Featuring members of Rwake, Pallbearer and at least a dozen other bands, Deadbird is a colossal project that has been collecting dust for a decade since their last album Twilight Ritual was released in 2008 through At a Loss Records. Now 20 Buck Spin has teamed with the band for a third album, The Forest Within The Tree.
Falling into the genres of sludge and post metal, Deadbird are dripping with angry raw southern doom with hints of ISIS and Neurosis. Effortlessly fusing the spirit of Arkansas with melancholy and nihilism, Deadbird is beautifully epic and packs some heavy punches. Recorded at Ardent Studios and mastered by the genius Brad Boatright of Audiosiege, The Forest Within The Tree burns on slow fuzz and atmospheric energy.
“Alexandria” is an eclectic track that resonates with elements of grunge, slowed down power grooves submerge you into a psychedelic hell on “Brought Low” and eject you into the meat grinder that is “Bone & Ash”.
While the new Deadbird album may not be something that bandwagons them out of exile into the next big thing, I do think this eight track package of gut wrenching experimentation offers some pretty tight twists. If you really want to be dragged down low and suffer morose melodies, then Deadbird might be worth checking out.
The Forest Within The Tree comes out on October 12th and can be ordered now via Bandcamp.
The Canadian province of Ontario has long been a haven of traditional heavy metal and speed metal bands, including Anvil and Exciter for starters, and not unworthy of being mentioned, the extreme thrash outfit Slaughter which released the seminal early death metal album Strappado in 1987. One would need a ledger to detail all of the bands that have stayed true to heavy metal’s vision in the sordid halls of Toronto and its neighboring cities. Among those bands, at the top of the crop should be mentioned Cauldron, a band that has existed for just over a decade under the guidance of Jason Decay and Ian Chains. Before the so-called new wave of traditional heavy metal was even a catchphrase to describe bands that were paying homage to acts like Anvil, Saxon, old school Priest, and Maiden, Cauldron was coming up out of the remains of Goat Horn; one would need to trace the lineage of Decay and Goat Horn back a decade further, and I would highly encourage you to watch the “Rotten Roll” video, even if you have already done it 1000 times, as I have. In 2009, Cauldron released their debut full length, a banger called Chained to the Nite, an album that set the precedent for what anyone else should be doing to respect true metal. With Goat Horn’s drummer Jason Mellish providing a kick behind the melodies and rhythms, the power trio accomplished an album that easily stood on an equal level with just about anything that came out two decades earlier. In an age of copycats and has-beens, Cauldron exercised an organic chemistry with an innovative mindset, implementing formulaic precision with the raw sleaze of 80s rock stars. It could not be done without the cerebral mindset of three passionate Millenials who were conjuring up a scene from the past, but under their own banners.
New Gods is Cauldron’s fifth full length in a decade and a follow up to the critically acclaimed In Ruin. The album takes the band in a slightly different direction, albeit not too far from what has pleased many of their fans. New Gods is a slow and heavy tribute to old-school arena rock and traditional heavy metal bands that emphasized more on formula than on face melting showmanship. The riffs still provide high energy, such as on the track “Letting Go”, which stays at a crawling tempo building up to a straightforward chorus. This song, like many on the album, has a simple pop template that emanates out through gritty aesthetic of metal. Surrendering machismo for soul and depth, New Gods greatest moments shine through on its bluesy ballads. However, the intensity favorable to thrashers and headbangers isn’t completely absent, as evident on the righteous skull bashing track “Drown,” and “Last Request” rips right down the length of this album’s conclusion.
New Gods has very little to offer in terms of outrageous excess, complex arpeggios, and theatrical amusement. On the other hand, Cauldron does continue on the beaten path of their formatted mid-tempo brooding riff rock, which has worked out quite well for them. New Gods blares out an amalgam of Angel Witch and Ratt, an odd combination in theory that considerably works out quite well for them in practice.
Honoring everything from Hawkwind to Kyuss, Spaceslug explores space and sludge with incredible finesse. As the band maps out their course through celestial fuzz and doomed riffs, vocalist Bartosz Janik serenades with a gifted drawl. With very little backing them, the Polish unit has come out swinging; Eye The Tide is one of the best albums in the genre this year, and it far surpasses anything that Spaceslug have already done.
Eye The Tide is not an album you want to pass up. Seven tracks and about an hour of a creative vision that encompasses the best of post-metal. Conjured up from the darkness, the ominous bass breathes life into smokey guitar melodies that pay tribute to infinite cosmic gods. Primal stoner grooves add the essence of rock & roll, creating human substance from this audible trip.
Plummeting from the vastness of eternity, Spaceslug gifts us with graceful waves of riffs. Surrender to the cleansing waters of “Eternal Moments”, before being blown away on gusts of wind with the embers of “Words Like Stones.” In time those embers build up into an all-consuming blaze and the song becomes a meteor shower of sludge. Transcending the formulas, engross with an abundance of style and technique. “Vialys I” washes you up on a shore for a breather, and leaves you there for the perplexing build up on “Vialys II” before dragging you back out into the psychedelic cloud. “I, The Tide” is an unpredictable eleven-minute voyage through a plethora of energies that culminate into a final insurmountable doom riff that will leave you wanting more.
The musicianship on Eye The Tide is tight, spontaneous, and borrows from no shortage of influences. Before you realize you are engrossed in a treasured rhythmic dream, you will be crushed by the unrelenting dirge.
Khemmis have cultivated a pretty awesome following in the few years that they’ve been around, as a result of their successful debut Absolution and the immediate follow up Hunted, the Denver based unit have risen up to the status of doom metal elite very quickly. With all eyes on them, expectations are a bit severe, considering they’ve only been relevant for about three years; however as the rule of nature goes, once you dive in, you either sink or swim.
