TODOMAL : "Graveyards of Joy"

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Just catching up with this Spanish band that released this album last month on Season of Mist. Their 2023 album, "A Greater Good," leaned more toward the 90s goth-rock side of the equation.It earned an 8.5, so it was well done, but it was not an album I returned to.  "Lucid Nightmares" feels almost more like Opeth, with the more deliberate chug of the guitar anchoring it and keeping it from drifting too far in a Pink Floyd direction. "Point of Coalescence" comes clsoer to doom, but not enough for this one song to make me declare this a doom album, but I do like the direction this album seems to be heading.

They veer into a gloomy, melodramatic ballad with "Misericordiah," which is the first filler moment so far. They carry more movement into "Unholy' that carries tension that works well. "Deliverence" applies a difference between goth-tinged neo-folk and modern rock. There is a similar balance being struck, but the vocals have a great feel to them that sells me on this song. 

"For Mercy" finds them ebbing back down more into thestrum though the psychedelic trappings they wandered into t he album early on return but in a manner that still serves the song. They bring a more powerful sonic sound by going bigger on the last song, which makes sense. The vocals hold a similar emotional urgency that has stirred them for the bulk of the album. It is a similar baritone to what Mat McNerney of GravePleasures employs, just directed differently. This album is a vast improvement and puts the band in the upper tier of this year's progressive rock since it offers more melancholy than most. 

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Crossed : "Realismo Ausente"

 I like the tense syncopation that this band opens their bleak new album. The screamed vocals are undecipherable, making the fact that they are from Spain a moot point. It does, however, affect their ability to play black metal, which is more of a feral punk when presented here, with the strongest elements being their ability to let chords ring out and create a more nuanced atmosphere. By the third song, they have established a more GISM-like mood to their brand of chaotic hardcore. 

"Monotonia..." fights the urge to go into the night screaming and find a more focused plan of attack through songwriting. They do kick up a great deal of sonic fury in the process. At times, it also reminds me of Converge, but they lack the big riffs and darker melodic experimentations, and instead opt for noise. "Sentirse Solo" has a more frantic punk snarl and locks back into the cooler battery of syncopation while having a burly bass in the backdrop. 

"Cruz Vertical" has the first memorable riff, which is joined by a gang vocal that sits in the background. They do make an effort to vary their attack so it is not jsut your ears being pumelled, though the vocals are typical jsut hte same relentless scream. The songs are kept in the grindcore radius of two minutes. The last song they sprawl out into four minutes. It's sonically violent but not the most memorable. However, this album, aside from the vocals, does make an effort to not only be intense but to write actual songs, so I will give it a 9.

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HASSWUT : "Sauerstoff"

 

Sure, this Spanish band sings in German, but since this is industrial, it works. Sure, it's framed by heavy-duty guitars, but most of the hooks come from the more electronic side of the genre, with the synth lines coloring it. A great deal of industrial bands these days do not use guitar, so I will eagerly indulge in their brand of industrial that goes back to the genre's glory days in the 90s. The second song has the frantic techno edges that bring the old Mortal Kombat soundtrack to mind. Sure, the low gravelly German vocals are easy to tag as being a tribute to Rammstein, but my ears key in on the synths that make me think of Lords of Acid.

These guys are way danceier than the bulk of industrial coming out of Germany. In fact, the hi-hats key in on an almost disco feel.Four songs in, I am listening more to how they are going to switch things up, as their blend of techno and industrial is familiar enough to at least keep my attention. "Les Morts" is marginally darker; there is a little more of the celebratory feel to it that lingers in the chorus. I do like the shift into robotic vocals, even if it was just for a second; it was another color that added to the overall dynamics.

 "EMB"  finds them digging in with the guitars and offering your ears the kind of spanking expected from the more metallic end of the genre's sonic spectrum, think more KMFDM in this regard. Though fans of that band should rejoice, as KMFDM has not gotten aggressive with guitars in a decade. The last song has touches of female vocals to create a sexier effect, and it is more dynamically varied, making it one of the album's strongest tracks. I will give this album an 8.5, as they have fused the electronic elements with the more traditional industrial ones in a manner that makes this a highly entertaining listen that carries a great deal of groove. 

