Tag Archives: Philip Page

Harlott – Proliferation

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Do you ever have those moods where absolutely, positively nothing else will do but some metal up your ass? Of course you do – you wouldn’t be here otherwise would you? Well next time the calling is upon you, treat your tympanics to a tickle from Proliferation (Metal Blade) by Harlott. It’s the finding of gems like this that make me glad to be a reviewer.

Hailing from the land of shite beer and Bogans where absolutely everything wants to fucking kill you [he means Australia – UK Ed], these boys are clearly patriotic crusaders.

Equal parts Megadeth, Slayer, Annihilator and Darkane, this album is a proper, bruising, neck-destroying slab of old school trad thrash. As such, it can be a little derivative and predictable at times, but it’s all played with so much heart, pace and vigour that you can’t help but love it. Let’s face it – we don’t listen to thrash for odysseys of self-discovery. If you like your thrash, go see them on their tour with Annihilator. The crowd at those shows is going to look like a supercharged wind farm.

And that’s all there is to it really – there’s little point in going though track by track, as I’d be saying the same things about each one: Fast, heavy, tight, meaty, shouty slices of old school thrash excellence.

That said, we all have our favourites, and mine are ‘Proliferation’, ‘Systematic Retribution’ (it kind of reminds me of Mary Beats Jane in places), ‘Restless’, ‘The Fading Light’ (Annihilatortastic), ‘Civil Unrest’ and ‘Legion’ (We Are Harlott!).

This album is designed to turn a crowd into a sweat – and lager – drenched maelstrom of moshing, windmilling, sky punching and burst vocal chords.

In other words, it’s a fackin’ beaut, mate.

Steve Hughes will be proud.

 

8.0/10

 

PHILIP PAGE

 


Alfahanne – Blod Eld Alfa

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The blurb on the label’s website for “Black ‘n’ Roll” outfit Alfahanne says they mix “Black Metal with Classic Rock and Punk” topped off with some “Goth influences”. Well – at least they’re managing expectations.

Whilst broadly true, this mixture fails to produce anything particularly interesting on the band’s latest effort – Blod Eld Alfa (Dark Essence). Weak, repetitive “riffs” coupled with lacklustre production reminiscent of so many mid-90s demo CDs conspire to produce a weak, reedy sound that ultimately fails to evoke any metal claws, banging heads, Sid Vicious sneers or Sisters of Mercy wafts.

The insipidly limp drums sound like a budget drum machine left on repeat, the guitars sound like they’re being played by zombies and the vocals (that seem to be trying to ape one of Dani Filth‘s trademarks for a whole album) sound like they were recorded in Mum’s kitchen.

In a 9-track album of tedium, only 1 song – ‘Skallerormsgift’ – inspires any comment. It’s fairly atmospheric, displaying some Goth chops, a bit of rhythmic variety, shouty vocals that presumably comprise the claim to “Punk” and a pleasant outro that crescendos nicely. Hmmm. That’s not very Black Metal is it?

The band say this music should stop you from feeling pleasure or pain. This leads me to conclude that they set out to record an album of musical anaesthetic. If so, they have excelled themselves.

 

3.5/10  

 

PHILIP PAGE


Tad Morose – St. Demonius

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Can’t stand Symphonic, Power, or Operatic Metal? Do you hate it when a vocalist gets all wobbly-wailey? Do you think that keyboards have no place in “Troo Metulz”? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then walk on swiftly – this album ain’t for you, friend.

If, on the other hand, your strasse is populated by the likes of Symphony X, Kamelot, Helloween, Hammerfall or Firewind and you don’t mind a bit of Children of Bodom (before they turned themselves into a riff recycling plant, obvs) thrown in for effect, then St. Demonius (Despotz) by Tad Morose may well be worth an hour or so of your time.

Personally, I like a little less vibrato in my vocalists, and a bit more variety from my guitarists, but I think this album stands up well amongst the pantheon of Power Metal. Mainly, because whilst giving you (most of) the power/operatic staples, it also injects an edge of heaviness that sets it apart from its peers & ancestors. It loses points, however, due to the lack of cheesy guitar solos and fist-pump singalong choruses (there are singalongs to be found, but it’s all taking itself rather seriously). For me, these are the things that the different branches of Power Metal are all about, but I’m sure St. Demonius will find an audience to fill rooms with a sea of leather patch jackets and metal claws.

The album opens with ‘Bow to The Reapers Blade’, which is a straight up fusion of Bodom & Firewind (this is a Good Thing). ‘Your Own Demise’ follows next, with some nice bounce, crunchy riffs and some nice vocal hooks; I particularly like the lyric “succumb to my greatness” – I shall have to steal that. ‘Forlorn’ opens with a hook line that’s almost Rammstein and opens out with a Symphony X breakdown. Different. And good. Some excellent choral arrangements with layered vocals make this an epic track which will surely be a crowd favourite. Other standout tracks are ‘Where Ignorance Reigns’, the rifftastic ‘Black Fire’ and ‘The Shadows Play’, a track that has it all, including my vote as best track on the album and ‘Fear Subside’ and its twin guitar noodling!.

