Category Archives: Album Reviews

Anti-Mortem – New Southern

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It has been 20 years since Corrosion of Conformity’s Deliverance and Pride and Glory’s self-titled established the first real successful integration of the sounds and styles of mainstream Southern American music and metal. New Southern (Nuclear Blast), the first offering from Oklahoman Young Guns Anti-Mortem, takes its roots in the guitar heavy Southern leanings of both, while also calling to mind Alter Bridge, SOiL, Shinedown at their heavier moments, NOLA era Down and Black Stone Cherry (before they started blaming everything on the Boom Boom).

 

If the lyrics are at times juvenile (‘I Get Along With The Devil’ and its multiple motherfuckers) Anti-Mortem (average age of 21) can be forgiven youthful exuberance. If at times they sway into stock Southern Metal territory, they can also be forgiven for allowing themselves to be over-polished by a big album producer, Bob Marlette (Shinedown, Seether) and playing it safe on their first album. To their credit, the metal edge shines through, and Anti-Mortem avoid any temptations for hokey acoustic campfire radio-friendly unit shifters, keeping the guitars to the fore all through the 12 tracks that make up their debut.

‘Words of Wisdom’ is an opening statement of intent, big guitars leading the way before impressive vocalist Lorado Romo takes over. In an era when great rock singers are a conspicuous by their absence, this kid has the pipes and personality to propel the band to great heights, and a couple of songs later with ‘100% Pure American Rage’ and ‘Hate Automatic’ Anti-Mortem really hit their groove, all sizzling riffs and powerful choruses. Other highlights include the rocking ‘Ride Of Your Life’ with a down-tuned stomp kick start that picks up pace, lead-off single ‘Stagnant Water’, a heavier, dirtier Black Stone Cherry, and personal favourite the Down meets Lynyrd Skynyrd ‘Jonesboro’, that tells the story of guitarist Zain Smith’s old man blustering his way out of trouble while hitch-hiking back to Oklahoma from Arkansas.

 

New Southern doesn’t redefine metal, but it could go a long way to setting Anti-Mortem, safely under the wing of kingmaker Monte Connor, on the path to great things. Promising.

 

7 / 10

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STEVE TOVEY

 

 


I Am Heresy – Thy Will

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i am heresy thy will album cover

 

The term metalcore has been bastardized beyond the days when it applied to bands like Stampin’ Ground, who espoused the virtues of hardcore with a huge metal bent to now mean any band that combines shouting verses with clean choruses and/or with widdly leads (to show their love of metulz) and breakdowns (to be down wiv da kidz) as interchangeable as the slew of bands that play them. I Am Heresy, the brainchild of vocalist Nathan Gray (Boysetsfire) and featuring his son Simon Gray on guitars, belong in both camps: that which “metalcore” used to encompass, and parts of what it does now, equal parts metal, hardcore and a mix of melody and aggression and sound like what I always wanted Architects to sound like, but is the better for the fact that Architects don’t actually sound like this.

Thy Will (Century Media) kicks off with punchy and violent ‘Rahabh’, 3 minutes of what Slayer should have sounded like on Undisputed Attitude, before ‘Our Father’ punks out open chords in a Bring Me The Horizon fashion, moving into the more melodic ‘March Of Black Earth’ where Gray Sr opens up his clean vocals for the first time. ‘Destruction Anthems’ returns to the temple of Slayer, all Seasons In The Abyss being covered by Sick Of It All, ‘Thy Will II (Black Sun Omega)’ is a mix of As I Lay Dying and Killswitch Engage and tasteful mid-album break ‘Alarm’ would sit beautifully on an Ancient VVisdom release.

But at 13 tracks, they spread themselves too thinly with too many fillers for one record and their potential and sound isn’t fully realized throughout (for example ‘Blasphemy Incarnate’ is stock, ‘As We Break’ is all chorus and no song, the riffs of ‘Hinnom II’ close in on Avenged Sevenfold territory and serves as a weak closer). But make no bones, when this melodic metal/hardcore mesh works, it shows I Am Heresy are capable of creating some engaging music, at times aggressive, at others catchy and often both, with personal favourite ‘Seven Wolves And The Daughters of Apocalypse’ a nice summary of the whole.

