Corporation SS/Beaten – Battlefront (2020) – Here I have a compilation between two grindcore acts, the first being the more punk-laden approach of Corporation SS and the other being the more classic death metal influenced approach of Beaten.
Corporation SS has a fairly clean production value, though seems to be lacking something in the back end. It just feels off, even though it is still quite devastating. This part of the split features blazing drums and seething vocals, yet they’re fronting in what are many cases punk riffs with added drum blasts. I couldn’t really tell many of these songs apart, but if you just want to be hammered in the face, you’ll like what is offered here.
Beaten on the other hand have a less audible production value, but they’re far more grisly and grimy, sounding like real death metal ought to. It’s even tough for me to call them grind as I’m just hearing more crypts and slabs than I may have expected here. There’s even a guitar solo or two, despite how short the performance is. You may have to crank your volume a bit when you get to the side, but if you like old school Entombed, Unleashed, Immolation, Suffocation or Obituary, you’ll find what you’re looking for here. If there’s one thing I can say about Beaten, they at least know when the slow the fuck down and add in some atmosphere to their performance, which definitely gives it a bit more heft than the death-punk (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) I reviewed earlier. That isn’t to say that punk elements are nowhere to be found here, they just sound more like proto-death, rather than punk with death metal vocals and blasts layered over the top of it. Obviously, Beaten is going to be my go to on this one and I think they have a future if they keep at it. Sometimes you’re a little less “fuck the system” and more towards “I want to fight zombies” which is what I’ve discerned with this listen.
7/10
Drops Of Heart – Stargazer (2020) – Well, this is going to be an interesting review. Drops Of Heart start Stargazer off with “Echoes” which I’ll admit opens with a beautiful lead riff and caught my attention immediately. “Frost Vice” feels like a standard melodeath cut, but the clean vocals are sloppy and ruin it. “Knot” brings in that harsh, depressive though still melodic atmosphere which reminds me of In Flames and Insomnium, not to mention another killer lead melody intertwined within the whole thing. I will say that while “Escapist” does have a good clean approach, “Lull” is where the whole band decides to become straight-forward melodic metal and that loses me a bit. Yes, there’s a great solo piece here but that doesn’t excuse the sub-par vocals in the beginning. Thankfully, the chorus is strong. A hit and miss clean singer does not work well for them, as he’s much better with melodies than when he’s in verse. The harsh vocals should fill most of the verse and the clean singing should fill most of the choruses. Not all of them of course, as no one wants the heavy verse soft chorus album that’s been done to death – but it would help their approach here. With the chorus for “Starlight” though, I find myself corrected. It’s just very hard to pin this down, because some songs really can hit and others just feel like the frontman is going overboard with his approach here. It’s melodic death metal my good man, and you’re not Whitney Houston. Just keep it to one harmony please, you’ll sound so much better that way.
“Modern Madness” has the right amount of groove laden within, making for a real stomper of a track. You can also hear the At The Gates influence pretty heavy here. There’s a clean chorus, but it’s passable enough. “Coffin” has a nice solo piece, though it also tends to lean more towards industrial effects, which is a nice change of pace as it shows musical depth. “Exodus” was nothing to write home about, but I will champion the use of a saxophone solo in “Death Lover.” The song itself is much along the lines of “Lull” and has a much softer side, but you can’t go wrong with a good and saxy sax solo. There’s also one with a guitar, so you get the best of both worlds, even though the piece has an admittedly slow start. “Discoveries” is much the same as several tracks we have already heard before. I’ll give it to them that the track shine sin melody as well as it’s use of quiet soundscapes to give listeners a supposed break from the frequent drum blasts, but it is still not all that memorable. This leaves us with the title track, which shines brightly due to it’s impressive synth display. The cut is also more electronic and bouncy than you might expect, showcasing some definite promise from the band. Though I have one issue and that would mainly be the fact that both the clean and harsh vocalist want to sing at the same time. The chorus to this track would have sounded far better if there wasn’t a clean vocalist in the background and bands have proven this technique works a bit better, it also comes off a bit more harsh. Reminds me of older melodeath discs where even despite the beauty of the riff melodies in the background, the vocals stayed harsh – and you felt that. There was real passion in those screams and growls. It had an animalistic nature that you just can’t capture with the clean approach alone.
