Attacker - Sins Of The World

Before reading onward, if you're not familiar with Attacker, go find copies of 1985's Battle At Helms Deep and 1986's The Second Coming immediately. Both albums are essential Heavy Metal and belong in every record collection. Then buy Sins of the World.

It's been three long years since Giants of Canaan, Bobby Lucas' first showing with Attacker, one of New Jersey's legendary US Power Metal bands. The combination of the ex-Seven Witches, Ex-Overlorde and Morbid Sin vocalist with Attacker has proved to be a match made in Heavy Metal heaven. Not only does Leatherlungs Lucas' range and ability surpass the majority of other local singers, but he has brought a new dose of energy to Attacker. This energy has been recognized throughout the local area as younger metal heads are increasingly embracing more traditional metal, especially older veteran bands, such as Attacker. On their new album, Sins of the World, Lucas is once again flanked by original drummer Mike Sabatini, original guitarist Pat Marinelli - who retired shortly after the recording of this album - and veteran Mike Benetatos who was part of the original reformation in the dawn of the millennium. Brian Smith fills the bass position.

I'm of the opinion that Sins of the World is an improvement over the strong effort on Giants of Canaan in terms of overall impact. Stylistically, Sins of the World is a perfect blending of Second Coming's more thrash influenced style and the NWOBHM-inspired melodicism of Battle at Helms Deep. A perfect example of this would be "Choice of Weapon",  "Archangel", or the album's title track. Giants of Canaan employed the same tactics of mixing the band's formative styles but was not as totally successful. There is a higher memorability factor, stronger dynamic presence, improved pacing, and a sense of urgency. This could be in part to a better mix and clearer production. I felt there was a dullness present on Giants... Attacker are wielding a sharper blade now. "Carcosa" and "Garuda" show off this clarity early on the record with punchy and aggressive riffs helped in no small part by an absolutely crushing bass presence and performance by Smith. Liner notes reveal that Benetatos wrote the majority of the material here and I can't help but admit that I'm extremely impressed at the revitalization back to full health of the early styles which made Attacker an important US Power Metal band in the early 80's.

Though the first half of the album is great with "Carcosa" leading me to buy an old copy of Ambrose Pierce's Can Such Things Be and "Garuda" making me want to go back and re-watch Mystery Science Theater episodes, The second half yields as strong a set of B-sides as I think exists on an album. I felt that "Glen of the Ghost" was the most prominent track on the last album for it's campfire story. Even better is the similar storytelling finishing off Sins of the World with the Conan inspired duo of "By The Will Of Crom" and "Where The Serpent Lies". I do wonder why they were separated into two tracks but the transition is not hampered in anyway by the split. "Archangel," is my favorite pie on the table here due to the entirely different approach of extremely catchy and memorable contrasting verse-chorus form with an extended instrumental section to split the song. Lucas' powerful vocals scream across big chords and barely noticeable progressive metal influenced rhythmicism. Also the song is about aliens which gets extra points in my book because not enough bands approach the material-ripe subject of aliens, extraterrestrials, UFOs and human breeding programs thousands of years in the past by the Grays.

"We Rise" is the only dud - if you could call it such - but I get it's inclusion from the point of view of the German audience who loves these types of anthems. It wouldn't have been as bad if it wasn't for the constant repetition of the chorus awkwardly at the end of the track. Whatever.

Sins of the World is not only Attacker's best album of their catalog but to be completely blunt, this is as close to perfect Heavy Metal as I've heard in years. The riffs and rhythms and passion well up in your bones, flesh, and teeth. The melodies and progressions unravel in ways as to inspire emotive face-wincing and nose scrunching throughout every song as the need to whip your head and bang your fists increases. Far-flung vocal pronouncements speak both to the heart and mind through Lucas' lyrics which, at times poignant and elsewhere purely innocent, propel songs into territories of quality reserved for only the strongest of warriors. There is that New Jersey edge - a sense of opinionated arrogance, attitude, and virility - that inexplicably hardens the material. It's as if Attacker literally walked into the local bar, fearlessly pushed their way through all the regulars, and just planted themselves in their seats without asking.

Interview With Witch Mountain's Nathan Carson

Nathan Carson is as close to a modern day renaissance man as one could come. He hasn't discovered any new planets, developed important new theories in physics, or sculpted masterpieces of stone or marble (...yet) but the combination of Drummer, Writer, Artist, Promoter, and all-around nice guy should be enough for anyone to support the honorific. Having witnessed the power and impressive performance that has been a constant throughout Witch Mountain's history, and read Nathan's most recent weird-fiction novella, Starr Creek, there were forces beyond my understanding compelling me to get in contact with Nathan and draw some attention to his artistry.

Contaminated Tones: Hey Nathan, I really want to get into your awesome book, Starr Creek, but since this is ultimately a Metal site, let's get some short questions about Witch Mountain out of the way first. You did a US tour with The Skull and Saint Vitus in the fall. How do you feel the tour went? Was this the first large scale tour with new vocalist Kayla Dixon?

Nathan Carson: Kayla and our bassist Justin Brown both joined in early 2015. We almost immediately went on tour with YOB that Spring. It was quite the trial but the new members handled themselves really well. Then in October 2015 we were hand-selected by Glenn Danzig to support on his Blackest of the Black tour. So this 2016 trip with Saint Vitus and the Skull was the third large-scale tour we’ve done in the last 18 months. This lineup has done more shows than any other in the band’s 19-year history. I’d be very happy if we never have another member in the group, unless we add an organ player or something.

CT: It seems the band took a little break since the tour. What is planned for 2017?


NC: Well we got home from a rigorous 28 shows in 30 days just before Halloween. We all needed a break after that. But we just played a very festive New Year’s Eve show here in Portland—ushering in 2017 on a note of profound doom--and will immediately get back into writing mode. It’s time to make the best WM album yet, the first full-length with Kayla and Justin involved, and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band.

Witch Mountain Live at Saint Vitus Bar during North American tour with Saint Vitus and The Skull

 CT: Describe the typical Witch Mountain creative process in forming
and crafting your songs.


NC: Well, as the drummer, I have a lot more to do with dynamics and arrangement. I have written songs for WM in the distant past, but generally our guitarist Rob Wrong writes the music, and the singer writers the lyrics. Then we bat GarageBand demos back and forth before finally jamming on the tunes in our rehearsal space. That’s when I tend to speak up if there’s something I believe can be improved. There have been exceptions along the way, but this process seems to work very well for us.

I trust my band mates entirely to generate great music, and I have so much say as manager and booker that I don’t have any ego issues with how the band operates. However, it’s obvious that the drums are not a melodic or lead instrument. That’s why it’s important for me to have other creative outlets. The many years I have spent making collaborative art with groups of people has really inspired me to take my fiction writing to the forefront so that I can share my voice with the world in a way that is unfiltered.

