Legionnaire – Dawn Of Genesis (2017) – Finland’s Legionnaire attempt a similar style of traditional heavy metal with doom and NWOBHM nodes much in the vein of early Blind Guardian, Sabbat, Manilla Road, Satan and even some of the more progressive nodes apparent in Dark Forest. The approach feels very warm, with a vocal presence much like that of Brian Ross that Satan fans will be especially pleased with. This record seems to take much from Court In The Act, even though it definitely suffers from one thing – I felt that even though the overall progressions in the record were more than just a little muscular and there’s a great deal of technical tinkering and full-bodied prog rock influence to be found in this mix, it didn’t really hit me as hard as other artists in this genre have. It could be all in the recording, as I’ll admit that some riffs seem a bit muddled (even though the solos stick out rather well, and I’ll certainly not make a complaint there) and it all seems to suffer from what I feel is much the same tone throughout, making almost every track sound similar to each other. But I’ll admit that this isn’t a truly bad thing, as the Finns at least remember the sound of progressive influenced traditional heavy metal and are able to emulate it with as much bravado as the progenitors themselves. It also can be said that while Lord Peter Macleod and Aku Tiensuu’s guitar structures are quite brilliant despite their rough edges, Teinsuu’s vocals can get to be a bit much after a while. The man seems to stick with one note, which doesn’t necessarily translate as well as you might expect. He sounds like a singing stone golem, with a light raise in harmony by about a point or two. Though I have no doubt that some of you are just going to go nuts over this one (and no, I don’t hate it – I definitely understand and respect what they’re doing here) there just seems to be something off during this performance that I can’t quite wrap my head around. Maybe I just need to listen to it twenty more times or something, which you can do for me if you really love it. Traditional heavy metal purists are going to love this one regardless and that’s what matters, so pick up a copy if this sounds like it’ll appeal to you.
(8 Tracks, 30:00)
7/10
Logic Of Denial – Aftermath (2017) – Italian BDM act Logic Of Denial are back with their third full-length outing after releasing Atonement all of the way back in ’13. According to Metal Archives, these guys sound like Hideous Divinity, Hour Of Penance, Defeated Sanity and Septycal Gorge, which are all acts that I believe I’ve covered before. In any case, we have an immensely ravenous offering here where either a session drummer or the programmed drums have been recorded so loudly that they almost overpower the whole performance. Try as he might, there are times when Mattia Gatti (who actually used to play the drums in this act) is completely buried underneath the weight of what sounds like a frantically moving machine of metallic fury. The record sounds like a twenty ton sledgehammer coming through your roof, and is the equivalent of listening to a jackhammer with added guitar solos. Though this might be a detriment for some listeners, as it seems that the drums could suffer from being triggered and I know that there are metalheads out there with fierce opposition to that. My colleague reviled bands with triggered drumming, and a friend unfamiliar with the genre completely compared it to the sound of a lawnmower running over bricks. At least there are some hefty slam sections that bring a little spice to the performance, even though the record sees these gentlemen going at ninety miles a minute. I won’t say that there aren’t any moments where Marco’s guitar is audible, but it can be very difficult to discern him over all of the chaos that occurs on the frontlines. It could be said that these gentlemen sound like they’re in the middle of a battle, with drum frills that sound like the gunfire of automatic rifles being discharged at random. If nothing else, at least the more technical sections of the record actually manage to stand out as well as the solos, proving that there’s some merit here after all. In addition, there are two short atmosphere pieces on the disc to break up the momentum. They both feature odd guitar musings throughout and sound like a wasted opportunity in what could have been a mixture between brutal death metal and hypnotic atmosphere. While great music for back-breaking labor and a definite shot of adrenaline, I have to say that the performance (a least to me) seems much longer than it should and doesn’t really feature and cuts that deviate from the norm. Aside from two tiny atmospheric breaks, we’re more or less getting 10,000 MPH brutal death metal with bits of technicality and solo efforts and that’s it. Maybe that’s what you want, but I guess I kind of wanted a little more here. I’d like to see these BDM bands going in a completely different direction, one that doesn’t feel like it’s already been paved over well by familiar acts like Dying Fetus and Misery Index. Hell, we can even go back to Demolition Hammer. In any case, I would like to see more approaches from these newer acts that made the older guys stand out. Hopefully, this will happen sooner than later.
