Blood Blush : "Spice Static Ep"

 While this project out of New York has a new single out , I'm reviewing their ep that came out last December and flew under the radar, because I the first song drew me in and two I don't like trying to review singles as their is never enough to talk about in one song. I hate doing track reviews for other sites I write for so I obviously am going to try to avoid them here where I am king. Anyways, while there is a Interpol like tension to what they do their songs have a hypnotic almost shoe gaze glaze to them. "Hollow" is darker and creates a more dream like trance. Mood wise "Eyes Turned White" despite the lyrics is more upbeat.

Vocally while there is some similarities to Interpol in the stark baritone narrative of the songs, it almost reminds me of a croon similar to Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance, though doesn't belt it out like he does, yet they get credit for not just trying to mimic Ian Curtis. The bouncing bass line of "the Silk Road"gives the song a different roll to offer just enough of a change to things so the songs don't have a uniform throb. The more straight forward drumming does leav it open for things to drone more than groove.

"Death Weights" finds the pace picking up into a brisk skip. Maybe not as gleeful as say the Cure gets in their more joyous moments, since the mood doesn't change much from their more introspective declarations with lyrics that seem like observations of a passing landscape detached from the people occupying it. I'll give this album a 9, as I  like the mood it creates and the hypnotic way it flows.


 

Morrissey : "Low in High School"

We know this is always hard for me, as the expectations for some one of his magnitude in my life is out of this world. Things are very different on this album.The production is weird it sounds like this album was recorded on a space ship. Vocally the first song is a mixed bag as it it is not crooned as smoothly, though he even goes up into a falsetto, perhaps not as easily as he once did. Despite the accents of the horn section that song is pretty dark despite the skip in it's step. Some kind of of yelling in the background when it resolves and fades out. "I Wish You Lonely" automatically feels more like classic Morrissey despite the weird surrounding the production and some of the songs that sound like they are from a St. Vincent album. But this song has a groove I can get down with and sign off on.

The producer of this album also produced "World Peace Is None Of Your Business", along with this year's Cherry Glazerr album. The lyrics teeter on melody of "Jacky's Only Happy When She is Up On Stage". The narrative seems to be the focal point. There are some interesting guitar tones.His vocals get back to smoother place I want from him on "Home is A Question Mark". There is a surf rock reverb on the guitar in the last 2 minutes of this song. I had heard the single "Spent the Day in Bed" and was all right with it even though it is strangely upbeat. His voice sounds great here and that is the most important part of this. Lyrically this is a very politically in your face album, but he is not taking a side when it comes to American politics , but makes fun of the sheep who put stock in things like the news.

At almost seven and a half minutes "I Bury the Living" is the album's longest song. There is too much atmosphere on the front in which could have trimmed a minute of its run time. The vocals are more spoken than sung. He is not fond of war either. I guess this is a good veterans day song. The little "Funny how the war goes on..." part seems like a different song than a coda/ refrain. "In Your Lap" is piano based ballad that meanders. The piano part in "the Girl From Tel-Aviv Who Wouldn't Kneel" works much better as the song has focused melody and movement.There is a collision of disconnected lyrical themes on "All the Young People Must Fall in Love". Musically it reminds me of one of Ringo Starr's song which sounds like it should be in a parade. This is counter balanced by "When You Open Your Legs' which throws in an strange mix of musical styles that some how work in the way they are stirred together. There are almost as many horns on this album as a ska band might have, just used more wisely.

After the opening movies Moz plays live with clips of police brutality " Who Will Protect Us From the Police" is no surprise. It's always a pretty decent song, despite the groove of it's new wave bass line. "Israel" is another ballad , but this time it is a more compelling middle finger to religion that I can get down with too.Not his best album, but it is still better than the best from most so I 'll round it up to a 9.5, as I might have been a little hard on certain parts.

Samael : " Hegemony"

 This Swiss band is an old favorite of mine as they helped served as a bridge to what black metal is today and broke new ground with the album "Passage" in 1996.  It opens with a blend of industrial strength metal and blackened metal, as today they don't meet what most would consider black metal. I am always leery of bands that have a song named after them with Black Sabbath being the exception to the rule. It's more uptempo than the stompy opener. It does have a more anthemic chorus. The synths lend a more symphonic tone than I remember them having. The vocals take on a low robotic croak for "Angel of Wrath". It's another good blend of industrial and metal that doesn't default to the Fear Factory route. There is orchestrated pyrotechnics to "Rite of Renewal" which doesn't find it connecting as strongly with me as some of the previous songs.

