Tag: metal

REVIEW: Eternal – Cryptic Lust (2023)

If you haven’t heard Eternal yet, I understand. But there comes a time when any self-proclaimed music genre fan needs to listen to something other than the classics and the commercially accessible.

Eternal’s first full length release Cryptic Lust is incredible. Gothic horror gutturals to the nines, as the best old skool Death Metal often does. And crunchy tones, riff city, as the best old skool Thrash Metal often does.

Cryptic Lust is 12 tight tracks clocking in at approximately 45 minutes- perfect. And caps off with a cover of Deathcrush by Mayhem that’s absolutely punishing (in a good way). I highly recommend working this record into your listening rotation.

For my Metal listening sessions I’ve found myself pairing Cryptic Lust with the Feral LP from Concrete Caveman, also released in 2023. The ’20s thus far have been great for Metal music if nothing else. If you rarely find yourself listening to anything released after a certain year, now’s the time to jump back in!

For fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Testament, Gorement

Like Eternal? Give these a listen: Livid, Inhuman Condition, Artificial Brain

REVIEW: Slayer – Repentless (2015)

Does it live up to their classic material? Of course not. You reach over to your shelf of records, thumb over to Slayer, and you’re gonna grab Repentless? No way!

You listen to Slayer because you want that classic Slayer sound. The only reason you’d grab Repentless is because you spent $20-$30 on the album when it was released and now the more it’s played the more your purchase feels justified. Just grab what you really want to listen to: Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Hell Awaits, etc. They’re great records! Why listen to a nutrient deficient version of what you really want?

Repentless doesn’t give you any other reason to listen to it. Slayer never developed too much from album to album- which has led to great consistency for better or worse. But since no one album offers anything significantly different from the last album- even aesthetically- it’s too easy to reach for the classics over this every time.

Araya sounds rough here. Lombardo is clearly absent. And coming along with Hanneman’s death before recording on the album began? It feels like they should’ve just scrapped it. It’s not bad, but it’s not worth the time or money. Cash grab? Maybe. Same old song and dance? Absolutely.

For fans of: Metallica, Venom, Exodus

Like Slayer? Give these a listen: Grip Inc., Sacred Reich, Vio-Lence

REVIEW: At The Gates – Slaughter of The Soul (1995)

The only album using Papyrus font on the album artwork I can give a pass to.

nothing will date a single more than its music video

As someone generally burned out on the plethora of soundalike bands with nothing new to bring to Metal- songs that only sound like chopped and re-ordered versions of other songs by other cut-rate extreme metal bands- finally checking out At The Gates’ 1995 classic Slaughter of the Soul was long overdue.

Slaughter of the Soul is fixated on one thing and one thing only: guitar shredding. While less angular and certainly more melodic than anything approaching grindcore, no one riff lingers long enough to create a greater textural or ambient quality to the record (think: black metal). Every moment is a Guitar Hero blue-lightning power-up moment, and if that’s something you’re in to you’re going to enjoy this record.

For some Slaughter of the Soul may be too commercial- too clean, too produced, too melodic- but it’s a logical progression from Mercyful Fate’s work a decade earlier. And so if Mercyful Fate is as far as you’ve gone into melodic metal, and you’re willing to opt to in for deathly fry screamed vocals and throttling double kick driven sections, At The Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul is a great place to start.

For fans of: Mercyful Fate, Metallica, Grip Inc.

Like At The Gates? Give these a listen: Sodom, Carcass, Edge of Sanity

REVIEW: Witch Vomit – Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave (2019)

Nothing is new under the sun, and that includes this record. But regardless it’s a delightful show of character across 27 minutes of thrashing grind (or is that grinding thrash?).

Clamoring kick-snare pitter-patter interspersed between blast beats give ‘Buried Deep’ a unmistakable Thrash tinge, while the string instruments’ heavy emphasis on downbeats hearkens back to early Metal innovators like Autopsy and Cremation. 

Littered with wild false harmonic wails reminiscent of banshee yells (or more appropriately, witch cackles), ‘Buried Deep’ shows a lot of character which I personally love.

