tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83180210799893095242024-02-21T06:54:35.120+00:00Heavy-Metal SpotlightUnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-61532126029580005862016-11-01T21:27:00.000+00:002016-11-01T21:27:17.560+00:00Playlist: November 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Rotting_Christ/314">Rotting Christ - Restoration of the Infernal Kingdom (1989):</a> Kicking into November's playlist with something of a deep-cut, "<i>Restoration of the Infernal Kingdom"</i> from Rotting Christ's "<i>Satanas Tedeum</i>" demo is a crude and embryonic part of the band's legacy. Rough, and vastly less complex than their classic material, the track nonetheless bristles with vigour and visceral malice. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Opium_Lord/3540360908">Opium Lord - Heroin Swirls (2013)</a>: Opium Lord combat the very real risk of doom-metal becoming too cheerful with a bleak, sludgy and skin-crawling slog through muck and misery. Brooding and harrowing in its threatening lower-end and addled discordance, "<i>Heroin Swirls</i>" reminds the listener that while you may love doom metal, doom metal hates you.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Lizzy_Borden/1544">Lizzy Borden - Me Against the World (1987):</a> Marking a massive mood-swing in the playlist, Lizzy Borden's "Me Against the World" is a familiarly catchy eighties foot-stomper that remains ingrained in the mind for about a decade after listening to it. Delivering everything that an eighties-metal hit should, the track romps through five minutes of sleazy but accomplished excellence.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Eyehategod/1624">Eyehategod - Methamphetamine (1996)</a>: What goes up, they say, must come down. <i>"Methamphetamine" </i>is a comedown indeed, albeit with the gnarly swagger that Eyehategod consistently do best. Animated and frantic, the music manages to be both deeply bleak and yet cathartic. As a friend once said to me, Eyehategod certainly know their way around a riff. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Tank/1038">Tank - When All Hell Freezes Over (1984):</a> As befits any <i>Tank </i>song, "<i>When All Hell Freezes Over" </i>is a raucous and memorable affair, met half-way by the gritty and ballsy sound that the band achieved consistently through the early eighties. The gravelly and distinct vocals of Algy Ward make for a great sing-along with nothing too pretty in sight. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Benediction/504">Benediction - I Bow to None (1993):</a> Leaning more on the straight-up punchy side of Benediction's sound, "<i>I Bow to None" </i>is one of the fiercer tracks on their classic "<i>Transcend the Rubicon" - </i>a glimpse into British old-school death metal approaching its very best. Striving not for technicality or profundity, but simply for groove and forcefulness. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mot%C3%B6rhead/203">Motörhead - Walk A Crooked Mile (2002):</a> Underrated to an extent by the casual fan, later-era Motörhead is, in fact, typically very good material. Not a classic, perhaps, but each album holds gems. <i>Hammered </i>is no exception - indeed, a particularly strong record, with tracks like "<i>Walk a Crooked Mile" </i>being testimony to Lemmy's consistently good songwriting chops. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Oz/866">Oz - Turn the Cross Upside Down (1984)</a>: Although considered to be somewhat inconsistent, <i>Oz </i>do have a menagerie of solid tracks under their belts; not least the rough-around-the-edges profane belter "<i>Turn the Cross Upside Down", </i>a ragged but enjoyable bit of blasphemy with a deeply vintage and flamboyant heavy metal sound. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Gorgoroth/770">Gorgoroth - (Under) the Pagan Megalith (1994):</a> For my money, the best track Gorgoroth ever made, and even one of the best black-metal tracks in general. <i>(Under) The Pagan Megalith </i>is absolutely soaked in black-metal majesty, with a roaring and biting tone and some of the most malicious and evil sounding riffs I've ever heard. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Frostmoon/4024">Frostmoon - Vikingmakt (1998)</a>: Soundwise, Frostmoon are roughly what you'd expect given the artwork of the <i>Tordenkrig </i>EP from which "<i>Vikingmakt" </i>comes. Intense drumming propels a raw Nordic soundscape; folky, but for the most part avoiding being overly <i>merry </i>sounding, aside from a few non-disruptive sections. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Barrow_Wight/3540356612">Barrow Wight - No Sleep 'Til Gondor (2016):</a> It's absolutely no slight on Barrow Wight to say that their rough-edged musicianship serves them well in recapturing the sound of Venom at their very peak; the crunchy riffs, snarled vocals and raucous abandon are all present in force, and "<i>No Sleep 'Til Gondor" </i>is all the more absurdly fun for it. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Setherial/1098">Setherial - In the Still of a Northern Fullmoon (1996):</a> There's no denying that the worlds of black-metal pre-and-post "<i>In the Nightside Eclipse" </i>were rather different places. Of the grandiose and soaring style, few bands do it better than Setherial did on their first record. "<i>In the Still of a Northern Fullmoon" </i>is a majestic blizzard of a track throughout its entire twelve-minute run-time. As far as I'm concerned... better than Emperor. UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-20812582029254176662016-10-30T22:39:00.003+00:002016-10-30T22:44:31.377+00:00Warning - Watching from a Distance (2006)It feels like I've been meaning to listen to <i>Warning</i> forever; and upon doing so, some of their music entered my sleepless four-in-the-morning listening cycle in a way that suggests I should have started listening to them forever <i>ago</i>. In many ways, the music of <i>Warning </i>is very much akin to the doom metal which I first discovered, years ago, thriving on the melancholic and subdued leanings of works such as <i>Solstice'</i> underrated first album. It comes as no surprise that the two bands; <i>Warning </i>and <i>Solstice</i>, have toured together in the past. Of the two Warning records, I have chosen <i>"Watching from a Distance</i>", the band's final and better-known record, to discuss - although I have every intention of listening more fully to the others too, and the work of their successor, <i>40 Watt Sun</i>, likewise. <br />
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To call "<i>Watching from a Distance</i>" a classic might be contentious to some, although the record has retained plentiful acclaim and recognition in the ten years since its release. As first impressions go, it can often be considered a mark of quality, to some extent, when the relative recency of an album's release comes as a surprise. I had the album down, subconsciously, as being from some time in the nineties, until I investigated further<i>. </i>Regardless, the record is one of quite a reputation; primarily for being thoroughly and unfathomably miserable - and that, indeed, it certainly is. Akin to its burden-carrying aesthetic representation in the artwork, the album is drenched in a cold, miasmic fuzz, moody and gloomy without being so frigid as to scathe - rather, it cocoons. The riffs plod forth, funereal and downtrodden, the drums restrained; echoing. While no single aspect of the album can be said to bear the majority of its merit above the others in their synergy, it is safe to say that for a lot of people, the vocals probably strike the greatest chord. Further redoubling the sorrow with which the entire record is replete, Patrick Walker's vocals are immediately distinct. The inconsolable wail carries a sincerity and theatrical cadence reminiscent of the most tragic of folk-music; the ballads of disasters, heartbreak and misery - and here too are they such; soaring and cathartic and yet steeped fully in despair and introspective sorrow; raw, tender and laden with <i>feeling, </i>at times more-so than elegance. <br />
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In its coalescence, the soundscape of the record is a large place indeed; communicating intimate sorrows whilst emphasising isolation and loneliness through this vastness. Of course, plenty of doom bands succeed in doing such; but Warning does possess its own flavour, more than sufficient to set it apart. On paper, the record offers forth just about everything one could hope for from tear-stained and tragic doom-metal. Ultimately, it is the intimacy of these sorrows, however, which make the music challenging, or more bluntly, simply <i>difficult.</i> You need to be in a particular mood for it. This is true of most sorrowful music, so why bring it up? Because beyond that, it requires that a <i>particular</i> strain of sorrow must weigh upon you, so specific are the record's themes. In the wrong mood, the record is a heavier burden to bear, with much of its merit locked up in its thematic resonance with the listener. To listen to it with different sorrows than those of the creators is faintly alienating, with the record failing to live up to its own on-paper quality on an emotional level. This is no musical flaw, it must be said, but stands as a hefty pre-requisite to experience the record on a fully fleshed-out level. For this reason, "<i>Footprints</i>" is the stand-out track for me personally; owing to its vagueness, it has a far greater chance to resonate with me on that basis, whatever my sorrows may be. Couple this with its musical neatness and more eloquent lyricism, and it rises above the other tracks noticeably. <br />
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What we're left with, then, is a record which it's actually quite difficult to make a final verdict about - as if grading records numerically out of ten wasn't a ridiculous process to begin with. <i>Watching from a Distance </i>is itself difficult; the beauty and sheer catharsis of the album is plain to see; it has many virtues and merits in its sorrow-drenched running time, but likewise, while its virtues are plain to <i>see, </i>they are at times tougher to <i>feel. </i>It's like a delicate piece of equipment; when deployed absolutely correctly it is magnificent, I'm sure - but when the time and place are even more difficult to find than for sorrowful records in general, it's a hard stone to split, although, I'm certain, worthwhile.<br />
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This is a solid 7.5/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Warning/10936">Warning on Metal Archives</a>UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-48112040444540235112016-10-09T23:52:00.002+01:002016-10-10T00:01:26.637+01:00Queensrÿche - Operation Mindcrime (1988)As so often is the case, over the last decade or so Queensrÿche have perhaps been subject to more discussion regarding their internal fallings-out and legal issues than discussion of the quality or lack-thereof of their musical output itself. However, as much as the band - for a time - may have been in a bit of a rough-way, it's always better to focus on more positive things; and few are more positive than "<i>Operation Mindcrime</i>" - one of the records which cemented the band onto the map in 1988, and indeed an album which is considered by many - my sources tell me - to be one of the greatest concept-albums in metal. <br />
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To an extent, <i>Operation Mindcrime</i> is something of a template for the metal concept-album going forward; a template which is often imitated, but seldom replicated. Making a concept album certainly seems to be a difficult affair, considering how many bands try their hand at it, and then don't come out of it well. Many a time, the ambition is there, but the musical quality to back it up is not - concept albums can be good, but are very seldom <i>great. Operation Mindcrime</i>, however, is a sure-fire contender for greatness. The making of a concept-album is a game of balance, and in this case, it is rather well struck; enough narrative and well-distributed flavour-material to tell the story that the band intended to tell, but likewise a record replete with songs which are tastefully independent and well-formed. <i>Operation Mindcrime</i> avoids the trappings, for the most part, of having tracks which exist solely to further the narrative as opposed to bringing musical quality and integrity; avoiding, in short, an unnecessary saturation of contrived ostentatiousness. There are, through the whole hour-or-so, few throwaway moments. The majority, indeed, the vast majority, of the flamboyant and slick splendour of the album speaks for itself with or without the relevant background knowledge of the story, but also weaves together neatly; it's the sort of situation in which you can almost <i>infer </i>that it's a concept album without outright knowing so, or even attending to the lyrics. The aforementioned balance is crucial; there are enough motifs and running themes throughout to bind the record into a narrative entity, but without forcing that same entity to be grey, dull and homogeneous through sheer determination to unify it. It is, in other words, a rewarding concept album when you want it to be, but it won't suffer when you'd rather listen without that in mind.<br />
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Musically, the entire album consistently presents me with the sort of things I enjoy; running the gamut from massive synth-steeped long-runners like "<i>Suite Sister Mary</i>" which deliver the most narrative aspects, to the leaner "<i>Electric Eye</i>" style dystopian Judas Priest romp of "<i>Spreading the Disease</i>". The record combines the flair and pomp of quintessential 80s metal with an inventive and progressive streak a mile wide, resulting in an album which is flawlessly intricate; awash with subtle technicality and swishes of the musically unexpected, <i>as well as</i> in many places being exceedingly catchy. <i>"Revolution Calling", "The Needle Lies"</i> and the anthemic closing swansong <i>"Eyes of a Stranger"</i> all likewise stand as exceptional specimens of good heavy-metal, alone or in context, with the whole record running through a spectrum of a dozen approaches to heavy-metal in order to tell its tale successfully. The musicianship really brings these intentions to life; with a flawless vocal performance by Geoff Tate - purportedly unheard-of these days - and masterfully played and produced musicianship by the rest of the band, entwining the record with itself magnificently; sleek and restrained, even for all of its many flourishes. It is often understated just how effective <i>good </i>musicianship can be, with albums sometimes being seen as somehow separate from their creators, but here the quality and skill of the musicians involved is a gleaming jewel in the records crown, bringing as much enjoyment as any other element - beyond the on-paper idea itself, the <i>execution</i> of the record is marvellous; in many respects it <i>is good</i> because the musicianship <i>is good. </i><br />
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"<i>Operation Mindcrime" </i>was, this year, one of a select few albums which, upon encountering them for the first time (and late indeed it is, to first listen to Queensrÿche), I took great pleasure in listening to on multiple occasions right off the bat. It is perhaps indicative of both the records enjoyability as a whole and the stand-alone ability of numerous tracks that this enjoyment involved both listening to the entire album on numerous occasions, and also my designating "<i>Spreading the Disease</i>" as my go-to song to listen to with headphones on my way to the shop, for many months. The record is a true meeting of vision, ambition and delivery of the finished
product; a well-crafted and at times provocative exploration of the
insidious below-board goings-on of modernity, perhaps as relevant now as
it's ever been, and well deserving of a place among metals finer records.<br />
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This is a certain 9/10. <br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.queensrycheofficial.com/">Queensrÿche Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/queensrycheofficial">Queensrÿche on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Queensr%C3%BFche/340">Queensrÿche on Metal Archives</a>UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-64102840943210804292016-10-01T20:19:00.001+01:002016-10-01T20:19:35.666+01:00Playlist: October 2016Fear not, when you see the shape of the SCM-player ominously hugging the bottom of your screen when you visit! I have no intention of becoming one of <i>those</i> people, hell-bent on creating web-pages which make noises without being asked first. The bane of every reasonable existence, we might, hyperbolically, say. Indeed, if you find that the page is playing music without your bidding it do so, let me know - it isn't supposed to.<br />
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However, starting this month, I've decided to assemble a monthly-playlist for the blog. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, but haven't been sure how to implement - until now. Ideally, I'd love to present the reader - if I still have any - with an hour or so of actual music; a motley assortment of classics, deep-cuts and miscellaneous material that I've encountered over the course of my love for metal. This offers me a new conduit through which to recommend music, beyond merely writing reviews - and so, I hope some of these twelve tracks which I shall introduce hereafter will be of interest... and if not?.. Well, I'll be changing the playlist monthly, so I hope you find some value in my throwing music at the wall and seeing if any sticks. Onwards!<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Artch/638">01. Artch - The Promised Land (1988)</a></b><br />
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Opening up our debut playlist is a tasty track from Norway's <i>Artch</i>, something of a one-hit-wonder by many standards, the record <i>"Another Return"</i> features many-a foot-stomping, catchy, English-as-a-second-language heavy-metal track, and "<i>The Promised Land"</i> is no exception. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Nirvana_2002/11058"><b>02. Nirvana 2002 - Mourning (1991)</b></a><br />
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Originally from the classic "<i>Protections of a Stained Mind" </i>compilation alongside bands like Entombed, Mayhem and Merciless, "<i>Mourning" </i>by Nirvana 2002 stirs up the primordial-soup of the Swedeath scene in fithy HM-2 wielding fashion. <br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Pentagram/443"><b>03. Pentagram - When the Screams Come (1987) </b></a><br />
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One of the more melodious tracks from "<i>Day of Reckonin</i>g", "<i>When the Screams Come</i>" winds its twisted way through hazy doom soundscapes with a deeply eerie vibe, truly illustrating Pentagram as the grinning warlock at the side of the wizard that is Black Sabbath.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Evil_Blood/52426"><b>04. Evil Blood - Midnight in Sodom (1988)</b></a><br />
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A frenetic and bare-bones thrash track from Croatia's Evil Blood, <i>Midnight in Sodom</i> is as crude and evil as its name might imply; a blackened tirade for fans of the turbulent and gnarly days of early, primitive thrash. Dark and utterly unpolished.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Chapel_of_Disease/3540344863"><b>05. Chapel of Disease - Symbolic Realms (2015)</b></a><br />
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<i>"Symbolic Realms" </i>captures the more adventurous and ambitious sound of Chapel of Disease's second record; a complex soundscape combining uncompromising thrashy old-school death metal with the vibrant flourish of a rocking, soaring undercurrent<b>. </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ixion/108420"><b>06. Ixion - Ghost in the Shell (2015)</b></a><br />
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Another track from 2015,<i> Ixion'</i>s brand of "space doom" is truly otherworldly, issuing an effervescent majesty and cold, unfathomably vast atmosphere. Cosmic vocals and mystifying guitar work combine with futuristic synthesisers to create something genuinely unique.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Spite/3540366151"><b>07. Spite - Trapped in the Pentagram (2015)</b></a><br />
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Vintage black-metal from New York, "<i>Trapped in the Pentagram</i>" is the A-side of Spite's 2015 EP. Energetic and tremolo-driven, the track is an excellent take on the old-school, belching forth evil and malice whilst also being an extremely fun listen. <b> </b><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bathory/184">08. Bathory - Sacrifice (1984)</a></b><br />
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<i>Any </i>version of Sacrifice is an uproarious slice of evil, but the version from <i>Scandinavian Metal Attack </i>might by my very favourite version. The lower tempo may make it less rabid, but likewise imbues it with a grinning and devilish Motörhead-like swagger, and makes the opening-riff heavy-as-hell.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mayhem/67"><b>09. Mayhem - Chimera (2004)</b></a><br />
