The first release I have for you today is Saarkoth‘s “Follow The Cult.” It’s a surprise release and something of a single. A seventeen minute long single, mind you. The piece comes in with the folky edge that you may expect from traditional black metal, but there’s a bit of an Arabic twist to the composition at this point. That fades, letting loose with a barrage of drums, expectable tremolo riffs and fierce scowls. That eventually rolls into something of a groove/death mixture, which is not something I’ve heard from the artist before. The piece continues to embody a hint of prog and a few more structural changes before rolling right back into throwdown territory. It finishes with a hint of background synth and somber acoustics. I don’t think fans of the band nor the style will be upset with this one and it shows a sign of good things to come from the project. I especially like the creeping modernizations present in the piece, because it shows the band evolving from the ’96 time warp that a lot of black metal acts still find themselves trapped in.
The next record on the list is from an industrial act called Interlocutor (but they have an irritating spelling format that dictates a colon after every letter in the moniker and that irks me just a little.) The EP here is titled Preemptive Institutional Postmortem. Oddly enough, the band wasn’t formed in some advanced future city like Neo Arcadia. Rather, the project is from Brian Carrington who calls Oklahoma his home. I’ll bet that’s a good place to hide out if the shit goes down. I can’t see many people trying to smash down barricades in order to get over there. In any case, this taste of the future reminds me a little of Killing Joke, KMFDM and early Aborym in some cases. The EP is peppered with synthwave and voice clips, featuring a harsh vocal throughout the handle the narration. This is handled well on the album’s title track and “Ant(i)Deluv1an” but “Malefactor” seems to stumble a bit from this formula, despite having a strong chorus and potent bridge section. I’d say it’s just slow to start, but picks up in the end. I also don’t like that such a chorus heavy song went into atmosphere right after the bridge and didn’t reiterate the chorus. That’s weird to me. There should have been one more choral reiteration after the bridge and then it could be thrown to atmosphere. “Axiom” is a little different, featuring a deeper vocal style almost like early Fear Factory. Funny I should mention that, as there are also some clean vocals on it – showing that the man can sing a lot better than I can. This one would have to be my favorite on the disc so far and I’d consider the EP relatively strong, other than the fact that I’d love to hear some of these re-recorded later with maybe a full band or higher production value. “Axiom” just doesn’t hit as hard in some areas as it should and you need a full bass for that effect. “Renunciation” goes full on death metal, but it does after some whispers and cold, spooky synths. I know “black metal” is listed, but I’m hearing more groove/death than black and that’s fine, because a lot of black metal sounds redundant these days and this EP doesn’t. So there’s that. All in all, it’s a great little project and I hope there will be more of it.
Lusus sent me their debut album a while back, called Per Aspera Ad Astra. This record is a weird one. I’m reminded of acts like Brainstorm and Tad Morose, but Lusus are heavier than both. Additionally, the vocals take on a bit of an abstract turn which can result in harsh screams, operatic musings and other things. It’s kind of interesting and maybe even makes me think of Devil Doll a little bit. We start out with a cut like “Jet Black Pope” which throws in a death metal growl and some rather pummeling drums. This is starting to sound a bit like early Mercenary and of course, those creepy Gothic synths add a nice touch. Then you’ve got “Six Feet Under” where a more defined chorus is utilized, right before “Julia” starts out pummeling and throws me right into groove. Lusus have a great deal of promise and I hope this won’t be the only record I hear from them. This idea to mix classic power metal with extreme elements, while changing the vocal style to meld with such changes can come off electrifying at times. There’s one hell of a band here and this is just the unveiling. After that, we’ve got “As Happy As Sad Can Be” which the band actually shot a video for, so check that out on YouTube. “The Sun” changes the mood altogether, bringing in acoustic and soft rock elements, with a slightly heavy punch. There’s real potential here, but I’m not hearing what I feel is a strong enough ballad. I notice tinges of greatness, but I’m not quite sold on this side of the band just yet. “The Moon” seems to capture the feeling I’m looking for a bit better, rendering “The Sun” nearly useless. Also, the background piano is a nice touch. The record ends with “Myriad Of Tears” which yet again shows just how musically talented these guys are. The record is peppered with so many different styles of riffs, tempo changes and other bells and whistles that make it an entertaining listen. This is actually the kind of record I would have really dug back in my younger years of finding new bands on the internet. I could’ve seen Century Media taking a gamble on these guys around that time, but I don’t think they would now as the industry as a whole is broken. Sure, Per Aspera Ad Astra is a bit rough around the edges, but I dig it and it would have grown on me the way that other records had back in those days. I regret that I don’t really have the time to soak records in like I used to do back in those days, but this is one of them that I think I would’ve given plenty of time to soak in and would’ve came back to several times, like I did with Mercenary’s “13 Dreams.” I’d definitely recommend giving the guys a look, and mark my words that I could’ve seen this kind of thing signed by Century Media, Metal Blade – those labels were willing to take a gamble on these kinds of bands. Hell, maybe AFM would be willing to do it. There’s talent here and someone needs to get on it. The disc also could use a better mixing job, that would certainly help parts of the disc I found to be a bit raw as well as some of the more overbearing vocal moments that might just be a little too high in the mix.
