Blood Of The Wolf – II: Campaign Of Extermination (2018) – While Blood Of The Wolf II might sound like an indie game or a horror film that you’ve never seen, here it appears to be a sort of Chicagoan black metal with death elements. Speaking of games, or anime in this case (because it’s both) I noticed that the skull character on the album’s front cover oddly looks like a very special support character in Berserk. I don’t know if this was intentional, but it makes for a good album cover regardless. Though that’s enough about the cover, let’s talk about the disc. From the very start, I’m getting a style that sounds similar to Behemoth, Hate, SepticFlesh and Morbid Angel, which is certainly not a bad thing. Drums rip through as cavernous bass riffs decorate a rather hefty death growl, though not quite as deep you may expect, and a bit more audible. I’m most certainly reminded of Spiros Antoniou at his heaviest, even though . I can discern many of the lyrics here, though the ultimate effect of the album is that it pummels. Now it’s certainly comparable to the other acts I’ve named, which might even be regarded as influential (Morbid Angel, definitely) but death metal fans shouldn’t complain. I will add that it is very difficult for me to call this black metal, and it may even file into the all inclusive “war metal” category. “Benedetio Ultionis” actually has more than a passing resemblance to SepticFlesh, which I didn’t find to be a problem. Obviously, Blood Of The Wolf are combining elements from bands that they love in a way that justifies the influence and makes for a completely new take on them. “Erupting Volcano” seems to follow a more black metal approach, with the vocals changing to a slight rasp to fit that. Maybe I’m over analyzing this one a little bit more than necessary and not noticing the performance at face value, but I’ve heard so many discs that sound similar. Nevertheless, I will admit that this one kicks ass. This band should be a bit bigger than it is and would probably inject some well needed blood into the stale pool of mainstream metal acts that get reported on daily. There’s nothing deeper here to the performance, but if you’re looking to have your head ripped off in a very familiar style that I don’t think you’ll mind one single bit; you should definitely give these gentlemen a try. I would have loved a bit more variation, but when you start saying things like that; we get xylophones and flute playing. So don’t ever change, gentlemen and keep it death/black/war metal or whatever. Just keep it heavy. Don’t unleash any Elton John tribute moments and I’m sure you’ll go far. Interestingly, eastern-inspired instrumentation does appear at the very end of the album in closer “A Sermon Of Slaughtered Foes” which makes me consider the Berserk connection even more.
(8 Tracks, 36:00)
8/10
Trita – The Good Night (2018) – Hailing from Minnesota, we have Trita which mixes post rock, post metal, post hardcore and pre-death together in a very interesting, yet wholly predictable manner. That being said, it’s still quite a joy to listen to and the thick grooves work well to demonstrate the colorful melodies and clean vocal approach that is much better than anything I’ve got (trust me, I tried some cleans on our forthcoming album and threw them out immediately). There’s also a bit of prog to be found here, which might place them in the same spot as something like Tool, Karnivool and Soen. The only difference here is the use of harsh vocal, which comes off more like a patented hardcore shout and feels natural here. Don’t forget, Maynard used quite a bit of harsh on Tool albums and we might actually hear some of that on their newest, which sounds a bit ridiculous in the sense that they’ve even made another, as there are so many bands who’ve taken that style and further evolved it into what we see here. “To Sisyphus” actually seems to be the greatest sample here for the album, as it shows both the melodic and punishing sides of the band in less than three minutes. But Trita want you to know that they’re capable of writing more than easily digestible pounders, as my personal favorite and closing number “Bluer Sky” showcases. Sure, they scream a good bit on “Saltless Sea” which also reminds me a bit of early Mastodon; but when we come to a song completely removed from thump (not that thump is a bad thing, guys) we find that there is really something to be said here in songcraft. Yes, “Bluer Sky” sounds a lot like Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide, but I was quite blown away by it and will probably add it to my own personal playlist. Yes, it can be argued that the song doesn’t sound anything like the rest of the album or even the same band, but if these guys roll into a side project that makes material more like this, well… I’m game. I wasn’t exactly pleased with the post/core stuff as some of you might be, but when it came to the closer – that’s all it really took for me to realize that there was something special here. Sure, that isn’t exactly original as it emulated A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide among others, as I mentioned; but it certainly worked in my favor. For those of you who might get turned off by this notion, keep in mind that the guys did work up three heavy-hitters for you to enjoy before the closer that I’m raving about. Trita have no doubt served up a weighty meal, but I loved the “after-dinner-mint” the most.
