Paradise Lost : "Medusa"

Most metal bands will tell you their new album is heavier. From the sound of the first song this might be true. The sung goth vocals come in to bring them out of the more death metal direction it seems this album starts off in. There is a little more of a lumbering doom feel to "Gods of Ancient" due to the more mournful feel that competes with the aggression of the growled vocals. These guys are obviously old pros, the guitar tones are dialed in to give the needed crunch and the drums pack the punch  required for this kind of music though the double bass is mixed back a bit and doesn't trample you. There is more of a gallop to "From the Gallows" . This gives them more of a death metal feel. They do return to doom on the title track which is largely sung. The singing shows great signs of improvement when he slides up out of his Peter Steele like baritone into an upper register. They pass through similar doomy waters on the title track, that also finds the vocals being really strong and some of the best that I have heard from Nick Holmes.

"No Passage For the Dead" splits the difference between being death metal and doom. The guitars are more doom with death metal vocals. It's a decent song but not the album's strongest. "Blood & Chaos" displays on of the album's best trade offs between harsh vocals and sung vocals. Things get progressively darker on "Until the Grave". Though this song finds the riffs getting a little murky and until the melodic chordal breakdown nothing really standing out. The guitar solo does add to the song here and give the feeling of helping the song climax rather than just wanking. The tempo drops to a more morbid mood opening "Frozen Illusion". It feels like slow death metal rather than doom, there is even a wink to Celtic Frost thrown in. This is one of the band's rawest and heaviest moments. The vocals get nastier than I recall Holmes typically getting, but he is in Bloodbath now. So that seems to have influenced this album.

The sung vocals return on "Shrines". This is another melodic death metal moment that sounds like it could have come from the late 90s. That's not a bad time as it was a great time for death metal. I am not sure the growled vocals on the chorus make for the most memorable moment. The album ends with what at first sounds like it will be a  more straight up metal anthem with "Symbolic Virtue" . When the vocals kick in for the verse, it breaks down into a piano part. The chorus is pretty strong and the sung vocals continue to excel, possessing more of a gothic tone. I'll round this one up to a 9.5 as it gets better each time I listen to it.

Chelsea Wolfe : "Hiss Spun"

If "Abyss" wasn't heavy enough for you then that is remedied when the opener to her new album "Hiss Spun" kicks in. The guitar is more overtly metal where, on her last album the fuzzed out bass delivered most of the pounding. Her voice is mixed against the guitar a little more.Tempo wise it is very much in a doom/sludge direction. The thicker guitar tone and more rock oriented hangs around for "16 Psyche" which finds the guitars kicking the door down when it builds. This allows room for her to sing when it comes back around to the verses. The beat to "Vex" is pretty awesome as she coos over it in a more ghostly manner. Production wise her vocals are not as up front as the last album and have returned to they shadowy re-verb sounds of her earlier work. Even this song has a lot of drive to it.Growled vocals come into the background towards the end of the song.

"Strain" is an atmospheric interlude that sounds like it should be playing on an episode of Twin Peaks. "the Culling" is more fragile in the creep of it's breathy melody. The bass becomes over driven to build the tension. The release comes with a metallic sounding that succeeds at being just as heavy sonically as it is heavy as in metal, though maybe leaning more toward the sonic side. While four songs in it seems she can do no wrong, this return to her old sound vocally is just what my ex-wife would not like, so it's ironically fitting that with her out of the way things have returned to normal. The bass line drives " Particle Flux" which for the first two minutes has minimal percussion. This is remedied and it kicks in like a rock song. This is the first song where it feels like it is going to need to grow on me. "Twin Fawn" almost breaks your fucking neck when it jerks you out of a haunting lullaby into it's aggressive accents.

There is an almost industrial beat to "Offering". It's militant against dreamy Cure like guitar. So her goth fan base has something to sink their fangs into on this one. Though over all this is dark , but in a different way from her other albums. This might be my favorite song on the album so far though it doesn't have any of the heavy metal balls the other songs possess. "Static Hum" starts off dark and ominous with a floor tom tribal beat. Her voice comes more forward in the mix on the verse. The drone of this song  found me spacing out on it as I worked on writing other than this review, so I had to go back and listen to it again. One the second listen I heard other bits of ambiance in the corners of the song. It does kick into a more pounding dynamic which is the formula for this album. It works so I am not complaining. "Welt" is also more like an interlude with it's rainy piano refrain and chanted vocal.

She returns to the kind of spacey folk she built her career on at first with "Two Spirit". She has become a much better guitar player over the years and this songs has a more intricate chord progression than when she did this sort of thing in the past. The song does build , but it's the darker mood that is the heaviness. Her lyrics stand out here, which aside from "Offering" is the first song where I have been able to make note of them. "Scrape" is darker and noisy, it creates an almost suffocating mood. She sings in her upper register to provide more of a contrast. This album gets a 10. This means it's going to grow on me rather than click with me, though I slept in an hour and a half more than intended today, so I can't tell if it's Chelsea who is detached or me. But fans have nothing to fear as this is even less of a commercial attempt than "Abyss" and finds her adding the heavy she explored on the last album and going a step further with it while returning to her older sound.

the Mentors : "the Illuminaughty"

I hope these guys are not playing shirtless in hoods now that they are old and gray. The problem here is that El Duce is dead. So replacing him is problematic despite the fact the bassist and guitarist are still in the band. For guys who have been playing since 1976, I expect a little more prowess when it comes to playing their instruments. The production is punk like in it's careless attitude. It's hard to imagine that this was once considered heavy metal. In 2017 as song like "Good In Bed" comes across as being kind of juvenile. The only redeeming quality it that I think in theory we need rape rock since, the world these days is too full of politically correct bullshit. Lyrically your average trap rap pushes the boundaries more than "More than Your Mouth Can Hold" . If the vocals are not slathered in effects, they are more spoken and pretty terrible.

"Keep Your Bitch" under control is just a message that gangsta or as the kids say today trap rap pumps out all the time, so the shock value of what they do just isn't there. The groove to this song sounds like old guys playing in the basement trying to learn "Mississippi Queen". But aside from the amateur solos this song is better than most so far. "Grab Her By the Pussy" is an ode to Donald Trump. The lyrics are more about Billy Bush. "The Sluts Are Back " is almost laughable, which is the value of the album. I would put it on for my friends to laugh at how stupid it is. The first song where the guitars are trying to write and actual song is "Lovin You  Really Sucks" . The singer makes one of his first attempts at singing. The main problem is the phrasing of the lyrics is awkward, which is strange considering he is a drummer. He does take on a lower more growled tone for "King of the Castle" obviously a feminist anthem. There is a more punk feel to "Get Down and Fuck". If the Ramones were retarded old men they might have written "Do You When I Wanna" The intro to "Screwin In the Church" makes it seem like they were trying to write a real song , until the vocals come in a fuck things up.Then they go into more of a Stooges like thing for "Watch Her Naked" . They try to actually sing more on the chorus. Overall this album only has a few moments , most of the songs just sound amatuer and from some one who is considered a cult classic , we should expect more from them or they should never try to do this without El Duce, which might be the more reasonable option. I'll give this a 4.


