Horrendous : " Ontological Mysterium"

The Philly death metal band is unleashing their much-awaited fifth album. Having reviewed their past two albums here the bar is pretty high as those earned 9's. The two- minute opening track is more of an intro. "Chrysopeia" is the first actual song that finds Horrendous extending themselves further into more of a jammy progressive, that has a more organic feel than what they did on "Idol" last time around. There are clean vocals placed at unpredictable points in the song. I appreciated guitar solos, but not someone normally impressed by shredding, take that into consideration when I tell you the guitar solos on this album improve the songs. 

These guys said they wanted to get back to a place of 80s and 90s metal, and that can be felt on "Neon Leviathan". It has a rawer more thrash like energy to it with the bass driving things forward in an aggressive manner. It's not until the end of the song that they begin to use their space age tricks. Things switch over into a more jazzy groove going into "Aurora Neoterica" which is really only an interlude leading to "Preterition Hymn".  It works off a slithering death metal groove until the melodic middle section lets things simmer down til the end. "Cult of Shaad"oh" has a hooky mid-paced groove that is more like Morbid Angel's most memorable moments. The vocals are more dramatically exclaimed when not snarled.  The moshy hookiness of the riffs is where the are excelling on this album. Sometimes this does give things a more Megadeth like groove in the manner the technical guitar playing is balance out in order to create something that sticks to your ears. 

The title track finds them hitting with a more hammering intensity, though this is balanced with an almost jazz- like nuance that recalls Cynic. Though they crunch down harder into the riffs and double bass than Cynic has. They close the album with "the Deathknell Ringeth" which carries more menace in it's snarls. The vocals are more aggressive throughout this album, but perhaps this most with the anguish from which the are screamed on this one. The fake-out ending is really well done. There is not an area this album does not excel at. In a year where there has been some really stellar death metal releases , this album tops even those. It drops the 18th of August on Season of Mist, and if you are a fan of death metal you owe it to your self to give this album a listen. 

Mutoid Man : "Mutants"

 Cave-In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky, is releasing the 3rd full-length from his sludge-tinged rock band. Joining him again is Converge drummer Ben Koller, who has been on board since the project's inception. This time around High On Fire bassist Jeff Matz is in the band. There is a rock feel thanks to Brodsky's smooth vocal delivery, but ample bout of math rock in collision with punk energy. The second song employs much more speed than the opener, though both songs have their share of twists and turns. There is a doomier feel to "Broken Glass Ceiling".  They share some common ground sonically with Queens of the Stoneage in this regard. The chorus is not that hooky, though the verses have a pretty cool riff. The rule around here is cool riffs alone do not a good song make. The end of this song builds into harder snarled vocals. 

There is more of a stoner rock feel to "Siren Song".  This song might have some of the album's best melodies, though we are only four songs into the album at this point. There is a classic metal feel in how the vocals ride the guitars, without being overtly dramatic. "Graveyard Love" is more rock in its Van Halen-like boogie. "Unborn" opens with a pretty sweet grooving riff and interesting sounds, but as the song progresses these get coiled around themselves amid the jammy nature of the song. Perhaps the math just gets too complicated for their own good, as it's more effective when things break down to a tense chug. 

"Siphon" has a pretty mean chug, that was working well enough for it, until they decided to go and complicate things. It is not a deal breaker, but this could have been a headbanger all the way through. Instead, it feels more like Mastodon without the guitar solos. "Demons" rocks out like Kyuss at first before they have a spastic burst of arrangements. On one hand, they are cramming more into the three minutes they are compressing these songs into. Then on the other, the question must be asked ...does it need to be crammed in there? More importantly, does it mean they are not playing "Stonehenge" tonight? 

The answer I have come to is not get my hopes up at the onset of "Memory Hole" as they are going to eventually jerk it around into something crazy.  I begin to relax midway in when this has yet to occur. They do go off into a guitar solo, which is fine, I prefer it to take this to a crazy punk place. I think whatever conclusions you draw about their songwriting , no one is going to dispute if Ben Koller can play drums or not, in fact he establishes himself as one of the best here. The last  song "Setting Son" is almost six minutes long, so I am preparing myself for whatever they are going to throw at me, even after the two minute jammed intro. They chorus is not the album's hookiest , but works for what they are doing. They fall somewhere between 80s-themed stoner metal and prog on this one. Baroness would be a fair point of reference for the Sonic zip code they are cruising down. I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me. I like the direction they are heading in here and it's their most promising work to date. 

Mandy, Indiana : "i've seen a way"

This Manchester based band starts off their new album with more of a synth wave groove. Then things take a turn back to the  noisy weirdness that might be expected of this project. Chanted vocals and sometimes abrasive bursts of pounding drums. Industrial tinged , but I would not call them an industrial band. I am not sure I would call Throbbing Gristle an industrial band either, but we will get to that when I run the Top 50 Industrial Albums list. "Pinking Shears" has a strong beat and the chanting vocals work well around it . The song shows you do not have to stick to conventions in order to write a song that is catchy enough to be deemed worthwhile to my ears. 

"Injury Detail" sounds like something you might do aerobics to in dystopian Berlin. There is a noisy interlude that follows this song , which I am not counting as part of this review as I do not feel it really contributes much to the album. The more robotic ambiance of "the Driving Rain" works well. It drones on nice sounds but does not really go anywhere. "2 Stripe' sounds like it should be playing in the background of the next "Blade Runner" movie. Not a main theme song, more like what would be playing in the back ground of a food court. The beat to this song is somewhat Massive Attack in nature, despite the futuristic vibes. 

The song "Iron Maiden" has nothing to do with the band. There is electric guitar in it. Not harmonizing, and far from guitar solos. Almost more like an interlude. "Peach Fuzz" is noisy techno, but the song moves well, and the chanted vocals serve some purpose. There is a bizarre ambient interlude before the last song that is actually longer than the actual last song. It works well enough for me, there is a more deliberate marching feel to it. I will give this album an 8.5 , it's pretty impressive when they set their minds to writing songs, but the coat of strange the bulk of the songs are painted with sometimes descends the cool ideas into noise, though most of the time things work out better than expected to make for compelling electronic music that shows experimentation pays of , though a little goes a long way. 

Strange Ranger : " Pure Music"

 One of the more compelling forms pop music has taken on this year. I am a little late to the party as this is the band's fourth album, but glad I am finding it now. The challenge for them is going to be keeping the tension of the emotional urgency captured on the opening track. There is more of a breathy dream pop feel to "She's on Fire" but it still works for me. There are guitars being strummed, making this not just an album of button-pushing or Digital Audio workstations. The guitars jangle a great deal, but all the other elements feel like they are falling into place well enough. I like the swirling mix of the album that allows the layers of vocals to weave in and out. 

