Catching up With 2014 -Old Wainds :"Nordraum"

This Russian project churns up some pretty convincingly sounding Scandanavian metal, despite being slightly East of Viking territory. The raid your ears with storming black metal that leaves your head spinning. This common occurrence with extreme music that makes you catch your breath on the first song then, finds the bar raised for the rest of the album, to prove they can both keep up the intensity and not prove to be a one trick pony. The beginning of "Insane Stellar Race" doesn't make a very convincing argument to these guys being able to do more than throw hateful blasts of thrash influenced black metal at you. There is a little more stomp and venom here and there but it is a monochrome burst of black noise. This is o.k for even two songs, but a whole album?

Even there was a distinct break in between songs, the previous became a drone of white noise making the album fall into the background,so I did not notice they moved onto "Not the Sun Nor the Moon".There is a little more going on with this one , but it is paced in a blast just like the song before it so if you miss the break between songs this could very well be the same song, Meaning all their songs sound the same. There is what could be a catchy accent , but is played so fast it loses all punch. The vocals are a mid ranged dry rasp. Less of a croak than say Immortal , but not holding tons of personality either. "Inquiring of Secrecy's" could be any of the other songs they tried to race past my ears at this point. They are good at the one thing they create, the one thing gets old with little variance and zero dynamics. Blast beat to a more punk beat that is almost as fast is not a dynamic, Neither is almost going into half time while the guitars remain static. But some people might not ask much from their black metal.

Bass leads the way on "As spilled blood they spout". There is a familiar fury here. The vocal accent is slower the guitars , who are the main culprit the drummer plays off of keep the white noise static tremolo chug going. It is a little more epic when you hear them start to lock in more with the drums, but it might as well be a wasp buzzing by my ear. This song does break into all the other instruments dropping out while the guitar does what it has been doing for the entire album so far , however the drummer knows the value of dynamics and slows his part down. This almost creates a galloping groove and is one of the albums strongest moments.

When the changes begin to come it's almost too little to late. "Refracting the Light" is played with much slower accents , the chords ring out melodically almost like Inquisition. It is actually a really good song, proving that the mindless blast-o-thons, could have been given a little more thought and melodic consideration and felt more like music less like punishment. Not that this kind of metal should not be punishing, but it need more redeeming musical value. They stay in this more mature musical mode on the closing track "Stone Weaver". This one proves to be another good song, with a nice throbbing pulse to the riff that makes the chug they rip into more effective,  and come across as heavier than when they rushed everything by you. The last of act the album certainly redeems it's self, if you are really aching for some new black metal that you might have missed earlier in the year in the lean holiday times  then give it a chance, I'll give it a 6, and don't see it lasting very long in my iPod, but yours might be a different story.


OLD WAINDS Nordraum by Negative Existence

Catching Up With 2014-Dead Congregation : "Promulgation of the Fall"

I've heard every one and their head banger mother raving about this album all year, and I have tried to give it a listen and was not blown away, so now I am going to give it one last chance to see if this is really the best death metal band going today or if they are victims of their own hype. The album opens with a gritty enough tune. The low gnarly crunch of the guitar is thick as concrete. The solos are melodic and add a little depth, the low gurgle vocals are what they are and typical for this sort of thing. The drum sound is one factor not blowing my mind as they need to be more in my face. This is all pretty passable , but not yet the best.

 There is a little more melody lurking in thick seething grind they churning up. Some of the riffs are clever and catchy while being rough hewn. I can understand what people like about them, but there isn't anything original going on. It's pretty obvious I have broad enough taste in metal. In some genres there are more acts that appeal to me than others as I look for very specific things in music, darkness and dynamics being one. Death metal can come across rather flat when it comes to dynamics and I have been listening to death metal since "Leprosy" came out. So I have heard most of this done before. This is a conglomeration of death metal riffs I have heard from the 80's given a fresh coat of grim and spit back out at me.

The songs after the title track began to bleed together on me, I had to go back and see where one song began and the other ended. The reason for this being , all of their songs sound the same. They are variations on a theme . A very crushing theme. But they same monochrome shade of bloody carnage. Some of the reason for this is songs like "Serpent Skin" that blast by in a tumbling blur of blast beats, run flatly into the next chug with nothing, but a shift of riffs to define it. They work better at the slower more powerful chug. But can't use the restraint to milk those moment and go into blasts that sound like all their other blasts. They implement several Morbid Angel like punches along the way to accent things, but this is far from really making their songs say something with more than one feeling.

