Ryan Adams : " 1989"

So it's time for me to come out of the closet about my Taylor Swift addiction if you have not already read about it on here. CHVRCHES served as a methadone to help me taper off, but here is an album to finish the job. Why do I listen to Taylor  Swift? Well after spending anywhere from six to eight hours listening to death metal and blackenedsludgecore, I need a palate cleanser. How can I really appreciate something heavy if that is all I listen to? And if that was all I listened to on my way out into the world I would be like the Hulk in my daily interactions. So it's like a reverse catharsis. It helps put on the Patrick Bateman like skin where I pretend to be normal, which makes perfect sense why he was really into Whitney Houston. My wife doesn't like Taylor Swift, she is banned from being played in the car, but this album is totally acceptable. Ryan Adams who also must be a pretty big fan as well as a metal head...just look up his cover of "Holy Diver", made a bold move in covering Swift's "1989" in its entirety and the results are pretty great.

While it depends on the song there are some of these covers I like better than the originals. I considered "Welcome to New York" more of a fast forward classic in it's original form, but now it carries an impassioned jangle that falls somewhere between classic Springsteen and Mellancamp. In the case of "Blank Space" the bar was raised pretty high, so his more subdued acoustic take on "Blank Space" might leave fans of the original slightly wanting until they get used to it. He blows the fucking roof off of "Style", it really drives and has more dynamics and emotional power than the original. This is the first time I notice where he changes the gender in the lyrics.



"Out of the Woods" is one of the songs where I didn't listen to the original as much so he had more of a clean slate to work with. But being that it was not one of the strongest songs on the original album the same can be said here. The song does pick up into a dreamier indie rock sound. Adams vocal arrangement surpasses the original again on "Stay" . He sings in higher register that emotes even better than than Swift's approach. He runs into a similar challenge with "Shake It Off" that he had with "Blank Space". He goes an almost "I'm On Fire' route with this version, which has a more restrained steam to it. He triumphs again with " I Wish You Would" opening the song with a more reserved vocal and acoustic strum , but builds the song at pretty much the same point the original also explodes. He soars into the melodies that follow this build and breaks it back down when called for. His phrasing is impeccable. "Bad Blood" was another tall order , but this time his take on it knocks it out of the park.

He is not too far from the original on "Wildest Dreams".  The chorus doesn't float away like Swifts , but maintains more of an Neil Young meets Fleetwood Mac like swing to it. I'm not sure about saying she is handsome as hell, but whatever. I have less of an investment in " How You Get the Girl' than most the album, so I was pretty open to the reinterpretation here. It's more somber. Adams really has to be applauded for pouring so much feeling into his vocal performance here. He  offer a delicate take on "This Love" , but it's hard to get the chorus of Swift's version out of my head. The oh oh oh's are a pretty important part he doesn't supplement this minimalist arrangement with.

He does well with " I Know Places" letting a bass line lead the song in and layering it with some chilling guitar. He surpasses Swift's version with his arrangement of "Clean". His more Americana flavored vocals are welcome on this song which only shows hints that Swift got her start as a country artist before totally crossing over. It goes without saying this one gets a 10.

Tsjuder : "Antiliv"

This is the fifth full length for the Norse band. They start with a blast fitting of the title "Khaos". With a dry mid range croak, he exclaims something along the lines of being fucking evil and a bringer of chaos, so they are not trying to go a more accessible route.On the second song they find a bigger sound at a more mid-paced tempo. There are some explosive sound effects like they are playing inside a video game in places. The riffs have some hook to them and over all its an improvement from the opener and makes me a little more hopeful in regards to the rest of the album. The hit a good middle ground on "Norge" ( Norway) using the blast beats in spurts. The production should also be commended because they hit the sweet spot where it is raw enough to give the mix teeth, but not so low-fi things are distant in the mix of thin and feeding back.

When the pour on the speed the band seems less inspired so it's moments like the thrash riff in "Djevelens" that keeps things interesting. It also depends upon how they are going full throttle, as "Demonic Supremacy" is more varied, yet races through the hell-fire as fast as any of the songs. Sure this album is loaded with heavy metal cliches, black metal has begun to acquire its own, but these are well executed on " Slumber With the Worm". There are some Slayer moments at the beginning of "By Ferdens End".These lead to a blast-to -thon that is more compelling when they slow down to the more pulsating riff.

They find a powerful metal chug on the title track that closes the album, the deluxe edition has other songs and other versions of these songs, but  for this review I'm jut sticking with the normal album version.You begin to ask your self why hasn't the band capitalized more on this kind of sound as this song really stomps down with tons of power. Is it black metal, that is debatable, but it's just good metal so why count straws at that point. They drop down into an even heavier chug as the album ends, it heavy in a more commanding manner than Inquisition, though there are some comparisons to their last album that can be found here. Overall it's one of the better black metal albums to come out of Norway who has given up ground to other countries when it comes to black metal in recent years. I'll give it an 8.5.

Motorhead : " Bad Magic'

I know Motorhead is the sacred cow of metal. People blindly accept Lemmy as god. He does get credit for being in Hawkwind. He is an easy guy to like, but does that make him really a metal icon musically? Is Motorhead even metal? And the million dollar question is has Motorhead put out anything worthwhile in the past 20 years? Why does that matter ? Well for someone to truly be a great artist everything they touch shows it. But Lemmy is old enough to be my grand dad you say, you have to cut him some slack...why when David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp, David Gilmore and a host of others who are older or his peers still do so should Lemmy or he is more myth than legend Can they still make good music? Well the first song is pretty dialed in color by numbers punching the clock. The second song improves as His bass tone is dialed in on "Thunder & Lightning".


