Magic Circle – Scream Live EP (2016) / 95%

Magical object from another era

The quintet from Boston is currently the best American metal band. Yes, yes, I know, this may seem a hyperbolic statement but their blend of high octane doom metal furled with heavy metal is just so damn contagious and mesmerizing. I had the opportunity to see them live twice so far and they’re even better than on record and that’s no small feat considering the quality of both the self titled (2013) and Journey Blind (2015.) This limited live tape (also available as a digital download) captures their stage energy quite well.

The EP was recorded live on a local Massachusetts radio so it’s not the exact same thing as a full blown live album with an audience but it’s simply a joy to listen to those guys play that it doesn’t really matter. Brendan Radigan is an absolute beast of a singer and he’s always stepping his game live. I think I prefer the tone of the vocals found on this tape than the ones of the studio albums, they’re a bit more upfront. Radigan is just an unhinged force of flawless manliness, he makes the entire band rise to an almost unmaintainable level of quality. His best performance is perhaps the title track of their newest full length album where he declares dark poetry with the conviction of an enlightened madman.

Ancient heroes from ancient wars.
In the arena the lions roar.
Fed to the fires they'll surely die.
Life to the wind. They journey blind.

The guitar duo of Ducas and Corry is so dynamic and busy that the strength of their abilities almost outshines the tremendous compositions they’re playing. The bass of DeTore (you can also hear his drumming skills on the Sumerlands’ debut album) is unfortunately not loud enough and that’s one of my only complaints about the sound of this recording. Their dense doom approach works very well in the live setting, their tracks full of twists and turns, slower and faster moments are just astounding.

Five tracks for thirty minutes is just enough to get you started for the day since their sound is so rich and complete. We get three songs from their sophomore, “Scream Evil” and “Rapture” from their magical debut, a good balance. Their albums aren't too long either and it's perfect since their music while captivating drains you of your energy as it's so emotional and powerful!

The band was apparently so happy with the results of this radio show and that’s why they decided to release it as a physical object. I can see (and hear!) why as it reflects the kind of guys they are. Magic Circle are a band without any frills, they’re like a beautiful woman who doesn’t need makeup to truly shine. Natural, honest, hard-working traditional metal is what they play and that’s what we get. Great live tape.

Get it on Bandcamp

Ice Dragon - A Beacon on the Barrow (2015) / 80%

The Beacons are lit!

The Boston trio has been constantly busy since their debut in 2007, churning out albums on a regular basis (four in 2012 for instance) and that's never been really a problem since they have such a diverse sound that can change itself from album to album.

A Beacon on the Barrow, their first release in 2015, is certainly one of their heaviest in a while since their recent full length explorations were full on psychedelic rock (Born On A Heavy Morning or Loaf of Bread), folk & pop influences (Seeds From A Dying Garden) or even spooky ambient southern drone (Dead Friends and Angry Lovers). Even though both these albums shared a lot of different non metal sounds, the stoner/doom core was still present albeit subdued in them. Followers of the band knew they weren't leaving their metal roots in a ditch though and here they are with their darkest and heaviest album since at least greyblackfalconhawk (or even possibly ever if we exclude their worthy side project Tentacle) and I'm quite pleased with that. While guitar driven, the band is less inclined to unleash long guitar solos like on The Burl, The Earth, The Aether but while it's perhaps not as complex, it's still emotionally invested and well written.

Five songs for about half an hour of music is what you'll get here. Built like a sort of story with similar song titles (from “The Rider” to “The Return”), it's also one of their best production to date as the riffs are solid and totally freaking heavy. I don't think I've heard the band as angry as they are on Beacon, I guess the Boston Bruins aren't as good as some years ago and hockey is always a good reason to get frustrated! I was surprised by the level of darkness reached here since that's not quite what the band is used to, especially with what they released recently. The only calm moment on this album is the closer, it's a sort of countryesque/drone instrumental ballad but it's still pretty brooding.

The doom/stoner displayed here is ranging from fast paced and aggressive to mid paced and fuzzy. The opener is a blistering stoner track and then, the second track comes in and change the tempo towards a sort of slow and crushing doom metal number with deranged vocals. The music found here reminds me a bit of Red Fang with their groovy attitude but without the modern progressive rock layers. Nevertheless, Ice Dragon are known to include a lot of psychedelic elements and there's some here but in a restrained way, there's a huge wall of space rock sound behind the whole thing like in “The Journey” and it's a good companion to the meat and bones which are the stoner riffs. There's also some noise moments and they're well integrated without sounding out of place.

The album is a good compromise between the modern identity of the quartet (undeniable when compared to their stoner/doom peers) and the retro/psych/miscellaneous identity developed throughout their history. It's a short album but there's still a huge diversity and it's never forced. Like the artwork they picked for the album (Cotopaxi (1862) by Frederic Edwin Church), there's a somber atmosphere found in the dark clouds mixed with a sense of hopefulness emanating from the waterfalls and that's a good reflection of the musical content of Beacon.

The vocals were never the strong suit of the band even though they're fairly competent for the style. They're usually buried underneath a fair load of stuff but they're clean (albeit a bit gritty), high and uses a clear sense of catchy melodies. Ron has a good set of pipes too and he's not boring. Nonetheless, the vocals were/are rarely the focus in Ice Dragon's compositions. While their work isn't as memorable as I'd like to be (perhaps due to the mass production of albums), it's very enjoyable and most doom fans will find something to like here.
Reaching Melvins like degrees of variety, Ice Dragon is pretty much succeeding at all the styles they dare to play and god knows the list is as long as my grocery bill. A Beacon on the Barrow is definitely a good place to start with the long discography but expect some widely different music if you pick at random.

