Superjoint : "Caught Up In The Gears Of Application"

They have dropped the Ritual for this era of the band. I just figured out that Hank the III is not in the band any more. Instead Wovenhand bassist Stephen Taylor is onboard along with the drummer from Warbeast, so this is more of a House Core Records all-star band. It's very dense and heavy. The opening song is more oppressive than where they wind up by the time they get to the more punk "Ruin You". The title track is pretty feral as well. They do lock into more of a groove that hooks me in by the end. Phil keeps things at a gruff grumble. In many ways this more closely resembles Eyehategod. The songs are all very compactly written.

The brisk "Sociopathic Herd Delusion" feels more like filler than what I know these guys are capable of doing. "Circling the Drain" still sticks to the roughened version of what they are doing here, but strikes me as being more interesting. If you are familiar with my for with Cvlt Nation then you might have a better understanding as to why the lyrics to this song strike me as being more compelling. "Asshole" which bears the chant "shit comes out of it" is more run of the mill hard core though like most of this album it is slathered in a coat of New Orleans sludge. "Click Baiter" allows Phil to voice is anger towards the Internet. It has a more melodic riff that cuts in, but is not really covering much new ground.

"Mutts Bite Too" comes closer to the swampy waters the corpse of Acid Bath floats in, though without the more melodic vocals. The drumming might be the best on this song. This might be the album's heaviest song. "Rigging the Fight" may or may not be about the election, but Phil is a hug fan of boxing so he might be mad at Don King. "Receiving No Answer to the Knock" finds the guitar opening up more room for grooves and melody while Phil grunts and barks like he has for the bulk of the album. I'll give this album a 7.5, it's a little one dimensional for my tastes, but if you are looking for rough and rumbling tough guy shit from New Orleans then this is for you.


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Amenra : " Mass VI"

This band from Belgium is back with another piece of despair. With members of Oathbreaker in the fold they deliver a lush take on metal. The atmosphere might be even thicker on this album than it was on the previous releases. I am not hearing this as just a sludge band as the Neurosis worship has been washed away in favor of a sound that has more emotional depth. The anguish howls of the vocals and their accompanying guitar parts really pack the heart punch here.It starts off with the kind of aggressive sludge you expected from them though the anger almost borders on hardcore. Then they begin to float out into something else six minutes and tinder sung vocals with a Sigur Rio like feel to them whisper into the waves . The guitar sound on this album is pretty awe inspiring and massive.

The guitar has more of a tremolo feel to it that blackens things slightly. The vocals grow more tormented in their conveyance of emotion. The bass and drums keeps things at a more sludge like pace. The over all sound s huge and the depth of the shadows painting it feels darker yet more clear in the way the mix lends space to every instrument. Lightly sung almost whispered vocals lead into "A Solitary Reign" . There is a call and response with the screamed vocal echoing the lighter vocals until it crescendos midway into the song and the screaming takes over . In the song's 3rd act the vocals float over the sonic storm not unlike older Alcest. The album ends with the 11 minute "Daiken". There is a brooding drone for the first two and a half minutes before they thunder down on you. While this sounds great they are playing it closer to more familiar territory here. The more subdued vocals do return and trade off with the more vicious screaming in the songs final moments.

I'll round this up to a 9.5, while these guys got my attention again I suppose time will tell how much rotation this gets from me. The only thing going against it in the iPod is the length of some of the songs it's more of an album to let play when I am sitting in front of my computer. It is superbly crafted and finds these guys hitting their stride.

Mastodon : "Cold Dark Place "

Taking another step away from being a metal band, this e.p is comprised for tracks left over from sessions from their past two albums, though according to Hinds the songs were written when he was going through a difficult break up which might explain the undercurrent linking them, "Northside Star" starts off with an odd folky prog ambiance until the layered vocals come in. It's not far removed from the darker more melodic moments on "Crack the Skye".  Some of the guitar textures almost feel like country. Then there is a funky tempo shift. The groove is pretty cool, that thickens as the song progresses. Which makes this fit the definition of progressive rock as it doesn't end where it started and actually goes somewhere. The guitar solos are not wanking for the sake of wanking , but place dramatic accents in a manner more like Pink Floyd.

The maturity of their song writing is again apparent on "Blue Walsh" . While it doesn't sound like Joe Walsh, aside from the fact their are some interesting guitar passages it feels more like post- Layne Alice in Chains. In some ways more straight forward for them. The Thin Lizzy influence still lurks about. It is darker, more introspective and feels lyrically much more personal than what we have heard previously from these guys. It does pick up into a more mathy angular section allowing Troy to bellow over it. Of course I am going to like the more somber tone to everything. The country thing is hinted at again leading into the single from the album "Toe to Toes".  There is a more dizzying riff in the first verse, with a upbeat strummed chorus. Hind's vocals have really improved here. The Think Lizzy influence is even more apparent.

