Deathspell Omega : "the Synarchy of Molten Bones"

Dark and more melodic than expected are my first thoughts going into the first few moments of the French band's new album. They soon blast off into a more dissonant murk. The mathy acrobatics are still in play as the chaos gets stirred up rather quickly. The vocals stay at a lower death metal like growl. Some how grooves form amid the madness. The first song was something I knew I was going to have to go back and listen to again in order to soak it all in as they throw a lot at you. The blinding blitz of drums opens "Famished For Breath". The snarls are multi-tracked to keep the narrative otherworldly. The technical intensity of what goes down almost makes this feel for like blackened death metal rather than progressive death metal as it is more about the attack than the atmosphere.

Their brand of sonic crazy is not as cohesive on "Onward where Most with Ravin I may meet" . There are some guitar melodies that are a little catchy, but there are buried under the land slide of blast beats and jagged guitars coming at you from every direction. The last song is every bit as manic. I am listening for what is setting this part from all the other blinding walls of sonic filth they have flung at my ears like a possessed monkey with molten poop.

 I think this album got off to a good start, but in the crazed frenzy the song writing got a little lost in the blur. The vocals begin to take on more of an Inquisition like croak. This might be the album's fastest song. The blast beats are most effective when the guitars drop out. Why play by the rules when you can break them, is where these guys are at their peak. These guys are great musicians and this album sounds great, but at the end of the day it's about songs. Even though song writing falls short their chops and energy take them further than any of the bands who want to be them. I'll give this one an 8, it's not something that I think I'll get a ton of spins out of due to the frenetic nature of these tunes, which might not be their best, but half ass from these guys dominates most of the flock.

Night Riots : "Love Gloom"

Some people are confused as to why these guys are on Sumerian Records, which is a metal label. My answer as a die hard metal head is ...who the fuck cares. Now moving on, we can hear right from the first song "Nothing Personal" it's obvious we are going a more Gotye pop route with this. There might be a little more gain on the guitars, but don't fool yourself if you want to make this more rock than it is. I love pop music. This might come as a surprise, but after I have been sitting in front of a computer listening to death metal all day that is the last thing I want to hear on my walk to the gym. With that stand their is some excellent song writing at work here and vocal hooks galore. Despite the ode to vampires in the lyrics the indie rock of "Fang" works best off the bass driven verses, but the chorus doesn't do as much for me. The lead single "Contagious" has a quirkier side to it. The chorus might swing for the fences too hard with it's anthemic drive.

I can here Taylor Swift singing "Work It". The groove has a similar cool slide to it as "Style", but at the end of the day it's just a really well written song. The vocals flow really well and the bigger chorus doesn't come across like they are trying to hard. There is a very "Enjoy the Silence" like guitar to "Don't Kill the Messenger". The up tempo verses work well on this one as it ramps up into more of an indie rock thing going into the chorus. They back off a little on the more introspective"Breaking Free".  They fake you out on the bridge and allow things to build a little more. The lyrics are this songs strong point. The vocals are really well produced. They also get some pretty cool guitar tones on this album. "All For You" starts in a moodier direction than the more typical radio direction this veers over into. Vocally this guys has a brooding emotive tenor. It hits some lower baritone like notes and then wavers near a head register in phrase similar to many post- Arcade Fire influenced bands.

There is more of a noticeable turn towards electronica on "Pull Me Down". There is a more up beat under current on this one as well. "Everything Will Be Alright" leans are a beefier synth groove on the verse and then soars on the chorus. For it to be a song called "End of the World" it's really happy. It dances around some of it's new wave influence. "As You Are" is somewhat of a piano ballad. It is better than the bland shit Coldplay pumps out, but is also not one of this album's stronger songs. I'll round this one up to a 9 as it is a really fun album that is growing on me.

Wayfarer: "Old Souls"

This band from Colorado creates some dark brooding metal makes you forget they are from the States. Primarily they strike me as being a blackened death metal band with the vocals leaning them more in the death metal direction. When the pace picks up a little toward the end the shadowy feeling reinforces the looming black metal influence, but over all there is just a great mood and atmosphere coating this death metal which gives your ears the impression of black metal. There is more of a strum to the interlude "Frontiers" which strikes as just the intro to "Old Souls New Dawn".  This song begins much more melodically, sure their are some moments that might make you think this is pagan or folk metal due to the more epic scale they build this upon, but the same could be said for Unleashed who is a death metal band.

