Holy shite, this is a feisty and fiery one! One of the most successful “project” bands in recent memory, Goatwhore has come roaring back, filled with piss, bile and cayenne peppers on album five, Blood for the Master. This is nasty, blackened death/thrash from the most stagnant bayou of the Big Easy and it’s the musical equivalent of a gator attack. Featuring former members of Crowbar, Acid Bath and Nachtmystium, Goatwhore is professional, single-minded and out to punish mankind. Although they started as an American take on Norwegian black metal like Darkthrone, they’ve since settled into life as a drooling, chomping, black/death/thrash beast. While their past few albums have been a bit samey at times, they were always fun in a berserk, foaming at the mouth kinda way. Blood for the Master continues in the same direction as 2009′s Carving Out the Eyes of God but feels a bit more intense and well thought out. It hits like a nuclear howitzer from Hades with thirty-eight minutes of face melting ugliness and malevolent swagger. There are lots of  nods to the classic Bay Area thrash sound, some black n’ roll, classic death riffing and ice-cold, hyper-kinetic trem-abuse. What makes this so entertaining is the odd biker rock vibe Goatwhore manages to impart to the mach-speed chaos. Its hard to explain, but this sounds like black/death as done by a southern rock lovin, greasy biker gang and it works. While this ends up more of a thrash album than a black or death metal opus, it retains enough of an icy black heart to keep most frowners frowning happily (is that possible?). While it doesn’t differ much from what Skeletonwitch has done on the past few albums, its harder, meaner and way more convincing.

Of the ten tracks, nine blaze away with manic fury and seething hostility. “Collapse of Eternal Worth” gets the spiked ball rolling with an almost punk rock take on black metal that reminds me of the first Corrosion of Conformity album but with way more hate. The riffs are urgent and some are quite powerful. The vocals lurch from guttural death croaks to blackened rasps. “When Steel Meets Bone” is really a Bay Area thrash number with hints of vintage Exciter in the riffing and tempo. “An End to Nothing” borrows extensively from the Great Book of Slayer, including the frenzied,  whammy-intensive solos.

The most “black” of the tracks is the epic and evil “Judgment of the Bleeding Crown,” which sounds like top-notch Belphegor. The riffing locks in perfectly with the rolling drums and it sounds like an unstoppable juggernaut of doom. Likewise, “Beyond the Spell of Discontent” trots out some nicely frigid trem leads before settling into a straight thrash style. Only “In Deathless Tradition” stumbles and feels underwhelming with a more mid-pace grinding attack (it has a nifty solo).

Blood for the Master lives or dies by the strength of the axe mastery of Sammy Duet and fortunately, he’s up to the challenge. There are a lot of crisp, quality riffs here, of the black, death and thrash variety. His solos are also impressive and span several styles and approaches (my favorite coming at 2:15 during “Parasitic Scriptures of the Sacred Word”). Ben Falgoust’s vocals are diverse and mostly well done. Though he uses less of his pure black rasp this time, his death croaks are good and his screams sound genuinely painful (though he sounded better on earlier albums). I was very impressed with the drumming of Zack Simmons. The man can bash and crash and he really adds a lot of the fun to the mix.

Speaking of mix, the production by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) is a big factor in the success of Blood for the Master. The drum sound is huge and organic and the guitars sound pulverizing and unstoppable. This isn’t a trembly, tinny low-fi product by any means. Its got a huge low-end rumble and will shake you out of your socks with a wall of nasty sound.

Goatwhore isn’t re-writing any books on metal or doing anything unique, but their frantic, blitzkrieg approach to black/death is a winning recipe with loads of cajun awesome sauce. This is an blast of pure metal insanity and manages to be both extreme and memorable. Like having a rabid pitbull in your pants; its gonna get you moving and shaking. Get on the goat and ride…to glory!!

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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.

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You need a certain amount of courage to name your album Death in 2012, don’t you? I mean this is one of, if not the, most used words in the metal world altogether and it usually reminds lots of fans with Chuck Schuldiner’s seminal band with the same name. On the personal level, I still find myself a little baffled by Ram’s title of choice for their third studio album in thirteen years of making heavy metal. Then again, some may ask me “but what’s in a name?” and I find myself remembering some awesome and meaningful titles like Oblivion Beckons by Byzantine, The Atrocity Exhibition…  Exhibit A by Exodus or Mumakil’s Behold the Failure and realizing that there’s a lot in a name.