(4 Tracks, 20:00)
7/10
Sacred Leather – Ultimate Force (2018) – If you like the way that heavy metal sounds, then you’re going to like Sacred Leather. The Indiana based quintet (which features members of Demiricous, Kvlthammer, Christ Beheaded and ex-Coffinworm – what? Coffinworm split-up? How? Why? I loved Coffinworm, this is depressing news. Forgive me for living under a rock) worked hard to bang out heavy metal classics for the new generation (or maybe just us old heads) with the same attention to detail that might have accompanied the record if it had released right along with the Priest, Saxon, Accept, Mercyful Fate and Manilla Road albums of the genre’s heyday. Best of all, Dee Wratchchild belts out some major highs, which make me hopeful that Demiricous Three might feature those in addition to the Slayer inspired death that he’s been pursuing. It would make for a nice change of pace. Though I know that musicians form multiple bands in order to unleash other sides to themselves and that’s what happened here. The guitarists (JJ Highway and Carloff Blitz) also play in a black n’ roll act called Kvlthammer, which I would again; have never expected from the guys behind Coffinworm. I guess the whole doom and gloom mentality of said act was getting a bit too negative for them, (and yeah, some of their material was truly chilling) so going back to the genre’s roots felt like a much better idea. This is put into practice when a real masterpiece in “Dream Searcher” which absolutely screams classic Priest at their most potent level of melancholy, quickly comes to the forefront and makes me miss Coffinworm a bit less. Obviously these gentlemen are talented in nearly every type of musical style that they pursue, especially in so far as the guitar work is concerned, as Blitz and Highway tear up the place with what I’d consider to be an album where not one frail moment can be found.
All in all, the record features amazing leads, a warm eighties friendly production value and enough authentic nostalgia to appeal to classic metal fans around the world. This isn’t one of those retro-reboots, as these guys truly knocked it far out of the park and I’m sure that their covers are just as great as their originals. Which puzzles me just a bit, as I would have expected maybe one or two classic covers to be featured on the album that maybe aren’t quite the mainstream hits we might get with other post-golden age heavy metal acts. That being said, I’m not one to complain about forty minutes of truly memorable heavy metal might, which is a definite step in the right direction, especially where I’m constantly hounded by extreme metal acts of all sorts and varieties that seem to be more interested with how speedy and technical they can play the guitar, rather than how tasteful they can make the sounds coming out of it. Though The Grim Lord’s rant about how the current generation has forgotten how to play tasteful riffs and melodies can wait for another time. That being said, I really don’t feel that any fans of classic heavy metal are going to have an issue with this, and if you do – you’ve forgotten the faces of your forefathers. This is the music as I remember it, and hearing these guys bring out absolute ear candy in closer “The Lost Destructor/Priest Of The Undoer” makes me even more satisfied and nearly set in my convictions regarding classic heavy metal as being one of the best sounds that man has ever conceived. As I’ve mentioned, I often write reviews while playing the album a subsequent time, so I’m just sitting back here in my broken computer chair while the pleasant sounds of Highway and Blitz leave me in a state of orgasmic bliss. I’ll bet it sounds even better live.
