Death is June - White Stones : "Kuarahy"

Opeth's bassist missed death metal so started this side project.He mans not only bass put also the guitars here. "Worms" is much better than the first song. The first song is not bad it is like warmed over early Opeth or Bloodbath. There is more of a groove to "Worms". It is just more fun . What I like about this album is the dynamic variance. It deviates from the death metal tropes I am constantly complaining about when it comes to the genre. Is there rock n roll to "Drowned in Time" ? Yes and that is what makes it great. They know the death metal rules, use them while bringing other things to the party. As the album progresses it no longer is just looking back at what Opeth used to do , but finds these songs with an identity of their own.

However once they find their sweet spot they hang onto it going into "the One".  It almost sounds to much like the previous song to me. The double bass is very sick. As it should be since this is death metal. Have way into the song things do change, but I expect more after what we have gotten so far. They deliever with a more rock n roll swagger on "Guyra'. For a bass player this guy is a pretty killer guitarist . One thing cool about this album is it manages to blend prog with death metal without losing any of the balls. Aside from the slight groove and more abundant atmosphere there is a more straight forward approach on " Ashes". It is however more angular and dissonant than the bulk of the songs so far, so straight forward in how that applies to this album.

The more prog leaning ways of Opeth come into play on "Infected Soul". It has that darker creepy sound they used to have pre Blackwater Park. There is a pretty cool rifs that offsets some of the more rock n roll parts. It's not that the rock n roll parts are not cool, they are I just needed this to circle a darker direction in order to retain my interest.They dig into more of a metallic attack while still dazzling you with guitars on the more aggressive "Taste of Blood". It took a couple of listens before it's groove really clicked with me. There is an outro ditty, but I am not countring it for the purpose of this review.  This is an excellent album I will give this one a 9.5 . If you miss death metal Opeth, this is not total nostalgia , but you will appreciate this. Out on Nuclear Blast.

Death is June - Valgrind : 'Condemnation"

The worship or Morbid Angel and Incantation should be expected as it is deserving. This is the only retro worshipping band I am going to review this month, They do have more of a speeding technical element to them than either of the two previously mentioned bands and incorporate some darker melodic atmosphere midway into the song. While subtle it preps for the guitar solo and shows me they care about songs. This is the Italian band's 4th album so they should know what they are doing. By the second song they have begun to rever to a more straight forward and almost Obituary like take on the genre, though the fleet fingered guitar sets it apart. If you are into guitar solos they have plenty.

There fixation with speed becomes a little tiresome by the third song. What I would give for some groove to make these riffs more memorable . When they become trapped in this mode their sound gives into all my complaints about death metal being one dimensional. You can hear how death metal is influenced by thrash on this song. "Eater of Hearts" blasted by on the first play through eithout me taking note. This is where they go into a more aggressive Morbid Angel mode. Interesting enough to not fall into tedium , but not breaking any new ground either. Then things become even more Morbid with the riff to " the Day". It does get a little lost when the hurtle down this hell highway. The riffs to "Furies" is razor sharp and commanding, in a more Vader like manner, but it took a couple listens to register with me.

They are plenty angry. They are pretty convinving on "Divination" but not it sounds like they are drawing more from "Fromulas Fatal to the Flesh". The vocals are punchy and the riffs slap you about more like the post- David Vincent years. "Godess of the Salt Sea" even feels like they are trying to be about the smae kind of Lovecraftian mish mash. I will give this album a 7.5, they pull it off in how they bang it out on their instruments , but little life is breathed into death metal. For some this might be a good thing. Death can also equate stagnation.This album comes out July 27th on Momento Mori.

Covet : "Technicolor"

If you missed out on indie rock in the late 90s this is a refresher course as this trio from San Franciso blends many of the elements on their second album. This might seems like a weird and wonderful alien creation to those not versed in that era, but even bands who have done similar in the past decade like Minus the Bear have covered some of this ground with a more wistful take on math rock. There isa progressive jazz like element to the guitar phrashing and drumming. The bass player sit in the background. If he had more of a prescence it might give their over all sound more balls . They relax and coast on the groove of  "parachute". The first song to bring in the vocals of Yvette Young. She has a pretty decent voice and I feel this album would have benfitted from more of her vocals on it instread of just two songs.This is the first song that puts the rock in indie rock.

