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.

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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.

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Legacies Unchain – Satan is Strong and Always Near (2016) / 95%

"Is he though?"
"Yes, he is."

Composed of the sole member of the excellent Misantropical Painforest and another dude known for Wormphlegm and its funeral doom classic, Legacies Unchain is definitely my discovery of the year (or last year, no idea, time is blurry right now) and I’m thankful for Hops from the Ride Into Glory community for the recommendation. Their take on metal is one that speaks to me quite a bit, it’s occult, slow and lures you in the dark Finnish forest to sever your arms with a hand axe.

Satan is Strong and Always Near (one of the best album titles of all time) is pretty much only three extended tracks with its title track being a bit more than twenty minutes. There’s three untitled instrumental including two to start the album, for some dark magical reasons, they’re not on the tracklist! The first and third are some guitar doodling moments that puts you in the mood. The second is one minute of shamanic aboriginal music preparing you for some ritualistic black metal, it’s not randomly placed either as there’s comebacks to this sort of primitive atmosphere throughout the album. The use of the didgeridoo, this cool wind instrument from pre-colonial Australia highlights the barbaric, primal feel of Legacies Unchain and it can be found alongside your normal metal instruments in “All Hail the Great Sperm” (what?) or “Dragon City”. The instrument announces the arrival of those two dudes on the artwork as they’re storming the camp full of goblins in order to slay ‘em all. In the name of Satan, of course.

The whole thing sounds like a do it yourself barbaric black metal assault to me and I mean, I really love this kind of stuff. Apparently recorded in 2004 but only released more than a decade later, their kind of metal is pretty timeless. It’s mixing the raw occult power of black metal with the stupidity of heavy metal and the brain dead riff onslaught of death metal for our selfish pleasure. It’s a riff worship ceremony and the unworthy ones were sacrificed to some primordial spirits. The duo is able to write interesting, river-esque songs with only the power of powerful metal riffs and Satan. Spiritually linked to black/heavy bands like Demontage or Malokarpatan, Legacies Unchain slashes you with mid-paced riffs until you’re out blood to offer. They use those traditional elements well such as on the title track, it’s like if funeral doom was combined with black/heavy/thrash, it’s long but epic and flows nicely and it’s 100% hateful, obviously.

Their vocals are also pretty diverse in their commitment to barbaric prowess. To high pitched screams to more deep growls and to some insane chanting, there’s something for everyone. The title track concludes its twenty-three minute run time with a mad clean scream, probably a shamanic priest dying during a ritual or something. Those guys like their crushing brutality too, the death metal influence can be felt at the beginning of “...Sperm” while “Dragon City” is rooted and drenched in heavy metal riffs. Their vocals are a constant though and they anchor the band into Satanic overload.

Satan being always near them managed to motivate the guys, this is one hell of album. Even though it’s somewhat inaccessible due to the sheer length of its songs, there’s an entrancing vibe that rewards you. It’s similar to Cultes des Ghoules’ masterwork Henbane (the pinnacle of black metal as far as I’m concerned) in how it makes me feel, it’s riffs after riffs and you may think it’s dumbed down but it’s actually oddly subtle and genius.

Falsehood - Falsehood (2017) / 82%

Nah dudes, I agree

Falsehood from Edmonton features two members from death/black veterans Begrime Exemious but explores a different style of extreme metal. Crust is basically punks playing metal (or trying to) but the lines between punk and metal is getting quite blurry. It’s possible that metalheads can play punk as well! Anyhow the quartet mixes several influences into one potent patty of aggressive and uncompromising music.

Their approach relies heavily on heavy riffs and the repetitiveness of said hard hittin’ guitars. It’s cold, dangerous and it doesn’t mess around with the puck at all. They would have broken that fucking QAnon Shaman in pieces if they had the chance. It’s thundering politically inclined metallic punk taking no fucking prisoners. A mixing pot of death metal, sludgey doom, crust and hardcore punk, Falsehood is able to digest those influences and shit us something worthwhile and captivating. The dual guitars attack of Franky and Derek are fantastic and doesn’t show off at all, they’re there for the power of the riffs and they serve the songs. The guitar tone is disgusting (in the best way possible) and while there’s distortion, it’s never sloppy and badly written. Those dudes are solid musicians and the combination of the two guitarists with a very effective rhythm section created an aural devastation. A good example of how everything is so expertly combined is the eight minutes closer “Deceiver”, one of their slower but still super urgent compositions. The drums and bass are also very very good and it's something I focused on more and more after a few spins of the album. The backend of the album is rich and the tight and focused production definitely helps.

Protect the rich, serve the state

Mindless pigs fill us with hate

The vocals of Franky are pissed off deep growls, it's harsh and full of venom. What I like is that it's not a constant barrage of vocals, it's present like any other instruments and it plays its role within the band's music. Tracks like "Descent Into Madness" features vox only midway through the four-ish minutes track but when they start, damn. That track almost has a grindcore feel to it as it ends. They're good at showcasing their riffs and they let them breathe a while too. There's a few cleaner moments ("Waste" or "Militant Swine") and they bring forward some sort of depressive post metal stylistic exploration to the fold. It's interesting and doesn't feel out of place.

The only modern thing about them is their intent to combine old school styles together but ultimately, this combination creates something that could have been released ten, twenty or even thirty years ago. Like their left leaning themes, It’s pretty timeless for punk music. Throw Asphyx, Bolt Thrower and Amebix in a garbage bin and let the raccoons do their job, you’ll end up with something close to Falsehood.

