Hands of Orlac: "Figli Del Crepuscolo"

How do you feel about Italian Horror movies? This is the first question that needs to be asked when going into Hands of Orlac's new album. They embrace the sound tracks of those cult classics and blend them with straight up vest metal. It's more genuine than anything Ghost is putting out now even with it's flute solos and Devil's Blood can never return. These guys and ghouls embrace that style of occult rock. Two minutes into the first real song 'last Fatal Drop' they really get heads banging and fist pumping , before ripping into a guitar solo. The Flute does at times really call forth Blood Ceremony, but this alum is much darker than the more freedom rock hippy dippy vibes Blood Ceremony began to embrace.

There heavier moments embrace a rawer brand of dark metal, like Mercyful Fate or the first two Iron Maiden albums. Yet these teeth are not bared for long before the smoke flows like the Mystery Machine and we are mellowing out. The guitar attack is the albums strong point. The vocals work for what they are doing, but tend to float around in a similar range. They creep from one minor key to the next.The sampled screams work well over the power metal bombast of "A Coin in the Heart". This song goes on an Iron Maiden like adventure, galloping all over the battle field.

They get even darker on "Noctua". The tight palm muted chug keeps the song moving amongst the gloom it casts.There is a very cool break down that reminds me of solo Ozzy around the five minute mark.It has a kind of "Little Dolls" feel. "Ghost Story" is on of the more melodic songs on the album, but the opening verse doesn't connect with me, yet the chorus does. So it's a mixed bag.The doom comes on thick with the oppressive"Mill of the Stone Women". It finds a pretty good chug later on in the song , but it's first half kinds faded in the background .

Overall this album is a fun listen. They suceed at the atmop
shere they are trying to create. If you are a fan of the whole occult rock/ vest metal retro thing then it is worth your while. I like it because not only does it have that classic metal feel it is a darker take on it. With that said I am not sure it's something I need to own, but will give it a 8 none the less.

Shadowhouse: "Hand in Hand"

One thing that was noticeable int 2014 is where most of the current crop of "post-punk" revivalist bands trying to bring back goth missed the boat. Sure a lot of it was enjoyable, some of it even memorable, but it lacked something very tangible that made 80's post-punk/death-rock/goth bands what they were. That x-factor is elegance and romanticism. Shadow House gets this. They have ample rock kick to  the opening track, but the x-factor is  best  showcased on "Haunted". The synths are a key part of this, but the guitar is really complimenting it, to create layers. These layers are what keep them from just being a dark punk band.They don't shy from the kinetic elements of punk that goth sprang from. But truth be told goth owes much more to David Bowie's theatrics than it does the Dead Boys.

The emotive web woven on "Lonely Psalm" re kindles the same passionate place that made "Disintegration" such a great album. It's the sort of feeling that makes me want to stop eating, grow my hair out and start smoking clove again.The songs are less sprawling than the pictures Robert Smith paints with his guitar, yet despite the some what lo-fi production the guitarist makes the most with what he is working with. All the right effects are in all the right places. The singer has heart to his baritone croon, he is not just doing an Ian Curtis impersonation. "Old Crime" could almost be spun into an 80's night set and go unnoticed.

Dynamically they work in varied shades of gray. The band's motto is "Play loud, dance slow" is the majority of the songs cater to that ethos. The pace gets brisker for "Start Again", ebbs and flows back and forth from the moodier verse to the more pulse pounding chorus. Lyrically  these poetic shout outs to  heartbreak are moaned out in vague metaphor. "Toys" carries a dark western feel to it, the guitar tone here hits it's creepy peak. While the band cites the Chamelons on their Facebook as their influence, the Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen certainly seem more prevalent. Whatever the case aside from guitar tones, their is no glaring mimicry. In placing the emphasis on letting each song stand on it's own two feet, they are surprisingly original in a genre that owes so much of it's life to the past. They really go against the grain by really only giving a nod to Joy Division with albums darkest song 'We Don't Belong" that closes out the album. The singer also takes on a lower more dead pan inflection in his voice.

This album is by and large without flaw so I'll round it up to a ten and see how it stays with me. If you are tired of the same old same old hipster post-punk then these guys are worth your while, strangely being from Hipster centric Portland, they are very honest and devoid of irony in what they do. These are not some hard core kids playing around after listening to 'Flood Lands" they are well verse in what makes the genre work. They are on the second pressing of the single for "Haunted" the full length is being released on Gone Home Records. Mass Media Records. So seek them out, or this will be the best goth record of 2014 that you didn't get to hear.

Cowards: " Rise to Infamy"

Living up to the title of their upcoming a;bum, this band is sure to have garnered  much infamy. There is a great deal of buzz about an album that doesn't come out until February. The album is poured from a vat of very dark riffage. These differ in pacing, and are often dynamic in terms of syncopation. As a whole this is too heavy a place for melody to flourish. The blast beats come across more as ticks than the band committing to black metal.  like a darker more dissonant spastic version of Eyehategod.