CT: What bands have been major influences for Witch Mountain?

NC: Rob and I have always cited the classics: The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top. You can’t really make the best music if you’re only listening to the radio hits of today. Of course we also have added in dashes of early Judas Priest, Uli Roth-era Scorpions, and liberal doses of Candlemass. But each of us has our own specific influences as well.

To my ear, John Bonham and Keith Moon didn’t live long enough to be as good as Dale Crover. I love a spectrum of drummers from Ringo Starr’s brilliant minimlism to Simon Philip’s session work on Judas Priests Sin After Sin.



CT: Leading into your writing and Starr Creek, is there any direct crossover between Witch Mountain and your writing? Do any specific songs from Witch Mountain connect to the book or other writing?


NC: Not really. The main crossover is that I have been selling a ton of books from the merch table on tour, for which I’m exceedingly grateful to our fans and my band mates. Reading my work at bookstores is nice, but aside from my release party at Powell’s, I’ve tended to sell a lot more books at concerts than I have at readings.

I’m not the lyricist for Witch Mountain and, aside from naming the South of Salem and Cauldron of the Wild albums, I tend to be more of an executive producer and art director rather than a songwriter. I would say that the WM song that most closely resembles Starr Creek would be “Aurelia.” And perhaps that’s because the lyrics were written by Uta Plotkin, who grew up in the same small Oregon town that I did.


CT: What inspired you to start writing?


NC: I’ve been writing since I was six years old. When I was nine or ten, I wrote a bizarro western story about an anthropomorphic loaf named Billy the Bread. In high school I wrote a ton of Lovecraft/Barker pastiches that were godawful. When I was 19, I read a Damon Knight book called Creating Short Fiction in which he implores young would-be authors to go out into the world and gather some wisdom and life experience before attempting to write. I took his advice to heart, and didn’t really get serious about my fiction until shortly after my fortieth birthday. By then, I had an opinion on everything, haha. And I’d traveled a great deal and met and interacted with thousands of people. Of course, I’ve also been a professional music journalist for about 15 years. That hasn’t hurt. I always excelled in English over, say, math and science. So it was natural that I would eventually try my hand at short stories and longer works. The key is to not be a hobbyist.

CT: Starr Creek is such an enjoyable read for fans of weird fiction. The characters all had awesome personalities and the relationships between everyone in the book were well thought out and propelled me through the pages more than the plot, which was also teeming with vivid details and intrigue. For those that haven't read Starr Creek, can you give a quick summary of what the reader could expect to experience?


NC: Here’s the blurb from the back of the book: "Starr Creek is the debut novella by Portland writer and musician Nathan Carson. Set in 1986 rural Oregon, Starr Creek features Heavy Metal teens, Christian biker gangs, and hopped up kids on 3-wheeled ATVs. They all collide when strange occurrences unveil an alien world inhabiting the Oregon woods."

CT: You have a knack for description. At times it's subtle nuanced implications and other times you go all out with the descriptive. One of my favorite chapters was Ethan and Charles riding around on the ATVs thinking they were badasses but in reality they were these two kids in plastic costume helmets and shit. When deciding on how to describe different parts of the book, where does the inspiration come from? What is your favorite description in Starr Creek and why?


NC: The first two chapters of Starr Creek were written (in rough form)
many months before I decided to expand it into a novella. Because of that, the language is a bit more florid in the very beginning. Once the story starts to unfurl, I consciously ran it as clean and fast as possible.

So to answer your question, I really enjoy some of the first descriptions of Puppy’s life. Readers can enjoy an excerpt here on Vice’s science fiction site Terraform. http://motherboard.vice.com/read/starr-creek


CT: The dog food eating contest opens the book essentially. Where did that come from? Did you have Puppy's name decided on before or after that scene?


NC: When I was in third, fourth, and fifth grade, I lived in Monroe, Oregon. The Long Branch tavern (it’s still there) had a marquee that advertised these dog food-eating contests. Of course, as a youth, I could only imagine what they were like. I wondered, “Is this what adults do?”

Anyway, I’ve still never witnessed a real contest like this, so I just imagined what it might be like. As for Puppy’s name, that was sort of a lucky coincidence. I knew I wanted to do animal names, and I knew I wanted to have a dog food-eating contest. When I got to that point in the story, it just felt like one more favor my subconscious mind had done for me.


CT: Other than being a fun overall read, was there any deeper themes you wanted to get across to the reader?


NC: Well I’d hope everyone would get something different out of it. It’s a work of fiction. But I certainly wanted to create characters that would act in believable ways, even during unusual or
fantastic situations. I was very inspired by characters like the kid in Phantasm who tapes a bullet to a hammer in order to escape his locked bedroom, and the Frog Brothers from Lost Boys who fill their Uzi squirt guns with holy water.

As for themes, I guess one of the main points of the book is that entropy is unavoidable. My AP English teacher once told me that if you’re ever writing an essay and you need to pull a theme out of your ass, “Man’s Inhumanity to Man” will work 99% of the time. So I’ll pass this tip along to you and your readers.



CT: There are a host of paranormal and controversial weird science topics mixed into the book but I think one of the most surprising twists was the inclusion of UFOs and Cult Imagery that appeared later on. Heaven's Gate is hinted at with Rex's cult. Where does your interest in these subjects come from? What are your opinions on UFOs and Extraterrestrial life?


NC: I grew up near Starr Creek. I’ve seen some weird and unexplainable shit. Having said that, I do not subscribe to the idea that we are descendants of lizard people or that Area 51 is full of alien corpses. I do know that the universe is unimaginably huge. Of course there is extraterrestrial life out there, though I assume it’s weird and abstract, and nothing remotely like anything we have yet considered. The reason I put a cult on Starr Creek road is because there WERE cults on Starr Creek road. I just decided to invent my own, based loosely on concepts from The Golden Bough.


CT: What authors do you look to for inspiration? Who has influenced your writing style?


NC: My favorite author is Gene Wolfe. Reading 30 of his novels has probably done more for me than any writing class or workshop. I would stay Starr Creek was also specifically influenced by Richard Brautigan, particularly his short gothic western novel, The Hawkline Monster. My editor also asked me to read some Raymond Carver before doing my final edit.


CT: What other material have you written? Do you have any future books or novels planned?

Photo: Jon T Cruz at 1369 Photos

NC: I have short stories in the anthologies Cthulhu Fhtagn! (Word Horde), Swords v Cthulhu (Stone Skin), Eternal Frankenstein (Word Horde), and The Madness of Dr Caligari (Fedogan & Bremer). There’s also a story in an issue of Strange Aeons magazine but it’s out of print. In all of these anthologies, I’m in the company of some of the best writers currently working in underground horror. Each has been an honor to take part in.

