November is Doom - Thou : "Umbilical"

Thou is one of those bands that gets so much hype and does not deliver much outside of what is expected that I lost interest in. But seeing how the year is winding down and lists are going to begin surfacing, these guys will be on some of them for no reason other than this is a band the hipsters approve of meaning there does not have to be much substance, though I do prefer these guys over the Body. They are one of the few metallic bands on Sacred Bones which should tell you something. The first song finds the vocals just occupying the needed space, as the guitars lumber over riffs. It does not take long for this song to bore me. They have great fuzzed-out guitar tones, but tone alone is something that can be easily dialed in by a producer.

 Once again on 'Emotional Terrorist" the vocals do not do anything with purpose til the chorus. The accents are more hardcore which I appreciate. "Lonely Vigil" slows down to a scathing stomp. Despite moving at a deliberate crunch there is a great deal of chaos about this song. This chaos is pushed even further for "House of Ideas', there are moments where a chug allows the song to breathe, but it is largely chaos. Two and a half minutes into it and there is no direction, then two minutes later a melodic guitar line helps the song, though the rule here is "cool riffs alone does not a good song make". I feel a great deal of what goes down on this album was done better on Full of Hell's album. " I Feel Nothing When Cry" bangs around and creates a sound to scream over but is not much of a song. This has roughly more in common with hardcore than it does sludge.

"Unbidden Guest" rages with the same feral chaos in its veins. The vocals have a little more purpose though. "I Return as Chained and Bound to You" has the more deliberate stomp you expect from these guys. "The Promis" is one of the first tracks that feels like a song. The album sounds like they just stuck a mic in the practice space. We are heading into doomier territory on "Panic Striken I Flee" with some rock swagger in the verse riff. I will give this album a 7, as there are a few songs that work and some of the punchy hardcore energy works but do not  show up hoping for a sludge fest as things are more chaotic than

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Vended : "s/t"

 If your dad was in Slipknot it would seem that the last thing you would want to sound like is Slipknot. Simon and Griffin have decided otherwise and the rest of the band is just thankful for nepotism. I am listening to the moments where they do not sound like Slipknot, as I would not be into any other band that sounded like Slipknot, something that kept me away from a band like Mushroomhead for years was based on the fact they wanted to be Slipknot in image alone, so am I going to let this slide? Fuck NO. The vocals at the end of 'The Far Side' allow a little of who they are apart from their parents to shine through. But you can go into any city and at least a dozen bands are doing this sort of thing,. 

The production is not doing any favors to keep from painting these kids into this corner. 'Am I the Only One' has me cursing the fact I have ten more songs like this to make it through. Their songwriting is better on "Nihilism", but they still sound too much like Slipknot, which might be a phrase you are going to get tired of reading. "Pitiful" keeps up the "Iowa" style pounding. They are good at achieving this sound,. but around here, just getting a sound can be dialed in with no creative energy invested. That is where the producer came into play. Lyrically this could be a Slipknot album as they are rating about things being shit, with clean vocals crooning with less hooky tendencies than his father. "Disparager" thrashes a little bit in the same way Slipknot's first album did. But most of you should already own that one. 

"Where Honesty Lies" works off the barked vocals, which are the more dominant focus, though he does not have as much emotion in them as his dad. The first guitar solo I notice is also on this song. Is "Ones" going to be the obligatory nu-metal ballad? But no it's just an interlude. Then it's back to the big dumb pounding of 'Downfall" It's dense but not hooky. The last song is more of an outro than an actual song. I will give this a 7 and it made it that high because they make the sounds well and have a few ideas of their own. 

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THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER : "Servitude"

They have established a solid following over the years, but this band has yet to impress me. The past three albums by them that I have reviewed going back to 2013's "Everblack", so my expectations for this album are low. However, for the band, the pressure is on them to prove themselves to their fans as this is the first album since the passing of vocalist Trevor Strnad.  Brian Eschsbach switched from guitar to vocals. Fans might be surprised on the opening track that more deliberate melodic elements being worked in are an improvement. It is also evident that Strnad did not possess a unique voice that would not be imitated. Eschsbach puts his snarl where it needs to be to fill the gaps, but even when Trevor was holding the mic the vocals felt like an afterthought rather than a crucial part of the song.

There are plenty of guitar harmonies that capture a Dark Tranquility like Melodeath. This is ten albums into their career, so it only makes sense that the guitar execution in the studio was bound to improve. The rapid tempos they race with make the song feel rushed. Thematically this is about a post-apocalyptic world where people resorted to cannibalism. A concept I might appreciate if the vocals were delivered more articulately. So fans might be pleased that Eschbach spits out the lyrics with the same kind of frantic phrasing Strnad did, though it was likely listed as one of my complaints regarding these guys in the past. Another point of contention is that the pace they play makes all the songs sound the same. 