Their lead screamer torturers his throat with almost incomprehensible outbursts.His vocal are more often than not layered. Some of the layers are harsher than other, none sung, but vary in the manner the intensity is deliver, sometimes it carries a more hard core element.His screaming eventually makes many of the songs sound they same.

The heavy handed manner the point is hammered home on  "Frustration(is my girl)" makes for more of a dense slab of sound than a song. The guitar sound still allows for notes to be heard. They really love their feedback. The riffs in  "Beyond My Hands" sound like a heavier version of newer Alice in Chains. Though this groove gives way to an unraveling. At other times the remind of the post-Converge world we live as They throw some insanely heavy riffs. You become numb to the beating by the time the album gets to "Low Esteem".

"Wish For Infamy"finds it's groove around the angular pieces of charred wreckage the guitars leave behind.It doesn't stray to far from the overall vibe of the album that is ...here is what it sounds like to set rabid dogs on fire. The most sonic moment on the album is "Bended Knee" , but this slight tinge of atmosphere is tempered with their gritty metallic hard core attack. The drummer is pretty impressive, there is some Dave Lombardo influence that creeps into some of his cymbal work, the double bass is no where near being as up in your face as Slayer.

One of the pluses of this album is these guys don't rely on ten minute epics, the song vary from short bursts to some longer pieces ,though by the last song this album had become a blur as it falls back into being variations of a theme. This theme descends into chaos by the albums end, but really where else could it have gone, because once you get to ten where else is there to go? This album is impressive, but hit's you with one really heavy thing repeatedly after you have already gotten the message. I'll give it a 6.

Nux Vomica has been on the tips of every one's tongue and even more so that the end of the year lists are rolling out and they are a hip horse to bet on. Portland is filled with Hipsters. These guys seem pretty genuine in what they are doing, and just happen to be caught in the hype. But do they live up  to that is the question we are going to answer.

This album is comprised of three songs, the shortest is 11 mins and the longest is 19. Not really something for shuffle mode. This must be consumed as one whole for to get the most of it. They win me over on their fluid dynamics. Whatever sound you want to lable them as , crust , sludge, black metal, hard core, they bridge these gaps in a very organic manner. They let the pound ring out, but I would not say they are doom, just playing slower.

Catching up with 2014 - Alraune : "The Process of Self Immolation"

This album is a lot like Nux Vomica's new one in the sense, it takes several listens for me to gather my feelings towards it. These guys have wandered onto a few best of 2014 lists. They dropped this one back in June, and I do not remember hearing any buzz about it then, but here it is now. They do  not sound like they are from Tennessee, I'm am not going to say they sound like the next Darkthrone, but they are in more of the hipster New York or Cali sphere.

The ragged rough mix is as raw as you might want your black metal. The vocals are almost muffled behind the clanging and the snare sounds lost until they go into more of a thrash section. If not for the Deafheaven like clean break, to serve as a guidepost I might not have realized we were entering another song. They do jam on Simulacra"s lazy intro a while before gong into an even more furious blasting.There is a part at the four and a half mark that sounds like Converge. The vocals cry out in a somewhat cleaner tone. This Converge voice return for a more angular section at the six and a half minute mark.

Feedback bridges them over into "Kissed By the Red" . That Converge like anguish returns to the vocals right from the first few words he cries out.It's emotive in a manner that black metal is not known for. I am hesitant to really think of these guys as black metal , it's almost like if Converge decide to drone you with blast beats instead of dazzle you with angular jerking. The drummer is better than he lets on at first and gradual as the album unwind the flourishes have a craftier side than brute pounding.

The title track closes thing out. An 11 minute monster that is frothing at the mouth almost from the get go. The angular groove that haunt the song as a thematic element is teetering on something unsettling. The hardcore yells can not be denied on some movements. Still the lyrics are garbling beneath the guitar that dominates the mix for the entire album.The bass is a frequency some where but doesn't really come out of hiding. They default to blasting more often than not in the meat of the songs middle section.When they are not locked in a blast beat the guitars are attacking the song with a similar tension, letting the drum hammer the toms.

I seem to remember liking this album more the first listen, than I did sitting down do dissect it, then you see how many just droning blast parts there are , and the band leaves it up to the drummer to sort them all out. I like where these guys are going, fans of Ash Borer and Fell Voices take note. I;ll give it an 8, though I don't see this as something I have to have, but I feel they deserve the 8 as they are good at what they are doing .

Centinex:" Redeeming Filth"

The promo pack wasn't lying when it said these guys are bringing back the Tampa sound of the 90's.There is not a direct band that you can point a finger at when it comes to their influences. One moment you hear Deicide, one moment Morbid Angel, another Cannibal Corpse. They tend to forsake the finesse that Morbid Angel began to employ after "Covenant". The opening song runs you over like Deicide's Legion album did."Moist Purple Skin" implies lyrical these guys are tapping the same vein as Cannibal Corpse. The volcanic belch to the chorus, is pretty fist pumping, you'll be back in camo shorts in no time and probably more crazy about this if you never took them off.


