Their mission is to protect you

There are some pretty weird band names out there in the world of metal and extreme music. Gay Witch Abortion almost always is the first one that comes to mind when I’m thinking about these things. That name is pretty much unstoppable and untouchable. I always found Speedwolf a strange one. Aren’t all wolves relatively speedy? Killer band, though.

Then we get to today’s entry, the sludge-doom, weirdness trio from Denton, Texas, called Terminator 2. Yep. Like the movie. I can only imagine the Abbott and Costello-style conversations that’ll go on when someone is trying to explain the band, or even let other people know it exists, and when it comes time to dropping that band name into the conversation, the looks of bewilderment. “Wait, you mean you watched ‘Terminator 2,’ not listened to it. Are you stupid?” No. Not blind. It’s a band. Never mind. I’ve already had a similar situation happen over text message about the band. The other person thought I meant the movie soundtrack. Good times.

But all band name hilarity aside, Terminator 2 are as formidable and brutal as the movie itself. Their music is heavy, muddy, and abrasive, and while there’s a playful side to what they do as well, my guess is you’re meant to walk away bruised and bloody from this collection, being sent into the world by Handmade Birds, one of the most inventive, creative labels in extreme music. Oh, and the packaging of the cassette is pretty out there, too, with the case slipped inside a laser-cut slip cover, and a section that contains the lyrics on a fucking scroll. Come on, now. A scroll. That rules.

T2 is comprised of three dudes, as noted, that being vocalist/bassist David Saylor, drummer Ben Scott, and noisemaker Rob Buttrum, and they sound like they’d be a perfect late-night addition to a fest like Roadburn, where so many people’s minds already are in outer space that having these guys come in and devastate you in your oblivion could seem both cruel and welcoming. The eight songs on “Part 1” (originally self-released last year) were perfect fodder last week when the world was crumbling on itself, and every visit I have with this thing, I discover something new and unsettling. That’s a good sign that a record is going to stick with you, and this one has.

“Revival” opens the package on an eerie note before it detonates and begins burning brightly. The track is all instrumental, and it goes deep into outer space and slips into crushing doom and cosmic zapping that sound like shots of light blazing out of control. “Hollow Earth” begins with slowly tapped drums and noise squalls that lead the way for thick bass, harsh shrieks, and sludgy gruffness that ends on somewhat of a grungy note. “Methodic and Serpentine” is the most punishing track on the record, with harsh throaty vocals and a pace and atmosphere that reminds of the glory days of Prong and Ministry. It’s cement-truck heavy.  “No Teeth” is a little trickier, with histrionic guitars and some weirdness that makes me think of Suicidal Tendencies, and some of the gang shouts go down the hardcore avenue.

“Mathematics” brings back that hardcore-laced finish and mixes that with instrumental wackiness that would make Primus scratch their heads wondering what these guys are on. The melody lines are scratchy and noisy, and the bizarre presentation makes me think a little too much about formulas and integers. But I like a challenge, so that’s a good thing. “I Am God” is pulverizing and meaty, throwing down against “Methodic” for the most destructive cut on the record and making you realize these lunatics can beat the shit out of you. “Ancestralcide” is built by mucky bass, hellish shouts and screams, and overall ill intentions that spit poison in your eyes. The 12:42-long closer “Mortar and Masons” begins slowly and takes a while to get its foundation set, but once it does, it delivers tidal wave upon tidal wave of sludgy doom aimed to bury and suffocate you with force. It’s a pretty killer way to bring this off-setting, odd, metallic gem to a close.

So yeah, they’ve got a strange name that’ll make you think of the German guy who banged his maid and made a weird-looking kid, but maybe hearing this music will instead make you turn your head toward nasty doom and industrial-weighted heaviness. They have a lot lumber to unload and more than enough muscle to do so, and this first record is an undiscovered gem, at least right now. Go check out this fucker, and maybe we can get them on a bill with Gay Witch Abortion before it’s all over.

For more on the band, go here: http://terminator2band.blogspot.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.thrilljockey.com/thrill/Terminator-2/Terminator-2#.UUOKuRn1c98

For more on the label, go here: http://handmadebirds.com/

I think we all can agree this has been a particularly shitty week in the United States, and what we all could use right now is a little release. Um, sorry, Laura Jane Grace. Anyway, yeah, there are new songs from hulk beasts Lair of the Minotaur, and it’s fitting we get these now because having these heathens back can only mean smiles on metalheads’ faces. We could use that.

The last we heard from the unit was in 2010 on their “Evil Power” album (out on Grind-House Records), a raucous, fun record that got a lot of loud play in my house, much to my wife’s chagrin. Their songs on battlefield glory, taking on mythical beats, and overall debauchery are great at the end of a bad week when you need a boost and 10 beers to make you feel better, and while their music is serious and as brutal as anyone’s, you can let loose and have fun because things aren’t a million percent serious in their cave. You can just enjoy yourself.

