Yeah, you can score one more for the good guys up here representing extreme metal in New England. Massachusetts more specifically. And that’s not against our friends in New Hampshire, Vermont, or Rhode Island as they are also vital components of the scene, but Massachusetts just hits a little differently.Continue reading
Tag Archives: New England
ALBUM REVIEW – The Acacia Strain – Slow Decay – Rise Records
The Acacia Strain is back with a new album, Slow Decay (Rise Records), are as pissed as ever despite their last LP being released (checks notes) just last Winter? If memory serves, It Comes in Waves dropped rather surprisingly at the end of December. Okay then, on to Slow Decay. Hold up, most of these songs have already been released in the form of singles throughout the year.
Falls of Rauros – Patterns in Mythology
Not sure what seems to be reverberating in the extreme music world, but it seems like the hills are alive with the sound pf atmospheric Black Metal these days. Just speaking out of personal experience this is my third week of being charged with reviewing an artsy and multi-dimensional take of the tried and tested subgenre. This time around it’s Falls of Rauros with their new album Patterns in Mythology (Gilead Media).Continue reading
Replacire – Do Not Deviate
New England continues to thrive off of its growing local Heavy Metal scene with slews of quality bands forming over the years and taking the small club venues by storm. Replacire is one of those bands and have released their sophomore album in Do Not Deviate (Season of Mist). This record puts together both sides of the Death Metal spectrum where the overall sound can be heavy and aggressive but then switch it upContinue reading
Kind – Rocket Science
There’s decent pedigree within the ranks of New England quartet Kind, and the filthy, leaden groove attacking the knees from the beginning of debut album Rocket Science (Ripple) bears that out. Yes, it’s Stoner but, initially at least, there’s more life in the plunking of the bass, the reverb of the whole sound and Craig Riggs’ vocal roar which, far from the emphysemic gargle usually expected, has a depth and resonance befitting the growling riffs and sedentary pace.
An atmospheric production further lifts the sound throughout, giving the lazy Blues-Rock of ‘Rabbit Astronaut’ a mystique which enhances both the smokiness of the riff and the frenetic lead. The tempo of ‘Fast Number One’ is aptly ramped up to near-NWOBHM, levels yet Tom Corino’s mellow bass notes and the subtle riff allow the track to breathe through Matthew Couto’s precise stickwork. Riggs’ delivery is a little ‘pubby’, however, manfully handling some pretty clunky lyrics.
Not unexpectedly there is a stodginess to certain elements. It takes a gradual quickening and more of Darryl Shepard’s howling leadplay to inject life into the somewhat dull and uninspired meanderings of the overlong ‘Hordeolum’: the powering riff and Psychedelic vocal gracing the last quarter showing what might have been. The grinding, dirty Funk of ‘Pastrami Blaster’, meanwhile, is reined by a sluggish torpor which prevents that hot undercurrent from exploding; again only fired to partial grandeur by more electrifying work from Shepard. When things do fire, however, they are both potent and infectious; the nasty, driving power of the standout ‘Grogan’ again given room to flex by a strong yet dextrous riff.
The fuzzed, mellow tones of closer ‘The Angry Undertaker’ are slightly affected by Riggs’ balladic croon which, although wondrous by the genre’s standards, still shows limits on occasion. It’s here, however, where the creativity and fire in the belly is really displayed – the brutal, barrelling riffs and subsequent screams duelling with steadily building and intricate, cosmic leads – and where the uncertainty of Kind’s goodie bag is finally dispelled. Despite brief flashes of the usual failings there is much to be positive about here.
7.0/10
PAUL QUINN
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