Heretic Legion – The Purge (2018) – Though labeled death metal, Heretic Legion definitely have some core sections here and there, which remind me greatly of my early work in the now defunct, Unholy Sacrifice. Perhaps the frontman utilizes a much deeper growl than I was going for, but there’s a notable rasp that nearly captures the essence of my vocal technique in that band. And I don’t know if there’s anything that you dig more than a sound that reminds you of your own. So yes, there are some serious breakdowns here and there, but they aren’t the kind that feel too much like hardcore or deathcore as the band keeps up a steady show of drum bravado to keep me glued to nearly every cut here. The disc is also chorus heavy, which was an absolute must in my old act. I thrive on choruses, so memorable hooks like these combined with what I’d consider to be a top-notch performance that captures just as much of the new sound as it does the old is almost a way for me to live vicariously through their work. In Unholy Sacrifice we only cut a demo, but these guys were able to get a full-length out with the same style and that to me speaks volumes. Fans of Daath, Chimaira, Hate Eternal, The Black Dahlia Murder and other modern death metal acts will dig this one, which are the bands I was really digging around our writing process, so if you’re really missing out on that style, give Heretic Legion a listen. I only have two nitpicks however, and one is fact that they tend to wear out their welcome after the seventh cut and the other is that their logo looks pretty basic and won’t stand out from their spiky lettered peers. I’ll be thankful when the spiky letters go out of style for death metal bands. We get it, you’re sharp and deadly! Check the disc out at the link below.
(11 Tracks, 60:00)
7/10
Dysylumn – Occultation (2018) – If there’s one thing that I found most intriguing about this dissonant mixture of progressive death and black metal, it would have to be the intensely frightening atmosphere that it creates. I also love the fact that the frontman with a fierce vocal growl, rather than the raspy black metal that I was expecting. Though there are some shouts, it becomes decidedly grim when he really plays to his strengths and rolls completely into character in the recording, which excites me greatly. Occultation can sound like cavernous death metal at times and you can only imagine how well that goes with the decidedly creepy melodies that ebb and flow during the performance. There wasn’t a single light-hearted moment on the disc, and furthermore I’d believe that whatever entity they were trying to summon up with this thing should be quite damn pleased, or they’d be better off summoning a new one, because it’s just too damn picky. I mean, come on – if you’re not digging the horrific vibes laden within this performance, then heavy metal music just might not be for you. I highly recommend listening to this one in the dark, because in my honest opinion, it fits the vibe much better than jamming it during the daytime. Some records are just better listened to while walking through abandoned structures in your earbuds at night, and this is one of them. Or maybe while you’re walking through the sewers. Just watch out for CHUDs. In any case, I don’t think fans of dissonant black/death metal are going to be upset with this one and if they are, then I honestly don’t know what in the fuck they want. So if you’re a dissonant metal fan or perhaps some demonic entity looking for new jams to be summoned to (because Slayer gets tiring after awhile) then definitely give this one a listen. I’m really fascinated by the level of dread here and it’s as grim as these kinds of records should be. Maybe a little less on the blast beats though, they work to drown out the guitar melodies a bit. Give the disc a listen at the link below.