(12 Tracks, 43:00)
7/10
Kindstod – Dahmer’s Fridge (2016) – Kindstod are a noise act signed to Merdümgiriz, because Bandcamp had them removed along with some other artists that they’ve censored. In any case, what we have here is essentially a lengthy piece of static that sort of feels like a channel just went out on your TV set. It is the literal sound of something not coming in, usually what you’ll hear when you’re trying to tune in a channel properly. I normally enjoy a great deal of noise, but this just sounds like noise for the sake of noise itself – there’s no real rhyme or reason to it. It sounds a bit like my air conditioner or a whirring fan. While I wish this artist the best of luck in the future, this doesn’t really sound like anything and I couldn’t see why Bandcamp would get rid of it. Weird.
(1 Track, 13:00)
1/10
Walpyrgus – Walpyrgus Nights (2017) – Another traditional metal throwback, Walpyrgus hails from North Carolina. This is their official debut, having released several singles and two live albums just before it. It would seem that these guys truly value their live shows, as it’s very rare that we’ll see a band release their live performances before even so much as the first studio album. Compared to the also received Legionnaire, I found Walpyrgus to be a bit more listenable, especially with Johnny Aune’s pleasant tone. That name should sound familiar to fans of Twisted Tower Dire (which sound similar to this band, I’m not going to lie – there’s just a bit more of an old school feeling to this one) as he also handles vocals in that act. Keep in mind, they’ve also snagged the guitarist from Twisted Tower Dire (Scott Waldrop) and surprisingly, the current guitarist for death/doomers Daylight Dies. Judging from Charely Shackleford’s work, I can tell that the guy (like many guitarists) spreads himself out among several different genres, as he also plays for Hellrazor and Iskariot in addition to this band of course. Drummer Carlos Denogean also plays in a few bands, but none more than the band’s bassist Jim Hunter, who also plays in Twisted Tower Dire. Over half the band plays in Twisted Tower Dire, but it’s safe to say that Walpyrgus is more of a rock act – especially when we consider the almost punk nature of “Dead Girls.” Even though that’s the case, Aune’s voice carries that band well enough with the dual axemen in tow that we’re getting a very proficient performance all of the way through. Though it isn’t something I can say that I’ve never heard before, it’s at least done with a real sense of purpose and should appeal to a great deal of classic rock and metal fans. Obviously, this isn’t extreme metal, nor does it ever go into that level, but I don’t think it’s necessary either. We’re getting a pleasant mixture of vocals and riff patterns that sound like they came soaring out of the eighties’ golden age of rock and roll, which is an age that I am sad to say, is never coming back. With hip hop now the most popular genre in the US for the first time in history (according to Neilson) rock has fallen on hard times. A band like this should really have been spotlighted a little better in the media, especially considering the accessibility of the disc. You could put pretty much anything from this one on a classic rock radio station and I don’t think we’d be any the wiser. (That a Cheap Trick song from 88? No? You sure?) I’d actually compare the level of accessibility to that of Ghost, and the lyrical matter is quite similar too. Walpyrgus Nights is a very short listen, but it does the trick and that’s all I’m concerned about when it comes to this kind of music. I know what I’m getting, and I just want it to come off without a hitch, which it does. There’s nothing extra here, just great rock and roll.
Now the disc did come with an awesome comic book. The book is actually legit, with a truly original art style from what the book seems to credit to guitarist Scott Waldrop. If that’s the case, this guy will always have a place in the comic industry if for some reason he ever tires of playing guitar. For those of you who do not know, I’m a comic book nut and have well over 5,000 books on my hard-drive alone, not counting the physicals that I’ve purchased over the years. It’s safe to say that I’m familiar with fine comic art, considering the work of Promethea, The Sandman and The Killing Joke as some of the best artwork I’ve seen in this entire fucking medium thus far. In any case, each panel features a different style throughout, which gives it a nice flow, since the book is essentially illustrating the lyrics. I was quite awestruck with the fifth page, where a large panel greeted me with what looked like tons of hidden images in the background of the picture. I stared at that image for nearly fifteen minutes, trying to decipher all of the background pieces there. Since it has that sort of black and white manga style, it may not be for everyone, but I definitely felt that several of these pieces were quite brilliant and described the album concept rather well. The concepts for many of these tracks are horror/occult stories and not all that fanciful, but coupled with the comic it becomes a more interesting listen. This is the first comic I’ve ever received from a band and I found it a welcome surprise.