The symphonic elements continue on "Red Planet". There is a more conventional radio metal feel to this one. It's generally mid-paced in it's syncopated march. "Black Supremacy" starts off closer to black metal, like this is a surprise. Lyrically it's a little dumb. The black is the new white line is funny, but it's hard to take this song seriously. The get darker on "Murder or Suicide" though remain pretty groove heavy.There is almost a dancey groove to "This World". They begin to settle into a formula when we hit the chorus. The beat gets more electronic going into the second verse. The more groove oriented electro tinged tempos continues on "Against All Enemies". The lower industrial sounding spoken vocals are fine by me though I wish they would play with how they are using them more as the vocals begin to take a uniform feeling at this point in the album.

Somewhere along the way the album begins to sound to me like Rammstein jamming with Nightwish. This is really felt on "Land of the Living" . They do still muster up a groove that is hard to not bob your head to in places."Dictate of Transparency" is heavy on the symphonic synths making it fall into a more middle of the road place. The album ends with a cover of "Helter Skelter" which despite being done well for what they do, I don't think needs another cover after Motley Crue's . I'll give this album an 8.5 so it is not as good as 'Passage" or the albums that came before it , but if you need some darker industrial inflected metal here you go.

Zola Jesus : "Okovi"

After her last album I really needed her to get back to darker places. That is what happens after a weird atmospheric introduction. She combines sweeping strings with tracks that sound like they came from one of Bjork's nightmares. "Soak" is a pop song with a strong hook that proves pop does not have to be a bad word. My ex-wife used to complain that she sang in too nasal or throaty of a tone, but the clear vocal tones on " Ash to Bone" ends that argument. The atmosphere is pretty thick. So much so that in comparison to the first two actual songs, it almost feels more like an interlude. The lushly orchestrated "Witness" picks up where the previous song left off, but with a more melodic grace. The hints of soul in her voice are more fleshed out here. I prefer her more new wave side, though it's hard to make a case of the quality of singing here.

The chorus vs the verse of "Siphon" is a tug of war between her earlier work and this more mature turn to conventional pop. The song backs off from the groove til the chorus. The first beat that really makes you report to the dance floor is on "Veka" which starts of with a more introspective ambiance and builds into something more physically moving. I kept hearing that there were trap beats on this album, and I am not hearing it. The vocal refrain of "Wiseblood" carries the song. The beat is interesting and big with a tribal hint. There is an 80's sci-fi pulse to "Remains". Her voice really sounds great here. The song gets weird in the sense it feels like the 80's are colliding with 90's electronica as there is more of a break beat to this one. By the end the pace picks up and ebbs back down. The vocal production shines here, there is perfect blend of effects on her voice to compliment her natural tone with out taking away from it and creating a radio conformity.

It was a little disappointing that the last song was instrumental as well when it comes to Zola Jesus I want to hear her singing. So this is not the perfect album, but it is a welcome addition to her legacy and finds her voice continuing to live up to it's potential. I think it's a good compromise in terms of darker electronic music and pop. I don't see this propelling her into Katy Perry or even Sia status in terms of radio play, but that is not what she is going for or she would be there. I'll give this one a 9.5.

Danzig : "Black Laden Crown"

I am good with Danzig digging deeper into more of a doom sound. I am not ok with how tired his voice sounds on the title track. It's not like this is the 30th night on tour. You are in the god damn studio take a nap then record your vocals. Are you telling me after fifty takes that is as good as it get to for you. His lack power is shocking he adds a little more grit on "Eyes Ripping Fire" , but it sounds like he talking his way through the song and barely singing. If you are just not into the song than don't record it. Some of the guitar lines are pretty decent in a cock rock way, nothing is more ground breaking than anything I haven't already heard on a Monster Magnet album that followed 'Dopes to Infinity". I am not sure I can make it through this one ...is the first thought that hits me by the third. He sounds like he is about to lose his voice on the first line.

