Throat : "Beyond the Devil's Shroud"

 

One of my pet peeves is having multiple bands with the same name. Yet here we are. This Throat is from Poland, not Finland. They play a dark and grimy version of black metal rather than a burlier take on post-punk. They are equally dark. This album opens with a murky, clanging take on the genre, a cauldron of chaos bubbling with spewed vocals gasping and choking. The guitar is deliberate, and the production is rather raw, leaving the instrumentation to fend for itself in this mix. The drums suffer the most under these conditions. But they use blast beats sparingly and focus on fiendish moods that create the charm.

"Cain's Mark" is rowdier and more upbeat, whih will appeal to fans ot the early second wave of black metal that are looking for something with the punkish attitude of the cvlt charm. It slows down into a more deliberate stomp that is more song-oriented. The track after this is more of an interlude, and jsut creates a droning ritualistic atmosphere. "Corrupted Flesh" finds the vocals dropping down into a more death metal growl with a more sinister intent. They linger on a more brooding doom feel here. 

The last song ' the Pact " is a more feral explosion of wrathful aggression that bands away with a reckless punk abandon, not unlike Darrkthrone. I like the vibes that paint the mood they are creating here, even if there is not much that we have not heard before going on. If you want something that is raw with a murky darkness but not just blasting and tremolo-picked guitars, then this album might be for you I will give it an 8, out on Primitive Reaction. 

Temple of the Void : " the Crawl"

 

Temple of the Void's album "Summong the Slayer" made the 4 spot of our Top 10 Death Metal albums of 2022. Four years later, we are seeing if the band can still bring it like that against the death metal competition of 2026, which is still awaiting releases from Frozen Soul and 200 Stab Wounds. The kick things off with guitar solos blazing. It moves fast when called for to get your attention, but they are not about to sacrifice the song for the sake of speed. They no longer feel the need to prove who they are. The vocals are growled in a purposeful manner that is articulated enough to get the point across. 

The title track features melodic guitar colors mixed into the grind of a more traditional death metal sound, moving with purpose rather than a feral blast. 'A Dead Issue " shows the most impressive display of songwriting so far. It features hooky riffs and a groove that keeps your head moving while offering space in the arrangement to let the ambiance settle in with a darker creep. This is the best song on the album as "Thy Mountain Eternal" has some melodic nuance but does not hook you in tightly.

They return to the hookier songwriting on "Soulburn.",  The verse riff is really solid on the last song "The Twin Stranger," as it has an Entombed-like punch to it. There are some strong riffs on this album, but I feel like " A Dead Issue" set the bar really high, and while they have matured by streamlining somethings, this album does not grab me like the previous one, though it is still a great album so I will give it a 9, setting them firmly in the top tier death metal releases this year so far. But perhaps not bringing it like Monstrosity. Out on Relapse Records.

A$AP ROCKY : "Don't Be Dumb"

 When it comes to this guy, musically is a little more experimental than most mainstream rappers. The second song has a little more interesting thump than the opening song. The overall sonic backdrop on the opening track is more sonically diverse. 'STOLE YA FLOW'  finds the stage set by furutistic synths. It finds an effective groove that compensates for the lack of lyrical depth. He does remind you that Rhianna i his baby momma, which is worth something. 

His vocal accents on "Stay Here 4 Life." feel more like warmed-up Snoop Dogg from the 90s with a Weeknd wanna-be bringing the vocal hook. Lyrially it is more of a vapid pop love song. When it comes to "PLAYA" the problem with this more streamlined r&b approach is it lacks any of the staples that make him unique as a rapper and sound like everyone else on the radio, right down to the beat.  "Stop Snitching " breaks the more bland hip-hop trend that the previous song "No Tresspassing" had not been convincing enough to break from. 

Then the album gets the creative breakthrough it needs with two solid songs "STFU" and "Punk Rocky" , the latter has a more rock feel, but "STFU' is aggressive neough to open new doors sonically and break from the middle-of-the-road feel the album was getting stuck in. "Air Force" experiments, but is not all that focused or hooky. The Gorillaz appear on "Whiskey". There is a dreamier haze over the backing track. I am just going to write off "Robbery" as a skit/ interlude. 

