ALBUM REVIEWS!; New Music From Doyle, Ecnephias, 42 Decibel, Circle Of Silence, Coffins, Letlive., Sirenia, Seven Witches, Evan Brewer, Stomach Earth, Trouble, Kryptos, Beyond, King Conquer; July 16th 2013
Ok, so there actually aren't a lot of new releases this week, so I decided to dig back and pull out some albums that I missed when they initially came out, so we've got some still relatively new stuff from Kryptos, Letlive., Coffins, and the latest material from The Red Chord's Mike "Gunface" McKenzie in the form of "Stomach Earth" from the band of the same name, as well as the sophomore solo album from The Faceless bassist Evan Brewer.
We even managed to get ahold of an album from Doyle, another new side project from ex-The Misfits guitarist Doyle Von Frankenstein. It was tough since I had to order it online, but I have it nonetheless, and its awesome.
If you ever wanted to hear a heavier version of The Misfits, here it is, in the form of Doyle, the latest side-project from the legendary guitarist of the same name. It’s really as simple as it sounds; horror punk, super dark and violent lyrics, lots of gothic energy, with modern aesthetic and heaviness, with a touch of Danzig and Rob Zombie vocal antics for edge. The writing is surprisingly damn good too despite its punk roots, sometimes perhaps gruesome or even cheesy, but almost deliberately, with some really great hooks to back it all up and some meaty riffs to guide it all along. It’s clear that Doyle didn’t want to push the envelope with “Abominator”, they just wanted to pump out some nasty jams and some creepy hooks, and that’s exactly what they’ve done. If you want some real old school shock and horror, Doyle has got you covered.
Melodic Black Metal/Death Metal
As a straight album, “Necrogod” is actually kinda all over the place, but as a concept album, it’s a mess. Ecnephias definitely have good intentions, but not the best results. For one, the melodies lack the subtly that makes melodic black metal great, and I’d argue its almost a little silly, and that unfortunately carries on to the vocals, but to be fair that’s a result of the varying sound mix, as low volumes take over backing tracks putting the sometimes awkward vocals on the forefront, making everything seem a little awkward. The concepts and stories that Ecnephias is trying to get across feels a tad awkward as well as a result, despite the fact that I still found the concepts interesting enough to play through it again, only then noticing the really slow pacing. Instrumentation fares a little better, and I actually really liked the guitar parts, but there isn’t anything standout or remarkable here, and once again, feels awkward in execution. The only reason the score isn’t lower is because I did find the concepts interesting, as “Necrogod” talks about pagan lore and pre-Christianity gods.
“Hard Rock N’ Roll” by 42 Decibel
Classic rock n’ roll in its truest form is pretty hard to find nowadays, and with all due respect to The Darkness, Rival Sons, Airbourne, and many more, 42 Decibel probably best represents that term, for better or for worse. On one hand, the music has great groove to it as do the bluesy vocals, bringing to mind a lighter AC/DC or even Rose Tattoo. Some southern rock bits are tossed around to give the album a simplistic southern feel, more distinct in some of the guitar work, which does give 42 Decibel an advantage over most classic rock re-hash bands. Unfortunately, that’s all these guys really are. Simple hard rock. They’re not fast, they’re not heavy, they don’t do anything new or even all that impressive; they just play rock. That’s not a bad thing, infact in many ways it’s the best part of the album, but it does mean that there really isn’t anything new or exciting here, and some of the songs do indeed feel like filler given the simplistic writing approach. But hey, if simple rock is what you want, that’s exactly what you get.
“The Rise Of Resistance” by Circle Of Silence
Sporting a thrashier brand of power metal, Circle Of Silence lie somewhere between Helloween, Iced Earth, and Powerwolf, with all the velocity of power metal and speed metal with some harsh vocals from frontman Niklas Keim, who is the main reason why the music probably gets heavier, with his gruff tones and general presence. He isn’t the star though, guitar quickly steals the show with a barrage of riffs, solo’s, hooks, and intertwining parts. It’s got a lot of other flavours hidden within, and the sheer grit and melody of the guitar parts reel you right in, even with the songs fall flat. However, its also nice that despite what I just said, the songs DON’T fall flat, and while none of them are written particularly great, there is some variety every now and then and the performance is good enough to keep your attention once Circle Of Silence has it. If you like your thrash to be catchier, or your power metal to be meaner, this is for you, as it brings together the two genres to create a hefty and enjoyable metal album.
