The Hyle – EP (2016) / 87%

Corn doom

Denmark's The Hyle released a pretty good demo 2 years ago and now they're back with a brand new extended play composed of 2 extended tracks for a bit less than 20 minutes of doom metal. It certainly feels longer since I've been pressing the repeat button all day…

Playing a style of traditional doom betting highly on atmospheric moments and downtuned heaviness, the band is right at the border of doom/stoner without entering it. They do dig Electric Wizard a lot and their riffs are pretty distorted but they're way deeper and entrancing than your usual stoner band, they even include some psychedelic moments. It's slow, repetive (but not overly so) and full of subtle textures. Like near the end on the first track, there's those little touches during the calm break before the heavy end.

It's crushing but totally laid back and features a pretty original take on doom reminding me of the Canadian duo Zaum (they're freaking awesome) as they're also including some middle-eastern influences (mostly apparent on track 2 “Samaa”). The use of the sitar midway through the song made this song truly special. The electric guitars are superb and the production is top notch, the leads at the end of the same track are well done, there's many guitar tracks at once and it creates a rich sound environment. The vocals while rare are quite good, not buried under the whole thing at all, they're clean and quite soothing, really.

The two tunes are taking their time to develop, The Hyle doesn't mind two minutes introductions and I don't either when the riffs are that good. These guys are ready to unleash something more substantial, they have found their sound and it's pretty freaking legit. It's loud but classy and smart doom and I'm convinced.

Bandcamp

Reverie - Bliss (2015) / 80%

Give me the peace and joy in your mind

Here's the debut album of Denmark's Reverie, “Bliss” is a particularly emotive work of blackened death metal and it's full of subtleties. The nearest comparaison i could make is with Tribulation's second coming. Take their excellent “The Formulas of Death”, streamline the album (it was frankly too long), remove some of the experimentation and you're not too far from Reverie is doing.

They could be affiliated to the current occult European scene, a scene transcending genres (think of Watain, The Devil's Blood or In Solitude). These bands from different backgrounds all share an identity in both music and visual art. I was in fact reminded of a drawing in In Solitude's latest (and final!) album “Sister” booklet when I got Reverie's album in my inbox (check it out here). Reverie doesn't quite sound like these bands, of course but there's some melodies that gave me a sense of familiarity. It's dark, occult but at the same time, full of class and maturity (astonishing for a band in their early 20s).

From the album name to their visual art approach, every facets of the band has this romantic and distinguished aspect. This is still extreme metal but we're pretty damn far from the bestial/war metal scene, the quartet had this calm demeanor approach in mind when they made “Bliss” and they succeeded at crafting an album that's sonically interesting and doesn't need to extend its compositions in an obscene manner. They kept things brief with a nine songs/thirty-five minutes release that leave you asking for more. They're fast paced with melodic yet sophisticated guitar riffs. There's only one guitarist but he's quite busy, unleashing riff after riff and decorating the whole thing with well placed leads (see “Fall Apart”) but they're far from being the main focus. The musicianship is interesting, blending massive vintage death metal with a melodic black edge and even a semi-dissonant persona from time to time, a song like the five minutes “Circles” is demonstrating all the appeal of their style in an epic manner. The drums are vividly rapid and are quite apt at including little enjoyable details like the western influenced start of “From Sea to Shore”. The vocals are harsh but well enunciated and they're a great fit to the music, they have this timeless feel and I could see them work in many different eras of death metal. They're abrasive but not overly so and they're quite accessible. 

The ethereal and classy side of the band is demonstrated through some moments like the title track interlude composed of flutes and acoustic guitars or the epilogue of the last track “Blind At Heart”, it's not exactly fully natural yet and it needs some refinement but it gives the band an interesting personality. The talent is there so I'm not afraid such thing will happen for their next album. Scandinavians are often apt at diversifying the extreme metal genre and adding a lot of delicacy and nuances to it, bands like Dawn, Opeth or Edge of Sanity did exactly that and Reverie are walking the path of these pioneers. They have yet to reach the level of quality of Tribulation but things are looking good for their future.

Reverie on Facebook

Demon Head – Ride the Wilderness (2015) 74%

Ride the Sheep

Denmark's Demon Head full length is a bit late to the vintage doom metal or hard rock party but it's nonetheless quite enjoyable. This whole European scene is known for often blurring the line between metal and rock and these guys are a good example of this phenomenon (if I may call it one). Sweden's Witchcraft were one of the instigators of the movement and Rise Above Records and Demon Head is certainly a disciple of this doctrine.