I get it that you are 61, but Bowie did way better and 8 years older. If you can't do better then it's time to retire. He tries to get back into his chest voice on "Last Ride" , but it sounds like when he is trying to rally the band loses steam beneath him and he can't catch a break. "Witching Hour" almost starts off decent , then when it should build it totally tanks and you can almost hear him panting for breath in the vocal booth. Who ever this wanker of a guitarist is the solos coming out at every chance is not doing these songs any favors. The guitar tone improves and "But A Nightmare" is coming across as darker and heavier. His voice even begins to sound alright on the first verse, so I am holding my breath for the chorus.

I think with better production, some of these songs might not sound so amateur. His voice sounds alright on "Skulls and Daisies" but the guitar sound is like something you hear a teenager at Guitar Center doing. Where is Rick Rubin when you need him. I would be fine with the guitars sounding like AC/DC again. "Blackness Falls" finds the vocal feeling for better footing, though the song writing itself is a little dialed in. This is a guy whose first four solo albums are pretty stellar, so the bar is high and if David Bowie could do it and we are under the belief that all people are created equal then that means Danzig should be able to as well , if he indeed still cares about his craft and is not just putting out albums as that is what is expected. The album ends with "Pull the Sun". Which is the first decent song on this album and makes it all the more frustrating because if you are capable of doing this then why wasn't it happening the whole album?  I'll round this one down to a 5.5 as it's pretty disappointing.

Danzig - Last Ride [New song from "Black Laden... by kaiserbilly14

3Teeth : " Shutdown.exe"

You might have caught these guys when they were opening for Tool. There first album had a little more organic industrial feel to it. This go around the production is slicker in a weird way. It starts off plenty dark and heavy enough with the dramatic "Divine Weapon". There is more melody and even some heavily effected singing to "Pit of Fire". This finds them still getting the job done as it's certainly dark enough and has the kind of creepy vibe that I want from industrial when it goes this route. The changes become more evident when they take a turn into the purgatory between nu-metal and industrial, that Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie have known to occupy. The chorus is very Zombie due to the shift of the vocals. On second listen this doesn't irk me as much as it did when I first heard this, but it almost has you waiting for the chant of "Living Dead Girl". This kind of nu-metal vibe does strike me stronger "Oblivion Coil" which reminds me of a harder version of Cruxshadows.

The title track has more of a dark wave groove to it. This one is very 90s feeling, but considering that was the high water mark for the genre I don't think that should surprise anyone. There are some shadows of Marilyn Manson cast over the vocals in places."Degrade" is a more fulfilling blend of brooding and groove. The militant chant of the vocals is what I want from this harder brand of industrial. It does strike me that they are playing it much safer in terms of what the cyber goths these days are wanting. This is what sets it apart from classic industrial acts that made the music they wanted to make and the audience conformed to it rather than letting them become power bottoms in this regard. The Marilyn Manson comparison's can resume on "Tower of Disease" which made me want to go listen to "Portrait of an American Family" again. The robotic groove makes up for this . It's the screamed vocals that really bring Manson to mind.

One of this album's strengths is the use of samples. They are well placed and the subject matter is well thought out. "Voices" is one of the albums stronger songs. There is a great balance of dismal mood and melody working together. When it does get heavy the dynamic is well earned rather than being an easy way out. The guitars are way in your face and massive on "Slavegod" and while they are powerful and sound great it makes me wonder where have the guitars been for the rest of this album. The vocals are handled in a more KMFDM manner. They come back with the very well balanced blend of sounds that makes up "Insubstantia". It's all tied together with some pretty decent songwriting that proves these guys can get the job done as needed. The cohesion this song has is what "B.O.A" lacks and keeps it from working as well.  The slower and darker has the right amount of heft in it's pound to make it's kind of creepy work well as a closing for this album.

There is a sad lack of this brand of industrial these days and this band does a pretty decent job of helping fill that hole. I am going round this album up to a 9 and see how this sits with me over time. If you miss 90s industrial rock then these guys should without question be on your radar especially if the last Marilyn Manson album did not have enough balls for you.

