Opium Warlords - Taste My Sword of Understanding (2014) / 88%

Well cooked doom with an experimental aftertaste

After Reverend Bizarre was laid to rest, Sami Hynninen decided to explore some pretty weird stuff such as the raw black metal of Armanenschaft or the minimal droney doom of The Puritan. Opium Warlords, a solo project of varied ambitions is now delivering its third offering to the goddess of doom. I'll admit I'm not quite fond of his post So Long Suckers except for his involvement in Spiritus Mortis and their marvellous album The God Behind the God but this album confirmed that he's not messing around anymore.

Taste My Sword of Understanding has been proclaimed as a more accessible album by Svart Records and it's definitely a fact. I don't dislike drone or experimental music but sometimes it's hard to accept that one of your favourite musician changed his style or simply isn't touching your taste like he used to before., “Doom Metal is Dead” was the demise motto when the Reverend was killed and while Kimi Kärki is keeping traditional doom alive with Lord Vicar, Hynninen branched out and investigated the insane. I'll say he's a pretty good detective since its new promo pictures are him wearing a tiger mask underneath a cloak in a forest. Nonetheless, this album is certainly not as fucked up as the first two of the project. While the seventy two minute release is perhaps its more varied opus to date, there's some filler that is cluttering the final result.

There's all kinds of slow here, eerie slow, crushing slow, psychedelic slow or even ballad slow. Nonetheless, I was a bit worried with the first two track since it's not my cup of tea. They three instrumental tracks are  riffier than the songs on We Meditate Under the Pussy in the Sky though.The opener “The Sadness of Vultures” is slow, plodding and the riff isn't very good,  the second instrumental track, the fifth song called “The Land Beyond the Pole” is better, the traditional doom bass line is tasty and the lo-fi aspect works. The last one on the album “Manisolas From Misandria” truly works though, it's pretty awesome and has this occult vibe and it's not cutting the flow of the album. These interludes could be seen as fillers but it gives the album  some breaks between the emotional rivers composing the sonic ocean of Sami's kingdom.

Illustrated by the esoteric lyrics, the album has this powerful somber aura. I always liked Sami's words, often giving the occult a silly yet endearing feeling. This time, it's pretty dark and spiritual, we only find our fun in the musical appreciation but there's still some lines of overt self indulgence as “pretentious doom” is even mentioned in “Mount Meru”. He's always been a mentally complex individual and his special lyrics are a big part of his projects' identity and this album is no exception. Vast, unsubtle as a fun elf on acid, it's a nice ride and even if it's not really taking itself seriously, it's intelligently done.

eh?

"Bring me your tears!!"

My excitement truly began with the second chapter “The Self-Made Man”, the twelve minutes song starts slowly, not quite differently from the two introductions. It takes its time to become awesome but the eight minute mark made me scream “Albert is fucking back!”. Deep, busy bass licks, heavy doom riffs, high clean charming, quasi operatic vocals, it's almost like someone revived the Reverend but he became more insane and forgot to take his meds for two or three months. The song that follows proves that, it's some sort of calm dirge with throaty harsh but comprehensible vocals, “The God In Ruins” almost has this depressive black metal vibe and I think it's quite wonderful, it gives the aforementioned variety an album of this length needs. This song goes back to the non full length releases of his old doom band where they probed other genres such as in the Harbinger of Metal seventy minutes long extended play! Furthermore, “The Solar Burial” contains some demented vocals mixed with haunted & whispered clean ones and there's also some ethnic or oriental influences thrown in the mix. It can almost remind me of the seminal world music explorers of Om as some parts don't have any guitars and are letting the bass flow freely, it has the same soothing yet entrancing flavour.

Nevertheless, this is surely not for doom newbies or those who suffer from some sort of attention deficit disorder. It's not a release that you'll listen to while doing your morning jogging (not that I do that sort of healthy activities!), it's reflective doom for adventurous people. Even though the album was composed between 1994 and 2009, it's very cohesive and it's a mix of the touch he mostly threw away in 2007 and some of the sounds characterizing his actual endeavours.

I would classify Taste My Sword... as experimental traditional doom, it's divergent enough from the Saint Vitus school to not be qualified as a return to Sami's roots and it's estranged enough from Live at Colonia Dignidad, the debut album of Opium Warlords to not be considered drone doom. The compositions were probably written before he got into drone and experimental, at least the ones approaching trad doom. The avant garde feel that was present on the first two albums is still here but minimally. It's more in the spirit than everywhere else. Sure it's unorthodox and out there but it's still done with the traditional doom atmosphere in mind.

