Can January end it with a bang(er)? (Sorry)
Aegrus – The Carnal Temples (EP)
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
This is just a solid effort. Black’n roll riffs on top of a sinister, folk-y vibe, interspersed with classic Black Metal blast beats and shrill screams. There’s an epic quality to it as well, with melancholic melodies lending each track the gravitas to stand on their own. Plus for a cover that sort of reminds me of a certain scene in Midsommar. If you enjoy the likes of Wormwitch, this is really for you.
Amoth – The Hour Of The Wolf
Genre: Heavy/progressive metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
I normally don’t really go for this sort of vocal style, but there’s enough variation in it that I can focus on the good parts where it really suits the music. This is some fast paced heavy metal with enough playful chops and tempo variation that it crosses into progressive territory. With chuggy riffing and tasty licks aplenty, and a cool classic horror-themed cover, this just about secures a recommendation.
AngelBlast – Throne Of Ashes (EP)
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Suitably angry and sinister, it’s a successful subgenre blend. If there was more songs like these two on the record, it would be an easy recommend. But there’s just not enough material for me to work with. Check it out as a teaser for (hopefully) more to come.
Atrox Trauma – On The Line Of Nothing And Something
Genre: Thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is for you (like me) who actually liked Testament’s period of flirting with death metal. Vader-esque vocals on top of thrashy riffs that lean in a very Slayer direction every now and then. Just wish there was a bit more variation and thought put into the lyrics and song structures.
Benthik Zone – εἴδωλον
Genre: Atmospheric/avantgarde black metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Doesn’t work for me, but they put some thought into this. Vocals are miles back in the mix and the rest of the instruments kind of melt together and take the back seat to the highly processed, prolonged melodies up front.
Burned In Effigy – Rex Mortem
Genre: Neoclassical/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Black Dahlia Murder vibes, anyone? Well, not quite, but there’s enough of the musical elements that I enjoy about BDM in here with expanded focus on melody and mixed with the virtuosic fun that made Children of Bodom one of my favorite bands. My only real complaint is a certain lack of brutality – something to contrast the melodies, maybe a touch of that Fleshgod Apocalypse madness. Still, a really enjoyable listen.
Buzzard Canyon – Drunken Tales Of An Underachiever
Genre: Stoner/heavy garage rock
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5
The production completely ruins it for me, but there’s more problems on top. Disharmonic vocals, willfully amateurish performance for a pretty clunky overall result.
Celeste – Assassine(s)
Genre: Stoner/doom/shoegaze
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Blackened Gojira? Kinda, not really. This has, at its best, some great atmosphere to it, and very competent technical performances. But a fairly monotonous vocal style, and not a lot of structural variation beyond going hard-haunting-hard-haunting, brings this just shy of a recommendation.
Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave
Genre: Stoner/doom/shoegaze
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
This is a mellow one, although propelled by crunch-fuzzy slow riffing. I’ll save this to listen to while I work, but it probably won’t linger in my library. A bit too chilled out for my taste, but undeniably well crafted.
Crystal Ball – Crysteria
Genre: Hard rock/power metal
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 1.5/5
Eurovision dropout-level of creativity here.
Dark Meditation – Polluted Temples
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This would be an easy recommendation if not for the vocals. I can see them trying to push the otherwise playful and fairly clean sound in a more proto-black metal direction, but don’t really nail it and end up in a disharmonic, rusty, low-energy borderland. Aside from that, this is some excellent dark heavy metal. Doesn’t rewrite the book or anything, but has plenty of variation and memorable melodies.
Dawn of Solace – Flames of Perdition
Genre: Gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
This is good enough that I’ll probably give it a couple more listens later, but then probably forget it. The songs feel stretched and complacent, a little too comfortable dwelling on the same slow riff and melancholic melody for long stretches of time.
Dead Nexus – Becoming the Ancients
Genre: Death/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Just really messy, like it wasn’t planned properly before everyone started ripping into their instrument. Production also lets it down, with everything sounding slightly subdued.
Deathcult – Of Soil Unearthed
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
This is some bleak, old-school death metal that really nails the “welcome to hell” feeling that they set up with that album cover. Crunchy riffs that alternates between high speed shredding and slow doom. It’s not exactly fresh, but really confident in its style.
