Black Metal History Month-Looking Back In Anger at Possessed's "Seven Churches"

Here is where we go back and listen to albums that are supposed classic and see if they were really as good as we thought at the time and ask how well have they stood up. Credited as one of the forerunners of black metal formed in 1983 this album was released in 1985. This was also the first band of Primus guitarist Larry Lalonde. The opener sounds more thrash, but you can hear why Dimmu Borgir has credited this album as having influenced them. Bands like Samael, Falkenbach and Rotting Christ have name checked this guys as an influence. The vocals on the song"Pentagram" sound more like Venom than the harsh growls of the first song. The drums are more thrash than what we consider black metal today. "Burning In Hell" is almost sloppy due to it's speed. While the album that followed this one was criticized for being not as aggressive as this one it makes me wonder if it's as bad as originally thought. They do sound a lot better when they slow down into the chug for this song. More like "Bonded By Blood" era Exodus.

There is more of a Slayer feel to "Evil Warriors". The vocals would not sound out of place on a modern black metal album, though they are a little more punk. This song might have been ground breaking at the time , but now it feels like warmed up Slayer. I do like the attack of the title track despite the fact it speed up into that stiff punk like snare I hate in metal, and to be honest am not fond of it in punk either. Lyrically this song is not as strong as the others. The harmony runs the bass and guitar do are pretty impressive if those kinds of chops are what you are into. The guitar might be this bands biggest asset , but the bass playing is not far behind it though sits back further in the mix than say Atheist. "Satan's Curse" is pretty straight forward. The chorus is really punk, almost reminds me of Suicidal Tendencies. I think "Holy Hell" is a better song, though it's more in the Venom vein.

"Twisted Minds" kinda feels more like that place where death metal and thrash once met. There is a cool mosh riff under the guitar solo, but you know the rule around here is cool riffs alone do not a good song make. "Fallen Angel" has more anger in it's attacks. The drums are not the greatest , but they get the job done. The song "Death Metal" is more thrash than death metal. It kind of blasts by without leaving much of an impression even after going back to listen to this more than once. I'll give this album an 8, it's good, but not a classic as it doesn't even hold up to say "Altars of Madness" .

Testament : "Brotherhood of the Snake"

I used to be a big fan of these guys back when "New Order" came out. I was dropped off after "Souls of Black" The riff might have more punch, but the vocals have pretty much picked up where "Souls of Black" left off and are not trying as hard as they did on "Low" or "Demonic". Aside from Gene Hoglan, who no one is going to complain about, this is pretty much the original line up. They keep the momentum up until "Stronghold", which is just not as well written as the first two songs. It seems to rely on speed and guitar solos, with nothing to really grab me. If you think about the songs from "the Legacy" or "New Order" which were just as fast, they hooked you in with the melody and the melody here is filler compared to the awesome sauce they had cooking on the first two songs. The keep things at a fast thrashing speed, but have more groove for the vocals to lock in over on "Seven Seals". They christian slant to the lyrics turn me off a little on this one, but lyrics aside it finds them back in fine form.

"Born in a Rut" could easily be a Five Finger Death Punch song with it's tough guy "walk on home boy" like spoken sections. It's not a bad song for what it is. Modern day metal kids looking to get into thrash will find this to be a more accessible entry point. It only takes the first few seconds of a Testament song for me to figure out if I am going to like it or not and "Centuries of Suffering" got the job done in the opening riff.  They is a perfect example of how they can make the more rapid fire riffing work best for them as this is classic Testament. This rule works once they locked into the verse riff for "Neptune's Spear". It's hard not to head bang to this one. The song writing loses focuses once more on "Black Jack" which is about Las Vegas, so much for Apocalyptic City.  The chorus to this song is actually terrible. I being to lose my ability to pre-dict what is going to be a bad song, in the album's third act. While "Canna Business" is not a bad song. It feels like filler to me.

They end the album with the hammering charge of "Number Game". It's not as catchy as some of the album's stronger songs. There are some moments, but you know the rule here is "cool riffs alone do not make a good song". So it looks like they still have some good songs in them, but are far from taking the throne that Anthrax got for themselves. I'll round this one up to an 8. This album is not bad, but as a whole it can't touch the first five.