I’m currently working on my first comic script. That’s due to be available in time for Halloween of 2017. I have ideas for several short stories that are ready to write. And of course I plan to follow Starr Creek with a proper novel set in the same universe, only 76 years later.


CT: Where can people buy your book, Starr Creek?

NC: I prefer to direct people to their local independent bookseller. But you will honestly get the most immediate results from Amazon.com.


CT: Nathan, Thanks for taking the time to do this interview! Hopefully we'll see Witch Mountain here in NYC again real soon!


NC: Thanks for taking the time, and especially for reading and
supporting Starr Creek!

Furia - Księżyc Milczy Luty

Black Metal can take many forms. Furia are a veteran outfit who, with Księżyc Milczy Luty, if not already landing fatal blows are within striking distance of that elusive perfection which so many strive to grasp. What makes Księżyc Milczy Luty such an endearing and impacting listen is how each element bonds with the other elements to form a totality while simultaneously maintaining individual importance and identity. Far from being a muddy atmospheric mess, Furia create atmosphere in the way a classical composer would approach atmosphere - with melody, percussion, and clear dynamics. If there was a top black metal album for me in 2016, Księżyc Milczy Luty stands on that summit and the rest are still at a base camp far below.

The LP version of the album has a different cover compared to the CD.

The approach taken on Księżyc Milczy Luty is refreshing. Space is given for the listener to find an angle into the material and each listen can be approached from a new trajectory**. There are as many gentle gifts to lure the listener into Furia's world as there are massive black metal explorations to stir up fury - the english translation of the band's name. It is apparent from the first two songs this is not going to be a normal predictable listen. The first salvo of "Za ćmą, w dym " and "Ciało" start as a building bass-heavy plod, an inverted pointer finger motioning to come closer, hinting at secrets and rewards. Often songs have this opening technique, much the same way as Iron Maiden has used clean guitars and introductions on recent albums to set the melodic mood. Furia have a knack for this and twist it mischievously. "Zabieraj Lapska" and "Tam Jest Tu" also incorporate this method. Each of these four tracks is wholy unique and enticing.

The other two songs, "Grzej" and album closer "Zwykłe Czary Wieją" are the album's more immediately impactful tracks. "Zwykłe Czary Wieją" has a more blackened doom vibe throughout, making use of Nihil's incredible barking vocal style. It's an uncommon ornamentation that makes Księżyc Milczy Luty more involved and dynamic than the endless screams and shouts normally hanging all over ninety-percent of the other black metal albums out there. "Grzej" is the album highlight for me. It has everything that one would want in a black metal track. The memorability factor is astronomical. Opening with a viciously alien bass line over atmospheric guitars, the song ebbs and flows between the bass line like wind whipping through trees on a mountainside. The song slows and builds dynamically throughout, particularly midway through as tremolo guitars take prominence leading into drawn out harsh clean guitar chords and feedback. Drummer Namtar's snare work in the song is excellent and driving. The song effectively "ends" but continues in silence, periodically accents of melody pierce. The song is truly mammoth.

With so much going on in each song, it would have been very easy for Furia to over-reach, for the album to seem disjointed. Instead it's as if they held back in spots and culled ideas specifically to make sections seem more minimalist and raw. The whole central section of "Tam Jest Tu" for example would have been a perfect place for a lesser band to simply fill it with ideas and shit but instead Furia left it practically completely empty. The silent sections of "Grzej" is another example. Few bands, especially in a genre that prides itself on being noisy and harsh, have the skill to utilize these voids in a way in which they become part of the atmosphere and songs themselves. Amidst all the awesome riffs and ideas and music, the incorporation of these lulls comes across in a manner that one could easily say Furia were truly inspired in the creation of this album. It's because of this totality of songwriting that Księżyc Milczy Luty is truly impressive, even to seasoned listeners. Furia have presented an old gilded chest full of remarkable treasures; each object unique and finely crafted, the heirlooms telling stories and stirring emotions.

** Orion's Note: Sars' bass playing on this album is absolutely incredible. I've listened to this four or five times in it's entirety just listening to the bass lines.

Shotgun Blast: December '16

I can't write full reviews for everything which I listen to and receive. Through the months of November and December I've been slowly emptying out my "promo" folder, which also serves as my download folder, to clear up room for the inevitable 2017 avalanche of promotional material which I will be inundated with. I've been writing blurbs on all the stuff I've listened to in a good faith effort to give some attention to the releases I've been sent. This might wind up being a monthly or yearly thing, a wrap up of the promos I never had a chance to fully review as well as stuff which I simply came across in my travels, purchased for myself, or received as trades or as correspondence. There will be some older stuff here also that squeaked in for some reflection as well, such as the Metal Church debut below which somehow wasn't in my library even though I have the tape packed away somewhere or the early Alcatrazz albums which I had never before listened to and decided to ingest on a whim one day. This column reminds me of the old-school zine sections with endless running tallies of short concise reviews; shotgun blasts of metal particles which hopefully find their target.

Agonia - O Adormecer Eterno (2016)

From Portugal with hate, Agonia bring us black metal with strong funeral doom influence and the requisite ambient and atmospheric flourishes. Blackened Funeral Doom is also an appropriate tagline. More metallic than pure Funeral Doom, Agonia's most recent, O Adormecer Eterno, drags the listener through a mire of common genre tropes successfully. Nortt would be an appropriate point of reference. There is little mold breaking yet some songs do offer unique components such as the rubbery introduction to "Passagem sem Retorno." If you like your vocals lost in the background of your funeral doom, drums reverberating as if recorded in a cave, and guitars buried in an endless blistering fuzz then there is a good chance this will be well received. War Productions has this on tape limited to one hundred copies in traditional made-for-fanatics quantities. I was impressed with this to an extent and it will likely receive more listens.

Alcatrazz - Live '83
 
Before Yngwie Malmsteen the idea of Metal musicians playing virtuoso classically influenced music was limited to only one or two people such as Richie Blackmore that had touched upon incorporating that style. Malmsteen ran with the idea. Neoclassical Metal was born. Before Yngwie's solo career, Alcatrazz featured him as guitarist on their 1983 album, No Parole from Rock and Roll. The following year a live album was released featuring tracks from that album. The sound on this release is a great live recreation of the tracks. One of the more interesting tracks to appear is an early version of "Evil Eye" which first showed up on Rising Force. Alcatrazz shows a more heavy metal approach to Malmsteen's style. The need for Graham Bonnet's vocals perhaps forced Malmsteen to "hold back" during verses but his natural tendency to twiddle is highlighted in a song such as "General Hospital" where even under choruses and verses his fingers cut out paths across his guitar neck like a Nepalese sherpa tracking a course through mountains with incredible skill. Bonnet's vocals are another highlight here for me. This is an interesting listen especially for those that can't get enough of the Shred genre, Bonnet, or Malmsteen.

Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music For Airports (1978)
 
I always originally thought this was Brian Eno's first album but it's actually his fourth or fifth. Essentially pure ambience with occasional gentle instrumentation, Ambient 1 is a landmark in music and has had major influences on experimental music just as Eno himself has had a major role in exploring music in new and interesting ways. This is a perfect album to fall asleep to. I like to pair it with Earth 2 or the Orbis tapes. Piano works it's way into the second track backed with calming undulations of synth sounds. Eno said his purpose of creating ambient music in this manner was to create sounds which would 'induce calm and space to think.' Essentially his goal was to provide an option other than the canned music and elevator music which sought to "regularize environments by blanketing their acoustic and atmospheric idiosyncrasies." This album is super chill, and it's playable at any time of the day. It really does slow down the world around you.

Calligram - Demimonde (2016)
 
A blend of black, punk, and hardcore is the name of the game being played by this UK based but internationally connected project. Even throwing in some experimental nuance to give the five tracks on Demimonde an air of urgency and vitriol, Calligram never tread far from that floating platform of blackened hardcore which is seemingly more and more prevalent and less and less interesting to me. Moments and segments such as the center-ice mark of opener  "Red Rope" or the intro to final track "Bataclan" show a breadth of techniques and willingness to use them on call and with expertise. "Drowned" starts off as the blackest of tracks before it's breakdown and slower section - an occurrence on a few tracks of Demimonde. Ultimately, it's not my style but Calligram are furious in their delivery and have all the right ingredients to capture the angsty teen hearts of kids that felt screamo was too soft but never truly came over to the black legions. At just over twenty minutes, this is also a very nice quick jolt of bleakness and aggression when the need calls. 

Darkrypt - Delirious Excursion (2016)
 
Out of India, an unexpected hot bed of metal activity lately, Darkrypt comes across as another band piecing together authentic and not fully derivative extreme metal. Essentially death metal of above average caliber, Delirious Excursion is the debut album from the quartet and treads the path carved by the early 90's US Death Metal legions; i.e. Incantation, Immolation, Death... you know the bunch. Even though the twistedness and gnarliness of the originators is not entirely realized, Darkypt still enthusiastically chop and hack through impressive structures and acrobatics. "Chasm of Death" is a fine example of Darkrypt's death metal foundation roots while songs such as "The Inducer" and the instrumental intermission piece "Folie a Duex" show a willingness to experiment, explore, and break out of the boundaries with heavy injections of more melodic and passive components. This is a very impressive record which is on par with any of their contemporaries worldwide. Keep and eye on the band. Hopefully they can continue to refine their own style.

Disembowelment - Transcend Into The Peripheral (1993)
 
Floating in a sea of infinite melancholic intensity, emotions refined like petroleum into a substance necessary in the emulsion of conscious despair and the surrounding world, Transcend Into The The Peripheral is the window to discover these relationships. Along with Winter, Disembowelment developed the foundational style markers which Funeral Doom would further explore. I'm ashamed it took me so long to fully delve into this album because it contains impressive moments of tragic beauty. Whether it's the seemingly infinite "Burial At Ornans" sledging into your ears, the intense depth of "The Tree of Life and Death," or "The Spirits of the Tall Hills" undulating melodic movements, Transcend Into The The Peripheral is also one of the most varied and technically impressive displays of this time period as far as death doom goes. The usage of so many different arrangement combinations infects this album with energy and interest which is often lost in the genre through years of repetition and normalization. A gold standard.

Gordon Lightfoot - The Way I Feel (1967)
 
When I was a wee lad, about six or seven, we would go on trips to Pennsylvania each weekend up in the Poconos and on those trips, Gordon Lightfoot tapes in the old Ford Econoline were pretty much a ritual once we got off Route 280 and started heading up towards Lafayette, NJ and Milford, PA. My dad had a dubbed copy of Gord's Gold and a lot of my childhood was spent with that and also Roy Orbison until he discovered Jimmy Buffet when I was about ten. Circumstantially, that was the year I also really started to delve into Metal and I think it's because the Lightfoot and Orbison ended and the Buffet began. Now I find myself actually seeking out his full length albums and The Way I Feel is probably my favorite. Six or seven of the tracks here just draw me into the mountains, forests, and ultimately solace through Lightfoot's impeccable lumberjack sonnets. "Softly", "Crossroads", "A Minor Ballad", "The Way I feel", and "Song For A Winter's Night" are tops of Lightfoot's catalog. The true highlight, and acknowledged as such on the back cover of the album by painter Robert Markle, is "Canadian Railroad Trilogy." The first of Lightfoot's epics of which "Wreck of the Edmund Fitgerald" would become his most famous song (covered by Jag Panzer of all people on a rare 7"), "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" is the alluring tale of westward expansion and human toil in the face of time and nature. As Lightfoot captivates with campfire lyrics like 'long before the white man and long before the wheel, when the green dark forest was too silent to be real,' the guitars echo the spinning wheels and engines of the locomotives thundering across the steel, picking up speed and intensity. A perfect album.

Inverloch - Distance | Collapsed (2016)
 
Twenty-three years after Disembowlement's debut, Transcend Into The Peripheral, Matthew Skarajew and Paul Mazziotta are dead set on reclaiming the Doom Death throne with Inverloch. Distance | Collapsed sees much of a similar overall style with some minor production shifts to support the crushing dreary experiments in their dark art. Much of the album is part of that same tidal surge of doom and death metal which Disembowlement helped form. All tracks are powerful and grotesque meanderings through unblemished twisted constructions. The the fast-paced "Lucid Delirium" is an immediate highlight, requiring little mental consideration as it drops the weight of an entire dead cosmic nightmare into an unsuspecting listener's brain. When the track begins to crawl, there is still a tense speed assaulting from tremolo guitar riffs underneath. The dichotomy is maddening, as is how purely powerful this record comes across. That I haven't seen this on too many year end best of lists is disappointing.

Medieval - Reign of Terror (1986)
 
Take Slaughter's Strappado and slow it down. Reign of Terror is like that with NWOBHM vocals. The expansion on their debut demo, All Knobs To The Right, is non-existent. There has been little change in style but a big improvement in the still rough production of this EP. Back in '86, this was scaring people unconditionally because it was neither here nor there. There's some interesting material in the short release with tracks like "Lord of Darkness" throwing nods to Pentagram. "Face of Death" always seems to remind me of The Beast, probably due to Timmy Amsbuist's vocals being very similar to Scott Ruth's. By the time "Reign of Terror" runs it's course, Timmy has changed style into an early death metal styled bark of vocals. "Hell Is Full (Cruncher)" is culled from their previous demo and has been slowed down, adding weight and intensity to the classic chorus of "Hell is full and hear the fires roar." It's a monster sounding EP, given more heft with the extremely high bass mix, that indelicately maims and kills leaving bits and pieces everywhere.

