Vimur : " Traversing the Ethereal Current"

This band is a bit of an anomaly as Atlanta is not known for it's black metal. So it stands to reason that black metal is not the only element that makes up this band's dna. Sure they have plenty of blasting and it lashes into it right from the first song, which also finds a very thrashy riff cropping up amid the blast beats. The vocals are pretty buried into the guitars , they tend to lean towards a more typical rasp with lower death metal roars chiming in. "Leech of Humanity" is the first song taht really takes a dynamic shift as it slows into a more Agalloch paced riff. The majority of the time song races along , though one of the band's strengths is compositionally they can shift easily from riff to riff and do not rely adhering to a verse chorus format.


There is one cool riff in "the Pernicious Doctrine" , but the song is a little too thrashy and doesn't engage me a much as the previous one.Next up in this blastothon is "Ephemeral Sentience" which has a brief breakdown toward the intro then goes of into blasting. There is an "Angel of Death" like scream randomly tossed in way in the background. "By Black Winds Oppressed" finds more melody even with the lower growls booming in. The guitars also become more adventurous dipping into a more progressive sensibility somewhere between Agalloch and Krallice.<"Professions of the Heresiarch" thankfully gallops more than it blasts. Even if this is doing in more of a thrash manner. The title track eventual converges into a more compelling gallop, but the song numbs me out as the songs begin to become a blur losing my attention.

They start off more melodically with "To Abide In Eternal Grief" which has a darker almost doom like throb. This change of pace was what the album needed as I was starting to lose interest.They speed things back up for "Memory of Heathen Reign" and the blasting commences . There is a gallop that rides in to save the song from being a blur of snare. Things don't really switch up until about the five minute mark. Then they speed back up again.his album came out back in 2014, but just now hunted it down after attempting to contact the band, gods forbid I would be forced to leave the computer and venture out to one of their shows which every time I have planned on seeing them gets cancelled , hoping to catch them with Negura Bunget soon.If you would like Krallice to make more sense and approach more basic metal sensibilities then these guys are for you. I'll give this album a 7, give it another listen and see if it grows on me at all.

6.3

Lest We Forget:Psalm Zero : "The Drain"

These guys are now touring with Liturgy. Features one of the dude from Castevet and another from Dirty Projectors.  This came out last year but is too cool not to cover.  The songs cover a ton of ground at times almost seeming like they are jumping around to suit the two vocal styles on this album. Sometimes the electronic elements work better than others. The album in general would have benefited from a darker mix. The second song winds it's way through many interesting passages, but I am not sure if it feels as effective as it did on the opener, though there is still plenty to like here. While what the band does is certainly a fresher take on certain sounds, they are not as baffling as many of the reviews I had read on them seem to suggest. But that's why I do this cause somebody has got to speak the truth. They share some common ground with Wreck& Reference on "Chaos Body" but it's a more straight up metal attack. Even after the militant shouting they manage to turn the band around an return to some dark goodness. The clean vocals could use some effect on them to make them sit better into the mix sometimes it sounds a little like karaoke. The singing creates more of a post- punk effect on "In the Dead" which is the first song that grabs me right off the bat.

In interviews I read with the band before listening to this, which is never a good idea unless you have nothing to better to do and  I am sure I  did, they said Katatonia was an influence. Which as hipster as they Brooklyn scene is surprises me. Though they did say Discouraged Ones era, so the newer more alternative stuff is too mall metal for them. The melodies are not depressing like Katatonia , nor is the singer close to Jonas. On the closing song "Meanwhile" it sounds more like an indie rock band's take on A Perfect Circle with a little more math in the equation.This was not the album of the year by a long shot and I'll give it an 8, but it might grow on me, worth checking out as some of the issues I had with the mi might not phase you.



4

Catching Up With 2014-Rape Blossoms:"Ruinenlust"

It's easy to  understand why this Belgian  band's lp sold out long ago, it takes on post-punk from a place that captures a hypnotic elements other bands in this genre don't capitalize on. The album opens up with a dense garage rock number that place the emphasis on the straight forward nature of punk as they drone ahead on one riff, but have a drugged out enough sound to make it interesting The second song is just as up beat as the first. In some ways it sounds like fast shoe-gaze more than post-punk, and perhaps that is what shoe gaze really is if we want to dissect definitions and count coke straws.