The release won't change your opinion if you already hate his projects but for a fan, it feels like a fresh wind of change after his latest disappointing albums. I believe that Reverend Bizarre is dead and buried and this will have to do as a plaster on my gaping wounded void.

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Hades Archer - Penis Metal / 78%

Chilean Phallic Alloy Proclamation jajajajajajaja

Hades Archer from Chile is a cool band exploring the tumultuous sounds of extreme(ly) sexual metal. Led by Nabucodonosor III (not his real name!) who's playing everything except the drums, Hades Archer is surprisingly better than most people would expect even though this EP is named “Penis Metal”. Released before their two truly effective full lengths, this twelve minutes record is a cockslap to the face of metal fans worldwide and proves that the South Americans are the sickest metalheads on the planet.

Their brand of black metal blends both the old school attack of their continent, especially the unrelenting attacks of the Brazilians motherfuckers Sarcofago and Vulcano with this huge bestial influence coming from the Destroyer 666 and Blasphemy schools of riffs. Heinous, fast as fuck. violent black metal approaching black/death metal is what is delivered here. The songs are short, blistering attacks with well written heavy, aggressive riffs and simple yet catchy leads. The production is not quite raw for that kind of metal, it's almost professional and why the hell shouldn't it be! The guitars are ferocious, the drums just can't stop their vicious pummelling and the vocals are cavernous and apt at spouting the dirty, “insightful” lyrics (I think the song “Objeto” features the word “puta” 25 times!)

“PENIS METAL! PENIS METAL! PENIS METAL! PENIS METAL! PENIS METAL! FUCK!”

I dare you all not to sing that insanely stupid chorus! Metal is dumb and it's not for prude little soccer moms who's latest musical discovery is John Moyer, Hades Archer knows that and they do their best to be as kvlt and krieg as possible. Fuck intellectualism, we're not here for that. We're here to talk about penises, goats and Satan, you know, the important stuff. Their sound is the typical Nuclear War Now one, perverse troglodyte war metal metal once created by underachieving musicians who wanted to play heavy or thrash metal but didn't know how to tune their guitar or were too broke to buy a drum set not made of cardboard. It's rough but it's not amateur, there's a distinction to make. The songs are well crafted and they're highly melodic considering their style. It's of course very samey throughout its short length but if you wanted a neoclassical ten minutes instrumental song, you're listening to the wrong band, son.

Nabucodonosor is also in the excellent black/trash power trio Force of Darkness, a bit more my style than Penis Metal. Hades Archer is not as thrashy and it's way more abrasive and savage but without making any melodic or lo fi concessions. This EP, while not as good as “For the Diabolical Ages” or “The Curse Over Mankind” has nothing to be jealous about. It's a strong 10 minutes or a bit more if you have the version with the cool Sodom cover and it fucks right on your kitchen table, bareback style. If you like their style, you'll have a good time. Let the Penis Metal penetrate your head. Thrust me, cool shit.

LIVE REVIEW: Dopethrone, Zaum, Greys & Mountain Dust @Turbo Haus, March 22nd 2014

Spring supposedly arrived one day prior to this gig but the weather in Montréal didn't seemed to notice as it was snowing and it was still pretty cold. It was my first time at this Turbo Haus venue and it was quite enjoyable even if I was on my own for the evening. This nice place is located near the Bell Centre, home of the Montréal Canadiens, the best hockey team ever. The location is kind of secretive, I knew the address but turns out the building is huge and has many rooms, mostly rehearsal spaces. I've encountered a dude who told me the door number for this haus. The gig was supposed to start at 20:00 but the promoters were waiting for the second band to show up so it started a bit late.

The venue was very nice, the white walls are all richly decorated with esoterical and weird black drawings and it has a small bar with cheap beer. The crowd was good, maybe 80/100 people .
Turbo Haus on Facebook

At around 21:00, Mountain Dust started their set, all dressed in checkered shirts, these English dudes from Montréal are playing a pleasing sort of stoner rock with vintage and blues influences. Heavy on the organ and lap slide guitar, their bass was also quite loud. The guitar wasn't as present as much hence their affiliation to rock instead of metal even though it's still heavier live than on their sole studio recording I've found. They had some vocals isues but the venue is to blame for that, the singer had a nice southern, garage approach fitting their sound. Pretty cool band, I'll be waiting for their debut full length. I think the slide guitar and keyboard approach of the band is refreshing, I rarely think it's a good thing for the keys to be the focus of the music but for Mountain Dust, it works.

