This week is out to banish the light and warmth of summer, pouring on darkness and anger in clear defiance of sunny optimism.
Alestorm – The Thunderfist Chronicles
Genre: Folk/power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
I will admit that I got over being endeared by Alestorm’s party-pirate schtick rather quickly after first learning of them, but kept appreciating their commitment to silliness and on-theme antics. Lately though, their albums have been straight up lazy, offering little but empty calories served up in formulaic fashion. This one is a bit different. Instead of going all-out party metal, it feels like the boys have taken a decisive step (back) to rowdy folk metal, bringing to mind the likes of Finntroll, and even Children of Bodom in parts. There are some actually interesting instrumental performances, varying moods and solid melodies, and, contrary to my expectations, the 17-minute finisher is one of the best tracks on the record.
Highlight: “Killed to Death by Piracy”
Black Majesty – Oceans Of Black
Genre: Power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Classic, shred-y, instrument-driven power metal out of Australia. Apart from it being far too long at nearly an hour runtime and not offering a shred of innovation, it’s highly style-confident, and sounds fittingly lofty.
Cryptopsy – An Insatiable Violence
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
When I describe this band’s sound as “ferocious tech death”, you gotta forget the likes of Archspire and Fallujah. Cryptopsy is much more in touch with “straight” and brutal death metal, in the way that it sounds coarse and monstrous. It’s precise and fast, yes, but there’s a ravenous, predatory force behind it that constantly tugs on the reigns. It’s got some of the most spine-tinglingly crushing riffs I’ve heard all year, and manages to inject austere, darkly majestic melody without it diluting the malevolence. Tonally and vocal-wise it’s not super varied, but very consistent and fitting for the style. An absolute blast if you’re looking for something both massive and uncompromisingly aggressive.
Highlights: “The Art of Emptiness” and “Until There’s Nothing Left”
Haggus – Destination Extinction
Genre: Grindcore/hardcore
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Haggus takes the form of a street-stomping, pissed off punker that also happens to be a rotting, flesh-eating undead. Essentially it’s grindcore, confirmed by its sub-25 minute runtime, total lack of buildups and steady, impatient tempos. But it also showcases goregrind nastiness, death metal heaviness, groove and melody, and plenty of punk and hardcore levity. There are a few by-the-numbers tracks (and even these hold a high standard) and then there’s a generous handful of true entertainers, rocking your world with style shifts, endearing attitude and/or sick riffs. I’d say that the first half is definitely best, but there aren’t any real lulls or drops in quality, so you can expect a good thrashing till the very end.
Highlights: “Do You Love Mincecore” and “Bound By Realms Of Cruelty”
Hellevaerder – Fakkeldragers
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Hellevaerder is a Dutch black metal band that’s now on their third full-length, and that experience is clearly audible on “Fakkeldragers”. If you don’t pay it all that much attention, it’ll probably sound like run-of-the-mill, cold, folk-tinged, windswept black metal, but the devil is absolutely in the details. The band is not content to rely on atmosphere to provide the nuance. Instead they apply subtle tonal- and rhythm shifts, helped by an effective use of bass and tremolo, that sometimes feel like they’re performing two sides of a dynamic duel. The production is suitably lean and sharp. I could have liked a bit more punch to the riffs, especially when they’re at their most aggressive, but for the most part the mood comes through perfectly. The vocals sound tortured, like they’re performing painful invocations, and contribute to the feeling of sinister witchery at work.
Highlights: “De laatste dageraad” and “Fakkeldragers”
Imha Tarikat – Confessing Darkness
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Bitter black metal out of Germany on offer here. Marching, often high-tempo rhythms drive the songs forward at an unstoppable pace, spreading the misery steadily across all of reality. There’s an aggression borrowed from blackened death metal that ensures a good, solid impact, and the dark melody paints an expansive picture of lands swathed in smoky blackness. There’s a hint of a sinister western groove to the guitars, and the vocals are hoarse rather than full-on harsh, which provides the band some welcome distinction. It’s probably a bit longer than necessary at nearly 56 minutes, but certainly doesn’t ever run out of energy.
Highlight: “Another Failed Ritual”
Malevolence – Where Only The Truth Is Spoken
Genre: Groove metal/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Am I really gonna be THAT guy and proclaim that with their latest release, Sheffield’s Malevolence have crossed the threshold and gotten “too big”? Well, let’s accept the facts: Their 2022 release “Malicious Intent” was a big hit, and very deservedly so. The follow-up was never gonna sound underground, but one could at least hope that the band would strive for the same level of aggression. And it sounds like they have, but at the same time clearly not been able to help themselves in terms of trying to produce…hits. Many of the choruses are streamlined and feeling fairly tame, with some actual ballad work entering the fray, and deathcore breakdowns becoming the standard solution for a “heavy” finish. All that being said, there’s even more groove than before, and at it’s best it’s actually insanely good. And when they really set out to rip your face off, they take the teeth, eyes and tongue with it.
Highlights: “If It’s All The Same To You” and “With Dirt From My Grave”
Mugshot – All The Devils Are Here
Genre: Hardcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Mugshot take demolition-minded hardcore and weaponize it further, with meaty death metal guitars and stone-crunching vocals. Everything’s about the beatdown rhythms and threatening tone, bringing to mind a wrecking ball being flung around like a flail by massive machinery. In certain parts it gets fairly similar, but the next industrial-like scrape or squeal, groovy riff or playful rhythm variation is never far away. It’s a bludgeoning affair that’s (thankfully) over in just over 25 minutes, which is right on point for this kind of punishment. If the Malevolence album wasn’t quite heavy enough for you, these guys will probably grant you your fix.
Highlights: “I Will Be Here Forever” and “Vale of Tears”
Patristic – Catechesis
Genre: Blackened death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Merciless yet solemn blackened death metal that’s clearly adhering to a blasphemous concept. At times it prowls, at times it hurtles itself at you full force, and some times it just goes rabid with fury, thrashing everything around it. It never really lands anything truly memorable, but feels like it’s on the verge of it several times.
Reflection – The Battles I Have Won
Genre: Heavy/power metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Miss Dio? You can get a taste of that unapologetically epic style on here, both vocal and instrumental wise. It’s far from a bombastic and “big” sounding record, but it’s perfectly melodic and methodical about its progression in a way like it’s continuously telling a story with every element at its disposal. It lacks a bit of force and energy to really leave a mark, but the style is highly endearing.
Tenebrae In Perpetuum – Vacuum Coeli
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Atmosphere-leaning black metal from Italy, that’s not the least bit interested in harmony. It’s bitter, maddening and ugly, with a very lean production and highly traditional approach to performances.
Witherer – Shadow Without A Horizon
Genre: Blackened death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
This one will require some post-listen light therapy. It feels like being buried alive and hearing the earth move around your coffin like a great beast tossing and turning in its sleep, while other buried souls scream their lungs out in agony and despair all around you. There seems to be little rhyme or reason to its progression, other than it taking the shape of a deeply disturbing nightmare that refuses to let go, and gets even more oppressive the more you fight for consciousness in an attempt to wake up. It’s disharmonic, but not in a technical or actively jarring way. The tempo is doom, but the drum, bass and guitar interplay is so intricate and at odds with each other in an oddly organic way that it feels quite busy at times. The vocals are mostly deep and gurgly, and it feels heavy in a deep and echoing way, but it’s not at all overproduced. Dive in, and forget what comfort and happiness feels like.
Highlights: “Fiat Umbra (Burial Beneath the Stalactites” and “Solar Collapse Mandala”
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 