The Pine Box Boys : "the Feast of Three Arms"

If you like Voltaire and Tenacious D, then you might have a higher tolerance for some of these shenanigans than I. Production wise this album is raw , but not in a punk way. I would expect a little more reverb, as singing about your mom killing her self needs a darker back drop. There is still to much of a skip in the step of "Comfy In My Coffin". Some of the glee that should be toned down here is in the bright voice of their lead singer. Some of the guitar tones work well, but if this was sung in a more ghostly baritone then it much be a much different story. It's not until "That Boy is Trouble" that we get the shadows coming in to create a more sinister atmosphere. "Parmalene" is like many of the other songs in that it is way too happy to sell the lyrical content.

Some of the spoken word interludes seem like they would just take up space on the ole iPod. Sure they are telling a story, but I think the music should do the talking here. So for the sake of this review I am just going to ignore these sections. The blue grass swing of "I Killed the Band", might not make them horror billy , but it is well played. There is more hell-fire breathed into the up tempo "Mighty Mighty Preacher". This narrative is not as bleakly told as Murder By Death's "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?"  The murder ballad "the Judge" better than most of the songs. "Rise" finds them returning to a lighter tone that reminds me of the Greatful Dead. I can see neo-hippies smoking pot to this one. There is more of a folk feel to "Dog Named Death". It's a song that is good for what it is, I think how they have branded themselves is deceptive as they would go over much better with the folky flannel shirt crowd that latched onto Mumford and Sons, as well as fans of the jam scene. Aside from the lyrics rarely is anything dark about the music. At this point in the album I think there are certain Dave Matthews albums that have a darker tone than these guys.

After a little spoken word section "Meet My Wife" kicks in. It finds them trying to harmonize up in their falsettos for better or worse. "Blameless" is more of a country ballad.
Maybe their first four albums are a lot darker, some how I doubt it. "Rushee -Roo -Let" has a more rock feel to it. I can hear this going over well with the Widespread Panic crowd.There is some almost proggy drumming to this song. They are more straight up blue grass on the quick paced square dance of "the River" .

Cardinal Wyrm : "Cast Away Souls"

The mid paced chug of the song is powerful, but the oddly sung vocals are what gives this band it's personality. Pulling a Genesis it's the drummer Pranjal Tiwari who is handling the vocals. They are joined by Leila from Vastum / Hammers of Misfortune who I can only guess is playing bass to round out this odd trio. On the first song the vocals have almost a death rock quality, then take on a more metal croon for "the Resonant Dead".  There is a more folk slant to "Lost Orlson" which adds yet another bizarre element to this band's sound. The rumbling bass that opens "Grave Passage" doesn't try to suffocate you with it's vibrations. Instead it still leaves room for the guitar to creep in behind it and cloak the song in atmosphere. It evolves into one of the album's heaviest song, though the clean sung vocals don't feel as focused.

The more sleek and sinewy dance of "After the Dry Years" finds the band back flirting with their gothier sound. The bass provides the glue and the band weaves a more death rock element into the song in a manner much different than how this occurs with a band like Atriarch. The trade off with the female vocals on the chorus is a smart choice. The album's longest song "Soul Devouring Fog" closes out the album. These guys do not rely on having to drone you into apathy and invest in the songs. It one of the more solidly doom paced songs on the album. The solo at the beginning seems to wander too long into the verse. This in turn makes the vocals seem not has sure of themselves. It all converges into more solid heaviness. I'll give this album an 8. It has some strong moments, but wanders off at time when it gets heavy rather than fully committing to some of the darker and more melodic moments which are this band's strength.


This album is being released October 14th.

All Your Sisters :"Uncomfortable Skin"

This Duo from San Francisco, tries to get darker than their depth. The vocals are throat Killing Joke style while the music behind it entangles the jangle of post-punk guitars with a lo-fi drum machine. The thunk of a stiff bass groove gives a little bit of an industrial edge to "Black God" . It reminds me a little bit of some stuff I recorded while on a bunch of drugs in the late 90s. The heavily effected guitar fills up your head phones, but I don't think the song writing here is all that focused. The drum machine also keep this from packing the kind of punch that industrial deserves."Heater' has a little more drive, it's still very lo-fi which keeps the sound from fully committing to an industrial pound. The guitar and vocals are a little more interesting on the moodier "Loss". The song doesn't really progress into anything of note and holds onto the bass line for dear life. The guitar wanders off and does it's own thing.