Mountain Dust on Facebook
7,5 on 10

The second band were Greys from Toronto, never heard of them before and I didn't do any research before the gig since it's fun to have surprises sometimes. After a trek in the US including some gigs at the popular South by Southwest festival in Texas, they were back in their own country. The four guys all look like clean cut kids straight from a nice suburbia but their music isn't bad, it's simply not a band that fits on this bill. They play some sort of fast, heavy, noisy post hardcore with good hooks. Their vocals were underwhelming though, a mix of classic emo screams and punk rock, they were a bit weak. They were ok, I guess, it's not a genre I'm interested in besides At the Drive-In. They'll release their debut album this summer if you're interested in that kind of music. I think gigs with three bands are the best ones, they were the one that wasn't needed for this evening.

Greys on Facebook
6/10

I know someone linked to the Swedish label I Hate records and he really wanted me to see Zaum, a band from Moncton, New Brunswick that the label recently signed and report how good was their show before the band trek the European continent with Ocean Chief. Simply by looking at the two dudes, you know it's gonna be heavy as fuck. The bassist/singer Kyle McDonald would automatically be a dwarf if we were doing some LARPing, he has a thick body and the enormous beard to go with it. The drummer, Chris Lewis looks like a bald viking ready to destroy two or three Christian abbeys.

Their stage setup was quite extraordinary and considering it was only their third gig ever, they already know how to truly move the crowd. They had a smoke machine, some lights (mostly red) and at least ten candles with their nice logo printed on them placed everywhere on the stage. They played three songs (their upcoming album has 4) and their set was around forty minutes. It was very atmospheric with a dreamy ambiance. I liked how the drummer was facing the bassist/vocalist, there's no need for guitars, suckers! Their sound is some sort of doom/stoner deeply inspired by Om, that's cool since it's a band whose music is rarely influencing newcomers. Zaum is heavier than Al Cisneros' band though, their bass licks are dirtier and there's a mix of harsh and clean vocals. Very good band and the crowd liked the performance.

8,5 on 10
Zaum on Facebook

Dopethrone closed the evening with their nasty sort of doom/stoner metal. They played many songs from this album like "Devil's Dandruff". Their mix of sludgey Eyehategod influences plus Electric Wizard heavy doom riffs is enjoyable albeit a bit samey after around forty minutes. Vincent Houde is a cool frontman with dreads flowing around and a mighty talent for riffing and soloing. The chemistry with his two friends is also apparent, they deliver intense material and they're used to do it. Their songs about drugs (from weed to heroin) and guns are pretty dope! I missed the last few songs, maybe 1 or 2, no idea as I was  pretty sick and my cold mixed with beer made me a bit dizzy. I know I'm not a metal warrior, tell your moms. I got their last album "III" for five bucks before their set, good price for sure, I was able to spend the rest of my 20 bucks bill on beer

8 on 10
Dopethrone on Facebook

A great evening with cool bands for dirt cheap is what we got here, that's what metal and rock is all about. Finding cool, unknown places to see bands while people are too busy talking how bad the weather is.

Electric Mud Generator - To the Disdain of Polyhymnia (2008) / 95%

The Union Jack Prog/Psych Metal pt. V: Eloquence

Tony's notes: Polyhymnia was the muse of poetry, eloquence, dance and agriculture in Greek Mythology. Now, I don't know what this band did to deserve her disdain but I'm pretty sure it's undeserved as this album is truly magniloquent and refined in its heaviness.

Electric Mud Generator can be considered as the band before A Forest of Stars, as the three members of this British project evolved towards that psychedelic multi-member troop. Instead of the weird circus atmospheric black metal sound of their younger brother, EMG plays a very interesting kind of progressive music intertwined with stoner and doom elements.

The songs are very long, approximately fifteen minutes each for more than seventy minutes of music and there's nothing wasted since I think that everything on the record has its purpose and we can't say that often for long albums. The structure of the album reminds me of Opeth's classic record Morningrise with its full-fledged sinuous epics. The quality of the compositions, the appropriation of the lengthy songs to their advantage and the use of acoustic guitars and keys can also be compared to the Swedish giants. Considering Åkerfeldt's baby is perhaps my favourite band, consider me flabbergasted by the degree of excellence demonstrated by the Englishmen on this record.