The band has a lovely little gem out for Record Store Day, that being their new 7″ EP “Godslayer,” a nearly nine-minute package that might not tide you overly entirely for a new Lair full-length but should act as one healthy appetizer. The Chicago-based trio currently stands as longtime guitarist and lead yowler Steven Rathbone, bassist Nate Olp, and drummer Chris Wozniak, which is the same group that brought you “Evil Power,” and these two new cuts should brutalize you nicely, give you a reason to take off your shirt and yell in your house, and just have a fucking good time.

The opener is your title cut, a chugging, pounding slab of sludgy death and doom. This is total Lair-trademarked madness, with Rathbone howling his head off, the guitar work setting up a thick, bloody killing floor, and the drums pulverizing your senses. Toward the end, there are mad howls of the song’s title, complete with the rest of these goons making things as crushing and furious as they can, and the double kick drum assault that carries this into the night is deadly and borderline cruel. “The Black Heart of Stygian Darkness” has barked vocals, a thrashy demeanor, and some doom dumped in for good measure. Rathbone damn near approaches pig squeal territory in spots, and the song itself is as heavy as the band comes. Then it stops on a dime and sci-fi keys woosh in and bring the song to its eerie, science lab conclusion. You’ll be confused!

This 7″ is a fucking bastard, and you’d do yourself a lot of good to hit the shops Saturday morning and get your hands on this thing. I know I’m going to have it on my wish list.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.lairoftheminotaur.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://thegrind-houserecords.com/

Other than Lair, there are many other metal-related goodies out for RSD. Below I’ll wrap up what you can look for tomorrow domestically. Yeah, OK, some of it isn’t really stuff we ordinarily cover here, but I don’t know what you all like. Get off my ass. Maybe you like one of these bands. Anyway, here goes:

RSD Exclusives:

• All That Remains – “Fall of Ideals” 12-inch
• At the Drive In – “Relationship of Command” 12-inch
• Botch – “American Nervoso” Deluxe 2xLP
• Cave In – “Until Your Heart Stops” 12-inch
• Deep Purple/Type O Negative – “Side By Side: ‘Highway Star’” 7-inch
• Deftones – “Live Vol. 1 – Selections from ‘Adrenaline’” 12-inch
• Dio/Killswitch Engage – “Side By Side: ‘Holy Diver’” 7-inch
• Dust – “Dust/Hard Attack” 2xLP Gatefold

RSD Regional or Limited Run releases:

• Akimbo – “Live to Crush” LP
• Between the Buried and Me – “Parallax 1 and 2” 3×12-inch vinyl box; “Anatomy of” 12-inch
• Dio – “Magica” 12-inch picture disc
• Earth Crisis – “Firestorm” 12-inch
• Katatonia – “Buildings” 7-inch
• Lamb of God – “New American Gospel” gray marble 12-inch
• Snapcase – “Steps” 12-inch
• Testament – “Dark Roots Covers” 7-inch picture disc
• The Atlas Moth/Wolfhammer – split 7-inch

That, according to the Record Store Day web site, is what’s available. There’s probably more. Earache is doing a shortest LP in the world release, but that’s not listed. Likely it’s a European-only release. Anyway, I know people get all snooty about RSD and say it’s a way for labels to gouge you and blah blah blah. Whatever. No one is forcing you to buy anything. The point is to get you in the store, maybe you’ll find something you like, and perhaps it’ll ignite a love for shopping for music. I love it; it’s one of my favorite days of the year. Have fun, go buy records, and spend the whole night listening to your newfound treasures.

For more on Record Store Day, go here: http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home

If you’ve followed U.S. black metal band Woe since their inception, then you’ve certainly enjoyed quite a creative ride, as the Chris Grigg-led band has morphed significantly since it’s been a project. Part of that is Grigg working with a constantly rotating cast of musicians (not terribly unlike Death’s Chuck Schuldiner) and as time’s gone on, the Woe sound has grown.

The band’s third full-length record “Withdrawal” is no exception, as it is another leaps-and-bound progression beyond what was accomplished on 2010’s awesome “Quietly, Undramatically,” where the music already seemed like it had hit its peak. But that wasn’t the case at all, as with the arrival of this new record we hear a group that’s continuing to push musical boundaries and philosophies, still leaning heavily into black metal but also incorporating pieces from other extreme terrains into the mix. I imagine some people will be put off a bit by the alterations, because there are those listeners who take any change personally, but if you’ve been excited by the ride you’ve been on with Woe, then you’re ready to climb another major hill and be rushed into valleys, twists, and turns.

Grigg and his band – this time around he’s joined by guitarist Ben Brand, bassist Grzesiek Czapla (who also contributes vocals), and drummer Ruston Grosse – worked collaboratively on these songs, as Grigg isn’t solely responsible for songwriting on “Withdrawal,” and perhaps that’s why the sound has advanced and matured as much as it has from last record to this one. There are components of post-hardcore and punk rock on this record, blending nicely with the Woe’s furious black metal, and Grigg is as emotional as ever delivering his vocals, even doing some clean singing in sections of the record. I read in his interview in Decibel that he wondered if clean vocals could work in Woe and on this record, but they definitely do. They shouldn’t take away from anyone’s hopes or perceptions of this music being extremely volatile and pulverizing. Emotionally, they add even more depth.

