This band wanders off into a melancholic brand of dreamy shoe-gaze that moves at the speed of doom. The first song opens with a heavier throb, then wanders off into something more dream pop. It is a pretty sweet blend of sonic intensity and atmosphere. The vocals draw you in and earn repeat listens. It's a long and winding song, but the dynamics make it worth it. The vocals also work really well as they compliment the song's dreamy nature, but still have power. The guitar tones shift to a pastoral feel for "Sinking Sea". It sails along with a simple dreaminess. Things are not brighter but redirect you to a more introspective sonic place. The vocals coo in a higher register.
"Where I am Disease" was the lead single from this album. Somehow they decided this would be the most marketable turn. The vocals are really well produced on this album. The song moves in a somewhat more Cocteau Twins-like direction with the swirl of vocals floating in the ether. It is pretty haunting, but also a little on the hooky side at least enough to make this worth multiple listens, They have a knack for dynamics, as the song ebbs and flows really well./ "Let Go" is more opaque in its sonic murkiness. But it does however for the bulk of the song. The vocals do not come in until the final minute.
"Weeping Willow" rumbles out of the previous song. The vocals have more room to stretch out. I like how the vocals flow to this song. The hushed intensity of "Weeping Willow" reminds me of the the Gathering. It does build into a heavier dynamic that is sonically heavy not just heavy metal, though nodding in that direction. Then there is a more ethereal atmosphere of "Falling Softly" that soars into a more doom gaze direction. Once again comparisons to the Gathering can be made. I will give this one a 9.5. If you are looking for some dark atmospheric dom-gaze or wish the Cocteau Twins did less acid and were more into metal then this is the album for you.
Given the state of the music press these days, the Press creates an echo chamber, from which they willingly cuck for the music industry. They will undoubtedly sing the praises for this album since it supports the narrative they want to promote. Any idiot with half a brain should be aware of the fact Beyonce did not get to where she is today without being a puppet for the music industry. Who is at least trying to work off the press it got for Lil Nas X. If you think any of this was her idea, you are so naive the rest of this review might be a harsh wake-up call for you. The fact that there are 21 songwriters and 13 different producers pushing this album off the assembly, says almost everything about the product I am diving into It opens with a multitracked chorus. When Beyoncee emerges from this we get a heavily doctored vocal. Musically it's more organic than what we normally get from her. More Gospel-influenced than country. Her cover of "Black Bird" is about as country as Stevie Wonder is country. But people these days are not educated musically enough to remember a time when R&B was played with actual instruments, and not just homogenized pop from its post- Micheal Jackson era.
We get more gospel on "16 Carriages" which moves with the cadence of an old slave-gospel. Her vocal line does nothing different from normal over singing. Just singing about horses does not make something country. Genres of music like country or soul are technically defined by their relationship to pentatonic major and minor scales. The black notes on the piano. "My Rose" is another over-produced vocal performance, and surprisingly for a pop song lacking in hooks. At under a minute, it's only an idea of a song rather than a fully formed one."Texas Hold'em" is the first song that comes close to sounding country, though Beyonce's voice lacks any of the twang, and she proves incapable of working country intervals into her vocal line, she might not even be able to read music, and much like funk, you can't fake it. Also using words like hoe-down does not make things country either. It's doubtful she has ever headed to a dive bar. It took five other songwriters and six producers for this one song.
"Bodyguard" sounds like something Prince recorded and then deleted because after a couple listens he decided it was not even up to the second-tier standards he set for himself when writing for TLC. Her cover of "Jolene" made me wonder back in the day why she did not consult with Whitney Houston about what it takes to cover a Dolly Parton song, as changing the words and double tracking as many harmonies as you can because you can't belt it out is not the answer. "Daughter' is boring even when it rips off 'Caro Mio Ben". She tries her best to sound like Cardi B on "Spaghetti", and becomes a reminder of how unfocused this album is.it is the sound of her producers throwing things against the wall to see what sticks.
"Alligator Tears' is another song that shows gospel is what she gets when goes for country music. The guitar sounds more like "Wanted Dead or Alive". She pads the album with songs like 'Just For Fun' which is more in her wheelhouse, even with the guitar being mixed marginally higher. But it's a boring ballad, that was in the Columbia Records slush pile. I would rather hear Miley cover "Landslide" than what she does here with Beyonce, as their voices have no chemistry together. Miley's verses work well though. "Levi Jeans" might have worked better as a 30-second commercial for the actual jeans. Not Post Malone's best work either. The Shawntoni Nichols penned "'Flamenco" could not be more bland if they tried. Another example of how her voice needs to hide behind overdubs.
"Ya Ya" is musically a mash-up of "These Boots Were Made For Walking" and "Good Vibrations". It has a 60s should feel, but is another jumbled mess of a song compositionally. "Oh Lousiana" is a cover of Chuck Berry's song of the same name, that has been changed enough so that they do not have to pay his estate. It is only under a minute of the song, which is pretty pointless. "Desert Eagle" is another interlude that I am not going to count for the purpose of this review as it's an even more incomplete creative thought. 'Riverdance" is more like what she normally does just with more guitar. In terms of songwriting, I am shocked that a pop artist of her notoriety was allowed to release garbage like this.
The most redeeming quality of "Hands 2 Heaven" is that it samples Underworld's "Born Slippy". It's another mess of a song. It sounds like she is trying to be Taylor Swift, mixed with her normal pop with a less urban lyrical environment. Dolly Parton offers a few words for "Tyrant", but aside from that it's the studio padding this with the safe bets. "Sweet Honey Buckin" is a half-hearted attempt to cover "I Fall to Pieces" without the scrutiny that would come with actually committing to it. "Amen" is a boring gospel. No surprise. I will give this album a 6, it benefits, from at least ripping off good music, and is well-produced. It would have been easy for Columbia Records to have just had her bust out another album of the same old same old so it's an interesting marketing move but given Lil Nas X's 15 minutes of fame, it's not a surprising one. If it were to come out that the board of Columbia Records, used AI to write what a Beyonce country album would sound like, and tweaked their prompts for it to hedge their bets in a direction that would appeal to her fan base, it would make perfect sense.
On a rainy Wednesday night venturing across the bridge to north Tampa, was only accomplished with the motivation of one of my favorite bands who is also one of the best bands to rock a stage. I saw them back in 2007 and was blown away, so their return to the studio and the crowded funded tour they are currently on could not be missed. Nils folk band Faun Fables had already taken the stage when we got there. They have made it a family act as Nil's two daughters were dressed like they were part of a hippie cult as they sang in unison with synchronized dance routines in motion. They were followed by two bands from Orlando, one was clearly a Primus tribute band that was trying to write their own songs, and The other was a riff machine band that executed well, but the moving pieces of their sound were less than original and there was not where for them to go. Not sure why a band would want to open for Sleepytime as they are always going to blow the other bands away.
