tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86929569547283428522024-03-06T03:03:23.552-05:00Metantoine's Magickal RealmUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger417125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-16242214176551083482023-06-30T19:45:00.003-04:002023-06-30T19:48:30.688-04:00Coffin Nail – The Hanged Man (2023) / 77%<p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOzXP38cByrHOOmrqxSu-WDGKyLID6yC1-ndifFr1pjXOZU0IOLvzWzN1T9ocXQmazMMRV7LEgdSZ5ukNoLICG04lt9ZygRFHy0lBVX9oVWOk9Onv6eBtnZIAaOR9WwdLJeDq_0CaQH9WvMwedYIlYKZWbbm8j5HzOwvKMMJx0z1c5FWVBEREtqTYaOHJ6" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="4724" data-original-width="4724" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOzXP38cByrHOOmrqxSu-WDGKyLID6yC1-ndifFr1pjXOZU0IOLvzWzN1T9ocXQmazMMRV7LEgdSZ5ukNoLICG04lt9ZygRFHy0lBVX9oVWOk9Onv6eBtnZIAaOR9WwdLJeDq_0CaQH9WvMwedYIlYKZWbbm8j5HzOwvKMMJx0z1c5FWVBEREtqTYaOHJ6" width="240" /></a></div><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Coughing up blood until my coffin is buried</b><br /><br /> This solo project of former Florida man Vok goes hard. It’s an amalgamation of different styles culminating in a take no prisoners assault for the body and the mind. Coffin Nail reminds me of the late Trap Them in how they’re able to mix hardcore/grindcore with metal genres like death metal without losing anything in the process. <br /><br />Coffin Nail is like this really spicy cajun rub for chicken combining super chonky grind, death metal, hardcore punk but also some sludge, maybe extreme thrash/crossover, industrial vibes and hyper fast black metal (in spirit) as well. It’s unrelenting material with a dark, murderous era alternating between crushingly heavy slower stuff like the intro or “These Are Dead, They Feel Not” or just viciously fast like “Strangling Gallows”. There’s also a few nice surprises like the piano interlude of “Due Note in nero” or the saxophone solo of “Brood Parasites”. It’s full of catchy riffs (“Hammers and Chains” has an infectious one) and simple yet highly effective songwriting. The vocals are tenebrous snarling harsh vocals, quite fitting and well executed. The production is warm, natural and lets the violence shine. It’s sharp and fiery as a lightning bolt, I feel that the combination between aggression and thoughtful (enough) musicianship. Worth checking before going to the gallows.<p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://coffinnail.bandcamp.com/album/the-hanged-man" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Bandcamp</span></a><br /><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-83266362740264637272023-06-29T20:01:00.003-04:002023-06-29T20:01:56.923-04:00Ancient Seance - Cryptic (2018) / 85%<p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi35S6n-fWLdBF0yNJJrW0SeNRrnJlZB3Wld15aS4pp4AsdKrWI_s41Q0yDoVsDUH_AaWALfYuWwM7231svYq-aouHLmsqehl_D5wcuprK-zKnoQ_3HEgAQTjFxVAp6meP9cS5AJwCGMChs7FtDiTkXd687V0ilGm8V2H9wNDYlO-QSp9dz3U9_jD0_dGTv" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="600" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi35S6n-fWLdBF0yNJJrW0SeNRrnJlZB3Wld15aS4pp4AsdKrWI_s41Q0yDoVsDUH_AaWALfYuWwM7231svYq-aouHLmsqehl_D5wcuprK-zKnoQ_3HEgAQTjFxVAp6meP9cS5AJwCGMChs7FtDiTkXd687V0ilGm8V2H9wNDYlO-QSp9dz3U9_jD0_dGTv=w320-h313" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Digitally
Challenged: Part 8 - Cryptic</b></span><p></p>
<br />This power trio from Chicago dropped one of the best heavy metal demos of the last ten years with Cryptic and I’m still hoping for a full length to drop one of those days. Same for one of their main comparisons, Detroit’s Demon Bitch. Ancient Seance’s Syl Smith is active with the solid USPM quintet Munition (worth checking out!) but I hope he can come back to this band. It’s a pretty raw demo for the genre, it’s not clean or anything but I think it adds something worthy to their sound. It’s unsweetened heavy metal and it’s fine that it’s rough around the edges, I personally like it and find it endearing, it’s something I like in bands such as Scalare, Molten Chains or Darkthrone with material like The Underground Resistance. <br /><br />It’s fairly inaccessible as far as heavy metal goes, the vocals are diverse, from high pitched to a more standard clean voice combined with wizardly harsh ones. Musically, it ranges to speedier trad metal to bass heavy atmospheric heavy/doom (the first part of Cryptic Lullaby) that sounds like a more arcane and obscure take on Alice in Chains to the more unhinged sound that’s “popular” in the Michigan trad metal scene (a sort of intense Thin Lizzified Mercyful Fated style of metal). It’s well written, well played and like I said, it’s not diminished by the non-Nuclear Blast production. The bass is thick, the drumming is natural, authentic and picks up the pace well and the guitar playing is relatively inventive for the style. Very very good demo, I want more.<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://ancientseance.bandcamp.com/album/cryptic-demo" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Bandcamp</span></a><br /></p><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-50827236076729918542023-06-29T15:26:00.000-04:002023-06-29T15:26:32.032-04:00Lividus – Teratorns (2023) / 83%<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge0F77RGX6HNDVGuYizadF5yk-govcFU-Qog1VD0lNZjqumwQMVchW_TVQx56rG1rAf7kMEUf7MJV-gWXTr4EgcZ5vsQjXgATBAZsYQtFy0kUU99iyJaDzZdpG3cjx-R942WIdukEyY22YPCIaeyvf4N_Gd9j120oe2Ek2L2n7HFlcVORvem6_yty0Y5lH" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge0F77RGX6HNDVGuYizadF5yk-govcFU-Qog1VD0lNZjqumwQMVchW_TVQx56rG1rAf7kMEUf7MJV-gWXTr4EgcZ5vsQjXgATBAZsYQtFy0kUU99iyJaDzZdpG3cjx-R942WIdukEyY22YPCIaeyvf4N_Gd9j120oe2Ek2L2n7HFlcVORvem6_yty0Y5lH=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Uta is back!</b><br />
<br />
I was
pretty shaken by Uta Plotkin’s departure from Witch Mountain almost
ten years ago. I guess I’m fine now, it’s been a while, come on
Tony! After leaving the Portland doom band, she became a yoga teacher
but didn’t do a lot musically (at least stuff that’s been
released) but I was glad to learn that she was back with a new band.
Teratorns is the second extended play by Lividus and it bangs hard.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Plotkin’s minimal
use of harsh vocals in Witch Mountain (see the albums South of Salem
or Cauldron of the Wild) was enjoyable even though I really loved her
clean ones. They have a bigger spotlight here and it doesn’t
disappoint. The second track “The Witness” is an even mix of
gnarly slicing harsh vocals and high pitched powerful cleans and it
works well, I was happy to hear her amazing voice again. Musically,
we’re somewhere else from Witch Mountain, it’s quite interesting
too. Drummer Pierce Williams ( Ænigmatum, Skeletal Remains,
Torture Rack...) and guitarist Rob Shaffer (Dark Castle, Lord
Dying...) are in the lineup and they’re both super talented
musicians adding their influences to the fold. I’d say that this is
some sort of avant garde progressive death/thrash/extreme metal,
there’s dissonance, fast death metal riffs (check out the opener
“Tis’forundal”) and intense blastbeats. All this is intertwined
with Plotkin’ fantastic use of layered vocals singing dark poetic
lyrics. The three tracks are all fairly short and fast and doesn’t
mess around. The band sorts of reminds me of Voivod in how peculiar
they are.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Lividus are able to
combine dissonance, darkness and experimental ideas with a melodic
approach, it’s surprising and takes a few interesting turns
throughout the eleven minutes duration of this release that I’ve
put on repeat, it’s quite good and I’m stoked to hear what
they’ll do next.<br /><br /><a href="https://lividus.bandcamp.com/album/teratorns">Bandcamp</a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-76791751848558643502023-06-28T23:51:00.000-04:002023-06-28T23:51:00.044-04:00Gates of Londra - Servants of the Runestaff (2022) / 88%?<p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ3IC-6oel9GM9YRNiD6r7-BOFW3pHuf_zeAs-bJJtSA3bTEdISCsBRpDprlqgkLU7JkSDr4H-DpPYPuLYbDAb-lPD30gsQ07wJEPALf5_yK-RA_DFlEuQ2trj_w6CY2uivZKQzxDKQm-qnMvp1Ic1vi_3EoofxXYIwHkYcRzQ2--mPwTi01cteX73vIYN" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ3IC-6oel9GM9YRNiD6r7-BOFW3pHuf_zeAs-bJJtSA3bTEdISCsBRpDprlqgkLU7JkSDr4H-DpPYPuLYbDAb-lPD30gsQ07wJEPALf5_yK-RA_DFlEuQ2trj_w6CY2uivZKQzxDKQm-qnMvp1Ic1vi_3EoofxXYIwHkYcRzQ2--mPwTi01cteX73vIYN=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ll gladly
serve the Runestaff as well</span></b><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Vienna's Gates of Londra, the union of J.M
(Brånd, Weathered Crest, Eisenhand...) and R.F (Parasite Dreams,
Peace Vaults...) gave us one of the most impressive releases of
2022. It was definitely one of my most played releases of last year
due to its short length but also the high quality of its musical
content and the various influences contained into such a judiciously compact package.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">After a demo rooted
mostly in raw black metal, the duo has expanded their formula to
include everything but the kitchen sink. Their black metal core is augmented by
industrial, post punk/deathrock, dungeon synth and uh, probably other
things I’m forgetting right now but rest assured, it's there. Most importantly, it all works
together to create a cohesive experience. It has this charming epic
approach mixed with a <i>do it yourself </i>attitude and a love for fantasy
and synths.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Their themes are
important to the whole thing as well, it’s all about the writing of
champion Michael Moorcock, the second most popular fantasy writer
after Tolkien for metal bands. They had to be different from their
older brothers of Summoning somehow (even if yes, I know Moorcock is
present in Silenius and Protector’s works). Let’s be frank here,
a black metal duo with synths singing about fantasy and from Austria?
You could consider them a clone before listening to them. In the end,
it’s very different in how it sounds and it’s presented. It’s
brief bursts of insanity intertwined with soothing, video game
atmospheric moody music (check out the outro) and that’s like combining The
Elder Scrolls with late 70s, early 80s British post punk. It’s very
idiosyncratic and just straight up very interesting. The presence of
samples of old fantasy men talking (I don’t know the sources, possibly audiobooks of Moorcock's Hawkmoon?) adds another layer of odd details that I loved. Never enough grand speeches done by wizards, not gonna lie.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The
synths are in your face but the acerbic guitars are as well, it’s a good
combination of the two and there’s good riffs on Servants of the
Runestaff. The drumming is a drum machine and it adds to the
repetitiveness and industrial feels of the album, I find it
enjoyable. It’s geeky but also quite powerful and robust in some
way. Similar to Elric of Melniboné and other eternal champions, I guess!</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Gates of Londra is
not gonna be for everyone but I do think black metal is in a super
innovative era right now and it’s fun to see bands go wild like
they do. It’s not just the mixing of influences, it goes beyond
that. It’s mixing the old and the new, the metal with the non-metal
with ease and precision while maintaining a raw and distinctive feel.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://gatesoflondra.bandcamp.com/album/servants-of-the-runestaff">Bandcamp</a><br />
</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-91445114938720663402023-06-27T18:09:00.000-04:002023-06-27T18:09:01.971-04:00Parish – Parish (2022) / 78%<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWGH_M208qHmVrACZ8wHnkQVkvcDD97_58-LhFYoY5y3bFsRK_TJwqlYOTy-1RDsLbwH5dtrA0GpH0mwIMfKpQOjbrGFCxb7o0ajaB3vh0_JhGpNiBJiiZlFSfOV5agB0gVKHbYDj8aT32L2KamOJIqBbRbtr2pWtRReMomerM0uyHgpBzxXUy1RL4ddXI" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="3600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWGH_M208qHmVrACZ8wHnkQVkvcDD97_58-LhFYoY5y3bFsRK_TJwqlYOTy-1RDsLbwH5dtrA0GpH0mwIMfKpQOjbrGFCxb7o0ajaB3vh0_JhGpNiBJiiZlFSfOV5agB0gVKHbYDj8aT32L2KamOJIqBbRbtr2pWtRReMomerM0uyHgpBzxXUy1RL4ddXI=w320-h320" width="320" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Freshly cut grass and lightly fried fish filet from the local tavern with room temp ale</span></b><br />
<br />
The English label Crypt of the
Wizard (great name) has been releasing a few bangers recently with
the traditional doom metal of Woe, the Lord of the Rings’ heavy
rock of Riders of Rohan and more interestingly in our case, the first
releases of London’s Parish. Their formula is highly enjoyable and
intensely catchy. Let’s see why.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">I see Parish as a
sort of heavier response to the pastoral christian heavy metal/hard
rock of fellow brits Wytch Hazel. While the band led by Jesus’
favourite troubadour Colin Hendra leans more towards Thin Lizzy or
Jethro Tull, Parish are huge Sabbath simps and I love it. Their 70s
sound is mixing ethereal vocals (see Ghost, the vocal approach is
similar) with a folk tinged doom metal approach paying homage to the
greats (see Budgie, Witchfinder General, Sabbath but also Wishbone
Ash). Their songs are about witches, the countryside, wenches,
taverns and other occult stuff. It's their bread and butter and I’ll
spread their themes all over my buns for sure. It’s fun stuff and
packs an extra punch. <br />
<br />
The power trio rocks, it’s a
tight forty minutes album without any filler, it’s direct and to
the point. The riffs are solid (see “Cunning Murell”) albeit the
band is somewhat generic and owes a lot to what came before them.
