Magic Knives : "s/t"

 

Here is a band that might not be Halloween-ready, but they do darker post-punk in a very organic manner that marries Concrete Blonde to Siouxsie without being too over about the latter, setting them apart from the competition. There is a 60s garage rock flavor that reminds me of earlier Death Valley Girls. There is a haunting quality to what they do rather than an overt darkness, but as a song like "The Runner" proves, they are not afraid to rock out and throw guitar solos in. "Sanctum" is rather hypnotic, though the main vocals are more of a chant. 

In many ways, this album is for goths who smoke a good deal of pot. The psychedelic elements in goth have always been a thing since the Doors were a big influence on the genre." Me vs You" has a more rambling riff that unfolds gracefully. Her smoky alto floats easily over this one with some great vocal hooks that might make this the album's best song. They pick up the pace for "Andromeda" / "A Haunting," which unfolds pretty gracefully, but carries a stormy, more intense dynamic that unfurls. 

There is a more indie rock shuffle to "The Obelisk," and her stark alot approach lays out similar vocal passages to set the atmosphere again. While there are different guitar sounds, the vocals are center here and do something we have heard before on this album, though it is not a deal breaker. "Some Night" is more of a creepy psychedelic jam. That grows on me with additional listens. "Infernal" closes the album, though there are two remixes on the album but I am not counting them for the purpose of this review. It's almost a surf rock instrumental but the vocals hold a textural place in the background, I will give this album a 9.5, it impressed me with it's organic flow and touched on sounds I like while doing their own thing. 

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Dance With the Dead : "Molombra:

 

2022's Drive to  Madness scored a 9, which found this project holding fast in the upper tier of the synthwave genre, evne though they do not have the more mainstream aspirations as acts like Gunship. They are paying attention to the kind of aggression Perturbator channels into their synths, as it has a very riff-oriented feel. The variations of this sort of thing are becoming a formula, and it feels like this form of instrumental music is going to have a hard time refreshing album after album without expanding the songwriting approach. Here they are changing the shade by a few degrees here and there with synth melodies nad accents, but not a huge dynamic shift. 

This is why by the time it rolls around to 'Chao Theory," only three songs in everything are beginning to sound the same. They do take a shift from them by going in a heavier rock direction for the syncopated groove of "The Burial".They seem to alternate between bouncier upbeat songs that sound like they could be on the soundtrack to a modern anime vs the more aggressive riff-oriented songs where the synths are emulating what a guitar would be doing.  'Ghost Party" is more melodic and feels like an 80s anthem. 

The last three songs kind of run together, sometimes taking on more drive, but largely working within the framw work that we are now familiar with, not just when it comes to these guys but the genre as a whole. When you leave this album just playing in the background, it runs together. While some songs are more defined. It certainly maintains the sound that you might be into if you are already a fan of this projet as it delivers what they do, but in a manner that maintains that rather than allows it to grow. For that reason, I will round this down to an 8.5, meaning it is well done and better than most, just nothing new

9.4

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the Blind Philosopher : "Innergazer"

 

This album came recommended by Dead Air at the Pulpit, who is already calling this their album of the year. A pretty bold statement. Given the tastes of that site, I am expecting this to be crusty, but it sounds more like old Mastodon. Proggy but sludgey in its grooving take on melodic death metal that has no shortage of guitar solos. The coarse howls of the vocal another element of sludge in play. The production is not as raw as I would expect from this either. There are some catchy riffs, and they are good at what they do. A tension comes out of the ambiance used to introduce  "As the Sirens Sing", while this is well-done atmospheric death metal, I am not convinced this is an album of the year quality quality when it comes to the songwriting. Descending into blast beats is not helping that argument. Though to their credit, they find riffs with purpose on this one as well. 

"Burn" feels like an extension of the previous song as it builds into furious double bass. But is it better than what we heard Neurosis crank out earlier this year? You will now hear the cries of saying music is not a competition, but this is not true; it is competing for your time, and what you give your time to is what you value most. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and you are going to sleep at the very least for four of them, six of them in my case, so that leaves 20- to 18 waking hours a day to listen to music. So, prioritizing that time is a battle. "Downpour" continues the sludgey drone that hsi driven by impressive drumming, but when it comes to the songwriting, you have three songs in a row working off a similar sound and mood. 

"Sand of Seas' thankfully breaks this up. But it is an interlude rather than a song. Once again, the drummer takes the spotlight going into " Into the Redness of the Sun," which is a rather frantic assualt that ebbs back down. I can see where someone might be impressed by this and a bit blinded by how similar the riffs on this album are.  Some more Mastodon-like tricks creep in here. The eight-minute title track closes the album. There is a Meshuggah-like tone to the guitar that rumbles up from the beginning. It carries a more deliberate stomp. The drummer is impressive, and they have created an album that sounds great, but I am going to give this album an 8.5, as it's not the most original thing I've heard and they tend to be a bit of a one-trick pony when it comes to their brand of throbbing death sludge, but perhaps that is what you want if so they are good at it, but this is far from album of the year material when you take into consideration the more daring albums delivered by the likes of Portrayal of Guilt, Deathgrave, Show Me the Body and Neurosis alreaddy this year. 

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Illegal Funeral : " Scold's Bridle"

Once again, I continue to celebrate my glee for Halloween moving closer. You don't hear many death rock bands that want to be 45 Grave these days, so I am not complaining about this German band. I am curious to hear what else they can do. There is almsot more of a punk feel to the opener." In the Ashes." does not let up on this energy; in fact, they take it to a faster disco beat to add more bounce. It is not as impressive as the opening track but works for what they are going for; a whole album of this might prove tedious."Medici" takes a more Christian Death feel to the riff, but her vocals stay the same. 