There is more of a Joy Division like skip to the bass line that opens up "Remains". Skip could also be refereed to as an up beat stiffness. It's layered with a much noisier guitar tone. "Filled With Waste" does tap into some interesting tones, but moves at a rather plodding place, There is more of a groove to "Shame " as pace picks up. The baritone vocals are more crooned instead of casually exclaimed. I would not think of these guys as dark even when the album touches upon it's deepest darkest place on "No Hope".  The song staggers but never limps it's way into a groove. There is a more brooding build to "Reconcile". It builds without ever cashing in on its promise of going anywhere, even in the chaos of it's unfolding sonic layers. I like the mood, but I need to hear a little more musically from this project. He chants reconcile as the song ebbs down to a noisy end.

In some ways I like where this album ants to go. I think the vocals could have used a few more effects on them. This is about as lo-fi as it could have gone and still be enjoyable. They try to defy the genre lines , but this is post-punk with an attitude. I'll give this album a 7.5 as it has it's moments , but never really wowed me. I think this project has potential. This is being released by the Flenser July 8th.

                                                          

Fallujah : "Dreamless"

Here is the follow up to 2014's "The Flesh Prevails". While these guys are technical death metal, they pull it off in such a way that doesn't just come across as dazzling you with chops but create an atmosphere. The first song seems like a movement more than a song on it's own even though I like the fact the carries more ambiance than anything I remember from the first album. "Adrenaline" ebbs down into an almost jazzy landscape, but caters more to fans of death metal as it is about the propulsion. The vocals are forceful growls on the lower side of mid range. A more progressive color is added that creates a more Dream Theater like feel before they blast off into the more rapid fire attack. The drummer is really killing it coming off of fills into punching grooves. The bass player is not too far behind him in terms of prowess. The shredding solos of course reach out and grab, but it's the other textures like the female vocals of Tori Letzer, tossed into this one that make a difference.

These guys prove you can throw a lot into the mix without having to drag it out into ten minute songs. "Abandon" doesn't pull me in as much as the previous songs, but highlights the fact that these guys don't come at out you with the conventions of modern metal in the most expected ways. The female vocals also return for this song. They do flirt with some of the more conventional elements of prog metal, bands like Cynic will come to mind. The very mathy grooves that dance around your head rather than hitting you straight on. At this point if you haven't noticed the drummers feet you will as his double bass is beyond sick. The title track is the most melodic moment so far, it is almost an instrumental with the female vocals haunting it from the corners of the song. Lighter in atmosphere the drummer still keeps things moving. They get more hammering on "the Prodigal Son" it does lose me a little in the same places metal that is heavy on technique does. By offsetting the heaviness with the ambition invested in it. There is almost a more black metal feel to the beginning for "Amber Gaze" , perhaps if it was droned through a quantum hyper-cube. When the song gets to more of a roar than it's clearly death metal. If you are meat and potatoes metal head that doesn't like chugging more artful than Deicide then this might not be the band for you.

"Fidelio" is more of an atmospheric interlude than a free standing song. It feels like this interlude is going to lead into a build up more intense, then comes another fake out in the form of "Wind For Wings" which takes it's time getting wound up with a Tool like tension. When it kicks in it feels like marginally heavier Dream Theater with growled vocals instead of the Journey like warbling. The break for the guitar solo gives way to the first clean male vocals on the album. The sound of robots on acid is captured at the onset of "Les Silences" . The use of electronics lives up to the title progressive and takes their sound some where they have not gone before. This instrumental's only voice is an undercurrent of samples, it might not be metal, but it is good music. Did not expect to hear anything like that going into this album. If this was the first song I heard I would click back to make sure I was listening to the right album.So this puts the pressure on "Lacuna" to end the album on a heavy note. By this time death metal is another color being added to their sound than the totality of it. The prog acrobatics confirm this, before they do get down into some growling. I'll give this one a 9.5, I am not sure how much play I will get out of it, but it's hard to ignore what an achievement this album is and the growth it reflects on the band.