All in all, an enjoyable listen and a solid…

 

7.0/10

 

PHILIP PAGE


Soilwork – The Ride Majestic

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Full disclosure: I’m a huge lover of the Melodic Death Metal genre, and I regard Soilwork as one of the scene’s finest exponents. Despite an ever-changing line-up (Bjorn “Speed” Strid is the only original member left) over a career spanning 20 years, every album has carefully developed and built on the strengths of its predecessors whilst remaining utterly true to the essential elements that characterise Soilwork’s body of work. Consistency is the hallmark of this band.

Astonishingly, they have managed this without ever sounding stale or falling into the common trap of self-plagiarism, and their 10th studio album, The Ride Majestic (Nuclear Blast), continues the slow and subtle evolution of the Soilwork sound that has been defining the progression of this band since The Chainheart Machine (Listenable).

Produced by Jens Bogren, who also helmed their last LP The Living Infinite (Nuclear Blast), it sounds fuller, richer and shinier than all that have gone before. The excellent first track, ‘The Ride Majestic’, is a familiar opener, leading in with a gentle intro before delivering an excellent melodic soup of thrash growls, staccato riffs, sweeping scales, massive chords, expansive clean chorus lines and a noodly guitar solo.

Signature Soilwork songs leave the listener feeling like they’ve just run a Tough Mudder in record time: ‘Alight in the Aftermath’ is absolutely one of those songs – classic. But wait what’s this? The passage at the end is a monstrous shout-fest reminiscent of the sorely-missed Strapping Young Lad. I can’t wait to hear this played live.

‘Death in General’ gives us an almost Clapton-like intro lick that serves as the main hook. Another song of the classic Soilwork cannon, it would not sound out of place on Natural Born Chaos (Nuclear Blast) while ‘Enemies in Fidelity’, features the apt lyric “You can count on my distinctive presence” – Speed ain’t lyin’ brother – sounds like a bonus track from Stabbing the Drama (Nuclear Blast).

The bemusingly-titled ‘Petrichor by Sulphur’ starts to distinguish the sound of the new album in earnest, showcasing new influences that are pushing the band into fresh sonic territory. There’s new guitar tones, new chord progressions and uncharacteristic vocal hooks. In particular, the mixing of the keyboards is different here – it’s been tucked behind the guitars in such a way as to add drive and depth to an already rich sound. Delicious.

I’d swear that Devin Townsend contributes guest vocals to ‘The Phantom’ in the Lad-As-Fuck chorus, but apparently it’s a fella called Pascal Poulsen, apparently from one of the bands called Odium (I’ve found 3 so far – the Canadian guys are awesome).

Along with the racing tunes, Soilwork have another trademark of having one or two joyful bridges or middle eights that just make you glad to be alive. ‘The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic)’ is that song. It also features another endearing Soilwork trope – there’s at least one song on each album with a clumsy timing change. It’s subtle, but definitely there.

Soilwork, photo by Hannah Verbeuren

Soilwork, photo by Hannah Verbeuren

‘Whirl of Pain’ is a clean nearly-ballad that lets us know we’re on the home straight. ‘All Along Echoing Paths’ (a swinging stomper) and ‘Shining Lights’ (another race with more delightfully fresh elements) lead us to the closing track of what has been a breathless and triumphant addition to the Soilwork legacy.

Featuring Nathan James Biggs of Sonic Syndicate on guest vocals, ‘Father and Son Watching the World Go Down’ sees us out with a sublime cacophony of proggy goodness which borrows heavily from the likes of Rush and Dream Theater.

In a career of great albums, the aptly named The Ride Majestic is truly outstanding.

 

9.0/10

 

PHILIP PAGE


Act of Defiance – Birth and the Burial

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Supergroup – so often a term used to describe lame side projects by members of well-known bands; so often a tired marketing ploy to generate hype for someone’s new band when they’ve left their old band after one too many “creative differences”. Fortunately, metal produces some excellent supergroups, a by-product of being a genre where – even now – actual musical talent is required of performers.

With Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover (of Megadeth fame) on guitar and drums, Matt Bach (founding and current rhythm guitarist) of Shadows Fall on bass and with throat martyring carried out by Henry Derek, erstwile vocalist of another supergroup Scar the Martyr, Birth and the Burial (Metal Blade) by Act of Defiance is an intriguing prospect; low-key enough to not be an ego or alimony-inspired project, with big enough chops to promise a serious bangover.

The first song, ‘Throwback’, is noodletastic – the intro is like a bowl of ramen. Then we’re into an Overkill-esque riff that sets to tone for the rest of the track, which whilst being hugely derivative and keeps reminding me of several bands, gets the head nodding and yields the beginnings of a metal pout. Not bad. ‘Legion of Lies’ has big, rich, soupy riff goodness straight out the the Arch Enemy playbook that sets the left foot a-tapping and gets the head nodding from the get go and only lets up for the choral breakdowns that serve as choruses. Nice.