6

Make Them Suffer : " Worlds Apart"

Death Core or Metal core or whatever the kids are calling it these days is not typically my thing. It tends to be masturbatory and only focuses on aggression, basically today's version of mall metal. So I was surprise when the first track off this Australian band's new album caught my attention. They have a more organic feel. I understand why purists of the genre might not find them heavy enough, but I think that is there saving grace. The fact the clean vocals are female give this another dimension. I think what they do right is make heavy another color to make music with rather than the totality of what they do. Not to say they are not heavy in a metallic sense. The have gruff vocals that are screamed a forceful hardcore like manner. Not quite a death metal growl, that tends to come at the end of phrases. "Grinding Teeth" kinds breezed past me and didn't keep my attention after the melodic guitar intro as it went into the chugging and seemed like nu-metal. The songs begin working off more of a formula once we get to "Vortex". "Fire Works" might be more screamed but where the song goes finds a similar path though the melodies in the previous song are stronger.

The do develop more of a groove for "Power Overwhelming" . The more 90's metal thing occurs on "Midnight Run". I think this is because the way the male vocals are phrased in the verses come too close to rapping. It's not Bio-Hazard bad, but seems more focused on getting a pit going. The guitar do some clever tricks and their drummer is pounding it into the pocket, but that is what comes with the job description ,so I am not going to praise someone for something they should be doing in the first place. What I want to hear is what makes you stand out from the rest. "Dead Plains" is a pretty solid song for what it is. It is more on the death metal side. Then there is more of Myspace era core on the last song. I can hear where these guys step into more of a Dark Tranquility place, if we are talking about the Swedish band's more recent work.

I'll give this album a 7.5 , it's pretty decent for what it is and the most listenable album I have heard recently from this sort of thing.The reason it didn't score higher , for all it's strengths like the stellar production is what it is just isn't my thing so I don't think I would get much play out of this. If this is your thing you will probably round it up to an 8.

Arcade Fire : "Everything Now"

When Kiss went into a disco phase it brought out a side of the band that churned out some of their best songs ever. This might not be the case with the new Arcade Fire. The title track feels like their take on "Disco Queen" mixed with the mid-80's solo work of Paul McCartney. I don't hear the soaring yearning I prefer coming from them, but people change and don't create from the same emotional state so I am trying to be open minded here.The disco continues on "Signs of Life" this time the Disco ball is shining brighter on this fact as the vocal are more rapped. In all fairness they have always been influenced by the Talking Heads so this song has that vibe coupled with maybe the verses of "Rapture". "Creature Comfort" is the first song that really grabs me and finds the band blending their new evolved sound with the band I used to like. This one has a strong groove and biting lyrics.

While quirky "Peter Pan" doesn't hold up in terms of hooky melodies and over song dynamics as the previous songs. "Chemistry" kinds grooves it's way out of the previous song. The there is the frantic almost punk like tone of "Infinite Content". There are some cools sounds at work here, but the pace is easy for them to get lost. Electric blue focuses on the female voice and a more disco programmed drum machine carrying the groove with vocals heavily effect and more of an ethereal gliding to how they fall over the music. . There is a more restrained groove that might bring to mind some of the Rolling Stones more disco moments. The mix on this album is weird and it can really be heard on this song as if there was ever a time to bring the bass up in the mix it would be on "Good God Damn". I think the disco groove to "Put Your Money on Me" works better as the vocals are more locked into the dynamic tension of the song.

Things mellow out more for "We Don't Deserve Love" . The mood here is more akin to what the War On Drugs does if you subtract the guitar solos and let the vocals wuss out a little more. The build gets more interesting and goes off into a more familiar soaring dynamic for them. The refrain of "Everything Now" takes the album out on a very tepid note. I'll round this album down to a 7.5 as there are some good songs, but it doesn't have much in the way of balls to it , and in their own right Arcade Fire once had the emotional depth to compensate for what they lack in terms of sonic heft. Here there feelings check in would have them at a little detached.

Dead Cross : "s/t"

Mike Patton and Dave Lombardo have teamed up with members of the Locust and Retox for what is darker than I hoped, though still coated in a great deal of noise. It's eerie and angular in the same way Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum was. The songs are typically compressed into under four minutes.You can hear the grind core influence of the Locust on " Divine Filth", despite Mike Patton's vocals still bringing a little more melody even on the more punk inspired sections. Though the chaos ins out more on "Grave Slave". The production finds the distortion jagged , mixed with a claustrophobic tension. You might wonder what the difference between this and Tomahawk is. Well that is easy. This is darker and heavier than Tomahawk. There are some moments that are more blatantly metal than others. "Gag Reflex" is more metal than not.  

"Idiopathic"  rides the line between chaos and a song that makes sense. They launch in more of a thrashing speed for "Obedience School" . I expect a little more from Lombardo when it comes to playing at this intensity, and it sounds like it could be anyone behind the kit. The sound of dial up internet starts off "Seizure and Desist". Patton trades off screams, squeals and singing. "Shilelagh" finds him doing more angry punk ranting.  This almost sounds like a more feral version of "King For A Days" harder rocking moments. This metallic punk temper tantrum continues on " the Future Has Been Cancelled".  As far as songwriting goes while Patton has an abundance of energy, I don't think the melodies that do show up are really his most thoughtful or strongest work.

The reckless spastic moments that have the most in common with grind core are not the album's strongest points and keep it from being a solid piece of work so on sheer merits of the darker tone and covering Bauhaus I will round this up to an 8, but considering the level of talent present here I think expecting more is ok.

Ded : "Mis-An-Thrope"

It's a crazy though that new nu-metal is being created in 2017. The first song almost makes you ready to write these guys off as wanting to be Slipknot. While this is not untrue, these guys are actually not half band and write some decent songs. Sure there are the chanted temper tantrum vocals and the rap elements on the first single "Anti-Everything" bring to mind Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit depending on where you are at in the song. It still somehow manages to work even though it is a little on the radio side of the equation so not as heavy as most of the bands we review who refer to themselves as metal. "Dead to Me' gets mired in the kinda of watered down screaming metal that nu-metal eventually defaulted to.The lyrics revert to just telling people to fuck off in various ways. Slipknot thing seems to be the more dominate motivation for the kind of music they are trying to make. Granted they don't have a bunch of extra clowns beating on things, so some of the clutter and density is not there.