"Cursed Creator" shows a little improvement as the riffs are more deliberate, though the scowl of the vocals does not contribute a great deal. Aside from a few guitar melodies "Asserting Dominion" races by like the other songs. These guys sound less like Cradle of Filth now and more like Dark Tranquility. His voice is less prone to shrieking than Strnad's. The title track is marginally more intentional in its attack and focuses more on guitar harmonies as the drummer blasts away. "Mammoth's Hand" does not just throw out the more melodic elements that open the song to race off into a speed-fueled frenzy. This might make it one of the album's best songs, with the opening track the only one that stands shoulder to shoulder with its writing. If you are into guitar solos then they have you covered on this album.

"Transcosmic Blueprint" reverts back to speed, thus making it less interesting. The last song is another batch of shredded guitars that blast past in a hyper-thrashing blur. There is nothing new brought to the table sonically, as things have at this point fallen into a monochrome swathe of sounds. The ideas are being recycled which is a fitting summary for this album, despite it being actually an improvement musically for these guys and the vocals are a mute point regardless of who holds the mich. I will give this one a 7 which is a step forward for this band in terms of songwriting quality. It drops on September 27th on Metal Blade. 

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The Oklahoma Kid : "Featherminded"

This ep starts off in a way that falls in the assembly of metalcore these days. It's a formula that has been in the making since the days of Myspace, with a few evolutionary changes over the years, though moving in the more poppy direction is the most unfortunate. The problem is when a genre is marketed as metalcore when the choruses hit as hard as the Backstreet Boys, it ruins the trust between, labels and the markets, as well as between artists and fans; This is not gatekeeping, it's about truth in advertising. 

The second song is a little more Linkin Park, though it does have guttural accents and more crushing breakdowns, but when this is only four songs you have to use all four songs to the best of your ability. The pace to "No Sympathy" might pick up, but when the chorus hits like some weak-ass emo pop punk, it tips the balance in the wrong way. I am a fan of sung vocals and even in hardcore do not need vocals screamed I think the first Life of Agony album provides an example of how this can be accomplished, and that album goes hard as hell. The poppy production and electronic elements are not a deal breaker for me as Candy uses those, as did Code Orange and that goes hard as hell, 

"Overpowered" finds them still wanting to be Linkin Park. Perhaps committing to being nu-metal might have been a more realistic option. Linkin Park is not a nu-metal band I like if I had to list my faves, but I think artists need to be more in touch with who they are and make music from that place rather than who they would like to be, as then it just creates music that sounds and no songs with truth or heart to them that you can feel. This album is just an empty product that is going to the wrong audience. They can play their instruments and have a feel for hooks despite them being often misplaced, so it's not total trash, but not for me I will give this a 7.

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Male Tears : "Paradisco"

 

Despite its title, the new album by this Millenial duo is not disco. Instead, we are getting a deep dive into 90s pop from this duo who feels like the Tiktok version of Spinal Tap for turquoise-haired goth kids of today, It is a case of where they get the sounds right but are merely serving as a tribute band, and the execution is not as pristine as you might expect, considering their last album was decent. The vocals on the first song are pitchy, perhaps this is due to stepping out of the comfort zone they have existed up until this point, It is requiring them to try to sing in higher keys. "Corlyx helps them out on "Leave" allowing the verse vocal to stay in the mono baritone 90s new wave bridged over from post-punk. Caitlin Stokes finds her vocals sitting further back in the mix.  They could have made better use of her talents. 

Xorlyx also contributes backing vocals to "Sex on Drugs" which finds the lead vocal track on the verse struggling to stay in key as they reach outside of their comfort again. It reminds me of the Pet Shop Boys song "It's a Sin", though he is no Neil Tennant. This album highlights the problem of focusing on getting a sound rather than writing songs. When you focus on a sound you are betting solely on the fact that you will nail that sound, but it has to be a bullseye. However, if the production fails you, a well-written song can be played acoustic or electric, so it still holds up. They have grossly overestimated their vocal abilities on this album. Astari Nite is an example of a band that is capable of shifting sounds, but they are also good songwriters and that means they write to sound that best suits their abilities.  The attempts at a more New Romantic sound on this album are just not who they are. 

The album continues to be hit or miss, for every note they hit, there is one that slips between the cracks, This is not on stage but in the studio, meaning this is a collection of the best takes they had in them. This is as good as it gets for them. The problem lies in the fact they produced this album themselves, if they had a proper producer, he might not have let this performance slip, as they clearly can not hear if they were in key or not. They rip "Love My Way" on "He Want's Everything". this album becomes bad 80s karaoke at this point. "Regret for Nothing" at least finds them able to nail Talk Talk's sound. "This Party Ends in Tears" finds the synths sounding like early Madonna. The vocals don't lose it until heading toward the chorus. But it's an almost more forgivable performance than what has been heard earlier in the album. I will give this album a 7, there are decent moments, and if you have really romanced this sound and want anything that comes close then it might work better for your ears, I am disappointed and wish they stuck to what was working. 