The vocals of Duncan Evans can recall the soothing side of modern Anathema, but make no mistake, this is still pretty damn metal. I think there's also a slight hint of grunge here, or at least a drop of Alice in Chains. It's weird since it reminds me of Jerry Cantrell's two latest albums both released after Polyhymnia, but eh, the metal world is magic! Maybe it's only the vocal sensibilities mixed with the hard hittin' riffing since there's nothing intrinsically progressive found in grunge.

Electric Mud Generator are undeniably English in essence, even though the influences are really not easy to pinpoint. Nonetheless, you can feel the classic side of the British sound. The progressive side seems to be minimally influenced by bands like Gentle Giant or even the 70s glory days of Rush. They're certainly all over the place musically and that's a joy to hear since it's sharply cohesive. That's perhaps the biggest strength showcased by the trio. It's hard to really classify them, there's no real links to the stoner genre apart from the groovy guitars found here and there. The line between doom and stoner here is pretty thin but you can hear the influence of Solstice (UK of course) in the epic fabric of their identity, there's a similarity in the dichotomy found in the mix of epic, clean vocals and the acoustic parts with the doom metal riffs not unlike in Rich Walker's songwriting. It's not so much an influence on the sound of EMG but rather in the structural identification. The solos such as the ones in the fabulous opening track “Galatea” are refined and can be linked to heavy metal and even, to a lesser degree, the hey days of 90s English doom/death.

The riffs can be melodic such as the groovy six minute track “She Wore Thorns”, but most of the guitar parts are emotional and driven by long instrumental sections that really go somewhere, often supported by psychedelic keys. I know some people will think they have no direction whatsoever but to hell with them! They couldn't sit through the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies either. This is grandiose music and the scope is ambitious but it works due to the songwriting skills of the composers.

Evans (vocals, guitars) always had an interest in the softer side of music, he even released a good dark folk album in 2013 and while this release is rooted in metal riffs consolidated with progressive/psychedelic rock, you can still feel the folk side underneath all these tasty rock shattering riffs. The twenty-two minute masterpiece that is “Five Elegies” starts with this calm introduction including some enchanting female vocals and during its lengthy journey, it explores so many musical aspects that it's hard to find the way after only one spin. Helped by the rich, deep instrumentation composed of acoustic guitars, keyboards and other unorthodox elements usually not part of metal bands, this song is a good embodiment of the album has a whole since it has all the elements of their sound. Rest assured, this is nowhere near a cheese fest and it's much more interesting and actually has a solid intellectual background opposed to many bands adding acoustic elements to their sound without really knowing why and how.

I'll not underestimate the influence of the two other members of this band. Both Jon Cumiskey (bass) and Richard Blakelock (drums) are in The Water Witch, a band also composed of members of A Forest of Stars, evolving in the progressive black/folk spectrum. I think the combination of musical vision really helped this band to achieve this original and memorable sound. The amount of subtle complexity this record has is just too much for three guys that aren't Lee, Lifeson and Peart to handle! I'm sure they're fine live but with obvious tweaks to their compositions and what do I know, it's possible to play both guitar and piano if you have really flexible feet.

It's quite rare to hear such poetic distinction in metal and it has to be regarded as an important feat. Their lyrics are smart and the overall artistic approach of the band is pure class. Of course, if you value simplicity, speedy riffs and a simpleton approach to metal, you're simply reading the wrong review and I have no idea why you're still here.

To the Disdain of Polyhymnia is one of the best progressive metal of its decade. Sadly it's been overlooked by the formation of A Forest of Stars, a band I'm not terribly fond of. The three members have been concentrating their efforts on other projects but I know they were planning to do another Electric Mud Generator release. I hope it's not too late! It's always a bit sad (and selfish admittedly) to dislike the direction taken by musicians that you admire but I do feel this way about them. I'm just gonna tell myself that everything they had to say about this particular style (with many roots and branches) has been said and that they couldn't top this album. Ah! I feel better already!
Mixing stoner/doom metal with folk, symphonic, progressive & psychedelic rock has never been this successful even though it's not a genre that has been tried much. EMG were able to craft a release rooted in modernity but at the same time it's coming to terms with the past in a slight yet reassuring embrace.