The more Linkin Park like " is one of the more well written songs despite it's more pop tinged leanings when it comes to the hooks. Linkin Park always struck me as being a boy band with guitars, and this is not that blatant. "Disassociate" works better for me as the hip-hop accents and almost grunge like vocals on the chorus don''t sound just like some other band from the Hot-topic and allows me to hear who these guys actually are. "Rope" finds them trying to bring the noise to a more Slip-knot like magnitude. The sung vocals are a little more original than how we have heard them used earlier in the album though comparisons could be drawn to Breaking Benjamin.The hip hop moments work better than when they are overtly angry and angst ridden. The whole I am about to have a nervous breakdown vocal just sounds dated and silly. "Hate Me" has a more sing song chorus that sounds almost like a nursery rhyme. Then they fall back into the more pummeling Slipknot thing with the chant for you to cut them off at the knees.

"Inside" plays off all the conventions of nu-metal, but puts them together in a way that plays to their strength as a band and works well as a song where they might have fallen short on some of the other songs. "Beautiful" starts off with more of a ballad type thing going on without it being too Linkin Park, it's more like Staind or Cold. I think giving this album an 8.5 is fair. They are good at what they do , I just haven't listened to what they do in some time and take it about as seriously as I take Motley Crue.

Multiple Eargasms - the Weekly Shuffle

#instalove #photooftheday #photography #boudoir #nikon #sigma #rock #tattoo #tattooedgirls #model #acdc #sexy #tshirt #portrait #edgy #beautiful #hair #pinup #metal #lingerie #boobs #danielrmoorephotography

A post shared by Daniel R Moore Photography (@drmfoto) on Jul 10, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT

Ok we are two weeks in a row now, with this feature that has proven to be more popular than I would have imagined. I just press shuffle on my iPod and review the first ten songs that pop up. So here we go, hope this inspires masturbation and multiple eargasms. AFI- "Feed From the Floor" Danny Havok's vocals sound great hear and the bass line certainly invokes the Cure. This song stand more in the shadows of pop punk.I haven't give this album enough listens to that is one of the cool things about doing this feature is getting to dig back in an give things a second chance. Halsey- "Now or Never" The hook of this song reminds me of Ellie Goulding. I would say there is more of a hip-hop influence bubbling under the surface here than Goulding. The production certainly gives nods to hip-hop. For pop music this going to be one of the strongest albums of the year. The Smiths -Sweet and Tender Hooligan" One of the smiths more driving punk like moments. This shows how their influence touches both indie rock bands and post-bands. Moz sound great and the lyrics are as biting as anything else they have done. This is more straight forward playing than what you expect from Marr , but the bass line is killing it. the Cure- "Blood Flowers" This song is both sonically powerful and incredibly moving from an emotional perspective. I always forget how good this album was until I listen to it. It really does hold up against the rest of their work. Cocteau Twins- "Treasure Hiding" I normally dopn't think of these guys as shoe gaze , but I guess if this was the only song you heard from them it would be easy to slap that label on. Not my favorite song from this album as it lingers in the abstract for too long. Liz sounds great, but she could sing from the phone book and it would sound divine, the melody that comes in at 2:40 mark is awesome , but wish they got to the point. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum- Helpless Corpses Enactment Another bad that I am always glad to hear when they come up in shuffle as their are so chaotic that Sleepytime is not always my go to when cuing up something to listen to. This is one of their more metal moments, it's a damn shame these guys broke up, because I can't imagine what else they would have been capable of. Life of Agony - "I Regret" This band in their prime was criminally under rated. Too band when Keith's river started running red that he also forgot how he sang on this song and what about his delivery helped define this band and make them stand out from all the other bands in the 90s. This song is one of the few from the second album that sounded like it could have been on their first. 2Pac- "Only God Can Judge Me" This is not one of the strongest songs from "All Eyez On Me". It suffers a little more than some of the other songs when it comes to how the 90s production holds up today. Lyrically its a bunch of whining about how hard it is living in his shoes. The guest rap by Rappin 4 Tay is pretty terrible. Mastodon- "Clandestiny" I don't remember really being overly wowed by this song when I first got the album. It had endured in the competitive landscape of my iPod so that says something. Metal should not feel so middle of the road and this song doesn't hit me as being heavy enough to be metal despite it's guitar tones and most of the metal trappings being close to center. Cult of Youth - "Monsters" When they are in the more rambling folk punk strum they tend to sound less like Death in June. The baritone vocal is more rowdy and carefree than Death IN June, in fact I can hear fans of punk liking this more than tragic goths. Their earlier work was more filled with this kind of punk energy. Twisted Sister - "Burn in Hell" For anyone who wants to lump these guys in with the rest of the 80s hair metal I think this song sets the record straight. Not as dynamic vocally I think Twisted Sister has more in common with old Iron Maiden or Priest than they do Motley Crue. Unless we are talking about the Crue's first two albums then it does have a similar drive to it. The Cramps- "Bop Pills" This song is pretty much straight up rock in the vein of early 50's rock more than it strikes me as being rock a billy unless we are saying Jerry Lee Lewis falls into that as well. It's as song about drugs and those song are always good to party to.

Nine Inch Nails :"Add Violence"

I found their appearance on Twin Peaks to be odd and not in the manner David Lynch is normally odd. The first song is more aggressive than what we have gotten from the past few albums and has more guitar on it ,which is what I am most please with. Some of the synth sounds are purposefully retro. This sounds like Nine Inch Nails and doesn't conform to the current trends in electronic music. In some ways it reminds me of "Bite the Hand that Feeds" .  His vocals drop down to a lower whisper under the bleeps of the music twinkling above his speculations. This is more ambient and experimental than what we have heard from him in some time. I do like the chorus to this song and it does sound more like the classic era of Nine Inch Nails.

Reznor continues to lay the atmosphere on thick with "This Isn't the Place". It almost could be confused as an extension of the previous guitar into the more fragile = vocals come in. There is a more dynamic explosion that comes  from "Not Anymore". Overall this album feels  more organic as the drums on this song sound like they are being banged out on a kit. The drums go back to sounding programmed on the atmosphere thick .At 14 minutes there is some drone to it , but at two and a half minutes in the beat smooth out to provide a more substantial groove. It's Nine Inch Nails so of course the production should be stunning. The song could end at the 7 minute mark as it devolves into noise which was the purpose but we could have gotten to the point with it sooner.

As far as EPs from Reznor go the songs on here might not be as strong as what was on "Broken" but it is solid and I am glad he has gotten his edge back . It's darker and well balanced blend of atmosphere and aggressive bursts. I'll give this one a 9.5 , it will sit nicely against the rest of their catalog and is better than everything since "the Fragile" . So if you are a long time fan , you should be pleased that you are getting what we have wanted.

