Take three immensely talented musicians, put them in a turbine and shake them up for a while, then tell them to play the first thing that comes into their head. Voila, you have Behold… The Arctopus. ‘Skullgrid’ is a complete headfuck of an album, its technical fret wizardry terrifying in its complexity. Thank God its instrumental, because I couldn’t concentrate on anything else with such fret mangling going on.
Behold…the Arctopus are metal on the Dillinger Escape Plan/Botch/Psyopus edge of reality, an amalgamation of black/death/math/prog/jazz/anything else really that drips with melody and confusion in equal amounts. Spiralling counterpoint tech death abounds in the titanic ‘Transient Exuberance’, while the title track takes three completely different musical lines and coalesces them into an overload of technical prowess. Progressive is a poor word for what Behold…the Arctopus are trying to do here; this is metal for the space age, where Infinity is calculated via King Crimson-esque prog and demented jazzy breaks. ‘Some Mist’ provides the album’s highlight however, with loose, fusion basslines competing with jazz inspired drumming and chaotic guitar solos to create one inspired, original whole.
If you enjoy metal on the very edge of the spectrum, thrusting out into strange new worlds where Psyopus or early Dillinger thrive, ‘Skullgrid’ is the album for you. Or if you need something to fuck your music teacher up, look no further!
(with regards to the picture, normally I put the album cover, but this is the guitar/bass hybrid Colin Marston plays on this album. It has twelve strings, usually played by tapping and can handle bass and guitar at the same time. Madness)
Being a huge Nevermore fan, I have looked forward to this album since it was announced. It’s difficult to imagine how Nevermore will be able to top ‘This Godless Endeavour’; an album of such awesome technical prowess and unrivalled quality, and yet Nevermore have managed to meet those expectations. ‘The Obsidian Conspiracy’ will leave fans of Nevermore fully satisfied that their last album was merely the beginning.
The album opens with ‘The Termination Proclamation’, an opener in the style of ‘Born’ or ‘Narcosynthesis’, rife with twisting Jeff Loomis riffs and those otherworldly herald-of-destruction vocals from Warrel Dane. It is instantly recognisable Nevermore fare; thick, labyrinthian riffs layered with a great drumming performance from Van Williams. ‘And the Maiden Spoke’ is another Jeff Loomis tour-de-force, his ever progressive riffs and solos matching with Dane’s tales of the titluar maiden. Dane’s lyrics are another highlight of the album; insightful and thought-provoking as ever, he is without a doubt one the best lyricists in metal today. The best example is ‘Emptiness Obstructed’, where heĀ laments “So the river ends in this calamity we call heaven, is this perfection, are we spinning into the grey again, and transforming into the insane…”. ‘The Blue Marble and the New Soul’ opens with haunting acoustic guitar and piano, a ballad along the lines of ‘Sentient 6′ with spiralling guitar solos and mournful vocals, and the slower tempo ‘The Day You Built the Wall’ refines and builds upon a chugging riff before wrapping it in a wonderfully melodic solo. ‘The Obsidian Conspiracy’ contains fewer full force thrash songs than ‘This Godless Endeavor’, but the complexity of arrangement has certainly increased, and it is probably the band’s most technical impressive album thus far. The solo work of both Warrel and Jeff have clearly made an impact here; the virtuoso Loomis from his solo album meets with Warrel’s more melancholic side.
It’s difficult to pull a specific song or moment from ‘The Obsidian Conspiracy’ as a definite highlight; this is a package of consummate quality and ability unrivalled in the progressive metal world. Nevermore have made it more difficult this time for their fans, with more complex arrangements and extra strings to their bow (there is nothing much in their back catalogue like ‘The Blue Marble and the New Soul’). Mix that in with the riff fests of ‘The Termination Proclamation’ and the stunning title track and you have the next step in Nevermore’s unfaltering march to the top of the prog metal mountain. Opeth and Dream Theater watch out, they’re coming for you…
In preparation for the new Abscess album, ‘Dawn of Inhumanity’, I picked myself up a copy of the last one, 2007’s ‘Horrorhammer’. Part of me is a big fan of this kind of death metal, because it represents what death metal was really about when it first arrived; thick sludgy riffing, raw production and a commitment to old school values. Unfortunately many bands have jumped on the ‘old skool’ death metal band wagon of late, but with Abscess’ pedigree including members of primeval death legends Autopsy and Death, they are simply a cut above the rest.