Death sounds like a pretty straightforward record that lugs the crunchy guitar sound, muddy bass guitar & bass drum sound and that overall grittiness of heavy metal. So having not been familiar with Ram prior to this album, Death didn’t surprise me much because I didn’t really expect it to. There have been some moments that stood out for me, like the very good lead guitar work on “Comes From the Mouth Beyond” and “Release Me”. “Defiant” is all about the triplets and it keeps chugging away in threes as if it’s the only way to do business. “Frozen” is a traditionally structured ballad placed neatly in the middle of the album to turn the pace down a little bit, but much for my dismay, it gave way to the rather toothless “Under the Scythe” which didn’t create the desired contrast.

“1771” and “Flame of the Tyrant” have some bad ass riffs but that’s not really the center point of skill on display here. The only obvious proof for said skill that I could find was the solos. Copious amounts of said proof are on display throughout Death. The solo on the impressive “Comes From the Mouth Beyond” was the first one that caught my attention but a few extra listens brought the ones from “Defiant” and the aforementioned “Flame of the Tyrant” to my attention as well. The vocals are generally above average and convey an air of leather-clad confidence that linearly increases with every beer. They are, however, a bit too far in the foreground and draw more attention than they actually deserve. This increased emphasis on the vocals distracts the listener from the instruments being played behind it, but on many occasions, not much is happening there anyway. 

The fellows from Ram are by no means reinventing the old heavy metal wheel, and if they had intended to do so, they’re way off with Death.  As for individual skill, the guitar section will have to come in first for me and that is the result of the intelligent solos and riffs that still carry the stench of 80s heavy metal. When all is said and done, Death is an album that provides some good moments but doesn’t really have a distinctive character to set it apart from the norm.

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Few obscure, under-ground bands find the level of respect and reverence that San Francisco’s Hammers of Misfortune has. These avaunt-garde weirdos have been doing things their way since 2001 and slowly building appreciation and acclaim along the way. Deftly defying genre tags and easy (lazy) categorization by reviewers like myself, they’ve churned out a uniquely progressive amalgam of NWOBHM, folk, doom and ’70s rock. So unusual is their sound, the only truly comparable band is sister/brother act Slough Feg, with which they’ve swapped influences and members over the years. It’s a pretty safe bet if you like the Feg, you’ll dig what the Hammers are cooking too. Of the two, the Hammers were and are the weirder, more experimental outfit and under the leadership of guitarist/vocalist John Cobbett (ex-Slough Feg, ex-Ludicra), they’ve traveled some strange roads but always packed truckloads of melody and quirky charm. After an overly long wait since 2008′s Fields/Church of Broken Glass, we’re finally treated to their fifth album 17th Street and its a reassuring blast of sonic strangeness, musical eccentricity and refreshing innovation. Although not crushingly heavy or shockingly aggressive, its plenty metal, hugely melodic, catchy and most importantly, original! If that doesn’t sound good to you, go read my diatribe about black metal!

Starting off with the quasi-martial strains of “317,” the listener is quickly introduced to and regaled by quality riff work from Cobbett and new guitarist Leila Abdul-Rauf that sticks to the brain like Crazy Glue and is so metal you can almost see the polished chrome as they play (check out the cool climbing riff at :49 and the slippery solo at 1:08). While it’s a fairly slow-moving piece with limited vocals, the guitars do the talking and keep things interesting. Things get much more energetic with the romping, stomping title track, with an infectiously bouncing, galloping swagger and great interplay between the raucous, near-thrash picking and a rocked out Hammond organ. Cobbett’s distinctive vocals are teamed with Leila’s and those of new vocalist Joe Hutton and things work oh so well! The big highlight comes with “The Grain,” which is a highly emotional, powerful number loaded with feeling and texture. Starting off with a simple riff accompanying heartfelt vocals, it quickly blossoms into a hugely soaring, poignant chorus that will stick with you and keep you hitting the repeat button ad nauseam. It’s probably the single finest moment of their impressive catalog and of 2011 for that matter. Other gems include the hook-laden, hyper-theatrical weirdness of ”The Day the City Died” (it sounds like a manic mash-up of Savatage, Thin Lizzy,  and Jethro Tull), the vintage Exciter meets Deep Purple attack of “Romance Valley” and the multi-faceted “Going Somewhere,” with its reflective lyrics and all-over-the-place moods.