That’s a stylistic choice, it’s hard to make “new” classic
traditional heavy/doom anyway. To me, they’re both heavy and
soothing at the same time, I think that’s a rare feat. A band like
Pagan Altar has it as well.<br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Parish possess this
ghostly quality that makes them stand out (somewhat) from the doom
crowd. I do think that there’s some added elements that makes them
worth your time if your itch of checking new bands is present but after a while, it becomes somewhat tiring and it's not really an album I'll revisit often instead of hitting the doom classics. Still worthwhile though! It's good
English countryside heavy/doom that smells like freshly cut grass
with the light aroma of fried fish filet.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://parishuk.bandcamp.com/album/parish"><span style="color: red;">Bandcamp</span></a><br /></p><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-81129373971953240992023-06-26T23:14:00.002-04:002023-06-26T23:14:10.640-04:00Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom – Summoning the Gatekeepers (2023) / 85%<p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPkV-CCWPTCsxdgSPP0c7UvvLpD1AH5lSI6mDylvXIorQ1V7t53VIbxQ31ig8edG_LmuigdFj1BKHCVsICRbt4idZTq2o3I4eCc6yGl8Gx-X0RMB1C8DQXO7qdpAgT4UveWPpv0n38VlxJQH-UiPcxPKNiUVCEBCn2sk7us-7s-eAW6rcy6RX3uWJadsVO" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPkV-CCWPTCsxdgSPP0c7UvvLpD1AH5lSI6mDylvXIorQ1V7t53VIbxQ31ig8edG_LmuigdFj1BKHCVsICRbt4idZTq2o3I4eCc6yGl8Gx-X0RMB1C8DQXO7qdpAgT4UveWPpv0n38VlxJQH-UiPcxPKNiUVCEBCn2sk7us-7s-eAW6rcy6RX3uWJadsVO=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">English Breakfast Chapter 4: Blood Pudding</span></b><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">On their first full
length album in more than a decade, the criminally unknown English
duo are back with an unrivalled passion for underground metal. Their super good 2020 extended play signalled that the boys were done with what seemed
to be some sort of hiatus and this was good news. This band is like this classic English ale
that’s kept secret and only exists because their creators love
their craft so much. Nothing else matters.<br />
<br />
Each of their albums are quite different from
each other, from the stoner doom influences of their debut to the
more pastoral black metal sound of Battle Staffs in the Mushroom
Woods, they’ve been releasing interesting stuff since the start.
Summoning the Gatekeepers is no exception. In fact, I see it as a
culmination of their influences or at the very least, it was a
logical step for them to take. It's a stroll in the forest and never a walk in the park with them. <br /><br />What we have here is a condensed, tight and
upfront epic black metal album. It might be the album where they’re
the best at mixing the many elements composing their English
breakfast. Sure, there’s still some hints of crust, some hints of
English doom but like in a good homemade bread, you will not think
it’s too salty even if there’s the right amount of salt in the
recipe. Their formula works because the recipe has been tested and edited many times.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">From the acoustic
guitars of the evocative “Twisted Tree”, the longest track of the
record to the crackling of fire and the storm ambiance, there’s
some English epicness in their sound but it's never too much or cheesy, it's kept minimal. They’re also able to season their
late Darkthrone black metal with post punk (see the middle section of
“Ragged Brothers”) but for the most part, it’s a pretty even
affair. It’s a relatively midpaced record and there’s not
a lot of tempo variations, at least not super jarring ones that made
me scream “damn they sped things up!”. It’s made up of slow,
heavy riffs with a nice back end like the lovely crusty bass of “Ashes”
for example. it’s meat and potatoes metal but with some good
butter and herbs, a recipe you can find in medieval cookbooks luckily
preserved in the untouched cellar of an English pub.<br />
<br />
The
raspy vocals, the way the guitar parts are written and the honest,
highly rustic lyrical hemes are all things speaking to me. It’s
a record worth your time if you value the simplest things in life and
prefer your beer without anything fancy in it.<br /><br /><a href="https://bretwaldasofheathendoom.bandcamp.com/album/summoning-the-gatekeepers" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Bandcamp</span></a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-71596014772569023672022-06-07T22:25:00.001-04:002022-06-07T22:25:21.885-04:00Baazlvaat - An Old Forgotten Text (2022) / 85%<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi__cl06-L5s-VRxQIiqqqy-_j7xgoC-VbBcDsDG-8udEoayzlv1680gN8ejGyZJkO0vpSuoXSNURHGYxLxD5tWFOMJxB5CMwLkN09z1IFckSYGvcF3ydWTjiJjNJsSnxcshD1ScBoo2XCw2TCnv4AF7txNeb9VjdbXYqSm8rc9RHUPNRZnSNm8JaNfQ/s1519/cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1519" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi__cl06-L5s-VRxQIiqqqy-_j7xgoC-VbBcDsDG-8udEoayzlv1680gN8ejGyZJkO0vpSuoXSNURHGYxLxD5tWFOMJxB5CMwLkN09z1IFckSYGvcF3ydWTjiJjNJsSnxcshD1ScBoo2XCw2TCnv4AF7txNeb9VjdbXYqSm8rc9RHUPNRZnSNm8JaNfQ/s320/cover.png" width="320" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">A New Merging of Genres</h2><p></p><p lang="zxx">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
mysterious entity from Flint, Michigan, a location I know only
because of its controversial water, delivers another bewildering ride
of an album. Last year's The Higher Power was a surprising record
that made a few waves here and there and this one just expands on the
themes previously explored there. Before we go any further I need to
say that I disagree with the assessment that many people share about
metal, it's not stale or a dead genre. There's a lot of
experimentation to be found and Baazlvaat are a band that's not
afraid to burn the house down and rebuild it with funkier components.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="zxx">Baazlvaat
are sort of like Black Magick SS </span><span lang="zxx">if they
</span><span lang="zxx">weren't masturbating to Nazi imagery and
were, for the most part, actually playing metal.They're the sort of
band with a solid main identity in one particular style (in their
case it's black m</span><span lang="en-US">etal) who's also adding an
array of extraneous elements. I'm a big fan </span><span lang="en-US">of</span><span lang="en-US">
kitchen sink bands such as Leeches of Lore, </span><span lang="en-US">Tjolgtjar
</span><span lang="en-US">or Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom and this
American duo certainly </span><span lang="en-US">explored the fridge
</span><span lang="en-US">thoroughly.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="en-US">They
merge the exploratory side of psych rock, the loose as</span><span lang="zxx">pects
of lo fi rock, the rawness of black metal, </span><span lang="zxx">the
synth presence of dungeon synth/</span><span lang="zxx">synthpop/</span><span lang="zxx">symphonic
black metal </span><span lang="zxx">or the playfulness melodicism of
heavy metal. </span><span lang="zxx">This exhausting lis</span><span lang="zxx">t</span><span lang="zxx">
create</span><span lang="zxx">s</span><span lang="zxx"> one pungent
mix of influences that's </span><span lang="zxx">hard to classify </span><span lang="zxx">or
</span><span lang="zxx">pinpoint but easy to get entranced by. </span><span lang="zxx">I</span><span lang="zxx">t's
not a confused mess at all, there's an assurance in their varied but
cohesive songs th</span><span lang="zxx">at's hard to ignore.</span></span></span></p>
<p lang="zxx"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
song like "Three Heads from the Black Depths" evokes the
<span lang="en-US">retro</span> groovy rock/metal of Uncle Acid or
Graveyard but adds piano and unhinged raw harsh vocals while a song
like "Cold Sky Ice Frosten'" brings forth a sort of shred
heavy metal mood. Furthermore, there's a Middle-eastern break in the final track
followed by clean vocals akin to lo-fi epic heavy metal and there's a
blues/country break in "The Missing Key". It's insane.</span></span></p>
<p lang="zxx"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
pièce de résistance of the album is certainly the almost nine
minutes "The Iron Lung", a monumental epic black/heavy
metal track and it reminds me of both Agatus and Wytch Hazel (the
dandyness in the riffing) in spirit but it's combined with a sort of
outsider art approach that makes it peculiar. Still,the most
important is the quality of their compositions and they deliver that
in spades and while it overstays its welcome a bit, the album has no
real weak moments. An Old Forgotten Text is definitely not for
everyone and its originality resides in the merging of existing
elements instead of the creation of new ones but the ability of
combining styles well is still a feat in itself.</span></span></p><p lang="zxx"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p lang="zxx"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://baazlvaat.bandcamp.com/album/an-old-forgotten-text" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><b>Bandcamp</b></span></a><br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-89493382022270933262022-05-26T14:39:00.003-04:002022-05-26T14:39:53.484-04:00Lays - Flavour mashup special - Ketchup + Cheese and Dill Pickle + White Cheddar<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Those brand new Lays flavours are pretty cool! There's a third one called BBQ+ Sweet Chili Heat but the store I went to were out, I'm sure it rules as well</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii0HCbM4O2GOar_Rfl00WLH9Muhce64oEu7LdJo5XOlZTa9A7GA28ShMgFNP3durpr-iEU3s-zuHhH4kXP0CzA-8Y4JnwrsYGLAK9OD6XgDBDmm0JYvaquHRPup4Zo6yEizfdq0dgeYa222WMVrzWmeSxXCbBE1DsQxhzu3fwGDHJRkjswVwec68VyNA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="800" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii0HCbM4O2GOar_Rfl00WLH9Muhce64oEu7LdJo5XOlZTa9A7GA28ShMgFNP3durpr-iEU3s-zuHhH4kXP0CzA-8Y4JnwrsYGLAK9OD6XgDBDmm0JYvaquHRPup4Zo6yEizfdq0dgeYa222WMVrzWmeSxXCbBE1DsQxhzu3fwGDHJRkjswVwec68VyNA=w640-h530" width="640" /></a></b></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /><br /><span style="color: red;">Lays Ketchup + Cheese</span></b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The simple yet effective packaging is reflected in this top notch mix of flavours. It's not for the snobs with refined palet but more for the working class who grew up with mums who sometimes had to cook Kraft Dinner mac and cheese and add some tomato sauce to it to make it less bland. Often served with sliced hot dogs too. I always liked those flavours so I was sold right from the start. I am but a simple man finding pleasures in simple things.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Merging the Lays Ketchup flavour with the cheesy taste of Cheetos isn't a simple task and I'm surprised the mortals from Frito Lay accomplished it with such a resounding success. "Two iconic flavours combined" is what we were promised and that's what we got. The Ketchup Lays are honestly a top 5 flavours and I always prefered a simple chip to the soft, spongy texture of cheetos (the hard ones are legit) so that's a godsend. <br /><br />At first, it's nothing impressive but then it hits you, the simplicity, the difficult yet accomplished mission of The Merging, the tasteful aura of nostalgia, it all creates such a powerful blow to the taste buds that it cannot be ignored.</span></p><p><span style="color: red; font-family: arial;"><b>Lays Dill Pickles + White Cheddar</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I like dill pickles chips well enough. Those new spicy Miss Vickies were one of the most talked chips I've seen in years and for good reason, they were outstanding. What about this merging of powers we have here though? Well, it's certainly interesting and successful. One of the weaknesses of dill pickles chips is their acidity and saltiness, it's good but it makes them a "only once in a while" purchase, same for salt and vinegar chips.