The songs are all on the longer side, tipping the scales at over ten minutes, but this is time well spent. Things get increasingly melodic, but never drone or grow stagnant. "Catcher" has an almost accessible groove to it. The song swings with the drums sitting back in the pocket.  Two minutes in things switch up with a cleaner guitar part that the drums play around rather than locking in with, however in this case it works. They really cram so much into this four and a half minutes it makes me wonder if they needed to use all ten of those minutes on the first song. "Deathless Tundra" backs off a little allowing a spacious bleak melody to form. They build the tension and then let you glide over in a very progressive fashion. They song throbs and pulses more than it tries to beat you over the head with the riffs which works much better for me.

"The Dust Lakes" steers them more towards post-rock. The guitars sound great so I am not complaining. It works better than when they blast into "All Lost In Aimless Chaos". They songs hit some ebb and flow into clean passages like old Agalloch, but it is much more kinetic.I'll round this up to a 9, I am not sure I'll put it on the iPod, but will give it some thought. This is great death metal with a touch of other genres enough to give it a well balanced sense of dynamics, these guys have a great dark guitar tone.
 

Body of Light : "Let Me Go"

I have been sitting on this one for a while now , so I should go ahead and review it. These two brothers from Arizona sound like they are Euro-trash. They look like a couple of kids from the straight edge scene rather than pumping out the up tempo new wave tinged dance found on this album. With the second list the song's groove began to sink in. While there are some of the quirky plastic coated staples from the earlier of new wave that spawned artists like Depeche Mode, these sounds move and flow in a very modern manner. If you listen close enough you can here the retro mood is deeply intertwined with a modern dance feel, leaving the croon of the vocals that steps out further in the mix by the time you get to the third song. These songs are fun listening, but don't really knock my socks off, they are almost too happy until we get to the title track. This sets to tone for the vocals to croon out something with a more introspective mood. I would not call this dark wave.

The dark vibes spill over into the more up-tempo "Last Breath".  The more distorted vocal that creates the call and response on this song brings them closer to dark wave. The mood get's poppier as the song progressive, but these added touches make this the first song that hooks me in at a hundred percent. "Moving Slowly" finds emphasis on the almost angular groove, but it has enough propulsion to sell me on it. At first "Felt" feels a little like "Enjoy the Silence". It gains some momentum. The synth tones at the beginning of"Tremble" are almost too happy for me a feel like they should be on the sound track of some random anime series. I prefer the more shadowy mood that fuels "Cold Gestures." Things get a little darker for "World Fall Apart". I have heard someone say this songs reminds them of the Crux-Shadows and I only marginally hear that comparison.

I'll round this album up to a 9, it seems to grow on me. Sure it could be darker, but it works well for what it is. The album sounds really good and has many layers. Some of the song writing is more inspired than other so there are some really strong ones that I felt on the first listen. I'll really have to sit with this one for a while and see if it holds up with time. If you are a fan of older Depeche Mode like synth pop and new wave that is not full blown retro then this is worth your time.

Krypts : "Remnants of Expansion"

Even at it's most cheese filled Finnish metal has a knack for darkness. There is not any cheese to be found on  the new one from this band from Finland. They dig up  all of the elements I need from death metal and puts them together in one nasty package. I like the painful ache of their throb that almost borders on doom. When they speed up into the faster double bass sections it makes more sense as we have been shown the contrast of what this sounds like when it is not coming at us with this speed to we can full appreciate the shift. On the second song this is taken to a further extreme and becomes a little more of a blur, so the opener has a little more impact on me. On a song like the title track these guys prove themselves no stranger to atmosphere, thought it is a song I had to go listen to again to see if it really went anywhere. There are some hints of melody ventured into as it swelled in volume, but seemed more like the intro to a longer work rather than a solely free standing song. Perhaps this is because it did not feel it really had the legs to stand on it's own as an instrumental.

