Pharaoh Overlord – Zero (2018) – Definitely one of the more interesting releases that I’ve heard this year, Pharaoh Overlord combine experimental and completely far-out psychedelic rock music with elements of death metal on the vocal end. The frontman possesses a very powerful growl, quite similar to that of Demilich, although musically I feel like I’m being thrown into a vortex of swirling colors, much like one would experience while on LSD. It can sound a bit post rock and there some definite elements of eighties synth to be found within the keyboard passages. The sixties prog-rock influences are definitely in play here as well, making for one of the most extreme trips I’ve ever taken regarding this kind of music. Normally, vocals are uncommon for this sort of musical journey, but I honestly do not think that the thundering death growls in play here deviate from that experience. That being said, the recording here doesn’t even sound anything close to death metal, so I wouldn’t even suggest a bout of headbanging fury to be found. Though you can, if the need arises because it can get a little groovy. Nevertheless, the listener is getting a rather intriguing drug trip that I would recommend for fans of death metal, stoner and synth rock as well as just plain experimental takes like Mr. Bungle. To be honest, Demilich with a side of Mr. Bungle and some LSD really seems to work well enough to describe this one, and I couldn’t be more pleased from the performance. It’s safe to say that there aren’t really any other bands combining this style with the death metal vocals, as well as the abstract experimentalism. You either get one or the other and never both. Pharaoh Overlord manage to deliver far more than we ever asked for, and manage to exceed far more of my expectations than I’d ever expected.
(6 Tracks, 41:00)
9/10
Ross The Boss – By Blood Sworn (2018) – Coming in like a twenty-thousand pound bus full of sweaty barbarians wondering if they’d gotten off at the wrong stop on their way to a Conan convention, we have the latest effort from Ross The Boss. This one absolutely slays with the power and fury of all that is heavy metal, and there’s no doubt about that. Not only do we have several calls to arms like “This Is Vengeance” and “By Blood Sworn” but we also have lighter cuts like “Among The Bones” and “Faith Of The Fallen” which is a tremendous ballad. I never knew the guys had it in them for this one. When I listened to that last Ross The Boss album, I remember it being rather firey; but this one is a completely different type of beast altogether. I’m actually reminded of Wasp a little, due to the fact that there doesn’t appear to be a set rhyme or reason between tracks and yet everything still manages to come off without a hitch. There are a few songs that I feel may have dragged on the album, like the ode to classic punk found in “Circle Of Damnation” (even though it is structured fashionably well) but the Manowar covers included as bonus tracks still feel well-represented in the mix. You don’t need them, but they’re nice to have. Aside from that, I definitely have to say that the epic “Lilith” really managed to exceed my expectations and that means a great deal, considering that I wear a once bronzed, yet slowly turning cerulean pendant with her archetypal image imprinted on it. Where Iced Earth failed with their ode to this archetype in “Seven Headed Whore” (even though I think that track more or less revolves around government corruption, rather than say; an epic about the antichrist in “Damien”) I feel that Ross The Boss made up for that here with spellbinding heavy metal performance that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon, and will be adding to my own personal playlist. I still feel that the best song related to this archetype is actually Dissection’s “Dark Mother Divine” but that was an actual incantation, so you can’t really do much better that that. It always felt like a “rockin’ hymn” to me.
That being said, Ross The Boss perform quite a bit of rocking on this album and it’s good to hear that the disc isn’t a Manowar retread. We already know what Manowar sounds like and as much as I loved Death Dealer’s War Master record; I’m glad to hear a performance that breaks free from the mold of “Hail and Kill” based songs (which ironically appears at the end of this disc as one of the three Manowar bonus covers) and just focuses on solid song structures that feature such a great degree of deviation that you don’t mind listening to the whole disc several times in a row. We tend to want to relisten to albums that don’t feel like they’ve exhausted us after the first time, and really get that dopamine flowing to the effect that our brains just want “more.” For me, songs like “Among The Bones”, “Faith of The Fallen” and of course “Lilith” are just a few of the tunes here that cause my brain to scream for more pleasure. You really can’t ask for much more than that. Ross The Boss crafted one hell of a good listen with By Blood Sworn and those Manowar covers really put the icing on this delicious heavy metal and rock n’ roll cake. It reminds me of a time when rock was rock, and we weren’t so concerned about subgenres and such as the music was all that mattered. Click on the link below, if you remember the days of great rock music and want to reminisce.
