XULwas one of those bands for me that I always heard in conversation but always forgot to look them up when I got home from shows. So needless to say, I was quite surprised seeing their latest EP release, Extinction Necromance (Self-Released), in my stack of albums to review. The EP is 4 tracks spanning just shy of 30 minutes and was just the right sample size I needed as a new listener and fan. While XUL’s sound does not seem groundbreaking, it still gives the blackened death metal genre a breath of fresh air. Each song has its own distinctive parts that make each song a different journey which is always a plus in my book.
The first track, ‘Frozen, We Drown’, has more of a death metal feel to it to start of the album. But just when you feel they stick to that one side of the spectrum, the zoom over to a black metal sounding interlude/bridge. I found each of the tracks had differing percentages of how much of the song would be death versus black metal. Most of the time it felt like an even amount of both in just the right formula for each song. However, the last track, ‘Summon The Swarm’, felt much more like a black metal song that at times reminded me ever so slightly of Watain.
Overall I did find this album to be pretty solid through the few tracks it has to offer. There were times I thought I could do a slow nod to a black metal riff and then wanted to Frank Mullen my hand around to death metal sections. Where I think this is a great place for new fans to listen to a small selection of songs from XUL, I am thinking of seeking out their full album at some point to give that a try as well. If you are looking for a new blackened death metal band or just new music in general, Extinction Necromance from XUL is a hell of a starting point.
I don’t know about you, but, I turn into a kid on Christmas morning whenever a band I love announces a new album so I’m sure you can imagine the sheer joy that consumed my being when I finally got my greedy little paws on this gem. Friends, she is a beauty. If I could get away with just transcribing my excited squeals and witch-like cackling as I listened to this album, I would.
In all seriousness, stoner metal masters High on Fire return this summer with the highly anticipated Luminiferous(eOne) and it is worth every penny. Luminiferous is both strange and different and yet fits into the band’s prior body of work very well. ‘The Black Plot’ and “The Sunless Years’ are have been fantastic singles but can we just talk about the gift that is ‘Carcosa’ for a second? This track has been one of my favorites from the beginning. It’s heavy and filled with hypnotic riffs and a beautiful guitar solo that just completely draw you in.
‘Slave the Hive’ is an absolute shredder with its quick tempo and Jeff Matz’s throbbing bass lines. You can just tell that this is going to be one of those songs where you can feel the bass weaving its way through your bones and organs. Yes, please. This track takes the concepts of the hive mind and sheeple created by society and the mass media and puts them to music. The end of the song is almost a bit unnerving as it is punctuated by the faintest laugh just before it ends.
Des Kensel’s pounding drums open ‘The Dark Side of the Compass’ and what seems to be a tribute to the Bermuda Triangle. There are so many bands out there that only write songs about their love lives or childhood that I find it refreshing when someone does something different. Tell me about aliens and weird stuff and the mysteries of the universe. With its lyrics referencing lost ships, portals, and the supernatural as a whole, I know what to listen to the next I find myself flying over the Devil’s Triangle again next year. If I’m going to die, it’s going to be with Matt Pike crooning in my ear.
‘The Cave’ is easily another favorite of mine, even if it is soft and slow compared to the rest of the album but that’s precisely why I find myself drawn to it like a moth to a flame. I’m not usually a fan of ballad-esque songs as they tend to be far too cheesy for my liking but ‘The Cave’ is genuine rather than feeling forced. There is so much emotion contained in this song that it is almost palpable and I really enjoyed seeing this other side of the band. You can keep your ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and its millions of clones, I’ll take ‘The Cave’ any day.
L to R: Des Kensel, Matt Pike, Jeff Matz. Photo Credit: J. Hubbard
Luminiferousis, at times, both lighter and heavier than previous albums and the risks that the band took when putting it together have paid off. I’ll leave my personal interpretations out of this but the English major in me just wants to sit around and discuss lyrics, connections, and themes for a few hours.The boys have put out one monster of a record and, if you couldn’t tell by now, I am extremely pleased. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, get yourself a gallon of Pike Juice instead and keep an eye out for an upcoming tour date near you.