(7 Tracks, 41:00)
7/10
Apostle Of Solitude – From Gold To Ash (2018) – The Indiana based doom metallers fourth full-length album might just be their best yet. But not only that, it feels like missing link between doom and grunge rock, which I would never have realized prior to this album. Obviously, this an album where classic doom is a prime element going back to acts like Sabbath and Candlemass, but there’s just a touch more groove to Mike Naish’s bass riffs, which create a much chunkier bottom end and cause my head to bang in unison from the very first cut, “Overlord” which reminds of everything that I liked about The Sword. This opener is nothing more than a short instrumental, but it has a lot of potential which is further carried into the equal thump of “Ruination Be Thy Name.” I’m getting a sort of jam band feel to this, which changes quickly to a heftier Queens Of The Stone Age due to Chuck Brown’s vocal approach, who sounds a little bit like Josh Homme. We might despise Queens Of The Stone Age now, but Apostle Of Solitude haven’t done anything crazy yet to provoke the rock and heavy metal police battalions yet, so we can feel safe while we sit on our laurels and jam the act. A nice little acoustic called “Autumn Moon” seems to set the stage for the amp-fuzz gone ominous doom that is “Keeping The Lighthouse.” Chuck Brown and Steve Janisk play their guitars as well as they duet, which makes for a sense of harmony that pays off in spades. Both men have a more approachable set of pipes than myself, as my first ever singing attempt on one of our discs was completely deleted for sounding like a choir boy at a glam show. And I’m not even going to tell you what the deep “goth” vocal sounded like. So I’ll leave to men who can actually sing, like these gentlemen; to do so. I’ll continue to sound like Swamp Thing.
Getting back to the album, even though I will admit that it has more of a modern rock or grunge feel in the vocal approach I just mentioned, the song structure still centers wholly around doom. It’s slow, thick and heavy, like some of the people I see walking around the store. Oh, come on. Back in my day, that was humor! Though I digress. Basically, doom fans are getting exactly what they want as far as memorable harmonies, extremely deep swathes of bass lines, strong solo efforts and drawn out songs that actually manage to keep my attention due to the ear-candy of their frontman. Nothing bores me wore than a frontman who sounds like cardboard, and it’s good to see that there’s a brighter rendition utilized here than on several other funeral doom efforts. Not that those are bad. I’m just pleased to hear something that doesn’t sound quite like what I’ve already got on my shelves. Once again, I have to note just how modern this sounds, which some people might not understand; especially those who don’t like Pallbearer (who are really great guys in person) because they feel that (at least according to the reviews I skimmed) they “dumbed down” doom metal, or made it more accessible. Something that made me laugh my socks off, I’m sure. Anyway, Apostle Of Solitude now sound a little more similar to this style, but they still have that thick doom crunch and the right level of melancholy to stand as the future of this genre, a very old genre, and what some might say was the very first genre in the heavy metal pantheon. Certainly Black Sabbath’s self-debut would be enough evidence of that, although debatable. When I can put on a doom record and still be reminded of that particular debut, then I realize that a band are definitely still playing within the proper lines of doom and should still be considered such. If you’re not obsessed with labels, then you would do well to pick up a copy of this thick, melodic and solemn beast of a recording.
(7 Tracks, 43:00)
8/10
Godthrymm – A Grand Reclamation (2018) – With full disclosure, I just want to add that I’d heard Candlemass’s Nightfall just a few days before I got to work on this review and because of that listening experience (I’m still catching up on a lot of older metal materials, so bare with me on that) I now understand the sound and style that Godthrymm were going for here. Obviously, Godthrymm is a UK collective featuring members of acts like Solstice, My Dying Bride and Vallenfyre which are all great bands in their own right; some of them very influential to our modern scene, which also would include my little band. So thanks, guys. Though as I stated earlier, there is more of a Candlemass meets early Sabbath sound here than anything else and it doesn’t feel in any single node like that of a My Dying Bride album. There are slow pieces, though not as slow as we’re used to from the Gothic doom monolith unless we were to consider their earliest albums. Additionally, frontman Hamish Glencross doesn’t necessarily jump into the death metal stylings of Vallenfyre and mainly sticks to a traditional approach, which will again, delight fans of classic doom like Candlemass and Cathedral the most. “The Pantheon” is the only real cut to feature a couple of harsh vocal bites, but even so – I’m not really here for the vocal performance as much as I am the playing, and being that the strong point of this band happens to be within Rich Mumford’s crushing bass lines and the twin-guitar team up of Chaz Netherwood and Glencross himself, I’m perfectly happy with a doom/death element being totally absent.