The Grim Tower gets a variety of music and I appreciate all of the different kinds of artists that approach me for a review. I’m definitely not the best reviewer out there, but I’ve always had something to say about media, so you’ll definitely get at least a few words about your releases and that’s more than some people will give you on social media, that’s for sure. Rusty Eye sent me this very interesting EP release called Rust N’ Roll All Over Again. At first, I thought I was hearing a bit of metal infused punk with a female vocalist, but then the style of music changed altogether to allow for prog and death metal. A male vocalist comes into the mix on the second cut “Return Of The Scarecrow” which… hey, hold on a second – the doll’s face on the cover has green eyes and red hair, just like mine. I dunno about you folks, but that’s a hell of a coincidence. Getting back to the release, I love the mixture of prog and death I’m hearing here which wasn’t even something I expected judging from the first song on the album, “Inside Her Rings Of Smoke.” The punk feeling comes back with “Dead Once Again” as “Certain Death” brings a little bit of a Venom flavor to it. That is until you get to the bridge section, which comes off like a completely different kind of song entirely. It’s hard to imagine this melodic soft rock section being a part of the same song, but it works. The disc ends out with a powerful instrumental called “Phantasm” and then features a bonus drum solo. It’s not bad really and I hope the band will release more albums here in the US.
Sometimes I even get music from other dimensions, which is the case with this extraterrestrial black metal project called Idolos. The name of the disc is Ahi Cab and features four tracks considered to be a message. Fans of traditional, down in the crypts black metal will enjoy this, though I am pleased to hear a strong presence as far as riffs are concerned, which includes a couple of legitimate guitar solos. In some spots there are touches of atmosphere, like with “The Summoners.” This breaks away from the traditionalism in this genre that I find myself always bitching about and ultimately results in a much stronger release overall. “The Maiden and The Tree” ends the record on a somber note, taking us out of black metal territory almost entirely, as it closes on the same equally depressing nodes. Not quite the ending I expected, but certainly not bad either. Though it is a bit tough to hear the vocal utterances on this one, I definitely think there are people who will find something in it. Hopefully these interdimensional beings will return for another message in the future.
Now that the majority of my submissions are done, it’s time for me to roll through the dozens of promos I’ve received and share some of my observations there.
Sicarius arrives first with God Of Dead Roots, a record that I feel encapsulates the sound and feel of modern black metal, while utilizing proper grooves and some death metal elements to keep me from becoming too bored. The record is absolutely ferocious from beginning to end and there’s enough bells and whistles here to keep attention throughout. Of course, I especially loved the cover slapped on at the end of the disc, which I believe is a Venom track, judging by the nature of the riffing. It’s actually my favorite cut on the disc, which probably doesn’t bode well for my opinion on the band alone. God Of Dead Roots is a strong album, but you have to take it as a whole because nothing really sticks out. It’s just one long bout of black and death metal that while good, was not amazing.
Serious Black is back again also – and my apologies for completely overlooking this one as I wasn’t really sure about the band’s fate after Magic. However, it would seem that the band took a little bit of input from their constructive criticism and managed to kick it up a notch. Maybe I’m not so crazy about opener “Let it Go” which isn’t quite as catchy as the version from Frozen, but it lacked the guitar solos that this one has as well. Just to be clear though, this isn’t a cover of the Disney theme, they just happen to have the same name. Synths seem to play a larger part here too and by that I mean synthwave. As a matter of fact, the background synths in “Fate Of Humanity” remind me of Machinae Supremacy a little, which I find interesting. More importantly, the guitar in general has a much stronger role on this album, whether that is in the form of more prominent riff structures or full on guitar solos. There are definitely a few cuts here that will appeal to longtime fans like “Castiel” but once again there are a few that leave me scratching my head like “Heaven Shall Burn.” It’s just not as interesting as it sounds and feels like filler on a ten track disc. They did try to go with something really out there on the album’s closer and title track, which actually manages to capture as much heavy metal might as it does majesty. Sirius Black certainly saved the best for last and I’m ultimately quite pleased. Though Suite 226 may not be their best release, it definitely comes off more entertaining than Magic and you really have to give it to them because they seem to be trying very hard to craft a record that is not only unique and experimental, but has all the heavy metal trappings that people have expected from this band. Give them a break fellas, I’ve read the reviews on Metal Archives and people just aren’t happy. Magic is still sitting at eighteen percent and that’s out of a hundred. So I hope you folks found something to like on this one, for crying out loud.