9/10
Electric Six – Bride Of The Devil (2018) – Though this is something I never expected to review here, the latest album from Electric Six caught my ear into the third or fourth cut. There’s a bit of a Goth rock gone punk, then alt-rock, blues and even country vibe to this whole thing and it’s completely obvious that Electrix Six change genres like they they do their socks. The record isn’t all that long, but it contains enough meat in it’s thirty-two minute playing time to leave a mark. If the soft ballad “(It Gets) A (Little) Jumpy” doesn’t get you, the funk-rocker “Safety Girl” just might. I keep thinking there’s a comic in there somewhere. Then we have “You’re Toast” which has enough country influence and southern drawl to it, that I was almost convinced that I was listening to a Clutch track. But once again, that shows you how diverse Electric Six are. They don’t care about fitting in, they just want to make catchy music and I have a lot of respect for that. “Hades Ladies” is another great one, with a notable mix of funk and blues. Lyrically though, I enjoyed “Full Moon Over The Internet” which more or less describes social media in a nutshell. This coming from man who has learned to deal with social media addiction and uses several programs to subside it. (I recommend Off The Grid). And yeah, you really have to watch what you say, which is actually kind of frightening, because that means that you can’t express your own opinion anymore. It can get excessively crazy and then people start throwing out death threats, dive bombing your workplace and more. If anything, it shows just how horrible the human race is in general and how as Maynard James Keenan said in an interview with Joe Rogan, “We need a meteor.” That being said, Electric Six definitely appealed to me in their smart lyrical delivery and willingness to experiment far beyond the normal constraints of rock music. Maybe they’ll never make commercial radio, but that’s fine as I’m sure the band will make plenty of pennies from all the Spotify plays that they’ll get from this one. Even so, it’s the music that counts and they’ve delivered that in my opinion. Check out this weird approach to rock at the link below.
(10 Tracks, 32:00)
8/10
Apatheia – Konstelacja Dziur (2018) – Polish black metallers Apatheia are about to release their raw, rowdy and incredibly atmospheric first album, which should heavily appeal to black metal aficionados and is a definite change from the hipster black metal that we most often get here in the west. The disc is blast heavy, filled to the brim with familiar tremolos and features a scathing vocal approach that should appeal to almost anyone who finds themselves unhappy with the current scene and aesthetics regarding black metal, which has since become a joke in these parts. But this is Poland, and Poland (GOG) just gave me a free game yesterday (Shadow Warrior 2) that I really wanted; so I have a lot of respect for the country in general. They do awesome things and they don’t like DRM. Apatheia also offer up approaches that seem more atmospheric and dissonant in addition, so it’s not like you’re just getting an album that merely sits on the age-old traditions. Yet it doesn’t sound like Radiohead (cough) Deafheaven (cough) with harsh vocals either and for that, I can be thankful. As the disc continues, I notice that the atmosphere is something that Apatheia are quite fluent in and show off quite a bit throughout the album. Though it is a heavy disc, it is also the kind of album that allows for space in which “Boze Cialo” and closer “Supernova” are given the chance to shine. Like many Polish black metal acts, there’s something definitely special about Apatheia that doesn’t sound completely like regurgitations of it’s Norwegian influences. They are a band greatly interested in instrumentation and they use this instrumentation to craft an atmosphere, which stands on par with some of the best bands in this genre, guaranteed. If you’re looking for black metal as more of a soundscape than a way to release your frustrations on life and the world in general, then you’re going to find it here at the link below. And trust me, this is a disc definitely worth sinking into; though most often when the vocals are not a factor. Not that I don’t appreciate the effort, it’s just that Apatheia seem to do far more when their frontman isn’t on the microphone. And yes, I know that is an odd thing for me to say, but I really enjoy the icy chill unleashed here.
(8 Tracks, 51:00)
8.5/10
Vetrarnott – Scion EP (2018) – There’s an odd story behind this intriguing black metal release, which revolves around the fact that I was either sent the song file in a very weird format or that some cryptic server hosted it, which was well beyond my intellect. Which is surprising. In any case, I had to use the YouTube stream for it and that’s a wee bit low quality, so I can’t promise that your listening experience will be quite like mine. In any case, I will say that the record is as frantic as it is complex, as melodies wrap around fearsome drum acrobatics to coat a mixture of rasp and growl in a way that paints a tapestry with every new section introduced into the piece. It starts with one style, but metamorphoses several times throughout the album, even allowing for some clean (albeit dark) vocal moments. I’m mostly intrigued by the fact that this recording doesn’t stick to one style and even incorporates a rather unexpected instrumental section. I’m sure that there are multiple songs here as the YouTube stream features several breaks, but altogether it rolls up into one twenty-minute multivariant of structures within the extreme (and not so extreme) selections of black metal. All in all, I’m quite pleased and would definitely recommend the performance as a whole. I hope that the musician here will continue to build these riff structures further and create something that truly comes off amazing. Though there is no question in my mind that Scion has potential. It’s just a shame that he missed the original Adult Swim Scion EP run years ago, I am sure that the car company would have loved the promotion there. Give it a listen at the link below.