Death metal fans might appreciate an album that is devoid of all black metal trappings. There is nothing black about this. It holds much more in common with thrash. On a song like "Death Glance" this fact is up in your face with the double bass. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but these guys can craft some pretty mean riffs on their own. They slow things down without coping any Obituary on "Unrestrained". The charm of chanting the title of the song as the chorus starts to wear thin by this time. Despite this sound they are not form Tampa, but Sweden and some of the members have played with October Tide and Katatonia, so not their first rodeo here.

Their decadent punishment sometimes pays off on songs like "Without Motive'". The classic metal roots of death metal shine through here. The secret to death metal that works is for the vocal hook to work like gears in a machine against the guitar. These guys are well aware of this and make those elements fall into on frequent basis even if they are not reinventing the wheel here. The simple chug of "Rotting Below" is still effective, even though they are defaulting to multi tracked chants, combining the winning elements of Cannibal Corpse and Deicide.This does get almost to formulaic and simplistic for me, but I appreciate the fact these guys are so good at what they do. Yet the formula finally gets stale and is ready to be buried on "Dead Buried and Forgotten". They pick up the pace on what has been a largely mid tempo album on the closing song. The vocal accents also seemed a little rushed here, so maybe barking at this speed is not the vocalists' forte.

This album is a lot of fun, nothing I take too seriously, this era of death metal I liked as a kid, and I like death metal, but my tastes had not remained in stasis. still this deserves a 7, the one dimensional nature of this sort of thing.

Spectral Lore : iii

One of those album I meant to check out, mixed feeling about Greek black metal might have added to the delayed response. It opens with a jangly off kilter white noise like riff where the tremolo picked part would go on any other black metal album. These guys need to read the interview I just did with Primordial's singer as they are breaking some of his black metal rules and bringing a haft dose of non convention to the party. The guitar sound is similar to that of Hail Spirit Noir with an icy dash of Enslaved thrown in.

The dry rasp of the vocals is becoming the go to least path of anguish approach for black metal. The sonic nature they bring to the table is hard for me to argue against.One the 16 minute "Veiled Garden" there is the sense that more needs to happen and these guys go the memo as if gets off to a much more epic beginning. The guitar is articulately picked out. Not in an over indulgent shreddy manner, but in a very spacious way that allows the song to chime on it's own little storm cloud.The growling gets a little more distant in the mix. The clouds on their album cover pretty much capture how their chords progressions go. This hits the spot many of the bands that followed Alcest in on the black gaze banner went for, but did not succeed as well as these guys who are not going for that, it just happens to become the by product. The song breaks down into near nothingness except for something that sounds like a babbling brook. I am of the mind that means we are moving onto song number three, but this band wants this to still be song two. It irks me a little, but I'll get over it I am in a bad mood any ways.

The album only knows sprawling epics. "The Cold March Towards Eternal Brightness" gets off to a ringing blast. The tremolo guitar here has an almost chiming quality.  The vocals seem to be screaming out into oblivion.The back kind of soar off into the back ground , though it does soar and pack punches. Not sure if this is really going out on a limb here, but this sweeping majestic flourish sounds like Liturgy covering Moonsorrow. The chanted vocals toward the end are very Burzum, not church burning days , but cave elf era, the songs gets folky to suit the vocals.The long acoustic intro to "Drifting Through Moss and Ancient Stone" has me waiting for Lindsay Buckingham to bust our with a refrain of "never break the chain" At 11 minutes this instrumental interlude is a little indulgent.

They return to more folk tinged black metal sound on " The Spiral Fountain". These guys have a way more organic guitar sound than your average black metal band. It;s very warm and stoner rock at the point in the album. They throw their weight around between this tug of war they seem to be with themselves in regard to if they want to commit to being folk metal. Black Metal begins to win out. Their cool riffs do actually make good songs because they flow in the arrangement.They get a little Iron Maiden like at the beginning of "A Rider in Lands of Infinite Dreamscape."The structure of this swirling mass of guitars falls apart when the blasting comes in. Then chaos is reigning as everything flies everywhere.It is very sonic.

To close out the  album they goes into a Tangerine Dream prog Odyssey with "Cosmic Significance". It twinkles in a similar fashion as old Pink Floyd. This does find it's winding way back to the metal in an almost Enslaved like fashion. The guitars continue to build off of folk like melodies.They continue to build off these themes in a majestic instrumental jam.This album could have used more vocals at times. This ambitious piece of work is impressive. It is not something I would listen to enough to justify keeping in the iPod, but a good soundtrack to have in the background while I work. I will give this one an 8.