Is lumbering, elephantine doom your thing? Well, it had better be if you plan on spending quality time with Rhode Island doom-sayers, Pilgrim. That’s because their Misery Wizard debut serves up six ginomous slices of crawling, droning, monolithic doom with all the subtlety of a steel cage wrestling match. Do you think Saint Vitus and Reverend Bizarre are slow? Pilgrim is slower. Think Cathedral has some huge sounding riffs? Pilgrim has bigger ones. In a doom pissing contest, these chaps are mellow yellow. To help explain their sound, I’ve compiled a short list of things that move faster than Pilgrim. These include: octogenarians with bad knees, glaciers, evolution and innovation in black metal. Yep, Pilgrim is mighty slow. For a power trio, they make a lot of racket and stay true to the old school style of Sabbath-infused dirgery. They aren’t innovative or particularly dynamic and at times, they can get rather tiresome and tedious, even for a doom fanboy like Steel Druhm. Because of that last factoid, Misery Wizard is an album intended only for tried-and-true doom-hounds who don’t suffer from the slightest trace of ADD [I'll be over here, looking at moss. - AMG]. If your mind tends to wander, or drone makes you snooze, skip this release, or patience you’ll lose (HA! I waxed poetic).

Almost instantly, you’ll hear a big Reverend Bizarre similarity in the lead riff on “Astaroth.” It’s huge and sloth-like and Pilgrim uses it  to beat you senseless, repeating it over and over until you’re curled up in a ball on the floor. Like most of the songs here, this one crawls along like a sleepy snail in Snail-ville, with just the riffs to keep you company. The vocals don’t come in til the halfway point and feel a bit like an afterthought. It’s a classic doom song and at about six minutes, it’s the perfect length and doesn’t overstay its welcome. Others, like the ten-minute-plus title track and the whooping thirteen minutes of “Forsaken Man,” require far more stamina and indulgence from the listener as Pilgrim shambles, rambles and meanders (slowly) across a largely barren and static musical landscape. There are few, if any, tempo shifts and its usually one molar-shaking riff after another, with a minimum of window dressing. “Quest” and “Adventurer” shake things up a bit with faster tempos and actual solos (though “Quest” only accelerates at the midway point), and after all the lethargic rumbling, the increased speed ends up making a real impact and these tracks are high points because of it.

The riffs generated by the Wizard (that’s his name!) are fairly doomtastic and steeped in old timey doom ethos. He knows how to craft a thunderous lead and use it as a weapon of mass destruction. While solos and showy fret-work clearly aren’t his bag, he does his doomy duty and delivers the gloomy goods in workmanlike fashion. Sadly, as a vocalist, he doesn’t do much to excite or impress. He has a rather monotone, chant/shout style which doesn’t add much to the material’s impact. He doesn’t hurt things, but doesn’t elevate them either. This issue is partially alleviated by the mix, which brings the guitars way upfront and submerges the vox into the background. Still, a better vocal performance would make the songs pop a bit more.

As good as some of this material is, Misery Wizard would have benefited from a bit more diversity in tempo and song dynamics. The long song lengths, paired with a single-minded devotion to super slow riff-play, wear the listener out when there’s no break or respite from the doom-o-thon. Even the best riffs can be overused and eventually beaten into the ground and that happens a bit too often here.

Misery Wizard is a good debut by some promising doomsters. If they progress as songwriters and the Wizard works on his vocal approach, I can see highly depressing things in their glum future. If you cotton to the slow-motion bludgeoning of Reverend Bizarre, Saint Vitus or YOB, this should be right up your alley. You might want to bring some coffee along on the journey though, just in case.

Related posts:

1. Acid Witch – Stoned Review
2. Sinister Realm – The Crystal Eye Review
3. Pentagram – Last Rites Review

Every once in a while the scene gets a hair up its ass and decides that something that is explicitly not metal is totally OK to love. So, in the 90s, when I was first cutting my teeth on the extreme metal scene, Anathema and Katatonia were both giving up their extreme pasts and putting out records that were much more akin to sort of depressing alt rock than anything they’d previously been doing. Then there’s black metal guys’ love of swirly keyboard soundscapes (such that it ends up on Metal Archives, despite them actually banning other bands that I—and most others—would consider metal). Well, since the release of Amesoeurs really broke this sound in 2009, this sort of post-black metal shoegaze stuff has becomes the scene’s favorite non-metal thing. And, really, the description of it by one reviewer I read really sums it up: “Black metal that pisses off the indie kids and indie rock that pisses off the black metal kids. Brilliant.”

However, post-split (the split record, not that they were the same band) with Les Discrets, the Alcest production has been somewhat hit and miss. The first half of Écailles de Lune was brilliant, but the record sort of regressed as it went on, leaving new listeners and fans alike to wish that the album had really just been a 3 track EP. So, in early 2012 with the introduction of Alcest‘s newest piece of work Les Voyages De L’Âme, there were definitely concerns as to whether Alcest could live up to the gigantic expectations that everyone has for them. Because, really, given how ostensibly not metal these guys are—they sure do get a lot of love from the scene. Contrary to what the haters would tell you, generally such expectations are not unwarranted—and such is the case with Alcest.

