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.

Illusions Dead - Celestial Decadence (2016) / 81%

Death/black metal à la Finn

I used to dig melodic death metal a lot when I was getting into metal, I know I’m not an unique snowflake or anything but I really liked Dark Tranquillity (still do even if their latest two albums were mediocre) and the good stuff of In Flames before they were ruined forever. Nevertheless, this genre is pretty stale and unsurprising these days though, most of the legendary players are either retired, goddamn awful or playing it too safe and the young veterans and newcomers try to mix things up but it doesn’t work well most of the time (I’m looking at you, Ghost Brigade). Finland’s Illusions Dead like many of their compatriots are combining genres but they do it in a compelling and interesting way.

Their music could be described by dividing it into these four main components:

1) Firstly, the old school death metal aspect of their music is not overshadowed by the presence of dull unctuous and easily marketable by Nuclear Blast melodeath. You can definitely here the influence of proto technical death masters Immolation in the guitar playing of band leader Johannes Katajamäki (who unsurprinsingly wear a shirt of Ross Dolan’s band on his Metal Archives page). His vocal approach is also quite cavernous and would fit the compositions of most pure death metal bands.

2) Secondly, there’s also a large amount of Scandinavian melodic eath metal elements on Illusions Dead’s album. There’s the intensity of At the Gates and they mix mighty riffs with an added melodic flair to them, it’s not exactly melodic death metal per se, I mean it’s not freaking Insomnium and I’m glad they’re not or else I’d be too sleepy to finish this review. It’s death metal that’s melodic, a genre that Argholescent of Intestine Baalism. The guitars stay incicisive but they give a lot of variety to the listeners and it’s all because the parts are well composed and played, there’s no gimmicks here. A good example of the melodic side of the Finns would be the track “Shadow and Flame”

3) Thirdly, there’s some 90s melodic black metal here, it’s not just death metal even if this genre is the predominant ingredient of their metal. It’s hard to pinpoint the influences but it’s there, I don’t see the need to namedrop several other bands here!

4) Finally, being from Finland, they just couldn’t resist the famous melodic death/doom sound and they had to incorporate some of this style into their debut album. The longest song of the record “Revolution (Celestial Spheres)” turns into a mournful affair after a rapid start. It’s a good slow death metal track!

Celestial Decadence is a strong debut album, it shows a high level of musicianship paired with an ear for efficient songwriting and a “less is more” approach.

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Skyless Aeons - The Era of Famine (2016) / 80%

Satiated melodic extreme metal

The first extended play of this Canadian quartet from Ontario is quite impressive. The young men are playing a mix of many metal styles while showcasing their excellent musicianship pushed forward by a professional production.

There’s a rich diversity to Skyless Aeons’ music even though their material is cohesive and doesn’t feel the need to go into extra clean, girlfriend metal territories to get their point across. The four tracks (all between seven to eleven minutes) are progressive affairs without too much flush. The guitars of Nicholas Luck alternates between early 90s tremolos, a modern dissonant approach to black metal and an healthy dose of melancholic Nordic melodic death metal and he plays everything well.

Their sound is accessible (in metal terms, of course, this is still extreme metal) but not too polished. Nonetheless, they could benefit from adding a second guitar to the band as their sound could become even more emotionally complex but still, Luck is everywhere and that’s not really a complaint. It would certainly help them to transfer their intensity to the live setting (I’m saying that but I’ve never seen them live so take that with a grain of salt). The short, well placed solos are also tasteful and I think this side of the band could be expanded.

The vocals of Nate Ferreira are very freaking good, rough and earthy, they’re piercing and striking. The deep death metal inspired growls are one of the highlights of this record. He almost reminds me of British legends Dani Filth (but not as obnoxious) or Dave Hunt (listen to the first part of the title track). Despite the quality of the singer, I do think he’s overly present in the compositions. They should let the songs breathe a bit more. Maybe Ferreira had too much to say? I liked his lyrics though, they’re mostly about we suck as a society and how the earth is doomed.