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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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Shezmu - À Travers Les Lambeaux (2020)

Controlled Chaos

The first proper album for Shezmu after a bunch of extended plays and demos, À travers les lambeaux (could be translated to “through the shreds”) is a blistering piece of occult death metal that will help you get through this summer if your main vice is listening to hellishly dark music. Their first release as a three piece since the arrival of Yannick as a full time bassist, the short but sweet album doesn’t mess around with any aspects of their identity.

With their inspirations fully assimilated and ready to torn apart the competition, Shezmu delivers a well written and intelligent record full of twists and turns. Without playing a fully epic blend of metals similar to what bands like Sarpanitum or Necros Christos do, the Montreal band prefers to focus on pure death metal while incorporating some slightly foreign touches. The vocals of axeman and band leader Olivier (also in a wide array of other cool bands like Palmistry, Complot! or Moulin Banal) are deep, thunderous but also tortured clean screams reminiscent of Bolzer. It’s not a technical band, the focus is on riffs and riffs alone, there’s no unnecessary wank, it’s just riff worship and that’s totally fine with me. They’re mixing this sort of subtle antique feel with the evil energy of Incantation and it works. Not totally unlike Dead Congregation did.

The interlude “La rage” divides the album in two with a middle-eastern feel similar to the grandiose instrumental compositions found on Melechesh’s “The Epigenesis” and it was a welcomed respite since Shezmu are so fucking intense. There’s some shorter numbers like “Les secrets des ziggourats” and it brings forth a quasi blackened grind element to the fast compositions. Still, the bulk of the album is the two bread slices around it, its two longer compositions located at the start and at the end. They allow themselves to slow down and pummel you with “Lex Talionis”. At the edge of cavernous death metal, Shezmu’s guitars are pretty clear as far as death metal is concerned. The opener and title track has those hypnotic riffs that almost gives me the same effect (good) stoner metal has on me. This is perhaps their biggest strength, this sort of thundering but controlled chaos handled through efficient but minimalist musicianship is just so good. Shezmu are the cream of the crop for Québec death metal alongside Outre Tombe. Let’s see if Sedimentum can beat ‘em with their upcoming debut album.

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Kybalion - Poisoned Ash (2020)

Primal Australian Pummeling 

The first release by Kybalion, a one man band created by the only man I know in Western Australia is a strong slab of pummeling metal with a diverse but fully integrated source of influences. Knowing what Caspian Yurisich, a father of two from Bunbury, likes, I wasn’t really surprised to see what he did here but I wasn’t expecting it to be that heavy. Caspian is known for his love for drone but he’s a peculiar dude into a lot of things.

Poisoned Ash is a four songs EP mixing the slow hard hitting riffs of doom/death with the hypnotic feel of drone/doom and it’s impressive in its minimalism. It’s stripped down heavy doom to its roots, a big machine made to crush you but also make you feel things deep inside. The drums are programmed and I never really had a problem with that unlike some purists, they sound good and add a cold, almost mechanical feel to the project. It’s a dichotomy when compared to the warm bass and the expressive riffs. Yurisich doesn’t really use lead guitars and there’s, frankly, no need to have any solos whatsoever here. The last track, the nine minutes epic “Absinthe Tide” uses melodica to conclude the album to great effects instead, it’s peculiar and original. That song also includes some melancholic or atmospheric doom elements that wouldn’t be out of place on a My Dying Bride album. “Background Man” also has a really noise/drone conclusion and it fits the manically repetitive riff well. It alternates between fast paced and crushingly slow but it’s always cohesive and well written.

Yurisich’s vocals aren’t really good but he was smart enough to throw them to the background, they sound like they’re in a really hot cave down in the deserted, savage lands of western Australia where the only thing close to being alive you can find is a snoring koala high on eucalyptus leaves (I know that’s not true but please don’t ruin my jokes for me.) His vocals are far away harsh chanting, not too dissimilar from the heaviest stoner/doom bands around in terms of intonation. Not super competent but they’re not something detrimental to my enjoyment of the album, quite the opposite. They add to the primeval or primal atmosphere of the project.

All in all, Kybalion is a breath of fresh air as far as doom/death is concerned. I can’t really think of a band that sounds like them to be honest and that’s a good thing for 2020. Take Jesu and maybe Earth, throw some primitive caveman riffs that are dumbed down purposely and you almost get their sound. Recommended for adventurous doomed explorers.

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Scorching Tomb – Demo 2019 / 77%

Dirty Montréal 514 Series: Part II

The first effort from those newcomers is a strong slap in the face. The first song demo focuses on simplicity and groove over flashy technicality and it pays off. The vocals are raw, rough and comes off as echoes from a shadowy grave or a decrepit Hochelaga basement. They’re fun and a good fit with the fast and heavy riffs. I rarely want my death metal to be nice and clean and I’m getting what I want here. I want to be thrown in an unmarked grave, one that’s been freshly dug. My corpse laying in a white sheet or in several duffel bags.

Morbidity aside, Scorching Tomb were able to convey those themes quite well and for a demo release, that’s exactly what you want to accomplish. You want it as an appetizer of things to come and you don’t want the customer to leave. Their songs are fairly short and to the point and the musicianship and songwriting are as solid as the tattooing of some of his mysterious members are known for. Incorporating some slight hardcore influences since Bolt Thrower are better than most things in life, they’re able to be a bit somewhat different than the plethora of generic death metal coming from all over the world.

