Reviews of metal albums released July 04 – July 10
It’s a week for fresh approaches, variety, strong debuts and second winds.
Apogean – Waste Where Life Begins
Genre: Technical death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: On their sophomore offering, Canadian band Apogean take a decisive step away from the slightly generic (but spacey and fun) technical style of their debut and move in the direction of riff-forward, groove-centric blackened death metal, not horribly unlike a band like Vredehammer. Clear elements of hardcore and proggy technicality remain though, so as you get further into the album you realize you’re not faced with quite as drastic a style change as first it might have seemed.
The main problem with this half-step into a new realm is that I’m left uncertain as to what the band actually wants to sound like, as I keep hearing traits clearly inspired by well-known bands of starkly different death metal subgenres. At one moment it’s symphonic deathcore, then a bit of Allegaeon, some Behemoth-style evil solemnity, Sylosis melodic verve and Soulfly thrash-tribal brutality. Apart from a bit of stylistic confusion though, it’s still a well-performed and entertaining album with strong individual tracks, for those who like their death metal treading the middle way between tech-y madness and abyssal blackness.
Highlight: “Daughter of the Oak”
Arise From Worms – A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction
Genre: Experimental/technical death metal/shred
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: If there wasn’t such a thing as death shred before this album came out, there sure is now. This project combines all-out aggression and technical brutality with a seemingly overpowering need to squeeze out wild, non-harmonizing guitar solos. It’s seriously jarring at first, and even as I find myself getting used to it throughout, it really doesn’t stop throwing you off, and suspect (and hope) it’s intentional. It’s got the same problem as most shred albums in that it’s got no real purpose other than to wow, but this one’s at least a good measure more memorable thanks to its whacky stylistic melding.
DevilDriver – Strike and Kill
Genre: Groove/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: On their 11th full-length since starting out in 2003, California’s DevilDriver have finished dealing with their demons (if that confuses you, check out their most recent discography) and are changing things up a bit. As the title suggests, they go straight for the throat on “Strike and Kill”, loading on the aggression, not forgetting their signature melodic catchiness, but prioritizing high-energy, beat-heavy directness.
Those that enjoy the melodeath-factor to their sound need not despair though, as it’s very much still present, just whipped into a higher rev range by the percussive assault of the riffs and drums. It’s tight and super groovy, although the song structuring and overall wealth of material doesn’t quite match the ferocious progression. I expected to be left wanting more, but at the end of the near 51-minute runtime I’m well stuffed and feeling like the band leaves me at the bottom of a downward slope of memorability. A revitalizing and fun record, if a bit overstuffed.
Highlight: “Dig Your Own Grave”
Dysgnostic – End Whispers
Genre: Technical death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: Dissonant death metal has to hit a very certain spot for it to truly work for me, and I might as well admit from the very start that this sophomore release by Dysgnostic (previously Defilementory) doesn’t quite do that. To me it feels a bit hesitant and distracted, like it keeps pausing and changing direction out of sheer absent-mindedness. And when it strikes, it’s never quite the cataclysmic cacophony that I keep hoping for.
All that being said, this is a thoroughly sinister and hostile album that manages to be both unsettling and rousing. There’s a blackened feel to it, without it taking on any explicitly black metal traits. It’s oppressive and dark, but doesn’t drag you down into despair, and it never feels repetitive. If you’re into bands like Ulcerate, then you’re gonna get more of the same measured mind torture here.
Highlight: “Orphaned and Abandoned”
Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments
Genre: Heavy/speed metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: Emerging from the castle crypts once more, after an eleven year absence, France’s Iron Slaught sound like they’ve been deep in study of the arcane arts of underground 80s metal. There’s never any doubt that this is a speed-style classic heavy metal album, but where you expect strict faithfulness to near-formulaic genre conventions, instead you get playfulness and variety, with elements of first-wave thrash, black and death metal.
While not “blackened”, “Metallic Torments” is also far from a bright and bubbly kind of sound. It leans into its medieval concept and doesn’t shy away from melodic sections, buildups and interludes, but the tone remains on the solemn and dark side. Vocalist “Iron” Jérémy offers up a baffling range of styles, each complementing the overall mood of the song and adding tons of character without at all feeling haphazard. The album is loaded with awesome solos and tasty riffs, and strikes an excellent balance between aggressive drive and epic scope.
Highlights: “Ghastly Obsession” and “Soldier of Fortune”
No Cure – It Is Going To Get Dark
Genre: Hardcore/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: Prepare to have your brain reduced to paste through sonic blunt-but-spiked megaton-force trauma. On their first actual full-length (or at least first release to exceed 30 minutes of runtime), No Cure dishes out the punishment by several truckloads at a time combining hardcore and (mostly) non-melodic metalcore with bestial, thunderous death metal. The result feels like a semi-mechanical monstrosity that blindly consumes everything in its path with almighty chomps.
For the absolute most part, the album is surprisingly varied in terms of rhythms, and not overly reliant on the typical, percussive breakdowns, although they are very much present and used to great, if a bit repetitive and predictable effect. The vocals spit bile, and the riffs are just as meaty and murderous in tone as you could hope for. In the end, I find myself growing slightly numb to the incessant heaviness, but they finish off the album with enough groove and hooks that I’m still left hyped and seeing red.
Highlights: “Slowly Turning Blue” and “Ironclad”
Sojourner – Gateways
Genre: Atmospheric/melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: I’ve listened to a bit of Sojourner in the past and definitely liked what I heard, but never really applied a critical mindset to their music, nor had it linger in my mind for very long. Now they’re back with another spiky-castle-adorned album and more epic-melodic bleakness, and I’m faced with the task of putting into words why I like it, but keep forgetting what each song sounded like only moments into the next one. Their balance of serenity vs brutality and clean vs harsh vocals is not to be faulted. Their progressions are slow, but build well. Yet the melodies sort of just don’t go anywhere, and sorely lack staying power. It’s a shame, because at any given moment, they’re doing quite a lot of things right.
Volubilis – Theasterion
Genre: Progressive/technical death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: Volubilis is a fresh, one-man progressive tech death project out of Quebec, and already from the get-go he’s pulling you deep into an intricate sci-fi concept. When you hear the words tech death and sci-fi, a very specific sound tends to come to mind, which involves frantic bursts of bleep-y notes and drums like an automatic typewriter on critical overload. This is very far from that. The tempos, while fast, are controlled and purposeful, allowing for memorable melody lines to shine through, and riff- and rhythm patterns to actually stick in your mind.
The song progressions are unpredictable and of varying tonality. You get moments of peppiness, wonder, alarm and stress, and for the absolute most part these feel like intriguing developments in the unfolding story. Every now and then I find myself a little jarred at the seeming randomness of a shifting approach, but it very rarely feels like these are thrown in there just for the sake of variation. The production is a bit weird, with a certain hollowness and lack of low end heft, but nothing so egregious that you don’t stop thinking about it after a while. There’s a wealth of innovative thinking going on here, and in a way that makes me think there is going to be more of the like, and even better, coming from this direction in the future.
Highlights: “Homo Cumulus” and “Unukhalai Supernova”
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 