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Rudra - Brahmavidya: Primordial 1
(Trinity Records) review by
Sam Thomas |
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If you’ve ever thought about such questions as: Why should
black metal be anti-Christian? Can it be anti some other
religion? and: What would happen if you mixed black metal with
a strong Indian influence? Then I have the answers here. Brahmavidya: Primordial 1 is the fourth album from Singapore’s
Rudra, a band named after the Rigvedic god of destruction.
Having elicited that particular fact from Google, I was none
the wiser, but further research shows that this is one of the
four sacred texts of the Hindu religion, dating back to
(possibly) as early as 1700BC.
The music itself is an amazing example of metal meets an alien
culture, and becomes |
strengthened into a strange but beautiful form. My knowledge
of this type of music is strictly limited to hearing tapes
played in Indian restaurants, the odd snatch of Bollywood and the chanting of the Hare Krishna brigade on
Oxford Street many years ago (Do they still do that?)
There are elements of all these here, particularly the
chanting, but they are so interspersed with raw, black metal
vocals that you have to view the work as a whole.
The track titles alone are a source of great delight, where
else would you find “The Pathless Path to the Knowable
Unknown” (which is probably the best track on the album,
beginning with some absolutely thrilling drums, which could
stand up well against some of the heavyweights of the metal
scene for sheer exuberance alone), and “Meditations on the
Mahavakya”?
The one thing I’m not too keen on is the female vocal on three
of the tracks – I can accept it when it’s set against the
distorted vocal (just about – I never liked that whole Lacuna
Coil thing either) but when it’s just presented alone, with a
backing of traditional instruments, I’m a bit at a loss as to
how it fits with the rest of the album. ‘Fraid to say, modern
technology being what it is, I just programmed it out.
This is such an original piece of work that it’s quite a
surprise that it should be so listenable. Not only that, it
has been a positive delight to listen to a band who have taken
two styles of music that would appear to have very little in
common and produced music that flows so beautifully and
inevitably. In a harsh, black kind of a way.
www.rudraonline.org
| www.trinityrecords.com.hk |
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Solium XI – Litanies unto
Adversary (Trinity Records) review
by Sam Thomas |
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Solium XI are a band from Finland who appear to have had the
usual round of line-up changes and general fuck-ups that are
sadly all too common in the industry. They’ve been around
since 2004, but Litanies unto Adversary represents their first
full length offering. According to their website, they are
intending to create a path of sonic terror, creating
soundscapes that chaotic, dissonant and not easily perceivable
nor with mass appeal. Luckily for them, I hadn’t read this
before I listened to the CD, because it’s not the most
appealing description I’ve ever heard!
Unusually for Finland, the style that Solium XI have chosen to
espouse is symphonic black |
metal (not necessarily the easiest to start with). I’d hazard
a guess that Volac is the main
mover behind the band (credited with guitars, vocals and synth),
but this certainly doesn’t sound like a thin, one man inspired
recording. There’s a lot going on here, good drums, variety of
vocal styles (yes there can be variety within distortion) and
some rather nice guitar shredding, without descending into
self-indulgence.
The only complaint that I have with this album is that it’s
just a bit unwieldy at a touch over the seventy minute mark.
There’s nothing wrong with that in itself, of course, but on
this occasion I do feel that there’s not really the diversity
of material to need that amount of time. Because there is
definitely a feeling that some of the tracks could be more
memorable if they didn’t meander quite so much. Then again, I
was warned, this isn’t supposed to have mass appeal. Nor to be
easily perceivable. Oh well, I shall just consider myself
relegated to the great unwashed then…
All in all, this is a pretty good stab at symphonic black
metal, within the context of its being a first album, and
Solium XI are certainly competent musicians. And they’ve
certainly stuck to their game plan, but that won’t necessarily
endear them to armies of fans.
www.soliumxi.com
| www.trinityrecords.com.hk
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The Modern Age Slavery - Damned To
Blindness (Napalm) Review by Steve Green |
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Excusing Hardcore from the equation, I think any label that adds a "core"
suffix to a description of a band will automatically lose more potential
listeners than they'll gain. It goes without saying that you should (nearly) always ignore something labelled Metalcore, but do you make the same
decision when it comes to Deathcore?
Napalm have labelled Italian mob The Modern Age Slavery Deathcore, and the
tag, despite the wariness it instantly causes, is an apt description for
this band. Face shredding Death Metal with a ferocious Hardcore attitude.
Personally I'd have labelled this Modern Death Metal, but the outcome is
the same, this is as heavy as merry hell. The Modern Age
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Slavery go for the jugular from start to finish, with no room
for any respite. And where this could quite easily have turned
into a mess, Simone Mularoni's immense
and extremely clean production propels this forward with unrelenting
force. Whether you like this type of music or not, you cannot deny how
powerful a band The Modern Age Slavery are.
This is definitely one for those that like the more modern approach to
Death Metal, but a cover version of Entombed's Wolverine Blues will most
likely be of interest to the old school.
www.myspace.com/themodernageslavery
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Thyrfing - Hels Vite
(Regain) Review by Steve Green |
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Sweden's Thyrfing are one of those bands that I've meant to check out
numerous times over the years, but never quite managed to do so, bar the
odd track. So now on their sixth album, I
finally get the chance to find out what I've been missing out on.