I am not expecting Lemmy to be able to sing , but I am expecting more than a second rate "Cat Scratch Fever" on "Fire Storm Hotel". Former King Diamond drummer Mikkey Dee, shows he still has it on the intro to "Shoot Out Your Lights" at this point he has been in the band almost as long as Philthy and truth be told Lemmy is the only original member though the guitarist joined in the mid eighties. The would be a really heavy Motley Crue song. The songs are like punk, three minutes in and out. "The Devil" sounds like bad solo Ozzy, but it's better than the previous song. It's funny that the same people who make fun of cock rock are the same ones who will champion Motorhead, but "Electricity" sounds not different from Faster Pussycat to me except for the fact its' Lemmy rather than Taime Downe on the mic.  I would really like this album to just be half as good as "Orgasmatron" is that too much to ask?

"Evil Eye" has more of his rumbling bass, which along with the drumming are the best parts of this album. It's actually a pretty decent song. This album flys by... some of this is because the songs are pretty brisk . By the time we are at "Teach Them How to Bleed" I notice that Lemmy is not trying in the lyrical department and this sounds like as song I have already heard them play and not just on this album. The do cheese the right way when they pull out the power ballad " Till the End" . Lemmy comes close to singing and guitar solos wail out of every corner, thats how you rock. Feeling a little self conscious after that one they come back doing what they do with "Tell Me Who To Kill" . His bass playing is great on this one and I'm always drawn to it, but the song itself is nothing special, just rehashed rock chords.

"Choking on Your Screams" gets a little closer to classic Motorhead. The hit you with more groove. The lyrics improve, they are a "Orgasmatron' like narrative. The more straight up rock of "When the Sky Comes Looking For You" is a mixed bag. At it's core it's nothing new. They close the album with a cover of "Sympathy for the Devil" . Not sure if this is needed as they play it pretty straight and don't metal it out like these supposed metal gods should . It's not terrible and the classic Motorhead moments balance out the more  color by numbers clock punching, but it's a close margin. I'll give it a 6.5 and doubt I'll need to listen to it again.

Grime : "Circle of Molesters"

Straight outta Italy this sludge ridden grind-core band is nasty like Eyehategod smoking meth with Graves At Sea while being run over by a tank. Their screamer sounds like he is on the verge of losing both his mind and his voice. Once again these guys have the benefit of taking you by storm on the first song just out of sheer heaviness and then you are asking can you write songs or just make noise when it's time to hear the rest of the album. It slows down to an almost doom lumber and lower vocals roar in ,but the lack of melody makes me think these guys better pulls out some tricks before long or this is all going to sound the same. There is more of a death metal oppression in the onslaught of "Decay in Hades". It is full chug ahead that is hammered into you skull. The slow some of the punches creating a very effective shift in tempo. The guitar sound is easily as dense as Disma's.

There is a steam roller groove to "Sulphorous Dreams" it shifts momentum while maintaing the same level of venom to its temper tantrum.The accelerate back into a more death metal pace and then rein the chug back in.It's pretty impressive if you just need to keep beating your self in the temples with a hammer when you put you head phones on. "Acclerating Transition" lives up to my prediction and comes across like an extention of the previous song. Sure, the riff is mean , but the rule here is mean riffs alone does not make a good song. With "Salvation Come From Below" it is obvious we have moved onto another song. The fuzz out...I'm guessing bass here , but every thing is tuned so low it is hard to tell. The hit you with same intensity and the screamed vocals at this point all sound the same , kinda like rap where it is just hitting the beat at different times. The lyrics are brutal I am sure but you can not make out a single word even when you listen closely. The lower growls double up toward the end when the double bass picks it up into more of a death metal tempo.

The close out the album with "Orgiastic Rite" which is a new song but more of the same old they have been beating you with for the rest of the album. Granted it's the last song so they have to go out with a bang, but like you learned in the movie "This is Spinal Tap" when you are at ten where else is there to go. The answer is nowhere. So the heaviness that blew your mind on the first song, has numbed you out once we reach the close.They might be at a ten when it comes to heaviness, but I'll give this album a 6.5, you can round it up if all you need is something heavy as fuck.

4.2

Ahab : "The Boats of the Glen Carrig" & "Like Red Foam" Video

Just when I think my hunger for doom is going to be sated ,  a band goes and throws my expectations into the vast ocean of their creative aspirations. Not to say these changes aren't growth  its just different.  The album opens with something more like the kind of 70s prog rock that Opeth once gave ample nods to. The metal comes crashing in at the three minute mark. The production on this album  is very lush. The low growled vocals sound big like 90s Morbid Angel. The crush of  rumbling death metal tinged doom  provides an impressive display of power.The guitar relaxes leading back in to " the Thing that Made Search" and  lingers on with an almost jazz cadence. Slow and moody ,its very progressive   but I am not sure this is doom. It's very progressive. The laze about on this softened cloud until four minutes in when things get heavier. The growl becomes  is even more throat scraping and they continue to churn on the pulse of these mammoth riffs. "Like Red Foam" finds the band coming in to crush with big riffs that have more of a prog metal thing going as they are very angular ,at times the vocals roars is almost sung bringing older Mastodon to mind. A clean proggy croon coasts in over the wave of mathematical chugs.


