Album Review: Gospel of the Horns – Realm of the Damned
Invictus Productions – IP012 – 14 May 2007
Gospel of the Horns play thekind of no frills blackened thrash that can be likened to fellow Aussies Destroyer 666 et al. After an uninteresting and lengthy instrumental opener – that sounds more like an embryonic standard song sans vocals, rather than a proper scene-setter – proceedings kick off properly with ‘Trial by Fire’. Exhibiting the sub-sonic punkiness that has permeated Darkthrone’s latter-day material, ‘Trial by Fire’, and indeed much of ‘Realm of the Damned’, has a raw, visceral quality that mixes classic thrash with the grittier part of the black metal scale. The vocals are for the most rasped (although a few tracks have a surprising bit of hardcore-esque shout-along moments in them) in a vein reminiscent of Maniac’s (ex-Mayhem, Skitliv), unfortunately emphasising his tendency to at times sound like a pissed off Donald Duck (listen to Mayhem’s Grand Declaration of War if you don’t believe me).
Despite this, Realm of the Damned is a pretty blistering listen from start to finish, and Gospel of the Horns are obviously interested in sounding as raucous as possible. ‘Death Sentence’ is superb, veering from lumbering black n’ roll a la Satyricon into retro thrash territory at the drop of a hat. Efforts to weave a sense of the epic can be found throughout, with arching melodic solos often producing a genuinely magesterial atmosphere amidst all the relentless aggression. The blast beats that open ‘Blood and Iron’ lead into a very black metal riff that lurches wildly before setlling back into thrash territory once again.
Themes of war and satan are the rather suitable topics of discussion on Gospel of the Horns’s table, and as obviously cliched as they are it’s hard to imagine anything more apt. ‘1915′, for instance, opens with battle sounds, and its brilliantly melodic mid-section fully conjures that darkly epix atmosphere they’re after. Realm of the Damned is raw, at times harsh, but is comprised of very good material for the most part. As mentioned, the vocals have a tendency to grate a little, and they could certainly do with more variety to raise this band above their contemporaries. As it stands, Gospel of the Horns are a band with their chops fully in order, which is of course the most important thing for black thrash, but if they could up the ante on future releases in a few other respects we’d have a seriously formidable group of angry Australians on our hands.
Official Gospel of the Horns MySpace
Official Invictus Productions Website
Album Review: The Agony Scene – Get Damned
Century Media – 21 January 2008
Metallic hardcore is the order of the day with Get Damned, Oklahoma bruisers The Agony Scene’s third effort, and a fine effort it is too. Eschewing the irritating tendency of certain bands of this ilk to drown their sound in sing-along syrup and token Iron Maiden-isms, The Agony Scene instead lay on the riffs big time. ‘Barnburner’ is a suitably visceral opener, as thrashy guitarwork melds with the requisite hardcore shout-alongs. Vocalist Mike Williams may stick to a throaty rasp that’ll be easily recognisable to anyone familiar with this genre, but it’s roared with enough conviction to avoid monotony. Descents into emo pissiness never occur on Get Damned, the band obviously more concerned with making an impact through force instead. ‘Rapture’ boasts some emotive vocal moments, for sure, but they’re tempered with the aggression that permeates this album, never feeling either wimpy or contrived.
Musically, The Agony Scene offer the usual mixture of hardcore and thrash that we’ve all heard plenty of in the past few years, but when it’s done properly it can still enthrall. Get Damned is just the ticket for those with a penchant for the genre, but who have become jaded with the reams of watered-down dross that’s all over the mainstream metal mags. ‘Dances with Devils’ is a particular highlight, with echoes of the intense German metalcore of Heaven Shall Burn amidst its onslaught. ‘White Nights’ lets the hardcore come to the forefront a la Agnostic Front, before settling into a feedback-laden dirge between unnerving spoken samples.
Aforementioned track is undoubtedly well executed, and weaves a well-intentioned dark atmosphere, yet Get Damned’s main stumbling block is its sometimes lack of variety and sterile production – the drums and particularly the guitar tone is indistinguishable from its contemporaries. This may leave the band vulnerable to being lost amongst their many contemporaries, but The Agony Scene’s strong songwriting and enthusiasm ought to see them through regardless, making Get Damned a worthy contender to the top of the metalcore heirarchy.
