Owl – You Are the Moon, I Am the Night (2013) | 83%

“No regret! No retrospection!”

Christian Kolf is one of the most interesting musicians in the modern German metal scene. Fronting the weird doom/death band Valborg which is constantly releasing strong albums since their inception in the early 2000s and the excellent psychedelic sludge/whatever band Woburn House, he's a busy man. Owl is another project of his and it's still top notch metal, they're at their second full length stage and I feel they improved compared to their 2011 debut. Before continuing, I'd like to warn you that if you don't like long ass songs, just go back to your safe ten songs for forty minutes death metal album and be comfortable in your conservatism.

The approach found on “You Are the Moon, I Am the Night” is rather unique, it evolved from their self titled album into something more refined. It's exploring the realms of death metal but at the same time, incorporating enjoyable, exterior influences. Their basis remains death metal and it sounds like if Morbid Angel found a bigger brain or Nile got kicked out of their Egyptian McDonald. It has a very grandiose concept and an epic sort of riffing with a great guitar tone

The vocals of Kolf are deep and cavernous, akin to Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel, they definitely get the job done even though Kolf is first and foremost a composer, you can hear the similarity found in his other bands but transferred into a death metal setting compared to the mixes of . These rough vocals can be catchy and they sometimes rely on repetitions of lines to prove their point like “I will destroy you!” on the title track. Quite visceral! Outside of the harsh vocals, there's some profound but not cheesy cleans. Furthermore, the title track features a strange semi harsh, sludgey and almost spoken word French, it seemed to be poetry and it felt familiar but it appears to be original lyrics, they're quite good too. A romantic metaphor about the sun and the moon, very adapted to their profound music.

The album starts with two monster tracks, the eighteen minutes title track and the fourteen minutes “Clouds of the Mourning Spring”. Both very intricate and atmospheric songs full of nuances. The release ends with an ambient track just like it did on their previous album but fortunately this time, it's fortunately only fourteen minutes rather than half an hour, thank Satan for that. I like ambient but this was simply too much for me, after ten minutes, we got the message.  Nevertheless, there's still a tendency of being simply too atmospheric. I can't help to think that the last ambient track is unnecessary, Kolf has an ambient band called Gruenewald, I reckon he could keep these influences for this project instead. Still, the ambient influence is incorporated into their sound on the three metal tracks, it's certainly a part of their identity. Structurally speaking, it's not the most cohesive album, there's even a one minute interlude that would had been integrated easily in one of the other tracks. It's a bit too loose and could benefit from a tighter direction.

They can be compared to state brothers The Ruins of Beverast in a sense that they're dissecting their genres while adding instrumental, hypnotizing and emotional parts. They're both using various elements to develop their approach and in the case of mister Kolf, he's not scared of diving into atmospheric sludge/post metal to get what he's looking for. That's reflected by the cultoflunesque production and the coldness of the riffs. There's no place for long leads that are giving their sometimes overpaid place to clean guitar parts that are creating interesting background soundscapes. This mix of hard hitting slow and doomy death with sludge influences is really damn enjoyable and the songs don't feel like they're twenty minutes long.

Owl is for adventurous listeners who have a desire for for a subtle, progressive and atmospheric death metal recipe. It's still keeping the sense of dread the genre is known for but it's making it airy and dreamy. Like an owl, it's living in the dark shades of the night, waiting for a naive prey to appear. Bringing it to its nest to be devoured, lifeless.

It's recommended even though they could remove the fat from their sound but then the project wouldn't be that justified since Valborg already explores a tighter doom/death sound albeit with a twisted behaviour. It's an uncompromising album proving once again that death metal can think outside of the box and be particularly inventive. Owl is fighting the old school death metal scene while also being free from the constraints of a modern and technical sound which is overcompensating with solos and noodling. Comparable to Portal, the Germans are relying on building frameworks made out of unorthodox structures and influences. Owl, on the other hand, creates something with a sense of familiarity, it's not as discordant and unapproachable.

Owl FB
The CD is sold out but you can get the digital album here

Aktor - I Am the Psychic Wars (2013) | 90%

A reference to Circle's "Katapult" album maybe?