Mind Mold : "s/t" EP

I normally shun EP's, but over the course of the past five years I have learned sometimes you gotta take what you can get. This Calgary based falls in the cracks somewhere between blackened death metal and dark hard core. They are dissonant in a way that reminds me of Ulcerate at times yet on song like "Antipath" they blast off with feral snarling. They refrain from taking you on sprawling indulgences that might have made this a full length if it had been handled by other bands who like to wallow in feedback. I can say that "Antipath" didn't hook me in as intently as the opener and I think it's a case of at that point I had gotten use to what is in their bag of tricks. This can be the case with many extreme metal bands the heaviness of what they do leaves you stunned so the first song slips by with your ears ringing in it's wake with the second forced to answer the question "so I get it that you are heavy, but can you write songs?"

Once I am almost all the way through "Opyl" this question still has not been answered with a defining yes or no.I get that they know how to use varied shades of sonic dismal gray. What they are drawing with this is more abstract on this song. The mid range yowl of the vocals doesn't really do them any favors in answering this as the guitars are forced to do all the work when it comes to melody. Their drummer is good. He is not the machine like monster employed by Ulcerate, but he can fill the gaps with fills in a way that covers them well. I have heard grind core referenced in regards to these guys and I do not hear that at all. I hear less of what I thought to be hard core influences the deeper to delve into this album and more atmospheric death metal. So far I think they get the most props for creating some beautifully ugly chords which seems to be their stock and trade.

Shoe-gaze is also an exaggerated term used in reference with this band and the closest they come to that is a anguished take on atmospheric death metal called "Nyx" that closes the album. This might be the best song with the opener coming in at a close second. Since I don't feel that they really gave me a solid answer when it comes to their song writing I am going to round this down to an 8. You might want to round that up if you are a fan of atmospheric death metal who likes for it to be approached in a way that hints with bringing other things to the table. So it manages to be thinking man's metal without having to put to much thought into it.

Clan of Xymox : "Days of Black"

Of all the old school dark wave acts Clan of Xymox continues to prove they still have it. The title track that opens the album is just a intro. When they actually kick into things they do so with a smart bass line and  s a pop skip to "Loneliness" that doesn't sound all dark at first. The vocal melody is well thought out and adds just enough darkness to the rest of the song. The synths sound like they could have come from "Disintegration". "Vixen in Disguise" works but is not their best work and would get filed under alright filler. There is more drive to "Leave Me Be" which melts into more of a introspective slink. At 55 Ronny's voice sounds great. In the lower register it still holds rich resonance and slides up into his more emotive whine. He is really what brings life to these songs , though "Leave Me Be" is dark enough to satisfy my goth cravings. "Rain Will Wash Away" is more electronic based, to the point that it feels more like an interlude.

They go into more a traditional dark wave for  "Set You Free". Not dialed in, but nothing new. There is a very emotional and Cure like vibe to "I Couldn't Save You". Reminding me the guitar tones on this album when they crop are are very nice. "What Goes Around" should get the dance floor of any good goth club writhing. The beat is not overbearing, but slinks in just the right way.  There is a more aggressive drive to "I Need to Be Alone".  Not the album's strongest song , but not bad either. The guitar continues to get amped up, this time in a darker more Sisters of Mercy like direction for "Loud and Clear". There is a soft more electronic touch to "Your Kiss" which has drive , but not of the rock variety more synth wave.

I'll round this up to a 8.5 and see how it grows on me. The second half of the album feels a little like they are playing too close to expectations , but what we do expect from them is delivered. They do it better than most of their peers so I am not sure why some songs just connected with me more on the first half and more of the songs later in the album were just kinda "Ok, this works fade into the background" sort of things. Anyway if you are a hard core fan of the band round it up.

Royal Thunder : "WICK"

I really loved "Crooked Doors" I wore it out. This means the bar is held pretty high here. So I was uncertain of the slow droning riff that accompanies the more circular chant of the first song. They don't come out swinging like they did on the previous album. I went back and gave this song another listen after hearing the entire album, and it made a little more sense , but didn't really grab me. The snarl Parsonz summons on "April Showers" sounds almost like Blackie Lawless. This song snakes around but drones less than the opener and has more balls to it. She has a greater grit to her voice on this album for sure, but they have really backed off on the distorted when it comes to the guitars. Sure there is almost an "Amorica" like soul to "Tired". The only problem is they are not the Black Crowes. While she tries some interesting things with harmonies and less rock-centric melodies, it is not as focused as the previous albums. By the time we get "We Slipped" which is pretty uptempo, you might as well resign yourself that the metal trapping that gave intensity to other albums has been shed. The rock jangle is going to be hard pressed to grow on me in the same way the last album did.