(1 Track, 20:00)
7/10
Second Sun – Elandes Elande (2018) – If you’re looking for folky Finnish prog rock, then look no further than Second Sun. Not only is the album festive, but it’ll have you on a wonderful LSD trip. The disc is chorus heavy, but (as I’ve said) contains quite a bit of folk and psychedelic keyboard elements which will answer the question as to what the sixties flower power era might have sounded like in Finland. It’s also a bit better than some of our current prog rock acts here in the west, which seemed to have thrown all the psilocybin into the garbage in favor of modernism and what I’d consider to be a rather stale attempt at trance. You know, the kind of music that washed up hippies that were no longer interested in the culture would create. But you don’t get this with Second Sun, despite the fact that once again, it is incredibly folky. Maybe this would be the perfect kind of music to play for those Neopagan trip sessions that some people like to undergo while in the middle of a ritual. I’ve never heard anything like it before, so I’d give it a listen based on that alone. The Finns have created some really unique approaches to music that originated in the US and UK (you should hear their disco and funk interpretations) and I’m just thankful to see that they’ve got the formula right. Personally, it sounds more accurate to the roots of the genre than modern Opeth right now and is a good sign that perhaps the Swedes need to go back to doing what they do best (progressive death) and leave the psychedelics to the Finns. Elande Elandes is proof positive that older styles of music never truly die, they just go to Finland to be recalibrated into something profoundly interesting. Though not for everyone, the disc is definitely worth a listen at the link below.
(11 Tracks, 40:00)
7/10
Replicant – Negative Life (2018) – Although I don’t really dig the vocal end, technical metallers looking for more than the norm in this genre will certainly find something to like here. It’s a shame that my former colleague quit listening to this kind of music, because he would have really jammed this out. Unlike the tech-death of the age, there’s a massive sporadic substance here that actually manages to do more than just capitalize on the greatness of Gorguts Obscura. They also decided to go with a raw sound, rather than the polished efforts that I hear from modern tech-death. That means that while the sound comes off quite raw, it also feels authentic. I don’t feel that I’m getting a carbon copy with these guys and they certainly don’t stick to the same sets of riffs either. There’s an unexpected set of grooves in “Inescapable Grief” that almost reminds me of Pantera. I think that a lot of the tech-death obsessed kids are going to throw this one over the bridge because once again, it isn’t quite as polished and doesn’t sound much like other acts that brought them into the genre. Replicant aren’t looking to turn their instruments into test tubes though, they’re just having quite a bit of fun with musical formula and mud, which I find to be no problem. Especially if there are some mud wrestling women about. But I guess I can’t really say that anymore. At least until I get a mud wrestling fembot that loves death metal. Death metal with as much filth and grit as the kind that these guys make. I also like the fact that they’re not afraid to employ creepy electronic synths, like “The Frail” and “Selfish Universe” demonstrate, so there’s much more to this performance than meets the eye and I definitely wish Replicant the best of luck with these albums. There’s a lot of potential here and in my opinion, far more potential than what is actually popular right now. It’s not that they don’t borrow from acts like Gorguts, Meshuggah and Gojira, but that they actually manipulate these influences in a way that comes off sounding like Replicant, rather than just another goddamned clone. Is it perfect? No. But it’s a definite step in the right direction, especially if you like filthy, mud-wrestling fembots. Give the disc a listen at the link below.