Kloneis one of those bands that is difficult to categorize. They originally branded themselves as a metal band but with each new release of music stray further from what one may consider metal to be. Their latest album Here Comes the Sun (Klonosphere/Pelagic Records) is their most progressive and psychedelic sounding yet although it still holds on to some metal sounds.
It is interesting that the band decided to name the album after one of The Beatles’ most well-known songs considering they do not cover a Beatles song. However, it does tell the listener that they should leave their idea of what metal is behind and prepare for a more surreal or ethereal sound. Overall, the album is mellower than what one would expect from a metal band.
Opening track ‘Immersion’ throws some saxophone in to show that Klone is not one’s ordinary band. The instrument could have sounded out of place in a metal band but instead blends in well enough to come as a nice surprise. Most of the album stays on the lighter sounding side of things, but eventually becomes more epic. A prime example of this is ‘The Last Experience’ which sounds like something grand is coming to an end.
Other highlights include ‘Nebulous’ and a cover of George Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess. What makes ‘Nebulous’ great is how it encompasses everything that the album, and arguably the band, is about. There is a balanced blend of psychedelic and heavy metal sounds. ‘Summertime’ is one of the most covered songs from musical theater, but Klone is able to own it. The sadness that is not evident in some covers of the tune becomes clear in Klone’s interpretation. The band deserves much credit for being able to pull it off and for creating yet another album that shows off their evolution.
People love a great comeback story. Anything that shows a triumph against some kind of adversity, especially if you created it yourself, they will lap that up all day long. Some musical acts leave at the top of their game, while others split just in time before fizzing out creatively. When it came to Faith No More’s acrimonious split in the late 90s, it felt like it might have been coming for a while. The band certainly did not burn out their creative spark, nor did they wear out their welcome with fans. They were so prolific, so versatile, and so smart, you knew there would never be another act quite like them. When they came back in 2009 as a live act, they opened their shows with ‘Reunited’, the soft R&B song from 70’s duo Peaches and Herb, as a nod to the fans. After testing the waters with each other, the band decided they could stick together and make new music. Well the long wait is over and Sol Invictus (Reclamation Recordings/Ipecac) is here to put to rest any doubts you may have had about their comeback.
Opening with the title track, the band picks up basically where they left off with 1997’s Album of The Year (Slash). The track sounds right at home with their past, yet has some interesting elements on its own. Gradually easing in like a foot in a fuzzy slipper, it’s an “ah yes…” moment you get to have with yourself as the track envelopes you. Recurring lyrical themes on the album about regeneration, reinvention and that other “re” word we spoke of already begin popping up here too. ‘Superhero’ reminds one that despite being remembered for big commercial hits, at their most accessible they were never a true singles band that was pappy and easily digestible. ‘Sunny Side Up’ is an angsty ballad with great lyrical grist. Most of the tracks have a sonic kinship of the beloved King For A Day…Fool For A Lifetime (Slash) album too: hidden meanings, lyrical twists, massive piano and bass driven songs as a foil for Mike Patton’s emotive soulfulness and rubbery larynx.
Faith No More, by Dustin Rabin
‘Separation Anxiety’ is the heaviest track on Sol Invictus and certainly if you are the type of person that pines for the first three FNM albums, this is the song that will resonate with you the most. ‘Cone of Shame’ is wildly dynamic and strange, but also driving and melodious. Patton shows off the most of his insane vocal ability here too. The perfect blend of all of the rollicking elements of the band you want in one track.
Although Billy Gould, who produced the album (except for Patton’s vocals) is always seen as a driving force of the band and definitive mouthpiece, Roddy Bottum’s keyboards dominate this album. All of his weird 80s synth-pop craziness, mixed with his deft jazzbo piano stylings are ever-present in songs such as the torchy ‘Rise of the Fall’, the sinister yet beautiful ‘Matador’, and elsewhere.