 You would think a song called "the Weed-men" is something more likely to be found on a Six Feet Under album, but I am guessing it's Monster Manual like mythology at work lyrical. Not that you can understand the sub bass gravel of a growl.Three minutes in things change and is dissolves into clean guitar and the "Islands" era King Crimson croon. It returns to a heavy chug that is ominous rather than relying on dirge like riffage. The structure of this songs seems much looser than the others. The guitar playing still remains one of the band's biggest assets along with the wide range of vocals though here the tao mina one are the almost folkish prog voice and the lower growl. " To Mourn Job " brings us back into the crooning prog voice and delicate guitar. At the three minute mark it comes back into one of the album's heaviest chugs. It not doom, but effective.It sounds more like death metal , but there is such a fine line between slow death metal and doom. It doesn't sound very mournful so I'll go with death metal. They go back into something doomy when the clean vocals make their return. One thing I can say about their use of clean vocals is they do it well because they never follow the excepted formula of good cop/ bad cop. The song purposefully collapses into delicate clean guitar. They edge their way back into the heavy crunch and gurgled growl.


The bonus track is "the Light in the Weed" which feels like it belongs on the album. The almost jazz like phrasing they use is really given spot light in the songs first few minutes. It lingers on a dream like , but jammy passage before the clean vocal come in and are eventually followed by a the accents of a distorted guitar that drives it into a heavier place. They are obviously not where they were for the last album, they could stand to return to a doomier place , but even their second best is better than what most band's can muster and it might just be that this needs to grow on me, but for now I'll give these guys a 9.

 

Pentagram : "Curious Volume"

 Sure they got a resurgence of interest after their 2011 documentary which focused on Bobby Liebling's struggle with addiction, but by the end of the movie watching his self -sabotage was frustrating at best...and this is coming from a recovered addict. So I get it drugs are rough. Before the hype, The Pentagram albums I had were proto-metal always reminded me more of Space Ace's Kiss songs.Here more heft has been added to the guitar, but it still is more hard rock than metal, though a doomy riff crops up on "the Tempter Push". They boogie more than head bang ,but you can here in Bobby's singing where he influenced Wino. What is separating them from another Sabbath clone on "Dead Bury Dead" ? is the question I find myself asking. Bobby does pick different intervals for his melodies than Ozzy. His range is more limited than say classic Ozzy. He has gone down a hard road so you can only expect the pipe to endure so much, but his singing style really hasn't changed much since their early work. There are more overdubs.


They go into a more upbeat rock n roll on " The first song that really grabs me is " Walk Alone" . His vocals fit much better against the riff and the whole songs just seems to have more balls to it. They follow this with another song that is filled with both emotion and darkness in the title track.When they pick up the pace, it sounds like any other 70s rock throw back on "Misunderstood" his voice goes up into a more nasal higher register. Midway into "Close the Casket" they hit an interesting melodic section. Bobby sings about how his body has aged beyond its years , which might be one of the album's most honest lyrics. They take a sleazier rock angle to "Sufferin'" which sounds like it could have been a b-side off Ace's solo album from the 70s. On "The Devil's Playground" they hit a weird blue based groove that somehow also manages to sound a little like Blue Oyster Cult covering "Free Bird". They do some interesting thing that balance all the varied elements they employ, it has a 70s rock sound but you can tell they are adding new sides of themselves to it and continuing to explore where they can go as band despite having put decades in together.

They succeed on many levels. The album sounds great and not like dinosaurs trying to rise from the tar pits. Bobby's voice actually holds up better than expected. The guitarist really steals the show especially on the second half of the album. I think this album works best when they play with the formula rather than trying to be metal or doom. It's the melodic touches that step out of  bounds that are the album's high points. I'll give this one a 7.5, not sure how many more listens I will need to get from it but enjoyed the ones I got more than I thought going into this. Peaceville is releasing this album August 28th.

Nightfell : "Darkness Evermore"

 The bar is raised pretty high for this one as their debut album"the Living Ever Mourn" really killed it. They get things started on more of a doomy note which is fine with me. The same woefully melodic throb still flows through the veins of this beast. The guitars are masterfully layered and production wise this album sounds even better than their first. the song speeds up in a way other bands should take note as it is so organic and fluid you almost don't notice. It gets to close to a death metal churn and stays melodic even with the mid range rasp of the vocals calling out in the thick of things. And then other guitar melodies gets woven into it. The song writing has stepped up to the challenge. I would otherwise balk at opening the album with a ten minute song , but they know how to make every second count.

One of the album's more straight forward songs follows as the band goes into an more upbeat chug on "Cleansing" which  they drop back down at the mid way point into some creepy atmosphere. The guitar continued to be well layered. This song is a very melodic take on blackened death metal as the band continues to trample over genre lines with this album and just makes metal that encompasses every dark corner. They churn out some wonderfully dark death metal that still propelled by melodic sensibilites on "Rebirth". This is not just another band ripping off Entombed or Incantation, but a fresher take on death metal with the blackened elements not coming off contrived. They do give you a breather at the midway point again, employing strings and clean guitar tones before hammering the nails into a doomier passage that swells back into the barrage.