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An underrated track from Mayhem's decidedly lopsided catalogue, Chimera is an exceptionally twisted machination of the Maniac-era of the band. The track itself is an infectiously memorable testament to the fact that while the band have received mixed reviews over the years, they're always creative.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hangman%27s_Chair/103951"><b>10. Hangman's Chair - Flashback (2015)</b></a><br />
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Lurking on a ven-diagram somewhere between Alice in Chains and Eyehategod, Parisians "Hangman's Chair" specialise in dealing out misery. "<i>Flashback</i>" from their latest record is every bit as drug-addled, cold, shivering and downtrodden as anything in their body of work.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hellhammer/287"><b>11. Hellhammer - Massacra (1984)</b></a><br />
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A hellish classic, the primitive and instrument-mangling pinnacle of Hellhammer's discography, <i>Apocalyptic Raids, </i>offers us tracks such as "Massacre" - a pounding summary of the ooze from which would later emerge Celtic Frost, followed shortly thereafter by <i>everything </i>else. <br />
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<b> </b><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bell_Witch/3540336467"><b>12. Bell Witch - Rows (Of Endless Waves) (2012)</b></a> </div>
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A gargantuan exercise in build-and-climax, "<i>Rows</i>" is one of the strongest tracks on offer from two-piece funeral-doom outfit Bell Witch; a desolate and mysterious soundscape builds slowly to a liminal, cathartic crescendo which solidifies the entire song as a magnificent and almost monastic-sounding musical journey.</div>
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<b> </b>UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-11274692141560475642016-09-26T00:00:00.000+01:002016-09-26T00:00:51.463+01:00Bones - Sons of Sleaze (2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In a time where a sizeable cohort of the contemporary death metal scene presents itself as an intellectual, artistic, and complex endeavour, Chicago's <i>Bones</i> offer a refreshingly puerile and un-trendy blast of gleefully subversive B-movie-esque evil. Instead of classical-woodcut style macabre scenes or the seemingly endless beige creations of Paulo Girardi industries, "<i>Sons of Sleaze</i>" instead greets you with a skeletal figure wielding a huge mace, and with a large serpent for a knob. If that's not a seal of quality, I have no earthly idea what is. Indeed, with such a pure aesthetic illustration of how the record sounds, following up such an observation with an actual review is almost surplus to anyone's requirements - but nonetheless, write one I shall.<br />
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<i>Bones</i> are, as best I can tell without having done exhaustive research, something of an offshoot of stalwart black-thrash outfit "<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Usurper/499"><i>Usurper</i></a>", with all three Bones members having either been in - or still being in - that band. Whilst Usurper offers up a rampaging first-wave style black-thrash attack, flailing like a drunken elephant with an enormous Celtic Frost tattoo, Bones themselves go down a filthier road. As befits the record's title, "<i>Sons of Sleaze</i>" is a work which does precisely what it says on the tin; vomiting out a thirty-something minute tidal-wave of sleaze-ridden nastiness. The short punchy songs are as energetic - and energizing - as they are vile, never outstaying their welcome whilst weaving excellently through the entire gamut of rocking and rolling atrocity. Bone-cracking d-beats riffs fry your brain and leave you as a succulent snack for the circling extreme-metal vultures; namely the crazed blast-beats and pulverising double-kick drumming which blows your face off, from the moment the record commences. Simultaneously, the frenetic and leering solos and hooks, along with the stomping slower sections lend the entire record a grinning grind-house swagger akin to bands like Detroit's <i>Shitfucker, </i>albeit, with no offence to the latter, offering a greater display of musical tightness - a sure demonstration that a record of this sort can be filthy, and can have buckets of <i>character </i>without being sloppy. Indeed, "Sons of Sleaze" impressed me on a pure-musicianship level more than one might expect from its aesthetics and generally rough, raw direction. <br />
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To say that the record is eclectic is something of an understatement, with a hefty sleeve of influences on show from Motörhead, Celtic Frost, and perhaps a little Autopsy thrown in along the way, especially in the slightly doomy sections which arise like the lethargic dead from their tombs. Alongside these, dozens of other old-school inspirations are on show, and all of it conducted in the best possible way, resulting in an album which for all of its diverse musical landscapes, is both cohesive and distinctive. "<i>Sons...</i>" is possessed with definite direction and a unity of spirit, through the full-range of truly unhinged extremity, punk-as-fuck vitriol and irresponsible rock n' roll sleaze. The entire album belongs together - no haphazardness here, despite its incredibly dynamic variation. Nor, equally importantly, is the record a cliched pastiche, as one might fear; instead, it is decidedly and uncompromisingly its own beast - a clone of nothing, and symptomatic of musicians with just as much imagination and vision as they have musicianship - showing off a <i>love </i>of the old-school, not a contrived desire to sound exactly like it. Its strong sense of <i>character </i>leaves the listener relishing it all the more. Furthermore, the production of the record really succeeds in bringing into flesh this entire evil vision, conjoining everything into a wonderfully cacophonous package with brain-melting lower end and a ton of bite in the guitars. The gnarliness carries on with the drums, recorded in such a way as to allow the listener to appreciate the physicality of the player and the kit itself; not some sterile isolation of drumming, with no context. In short, as with the album in general, you can saliently imagine it being played, and this gives it a real meaty organic appeal.<br />
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"<i>Sons of Sleaze</i>" is one of the most enjoyable death-metal records I've listened to in quite some time. Granted, it differs greatly from the archetypical works of the genre, but in so doing it offers forth such an inebriating and effective concoction of styles that it may be of interest to fans of just about any extreme subgenre. I'd certainly recommend it to just about any extreme metal fan, that much is certain. The record is an ugly and ragged parade of everything to love about the filthy side of metal, and you can't help but listen to it with a grin and feel stimulated by the sheer crudeness of it. All in all, I wish I'd heard of the band sooner. <br />
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A real highlight of recent death metal... or recent anything, for that matter. 9/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Bones-Chicago-113666132032091/">Bones on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="https://boneschicago.bandcamp.com/album/sons-of-sleaze">Bones on Bandcamp</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bones/3540330123">Bones on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-68440347229935300622016-09-18T21:06:00.001+01:002016-09-19T01:53:18.268+01:00Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost (1991)Cirith Ungol are a band whose evolution is a very salient one to observe. 1981s<i> "Frost and Fire" </i>sees our underrated underground heroes make their full-length debut; a catchy and rocking adventure through around thirty minutes of ballsy and attitude-filled heavy metal, in an era where extremity was but a rumour perpetuated by some noisy men from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Three years later, 1984s "<i>King of the Dead" </i>carried the flag onwards to greater heights of ambition and grandiosity with longer-running and more epically inclined material, while also becoming a little more heavy. The elapsing of a further two years brought forth 1986s <i>"One Foot in Hell"</i>; a snappier, punchier and more to-the-point record shaped and mutated by a musical environment now brimming with thrash, and thrash-fans. Scientists have speculated that there is also a mysterious fourth album somewhere beyond these first three, lurking in the outer-reaches of the band's discography... but neither the band, nor many of the fans, appear to particularly enjoy talking about it. So I will. Devils-advocate and tedious contrarian that I am, I'm going to take a moment of your time to make the case for 1991s maligned final Cirith Ungol record, "<i>Paradise Lost</i>".<br />
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I've got a soft-spot for records which get slightly overlooked. I am, to some extent, the guy who'll try to sell people on the merits of Candlemass' "<i>Chapter VI</i>", or Venom's "<i>Prime Evil</i>". Meritorious these records indeed are. I even had a go at being an apologist for Bathory's "<i>Octagon</i>" once, but even I know when to stop. When it comes to Cirith Ungol, I stuck un-adventurously to the classics for quite a long time; namely<i> Frost and Fir</i>e, and <i>King of the Dead</i>. Enthused more recently by thoroughly enjoying the slightly less spoken-of "<i>One Foot in Hell</i>", my attention was ultimately drawn to the darkest sheep of the discography, ignored and rejected to an extent both by the fan-base and by the band themselves. "<i>Paradise Lost</i>" is, indeed, something of the quintessential early-90s metal record; plagued by all of the various issues of the music industry at the time. The album doesn't have that "instant classic" sheen that the band's earlier body of work does, but perhaps expecting that would be foolish. Instead, the record faces something of an identity crisis; slathered liberally with heavy production, it is a far-cry from the rock n' roll warmth of the bands earlier work. This is, one might speculate, one of the many insistences of producers and so-forth which the band were inundated with at the time. Likewise, the record can be a little meandering; there are pockets of filler here and there, which are liable to form a thick soup of homogeneity through whole sections of the record if you don't give it your full attention; plodding on at a fairly uniform tempo in a way which here and there screams "deadline". The album is less memorable, and certainly less stacked in terms of quality than its predecessors - you can't pretend otherwise. <br />
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Criticisms aside, however, Paradise Lost is far, <i>far </i>from being abominable. While guilty, perhaps, of blowing its load immediately by opening with its standout track - the almost malevolently catchy "<i>Join the Legion" - </i>many of the things which set the record apart from the rest of Cirith Ungol's work - and no doubt stand as negatives in the view of some people - also stand to give the album a character all of its own. Evidently, especially in tracks such as the aforementioned, it is more prone to simplicity than earlier records - in many ways the natural progression from "<i>One Foot In Hell</i>". The record has a straight-forward approach reminiscent of the works of Manilla Road in the later stages of their original run. In other words, Paradise Lost tends to be extremely riff-based, relying on its chiefly mid-tempo meatiness to deliver, as opposed to whimsy or flare, although it certainly bares mentioning that tracks such as the title-track succeed in being as epic and ambitious as one could desire. The anachronistic but effective combination of the band's heavy metal approach with the clanking and hefty production of the post-extreme-metal paradigm give the riffs dosage of grit which, combined with the prominent vocals, themselves extremely gritty - perhaps the most so in the bands career - gives the record a sense of weight and toughness akin to the equally and rebelliously anachronistic early works of bands like Iced Earth, who were coming to the fore at the beginning of that decade. Cirith Ungol's final-stand is the product of a similar environment; a decade in which, if you planned on making traditional sounding heavy metal, you had to run the gauntlet of nobody having a clue what to do with you.<br />
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Odds are, when my initial hype for "Paradise Lost" dies down a little, it won't be my favourite Cirith Ungol record, if you made me rank them. But why rank them? When faced with any such dichotomy my answer is the same: I'm lucky enough to live in a world where I can listen to them all - and indeed, I would recommend Paradise Lost as being an essential listen for someone who enjoys the band more than merely casually, and indeed, with a re-release of the out-of-print record imminent on Metal Blade, there's no excuse not to. Making a slightly sub-par traditional-metal record in 1991 was hardly an exceptional occurrence, and compared to a lot of the questionable releases of that period, it certainly appears to me that Cirith Ungol actually fared rather well. While the record may have been a little cursed, and the band split up relatively soon after releasing it, the music itself makes for a stronger record than even the band themselves are willing to credit it for. </div>
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Yeah c'moooon, join the legiooooon! 8/10. </div>
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Links:</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cirithungolofficial">Cirith Ungol on Facebook</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Cirith_Ungol/561">Cirith Ungol on Metal Archives</a></div>
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UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-65328836834089429722016-06-27T03:06:00.002+01:002016-06-27T03:08:30.396+01:00#394 Havohej - Dethrone the Son of God (1993)For some reason, I encountered the works of New York's Havohej disproportionately early on in my exploration of metal, inevitably resulting in a "what the fuck is <i>this?</i>" style reaction. At the time, the music felt quite inscrutable and unappealing; a bit much for me, lacking much of what I was looking for. Times change. Perhaps I was not equipped, then, with the ear to enjoy it, or alternatively, my taste has since, itself, changed to incorporate it; pick an interpretation congruent on one's understanding of how taste works... The point being built up to remains; that much more recently, I have revisited the "<i>Dethrone the Son of God</i>" album, and upon a second listen - and many subsequent listens after that, it has revealed itself to be a very enjoyable work of American black-metal, an achievement which, in the eyes of some, is a rare thing indeed. <br />
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There are times when background-knowledge can greatly change the experience of listening to a piece or collection of music; not always changing one's perception of the sound itself outright, necessarily, but certainly holding the potential to enrich the experience. Having already listened to "<i>Dethrone the Son of God</i>" a couple of times, I proceeded to read-up on Havohej some more, as I tend to find such an activity to do precisely the above; to enrich the mere listening. On thing which comes to light almost immediately is the position in which Havohej stand in relation to the grander scheme of extreme-metal. At first I had assumed the project was relatively isolated in terms of its integration into any sort of scene; located far, for instance, from the day's embryonic second-wave of black metal in Norway. It emerges, however, that "<i>Dethrone the Son of God</i>" is an album comprised largely of unused Profanatica material. Who are Profanatica, you (and I) ask? Profanatica are a band comprised of ex-members of Incantation - leaving Havohej very few degrees of separation from all sorts of interesting things which I had become enthusiastic about between first hearing Havohej and revisiting the music so much more recently. While it can be granted granted that I could have written a review of this album without knowing that, instead focusing entirely on the music, having discovered the context in which Havohej exists puts an interesting spin on the listening experience. Not least highlighting the project as being very much <i>among</i> the many profane and murky dark offerings vomited forth by the USA's Eastern Seaboard at the time, as opposed to an outlier. <br />
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Indeed, this influence, once the seeds are planted in the mind, shows through on the record itself. The crushingly sluggish sections and the perturbing and hellish swagger of the record's locomotion reeks of the occult death metal style which remains so popular. In tandem, the record carries with it a scathing and treble-heavy scythe of blackened filth; raw and flaying, coated in spiderwebs of high-tremolo and an at times frosty distortion. These factors conspire to give it a liberal steeping in the very tar of black-metal, beyond all doubt enough to happily consider that to be its main genre, whilst nonetheless allowing for a record possessed of great distinctiveness; for its rawness, profanity, its relative minimalism, and its inventiveness. It is a record decidedly and enjoyably amid its genre, but by no means generic in respect to it; quite like - and quite <i>unlike - </i>its peers. It is an unusual and chimerical beast; intense and grim but also purposefully jarring and at times extremely rhythmically interesting; squirming and writhing as the bass takes a relatively prominent position throughout the album, warbling with an intricate and foreboding allure below the surface, less distorted than one might expect, particularly on the first half of the record - produced slightly differently from the second - but equally effective. The percussion, likewise, makes itself known by its distinct and at times deliciously unorthodox clattering; dreadfully clicky in places, to the point of almost breaking the spell, but its negatives are at least outweighed in that it serving to further enhance the album's bizarre and deliberately unpleasant aura, the percussive equivalent of an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth. <br />
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<i>"Dethroning the Son of God"</i> is, of course, not meant to be an album of
pleasantness. Instead, it is a record of profane filth and impurity; and in this role it wallows
contented. It is a record which is primitive and ugly, casting the evil spells of black-metal with far greater legitimacy and non-contrived vitriolic hideousness than most; one of the few albums which truly captures the essence of the genre's darkness in earnest fashion. A certain mood is required to enjoy it, I found, but enjoy it, this time around, I certainly did. <br />
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This is a 8/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Havohej/4250">Havohej on Metal Archives</a>UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-7319840923196663892016-06-13T23:39:00.000+01:002016-06-27T03:07:53.402+01:00#393 Vektor - Terminal Redux (2016)<div style="text-align: left;">
In so far as it has been some time since my fingers graced the keys, staring at the blank screen with a sense of vague cognitive unease, it could easily be said - without deploying too much hyperbole - that Vektor's<i> </i>new record defies the English language, at least for a while. Roughly half-an-hour, all things considered. Its ability to do so, I would opine, is not only a testament to its quality, but is likewise musically and thematically appropriate; Vektor are, and always have been, unearthly. Lost for words though it may have temporarily rendered me, "<i>Terminal Redux" </i>has conversely been one of the most discussed metal records of 2016. The album's predecessor "<i>Outer Isolation" </i>has received ten reviews on Metal Archives, over the span of around five years - a fairly generous quotient, might I add, a number befitting an album of its quality. <i>"Terminal Redux" </i>has received fourteen reviews over the span of <i>a month, </i>and thus far, all of them positive. If that's not motivation to find something to say about the record, then nothing is, and thus, I shall struggle on.</div>
