Óreiða/Holocausto Em Chamas - 10" Split

This split features sinister black metal from two different nations. There is absolutely nothing new or fancy about the style on this 10”, and neither do these bands hone on any of the rock friendly tones of first wave black metal or black n roll. Quite simply this is the Portuguese label Signal Rex at its best, offering the legions another crunchy wave of diabolical noise. 

Óreiða is the first band on the split. Early Darkthrone and Emperor influence is immediately recognizable on the pulverizing track “Blindur.” The return of this enigmatic Icelandic act carves out another necessary grab for their cult following, following their breakthrough demo. Clocking in at just under ten minutes, Óreiða’s track is an ominous whirlwind of complete black metal decimation.

Holocausto Em Chamas have an ethereal raw sound reminiscent of old school Darkthrone or Burzum. They’re a Portuguese duo with something to prove, as this is their second sonic malice, as well. The drum echo is dominantly heavy on each of their three tracks on this 10”, which is pretty characteristic of second wave black metal and its progeny of modern filth.

The split clocks in at twenty minutes. With no breaks or time to catch a breath, this pedigree of old school black metal courts the contemptable and depraved with no regards for safe metal.

Anatomia - Cranial Obsession

The brooding dimensions of doom metal, when combined with the bludgeoning gifts of death metal, can go so many interesting places, and Anatomia has managed to open a number of doors with their motley merger of the two primal forces in heavy metal’s most infernal genres.

Throughout Cranial Obsession, the music rocks back and forth between hypnotic dirges and clobbering riffs that honor death metal’s most sacred pioneers like Morbid Angel, Entombed, and Obituary. In fact, one might draw parallels to Entombed’s sophomore album Clandestine. 

Anatomia’s riffs echo with that same abrasive sound that conjures images of death and decay. Although doom certainly is the more prominent style in the album, don’t let that mislead you into thinking Anatomia isn’t capable of pulling some really brutal mid-tempo riffs.

The Japanese rarely disappoint in categories of extreme metal, so it should be no shocker that Anatomia is really good at what they do.

My favorite song on the album hits at the midway point; “Excarnated” is a cryptic tune that combines gargled chanting over a looped series of foreboding chords for nearly ten minutes. This is an outstanding use of minimalism to convey darker energy without exhausting the listener. One might even feel themselves slipping away into Japan’s ominous Sea of Trees. Toward the conclusion, the song twists into a nefarious procession that befits the track title.

Anatomia’s Cranial Obsession fulfills all of the raw and rough edges of death metal without compromising the lethargy of a classic doom metal act.

Ignis Haereticum - Autocognition of Light

Autocognition of Light begins with the “Glorious Wounds”, a track that pulls the senses apart and pummels the listener with a ruthless incorporation of raw energetic blast beats and eerie rhythmic single note picking that cascades into a gloomy opus. The song peaks in and out at frequent transitional moments, but the band never wanders from the macabre ritualistic charm that drives their motif.

The minimalistic songwriting helps to drive the primal theme; however, the album certainly lacks strength in variety. Three songs into the album, Autocognition of Light presents itself for all that it’s worth, a chaotic instrument of Luciferian gnostic spiritual liberation, but ultimately cliché and short of outstanding.

Although I appreciate the atmospheric theme that bands like Ignis Haereticum are approaching, so often the template becomes the inevitable enemy of artistic ambition. In this case, I just found Autocognition of Light to be a desolate marker on the plain of esoteric antichristian gnostic bands, and I don’t mean desolate in the way that conjures cool blackened visuals either.

The cyclone of blackened material that sludges its way through 40 minutes could have been better if the whole thing did not feel so contrived, or if it were released simply as a three or four song EP.

Electric Wizard - Wizard Bloody Wizard

Wizard Bloody Wizard is what just about everyone in the doom metal community is looking forward to hearing, but already it has seen some pretty split reviews. 

Its been three years since their crusher Time To Die tore through the scene with riff after riff of stoner doom metal hurled from the deep abyss. Time To Die could have been considered the band's highest point since their string of success in the early 2000s, so it's easy to understand why many are leering at Wizard Bloody Wizard with high expectations.

Wizard Bloody Wizard is a trippy dark rock slugger, but it fades in and out at times into weary-eyed lackadaisical moments. That may be considered the intent, to create music that makes you just want to drop out. What matters are the climatic knockouts in between. If the band is on the verge of exhaustion, then wherever they're digging deep to find the fuel for that authentic Electric Wizard dirge, they do still have it.