The album closes with the title track, which is more of a ballad with more of a western under current. While I like the subtle creepiness of it and the lyrics it takes a few listens for it to begin to click with me and I would not say it's the strongest of the four songs. The drums are further back in the mix than normal for these guys. Overall I think these are four of the strongest songs of their career of the basis the feel more honest and are darker. I think if they had included them on the last album it would have given it perhaps too much of a "Crack the Skye" like quality so can understand why they stand alone here and will give this a 9.5.

Belphegor : " Totenritual"

These guys have always been a death metal band rather than black metal band.Though it is easy to see why they would appeal to fans of black metal They are now mired firmly in a more Morbid Angel form of tightly coiled dark death metal. Vocally there is a little more of a trade off with the high snarl giving more of a call and response. This is extremely well produced, written and performed. There would be no excuse for it not to be considering these guys have been around since 1992. This is their 11th album, so they are no stranger to the studio.

I like the chanting in "Apophis" and all the literally bells and whistles, it adds an extra layer of creepy and evil to what they do. Hey it worked for Mercyful Fate so nothing is wrong with tasteful theatrics. The drummer can get a little carried away with his need for speed, but if you go in expecting that and taking it for what it is I can deal with it. The drummer starts off with a more locked in tasteful approach going into the title track then speeds up.Granted he is the new guy so maybe the former Pnazerchrist drummer feels like he has something to prove.I mean he is only a year older than this band so young guys can be overly enthusiastic.  The guitars keep everything pretty anchored with the random bursts of blast to jerk you around when you are beginning to nod your head to the groove. Though it is not done in a jerk off techy math way. The guitar solos are not overblown, to say the really contribute to the song might be a little bit of a overstatement.


They eventually do slow down into more melodic moments on "Totenbeschworer". Though it's more of an instrumental interlude than a song. They have more eerie moments of groove and glory on "Spell of Reflection". I think this song even with it's bursts of blasting finds the band operating at the peak of their song writing powers and the young drummer fitting nicely. Clean guitar surfaces to lead into "Embracing a Star" which carries a powerfully chugged stomp. What works is the balance of heavy and songwriting, this is also what makes bands like Dimmu and Behemoth so catchy. This is not selling out or pandering for mainstream, but quality song writing, with a convincing attack when they decide to give you the middle finger and go for it. They blow their wad with aggression on the closing song, but overall this album is an excellent piece of dark death metal, I'll round it up to a 9.5.

Primitive Man : " Caustic"

I am back after weathering the hurricane. Just got power back last night and internet this morning so Here we go. Primitive Man is no stranger to us here. The band's sound continues to evolve into something heavier and now it's to the the point that if demons possessed a tank and drove it through a junk yard, it would sound much like the opening song of this album which is more death metal than it is sludge. Though when you reach the density these guys have labels become a mute point as it's a matter of frequency and function. They chug out of the jagged feedback that makes up "Victim". The vocals are a growl that almost comes across like low squawk. Forget making out any of the lyrics it is more about the sonic attack. I think a few years ago I would have been more impressive by the sheer heaviness of the album. I can appreciate it. The guitar tone is pretty apocalyptic it sounds like large pieces of machine are being smashed together without sounding industrial.

There is a more droning pulse to "Commerce" . The vocals carry the death metal bellow though the pace stays more deliberate. While it's heavy as hell, from a song writing perspective it holds on a lumber in a manner similar to doom. Dynamically I would not say it's static, as it swells into a tremolo section that is pretty massive sonically. The pace only picks up incrementally for "Tepid". There is less of a rhyme and reason to the grunted vocals on this song. Yes it is very, but I feel there needs to be more pieces to this puzzle and begin to miss some of the more industrial strength nuances I remember them having on their earlier work. The double bass brings a more barreling steamroller of an attack to "Sterility" which at times sounded like instruments were give to gorillas.

By the time the album gets to "Sugarhole" this pounding has numbed me out and is all beginning to sound the same. So I took a break from the album and came back to it. It still strikes me as heading in a more death metal direction. Three minutes into "Disfigured" and the pulse of the song is more pleasing to my ears. Not that this is ground breaking , but it flows better than the bulk of what I have heard from these guys this time around. There is more of a sluggish doom tinged hesitation to the chords of  "Inevitable" . It does move into another more sonic passage with tremolo guitar letting us know they understand that black metal has forever influenced every genre of music. The last two minutes of this song is the sound of a dead horse being beaten. This is the last real song as the closing track is an outro of ambient noise. I'll give this album a 7.5 , it's certainly heavier and while I don't mind the more death metal direction, I personally want more in terms of dynamics vs sheer weighty heaviness.