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Vektor have always been musically fascinating; it's a fact that made them stand out from their peers, by light-years, during the hit and miss shenanigans of the mid-2000s "thrash-revival". Both "<i>Black Future" </i>and "<i>Outer Isolation" </i>were records that stood at times almost completely alone in a raging sea of radioactive beer and zombies. While some bands, for better or worse, insistently superglued themselves to the constraints of the <i>retro</i> - to the figurative <i>rulebook </i>of their genre - Vektor were different; possessed, almost from the very outset, with a penchant to mould and transmogrify the thrash genre, to repurpose and refit it for their own musical vision. Like many of the best-of-the-best, instead of pouring their music into the mould of a genre, Vektor <i>use</i> thrash as a conduit<i> </i>for their bizarre and sinister music to traverse, and ultimately manifest itself from. While they have always done this, and, without exception, to great effect, scanners suggest that this cosmic amalgam, like some science-defying futuristic substance, is present in even higher quantities within this specimen. Indeed, "<i>Terminal Redux" </i>further warps the limitations of genre, <i>simpliciter</i>, to the extent that I'd be almost reluctant to ascribe it one fully, in the act of, for instance, recommending the band to a friend. Thrash, perhaps - but to some extent <i>nominally </i>so; and perhaps not the best mode in which to listen to the music. In many respects it is from this that the record takes on its inscrutable and massively appealing air of musical otherworldliness; its complexity and musical quirkiness forces one to listen to it almost entirely on its own merits, and those merits are, suffice to say, substantial. <br />
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Each Vektor album, including this one, has been the site of an unusually well-executed reconciliation; of the side consisting of the band's almost absurd musicianship, rapturous technicality and magnificent inventiveness, with the opposing side. That is, whilst Vektor are a truly blistering band to listen to; requiring attention, dedication and numerous re-listens, their albums, including this one, also boast an uncanny ability to still flawlessly deliver direct and appreciable metal energy. It is powerful, memorable and at times down right ballsy. The complexity is not committed to the <i>detriment</i> of such foundational pillars as good-riffs - really fucking good riffs - memorable songs, and so forth, and in that regard the album's ability to be understood exists in a logically-uncertain but undoubtedly magnificent juxtaposition and cohabitation with its resplendent and exciting complexity. "<i>Terminal Redux" </i>is far from an unappealing behemoth of convoluted and gratuitously complex proportions - that is to say, it is decidedly <i>not </i>the type of progressive metal record which keeps me awake at night trembling in fear. Instead every inch of complexity and technicality are created for a purpose, and used - and I hesitate to use an objective term in a business so seemingly subjective as music - correctly.<br />
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<i>"Terminal Redux" </i>showcases Vektor at their most complex, ambitious and mature yet; further expanding their nebulous galactic empire into new systems, new influences, new swathes of genre and technicality previously unexplored. Indeed, perhaps the most tangible way in which I can capture it in words is to explain to the reader just how <i>little </i>I have succeeded in conveying about the record, even in spite of my best efforts. The album was almost five years in the making, and has transpired to be worth every minute; Vektor are a band who have every right to take their time, when the music they produce is as good as this. The record is a standout of 2016, and, with time, will perhaps come to be remembered as one of the standout records in metal more generally. Superb. </div>
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This is a 9.5/10.</div>
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Links:</div>
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<a href="https://vektor.bandcamp.com/">Vektor on Bandcamp</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/VektorOfficial">Vektor on Facebook</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vektor/87803">Vektor on Metal Archives </a></div>
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-65208220616353676422016-06-05T21:45:00.003+01:002016-06-27T03:07:43.505+01:00#392 Conan - Revengeance (2016)"<i>Revengence</i>"- which I suppose must mean the vengeance wrought upon those who avenged themselves upon you after the first time you had your revenge - marks the third full-length studio album by UK doom titans Conan. And titans, indeed, they are; one of the country's greatest current assets to the genre, and a band who have risen to a level that few do, especially given the time-span in question. The last five years or so has seen the band carving a place as a globally well-known name and a legitimate headliner wherever they choose to go, standing out from the burgeoning and crowded UK doom scene with an originality and uniqueness which often goes unnoticed to the inattentive listener. With their third album settling into its spot on the shelf nicely, no longer feeling like a bizarre extra limb, but rather a meaningful component of the Conan corpus, the time to review is upon us...<br />
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In a time before the internet, album art was of paramount importance; or I've certainly always thought so. On one hand, an album must be eye-catching, visually compelling, especially in that record-store environment of old - you must, in short see the record sleeve, the CD front, the cassette, whichever medium it may take, and think to yourself, "<i>I want to hear this.". </i>Secondly, good cover-artwork stands as a statement of the integrity of the music contained therein - a woe indeed it is to see albums where the artwork does the music injustice. Visual aesthetics remain, to my mind, as important as ever; record-store shelves oft replaced by the recommended-videos section of YouTube, the feed of Facebook, and so forth - visual aesthetics did matter, and still matter. And, to <i>finally</i> <i>get to the fucking point</i>, Conan know this. "<i>Revengeance" </i>stands, visually and musically speaking, a proud extension of the band's body of work; the desolate landscapes and ochre-washed primordial brutality of the artwork immediately aiding its inclusion into the set of the bands records, promising -and delivering - stylistic continuity. It is continuity which is indeed seen to be the case upon listening to the music; the same unfathomably heavy and hostile sound; gargantuan pillars of noise gnashing slowly like geological teeth, in a way familiar to all fans of doom, but executed in a way quite unlike any other.<br />
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On that subject, I've seen Conan decried as <i>generic - </i>a view in which, as far as I can see, is misled, unless my knowledge is truly lacking. Zero Tolerance gave their second record, <i>Blood Eagle </i>a zero-score some years ago, which struck me as somewhat illustrative of whoever wrote it having completely missed to point. The primitive and minimalist arrangement of the bands music carries an atmosphere which almost no other bands are creating; a primordial mountainside of wailing, soaring and disembodied vocals, and riffs which - as I've mentioned in previous discussions of Conan - sound almost akin to music instinctively and viscerally created, pounded on taut animal-hides and stones in a bygone time, whilst evading predation by the enormous creatures no doubt stomping the face of the earth. That sound is a concoction every bit as much subverting the norms of the doom genre as invoking them, particularly with the bands relatively energetic and forceful choices of tempo. This trademark sound reappears on <i>Revengeance. </i>This isn't to say that the album is simply another carbon-copy brought forth from the same cauldron, however. The retention of the fiercely rhythmic potency of the music is met with the signs of a slow and self-aware evolution. Sure, Conan<i> could</i> probably make the same record repeatedly and a certain crowd would adore every single one, but the nuances and variations from previous tracks is a sign that, while not gratuitously reinventing themselves - and thank goodness for that - Conan are more than happy to continue to explore the boundaries musical lands they claim as their own.<br />
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<i>"Revengeance" </i>is a welcome addition to the bands discography; the accustomed heaviness and atmosphere taking the listener once again to that desolate place that the band has taken us before. It is a record liable, I expect, to be remembered in years to come as being among the bands classic works. The album mirrors the virtues of its predecessors, reprising everything which the band have grown to be known and enjoyed for, whilst evolving their sound sufficiently not to come across as stale. "<i>Revengeance</i>" is different. Just a little different, but there is enough change in the air - in the form of a well thought-out, logical progression - to capture the interest even more so than it would if it were simply a competent but identical continuation - and heck, I'd have already been happy with merely that. A slow evolution, it must be granted, but slow is an entirely understandable rate for a band who sound so very, very cyclopean.<br />
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This is an 8/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.hailconan.com/">Conan Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/conandoom">Conan on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Conan/96731">Conan on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-37578792557054691872016-04-01T00:42:00.004+01:002016-04-08T04:45:59.310+01:00Live Review #15: North of the Wall Festival 2016This years North of the Wall festival held promise from the moment acts began to be announced. My attention first began with mild interest, through to enthusiasm, culminating in outright hype and excitement. Granted, I would probably have gone anyway; North of the Wall is something I like to support - but nonetheless, this year, the line-up certainly helped matters. Things began with the trickle of announcements; more-than-solid examples of the UK underground scene - bands like Barshasketh, Vacivus, Coltsblood, and so forth - already bands well worth seeing with no further incentive required. But then the announcements continued to escalate, almost beyond all belief; rendering the festival entire degrees of magnitude bigger and more exciting than any of its previous incarnations.<br />
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By the time the line-up was beginning to take-on its final form, it was shaping up to be one of the strongest in living memory within the Scottish metal scene. Suffice to say, it sold-out, too - unsurprising perhaps, but likewise an extremely pleasing sign. I like seeing things do well. This year North of the Wall did well indeed, spread over three venues, holding host to sixteen bands over the course of about eight hours, and, if I recall correctly, something over five-hundred people. There was more than could possibly be seen in its totality by one person - a two-edged sword; both serving as a testament to the magnitude the festival has taken on in recent years... but also a sign that I was going to miss a band or two - sacrifices had to be made... Still, ten out of sixteen isn't too bad - and now, onto my thoughts about all of those ten...<br />
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The Heritage-core centric pre-show fell the day before, and managed to sell-out about a week before the festival-itself did; consequently, I attended the latter, but not the former. Fortunately I'd seen three of the four bands on previous occasions at least once - so I wasn't broken-hearted. By all accounts each act was roughly consistent with what one might expect given their previous exploits; <b>Ashenspire</b> no doubt solid, <b>Winterfylleth</b> likewise, and <b>Saor</b> somewhat underwhelming, or so I'm told. On the other hand, I've not seen <b>Aloeswood</b> before, so hopefully a chance will arise on another occasion - I certainly plan on finding out what they sound like, when I get the opportunity. <br />
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Kicking off the main festival were local doom quartet <b>Atragon</b>, playing in "Audio"; seemingly the smallest of the three venues - I'd always thought it was larger than it is - and performing a set largely consisting of Reverend Bizarre covers - by design, as opposed to by surprise, mind you. Atragon's set proved to be something of a godsend: Going straight into a line-up consisting almost entirely of underground black-metal and death metal within about two-and-a-half hours of getting out of bed would be like a pizza colliding with a brick-wall from the pizza's point of view. I'm standing right beside the P.A, and at this point have forgotten entirely to take any mental notes with an eye to reviewing the festival. Looking back, the first thing that strikes me is that the snare drum sounds really <i>really </i>good for some reason - indeed, the sound in general in "Audio" is great, mores the pity that I saw only two bands of the entire line-up there. The room is already packed, and the entirety of Atragon's set is a raucous and pleasantly haphazard affair, delivered with the infectious tongue-in-cheek cheer that can only come from a band who start this - and if I recall - several other - live appearances with the phrase "We're so sorry". I must confess, tentatively, that I don't actually know Reverent Bizarre very well, but I certainly do know "<i>Doom over the World</i>", which seems to go down well with everyone when played. Shortly thereafter I leave to get to Ivory Blacks to catch the next band in their entirety. <br />
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Ivory Blacks - just round the corner - isn't quite so busy yet. It's easy to get to the front to see <b>Lunar Mantra</b>, although fortunately the venue filled up as the show went on. I've been meaning to see Lunar Mantra for a long while - probably about as long as they've been playing live at all - and they're a band who have been building momentum both locally and internationally, picking up a signing to Invictus Productions along the way. Their performance is tight and enthralling; earnestly and excitingly occult and atmospheric, with all of the trimmings. There are glimmering candles and bowls of incense; one of those "flavours" that I can never seem to find in shops - and while one might be tempted to think that such things are cliche these days, that becomes a much harder conclusion to reach when they <i>are </i>used to such great effect as they were here. The bass tone comes across as a little warm in some places, perhaps, but generally the musicianship is splendid in just about every way, capturing much of the darkness so integral to the black-metal genre, combined with a distinct and memorable ritualistic flavour which Lunar Mantra can proudly call their own.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunar Mantra: Photography by T. Gonda </td></tr>
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I stick around in Ivory Blacks to see what <b>Crom Dubh </b>sound like. They were called-in at the last minute to replace the newly split-up Wodensthrone (a band I had the pleasure of seeing twice in the past). While Crom Dubh play a respectable style of black-metal; atmospheric and hypnotic - a style which sounds solid, indeed, downright <i>great </i>on record, might I add - I'm suffering at this point from a certain hypnosis of my own; an attention span radically shortened by drinking for the last hour and a half whilst having only eaten an overpriced railway-station sandwich on the way over. Consequently, Crom Dubh come across as... <i>fine. </i>The drums just don't seem to quite fit the riffs half of the time in the live setting, which is a shame, because on their "Heimweh" album they work perfectly well - I couldn't really tell if it was a musical issue or a sound issue - or a bit of both. Perhaps I'd have enjoyed their work more if I'd gotten more accustomed to it before seeing them live, but there just wasn't time. I leave about half-way through to get back to Audio for one of my most anticipated bands of the evening.<br />
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<b>Barshasketh </b>are on great form. This is, I believe, their first show with a new drummer, and he's an impressive one, too. With Audio's solid sound that evening, and Barshasketh's prowess, their set is an absolute storm; a stern, impressive schooling in authentic, intense and evocative black-metal. It's precise, meticulous and savage, with a strong stage presence and look. Crisp and exuding what I can only describe as a dark, frostbitten musical-charisma which often serves to propel them leagues above some of their peers. At one time I would have referred to Barshasketh as up and comers, but I think performances of this calibre more than attest to the fact that the band have outright <i>arrived. </i><br />
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I then hurry back to Ivory Blacks for <b>Scythian - </b>one of the bands I was most looking forward to. Their "<i>Hubris in</i> <i>Excelsis</i>" record was one of my favourite albums of 2015; a record steeped in majesty and triumphant atmosphere, whilst also packing a fierce intensity. Most of the majesty seems to be somewhat absent live, which was a pity. The magic that the album has is just... missing, somehow; although to some extent it's understandable; a lot of the atmosphere on the album is simply not compatible with a live-setting, it seems. It's also understandable considering that half of Scythian's line-up are also in Crom Dubh, and I know fair well I'd be getting a bit knackered by the time a second set of the evening came along. Instead of atmosphere, Scythian emphasise the bare-bones heaviness and speed of their work in an adequate if slightly sloppy performance, but just didn't rise to my expectations. Give them another five years and I hope their live show becomes formidable, but they've already had twelve. Disappointing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cult of Fire: Photography by T. Gonda</td></tr>
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Apparently Slaughter Messiah had fire-breathing and a Bathory cover. I wouldn't know, as I went to see <b>Cult of Fire </b>instead. They've filled the main-stage in The Classic Grand by the time I arrive, so I stand quite near the back - which I think might be to the detriment of my enjoyment. I can barely see the band on stage, and while I get the occasional peek at their unique and eye-catching stage-wear, I mostly have to work with their sound, of which I lack prior knowledge. It's melodious and captivating - probably quite beautiful if I was in the right mood, but with bands like this I tend to find that the music is at its most beautiful through headphones at about 4am, as opposed to at 6pm on a Saturday night as the guys involved are on stage playing it. On a more positive note, I get the feeling that if I was more familiar with their work, I would have enjoyed it immensely, as their atmosphere, theatrics and musicianship came across as top-notch; a real vibrant and rich spectacle that grows better and better in retrospect. <br />
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I leave The Classic Grand a little early to get back to Ivory Blacks for <b>Cruciamentum</b>. When I was first getting into metal - or <i>proper </i>metal, anyway, Cruciamentum's demos were one of the first truly-underground things that I encountered. At the time I didn't really understand what I was listening to, but with time has come appreciation. Their music - unforgiving and dark death-metal - is extremely well-captured in the live setting; tightly played and perfectly cavernous. I remark to someone standing nearby that they're one of the bands of the evening who "sound exactly as they should" - and I'm not exaggerating. They're a band I had wanted to see for a long time indeed, and they did not disappoint in the live setting - a monolithic performance.<br />
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I scurry back to The Classic Grand to see <b>Necros Christos</b>, a band I discovered on a whim a few years ago because their album artwork - "<i>Doom of the Occult</i>" - looked cool in the record-store. This time I make it into the main-body of the crowd, and get to witness another superb performance; the flow of the bands occult death-metal in a live-setting is excellent; unimpeded by their studio work's penchant for interludes. The mid-tempo thunderous churning and harrowing, malign lead-work of the band's material is well-executed indeed; particularly tight for a band who don't play live as often as some. Necros Christos succeed in bringing forth a cacophonous, tomb-dust covered rendition of their work, and its marvellous. <br />
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After Necros Christos, there's a little bit of spare time before Aura Noir.<b> </b>Some might argue - including me from the future - that I ought to have gone to see some of Possession, but instead I spent the time talking to a drunk man from Belfast who thought I was in Atragon. Having told him I wasn't, I went to the bar for a drink, returning only for him to have forgotten that I'm not in Atragon, and complimenting me for their set again. I can't be bothered to correct him again, so I just say thank-you for a while instead, before wondering towards the front to await Aura Noir.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Necros Christos: Photography by T. Gonda</td></tr>
