Shooting Guns - Brotherhood of the Ram (2013) / 85%

Instrumental Maple Syrup part I: Highway Truckin'

Probably the best thing I ever found coming from Saskatchewan, a Canadian province widely known for its rectangular shape, an unique feat compared to its peers, Shooting Guns is probably my discovery of the year so far. They have this sound that I've been craving for a while, it's a deep and profound instrumental doom approach! What a better way to start this series than with the band that made me want to do it?

I used to often think (or even say) that most instrumental bands doesn't have vocalists because they couldn't find one, well it certainly can be the case... But great ones really don't need any. Shooting Guns are one of these bands, the quintet has a rich enough musicality to be protected from comments such as “you guys should totally like get a singer”. The two guitars attack gives them a lot of mobility, options and gives them the opportunity to be both heavy as hell or thoroughly psychedelically mad. The keyboards is also important in their sound, it adds a lot of necessary landscapes and it's not simply there to look cool, retro or “progressive”. As the band is exploring kraut territories (made me think of the eccentric Circle from Finland often), the weird ass effects became essential to their formula, the track “Motherfuckers Never Learn” (I never did myself either) is a good example of this, it's a repetitive and freaking heavy track helped by a huge helping of keys of all sorts. Mixing hard hitting stoner metal/rock with psychedelia, experimental and kraut rock isn't an easy task but these prairie boys do it perfectly.

Sometimes the key for instrumental bands is writing songs that are not overstaying their welcome and Shooting Guns knows that, their compositions on this album range from 4 to 9 minute and are frankly never boring. The space rock influence to their doom/stoner recipe is wonderful but they're also able to calm things down and go full space ballad with the song “Go Blind” or even finish with a drone/noise influenced track.

A very rewarding 40 minute experience, Brotherhood of the Ram doesn't mess around with the excessive and the unsubtle sounds and that's exactly what I want to hear in an instrumental doom band. They're over the top but it feels right and the wide array of influences are well integrated. I highly recommend this band to any fans of adventurous music that have loose definitions of what sonic boundaries are supposed to be.

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Hay Perro - Eastern Ideas of Death (2011) / 82%

Woof Woof!

Slough Feg has been one of the most interesting American bands of the last two decades and it's always a pleasure to hear some of their compatriots evolving in the same sound pool. I reviewed the mysterious Texans Blackholicus some years ago, a female fronted Feg attack and now it's the turn of Hay Perro (“there is a dog” in Spanish) to get some appraisal. From Chicago, home of the Blackhawks, this quartet's debut album is an amusing slab of Thin Lizzyesque heavy metal with a big dose of punk rock. 

Vocally wise, it's often using the hardcore punk/punk rock tropes of old with these fast paced shouted but clean vocals that are both very catchy and aggressive, think of Black Flag or Minor Threat with an added metal charm and a certain modern component. While there's a certain punk ingredient in Hay Perro's music, it's combined to the heavy metal/hard rock identity of the band and this is still their prevalent one. The vocals on the other hand are almost entirely falling into punk territories. It's still a very cohesive experience and the combination of the twin guitar attacks inspired by the likes of Priest, Maiden and the aforementioned Lizzy with the vocals works well.

The band stays on the fast lane for the whole album but there's some speed variations and there's two tracks where they give themselves the opportunity to branch out a little such as the title track, the last song of the album and its epic feel. It's a groovy record with a bunch of interesting riffs but it would had been fun to hear some longer blistering guitar solos like we can hear in their patrons' music, sure there's some like on “Vicious Beast” but they're fairly short and a bit too restrained most of the time. Anyway, it's always better to attack full on with a barrage of riffs than to add numerous leads to the deal but some more twin guitars soloing interactions would had been appreciated!

So, if a mix of heavy metal à la NWOBHM, old school punk rock and groovy hard rock doesn't interest you, you're probably reading the wrong review or you've been lost for a while. While not groundbreaking and masters of their craft, these boys (and girl) are cool enough and you'll  have a good time listening to this album if you dig the mix of styles they play.

The production job is thorough and just old school enough to give a sort of timeless sound to the album while avoiding to fall into saccharine modern territories or into the weak DIY production often plaguing young bands. Unfortunately, their second and final album Desert of Nowhere (2014) has a weaker production for some reason but the songwriting is still interesting and worth checking out. Hay Perro broke up too soon and I hope its members will reappear in new projects soon as they're obviously talented.

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Circle - Sunrise (2002) / 95%

NWOFHM #8: Skulls, swords and masterful sauna fuckery

The band has a highly varied and large discography but the release of a surprising death metal album in 2013 (Incarnation) played entirely by session members. Nonetheless the metal factor was already present throughout many of their previous releases such as Tulikoira (2005), Katapult (2007), Hollywood (2008), Rautatie (2010) but was never totally and fully explored until recently.