Black Metal History Month- Look Back in Anger -Weakling's " Dead as Dreams"

We are taking a look back at on of the more under rated classics of black metal . A band out of San Francisco that is one American black metal band that really got it  right in a big way. Dispirit is really the only active metal band of note that bears former members though one of these guys have also played with the Fucking Champs.  it's hard to hear if it's performance or production with the drums at times, but the band hits you with so much emotion and sound at once the sometimes uneven mix is mostly forgiven. It could be argued that this band is not in the depressive suicidal sub-genre. I don't think it was intended to be when it was recorded, but the emotional out put is very honest. It's obvious these guys are a influence on Deafheaven.   The slowed section at the six and a half minute mark hits the sweet part when black metal meets doom in a very powerful and organic way with the screams over it ruling very hard.The vocals remain the most tortured aspect of their sound on the epic twenty minute title track. From the opening three minutes of melodic pondering to the powerful Dissection like chug that follows a cloak of atmosphere is draped over the band even at their most furious. At the twelve minute mark it drops down into synths and then this roller coaster through a nightmarish hell scape rockets into something more traditionally black metal. There is always a melodic sense to what they do, no matter how dense things keep getting.

Normally I don't like sprawling songs that break twelve minutes , but these guys make every minute count and don't bore with droning on the same stagnant tremolo picked riff for ever. The vocals have a crazed squawk to them and embody what I like about the screamed vocal approach of most dsbm bands. These guys have more in common with Totalselfhatred than other bands in that sub genre, as rocking out is the priority and they are not just moping around. They do endow their songs with more emotional depth than your average black metal band. On 'This Entire Fucking Battlefield" I can hear Emperor influence in the guitar squeals. The riffs are swirled together into a ever darkening murk by the midway point of this one. It gets as dense as death metal as the chug slows before going into a clean guitar break. They rage harder on "No One May Be Called..." This is another twelve minute song that is driven by a more straight forward metal riff. The gallop is sharp as razors. The vocals scream and gurgle with the same passionate insanity as they songs before it. At the five minute mark this is broken by by the thick rumble of bass. The guitar creeps in behind it like a build up to an Immortal song. They hang on this for longer than your average metal band would let this kind of dissonant tension build.

Things comes to a close with the dismal " Disasters in the Sun". It blasts off into what we hear every day in modern black metal but this album came out 16 years ago , putting these kids well ahead of their time. There is a slight break, but on this one they stay at a blur relative to what you expect from black metal. In the final few minutes it breaks down into some abrasive atmosphere, one of the few places where you can see why they named themselves after a Swans song. I'll round this one up to a 9.5, it's a classic despite not being perfect and worth checking out if you think Deafheaven invented this shit.

Megadeth : "Dystopia"

I normally do not support christian music in any form but Mustaine has toned it down enough for me to give this one a shot. The last time I gave a fuck about Megadeth was when "Youthanasia" came out ,  though there were some songs I heard on "Cryptic Writings " that I liked, we officially parted ways when I saw them in 1998 at Ozzfest and Mustaine had gone full christian mode, would not play there best songs from "Peace Sells"  and people where giving out fliers promoting Jesus and using his name to do so. Well how do you know he o.k'ed this? ... the defensive Megadeth fan asks.  I stopped one and asked them.   This is the first album since 2004  not feature drummer Shawn Drover who was replaced by Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler and the first since 2007 without guitarist Chris Broderik who was replaced by the guitarist from Angra. The first song is thrash with Mustaine's vocal much lower than the sneer you typically associate with their more classic sound, but this returns on the title track that follows. It is a catchier and more mainstream metal take on what they do. "Fatal Illusion" carries more heft when it slows things down into a more deliberate pound, before Dave Ellefson speeds things up into something that sounds like a b-side from "Countdown to Extinction" if that album had been produced in 2015. Not sure why the guitar feels the need to solo over what is supposed to be the chorus, the song has some cool sounds , but is haphazard in it's construction.

"Death From Within" takes two listens for me to get a grip on it , because the first listen didn't really grab me. It has what is a typical chug for the band, but sticks to a very middle of the road formula for them. The chorus is alright, but it's just alright it doesn't have much of a punch. Really at this point if it wasn't for the guitar tone, Megadeth would sound more like hard radio rock if you were to compare then to what is metal in 2016. The guitar solos run rampant here and are just what you would expect lots of speed and accuracy , but very sterile in the feeling department. Clean guitar tones open up "Bullet to the Brain". I like how the melody falls under the guitar one this one and the groove that the song might launch into makes sense despite the sing song chorus attached to it. The solo to this song has more rhyme and reason if you are in minority  into this band that needs for their solos to actually make sense in the context of the song. "Post American World" is more straight forward , but is also a more tightly written song. The drumming on this song is also more characteristic of Adler's playing.