 There is a more Led Zeppelin boogie to "the Sinking Chair". This is much closer to what I want from these guys. The distortion could have been more amped and taken the chugged section to a heavier place so this is production choice. She lets her voice go into more of harsher metal scream at some points, though this song is more of a mid seventies vision of metal that what metal is by today's standards. The very stripped down "Plans" marries a starker version of Janis Joplin to the Black Crowes. I like this one more than I thought I would when it started. Her soulful vocals really sell it. There is much more piano on this album than I remember them using in the past. I also have a much harder time envisioning how these songs would translate live than I do with their other work.

"Anchor" works for me right of the bat. It's not metal but has rambling moodiness that connects with me and feels more powerful. The vocals and guitar work together much seamlessly than what happens on some of the other songs. The atmosphere and the brooding that drives the title track both immediately work for me. It does kick into a harder rock direction. The shadows that color the mood are obviously of importance to me. There is a more stripped down intro to "Push" than what the song ambles into which feels more like a lost Jeff Buckley track. The vocal performance really sells this song. While it rocks more and moves pretty fluidly it seems like "Turnaround" is one of those songs that is going to need to grow on me.

The hypnotic winding western tinged riffs that these guys do so well are invoked on "the Well" . The doing go to the obvious big rock chorus off the back and build tension. There are metal influences under the surface but I would not say this is a metal album. By the album's third act it becomes obvious they have remembered who they are and what they should be doing. The album comes to a close with 'We Never Fell Asleep". There is a dagger like quality to how the lyrics are spit out on this one and they gain some punch as the song progresses.   Overall this one shows the band growing away from who they where and that takes some adjustment if you are invested in their old sound, but I'll around this one up to a 9.5.
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Mastodon : "Emperor of Sand"

Living in Atlanta it's hard to gauge just how big of a deal a new album from Mastodon is outside of the microcosm here. It feels like more of a fully realized vision that the past two albums.

Cloud Nothings : "Life Without Sound"

It is comforting to know that one of the biggest indie rock bands at the moment does in fact know how to rock.

Unearthly Trance : "Stalking the Ghost"

Yes, I will break away from Black Metal History Month to cover albums of note such as this one that finds the driving sludge of this New York band hitting me with renewed power. This is more aggressive than what I recall hearing from them previous to this. Two minutes in and it seems like they are in the same zip code as Tombs when it comes to having a healthy balance of brawn and beauty. They are not like many of their peers and simply content with nibbling on the nuts of Neurosis. The songs tend to run along the six to seven minute mark. "Dream State Arsenal" wallows in feed back for the first minute and a half so with the fat trimmed we are talking five minute songs. There is  more Melvins like stomp to this one. This one can really be heard in the howl of the vocals . The vocals become more pained for "Scythe" which makes me think more of Crowbar as they go doomier with the guitars as well.

"Famine" gives you a more aggressive pounding before backing off into a more atmospheric section that eventually takes on a more angular slink before the anger returns. This is the first song that really strikes me as taking a more conventional metal approach. "Lion Strength" is a weird one , in some way it reminds me of back when Mastodon used to be a metal band, then it does a werid loud to soft dynamic thing.  It some how all works. There is more of a death metal thing going on vocally when it comes to "Invisible Butchery". This one has a more doom tinged pound as it lingers.  This song does build in tempo but doesn't strike me as being as compelling as the others.

