Amenra : "De Toorn / With Fang and Claw "

 

These are two EPs, that I am reviewing as one album since there are only four tracks with them altogether. The 13-minute "Heden' finds the bass lingering in a drone. for four of the thirteen minutes before they begin pointing in a song's direction. The vocals are spoken word and the guitar creeps in with minimal chords slowly growing. At seven and a half minutes, the sung vocals begin, though the song has not kicked in.  At ten minutes the song really begins with screamed vocals and their throbbing brand of sludge. The second song 'De Toorn" unfolds in a similar lingering fashion as the first song, though is more brooding in its introspection, as the drums over more of a pulse under the unfurling process. The post-rock guitar passages are also most clearly defined. I did not care for the spoken word sections of their last album and my thoughts on them continue to not change with this album. 

After they have a droning jam, things explode eight minutes into the song. which is a similar formula they used on the previous song. These guys are talented and I have seen them rule live, so it's difficult to hear them go off on what seems to be creative tangents and not playing to their strengths. Write it off as following their artist's vision, but I think what is clearly defined as being effective for them has been well documented. "Forlorn' is only 8 minutes so it should be more to the point since they do not have eight minutes to spare before getting to the point. They get to it in a minute, which is something they should have considered for the first two songs. When they lock in like they do here it provides a better contrast for his softer sung vocals. 

For the last song, they stick to what works and hit you with another crusher. They ebb back down to a more melodic breakdown, where he employs his soft singing that sometimes makes me think of Sigur Rios. Overall I think the two last songs are what works best for them and the more post-rock sprawl of the first two lacked focus. I will however give this album an 8.5, as I think they redeemed themselves here, but this is not their best work as a band, though better than most sludge we are likely to hear, yet on the level of a band like RWAKE, whose sludge crown is not threatened by this release.Drops March 28th on Relapse.   

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Absent in Body : "Plague God"

 

In some ways this is the album I wished Amenra  had released last year instead to the overly atmospheric one we got instead. This album not only features members of Amera, but drummer Igor Cavelera of Sepultura fame and Neurosis' Scott Kelly. The only problem is while the massive apocalypse of sound they churn up is quite impressive with the industrial strength of its crushing throb, the sheer weight of heaviness that possesses the first two songs makes them sound somewhat similar. the main difference being the second song has more of an overt industrial feel to it. It is way heavier than anything Neurosis has really done in the past ten years. Sonically it paints the perfect picture for the demise of the current world. Eventually the second song does go float off into a more Amenra like atmosphere with spoken word. It works much better here than on their last album. 

"Sarin" has a more menacing lumber that reminds me more of Neurosis meets "Filth Pig" era Ministry. The vocals are by far the most aggressive element on this album and more growled that what we have heard from Neurosis. The industrial feel still casts its aura over the song. The vocals have a more rhythmic cadence to them, to help break things up from the first two songs.  You get two and a half minutes into "the Acres, the Ache" before it kicks into its reluctant roar. There is a weird ambient buzz that haunts the backdrop of this song. It ends up drifting into a more post rock section with sung vocals that are more fragile in their melody.  

There is a darker pound to the more droning " Half Rising Man". It much like the bulk of these songs falls somewhere on the more industrial side of sludge. Do they sometimes focus more on a sound rather than songs in the conventional definition of what a song is? Sure, but when the sound you are focusing on is a deep in it's end times darkness as what is going down here, I have a little more wiggle room. Overall this album surprised me , I will give it a 9.5.   

 

Amenra - "De Doom"

Right from the first song it is obvious they have continue to grow musically. The added the girl from Oathbreaker to lend her voice and it creates a more Swans like atmosphere. At most is a big word for this album as it is loaded down with it, the indulge themselves in ambiance and take their time getting to the meet of the matter. When they are in the song it is cool as hell but it takes a minute to get there. They were killer live when I saw them touring to support their last album to the point that they blew Voivod and Yob off the stage. I am not sure how this would translate as it would make for a great deal of dead air when they are doing these spoken word pieces. In fact the second song is just an ambient interlude but almost 5 minutes of one. 

It is a good thing they waste no time and come in crushing it on the song that follows, as I was at the atmospheric threshold of what would have worked for me. You know I love for things to be sonically heavy more than heavy metal, so the fact the bass is more burly and allows the guitars to play dissonant melodies works for me. Colin's clean vocals have really improved as he project more and is not singing in the fragile Sigur Rios like voice. They find a balance of atmosphere and song writing on "Het Gloren". It is a sprawling 11 minute song and maybe a minute of that fat could have been trimmed off. They lurch into a downtrodden take on sludge that I can get behind, even though it drones. 