The mastering was done by Kadavar's drummer Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt and you can definitely feel his beardy touch as the sound is quite similar to what the German rockers are playing (awesome live band) but with more doom metal influences as they're heavier and riffier but no less intense. The sound is natural with a very vintage and old school tonality as it was expected, this fits their compositions very well. They sound like a mix of old Danzig with Sabbath and Pentagram but also a big helping of psych rock. The dual guitars attack is only to create added intricacies since you usually only need to play this genre and Demon Head are not into complexities. There's still some legit fuzzy solos or simple leads intertwined with the hard hittin' traditional riffs.

Their singer, Ferreira Larsen, tries to channel Glenn Danzig and it's not a bad attempt, really but he's nowhere near as virile and Jimmorrisonesque as the ex singer of Misfits. The effects on the vocals give them an ancient mystic vibe and this works in the context of their music. The vocals are catchy, often using melodic choruses with simple hooks. The dude is also the drummer of Alucarda, another Danish band who released a pretty cool full length on Caligari Records (the label releasing Ride the Wilderness on tape) but they're pretty far from the horror inspired doom/punk and probably not as interesting either.

The songs are pretty tight and dense even the longer ones like “Worthless” (it's not exactly worthless). The album is devoid of filler, it's groovy and dynamic and the songs are well written but it's not quite memorable and I don't think I'll go back to it often. Nonetheless, their influences (from traditional doom to hard rock and so forth) are well balanced.

While it's good stuff and there's nothing intrinsically bad or truly mediocre about them, I really feel they missed their boat, this style of music has been done to death since the early 2000s by better bands. Still, if you dig Graveyard, Kadavar and the likes but want their sound to be a bit more metallic, check 'em out. They will not become the leader of their sheep flock with their music but they're an apt and talented trend follower.

Facebook
Metal Archives

Alucarda - D.F.F.L (2013) | 78%

Dying From Fucking Lego

This demo is the first release of this solo project from Denmark and it's quite cool. Named after a cult Mexican horror movie, the sound of this twenty minutes release is definitely interesting and worth the time for the underground metal fans in need of well done occult music. The sample at the beginning of the last track is from the movie “Satan's Sadist”, another cult movie and it has this cheesy but enjoyable vintage vibe that is often well liked in that genre.

Even though the production is very rough, I think it compliments the songwriting of H Witchfuzz, a dude named Hampus Wahlgren who's a newcomer in the scene but he's definitely there to stay since he has an interesting take on the whole vintage doom sound. The guitar riffs are still pretty discernible under all the fuzz. It's pretty damn fast...oh yeah, I forgot to say that he's including a shitload of punk in his sound. It sounds like Satan's Satyrs but with a better production (getting a better sound than “Wild Beyond Belief!” wasn't quite difficult since it was the shittiest sound ever). In fact, if you're a fan of this American band, get this demo immediately. It's available for free if you don't like tapes, so you guys have no excuses!

It's mostly groovy as fuck and pretty speedy but the doom influence remains obvious. It's a good mix of influences and the formula totally works. The track “Wicked Sabbath” is a pretty heavy & slow one using potent doom qualities. Full of distortion à la Electric Wizard, the music is pretty thunderous, the bass is loud and the drumming is fast paced. The fact it's very speedy gives the band an interesting edge and it's not only a mix of doom and punk, it feels connected and natural.

The vocal facet of the project will perhaps be the breaking point for certain people. They're clean and buried under the mix but high and screechy, they can be a bit grating at times but I guess that my tolerance for such vocals is good. I do think it's original and it's a change from the buried, deep vocals the doom genre tends to use. It has this nice DIY vibe that I like, it's honest and fun and I rarely ask for more when there's also a quality in the songwriting. To conclude, Alucarda is a project with a lot of potential and it will be interesting to hear the future releases.

Download the demo here

Volbeat - Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady ladies (2013) | 42%

Ultrameh Volbeatdown

You know the feeling when you try the new restaurant in town for the first time ? You order the steak, probably even the T-bone and its plate is nice, the side dish is decent, a green salad or some something healthy like that (if you're on a date, if not, it's of course the fries, you fat slob). The steak looks nice, the exterior has a nice color and its smell is OK but the taste, man, it's way too fat and the inside is way too bloody. There's also an unnecessary amount of melted cheese on it for some unfathomable reason. The cook is experimenting and failing at it. Not everything you decide to mix together can be glorious.