Death Shroud – Death, Slavery And The Pursuit Ov Sadness
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
These guys make an honest effort to marry their fairly run-of-the-mill black metal with some heavy metal speed and black’n roll groove, and largely succeeds. There’s just not a clear sense of a signature to the sound, but it holds potential for further development.
Depleted Uranium – Origins
Genre: Powerviolence
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is way outside my comfort zone, so if you’re the type of person who wants your music to repeatedly punch you in the face, this could be a 5/5 for you for all I know.
Detset – Vermeil
Genre: Hardcore/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A rather strange, or interesting (depending on your point of view) blend of hardcore attitude and the more thoughtful parts of metalcore. Somehow it end up sounding a bit too straightforward for me, but if you just like some modern sounding metal bordering on hard rock with a touch of hardcore aggression, this is certainly not bad.
Dying Light – Far From Life
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
A band that sounds like it tries to borrow a bunch of signature sounds at the same time. There’s Alice in Chains, Metallica and several other tentpole influences in here, but the core of the music is nonetheless terribly uninspired and just fairly bland.
Earthless – Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons
Genre: Stoner/psychedelic
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
There are some sweet, sweet payoff riffs and licks to reward you getting through some long ass buildup, but to me it’s just a bit too little, too late, and gets a little monotonous and jammy. But hey, if that’s your jam…
Ectoplasma – Inferna Kabbalah
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is just too fun not to recommend, although you gotta be on board with the fairly amateuristic style, especially when it comes to the vocals. The riffs hop and gallop, the rhythm is tight, and the whole band just seems to revel in the mock-brutality of it all.
Freaks And Clowns – We Set The World On Fire
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Ever wondered what it’d sound like if Dr. Rockzo the rock n’ roll clown started a power metal band? This wouldn’t be far from it. A bit of Accept and Primal Fear with a touch of glam.
Gloves Off – Life…And Everything After
Genre: Hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Some solidly aggressive hardcore leaning ever so slightly in to blackened death metal. There’s not that much more to say about it, really.
Harpyie – Blutbann
Genre: Folk/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Way too poppy for me, like a seriously softened Ensiferum flirting with the likes of Leaves’ Eyes.
Kraemer – All The Way
Genre: Hard rock
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 1.5/5
The kind of stuff that in my mind only exists to define the rock bottom of creativity.
Krosis – E.V.I.L.
Genre: Progressive deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Here’s some progressive deathcore that actually manages to convey a decent amount of forward momentum. That is, until they get stuck on not one, but two interludes. On an eight track album. It’s well crafted stuff, just not enough highlights to warrant a full recommendation.
Lana Lane – Neptune Blue
Genre: Prog rock/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
To me this is only progressive in the loosest sense of the word. It’s a pretty straightforward, happy-go-lucky sounding rock album with some heavy metal umph and proggy quirks every now and then. Not bad at all if you’re looking for a mild palate cleanser.
The Last Ten Seconds Of Life – The Last Ten Seconds Of Life
Genre: Deathcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Suitably angry and stompy, and they try a few proggy tempo- and mood shifts here and there. It just lacks a a certain forward momentum and distinguishably fresh parts, which is honestly a problem I have with most of deathcore.
Lawnmower Deth – Blunt Cutters
Genre: Thrash metal/punk rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Hey, if I was a bit more into punk I’d probably be able to appreciate the humor in this more. It’s hilarious on paper, just nothing that interests me enough musically.
Mur – Cut the Rivers Vein
Genre: Doom/atmospheric black/folk metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
If you like your black metal/funeral doom not too gloomy (which I suppose is a bit of a contradiction) this might be something for you. It’s still driven by slow, haunting melodies, but also dares to sound hopeful in the parts that lean the most into folk territory.
Nasson – Scars
Genre: Progressive/power metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Unless my memory betrays me, I’ve never liked an album that has a plain photo of the band’s front figure on the cover, unless the person is clearly playing some sort of role and/or wears lots of facepaint, that is. There are probably a few exceptions, but if you think that your plain, unaltered face is somehow a good representation of the music that you play, and the lyrics aren’t strictly about you and your life, I’d say you have a bit of an inflated ego issue. Oh, and this album is pretty generic and cheesy.
Night Hag – Phantasmal Scourge
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
I feel, as a fan of death doom, with slight emphasis on the doom, you’re getting more or less exactly what you want here. It’s abysmal, slow and kind of filthy. Just don’t expect anything too unique.
