Heavy Maytal - W.M.D : "Against All Warnings"

 

This Canadian thrash band offers a neck jerking take on technical thrash. They are not obsessed with capturing a retro sound , but incorporate many elements from that time, most notably the vocal, which are a higher pitched squawk on the first track. They locked into some of these riffs in a more breakdown like fashion, which bands like Sacred Reich did back in the day as well. The fleet fingered focus on riffing is what keeps them from being cross over despite the speed poured into the verses, they have twin guitar harmonies to break this but. its till feels kinda rushed.

"Kleptomania" finds more of a Vio-lence feel taking over the sound. There are enough accents and break downs to make it interesting. It's back to pouring on the speed for "Post-Human Predator".  The relentless thrashing maintains it's momentum with " the Black Expanse". There are some audiences who just want fast rowdy playing and these guys deliver that so if that is your thing it is going to appeal more to you than listeners who want more hook and groove in their thrash, which makes the songs more enduring when you think about bands like well... the Big Four, who earned that title for good reason. 

"March of Death' shows they can write those kinds of riffs but it's more of a two minute interlude than a working song, but "the Thin Red Line" takes from it and builds it's own identity  full of guitar solos. "Already Dead' is another racing blur of hyper-aggressive riffing. The vocals are more of a an accent not just on this song, but as a whole on this album, There are more melodic guitar parts but they guitar has to do all the heavy lifting to keep you hooked despite the drums and bass still contributing . The clean guitar in the middle helps to create the kind of dynamics this album needs more of . "Painful Vengeance" starts off with a more deliberate riff, so they are capable of creating them not so much knowing how to write with restraint. I will give this album an 8, because it works on many levels thanks to the dazzling chops these guys have na there is an audience for this kind of thing. 

Heavy Maytal : Dio's "Killing the Dragon"

 

Back in 2002 the dragon Dio was referring to was technology which he felt was a danger to mankind, so it's good that he is not alive to see where we are today. There is a more focus gallop on the first song than they used on the previous album.  Whitesnake guitarist Doug  Aldrich plays on this album, which also finds Bain and Wright holding it down behind him. "Along Comes a Spider" lyrically a little darker it's more of a typical Dio rocker but it works. with songs like "Scream" and "Better in the Dark" he was working off the theory that if it was never broke why fix, and trends allowed him to go back to something closer to his original style. 

For the song to be called "Rock N Roll" the verse throb more like "Kashmir" .  The chorus is a little cheese filled. "Push" is more of an anthemic rock song.  The palm muted chug on the verse is accented by a more rock riff. I'm going to blame Doug for the parts that sound like they belong in a Ratt song. There is also a very 80s feel to 'Guilty' with the vocal production being the big difference. It's a darker song than the bulk of what we have heard so far on this album so it works for me, along with it being pretty catchy. "Throw Away the Children" sounds like he was reflecting back on his time with Black Sabbath which works for me. I prefer it to the more rock n roll feel of "before the Fall" . The organ solo was unexpected but makes sense. 

The last song is pretty middle of the road, more rock than metal, but flashy enough guitar, though it feels like the same guitar riff could be applied to todays pop country. Overall though this album works better than the previous one and I think it was a smart move on his part to just embrace who he is. I will give this one a 9.5. 

Heavy Maytal- Iron Slaught : "Metallic Torments"

This month has helped prove to me that old school metal has not gone anywhere it just went back to the undergrounds where it belongs. This is the second album from this French band. The first track just focuses on the galloping guitar harmonies. "Ghastly Obsession" finds them locking into a pretty effective chug. The drum are admittedly programmed, but sound pretty real. The vocals come in with a commanding snarl. 

What they are doing on "the Executioner " falls some where between classic Destruction and how Power Trip resurrected this sound. The vocals take on more of a growl for this one as well. The melodic guitar section giving them a more "Masters of Puppets" moment. They use a sung more power metal like vocal on "Soldier of Fortune" , which creates more sonic colors overall, though a brighter feel to the song. They balance it out with more feral speed metal attacks.  The sung vocals return for "Charme Funeste". Oh yeah it bears saying that these guys sing in their native tongue, so if that is a deal breaker for you then there you go.