What makes this stuff good is that it is beautiful and delicate and the melodies waft over the listener with a sort of ethereal grace that you don’t really get out of a lot of other bands. Rarely does Les Voyages de L’Âme move the listener to nod his head or engender any kind of physical reaction. Instead, it is meant to be listened to in darkened rooms on winter days. It’s essentially mood music. This kind of moodiness is perfectly embodied by the filler track “Beings of Light.” Lush vocal harmonies that are processed to the point of almost sounding like keyboards gently pull the listener further into the ambient calm before launching into blast beats—something that should be jarring—but even the blast beats have a non-aggressive feel to them because there’s nothing raw about the production tone. And when the vocals come in over that, they sound are more reminiscent of the mourning music in Lord of the Rings in the house of Galadriel and Celeborn than anything else I can think of. There is a definite appeal to this, and with time I have grown to love these melodies and this feel.

The problem that I have with this album is that I get bored with it. In its totality, the album feels very long, even though it clocks in at 50 minutes. That’s because a song like the aforementioned “Beings of Light” is basically 6 minutes of “oohs” and “aahs” and the chords progression doesn’t even change. It might be beautiful, but the minute you pierce the veil of beauty and begin thinking beyond whether or not its aesthetically pleasing, it feels a bit empty. Like sweet nothings whispered in your ear, they warm the heart. But after a while, you start to realize that they were empty and ultimately, forgettable. This, I fear, is the problem with Les Voyages De L’Âme.

Still, it should be noted that this record has actually grown on me quite a bit. I didn’t like it at all at first, but with time it’s taken on a character that I truly enjoy. Songs like “Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles” and “Summer’s Glory” kill me with beautiful and anthemic melodies and the soft edges that reach the near border of their black metal influences. But the crowning achievement of Les Voyages de L’Âme is the track ”Faiseurs de mondes” which has brilliant melodies and a build that just makes my Angry Metal Non-Soul soar—listen to it here. But despite these successes, the filler tracks like “Havens” and “Beings of Light” kind of kill the vibe for me. Even when I’m just listening to this in my monitors in a chill environment, my mind begins to wander. Damn my Angry Metal Attention Deficit Disorder.

Related posts:

1. Les Discrets – Septembre et ses dernières Pensées Review
2. Alcest – Écailles de Lune Review
3. Drudkh – Handful of Stars Review

Dim Mak arose from cult heroes Ripping Corpse in 1996 (after Erik Rutan ran off to join Morbid Angel) and they decided to do something entirely different. And yes, I believe that Dim Mak definitely qualifies as that. A thrashy, techy death metal band with martial arts themes almost exclusively (yes, their first record was called Enter the Fist), The Emergence of Reptilian Altars is the band’s fourth full length and first since 2006. Five years (well, six if you’re looking at the Euro release date) is a long time to wait between albums, so you’d like to think that they were preparing something super special (like the Touch of Death!) for their return. But during that five years down, original vocalist (and Ripping Corpse member) Scott Ruth left the band and was replaced by newcomer Joe Capizzi, whose style is markedly different than his predecessor.

And The Emergence of Reptilian Altars is a record arguably quite different than its forerunners. While the band operates breakneck speed for a good portion of the time, pumping out amelodic riffs galore and pummeling the listener’s brain with ridiculous, tight and fascinating drumming from Origin and Gorguts drummer John Longstreth, there is not the same blitzkrieg kind of blasthappy speed approach. This makes for some pretty awesome material at times. “The Secret Tides of Blood” lilts back and forth between blasty chorus parts and groove laden, almost jazzy, interludes and verse parts that can switch up almost unpredictably. On top of this kind of material, vocalist Joe Capizzi apparently approaches tracks in a much different way than most vocalists. Where others seem to harbor a desire make their vocals work rhythmically, he seems more accustom to spitting his vocals out in bunches, in places that seem vaguely inappropriate and unsettling at times like some sort of crazed, death metal beat poet! This can be really distracting and actually discourages getting into the groove of tracks.

So I was admittedly really pretty cool on this album until the introduction of the track “Between Immensity and Eternity” kicked in and that’s when The Emergence of Reptilian Altars really turned around for me. That track, while still containing riffs that might as well be finger exercises, also contains some outstandingly groovy and crushing riffs that kept me coming back again and again. And this was not just a fluke, the follow up, the vocalless “Through the Rivers of Pestilence,” also contains some riffs worthy of Death or Covenant-era Morbid Angel. In fact, I’d say the entire final two thirds of the disc should probably just have been an EP, because those 6 tracks really fucking rip. And with lyrics like these form the track “Fully Disassembled” it’s not too difficult to feel pretty stoked about this album: “‎In this landscape forged from dismemberment! I administer the sacrement of pain!” Yes sir, you most certainly do.