Alice Cooper : "Paranormal"

Alice Cooper was my second concert as a kid so we go back a ways. This new album finds him  going for a sound more akin to his later 70's work and less of the overt metal he had been stomping around in since his return in the 80's. I am not sure if it's the production or not , but his voice sounds amazing. It's like these are vocals lifted right from the 70s. Perhaps these are the paranormal powers at play and the christian golfer was just a joke and Vincent sold his sold his soul to the devil to retain the voice of his youth. If so it's worth it because I almost can't believe my ears. While he sounds good I am not sure of the Hendrix like funk that propels "Dead Flies" . Bob Ezrin is working with Cooper again which helps him find his way back to his more classic sound. "Fireball" is just well written rock song. There is a filter on his voice which sets him back into the mix along side the guitars. It's good to hear him singing more and not just relying on what had become his trademarked gritty narrative.

He steps out of the 70s and into his take on modern radio rock with "Paranoiac Personality". He steps back into a more familiar role vocally to blend this with his more post- Trash body of work. The backing vocals even remind me a little of Def Leppard.  "Dynamite Road" is the first song that I am digging because it sounds like a cross between "the Devil Went Down to Georgia" and "Radar Love" and is not really the kind of rock that Alice does best. "Private Public Breakdown" is an improvement, but not as strong as the first few songs, opting for a more Rolling Stones school of rock. "Holy Water" is not totally removed from some of the other songs Alice has acquired over the years, but it it's not my favorite either. It did grow on me on the second listen. "Rats" is another case of where it's not totally out of left field for him and while he does cover a wide range of rocks many flavors, this one is just to vanilla for me.

The more Pink Floyd / Dada like tone of "the Sound of A" is more satisfying for me as it's darker and seems to wink and the weird new wave time period of Alice that I love. The last two songs are preformed with the original Alice Cooper band, who have preformed in the past as Billion Dollar Babies/ He plays it pretty safe on the cross dressing ode "Genuine American Girl" where he claims to be only 30 out of 50 shades of gray. "You and All Your Friends" captures the more radio friendly sound of classics like "Elected" or perhaps to a less bombastic extent "Under my Wheels" Lyrically one of the smarter songs as Alice makes a political statement more veiled than some he might have espoused in the past. The playing of the Alice Cooper band on these songs is failry conservative and far from the more progressive slant of an album like "Killer". The same could be said for this album as a whole, it starts very strong and show a more melodic side as it progresses sinks into a safer rock n roll formula. So I'll round it up to an 8.5 for now , but that is lagging way behind his more classic work.  '

In This Moment : "Ritual"

So this is pretty much the Maria Brink show now. There is more spooky stuff going on to open the album and it feels like their will be less sexy nurses writhing around. I have often found her better to look at than listen to so lets see if this album changes that opinion. The first actual song is strange as it takes the stomp of a negro spiritual and molds it into something more sultry hard rock edges. The big chorus hooks don't come til mid way into the song. I am not sure if it is all production but here voice sounds better on this album, if she stays in more of Britney Spears like alto. But it's clear she has a better range than Spears as she can belt into her upper register.

There is a more organic feeling to this album, despite the drums not sounding real. Rob Halford shamelessly shows up on "Black Wedding" . Which makes this inversion of the Billy Idol even stranger. I make no qualms about stealing the chorus in the refrain. But some how it works. Then we get yet another cover of "In the Air Tonight". Not sure when Non-Point covered it, but seems like we don't need another cover of it. She does sing the hell out of it , but otherwise musically there is not much we haven't heard before. "Joan of Arc" feels a lot like "the Beautiful People " but a watered down less aggressive take on it.Pop and metal meet pretty evenly on "River of Fire ". I can do without the oh oh oh vocals in the background, aside from them it's a pretty solid marriage of pop and metal. I think the "let it rain" part would make this a great song for strip clubs.  If I ever wondered what Katy Perry would sound like doing metal the answer is on "the Witching Hour" . This formula is not fool proof as it backfires on "Twin Flames".

They get mired in similar almost nu-metal grounds with a slight tinge of 90s industrial rock on "Half God, Half Devil" . The problem then continues to be that they don't feel dark or heavy. They make a better stab at convincing me on "Roots' which was not the Sepultura cover I hoped for. "Lay Your Gun Down" feels more like an outro than ever building into a real song.I'll round this one up to a 7, I think I like the sexier KMFDM sound better, though the pop infused stuff can work. I guess if you are are fan this is par for the course.

One Master : " Lycanthropic Burrowing"

These guys have supposedly being haunting the underground with their brand of black metal for 15 years , but this is the first time I have heard of them. To call them occult black metal seems a bit far fetched as they are really just straight up black metal with the kind of feral intensity that has become common place in the post- second wave world. So the kind of furious blast beats and tremolo picked guitar that feels impressive in the first half of the first song, but makes you wonder how long this will continue to wow you once you have been numbed out by it. The second song steps away from this and into a more punk infused sound, before the band returns to the mean spirited drone of "the Black Bat". The vocals on this one are less rasped and have more of a Venom like snarl to them.

There is a similar approach to the song that follows though it's enshrouded in more of a wall of white noise. In feel alone this reminds me of earlier Darkthrone, as I recall how those albums lulled me into the drone of their tremolo picked guitar.The snarl of "Erosion" reminds me a little of Dissection. The difference being the vocals are not as commanding. Nor do the vocals attempt to stand out on their own as a driving force of the song. The sonic intensity they come at you with is impressive, but it's fury begins to wane by this point in the album as they have pounded into your brain with little in the way of dynamics.

The closing song is a bit of a anti-climax as it dances around a drone very similar to the ground this album has already tread upon.There is a little more atmosphere at the beginning, which is an improvement aside from the full frontal assault it seems like these guys prefer to launch. It's well into the two minute mark when they decide to bring the fury in a flurry of blast beats. The mood to the song is slightly more tempestuous, but not enough to really make you take notice. If you like very aggressive black metal then this is for you, I am giving it a 6 as it's too one dimensional for my personal tastes.

Poison Blood : " S/T e.p"

This project pairs Jenks Miller of Horseback with Neil Jameson of Krieg. Together they provide yet another example of how black metal doesn't have to default to blast beats. The sluggish grind of the guitar churns away with an almost apocalyptic despair. Image rougher around the edges version of Celtic Frost without the gothic tendencies. The vocals are lower of a growl than typical of black metal, but more mid-ranged than death metal.The guitars are more dissonant and sonic than your typical black metal as well. The songs are a respectable length at under five minutes. The more atmosphere hints are around the frayed blown out distorted edges of the songs. "Deformed Lights" comes closer to the more typical black metal sounds , but the guitar is give na punk like attack and with the keyboards in the back ground it makes me think of what the Murder City Devils might have sounded like as a metal band. 

