Gothtober- Blacklist : "Afterworld"

 

This band features singer song writer Joshua Strachan of Vaura. They infuse post-punk and goth atmosphere with the anthemic kick of hard rock. The opening track is a more subdued calm before the storm piece that feels more like an intro than what unfolds on the palm muted clouds gathering of "the Final Resistance". To be a band from Brooklyn it is impressive that they are not so concerned with trying to be cool that they forget to rock out and even throw some guitar solos in. "Nightbound" finds the band setting more space in the verses for the vocals to take a more emotive approach that recalls 80s goth. 

The bass line to " No Good Answers" has more growl. The vocals seem to be getting more emotional with each song. There is an odd time change going into the chorus, which is one of the few twists of the metal DNA left over from Vaura. "Behind the Veil of the Living World"  is the first song where the dense arrangement crowd the vocals and dampens the melody to where the songs is not as catchy as the others. It lets up on the chorus a bit, but the verses are somewhat obtuse. The pounding toms of "Pathfinder" picked up the pace of the tension in a dramatic manner. "Scarlet Horizon" falls back on the bass line though is fairly upbeat, layered with ambient guitar. 

They shift to a more introspective moodiness on "A Stranger in this Century". The vocals have more room. However more indulgent and not one of the albums more captivating melodies. "In Shadow Light" works better as things are moving. The vocals are key to this band and here they are more inspired. The dynamics of the last song ache with more nostalgia toward classic goth, which I prefer more than some of their grandiose emoting.  I will give this album a 9, it's a more romantic departure from what Vaura was doing, but effective at capture that vibe.  

Vaura : " Sables"

Up to this point I have always like what I have caught from this band. It had a dark density and combined post-punk moods with post-metal sounds . Here they are going in different direction. It is more lo fi. Drum machines taking the place of the bottom end their sound used to have. If you are moving in a more 80s new direction and it's not fully connecting with me their is a problem. The vocals are a little higher to create more of a Depeche Mode like sound. The guitar parts and weird and angular, with re-verb replacing distortion. It's sounds like if Bella Morta or Cruxshadows tried to become a progressive rock band. There are some redeeming aspects of what is happening here, most of those fall on the guitar playing. I think it comes across as not as dark due to the production quality and the shift in guitar tone, which works for what the guitar is doing , but perhaps not where it fall in the bigger picture they are trying to paint here. So the strength and the weakness are different sides of the same coin.

The refrain of  "The Ruins" works pretty wall, but overall the song doesn't measure up fully to what I have heard from these guys before. There is more of a Cure vibe to " No Gaurdians" , which should make this an instant winner in my book, but I feel the vocals are uncomfortable and trying to sing higher than what this guy is best at. So five songs in and I can say I am beginning to feel disappointed. "Eidolon" might be the best song so far. If I went into this not having heard this band before then I think I might be more impressed with it. There is a more Pink Floyd like guitar melody.  The parts of songs like "Basilisk" I am sure sounded great when they were tracking them, but how they all fit together in the mix is the problem. So part of the problem might lay in hos this album was produced.

The title track the album ends with is very sparse and atmospheric . They let to much sit on the shoulders of the vocals, which I am sure sounded just fine in vocal booth, but when left to sit naked atop very minimal backing , not so much. I will give this album a 7, because there are good sounds and ideas abounding. It is more of a progressive rock album than what we have heard from them in the past. So much so this might have been better served being released under the guise of a solo project under another name as the difference is as wide as the difference between the last A Perfect Circle album and "Undertow".

Karyn Crisis' Gospel of Witches

I was a fan of Karyn's band in the 90's this was back when the only other female fronted band that played dark and heavy music was Fear of God. So i was looking forward to this album. First thing that stands out is Her melodies sound more assured and her voice is even more powerful now than it was on the first Crisis album. "Alchemist" is the first real song following the brooding intro piece, showcases her She  assemblage of great music guys from Tombs, Vaura, and Danny Walker of Intronaut sitting behind the kit. Her husband Epel Duath guitarist Davide Tiso handles the bulk of the guitar on this album. This was not what I expected as it  carries more of an organic big rock sound  Her melodies slither between the chord placement. The more organic rock feel of "Ancient Ways", sounds more like Intronaut than any of the other components making up this band.

