Temple Guard : "Citadel in Flames"

 

This band gets the point behind metal-core, as it is equal parts metal and hardcore. There is some Slayer influence in the mix. The vocals are a harsher death rasp. Right from the jump, they let you know they are vegans. Does not feel as preachy as Earth Crisis about it. I used to be vegan, but not because I love animals; it was because I hate plants. "Blood Makes the Rain Fall" is heavy as fuck. "The Weight of Undying Shame" was thrashed by me, so I had to go back and give it another listen. The thrashing riffs work for me. The vocals find another voice chiming in, to which the shade of agony they are being expelled from their throats. The guitars take a more melodic turn under the sample of someone ranting about Palestine. This band differs from no other in that I do not care about their politics.

I do, however, appreciate the sentiment exposed in " A Vanguard Reforged". They do commit to speed more on this one. They crunch into "Inquisition's Wrath" before speeding up when they reach what serves as the verse. There is a more hardcore vocal that comes in when they hhit a grooving riff. But this song is more of a pummelling collision. There are bits of ambiance to break things up here and there, and I like how samples are used on this album. Marginally more purpose behind the riffs of "Masked Resistance" is enough to work for me. Another touchstone of hardcore is that they do not take the songs over four minutes but cram as many riffs into a more compacted time frame. t

"Iron Sultanate' is pretty much the title track as they snarl about the citadel being in flames on it. The last song does not bring anything new to the table but weaves the somewhat Slayer-inspired riffs around with convincing aggression. Political metalcore did not sound like it would have been my thing, but these guys delivered a fun album; I will give it a 9.5.

pst364

Horror Vacui : "Shadows Sanctuary"

 

This marks the third time I have reviewed these guys. I appreciate their dark take on punk that flirts with deathrock. They move further in that direction on this album. The vocals are more muted and more of an angular groove forming rather than just bashing out the chords, with some reverb lacing the chords. The less refined punk elements is the factor that has kep the band hovering around an 8 every time I rate one of their albums. The first song brings more promise. The more post-punk turn on "Writing on the Wall". I had to dig back into this dive back in at 'Midnight". The vocals have improved on this album but are not the band's strength; the bass playing is. 

Their drummer is also on point as the tribal beat that opens "Skyless Eyes" compensates for when the vocals kind of wander off into an Iggy Pop-like ranting, though I do like the more aggressive punk touches that come in. Their take on post-punk becomes more upbeat on  "A Sunny Day". The vocals remain almost as brooding despite this. They are more powerful and less pitchy than they used to be, which aids in my enjoyment of the album.  'Even tide " has a more melancholic atmosphere to the guitars that is not unlike the Cure, though the vocals are not as introspective or emotive. 

The pace picks back up for "Another Sleepless Night"; the drums and bass are locked in to bring a thundering feel behind the post-punk tension that gives a little more of a Killing Joke feel. The tones shift to a darker mood for the title track. He proves himself capable of being a more dynamic singer not only on this song, but on this album as a whole, which is the piece that needed tweaking earlier in their careers. I will give this a 9; it gets them to where they need to be and is their most enjoyable release so far.Released on Artoffact Records.

pst363

A Colf Paradise : "s/t"

The opening track of this project's self-titled debut was deceptive, as it led me to believe this album would be paying tribute to an era of industrial music I was waiting to hear make a comeback, as it blends hooky 90s elements to recall bands like God Lives Underwater and Stabbing Westward, who were always more rock-coded. This is much slicker, production-wise, and finds an electronic bounce that moves the song. There are crunching dub-step elements, and truth be told if you ask AI to make industrial, that is what happens, so it raises a suspicious eyebrow, but letting it slide til prvoen different. 'Are You Holding Me Back" feels more like a BTS ni- netal power ballad. The vocals do manage to soar a bit.

"The Prettiest Girl in the World" is pretty stupid lyrically and feels like another K-pop anthem. Even nailing the falsetto notes and ripping guitar solos do not make up for this.  Their brand of power-metal is too happy for me, as the more electronic-tinged guise slips away. "Once Upon a Dream' relies too much on pop and country sounds, as the album begins to lose focus. The electronic elements creep back on "Is it Really Over".This feels more true to who they are, as it does not feel like they are trying too hard. The chorus is too anthemic as it loses the needed edge. 