"Myths From the Desert" kinds falls out of the previous song and if you are not paying attention you won't be clued into this fact unless you hear how the chords modulate and take on sound that has more in common with Horseback's earlier work. There is a similar tempo and drone to the blasting shuffle of " A Cracked and Desolate Sky" which goes back into more of a punk riff. I guess they are calling what happens on the interlude "the Flower of Serpents" dungeon synth, as that is a thing. The blackened punk that erupts on "Shelter Beneath the Sea" clocks in at under a minute so there is not much time for anything to develop. By the time we are hammered into "From the Lash" the dynamics are beginning to feel a little flat despite the fact that I do like the bass line the song ends with , but otherwise it's a messy blur. 

At four minutes and twenty two seconds " Circles of Salt " is the longest song on the album. It has a darker droning atmosphere. The drums build up underneath it's swell. It proves to be pretty powerful by the time the bass line comes in. I can hear how people might want to label this moment as being post-punk or death rock. Though the vocals stay in a tormented scream so vocally it's neither of those. Despite the bulk of this album's rather monochrome drone . It's still manages to be energetic enough to keep my attention so I will round it up to an 8. 

Dwoom : "Pale Mare Demo"

Until the guitar solo came in I was thinking this sounds too good to be a demo. The vocals are very dramatic. I don't think they Candlemass , but if that is the first place your musical vocabulary goes then ...oh well. He does try with his phrasing to sound like Marcolin as the sound build ,he goes up higher and has a more soulful tone which is where I think he needs to keep exploring . These guys get mad props as the guitars are heavy as fuck and have a dense raw sound that is more brutal than anything Candlemass could have done in the 80s or 90's though Entombed was this heavy in the 90s so there you go. Entombed's "Wolverine Blues" album with more power metal vocals. But power metal is not equating to it's typical cheese here.

The second song and title track is not written with the same sense of perfection and is ok with just defaulting into the mire of more conventional heavy metal until it goes into a weird break with clean guitar. The vocals go lower and this helps break them out of the Candlemass like thing and into something heavier. When the guitars lock back in it's crushing. I was not expecting the more growled vocals to come with their manic declaration. So while the over all isn't as good as the first they throw you some curve balls. The drummer pulls out some double bass for "Empty Temples". They allwoow it break down into clean guitar and more Deep Purple like vocals. It feels like as songwriters they get their groove back on this one. It would not have been so noted on the last song, but when you only have three songs every minute counts. They continue to bury you in crushing riffs.

I'll give this one an 8.5, it's heavy as fuck it just didn't get a 9 as I think they could have fine tuned the second song a little. I do look forward to hearing more from these guys and hopefully a full length next time around. While they do sounds Swedish as far as what you expect from death metal, not what you expect from other genres out of their. I think these guys are onto something good and look forward to hearing their sound further refined and more of it next time as if this was a full length there would have been more to balance it all out with. I think it should also be noted that these guys never cross the seven minute line and managed to really pack a ton into each song so they know how to be efficient which more bands could stand to take note of.

Neverending Winter : "Хиус"

So I was taking a break from Game of Thrones to get some writing done and it's pretty fitting I chose this albums as it makes for a good transition. In someways they are like Agalloch with out trying to bore you to death with long and winding epic songs. Not that Agalloch is boring , but all the band who tried to be like them sure seem to be. The vocals are rasps and snarled with such nasty animal like intensity that you can t even make out the Russian. They have a rough guitar tone, but it keeps the galloping riffs pretty mean with some weird black metal like breaks in-between that suggest some punk influence is in here some where.The song named after the band is more straight forward and benefits from a sharp guitar attack. They do dip into their more folk side and this song almost touches the 8 minute mark which is still pretty efficient with this genre.

This band can't be easily summed up as black metal though they are more black metal than they are folk metal. "Heeus" starts off a little darker then comes alive with a more commanding brand of metal. Five minutes in and the folk comes back starting to make this formula more habitual. The last song is "Sib Ir" . Which allows it's angry stomp to give way to the more coasting clean guitar passages. Art just over the nine minute mark this is the album's longest song. Double bass is one of this drummer's stronger suits. It is refreshing that he doesn't lay the blast beats on too thick. They dig into that more thrash like version of black metal that was perfected by Dissection. The riffs get really mean going into the four minute mark. The guitars are this album's strong suit for sure. The drummer gets the job done, but he still adheres to the bible of metal playing. Not to say the guitars don't do this as the bass player is probably the most creative member but sits back in the mix. The progressions the song build into could be something off a Thursday album as it rides the line between emo and hardcore.

The songs final moments go out on strummed guitar which I didn't see coming and had me waiting for the blast beats that never came. And that my friend is how to use blast beats. I'll give this one a 9 as I debate if it's going to make it over to my iPod or am I going to load "Storm of the Light's Bane" on their instead. Thats not to say these guys are Dissection rip of by any means, perhaps they would be more tempted to be if they were not from Russia. Any way this is a very solid album of blackened metal, not weighed down with blast beats and full of other textures. In short pretty bad ass.

Android Lust : "Berlin"

So in holding to the theme of creating a sound track of sorts for various cities, this one is Berlin. It sounds more Blade Runner and I typically don't think of Berlin as being so futuristic, maybe Japan. There is a cold starkness to it that feels right and this is juggled with a thick swathe of atmosphere. The first things that feels like a song is three tracks in . It is carried by a future pop bass line. Shikhee's layered vocals have an almost chanted quality to them. The song oddly drones as most as it grooves. The production is interesting and I recommend listening to this album through headphones as it's well panned. "Insects" is more tense. I am not sure if feels like Berlin. Some of the layered vocals have a more anguished tone to them. The groove and the ghostly vocal melody work together to make  "Heart Tunnel" really work. "Crawl" is more timid with the mood having a more subtle creeping feeling to it.

"In Memory" is an instrumental with an interesting beat, it might linger in the soundtrack atmosphere to much to be more than an interlude and not something I would listen to cruising around on my Ipod. Vocals return for the thick atmosphere of "Plaza Steps". Lyrically it seems like there is personal attributes as she is singing about something some one said , is this a person or the city? The beat shifts to something more club-centric. After a minute and a half of sounds we get into the thick of "Madness in Men". The vocals are more hushed and focused on the poetry of her words rather than melody until we get to what would be the chorus.