Sometimes this formula works well like the beginning of "Immaculate Poison" , but they default into taking the easy way out by just mindlessly blasting.It does nothing to further the song or have a point.At times it only sets up a slower chug of a more interesting riff that is laying the ground work for the solo to come. When a song like "Nigredo" tumbles out of the speeding pound these Greeks dish out, it almost becomes white noise. There is nothing to even distinguish it as a song.

On "Schisma" they really take a page from Morbid Angel's book. Though the insane blasting reminds me more of Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse. The solo sections are way more melodic than something Cannibal Corpse would do. They end up taking the speed demon addiction way to far and lose all musical feel. This blasting tantrum continues into "From a Wretched Womb" that closes out the album. It's just way too straight ahead for me, it gets into the really flat sounding snare hit that I dislike in death metal until it slows down, into a more doom like tempo that is not maintained for longer before it collides with the speed, but at least this comes about in a slightly more interesting
manner,

They fail at the golden rule around here, "cool riffs alone do not make a good song" the album sounds good, it might even grow a little on me, but the new Incantation scratches this itch and it can't come close to the new Mortuary Drape, I think just clicking through the blog you can find at least three other death metal albums that will score higher than the 6.5, I'm giving this one, just off the basis of it's dark dense sound and sheer aggression.

Lie: "Consent"

The what is dark punk vs revivalist post-punk debate is raging away in some lonely forum on the inner webs. This band could be a point of contention for either side. The one things that strikes me about this Vancouver three piece is their lead singer isn't trying to worship Siouxise. I but after the fourth band I heard doing that, it got old quick, and I have Zola Jesus. The herky jerky punk of  "Casual Embrace" gets kicked out of the the opener in such a way it all kind of runs together. There is a slight hint of early Sonic Youth in their guitar sound. The slicing metallic ring of the rusty strings works for these gals in the same manner that a similar approach did on the first couple of Iceage albums. The noisey element that comes with this style of  reckless clamor, doesn't works as well when amped up to the velocity they reach on "Broken".

By the time the album reaches "Saved" , I think it's fair to say these girls fall on the punk side of the fence. The social commentary about the battle of the sexes is pretty biting on "Success" . The guitar and the vocal interplay here is more precise that it appears to be for the bulk of the album.The drummer and bassist are a good team, this is best depicted in "Allez" where they pretty much hold down the song, as the guitar and vocals wander in a  distant lo-fi haze. The vocals on this song are more of  dead pan narrative, here style goes from this to the more typical punk shouting, some of the vocal layering is unique to this band. The raped themed "Sorry" brings things to a darker animalistic brooding, which is the closest I would say they really come to goth.It is like a rawer version of Savages.

The bass propelled "Seams" closes out the album. The vocals coolly purr under the blistering riot the guitar incites.There is a slight ore room for a greater dynamic range they are normally able to try and cram into the two minute  time limit most of these songs fall into.Her voice works best in the lower sing song
fashion she utilizes here.This album is a fun listen. If I am going to listen to any punk rock that comes out after 1988 this is how I have to take it. Do they default to histrionic tempers tantrums at the sake of song writing. Yes, but that is what punk rock should do to some extent. Not sure how much play time this one will get , but I look forward to hearing where they go from here as their sound matures. I'll give it an 8, highly recommended to fans of female punk.

Mortuary Drape: "Spiritual Independence"

Although they have been around for thirty years, my history with the band dates back five years ago when I read an interview with Erik of Watain, who cited them as an influence. One of the oldest black metal bands is breaking ten years of silence. I have been hunting this album for some time, before I could not take it any more and broke down to contact the band. I am glad that I did because i need this one in my life. The creepy gothic intro lands into "Lithany", that is compared to the black metal of today, would feel more like classic metal. The backing vocals have the most in common with modern black metal, but I remember a time when bands like Morbid Angel and Deicide seemed like black at the time. One thing is glaringly evident is these guys come from a time when the emphasis is on songs. Every instrument counts here, there is not a note wasted, even the vocals have purpose rather than just being relegated to being an after thought, which is very common with harsher growls.

Drummer Wildness Perversion, the bassist really shines on "Once I Read" . The song picks up into more of a thrash. feel. On "Natural Death" they show their influence on black metal, with the dark cadence they let the chords ring out with. Their songs effortless flow like the river Styx in darker waters. The ritualistic elements bands like Watain took inspiration from are evident. It would be pretty impressive to see Wildness pull off these growls while playing drums live, as his drumming is pretty intricate at times. Most of the solos default to what you expect more from a death metal album or someone like Dissection who it's clear these guys had an influence on. I have a pretty high threshold for evil so if a song gives me the evil chills that means they are serious about what's going on.