Metal Church - Metal Church (1985)
 
The term 'necessary listening' was created specifically for Metal Church's eponymous debut. Whether it's the initial mid-paced marching of "Beyond the Black", the masterful Heavy Metal anthem "Gods of Wrath", or neglected b-side masterpiece "Battalions," Metal Church is the album that never tires, that never ceases - until you're forced to flip the record again (which you KNOW you are) - to amaze, and which is as integral to understanding Metal today as it was when it first landed upon unsuspecting human ears thirty years ago. It would be almost heresy not to mention the title track, but personally, as incredible as David Wayne's incredible vocals are in this iconic track, the veracity and snarl that drips between the tempestuous guitar chuggs like hungry dribble from the maws of a stalking predator, it's the proto-speed metal of "Battalion" which sends shivers throughout my body. As if the German power metal style would be anything like what it became all hearkens back to the triumphant and gnarly melodic innuendo that flows in this single song. An entire genre boiled down into one prototype, one alpha-version, one experiment in timelessness.

Moontower - Darkness... Glory To Hatred (2016)
 
The Fifth of Moontower's full lengths, and the first since 2012's Voices of the Unholy Land, Darkness... Glory To Hatred falls into that dreaded category of average black metal that no one truly wants to end up in. It's issues are multifaceted but simply put, it sounds like Moontower recorded the entire album in khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirts.  Whether it's the staggering and awkward riff which forces resistance a hair over three minutes into "Under the Banner of the Black Sun" or that song's somewhat dilapidated initial opening sequence, the lazy and quaint intro to "Czysta Nienawisc" that doesn't quite match the rest of the track's rather interesting melodic moments, or the croaky monotonous vocals strewn across tracks like gravy over bad french fries at the worst dive in town, Moontower have effectively tainted each track with questionable choices that would make a pregnant fourteen year-old applaud their own decision making ability. "Ciemnosc" is perhaps the album's only rewarding moment with a darker and more dramatic tone, even if the structure is quite standard. Also considering that this album is only thirty-three minutes long with seven minutes of that being two bookends and the rather lovely - a word rarely summoned in black metal - instrumental "To The Dark Aeon" and I'm left feeling as if I wish I was on the same vacation as these guys were while writing and recording Darkness....

Shire - Shire (1984)
 
Pretty standard fare 80's Hard Rock that was laced with some metallic flourishes. I initially thought that this had female vocals since they are reminiscent of Doro or Fabienne Shine. Turns out I was wrong. First track of the release, "Do You Know What It's Like?" has a chorus that reminds me severely of Rush. This was all pretty worrisome to me starting off since I had the vocal gender mixed up. The five tracks clock at eighteen minutes and there's a decent variety of song lengths and styles on display in such a short time. "By My Side No More" recalls The Clash initially before crumbling into dust. If there's one redeeming track it's "All Alone," which has some really cool ideas in it, particularly the layered twangy guitars under the verse and some promising guitar leads, but there's a little too much repetition in the chorus, and I would have cut down some of the bridge accents to create more energy, as they cut up the track a bit. Unfortunately, the variety here doesn't include anything compelling beyond "All Alone." By the time "Thinking of You" politely queries attention from the listener, I'd rather listen to The Lone Rangers. Melodically, it's all very tired and predictable sounding. Even being a decent Dokken fan, it's of little interest to me that Don Dokken produced this as I seriously doubt I'm going to dredge that kind of footnote up in a conversation with anyone ever. I have no idea why this band has reunited as of 2014.

UADA - Devoid Of Light (2016)
 
UADA have gotten some attention lately due to their involvement in the Messe De Mortes Festival, but they should really be getting eyes and ears directed towards them for what many are calling the premier black metal album of the year, Devoid of Light. I think it's a very strong and well put together release for a debut. The songs are good, the musicianship and production is strong, there are memorable moments throughout, and the release is a very mature first album aided in part by the members' engagement with black metal in previous bands over the span of ten to twenty years. My preferred track is S.N.M, standing for the band's life philosophy of 'serve no master.' It is the most complete track of the record. Fans of more hard-nosed Cascadian and Canadian Black Metal would be wise to listen and make notes because I feel that UADA's next release will break ground and propel them into the next tier of bands. The album isn't without it's faults, though. I found it to be at times bland. Drops in energy were apparent throughout as well and even though UADA has a strong foundation for their style, I'd like to see something which will separate them from the myriad other bands that do something similar. According to interviews UADA have another full record written and a third partly written. Hopefully they see the light of day soon. The comparisons to Mgla are appropriate. I would like to see them live; perhaps in a more personal environment their music would come across as more energetic and vibrant.

Watchtower - Concepts of Math: Book One (2016)
 
If you had told me about fifteen years ago that Watchtower would be putting out another album I would have laughed in your face. At that time, Control And Resistance was this unknown force to me. I had stared at it's angular artwork while listening to "Fall of Reason" over and over again trying to grasp the disparity of it's musical intensities. Now, years later and more informed, Control And Resistance and Energetic Disassembly remain two of the few truly technical metal albums which I honestly can say I enjoy listening to. Musings aside, Book One is truly an addition to their discography and not a supplemental albums years later. Jarzombek after all these years is still piecing together songs like a mad scientist in a lab frantically rearranging tubular vessels and lightning rods to archaic ends. "Arguments Against Design" sets a standard of intricacy in every instrument and is followed through in the rest of the tracks. As a bass player, I can't stress enough how insane Doug Keyser is on this album, from the gurgling tumble of "Arguments Against Design" or the wacky psychotic splatter of "Technology Inaction" or the refined grandeur of ten minute "Mathematic Calculis," Keyser's playing is one reason I come back to Watchtower. One point of interest for me is the instrumental section at three and a half minutes into  "Mathematica..." which reminds me of Control Denied's Fragile Art of Existence or Death's Sound of Perseverance. Alan Tecchio sounds better than ever; I've always found him to be a tad monotonous but his alienesque warble is prime here. With every gear turning the Watchtower machine is as finely tuned as ever.

Oracle - Beyond Omega

Twentyish years of listening to metal and Oracle are the first band to ever contact me from Alabama. They  now comprise one third of all my knowledge of Alabama metal. I had somehow heard of Aceldama through a very old demo tape discovery somewhere and of Wormreich due to their tour bus tragedy a year or so back but beyond that I'm about as lost as that change in your couch cushions. That will change for sure. The first band other than Oracle I looked up described themselves as "4 crazy assholes from Mobile making music heavier than a fat chick with a mouth full of pork rinds." I sense a goldmine of hilarity just ripe for picking. I'm not so ignorant to believe that the state is a backwoods horror movie plot, though, or that it's comprised entirely of Klan members, or that everyone's girlfriend is also everyone's sister. As is the case across this entire dross encrusted planet, there is likely some extremely good music to be found even in the swamps of Alabama.

