Esben And The Witch – Nowhere


Four years ago, at Cult of Luna’s heralded Beyond The Redshift festival, I saw a band that went toe-to-toe with the headline acts and matched their beauty, elegance, and musical depth. Ten years into their career and with their fourth album Nowhere (Season of Mist) about to grace our ears, we find Esben And The Witch at their darkest.Continue reading


URSA – Abyss Between The Stars


On the face of it, Abyss Between The Stars (Blood Music) appears like another run-of-the-mill Stoner/Doom record. From its artwork to its song titles, everything about the album appears to be layered in a thick, hazy doom-weed aesthetic which I’ve never been the biggest fan of. Sleep aside; I prefer my Doom to be rooted in abject misery and despair rather than fantasy, ideally horrid and cavernous like Primitive Man or utterly heartbreaking like Warning. However, on listening to URSA’s debut instead of a clichéd trudge through the mire, I was treated to an earnest, epic, and genuinely fun Heavy Metal trip.Continue reading


Rise Of The Northstar – The Legacy of Shi


Metal has a problem with nostalgia. As soon as the Slipknot riff that gets the energy going to start the record in opener ‘The Awakening’, everything about The Legacy of Shi (Sharptone) feels like it should have been part of a record made about 20 years ago. An amalgamation of lots of different tricks designed to garner the attention of every 90s teenage metal-head. Pantera’s groove? Check. Machine Head’s attempt at Hip-Hop? Check. An aesthetic based around eighties Shōnen manga? Ticks across the board.

For a band that lists such Nu-Metal luminaries as Rage Against The Machine and Deftones among their influences, Rise Of The Northstar don’t seem to have taken lessons from these acts to heart, lacking the fire of the former and the elegance of the latter. There are elements that aim for a more brooding, menacing atmosphere with down-tuned riffs and vocalist Vithia’s measured delivery. To his credit, he shows ample restraint on moments like ‘Kozo’ where his vocals emit genuine anger and turmoil at well-timed moments in-between these almost demonic voice effects for maximum impact. The chorus, however, is so lumbering and ham-fisted that all subtlety and intrigue goes out the window and it doesn’t feel like the intense battle with one’s inner demons (à la KoRn) that I feel was their original intention. When the vocals aren’t being heavy-handed, they’re just outright mystifying such as in the bizarre rapping throughout the whole album. The delivery somehow switches between the obvious clichés of ‘Nekketsu’ and the stunted awkwardness of ‘Here Comes The Boom’, and it’s hard to figure out which is the more unpleasant.

What this record can boast rather well is a solid production thanks in huge part to Gojira’s Joe Duplantier, and even with this record’s faults the man knows how to make a riff sound good, and there are plenty of them to like. ‘Step By Step’s’ bridge is a groovy, punky little number, ‘This Is Crossover’ is exactly what it says on the tin, and ‘All For One’ is essentially the first Slipknot record condensed into 3 minutes. The title track is arguably the album’s biggest highlight as it finally feels like Rise Of The Northstar are bringing some real weight and bounce that make for a stupidly fun track that could easily get your metal club night moving. The trouble is that it comes far too late to get the party started and could have benefitted from appearing sooner to break up the monotony of earlier tracks.

No subgenre of metal is free of the nostalgia criticism, as musicians and fans alike can often be beholden to the past. The increasing popularity of bands like Cane Hill even proves that there is still demand from sections of the metal community for some Nu-Metal bounce. It boils down to one thing; is The Legacy of Shi fun? While there is a smattering of decent moments scattered across the record, in the end it’s repetitive breakdowns and gang-vocals, grating rapping, and clichéd aesthetic makes it difficult to recommend. Whatever the legacy of Rise Of The Northstar ends up being, I can’t imagine too many will be sticking around to find out.

5.0/10

ROSS JENNER


High On Fire – Electric Messiah


I don’t know how Matt Pike does it. Six months since Sleep dropped The Sciences (which is still ace and you should totally buy if you haven’t already) seemingly out of nowhere, the man who has forgotten more brilliant riffs than most of us will ever know has effortlessly created another world-beater. I admit that might be a case of me showing my hand a bit too soon – saying a High On Fire record is great is about as predictable as the sun rising in the morning, but both are positive reminders that good things are always on the horizon.Continue reading


Bangladeafy – Ribboncutter


Pinning down Bangladeafy is a tough ask. There are touches of Tech Metal here and glimpses of Prog Rock there, pushed through the filter of a Drum and Bass act as played by Lightning Bolt. An easier descriptor may be simply bat-shit bonkers, but there is a method to this NYC duo’s particular brand of vibrant madness.Continue reading


Infera Bruo – Cerement


Black metal with a clean, crisp production and actual melody isn’t going to work for everyone. To some, it’s just not “cult” enough if it doesn’t sound like it was recorded at the bottom of a well, but Infera Bruo are three records into their career now and they’re still able to sound vibrant and full of ethereal evil. The emphasis, as ever with Infera Bruo, is on the balance of dark ambience with hints of malice scattered throughout. However, while Cerement (Prosthetic) is more to-the-point than previous releases, it lacks the memorable flair of both of its predecessors.Continue reading


Void Ritual – Death Is Peace


About a year ago, one-man black metal outfit Void Ritual, the brainchild of Daniel Jackson, released Heretical Wisdom, a frosty yet melodic tribute to Scandinavian black metal that encapsulated what made that particular scene so exciting. It comprised densely layered melodies that uncurled to reveal chaotic energy with a dark, earthy atmosphere.Continue reading


Sam Jarvis of Talons Talks New Album – “We All Know”


2018 has, so far, been the year of the Holy Roar, and their collective of alternative takes on challenging and artistic music has seen the label rack up a string of successes with a variety of bands with some very different sounds, all united by a desire to create evocative and provocative music. Sam Jarvis, guitarist of UK post-rock innovators Talons spoke to Ghost Cult to cover all things ‘We All Know’, the band’s third album overall, and first for Holy Roar…Continue reading