Black Metal History Month - Final Dose :"Under the Eternal Shadow"

 

The UK-based band is billed as being Black Metal meets punk, but to my ears, they are more Black Metal than not. Sure there are some crude arrangements with the band going after things with a primitive aggression. To me, Venom always felt more like a punk band than a metal band. The snarl of the vocals is very metal. Are the chord progressions very stripped-down and simplistic? Yes, but the same could be said of Watain or Darkthrone at times. Sometimes what is perhaps their punk influence raises its head up in a manner that sounds closest to perhaps GISM. They write songs more like a grindcore band where they throw in twists and cram as many riffs into the song even if those riffs are simple. There is even singing on "Rite of Spring". Sometimes it is functional chaos coming at you. "Rite of Spring" is the first song that impresses me. 

"Servant" is more of an interlude than a song. There are crude industrial elements in play. Normally raw black metal is not my thing. But this at least does not sound like it was recorded in their garage. A little more punk flows in the veins of the savage thrashing to "Dark Paradise". But this does not sound like some guy recording this all by himself in his bedroom, it's a real band banging this out which goes further with me. It's a fun listen so far. "Wretched' is more blast beat driven in paces, but is straightforward almost like feral rock n roll. This drummer is really laying into his kit and beating the shit out of it. Of course, I will love their detour into death rock for "Locked in the Black Dungeon". 

"Revenge" has some hardcore influence in its angry charge but there is just as much metal flowing in its veins. It's a fund sound, not the most groundbreaking thing I have heard, but you can bang your head to it.  The last track is melodic but more of an outro than a song. I'll give this album a 9, as it won me over, it's better than expected, and while I am not sure how often I will listen to it, it's a worthwhile investment for fans of bands like Devil Master and Midnight, perhaps more black metal than either of those projects. 

pst65

Black Metal History Month -Midnight : "Hellish Expectations"

 

Here is some blackened thrash punk for you. The Venom worship of this project has always been tangible. That is now dialed up way past 11. It is faster and more punk than Venom was in their glory days. The first hint of melody in the guitars is not evident until the third song. The album has better production value than you might suspect, as it sounds like they have gone to great lengths to create something that sounds raw and organic, but is ripe with overdubs considering in the studio this is the work of one man. It races with more of a thrashing rage than not. The guitar playing is gradually improving with each album. 

There is a rock n roll undercurrent to 'Slave to the Blade". The vocals are snarled with an even rougher rasp than Cronos spat out on "At War With Satan". The theme seems to be 80's streetwise metal tropes that could have come from a Twisted Sister album. The first song that strikes me as catchy is "Dungeon Lust" which is endowed with darker sleaze. The formula for songwriting seems to be shouting out the chorus. It works on this song but can be a trick they go to the well too many times with. While I find this entertaining for what it is, it is highly unlikely this is an album I am going to need multiple spins of. If you do you might like punk more than metal, and that is a valid life choice as long as you are honest with yourself about it. 

'Deliver Us to Devil" is more boring than a song about the devil should be, He should have saved the lyrics for the riffs he wrote for 'Mercyless Slaughtor" as it would have been more interesting. As it stands "Mercyless Slaughtor' is a better song by far. Most of the songs are under three minutes so there should not be enough time to get bored. However when it feels like the riffs are being recycled like they are on "Doom Death Desire" then perhaps it is asking more than I thought. 'Fuck Off and Live" is a decent song, even if I prefer the sentiment of dying instead. I will round this down to an 8.5, it's a solid punk record dressed up in black.It drops March 8th on Metal Blade.

pst69

TRISTENGRAV : " II - Nychavge"

Mixing punk with death rock is not new. Mixing black metal with punk is pretty much how the second wave came about. I have typically been a fan of black metal mixing with death rock as long as the right elements from both are used well. This band from Greece uses the more death rock trappings as atmospheric window dressing , but make their bed in metallic punk. The vocals are more of a black metal snarl. Yes there are blast beats , but as of the second song I am not tired of them. This trend doesn't change on "Tower of Silence". They keep raging ahead pretty hard. The guitar tone has some death rock like effects, but that is about it a far as that side of the equation goes. The could be Darkthrone during one of their more punked out black n roll moments. I do like this more than if the darker undertones were not there and this was another punk band trying to play black metal.