(8 Tracks, 35:00)
8/10
Prezir – Contempt (2017) – Wisconsin’s Prezir are made up of some familiar faces that we’ve covered here at The Grim Tower. Two of those should be awfully familiar to you, like guitarist/bassist Rory Heikkila of Shroud Of Despondency and Luka Djordjevic of Khazaddum on vocal duties. The drummer here is a man by the name of Brian Serzynski, known for playing in Pigs Blood. According to the rest of the information that I have here (pushes up glasses) the band considers their music to be a “feral blend of death, black and thrash metal with influences inclusive of early Emperor, early Enslaved, Grand Belial’s Key, Arghoslent, Morbid Angel, Deicide and Destroyer 666.”
When the album begins, we’re greeted by some light acoustic playing inspired heavily by folky tremolos as well as some creepy quotes that express the mastermind’s continued hatred of religion. Particularly that one with Jesus. After the intro, we get into the real meat of the performance with a track called “Devotee Decree.” It is a raw but audible offering that feels exactly as we’d expect given the influences. Bits of thrash and a couple of tremolos with a mixture of deep growls and hefty scowls make up the rowdy performance here. I especially like how the piece changes shape, which although is sometimes tough to discern in so far as a few of the lead melodies (depends on the vocal mix and drumming) are concerned, but still comes off as a full-bodied performance that offers much more than what one might expect at first glance. It’s beefy and it needs to be, because I’m tired of picking off bones from bands that just don’t have enough muscle to deviate from the rest of the scene. “Holy Men Of Putridity” continues this feeling as it begins with thrash, throwing in some death bits and a speedy solo section before it rolls into rather hefty folk-tremolos. These can sound a bit triumphant in the mix and work to give the piece some depth. “The Legend Of The Five Suns” shines in the initial drum work, which turns the piece wholly black metal but doesn’t neglect the death and thrash bits that we’ve been hearing thus far. The middle section here didn’t impress me though, and I almost fell asleep until the solo came in. The folky tremolo sections came in once again, sounding just as grandiose as before; but this time saving the day in the process. The record continues in much the same style, but at the same time, this isn’t something that we want to deviate too far from the norm. I don’t expect Prezir to inject bagpipes, synths or clean vocals into their performance as that would just come off bizarre and not really fit the atmosphere that they’re trying to achieve. It’s excessively dark, brutal and authentic as far as this genre is concerned. The performance is quite raw as well, but that should appeal to kvltists, even though I wouldn’t consider some parts of this album to be kvlt, nor would I rightly give a damn. I would however, consider this disc to be a true representation of extreme heavy metal music without all of the core and djent modernisms that have plagued the scene for so long. When Prezir set out to make this album, they simply wanted to mix together all of the things about heavy metal that they loved and couple that with some commentary on society – in this case, religion. I really don’t think you can go wrong with what I’d consider to be a very solid album. I don’t think that Prezir set out to be the next big thing in metal, and this probably won’t astound you in any way – but it will give you a pulse pounding and memorable performance from beginning to end. You can’t go wrong with it and I’d definitely recommend checking it out. I’m giving this a solid score, but a couple points higher than usual, because I feel that its deserved.
(6 Tracks, 30:00)
7.5/10
Wolok/Rotting Heaven – The Anatomy Of Madness (2017) – What I have here is a split EP between French black metallers Wolok and (unfortunately now split-up) Russian black metallers Rotting Heaven. We’re going to focus on the Wolok side first, and then deal with what may as well be Rotting Heaven’s swansong.
Wolok is made up of three dudes, one of them seeming to have played in damn near every band in France at one point. I want to say that frontman Lhukkmer’thz has played in well over forty bands according to Metal Archives, and over half of them aren’t metal at all. How does he find time to eat, sleep and wash his ass? Regardless, it is an impressive achievement. Eyemeric Germain also plays in quite a few acts himself, handling the keyboards, drum effects and guitar for this particular disc. Cypher has only played in two bands as of right now, but in a month, that number might be fifty-two. He handles the drums and arrangements for this particular project.
