Across a four-album lifespan, Bay Area’s Cormorant had consistently proven to be one of metal’s true and brightest hidden gems, offering a branch of Black Metal which takes as much worship from progressive giants such as King Crimson as it does from Extreme Metal’s icons. Still independent to this day, Cormorant have always showcased a meticulous detail that encompasses not only their rich and textured music, but even down to their vibrant, detailed and often awe-inspiring artwork. Having always shown true forward thinking and near limitless artistry, it is simply staggering that their fifth release Diaspora (self-released) breaks their mould even further, and is without a doubt their boldest offering to date.Continue reading →
While a career in music, in general, seems to be predicated on a fickle game of risk and reward, for my money no genre has it worse than Hard Rock (Metal, Punk or otherwise). You push too far into a musical extreme and you’re considered a niche product at best. Streamline the sound and introduce a melody, and pockets of fans are deriding you as sellouts before the first check is cleared. Dubai’s Jay Wud attempts to control the chaos down the middle with their new release, Transitions (self-released).Continue reading →
In the first of an irregular feature for people with irregular music tastes, Ghost Cult plunges into the chaotic cyclone of abstract, dissonant and frankly horrible sub-underground Metal, Noise and Ambient.Continue reading →
Since the release of debut album Entities in 2013, one man instrumental wizard Martin Andres (Pomegranate Tiger) have garnered considerable attention in the tech metal and djent circles, with a concoction of progressive metal which is accessible and welcoming but with masses of complexity and technicality. The follow up Boundless (both self-released), some two years later, gives much the same, and is simply better and richer, and should match its anticipation.
The range of influences at play encompasses such a wide expanse, from tech and djent to even heavier elements and classic prog, all the while feeling fluid and integral rather than bolted on and brash. With one man projects such as this there is always the risk of it feeling bloated and self-indulgent but Boundless proves organic in its range, bold in its scope and easy to delve into, with enough to dig into further. There are even shades of more haunting and ominous territory akin to the likes of Goblin in parts.
In what could have been a display of technical wankery, Boundless proves a triumphant example of how instrumental progressive metal can be compelling enough to draw people in and become familiar, and complex enough to offer new insights on each listen, and to showcase virtuosity without dragging. Again, Pomegranate Tiger prove a compelling, growing force in prog metal spheres, albeit one with a somewhat daft moniker.
Death Metal has found itself in a pretty serious place. Whether it’s the artily-lit tentacles and elaborate hats of Portal and their imitators, Vastum’s multi-syllabic tales of incest and malevolent sodomy or even the maelstrom of black-and-white drawings of goats and skeletons unleashed by the Nuclear War Now! set, any laughter that’s being had by modern DM bands is taking place behind the scenes – but it hasn’t always been that way. Gorphanage’s self-released debut aims very much takes its cues from the days of Impetigo and Repulsion, when being disgusting and being silly were pretty much the same thing.
Musically, this is exactly what you’d expect from those references – thick, dirty riffs and crude, bludgeoning rhythms topped with growled vocals that are comparatively audible by modern standards. The occasional use of sinister melodies adds a touch of variety, and comedy film samples (another old legacy of a simpler time) break things up a little, but this is not music that revels in a range of tones and emotions.
It’s hard to criticise Gorphanage too seriously when their limitations are so clearly the result of deliberate choices. It’s crude, unsophisticated and frequently childish, but it’s hard to imagine that a band who’ve written a song called ‘Choke On Beelzebub’s Fuck Muscle’ would be too upset at having that pointed out. The band are clearly at their most comfortable at slow- or mid-pace, with the faster passages collapsing into a sloppy mess more often than not – but, again, “sloppy mess” is not a major problem given where the band have set their sights. What they do well is to churn out filthy, primitive Death Metal riffs, and they’ve made that the core of their sound.
May Cause Birth Defects is not going to reinvent Death Metal – it’s not trying to – but it achieves precisely what it sets out to. A silly, childish mash of zombies, mass smurf-murder and mindless pummelling that refuses to make any apologies for what it is, and pays sincere, effective tribute to a time when Death Metal was more famed for its sick humour and dirty riffs than its avant-garde headwear.
Formed in 2014, Denigrata (who hail from the Midlands, UK) are an avant-garde black metal collective, focused on pushing the extreme metal genre with what they call ‘noire concrête’. Self-released début album Missa Defunctoram is based on Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor and is sung in Latin, consequently it’s no surprise all members came together through higher education music degrees. Mozart’s requiem was composed as he was dying, instilling a suitable motif of morbidity to their unique twist on black metal.
There is such an amalgamation of components that form their overall sound; as such it’s quite a difficult album to take in. There are transcendental and industrial sections, along with sweeping guitar melodies, pneumatic drill kick drums and a combination of screamed and operatic vocals. Switching up between fast, ferocious onslaughts and icy, macabre atmospheres, it’s unpredictable and at times a total head fuck. Call me old-fashioned but much of it represents unintelligible, chaotic noise.