There is an increased aggression in the attack of "the Great Cauldron". The rasp is pretty mean, though the lyrics can still be made out through the throaty sneer. There is a oppressive hammering to the song as it slows, which is what you want from sludge to really bring it to a more doomy place.  I can see fans of doom digging this. The clean vocals return and kinda surprise me. The last song is more of an outro. I'll give this one a 9 and see how it grows on me as it's a lot of fun and might make the journey to my iPod

Black Metal History Month - Fen : "Winter"

It is clear that Fen misses old Enslaved as much as I do. The result on this album is the more atmospheric and folk elements have been scales back to the fringes of their sound in favor for a more bombastic epic charge of sound. The blast beat come even amid the long 17 minute , opener. At seventeen minutes you have time to work in every heavy metal staple that you can think of. This si their fifth album and they have clearly matured and everything sounds great production wise. The bass playing is still superb and sits better in this large take on their sound. The majority of the songs are over ten minutes. "Penance" has more adventurous guitar playing and reminds me more of their earlier work in the way the mix has a lot of space. The song swells into a gang cheer of some sort. I think this album is more focused and more black metal than what I remember hearing from these guys 5 or 6 years ago.

There is smoother jam in the calm before the storm to "Fear". It then builds up into a more feral fury that is very black metal, but not really mind blowing. There is a more post-rock instrumental feel to the first half of "Interment". The scathing vocals follow a more melodic vocal chant. Sure it sounds great but is a little on the more color by numbers side. "Death" emerges from the swell of feedback left over from the previous song which is a pretty fucking metal way to segue. The harsher vocals feel like this have a little more aggression to them this go around. I am more impressed by the nuanced prog metal like guitar parts that offer groove.They try to re-kindle their more atmospheric days of old by going all out for the almost kraut rock like closing song which comes back harder with a more metallic tone in the final two minutes of it's almost ten minute wandering.

This was a decent enough listen, not a huge fan of the band but appreciate what they do and think this is one of the stronger examples of what that is. The vocals have improved so I will give this an 8. Black metal has not been redefined at all, but this has a fan base that is eager to hear this well done and it is well done and very tasteful.

King Woman : " the Image of Suffering"

There is an even more dream like haze cast over the doom-gaze of the band's debut full length than we found on their previous ep. This hits a sweet spot for me as it once again proves you don't have to adhere to the typical trapping of metal in order to be heavy.

Black Metal History Month -Medico Peste : "Herzogian Darkness"

Yesss... this is what I am fucking talking about, black metal so dark and dissonant that you can taste the motherfucking evil dripping off of it, yet it has balls and power to it. This band from Poland doesn't over do it with the blast beats, but their drummer is a god damn animalistic machine capable of putting a beating on your when they feel like it. I think the key here is they know how to maintain a healthy balance with all of these varied elements we have come to know as being components of black metal over the past decade. Not to say that this is not from the Mayhem school of thought. It is. There are also other influences at play, while the Bauhaus cover is going to come until the end, there is still a little but of darker punk behind the wheel of "Hallucinating Warmth and Bliss". The title alone sounds like something I experienced back in my drug days. If you thought you recognized a snarl back on the first song, you might have since it was Mark of the Devil from Cultes Des Ghoules lending his voice , which gives you idea of the company they are keeping which puts them in a bizarre zip code of their own, so even when the blast beats do come they are touched by surreal weirdness. There is less form and more chaos to the beginning of the the slower paced "Le Delire De Negation". The drummer do a pitter patter march around the slink of the guitar as the vocals descend into madness. It creates a great mood, but compared to the first two songs isn't as strong of a composition. They tackle "Stigmata Martyr" by Bauhaus. It has more attack.And to some it might seem like blasphemy to say perhaps to much as it obscures the main theme of the song. So overall the first half of this ep is stronger, with the first song really grabbing my attention and raising the bar, look forward to hearing a full length from these guys I'll give this a 9.

Black Metal History Month- Woe : "Hope Attrition"

