Reviews of metal albums released October 31 – November 06
Hardcore and prog are at the forefront of this week, with some excellent death doom skulking in their shadows.
Annihilus Mundi — The Dead Sea Scrolls
Genre: Progressive/symphonic death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: There’s room for a lot of different ideas within progressive death metal. A band like Blood Incantation, for instance, doesn’t sound much like Ne Obliviscaris, which again doesn’t sound all that much like An Abstract Illusion. Now no-longer-one-man-project Annihilus Mundi have their own recipe, which involves symphonic melody, some thrashy riffing and a good deal of prog-nerdy storytelling.
If you want nothing but darkness in your death metal, then this isn’t for you. There’s aggression, for sure, but this is epic in the vein of Mors Principium Est and way beyond, even skirting the borders of power metal at times, without crossing over. It’s a massive one, with significant stretches dedicated to interludes and buildups, so strictly speaking you need to be hooked by track two in order not to lose interest going into the last quarter. It’s vibrant, solidly technical, and ambitious. I expect even greater things in the future.
Highlight: “Absolute Terror”
Besotten — Eye Of The Monolithicrypt
Genre: Death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: Aww, I just showered before sitting down with this, and now I’m not sure I’ll ever feel clean again. Besotten’s debut album will slosh into your ears like wet mud with coarse sand in it. It’s an abomination of grinding riffs, putrid vocals and spirit-crushing low end, but it’s also more than that.
There’s a decent amount of drive on the album, making no part of its 36 minute runtime feel sluggish, with some great solos and vocal shenanigans adding to the entertainment factor. And the atmosphere dares to venture into melancholy, almost bittersweet territory, in addition to the obvious pit of morbidity where you expect to find it. There’s a few sections that feel a bit by-the-numbers in comparison to the more outstanding ones, but in terms of production and performances, this is top notch heavy-hitting filth.
Highlight: “Mist of Decay”
Carnifex — More Than Misery
Genre: Deathcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: As a Warhammer 40K fan I immediately think of the Tyranid beast when this band name pops up, which as far as I know isn’t where they get it from, but it’s still apt for the monstrous style of deathcore that they play. On “More Than Misery” we get some gothic moodiness, that’s mostly swallowed up by the apocalyptic cacophony that is the riffs and over-stuffed low end. To their credit it doesn’t completely obscure their moderate use of melody, and although they end up sounding a lot like several genre peers, the album is more than varied enough to draw enjoyment from other aspects than just its heaviness.
Highlight: “The Process of Pain”
Comeback Kid — Chosen Hell
Genre: Metallic hardcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: These lads featured in the very first weekly rundown of The Metal Dispatch, and fairly easily earned “album of the week” status for “Heavy Steps”. Four years later and I’m writing much less about hardcore than I used to, but certain bands simply won’t be denied.
The infectious energy and crazy catchy riffs are once again the stars of the shows on “Chosen Hell”. It sounds just as precise and punchy as I’ve gotten used to from them, and they still manage a great balance between punk simplicity and that big-stage-ready, slightly polished fullness. The last third unfortunately gets a little bland and chorus-focused, but thankfully not toothless.
Highlight: “Shedding Season”
Cult Of Luna — In The Shadow Of Your Shadow
Genre: Atmospheric sludge/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: Did you think that, just because we’re basically into winter, you could leave the fall gloom behind? These greyscale Swedish cultists are back with another abyss of an album; within it an impossibly vast, fluid space that you keep sinking into the further you listen. There are pockets of serenity as well as turbulent currents of anger and anguish, and you just have to take it as it comes, blind as you are in the darkness.
The album feels like an assault on your well being – conjuring dark memories and feelings of insignificance, but it’s also not without cathartic moments. Each song is a different experience, impossible to predict, although not disconnected from each other. I’m personally not on board with the harsh vocal style, and find too many sections to be overly dwelling. But for what it is I can easily recognize the craftmanship and bleak vision that’s gone into it.