"Dream" finds things going in a more electronic direction. Almost like you stumbled into an underground club in the late 90s; "Way Out" has a Cure-like guitar melody haunting a weird brand of glitched-out new wave. I am not surprised that this band comes from New York as it sounds like blurred snap shots of the night life there. "Blue Shade" finds things taking on more of a hazy shade narcotics. The sedate vocals work with against the tapestry of synths and beats colliding. I like the way it drones while continuing to add fresh coats on sound upon the otherwise simple arrangements. "Blush" continues to uphold the precedent set but the band. The guitar sounds great despite sitting oddly in the mix. If you were looking for a late night album to do drugs to, this is a decent contender.  Subtle sax creeps into the edges of the song.

"Wide Awake" takes more of an 80s beat and casts the detached indifference of shoe gaze against it. The beat is fairly up-tempo, but it does not feel like pop. Some kids might call this "vapor wave" but it does not have the neon bi-lighting to make this a fashion choice. Normally the breathy vocals that typically dominate this album might start to wear thin seven songs in, but everything else sits in the right place to compensate for it. "Ask Me About My Love Life" has an ethereal weirdness that reminds me of Blonde Redhead. This is one of the first songs where the lyrics stand out, and they are pretty clever. The guitar wanders in the reverb-soaked background. At five minutes it's the album's longest songs. Three minutes in it begins to feel like it is remixing itself.

"Fantasy" finds the atmosphere beginning to overtake the arrangement. It floats off into the shadows of a rainy night. The synths kind of jam things out a little. The album closes with a more hushed vocal performance that sounds like they are hovering close to the mic. Despite the last two songs perhaps not being as focused, I will give this album a 9.5, still placing them over the bulk of pop/ electronic artists today. 

Signs of the Swarm : "Amongst the Low and Empty"

This Pittsburgh band has been gaining a bit of a buzz for it's fifth full length. Some of this is due to riding in on the rising wave of popularity metal core seems to be having. Their new album has a grinding machine like groove that is accented by death metal syncopation. The first song alone has numerous winding shifts of riffage rather than adhering to a verse chorus formula. The hooky grooves might deviate from death metal normal in their search for what at times feels like the never ending breakdown. This band is also being mentioned in conversation regarding the nu-metal revival that is being re-branded as nu-core. The guitars are low but slither more than bounce which makes me confident they have little to do with bands like Knocked Loose or Loathe. There are flirtations with electronic ambiance, and djent hints but over all the first two songs feel like futuristic death metal. 

The rabid under current of  bass leading into "Pray for Death" lends more credence to labelling these guys death metal, despite the math of the twisting turning guitars. This albums stellar production helps the glitched out moments of sound make sense. The vocals sometimes go into low pig squeal gurgles , but aside from the relentless stomping does not owe a great deal to the strain of death metal that descended from the Myspace days. "Borrowed Time" finds them once again leaning into a machine like chugging. The more spastic moments are fleeting. Their strength as a band is directly tied to the ambiance and experimentation they employ to set themselves apart from the pack. "Shackles Like Talons" is one of best examples of this. 

  Most of their songs are around four minutes so they make the most of their time. While they are very technically sound musicians they do not bloat the songs with a bunch of guitar solos.  The vocals begin to feel like a tedious afterthought, but the time the album winds around to "DREAMKILLER".  They are purposefully delivered but are a bit of a one trick pony. Matt Heafy makes an appearance on "the Witch Beckons". His voice breaks up what is otherwise a stagnant growl fest. "Echelon" invokes some chaos before digging into the breakdown. The drummer is skilled , but could anchor things more rather than just blasting off into double bass. They chug their way into a marginally more conventional vision of metal with "Faces Without Names".  The last song upholds the status quo that the band established a few songs into the album, with few surprises. I will give this album a 9, not totally my thing, as it winds around most of the time without hooking me in, but to give credit where credit is due these guys are taking an old formula and making it their own, the end result being an album that sounds both polished and fresh.

Post Malone : "AUSTIN"

He continues down the path of sound that pretty much picks up where his last album left off once you get past the ballad he opens the album with. Even as pop ballads go, to his credit Malone choses to deviate  from the standard pop hooks , in favor of a more introspective vibe, it works , though even for this kind of things is not his best work. There is a more heavily layer almost gospel styled chorus of harmonies to create a bigger sound for "Something Real" that does not work off a groove I do appreciate that there is more guitar on this album. Things get a little happy for me on "Chemical" and his self deprecating lyrics are not enough to really offset that feeling for me, but it is well executed for what it is. 

"Novacandy" finds him still within the zip code of what Justin Bieber does if not for romanticizing drug use. Of the album's first four songs, this one plays the formula he uses the best. It plays to his strengths as a songwriter. The bulk of "Mourning' works of a sing song melody that feels like it was written for children. Perhaps it was. "Too Cool to Die' has more of an 80's feel to it in the same manner that the Weeknd has played off similar moods. Unlike most of his pop peers he only has four additional songwriters helping out on this album , rather than the team of 2 dozen most use these days. Mega Producer Max Martin does contribute to the track "Sign Me Up" . It smooths out the edges of Austin's linger attitude, and it rides a lukewarm middle ground.  To his credit he also does not litter this album with guest spots.

"Overdrive" finds things going into a limp middle of the road ballad that ironically talks about being uninspired. "Speedometer" is a little better, but sounds like if he made an album with the Shins, as it has lost of of it's edge. I am not hearing much from his trailer park gangsta side that gave his lyrics the charisma they once had.  "Hold My Breath" might be his best vocal performance to date. It is once again another descent in balladry. If John Mayer had face tattoos and drank Lean he might sound like this. Granted there are 17 songs on this album, this is only the 11th so it's too soon to say, as the rest of them could be slappers , but I am not expecting it.  On a song like "Enough is Enough' I have to separate my personal taste, from what is effective for Post Malone as an artist. I can hear where this song would open a few doors for him in the current state of the industry, though it's too happy for me.

The sound I prefer from him comes closer to being captured "Texas Tea" as it's darker, and a more honest lyrically take on his world. More acoustic guitars are strummed on "Buyer Beware" that also carries an 80s new wave feel at certain angles. If Justin Bieber did not get sidetracked going to church and just smoked weeds, I can hear him heading in a similar direction. Austin does not have Bieber's pipes, but works well with what he has. "Landmine' just breezed by. The lyrics about his friends taking vitamins, did not really do a lot for me. There is a slight Cure like melody to the guitars, but the song is over produced. If you were hoping "Greenthumb" was a bumping beat driven song about weed you would be mistaken. The last song is another ballad with more of a Coldplay feel to it, making this album all and all a let down. It is well made, and they committed cool sounds to tape, but the end product is a bunch of ballads that sound like background music for a network teen drama. I will give it a 6.5. 