Sleepytime took the stage and after a false start due to some technical issues hit the audience with a stunning version of "Freedom Club".While they have not toured in over a decade, they do not have much in the way of rust to brush off and fall back into what they do with fluid grace. Odd time signatures that King Crimson is surely jealous of flowed. They have an intense charm onstage. Playing five songs from the new album, went overall and is a testament to how well it stands up against their body of work. "Burn into Light" showed their more melodic side. To say Nils stays in character for the entirety of the set makes the lines blurry as to who he really is as his persona in Sleepytime feels authentic to who he is.
I think the five new songs that took the dominant role in their set, showed how in the making of the new album the rest of the band has played a more active hand in contributing. Micheal Mellender seemed to play more guitar this time and also sang more than I remembered seeing him do when I saw them previously. He also pulled out a trumpet at one point,. Carla's violin came across as a more crucial bringer of the song's melodic currents, and her vocals were really stellar on this evening. Nils also proved capable of getting up into his falsetto, though on the version of "Hymn to the Morning Star" reworked here he sang a more bluesy version of the song over the intro to "Sleep is Wrong" which was the encore.
Another highlight for me was getting to hold Dan's microphone stand for him for the duration of "Old Grey Heron" b because it was not strong enough to hold up the recorder he tried hanging from it. He was not pleased with the overall sound of the night. At the start of the set Nil's explained that they met due to the fact Dan was the maintenance man for the co-op they lived in. So as the man who keeps their live show bolted together, it is understandable that he likes everything fully operational. His vocals were also more noticeable for this show and playing flawlessly as ever despite his qualms with the sound. They had a long drive to New Orleans ahead of them so I did not stick around to chat afterward, but if you have never seen them live you must find yourself at one of their shows the next chance you get as they continue to be one of the most compelling live bands ever.
I have really liked what these guys are doing, their first album being my favorite. The last album found them going in a more nu-metal direction. This album starts off with more metal core blending with nu-metal to the point of following in Slipknot's footsteps. The breakdown parts feel more natural, but there is some rapid-fire thrashing going on here The sung vocals are not overly anthemic. They keep pouring the speed on and stay locked in this rapid-fire thrashing that makes them sound like every other band who does this sort of thing, I think by not diving into their shadow side they are cutting themselves short since it is what sets them apart from other bands. "Xeroxed Reflection" finds them staying locked into this path. The riffs have ample aggression, and if you just want a new thrash band, then this album might get the job done. But I think just being a thrash band is not what these guys are most effective at.,
"Dogday God" comes closer to tapping into who they really are as a band and might be the best song on this album so far. They are back to try their hand at thrash with "Love Thy Enmity". They keep the thrashing speed up with "Culled and Forgotten" but even the cool half-time riffs do not save the song. This is not to say they have totally discarded the nu-metal thing it is just more sparse, thanks to the chugged guitar that tries to gain momentum. The syncopation to "No Ceremony" is a little more interesting and the song works rather well. The thrashing returns once again on "the Vanity Procession". 'Negative Fix" is heavy as fuck. But they are capable of more than just being content with heavy. The snarled vocals continue to dominate the album.
Sadly, they are not as self-aware as a band. The thrashing of the last song. gets a little redundant. Midway into the song it ventures a more melodic rock n roll sound. It's this second half of the song that is the most appealing and a sound they should have introduced more into the rest of the album to keep it from getting mired in thrash that they really do not stand out when they go into. I will give this album an 8 due to this, They are still darker than most bands doing this sort of thing and you can hear the band they used to be, so they are skilled musicians this is just an unfortunate side step, but still well done in terms of execution and this is the album they set out to make, so I can not fault them in this regard it is just not what I personally want from them or the most original direction they could have gone in.
I recently reviewed the new Atrophy album which really rocked out, and made me want to check out what is going on with Thrash today. This German band is doing the opposite of what Atrophy did, they are looking back at the sounds of the past and paying homage to them. Most notably old "Haunting the Chapel" era Slayer with "Bonded By Blood" era Exodus. Complete with the falsetto yodels. Where Atrophy was a band from that era that was blending the sounds of today's music to create something that felt more vital, than this band who in their opening song comes across like a tribute band.
I can appreciate the fact that this singer has more personality than most and is pretty much hitting the notes. Where a band like Steel Panther does this thing as a joke, I think these guys are dead serious. They are not just embracing the cheese of the era, but worshipping it., If you are into guitar solos they have them coming out of their ears, and are every bit as cheese-laden as those from 1986. The sound of the 80s can be dialed in using the right equipment, slathering everything in big reverb. Writing songs as well as those bands is another story. There is almost a Scorpions or Aceept-like feel to "Realm of the Impaler". They might be on Metal Blade, but this feels more like Combat Records. There is a cool harmonized guitar part that reminds me of early King Diamond.
He is certainly an influence in how they approach the falsetto scream leading into "Draw Your Blades' . The taunt verse riff owes more to Megadeth. Thus the cross-breeding of the two makes Flotsam and Jetsam, especially in how the gang vocals are handled. "Where there's a Whip there's a Way" just kind of thrashes along a more generic path. There is a weird instrumental song, that is well executed, but confusing in what they are trying to accomplish with it. "Death Row" is more straightforward forward, Exodus worship. "Gargoyles" is a little darker, but mostly straightforward thrash, which is also where "Oathbreaker" falls, though it is marginally catchier. The last song has some of the best riffing, though the vocals follow more of an Exodus cadence. I will give this album an 8.5, which is more than generous given the derivative nature of what they do. Metal Blade drops this April 12th.
This UK band blends the punk of the 90s with the punk of today. The vocals range from forceful shouts that navigate the songs with hooky ease, to growls and actual singing. This brings a more Boy Sets Fire mood to the songs. Some technical riffs weave around the impassioned singing. 'Aggro" feels like it racing down the middle of the road is like if AI was asked to write a hardcore song from the late 90s. Sure they are skilled musicians, but hit or miss when it comes to actually writing songs.
"Aux II" has winding rock riffs thrown against growled vocals that are more metal than hardcore. The little melodic guitar passage works well, but the album might be too overproduced for its good, I would have mixed it more like a Coalesce album. Perhaps that is part of my problem with it is that it is too upbeat. Things could be darker and angry for sure. The lyrics seem like they are inspired by people arguing about politics on Facebook,
"Lowest Hanging Fruit' sounds like a faster more tech metal version of Boy Sets Fire. I prefer Boy Sets Fire to what these guys are doing as it feels darker due to the rawer more honest expression, where it feels like these guys are just trying too hard. They might be more convincing doing something more metal like say Finch. That said they are skilled at what they do, it's well executed, and they pulled off what they were looking to do in terms of overall sound so I will give this album an 8. It is being dropped on Lockjaw Records on May 17th.