Grigg is solely responsible for the lyrical content on the record, and you really should make a point to sit down with the words as you absorb the album. While his shrieks can sound indecipherable on the surface, you shouldn’t have any issue following with the lyric sheet because Grigg actually focuses more on enunciation than most black metal vocalists. The songs seem more personal than ever before and focus on hopelessness, despair, desperation, and inner turmoil. The way the words come out of his mouth (and Czapla’s when he’s in command) are rich with emotion and meaning, and you know you’re not just hearing these lines simply because they needed lyrics. These sound full of catharsis, suffering, and torment, almost like a personal bloodletting. You can’t help but feel personally affected by it all.

“This Is the End of the Story” starts with a flurry of guitar, which longtime Woe fans should immediately take as a sign of comfort, because it swirls and enraptures like Crigg’s lead work of old. There are wild shrieks and some progressive sections that remind a bit of Krallice (funny enough, the record was mastered by that band’s Colin Marston), and Grigg lets flow his clean singing for the first time on this track. Hardcore-style gang shouts pop in that feel a little out of place, but everything finishes in a flurry that should leave you breathless. “Carried By Waves to Remorseless Shores of the Truth” is pounding and full of anguish, as Grigg tells a story awash in bloodshed and personal horror, ending the piece howling, “We’re all fucked. There is no defense.” “All Bridges Burned” has an acoustic intro that eventually is ripped apart by thunder and passionate guitar melodies, and Grigg’s desperation shows as the song finishes with the lines, “Something’s got to change. I’m learning not to care. I’m never coming back.”

“Ceaseless Jaws,” a song written entirely by Grosse, is blinding and vicious, flying at you like a swarm of angry hornets. Yet, the song has some interesting pockets that have classical guitar flourishes and let you get a breather before everything ramps up again and heads for the cliffs. “Song of My Undoing” is one of the more interesting pieces here, opening with a blast of classic punk and hardcore, feeling loose and relentless, and letting the band go in and out of black metal pockets. It’s one of the most spontaneous sounding songs in Woe’s entire catalog. “Exhausted” is thrashy and fluid, and it sounds like a song that speaks of being mentally drained more than physical. The closing title track is surprising for how brief and to the point it is. The song is heavy and thick, with a bassline that snakes through it feeling like it’s caked with mud, and the words are practically devoid of complete sentences, with just a few words tossed here and there that certainly point to someone losing the will to carry on.

Grigg is one of metal’s more fascinating musicians, and each new Woe album has taken on a different personality because of the musicians with whom he surrounds himself and his own progression. This is a huge step ahead for the band, and excitement bursts out of every corner of this album. Woe is getting further away from raw black metal and is growing into something different, and that’s just fine. The band sounds confident and channeled, and these songs should rip the walls off every venue they play.

For more on the band, go here: http://withdrawal.woeunholy.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1593

For more on the label, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/

Sometimes you know just from hearing a band’s name what you’re in for. Morbid Angel. That doesn’t sounds peaceful and serene, does it? It sounds sinister. And unfortunately now, it’s also all marred with beats and other techno crap. But whatever. I think saying Iron Maiden gives you an idea of what’s in store. Napalm Death is a name that pretty much sums up that band’s music as well, isn’t it? Don’t have to think too much about that one.

In that line of thinking, along comes another band whose name is just perfect for them: Bone Sickness. It makes me think of stinking, rotting to the core, ugly, diseased death metal that sounds nasty, lacks any polish whatsoever, and is there to make your stomach lurch. Lo and behold, the band’s new effort “Alone in the Grave” pretty much confirms that those early inhibitions are true. This stuff is miserable in the best possible way and sounds like it was conceived in the dirt beneath a graveyard. That’s right, beneath it.

The Olympia, Wash., quartet found a perfect home for them with 20 Buck Spin, a label that would understand what these guys were going for as well as anyone else out there (with the possible exception of Dark Descent), and they’re offering up this band’s follow-up to their two-track EP that bubbled to the surface in 2011 and made its stinking presence known to those attuned to the underground. This seven-track, 18-minute collection (served up as a 12-inch and digitally, with Chips & Beer Magazine’s Hand of Beaver taking care of artwork) may be repugnant and disgusting, but it’s also really well played, as their guitar work from Chase and Rusty is searing and often really fun, and the rhythm section of Sam (who also handles vocals) and Mitch (also pitched in some vocals) are there to pound you into dust. Sam’s vocals? Ugly, menacing growls that sound infernally born. It’s pretty much perfect.

This filth-infested gem gets going with “Submit to Decay,” a washed-out, scuffed up fucker with strong guitar leads reminding of the glory days of Autopsy and Carcass that eventually ignites into a speed attack scratched up with gruff growling. “Strange Obsession” erupts into a cloud of smoking death, with fast, furious playing, and more beastly vocals that lurch underneath all of the sound. “Paranoid Delusions” is brutal and scraped up, with the speedier parts reminding a bit of Entombed, and doomy and gut-busting death leading the way. “Scraping the Bones” begins with a Black Sabbath-style melody, but that ignites into a full-blown assault with carnage and throat-pulverizing growls.