Oracle play a modern version of Death Metal that isn't particularly unique, new, or inspired. It all sounds like a mixture of typical Gothenburg fanfare and Cryptopsy-lite to me. Their album, Beyond Omega, is done well but there isn't a single point which stands out to me worth noting. The title track, "Beyond Omega" yields evidence of amateur composition tropes; arbitrary transitions, myriad riffs that don't seem to lead anywhere or serve any purpose other than having been included, little (if any) movement or narration. Occasionally Oracle do show some promise amidst the mostly mediocre material. An interesting introduction incorporating a piano arrangement adorns "By The Hand of Aestrea." The strongest part of the release for me is the slower part of "Nocturnal Creatures" due to a chord progression that rings with tragedy and heartache which is then complimented with a nice guitar lead over it. More often we're giving jumps into incongruous choruses and breakdowns such as in "Beyond The Crimson Veil."



Although Oracle haven't shown me anything new or different compared to any number of mentionable bands, they are not offensive to the ears. There is a confidence in the performance and the production is on par or above average. At this point their strength lies in their layered and at times satisfying melodies and more attention should be paid to using these types of sections more effectively to create complete songs and experiences. At times, there is some promise shown but until the band finds their own voice, they will be overlooked in favor of more established acts on a larger scale.

Impenitent Thief - EP 2014

Back in May, Decibel magazine noted that "Impenitent Thief are not for the casual metal listener." This struck me as a strange description, and somewhat exclusionary, for an EP which has been so perfectly presented. Author Dutch Pearce admitted that "Impenitent Thief’s demo doesn’t just wail on you, it leaves a mark. A black bruise indicative of a deep subcutaneous hemorrhaging." Perhaps I've been guilty of similar phrasing on releases but I now find myself considering what is the casual metal listener? Is 'casual metal listener' a real thing? Fans of metal don't fall into a group of casual listeners and formal listeners. People that listen to Metal listen to Metal. There is no significant portion of the fan base that listens to metal for a few years and then decides they don't like it anymore and there are few fans of popular genres that occasionally 'dip into the well', deciding they're going to listen to Benediction for a few hours then go back to their John Mayer or whatever - obviously there are these people but they are few and far between. Rather the listening patterns of Metal fans could be more accurately described as the stationary and the exploratory. Stationary listeners sit on the shore and watch the ocean lapping at their toes; maybe they dip their foot in now and then. Maybe. Exploratory listeners get in a boat and brave the coming unpleasantness for moments of beauty and possible riches; for the adventure. They discover the next untouched forest, the next undisturbed shores, and mountains yet to be scaled.

Impenitent Thief's 2014 EP is very much a release that will appeal to the exploratory listener, especially one who is a fan of the grey area which dwells and surges between Black Metal and Death Metal. Perhaps the greatest strength of this short sixteen minute assault is the immediacy of each track; "Lashing of Christ" is Incantation with Black Metal vocals, "Wax Corpse" is a saucy Nunslaughter imbued blast, and "Gestas" grinds and churns like Napalm Death with Beherit's experimentation drizzled over to glaze the whole track like the grossest doughnut you've ever eaten. In essence, a combination of these three elements is the EP. A bit death metal, a bit black metal, and some definite grind influences. Counter intuitively, there is still a great mix of rhythms and variety on the release. Keys figure in heavily in some tracks to lend suffocating atmosphere and uncomfortable melody while others rely on speed and velocity. Quick. Violent. Morbid. 



Impenitent Thief are not the "gargoyle at the gate" as Pearce describes but more like the ruins of El Dorado, beckoning and taunting the apprehensive across the sea to come and find it. Why would something so good not appeal to one segment of the fanbase? It's not because they are 'casual listeners' but because they are stationary - preferring to ignore the adventure of discovering new and delicious cultures. Sure, some people don't like Black and Death Metal but that doesn't relegate that group of people to the dog house of 'casual listeners'. Here's a much more eloquently stated description from explorer Ben, from blackmetalandbrews: "As somebody with a passion for music that tends to make me uncomfortable or ill at ease, I often seek out things that are either initially unappealing or off-putting with the hopes that they’ll grow on me over time. Sometimes this yields unhappiness at having listened to the same garbage recording five times, but sometimes I find myself allowing morbid fascination to blossom into a familiar unease."

The production is ripe and starting to turn rotten but this is one fruit that is best served at that period in it's life. The moistness of the recording causes Impenitent Thief's malevolence to ooze out of the speakers and stain the carpet beneath instead of simply be propelled at force into the air in a blasted mist. The tape format is the ideal format and No Visible Scars had the right idea to press it such. If it didn't have the year listed, and the information wasn't available online I would fault no one that guessed at a date range of the early 90's for this release. As good as this is, it will be discovered by most explorers but this is one release which I hope those stationary listeners would take a chance on, especially if they do like more extreme metal.

Glaukom Synod - Vampires And Gorgeous Throats

Glaukom Synod return with their first release since 2014's Covered In Semen and Slime. Rising from piles of technodestruction and staggering from blown out communication hubs with fifteen minutes of extremely harsh electronic industrial propaganda, on Vampires and Gorgeous Throats Glaukom Synod emphasize the perfect components of each track in a way that makes them truly enjoyable and truly uncomfortable simultaneously. Having found a way to incorporate identity into the songs, the listenability of what normally would be revealed to fringe music aficionados is instead possible for anyone with a meager interest in experimental music. Glaukom Synod could easily open the wormhole towards harsh noise and electronics for anyone with a mind open enough to revel in the vastness of the genre.

Perhaps the best representation of this is in "Jungle Glaukom Fever," which is based on a deformed theme of Tarzan's yell. It is revisited several times in prime locations to reinvigorate the beat. Also worthy of further investigation is "Absoloz Omogr V. 1.0.5.," due to the strange rhythmic exasperation coursing throughout. The longest track, it's also the most subdued throughout it's majority, even breaking away into an an entirely new structure that only barely hints at the previous rhythms in the track as tempo is slowly increased. There are depths worth exploring in each track before completely grasping all the nuanced layers and sounds. It took me five or six listens to hear some of the low-end rhythms in "Jungle Glaukom Fever," and in a song like "Throattomb" once can get lost in pinpointing which beat to listen to.