As for the project, it is quite oblong. I’ve never heard guitars played quite this way before and I’m not sure what to think about it. Heavy synths fill the air as bizarre riff compositions back what seems like an electronically induced vocal. It feels as if you’ve walked into a strange alternate dimension where this what black metal sounds like for that particular species of mankind. Sometimes the vocals comes off a bit scathing, which works in a sort of mid-era Nine Inch Nails meets early Skinny Puppy fashion. I can say that I definitely feel that “The Murky Waters Of Life” was a terrific title for this particular track. It only becomes more bizarre as it goes on. I understand that this style of composition won’t be for everyone and I know there are some artists out there I’ve talked to that just don’t understand this kind of abstract art. It’s not quite throwing paint on the wall and certainly has some sort of substance, even though that particular substance is rather hazy. “Tremors” came next, with a continued industrial/black sense that I do not take issue with. Normally I expect so much from industrial/black acts and barely ever get what I’m asking for, but with this performance I find that it is not only completely out of the box, but it’s turned the box into a bizarre shape that threatens to tear the walls right out entirely. There won’t really need to be room for a box when this is said and done, even though it still plays by it’s own rules in the industrial genre to some extent. But it definitely has to have some level of structure or we’ll just have noise (which I can also argue retains some level of structure). Tinging synths come into play at the end of “Tremors” and feature more prominently in the slower and nearly doom/drone influence of closing note “Skull Gnawer.” I especially like the melodies here, giving off an oddly Fear Factory-esque tone. I’d be a fool to not mention the obvious Godflesh nodes here and there as well. Overly, it’s quite strong – but definitely is an acquired taste. I still feel as if this is still a demo of sorts and it is possible that Wolok did not begin with this style of music, so I do not know how older fans may react to this EP performance. Nevertheless, it is a good showcase of what they can do on this level.
Next, we have this swansong from now-defunct Russian black metallers Rotting Heaven. The disc begins with a slight electronic piece, but fires up with more prominent black metal. The interesting thing about this act was their ability to mix fearsome guitar riffs and well-thought melodies together with slight synths, which I hope they won’t neglect in Cage Of Creation, an act of which all three members of this band still play in. St. Pastor was in charge of the leads and vocal duties, which he did rather well. O. played bass and handled the electronic samples, with Vvurd handling rhythm guitar. The whole performance went together quite well and I’d even describe it as dynamic. All of these guys have vocal duties in Cage Of Creation, but I doubt that the other two can produce as much of a force that St. Pastor did. That man is a beast, and this little EP proves it. They also released a full-length back in ’12 called Apotheosis Of The Apocalypse which I’d like to get my hands on now after hearing this, because I feel it might be an undiscovered gem. There are no reviews for it in Metal Archives, but there are so many acts on the page that I’m sure many get passed by often. “The Bloody Reaper” is one of their highest moments here, purely due to its incredible sense of purpose within the creepy leads and absolutely scathing, truly meaningful vocal approach. This man is not screaming just to be doing so, he’s putting real thought into these lines and that shows on the performance. I have no idea why these gentlemen broke up, but I do hope that the Cage Of Creation material is as memorable as this. Each and every one of these three songs is a direct hit for me, for the slightly unconventional compositions and as I’ve noted, a true sense of being among the riff-structures. There are some clean lines here and there on the final cut, “An Altar Of Sacrifice” but you’re getting a vast mixture of vocal styles and techniques, quite like I choose to perform on our albums. I get tired of using the same old approach and feel it is necessary for the performance in general to switch it up. St. Pastor does that here, which only adds to the greatness of this incredible project. They couldn’t have ended this performance on a higher note and I’m quite impressed.
Both bands offer a formidable performance and I’d have to give this record a strong score in hindsight. I do feel that while Wolok’s material was weird and different, it felt like a demonstration of what they can really do. It wasn’t quite as fleshed out as it could be and perhaps that will change in the future. Despite the permanent split, Rotting Heaven’s performance was enormously noteworthy, and feels like an impressive denouement to what was surely an awesome heavy metal act. I loved it and would give it a near-perect score by itself. Though since I am judging the material of both bands, I have to figure that into the disc’s total score. Definitely check out this split if you’re adventurous enough, because I feel that it is truly worth it. The Grim Tower highly recommends The Anatomy Of Madness.