‘Black Friday’ is a vampy Cramps-style number, complete with slapback guitars and whipping beats. This is also the track where guitar stands out the most, lending to the idea that without being the heavy guitar driven band of their youth, there is room for all of the parts of the monster to flourish properly. ‘Motherfucker’ is a conundrum of a song. You intrinsically laugh at the notion of a clever pop song as a massive ‘fuck you’ to those in power. Mike Patton as a new-age politicized Beat Poet? Why not! However, the song is undeniably subversive and smart, as is all the best material this band has put out. The build up to the chorus is glorious, Patton’s notes held like the vibrato of a well-bowed cello, hitting you where you live.
‘Back From the Dead’ may sound like a 60s slice of pop, right down to its jangly guitar and churchy “ahs” and “oohs” backing vocals. However the sentiment of “Welcome home my friend…’ in the lyrics could totally be a very meta, and self-referencing. After all; resurrection may be for those who got it wrong the first time, but the same cannot be said of Faith No More whose return is a welcome and worthy one. Let’s hope it lasts as long as it can.
I’d like you to stop what you’re doing right now and pay attention.
For here is the most impressive and important heavy metal album thus far in 2015. This is the record that is going to inhabit the upper echelons of those end of year lists and we are only in the year’s early months. This is the record that you’re going to smile knowingly about and, when all the hipsters come out of the woodwork to declare their love for it, you’re going to feel smug in the knowledge that you were there when Frost (Osmose) came out and when Axioma Ethica Odini (Indie/Nuclear Blast) changed your world view of what was possible with progressive metal. In Times (Nuclear Blast), the thirteenth album from Norwegian progressives Enslaved, is a record of staggering, jaw-dropping brilliance.
In Times distils the essence of Enslaved in brilliant, grandiose fashion but, like all great albums, suggests new, as yet uncharted opportunities. To use sporting parlance, suggesting that the band are at the top of their game is to truly misunderstand what’s going on here. Enslaved are not just at the top of their game; they are in the process of trying to change the game being played. In Times delivers six extended, expansive aural essays as opposed to songs. They are all brilliant, all have their own internal narratives, nuances and highlights and yet, knitted together, manifest themselves as the most coherent and immersive album of this band’s career.
‘Thurisaz Dreaming’ kicks things off in spectacular yet familiar fashion. We are thrown back into the brutal and ferocious territory that is reminiscent of the black metal hinterland of the band’s early period. This works on a number of levels- as a visceral introduction and a statement of intent for the new record, it is all welcome and vibrant strum und drang. As a reminder of how far the band have come without compromising their aesthetic or values it is a glorious throwing down of the gauntlet. About three minutes in, we move elegantly into the more progressive melodic territory of the band’s more recent past. It’s akin to pulling a handbrake turn. In lesser hands, this juxtaposition of styles would be clunky and knowing. With Enslaved, such is their talent for aural narrative, this seems like the most natural thing in the world. It is a technicolour, vibrant and furious opening.
It then gets even better. ‘Building with Fire’ is one of the best and most compelling manifestations of the band’s melding of clean, open singing and harsher brutalism that I have ever heard. It has a hypnotic 4/4 beat that acts as a simple yet effective architecture for the dual vocal talents of Herbrand Larsen and Grutle Kjellson. It’s brilliantly effective, and catchy as hell.
And then it gets better still. On ‘1000 Years of Rain’ we have one of the most intricate, eloquent and astonishingly creative songs the band have created. It is a rich and richly nuanced epic, covering an extraordinary range of styles, stitched together like a medieval tapestry. This is what the soundtrack to Game of Thrones sounds like in my head. We are treated to folk, hymnal chanting, riffing bigger than tectonic plates and a brilliant attention to detail that brings the listener back time and again to discover new gems as well as simply wallow in the gloriousness of it all.