(13 Tracks, 16:00)
8/10
Dead City Ruins – Never Say Die (2018) – These Aussies bring forth a bout of hard, thumping blues rock with hefty slices of heavy metal dispersed throughout. You’ll be reminded of Sabbath just as much as you will Zeppelin and Soundgarden, though when all of these acts were at their heaviest. Though that’s because the band have a very thick low end, with Matthew Berg’s bass riffs pumping so loudly in the mix that your neighbor across the street will be able to discern them well enough, without any problems. Just in case you were worried. Because your music isn’t loud enough until everyone in your area can hear it. Though something like that might come in the form of a live concert, which you’ll definitely be able to catch along with the release of this album. These guys have been jamming with the likes of Mastodon, Wolfmother and Fozzy, which are all acts known (as of recent) for blending the fire of heavy metal and the raw energy of hard rock together in a package that should suit both fanbases. These guys easily prove their mettle with the first three cuts on the disc, and if you’re not feeling anything by the time you get to “Rust N’ Ruin” then I might suggest a rock rehabilitation course. Now I know that western media has all but tried to bury rock music (and I mean real rock music) in it’s sea of pop-influenced gobbledygook, but that doesn’t mean that other areas of the globe are just as clueless as we seem to be. That being said, Dead City Ruins are certainly an accessible band, but accessible in the same way that I might recall some of the classics of the seventies, eighties and certainly the nineties (there is so much of that grunge and hard rock influence to be found here).“The River Song” for example, is a bluesy sing-along but manages to have enough structure to keep it rolling beyond a simple verse/chorus. Then we have “We Are One” which has a definite Wolfmother or current era Mastodon feel to it. In addition to the heavy bass end, this one comes with touches of prog. Then you have the blues-funk of “Destroyer” which goes back to the same level of fuzz and groove that we got with openers “Devil Man” and “Bones.” The Led Zeppelin influence here is uncanny, but it doesn’t seem to be a complete retread and instead manages to take such a classic sound and reformulate for modern ears. Of course, the youth of today are so flooded with different sounds on a daily basis due to the wonders of technology; so one cannot say for sure as to how well this will reach them. That might be a losing battle. But even if it is, it definitely isn’t a sign of defeat for these rockers. “Raise Your Hands” comes in like a Sabbath classic that we’d never heard before, with frontman Jake Wiffen even channeling a few Halford-esque howls here and there. He can certainly hit the highs and dominates with them when he does, so combined with Sean Blanchard’s attention to detail in regards to channeling several upon several classic influences, there’s an award winning package here for fans of what I’d consider to be, simply great rock music. If you enjoy great rock music and wouldn’t mind checking out some of the more modern approaches to it, I think you’re going to find something rather potent here in Never Say Die. A bit odd that they would name the record after what I’d consider to be one of Sabbath’s lesser celebrated releases, but perhaps they thought that this is what it should have sounded like. Well, after hearing the album, I’d be inclined to agree. Check out this modern taste of proper rock music here at the link below.
(9 Tracks, 31:00)
8/10
Bonfire – Temple Of Lies (2018) – It’s hard to believe that some bands are already on their fifteenth release, and if you count this German metal legend’s previous moniker Cacumen, then you would be at an astonishing seventeen discs. Yes, these guys have been playing under Bonfire since ’86 (Cacumen would be ’72 which almost pairs them with The Scorpions, who released their debut around that time) and despite such a long tenure, are far from losing their spirit. If the power/speed of the title track doesn’t get you, then the “Chuck Norris roundhouse kicking some guy into an electric circuit breaker and saving the day” credits theme “On The Wings Of An Angel” certainly will. Oh yes, those AOR influences are present in this one and have me as wet as a schoolgirl on prom night. Though if “On The Wings Of Angel” wasn’t enough AOR for you, then we have “Feed The Fire” which is in literal terms, just as amazing. The sound of the eighties comes roaring into view with all the depth of clarity of what some might consider some of the best action films ever made – along with their great soundtracks, like this. If you still haven’t played BroForce yet, this is the kind of song that just reminds me of that whole game world. I also had to pause this review for a bit, so that I could get up and jam with the electric guitar. My air-based model isn’t quite as good as what Hans Ziller plays though, so you’d be better of listening to him power through each and every cut on this impressive display of potent heavy metal and AOR all on the same record. “Stand Or Fall” seems to encapsulate both approaches rather brilliantly, making my fucking head spin in the process.