Circle are truly an interesting entity, formed in the early 1990s by Jussi Lehtisalo and it's been his main creative focus since then. If you've been following this series of reviews (that's probably not the case!), you're aware that this eccentric Finn has been producing a wide catalog of music, often under the NWOFHM (New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal) banner. Bands with weird monikers like Krypt Axeripper, Steel Mamoth, Pharaoh Overlord, Aktor or Arkhamin Kirjasto became staples of my musical diet and I felt ready to tackle the main course, the legendary Circle.

Sunrise was definitely one of these “almost” metal albums, it's an amalgamation of many genres into one potent but very rewarding experience. I liked all the Circle albums I checked, there's so many that I haven't heard them all yet but there's always a will to experiment and go forward while maintaining an unparalleled atmospheric approach. Their usual sound is a mix of droney experimental rock either instrumental or with unorthodox vocals. An album like Mountain (2005) is a great example of tenebrous drone/experimental/post rock with its two sinuous and long tracks. Sunrise has some of this cuisine on its menu but it's also incorporating a lot of rock and some metal influences. Almost a decade before Pharaoh Overlord's Out of Darkness, there's certainly some similarity between these two. Repetitiveness is one of Circle's main tool and they use it well for metallic and rock songs like the opener “Nopeuskuningas”. It's almost kraut metal as the main heavy and catchy riff is repeated endlessly while these insane vocals are unleashed and then, a psychedelic solo appears and tries to make its way through the might of THE riff for almost three minutes and finally succeeds. The song structures are out there and interesting enough and despite the repetitiveness, it's never boring or too much as the songs are not that long (except that final drone track). They know when to change the tempos and when to incorporate well thought moments of colorful joy (just like the glorious artwork)

The musicianship, like on every Circle album, is impressive and complex in its apparent simplicity. Lehtisalo's leadership is always felt throughout his bass playing (he probably plays the guitar on this album too, the credits are unclear about what each member is playing). It's at its core a prog rock/krautrock record so the guitar, both electric and acoustic, are the focus here but there's also some other instruments like the violin (track 6) and some electronic overtones that are included. Concerning the electronic side of their music, it's nothing compared to some of their other albums like 2011's Infektio.

Get ready to travel everywhere with this album, the second song is some sort of proggy folk pop in Finnish (well, in fact, the whole album is and that's wonderful) and as far as I know (I know nothing about that), it's influenced by native Finnish music. It sounds a bit like the Nordic Canadian music the Innu people make (check out track 4 for another example). This seems to be a mess on paper, right? Well, no it's not, even though the album is fairly diverse and goes from metallic hard rockish drone kraut experimental rock to atmospheric folky and sometimes joyful territories. It's highly condensed and has an extraordinary vision of how it should be, of how it should be constructed and how it should sound.

Sunrise is pretty much a timeless record as it's taking a metallic sort of 70s hard rock, some stoner rock and they threw it in a huge blender with krautrock and a bunch of psychedelic rock. It's timeless because it's still undeniably an oeuvre of its time and that's probably due to the idiosyncratic nature of Finland's musical scene, it doesn't try to be original, it simply is, effortlessly. With the use of clean but highly emphasized vocals, a given for Jussi Lehtisalo's projects, the band goes deeper and deeper into mad realms of genius artistry. I mean, the band was never quite accessible but this album is probably one of their most “gettable” as it's tight and catchy. It's a good way to get into them, I'd say.

Mix Led Zeppelin, Can and Finland and you'll get Circle, one of Earth's best and most original bands. Sunrise is a memorable album and the one I picked as my first review but you can't hardly go wrong with any of 'em.

While I'm the sauna, start your Circle exploration without me, you'll get lost but that's part of the process.

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Mausoleum Gate - Mausoleum Gate (2014) / 92%

Open, open, open... the gates of excellence

Finland never stops to surprise me, after the everlasting impression their rich and excellent traditional doom scene gave me, the small Nordic country is also delivering the goods in the heavy metal genre with bands like Ranger, Lord Fist and these guys, Mausoleum Gate. These bands are all fun and meets the required amount of evil silliness that the genre asks for. Unlike many of these “occult” bands taking themselves too seriously, these Finns know how to have a spooky and colorful atmosphere while still being able to unleash some intricate seriousness upon us.

Inspired mostly by the NWOBHM scene (see Angel Witch, Holocaust, Iron Maiden...), the quintet also integrates its fair share of progressive rock and classic rock influences with the wild use of synths and mellotrons (all played by the bassist Wicked Ischanius, not sure if that's his real name...). These influences are also made clear with the numerous guitar solos found on this self titled album, they often have this rock vibe and they're certainly enjoyable. There's a lot of Rainbow/Deep Purple too and that's surely a great thing, I mean, it should be criminal to dislike Rising.