(10 Files, 44:00)
9/10
The Black Queen – Infinite Games (2018) – It’s no secret that I’m infatuated with synthwave these days (as well as podcasts, but I’ll discuss that later) and though The Black Queen aren’t completely synthwave, they definitely have plenty of elements born from that familiar eighties sound to keep me intrigued throughout. As soon as I listened to the album, I went back to listen to it again in the same sitting; which is a rarity for me as I am usually “one and done” with most pieces of music. Opener “Even Still I Want To” melds romance and synth together in a way that is wholly reminiscent of Depeche Mode, with a vocal approach that doesn’t sound far removed from Chino Moreno’s more passionate moments in The Deftones. Clearly Greg Pusciato is taking influence from the best. “Thrown Into The Dark” sounds like a mix of The Cure and Depeche Mode, which is again, a hefty influence in the band. A strong chorus tops it all off aside from some space in which to meditate. “No Accusations” feels a bit warmer, maybe touching on early NIN. Also, did you catch the chiptune section there? Definitely an unexpected influence. I would have never believed that the Nintendo tunes of my childhood would be an important element in commercial electronic music. That being said, is anyone ever going to adapt the dreamy opening intro melodies for Astyanax? (They begin playing as soon as the game runs.) Copyrights or not, that’s a missed opportunity in my book. “Your Move” is entirely airy, almost phantasmal. Simple beats may follow in the background, but it’s the voice within the frost that speaks volumes here. “Lies About You” seems to go back to the eighties roots of the band’s previous self-titled disc and it hits exponentially hard. This almost goes back to Wham and George Michael’s New Wave work. “Impossible Condition” seems to continue much in the same way, just for a bit longer as it nearly tops out at the seven minute mark. Utilizing the sound of steel hitting steel, it certainly feels like a proper eighties throwback. Interestingly, the format of the song is later discarded for an atmosphere that feels abyssal, like being thrown directly into the cosmos while distorted guitar riffs light the way for disoriented travelers. “Spatial Boundaries” brings us back to solid ground, but it’s on a neon moon, rather than the planet Earth. And honestly, I could not love this one enough. I actually began to trance out a little during the writing of this review, because there’s just something here that caused my endorphin levels to rise exponentially, like something of a flood. “100 To Zero” follows a narrow plastic tube through the stars, guided by Pusciato’s glassy tones. “Porcelian Veins” on the other hand, always seemed like it wasn’t quite fleshed out enough. Maybe it’s the fact that the song is bit more organic and focuses more on the acoustic guitar and piano than the electronic synths that make up most of this album. However, the record ends with “One Edge Of Two” and that brings us back into the synthwave realms I’m a bit more familiar with. This cut is the longest on the disc, sounding like the kind of music that you’d want to play while making cold, cybernetic love to a sexbot. Listening further, I would also have to assume that said holographic love is taking place on a space station somewhere outside of Alpha Centauri. If Mass Effect needed a soundtrack for it’s steamy romance scenes, this would be that soundtrack. Ultimately, I can say that Infinite Games might be ahead of it’s time. It’s a futurist’s soundtrack for lovemaking, and I’m a bit bothered that there aren’t any holographic AI’s or sexbots in which to bonk in the foreground of this music. But in about ten or twenty years, there might be the occasion where this album plays after my bot has had all of her updates. Even so, Infinite Games is just as powerful as the record that preceded it and I’m sure that from all of the positive responses gleamed from this one, there will be more great sexbot or holographic AI bonking music to come in the future. I personally don’t care if The Dillinger Escape Plan ever comes back, because this is more viable to me as a listener. I always knew that Greg Pusciato could sing, but this cements it. Saying anymore would be a prime user error, so definitely go check out this record that may as well be called “lovemaking for spacefaring” at the link below.