They chug through "Mortal Remains" with authority. This song also has the one guitar solo on it that really stands out to me. Like most of the songs it weaves it way through an array of dynamics and retains the bands trademark to sacrifice  babies not melody at their altar of metal. There is an odd groove to "Immutable Witness" which appears to be one of the rare moments on this album that has to grow on where most songs grab me right from the first few chords. I like how the vocals are layered on the chorus and the bass line. They keep digging deeper for more macabre sounds and continue to find them on "Ignis Fatuus". It does eventually wind it's way into a straight up  galloping rocker, though the bass player plays around the riff  keeping a unique twist on it.

They do hit you straight on with the thrashy "1600 Gnostic Year". Even then it shifts the riffs around in the writhing manner of New Order Testament. The vocals also fall back onto accenting the punches in a more traditional manner, The band don't take the easy way out and bring back the doomish  delight. The solo break hits the song in a similar fashion as Altars of Madness" Morbid Angel. They take a very deliberate approach to the title track. They layer the vocals with some cool effects. The band never has to sort to hiding behind the blistering speeds of blast beats. The chorus to this song doesn't punch out of the song like some, but it creates it's own atmosphere and winds to fiendishly alluring corners of hell. The song ends with vocals that are very King Diamond, which I can see Don't Break the Oath" era Mercyful Fate being a big influence on these guys, in terms of feel, the vocals never stray from their lower yet articulate growls.

I have no problem giving this album a ten, some of the more straight up thrash moments which might not have immediately resonated with me were counterbalanced with the  beautifully creepy sounds this album abounds with. If you like old school death or black metal with serious occult trappings then this is an album not to miss.

Kall: s/t

There are times when I wonder what happened to depressive suicidal black metal, forgetting there are tons of basement bands all over the world releasing it, then I wonder about what happened to good depressive black metal, like where the hell is that Totalselfhatred album that was coming out this year? Then luckily before any end of the year lists were started I stumbled upon the new project from the surviving members of Life Lover. They also grabbed the bassist from the Shining. So you know things are about to get depressing as fuck. So grab your pills and razor blade.

After a hesitant intro piece the launches into the beautiful clanging of "Mycelium veins". This isn't blast beat black metal by any means. It slowly swells in intensity before bringing it back down for the desperate cry typical of the mental breakdowns dsdm singers like to emulate. Here it just happens to be be convincingly and more conviction than the combined tears of these imitators haunting their parents basements can muster. Then comes the incredible thirteen minute journey of "Forsok till Forstorelse"  or "attempted destruction". The start at doomy rock pace before their medication wears off and they are back weeping in the sewers of despair.  While wallowing in this they bring in a sax. There is a jazz like delicacy here that some how doesn't brighten the mood at all. Instead it becomes the perfect soundtrack to laying in a blood stained bath tub contemplating the futility of your existence. When the heavy build comes because you know it will it's done in a more of a thundering rock manner.

"en Ljusare Morgondag" or " a brighter tomorrow" is ironically titled in the darkness that descends upon this song. It has the raw punch of old Shining. The vocals range tortured gurgles more characteristic of dbsm to a baritone moan that comes closer to a croon. These guys have always know how to rock out a droning riff back from the Life Lover days and employ a similar attack here, making them the Velvet Underground of black n roll.  The cleaner Cure-ish passages are more defined than back when this thing was delved into in Life Lover. The production is cleaner than most Life Lover as well, though still retaining a very live feel when the distorted guitar comes in.

There is almost a grunged out indie rock feel to "Descending ascension". It hangs onto this groove until they have another  collective low swing, that's allowed a release through a more sonic rock build. They capture a powerful cathartic emotional moment in this song that  is not contrived in it's self deprecation. The songs on this album have a seemless organic flow. None of the changes seem forced, which is impressive considering the dramatic transitions some of the songs. A good example lies in how from out of a delicate interlude comes "Varelsen" or creature. This lingers in it's down trodden lumber with spoken word vocals narrating the first  half of the song. With sax in tow they stomp into the pound of sludged out hard rock.

"Far Val" closes out this album. At this point I have resigned myself to the fact I am going to be cranking this all afternoon. I really couldn't have chosen a better time to listen to this as I just awoke from a feverish nap sleeping off a migraine, so it's a surreal introduction back into metal. Which if you can imagine sitting at a computer and listening to metal all day with a migraine, makes you only want to listen to Alcest. This song takes you out on a similar cloud of shoe gazing transcendence. This is a perfect album, didn't even have to keep score it's a ten.