Woe has been one of my favorite American black metal bands. They don't settle for just blast beats and Chris Grigg understands he has to write songs first. When the vocals come in on the first they give them space to roar. The recording captures a dense and dark sound that still has clarity to it. They know when to lock into a powerful chug to create a dynamic kick. Grigg's snarl still allows for you to make out most of the lyrics. They throw themselves into a more thrashing speed for "No Blood Has Honor". He drops down into a more death metal roar at times on this song. Their hard-core roots help the breakdown toward the end of the song reach a more emotional climax. They get into a more blasting form of traditional black metal on "the Din of the Mourning". There is a more melodic section that kicks in with clean vocals that are not too over the top. There is a more death metal tone to "the Ones We Lost". It is the album's most aggressive moment thus far. The vocals are more of a husky growl. It paints a portrait with sweeping swathes of darkness, that makes you forget this is nor coming to you by way of Sweden. The vocals are angry , but there are more introspective emotions in the guitar harmonies. They launch back into the blasting for "Drown Us with Greatness" the guitar work on this song is very mature and nuanced.The bass playing creates a very tasteful under current. The song builds into a more punk like charge forward. Their drummer really earns his pay on the closing "Abject in Defeat" which smoothes out from the avalanche of fills and blasting into a more fluid gallop into battle. The vocals trade off between the scowling higher pitch of black metal and lower death metal like snarls. The guitar melodies really make this one soar nicely. Nicely seems like a funny adjective to use for a black metal review, but it's very flowing and clean and feels like a little stream is guiding you down this otherwise post-apocalyptic landscape. I'll round this album up to a 9, it's slightly more straight forward than past releases, but the song writing has stepped up a notch.

Black Metal History Month -Digir Gidm : "I Thought There Was the Sun Awaiting My Awakening"

We are not ruling out blast beats altogether this month. I might a little disappointed if I didn't get a few . Right from the opener of this album we are getting them , but in doses that are not making this creep-fest a monochrome blur of blackness. The vocals stand out to me as there are varied approaches at work here from chants to some really fiendish snarls. Things at time get dark and angular which when you have a 12 minute song you are opening your album with then you have to do something. I like the fact the atmosphere being used here is unnerving. Going into the second song I suppose you could hear /more of an Emperor influence.  The elements that give them more of an original sound like the angular riffs and chanted vocals thrown in are still intact, but the drumming sounds more typical of what you would expect from this sort of thing, you can also hear where Deathspell Omega could be an influence. Though  it gets darker the song also seems to get a little lost in its self in the last four minutes, which is the risk you face with 11 minute songs.

"The Glow inside the Shell" finds itself where the other song got lost, it doesn't really stray much from where they had previously wandered, some of the sung vocals had a little more purpose. This loose jazz like dissonance also carries over into the last song "the Eye Looks through the veil". This band thrives on chaos, which is both their strength and weakness. The first lyrics I can really make out is the scream of ''greedy whore" .  Overall the album got off to a strong start and I like the fact they did not just jump on a blast beat bandwagon, but the songs wander and don't always go somewhere that justifies it. So I will round this down to a 7. If you like disjointed and angular black metal you might get more out of it than I did.

Ever Circling Wolves : "Of Woe, or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gloom"

If you saw my article on the mission statement for this blog in which I pondered what I was going to be listening for entering into going into 2017  that I called ....
"Metal : no middle of the Road"
( which you can read here...http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/01/metal-no-middle-of-road.html) I talked about what I am looking for is not bands who take the easy way out and do what every one else is doing, so this band from Finland is certainly worth championing due to their originality. This doesn't mean they have forsaken key components for metal and twisted them into something no recognizable to the average metal head in a Morbid Angel t-shirt. After a three minute introductory instrumental that throw some melodic death metal at you that is mid to doom paced. The organic guitar tones allow the riffs to breathe and the notes to remain distinguishable. This ear for production that was put into the production of this album certainly lends it self to supporting their adventurous style of songwriting.

Their influences are worn to heavily on their sleeves , I can hear some touches of Enslaved and Opeth, but when things take a doomier turn they are more like Evoken if they were a shade lighter. They are quick to drive the point home with powerful chugs that are hard to not move your neck to.The layered interplay of guitar is one of the band's strengths . Three minutes in they speed things up and begin to remind me a little of Tribulation. Seven minutes in I am surprised by the inclusion of clean vocals . Now that is the way to use them.

There is a powerful back bone to the melodic classic rock running in the veins of " In the Trench" . This song does wind along a more jammy groove that finds the band in a much more melodic place than earlier in the album and some really tasty guitar work in play. "Challenger Deep" has an almost Tool like progressive rock feel to it. Four and a hald minutes the more jangling guitar tone finds this has transitioned into more of a post-rock feel. "Deeper" once again utilizes clean vocals and starts off at more of a ambling strum. This brings Agalloch to mind. The sung vocals here are not bad, but not as effective as when we first heard them used earlier in the album, I think a little goes a long ways here.