Musically, there’s a lot going on here but this isn’t some thick, overwritten techy wank-o-thon. Quite the opposite actually. It’s a richly layered album that still manages to feel stripped down and simple. It’s chock-full of intriguing and memorable guitar work from Cobbett and Abdul-Rauf (especially on the title track and “The Grain”) and rich, haunting vocal harmonies. There’s also some brilliant organ/keyboard work from Sigrid Sheie and great bass playing from Max Barnett. When you toss in some thoughtfully downcast lyrical themes dealing with the bleakness of  life, you end up with something dark but truly special.

Sound-wise, this is in keeping with the classic Hammers style. It’s warm, organic and far from over-produced. It sounds great but retains a raw, garage-band urgency and power. I especially like the thick, punched-up drum sound. Production aside, the material here is significantly heavier than that on their last few albums and there’s no denying they’re a metal band here.

Whether or not you’re familiar with the Hammers, you should definitely check 17th Street out ASAP. In a year with a lot of solid releases, this is going to end up on many “best of” lists and in all candor, it should. These folks are true musicians and they’ve crafted an intriguing, complex, enjoyable album that overflows with mood and emotion. After a week of listening, it continues to grow on me and reveal itself and I think it’s the magnum opus of their exceptional career. If you believe in supporting quality, cutting edge music, set the GPS to 17th Street and plan on staying awhile. Hail to the Hammers!

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3 was one of my favorite discoveries of the year 2007. The End Is Begun ripped me out of my progressive complacency and reminded me that well-written, well-performed progressive rock or heavy metal, can be some of the most interesting and effective music. In a world dominated by polyrhythms and breakdowns, 3 was a refreshing blast of melody, piccolo toms and some of the most creative and unique guitar playing and song writing that I’d heard in a very long time. So I guess it’s fair to say that I have been anticipating their follow up, The Ghost You Gave to Me with no small amount of anticipation. 

The Ghost You Gave to Me eases out the door with something that sounds just like… well, 3. This is one of the bands that like Opeth has a very distinct sound, with a specific use of certain types of rhythms and phrasings that just sound like 3. The opener “Serenum Scropuli” is an acoustic bit, emphasized with a neat little arpeggio before the end of the phrase, and vocalist Joey Eppard’s recognizable, tenor washed out with a ton of reverb. This is the perfect opener, before wandering into a track with a power rock chorus (“React”) and the bands characteristic acoustic work.

While I’m not a huge fan of the band’s pre-The End Is Begun material, this record picks up where its predecessor left off. At times it is undeniably and ridiculously poppy, like on “Pretty” which actually has the techno beat (un-cha-un-cha-un-cha) on the chorus, or “Sparrow” (or “Afterglow”) where the band wanders into Coheed & Cambria territory with what sounds like a pop punk backbeat. On the other hand, the acoustic work and delicate melodies may be what the band is best at. “One with the Sun” shows that off with a catchy vocal melody and acoustic work supported by fantastic drum and bass work. “Only Child” is another one with fantastic bass, drum and guitar work that probably stands out as the most progressive on the record, as well. It’s mysterious and sexy and a fantastic track.

But the third part of this band, and the reason they’re signed to Metal Blade, is that they write great metal riffs as well. “It’s Alive” rips out the door with a powerful riff, before wandering into 70s prog territory and bringing it back out on the chorus, with Eppard’s “It’s alive!” chorus. One of my favorite parts on the album is actually about 3 minutes into the track “Numbers” where they break out a riff that could easily have come from a death metal or black metal band. This riff is pure thrash groove and it could have been a Behemoth or Septic Flesh riff. Honestly, I could’ve used a bit more of the heavy stuff on this record. It’s well done and the mentioned tracks, the title track and a spattering of other moments give this a nice feel, but it’s never quite as heavy as I’d like it to be.

Of course, the key to a lot of this material is Eppard’s vocals and use of harmonies. Again, like Coheed (and Blind Guardian and Bad Religion) there seems to be a desire to build great vocal melodies, but also fantastic harmonies. Eppard is probably a first tenor, so that places him on the up end of vocal ranges for men (in case you don’t know), and that means that he is able to offer a lot of texture to his vocal backings and it really fills out the sound of these tracks. I hadn’t really noticed it before, but in this case it works remarkably well. So well, in fact, that it distracts from the fact that these lyrics are basically non-sensical children’s rhymes. It kind of drives me nuts, because when the gnawing end-rhymes dig their way through my barrier, they really annoy the hell out of me. While they’re more creative than the “die”/”cry” crap that others are guilty of, Eppard has a very specific pattern that he likes to use (“I like to rhyme / All the time / that I’m singing this song. It’s good fun / when the sun / isn’t exploding and killing us all.”) and it gets repetitive and frustrating. I know that progressive rock isn’t about the lyrics, but cut your fucking listeners some slack, huh? If you don’t care about writing lyrics, find someone else to do it.