"Primal Conquest" Finds the snarled vocals trading off with a hookier sung vocal on the chorus. The last song opens with melodic clean guitars. It goes into the predictable thrashing, with twin guitar harmonies, though sung vocals eventually  resurface. I will give this album a 9 not only did they nail a sound but they car about songwriting. It drops July 10th on Gates of Hell. 

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Mortiis : "Ghosts of Europa"

 Havard has been taking notes from Ulver in regards to the more synth wave direction he is heading in. Not what you expect from someone dressed up like a goblin. Its not like anyone is still bitter about the fact he is no longer making black metal as that ship sailed decades ago. The transition to this makes sense even with the vocoder autotuning the vocals. It was not that long ago he was making darkwave, and doing a pretty decent job of it, I felt like the goth scene was a good fit for him. So the electronic thing is not the problem , what is a marginal issue is it's not that dark, though thick on the atmosphere.

Maybe he wants to start making soundtracks for A24 movies , as that is the vibe we are getting from "Return to the Old Fields" The song takes more form in the final minutes but drifts more often than not. "The Faith That Fades Away"  has a sparse ritualistic beat , and the layers of vocals are pretty cool, it does finds things moving in a somewhat more brooding direction which I approve of but could use more of a bass line to give it a backbone. If it was not for the vocal arrangements it would fall on the side of being more focused on a sound than songwriting. 

There is more of a solid groove to "Violent Silence". The vocals are more androgynous than what you expect from this project, making me think of the Pet Shop Boys. I like the future pop leanings that flow through the song. "Transcending Morpheus" is atmospheric in almost a more Dead Can Dance direction. There is a little dynamic ebb and flow but not enough to hook you in .Not even the robotic vocals can make it more potent. Four and a half minutes in there is more of a groove, but it can't gain momentum by then    

It's odd that a song called "Tundra Heart of Hell" would sound like old Depeche Mode.  There is more of a 90s new age feel to "Tribes of Dystopia" but the vocals anchors it. The last song works well enough , it's a little darker vocally. He puts more guts into his delivery to create more dynamics. I will give this album a 9, once I warmed up to and got use to the change it grew on me. It comes out June 26th thanks to Prophecy Productions. 

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Heavy Maytal- Dio's"Magica"

 By 2000, I was pretty much jsut listening to hardcore shit like Converge or at the other spectrum the Cure, so this fell between the cracks and I have never listened to this album before. Craig Goldy returns for Dio's concept album. Jimmy Bain from Rainbow also showed up for bass duties."Lord of the Last Day" is the first actual song. It is slow and deliberate, bordering on doom, but not too anchored in nostalgia. It is interesting to hear Dio reach down and pull some lower notes out. "Fover Dreams" has more of a "Man on Silver Mountain" feel to its groove. It works for what they are doing here. 

It feels like they are jamming their way into "Turn to Stone," which would work well live. There are some soulful vocal embellishments by Dio in places on this one. Not the strongest chorus, but not opposed to this song either. Part of the concept is the robot voices, adding narrative, so maybe the theme is robots vs magic? "Feed My Head" is a little darker with great lyrics. "Eriel" has more of a "Holy Diver" gallop, but it does not feel too recycled. 

"Challis' takes modern drive and applies it to a more 80s rock sound. The riff carries echoes of "Cat Scratch Fever".  There is some interesting guitar work that opens up "As Long as it's not about Love."It starts off as more of a ballad, Dio showing off the more tender colors his voice is capable of capturing while retaining power. It never takes off but stays in a more dramatic, expressive place. There is a folkish intro to "Losing My Insanity," but with that song title, it would be too muh of a Spinal Tap moment for them not to kick into metal at some point. It's not the heaviest song on the album, but it has more of a swing to it. He has obviously become aware of folk metal by this point in time. 