So while I’m not totally sold on the first three tracks, because there are basically no riffs or moments that bring me back around, The Emergence of Reptilian Altars wins pretty hard on the back end. The musicianship is awesome (though the bass is *way* too low in the mix), with the riffing actually wandering into the nearly unmatched and highly addictive area of Anata at times, and the drums alone are worth listening to. Still, while this record does salvage itself on the back end (and “Between Immensity and Eternity” is definitely one of the best songs I’ve heard in this young 2012), enter at your own risk. Dim Mak is not for everyone.

Related posts:

1. Horrendous – The Chills Review
2. Swashbuckle – Back to the Noose Review
3. Aeon – Path of Fire Review

In the last few years, old school death metal has seen a resurgence in the underground. Gone are the bands trying to blast their way into oblivion by copying the NYDM sound, no more does every death metal band in the scene want to sound like Origin or Hate Eternal. Instead, Entombed and Death have been come the ideals—and this revitalization has been welcome to these Angry Metal Ears. I find it distinctly more giving to listen to the crunchy riffs and the cavelike production values than what a lot of modern death metal has become. But as has been noted, like any trend these things start to get too saturated and the listener tends to cool a bit on the new material that’s coming out. 

Horrendous definitely fits into the old school trend that’s bubbling forth in the underground. The Chills is the band’s first full length, and musically, it is distinctively Floridian. But while the music is a throwback to late 80s/early 90s Florida, the production reminds me a lot more of the classic Swedish death metal sound. The guitars sound like they were recorded in an old warehouse, with a mic sitting on the other side of the room. The bass is fat and sounds slightly distorted, but sits well in the mix and the drums too are pretty wet with reverb. Even the vocals in their mid-range are reminiscent of James Tardy’s croaks, but sound like they threw their vocalist down a well before they recorded his takes. Take that reverby sound, some skull crushing riffs, ponderous melodies and shreddy solos á la classic Slayer or Obituary style and you’ve got your stage set.

For me, though, the charm of classic death metal is the song writing. What modern death metal lacks in dynamics and interesting song writing, the classics made up for in spades. Horrendous doesn’t quite live up to these standards, really. There aren’t a lot of great hooks or snappy chorus parts that pound out and pull you in. But that’s not to say that these guys don’t have anything up their sleeves. Tracks like “Altars” and “Fleshrot” clock in at 3 and a half minutes and knock out great melodies combined with cool rhythm and hooky melodies. And while there feels like there’s some filler, the two places where I ended up really impressed on this album were the final track “The Eye of Madness” and the track “Fatal Dreams.” While the former is a 9 minute epic with a fantastic melodic breakdown in the middle that I loved, the latter pushes into the more amelodic technicality of Death a bit and they both are strong for it. The high moments on these songs really are when the bass riffs along with the guitars. I came back to those both quite a few times.

Still, as much as I can see this pleasing the classic fan of death metal, I’m not super blown away. The song musicianship is strong, the production is good and has a quaint, low budget feel to it that rules. And while there are good melodies and great riffs, I spent most of this record waiting for those high points I mentioned earlier. That said, there is of course potential here. Horrendous is just a young band breaking out their first full length, so it’s worth saying that given the flashes of greatness that show up here, there could definitely be more to come from them. So while I’d recommend these guys to the death metal connoisseur (or the very nostalgic), that’s probably where I’d stop. Organize The Chills under “possible grower” and Horrendous under “bands to watch.”

Related posts:

1. Dim Mak – The Emergence of Reptilian Altars Review
2. Deicide – To Hell With God Review
3. Denial Fiend – Horror Holocaust Review

Steel Druhm has been waiting for this for a long time! For the uninitiated, Crom is the brainchild of one Walter Grosse and he functions as a one-man-band, doing it all for the metal masses. His first album, 2008′s Vengeance, was one of those special sleepers that didn’t get nearly as much attention and praise as it deserved. Fusing viking, epic and power metal, it had a unique, engaging style all its own and the songwriting was top-notch (it almost sounded like Týr mixed with Europe and Hammerheart-era Bathory if you can imagine that). So good was the material, years later, I still find myself singing the immortal line “I swear this oath, this oath of Wengeance...” at least once a week (wengeance, like revenge, is best served cold, with crackers and cheese). While the lyrics were based around viking and mythical themes, it had a dead-serious feeling that most power metal acts couldn’t come close to achieving. After a long wait, we finally get Of Love and Death. So, is it more viking/power with all the sacking and rampaging we expect? Well no, it’s something quite different. Apparently in the three years since Vengeance, Mr. Grosse grew tired of viking battles and blood oaths and turned all introspective and emo. This is an album steeped in the subjects of love, heartache, loss and loneliness. That’s right, he done gone and turned in his war hammer for a big-ass book of love poems. As odd as it seems, it doesn’t totally kill things and Grosse’s writing and performing chops are still there. However, this certainly isn’t the sequel I was hoping for and there are issues that ultimately render it a partial disappointment.