For a demo this sounds pretty much like an album. With all three genres , production is not the top priority.  There is a interlude of clean guitar before they go hurtling into the thrashing pace of "Pitch Black Catacombs". The press release for this mentioned Rozz Williams being an influence and I can't hear it, unless the mean the seconds of mumbling that was low in the mix. So it is obvious which genres I am rooting for. I want the most of death rock, then black metal with punk being the least of my concerns. I think regular readers will concurs this is no surprise based off my taste in music. The problem here is what I want most I am getting the least and they are teasing me with it.

Despite the lack of death rock., these guys are good at what they do. They need to quit teasing with the darkness, they way they merge punk and black metal works. This album sounds really good for a demo, I am interested in what the end result will be when they do decide to make an album. I will give this an 8 though I am not sure it will get much in the way of repeat listens from me . If you are into punk tinged black metal this is for you.

Black Metal History Month -Devil Master : " Satan Spits on Children of Light"

As much as I want to only focus on European band's for the rest of the month, this band is getting so much buzz for their Relapse Records debut that I am having to give them a pass. Half the band is from Cape of Bats. So the spookier guitar tone is still there. More refined than the earlier ep I heard from these guys. They are more punk than black meta;. Though very dark and aggressive on the opener. The vocals start off not screamed, but not crooned, so closer to death rock . "Black Flame Candle" is more metallic. There is a catchier thrash riff to "Devil is Your Master". The bass tone sometimes pops out , sometimes it's buried in the guitars. I think to have more of a death rock sound the bass would have to come up in the mix more. They are going for more of a first wave black metal feel meets their punk roots. Blackened Punk is the fitting sub-genre this should fit in though it does recall some of Darkthrone's black n roll moments.

"Skeleton Hand " is better than most dark punk, due to it's metallic side. The Venom like rasp of the vocals is the most metal thing about these guys and truth be told Venom always felt more like a punk band to me. Nuit" is oddly and instrumental that would have been better served with vocals. "Gaunt Immortality" does little to set itself apart from the pack songwriting wise. "Desperate Shadow" has more hook in the verse riff , which is important as the barked vocals are not helping in this regard. The same could be said for "Her Thirsty Whip". The vocals are a lower growl that falls back deeper into the mix. The last few songs begin to all sound the same. "Webs of Sorrow " does have a creepier break down but other than that it's punk rock with more of a gallop.

This album does have a few good song and is an improvement for them. I think their next album will be better as they will get to play with a wider range of bands touring with the support of Relapse Records. I will give this album a 7.5 , it shows potential and when it goes into it's more punk side it begins to become a blur for me , but I think they work best when bringing a darker touch to the classic first wave black metal sound.

Black Metal History Month - Funeral Chant : "s/t"

Not generally a fan of raw black metal, but in all fairness I am reviewing one such album during Black Metal History month and this is it. Glad I picked this one because for what it is these guys are pretty decent. This Oakland black metal band nailed the raw ambiance part and they have some pretty mean feral riffing kicking you in the ears on their self titled album. It opens really strong with the highly Darkthrone influenced "Spiral into Madness" which is way more cohesive than the song that follows, which is reckless barrage of blast beats, with riffs that sound more death metal. "Flood of Damnation" doesn't find them recapturing the level of song writing the showed us on the opener and opts for a thrasher sound that has more in common with altars of madness.

They throw even more caution to the wind come out with blustery banging over garbage can blast blast beat that is recorded in a manner that hits you like a jagged storm of riffs until they go into more of a gallop. A guitar solo goes down amid all of this and they even wind up on a darker more melodic progression, so if old Bathory is more of your thing then you will dig this song, I am not quite as impressed with it , but oh well. The more punk aspects of black metal are in play on "Morbid Ways", which might bring to mind a dirty version of Venom. It has more of a thrashing snarl to it. You can make out what it going on in this song better than the first. Diving whammy bar propelled solos give a wink to Slayer here and there before the song converges into a more locked it chug.