 

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Black Metal History Month - Delirant : "Thoughteater"

 

This band from Spain plays a dark and dissonant style of creepy black metal. The second song finds them turning to a more frantic vision of chaos. There are blast beats executed in an almost jazzy cadence, like a train being operated by a clown going off the rails. They bring things back into a more conventional halftime groove and a song takes shape. Other melodies unfold amid this. It's a gamble this project seems to be willing to take, but are the creative dice going to roll their way for the course of an entire album when they walk the fine line between noise and experimentation within the six minutes of this song. 

The songs pour from one another with the third song feeling like a slower movement of the previous venture. This more deliberate shift works better from the perspective of songwriting. The vocals croak and gurgle with little form or function. Their desperate gasps are just a layer of madness to bumble under the guitars. The fourth song at best descends into the conventions of black metal, sometimes even thrashing a little. The spewed vocals seem more useless the closer to playing actual metal they get. There is a two-minute interlude before they throw themselves headfirst into the swirl of blast-beat oblivion. This shifts into a more straightforward punk beat, while the guitar remains wacky. Three and a half minutes in the bottom falls out and they leave you in a formless void. The drums lock back in and then it begins to become an actual song, though the vocals contribute very little to this cause. The drummer is actually the MVP  of this band, as they work hard to keep things moving in a direction that is not just mindless excess. 

The last song is the first moment that carries a more depressive feel, aside from the fact the vocals this entire time are trauma vomiting into the mic at every moment.  I like the creepy moments that form, the black metal parts that are actually black metal and not just swathes of noise cascading against your ears are fairly colored by numbers. I will give this album a 7 as they do make some impressive creepy passages when they allow things to flow into more of a throb and I appreciate their willingness to experiment it is a shame songs pay the price when they do not conform to any semblance of what sounds like a song. It is little surprise that Sentient Ruin released this. 

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Hässlig :"Apex Predator"

Ok now we get into the time of year when I review albums that might have slipped by or been promoted in a way that caught my attention, however, they were number one on the lists of my peers so I am seeing if they are worth their praises. In this case, it's Cvlt Nation's number-one-ranked Black Metal album. A band from Spain, which is whatfirst made me skeptical, also, this is a black metal-punk rock hybrid, which could mean they just can't play their instruments. The first track sounds good. Here we get into the crux of what this album is about which I am not surprised, that it's a band that captured a raw grimy sound that is angry enough to work. 

This album turns into the issue of sound vs songs. Anyone can get a found it's about turning the dials of the right equipment. Not everyone can write a song. The problem with this is when you are four songs in and it still sounds like it's the second song, which was not as good as the first song. The vocals and the production are the most black metal thing about these guys if you had a punk yelling it would be punk. There is a little more chaos in the title track, but sounds like a mushy jumble of distortion with incomprehensible singing over it. What's the replay value of that? There is a descending pattern that breaks things up but it's too little too late and just goes back into what they have already done. 

"Abgrund" is back into the cacophony. It's raw but in a way that makes it just noise. You can hear a bass trying to fight its way through this mess. Feedback is the only thing that clues you into the fact that you are not still listening to the previous song. This album gets worse in this regard, sometimes the drums are not blasting at you but there is never anything to hook you in or make this memorable. "Raping the Exoskeleton of Life" is a great song title, but it sounds like everything else on this album. The fact they stretch that out for four minutes is just a waste of time. This would not make my best of black metal list , but it is worthy of my worst albums of 2024 list, as you can hear the first thirty seconds of almost every song and get the gist of what they are doing here, which is making thirty minutes of my life that I am never getting back after listening to this piece of shit. I'll give this album a 3. This is a lower score than Beyonce who claimed the number one spot on my worst of 2024, but she remains the champion of suckage since it took a assembly line of producers and songwriters in the most expensive studios to put out trash while these guys did it with dignity in their basements playing their own instruments.  

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LEAVS : 'Natura Universal"

 

This dream poppy-shoegazing band from Spain, gets the classic sound right, without just being a slave to tradition. The woozy guitars are jangling, and the swathes of sonic melodies being squeezed from delay pedals are in place, along with androgynous airy vocals. There are both male and female vocals in the mix on the opening song, the first track being more of an intro, it took a couple listens for that part to sink in. "In a Time' has some cool guitar parts, but they totally bury the vocals which float off to the back of the song, it still works for what this is but hinders the song from being at maximum effectiveness. 

