Reviews of metal albums released May 09 – May 15
A slightly low-profile week allowing some low-flying radar evaders to grab a bit of attention.
Acid Reign – Daze Of The Week
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: I wouldn’t worry too much if you’ve been sleeping on England’s Acid Reign, ’cause they’re one of those bands that have been sleeping on themselves for most of their career. After releasing two full-lengths at the end of the 80s, they called it quits in ’91 before reuniting in 2015. A new album didn’t manifest until 2019, and then a lot of lineup changes brings us here, with vocalist “H” as the only remaining original member.
So what do they sound like? It’s thrash that’s knocking on the door of melodic hardcore. Especially considering the vocal style I’m reminded of early, punky Rage Against. They manage to sound young and hungry for most of the album, delving into frantic high speed and mid-tempo grooves. The main issue is that, especially with the choruses, they’ve a few too many turns into fairly uninteresting and repetitive riff patterns. Most of the songs start out really well, but don’t always hold up. Still, they’ve got enough character to their sound that I really want to hear them crack on and punch it into the next gear, which I think they’re capable of.
Highlight: “The Who of You”
Arroganz – Death Doom Punks
Genre: Death metal/punk
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: I mean, the album title kind of says it all, but I suppose I can offer a few more words. Arroganz are a German death metal band that play fast and loose with the rhythms, and unlike others of their ilk that are teetering on the edge of the blackened and doomy, they’ve got a fairly under-loaded production. This makes them light on their feet, despite the obvious, Asphyx-like harshness.
At the same time, this isn’t some tunnel-vision, hardcore-derived gang vocals-touting kind of thing. They take unexpected routes and do things to their grimy death metal base style that might catch you off guard if you’re unprepared. It’s a bit low on groove and pure heaviness, and doesn’t quite land with as much rebellious, up-yours attitude as I might have hoped for. But it’s damn refreshing to get the traditional morbidity served up in such an unconventional way, while still dedicating a significant amount of space to pure riff nastiness.
Highlight: “Die For Nothing”
Atavistia – Old Gods Awaken
Genre: Folk/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: Imagine a mashup of Finland’s Mors Principium Est and Finntroll, except it’s not Ensiferum and it’s not actually Finnish, although you’d be easily forgiven for assuming so. Atavistia are now on their fourth original full-length and going full-on pagan warrior on violent adventures. In contrast to 2023’s “Cosmic Warfare”, which was my introduction to them, the symphonic grandeur has been scaled back and the fun factor tuned up.
“Old Gods Awaken” is just as shred-y and dazzlingly melodic as you’d hope for, without ever really stepping into power metal. The balance between magical playfulness and aggression is handled just as well as you’d hope for, sending your mind straight to the glory days of the previously mentioned bands. Embracing this vibe though, while whole-hearted and producing plenty of satisfaction, leaves very little room for personality. It’s a great, tankard-whirling time that puts the band’s innovative powers on pause for the time being.
Highlight: “Mystic Tavern”
Defect Designer – Depressants
Genre: Experimental/avant-garde death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: If you think you might be able to appreciate death metal as an experimental jazz experience, then there’s hope for you and this album getting along. I came across Defect Designer back in 2024 with their album “Chitin”, which I found to be a refreshingly weird kind of dissonant death metal that did itself a huge favor by not taking itself too seriously. This attitude is even more pronounced on “Depressants”, as the album makes huge stylistic jumps and stays very structurally loose throughout the entirety of its 56+ minute runtime.
There are a few instances of blackened hostility, but also groove, prog rock, epic melody, alternative moodiness and other variations that make it seem like there are in fact three or four very different bands performing. Coherency is almost non-existent, and only about halfway through do I feel like they come to a vague consensus regarding the general direction they should be heading. Still, there’s a lot of cool moments on here, and none of it follows any sort of prog tropes or gives completely up on listenability.
Highlight: “Carte Blanche”.
Desiccation – Legatum Mortuorum
Genre: Doom/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: Do you ever get to places, physical or mental, that feel unsettling and alien in a way that makes you doubt you were ever really meant to get there, but something about it is so arresting that you can’t get yourself to leave? That’s what it feels like to me, being sucked into the soundscape of Desiccation’s sophomore full-length. It’s like wandering vast, stark, echoing halls of harsh light and deep shadow, and the immensity of it takes on a life of its own.