It is obvious that these gentlemen wanted to create a band that captures many of their older influences, and that’s exactly what we’re getting here. I don’t feel that it is too dissimilar from other acts who’ve come before, but a good slab of doom is a good slab of doom. It’s like eating a good meal that you’ve had before, but enjoying it just the same. Yes, I’ve had this meal before; but it’s tasty and I’d definitely eat it again. In fact, I’d much rather hand this to my coworker that seems to feel that Avenged Sevenfold are the only thing that matters in heavy metal anymore. I grow sick of hearing their greatest hits album in his vehicle. Godthrymm have crafted here a doom metal album that carries with it the spirit of the classics. Though a short EP release, it is enough to show that these gentlemen play with enough passion and energy to keep the train rolling for another decade or so.
(4 Tracks, 24:00)
8/10
Hadewytch – Welving (2018) – Hadewitch is a very interesting project, which actually manages to merge even closer the realms of experimental atmosphere and avant-garde black metal. This is also surprisingly one of my Malignant Records submissions and I often don’t know what to expect from those discs, which makes them enjoyable to cover. The project itself though masterminded by Peter Johan Nÿland; contains contributions from members of Trepaneringsritualen, Dead Neanderthals, Turia and Greetje Bijima (who must be responsible for the chanting in some of these pieces) which culminates into something that certainly feels like a mix of black metal and tribal ritual. As the description via the band’s Bandcamp page states, “…it is nearly impossible to classify or define” and I fully agree with this. Though for all sakes and purposes, let us try to dissect the release as much as possible in order to give you a feel for what you’ll be hearing when you do choose to push that play button.
“Dageraad” begins our journey with a light bit of piano and some spoken word vocal before it goes into DSBM without the guitar, and replaced with a gothic organ. This is quite possibly one of the most interesting approaches I’ve heard to the genre yet, and proves that even guitars are not important to the sound and feel of black metal. I know that may downright feel like a stab to the chest for some of you, but the drum blasts, harsh vocal wails and eerie gothic keyboards seemed to capture the same feel as I would have gotten with ice-cold tremolo melodies plucked on a string instrument. Which proves that black metal is an atmosphere, rather than just a style of play. Moving on, we get into the tribalism of “Kho” which incorporates a dark vocal approach, much like an audible growl. The vocals here almost sound like a whisper. I also love the synth hit in this one, which brings a sense of unexpected majesty into the piece. I’m reminded maybe a touch of SepticFlesh there.
Those looking for more avantgarde material will find it in “Manifest” which actually features spoken word pieces in English. The industrial notions are felt hard and heavy, but there is also a temolo-backed sort of black metal energy to this. The album is described as a sort of dark ritual, and I’m getting that feel here. There are even a few full-on black metal sections, but I’m still wondering how much of a black metal tag we can attach to this. “Monolith” seems to continue with the industrial and spoken word approach, later rolling into a section of stripped-down black metal, but rife with a dark energy and even some rather impressive screams. This is really nice, I’m quite impressed. “Neveruim” brings us into a completely different atmosphere, one that I would consider a bit disjointed albeit in a good way. It has a bit of a creep factor to it, which the out of tune guitar strumming helps to solidify, along with some tufts of air, which radiates a hint of industrial atmosphere to this haunted house.