Aside from that, you have the compelling vocal tones of Alexx Stahl who is able to convey an array of complex and heartfelt emotions on each and every song, even though I will admit that I prefer his vocals at a much higher register and his falsettos are far more magnifying than his lighter, spoken word moments. This is the only thing that brought down “Comin Home” for me, even though I will say that I’m hearing just a tinge of Hansi Küsrch in Stahl’s vocal inflection, which is a bit of a bonus for me. Blind Guardian fans need be noted that this is just a small semblance however and plase don’t pick up Bonfire expecting “Blind Guardian does AOR” because that’s not what you’re going to get here. Moving back to the album, we have “I’ll Never Be Loved” which I wanted to like, but I don’t really enjoy the vocals here as much as I have on the previous tracks. There are certainly strong points, but I just don’t feel there was as much power here as “On The Wings Of An Angel” which is a shame, as this could have been a real heavy-hitter. Though when “Fly Away” comes back in, I find that I’m once again refreshed with that incredible vocal technique that makes me scratch my head even more in regards to the last track. Oh well, at least this one rocks. Thankfully, despite the rather bizarre circus-music influenced opening, “Love The Way You Hate Me” became a real pildedriver, filled with heat and lighting; just like a fiery anthem from The Scorpions. I’m still not really quite sure what the keyboards are doing on this one however, as the track seems to stand on it’s own without the bizarre solo effort in that regard. Said keys are used more effectively on album closer “Crazy Over You.” It’s admittedly not the strongest of the cuts, but as far as I’m concerned, there are more than enough home runs here to look over it. For a band who’ve been around for as long as Bonfire has, this shows that there’s no signs of wear and tear as the band keeps rolling on. An extended cut of “Comin Home” is included as an acoustic version, as well as one more cut that you’ll just have to purchase the album to discover yourself. If you like AOR as much as I do, then you might find just what you’re looking for at the link below.
(10 Tracks, 43:00)
7/10
Graveshadow – Ambition’s Price (2018) – After frontwoman Heather Michelle left Helion Prime, I was admittedly a bit bummed out. However, I did not realize that she was working with a Californian act by the name of Graveshadow, which is described as symphonic metal albeit with a slightly harsher element in the vocals. For the most part, Michelle sings; but there are several moments where she belts out some blood-curdling rasps, which I didn’t even know she was capable of given the work in Helion Prime. Now I’m not sure if this was one of the reasons behind her exiting Helion Prime, but I will say that the work here is pretty damn stellar all things considered. Musically, I’m reminded of a mixture of gothic metal with extreme elements like Graveworm or early Sirenia and power metal that I’d consider close to Seven Kingdoms and in some cases, Iron Maiden. It just depends on the track. I will say that “Doorway To Heaven” caught me from the beginning, and sounds as good as “Drake’s Equation” or “Stargazer” from Helion Prime. Naturally, these tracks are a mixture of light and heavy vocals, so there isn’t really a cut on the album where Michelle starts and begin with full-on death metal, but I will say that there are some superb vocal touches utilized on the title track which I found quite mind-blowing. The very last couple of lines there seem to go hand in hand with the admittedly heavy breakdowns and make me smile at the same time. It’s very similar to what I’ve done in Torii, but also reminds me heavily of The Atlas Moth (and I really loved Coma Noir) which is not a style that you’d expect this band to dig into; so hearing it done with as much power and emotion as featured on the cut is something amazing. The production might be a bit raw, which doesn’t help the power metal portions; but makes all the difference during these much heavier and often unexpected sections. This essentially balances power and death metal together in a way that many bands fail to get right. I’m tired of hearing death metal vocals thrown directly on top of overactive pomp, with the rest of the band powering through at twenty-thousand miles power hour with no real rhyme or reason, and that’s virtually every song on the “power/death” album. It’s great to hear a band that hasn’t musically forgotten about classic gothic metal like early Tristania and early Theatre Of Tragedy, which is what makes a cut like “Gates” stand out much more than acts who would have relegated to clean vocals throughout. Then you have “The Unspoken” which seems to have a touch of mid-era Arch Enemy flowing through it. “Return To Me” and “Slave” are both cleaner affairs, without the heavy punch returning until “Liberator” but it’s good to see that there are some straight-forward cuts, especially considering the balladic nature of the former, where a grand guitar solo is orchestrated just perfectly.
I do feel that in more places than one, I have a very difficult time hearing Aaron Robitsch, possibly due to Colin Davis’s mastering. Though he plays in Vile and has mixed over a hundred albums, I just don’t think the mixing here was either all that great, or the source waves were difficult to work with. Did Aaron Robitsch not record his keyboard samples loud enough? I can’t really fault Davis if that was the case, but I know that I would have at least used some sort of effect to raise the keys in the mix and they should be as audible as the guitars. The keys here should actually be as loud as the bass and on-par with the guitar, not thrown into the back somewhere. It seems to me, that every time other instruments are being utilized other than the keys themselves, they get drowned out. I mean, aside from light hums, Robitsch may as well junk all of his keyboard samples for the album, because they’re often indiscernible. Seeing as this is supposed to be a symphonic metal band, it’s a bit odd when the damn synths are barely audible in the mix.