The album embarks with an eerie introduction on "See You In Hell", and then transitions to a malevolent space truckin' jam. The song is nearly seven minutes long and carries with it all the eclectic oddities that make Electric Wizard such an inspirational and utterly peerless band.

"Necromania" follows with the primal attitude of old school rock born out of the 60s underground. The lyrical themes of Electric Wizard remain mostly the same, cryptic imagination and all, but what I like most about this new vision of Wizard's sound is it harkens to the legendary days of occultic rock outlaws. The main riff is rhythmically enchanting, a simple hook that lures you in while Liz Buckingham spins groovy spells of her own on the overlay.

"Hear The Sirens Scream" can definitely be used to measure the band's ability to lift you out of a lull. While the first half of track three can be seen as a detrimental snoozefest, it's the climactic closer that shatters the dull haze.

As I said, although there are tired moments, Wizard is still able to represent themselves as the iconic death cult reverb mystics -- only slightly aged by passing of time.

If you come to this album thinking nothing but 'I want the next Dopethrone,' then leave. Or stay and change your mind. There won't be another Dopethrone. Ever. Period. However, Wizard is still capable of pulling out dirty jams inspired by the fantastic imagery of the damned. Their last decade has been a strong point for acidic crooning rockers, much like what Wizard Bloody Wizard became, a monster of corrosive riffs and Oborn's nefarious songwriting. The organic chemistry between this recent incarnation of band members remains strong in every context.

Channeling something somewhere in the darkness, Electric Wizard can still craft monolithic tunes. The album's ominous conclusion may be its strongest track. Over 11 minutes long, "Mourning of The Magicians" is a winding tale of demise at the end of the bend.

Wizard Bloody Wizard may not be the dopest Electric Wizard album, but it's certainly worthy of their legacy. It features the incredible songwriting narrative talents of Buckingham and Oborn that have built the band up for years. It's not too monotonous or burdened by cliches. 

Souldrinker - War Is Coming

Mixing elements of classic rock with the aggressive hooks of groove metal and awesome melodies of power metal, Souldrinker offer a little bit of everything for everybody. 

The album War Is Coming is totally killer no filler from front to back. Although some of the lyrical references throughout the album may appeal to the sci-fi and fantasy fans in the metal community, War Is Coming packed some pretty serious themes, also.

This German unit certainly has some similarities to Edguy, another German band that excelled with well timed catchy groove hooks and absolutely majestic melodies. Souldrinker's female vocalist Iris Boanta has a tough yet charming style. Her raspy delivery fits in well with the tones created by guitarist Markus Pohl of Mystic Prophecy, who guides the songs along with riffs that dance elegantly between abrasive and mellow. The powerful rhythm section helps complete the band as well, with beautiful hard hitting punches that charge the band's anthems. 

The talent of producer Tom Mueller really stuck like glue to the talent of this band. Mueller was definitely instrumental in getting the right sounds together on the album to make this such a solid debut, as was mastering artist Erik Freese.

War Is Coming is a solid debut from this band, and Souldrinker offer a refreshing twist on the power metal. Well done all around.

Daxma - The Head Which Becomes The Skull

Simple and melancholic, the brutally heavy Daxma has a charming mystic appeal to their atmospheric brand of sludge. The Head Which Becomes The Skull is a monolithic banger that sits constantly on a slow burn. The Oakland outfits enchanting melodies reveal layers of aesthetic decay and unnerving rhythms. The exchanging vocals between Jessica, Kelly, and Isaac produce a beautiful dynamic of ranges and tones that befit dreamy serenades and melodramatic gothic sounds.

Although the tracks do tend to drag there are often uplifting moments and grooves that propel THWBtS forward. It isn’t really an easy listen and you may need to go through the album a few times to really feel the dimensions that are weighing on it. In this sense, I can appreciate the artistic execution. It’s not simply an art album, but a wearisome ode to the imposing definitions of mortality.

MIDNIGHT - Sweet Death and Ecstasy

Raging edgy metal from Ohio, MIDNIGHT has been waving the banners of Satanic thrash royalty for an entire era, and now they are coming out with their third album to hold the throne as black n roll’s most savage band.

By the time “Poison Trash” hits I’m on the edge of my seat and already into the bodacious grooves layered under toxic levels of distortion.