Elsewhere, ‘Thy Lord Belial’ sounds like the unholy love child of Slayer and Trivium which will have both camps wanting to hate it and love it at the same time; ‘Refrain and Re-Fracture’ opens in classic Megadeth style – it’s almost weird not hearing Dave’s vocals on this – and develops into a NWOAHM riff-fest; ‘Dead Stare’ gives us riffs from Testament, vocal breaks from Rise to Addiction, and the understandable play-every-note-you-can-find guitar breaks of Megadeth.

And that’s pretty much the story for the rest of the album. You have the wonderful symphonic sensibilities (and scales-as-solos) of Megadeth married to the modern frenetic circle-pit baiting bombast of the American New Wave. It’s great to see the old and new schools coming together in what is a very entertaining and promising first album, where the only criticism is that at times things sound bitty. While they haven’t quite managed to alloy the two sounds together just yet, I’m very much hoping to see what happens when they do.

 

7.0/10

 

PHILIP PAGE


Wolfheart – Shadow World

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Let’s start with the good points. Shadow World (Spinefarm Records) by Wolfheart is really well produced. It sounds lovely. Excellent, rich guitar & bass tones, and you could drive a bus through the space Tuomas Saukkonen has created between each part, even during the thrashy bits. If you’re not familiar with Scandinavian sound desk virtuosos, it’s seriously impressive.

However, if like me you are familiar with such bands, then (unless you’re Saukkonen fan or an obsessive collector of the blackened scene) I think you’ll find Shadow World slightly underwhelming.

If Death Metal had elevators, this would be the soundtrack.

When a band with a bruising great unit of a frontman (Saukkonen) is describing themselves as “Winter Metal” and their label is promising “mesmerizing melodies graceful enough to stop the listener in their tracks, along with the most furious of frostbites to finish him or her off.”, I want to hear blizzards, geysers and exploding icebergs. Sadly, you get none of these things here. This album’s more like a steaming cup of Horlicks.

The album opens up with a (presumably wintry) bit of ivory tickling before ‘Aeon of Cold’ starts off with a kid’s portion of Immortal-lite blasting, developing with standard-issue Death/Black metal vocals into the overly long see-saw chord progressions on half-time drums so typical of the blackened sound. There’s a cavernous, full-of-echo midsection with more ivory and then we’re riding the see-saw until the end.

It’s the same story for the next two tracks – both follow the same pattern with a different arrangement. Sure, there’s a few riffs here and there, but these are middle-eights & breaks when they should be hooks. Boo.

‘Last of all Winters’ breaks the mould but threatens to banish the listener to the Land of Nod. ‘Abyss’ starts to raise the game, finding something of a pulse that persists into ‘Resistance’ but it’s too little too late. If you weren’t asleep before ‘Abyss’ kicked in, the last song ‘Veri’ will have you in the Kingdom of Morpheus before the intro is done.

 

5.0/10

 

PHILIP PAGE


Sweat Lodge – Talismana

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Ye gods! Somebody in this band fucking loves a bit of Black Sabbath! Hawkwind and Deep Purple too I’d wager. Now, I’m not normally one for Stoner, Doom or Space Rock, but this album is quite charming, as it has a certain Southern (as in New Orleans, not New Cross) sensibility about it that stops it from descending into the sludgey pit of boredom that bands of those genres so often inhabit. Think of it as Corrosion of Conformity with Ozzy singing and Monster Magnet producing in the early 1970s. Then chuck a bit of Hawkwind at it and you’re done.

The problem with revival bands like this is that they can often struggle to find their own identities. I think Sweat Lodge‘s Talismana (Ripple) suffers a little from this tendancy, as it can often sound like a 70s rock compilation that’s been chopped up & stirred together. On the other hand, their love for that period is obvious and they clearly know their history (only 9 tracks!). The sounds, effects and hooks are all perfectly pitched and it’s frankly astonishing to hear something like this being recorded today. Impressive. So if you like your 70s rock & metal, you’ll love this. Also, if you like modern revival and mid-fi stuff like The Sword, Spiritual Beggars or Wolfmother it should likewise give you an earection.

The album opens with somewhat derivative but wonderfully named ‘Tramplifier’. Standout tracks are ‘Bed of Ashes’ (this could almost be Sabbath), ‘Phoenix Ascent’ (Deep Purpletastic and my favourite), ‘Heavy Head’ (great riffs, lots of layers, varied vocals, a spacey midsection and a cheeky tease of an ending) and ‘Banshee Call’ (a Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac intro that opens out into straight up Diamond Head – lovely).

Top job from a clearly talented and passionate band.

 

7.5/10

 

PHILIP PAGE