Mausoleum Gate are, in my opinion, a full package. Everything about their sound is impressive, from the clean, profound and strong vocals to the tremendous leads and riffs rooted in traditionalism and excellence and the Maidenesque moments (listen to the twelve minute title track and cream). There's also a strong bass presence (not overwhelming like Harris but still quite enjoyable) and the drums are dynamic and groovy as hell (listen to “Mercenaries of Steel”, a track reminding me of these numerous and idiosyncratic Jussi Lehtisalo heavy metal projects like Krypt Axeripper). There's a good mix between short, catchy tracks and some longer, proggier ones and I feel the band should expand on the later as I think they're great at them but eh, that's my opinion!

Heavy metal is a genre that I really like, the soaring melodies or the roaring solos but it's sometimes playing it safe with a direct, to the point, rocky attitude both in the songwriting and musical departments. It's not the case here, everything is rich and developed to the apex of these weird guys' abilities. Their sound is diverse and the band isn't scared to include mellow moments like the calm parts of the marvelous track “Lost Beyond the Sun”. I always thought that it's way harder to write ballads as metal is often about skills and technicality but Mausoleum Gate knows how to inject a lot of feelings into their music and it pays off.

The singer, a fellow named V-P Varpula, is quite talented. He has the necessary set of pipes to go all in but he's often a bit subdued and let the guitarists shine. Nevertheless, he rocks these choruses and I like the old school reverb and sleaze in his voice.

Voluntarily dated and classic, the production is still very solid and reminds me of the epic might of albums like “Seventh of a Seventh Son” with its samples and balls out approach. I wouldn't want the album to sound like a modern and saccharine imitation of Painkiller like their fellow countrymen Battle Beast do.

When I heard the rusty door close at the end of the record, I already wanted to get back inside and spin the album again. It's a (too brief) forty minutes that I've been living often since I discovered the band in late 2014. I can't praise Finland's underground metal scene enough, this is yet another gem.

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Crypt Sermon - Out of the Garden (2015) / 85%

Out of the darkness, brighter than a thousand sermons

Perhaps one of my most expected albums of 2015, the debut of the Philadelphia based doomsters met my demands. Formed by young but dedicated musicians from varied metal backgrounds (let's namedrop Hivelords, Trenchrot, Unrest and Infiltrator), the band's debut full length is a mature traditional doom metal blending the tropes of old with a refreshing and tight sound.

Using the classic religious vibe found in bands like Trouble, Crypt Sermon went all in with this superb cover art showcasing a crusader knight riding towards a fortress and exiting a cavern, perhaps this so called garden inhabited by darkness and vices. Painted by their talented singer, Brooks Wilson, the cover definitely helped the band get a lot of attention and rightfully so. Using Christianity as a lyrical background, the band is perhaps not the most original setting but it goes hand in hand with the style developed on “Out of the Garden”. Rest assured, it's only an artistic choice and these guys are still pretty evil (check out their bullet belts)! I'll also give them some credit for the poetic quality of their lyrics, they're very well written and that's always a plus.

Dark Descent has been known for its death and black metal but the label is slowly starting to branch out a little with this band and also Anguish from Sweden, that's good news for the fans of the genre like myself since it gives a decent platform to the genre. Crypt Sermon, opposed to bands like Pallbearer or Pilgrim, are pretty good at their craft. Their debut album, like their impressive demo, is a very tight slab of epic proportions. Nonetheless, there's no time wasted here and they won't bore the listeners with plodding repetitive numbers. The songs are all between 5 and 7 minutes, they're mid paced, slow burners with a lot of passion and dedication. It's melodic and has a lot of class and distinction, qualities that are necessary to achieve greatness in epic doom (see Atlantean Kodex)

Now evolving as a five piece, the instrumentation is rich, precise and the double lead guitars are akin to fellow American Magic Circle. While I don't think their level of quality is higher than the magical musicians of Boston, there's a wide array of tremendous riffs such as the catchy ones in “The Will of the Ancient Call” or the folky medieval vibe of the epic “Into the Holy of Holies” which is channeling their inner Candlemass. Even though, I think the best aspect of the band is Wilson's clean and powerful vocals, the subtle but grandiose songwriting deserves its fair share of praise as well. Blending the power of classic American doom (see Trouble or Solitude Aeternus) with the European school, while it's something quite common in the scene nowadays, it's still an interesting and worthwhile strategy.

The album is thoroughly well produced and that's yet another proof of the professionalism demonstrated by the quintet. For a debut album, we can hear a mix of traditional doom styles that is both contemporary and timeless. There's still some things to improve before they play in the big leagues but the potential is there. Essential listening for 2015 as far as I'm concerned.