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Whispering Sons : "'the Great Calm'

 

Just getting around to catching up with some of the darker sounds I might have missed earlier in the year. The third album by this band from Belgium is one of those. The androgynous vocals narrative this angular indie rock that colors the sounds in stark shades of gray. Like a more jangling version of Savages, the grooves they flirt with are rather taunt. This album sounds great everything sits at a perfect place in the mix, showing these guys took their time to nail these sounds down. They are not a post-punk band that is content with just paying tribute to Joy Division, which is something I appreciate, though this is not to say it is totally devoid of that influence. 

The drummer is the most eager member of this band, he tries to rock out even if the rest of the band is trying to play it cool. They could pay more attention to their drummer's punk aspirations as some of the songs are droned out or allowed to sprawl out further than needed. There are moments like "Cold City' when things hit the mark and are not overdone. I can hear some Nick Cave moments in how the vocals muse over the music. This pays off in varied levels of success. If the drums do not play a large role in the song's backbone when they are wasting their time. The indifferent tone of the vocals as the album progresses does not do the song any favors. It causes things to begin to sound the same. With "Dragging" the guitar kicks in to try to balance this out. Yet the one-dimensional vocal chant dampens the impact the lyrics could have had. 

The production of this album places emphasis on creating very organic sounds. But some of them are too dry, mainly the vocals which could use some reverb and perhaps sit back against the guitars. The bass and drums sound the best, the guitars could also use some effects. The sing-song quality of the almost spoken vocals continues to drone on. I appreciate the mood created on "Sill Disappearing" but dynamically the song does not go anywhere. I have never been into Wire, but the guitar player for this band is as you can hear on "The Talker".  "Balm" sounds like an interluder rapper Atmosphere might do if he got too high. When trying to pay homage to Nick Cave it's important to remember he actually sings. Perhaps with a better singer, these songs might fare better, but it is what it is  It's a shame as they attempt to have more dynamics on "Poor Girl" but going from a whisper to a more direct conversational tone is not singing.

"Loose Ends" has a more interesting bass line, which allows the guitar to create more tension. Then they drop the ball on the chorus, but there is not much they can do with this singer. When they drop things down to a synth sound, it's minimalist, and the spoken word vocals are just as redundant as they have been for the duration of the album. They attempt to rock to rock out more on the last song, but the problem remains the same, even as they try to get darker,  he band makes an honest attempt musically, but the vocals just are lacking I will give this album a 7. 

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Death is June - Obscene : "Agony & Wounds"

 

This is the third album from this band based out of Indiana. They play a hyper-fast, mega-aggressive style of death metal that sounds like if Obituary smoked a bunch of meth and twitched out during a Carcass tribute. It's heading in the grindcore direction, but are more committed to their riffs. The vocals have that howling quality to them that John Tardy made famous but with less desire to utter the lyrics in a decipherable fashion. I do appreciate its intensity and was impressed by the first song. It is the effect that many ultra-heavy bands have when you first hear them they hit you with so much violence that you are stunned at what you just heard and your ears are still ringing for the second song, so it takes a minute before you come to your senses ask if they can actually write a song. 

Going into "Noxious Expulsion" it sounds like they might be willing to give songwriting a shot and then speed to an ungodly speed that casts the notion aside. Amazingly, this guy Kyle Shaw is attempting to make a career out of this style of vocalizing. It is more like vocal texturing than what we commonly think of death metal vocalists doing, which is largely thought of as something closer to Cookie Monster. "Death's Denial" at least has a riff that is easier to bon your head to. The vocals begin to make all the songs sound the same halfway into the album. Making a part of the sound that sets them apart, and what annoys me regarding them. "The Reaper's Blessing " has a more deliberate riff, making it also more Morbid Angel-like. They continue down this more deliberate path going into "Rotting Behind the Madness". I like the nihilistic message behind the songs, though the lyrics are obscured in Shaw's delivery. 

There are more attempts at songwriting executed in "Dressed in Corpses". But once again the vocals howl with the same harsh cadence they have spewed at with little variation throughout the album thus far. "Oceans of Rot" is the third song with rotting or decay as the theme. The riffs feel a little more refined here, but once again the relentless scowling of the vocals makes it all blend together. The mournful title track that closes the album, is an example of what they should have been doing all along sonically. The slower pace makes him vary the way he growls, even it the shift in pitch is almost non-existent, the cadence is different. I will give this album a 7, musically it is pretty solid, my complaints are with the vocals maybe they are more your thing than mine. This album drops July 12th on Nameless Grave. 

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Death is June - Malignancy : "...Discontinued'

 This month I am trying to cover an album that represents every corner of the death metal genre, even the ones I am not fond of. The only sub-genre of death metal I am not into is tech death or brutal technical death metal which might be a more fitting description of this band that is more obsessed with the sound of the mathematics involved here than writing songs since I did not notice I was already midway into the second song until I looked up at my computer screen, as it sounded like the same jumble of chaotic riffing. The song that follows that one does less to change my mind, some parts are slower or faster than others, though these are assembled in a haphazard manner that is supposed to be part of this genre's charm but it annoys me. 