The bass line to "Falling Ceilings" is fuzzed out and really going for it as the vocals are still shoved to the back of the mix. Just present enough to hear that their cooing is still there. "Ligeia" is a darker title than what unfolds, in fact, the vocals that attempt to crawl out from behind the wall of woozy guitars, are some of the album;'s more hopeful melodies. They have a good sound but are beginning to need some dynamic shifts at this point in the album so we will see what the next song holds. "Framed Blue" ebbs down as the vocal tries to find an entry point in the atmospheric haze. But they succeed in breaking from the pulse that was driving this album up until this point, allowing the chorus and out. 

"Stay Ease" has enough of the pop sensibility to the dream-pop side of the equation for the vocals to move out behind the murk of effects and play the needed role to pull the song together. They do not have to compromise on the expansive breadth of guitar that consumes their sound to achieve this, just pushing the vocals forward in the mix, but all the other heavily ambient clouds of sound are still in the sky of this song. The last song "Slow Ember" drifts in a more distorted haze, though the melody can still be discerned, the vocals are not as present as the previous song, but it's a little darker so that works. When she goes up into her higher register, it cuts through more. I'll give this a 9.5, they are not out to make an accessible record and that is fine, the mood is dense and I like it. The emotions feel honest to me and that goes a long way. 

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Gothtober - Viuda : "Provinciana"

 

This band from Spain opens their new album with some dark sounds that made me stop and take note. "ENCE" makes ample use of atmosphere, but does not have enough beef production-wise for the song to really kick in like it feels like it wants to. "Aceralia" makes use of their Spanish heritage, by adding a more sultry flamenco groove into things. This helps set them apart from other post-punk revivalists. They pick things up to a more energetic punk pace for "Maia". This works to break things up and provide a wider range of dynamics to the album. Not sure if I would want an entire album of them doing this, but it works for what it is. 

"Quincallera" splits the difference and finds the vocals retaining the punk shout, while they color the background with darker sounds. However, this does lean more toward the punk side of post-punk. On "Cigarreres" they want to go in a creepier direction but do not seem as focused on what they should look like, though the singing on the verses works pretty well. They end up reverting to more of a punk explosion. Synths open "Piel' to set a more Halloween mood. It gets a little clunky midway into it. 

Things get moodier for the title track. It does build up into a more punk climax, which seems to be their songwriting formula. The last song works off something similar but is more intentional in the moody groove so it works better. I will give this album an 8, it's solid with good ideas, the production could have been better and their songwriting skills could stand to mature, but it's a fun album if you want some punk that is darker and different. 

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Death is June - INERTH : "Hybris"

 Meeting somewhere in the bleak wasted land where sludge intersects with death metal, this band from Spain gives themselves the advantage of pulling from a wider range of influences which includes post-punk and crust. There is a very natural feel to the production of this album that captures the sonic nature of what they do organically. More commanding in the overt sense than what Neurosis did they owe a little more to Sepultura. Though their songs are painted with a dystopian darkness rather than the blood-red aggression that characterizes most death metal. 

"Oblivion" hits hard with a bigger guitar sound, while the vocals are sung in a more chanted fashion. The harsher vocals come back in as more of a barked accent, before the music ebbs down to a creep. They of course build it back up in a more aggressive manner, but I appreciate where they are willing to go with this dynamically It makes them speeding up into a more typical death metal pace makes sense rather than just being the easy way out, and meeting the expectations. The drums return to a very deliberate Led Zeppelin-like groove. "Fentanyl" is a more straightforward death metal song, that stays the course with its more sludge-paced groove. It is well-paced and arranged for a song that is just over three minutes long. 

The crunch is slower and more syncopated going into the last song. The vocals have a more Godflesh feel here. Just when you think this is what tips the balance, leaning them towards being a more sludge flavored, they speed up and get more aggressive. They defy most genre boundaries and do their own thing, it's like Fear Factory without the pre-nu metal production, and "Soul of a New Machine" was a death metal album, telling me to trust my instincts with these guys.  I will give this album a 9.5,, sure the influences are easy to pick out, but they have taken the chance to do what most bands are not doing these days and it pays off for them. This album drops July 6th on Abstract Emotions. 