The album is short and anything but sweet, however, that’s not to say it isn’t good. Although I think the momentum and energy behind their first two albums is a leap ahead of what is on the third release, Sweet Death and Ecstasy, there is still a lot of potency left in MIDNIGHT that shredders and thrashers are going to be able to enjoy for years. “Poison Trash” definitely has what you might be looking for in a stand out MIDNIGHT track, and should definitely be expected to get the crowd wild at any show.

You can feel the almost satirical darkness of the band in tracks like “Melting Brain”, which are ludicrous lyrically, but conjured with such a thickness in Athenar’s songwriting that you may find yourself gladly sinking into this rocking Hell while laughing at the tongue and cheek lyrics.

The Venom influence is paramount everywhere and most certainly obvious on “Rabid!” and “Bitch Mongrel,” two tracks on the album’s latter half with that definite raw punk rock style that clashes with speed and and deep bluesy guitar tones dripping with acidic abrasiveness.

Iron Monkey - 9-13

There is just something about a classic 90s sludge band that cranks the atmosphere up a notch. Either Iron Monkey album that came out of that decade still holds up.

9-13 is an abrasive assault on par with the gutter music of Iron Monkey's youth. Its juicy grooves and song structures maintain a level of interest from forward to back. Undeniably catchy, the Nottingham three piece have cranked up some voodoo with hooks that downshift into kinetic bluesy jams, then burst out into a spiral of fast break mania; the tracks are casually pummeling and never lose sight of that muddy hardcore punk vibe of the 90s sludge scene. Jim Rushby churns out viscous bayou juke music while simultaneously spitting out glass each time he opens his mouth. The drumming of Brigga is a relentless flood of pulse pounding energy that will guide your step into the undertow of England's hard hitting sludge scene. Steve Watson's bass heavy grooves will shake you loose in any situation whether its in standstill traffic, mopping the floor, or knocking up your neighbor. Solid album. Great stuff.

Release: 10-20-17
Bandcamp

Year of The Cobra - Burn Your Dead

Radical space tripping rock from the great Pacific Northwest, Seattle’s Year of The Cobra are back and crushing with five track EP Burn Your Dead. The EP is a fuzzy hi-fi gnarly jammer with juicy rhythms and clean grooves. There are plenty of pummeling riffs on the album but they don’t lose a sizzling appeal that helps to allure the listener with enchanting tunes. 

Foreboding and menacing, Amy Tung’s vocals have a distinguishing appeal that helps to make the two-piece listenable, and even an edge with some familiarity to early 90s riot grrrl punk rock singers.

Despite some of the positive characteristics, nothing really made me want to remember any of the tracks apart from “The Howl” which stood out to me as the EP’s centerpiece. Because the album is so short, there’s not much to lean on, and I feel that contributes to some of the lackluster. At least there’s some effort to deviate between multiple tempos throughout the tracks, which I found helpful in keeping my attention.

EP releases October 27th 2017!

EP

Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

Neither boring or ever easily understood, Bell Witch have established themselves in the genre of funeral doom with alluring minimalist conceptual offerings backed by Profound Lore Records.

Just a year ago, Bell Witch’s previous drummer Adrian Guerra passed away at the age of 36, not long after releasing the band released their 2015 crusher Four Phantoms. In that regard, Mirror Reaper may pass as a eulogy or tribute while succeeding the seminal doom unit’s first two chapters, also. 

Mirror Reaper is a dynamic single-track opus that stretches out the depths of funeral doom metal into a melodramatic two-part dirge.

If you’re really trying to capture the feel of this album, then it’s probably not going to come through to you on the first listen. It’s not an easy album to just throw in and jam out to. In fact, it immediately struck me as too listless and unforgivably monotonous, but that’s just the funeral doom metal way.

I had not heard Bell Witch until this promo passed my way, so I went back to Longing (2012) after finishing the 83-minute monolith that Profound Lore is prepping for an October 20^th release. In comparison to Longing, it’s certainly way matured, but an inspection of the subsequent album Four Phantoms (2015) is a more relative album for judgment. I found that Mirror Reaper captivates a greater sense of melancholy and longing than Four Phantoms if that’s even possible.

As I sank into my second listen of Mirror Reaper, the album began to feel more listenable, however no less depleting. Around the thirty-minute mark on my second listen, the clamor of colossal heavy chords forced out a reverie buried beneath all of the morbid angst, and revealed a fountain of sincere poetry juxtaposed with rhythms that could only be the wild spawn of ravenous heartache.