“The Fleshlands” by Coffins
From the very start of “The Fleshlands”, Coffins lets you know what the fuck you’re in for; grimy, deadly, sharp death/doom. Vomitting rumbles of vocals slathered on thick distorted guitars, and shelled out of a shotgun directly into your ears. To put things simply, “The Fleshlands” is metal noise at its simplest and best. This is far from clean to say the least, as Coffins pummels with grumbles and fast riffs and tons of feedback. Now, this is a very love/hate approach. On one hand, it’s noisy and it’s hard to comprehend anything, but on the other hand, its fast, heavy, sludgy, and evil as fuck. With both those facts in mind, there isn’t really a standout track, but there’s some good headbanging moments that will no doubt induce mosh pits, so y’know what, if you just wanna punch and kick and scream, this album is for you. If you value more sophisticated music with actual meat, this isn’t for you. Figure out which of the two you are, and then decide whether or not you’ll like this album.
“The Blackest Beautiful” by Letlive
Post-Hardcore/Alternative Metal
Letlive struck gold with their third album “Fake History”, so following up that up with “The Blackest Beautiful” should seem like a difficult task. And damn it, they did it. It’s very clear that Letlive wanted to really take everything that made “Fake History” such a success and make it more accessible with the addition of pop oriented choruses, but they work surprisingly really well as hooks pull you in to the sonic hardcore chaos. I’d like to point out that this is one of the few post-hardcore albums I’ve heard where I can actually hear the influence from hardcore punk, as well as light touches from alt. metal, hard rock, and progressive music, all confined into one powerful mix. It’s interesting though that the best moments are the moments of pure silence, as it builds tension and then unleashes it in a blister of fury. Aaron Butler in particular is key that unleash, as he stamps his vocals everywhere he can, filling space with noise and punk rage. The writing hasn't been compromised either, infact I’d argue its gotten much more mature, as the band unleashes hooky riffs, bombastic sets, and just sounds pissed off as fuck throughout the course of the album, tackling diverse topics and allowing the moments of awe to settle in when need be. This in my eyes, is Letlives best albums, and probably the first great example of what post-hardcore SHOULD be.
Rating: 4.5/5 (Incredible!)
“Perils Of The Deep Blue” by Sirenia
Symphonic Metal/Gothic Metal
“Perils Of The Deep Blue” suffers from a problem that unfortunately a lot of symphonic metal albums seem to suffer from; light sound mix. Synths and strings are often really quiet, as are drums from time to time. It’s a shame, because the writing is really good and so are the performances in turn, Ailyn in particular gives a great vocal performance with her gothic tinges, and the riffs have enough subtle melody to build on top of the symphonics, and there’s some slight progression thrown around that gives way to some really soothing sequences, akin to the likes of some of Nightwish’s softer material. The lyrics range from time to time, but they never sound bad per say, and when delivered by Ailyn they sound great. The harsher vocals from Mortan Veland feel a tad out of place, something I think even the band recognizes given how its often only used for a few verses, but none of that changes my opinion on the actual material. As a whole, everything sounds nice, even if it does lack heaviness, and the elements that work provide enough good moments to warrant a listen.
“Rebirth” by Seven Witches
Its pretty hard to pump out solid material when you can’t focus on a solid line-up, and unfortunately Seven Witches joins the likes of Therion and Geoff Tate’s Queensrÿche, as a band whose line-up changes as frequently as Canadian weather. The only consistent member guitarist Jack Frost has assembled a pretty solid line-up in his defense, with Danzig/ex-Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly, ex-Attacker vocalist Anthony Cross, and Cleavage bassist Ronnie Parkes, and it’s weird that they all do a solid job, and the weakest part is still Jack himself, because of his tendency to use artificial pinch harmonies. It actually makes certain songs a challenge to listen too, ‘Clausterphobic (No Way Out)’ in particular is a prime example of that. The guitar solos and leads also feel really rushed, and just aren’t that impressive as a whole. The rest of the band fares better, but they don’t add much to the mix, and none of the material is really all that interesting, let alone performed adequately. While there’s nothing bad about this album, there also isn’t anything to recommend, and just feels lazy at times.
“Your Itinerary” by Evan Brewer
Progressive Rock/Jazz Fusion
Believe it or not, I’ve been looking forward to this album for a while. The Faceless bassist Evan Brewer is back with this sophomore release, and while he sounded good on his debut solo album, he sounds amazing here. It should be noted that despite Evan’s affiliation with The Faceless, this is a completely different album. Where The Faceless is moreso tech-death and prog metal, this solo album is focused on experimental jazz, instrumental music, and very slight progressive rock influence. The result feels like a modern jazz classic, as Evan winds and bends his bass through soothing scales and hooks all throughout, trading off with the other parts and delivering a great experimental experience. It’s clear Evan is the star though, and his bass playing here is easily the best of his career. His use of sounds and scales is just incredible, and his timing allows for some great shifts in the music. It’s clever, it’s pretty, and it’s just really well written and performed, arguably one of the better jazz albums you’ll hear nowadays.