Exemplary is the most apposite word that I can conjure for the majesty of ‘Nauthir Bleeding’. It stretches to almost breaking point the band’s capacity for bringing together the dream-like melody with gnarly bombast but it’s a stretching that never breaks, largely because this is a band that knows exactly what they are doing and do it with aplomb; being taken to the edge has rarely felt as thrilling.
The simplicity of what Enslaved do – the light and shade, the ambient and terrifying is simple enough to explain, much harder to deliver. On the ten minutes plus dynamism of the title track you really understand just how accomplished they are. This is the most obviously progressive track here with long ethereal passages that reflect the album’s otherworldly nature whilst continuing to blend in the relentless riffage that they are equally renowned for.
The album coda, ‘Daylight’, is well, magnificent, driving through fantastic melodies and power to the inevitable conclusion that leaves you shaking your head at how good it all is.
In Times is a reflection and a look forward; it is the most complete encapsulation of what Enslaved are about and what Enslaved are capable of. Again and again, In Times shifts your expectations about what “good” looks and sounds like. This is the most daring, ambitious, otherworldly and evocative album of an already deeply impressive career. It is the record where any scintilla of doubt of their genius can be banished from your mind, consigned to the dustbin and given a right royal telling off. With In Times, Enslaved have created an album where every ounce of their creative nous has been distilled into an album that is simply and utterly spellbinding.
No matter how good they are, “Retro” bands always raise the questions of validity and necessity – when your aim as a band is to reproduce as accurately as possible albums or styles that already exist, it can be difficult to judge you on your own merits. As the album title suggest, Midnight’s biggest musical reference point is Venom, cut with a hefty dose of German Thrash to sharpen the edge.
As you’d expect from a band taking this route, No Mercy For Mayhem (Hell’s Headbangers) doesn’t fuck around – apart from the contractually-obligated acoustic intro, of course. It’s all razor-sharp riffing, hammering beats and caustic shrieks. The playing is much tighter than you’d expect, and the production lends them both weight and power.
Of course, whatever we say here it goes right back to that question – what do Midnight offer that Sodom, Kreator and, most importantly, Venom don’t – and unfortunately there’s no nice answer to that question. What’s allowed Venom to remain both so influential and beloved (as odd a word as that is in this context) despite their sloppy playing, raw sound and their extremity having been long-since eclipsed is the sheer quality of their song-writing. Midnight can write a sharp riff and turn a song-title into a catchy enough chorus, but there’s nothing on here that even comes close to their own Bloodlust, Countess Bathory or Witching Hour, and it’s hard to imagine many of these songs remaining in listener’s minds for longer than a few spins.
There are going to be plenty of people who love No Mercy For Mayhem, and if you’re happy with some tight riffing and sharp hooks you may well be one of them, but if a band like this is to aim for more than easy nostalgia they need a depth of song-writing that Midnight aren’t yet capable of.
Goatwhore conjures a musical sound to mind the minute read their name or say it aloud. You know what it stands for, before the words roll off of your tongue. Few modern bands have the grit and the greatness to remain consistently heavy in the face of rising popularity. They are in many ways the Motörhead of their musical generation: without compromise and weakness…. a band that can do no wrong for fans across all of metals fiefdoms and cliques. Certainly there are no Goatwhore haters, only people unaware of them, yet. Maintaining the balance of their message and the quality of their songcraft is the likely secret to their success, beyond some sacred pact with dark forces. Every album is different from the last, yet they never went soft or sold out like some others have. On Constricting Rage of the Merciless (Metal Blade),their sixth album in their 16-year career, Goatwhore rolls up their spiked-sleeves and smashes you in the mouth once again. And you will love it!