This use of restraint is forgotten as they go back to somewhat ponderous ambiance setting the stage for spoken word. It does build out of this eventually , but it is a great deal of time wasted when metal is much better served when it gets to the point. I am not sure that we need six and half minutes of a 12 minute song , with poetry being read. I think we could have accomplished this in seven minutes and made for a better listen.  I will give this one an 8.5 as it is pretty stunning when they do lock in on the more moving heavy sonics, it is just inconsistent in that regard and seems like it would not be as powerful experience live

Death is June : Living Gate :"Deathlust"

When I introduced Death is June I mentioned how I am going to try and feature bands that go beyond the status quo tried and true death metal formula, but I had already reviewed one album that fell into the more traditional confines of death metal. This is that album. With members from Amenra, Oathbreaker and Yob, I trusted these guys to at least not bore. Death metal can just color with blood red so how they use their sonic crayons is important here. They have the sound and know how to play it, so the most important thing I am now listening for it what is different about what they are bringing to the table? Without question great amost progressive guitar playing, that makes me ask but can you write a song. Yes . They answer with the second song, allowing the guitar to bring more melody. I would not call them technical death metal as they are not just about the math of their riffs. The are very precise in their playing.

The growls accent what should be the chorus on "Roped". While it is not shaking things up it does present you with something that sticks to your ears more than if they were just giving you a full speed ahead beating. They do administer such a beating in this very song, but there is enough fine tuning to make it work for now. I think if they did not deviate from this formula I would become bored. The title track is more straight forward. The roared vocal fall into the same old same old from what we have heard a hundred times before. Are they good at what they are doing ? Yes. The guitar solo shines and spotlights their skills as musicians , but the quagmire they are creating finds them stuck in tradition even if that is what they are paying homage to. They continue down this hyper aggressive show of excessive force on "Heaven Ablaze" and I begin to get bored.


I am not a fan of having eponymous songs, but that is what happens here. They are more angular and less full frontal assulat on this one. Not sure the results are much better as it comes across rather opaque. The riff kind of collide with out much form or function in terms of song writing. A little more straightforward than the kind of death metal I might expect from Relapse. I guess it doesn't hurt to come with references from your previous projects. Given their previous projects they got my hopes up for something different. I will round this down to a 7 as it is well played , but if your bar is higher in terms of what you want in regards to actual originality in originals you will under stand my complaints. If you just want death metal and have little discernment they hit all the right notes and will become your favorite band.

the Top 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time - 40- 31

Ok, we are continuing the countdown of the top 50 heaviest albums of all time. The next ten albums represent most sub genres of metal, black metal, sludge, death metal, thrash and grind core. Yes there will be more doom just in future installments.


40- Pantera - "the Great Southern Trendkill"


Yes "Far Beyond Driven" is a more in your face aggressive album, but aggression alone does not make heavy. This album is heavier due to the emotional darkness poured into it as the band hit bottom with their addictions. 




39-Mutilation Rites - "Harbinger"

In the previous installment of this list I touched on the elements that sometimes cause black metal to not be as heavy as it could, when it works solely off speed, drone and atmosphere. This album brings density and grime to show how heavy it can be when it's done right. 


 




38-Amenra- "Mass VI"

This Belgian sludge ban's mastery of loud to soft dynamics makes them more sonically powerful than their peers. This album really captures that. 




37-Otargos - "No God No Satan"

French black metal that is equal parts dark and abrasive. I do not believe in evil, but it if were to have a sound this album would capture it . 





36-Deathspell Omega- "Paracletus"


This is not just another French Black metal band , this is THE French black metal band. These guys are like a heavier version of Emperor. By heavier in this instance I mean invoking chaos with angular dissonance






35-S.O.D- "Speak English or Die"



This 1985 classic would never fly if it had been released to the tender souls of 2020. They came out during the cross over thrash movement, but along with Napalm Death are the fore fathers of modern grindcore


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34 Bolt Thrower - "Realm of Chaos"



This 1989 album storms into battle like a more violent version of Morbid Angel. Density and intensity are the weapons they are bringing into to battle here with more of a stomp than a gallop.



 


33- Cobalt -"Eater of Birds"

This blackened sludge project brought a great deal of thrash influence to the table with their 2007 album that recalls the wailing and gnashing of teeth associated with a descent into hell. 






32-Graves at Sea -' the Curse That Is "

The volume and power of these riffs swallows you into their murky depths and pulverizes you with their nastiness not unlike being sucked into a black hole, it's just done with more bong smoke here. 






31- Full of Hell- " Rudiments of Mutilation"


This 2013 album is an example that in todays world grindcore is created when a hard core band goes over to the dark side.

