Coffin Nail – The Hanged Man (2023) / 77%

Coughing up blood until my coffin is buried

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.

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.

Bandcamp

Lividus – Teratorns (2023) / 83%

 

Uta is back!

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.

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.

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.

Bandcamp

Baazlvaat - An Old Forgotten Text (2022) / 85%

 

A New Merging of Genres

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.

Baazlvaat are sort of like Black Magick SS if they 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 metal) who's also adding an array of extraneous elements. I'm a big fan of kitchen sink bands such as Leeches of Lore, Tjolgtjar or Bretwaldas of Heathen Doom and this American duo certainly explored the fridge thoroughly.

They merge the exploratory side of psych rock, the loose aspects of lo fi rock, the rawness of black metal, the synth presence of dungeon synth/synthpop/symphonic black metal or the playfulness melodicism of heavy metal. This exhausting list creates one pungent mix of influences that's hard to classify or pinpoint but easy to get entranced by. It's not a confused mess at all, there's an assurance in their varied but cohesive songs that's hard to ignore.

A song like "Three Heads from the Black Depths" evokes the retro 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.

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.

Bandcamp

Ezra Brooks / Serpent Rider - Visions of Esoteric Splendor (2021) / 85%

R I F F S

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.

Ezra Brooks, 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.

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.

Serpent Rider 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.

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.

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.

Out soon on No Remorse records (CD/LP)

Edit: based on Shawn, Sacorb is just Brocas backwards and the whole song is a tribute to the legendary US band Brocas Helm. This rules.

Mindforce - Excalibur (2018) / 90%

Crossover for KINGS like you

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.

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”.

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.

Metal Bounty Hunter Volume 12

 

The Metal Bounty Hunter series is back with four short-ish reviews, all about doom and heavy this time.

Zodiac - Stone Command (2015) / 85%

Digitally Challenged: Part 6 The Zodiac Killer?

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.

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.

Eldritch Rites - Hell And Doom And Days Long Gone (2020) / 82%

Pub doom

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.

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.

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.

Recommended if you like your doom cooked slow and possibly still blood red.

Assembly at Dusk - Assembly at Dusk (2013) / 88%

Digitally Challenged: Part 7 We leave at dawn.

“Got the tape, I'll write a review during my Christmas break. Thanks a lot!” - yours truly in 2013

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.

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.

They’re another sublime band who died too quickly, this is still on their Bandcamp so no excuses not to check ‘em out.

--------------------------------------------

Trebuchet – Trebuchet (2020) / 70%

Not quite breaking down the walls yet

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.

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.

White Magician/Prelude to Ruin – 2018 split / 93%

 

Uncut Gems

The fact that Demon Bitch and Borrowed Time (rest in peace) are assuredly 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) and both of those projects are related to the aforementioned bands. 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.

White Magician 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 Blue Öyster Cult 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.

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.

Prelude to Ruin 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!

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 also super solid.

While Jean-Pierre Abboud (vocals in Borrowed Time) is gone and there’s a small drop in talent on the mic, it’s still pretty damn dynamic and enjoyable. 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 as well. I think that’s also a proof that the Ruiz bros are hella good composers. The second song “One More Fight” has shrill, weird vox in its beginning to surprising but effective effects 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.

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.

White Magician's Bandcamp

Prelude to Ruin's Bandcamp

Lords of Quarmall – Iron Exile (2021) / 82%

Lord of Washington

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Available here - The old school way

Purification – Perfect Doctrine (2020) / 92%

You can’t fuck with Forces of doom

Purification, that mysterious Oregon entity is back with their second full length in 2 years and I predict tons of carnage between them and The Wizar’d for doom metal album of the year. The Tasmanian’s nasal odes to Pagan Altar on one side of the battlefield ready to unleash an army of emus against the Portland Witchfinder Generals lookalikes could be a sight to behold. Those comparisons between the two bands aren’t just for show, they’re both apt at taking sounds of the past and processing it into a palatable yet contemporary formula. They’re also both incredible.

While deeply rooted in this sort mournful historical romanticism, their funereal approach can of course be linked to today’s morose happenings. "God is dead. America is fallen. Give up hope and move into the mountains." is something they wrote on their Bandcamp page and it’s telling. It’s easy to link past historical events to the current “plague” hitting the world. Through their sometimes edgy but precious lyrics, they’re observing reality within the confines of doom and they do it well. One of the most effective lines is in fact the opening lyrics of the album:

The whole world is a warzone and your life is getting grim...