The more stripped back sections however show greater promise; ‘Kyrie Eleison’ features a down tempo guitar melody, with a haunting piano in the background and sorrowful screamed vocals layered with the operatic style, which is beautiful. Where the album digresses for me is the forcing together of so many different elements, ‘Confutatis Maledictis’ and ‘Requiem Aeternam’ in particular are directionless and confusing. The operatic vocals work in parts and not in others, but seem to get in thrown in anywhere regardless. The more transcendental atmospheric sections on the other hand are cohesive and resonate far better. ‘Rex Tremendae’ begins with a stunning haunting and almost ritualistic ambience, and a prime example of how the operatic vocals can be so effective when placed correctly.
Their commitment to creating something distinctive is commendable, however it comes across too convoluted and the more simplistic aspects that work a lot better are engulfed by the surrounding chaos. Whilst the meeting of musically academic minds may seem like such an advantage, it often over complicates ideas, which is unfortunately reflected in Missa Defunctoram.
Despite being a new name on the tongues of many a prog fan, Canadians Diatessaron have in actual fact been an active unit since 2007. That it has taken 8 years to get to their full length debut overlooks their numerous EPs and the member’s parts in an absolute bucket load of other projects. Now that the debut Sunshine (self-released) has seen the light of day, the mammoth ambitions of this quintet are clearly evident.
Rather than a pure rehash of prog’s past, Sunshine shows influence and likeness to Coheed & Cambria as much as the quirkiness and colour of the likes of Genesis, with a masses of technicality and dexterity. The moniker (named after the 3 track centre piece to the album) suggests images of happiness and joy, and musically on the surface this sounds bouncy and almost care-free; lending itself as much to power pop hooks as it does to prog. Beneath this exterior, however, is a darker underbelly, with lyrical themes proving more depressive and morose than the music would have you believe.
Coming from a rich diversity of influences, Sunshine is a rich and layered effort, with unpredictable twists and turns throughout which will please even the most ardent of prog fans. This ambitious effort aims at matching the complexity of prog with some pop immediacy and catchiness, and it begins to live up to these expectations. At times the disjointed songwriting process does reveal itself as its flow doesn’t always feel organic or sensical, but aside from this Sunshine proves a very strong effort for a debut (albeit one with some experience and pedigree).
There is much to take from this, but also plenty for the band themselves to fine tune and grow in to.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Saint[The]Sinner were pulling a fast one by saying their latest EP Masquerades was self-released. With a huge, vibrant sound, the mini-album holds its own with established label backed brethren, as the vivacious guitars cleave the air, and the South Coast entity storm through a raucous set of anthemic, heavy post-hardcore tunes.
“Pash (Stratton – Guitars) is also a producer and engineer, but we put a lot of effort in to these songs and we really wanted the experience of going to a top studio”, begins clean vocalist James Laughton, explaining just how a self-release manages to sound so, well, pro. “And we had the opportunity to work with Romesh (Dodangoda – BFMV, All Time Low, BMTH) and because we knew this was such an important record for us, we didn’t want to put pressure on Pash to do that (produce) too. Added to this was having the opportunity to write and work with Romesh at Long Wave in Cardiff… we wouldn’t have changed how we did it for the world.”
“The sound was really important to us” confirms Laughton as we go on to discuss how having the right production can turn the right set of songs from really good to really good. “We wanted to have a “Big” sound, that sounded live and like it could fill a room. It was one of the things me and Pash talked about before we went to Cardiff, about having songs that would work really well live.” With one eye on how the material would work once they took it out on the road Laughton confirms “We went to a live practice room before recording. We’ve learned a lot from our mistakes in the past, we think we’re learning how to do it properly.”
In a scene drowning in Miss May I copycats (themselves not even the originators, but the middle ground), Saint[The]Sinner not only have a sense of identity in terms of sound, but also a focus lyrically. “One of my favourite lyricists is Brandon Urie of Panic! At The Disco, particularly from their early days” enthuses Laughton, “and he’s always done metaphorical, weird, macabre and twisted lyrics. So I came up with a concept of a vampire woman and tried to apply this metaphorically. Me and Luke (Juan – Harsh vocals) sat down and worked through my ideas and his ideas.”
The vampyric touch also further enhances the Atreyu link that’s prevalent in the bands sound, yet P!ATD don’t just feature as an influence lyrically, but spill over into Laughton’s melodies and hooks. “We never sat down and thought “Let’s be a British heavier version of Panic!”, but we grew up with that music, and the melodies and styles get stuck in your head. I didn’t necessarily realize I was doing something like it, but I’m happy if people say that” he agrees, before going on to talk about sharing the mic stand (albeit not the exact same stand…) with co-vocalist Luke Juan.
“Me and Luke are best mates, and in the studio we go back and forth like ping pong” the singer laughs. “We think of bands like We Came As Romans and The Blackout, who Romesh produced… I remember seeing them with two vocalists and thinking it looked really cool.”