Where 2012’s Blood for the Master was a little more nuanced and throwback focused, Constricting Rage of the Merciless kicks you with jackbooted foot and maintains the savagery all the way through. The new album has more than a pointed step towards their blackened death metal history, but also carries with it the continued evolution of the sound of recent releases. Opening track ‘Poisonous Existence in Reawakening’ will crush your ear holes with extreme prejudice. Unrelenting blastbeats, deathly sick riffs and the masterful vocals of Rev. L. Ben Falgoust III will make you smile, unless you are dead. In typical fashion for this act, most of the tracks are tight, average under four-minutes each, and have zero B.S. about them. The majestically brutal ‘Unraveling Paradise’ has no less than four different riffs in the song, all of them amazing. Sammy Duet doesn’t rely as much on thrashy pedaling this time around, coming up with some inventive licks and whirling motifs, all that would shame some of the best tech death bands by the way.
As was the case on the last album, drummer Zack Simmons demolishes expectations and his kit on every song, inspiring much headbanging and fist-banging. If you have seen the band live, you know Zack is a machine who plays equally well on wax. Tracks such as ‘Baring Teeth for Revolt’ and ‘Reanimated Sacrifice’ are a drum fanatics wet dream. ‘Reanimated…’ as on several tracks herein, sees Rev. Ben switch up his style and make use of different parts of his register vocally. Impressive stuff. Also chipping in with a great chopping riff and a slick, short solo is Duet once again, who continues to enthrall listeners year after year.
The bleak and harsh ‘Heaven’s Crumbling Walls of Pity’ flexes the bands black metal muscles again, with a little extra something grim on top. It’s almost like a proggy black metal song you might expect from Ihsahn’s solo work. The ending stanzas are full of cool chords and grooving beats. ‘Cold Earth In Dying Flesh’ is another in a litany of standout, mid-album cuts. It has an eerie intro to set the mood. Not unlike a horror movie soundtrack theme, this slow to simmer beast machine of a song is a great change of pace. Falgoust again just bellows with some of the best vocals he’s ever done. It’s also the longest track on the album; not an epic in length, but with high quality grooves more associated with their other swampy NOLA brethren. When it finally launches into breakneck death thrash territory mid-song, it takes the track to another level without losing the story.
‘FBS’ was first played live on the Behemoth tour this spring and is a typical, circle-pit inducing song if there is one on this album. Full of rawness, with two more sweet solos from Sammy. It’s almost punk without being punk, or punk without too much crust. ‘Nocturnal Conjuration of the Accursed’ continues the trend of heady lyrics, and heavy on the evil sounds that is the bands trademark. There is even a little classic metal fun of galloping riffs and thematic soloing. ‘Schadenfreude’ is another gruesome masterpiece. Black metal, death metal and thrash all come together, but in a sensible way you could almost call it American Blackened Thrash. As a style, this would be a worthy counterpart to the Death `n Roll of Scandinavian bands, but much, much more brutal. ‘Schadenfreude’ is also a lyrical masterpiece, with the title defined as enjoying the suffering of others, in this case those whom most deserve it. The album closes with the fitting ‘Externalize this Hidden Savagery’ and sums up the entire album’s intent quite well before its final notes ring out.
Goatwhore has made an album nearly worthy of the best work of their career, even though it’s on the short side at under 40 minutes. I doubt you will find a more righteously hostile, fun, and well made album from another heavy band in 2014.
Since the birth of post-metal in the 90s, a lot of bands have tried to put their own spin on the genre. Some bands have crafted their own way, taking a germ of inspiration and really making some amazing art with it. Others have had a lot to live up to in order to prove themselves worthy, often falling short of the mark. Artists at the forefront of heavy music such as Neurosis and ISIS (RIP) constantly raising and redefining the bar, always outshined the rest of the field. After many releases in a scant few years, we have come upon the third full-length album from Chicago’s The Atlas Moth, and are stunned to at last find a worthy successor to those a fore mentioned greats. The stakes were high enough following enough 2011s AnAche For The Distance (Profound Lore), and this band delivered to the fullest.
