As the co-editor of Dead Rhetoric.com, I've got plenty to keep myself occupied. We continue to grow everyday, and I'm truly thankful to be such a big part of the site and it's daily contributions to metal in general. Reviews, interviews, concert reviews, song streams - we basically cover it all. I'm clearly biased, but it's my favorite site when it comes to metal information. However, there are times when I'd love to give some exposure to bands that just don't fit into the umbrella of coverage at DR. Things that aren't exactly "metal" by our lofty DR standards - moving into the area of hard rock, industrial, etc. There's also areas that I would love to cover more that aren't necessarily new releases. Things that went by the wayside or slipped through the cracks. So I decided to go back to my old homestead - the good ole blogger site I was running before I jumped off to Dead Rhetoric.
I'm keeping the title the same, but expect to see some expansions from the extreme metal universe. This site was always meant to be more personal in nature anyways, and with over 20 years of being involved in the metal universe, I can't think of a better title to describe my relationship with it. Don't expect massive amounts of content, but this will be a fun way to post some outside-the-norms reviews, some concert reviews/pictures, some "top lists," and shine some more light on bands that I enjoy. Please check out Dead Rhetoric as well (you'll see much more of my contributions there too)!
Broken Hope - Omen of Disease Century Media - 2013
Broken Hope is a band I have many fond memories of. Their first album I purchased was Repulsive Conception in my 'metal infancy' in 1995 and then special ordering Loathing when it was released (before we had the joys of going to the Internet and purchasing online). Loathing still stands as one of my favorite death metal albums and I wore out my shirt several years after receiving it. After vocalist Joe Ptacek was tragically lost, I never thought we'd see the day of a Broken Hope reunion, but low and behold, in a year of death metal comebacks (Carcass, Gorguts, to a lesser extent Suffocation), this was one of my most anticipated of the lot.
Everything about this album reeks of classic Broken Hope. First off, the cover art is fantastic! One of my absolute favorites this year, it reminds me a bit of the creepiness of their Loathing cover, but even more badass. The Broken Hope guitar tone is still there, just listening to "The Flesh Mechanic" before Omen's release gave me some goosebumps in how it seemed the band never lost a step. Ptacek's replacement, Damian Leski, keeps things just as sick vocally. Going for those super low, extremely unintelligible vocals really hits the target and keeps the spirit of Broken Hope intact. Lastly, Jeremy Wagner's penchant for gore-soaked lyrics have not dulled with age and things are just as strongly written as ever.
With 13 songs in about 36 minutes, the band truly cuts to the chase with each track. The lengths rarely go above the 3 minute mark, hearkening back towards their Bowels of Repugnance and Swamped in Gore days (there is even a re-recording of "Incinerated") of frenetic blasts of speed and groove. That's not to say that the songs are a whirlwind of relentless and unremarkable goregrind. On the contrary, each song is densely packed with some surprisingly memorable moments (for death grind that is). From the goofy sampling of "Rendered into Lard" to the surprisingly atmospheric ending of "Ghastly" to the satisfying solos sprinkled throughout, you'll find something worth checking out again.
What will certainly draw you back though is the sheer number of killer riffs on this album. My favorite one here, and certainly one of the most headbangable riffs of the year is that of "Predacious Poltergeist" (start at about 0:28 seconds). "Give Me The Bottom Half" has a great driving riff with plenty of groove too. Finally, the full-out start of "Choked Out and Castrated" deserves mention as well. These are just the first ones come to mind, the whole album is full of some real gems!
Back in their heyday, Broken Hope never really got the fan base of their brethren like Cannibal Corpse or Deicide, which is unfortunate given the quality of their material. While they may no longer be the most technical or brutal band on the planet, Omen of Disease serves as a love letter to those long-standing Broken Hope fans. This is some of their best work to date! Highly recommended!
Ad Patres - Scorn Aesthetics Kaotoxin Records - 2012
Ad Patres is a French death metal band that I recently discovered. Scorn Aesthetics is their debut release of unrelenting old school yet modern death metal, founded by drummer Alsvid (Seth, ex-Enthroned). While it may not sound like the most original band on the planet (it's not), they serve up a dish of brutality that many bands just can't compare with. Ad Patres never try to wow you with their technical ability or crazy time-shifts, they just go straight for the throat and never let go. There are certainly some allusions to older bands like Sinister and Deranged as well as Yyrkoon and early Decapitated in their blast-friendly material Songs like the title-track and "To The Fathers" launch a blistering assault while others like "All That Remains" provide some slightly slower, more headbanging riffs in the mix. The production here is solid as well, giving the more visceral, old-school approach a more modern edge and an almost clinical sense of precision.
