Bush : "the Art of Survival"

 In some ways this is a Bush album in name only, as Gavin Rossdale is the only original member.  It does still retain the gritty grunge feel of their 90s work. This band came across as a less of a band wagon jumper in their prime and had an emotional grit that told me Rossdale had deep personal wounds he was processing through his music. At the same time, he had record companies breathing down his neck and pressure on his to get radio hits. The opener has a silver lining to its storm cloud, as the production has overdriven the crunch of the guitars to give hit the harder edge of today's commercial rock. 

Not as poppy as earlier work, there is less pressure on him from labels and he has more creative freedom, the only pressure is to live up to his 90s work. "Shark Bite" could have come directly from "Sixteen Stone", though most of this album leans in the direction of "Razorblade Suitcase". At 56 his voice is getting the job done though, it's not that demanding for him to keep his baritone belted with high levels of emotion. There is a slight 70s rock twist to the riff of "Human Sand" it is however the room the vocals are given to give a pretty convincing performance. Just judging from the lyrics "Identity" I think this is the first song that refers to Gwen Stefani. 

"Creatures of the Fire" is a ballad that serves as the first song to not really vibe with me. Not the side of the band I was all that into. They do give me what I want from them on " Judas is A Riot". It's darker yet has the kind of hooks I want from this kind of rock music.  Guitarist Chris Traynor who first played with this band 20 years ago, has an impact on the sound, as his time spend in Orange 9 mm and Helmet can both be felt.  The brooding closer "1000 Years" works really well with its slithering mood. I will give this album a 10 as he has delivered more solidly than most of his peers from this era have yet to.  

 

Black Anvil : "Regenesis"

New York's blackened trio is back. They charge out of the gates with a great deal of power, and even midway into the opening track, take a moment to simmer. This is a bigger and more produced album, than previous releases, though it does not compromise on the heaviness. In the scope of sound, it approaches the sort of dark metal Behemoth makes. Sometimes more feral. At other times the songwriting is sharpened even keener on a song like "8 Bit-Terror'. Unlike Behemoth they are more convincing when it comes time to thrive off blast beats and a black metal sound. However, when the lean too far into the expectations of what black metal should be they can fall into sounding like all the other black metal bands. They do not allow themselves to stay stuck in that place for long, with a keen sense for eerie guitar melodies.

They show their strength as songwriters when they allow themselves to give into darker leanings, which are more deliberate and melodic. Not to say it is not possible to sound dark when playing your standard black metal, I think we are at a point where that has lost a great deal of the danger since we have heard it done so many times.  They split the difference on "Castrum Doloris" , though tend to go in a more standard black metal direction more often than not. You can hear how touring with European black metal bands influenced their sound over the years. They sound way more legit as a black metal band than their more hipster peers. I like how they layer the sung vocals under the snarled ones on "Echoes Tapestry".

They marginally step away from this with the more melodic "NYC Nightmares". "Grant Us His Love" splits the difference between a more feral thrashing attacking and some grandiose melodic dynamics. There isa seamless flow into the title track that closes the album, it does have melodic moments and they do not let savagery alone rule the day, by showing a commitment to song writing.  I will give this a 9.5, the best black metal coming out of America these days for sure, and proof that melody with hooks has a place in the genre.This drops November 4th on Season of Mist  

Disturbed : "Divisive"

 One of the few big commercial radio rock bands I have listened to. This is due to the fact their sound owes as much to Judas Priest as the nu-metal they came from. Everything is a huge anthem for these guys and the first single "Hey You" is no exception.  While this song works, a similar attempted on the more percussive stomp of "Badman" feels like they are recycling what they have been doing for the past twenty years. At almost 50 his vocals are no worse for wear due to his age. The title track finds them firmly planted in the formula they have been writing out of for yours. If you want a band that is very consistent in what they are doing and has not evolved a great deal from where they were on say "Believe" then these guys got you covered. 