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The big difference here is how the white cheddar (from the Smartfood white cheddar popcorn) flavour blocks some of the saltiness of the dill pickles and adds a sort of enjoyable creaminess. Maybe like a cheesy dill dip!? I now want to eat them with the new Doritos cheese dips (world changer to be honest) and be fat forever. It's a more eatable dill pickle chips, it's dangerous as it's faster to finish a bag!<br /><br />Lays redeems themselves after a few disgusting flavours, the two Chinese inspired bags I tried (Chicken and Tomato, Cucumber) were awful but those two are worth trying for sure.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-75708285652371496032022-01-18T22:03:00.004-05:002022-01-19T17:46:31.445-05:00Top 10 of 2021 <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9L1WEDgivWLkIACG2ZgHLmVjORqtJJuBtsnu_76IGgTF3w2SECfFxdxG8Bu0q9lZfK_gPnPIC8NoNxxmubAOVm_4VfNZAPaTXmXez32ZH_NS9VFgcSlCS0Bc2vQ_ohEaFiz8UsnAJFImS/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1564" data-original-width="1564" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9L1WEDgivWLkIACG2ZgHLmVjORqtJJuBtsnu_76IGgTF3w2SECfFxdxG8Bu0q9lZfK_gPnPIC8NoNxxmubAOVm_4VfNZAPaTXmXez32ZH_NS9VFgcSlCS0Bc2vQ_ohEaFiz8UsnAJFImS/w640-h640/IMG_20220118_215435.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Here's my top 10 of the year of albums I actually bought. Pretty much only Stormkeep is absent because I wasn't fast enough to get a copy and it's sold out now.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Tower - Shock to the System (Cruz Del Sur Music, CD)</b>Fronted by who's possibly the best singer in heavy metal right now, Tower plays blistering and amazing trad metal with everything at its rightful spot. it's old school but it feels fresh. While the twin guitars and the rest of the instrumentation could be seen as an afterthought as opposed to Sarabeth Linden's immense vocals, I love the leads and solos a lot and it's not the case at all. They lead the way in that bludgeoning and burgeoning female fronted American heavy metal with bands such as Shadowland, Sanhedrin, Sölicitör, Midnight Dice or Savage Master. My album of the year.</p><p><b>Darkthrone - Eternal Hails..... (Peaceville, CD and vinyl)</b><br />I'm a big fan of "modern" or later days Darkthrone as shown by the fact I got it on vinyl and CD. I think Nocturno and Fenriz can do no wrong and they've been in my top 10s every time they released something since Circle the Wagons in 2010hey managed to please me once again with a completely different direction than Old Star or Arctic Thunder. It's epic long songs with a raw touch and a doomy spacey feel throughout. I loved the whole album but the ambient ending of the last track "Lost Arcane City of Uppåkra" was perhaps my favorite piece of music this year.</p><p><b>Amyl & The Sniffers - Comfort to Me (Rough Trade, ATO Records, CD)</b>Insanely catchy and aggressive punk from Australia fronted by a small ball of blond energy. With well written, take no prisoners and feminist lyrics, Amy's natural and honest raw vocal delivery is a great combination with the ferocious riffs and the dynamic rhythm section. Memorable punk with a lovable energy</p><div><div><b>Steel Bearing Hand - Slay in Hell (Carbonized Records, Tape)</b></div><div>2021 was a good year for thrash, great albums were released by Nekromantheon or Mystic Storm but Steel Bearing Hand ruled supremely hard. Intense, epic, violent and hellish death/thrash with insane solos is what you're getting here. It doesn't mess around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Full review on here and on Metal Archives</div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><b>Morgul Blade - Fell Sorceries Abound (No Remorse Records)</b></div><div>Quite possibly my surprise of the year, Morgul Blade's debut album is a worthy mix of epic heavy metal, folk metal (reminds me of Mithotyn a bit) and dungeon synth. They combine both harsh vocals with clean ones and it works well, it feels like blackened epic fantasy heavy metal most of the time and that's my kind of stuff for damn sure. It's tightly condensed, well written and has definite highs such as the ballad "Oak in the Mist". Awesome album.</div></div><div><br /><div><b>Eisenhand - Fires Within (Dying Victims Productions)</b></div><div>Austrian Eisenhand play one of my favorite kind of heavy metal, it's raw, riffy and intently lo-fi. Their band pic has a bike, an axe, a suede jacket and a rifle. They sound exactly like that. Underrated album worth your time if you're into Brocas Helm and the likes. Big balls energy. This gives me the same feel as Demon Bitch while they're pretty different, I have yet to find out why.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Idles - Crawler (Partisan Records, orange tape)</b></div><div>After a disappointing third album in Ultra Mono, the brits are back in full force with Crawler, a dark record that fits the mood I'm in right now. Super varied, the album explores electronic industrial dance music (Car Crash) to powerviolence (Wizz), Nick Cave-ish power ballads (The Beachland Ballroom) while mixing it with their usual abrasive post-punk direction. It still works and it's cohesive as hell in its madness.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Dread Sovereign - Alchemical Warfare (Metal Blade Records)</b></div><div>I'm a big fan of Primordial but I never could fully get behind Dread Sovereign, the doom metal project of their leader Alan Averill until this album. It's a bit more traditional in its composition and grooves a bit more than their overlong debut album. It's some sort of hybrid between trad doom, heavy metal with some hints of black (proto black?!) here and there and has one of my favorite cover art of the year.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Herzel - le dernier rempart (Gates of Hell Records)</b></div><div>I was a big fan of Herzel's debut demo and it took them a while to release a full length but it was worth the wait. The Bretons play long form epic heavy metal in French and it's remarkable. The use of folkloric instruments (the bombarde!!) adds an unique element to their sound but they already were unique before that. Influenced by Manowar, Virgin Steele or Warlord, they're able to craft timeless heavy metal worthy of the tales they tell.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Antichrist Siege Machine - Purifying Blade (Profound Lore Records)</b></div><div>One of the most punishing albums of the year alongside Concrete Winds, ASM plays some sort of super fast war metal and it's just a lovely 30 mins. It destroys like a sharpened blade, not much more to say, really.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZqPYpbn-Wpgh14Ln7y09oebuWRBb9qhnpCuA5f8wRPwEH-OI6Ney2RaebQ6qln6Lk57IVYF-3A4zNjtTV0UWaH7z_lyyGniChs3sWbMme0xaeB8Trs-FlLk2DQtA-SPy-OC9qgUVB1Ay/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2944" data-original-width="2208" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZqPYpbn-Wpgh14Ln7y09oebuWRBb9qhnpCuA5f8wRPwEH-OI6Ney2RaebQ6qln6Lk57IVYF-3A4zNjtTV0UWaH7z_lyyGniChs3sWbMme0xaeB8Trs-FlLk2DQtA-SPy-OC9qgUVB1Ay/w300-h400/20220118_185118.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-59723604695582236832021-10-18T21:10:00.001-04:002021-10-20T15:15:47.687-04:00Ezra Brooks / Serpent Rider - Visions of Esoteric Splendor (2021) / 85%<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAKY0NNJSLKITmfaqj2vC-i2Bu0WXSocU9rwKKVK1bAzn8LN717pje5NhkqAz7rW8FzMGB1i4mFDltPkV0HQ8hAI6RBs6VsI2FjDGHbQFiaGfJML92MUj6tXtu6AEvHrD8Kd3yhrLQat-/s1500/VisionsOfEsoteric+Splendor_COVER.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAKY0NNJSLKITmfaqj2vC-i2Bu0WXSocU9rwKKVK1bAzn8LN717pje5NhkqAz7rW8FzMGB1i4mFDltPkV0HQ8hAI6RBs6VsI2FjDGHbQFiaGfJML92MUj6tXtu6AEvHrD8Kd3yhrLQat-/s400/VisionsOfEsoteric+Splendor_COVER.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>R I F F S</b><br /><br />Epic heavy metal is a tightly knit community, it’s a very niche genre of an already niche music style. It’s then normal that each epic heavy release gets its fair share of scrutiny from their nerd community.<br /><br /><b>Ezra Brooks</b>, the solo project of Smoulder’s lead guitarist Shawn Vincent has always been excellent. The Magickal Realm has covered two of their previous releases, including the split with Emblem, a super underrated Newfoundland heavy metal band and I was stoked to hear more from them. When I learned that Matt Preston (known for Borrowed Time) was gonna be a guest on their side of the split, I got even even more excited. This guy is a beast and I’m keeping myself pure for whenever the new Prelude to Ruin release decides to drop as he’s featured there too. Anyhow, Ezra Brooks is a riff firstt, ask questions later kind of band and right from the start, you’re bludgeoned with excellent guitars. “The Helm of Sacorb” (who the hell is Sacorb?) riffs hard and the presence of Preston on the lead guitar adds another excellent layer to their solid formula. Unfortunately, Shawn’s decision to put the vocals so low in the mix wasn’t the best decision, it’s like listening to Mark Shelton singing from the immortal realm of heroes deep down in hell. It’s still kinda cool and it’s certainly distinctive for their style but I would have preferred something else. <br /><br />Their music has this enjoyable epic but science fiction based feel but without getting too nerdy or gimmicky. Just blistering quick epic heavy metal that’s constantly delivering high energy material. The synth opening of “Am I just Paranoid” reminded me of the smartest sci fi prog metal bands like Shadow Gallery or early Ayreon, it’s a nice touch. "When the Future Fails", a somber track evokes the trad days of Fates Warning with aplomb but it's mixed with the contemporary sound of North American obscure heavy metal.<br /><br /><b>Serpent Rider</b> is also originally a solo project, one created by Brandon Corsair (Draghkar, Azath…) and they released a decent demo back in 2019. Back with a different lineup and a widely different singer, their side of the split slaps. Their new singer (who could very well be Brandon’s wife!?!?!) is a gifted vocalist but her style, approach and delivery are all 0% metal, it creates some sort of disconnect with the supremely metal guitars of Corsair and Kelly Kuciemba (from death metal legends Drawn and Quartered). To be honest, I’m not sure it’s a negative aspect, it just takes some time to get used to. I still think Mariah Carey fronting Omen would still work, to be fair. Anyway, if Tsamis made unconventional women vocals work with Lordian Guard, I’m sure others can too.<br /><br />If there’s something than the Greeks like more than remembering everyone how cool they were 3000 years ago, it’s certainly Manilla Road (there ya go, namedropping the Road in the same review twice) and it’s felt within their music. Their epic heavy metal sound is basically USPM meets Doomsword, hellas metal and the Italian pagan epic doom mood of Doomsword (see “The Wretch”). The Greek influence is even obvious as they cover a Varathron cover but in a heavy metal style, it’s also present in Brandon’s compositions for Draghkar's debut album, this just shows how well he integrates those influences in those two different projects. Their three original compositions are speedy epic numbers with a lot of groove and might, it's aggressive but pretty distinguished. Andrew Lee (Ripped to Shreds, etc…) handles the drums and bass and it’s pretty much faultless as you’d expect with him. Serpent Rider are super super tight musically, not something usual for the style that often likes to play it loose but it works very well for them.<br /><br />Both possessing unique vocals, this is a pretty interesting split release, their influences are obvious for the acolytes of epic metal but they do a lot of new and fresh things as well. Something I’d like from both bands is a long ass epic song, like more than ten minutes, I’m sure they would succeed at the task too. They have the chops, the talent and the reasons to do so. Excellent split, lads.