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<b>Aura Noir's</b> set is magnificent. A pit starts almost immediately; not usually my thing at all, but once in a while I'll indulge. Being quite heartily refreshed with beers, I fall down a couple of times, which is more or less par for the course. To my great pleasure, Aura Noir are an excellent live-band; the first in a while to be conspicuously <i>fun </i>as opposed to ritualistic or serious. The entire set is a glorious tirade of black-thrashing-filth, doing absolute justice to the bands studio work, and embellishing it even beyond its pre-existing mightiness. Energetic, ferocious, twisted and powerful, Aura Noir always offered one of the very best blends of black and thrash out there, and their live show is no exception, capturing both elements richly and deliciously. I missed seeing Aura Noir when they played Scotland in 2012 - a fact which makes me doubly glad to finally see a band which I'm more than happy to include among my favourites. Aura Noir are, and deservingly so, quite possibly the best band of the night, with an explosive set and unparalleled energy from band and audience alike. It's been a long time indeed since I was excited at the prospect of seeing a band days beforehand, and not merely hours.<br />
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Breaking my own heart slightly, I leave Aura Noir a little before the end so I stand a chance of getting from The Classic Grand to the (somewhat smaller) Ivory Blacks to see <b>Destroyer 666</b> before the venue hits capacity and nobody can get in. It's already heaving with people by the time I arrive, but I manage to make it to the front regardless. I saw Destroyer in this very same venue in 2012, at a time before I knew any of their songs - it was a performance that started an interest which lead to them sitting among my very favourite metal bands, to this day. The band roar and writhe through a lengthy and varied set with their accustomed and insistently infectious energy. From the new album, they play several songs, most notably the belter; "Hounds at Ya Back", already an exceptional sing-along track among the crowd - no doubt a live-staple for years to come. They also dip liberally into their classics, including "The Eternal Glory of War", "Genesis to Genocide" "Black City, Black Fire" and "Australian and Anti-Christ", to name but a few, before covering Motörhead's "Iron Fist", with absolute gusto. I more or less murder my throat singing along to just about everything - a fact I would become acutely aware of on Sunday morning when I woke up with no voice, and limbs which didn't work - all well earned. It's a real testament to how damn <i>good</i> Destroyer 666 are, live and in studio, that their set-list contained relatively few of the songs I'd have personally picked, and yet was still fantastically enjoyable.<br />
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Performances like this are almost impossible to critique properly, such is the personal investment and enjoyment of the music - I have no idea if the sound in Ivory Blacks was good or not during their set. I have no idea if the band made any mistakes: I was too wrapped up in enjoying the music and, as I wondered off several hours and beers later for the bus home, it occurred to me that that's probably the most honest way to listen, and definitely the most honest thing to write. Ultimately, all that is left to say is that once again, North of the Wall out-do themselves. Long may it continue.<br />
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<i>For those not present, it might interest you that the magnificent Eagledog Productions recorded numerous full sets by various bands throughout the evening;</i></div>
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<span class="st"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvEvqUimJSc">Aura Noir</a> <b>|</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMt4z2boWkw">Necros Christos</a><b> </b></span><span class="st"><b>|</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V8VK8U-e14">Cult of Fire</a> </span><span class="st"><b>| </b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-0i-tSh2Vs">Crom Dubh</a> </span><span class="st"><b>|</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Vazb3L3u30">Scythian (partial)</a> </span><span class="st"><b>|</b> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WSigCbIlrg">Atragon</a> </span></div>
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UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-40055359389617751122016-03-25T20:59:00.000+00:002016-03-25T20:59:54.031+00:00#391 Voivod - War and PainQuebecois outfit Voivod are one of the most bizarre bands that ever flirted with the "thrash" label. Indeed, trying to label Voivod as <i>anything </i>may well be an unwise move, as much as it might be tempting. One need only take a gander at their string of classic records from 1984's "<i>War and Pain</i>" through to 1989's "<i>Nothingface</i>" - and beyond - to be presented with an illustration of a their unbelievably idiosyncratic and enjoyable penchant for variation. Voivod are, for my money, a band who underwent one of the most fascinating and meaningful evolutions in metal; throughout their classic era, every single record was such a change, and yet such a rational evolution, from the one before it. This review will take a look at the record with which the bizarre odyssey all began; "<i>War and Pain</i>".<br />
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1984 was an interesting time in thrash - a muddled and exciting world; a lawless wild-west of potential influences, in a genre which was only just starting to codify rules for itself. <i>"War and Pain" </i>certainly serves to render the year even stranger. An already shining example of Voivod's bizarre and unique aesthetic, the album succeeds in simultaneously being primitive, unpredictable, and uproariously enjoyable throughout. An expression of the band's long-running musical spirit, whilst remaining relatively unique even within their own discography. The record's sound owes as much to the precursory influences upon thrash as it does to any contemporary peer in the genre: The music reeks of the hardcore-punk influence of <i>Discharge, </i>the bulldozing snarl and frantic sound of <i>Venom, </i>and at times, even the chilling and gloomy styling of early <i>Black Sabbath. </i>All of these factors integrate into an album of many dimensions; <i>not </i>merely a primitive neck-cracker, nor merely a captivating exercise in the bizarre, but a diverse and multi-faceted amalgam; delivering a vicious energy which does not steal the spotlight entirely for itself - although the record could well be fully appreciated along that vector by some. Instead, the youthful piss-and-vinegar spirit of extremity hosted within early-thrash dances comfortably with an interspersion of twists-and-turns which make the music not only energising to listen to, but also exciting to analyse - to wonder at times out-loud "<i>what happened there, musically</i>?" as strange quirks begin to writhe out of the record's conventional shell.<br />
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The ferocious and dominating bass-tone grants the music a thickness, extremely hefty lower-end, and a crunching, bone-crushing snarl; a heaviness greatly in excess of most of the thrash contemporary to it, and adding additional power to the post-apocalyptic havoc that the music evokes; the imagery of twisted metal and angular retro-futuristic horror compliments the sound of the record perfectly. While perhaps embryonic in terms of Voivod's sound, the album is likewise one of their harshest and most unforgiving. The frenzied approach and ragged production, across the board, injects the entire record with a sneering punk-spirit, coupled with a musicianship which reveals itself to be more and more able with subsequent listens; the record is primitive, but far from inept - in retrospect a hugely foreshadowing factor in the increasingly progressive and bizarre music which the band would create in years to come. "<i>War and Pain</i>" may not be the archetypal Voivod record, but it is one crammed with musical merit nonetheless.<br />
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"<i>War and Pain</i>" is a great example of what can occur when a band arises quite
some distance from the hub of a musical movement or scene. Doing so can frequently have
extremely interesting consequences - and without a doubt this is the case here. War and Pain is one of the great outcasts of early thrash; challenging, bizarre, and extremely comfortable not to conform to any standard that was emerging at the time. The opening salvo of a career that stands among the most inventive and creative in the entirety of metal.<br />
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This is an 8/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.voivod.com/">Voivod Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Voivod">Voivod on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Voivod/115">Voivod on Metal Archives </a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-31264857886635719262016-01-30T20:16:00.000+00:002016-01-30T20:16:45.939+00:00#390 Ketzer - Starless<div style="text-align: left;">
It's cold outside and cold inside. I'm drinking lukewarm coffee out of a stolen Starbucks mug. The mug, I can only presume, is disappointed by its decline from being a vessel of fine high-street coffee somewhere in the mid-2000s to being full of a grim, gravy-coloured instant-coffee with neither milk nor sugar, several years later. How the mighty have fallen, it might ruminate. Meanwhile, through the speakers comes "<i>Starless</i>" - Ketzer's third album and major-label debut, on Metal Blade Records. It is currently four tracks into its run, and has yet to feature a drum-beat which would be out of place in a fucking pop-punk album. Several re-listens later, it turns out that the entire album is that way, and I'm left identifying strongly with my coffee-mug. </div>
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The boundaries of subjectivity and objectivity in aesthetics are less clear cut than would be convenient. The question of exactly which factors contribute to a works aesthetic merit - and whether such a merit itself is a metaphysically <i>real </i>phenomenon are, to put it bluntly, a real pain in the arse. The vectors of evaluation, are, then, fuzzy and indeterminate at best... and that makes my job a lot harder, because as much as I want to wax lyrical about how disappointed I am by "<i>Starless</i>", I'm having to take a comically enormous run-up to the actual act of specifying why, during which I'll be devoured alive by qualms about which of my evaluations and instincts are justified and unjustified, fair and unfair... Fortunately, my reviews aren't required to be too philosophically rigorous - but I digress. We've all had records in our lives which were like this - that felt doomed from the first teasers and singles. The contrived, catchy, tambourine-augmented jingle of the first released track - the title track - already rang out like an ill omen, swapping the bands furious tempo and flesh-slicing black-thrash musicianship for a hipster-friendly sound; moody, brooding and decidedly sluggish. The rest of the album carries on in much the same fashion, if not slower; never reaching a thrashy-tempo, never breaking a sweat; ploughing a furrow of at times saccharine, sensual darkness through its runtime. It's ambitious and complex, but I can't for the life of me manage to be pleased about its musical direction. <br />
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Now, it's worth emphasising, of course, that there's nothing <i>intrinsically wrong </i>with being hipster-friendly. Be as friendly to them as you please, they're people too, after all. Likewise, there's nothing <i>intrinsically bad </i>about the music on the record. Ketzer always had what it took to be an <i>interesting </i>band, whichever style they opted to play. Indeed, "<i>Starless" </i>has plenty of interesting bits - it's catchy, dark, and indulgent-sounding. As determined as I may have been not to enjoy the record for reasons I shall explain soon, it nonetheless has its fair share of cool moments, especially the eleven-minute "<i>Shaman's Dance".</i> I think I would have outright enjoyed a reasonable amount of it, if it wasn't Ketzer... but that's exactly the problem - it <i>is </i>Ketzer. It's made by the band who released "<i>Satan's Boundaries Unchained" - </i>one of the best black-thrash albums of its decade. It's made by a band with members who have stage names like "Infernal Destroyer" and "Necroculto". "<i>Starless" does not</i> sound like the product of such a band. And in many ways, for me, that's the <i>definitive </i>problem with the album. It casts so much of the band's sincerity into doubt, for them to so willingly spin on a dime and utterly abandon their previous style with little in the way of foreshadowing. I don't usually put much weight on the notion of "selling-out" in the pejorative sense, but at the same time, perhaps in this instance, that really is the source of my displeasure. For a band that I've followed since their debut album to so readily switch style, and presumably audience too, leaves me - and no doubt others - with the sad feeling of being left out in the cold while Ketzer hang-out with their new friends at the cool-kids table.<br />
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We live in a paradoxical world, especially when it comes to aesthetics. Bands can be criticised for crafting music for <i>themselves, </i>and they can be criticised every bit as much for crafting music for others. "<i>Starless</i>" is going to be a divisive record... and of course, we return to the many questions of aesthetics. Perhaps Ketzer deliberately made "<i>Starless</i>" inoffensive and accessible - is that a grounds for criticism? It that a sign of a lack of integrity? Is that even relevant to its quality, as a collection of music? Perhaps alternatively, Ketzer simply played a style that they enjoyed on this record, having grown bored of black-thrash... does that mean I'm not entitled to be disappointed in their change of direction? I don't think I could answer any of these questions confidently even after a much longer window of thought. Ultimately, it's a fools errant to attempt objectivity in a paradigm like this. All that it seems can be said is that the music I love Ketzer for is no longer the music that they're interested in making.<br />
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This is a 5.5/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.ketzer-thrash.de/">Ketzer Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://ketzergermany.bandcamp.com/">Ketzer on Bandcamp</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ketzergermany">Ketzer on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ketzer/57499">Ketzer on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-76641756289865792292016-01-20T18:03:00.000+00:002016-01-20T18:03:29.703+00:00#389 Celtic Frost - Vanity NemesisFor all that you might have heard about <i>"Cold Lake", </i>Celtic Frost's infamous voyage into glam, the fact remains that for better or worse, you probably <i>have </i>heard about it... suffice to say that Tom G Warrior would prefer that you hadn't. Often, however, having heard of it - or indeed heard <i>it - </i>is more than can be said of one of the band's almost universally neglected follow-up and sometimes-proclaimed return to form, "<i>Vanity/Nemesis". </i>A fair bit of that, perhaps, owes to the record's position;<i> </i>sandwiched awkwardly between what most people consider to be the very nadir of Celtic Frost's career on one flank, and by the band splitting up - for the first time - on the other. Relatively obscure and overlooked, then, "<i>Vanity/Nemesi</i>s" is already dangerously close to being exactly the sort of thing I turn my attention towards when looking for things to review...<br />
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A week or two ago, I stumbled upon a hysterically pointless, broken-English review of <i>Vanity/Nemesis</i> which concerned itself mainly, if not almost exclusively, with how "homosexual" the record's artwork was. Aesthetic value-judgements differ, I guess... but the entirely unintentional point of that review remains; what <i>can </i>be said about <i>Vanity/Nemesis</i>? The thing is, it's quite an odd record. Not (just) in the artistic sense, that is, in the sense of it aiming at being avant-garde and grandiose in the way that Tom G Warrior has always striven towards, but also simply odd in terms of what it is. A return to form? The only answer that's really forthcoming is a non-committal <i>well... sort of. </i>The album has a return to intensity - starting fast, and picking up the tempo in numerous places throughout, giving a taste the speediness of the bands classic works, particularly during "<i>A Kiss or a Whisper</i>". It's also somewhat heavy, albeit lacking some of the filth and tonal richness of the bands earlier work; it certainly doesn't scream "first-wave black metal". The opening track, for instance, is an unexpectedly bouncy bay-area thrash style affair - creating an impression of the album as being quite a conventional one, which is, in some regards, true. It isn't until a bit later in the record that the signature <i>weirdness </i>inherent to a good Tom G Warrior riff begins to come back into the picture. That being said, the first vocal in the whole record is a reassuring "ugh"<i>, </i>delivered like a relatively easy promise to be several degrees of magnitude better than "<i>Cold Lake</i>" - which, indeed, it is. <br />
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It's on tracks like "<i>Wings of Solitude</i>", with its quirky, bad-on-paper but awesome-in-practice backing vocals, that the character of the album really seems to show through. It's sturdy and, dare I say, unprecedentedly catchy in places. On the other hand, it's still a little infused by commercialism... nowhere near the extent that "<i>Cold Lake" </i>was, of course, but nonetheless notably accessible - a very similar approach, at least in my mind, to the early-nineties Megadeth records which would be coming around the bend in a few years time. In fact, one of my first instincts upon hearing the record was that it was "Celtic Frost meets Countdown to Extinction". Against my expectations, this dimension of the records sound somehow manages to work quite well. While <i>Vanity/Nemesis</i> isn't really "nasty" enough to be especially <i>extreme, </i>in the manner of the band's early work, it packs enough swaggering, misshapen punch to be a satisfying listen. While arguably one of the most conventional sounding Celtic Frost records, hearkening back to before "<i>Cold Lake</i>", as opposed to marching forward, it has easily enough of the bands usual idiosyncrasies and grandiose aspirations to be legitimately <i>interesting </i>to listen to nonetheless. A testament especially to Warrior's distinct playing style, being able to create and carry legitimately enjoyable music from a recipe which most bands could only derive something boring.<br />
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Imagine, for a moment, that Celtic Frost never reformed in 2001 (and in so doing, stuck around for long enough to create "<i>Monotheist</i>" - one of the best albums of their career, and, along with his later work with Triptykon, perhaps the closest Tom G Warrior has come thus far to realising his ambitious avant-garde vision). In such a world, <i>Vanity/Nemesis</i> would have been - and was for many years - considered the final statement by the band, creatively. And when it comes down to it, it wouldn't have been a bad last-word. A solid epitaph it would have been indeed - both as an apology for "<i>Cold Lake</i>", and as an album in its own right. I'm genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed the record, and I recommend investigating it yourselves. <br />
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A 7.5/10, I think.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.celticfrost.com/">Celtic Frost Official Site</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Celtic_Frost/269">Celtic Frost on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-22552883827247937952016-01-11T20:33:00.001+00:002016-01-11T20:43:25.655+00:00Possessed by the Wasteland: Exploring Venom's 1985-1992 OutputAs long as it takes to get around to - and that's usually <i>quite a while</i> - I tend to do my best to gradually explore even the ostensibly "<i>non-vital</i>" portions of a bands career, particularly when bands have sprawling discographies with dark corners. I've always been something of a completionist, or, at least, curious enough to occasionally bother to listen to the odds-and-ends; the albums less-trodden, so to speak. Sometimes, perhaps more often than not, mediocrity ensues - but on other occasions, hidden gems emerge - or most often of all, it's a story of both. There's only one way to find out. A month or two ago, I finally took the plunge into listening to Venom's little-spoken-of middle era.<br />
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In terms of having whole segments of back-catalogue dismissed as irrelevant or ignored, Venom tends to be unexplored territory even in comparison to other bands who experienced a comparable rough-run mid-career. For my purposes - although your mileage may vary - Venom's "obscure" era encompasses a time sandwiched between the bona fide explosive classics of the bands early years, and the various impermanent reunions, comeback-esque escapades and eventual consistent run of new material that occurred from around 1997's "<i>Cast In Stone</i>" onward. But what of those forgotten albums? As we'll see, it's... a motley assortment indeed. <br />