They are more driving on "Unstoppable" which to my ears feels like the band is in their sweet spot. Yeah, the chorus is almost too melodic, but it works for what they are going for.  "Love to Hate" is a very fitting social commentary. Lyrically it is the most interesting song so far. There is a more weathered rasp to Dave's voice, but he is hitting all the notes, so no complaints. I prefer his lower more melodic croon that gets some time on "Feeding the Fire" . Mid-paced and more melodically nuanced, it is really well written. Chances are if you are reading a Disturbed review, you know What they do and are not looking for something super-heavy or defined by today's standards of metal. They are bringing it harder than I recall them doing in some time. 

Ann Wilson joins them for the ballad " Don't Tell Me".  It works well enough, but feels more like moody filler, even with the super star appearance. "Take Back Your Life" also works off grooves that are perhaps too familiar.  "Part of Me" works much, better when it comes to what this band does well, even when the formula is firmly intact. Then the last song, which is not a Tom Petty cover, do not back down from just being run of the mill, head bobbing from the band. I will round this down to a 9, since it finds the band defaulting to a safe space, for an easy win, but they are great at this return to form that puts them head and shoulders above most of their peers.  

Laces Out : "Here at Ashram"

 Striking while the iron is hot these guys have pumped another one out. They pick up where the EP     left off. Frenetic energy to the taunt guitars that ride the line between post-punk and post-hard core. Sometimes this is done in a Fugazi like fashion and at others it feels like they are a long-lost indie rock band from the 90s. They can ride the grooves of these riffs, smoothing out the angular qualities. The vocals are what typically owes the most to hard-core in their sound as they are painfully pissed. Lyrically things are pretty personal on the song "Chemicals". I really like the palm muted tension to "Impulse".

There is actual singing on " Stability" though the vocals do break into a more screamed emoting as the dynamic builds. It reminds me of the early days of emo. There is an inner darkness to the downtrodden swagger of the riff.  "All In" jerks you around with a more aggressive and more mathy attack. They continue to barrel forward in a straightforward fashion with "Ipkiss Please". The sung vocals on "Jacob" are a little pitchy and strained, but I appreciate the efforts to blend melody into what they do. This is the big difference between the full length and the EP, we are getting to hear a wider range of what the band can do. Sometimes these melodic touches are warmly rough around the edges and remind me of Hot Water Music. 

They go after the song "Shooter: in a more frantic punk manner. They close the album with "the Truth Tolls" which encapsulates the varied sonic sides to what they do combining the muscular bluster and bellowing with melodic tendencies. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. Some songs I have given more listens than others, but the more I listen to it the clearer, the picture becomes and less hampered by the ghosts of the past haunting my recall regarding the sounds of the present. .   

Bitter Branches : "Your Neighbors are Failures"

Here is an album that eluded me this year. It dropped back in February. It is surprising this album did not garner more buzz considering it features former members of Deadguy and Kiss it Goodbye, this band from Philly has both brains and brawn when it comes to playing modern hard core. Equal Vision released this which is equally surprising as I did not know that label was still pumping out, music, but things make more sense knowing it comes from them. The bass is burly and compliments the rowdier noise rock attitude. They sometimes employ a more herky jerky angular manner of attack when it comes to the riffs. There is some nice dissonance to "the Man Who Never Cries". The chords ring out with a warmth not unlike bands from the late 90s. 

There is not a great deal of metal influence on these guys, which I think I have had more than my fair share of metal core this year, so I am fine with that. They do use a palm muted riff with some groove to it, but not a break down in sight so we are good.  The guitars sound like they are running right into the amp with little in the way of effects. At times this creates a very Clutch like rock n roll feel. "Have You Tried Jogging" finds the Clutch vibe there, but the anger conveyed in the music is what keeps this from jsut being rock n roll. As heard on "Chewing Vitamins" tense and ugly does not always mean the song is going somewhere.

