Category Archives: Album Reviews

Despised Icon – Beast

Posted on by

Despised Icon – Beast album cover ghostcultmag

So it’s 2016 and we have a new album, Beast (Nuclear Blast), from Despised Icon. Yeah, the same Despised Icon that called it a career in 2010 as its members chose to focus on simple family life. The Despised Icon whose music had all the subtlety of a reciprocating saw.

I guess the question is why now? Well, what better place than here, what better time than now? Considering that their last album, 2009s concussive Day of Mourning (Century Media), landed them at number 162 on the Billboard Top 200, they may have called it curtains too soon. Proof? Quite a few “deathcore” acts shamelessly ape Despised Icon and fellow Montrealers Beneath the Massacre’s sonic brew in the years that followed and regularly find themselves debuting in the Top 40.

The better question is, has the passage of time dulled Despised Icon’s edge? Hell no. The Quebec septet are still stitching together bruising hardcore and rapid death riffs and tempos. So much so that about two minutes into Beast there is a clear/brazen callback to 2007s The Ills of Modern Man. The patented Steve Marois lock-stepped pig squeals that are oft-imitated but never matched? Just crank ‘Bad Vibes’ and ‘Time Bomb’ until your heart stops. What about breakdowns? This album is basically a buy one get one free kind of deal with those. ‘Grind Forever’ has a breakdown wider than Texas.

This is a Despised Icon album, through and through. It’s almost like it warrants two ratings. Dyed in the wool Despised fans will love this shit. Those unfamiliar with this noisy and relentless affair? Well, that could be a hard sell. However there are the briefest glimpses of experimentation. ‘Drapeau Noir’ has a name like a cheap boxed wine, but is death metal of the highest excellence, not unlike what you’ll find on a Black Dahlia Murder album. Complete with a fret-burning solo and all the fixings. And I’m usually not a fan of these things, but the two interludes, particularly ‘Doomed’ are used tastefully.

So you could say that the uncrowned kings of deathcore are finally ready to assume the throne.

8.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ

[amazon asin=B01FNRH9YY&template=iframe image1]

 


Inter Arma -Paradise Gallows

Posted on by

Inter Arma -album cover Paradise Gallows ghostcultmag

 

It’s possible to believe that the boys of Virginian powerhouse Inter Arma gave themselves an impossible mountain to climb, given the superlative-exhausting greatness of 2014’s single-track opus The Cavern (Relapse Records). The hubbub generated in anticipation of new album Paradise Gallows (Relapse Records) shows the rapidly gained reputation the band’s output has gathered, and it’s an excitement that proves well-founded.

From the mournful acoustic beauty of opener ‘Nomini’, expanding to some incredibly affecting dual lead soloing which reappears alongside heartbreaking piano to devastating effect in the molten melodies of ‘Potomac’, it’s obvious that the unit’s collective desire to elicit emotion with powerful statements is still impossible to contain. TJ Childers’ gargantuan drumming is also to the fore and it is this, combined with growling riffs and Mike Paparo’s spacey, resonant roars, that governs the monstrous first shot in earnest ‘An Archer in the Emptiness’.

The echoing might carry into the following ‘Transfiguration’ and the chaotic, punishing Prog of the aptly named ‘Violent Constellations’: the quickened passages still implosive, the coruscating roars rebounding across the ages. Indeed, it seems the band now has more in common with the so-called ‘Caveman Doom’ of Conan than their Blackened roots, yet there’s a sense of grandeur and invention that the Liverpudlians can only dream of; a storytelling wonder which makes its lengthy tracks breeze by. The opening riffs of the future classic ‘Primordial Wound’, staccato yet oscillating and crushing, create a wall of sound, whilst Paparo’s fearful chants dwarf those of Charlton Heston’s Moses, hollering from atop Mount Sinai. ‘The Summer Drones’, meanwhile, still trampled by the footsteps of a colossus, sees a Jim Morrison-esque clean vocal soar through the skies on the back of monolithic, pregnant rhythms which grow with a fulminating tension, the middle section a dream of rampant Doors-like atmospheres yet crashing with the brutal euphoria of the Gods at war.