There is a more languid vibe to "predawn" that rolls along in an almost shoe glazed hypnosis. Not unlike the kind of narcotic images Mogwai once summoned. They do a good job of capturing a similar intensity of dynamics. This album is really well produced and the guitars sound great. My only problem with the presentation is more bass is needed. The ride more winding groove on the ponderous angular maze that is "Nero". For a largely instrumental album they are like June of 44 in the sense they still manage to retain my attention. They are great musicians and decent enough song writers to still engage you even if they are just jamming. This begin to cross over from math rock into prog. What is the difference you ask? Chops and ambition. Math rock was always the slacker younger cousin of prog rock. Coffee shop workers who would tell you Genesis and King Crimson were pretenous. I know King Crimson eventually became cool.

The drumming and guitar playing are both stunning when they do commit to the more complex life of prog on "Aries". That is not to say they have adbandoned all post rock leaning. They have not. I am glad to hear the bass player also decided to show up to the sesson on this one.  "Parrot" embraces more atmosphere but retains the prog jamming. The balance of the two work in the song's favor . I can imagine these guys are great live. There is a more dreamy post rock feel to "Odessa" . It carriesthe classic shimmering. The song's head doesn't stay in the clouds as it comes back down to rock out slightly on the build. There are less to the vocals of the last song than Young employed earlier in the album, but at least it is something and makes some of the instrumental dramatics serve more purpose. I will give this album a 9, these guys excel at what they are doing, but could be more focused on the songs if this was going to be an album I would listen to more, though I have enjoyed the time spent with it . Out on Triple Crown Records.

Death is June : Living Gate :"Deathlust"

When I introduced Death is June I mentioned how I am going to try and feature bands that go beyond the status quo tried and true death metal formula, but I had already reviewed one album that fell into the more traditional confines of death metal. This is that album. With members from Amenra, Oathbreaker and Yob, I trusted these guys to at least not bore. Death metal can just color with blood red so how they use their sonic crayons is important here. They have the sound and know how to play it, so the most important thing I am now listening for it what is different about what they are bringing to the table? Without question great amost progressive guitar playing, that makes me ask but can you write a song. Yes . They answer with the second song, allowing the guitar to bring more melody. I would not call them technical death metal as they are not just about the math of their riffs. The are very precise in their playing.

The growls accent what should be the chorus on "Roped". While it is not shaking things up it does present you with something that sticks to your ears more than if they were just giving you a full speed ahead beating. They do administer such a beating in this very song, but there is enough fine tuning to make it work for now. I think if they did not deviate from this formula I would become bored. The title track is more straight forward. The roared vocal fall into the same old same old from what we have heard a hundred times before. Are they good at what they are doing ? Yes. The guitar solo shines and spotlights their skills as musicians , but the quagmire they are creating finds them stuck in tradition even if that is what they are paying homage to. They continue down this hyper aggressive show of excessive force on "Heaven Ablaze" and I begin to get bored.


I am not a fan of having eponymous songs, but that is what happens here. They are more angular and less full frontal assulat on this one. Not sure the results are much better as it comes across rather opaque. The riff kind of collide with out much form or function in terms of song writing. A little more straightforward than the kind of death metal I might expect from Relapse. I guess it doesn't hurt to come with references from your previous projects. Given their previous projects they got my hopes up for something different. I will round this down to a 7 as it is well played , but if your bar is higher in terms of what you want in regards to actual originality in originals you will under stand my complaints. If you just want death metal and have little discernment they hit all the right notes and will become your favorite band.

Nadine Shah : "Kitchen Sink"

I have been a fan of Shah for sometime. This is the 3rd album by her which I have covered. This one is a little more upbeat and a little less post-punk. It has a afro cuban beat and slinky bass line. Her husky alto is allowed to slither between the grooves in interesting ways that are out side of the pop box. There is more of a quirky feel that recalls her earlier work on "Ladies For Babies Ghosts For Love". The David Bowie like funk of "Buckfast" is more pleasing to my ears.Think "Fame" here. There is more of a 70s jazz fusion thing going on with "Dillydally", this is not as alluring as what was happening on the song before this , but it still works pretty well.

There is more shadow to the atmosphere of "Trad"  I think the melodies are allowed to float more so the vocals do not command the grooves as they do on the previous songs. Lyrically she ponders aging gracefully and what that means as a woman . The title track hints lives us to its name.  It is consistent with where she has gone on this album , as Shah continues to pull out every sound she can think of and slaps it into the song.  Thankfully The guitars do have more of a prescene on this one.  I think her voice works better with more of a rock instrumentation, and this is tested when she goes more minimal  on "Kite". This ends up feelin   like more of a sound than a song. There is more of a straight forward indie rock feel to "Ukranian Wine". It is closer to PJ Harvey's sonice zip code.