Cannabis Corpse ; " The Left Hand Pass"

This band might have started off as a joke, but they have evolved into a punchline into something pretty bad ass. They have a great guitar and command you to bang your head on groove the verse of the opening song hits. They can revert into death metal cliches at times , but that is still more than I expected from this band going into this album. This a side project of Land Phil from Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan. He is joined by other high ranking metal pedigree such a members of Six Feet Under, Gatecreeper and Arsis. So when they lock into a chug is pretty devastating. There are some interesting effects applied to the guitar at times which provide some ambiance, as death metal themed around smoking pot needs plenty of that. The guitars are almost too angry to really go with that theme , but the end result from a metal perspective makes these guys who are just a joke better death metal that the bulk of what is normally sitting in my in-box. Another thing these songs have going for them is they are very concise in their construction.


"Final Exhalation" keeps the momentum it just doesn't feel as vital as the first two songs. "Chronic Breed" finds them locking into some riffs that defy my rule "cool riffs alone doesn't make a good song". With death metal running on aggression more than dynamics this is often a wall that has to be overcome. They are no an exception to this rule they are just so good at doing what they do is more forgivable in certain moments. One of these being the riffage leading into "In Battle There is No Pot". But they couple this with smart arrangements and catchy guitar work. Vocally it switches between a lower growl and a higher more black metal like rasp. They almost thrash inspired catchiness of the riffs reflects back upon the other bands these guys play for . On "Grass Orbit" it's the first time I hear anything that really reminds me of their name sake. The title track is a little darker, it doesn't really wow me , but is still entertaining in the way I need this brand of death metal to be. The bee swarm guitar of "Effigy of the Forgetful" finds them morphing the riffs pretty seamlessly at high velocity. It also become a blur that sounds like hundred of other death metal bands. The chorus gets lost in this rapid fire mush of riffs.A few head banging moments emerge, but this feel more like filler.

The last two songs are an improvement, though not really redefining death metal either.By this point in the album they have really settled on a high speed formula, the last song throws a few samples in ,but focuses more on hammering you with speed. The bass playing throughout the album is impressive ,but proves to be more nimble than your average death metal bassist on this song. The drumming is solid and the double bass rivals anything else out at present. I'll give this album an 8.5, I doubt this is going to make the top ten death metal albums of the year , but might come close.

Ancient VVisdom : "33"

This band's first three album's left me underwhelmed, and have struck me as Days of the New trying to be satanic. There is some distortion leading into the first single "Light of Lucifer". The vocals are lower and more ominous, but there is more of a camp fire rock feel than neo-folk.It never really feels like a fully conceptualized song, but like they were sitting around in the studio and said "Well, this could be a good idea for a song we should do something with it" and then forgot about it.  The beginning of "In the Name of Satan" sounds like the build up to "Fade to Black". The vocals begin to get more Ghost on this one. The formula to this album is clearly set the strum of an acoustic guitar against some pretty basic metal power chords. Sonically this works pretty well on "True Will", however the lyrics are almost offensive because they are throwing around Thelemic sentiment and using pedestrian Crowley quotes without knowing the proper context for them.

There is more of a late eighties punk chug to " the Infernal One". Lyrically much like Ghost these guys are juvenile posers when it comes to the occult. The chorus is also a little too happy though after a few listens it grows on me by a few degrees. "Summoning Fallen Angel" is more Judas Priest like , though it's just an interlude and feels like it should have been the intro to the more "Diary of a Madman" like "Rise Fallen Angel". The hook going into the chorus is more Danzig like. But this is the strongest thing I have heard from these guys yet, even if along the way they barrow a little from Rob Zombie and Metallica to get there. The eighth song sounds like they could be busting into hair metal at any point in time. Instead we get a less than inspired croon.

There is a more rambling rock tone to "the Great Beast". The lyrics are over the top, but as far as radio rock n roll goes this song is pretty solid. Fir what they are going for "Lux" is ridicously upbeat and might as well be on a Dashboard Confessional album. The vocals are also a little pitchy which doesn't help things. In giving this a 6 , it puts it ahead of the other bands out put and makes them better than Ghost for sure, to think these guys are awesome you have to be 16 or younger.

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