There is a difference between exploiting and embracing your culture. This Nordic siren might sing in her native tongue of Faroese, but she is not pulling out folk instruments to play Viking. She owes more to the ethereal darkwave acts of the 80s than any neo-folk. Ironically she is on tour with Heilung who are marketing geniuses despite their primitive shtick. The ambiance is thick on the opening track of her newest album, but by the second song, you can hear that she is not just about capturing a sound, she is capable of writing songs. It's closer to the dance floor than Enya, but there is a slight new-age meditative quality, even to the more sultry moments. It's an odd release for Season of Mist.
When the electronic elements are in place to give the songs a backbone to anchor them then the results are quite stunning. Her voice is powerful and capable of doing most of the heavy lifting, but the more help she gets from the accompaniment the better. When things are stripped down more minimally to just her singing with a piano, there is not enough going on to anchor in. Some of this has to do with the way she uses her voice as an instrument rather than the support beam of the melody. The title track finds her diving deeper into the atmosphere. Her voice is certainly capable of creating the otherworldly feel. Once again the more electronic elements ground the song.
The vocal production is pretty immaculate, this is highlighted in "Livsandin". It feels like an Everything But the Girl song from the 90s but with more depth. First-time guitar really stands out on this album. This holds a great deal of common ground with Lydia Ainsworth. " Upp Úr Øskuni" is the wildest witch moment that has guttural vocals used in a throat singing style not unlike Heilung. Unlike Heilung her songwriting remains the focus rather than trying to perform some primal heritage ritual. The last song "Gaia" basks in the ethereal. It focuses more on its floating mood than being a gripping song, it does feel a little like a requiem. This is a solid album of electronic-minded atmospheric pop, I will give it a 9.
The band's 14th full length, stays true to who they are, without being predictable. You never know what side of these guys you are going to get, anything from morose doom to the dark vein of death metal they helped create to melodic goth rock with major depression. This album seems to be uncertain as well. It starts off with compact punchy death metal, and then the second song gifts into their more sorrowful take on doom. Both work well. The wailing tones of the violin weeps over the low-end crunch. Guitar solos are well paced and deliberate with every not counting to draw out the melodies. While Aarons's growl on the first song is not as guttural, his sung vocals are more refined. In both cases, the vocals are really well produced and mixed.
"The Second of Three Bells" starts off in melancholic doom, and builds into punchy death metal. The doomy passages have a more majestic atmosphere to them ."Unthroned Creed' is one of the album's best songs. The guitars ride a taunt groove, as the vocals have room to emote their hooks. the drumming gracefully navigates the time changes. The 11-minute epic "the Apocalypist" is sprawling in a manner that only a few bands do well, these guys being one of the few as the twists and turns keep your interest. But still, 11 minutes is a lot to digest.
"A Starving Heart " is one of those songs that even before the vocals come in you would know is My Dying Bride. Aaron is singing from his depressed place that I love and only two minutes into the song I am sold. The distinct phrasing of the riff that opens the closing dirge "Crushed Embers" is another moment that bears the band's fingerprints well. The pleading croon of the vocals is where his voice sits best. They are masters of pouring on the sorrow, which is a quality that sets the doom genre apart from other kinds of metal. Say all you want about sub-genres in metal but there is no way what they are doing could be considered or confused with anything aside from doom. It carries a mournful beauty that this song clearly defines. I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it sits on me, it is hard for me to think of the 11-minute sprawl as perfect, keeping this album from being perfect, though it might grow on me, but 9.5, is better than what most doom bands are doing these days, and preserves their legacy well. This is dropping on April 19th on Nuclear Blast.
These legends have been at it for 44 years. These guys are one of the first industrial bands, and I would say the genre owes more to them than Throbbing Gristle. The opening track is over ten minutes and the aggressive nature of what they do is dialed back, but it is not gone. Granted these guys are not young angsty punks anymore. If you are wondering why there is no more yelling on this album that is the reason. Though they have admittedly gone in another direction. The album's title refers to their fetish for live improvisation. This album captures that experimental endeavor, though the band's intent is to create pop music for aliens. These are intelligent men who know such beings are not from other planets but this music is for parallel universes, the interzones that lie in-between worlds. This makes perfect sense as they are crafting vibrational frequencies here.
They show many sides on this album. The first song has a jamming groove that they play with for ten minutes, but it works. The second song is the lead single, and it's weird, but more of a fully functioning song from these guys, almost like a Negro spiritual. It's one of the songs that I have to listen to several times to fully absorb. Then there is "Pestalozzi' which feels like Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, never have I heard Germans sound so British. After that, they turn around and prove they are really Germans with "Es koente sein " which is a spaced-out neo-folk of sorts. This is where the album feels like they are more into sounds than songs, as this continues on "Before I Go" which is back in Syd Barrett's acid-laced zip-code.
"Isso Isso" has more groove to its somewhat more solemn mood. The album as a whole is more contemplative than confrontational. "Besser Isses" works off more of a groove that they jam out, not unlike the first song but more intentional. "Everything Will Be Fine" sounds more like what you might expect from these guys if you were expecting something more on their droning experimental side. "the Pit of Language" tries to be more of a song, but drones on one melody, for what they do this works. "Planet Umbra" finds them jamming for almost nine minutes. It flows and throbs like a mix of kraut rock and dub. "Tar and Feathers" is more ambient and does less for me.
"Aus Den Zeiten" is a gradual build that hypnotizes you. The vocals are mostly spoken. It's dynamic even amid its drone. The song after it works off a more ambient and minimalist noise vibe. They keep with the minimalism but move in a more folk direction for "Trilobiten" where the percussion is barely a meager patter underneath it. The last song finds them painting the sonic scope with a bleak atmosphere even thicker, though it does not have the dynamics of other songs on this album. This album shows the range they cover, it captures where they have arrived as a band well. I will give it an 8.5, as it leans more on the droning minimalist side, more than the organic grooving I appreciated earlier in the album. It still serves them well as a testimony to their length career.
This Australian band's name came up when doing research on the phenomena of metalcore bands that are really nu-metal bands. On the first song of their new album, it is easy to hear where this line is crossed. It is also understandable why their name is popping up on this year's rock festival lineups. They remind me of Attila. They are big dumb fun. If these guys are your favorite band you are probably the coolest kid in the trailer park. But you might also have one friend who is a Juggalo. When they pour on the speed things feel a little rushed and like they are not playing to their strength. "Haunter" has more groove, but blends the creep hop elements that make up nu-metal, until they momentum. He screams about how fucked up of a person he is, which contrasts with the more ego-driven lyrics.