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<b>Possessed (1985): </b>Possessed is, arguably, part of the classic-run of Venom albums. Arguably. Returning to fast, short songs after the hugely ambitious "<i>At War With Satan", </i>Possessed should - or could - in theory have had the strength of the bands earlier work, or at least a comparable kick to the short and snappy b-side tracks of its predecessor. Indeed, throughout the record, a segment here and there certainly whispers of such potential. Sadly, whilst offering some undeniably fun moments, Possessed is very content to flirt with mediocrity, borderline self-parody and extremely poor-production. It's a bit of a sad farewell-record by the classic line-up. That said, the record has something of the youthful vitriol and tomfoolery to it, and exudes enough charm to be listenable. Songs like "<i>Moonshine</i>" do a good enough job of rattling the classic Venom tropes, even if, overall, the record it is wont to blend into a single mass, robbed of power by its incredibly understated production, and comparative lack of hooks when stood next to its monstrously prestigious predecessors. <br />
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<b>Calm Before The Storm (1987): </b>After some substantial line-up changes, Venom moved on to release Calm Before the Storm, a record which saw the departure of Mantas. Guitar duties were taken up by a duel guitar line-up consisting of Mike Hickey and Jimmy Clare, both of whom would later go on to work with Cronos on his immanent solo-albums, which followed a similar style. "<i>Calm...</i>" is an album which, for my money, is genuinely quite underrated. Filler? certainly, there are several songs not worth your time, but, perhaps more surprisingly, a lot of the record is very solid indeed. Much more melodic than a lot of what the band had done before, "<i>Calm...</i>" is something of an anomaly, as least as far as Cronos-fronted Venom is concerned. Tracks like "<i>Fire</i>" bring the intensity, certainly, and this time backed up with enjoyable production, far better than "<i>Possessed". </i>Other tracks delve into a much more catchy, sing-along nature which I, for one, found surprisingly enjoyable. Jarring, perhaps, for someone hoping for a "<i>Welcome to Hell</i>" or a "<i>Black Metal</i>", the album nonetheless has a vigour and feeling of <i>intent </i>that lacked in the "let's make more of the same" offering that was Possessed. Diverging from what fans expected, and perhaps wanted, sure, but a solid - if really rather silly - record nonetheless. Even opening with a fucking <i>Christmas Song </i>can be overlooked in the right mood.<br />
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<b>Prime Evil (1989): </b>Following more line-up changes, seeing the departure of Cronos and both guitarists, Prime Evil saw Mantas return to the band, alongside War Machine, who had played guitar on Mantas' solo-album of the previous year. Vocal duties were taken up by Tony "Demolition Man" Dolan of fellow Newcastle act Atomkraft. Musically, <i>Prime Evil </i>marks one of the most refined and crisp Venom records to date, forsaking the bands accustomed evil and raucous delivery and instead being content to create a sharp-edged, cutting and precise dark-tinted speed metal record, belting along like a blackened Metal Church, both caustic and accomplished. "<i>Prime Evil</i>" showcases both Mantas and Abaddon at the height of their musical prowess. Gone completely is the amateurish charm, replaced by an equally rewarding-to-listen-to meticulousness, resulting in a well produced work that is, like the record before it, underrated, but in every other respect, is utterly different from it. Prime Evil would have gone-down as a thrash classic had it been released earlier - as it is, it remains the fare only of those curious enough to come looking for it... and that's something well worth doing. As far as I'm concerned, this might well be the best "non-classic" Venom album. <br />
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<b>Temples of Ice (1991): </b>The first Venom record in a quite a while not to be prefaced by some kind of line-up change, "<i>Temples of Ice</i>" was the bands first offering of the notoriously metal-unfriendly 90s. Perhaps ironically, considering the title, the record is much warmer in style and production in comparison to "<i>Prime Evil</i>", and tones down the thrash and indeed the darkness. In its stead, the band bring in bucket-loads of NWOBHM, speed-metal, and rock sensibilities whilst retaining a good degree of swagger and at times swiftness, especially when the record really picks-up-the-pace and grows teeth during the second half. It doesn't quite stand as tall as its predecessor, sure, but it still makes for a fun listen, even if it at times feels questionable whether it has anything intrinsically "Venom" about it, so far removed is it from the bands original sound. Regardless, it's a fun album, and perhaps all the braver for not consciously trying to sound like the records which came before. Had I not known, I doubt I would have realised it was Venom, had I heard it in the wild... but on the other hand, I would have enjoyed it anyway, and I suppose that's really the point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PjNgh6Axcdrf5b8N1d4zglT6P30XfKnQ1aPl5l6-412R7zRQ1VhIjdtQxfunfqBnrF4xkbgLMVbn8p7qYHQITsgZJjfTKhKMCk7n5UWbli6o7IqA4k8fPdCzL39lwUkpJVl79n4Xxas/s1600/Venom+Temples+of+Ice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PjNgh6Axcdrf5b8N1d4zglT6P30XfKnQ1aPl5l6-412R7zRQ1VhIjdtQxfunfqBnrF4xkbgLMVbn8p7qYHQITsgZJjfTKhKMCk7n5UWbli6o7IqA4k8fPdCzL39lwUkpJVl79n4Xxas/s200/Venom+Temples+of+Ice.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzY1ZE8dVDzWgtqT1qd17nHGqbnZ4kKOXTsMr9tzVrD0xcTru6xcPggKqtTLPuxCYsE2TU7qWzvpS5NSubCOQps7DRS6hxSJLTUgHWUmOZ-IF5KBrrXiFjjvqXLzBvaosWL8XhK3Yr6w/s1600/Venom+The+Waste+Lands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzY1ZE8dVDzWgtqT1qd17nHGqbnZ4kKOXTsMr9tzVrD0xcTru6xcPggKqtTLPuxCYsE2TU7qWzvpS5NSubCOQps7DRS6hxSJLTUgHWUmOZ-IF5KBrrXiFjjvqXLzBvaosWL8XhK3Yr6w/s200/Venom+The+Waste+Lands.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>The Waste Lands (1992): </b>The final Venom record to feature War Machine and Demolition Man, "<i>The Waste Lands</i>" once again carries on in the style of it's predecessor, with an amalgam of mid-tempo striding and thrashy-sections, once again not quite hitting the heights of "<i>Prime Evil</i>", but nonetheless delivering a solid, if somewhat non-essential work. "<i>The Waste Lands" </i>carries something of an experimental spirit, by Venom's standards, with attempts - many successful - at being quirky, diverse and atmospheric showing through throughout the album, including the ambitious opening track, "<i>Cursed".</i><i> </i>On the more conventional end of the spectrum, many of the songs feature the now accustomed rigid, rhyming vocal-patterns and somewhat predictable riffs - possessing enough merit, certainly, but not on first impressions overly mind-blowing, which is in many ways entirely expected. <br />
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In many ways, "<i>The Waste Lands</i>" marks the final Venom album to attempt to consciously do something <i>new</i> with the bands sound. Soon after, the band would split, bringing to an end a more-or-less continuous thread of activity, under various line-ups, from 1979 to 1993. A few years later, the original line-up would come together with their sights firmly set on doing what they knew best on "<i>Cast in Stone"</i>, before that line-up once again imploded, ushering in our current paradigm; that of Cronos weaving a string of consistently reasonable records from 2000's "<i>Resurrection</i>" onwards. Perhaps it's a story which could, ultimately, have been told without delving very deeply into Venom's more obscure years at all - but for the number of solid songs - and whole albums - encountered, some very solid <i>indeed, </i>it feels like a worthwhile journey to have undertaken. <br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.venomslegions.com/">Venom Official Site</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Venom/128">Venom on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-77517372880005143962016-01-01T19:00:00.000+00:002016-01-02T00:53:23.564+00:00The 2015 End-of-Year ListIt was a busy year, and the motivation and time to write reviews has been lacking rather more often than I'd have liked. I hadn't been keeping as close an eye as I should have on the releases of 2015. Always, of course, I've continued to be a fan, but one at times contented to listen to well-worn releases and classics, or to diversify my musical horizons with other genres. That said, December saw a re-kindling of the will to explore and keep-tabs on the music, and the pleasure that doing so can bring. This return was fuelled in no small part by the realisation that I hadn't even listened to enough albums from this year to make a well-considered list - it would have been more like a top-seven, and would have incorporated all of the new albums I'd heard. That wouldn't do. As much as I may sometimes go months without writing a review, I nonetheless view Heavy Metal Spotlight as an active project. Omitting an end-of-year list would be a grave sin indeed. Over the month, I listened to close to fifty of 2015's albums, and, while I would have preferred a little more time to let some releases simmer and settle down in my mind, I feel that the time I spent intensively listening and exploring, while reading back-issues of Iron Fist magazine, was the closest and most involved with the genre I have felt all year. Without further ado, then, lets turn to the moderately hurried but, at least in my mind, vaguely considered list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDV_VSwQm6cgpCfBuCltxqZrbFpASXETvc8YcKrv0vCt6OYoUUi0wklcv5Q6hrGNX9hwnR8-pZ9TDUljtxnKe5F786Ge8_9MQenibMKR2DfrQwOg8JCI4WBcING4gEYFZZV1VI8vmYeck/s1600/Slugdge+Dim+and+Slimeridden+Kingdoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDV_VSwQm6cgpCfBuCltxqZrbFpASXETvc8YcKrv0vCt6OYoUUi0wklcv5Q6hrGNX9hwnR8-pZ9TDUljtxnKe5F786Ge8_9MQenibMKR2DfrQwOg8JCI4WBcING4gEYFZZV1VI8vmYeck/s200/Slugdge+Dim+and+Slimeridden+Kingdoms.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Slugdge/3540366277">#20: Slugdge - Dime and Slimeridden Kingdoms:</a> The gastropods of <i>Slugdge</i> wouldn't normally be on my radar at all, at least in the way I presumed them to sound before listening to their work more thoroughly. Instead of the overly-clean and modern affair I was half expecting, <i>Dim and Slimeridden Kingdoms </i>offers instead a true exhibition and feast of extreme-metal musicianship and composition. Monstrously heavy and well-produced, the record oozes with crushing, memorable and grin-causing moments a plenty, in a maelstrom of blackened bone-crunching nastiness bestowed by some of the best riffs in the business.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMWlOdbMz5WbZisTuz-iNoqNoggloX_iubVxG-cLOuXW0dHuTozIQ7g-RxKkXUwCpvmXbgMx9_wAShe-_3QSbmmKKhu-Zq0oBhqEDfps1Dk5LiE3KyQcrsOT8xYLfUx3CwA5plBmY9wY/s1600/Triumvir+Foul+Self+Titled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMWlOdbMz5WbZisTuz-iNoqNoggloX_iubVxG-cLOuXW0dHuTozIQ7g-RxKkXUwCpvmXbgMx9_wAShe-_3QSbmmKKhu-Zq0oBhqEDfps1Dk5LiE3KyQcrsOT8xYLfUx3CwA5plBmY9wY/s200/Triumvir+Foul+Self+Titled.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Triumvir_Foul/3540380975">#19: Triumvir Foul - Self Titled</a>: Oregon's <i>Triumvir Foul </i>make music which sounds exactly the way the artwork would suggest; an ominous, world-crushing roar of ritualistic and filth-ridden occult doctrine, rushing forth like stale, stagnant tomb-air infested with spores, plagues and effluvia. The dessicated voice of death. This, their self-titled full-length début marks one of the most excellently vile and marvellously sonically unacceptable works on the list. Cathartic, intriguing, punishing and about as legit as they come; a record dripping with decay, death and ruination. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLANThNwX2Z-9ZiuKV7vTeP-nMx9GwU2rfqAe59DfIUMAQNPxb0UGd2LBv-Zj7WhnOoMZIgMPZihj2IXrMvxmrNJvTqxHzXB8yOLqKZcjjsa0q3zogbpDop-NUXTAZ4JG38vQ64ysctew/s1600/Barshasketh+Ophidian+Henosis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLANThNwX2Z-9ZiuKV7vTeP-nMx9GwU2rfqAe59DfIUMAQNPxb0UGd2LBv-Zj7WhnOoMZIgMPZihj2IXrMvxmrNJvTqxHzXB8yOLqKZcjjsa0q3zogbpDop-NUXTAZ4JG38vQ64ysctew/s200/Barshasketh+Ophidian+Henosis.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Barshasketh/3540288547">#18: Barshasketh - Ophidian Henosis:</a> Vaguely-Edinburgh-based black-metal outfit <i>Barshasketh </i>deliver their most finely honed and perfected opus yet, in the form of <i>Ophidian Henosis; </i>forty five minutes of precise, well-measured black metal splendour. Intense, uplifting and sleekly diabolical, the clarity and sharpness of the record is given deeply satisfying exposition in its twisting leads and tremolos. Following the spirit of the bands previous works, <i>Ophidian Henosis </i>marks an enormous refinement and augmentation of Barshasketh's craft, and their work rightly takes a place amongst the finest the genre has offered in recent times.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTECOQqb3rl5q9RqUdyDtrb1Jwi5SQesaLlM700GwFjtnJGvC1kDK3Cbmh-jRGWxqkcwUkQMFPQ6nNZCUovXx71s7p_FWXtBKBLQFQu1qfcXGEmgR2OKP59R8wQeG-84X6nJydZS35OI/s1600/Hooded+Menace+Darkness+Drips+Forth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCTECOQqb3rl5q9RqUdyDtrb1Jwi5SQesaLlM700GwFjtnJGvC1kDK3Cbmh-jRGWxqkcwUkQMFPQ6nNZCUovXx71s7p_FWXtBKBLQFQu1qfcXGEmgR2OKP59R8wQeG-84X6nJydZS35OI/s200/Hooded+Menace+Darkness+Drips+Forth.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hooded_Menace/112466">#17: Hooded Menace - Darkness Drips Forth:</a> Ghoulish though the revelries of Hooded Menace may be, they nonetheless possess quite some sense of sincerity. The dense, ambitious tracks of <i>"Darkness Drips Forth"</i> may well be the bands most accomplished and enjoyable yet. Favouring atmosphere more so than the fun, riff-focus of records like "<i>Never Cross the Dead</i>", the B-movie charm of some of the bands earlier work may not be so omnipresent here, but the gloom flourishes with more vigour than ever, in a record which both looks and sounds more serious, but equally succeeds in being fun to listen to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7inbFXD0XTBroaaf7KM8aGcxSOzE2V1WnGCIsfQj1dsOx3FStsNX7adhWVLbKTHqnCYEZKpy8VsvRj7AHTMhJ6ja2bXPH_hFrvsdKSqnuopLDF9Ci_hOUxi8kuO50889UMqs1cyBggck/s1600/False+Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7inbFXD0XTBroaaf7KM8aGcxSOzE2V1WnGCIsfQj1dsOx3FStsNX7adhWVLbKTHqnCYEZKpy8VsvRj7AHTMhJ6ja2bXPH_hFrvsdKSqnuopLDF9Ci_hOUxi8kuO50889UMqs1cyBggck/s200/False+Untitled.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/False/3540332204">#16: False - Untitled:</a> The nameless full length début by US black-metal act "False" takes a little getting used to, for all the right reasons. The factors which contribute to that are the very same factors which make it an excellent record. Triumphantly idiosyncratic and at times bizarre, the record captures the pioneering, defiant and inventive spirit of the early nineties in a way that few records even attempt - it succeeds not by emulating, but by being <i>interesting, </i>forging an unusual, chimerical creation of blistering speeds and haunting, simplistic synth which probes at the atmospheric heart of the genre.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Windhand/3540313433"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgU1_Jya3RdUQ9kaOYc_GW71N1kUchHN1kWUTWa4SCc4dpnNlqDstP0ocTk9IUO8Wxb6IfKZOqB8iv0ygquhmajif2RhTvlEPzdhO-9sG4JQ3ShUkKx1IG8Mp3Hp7i6FQfChLJp4bFBk/s1600/Windhand+Griefs+Infernal+Flower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDgU1_Jya3RdUQ9kaOYc_GW71N1kUchHN1kWUTWa4SCc4dpnNlqDstP0ocTk9IUO8Wxb6IfKZOqB8iv0ygquhmajif2RhTvlEPzdhO-9sG4JQ3ShUkKx1IG8Mp3Hp7i6FQfChLJp4bFBk/s200/Windhand+Griefs+Infernal+Flower.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Windhand/3540313433">#15: Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower:</a> A highlight of Windhand is, perhaps, the soaring vocal delivery, with memorable patterns and haunting sound. You generally <i>remember </i>a Windhand chorus. These are virtues which "<i>Grief's Infernal Flower" </i>possess to a greater degree than anything else that the band have created so far. Standing head-and-shoulders above the already very enjoyable "<i>Soma", </i>the record's saw-toothed mournful doom represents the pinnacle of the band's work so far, as they continue to carve out an identity in the over-crowded world that doom-metal has been in recent years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bOZX651MS5Kd_27JwdgAEdkjUallFQFCvlrgfox6FlzaLwCLE0WYOa9QerMx3Zk7qdrvkvg86MfEM1zcN4YCa8gwkOqGFADY2Ajqtxw4JKOZ7-LMfTJEbJkULQk8Un4bGC01bWKt52s/s1600/Scythian+Hubris+In+Excelsis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bOZX651MS5Kd_27JwdgAEdkjUallFQFCvlrgfox6FlzaLwCLE0WYOa9QerMx3Zk7qdrvkvg86MfEM1zcN4YCa8gwkOqGFADY2Ajqtxw4JKOZ7-LMfTJEbJkULQk8Un4bGC01bWKt52s/s200/Scythian+Hubris+In+Excelsis.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Scythian/93437">#14: Scythian - Hubris in Excelsis:</a> London's Scythian play what I only really know as "Destroyer 666 style-" black thrash. The bands second record, <i>"Hubris..."</i> strides triumphantly, with huge reserves of power and savage majesty, churning and flexing its muscles for the entire run-time with an infectiously energetic swagger and snarl. Coupled with this power comes a distinct and deeply immersing atmosphere, taking the record out of the realms of straightforward aggression, and melding that side of it with a choral splendour reminiscent of Bathory - and doing so excellently. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEg6-bRQvmQ7OKpCfcgAs-wqekRVZYNvIz8XVrfoePrvW-30ghcXTEvcEGUdak4TNDBhSqxqtNxJFGCmiSTCNViP9hqpclVXkuemMGpKyYyMXxb_yrL1tdfKBg-o9nMhBBPsAUPvNm8Oo/s1600/Under+the+Church+Rabid+Armageddon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEg6-bRQvmQ7OKpCfcgAs-wqekRVZYNvIz8XVrfoePrvW-30ghcXTEvcEGUdak4TNDBhSqxqtNxJFGCmiSTCNViP9hqpclVXkuemMGpKyYyMXxb_yrL1tdfKBg-o9nMhBBPsAUPvNm8Oo/s200/Under+the+Church+Rabid+Armageddon.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Under_the_Church/3540365733">#13: Under the Church - Rabid Armageddon:</a> Under the Church are a relatively new discovery to me, but their bare-bones style of old-school death metal appealed to me instantly. The band combine the throaty, filthy elements of Autopsy and the catchiness of Nunslaughter, and wrap it in a crispy Swedeath style shell while the songs roar and rattle along with energy to spare. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, "<i>Rabid Armageddon" </i>is a fantastically fun distillation of many of old-school death metal's most enjoyable elements, and one which has been done extremely well indeed.<br />