‘Horrorhammer’ is a triumph of raw, dark, tar-thick death metal, doing almost nothing original but feeling all the more welcome for it. Too many bands try to experiment with their sound and end up ruining what little appeal they had. Not so with Abscess. They know what they want to play, and they play it, no bullshit. A raw, almost punkish death metal vibe runs through all of these tracks, from the doom of ‘When Witches Burn’ to the proto-thrash of ‘Hellhole’.
They may not be reinventing the wheel, and sometimes the similarities between songs can be grating, but as an overall album, there is little to complain about. Abscess play old school death metal the way it was supposed to be; evil, simple and supremely dark. Opener ‘Drink the Filth’ is a rager, pulling out a tearing, wailing solo within the first 30 seconds of gurgling vocals and rampaging death riffing.The songs are generally short, most under 3 minutes long and the longer tracks, like ‘Beneath a Blood Red Sun’ or ‘Poison Messiah’ have some great, slow atmospheric points.
If you like your death metal raw, punky and atmospheric like the old days, there are few better albums by modern bands than ‘Horrorhammer’. It’s rather satisfying to hear old school death metal still played by proper legends of the scene who were present at the birth of the genre, and have it pulled off well. It’s not as original as it used to be, but there’s nothing wrong with such an excellent homage. Try and buy!
Dazhbog isn’t the kind of band that I usually listen to. My music intake is pretty much 90% metal at least, with the occasional foray into rock, electronic music and pop/rap from my youth. But Dazhbog are a completely different proposition, mixing sweet synth lines, natural noises and piano lines. It’s a really odd experience for me, but admittedly quite refreshing.
Opening track ‘The Dawn Bloomed In Your Eyes’ sets the tone nicely. You’re guided through a soft, hazy mix of melodious piano lines, synths accenting the peaceful nature of the material, with hints of birdsong fluttering in the background. It is rather similar to, say, an intro or interlude of some symphonic goth metal album, say Nightwish or Within Temptation, but without pomposity nor complexity. This is a feeling that repeats itself throughout the album; it is purely and simply an ambient folk album, written to amplify and revere Mother Earth and all her treasures.
With natural sounds present in every song, the album becomes like one of those sleep aid tapes; it lulls you into a dreamy state, allowing you to absorb and appreciate the music. It’s good relazing music when you require nothing complicated, heavy nor thought provoking, just a desire to sink blissfully into benign rest. It can become rather overbearing after a while however, with enough subtle changes between each track to tell them apart, but yet not quite enough to inspire repeated listens. It is almost certainly too airy and light for most metalhead, but I can see people who are into bands like Zero 7 or Air to maybe get a kick out of it.
With such a heavy focus on metal in my musical tastes, there isn’t much room for an artist like Dazhbog. Yes, ‘Sunset: Legacy of Solitude and Love’ is indeed a nice, well played and relaxing album, full of moments to release tension alongside and it would no doubt be favoured highly amongst people who enjoy this sort of thing. However it is an album deserving of a time and place, and unless fully receptive to its charms, most listeners may find it a tad repetitive and dull.
Betnatnash play harsh, unforgiving symphonic black metal with large helpings of dissonance. They’re Mexican, and have opened for Dimmu Borgir there but that gives only a small hint of their sound.
After a suitably melodramatic intro, first track proper ‘Black Cyclone’ kicks in with some raging riffing and minor key keyboards lines. It’s an odd track, its 8 minute length mixing a huge array of influences together. We have thick industrial keyboard lines, tremolo black metal riffing and acoustic laden interludes almost, which sound quite pagan/folk metal esque. It is clear Benatnash aren’t here to make it easy for any of us to get them, and this theme continues into ‘Red Storm of Yr’.
Unfortunately, it’s a mix that doesn’t always work effectively. Certainly parts of ‘Red Storm of Yr’ sound chaotic, and not in the usual black metal style. The symphonic element isn’t necessarily overplayed, but it comes off as messy with almost jazz like disregard for timing. If executed well, this would be pretty impressive stuff, but for me it doesn’t work well. The songs are also, on average, too long for their own good. A more rigorous cutting of tracks are really in order for future works, as I did find myself skipping onto the next track too often. ‘Benatnash’ does offer something of a warped carnival atmosphere behind the rasping, which is pretty cool but it is unfortunately one of only a few highlights for me.