<div><br /></div><div><b>Out soon on No Remorse records (CD/LP)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Edit: </b>based on Shawn, Sacorb is just Brocas backwards and the whole song is a tribute to the legendary US band Brocas Helm. This rules.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-13872837300902229152021-06-20T18:26:00.004-04:002021-06-20T18:27:24.498-04:00Mindforce - Excalibur (2018) / 90%<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4abAfbGpVf9eiVZm5TKSBASFVNjZ0317dWOp_MJVnHyfTiLRRPQDxmRRsq3HnL7pYuJ-_ecAXCh_ysk6pcRoRcFm-uQfgmOKZHvbBLxbwPzzwTvtPBZeqsBzZT48wyvf1jSVjiiWXkHIo/s1200/a2689192349_10.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4abAfbGpVf9eiVZm5TKSBASFVNjZ0317dWOp_MJVnHyfTiLRRPQDxmRRsq3HnL7pYuJ-_ecAXCh_ysk6pcRoRcFm-uQfgmOKZHvbBLxbwPzzwTvtPBZeqsBzZT48wyvf1jSVjiiWXkHIo/s320/a2689192349_10.jpg" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Crossover for KINGS like you<br /><br /></h4>I don’t review crossover often (or at all even) because I feel there’s not a lot to say about the genre. While it’s somewhat the case with Mindforce as well, this album has been really hitting the spot since I discovered it recently. I was automatically intrigued because of the artwork and the title and even though I wasn’t expecting crossover mixed with Obsequiae and medieval folk music but it distinguished them from the usual fare we get in the scene.<p></p><p>As expected of a twenty-one minutes record, this is quite ruthless, unhinged and hella fast. The title track, the longest number here, is also possibly the slowest and hard hittin’, recalling Slayer’s Seasons in the Abyss to a certain extent. When the riffs get slower is when I lose my shit, they know how to be a crowd pleaser. What I like about crossover is that it relies entirely on how good and dangerous your riffs are and how good and aggressive your singer is. Well, New York’s Mindforce definitely delivers on all fronts. Short one to two minutes tracks is what you’re getting here, it flows nicely and crushes you like a thick lady would crush a watermelon between her thighs while saying “you’re next”.</p><p>There’s subtle details that elevates the band as well such as those short, sorrowful leads on “Fades Away” but overall, it’s pretty meat and potatoes thrash/crossover/hardcore with hardcore vocals and immense riffs and breakdowns. If you like Power Trip or Drain and don’t know those guys yet, get on board. Just like their music, I’ll keep this short and let you enjoy their idiotic metal made for idiots like us. To be played loud. All day.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-36924364730810192542021-06-20T16:35:00.001-04:002021-06-20T16:35:30.850-04:00Metal Bounty Hunter Volume 12<p><br /> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigBqZCY-otA52jdaiJtNdqOIsoSpsskwE0_VyyGIYcpDvKKlEFU6kAh7vK2HYcFGpOiFdmNOTIw2hqIZfzSNTBPPOQgIva-0GU2BWZJkb_Oq2oVDpdrKU2e0-1MrXEKCUVLdoKmutnay6/s2048/11mandalorian-recap-superJumbo-v2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1116" data-original-width="2048" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiigBqZCY-otA52jdaiJtNdqOIsoSpsskwE0_VyyGIYcpDvKKlEFU6kAh7vK2HYcFGpOiFdmNOTIw2hqIZfzSNTBPPOQgIva-0GU2BWZJkb_Oq2oVDpdrKU2e0-1MrXEKCUVLdoKmutnay6/w640-h347/11mandalorian-recap-superJumbo-v2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The Metal Bounty Hunter series is back with four short-ish reviews, all about doom and heavy this time.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtr83PTftWxxCzZfKt-IDTfq3wuzoq158wmBvuZAuv-L5uXqGbzBO9t83Rv5VelyMH9ZwT90ebmFM21APnyBYuFfNGXZ1n8hmzROQpRzk20l5PMFv6LLN_TVUN6Y2l7PDUMnuxA5K2uq1j/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtr83PTftWxxCzZfKt-IDTfq3wuzoq158wmBvuZAuv-L5uXqGbzBO9t83Rv5VelyMH9ZwT90ebmFM21APnyBYuFfNGXZ1n8hmzROQpRzk20l5PMFv6LLN_TVUN6Y2l7PDUMnuxA5K2uq1j/" width="240" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Zodiac - Stone Command (2015) / 85%</h3><p></p>
<h4 style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
Digitally
Challenged: Part 6 The Zodiac Killer?</h4>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
This short
lived doom band from Brisbane impressed me a lot with their final
recording, a three track extended play released on tape by the
excellent Heavy Chains Records. Three of the members are now playing
in Knifer, some sort of Motorheadish heavy/speed metal about booze,
but Zodiac was all about traditional doom metal.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The first two tracks
are around five or six minutes, both faster affairs while Legacy is
close to ten and encompasses their sound well. The nasal vocals by
Ben Peters can obviously recall the legends of Sabbath and Pagan
Altar and he does a great job at reciting the classic occult but fun
lyrics reminding me of Cathedral or Witchfinder General. Their
production is pretty tight and professional, the two guitars are
heavy and super punchy, delivering riffs that would please any
doomsters and top notch solos as well (check “The Devil’s
Cavalry”). All in all, it’s honest, hard working, blue collar
doom that’s super well written and on the edge of being memorable.
A shame they died, really.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Eldritch Rites -
Hell And Doom And Days Long Gone (2020) / 82%</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-g_YxlLc9JQtpkDjlL7O477OEg3f4mPgbuvr3nX3M85BQ_76NtekWPxecOQKa__uRgq83ovdgE0jbXrTpY7sZdxSopMiO0FuNVAkhk3aJEUiv28jZeDmCRzteRxwfG_p9MuI-clpgNkF/s700/825860+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="700" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-g_YxlLc9JQtpkDjlL7O477OEg3f4mPgbuvr3nX3M85BQ_76NtekWPxecOQKa__uRgq83ovdgE0jbXrTpY7sZdxSopMiO0FuNVAkhk3aJEUiv28jZeDmCRzteRxwfG_p9MuI-clpgNkF/s320/825860+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<h4 style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Pub doom</h4>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The trio from
Melbourne plays raw heavy/doom with an unhinged passion possibly
fueled by liquor. Also evolving as Open Door of Doom but with a
designated English singer, Eldritch Rites are pretty fun stuff
unfortunately plagued by a lackluster production. It’s sort of like
it was recorded live in the pub on the weekend to make sure the dudes
had an easy access to booze served by the devil. I can’t really
blame them to be fair.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Regardless of my
first impressions about the production, this is a band with strong
musicianship and songwriting, it’s more layered than I was
expecting to be. It’s downtrodden trad doom made by men in their
thirties or forties and it’s fairly effective at its goal. Songs
like “If These Walls Could Speak” are miserable, it’s heavy,
slow and makes you feel like you just got divorced and she’ll
obviously get the kids and even the dog. 10 minutes closer “They
Came to Raise the Dead” has this epic but still raw feel and ends
with “Lunar”, a joyful but mournful acoustic guitar recalling
English progressive folk.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">There’s a certain
English mood throughout the album and it’s also encompassed in how
sad it is. Dudes, there’s koalas in Australia, why are so fucking
sad? Go check how slow they move or something. The guitar playing of
Shayne Joseph (also in prog rock/heavy metallers Trebuchet) is quite
excellent, it’s pretty brutal, crunchy for the genre (see “Witch
Woman”) and has this heavy rock quality to it. His vocals possess
this sort of accented exaggeration and they wouldn’t be out of
place in a Monty Python sketch about witches or some shit.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Recommended if you
like your doom cooked slow and possibly still blood red.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwZgtWg2LBiaRnVBAhjyUIAIndTb0LMgPL_LZhgRmFUaTjtyelC4t9os59QAqR6VLLNNWZJp3MhjNQhnz53NOPHlSksYkj3rTjxDhXimORwZBDx4_-AUQEb7rg3_5ocdHp2OLazUetB9-/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="960" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZwZgtWg2LBiaRnVBAhjyUIAIndTb0LMgPL_LZhgRmFUaTjtyelC4t9os59QAqR6VLLNNWZJp3MhjNQhnz53NOPHlSksYkj3rTjxDhXimORwZBDx4_-AUQEb7rg3_5ocdHp2OLazUetB9-/" width="320" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Assembly at Dusk - Assembly at Dusk (2013) / 88%</span></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Digitally Challenged:
Part 7 We leave at dawn.</span></h4><p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“<span face="Arial, sans-serif">Got
the tape, I'll write a review during my Christmas break. Thanks a
lot!” - yours truly in 2013</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Well,
better late than never, you know. Sorry dudes! I’ve been meaning to
tackle this tape for years now as it’s very good metal deserving of
more scrutiny. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s Assembly At Dusk broke
up shortly after I failed to write a review for this compilation
regrouping the two demos they did in 2013. Their take on heavy metal
was fairly fresh at the time and I feel it’s something that could
be somewhat trendy today with bands like Spirit Adrift. The super
melodic but tight vocals of Jeffrey Schaefer (hopefully related to
the redneck terrorist we all know) are the most powerful aspect of
the band but the compositions are top notch too.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Their
sound as its core is epic heavy metal but there’s a lot of doom
(think The Gates of Slumber) and even some blackened elements in how
the riffs are composed. “Money, Gods and Greed” or “Before This
City is Aflame” pretty much sounds like black/heavy metal with
clean vox, almost a mix of Enslaved and Manilla Road. Even if it was
record in the basement of their guitarist, I think the production is
excellent, especially for demos, I’d prefer the vox to be a bit
more on forefront but I barely have any complaints about the crunchy
riffs and the black & tremolo infused leads. Their songs are
intricate and most are around the six minute mark, they’re filled
with details and there’s no filler here.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">
They’re
another sublime band who died too quickly, this is still on their Bandcamp so no excuses not to check ‘em out.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">--------------------------------------------</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_sPmPRs0uUjCcgSWPac5TYbmsAtZNfNsgbS_emA-nTUD-nnlfOsgL0XisBBS-Ce_bRzO7-rXsxc1Wy4w31IhQd4eBP3YFg1mfyLc-jqcgC-Sun_yGjv9sabOO0EwUMdHUnBok6cKOtYe/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_sPmPRs0uUjCcgSWPac5TYbmsAtZNfNsgbS_emA-nTUD-nnlfOsgL0XisBBS-Ce_bRzO7-rXsxc1Wy4w31IhQd4eBP3YFg1mfyLc-jqcgC-Sun_yGjv9sabOO0EwUMdHUnBok6cKOtYe/" width="240" /></a></span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Trebuchet
– Trebuchet (2020) / 70%</span></h3><p></p><h4 style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Not quite breaking down the walls yet</h4><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">
<br />
Formed by Dave Gilbert (who’s also
in four other bands I’ve never heard of) and Shayne Joseph
(Eldritch Rites, Dire Fate…), Trebuchet plays an interesting form
of doom metal with strong ties to the past. It could be described as
some sort of proto doom with a lot of psychedelic, hard rock and
progressive rock influences. While on paper, this sounds like a dream
to me, I wasn’t super crazy about them. I’d rather go back to
Quicksand Dream or Realmbuilder.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The
self titled full length starts with two ten minutes tracks and
they’re both too long for nothing. I usually like long songs but
those two bored me real quickly. The three other songs are shorter,
all around seven minutes. “Girl from the Fen” right in the middle
of the album is a soporific ballad but the two other more metal
tracks don’t really go anywhere either for me. As much as I like
Geddy, Ozzy or Terry, Dave Gilbert’s vocals aren’t for me and I
don’t like the fuzzy effects on ‘em, probably there to hide the
fact they’re not good at all. With that said, I quite like the
guitar tone and would have liked to life the riffs and songs more.
