Second to last week of the year wants to have some rowdy fun, pouring on speed and tasty riffs, and going easy on the conceptual part.
Allfader – Call of the Void
Genre: Melodic death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Northern Norway extreme metal that mixes the kind of oddball melodeath you get from Avatar with viking-folk infused black metal, for an album that will appeal to the more fun-loving part of the black/death fan base. It’s borderline epic, a bit proggy, and really catchy at times. It’s not an album that I’d say is helpful in defining the band’s style, as it’s a bit inconsistent, but quite entertaining if taken up front.
Ardeat – Apotheosis
Genre: Black/death metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
A spirited Italian blackened death project that has some maturing to do in terms of technical performances, but shows good promise in bridging the gap between the dark emotions of melodic black metal and pummeling modern death metal.
Becerus – Troglodyte
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Straight-for-the-throat deathgrind that’s primitive in all the right ways. It’s agile and precise, like a highly practiced axe murderer, with caveman-grunt and feral-scream vocals, and a hungry rhythm attack that rips apart its victims into appropriately sized pieces to grind down with crushing riff sections. Each track, which ranges from just over a minute to just under four, has its own menacing strategy to inflict debilitating damage, whether it be with brutal frontal assault or knife-wielding stalking, and it always achieves the kill. Not a refined or expansive thing, but a great surge of pure savagery.
Highlight: “Obfuscated by Imbecility”
Canis Dirus – By The Grace Of Death
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A maelstrom of misery pulls you into the depths of this semi-atmospheric black metal album. It’s like a struggle between a gentler, distressed spirit that spreads its woe through chants and acoustic string instruments, and one that growls its distaste directly into your ear, whipping up a tempest of anguish to go with it.
Epitaph – Path To Oblivion
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
The third full-length from this long-going Italian doom project brings the kind of crunchy, warm riffs and winking occultism that you’d expect from genre tops like Candlemass, and adds onto it with a more patient, kind of playful mystery that feels a bit like exploring an abandoned medieval castle and imagining dark deeds of the past from the crumpled remains. Some of the time it’s simply entertaining, and at its best it’s delightfully quirky – getting you lost in a slow, reverent dance of epic dreams.
Pandemic – Phantoms
Genre: Thrash/speed metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Here’s some Polish old school speed thrash that has a level of free-spirited enthusiasm and inventiveness about it that makes it sound like it actually took part in founding the subgenre. Next to the agile shredding and half-rough vocals there are also influxes of darker shades of metal, like black metal tremolo and a couple of sections of straight-up classic doom. But while these certainly add to the thematic of shady spiritualism, this is not an “evil”, and certainly not blackened, kind of thrash, instead leaning towards the epic and ever so slightly atmospheric, more like classic heavy metal in that regard. It doesn’t get stuck repeating ideas or instrumental approaches, managing the kind of variation that allows each song to take on a quick-to-grasp, distinct identity, and offers highlights in riffs, melodic passages, clever rhythms and vocal variations alike.
Highlight: “Santa Muerte” and “Under Gypsy’s Spell”
Revolting – Night of the Horrid
Genre: Melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Ghoulhouse, etc.) strikes again, this time with his Revolting project, which offers up yet more crushing, old school Swedish death metal, offering recognizable elements from his other bands, and a familiar, gory horror theme, but with a greater emphasis on melody. To the extent that I dare call this melodeath, although definitely with the grinding riffs and glass-gargling vocals front and center, which is no less than what you’d expect and hope for. It doesn’t feel extraordinarily well-considered as full albums go, more like picking up where they left off and driving the deathtrain for the next stretch of distance, but still dropping bloody god damn gems of brutal bangers along the way like it’s second nature. Gimme more, just keep on giving me more.
Highlight: “Blades Will Cut”
Subway To Sally – Post Mortem
Genre: Heavy/folk metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
The epic, arena-shaking folk metal giant that is Subway to Sally is back with a grand, yet decently varied release that includes leanings into power- and symphonic metal as well as chest-beating classic heavy metal, all with a rich production and a tone that moves between gleeful, serious and triumphant.
Tigguo Cobauc – Fountains of Anguish
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A UK black metal project that takes inspiration from folk legend and allows it to enter the music as melody and grand atmosphere, without letting it grow out of proportions. On the other hand is punky, coarse black metal that pulls it all back down to the ground and whips up the tempo. Fresh, if not thoroughly coherent.
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, why not pop a comment down below?
The Metal Dispatch 