Living Gate : "Suffer as One"

 

Here is another supergroup making old-school death metal, which I suppose is a bit of a trend now. This one features members of YOB, Amen Ra, and Wiegedood. Some elements are not unlike 'Formulas Fatal to the Flesh " era Morbid Angel, as the riffs twist and turn with a great deal of technical prowess. So they are not taking the easy way out by just dialing in a certain retro sound. The guitars have that Trey chaos to them for sure. There is a blast undercurrent to "Internal Decomposition". It is almost jazzy in how the drums go off on their own path. 

The riffs offer a dissonant and angular counterpoint to this.  The drums do a better job of holding together "Destroy and Consume" in a more grooving manner. The groove makes it one of the album's best songs The dray breathy rasp of the vocals is articulate enough to offer more of a narrative than just growling with no purpose. "Unified Soul" charges at you full blast until they provide some contrast with a more deliberate almost rock n roll riff, it's almost Deicide-like in its tight steamrolling drive. "Suffer as One" locks in more on the riff. This makes for a hookier affair. It stabs rather than stomps. They break into a creepier melodic guitar section showing they care about dynamics. 

The sinister slither of "Ones and Zeroes" almost reminds me of old Meshuggah in the manner the riffs shift in a winding fashion. The chugs that get locked into during the more obtuse math of the arrangements prove powerful and the overall result is an undulating throb. "Hunting Maggots" is more feral in its frantic chugging, though even then they play around with it to make it catchier than most death metal bands who do this sort of thing. "Atoms and Particles" takes a few moments here and there to allow a breather offering a passage that gives more ambiance, and feels less like the same is painted with the same color. The tense moments in the middle of the song use this in a very effective manner. 

Even the smarts they have invested into the equation that is their songwriting formula begins to settle in with "Overcome, Overthrow" leading to it sounding similar to other songs on the album. It is not until things take on more hard-core bluster on the last song that they capture my attention again. These guys are highly skilled musicians , who have made a captivating listen from a genre they do no dive into in their other bands but proved successful here, I will give this album a 9. It ddrops October 25th on Relapse Records.  

pst463

Wiegedood :" There is Always Blood At the End of the Road"

Of the Church of Ra Belgium metal community this is the heaviest of those bands and also up until this point the most black metal of those bands, though this album sees the going off in a rapid grind core like manner. While there are some black metal elements intact the intensity has been elevated to a more extreme level and this album is angry as fuck. The opening track was impressive and had me eager to spend more time with this album. When I did, I found it falls into one of the many pitfalls extreme metal bands so often succumb to. The first song impresses tryout because it is so damn heavy but is not so keen when followed up by asking if they can write a song. By the third song we are stuck in the same blasting darkness, with no dynamics making this sound very uniform. 

"Until It is Not" races more along the tremolo guitar atmosphere of black metal though the pacing causes it to run together with the previous songs. It is however the best song since the opener at this juncture in the album. Melody does not begin to creep in until "Now Will Always Be".  It is more for an intro though at the point I will take anything. The vocals have a more croak throat singing drone to them. There is an interlude that for the purpose of this review I am going to pass over as it contributes nothing. Then there is the invocation of chaos that they have titled "Nuages" until the ends it just blasts off at the same blinding speed the other songs have. It ends by slowing down into a weird, syncopated part that sound like their brain was melting at the time. While it is a cool riff, the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make.  

"Theft and Begging" is more redundant speed blasting with a few passages at more of a creepy throb to break things up. However, as the song progresses there emerges more sonic moods. At one point it sounds like he screams about a slutty dog, but with the exception of the throat singing part earlier on the vocals are just another abrasive texture. Violent is often used as an adjective in metal but I think this album makes a fair argument for it being used here. I will round this one down to an 8, as it does have few impressive song and unearthly rage pouring to it as far as song so that I will want to listen to well I think I have heard enough so they 8 is more because it is effective for people who want one dimensional sonic abuse, as it excels at that.    

Black Metal History Month - Wiegedood : "De Doden Hebben Het Goed II"

When it comes to black metal  things are fairly divided even when it comes to varied sub-genres. This is the case with many of the sects of metal, but black metal finds this even more pronounced. Go to a Deafheaven show and then go see Abbath and it clearly looks like you are in two different cultures. One could almost double for a Mumford and Sons crowd the other has on enough spikes to sink a long boat. This band from Belgium is one of the few able to bring some legit metal that is not punk or post-rock in disguise and still make picky critics like me happy. So this is the sequel to the Belgian band's 2015 album. This start off with a blaze of fury in their skies as it blast with a bunch of mean spirited rage. The vocals are screamed in a very throat curdling manner. The drummers sounds like it might be the weak link on the opener , but some of that could just be due to the guitar really pushed up and slicing into your ears in this violent mix. The first half of the 11 minute second song is more melodic , but the instrumental section sprawls on until the 5 minute mark. They kick things up to the kind of manic pace established in the first song. I don't mind when these guys get into the more blast beaten moments because they do so tastefully and there is never a sense that it's all they can do.

 I really like the groove they end up in on the title track. They really hit the sweet spot where the sonics are as heavy as the metal. While they hit a very high point here the more thrash rooted song that follows really doesn't do a helluva a lot for me. It sounds good and I was listening to this loud enough to make my ears ring...if you don't typically listen to good metal at this volume then lets just go ahead and get the fact you are pussy out of the way.I will give this short and sweet four song little thing a 9 though I doubt it will make it over to my iPod as most of it takes it time or sprawls out beyond what I want to listen to walking to get coffee in the morning no matter how hard it is snowing.


 

Wiegedood : "De Doden Hebben Het Goed "

 This album cover is truth in advertising as what is inside sounds just like it looks. The Belgium trio starts things off with a blast beat that carries a dark enough storm cloud with it that keeps it from sounding like every other blast heavy black metal band.Tonally the guitar sound is rather clean. The bass is still buried in the mix as the strangled screams cry out in a static wave over everything. It's intense , but much like every other extreme metal band no matter their shade, after the sting of the inital intensity wears off then you are left asking what else they can do. When you hear they are screaming about the time has come you realize the lyrics are in English, though at first like most bands of their ilk the lyrics are a mute point.Six minutes into the storm they die down into a minimal melody. Yes they are guilty of dealing in songs over the ten minute mark, which more than likely won't make it onto my iPod since I am over that trend , but I'm open to hearing what these guys can do as I like to make sure I leave no stone unturned before making my end of the year lists.

 Even though it picks up in intensity, the second song blasts a similar pace and seems like an extension of the first song, granted a dynamic build, but it bleeds together none the less. They scream something about the last born child before it breaks down into another clean section, which is less impressive than the first song because now the formula is intact. The title tracks slows into a more melodic throb that proves much more effective than losing you in the blast. Midway into "Odner Gaan" the song takes a more emotive turn thanks to a slowed beat and more interesting layers of guitar. They do another more melodic break and adhere to the formula though is one is very brief and is handled much differently. A more spoken vocals emerges but stays back in the mix behind the guitar so it is more of a textural element.


 I get why this album made it onto some end of the year lists, but when you hear as many black metal albums as I do every week you question the extent they are carving out their own sound. I like what they are doing here , the mood this album creates and the lengthy songs are not really a deal breaker for me. I'll around this down to a 8.5, due to their reliance on blast beats, while this is a staple of the back metal sound I think they really stand out when they are not following the formula of the genre or their own making. If you are a fan of more traditional black metal, that is not raw and punk flavored but creates more of a mood without crossing over into atmospheric black metal then this album is a must for you.