There’s some good moments here and there but they’re a bit too
few for my liking. I might applaud how well they mix the different genres though, that's not really the problem I have with them. Just found the album mostly boring, you know. To
conclude, I’m sad I didn’t enjoy this. Semi epic doom/prog about
the Middle ages with a name like Trebuchet? Maybe my expectations
were too high.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-3488432137481126182021-06-19T00:03:00.002-04:002021-06-19T00:03:46.817-04:00Legacies Unchain – Satan is Strong and Always Near (2016) / 95%<h3 style="text-align: left;">"Is he though?"<br />"Yes, he is."</h3><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy3Gq9Tc8ytIZ1RuMbPJxj-OfNdkGrRtueY706001cD_RbHI3erjnW9VN9lkw_mCdYZuUnSgRUthJMz5v5xQkBmzHYR1UNF9jjUr4SIdiXmqMKmLsZ873q-S_O-rZPXBG8LMKnGOxG9tq/s600/R-9727132-1485416420-2165.jpeg+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy3Gq9Tc8ytIZ1RuMbPJxj-OfNdkGrRtueY706001cD_RbHI3erjnW9VN9lkw_mCdYZuUnSgRUthJMz5v5xQkBmzHYR1UNF9jjUr4SIdiXmqMKmLsZ873q-S_O-rZPXBG8LMKnGOxG9tq/s320/R-9727132-1485416420-2165.jpeg+%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div>Composed of the sole member of the excellent Misantropical Painforest and another dude known for Wormphlegm and its funeral doom classic, Legacies Unchain is definitely my discovery of the year (or last year, no idea, time is blurry right now) and I’m thankful for Hops from the Ride Into Glory community for the recommendation. Their take on metal is one that speaks to me quite a bit, it’s occult, slow and lures you in the dark Finnish forest to sever your arms with a hand axe. <br /><br />Satan is Strong and Always Near (one of the best album titles of all time) is pretty much only three extended tracks with its title track being a bit more than twenty minutes. There’s three untitled instrumental including two to start the album, for some dark magical reasons, they’re not on the tracklist! The first and third are some guitar doodling moments that puts you in the mood. The second is one minute of shamanic aboriginal music preparing you for some ritualistic black metal, it’s not randomly placed either as there’s comebacks to this sort of primitive atmosphere throughout the album. The use of the didgeridoo, this cool wind instrument from pre-colonial Australia highlights the barbaric, primal feel of Legacies Unchain and it can be found alongside your normal metal instruments in “All Hail the Great Sperm” (what?) or “Dragon City”. The instrument announces the arrival of those two dudes on the artwork as they’re storming the camp full of goblins in order to slay ‘em all. In the name of Satan, of course.<br /><br />The whole thing sounds like a do it yourself barbaric black metal assault to me and I mean, I really love this kind of stuff. Apparently recorded in 2004 but only released more than a decade later, their kind of metal is pretty timeless. It’s mixing the raw occult power of black metal with the stupidity of heavy metal and the brain dead riff onslaught of death metal for our selfish pleasure. It’s a riff worship ceremony and the unworthy ones were sacrificed to some primordial spirits. The duo is able to write interesting, river-esque songs with only the power of powerful metal riffs and Satan. Spiritually linked to black/heavy bands like Demontage or Malokarpatan, Legacies Unchain slashes you with mid-paced riffs until you’re out blood to offer. They use those traditional elements well such as on the title track, it’s like if funeral doom was combined with black/heavy/thrash, it’s long but epic and flows nicely and it’s 100% hateful, obviously.<br /><br />Their vocals are also pretty diverse in their commitment to barbaric prowess. To high pitched screams to more deep growls and to some insane chanting, there’s something for everyone. The title track concludes its twenty-three minute run time with a mad clean scream, probably a shamanic priest dying during a ritual or something. Those guys like their crushing brutality too, the death metal influence can be felt at the beginning of “...Sperm” while “Dragon City” is rooted and drenched in heavy metal riffs. Their vocals are a constant though and they anchor the band into Satanic overload.<br /><br />Satan being always near them managed to motivate the guys, this is one hell of album. Even though it’s somewhat inaccessible due to the sheer length of its songs, there’s an entrancing vibe that rewards you. It’s similar to Cultes des Ghoules’ masterwork Henbane (the pinnacle of black metal as far as I’m concerned) in how it makes me feel, it’s riffs after riffs and you may think it’s dumbed down but it’s actually oddly subtle and genius.<br /><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-33501074783877797232021-06-17T18:54:00.000-04:002021-06-17T18:54:30.494-04:00Carcolh – The Life and Works of Death (2021)<p> </p><p style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span><br />
</p>
<h3 class="western" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcWy5o9zORtfvZkV4KIP6euprymmbVomPB-BRGQEPw4tAEaPAG0dBfEbJmmEBvwnuW_pnwUvqrmA-j4O2h5qMX1oizhip-8XlmFoWLCx2MSxPwF47UHEtgUhSEsEbhivcFhL6wyF-L20g/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNcWy5o9zORtfvZkV4KIP6euprymmbVomPB-BRGQEPw4tAEaPAG0dBfEbJmmEBvwnuW_pnwUvqrmA-j4O2h5qMX1oizhip-8XlmFoWLCx2MSxPwF47UHEtgUhSEsEbhivcFhL6wyF-L20g/" width="240" /></a></div></span><h4><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">The
Baguette Doom Series pt. XXII: Death is doing some overtime.</span></h4></div></span></span></h3>
<br /><br />The debut album from Carcolh was one of the best doom records of 2018 but it went largely unnoticed (not by me, I reviewed it. Check baguette XVIII)) ‘cause well, French traditional doom isn’t exactly Gojira. Well, good news if you haven’t heard it yet, their sophomore is even better. Formed after the demise of Marble Chariot (also covered by yours truly), a band I thought had a lot of potential but died too quickly, the Bordeaux quintet plays the exact sort of metal I crave.<br /> <br /><br />Their sound is dark and rich. It moves slowly but at a steady pace and confident in its ability to keep the prisoners in their cells forever. I think the band is at their best (and they got better at it) on the longer numbers like “The Blind Goddess” or the album closer “Sepulchre”, both around ten minutes each. It’s this sort of trad doom that’s more interested in building moods than just bludgeoning you with riffs, there’s a few rare bands that can do both but they’re the top dogs. Carcolh can do it occasionally though. <br /><br /> The highlight of the album for me was “Aftermath”, an atmospheric piece about the First World war and the Battle of the Somme in particular. It’s a sad and mournful ballad and while it’s a break from doom metal, it’s probably the darkest moment to be found on here. Sébastien Fanton delivers one hell of a performance on there, his clean vocals fits the mood and establishes the man as the leading man in French trad doom metal. He has this pretty unique voice and his English delivery is part of the charm for me. He can be gruff, powerful or poetic.<br /> <br /> Showing that Carcolh are also apt at punchier, faster numbers, “When the Embers Light the Way” is a groovy number with some harsh vocals and a thunderous guitar solo. Who said that doom metal can have monotonous or boring musicianship? Those guys are tight but their playing is subtle and engaging. They’re not flashy and they serve the songs well. The two guitars lineup help the band moves forward as well. With the right people, it can make a world of difference, especially when it’s time to recreate the more intricate or profound sections of those compositions.<br /><br />I feel they’re an entity of their own. While, of course, their music is rooted in existing doom tropes, it’s not too easy to pinpoint where their worship altars are. When your influences are melted together is precisely when you can really call your take on a genre genuine.<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://carcolh.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-and-works-of-death" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Bandcamp</span></a><br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-82312250246319245802021-06-16T18:45:00.006-04:002021-06-16T18:48:01.622-04:00Purification – Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever (2020) / 87%<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuYK1YRs6ksj-YpUmoznuk9GoBU8CELv2rUsQAEOCJLi_6mXPuffbL9_EoQU74VWnMU6dvvwHUSbnRa2u6KP5ySCqsL6ePqKhkEmFbBqOgzFzMikoKk15d1L_SCXp7li5PswLQ606o_wG/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1450" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjuYK1YRs6ksj-YpUmoznuk9GoBU8CELv2rUsQAEOCJLi_6mXPuffbL9_EoQU74VWnMU6dvvwHUSbnRa2u6KP5ySCqsL6ePqKhkEmFbBqOgzFzMikoKk15d1L_SCXp7li5PswLQ606o_wG/" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Psychedelic transition in Portlandia</span></h3><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br /><br />The second full length from Portland’s Purification appeared as an offering from Santa on Christmas 2020 almost six months after their previous album. Following the excellent Perfect Doctrine, the most accessible release from this group of guys, Dwell… goes back to some of their weird antics. Under the name Thrown, two members played some sort of Carnivore infused noisy heavy/doom/speed and while we’re far from that sort of stuff, it’s a subtle departure from the first two Purification LPs. <br /><br /> Their debut was raw traditional doom, I liked it but not as much as the “refined” product that followed. Their third effort goes deeper into psychedelia, it’s almost ambient trad doom at times. The artwork is a pretty good indicator of how it sounds, acid induced psych doom with a sort of religious, divine feel. The two longest tracks (about half the length of the album) start and end the album with drawn out, mournful but atmospheric riffs. The vocals are strong when present, ominous and clean but with a secluded monk approach. Overall, it’s more restrained than their previous material but it’s moodier and shows another side of the band, one where they’re confident in their ability to create landscapes of sounds delving beyond the metal realm.<br /><br />Speaking of exploring new areas, the original material includes two instrumentals and it’s quite hypnotic and has a desert drone mood to it, not unlike Earth’s western albums like The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull. “Ar Soudarded Zo Gwisket e Ruz” is five minutes but could had been extended to ten or fifteen with ease while “Bombfog” is a short ambient, film music-ish introduction to the last metal track of the record. <br /><br />I must admit that I’m a bit scared of the pace they’ve been releasing their music, one album every six months or so is a bit much. They have one coming up in two weeks already. Ultimately, I can’t complain because it’s all been very good but I don’t want them to become something like Haunt/Beastmaker and spreading their sauce too thinly. Still, this is kind of a glorified extended play turned into a full length. There’s two covers, a well rendered one of the obscure NWOBHM classic “Rainbow Warrior” and one from David Benson, a Christian doom nobody. They’re both pretty interesting picks, thanks for not covering Sabbath or Candlemass, dudes. <br /><br />Yeah so pretty moody, atmospheric quasi ambient traditional doom metal is what you’re getting here. It’s diverse, well written and sends love letters to many different bands and subgenres. It’s very much an album between two albums but there’s still a lot of rewards to be found here.<p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="color: #202124;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://purificationdoom.bandcamp.com/album/dwell-in-the-house-of-the-lord-forever" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bandcamp</span></a><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-73110393161757636372021-06-14T17:03:00.002-04:002021-06-14T17:10:19.978-04:00Steel Bearing Hand - Slay In Hell (2021) / 86%<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj3EunTjTVyEIgQ_-OJQ87Mm_Toc3YlhrfaTRSxrjjSvm9_lOi_Xs_A_vIUJ0xU36uPZgAfjfYw-cZE0198gH2Rerdumi2RmPpVLnDZOF9KsjR8ZC8yKHRXaHplXL0IYZrcVDNCDMVH8t/s2048/cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj3EunTjTVyEIgQ_-OJQ87Mm_Toc3YlhrfaTRSxrjjSvm9_lOi_Xs_A_vIUJ0xU36uPZgAfjfYw-cZE0198gH2Rerdumi2RmPpVLnDZOF9KsjR8ZC8yKHRXaHplXL0IYZrcVDNCDMVH8t/s320/cover.jpg" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Slay baby, slay!</span></h3><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />I was sold when I saw the name of the band. Right from the start. I mean, what more do you want in metal? I was immediately seeing a big ass orc with a great axe in hand slaying puny peasants and I found comfort in that. Luckily we’re getting the equivalent of this with the Texans’ second full length. I discovered the Dallas natives with this album and I instantly preordered it when I saw the Mark Riddick inspired artwork. The art includes mandatory elements to be a metal band. Skeletons, demons, fire, axes, swords and the list goes on. It’s pure badassary and a good reflection of their music.<br /><br />They’re riff worshipers who went on enough adventures to know what to bring in a fully packed dungeon. Their main strength is their ability to be totally homogeneous in their metallic approach while showcasing a wide plethora of influences. Their main core of thrashy death metal is then appropriately seasoned with black metal, heavy metal, crossover and even doom. It’s pretty damn efficient and recalls the seminal works of Deceased with their over the top blend of true metal. The guitars are big, loud and insanely good. The extended solos of main man Wyatt (remember we’re in Texas y’all) are over the top and they’re Slayer at 150% strength with twice the skills. His vocals are cavernous in an old school way and they’re mostly rooted in death metal aesthetics. <br /><br />They start the adventure with two fast numbers before serving us longer songs, they know a thing or two about pacing and track lists. Whether they’re playing faster or slower, they’re always super intense. “Tombspawn” takes about three minutes to “start”, it has this slow intro that just lures you in the graveyard and then the putrid vocals pushes you in the freshly dug grave. The solo near the end just finishes the job. Superb occult metal right there.<br /><br />They end the forty minutes record with a twelve minutes epic that just pushes you to the brink of madness, this number has death/doom vibes mixed with fast riffs and mournful but still quite potent moment. The halfway mark break almost sounds like Hooded Menace (that’s a good thing if you were wondering) before going back to thrash goodness. They’re talented fellas as they’re able to avoid being too one note, a complaint I often have with thrash metal. There’s a lot to unpack here but it’s tightly written, tightly played and much more intricate than it appears. Essential modern kitchen sink thrash, fellas.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: red; font-family: arial;"><a href="https://steelbearinghand.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><b>Bandcamp</b></a></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-35266531965550704962021-03-29T22:11:00.000-04:002021-03-29T22:11:21.733-04:00White Magician/Prelude to Ruin – 2018 split / 93%<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwp6BghGfWLM86TwS0B5h8Bmh2mIoK1ysCQo_h4Y8quCeHwPgePO2Raceojug7rIs_rImAOP93oSNMuIe_6AQ5InL36H8WWowrCML6YcSoa1tA9n-s6HrAQqruU42p1yBGp8f3E6dwKllz/s1280/wm+ptr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwp6BghGfWLM86TwS0B5h8Bmh2mIoK1ysCQo_h4Y8quCeHwPgePO2Raceojug7rIs_rImAOP93oSNMuIe_6AQ5InL36H8WWowrCML6YcSoa1tA9n-s6HrAQqruU42p1yBGp8f3E6dwKllz/w640-h360/wm+ptr.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Uncut Gems</b></h2>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
fact that Demon Bitch and Borrowed Time (rest in peace) are a</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ssuredly</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
the best American heavy metal bands of their era is a secret that
more people should know. White Magician released one of the best
albums of 2020 and their buddies of Prelude to Ruin are planning a
release for 2021 (if my insider information is to be trusted) </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">and
both of those </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">projects</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
are related to the aforementioned bands. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They
happened to have released a split album back in 2018 and it’s pure
fire. You shouldn’t expect otherwise if you were familiar with the
people behind those bands.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>White
Magician</b> is the entire Demon Bitch lineup except Brian, their
bassist. Some of them play a different role here though, like Logon
who plays bass or Derek who’s also tasked with the lead vocals in
addition to his guitar task. While Demon Bitch play a super unhinged
and insane sort of heavy metal, their other project leans more on
pure traditionalism and is more <span style="font-variant: normal;"><span style="letter-spacing: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Blue
Öyster Cult</span></span></span></span> than Mercyful Fate. One of
things that I always like about the way those Detroit fellas write
songs is that it’s completely devoid of posturing or attempts at
mimicking the greats. It’s like if it was written in space with the
distant memories of the bands they liked when they were still on
Earth like the rest of us. Their ten minutes side starts with The
Great Kaiser’s White Magician, an allegedly different entity, doing
a two minutes introduction. It’s a high pitched guitar lead
repeated alongside the name of the project and it’s, I have no idea
why, fantastic. The bulk of their split side is obviously the track
“Antipathy”, originally recorded in 2017 but re-recorded here.