It’s a wonderful, ominous start to the lineup and has those tight guitar leads reminding me of Uncle Acid’s Blood Acid album, ultimately one of the most influential doom records of the decade. There’s a definitive improvement in terms of both production values and overall musical proficiency compared to their debut Destruction of the Wicked, a good but uneven record. Purification's progression has been interesting, they have a career that could be similarly compared to Hellhammer and Celtic Frost. Two of their three members were in Thrown, a much rawer (and somewhat sillier) version of what we have here, they even had speed, thrash and heavy metal influences. Perfect Doctrine still has an acceptable amount of filth in its sound, just enough to make it shine through the detritus that is life. I guess they’ll have to split up and come back a few decades later at some point as well.

Their guitars are bright with just the right amount of haziness and power, their leads are not complex but damn they’re savoury and melodic. There’s a lot of short moments where they let slow psychedelia take over and I thought the guitars did a monumental job there. I don’t think it’s “tight” musicianship and I really don’t care whatsoever, it’s emotional and their aim has been thoroughly accomplished. The bass is as loud as I was expecting from ‘em, it just fills the whole damn church with vibrations while the drumming coming from the crypt is heard by the whole village. The vocals are sometimes too buried underneath a few coffins for my taste but it adds a cavernous feel to their doom metal and it’s not unwelcome. They could be a bit more powerful but that’s a mild complaint and I was just looking for weaker spots at this point.

The band is transparent about their influences (fine with me) and they namedrop Saint Vitus (of course) and you can certainly notice their influence. It’s thundering, undisciplined doom that’s never been opposed to collaborating with hardcore and punk. Their tight but rich songwriting is something also found on albums like Mournful Cries or Born Too Late. Vitus were never really messing around with longer tracks. They also namedrop Reverend Bizarre (I don’t need much else than them in life) and that’s certainly two of their biggest mentors. Purification are obviously fans of the tongue in cheek/Finnish humour aspect of the dissolved trio. They delve into the same (anti)religious themes and have similar references and aesthetics and yes, if you like the Reverend, you’ll probably end up liking those Americans. It needed to be said. It has been said. The groovy bass, the charismatic semi operatic vocals, the loose guitars... All the elements were there to convince me to send them $6.66 for that record. With that said, they’ll hopefully find a label to release it physically, it needs to be done or help me Satan.

You can’t fuck with Forces of doom
We have come to Destroy the empty tomb
Fuck your silent god
And fuck your wicked faith
We are Witness to the end
Of your failed master race

The band succeeds at giving us this apocalyptic despair with tracks like “On The Wings Of Pestilence, Darkness Takes Flight” or the hag bog/medieval atmosphere of “Lunar Hymn 999” ending the record, there’s nuggets of hidden potent atmospheric potential. Reminiscent in spirit to the seminal oeuvres of both Cathedral (for their flippant approach) and Paradise Lost (for their hard hittin’ Goth side), Purification aren’t a one trick pony. A track like “Sabbatharian Blood Feud” reminds me of both The Carnival Bizarre and the Icon/Draconian Times era by mixing wonderful stoner but not quite stoner riffs with evocative warlock-esque vocals.

They’re deceptive wizards shrouded in aura of DIY mystery but their doom chops are without question. Their doctrine has been executed to perfection. Purification are here to remind us that the world was always a fucking fetid void, thanks guys.

Bandcamp

Valkyrie - Fear (2020) / 87%

Time Flies but What Remains?

The Adams brothers are back with a new Valkyrie album five years after the excellent Shadows and it’s perfect for those sunny weekends where you do nothing except drink beer and chill on the patio. Just like today, actually. This summer is blurry, time flies, it feels like March was last week but metal and beer is always there to keep me grounded and entertained. Good news since their songwriting is both laid back and engaging, crafting entrancing nuggets of good feelings.