Are they skilled at making many notes fire from their instruments at just as many time signatures? Yes, but who cares? Well, maybe 13-year-old guitar hopefuls playing video games, who are less about things like songs and want dramatic gymnastic background music. By the time I get to "Purity of Purpose" I am really having to dig in and endure this album and it's only the fourth song. There are a few riffs here and there that are head-bangworthy but you are jerked around so trying to get to them it reminds you of the sacred rule here which is ...

cool riffs alone does not a good song make 

The angular twist and turns to continue and torture my ears even more, this time a faster pounding that is hyper-aggressive but with the focus of a meth head. I can hear more of a Cannibal Corpse influence here, but Corpsegrinder and the boys give you memorable riffs to sink your ravenous teeth into.  "Haunted Symmetry" attacks you head-on by trying to find the square root of infinity. "Decomposing Divinity" locks into the riff a little better. "Oppositional Defiance" winds around a great and locks on one groove but does not hold onto enough to be enjoyable. The drummer is really working the hardest but that is typical for this sort of thing. There are a few chugs on this one, but it's as chaotic as the other songs. I will give this album a 7, not my thing but if you like mathy death metal chaos it might work for you. It's being released on Willowtip Records.  

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DØDSFERD : "Wrath"

Feels like I have not covered as much black metal outside of the dedicated month in February this year. A few reasons for this include an unwillingness to sit through an album of blasting that does nothing to distinguish itself, and perhaps not many high-profile black metal albums coming out as current social trends are more likely to label the genre as problematic and want it run through the American hipster filter for bands like the subpar Agriculture, who rode the hype train. This Greek project holds a middle finger up to such notions and plays a fairly straightforward version of black metal which is deliberate enough to care about songwriting. Their 2015 album "Wastes of Life' made it to the number two slot of the Top 10 Black Metal albums for that year. So they are capable of delivering the goods.

This is the 12th album they have released, and Wrath handles all the guitar and vocal duties. The second song is as fast as the opening track so here is hoping they at least modulate around these thrashing speeds to create the illusion of dynamics. The guitar is to offer some melodic nuance, but not a huge shift. It feels less like depressive black metal and is marginally more moody than your average blast fest. Another issue is that to be offering up seven-minute songs there is not a great deal of variance within them. There is a little more for "Ragining Lust of Creation" but is it 10 minutes worth? The dry midrange raps of the vocals could also use some dynamics. We are midway into the song and they are still hitting you with the same buzz of tremolo-picked guitars. When the riff is accented in more of a gallop than a blast they are still not really breaking any new ground. 

They are committed to bath you in their need for speed going into "Spiritual Lethargy". The first minute of the song feels tedious, making the four that follow something to be endured. We are no longer in the late 90s, nor is this even 2010 when this sort of thing began its crawl into the mainstream consciousness of metal fans. It is a blur of stagnant that does not bite as hard as it thinks it does. It becomes white noise that fades into the background. "Heaven Drops with Human Filth" is a variation of what they hit you with on the previous song, perhaps a little nastier in its intentions. It is a clear example of when playing fast loses its effectiveness as it numbs the listener. There will not be anyone wearing a bullet belt who is not going to say this is cvlt enough for them. But what about songwriting? What makes this an album worth owning? 

From a production standpoint, the album sounds pretty good. All the elements in this storm sit where they should, though the vocal are more prominent than expected when you listen to this through headphones. The drumming is impressive enough, and more than gets the job done, but if it were allowed to groove a little the songs might have benefited. No such luck, just straight-up blasting. For what this is I will give the album a 7 as they play their instruments well, and capture all the sound they wanted, but the songwriting feels dialed in. 

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SETH : "La France des Maudits"

 

This band is not what comes to mind when I typically think of French Black Metal, which tends to be left of center from the more traditional storm of fury that marks Scandinavian Black metal. The first four bands that come to mind when I think of French Black Metal are Deathspell Omega, Blut Aus Nord, Alcest, and Peste Noire, granted four of my favorites. They all have their own odd touch. Why is this an issue you ask? Well it's not, but it does mean that I am going to this album listening for what these guys do to set themselves apart, so scowled vocals and blast beats are not going to do it. 

The market is plenty saturated with black metal at this point so we have to have standards. In this case regional standards. It is a well-produced album with a big guitar sound. They are also not just trying to blast their way through the songs. By the third song, it is beginning to all run together for me as they continue to sound like they are from Sweden. By the fourth song things begin to take a somewhat darker turn, the question then becomes can they use the restraint to maintain this? "Marianne" is an instrumental interlude and while I appreciate the melodic nature I think it is something that would have been better intermingled in their other songs to give them more depth. 