The more deliberatly paced "Collapsed" takes an unexpected break down that builds the song in a sonic swell, underneath which the drums drive into a more death metal direction. The song gallops into the darkened landscape with classic metal bravado. They once again delivered the goods, I would say this go round there is less doom and more death metal at the albums core. This is done in the most tasteful manner and would still appeal to fans of doom who like hearty doses of death metal mixed in. I'll give this one a 9.5, based off my initial listen and see how it grows on me. This comes out Sept. 11th on 20 Buck Spin. 

Skaur : "Farvel"

Time for a straight up Norwegian black metal album. Sure we covered Myrkur, but these two albums are miles apart. The album title is Danish for "Goodbye". This used to be a one-man project brought to you by Normann the ex-guitarist from Iskald. He has since recruited other members to fill things out . A wise choice. The guitar work is interesting, while this is unmistakably black metal. Not just tremolo picking but melodies that weave their way in and out of the drumming , the vocals hold off until the final moments of the song and when they come in they are agonized in a tormented Attila like fashion. Maybe even more shrieking."Sommer" stays on a similar pace to the opener, more double bass and dropping into some half time punches, the vocals are more dominant in this song. The guitars ring out like a cross between Liturgy and Darkthrone. They shift from riff to riff like a progressive band might. Clean vocals call out from the distance as the song swirling around at time folk tinged rhythms. On what translates to "old days" they have cemented their sound, the pace is more waltzing with blasts thrown in around the guitar melodies. This begins to give the album a rather monochromatic feel at first listen and really requires multiple listens to fully absorb.

 When they slow down to favor the guitar parts their song benefit the most. But this is black metal you say...shouldn't there just be a bunch of mindless blasting? Well if you are playing as intricate lines as these guys are and not just hanging on a few chords and droning then they should be heard. When the guitars sustain the notes and the drums blast under them it works. When the slow down at times this gives the bass player time to catch up and provide and underlying melody. They begin to make head way in this regard on "Nordland". The clean vocals come more to the forefront and the oddly paced timing and placement of the guitar melodies make this one of the albums best songs.They close out the album with the title track that has a beautiful flow to it. It fights off the blast beats that would otherwise distract you from the very nuanced playing. Despite the geographic difference , at times it hits the  melodic sonics that the cascadian bands tap into. The vocals become even more twisted to the point of having a depressive slant to them. Things get pretty chaotic towards the end and then a sweeping guitar line goes into a solo and begins to take the song out on an epic note.

Though bands of this nature don't normally tour , I think they would be wise to take this on the road, as the album would work well in a live setting. However touring can be a challenge for European bands so that is merely wishful thinking. If you like more recent Mayhem and are open minded when it comes to your black metal I think this album is for you. I'll give it a 9, though it is so detailed I'm not sure how much casual listen this will garner on my part, but this is so well compose and executed it deserves that high of a score, as they take sounds you are familiar with and make them something of their own.




   

Nightslug : "Loathe"

The German band surprisingly digs up a very American sound in their dirty white trash version of the visceral sludge Neurosis used to churn out mixed with swampy trailer park blackness. They hold the riff and drone on it's pound for all its worth only letting up for the guitar go into a solo that more feedback than shredding or melody. They pick up the pace on the second song and gather an almost Celtic Frost momentum. There is fuzz and feedback over everything, including the vocals. they change guitar tones a couple minutes into the title track, but kick back in. The first two song what they do has really worked , but I begin to need something more by the time they are beginning to make my ears ring on the third song.

They drop into a lower slower riff. They return to their more punk roots on " Under a Bane", which had the reckless rumble of Motorhead being buried alive in a post-apocalyptic scrap yard.This is a little more straight forward than I prefer as it is dynamically flat and not amount of heaviness can really compensate for that. They descend back into a gloomier place on "Disease' that continues to foster some Eyehategod comparisons. This song is allowed more breathing room and sounds closer to music than some of the other outbursts. There is more of a syncopated pound closer to Godflesh on "Pure". The bass and the drums hold onto a minimalist almost industrial beat. The industrial comparisons could continue to flourish on "Tainted Throne" which has that churning almost "When the Levee Breaks " like beat that Ministry used on some of the more deliberate groove to the second side of the the "Psalm 69" album.

 Over all this album is dark and dirty with a nasty habit for smothering you in their suffocating pound. Not the most dynamic or original album of the year, but the pieces they have in place work well for what they are doing. I'll round this album up to a 7.5, if you are a big fan of sludge ridden hipster industrial then it might even be an 8 for you, I like stuff like Primitive Man, but this albums sticks to the few dark crayons it has to color with.

Rosetta : " Quintessential Ephemera"

This is the 5th full length and first as a 5 piece from this Philly based band who describes their music as being" music for astronauts". The first song "After the Funeral" is an instrumental with some very spacey guitar tones so you can see how this description might apply right from the get go. The they go int a series of untitled songs, on the first  when the vocals come in the coarse nature sounds like it could have come from any sludge meet post rock hybrid. I liked the way they step back and can space things out to allow the song breathing room. The clean vocals are smooth and not forced , sure they have an element of old Myspace emo to them, but they work, sometimes better than the bands efforts to get heavy which can feel like they are trying to hard and it is not being done organically. The vocals go higher they begin to remind me of the Used.