The album's short run-time works to its advantage as it ends before it overstays it's welcome. While some of the songs due blur together, the overall package is still impressive as you just don't this type of album nowadays without having the technicality overwhelm you. If you like pure death metal, and any of the bands I mentioned, you'd be well advised to check this one out. I think these guys will be starting to gather some buzz any day now.
Eternium - Repelling A Solar Giant Blast Head Records - 2013
It seems much less common nowadays to see a piece of striking artwork from an unknown band and just need to know more about them immediately. This was not the case here, as Repelling a Solar Giant has one of the most visually eye-grabbing covers I have seen in quite some time (created by Sarafin Concepts). I caught a glimpse of the cover back in May, then jumped over to their Facebook page and heard "Aura Infernum: The Flight Over Massless Soul". Needless to say, I was completely sold and this became one of my most hotly anticipated albums of the fall. Upon hearing it as a whole, I can thankfully say that it was worth the wait.
Just to give some background, Eternium is a symphonic black/death band hailing from St. Louis though you'd never guess this is a US-based band by listening to them. This is completely clear of any core/modern elements and comes across as a mix between Dissection, Sacramentum, Emperor, and early Dark Tranquillity. It is the brainchild of Markov Soroka, who wrote this album at the age of 17! He is a name to keep track of within the metal community, because once you have heard this album, you can practically see the potential oozing out of the speakers each time you play it.
Repelling a Solar Giant is an ambitious, flowing concept album filled with betrayal, anger, love, and sorrow. With only 6 tracks clocking in around 45 minutes, each of the 5-10 minute songs are densely packed and run through a gauntlet of full throttle black metal, atmospheric melodies, and driving melodic death riffs. Lyrically, I really enjoyed the way Soroka used characters to create the story and it comes across as rather interesting and unique compared to most metal lyrics. He also backs it up with a range vocals from powerful roars, high pitched shrieks, and agonized screams to whispers and even maniacal cackles (though the placement of a few of the cackles can feel a bit goofy).
As with the nature of a concept album, there really isn't a standout song per say but I'm compelled to listen to the whole thing again and again with some cool moments that sprinkle their way through the disc. From the cold, haunting feeling I get from the opening to finale "Aura Noir: Repelling a Solar Giant" to the dizzying blasts of "Aura Amethyst: Her Gaze Cast Obsidian Death" to the sorrow-filled riffs of "Aura Sentium: Concord of Ember and Zephyr", the songwriting has kept my interest piqued throughout repeated listens this week.
Eternium has delivered a debut of mammoth proportions with Repelling A Solar Giant. If you enjoy any extreme metal, this should be at the top of your next to-buy list. An album that should rightfully adorn many a top 10 list for this year and solidify Eternium as one metal's hottest bands to watch. Highest recommendations!
Folk/power metallers Tyr have released their seventh album, Valkyrja, to their broadest audience yet. Their first release for Metal Blade Records, it seems the band has finally the audience they deserve at precisely the right moment. Valkyrja is easily their best work to date.
Valkyrja sees the band going further in the direction of the previous few albums, with an uplifting mix of folk influences and guitar-driven power metal with Heri Joensen's charismatic vocals. If anything, the band has continued to hone their craft, making the riffs more memorable and the choruses even more sing-along friendly. Valkyrja is also a concept album that tells the tale of a Viking warrior who leaves his home in order to impress the Valkyrie on the battlefield so he may be brought to Valhalla.
Honestly, it's hard to think of an album that is as catchy as this in 2013. The first three tracks ("Blood of Heroes", "Mare of My Night", and "Hel Hath No Fury") set the tone for the catchy choruses and uptempo riffs that are almost as catchy as the lyrics. "The Lay of Our Love" slows things down and features a duet with Leaves Eyes vocalist Liv Kristine with thankfully avoids the cheesiness that could have been and works surprisingly well. "Grindavisan" has an almost religious/church-like quality to the chorus that stands out as one of the more unique moments of the album. Of course, the two covers of Iron Maiden's "Where Eagles Dare" and Pantera's "Cemetery Gates" deserve a mention in their ability to stay true to the source material while giving enough of a Tyr vibe that they don't feel out of place. Probably my favorite of the bunch is "Lady of the Slain", with it's crunchy opening guitar melody and epic chorus. I feel it should become a live staple for the band.