The title cut hits on a slower tempo that also nods its bloody head to doom, simmering in its pot of plasma while being raked raw by heavy riffing. “Death and Dismemberment” sounds pretty much like you expect it will, and that’s a good thing because it wholly satisfies with its lightning-speed riffs, pissed off, spat-out vocals, and menacing attack that feels bruising and neck-jarring. Closer “Tied to the Snake” is the oddball of the bunch, veering more toward thrash metal and calculated riffing at the start, but even that gives way to a volcanic eruption, vicious vocals, and soloing that reminds of the days when Slayer worried more about evil intentions than their drummer’s paycheck.

If you like old-school death metal and grindcore and are sick of what those genres have turned into for the most part, consider Bone Sickness a refreshing breath of charnel air. Their music is ugly, their artistic intestines are basically spilled onto and sticking to the floor, and they seem to have no desire to clean up their gory mess. This is true death metal, something that diehard fans who know their shit will gorge themselves to death on, and that hopefully will put a nail into the coffins of the millions of pretenders in the world.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/bonesickness

To buy the album, go here: http://www.20buckspinshop.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.20buckspin.com/site/

(NOTE: This review was written and posted before Monday’s horrible attack in Boston. I would hate to seem insensitive and be accused of building off tragedy considering some of the material below, and I do not wish to glorify anything that took place. I tried to clean it up a bit. It’s just a really bad coincidence. Godspeed to everyone affected. Meat Mead Metal loves you.)

The end of existence, be it one’s own or the planet’s, is something that has been running through heavy metal lore since the beginning. These are dark arts, after all, and the expression and visualization of dread and destruction runs hand in hand with the genre’s sound. It’s just kind of something we do around here.

But for as many bands that write about such a dark, yet inevitable subjects, how many of them sound like they embody the very destruction on which they’re centered? Not too many, if we’re being honest. That doesn’t mean a band’s message isn’t worth your attention or interest if the band’s doesn’t resemble the four horsemen riding across the Earth, but it sure helps aesthetically if the artists at least sound like they envisioned lands being ripped apart and seas filling with blood during their creative process.

That’s why a band like The Body blows me away. It’s two guys — guitarist/vocalist Chip King and drummer Lee Buford — yet they make enough unholy racket to make up for five bands with five members each. They’re loud, explosive, quaking, and that’s just describing their records. Witnessing this machine live could mean the end of decent hearing for you for the rest of your life, and you might find you’re so overwhelmed with sound that you’re ready to unload the contents of your stomach onto the floor. Their power and majesty are humbling before you realize the darkness they’re spreading lyrically. It’s a tunnel to hell or the end or to madness, whatever is your greatest fear, and they never cease to level the shit out of everything in front of them.

The band’s latest effort “Master, We Perish,” is a three-track EP containing some of their headiest work. The duo’s brand of sludging doom remains firmly intact, but this collection also finds them expanding their headspace more than ever, delving deep into atmosphere and space, and while the violence we’ve come to expect from The Body is here, it’s delivered in such a disarming way that you never quite know when the blow is coming. But you know it’s near, and waiting for it is half the fun/dread. Joining the band to add their voices to the fury are Leslie Weitz (Otesanek), Chrissy Wolpert (of the wonderful Assembly of Light Choir), and Reba Mitchell (Whore Paint) to add their heavenly contributions.

“The Ebb and Flow of Tide in a Sea of Ash” opens the record with terrifying war sirens, muddy, chugging guitars, and mobilization forward, giving you almost no time to take cover. King delivers otherworldly growls and shrieks that should shake you to your core, and this abrasive assault ends with what sounds like industrial hammering, soot, and smoke. “The Blessed Lay Down and Writhe in Agony” have some of those choral contributions and make it feel like your soul is escaping from your body, and with samples of people talking about despair and a sense of complete dread rushing through, the feeling of hopelessness is unavoidable. The song seems fit to stay in its middle tempo and build clouds and pockets of fog until a shot is heard and the song opens into full-blown demolition.

Closer “Worship” opens with tribal drumming, chaos, and swirling voices, as the madness encircles and shakes you from the inside out. Buford’s drumming is the main attraction of this song, and he just pulverizes his kit, while King’s guitar work hangs in the air like a menacing atmosphere, humming and buzzing, acting like a poison fog. Everything builds to an eerie finish full of strange effects and static-filled drumming that melts away with the threat to return when you least expect it. Thanks for scaring the shit out of us, the Body.

This band remains one of the darkest, loudest bands on Earth, and even a mini effort from a duo like this one is enough to pack a power punch to your face. These two guys are not capable of delicate and gentle, and if you’re not prepared for outright carnage and unimaginable mental suffering, then you might not be ready for this band. If you are and you can handle it, you’re going to have a fuck load of fun torturing yourself for days on end with noise that knows no mercy.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/the-body/334047229514

To buy the album (out April 30), go here: http://www.bluecollardistro.com/atalossrecordings/categories.php?cPath=719

For more on the label, go here: http://www.atalossrecordings.com/

Admitting you don’t know everything is not a sign of weakness. Rather it is an indication that you realize every day is a new learning opportunity and that there is a vast amount of knowledge out there waiting to be explored, even if other people have gotten to it before you. Even if you run a metal site.