The second untitled songs starts the same way the next ended so on a cd this will be a smoother transition , but also might lead to you wondering which song you are on.Until the syncopated part and this effected guitar melody line that soars out of the song it stays to a similar bag of tricks. The fourth song is more of the same change some accents here and there, the bass line that emerges from the break is cool and they begin to take on a drugged out night on the beach  Janes Addiction like feel. The transition into heavier tones is the first that really works well for me and this is the first song where every thing seems to be clicking to my ears.The guitar melodies soar above the fury and have well placed purpose.

 The fifth untitled song is really more of an interlude as it's a twinkling little instrumental that never builds into any kind of solid beat to become a song.The sixth untitled song is pleasing to my ears as it gets darker, the vocals melody makes me think of the Deftones more melodic moments. When it gets heavier I can hear some Thursday influence as well. They build of the heavier dynamic going into the song that follows. They drop down into some post- Myspace girl friend metal, that keeps the heaviness off set by the sugar soaked melodies. The last real song of the album before the two remixes which I am not going to bother with is "Nothing in the Guise of Something". Its a dreamy post rock with a shoe gaze glaze to it that coasts along on the clouds.While there are some cool sounds captures they are not doing anything new.  That can generally be said for most songs on this album, however I'll round it up to an 8 since their song writing tends to distract you from that fact. https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Antlers : A Gaze Into the Abyss"

Antlers shows that they are capable musicians  right from the intro  of their album " A Gaze Into the Abyss" , but when they blast into " A Carnival of Freedom and Betrayal" they sound like every other band who races into their blast beats. To me I have been there done that and got the t-shirt so I wan to hear how this is worked into black metal in a new and interesting way. There are some mighty roars that bellow out of this. Around the two and a half minute mark there some punches that stray from blast beats then it finally gets a groove at the three minute mark.They pullout a guitar solo and then I am beginning to get impressed since they are far and few between in black metal. "Hundreds' slows it's in a more sweeping cascade of hypnotic black metal making itself much more interesting than the unabashed one direction of the blast beat. They prove themselves to be pretty capable songwriters on this one and are able to hold a steady groove that is dark with sonic power. The vocals stay in their mid range rasp for most of the album sometimes going tino more of an extended growling bellow. The song retains its mean churn, but doesn't wear out its welcome as these guys keep most of the songs in the eight minute range, the longest being ten, but the stay on task and don't wander off .

They blast off again on " To the Throats" They remain at a rabid pace for the first half of the song then slow down to let it ring out in a Burzum like drone. Watain gets a lot of crap for coping off of Dissection, but they give the Dissection worship the full blown Thulcandra treatment on "A Jail of Flesh".They sprawl out for the final song "Memories of the Extinct". For these guys to be a German band they are not as stiff and militant as most German metal. The hit this on hard and fast staying in an unrelenting blitz mode for the first three minutes. These guys are pretty solid for the whole cascadian sort of black metal sound though they infuse a lot more Swedish styled sounds into the mix , I'll give it a 8.5. 4.2

Ego Likeness : "When the Wolves Return"

My primary experience with Ego Likeness has been from Dragon-con and some of the State of the Goth Scene panels, their music taps into a very dramatic and romantic vein of darkwave. One thing that gives them the edge is the use of of guitar to give the pulse of the songs more drive. "Darkness" pumps and seems like it would be a fun song live with its more industrial drive, the vocal line is a little on the repetitive side. Things tak a harder kick from the guitar with each passing song. There is almost a KMFDM feel to "En Rogue", the singers more Siouxsie side is delved into , but not exploited.   I like the Marilyn Manson like groove to "New Legion" , the lyrics to the chorus really sell this to me. Things get almost as epic as Night Wish on "Oracle".  They sultry syrup of her voice drips off the banging synths.

For some reason the more spoken vocals of  "Mercy" reminds me of "Vogue".  These guys sow you how big and adventurous dark wave can be when you don't limit you self to simple 80s casio beats. There is an ebb and flow to the dynamics of songs like " I Let You" which lets the beat bubble with cautious restraint, before unleashing a big chorus. Donna's alto is more smooth than it is powerful, but she chooses some interesting phrasing. The 90s slink to " Crossed" really works for me as it is pretty dark. "Treacherous Thing" would fit on the dance floor of any goth night, with it's trembling pulse. It builds up in an almost nu-metal fashion, that adds to the dynamics.Their is slicker Knight Rider like groove to the verses of " Persona Non Grata"which has one of the harder hooks to its chorus and you will remember them. The final couple of song balance out their more rock side with the driving form of dark wave that will be a breath of fresh air to any goths missing what made the 90s such a great era for the genre."Someday" doesn't do as much for me as some of the previous songs, but like all the other tunes here they are well produced and thoughtfully written. The title track is a brooding ballad that floats on an intangible cloud of ambiance.It feels more like a dramatic outro to me rather than a song that stands on it's own two feet. If you are into dark wave their is more to like than not on this album, I give them big props for not just ripping off Faith and the Muse or Siouxsie , but still acknowledging those influences. I'll give it a 9, if you are fan it might be their perfect album.