The title track begins with lazy Lounge airs, the undeniably sinister feel coated in a relaxed warmth. So the explosion is unexpected when it should be anything but, whilst still retaining torch-song sensibilities and more of that exquisite, Floydesque solo work easing the path of the pummeling body. Closer ‘Where the Earth Meets the Sky’ returns to the ethereal yet powerful beauty, a tragic Country lament given magnificence by echoing harmonies and that mesmerising strength, here sparing yet marvellously effective.

It’s evident that The Cavern set the template for Inter Arma’s future. Their Black elements almost gone, save the frequent obsidian rasps, the band nevertheless stand apart in making such epic-sounding, ferocious yet moving music; in turn reaffirming their status as one of the Metal scene’s most important outfits. That impossible mountain? Scaled, and some.

9.0/10.0

PAUL QUINN


Monoliths – Monoliths

Posted on by

Monoliths - Monoliths dry cough records ghostcultmag

 

This torturously heavy UK trio Monoliths is so recently formed that I couldn’t dig up anything on them for weeks. Knowing that it was comprised of members from Bismuth, Moloch and Ommadon, however, enlightened me to my fate for the following half-hour.

Getting crushed by a Fuck-off monster of a traction engine. If our US cousins aren’t too sure what one of those is…well, it’s not an easy way to go. The first of two colossal tracks on début Monoliths (Dry Cough Records /Crown & Throne Ltd.), ‘Perpetual Motion’, begins and ends with a disturbing fuzz that leaves you in no doubt what’s coming and, in closing, what has just been. Tanya Byrne’s swerving bass thrum knocks you off your feet but, as the track ebbs and flows, nuances appear as mini-crescendos swirling around the mind. David Tobin’s solo breaks the Om-esque hypnosis which the terrifying riff and Henry Davies’ wondrously tempered drums hammer through the solar plexus, hardly breaking the lumbering pace yet bewitching the senses with its pulverising might. I’m not usually one for instrumentals but this carries me to far-off lands on the back of a yeti.

The monumental, everlasting pummel of ‘The Omnipresence of Emptiness’ takes a short while to move through the volume, and to that familiar bass bellow. Yet when the whole thing crashes together it is a life-ending implosion, carrying depth and weight suitable for the occasion. Missing the latent groove of its forefather, subsequently this is the harder track with which to find an immediate affinity until the most unnerving, horrifying roar introduces a shattering solo. It’s here where one realises the flattening power of the drums, while the other ingredients of this plundering sortie become so unfathomably heavy I completely lost where I was, bemused by the sheer weight yet moved by a scintilla of emotion.

Look, this is no epiphany. It is, however, a near-perfect slab of evil Doom and an excuse for lovers of this stuff to completely lose their shit. In making something usually so monotonous and pulverising sound immediate, occasionally moving, and unmissable, Monoliths prove themselves an essential addition to the Low-end canon.

8.5/10.0

PAUL QUINN


VIII – Decathexis

Posted on by

VIII - Decathexis thirdeyerex ghostcultmag

The PR notes accompanying Decathexis (Third-I Rex), the second album from Cagliari firebrands VIII, advise comparisons with Extreme experimentalists Deathspell Omega and Manes. The reality, however, is a progressive aural violence full of invention.

Opener ‘Symptom’s early exchanges see a stripped down, Blackened underpin, quirky in its structure and graced by WLKN’s snarled growl, suddenly tempered by maudlin drops which lend themselves to a Shoegaze feel. That Manes comparison manifests itself with a Jazzy sax, which introduces a dream-like sequence: a piano-led ambience; a street walk followed by a nightmarish descent through rapid atonal chords, Freeform pace changes and hostile growls, with those ivories beginning the road to a sample-laden coda in hair-raising fashion.