As a Crom disciple, I expected opener “Reason to Live” to involve honor, battle and bloodshed. In actuality, it deals with grief and mourning after a loved one dies or goes away (I’m not sure which). Despite the conceptual change-up, the song itself is very much in keeping with the Crom I grew to love. You get heartfelt vocals, impassioned guitar-work  and a generally big, epic feel. It’s a solid song and Grosse’s voice shines during the chorus. The highlight comes with “Lifetime,” which could have been on Vengeance and has everything I love about these guys (I mean guy)! Featuring epic, lofty riffing and viking chanting, it’s what can best be described as pyre-metal (pat. pending). When Steel Druhm eventually ascends to Valhalla, my entrance music can be found at 1:38. Again, Grosse shows his emotive playing and even more emotional singing. It’s a great song, full of viking ethos even though he’s singing of loss and loneliness. Other respectable tracks include “My Destiny” and “This Dying World,” both recapture some of the magic from Crom‘s warrior past.

Ever wonder what Insomnium would sound like if they dropped the death vox and started writing angsty love songs? Well, “Just One Blink” should give you a pretty good idea how that would go. Featuring some highly cringe-inducing lyrics like “I just want you to like me...” it almost works due  to the quality backing music. When you hear these lyrics, you’ll realize what an accomplishment that truly is. More lyrics like these  ultimately become the big obstacle to enjoying Of Love and Death. While the topics of love and loss are fine, the delivery on several songs is flat-out cheesy and awkward. There’s something very disconcerting about teenage angsty lyrics pasted over epic/viking music. If Mr. Grosse was singing about deceased loves, it would work well. However, songs like “Just a Blink” and “Song for All the Broken Hearts” feature the most maudlin “I love you, why don’t you care” type of lyrics and it hamstrings my listening experience every time. Also working against the album is the imbalance between the really good songs and the really weak ones. It’s so stark, it makes you wish certain songs got dumped and this was released as an EP (its only seven songs and an instrumental as is).

I can’t say enough about the talents of Mr. Grosse. I love his voice, his guitar-work (his acoustic pieces are great) and his writing style. He shines on some of these songs, just as he did on Vengeance. The man has the knack for writing majorly epic shit that makes you feel like ransacking your neighbor’s vegetable garden (these tomatoes now belong….to ODIN!). As great as some of this stuff is, there’s a nagging feeling much of the material isn’t up to the level of his previous output (limited as it is).

After so eagerly awaiting this album, I hate to admit disappointment, but that’s how I feel. There are a few great songs and the rest are average to below average. I know its gotta be a tough transition from hearts-on-a-stake to hearts-on-a-sleeve, so I’m willing to be patient. However, if I don’t get my fix of epic viking goodness soon, I’ll be forced to swear an oath, an oath of wengeance! You’re officially on notice, Mr. Grosse. By Crom, strap on that damn sword and start writing pyre metal!

Related posts:

1. Falkenbach – Tiurida Review
2. Demonical – Death Infernal Review
3. Edguy – Age of the Joker Review

Lance King, like Elvis, is everywhere. He’s sang for a ton of bands (Balance of Power, Pyramaze, Avian, Empire etc. etc.), he runs Nightmare Records and still found the time to record and release his first solo album, A Moment in Chiros. For those unfamiliar with his body of work, Mr. King is the quintessential prog-power metal singer. His voice is versatile, powerful and his range is impressive. He sounds equally at home alongside melodic power metal and thoughtful prog-metal. For his debut solo project, he’s brought in elements of both and made damn sure everything is super-duper melodic, even symphonic at times. To assist him in this endeavor, he recruited a mighty host of friends, including members of Anubis Gate, Beyond Twilight and Adagio. The final product (which was apparently written and recorded in only three months) will remind many of Empire-era Queensryche mixed with elements of  Dream Theater, Pagan’s Mind, Anubis Gate and of course, Lance’s other units, especially Balance of Power. There are moments where Lance and company shine as bright as the sun and there’s some interesting material here for fans of power-prog. However, A Moment in Chiros struggles with the consistency of quality and this ultimately hurts things, which is a real shame.

Although a Moment in Chiros is a concept album revolving around the 11:11 time prompt phenomenon, I won’t waste anyone’s “time” trying to explain it. Dammit, Steel Druhm’s a reviewer, not a Scientology wonk! Things begin quite solidly with “A Sense of Urgency,” which is a nice introduction to the variety of melodic metal Lance specializes in. It’s laid back, with low-key guitar work. The keyboards give it a slightly symphonic flavor and Lance’s vocals sound classy and smooth as silk. Thereafter, things ramp up with a suite of great songs including the poignant and memorable ”Awakening,” the more aggressive “Manifest Destiny” and the impossibly hooky “A Given Choice.” All are top-notch examples of modern-day power-prog with moments of emotion and beauty (3:37 of “Manifest Destiny” is one). Other quality moments include the title track and “Dance of Power.”