9

Gnaw Their Tongues : "Abyss of Longing Throats"

The dutch Noise metal project Gnaw Their Tongues is back with a full length. If you are thinking about opening a haunted house this year make sure to have this album playing in the background.  Heavier on the atmosphere than the metal it is one of those rare cases where the atmosphere is as heavy as metal. "Through Flesh" forms into a somewhat more cohesive song, a bass line takes form. The croaked and gurgled vocals cry out like frog demons from the swamps of an HP Lovecraft novel.Samples are well use as a narrative on this album, the title track adheres to a murky void that more closely resembles what is expected from black metal. Blast beats stir the sonic storm.

"From the Black Mouth of Spite" has more of a doomy throb to it than any hopes of melody. The vocals rant in the distance. Tribal drums sound like an army of orc is plotting from the distance , but they never strike. There is a more cavernous nightmarish pound to " The Holy Body" which displays the first dab of industrial influence which this project is often credited with. This is yet another moment that is more doom than black metal as it moves at a dirge like pace. Keeping the doom pace, " And They Will  Be Cast Into Utter  Darkness" lives up to its name with nothing but chaos. Vocal croaks bleed into the thump of the bass.

"Up Into The Heavens, Down Into the Circles Of..." has drumming that could be on a normal black metal song it's just the sounds that surround it come from every angle. There are many alluring sounds captured on this album, there are not many alluring songs, but it does lull you into it's arms. It serves as beautiful back ground music , but is not something I listen to as it is a collection of great songs, so I will give it a 6 on the merits of enjoying the mood it creates.  Crucial Blast is releasing this piece of aural madness August 7th.

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Hope Drone : " Cloak of Ash"

From the blasty beginning this album gets off to the blackened side seems to be the most dominate. The vocals are buried beneath the guitar. Its not until the opener slows a little are you able to hear their more sonic leanings. With their opening song at twenty minutes, this album will be ambitious and does not wait to submerse you fully into their world. It's a pretty tasty world if you are hungry from hauntingly dark and spacious. "Riverbeds Hewn In Marrow" seems to continue on the sprawling formula in place. Begin blasting and go from there. It takes less time for them to drop into a more sonic sludge like pound. They drift along a dreary river before defaulting back to the blast to end out the ten minute landscape. The vocals which are often an inaudible rasp, are layered differently against the blast of " the World Inheirted" almost in a more hard core manner, as they throw in punchier accents. They let the song ride on a droning pound to live up to their name.

"The Chords that Thurm Against the Earth" is closer to run of the mill atmospheric black metal. Cavernous with a hint of melody sitting like a ghost in the background. When the song slows away from the blast beats it finds more power. Things darken on " Every End is Fated in its Beginning" as the drums take on a more tribal pulse, before the default into the blast beats. Its ebbs and flows in intensity, but mainly simmers in similar waters to many other American black metal bands. The song that follows this one is in pretty much the same vein the last two song were just left playing on repeat. The last song is more dreamy and has an almost shoe gaze quality to it so of course I like that one better.

The band lived up to its name in the album final moments, but the song began to run together. I appreciate what they do, if you are looking for some solid atmospheric american black metal then they are worth your time. I need a little more in the song writing department so I'll give it a 7.5.

5.1

No Trust : "The Cycle"

This California band is often more death metal than not there is a slight black metal torment to the vocals mid range throat scraping, but the riffs are firmly locked in and they attack as a very keen machine. The songs are compact. Most run around four minutes so they get in and get the job done without losing you in the sprawl. The rasped vocals are very clear and the lyrics are generally out from. They build speed out of the steady double bass of " Circle of the Sky". they sometimes lock into catchy taunt rifffs that can be very Tool like. Though they have some very defined riffs some of the songs started to run together mid way through or I started to zone out, so I went back and gave "Nothing Remains" a more solid second listen. The riffs are mean with a slight tinge of Eyehategod with a more prog sensiblity when it comes to grooves. Since this is the case sludge is a fair genre to say this intersects with death metal, often making it hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.

There is also a little Meshuggah mixed in though nothing like djent. They retain enough of the raw death metal sound to give the tightly coiled progressive metal influence more bite than it normally possesses , but always finding a way to work in catchy grooves. The guitar winds into some more melodic guitar on "Light Fades" which contrasts the churning flow of the more metallic undercurrent. There is a pounding yet catchy chug to "Host Body". This song conforms more to what headbangers would want from modern death metal, the band doesn't owe much to the more classic death metal bands like Morbid Angel, I can hear touches of Slayer mixed in, however at the same time there is not the cheese element that comes with the whole death core thing . They close the album with the throb of "Wolves" at six and a half minutes this is the album's longest song. It slows the pace down dramatically from the momentum the album had already gathered by going into this darker creep. The pace picks up at the four minute mark, the more bare bones double bass hit before the build sounded a little thin , but it is the first kink I have heard in what is other wise solid production. I also think they are premature at letting the feed back ring out to end this one since it is the last song without a bigger finish it seems anti climatic after kicking so much ass the rest of the album.

Overall this is a solid listen that is dark and heavy, but fun to listen to due to its sense of groove, look forward to hearing more from these guys , if you like heavy music that is still song friendly and doesn't go to the furthest extreme check these guys out. I am giving this one a 9.