The powerful beginning of "Entrailed to the Breaking Wheel" gives way to their urge to blast at you with a barrage of pounding speed. I am still on for the ride as I know that is what most fans of this genre expect. It is the weaving guitar melodies and the deliberate drumming that follows which keeps me hooked in and immersed in this darkness. The growls are low, but not quite a gurgle. They do go up into a few screams here and there. The bass remains pretty hidden for the bulk of the album.

There is a bleak ringing to the riffs of "Transfixed" that closes the album. This is another song that really rides the line between being death metal and doom. The guitar melodies are well balanced and these guys know when to follow things up with the weight of a chug. These guys are not blackened, but fans of black metal will find them sinister enough to appeal to the more visceral emotions black metal connects to. I will round this one up to a 9, as it hits all the right places for me. Some of the more bombastic moments might play it a little safe, but these guys are great at capturing a very hellish mood.

Crowbar : "the Serpent Only Lies"

I remember back when I first heard "All I Had I Gave" I thought these are some big ugly dudes playing big ugly music that was heavy as fuck. Going to back to listen to that song, it's still a good song, but not as heavy as I remembered it. But then again  the verses to "I am the Storm" reflect back to a similar tempo as "All I Had I Gave" , the chorus might not resonate like the song from the 90's did , but is still well done and is very much true to who this band is. The album opened really strong so I think the first two songs are more powerful and flawlessly crafted. I prefer when the band relaxes back into a more sludged out take on doom with songs like "Surviving the Abyss". When the vocals deliver the more husky melody that are tapping into something more unique than when they hit the more barked passages.

I know these guys started as a hard core band, but when they return to a tempo with more in common with their roots they begin to lose me as I do not feel that is where there strength lies. They do this in a manner than recalls old Type 0 on the title track which works a little better for me. The roar of "the Enemy Beside You" to me sounds like every other post- Pantera band. There is more depth and weight to "Embrace the Light". The sung vocals work much better as well. If you were never into Type O Negative's goth side and miss their take on heavy music then these guys are decent replacement.  Being that the goth side of Type- O is for me just as important then I can't say these guys are as good as Type- O.

The chug closer to doom with "On Holy Ground". This song is emotionally heavy as well as pounding so find the band back at the top of their game. Lyrically I can feel where they are coming from and it's not just metaphoric metal garbage. "Song of the Dunes" comes across like a W.A.S.P power ballad. "As I Heal" is a pretty strong closer, even though when it speeds up I feel the song kind of slips into the status quo. Overall this album is pretty solid and impressed me. I have never given the guys much of a shot after their first album so it's good to hear they are still holding it down. Fans of the band will love this as much as anything else they have done.

Helmet : " Dead to the World"

Well I just got finished reviewing the new Whores album so the opener feels almost more like Weezer in comparison. The pounding drums sit back and the vocals are too forward in the mix are my first thoughts, when thinking about what made Whores punch more than this. Going into the second I turn up the volume to see if that's the problem. The vocals really leave something to be desired as the melodies are not as locked into the rest of the song as their earlier work. The more lead like passages of guitar are mixed way back in the distance. The stompy parts that were once their calling card seem to be dialed in and obligatory.  Even with the more Beatles like vocal "Bad News" feels a little more like Helmet to me. If the vocals were more forceful on "Red Scare" it might feel more like Helmet as well.

The bass adds a little more weight to the title track, though the vocals undermine this effort. I am not sure why the guitars are sitting that far back, the mix is a hug problem on this album as it takes all the balls out of it. I think what the fuck when we get to "Green Shirt" it might as well have been titled "Green Shit" as Everclear is heavier than this. Page needs to stop listening to the Kinks. Things improve a little when "Expect the World" kicks in. It feels more like a 90's alt-rock power ballad to me than what these guys are best at. It often sounds like he is not committed to the grit needed to get mean and crack heads. He tries to juggle two different directions on "Drunk In the Afternoon" and it comes across like L.A. Guns.

The last song "Look Alive" works better with it's more relaxed vibe as it comes across more like Jawbox or one of those early slacker indie rock bands. For my money...if I was going to pay for this album, this would be a let down, I think despite the few moments this album does have even for Helmet fans this has to be a let down, the really bad moments are really bad and the stronger songs don't really compensate for them< so I am rounding this album down to a 5.5, mainly because the vocals are so bad. If you want something more in line with classic Helmet go check out the new Whores album. br />