Sadly, as the album progresses, the quality trails off and later tracks feel slapped together and rather bland (“Joy Everlasting” and “Sacred Systems”). Other songs, while not bad, don’t really grab me (“Transformation” and Infinity    Divine”). Another problem involves the spoken word, “new agey” segments that pop up throughout the album. They serve to advance the concept in the most general way but they come across as cheesy and annoying.

Complaints aside,  A Moment in Chiros has a great sound. It’s rich, warm, lush and polished as all hell. While never overly heavy, the guitars do have a decent crunch. Although the keys are very prominent, this always feels like a metal album, albeit a very melodic one. Lance sounds great throughout and showcases the versatility and range of his pipes. He even elevates a song or two from average to good. The good stuff here is so good, it makes me wish they spent more time refining the writing so this could have been a better album. The first half is 4.0 worthy, the back-end, not so much.

As a fan of Mr. King’s work, I wanted this to be better but it does have about half an album’s worth of strong, enjoyable material. I love the guy’s voice and I’ll support whatever project he’s involved in. I hope next time he can churn out an entire album of the same high quality as the first half here. Fans of classy prog-power and melodic metal should check this out and see for themselves.

Related posts:

1. Theocracy – As The World Bleeds Review
2. Brainstorm – On the Spur of the Moment Review
3. Pagan’s Mind – Heavenly Ecstasy Review

The Binding Cycle is the first full-length album by Norwegian quintet, The Fallen Divine. Founded in 2009, and with one EP under their belt, the band worked with King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque at his studio, Sonic Train, to produce the album. And he produced the fuck out of them. The sound on this album is so clean it sparkles. Which is as it should be, because there is a lot going on and The Fallen Divine don’t want you to miss any of it. A self-described progressive metal band, they have a lot of influences and only one shot at showing you that they’ve mastered them all. Fortunately, they pretty much have.

They come out swinging on “Dissension,” throwing everything they’ve got into these seven and a half minutes. The resulting aggregation of technical riffery, proggy keyboards and a jazz interlude comes off a little like a snowboard movie—not so much a continuous composition as a series of really cool tricks strung together. Depending on your outlook, this balls out eclecticism is either off-putting or impressive. “Dissension” is only a slight exaggeration of the rest of the album’s almost fifty minutes (which in this case is only a few minutes longer than you want it to be).

While you’ll find bits and pieces of just about everything on here and all of it is well done, tempo and rhythm changes are pretty much the point (think Dream Theater on crack, or more precisely, John Zorn’s Naked City). The whole album is chock-full of hooks, great riffs, and melodic lead lines but they never dwell on a single theme long enough to really develop the idea. The keyboards provide some atmosphere but are kept firmly in check and never come to the front. For the most part, vocals take the form of screams in the style of Dark Tranquility, and, you know, everyone else. But some whispers and an occasional pleasing slide into deeper growls hint at the potential for more versatility there in the future. When I remembered to notice, the lyrics seemed hold to a general theme of outsider angstyness – which is good. Occasionally, a little bubble of Les Claypool-worthy bass rises to the surface of the mathematical stew; midway through “Shades of Oppression,” some lead bass steps forward. These flashes of bass brilliance are always unexpected, but never incongruous. I kept wishing they’d let the bass player loose more often.

After “Dissension,” the rest of the tracks are uniformly strong, with consistently catchy lead lines. “Northern Lights” stands out as a little more cohesive. It feels like the ideas here have more room to stretch and breathe before diving into something else.  Just past the five minute mark there’s a jazz interlude that’s less disjointed than others scattered throughout the album because they manage to pull the flute (probably actually keyboards) through into the anthemic metal riff that follows.

They close with the title track, which has the most overtly progressive sound on the album. Where “Dissension” tended to showboat, “The Binding Cycle” showcases some of the best elements from the other tracks, offering up a piano intro paired with an acoustic guitar break reminiscent of Pantera’s “Cemetery Gates.” There’s also more bass in here and some jazz piano followed by chugging guitars that introduce the closest thing to guitar solo on the album. After some of the lower-range screaming on the album, The Binding Cycle ends – not with a bang but a whisper. And a piano. And some acoustic guitar.

The Fallen Divine have put together a respectable and enjoyable first album that is absolutely worth a listen. Despite some compositional weakness, all of the pieces are strong enough to stand up by themselves, and the album never completely falls apart.  They clearly love playing with different techniques and linking a wide variety of sounds.  As they mature, and their focus shifts from proving what they can do towards creating something whole out of the pieces, their music will only get more engaging. I’m already more interested in listening to their next album than this one – especially if they let the bass player off his chain.