(10 Tracks,46:00)
9.5/10
Lost Tribes Of The Moon – Self-Titled (2018) – This self-titled dose of psychedelic female fronted doom is actually quite grand. After a trippy little intro called “The Rise and Fall Of Midian” that intertwines with acoustics and light drumming, we have “Wych Elm” which begins the record on an incredibly meaty note, although prog touches can almost certainly be found. After that, the frontwoman’s vocal harmonies seem to ebb and flow in a way that I’d consider very close to that of Sub Rosa. Instead of this being a female fronted Sabbath or Candlemass, Lost Tribes Of The Moon are going in a slightly different direction. I mean, there’s the obvious influence to be had, for sure – but this isn’t merely another Sabbath knockoff. The calculated progressive sections seem to appear just at the right moments too, not disrupting the flow of the vocal harmonies, and at the same time keeping me entertained and not bored. The song kicks up heaviness towards the latter half, rolling into a tremendous solo moment. The piece becomes truly beefy at this point, which we never saw coming from the beginning. If you were looking to bang your head, you’ll be pleased with this one. “Revenant” switches gear entirely, throwing all caution to the wind as it considers a thunderous rapport, yet also carries a tad bit of progressive rock in it’s satchel. There might be a bit of a fight going on between the frontwoman and the rest of the band however, and it seems like she has to really belt it out on the microphone to be heard over the chunkiness of these guys. They could have raised the vocals just a little bit more, but it seems like they wanted to capture as organic a performance as possible and I won’t fault that with all of my technical mutterings. A brilliant solo follows shortly after, leading us into the “blink and you’ll miss it” nature of “Ka-Tet” wherein flashes of Roland, his dog Oy, Detta/Susannah, Jake and the others all sit around a camp fire with the tower clearly in view. Though isn’t it always clearly in view when you’re in Mid-World? Some people actually believe that there’s a world where all of this exists, as well as the fact that Stephen King himself was a part of the Loser’s Club and battled Pennywise in real life. They purport that the creature will return in 2038 to devour the world. If you’re interested in this bizarre, but intriguing conspiracy; you can research it for yourself. As for me personally, I do feel that it is a neat thought. Though there is certainly a time where you can get so out of touch with reality that Grant Morrison needs to bop you on the head and bring you back to the world of the living. Don’t magick too hard, bros and bro-ettes. Did I just make up that word? Anyway, back to the album.
The next cut here is actually the last full-length piece offered before the outro and it is the band’s namesake song. Following much the same formula, it features a swirl of meditative musical waves that eventually erupt into a fiery volcano of doom. That doesn’t even explain the massive amount of tempo changes used throughout, as well as the breath taking solo moment that simply cannot be denied and fully cements the band’s namesake. I think after this one, we’re definitely going to know who Lost Tribes Of The Moon are. The final cut is called “In Search Of New Midian” and those Theremins definitely seem to add an eerie vibe to the desert acoustics featured in the beginning of the piece. A decidedly middle-eastern feel definitely lends weight to this soundscape. Though I find myself a bit puzzled after the listen and wonder why the band isn’t able to mix these soundscapes in with their doom. The record contains two fantastic introduction pieces that are far removed from doom metal, but as the doom metal comes into play, the folk-inspired and almost soundtrack-esque acoustic soundscapes are then removed as if they never existed and I’m hearing the sound of two different bands. I definitely feel that these sections should be more cohesive and perhaps they will be in the band’s next outing. Because if you’re so good at these soundscapes, why throw them into the background? In any case, Lost Tribes Of The Moon are definitely worth keeping an eye on and have a firm handle on not only doom metal, but the artistic tapestries required in creating a great soundscape. Check it out at the link below.