The album ends with the instrumental "Eventide". Which is pleasant background music, I just wish this album had more actual songs, many of the songs on this albums are great to pretty decent so would like to hear more from her, considering time can pass between albums with this project. For what this is I will give it an 8.5. It is certainly worth another listen or two as it is well crafted and a success for her, though I am split as it's not really 100 percent what I want from this project but I might be stuck in 90s industrial anyway.

The Second Cumming of the Weekly Shuffle

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A post shared by Daniel R Moore Photography (@drmfoto) on Jul 10, 2017 at 1:19pm PDT

The return of this once beloved feature deserves a hot girl with big boobs, because those are numbered among my favorite things just like the songs that are going to pop up like an erection when I hit shuffle on my trusty ipod and review the tracks at random.

Punk Goes Pop Vol 7

In the case of the first song this proves to be redundant as the band is supposed to be pop punk, but they are more on the pop side to begin with. This is the case with State Champs. They do a decent job, it's almost like the original but with guitar. Dance Gavin Dance, who I'm not a fan of to begin with though the guitar does some interesting jazz like phrasing on the verse. The screamed vocals on the verses just suck. So it's up to the guitar to save the day. New Years Day isn't a punk band even by Myspace standards. They do how ever do a pretty decent job of "Gangsta". The Amity Affliction has a tough job with "I Can't Feel My Face" since I actually like the original.The end result is rather middle of the road. The barking harsh vocals sound obligatory and almost the only element giving them an edge. So it's another case of here is what this would sound like with guitar. Then there is the god awful thing that happens with Andy Simms who makes the Frozen version of "When We Were Young" that is just terrible.

Grayscale must be Justin Beiber fans they play a pretty dead on version of "Love Yourelf" that builds into the Myspace pop punk thing. I am not familiar with "Fake Love" , but it seems Capsize do a pretty go version of it that will appeal to teenagers in the burbs. Boston Manor takes on "Heathens" . I am not familiar with the original, but I am not really feeling their performance. Eat Your Heart Out really nail their interesting take on "Shape of You". Which is why I like these albums as they take a song I already like and give it an interesting twist, true to the original but with their own color. Which is the purpose of covers unless you are a tribute band. I am sure I have heard "Let it Go" before. I can say that the singer of the Plot in You, has a great voice. It borders on being the kind Nickelback rock I don't like, but in this context works.

The pressure is on Ice Nine Kills with "I Don't Want to Live Forever" as it's Taylor Swift. It's pretty typical Myspace metal, the vocals handle the chorus pretty, there is none of Zayn's falsetto. The Bass tone is a little flat. But I guess I can live with this version , maybe not forever. Seaway's version of "Closer" felt like it was there own. I have heard the original , but like they way the owned this one. The singer of Too Close to Touch is obviously a big queen who got too into singing "In the Name of Love". The keyboard melody in the background is a little obnoxious and while they do a good job of this it's not my favorite song. I'll round this up to a 7.5, as some bands killed others failed big time or just dialed it in so it's a mixed bag, I'll just take the songs I want and delete the rest.

Cradle of Filth : "Cryptoriana the Seductiveness of Decay"

These guys continue to polish what their brand of dark symphonic metal.

Boris : " Dear"

Boris have brought back the heavy. That is not to say it's not full of the experimental atmosphere they have been languishing in the past few years it's just a more balanced blend. The first three songs kind of run together until they pick up the pace on "Absolutego". It is very grunge like, thank to the drugged mumbled  grit of the vocals. When you go back and listen to these song again you might realize like I did that there is less substance to the second song which makes it almost more like an interlude. "Absolutego" however rocks in a way that makes up for the experimental years. It builds into a heft sludge chug. Songs four , five and six also lull you into a seamless blend in their dreamy haze. "Beyond" starts off with a coo of soft female vocals and builds into the male voices coming in as the distortion kicks in . This is done in a manner that reminds me of some of Jesu's best moments.

"Kagero" just kind of drones with falsetto vocals haunting the song, it doesn't really go any where. There is more of a shoe gazey feeling to "Biotope". But the song never really pays off in the end and is more of a tease as it could have soared , but in said lingered and procrastinated. Then there is another tease this time they make you think they might get heavy again on "the Power" which is more of an interlude than a song. The next real song is "Momento Mori" which finds the band taking a page from Sigur Rios play book. They do a good job of it even though the vocals are not as impressive. The vocals return to the more fey like breathy style of singing often used in shoe gaze.

Then comes the almost fourteen minutes of "Dystopia". This one could have had the first two minutes shaved off without compromising the song. It sounds like if Smashing Pumpkins decided to become a post-rock band. When we get to seven and a half minute mark a guitar solo kicks in. I don't think I have ever been so glad to hear a guitar solo in my life as it means this song is actually picking up and going somewhere. The title track cranks up to end the album with a lot of fuzz and feedback. If yells and abstract sounds create the sound of hell then it has a very sparse soundtrack. This goes on for four and a half minutes until it begins to seemingly gather steam. The drums linger to keep the slow drone going. I find it really hard to consider the noise that ensues a song. While they show potential and bring back some heavier sounds I would not say this is the band's best work . If you really like drone then you might round it up a bit from the 7 I am giving this album. I think they have potential and would just like to hear it invested in songwriting. I know a band making albums with song's is a vulgar concept but oh well.

Atriarch : " Dead As Truth"

Portland master's of black hearted gloom are back. The album opens with thee ritualistic pulse of "Inferno" . It lurches into a more metallic dynamic two minutes in. Lenny makes commanding declarations about a spiraling emotional state. The more death rock like croon comes in at the three and half minute mark followed by a more black metal like scowling. So right from the first song they waste no time using and array of vocal colors. Since vocals are the first thing I key in on this obviously makes me very happy...in thee grimmest manner possibly. These guys once once prove that darkness alone can make you sonically heavy.  While this song creeps along at more of a doom pace, it's this darkness that would appeal to fans of black metal. Things to accelerate by the end of the song, without having to rely on blast beats. 

"Dead" like several of the other songs on this album is from the cassette ep the band released on their own last year and plays more to their death rock side. The chants of suicide follow the despairing moans of the verses as Smith muses over slitting his wrists. The guitars offer some great sonic textures as the bass drive this song. They build into a more black metal passage, which once again find the band only using that genre as one shade of the darkness they color their sound with. "Devolver" is another new one. The drums build a tribal tension. There is a more sludge like oppression to the mood, that waits for an impending explosion. In stead of pouring on speed they hit you with very deliberate and powerful chugs. The next two songs are more familiar. The mood of "Void" reminds me of when my therapist told me that depression turned inwards eventually comes out as anger. "Repent" laments this pre-apocalyptic world where the rich keep getting stronger. The drumming keeps a brisk pace while dissonant stabs of guitar linger behind. 