With Valkyrie, you get the twin lead guitar harmonies of Peter and Jake Adams, those guys are emotional masters. They’re able to convey so much with their instruments, it’s almost unreal. Peter is of course known for his time in Baroness (he played on Blue Record and Purple, two of my favourites) and Valkyrie certainly navigates similar areas in their sometimes perilous travels. You’re getting the same sort of fluid, idiosyncratic leads that he was known for during his years with the famous Virginian band. That style of particular guitar player makes Fear such an airy album, it also ends on such a note with the ghastly instrumental conclusion “Exasperator”.The rhythm section is also fantastic, the bass is thick and never overshadowed too much by the riffs and the drums is inventive and melodic in an odd but technical way. The vocals are also immensely powerful for me(the highlight would be “Fear and Sacrifice”), for a dude who’s more of a guitarist, it’s well done. While sporadic, they’re clean, soulful and gives another heavy rock layer to the album. Those guys don’t need a powerhouse singer, they’re not arena rock, they’re in fact the opposite. It’s heartfelt, concise while elaborate metallic rock done by dudes in full control of their instruments and direction.

They’ve always been a band that’s been blurring the thin lines between classic, hard rock and heavy/doom and while it’s still the case on that 2020 record, it’s a different beast than it was on records such as Man of Two Visions from 2008 or their self titled debut from 2006. Their essence is retained but Fear is a more subdued version, it’s calmer and less tempestuous. Nevertheless, their urgency and relatively fast tempos are still intact.

Valkyrie’s past (and sometimes actual) approach could be described similarly to Slough Feg in a way as they also include their fair share of proto metal (read Thin Lizzy) alongside NWOBHM (dual lead guitars for the win) but of course, they love Sabbath and American doom (read The Obsessed) and stoner metal (past comparisons to The Sword were appropriate, not so much now) quite a bit too. Fear brings a newfound progressive tinge and it’s very pleasing. Firmly evolving in the proto rock/metal niche, I do feel they served their material with a modern sauce. A compact sauce that’s never too salty or sugary. For me, modernity means the ability to really work on the production to make it sound tight and dreamy at the same time. It’s taking (possibly) dated sounds to make them sound contemporary and robust.

On their second album for Relapse Records, the veterans were able to evolve and offer us something different while still retaining their roots. It’s high quality atmospheric heavy rock that’s still inclined to give doom metal a chance.

Draghkar - At the Crossroads of Infinity (2020) 87%

Killer artwork by Karmazid, as always.

A Clash of Kingly Elements

Draghkar, one of the children of LA based guitarist Brandon Corsair finally released its first full length after a bunch of demos, splits and extended plays and it’s a different but meaner beast now. The band now solidified with a strong lineup composed of members of bands such as Drawn and Quartered (freaking underrated American legends) or Vastum (one of today’s best death metal bands), delivers one hell of a record.

The Mediterranean climate of California surely shaped that album. Corsair’s love for the Greek olde goldies could also have been an important factor too, I guess. Maybe! Draghkar basically sounds like death metal that’s been compressed with the warlike nature of Hellenic black metal but also with a truckload of other disparate elements such as epic heavy metal and Swedish and Finnish old school death metal.

Sophisticated while armed with an unhinged and aggressive approach, the tightly knit debut album is rife with excellent solos from Kelly Kuciemba. His leads add another dimension to the band (see the intro of “Beyond Despair, The Dawn of Rebirth”) and reminds me of both the “non melodic” melodic death metal that some few bands did so well (Deathevocation? Intestine Baalism? The racist cocks of Arghoslent?) and a style of raw, heartfelt epic metal that could be something cooked by King Fowley of Deceased in Mortuary Drape’s bloody kitchen. Slow without being doom/death metal, their speed is perfect for me as I like my death metal varied but mostly mid-paced and crushing. There’s a few longer tracks crammed with riffs such as the title track and it’s an expansion of the same ideas found on the shorter tracks but pushed to its epic paroxysm.

The vocals of Daniel Butler (Vastum, Acephalix) are on point, high powerful rasps that could work for a lot of extreme metal styles are something I dig. He’s replacing Brandon who’s focusing on songwriting and guitar and that’s a respectable decision even if I liked his more cavernous vocals on releases such as “The Endless Howling Abyss”. Butler’s vocals are relatively intelligible and I dig the production on them, there’s a slight martial edge reminding (Hail of Bullets, God Dethroned?) and that’s a good fit to the belligerent songwriting. The bass is also another clear highlight of that record, it’s loud, significant in the mix and even has clear moments to shine “An Erosion of the Eternal Soul”, it’s fun to hear such a lively bass in a non technical death metal band, it’s not something I encounter often.

The mix of styles here demonstrates how well those guys know their metal as it’s a seamless progression of extremely good things and could appeal to a diverse crowd into riffs and solows. There’s an academic feel to the whole thing and I really like that. Akin to a wizard studying their craft for years to unleash the most potent spells, Draghkar is a knowledgeable student of all sorts of metal schools who were able to craft something special.