(6 Tracks, 43:00)
8/10
Andrew W. Boss – Invincible (2017) – As you should expect, there are a variety of artists covered here, like this Utah based rap-metal artist Andrew W. Boss. Now, I don’t listen to that much rap metal these days, and the scene petered out a while ago in the mainstream. But when I was a younger man, I quite enjoyed this style of music. What’s best about this disc however, is that it actually manages to capture the genre at it’s strong point, being quite comparable to what I’ve considered to be one of the best rap metal releases of all time, Limp Bizkit’s debut, Three Dollar Bill Ya’ll. After the band became famous, they watered down much of the grit and heaviness explored on that album; but I’m seeing a real mix of the two styles of rap-metal on this recording. Some of it hits, while other pieces just come off a bit corny.
The first cut we have here is “Avengers” which comes off with a familiar rock/rap vibe, packed with decent rhymes and a catchy chorus. Definitely radio friendly. There are also some electronic portions that add to the performance. This is actually not bad. “Kleen” is a bit heavier, utilizing downtune and another catchy chorus to make for a rather strong note. Maybe some of the vocals are overkill, but this is definitely WWE music. The next cut is the album’s title track, which contains much heavier downtune (I suppose this is courtesy of guest guitarist Pablo Viveros, who should be a permanent member of the act as this piece has the best performance of the whole shebang. Makes sense that actual metal riffs should appear on a rap metal record, right?) and some djent. It’s the standout and should be the single. Make a video for it. “Decay” comes next with the other guitarist, who I suppose is a session dude and not that great. He also seems to head towards melodic hard rock, which is good for the sung choruses (Andrew can sing relatively well in some instances) but not as memorable as the previous. “Apple Pie” is more of a love song, maybe a little too much “rocking Bieber” for me, but to each their own. “Breakdown” is more of a hip hop track, which might be due to the influence of “Clawson and 5280 Mystic.” It actually sounds more like Linkin Park, especially in the chorus line. Two rappers appear on the album, one closer to Andrew and the other in the style of the urban hip hop that the guys bump at work. “Wreck The Place” comes off a little heavier, namedrops a lot of rap metal acts and seems like a bit of bragging. The guy’s good, but I think he’s better at singing than rapping, especially compared to half of the rappers he mentioned. Clawson ate him whole on the last track and I’ve been listening to a lot of rap over the years, especially in the horrorcore/nerdcore genre. But on the other hand, Andrew has a voice for radio. That could serve him very well in the future.
“Mist of Grey” sounds a bit similar to much of the other songs on the album, which is not a problem because this is starting to have a Hyrbid Theory vibe and that’s no detriment. Now, unfortunately we have one of the corniest tracks on the album next, which is “Let Me Hear You.” I believe there may be a video for this, and if there is – I’m sure the commentary is golden. There’s just too much reiteration of the chorus line here that it starts to sound needless redundant. Bands of this nature were guilty of similar things, but there are much better examples of his work than this piece. It does allow him more than enough room to flow, proving that perhaps he can match Clawson and I was wrong after all. It almost sounds like he’s going for “Rap God/Speedom” territory here, which might appeal to more than enough people than the reiterated chorus. At least the bridge is decent enough to make it not come off so redundant. I think I’d like it more if I was still a teenager though. The next track, “Coming For You” actually manages to hit the same territory as the title cut, even without Viveros featured as a guest. It’s also one of the heavier cuts, complete with a strong guitar solo. A definite highlight. As you might expect, “Breaking Bridges” comes off a bit lighter, but not that light. There’s still some thump here, which could be the kind of thing that rap metal needs right now, especially if it wants to come back into the mainstream, which could be possible considering the popularity of hip hop in the US right now. I almost wonder as to how many people would latch onto this guy from one song, and what song it would be that they would best latch onto. In any case, this record is certainly much stronger than you’d expect and is right up there with Hybrid Theory, though not as pummeling as parts of Three Dollar Bill Ya’ll. The very last cut we have here is “Regret” which comes off as a decent ending, it’s not really worth any real explanation – just a basic rock rap track with another radio-friendly, catchy chorus.
At the end of the day, Andrew W. Boss has a great deal of promise as a rap/metal/alternative artist in the mainstream. There’s no question about that. I found the album rather listenable and would recommend several of the cuts to fans of the genre. In the underground, rap metal has proliferated quite a bit, but I don’t think that we’re going to see as many memorable artists in this genre as we have here. Oddly enough, The Grim Tower actually recommends Invincible.
(12 Tracks, 43:00)
8/10