Black Metal History Month - Ponte Del Diavolo : "Blades From the Tomb"

 

This Italian band is doing something different. Well to an extent. Hexvessel did make a black metal album with sung vocals last year, this band is taking that and giving it a more dissonant spin. Though there is plenty of melody to be found. They are taking post-punk and colliding it with black metal. Once again, it's not the first time thanks to Tombs, but this is done with this band's thumbprints. Proving you do not have to totally remake the wheel, to create relevant new music. Their singer will use harsher accents to the vocal but generally sings with moody melodic flare. 

Things take a turn towards doom on "Red as the sex of She who lives in death". This is a logical sonic step. Over the course of this epic, they manage to find their way back into the more blasty side of black metal. However, this is only one color they use to shade the song. They stay on this darker almost more progressive path until accelerating back into the blast of "La Razza". " They take post-punk tense and make it groove before throwing against the more aggressive black metal undercurrent. They dig into this with varying levels of heaviness. This is more of a mood rather than some of the more overt artists we have covered during Black Metal History Month this year. 

It does take me a few minutes to realize that "Zero" is not the previous song, meaning that even when doing things as interesting as this band does you can still fall into the lull of a uniformity in your sound. We can blame the blast beats. Male vocals add a new color to "The Weeping Song" which closes the album more intentionally. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. If you like goth, post-punk, black metal or doom, this is worth your time. 

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Black Elephant : "Seven Swords"

Never checked out this Italian band before and I am pleased as hell at how bluesy they are. Sometimes I make comments about a band being jammy or perhaps doing something that works better live than on the album.This is an example of how to do those things in  way that works.. It is soaked in reverb, which is not the super fuzzed out in your face wall of vintage amps you normally get from this sort of thing. The second song is more jammy and is more of an instrumental than the first song that has sparse vocals but they were still there and it felt likea palnned song. I can totally hear how this would sound killer live, but it also ssounds killer and is a pleasure to listen to in my room at home.  The first thing that is really striking about this band aside from the killer guitar playing is the hazy way in which this was recorded .
"Yayoi Kusama" is more of a boogie. It reminds me of Atomic Bitchwax. The vocals are similar likea raspier version of David Grohl . Pretty much a fun party song. "Mihara' is more thoughtful and dynamic. It is less of a party song and more brooding in many ways. It is also darker though more of a jam. The vocals do not play as big of a role as they did in the previous song, though they do show up. It is doomier than what we have heard on this album so far.  "Red Sun and Blues Sun" is a very Sabbathy instrumental jam. The vocals return on "Seppuku" They havea grungey gravel to them, the song it self continues down the blues baked road they have been sunatering down over the course of the album.

The last song finds the vocals really making they mark as it is the singer's strongest moment. He soars up into his soulful upper register. It might be the album's best song. It has some balls , but I am not sure I would call it or any other song on this album metal. Black Sabbath started off as a blues band and this is the direction they are trying to head . I will round this album up to a 9 yes, it is jammy but they do it well and draw from familar influences while making them their own,
 

Black Metal History Month - Falaise : "A Place I Don't Belong to"

The third album from the Italian black gaze duo , who were once more depressive black metal, finds them following the trail blazed by Deafheaven. It took me half way into the opener to really piece that together. The vocals are the main culprit. They are a mid range static rasp that screams in similar patterns. The music around them is pretty lush, more on the post-rock side than the shoe gaze side, but how many of the so called black gaze bands owed much to Slow Dive in the first place?  The opener and title track have the most melody in the first half of the album. The title track gets more furious when it comes to blast beats. This is balanced out against more textured guitar tones so they are not living on blast beats alone. I like the more melancholy spacious side of what they do. The black metal parts are not the most original.

"An Emptiness Full Of You " gets off to a good start then things get weird when it awkwardly breaks down to rain sound effects. Something that worked on older Shining albums , but here it loses the momentum. Then it builds back up thanks to some cool interplay with the piano to salvage the song. They continue to make grand gestures as they play with the formula on "Leaves in the Wind" which is more cohesive and the cinematic symphonic swells work with the song rather than against. Then the album ends with two of the heavier songs. The first of these being the almost more chaotic anger of  "Consumed Soul" . This is denser in it's heaviness than "Holding Nothing" which closes out the album . "Holding Nothing" is more straight up metal with the post rock grandiosity only floating in at the end.

The more this band experiments the more they put distance between themselves and Deafheaven. The vocals could stand to have more dynamics to them. I think even with Deafheaven this is a problem.  I'll round this up to a 7.5. If you are really into the post-rock black metal thing and just trying to branch out from Deafheaven, then you might be more impressed than I am since I have been listening to this kinda thing since Alcest came out.