The Old Believer (Profound Lore) is massive record, if not a slightly less brutal companion to the last album. What An Ache had in bludgeoning will and power, The Old Believer is more refined and expansive release. They lost none of the heaviness and entrancing motifs this band has been known for. Mantra like guitar lines, stretch layer upon layer without trampling on themselves. Shiver-inducing droning guitar parts fill you with despair and longing, depending on the song, snaking their way into your brain like good Kaya. Other elements, such as the harsh/melodic vocals, and many synth lines act as earworms, and are all nods to to the influence of ISIS. These are all done in a style that can only said to be pure “Moth-music”. We are hearing a band that has never been more confident sounding; tight and loose all at once.
‘Jet Black Passenger’ opens the proceeding with an ominous feed-backing guitar before a waterfall of guitar riffs and dreamy beats just knocks you out. Stavros Giannopoulos (Twilight, Chrome Waves) and David Kush share the vocal and guitar spotlight, much more equally in the past. While Stavros is unquestionably the leader of his band, there is room for everyone to shine; indicative of this track and the album as a whole. The harsh/melodic vocal mix is the right amount of suspense and horror. The driving beats of drummer Dan Lasek carries a nautical ebb and flow that will have you nodding along. The track is nothing short of ecstasy, and I wished it would never end.
‘Collider’ definitely has a bit of that sub-conscious, circadian circuitry working for it. Equal parts Deftones and Failure in flavor, the ever-present soloing lead lines and the baddass groove drop the hammer on your ears. Also the harrowing, blackened shriek of Stavros is again present here and he has perfected this sound on this album. He also stands up quite well as a subtle melodic singer when he wants to. This is one of the best songs on the album, and it stays with you long after the final notes cease. ‘The Sea Beyond’ again slams with a powerful pace, but this where the band has dialed it up considerably. Hitting upon the right blend of light and shade, never sacrificing the cool melodies or poignant lyrics for roughness. One of the things that makes this possible is the deft production values brought to the table by the bands’ own Andrew Ragin (keyboards/guitars) who has found the magic formula to make all of these parts blend smoothly.
The first inkling I had that this album was going to be more special than before was when I heard ‘Halcyon Blvd’ live when the band opened up for Scale The Summit and The Ocean this spring. ‘Halcyon Blvd’ is catchy, Gothic, dark and spooky. Almost like a TAM version of a ballad, the beautiful verses lull you to a calm before asking what size blouse you wear, then bashing your skull in with a frying pan. Since we know the band is heavily into progressive rock, there is no surprise when the guitars switch up a la Pink Floyd and King Crimson with lead playing in verses in a non-traditional context. There is so much epic guitar work going on here, I’d love to see the tabs transcribed at some point. ‘Sacred Vine’ is another chill-inducing track.
‘The Old Believer’ has a god-like guitar tone and heaviness to it, quite fitting for the title cut. ‘City of Light’ is another atmospheric jam with more great synth work from Ragin. Rainy-day music with doleful lyrics and killer singing. ‘Wynona’ again brings us back with the sea-faring rhythms, and more haunting lines to ponder. Some parts reach for the heavy Neurosis stratosphere and make it there, without being repetitive about it. The song also features some slick drum skills from Lasek too. Although TAM seems to write in mostly in one tempo which I will refer to forevermore as the “zombie shamble tempo”, the songs are so compelling you never feel bored. ‘Hesperian’ also has a similar feel, but goes through several cool dynamic and key changes. Alen Klein’s smooth bass lines attest to the slow burn factor, with a nice rounded tone. ‘Blood Will Tell’ closes out the affair with a track both catchy and heavy in a manner I haven’t really heard since Type O Negative was around. Fitting of a final stanza, this upbeat track has a hopeful feeling when heard against the mournful backdrop of the other songs. The urgent beat coupled with the gang vocals from Gojira sound humongous. There are other choice guest appearances on the album too, such as fellow Chicagoan Marcus Eliopulos (Stabbing Westward), and Subrosa violinists Kim Pack and Sarah Pendleton.
