are doing most of the heavy lifting to compensate for the vocals.
There is more form and function to "Everything is Rot". The vocals are just another layer here as the guitars tell the tale. Everything does fall into place in a very compact manner that gets the point across. I will give this album an 8.5; they are certainly heavy enough to please most. If you are looking for a more punk-minded sludge band, then this should do it for you.
This Czech death metal band is not what I expected going into this album, as there is a more technical feel to their grooves than what I expected from "horror-themed death metal. It is hard to say if this s my thing from the first song alone, as I do like bands with some technical aspects when it comes to death metal; there is not one set rule that I stick to. "Le Horiaa' is more deliberate as things slow down to a more purposeful crunch. I can hear where Cattle Decapitation comparisons could be drawn, though with less of a chaotic vocal delivery and a different atmosphere that creeps up here as synths become more apparent. They have a well-layered guitar presentation I prefer the more creeping aspects than when they go full bore.
"The King in Yellow" works off a more syncopated groove that works against more frantic flurries thanks to the drumming. The horror aspects can be felt as this song progresses. Not sure how it relates to the work this song is named after, but it's the thought that counts. There is marginally more traditional death metal on "The Willows ", though when it gets more progressive it kinda loses focus and throws a bunch at you. Some of the more crazed blasting does not work as well for me. However, there is no doubt these fine fellows are talented. They have plenty of chops and already have proven they can write a song, but can they be consistent is the question. The angular battery that powers "Mimi-Nashi" at least works better than the previous song.
'The Feather Pillow' opens with a bunch of blast beats before it begins to find its footing. The drummer is almost playing against the grain of the song here. When it comes to songwriting, the strongest moment so far feels like it is "the Letter U", though even here they eventually erupt into a merciless speed fest. 'The Painted Skin" opens with more purpose in the pounding. This builds into an almost Cannibal Corpse level of brutality. They bring more suited weirdness to " The Colour Out of Space' perhaps not as Lovecraftian in feel as the lyrics should be. I appreciate the nod to my favorite author.. "Bernice," like most of the songs, is possessed by more blasting than it needs. I will give this a 9 as it is not my preference for death metal but even then there are song sand moments I enjoyed, so they won me over enough to know death metal fans into this sort of thing will love this album.Drops November 11th on Transcending Obscurity.