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bell_Witch/3540336467"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHz2kgEcWn-NkQOXwOGEKCHfhCFzWqNsTimBCuyxt63kffK0cm5RChKoiwDzlSZoqc1pYtazuZPgIrazLl3Q5QAXdEXDE9ezz0rPXFLzUqufSqrXQuMmkVQpzZsfYIwvDu9N95hP_omI4/s1600/Bell+Witch+Four+Phantoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHz2kgEcWn-NkQOXwOGEKCHfhCFzWqNsTimBCuyxt63kffK0cm5RChKoiwDzlSZoqc1pYtazuZPgIrazLl3Q5QAXdEXDE9ezz0rPXFLzUqufSqrXQuMmkVQpzZsfYIwvDu9N95hP_omI4/s200/Bell+Witch+Four+Phantoms.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bell_Witch/3540336467">#12: Bell Witch - Four Phantoms</a>: Bell Witch have literally only got two members - this was what I discovered when I saw them live. The fullness of their sound, however, on record <i>and </i>live, certainly overcomes any conceivable logistical problems that such staff-shortages might cause. Indeed, Bell Witch's sound is, as a consequence, one of the most unique and innovative takes on doom out there, weaving a work of incredible sorrow and power, both with crushing heaviness and murmuring delicacy. "<i>Four Phantoms" </i>is an enormous and ambitious record which takes a number of listens to sink in, but rewards you for doing so.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPzoa2AAbGITlgI_1V6kQb19_CTphpkL-YxXK232121zRaZ0yo6uNhcXsQ_k5M0YbOjNwqAGaR0rcAjkEPgULm5ohIj6O5PYCXJPNFoUFN34Ve7CAGtBJ0fQb2iBPjUzwOk0A-rQxGa4/s1600/Crypt+Sermon+Out+of+the+Garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPzoa2AAbGITlgI_1V6kQb19_CTphpkL-YxXK232121zRaZ0yo6uNhcXsQ_k5M0YbOjNwqAGaR0rcAjkEPgULm5ohIj6O5PYCXJPNFoUFN34Ve7CAGtBJ0fQb2iBPjUzwOk0A-rQxGa4/s200/Crypt+Sermon+Out+of+the+Garden.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Crypt_Sermon/3540374280">#11: Crypt Sermon - Out of the Garden: </a>Pleasingly organic and rough-edged epic doom records tend to be quite thin on the ground, and as such, Crypt Sermon are an especially pleasant discovery, with riffs which tantalisingly dance, and passionately delivered vocals with the perfect measure of grit; a record which is both paying homage to the such greats as Solitude Aeturnus, but also bedecks itself with its own sense of identity. <i>"Out of the Garden"</i> eschews, and rightly so, the penchant of "epic" metal to inadvertently scrub itself clean and sacrifice its character.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN69dNjuEw2di68TL3keNnB_F68cr2xo4OUX13rzWcJvRVyGoDpuy28H7rzFit7HMgyRJcux024fL6kJd_MxAp_Wtwyjk9Egfo3lJtKY66D93Vmj6MVhd6PlSBLyjgOFNgaHc0YM9Jo0M/s1600/Obsequiae+Aria+Of+Vernal+Tombs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN69dNjuEw2di68TL3keNnB_F68cr2xo4OUX13rzWcJvRVyGoDpuy28H7rzFit7HMgyRJcux024fL6kJd_MxAp_Wtwyjk9Egfo3lJtKY66D93Vmj6MVhd6PlSBLyjgOFNgaHc0YM9Jo0M/s200/Obsequiae+Aria+Of+Vernal+Tombs.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Obsequiae/3540290073">#10: Obsequiae - Aria of Vernal Tombs:</a> "<i>Aria of Vernal Tombs" </i>is, without misusing the word, a <i>magical </i>record; veiled, sparkling, in a thin and light beauty akin to the morning dew, or an early mist. Crisp, melodious and scintillating guitar-work dominates the albums run time, during both distorted and clean sections of music, deploying some of the most fantastically captured melodies to pass my ears. While consequently lacking the cruel bludgeoning force that most black-metal has in one way or another, this record instead has an air of gorgeous ethereal wonder which is every bit as valuable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJlK6ksDZDJGtLYlOf6m4pBjYumiwluRNIlH_lxttah2LK70KHmPYesZZdnEa9xFbQXzjBXqIx7kIIyHlo5G0O1KwM6cDvjbTtEWvdswChpfaQfXgm1kDu97MntC29FX0mqjQR1m3EeI/s1600/Bonehunter+Evil+Triumphs+Again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJlK6ksDZDJGtLYlOf6m4pBjYumiwluRNIlH_lxttah2LK70KHmPYesZZdnEa9xFbQXzjBXqIx7kIIyHlo5G0O1KwM6cDvjbTtEWvdswChpfaQfXgm1kDu97MntC29FX0mqjQR1m3EeI/s200/Bonehunter+Evil+Triumphs+Again.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bonehunter/3540321826">#09: Bonehunter - Evil Triumphs Again:</a> With a suitably corrosive guitar tone and pleasantly absurd artwork-theme, Bonehunter's "<i>Evil Triumphs Again" </i>is a raucous and frenzied rampage through the blackened metal-punk landscape, mounted on an oil and rust caked road-warrior-esque vehicle consisting largely of denim, leather and Mot<span class="st">örBathory. Fast, ballsy, catchy, and just the right level of puerile for the sub-genre in which it resides, the whole album improves with subsequent listens, and/or cumulative intoxication. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCLU0Q1qlcLl_-i_4EjsHjjAG9ax_OPOBsBh_ZFvkabkug16cPGZVO8wJfwqmQ2eSdwC8sSkb5gsbzkoQp3j9ULDYmMQGgw6vaXhKHP1kJBN1XbZF4SpzuFZPn1a_hK3D4zTTRMuSf_g/s1600/Dan+Terminus+The+Wrath+of+Code.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeCLU0Q1qlcLl_-i_4EjsHjjAG9ax_OPOBsBh_ZFvkabkug16cPGZVO8wJfwqmQ2eSdwC8sSkb5gsbzkoQp3j9ULDYmMQGgw6vaXhKHP1kJBN1XbZF4SpzuFZPn1a_hK3D4zTTRMuSf_g/s200/Dan+Terminus+The+Wrath+of+Code.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/the-wrath-of-code">#08: Dan Terminus - The Wrath of Code:</a> A non-metal addition to the list at the last minute, I have no idea how qualified I am to discuss the retrofuturistic electronic synthwave shenanigans of Dan Terminus. I've heard perhaps five albums of that genre, in total. What I <i>do </i>understand is that "<i>The Wrath of Code" </i>is an enthusiasm-enhancing selection of typically bouncy-but-dark tracks which capture the bizarre and effervescent possibilities of an odd, and perhaps even sinister future. The whole album leaves you with the lingering desire to live the sort of lifestyle portrayed in a space-opera. But then again, maybe that was just me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERIR6BO2kawSJtTcB1z_oAPMxKxpj7n9vskLxdGfZmriybmzAeaVvCo54np4t3Bo4brNIBVSrZiv2tjFNeOPkq_FKftrE7kIW1JzXSBc_Zt87GYxUIG3QCtkUUZxC0C6UI3nz8A98OtU/s1600/Chapel+of+Disease+The+Mysterious+Ways+of+Repetitive+Art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERIR6BO2kawSJtTcB1z_oAPMxKxpj7n9vskLxdGfZmriybmzAeaVvCo54np4t3Bo4brNIBVSrZiv2tjFNeOPkq_FKftrE7kIW1JzXSBc_Zt87GYxUIG3QCtkUUZxC0C6UI3nz8A98OtU/s200/Chapel+of+Disease+The+Mysterious+Ways+of+Repetitive+Art.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Chapel_of_Disease/3540344863">#07: Chapel of Disease - The Mysterious Ways of Repetitive Art:</a> I had my suspicions that this record would be included on my end-of-year list over a year ago when I first had the opportunity to hear some of it. The wilder, more innovative follow-up to the immensely enjoyable albeit solidly conventional <i>"Summoning Black Gods", "The Mysterious Ways"</i> sees the band successfully travel down a path of eclectic influences and imaginative song-writing, with the musics backbone of thrashy death-metal augmented throughout in too many ways, and by too many influences, to count off-hand. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMeUpth4CHTTbS4b-68kWFbW-45gDw6xoVLW21aASJV0gNtandE2hMNXj_WTSx9zV6k8Wx9LcH5YHMI9r7c2zE8IpwLb1a_ZAIRD0MnFlIueHUWbteNFO8dIftZN1_UJWTolmnLVjg8o/s1600/Magic+Circle+Journeyblind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMeUpth4CHTTbS4b-68kWFbW-45gDw6xoVLW21aASJV0gNtandE2hMNXj_WTSx9zV6k8Wx9LcH5YHMI9r7c2zE8IpwLb1a_ZAIRD0MnFlIueHUWbteNFO8dIftZN1_UJWTolmnLVjg8o/s200/Magic+Circle+Journeyblind.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Magic_Circle/3540347678">#06: Magic Circle - Journey Blind:</a> As soon as you see the artwork of this one; the regal, resplendent peacock colour-scheme, smooth and indulgent upon the senses, the music itself is foreshadowed. "<i>Journey Blind</i>" is grandiose, sublime, and spectacular, yet extremely down-to-earth at the same time. A fantastic collection of rockin' doom-with-a-touch-of-punk "<i>Journey Blind" </i>is vintage not just in intention, but in spirit too; perfectly capturing the early days of heavy metal without sounding tired or over-done. The delivery is passionate, legitimate, and insanely catchy without being cheesy. Few records have ever risen in my esteem so rapidly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUdqDYRF5t82NHZWfDlx6379KeqEv9YxoTPp2WTm_U_hsZWG80VHV_lnwYHKPK0pZzh8fpCNOqavyXD_lny_CQruObhRRWjg3u7Tti_frGnOT4eBwBJY7u7FsnK9Xes0HEBPdtm9TEIo/s1600/Satan+Atom+by+Atom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUdqDYRF5t82NHZWfDlx6379KeqEv9YxoTPp2WTm_U_hsZWG80VHV_lnwYHKPK0pZzh8fpCNOqavyXD_lny_CQruObhRRWjg3u7Tti_frGnOT4eBwBJY7u7FsnK9Xes0HEBPdtm9TEIo/s200/Satan+Atom+by+Atom.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Satan/774">#05: Satan - Atom by Atom: "</a><i>Life Sentence" </i>may have been the single best comeback-album to ever reach my ears, and it's an absolute pleasure to discover that its follow-up, "<i>Atom by Atom" </i>is every bit as good. Intentionally slightly more technically proficient, the record merges this fact with its nigh-flawless production to create an album which is memorable, hooky and immensely enjoyable, but likewise one which has the agile chops to utterly draw the listeners attention and maintain it - everything about the record is immaculately planned and executed, and the result is magnificent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxzqzXCoRoiJz5S8m1HVD5v0LBTpdaChdkFSBjpYni-Sehj0o-yR9ugu0ODpiAmM4mneb3ZgTJ_OSW2nuCFlToUcJjmg4B6goDi1fy9Fi2MRJUNbHKLZoPA3Vuo_-d6eVRDVDUzPuoWM/s1600/Enslaved+In+Times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxzqzXCoRoiJz5S8m1HVD5v0LBTpdaChdkFSBjpYni-Sehj0o-yR9ugu0ODpiAmM4mneb3ZgTJ_OSW2nuCFlToUcJjmg4B6goDi1fy9Fi2MRJUNbHKLZoPA3Vuo_-d6eVRDVDUzPuoWM/s200/Enslaved+In+Times.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Enslaved/104">#04: Enslaved - In Times:</a> In my mind, the current "era" of Enslaved is marked by an increasingly reliable ability to create end-of-year list candidates. This "era" began with 2010s "<i>Axioma Ethica Odini". </i>Since then, we have borne witness to the equally excellent "<i>Riitiir". </i>The third record of this streak of superb progressive black-metal appears to have been <i>"In Times" - </i>in my experience the most enjoyable of the three. Leaner, more compact, more streamlined and all-together a perfect mission statement of Enslaved's current incarnation; the beauty, quirkiness and unique musical aesthetic, sharpened, and more on target than ever before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRLPr3azW6pcOAw5L6C5Fu6pPqln4IjrND__PMitleSp2aRzOkuFOqUS4I3wOVnutXI9LokIEbDPQnppo1VGpLIwzuLhZ7aPDgdeG7DrYhdoV9bfPkCNMgTu-XkzOfy9LoVAPXgUqt20/s1600/Midnight+Odyssey+Shards+of+Silver+Fade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRLPr3azW6pcOAw5L6C5Fu6pPqln4IjrND__PMitleSp2aRzOkuFOqUS4I3wOVnutXI9LokIEbDPQnppo1VGpLIwzuLhZ7aPDgdeG7DrYhdoV9bfPkCNMgTu-XkzOfy9LoVAPXgUqt20/s200/Midnight+Odyssey+Shards+of+Silver+Fade.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Midnight_Odyssey/3540275343">#03: Midnight Odyssey - Shards of Silver Fade: </a> Possibly the longest album I've ever started listening to and actually finished in a sitting (I'll get to <i>"Blood Geometry" </i>one day), Midnight Odyssey's "<i>Shards of Silver Fade</i>" is an astonishingly vast, cosmically beautiful two and a-half hours of sublime atmosphere. Difficult to digest, certainly, but infinitely rewarding - the record is <i>worth </i>its whole running time - every desolate, gorgeous moment is wonderful to behold, and of moments, it has many. A truly haunting experience, leaving the listener frozen, enthralled and filled with wonder. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkekYPsNFyTIGbmpRtJ0ySPJP-5l0DlavbMqHdZ0EDJF0cOjEBRK8ikVE4XYJ3kfID4ZytFXpPK5ZgM-36hTrejnXd0GlHOm9j6iKWehVm7FrtQyW80vAzW0T-bbyQgZYoE8BvzZnpYY/s1600/Macabre+Omen+God+of+War+At+War.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkekYPsNFyTIGbmpRtJ0ySPJP-5l0DlavbMqHdZ0EDJF0cOjEBRK8ikVE4XYJ3kfID4ZytFXpPK5ZgM-36hTrejnXd0GlHOm9j6iKWehVm7FrtQyW80vAzW0T-bbyQgZYoE8BvzZnpYY/s200/Macabre+Omen+God+of+War+At+War.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Macabre_Omen/5538">#02: Macabre Omen - God of War - At War:</a> Perhaps <i>the </i>album, along with, I expect, Horrendous' Anareta - which I didn't find myself particularly interested in - to claim a place on the most end-of-year lists, I investigated Macabre Omen on precisely that basis, and I was not disappointed. Excluding perhaps Bathory, Macabre Omen conjure the most sincerely <i>glorious </i>atmosphere of any band I've heard, with songs like "From Son to Father" being utterly stirring and magnificent. "<i>God of War - At War" </i>is an inspiringly strong record with a dense and palpable atmosphere. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevXp3D3SslJqqLs4sRTdBaGR5pgiBRdvtRsUIhAl-CMFugni6lVRWXCD7pt6VTh1Yih0ypDhWN6iC-mkHUZB9IsrAVRxI9aaZMEv3yN7EuJ_l-aYmJkEluwRvSksUa738kESVa3hQ8cs/s1600/Ahab+The+Boats+of+the+Glen+Carrig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhevXp3D3SslJqqLs4sRTdBaGR5pgiBRdvtRsUIhAl-CMFugni6lVRWXCD7pt6VTh1Yih0ypDhWN6iC-mkHUZB9IsrAVRxI9aaZMEv3yN7EuJ_l-aYmJkEluwRvSksUa738kESVa3hQ8cs/s200/Ahab+The+Boats+of+the+Glen+Carrig.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ahab/35791">#01: Ahab - The Boats of the Glen Carrig:</a> I'm a huge fan of Ahab - it's no secret. On all three - or rather, four, now - of their records, they managed to create some of the most powerful music I've ever heard; and <i>"The Boats..." </i>is no exception. Each Ahab record is different from the last - different from all of the others, in fact - but they have certain things in common, and this record delivered on such expectations. The haunting, cathartic clean-vocals; the crushing turmoil of the heavy sections, and the constant backbone of beauty. A welcome addition to Ahab's back-catalogue.<br />
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UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-7007511136868424742015-11-01T21:25:00.001+00:002015-11-01T21:25:45.798+00:00#387 Windhand - Grief's Infernal FlowerStoner doom - and its more-or-less psychedelically inclined henchmen - amount to a sub-genre which, without overstating, there's a <i>fucking lot of </i>at the moment.<i> </i>Especially in the last half-a-decade or so, the swarm of artists playing it, or similar styles, has reached saturation point - not necessarily a bad thing - a genre flourishing, many would say... But likewise, the generic, the unadventurous and the derivative within doom are at something of a high-tide of late. Indeed, at times it reaches an extent enough to slightly turn me off the genre - or at least take a break and listen to something else. Not through any sort of elitism, you understand, but more an intermittent reluctance to believe anything especially exciting was being done - particularly in the more conventional realms. In a world where so many bands make something <i>reasonable </i>out of the established tropes of a sub-genre, it takes something that bit more special to make something <i>great </i>from those very same ingredients. That's where Windhand come in.<br />
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Windhand's new record "<i>Grief's Infernal Flower</i>" is as good a launchpad back into enthusiasm as anything else I've crossed paths with recently. How much the band re-invent any kind of wheel is debatable - their work is distinct in several ways, particularly the powerful, haunting and instantly recognisable vocals of Dorthia Cottrell - but likewise, the guitar-work borrows very overtly from the bible as written by the greats of the genre; particularly Electric Wizard. Many of the hooks, riff-styles and approaches to solo-playing are clearly following that line of influence - embodying stoner-doom tropes with great comfort indeed. However, as picked-clean that doom-bible might appear to be - however many of its pages have been used for roach-cardboard over the years, there's still some good stuff left in there, and while, as hinted above, there's no wheel-reinvention going on, the band nonetheless comfortably carve their own sonic empire. "<i>Grief's Infernal Flower</i>" keeps a tight hold on the reeling, mournful banner of it's predecessor "<i>Soma", </i>whilst refining it into a record which is arguably a step up from it. Immediately memorable and potent vocal lines and patterns differentiate the character of separate songs with ease, casting the bands vast, ethereal and mournful atmosphere with greater clarity and focus; while still a sprawling and intoxicating soundscape, this one meanders less, and achieves more.<br />
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Tonally, Windhand have always had something special - and as the record demonstrates keenly, something which continues to ripen and blossom; the bruising and engulfing guitar-tone at once succeeds in being heavy to the point of being noteworthy, but likewise has a pleasant texture, and is something which can be enjoyed on that basis - some doom bands have a tone so filthy or distorted that enjoyment comes not from how pleasant it is, but how <i>extreme. </i>This is not the case here; the surreal and magical world of "<i>Grief's Infernal Flower</i>" - cold, awe-inspiring, melancholic - is absolutely complimented by the tone used - and indeed, more broadly complimented by the coming together of all the elements used. Nothing seems out of place - and while for the most part the record is quite a conventional one, it is in some way optimised - in some way honed and put together in such a way as to best capitalise, bringing together, fruitfully, elements not just of stoner doom, but a more sombre and sober side reminiscent of more traditional doom metal (the artwork itself is, by accident or by design, reminiscent of "Die Healing"), conjuring forth the intoxicating atmosphere not just - or chiefly - a narcotic haze, but the colder intoxication of the bare and captivating night-sky, all the while drawing the listener out of their body with a sincerity which other bands are often wont to squander.<br />
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The fact I can't think, off-hand, of any other 2015 stoner doom albums at this moment does <i>not </i>mean that's the sole reason I'm willing to consider "<i>Grief's Internal Flower</i>" one of the best of the year. The album is, beyond that, genuinely very good indeed. Time will tell, of course, but my satisfaction with the record over the last month or so of listening has been consistent, and I'm more than happy to label this record Windhand's best output yet.<br />
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This is an 8.5/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://windhandva.bandcamp.com/">Windhand on Bandcamp</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WindhandVA">Windhand on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Windhand/3540313433">Windhand on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-67306299509748211482015-10-18T00:09:00.000+01:002015-10-18T00:09:11.322+01:00#386 - Black Breath - Slaves Beyond DeathI got into Black Breath just as "<i>Sentenced to Life</i>" came out, back in early 2012. Among other things, it was the first time I'd <i>ever </i>heard a HM-2 guitar tone used, which definitely played a part in how incredibly blown-away I was by how monstrous it sounded. Of course, several years later, I've heard plenty more bands utilising that classic Swedish sound - many of them actually from Sweden - but my appreciation of Black Breath's work has not been diminished by a grown understanding of the musical context within which they exist. In fact, it has been quite the opposite; both of the band's full-length albums are still among the records I listen to the most. Another, perhaps more relevant side-effect of discovering the band just after the release of "<i>Sentenced...</i>" is that it's the longest time I could possibly have waited for a new album - and consequently, the prospect of "<i>Slaves Beyond Death" </i>was an exciting one indeed...<br />
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Before tackling the meat of the album - in short, what it sounds like - some words about artwork are needed. Paolo Girardi is an extremely talented artist - much in the way that Christophe Szpajdel is a great logo designer. Both suffer from the same problem; a lot of their output looks more or less <i>the same. </i>While all of Girardi's artwork is very accomplished, its often limited palette and thematic content leaves the artwork of "<i>Slaves Beyond Death</i>"<i> </i>just another beige cobblestone on a road paved by his work. It's also unclear how well it suits the bands ethos and sound; lacking in the appropriate sharpness and power to evoke the band's music. The idea itself is a powerful one, but could have been executed better. Of course, the sway of the aesthetic element of a record is generally outweighed by the musical one - and so it would be wise to swiftly move along to that. "<i>Slaves</i>..." is a solid, if slightly confusing, listen. The record is much less compact than its predecessors - more sprawling, arguably more ambitious, and, consequently, sometimes less intense. The songs are substantially longer - at times granting the music more room in which to make its impact, but often leaving them feeling diluted, and at its worst, haphazardly arranged; several tracks reek slightly of the gratuitous; their intros feel like <i>they </i>have intros - we're 01:35 into the song now, are we <i>quite done?</i> The bursts of energy are slathered and tarred in mid-tempo riffs - sometimes to the point of weariness. The production feels more blunt; the vocals quieter - in striving to be more evil and more - for want of a better word "<i>proper</i>" as opposed to the unrefined roaring in previous records, they lose quite a bit of impact, both in the mix, and overall in their delivery. Likewise, the guitar work can come across as a little bit neutered of the extreme heaviness found previously, even if, and I'm more than happy to admit, the riffs still truly ooze with skull-splitting heaviness, which, for all the criticism I just delivered, is still true. <br />
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Nonetheless, despite all that I've just said, I'm not as displeased as it might seem. I <i>did </i>enjoy Slaves Beyond Death, but it's certainly an enjoyment tinged with surprise - the record represents a pronounced change in direction, and, perhaps bravely, perhaps foolishly, a step away from the sheer intensity which, as far as I understood it, was Black Breath's <i>thing. </i>At times the record steps up to the familiar strobe-lit Armageddon that the band traditionally deliver - but chiefly, the shattering glass and wide-eyed abandon evoked previously now has as an accomplice a fair bit of experimentation with the grandiose, with the obtuse and the vast interlaced into it - and while it would be overly harsh to call it "experimentation gone wrong", it doesn't make it past "experimentation gone... okay" in my eyes, at least if I try to compare it strictly to the previous records. Maybe the story behind all of this is simply thus; maybe records like "<i>Heavy Breathing</i>" and "<i>Sentenced to Life</i>" are beyond replication? Maybe the band thought so, at least. Maybe the band thought that recipe had run its course - and I find this most plausible... but I dare say a lot of us <i>didn't </i>feel like it had run that course just yet. Whatever the reason, "<i>Slaves</i>..." is a very different record to what came before, and one which makes it challenging to listen to; the question of what to <i>look for </i>in the labyrinths of its sound is ambiguous; to understand it in the paradigm of the Black Breath of old is to be disappointed - but to understand it, or attempt to, with regards to its own, isolated merits reveals a competent and enjoyable record - not the record I expected, or, indeed, quite the record I wanted, but nonetheless one that bears at least most of the marks of being a good one. Wherever the bands sound is destined - and with an eye to where it came from, I think "Slaves..." is destined to be viewed as a transitional work, and perhaps, with time, one which might become viewed as underrated.<br />