 

7.5/10

I Am Heresy on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY

 


IKILLYA – Vae Victis

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  IKILLYA-Vae-Victis

 

Considered by many to be “New York’s answer to Lamb of God,” IKILLYA is back and better than ever with their sophomore full length entitled Vae Victis (Megaforce). As good as Recon (the debut full-length release of IKILLYA) was, Vae Victis has been able to improve the foundation already laid by its predecessor, but also experiment into new grounds. This album clocks in at just about 36 and a half minutes with 9 tracks that will leave you begging for more! Vae Victis has a characteristic that is so far and few between with metal and hardcore albums nowadays, and that is the ability to listen to it, front to back, and be pleased by every song. In fact, every since I got my dirty hands all over this album, I have not gone more than a day or two without a solid listen to the whole album!

It’s hard to really breakdown which songs were my favorite especially where every song brings its own feel, groove, and energy to the listener while staying fresh throughout all 9 tracks. Fortunately, I enjoy a challenge, so l would like to start off with the first track, the title track, ‘Vae Victis’. Wasting no time destroying your hearing as a quick drum fill opens up the album, and vocalist Jason Lekberg, immediately follows. This track was one of the more groovy tracks that you can’t help but keep head banging to. Just for those who did not study Latin back in school, how I envy you, Vae Victis is translated literally to “woe to the conquered.” As good as all the tracks are on this album, the guys in IKILLYA did a great job ensuring that the most in your face song was going to jumpstart the album. Another great tune I will admittedly enjoy yelling the lyrics to out the window on a nice day is the fourth track, ‘Jekyll Better Hyde’. Not only is this song title brilliantly worded, but the chorus tends to get stuck in my head throughout the long day. Jason’s vocals continue to grow on this album and this track proves it without a doubt. The outro of the song features a pretty sweet breakdown (don’t worry, IKILLYA did not become a deathcore band 4 songs in) with hair raising gang vocals, one of my favorite aspects adopted from the hardcore genre. One last song that really stands out for me is ‘Mission to Mars’, the seventh track. This track features a handful of bass breaks that will make just about any subwoofer go to its knees. I also was treated to more gang vocals during the chorus. The guitars also continue their very catchy riffs into ‘Mission to Mars’, but even a killer solo finds a nice spot towards the end of the song before the final reprise of the chorus.

As I mentioned prior, this album is great listen from the first snare hit to the final second of the last track, ‘Last Breath’ (which may I say, dips a bit into the good aspects of metalcore during the chorus). IKILLYA has yet again, impressed me with the few tracks they do release, yet keep me itching for more for the second album in a row. As for the Lamb of God reference, quite honestly, I really cannot find any other words to better explain it. This is only the beginning for these New Yorkers and I am happy to see them continue climbing the ladder to bigger and better things. However, I still have not witnessed these guys live yet, and this needs to change!

 

9/10

IKILLYA on Facebook

 

TIM LEDIN

 


Dornenreich – Freiheit

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Dornenreich-Freiheit

 

For those people who have never ventured into the discography of Dornenreich before, their albums may come as a surprise to the uneducated ear. Unlike the standard distorted guitars that fill the space of most metal songs, Dornenreich have chosen with Freiheit (Prophecy Promotions) to center round an acoustic topped with long passages teased out on violin. For a band that have forged a career walking so readily on the fringes of metal, this album is perhaps the most distinct departure from anything that really resembles a traditional metal sound. With only one flurry of aggression in ‘Das Licht vertraut der Nacht’, the album keeps a steady pace, focusing instead on including a myriad of folk influences.

 

Even so, Freiheit does not welcome the listener in easily, the songs draw you in layers of atmosphere but can often seem disjointed and patched together. This album walks the delicate balance between moments of beauty and extreme indecision with melodies punctuated by unexpected moments of silence. It doesn’t quite contain the refinement that bands like Alcest manage, but there is no denying the sheer intensity and emotional energy behind these tracks. Although the musical path may not always be easy to follow this album is more than worth the work for anyone willing to give it a chance.