What's so impressive with Glaukom Synod is the myriad usages of sounds and samples. The layers of different beats and rhythms are put together with such natural feel, even with such unnatural tones being used. For me, the whole thing mimics the aesthetic of Virus (John Bruno, 1999) in that it combines the natural and artificial into a unique life form in which the end result would be impossible without either. That this was all created using only 16 bit software and technology just makes the whole thing feel more genuine and impacting - it's not overworked, even for how layered and cramped it is.

Final track "The Iron Tongue (Razors In Your Mouth)" is culled from the Covered in Semen and Slime demo, and I would have preferred another two or three tracks to put the overall release at twenty minutes, especially if we were given some tracks of a tad more variety in tempos and intensity; something slow and drawn out between "Jungle Glaukom Fever" and "Ejaculohydron Tricephalis" could have been a key placement for pacing. Once again, however, Glaukom Synod is impressive in what matters: originality, replayability, and impact. Two releases now from Glaukom Synod have really impressed me. I'll be digging into their back catalog which stamps back to 2005 but I have a feeling finding physical copies of some stuff will be an adventure.

Heavy Temple - Chassit

 Heavy Temple out of Philadelphia are back with a child named "Chassit," to be de-wombed late January. I've been given a look at the sonograms. With their previous offspring, a self titled EP, from a couple years ago being a unique blend of numerous genetics, namely Black Sabbath as evidenced by tracks like "Dirty Ghost," this new release is defined by more matured blood. This isn't to say that the 2014 EP isn't a bad-ass rocking gift - because it most certainly is - we just have a much more nuanced and refined essence in "Chassit." Let's say their parenting skills paid off after their firstborn and this new child isn't privy to the growing pains of new parents or caretakers. There's plenty of rocking and doom to be had here but also, a certain reflective quality missing on the debut.

High Priestess NightHawk is still at helm, belting out lovely cadences and supplying a majority of the rhythmic work on bass. There have been changes in the trio's lineup with Archbishop Barghest on guitar taking over for Rattlesnake and Siren Tempestas replacing Bearadactyl (sad to see him go as his was easily one of the best names I've heard in a while). From the immediate lashings of "Key And Bone" the decadent wall of sound on Chassit looms. Heavily over driven bass, with occasional effects - possibly a chorus and flange pedal mixture of sorts - is very upfront in the mix with guitars filling in a lot of the space behind and supplying hums, buzzes, ghost tones and other psychedelia. Notable is the distant snare giving a very "live" atmosphere to the heavy and hot mix. From the first musings of "Key and Bone," NightHawk's vocals stand out. There is an unrestrained intensity and allure to her commanding vocal style.

Initially NightHawk's vocals are tied to the chord progressions but come "Ursa Machina" and especially "in The Court Of The Bastard King" (yes - I looked for obvious King Crimson nods but found none) there is an overall looser and experimental flair. Heavy Temple offer an originality in the spacey vibe they softly convey through the guitar and bass effects and the steamy recording. It's true in terms of sheer riffing and structure of compositions Heavy Temply fall short on originality, jumping into new riffs through use of common transitional methods and essentially jamming about for prolonged periods of times across fairly standard motifs and keys but the riffs are cleanly written and smooth. The grit and caked on scuzz of excellent tone help the material rise above. Heavy Temple do their doom well. The single most unique section of the EP is the first minute or two of second track "Ursa Machina," with a big tense formation built on a simple four note bass pattern with a dramatic half-step drop. 

Heavy Temple conjure the images their moniker would want you to formulate: Smoke drenched biker bars along forgotten stretches of cracked highway; hazy hissing amplifier tubes droning behind the occasional crackle of unintended instrument noise; a sweaty greasy mechanic in a straw hat and oil-soaked overalls sips whisky along a splintered bar top; empty booths against a far wall trapping wisps of unknown ethers; the trio that rolled in on a cloud of van-dust filling the space between normally disparate images with that ephemeral glue that could only seep out of their hands; a small child in worn and patched jeans and a crisp white tank top playing in the corner while her mom works the bar, beading droplets of moisture on tanned skin glistening as another cold round gathers condensation.

Signist - Of Worlds, Endtimely Enshadowed

With a shift towards regression swelling in the ocean of releases and bands, Signist are swimming against the stream by re-releasing and remastering their 2006 demo. It's easy to support the claim that the tendency in metal is to not push beyond the defined genre-prison with so many bands aiming for traditional sounds. And yet the Russian duo and their 2006 demo, Of Worlds, Endtimely Enshadowed, while a release that contextually is easy to place at that original time-period, is not so easily dissected as being purely defined by the discernible melodic death metal influences on the release. It is to be viewed outside the currents trends and the decision to re-release is, if anything, counter intuitive to the current metal climate.

There is a very specific guitar tonality on this recording which identifies it as a Russian release; a certain hollowness amidst the otherwise generic timbre that I have heard before from a host of Russian artists both contemporary with the timing of this release (Hell's Thrash Horsemen) as well as quite earlier in time (Aspid) whom all share this uniquely Russian tone. It's also appeared elsewhere in the east such as on Aum's 2012 Of Pestilence. It's a different feel, revealing Signist as going against the tide at this point in time, perhaps slowly drifting in the same waters, but observing a more careful route than that carried by the debris. Guitarist Ixaxaar handles most of the instrumentation and is impressive across the release while partner Axalcathu on drums complements capably. Both handle vocals throughout and exit with strong credentials.

Guitar tones aside, the contributing factors to the material would be several notable Swedish bands. Opeth's progressiveness is apparent early on in opening track "Premonition of the Endless Night" as the song dissolves into an acoustic interlude for it's majority. I hear a mix of Amon Amarth and Dark Tranquility in "Stillborn Mind Reflection." What is not prevalent are American Melodic Death influences and metalcore influences which factored into the "great blandening" of those years. There are lots of flourishes of experimentalism and progressive ideas incorporated into the tracks. "XXI Century Presuicidal Reverie" is a strong showing of this experimental penchant and passes attention to progressive masters thirty five years prior in title.



Perhaps the best combination of the influences on the album manifests itself in album highlight "Bells of Oncoming Winter." A twisting and extended riff opens the track and grips the listener in the culmination of the phrasing before layering additional effected clean guitars as an accompaniment cuing the verse. Later in the song, after a syncopated section of lead guitar work, clean vocals cue in the harsh vocals in a similar manner. Simple and smooth transitions of melody hold the ideas together. This is also true in "Dark Coulors Breeder," a big track with a demure interlude splitting it's ends. A cover of Katatonia's "This Punishment" is the final strap on the jacket for Signist's album.

Of Worlds, Endtimely Enshadowed, was artfully crafted amidst influences which overpowered a lot of music at the time. Signist recognized the original influences of the melodic death metal style and incorporated them heavily into their sound. This release will not appeal to everyone but may find a respected place for fans of the late 90's and early 00's melodic death metal material. The idea to resurrect the release now, after trends have died down, whether purposeful or not, affords a more unbiased look at material, which several years prior, may have been dismissed and disregarded.