EMG on Facebook

Landskap - I (2014) / 67%

The Union Jack Prog Metal pt. IV: Manscaping

Landskap (Swedish for landscape but no need to be a genius linguist to figure that out) is a new band from London, England formed by many veterans of the scene. The members are coming from established bands like Fen, Indesinence, Centurions Ghost or the excellent Pantheist. Their first album simply titled “I” is a decent slab of doom metal mixed with a big dose of psychedelic rock.

The involvement of Kostas Panagiotou (Pantheist) is pretty important to the sound of this band. His organ/keyboard parts are lush and give a good support to the heavy, slow guitars. The album, composed of only 4 tracks, including a long instrumental one at the end, is a bit on the short side , it kinda feels like an EP. Instead of releasing new stuff, Iron Bonehead will re-release this album in May. With only about thirty minutes, Landskap managed to release something decent though. Their dual guitar attack (Frederic Caure of Serpentcult, who's also playing the bass here) and a newcomer named George Pan (maybe he's a satyr!) is pretty cool and the leads are well composed. The bass playing is thick and the feedback can recall the stoner side of doom. The songs are pretty slow and thick, it's pretty busy doom with many nuances but it's nothing to call your mom about.

The fact is, this project not unlike Avatarium, feels insincere in its process. Their sound, despite being pleasant, is the trendiest the doom world is experiencing right now and we see many musicians jumping to vintage doom with keys like it's the new way to become U2's opening act. I have nothing against mixing keys with heavy doom riffs and the way they did it isn't bad, really, but it just rubs me the wrong way. What we have here is a bunch of guys telling themselves they could do an album of this particular doom tendency and maybe get to play with Blood Ceremony. I don't know, man, it just seems shallow. Compared to the other projects of these dudes, this is simply not original and it's derivative.

This is a not good reason to trash a band though, musicians are always following trends, that's just the way it is. The true reason is that their songwriting is just boring and mundane. The last instrumental song is a bore and it was hard to finish it. Jake Harding is actually a good, if not a bit generic, vocalist and getting rid of him for like a third of the album is just a bad decision since he's one of the strongest parts of the band alongside the bluesy guitar solos. The production is pretty good, quite atmospheric and rich but that's to be expected from Greg Chandler (Esoteric).


The album is free on Bandcamp so take a chance with it because it's still a good time, just not something I'll go back to. Nonetheless, the fact remains that Landskap are pretty good musicians. The three minutes interlude “My Cabin in the Woods” is soft and enjoyable, but sadly it's not about the Joss Whedon movie. I'll listen to Pantheist if I want really good doom with keys.

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Golgotha - Unmaker of Worlds (1990) / 83%

The Union Jack Prog/Psych Metal pt. III: Death Star

 

Tony's notes: The album art was created by Duncan Storr who did most of Skyclad's discography and the classic album Crimson of Edge of Sanity. 

 

Golgotha is one of the few NWOBHM bands who lived to see the 90s, this doesn't made them a successful band though!. With their full lenght albums released early during the decade, the band explored pretty weird lands. Almost void of anything metal, Unmaker of Worlds seems to go in no direction whatsoever but feels pretty cohesive for some reasons I can't really explain. It's like a painting using so many different colours that doesn't seem to fit together but because of some unfathomable talent, it works and it has this determined aura that tried to prove that “hey, I did it! I managed to mix that and it doesn't suck! Ha!”

Six years after the Dangerous Games EP, it's not the same band we can find here. It's not folky and changed its influence from Jethro Tull and Gentle Giant heavy rockin' groove NWOBHM metal to something more subdued. Golgotha became a solo project of Karl Foster after the 1980s and I don't know what he did during this long hiatus but it was probably pretty interesting, I'm sure of something though, he was really into the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis (their best era by the way and if you don't agree, you might as well agree that your musical taste sucks). The style featured here is hard to pinpoint, it has this healthy dose of synths without being too cheesy and it has this awesome classical influence without trying too hard. The four songs are long and intricate and gives the opportunity to the musician, he's on his own here and that's before the one man band trend found in metal, to really shine. The songs are eleven minutes on average and they don't feel like they're that long.

There's also a big AOR/classic rock influence here, especially on the vocals. If you hate the rock found in the 80s, stay away from that band. Foster also finds the time to join the neo prog movement, indeed Golgotha is not quite dissimilar to the rocking side of Marilion's early career. It's basically a weirder and out there Genesis mixed with some experimental touches and even more theatricality such as the ending of the title track. It's pretty hard to pinpoint the band but if you always felt like Steve Hackett's guitar playing wasn't heavy enough, well now here's your chance! The keyboard and the organ are still the main aspect of their sound and it's supported by heavy rock guitars and an efficient drum machine.