It’s a short album but there’s some a few ambient moments that could have been somewhat extended such as the chanting at the start of “Seeking Oblivion” or the conclusion of the title track. I felt that there’s a mournful angle that could be more thoroughly explored without losing the expert musicianship and ear for melody those guys showcase on that thunderous debut. 

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Yronoxit – Of World of Nightmare (2020) / 78%

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The solo project of American musician Reuben Storey known for his contributions to both Christian Mistress (drums) and Quayde LaHüe (bass), Yronoxit (great yet confusing name) released two extended plays during the quarantined month of April 2020. Of World of Nightmare is the first one and damn, it feels like it’s heavy metal from a parallel universe.

The title track opens with some spooky effects and B horror movie evil grinning before we get some King Diamond-ish laughter and some oddly catchy riffs. The vocals of Storey are pretty particular, midway through whiny vampire and evil sorcerer. I love voluntarily bad vocals in trad metal so I’m totally on board with his approach, he sounds he’s gonna fight adventurers with bad effects similar to those from the 90s series of The Adventures of Sinbad on the intentionally mispelled “Draqula” with its thunderous yet silly guitar lead.

I’m perhaps on my own here but I think this sounds like the true metal madness that Jussi Lehtisalo created on Krypt Axeripper, Motorspandex or Tractor Pulling (the Realm has covered those in the past) as it’s idiosyncratic heavy metal played with a familiar approach in mind. If you’re not familiar, I highly recommend ‘em. It’s also a good argument when you’re arguing that Finland is weird.

The three four-ish minutes tracks have slow but intense riffs, it’s evocative heavy metal without pretentiousness, trendiness and unnecessary technicality. It’s pretty lo-fi and has this DIY aesthetic I dig a lot. “They Wear the Shroud” has memorable bass lines and sounds like Powerslave worship made in a strange world where everyone speaks like they inhaled helium through a defibrillator.

Quite different from his main projects, Yronoxit is peculiar without the need to rely on modern avant-garde elements and that’s something hard to accomplish nowadays.

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Christian Mistress – To Your Death (2015) / 95%

Subtle Heavy Metal Escapism

Traditional heavy metal is not the simplest music style to play. Far from it, in fact. It takes a lot of heart to create some everlasting and outstanding music in a style that has been one of the basis of the whole metal genre for over forty years. As a benchmark example, Iron Maiden’s self titled debut just turned forty years old this week and it still shines bright due to its timeless quality. Furthermore, I do think that it takes a lot of knowledge to craft something worthwhile in that ageless genre too. A quasi encyclopedic knowledge of all the twists and turns of heavy metal is often required to be able to distinguish itself from the hungry pack. The best heavy metal bands are sometimes savants wearing arcane tomes on their patched vests but their influences don’t just remain on their sleeves. They’re being fully digested till they’re excreted into far from feckless matter.

America has a few of those bands capable to be pack leaders but in my eyes, the best ones are the tranquil types. They’re people who could care less about notoriety, personal fame and the likes. Bands such as Magic Circle, Demon Bitch and yes, Christian Mistress. To me, the West Coast band is one of the most important modern American heavy metal bands. Now on hold, three-fifths of the band is now involved in the excellent and oddly named Quayde LaHüe. Except for the fact that both bands are lead by powerful women and both play heavy metal, they’re pretty dissimilar in both their approach and established sonority. Quayde LaHüe are more into pure hard rock and are a bit more conventional. On the other hand, Christian Mistress are one of the few idiosyncratic bands playing a traditional take on metal. They have enough peculiarities and personalized details to stand their own against anyone. On their hopefully temporary swansong, the quintet was truly let loose.

Surely, you can immediately hear a few bands such as the best of the best from NWOBHM such as Angel Witch, the aforementioned Maiden or Judas Priest but there’s a lot of pure Americana in their sound. Their songs are about the great outdoors, the vast roads of North America, liberty or freedom that comes with emancipation or even death and those are themes easily associated with the United States. Heavy metal is rarely a subtle affair, it usually demands high energy and robust and daring instrumentation and while it’s certainly the case here. It’s permanently gutsy but there’s an irrevocable distinctive charm with Christian Mistress, there’s some hidden mysteries in their music and it takes several spins to uncover them. There’s more than meets the eye with them. It reminds me of, I don’t know, Bruce Springsteen hanging out with ZZ Top and Joan Jett who suddenly discovered Slough Feg and Diamond Head. There’s a lot of spirit and a puzzling but captivating blend of influences in their music.