There's really not much to find fault with here. Tyr continues to improve with age and if you for some reason have yet to check them out, this is the perfect opportunity! Any fan of folk metal or power metal won't find much better this year.
Ulcerate is a band that requires tremendous amounts of patience to truly grasp. Over the course of their career, they have become an incredibly complex band, though not in the usual uber-technical way most metal bands tend to go. Instead of piling in surgically precise fretboard destruction, they have opted for a more "atmospheric" route that is ominous and foreboding. Their mix of Immolation, Gorguts, Neurosis, and Deathspell Omega oozes of a darkness and uncomfortable feeling that most bands could only dream of achieving. The music for Vermis is perfectly realized by the artwork, in it's stark and bleak and overall grimy feeling. This is an album that wants you to writhe in the dirt a bit.
Vermis is a challenge upfront due to it's lack of conventional hooks. There are truly no "catchy" riffs or groove to hold onto, relying mostly on dissonance and atmosphere. The one advantage of this album over it's predecessor is that there are a few more dynamic shifts. The Destroyers of All spent a good deal of time in slower, murkier waters and restraint whereas Vermis does see the band inputting more death metal back into the mix, especially with some of the faster tracks like "Clutching Revulsion" and "Confronting Entropy". It's the tracks like "Weight of Emptiness" and the sprawling "Cessation" that the dynamics within the song start to bloom, offering frenetic bursts of intensity alongside almost post-death ambiance.
Once you breach the learning curve though, the rewards begin to appear. The subtle moments of grimy beauty begin to rear their heads. That one monster guitar riff you didn't notice the first few times through, or how the intensity begins to culminate only to switch over effortlessly to a slower, atmospheric drive only to ramp itself back up again ("Await Recission").
Vermis takes the listener through a realm of foreboding darkness that is ultimately their strongest work to date. While there will be just as many people that just will not "get it", those of us who seek the nuances below the surface of this album will reap the benefits for a long time to come. A tough album to sell but one that will captivate you with it's textures.
Ashes of Ares - Ashes of Ares Nuclear Blast - 2013
The latest band to claim "supergroup" status is that of Ashes of Ares. Consisting of 2 ex-members of Iced Earth (Matt Barlow, Freddie Vidales) and Nevermore's Van Williams, it's easy to get excited by the prospects of the talent involved. Consider that Matt Barlow, despite his long presence in the scene, has always been more of a side-player and this is the first time he's really been given full creative control and that just hypes things even further.
Obviously, there will be comparisons to Iced Earth made with this release. Barlow was always a defining characteristic of the band, even when he wasn't in the band, so it can occasionally be hard to separate this notion. However, it's also inevitable to say that older fans of Iced Earth will find plenty to enjoy about this release. It must be said that Ashes of Ares is without question, one of Barlow's finest vocal performances to date. He has one of the most identifiable voices in metal and he delivers the goods and then some on this release. His highs, gruff bellows, mournful harmonies, and everything in between is finely represented in top form.
Unfortunately, the music behind Barlow occasionally suffers from repetition and playing it safe. On the one hand, the heavier tracks like "Punishment", "Chalice of Man", "Move the Chains", and album highlight "What I Am" contain memorable riffing and thunderous drumming that gives an intense backbone to Barlow's varied vocal delivery. Album ballad "The Answer" sees Barlow at his most genuine (and much less sappy than some of IE's ballads) and provides another highlight. The remaining tracks linger around the mid-tempo speed for far too long and suffer from a lack of memorable riffs. Opener "The Messenger" just doesn't capture the ear as well as "Move the Chains" and closer "The One-Eyed King" just can't compete with the crushing tempo and fantastic chorus of "What I Am" before it.
While I am a bit critical of this release, know that I have enjoyed listening to it quite a bit. I just feel that an entire album at the strength of the songs that I mentioned would have really knocked it out of the park. Though hearing Matt Barlow's pipes is always a welcome treat, I am more eager to hear how the band will step things up with the next release.