I write about hundreds of bands every year, and there are hundreds more I hear that I don’t write about for whatever reason, be that lack of time or lack of interest. But I’m not fooling myself into thinking I have fully experienced every metal band out there and what they have to offer. If I did, doing my site would be incredibly boring because nothing new would ever happen, and I’d never make any discoveries. What’s the point of that? So yeah, sometimes I’m going to encounter a band I probably should have studied up on way sooner than the present time, and I’m just going to have to be OK with that.

That brings us to Agrimonia, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based band that employs all kinds of metallic tricks from death metal to crust to hardcore to sludge. They have a whole lot of ways of going about their business, and over the course of three records now, they’ve been sharpening their edges and refining their formula. I had brief overtures with their 2010 album “Host of the Winged,” released by Profane Existence, but didn’t dig deep enough below the surface to really get an appreciation for what was going on. I have since corrected that error. But they weren’t a band screaming on my radar until I got the promo for their latest effort “Rites of Separation,” being released by Southern Lord. Let’s make the “Southern Lord signed a metal band?” joke. OK, let’s move on. This is a heads-up, ears-to-the-ground acquisition for the label, and it paid off in spades because this third record is a total crusher, a realization of potential so volcanic, it’s downright frightening.

If you’re new to the band, let’s get introductions out of the way. On vocals and keyboards is Christina, whose ferocious wail immediately rips you from your comfort zone and makes you go to the ground fighting; guitarists Magnus (also of Atomvinter) and Pontus (Miasmal, Martyrdod), who plays their asses off on this record; bassist Martin (surname: Larsson, who you’ll know from At the Gates); and drummer Bjorn (also of Miasmal), who certainly had to be tired after these recording sessions. He’s all over the place with his brand of violence.

All of the songs on “Rites of Separation” are long. Really long. But none feel like they stay around longer than they should, and they actually give the band a lot of room to flex their muscles. “Talion” is your 11-minute opener that tears a hole right away with a searing guitar line, monstrous vocals from Christina, and eventually some exploratory playing that gives you some breathing room between explosions. The song eventually slows down and grows foggy, clean guitars and blurry keys step in, and then that razor-sharp initial riff comes surging back to help bring the song to an end. “Hunted” is more than 15 minutes long, beginning with gothy, doomy keyboards that sound like something from Katatonia, before the song ignites minutes later with growls and pulverizing melodies. Some sludge and mud strike along the way, and the band then progresses through a bunch of different sections that build on the one before it, eventually allowing some of the murky sounds to return.

“While Life Lies” runs more than 10 minutes and begins with cleaner tones before hitting back into grim doom pockets that also lurch toward death metal. Guitars snake and chug, the vocals teeter on volcanic, and the band eventually settles with down with some acoustic guitars and keyboards that set a calmer mood. But that’s temporary as they ramp up the madness again and renew their commitment to punishment. “The Battle Fought” is the shortest track on the record at 6:46, and there are times when the band channels their inner Bolt Thrower as they sound the horns of war. The song is crunchy, thrashy, and savage, and it’s a song that doesn’t need 10 minutes to whip your ass. Closer “Awaiting” is 15:40 and starts with some introspective wandering and post-metal color before the snarling, vicious growls blast in and disrupt the atmospherics. Once the fervor dies down a bit, more acoustic guitars spill in, the music gets trickly and proggy, and just before the song fades out in relative peace, Christina returns with raspy growls that ensure you don’t forget her messages.

This record isn’t out for a few weeks stateside, but I couldn’t hold in writing about this any longer. Agrimonia should see their profile rise with the mighty Southern Lord behind them, and poor bastards like me now have all the time we need to immerse ourselves in all of their music. This band crushes your body and laughs while you leak marrow, and weirdly enough, you’ll probably find you’re OK with all that suffering. Even if it took me this long to finally get into Agrimonia, I’m pretty psyched I fina      lly know about this five-headed monster.

For more on the band, go here: http://agrimonia.info/

To buy the album, go here (will be available soon): http://southernlord.com/store.php

For more on the label, go here: http://southernlord.com/

I almost never read bio information about a band before listening to their new record, unless it’s a new group I’m encountering because, in that case, it helps to be armed with a lot of info. But if it’s a band I’ve experience with, I just want to hear their new creations first, and I’ll fumble over the details later.

Part of not heavily immersing myself in a band’s current history, lineup, etc., is because I want to experience the music and not be influenced by things like band member changes or philosophical alterations or planned musical diversions. It can cramp your listening style. I mean, there are obvious things, like Joey Belladonna returning to Anthrax, that can’t be avoided, but those are exceptions to my personal rule. There are so many bands now and so many things going on with them that it’s impossible to keep track of all of it, so going to the music first solves all.

