What to say about this week? You get a bit of everything. Not all of it great, but there’s solid variation throughout, and some real highlights within subgenres that I normally don’t get too hyped about, so that’s cool.
Abstracted – Atma Conflux
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Starting the week off with a flurry of technical musicianship. This is definitely tech death, but with the odd, unpredictable rhythms of prog. Unfortunately, I find that much of the sense of progression is lost as the melodies and grooves are constantly cut short in favor of clever tempo shifts. A little too prog for prog’s sake.
Aevum – Glitch
Genre: Symphonic/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
This one sounds a little different to your average symphonic album. It’s edgier. Not all in a good way, but still. Unfortunately, the mix is a little weird and the melodies could definitely be stronger – they get a bit lost behind electronic effects, and don’t really match up too well with what the vocals and guitars are doing. Still, check out if you think a slight twist to the genre sounds interesting.
Alunah – Strange Machine
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
While this is in no way a reinvention of the wheel – for a doomy stoner record this thing is a riot! The rhythm is upbeat more often than not, the riffs are cool and inventive and the vocals dare to go beyond muffled shoegaze. The production is uncharacteristically clean, although, don’t worry, the guitars are still suitably fuzzy. There’s just a real sense of the band having had the desire to make something slightly different and fresh, and it paid off. Check out “Over the Hills” and “The Earth Spins”.
Atoll – Prepuce (EP)
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
You like your death metal fun and reeeally guttural? This one’s for you. These guys clearly don’t take themselves too seriously with titles like “Molotov Cock Tease”, and the music is pretty much what you’d expect. The production is good, the drumming is real intense and the riffs are pummeling.
Cancer Bats – Psychic Jailbreak
Genre: Hardcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
The Bats are back! And they’ve brought a new batch of groovy, rowdy hardcore with them. To me, they’re at their best when the pace is up and they’re serving riffs of different flavors with a sense of urgency. I lose a slight bit of interest in the middle section, where I don’t find that the song identities are at they strongest, but there’s still a good collection of really cool material on here overall. Fans should definitely be pleased.
Darkher – The Buried Storm
Genre: Folk/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
There isn’t all that much to go on when reviewing this as a metal record, which is why my subjective score will be a bit lower. The vocals and melodies on here are darkly enchanting, so if you like getting lost in funeral doom, you’ll probably like this. To me it gets a little too mellow in parts, and they could have boosted the intensity of the few heavy parts to create a more dramatic contrast to the rest.
DeVicious – Black Heart
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 2/5
Feels like a 80s action TV show soundtrack, and not really off anything particularly memorable.
Dreariness – Before We Vanish
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A black metal record that really seems to revel in the misery it presents. I don’t think there’s a single part on here not draped in melancholy. Which works up to a point, then gets a little repetitive, especially with the harshly anguished vocals. Some good melodies on here, though, and definitely a concept that could do with further development.
Egregore – The Word Of His Law
Genre: Experimental black/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Definitely too weird or chaotic for me most of the time, which is too bad, cause they have some parts I really enjoy on here that creates a great mood from the mix of evil-sounding guitar riffs and solemn chants and melodies.
Faceless Entity – The Great Anguish Of Rapture
Genre: Technical death/black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Some noise-distorted, slow black metal to bring on a real sense of hopelessness. A little too monotonous in tone for my taste, but will probably find listeners among black metal specialists.
Grayscale Season – Do You Like Violence
Genre: Alternative metal-/hardcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is fairly typical rhythm-driven, metalcore-inspired, moody modern metal. The djent-y guitars get far too dominating for my taste, overriding melody and bringing a staccato progression that really doesn’t mix all too well with the rest. But then I might just be getting old and bitterly blasting whatever the kids like these days.
Greyhaven – This Bright And Beautiful World
Genre: Progressive hard-/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
An at times chaotic, at times melodic, semi-aggressive hardcore record with a progressive spin. They try a few different things on here, while not getting too experimental. To me there’s not all that much character, at least not outside the more mellow bits. But if you’re already a fan I think this will present itself as a well crafted pleaser.
Hostilities – NØ COWARDS
Genre: Hardcore
Subjective rating: 0/5
Objective rating: 3/5
As always, I give an automatic 0 rating to bands pointlessly using the letter “ø” in place of “o” in their titles. It’s an ignorant hipster fad move from people who don’t realize that “Ø” is an actual Scandinavian letter, and correctly pronouncing it when misused like this makes your band/record/song title sound fucking ridiculous. The music is fine – fairly tiresome, aggressive hardcore.
Imminent Sonic Destruction – The Sun Will Always Set
Genre: Progressive metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
For all the tempo- and mood shifts, different instruments and vocal styles on display here, there’s something fundamental lacking from this progressive effort. And that, I think, is a strong, singular idea behind the compositions. The melodies are often lackluster, and the heavier parts fall a bit flat without a proper buildup or backup by all the elements that they have at their disposal. Still, some cool parts here and there.
Limousine Beach – Limousine Beach
Genre: Hard rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Some really good-natured-sounding retro hard rock here to put you in a carefree mood. A lot of these songs are pretty classic and a bit unimaginative in their sound, but there are some strong ones as well, and enough character to forgive some slightly less than stellar musical performances.