"Solo Trip" is the first song with any kind of metal intentions behind it. The music gets darker and more melodic on "Monsters Among Us", as the vocals are more spoken. The guitar tones are great as they step on the reverb pedals. They save some twists and turns for the last song, which is fairly dynamic. I will give this album a 9, these guys have age with a great deal of grace and still prove themselves angry enough to make hard core better than a dozen younger bands combined.  

Gothtober- Vandal Moon :" Queen of the Night"

If asked what the difference between post-punk and darkwave is, once we got past the obvious answer which is post-punk uses more organic punk like instrumentation, the next most logical explanation is post-punk works off tension where dark wave is all about the melodrama. This band falls solidly on dark wave, judging from the first track, the overly emotive baritone croon on the title track, helps to solidify their place as dark wave. I have noticed that many dark wave bands are switching over to more synth wave like synth sounds. Even with the Eurythmics like cadence to the verses "Sweet Disaster" does not slap as hard as the first two songs. 

The band states that this is a concept album about how hard it must be to grow up as a young person in today's world. This sounds like a marketing scheme to me, as I am not getting that feel from the songs at all. The bass line to "Chemical Love" moves it into a more organic direction that has more in common with the Psychedelic Furs. It was a needed dynamic shift. "Sunlight" is a dense bat cave anthem that rings out in the cavernous echo of night. The melody of the vocals is obscured in the mix.  "Laughing Like a Clown" meanders in similar shadows as the previous song. They find a better groove for the new wave tinged "Easy to Dream". The vocals are more emotional and bring the Cure to mind. There is a smokier groove to " Too High to Cry". It is catchy enough for me. 

"War" offers a better vocal performance, but the song itself is not as focused and works off a singular dynamic. The is a more simplistic pulse that "Kiss Me Goodbye" works off of. "Diamonds 7 Pearls " is not a cover of the Prince song, but it is very 80s thanks to the sax solos that pushes it in the 80s fetish direction that synth wave like to flirt with. I like the fact they add new colors of sound here. The last song feels more like Love & Rockets, jamming with Billy Idol. I will give this album a 9, it haunts it's own dark corner of the genre , even with their eyes sometimes following the direction certain bandwagons might be going.   

Autopsy : "Morbidity Triumphant"

These guys have been around since 1989. This leaves more questions than it answers when the album kicks off with a very atypical blast of vomited speed. Sure, it is the death metal standard, but shouldn't these guys have gotten that out of their system by now? As this album progresses, they do, and you begin to hear the kind of songwriting you might expect from these veterans. The vocals are generally garbled cookie monster growls, but that is kinda what you signed up for. When it gets to "the Voracious One" then they raise the bar for themselves and makes me think wait, why didn't you guys give us this kinda shit from the get-go. Now that I am recovered from the rough start this album got, let's see if they can keep bringing it like this. 

"Born in Blood" is more deliberate. It accelerates into a more punked thrashiness, which I can at least respect. The bass player from Brainoil, is the only new member, so their sound is pretty much intact. The mood is carried over into the somewhat hookier riff shuffle that is "Flesh Strewn Temple", bleeds with a   slower vibe is enough to make this throb with a darker pulse. When it speeds up there is more of an early Death feel to it. They bust out guitar solos here as well. The creepily angular nature of "Tapestry of Scars", is almost enough to offset the more typical raging moments of hyper aggression that are expected   

The more rushed speed of "Knife Slice, Axe Chop" gives it a punkish feel. The bass tone is super nasty, so when it slows down things get dark. It is a more dynamic song than you might expect from this kind of thing. They are celebrating the nasty chaos their instruments summon by the time we get to "Skin by Skin". The doomier touches are welcome to balance the chaotic craziness of the drumming. "Maggots in the Mirror" continues the raw unhinged punishment they continue to inflict upon your ears. The more deliberate focus of "Slaughterer of Souls " folds under the temptation to blast off into guitar solos. They close the album with more of a death doom tone when they creep into "Your Eyes Will Turn to Dust". It takes a wrong turn into a guitar solo, when I was hoping they would take a chance and not do something as predictable. With that said they are still good at what they do, I will give this album a 8,5.