Profezia : "Dodekaprofeton"

When it comes to black metal this blog's quest going forward is to seek out the best black metal that is not just blast beats. The third album by this Italian band seeks to pull from first wave black metal influences while having the sweeping sense of majesty that marks much of today's black metal. This band features members of Abhor and Make a Change Kill Yourself..., so the touches of gothic horror as well as depressive elements are both present. The vocals are not that emotive as they stay at more or less a croak. There are grandiose hints of classic metal on "Nahum". The drummer has his double bass dialed in for sure.The keyboard and violin find their way back in  early on in this 12 minute monster. The violin makes me think of My Dying Bride.

They do give into the blast beats going into "Amos" . Midway into the song it breaks into something more like chamber music giving it a more folk vibe. Then they speed back up. I wasn't paying attention when it transitioned into "Obadiah". This song has a more deliberate pulse. Things get darker and creepier going into "Jonah".  I like the mood being created here and become curious if this is going to become an actual song. Two minutes in and I am beginning to doubt it will and my fears are confirmed. There is an interesting throb driving "Zechariah". The drums shift under neath the some one static melody of the guitars.

"Zephaniah" is almost 18 minutes long. It takes two minutes for the song to kick in. The vocals are more of a death metal gurgle here. To be such a long song I think it requires a greater expanse to sonic colors to justify the indulgence of it's length. Instead it drones in a meandering manner. The drummer tries his best to steer it with greater intensity, but the guitars are locked in what they do. I'll round this down to an 8, there are some songs that really work best for what they do and then other moments not as inspired. None of these are bad songs. If you are really into this brand of horror movie like occult metal then you will also dig this album.



5

Shores of Null : "Black Drapes of Tomorrow"

This Italian metal behind often finds themselves falling close to black metal if we are still referring to new Enslaved as black metal. This is the band's second album and it  is very cleanly recorded. The mix is impeccable. The first song is more of an intro, though "Donau" feels like a logical extension of it. The vocals are the first thing that is very different. The are a tightly harmonized baritone that I can understand why someone might compare it to Alice In Chains. They do drop into a lower goth like tone.The gruff vocals that eventually come are not as interesting as the sung vocals. The vocal refrains to "Tides Against Us " are perhaps marginally more interesting than the vocals of the first song. It does become clear that these guys have a formula in place in terms of dynamics. "House of Cries" would sound more like black metal if the more feral vocals were screamed out rather than the smoother croon. The drumming is as on point as what this sort of thing requires. The guitars are not out to dazzle you they kind of sweep you away in a majestic drone. The blast beats happen , but don't feel as in your face since they are not dependent on them.

 The title track breaks away from the soaring black metal like drive that carries the album up to this point. The vocals start off as low goth narrative and then shift in the more harmonized sung vocal. This spoils you so when the growls come in they are kind of a buzz kill rather than a savage release. Sometimes this almost makes these guys feel like a mellow black metal version of Mastodon. However just when I think that they introduce acoustic guitars to lead into a song that is really just the intro for "Carry on, My Tiny Hope". They begin to introduce more layers of guitar melody and by the time they speed up it sounds more like prog metal.The vocals even take one more of an Evergrey or Symphony X, where they are still powerfully sung, but with a husky baritone rather than the doubled harmonies.

There is a doom power ballad feel to "We Ain't Ashes" which in some ways would translate to Dio era Black Sabbath. Things build into more of a Opeth gallop. The harser vocals continue to not be their strongest suit. There higher more death metal like screams work better than the lower Unleashed like growls. The clean vocals reclaim the spot light on "A Thousand Storms" ,  another smoothed out black metal like ditty that is more of a happy medium dynamically. The vocals are still sung but more emotive on "The Kolyma Route". Here the balance of the harsher vocals to clean vocals works well and the lower growls that accent the first few verses sound better, maybe it is a production choice and they just shit better in the mix. The song transitions well into more of groove towards the end. Overall the vocals help this stand out as a very unique take on moody melodic black metal, though not black metal in the sense we commonly think of it as a blasts fests. I enjoyed this album and will round it up to a 9.5.

 

HIDEOUS DIVINITY : "Adveniens"

There is not question this Italian death metal band knows how to blend their technical skill with convincing brutality. The first song steam rolls you, then the second song they eventually give you the hooky chant to latch onto. These guys know what they are doing. This album sounds massive and while this is not my favorite form of death metal I like the sound they are hitting me with. WIth members of Aborted and Hour of Penance on their ranks the 3rd album is dialed in to the max. "Passages" they begin to get a little mired down in the huge sound and at one point I think I am listening to another song when we haven't gone anywhere. They continue to throw a lot at you on "Angel of Revolution" and at times this kind of playing even hits the velocity that it sounds rushed.  At times it reminds me of "Legion" era Deicide if they took a bunch of meth and couldn't concentrate on the verse chorus format. I like the use of samples on "Feeding off the Blind".