The polish on Bell Witch’s Mirror Reaper sets an ominous tone.  As the track discloses their tortured panorama with execution that blossoms into beautiful cadences and that help Mirror Reaper to prevail over the senses.

The appeal of Mirror Reaper only grew on me after several sessions. Deep into the album’s second half, Dylan Desmond’s reverberating bass chords and Jesse Schreibman’s crushing drumming unravel a sonic work of art within two conflicting forces spilling upon a canvas of the infinite void.

Album release: October 20th 2017

Steel Mammoth - Atomic Oblivion

Steel Mammoth

Atomic Oblivion

(Ektro Records)

Steel Mammoth are a raw eclectic rock act powered by the fusion of punk and metal. What’s most intriguing about this Finnish band is that they’re a steam roller of hybrid styles, but there is still something unique about them. This vocalist adds an absolutely outrageous element to the band. His zany charisma is unique and creates a distinguishable characteristic that listeners will either love or hate. The band’s style and sound has some semblance of style that is reminiscent to the Murder Junkies without the anti hero and scapegoat GG Allin at the helm, but it’s also far more avant garde in perspective. It pitches in and out of terrain that could easily be compared to the Melvins or Voivod, also. I appreciate that Steel Mammoth has implemented a songcraft that is eerily close to the music of the 70s. Atomic Oblivion isn’t just an homage, it really sounds like it came out of time warp. It’s classic vintage odd ball rock music with a heavy metal kick.

Steel Mammoth's Atomic Oblivion was released on August 18th.

Howling Giant - Black Hole Space Wizard II

Howling Giant Black Hole Space Wizard II (Independent)

Howling Giant may be passed over to you as a stoner rock band or something of the ilk, but they’re far too experimental and avant garde in nature to be narrowed into a small definitive genre. Their first album in the Black Hole Space Wizard chronology was some of the heaviest and most enchanting music I heard last year. Well they’re back for Part II.

Fuzz. Acid. Rock. Space. Doom. Stoner. Post-Post-Post Hawkwind. I don't care what you call it, this album is so mood lifting. Props to them for following up on the first chapter with an awesome force of astral boogie.

‘Henry Tate’ is a fitting first strike. It prepares the listener for what is on the horizon without overindulging. Within its first minute, the album begins to sound like a sojourn into the stars. Beginning an album with an instrumental is a pretty risky move, but Howling Giant did well to make sure that this track lays the foundation for Black Hole Space Wizard II. Whatever inspired this tune, it’s a real jammer and my face may have been melted off in the aftermath.

‘The Pioneer’ is a track that I kept coming back to. It has a really cool vibe, and it’s definitely here where one can start to see some of the Hawkwind influences sinking in. This is definitely a genuine rock band. They are out there in space conceptually, but in a literal sense, they remain solid rockers doing rock & roll things.

‘Visions’ would leave one wondering just what exactly these guys are on over in the studio. This isn’t necessarily a suggestion toward drug use, but esoterically in mind and spirit, they’re really on a special wavelength that delivers something incredible when combined into a creative force. Some parallels may be drawn to Explosions In The Sky, for their ability to work within multiple octaves and design melodies that reach incredibly ambient heights. Just as this song reaches its zenith, it tumbles back down into an eclectic rush of melody and awe inspiring brilliance that will level you. Unbelievably, the song drifts into “Forest Speaks’ in such a way that one might not even notice that they’re on the next track until the second instrumental is almost finished.

The crescendo lands at ‘Circle of Druids.’

A warped sample of someone speaking echoes into the air as the song starts. “Take this firefly, traveler, and let it guide you. But be warned, do not stray from its light,” the astral voices warns. The lyrics are seeping into the spirit smoothly, elevated by the titanic riffs of this Nashville group sequestered between sweeping vistas of mountains, hills, and small communities dotting the countryside along Tennessee. Surely, somewhere in that terrestrial wonderland that is Tennessee’s earthly panorama, Howling Giant emerged with their firefly burning brightly in the void.

If you are not ready to land, then you will play this album back again. Black Hole Space Wizard II is available now, and you can check out the album or order it on bandcamp!