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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 

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PESTILENGTH : "Solar Clorex"

 

This Spanish duo carves out its third full-length of grime-filled death metal. The vocals are at a low nasty gurgle. They belch forth unintelligible growls that sound like demons drowning in your toilet. The strength of the band lies in their dense riffing. Everything else has an odd atmosphere, but still a raw and unhinged sound. "Occlusive" is like slow grindcore. It sounds like death metal that sank into hot lava and was being burned alive. They take more chances and delve into pure weirdness with "Enthronos Wormwomb" which even wanders off into this jazzy section, though the main heavy riff has an odd angular thing going on, so at this point in the album you begin to hear who these guys are when you peel away the distortion. \This makes it their best song so far.  

At two minutes "Baleful Profusion' feels like it is a bridge to another song rather than a free-standing song in its own right. They come out of this and go into a more aggressive stomping style of death metal, that is similarly driven by double bass to the more commonplace death metal classics, though the song is coated in bizarre. There is a riff that sounds like the verse riff to Mr Bungle's "My Ass is on Fire" in their song 'Oxide Veils" before they blast off into a more full-throttle style of death metal. There are some fun twists and turns on this album, I will give these guys credit for that. 

There is a darker more surreal darkness opening the gateways of "Choirs of None". They close things with a more straightforward and sewer-haunting version of Death Metal. Midway into the song it begins to get possessed by the kind of chaos that has been creeping around the bulk of this album.,  I will give this album an 8 , I appreciate taking death metal in this direction. 

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Todomol : "A Greater Good"

 

This Spanish duo only likes to be defined by making dark music, and while that is true there is a doomy vibe to how this album starts off. The sung vocals are not very aggressive and have a more goth rock vibe to them.  Comparisons could drawn to Katatonia regarding the sonic space they occupy, though their songs flow in a less progressive place than what Katatonia does these days. They engage in enough guitar heroics to be lumped in with metal bands, though lack the blunt force and power of what most consider metal. "High Time" reflects this as is musing on melodrama with little malicious intent. The elegance that is consistent with goth shades this song. 

"Inferno Tristi' highlights the fact that this album is really well produced, and I like the vocal layering and love given to all of the sounds, the presentation sounds great. As a song it kind of just throbs and drifts on these sounds without a clear hook.. "Dust and Nothingness" is even more atmospheric in how it soars off into the night. The vocals are melodramatic but hold more purpose. Making it one of the album's best songs as it reminds me of when European Metal bands began showing more influence from Pink Floyd in the mid-90s.

"Anti-christ of Love" flows with a similar romantic longing as the previous song. Not as Pink Floyd in the way the atmosphere is layered upon it. "Loss" finds female vocals bringing a much different texture that gives things a more 90s goth feel, not an exotic enough melody to bring Dead Can Dance comparisons, so falling more in line with alt-rock from the 90s. The title track gets even more grandiose but drifts more without hooking me in, I'll give this album an 8.5, it's fun and touches on familiar sounds that are nostalgic for me. 

Belgrado : "Intra Apogeum"

 

The Barcelona post-punk band, might have turned into the Barcelona new wave band, but they came about it honestly as that is the same trajectory that most of the late- seventies punk bands we think of as the forbearers of the genre went once MTV came about. Here they are pretty blatant with the laser tinged synths that sound like neon looks.  The second song maintains the jazzercise beat, while working in the wandering ambiance of the reverb thick guitar. Sung in the native tongue, the Latin makes for a rather opaque take on the sounds from this area. They got all the tones right. The vocals, while commended for not just trying to be Siouxsie are not the most dynamic element of the music. The guitarist pulls most of the weight here, as the guitarists are the most interesting sound that is in play here. 

Most bands rooted in a fondness for a retro sound normally get caught up in trying to relive that sound and forget about trying to write a song. These wacky kids who have actually been doing since for sometime now, ride the cold wave sound pretty solidly not unlike Lebanon Hanover, but do so with a groovy bounce in their step , as they collect a wide array of weird synth sounds from the early 80s.  "Nie Zompone" flows more like a mellower version of the Thompson Twins, that is not so eager to get you dancing. They ride this vibe for another song, with the bass taking a more organic place in the mix to make this sound more like a band, than some button pushers. There is a lighter tone, and more over this is a step away from the almost death rock mood of their earlier work. 