It was not until "Insurrection" that I checked back into the album and paid attention, but what I heard was just another band getting caught up in a storm of blast beats. The last song is a cohesive continuation of what they have been doing for the entirety of the album, so depending on how impressed you are with that will determine how you feel about this song. These guys excel at the execution and decent arrangements, but in terms of bringing something new to the table, this church has already been burnt I will give this album a 7.It drops July 14th on Season of Mist  

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Inter Arma : "New Heaven"

 If modern music critics were going to make a top 10 list of their favorite metal bands, these guys would be in the top 5. I understand why, despite not agreeing. They think out of the box. They are progressive without focusing on pretense and guitar solos. They are heavy enough to hold their own with bands heavier than them. They are always evolving and never make the same songs twice. They also do not write songs that make me want to listen to them multiple times. In fact, when thinking about this review, I am trying to remember how this record was different from their previous ones, as their previous albums are not memorable to me. 

They have always scored an 8.5 here. Which means 85 percent of the album was solid. So even on this new album I appreciate what they do and do not question their skill as songwriters what they do just does not resonate with me. Three songs into this album and I am clear what one of the reasons for this is. They are not dark enough. However, the opening track is darker and more dissonant than what I have heard from them in the past and this album has more black metal influence from the vocals and drumming than I recall hearing in the past. But it does not have the same feeling that I get when it comes from an actual black metal band like Gorgoroth or Watain. 

'Endless Gray' feels like a Metallica instrumental so it's hard to argue with that and so far the most metal moment of the album. The first song that feels dark enough to me is ironically 'Gardens in the Dark" The vocals are more sung in the post-punk baritone fashion. However, they use a similar vocal approach to "the Children the Bombs Overlooked" and it does not feel as dark, and the song itself is pretty unfocused. with the drummer overplaying. I begin to get bored with it when the vocals shift to a growl. So add sometimes bore me to the list of reasons. 

'Concrete Cliffs" is more legit death metal, than what we have heard the bulk of the album from them. The last song sounds so much like King Dude that I was Goggling to see if he did a guest spot on the album. He is not they are just ripping him off. I guess they could also be trying to sound like Johnny Cash and it came out that way. Perhaps the album's least original moment, and certainly filler on a King Dude album. I will give this one a 7, making their least impressive offering to date, though they are still thinking out of the band and it's a change for them, I am just not believing their attempts at sounding darker and the little Metallica-like instrumental ditty is the best part and that is an interlude. 

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Black Metal History Month - Acathexis : "Immerse"

 

This black metal collective features members of Mare Cognitum, Los Males De Mundo, and Sliver Knife. Meaning there are vibes from each of their lands of origin, America, Belgium, and Argentina. The guitars buzz furiously, but with a very cleanly produced tone that has more in common with Deafheaven than Darkthrone. The screams of the vocals are pretty scathing. Somewhat articulate, but more of a layer of agony than a clear-cut narrative. For eleven and a half minutes it buzzes on in a cascading drone. The vocals sometimes shift down into lower death metal tones. 

I begin to get worried as the second song sounds like a continuation of the first. Not that it is even continuing to take the first song somewhere else it pretty much stays on the same blasting buzz. It does change into more of an atmospheric breakdown in the song's final minutes, but this far from compensates for almost twelve minutes that sounds like the album's first eleven and a half minutes being recycled. If you are going to work off a monochrome sonic formula then there is no need to drag it past the six-minute mark.

Things change enough for "the Other". The vocals at times sound like someone is torturing a bird. But in the most metal way possible. The last song is almost at sixteen minutes, aside from taking the vocals into a more guttural death metal direction, I am not sure much is changing except for the tempo, which is slowed dramatically compared to the first three songs. At the two-minute mark, I had already begun to wonder how this was going to go on for another thirteen minutes. It does add blast beats, and get more intentional, but when I left this album on and let it play, what I heard was a wall of sound that ran together. I will give this album a 7. They are skilled at this sound, and the vocals are convincing and more varied than expected. This drops March 20th on Amor Fati

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Black Metal History Month - Seltsame Erden : "Gedankentempeln"

 

This week I learned there is an entire corner of the internet devoted to "fans' of black metal who developed this group of witch-hunting stormtroopers who compile videos and lists of bands they suspect are Nazis or Fascists. They have even pushed it so far as to say they are supporting left-wing black metal bands who align with their personal politics and thus seek to at the very least cancel black metal bands who do not see the world in the same way they do. Meaning they are themselves fascists who seek to control the narrative. Thus trading in corpse paint for clown grease paint. This band should be careful or they will most likely find themselves cancelled at this point for just being German. 

These guys are dark enough and bear a foreboding charge of blast beats. Though three songs in, there is a uniformity to the vocals that begins to lose me as the range of the dynamics here is fairly limited. For the first two songs, this works pretty well. The second song even slows down to more of a harrowing throb. By the fourth song, I thought I was listening to the third song still, so this sonic uniform causes the songs to eventually all sound the same. Sure there is a hypnotic buzz created by the tremolo picking that is not unlike the mood earlier Darkthrone created. If you already own those albums, why would you want more of the same? Here is where we find ourselves at the crux of this month's mission statement to find Black Metal that goes above and beyond the status quo.