Ultimately, I’m entirely hit or miss with Stargazers but I would not consider the record an abject failure either. No, it’s far from that. You can tell that a lot of work was put into this one and it’s a rather solid approach that I think several fans of the genre will enjoy. There are also some intriguing meanderings that cause the band to think out of the box, so that should also get your attention.
7.5/10
Sarpa – Solivagus (2020) – Whoever is responsible for this recording sent me a handwritten note on old parchment with a sigil at the bottom of it. No worries sir, there’s no need to utilize magick in order to get me to fall in love with this record, because as far as the music is concerned, I already have. If you’d like me to be honest, I was a bit shocked at how good this record was and Sarpa could definitely make a name for themselves with it. I mean himself, as the artist (David Baxter) was responsible for everything. After a short but heavy intro, the album begins.
“Triad Of Might” comes in at ten minutes of play time, which showcases the incredibly awesome structural power in this band. Going well above standard atmospheres, there’s an mind-boggling prog jam sandwiched right in the middle of this thing. My only problem would be the opening scowls as they’re just a bit too Gollum and don’t really have the bite that they should. However, Baxter’s growls are thick and cavernous which I absolutely love. There are parts of this song that just get me into the groove. Maybe not the clean layers over the growls (I can honestly barely hear those cleans) but for the most part, it’s a real crusher and I can’t mention this enough. I was not expecting such a well-crafted piece in the ten minutes time that he delivered. I’m actually reminded of Opeth when they were still death metal.
Okay, so “Predacious Dimensions” actually features a much harsher bite on those scowls, so this was just a track issue (which happens.) Sometimes you sound like garbage on one track and then on another you slaughter. It all depends on the piece. The tribal drums on the record also meld well with the thrash, black and death metal excursions which all work together to create an impressive piece. There seems to be a bunch of angry tribesmen in the background as well, which fade out into some kind of static fuzz. I’m reminded of the game Prey (2006) which is now abandonware so you can download it and see if you get the same feeling. “Evansce” makes great use of whisper, though also has a moment that reminds me a little bit of Super Metroid, particularly the second half of Maridia. There’s a slightly rockin’ part in the middle which demonstrates just how eager Sarpa is to twist our expectations (though I’m having a bit of trouble hearing that solo over the bass which could be on my end, these aren’t exactly studio headphones, but they’re pretty damn good) as the cut returns back to what I’m calling the “Super Metroid” part. Still works for me though.
“Anguishing Reveries” throws us back to death/thrash as it rolls into blistering brutal black/death, I almost want to say war metal in areas. However, that is beefed by Sarpa’s incredible use of progressive melodies. The album can easily go from thundering behemoth to hypnotic trance and that is just amazing. To switch moods like that at the drop of a hat is extremely impressive and I think I’ve already mentioned that. The title track is an instrumental which begins out quite heavy, then rolls into an acoustic piece intertwined with a blazing guitar solo – now this one, I can actually hear and my ears are quite pleased with it.
There’s just one more piece here though and it’s nearly as long as the opener, so there’s quite a bit at work here. The track is mostly thunderous, though it also welcomes some subtle synth nodes and a few points of melody and atmosphere. That being said, there’s still a bit of bite to this one, even with the trippy soundscapes that comprise it. Ultimately, I’m impressed.
There’s no question in my mind that Sarpa created the kind of record that I found to suit my senses. This mixture of black, death, thrash metal, prog, doom and overall hypnotism doesn’t sound very far off from the kind of music that Bill and I make with Torii. However, Sarpa is a bit less bleak than us and far more ravenous. There are parts of this album that will literally assault your earlobes, making for an experience that isn’t just contemplative, but abhorrently heavy. It’s great.
9/10