The title is more of a neo-soul track. It works well enough and is the product of heavy THC use. The last song is darker but more fitting subject matter. I will give this album an 8.5. There are a few strong songs, but he is caught in a tug of war of what the record label wants him to do, what it takes to be on the limited diversity of "urban radio", and what he wants to do creatively, so it is the sound of compromise, which is why I rounded it down to an 8.5 as hip-hop should not compromise or it becomes pop music. 

pst96

Twin Serpent : "True Norwegian Blackgrass"

 

It was hard to know what to expect from Norway's Twin Serpent; the first song felt more like punk rock. This explosion of rowdiness came after they dubbed themselves blackened bluegrass. Then on the second song, it feels more like punk-inlfuenced indie rock. The kind of hobocrust-punk take on bluegrass does not come into the picture until "Stellar Suicide". The dual vocals have a more punk feel, even when given more space for melody, with the female half more willing to relax. 

"Freak Flag" feels more like a rambling marriage of folk with punk attitude. "Ain't Home No More" is more nuanced and leans into the blue grass sidde of folk more. Having a pretty solid history of this sort of thing with Amigo the Devil, Bridge City Sinners, and the Dead South, the novelty of it alone is not enough to capture my ear. I appreciate their willingness to blend the varied elements from diametrically opposed genres. "Tussen Takk" casta smokey haze with its more blues-based musing. 

They give "Radiophobia" more of a rock kick. While this is different from what we expect coming out of Norway, if these guys were from Texas, this sort of thing would be less surprising. "Fortventninger" is more of what you would expect from this sort of thing, going into the more barroom style of folk. "Holy Ghost" is more melodic and finds the elements they have in play working at the highest level of effectiveness to make this the album's best song.

"Kiou Kivi" is more chanted over a free-form jam. The last is a loose blues-based excursion into country-inflected musings. I appreciate where they are going and the willingness to try new things, as well as the punk energy they bring to them. This album could use a little more focus, they know the sounds they want to use, but all the pieces sometimes get lost in the shuffle, it works mroe often than not as it gets playt off as just being punks fucking around, so I will give this album an 8.5. If you wanna hear moddy punks with banjos, they have ya. Out May 8th on Svart Records. 

pst96

Kallohonka : "Lazer Blood"

This band claims to be slug metal. Slug metal is nothing like sludge metal. In fact, it is more of a punk metal hybrid. The vocals are yelled more like punk. There is a hint of rust to what they are doing here, and only judging by the first track makes it hard to predict where it is going from here. I do appreciate the psychedelic trappings on the edges of the song. Granted, Gwar started off as more of a punk band, but these kids are more spazzed-out punk with very little metal. More of a metal influence on drug punk. They have heard a few Iron Miaden album atry to write galloping guitar harmonies that get overtaken by the sonic oddness. 

"DMT" is darker and does lend some weight to my claims that they are a drug band. The freaked-out scowl of the vocals is endearing, but it begins to cast a uniform shadow over the overall feel of these songs by the third track. Metal works better on drugs than punk rock, despite punks drug ridden history. But compare the Sex Pistols to Black Sabbath, and it's no contest. The garage rock element to their playing limits what they have the prowess to accomplish. The guitar shows the most capacity for melody; the drumming is a little sloppy. 

Most of ht song circles the drain at the three-minute mark, which works. "Heaven's Gate" finds a more deliberate stomp, but it is hard to ignore that some earlier sections of the song are a total mess. This is also the first song that finds the sluig crossing into sludge. The vocals improve on 'Pyschic Surgery." Though the riffs are angular and wonky. "Leeches" is another mess that finds its reach exceeding its grasp. They are going for more of a 70s boogie on the last song. They are one of the oddest stoner punk bands I have heard in some time, which is endearing unto itself. I will give this album a 7, if you smoke lots of weeds and lsiten to punk you will get the joke.

pst95

Lost Hollywood : "s/t"