There is a touch of Morbid Angel about this whole album, but filtered through more of  modern metal attack, it's more like post- David Vincent Morbid Angel on "When Flesh Unfolds". "Future in Red" catches my ear again, but the song before it blasted by in a blur that I did not even feel the need to pay attention to. "Embodiment of Chaos" really doesn't divert drastically from the carnage filled oath they have already paved. If you have gone the entire album with out noticing the drummer is a monster of a machine then his cyborg nature can no longer be denied . In fact that is probably him on the album cover.  Guitar wise they don't feel the need to really shred a shit tone, which plays to their favor more guitar solos would just clutter things up. I don't remember if I have really heard that much as far as solos go this entire album which means if they were there they were not memorable.

While these guys are better than most of the tech death metal out their, I'll give this album a 7 as most of these songs sound the same. If you are into this kind of thing then round it up to an 8. This is not what I normally listen to when it comes to death metal thought they pull enough from the classics to make me admit they know what they are doing.



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Dreariness : "Fragments"

Is there hope for depressive black metal? The upcoming AU Champ Des Morts certainly hints this genre could be seeing some life breathed into it. This album came out back in November, the 20th to be exact, so we are not to late to the part on. They open with a dream like elegance similar to classic Alcest and the more venomous elements of this band are not unfurls until half way into the song. Going into the second song the vocals are not as focused but thankfully the guitars dial things back in at the two and a half mark. When I put headphones I finally figured out the vocals were a girl singing. They ebb things back down into a more tender atmosphere that is closer to Deafheaven's zip code on "Essence" which is the first flawless song they deliver. T


he tone darkens into the first thing that really fits the bill as being depressive in my book on " In the Deep of Your Eyes". This feels a little more like an interlude than a fully realized song, though I appreciate the Skinny Puppy vibe haunting it. I'll let it squeak in as a song for the purpose of the review as it does go somewhere and build up. It also gets points for originality. Sadly things are not as inspired for the rather luke warm- yet fittingly morose "Somnium" , it would have worked better if they had found a way to work the interlude that follows this song into it and giving it something to make it stand out from what we have already heard. The album ends with the sixteen minute "Catharsis". From the first strains of fragile guitar I can envision this going into more of an Explosionsinthesky post-rock direction. The black metal doesn't come until we are five and a half minutes in ,but I like what they do when they do chose to kick it by layering the vocals so the clean vocals float over it. They from a stark blasting thrash to a bleeding sonic swell that is some how graceful.


I'll give this album a 9 as it's pretty rucking solid with only one song that doesn't feel like it nails it as hard as they others , but even then it is a positive shade of progress for this genre of metal. I don't really hear them as an Italian band but that is what is going down.

Up From the Underground : Shiver's Addiction

This band from Italy is more of a hard rock band than a metal band. The album is called "Choose Your Prison"  The only really heavy thing about them is the fact they heavily pull from 80s hard rock. Vocally they remind me of Alice Cooper and sonically fall somewhere between Queensryche and Skid Row. When they pull out the acoustic guitars on "Death Has Nothing to Teach" it reminds me of that moment in the early 90's when the hair rockers knowing their days were number began to experiment with different textures. I am not sure it is done as smoothly here as it was on an album by say Saigon Kick. The drummer is pretty solid on this album. His performance would be followed by the guitarist.

I like the bass intro to "Eternal Damnation" but a few songs into this album and I can tell these are going to be to upbeat for me. The guitar tones are often bright. The singer might not making the best choice by singing in English. The chorus intends to be metal, and by metal I mean it in the most Iced Earth manner possible. Once upon a time the riffs that open up 'Freedom" might have been considered metal, but even the most hefty chug they muster, is still just like "Queen of the Reich" era Queensryche. They do want to be a metal band and even try to churn out a more Metallica like riff on "Money Makes the Difference". When I refer to Metallica I'm talking "Black Album" and after, not their metal years.