The early stages of the ensuing ‘Diagnosis’ beautifully blend an emotional, atmospheric Doom with more of that wistful saxophone and the kind of Deathly, downward spirals perfected by the likes of Pyrrhon. A meander through eerie gentleness is followed by a rampant, horrific explosion, the throat morphing from growl to Blackened rasp in a terrifying escalation of anger. This is the depiction of a war zone yet, replete with a subtle piano centrepiece, the apocalyptic, heartbreaking aftermath of battle is gloriously displayed also.

There’s a Blues-Punk edge to the bludgeon of closer ‘Prognosis’ which lends a more traditional edge but the experimentation is still evident: the sparing, neurotic riffs given a tremolo effect; the atmospheric blast of classical acoustic; the brief, gradual drop once again full of melancholy and portent. It’s WLKN’s voice which again provides the savagery, especially in the tolling, Avant-garde atonality of the second movement: his screams and whispers demonical in accompanying the hydraulic Industria and Marco Porcu’s staggering stickwork.

This constant movement through disparate fundamentals can lead to ‘Prognosis’ occasionally feeling a touch difficult to engage with, its cosmic yet serene finale an ineffectual end to the urgency of the previous 45 minutes. The whole is nevertheless an absorbing tour de force, its manic nature running in perfect tandem with a moving ambience to incite all manner of emotion. By no means an easy listen, Decathexis is nevertheless a hugely rewarding journey.

8.0/10.0

PAUL QUINN


Hellyeah – Unden!able

Posted on by

 

Hellyeah Undeniable album cover ghostcultmag

Once again Hellyeah has proven why they are dubbed with the name “supergroup”. This all American heavy metal band consists of many of the biggest names of metal to date. Including vocalist Chad Gray of Mudvayne, former guitarist Tom Maxwell of Nothingface, bass player Kyle Sanders (Bloodsimple/Monstro), guitarist Christian Brady, and former Pantera drumming legend Vinnie Paul. Release their fifth album since their debut in 2007, entitled Unden!able (Eleven Seven Music).

This in your face power house of an album will get your body begging for the pit. From beginning to end the album shows the raw talent of the five member team. Fast paced riffs, wicked blastbeats, brutal break downs, and demonic vocals, this thirteen track album reminds us of what it means to be “Born and Breed a metalhead”.

The album opens up with ‘!’. This powerful intro begins raising the intensity inside your body until you are slapped in the face by track 2 ‘X’. This track is full of a strong lyrical rhythm accompanied with powerful double bass, strong break downs, and mind shredding riffs. Then it leads my personal favorite song on the album track 3 ‘Scratch a lie’. Chad Grey brings those blood chilling screeches, and fast paced lyrics that made him the monster he is today. This song will make you want start a mosh pit at your family reunion. The fourth track ‘Be Undin!able’ is what I like to call the anthem song. Most albums have them. It is the song where it seems to bring the crowd together, though heavy and still has the possibility to knock your teeth out, it’s a song with a positive message and encourages us to stand together as one.

Next song ‘Human’ was the first single off the album. This song gave you the sneak peek of this monstrous album. Though not as heavy as the rest, it still gives you the adrenaline pumping, head banging feeling the rest of the album gives you. The album slows down a bit with the next couple tracks. Though still pure metal, it is just not as in your face as the beginning half. ‘Leap of Faith’, ‘Blood Plague’, the Phil Collins cover of “I Don’t Care Anymore” and ‘Live or Die’ bring you back to the typical Hellyeah style, the heavy metal outlaw, showing a little bit of that southern side of metal. ‘I Don’t Care Any More’ features some leads courtesy of Vinnie Paul’s brother, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, making an appearance via tapes from beyond the grave.