Not unlike Oath Div. 666 or even Outre-Tombe as far as spirit goes, the band definitely prefers its meat (vegan or not) and potatoes to any frivolities that Québec death metal might be known for. The guitars are crisp and there’s no fretless bass solos or jazz influenced leads. It’s just punches after punches of...well, scorching death metal. Not the most memorable stuff but it goes hard and constantly delivers good riffs.

Get in the tomb as quick as possible. If the ground is too frozen, just pile some rocks over my body.

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Ceremonial Bloodbath – Command Sacrifice (2017) / 82%

Sliced open by a rusty ceremonial dagger

The new quartet from Vancouver formed by members of Ahna, Haggatha and Mudlark plays unadulterated, intense death metal. The quasi-raw demo contains five tracks and most of them are over the five minutes mark. The track named after the band (I always like those) is eight minutes long and it’s a total banger full of evil riffs.

Their best skill is their ability to switch from slow to fast in an instant and keep the songs insanely heavy and cohesive. They play their death metal with some black and doom influences and while it fits the current scene of occult death metal cultists (see Dark Descent, Iron Bonehead etc), their compositions are fresh and exciting. No need for overblown originality when you have riffs this good anyway.

The natural production works well for their archaic and ancient sound. We’re served Slayer/Deicide-esque soloing (see the aptly named “Hordes of Demons Feeding”) and cavernous, unhinged vocals. It’s primitive and deadly. Their riffs are bouncy and dangerously chaotic. They constantly stab you in the gut with a rusty but really sharp ceremonial dagger.

I’m hoping that they will not polish their sound too much for their future releases, it’s totally adequate for their sound. It’s perfect to sacrifice human lives to whoever you think should rule the world. Command Sacrifice is one of the best demos of the year and if you like your extreme metal dirty and bloody, check them out.

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Jordablod – Upon My Cremation Pyre (2017) / 93%

Sweden rules divine

This young three-piece from Malmö, Sweden possibly released the best black metal album of 2017 with their debut full length album (out on the always reliable Iron Bonehead.) It’s everything I like about the genre in one marvelous package full of riffs and killer atmospheric bits.

While clearly looking at the olde gods of the genre such as Bathory, there’s a definite will to keep things balanced between ancient and actual. That’s something you can find in contemporaries allies such as The Ruins of Beverast or Tribulation. Like those two bands, creating an occult atmosphere was one of the goals they gave themselves and they truly did that with this record. Jordablod do something new but in a subtle way, it’s all in the details. Their style is an amalgam of primal black metal and barbaric (in the best way possible) death metal. It can recall the earliest foundations of the genres where things weren’t written in stone. They play around with different slow-burning atmospheres, some of them can recall the cold feel of pre-Christianity Sweden where Viking rituals were common (“Hin Håle”) while some others are rooted in fast quasi-folky metal à la Melechesh (“A Sculptor of the Future”.). Those numerous perspectives gave this album an additional coating of quality.

Despite those influences, they’re never silly or sugary. It’s done with good taste and a profound understanding of how their music should sound. At times, Jordablod sounds like a more organic Negative Plane. They both took the first wave sound and made it contemporary. The guitars are vivid, in your face and even in the softer, slower moments, there’s stuff happening. There’s absolutely no filler on this record. The guitar tone has this complex otherworldly charm. The band shines on those epic moments (see the conclusion/solo of “Liberator of Eden”) and I think they’re up there with Primordial for this long-winded intense approach to metal. Just like its artwork, Upon My Cremation Pyre is a grandiose, colourful record full of twists and turns

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Weeping Sores - Weeping Sores (2017) / 72%

The pus is mostly gone

The new project formed by two members of both Pyrrhon and Seputus explores a slower style than what we’re used to with those guys. The duo of Moore and Schwegler is joined by a violinist and the instrument adds an extremely sorrowful layer to their compositions.

Their debut extended play is made up of four extended compositions with a lot of stuff happening. The better comparison I managed to find is that it’s midway between the atmospheric brutal death of Ulcerate and the sadness found in My Dying Bride’s heaviest material. It’s a pretty original take on death/doom as it’s mixing both the technical and angular side of modern death metal and the simplified, raw aggression of primal doom/death. The riffs are dense and often repeated (see “The Shadow in the Seer”) till your brain is mush and then, a violin break appears and the mood is transformed. It's not always quite cohesive but I must say I thought the violin is the best thing about their music.

The last track starts with a calm, soothing introduction before delivering loads of heavy riffs. Sometimes it almost sounds like they’re playing slowed down groovy deathcore, it’s peculiar. It doesn’t work all the time but there’s a lot of good ideas found on the record. The fact they succeeded at making a novel sound work is a feat in itself, let’s see if they’ll manage to go somewhere really interesting with their sound.

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Oksennus - Sokea idiootti (2016) / 84%

Finland is weird. We all know that. Still, I wasn’t quite prepared for Oksennus’ music. I was intrigued by the simple yet out there artwork so I decided to check their sound and I wasn’t disappointed. Most stuff released by Caligari Records is high quality and this is no exception.