Avskum : "EN ANNAN V​Ä​RLD ÄR M​Ö​JLIG"

These guys have been around since 1982. If they were an American band these guys would be given that status of legends , but they are from Sweden, whose hard core scene took longer to get the recognition it deserves. Though you are only as good as your last album, so legendary status only takes you so far here. The more rock opening track of this album , works better than the more one trick pony style of hyper aggressive shouted punk that seems to be their bread and butter. You can hear how this sort of thing might have influenced thrash back in the day. Gunnar yells until his voice takes on a weather rasp. Lyrically they are hyper political and very "socially" focused. But the message is not delivered in the most effective manner. 

At the end of the day I am 8 songs, in and they are all sounding the same . The plus side to having all your songs at a minute and a half, is at least your ears are only toured by this lack of dynamics for so long. "Dead Soul Retrieval" at least has more of a Motorhead like rumble to it . There begins to form a pattern of songs that have a rougher coarse vocal layered over the main vocal. It is more interesting than the typical punk gang vocal. They race through the songs with the kind of chaos I guess many punk prefer. Dynamics are non existent. At times more of a Motorhead feel crops up, but not enough to expand the sonic scope of what they do. Even the guitar solos begin to sound the same. 

"Darkista" races around with little direction. The temper tantrum mood the songs explode into sounds like ranting without reason. The bass rumbles out of the under produced clash of guitars. Now if you wonder what this band sounds like live I am sure it is not far from what you are hearing here. "Silence is Violence" comes closest to having it's own personality. If you are a long time fan of these guys, then you are perhaps well aware their songs all sound the same, and you obviously like this in the music you listen to . I will give this album a 6, as it is not my thing as I need more dynamics when it comes to song writing even in punk music. 

Tideless : "Eye of Water"

I have covered a ton of death metal already this year, so for me  the key is to really become more selective and seek out bands that are doing something different. Two minutes into this album and it's evident that is the case here. Tideless is from California and  make an attempt to set themselves apart of their sophomore release. They have dialed back the hyper aggression, and embark on something that has more in common with post-rock.  The At just under seven minutes the opening track is the shortest song on this album. Given the nature of what they are doing , the time to establish dynamics in important , but does it justify a fifteen minute song. The first growl of vocals is heard on the second song. It is used in almost a more funeral doom fashion. At two minutes in I am wondering where they are going from here, so 13 more minutes of wondering that might be excessive. The low growl of the vocals feels more like a texture thing than a narrative. The sweeping melodies of shoe gaze come into play about midway into the song to make things more interesting. 

"Oblations for the Sun" kicks into motion with the kind of double bass barrage that is expected from death metal. As far as guitar solos go they crank out a ripper on this one. It bridges the distance between the aggression the song begins with and the melodic ghosts of atmosphere to come. It floats off on this 19 minute fever dream. The drums employ and undercurrent of double bass at times to keep things grounded. The song breaks down to the point where this is really a new song, so not sure why they insist on keeping it going and not just allowing it to break into shorter songs which is what it feels like it wants to do. It feels like one of those sweeping post-hardcore build ups as the song progresses. "Laurels of Victory' might be the best blended balance of what they do. The shoe gazing and growl raising are in equal proportions. The more tremolo picked guitars that race around certain sections of this song create more of a black metal feel. The ripping solos do keep coming to add a more melodic texture. The ten minute time span also seems like a well balanced limit to songwriting excess. 

The last song of the album is the immense "Lush Serene Dissolved" . The first three minutes finds the drums riding a jazzy groove. This is sent soaring into a more astral sonic space. I am all for the sounds they are working with , but do they need to be toyed with for 23 whole minutes? The length of entire albums, is excess to a fault especially considering how things break down at the  five and a half minute mark before building into something that feels like a different song. It's not that they have a theme that needs to keep going here. The vocals stay at the same gurgle grunt, not really adding much lyrically. For what they do it's a texture thing. When it comes to their death metal side I have noted over the course of listening to this album that they do not dig into the kind of weighty chugs that bands like Obituary or Incantation are noted for. 

The benefit to these guys wearing the death metal rule book like a loose garment, it they are also less prone to just default into a blur of speed. Eleven and a half minutes in they are back into the balance of gaze vs death metal, though leaning more into the lazy post-rock drift. At 17 minutes in there is another one of those moments where it should be a new song, having very little to do with the 17 minutes that came before it thematically. I will give this album a 9, while they do some rather sonically stunning things, and are onto something remarkable here, the inability to trim the fat as needed hampers the song writing in places, keeping this from being a perfect album, but it is still a great listen. 

Incantation : "Unholy Deification"

 One of the most influential death metal bands of all time, guitarists John McEntee is the sole original member, but he has been playing with the bulk of the band long enough to have a chemistry that feels like this is Incantation. "Unholy Deification" is the band's 13th full length album. Where they have dabbled in death doom tempos with certain album this one finds the more solidly in the bpms more commonly thought of when it comes to the genre. The album opens in a more straight forward death metal fashion, though not solely relying on rapid double bass . The second song has more angular grooves that bookend in the sometimes blasting dynamics. 

"Chalice" is more hyper aggressive, and goes for the throat. This attack does resonate as what death metal is, but is not the band's darkest effort , aside from the lyrical concepts that bass player Chuck Sherwood wrote for this album. Not the first time he has done this as Sherwood contributed lyrics to "Profane Nexus". There are some very effective punchy passages that provide the needed accents to break things up. "Homunculus" is the first single I had heard from the album, and I was already impressed by the deliberate grind of the songs, and the balance of atmosphere in the melodic riffing. "Invocation" indulges in rapid fire riffing that finds the band sounding more like every other death metal band than one of the forefathers of the genre. Well executed, but not the most inspired.

Guitarist Luke Shively from Dismemberment is the line-ups newest member, he has been touring with the band since 2015, so falls right into place, there is nothing that screams he is bringing new elements to the table. "Megaron" finds the band falling into more of a Morbid Angel like sonic space. It's a more up-tempo song, though not the album's fastest. "Convulse" slows down and proves to be more crushing for doing so. It does speed up at two minutes in, but since there has been something to contrast with it works more effectively. "Altar" opens with some interesting ambient sounds, that helps set the stage. To it's credit the song does not just try to hammer your head in with steamrolling riffs which I appreciate. "Exile" feels like it is picking up where the previous song left off. A minute in it blasts off for better or worse. 

Things slow down to a more Obituary pace for "Circle' which closes the album. They hold faszt and do not default to what every one else would do , when the tempo shifts it is not done in the same manner we have heard previously in the album. This might not be their most inspired release, but it does hold true to who they are as a band. which is more than enough for younger bands to worship the footprints Incantation has left behind leading to this point in their career. I will give this album a 9. Not their best, but even dialing it in they are better than the average death metal band.This comes out August 25th on Relapse.  

