NO/MAS : "No Peace"

On the more punk side of grind-core, NO/MAS are angry as fuck. They have a dialed-in guitar sound rather than just a raw outburst, and just because they play grind-core does not mean they have not refined their attack on their instruments. At times, even grooves slide into the riffs, which is an ear for detail,l considering that these songs clock in at two minutes more often than not. They are certainly influenced by Slayer in how some of the riffs are nuanced. "Blood Soaked Soil" is more feral until midway into the song when they lock into a breakdown, which proves to be pretty powerful. There are even brief guitar harmonies. 

On "Abolition," which is jsut under two minutes, they fake you out and make you think this is just going to be aggressive chaos but pull it together with cool riffs. "Leech" finds them galloping into a more thrash-inspired feel. There are some riffs on this one that you can not resist banging your head to. While it is empowered by a really cool riff, at a minute length, it's hard to make." The Act of Killing' much of a song. The snarl in a more ferocious manner for "Lay indegina." It's not until "Choke Point" that you hear the more metallci smarts empower the songwriting. 

They use the riffs more like a sword than a club on "Spineless," creating a hook for them to lock into. The title track is not as catchy and is more based on brutality. They end things with more of a thrashing attack on the last song. They throw themselves into a hyperactive punk explosion. I will give this one a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. I have not really dug into the entire slate of grind-core bands with albums coming out this year, but it seems like these guys are setting the bar for the genre to be measured against here. This drops March 13th on Redefining Darkness Records.

pst 19

Tombs : "Feral Darkness"

 Mike Hill's sonic travels into darkness find this band continuing to embrace further into darkness. There are fewer black metal moments, making the music carry more of a death metal aggression.  Each album is a little different take on the bleak sounds they use, an aggressive barrage of powerful chug to convey. His vocal approach is less of a growl and more deliberate articulation of disdain. I would say at times this album feels like it has more in common with "Domination" era Morbid Angel than it does Mayhem or Darkthrone. The double bass-powered drums add to the ominous momentum being built. "Granite Sky" has very deliberate riffing. The buzz around this album was that they were fully coming to a more death rock, goth approach, which I am not hearing, but it's only three songs into things.

They are not singing this corrosion to me yet on "The Sun Sets," but you can hear how they might go in that direction as the more death rock moan replaces the bellow that normally marks their sound. Not the first time this sort of thing has crept into what they do, it is just not bookended by a blackened crunch. I like how the different elements are balanced. The harrowing guitar riffs to this one keep things throbbing with an aching tension. The more black metal elements to stirred to life for "Last Days," which rings out with a great deal of chaos before locking into a galloping stomp. They venture to a desolate place by the end of the song. They can always prove that darkness is just as heavy as any metal riff. 

"The Wintering" hits with a sludge-ridden riff, as heavily effected vocals provide a sardonic narrative, that keeps the oppressive feel flowing. It dips into a more depressive, doomy feel. "Black Shapes" is another return to black metal, though this time with a more punk edge. Then they ride a spectral line toward a nightmarish blend of black metal and goth on "Darklands". "Wasps" has a churning death flood of double bass with creepy vocals calling out into this raging storm of guitar. They are aggressive without always reverting to harsher tones. The churn of the  main riff is more death metal. This album is one of their heaviest, and while it is different, it is consistent with what they do, a logical step from where they have gone in the past to releases. It will take a few listens for it to sink in with me, but I like where they are going and the differing vocal colors is a move in the right direction. I will give this a 9.5. This drops on October 17th on Redefining Darkness 

Thanks for reading, give a listen to the song below, and  please "like" and share on social media to give music a voice 

https://www.facebook.com/abysmalhymns

Check out our Podcast here ... https://www.youtube.com/@abysmalhymns666

"

pst467

HERUVIM : "Mercator"

 

What a time to be a death metal band in Ukraine, you have all the inspiration you could ever ask for. These guys go from angular riffing into highly hooky crunches. There is some great guitar playing, the drums are a little buried in the background, but I will throw some headphones on for the second song and see if that helps. The second song is murkier and less deliberate, with the guitars weaving around one another in a chaotic manner. It takes about a minute and a half before things slow down enough for the song to get its footing. When they speed up, they just sound like every other death metal band. I like how the vocals are recorded; this creates the feel of the low growl as more of a spectral rasp. 

"Gnosis" has more of a grinding, mechanical Morbid Angel feel, rather than the more epic chug of Bolt Thrower. They have riffs coming out of their ass. This creates a thrashing labyrinth they sometimes wrestle against, making it hard for the vocals to find their place. The drums thunder more to the forefront as the album progresses. They still have a cavernous sound, but this album was likely recorded in a bunker.  Most of the songs are around the four-minute mark so they do not waste any time when it comes to compositions. "Arammu" has more groove to its riffing. This works better for my ears. The verse is very deliberate despite the trippy phasing effects on the guitars. The pitch harmonics have a early '90s squeal to them. 