They bring Ice-T on, and while I love the "Orginal Gangster" album, and his older work like "Power". It sounds dated and the last time anyone thought he was hard was before he ever played a cop on TV. It is hard to take "Cop Killer" seriously after that. His verse is really just an accent, but still hard to take seriously. There is a more melodic element to "Whenever You're Ready" which has a sung chorus, which is kinda pop punk. "Pretty Boy" has more growled and screamed vocals, that lean them in more of a metal core direction. The groove is what wins me over with it.
They use a more mathy djent-like syncopation on "Mangekyo". I like the lyrics as I can relate to the line "What god ever gave a fuck". I feel that one. But musically it sounds like a metal-core breakdown on wheels. There is a machine-like feel to the riffing of "A Terrible Day For Rain". This song feels like they are playing it a little safe, and it sounds like every other band doing this sort of thing, "Feign" is a little darker, and flows better than the previous song. "Garden of Eyes" continues to work on the djent machine's grinding groove. To the point that it almost feels like dub-step in places. The vocals sound like a more feral version of early Deftones. The title track is more rapped than screamed, until the chorus. There is almost a Mudvayne element to their sound here.
At over five minutes the last song is the album's longest. The first forty-five seconds, being the build-up into that could have been scaled back. There is a more cinematic feel to it, but it's not as hooky as most of the other songs. The sung vocals play a larger role. But they are not all that hooky. I would have been more into this when I was younger if this had come out at the same time Korn had. I will give this one a 9, as it is a great deal of fun. Sharptone might have a hit on their hands when it drops April 15th, as I can hear where the appeal of this lies, and they are one of the more polished bands doing this.
The album cover looks almost identical to "Domination" so how can I not go into this expecting this to sound like where slime might live? Morbid Angel might be an influence, but to this band's credit, they are taking things in a more dismal direction. The growls are lower and make no attempt to form hooks. The vocals exist only to create a perverse layer of humanity being defiled with each wretched utterance. It is more of a vibration than anything that really bears being paid attention to. The way the riffs are phrased does have a machine-like grind similar to the genre Morbid Angel helped create. But most death metal bands formed after 2000, have a hard time not admitting to a Morbid Angel influence unless they are an Entombed tribute band. The sheer heaviness they hit you with makes it hard to no be impressed with what they are laying down here, so it is not until the second song that you can ask if they can actually write songs or if are they just sadists looking to beat the shit out of your ears with their riffs.
Perhaps one of their weaknesses as a band is dragging things out for too long, rather than knowing when enough is enough rather than just beating you with redundancy. Over half the songs are over the eight-minute mark. The only two songs under three minutes are just interludes. The growls hold more purpose and authority in the second song. The riffing is more jagged as the song carries more of a stomp. Some parts do blast off into the abyss. At under five minutes, it might be the most accessible song on the album.It feels more like Post- Vincent Morbid, in how the riffs shift over each other. By the time we reach "Levitation Tomb" clean guitar tones are being used in actual songs and more melodic depth is introduced. This helps separate them from the death metal pack. They also creep in some more technical aspects, but without relying on wanky guitar.
The title track is interesting, as it has a more angular feel. The term death doom gets thrown around in regards to these guys and this feels like the first song that warrants that comparison. Also, the first passages are dark enough to touch a similar sonic space as black metal bubbles to the surface of this song. They contrast this with clean guitar tones bathing in the atmosphere. This makes the more intense blasting of other passages more bearable. The last song keeps leaning into the more morose doom side. There is a wider range of emotional responses rather than the angry pounding that Death Metal is known for. They do make their way to the in-your-face kind of blasting that is obligatory for the genre these days. In some ways, this feels like it owes more to funeral doom in this regard. I will give this album a 9, as it works much better than most death metal these days without having to compromise much of the heaviness. Being released on 20 Buck Spin.
Belgium's death metal maniacs are back. Their new album has some or some band guesting on each song. The opening track which is a Hyperspeed fest, that fans of this brand of death metal should enjoy, features, Shadow of Intent's Ben and Chris. So extra growls and shredding. The sweep-picked fret fury is more melodic than expected. I normally do not like technical over-produced death metal and prefer mind darker and more organic, but the first song is so good at what it does that it wins me over. this occurrence is not uncommon in most forms of extreme metal, where it is so heavy it bowls your ever with intensity and does not give you time to stop and analyze if they can write a decent song.
Then the plight of this kind of thing is further exploited as after being punched by the initial blast of sound, you are numbed out to the assault that follows on the second song, and everything begins to sound the same. Fleshgod Apocalypse's vocalist lending his growl to the song does not change matters. What does help is when the band grooves more on "Brotherhood of Sleep" Johnny from Angelmaker, lends his growls to this one, which is effective, as they vary a bit from just gutturals. The vocalist from Despised Icon, snarls a bit on "Death Cult" which benefits from more thoughtful songwriting. Former Abigail Williams drummer Ken Bedene who has been sitting behind the kit for these guys since 2012, continues to bring the good and is the hardest-working member of this band.
Cryptopsy's growler joins them for "Hellbound" which is a relentless speed fest that blasts by in a rabid blur. I know nuance is not what this kind of death metal is known for, but a dash might do them some good. If you are into guitar solos this one is worth paying attention to. Ingested's Jason Evans gets brutal for the more grindcore-like explosion that is "Insect Politics". Hal from Engulf appears in "The Golgothan". If you like what goes down here it might be worth checking out Engulf's new album as well. Lyrically things are supposed to be based on horror movies., and while there are speculations as to what song aligns with what movies, I have not heard the official word from the band so I am not going to speculate.
Oliver from Archspire guests on "The Shape of Hate". The song is so rapid-fire it does not leave any t time to grab on to any riff. The vocal performance works but also feels rushed. Another banger if guitar solos are your main focus. By this point in the album, the fast playing has exhausted The growler from Signs of the Swarm, is doing what he does. I liked the album Signs of the Swarm released last year, so I am not opposed to this sort of thing. The last song finds Ricky Hoover of Ov Sulphur, bringing yet another growl to the party. It has been an interesting experiment trying to distinguish these varied growls and hear who is showing up to the mic with something new, though it tends to be rather uniform. I will give this one a 7.5, as it all kinds sounds the same, some songs are more effective but the shift in dynamics is pretty marginal,. Chances are if you are into this sort of thing you just want it to be in your face, but I am not going to suggest rounding it up, as even if this sound is your jam, I am not sure what fresh ideas are being involved from a songwriting experience. At this point when I see someone wearing an Aborted shirt I am going to assume they just like generic modern death metal.