Official The Agony Scene Website
Official The Agony Scene MySpace
Official Century Media Website
Morbid Angel Announce New Guitarist
+ 
= 
Since the return of Dave Vincent behind the mic of Morbid Angel’s ranks, things have seemed a little quiet in the veteran deathster’s camp. Yet in a recent interview, it would appear the band have finally recruited a replacement for Erik Rutan (who departed after the release of 00’s Gateways to Annihilation) in the form of DestrucThor (or Anders Myhren, as he is known to his parents) who has up until now being contributing string-abuse to Norwegian death metal outfit Zyklon. Said band are notable for being the mastermind of former Emperor members, guitarist Samoth and drummer Trym, who formed Zyklon shortly before Emperor’s untimely dissolution.
Said Dave Vincent of Deestructhor’s recruitment:
“The hunt for another guitarist to play alongside Trey (Azagthoth, the band’s primary songwriter) was long and difficult. Man, I tell you, we had tapes sent to us from all over the world from guys who wanted to play in our band, and many of them were extremely talented — but Thor was the right choice for us. He’s a fantastic guitarist and fits right in with the band. Also, ZYKLON have supported MORBID ANGEL in the past, so the guys knew each other already.”
Now, Zyklon haven’t exactly set the world alight since the excellent cyber-death of their debut, ’01’s World ov Worms, yet Destructhor is something of an obvious choice given Zyklon’s penchant for Domination-era riffery. Morbid Angel haven’t been so hot these past few years either; their last effort Heretic was a band in yawn-inducing autopilot mode. Come to think of it, Erik Rutan’s post Morbid Angel work with Hate Eternal has been less than stellar too; is there a curse through association? Still, Dave Vincent’s triumphant return and Destructhor’s arrival might just inject a bit of adrenalin into the veins of a band that once graced the world with a string of classic death metal albums (See Altars of Madness, Blessed are the Sick, Covenant and Domination), so time will tell whether they still have it in them to belt out another.
Shame it wasn’t Samoth they picked up though huh?
Album Review: Hate – Morphosis
Listenable – POSH098 – 4 February 2008
Although hardly the most original death metal band to ever belch forth from hell, Poland’s Hate retain a certain identity beneath their relentless onslaught. As opener ‘Morphosis’ churns up some eerie industrial noise before seguing into the intense ‘Threnody’, Hate’s adeptness at their craft becomes self-evident as rapidly as their riffs shoot into the ears. Catchy and brutal, ‘Threnody’ sets a high precedent. Morphosis is indeed a noisy yet well-produced death metal record that at times recalls the clinical onslaught that made Zyklon’s World ov Worms such a refreshing spin a few years ago. As ‘Catharsis’ lurches forward, a Deicide-like groove is invoked, and indeed the vocals often exhibit a distinct air of Glen Benton about them.
Unfortunately, there is at times a sense of overfamiliarity to parts of this release renders it a little dull – ‘Resurrection Machine’ seems to pull all the right speedy moves but never stands out, content to seemingly whizz by san the all-important (yes, even in death metal) hooks to pull you in. That said, ‘The Evangelistic Pain’ produces a technical, Morbid Angel-tinged franticness, and coupled with its memorable midsection (which utilises samples to great effect) works extremely well. Perhaps strangely, it is when Hate aren’t trying too hard to bludgeon the listener for the sake of it that Morphosis is at its best, and they are obviously well-versed at knowing when to incorporate a canny electronic twist. This may be a path they could do well to explore more thoroughly in the future, such as when ‘Omega’s acoustic intro is beset by an ominous electronic undercurrent that serves to make the track more sinister. Morphosis is an album that is lifted above mediocrity by some great ideas, yet simultaneously let down by a reluctance to fully utilise them.