"Kill U Sofly" proves that just because you bring in harsher vocals does not make it metal. Especially if things are too bright and not aggressive enough. They want to bring metalcore into the equation on "Impatient," but it does not take.  More in-your-face pop aspiration combats the palm-muted chugs on "Talking to the Moon" / The chord progression continues to be too bright. The bass line drives"Waking Up," which could be the entrance music for a briging good guy on Monday Night Raw. The last song, "Your Lullaby," literally put me to sleep, so I guess it was a success. I will give this a 7; I think they could have more conceptual continuity, but it sounds good, just too happy and not aggressive neough to be metal.  

pst362

Sleep : "Hempispheres"

Al is back as the sole member of Sleep, with Dale from the Melvinss taking up the duties behind the drum kit and Bubba from Void playing guitar. Despite the supposed punk influence you might assume, Bubba will unpack things and flow in a more psychedelic direction. The second song finds them settling even further into the sinking couch-bound stoner hypnosis. The vocals pick up where they left off on the previous song, and truth be told, it feels like they are jamming out the first song.

They do return to more of the lumbering chug on the title track, but trippy synths color the periphery andd the mix does not lend this album to being their msot metallic mix; in fact, it reminds me more of the Melvins on this song, which is not surprising given the drummer on this album. His drummer does occupy a great deal of space here. There are some what darker sonic moments, mood-wise, here that I appreciate. They continue to jam off the main riff for the duration of the song and circle around it rather than take a dynamic shift. They get away with it here, but an entire album of it might get tedious. 

"Arrival of the Industry Ships" is a less focused wandering jam where the overdriven bass drives it to nowhere. At over eleven minutes, they take up a great deal of time with not clearr destination. Many songs work off the idea of a riff, but I am not even hearing the idea that sent them off in this direction. Even with the typical Stoner lethargy taking over the place groove would occupy, I am hearing more Jimi Hendrix here than Sabbath. 'Whole Wheat Mountain Well Baked" closes the album. It is more focused than the previous song, but not the band's best songwriting either. Crover is at least steering the ship here so they do not get as lost as the previous song. Fans of the band who are not dismayed by the lack of Matt Pike might be divided on this one, as it is closer to the Melvins and less of the doom feel they are into or they might be so high that this seems like a revelation. They are talented musicians, but this does not grab me; I won't deny the talent, so I will give this one an 8.6, unlikely to make the top 10 stoner albums of the year on my end.Drops September 3rd.

pst361

Bootes Void : "Panta Rhei"

 

As the summer winds to a steamy end, I am more willing to listen to black metal. It's a genre I used to listen to more than I do now, due to the fact that so many of the bands follow such a similar formula, leaving a smaller percentage doing anything new, so let's hear where these guys fall. This is the third album from this German black metal band. They offer some hope with the delicate melodic intro that they blast away with the thunderous onslaught that comes after. I'm fine with this, but like all genres, I am going to need dynamics and songwriting from them, so if they are intent on just blasting at you the whole time, I am not going to be into it. They do slow down to a half time gallop feel, going with a common epic black metal formula.

  The mid-range rasp of the vocals is more articulated than most black metal bands that typically let the vocals just be another layer of sound. This apporach allows the lyrics to be understood. The formula seems to be more atmosphere leading into the song, so on "Shapers of the End" I am waiting for the other boot to drop, which it does. In a similar manner to the previous song, though with perhaps marginally more finesses tHey do not blast as long, and the bass can actually be heard in the mix, giving them a denser sound. There are defined sections of the song rather than it becoming a blur of hypnotic white noise like early Dasrkthrone. In the last minute and a half things break down into an ambient section. Building back with renewed intensity. 