The vocals of lead vocalist Christine Davis are phenomenal to me, she sounds honest but unhinged and there’s a warmth power to her blunt clean method. She sounds pissed off but at the same time, she invites you to follow her in her misanthropic call for freedom. Davis sounds like an enchantress in “Lone Wild”, there’s uncompromising power in her performance. She’ll bewitch you, for damn sure. Alongside Annick Giroux (Cauchemar), Elizabeth Davis (Castle), Mandy Martillo (Satan’s Hallow, Midnight Dice) or Stacey Peak (Savage Master), she embodies the power of women in today’s heavy metal and does it with grace and valor.

The guitars of Tim Diedrich and Oscar Sparbel (not a German band by the way) are tight and recalls the mightiness of the Murray/Smith seminal duo. A traditional metal band is only as good as its riffs and leads and there’s plenty of great ones to find here. The second track “Stronger Than Blood” has plenty to like. I prefer my heavy metal to be rather slow and chunky and that’s what Christian Mistress mostly plays. They’re also pretty damn excellent at being faster and to the point on tracks such as “Open Road” of the bonus and title track “TYD”. I like when riffs have the time to breathe and let the vocals come out beautifully. There’s a great cohesion in their songwriting and the compromises between everyone involved is apparent. The drums of Reuben Storey are bread and butter and the bass of Johnny Wulf is high enough in the mix to be one of the highlights at time (wonderful in the epic “Ultimate Freedom”)

They’re not the sort of band that will astonish you with their musicianship for the sake of it. I mean, they definitely have skills and that’s undeniable but they’re songwriters through and through. Their heavy metal is deliberately blurring the line between distinguished and raw. it’s smart, unique and has a lot of complexity hidden under layers of simplicity. They're mature musicians and most of their songs are compact five to six minutes compositions and they offer a wide variety of moods from escapism to exquisite ass kicking.

To Your Death, just like their previous two albums, explores humanity through its emotions with talent and conviction. Christian Mistress belongs to no scenes, they never surfed on trends. They’re the leaders of their own wolf pack and I hope that they’ll be back. This band and this album defines what I like in modern heavy metal. A focus on raw songwriting with strong influences but also an original re-reading of the past with a timeless attitude.



Christian Mistress on Bandcamp

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In this pandemic period of our lives where we stay at home and all the gigs are either cancelled or reported, I had a burst of nostalgia for when I saw Christian Mistress play the third edition of the extremely good Wings of Metal festival (rest in peace) here in Montréal.

Christian Mistress wasn’t originally on the lineup but when Evil Spirit from Germany cancelled their appearance, they were booked to replace them. I remember being really excited when Annick Giroux, the curator of the fest, told me the news. This seems like it was yesterday. Seeing metal gigs at the now permanently closed Katacombes. Life is ever-changing.

Hornet Murmuration – Affirmation of Antipathy (2020) / 80%

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The third solo project created by Tennessee native D.L, the young musician behind Glass Shrine and Kostnatění, Hornet Murmuration is his rawest and most unhinged one yet.

Self-recorded in three days, this demo incorporates a fair dose of punk in an already dangerous blend of black metal formulas, ranging from the obscure American Rhinocervs scene to the Slavic and French sounds. It’s chaotic but the production is quite clean for this genre, the riffs are vivid and easily audible and the fairly simple yet effective drumming gives a nice rhythm to the whole thing. The vocals are raspy and under a wall of noise under attack by a bunch of hornets. It does sound like hornets playing metal though, it's highly aggressive and it stings you but it's also organized in all its chaos.

Compared to black/punk stalwarts Raspberry Bulbs, who coincidentally just released their first album during the Trump administration on Relapse Records, no less, Hornet Murmuration are rooted strongly in modern, quasi un-unorthodoxed black metal. The Bulbs’ whole thing is to play punk with a raw black metal approach, it’s not the case of this new project. It’s not rooted in the olde eras of metal like most other metal/punk bands like Devil Master or Shitfucker like to explore, I’d say it foregoes influences and tries to be timeless. It often succeeds at it or maybe I just don’t know black metal enough to pinpoint the references...