The title track has even more Morbid Angel flowing in the opening riff. They do switch things up into a darker, more brooding verse to give themselves more of a defined personality rather than being the sum of their influences. There is a hooky rallying cry that this song invokes, and I like how they thrash out of this into darker moods. The bass picks up the slack as needed in these transitions. The solos echo off into the reverbed distance, rather than jsut being shred fests. The last song starts off with an almost rock n roll guitar melody. It descends into a dense battle of guitars. This is another case of where they pile all of the riffs they have been hoarding into this five-minute outburst. I will give this one a 9, it's a solid effort, who knows how much of a future their homeland has, much less as a band, but this is a fitting testament to the times they made this in,Out September 12th on Redefining Darkness.

pst399

Disfuneral : "In Horror, Reborn"

 

Here is the sophomore effort by this French band, which pays homage to European death metal of the 90s on the album. The burly gallop they lock into on the opening track is coupled with a commanding growl unlike early Entombed before they slowly developed the dense guitar sound that so many bands emulated. The riffs are more nuanced than the burly grooves of Entombed. The second finds them pouring on the speed, which is not as interesting as the more nuanced approach of the first song. "Ripped From Within" is more deliberate than the previous song, they use a more punk rock momentum.. The punches of the song, help reign in the momentum to set them up to slow down in a darker doomier passage. The vocals feel more like an afterthought on this song, yet this Venom-like charge of the drums helps propel them. 

Things gain a head-banging groove with more purpose on "Crypt of Demented"  The vocals sit back in the mix, telling me they are far from the focus of their songwriting and more of a repugnant texture. At least I know how to set my expectations for the rest of the album. Before pressing play I read about the Lovecraftian feel of the band and I am not hearing that. You cannot understand the lyrics so they are a mute point. and I do not think an album cover warrants placing a label upon a band, it is the music that does the talking for them. "Extremity In Morbity" finds them locking into a more trashing speed. The drumming is more nuanced than the guitar playing which continues to show a punk influence. 

While the songs do not all sound the same, the scope they cover midway through the album is very specific. I like punk and death metal, but I am not sure I need the two to mix in something that is not hardcore. Their punk side has too many rock-and-roll vibes for this to be the case. Darkside Ritual, with its doomy stomp, is darker and more metal. They pour more speed in the thrashy "Blessed By Decay".  The title track is powered by a few cool riffs, though it is more dominated by typical metal tropes. To the band's credit, they are very succinct in their songwriting and never drone. So even when they just blast off and take their instruments racing on the last song,  they are smart enough to allow things to drop down to the more deliberate bass line. I will give this an 8, they are good at what they do and will appeal to fans who like gritty Swedish death metal that comes from France. Being brought to you by the fine folk at Redefining Darkness. 

pst111

FAITHXTRACTOR : "Loathing & the Noose"

This duo out of Ohio is back with their 5th album that finds the onslaught dialed into a well-shaded blend of aggression. It throbs with enough darkness for the atmosphere to provide dynamics to the double bass and gnashing of teeth. The riffs follow an angular slither that carries an almost blackened menace to it. "the Loathing' has more chaos, and packs a juggernaut of a punch that leans more toward the hyper-aggressive Deicide side of death metal. This means the brutality has been refined into a jagged machine of interlocking riffs rather than the more brutal Cannibal Corpse side of the genre that is more blunt force trauma to the ears. 

"Fever Dream Litanies" blasts by in a blurry frenzy as they give things over to speed. The result is more pummelling. The relent on the tempos midway into "Flooded Tombs" creates a more dynamic range and sets the stage for the chaotic bursts of solos to make sense rather than sound like rushed cacophony. There is a more commanding riff leading into "Ethos Moribund", the blinding fast guitar sections keep the intensity up, as the drumming allows for tension in the build-up before they open the floodgates and just pour on the speed. There are a few cool riffs, but the rule here is 'cool riffs alone does not a good song make". The vocals stuff at the kind of gruff growl you expect from death metal. 

The breather leading into "Caveats" is needed, an this atmosphere helps create a dynamic space keeping everything from just pounding into your ears again. They carry this further into the song so it simmers in darkness and becomes the album's best song. They lay on the speed for about thirty seconds at the end of the song and it works as it's not just a relentless hammering. On 'Beholden Nightmare" the lay more of the speed, with guitar solos racing out from every corner.  This results in the song just blasting by with a uniform aggression flowing through it. "Cerecloth Vision Veil" opens with a more morose mood lingering over it. This allows the guitars to create melodies over it. The double bass bubbles in a more deliberate patter. The riffs shift fludilt, but nothing really commands you with its hook. I will give this album an 8. It works for what they are doing but sometimes gets overtaken by the aggression that comes with the territory in this genre. The is dropping on Redefining Darkness.  

7

pst7

Black Metal History Month - Zohamah : "Spread My Ashes"

We..and by we I realized I am included in the music media who is quick to throw around sub-genre labels. Why call a band blackened anything, when sometimes they might just enjoy playing black metal slowly, which seems to be the case here rather than this being a doom band getting more evil. The scathing vocals are the most black metal element, aside from the oppressive mood. The guitars are big and powerful which can make them feel more like death metal. They go into a more depressive sound on "Emptiness" . This brings us to one of my favorite sonic corners the place where depressive black metal and doom intersect. Granted it's much more black metal than doom, as it might be down trodden but it's more tormented and anguished as it bites back out of anger. Doom wallows and mourns.