And it seems that I've missed out on an awful lot. Ok, I can't compare
this album to the whole of the Thyrfing back catalogue, especially as the
band have a new vocalist, in the shape of Jens Rydén, ex of Naglfar, but
from what I'm hearing on Hels Vite, my poor debit card is going to get hit
big time. The music on Hels Vite is epic. No other word will do it
justice. Seven tracks that are sprawled out over 52 mesmerizing minutes
that soak in the
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atmospheres, of what feels like 100's of years of history. I
know of the bands Viking roots, which are also my roots, and
that's what I think of when I hear this album. The
atmospherics are exceedingly dark, but also exceedingly
beautiful. This is music that you can feel, music to lose
yourself in. Something that doesn't happen enough these days.
Whereas Griftefrid is haunting and utterly absorbing, Becoming
The Eye is full of menace and conjures up images of war. Every song has
it's own feel, it's own identity and that's what I love about this album.
Whereas I don't particularly get Moonsorrow, this just bowls me over and I
can't get enough of it.
Thyrfing have definitely got themselves a new fan and I'm just hoping the
back catalogue is as good as this masterpiece. To quote my good friend,
Dave Schalek: Buy or fucking die.
www.myspace.com/thyrfingband |
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Underride - One Of Us (Self-Produced) Review by Metal Mark |
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"One of us" is the fourth release from Seattle's Underride.
Their sound is much more rooted in the
glitz of 80's hard rock from the LA area. However, don't get
it into your mind that they are a direct copy of those
big-haired bands of two decades ago. No, this band sounds more
like a descendant of that style. Certainly they are influenced
by the likes of LA Guns, Ratt, Motley Crue, Poison and others.
Still they manage to takes the essence of those bands, drag it
into this decade and step it up just enough that it seems
fresh. It took me a few spins to determine the above, but
eventually it became clear. Perhaps the music is closer to an
older hard rock style than the vocals are. Where I hear songs
like "Side by |
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Side" and "On the Radio" I hear enough in the grooves and
hooks that I feel like I've been temporarily transported back
to about 1987. Still the music pushes ahead more as they don't
just live on one riff like many popular hard rock acts back in
the day. Underride make an effort to drive forward
and keep the ball rolling. The vocals have as much in common
with this decade and the 1990's as they do with the 1980's.
They are strong and gritty, but not exactly like the throat
searing vocals of many of the bands they are likely influenced
by. I think that they manage to do a good job of bringing hard
rock into today's time or at least they come closer than a lot
of other bands. If there is one downside to this album it's
that many of the songs are the same speed and some of them do blend
together a little. I would like to see them mix it more the
next time around. Underride have done an admirable job of
taking an established style and adding some of their own ideas
to it. The result is a gleaming, fired up blast of heavy
music.
www.myspace.com/underrideseattle |
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Velvet Cacoon - Genevieve (re-issue)
(Southern Lord)
By: Dave Schalek |
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Velvet Cacoon, a duo (maybe) from the Pacific Northwest, have
managed to shroud themselves in an admirable amount of poetic
vagueness. Unknown numbers of band members, a female muse that
may or may not exist, some dispute over the number of official
releases, web pages with numerous dead links, rumors of
dextromethorphan-fueled songwriting, Velvet Cacoon have taken
the template of an air of mystery perpetuated by obscure
French black metal acts and have adopted it to their own brand
of ambient driven, droning black metal. There are also lurid
stories of Velvet Cacoon’s theft of another artist’s work, and
some debate as to whether or not the project actually exists. |
At any rate, regardless of all of the conflicting stories and
rumors, “Genevieve” was originally released on Full Moon
Productions in 2004, and is the project’s second official
full-length (probably). The album is now re-issued by Southern
Lord Records, an obvious choice for the new label of Velvet
Cacoon, if the project still exists. Largely an exercise in
ambience, “Genevieve” consists of seven tracks of droning,
muted black metal with dreamlike riffs, fast paced drumming
with no rolls or fills, whispered rasps, and huge amounts of
atmosphere. In addition, “Genevieve” is somewhat surprisingly
catchy with engaging compositions incorporated into the
droning atmosphere. The final track is a 17-minute long
exercise in harmonics, punctuated by moments of almost
unnoticeable static. Whether or not the dextromethorphan
rumors are true, a depressive, hallucinogenic atmosphere is
the perfect theme for “Genevieve”.
Regardless of Velvet Cacoon’s status and the theft of another
artist’s work, “Genevieve” is an excellent example of
atmospheric, depressive black metal and is a worthy addition
to your collection. Incidentally, Encyclopedia Metallum does
list a new, two hour full-length from Velvet Cacoon entitled
“Atropine”. Time will tell whether this is an actual release
from Velvet Cacoon, or yet another exercise in tomfoolery. In
closing, I won’t bother misdirecting you with any links other
than that of Southern Lord.
www.southernlord.com |
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Voetsek - Infernal Command
(Selfmadegod Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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San Francisco’s Voetsek are pure 80s crossover thrash, simple
as that. The 17-song debut full-length entitled “Infernal
Command” and released on Selfmadegod Records sounds as if
Voetsek have spent an inordinate amount of time listening to
D.R.I.’s first two albums, “American Paranoia” by Attitude
Adjustment, and who knows how many other albums from bands
from the same era.