Missouri is not one of the places I picture hardcore coming from. What I like about the city's hard-core export is that Covert takes me back to the late 80s when thrash and hard-core crossed over. At least on the first two songs. The first song perhaps works the best as what they are doing is still fresh and new. Once we are a few songs in and they are thrashing at the old-school tempo,. with the forcefully narrated vocals that are not quite a shout, begin to sound a little uniform so even the predictable moshy breakdowns work well.
Things do get more melodic guitar-wise on "Siege Upon the City". Granted they are checking off most of the boxes for most of the tropes at this point. "Units Desimmenated" races for your throat with the rabid fury of youth. Not the most original thing, but it's heartfelt. The lyrics seem deliberate without being preachy. I can not stand when hardcore bands try to take some kind of moral high ground. They are back to being pretty straightforward with their attack on "They Will Not Stop":
"Fallen" is just more of the same, and kind of falls into the speed trap of being fast, but also feeling like they are rushing the song. You can catchy maybe half the lyrics, and the riffs are pretty generic. There are a few cool riffs, but the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make, and this song is a great example of that. "Alone" works better than half the songs here, as things slow down and allow you to hear their purpose rather than racing by you before you can discern it. The vocals are pretty much a one-trick pony, but it is often where he puts his phrases that work in his favor. I will keep an ear out for these guys as they have a great deal of potential. This album is not perfect, but it shows you where they are growing, though the base line is already better than most. I round this album's score down to an 8.5, which is still better than most bands, and puts this as one of the better hard-core albums so far this year.
The sophomore effort from the Los Angeles Death Metal is going to be a trial by fire for this band, as they have to establish themselves as more than just deviants who are out to torture your eardrums under the guise of a death metal band. On the opening track, they sound like they are making more of an effort to write memorable riffs, well at least riffs more memorable than those on the first album. They are also making more of an effort to have the doomier sections try to create a more compelling mood. In the second song they show their weaknesses are not much different than other death metal bands when they let their aggression get the best of them and just pour on the speed. However, they are prudent enough to use more restraint than most and rein things back for a dense sludge-caked chug.
They are dark but do not try to be evil, aside from the normal metal imagery for this sort of thing. They display a knack on this album for keeping the riffs flowing. The blast beats are sparse and staggered on the second song. The more brutal onslaughts do not last long enough to dull your ears before they ebb into something more melodic or grooving. At times they are even more experimental in how they bring this together. The drummer is clearly the most talented member of this band, though they are skilled at dialing in a mean as fuck guitar tone. Production wise they certainly nailed the sound they were trying to capture. This album is cold and oppressive yet organic in the sounds, even with the wretched overdrive coating things. "Paradoxysm" does not have a great deal of atmosphere, but the little it does have is made to work well. Not the album's strongest song, but it's not that bad either. The vocals typically stay in the low guttural place, venturing up for a scream every now and then.
"Eexcruiating Regue in Roeoccuring Torment" is the tug of war the drummer wages inside of himself regarding what side of the death-doom equation he wants to sit in. More often than not he falls on the death metal side. But this wrestling match makes things more interesting than if you were just being hit with blast beats. With this song, it makes it less focused and harder to establish a baseline from which dynamics might flourish. I know some fans of Death Metal are really just after the most brutal, band, and while they might not captured the title of most brutal I think they are heavy enough for those who lean toward the more extreme side of the genre to still be able to enjoy them.
There is one track that is just ambient noise, it is pretty much just the intro for the last song, that finds itself locked into a more traditional death metal mode, before pouring on the speed. There are not many head-banging grooves, sometimes things throb in a way you can nod your head to. The more melodic section in it is cool, but I wish they had worked more of this sort of thing into this album, to make it stand apart from their peers. Most of it is guitar noodling, but it helps break things up. I will give this album an 8, it's dark and intense in a way that feels natural and not like they are pretending to be something they are not. Profound Lore is releasing this one.
In the 70s there was a genre called adult contemporary. It was the kind of organic loungy music that was not the bubble gum of pop but found artists in the middle of country and jazz. There was none of the country twang, nor the complex excursions in jamming that jazz ventures off into. More produced than folk;, but many former folk artists would cross over into this for radio play. Mellow is certainly a fitting word to describe it. There are no aspirations to induce dancing. This is what Webster's music invokes. This is my first time hearing her, and the opening track of her new album is quite nice, though I hope other dynamics are engaged or if this is what she does for the entire record it might get boring.
Going into this all I knew about her is that she is from Atlanta, a city I spent a fair amount of time in, and her mom used to play her Allison Krauss album that she has claimed influenced. I do not hear the Krauss influence on this first song. If you are smoking pot and cleaning your house on a rainy day I can hear where this might be the perfect soundtrack,. There is a more orchestrated accompaniment in the second song, It does make sense to me that she is signed to Secretly Canadian. I just reviewed the new Waxahatchee album, and she was getting the indie rock tag thrown on her when she is more of a country artist, and it feels like the roles are reversed for Webster, who feels more indie than country. I stumbled across her while looking for new country music.
"I Want to Quit All the Time" finds us getting into who she really is and the melancholic side that is her true internal dialogue. Jazz begins to creep into the with the guitar licks playing around. Then things get really interesting with 'Lego Ring" as percussion builds a groove and effects swirl around her voice. This is all done without sacrificing the warmth. "Feeling Good Today" might have the best lyrics yet, as it retains more of the pop feel. "Lifetime' is the first song that feels like filler, it sounds good, but also sounds like a better song to put on when it's time for a nap than something to engage me. This song stretches out into almost more of a drone with the vocals becoming repetitive.
"He Loves Me Yeah!" is the first song I would call upbeat and is certainly more pop. But it works really well, so is hard to argue with. "Ebay Purchase History" feels like the down-tempo lounge remix of the previous song as it follows a similar cadence. The album's most country moment might be the title track. It ambles along with the 70s mellow vibes. The last song pretty revisits most of the sounds we have already heard from her. I would be surprised if she did not smoke a ton of pot. I will give this album a 9.5, as the strong songs balance out the moments that wander in the mellow vibes and get a little lost. If you are looking to chill but still want depth this album is for you.
Andrew of Drab Majesty has expanded this from a project into an actual band that now grants things more of an organic punk feel. The album certainly opens in a manner that suggests the punk in post-punk is what is getting most of the emphasis here. "Hush Money Millionaire" is another song that pushes it in more of a 70s punk direction. They back from this into a moodier rock feel for "Inanimate Love". It feels like by slowing things down, the more deliberate approaches help the song. The songs are not three-minute ditties, but allow some room to jam out and create a mood. The lyrics touching on topics like necrophilia are on the darker end of the spectrum, which so far might be my favorite thing about this album.