It’s punkish in the way the riffs are written and the type of aggressiveness unravelled through the five short tracks of that demo release. While it’s uncomplicated metal, there’s still this underlying intellectualism laying around, mostly through the titles and the aesthetics of the project. It can also be found in the abrasive yet thoughtful songwriting which normally shouldn’t be as complex as it is. Affirmation of Antipathy is a strong debut demo that shows promises. It has this crisp, unrestrained take on black metal that’s oddly catchy.

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Fer de Lance – Colossus (2020) / 85%

Adamantine Axes & Potent Incantations

Formed by strong members of the traditional metal scene, Fer de Lance will knock you from your seat with their epic blend of influences. The trio is composed of Collin Wolf from Smoulder and Olórin, MP of speedsters Moros Nyx and Patrick Gloeckle (Moros Nyx, Satan’s Hallow, High Spirits...), a strong group of adventurers indeed. That debut extended play showcased a band ready to fight for the most lucrative and dangerous contracts available at the local tavern!

The acoustic guitar introduction of “City in the Sea” follows by an instant epic vocal moment proves that this band doesn’t mess around. We get four sings all between four and six minutes. No time to waste here, it’s compact and mighty. An approach I’d say is similar to Italy’s classic Doomsword (where are they by the way!? Their last album is from 2011) with their ballsy and uncompromising attitude towards epic heavy/doom metal. Fer de Lance investigates many eras of epic metal such as the northern shores of Quorthon’s Sweden, the shiny rainbow of Ronnie James Dio without forgetting to explore the deeper cuts like Scald, Solstice, Old Season or Mael Mórdha.

MP is a very strong vocalist with an impressive range and he’s showing his chops here with influences ranging from Dio, Dickinson or Russell Allen. He wrote songs to showcase his abilities and did it very well. There’s impressive choirs throughout the album too and it gives a sense of epic airiness that’s both pleasing and necessary to push the band to the next level. If you don’t lift your fist and sing along, you might listening to the wrong style of music for you.

The highlight for me, besides the vocals, is definitely the interplay between the acoustic (MP) and electric guitars (MP and Wolf). I think I haven’t enjoyed that combination that much since Primordial’s existence. The title track is a good example of such interactions. It adds this Celtic folk touch to their sound and it’s just gorgeous and interesting without ever becoming sugary or the sole focus of their musicality. It’s masterfully produced and recorded too, those guys know what they’re doing and got a veteran in Collin Jordan to master the EP. It just sounds massive.

Fer de Lance is perhaps the strongest epic doom debut EP since... I don’t know? Maybe Capilla Ardiente’s Solve et Coagula or Atlantean Kodex’s stuff before The Golden Bough. Now give me a full length please! Another great signature from Cruz Del Sur, that's for damn sure.

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The Crypt – Odal (2019) / 87%

Playing heavy metal - A story of destiny

Arcane heavy metal is currently one of my favorite genres of music as it's clouded in mystery but never never fails to deliver catchy riffs and powerful, idiosyncratic vocals. Cultists like Cauchemar, The Atlantean Kodex or Realmbuilder all brought something different but substantial to this loose genre and this full length coming out from The Crypt explores some undiscovered themes with style and panache.

When I discover a band or an album, I do my research as I want to understand the historical context of a release in a discography. I also tend to explore the previous bands of the involved musicians as a full comprehension of an oeuvre within its timeline is important to me. I did none of those things for Odal. Sometimes it's good to go in blind and get your ass kicked. Well, I got a beating! This album is apparently an experimental offering from the band that's usually playing death metal (I have no idea if they're good at it) and I hope they're not done with heavy metal since it's really damn good.

If you know me, you might know that I'm a sucker for long, epic tracks and they don't disappoint here and the two numbers above ten minutes are showcasing nice ambient heavy metal tendencies. It's intelligent epic heavy metal relying on strong atmospheres and bludgeoning but dreamy riffing. At times, they recall the epic long winded era of Bathory mixed with the fantasy storytelling of Quicksand Dream (I like to think the artwork is an hommage to their classic Aelin). Looming in the ethereal shadows, the NWOBHM's gentle specter is always keeping watch and waiting for an opportunity to strike with intense dual guitar leads à la Murray and Smith. The Crypt is a band that takes its time and develops slowburning pieces of scorched metal and then tempers them in ice cold water. You also don't feel that it's a death metal band playing heavy metal, it's not a silly lifeless project done as a gimmick.