 

The past eighteen years may have been nothing short of prolific, but it seems that this will be the last album we see from Dornenreich for some time, with Eviga announcing that their eight-studio album is the end of a journey for the band with no real idea whether they will return. One thing seems certain though, if they do, they are unlikely to be the same beast that departed here.

Dornenreich band

 

7/10

 

Dornenreich on Facebook

 

CAITLIN SMITH

 


Sabaton – Heroes

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Over the top (in both senses of the term) and once more into the breach, Sabaton unleash their seventh war-themed opus Heroes (Nuclear Blast), another slab of bombastic power metal.

After the unbridled success of 2012’s Carolus Rex, Sabaton find themselves in a new position, feeling the pressure of following up a massive album, not only their career-best but a genuine genre-classic, and with an all new lineup; only band leaders vocalist Joachim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström remain. When faced with following up truly great albums, many bands choose to tinker with their approach (think Slayer on South Of Heaven). Sabaton have puffed up their chests and roared “More of the same!”

Fans of the Swedish machine will not be disappointed. Choosing to focus on different heroes of war scenarios, each song has its own tale to tell. ‘Soldier of 3 Armies’, a standout, pounding, pacy track tells of Lauri Törni, soldier of the Finnish army, the SS and the US army; ‘No Bullets Fly’ recounts the Charlie Brown/Franz Stigler incident to a soundtrack that kicks off with a classic Judas Priest riff before strafing into a huge chorus enhanced by Peter Tägtgren’sslick, dynamic production; ‘Resist And Bite’ calls to mind AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ while celebrating Belgian resistance to overwhelming odds; ‘The Ballad Of Bull’ is epic and choral, reminiscent of Manowar’s ‘Crown And The Ring’, honouring Leslie “Bull” Allen who single-handedly saved 12 wounded comrades; ‘To Hell And Back’, with a distracting and odd Wild-Western whistle, fetes Audie Murphy; while ‘Inmate 4859’ is a fitting epic in the vein of ‘The Caroleans Prayer’, paying tribute to Witold Pilecki, who volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz as part of an undercover mission.

Such stories are fittingly backed by the trademark Sabaton sound; powerful, everything louder than everything else with lashings of Ride-of-The-Valkryian drama, all topped by Brodén’s distinctive gruff melodies. While Heroes doesn’t quite live up Carolus Rex or The Art Of War, it is still definitely and defiantly Sabaton and will delight those who have already joined the army.

8/10

 

Sabaton on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY

 


Hatriot – Dawn of the New Centurion

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Hatriot album cover

 

Steve “Zetro” Souza is a name tied to the history of the Bay Area Thrash movement. Having been the voice that launched Legacy, and later Testament, Steve is best known from several stints as the front man of Exodus and Tenet. His modern thrash band Hatriot is back with their most fully realized material on Dawn of the New Centurion (Massacre). Armed with a young and hungry band, which includes his sons Cody and Nick as the rhythm section, Zetro sounds as fierce as ever on this album.

 

From the opening track, “My Cold Dead Hands”, you get the idea that Steve is royally pissed off. The band sounds like many in the neo-thrash movement, but obviously have the veteran presence at the helm. After the famous Charlton Heston, pro-NRA sound-byte that opens the album, there is a lot of grandiosity in this track for a thrash song. It will activate the circle pits when they play it live. ‘Your Worst Enemy’ follows next, and you hear Steve at his snarling best. The real weapon of the band is shredder Kosta V., who really lays it down when it comes to his leads. ‘The Fear Within’ is the best track on the album and has an epic feel to it. When the main riffs kick in, you will get goose bumps.

‘SUPERKILLAFRAGSADISTICACTSARESOATROCIOUS’ is a fun song, and I dare you to say that five times fast. The song is heavy as hell, and gives a shout-out to Pussy Riot in the coda. This is not a politically conscious band, just one with a lot of lyrical themes speaking to injustice. ‘Silence In the House of The Lord’ and the power-groove laden title track also stand out. Juan Urtega has produced a lot of the greats of the genre, and like all of his albums these tracks sound very punchy and well balanced too. Maybe the only gripe I have with the album is Steve spends a lot of time growling and I’d like to hear him open up with more melodies next time out. When compared with a lot of the newer thrash bands, Hatriot not only stacks up well, they represent to the fullest.