Related posts:

1. Angrily Unreviewed: Supreme Pain – Divine Incarnation
2. Crucifyre – Infernal Earthly Divine Review
3. Pestilence – Doctrine Review

When Megadeth released Endgame in 2009, I was noticeably effected. This was Megadeth like we hadn’t really heard them since (arguably) Youthanasia, and for more fans, much earlier than that. It was a refreshed band with excellent writing and guitar work that matched the Marty Friedman days. The songs were well written, catchy and the record was tightly edited and honed down to perfect vinyl length. Honestly, Endgame was a record that I don’t think anyone but the most idealistic of Megadeth fans could even have been expecting. And though at the time I joked that we should make sure that Mustaine wasn’t stockpiling fertilizer, (I still hold firm to that belief) the record has aged pretty well. That, of course, means that there are some expectations for Th1rt3en. Expectations that this record, for example, will not suck.

Th1rt3en doesn’t suck. I can say that from the get-go. Musically, while this record is not as dark and thrashy as Endgame was, it is musically superior to anything that Megadeth put out between Youthanasia and Endgame. While “Sudden Death” starts out a little off, it works into a catchy chorus and some fantastic soloing. The same is true of “Never Dead” and “Public Enemy No. 1,” while the track “New World Order” is a driving track that wanders into some pretty cool progressive area musically. But it’s true that this album is a lot more “driving music,” or sort of driven tracks that are more akin to “Angry Again” or “99 Ways to Die”—that is to say direct. See almost any track on here, “Wrecker” or “Deadly Nightshade” or… well, you get the picture. The dark and thrashy approach that characterized Endgame goes missing, definitely.

These tracks lead to copious amount of head nodding, which is always a good sign. And I do really dig some of this stuff, but there are some things that really stick out for me. First, this record is too long. At an hour, it contains two or three songs too many. Unlike Endgame, which felt like an ass-kicking at 45 minutes long, Th1rt3n loses me at about “Wrecker” and I just have trouble staying tuned in. This isn’t a good thing. And while the music is great and there are some really good solos (let’s just say that this Angry Metal Guy thinks that Chris Broderick is the best thing that ever happened to Megadeth) and some good writing, the tracks feel a bit tired at times and they don’t hide something that is becoming more and more of a deal breaker for me.

The deal breaker is the lyrics. Th1rt3en wanders between the inane (“Whose life is this anyway?” Well, Dave, given that you’re a grown man, it’s yours—so do something about it) and the insane (“I’ve seen the future / One of calamity / The coming plagues / of the new disease / The Illuminati / One world currency / One world religion / One world everything!” — from “We the People,” though this is offset by an amazing fucking solo) and the downright stupid (“Monitoring our wages / New World Order comes in stages”). It’s ironic that as he’s gotten older Mustaine’s politics apparently have gotten stupider and I really think he believes this stuff. It’s one thing if this is fiction, it’s another thing if this dude is really listening to Alex Jones and writing this kind of crap in paranoid fits in the middle of the night. I’m guessing that the creators of Fallout could make a pretty funny town in an upcoming release of the game where Dave Mustaine and Jon Schaffer have joined together to create the most metal of post-apocalyptic villages—what with them both being so well-prepared. This stuff is silly and the lyrics aren’t good and they kind of piss on the songs. Mustaine has never been a lyrical genius, but I don’t recall it ever being this bad before.

Still, I guarantee you that fans of the band will like this record. There’s plenty of musical goodness to enjoy and Mustaine’s paranoid politics aside, it’s got some really enjoyable moments. I need to come back to the point that Chris Broderick is a total beast again, though. I reserved .5 of this 3.0 score for him because his guitar playing is worth owning this record for. His solos are fantastic and he brings an energy to this project that has been missing for along time. So more power to him and I hope that he stays on and helps Mustaine through his apparently very difficult and paranoid time.

Oh, btw, Dave, the magical Endgame Document that disappeared and can’t be found is located here [PDF].

Megadeth // Th1rt3en
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — Symphony of distraction
By: Steel Druhm

It seems 2011 is the year of the so-called “Big Four.” We’ve had a tour of 80s giants Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica, a long-awaited release by Anthrax and now, the new Megadeth platter arrives. In all fairness and candor, the very originally titled Th1rt3en (it’s their thirteenth album) has the misfortune of following Endgame, one of Megadeth‘s best albums in years. That means expectations are significantly higher than usual. Making matters much worse, Mustaine & crew chose this of all times to adopt a more melodic, hard rockish and at times, poppy style. Naturally, the combination of these two factors doesn’t bode well for Big Dave’s shiny new product and Th1rt3en is a large step back from Endgame. While there are a few examples of vintage Deth, this just isn’t a very good collection of songs. There are several factors working against it and by the time this runs its course, a lot of people are going to feel underwhelmed and frustrated.