“Ezel” has a weird flow, which feels like a background wind fronted by harsh ritualistic affirmations. I’m almost wondering if this hadn’t been recorded outside to which bodies were being tied up and prepared for a great sacrifice to the Gods of the underworld. Whatever they were summoning with this one, I am starting to believe that it may have appeared before them. With a name like “Stofkrach” you’d almost have to expect the rusty clanking of metal. Despite the chanting and what almost feels like a stripped down Rammstein in the nature of harsh vocal and the thumping song structure, the piece slowly transmogrifies into a lighter soundscape right before being devoured by the demons of the abyss. I felt like they had eaten the Sun. “Kimaera” comes off like a light wind with slight drumming here and there. Though it features the same loud ritualistic shouts as heard on prior tracks, it seems to head into Clive Barker’s territory of fear and mystery towards the end. “Atavismata” feels like an industrial cut with more synth atmopshere, and I actually found it catchy. It might actually be the only accessible song on the album, which is a rarity for these kinds of records, in all actuality. The album ends out with “Minneroof” which is where the album reaches a true mixture of traditional atmosphere and power electronics. A spoken word portion is delivered as the record fades out with a hum.
Ultimately, I am quite pleased with the offering from the experimental collective and wish I knew more of the language to be able to decipher much of the non-English spoken word sections, particularly at the very end, which seems to be an important thought that the album would like to leave us with. Even so, I really do feel that Welving is the closest thing I’ve heard to black metal within the confides of this genre in several years. I really feel that there’s something especially unique in opener “Dageraad” and I hope that more bands will pick up on this guitar-less vision of the black metal atmosphere. It’s proof positive that we may not need tremolo riffs after all to create the same eerie structures that we are used to within the genre. That to me, is far beyond fascinating.
(10 Tracks, 42:00)
9/10
Skognatt – Ancient Wisdom (2018) – Even though already perfectly observed by our fine partners in Metal Trenches, I decided to give my thoughts on the new Skognatt album as well.As the name implies, this is the full-length version of the Ancient Wisdom EP (which would probably have been better titled something else, in order to prevent confusion) and includes four more full-length songs from the artist. As I have already focused on the first two cuts (the title track and Xibalba) in a previous review of the EP, we will begin our focus on “World Apart” which continues the familiar progressive atmospheric vibe that the artist has been known for, while keeping the folk instruments that made the EP stand out so well. Danijel Zambo’s vocals come off with a thick rasp, which is appreciated within the airy flow of the track. The synths and acoustic section work together to create something wholly majestic, almost a bit magical. “Thanatos” comes next, with a slightly creepy introduction that leads into a warmer black metal portion and seems to jump between the two sections. I definitely prefer the unsettling section a bit more than the black metal portion, as that feels a bit basic to me. But it is black metal in that sense and may not come off with as strong of a chorus had this warmer section been left out. I almost thought that we were going to be treated to a solo, but that never happened. Oh, well. “Dark Star” follows with a more straight-forward feeling of blasts and tremolos, but the throat singing effect and the background chanting seems to really set it off. I feel that I’m getting a more entertaining style of black metal than what Rotting Christ are currently doing now with their latest ritual/folk iterations. The last cut on the disc is “Fallen” which is definitely heightened by the horror-influenced keyboard sections that lie just overtop of the jamming riffs. The song has a slight funk/disco vibe in regards to the production, but Primordial recently did that on their latest album, which I enjoyed there too (though would not have expected). It ends with folk acoustics and a starry soundscape.
In the end, I would say that the 80% rating for the album featured on Metal Archives fits it perfectly. Skognatt definitely has an intriguing sound, with proficently utilized folk, keyboard soundscapes and black metal stylings. It is still a bit rough around the edges in some regards, though I am certainly proud to be promoting a disc on this level of quality. There are hundreds (possibly thousands) of bands that I’d consider to be far less interesting than this, so I hope that Skognatt will continue to evolve into something even greater and more mystifying in the years to come. Perhaps, Skognatt might even be able to surpass them all.
(6 Tracks, 31:00)