Earthmother: "s/t"

 There is a alot going on with this Florida band. The first thing that really catches your ear is the variety of vocals . At first the harsher vocals are some what black metal and then more of a hard core bark, then they employ a very different take on using clean vocals they come abruptly and it doesn't sound like they are struggling to sing the cleaner section as the voice is very fluid and harmonized like this is some indie rock band and that s how they also sing. Musically they are more firmly post- hard-core. There are some blast best sections, but aside from the vocals they never convince me that black metal is in their blood. The song is tied together in a very angular manner that creates their own sound. However when I was not staring at their Bandcamp page and watching the time countdown I found myself on the third song meaning that all their songs just run together and do not fully distinguish themselves from one another."Bedroom Eyes" pounds it self out with a staccato riff and takes a more emo like dash into harder edged indie rock, before going into a pseudo black metal section. I like the vocal line "confusing lust with love" that pops up in the song. "Dirge" is not much of a dirge at all as it breaks off into fast paced death. While their Bandcamp page lists one vocalist there are some over lapping layers of vocals that I would have to see pulled off live. It's the moments on "Dirge" that are not metal that are more interesting because as metal goes it sounds like everyone else on this one. They finally make a clean break into "Sheep" which stands alone on it's own two feet as a song. This is more shriek filled hard core influenced metal until the clean vocals come.

 By now the clean vocals lose their luster as they are doing the same thing like a more apathetic version of Coheed and Cambria, without the Geddy Lee in them. Timing wise they take interesting jerks back and forth. I don't hear any shoe gaze yet, but more screamo/emo sections.I had to go back and listen to see where this song transitions into the next. Going you can hear its a quick punch that starts "Rust' with a death metal twist leading into a more blasting section. If the clean vocals chose different melodies it might help the songs distinguish themselves more. There is a spoken section that is buried into a driving droning riff. "Vermin" also gets the benefit of having a clean break to set it apart. More death metal crops up.The vocal line "become one with dirt, decay" is paced in a different cadence than some of the other clean vocals but I think its the tonality that need to switch , moving in either direction of his register, lower or higher would be more interesting, unless this is the only way he can sing and has more of a register when it comes to harsh vocals. The hard core vocals find his vocals cracking so this might be the case.

Going back once more I found that "Hiss" starts with a cleaner guitar and winds back and forth from more scathing to their post- hard core brand of emo. I start to lose interest even though some of the guitar tones are kinda cool, the first guitar that sounds somewhat shoe-gaze comes in here, but it's a far cry from Nothing , much less My Bloody Valentine. They end the album on a more Deafheaven note on "Sleepyhead". I have heard enough bands paying homage to those guys now that the band wagon is much less novel to me. Finally the vocals do something different with his voice. Its not drastic, but enough to give them clean vocals more purpose and make this one of the strongest songs on the album. Sure they end with another Post-rock like guitar tone, but I would not say this band is shoe gaze in any way. I think shoe gaze might become the catch phrase to bands that don't want to cop to all the Circa Survive on their iPods. These guys have their moments, I would catch them if they came through town and this album is worth a listen, it's the Circa Survival moments that make this a less than urgent listen for me, but if you are into post- Sunny Day emo and Deafheaven or Hardcore then round this up from the 8.5 I'm giving it to a 9.

Gallows: " Desolate Sounds"

On first  listen this album confused me so that I had to go back and listen to the band's first album "Orchestra of Wolves" to figure out what happened. It's a change to the magnitude of that AFI made. Several elements contributed to this such as the fact they now have Alexisonfire singer Wade Mcneil on the mic brought about some of the changes.The herky jerky guitar carries some sentiment of the band they used to be , despite the big chorus of "Even bad dreams are too good for you". The title track is very influenced by New Model Army  and a little more punk. The more screamed vocals have more of a metal feel to them and the distorted filter slapped on in post-production adds to this. They get heavier with "Leviathan Rot" its more metal than hardcore, despite the gang vocals that crop up, reminding me of the song from"Cry Little Sister" from Lost Boys. I like the darker turn they take on "Chains"  such as the inclusion of female vocals."Bonfire Season" returns to the rock n roll guitar tone. The vocals smooth over into actual singing again. Social Distortion is another reference point, though this strikes me as darker than what they do. A rough coat of grunge rusts the edges of the song.

'Leather Crown"  has a more punk drive to it. They give a Thelemic wink with 93/93, which is the secret hand shake of thelemites. They sing " love is the law, love under will" which is the most typical Crowley quote. But it's a decent song as well." Death Valley Blue" is a well written song, but when it comes to the big rock chorus I guess I am surprised these guys are as radio ready as Avenged Sevenfold, I seem to remember them being more actual punk. Cease to Exist is not unlike something Brand New might pull out. But it is well executed and written so it's hard to argue against it if you are not invested in what this band used to be. It closes with " Swan Song" that is harder and the drumming sounds like it could have come from the first album the main thing that has changed being the vocals and the more metal guitar tone. Overall this album sounds good and it has some songs on it that I really like and  more or less none that are fast forward classics. I'll give it an 8.5 and see if I feel the need to shift it over onto the iPod. If you are a fan of the direction the band has gone with Wade then you will like this one too and even round it up to a 9.