It's heavy metal played at various tempos but it's always outgoing and dynamic. The airy and natural production definitely helps as well. I think the tone of the guitars and the quality of the riffing is what instantly hooked me but they're so much more than that. The musicianship is top notch and never goes into "too much" territory. They're good at mixing the loud and the quiet and several softer moments really make the band shine. I see it as a metaphor related to the sea, an everchanging personality full of unchained power and immense depth. Like a gigantic wave, it grabs you and never lets you go.

The plethora of guest vocals could had been an operatic mess like Avantasia or Ayreon but fortunately, it worked very well. The women bring a fresh take not unlike the recent works by Lethean or Iron Griffin and the male voices bring a subdued epic doom dimension. While it never lacks cohesion but at times it's a bit uneven due to the diverse quality of the ensemble, there's vocals that I really liked more than others such as those on "Palace of Broken Dreams" and some that didn't really work such as "Quest Without End". I ended up liking the tracks with female vocals more but that's just me.

The compositions are rich as they delve inside an extensive lair garnished with many layers of metal. Inside a strong foundation of epic heavy metal, we can find epic doom and some sort of introspective progressive metal. From percussions on the calm closer "Moonlight" to the psychedelic stoner Om-ish feels of "The Lost Magics", there's a lot of diversity here. Similar to a room full of smoke and incense, it's captivating and fills your entire mind with thoughts.

Highly evocative and sophisticated heavy metal blessed by the gods of the genre is what you're getting here. Odal is definitely a jewel of 2019 metal. Don't let it go unnoticed.

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The Lord Weird Slough Feg – New Organon (2019) / 85%

3 AM bag of cheese

Slough Feg or The Lord Weird Slough Feg (they went back to their old moniker apparently) has always been one of my favorite bands ever seen I discovered their sixth album, the excellent Hardworlder back in 2007. I even got the artwork of Traveller tattooed on my forearm to show my dedication to their craft... Even if the troubadours lead by main songwriter, singer and guitarist Mike Scalzi have been churning good albums (The Animal Spirits in particular), they were never able to reach the heights of Down Among The Deadman, Traveller, Atavism or the aforementioned Hardworlder.

Fifteen years ago, the Feg were the best heavy metal band in America. They have some hefty competition nowadays with bands like Demon Bitch, Magic Circle but I’m sure they still have the tools to go back up there.

After a brief stint with Metal Blade, the band is back with Italy’s Cruz Del Sur for their first album in half a decade. With New Organon, they decided to go back to their roots or at the least the idea behind their roots. It took them a while to gather a new collection of songs, it seems they were a bit lost and confused about the direction to take after the divisive (that’s what I personally gathered as far as opinions are concerned) Digital Resistance.

My first impressions were that New Organon was taking the sound developed on Digital Resistance, Ape Uprising and mixed it with their early 2000s releases. It works well and I was glad to hear the dual lead guitars of Scalzi and Angelo Tringali. At times, it seemed like a toned down version of their heavier classics and well, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not a surprising album though, they’re playing it safe most of the times, except perhaps on “Coming of Age in the Milky Way”. It’s a slow, medieval folky singalong song with hints of Queen and Rush combined with their usual Thin Lizzy genuflections. The best track on the album, for sure. Furthermore, bassist Adrian Maestas sings the lead vocals on “Uncanny” and this was also a pleasant surprise. It has a classic rock flair and it’s less gruff and semi-operatic than Mike’s approach.

I think it took me almost three years to enjoy Digital Resistance despite the fact that it’s a pretty immediate album. On the other hand, I liked this one immediately. There's the right balance of all their elements. Slough Feg has the tendency to write blistering but deep compositions about history or geeky but manly odes to philosophy and it’s still the case here. Scalzi explores Francis Bacon’s major work Novum Organum throughout the ten muscular songs of the album. Feg’s intellectual nature is hidden underneath a thick layer of meat, potatoes, butter and cheddar. It’s tasty and nutritive. It feeds your heart and soul with riffs and deep thoughts.

My desires for new Feg albums are somewhat impossible to accomplish at this point. I’d like longer, epic songs for some unfathomable reasons since the band never did this. I’m sure they’d be good at them though so I guess that’s why I have this fetish. I know they'll never do another Traveller and I have to live with this for the rest of my life...