Oculi Melancholiarum – Noche azul (EP)
Genre: Atmospheric black metal/ambient
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
The majority of this EP isn’t really black metal, just melancholic, ambient melodies. It’s beautifully sad, I just wish it blended better with the heavier parts.
Possessor – The Speed of Death (EP)
Genre: Sludge/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
This is cool, dirty thrash, that is just a tad too one-dimensional for a full recommendation. Also, as EPs go, this feels extremely short.
Praying Mantis – Katharsis
Genre: Heavy metal/AOR
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5
Nothing new here… But if you want a throwback to oldschool, radio friendly heavy metal, then by all means.
Rabid Dogs – Black Cowslip
Genre: Sludge/stoner/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Some dirty, grindcore fueled sludge here, with a good bit of groove thrown in to balance it out. You get some great tempo variations, a delicious crunch to the riffs, and a mix of headbanging beats and all out aggression. Slows down a bit too much in parts, but not enough to kill the momentum. Big plus for harmonica.
Ravenous Death – Visions From The Netherworld
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Just a tad too chaotic for my taste, but if you like your death metal brutal, carvernous and evil, you shouldn’t go wrong with this one.
Sarcasm – Stellar Stream Obscured
Genre: Death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
With a fuller sound, I would almost certainly have enjoyed this even more. Some fast paced death metal to liven up the crypt. Surprisingly melodic, even playful in parts.
Sartori – Dragon’s Fire
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Fist pumping heavy metal with medieval power metal flair. Not the best production, but it kind of suits it.
Spectral Dance – Crusaders of the Void
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Cold, mostly mid tempo black metal with anguished vocals. Definitely something for genre fans, just not to my taste.
Steve Vai – Inviolate
Genre: Shred/prog
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5
As with pretty much any shred album, you’re kind of on a train to nowhere here. But at least there’s a genuine effort to make each song distinguishable, cause this is one playful record. If you’re the type of person who would happily sit through a 45 min solo session as long as there’s a bit of variation in there, this is all yours.
Stone House On Fire – Time Is A Razor
Genre: Prog/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Retro hard rock that takes a few twists and turns. Leans into stoner territory every now and then. Feels contemplative somehow. It comes off as a bit directionless for me, but I think that’s a very subjective experience.
Tension – Decay
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Peppy heavy metal brought down by slightly tone deaf vocals.
Thumos – The Republic
Genre: Instrumental, atmospheric doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
At times a meditative experience, a little too dwelling for me, but stylistically confident. They touch in on doom, black metal, folk and atmospheric rock, with moments of epic swells. Some of the instruments get a little crushed, even compressed, in the mix, which I suppose is to go with the whole post metal theme, and is perhaps the one detail that makes me skip over a recommendation.
Tine – Mergae Maris Profundi
Genre: Melodic death/black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is one of those cases where I think they nail the sound that your mind conjures up when first seeing the album cover. It’s epic, melodic, dark death metal made to be played in the halls of Neptune. The melodies aren’t the strongest, which is a shame, but they get a long way on atmosphere. I thought it cool enough for a shoutout, anyway.
Tormentor Tyrant – Tormentor Tyrant EP
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Some pretty damn aggressive death metal with enough groove to get my motor running. Brings to mind Misery Index, but dedicated to a more oldschool death metal sound and with more primitive production. It’s mostly unrelenting, but also very tight and cohesive, so doesn’t feel unnecessarily chaotic. These tracks are all bangers, but the title track gets a special mention from me. Also really dig the album cover. More please!
Toxpack – Zwanzig.Tausend.Volt
Genre: Heavy metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Some fist pumping, punky hard rock that’s not averse to gearing into heavy metal every now and then. This is the kind of stuff that gets me in the drinking mood at festivals, rather than silly power- and party metal.
Vicious Knights – Alteration Through Possession
Genre: Thrash/death metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A throwback to 80s and early 90s death and thrash, also as far as the production is concerned. Which is, honestly, not something that I see the point in. By all means, I don’t necessarily want my death metal to sound squeaky clean, but at least make it sound like it’s being played in the same room. When it seems more important to sound retro than to find a sound of your own, you lose me. But there’s some good stuff in here if you’re into this kind of thing.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band or need to give an album another shot, do feel free to express yourself in the comments below.
The Metal Dispatch 