This album is book-ended by two songs that show this band can write song, but they often choose to take a sloppier path.If this sort of thing is what you are into then you are likely more of a punk who likes to dabble in metal than an actual metal head so all of my issues with this album are going to be the things you love about it. My friends over at Cvlt Nation are going to be right there with you.With all of that said I am rounding this down to an 8 which is a pretty high score for a sub-genre of black metal that I normally do not care for , so that means they are doing something right.

Kvelertak : "Nettesferd"

This Norweigan band's third album is the first they recorded is Oslo. So this might be the reason it starts off on a much more black metal path. Eventually the opener finds it's way into the more rock n roll sound, without sounding like all the other black n roll bands who just come across like meaner versions of Motorhead. The main riff to the first single "1985' sound like it's from an album by the Cars. There is a slight Thin Lizzy meets Van Halen tinge to the turn around.The title track keeps things in a more rock direction. The tradition of excellent rock god guitar work is still intact, as this song has more of a Queens of the Stoneage boogie to it. Clean vocals come in around the chorus. It's not a sell out on their part as the song has the same manic energy, though the gain is dialed back on the first two songs that follow the more metal opening track. The guitar solos are all dialed in to 11. The fourth song translated to "Black Booth" is very Kiss. It has more of stomp than say "Got to Choose", but if Gene was singing over this it could have come from 1976. There is a little Scorpions in there as well.

They embrace their more punk side on "Bronsegud" . This song is much more straight forward, to the point it the only strength it plays to is their high energy. The drummer gets to flex his chops a bit, but it's the first song to come across a little like filler to me.There is more of strum to "Evil Galaxy" . It jams on this riff and is a very odd change of pace for the band that will take some getting used to. "Berserkr" is the other single from this album. It starts off more black metal and then they ease back on the gas to something more rock n roll. Another song that is different from the band, but it there is less of a jump from the first album to this point. "Heksebrann" shows how well mixed the layers of guitar are on this album. Which is one difference from the previous album is they were mixed with a rawer more hard rock sound. It is this fine tuned guitar sound that helps sell this song.

There is a more Neil Young vibe to the stoner rock of "Nekrodamus". The change from the previous album to this one is more marked than there more rock n roll turn from the first album, so it might take some warming up to. It sounds excellent and they have grown as song writers so I am going to give this one a 9. These guys at the end of the day are a lot of fun. The solos might not rip as hard, but these guys have a more refined approach this go around.

Black Metal History Month - Lesion : " Ep II"

This band from Denmark pounds into their crusty brand of black n roll rumble with a commanding bark. Their sound owes more to the early days of black metal than it does anything post- Darkthrone. The songs are quick punk tinged bursts of burliness. "Submission" finds the bands punk roots coming center stage and stomping on your ears in a very straight forward fashion. By the time they launch into "Own the Night" the sonic monochrome of their sound has begun to wear on me. The chant of the chorus  reminds me of Ministry's "Burning Inside" The songs begin to run together, the hyper speed of a more feral version of Motorhead courses through the veins of "Noose". The  chorus  might have a shouted accent of the song's title,  it still  doesn't distinguish it self much from the rest of the song or any other of these songs. "Exsanguination" has a little more groove to it's stomp. At this point in the album the vocals which started off carrying a punch, now become tiresome as it's the same bark song after song. This one does have more of a hook than some of the others.

It's easier to make out the lyrics to "Ligature Marks" , but musically this song fall in line with the others. The albums longest song clocks in at only two minute and forty seven seconds when it closes out the album. They do not use the time to expand upon anything that has not already been touched on, which is pretty much the same four chords. Their over all sound is cool. In fact it got my hopes up on the first song as I wanted to hear where else they could take this sound and the answer proved not that far. This album is a must for punk rockers who only dabble in metal, but what you hear on the first song is what you get for the entire album. They are very dependable at pulling this off, it's just not the range of dynamics I need from music. I'll round this one down to a six. It's blackened punk rock if we are going to really be honest here, but they do manage to darken the venting of their anger in a way that might not beg for corpse paint , but it does make a convincing argument to tag themselves as black metal.