Official Hate Website
Official Hate MySpace
Official Listenable Records Website
New Nine Inch Nails Album ‘The Slip’ Available as Free Download
As was hinted by the posting of new single ‘Discipline’ a couple of weeks ago, yesterday Trent Reznor simultaneously announced the existence of and released the new Nine Inch Nails album, The Slip. The album is available as a free download in various different formats such as mp3, FLAC and WAVE. Reznor remarked on the www.nin.com website “thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me”. In terms of a goodwill gesture towards fans this is pretty much as good as it gets. The tracklisting is as follows:
01. 999,999
02. 1,000,000
03. letting you
04. discipline
05. echoplex
06. head down
07. lights in the sky
08. corona radiata
09. the four of us are dying
The Slip can be downloaded here
First impressions suggest an album more immediately familiar than its predecessor (Ghosts I-IV aside), with The Slip going through the gamut of NIN’s various facets, from the uptempo rock of ‘1,000,000′, incendiary rage in ‘Letting You’, and the requisite piano-ballad in ‘Lights in the Sky’.
Expect a full review very soon…
Album Review: Opeth – Watershed
Opeth – Watershed
Roadrunner – 2 June 2008
In many ways Ghost Reveries stood as a kind of reaffirmation of Opeth’s abilities, not so much to placate their ever-anxious fanbase per se, but as a regathering of their thoughts in lieu of the much maligned Deliverance/Damnation era which saw a hideous recording process for the former (leaving mainman Mikael Akerfeldt to later proclaim his antipathy towards said work) and all kinds of fevered debate over the latter (a collection of strictly mellow moments with a distinct 70s flavour). Ghost Reveries retread the band’s tried ‘n trusted pastiche of long, winding epics, all pervasive riffing and occasional melodic noodling to great effect, the introduction of Per Wilberg on keys proving an unobtrusive gesture towards their vintage tendencies. If Ghost Reveries is thus to be viewed as a swansong of the Opeth of masterpieces such as Blackwater Park and Still Life, then Watershed is most definitely the clearing of the decks, the journey off the beaten path and the forage into pastures anew (to use a string of ‘moving forward’ cliches in one sentence!).
It makes sense for Watershed to exhibit a bevy of new facets for Opeth. Long-term guitarist Peter Lindgren has departed, and his replacement is ex-Arch Enemy member Fredrik Akesson – an axeman of considerable talent whose contributions on Watershed lend an air of shred which is as at odds with Lindgren’s more bluesy approach as it is Akerfeldt’s melodic, progressive stylings. As well as Akesson’s addition comes drummer Martin Axenrot, replacing Martin Lopez. With two new members on board, Watershed certainly has a feeling of renewal about it, and this becomes apparent as the opening acoustic strains of the 3-minute ‘Coil’ appear, Mike’s clean vocal range immediately sounding more vibrant than ever before. A touching, almost sentimental sounding opener, ‘Coil’ eschews the traditional walloping Opeth first-track (see ‘April Ethereal’, ‘The Moor’, ‘The Leper Affinity’ or ‘Wreath’), weaving a gentle, Led Zeppelin-inspired acoustic strum amidst Akerfeldt’s emotive singing and some surprising female vocals (Nathalie Lorichs). ‘Heir Apparent’ proves to be the most familiar song on Watershed, a doom-laden beginning eventually exploding into a Morbid Angel-esque tirade before winding down – in typically opaque Opeth fashion – to a gentle acoustic interlude that once again blasts off in manner not unlike Blackwater Park’s title track. Akerfledt’s growling proves inimitable as always, their affect sounding slightly altered by some well-mannered studio trickery that gives them a forceful, multi-tracked ferocity. ‘Heir Apparent’ acts as a buffer to Watershed’s truer nature, however, as ‘The Lotus Eater’s blastbeats and clean vocals stun the listener as an Opeth first, whilst Per is given his first shining moment as the band launch into a bewildering funk-prog moment. ‘Burden’, meanwhile, proves to be one of the band’s finest moments, as Akerfeldt croons will all the magesterial confidence he had always promised and finally delivers on Watershed. ‘Burden’ plays like a twisted homage to Deep Purple, Per’s hammond-solo and Akesson and Akerfeldt trading solos working beautifully together, whilst the song winds down in as bizarre a manner they come as Akerfeldt’s guitar is literally detuned in the middle of a wondrous acoustic guitar lick that, whilst puzzling, makes perfect sense in the context of Watershed as a whole – an album full of strange avenues, subtle surprises and inspired songwriting.