Then they are back to the dirty alleys where punk branched off from rock on a song like "Squid Row", which is about slum lords. "Real Doll Time" finds them back closer to the sonic zip code of traditional punk, but with a more mod feel on the chorus. They jam with the intent to drone by the end of the song. 'Runaway Runaway" stalks you with a creepier tension. The guitars add odd touches of melodic nuance, to create a weird rainbow of sound. It is the first song I think bears mentioning the psychedelic aspects of where everything up to this point has been dark garage punk. The jams begin to feel like the eyes of a pervert who allows his stare to linger over his prey long enough to feel uncomfortable.
These feelings make you rethink the meaning of titles like "Space Invasion". Which is about a home invasion, not UFOS. There is enough surreal guitar effects to make you think either might be the case unless you listen closer to the lyrics. Then the lyrics begin to reference the perspective of a stalker stalking their stalker. The drugs kick in and begin to cause psychosis in the trippy breakdown. "Jenny Killer Glue" is such a bizarre song title I paid closer attention to the lyrics to decipher what it might be about. The vocals are almost more spoken as they ponder what drugs Jenny is putting up her nose. The answer seems to be a special glue. The games they play with feedback are not unlike those A Place to Bury Strangers also peddles.
"In Great Detail" finds him putting more effort into singing. They are still cruising the streets to this early 80s vision of punk. The last track is just ambient noise creating an outro, this could have spun out from the previous song without being its own track. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on, so far it's a funny reminder of the ghosts of punks past.
This is one of those reviews where I just give my first impressions of an album that is more than likely going to take some time to fully sink in. The first thing that is apparent this time around is Katie Crutchfield is more of a country singer than not. Sure she is soulful. But there is an honest twang that offsets most of her indie sensibility. The opening song plays to her strengths. "Evil Spawn' finds more of her indie-rock side coming out, and while it's effective it just doesn't connect with me the same on the initial listen. 'Ice Cold' has more jangle to its strum. It's a more big city take on folk music. She shows more vocal colors on this one which I appreciate. This album is very organic in its feel and was produced in a manner that plays up to this, as it sounds like they are just plugged in right in your living room.
It is easy to understand why 'Right Back to It" is the lead single for this album as it is clearly the strongest song so far. The bar is really high considering how good "Saint Cloud" is. "Burns Out at Midnight" is another song that helps her live up to the challenge she created for herself with the previous album, though it is going to take more than one listen to really ingest it. Not that it is a complex song, rather it's simple and subtle. "Bored" connects from the get-go, as there is a sense of movement, and vocal lines groove over the laid-back country jams. The album works with a down-home warmth that radiates the landscapes of Alabama. However, she backs off from them to a more spacious introspection on "Lone Star Lake" to create something that reminds me of the Indigo Girls.
The first song that really demands me to revisit it and form more solid thoughts for the purpose of this review is "Crimes of the Heart". Her melodies flow with flawless grace, which makes up for moments when her lyrics make the more obvious choice that holds less poetry but might feel the most truthful to her. "Crowbar" has a touch of Chrissy Hynde to it, but moves with a casual dance that is hard to not join in on. "365 has more country in its DNA but is also very stripped down. The dynamics lie in her voice, which she shows off while serving the song.
Songs like "The Wolves" are excellent, but in a different way than the songs on "Saint Cloud" worked. There is a touch of the pop sensibility that the album held, but it approaches it from a different angle that feels like it is a more genuine exploration of who she is. It ends with the title track which is one of those songs that is going to take a few listens to grow on me. I can hear a more pastoral folk feel there. The harmonies are really cool, and certainly one of the album's strengths. I will give this album a 9.5, as see how it grows on me, it shows her settling into her skin as an artist.
This band's first two albums both only earned a 7.5 from us. Meaning they are decent at what they do, and those are not bad albums, but when it comes to making time to listen to a death metal album in my free time when not reviewing albums, it's not going to be one of there as there are bands that do it better. The opening track shows some bands also do it worse and are not anywhere near as polished when it comes to the execution of this sort of thing. Some of my lukewarm reception to this band lies in the fact that many of the songs on their albums tend to sound the same. When it comes to this album speed is a factor, the cadence of the vocals changed enough for me to realize this was not the opening track.
The blur of hyper-aggression causes "Superior" to snarl out from its attack on your ears with an indistinguishable fury from the anger that drove the first two songs. The riffs are not written in a way that might make this kind of impression any easier. There is one riff that stands out from the murk a little but cool riffs alone does not a good song make. The first song that finds itself standing out is "Drill the Skull". It is more deliberate and proves backing off from the one-dimensional speed attack plays in their favor. 'Winds of Hell" must be about steamy farts, as it does not feel evil. This album is however proving an interesting study in intention when it comes to metal. If Deicide was playing this exact same song it would feel evil as Glen Benton has a more diabolical intent in his delivery. As someone who adores all adulation of darkness, I would prefer someone to express what finds that place more honestly than referring to Hell like they are narrating a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
There is more hook to the riff that opens 'Dead Memories' so that gets my hopes up. It feels like Entombed covering a Slayer song. The song itself is ok for what it is, but not really blowing me away. The last song is solid for what it is, but the problem with it is that just is not very original and nothing sets these guys apart from hundreds of death metal bands doing the same thing. I have an entire month of the blog dedicated to death metal, so saying it's not my thing does not work either, bands no matter the genre have to work harder to set themselves apart from the pack as the market gets more over-saturated. With that said this album is a cut above the first two and finds them earning an 8 instead, not album of the year quality or even top 10, but it is worth indiscriminate death metal fans giving a listen. It's being released on Tank Crimes on April 12th.
\After making more than 30 albums you have to switch things up. Buzz Osbourne did this by switching up the songwriting process and having two drummers come in and jam, then took the by-product of those sessions and wrote new songs to them. Starts off sounding like a "Vol 4" era Black Sabbath b-side, then things get weird at the six-minute mark, and it is like they shift into an entirely different song. Things continue to morph throughout the twenty-minute opening track,. It is not unlike free jazz at times in the abstract way things wander. They regain their momentum and solidify the sound by eventually locking back into a driving chug. I can appreciate the experimental nature of what they do, but in terms of songwriting, some parts of this sonic monolith work better than others.
"Workin' the Ditch" is effective with its sludge-dense riff that moves with a great deal of power. However the bulk of the song just drones off this one riff and does not lend itself to much in the way of dynamics. On the other side of the sonic spectrum is "She's Got Weird Arms" which sounds more like a Devo song than something you might expect from these guys. I am not opposed to them breaking away from heavy. It is not the catchiest song and has a long and winding angular riff as its wobbly backbone. They meet in the background when it comes to the broad contrast of the two previous songs with "Allergic to Food". This brings them closer to what the Butthole Surfers did, but without the dropping acid in the trailer park feel.