The album, has I said, shouldn't quite work on paper but its diversity is impressive and the songwriting is incredible. It's underrated status probably comes from its release date, 1990 wasn't a big time for either progressive rock nor metal but this album needs to be heard as it's a work of beauty. Unmaker of Worlds ends with a fabulous ballad with awesome high clean vocals and pure emotional weight. Well done symphonic progressive rock with a metal oomph from time to time.

Stone Dagger - The Siege of Jerusalem (2013) / 84%

Primitive metal puncture

I was really mystified by Magic Circle last year, their self titled debut managed to become one of my favourite albums of the year and by all accounts, it was in part due to the awesome vocals of Brendan Radigan. The doom metal crew all coming from well known hardcore bands (not by me, mind you! I need to discover them.) from the Boston area impressed me with their live vigour at Wings of Metal. While I already liked the band before that festival, it was there that I was convinced they were to become a very relevant part of the American traditional metal scene.

Radigan was definitely busy in 2013 as he released this two songs demo tape who sold faster than a Big Mac in a McDonalds near a bar at 2 am (been there, done that). It will be released on analog support in late spring (a 7 inch) and it was time based on the comments I read on several forums. The tape limited to 100 copies (if I'm not mistaking) managed to make quite an impression in the metal underground and with good reasons since it's awesome stuff.

The ten minutes release is quite well done, it's the work of Radigan who plays guitar, bass and sings on it. He's helped by two friends from his main band, Chris Corry who helps with the guitar leads and Justin DeTore who handles the drums (weird since he's MC's bassist) but really, the project seems to be his baby. The guys seem to trade their instruments within their numerous projects, like for Mind Eraser, Radigan plays the drums and DeTore sings. It's a pretty fun scene within the confines of the beautiful scenery of New England.

Contrary to the Pagan Altar inspired and emotional doom found on MC, Stone Dagger (awesome name, evocative of the power of the project) is rooted in pure old school, talented heavy metal played in authentic fashion. You can feel the love for American true heavyweights like the fabulous Omen with their love for battle hymns or the might of early Manowar, a time where they weren't busy writing eight minutes introductions and interludes about how big their balls are. This album makes me want to sing “Heart of Steel” with the boys in a seedy karaoke bar selling only Bowes dry and Pabst Blue Ribbon cans while a classic match-up between the Bruins and the Canadiens is playing in the background.

Quite riffy, the self titled song and “Black Clad Rider” are both around five minutes and are intricate compositions for a traditional heavy metal. It helps that these guys are not young guns as the personality that was aimed for was already and easily reached here. It's not an exploration or a test of the sound they wanted but a full fledged, albeit, short release that gives you an ache for more. It's rockin', possessing both the power of the early American scene mixed with the flair of both the NWOBHM scene and the other sensibilities of European countries (Sweden and Germany in particular.) It's fast and the track lengths gives them plenty of time to explore and do cool stuff. It's not grandiose and epic like 80s Manilla Road and it doesn't try to be. It's subtle but hard hitting heavy metal with hints of hard rock and just simple but effective groovy riffs and fun tasty leads.

The vocals are powerful as fuck, Radigan is a beast and knows how to drive a song with the breath of his vocal cords. He's very catchy and not as introspective here as he is in Magic Circle, he transpires energy and his high clean attack with a relatively deep voice is a nice plus. He delivers the historic based lyrics with conviction and that's what the whole demo is about, being convinced by its true artistic nature. Heavy metal these days is about nostalgia and doing what feels right and even though its creator comes from a background in hardcore music, he certainly is a real fan of the genre and it's apparent!

The production of the demo is not optimal for the singer as it's a bit burying him but it's nothing preventing my enjoyment. It's just another facet of the primitive but genuine approach of their sound. These guys, veterans of the DIY way, knows how to achieve an optimal sound for such a release and be honest to the sound and themselves.

I can't wait for a full length from Stone Dagger, I bet it will be awesome and sharp. I'll happily cut my thumb on its precious edge. Get this if you can find it, if not wait for the vinyl or listen to it on bandcamp! I'll assure you you'll press repeat after its ten minutes of blissful metal.

Stream the demo here: CLICK ME