Oksennus (vomit in Napero-speech) relies heavily on the excellent bass to build their compositions, the bass is heavy and fast but at the same time, it’s also soft and melodic. It creates some sort of dichotomy with the guitars that are often quite noisy and metallic. There’s this conscious choice to make the rhythm section louder than the guitars and it works well for them. The bass creates the main melodies and the guitars just builds the foundations underneath. It’s a cohesive album, it’s the songwriting that’s just very fucked up and original. They took the current blackened doomy death metal trend, stripped it of everything, burned the house and built a new one from scratch. There’s also this odd technical feel, probably inspired by how they thought Demilich used to sound.

The vocals are mostly deep cavernous howls but the track “Ekstirpaatio” features some clean but ominous chanting, reminding me of a twisted version of Viikate. All in all, like with most metal genres, Finland shows that it’s able to put its own touches to something and make it crazy. Oksennus’ music is cold, unforgiving and worth looking into if like the Finns, you hate everything but saunas.

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Inter Arma – Paradise Gallows (2016) / 89%

The International Armada of Southern Post-Metal

After the impressive one-song extended play The Cavern released two years ago, Inter Arma doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. They’re one of the best american metal bands of their generation and their third full length will only solidify their status as a genre bending and untamable epic beast.

The first noticeable aspects of an album are always the artwork and the title and there’s a clear newfound identity found in the cover art of Paradise Gallows. Compared to Sundown or Sky Burial, it’s full of colours and could almost fit an indie rock band but the scene illustrated is bleak and ultimately fits the sound of Inter Arma. Compared to its artistic rendition, this album is far from being a shipwreck. It’s probably more the large rocky island in the background which is known for leading ships to their demise. Just like the crew of a well-managed ship, the songs on Paradise Gallows are fairly diverse but they learned to work well together to maintain the deck and ride the sea like no one else.

While somewhat sunnier than Sky Burial and overall perhaps softer, it’s still pretty heavy at times. The big Southern melting pot is the basis of their identity. They mix this depressive but warm and dirty sludge sound with healthy doses of black/death metal recalling the elusive Bölzer full of cavernous vocals but they keep things mid-paced or hellishly slow. Songs like the nine minutes “Transfiguration” bring forth the gloomy atmosphere while never losing the focus on tight and riff based metal. I guess we could say that their approach seems all over the place, right?

Maybe... but wait, there’s more! The combination of the massive Neurosis-like riffs with hints of funeral doom/death works quite well. The integration of psychedelic elements also feels natural (listen to the droney but catchy “The Summer Drones”) and there’s a slight nautical aspect to their compositions. It feels like you’re on the Atlantic, near the state of Virginia while listening to the darkest Nick Cave albums but your buddy suddenly plays his Eyehategod mix-tape on his boombox.

“Potomac” (speaking of said nautical feel) is this gorgeous instrumental song full of clean proggy guitar leads and piano and it’s a soft interlude before we’re served two extended heavy numbers.They’re all over the place with their styles of riffing and melodies but they’re surprisingly able to have a clear and solid direction while battling the intense waves made by the aggressive kraken.

Mike Paparo’s presence is outstanding in its richness and diversity. From the harsh yet deep black metal growls to the Mastodon-esque rough delivery of “Violent Constellations”, he’s a gifted metal singer. He’s also great at other styles including the tragically romantic vocals neo-folk of acoustic closer “Where the Earth Meets the Sky” and this sort of entrancing quasi spoken word (check out “Primordial Wounds”).

The guitars of Dalton and Russell range from megalodonian to intricate and psychedelic. This album is long (71 minutes) but it’s always inventive and spectacular. Their weaving of calmness and bludgeoning intensity has reached its peak on Paradise Gallows and the evolution of their sound since their 2010 debut has been an enjoyable process to follow. This is a great album.

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I can't wait to see them Saturday in Montréal.

StarGazer - A Merging to the Boundless (2016) / 96%

Academic War Metal

This is a seriously weird but addictive album and its wide mix of elements shouldn’t work as well as it does. The Australian trio cultivates a mysterious and magical aura throughout their elusive albums. This 2014 effort was released 4 years after the excellent A Great Work of Ages and I bet it’s gonna take a while to get a new one. This is fine though since despite the short length of this album, there’s so many things to discover on every spin. The fact that the members are involved in other high caliber bands such as Mournful Congregation or Cauldron Black Ram (if you’re not familiar with both of them, check them out too) could also explain the long periods between full lengths.

While I certainly like straight death metal with no frills or gimmicks, I do prefer adventurous bands unleashing weirdness upon weirdness. That’s why I think Horrendous released one of the best recent death metal albums with  Ecdysis and it’s probably why Opeth is my favorite band (I guess they still count as death metal, right?). StarGazer are definitely one of those exploratory bands and they have an unparalleled vision. Traveling through avant-garde seas like their fellow Australians Portal, I do feel this trio made their experimental blend of extreme metal more natural by removing the obsessive Lovecraftian horror element of The Curator’s band. The most impressive component of this trio is their level of musicianship, it’s simply through the roof. They’re basically Australia’s extremely cult response to Rush, Atheist, Death but also to Incantation and Demilich, if this makes sense. Like their other compatriot Ulcerate, the trio consisting of the usual metal instruments are able to push the generic envelope of such a formula but contrary to the Everything Is Fire Tasmanians, they don’t do it by creating a massive wall of sound. They do it with a superbly smart sound full of intelligent moments like no one else.

What’s also exceptional about them is their ability to integrate an experimental approach so easily in their songs. They almost hide the fact that they’re weird by just being riff machines, a good example of this would be “Black Gammon”, the aggressive opener. The song starts in a somewhat safe way but then bludgeon you with insane bass licks.