It’s your standard thoroughfare of claustrophobic grind sessions and more ‘breathable’ groove-centric open space, single note synth interludes with rain and horror movie samples shuttling the listener from song to song (Listen to second track Despoilment to hear what I mean).

That’s not to say it’s a bad album though. The songs are strong. Fun band name, fun art, fun titling across the album. ‘Buried Deep’ ends strong, and as musicians Witch Vomit certainly bring the chops necessary for what they’re trying to pull off. 

There’s a dynamic range missing that if added could really elevate the group’s current strengths. I’d encourage all creatives to further experiment outside of the studio. Editing is the creative’s friend, and no one has to know what was cut from a final album. I’d also like to recommend a band like Witch Vomit to listen to something really out of their wheelhouse- Mr. Bungle, Petula Clark, doesn’t matter so long as it jars open new paths of music experience. See what it can rattle out of the creative mind. Serve yourself, serve your art, and keep shredding.

For fans of: Autopsy, Cremation, Regurgitate.

Like Witch Vomit? Give these a listen: Liquid Flesh, Concrete Winds, Pariiah

REVIEW: Primeval Well – Talkin’ in Tongues with Mountain Spirits (2021)

Metal is one of those precious genres that can be dropped into any culture across the world and it will just work. Egyptian Black Metal? Brad Sanders wrote about it. Extreme Metal in China? Josh Feola got you covered.

But never had I heard something so uniquely Southern in the Metal genre until now. Nor had I expected to hear an ol’ time snare shuffle on a Black Metal album. But let me tell you, I’m glad I did.

Talkin’ in Tongues with Mountain Spirits is the second full-length album by Nasheville, TN outfit Primeval Well. Taking the more raw, atmospheric sound that is Black Metal’s specialty, Primeval Well experiment with Post-Punk guitar melodies, shuffled Country/Folk jaunts which break out into full blast beats, and plenty of twang. This band is the Wire of Appalachian Black Metal and I’ve never been happier.

Nearly every track is a hefty 8-10 minutes, but how Primeval Well weaves through movements keeps each composition feeling engaging and lively (not a term usually associated with Black Metal, but it’s time). The second half of the album incorporates certain elements of Stoner Metal, fuzzed out thick riffs and a faint wah-wah element.

Talkin’ in Tongues with Mountain Spirits is melodic in unexpected ways, blending and bleeding soul with haunting atmosphere. If you’re looking for something different, Primeval Well is for you.

For fans of: Negură Bunget, Bathory, Windhand

Like Primeval Well? Give these a listen: Batushka, Vile Haint, Colin Stetson / Sarah Neufeld Duo

REVIEW: Pencil Lead Syringe – The Agua Mansa Massacre EP (2006)

SoCal trio Pencil Lead Syringe’s 2006 EP The Agua Mansa Massacre is a near 12 minute exploration of the intersection of Brutal Death Metal and scatter shot Grindcore. Lead vocalist Ramon Mercado’s pig squelched vocals don’t let a single word escape the noise, but it works. Agua Mansa is a completely percussive and textural album, with exception to the surprisingly melancholic lead out on closing track Buy Me Bonestorm (an early indication of the band’s penchant for referencing The Simpsons).

Pulling double duty tracking both guitar and bass, fretted string striker Chris Phillipsen creates brutal crunching riffs across all 6 tracks. But it’s when Phillipsen breaks away from conventional metal intonation that The Agua Mansa Massacre really stands out. It’s this willingness to get just a little weird that helps engage the listener and let’s Pencil Lead Syringe get out of the dog pile that is Metal’s ‘brutality’ pissing contest.

Balanced with David Gloria’s frenzied percussive attacks, Pencil Lead Syringe’s unique blend of brutality and weirdness is a gratifying installment in the mid-naughts Metal scene.