(6 Tracks, 38:00)
8/10
Northern Crown – Self-Titled (2018) – Northern Crown have returned with not only a self-titled record (which I always considered to be a signature album from a band, especially at this point in their career) but what I’d consider to be one of the best damn doom records I’ve heard all year. What makes Northern Crown’s self-titled disc so great? The mere fact that this time around, these gentlemen decided to meld 60’s prog keyboard theatrics in with what was already an impressive performance. “I Am Your Slave” rolls in as a terrific opener with it’s early induction of those very same proggy keyboards that I mentioned earlier, yet it also has a decidedly Candlemass feel that I think might even have the ability to overthrow Candlemass in it’s incredible instrumentation. The solos here are incredible, combined with such a well-understood and passionate performance. I can understand the song on both a lyrical and musical level as the right amount of clarity is readily apparent, despite the fact that the band committed a bit of a sin in cutting the song off at the solo. That means you have to go see them live to hear the whole solo section there. Moving on from Nitpicks, we have the Blue Oytser Cult meets Manilla Road nature of “Merciless, They Let You Suffer.” Just the way that this song starts up is monolithic. As the verse and choruses come in, I am definitely carried along with it, but then the real crux of the message comes in as an incredible amount of fierce instrumentation throws the structure off slightly for some rather unexpected punches. “Forged From Nothing” brings on the doom in earnest, as dreadful hums emerge from the guitar amps, soon to be backed with proggy keyboards and a thick torrent of astral winds. My God, folks. This album is so perfectly comprised that you don’t even need the vocals to enjoy it. I’m blown away at such a musical level that it’s unreal. Satan may have been involved with this one, I haven’t heard doom this great in years. Ages, even. “Chasing The Sun” becomes incredibly trippy, soon rolling into yet more great guitar playing, from a band that just wants to jam out and let you know that rock isn’t dead. Maybe the teenage rockers are sporting Twenty One Pilots T-Shirts, but it doesn’t mean that the guitar has been buried in a sea of hip hop masquerading as rock music. As Northern Crown prove, the ancient sounds of guitars, drums and keyboards are still very much alive and well.
“The Desert and The Wind” is even more proof of that, which is a tour-de-force that I feel should have been placed at the very end of the album. Why? Because this is a monster, an absolute monolith, a gigantic, colossal force of nature that should be the very end node for the release as a whole. After this song completes, you feel like the disc should have ended. You feel like the band said all that they needed to say, and it becomes even puzzling to the fact that there are other tracks on the disc. As for the song, it begins rather calmly albeit with the unexpected addition of harsh vocals. (Yes, there’s harsh vocals on this doom album) After this, a mesmerizing solo bellows forth as our lizard friend continues his harsh vocal assault and the entire tempo the song changes. We’re now listening to thrash ladies and gentlemen. My God, we’re now listening to thrash. Not just thrash though, as some airy atmospheres still manage to take place within the increased tempo. After the dust settles, you feel like you’ve heard the end of the album. Usually, discs end at this point. I’d be upset if there was so much as a cover track after this one, but the fact remains that there are three cuts after it and that there’s around thirty minutes of music to follow. That being said, “Righteous & Pure” takes up a different kind of feeling and makes me think of Bloody Hammers a bit more than the classic doom influences that they’ve been showcasing previously. Maybe I’m even getting a tad bit of Type O Negative. Unfortunately, that changes a bit and moves closer to traditional doom, though I will add that the keyboards certainly keep up a gothic influence and that keeps my interest. Moving on slightly from 60’s prog to a sound that Dracula would welcome as he sipped a glass of wine is definitely enough for me to slightly absolve my previous rant regarding “The Desert and The Wind.” Next we have, “By Demons Bidden” which strangely reminds me of “Moonlight Sonata.” I keep thinking on the classic Beethoven piece, one of my personal favorites for a variety of reasons. It sticks heavily to doom after that, but delivers in the same way as would any modern Candlemass performance. A cover node of My Dying Bride’s “Your River” ends the album, complete with the harsh vocal sensibilities that would have been featured in the original. I feel that it is a very strong cover and am also glad that it isn’t some crazy bonus B-Side that people have to pay extra money for. Stop doing that. Stop putting extra tracks on World and Japanese editions of albums, labels. You’re only encouraging people to listen to these tracks through YouTube. They’re not going to pay extra money to import an album just for two extra tracks. People aren’t all made of money and those that are choose to save it up so that they still have it. Despite my “slight” nitpicks, I feel that Northern Crown’s self-titled album may hands down be the best that I’ve ever heard from them. I honestly don’t know how they’re going to top it, but I definitely see some ways that they may progress in the future. Without a doubt, Northern Crown’s self-titled is more than likely going to be my personal favorite doom release of the year and I simply have to state that The Grim Tower Highly Recommends Northern Crown’s Self-titled album. Experience this masterwork of American doom and 60’s prog at the link below.
(8 Tracks, 58:00)
9.8/10