Desolation stays true to the spirit of how Khemmis have done things with a sharp and meticulous artistry that unravels a broad picture of their musical influences. Not content to sit on one wave and ride it, Khemmis have meddled in a variety of forces that culminate into a beautiful diverse lexicon of doom.
Desolation maintains that potent and tight musicianship which brought Khemmis to the metal vanguard. On the edges of classic rock and desert psychedelic bliss, their harmonies provide atmospheric layering to a storm of heavier doom trodden moods. This is the kind of composition that one might anticipate from band that has already proven to be capable of so much. Their ability to weave styles together without faulting themselves on fragmented escapades that lead nowhere is an exceptional trait, and it may hold for good if there aren’t any changes which result in changes to the elementary fabric of the band.
Foreboding and bone chilling, “Bloodletting” is a tragic poetic introduction that subtly leads down the path through to curb stomping tempos and eye awakening magic within catchy stoner licks. This song sets the doctrine for what you are probably already in the know; what you’re getting here is an open door into heavy metal’s future, which appears to be secured and well on the altar of Khemmis. The stylistic rhapsodies on Desolation brought forth with charming efficiency and depth provoke thoughtful mature images. Khemmis casts a worthy lot with this cascade of riffs sweeping down from the Mile High City.
The shifting dynamics of Ben Hutcherson and Phil Pendergast as formidable co-frontman keep an interesting twist on tones. The elegant and sometimes ethereal vocals of Pendergast are like a melodic oasis in an otherwise treacherous landscape of morose and ominous riffs forecasting niches of black and sludge. Hutcherson has evolved a bit since Hunted, showing a noticeable capability to diversify his growls and powerful shrieks, and his ill portents on “Maw of Time” particularly gave me goosebumps and sank into my skin. The contrasting forces of Hutcherson and Pendergast are like an eerie revelation of light and dark transmogrifying into angelic and hellacious expression. Pendergast’s admirable ranges and hooks provoke a robust body of emotion as the band depicts cinematic story with bewitching grace.’
“From Ruin” brings the album around full circle, with an assurance of new found strength in darkness as a lasting resolution.
If you are a fan of metal with thick bluesy guitar solos guided by that rich 70s rock vibe, and rich harmonies surrounded by a forest of dissonant guitar gloom, then Desolation is an album that you will surrender yourself to time and time again.
The
groove is strong with this one. Wolftooth’s eponymous album is a
cyclonic forty two minutes of righteous and crucial heavy metal. This
debut bursts above the playing field with a firm and exciting reminder
that it’s never uncool to make a solid rock effort. I’ve seen a lot
of comparisons to early albums by The Sword, which isn’t entirely
inaccurate, however I believe that Wolftooth’s sound is a lot more
polished and the melody is highly emphasized. The similarity is especially
noticeable for the album’s fundamentally classic metal tracks which
hinge on a crunchy blues rock sound, such as on “Sword of My Father” and
“The Huntress”. Vocalist and guitarist Chris Sullivan has a
phenomenally resonant and clear singing style that enriches every tune.
In ways that few other contemporaries can, Wolftooth captures that
soulful vibe of old school 70s rock and enhances their caliber a ton
with a dynamic range of skilled musicians. The group wonderfully
execute smooth transitions between a raging tempest of riffs and
enthralling bluesy hooks. You’ll get more than your fix of headbanging,
foot stomping, and hip shaking too, if that’s your thing. Mythical
themes and allegory are widely present throughout the album, also e.g.
“White Mountain”. “Frost Lord” raises the bar on how closely stoner
metal can converge on the heaviness of a pummeling thrash metal riff
with its exciting conclusion. There are so many grooves layered
throughout this album that flow judiciously together. The band is as
tight as one band should ever hope to be on their debut, and I'm really excited to see where this band from Richmond, Indiana goes next.
Witchcryer are a traditional doom and heavy metal unit that have been fermenting in the Austin heavy metal scene for a few years. Their efforts included a demo and a self released full length, the latter which came out in 2017. On January 19th, 2018 they re-released their first full length album called Cry Witch on Ripple Music. Witchcryer's style is a fusion between the classic dreary tones and vivacious rock jams. Take the high octane rock n roll of a band like Blue Cheer or Uriah Heep and brew it in a pot with the dreary melancholy of a band like Pentagram or Witchfinder General. In fact, so influential are Witchfinder General to Witchcryer's sound that Cry Witch features a cover of the band's titular song.
Vocalist Suzy Bravo draws upon her charm and conjures a feral potency on the recording. Her lines slither along sludgy riffs provided by ex-Earthen Grave guitarist Jason Muxlow, creating a dynamic combining sizzling melodic elements. Witchcryer can write animated rockers like "Ricochet" and dreadful monlothic down tempo killers like "The Preying Kind." One thing I found on the album that helps move it along is how songs flowed together and complimented one another. Playing to their strengths, the band does nothing over the top or out of their element. Cry Witch is 36 minutes of pure doom rock backed by exciting grooves and powerful rhythms. Cry Witch features cover work from the artist Becky Cloonan, who has dabbled in heavy metal art before, but is also widely known and respected for her work in comics including Batman and Conan The Barbarian.
Holy thundering riff mother load, Batman! Black Wizard kills it from the get go with New Waste. As soon as "Revival" hits you, you're going to be in for a cruise with some of the finest riffs and melodies of the heavy metal renaissance. New Waste parts with all of the BS that intrudes on a good classic metal album. Grieve not for the lack of impenetrable time signatures and double bass driven solos. This band hones on the fine art of crafting a good rock hook and carrying you away with the lead. These solos totally deliver; the guitar team of Danny Stokes and Adam Grant are truly remarkable.
The music of Black Wizard is like attending riff church. You drop $10 and receive a righteous blessing.