Normally I prefer a little more production value , but these guys make this sound work. In fact I can't imagine this album recorded any other way. For all the squeaking buzz of feedback, there is something endearing, even if the bass could stand to push through a little more in places. The vocals that are largely monotone are buried more often than not, they come through clearer on the more hushed tension of "VHS". The angular nature of this song makes it stand out from the more straight ahead start the album got off to. "VHS" Proves the band is capable of taking dynamic twists and turns and their drummer is pretty fucking good when he wants to be.

They get even more experimental on "Egging Voices" . The vocals come to the fore front but with a haze of effects covering them. One thing about this album is it's post-punk with out many traces of goth to it. It is dense and slightly a downer , but not dark. The fuzzed out, blown out speaker rumble of  "Slow Breath" , has more of a punk feel to it, despite it's slower clamor. The album closes out with "In the Red".  At almost 11 minutes this song  takes on a more Swans like feel in the free form way it builds into a psychedelic swirl. It swells into almost a Kraut rock kinda thing. Though all of the long winded drone does pay off in the end.  

I'l give this one a 9.5, the rough hewn effort always shows promise even in the sparse moments that didn't connect as much with others, the drone could have been more condense for what these guys are doing since they aren't in fact the Swans, who proved even on their new album that too much of a good thing... well you know. I'm still on the hunt for a download of this album to call my own, so far their Sound Cloud is the only way to go, if someone finds a upload/ download, drop me a link in the comments. Thanks.

Whorls :"Petrichor"

This band from Denmark is pretty intense. The drummer is an insane cyborg just judging by the intro to the opening song. The vocals a more a-typical dry rasp. These guys hide that fact by throwing everything at you at once.While they can smash your face in with their sonic these guys grasp the importance of songwriting and back enough to let you breathe and give you a false sense of security with the dynamic flip. Blackened Hard core might be the best fitting label, but these guys have the chops of a more progressive styled band. The hit with Meshuggah like precision. Sonically they are more interesting than say anything Meshuggah has done in the past decade. By the second song they are beginning to smother in heaviness.

At a minute and a half "Pax" is short and to the point , but I am not sure I would call it grind core. It's not as rough around the edges."Atheol" the band tries to decide if they should blow by you in a blur of speed or let you bask in the groove. The speed is impressive from a technical stand point , but midway into the album, you have already heard it. I am more interested in where else can this band take me sonically. They hinted at having the ability to do so, but do they have the desire. "Caeles" is blow out from the other song. The album falls into being the kind of assault that eventually descends into white noise , until identifying punches come into play. Sure the album sounds great and the guitar tone they have immortalized is mean as fuck, but unless set against another canvas it eventually falls flat when it fall prey to the jack hammer fuck.

They fall back into a more section piece with "Apex" that hangs out in some sludge like feed back. this song an the other tends to find the one dimensional nature of the vocal making the songs sound similar. They find some really cool dissonant places on "Vacuos" but like the title suggests find them getting sucked back into becoming a blur of formless white noise. They do find there ways into a few break downs and the final songs falls somewhere between a blast beat and a groove. If you just like really well made heavy music that is heavy for the sake of being heavy then these guys are for you. If you require more thought and texture to your metal, you still might be able to appreciate where these guys seem to want to go with this , but get too caught up in the execution to make it. By the times things slow down into a buzzing sludge it is too little too late. What sounded to have more promise becomes sonically monochrome and thus it's blackness is no where near as dark as it could have been.I'll give this a 7 and hope they fine tune the songwriting a little more next time as they have all the talent in the world.




5.6

Nothing : "Guilty of Everything"

The Shoe gaze movement is poised to be the next big thing in indie rock . If you were going to pick a band to bet on to break the biggest waves, the money would be on the  Philly band Nothing. Blending a  dreamy natures with 90's rock sensibility. They are by no means metal , but are still band heavier than Alcest's most recent outing. The vocals  retain their smooth whisper even when the guitar tenses up around them.

Songs like "Bent Nail", carry the propulsion of  rock while floating  away with you. "Guilty of Everything"  earns repeat listens  as these songs breeze right by you. The juxtaposition  more pronounced on the shift in  " Endlessly" . While "Get Well" runs into more rock territory not unlike Sliversun Pick Ups or Smashing Pumpkins. They don't care about radio friendly production as their guitars take on a more indie rock fuzz to them.

The only draw back a few of these song's has is the way the breeze by sometimes doesn't even register , if you haven't had your first cup of coffee and it fades into background music. There are some really great guitar sounds on here like how "Somersault" almost nails the Cocteau Twins heavenly tone. I do think when they allow their guitars to revert to the more indie punk jangle after hearing them able to conjure the clouds down that it's dumbing it down.