Saint Agnes : "Bloodsuckers"

 For all practical purposes these kids from the UK are nu-metal band. The punchy shouted vocals of Kitty A Austen are almost rapped, and they groove with the kind of in your face posturing as Rage Against the Machine. There is less of a hip hop influence and Austen can pour the sugar and sing with more of a pop hookiness when it comes to the chorus. The formula they have in play works best on the first tow songs, so when get to the more chanted climax of "I Mean Nothing to You". Which just sounds like left overs from the late 90s that were warmed up in the microwave. 

There is a little but of punk to what they do that can be hear in the raw guitar relegated to the background of  "Outsider". But it's about as punk as No Doubt's first album.  They rein things back on "This is Not the End". They drop things down a sparse keyboard arrangement and Kitty's vocals. It gives you a clearer picture of she can sing when she sets her mind to it. This also provides a need dynamic shift for the album. They are thankfully not a one trick pony. Producer Sean Beavan who has worked with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, helped them out with the single "Follow You" which does a good job emulating that brand of electronic music.  

"I AM " is high energy, though not that hooky, despite the abundance of enthusiasm that abounds in the song. The moody anthem "At War With Myself"" is darker and more brooding which works better for me than the songs that veer closer to pop punk. The break down/ build up formula works pretty well on this song. "Middle Finger" is pretty typical of where nu metal has headed since it's most recent revival with bands like Holy Wars . Equal parts emotional and spastic. "Body Bag" works off a similar vibe, but wit ha faster more punk recklessness. At just under two minutes there is not much time to really develop dynamics. The last song is an odd note to end things on , it never shifts into the kind of dynamics that play to their strengths as a band despite capturing some cool sounds. I will give this album an 8, it's a solid effort that shows how skilled they are at taking their place in their chosen genre, which is one I can appreciate , but it does not always resonate with my personal tastes, but if you are into the female fronted nu metal bands coming out today they will be your thing. 

Live Review : Mudvayne "the Psychotherapy Sessions" Tour @ the Mid-Credit Amphitheater

Having not seen Mudvayne since they opened for Kittie in 2000. They blew Kittie off the stage that night, and I bought their first album the next day. I had a curious optimism about the band, but the addition of Gwar to this tour's line-up is what sealed the deal for me. Granted outdoor concerts in July are not ideal in Florida. Despite the hype "nu-metal" is getting about it's second coming as "nu-core" the lawn was closed and only half of the 10,000 seats were filled.  I caught the last two Butcher Babies songs. I like the new albums , and they were very professional , though one of their singers was wearing jeans on stage, which seemed overdressed in the heat , when she used to just wear duct tape on stage.

Next up was Non-Point, I am always willing to give this guys a chance, never seen them before. They had a great deal of energy. but all there songs began to sound the same half way into their set. Then Gwar who I saw several times going back to 1990 when I saw them with Murphy's Law. This was my first time seeing them since Dave Brockie's death. I enjoy the Blothar album's I think they do justice to the band's legacy. I have never seen Gwar playing anywhere larger than a club, so  the Amphitheater at even half capacity was weird as well as seeing them trudge out on stage during the day in costume. The stage show was dialed back due to limited back line. If this has been the band at the height of their Scumdogs fury , they would have blown every one off the stage, but we got what we got and it was entertaining. The crowd was a mixed bag of people old enough to have seen Gwar in their hey day, and younger kids in their twenties who might have not had much of a clue about them. The victims continue to change with the time as Vladimir Putin and an AI Chat GPT bot as the victims of  the day. I can say in Blothar's defense, Oderus could not pull an AC/DC cover. I think Gwar could stand to thrown in a few more classics. 

Coal Chamber turned out to be the surprise of the show. I don't recall seeing them back in the day but they could have been playing the side stage on an Ozzfest back in the day and I might not remember. I was really only into the first album .When "Chamber Music" came out , I was into heavier music, I should go back and give it another listen. The two albums that followed came out off my radar and without me caring. I think what was most compelling about Coal Chamber is how they fell back into their roles , like they were picking up where they left off without missing a beat. Energy wise, and how they pulled everything off , they made the best showing of the night. Granted the bar was never set very high for them ,as their stuff is easy to play and not very demanding vocally. At 57 you never felt like his age was making him struggle at what he did. The songs you know... "Loco",  "Big Truck" etc...hit with the kind of impact you would want them to. 

Muudvayne's strengths as a band seemed to play against them at time. It is hard to tell if the crowd could tell. Things felt off when they hit the stage with "Not Falling" . It felt like Gray could have uses another song to warm up with. The smoothly sung verses suffered because of this and the higher passes into falsetto felt choked. This carried over four songs later when they went into "World So Cold" and the struggle still could be felt when they covered the Police's "King of Pain", despite doing their own version of it. The only three songs I was not as familiar with were from "New Game". I like the Shining inspired "Dull Boy" the best of the selections from that album. The addition of the second guitarist worked sonically though I think bassist Ryan Martinie could have been louder in the mix in order for their sound to have the kind of impact it achieves online. Their set did have strong moments in some of the more progressive jams, and Gray's screams were on point, despite his actual singing making his voice feel a little out of shape. I was inspired to give "the New Game" another chance , but doubtful I would spend money to see these guys again.  

Cadaver : "the Age of the Offended"

 This Norwegian death metal band is helmed by Anders Odden, who has played with everyone from Satyricon to  the Young Gods and Pigface. He is joined by Dirk from Megadeth to create this album. Anders is likely handling bass duties in the studio as well. They bring to the table everything you might want from death metal. They are dark, powerful and hooky. This opening track has a slight Carcass feel. His rasp is an articulated midrange, that allows the lyrics to be discerned. The second song finds a bit of a punk edge creeping through. I can also hear a slight Entombed influence on the title track. I like the big middle finger vibe of the lyrics here. 

There is a more traditional death metal sound that relies on an unrelenting chug to power the aggressive guitar attack. "the Shrink" has hookier riffing, that gives the vocals more effective places to slither than the previous song. There is a melodic dissonance to the middle section that breaks things up well. There is almost more of a thrashing groove to "the Crawl of the Cadaver". Not the first time this album has given a more anthemic approach, though it also veers off into faster blasting sections, so perhaps not as focused song writing wise.  "While "the Drowning Man" starts at a more deliberate slither, with punchy accent the throb of the song, becomes mired down in a Morbid Angel like grind. Even then it's still pretty enjoyable.

There is a faster more 90s death metal feel to "the Sicker, the Better".  By the time the album winds it's way to "Dissolving Chaos" everything begins to take on a more uniform sonic color. Which can be typical for the hyper aggressive nature of death metal. What they do have going for them is the very deliberate nature of the riffs rather than pouring on the speed to make things feel rushed. "Deadly Metal" feels more like early Slayer mixed with death metal. "The Craving" also hovers around the more thrashing side of death metal. "Freezing Isolation" is not far removed from what we have heard from this album thus far. I will give this album an 8.5, it's fun death metal that brings and often darker haze to things while not rushing the songs with needless speed to prove black metal is not the only thing bands from Norway can do. 