There and more melodious qualities to "Poisonous Shadows" make it click more for me. This also the song credited with having an orchestral arrangement, which sounds more like synths to me. The chorus reminds me of post-"Trash" era Alice Cooper. The instrumental "Conqueror of Die" doesn't really have much merit except to serve as a backdrop for a shred fest, but no body is comparing these guys to King Crimson anytime soon. "Lying In State" takes a more aggressive approach, while it doesn't come close to the killer "So Far So Good So What" era is comes the closest to capturing that feel.Lyrically Dave is focused on political unrest and this is his state of the nation. Its no "Behold a Pale Horse" but not half bad in the that department."the Emperor" is typical of Megadeth's more accessible sound. The vocal lines fall tighter over the riff, but the annoying factor to this song is single note wailing over the singing. The guitar solo here is more tasteful and more rock n roll. They close the album out with a cover of Fear's "Foreign Policy" , well hey one punk cover already worked pretty well for them so why not try another. Though Megadeth is the antithesis of punk now as every thing is larger than life all the time. They don't have the same kind of anger to vent into the song that they had back on "So Far So Good". This cover doesn't really do a lot for me, they notes are all in the right place , but I think it sounds a little dialed in. This album does have some stronger moments than I expected and finds the band heading backwards in the right direction so I'll round it up to an 8.

Heat Dust : " s/t"

It's October so I am more in the mood to give some of these post-punk revivalist bands a shot in hopes of finding some goth. Its like digging for gold. These guys are on the Flenser, who have  a good track record of creative artists on their roster so this sealed the deal . What I found with this band is while They have the dark Bauhaus meets Joy Division guitar tone, but everything else is pretty much just punk. The punk build even more momentum on the second song and we are tying up our Doc Martens at this point. Things finally get a little moody and make me wanna reach for my pumpkin spice latte on "Warming My Hands" . The chorus has a hook to it and they have convinced me they know how to write a song, so the bar is raised for these guys a little. Then we are back to punk. "I Think About It Every Day" finds the band in a middle ground between punk and something a little darker as they speed along , but in a tenser manner than most of their more punk songs.

They stay in this middle ground though lean more towards punk as the album progresses."Anybody" has a more pounding drive to it and the vocals fall more toward the back ground. The vocals are a little more melodic but sung in an Iceage like mumble. They take a more deliberate pace on "Something For Nothing" and while the vocals are more punk at least the song is not being rushed past me. They even make on a more rock n roll swagger. I expected a guitar solo to come that never shows so I guess they are just too cool for those. They get a little moodier for the instrumental " Do You Think About it ?"Then the close out the album by going back to their more aggressive take on post-punk with heavy emphasis on the punk. At time some of the places the guitars go remind me of Hotwatermusic.

They have their own thing going on, but I said this in a review of the band Vastum in regards to death metal and I think it applies here in regard to punk, this genre of music that they work well within has a fairly low ceiling when it comes to dynamics and room for melodic experimentation so right from the start they had that going against them, where actual post-punk, death-rock or goth has more room for dynamic layers and thus I find it a more compelling listen so I'll give these guys a 7, but if you like straight up punk with a darker edge and don't ask much more from it go ahead and around it up a point.

Deafheaven : "New Bermuda"

Can this album live up to the hype which follows "Sunbather"? They open with some atmospheric fanfare, then bust into a massive chug. The first thing that catches my ear is that the vocals of George Clarke have more variance than the static screamed patterns the first tow albums followed. This growl is lower and has a nastier rasp to it, while the guitars finds a soloish melody to come out of the more powerfully driven riff with, before they go into clean guitar and a more indie rock section, post-rock or what ever you want to call it. Doesn't seem droning enough to call it shoe gaze. The riff when flexing a heavier muscle are much more along the line of traditional metal.

