Let’s hope the Acid Bath reunion shows, bring more attention to Dax Riggs’ solo work. It’s been 13 years since his last release, and Riggs finds himself. Reigniting his songwriting magic on 7 Songs For Spiders (Fat Possum Records). This time around Dax is backed by a three-piece band of grooving Cajuns who slither through these songs with a melancholic pulse, taking things back to his darker roots. The opening track “deceiver” finds a dream-laden haze hovering over his soulful speculation. It’s almost like gospel music for someone whose acid trip has been tempered by opiates. It picks up closer to what “We Sing of Only Blood or Love” let off, though more sonically layered. His trademark croon sounds as good as ever. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Wil Cifer
ALBUM REVIEW: PATRIARKH – ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ
After the dust settled, PATRIARKH emerged to carry on the legacy of Batushka. They take their sound to loftier places on ПРОРОК ИЛИЯ (Napalm Records). There is a more grandiose nature to the sound this album unveils. It leans more in the direction of symphonic black metal. Rather than being bolstered by a string section, they have incorporated an array of lush Eastern European sounds. This brings an almost Dead Can Dance vibe to the sonic tapestry putting them closer to what Rotting Christ does than Behemoth.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: CMPT – Na utrini
CMPT weaves an impressive atmosphere on Na utrini (Osmose Productions). The Balkan black metal band sets themselves apart from the pack by not just going full blast in your face. Not falling victim to the sophomore slump, the band is assured in what they are doing here. The choked rasp of the vocals to the most prominent element to ground the band in his sub-genre. It moves along with an eerie creep. It’s not until the second song that the drummer begins to push for more momentum, This restraint is their strength, as there is no shortage of Black Metal bands out there still trying to bleed blast-beats from the late nineties era sound, that find too much conformity coming from a misanthropic genre. Here the guitars tap into the trademark metallic buzz of black metal, but the band has already set the stage for a wider range of dynamics, making this a more well-balanced listen.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Lacolpa – In Absentia Lucis
Lacolpa’s new album, In Absentia Lucis (Brucia Records) finds the Italian band diving deeper into darkness. Their brand of darkness this time is more experimental than most heard this year. While they still self-identify as a Sludge band there is more common ground with Current 93 than with Neurosis.
ALBUM REVIEW: Lord Sin – Confessions
Black metal is to thank for bringing the mystique back to music. This duo from Portugal cloaks themselves in black shrouds, we can assume they are not playing in, but instead of blast beats Lord Sin hits you with some creepy dirges on their sophomore album Confessions (Larvae Records). The graveyard stomp of the riffs allows darkness to possess their sound organically, rather than having to pull out all the Halloween decorations to convince the listener. Halfway into the first song, it’s easy to hear where they fall in the middle ground between doom and black metal. For a duo, they are cranking out a great deal of sound and care about writing songs, rather than just bashing out riffs. Continue reading
CONCERT REVIEW: Better Lovers – Full of Hell – SPY Live At The Orpheum, Tampa
Photo credit: Gabe Becerra
As we go to press with this review we learned that Better Lovers drummer Grayson “Goose” Holyoak’s daughter Sage has been diagnosed with a form of leukemia, and he has left the tour to support his family. Please donate to the GoFundMe set up to help defray the costs for her treatment and care.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sages-battle-against-leukemiaContinue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Pillar Of Light – Caldera
This Detroit-based Sludge band Pillar Of Light moves into their brand of Metal like a storm cloud on their debut full-length Caldera (Transcending Obscurity Records) with a hypnotic manner of riffing that allows the songs to flow. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Conjonctive – Misère de Poussière
Swiss death metallers Conjonctive have released Misère de Poussière (Tenacity Music), an album that features their dual vocalists Randy Schaller from Voice Of Ruin and Sonia Kaya. Unlike many European Death Metal bands, there is a bouncing groove to their sound at times that might bring to mind the rougher moments of a band like Slipknot. Not that the band is trying to hop on the Nu-Metal revival train; things like the tremolo-picked guitars prove to the contrary. Though with ample Black Metal influence, aggression is more of a focus than a worship of darkness. They are skilled at delivering deliberate accents to provide more hooks than just battering your senses.Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Make Them Suffer – Make Them Suffer
The Perth-based Make Them Suffer transcend the boundaries of Deathcore with their self-titled fifth album being released on SharpTone Records. Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Tribulation – Sub Rosa In Æternum
The direction Tribulation heads on Sub Rosa In Æternum (Century Media Records) has been a long time coming. You can’t call a band goth without them eventually turning to the dark side. The Swedes started as a Death Metal band that flirted with the shadowy atmosphere, but never bore the Sisters of Mercy Halloween trappings they were credited with. Until this album. The sung vocals that open the first song solidify this; this may be the final step over this threshold for them. Johannes Andersson has sung on their previous albums in smaller doses, but this album finds him committed to it. Continue reading