“Stomach Earth” by Stomach Earth
Stomach Earth is the latest side-project from The Red Chord guitarist Mike ‘Gunface’ McKenzie, and is a much different beast. Whereas The Red Chord is focused on deathgrind and tech-death, Stomach Earth is much slower, rooted in doom metal with death metal layered on top. The brutality is the same though, as there are still plenty of blastbeats, feedback, inhuman growls, and several moments of heavy-hitting power. Industrial aspects are also brought in from time to time, bringing to mind the more deadly elements of Godflesh, but with some doom to back it up and make it sound purely evil. Thankfully everything is written well enough so that all of this makes sense, as the chaos is given structure, looping still from time to time, but never wailing frantically or just screaming in your face. Mike wanted something big and different, and that’s exactly what he’s done here. If you’re looking for a smarter brand of death/doom, here it is.
“The Distortion Field” by Trouble
As Troubles second album in a span of 17 years, “The Distortion Field” has a lot riding on it, especially considering it brings back Exhorder’s Kyle Thomas and original producer Bill Metoyer to Trouble. The results are thankfully great, as the stoner metal influences of “Plastic Green Head” are pushed straight to the side in favour of classic doom, built with a foundation of thick ranging riffs and completed with Kyle’s incredible range and soulful tones. I always personally liked Kyle more than fan favourite and original vocalist Eric Wagner, because Kyle’s control of his range is astounding and the way its integrated into the music is great too. The songs surprisingly have some variety to them, ranging from the heavy bombs of ‘Hunters Of Doom’, to the softer more melodic pieces of ‘Butterflies’. The writing and range of the musicians allows Trouble to balance these soft and heavy moments, without straying from classic doom metal. “The Distortion Field” as a whole is a really solid doom metal album, one that Trouble fans have been wanting for a long time.
“The Coils Of Apollyon” by Kryptos
Finally, an album that perfectly mixes both traditional heavy metal and modern thrash metal. With a steady mix of NWOBHM and speed metal thrown in, Kryptos have created an infectious mix of metal for “The Coils Of Apollyon”, something along the lines of Judas Priest meets Iron Maiden meets Testament. Throw in some raspy vocals and some great guitar parts and you’ve got one big metal album. With this sound mix also means a variety of moods, as the album ranges from angry sections of thrash, to more uplifting and catchy bridges and choruses, balancing the two with some really great writing all the way through. Infact, this probably has some of my favourite guitar playing so far this year, as it goes back and forth through hook to hook to snarly riff. Drumming and bass are great as well, again channeling NWOBHM in a thrashier environment, and everyone plays and builds to great heights. Kryptos have managed to create an album that brings the best of 80’s metal into one whole mix, with a touch of modern ingenuity and rage. The end result is one of the best metal albums of the year.
Rating: 4.5/5 (Incredible!)
“Fatal Power Of Death” by Beyond
Here’s all you need to know about Beyond’s “Fatal Power Of Death”; its dark, its heavy, its vicious. Ta-da. That’s really all there is to know here, but for the sake of this review, I shall continue onwards to explain why this album must be a part of your collection. “Fatal Power Of Death” from start to finish loves to pummel dark and heavy material right at you, in the hopes of making you sick. Echoed vocals, distortion, and super fast tremolo picking is practically everywhere, but it all conjures up an atmosphere that is not only unrelenting, but almost scary. Beyond quite frankly never stops shelling stuff out at you. That’s part of what makes this album great, is the uneasiness created from the constant shells of satanic noise, but it’s a steady shell as well, progressing from nature to nature and mood to mood. And despite the battering ram of metal, Beyond does take some time to build up tension, even ambience on the 13 minute behemoth of ‘Consuming Black Void’, a more than appropriate title. It doesn’t push extreme metal in the way people have said so far, but it will push you, and it will frighten you.
You know you’re in for something shitty when the first track you hear from an album opens with a generic breakdown, and unfortunately, that’s what happened here. To be fair, King Conquer is not a bad band, but there isn’t anything interesting about them. They talk about the standard political topics, they scream in muffled grainy tones, they have lots of open tabs and riffs, and they love their breakdowns, big time. That last part unfortunately is what really kills this album, as constant chugs of guitar come in and out of space all the time, all of them sounding exactly the same with little to no noticeable variation. Riffs are indistinguishable from one another, and the album lacks a sense of power and drive to make up for its lack of hooks, and it’s hard to determine whether this is all the result of shitty writing, bad production values, or just a band with no spark in them. If you ever wanted to hear an albums worth of muddy guitar chugs, constant breakdowns, and anti-government lyrical tropes, this is for you. For the rest of us, we might be better off just having our ears cut off so we don’t have to hear this shit.
Rating: 0.5/5 (Insulting)
