Get ready, folks: brute ‘n roll is upon us!
Progressive yet brutal Death Metal deviants Afterbirth, formed in 1993 but put on hold for two decades, are primed and ready for the world to hear their brand of bellicosity.
Tag Archives: Metal album
ALBUM REVIEW: I Am – Eternal Steel
I lived in Dallas, Texas for a few years and I can verify that everything is in fact, bigger in Texas. I AM does the Lone Star state proud with their third effort, Eternal Steel (MNRK Heavy), an album full of huge and murky riffs, devastating grooves, and over-the-top destruction.
EP REVIEW: Tombs – Ex Oblivion
Bandcamp has gained immense traction and reverence as of late, ever since the music streaming website introduced “Bandcamp Fridays,” allotting 100% of artists’ proceeds to said artists without taking fees. A by-product of that has been releases that can only be streamed via Bandcamp, and Tombs are the latest to follow that path.
ALBUM REVIEW: Crobot – Feel This
Throwback Thursday can now be every day if you believe hard enough. With Crobot’s latest release Feel This (Mascot Label Group), you can headbang and air guitar like it was the 1990s, early aught’s all over again.
Venom Prison – Samsara
Animus’ reversal of more traditional Death Metal imagery was a breath of fresh air for many and a point of contention for others. Alongside tours with the likes of Trivium and Bloodstock main stage slots, Venom Prison garnered a large support base from fans and journalists alike, but it’s the ‘difficult second album’ that often causes younger bands to be ditched by the mainstream Metal press. There were those who debunked the band’s debut record as not much more than industry hype, but those people should brace themselves because Samsara (Prosthetic Records) will make the naysayers eat their words.Continue reading
Herod – Sombre Dessein
Herod, also known as Herod the Great and Herod I, was a Roman client King of Judea. Or was it the Judean People’s Front? It’s also the name of your new favourite Swiss Progressive Sludge Metal outfit. Now that many qualifiers may seem like damning with faint praise at first, much like a cinematic release being the box office number one but only on a Tuesday in southern Nicaragua, however, the plaudits are more than deserved. Let’s dive into latest release, Sombre Dessein (Pelagic Records), to really get our heads around Herod’s grandeur.Continue reading
PUSH! – Dark Dive
While the Crossover scene (Heavy Metal and Hardcore Punk) has been flourishing in North America, it is nice to see that the same love for both genres of extreme music are found fused together even in Portugal. PUSH! is back with another Crossover album entitled Dark Dive (self-released) and it is ensured to impress. Equally groovy and crushing, the Lisbon, Portugal natives put together eleven tracks which is the perfect sample size to start listening to an up and coming potential gem in Western Europe.Continue reading
Zgard – Contemplation
So, there you were, thinking that Eastern European Black Metal is just a load of one-man bedroom acts who own too many Burzum and Summoning albums, love to stand in the snow in animal furs and think that it’s their national prerogative to play a flute, regardless of skill. Well, you’d be right to an extent. For while Drudkh and Negura Bunget have made a name for themselves by actually branching out from their microscopic scenes and making good use of traditional instrumentation, you will always get acts like Zgard who are content to sticking to what they know. Thankfully, they happen to know a fair old bit, which is why Contemplation (Svarga) may well surprise you.
This sixty-two minute odyssey into Ukrainian forests may be one that listeners have taken before accompanied by the two big name artists mentioned above, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of pretty sights to be seen along the way as the aptly named ‘Through the Forest’ proves with its rushing tremolo guitars, soaring melodies, mystical keyboards and subtle choral vocals. There’s echoes of revered artists such as Kroda reverberating through the trees and you soon get the impression that mainman Yaromisl has plenty more to show you, which he does with the crowd pleasing jig-along that pops up during ‘Highlands’ and the quirky polka mischief that opens ‘Incarnation Memory.’
It wouldn’t be an Eastern European BM album without an instrumental piece however and we get just that with the haunting and thoughtful ‘Silence’, which knocks the socks off the latest effort from Herr Vikernes. Not forgetting of course the frequent wind and rain sound effects to remind you just how cold it is behind the old iron curtain and you have everything you need and nothing you wouldn’t expect. Clichéd? Perhaps, but it’s a cliché with plenty of mileage left in it and while the forest is still this beautiful, it’s one that’s worth taking a stroll into.
7.5/10.0
JAMES CONWAY