The album closes with "Hopeless". The guitar tone shifts and has a cleaner sound. There is a mix of beauty and ugly dissonance. The song is aptly named as it feels more depressing than song, though it is by no means a shade brighter than the shadows. Another great addition that takes the cassette ep and expands the world created there for this Relapse records release. The mood is very solid and opaque while not as dense or heavy in the metal sense as what we have heard from them in the past, I think it takes the two sides to this band and melds them into a cohesive presentation. I'll give this one a 9.5 and see how it sits with me for the rest  of the year. 

Limbonic Art : "Spectre Abysm

The opening track doesn't seem like these guys are offering anything new with the Norwegian band's take on black metal. However they are doing it with a more polished vigor and seem to have tapped into a well balanced medium between sharp production and feral gnashing of teeth. While the logical mind knows that the fleet  feet creating this kind of double bass are part of the job requirements for playing black metal, that doesn't mean your ears might not still marvel at it. So far it's epic , but not symphonic, which is fine by me. They race by you in a blur , often sounding like a more tormented version of Watain. All the elements that should be in black metal are here. I believe what is going on here is genuine, I guess I am not blown away because they are not really doing much more than playing it safe in terms of the scope of sound they bring to the table.

The race from hell continues , but by the third song I feel I am growing immune to it's demonic intensity. It does slow into a more pounding section that offers a little shift in tempo, but when Watain does that sort of thing it creates more of a hook, this album is beginning to fade into the background. There is a much more Dimmu like feel to "Triumph of Sacrilege" . That is until the song really starts flying then it holds more in common with their earlier work. The first bit of atmosphere that involves synths is on "Disciplina Arcani" . It opens with the dramatic whisper of demon voices before a proclamation is made over pipe organ.

Not sure what it is with black metal these days but it seems the trend is to run out of gas on the last song. Here they don't loose speed just inspiration. Maybe it's staying angry for that long that takes it out of them. While they play what seems to be all the right notes I am not feeling the anger as I did on the other songs. So it's just not as inspired. So with that I'll round this one down to a 7.5 as it would have had to be a little less one dimensional to qualify for an 8. If you are a devoted fan of the band then you like one dimensional black metal and can round it back up to an 8, but I don't see myself listening to this one again, yet respect what they did here as they are good at what they do.

Tau Cross : " Pillar of Fire"

If it wasn't for the fact that Away plays drums on this, I would not cover this album. This hesitation is based off the fact certain parties of the band acted like big babies after I reviewed the album for this blog and Cvlt Nation. I think the fact I am very blunt particularly in regards to a band wearing their influences on their sleeves irked the parties and the fact I continued to point this out in both review rather than kiss their ass. So here is the fucking news...this is my blog so I write whatever the fuck I want in it. If you are in a band and are ungrateful for me investing the time in your music, then fuck you.It's not my fault that I have been listening to music for over thirty five years so am well steeped in it's history. This history once again haunts the band as the ghosts of Killing Joke haunt the opening track. While this song doesn't really blow me away the fact I can draw comparisons to Killing Joke is a positive thing. If I felt these guys were being a Killing Joke tribute act then I would call them out on it, but I think there is enough of them invested in it and I like the fact some of the riffs remind me more of Voivod, than what was on the first album. If you read this blog on a regular basis then you know Voivod is one of favorite bands. Thus why I am reviewing this, along with the fact Away has always been cool with me and gracious with his time .

This album begins to show the improvements made in their sound since the first album. "Bread and Circuses" is heavier than we we heard previous from this band. There is also a more goth tinged take on post-punk with "On the Water". Away's drumming is more restrained than what he does with Voivod and allows him to indulge his punk rock leanings. "Deep State" finds the band milking the verse riff for all it's worth, and while you can hear the Motorhead influence I would say this sort of thing almost owes more to Hawkwind. They return to a darker sound on the title track. The vocals are more of a baritone croon here, shedding the rasp that typically dominates them. The vocals have an odd tone on the verses of "Killing the King". They sound better when they go down into the more familiar husky lower register. They amp things up into a more metallic direction with the pounding chug of " A White House".

They continue to use a wide range of dynamics on "the Big House". So far on this album they have their influences much more blended with their own collective identities on this album. The melody on this song has a solid hook that sticks with you. They use "RFID"  to vent some of their thrashy punk tendencies. The sung vocals come in with their dramatic baritone as the last thing you might expect over this tempo. The post-Apocalyptic throb of "Seven Wheels" has more in common with Amebix. The album closes with a song that ranges from the more folk side of neo-crust to what sounds like one of Motorhead's more power ballad moments. These guys took what they did on their first album and moved it in a heavier and darker direction with a very dynamic and varied blend of the styles that make them who they are. I'll round this up to a 9.5 as it is a huge success in terms of the album they set out to make.

10.4

Tear Garden "the Brown Acid Caveat"

Edward Ka-Spel of the Legendary Pink Dots and Cevin Key of Skinny Puppy have re-united after 8 years as Tear Garden. The album opens up more up beat than what I remember from them. Though over the span of their 31 years together they have covered a lot of dark and trippy ground, often wandering in the same sonic neighborhoods as Psychic Tv. I like how things get darker for "Stars on the Sidewalk" and when I hear this I think, I really hope these guys go on tour, so that's  a positive sign. "Amy's Personality" is more plodding in it's swirl of intangible mesmerism. A more electronic pulse is added to "Calling Time" . The more whispered English narrative of the vocals continues its chant like meandering on the more free form "On With the Show"  . I can hear Key's influence on the glitch filled atmosphere than I remember hearing on their previous albums that struck me as being more organic in its psychedelic pursuits.

There is a dark electronic throb to "Sinister Science".  Strings come in to give it a lusher sense of melodrama despite the continued understated vocal. "Lola's Rock" is more of a narration that makes me think of one of the interludes on Bowie's "Outside" album. Guitar returns on 'Kiss Don't Tell" to give a more organic feel, along with the sing song vocal that goes into a more Syd Barrett like cadence. There is a Stranger Things like vibe to the eerie moving the mood of "A Private Parade". This finds the song taking on a drone until it breaks down at the midway point and jumps back into the same droning groove. The synth melody wavers into weirdness toward the end so the song goes somewhere.

It sounds like more organic instruments are introduced once more on "Seven Veils". The vocals occupy a more conventional spot and finds them once again in the zip code of early Pink Floyd. This is prime real estate if you are psychedelic so it means they are doing something right for this comparison to be drawn. "Object" comes close to being a neo-folk ditty. Which is fine by me. Then some near Kraut rock weirdness with the closing "the Sound of Space Escaping". It's clear this requires more drugs than Pink Floyd was on for "Obscured By Clouds". While the first few songs are the best before the drugged lethargy sets in over this album I have no problem rounding it up to an 8.5 . I am sure would have scored higher if I still did drugs.