Volbeat is that steak, they're indeed a very original band and I need to give them some credit for their inventive formula. Their artistic approach is not without merits and their intent is noble, well I do think so. Unfortunately, as one of Denmark's most well known bands, they totally missed the opportunity to follow Mercyful Fate into the depths of metal hell (Denner, Shermann and King Diamond are all guests on the record, this reminds me of Metallica Orion's festival, they seem totally disconnected of what metal is in 2013). But why is Volbeat missed their boat? Because they fucking suck, that's why.

On their fifth album, the band expands its more than catchy side. They always had these soft songs but I feel it's a bit more prevalent here. It's not necessarily a bad thing since they're not better at being heavy or soft, they're pretty mediocre at both. Volbeat is mixing the alternative era of Metallica with a fair mix of rockabilly, country, blues, pop rock, punk and folk with their usual heavy/groove sound. The amalgamation of genres is simply too much to handle. It doesn't even sound good on paper and it's an awful novelty in its execution.

From sugary FM ballads like “Cape of our Hero” (hell, Chad Kroeger wrote a better song on the Spiderman soundtrack) to lead infused groove (Rob Caggiano, an ex member of Anthrax, he's pretty decent). There's acoustic and clean guitars and all the stuff that can make a good song. I probably wouldn't change the radio channel if I were to find it, but hey I don't listen to the radio because, frankly, it blows. Volbeat is easy, simple and they don't try hard enough. Not as heavier as their early stuff, the band still thinks it's metal enough with tracks like “Room 24” with King Diamond or “Dead But Rising”. The metal ruler of Denmark really destroys Michael Poulsen on this track, well it wasn't quite hard since I think he's a terrible vocalist and the main flaw of their sound.

His pitiful deep southern approach is really grating on my nerves. He kills the band for me since their formula is very vocally focused. His mix of modern day “Yeaaaaah!” James Hetfield and cock charmer Elvis Presley impersonator is like a slap of bad taste on my face. Even though his voice is powerful, his delivery and the sound of his voice annoys me deeply. Nonetheless, he's charismatic and it fits their Americana approach but I wonder how a David Eugene Edwards (16 Horsepower & Wovenhand) would sound in a metal band. At least he can write decent noir and pulp inspired lyrics but after five albums, the theme is getting a bit redundant. I get it, you like leather jackets, fedoras and you love milkshakes and you go to conventions dressed as James Dean.

While I reckon the band successfully played their cards during their whole career, their flaws are just too important for me to thoroughly enjoy them. Believe me, I tried and I enjoyed Guitar Guitars & Cadillacs Blood back in the day. Quite catchy (well, it's needed since their songwriting is hardly a subtle affair). They seem honest and hardworking but their approach is simply something I can't get behind. Both the form (14 songs, that's just way too much) and the mix of styles that makes the band undeniably cheesy and predictable.

Most of the songs have good parts but they're rarely good all the way through except perhaps the two last tracks, both excellent. I enjoy the beginnings of most tracks like “Black Bart” with its punky overture but the aforementioned vocals ruined the track once again. Many tracks have this western approach like “Lonesome Rider” with a female guest vocalist. It probably would be a hit on CMT if it was advertised enough and honestly, it's not bad. What is bad though is the fact all their sound are not completely combined with each others. You can hear an acoustic intro, some harmonica but then, it changes and they forget their western influences for the rest of the song. Sometimes they remember and play a ten seconds of clean country guitars just to be cool. I'd like to hear a good mix of metal and country since Volbeat can't hardly mix them. I don't quite remember the amount of different influences in their early albums but I have better things to than to go back and listen to them like eating BBQed shrimp and trashing Pabst Blue Ribbon cans.

Some good moments here and there but the vocals are simply too obnoxious to deal with. The band has good solos, sometimes even hints of Megadeth's melodic thrash leads. I just don't care for their music even though it's emotional and catchy. If you already liked Volbeat before, you'll certainly like their latest album even if it's wimpier than their previous releases. They're certainly still terrible and not worth your time. Have you ever met a Volbeat fan? They're as rare as Foo Fighters but for some reasons they're both popular and their albums are gonna be good picks in low price bins.

Volbeat's Facebook