The longest song breaks six minutes as "Elementy  Umyslu" takes time to simmer in it's atmosphere. When it kicks in it's a little more on the European Disco side of the equation. They are obviously using some vintage synths they scored from a garage sale. "Tesknota" has a quirky groove, and thanks to the bass player feels more organic, even with the whooshing of synths circling around it like a disco from Mars. The pitch wheels are being spun with more vigor here. There is the full comprehension that the original version of cold wave was more organic than many of the bed room Sound Clouders who try to replicate with computer programs alone. 

My only complain is the vocals often feel like they are wandering the song with little direction. They find where they are going on "Na Szlak" which is a little poppier in so doing, but I am fine with that. There is marginally more post-punk influence to the last song, the margin is small but it is there. Overall I can appreciate the evolution, I will give this album a 8.5, and see if it grows on me. 

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healthyliving : "Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief"

 Bringing together musicians from Scotland , Germany and Spain, this trio kicks up an impressive melancholic brand of driving rock that borders on metal. The second song "Dream Hive' has more of a post punk jangle, that explodes out on the chorus. This keen sense of dynamics is what I listen for in music from all genres. The stark alto of Amaya is expressive. While  she is not a Siouxsie clone, you can hear traces of that influence. She proves to be a powerful singer capable of belting it out as needed. This album two songs in is proving to be a happy surprise, so I am hoping they can keep up this momentum. By momentum I do not mean pace as I am fine with things dropping into a gloomier mood for "Galleries".  I typically prefer reflective music with varying grooves. This song creates more of a smoldering post-rock power ballad feel. Not as ghostly as Chelsea Wolfe, but looking in that direction. 

They find a more expansive twist on the previous ballad formula with "To the Fields". Very well written flowing song. Gives her the room to show what she can do. Then they get heavier on 'To the Gallows' that finds a dramatic shift in Amaya's vocal approach a great deal of forward placement in her tone, that creates a more nasal jazzy bleating. It works with the tempo and intensity of the song. I appreciate singers that give the songs more character this way, and wear different masks to tell the story. "Bloom" is more like conventional indie rock with a slight 90s grunge heft to the chorus. The guitars are strummed rather than chugged or attacked. 

The harder elements are shed as the focus of their songwriting shifts after "Bloom". The focus is placed on indie rather than rock, as the guitar shift into a more folk like place with "Back to Back" . This still works for me as it allows her space to sing. The song does build into a louder dynamic, more akin to say Meg Myers.  "Limbs" is more sullen and holds more in common with Emma Ruth Rundle, in it's doom folk moodiness. Perhaps not as hooky as some of Rundle's work, but full of emotion. The last song  indulges in more atmosphere, as it  hovers like a dream rather than building into something solid. I will give this album a 9.5, as it excels in bringing moody songwriting into the focus with a blend of downtrodden melodies yearning for hope. 

Death is June- Ataraxy : 'the Last Mirror"

 

This Spanish band plays a grimly harrowing version of death doom that sometimes feels more like Obituary. The first track in more of an intro than a song unto itself and feels like it should have just been written for the intro to "the Bell That Constantly sounds". Three and a half minutes in the eerie atmosphere leans them more in the doom direction until they pick up the pace with a heavier more blasting riff. Thios sounds cool, but where it goes and how it gets there is a murkier story. By the end of the song, it lingers in its languid lumber. "Decline" is more of a pummeling death metal speed. The growled vocals feel more like old Sepultura. There are some cool moments of reflection when the chord are allowed to ring out, but overall the song is very typical death metal. 

"Visions of Abscene' stars off with depressive guitar line that builds into the kind of doomy lament that colors a great deal of this album. This song has a dark throb, but it is easy to get lost in it as the composition itself drifts with little more than double bass with which to hook you in on a casual listen. There are faint melodies with the chord progressions though they tend to color things with very similar crayons. There are some chug that grab your attention more than others. In hind sight it is more interesting than the more typical death metal churned out on "Under the Cypress Shadow" The cadence of the vocals is very uniform.  There is more of a journey as the song progresses , but how it hooks you in is with the eeriness of its atmosphere more than the power of its riffs.