It’s a multidimensional epic showcasing everything the band can do.
From the soft, almost 1970s Rush introduction to the agile, always
pertinent riffs, the song is like a crescendo towards joyfully
exuberant guitar leads concluding its eight minutes run-time. Like
Demon Bitch, their guitar leads are great and always well placed and
needed. They’re like icy daggers entering softly but firmly your
body.<br />
<br />
Their debut full length“ Dealers of Divinity”
leaned even more into hard rock but the foundations were built before
as White Magician are really great at crossing the line between rock
and metal several times per song. While, without a doubt, they’re a
metal band, they don’t burden themselves too much with that fact.
The vocals are well thought out, melodic and powerful in their own
ways. They don’t really strike me as metal vocals, the way they’re
written is but the delivery is subdued, subtle and very interesting.
Antipathy is an outstanding track, it’s as strong as anything
they’ve released so far.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Prelude
to Ruin</b> is the new (or old) project formed by the Ruiz brothers
who were both in Borrowed Time. I’m not totally sure who’s on
this release except Victor and David Ruiz but nowadays, they’re
joined by guitarist Matt Preston (Borrowed Time, Dungeon Beast, The
Swill…) and other members of Borrowed Time, Demon Bitch/White
Magician. It’s an incestuous family but… for the right reasons!</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We’re
served two relatively fast paced numbers with strong melodies and
blistering guitar riffs. More rooted in power and even speedier metal
than Borrowed Time were, there’s an almost epic power metal feel
throughout the first song “Weird of the White Wolf”. They’re in
that zone where USPM meets European power metal. Where the robust
riffs of Liege Lord would hangout with the pre-symphonic ballsy power
metal of Blind Guardian. Prelude to Ruin are the kind of band that
heavy metal guitars fans want to hear. Their leads are oozing with
skills, passion and thundering might. They’re the clear highlight
of their identity even though the rest is </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">also
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">super
solid. <br />
<br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While
Jean-Pierre Abboud (vocals in Borrowed Time) is gone and there’s a
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">small
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">drop
in talent on the mic, it’s still pretty damn dynamic and </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">enjoyable.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Speaking
of J-P, I’ve never liked him as much as I did when he played with
those guys, Traveler and Gatekeeper never used his skills </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">as
well. I think that’s also a proof that the Ruiz bros are hella good
composers. The second song </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“One
More Fight” has shrill, weird vox in its beginning to surprising
but effective effects </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">and
overall, the high-pitched vocals work well with the speed
demonstrated here. Unfortunately, the production is a bit too lo-fi
and muffled for those two songs to truly truly shine and hopefully,
this will be fixed for their upcoming material.</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Overall
this split release has two very strong sides with two bands clearly
in possession of immense heavy metal skills. They’re two of the
brightest gems the US metal underground produced, don’t sleep on
‘em.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://whitemagicianmi.bandcamp.com/album/antipathy" target="_blank">White Magician's Bandcamp</a><br /></span></span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://preludetoruin.bandcamp.com/album/white-magician-the-great-kaisers-white-magician-prelude-to-ruin" target="_blank">Prelude to Ruin's Bandcamp</a><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-55622590863437176302021-03-07T00:50:00.000-05:002021-03-07T00:50:05.634-05:00Okkultokrati - La ilden lyse (2020)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIayeysp40seZG_u2XxvhpVQCxcFVTSJPNEaMenLG6_zBMWsKprPhv19eP6gSM9R70qDYrNbNGy4NGCWfmMXlbWrM4NAbtRHkiJML4ycxByk8CzaGLq9ZQ8d0yyfWc3Ot3Udkb_O3DdBZ/s2048/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIayeysp40seZG_u2XxvhpVQCxcFVTSJPNEaMenLG6_zBMWsKprPhv19eP6gSM9R70qDYrNbNGy4NGCWfmMXlbWrM4NAbtRHkiJML4ycxByk8CzaGLq9ZQ8d0yyfWc3Ot3Udkb_O3DdBZ/s320/cover.jpg" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>Hiking Metal Punks</b></h2><p></p><p>I discovered the Norwegians with their previous album, the excellent Raspberry Dawn (thanks to tomcat_ha for the recommendation, if I remember correctly) and I had relatively high expectations for their follow-up. </p><p>The artwork of La ilden lyse reminds of Darkthrone's Arctic Thunder (covered by the Realm before) but that's not the only similarity they have with the legendary duo. Raspberry Dawn was much more rooted in kraut and psych rock, deeply reminiscent of Circle (coincidentally they also released their latest album on Southern Lord). It was, in a way, not a metal album. Their 2020 album returns to a blackened sound while still retaining some of those influences, it's gritty and belligerent but kept some of the psychedelic element that distinguished them from the pack. Their production is tight, condensed and packs a punch. There's just the right amount of rawness and it highlights the harsh black metal vocals quite well. The riffs alternate between psych fed punk, heavy metal and proto black metal and they're written in a repetitive fashion but they're freaking solid so it just puts them on a pedestal.</p><p>There's a lot of layers underneath what appears to be an unsubtle formula. There's synths in the (pretty far away) background adding a dimension that's not automatically perceptible at first. They're basically Motorhead as they're not as dumb as you would have thought but goes for the jugular at all times. It's fast, rock & roll-y but also pretty smart once you break their codes. There's super well written passages such as the atmospheric moods on "Kiss of Death"</p><p>Some bands are gonna announce that they'll branch out and include more and more influences in their sound and then fail to do so. Okkultokrati just unceremoniously does it and they do it with class and skill. Their biggest strength is their ability to combine a lot of different influences and do it in a super homogeneous way without never deviating from their main goal of riffing very fucking hard.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-31252337230024901172021-02-28T01:44:00.001-05:002021-02-28T14:07:34.765-05:00Pringles Honey Mustard and Wendy's Baconator / Snack Review<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X9UK7JxOinyMpSeoiLILLmRp6GHFgGCWtCHKJUuiM8Qn3BcefxLoZxa43AxZRfvXDRqBQGnWupVe7N-_mqaKPYvfYh2oVI1heWE7LoXHITcfcM-f38ifs_J3E-97gT1-uat8pRfoq1RG/s670/20210227_123714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="503" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X9UK7JxOinyMpSeoiLILLmRp6GHFgGCWtCHKJUuiM8Qn3BcefxLoZxa43AxZRfvXDRqBQGnWupVe7N-_mqaKPYvfYh2oVI1heWE7LoXHITcfcM-f38ifs_J3E-97gT1-uat8pRfoq1RG/w300-h400/20210227_123714.jpg" width="300" /></a></b></div><b>Honey Mustard</b><br /><br /><b>Packaging</b>: The colour is spot on, that sort of dark yellow close to Dijon mustard is attractive and reminds me of when I make my own honey mustard dip for chicken nuggets in the microwave as well, I'm trashy. The "Limited Time Only" red notice obviously made me them automatically, for review purposes only, of course. The bees and their hive is a touch and adds some cool artistry to the tube.<p></p><p><b>Texture/Taste</b>: it's Pringles so the texture is always the same no matter what, were you expecting something different? Well yeah you could argue that they released some "wavy" or "groovz" chips but they're nothing special. The taste is pretty spot on to what I wanted. It tastes like a honey mustard dip, they did their job. It's spot on. The taste is pretty subtle and subdued too, it's not too much mustard-y or too sweet because of the honey, there's a good balance.</p><p><b>8/10<br /><br /></b></p><p><b>Wendy's Baconator</b></p><p>Packaging: there's a freaking big burger on the tube alongside the Wendy's sign. The tube is black too 'cause bacon is manly and shit, I guess?<br /><br />Texture/Taste: Same old Pringle, it's orange-ish like the bun of the burger. Full disclosure, I don't think I ever tried the Baconator itself. I went to Wendy's like once and it was nothing special, it's not a super common fast food joint in Québec either. Still, this isn't very good or special. It tastes like a blend of fake bacon taste, BBQ sauce and hints of a beef aftertaste. It almost tastes like cheap beef ramen. I'll probably finish the tube anyway, mind you.</p><p><b>5/10</b></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-47013515716751688542021-02-11T10:27:00.000-05:002021-02-11T10:27:37.167-05:00 Lords of Quarmall – Iron Exile (2021) / 82%<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NyMyI0q_1G9pL6xZACMWEBx8zShLxwGhL3FLyW9T3hEj_vVjMY2HbcunJq91rsYMWtz1iEYH_kw6TfwSuuuBHeR940rsNdUNqt0LqY4Zwqu_HHTyLFNFtSIJx8IqESPlKyZ7R6tmsdn7/s700/FRONT.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_NyMyI0q_1G9pL6xZACMWEBx8zShLxwGhL3FLyW9T3hEj_vVjMY2HbcunJq91rsYMWtz1iEYH_kw6TfwSuuuBHeR940rsNdUNqt0LqY4Zwqu_HHTyLFNFtSIJx8IqESPlKyZ7R6tmsdn7/s320/FRONT.png" /></a></div><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Lord of Washington</b></h4><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Reuben Storey has
been busy since the death of both Christian Mistress and Quayde
LaHue. The multi-instrumentalist released some demos as Yronoxit and
Horrible last year but that Lords of Quarmall EP is his first contribution to 2021 but surely not his last. The band name is straight up out of classic
sword & sorcery (Fritz Leiber, to be more precise) and the subject of
that review.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">I know y’all
probably haven’t heard Yronoxit (do so now) but I’ll compare the two
a little. They’re both weird heavy metal but they’re coming from
two different places. Yronoxit was a spooky, Mercyful Fate-ish
project with influences from experimental heavy metal (see Krypt
Axeripper) and an unusual vocal delivery. On the other hand, Lords of
Quarmall is heavier, faster and incorporates a fair load of Slough
Feg bits. If you’ve been living under a rock, The Lord Weird Slough
Feg are the best American heavy metal band of the past 25 years. Iron
Exile reminds me of some of the strongest Feg material from Down
Among the Deadmen to Hardworlder. The album introduction “Inopia
Scriptorum” also gave me a lot of old Rush vibes and those are
always welcomed.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Four of the six
tracks are pretty short (under two minutes) and most of them are
instrumentals. They surround the two more substantial numbers, the
mid paced “The Prophet’s Mirror” and the fast epic closer
“Megapolisomancy” (been trying to pronounce that title all day)
and I mean, it’s a good fit. <br /><br />The main strength of the project is
the riffs, they’re super good, all of them. The drums are intense,