This album offers the argument that their is some strong black  metal coming out of America now as this project hails from Cleveland. A corner of blue collar America low on the church burning.  Though it opens with more of a brooding dissonance "Black Cloud "gets more aggressive and at 3 minutes kinda blows past like a locomotive once it builds momentum. It's almost more death metal. The vocals even drop down in a lower growl.The song writing is kept compact and stays focused never getting lost in a self indulgent drone. They drop back down into the more haunting grimness that was offered before with "Broken Mirror". It works though doesn't command my attention as much as the previous songs . This is typical for extreme metal, as the novelty of the sheer heaviness eventually wears off and the song writing goes under a more precise microscope.

There is a powerful throb to the closing song. It's layered with additional guitar melodies. It builds it's rumble into something almost more death metal in the brawn of it's angry beating. I'll give this album a 9 as it transcends most of the stagnant pit falls of music that is this heavy and remembers that song writing matters. This was released on Redefining Darkness Records.

Shining : Redefining Darkness

The title doesn't lie. There is truth in advertising here. Darkness has been redefined here as something much lighter than what I normally think of and lighter than Shining's more definitive work like " the eerie cold" and "Halmstad". It's more of the same from The "fodd forlorare" period, though with a slicker production value and not coming out of the gate so blatantly black n roll.

In some ways the band sees where they need to go but can't synch there creative gps to get there in the most concise manner and the opening track is case in point. " Du, Mitt kontsverk" blasts of at a rapid pace akin to black metal but lacks the depth and destiny the band has displayed in the past as part of their sound . It might sound more fitting on the more well adjusted Enslaved's album. Kvarforth is grunting just as harshly as ever but it lacks the anguish and personality that is his trademark. The guitar comes in to give this song it's most redeeming quality. When the acoustic breakdown comes it feels very color by numbers though the clean vocals are improved and better produced.

"ghastly silence" Is forgiven for not being as heavy as their early work because it does succeed at creating a mood similar to "eerie cold" though here its like they have been taking their medication as the depressive and suicidal elements are toned down. In fact the new Nachtmystium conveys those feeling much more convincingly than here. The spoken section is not desperate sounding or depraved but rather goth...think My dying bride. But the song has a good sense of movement. The clean vocals are a little too emo Katatonia , sure these guys mke emotional music but it's cutting in a more destructive sense. The sax blurs the lines between their Norse counterparts , the black jazz ones who I ignored their existence since this was the only Shining for me.

The ugh at the beginning of "Han Som Manniskan" is very familiar and I'm not talking Celtic Frost. Once agin the guitar solos which shreds with a capital s comes in and saves the black n roll. The growls are a little more convincing , my only problem with the songs which brings back the bath tub moans is its a little derivative. The riff at the midway point is pretty killer and the guitar that follows it wins me over on this one. The solos are frequent which I'm o.k with because they are taking it to the next level. So I begin to think more of my problems with this album are production based as the grit is gone.

Hearing him sing in English is a little weird. "Hail Darkness Hail" has the ghostly vocal chant that reminds me Andy Laroque produced this and is why the guitars sound great for a King Diamond record, but I think they need rougher edges at times here. But give Andy credit as he know how to produce the hell out of some vocals. The spoken word section in the middle breakdown takes me back to their glory days though the clean vocals are bland from a melodic sense until the harmony comes in. This album needs to be heard by any metal guitarist who wants to learn how to play tasteful leads. By this point I have accepted the fact like Enslaved there is nothing black metals out this album.

There's a pointless piano ditty before " For the god below" . By the time this one rolls around I'm thinking the. Whole acoustic thing is becoming overdone. A very Enslaved riff comes in, though the vocal pattern reminds me of Dissection , until the weepy Katatonia singing returns. I appreciated the Dissection worship, why should Watain and Thulcandra be the only bands with good taste. The solo around the four minute mark is the first one that I feel is slight filler, where the others really added something and the embelishments after this part are tasty. The lyrics to this songs as a love song to Satan is cute. The line about his devotion to evil I like. The solo at the last minute and a half is pretty epic and I don't use that term lightly. The solos steal the show on this one.

This might not be the direction I think the band should go in,but it's not bad I rounded the score down Becuase I think there is a lot of recycling from "fodd forlorare",which I and of its self was a great album, the riffs had more grit which made up for the formulaic Opeth clean vocal sections. I love real singing, I think there's some great singing with personality on this album, but like Opeth you know it's right around the corner and while not as trite as the old Killswitch Engage good cop bad cop exchanges it sometimes feels like these dynamics could have been explored to a greater extent . So taking this into consideration as well as they fact this was once a great dsbm band who longer makes dsbm , I'll give this one a 8.5 and see how it grows on the first song lead is once I get past the first minute and a half of Enslaved. But I lead own the new Enslve dso give me a depressed Shinging and I'll be happily morose again.