Looking Back in Anger at Mudvayne's "the End of All Things to Come"

 I think we all know "L.D. 50" is a brilliant album, so it made more sense to put this one under a microscope and see how it has held up over the past 21 years. The first track was impressive since the first time I pressed play on this one back during it's release. I remember thinking when I first heard it that Gray sounded a little like Testaments Chuck Billy in places. My opinion in that regard has not changed , though now that is what I listen for. "Trapped in the Wake of a Dream" feels like the bass player is toning things down a bit, which works for the moodier tone. "Not Falling" is still a staple of their live show , and recalls more of the energy of the first album , even though this album marks the turning point where the sung vocals began to take precedence over the shout and growls. The syncopated hooks are still working really here. 

" (per) Version of a Truth" chugs it's more deliberate groove in a manner than lends itself for the smooth yet dynamic melodies to glide over. "Mercy Severity" is more tightly syncopated, before they take it in a more A Perfect Circle like direction, they do flex into a heavier climax, as you would expect them to. They power ballad "World So Cold' does a better job of exploring this more introspective side of the band , in a more hooky polished fashion that clicks together perfectly. "The Patient Mental" has more of a taunt palm muted groove. Not quite thrash, but another indication they took influence from that era. "Skrying' does some interesting things with it's groove without turning into a progged out Tool jam.  

"Solve et Coagula " hides any occult meanings implied in the title through roared metaphor. For these guys this is their more straightforward metallic moment. The bass often over powered the guitar on the first album and it is not the case here. I like the return to darker palm muted tension on "Shadow of Man". The title track is more hammering and finds the bass leading the charge. The album closes with "A Key to Nothing" which taps into their darker quirky side, with angular patterns dominating the groove. I will give this one a 9.5, as it's not as adventurous when it comes to song writing, but better than what most were doing at this time, and finds them at the top of the nu-metal heap.

Snow Ghosts : "the Fell"

This album came out back in February and I kept forgetting to review it. This is a trio out of Bath, UK. They sonically fall somewhere between post-rock and neo-folk. There is a dark brooding beauty to the hypnotic hook of their songs. "Filaments" has the tension of a building storm that counter balances the more delicate plea of the vocals. Hannah Cartwright does have a powerful and unique voice, that is the emotional heartbeat of these songs. There is more of an electronic haze cast over the more surreal "Curse". This band's fourth album and they are clearly masters of richly textured songs.  

Thematically they delve deep into folklore and metaphor. Using an odd blend of old folk instruments as well as synths to create a Dead Can Dance like blend of old and new , but with almost pop tinged melodies to fuel these surreal ballads. "Hawthorn"  carries a more mysterious ambiance to it's twilight musings. 'Avine" is more of a minimalist folk song. It sounds like something you might singe to a ghost out on the Moor. While Hannah's melodies are raw and more folk influenced, the synth atmosphere becomes more of a dominant factor on songs like "Prophecies".  This album is really well produced in how it blends the two worlds. 

That blends is felt stylistically on "Home" . The beat provides the type of drive they need to keep things interesting and support her floating voice.  "Magpie" is another lapse into haunting folk. It's good to hear her voice bare like this as the ambiance subtly creeps up. "{Vixen" opens with more of a drone to the music summoned under her verses. The ambiance sounds nice, but the song hovers in the same place for the bulk of it's six and a half minutes. I find the melody of "Taken" closes the album with a more purposeful and heartfelt melody that compensates for the drone of the synths under it. Lyrically it's about the death of a young person, and that can be felt in how the music expresses this theme. I will give this album a 9.5, it is beautifully crafted in both music and concept. 

Crypta : "Shades of Sorrow"

The second album from this band that crawled from the ashes of Nervosa. The vocalist/ bassist and drummer return for this album after a line up change that finds new guitarists joining the fold. Sure the novelty here is an all female death metal band. I am not going to judge this album by is this good for girls , but measuring it against all death metal. What they have going for them is Augustos Lopes knows how to dial in a guitar tone. The second song has more of a thrashing feel than death metal. As far as death metal goes in terms of heaviness they are about middle of the road. The production on the guitar seems to be the focal point as the drums did not get as much love in the mix and could use more bass than the pitter patter the double bass is giving, or it could be she does not hit them that hard, which is what it sounds like when it comes to the blast beats. 

The songwriting compensates for any production flaws at least on the first two songs. Things slow to more of a King Diamond tempo going into "the Outsider" and might have been better served circling that graveyard as the attempts at speed here do not fly as well. At times their hybrid style reminds me of Cradle of Filth is Dani and company scrapped the keyboards. To the benefit of these gals it means they are playing a dark enough style of riffing for my tastes. If you are into guitar solos , you might dig what they throw down, I do not give a shit either way about them. There is more sweeping guitar antics to "Stronghold" but the over all songwriting feel, makes me think they are dialing in a formula. Not bas, but not the most inspired moment we have heard so far. I like the gallop it builds into , but the rule around here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make. 

There is however more nuance to the guitar playing on this album. It can even be heard when they go for the throat with more aggression on a song like "the Other Side of Anger". By the time we get to " Trail of Traitors" things are beginning to sound the same aside from the slight Morbid Angel feel here. Lots of riffing twists and turns but nothing that hooks me in. "Lullabye For the Forsaken" is more color by numbers generic metal with a darker edge in places. They chug along these more stagnant waters of holding a middle of the road status quo while playing music that should be about extremes. They are capable with their instruments, but not sure the direction they are going in is really paving a new path. The album closes with "Lord of Ruins' which touches on places that Goatwhore already does better ,so I am not sure what they point of this is. I will give this album a 7.5, as it sounds good and is well executed, sometimes providing some darker moments , but as a whole all too familar.It drops August 4th on Napalm Records. 

These kids identify as "ecstatic black metal". I guess that is what the kids are calling black gaze these days .In many ways they are the kind of hip wanting to deconstruct the norm you might expect from a black metal band out of Los Angeles. Their mission statement is rather than invoke the darkness and macabre to embrace bliss. That is why it sounds like black metal at times , but never feels like it because the black in metal is not referring to Black lives mattering , but about darkness and hate. Anything else is not black metal, ok now with that out of the way they begin to owe more to Liturgy  by the time the first song is over , as they shed the shed the shoe gazing for a feral explosion. 