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Dark Descent Records

Entheos - Ototeman (2015) / 84%

Rouyn-Noranda's cold escapism

Québécois black metal is slowly starting to become one of the best scenes in the world. All bias aside, all the bands used to be similar, they were all about the cold winters, traditionalism or patriotism and these subjects while interesting were becoming mundane and unoriginal. Entheos is one of those bands that are succeeding in breaking the boundaries and expanding their genre towards more philosophical and intellectual tendencies.

From one of the metal kingdoms of Québec, the northern industrial city of Rouyn-Noranda (to give you an idea, Entheos opened for Ulcerate when they played there, it's a small city with a big metal fanbase), Entheos are unsurprisingly playing a very cold sort of black metal but they have more in common with the ethereal sound of Sombres Forêts than the likes of Forteresse or Neige Éternelle. That's probably helped by Annatos' involvement, the main man behind the seminal project has produced, recorded the album and he, added some guitar, bass and vocals too. Still, Entheos are not as adventurous as SF, texturally they're not flashy and don't use unorthodox instruments.

Combining many types of black metal like post black (think early Altar of Plagues) and atmospheric black metal. The compositions are intricate but always subtle, there's no grandiloquent nature leanings like in Wolves in the Throne Room and the likes. It's also thoroughly well produced with a clean production showcasing the skills of the musicians (their drummer Jessy Normand is also in the excellent death metal band Pallor Mortis) but they never overdo it. They include some charming acoustic guitar sensibilities like the beginning of my favorite track, the almost 10 minutes “Rêve de grandeur”. While maintaining an atmospheric aura, the band is always conscious about being rifftastic, they're very dynamic and even in the more quiet moments, they come up with interesting guitar licks and moments. It's also important to note that there's many more dissonant moments inspired by Deathspell Omega and the likes, a good example would be the heaviest parts of the final track “Parasite asservi”.

Their lyrics are all in French, it's efficient misanthropic & philosophical poetry, it fits their compositions and it was an enjoyable read. The subjects, themes and art approach combined with their sound are giving Entheos the ability to stand out and we're becoming to see more and more variety with bands like Eos (signed on the great Fallen Empire label) and that's a sign proving the health of the Québec black metal scene.

Here's some parts translated by yours truly: 

“The horizon is wide here
Like the centuries of winter
The men only walk to keep walking
and this earth is filled with our wanderings”

“The windows regurgitate the last soldiers of an infinite army
These dividing walls offering no other issue than these deformed holes in constant ascent”


I'm still ashamed I've missed their Montréal album release gig with the excellent like-minded newcomers Basalte, but I'll be there next time! Entheos are an interesting atmospheric, vibrant and mildly experimental black metal band with an already solid identity.

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Põhjast - Matused (2014) / 84%

Epic Nordic coalition of lone-wolves

An international project combining members of three Nordic countries, Pohjast's Matused (Estonian for funeral) is the band's second full length and once again features a wolf on the cover art (don't worry, they're better than Catamenia!) Before attacking the music, I feel it's important to decorticate the composition of this band.

Eric Syre (well known for his excellent black/thrash solo project Thesyre and more recently for being the singer of up and coming old schoolers Beast Within) is the lead singer and he's absolutely stellar. The majority of the vocals on this album are clean in the purest Quorthon tradition, but compared to the late Bathory leader, Syre is actually a very competent singer with a good range (please, don't throw me any rocks, I like Bathory as much as the next guy!)

The rest of the band is composed of experienced musicians from the Estonian and Finnish scenes (bands like Metsatöll, Ajattara, Sorts…) and the musicianship is extremely solid. The approach reminds me of the latest two Darkthrone albums but with a powerful and punchy production. It's not really black metal anymore, it's more of an amalgamation of ultra heavy epic Viking metal, pagan metal and even traditional heavy metal. The production, alongside the vocals, is perhaps the best thing about Matused, it's simply perfect for their genre. Everything has the room to breathe, it's crystal clear while never being sacharrine nor sterile.

The album is short and only has six numbers ranging from 4 to 6 minutes, while I think they could slow things up and come up with longer and more intricate songs, this formula works quite well for them and you don't have the time to get bored. The songs all possess this anthem quality (listen to “In the Shadow of the Glass Cross”) due mostly to the simplistic but catchy guitar riffs and the strong, manly vocals. The bass is loud and it compliments the guitar very well in creating a solid wall of sound bordering on doom and Celtic Frost territories. Well played slow leads are also part of their songwriting credo. 

While not reinventing anything, this international project plays an efficient sort of music that is still essential for the well being of the scene. 

Solid stuff.


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