But all-in-all The Ghost You Gave to Me is a very good record. It’s got no bad tracks with a lot of variation. I don’t like it as much as The End Is Begun yet, but it’s possible that I will, and the writing is engaging and the band’s playing is lights out. Fans of the band will eat it up and new listeners will become fans. Everyone who has progressive tendencies should check this record out.

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Steel Druhm needs to ramble on for a bit so kindly bear with me, or else! As a life long metal fan, I can look back and pinpoint those few truly special albums that blew me away upon release and continue to feel magical after decades of listening. Right at the top of that very short list are two classics by Fates Warning. Hailing from Connecticut, they released three albums in the early to mid-80s that really embodied the American take on the traditional NWOBHM ethos and at times sounded quite like vintage Iron Maiden. Of those three albums, 85′s The Specter Within and 86′s Awaken the Guardian were their masterworks and any fan of classic metal really needs to hear them immediately if not sooner. After so many years, both easily stand the test of time and I find myself going back to them frequently. The main draw, aside from the expert songwriting,  are the vocals by John Arch. The man had a one-of-a-kind voice, killer range and the ability to write hyper-intelligent lyrics. When he left the band following Awaken the Guardian, Fates Warning sank into mediocrity and I lost all interest. Arch himself left the music business entirely and I always hoped he would resurface and grace us with his voice again. He finally did in 2003 with the short but excellent Twist of Fate EP, which I hoped was the start of a serious comeback. Well, it took another eight long years but he finally has resurfaced again for a collaboration with his old Fates Warning guitarists Jim Matheos (OSI, Gordian Knot), Frank Aresti and other Fates alumni, bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint, Anthrax, Seven Witches) and drum lord Bobby Jarzombek (Halford, Riot, Iced Earth, Rob Rock). So does this mega reunion bring back any of the potent magic from days long gone? Well, it seems that isn’t a fair question since Sympathetic Resonance is quite a different animal than Fates Warning. It’s way more modern, proggy, convoluted and heavier than anything their old unit attempted (I was actually surprised how heavy some of this material gets). Overall, its very polished and aggressive progressive metal from old dogs that obviously have plenty of life left in them.

Things start off with the enormous, eleven minute plus track “Neurotically Wired.” This song has a lot going on and much to absorb musically as it cartwheels through many moods and vibes, from the very Fates Warning-like chorus to off-kilter proggy moments. Its immediately clear that Arch hasn’t lost any power during his long downtime and his pipes are as impressive as ever (unlike some former vocal gods who shall be nameless, G.T. [Wait. Who!? GEOFF TATE!?!? *cough* - AMG]). With a backdrop of riffing that gets quite heavy at times and a myriad of tempo shifts and odd time signatures, Arch soars above it all like an eagle (check out the chorus at 5:04 for some great, emotional singing). Naturally, Matheos and Aresti bring the goods with some great playing and dizzying leads (especially at 5:50). Sometimes incorporating Nevermore-like heavy riffing, other times utilizing more rock-based grooves, they shift and morph constantly and keep the listener engaged. ”Midnight Serenade” is much more immediate and benefits from crunching riffage juxtaposed to Arch’s high register power. The extended instrumental work leading into “Stained Glass Sky” is top-notch and brings Symphony X to mind (especially the wild fret-work), while the remainder features  memorably impassioned vocals, Voivod-style stutter-step tempos and amazingly melodic leads. While its tough to choose standouts here, “On the Fence” gets the nod for its power, ominous vibe and perfectly placed vocal patterns and “Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)” for its aggressive style and nonstop energy.

Although there are only six songs here, most are quite long and it feels like a dense, full album. All the songs are very good and overflow with technical ability. Despite the ambitious songwriting, all the songs flow organically and don’t feel like disparate pieces glued together (unlike much of the new Opeth opus). No matter how diverse the songs get, Arch’s vocals bind everything together into a cohesive whole and keep things accessible and memorable. Its also admirable that this all star line-up never let things drift into pointless instrumental wank-fest territory. While this is an instrumentally rich album, the tech wizardry is in service of the songs themselves rather than anyone’s ego.

After so much effusive praise, Its only fair I mention the few minor qualms I’m left with. As good as the production is, it would’ve been nice to have Vera’s bass more present in the mix and hear him get more time to shine. Also, there are a few spots scattered across the album where Arch’s vocals get too busy, as if he’s trying to cram too many vocal lines into the song (he did that sometimes with Fates Warning too). Lastly, a few of the super long songs could’ve been trimmed down a bit without losing their charm or epic scope.