Mano De Mono – Chameleon Tongue
Genre: Stoner/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Fairly clean and energetic for a stoner record, this still retains most of the stylistic hallmarks of that subgenre. To be honest, a great deal of it sounds a lot like Stone Temple Pilots, and not just because of the vocal style (which is my least favorite part). A genre pleaser, to be sure. A little too unmemorable otherwise.
Nazareth – Surviving The Law
Genre: Hard rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This was a positive surprise for me, as I went in expecting a phone-in. But they definitely try a few different things on here, taking the freshness rating up a marked notch. If you like classic, slightly sleazy-sounding hard rock flirting with blues, I think you could do a whole lot worse than this.
Monuments – In Stasis
Genre: Progressive metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Here’s a progressive record where they get it right. The move between different tempos and tones feels seamless, and the overall sound very organic as a result. It’s bippin’ and boppin’ kind of metalcore with fairly soft clean vocals to go with the harsh ones, which doesn’t work for me, but probably won’t bother a lot of others. There’s good grooves, great melodies and speed executed with excellent technical deftness.
Månegarm – Ynglingaättens Öde
Genre: Folk/black ‘n roll
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
This is not your average blackened folk metal, but rather something much more tongue in cheek and rowdy. There are definitely some cold riffs and raspy screams on here, but with a refreshing influx of punky attitude. The melodies are very typical Scandinavian folk, but take on a different dimension as they’re treated with a mixture of empathy and irreverence. Try “Auns söner” and “Stridsgalten”.
Patterns of Decay – Patterns of Decay
Genre: Melodic death metal/metalcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
These guys don’t do themselves any favors by putting – in my opinion – most all of the strongest songs on the back half of the album. The first few songs feel a bit more experimental, and, maybe as a result, less stylistically confident. Then, with “Seven Seconds”, I feel like we shift into high gear and these guys show of what they really can do, both in terms of intensity and technical consistency. “Of Famine and Plague” is another stellar example here, bringing tight grooves and a suitable level of aggression. With a bit more maturity, these guys might very well put together something truly epic.
Qaalm – Resilience & Despair
Genre: Funeral doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Difficult to review at the pace that I’m doing it, my relatively speedy impression of this is still that there’s actually too little atmosphere on this. They don’t quite manage to transport me to that far away place I need to go to in order to really appreciate this kind of thing. Some of the heavy parts feel a little dragged out. The tone is pretty consistently creepy, though.
Axel Rudi Pell – Lost XXIII
Genre: Hard rock
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
I can’t really abide this kind of formulaic and stagnant approach to music, but for people who just want more of the same, It’ll probably do the job. Bonus point for a touch of NWOBHM flair thrown in there.
Poison Rose – Little Bang Theory
Genre: Hard rock
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 2/5
Take what I said in the review above and detract most of the redeeming features, and you’ve got this.
Powerglove – Flawless Victory
Genre: Heavy/symphonic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A video game themed metal album that mostly sounds like it’s the soundtrack to a musical. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. There are some tasty solos on this, and a fairly wide tone spectrum. A fun palate cleanser, even if you don’t have a ton of interest in gaming.
Psychostick – …And Stuff
Genre: Comedy metal
Subjective rating: 1.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
I dunno… I find a lot of death metal much funnier than this. And most of this album hardly works as actual music. But if you like to sit and listen to the lyrics, enjoy random humor and don’t want to take the music too seriously, then you might have a really good time.
Semblant – Vermilion EcLipse
Genre: Goth/symphonic/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A band that’s trying to be a few too many things at once, I think. There’s simple, symphonic melodies driving heavy industrial riffs and all kids of different vocal styles vying for attention. The big songs get too accessible for me, and the smaller ones lack focus.
Stone Broken – Revelation
Genre: Hard rock
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
To me, this is boy band pop disguised as rock music. Pretty generic in most every way.
Trace Amount – Anti Body Language
Genre: Avant-garde industrial metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
An eerie, darkly electronic experience, like something emerging from the underground of some techno-dystopian society. I like the attitude and tone it projects, I’m just having a hard time getting behind it musically.
Vanderlust– Vanderlust
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
This one came as a surprise to me. Some genuinely excellent instrumental work on here, and great songwriting, that harkens back to the raw enthusiasm and exploratory spirit of NWOBHM and that early era of pushing the scope of metal music. These guys still have some maturing to do, but they’re off to a fantastic start. They’re pushing a spacey theme, with just a hint of prog in the approach to structure and rhythm, and it all adds up to a decent amount of character. “3 Suns” and “Ten Years Back” are just two of many tasty treats on here.
Viande – L’abime dévore les âmes
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Some dark death metal as we near the end of the week. This is not the kind of stuff you go to for variation – at a sample, much of this sounds fairly similar throughout. But they go into enough of a grim groove in certain parts, breaking up the hammering drums, that upon an active listen, you do find enough reason to keep going.
A Wilhelm Scream – Lose Your Delusion
Genre: Melodic/progressive hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5
A record bursting with energy and creativity, this one works both on a musical- and purely entertainment level. For me, there’s too much “college rock” in the vocal style and some of the melodies, so I go from impressed nodding to amused grinning to displeased grimacing every few seconds. But if you’re more in tune with the lighter side of hardcore and punk rock, there’s a ton to like on here.
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 