These elements come together more effectively with a driving power behind them on "Silence" . The working pieces lock in better. They also manage to summon up a higher level of  song writing for the last song. Keeping things more deliberately paced certainly helps with this. A common problem for death metal bands is pouring on the speed for the sake of doing so ,  it loses all dynamic power. The fact they are using restraint , plays to their favor.  I will give this album an 8.5, very impressive in terms of the mood and darkness created. 

 

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Death is June- Vidres a la Sang : "Fragments de l'esdevenir"

 This progressive band is rather interesting. The simmer in melancholy before coming out snarling at you. In some way a good comparison might be a more depressed version of Opeth with the ambient gloom of black metal. In fact, two members of Opeth play in this band. While we have featured other progressive death metal bands on here this month, these guys come at it from another angle. An assessment I can make just after the first song alone. The verses are darker and more aggressive on the verses. Progressive blackened death metal might be a better sub-genre to label them with. I like how they are not all out bombast. Sure, there are parts that speed into blasty sections, but the production keeps the layers separate and clearly divided rather than just hitting you with a wall of sound.  Enslaved earlier forays into more progressive realms serves as a fair point of reference here. 

On the third song it is dark and creepy but just drones in one place and feels more like an intro that never fully builds.  "Fins Aqui" gets stompy before backing off into things break down a bit. It flows back into a bigger more aggressive sound. It even grooves some.  At 8 and a half minutes the song certainly has plenty of time to build. They use this for a stormy tension. It expands into more movement, which feels like a very solid dynamic. If you are into guitar solos these guys have some good ones that are tasteful exercises in shed with melody uncompromised.   

The last song almost has more of a rock n roll sensibility to it in terms of groove. The riffs are strong they feel more like a death metal band here. I like the jazzier solo section in the middle of the song. I think more bands should have a song where they open things up like this. It helps that this dude is a killer guitarist, so his solos add to the song. I will give this album a 9, if you miss the days when Opeth were metal band , but not opposed to the shadows of black metal like darkness haunting things then these guys are for you. 

Black Metal History Month- Negativa : " 04"

The mystic nature of black metal causes it to be more sensitive to the region from it was spawned. You might say Spain is capable of delivering and perhaps they are, but can this project prove me wrong? This is the 3rd album so they should know what they are doing by now. The mood of the opening track had me sold until the blasting took off and then the mood became secondary. Once the blasting took off this began to sound like everything else. Props for a bass you can hear in the mix. When it slows down the instrumentation has room to breathe. The vocals work for what is going on at present, but my fear for this album is the sound is going to be uniform and every song will be the same.

Much like other forms of extreme music the heaviness or oppressive nature might wow you when they storm the gates on the first song. After that I ask the question... but can you write a song?  Skilled at capturing sounds, that part has been perfected. The opening of the second song convinces me this. The vocals are pretty much an afterthought and if this does not change by the next song will get old fast.  The song song is more about the layered drone.  The frenzied blasts of the third song does little to help this album's case. The song does slow in more of a pulse but then blasts back up. Thye fourth track is little more than an instrumental interlude. 

The most interesting riff might come from this fifth song/ There is a slower grind to the riff of the sixth song. It does bear to mention these songs do not just sprawl out into the bleak nothingness from which they came. They are rather simple in their arrangement with maybe three sections with which they shift between, sometimes just going from fast to slower. The slow is maintained well on the 6th some to create dismal picture for your ears. The last song does not begin to redeem itself until three minutes in then becomes sonically more impressive as it hits that bleak sweet spot for me. I wish there was more of that. This album is a mixed, bag the vocals are the part that proves my point about egregore playing a part as the notes played break boundaries, the vocals express torment but not from the same place as if this came from somewhere that capture the depression of living in a cold dark place, so I round this album down to an 8, which is still better than most bands are going to achieve. Out on Dissociative Visions.     

 

 

Drei Affen : "Seguimos Ciegxs"

I can always tell what styles of music are gaining more ground when I begin to hear it imported from other countries. Sometimes this works better than others. With this kind of crusty hardcore, it is open to more possibilities than say black metal, which require a chilly pulse.The mood on this band from Spain's new EP is dark and explosive. The second song is less dynamic until midway through it breaks into more strummed guitar tone. Spanish also proves to be an awkward language for their vocal style as it takes on a very monochromatic bark. While the 3rd song ends with a cool riff, the rule around here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make. Also I think due to the vocals the songs have begun to all sound the same at this point.