Bereft : "Lost Ages"

The 3rd band to use this name, this one hails from Wisconsin. Their debut album opens with the title track. If your first impression is that these guys are like a  darker, more metal take on Isis, you wouldn't be far off. The album sounds great production wise, but a drummer who hits things with a keen eye for detail.The bulk of this album I have heard on shuffle mode mixed in with other things so taking it as one solid body of work, puts a better perspective on it. They start of making you think they are a black metal band. If this were the case there would be little impressive about them aside for the ability to back away from the blast midway into the song. This brings them into a more sludge ridden place that is a better fit for them. The song ends up in a more sonic place with a call and response like vocal.

The fuzz caked bass that opens "Unwelcome" doesn't prepare you for the almost Jesu like soaring that is about to lift off. The good cop/ bad cap dynamic of the clean and harsh vocals is well played here. Each chug serves a purpose.There are some very haunting guitar melodies on this one as well. The best use of a sample that I have heard in some time is the dialogue they lift from True Detective on the little interlude called the "Secret Fate of All Life " that serves more as an intro for "Loss' which follows. "Loss" borders on having a depressive suicidal black metal feel.They don't invoke this in a contrived manner it's just where the feeling goes. In the final two minutes the Jesu like vocals return.

The album closes with "For Nothing" that is more driven than the bulk of the album. It takes the fight to you head first until the post- rock elements sweep the violence away two minutes in. The harsher vocals year are more one dimensional than they have been earlier in the album. At this point they have thrown their kitchen sink at you, so no surprises. Well executed even if not as inspired as the other songs whose heaviness was more from the feeling rather than the sharpness of the riff.The tight chug that comes after the black metal temper tantrum towards the end is the song's best moment.This is a surprisingly solid release. I'll give it a 9 and look forward to hearing a proper full length from these guys.

The Decemberists : "What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World"

What do I want from a new Decemberists album ? Why am I even asking that question aren't they out of place among the typical fare.You might not have guessed that I would be a huge fan of the Decemberists, having listened to the for over a decade and seen them four times live during that time. Their last album the "King is Dead" was a quaint stab at radio airplay, a gamble that paid off for them. So what do a think would be a perfect Decemberists album, well I would like to see the lyrics darken back up...of course and get back to the murder balladry of the past.  A cross between the Hazards of Love with Picaresque.

 I get this in doses, but not completely. The "Singer Addresses His Audience" is a irony coated ballad referring to their fan base and the pros and cons of selling out. There is a 70's strut in the vein of Tom Jones to "Calvary Captain". A little more upbeat than I hoped for , but it is well written, and the Fleetwood Mac hooks in it work well. The Chicago horns  are a tad much."Philomena" finds the band returning closer to classic form. Though there is a tad dab of 50's pop to the guitar. The lyrics have more of a story telling feel to them. The single "Make You Better" is more indie rock and not what I had in mind for the perfect Decemberists album, but it works out better than I could have hoped. They can write the perfect song with ease when they want that rivals almost anything in classic rock.

Colin Meloy's voice has improved over the years.This can be heard in the tonal quality of it on "Lake Song". Here the strummed folk with a jazz like under current it works a familiar magic for the band. There is another introspective ballad this time with even more of the bands classic sound minus and pirate shanty elements with "Till the Water is Gone". You really get a good picture of how good of a guitarist Chris Funk. This is followed with "the Wrong Year" a pop song that is written in the classic world folk sound the band excels. It carries a hook with all the intention that they wrote the last album with, but draped in  sounds long time fans should feel more comfortable with.

They head towards Appalachia on "Carolina Low". His melancholy and casts darker shadow on the album, very much in the Hazards if Love vein. The melody reminds me a little of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" . Better Not Wake the Baby" seems like an extension of "Carolina Low". "Anti-Summer Song" has some of the upbeat country elements from King is Dead, but with a little bit of drunken leprechaun to it and Bob Dylan like harmonica solo. The swanky western of "Easy Come, Easy Go" is back to the darker story telling we want from them. Their is a more Joe Cocker take on the "King is Dead"  om "Mistral", but much smarter than their attempts to placate the masses.

They continue to float around this Bob Dylan like vibe on "12-17-12" which I imagine is his kid's birthday. It's well sung , but very minimal and my least favorite song on this album. "A Beginning Song" closes out the album, which also starts off sounding some more like Meloy's solo work.Until after the first minute when the rest of the bands slowly begins to fall in. The harmonies are particularly strong because it it doesn't sound like the most obvious country basked place to go.Like the bulk of their work there are rock elements with out being rock. This song will grow on me with each listen. I know their songs enough to know this. It doesn't take much to round this up to a 10. So this is the first great album of 2015.This may not slather them over the radio , but it secures their position with fans old and new. Something can be said for compromise.