"B&E"  is not black metal, but  builds a crescendo into the albums heaviest moment, a blistering tremolo picked section,   closer to black metal than Russian Circles attempt to head in that direction on their last album. The title track closes out the album, with a distorted guitar ringing against the deliberate pound of the drums. This song works off a similar ebb and flow the album seems to work best on, its a formula the band doesn't deviate from , but they approach with a different twist on each song.

They recreate the best of the early 90's on "Beat Around the Bush".They languish on the riffs letting them drone by like water flowing under a sheet of ice.They chant of " god and man our souls are spent" rings out in an eerily. They tend to shimmer even more than Hum, though that would be the band their guitar tone most closely resembles when the distortion pedals are stomped upon. Overall I'll give this album delivers what it needs to and secures there place at the top of the shoe gaze heap.I'll give it a 9 as it's dips into garage punk are the only parts that keep it from perfection.

Masses: " Horde Mentality"

Another entry into the death rock...ish revival is this Australian band  whose biggest claim to fame is their debut EP is produced by Phil Calvert of the Birthday Party. As far as punk goes they are more firmly rooted on the Joy Division side of the fence , though their is still a very reckless Bellicose Minds like punk feel.
This album has some excellent well rounded drumming that drives the point home rather than defaulting to disco beats. The males vocals are a little shaky, but this is their first album and on the first Beastmilk I wasn't convinced on their vocals and now they are their strong point. However when the females vocals supplement the wavering baritone, it works nicely.

The vocals began to remind me of "One Step Beyond" by Madness, though the more Cure inflected guitar manages to keep me generally distracted from this fact. They did achieve a really solid bass sound on this album, which for what they are going for here is a crucial element. The keyboards darken things and keep it just from sounding like punk-rock.

In a smart move the female singer takes on the vocals for the verses. The male vocals grab the chorus creating an interesting interplay, that they should continue to explore. Their songs are more punk than not to the point and punchy. "Seasons" closes out the album. The tension in the guitar work is pretty effective on this one, the vocal pattern shifts and the keyboards continue to creep things out a tad.

I think this band has a lot of potential, the male vocals seemed like a muck less refined version of what Bellicose Minds does, but I appreciate the effort all around. Like to hear some of the dark sounds here expanded into something more sonic and melodic, I'll give it a 6.5. Check it out if you are starving for some post-punk revival .    

Nadja: "Queller"

This is the duo's 35th full length so you hope they know what they are doing at this point. Some friends of mine were raving about this like it was the perfect blend of shoegaze with sludge, so I went in with high expectations. My initial response was rather under whelming, though with further listens the layers of subtle melody do seep in a bit, but the fuzzed out production creates a murk I suppose that is intended by doesn't get with me as a listener even though I respect what is being done here.

There is a very  Jesu vibe on most of this album though the vocals aren't as strong and are more meagerly sung. Some of the more droney elements could but dialed back a bit for my taste buds as well. On the opener what would have been a more dynamic. Sure it is slow but as a general rule you would be hard pressed to call this album sludge.

A more cohesive My Bloody Valentine like distortion cranks up on "Mouths". The hushed vocals step up in the mix here and give it more of the feeling this is an actual song. The chorus seems well thought out , and the vocals as slight of a sonic element as they are don't seem like just an after thought. There is an element to this song that makes me think this is what A Perfect Circle would sound like if they ever got smacked out. It does lift off at the end like a more pounding version of "Obscured by Clouds". But I would not yet say the album hits a metal moment.

The album maintains it's ebb and flow. Only 4 songs it still breaks the thirty minute mark."Liderc" it darkens up closer to what some may consider sludge. The vocals disappear behind the wall of fuzzed bass. It sounds like some growling might be occurring , though the effectiveness of it is diminished as it is so buried in the mix. This song does develop a few pulse point, but is hot and cold in the manner it throbs.

The title track employs more of a riff, which in fact brings Godflesh to mind. This song also is really the only song on here that touches on metal in a tangible fashion. They jame on this riff for the first five minutes of the song , so you better like it. The only problem is when they build it up at the end the pay off is a fuzzed out sonic freak out, sure being experimental is cool and all, but noise here seems to be a slight dynamic cop out.

There are some elements I like, but this is on the inconsistent side for my tastes I'll give it a 6.5 as the second half of the album doesn't hold up as well. If you are a fan and have the other 34 albums then give it another point.    
 