There’s also the variations in moods and tempos that are quite interesting, “An Earth Rides Its Endless Carousel” has this smooth section incorporated with ease and it’s just unbelievable. There’s also some brief clean vocals to accentuate the transition. Speaking of vocals, I’ll admit I can really say who of either Damon Good (known as The Great Righteous Destroyer here) or Denny Blake (The Serpent Inquisitor) are singing since they share the duty but there’s a grand variety of extreme metal vocals styles. From deep, cavernous growls to the more traditional thrashy death style (opening of “Incense and Aeolian Chaos”), and I must say that every facets of this aspect of StarGazer’s personality is thoroughly enjoyable. If you add the fact that the lyrics are totally bonkers, you get an interesting album. The mix of magical, mystical and fantasy themes written with in poetical but also academical sort of way is without a doubt one of the highlights of the record for me. Let me go back to what I was saying about the “hidden” weirdness, the lyrics absolutely add this eccentric flavor.

Antiquial light shed with a wave of lichen hand
An ancient tress, a wooden pulse
Varnish reeks, shadows creak
A stale grace, old tea, old tea

The Australian trio are in fact a war metal band turned into an university professor. They went to war, killed a bunch of innocent people, came back and finished their English literature PhD and wrote about their experiences. The skilled marriage of death and black metal (war metal is often a mix of both and some added elements) is actually hard to distinguish, I do think they’re a bit more on the death metal side most of the time but there’s definite black metal elements on Merging. They play technical death without falling into the easy tropes of the genre, no overlong soloing or disastrous odd time signatures written to impress kids. It’s just unhinged drumming with mesmerizing bass lines and intricate guitars. The eleven minutes song “The Grand Equilizer” is obviously the centerpiece of this album, it has all their elements and it’s just a fantastic progressive metal track full of twists and turns. The album then ends its (relatively) brief essay with two harder and to the point tracks. I guess I’ll just replay it until I fully understand it.

The album is usually pretty cheap on Nuclear War Now! so grab it, it’s just incredible.

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Koprotopsy – Eternal Extinction (2016) / 70%

Mesopotamian brutal death made in a French bedroom? 

Koprotopsy is a one man band from France and I’m not totally sure why I like this album as much as I do. I mean, I know I shouldn’t and deep down I’m pretty sure that my inner person thinks it sucks but I managed to ignore what my brain is saying and enjoy this album. Michaël Sikli also known as Sainte Vermine, is in many projects, now something common with the development of technologies and internet but this is the first one I’ve discovered and it’s impressive in its own way.

Even if it can be seen as amateurish or even a bedroom metal band, there’s an obvious richness to this project. The combination of genres is pretty unique and it creates an avant-garde formula. You take the bass heavy dynamics of the totally insane Estonian duo Neoandertals but remove some of the crude craziness from it and you add guitars but not loud ones as you don’t want to bury the clicky bass! This is the core of their genre but it’s not over yet, Koprotopsy is adding ethnic influences to make their music completely bonkers. At times it sounds like Melechesh and Cult of Fire just discovered brutal death metal in a Russian basement full of slam wiggers. While it’s all programmed instrumentation for the estranged parts, it sounds good and it’s well done. The production for the metal elements is definitely sub-par but I didn’t really mind this. Sure, a solid production with real drums, louder guitars and real ethnic instruments would had been better but I think a large part of my enjoyment come from the fact that it’s a cheap home production.

The fourteen minutes track “Engraved Into Ashes” has pretty much everything. Piano parts intertwined with huge bass licks, dark ambient bits and toy machine gun blastbeats played underneath a symphonic doom/death moment. It’s fun, for sure. The vocals are probably way too high in the mix and the deep growls are nothing really special, it’s not what’s interesting about this album and should probably be considerably lowered on the future releases.

It’s the equivalent of cooking something that you think will turn out totally inedible because you mixed weird ingredients together but when you take a bite, you tell yourself “ehhhh not bad”. This is bad but good and it’s hard to explain why I ate the whole thing. He also released the Primitive Deathcult EP in 2016 and it’s worth checking out as well, it’s one long track showcasing the ethnic side even more.

Thanks to my buddy Caspian for the discovery.

Pay what you can download on Bandcamp

Skeletonwitch – The Apothic Gloom (2016) / 78%

A gloomier and evolved approach 

Skeletonwitch is band that I’ve been ignoring since their excellent sophomore effort Beyond the Permafrost mostly because I stopped following melodic death metal except perhaps for a very small number of bands like Dark Tranquillity. Following the departure of founding vocalist Chance Garnette (I guess he became unlucky?), the American quintet managed to revitalize their sound with this sweet extended play.

The sound of the Ohio based band has always been a mishmash of styles surrounding their melodeath core like their thrash leanings. They also had some black metal elements as well but, as far as I remember, those were never as obvious as they are here. I feel the melodic black approach those guys took here has injected some life in their formula and the addition of vocalist Adam Clemans (Wolvhammer) adds a certain blackened sludge/crust. The final track of this EP, “Red Death, White Light” (the title reminds me of a The Velvet Underground album) is basically a mix of their melodeath sound with a shitload of post-black metal and it’s superbly done. Clemans’ vocals are not as insanely high as Garnette’s but I think he did a fantastic job and he fits the style.