The status quo is an ominous and recognizable sound of black metal, But it is just that a sound and not a song. These guys are great at capturing this sound. Perhaps this sound is all you need. You have no interest in songs as you are not that evolved. This is common in many teenagers whose brains are still forming, in fact, the adult human brain is not fully formed until the age of 25. The last track is just an outro that will be fun to play at Halloween parties. This means we have only four actual songs on this album which sways things percentage-wise in their favor. I  will then give this album a 7. as they are convincing in the sound of black metal and for some that is all you need, b ut they are skilled at it.

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Morta Skuld : "Creation Undone"

 Somehow when it comes to 90s death metal this band never made it on my radar.  They come from a very thrashy old-school style of death metal, with the vocals croaked out in a manner that reminds me more of Max Cavalera. It is delivered in a manner where the lyrics cut through. The drummer pounds the point home in a manner that has conviction. The bass also cuts through the guitars to make it self known. Weirdly, these guys are on Peaceville as that always makes me think of darker more doom-influenced styles of European death metal and these guys are very American as the 80s thrash influence is prominent. 

By the time we get to "Painful Conflict," it is blast beating itself past the point of groove and the vocals feel more obligatory, which to my ears means they are going more for a sound and less for songs. It is odd coming from veterans like this but the temptation might be to prove that they still go it. They certainly do not shy from the speed, so if that is your thing you might dig this more than me, since I prefer hooks no matter how heavy or fast you are playing. Metallica and Morbid Angel are capable of it, and so should anyone else who is playing an instrument professionally. 

"Unforeseen Obstacles" opens with a riff that has promise and then the uncontrolled aggression takes over. the bulldoze you in a manner more like Deicide. though what Glen Benton has going for him is a persona that carries more charisma. Still, they are punchy, which I appreciate, but if this was something I was going to listen to not sure this approach is the one I would gravitate toward. Also, the cool riff to this song highlights the fact that cool riffs alone do not a good song make. The guitar solos have some melodic sensibility to them rather than just chaotic shredding. There is an almost Morbid Angel-like groove to "Perfect Prey" which makes this one of the album's best songs. 

They play perhaps at their fastest yet on "Soul Piercing Sorrow", which lyrically seems like it is a sentiment that should be approached from a slower tempo. They do get a little more deliberate, with a steady stream of double bass moving it when the vocals come in There is a touch more melody in some of the riffs to "Into Temptation' but they largely pound things out with a menacing gallop. These guys have been at it for decades, so I expect a little more in the songwriting department here. This heavy approach busts out some decent riffs , but not a great deal better than what you might hear from the best local death metal band playing on a Friday night in your hometown.

 There are a few touches of production here and there that stand out, and they are capable with their instruments. Not sure that "Oblivion" is going to change anything for me, as it is more of the same, though slowed down enough for the vocals to matter more. The last song opens with a strummed clean guitar tone, that is not really built upon though the main riff has more purpose. When I pay closer attention to the lyrics it just seems like the most stereotypical metal muttering you can imagine. But hey some people like vanilla death metal and are prolly really into these guys. I will give this a 7, as they are good at what they do, what they do is not my thing, but the score reflects what fans of this might like.I can not imagine this being on anyone's top album of 2024 year list. 

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Marbled Eye : "Read the Air"

 

Here is a San Francisco post-punk band that carries plenty of tense jangles. They have a great guitar sound, that is warm and organic without paying an overt amount of homage to the classic sound of the genre. The main sticking point for me with these guys that they need to overcome with me lies in the vocals. The vocals are spoken and monotone. They begin to work around this on "Tonight", and while it is passable on the first two songs, not something I would want to return to. They make more of an attempt to sing on "Starting Over' but it never manages to string together enough actual notes to be considered a croon. It is not Ian Curtis worship either. Even more deadpan than Curtis. 

This one-trick pony tone of the vocals puts even more pressure on the guitars, which they deliver more often than not, but some moments are not as inspired. There is marginally more punk sentiment to "See It Too" that attempts to obscure the fact this guy might not be able to sing and is just an obligatory voice. It also begins to sound like just your run-of-the-mill garage rock by this song. On "All of the Pieces" the staccato guitars do more to balance things out and provide space for the vocals to do less. From there all the sounds begin to sound alike and it begins to become a wall of jangle that faces into the background. The same thing can happen with other genres of music like death metal where the vocals are just there to have a human layer, but aside from the lyrics being articulated because they are basically spoken, everything sounds too uniform. 

The last song is a little more downtrodden, but generally, the guitars are bright, so there is nothing all that dark about what they are doing here. If you think of a band like the Smiths, who used brighter guitar tones, they also had one of the best singers to balance this out.  These guys play their instruments well, but really it's the vocals that bored the hell out of me, perhaps that was the intent or perhaps that is the intent though the guy just can't sing, they might do better with an actual singer, even punk yelling might work better who knows as it is I will give this album a 6.5. 