"Painted Arrow" is yet another song that hovers close to a more metallic sound without committing fully to getting heavy. There is some good guitar playing on this song and the singer actually proves he can sing here. There is another near metal moment on "King and the Guillotine" which serves as a pretty good vehicle to get you to the guitar solo. You might be willing to concede them as power metal if you are really into power metal and feeling generous. The singer has a little more grit on "We Live On a Lie".  When he tries to go up into a falsetto it feels a little strained. Much like the brand of music they are paying tribute to here this album is all about the guitar. I guess if you are going to go for more of a retro metal sound , going the way In Solitude did is probably for the best. These guys are skilled players trying to make all the pieces fit and if you are into 80s metal ...not Celtic Frost,  anything less heavy than Iron Maiden then this might appeal to you.

Deceptionist: " Initializing Irreversible Process"

I was more interested in this band's industrial side than I was the tech tendencies. In this case tech must mean riff robots devoid of putting feeling into their metal. They are tight, but a band should be. This is where death metal is fully monochrome and I'm not hearing anything from the futuristic side that is balancing this out for me. The second song has some samples in it and the solo is decent, but nothing mind blowing for me. I eventually find myself on "Final Innovation" and realized two songs have just breezed by me because they sound the same. Some industrial moments creep into "Irreversible Process" which is one of the album's next redeeming moments. It's mainly run of the mill tightly riffed death metal with drumming that fails to impress me like most death metal can. If you put a ton of stock into guitar solos then you might find those sections more appealing. It's well played wanking, but wanking none the less.

"Sunshine" chugged right past me. It seems a little rushed and as stiff as all the previous songs. There is a robotic effect placed on the vocal at one point, and that is what this album needs more of to stand on it's own two cyborg legs. There is more industrial to "Industrivolutionaction" though it's more of a droning interlude than a song that goes somewhere. There is a similar aggression to old Deicide on "Operator Nr 3". The Romans aren't known for death metal, so this is like the Indians launching into space travel, but much like that it's been done before so what is the point? I'll give this album a 5, the guitars are played and produced , but unless guitar solos make the album for you this doesn't have an original bone in it's cyborg body.

Misteyes : "Creeping Time"

The beauty and the beast dynamic is at work here. This is heavier than I thought it would be going into it. Death metal vocals clash with the operatic female vocals . The symphonic metal waltzes around with tight chugs. There is some interesting bass playing taking place in the murk of the song. Very progressive in the arrangements, the song is written in movements more than the traditional verse chorus model. They really milk a lot out of the six and a half minutes. With a title like "Brains in a Vat" we can't be too shocked that the second song is more death metal than the first. This Italian band is a little darker than most takes on symphonic metal. "Inside the Golden Cage" finds them conforming a little more closely to the balance of opera and metal that early Nightwish struck. These guys are just willing to take it a little further and dip harder into the metal. There are a few sections here and there that get as theatric as King Diamond or Cradle of Filth.

The melodrama thickens with the piano intro and the more balladic vocal that starts off "Lady Loneliness". She is a talented singer, but her choice of melodies often leans to what dances around the song rather than fits tightest in it like a rock singer would. It builds more gracefully than you might think and flows as well as any other band in their pirate boots. "The Prey" hammers in much harder with the tight double bass of modern death metal. The two styles are not blended as gracefully as they are on the previous song. Their singer hits some impressive notes in her soprano register, she is by and large a Sarah Brightman worshipper. It's not until the song breaks down in the middle that it really hits it's stride. The guitarists and the drummer are all very skilled at their trade and these guys nail the execution. I think some of the pretense could be slightly shed to appeal to my tastes, but for the typical crowd who is into this stuff in Europe it will go over well.

"Destroy Your Past" focuses more on a modern metal groove until the soprano vocals come in. The good cop/ bad cop trade off with the growled male vocals is not overly formulaic, when the growls reach above the guttural death metal style they sound a little like a less annoying Dani Filth.This song is pretty tightly written with only winding drum fills sometimes slowing it's momentum, until the really elegant acoustic passage comes in.It's pretty unexpected, so if you can surprise me you are doing something right."The Demon of Fear" is heavier and has some impressive piano soloing but doesn't draw me in like some of the earlier songs. The Phantom of the Opera homage "A Fragile " feels more like an interlude rather than a song that is cohesive with this album despite the fact this is a part of who they are as a band. It's a fast forward classic to my ears. Of course "Chaos(Awaken the Beast)" is going to be heavier. They play it pretty safe and leave the symphonic elements in the closet for this one. They blend heavy with their symphonic bag of tricks, which you don't realize how much you appreciate them until they set the cello section aside for a song. I think one of this band's strengths is the fact they can dazzle you without taking you on long sprawling prog epics that don't seem like metal songs. "Decapitated Rose" might not be the album's strongest song, but it does high light a good balance of dynamics. the clean vocals are kinda weird as it sounds like the backing vocals from a Frank Zappa song.