NWOFHM #6 : Films Aktors Guild 

Thanks to my metal god friend Azmodes for the vinyl rip of this release, I owe you big time. NWOFHM is a term coined by Lehtisalo during his career, it's to reflect his love for metal and his country, Finland.

"As the wind blows my breath away, are you listening to me?"

Formed by one of my favourite musical heroes around, Jussi Lehtisalo and, to my surprise, the American extraordinary gentleman Chris Maycock (aka Professor Black of Dawnbringer, High Spirits, Pharaoh). Aktor is another weird Finnish project created by the Circle leader that will probably, to my consternation, go unnoticed. 

Maycock is bringing his awesome and fun voice to Lehtisalo's idiosyncratic song writing  What we have here is a perfect mix of High Spirits (a very pleasant band) with the insane experimental heavy metal approach developed in Krypt Axeripper, a project that if you didn't know yet, I totally adore. While the American is not known for his powerful voice (he's a composer more than everything else), I think he's a very nice addition here. His soft and easy listening voice fits quite well with the great riffs and he's able to transpose the weird vocal lines into something truly tangible.  The choruses are fun and the lyrics are super good and totally understandable.

Their first release akin to another metal project of the crazy Finn called Tractor Pulling, is a short single with two songs but goddamn, I think I pressed the repeat button forty times since I first got it. Perhaps this length seems a bit restrictive in terms of what you can achieve musically but under the flair of these seasoned musicians, it doesn't really matter. It's a great release and one of the best metal releases the Finnish psych/experimental guru has done.

The single is mixing melodic heavy metal with the usual weird leads that you can hear in most NWOFHM with an healthy dose of AOR and hard rock à la Blue Oyster Cult (hence the title of the release, I hope you guys got it before I told you!). Both songs, the title track and “Buried by the Sea” (which is maybe a following to Krypt Axeripper's “Sacrifice the Sea”?) are short three minutes and a half tracks, they're both very catchy with undeniable and mesmerizing hooks. There’s an added poppier sound here thanks to the sufficient amount of keyboards giving an “heavy prog”  or almost electro vibe perspective and the clean vocal delivery of the Professor. It’s more accessible than bands like Motorspandex or Arkhamin Kirjasto, it’s still eccentric but it’s maybe not as bizarre as some other projects. It's a bit similar to the new incarnation of Circle called Falcon which also released their debut in 2013 but Aktor is actually a full blown metal band

This single is highly recommended for fans of traditional metal with a personal and interesting touch. It's very melodic and has nice classic and glam rock influences. Aktor is one of the best collaborations I heard recently and it was a pleasant to hear these two seasoned and respected musicians play together. Lehtisalo proves once again that he's a true underrated metal warrior by delivering yet another solid release. I can't dislike anything that emanates from his creative and joyful mind. Spend seven minutes in good company!

Listen to the whole single here uploaded by yours truly.

Buy the single on Ektro Records

Borrowed Time - Borrowed Time (2013) | 91%

Superb album art done by Shagrat of Acid Witch, it reminds me of Running Wild a little.

More sand in the diamond encrusted hourglass

"The past and present are but one component”

Detroit, such a desolate wasteland, money did ravages there and Nicklas Lidstrom retired,  what's left to enjoy? The new album of Eminem? Well, the Tigers and the Lions are pretty good... But screw sports, we're here for metal, right? Concerning that music style, Borrowed Time is there for y'all. Formed in the year of the shark 2010, the American band released a bunch of demos, splits and extended plays before this year, the year metal traditionalists were expecting, the year they finally released their first full length. This self titled album is perhaps the best debut album heavy metal has seen since...Well, I don't know, since a while at least!

I really discovered them in 2012 when they played in Montréal for the first time alongside Cauchemar, Demontage, Occultation and Metalian (what an amazing lineup!). I knew the name but I had yet to listen to them and I was utterly pleased with their performance. I had high expectations for their first album and I'm absolutely not disappointed by the outcome.