It also can provide surprise, like when I got a first listen to October Tide’s new record “Tunnel of No Light,” their first for Pulverised after putting out their tremendous 2010 effort “A Thin Shell” on Candlelight and getting a stronger push into the world. It was pretty clear something was different about the Swedish band, most notably the vocals and who was delivering them. Yes, Tobias Netzell (also of In Mourning), who sang for the band since 2009, is out, and in his place is Alexander Högbom (who also plays with Spasmodic and Volturyon). He probably won’t go down as doom and death metal’s most dynamic singer of all time, but he acquits himself nicely on this record and gets across the band’s brand of pain and anguish as well as his predecessor. Lineup changes are nothing new to this band anyway, as the door has revolved quite a bit since their formation in 1994 (they once boasted Jonas Renske of Katatonia in their lineup, as he was one of the people who started the band), but their music isn’t suffering for it, so who are we to question?

The rest of the lineup keeps the bulk of the “A Thin Shell” lineup in tract, with guitarists Fredrik “North” Norrman and Emil Alstermark and drummer Robin Berg, with bassist Mattias “Kryptan” Norrman the other newcomer to the group. Despite the personnel switches, the music still is in the vein of grisly, stormy doom metal, with a touch of death, and folks into bands such as Opeth, Amorphis, and aforementioned Katatonia should find plenty to like about this album. The songs are moody and memorable, and Högbom’s vocals are scratchier and more abrasive than Netzell’s, though no less expressive.

Opener “Of Wounds to Come” is spacious and cloudy, with strong melodies and fearsome vocals, where Högbom howls, “Same faces, new pain.” Yeah, things are still pretty daunting and depressing in these corners, and I doubt their listeners would have it any other way. “Our Constellation” is the longest track on the record at nearly nine minutes, and it stretches its black wings across you and sweeps you into its sadness. “Emptiness Fulfilled” is a little punchier and pushes the tempo more than the songs that precede it, with Högbom spreading foul messages of curses and dread. “Caught in Silence” has a buzz-filled open, like a swarm of insects coming to envelop you, and while it chugs and punishes in its mid-tempo ditch, there is plenty of atmosphere as well, like you’re caught in a light storm cloud.

“Watching the Drowners” probably doesn’t need explained much based on its title, because you can’t get much more upsetting than that scene. The song is smoggy and dreary, with muddy growls and warnings of “no resistance left” from Högbom. “The Day I Dissolved” is enough to make you want to cover yourself in a blanket and hide in darkness over the overwhelming despair, though the screamy vocals cut a path through that feeling and remind you to lash out at what ails you now and again. “In Hopeless Pursuit” is rough and awash in psychological torment, with Högbom lamenting, “I have failed you,” and the closing minutes of the song help the band transcend into outer space as they explore that vast eternity of darkness. Closer “Adoring Ashes” drops the lid on this record, with a renewed sense of doom and murk, solemn passages that aim to empathize with your most upsetting experiences, and it grinds to an anguish-filled conclusion.

October Tide remain as strong a melodic doom unit as there is these days, and even tons of personnel changes haven’t stopped that. “Tunnel of No Light” isn’t quite the record that “A Thin Shell” is, though that one’s going to be tough to top anyhow, but it’s pretty damn good in its own right. I feel like October Tide are perfect for gray, rain-filled days where all you can do is mope, and this record has that same personality. Maybe if this lineup can stay together for a while, they can pull out another gem.

For more on the band, go here: http://octobertide.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://pulverised.bigcartel.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.pulverised.net/

The idea of a supergroup is one that got pretty big in the 80s when members of corporate rock outfits would get together and make some blowout record that was supposed to get their collective fans all bothered for the genius that would result from all of these forces combining. Sometimes they sucked, sometimes they were OK.

Metal has had its share of supergroups (which is a stupid term, by the way), bands made up of members of other notable bands combining forces to see what would come of their collected creative energies. Bands like Shrinebuilder, Bloodbath, Fantomas, and recently discussed Ensemble Pearl all did it right, making music that didn’t ape their own projects and did have lives of their own. Then there have been some pretty awful ones that we might as well forget ever existed. Ov Hell, anyone? Have we stopped laughing at Adrenaline Mob yet? Because I haven’t. OK, they’re not really metal, but Chickenfoot? That shit is proof Satan is real and he hates you.

Now comes a new project mysteriously titled VHÖL that combines members of some of the finest, most revered independent metal bands of the last decade whose union could only mean glorious things, right? I mean, you have guitarist John Cobbett of the mighty Hammers of Misfortune and who also played with the Lord Weird Slough Feg and Ludicra. There’s Mike Scheidt of doom crushers YOB, whose constantly evolving and shape-shifting voice is out in front of this band. You have Sigrid Sheie on bass, who also plays with Hammer of Misfortune and Amber Asylum, as well as Aesop Decker on drums, also of Ludicra, trancey Worm Ouroboros, and world-beating Agalloch. How could those forces possibly lead you astray? Or is that too much good for one project that everyone cancels each other out and it ends in a mess? That wasn’t out of the realm of possibility when this project was announced.

Yet, the band’s debut album finally is in our hands, and the results were not quite what was expected. By that I mean I naturally expected parts of all these members’ bands to be represented in some way, but that doesn’t really happen. This sounds like a brand new band, with fresh ideas, newfound directions, and a sound that isn’t the sum of all parts. If any band’s sound is most dominant in the music, it’s Ludicra’s, which is understandable, but that’s only very mildly here and there. Otherwise, this collection of savage, inspired, fucking brilliant songs sound like the band’s members pulled together all of their diverse influences, plugged in, and fucking went for it. It’s a devastating record that gets better with every listen. There are nods to classic metal, some furious D-beat punishment, some doom, some blackness, some everything.