Watch as our culture crumbles to dust  The earth overpowers our greed and our lust 

They’re a solid instrumental band so it would be enjoyable to get more extended musical sections especially since they compose lengthy numbers. The short introduction of “Contrived Into Form” reminded me of The Gallery era of Dark Tranquillity and that’s certainly a good thing.

It’s a shame that they’re still unknown as they should be opening the tours of Insomnium and the likes, in fact they should probably tour with Be’lakor since the Australians definitely are one of their main inspirations. One of the best new Canadian bands, for sure. They shouldn’t have to show their buttholes to anyone to get some recognition, they’re talented and heir mix of influences feels relatively fresh. They have my full support.

Support the band by buying their album on Bandcamp.

Eternium - Repelling A Solar Giant (2013) | 85%

Fed to the flames.

Markov Soroka is one talented young man, at only seventeen years old, this release is his debut full length album with Eternium, a band he formed on his own in 2011. He also has 2 solo projects on the side, Slow (funeral doom) and Aureole (black metal) both also very promising. He's definitely a motherfucker to watch in the near future. Now with all the necessary tools (a full band including a keyboardist) he needed to fully transfer the musicality of the project in a live setting, his troop and him are ready to attack the ears of the inferno beast. Can you handle the fire?

Repelling A Solar Giant is a concept album but don't be afraid, there's no shitty and useless interludes telling you a story with two or three low budget Patrick Stewart impersonators. The whole tale is composed of these 6 “auras” and the songwriting, deep and rich, is truly impressive coming from someone that age. The songs ranging from five to ten minutes are all pretty dense albeit a bit too much for their own sake sometimes. I must admit that I know Markov pretty well and his influences are obvious to me but nevertheless, this is its own thing. It's assiduously mixing the melodic might of Swedish black/death metal à la Dissection and Sacramentum with the powerful edge of Amon Amarth and the symphonic approach of early Cradle of Filth and Emperor. Mixing these sounds is no simple task, you really need to be a talented songwriter to pull that off like Soroka did here and for a debut album, consider this band to be an active and important player of this genre's future.

The lyrical side is quite complex and based on an actual book Soroka wants to write. It's a sort of mythological essay about positive and negative gods and allegorical references to the sun (no, it's not a nationalist socialist band just because the leader is originally from Ukraine, don't generalize damnit.). But you can easily ignore the fact it's a story if you want, I rarely care about concept albums myself, it's almost akin to a plot in a porno most of the time, who cares! I'm here for the music and/or the titties.

Symphonic metal should actually be a mix of metal riffs and classical elements, not a destruction of your senses with a Casio keyboard and a Bach poster laying on your wall. The symphonic elements here, even though they obviously don't have the overblown budget Dimmu Borgir has (admit it Shagrath, you spend most of it on hookers and costumes anyway), are very good. The ending of “Aura Sentium” is tasty and has this awesome violins, it's a good conclusion to an emotionally charged song.

Riffs. Riffs are also important and compared to Fleshgod Apocalypse' latest shite of an album, Eternium has them. From mid paced to fast, the band has an impressive but subtle diversity, the songwriting has the ability to have such a clear direction that the album feels like a massive, united brick thrown in your face. The musicianship is quite good too, some more solos could had been written for the album though but nonetheless, it's pretty tight and has some cool clean guitars intertwined with the orchestrations. The drums are overproduced and in your face but the drummer has been replaced so I guess the band fixed that issue?

Soroka's vocals are mostly good but I feel it's the weakest link here. His delivery, not yet as optimal as it will be in the future (that's for sure since I know he's a workaholic and will try to improve everything) is still decent but there's still some weird vocal pattern choices. I'm fine with whispered,harsh & spooky vocals but when the hilarious,silly and theatrical Danifilthesque laughing entered my ears, I wasn't very pleased. Don't get me wrong, he has a good throat but he's first and foremost a guitarist and composer. The main negative point of the album is the omnipresence of the vocals, there's so many, you can't almost breathe since it's so loaded. It's almost like if George R.R. Martin decided to put the content of three A Song of Ice and Fire books into one, give us a break dude. Sometimes less is more. Markov, please, don't recite full novels on the next album. I'm sure you can contact someone if you want to read audiobooks.