Live Review Amenra, Voivod, YOB @ Masquerade

I rarely get out for shows these days. Back when I started this blog I went to one a month Since then my depression has gotten worse and I would rather stay at home than be around people. This could also be called getting older, but it feels like more of my mental illness, as when I hear about the show I think "Oh, I would like to see that" But the closer it gets the more I talk myself out of it. The last show I went to was Rob Zombie in August. I had the intentions of going to a couple more with my girlfriend , but life happened and those shows did not. So it was a big deal for me to get out of the house to see Voivod, who is one of my favorite bands. I have  seen them twice before, so that could have been more fuel for me not to go , but I made it out even it it was a last minute thing on my part.

Amenra  started off their set with atmosphere, but when they kicked in they hit so hard you felt it with your body as much as your ears. Ok maybe they were not as loud as Swans , but it was powerful and they really poured themselves into the performance, you could feel the energy on many levels . As much as I love Voivod if I am being honest with you and myself they were the best band, in terms of having a striking visual performance and being sonically over powering. Granted what Voivod does is very different and they were the odd band out on the bill. The boys from Belgium had a screen behind them and projected black and white nature scenes that really added to the atmosphere.

The first time I saw Voivod in the late 80s they had more of a visual spectacle as well. With a smoky stage and eerie lighting and Snake in a gas mask. This time around the main weapon in their arsenal was a wealth of songs. 36 years worth. I also saw them touring for "Target Earth" so was aware how the new stuff blended with their more classic songs, but this time around it was more seamless. The two things they really had going for them aside from 36 years of experience under the two founding members belts, was the set list and the drumming. Away is one of the most under rated metal drummers. His double bass is on point and he does everything so effortlessly.  As far as the set list goes it was like they  were taking requests for me as they played every song I would have yelled out... "Into My Hyper Cube" , "Ravenous Medicine", "Psychic Vacuum" and the biggest surprise was "the Prow" from the "Angel Rat" album.

Yob was headlining. I am sure this is due to being the band with currently the most records sales, as Voivod, was the most established. If Voivod was going to headline then Yob could be wedged between the two, but Amenra is a hard band to follow. Granted the have more in common with Yob stylistically as both bands have the huge monolithic riffs to trample your ears with. A friend of mine said that he feels Yob is like Cathedral on a fraction of the drugs and with a siren singing. I can hear that, but after Voivod they seem more simplistic. The work at more of a pulsing throb than a proggy space journey. Overall it was an interesting look at metal past and present.

Top 10 Sludge / Stoner Albums of 2017

So this list was started because well doom and sludge are not the same thing. Neither is doom and stoner rock. While stoner rock and sludge are not the same thing, the lines seem to be blurred a little closer and basically this is about how much pot you are smoking. If you are smoking pot hoping for the apocalypse then you are sludge, you also probably like crusty punk. If you are riding around the desert smoking pot while hoping to find more pot to smoke while listening to Thin Lizzy you are stoner rock. Now that that is out of the way I have also included the reason the albums are ranked as they are in case that brings up even more questions.

10-Space Witch- "Arcanum"


Living up to their name these guys can be the metal equivalent to kraut rock and in fact employ some synth sounds that are taken from the annuls of kraut rock.As the band's second album it  would be properly enjoyed to the fullest extent of the bong as a sound track to sailing out of your mind and over your couch in the late night hours. The riffs bubble out of the distortion like the liquid in a lava lamp.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/03/space-witch-arcanum.html

9-Ocaso- "Demo"


This might be the first time I have had a demo on a top ten list. The Germans in Ocaso ask where does sludge begin and neo-crust end. Another question is does having a violin part automatically make you neo-crust , folk or otherwise? I I think there are more battle metal elements at play than this band wants to confess to. Some of this lies in the darker mood being conveyed.They beat out Space Witch because they are darker.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/10/ocaso-demo.html

8-Bury the Machines-"Wicked Covenant"


John E Bomher of the Chicago based  band Yakuza released a solo album where he is a one man sludge band. He blends bleak melodies and layers the vocals on the first song so the more droning sung vocals sits over an almost black metal rasp. I like this much better than the typical gruff bark most sludge bands rely on.This is a coasting on a sea of bong smoke as nightfall comes sort of album, but certainly one of the better sludge albums, beating out Ocaso, because this is a more full realized and polished project.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/04/bury-machines-wicked-covenant.html

7- Devil Electric-S/T

 his Australian band busts out some pretty hefty rock that falls some where between doom and stoner rock. So it's either dark stoner or doom. I think this was being called occult rock or vest metal a few years ago. There is some Sabbath worship, but their singer has a personality of her own and is not just trying to totally fall in line with all the Grace Slicksters that came after Christian Mistress. Great production and catchy songs. In fact the songs are so catchy that they elevate this album above Bury the Machines.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/10/devil-electric-st.html