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"<i>Slaves Beyond Death</i>" is a worthwhile album - that's still absolutely true. Approached with an open mind, it's solid stuff, and maintains a degree of the captivating genre-ambiguity which the previous records had. A change in style, for sure, but not so drastic as to fall dead from the presses. It will disappoint some, be met with indifference by others, but, for the most part, meet with a reasonable level of approval, I expect. Different, and a bit of a shock to those expecting or hoping for "more of the same" - but not the sort of shock which ruins the album. I'm already looking forward to the next record - not least so I can say I "called it" if this one proves to be a transitional work.<br />
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This is a 7/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://blackbreath.com/">Black Breath Official Site </a><br />
<a href="http://blackbreathsl.bandcamp.com/">Black Breath on Bandcamp</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BLACKBREATH.MUSIC">Black Breath on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Black_Breath/3540278794">Black Breath on Metal Archives </a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-83368128815907257142015-09-30T17:43:00.003+01:002015-09-30T17:43:51.448+01:00#385 Iron Maiden - The Book of SoulsYou don't get a new Iron Maiden album every day. Not these days, anyway. The 80s were another story, of course - Iron Maiden, Saxon, Mötorhead... all releasing a new album every fifteen minutes or so. Now, things are different. A lot has happened since The Final Frontier - its been almost five years - which, to put that into perspective, is roughly the temporal distance between "<i>Iron Maiden" </i>and "<i>Piece of Mind". </i>Regardless, where the band have slowed down in terms of prolific output, they come to reimburse in terms of sheer ambition. We all knew that the band were moving towards extremely long records - you could project if from existing data... But this is the first of their records that has ascended into the form of the famous - or infamous - double-album; in the process, making it one of the longest records I've reviewed in some time. Fortunately, the music was good enough to make eternity feel nothing but a short while...<br />
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Not all Iron Maiden albums are created equal, but throughout their career the band always seem to make an effort. 'Maiden are, perhaps first and foremost in the world of giant metal bands, equipped with enough self-respect to steep even their most unremarkable works in a sincerity and attitude which other bands might be wise to take inspiration from. By this point, a vague bond of trust exists between Iron Maiden and every listener; you can probably expect a solid album. Nonetheless, the journey up to - and then past - a records release date is always an interesting one, particularly of a record of such magnitude as this. The rise in the intensity of expectations, the excitement, the enthusiastic first-listen to the single - which in this case an excellent old-fashioned romp of a track reminding you that the band are, first and foremost,<i> </i>of the heavy metal persuasion<i>.</i> Then, of course, time is taken to digest the entire record. Nowadays, I listen to a record like this quite a bit before casting forth any views about it. New records always have a mind-warping aura to them; they sit "highlighted" in the perspective of the bands catalogue - to review a record the day it comes out can often lead to saying things you yourself disagree with barely days after. Nonetheless, the positive first-impression of <i>"The Book of Souls" </i>has stood the test of a dozen listens. Fleeting hype gives way to sincere satisfaction - heck, outright enthusiasm and cheer. The record certainly deserves praise - it has the freshest production and quite possibly the greatest reserves of energy found anywhere in the bands recent back-catalogue; a vitality sometimes lost in the extensive and ambitious labyrinths of Iron Maiden's more progressive and hefty work - but not this time.<br />
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It's not that <i>The Book of Souls</i> is less ambitious however. A brief scan of the song-lengths reveals plenty of massive epics. No, the secret to this album lies in its seemingly inspired song-writing, as best I can tell. It's been a few years, and it sounds like they have been well spent crafting and honing the record. Even the extremely long tracks, - the monumental album closer being a prime example - have a memorable, sharp and lean feel; delivered with a clarity which was sometimes seen to meander out of focus on previous records. Extremely inflammatory and potentially hyperbolic proclamations sell very well, as far as review snippets are concerned. Mine, for this record, would be something along the lines of "this is the best-executed 'Maiden record since <i>Seventh Son</i>...". Brave words indeed... but the fact is, at some of the crescendos, peaks and most inspired parts of the record, I damn well believe it, too. Sure, the band don't push any sort of barrier with regards to tempo - the album tends to stick with the comfortable and spacious mid-tempo they have favoured of late. Sure, Bruce doesn't quite have the slick smoothness his falsetto used to, but I would never<i> </i>say it's knackered - it's just <i>antique</i>, and in that paradigm, it leads the charge with as much power and class as ever. It sounds older, but not, necessarily, worse - indeed, for what little wear and tear the band seem to have sustained over the decades, they don't show it one bit. Perhaps the thing which gives the record the appeal to me, personally, however, is the throwback-like feel to some of the material - and more than just in the <i>"Isn't that the melody from The Clansman...?</i>" sense. The album has a balance of progressive and ambitious with downright fun that in retrospect might have been skewed far towards progressive for a long time - in fact, the great sonic victory of <i>The Book of Souls</i> is that it reconciles everything the band have stood for over the years; flamboyance and pomp, grit, and good old fashioned rock n' roll - exceeding expectations all the while.<br />
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"<i>The Book of Souls</i>" is strong. Almost surprisingly so. Iron Maiden aren't in the business of making bad albums - they never have been - but after forty years, you could be forgiven for thinking they might not be in the business of making albums which are quite this <i>good, </i>either. Once again, the band continue to carve a brave path, never once acting as if their legacy is over. The band always give the impression that their new album carries as much validity as anything they have ever done - and without that attitude, who's to say we'd be seeing such an excellent album by them in 2015.<br />
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This is an 8.5/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.ironmaiden.com/">Iron Maiden Official Site </a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ironmaiden">Iron Maiden on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Iron_Maiden/25">Iron Maiden on Metal Archives </a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-5461243712057207632015-09-19T20:17:00.004+01:002015-09-19T20:17:29.831+01:00#384 Ahab - The Boats of the Glen CarrigI can say with some confidence that Ahab are among my favourite bands. A band who have managed to capture my attention again and again, in different ways, but always ding so positively. First with the churning, engulfing atmosphere of their début - a doom record widely considered essential. Then with the blissful mournfulness of "<i>The Divinity of Oceans</i>", followed by the more experimental and unusual leanings of "<i>The Giant</i>". Each record has had its own distinct character, and yet the band have consistently managed to deliver works which not only please my ears, but have delivered me through hard times, and into calmer seas. "<i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>", consequently, has been one of the albums this year that I have been most excited to listen to. I haven't listened to much else since it was released...<br />
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"<i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>" is once again - as ever - a concept album. Based on the novel of the same name by William Hope Hodgson, which I happen to have read. In fact, I read it specifically because I discovered that Ahab were making an album about it... I read Poe's "<i>The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym</i>" under the same circumstances; both are excellent, might I add. Regardless, reading the source material certainly increased my anticipation for the records release, gifting the soundscapes later to be experienced with a pre-existant grasp of the book's atmosphere and narrative. In true Ahab fashion, the material lends itself to the bands music - and vice-versa. Ahab tend to write music which <i>suits </i>their source-material. "<i>The Giant</i>" is a relatively ethereal and strange record by their standards, and it's definitely no coincidence that the book on which it is based is itself a very strange one, particularly towards the end. The record reflects its source material. So too in the case of this record; the ugly strangeness and threatening denizens of the lands through which the characters in "<i>The Boats...</i>" travel are extremely well brought to life by, for instance, the crawling, jarring elements of "<i>The Thing that Made Search</i>" or the despair of "<i>To Mourn Job</i>". In short, Ahab have always been in the evocation game, and they continue to excel in so doing.<br />
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More conventional than its predecessor, "<i>The Boats...</i>" is steeped in Ahab's familiar crushing and absorbing style, with somewhat less overt experimentation and glittering sublimity - perhaps to the approval of many, although I consider myself a huge fan of both works. Behind perhaps the début, with its unique, almost one-of-a-kind tone, "<i>The Boats...</i>" sits very high on the table of heaviness; at times more crushing than a considerable swathe of the bands back-catalogue - and effectively done, too - a return to the reconciliation of potent atmosphere with the crushing waves of doom; the softer parts do not feel at odds with the heaviness around them. Arguably, in fact, it is something of a refinement of the Ahab recipe; the twisting, oceanic leads and tumbling riffs remain strong, while the clean-vocal crescendos once again steal the show at times, creating moments of sublime and incredibly powerful beauty, particularly during "<i>The Weed Men</i>" - host to one of Ahab's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEJ-d_lOmc4">finest moments</a>, as far as I'm concerned, and perhaps the stand-out track on the record. The album as a whole could pleasingly be considered to deliver not just <i>some</i> but <i>all </i>of the elements which made past Ahab records great; the murky and claustrophobic atmosphere of the first; the almost operatic uplifting power of the second, and the spirit of experimentation from the third record. The colourful artwork may have worried some, but when the day came, Ahab brought forth a record as strong as any they've made before - every bit as well-written, constructed, and played. <br />
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Often, the more you're invested in a band, the more paranoid you become about them slipping-up; to many of us, bad records feel like an inevitability, and we fear them as such. One can never say never, after all... but for everyone worried about Ahab releasing a sub-standard work, "<i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>", from its most crushing riff, through to its most ecstatic and cathartic soft-section replies with a resounding "<i>Not today". </i>The fourth album is a strange place for any band to sail through, but Ahab have navigated those weird waters well.<br />
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This is a 9/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.ahab-doom.de/">Ahab Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AhabDoom">Ahab on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Ahab/35791">Ahab on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-45003325246017312872015-08-31T23:52:00.000+01:002015-08-31T23:52:16.179+01:00#383 The Ruins of Beverast - Rain Upon the ImpureThe Ruins of Beverast have been something of a stand-out band of the black metal scene over the last decade or so, offering a unique take on the darkness and atmospheric elements present in the genre - and if you're skimming through, I dare suppose that praise summarises this review as a whole. In the process, the band has created some of the most thick, substantial and successfully ambitious records the genre has ever seen, whilst at every hurdle succeeding in avoiding the trappings of gratuitousness, pretentiousness and insincerity. Whilst I could have reviewed any of the bands four full-length albums happily, my focus today falls on "<i>Rain Upon the Impure</i>", which, as my introduction to the band at the start of this year, cements it as one of their most significant works, in my mind. By coincidence as much as anything else, it also appears to be one of their most highly regarded works throughout the community at large.<br />
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"<i>Rain Upon the Impure</i>" is 79-minutes long. Not because that's about as much as you can fit on a CD, nor out of any pretentiousness; the album is not needlessly extended, but is such a sonic leviathan because it <i>needs </i>to be. It works that way. The record is as a vast set of catacombs, in which the listener is engulfed and overwhelmed by its murkiness and vast, sprawling scale. Through the gloom, sublimely absorbing choral atmospherics ensnare and widen the eyes; a surreal descent through vast subterranean ritual halls. None of the run-time is wasted; all contributing to the individual beauty and atmosphere of its moments and tracks, while also forming a rich and cohesive whole; an album which, despite having a length which could easily be considered to be "hard work", nonetheless feels healthy and well utilised. The whole thing drips and oozes with atmosphere, cavernous but coherent, superbly composed and constructed as it churns and undulates. The crawling, pulsating soundscape lures the listener into a darkness which to the untrained ear may resemble that which many black-metal records can conjure, but which is nonetheless <i>different. </i>In a genre where albums often take the listener to unusual places,<i> </i>The Ruins of Beverast take the listener to somewhere before unexplored. While the occult atmosphere carries a striking familiarity - that's easy enough to grant - it also takes the black metal sound to Cyclopean subterranean depths to create something which no other band seems to.<br />
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The hazard which often befalls albums with extremely long songs - or simply long albums - is that of songs meandering purposelessly, or outliving their welcome. Through one factor or another, this simply does not appear to be true of "<i>Rain Upon the Impure</i>". Looking at a piece such as the album closing title-track reveals a 14-minute behemoth of a song in which every second is nonetheless utilised; lean and mean, but nonetheless enormous. Perhaps to reiterate the above, much about the album is so vast because it needs to be. It's a testament to strong song-writing ability to create a record of such magnitude with very few, if any, moments which leave the listener idle or bored of the soundscapes being offered up. As well as being compositionally impressive, "Rain Upon the Impure" demonstrates equally impressive musicianship; the drumming hits a level in terms of precision, technique and endurance which most black-metal drummers can only dream of, resulting in a deeply pleasing percussive integrity and intensity throughout. The choices with regards to guitar tone, sampling, and vocal-style all also collaborate excellently in the mission of rendering the album magnificent in its execution, whilst simultaneously avoiding many of the production-related follies which befall most one-man projects. Indeed, the testimony of my ears to my mind suggests that the record is one with very, very little wrong with it <i>at all. </i><br />
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<i> "Rain Upon the Impure" </i>is truly a record of advantage <i>without </i>disadvantage. Vast <i>without </i>being bloated, unusual and bizarre <i>without </i>being comical or excessive. Crushing <i>without </i>sacrificing clear and potent production values... the list goes on. The record is an epic one in the earnest and meaningful sense of the word. For my money, it deserves to be held aloft aside almost any of the very best that the last ten years has to offer - within black metal, extreme metal in general, or even metal as a whole.<br />
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This is a 9.5/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="https://theruinsofbeverast.bandcamp.com/album/rain-upon-the-impure">The Ruins of Beverast on Bandcamp</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ruins-Of-Beverast/116265971848680">The Ruins of Beverast on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/The_Ruins_of_Beverast/11562">The Ruins of Beverast on Metal Archives </a><br />
UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-48055191475645909162015-07-25T19:13:00.000+01:002015-07-25T19:16:39.294+01:00#382 Obituary - Slowly We RotDeath metal is - in the grand scheme of my journey through metal - one of the later sub-genres that I discovered. I mention this fairly often. Consequently, it still has among the largest selection of "essential-listening" bands that I have yet to explore fully and properly, or have only got around to listening to fairly recently. While in the last few years, I have gone from a very rudimentary understanding of the genre to a slightly broader appreciation of it, there remain plenty of gaps still to be filled in the path towards seeing the bigger-picture. One such gap was, until recently, one of the titans of the early Florida death metal scene; Obituary.<br />
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The interesting thing about listening to a band as influential as Obituary so late-on is that I've ran into a number of bands who were heavily influenced by the style <i>before </i>listening to the originators. In fact, in my understanding of death-metal, there was an exactly Obituary-shaped gap... which means that by the time I'd listened to a couple of records - namely the first three - I reached the conclusion that Obituary were more or less exactly the band I expected them to be, sound-wise. The consequence of this, among other things, is that by being so... <i>expected... "Slowly We Rot</i>"<i> </i>has left me in a state of indecision. Has discovering the band after listening to a fair bit of death metal already <i>demystified </i>their appeal and impact? The fact that Obituary embody not only most of the hallmarks of classic death metal, but almost all of the hallmarks which I genuinely <i>enjoy </i>seems to contrast with the fact that I'm discovering a band at a point in my listening where I'm almost jaded and desensitized by a number of the conventions of the genre. Of course, Obituary were more a convention <i>setting </i>band than a convention <i>upholding </i>band... but nonetheless, at times it feels like I've been unfortunate in listening to so many bands who follow a similar style first, as opposed to being blown away by discovering Obituary four or five years ago. That's an issue which has nothing to do with Obituary's music however, and everything to do with my taste, as a time-line. The fact I'm not blown-away by Obituary is entirely my fault for listening to them at - arguably - the wrong point in my exploration of the genre.<br />
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Music is, in many respects, a subjective experience, but I do think it will prove worth my while to try to skim the jaded feelings out of the way, and try to focus more on the musical substance of "<i>Slowly We Rot</i>" itself, for while I perhaps wasn't in the correct mood to be excited by it, there is certainly a swathe of elements in the record <i>to be excited</i> <i>about. </i>The rude, power-tool tone and well-cobbled riffs both ooze with a huge Celtic Frost influence - perhaps the most overt of any of the classic death metal acts, with the same rewarding effects; a lot of the tracks depart from their thrashy roots to deliver a crushing and dripping malignity, as the record romps through everything that old-school death metal does best. It succeeds in being intense, heavy, and above all, slightly-scary - probably even more so in 1989. It's the natural step-up from the early work of bands like Death, which was less of a progression stylistically from thrash. Indeed, you can very much appreciate the natural move towards extremity in the twilight-years of thrash-metal, as expressed sonically on a record like this. The merits of the record, in this light, are multitudinous; representing a step in the codification of death-metal into a genre, with its fantastically over-the-top heavy tone and crushing tracks. While to me, Obituary might <i>prima facie</i> feel like a chapter I accidentally missed, in a book that I managed to follow the plot of anyway, that does not mean that the chapter is without merits; quite the opposite. "<i>Slowly We Rot</i>" is splendid.<br />