“Look, the hardcore and the anthemic genres are what we’re really into” Laughton continues, considering just where STS fit into the market, being a slight anomaly in the UK scene, a fact that works in their favour, along with their songwriting panache and quality, to differentiate themselves from many of their competition. “We are trying to work those anthemic sounds into our live performances, and we can see in the UK, the response is there.”
Yet if post-hardcore, and the more anthemic side of metalcore, is catered for in the American market, would STS consider doing an Asking Alexandria and upping sticks, and crossing the Pacific?
“Post-hardcore is more of an American thing, and it’s popular over there, but I don’t think we’d do a full on AA, no” Laughton muses. “Though Luke has gone to Warped and Kevin Lyman recognised him and spoke to him. We’ve spoken about going over there to tour.
“We’ve met some great people in the industry who have helped us, so while we’re self-releasing we’re looking to work with a label in the US. But over here, there are loads of unsigned bands hitting up Europe, and we’re looking at going and getting out there. We’ve got a couple more videos coming up, and we can’t wait to take Masquerades out there.”
“It’s the one thing we’ve always wanted; to have a band that is heavy, energetic, yet catchy and uplifting at the same time. We do our best to get that, and it is mainly American bands you go to for that sound. But we write like that, because we write for ourselves.
“It’s then up to us to integrate that American sound to being a band in the UK and being successful with it.”
If Masquerades is any measure, this miscreant sextet have every chance of doing just that.
With hints of Smashing Pumpkins and Alter Bridge, Yesterday Becomes Tomorrow Today (self-released) commences in a cascading shimmer before the opening song is supplemented by a flowing guitar line and an understated chorus, as Paul McKenzie’s honest vocals form a frontline for alt.metal trio, This Year’s Ghostand their current EP.
Elements of grunge, alternative rock and post-rock all fight to make themselves heard across the five tracks and seventeen minute breadth of the release; second track ‘December Sun’ starts with a riffier approach, before opening out in an expansive chorus, while TYG tease a metal side as ‘Carry Us In Blue’ kicks off acerbically, before twisting away and revealing a more thoughtful, if underwhelming, underbelly.
With ‘Silver Tongue’ meandering and a stolid ‘Black Dogs’ leaving the album closing with a yelp rather than a bark, as an introduction to the band Yesterday Becomes Tomorrow Today, is a mixed bag. While it is a deluxe sounding release, with Matt “Slipknot” Hyde performing a slick job twiddling the knobs, and while each moment is well crafted, there is a feeling that it’s all a bit so near, yet so far. Riffs don’t quite snap, McKenzie’s vocals are decent but not exceptional or overtly distinctive, choruses don’t keep the attention, and the hooks, well, don’t always. All in all, while the songs are decent they lack any tangible identity and YBTT is all a bit nice, and all a bit not quite.
Since Kiefer Sutherland’s piercing, well, I was going to say eyes but let’s go with teeth, made rock chicks around the world swoon and crick their necks to be bitten, vampires and rock/metal have been more than bedfellows, with both aesthetics, lyrics, band names and even subgenres and scenes entwined. Cradle of Filth blew up by cleverly playing the vampire game (no, not ‘I Vant To Bite Your Finger’), Atreyu resurrected the spirit of the Old Ones in their ascension, Korn temporarily buried their career by associating themselves with the Queen of the Damned, even the hippest of the underground, Tribulation, danced with the children of the night earlier this year, Manowar penned one of their best songs (‘Each Dawn I Die’) in honour of the sleepless, and let us not forget Aiden, the dumb bastard black (formaldehyde) sheep of the flock…
And so Saint[The]Sinnerhave exhumed a classic, pale theme for their sprightly, theatrical pop-rock meets post-hardcore, and it’s a cape they wear well as, with a flourish, they swoop down on ‘Theatre Of Broken Dreams’ haunted house intro and sink their incisors into a vibrant, hurtling, fast paced metalcore lead off track to new EP Masquerades (self-released). As twin vocals trade-off, the throatier screams give way to an engaging, welcoming chorus and a pattern is set.
Keeping energy levels up throughout is one boon of Masquerades, a Premier League production is another, allowing the endearing and vigorous song-writing to flourish and (widow’s) peaks to peak. With the clean vocals adding an off-centre Panic! At The Disco feel to their arsenal, particularly on lead single ‘She’s A Vampire’, it’s a welcome addition to the heady mix of AFI, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold and Dommin that is sure to see the band on a steep upward trajectory their burgeoning and bloody talents deserve.
The camp horror theme is a cute touch, but don’t let it detract from the fact that the English South Coast crew have summoned forth a beastly set of strong, gratifying, grin-inducing tunes. Saint[The]Sinner have hit the mix right on the money; whether it’s clean or scream on the vocals, it’s all about being dramatic and leaving those hooks in you, as fangs lock into your flesh and notable melodies are injected like venom into the bloodstream in a way that reminds you that, you know what, sometimes this metal thing is about energy and fun, and each track sounds like it was a (monster’s) ball in the creating.