The second song employs  actual singing to break things up. I can appreciate the attempts at this. But the entire song is indie folk. They lash back into black metal with the first part of "the Look". It sounds like cats are being skinned in a hurricane. The chaotic middle section does not discourage this comparison. The part two this song trilogy sounds even more like Liturgy down to the ringing tone of the guitar that does not work off the normal black metal tremolo picking, if you try to deny this you just do not want to hear it as it's in your face. By this time we are in the meat of this album's metallic aspirations, and they go to prove bucking tradition is fine and well, unless nothing is wrong with the tradition. I am someone who does not want to hear the same old black metal blast beats, and both Deafheaven and Liturgy are two of my favorite America black metal bands. But like the funk, metal is something you can not fake. 

I was over two minutes into the third part of the trilogy before I realized this was not the previous song still playing. This is also when the album becomes something I am enduring more than I am enjoying, b but only one more song to press through after this . Even worse was being five minutes into the last song before realizing after the second songs all the songs sound the same. I will give this album a 7, it's a intense sonic blur that bleeds together. Interesting early on then everything becomes a blur. It is going to get hyped for sure, but little that I have not already heard done better by better bands. 

PORTA NIGRA : "Weltende"

This German band has always been OK in my book. They blast into your face from the get go, establishing them as more of a black metal band than the previous two albums we reviewed here. While this really intense display of raw aggression hits you sonically, how well the will grow on you from a songwriting perspective is another story. "Gotterblut" also blasts at you with rapid fire determination. However in doing so they offer some more varied elements in the guitars and vocals to make it more interesting then the opening track that works off sheer intensity alone. They prove on "Volerbrand' that they can come out and rock the fuck out from every angle as each instrument is played to the best of their ability, even the vocals are more varied. All this is done with cohesive songwriting. 

There is some experimentation with the odd time signatures that jerk the groove around on "Verlorena..." The snarl of the vocals is varying degrees of full fledged growl. When we get into the thick of this album they are good at being thoughtful and aggressive, which does into blast beats more, though they prove themselves capable of deviating from the single shade of black. "Weltende" is more feral, though also more restrained in the taunt nature of it's attack.  They are a finely tuned machined for sure. I hope this brings them more recognition. 

I had to give "Triebgeschwame" as second listen to fully form an opinion of it. The drummer is racing through the song and has their double bass game dialed in. The song moves with a gallop without getting Iron Maiden like at all. I also had to give the last song another listen for a similar reason though there is a lot more on on there. It is way more melodic .While I do not know how many more listens I am going to give this album, I have enjoyed the ones I indulged in tonight , and believe this is a step forward for the band and deserves me to give it a 9.  

Nuclear Power Trio : " Wet Ass Plutonium"

 Ok, so this might be the best album title of the year, which was the main reason I gave this a listen with no warning what I was signing up for. As it turns out this an instrumental progressive metal band that has fully embraced synth wave. They have shrouded themselves in cartoonish anonymity. In reality they are Greg Burgess from Allegaeon, Cephalic Carnage bassist Nick Schendzielos and Havok / Fear Factory drummer Peter Webber. The second song finds a more jazzy melodic sense entering when you are not being dazzled by virtuosity. An almost fusion feel adds a more mature sensibility to things even when they introduce funk elements. "Nyetflix and Chill" feels the most South Beach inspired so far. 

For instrumental music it does manage to keep my interest three songs in, which says something considering that I am not really impressed with shredding. I feel it is  important to be a well rounded musician and capable of pulling out a sweep arpeggio when called for, but it loses it's luster when that is over done. I am more impressed with the bass shredding than the synth or guitar solos here. By the time we get to "Air Force Fun" I am beginning to get a little bored and needing something more to hook me in here. Sure the more orchestrated endeavors that unfold are impressive, but in terms of songwriting, rather masturbatory in what they have set out to do. 

"Snark Side of the Un" just kind of runs together with it's acrobatics , until a more melodic jazz tinged break down arrives. While I know that Chris Broderick , Ben Ellis, Brian Hopp and Scott Carstairs are all lending the fretwork magic, but it is not worth noting as there is nothing that stands to mark the personality of their playing. Things get heavier in places, and the more jazz tinged grooves work in different way, but there is little to offer a noted shift in the colors they are painting the arrangements with. Perhaps this might be fun live, but I can not see this as an album that is worth more than background music. "Anti-Saxxers" does have sax on it, and is the bass players moment to shine once more.

"Critical Bass Theory" is a grooving exploration of their fret boards, that might dazzle people who are really into guitar solos. Sure it has a pumped up back bone, but despite the driving moments it might as well just be a jazz album that is played by metal heads. The last song does have it's melodic moments , but the bulk of the song is more shredding solos from most of the instruments involved, the drummer is the one guy who is not over playing and holds it all down. I will give this an 8, as they are great musicians, and this is well done it is just not my thing, but I can appreciate the talent invested in this.This album is being released on Metal Blade Records.  

Angel Du$t : "BRAND NEW SOUL"

The band's 2016 album "Rock the Fuck On Forever" . Since then things have changed. One of them being after guitarist Brendan Yates joined the band in 2017 his other band Turnstile blew the fuck up. This might not weigh on this album, as Yates does not contribute to it, but Tripp continues to make it a collective jam.. There is less of a punk vibe and more of a rambling strum of acoustics that has more in common with Sublime, and at times the less funky moments of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There is a lo-fi experimental feel to the opening track. The guitar jangles a great deal with unenthused vocals pondering over it. There is a bit of a hook, and impressive guitar playing floating around it. It resembles Tripp's old band Trapped Under Ice very little even when the guitar gets more balls on "Love Slam" 

At times this might be to happy for me, which Tripp has said this project is more about love, so it is consistent with that . With songs like "Racecar" I am surprised these guys do not have more of a following down here on the beaches of Florida where I live now. There is a difference between experimental, and inspired , "Racecar" falls more on the experimental side, as they throw a great deal of sounds at it , but the songwriting feels less focused. "Space Jam" is a one and a half punk song, that really does not have a great deal to it. It's reckless and faster, but not aggressive. There is more of a rude boy style to "Born 2 Run" which also has a glaze of pop to it. The jazz influenced guitar is pretty sweet.

"Very Aggressive" is another dip back into punk. It's more driven by the bass, the vocals work really well on it when it builds momentum, making this one of the album's stronger songs. Most of the songs are under three minutes, so there is punk formula in place to the one , two, three go, don't fuck around attitude in place. That is also taking into consideration the hippie moods they party around here. as long as they are focused more on songs than sounds things work out for the best , even when they get too happy with songs like "I'm Not Ready". 

They are not afraid to take chances here and it shows. This makes some of the more punk moments work better when contrasted with pop songs, as on their own as punk songs they might not be as impressive. "Waste of Space " feels almost more rock n roll. The strum of the last song, shows them capable of making pop for today's slackers, I will give this album a 9. 

Maggot Heart : "HUNGER"

 

This band is fronted by former Grave Pleasures guitarist Linnea Olsson. It is a more lo-fi stripped down affair than Grave Pleasures, that owes more to the punk side of the post-punk equation. I like how they are darker, but the production does not really do the overall sound any favors. Sure the guitar is dialed in but every thing else is more chaotic. The vocals have attitude , but very limited range and no sense of the melodic hooks that make Grave Pleasures so compelling, making me think they did not contribute much to the song writing in that band. 