For fans of: Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Exhumed, Self-Deconstruction

Like Pencil Lead Syringe? Give these a listen: Gimli, Son of Glóin, Gets Worse, Exit 13

REVIEW: Liquid Flesh – Chair Liquide (2020)

Liquid Flesh put a fresh breath of life back into Thrash Metal with their 2020 release Chair Liquide. Hailing from Grenoble, France, the trio is a dynamic three-pronged powerhouse dedicated to the finer things in life: b-movies, melting faces, and Twin Peaks.*

The band’s mid tempo brand of Death-infused Thrash Metal has a degree of groove and intricate tune weaving reminiscent of Pig Destroyer guitarist Scott Hull. This is perfectly exemplified on 4th track Toxic Blues, which sounds like Ward 6 or even Prowler-era Pig Destroyer slowed down to almost half speed.

The album is beautiful, and is doesn’t heed the beyond well-beaten path of their Thrash Metal lineage. Chair Liquide is a cohesive collection of well-crafted songs that will make you reevaluate (or re-appreciate) the state of Thrash Metal. They may be a little slow for Cannibal Corpse fans, but their dynamic appeal can reach across the many camps of metal music with relative ease.

Fun fact: Grenoble, France is sister cities with Phoenix, AZ here in the states. I knew it, and now you know it. Congrats!

*Why Twin Peaks seemingly has such a large fan base among the French music scene I don’t know, but I highly respect it. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, I highly recommend our guide to The Fast Paced, Lighthearted World of DOOM JAZZ.

For fans of: Bolt Thrower, Pig Destroyer, Celtic Frost

Like Liquid Flesh? Give these a listen: Ghoul, Vio-Lence, Power Trip

REVIEW: Igorrr – Moisissure (2008)

To varying degrees, there is a level of humor preinstalled in absurdity, albeit sometimes morbid. Released in 2008, Igorrr’s Moisissure is a complex mix of glitched-out neoclassical, death metal, breakbeats and 1920s/30s pop music. Above all else, Moisissure is an electronic musique concrete hybrid; a grotesque showcase of eccentric source material and contrasting influences. Haunting layers of piano, pitched and digitally shredded drums, and the circling sound of flies will leave you feeling like you’re in a German expressionist Crash Bandicoot level.

It wouldn’t be entirely off-base to call it a bit of a novelty album. Moisissure did in fact come from the same person who created Chicken Sonata. But perhaps a more appropriate lens to view Moisissure through is that of a modernized take on surrealism.

However you frame it, Igorrr is not for everyone nor for every occasion. But if you’re looking for something genuinely spooky with just a degree of cartoon staging, this album is for you.

For fans of: Meat Beat Manifesto, Nurse With Wound, Flying Lotus

Like Igorrr? Give these a listen: Ningen Isu, skintape, Andrew Liles

REVIEW: Self Deconstruction – Virtue (2014)

This post originally appeared on the 10th Dentist blog on Friday, February 5th, 2021.

Japan has been the new frontier for Western metal audiences looking for something fresh.

Self Deconstruction’s chaotic punk microclipses and occasional 3/4 timing may bring a hint of familiarity for Rudimentary Peni fans, but its ultimate grindcore sensibilities make this a strong contender for any metal fan’s music collection.

Virtue presents a fully formed idea without succumbing to overindulgence. Each motif is given an equal sliver of time to present itself and exit stage left. This not even 5-minute album of near pure-aggression presents itself like a frenzied attack from a monster coming out of the bushes, rather than the hellscaped demonic journey common among American and European bands.

A distinction should be made to separate the term ‘raw’ from the often synonymously used (but quite different) ‘shitty’ sound worshiped among metal heads, edge lords, and the uninformed alike. No, this album is raw, and it serves its frenzied nature well. Well mixed, well recorded, Virtue’s fanciest production trick is its use of occasionally panned vocals. This album brings back memories of seeing south-eastern weirdo power-violence and grindcore bands in North Carolina, or of hearing Minor Threat 7”s, early Pig Destroyer, or Bad Brain’s Black Dot album for the first time.

For fans of: Pig Destroyer, Rudimentary Peni, Sete Star Sept

Like Self Deconstruction? Give these a listen: Ents, Flagitious Idiosyncrasy in the Dilapidation,Cheap Art

Want more Self Deconstruction? Check out this interview at Lixiviat Records!