Then there is the track ‘Love Falls’. A melodic ballad that pulls at the heart-strings. Chads’ lyrics transport you to a heartbreak we have all received before, showing his embarrassment and humanity. It’s a refreshing song in the midst of such chaos and brutality. Then the sirens fill your ears. A short intro ’10-34′ that leads into a riot, ‘STARTARIOT’. This song alone makes me want to bleed in a pit. The impact of the drums, the lyrics, guitar, amazing bass riffs, all of it. It’s the perfect storm for a circle pit. Lastly, ‘Grave’. The last song of the album. Just as strong and in your face but has a nice fade out giving you a sense of rejuvenation. Like you just won a war. All and all this album is strong, fast, brutal, and most importantly, HEAVY!

In closing. This album is a must have for any metal fan. It shows the roots and development of our beloved genre. Combining southern and heavy metal together into a sweet harmony of chaos. I recommend this album to anyone and it will be in my playlist for a while. Did they make a great album. I say Hellyeah.

8.0/10

TIM STEBBINS

[amazon asin=B01DVJSX7S&template=iframe image1]


The Jelly Jam – Profit

Posted on by

The Jelly Jam profit ghostcultmag

With the likes of Dream Theater’s John Myung and Ty Tabor of King’s X in their ranks (alongside Winger’s Rod Morgenstien), one would expect The Jelly Jam to be an ambitious and challenging progressive band, with a wide range of influences in their arsenal. In contrast, over their lifespan, their sound has been a much more direct, song based affair; and latest album Profit (Mascot).

With a plethora of ambitious works and journeys under their belt, Profit still shows them flexing their impressive creative muscles and offering virtuoso performances, but in a more refined and concise manner. This is more straight-forward grunge infused rock with some shades of AOR and the like, for a more gritty but no less immediate hard rock sound. Album opener ‘Care’ is a particularly heavier moment to kick of proceedings and provides an immediately anthemic chorus, preceding the softer, acoustic ‘Stain On The Sun’, before picking pace again.

Herein lies the album’s problem, of an undefined sound which seems to try and encompass too many tones and paces without flowing all too well. Immediately following one of the album’s heavier points with a complete contrast proves somewhat jarring in a manner such rock shouldn’t do. Fortunately the strength of the songs alone, whilst not groundbreaking by any stretch, do hold up strong enough to return to on numerous occasions.

Those unfamiliar with the band before hand may have expected wildly different when noting the personnel involved, but The Jelly Jam are a chance to prove that these guys are not just one trick ponies and can do short, sharp and catchy just as well as sprawling, complex epics. It does still need some refining in their sound to feel truly wholesome; but they have certainly succeeded in making a straight forward, fun album; and that is most definitely the mission.

6.0/10

CHRIS TIPPELL

[amazon asin=B01D0RKCOS&template=iframe image1]


Arche -Undercurrents

Posted on by

 

Arche -Undercurrents thrid i rex ghostcultmag

Finnish Doom has a habit of eliciting serious emotion, whether it be down to the plaintive melodies and atmospheres or the downright trudging pace. Arche have all of these characteristics in spades and, on this label reissue of their début EP Undercurrents (Third-I Rex), their heartbreaking Funeral dirge is presented to devastating effect.

Occasionally implosive, often brittle, the guitar work of opener ‘Plains of Lethe’ has acoustic and melancholic moments, the lead melodies slow, meaningful and occasionally evoking the wistful pattern of Swallow The Sun and Saturnus. The only voice here, however, is that of Profetus guitarist Eppe Kuismin, and it begins as a barely audible, whispered growl before its guttural roar introduces the final third in terrifying, solitary fashion. It’s here that the crushing weight of huge yet emotive riffs add a mighty chapter, despite the billowing atmospherics and subtle yet striking keys.

Those airs swirl around the depressive tumult of ‘Funereal Folds’, again graced by titanic riffs and reaching the edge of crescendo when that agonised, expiring roar enters the fray, yet retaining its stirring power with deliberate leadwork and wonderfully dictatorial drums. At times the monster rests, Bell Witch-like, appearing shattered and spent in its fight against fate yet unwilling to cede quietly, its power still resonating in the fulminating roar and beautiful chords. The drop to the coda is devastating, the acoustic tones tearing every heartstring asunder, and sparse yet hulking bass kicks reinforcing that Bell Witch comparison.