 They close with the eight minute "Winter's Judgement". For these guys an eight minute song is really letting themselves thicken the melodrama. When it does begin to build into metal, the vocals have the kinda of rasp that band's like Emperor and Cradle of Filth took away from "Them" era King Diamond. This darkens things up which in turn makes it a easier sale on me. At the strongest moments it sounds like more straightforward Dimmu, but the Night Wish like fringes at a lacey undercoating. Overall this album is surprising and fans of symphonic metal will find a fresh  and heavier approach to the genre. I'll give it an 8.

Void Of Sleep : "New World Order"

At first they made me think they were going to be a heavier version of what Ghost currently does , then heading toward the second son I began to get strong Opeth vibes of them, then strong 90s vibes. They throw in some jumpy angular groove and work of the bouncing build up dynamic that Nu-metal once utilized, perhaps it is from a Tool influence, since they did have  profound impact on that genre of music and most of metal in the late 90s.  Not to say they are anything like Korn, but these guys are not your normal sludge merchants who were raised on a steady diet of Neurosis. The vocals are mostly clean there are a few throaty barks.

A more rock tinged riff leads off "Slaves Shall Serve". The vocals are a little more forceful and the song has almost a more classic gallop to it. It proves to quantify the heaviness factor when the band slows into more of a stomp. The melodies are more dialed in here. The summon a more Kyuss like rumble for " Ordo Ab Chao" , before spiraling into a more Tool like break down. No " New World Order" is not a cover of the Ministry song, it's slightly A Perfect Circle like excursion into mellow prog. It does build into a more Tool-ish rock and the song has a pleasing flow to it . These guys are obviously skilled musicians to bring Tool and Opeth comparisons, but this was not what I thought I was signing up for going into this. The hook on this song is one of the album's stronger vocals lines and while I prefer actual singing to growling, at times it seems as if the vocals could stand to choose more minor melodies to darken things up.  They might be influenced by Tool, they are not as dark as Tool.

The close out the album with the ambitious 14 minute "Ending Theme". They go a more Opeth route here , but with more of a doomy lumber to it. This song like many of the other have lyrics that dip into metaphoric conspiracy theories. The chorus doesn't really jump out of the wandering riff that might be the verse. At the six minute mark they enter a angular prog b-section that returns to one to the more pounding groove that they established in a manner similar to what King Crimson does on their "Red" album.  Their bassist does his job as being the sinewy glue to hold some of these riffs together. I am surprised there have not been a bunch of shredding guitar solos, instead they tend to hit you with one catchy riff after another,which there is nothing wrong with , but sometimes I find myself wondering where it all is leading to. The answer in the final two minutes of the song is into a doomy riff, that is followed by a riff that sounds like it is off of "Starless and Bible Black".

Overall these guys can not be denied in terms of their sound, they might not be the most original band under the sun , but at least they wear the influence of great bands on their sleeves.I'll give this one an 8, if you are just looking for some solid prog that is often more hard rock than metal , but is not mired down with too much wanking or high brow music theory then these guys are certainly worth your time.

King Crow : "Eidos"

From the onset the tricky syncopation seems to have more in common with Mars Volta than Kamelot. The vocals are filled with the kind of refined power that is required for progressive metal. They are soulful and more along the lines of Pain of Salvation than any operatic bellowing. They have some mathematics to some passages. The switches between the acoustic passages and the heavier riffs is well executed. This album's production all the way around is pretty spot on for their ambitious playing. They are melodic with out pouring on the cheese. Opeth and Porcupine Tree and both fair reference point, if we are talking about Opeths non-death metal days.

There is a slithering Tool groove set against the vocal melodies of "Slow Down" before the Kings X like prog sets in. They wait to slow down and get introspective on "Open Sky". There is a slight 70s prog tone to the keys. The singing is both emotive and original on this one. Its mid way into the song until any metal undertones begin to simmer up. These are kept at an more Led Zeppelin like intensity. They step into almost a folk metal place with the strum of the guitar on "Fading Out". This is not the only odd flirtation with other genres as I hear traces of 80s pop on the verse to "On the Barren Ground". They get closer to the Queensryche worship most prog-metal bands are all about on "At the Same Pace". They funny thing is they seem to be taking more cues from post-Empire Ryche than taking hold of the flame.

The title track finds the band getting a few degrees heavier, before flipping over into a more Porcupine Tree like acoustic verse.Honestly after reviewing the new Muse album earlier today I would say Kingcrow put more work into fine tuning the vocal melodies than Muse did. Sure Matt Bellamy might be the better singer, but when you are just dialing it in it doesn't matter. The end on a more introspective note than the album began on with delicate vocals and acoustic guitar that leads into a gradual build until it only goes metal for the final minute.  While this album is not metal in the strictest sense it has enough balls to appease fans of the proggier varieties. I'll give this one a 9 since it is so well crafted.

