It is certainly possible to have fun with this week, but you must be willing to look for it beyond the reach of the light.
Apocalypse Orchestra – A Plague Upon Thee
Genre: Folk/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
While this presents as a straight-up folk metal project, I would strongly recommend going into it expecting epic, medieval doom, because, certainly on this latest release, that’s the prevailing flavor. Yes, it is loaded with traditional instruments (hurdy-gurdy included) and the vocals are of the “calling out to the forest from a solitary hilltop” kind, but the tempo is slow, the riffs low and fairly ponderous, and the tone on the darker side. It does, at certain times build into triumphant, near-symphonic surges, but it never gets flippant or silly. Not all the songs accomplish a great deal, but the ones that do will stick with you.
Highlight: “Saint Yersinia”
Bleeding Through – Nine
Genre: Metalcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Dark, aggressive, yet melodic and catchy. The core recipe of Bleeding Through has not changed, although it would be inaccurate to say that they sound like they did in the early 2000s. It’s tighter, more industrial, more bombastically alternative/gothic, and the production is rich and well-defined. A good amount of these tracks do little to expand on a narrow basis, but for listeners who are less interested in the nuances and just want some driving, shadowy metalcore without an overload of sappiness or a wall of djent, this will hit the good spot.
Cantu Ignis – The Fathomless Dominion
Genre: Technical/symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A “yes to all” kind of modern melodeath album, pulling from symphonic, tech and ever so slightly from spacey progressive. There’s nothing wrong with it in a superficial sense. It’s well executed, well produced, both decently heavy and vibrantly melodic, and tonally fairly consistent. The problem lies with it not taking any distinct path. It’s precise and aggressive, AND anthem-prone AND nerdy AND a bit dark AND a bit playful.
Dawn Of Solace – Affliction Vortex
Genre: Doom/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
For those not familiar with Dawn of Solace, it’s gothic doom and it’s Finnish, so you know it’s going to be melodic and you know it’s going to be epic, no matter how deep it wants to bury its head in the graveyard earth. Sure, it’s about as much fun as that album cover, but the guys understand their niche extremely well, and deliver sublimely. The album is super dynamic – both gentle and brutally heavy, with fantastic performances and melody lines that keep moving and changing, showcasing expert storytelling capability. You thing that a doom album should not be this varied – should not be this to-the-point and efficient (only one 5+ minute track on here), but it it, and it really, really works.
Highlights: “Fortress” and “Invitation”
Decline Of The I – Wilhelm
Genre: Avant-garde black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
The most consistent thing on this album must be the mood, which is solemn more or less all the way through. The rest is far more mercurial, although the prevailing expression is certainly black metal. At its core-centered peak it strikes with demonic, near-symphonic force, closing in on the brutality of blackened death metal. At other times it almost completely shuts down into unnerving chanting, hip hop beat samples, classic instrumental bits or scary atmosphere. If you’re not paying attention, you might be left thinking you’ve covered about 15 different songs, when there are in fact only 5 on the album. This exploratory approach certainly makes for an unpredictable and mentally stimulating listen, and the songwriting really is top notch. But you might be left feeling that the overall impact has been somewhat lessened from lack of focus.
Highlights: “L’Alliance Des Rats” and “Entwined Conundrum”
Klastos — Born to Ruin
Genre: Sludge metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Garage rock sludge from Sweden that goes hard on the riffage. Brings to mind Horndal for sure, just as an even rougher, punkier, and a bit simpler iteration. This guys also know how to make it work melodically, and overall it goes about 50/50 on the harsh/groove balance.
Kosuke Hashida – Outrage
Genre: Grindcore/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Do you love grindcore’s unchecked aggression, roughness and short structure, but wish it could be a bit more generous with the groove-centric riffs? Japan’s Kosuke Hashida has you covered. This stuff is ultra direct, savagely relentless and absolutely furious, but just enough thrash instrumental control shines through to get a feeling that someone’s actually holding the reins to the mayhem. It’s not what you would call varied, but in the fast-paced grindcore world of sub-3 minute tracks it also certainly doesn’t feel repetitive. In line with the theme, it feels like an outright slaughter by means of merciless tactics and overwhelming firepower.
Highlights: “Strangulation” and “Corruption of Faith”
Lacuna Coil – Sleepless Empire
Genre: Gothic/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Time for a gothic boom. Lacuna Coil continue in their current iteration of balancing big, catchy, near-symphonic melody with powerful, industrial-like heaviness topped by harsh vocals. Christina Scabbia’s voice is still gorgeous, and they are clearly still well able to write engaging melodic structures, even if not all of it sounds equally original. It goes a bit too slow at times, not managing to match the downed tempo with a matching dip in mood, but certainly delivers on the stylized, alt-gothic soundscape that makes the band what it is, despite its evolution. It’s a rich, generous album that feels familiar in the right way.
Highlight: “The Siege”
Mantar – Post Apocalyptic Depression
Genre: Blackened punk/sludge metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
If you’re not in a riotous mood, don’t worry. You will be after listening to this. First up though, concerning this stage of Mantar’s stylistic journey: Some of the danger of earlier releases is missing on this album, so if you’re looking for something that still sounds underground and a bit like certain people wouldn’t want you to listen to it, you might be disappointed. “Post Apocalyptic Depression” is much more in line with the circle-pit fun of bands like Kvelertak, and for this purpose it’s crafted to near perfection. The energy on here is bottomless and highly infectious. The blackened edge is still there, but steered more in the direction of black ‘n’ roll, which is absolutely the correct choice for this sound. The vocal rasp and guitar crunch scour away the rust and grime that’s built up around your brain from from being exposed to the nonsense of the world, and the beat will get your blood pumping.
Highlights: “Halsgericht” and “Axe Death Scenario”
Mantric Momentum – Alienized
Genre: Melodic heavy metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Here’s some anthemic heavy metal that goes BIG. With powerful vocals, pounding riffs and power metal-like melody lines, it’s designed for maximum impact. It’s solid, certainly not original, but well produced, and not phoned in in terms of performances, at least.
Savage Lands – Army Of Trees
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Half metal band, half non-profit conservationist organization, Savage Lands has made this album in opposition to deforestation. It’s got a ton of guests on it, who are allowed to influence the style of the respective track they’re involved on. As for the root style of the band? Who can say. The songwriting on this album is, unfortunately, a mishmash, leaving several of the tracks indistinct and able to accomplish very little. There are some cool flavors scattered throughout though.
Volatile Ways – Perfect Dark
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Dark, percussive deathcore from Australia. The harsh female vocals and and rigid, stompy rhythms take it in a Venom Prison-like death-hardcore direction, but given the beatdown bass effects, guitar tone and general riff style, it’s core style is not in question. It’s certainly not lacking bite, but apart from a couple of tracks, it’s hard to really get any nuance from this, making it kind of just a single, chugging mass.
Warlung – The Poison Touch
Genre: Stoner/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Texas band Warlung successfully combines a whole bunch of related flavors on their latest release, showcasing the band’s proficiency with moderate genre fluidity, without for a moment breaking off from, or losing track of, the stoner/doom core. You are introduced to elements of classic heavy metal, psychedelic rock, blues and old school hard rock, implemented as suits the overall feel of any given track, and so amplifying groove, dreamy immersion, chillout-factor, melancholy, urgency and fun as necessary to give each song individual character. Now, I won’t say that they succeed in sounding different from any other band in the subgenre, but if you feel like too much of current heavy stoner lacks variation and true melodic affinity, then this might be just what you’re looking for.
Highlight: “Spell Speaker” and “White Light Seeker”
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 