6- Seer- Cult of the Void - 

 This Canadian band brings metallic elements to their sludged out rock n roll. Like a rough and tumble version of Katatonia as the baritone vocals are carried with more balls. Very melodic they give into their dark side wand has darker side to it like a more grunge ridden Woods of Ypres. So not the most original band on the list , but they combine all of these elements in a powerful way that elevates this album over the more hooky songwriting of Devil Electric.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/05/seer-vol-iii-iv-cult-of-void.html

5-the Melvins -"A Walk With Love & Death" 


 If Mike Patton gives these guys a huge thumbs up it's hard to argue, though he is also a fan of a special needs choir, so tastes in music might be subject to change. In the here and now is what we are going to focus because despite their legacy the reality is you are only as good as your last album. "Death" is the rock album end of this double album equation and to be honest the only part of it that matters the rest was noise. They rock part of this however was so go that it made it to number 7 on here so that says something. It grew on me each time I listened to it and has way more depth than Seer so that's why they are 5 and this album is 4.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-melvins-walk-with-love-death.html

4- Horseneck-"Heavy Trip"


 Former members of Wil Haven and Jess Gowrie who played drums for Chelsea Wolfe. It is a wild ride that ranges from a crazy 70's style boogie to a manically screamed Kvelertak like rock n roll strut. So this is a more punk take on swamp metal, at times seems influenced by Kyuss, and at others a beast of it's own making. This wild energy is what found it beating out the more refined Melvins. 


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/01/horseneck-heavy-trip.html

3-Ufomammut-8


Bongs across the world must be aflame so the trend of super psyche filled sludge continues this time coming from Italy. These guys continue to take their sound even further out in the cosmos. These guys take the Sabbath core of stoner rock and obscure with clouds of tripping haze. The vocals feel more Pink Floyd like to me than carrying any kind of an Ozzy influence. With each song they take you further into the depths of their warped rabbit hole. More ambitious than Horseneck with a sonically heavier sound.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/08/ufomammut-8.html

2-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.She does allow for some of her backing vocal tracks to to into more of a scream and the guitar carries the dense distortion. Vocally powerful it was an album that makes you want to dig deeper into it with each listen. Vocally more powerful than "8" so that is why this album sits at number 2.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/02/king-woman-image-of-suffering.html

1- Amenra-Mass VI

 This band from Belgium is back with another piece of despair. With members of Oathbreaker in the fold they deliver a lush take on metal. The atmosphere might be even thicker on this album than it was on the previous releases. I am not hearing this as just a sludge band as the Neurosis worship has been washed away in favor of a sound that has more emotional depth. The anguish howls of the vocals and their accompanying guitar parts really pack the heart punch here.It starts off with the kind of aggressive sludge you expected from them though the anger almost borders on hardcore. 


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2017/09/amenra-mass-vi.html

Amenra : " Mass VI"

This band from Belgium is back with another piece of despair. With members of Oathbreaker in the fold they deliver a lush take on metal. The atmosphere might be even thicker on this album than it was on the previous releases. I am not hearing this as just a sludge band as the Neurosis worship has been washed away in favor of a sound that has more emotional depth. The anguish howls of the vocals and their accompanying guitar parts really pack the heart punch here.It starts off with the kind of aggressive sludge you expected from them though the anger almost borders on hardcore. Then they begin to float out into something else six minutes and tinder sung vocals with a Sigur Rio like feel to them whisper into the waves . The guitar sound on this album is pretty awe inspiring and massive.

The guitar has more of a tremolo feel to it that blackens things slightly. The vocals grow more tormented in their conveyance of emotion. The bass and drums keeps things at a more sludge like pace. The over all sound s huge and the depth of the shadows painting it feels darker yet more clear in the way the mix lends space to every instrument. Lightly sung almost whispered vocals lead into "A Solitary Reign" . There is a call and response with the screamed vocal echoing the lighter vocals until it crescendos midway into the song and the screaming takes over . In the song's 3rd act the vocals float over the sonic storm not unlike older Alcest. The album ends with the 11 minute "Daiken". There is a brooding drone for the first two and a half minutes before they thunder down on you. While this sounds great they are playing it closer to more familiar territory here. The more subdued vocals do return and trade off with the more vicious screaming in the songs final moments.

I'll round this up to a 9.5, while these guys got my attention again I suppose time will tell how much rotation this gets from me. The only thing going against it in the iPod is the length of some of the songs it's more of an album to let play when I am sitting in front of my computer. It is superbly crafted and finds these guys hitting their stride.