"LBD" has more of a 70s feel, than the 80s which normally comes to mind when you think of this genre. There is a little more to draw you in melodically on this one, but it has an impressive metallic drive to it that reminds me of In Solitude. They begin to find their groove here, so now can they keep it?  "Archer" is a mixed bag as I am always open to hear band's expand their melodic horizons, I am not sure bringing in the piano is the best way, as it brings out Olsson's weaknesses as a singer, rather than supplement her voice. I think if they stick to the punk side of things, provides a better arena for their style of singing. This is accomplished on 'This Shadow" though I do not think it's as solid of a song as "LBD". 

Sometimes even the punk thing works better than others . If Mat Mcnerney was handling vocals for the same songs, there would be a world of difference, as his voice has more focus and command ,where things are more uncertain here. "Concrete Soup" allows me to hear more of a thrashing Voivod influence to the guitar playing which is cool, but I am not sure if the vocals really work with what is going on here. I can hear where they are going with "Parasite" and appreciate the emotion placed into the performance, but it could use more direction from the vocals.  While the vocals are the weak spot and this does not come close to touching what her former band does, I will give this an 8, as I like the dark mood created, along with the unhinged expression of the songs, there is some fine tuning , but this has potential from here for sure, and I think the more metallic moments are some of the album's best that they would be better for leaning into those next time around. This album drops September 26th on Rapid Eye Records. 

Colony Drop : "Brace For Impact"

 The singer of this band's  might sound like Billy Milano, but they do not sound like S.O.D, there is less punk to their thrashing and more of an hooky metal sound. Which means they sound more like M.O.D. Their press release tries to compare them to every genre under the sun, but at the end of the day they are a thrash band. Not as intense as Power Trip. They are less hard core influenced and jam around when it comes to the arrangements. They do not just go straight for your throat and let things groove a bit. "Stand Against the World" is the first song that sounds more dialed in. The kind of momentum they were riffing off of was hard to maintain. 

The finds the inspiration sparking up again with "Supplicant" and they begin to remind me of GWAR as Joseph add a more theatrical throatiness to his voice.  You can also hear some Judas Priest influence in the riffing. The drumming gets the job done , but is not blowing me away. The bass is pretty much buried most of the time as the vocals are way out front. "the Clockwork Grip" benefits from a catchier riff. It chugs like most thrash you have hear before, but they at least make the attempt to take you on a journey with each song. The singer's limited range, still keeps things more interesting than if this was all just growled or limited to your average hard core shout. 

"Heartwrench" finds Schafer's roar leading the way. The galloped tension of the riff keeps the song moving forward with a great deal of power. The accents in the song are more Megadeth like than not. Like many thrash bands when they allow themselves to be fueled by a need for speed the songs suffer. It is not until "the Guillotine" that they begin to make social statements lyrically that are less than metaphoric. Which is fine, though the "everyone I loved deserves to die" is really the strongest sentiment that resonates here. They begin to lose more creative steam on "Fantasize the Beast" relying on solos to pull them out of the heavy handed rut. The lapse into rock n roll here is welcome, but another page that turns with this album. 

The last song stomps around a very similar brand of sonic crunch they have been dishing out for the duration of this album. If you are into this newest wave of thrash and want something more dramatically adventurous than Power Trip this might be the album for you. I appreciate where they are doing with this, the vocals could use more love production wise and sit back in the mix, but for what they are doing I think they made the album they intended. While I like Power Trip and the original wave of this brand of thrash, I do not see this as an album that asks me to return to it , so I will round it down to an 8, but younger thrashers might have found their new favorite band. 

Graphic Nature : "A Mind Waiting to Die"

 This British band dropped this album back in February and just managing to catch up with it. They play a form of metal core that collides with nu-metal, which is becoming another sub-genre called nu-core. There is a Slipknot like collage of sound that explode into your ears that are at least being presented as if they are coming for the singer's tortured psyche. The guitars thump with the down tuned aggression that metal core adopted from nu-mtal in the post-Myspace landscape. "Into the Dark' continues to find the vocals yelled in a hard core manner with more emotional posturing. They render some convincing break downs on the second song . 

The hyper aggressive temper tantrum continues of "Killing Floor" , but there is enough atmosphere dialed into give it the darker shade this kind of thing needs in order to convince. The Slipknot influence might be the heaviest thing going in their sound. "Sleepless" works more of the driving anger, and has less sonic nuance than the previous song. "White Noise" keeps things churning in the same direction with hear Slipknot head on "Iowa". There are swathes of sharp sounds that cut through the attack of the guitar, but the overall effect feels more like a Slipknot tribute with this one. Turntables are being manipulated which points it's finger in that direction for sure. Though this band consists only of  five people so there is not an army of clowns involved. 

"Bad Blood" is sadly not a Taylor Swift cover, which might have been more interesting than the JNCO flavored slab  of riffs that hit you with here. The singer is far from Corey Taylor, so they are not making use of the power of melody to provide a counterpoint for what is going on. Any melody that is going to arrive is going to come from the guitars. "Twisted Fear" stomps and bounces in the exact manner you might expect this to go in. I think a band like Bloodlet did this sort of thing better pre-Slipknot. It is a shame that there is an entire musical movement going on that is not acknowledging bands like Bloodlet and Starkweather. I do appreciate when these guys experiment a bit and use sounds outside of the metal core norm. However there is just a redundancy in how the anger is delivered from there. I am all for nu-metal getting another shot, if the bands are learning from the mistakes the genre made on it's first run and not repeating them. Instead what is happening with this album is all the songs begin to sound the same after the try to inflict the same blunt force trauma. 

The brooding "A Twin" is more of an interlude as it does not develop past the hushed muttering of the vocals that feels more like the intro of a Code Orange song than  an actual song unto itself. The last song "the Downpour" pounds and prances in the sonic zip-code that they have been circling this entire album. Here lies the danger of metal core remarrying nu-metal is the child they  make might be too inbred to not have the same defects. I will give this album a 7, as I like how dark it is, and the album has a good sound, though not song focused, touching on cool sounds, and there are great ideas that could be further developed as they progress as a band. 

Object of Affection : "Field of Appearances"

 

This Los Angeles band exists on the more indie rock side of post-punk with touches of shoe gaze fogging up their windshield. The second has more of a new wave pulse to the beat with the vocals and instrumentation taking on more of an indifferent glide atop it. "Time" has more of a punk feel to the guitar, but from the school of punk that has a 1950's rock feel. This is marginally more aggressive than what they have been doing, at time reminding me of bands like Pavement. 