Forgotten Tomb : "Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love"

Some how their last album "And Don't Deliver Us From Evil" slipped by me so I missed the transition from "Under Saturn Retrograde" to this album, which is a much more slick and groove laden affair, than their more black metal earlier work. This guys are no doubt fine musicians and no too shabby in the song writing department so I'll give this one a shot. The very straight forward metal of "King Of Undesirables" reminds me too much of old Sentenced or any 90's melodic death metal. The more commercial metal sound which is thick on groove almost to a Slipknot level, somehow works on "Bad Dreams Come True". On the dark and melodic title track we are really getting somewhere, the lyrics are as scathing as the delivery it catches you feeling like a lonely junkie in a closet not unlike some of Nachtmystium's more introspective and downtrodden moments.They recall some of Dissections catchier "Reinkaos" era moments with the blackened head banger,"Mislead the Snakes".


 The slower melodic guitar passages that coast over the second half of the song add another layer of depth, and are a pretty clear indication of how this band has grown. The pounding chant of "Dread the Sundowns" chorus as a much more massive Behemoth scope to it compared to what you might have heard from the band before. They do get a little blasty, on that one , but there is not much of that elsewhere on the album. "Swallow the Void" starts off like Chelsea Wolfe's "Feral Love", but proves to be more of an outro than an actual song.This one might be a little to mall metal for me , but never the less, I'll round this one up to an 8 as it shows a lot of growth for the band.

Ufomammut: "Ecate"

This is the Italian doom trio's seventh album since forming in 1999. They play a thick stony brand of doom somewhere between Yob and Zoroaster. The ten minute opener is almost an instrumental as the vocals are thrown way behind the guitars , then the faint whispering of vocals enters in the songs final three minutes. They find some interesting sounds and seem to be off to a pretty good start here. The riffs are pretty basic and droning, their signature move seems to be distracting you from this fact by swirling some sonic surrealism around your ears. They raise the rumble on the bellowing trudge of "Plouton". The build momentum until they have sped past the boundaries of doom and are in more sludge country, which truth be told is what this felt like from the get go.

"Chaosecret" breaks down into a lingering crawl with samples dripping off of it's monolithic lumber. slow boiling the vocals take their place in the back of your hallucinating mind. One again their formula proves to be build things up in the final three minutes and lead you on for the first seven. The vocals almost industrial like. Distant and distorted the fall between being shouted through a machine and sung. "Temple" finds the band dragging the thick slabs of fuzzed out distortion through the post- apocalyptic landscape they seem to be wandering in. The song hits a groove that it speeds up and plays around with, but five minutes into it I found myself drifting away from the song. They do add some accents and punches in the  final three minutes but at that point it feels like too little to late. Though I do like the industrial feeling of the production.

"Revelation" is just a spacey interlude that sets you up for the tense and winding riff of "Daemons". This tight palm muted affair has a similar attack that Tool or Kyuss might employ. the more the song progresses I an hear that it's "Opiate" era Tool I am referring to most likely "Piece of Me". It might be the most conventional song on the album , but it is also the most infectious and you can't help but bang your head to it a little.I am a little split on this as I am torn between lack of originality and sound so I'll leave it up to you as to which is more important. If originality is the most important factor then around this down to a 7.5, if the overall sound is and you don't care where you might have heard it before then give it an 8.

Black Metal History Month: Abhor- Rituale Stramonium

The first thing that makes this band really stand  out are the vocals that are belched  out in a  froggy gurgled croak. The first song impressed me with synths adding to the melodic qualities with out compromising the heaviness. This works in a similar manner to Mortuary Drape, who these guys might remind you of from time to time. Italian bands are supposed to be obsessed  with the horror movie soundtrack thing and I suppose if that's what you want to hear, then there is enough evidence to justify that case, but I also hear some Emperor influence. Put through the band's filter is comes out much  slower, despite the fact they are able to hit the blast beats when the notion hits them.

I prefer the more deliberate doom pacing of  the third song. You would think the vocals would have grown old for me by the third song as they are pretty much one dimensional, but the music keeps  you distracted from them. The horror movie elements continue to pile on the creepiness almost to the point of making sound more like doom than what we might typically think of black metal, so there is a strong depressive element to this. "Soul's Poison" finds this taken to extreme and the synths droning you out until the drums build the song back up in the final minute. They break from this with the more Darkthrone paced "Circle of Stones". Compared to what they have thrown at you earlier in the album tihs sounds like they are taking the easy way out. "Wine of Sabbath" splits the difference taking the middle road between the Darkthrone route and the horror doom.