Coffins: "Craving to Eternal Slumber"

Any thoughts that I might have had about this band being slow death metal rather than doom is given renewed credence on their new ep. It took a few listens to get over this but the power of their chug and the bass player's embellishments underneath the slugging sludge add more depth. The low vocal roars are complemented by the layers of higher screamy vocals and then into the low-spoken section.  The second song "Tyrant" is more deliberate in its pacing. It doesn't take long however before they head off into a murky speed. It sure the hell is not as interesting as the first song.  The chug doesn't grab you until midway through. The first real doom passage we come across on this album is on the title track. The throat-scarping guttural vocals work their best here and the foreboding prescience that hangs over this song is what doom should sound like, it's not funereal doom, but solidly morbid nonetheless. The more death metal side of the band works when they kick into building heavier dynamics. On the title track, they do this without fully crossing over into death metal, but more of a Godzilla lumber. This is not to stay the more Celtic Frost gone death metal chug they charged in with on the opener was good, it just was not the doom I was looking for. When it sped up past the tempo of the first riff it got a little muddy. While I know Celtic Frost influenced doom, I don't think they were doom, as they came out of the thrash era, but were less thrashy than say Voivod.

When the vocals are hatefully layered it makes the big eminently violent riffs hit harder. They descend back into the unrestrained pound of death metal on "Stairway to Torment", which might as well be an old Cannibal Corpse song. It gets better when it slows down at the midway point and the low spoken narrative comes in like a Slayer song. But as soon as he goes "ugh" they are racing back off. I'll give this ep a 7.5. It's heavy and raw, so if you don't need much more and are already a fan then you are already all over this. If you just want to check them out well you can do so below, it's good, but I am not sure that this is their best work.

A Pregnant Light : "Neon White"

Damian Master is back with some more purple metal. This was labelled as a demo, but the demo released for Record Store Day was called St. Emaciation. The first song has more of a hard core feel, with some punchy moodiness thrown in towards the end.Being a demo the recording is pretty raw and more than a little rough around the edges, the guitars sound like they would benefit from more effects rather than such a dry sound. "Horse Head" is in the same hardcore influenced zip code, some black metal like guitar appears midway through it, I suppose if you are just desperate to call something black metal. There are some nice guitar melodies mixed in on this one.

The guitar tone changes for " Guess" , but the song carries a similar post- hardcore stomp to it. There is a good deal of hook to it and I like the very emo guitar break down. Of the three originals on this album, this one is the best. Even the hard core parts have melody and catchy vocal arrangements that are shouted out. The weird eighties sung part which is bathed in odd effect elevates the song into a more awesome sonic realm.

He closes it out with a cover of Nick Cave's "Abattoir Blues" . The vocals are buried beneath the guitar , which for Nick Cave that is a crucial element since his post- Birthday-Party work is so vocal driven. So it is a little underwhelming. Like most of his work there are more hits than misses, though it doesn't consistently hit the mark. So I will give this a 7.5. Maybe this is a demo and the finished product will really wow me, but production wowing me to make this a ten is a little far fetched.

False : "Untitled"

I have been hunting for this album for a few months now. It was being hailed as been the best American black metal album of the year and it very well may be just due to the fact there is not much worthwhile black metal coming out of the states this year. On the very song the vocals didn't sit well with me .They don't sound screamed as much as they sound like someone if gasping for breath really up close on the microphone there is no power at all to them. So when I find out they have a girl singing for them the lack of power and gasping for air makes sense. The guitar tone and keyboards sound well layered and the grit to the guitar has their own sound. The drumming sounds a little thin, like the drummer is barely touching his kit with his sticks.There is one part where they lock in for more of a galloping chug that works well. But the album is going to need to pull it together to impress me as from the first song I am underwhelmed.

 Harsh vocals in any genre might not be sung, but they do need to serve the song. Here the vocals are not placed anywhere. They seem to have not thought put into them in regards of how they should work in the context of the rest of the song. The guitars have some little punches on "the Deluge" but are not really weaving together much in terms of songwriting. This is not to say they aren't working hard to try and do this , its just not happening. The cool riffs alone don't make a good song theory is in full effect. The synths on this song remind me of how the keyboards accent "Altars of Madness".

There is a tighter attack to the title track, the vocals actually work with the song, so I am not sure what they were doing the first two songs. When she rasps the word master it reminds me of Gullom. Her lyrics are just intelligible enough to create goofy misunderstandings, at one point it sounds like she says "the master is a gnome". Yet even at its best this album doesn't seize you attention and I still find myself tuning it out.They get off to a good start on "Entropy". In the final six minutes they touch on a melodic section that shows promise. It's sections like these they need to expand up in order to propel their song writing towards awesome.

"Hedgecraft" really has its work cut out for it if it is going to tip this album towards being decent.They go full blast ahead and the vocal work better with the music than earlier in the album. One of their strengths that they displayed earlier in the album where they lock into a chug resurfaces here. Her vocals have a more convincing snarl to them as well. Earlier Nachtmystium might be a good point of reference to some of their more grooving sections. Their attack is More one dimensional than not, which is ok unless this is taking place in a song that is over ten minutes long. They hold off yet again to introduce any melodic elements until the final few minutes and even those are short lived when they give way to blasting. The hype is almost heavier than this album. Sure it's a novelty to have a girl singing in your black metal band, but who really care if she can barely hack it . This album is not a good argument for women being equals when it comes to playing metal. Or maybe it is cause the drummer is a guy and almost on part with her. The guitar sound is pretty mean, so if that is all it takes to sell you on a band then you are in luck, they do have some moments and have promise, enough promise that I'll round this up to a 7.5, but if this is on someone's album of the year list hold them suspect for being false.