 

8/10

Hatriot on Facebook

 

KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES


Killer Be Killed – Killer Be Killed

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Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed

 

Collaborating with people and attempting to create something original in music, or any kind of art is always a risky proposition. Much like a relationship you must trust the process and become vulnerable in order to let your guard down and let things happen naturally. Sometimes things have a way of coming together in an unexpected way, and sometimes they go south in a big way. Especially when said collaborators are legendary figures in a scene, expectations tend to run high. We are writing of course about super-groups and really notable ones like Killer Be Killed who just finished their self-titled, debut album for Nuclear Blast. Names that have defined three generations of heavy music fans such as Cavalera, Puciato, Sanders, and Elitch put their stamp on this recording, making a memorable, political flavored, heavy album that certainly lives up to the hype.

 

Holding nothing back right out of the gate, ‘Wings of Feather and Wax’ is blast of super-catchy, melodic post-hardcore. From Max Cavalera’s instantly recognizable gritty guitar tone, to the vocal majesty of Troy Sanders on the verses and Greg Puciato on the choruses, they let you know that this album is going to be special. There is a great breakdown where Max comes in on the vocals and there are a few thrash breakdowns added in. For the most part is sounds pretty smooth and well done. The chorus is almost a little too sugary for my taste, but it gets the job done for a lead off track. The next song ‘Face Down’ is a step up, more metal and pissed off all the way through. It is not unusual to hear Max and Greg switching off lines, but Troy is really the interesting element here. Troy’s voice being so strong, he struck a balance between heaviness and melody that is a great treat. By the time you get to ‘Melting of My Marrow’, you find the real star of the album is Dave Elitch (ex-The Mars Volta) whose power-house drumming and killer grooves makes the tracks jump through your speakers. The best cuts are the groovy ‘Snakes of Jehova’, ‘Save The Robots’, ‘Fire To Your Flag’, ‘I.E.D., ‘Dust Into Darkness’ (the most Dillinger type track), and ‘Twelve Labors’.

 

Many of the songs hold up on repeated listens, while a few are just good, not great. For some, it may take a few listens to really sink in and get a hold of you. This may be since the album was written over a brief period of time without a ton of wood-shedding. It’s raw in a good way, and not all balls out heavy at the time either. Mellow parts, interesting use of vocorders, dynamic shifts, tempo drops all give the album a lot of character. Producer Josh Wilbur’s (Lamb of God, Gojira, Avenged Sevenfold) clean tones definitely are an ear opener too. This album gives a much needed shot in the arm of the current scene, and sounds like nothing else. Here is hoping they get to more music like this in the future.

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8.5/10

 

Killer Be Killed on Facebook

 

Keith (Keefy) Chachkes   


Bast – Spectres

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 Bast-Spectres album cover

 

With a sense of longing Bast’s debut Spectres (Burning World) eases itself into the speakers, as ‘In The Beginning’ whispers a post-Black Metal (minus the shoegaze) prelude to what is to come, a Wolves In The Throne Room vibe permeating the waves of the first 5 minutes, before seguing into a heavier, doomier latter section. Excellently crafted, for an opening track it serves to not only introduce you to the melancholy of the band, but also their versatility and diversity, a bonus in an age of bands defining themselves within and of a singular sub-genre.

‘Denizens’ picks up the doomier mantle, stretching epic darkness reminiscent of Anathema’s Pentecost III that lurches into faster, eloquent post-Black Metal before bringing things back to the Peaceville doom via some tremolo picked guitar. Vocalist Craig Bryant showcases adaptability, gruff in the darker sections, and with a Winterfylleth tone to his black metal throat-rips.

Title-track ‘Spectres’ is up next, with a more traditional, upbeat flavour to its doom-tinged blackened metal, like My Dying Bride playing Darkthrone before hitting an unexpected head-nodding stoner groove. Sprawling closing pair ‘Psychonauts’ and ‘Outside The Circles Of Time’ build with post-Metal excellence, the former creating genuine tension and a feeling of building and foreboding without release, while ‘Outside…’ is a bleak downer that calls to mind Neurosis and with its 11 minute frame stretching, uncoiling, brooding, closes the album as we began, but this time with the gruff vocals juxtaposing with the Deafheaven melodic black metal beauty underneath.