There is a darker menace lurking in "Lenore". The layered vocals open the song with more of a spoken narrative, before a more traditional metal heaviness takes over. Lyrically it does reflect Poe's themes. They relax into a more jammy progression of atmosphere with more jazz infused drumming. The clean vocals at the end of the song could stand to sit back further in the mix rather than being so up front. They close the album with the 15 minute "These are Ashes , These Are Roots". I like the darker doom vibe they use here. Five minutes in the back off back into their more melodic style of playing, but with a darker vibe to it. They jamming that they build this into is pretty tasteful, doubt it will see the light of day on my iPod , but it is well done. Overall this album is pretty incredible and really sets the bar high for death metal to come so I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me.

This was just released on Cimmerian Shade Records

Mors Principium Est : "Embers of a Dying World"

This is death metal for people whose favorite band is Dream Theater. I am ok with death metal being melodic, but it still needs to be dark. When it sounds like you are wearing pirate shirts then it doesn't come across as aggressive to me. This is a similar problem that I have with Dark Tranquility. I know some people consider this band to be a big deal so I am going to keep listening. If you jerk off to dudes jerking off on guitars then you will also like this album. By the time I make it to "Into the Dark" it is all beginning to run to together for me. I can hear where the At the Gates influence sets in for this sort of thing. Since they are from Finland I would have thought they were going to be darker and not such a strong Swedish influence would be present. It's well executed and crafted , but doesn't strike me as having much in the way of balls as from the double bass and vocals.

Some of the guitar melodies almost layer a coat of cheese to the beginning of "Death is the Beginning" which has it's fate sealed in flowers by the female vocals that come in. This would be pretty heavy for Nightwish. They open up "the Ghost" with a very ballad like piano part before coming up with a late 80s power metal groove. There is more of a thrash feel to this song making it one of the better ones. Ville the led growler has a good lower growl when he chooses to go down there but uses more of a mid range At the Gates like growl most of the time. The lower one is heavier to me. I can deal with the flowery goth that opens "Agns Dei" even if it is an interlude to showcase a guitar solo that would work better as part of a larger song.

These guys might work better as a dramatic thrash band as that is what is happening on "the Colors of the Cosmos" which is a pretty damn good song. There is a more neo-classical power metal vibe underlying the last song "Apprentice of Death". This one has some groove and things lock in well together. Pretty solid and these guys need to put away the flower arrangements more often to get more power behind their punch. I'll round this one up to an 8, the album sounds good and they are good what they do , what they do isn't how I prefer my death metal and has too much wanking around.... but you might be a wanker and into that.

Rozamov " This Mortal Road"

If you told me these guys were from Atlanta instead of Boston I would believe you as this kind of thing was big in the ATLa few years back, lumbering yet hip doomed out sludge that has melodic chord progression that sounds like indie rock pumped up on steroids. The vocals are an afterthought and pretty sparse. These are probably Berklee kids as their compositions move more like movements than verses. "Wind Scorpion" crawls out of a feed back drenched hesitation and takes it's time to rise up into a song. The vocals shift into more of a sludge like bark. When kind of makes them fade into being just another one of many sludge bands I have already heard.

"Serpent Cult" stands out with both it's vocal melody and chord progression. The only thing aside from density and pacing it shares with the other songs is it's tempo. The barked vocals come in make it carry a more conforming sludge sound.By the time we get to the eleven and a half minute "Inhumation" that closes the album they are jumping on the Neurosis bandwagon, by Neurosis we are really turning the clock back to "Through Sliver and Blood". Go ahead and say that's not fair all sludge bands are influenced by them and I'll say well give me something more original then cause I own the Neurosis catalog. Seven minutes in and we ware still hanging on the same chords, they aren't bad chords just I have already heard this band do better on this album.

I'll round this down to a 7.5, I think the song writing gets a little lazy and it's easier to default into the safe roaring and rolling cascade of sludge pounding than carve out new sounds and paths to journey down, which is what Neurosis did, they could have easily just copied Swans and Killing Joke and while that influence is there , they took it and made it something else.If you are hungry for more thinking man's metal with a tough bearded outer shell then these guys might do more for you than they ended up doing for me. When you ingest as much metal as I do over the course of the week it makes your pickier.