Befitting of a release of this stature, it has an amazing album cover with special treated material. When you dip the the cover in water it changes colors, revealing more art and reverts to normal when dried. This band on the rise won’t just be opening up for legends for too much longer, rather they are minting their own status in the scene. A must have purchase and a possible contender for album of the year.
I’m conflicted about Emmure’s latest release. Upon first inspection, it’s a 45 minute exercise in banality. However, there is a part of me that wishes to salute Frankie Palmeri and his cohorts on this latest endeavor. I salute them because in 2014 they are willing to write an album like Eternal Enemies (Victory). They have the courage to compose such an open love letter to the musical pariah that was nu-metal.
While on tracks like ‘Rat King’ and ‘Nemesis’ Emmure find themselves rehashing the same ebb and flow of past and (quite frankly) tired jams like ‘Solar Flare Homicide’ and ‘Children of Cybertron’. Most of Eternal Enemies has Palmeri and Co. channeling their undying adoration of Limp Bizkit and Korn. By sitting through jams like ‘Most Hated;’ ‘Girls Don’t Like Boys, Girls Like 40s and Blunts’ and the DJ scratching masterpiece that is ‘E’ its abundantly clear that all Emmure want to do is party like its Ozzfest 98.
And if turntables and subpar playing don’t have you ransacking your closet to find your pair of JNCO jeans, then you haven’t heard Palmeri’s lyrical prowess. A gifted pupil of the (hed) p.e. school of lyrics, Palmeri proudly informs us that: “I’m the realest motherfucker in the game/I see you faggots living perfect lives” and “I’m gunna fuck your pretty face/ Try the cum, and tell me how does it taste?” While most will find his language disgusting, he’s no misogynist or homophobe. He merely pays tribute to heroes like Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst. Pioneers in channeling white suburban angst cloaked in foul language and incoherence. After all what in life could be more difficult than being heckled online or signed to Victory Records? Emmure may reside in Queens New York, but these gentlemen got their start in Connecticut. The struggle is not real.
I can see it now. Somewhere in the desserts of Barstow sit an aging Durst and Davis. In between hits of crank and everclear they’ll whisper to each other and smile. They’ll say we’re here to stay. We’ve somehow evaded total irrelevancy and once again have had a say in corrupting the young and impressionable.
There’s a reason I’ve had this release since February and am only getting around to it now. No it’s not my lack of productivity. In truth, after listening to Benighted’sCarnivore Sublime (Season of Mist) once, I really had no desire to ever listen to it again. Other reviewers have been talking up its catchiness and how they’re forerunners in this era of new death metal, so maybe I’ve been missed something but isn’t the definition of catchy ‘instantly appealing and memorable?’ Let me repeat my previous statement “I really had no desire to ever listen to it again.”
If I could relate them to any good bands, maybe Job For a Cowboy, though Job For a Cowboy’s drumming, bass and mastery of various vocal styles is far superior. Julien Truchan of Benighted is a pretty versatile vocalist to be fair but in the context of Benighted, his potential is lost amidst mundane, predictable deathcore. The experimental introduction of industrial metal was not a wise direction either in my opinion. The most brutal track is ‘Les Morsures du Cerbère;’ the only track on the album with French lyrics, acting as a sad reminder of this bands origins, France. An association I’d like to forget, since I like to think of the French metal scene as towering above this standard.
The title track, generally, should be the pinnacle of an album. One the entire band can back, that will sell them albums and shake the earth so to speak. ‘Carnivore Sublime’ probably does have the most mainstream composition on the album, which without the vocals, at times, could easily be a tribal influenced club hit. However, it is no where near the best (if I can even use that word in this review without gagging) track on the “Carnivore Sublime.”
I relinquish the efforts of waisting my breath on this album any further and my guess is, if you liked it, you’ve abandoned this review for a more favourable one long ago. Somehow Benighted have 7 albums under their belts so there must be fans out there somewhere. I just can’t call myself one of them.