Axenrot aquits himself excellently in the drumstool – his style exhibits a looseness that is in perfect sync with Watershed’s slight air of chaos – witness his severe off-kilter drum spasm on ‘Porcelain Heart’ for proof if you will. Despite the multi-faceted nature of Watershed, it just may stand as Opeth’s most cohesive work yet (’Porcelain Heart’s somewhat disjointed structure notwithstanding). Never before have the band sounded as confident and self-assured as they do here, for example Per’s excellent integration of his keyboards into more than an embellishment but as an integral part of the band’s tapestry. Watershed plays more like a 70’s progressive rock album than anything really related to death metal – a fact that may disappoint those who found the band through My Arms, Your Hearse or Deliverance – but for those of you who have seen Opeth through their colourful journey will surely recognise that Watershed is another essential step into the realms of metal immortality.
Official Opeth MySpace
Album Review: Deicide – Til Death Do Us Part
Earache – MOSH358 – 28 April 2008
No one ever expected that Deicide still had it in them to produce a modern classic in The Stench of Redemption in 2006, and it holds up well to this day. Brutal, melodic and intense, The Stench of Redemption caused many to restore their faith in a band who hadn’t exactly set the world alight with their post Once Upon the Cross output. The ejection of the Hoffman brothers from guitar duties seemed to imbue the band with a renewed vigour, banishing memories of the woeful period of Insineratehymn and In Torment, In Hell. Yes, much was forgiven in the Deicide camp, and even mainman Glen Benton’s ever ridiculous media outbursts seemed to decline, which leads us into 2008 and Til Death Do Us Part which, judging from recent interviews, may just be Deicide’s swansong.
After innumerable songs about how Christians need to be disemboweled and how swell a guy Satan is, it appears that getting divorced has given Mr. Benton something new to write about. At last. Hence the name of the album and tracks such as ‘Severed Ties’. Despite this, Til Death Do Us Part is possibly Benton’s most stilted vocal performance – he’s seemingly content to growl along nonchalantly these days (occasional backing screams aside) – there’s none of the demented cackling that made such an impact on the likes of ‘Lunatic of God’s Creation’ or ‘Satan Spawn the Caco-Daemon’. Instrumentally, however, Deicide cannot be faulted these days. Like The Stench of Redemption, Til Death Do Us Part is chock fulll of intense lead guitar melodicism, brutal breakdowns and an unmistakable groove. Former Iced Earth axeman Ralph Santola again contributes incredible lead guitar work that at times plays like a more concise Vital Remains, whilst Jack Owen creates an unmistakable groove both catchy and brutal. The title track is an immense example of this, whilst ‘Severed Ties’ features the kind of lead guitar breaks that would have been unthinkable with the Hoffmans on board. ‘The Beginning of the End’ is a melodic instrumental that proves an excellent scene setter for the album, whilst ‘Not as Long as We Both Shall Live’ takes the foot off the pedal so to speak, an ominous guitar lead winding its way through the song and climaxing into an cacophonous frenzy.
Til Death Do Us Part doesn’t have the element of surprise that its predecessor had – nor can it quite match it in terms of songwriting – but it is nonetheless a worthy continuation of the newfound blackened muse that seemed to kick Deicide up the arse after the woeful In Torment, in Hell almost destroyed their legacy. Their debut, Legion and Once Upon the Cross will perhaps always stand as representing Deicide at their pinnacle (particularly considering the decline in Glen Benton’s vocals), but Til Death Do Us Part, if indeed it is their parting gift to the metal world, is a suitable finishing piece.
Official Deicide Website
Official Deicide MySpace
Official Earache Website
EP Review: Smashing Pumpkins – American Gothic
Reprise – 2 January, 2008
2007’s comeback album Zeitgeist was rather noticable by the absence of any true mellow moments (‘neverlost’ and the album’s namesake bonus track aside), as Billy Corgan attempted to reaffirm Smashing Pumpkins‘ status as out and out rockers once again – understandable considering the awkward and oft-misjudged meanderings Corgan’s career had taken during the band’s 7-year hiatus. American Gothic is a 4-track acoustic EP released on iTunes that serves to redress the balance somewhat, as well as giving us a another sample of Billy’s new incarnation of the band (which features just himself and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, as well as two hired hands for touring purposes).