All of the signature elements of the genre are present in
spades. Short songs, hardcore-style gallops, shouted vocals,
and tons of riffs all hit the mark. In addition, there is the
requisite Repka-esque album cover art as well as doses of
humor somewhat reminiscent of |
The Crumbsuckers’ debut
full-length. All of it is pulled off reasonably well on
“Infernal Command”, a generic album title if there ever was
one, but the high-pitched, spastically shouted vocals from Ami
Lawless periodically veer dangerously close to Alvin and the
Chipmunks-on-amphetamines territory. Also, the production is
rather weak, probably on purpose as many retro thrash bands
are needlessly emulating the lousy production values of the
80s, as is the songwriting, and I’m afraid that Voetsek
doesn’t match up very well with Municipal Waste, or even Hirax,
the obvious current comparisons (Hirax has been around
forever, though, as I’m sure that you are aware of).
However, there are some solid, well written songs present on
“Infernal Command”, enough to hold your interest anyway, and
Voetsek have some potential to make an impact as a niche band
of sorts. “Infernal Command” is recommended for that niche
audience. www.selfmadegod.com
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www.myspace.com/voetsekthrashers |
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Wastelander - Wardrive
(Planet Metal Records)
By: Dave Schalek |
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I had this review written in my head about 30 seconds into the
debut full-length from Michigan’s Wastelander, a beer-soaked
homage to primitive proto- black/death metal from Lansing with
connections to Summon and others. Just about every aspect of
this short, debut full-length on Planet Metal Records (love
it) just screams that the band members were brought up on a
steady diet of old Venom, Hellhammer, Voivod, and Bathory
albums. The cover art looks like one of Away’s rejects, the
album layout features some dingy basement with beer cans
strewn everywhere, vinyl copies of old classics lying around,
hilarious post-apocalyptic references to Michigan, and even
what looks to be an |
old Avalon Hill bookcase war game photographed in mid-scenario
on a cheap, Formica kitchen table. Yep, this is somebody’s
portrait of an arrested adolescence and it’s not just mine!
“Wardrive” is exactly as one would suspect from the cultural
references that I’ve tossed about, and sounds like a collision
between Hellhammer and Venom’s first two albums in their more
humorous moments. Sloppily played, horribly produced songs
with plenty of tongue planted firmly in cheek humor are de
rigueur on “Wardrive”. In addition, the band’s enthusiasm is
obvious and infectious as “Wardrive”, if nothing else is
played with gusto and panache. No, this isn’t anything close
to classics such as “Black Metal”, “War And Pain”, and the
like, but that’s probably not really the point anyway as I
found “Wardrive” to a be a highly entertaining throwback to
the early 80s and my own youth. To some degree, I suppose,
that’s fitting as I’m probably squarely in the middle of
Wastelander’s intended demographic.
If you, like me, are hitting your late 30s/ early 40s and grew
up with old vinyl classics, Atari, war games, shitty beer,
lousy post-apocalypse movies, old reruns on UHF channels, and
so on, you’re going to be all over this one! Buy or die a
fuckin’ poser.
www.myspace.com/thewastelander
| www.myspace.com/planetmetal |
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Wojna - The Long Awaited Silence
(Red Leaf Records) Review by Crin |
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Not the Polish Wojna, but an interesting band playing Black
Metal from South East England [pronounced ‘Voyna’] and here we
have the debut album with a biog sheet proclaiming ‘True
British Black Metal’ as a reference. A bold reference indeed
as I have no idea what a British Black Metal sound is and I
doubt if anyone else does, but maybe it's here at last…..
The album starts of with the symphonic ‘Black Mass’, a
keyboard driven snare bashing track that suffers from the low key production, but nonetheless has a remarkable arrangement
and the disjointed sound does acclimatize to the ears
eventually. The croaking vocals scratch away at your ears over
the catchy and dynamic music here. I wasn’t expecting this
quality to appear, especially from an English act [the norm
being standard ‘heard it all before’ stuff]. From this initial
burst of mesmerising song structuring, the following ‘I am
Legion’ blasts from the abyss like a hell hound with its
bollocks ablaze. The symphonic edge prevailing once more over
a more faster arrangement. Again the band excel in their
abilities to try something diverse and beyond the constraints
of what many bands perceive Back Metal to be. The sound is
still a nagging low point, but that’s the problem with this
style of Black Metal. Low fi crappiness can sound great on a
shoestring budget, this more challenging music needs to pump
from a more substantial mixing desk. But hey, this is a
young band still showing naivety [the band image in the
booklet is maybe not so great] There are traces of Venoms
rough edges within the sound but overall I can only praise the
efforts here.
www.myspace.com/truewojna |
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