With New Organon we see the band go back to their primal sound and sure, some metal oomph is back but the aggressiveness and the memorability of old is lacking. With that said, Slough Feg are still better than most at what they do and their riffing skills are still up there with the greats. I was preparing myself to that release for a while now and I went back to their whole catalogue. I think it’s a bit unfair to compare it to older works but I mean, I’m petty like that. We don't compare Iron Maiden's contemporary works to Powerslave... Outside of some more forgettable numbers such as “The Cynic”, it’s a pretty even album without any overly apparent weaknesses.

All in all, if you’ve heard a Slough Feg album, you know what to expect here. Or do you? Yeah, you probably do even if they’re “back” with one of their older sounds. Duel lead guitars, soaring solos, Scalzi instantly recognizable rough but classy vocal tantrums. If you don't know Slough Feg, this could be a good place to start, to be honest. You'll just need to warn your neighbors when you'll explore their older albums.

The whole album is fueled by hard hitting riffs such as on “Discourse On Equality” and curvy thunderous leads by level 20 bards. It's a shame that drummer Harry Cantwell (Bosse-de-Nage) is gone but newcomer Jeff Griffin does an acceptable job

Slough Feg are the equivalent of the bag of shredded cheddar in the fridge when you’re hungry at 3 am, you’ll always go back to it even if you know what to expect. If you’re lucky, you can find some really thick chunks. This album slaps and has a good amount of chunky riffs. Definitely the best air guitar album of 2019.

Oh, I'm also very stoked to see them for the first time in June.

Out late June on Cruz Del Sur Music
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Un - Sentiment (2018) / 82%

Ruins & Flowers

The American west coast (Portland, Seattle etc...) sure has a distinct sound, call it Cascadian or whatever, it’s unimportant in the end. What matters is that most of those bands are pretty damn good and interesting. Acts like Lycus, Alderaban, Ash Borer, Usnea or Bell Witch put a lot of atmosphere in their extreme metal and they help the creation of a potent sound.

Un (one in French) released their debut full length back in 2015 and I thought it was an impressive slab of slow stuff. Sentiment, their sophomore album improves their formula ever further. Funeral doom is a hard style to mess around, its primary components make it hard for its disciples to truly distinguish itself. They’re like those black cultists preaching at the altar of the olde godes like Esoteric or Thergothon. While Un aren’t iconoclasts or genre revolutionaries, they did enough to separate themselves from the pack. 

Funeral doom is often seasoned with death metal or even black metal (see Nortt) but using the American blend of sludge (high in trans fat, see Crowbar) was definitely a good idea. It doesn’t make a super huge difference in the final result but it’s a bit more exciting than your run of the mill funeral doom band. The growls of front-man Monte Mccleery (probably also a cowboy with that name) are deep and ultimately quite traditional but what sets them apart is their guitars. You obviously have those slow, crunchy riffs but the band lets itself loose with those big joyful melodic leads like at the end of the title track. It’s borderline post metal at times but it’s never unfocused.

Just like the artwork where ruins are meeting a meadow of colorful flowers, darkness meets light. The inclusion of female vocals on “Pools of Reflection” did wonders for their atmosphere as well. Un’s strength relies on the small details and their propension for melody and beautiful guitar leads.

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Tanith - Citadel (90%) / 2017

 Cold but Warm

This single really took everyone by surprise when it was released last year. It's a blistering ten minutes of uber catchy heavy metal/hard rock and I'd probably sell my grand mother to get the full length before everyone else.

The best thing is that it's timeless but also able to bring you back to different rock eras with ease and panache. You get some hints of prog rock, especially in the way the four musicians are playing (they have skills for days) but also a fair share of other elements, intricately put together. The title track showcased the proggier and epic sound reminiscing of the hey days of NWOBHM and the proto metal of Uriah Heep while "Eleven Days" demonstrates some folky overtones with beautiful acoustic vocals and some deep electric soloing. For a short release, it's really varied and demonstrates how well Russ Tippins has assimilated all those sounds in one compact comet. It's not quite heavy and never needs to be to put you on a brief voyage through cold but warm lands as illustrated on the classic looking artwork.

The highlights of the release are the twinned guitars and the twinned vocals of Tippins and his American counterpart Cindy Maynard. Both vocalists do take an AOR approach but it fits the hyper melodic guitar riffs and the loud but evocative bass lines. It's clean, easy to sing along and just makes me happy and jolly.

The American/British quartet showed everyone how quality heavy/hard is done. I'm stoked to see what they can do on a longer medium. Maybe some extended tracks with proggier moments!? STOKED.

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