Malignant Aura : "Where All of Worth Comes to Wither"

 

Australian Doomsters Malignant Aura lurch into this album with the kind of dark melancholy I want from all heavy music, but expect from doom. This is the band's second album. "The Pathetic Festivals" finds them delving deeper into the death metal side of the death doom equation, with a more Morbid Angel-like feel. It features a commanding stop that emerges with a mechanical grind of the guitars. Midway into the song, they relent to the darkness, and things ebb down into a more dismal, yet spacious cavern of sound. 

The low gurgle of the vocal complements the twisting riff of "Languishing in the Perpetual Mire". When every thing breakdowns into the woeful cry of discordant atmosphere, it feels almost like free-form jazz. It is ambient in a way that halts the momentum, and places the focus in a more intangible mood. As a 13-minute song, this is eating up a chunk of time. They pulls things back together, but even then it does not feel as focused as the first two songs. It takes another two minutes before they wind back around the Morbid Angel-like riff. I like the doomy melodic riff they solo over that closes the song. 

I think doom is who they are, but the pull of Morbid Angel is strong, on "Under a Crown of Anguish." the depression wins out.     When they go doom, they go full-on funeral doom and do not mess around. There are no aspirations to be Paradise Lost. These twin guitar harmonies are one of the strongest elements of their sound. The last song finds them walloiwing in the sorrow of doom. It does build but a flow of double that acts mroe as an undercurrent than a full on aggressive assualt.I will give this oen a 9, it is certainly an abum fans of death doom need to take note of this year. Being released by Memento Mori.  

/p> pst22

Death is June - Krypticy : "the Non Return"

 

One trend in death metal that I approve of is bass guitar coming up in the mix. It's the first thing I notice about this Spanish band's opening track. Krypticy leans heavily onto the crossroads of where thrash met the early days of Tampa death metal. There is a more Deicide-like feel when the gang vocals join in. The guitar solos get the job done without being over-indulgent and it feels like at this point they care about the song. The real test is never the first song, but how their writing holds up over the length of the album. The song is not as nuanced and feels more like just any death metal band banging away at it. 

Lyrically they are all over the place as the third song is about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, though even Deicide and Cannibal Corpse deviate from the theme in this regard. There is more blasting in this song which does, in fact, come closer to Cannibal Corpse's zip code. I already own all the Cannibal Corpse albums but appreciate where they are going here. "the Void" feels like mid-level filler Cannibal Corpse. Some of this lies in the fact their drummer does not switch things up like Cannibal Corpses' and is a less creative player. Some people might complain it's unfair to compare the two since one is much more experienced. The truth is if we are operating under the assumption that all people are created equal, then these are two men who have chosen their profession and are making music that is an investment in my time to listen to. 

As evident at the beginning of "The Water Street Butcher" the band's bassist is their VIP. They keep things at a relentless thrashing speed. Some people might be into this, and care little about dynamics they just want to hear fast. Well, these guys have you covered in that regard. "UGH!" is the best song title on this album. As a song it pretty much just blasts through the waters we have already heard them tread, though the punches are more purposeful. Their eponymous song is more rabid fire blasting. It creates the rushed feel I no longer appreciate in death metal. The last song benefits from more moshy riffs,. I will give this album an 8, they are good at what they do, even if it is not the most original take on that, if you are into bands that are like more thrashy versions of  Cannibal Corpse, this album is for you. It drops July 22nd on Memento Mori 

pst290