Yes, I’m aware that Anvil came out with a new one too this year and I’ve been a fan for quite a while. The album is called Legal At Last and obviously that refers to marijuana and not what you might also think. But my God, if you fools are that excited about Billie Eyelash becoming legal, then so be it. Go read some hentai mangas, you damn perverts. In any case, the record is much along the lines of Anvil’s patented Canadian heavy metal, which shows us that yes – metal was political and has been for a long goddamned time now. These guys actually wrote two songs on weed just to begin the album, which really says a lot. It’s a good thing that the stuff is legal (not in my state, unfortunately) now for them so I hope they enjoy all their weed. I smoked so much of that stuff in my teen years that I don’t even remember them, to be honest. There are other topics here they’ve covered, like loss of privacy (Glass House) which unfortunately is the case. Google knows every path I’ve traveled since I purchased a cellphone and even if I break the device, Google Maps still has that data logged into the cloud. It can even map out if I’ve been to special areas that aren’t on my common daily route. I also have to talk about “I’m Alive” which is a song about being alive, something we often take for granted. One thing about Anvil I’ve found, is often they’ll write songs with meaningful lyrics, which is one of the things that drew me to metal in the first place. Granted, I’ve always loved heavy music and loud screaming guitars, but it’s good to hear lyrics that you can relate to or will inspire you. There’s plenty of nihilism in the genre, but it’s good to see that a few bands are actually singing about more than that. Aside from that, this record simply blazes with electrifying guitar solos and even welcomes different tempo changes with each song, rather than playing the same note all of the way through which several acts are more than guilty of these days. While I don’t think that “Legal At Last” is as memorable as their previous album, I’m hard-pressed to say anything bad about Anvil and I’m sure fans will pick it up. I simply can’t be upset about yet another solid disc from a band that I seem to enjoy with every release. That is not something I can say about far too many bands these days as well.
So, The Night Flight Orchestra are back with a new one too in Aeromantic and I’ve been looking forward to it as these guys are not only one of my guilty pleasures, but my sixty-five year old mother also digs them. I got her into the band a few years ago and she plays them all the time. Of course, this opener (Servants Of The Air) might be a bit heavier than she’s used to with it’s Deep Purple-isms and a screaming guitar solo, but everything else on the disc is very close to what I’d expect from these guys and she should be perfectly happy with that. Bjorn Strid shows just how great of a vocalist he continues to be aside from Soilwork and I just hope that we’ll get more Night Flight Orchestra discs to come. Now in my opinion, “Servants Of The Air” is great opener, possibly one of the band’s most epic tracks and completely unexpected. Though as I said, don’t expect the band to continue on this path because there are just so many goddamned earworms coming your way that it will seem ultimately nonsensical. Though as you may have guessed, I’m perfectly good with that. “Divinyls” is just one of those, with “If Tonight Is Our Only Chance” continuing the greatness of eighties pop-rock, which is a hell of a lot better than the crap the mainstream media considers pop music today. Moving on, I’ll have to say that “Curves” really hit me, like in the way that classic Phil Collins would hit me – I still find myself really getting into those old songs. “Transmissions” left me breathless, that’s just how good it is. With it’s mix of synths and eighties rock, the piece may as well have been cocaine for my ears. Oddly enough, they decided to solo with a violin instead of a guitar, which kind of takes me out of the piece, although temporarily. The title cut has a heavy disco rock vibe to it and it’s decent, just like “This Boy’s Last Summer” which I purposely skipped over; but I tend to like “Golden Swansdown” a bit more. It has that “pumped-up”
eighties athleticism feel, and I can see long distance runners sprinting while it plays in the background. Another song that makes you want to run outside and jog, “Taurus” is yet another cut that caught me by surprise. The first time I listened to it, I missed a few lines but then that chorus hit right towards the end and I knew that I had to come back to it. Now that I’m re-listening to the album, I can see why I dug it. As we head closer to the edge of the album, “Carmencita Seven” greets us with an unexpected epic. The song runs nearly seven minutes in length which allows for a lot of headroom in which to throw in a few guitar solos, but there’s a weird break (I also noticed this with “Taurus”) that causes the piece to quieten and fade out into the atmosphere. I know it is normal for a band to show off everything in the world just as a song fades, but I felt that this piece really got going before it ended. “Sister Mercurial” is decent enough, but it doesn’t leave me breathless or asking for more. Not even an orgasm, fellas. However, we get a great eighties action movie montage theme with “Dead Of Winter.” This song definitely makes me think that I’ve just watched something with Stallone, Schwarzenegger or Norris, so they’ve definitely ended this one with a bang. I don’t know about you, but I will watch the end credits of a film if the ending theme is good and that’s just what I got here. Without a doubt, the Night Flight Orchestra continues to deliver amazing releases, even if there are a few bumps along the way. There are songs on this that I’ll jam for years, decades – I’m not even sure yet. Can’t wait for number five.