Dephosphorus : "Ravenous Solemnity"

I have really being hungry for new metal lately so I am forcing myself through this album despite the fact, my initial listens found me really turned off by the vocals, which at their bast remind me of Sodom, they are monotone bark, that never coughs up enough rasp to graduate into a full blown growl. The cool riffs don't make a song rule really hits these guys hard.

They have summoned up enough hype from the cool kids of the inner webs , who normally have at least smart taste in music, so my expectation were a little high on this one. A thrash vibe coats songs like "Dark on Dark" , but I can also hear ample hardcore influence, particularly on how these barks seem to be an after thought to the riffing, which sure is rapid and furious , but seldom carries enough hooks to balance out its punch.

Like bands such as Nails , these guys to smack you with enough heft to get your attention, keeping their songs brief like guerrilla warfare tactics, striking and then disappearing in the same blur they hit you with. This doesn't really strike me as black metal, though any black metal influence I did hear was on the first couple songs. They are rough , but the guitar lack any melody to really sell me on this. The vocals do change into an almost sung part at the end of "Astrocyte Portal" that makes me wish they had used some variance like this earlier in the album even if it is as brief as it is there.

At the rush three minute time most song clock in at they can cram quite a few jams in on this album, despite that the pacing makes many sound the same. The greek accents , remind me of the Portuguese accents of Sepultura, who is a good reference point as early Sepultura can be heard on "Storming the Sloan Wall".  Sure the guitar is fairly dexterous, but the need to give the songs some breathing room hit a desperate level when you get to the midway point. Like most bands with this much in your face intensity it only carries this album so far before the need for the finer points of song writing come into play.  

Their rough technical side married to the spastic nature of hardcore, it like a less metal version of Absu. They wisely slow down when the album comes upon the title track. There are other bands who at times they remind me of , like Craft , that I like , but some how most of the grooves that do surface on here don't gel with me or the blast back too soon. Its not until the last half of the album that it begins to utilize any variance or range of dynamics.

The drummer has to have some skills to pull this off , the blinding guitar riffs that fly pass like glass in a car crash are not shabby, but how its all woven together isn't showing me much more than a penchant for brutality, which is allowed to pass for some listeners. The punk influence here is more apparent than not , a song like "Hammer of Logic" really turns defining genre lines into counting straws.   Some of the more angular riffs work more for me than the sections of blasting in my face that end up sounding like white noise. By "Fountain of Daggers" I am like ...ok. we got it you can play fast, lets hear you write a song. The vocals do change into something that remind me more of Angkor Wat, the guitars don't get all too interesting beneath them. The vocals do begin to not come across as grating after a while.

The guitars do begin to hit some sonic spaces , but those are soon lost in the storm. What many might see as this bands strength can also become their weakness, they are un-relenting. The noise moniker gets thrown around in regard to this band and they are creating noise, it might not be the kind you are thinking of. They do hit a good groove on "Glorification of  the Anti-life Equation"/ The long annoying song titles actually are well suited for this album. They do touch on death metal moment more frequently than black metal moments, "Vicious Infinite Regress" is a good example of this.

" Blood Runs Red" closes the album out a more punk number, that feels like they are shedding the extra weight of riffage and finally getting around to doing what they have wanted to do for the entire album. it's clear to me as I anxiously await the album to be over ,that these guys aren't for me, the hit a few moments I like, but the total package of what they are is not what I want from metal. The rough show production, helps create the desire effect, but it would be interesting to hear what this would sound like with more separation in the mix.  I'll give this a 4.5 , if you like this sort of heavy handed riff chaos round it up a whole point.


7

Aesthetic Perfection: " ' Til Death"

Formed back in 2000 by Daniel Graves, this industrial project is based in L.A and is much more EDM, than what I or anyone owning at least one Ministry album would consider industrial. The opener is much more of a intro piece and creates more of a martial mood than the dark pop that follows. "Anti-Body" is pretty infectious  and falls some where in-between a more serious version of M.S.I and a more Halloweenish version of the Faint.

The synths have a very plastic 90's house fuzz to them on " Lights Out", which straddles the fence on being too happy for my goth heart.The melody doesn't have enough teeth to hold me. I can see this being Aqua's evil twin or j-pop with less Sailor Moon and more Vampire Hunter D. I can say when this song is allowed to play, like most pop it becomes a more easily chewed bubble gum that you don't notice is in your mouth aside from the sweet after taste.