All things considered, this is a very successful and highly enjoyable release by some well respected vets and I’m hoping it leads to more (without the eight year wait, if possible). If you’re a fan of Dream Theater or Symphony X and love technically-sharp, well done prog metal with balls, this is right in your wheelhouse. It’s great to have you back again Mr. Arch, now try sticking around this time!

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I didn’t want to review this, didn’t even want to listen to it. Angry Metal Guy said I had to do it. I bitched, moaned, put it off, made excuses and so on. I didn’t like the cover or the song titles. It screamed cheesy cock rock  and I had a general feeling of dread. Yesterday I resigned myself to biting the bullet and just getting through it. Although I was pretty much right on the nail about the cock rock, much to my shock, this didn’t suck. In fact, it rocked! It seems even the mighty Steel Druhm can be wrong (like twice on eon). DC4 is a semi-supergroup composed of former members of Armored Saint (Jeff Duncan), Dio (Rowan Robertson) and Odin (Shawn Duncan). They play a metallized hard rock style that can be compared to classic era Van Halen if Dimebag Darrel was the guitarist and songwriter. Yes, I mean that. Electric Ministry is their third full length and it features a collection of straight forward, guitar-driven hard rock anthems with just enough grit and punch to satisfy the average metal monger. They effectively craft songs with big, pumping, meaty  riffs and hooks galore. Its essentially panties-on-the-head party metal with a sleazy, “good times” vibe that veers into dark, disturbing areas at times. I’ll be honest here, I actively resisted liking this and it didn’t work. I resent DC4 making me support this release! What is the world coming to?

After a pointless intro, things get rocking in a hurry with the title track. The guitars do the talking in a big way with thick, crunchy, aggressive riffing and the mid-range, malleable vocals of Jeff Duncan. Its an in-your-face sound and style taking hard rock and jacking up the heavy quotient. Its a very simple, accessible song with a catchy chorus and great solos. They keep the momentum going  full speed ahead with tracks like “XXX” (which has sleazy/stupid lyrics and sounds like an amped up version of the cheesy 80′s hit “Wild Wild West” by The Escape Club) and “25 to Life.” The first huge ear worm arrives with “Rock God” which truly sounds like David Lee Roth singing for old Pantera. Its a great song with a real “fuck you” attitude and I love it, though I hate myself for it in the mornings. It has some great guitar hero soloing too. Things take a strange but impressive turn with “Broken Soul.” As the album’s big cornerstone track, its far darker and more serious. Its also more emotional and quite frankly, grim and slightly unpleasant in its depiction of a broken woman seeking love through sex. Duncan’s vocals really shine here, especially during the big emotional chorus. Check out the cool Black Sabbath style riffs that flit in and out throughout the song. Very good stuff!

Elsewhere they deliver the somewhat silly but cool anthem “The Ballad of Rock and Roll” which could have been on Ozzy‘s No More Tears album and the absolute rocktastic “Glitter Girl.” This one revists the theme of a troubled  women seeking the wrong types of attention and again, its lurid, puerill and unpleasant but it rocks really hard. Duncan again channels David Lee Roth but the music is much angrier, like the dark side of Van Halen. Electric Ministry winds down with another odd turn in “Dirty Hands” which is a countrified ballad complete with steel guitar and piano and it works despite lyrics so maudlin and trite, they would give the Cookie Monster a tummy ache.

The guitars are the focus on this album and Rowan Robertson and Jeff Duncan bring a lot of firepower to the show. There’s heaps of aggressive, urgent and catchy riffing in each song and some bigtime solo work (especially during ”Broken Soul”). Duncan’s vocals are quite varied and morph to fit different moods. He can do a good tough guy shout/sing (“25 to Life”) and also pull off his David Lee Roth schtick effortlessly. They’re a tight, professional unit and their time in the industry shows, especially with the songwriting. Of the eleven songs, nine are rock solid, the other two are fairly decent. Not too shabby eh?

I didn’t want to review this, then I didn’t want to like this, but here we all are. DC4 is a hard rocking band and I dig their style. I’ll be hunting down their earlier stuff for sure. Check this out, because Steel Druhm is man enough to admit when he was wrong.