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In my mind, Obituary is still a newcomer to the nexus of my musical taste. With time, however, I have confidence that the music will sink-in more fully, and open itself more readily for my appreciation for its own merits, as opposed to any extraneous baggage which the bands context in my musical journey brings. I look forward to being able to enjoy "Slowly We Rot" more fully with time, and for all of my discussion above, my appreciation for it is already growing. While my brief forays into their later work are considerably less promising, their early work is a growing dot on the map of my love of old-school death metal. <br />
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This is an 8/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.obituary.cc/">Obituary Official Site</a><br />
<a href="http://obituary.bandcamp.com/releases">Obituary on Bandcamp</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ObituaryBand">Obituary on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Obituary/165">Obituary on Metal Archives </a>UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-70625081706094511152015-07-11T01:49:00.000+01:002015-07-11T01:56:44.890+01:00#381 Mortuary Drape - Secret SudariaAs far as I know, the metal-scene in Italy never quite hit the heights of many of the others countries in Europe, at least in terms of producing well-known bands. Most people who have been into metal for a while could name half a dozen German bands... Sodom, Paradox, Running Wild, Kreator, Desaster, Blind Guardian... it's not too difficult. I'm not so sure I would succeed in doing the same with Italy... at least, not without a much longer pause to think about it.<i> </i>But what Italy seems, at least <i>prima facie</i>, to lack in terms of hard-hitters in the genre, it certainly seems to make up for in terms of quality. I don't need to list half-a-dozen Italian metal bands just now, and the reason why? Mortuary Drape count as at least seven, single-handedly. <br />
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It's a difficult task to think of one word or phrase to describe Mortuary Drape, such is the extent to which the band's sound is a vast and chimerical one. "<i>Secret Sudaria</i>" is no exception, and seems to do its utmost to bring a huge and diverse range of elements to the table. Indeed, it's almost confusing as a listener when one tries to decide which paradigm to listen to the music <i>in. </i>Fun, or grim? The only answer seems to be found in trying to take stock of everything at once. Rapid-picking and thrashy sections appeal to the old-school 80's thrash sensibilities in their sharp and athletic sound. Frequent d-beats and prominent bass then varnish the album in an almost Motorhead-esque sheen of filth and cruising nastiness, elevated further by the evil but extravagant solos. The rumbling and jagged riffs are among the best I've heard in any sub-genre of metal, reconciling the dynamic riff work with a cavernous and morbid atmosphere, particularly in the world-devouring vocal delivery. Infectious though much of the album may be, it still looms over the listener with infernal and malign intent, vomiting-forth from the grave with malice, for all of its bounce and swagger. It isn't doused in "<i>necrosound", </i>but it carries a distinct and flavoursome evil in its veins - it doesn't need to be scathingly raw. <br />
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The dominant elements of death metal and black metal likewise interact in interesting ways throughout the running time of the record, with the album maintaining an ability to writhe with the energy of old-school death metal, but also descend into a crushing and devilish darkness. It's a coming together of flavours, somehow both morbid and, for want of a better word, <i>rocking, </i>following-on from bands like their fellow countrymen Bulldozer in doing so. Indeed, while perhaps not <i>the </i>culmination - if any album could ever claim to be such - "<i>Secret Sudaria</i>" very much represents a buffet of some of the very best ideas and recurring tropes that metal had accumulated from its inception right through to 1997, when the record was released. It's not that the album itself is diffuse in identity, or gratuitously eclectic, either; the songs have a fixed and consistent style throughout, giving it great cohesion through its runtime. Instead, what seems to have happened is that Mortuary Drape are a band who sit so thoroughly betwixt the archetypal products of the various subgenres from which they take influence, it's impossible not to sit-up and notice the resultant amalgam. It's the sort of record which will challenge you if you try to be too <i>meta. </i>The most enjoyment it can offer, as writing this review has taught me, is when one listens to it without thinking too deeply into <i>what </i>it is, but savouring simply <i>how </i>it is.<br />
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Mortuary Drape have outright rocketed into being among my favourite extreme-metal acts, and with albums like <i>Secret Sudaria </i>appealing to more or less my every preference with regards to metal, it's in many ways unsurprising. While the band seem to be a treasure of the underground, reserved only for those who go looking, I nonetheless thoroughly recommend anyone with a vague interest in extreme metal to seek their material out.<br />
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This is a 9.5/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.mortuary13drape.com/">Mortuary Drape Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mortuarydrape">Mortuary Drape on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mortuary_Drape/735">Mortuary Drape on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-43285156403771141952015-06-29T01:10:00.003+01:002015-06-29T01:10:53.165+01:00#380 Trouble - Psalm 9Whatever your thoughts on Christianity as a lyrical theme, there's really no denying Trouble's place in the pantheon of seminal doom works. I'm slightly surprised that it has taken me <i>quite </i>so long to get around to listening to an album so tall in stature as this, and one so thoroughly fitting with the sort of thing I enjoy. Throughout the years, I've often heard "<i>Psalm 9</i>" heralded as one of the most significant records in the doom genre, and over the last couple of months, I have finally set the time aside to hear it for myself. Better late than never, as they say...<br />
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A great number of bands can trace stylistic lineage back through records like <i>"Psalm 9"</i> . Listening to the record is a thoroughly enjoyable exercise in <i>why </i>this is the case; if your familiar with the contours of doom as a genre, you can pick up hints of a few of them. Throughout the album, there is a coming together of variety and cohesion which makes the record a fantastic stand-alone collection of music, but also a potent foreshadowing device of a huge swathe of doom to come. In a classic case of the early endeavours of a genre being the most interesting, the albums influences span a huge range of the metal spectrum, incorporating a swift intensity which is missing from many of the lumbering, unhurried doom records of today. Indeed, a good proportion of the record has almost got more in-common with Metal Church than with Electric Wizard. Tracks like "Assassin" call upon delicious and archetypal early-80s heavy metal elements, smoothly blended into the more familiar low-tempo sections, which bring an atmosphere with the capacity to entrance, but for the most part stripped of the noticeable narcotic edge associated with records like "Master of Reality", or Pentagram's début. Given the rather sober nature of Trouble's lyrics and, I gather, ideology overall, this is in many respects hardly surprising. Rather than a harm, this very much serves to hone the record into a more powerful creation. <br />
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Throughout, the rough and scathing vocals imbue the record with a potent and brooding intensity, granting "<i>Psalm 9</i>" a harsher and less forgiving edge than the serene murmurings and gasping of many later bands. Whilst atmospheric in an earnest and wholesome way, at times easily verging on epic-doom of the style later adopted by acts like Solitude Aeturnus, Trouble reconcile this well with being gritty. The songs stomp along, using their serrated edges in tandem with the listener-absorbing qualities of the thick and, in the true sense of the word, <i>heavy </i>churning of the riffs below. The riffs themselves are comfortable to have some room to manoeuvre, not feeling the need to fill their entire domain with noise, and consequently setting free many of the hooks and memorable twists in the guitar-work to breathe freely and show their splendour, a factor which is similarly noticible in the vocals, which have a clarity and force merely baptised by reverb and echo, as opposed to outright drenched in it. "<i>Psalm 9" </i>is astonishingly successful in uniting its seemingly eclectic aims; striding swiftness collides with the mixture of epic, uplifting and spooky doom-metal, and mixes into it with the utmost of success.<br />
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I suppose in some ways the Christian themes at the forefront of Trouble's music must have dissuaded me at some point in the past. I've certainly been aware of their existence for longer than I've been listening to their work. Whatever my issue was, it's very much overcome now. I've heard some refer to <i>Psalm 9 </i>as preachy, finding the religious themes too overt... after a dozen or so listens, however, not once has their been a moment of the record which made me call its quality into question. I join the ranks of those, arguably wise, fans who aren't making a big deal out of whether or not the lyrics are something with which they identify personally. And in doing so, I can fully appreciate a true classic. <br />
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This is a 9/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.newtrouble.com/">Trouble Official Site</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/TroubleChicago">Trouble on Facebook</a><br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Trouble/393">Trouble on Metal Archives</a><br />
UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-37103805104451333102015-06-19T00:27:00.002+01:002015-06-19T00:29:34.204+01:00#379 Deceased - As the Wierd Travel OnWhat <i>is </i>an album review <i>for</i>, exactly? Nothing, all those years ago when I could barely make a good paragraph, prepared me for the sheer amount of thought which that problem needs. As a reviewer, your job - or hobby - consists of a strange and at times unwieldy paradox of activities. One one hand, you might be discussing a record which the listener has heard before... in which case, the most tasty cuts of the review, to them, will almost always be those which help the listener capture what they felt in the first place; positive or negative. On the other hand, you might be trying to explain an album which the listener <i>has not </i>heard the record before, which leaves you as nothing but a glorified cheerleader. A great album will do a much more compelling job of selling itself than <i>you </i>ever will, leaning out from behind it whispering "it <i>is </i>actually very good, you know". Reviewing is a <i>two-handed </i>job; I need to cater to both of the above. Likewise, who am <i>I </i>to think I could sway a readers established opinion about something? It's all very confusing, and I'm still not very good at it. I suppose a well-rounded review must consist of a descriptive element to entice people who haven't heard the album... an evaluative element; is what I've just described a good thing? - and a persuasive element; "I'd say they did the good thing even better than on the last record". The real problem is that, however much or little you ruminate over all of this, the biggest problem remains... "<i>how the fuck do I explain Deceased to someone?" </i><br />
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The first few Deceased records can more or less be called death metal. After that, things can get tricky. It's thrashy, it's still death metal, and in many respects, it has the melodic properties of traditional metal... ultimately, it's hard to label, and that very much attests to its quality. It's deliciously distinct. In even the bands earliest work, however, there's more than a subtle hint of very interesting things going-on beyond the surface, expressions of a band who were very comfortable to do their own thing. Listen to 1995's "<i>The Blueprints of Madness</i>" and you have a fairly sturdy specimen of death metal with some interesting symptoms brewing. Jump forward ten years to 2005's "<i>As The Weird Travel On</i>" and you discover a band whose evolution has been of downright mammoth proportions... and I say this without intentionally knocking their early work either. The record bursts straight out of the burial-plot<i> </i>without pomp or ceremony. No eerie intro track, instrumental or otherwise, just an immediate and blistering outburst of memorable lead-guitar melody followed by King Fowley's gruff roaring vocals, and in this fashion, the record is content to continue as it begins; relentless in this respect, and all the better for it, forty-eight minutes of swift, ghoulish uniqueness. <br />
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Some death metal bands borrow their lyrics from a medical textbook.
Some borrow their lyrics straight from a Satanic tome...
Deceased instead drank some beers, watched a stack of horror-movies, and picked
up a well thumbed copy of "<i>Weird Tales</i>". Just as the latter may often prove a more colourful and vibrant source of inspiration, Deceased take up this vibrancy in their music. "<i>As the Weird...</i>" is a strikingly catchy record. The chassis, provide an undulating, swaggering strength with a thrashy death-metal intensity; rumbling, rampaging riff-work and energetic drums. Mounted upon this is the charmingly spooky narrative style of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, bringing a more whimsical and playful side of the record to light; the kind of death metal which still wears sunglasses indoors sometimes, too. Most of the tracks embrace the story-telling side of things, and deliver with quintessentially old-school rhyming vocal-patterns, giving all of the tracks memorable lines, both in content and structure. This is crowned with the excellent guitar-work, with lip-licking hooks, melodies and solos straight from the ancient scriptures of the early-eighties, creating a soaring and fantastically filthy amalgam, a sandwich of well-balanced elements. A little less brutal and guttural than its forebears perhaps, but nonetheless undiluted in its punch; succeeding utterly in delivering spine-tingling thrills. Likewise, the charm of the spooky, pulp-magazine-horror lyrics does not rob the music of a credibility and power, rounding it out beautifully; it's fun, it's <i>damn </i>fun, but you can still thrive on its energy when you're walking down the road, pissed-off, or in need of motivation.<br />
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As usual, I finish this review with a sense of uncertainty that I've achieved anything I especially set out to do - but nonetheless, I still find enjoyment in picking an album and sitting for a few hours really having a <i>think </i>about it. So I suppose writing reviews, in answer to the question I opened with, as far as I'm concerned, is for fun. Whether it serves any other purpose very much depends on who stumbles upon it, and I hope, if you're reading this<i>, </i>that these several hundred words have been some use to you. As ever, the most informative part of this review, for those interested in Deceased, is probably the YouTube link. A song is worth 869 words, after all. <br />
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This is a definite 9/10.<br />
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Links:<br />
<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Deceased/1392">Deceased on Metal Archives</a><br />
<br />UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8318021079989309524.post-29414961526575772222015-06-07T01:56:00.000+01:002015-06-07T01:56:04.092+01:00#378 Master's Hammer - Ritual<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When it comes to early Czech black metal, the two names which tend to do the rounds most are those of Root, and of Master's Hammer - the two heavyweights of the scene. I've been a Root fan for some years - I discovered them by looking up their name in Metal Archives because I thought it was cool, which proved to be a very rewarding evening. As it turned out, the band was exquisite, both for their early and vicious material, and the sublimely beautiful later work. Frankly, you can take it as a given that Root has my seal of approval. Master's Hammer, on the other hand, are a band I didn't actually get around to listening to until much more recently, despite a couple of years spent feeling like I should be. There are, alas, so many bands and so little time - it wasn't until this year that I truly managed to listen to their work properly. As with Root, the journey of discovering their material has been pleasantly rewarding. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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"<i>Ritual</i>" may well be the best know record Master's Hammer created. Its distinct and quirky artwork - which informed several of the bands subsequent works - can be spotted a mile away, and the sound on the record is similarly bespoke and unique, utterly befitting of the band's place among the heroic outliers of the early black-metal scene. Like Root, like Rotting Christ, and so many other bands who rose to prominence in those days, Master's Hammer proudly and successfully concoct their <i>own </i>recipe of black-metal. "<i>Ritual</i>" bursts forth with a majestic and intimidating core of resplendent riff-work and an intensity which should not be underestimated. A spirit of experimentation bubbling beneath the surface, making its presence known, unapologetically and at times with stirring beauty and power. The tone may be a relatively warm, and the production leaves some breathing room compared to the more conventional black-metal sound, but it is <i>not</i> consequently robbed of any writhing occult majesty. A warm tone does not necessarily preclude revelling, devilish music, and this record firmly demonstrates why - weaving with powerful and memorable guitar-work, and brought to crescendo with sublimely applied atmospherics. Ritual is not a chaotic album; it is, instead tight, well-ordered and cohesive; properties which may have been anathema to some bands at the time, but which, in the right hands - and believe me, these are the right hands - can weave a thing of the utmost musical splendour. </div>
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The soaring and elevating atmosphere of the record must have, at the time, been something between pleasingly novel and outright ground-breaking, what's more, the record has aged very well, maintaining a vitality and spirit which is not diminished in quality some almost twenty-five years later. The lofty melodies and wholesome atmosphere allows the music to rush along and truly be absorbing; a work of beauty, not merely of <i>fun. </i>A number of the riffs certainly have a measure of lip-licking devilry, in an almost pre-second-wave black metal style, when required - and there is great enjoyment to be had of that. Likewise, however, and perhaps of the most merit, when the band seek, as on "<i>Černá svatozář</i>" to create an atmospheric torrent of music, they likewise succeed. By my ears, it is to an extent easily excellent enough to give any black-metal band before or since a run for their money. Factors like these are enough to set apart "<i>Ritual" </i>as one of the most well-developed and inspired débuts in the whole sub-genre, showing off a clarity-of-vision and coherent musical direction far in excess of some of the charmingly chaotic and inconsistent works which early first and second wave black-metal is known for. </div>
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I like to think I'm well versed in black metal. <i>I'm not</i>... but everyone has to think they're good at <i>something, </i>I suppose. Regardless, a record as good as this coming out of left field and meeting me, twenty five years after its birth is always unusual - there are so many records that I do not know, of course, but a record as wonderfully written as this one feels like one which I should have been much more likely to learn of by musical osmosis at some point. Nonetheless, its discovery to me is a cause for plenty of celebration - Master's Hammer are certainly a band I have now <i>discovered, </i>and I plan to make up for lost time. What little power I have, I will happily put behind trying to extol the virtues of this album, and the band which created it.</div>
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This is a 9.5/10.</div>
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Links:</div>
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<a href="http://www.mastershammer.com/">Master's Hammer Official Site</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/MastersHammerOfficial">Master's Hammer on Facebook</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Master%27s_Hammer/2525">Master's Hammer on Metal Archives </a></div>
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UnusedNamesAreRarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425845034352196907noreply@blogger.com