Witchcraft Zine Issues 666 and 777

 

The metal universe is full of interesting people doing interesting things artistically and with a fervor and gusto that draws curious onlookers in, forever capturing and enrapturing them like a spider catching flies in its web. For myself, underground zines were a big part of my descent into the nooks and crannies. Originally it was Metal Maniacs in the late 90's and early 00's. I remember the first issue of Zero Tolerance being released in 2004. I became fully engrossed in what I found to be a more artful journalistic venture in the British pamphlet. Eventually I ended my subscription around issue 34 or something and went my own way. But those magazines gave me, at the time still young and impressionable, a certain ground to stand on. So today when I pick up a zine I want it to seem more than just some interviews and reviews. I want it to have a certain life to it beyond the regular feature. I want it to add to my understanding of this universe.

A full twenty pages of zine listings like this appear in issue 666. A veritable who's who of zines for metal librarians.

When I was sent issues 7 and 6 of Witchcraft Zine out of Germany several months back, I was met with something beyond the typical. Each booklet was laid out more like an issue of National Geographic than the typical fanzine. Of course contained were some interviews and reviews but editor Stefan also managed to include extremely useful reference material and data that caters to collectors and maniacs that have reached a point beyond simply being "interested." Stefan literally must spend his entire life savings and time on putting these together and they are done so well and are such a useful resource for those like myself who don't particularly care for looking and learning everything through the digital dreamscape which has taken much of the physical and material reward out of the collector side of metal.

A small segment of the The Crypt collector guide in issue 777.

Issue 6, a square booklet in full color and impeccable layout with Motorhead on the cover which, looking at it now, produces surreal vibes - staring into the eyes of two dead warriors will do that - offered a vast amount of space to content ignored by the largest reference sources online - zines! Yes, pages thirteen through thirty-four offer a complete listing of every known heavy metal zine big and small to the author. It's an incredible quantity of information and research. Each country is represented with no one left out; who knew South Africa had two metal fanzines!? And to follow up is a huge collector guide on Nuclear War Now's vast catalogue. Interviews with label owners and bands like Hellbringer and Hatespawn are enjoyable as well. Oh, and it comes with a huge Celtic Frost poster for kicks.

Issue 7, comes packed in a folder containing the ninety-two page zine and two posters. The oddly sized vertical zine will surely reap havoc on anyone who gets annoyed with things not fitting easily onto shelves. The layout also switches from being read upwards to downwards and sidewards numerous times forcing the reader to literally have to be involved in the act of exploring the pages. NWN is once again featured with some updated collector notes. Also featured are a whole new slate of zines not included in issue 6. The Crypt also gets similar page space with a collector dissection of their releases as well. Order From Chaos get interrogated as well as a host of other smaller features on numerous artists.

These zines are really beautiful and experimental in both layout and content. They have a personality and character to themselves. Stefan has done with Witchcraft zine that which could never be done in the mainstream toilet paper; artistically explored areas and depths of the underground with an encyclopedic skill and interest that suits collectors and genre veterans.

Yfel - Dark Hymns Of The Underworld

Dark Hyms Of The Underworld follows Yfel's debut, The Depths of Hell, and dials in on some major improvements in some important areas. The Depths of Hell was under siege in no-man's land between black metal and death metal and consequently suffered a defeating identity crisis. Where Dark Hymns... makes significant strides is in the push towards a solidly black metal effort. Gone are some of the Armonisms which appeared on the previous album: overly syncopated vocal choruses, goofily groovy riffs that manifest out of nowhere, and laughable lyrics about dead prostitutes all come to immediate mind . What has remained is his solid ear for compelling melodies and his instrumental prowess. Additionally, Armon's mid register screams are a boon to the focused black metal attempt, generic as they still are.

Without picking apart each track, the most powerful - and promising - song for me is tertiary track "Char and Ash" which could be considered a poor man's "As I Wander," a comparison to the must hear track on Primitive Graven Image's Traversing The Awesome Night. It rolls and roils for the first several minutes similarly but without as much grandeur and little sense of imagery. It also falls prey to the "black metal must have fast parts" mentality and instead of being a beastly slow-to mid tempo track, we get some blast beats and faster parts which sap what was a unique change of pace on the mostly single-minded album. But the slower doom parts are big, stomping, marching black metal. "Char and Ash" is followed by the out-of-place "Covalent Bonds" which doesn't fit thematically with the other material and which opens with a riff more akin to Control Denied than Immortal or Emperor. While the content of the track is a minor slip, the dip in black metal focus betrays some of Armon's underlying non-black metal influences.

As usual, Armon has recorded and mixed this project himself and he's done a commendable job in accomplishing the goal of getting clarity without being polished. All the parts have their space and show forth in the mix with the guitars still being most in your face and the drums - still programmed - being in your boots. I'm not sure the production is "black metal" at heart; the bass is less pronounced compared to the seminal productions in the genre, the guitars aren't quite as buzz-saw or incognito, and the programmed drums do push away from the necessary natural tones I prefer. Regardless, for black metal done Armon style - this is a shift more in the correct direction. I'm curious to know if Armon can replicate the black metal feeling with Yfel on future releases, especially considering the positive changes here on Dark Hymns of the Underworld. My biggest concern is still whether Armon can string a bunch of songs that fit within the genre's parameters and yet still be memorable and interesting.

 

Whipstriker - Die In Rape

Check out one of the Whipstriker tracks from the Whipstriker / Hell's Bomber split tape. You can preorder the tape HERE.

Preorders ship out on September 6th. Price will jump up to $6.50/tape instead of the $4.

Hell's Bomber - Bombers Of Hell

Uploaded a sample track from the Whipstriker / Hell's Bomber split tape. Whipstriker sample will be up shortly. Preorder tapes through the usual methods: either via email at orion_metalhead@hotmail.com or also through the storenvy page for the product. Buy other shit while you're there also.. I want to clear stock so I can get fresh product in.

CTP-032-I: Whipstriker / Hell's Bomber Split Tape Preorder Available Now

Brazil's Whipstriker and Croatians Hell's Bomber meet on this split tape of four tracks of blistering metal. Old School fans of the usual culprits rejoice. You can preorder for $4 + Shipping on the Storenvy page.

These are moving so don't miss out on it. Pro Tapes for this one. Tapes will jump up to $6 after preorder period. Expected release date is first week of September (I expect the tapes by that point).

http://contaminatedtones.storenvy.com/products/17516225-whipstriker-hells-bomber-beyond-the-empty-graves-evil-forces-on-the-l

You can always order via email too: orion_metalhead@hotmail.com