The heavy parts continue to have a darker sound on "Luna" . While Clarke stays in a lower growl and less of shriek over the blast beats sprinkled with melodic guitar, he finds a pattern and rarely strays for it . He is more staccato this time around, but taking few chances in switching it up more than he already has. The drumming is insane, but some of the blast beats get grating after the two minute mark. Around the six minute mark they break into a piano littered post-rock break that at this point you know is coming so it is less of a surprise now three albums in and the slow pound it transitions into is more impressive. The nine minute "Baby Blue" gets of to a more hushed start, before the blast beats come calling. It finds it's way into a chug that is accompanied by layered guitar. This heavier turn is as effective here as it is on the first song, despite being a more meat and potatoes approach to metal . It ebbs back down into something that is more shoe gazing.

Next up is the ten minute " Come Back" that opens with three minute of delicate post-rock before the metal kicks in. The play things very intentionally here just big chords, that are followed by a very rock n roll guitar solo. The third time is still a charm for locking in on a chug. This time it's more like 80s thrash. Double bass kicks in and the drummer wows you are his arms blur around the kit. The final minute and a half is a dreamy sample similar to what they played around with on the last album. They close the album with "Gifts For the Earth" that has a more 90s emo like guitar sound that opens the album. Clarke's rasp overt his part brings a welcomed juxtaposition. There are spoken vocal way back in the mix, that are not quite sung, before they smack you again with more metal chugging this time its a punchier variation to add an accent.They soar off as they are apt to do in the song's final two minutes. For a band who has had the metal community very split and accusations of being hipster metal, they had something to prove and the point was well made. It now makes more sense why a band like Tribulation is opening for them. The dreamy parts on this album work better for me on this one than they did on the last album, due to the heavier moments and the fact Clarke's vocals are not the same old same old helps give this an edge over "Sunbather". This album doesn't pander to the mainstream, though the mainstream metal community might finally give these guys more of a shot if they actually bother to give this one a listen. If they don't I'm sure the bands swelling if not questionable fan base will be more than happy to. I'll give this one a 10, they proved themselves once again.

Pale Chalice : "Negate the Infinite and Miraculous"

This album starts off rather deceptively, and fools you into thinking that it is going to be some kind of slower black metal that doesn't lean to much on blasting. The guitar is prettier than it is ugly sounds like this would be Deafheaven. There is something more distant and cold about their music than Deafheaven and from the opener they seem to be more aligned with metal. On the second song "Shaking Nerves and Vacuous Spaces" is more traditional black metal in some ways it reminds me of old Dimmu before they got so symphonic. There is a similar evilness to the rasp of the vocals. The drummer is on it. There is a wall of double bass moving the song until they break it down to where you can hear the bass creeping up onto the accents.

By the the time you are at the third song they have pretty much proven they can bring almost anything you need from black metal to the table, even a Goatwhore like groove. With "Fragile Bones Cradling Tallow" they slip a little and begin just relying on speed and blasties , which can only get even the best of bands so far , the drums take and spin on an interesting break, but it only catches my ear for a minute. "Weltering Depth of the Carrion Wave" that a Mutilation Rites like melodies buried in the depth of the wave of tremolo picking. Some odd melodies drip out of the maggots spewed out by the guitars who pretty much save the day at every turn as the vocals are mean enough buy prove to be a one trick pony in anguish.Some of that anguish borders on DsBm so I like that emoting. They start playing it too safe again on "Bent By Carapace Chain". The final two minutes slow down and throb on the evil for a bit.

The last song finds the band pulling it together and writing a song rather than a collection of varied blast beats. The guitars are somewhat clean creating a more sonic sound. Towards the end it drops down to uncover the bass tone. I'll round it up to a 7.5, because these guys do hit all the marks that make a black metal band, but what I need from a black metal band is someone capable of doing that and can pull it out as needed but doesn't color in the line and breaks the rules more than follows them , because if black metal is about freedom then why conform to a sound so slavishly.

Whirr : "Sway"

Right from the first note the San Francisco band is putting more rock into their brand of dreamy...what ever sub-genre you want to tag them with...shoe-gaze being the most likely. This is not just a tribute to Slow Dive, this album feels just as influenced by Sonic Youth. Sure even the opener"Press" has that scraping shimmer like My Bloody Valentine employs , but they are letting themselves become pigeon holed by there influences.