Crown of Wallachia - Demo

Crown of Wallachia Demo Independent

Although one track alone is only a small offering to go off of, if this sample is any indication of the talent and composition behind Crown of Wallachia, then there is an unstoppable fury pulsing behind them. The band is a brainchild of an enigmatic resident of Oregon, who creates with guest musicians playing leads in the studio. As far as independent and individually run black metal projects go, Crown of Wallachia's quality is as pure as it is ambitious.

The band is a conceptual homage to the Wallachian lord who fought to keep the borders of Christianity in Europe with an edge of ruthlessness that will be forever remembered in the West. Count Vlad Tepes the Impaler was nothing if not an unleashed warrior with no limits, and that’s the spirit that the demo conveys.

The demo is superbly produced, and the machine gun instrumentation is captured wonderfully across the track. There are certainly no experimental or over the top elements in this song, but the purity of second generational black metal is utterly evident; raw rapid tempo music that channels all the maddening energies of the twisting nether. One could certainly picture a montage of Vlad Tepes reducing all of his enemies to pulps of human flesh and blood.

Woodhawk - Beyond The Sun

Woodhawk
Beyond The Sun (Independent)

Woodhawk provides an exciting and fundamentally rockin’ voyage through thick waves of sonically juicy grooves and jams that take off into radically trippy melodies. Unearthed under fuzz and down tuned walls of audible shock waves is the heart and soul of old school bluesy jams. The songwriting on this album could best be described as magical. From track to track, Woodhawk provides something righteous and undeniably contagious. Layers upon layers of musical talent open up a panorama of sounds traveling lucidly around each riff and hook. The bones holding Beyond The Sun up are funky, eclectic, and driving around an ensemble which includes organs and synths; Beyond The Sun isn’t just a rock album, it’s art with an astral supercharge.

Beyond The Sun was released in April 2017, and you can check them out on their bandcamp!

Pagan Altar - The Room of Shadows

Pagan Altar
The Room of Shadows (Temple of Mystery)

Pagan Altar may never receive the accolades commercially successful bands have, but if they did, how would that alter the spirit of their legacy?

The status of an underground cult legacy for a band can be revered or affect the perception with utter disdain as if the weight of something utterly pretentious burdens the very mention of a band on that level. However, Pagan Altar’s genuine appeal results in something far more charming than simple elitism.

For decades, their music has resonated in circles as if a myth passed along toward anyone fortunate enough to stumble upon the revelations of classic songs like “Armageddon”, something so heavy and mystical that it can not be described without emphasis on how real it is. Whether enchanting fans with epic melodic sojourns like “Reincarnation”, or shorter thematic rock head bangers like “The Night Rider,” Pagan Altar are in a class of their own.

Track one of The Room of Shadows, “Rising of The Dead”, is a promise that Pagan Altar’s sacred spirit will conclude in a triumph of truth that leaves these doom metal’s pioneers to a better part of history. The death of Terry Jones certainly finished the band, but we have the luxury of this entire album, which was recorded prior to the vocalist's unfortunate loss to cancer in 2015. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” moves with a goliath of NWOBHM power fusing pure 70s rock melodies and ferocious punk energy, and crescendos with “Danse Macabre”, a subtle soothing trippy jam wonderfully placed bombastic tempo changes driven by simple classic rock beats. Vocally, Terry Jones is weaving a final spell that will mark his indelible spot as a fortune teller and keeper of tales. Whatever path his spirit may have gone to, his status in this world is cemented as folk legend.

Altar’s strengths can be seen with some credence as more than just a metal band, but a coming of age result from the 70s rock explosions. Heavy metal, acid rock, proto punk, folk, and even bits of arena rock filter through the incredibly dynamic guitar playing of Alan Jones. Andy Green’s drumming is so hypnotic that you might miss how essential these beats are to controlling the majesty swirling all around him, like an axis of pure thundering rock & roll gypsy power.

Sentiments of prophecy throughout the tomes of Altar’s pages are certainly part of their endearing legend; however, Terry’s son Alan claims that the lyrics to this album were all finished more than a decade before the vocalist passed away. The hymns of this masterpiece are certainly empowering and intriguing stories that ride on into the sunset with the voice Terry Jones left behind one final time. As the singer dances around a whirlwind of harmonies and thick grooves, his essence remains in arcana with the power of a sorcerer, not unlike the band’s iconic mascot. Unquestionably, The Room of Shadows is the final Pagan Altar album that anyone could ask for, and the chilling finale of “After Forever” will leave you wanting more every time.

Release date: August 24th, 2017 via Temple of Mystery.