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Vitriol : "Suffer and Become"

 

This Portland band has been getting a great deal of buzz. My main complaint regarding death metal is it all too often relies on sheer aggression without doing anything to set itself apart from all the other death metal bands relying on sheer aggression. The opening track starts with an eerie guitar rather than going head first into blasting at you. Granted these guys do blast at you, but there are at least early signs that they are willing to try something different. They thrash further into the bound of hyper-aggression on "the Flowers of Sadism". They are dark and dense, with a touch of Morbid Angel in their attack, I am impressed but by the next song will be asking what else they can do. 

If their answer is "Nursing From the Mother Wound" then the answer is really just what you hear is what you get. It is no fucks given full blast beat ahead. I appreciate the enthusiasm. The only problem is I have a ton of bands that already sound like this. Goatwhore does this better with hookier songs. Three songs in it might be premature for this judgment, but they have seven more songs to prove me wrong. They slow down to a more deliberate throb going into "the Isolating the Lie of Learning Another", but it's a struggle for them not to default back to the speed-induced rage. Things begin to work off a formula that is fatal to the flesh here. 

The most interesting moment so far is when they shed the distortion on "Survival's Careening Inertia". This creative streak is quickly dissipated by the explosive burst that is "Weaponized Loss". It is rapid-fire and very volatile, but as far as songwriting goes it is more of a primal expression.  "Flood of Prediction" sounds like an extension of the previous song. The song that follows "Locked in thine frothing Wisdom" might as well be the same song they started back on "Weaponized Loss" as it has been the same continuous barrage with nothing in the way of dynamics to separate it.   It is not until "I am Every Enemy" that the riff sets itself as a song unto itself. Then the last song returns to the blur of gnashing teeth snapping at guitar strings. I will give this album a 7, they have potential, I wish they had taken a deeper look at who they are as humans and touched on the darker more nuanced side of the pain expressed here. 

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Black Stone Cherry : "Screamin At the Sky "

 

This Kentucky band has put out some worthwhile music, however, they also tend to fall into a weird middle ground that lumps them in with the hair metal bands that were trying to find themselves amid the grunge boom. A band like Saigon Kick comes to mind when I think of this era. A song like "Nervous" would have made it on the radio in a different place in time. It's hooky and well layered, they are clearly good at this brand of rock anthem. 

"When the Pain Comes" could be any radio rock and feels like a song where they have sold their identity down the river. The guitar solos are great, but that does not make a song worth listening to. "Out of Pocket" has more punch to it, though the lyrics are dumb. "Show Me What It Feels Like" is like a nu-metal radio moment, with a bit more soul. The riff to "ROAR" reminds me a little of the Scorpions. The country inflection in his voice is the only thing retaining their sense of self. 

I guess it makes sense why I do not review a great deal of mainstream rock, as it bores me. There is a decent hook to "Smile World", but nothing distinct about it. " the Mess You Made " works better than "Who Arew You Today' , I imagine that if Sevendust, made a pop country album it would sound like this. "Not Afraid" makes more of an effort to rock, but the riffs are not memorable, and their hearts are more invested in the kind of anthems that close out the album. I will give this a 7, well produced and played, but boring radio rock at its core. They need to smoke more weed. 

Gothtober - Soft Riot : "No."

 

Falling on the darker side of synth wave and future pop this Glasgow project makes music that is dancey, and more rooted in 80s nostalgia than most of the dark wave you are going to hear at Goth Night. The opening track works pretty well. A little upbeat for my personal tastes but If i am covering every angle of "goth" music this falls some where on the spectrum. There are some sounds that would not be out of place on a Skinny Puppy album, though this is not as dark as Skinny Puppy, and not gritty or industrial in that regard. I left this album on and let it play while trying to score my points on Temu, and before I knew it I was on song 6. The fact the songs were that uniform that they would run together in that manner does not bode well, but I will sit down and give it a closer listen, and see if I come to the same conclusions. 

The beat to "Crashing Into Tomorrow" does not vary greatly from what they were doing on the first song. The synths that dance around it are marginally different. The heavily effected and mostly spoken vocals , are the main offender when it comes to how these songs sound the same. Judging by his picture and the presentation here, he really wants to be Gary Numan. Numan is a better singer, and his songs offer a more dystopian point of view. Where this project finds it's own identity is some of the more experimental choices in sounds to garnish the other wise uniform dance beats. The vocals do shift more into singing on "It Never Takes Long to Say No".  The song itself takes on an oddly angular new wave slant.  

There is a stark dead pan tone to "Shouldering' the vocals are chanted more like old Depeche Mode. The song drones on the same pulse for the duration of the song. There are interesting sounds bouncing around here, but nothing in the way of melodies to hook you in. "When it Comes on Strong" finds the vocals taking on a more robotic cadence. Though they could take more notes from pop music regarding how to hook you in . "Wishing You Were Wrong" is more upbeat.  The vocal arrangements often have no rhyme or reason. The vocals feel almost obligatory here. They keep the more upbeat mood with the vocals sorting through the moodiness with "Just a Vapor". The vocals work better , but the synth riffs are a little awkward in places.