They keep a more deliberate pace , but with plenty of drive on " The Chant of the Owl".At over eight minutes  things need new life   they break down into a more ritualistic atmosphere three and a half minutes in. The album closes out with pipe organ , it comes across more like the Phantom of the Outro rather than a free standing song. I like the feel of this album, the step backwards into the more black n roll roar of the Darkthrone like song, is the only song on this  album  that didn't totally gel with me, so I will give this album a generous rounded up 9, as I think much like Mortuary Drape it will grow on me.

Mourning Mist : s/t

A violinist and the bass player from Abhor are what the band thinks are there key selling point. While their drummer is pretty good too, they are not wrong, these are two elements that help them stand out from the endless stream of black metal coming out. Another element is the more Venom like spoken vocals on the first song. The violin takes the place of guitar solos. Or so you would think it sounds as if the guitar wants to shred too , but there are many places where it's hard to tell the two apart. In the final minute of the opener the band descends into a sound  more common with the masses.

They let the violin set up 'Free Fall" which is an odd title for a black metal song. The vocal following a more scathing path and the song races a taunt line. The band gets credit for caring about musicality and not just slapping you around with blast beats. They have the eerie dissonance covered as well. All this and a rather progressive side. There is more meat to songs like "Rage", even when the band changes pace on a dime. The  angry spoken vocals which are my least favorite element of their sound return.

One of the albums heaviest riffs is on "Torment". For a black metal band they have a pretty straight up classic metal guitar sound that is even more evident on this song. The chug is pretty powerful so no one will complain that they are too metal. This even takes them to the point of becoming thrash on "Torment".  These blatant metal foot on the monitor moments don't let up on "Rise and Decay". The acrobatics do tend to over shadow the song by this point. The vocals are extra crispy in their rasp. The bassist really shines when they slow down the proceedings and this tone quantifies. They surprisingly switch over into a clean guitar tone for "Lament" that closes the album. This turns out to be more of an instrumental outro than a song.

This album kept me entertained. If you prefer more traditional metal  and are open to exploring something with a black metal slant, then is album would be a good gateway drug for you.It's entertaining, they have chops and care about the journey they take you on within their songs. I'll give this an 8.5, it's pretty solid, some of the angry spoken vocals weren't my thing, but this album is very well done.

4.3

Hands of Orlac: "Figli Del Crepuscolo"

How do you feel about Italian Horror movies? This is the first question that needs to be asked when going into Hands of Orlac's new album. They embrace the sound tracks of those cult classics and blend them with straight up vest metal. It's more genuine than anything Ghost is putting out now even with it's flute solos and Devil's Blood can never return. These guys and ghouls embrace that style of occult rock. Two minutes into the first real song 'last Fatal Drop' they really get heads banging and fist pumping , before ripping into a guitar solo. The Flute does at times really call forth Blood Ceremony, but this alum is much darker than the more freedom rock hippy dippy vibes Blood Ceremony began to embrace.

There heavier moments embrace a rawer brand of dark metal, like Mercyful Fate or the first two Iron Maiden albums. Yet these teeth are not bared for long before the smoke flows like the Mystery Machine and we are mellowing out. The guitar attack is the albums strong point. The vocals work for what they are doing, but tend to float around in a similar range. They creep from one minor key to the next.The sampled screams work well over the power metal bombast of "A Coin in the Heart". This song goes on an Iron Maiden like adventure, galloping all over the battle field.

They get even darker on "Noctua". The tight palm muted chug keeps the song moving amongst the gloom it casts.There is a very cool break down that reminds me of solo Ozzy around the five minute mark.It has a kind of "Little Dolls" feel. "Ghost Story" is on of the more melodic songs on the album, but the opening verse doesn't connect with me, yet the chorus does. So it's a mixed bag.The doom comes on thick with the oppressive"Mill of the Stone Women". It finds a pretty good chug later on in the song , but it's first half kinds faded in the background .

Overall this album is a fun listen. They suceed at the atmop
shere they are trying to create. If you are a fan of the whole occult rock/ vest metal retro thing then it is worth your while. I like it because not only does it have that classic metal feel it is a darker take on it. With that said I am not sure it's something I need to own, but will give it a 8 none the less.