"Wasps Nest" has more a folk feel to the melody. The nusic is more electronic , and miminalist. He voice is uses more rythymically There is an odd sideways turn in her experimentation on "Walk" . Not a Pantera cover. He voice is used like an instrument. I can appreciate this. The beat to this song is like something from the mid 90s. After making it to the last two songs of this album you would think everything would make sense in the fact that nothing makes sense. I prefer what is going on with "Prayer Mat" that finds her ending the album strong. It is darker and the melody more hypnotic. She sings more rather than a sing song weaving around the beat. I will give this one a 9. The songs might not be a strong as her earlier work, but that is a pretty high bar. I applaud her for taking chances and doing something different , which over all works.

Ghostemane's Black Mage :"Baader- Meinhof"

I am going to assume I do not need to introduce Ghostemane to you. The novelty of this as a side project is not lost with the flirtation of metal exhibited in past releases. Black metal is the genre being aimed for. While it is not a bullseye, there is a suitible expression of it. I often refer to how the egregore of where music is generated from influences it's resonance, this is why Scandinavian black metal tends to embody it best. This more urban history the act hails from adds it's color to the proceding but not in the way you might fear if you have come here with more of a curiosty from the metal side of the equation  It is of course released on Soundcloud as expected from where he comes from. .


The first song is pretty decent. The way the atmosphere is approached is the only really thing that brings his work to mind. The vocals are well screamed but behind a distorted filter so that gives them more of a n edge than the shredding of vocal cords. The first blast beats in the more traditional sense come on the second song where the vocals fall much further in the back ground and it is an attempt to pay more ofa homage to the old Burzum days of shitty black metal recording. Then things shift away from blast beats. There is more of a grunge feel to the guitar as it lacks the dissonance or tremlo picking that black metal normally has. There is some dynamic ebb and flow which I appreciate more than if this was just a nasty blasting of your ear drums out.


 The riff going into the last song has more of a punk feel of Darkthrone's more black n roll era. For what it is this is ok. It wanders off into something more depressive  towards the end which I prefer over the more traight forward riffs some in. The strummed guitar is not unlike the kind of attempt he made at a Nirvana homage last year.  This album is less underwhelming than that oneIf you thought there would be more of a the suburban Soundcloud trap on this then , you are not in the ball park. For what is , this was nejoyable, an entire album might give me a better feel for who trve this is, but I will give it an 8 with plans to not give it any repeat listens as I have been here, done this and got the corpse paint. If you see this on anyone's best albums of the year list, disregard them as a humans with any worthwhile opinions on music.

BLACKMAGE · Baader-Meinhof EP

Death is June - Pillori : "À Nos Morts"

Crushing with a sense of sonics is the best way to describe this baand from France. The guitar is as dense as a sludge band. All too often death metal is over produced , if they are not going to the old Incantation sound. These guys have a great deal of depth to their sound. It is dissonance and in your face. Your hear some hard core influence in how aggressive they are. This also gives a more rabid attack to the vocals that are not just gurgled. Not unlike the snarl Converge employs. The second song is only a minute and a half , but is worth it. More so than the very straight forward full charge ahead that leads into 'the Great Terror". Heavier and more grind core here, it almost forsakes the efforts they have made to show they care about songs and not just being heavy.


 I know this is a month of death metal , but I have a hard time imagining that I am going to cover a heavier album. Not what people call brutal death metal, but brutality could be used to define the way some of the these riffs are played. The vocals sometimes go from death metal growls to more Coverge like hard core screams. "Rios des Rats" is 39 seconds of break down better added onto the previous song.  The title track has more of a chilling dissonance in the chords that are allowed to ring out and one of this album's few melodic moments. The hateful hard core feel is accompanied by a street wise stomp on "Divine Comedey" . "Sous Mes Mains" is not blackened death metal , but does have one of the album's more sinister moods.

The last two songs give the same measured beating the others do , sometimes with more of a throb to them. The last song "Danse Macabre" has less of that throb and offers a more mean spirited bashing. A mean spirited bashing sounds like the perfect soundtrack one might need for for the way the world is meeting it's demise. I will round this one up to an 8. It could stand to be more song focused, but for what it is this nastiness gets the point across with more class even in it's most vile than the so called brutal slam death metal bands.