Far from being schizophrenic, despite moving between three distinct genres, the quality of the writing makes this a seamless and thoroughly rewarding listen. For a debut that throws up comparisons to Altar of Plagues and ISIS, and much in between, this is a highly accomplished set of compositions that belies their early stage of development.

Spectres is dissonant, brave and intelligent, displaying a great album dynamic, as Bast take the listener with them through an expertly sound-scaped journey of post-Black Metal, UK doom and out the other side into the cold, harsh world of post-Metal. Continue down this path, and the follow-up should be some album.

 

8.5/10

Bast on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY

 


Kyng – Burn The Serum

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 Kyng Album cover

Los Angeles rock trio Kyng has made waves across the scene with their brand of straight forward, gimmick free, hard rock sound that has been a breath of fresh air within a glut of either retro whatever or (fill in the blank) core music that has a cooler tag than the music they produce.

Burn The Serum (Razor and Tie) are eleven tunes that hit hard upon first listen while maintaining its melodic aspects at the same time. Musically, its mash up of heavy Sabbath-driven riffs with melodies resembling classic Soundgarden and the occasional fast tempo-ed metallic parts, without attempting to nosedive completely towards either a desert rock or grunge direction.

 

Vocalist Ed Veliz’s singing makes the real difference on Burn The Serum, as his vocals work well with their energetic sound. Songs like ‘Big Ugly Me’ and the acoustic song ‘Paper Heart Rose’ showcase a different side of Kyng, with his strong vocal performances blending in well with the music. Plus the fact that they are a trio is even more amazing, as they sound much bigger than what they produced on this record.

 

Working with Reverend Jim Rota (Fireball Ministry) this time around helped elevate their sound from the debut, and sound a lot more mature as well. Songs like ‘Lost One’ and ‘Electric Halo,’ display back to the roots of rock music, without compromising anything along the way.

 

Overall, it isn’t a fluke that Kyng has received all of these high praises from the likes of James Hetfield (Metallica) and Rex Brown (Kill Devil Hill). Burn The Serum is an awesome rock record that is the missing in the void that is the music scene today. It deserves a lot more attention and their luck could soon change.

 Kyng band image

9/10

Kyng on Facebook

REI NISHIMOTO


Wolves Like Us – Black Soul Choir

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Formed from the ashes of various half-remembered rock acts such as Amulet and JR Ewing, Norwegians Wolves Like Us are back with another selection of distinctly mainstream flavoured post-hardcore songs that have more than their fair share of crossover appeal. However, the band haven’t forgotten their roots, meaning second album Black Soul Choir (Prosthetic) attempts to straddle the gap between the underground and the commercial, with a fairly high degree of success.

Structured like a less emotive Thrice with perhaps a smidgen of the burly swagger of Kvelertak, Wolves Like Us have plenty of well-written catchy riffs that tear along nicely but rarely threaten to go all out and bring that cathartic release that many of their contemporaries aim for. That makes the likes of ‘Three Poisons’ an exercise in nearly-thereness; solid, pushes all the right buttons but with a sense that something is just slightly lacking.

However, what the band may lack for in restless energy, they more than make up for in catchy vocal hooks that lend the songs an inherently listenable quality, such as the massive sounding ‘I Don’t Need to be Forgiven.’ This is where the more alt-rock aspects of the band’s sound are pushed to the forefront and you could easily imagine a large festival crowd singing their hearts out to the song. It’s just that nagging feeling that the band are playing it safe in the hope of attracting a wider audience that stifles the enjoyment somewhat, although having said that, the doomy eight minute closer ‘Thanatos Wins Again’ restores hopes that this is a mere learning curve, and that the future’s bright for this pack of wolves. Might be an idea to ditch the Charles Bukowski and Elizabeth Carter lyrical themes though guys.

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6.5/10

Wolves Like Us on Facebook

JAMES CONWAY