The first three tracks, while good, just don’t reach the same level as the last track. The two tracks sandwiched between the title track and the seven minutes closer are fast bangers with a lot of groove but they just don’t do much to reinvent the formula (not that it was needed, you could say). The first track, “The Apothic Gloom” brings a certain melancholia to the EP with its soft introduction and some Swedish doomy death feels. I was almost reminded of Tribulation’s The Formulas of Death and their semi-gothic influence with this track. There’s a musical depth in those songs just like the death metal played by bands such as Horrendous. It’s not just pure melodic aggression.

Skeletonwitch are once again successful at melding genres together and things are looking well for their next full length album if they continue to expand their sound like they did with this release. Maybe someone will give them a leaf stone so they can evolve Gloom into Vileplume and be even better.

Lascaille's Shroud - The Roads Leading North (2016) / 82%

Nanomachines, Space, d20s and Operas

If you have issues with albums longer than forty minutes, well, just leave now and come back when you’ll be able to sit down and listen to a two hours detour into space. I’m personally used to science fiction marathons, I’ve been watching Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise like a madman for the last two years so listening to Lascaille’s Shroud feels like the musical extension of space operas. The scope is mighty as a Klingon Bird of Prey and the execution is as precise as a photonic cannon. I’m actually sorry for the Trek references as I’m not familiar with the series of books and video games the band is using as inspirations.

The third full length album of Brett Windnagle, the mastermind behind the project, is a vast concept album with what seems to be an original story. The dude is immensely productive as it’s his second two hours album in a row. While editing your ideas is usually a good idea in music, it’s obviously not the case here. Lascaille’s Shroud sure lacks restraint but there’s no disposable songs on this record.

The story is interesting and well written but I will not actually talk about it in details, read the lyrics and enjoy the story of Elizabeth North while listening to the album if sci fi is your thing. It certainly feels like a Shadowrun game at times where you play this girl armed with nanomachines exploring a dark, futuristic world full of dangers.

The vocals on this long journey are diverse and handled by two guest musicians. Patrick Parris’ clean vocals are fairly reminiscent of the high pitched approaches of bands like Fates Warning (listen to his parts on “Restrain the Child” or “What Dwells Beneath Her Flesh”). Parris sounds super great and fits the space theme like a glove and automatically improves the songs featuring his talents. I’m often reminded of Ark’s seminal album Burn the Sun in its abrasive and aggressive but spacey approach to progressive metal. It’s busy and has barely any extended instrumental and pretentious fillers.

To be fair, I think the songs are better when the clean singer is featured, not that John Yelland (who also do some cleans) doesn’t do a good job at the harsh vocals but musically, the clean approach is a better fit for  the bonkers space opera Windnagle wrote. I actually like the addition of female vocal samples on songs like “Sketches of Madness” which is basically a synthwave interlude. Despite some odd moments here and there, the fourteen songs album feels too monolithic and repetitive for such a long story. I think there’s not enough calm moments or surprises throughout the run-time. Still, this wouldn’t be a complain if the album was actually forty minutes...

The death metal elements are overly present but they’re somewhat buried under the lush, progressive production and the large amount of synth and keyboards used. The style reminds me of Dark Tranquillity’s later material but with a long-winded structure (“Unspeakably Defiled” is eight minutes) and honestly, a track like this one with constant harsh vocals can get a bit tiresome. We still get some thick and heavy riffing but in a mechanical way. It’s not without emotions or lifeless though, it’s not industrial metal after all but more like progressive metal with an electronic approach. The drum machine, something that I have no problems with as far as metal is concerned, is efficient and sounds really good. Sure, real drums would possibly elevate the compositions to a new height but I think the performance was still enjoyable.

In the end, this is a grandiose concept album and an enjoyable experience. It’s a successful foray into science fiction storytelling through music. With the cover art and the electronic elements, it could be easy to think of Lascaille’s Shroud as a metal version of Perturbator and I’d understand why, they have a similar approach to their different styles. Despite being a self produced album, I think the sound is top notch. The guitars are aggressive, thick and the leads are well composed and epic. In 2016, it’s totally possible to record a totally professional record at home since the means are easily available. The production work on the vocals is also clear and brings a natural counterpart to the futuristic soundscapes.

While it’s a bit much to withstand in one sitting like all double albums (even the great ones like those written by Midnight Odyssey, Esoteric or Elysian Blaze), the trip is rewarding if you’re into silly prog metal (is this an oxymoron?). Recommended if you have the patience and the tolerance for aural space operas.

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Metal Bounty Hunter: Volume 9

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Unru - Als Tier Ist Der Mensch Nichts (2016) / 80%

Oppressive incestuous post black

This German quartet's debut album (that we can translate to "As an animal, man is nothing") is a brief voyage into the oppressive minds of their songwriters. Rooted in both black metal and hardcore (crust, post hardcore...), the four songs managed to incorporate the pure hatred and violent conviction of all their influences. The drums are buried under the loud and atmospheric guitars but I liked the way they were recorded, it seems to be natural and fits the aggressive yet pensive identity of Unru.

I guess we could say that they're a post black metal band but there's nothing fancy, comforting or joyful about their music. The vocals are deep howls and combined with the instrumentation, it's like walking in an old post World War II disaffected military complex, it's cold and suffocating in the best way possible. If you like the numerous incestuous explorations of black metal and hardcore, this is a band to check out. The lengthy songs made this an exhausting but rewarding experience.