Aside from the automated hand clap sounds, this sounds almost just like the other songs, despite being marginally slower in the BPM department. In truth when the last song kicks in it almost feels like a remix of the previous song, though it has a little more bounce in it's step. I will give this album a 7. There are some cool sounds captured , but they are not enough to appease my attention span. You however might need to scratch this early 80s electronic itch more than I.

Gothtober- WitchHands :"No Gods, No Masters"

 

This album came out back in April, so it's fitting we are catching up with it this month. The mix to this album is raw, though in many ways this plays into their charm. While death rock is one of my favorite sub-genre's of goth, the sounds that equate it, often create a rather limited creative breadth bands work with to stay true to it. I think growing out of it to some extent is needed. The example of playing it too safe might come on the second song of this album. Where the first song worked as the powerfully belted vocals held more personality than the bulk of what other bands are doing these days in this regard. The vocals wander out sound of their comfort zone here and sound weaker, while the band safely plods in the same darker gardens as every other band doing this sort of thing. 

Perhaps it's just the specific sounds they are using on "Dead Ringer" but it works better for me. I think with things mixed in a slightly more polished manner everything would sonically pop in all the right place. But the job here is not to speculate what could have been but to sort through the present situation that has been committed to album. The vocals are not as focused as they are on the first song, and a little pitchy in some places. He lets his voice crack as a stylistic choice, which I think could have been done better. He sounds great on "No Gods" with much more control over his voice.  " Buy Yourself" digs more into the genres punk roots. This is works pretty well and gives me New Model Army vibes. 

They go to the punk well one too many times on "Black September". There is nothing new being brought to the table in this regard. 'No Masters" gets a little darker, but I would prefer to hear more creepiness draping things than this just being another punk band. The last song has more of a Halloween stomp to it. The vocals are a little more varied here as well, which works to shift the mood. I think if this singer was more self aware of what he can and can't do with his voice it would benefit their overall sound. I will give this a 7, as I am at my most critical when it comes to singers as they are responsible for what amounts to the personality of the band . If you are desperate for new death rock they are worth a listen. 

Gothtober- Attic Frost : 'A heart is the deepest dungeon"

This month I am not only covering goth music, but what hoping for music that is bringing something new to the graveyard. However there are expectations from goths, who try to stick to a certain era that has a certain sound and this album will help us explore what they pitfalls or benefits of that may or may not be,  I stumbled across this German darkwave project on Bandcamp. Right from the jump I will tell you this album is hard to review in the manner we normally do here, because all the songs sound the same. There was a discussion on a friend of mine's Facebook regarding this current trend of dark wave revival bands out where she remarked that they all sound the same due to the fact they are all baritone male voices mixed in the background to hide the fact that they are not good singers.

 She is a singers of a band that flirts with dark wave, so I get the place that this comes from, there might even be the angle that her band is not getting the same exposure since they do not fall into this formula, or it could also be argued that all female darkwave singers sound like Siouxsie.  This project could be lumped in with the type of thing she was complaining about. The vocals sound like they check off the required box for dark wave, but I am not sure he can actually sing. 

Six songs in and I might as well be on the second song again. This is a problem I find when reviewing extreme metal as well but from a different angle. In both cases it goes with the point often made here about sound vs songs. With metal bands that put the emphasis on creating a heavy sound, for the first song , you are impressed by the fact it is heavy, so you never stop to ask is it a good song, until the intensity wears off. With dark wave or really any flavor of what we might call goth , you are hit with a nostalgia, impressed the project has recreated a familiar sound you love so you do not ask if it is a good song. In the case of this album it was until the third song that things changed in a way that allowed me to hear what they were capable of . The third song had more guitar where the second song danced to the same beat every faceless band on a goth night's dj might weave into the staples like the Cure or Sisters of Mercy. 

"Template" takes the synth wave analog sound and sets them again guitars in an awkward manner thanks to an uneven mix. If the vocals were doing something interesting, then this might have been pulled together into a song that works , but it is just dead pan almost spoken word. "Nothing" is a little better as it offers more to hook you in, but the overall emphasis still seems to be on the sound. The vocals are even more useless here when you focus on on their stale croak . 'Avoiding Life' creates a more ethereal Cure like sound with the use of it's synths. The vocals are hidden behind the veil of reverb and synths sailing past your ears. There is a bit of a break down where things shift, but the rule of thumb here seems to be milk the original idea that provides the songs back bone. There is not a good reason for this song to be five and a half minutes. 

More of a Halloween groove comes to life on "Gallows". The programmed beat could have used more beef from the mix. Guitar surfaces, but it seems to confuse the vocals, making things more disjointed. The title track closes the album. It opens with more of a retro synth sound. Is the joke here that it is using sounds that could be in the dungeon synth sub-genre? The vocals once again, fall short. I will give this album a 7, as it ended up almost  boring me before it was over , but scored that high since it works off a sound I like.