These guys are hot on the heels of Nothing, who conjure together a some what similar blend of 90's influenced indie rock. These guys are dreamier than Nothing, the bass often harder and more fuzzed out and they lack the under coating of grunge Nothing carries. Drums and melody help propel songs like "Mumble". The key to making this sort of thing work is being grounded enough to not let the songs drift out from under you and put the listener to sleep. These guys rock enough to not let that become a problem.

Once the third song 'Dry" comes around they are hitting it harder almost like True Widow does, even relaxing into the verses. This gives them just the right balance of dynamics so their songs don't start sounding the same, though with five more songs to go the jury is still out. They do use different shades of dream when it comes to their guitar tone, some more distorted than others. The sweeping elegance of "Clear" shoe-cases their more crystalline guitar sound.The indulgence of this does cause the song to float away and is much less anchored than "Heavy' that follows. Despite it's name this one is moodier , but wouldn't say actually heavy.  

The breathy tension of the title track hovers in an almost drone like fashion. The vocals are distant creating a darker effect than how they have been presented thus far. Dynamically droning it remains rather one dimensional. Though even the lull grows on you. The dynamic shift occurs on "Lines' somewhat more upbeat, the bass line propelling the songs sense of movement. The album fades into the great gray yonder . Almost sounding like a soundtrack to one of the balloons I let go of as a kid and wondered where it went.

I'll give this album a 9.5 it's growing on me , sometimes the slow and dreamy sits better with me than others. This albums shows a lot of growth from this band, if you like shoe gaze or indie rock of any flavor it's worth checking out.

Vastum : Patricidal Lust

The San Fran death metal band returns with the second full length. This time it's more polished but no less dense or dark, two qualities that make for good death metal. It's no secret I am more partial to black metal, as death metal can be one dimensional and just focuses on the aggressive element with little more emotional depth. However I grew up on early Morbid Angel and Deicide as a teenager so I can appreciate it. These guys are not the first death metal band I have covered on here and they will not be the last, because if you can make dark and sonic music I will give it a listen.

 There is melody to the guitar but nothing over harmonized and gay like Dark Tranquility or the more thrash minded Entombed followers.Its pretty gut wrenching and cavernous, the opener is heavily syncopated and is like an attack being launched at you from the dark recesses of some foul cavern.The drummer gets a lot of props because you would think death metal drummers lack restraint and are incapable of serving the song, this guys proves that theory wrong and never overplays. "Enigma of Disgust" has groove to it with out being cheesey or diminishing the dark manner in which they are going about this dirty work. He never makes the annoying snare hits that have to be the most boring beat in metal , but all to common in run of the mills death metal.

Comparisons to Incantation can be drawn, the deep sepulchral vocal delivery being similar, but I think this blows away the last Incantation album ,every one rave about like it was the coming of the anti- Christ. "3 AM in Agony" starts off more like your a typical death metal but finds a groove that grinds deep into the rooted soil this song sprung from.Every thing about this album is echoing up from the deep, one of the thickest guitar tones I have heard in some time. "3 Am" might be a little more straight forward in terms of composition than the first two tracks but makes up for this in its brutal grind.

The step back and allow the riff of "Incel" to be creepy before stomping down into it. The slower doomy death metal riff is a change from the beating they have given your ears up til this point. The slow is beautiful in its dissonance and the song build well in intensity with out having to rely on speed . The title track pounds to life with an almost Slayer like punch to its groove.The vocals choosing a cadence similar to post- Barnes Cannibal Corpse. By the end of the song , they do stumble into a few generic death metal riffs, here but balance those moments out by the ambient feeling of the guitar solo and doesn't seem to hamper my enjoyment of the song.

"Repulsive Arousal "  closes out the album, it slows down into the tomb crawling riff , that lumbers a few beats of ahead of the doomier place they went earlier in the album. They pick up the pace a minute and a half into the song, but don't trip over themselves while running down this hill. The drum work here has a noticeable Lombardo influence , but refrains from getting carried away with the double bass. Theres a little Morbid Angel like chaos to the solo section. Overall this album is one of the more enjoyable death metal albums I heard, granted the genre doesn't lend it self to reinventing the wheel but I will give this a 9.              


      
for a taste of their earlier work see below