"Smiler" has enough of their more sludgy side to satisfy their more metal-minded segment of the fanbase. It feels like something Jell Biafra might do as a side project, though less industrial than say Lard. It works for what you want from them, while there is a more experimental jammy feel, it's not a huge departure for the band, not their greatest album when it comes to songwriting, but they are still trying which is more than many bands do these days, and given the context this was created in it's a cool concept that worked well. I will give this an 8.5, as the jammy nature does not always create hooky songs that draw you back in but is a fun journey to explore as is.
This band's first album scored a 9 with us, which is pretty impressive. I went into that one already a fan of Ephel Duath. It was an easy sell, and they went above and beyond, There is more of a crusty hardcore undercurrent to this one. It is almost like faster Neurosis. The vocals have more of a scathing howl to them than a growl. There are even sung vocals. There is a sonic dissonance to the riff propelling the second song up from the abyss. The odd use of angular vocal melodies and the weird vibe of the song is going to take some time to sit with. The eerie manner in the guitars sets an ominous stage, as the thunder lurks behind the stalking chug. The drummer seems always eager to throw down and put his foot on the gas.
I appreciate the dark tone of this album. It is not just fuelled by the kind of aggression that normally takes the wheel for this sort of thing. The deliberate riffing continues to keep the drummer in check. It is not until four songs in that they join him to cut loose and even then it is not a reckless speed fest. The throbbing bleakness continues with "Messianic Alteration". The pounding slowly builds as the album get's angrier as it progresses. This finds things accelerating to more of a grateful storm on "Inner Voice'. I do not mind the storm since I know I can rely on them to shift the dynamics sooner rather than later. I am sure the drummer is glad to get some of those blast beats out of his system. They prove me right with "Overlord' which moves with the creepy grace of doom. It is the album's darkest moment so far. So you know I love it.
"Not in Control" blasts with more fury, though there is more of a deliberate groove in places. They continue barreling with unrelenting thunder. I like the way sung vocals are used on this album. It's not in a predictable formula. "Endless Ravine" has a more cavernous storm to it. At times it is not far removed what Tombs' less black metal moments. "Vindication" is the first song where the overt heaviness begins to wear a little thin. Granted it is 11 songs in. "Self Harm Scars" is more like sludged-out death metal. Then is takes a more melancholic turn towards a rawer vision of death doom, that does not have Peaceville aspirations. Despite the way, the somewhat gothy-sung vocals wander in. The cadence of the harder vocals begins to have a uniform feel this deep into the album.
The last song that follows an ambient interlude, finds them hovering around mood. I appreciate this but when they were simmering your ears in the storm of riffs earlier it might have been more unique to have some of these sounds woven into it. As the closing song drones more it develops into something worthy of climaxing this album. Despite my qualms regarding how this album peters out, give it a 9, as the bulk of it is pretty great and upholds the mission statement of their artistic vision occupying a space in heavy music we need more of. This album is being released on May 10th on Hammerheart Records.
Pop music and rock music have been merging more in recent years. This Scottish band does so to the extent of bands like Holy Wars or Poppy. Though these Scotts are perhaps a little more fun-loving and less angsty in their expression of this. Nu-metal helped open the doors for this sort of thing as Linkin Park was a boy band with guitars, and Limp Bizkit's Peak found them rubbing elbows with Carson Daily on a regular. It certainly is this band's strength, when they do rock out their singer's voice puts her in close company with 90s bands like Veruca Salt as she packs more sugar than spice. The guitars are mixed with more mid-range than metal, and the overall mix holds more common ground with pop than packing a punch.
The guitars get a slight boost going into "About Love" before ebbing down to give the vocals more room for introspection. This song also retains the 90s feel heard in the previous song. Their guitarist seems to take over the mic for interludes, and the occasional intro. His voice is much less interesting than Anna's. "Cobra" has a more upbeat bounce, it sounds like most of the crunch it lacks is a production choice, as I can hear where this might rock out more live. The post-production choices on the vocals are where this producer's true talents lie as it is an area where this album shines. "Mana" maintains their high energy style, with the guitars giving her vocals plenty of room to do their thing. They are successful in tapping into a fountain of youth to channel their inner teenagers.
"I might die" is a power ballad with a touch of grunge. Her vocal harmonies are the song's strong point."Rainbows" is proof, that I can like music that is not all that dark. It works as a fun pop song just fine. There is more sex injected into the attitude of "Bad Girlfriend" though the chorus of "X-Rated" is more infectious. Her girl crush anthem is pretty cute and marketable. There is less charm to the more filler feel of "White Rabbit", which feels like it's ground we have already covered. "Faces on the Wall" circles the same drain. It's not bad just more of the same. I will give this album a 9, it's fun and works for what they are doing, not the hardest rocking album of the year, but plenty of fun.
For a grindcore band from New Orleans, they certainly have a big budget for videos. I did not know Prosthetic Records had it like that. Bigger than the budget of much larger bands like Goatwhore or Eyehategod, who play marginally more accessible versions of metal. Following the money trail is the most reason-based point on which to base all theories. They are not bad at what they are doing, and calling them Barbie Core, is absurd as it does not affect their sound at all. There have been female vocalists in extreme metal for some time, I think the only difference is they are getting more push from the press. But you are covering them you say. I have always covered female-fronted bands, I like chicks.
Anyway, I am talking about everything but the music here, and truth be told the first four songs pretty much all sound the same, they have a hard-core deliberation in how their riffs attack. "Human Offence" is more thrash than grindcore and one of the album's strongest songs at that. If there is a middle-of-the-road to extreme metal this band rides firmly down the line. I am not bad about it as it makes them better songwriters than just trying to throw the entire Sonic kitchen at you in thirty seconds. "Rope Drag" is almost Judas Priest-like in the opening riff. They do kick things into a more punk recklessness. They also groove like a death metal band, which plays to their favor in the songwriting department.
They are capable at what they do, even if what they do is not the most original thing I have heard this week."Blood Diamond" finds them throwing themselves into a blast beat, which is kinda boring. They do have a cool riff in there, but the rule here regarding even the coolest of breakdowns is ...cool riffs alone does not a good song make. "Sniffer" does not smell any fresher. Once again cool riffs that do not equate the totality of the song is well thought out, though up to this point in the album there had been more gray matter invested. "Sugar Bastard' sounds like if Goatwhore dialed it in. There are parts worth moshing to, but if you are writing songs under three minutes every moment needs to count. The title track pretty much rehashes what we know them capable of ./I will give this album an 8, not an album of the year, but pretty solid old-school metal, and more aggressive than you might imagine.