You can check out videos they made on their crowd funding page ....thanks Pledgers!, Here's a little video treat for you http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/theteargarden/updates/72374?utm_campaign=project13527 via @pledgemusic

Skyclad : "Forward Into the Past"

When folk metal made it's boom a few years back this is the first band that came to mind. The opening song reminds me of a more driving version of "Stonehenge" which I think is a fitting place to say this brand of metal was born. Coming from 1990 there is a fair amount of thrash influence injected into their vision of what would be known as folk metal. The vocals are the least dynamic element of the band.The songs are very compact. They prove that you don't have to have everything at over ten minutes in order to capture and epic feel. Even though they openly embrace their more old school approach to metal they attack they songs with an aggression not often found in the frolicking of folk metal. On "Change is Coming' they show that you can have the best of a both worlds. They couple a very celebratory tone with a commanding mood.

"Starstruck' does have a happier tone to it. I think this compromises the heaviness. "Heavy Price to Pay"bemoans sexual dysfunction due to drinking too much. It seems to take it self more seriously than the previous song. I like the tinge of melancholy that reminds me of Marillion on "Words Fail Me" . Some of the double guitar lines remind me of Iron Maiden, whose influence can be heard on the more mid-paced songs. "The title track just kinda meanders around a more straight forward hard rock. I think "Queen of the Moors" is a much more interesting song.The bass playing on this song with pretty top notch. There is groove to "Last Summer's Rain" which makes it a little more interesting. The guitar work on this album is great, which considering how these guys are old pros it should be.

The vocals to "the Measure" are pretty cheesy and kill the song for me. It's to the point where it sounds like some amateur shit you would here from a local band on a thursday night. They prove they know better on "Borderline" which is a good balance of melody in the metal. The guitars blaze around the vocals. It is played aggressively without being what I think of as heavy, but it works well as a song which at the end of the day is what matters. I'll round this album up to an 8.5 I think it's a welcomed return to form for them and aside from the one mis-step is a solid album that only sounded dated when it comes to the vocals and even they can prove to be endearing.

Ride : "Weather Diaries"

Robert Smith once refused to play a festival unless this band was added to the bill. One of the forefathers of shoe gaze, they proved to be more versatile than other bands in the genre.The guitar tones on this album are incredible. The breathy vocals you are used to hearing on shoe gaze albums, come in but stronger than some of the breathy moans as they are able to harmonize and ride the groove with confidence. After bringing you in with a dreamy groove the second song feels like British garage rock.. The production is very different. The vocals sit behind the reverb heavy guitar. It borders on being too upbeat and happy for me, but after I gave the album a few listens I didn't really mind it. Weird ping pong delay is put on the vocals that are used more as a effect to open "All I Want". The vocals have more of an Oasis feel, which is no mistake as Andy Bell played bass for Oasis at one point. They also hover in the same psychedelic air as Stone Roses. The hooky vocal melodies being one of the strong points.

"Home is a Feeling" finds the guitar more strummed and the vocal harmonies carrying more of a Pink Floyd ambiance. Like most of Pink Floyd's albums this would be a great one to smoke pot to. If you do drugs of any flavor I would highly recommend this. Which is a decision that is easily made even when you are only on the fourth song.The title track a little more melancholy and benefits from a smooth groove where every thing falls in place for the relaxed vocals to add to the mood. It all feels pretty effortless here. The lyrics "it's too perfect something's gotta give" could be more appropriate to describe the music.This song is seven minutes but it breezes by in a way that stops time. It sounds at one point like the song is getting sucked into a David Lynch movie when things begin to get weird.

The weird continues as the first half of "Rocket Sliver Symphony" is atmosphere before busting into lush Brit Pop.  A 90's alt-rock bass lines propels the more driving "Lateral Alice" . "Cali" works off a similar formula but is more relaxed. The atmosphere is laid on even thicker  for "Integration Tape" making it more of an interlude than a song. "Impermanence" is the first song that really adhere's to today's definition of what we have come to think of as Shoe-gaze. There is a much more grandiose tone to "White Sands" that closes the album. It weaves a very dynamic path in the arrangement and makes me think of what it might sound like if Brian Wilson wrote a song for Radiohead.  It's pretty easy to round this album up to  10 as it's easy on the ears and is a testament to their songwriting prowess. Good to have these guys back.

WARBEAST : "Enter the Arena"

This is German thrash by way of Texas. Sodom is the first band that comes to mind when I pressed play and it ripped into my ear drums. There is a little more groove than the German bands from the 80s really possessed. Granted this is 2017 so there are decades of death metal which have followed the golden age of thrash and influenced these guys as well. So why I am so quick to dig into history and offer comparisons you ask. Well when you are following a genre that is so rooted in a certain place in time you can not escape the sense of nostalgia cast by it's shadow. To their credit the dense production gives a greater sense of density that most bands that were not Dark Angel did not really embody.

This kind of music really struggles against my rule that cool riffs alone do not make a good song. Riffs are their stock and trade. Take away the riffs to most metal and what do you have? That in many ways is the mission of the blog. To ask those questions and find the bands that go above and beyond to offer something more. Sure they are punishing. Their drummer can fly at the speed of light, but that is what is expected from the genre. On "Punishment for Gluttony" there is a much stiffer feel to the forward charge they attack you with. You also begin to get a sense of just how one dimensional the vocals are going to be. This was not always the case with the classic albums from the 80s.

The two songs that follow offer a little more groove to head bang to. "Maze of the Minotaur" finds the guitar getting more adventurous and almost reminds me of Mastodon's earlier work. It's this groove that can compensate for the limited delivery of the vocals. "Hitchhiker" finds them doing this in a way that plays to their strengths as a band and is more along the lines of what Vio-lence used to do. There is a darker dissonance to the chord progression of "Chemicals Consuming " before blasting back off into the rapid fire punk hybrid of metal. The guitar pyrotechnics work better on this song than they have earlier in the album.

The hammering thrash of "Enter The Arena" proves to be powerful until they allow the velocity to over come them. This song proves blunt force alone is not enough to keep my interest. Indian chanting starts of "the Scalping". When it eases back from the more whiplash inducing passages and allow the song a s little room to breath the groove in does it benefit the most. Sadly "Conjuration with the Devil" is pretty mundane aside from one really crushing riff towards the three minute mark. There is more Slayer in the riff to "Ancient Hate". Like Slayers more recent album the speed kills the groove and just feels like they are throwing rapid riffs at you. This album grew on me a little, but they are in no way redefining the thrash genre. It is a pretty solid performance so I'll give this a 7.5