Things start out very well with “Sudden Death,” which has all the classic Deth elements in force and working overtime. There’s guitar pyrotechnics, especially from new guitar monster Chris Broderick (ex Jag Panzer), loads of aggression and Dave’s patented snarl. It’s so vital, it  reminds you why this band has remained relevant for so long. If the rest of Th1rt3en was like this, it would be big money. However, things immediately dive into silly, overly commercial radio rock like “Public Enemy NO. 1″ (which sounds like an Alice Cooper song from his late 80s pop-metal period) and “Whose Life (Is It Anyways?).” From there, we get the bland “We the People” which is crushed under the weight of unbelievably bad political lyrics that may have come from a Fourth Grade Civics textbook. Seriously, I don’t care a bit about Mustaine’s political opinions but when the lyrics are this hackneyed and cheeseball, it undermines all my attempts to take things seriously. Other failures include the filler demons “Guns, Drugs and Money” and “Fast Lane” (which has lyrics that make “I Can’t Drive 55″ seem profound by comparison [And rhymes stolen directly from The Box Tops's "The Letter" - AMG]). After suffering through tracks like these, I couldn’t help but think of the recent Annihilator output and their oh-so-cheese-tastic quasi-thrash. While ”Never Dead,” “New World Order” and “Millenium of the Blind” are all respectable, they just aren’t good enough to salvage an album steeped in mediocrity (which goes on for three songs too long).

What does almost salvage things is Mr. Broderick’s amazing playing. The man is unbelievable and if ever there was a guitar hero, he’s it. Almost every song gets elevated by his fluid shredding and lead-work. If Davey boy had managed to write slighty better songs, Broderick’s fret mastery would have carried them all to victory. As it is, he can only help stave off a total collapse. While his songwriting clearly isn’t up to snuff, Dave’s playing and vocals are in fine form and his snarl sounds as good as ever. Musically, these cats are beyond reproach and as a unit, they sound tight and dangerous, even on the slower songs (of which there are many).

This brings me back to another major source of irritation: the lyrics. They’re partic-ularly cringe-worthy across most of Th1rt3en and they seriously impair my appreciation of several songs. While I don’t buy a Megadeth platter for Dave’s poetic word play, he really shits the bed on many of the songs and some of his word choices had me throwing up my hands in dismay. Maybe its the therapy sessions with Lars or too much interweb time on Jon Schaffer approved, geo-political conspiracy sites, but Dave really phoned it in this time. When the songs themselves are this iffy, bad lyrics are the wet French kiss of deth (yes, I’m funny [Oh-so-very funny! - AMG]).

So there you have it, this isn’t one of the better releases in Megadeth‘s considerable discography. It has moments (largely supplied by Broderick) but overall, this one is gonna collect a whole lot of dust on my CD shelf in the coming years. If you worship these guys, you’ll get this and deal with it but you’ll have to admit, its not indicative of what they’re truly capable of. If it’s any consolation Dave, this is still light years better than anything Metallica could do these days (Lou Reed anybody?). Step up to the table Slayer!

Related posts:

1. Megadeth – Endgame Review
2. Megadeth – Head Crusher
3. Evile – Infected Nations Review

My, how times and tastes change. When I first signed on as a newbie writer for Angry Metal Guy Industries, I was happy and content with all the musical trends in the metalsphere (save anything core, of course). Now, a scant year and a half later, I’m pretty much burned out on black metal and I’m even getting weary of my (formerly)  beloved retro-thrash wave. At this point, the trend feels beaten back to life then back to death again. While a few of the recent thrash releases stood out (Toxic Holocaust for one), as a rule the scene feels tired and old like it did toward the end of the original wave. That brings us to the U.K.’s Evile. Their 2007 release Enter the Grave was a nice shot in the arm of vintage thrash but their follow-up Infected Nations took on too much of a progressive mid-period Metallica vibe and bored more bashed (although AMG dug it well enough). I was hopeful they would return to their more aggressive style on Five Serpent’s Teeth and while they did, this ended up too generic and unoriginal to really get me worked up into a thrashy lather. However, its undeniably well-executed, generally engaging speed with enough technical ability to impress and a few standout cuts.

The opening title track is an aggressive stomper and clearly isn’t lacking in energy. It has more than its share of storming thrash riffs akin to my beloved Wargasm paired with In Flames-esque leads and solos but something about it results in a disconnect for me. I want to like it but  feel cold and distant toward it. Other songs like “Cult,” ”Xaraya” and “Centurion” are straight-forward thrash but throw in interesting harmonies and excellent guitar solos (check out “Xaraya” at 3:50) and engage the listener. Others like “In Dreams of Terror,” ”Eternal Empire” and “Long Live the New Flesh” feel generic and tedious and don’t hold my attention. Power-ballad “In Memoriam” has a huge Metallica influence, from the guitar phraseology to the Hetfieldy vocals (its so close to something off the Black Album, it’s nearly a cover song) but it works fairly well and the emotional guitar-work is an album high point. The rest of the songs either fall into the “entertaining but unoriginal” or “generic and not too entertaining” baskets. Fortunately, the balance falls in the entertaining bin and more songs work than don’t.