The record rips open with menacing “The Wall,” which totally isn’t a Pink Floyd cover. I am certain some of you wondered. The track begins with a long instrumental section that gets about as Ludicra as things do on this record, but eventually Scheidt rips in with vicious screams doubled over by his clean, reach-for-the-stratosphere wailing, proving two Scheidt voice tracks are better than one. By the way, it sounds superior on headphones where you can get full appreciation for the composition. “Insane With Faith” gives us some nasty D-beat carnage that eventually meets headlong with classic metal guitar work, and Cobbett is in total fucking command of this song. “Plastic Shaman” again has Scheidt seeing just how far he can push his voice, and the choruses damn near have a hook to them. It’s a sticky little section that’ll stay in your head, and it’s the band’s most show-offy song on here. It’s a lot of fun. “Grace” is a full serving of metallic carnage, with the growls delivered in a deeper tone, the music melting into a thrash/death metal meltdown, and lightning sharp soloing.

“Illuminate” has a cool start-stop introduction that eventually takes off with more D-beat goodness, some adventurous sounds all around, including some mud-caked bass work, and a direct path into vicious “Arising,” that is speedy as hell, trippy as shit at times, and sounds like Judas Priest reborn, having trudged a path through hell. Scheidt’s vocals are unreal, and the guitar work lets loose all over again. Great song. “Set to Wait Forever” is a perfect closer, with black guitar chugging, some cleaner guitar work trickling through the mix, furious drumming that could set brush fires, and some deeper singing from Scheidt, traits of which we’ve heard on YOB’s albums. It mystically fades away into the darkness, and it’s a great capper on an incredible record.

Turns out with VHÖL that the sum is greater than its parts, because they didn’t just show up and do what they’re used to doing with their other bands. Everyone brought something new and fresh to the table and took an exciting, unexpected path, and wouldn’t you know it, they came up with something as unique and untouchable as their other bands. Hopefully this band has more fodder in their canon, because I’d love to hear what they come up with after a few more years, and shows, together. There’s a good chance that record might kick this debut’s ass. We can only hope.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/vholatile?ref=ts&fref=ts

To buy the album, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/products-page/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/

It would seem playing heavy metal and hardcore music without a ton of passion and energy would be impossible to do, yet bands seem to pull that feat off more and more every year, which is another reason it’s tougher to snag gems out of a pile of shit.

Yet, when a band hits on a moment, when they truly channel their energy and translate that to their art, something special can happen and can help that band transcend. Actually, showing genuine passion for one’s work can make rudimentary, rote songwriting seem not as glaring. See: As I Lay Dying. Yet when a band combines really strong songwriting along with leaving their heaving bleeding hearts on the stage or studio floor, you know you have something that’s bound to be around for a while and make special art well into the future.

It’s clear even from a cursory listen to Amber’s new full-length “Lovesaken” that something is different about them compared to the tons of other young bands dotting the worldwide metal scene who are hoping to make connections with their listeners. The German band has been so well regarded since their initial release that three labels have a hand in putting out the band’s latest platter (Halo of Flies, Protagonist, and Narshadaa), so clearly a lot of people believe in them. If you sit down with this five-track, 35-minute album, chances are you’re going to be convinced to climb mountaintops for them as well. They just feel genuine and alive, and combined with songs that have oceans full of substance, you’re taking on a band that sounds like it is onto something special.

Simply calling Amber metal is lazy, but I’m using it as a generic term. Obviously the genre is made up of so many different sounds that using the term is more a touch point to bring all lines of thinking together, and describing this band takes more than one word to get it right. The five-headed band comprised of guitarists Christian and Dennis, bassist Tobias, drummer Jakob, and powerhouse vocalist Anna could probably be most accurately described as post-hardcore, but there is some shoegaze, some power, some doom, some blackness mixed in as well. All of the elements mix quite effectively, and Amber get in and get out, make their point, and leave you wanting more. Really, what more can you ask from a band?

Most of the tracks are about six minutes long, not including the finale, and things get started with “Kings Like Us,” a song that opens with feedback squall, pulverizing melodies, and Anna’s awesome, powerful vocals that can rip a hole right in your chest and go for your heart. And not in the loving, caring way. The music is fluid and exciting, and the song has a volcanic finish that feels satisfying and cathartic. “Lost” has a slow, eerie beginning before it emotionally caterwauls and overwhelms you with volume and panic. Anna pushes her throat and vocal cords to their limits, really going for it, and it also finds ways to hit a fevered pitch before finally subsiding. “Silent Lies” can be drubbing and ugly at times, but it also soars at others, finding a strange common ground between uplifting and punishing.