There is more of a late 80s post punk feel to "Laying Claim". The drum programming creates more of a dancey Love & Rockets style feel, where most bands go for more of a reverb heavy Bauhaus feel, so props for doing their own thing. They also put a little more balls in the vocals with this one.  Female vocals harmonize on "Buried" which finds the vocal going back into their more apathetic malaise. The fact the verses give the vocals more space provide more dynamic depth that I did not notice on my first listen to this album. The single note guitar melodies are also a nice touch. 

"Someone" has a little more melody to , while the guitar sailing into more shoe gaze territory, leaving the bass to hold down the fort , which is an accurate representation of what this kind of music is supposed to do. It could be said this song is more dream pop than the others. "Is This Fate" gets more rock in it's driving drumming. The lyric mention fall asleep at the coin laundry, so the narrative is clearer than the other songs. "Con Man" is more introspective, with the bass at the forefront to provide the backbone amid the ambiance. The vocals are pretty solid in their attempts at hookiness.  "Empty Eyes" finds things taking a darker shift, with the vocals dropping into a lower more detached Joy Division like delivery. 

There is a more muscular bass tone for the last song, that thump with more of a grunge like tension. The vocals muse in the background. It sounds great even if they are less engaged in hooking you into the song, though the sense of dynamics is still present. They do rock in the last 30 seconds of the song, which is important for me to hear that bands are capable of doing so if they set their minds to it. I will give this album a 9, there is a somewhat uniform sound in terms of presentation, but also a balance of keeping things fresh so they songs do not sound the same, will continue to keep my ears open for these guys are they are onto something, and if you want indie rock that does not forget to rock then this is for you. 

Calligram : "POSITION | MOMENTUM"

 

This British black metal band is pretty feral and furious. They are full blast ahead from the beginning, though as the first track of their new album unfolds you begin to here more nuance and a wider range of sonic colors introduced. The vocals are somewhat of a point of contention, as they they seem like just random squawking. Are the even actual lyrics beings screamed out at this point. Their need for speed is insatiable going into  the second song. It takes about two minutes for these guys to weave more ambiance into the battery of their instruments. There is more of a dissonance to what they do than most black metal bands who identify as being atmospheric.

The blasting demolishes the creepy mood they were setting for "Eschilo". The vocals continue to only contribute chaos. Toward the end of the song there are more memorable moments riff wise. "Tebe" finds them racing off into another bout of the blasty mcnasties. The vocals cast in the swirl of feral shrieking. There is a formula at work as they wander in a more melodic direction once again two minutes into the song. These are the darker more interesting moments that need to out weigh the frantic blitzes of speed. At this point we are midway into the album, where they need to start switching it up and showing me more of what they are capable of. 

I guess in my previous statement about switching it up, I should have clarified that I meant in the context of one of their songs, as they do have an instrumental atmospheric interlude called "Per Jaime". This might marginally expand the dynamic range of the album, but would have been better spent using these ideas in the context of an actual song to break the formulaic monotony. "Ostrananie" has a White Ward like moment mid song, which does not break from what they have been doing the bulk of the album, but adds a little more depth. "Ex -Sistere" finds a palm muted tension being their two minute mark breaker, then some thrashing intensity. 

The last song finds them working things into a more flowing cascade of black metal. The vocals fall further back into the guitars, making it easier to block them out. This shows they have potential to do more. The vocals being as annoying as they are forced me to round this one down to a 7.5, much like say the Body where the vocals are so deal breakingly bad it makes it hard to enjoy the album, but perhaps you pay little attention to vocals to begin with then, you might finds this more enjoyable than I did. 

Vulture Feather : "Liminal Fields"

 

If Fugazi did not have Ian MacKaye's straight edge past haunting them, and had done drugs while writing 'Steady Diet of Nothing" perhaps the result would not be unlike what unfolds on this album. This is a California band by way of Baltimore, which might be what preserves some of the integrity here. This is not to say they are a Fugazi tribute band by any means, the guitar jangle more like the Velvet Underground at times. The vocals have an expressive manner that reminds me of Shudder to Think though with none of the dramatic yodeling. "Bad Lands" has more of a drone than the first song, but is effective in it's own right. 

"Bell of Renewal" owes more to bands from the 80s like REM, with how they lock into a hypnotic jangle of guitar and ride it out. The riffs are more nuanced on "Your True Face" . There is hints of an ambling country feel, though the vocals emotes from a dramatically darker place. This guy's phrasing is impressive as he puts a great deal of passion into each line. He almost is what tips the balance in a heavier direction for the verses of "Monument" where he has a throaty roar that is answered by the call and response of backup vocals , to create a pirate feel. Not sure if that was what they were going for, but that is what I got. The song also wanders off to a droning melodic place as the guitar continues to ring out. 

"Be Still" finds them soaring out into even more spacious emotional landscapes. It floats as much as it drones. The vocals having a defined melody keep it from just drifting off. "Illusion of Time" rides similar cloud formations as the Cure does at times. The vocals bellow and bleat, dipping around the strum of the guitars. The last song does not wander far from where they have already explored. There is that odd middle ground between emo , post-rock and shoe-gaze that bands like Mineral and the Gloria Record also traversed. I will give this album a 10, as they are doing their own thing and doing it well while drawing from some of my favorite sounds. 

Bad Pelicans : " ETERNAL LIFE NOW"

This album came out back in February and  I am glad to have caught up with it., Bad Pelicans are a  French post-punk band  who deviates from the normal in the best way possible. The opening track oozes with attitude. The low baritone vocals croak as much as croon. They are at times both more melodic and more explosive on the same track. This can be heard on the song "Best Friend" . This is not the only time they prove themselves masters of odd dynamic choices as things on "2 Kool 4 the Wave Pool" goes from a upbeat indie rock jangle that starts the verse  to a buzz saw guitar that feels like blackened grunge.

The vocals are great. Melodies purposeful with out being pop, and the are a dynamic range of vocal colors based off the mood of the song, rather than the normal monotone affect most bands doing post-punk try to emulate from Ian Curtis. "Flex Hang 4" has a 1950's surf pop feel .  Many of these songs required multiple, listens in order to gather my thoughts on what was going down. "Supercop" is driven by an angular noise rock riff. The vocals have more of a Sonic Youth like exclamation. This album is rough around the edges in all the right ways. There is a experimental feel to the sounds used to craft "Home" which flows really well.

They come pretty close to what was going on with alternative radio in the 90s on "I'm Fly" .  It has a groove and hook run through the filter of weird. There are a couple of ambient interludes that I am bypassing for the purpose of the review, they are cool when I leave this album on to just play , but not really songs in their own right. there is more of a frantic urgency leading into the last song. It ebbs and flows as these guys are prone to do. They end up taking it in a really bizarre circus like direction. I will go ahead and give this album a 10, it is the best post-punk album I have heard this year, they throw the rules out the window and write great fucking songs.