Led by Jean-Pierre Abboud, the only constant member of the lineup, his silky falsettos are of the purest heavy traditions and they're certainly in the major league. His delivery is pristine, subtle and powerful. He's able to mix emotional and almost romantic intonations like on “Dawn for the Glory Rider” and he really shines on “Of Nymph and Nihil”, a balladesque track and perhaps the best song released in 2013 (yes, believe me.). He's also using a rougher voice from time to time to indicate you're not listening to a HammerFallesque cheesefest. J-P is more charismatic than skilled even though he has chops, he's no Harry Conklin but who really is at his level?

This band has one of the best lyrical and artistic approach the genre has to offer. The lyrics are about as deep and well written as you can read from a band taking its inspiration from fantasy and literature. They owe that to Manilla Road, a band that everyone worthy should at least worship a little, Borrowed Time definitely do, they covered the classic “Necropolis” on their demo to prove their adherence to the Road club. The great cover art represents the band very well, it shows a certain distinction and intellectualism that isn't much present in most metal genres. Don't think I spit on metal, I do like unsubtle stuff like “Painkiller”, it's encompassing the passion and primal energy of the music but I always had an inclination for truly well written and researched lyrics, somewhat like Virgin Steele did with their exhaustive conceptual albums. Borrowed Time are not quite there yet but it's way more interesting than singing about tits and bikes all the time. I mean, hell, we know it's cool, no need to prove you can party all night long and can withstand a night of hard boning with groupies. 

Music wise, the band runs a very tight ship. It's full of solos, great bass lines and energy. Victor Ruiz and Matt Preston are great guitarists and their leads are efficient and even if they're numerous, they don't feel like they're all over the place. The album is as intricate as its cover art, full of little details that you'll be able to hear even after your fifth or sixth hearing. Mixed up with a knack for mysticism, the music is heavy but it also can be joyous at times like “Pygmalion” with its catchy vocals. The album is composed of nine tracks but two of them are short one minutes interludes that serve as segues into the next songs like “Dark Hearted...” which is an introduction for “Libertine”. To be honest, it's not the best composition for a track-list, it doesn't quite affect the cohesion that much but it's  cluttering the album. They don't really fit into the next songs themselves since they're instrumental and would lead to the longer songs being longer and boring. Outside of these unnecessary but still pretty good short tracks, the band delivers three very epic songs from six to seven minutes and they're very apt at building interesting tempos and atmospheres like on the great closer “A Titan's Chain”. This last track has some pacing issues near the middle but that's something easily fixed with some experience, it's after all their debut album.

The influence of the beloved NWOBHM, a scene that is now trendy in the underground is obvious. Plenty of bands are getting back together to play festivals such as Keep It True and Muskelrock or even release great comeback albums like Satan did this year with “Life Sentence”. This return to the roots is a good thing since most of the bands are decent but we're already starting to to scrape the barrel. Borrowed Time takes its influence from the epic branch of the British scene with bands like Cloven Hoof, Elixir or the long tracks Iron Maiden is well known for. Nonetheless, the band is still American, taking inspiration from the fantasy inclined cult bands like Longings Past. I think epicness could be a feature that they could expand, but in the meantime, they both nail the fast, heavy tracks like “The Thaumaturgist” and the epic ones.

Perhaps not as good and adventurous as In Solitude's new album “Sister”, “Borrowed Time”, while conservative, does everything right. It wasn't a rushed album, the band took its time. The production is way better than on their other releases and it helped the band in its noble quest.

To my dismay, I've read probably what is the worst review I've ever read on a “professional” website. A review written by a random girl on Metal Temple, it compared Borrowed Time's sound to Van Halen and King Diamond and made Metalocalypse jokes. Huuur. A lot of people don't seem to grasp what traditional metal is and should be. The fact this website employs such terrible reviewers is quite bad for the scene. Everyone can write such bullshit on the internet, creating inaccuracies and spreading awful and wrong information. What I tried to accomplish with this rant? Maybe asserting that heavy metal is now perhaps a niche more than ever and it has to face the incomprehension of modern metal fans who are clueless on its origins and its developments and drench in mediocrity.