especially in that unpronounceable aforementioned track, they're bordering the death/thrash territories on that song. There's blastbeats while there's some subtle synths in the background, it gives us some sort of cosmic sword & sorcery big dick energy mood. Vocals wise, Reuben sounds like an unhinged Lemmy. A big barbarian with a massive sword influence, ya know.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Surely that's not the most original stuff released in 2021 but it never aimed to be. I do feel there's enough idiosyncratic elements here though. It's more accessible than Yronoxit and doesn't sound like it was made in a vacuum where the idea of what heavy metal sounds like is a distant souvenir. It's raw, intriguing, arcane traditional metal with galloping riffs and a powerful energy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cbcentauri.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Available here - The old school way</span></a><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-4504653854481765522021-02-04T23:15:00.001-05:002021-02-04T23:15:37.499-05:00Conviction - Conviction (2021) / 87%<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK27kS4uya_wE6KtI12zYe3gv-O5HpqUCJR9cXcSXXCcrkPy20bWevmfmk1XBVf9q5pMOdPcMVISzqoHvawAoW6DsIufdXqOeEzFzLJ7Iu9E92Lh5ZRYWak4Che6GI-88wvBEll5XDIhBh/s1628/cover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1628" data-original-width="1628" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK27kS4uya_wE6KtI12zYe3gv-O5HpqUCJR9cXcSXXCcrkPy20bWevmfmk1XBVf9q5pMOdPcMVISzqoHvawAoW6DsIufdXqOeEzFzLJ7Iu9E92Lh5ZRYWak4Che6GI-88wvBEll5XDIhBh/s320/cover.jpg" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Baguette Doom Series pt. XXI: Guilty as charged</span></b><p></p><p>Conviction are a new band from Normandie but they're nowhere near beginners. Created in 2013 by Olivier Verron, the founder of Temple of Baal who also played for well known names likes Antaeus and Bran Barr, that new project easily distinguished itself by being completely different from what he's been playing. The one hour album explores a plethora of doom genres with ease and passion. Let's dismember it and investigate the remains.</p><p>The core of Conviction is traditional doom. Clean vocals, hard hitting riffs, hard working honest melodies and a strong rhythm section. That's not enough for the quartet though, there's a ton of old Cathedral and Paradise Lost influences here despite the old rivalries between France and England and it adds a ton of layers to their sound. <br /><br />Their main strength is the variety of their offering. We're served mid paced and faster numbers such as "Curse of the Witch" and also lengthier, mournful tracks such as "Outworn" and while it's different, it stays cohesive. That's due to Frédéric Patte-Brasseur's immense production. The work of Funeralium (covered by the Magickal Realm in the past) and Ataraxie's guitarist feels like a ton of oppressive bricks. I wouldn't say it's produced like a funeral doom album but it certainly influenced the process, it's dark and borders the prod we can find on doom/death albums while remaining a fit for their more melodic approach. They're not afraid to unleash excellent solos either and it feels like it's branching into American trad doom at times with that sort of guitar acrobatics (think Iron Man), it also reminds me of the bluesy doom Alice in Chains is known for too. It's never against the songs, it compliments their songwriting very well. </p><p>Verron's vocals are strong while not being a highlight, they suit the atmosphere. There's a few harsh vocals moments that are appropriate and well placed throughout. "Through the Window" reminded me of the clean vocals from later Enslaved, that kind of drone chant was pretty enjoyable. He's not a powerhouse like we often encounter in doom and he's placed appropriately low in the mix to make up for that, they know their strengths.<br /><br />Conviction, a band of French dudes in their 40s definitely know what they're doing. It's great doom with a sound they gathered from what they liked in the 1990s combined with the regressive modern sensibilities of bands like The Gates of Slumber. Bereft, masterful and evocative, Conviction will convince you. Yes, sorry, I went there.</p><p><a href="https://convictiondoom.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Bandcamp</span></a></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-33456593690149624492021-01-24T13:09:00.000-05:002021-01-24T13:09:38.373-05:00The Snack Series: Doritos 3D and Ruffles Double Crunch Jalapeno Cheddar<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6UftuLzlW0gS1phaKqo5eP3_LrJBWqgHyHDLJ0JAqSCguoCtxIhSftfxOxr6lPSRvMJYOfZMrogrCH78KyaH6s2H1aM7nvoKJLp8aYWbL76hY60Cb4X08CoWlWq1_N9cFcK3wLuzBDUe/s670/dori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="503" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6UftuLzlW0gS1phaKqo5eP3_LrJBWqgHyHDLJ0JAqSCguoCtxIhSftfxOxr6lPSRvMJYOfZMrogrCH78KyaH6s2H1aM7nvoKJLp8aYWbL76hY60Cb4X08CoWlWq1_N9cFcK3wLuzBDUe/s320/dori.jpg" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Doritos 3D chili cheese nacho</span></b><p></p><p><b>Packaging: </b>The overly modern package with the big 3D letters isn't super aesthetic, it's a bit too much. The red and white colours are very aggressive too. The main intent was to show off how three dimensional the Doritos actually is since that's the main selling point of that new flavour. Mission accomplished, I guess. It's just ugly. Looks like a 90s sport logo or something.</p><p><b>Texture: </b>The 3D Doritos are bite sized and yeah, they're hollow. They're like small triangular balloon disks. It's a fun texture to put in your mouth. It's almost adventurous, that's the kind of chips people in Star Trek would eat if they were actually unhealthy and not boring.</p><p><b>Taste: </b>A mix of spicy chili and their usual nacho flavour, the taste is pretty decent while nothing out of the ordinary or special. It works. I think the size of the chips helps for some reason, probably a placebo one. If they were the size of a normal Dorito, it would had been weird.</p><p>All in all, it's a gimmick Doritos and I'd rather see them do adventurous flavours like Sonic Sour Cream or the guacamole collisions or something</p><p><b>6/10</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIz3_Po9L7H1fe08vsVF5IpPEUx87IZDQ2sf2DljT-NLfKSHiZBn96gIIhCZb_LEkb1iSJGjf9L82_7ghUF6x-KlWOA2f0Ilb6_HWumXmif2j5DDWfmc1kNWBxLYGxOyrMbz7T-qn7Z8BK/s670/ruff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="503" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIz3_Po9L7H1fe08vsVF5IpPEUx87IZDQ2sf2DljT-NLfKSHiZBn96gIIhCZb_LEkb1iSJGjf9L82_7ghUF6x-KlWOA2f0Ilb6_HWumXmif2j5DDWfmc1kNWBxLYGxOyrMbz7T-qn7Z8BK/s320/ruff.jpg" /></a></span></b></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ruffles Double Crunch Jalapeno Cheddar</span></b><p></p><p><b>Packaging:</b> the bag highlights how thicc the chips are and shows us a big chunk of cheddar and those powerful jalapeno boys. I always liked the blue Ruffles bag and the add green on the bottom is a good mix to their classic colours.</p><p><b>Texture:</b> if one of your desires in life were something like "hey I'd like those Ruffles to be twice as thick and crispy" then you'll be satisffiied. They're as advertised and that's appreciated. You'll need to increase the volume of your TV though.</p><p><b>Taste: </b> Similar to the Cheetos crunchy jalapeno cheddar in taste, it doesn't reinvent the wheel. The focus was given to the texture and that's ok. It's not overly spicy but it has a nice little kick and the cheese flavour isn't overshadowed either. I'm intrigued by the double crunch ketchup Ruffles as well.</p><p>Strong effort by Ruffles</p><p><b>8/10</b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-11339625960749133242021-01-08T20:24:00.000-05:002021-01-08T20:24:56.647-05:00Falsehood - Falsehood (2017) / 82%<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOKcjXhi3zdAFuHANtXB7qeRIHXZUsTIO2KnolwfyDaGz4ghgtQv8rVNGSRWbxFZFxSAqjVmmAf5IHPx2TpH-xLZ516VD9OzfBYXmpaPCXUu4rB4aYJwAD-7NqO57JeJ_6_UZqPj0KTJm/s1200/a0955419767_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOKcjXhi3zdAFuHANtXB7qeRIHXZUsTIO2KnolwfyDaGz4ghgtQv8rVNGSRWbxFZFxSAqjVmmAf5IHPx2TpH-xLZ516VD9OzfBYXmpaPCXUu4rB4aYJwAD-7NqO57JeJ_6_UZqPj0KTJm/s320/a0955419767_10.jpg" /></a></div><b>Nah dudes, I agree</b><p></p><p>Falsehood from Edmonton features two members from death/black veterans Begrime Exemious but explores a different style of extreme metal. Crust is basically punks playing metal (or trying to) but the lines between punk and metal is getting quite blurry. It’s possible that metalheads can play punk as well! Anyhow the quartet mixes several influences into one potent patty of aggressive and uncompromising music.</p><p>Their approach relies heavily on heavy riffs and the repetitiveness of said hard hittin’ guitars. It’s cold, dangerous and it doesn’t mess around with the puck at all. They would have broken that fucking QAnon Shaman in pieces if they had the chance. It’s thundering politically inclined metallic punk taking no fucking prisoners. A mixing pot of death metal, sludgey doom, crust and hardcore punk, Falsehood is able to digest those influences and shit us something worthwhile and captivating. The dual guitars attack of Franky and Derek are fantastic and doesn’t show off at all, they’re there for the power of the riffs and they serve the songs. The guitar tone is disgusting (in the best way possible) and while there’s distortion, it’s never sloppy and badly written. Those dudes are solid musicians and the combination of the two guitarists with a very effective rhythm section created an aural devastation. A good example of how everything is so expertly combined is the eight minutes closer “Deceiver”, one of their slower but still super urgent compositions. The drums and bass are also very very good and it's something I focused on more and more after a few spins of the album. The backend of the album is rich and the tight and focused production definitely helps.</p><p><i>Protect the rich, serve the state</i></p><p><i>Mindless pigs fill us with hate</i></p><p>The vocals of Franky are pissed off deep growls, it's harsh and full of venom. What I like is that it's not a constant barrage of vocals, it's present like any other instruments and it plays its role within the band's music. Tracks like "Descent Into Madness" features vox only midway through the four-ish minutes track but when they start, damn. That track almost has a grindcore feel to it as it ends. They're good at showcasing their riffs and they let them breathe a while too. There's a few cleaner moments ("Waste" or "Militant Swine") and they bring forward some sort of depressive post metal stylistic exploration to the fold. It's interesting and doesn't feel out of place.</p><p>The only modern thing about them is their intent to combine old school styles together but ultimately, this combination creates something that could have been released ten, twenty or even thirty years ago. Like their left leaning themes, It’s pretty timeless for punk music. Throw Asphyx, Bolt Thrower and Amebix in a garbage bin and let the raccoons do their job, you’ll end up with something close to Falsehood.</p><p><a href="https://falsehood.bandcamp.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Bandcamp</b></span></a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-57306744106657178102021-01-05T19:54:00.000-05:002021-01-05T19:54:51.241-05:00John the Baptist – John the Baptist (2021) / 90%<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9N0F_xSKk0FKmppjplbaVqeBvrTFiLjUtY3LJpAL_NZZXSabBpUFJz1rpSeMZoujxc7R8NzZduyep2nMX1wZuMCcyRzYRACMS72HrwxBhZ5ihs2vAtXqwu5-Itrt6gDcPZRTy58Pacjp/s1400/cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9N0F_xSKk0FKmppjplbaVqeBvrTFiLjUtY3LJpAL_NZZXSabBpUFJz1rpSeMZoujxc7R8NzZduyep2nMX1wZuMCcyRzYRACMS72HrwxBhZ5ihs2vAtXqwu5-Itrt6gDcPZRTy58Pacjp/s320/cover.jpg" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Pour some (un)holy
water on me!</b></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
I’ve been
expecting a full length album from these guys for like four years now
but it’s fine, they’re playing the long game in every aspects of
their identity. The mysterious fellas are coming from a black metal
background (Blood Red Fog in particular) definitely embraced true
doom as it’s oozing from everywhere on that debut album. I’m
embracing the depressive and morose start of the year even more with
their downer music. 2021 will suck too y’all, better prepare
yourself.
