Album Review: Various Artists – Intoxicated Volume 4

Various Artists – Intoxicated Volume 4
Underground Movement – 2006

Compilations that attempt to give insight into a particular scene can fall into the pitfalls of broad inconsistency, with the better offerings often flanked by a host of the poorer scene barrel-scrapings. If only one sub-genre is represented, on the other hand, it can be demoralising to discover that most of the bands on your BEST OF GOREGRIND XTREEEM XIV!!!! or whatever sound like carbon copies of each other. Ho hum. So it’s heartening that Intoxicated Volume 4 presents a host of bands from the Irish underground. Death metal is featured heavily, but there are cuts of classic thrash, doom and even instrumental rock to be found too. It might be worth noting that many of the tracks on this comp are culled from self-financed albums and demos, and as such the recording quality can be a little rough at times. However, what Intoxicated… does best is showcase a variety of talent from an island not exactly synonymous with metal, and highlighting the injustice of its lack of profile worldwide.

Pogrom open proceedings in a manner not unlike early Death, particularly in the vocal department, and as ‘Dirty the Cloth’ suggests, its a somewhat hilarious rage against paedophile priests. A nod to Immolation’s ‘Father You’re Not a Father’ perhaps? Abaddon Incarnate blast forth with possibly the best track on the cd, with stellar production values and a vicious death/grind assault that is as intense as it gets. Mass Extinction’s brand of retro thrash may seem a little hackneyed these days, but bear in mind this originally came about in 2006 and you’ll quickly forgive ‘em. Sure, the overused theme of nuclear holocaust is a bit predictable, but it’s hard not to give a wry smile at its earnest authenticity, especially those Tom Araya-borrowed screams from the Reign in Blood days. Coldwar have been plying their nasty, hardcore-tinged extreme metal since 1999, and the catchy sludge they ooze is impressively dirty. Both Morphosis and Slave Zero offer more death metal, with the latter being the better of the two with some deft, intricate guitar work, whilst Morphosis’s brutal death metal comes across as banal by comparison. A surprising highlight emerges with Parhelia’s instrumental rock. It may sound out of place on a death metal heavy comp such as this, but they’re equipped with some suitably intricate guitar displays to hold their own with. A more textured approach in the future may well land them some serious attention. Wreck of the Hesperus rival Abaddon Incarnate for track of the album, as ‘Venomous Tentacles’ unnerving take on filthy doom is sewer-dwelling nastiness at its best, somehow managing to appear both minimalist and dense at once.

With 18 tracks to be trawled through, it’s quite an intimidating listen, but well worth it. Ireland’s metal scene has for a long time been quite marginalised, yet with Primordial’s ever rising profile along with the likes of Mourning Beloveth this is steadily changing. Sure, there are a couple of duff tracks here (Chosen need to seriously work on their clean vocal approach if they’re ever to become true contenders), but for the most part this is a raw, visceral yet surprisingly varied take on an ever-bulging scene.

Official Underground Movement Website
Official Underground Movement MySpace

Album Review: Ihsahn – Angl

Ihsahn – Angl
Candlelight – CANDLE218CD – 26 May 2008

Ihsahn’s first solo outing, The Adversary, was certainly an interesting diversion, and chock full of many of his trademark strengths as a master songwriter, but it also suffered from a lack of cohesion. Ihsahn let his influences run a little rampant, his propensity for King Diamond worship in particular, and to be honest it’s hard to remember any standout moments. Not only is Angl much better in all respects, but it could perhaps be seen as the true follow up to Emperor’s swansong, Prometheus: The Discipline of Fire and Demise, as it explores some similar themes whilst inhabiting that classicist, proggy, post-black metal headspace thatto this day only Emperor ever fully realised.

Sure enough, opener ‘Misanthrope’ recalls ‘The Tongue of Fire, whilst the epic, string-laden bombast and blastbeats of ‘Malediction’ echo ‘In the Wordless Chamber’. Ihsahn has managed to reign in the unecessary indulgences of The Adversary in favour of more concise songwriting, yet without compromising the technical prowess he has so effortlessly displayed in the past. ‘Unhealer’ is a proper highlight, Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt lending his considerable pipes in both clean and growled capacities, and his emotive singing adds an excellent current through Ihsahn’s ever-extravagant guitar playing. The pair trade off growled and rasped vocals during the chorus, and it works so well as to act as a climax of sorts.

Angl isn’t perfect, however. The production is a little clinical in places, and as such it can’t summon the kind of atmospheric heights that it hints at. Ihsahn has no time for black metal primitivism or its resultant constraints, and as expected this could hardly even be called black metal were it not for his distinct throaty rasp. Yet it’s hard to beoman Ihsahn for this as ‘Threnody’s gentle strains close the album in a suitably eerie fashion, which is when one finally realises that Ihsahn’s musical vision far exceeds the limitations imposed by black metal’s ideological conservatism. Angl may lack both the nasty, malevolent streak of prime Emperor, not to mention its forest-trolling atmosphere, but as a full on piece of metallic art this is probably up there with the best of the year so far.

Official Ihsahn Website
Official Ihsahn MySpace
Official Candlelight Website

Album Review: Deranged – The Red Light Murder Case

Deranged – The Red Light Murder Case
Regain Records – RR139 – 25 February 2008
By Paddy Walsh

Blood-spattered brutal death is served up through Swedish veterans’ 7th (and final) offering. When a death metal band keeps things simple, with the focus on songwriting over noticeable progression, or bludgeon over technical wizardry, the results can still be devastating, even in 2008 – Dead Congregation proved that. Many bands have even resorted to reducing their art to Malmsteen-like acts of sonic masturbation in an attempt to deflect attention away from the fact that they’re incapable of writing a memorable riff (see recent Cryptopsy). Deranged have no such illusions of grandeur, and it’s thus left to the actual material to impress. The Red Light Murder Case has its hemorhraging heart in the right place, but unfortunately falls below the mark in a few respects.

As ‘Watch Me When I Kell’ kicks off, it bewcomes apparent that this bad boy won’t be featuring any Nile-inspired brass sections. Rather, Deranged serve up a straight-ahead, no frills barrage in the vein of Cannibal Corpse with touches of Slayer in the mix. An attempt at a concept of sorts (a guy who muders prostitutes or something…enthralling i’m sure) is there, although it’s hard to see the point in a genre as openly bone-headed as brutal death. A somewhat clinical production nullifies their attempt to thematically diversify, unfortunately, and any atmosphere which they may have conjured otherwise is lost. The relentless bludgeon attention also fails to hold the attention for the duration, with many of the songs seemingly interchangeable. ‘Murderess’ proves an exception, with a satisfying groove invoked that finally gives the listener something to get their teeth into, whilst ‘The Killer Wore Black Gloves’ has a slow-burning chug that successfully taps into a menacing atmosphere that’s otherwise lacking.

The requisite growls are quite blandly executed , i.e. they remain in guttural autopilot throughout. Why do death metal vocalists think that just because they can do a good cookie monster impression that it automatically converys an angry/aggressive emotional extreme? It doesn’t, and growling needs to be considered an art as much as any other vocal style. Seriously. As I can assure that it’s a part of what separates the Morbid Angels from the Hate Eternals in this world. So Deranged end a 15 year career with an adequate but wholly unremarkable brutal death metal platter. It’s decent, but it’s bog standard and one strictly for the Cannabal Corpse afficionados. Still, it’s not worful by any means, yet simply can’t compare with the likes of say, Dismember or Severe Torture in the ’simple but effective’ stakes for 2008.

Official Deranged Website
Official Deranged MySpace
Official Regain Records Website