Dautha - Den förste (2016) / 83%

Sweden's new trad doom titanI do think that Griftegård only managing to release one full-length is a tragedy in itself but if we ignore this first world problem, I’m quite happy that Ola Blomkvist (guitars, lyrics, direction) is back with a new traditional doom project and it’s well worth the time for everyone who likes the style. While not reinventing the classic wheel of doom, the integration of some beautiful violins is refreshing in something else than melodic doom/death or goth metal à la My Dying Bride. After a brief intro (translated to “Adulterers should be killed”), we’re served two excellent mid-paced numbers with epic soaring clean vocals and terrific riffs. Definitely influenced by the medieval period and religions, Dautha’s music is classy, engaging and played by talented Swedish veterans. Let us rejoice when darkness thrive / Oh, this is Hell but we shall laugh This is a demo but the quality of the songs and the production made me wish it wasn’t. Unfortunately the handmade packaging limited to 78 copies is sold out but I’m sure we won’t have to wait too long before we get more material from these guys. Well, I hope so.

Nails – You Will Never Be One of Us (2016) / 97%
Nine Inch Cocks

Signing to Nuclear Blast definitely made Nails sellouts, right? Oh fuck no it didn’t. The Californian trio unleashed their longest album ever (still only 21 minutes) and it’s one of the perfect outlet for aggression and violence I’ve ever heard. The band got added to the Metal Archives due to this record and rightfully so, I could compare it to the movie Alien, a cinema classic classified as both horror and science fiction… Well, YWNBOOU borrows as much from hardcore as it does from metal. Nails puts classic grindcore, old Swedish death metal, powerviolence, crust, Slayer-ish thrash in a dirty blender and crush the mixture till it’s just perfectly bloody.

Just like “Unsilent Death” or Abandon All Life, most of the tracks are short motherfuckers who will slam your head and make you jump everywhere. They never forget to write compelling and truly awesome riffs such as in “Into Quietus” and end the album with a monstrous eight minutes track containing everything they ever been known for. Slow pummeling riffs, spiteful vocals and fast destruction. I was really happy when they played “They Come Crawling Back” live as it’s one hell of a track. The best extreme album of 2016.

"VIOLENCE IS FOREVER"

Pillars – Pyres and Gallows (2016) / 70%

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XVII: Nice

The quartet from Nice (not pronounced like you think) plays heavy as hell doom metal without turning into a stoner band. The vocals of Clément Flandrois are rough, sort of harsh and would fit a southern metal band. The dude has a lot of range though and shows how good he is on the 10 minutes title track.

Many French bands actually sound like they’re from the American south and I’m not totally sure why (check out Glorior Belli and their southern black metal sound) and Pillars are definitely one of them. I mean, it’s subtle, don’t expect to hear some classless Hellyeah worship here, it’s still trad doom with obese riffs and a sad lyrical approach. This debut extended play has no obvious problems, it’s honest, well written and even has this blackened feel not usually present in this style of metal. Nevertheless, they could streamline their compositions a little and there’s a certain lack of memorability on there.

Deathbringer - From Silence Was Born The Sound of Death (2016) / 75%
Unsilent death/black

Montréal’s Deathbringer plays a savage and natural sort of death/black metal. Their debut full length, a short affair sounds like a demented Immolation at times. There’s an obvious focus on riffs and the album is full of great catchy ones. The production job was kept willingly raw and when I first heard a track from the album, I wasn’t quite sure it was the right decision but now that I’ve heard the full thing, I do think it fits the atmosphere they were going for.

Vocal wise, there’s a mix of cavernous growls, high pitched screams (both apparent on the last track “Bone Weaver”) and also some cleans (“By the Will of God”). The singer is one of the best aspects of Deathbringer, it adds to the dual identity of the band and their fluid back and forth between death and black metal. Even if they’re Canadian, they’re not really war metal, their core is death metal and there’s even doomy influences at times. War metal for me must be black metal with additional elements coming from death and grind.

All in all, it’s a strong debut for Deathbringer, they understood that riffs are the primordial element to make your band worthwhile and even though they kept the mastering and mixing lo-fi and raw, it makes the songs shine in the darkness.

Purgatoire – Passé décomposé (2016) / 78%

Excellent artwork!

Terrible Bear Attack

Rimouski’s Purgatoire (purgatory, duh) was created with the goal to play pure, unaltered savage death metal and they definitely managed to do exactly that. The francophone quartet inspired by proto brutal death wrote a vivid and aggressive record that purists of the genre are gonna enjoy.

The two main inspirations I can hear in Passé décomposé (decomposed past) are the two American death metal giants Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation. Like those guys, the riffs are thick, hellishly groovy and the tracks are fast paced, vicious and are very good at destroying your eardrums. There’s not an ounce of progressive, atmospheric or deathcore elements to be found here, it’s death metal to the core and it’s still a relevant genre after more than twenty years. There’s no need to inject some asinine elements to the recipe when the basis is already tasty.

The vocals of Félix Ouellet are massive growls and this greasy violence fits the demolishing machine created by the experimented guitarists. Those veterans are obviously in love with the style and they do it because of that and not because it’s a trend. Rimouski is located in north eastern québec (5 hours from Montréal) and there’s this enjoyable side of the band that’s related to the harsh natural aspect of their region such as the closer “Baribal enragé” (enraged black bear). The song starts with a man being attacked and eaten alive/dismembered by a bear and that’s pretty freaking metal. The wild is a pretty cool theme and should be used more often by metal bands.