Unrelenting can be a good quality for music to have. I understand the aggressive nature and being in your face. That does not excuse painting your songs with only one color. At the onset of this album we got glimpses into a wider range of dynamics so it is disappointing they choose not to expand their sound. Its not until the second to last song that  you heard other sounds introduced to give it a darker mood. This is lost however when they throw themselves back into a blazing fast feral riff. Keeping with a punk work ethic when it comes to song writing the songs are all in the 3 minute range.

The last song does offer a touch more of dynamics but at this point it is almost too late as I have become bored with the album and it fades into the buzz of background noise. They are decent musicians with potential. I blame most of this album's problem is the annoying squawk of the vocals. They touch on cool parts , but never really write a cool song. I will give this album a 6 for the traces of interesting things found in this opaque storm.

Altarage : "Endinghent"

This Spanish band summons a cloak of murky rage on their newest release for Seasons of Mist.The guttural vocals are a throatier grunt than a black metal band might employ. Yet the dark dissonance churn of guitar alludes to having at the very least black metal influence, while the great of the band grinds a more sludgey form of death metal. The death metal gets dialed up on "Spearheaderon". This is done with a similar grit that Ulcerate once possessed before they began to smoothly refining their approach to death metal. By the second song I am still not sure what genre this falls into , but I do know it is dark as hell and that goes a long way with me. They do clear up the fact they can write a song on "Spearheaderon" which is perfect timing as after one song of immense heaviness, I am not as impressed by volume and density . They do prove they can not only write songs, but can keep them in the three to four minute range.

It would be hard to think of "Cataclysmic Triada" as anything but death metal. They are not slaves to 80's Tampa death metal. While the guitars have winked in the direction of black metal up until this point the prove to be total converts of death metal three songs in. The tomb like mix finds the drums sometimes buried behind the guitar. The double bass peaks out on some of the accents to "Fold Eksis" before the blast off into a raging sea of metal chaos. "Rift" has a more weighted doom pound to it's more deliberate tempo. This however does shift in to some faster blasting. "Orb Terrax" is a reminder that they are capable of pulling out a variety of rifs , but when the go into a blast it sounds like every thing else.

Once I find myself half into "Weighteer" everything begins to sound the same.Death metal can have as singular mindedness to it's aggression, so it is not surprising that due to the monochrome nature of  what it is , I might find myself continuing to make these conclusions. At six and half minutes this is the album's longest song. They do not feel the need to use this time to impress anyone but themselves. The album closes with "Barrier" which doesn't do much to set it self apart from the other songs. The drummer loses his mind and cuts loose. The last song drones out in the end on slower not , but it's not a magickal shift into something ground breaking. I'll give this album an 8.5 as it does capture a very dark mood that is an equal to it's heaviness.


 

Altarage : "Nihl"

Sure this is brutal, but can these guys write a damn song? All the fuss about a death metal band ? The production does give this album some grime and grit, but is it hiding what's really going on ? By the time we get to the second song it's beginning to just sound like noise to me. Maybe these guys are the heaviest band from Spain, but unless they start showing me they care about making music it doesn't really matter. By the third song we get some dark dissonance that adds a little bit of texture. Any substance ends up getting lost in a wall of blasting. I have heard better melodies made by the roar of a vacuum cleaner. The songs are rather compact. Though they all tend to sound the same. You can almost make out the words being growled on "Baptism Nihl". There is almost something more head-bangable on this song as well.

The blasting loses it's effectiveness as it all becomes a flatulent blur on "Vortex Pyramid". There are a few moments here and there, but they are dulled down by the incessant barrage of distorted noise. This album becomes something to be endured rather than enjoyed once I make it to the 6th song. I can not understand why any one would see this as anything but overbearing death metal. Yet doom has even been thrown around in conjunction with the band. They do eventually offer sparse breathing room when the drums go into a more tribal beat, while slower than their brand of death metal, this doesn't make them a doom band. "Altars' almost sounds like a black metal band covering Pantera's "Walk". This is actually the album's best song. The last song is some random roaring that hopes to be redeemed by the big chugging, which is powerful, but lots of empty sonic calories. I'll give this a 5.5 , maybe it's for you if you have really been wanting a death metal band to bring the noise.