There is there a weird blend of alt-rock and thick chuggy metal on "Aradia" . It has hints of System of Down, in the tight slickness.  The songs are smoother rides than Crisis. She jumps around from register to register and focuses more on singing than she did in Epel Duath. There is a slight nu-metal meets doom element to the creepy feel of "Mother". Ross Dolan of Immolation's backing vocals are most effective in the chorus of this song. Logically the next branch on her family tree is "Father". Rather taking the Jonathan Davis route she goes a more spiritual route looking at some of the father figure deities. There is a power ballad quality to "Goddess of Light".

She displays her keen sense of making odd angular melodies work in her favor and the entire sound finds just the right balance in the process on "Howl at the Moon". At three minutes "Pillars" proves to be timed for rock radio and it's not too crazy that it wouldn't fit along side Flyleaf or the Gathering. The almost pop hooks is not what I was expecting, but the songs are very well written, so it has an almost an A Perfect Circle quality in that regard. I find my self pretty forgiving of commercial qualities when they are handled this way though, I am not sure if it would fly with the kids over at Cvlt Nation or even No Clean Singing.

Despite the excellent vocal performance "the Secret" feels like it  is more of an interlude/ intro into "Salem's Wounds".  It would not be either fair nor accurate to compare the song to Chelsea Wolfe even though they both incorporate dark electronics and ghostly vocals. The guttural vocals serve as a good cue for the song to build with a throb. The flow of double bass on "The Sword and the Stone" off set the almost shoe gazey glaze that throws more of this dark pop against a more ominous Cocteau Twins dynamic.The vocal melodies are sugary sweet even with deathly gutturals as the undercurrent beneath.

It ends with a slow dark drift layered with more of her subtler , yet still amazing melodies, she lets the guitar do more of the heavy lifting here, at times making me feel like I am listening to a satanic version of Muse. Karyn's vocals continue to go from a belt into a growl as needed . I'll go ahead and round this one up to a 10 and see how it sets with me , because all of the songs are pretty much perfect , I was just caught off guard at how un-metal some of the melodies are, but they work and it's great music no matter what genre it is or isn't . It's hard to be a marginal fan of hers , but if you are familiar with her work in any way or that of the musicians backing her then this album is worth your while.

Vaura: the Missing

This is the  sophomore album by the New York band that features members of  Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Kayo Dot, Secret Chiefs 3 and Religious to Damn. 

this album finds the band heading in an even more melodic and progressive direction.I am not sure why I was so reluctant to check this album out after having like the first one so much. It is not as dark as the last one.The crooned vocals are pretty much the mainstay of the album they are not as low an Ina Curtis like as they were on the previous album.

Many instances the band remind me of a mix between Junius and Vast, as their is a much more middle of the road element to their sound at borders on being radio friendly alt/ rock. The feel is more like many of the alternative metal bands in the late 90's. The song "Incomplete Burning" really stays in the safe middle ground, though it sounds good as far as their performance and  songwriting though this and the opening title track don't really grab me. Though after a few listens the vocals on the second song sit better with me.

It's not until "the Fire " where the band brings back any elements of black metal.Though the first song has a blasty element to it, but its more along the line of newer Enslaved.The lower monotone vocals are coated in effect to give them a more melodic quality than they held on the first album.

The dark moment creep up on "Mare of the Snake" it has almost a cold wave feel despite the strum of the clean guitar. The chorus isn't as catchy as you would expect the songs pay off to have but over all it creates a sufficient mood. A prog Rush sort of gallop kicks off "Pleasure Blind" before the slinky bass line takes the song away.It's an interesting transition and spotlights the playing which is the band's strong point.There are many col parts that dip out from the shadows of the song, the build and where the song ends up don't seem to be as dynamic and sonic as they did on the first album. The verses often coming across as catchier than the choruses.

"Passage to Vice" has a subtle David Bowie element the production on the vocals reminds me of I'm Afraid of Americans. "The Things That We Hide" finds itself in a more 80's post-punk throb of electronics. The vocal layering on this song is well done , but the vocals on this album never seem to find their hooks. Some industrial strength abrasion  is added to "Abeyance". The vocals that are not distorted in the chaos of the song haunt the back ground.There are some cool sounds coming from bass and guitars but wouldn't say its an actual song.  

There is a cool Cure like bass line to "Braced For Collapse" with 90's goth drenched vocals crooning in the spaces between. This song lets itself feel the anguish and build into the emotion rather than just coasting on it like most of the songs seem to. The album closes out with the moody "Putting Flesh to Bone" .The vocals limit this song as they stay in a robot effected monotone. Overall this is a well played and great sounding album but the writing is the only weak spot in terms of the dynamic potential that was not quite achieved here.Never the less it still manages to earn a 7 out of 10 .