This Alabama band has gotten a bit of a buzz. They are banging out the kind of post-djent metal core, that will be what all the kids are into at the big rock fests this year. Less extreme and more mainstream despite the coarse hard-core influence of the vocals. The good cop / bad cop exchange vocal exchange that became commonplace in the days of Myspace is this band's stock and trade. They admitted that Groove has been given more focus with their 6th album and makes the song listenable. By the second song, it is clear they are taking notes from Sleep Token and even HEALTH when it comes to the soft-hearted delivery of the melodic singing. This is not original but it is well executed.
Riffs are often cluttered with the counterpoint of mathy guitar histrionics, which I can see impressing the TikTok generation who ingests this sort of thing a few minutes at a time, but feels tedious when trying to consume an entire album of it. My common issue with this sort of thing is the clean highly processed style of production that dominates this sort of thing making it feel like the heaviness is sterilized out of it. By the time Things settle down for the power ballad "Blue Reverie". I appreciate it's a more 90s-leaning formula. When we get to "Slow Sour Bleed" there are all the right sounds brought together in the studio with none of the feeling in them that makes me take notice or demand my ear. By "Glimpse" the clean guitar melodies and vocal cooing that juxtapositions itself against the more staccato pounding is becoming a rather uniform formula. There is nothing that carries the same thundering menace of Meshuggah no matter what their guitars are tuned to.
I am not opposed to this sort of thing altogether as I was a big fan of the band Issues, so when ERRA leans more into their pop side, I think their songwriting choices are most effective as proven by "Past Life Persona" which is the strongest song yet. However, after this things revert back to the tired and true formula of pounding riffs and more hopeful vocals. There are a few grooving riffs that do connect, but the rule here is...cool riffs alone does not a good song make. They stomp at you faster on "Pale Iris" but fall into the predictable pattern with the chorus. The pop hooks of the chorus play against the song as they try too hard here. The last song falls more in the middle of the road. There is equal screamed angst and smooth pop crooning. I will round this down to a 7.5, while it's not my thing, I think the production plays against the band that is already on well-traveled territory, but six albums in they know what they do.
This shoe gaze band from Belgium basks in the atmosphere of the genre's more ethereal side. The vocals are almost obscured by the clouds of delay the guitar exhales into the opening track. Often I complain about bands who sacrifice songwriting to focus on fine-tuning a sound. The world they paint for your ears is too enthralling to really notice this fact in the first song, but by the time we make it to the second song, I begin to inquire more into their songwriting talents. The vocals do come more to the forefront. They are sung in a timidly androgynous manner, more like the band Nothing's kinder gentler side. It becomes a case where this is effective for what they are doing, but I will be listening even more closely to see where they go in terms of hooks and dynamics in the next song.
My questions are answered by a more Cocteau Twins-like dream pop that floats around your ears. The vocals are not as otherworldly as Liz Fraser's by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, we get a sad boy reflecting on something less than a fairy wonderland. The vocals are more of a plaintive coo. The crystalline guitar sparkles, before they step on the distortion that finds even the overdrive painting the background of the song rather gracefully. Things grow more intense without the heaviness of a band rocking out. By the time the album floats into "Liminal People," it is clear the guitar sounds have been all dialed into to perfection and are the guiding tools from which the songs are derived.
The lyrics can barely be made out amongst the dreamy ambiance that coats the songs. The drummer is pretty solid as the songs have more of a backbone than you perceive on the first casual listen. This song finds the drummer engaging in more fills to solidify more intense dynamics. There is a very delicate feeling to the guitar that opens "Through the Glass', but perhaps this is what makes the song work as it allows the other elements more room to do their thing. It was the first time I thought, wait perhaps this guy can really sing. I would not say it rocks out, but they climax things in a manner that taps into a cool dynamic.
"Crazing" finds them heading even deeper into dream-pop. The emphasis is on the dream rather than pop regarding hooks. Once again all the sounds are in all the right places to pay homage to this era of music. "Sense of Longing" finds the fog of their sound envelops the bones of the song altogether, so you can only make out the motion of the drummer and are aware a guitar is tinkering. Edging toward the lost minute things begin to converge in an almost Explosions in the Sky-like manner.
The last song is almost more of an outro than a song as it floats by without giving you anything but ambiance to connect to. I will give this album an 8.5, while they perfectly executed and assembled these sounds there is not a great deal that is breaking new ground when it comes to shoe-gaze. If you are new to the genre or an indiscriminate fan who is just looking for new music then this band does an excellent job at what you are looking for, they are head and shoulders over the lo-fi bedroom attempts at the genre, and are flawless professionals at what they do, what they do just happens to recycle plenty of genre tropes.
As a big fan of this band, we have covered every release from this German band, and they have yet to disappoint, so when it popped up in the old inbox there was a great deal of excitement. This project has never been content just settling for one sound and milking it. The album opens with a more familiar sound that picks up closer to where they left off marrying the metallic energy of their picking hand with the melancholy of post-punk. This comes with a cleaner guitar sound and not the overdriven metal tone. They are not metal, though this album does go in a more rock direction.
With the second song, things begin to shift into an almost progressive rock zip code. There is a more angular mathematics to the way the riffs wind around The vocals remain at a steadfast yet modest croon. The guitar solos that surface are pretty impressive in their melody addition to the song. This album takes multiple listens to sink in and is best digested through headphones, due to where the vocals in the mix. "Nefelibatas' clicked as it had a darker throb amid the wall of jangling guitar encircling the more delicate vocals. The vocals almost have a folk cadence at times. This sets it aside from the typical post-punk adjacent acts that use a starker delivery. It almost reminds me of Opeth's "Damnation" album in this regard, but the drums are more driving there.
"L'Appel Du Vide" is more driving almost to a punk extent., with the vocals offsetting this mood. The bass playing is more melodic on this one and the song pauses for room to breathe at times."Mementote" finds the band at their most metallic on this album so far, opening with a great deal of bombast before locking into a riff you might expect on a Judas Priest album. The vocals anchor it in their identity. They even lock in plenty of harmonized guitar lines to drive the metal mood home. They continue with palm-muted tension pushing "Massenmench" forward. The vocals play a more subtle back seat to the guitar, making it a little less compelling than the previous song.
There are more shadows to the sound with which "Hindsight Bias" is painted. I appreciate the fact they do not follow traditional songwriting structures, while still working subtle hooks into the melodies. The pace picks up for the last song. King Dude lends his voice to it, leaning the song in a more typical post-punk direction. Things do build into a more black metal-influenced passage with harsh vocals set back in the distance, so the guitar melody might prevail.. I will give this album a 9.5, as it is more obtuse with the hooks buried more subtly requiring more time to sink in, but a logical step forward to a band that deserves much more recognition.