Quite simply this is a beautiful, staggering piece of work. Some feel that the mewling of pained leadwork has no place in a genre where to crush uncompromisingly is the aim; and in some acts it can often lose meaning. Arche, however, hit near alchemy and this morose, gorgeous, lonely behemoth deserves serious attention this time around.

8.5/10.0

PAUL QUINN


Whitechapel – Mark of the Blade

Posted on by

Whitechapel – Mark of the Blade ghostcultmag

Seeing that it is 2016, and it has been two years since Our Endless War, it seems that we are due for another studio album from Knoxville’s pride and joy, Whitechapel. And right on cue here it is in the form of Mark of the Blade (Metal Blade).

Young bands could stand to learn from that work ethic as it netted Whitechapel a Billboard Top 10 spot for Our Endless War. That’s a pretty awesome feat for a Metal Blade artist. If memory serves me right, the last time someone on that stable landed on such a lofty chart spot was As I Lay Dying. Yeah, that one didn’t end well.

Will Mark of the Blade spring the trick again? Yeah, probably. After all this is the album that’s been making headlines on metal news sites for containing clean vocals (‘Bring me Home,’ ‘Decennium’) and taking aim at elitists (uh, ‘Elitist Ones’).

Plus it follows the same game plan as Our Endless War and the self-titled before it. What’s that said game plan? It’s less deathcore or death metal and quickly making itself comfortable in the real estate that housed Devildriver for so long; “groove metal”. Who came up with that moniker? Hell, if I fucking know, but it’s certainly proved itself popular. To me it loosely translates to some kind of mutant post-thrash metal. I guess it became vogue in the aftermath of Pantera. If it truly is a subgenre, then its best albums are Burn My Eyes, Chaos A.D., and Wolverine Blues.

whitechapel band 2016

But you know what the funny part is? The best moments here are the non-groove bits. That’s not discounting tracks like ‘Dwell in the Shadows,’ ‘Venomous’ and the aptly titled ‘Tremors’ which will fit nicely along Whitechapel live staples like ‘The Saw is the Law.’ But what’s most impressive is that the clean vocals, albeit sparse, truly work. It’s not unlike in Lamb of God’s melodic turn in ‘Overlord.’ And the fact that they were feeling ballsy enough to try an instrumental in ‘Brotherhood’ that has some ‘The Call of Ktulu’ leanings to it.

So, it’s another solid release from Whitechapel, who will likely continue to forge onwards to decent sales and many a Summer tour. Groove metal be damned, there are plenty of cool moments here. I mean, I could do without ‘Mark of the Blade’ and ‘Elitist Ones,’ but there’s more than enough to make for those missteps. Now excuse me, I have to find more subgenres to dislike.

7.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ

 

[amazon asin=B01ES3PF90&template=iframe image1]


SUMAC – What One Becomes

Posted on by

SUMAC - What One Becomes album cover ghostcultmag

With the formation of SUMAC back in 2014 featuring Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom), Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) and Brian Cook (Russian Circles, These Arms Are Snakes) and the release of their début album, The Deal, shortly afterwards, the metal community was taken back by the sheer exponential experimentation that was introduced on this project. And let’s just say that they left quite a raw post-metal-ish impression. Nevermind that the expectations were already set pretty high with such an all-star line-up, but what is more stunning is that they met them effortlessly with The Deal, showing the machinic beauty in minimalistic chaos.

Now one can only wonder what to expect from SUMAC’s sophomore release, What One Becomes, having newly signed to Thrill Jockey Records. How are they going to show progress after such a smashing début? Well, they sure as hell did something because the bar has officially been set higher for all bands in the cold metal game. This 5-track LP is a masterpiece of mechanical pandemonium and order, props to Kurt Ballou (Converge) for mixing. All tracks clock in a minimum of 10 minutes, with the longest one, ‘Blackout’, being a 17-minute journey. One of the aspects of this record that stand out the most from the previous is that on the balance scale of control and chaos… a tad more weight was placed on control although chaos still has more emphasis.