“Fading Away” pulls back the reins a bit, staying at a middle tempo for the bulk of the song musically and incorporating some cleaner, gentler tones. That doesn’t go for Anna, who once again topples planet earth with her devastating, anguishes vocals that sound like she’s at the tip of some sort of psychological bloodletting. She sells this song so well, you cannot but help but live vicariously through her pain. The closing title track runs 10:25, and it continues some of the musical themes of “Fading Away,” staying softer and more reflective at times, but also lets lava flow as well. Anna’s expression should get to you emotionally, unless you’re dead at heart, and the band lets the song boil over before finally letting go and slipping off into space. It’s a fantastic final epic that’s a summary of what the band does well now and shows promise for even bigger things in the future.

Amber is a great young band that is yet another fantastic find for Halo if Flies, who we’re getting damn near ready to blindly follow anywhere. Their gift for expression and genuine humanity is something not all bands are able to do, and the fact that they put great songwriting behind their emotion is icing on the cake. “Lovesaken” is a strong statement from a band who very well could dominate in the future.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/hereisamber

To buy the album, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/releases/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/

OK, it’s only the beginning of April, but I don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about album-of-the-year candidates. After all, I have heard a good deal of the releases scheduled through May (with one notable exception that I hope to hear damn soon), so I think it’s OK to start putting stuff in preliminary position.

With that in mind, one of the first records so far this year that knocked me for a loop and made me excited about music in general is the new release from London’s Light Bearer, a four-song, nearly 80-minute adventure that demands your full attention and your patience but certainly will reward you outright if you give into their music. Most of the six songs push the 10-15-minute mark and are packed with ideas upon ideas. Yet while that might seem like a little too much to endure and something ambitious beyond fault, it all works magically and takes your breath away. At least it did mine.

There’s a good reason the band’s second full-length “Silver Tongue” is as epic as it is. It is the second chapter of a very long and imaginative story (that started on debut “Lapsus”) dreamt up by vocalist/lyricist/conceptualist Alex CF (also of Momentum), who put together a story that centers on the fall of Lucifer from heaven, his disenchantment with a God he loved, and his journey to become the dark leader who provides freedom of will and thought for all those who follow him. The story, which will continue over two more full-lengths and EPs also will move toward Eve, her decision to reject God’s directive in Eden, and her role in the formation of humanity. Hell, it sounds like records wouldn’t be enough to tell this whole tale. Where’s Peter Jackson when you need him?

The rest of Light Bearer is rounded out by guitarists Jamie Starke and Matthew Bunkell, bassist Gerfriend, drummer Joseph, and sample specialist Lee Husher. Sorry. I had some full names, and some I only have first names. I’m sure everyone will live. The band’s music moves from post-metal to post-hardcore, into classic, late 90s/early 00s screamo, and even some black metal and sludge, and they need all of those parts to tell each section of the story properly and with the right amount of emotion. It’s a killer, cascading effort that’s akin to that giant book you never think you’ll conquer, but once you get into the meat of the story, you find it impossible to put it down. Same goes for “Silver Tongue.”

“Beautiful Is This Burden” begins this chapter with ambiance, gorgeous strings, and horns that seem to indicate the end of all creation is near. It takes five minutes of build for the song to open up and swallow you, with harsh screams, post-metal-style drama, and incredible shoegaze-like stretching. The song goes back and forth, also coming upon peaks of vicious thrashing, and once it subsides more than 18 minutes later, you’re likely to be out of breath. “Amalgam” and “Matriarch” feel like parts 1 and 2 of the same track but are indeed separate. “Amalgam” is dusty and mucky, with a chugging pace, gruff vocals, and a total assault on your imagination, while “Matriarch” starts to feel aquatic and somewhat prog-fueled, but it also has some devastating, earth quaking moments that feel like the very ground beneath you swallowing you whole and pulling you to the core of the planet.

After the brief “Clarus,” that is creaky, ambient, and death-filled, it’s into “Aggressor and Usurper,” a 17-miniute piece that also is sludgy and heavy like so much of the record, but suddenly the song heaves itself into a faster tempo not heard before on the album, and it grows into a crushing, fevered pitch that should make your insides melt away. The end of the song gets grisly and ugly, but also beautifully emotional, as the promise of, “I will not yield!” is howled and the song fades away. The titanic title track closer is the perfect final scene, the ideal climax to this amazing record. The song opens gently and, dare I say, on a note that reminds me of pop. It’s melodic and gushing, and it’s a great red herring that shields you from the explosion ahead, when the track rips itself open.  The vocal expression borderlines on heart-wrenching, reminding me of envy, and before the apocalyptic, decimating finish, there’s a sequence where the pace halts, the sounds die down, and a folk-like section rises up. It’s lovely and cathartic, yet you then realize we’re only halfway through the overall story, so any emotional shine is temporary.

Lightbearer have come up with a musical and philosophical masterpiece, something you could recommend to fans of Neurosis, ISIS, and Thrice as well as those who love Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” It’s a dark, yet hopeful journey, and it’s some of the most imaginative metallic compositions of the year so far. Go out of your way to hear this thing. You, too, might add it to your short list of album of the year contenders. Yes, already.

For more on the band, go here: http://lightbearerband.wordpress.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/releases/

Or here: http://www.protagorascollective.bigcartel.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/