Benatnash have some interesting elements, and certainly a more original take on the black metal genre than many bands who resort to basic riff and screech mentality. ‘War Prophecies’ is solid enough, but solid doesn’t really cut it anymore. We want inspiring in our metal these days, and Benatnash simply fall flat. Too much mix and match, not enough quality.
The Acacia Strain have been peddling their patented brand of deathcore since 2001, and have pretty much perfected their modus operandi by the time ‘Continent’ arrived in 2008. Sturdy, slam ridden death metal that chugs, growls and thunders its way through its almost 40 minute length.
For a style that has almost become totally redundant in terms of originality and room to manoeuvre, the Acacia Strain provide you with a welcome batch of meat and potatoes hardcore, laced with a sharp, metallic edge. Darker than previous efforts, ‘Continent’ also wipes out all these tedious little attempts at experimentation that many bands use to distract the listener from the fact that they don’t have good songs. ‘Continent’ possesses those in spades, be it the thunderous chug of opener ‘Skynet’, the eerie Morbid Angel-esque intro to ‘Chthulu’ or the harmonies that permeate the riffing pleasure of ‘Baby Buster’.
There also seems to be a Meshuggah influence creeping into the riffs of ‘Continent’, breakdowns have a slight unpredictableness and drumming parts sound slightly Tomas Haake- like. Closing track ‘The Behemoth’ provides a perfect end to a solid album; a soaring instrumental that ebbs, flows and sounds completely different to what has come before. It’s generally difficult to add something like that into an album without it seeming like a gimmick or contrite, but it works here to great effect.
‘Continent’ is exactly what you want in a deathcore album; big solid riffs, breakdowns that are not overly predictable but welcoming, and a huge lack of pretension. That is why this band slay. Buy ‘Continent’ and bang your head.
A landmark addition to my collection, ‘Soundtrack from Film “Mabuta no Ura”‘, is my 1000th CD and it is probably my favourite release from Boris’s extensive catalogue. A band that never fail to surprise, enlighten and amaze, ‘Soundtrack…’ is something of an oddity in even their discography.
The record is a soundtrack to an imaginary film, dreamt up by the three members of Boris. It plays pretty much like a soundtrack; a number of shorter, acoustic and ambient led tracks mixes in with more traditional Boris drone and fuzz. It works very well, especially on tracks like ‘A Bao A Qu’, and the mellow closing epic ‘It Touches’. It’s a much more soundscape album than some of their other releases, like the ominous drone of ‘Absolutego’ or the rock and roll odysseys of ‘Pink’ or ‘Smile’.
‘Soundtrack…’ is an eclectic collection of tracks, rippling acoustics interplaying with fuzzy feedback suit the theme of the film soundtrack, but few tracks stay around long enough to constitute songs. Other bands would struggle to pull something like this off AND keep it interesting. But Boris have this unnerving talent that allows them to make the mundane interesting, and the interlude track can definitely fall into that category.
‘Soundtrack from Film ‘Mabuta no Ura” is yet another mind bending curveball from the masters of such a thing. Since you never know what to expect from them, your best hope as a Boris fan is to sit back and expect a masterpiece. For be it drone, psychedelical, sludge or stoner rock, a masterpiece it almost always is.
Thraw are a Slovenian five piece thrash band that could have, to be honest, come straight from the Bay Area circa the 80s. ‘Injecting Hate’ is their second demo, and it’s a pretty raw burst of thrashing riffs and gang choruses.
Their sound leans further toward an earlier Testament/Anthrax than say Megadeth or Metallica. ‘Angeleater’ in particular sounds very Slayer-esque vocally, with more traditional thrash yells being accompanied by the occasionally Arayan banshee scream, which suits in well with a couple of excellent Scott Ian style riffs. Interestingly for a thrash band, there is a lack of prolonged soloing in any of the tracks; the band relying more on thrashing riffs and interlinked bridges than say, wailing hundred note solos. Some good bass licks, like a bridge in ‘Angeleater’ or the funky intro line to ‘Induced Adrenaline’ also adds something to the mix.