"Otherworld" carries the typical not quite doomy throb that his solo work is known for, then the album takes a turn. There are two pieces called reprises before launching into the 18-minute of Dio's book on tape entitled. "Magica Story" so for the purpose of this album I am not going to include it nor was I really interested in story hour myself. I will give this one a 9 as despite it's ambitions and story telling it feels the least inspired .    But Dio is singing that elevates it over most metal albums from this period.

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Heavy Maytal- Elvenking : "Rite of Disclosure"

This Italian band blends power metal with folk to create something that remains relevant in the bigger picture of European metal. Their stage cosplay is darker than what they actually sound like, which manages to not be too happy for me to struggle to get through the first song, but hopefully, there will be less frolicking ahead, and they will dig in a little more as they are riding the line right now, but it works for what they are going for in the opening track. They already have 12 full-lengths under their belt, so they know what they are doing. 

There is almost a Bon Jovi-like candence to the singer's voice, which does not sell me on the bigger picture and makes me take it when they growl about the devil in the second song a little less seriously, though sonically it all somehow comes together. Three songs in, it's clear that this touch of cock rock is just how they are, and the choruses are going to be hit or miss with me, as some of them are too happy for my tastes. What does fall within my tastes but hits me weird is the cover of King Diamond's "The Arrival" which lacks the darkness of the original; the lower vocals work, but the falsetto finds them hitting the notes but not capturing the eerie feel. It's better just not to try to cover King Diamond in my book. 

"Children of Decadence sounds like what I expect from modern folk metal, jsut enough grit to be metal. It races along and has some shredding in the mix; it is hard to tell if it is coming for synths or fiddles, but I do not care enough to click on YouTube, as at the end of the day, it almost sounds the same. You can hear how both King Diamond and Cradle of Filth continue to be influences, with a more theatrical twist to what goes down. The ballad "Man of Iron" confirms that he can sing, but offers little else. "Salt on the Earth' closes the album. The vocals remind me more of Venom, but the song itself is not that raw. It's ok a little different than the rest, so they are not boring, though falling in the middle of the road when it comes to heaviness, if that. I wish it were darker, but if you are a teenager who likea folk metal, then this is a must. I will give it an 8.5. 

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Truck Violence; "the Weathervane is my body"

 

These Canadian hard-core kids are venturing further into noiserock in their sophomore release, which finds a more angular dissonance steering the songs. The vocals are monaded and howled, as they steer the boozy sonics with a precise ugliness to create something beautiful. Some moments might not be as overtly metal as where a band like Chatpile, who crosses over into sludge, goes, but could have a similar appeal.  It's not until the song "Completed By Christy" that they dip back into their more melodic side with the hints of folk and country music peppered in. At times, this reminds me of a band like Iceage, who gradually expanded beyond their punk roots

 They more fully commit to this kind of backwoods twang on "House Caught Fire." "New Jesus" is pretty dynamic in their approach, with a more explosive lead into what might be considered the chorus, which is not far removed from Black Flag. It ebbs and flows between the more melodic guitar riff and the dense din of guitar. There is less blending of their folky side with the more intense weight of what they are doing on this album, but it is still an interesting listen, certainly heavier than their first album. But they do switch gears by pulling out a banjo midway into "Your name, it's waiting". This blending leads to a more memorable riff that answers this shift. 

The riff rings out and hammers you in equal measure on "Stomach as a tower..." with things not breaking down to a more atmospheric introspection till midway in. "Gerard, be quiet" takes the time with a strum that contemplates rather than confronts. "Kindly Wash Yourself" opens in a more subdued folk and builds into something that brings to mind a 90s indie band like Sebadoh. The chords ring out with an effective ache. What they do on this album is a continuation that works, but I am going to give it a 9.5, as there is something about the first album that made it hit with me a little more, but this one might just need to grow on me. Out June 26th on the Flenser

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