But this might not actually be Davis’s fault. As I continue to look at the staff, I find that (as much as I love Night Demon) Armand Anthony is responsible for the mixing here and he doesn’t really any other bands to his credit, other than Night Demon. You know, I really wish that I could have heard these waves, because I think other than the vocals (which were mostly crisp and clear) there’s a real sense of blur that shouldn’t appear on this type of album. Yes, it is a dark, deathy, gothic sort of disc – but there’s also a lot of brightness to be had which I think should have been glossed. Heavily glossed. This album sounds like the demo versions of the Helion Prime tracks included as a bonus on the AFM reissue and that’s not the kind of performance that you want to market – not with this kind of band. There are a lot of bands that do well with a rough and raw production, but the approach here is much too classy and focuses on a symphonic power style which truly would have benefitted with more glaze. I think the whole thing needs to be redone with better clarity. It’s 2018 and you have one-man bands that are able to replicate far better productions with cheap laptops and programs that they probably pilfered from The Pirate Bay. So we really shouldn’t have this kind of issue with all of the technology available to us. The record sounds like it was recorded back during the heyday of gothic metal, but is mixed with the high clarity of Michelle’s vocals, which are often mix-matched. Even so, the end product is still quite listenable and maybe in another twenty years, someone will fix it. Give it a listen at the link below, as it is impressive nonetheless.
(11 Tracks, 54:00)
8/10
Abjection Ritual – Soul Of Ruin, Body Of Filth (2018) – Their second release for Malignant Records, this album actually feels more like metal than anything I’ve heard from the label to date. It actually features distorted guitars and drums on a couple of songs too, so I feel like I’m reviewing a metal album this around. “Blood Mother’ is actually reason enough to put them in the metal archives, sounding like a mix of Godflesh and Neurosis at this point even despite the death/industrial elements. I don’t think that heavy metal fans will care for the noise break though, where some soundclips are utilized and completely change the feel of the song. But then you have “Lamentations” and “Deathbed Conversion” which are completely within the the most disturbing realms of industrial noise music and will discount them from being added into the archives. I don’t think that they’re really concerned with being accepted into the Metal Archives though, because they’re only half-metal to begin with. It’s kind of a weird experiment when you hear something like “Ruin” which feels like sludgy black metal, then you have the discomforting noise of “Carnassial Passage” which fits perfect for the realms of horror. Closer “Old Sins” is their best effort however, a real monument that seeks to combine extreme metal and death/industrial together in a way that could create a new underground subgenre. Using the voice changer with a harsh vocal has just the kind of effect that I’d expect it to as well, so that helps the piece to come off even more sadistic and deranged – just as I’d want it. Towards the end of the album, it even begins to sound a little like Hanatarash and I could be no more pleased than to have a Hanatarash influence on an album that has already combined several like ingredients together in a way that comes off near-perfect. It seems to me that most bands don’t realize how well metal and death/industrial/noise music go together, but it’s a good thing that these Marylanders realize it well enough. Especially well enough to have actually gotten the formula right. Problem is, when you try to promote this stuff to the kids (and I do often try to promote Malignant Records in metal groups, which are mostly overrun with teenagers these days) they often just don’t get it. Some of the most horrifying music that I’ve ever heard can be found on Malignant, and I mean that in a very good way. The sound of everything disturbing about the human nature has been captured on this label and not enough people are listening to it. There’s not enough horror fans out there listening to actual horror music. If you like depraved, disturbing, frightening and all-around demented things in society, then you should gravitate towards these kinds of sounds. Abjection Ritual are just one of many great acts that appear on this label, which I might as well consider the underground of the underground, the too metal for metal. But I’m also afraid that with the age of social justice culture and the censorship of several elements of metal’s arguably most extreme genre – black metal; that these same people would try to get their hands on industrial acts as well, because it’s just too revolting for them, I suppose. Perhaps in that case, it is better that Malignant Records stay underground a bit more, at least until the next generation comes along. Ranting aside, definitely check out this album at the link below; as it’s one of the best mixtures of metal and industrial in the most uncomforting sense that I’ve heard this year.
(9 Tracks, 41:00)
9/10