The first stand-out track, ‘Image of Control’, pushes out an interpretation of what it feels to be in constant battle with an anxiety-ridden mind. It begins its manifestation with confused out-of-key guitar distortion and cavernous vocals. But as the clouds of confusion begin to break, the lone guitar signifies the deep breathe of relief to finally gain order in the midst of it all. And so begins the heavy monologue of awkwardly orchestrated harmony between the zombie guitar/bass riffs and marching drums. To the untrained ear, it may sound like just noise. But with each additional listen, one will realize the strong musicianship and technical skills needed to create this amazing sound.

Another stand-out track is, without a doubt, ‘Clutch of Oblivion’. It starts off with a somber annunciated guitar riff which leads into a slow progressive groove that can easily give you an Isis flashback. But SUMAC is a lot dirtier sounding and experimental, which is one of the greatest differentiations from the band members’ past projects in general. Nevertheless, the track suddenly shifts from that familiarity to this wall of epic sound, bringing the listener back down to harsh cold earth. The technicality is most notable on this track because the time signatures throughout this entire track (and every track for that matter) are so strange and unpredictable that it leaves you intrigued.

With the magnitude of progressive and experimental metal available for your listening pleasure, you can often find yourself knowing what’s coming next whether it be a down tempo breakdown, extended distortion or ambience. But with SUMAC, you truly cannot see what’s coming. Every track on the album leaves an everlasting feeling and one can easily find themselves circling back through the entire album without hesitation. This solid body of work is truly a highlight of 2016 metal releases thus far and will surely be on plenty of end-of-the-year lists.

9.5/10


EBONIE BUTLER

 

[amazon asin=B00UUUPMT4&template=iframe image1]


Thrawsunblat – Metachthonia

Posted on by

Thrawsunblat – Metachthonia album cover ghostcultmag

Thrawsunblat initially started as a side-project of Wood of Ypres members Joel Violette and later, David Gold. Thrawsunblat became the Joel Violette’s main project since the passing of Gold and the end of Woods. Sadly, until being asked to review this I’d not heard anything by them, something which was rectified very quickly after hearing this.

Metachthonia (Ignifera Records/Broken Limbs) is their latest album and is released on Ignifera records. The title Metachthonia is Greek for “the age after that of the earth” and this concept album addresses that which we are yearning for and has been taken away in the modern world. Describing the style of the new album as ‘folkened black metal’ the anticipation is that Metachthonia shifts from their folk sound to a much blacker sound.

Opening track ‘Fires that Light the Earth’ begins sombrely with cello courtesy of Raphael Weinroth-Browne, before being joined by the guitar and drums which begin a short-lived lament but then branches into blackened blasting drums from Rae Amitay (Immortal Bird) and the bass of Brendan Hayter (Obsidian Tongue) and the tone for the album is set, and it is considerably blacker.

The folk elements and blackened parts juxtapose well, and give a better balance to their sound than before: emphasised by an ebb and flow to the track. The more subdued folk elements provide beauty and the enhanced blackened elements combining with excellent production which gives it an immediacy and a very satisfying sound.

Whilst very much a different band from Woods of Ypres, their enhanced blackened style creates sections where the similarities in tonality and pacing are very difficult to ignore. This can mean that if already familiar with woods it can take a few listens before appreciating Thrawsunblat in their own right. Those few listens however, are truly worth it as this album is incredibly well-crafted and a wonderful listen.

They display a much more palpable sense of optimism and rebirth in their work, which is further emphasised by the organic feel of the folk elements woven throughout. A yearning to what has been lost in the modern era and the desire for its return. The feeling being similar to seeing nature reclaiming abandoned places, that sense that no matter what the natural world can and will survive humans be damned.

Ultimately, Metachthonia is a fantastic album from opener ‘Fires that Light the Earth’ right up until the phenomenal final track ‘In Mist We Walk’, highly recommended!

8.5/10

RICH PRICE