Thraw play with a classic style which is becoming close to saturation point in the mainstream but they come across as genuine lovers of the style by not trying to do anything but emulate their heroes. This is true thrash worship, without mainstream dilution or a flashy Repka album cover.
Earth are one of my favourite bands. Well, now they are. I used to find some of their drone to be overly oppressive, and not easy to enjoy unless you were in the mood (i.e. chilled out and receptive). With their last release, ‘The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull’, Earth showed me how much I could actually love them. Its titanic shifts in tone, coupled with simple, Americana infused guitar work, is simply awesome. So when I discovered their debut EP for a paltry £4.80 online, I had to purchase it.
At only 27 minutes long, it’s remarkably short for an Earth release, and while featuring Kurt Cobain on guest vocals (a rarity in Earth’s discography) may seem gimmicky, this was released way before ‘Nevermind’, and longer before Earth’s Dylan Carlson lent Kurt his shotgun… The opening tracks ‘A Bureaucratic Desire for Revenge Parts 1 & 2′ are different from your normal Earth drone track, having noticeable percussion and vocals in them. They feel almost like a slow burn intro to the titanic ‘Ouroboros is Broken’, a much more conventional early Earth track. The two tracks offer what you expect from Earth: slow doom riffs that repeat almost endlessly with slight changes in tone and texture, only coupled with a thudding, tribal drumming and some background screaming over Carlson’s monotonous vocal line.
This leads up to the massive ‘Ouroboros is Broken’, 18 minutes of rumbling drone but presented in almost a more song like structure than say, anything from ‘Earth 2′. It is more doomy than drone, however the constant repetition of the same chord progression betrays the direction they would take later. When the percussion disappears about halfway through, it becomes a more familiar sound, and waves of droning, three note chords wash over the listener. It is surprisingly soothing.
‘Extra Capsular Extraction’ is an excellent snapshot of a band who know what they want to do with their sound, but are still new enough to tinker with elements to create what they want. Much more palatable now than it would have been in 1991 when it was originally released, it is the sound of a band starting out with little idea of the influence they would eventually have, but with no qualms about doing it anyway.
Third on my albums of 2008 list, and from a purely objective view probably was the best album released that year (pipped only in my list by two of my favourite bands Boris and Metallica), Enslaved’s ‘Vertebrae’ was a stunning continuation of the progressive nature of predecessors ‘Isa’ and the spectacular ‘Ruun’. The fact that the band were even capable of topping ‘Ruun’ with this album was viewed as unlikely, but somehow the band managed it.
Opener ‘Clouds’ sets the tone, an insistent guitar tone mixes with a driving drum line that at once opens up into a vast, expansive section that the band have begun to excel at. The following riff reminds of ‘Path to Vanir’ from ‘Ruun’, but is arguably more catchy. Clean vocals may rankle with hardened black metal fans, but Grutle Kjellson’s efforts here match in perfectly with their surroundings, sounding calm over the progressive sections and snarling fiercely over the more traditional black metal sections. Synthesizers mix within the riffing in the centre of the song to add that extra touch of the progressive.
The thicker, more atmospheric ‘To the Coast’ follows, bringing a darker, more black metal aspect to the album. It’s an ominous, rumbling track that invokes dread and melancholy, especially in the clean vocal sections. ‘New Dawn’ retains a more black metal feel about it, whereas a distinct Pink Floyd influence inhabits most of the songs. An album of tracks averaging over 6 minutes can become stale eventually, but ‘Vertebrae’ dodges that bullet by being interesting at every turn, like the unashamedly prog riff that opens ‘Ground’, or the moody ‘Center’ with its latter-period Katatonia-esque leading riff. What Enslaved have done here is taken the ferocity and raw spirit of black metal and melded it to the gleeful experimentation of 70s progressive rock, creating a monster release in the process.
‘Vertebrae’ is a benchmark, not only for Enslaved but for metal in general. It is a statement of intent that Enslaved will do what they want, heed no call to remain blacker-than-thou, but will follow their own path to metal Valhalla. ‘Vertebrae’ assures them of their place there, as it is a piece of art, not simply a music record. Breathtaking stuff.
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