The first of the more meagre December weeks has a handful of progressive highlights on offer, as well as some diamonds in the rough.
Acid Blade – Power Dive
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Another slice of the classic metal renaissance – this is a German variant with particularly high pitched (and fairly disharmonious) vocals, eager rhythms and a light layer of psychedelia.
Blame Kandinsky – Exlectic Ruiner
Genre: Hardcore/mathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
An intricate dance of skittish rhythms, mellow melodies and constantly aggressive vocals. The riff attacks carry with them a good deal of dissonance, but not so much that they throw you off. Certain songs build up to more worthwhile highs than others, and while it’s all well crafted, there’s a lasting impression of randomness.
Celestial Season – Mysterium II
Genre: Atmospheric doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
While not quite at the near-standstill pace of funeral doom, this is not far off. There’s a definite sense of sorrow and lamenting to the melodies, and the large parts of the album that are entirely instrumental feel like equal parts darkened folk epics and eulogies for a bygone past.
Deströyer 666 – Never Surrender
Genre: Black/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
While not radical in any way, this is a slightly different approach to your typical blackened thrash. There is a high concentration of march-to-war melodic death metal riff- and rhythm techniques, and the tremolo melodies dip into a rousing folk tone that’s designed to get a collective mood fired up rather than just the individual. While the strongest songs are clustered towards the first half of the album, they keep the momentum going until the last, which brings the experience to a slightly solemn end.
Highlights: “Guillotine” and “Pitch Black Night”.
Dystopia A.D. – Doomsday Psalm
Genre: Melodic/progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A bit of an odd melodeath experience that, despite impressive technicality and a talent for atmosphere-building melody, never really gets going. Most of the songs feel like long and meticulous buildups that never really reach a peak. It’s definitely material with potential.
Gavran – Indistinct Beacon
Genre: Atmospheric sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
There’s a veil to pierce in order to truly get to the heart of this one. Long, dragged-out sections of slow riffs and head-down melodies supported by disharmonious vocals very gradually build up to fairly hostile highs of harsh-fuzz riffing. The groove tends to make up for the dissonance though, so it’s certainly not without its reward.
Hammers Of Misfortune – Overtaker
Genre: Progressive/heavy metal/rock
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
Are you a fan of old school prog rock but wish they’d bring more fun, grit and speed into it? This should thoroughly sate that particular craving. What you get is a bonkers mix of playful thrash riffage, utterly dazed and confused progressions and just the right amount of heaviness not to depart from the core concept into something that would be too easily defined. All throughout the experience they keep toying with your expectations – ducking in and out of morphing parallel avenues of approach while a strong, consistent stylistic magnetism keeps it all from floating apart.
Highlights: “Don’t Follow the Lights” and “Orbweaver”.
Heron – Empires of Ash
Genre: Sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A supremely crust-fuzzy sludge record with a doomy garage rock kind of feel. There is not much sense of urgency, which I suppose isn’t the point, but the power behind the rhythmic progression feels like it’s constantly om the edge of failing.
Ihma Tarikat – Hearts Unchained – At War with a Passionless World
Genre: Black metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
With atmospheric and melodic tendencies, a gritty vocal style and muted blast beats and tremolo, this is a meld of two worlds – the harsh down-to-earthness of sludgy hardcore and the horizon-gazing of mildly exploratory melodic black metal. It’s not the most elegant of joinings, but it produces some real highlights.
Nihilist Death Cult – Death To All Tyrants
Genre: Death metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
You might experience a mild case of deja vu sampling the selection of songs on this gritty death metal record, as the rhythms are – perhaps not surprisingly considering the style – quite similar. This is short and sweet fun though, blasting through 9 songs in less than 15 minutes, so you don’t really have time to get hung up on the lack of variation. And the entertainment value is great.
Obvurt – Triumph Beyond Adversity
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
An at first rather complicated and black-toned tech death album, it loosens up a bit as you go, venturing into slightly more traditional territory from the middle and out. Not that it gets any less technically impressive though. While not quite as tight as some of the greats of the subgenre, this is still eager, inventive and in service to the overall mood, which is much more important for a fresh band like this. They play with progressive rhythms, a bit of dissonance and brutal heaviness, while mostly remaining melodic.
Highlights: “Renverser L’adversité” and “Versus”.
Opus Arise – The Network
Genre: Progressive/orchestral metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A rather technical, zig-zagging approach to orchestral metal. This is an instrumental album, so relying on the instruments to tell the story. The arrangements are engaging, but the execution isn’t always up to snuff, inviting disharmony that detracts slightly from the experience.
Shining Wizard – Tournament Of Death (EP)
Genre: Grindcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A fairly no-nonsense, grindy death metal album with snarling vocals and hardcore rhythms. It’s uncomplicated fun that’s executed well.
Swept To Sea – Tides (EP)
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Classic metalcore with a distinct As I Lay Dying-feel, though not quite at that level of performance. Lacking a little groove, this still offers up some engaging, melodic riffing and a vocal style blissfully lacking in sappiness.
T.O.M.B. – Terror Winds
Genre: Black/noise metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
A black metal record that, if the noise had more of a natural feel, might sound like it was recorded in windy conditions, and so be more in stylistic theme with the title. . Still, it quite successfully conjures up an atmosphere of bleak damnation, and offers nuanced variation in rhythm and tone.
Vis Mystica – Celestial Wisdom
Genre: Symphonic/power metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A storytelling kind of symphonic metal record that, while being technically fairly formulaic, offers up a few different flavors in vocal style and tone, partially thanks to a selection of guest artists. It feels vibrant, epic, and theatrical in the right kind of way.
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 section below.
The Metal Dispatch 