Mortuary Drape: "Spiritual Independence"

Although they have been around for thirty years, my history with the band dates back five years ago when I read an interview with Erik of Watain, who cited them as an influence. One of the oldest black metal bands is breaking ten years of silence. I have been hunting this album for some time, before I could not take it any more and broke down to contact the band. I am glad that I did because i need this one in my life. The creepy gothic intro lands into "Lithany", that is compared to the black metal of today, would feel more like classic metal. The backing vocals have the most in common with modern black metal, but I remember a time when bands like Morbid Angel and Deicide seemed like black at the time. One thing is glaringly evident is these guys come from a time when the emphasis is on songs. Every instrument counts here, there is not a note wasted, even the vocals have purpose rather than just being relegated to being an after thought, which is very common with harsher growls.

Drummer Wildness Perversion, the bassist really shines on "Once I Read" . The song picks up into more of a thrash. feel. On "Natural Death" they show their influence on black metal, with the dark cadence they let the chords ring out with. Their songs effortless flow like the river Styx in darker waters. The ritualistic elements bands like Watain took inspiration from are evident. It would be pretty impressive to see Wildness pull off these growls while playing drums live, as his drumming is pretty intricate at times. Most of the solos default to what you expect more from a death metal album or someone like Dissection who it's clear these guys had an influence on. I have a pretty high threshold for evil so if a song gives me the evil chills that means they are serious about what's going on.

They chug through "Mortal Remains" with authority. This song also has the one guitar solo on it that really stands out to me. Like most of the songs it weaves it way through an array of dynamics and retains the bands trademark to sacrifice  babies not melody at their altar of metal. There is an odd groove to "Immutable Witness" which appears to be one of the rare moments on this album that has to grow on where most songs grab me right from the first few chords. I like how the vocals are layered on the chorus and the bass line. They keep digging deeper for more macabre sounds and continue to find them on "Ignis Fatuus". It does eventually wind it's way into a straight up  galloping rocker, though the bass player plays around the riff  keeping a unique twist on it.

They do hit you straight on with the thrashy "1600 Gnostic Year". Even then it shifts the riffs around in the writhing manner of New Order Testament. The vocals also fall back onto accenting the punches in a more traditional manner, The band don't take the easy way out and bring back the doomish  delight. The solo break hits the song in a similar fashion as Altars of Madness" Morbid Angel. They take a very deliberate approach to the title track. They layer the vocals with some cool effects. The band never has to sort to hiding behind the blistering speeds of blast beats. The chorus to this song doesn't punch out of the song like some, but it creates it's own atmosphere and winds to fiendishly alluring corners of hell. The song ends with vocals that are very King Diamond, which I can see Don't Break the Oath" era Mercyful Fate being a big influence on these guys, in terms of feel, the vocals never stray from their lower yet articulate growls.

I have no problem giving this album a ten, some of the more straight up thrash moments which might not have immediately resonated with me were counterbalanced with the  beautifully creepy sounds this album abounds with. If you like old school death or black metal with serious occult trappings then this is an album not to miss.

Buioingola : "Dopo L' Apnea

The Bandcamp page of this Italian band assigns themselves labels as reaching as neo-crust, they have craft dense sonic metal that is very shadowy and foreboding.They delve into blast beats on the second song, but as a general rule they feel more sludge driven. The layers of weighty riffs doused in reverb tremolo picking that sits back further in the mix creates an eerie ambiance.

Fans of Tombs will enjoy how the lines are blurred here. Tremolo picking comes back into play to create another sonic layer, but much like when they dip into blast beats, they seem  more like dynamic tools than this band being black metal. Like Tombs there is a very cavernous element to their sound. It sometimes condense it more of a claustrophobic mess, namely "Candida" which is the only song I really here this crust thing and also the most noisy and least musical of the album, but it makes up for this abrasion in the sonics.

"Rigurgito" has a more ambient intro, allowing the song to swell into a more goth like throb. The vocals roar in the distance, before it explodes into their normal bludgeoning. The song does allow for plenty of breathing room in it's ebb and flow, my only real complaint is the vocal stay with the same lower coarse bellow. The guitars sounds are left to compensate for this monochromatic delivery.    


The industrial interlude in "Oceano" helps set this band apart from the rest of the roaring sludge out there. The industrial undercoating is hinted at in the metallic clang assigned to various snare hits and fuzzed out distorted beats throughout. The song build after five minutes into a steady beating and jack hammers the point home in it's juggernaut fashion. The fact they are able to keep your attention for fifteen minutes with this ebb and flow, says something about the band. Sometimes the more straight forward assault that comes later in the song seems almost like they are taking the easy way out and feel obligated to get heavy after they have shown you a wider spectrum of sonic. Overall I like this album I'll give it an 8.