 

Theres guys play a pop infused brand of Myspace metal that takes you back to 2004. Vocally, there is some depth despite the emo grooves not being the most original thing you have ever heard, but they pull it off in an anthemic enough manner to at least make the opening song work. Who knows, they could have blown their wad on the first song. This is the kind of music Pierce the Veil and Bad Omens emerged from, perhaps to a lesser extent, Sleep Token. There is a formula already in place by the time we get to "Pretty Skin". In some ways, it';s like if a dude fronted Spiritbox, as when they try to go more metalcore, they dig into a djent like stomp. Courtney has more balls to her harsher vocals than this guy. 

The groove to 'Pieces" works. If almsot feels like I am listening to one of the Punk Goes Pop albums. "Like A River' features a collaboration with Of Virtue, who I have not heard either to who know which part is which . it is more of a pop song, and that feels like the direction their heart is really in. Metal is like funk; you can't fake it. There needs to be an inner darkness and aggression that is released, and I am not feeling it here. This song is well done, Myspace era Emo. Pop artist Phillip Strand joins them to really flex their pop vaginas on "Love us Dying". It is color by numbers, and if you told me AI wrote this, I would believe you. 

By the time we get to "Ghost in the Water," it begins to feel like I have heard it all before. The tempo picking up only makes it seem more like pop punk. The harsher vocals are never going to convince we they are hard; they sound like they are coming from someone who struggles to bucnh 135lbs. "Can You Feel Pain" has a little more potential, and works more often than not. I like how it is produced; it's a good pop song. Some of these sounds feel like they are from a K-pop soundtrack, then when they try too hard to get heavy, it falls flat on "the Art of Being Torn in Half"

I like "Chasing Dreams," which sounds like it is about how Justin Bieber likes rough sex. I think this is how he processes trauma from Diddy baby oiling him up. 'the Fire" is the kind of slow jam I wanted from them all along. and why I kept listening. Fans of Sleep Token can also masturbate to this one. I will give this album a 7.5, based on the fact it is really well produced and there is some decent pop songs in the mix here, they jsut need to come out ot hte closet and try not to jsut metal as the beard for their pop desirres as I do not believe it. 

pst94

Cobrah : "Torn"

 Some artists blend their image with their music in a way that maximizes entertainment value. Cobrah is one of those. The Swedish understands what she has to work with and makes the most of her physical gifts from her vocal cords to her curvy figure and fairytale blond locks. Before a feminist jumps in the comments and says

"If this were a male singer, you would not be talking about his looks; you are objectifying her and sexualizing her."

She is objectifying herself and using it to her benefit, which is reflected in the sensual throb of the beats pulsing under her breathy voice. If you combined the otherworldly alien nature of Poppy and mixed it with the hyper sex of Slayyyter, the results would be similar. Musically close to Poppy, with the electronic throb keeping the songs together. This is also an apt description of the title track that opens this album. On the second song, which is about Instagram is seductively lures you to check out her Instagram. There is a bit of a Charli XCX attitude involved in what goes down here as well. 

From a porduction stand point, this album sounds great through headphones. "Platinum" finds dance grooves flexing their basslines, as she chants over it in her sultry style."Hush" was the first video I saw from her, where she is basically some kind of aline stripper, and it drew me in, so it's pretty effective. 'Charming " is a down-tempo ballad, which could use more of a beat to create the dynamic contrast neededto keep my attention. "Dpg' might be the album's best track as the beat goes so hard it is almost industrial.

The songs are all around the three-minute mark or less, so she knows how long she has your attention for. "Hit Girl" finds the beats percolating around the purr of her vocals. "Excusez Moi"  works really well, for it does as the beat keeps things moving in the right direction for the mood. Variations of horny and speculating her self-worth seem to be the dominant moods explored on this album. "Snow White" is more ambient, but the beat keeps things in motion, allowing hte ambiance more balance. The last song, " Really Hard," is not about an erection but how she wants to be hit by your car. Even with her vocal limitations, she makes this work, so I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me., 

pst93