The saving grace for much of Five Serpent’s is the guitar-work of brothers-o-metal Ol and Matt Drake. While most of the riffing is standard-issue thrash that you’ve heard elsewhere since 1983′, they do it with enough conviction  and heart to put it over. Where they really shine is in the solo department. They clearly have chops and some of their lead-work is beautiful and classy-as-fuck. Vocally, Matt Drake has been labelled a Hetfield clone and there are some similarities but here, he tends to sound more like Bob Mayo (Wargasm). His delivery and tone is tougher than Hetfield’s and that usually helps retain the heavy factor even when they move into mid-paced tempos. He’s not the best vocalist out there but he gets it done. Together, Evile sounds tight and proficient musically but the songwriting doesn’t always keep up with the technical flair.

The production is a typically overblown, overly clean, modern one and although the guitars sound big and beefy, the sterile sound takes away much of the edge and danger thrash should have. It has the same sound as many recent metalcore/modern metal releases and while that doesn’t completely ruin the impact, it isn’t helping much either.

Between the sound, sometimes generic songwriting and the oversaturation of retro-thrash, this just doesn’t have a real wow factor for me. In all fairness, this late in the game, only the very best thrash releases can standout and avoid a feeling of malaise and been-there-got-the-Slayer-shirt. Evile was never a top dog in the genre IMHO and this release doesn’t elevate them there. Its decent, solid thrash and you can tell they mean it, but its been done, and done. I would recommend tracking down the old Wargasm albums instead but if you want new thrash, Evile is the lesser of other retro evils out there.

Related posts:

1. Evile – Infected Nations Review
2. RIP Mike Alexander
3. Toxic Holocaust – Conjure and Command Review

The Germanic horde Thulcandra is back for another fast and furious bout of Dissection worship. For those who missed my review of their 2010 opus Fallen Angel’s Dominion, these chaps, lead by Stefan Kummerer (Obscura) are huge fans of the late, great Dissection and their debut was a loving tribute to their classic sound. Since I’m also a fan, their authentic and spot-on Dissection-isms (and occasional Immortal-isms) won me over enough to overlook the complete lack of originality. That release stands up well and I still spin it fairly often. Now comes their second album, Under a Frozen Sun and its a whole lot more of the same. Once again, they deliver expertly performed, melodic black metal with all the hallmarks of The Somberlain and Storm of the Light’s Bane albums. This time however, it feels slighty less fresh and engaging. Perhaps their homage schtick is growing old or maybe its the black metal weariness I’m feeling of late. Either way, while less successful than the debut, Thulcandra (or Dissection, I’m not sure which) retains just enough charm and appeal to make for some worthwhile moments of old school Scandinavian blackness, suitable for scowling and frowning in the snow.  It also has several barnburners that rise above the continued pattern of staunch unoriginality.

Long-winded opener “In Blood and Fire” attacks with finely tuned trem-pickery and blast beatery and Stefan’s rasps and croaks are quite good. Where Thulcandra really excels is in the epic, almost-beautiful trem-riff   patterns that appear, and disappear throughout the song. The stately, grandiose solo sections (like at 5:45) are also haunting and at times, cross over into vintage In Flames territory. Overall, a strong example of melodic black metal that offers nothing new to the genre whatsoever. The title track showcases cascading trem-riffs and a noticeable Dark Tranquility flavor (check out the stylishly traditional metal guitar-work mixed in with the trem attacks at 3:00). “Aeon of Darkness” is a face-melter with Soilwork riffing and an urgency that grabs attention. The highpoint for many will be the enormous, nine-plus-minute ”Gates of Eden,” which packs enough fluid, frigid guitar wizardry to make the Snow Miser move to Florida for warmth and margaritas. If the rest of Under a Frozen Sun was at this level, this would be one bad mofo of blackness. Sadly, several of the tracks just lay there and feel generic (“Black Flags of Hate,” “Ritual of Sight” etc. etc.). Making matters worse, Thulcandra did away with most of the Immortal influences. While I’m all for a band moving beyond their influences, Thulcandra cleary has no intention of doing that so they might as well keep the nifty Immortal aping.

The main point of appeal here is the frenzied guitar work by Steffan and Sebastian Ludwig. Its their melodic but throttling performance that keeps this from becoming another throw-away black metal retread. Even on the songs that fall short, there’s impressive riffage (especially “Ritual of Sight”). Between the two of them, they carry the listener through technical soloing, trem-abuse and softer, melodic segments. With so much stellar fretboarding, I just wish the songs were more consistent quality-wise.

If you liked the last Thulcandra, this is more or less a continuation with few surprises. It’s good but not as good. While I’m not about to deny the importance of Dissection in the history of black metal, I think Thulcandra needs to grow away from this tribute band approach if they expect to become a real player in the genre. There’s more than enough stagnation, malaise and staleness already and a band this talented should do something about it instead of perpetually paying homage to a long dead legend. Wow, Steel Druhm is getting preachy in his dotage.  

Related posts:

1. Thulcandra – Fallen Angel’s Dominion Review
2. Netherbird – Shadows and Snow EP Review
3. Trident – World Destruction Review