Those familiar with Smashing Pumpkins‘ repetoire will know that Corgan has a real knack for stirring, acoustic-led numbers, be it ‘Disarm’ from Siamese Dream, ‘Thirty Three’ and ‘In the Arms of Sleep’ of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and even ‘To Shiela’ from Adore. Thus it’s refreshing to hear Corgan stepping back from the wall-of-sound, multi-layered Zeitgeist and letting things flow a little more naturally as he does here, and the results are rather satisfying. ‘The Rose March’ serves as the anchor for the EP, having been showcased during the the band’s residency stint in San Francisco last summer. It’s also produced by Roy Thomas Barker, who had a hand in much of Zeitgeist, and it shows – his trademark big sound that worked so well for Queen in the past is somewhat awkwardly applied in this instance, which means there are the upfront vocal harmonies found on Zeitgeist, but the song itself still works because of its simplicity, Corgan thankfully holding back on letting too much instrumentation get in the way with just an occasional backdrop of electric guitar. ‘Pox’, meanwhile, is an uptempo acoustic-rock affair, complete with Jimmy Chamberlin’s trademark fills. ‘Again, Again, Again (The Crux)’ proves to be American Gothic’s true gem, again uptempo with an introduction that’s lifted straight from ‘Age of Innocence’ from 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God, and it’s bequeathed with a wonderful, uplifting chorus the likes of which were last seen during the Siamese Dream days. Closer ‘Sunkissed’ is also strong, having quite an ethereal, spacey atmosphere that wouldn’t have sounded out of place alongside the likes of ‘Obscured’ on Pisces Iscariot.
Overall, then, American Gothic serves as a welcome stop-gap release as Billy Corgan continues to try and rekindle the spark that once had them placed at the top of modern rock’s summit. Whilst it’s unlikely to convince some of the more cynical older guard within the Pumpkins‘ fanbase, and Billy Corgan’s vocals will always remain an acquired taste (not to mention that they aren’t quite as strong as they were during his creative peak in the mid-90s), it’s nonetheless another step in the right direction for a band that many (including myself) had once written off as a product of a bygone era.
Album Review: Dismember – Dismember
Regain Records – RR118 – 18 February 2008
After the success of 06’s The God That Never Was, Dismember once again return to blow a wad of old-school Swedish death metal all over our eagerly gaping ears. Their uncompromising ability to consistently deliver the goods – despite the absence of any meaningful progression in their sound over the years – is to their credit, and Dismember continues this trend with consummate ease. As soon as ‘Death Conquers All’ springs out of the starting gates with frantic enthusiasm it’s immediately apparent that Dismember will be something of a treat for afficionados of the old school Swedish sound. Its mid-paced midsection is beset by ominous churchbells, and as an opener this is perfect – a rollicking death metal song that covers all the requisite Dismember bases. ‘Europa Burns’ is something of a highlight, its frankly awesome riffs crawling along in a cavernous fashion whilst Matti Karki delivers a distinctly feral roar with aplomb.
Dismember have never been about the bells and whilstles, and their latest offering is no different. The gnarly riffing is both ferocious and disarmingly catchy in equal measure, with the excellent yet sparing use of melodicism a perfect embellishment to the omnipresent death metal on display. ‘Under a Bloodred Sky’ may chug along furiously, but its latter half is beset by some very Iron Maiden-esque lead work – a trick Dismember have pulled in the past more frequently – and it works very well in this instance as an odd reprieve to the dirty death and roll that dominates their sound. Dismember indeed features a variety of tempos and superbly strong songwriting, their skill and experience very evident throughout, yet the album wilts slightly in its final third with ‘Black Sun’ ending the album in a disappointingly bog-standard fashion. Despite this, Dismember are a band still capable, after all these years, of churning out a remarkably consistent set of excellent and entertaining old school Swedish death metal that’s just as worthy of your attention as the Bloodbaths of this world.
Official Dismember Website
Official Dismember MySpace
Official Regain Records Website
-
Archives
- October 2008 (2)
- September 2008 (6)
- August 2008 (1)
- July 2008 (6)
- June 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (10)
- April 2008 (7)
-
Categories
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