Highlight: “In the Shadow of Your Shadow”
Hatebreed — Fatal Paradox
Genre: Metallic hardcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: Hatebreed’s brand of hardcore is all about the shout-along, and these have a tendency to get a bit… on the nose.. in terms of lyrical content. The earnestness is not gone on “Fatal Paradox”, but this time it’s just as pissed off as the music that’s backing it up. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “visceral”, but the attitude feels very earned, and genuine. Pair that with the most varied songwriting I’ve heard from these guys in a good while, and you’ve got a killer album on your hands.
The rhythms are punchy and surprisingly fluid, with some truly outstanding high tempo sections that rips away with furious riffing and Jamey Jasta’s trademark vocal bark. The obligatory gang vocals aren’t quite as in your face, although certainly not absent. You get both the muscle of groove and hunger of thrash, with the relative simplicity and catchiness of hardcore, on a truly energized album packed with highlights.
Highlights: “Make The Demons Obey” and “Truth Is A Lion”
Konvent — Firesky
Genre: Doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
Review: This is one of those albums that doesn’t need harsh vocals in order to sound bone-crunchingly heavy, but it’s got them anyway, to scare away the casuals. Danish band Konvent are now on their third full-length, and I’ve been completely ignorant of them till this point. What a time to jump in though. “Firesky” sees them loading up semi-atmospheric, long-form yet not funeral-paced doom with notes of black metal bleakness and a certain death metal predatorial bluntness to contrast it.
It’s an album that knows how to take it’s time without it feeling like it’s taking YOUR time. It flows from different moods and states of intensity as effortlessly as water running from chamber to chamber in an underground cave system. It can sound introspective and melancholy at one moment and like an erupting volcano at another. Certainly a band that needs to be on the radar of any fan of the slower end of extreme metal going forward.
Highlights: “Firesky” and “Exorcise”
Malignant Spirit — A Serpent to Devour, A Servant to Abhor
Genre: Experimental/avant-garde death/black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: Did you like the Veilburner album from a couple of weeks back but think that it was entirely too tame? Then this might very well be exactly your kind of insanity. It is the band’s debut album, and listening to it is like being swallowed up by an asymmetric kaleidoscope of only dark and starkly contrasting shades of color.
I find that it is best considered a demented form of theater, toying with your sanity and offering up some savage riffing now and then. It might attempt to be threatening, but there’s a bit too much going on, and the vocals are simply too bonkers to quite pull that off. After a while I stop feeling shocked, or even surprised, because it all exists in the same kind of space. That’s not to say that it all sounds the same. It’s got a multitude of layers and forms, and it’s a maddening treat to be exposed to them all.
Highlight: “…Is To Crown The Wound That Will Never Heal”
Polderhaat — Klaagliederen
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: What starts out as rather typically tinny, cold, tremolo-driven black metal with sharp vocals and marching rhythms unfolds step by step into something of significantly more depth and scope. While the low-fi production persists throughout, they still manage highs of bitter majesty and lulls of calm, solemn melancholy.
I feel like it’s first when you’ve been exposed to the full range of the band’s sound that you can start to appreciate the effect of the contrasts. The peaks of harshness take on the traits of a merciless gale cutting straight through and freezing your bone marrow. And then it transitions into touching melodies and contemplative acoustic sections, followed by lofty orchestral parts and creative riff lines. At under 45 minutes of runtime it seems to only scratch the surface of its conceptual space, and I’m hoping for a deeper dive in hopefully not too long.
Highlights: “Ellende”
Prong — Prong
Genre: Hardcore/thrash metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: It’s the return of a long-going band with a take on crossover thrash all of their own. Prong have finally gotten around to making a self titled album, but I won’t be one to comment on whether it sounds like a summary of their stylistic history, as I’ve never much listened to them. Punky hardcore is the dominant aspect, with thrash riffs coming in hot, and a bit of noise waiting around the corner. For me this sounds too clunky and lacking in energy to get much enjoyment out of, with a fairly weak production and a few melodic choruses that makes me cringe. But if you’re looking for the punk rock alternative to crossover, then this is a good one.
Highlight: “New Commission”
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?