"View From Nihil" carries more purpose as they add a little restraint despite pouring the double bass one. They are unable to resist andd blast beats to pursue them here. Their drummer is a bad-ass machine who is capable of doing more than blast beats, very death metal influenced. The bass shows up to hold down a groove, which is rare in black metal. They are more like blackened death metal in many respects, though an impressive darkness unfolds for "Onwards to Death' but the pummelling drums are very death metal. At almost eight minutes, "Lost in Oblivion" is the longest song on the album. There is only a minute to simmer before they hurtle into the blast beats. There is a more purposeful, chorus-like section two minutes in then it is back to hyper speed. Around the five-minute mark, they let up and give it the dynamic contrast for a few seconds before going back to the blast. This is a sound there is an audience for but feels a little redundant 

They double down on the blast beats for "Nebula," and I begin to get bored. There is a cool riff where the bass locks in with the drums, but it's buried in the sonic blur. The title track adds more anguish to what they have been doing from a different sonic angle that works. The last track is more of an ambient outro so I won't count it for the purpose of this review.  I like where these guys are trying to go and the willingness to experiment a bit, but they do play it pretty close to the epxected black metal blue print, so I will give this album an 8 as it is well done for what it is .  

pst360

Foreign Body : "Libertine"

The second album by these transgressive New Punka brings a furious chaos that recalls the Stooges "Funhouse" album thanks to the saxophone that adds to the mess. The vocals are angrier than those of your average noise rock band, and these guys lean more toward the punk side of the genre. Almost likea less metal version of Eyehategod.There is something darker about the vocals that keeps it from being solidly punk. They are more purposeful on the second song. "Passed Around" is more obnoxious as they take the temper tantrums past the point of their novelty.

 "Hind Legs" not only carries groove, but the vocals are given the space and articulation to let the lyrics stand out. It doesn't matter how good your howling is if they lyriucs are obscured by hate. They jam the riffs out for all it's worth. The momentum builds to a more explosive punch for "Trophy". The vocals are produced in an interesting manner than bring Today is the Day to mind."When Sex is Not Enough" is a great song title but more chaos than songwriting, and it comes acorss as ranting.

"Man Was Meant to Take Advantage" works off the same pounding drone, but it sounds cool. There are more punk bones to "Born For This". The riffs, however, are not as defined as what they do on the title track. The vocals are less howled and more spoken, like King Missile. They close the album with the more fuzzed-out throb of "Beauty is a Hammer"; much like the bulk of the album, they rock out this riff ofr all its worth without any changes to the arrangement. I will give this album an 8.5, despite its simplistic feral songwriting approach, as I appreciate the mood it creates. Out September 11th on Brutal Panda.

pst359

Stoned Jesus : "Songs to Moon"

The Ukrainian band's 7th full length finds them leaning further into sludge with an atmospheric crunch that sits somewhere between the Melvins and Mastodon on the opening track of this album. There is ample post-grunge to the riffs as the vocals layer a more introspective melodic sense after the more burly bark the song started with. It feels like most sludge albums are going to get overshadowed by Neurosis this year, so it's a good thing these guys have a more rock side to fall back on and seperate them from keeping up with those Joneses.

"ZYX" has a more indie rock sound, and it is actually the most intersting of the first three songs. There is a cool groove, subdued vocals that provide a contrast, and nuanced guitar playing, so here's hoping they continue to explore this new direction. They jam a bit at the end of the song. There is more ofa progressive slant to this album. Keyboards play a larger role. Midway into the album, it is even more apparent that they have crossed over into prog. If it worked for Mastodon, these guys took notes. This leads to cleaner guitar tones becoming more abundant as a shift away from the fuzzed guitar tones that were a staple of where they came from. 'Jackal" is the first song where I pick up on any lyrical hints they live somewhere that is being obliterated. The song builds back up into a more dramatic, sweeping build of rocking out. 

The strummed 'Window in My Room' feels like a lost alt -rock ballad from the 90s. It ambles along with almost Nick Drake-like folk energy. The album closes with "One More Empty Day". The Nick Drake-like mood of the previous song carries over into this one. The album takes a turn from how it started, with the last two songs leaning into the softer side. Overall, it works I will give this album a 9 as I like some of the newer direction they head, even if the last two songs did not register for me; they are balanced out by superior moments.

6.6

pst358