“What will be? Tell me great vizier”

...The future of American traditional metal, their sound represents the evolution of the genre and even though it doesn't have the “oh my god, we have bell bottoms and weird hats!” sound of the vintage rock/metal revival nor the characteristic sleek and tasteless sound of many heavy/power bands signed on major labels who don't give a fuck about honesty and are trend surfers. Alongside bands like Dawnbringer or newcomers Eternal Champion, Borrowed Time delivers pure metal with a flair for emotions of the highest instance. They do it with ease and carefulness and they'll harvest the fruits of their labour.

Essential. Don't borrow it, buy it.

Borrowed Time's Facebook page

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

Dying From Fucking Lego

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

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

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

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

Download the demo here

Steel Mammoth - Radiation Funeral (2011) | 83%

NWOFHM #5: Nuclear Metal Transitioning

Steel Mammoth is yet another project with Jussi Lehtisalo in its rank, perhaps the most occupied musician in Finland and he really created a scene of his own outside of the Finland conventions. Compared to most of his other metal projects, this one is a full band comprised of two Seremonia members and the drummer of Arkhamin Kirjasto. Jussi handles the guitars, basses and vocals alongside Ville Pirinen (Seremonia, Garfield Steel...).

Steel Mammoth is one of Jussi's most prolific projects outside of Circle. And speaking of this seminal psychedelic rock band, I have no idea what happened to it in 2013. It seems the band has split into two separate entities. One with the usual members formed Falcon (ex-Circle), a AOR/hard rock band while Circle is now composed of metal musicians (Speedtrap, Stench of Decay). It's simply weird like everything he and his label Ektro records do, Jussi is definitely a tough guy to follow but I do my best to keep my head out of the darkness.

This project has many albums but the first four releases weren't metal, they explored psychedelic and stoner rock but they still had this gritty and aggressive approach. The typical NWOFHM touch was also quite present, it was quirky, weird and had the unique riffs and basslines of Jussi. They had this 70s vintage, garage rock vibe that was quite cool, it was somewhat like Graveyard but with an original twist.

But two years after the excellent “Nuclear Ritual”, the band released this album “Radiation Funeral” and it marked a change of sound. Akin to the sky after a nuclear war aftermath, the sound became darker and they joined the ranks of Krypt Axeripper, Arkhamin Kirjasto or Motorspandex on the Metal Archives. Their riffs became heavy as fuck and the vocals as metal as a rusty cheese grater. The influence of the unholy trio composed of Venom, Bathory and Motorhead was integrated into their psychedelic basis and it's freaking refreshing. This combined with an healthy dose of punk and some doom metal made this record a pretty fun one.

It can compared to the extreme metal attack of Arkhamin Kirjasto but more gritty and less experimental and weirdly catchy. It's heavy/thrash/punk played in the Jussi Lehtisalo fashion so it still sounds pretty out there! Their songwriting formula is fairly simple, nine songs for thirty minutes of music, it's certainly a blistering, nasty attack. The opener “2000” sets high standards for the rest of the album but there's certainly no fillers here. The bass is loud, the drumming is energetic and it's fucking fun. It's not only a change of sound, it's rather an evolution since they retained the elements that made them cool and original and added an old school metal vibe. It's rare to see non metal bands evolving towards the metalness, it's often the opposite, bands become wimpier since they're grown ups now. Well, fuck growing up, I'll eat pop tarts with my imperial stout if I want to.

Steel Mammoth's later days are a good counterpart to the experimental heavy metal approach of Jussi's other metal projects. I'm radiated but I don't care.

Steel Mammoth on Facebook
Ektro Records

Oppression - Silence! (2012) | 81%

Randonneurs métal punks

Oppression is the new project of Sovannak (leader of the excellent weird black metal project Putamen Insula, read my review of their last album here: click me ) and Lord Draconis of Return to Nothingness (never heard them). “Silence!” is their first release and it's a very good sixteen minutes slap in the face with a combat boot.