I do dig this highly groovy version of death metal even if I do think it got a bit samey, variety was not needed here, don’t get me wrong but there’s not a lot of you can do with the genre without fully changing its textures. The intent of this 37 minutes record was to bury you alive and the duration is just fine enough to do that. I think the guitars are a bit too mechanical at times but I do enjoy the quasi lack of useless solos, an aspect that many death metal seems to favor a bit too much most of the time, there’s some well placed like in the opener but they never go overboard.

The production recalls the mid 90s old school death metal, the heydays for the genre and while I mostly hear the American influences, there’s a some nice touches of Swedish goodness here (Grave? Unleashed?). It’s not ground breaking but it’s well done Québécois violent death metal executed with care, precision and with the the might of a 500 pounds black bear devouring your limbs like they were pork sausages. Pretty good debut album.
Thanks to PRC Music for the promo copy

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Metal Bounty Hunter: Volume 6

Yellow Eyes – Sick with Bloom (2015) / 79%
Gilead Media
"Behind Yellow Eyes" - Fred Durst

New York is definitely a hot bed for “hipster” black metal with Krallice at the forefront (sup Colin Marston) and Yellow Eyes fits the scene. While I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of dissonant black metal, I do appreciate the genre and I don’t think it’s the worst thing to ever happen to the underground. While not as discordant and “technical” as Krallice, Yellow Eyes do share a lot of similarities with them in the way they compose their songs and riffs. Their six compositions are all somewhat on the long side with loads of well written riffs and buried yet enjoyable typical screams. While not an atmospheric band per se, tracks like “The Mangrove, The Preserver” explores a more natural territory than most of their counterparts without turning too much into hippie/tree lovers like Wolves in the Throne Room or Skagos. Nonetheless, the excellent closer “Ice in the Spring” certain has this forest feel with its ethereal outro full of cicadas and subtle acoustic guitar

Band members Will and Sam Skarstad (no, it’s not a Viking metal band) self produced the album and they were able to retain this vivid raw sound and it was for the best, really. I can’t wait to see these guys in Montréal when they’ll play with Forn.

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Witchthroat Serpent – Sang-dragon (2016) / 54%

Deadlight Entertainment

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XVI: Cloning

The big trend in doom metal right is to sound like Electric Wizard. This French trio is quite good at it, perhaps too good even. The main problem of this scene is the fixation on the SOUND and the AMPS. I mean it’s one of the reasons it’s getting more and more popular with the non traditional metal crowds. It’s LOUD music. If you know your doom, you’ll get nothing new with Witchthroat Serpent, even their name is inspired by the used, unoriginal tropes of the genre. What you’re getting here is the standard doom/stoner clean vocals (not as buried as usual) with heavy, mid-paced to slow riffing and efficient bluesy solos. I mean, it’s not bad at all, it’s even pretty good sometimes (“Into the Black Wood”) but it’s just mundane. There’s too many bands playing this style and the scene is saturated. Be an innovator, not a follower. If you can’t wait for the next EW album, check this out.

Altarage – NIHL (2016) / 93%
Iron Bonehead/Doomentia Records/Sentient Ruin Laboratories

Basque annihilation

I really liked Altarage’s debut demo (both tracks reappear here) released last year and I was expecting something great for their debut full length, I’m far from disappointed. This is perhaps the heaviest and most insane album of the year, it’s mindblowing good. It’s primitive death/black metal with a strong war metal attitude, they’re usually in an insane crushing vibe but they can deliver on the occult atmospheric side as well (such as the debut of “Graehence”). As expected, the drumming is super fast, the guitars are so loud and heavy that their sound just creates a loud but totally blissful and enjoyable mess. Sure, it’s repetitive but so is life, death is the only solution and these guys certainly kill everything they encounter.

Think of Adversarial but add some grind intensity, a more vicious attitude and an additional thickness and you wouldn’t be too far from what Altarage plays. Their music and pummeling guitars are so intense that NIHL becomes some sort of trance experience that will nail you to your chair Nightmarish music that would make our ancestors kill themselves out of fear. All hail nihilism, the Earth is doomed anyway.

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Geryon – The Wound and the Bow (2016) / 83%

Profound Lore Records

Bass n' drums abstract exploration

This band formed by the rhythm section of Krallice (yes, them again) is quite interesting. It’s some sort of bass and drums exploration into cacophonous experimental death metal. They’re like Neoandertals if the Estonian band wasn’t terrible and hilarious. The bass playing of McMaster is perfect in all its dissonant glory, as a novice (if I can call myself a novice at all) bass player, it’s fun to hear the instrument at the forefront. Compared to what I’ve heard from the debut, this is more experimental and less than trying to play death metal without guitars. The drumming of Weinstein is jazzy and full of subtleties, he really shows how good he is on the closer “Dioscuri” and its long extended instrumental moments. There’s not a lot of vocals but when McMaster sings, it’s deep vitriolic harsh vox with a sludgey feel. It's meditative, entrancing material with a simple and uncomplicated yet technical approach, I think the cover art done by the bassist/vocalist is a good representation of how abstract the whole thing is.

It may seem like a pretentious fest played by NY snobs but it’s actually highly emotional in the same sense that improvisational jazz can be, it’s metal that’s free of conventions, rigid ideas of what the “metaldom” should be and should like. It “transcends” labels and isn’t for the narrow minded. Post-black? Avant-garde? Experimental? Who cares, it’s intelligent and well played.

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