Speaking more plainly, this is blackened doom metal with a soft, round production that allows for an almost tangible presence of atmosphere. There’s sharp aggression and heavy riffs, but also melancholy melody that swells and abates gradually as a river level rises and falls. Not every song takes you to equally rewarding places, but at its best it’s both deeply immersive and more directly engaging with its steadfast rhythms and standout solos.
Highlights: “Lamentations Beyond the Veil”
Gozu – Gozu VI
Genre: Stoner rock/metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: I’m so happy that there are bands out there like Gozu to prove that stoner rock is more than just half-humorous southern grooves set to rock ‘n’ roll rhythms. Unlike last week’s Restless Spirit, this stands more firmly on the hard rock side, but knows how to bring the heaviness when a bit of headbanging is called for. While not a conceptual-feeling album, it’s also not straightforward. It visits doom, heavy metal, sludge, alternative and progressive hard rock, but also never letting its groovy motor choke.
Personally I find myself losing focus a couple of times as they let the energy wane, and not all of their hooks and melodies are quite strong enough to quickly pull me back in. But If you’re looking for semi-heavy crunch with strong writing, that dares to lean outside the box now and then, then look no further.
Highlights: “Corinthian Leatherface” and “Corvette Summer”
Lorn – Searing Blood
Genre: Atmospheric black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: With this Italian black metal project you get both jarring dissonance, progressive structural shifts and atmospheric melody that is both ethereal in feel and electronic in execution. These different sides to the music don’t clash as mush as they are allotted their separate spaces, which makes the experience a bit jumbled.
Tonally and technically, this is very clearly stark black metal, but it’s reaching for depths of expression that the aforementioned elements help it reach. On an album level it’s perhaps not joined together in the most elegant or cohesive way, but if you don’t mind the shifts in personality this is absolutely a characterful offering that suggests a very interesting direction for the band.
Highlight: “Gallows”
Periphery – A Pale White Dot
Genre: Progressive djent/metalcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: I wouldn’t normally use “djent” as a subgenre term, but given the title of the band’s last album, I feel (once again) strangely compelled. On their latest non-numbered release, Periphery take a partial break from progressive complexity in order to better flex their stylistic range. The album encompasses everything from straight pop to symphonic deathcore, and for the most part the guys can’t help themselves but throw in a few dissonant chugs here and there and massively crank up the aggression to go with them.
So what this album does well is variation, and calling it unoriginal would be unfair. But at the same time, for significant parts of the album, it feels like the band taking a bit of a breather, not underperforming, but far from pushing their songwriting capabilities. And that’s okay. It’s not gonna win prog album of the year, but it plays around with expectations while delivering plenty of technical excellence and strong melody.
Highlight: “Malevolent”
Pro-Pain – Stone Cold Anger
Genre: Hardcore/groove metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: If you’re craving some good old-fashioned coarse-groove hardcore, then you’ll be delighted at the return of NY’s Pro-Pain. This thing delivers exactly what it says on the tin from the very first second, and apart from a a small influx of melody it doesn’t veer from the path. I’m not gonna hold it too hard against it, but rhythm wise it’s pretty damn dull, and conceptually there are absolutely no surprises. It makes up for it with punk attitude and chunky riffs, and if that’s enough for you then by all means dig in and have your fill.
Tyrannus – Mournhold
Genre: Black/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: It’s such a great feeling when a band you have no real expectations for proceed to bitch slap your blasé face, take you by the ear and pull you into a fresh musical landscape the like of which you didn’t realize how much you were ready to embrace. On the surface, this Scottish gang might strike you as straight-up blackened thrash metal with a bit of death metal monstrosity latched on, and not much else. But keep listening and they’ll keep showing new sides to themselves. There’s a whole underbelly of gothic-ish melody with a bit of a spacey feel to it, and it expands their style beyond the expected speed riff bad-assery.
But even as they build on their core sound, they never forget about the thrashing, bitter-tinged, rebellious energy that’s actually driving the music. Again and again they reach new highs of energetic, solo-tastic coolness reminiscent of Hellripper and Midnight, and it’s done with a highly convincing level of enthusiasm. Some of the slower, doom-leaning sections don’t quite hit as hard, but I think that with a bit more maturity we will see them nail these as well.
Highlights: “Seize the Stars” and “Reignfall”
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 