Black Metal History Month - Askumite : "Rubber Room"

Damian Master is highly regarded and a talented guy, but often his music is hit or miss with me. I do make it a point to check out whatever he does , because when he hits it really resonates with me. Aksumite is less of a solo project than A Pregnant Light. It's his four full length with this project, which proves to have a rawer old school black metal feel and when I say old school that take it all the way back to Celtic Frost / Mercyful Fate style metal on "Double Mask". The opener has a thick gnarly bass tone that hits more like Motorhead so to punk tinged black n Roll. The punk thing even haunts "Double Mask" with a more Samhain like current running through it. While it is raw and some what lo-fi in it's production, the sound works for what is going on here. Even when they kick into the more cross over punk style of black metal that finds the vocals sounding more like a spooky version of the Cro-mags, it is dark thanks to the cavernous production.

Even with the lack of blast beats there is a black metal feel to the murky droning "A Void, Love" . the vocals are a lower death metal growl, even though the music is more melodic and almost post-hardcore shoe gaze. The middle section finds things getting much darker as the song drifts into a floating abyss. The blast beats surface and are disappointingly sloppy, which mars and otherwise perfect song. "Animal Magnetism" is more of a punk song. The vocals take on a more ragged Black Flag shout. This song is under two minutes and no one is doubting its punk credentials. "The Bitch Jewel" is more metal, but the punk influence isn't far behind the other wise convincing thrash chug. The might be the most metal album Master's has released. Sure if is punk enough around the edges to add some irony to the more horn throwing moments, but the darkness feels serious to me. When this is given more deliberation on "Pale Pink Crocodile" , which is one of the albums strongest songs despite the odd lyrics and clunky blast beats. I'll go ahead and round this up to a 9. The emotional oppressive atmosphere feels real, even if there are no occult connections to this music and this is just some hipster punk metal ironic metal albums. It sounds good there is enough of the more classic metal sounds coupled with the too cool for school cross overs into punk. Here Masters hits the bulk of the time and while I have paid more attention to A Pregnant Light than this project, I now see the error in my ways. Eve i you are the kind who won't settle for anything less than a blaze in your northern sky, this album is still legit enought in it's little black heat to be troo for you.

6.2

Lightning Bolt: "Fantasy Empire"

I am not sure if you would call Lightning Bolt metal, but the influence they have had on Liturgy is undeniable, even from the first song on this new album which is their first album in six years. The thick distortion and the relentless herky jerk of the duo's attack, is almost every thing black metal should be. it does lack the key component being evil, instead these guys are mean. They are sonic bullies. There is a math rock element to what they do . This is given crystal meth. It finds a turbulence that blast beats create without ever having to play a real blast beat. There is a noisy color to the painting they are throwing colors at, but to call it noise rock misses the point.

"Horsepower" feels like it's stallion is being beaten to death in the way the simple groove is pounded home in a almost droning manner, that would be more obvious if the song was being played slower instead its the pulse of a manic heart being flooded with. endorphins. the bass takes more of the spot light here, giving a bit more boom to the static distortion. Sometimes these guys remind me of the Butthole Surfers at other times older Today is the Day, neither band would you be quick to associate with  black metal. The more angular bass throb of "King of the World" some how manages to drone it's way into bleeding over into the following song with my attention diverted from the song. There is an element to the drumming that reminds me of Hendrix's "Manic Depression" a song that has always haunted ever since the night I was tripping and the CD player got stuck on that song and I was too fucked up to figure out how to change it or turn it off,so I had to listen to it for six hours. "King of the World' feels the same on many accounts.

There is a more tribal drive to "Mythmaster" that fights against the bass driving you into the closest thing to a blast beat. Their is a thick muscular rumble to the almost rock n roll paced "Runaway Train". This one seems to have deliberate noise and finds the guitar taking a noise solo midway in that sounds like Tom Morello.  There is a stonerish sludge to the more locked in syncopated sections. In some ways it's the closest I have heard the band adhering to a more conventional approach, even if it is fighting against the noise.

They back off and take a breath for the more indie rock groove of "Snow White the Seven Dwarves Fans", they launch into a more Dead Kennedys styled punk rock. This album seems to be rougher than previous work the raw monster tone of "Dream Genie" finds the vocals that stay buried in the guitar's distortion for the entire album , heading in more of a Today is the Day direction. The drummer is insane often reminding me of homeboy from Hella. This album achieves the perfect balance of being lo-fi yet sounding good, so that factors in as I round this one up to a 9.