The band is pretty interesting, they're mixing black metal, punk, oi and even martial music plus some post punk influences in a very potent musical formula. Not unlike Putamen Insula, they have a very radical thematic approach exploring nonconformist, violent anarchist views that are somewhat not typical of black metal bands but more prevalent in crust or punk circles.

The vocals of Sovannak (he's not handling the guitars this time) are probably the highlight of this release. Combining quite competent traditional black metal screeches full of venom and spite with airy, almost folkloric clean vocals. The clean vocals are sometimes only a support to the songs, often without lyrics like on “L'appel de la bête” or an integral part of their sound like on “Sous une épaisse couche de fumée”. The melodic punk influence is perhaps coming from French bands like Bérurier Noir or from the cult Québécois band Banlieue Rouge. Mixing this punk sound with lo-fi black metal is quite enjoyable.

Their combination isn't unnatural, their riffs are catchy, simple and sufficiently heavy for the band to be considered somewhat metal, albeit it's almost a 50%/50% recipe. “Tuer” is a pretty metallic track but nonetheless, there's an unity in the songwriting so it's perceived as a whole and not as disconnected parts with clean vocals intertwined with harsher moments.

The production of “Silence!” isn't as raw as you could expect from a limited to 100 copies tape release. It's lo-fi, yes but not crappy and it's more like “anarchist café” than “bedroom” black metal. The harsh vocals are a bit buried at times but it's necessary for the genre, the cleans on the other hand are nice and well recorded, the melodies got stuck in my head for a while.

Overall, a cool first demo from Oppression. I actually just came back from a gig they did and their new songs are also pretty cool, they seemed to be punkier as well, let's follow that band!

The tape is still available on certain distros such as CW Productions, Found Dead (for Euros), Tour de Garde...But Sovannak gave me his permission to include a downloadable link for my readers

Download "Oppression - Silence!" for free, buy it if you like it!

Call of the Wild - Young Wolves (2013) | 77%

Rooooaaaaaaaar

This young pack of wolves from Toronto released this EP back in February are a pretty enjoyable traditional metal band with very awesome chops. Led by the charismatic guitarist Cyndi Zhang who's as sexy as talented, Call of the Wild once again proves that Toronto is the heavy metal Mecca of Canada. The Chinese immigrant has composed everything in the purest Steveharriseque version and this really helped for the cohesive feel of the extended play.

The four songs, seventeen minutes release is driven by powerful & precise leads delivered by Zhang and Tom Stanley who are a quite nice guitar duo. Bordering on shred, the solos are definitely one of the highlights of their sound. They got nothing to envy to the legendary bands and compared to many “OH MY GOD SOLOHS!” bands like Dragonforce, their solos are substantial and they have this natural vibe. Their riffs are very solid as well, it's pretty damn fast and they keep things interesting during the numerous leads. The beginning of “Young Wolves Rising” has these pretty awesome leads, encompassing epicness within its traditional length. The band has the skills to pull off more intricate material and I wish they'll expand their sound in this direction. They could certainly pull off six or seven minutes tracks with ease.

Not as vintage as their city brothers of Axxion or Phantom, the NWOBHM influence is still there but the band has an unequivocal modern feel a bit like Skull Fist has. There's a big speed metal influence too CotW's vocals are not as sugary and not as high. Power Serg's delivery is forceful and manlier than some other singers of similar bands who sometimes could be mistaken for eunuchs if their jeans weren't tight. He's pretty good and sings the decent, entertaining lyrics written by Zhang, he's yet another very good tool that the band has.

The four songs are all around the four minutes mark, there's no fillers and no ballads. The catchiest track is the shortest one “Hang 'Em High” with its short bass lead at the start. The Canadians are very tight and not only the lead guitarists are competent, the rhythm section as well.

Unfortunately, In a really competitive heavy metal market, nothing really stands out in their music, nothing sucks either. It's generic but very professional and worth the time if you're a fan of the genre and definitely worth what you can give them on Bandcamp. Solid stuff but I feel they have yet to find their true identity, let's wait for their first full length, I'm sure it will be pretty awesome.

CotW on Facebook