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Obviously fans of
Reverend Bizarre (as any sane people should be), John the Baptist is
still a different entity than their ancestor. Sure, they have the
same guitar, bass and drums formula we’re used to in doom metal
(and other metal genres...) but they used their tools in a sprawling,
almost funeral doom kind of way. It’s slow, brooding and thundering
like an angry god.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It’s six songs for eighty minutes of
music so put on your warmer socks since we’re going in cold.
There’s no breaks either, they don’t let go and aren’t allowing
you any toilet breaks. It’s a deluge (hehe, look at the artwork) of
riffs, either slow, mid paced or sometimes even fast (!!!). The two
shortest tracks, expertly placed in the middle of the album,
showcases some faster riffs and the main melody of “Odds at
Redemption” reminds me of Uncle Acid’s Blood Lust album but
slowed the fucked down.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">While still aiming
at some sort of grandiose true traditional doom, I feel John the
Baptist are also minimalist in nature. Things are kept rooted in aura
of do it yourself-ness and relies entirely on the strength of their
songwriting and musicianship while an airy and natural production
engulfs everything. The guitars are heavy but relatively muddy (in a
good way) and the drums are precise, loud and surprisingly subtle at
times. The bass isn’t as hard as I was expecting but it’s filling
the void with care. They let things breathe in the compositions and
there’s a solemn atmosphere created by the simple yet catchy riffs
here. There’s almost the same feel as on Evangelist’s outputs,
it’s anti-Christian in a studious way. Even if they’re not epic
doom like the Poles, there’s a few more epic moments such as the
medieval war samples and the use of an organ on “A Glimpse of
Valor” bringing more variety to the album.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The vocals
are often the highlights in Finnish trad doom and while we’re not
reaching the same high peaks as on the Hynninen albums (Reverend
Bizarre, Spiritus Mortis) or even the ones fronted by Pesonen (The
Wandering Midget or Serpent Warning), they’re pretty enjoyable. The
deep, tenebrous and operatic vocals are well done and they’re
somewhat under the waves, laying perfectly on the seabed.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Even if I’m a bit
uncomfortable with some of the far right views the band could be
linked to (Circle of Dawn, Nécropole, Finland’s black metal in
general), this album is a gem of slow true doom metal and it’s
great to know that this kind of stuff is still being created right
now. It’s probably the best album of that specific niche to be
released since Acolytes of Moros’ debut album. If your idea of good
doom is fifteen minutes songs with a maximum of three or four riffs
in each, buy this immediately.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="https://jtbdoom.bandcamp.com/album/john-the-baptist"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">Bandcamp</span></span> </a><br /><br /></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692956954728342852.post-83464164463026395552020-12-30T16:43:00.002-05:002022-04-23T21:08:56.753-04:00English Breakfast: An overview of Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom<p> </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6kYc68udf8ntSxYHuq3LplYYz6ZOAOiFWhz0OGWNVY7THIlS6dJ9ztz1A20t-vxKiT265J6eTX10knnBNGROIWR7tDZ8-c7lYS9dnBHkXsRq_C-WVMKqQbpsNldwBwwuVh3jnZpUsXQv/s1416/cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1399" data-original-width="1416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6kYc68udf8ntSxYHuq3LplYYz6ZOAOiFWhz0OGWNVY7THIlS6dJ9ztz1A20t-vxKiT265J6eTX10knnBNGROIWR7tDZ8-c7lYS9dnBHkXsRq_C-WVMKqQbpsNldwBwwuVh3jnZpUsXQv/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Here's an overview of Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom's full length discography. This English duo deserves more attention, I've discovered them due to their 2020 extended play <i>Kingdom of Killers </i>to realise that their previous releases were also very interesting!<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Droner (2003)</span><br /><br /><b>
English Breakfast Chapter 1:
The Eggs</b><br />
<br />
The debut album of the duo built the foundations
of what’s to come. They embody what I like in my metal as newly
thirty year old man and I’ll explain why. It’s primitive and made
in a vacuum by true connoisseurs of the underground who really don’t
care about trends and fashion in the metal world.<p></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Droner could be
described as a mix of of doom, first wave black metal, heavy metal
and while the crust elements aren’t as present as on other albums,
it’s there. Think of Amebix combined with Cathedral and Venom.
That’s a pretty fucking good English breakfast, lads. Their riffs
are loud, primal but precise in their sloppiness. It’s like being
stabbed by a pointy rusty dagger and left to bleed in a cold forest
while the wolves gather around you. The vocals are rough and while
somewhat in the background, they’re not an afterthought and they
can be varied too. “Droner in the Fog” has clean vocals giving a
quasi post punk feel mixed with epic metal when combined with the
tasty guitars. It’s not epic like Virgin Steele talking about Greek
or Roman mythology, it’s instead done in a pure English manner,
it’s just men dying in the woods while their wives are cooking a
stew they’ll never be able to eat.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
Those dudes are good
musicians too, the drumming on “Whispers of God” is creative and
tight and the clean guitars almost bring a progressive folk tinge to
their metal. There’s a few stoner elements too, especially in the
bass playing and in a few particular songs such as “Hillfort
Ghoul”, that’s possibly due to the omnipotence of Electric Wizard
and Cathedral in England but regardless, it fits. Their hometown of
Birmingham is also the birthplace of doom metal so being from Black
Sabbath’s home turf must have some sort of mystical influence.
<br />
<br />
Throughout the short album, Acwealde and Wartooth were
really capable to explore different tempos from fast, mid-paced to
even slow. That’s a strong debut with all the elements of their
identity already in place even if it’s the only one to feature some
stoner metal parts.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods (2006)</span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFqFaTvUfHK09Og2MtvKsjdlZFUPT03C13_CCzDJG61PY-1CJ_uZmMZxT4aoBmoYrWXIZXOvgXnCguWTqGed1sE7Xpx7D8GW_yHx8B3V59CdWbLZtthNLMkHdJqu-tXj7G3HaZvOPVirU/s361/cover.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFqFaTvUfHK09Og2MtvKsjdlZFUPT03C13_CCzDJG61PY-1CJ_uZmMZxT4aoBmoYrWXIZXOvgXnCguWTqGed1sE7Xpx7D8GW_yHx8B3V59CdWbLZtthNLMkHdJqu-tXj7G3HaZvOPVirU/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>English Breakfast
Chapter 2: The Sausages</b></p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Battle Staffs in the
Mushroom Woods (best album title of all time?) is the second album of
our duo of merry gentlemen carousing through England under the name
Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom and it’s a doozy. Compared to their
debut (that I really liked), it’s more focused and clearer in its
intents. There’s a beefier Celtic feel here and while it’s not
exactly folk metal and it’s relatively subtle in its approach, it’s
there. It’s irrevocably English in its nature, mixing the rawest
and undisciplined side of NWOBHM with proto extreme metal to great
effect. Think Motorhead slapping Skyclad because they’re nerds but
still integrating a few hints of their sound.
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
Released the
same year as Darkthrone’s The Cult is Alive, Bretwaldas are
definitely contemporaries of the blackened punkier side of the much
more famous duo but they’re so much more than that. They just
happen to share a liking to old school crust punk. It reminds me of
Toronto’s Demontage in the way they're primal, lo-fi metal with a
lot of heart, inventiveness and authenticity. While the production
values here are better, we’re still far from the saccharine and
overproduced sound of big labels and I’m totally fine with that. It
suits their meat pie sound very well.<br />
<br />
They're like if The
Meads of Asphodel were actually too busy drinking in pubs to go to
partake in weird Medieval reenactment. They dream of the past while
drunk at the bar before using the ale soaked broom as a bastard
sword. They might get lost in the nearby forest afterwards or at
least, that’s what I imagine drunk Englishmen do for fun. They eat
fish and chips, drink beer, talk about olde kings and smoke
cigarettes.<br />
<br />
Those dudes aren’t parodies and they’re
smarter than you may immediately think. Songs like “Paths of River,
Root and Stone” conjures intricate but blue collar guitar leads
while closer “Blood of Gods and Men” could easily be something
from Bathory’s epic Viking metal albums. This track and the eight
minute “Beneath the Eaves” are basically blackened epic doom and
it’s fantastic.
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The varied
influences they were able to gather makes this album an intense and
rewarding affair for experimented metal fans. They’re more
interesting and rich that you’d think and they make Midnight sound
like an amateurish one trick pony with only one or two ideas.</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6Kyzym1tLb1wGdUnF2_JSv122We5Nn3LYlOCiLJzfPx8GFyLWxQxKtolIt2mhCu-yNeZFnO0kejZ9TL5moJscEVl5dgv6lj_UeVtRkPMb67qSokbymPESjEyrqFn054xEoP5bhcrnWl6/s409/cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr6Kyzym1tLb1wGdUnF2_JSv122We5Nn3LYlOCiLJzfPx8GFyLWxQxKtolIt2mhCu-yNeZFnO0kejZ9TL5moJscEVl5dgv6lj_UeVtRkPMb67qSokbymPESjEyrqFn054xEoP5bhcrnWl6/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Seven Bloody Remparts (2010)</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>English Breakfast
Chapter 3: The Beans</b></p>
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<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Seven Bloodied
Remparts, the third (and last one for now) full length from
Bretwaldas is perhaps the widest foray they made into black metal and
it’s a bold attack. The diversity found in their discography is one
of the most interesting aspects of the band. Even though, to the
unfamiliar ear, they could be concluded to be similar albums, their
stylistic progression twists and turns quite often but remains rooted
in some sort of black metal.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">This effort could be
described as some sort of epic black/crust, the doom elements aren’t
as prominent here as they used to be. They always had a focus on
history, archaeology and mythology and that’s what we find here
again. Wartooth (bass, vocals) is an archaeologist but he’s able to
easily contextualize and simplify topics to make them appropriate for
metal music. It’s somewhat influenced by pagan metal here and there
but it’s transformed into English ugliness. They’re never as
cheesy as fellow English bands Forefather or Wodensthrone as well,
they never played folk/pagan metal outright but they definitely used
some Viking bits in the guitar riffs. Based on the No Clean Singing
<a href="https://www.nocleansinging.com/2020/11/26/an-ncs-interview-bretwaldas-of-heathen-doom/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">interview</span></a> they did this year, the fact that pagan metal was often
associated to national socialism and other far right movements wasn’t
something they were keen with, for good reasons. </p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The atmosphere here
is pretty epic and contains some worthy anthems. Songs like “Rise”
or “Smite” have some singalong lyrics, something they never
really did before. It’s fairly appropriate for the music showcased
here. “Smite” reminds me of Ireland’s Primordial with its
slightly Celtic guitar melodies and its violent but historical hymn
mood. The vocals are gruff, rough and there’s no clean singing
here, like the English countryside when it rains, it’s muddy and
dirty and that’s often how I like my metal. Even if Bretwaldas are
a DIY affair, they’re not amateurs, they know what they do and what
to do to achieve their particular sound. One of my favourite aspects
of the band is the quality and melodic feel of Acwealde’s guitar
parts (see “Grey Wolf” for one of the best examples), it brings
another level to their Celtic Frost plus Amebix dual identity.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Listen/support the band on <a href="https://bretwaldasofheathendoom.bandcamp.com/music" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a></span></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1