The production, thoroughly improved compared to the demo where the leader handled everything by himself, is still a bit lacking in punch, especially in the guitars department. There's apparently 2 guitars but it's kind of muffled by the sound. It just doesn't sound as professional as the gorgeous but overtly modern cover art and its video game role playing game look. Eternium probably needs the kind of bombastic, sleek productions that make wannabee ex-Watain fans shivers, the kind of production a band like fellow Dissection worshippers Thulcandra has. I don't doubt they can get one too with a first album of this calibre.

If you don't mind the modern sounds of symphonic, melodic black/death, you'll unequivocally dig Eternium. Even if they could be the sons of the members of Dark Tranquillity, their sound is already more mature than the later releases of the Swedish veterans. Along with Starkill, they're the best new blood the American scene has produced since a while that isn't shitty metalcore apparently influenced by At the Gates or sludge metal with a cajun smell.

Get this, Markov needs some money to eat and get better equipment. Oh, it's also very good and it has a shitload of potential.

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The End of Six Thousand Years - Perpetuum (2012) | 85%

Tomato sauce constellation

Oh Italy, the land of pasta, expensive cars and chest hair. The legendary country also has a vivid and varied metal scene and TEoSTY is one of the most diverse band I heard recently. Modernity has its fair share of good things and I believe the genres the band succeeded at mixing together is pretty interesting.

Their sound is not divided into snippets like many progressive bands are doing. Ah, a black metal part here and then a three minutes acoustic interlude before a keyboard solo ? Nah, not here. The mix of melodic death metal, black metal, progressive sludge, post hardcore and even crust is a well digested amalgamation. It almost sounds like Cult of Luna fighting with Amon Amarth. Imagine that, sludge hipsters with dress shirts fighting fat vikings.

It may sound like metalcore sometimes but that's perhaps due to the combination of many distinct genres than to the will to play this kind of music. I'm not trying to justify that I like that because it's not metalcore but it doesn't feel like they're in the same ocean as many of the contemporary core bands. They prefer to dive into the sea with the likes of The Ocean (haha) or the aforementioned Cult of Luna but with a much more concise and heavier approach because of the death and black metal parts. The influence of post metal giants like Neurosis and Isis is also present in their sound but It's much more aggressive than your usual post band too due to these extreme tendencies. 

The vocals remind me of Aaron Turner a bit mixed with a death approach, they're well served by the solid and modern production and are rightfully in your face. I guess we could compare them to one of the other metalcore band I can appreciate, the German band Heaven Shall Burn but add the post hardcore elements to the equation. They're certainly one of the highlights of the album, strong and powerful they're a good complement to their music. The band made me think of At the Gates if they were hipsters and were fans of post metal.

The album, like I said, has a clear direction and while we can identify the many components of their sound, there's no obvious moments where you say to yourself : ''HA, Neurosis influenced that part!!!! ''. The genres are mixed so well that it's hard to qualify at first. It's still pretty dreamy in its own way, a darker approach embellished by thoughtful sludge and some black metal riffing such as in ''Cygnus''. The music is not technical, it's groovy and emotional, it has some pretty enjoyable almost shoegazey breaks such as in the longest track ''Gemini'' and the last almost Alcest-like track.

They're a pretty cool band with good songwriting skills that putting the atmosphere first and the technicality second. It's better than their debut too which was more core-ish and less influenced by post metal/hardcore, perhaps because it's four years ago and the band changed a lot since then. It's an evolution that I can get behind though! If you want to hear a band influenced by many metal schools that's succeeding at building their own sound. If you're not scared by their diverse approach, you'll appreciate Perpetuum.

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