My Dying Bride have returned with The Ghost Of Onion…. Err, Orion. I seriously thought it was “Onion” the first time I saw the album title, and considering the depressive nature of the UK doom metal legends music, onion sounded pretty damn close. You’d often think there were onions being cut in the recording studio, just to provoke a few more tears from frontman Aaron Stainthorpe. That being said, there’s actually a song on the disc called “Tired Of Tears” which may be a response from the frontman regarding the onion cutting that goes on in the studio. That being said, this is a much different and less death metal influenced release than we’ve gotten previously and to be honest; it reminds me an awful lot of Paradise Lost’s mid-era work, before they decided to retain the death metal elements of their early era. That being said, I’m reminded of either For Lies I Sire, Evinta or A Line Of Deathless Kings with this style of mainly clean vocal work, although a hint of death metal can be found on the record. Perhaps a hint is unfair, but I felt that I’d heard almost forty-five minutes of what I would consider to be meaningful clean vocal performances before I heard even the first growl. Normally, such a thing would have bored me and Stainthorpe has done so before but because there were vocal harmonies this time around, I found myself actually quite interested in most of what was being displayed here. Upon giving the disc another listen however, I find that my analysis is not true. There are indeed some growls on opener “Your Broken Shore” but “To Outlive The Gods”, “Tired of Tears” and “Solace” are completely devoid of a harsh vocal style. “Solace” in particular is a bit of an odd one, it consists of a melodic background and female vocal harmonizing. This piece feels more like an experiment than anything else and I think that’s the route these guys are going here. “The Long Black Land” brings back the death metal elements, although the style beforehand has been quite hefty from the beginning. What I really mean here, is that the death/doom elements of the band’s early albums start to show. The title track is a tad eerie, but it is not necessarily amazing, nor does it work to build anything to the atmosphere. Thankfully, we have “The Old Earth” to kick things up a notch, which is desperately needed around this time as I feel they may have meandered a bit too much on this recording and have left little to chew on. The songs are quite lengthy, but few seem memorable. The album then abruptly ends with “Your Woven Shore” which once again shows the band meandering around into atmospheres and such.
Let me break this down, My Dying Bride fans. The amount of actual doom metal apparent on this fifty-eight minute disc is about forty-six minutes. Honestly, it should have been left that way. All of the meandering and useless interludes take away the main goal of the album, which is gothic doom metal with touches of death metal. This leaves listeners with five real metal cuts, namely; “Your Broken Shore”, “To Outlive The Gods”, “Tired Of Tears”, “The Long Black Land” and “This Old Earth” as a closer. The other three tracks never needed to leave the cutting room floor. They should have been cast off for some B-Sides compilation in the future. They could have renamed the album “To Outlive The Gods” which works well as an album title to begin with, it carries about a sense of pretension and would fit the cover painting, as the figure depicted does seem like some kind of narcissist who would think she could perhaps outlive gods. I also never liked the idea of naming a record after an interlude. Despite all my issues, I still would consider The Ghost Of Orion to be quite solid regardless of all the issues that plague it. Perhaps these guys felt that they didn’t have enough songs for a full release, even though I remember some of their earlier discs finishing around the forty-six minute mark. Not every album needs to run for an hour and fans are getting their money’s worth regardless; even with the trimmed fat. Bands shouldn’t feel the need to fill an album up with useless meandering and interludes when there are plenty of cuts that hold up well on their own. We are not hip hop artists, we do not need fifteen or seventeen tracks on a disc. We don’t need skits or meandering. We only need substance and there is more than enough of that here without all the fat. Next time just give me Orion and leave the ghosts in the studio.