The whole discography is free or “pay what you want/can” on Bandcamp and that's pretty awesome. Cheap excellent music is always appreciated.

Download the album on Bandcamp.

Second Grave - Antithesis (2013) | 85%

Boston Doom Party

After a very impressive self titled first EP released last year, the Bostonian doom band Second Grave is already back with a second, albeit shorter offering. The two songs featured on this limited vinyl release are really proving that the band is definitely ready to unleash a full length and I have no idea why the well known doom inclined labels are apparently ignoring them. Their brand of doom metal is getting more popular these days with the success of bands like Castle or Jex Thoth and their female fronted approach and this band deserves some praise and attention.

The first track “Mourning Light” is a very groovy number with hints of the melodic and busy edge of Iron Maiden. It reminds me of Christian Mistress' Agony & Opium with its traditionalism but with an added doom metal sound. The sonority of the band is quite varied, from mid paced and hard hitting doom to Latin infused heavy jazzy leads or heavy mesmerizing atmospheres like on the twelve minutes second track “Drink the Water”. Nevertheless, Second Grave is, before anything else, a doom band. There's no compromises and no overtly modern influences here like folk “vintage” instrumentation or pseudo Satanic imagery. There's hints to the overtly conservative Maryland scene (the EP was mastered by John Brenner of Revelation/Against Nature) and there's also the epic doom feel found in bands like Solitude Aeternus.

Front woman Krista Van Guilder is the highlight of the band, her sublime and characteristic voice and her heavy riffs are the noted trademarks of the sound we can find here. Even if they only formed in 2012, she's far from a newcomer. Van Guilder formed Warhorse but left the band before their seminal 2001 release “As Heaven Turns to Ash”. She was also in a short lived death metal band called “Obsidian Halo” where she showcased her harsh vocals skills. Point is, Second Grave is her first established band and their potential is surreal. Her voice, while the riffs are very good, is the focus of this EP. Powerful, clean and with an epic doom operatic feel, there's even some harsh vocals at the end of the last track pushing the sound of the band towards a sludge/stoner/doom field in a very enjoyable fashion that could be more developed. A good comparison would be Agnete Kirkevaag of Madder Mortem but with a safer and not as crazy deliver. I think it's pretty cool to hear female fronted bands that doesn't CARE about being fronted by a woman. While it's an important characteristic  it's not treated as one. It has the same natural way Castle has. 

The essential is that It fits the heavy/doom persona of the band, it gives an airy feel while never compromising on the heaviness and this can be correlated to the cult British doom band Mourn. Akin to this forerunner of female fronted metal, Second Grave has balls and never opted to market their music using oiled boobs. More women should play metal and it's really with their songwriting skills that the situation will progress.

Another great appetizer from the American doomsters, my body is ready for a full length album. Definitely one of the most promising doom bands. Riffs, atmosphere, interesting vocals and lyrics, it has the whole package.

This EP will be released during Halloween, thanks to Pariah Child for the review opportunity.

Second Grave's Facebook

Infera Bruo - Desolate Unknown (2013) 83%

barita per lojalecon

This band from Boston is back with their second album after their very well received debut released in 2011 and they don't disappoint. A shame that the band is still unsigned as they're truly excellent, I hope this album will give them the exposure they need and deserve.

Once again showing that the USBM (United States Black Metal) scene is only geographically adequate, Infera Bruo (Esperanto for hellish noise) doesn't sound American at all. Indeed, they're basically a Yankee answer to the progressive black metal sound of mid era Enslaved. Similar to the sound investigated by the Norwegians on an album like “Monumension” or even “Isa” and “Ruun”, The band develops a very enjoyable sound and compared to modern Enslaved, it's still undeniably black metal. Melodic, heavy and dissonant, the music doesn't break boundaries but their songwriting is more than excellent.

An apostle of both Enslaved and Opeth (two of my favorite bands), Infera Bruo is obviously very pleasing to my ears. “Oblivion” reminds me of the seminal” My Arms, Your Hearse” with its dark melodic black metal approach. There's long tracks (2 over 10 minutes) but the band is nowhere near slow, it's aggressive and doesn't let go of your balls (or your throat, choose whatever you're more comfortable with). Some parts are more subdued like the ending of “Ritual Within”, a very emotional epic 13 minutes song similar to the prog sound of “Axioma Ethica Odini” with its lush and subtle approach. The guitars are not quite technical, there's some leads here and there but hardly common. Even in the longer songs, it stays interesting and that's a feat not a lot of bands can achieve.

The guitars are dissonant, recalling the unorthodox scene. The presence of two short interludes can also remind the listener of the occult influence of a band like Deathspell Omega but contrary to the French horde, it's only a small side of the band. It would had been cool to expand on this but it's always a risky endeavor. You can either end up with 15 minutes of clutter or having a marvelous atmospheric ambient album à la Darkspace. I'm relatively happy the band chose to release a 50 minutes album with no fillers, maybe they'll experiment a bit more later? Their sound is far from incomplete though and it has a wide range of musicality and emotions. The drums can be very thunderous and fast, sometimes there's even blastbeats such as in the excellent “Dust of Stars” and the vocals are mostly quite competent harsh screams mixed with some cleans similar to, yeah no surprise here, Enslaved.

The production is superb, nothing is overshadowing anything except perhaps the vocals, they're a bit buried but it fits the occult atmosphere, it's self produced by the band proving they're in full control of their sound. While the album is very good, there's a big flaw I need to mention. The identity of the band is way too similar to Enslaved, I think they need to find a sound of their own to create their mark. For now, it remains an excellent worship of a great band, let the awesome artwork fool you and check them out.

Infera Bruo's Facebook