"Waiting for the Cursed' is true to the Christian Death wave of death rock, almost to a fault. The chorus is the only place where it doesn't sound like "Spiritual Cramp," and I might be generous in that statement."Heirs of Bastet" is much better and carries a groove that feels more like they are doing their own thing, which is something they should lean into. It's the best song so far."In Cotard's Hell" is more on the punk side of what they do.

Things get doomier and darker for "Relic," which is another sound they should continue to dig deeper into. I had to go back and give another listen to "Vanishing From the Insidey ear the first time. A second listen finds it playing too closely to the death rock rule book and not making it their own, which they have already shown me they are capable of. The title track closes the album. The bass line carries more thump and the vocals are marginally catchier, which is all I am really asking for from these baby bats. I will give this one an 8.5; if you are looking for a nuts-and-bolts entry to death rock, this will suffice nicely. They have a great deal of potential; looking forward to hearing more from them as this album earned the ma place on my radar.

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Show Me the Body : "Alone Together"

 

They are pretty straightforward when they kick into things after an odd horn-heavy intro. They are like a rawer, more primitive Fugazi in some ways, with a burlier bass sound and less subtle. But I like it. "No God" finds a more staccato groove. : Good Time" finds them doing their own thing with an odd take on punk that is relevant in this post-Turnstile world we live in today, but they are not selling out. Often employing more of a metal approach and have dense sludge-tinted tones. Production is raw but clean, with a great deal of love put into this mix to give everything space.

"Dance in the USA" is a weird song; I can hear some Bad Brains influence tossed in here. There is a more downtrodden mood to "Do What's Right" that brings Iceage to mind. It sounds like he is pulling the banjo out again for "See You Again" . I appreciate the willingness to explore this dynamic, but with this minimalist drone, it puts the brakes on the momentum built. "Mileage" comes out of this with more of a driving rumble. "New Line" finds its blunt force groove in time. Though it is a little less focused than what they have done up to this point here. 

I guess you can say "Trust' is a ballad of sorts; it feels like sullen indie rock. It strums off in its own direction and does not grab me while it is headed that way. If this were DEHD, I would not even shrug at this. I can't complain about a punk band wanting to do more than just yell and bang around at high speeds. The anger on this album si tempered by the reflection of maturity. The title track closes the album with the return of the banjo. They were like fuck it, if Turnstile does not have to be bound by the definition of things like punk and hardcore, then neither do we, but let's not come across liek pussies while we are at it. I will give this album a 9.5, as it took me by surprise in more ways than one, while still packing a punch. 

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LOWSUNDAY : "Black ep"

Perhaps not as dark as some of the albums I have been digging into lately as I get ready for  Halloween, but still a form of post-punk. I would not have guessed these guys were from America, so they have successfully fooled my ears, which, given the glut of albums I listen to daily, is a feat. They capture a sound that is in a similar ZIP code to what A Place to Bury Strangers used to occupy between shoe-gaze and post-punk, but these guys have more of the mellower elements of shoegaze, where A Place to Bury Strangers was more on the noisy My Bloody Valentine side of the genre's more end. 

The lead single that opens the EP works well, as it's catchy and the vocals are more forward than some of the murk they fall into by the time they get to "Someone to Talk," which falls more closely in the direction of early Cure. There is more of a Brit-pop mood to "Shattered' which is not the Rolling Stones, but an effective song on its own right. "This is Not Heaven" drifts through the haze of its reverb-heavy guitars, with the whispered vocals falling into the back of the mix and being swallowed by the haze of dusk. 

The last song drifts by in more of a haze while I appreciate the sounds; the vocals become a moot point as they drown in the effects this album is bathed in. I generally feel like how this album is produced works more often than not, but I feel the vocals could have gotten more love, which at the end of the day would have elevated the songs; they made the choices they made for the reasons they had at the time. You never know until you hear what the raw tracks they had to work with were like.  Still is a surprisingly enjoyable album; I will give a 9 as it takes the genres they blended in different directions

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JEHOVAH ON DEATH : " Lágrimas de Oro"

This band might be branded as occult rock, which is typically focused on a more retro sound than some of these denser, more modern sounds this Greek band employs. They are very dynamic and work acoustic elements into the songs, not trying to sound like Black Sabbath. The female vocals are rather haunting, though on the opening track sit back as an alto chant. You could almsot think of this as prog rock. Though at just under six minutes, the opening song is the longest, so they do not sprawl things out, which is fine with me. The second song has an almsot 80s metal feel. Though they deviate from this one in the chorus. Lyrically darker than the music; they still have more shadow than your average rock band

For the purpose of this review, I am not counting the guitar interlude before "Catherine Wheel" as a song. It's almost like a Pat Benetar covering "Stranglehold". The multitrack vocals on the chorus are a little over the top and not likely to be replicated live. Though I can hear some Brian May influence on this one. "Suspiria" finds the chorus being more memorable than the verses, which are not dark enough for my liking, but I can hear where the Blue Öyster Cult influence is intended to be. "Blood Madonna" finds them a few notes shy of ripping off "Don't Fear the Reaper," but the song still works even with the anthemic guitar.

"Ride On Ye Furious Host" has a heavier drive to it that flirts with proto-metal. They throw in a decent gallop to throw a guitar solo over. With the title "Lord Let Me Be Your Instrument of Pain," you would think the last song would be heavier. I do like the vocal melody of it, so that balances things out. I will give this album a 9.5. I am glad it is not trying to be Ghost on the Blue Öyster Cult side of the equation. This is the occult rock revival you are looking for. Out on I Void Hanger Records. 

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