This guy is not a bad song writer, he has been at this long enough to know a good subtle hook. The harsher vocal he tries to go into , well sounds like a choking joke, when you normally listen to black metal. The sounds he presents , as not heavy or menacing , but some pretty well inter linked legos from the future.

"Big Bad Wolf" has a little more beef to it's bass line and when it's all said and done, you can give this guy props for being able to hold a tune better than most of his ilk. The vocals are more of a second tenor than the bat cave baritone. He knows how to reach into his head register and at the end of the day is more of a pop singer.It's a few shades lighter than the last Skinny Puppy, and much smoother. At times Graves' voice reminds me of the queen from Panic at the Disco. I'm sure high school girls are all over this in some dark corner of the private school system.

The bass line to "Showtime" falls much closer to Depeche Mode flirting with Celldweller. The ahhs are very Depeche, but its a mode I don't mind this band going into as at this point I am much more likely to catch them than fork over a hundred bucks for the real thing."Oh, Gloria" is much less compelling listening and loses the momentum this album was starting to build.

It would have been really disappointing if the song " the Dark Half" didn't live up to it's name at least when it comes to the synths behind Graves, vocals which largely stay in a similar register when they aren't doing Depeche Mode karaoke. "The New Black" comes closer to the dystopian sound you might want from industrial , though it still is not what I would call industrial.

The album closes with "Lovesick" that recalls the dark balladry of a "Waiting For the Night". This album could use a stronger sense of dynamics , but its good dumb fun for what it is , I'll give it a 6.5, if its your bag around it up to a  7.    

Iskald : "Nedom og Nord"

Iskald means ice cold in Norse, and as far a Norwegian Black metal goes forming in 2005 puts these guys as being newer kids on the block. They play melodic black metal, that is well written and has enough dark and creepy ring into the guitars to draw my ears in. It's well produced not unlike Immortal in this regard. There is nothing cult here, the blasting is kept to a groove laden middle gallop. Much like Immortal this is very thrash laced and would be a good entry point for someone trying to find a listener friendly gateway into black metal.
The opener uses more restraint than you would expect from this sort of thing, and in a year where their doesn't appear to be a lot of black metal on the horizon, I think this album is going to be welcomed among the fans , and the timing of it's release is going to play into this band's favor.

"Underworldy" is a nice frosty blend of propulsion and speed , balanced out by the melodic nature of  the riff-age here. While the Immortal comparison abound, there's touches of older Enslaved and Vried is lacing the edges. The vocals stay in a midrange rasp dipping down a note here and there into more of a death metal growl.The cool riffs don't make a song rule is still intact though these guys take a swing with their maces at crushing the theory.

Not a big fan of bands that name songs after themselves, it's done here and the song dips into a more contemplative melodic side at first before springing back into the furious blackened thrash that seems to gain momentum as the album progresses. When the band gets caught up in the blur of speed they create, they tend to loses me until the guitar find more meat to stick to. These guys are no doubt great players, the guitar playing here is where this band shines, though the very melodic phrasing of the bass is welcomed as bass tend to not make it's presence as known in this sort of thing. The synths at the end are well used to create the dynamic build.


"The Silence" comes out of the gate with mcnastiness. This diminishes the dynamic capabilities of the band as the first minute and a half of the song is a blur.The riffs that shift almost endlessly in these songs are very intricate in their arrangement. Composition is the strong point to the song writing here. The lyrical content being the weaker polarity. The band retraces its steps in the snow to find the more epic strengths in "Nidingsdad" the double bass here handles the under current of speed allowing the guitar to soar over it.They continue to hit you with a lot of detailed riffage. The guitar playing on this album is some of the best I heard from a band of their ilk since Enslaved. The vocal patterns are on the other hand rather bland. They do layer clean vocals with the harsh vocals ,to create an even more Enslaved feel, this is not idol worship as it captures a sound of their own.

The title track closes out the album, it holds off on some of the speed, instead weaving the web of riffs.They don't hold off too long on the blast but as a brief interval for the solo to lay over it works. Its when the clean guitar floats in under the harsh vocals for a minute that I'm surprised and this is something I wish they would have built upon rather than defaulting to a more traditional approach. The folky guitar close to the seven minute mark is a nice touch and gives a more Moonsorrow feel.

I'll give this album an 8, it might grow on me, the vocal patterns and the default modes it sometimes reverts to were the only draw backs on my end, in a time where you are starving for black metal, this goes above and beyond just being satisfying into some excellently crafted black metal.