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Ah, it’s that time again. A new The Black Dahlia Murder record, full of At The Gates riffs and Trevor Strnad’s dynamic and characteristic vocals! Right? RIGHT!?!? Well, let me start with what I said last time in reference to the current trajectory of the band given their longevity and discography:

[W]hen does it become unnecessary to buy new albums from these guys? When do they fade into the [well known] obscurity of a band like Cannibal Corpse or Slayer that produced excellent records, but many people are of the opinion that all you really need to own is a Butchered at Birth or Reign in Blood and South of Heaven and you’ve pretty much heard their entire discography. As of now, I think these guys are on the top of their game. Line-up changes haven’t stopped them, I doubt that they’re going to sit around worrying about stagnation either: but they might want to think about it in the future.

The obvious outrage ensued from both sides. From the one side there was the claim that the band hadn’t stagnated and from the other side was the claim that no one thinks that Cannibal Corpse or Slayer have stagnated. Yeah, well, the first is arguably defensible—the second, less so. In any case, it appears that Ritual is the rebuttal to my critique. A powerful rebuttal. 

By a powerful rebuttal I mean, of course, that Ritual is The Black Dahlia Murder‘s best and most experimental record. The riffing has taken a turn for the more technical at times, in tracks like “On Stirring Seas of Salted Blood” there’s almost an Ulcerate kind of vibe. “Conspiring with the Damned” has a great techy riff as a lead in before moving into more traditional TBDM territory with At The Gates-inspired guitar harmonies and thrashy feel. “Malenchantments of the Necrosphere” is another groovy, downtuned tech piece that may be my favorite track on the whole album and that sounds nothing like what the band has done previously, instead placing them more in Abysmal Dawn territory.

The other big change is the use of strings, which shows up on “A Shrine to Madness” as an intro, but on “Blood in the Ink” more broadly and to excellent effect. The use of acoustic strings creates a unique feeling that almost borders on Septic Flesh‘s new material without going to the same lengths. “Carbonized in Cruciform” also uses a piano and acoustics to create a creepy horror movie kind of vibe before ripping your face off with some trem-picked riffing and blast beats. These changes are welcome and they break open a lot of new possibilities for the band.

But the songwriting hasn’t just changed and improved, what stands out here is the guitar work that has been taken to a whole new level. Ritual starts with the tracks “A Shrine to Madness” and “Moonlight Equilibrium,” which don’t exactly break the mold of earlier records, but what stands out to me on both of these tracks are the retarded guitar solos. And by retarded I actually mean fantastic, in case you were wondering. The guitar solos on this whole record are just fucking silly. “Moonlight Equilibrium” has a solo that borders on jazzy at times, where as “A Shrine to Madness” is like 80s thrash-shred done just right. And the solos stand out on almost every track on this record, including my favorites: “Carbonized in Cruciform” again showing off almost jazz-influenced melodic structures; “Malenchantments of the Necrosphere” shows the excellent knowledge of when to shred and when not to; “The Graverobber’s Work” has a legato solo with some silly tapping that just rips your face off; and to top it all off on closing track “Blood in the Ink” the solo segues perfectly into the string laden verse. This record is special just for this because these aren’t just “fill in the gaps” solos, these are genuinely interesting, musically substantive solos that serve a purpose in the song. Fantastic.

Even when the record isn’t breaking open new ground for The Black Dahlia Murder, the more traditional tracks are really just some of the best they’ve ever written. “The Window,” for example, has some of the coolest melodic work under the verses. “The Graverobber’s Work” sounds like it could have been on Unhallowed, but it’s just a kick ass song. And by now you get the picture.

So here are some final thoughts. First, congratulations to TBDM for nailing it as hard as they have. There’s nothing bad I can say about this record (except the drum sound—SUUEEECOOOOOF!!! *shakes fist*—and the bong hit over the solo on “The Burning Nullifier”. Cheesy.). It’s 45 minutes, so it’s not too long, the cover art is really great (and it reminds me of the artwork for Dragon Age) and they’ve upped the ante for melodic death metal in the new decade, as well as raising the bar for themselves. Second, if you’ve previously written off TBDM for any reason, this is the record to give them another chance on. By breaking the mold, I think they’re going to appeal to people who may have had mixed feelings about them in the past. It’s true that “haters gonna hate,” but I think the move into more techy death metal is going to maybe hook a different crowd. Also, the addition of Ryan Knight may well have been the best thing that ever happened to this band. Total fucking win.

Related posts:

1. The Black Dahlia Murder – Deflorate Review
2. Interview with Trevor from The Black Dahlia Murder (2009)
3. Interview with Trevor from The Black Dahlia Murder

Steel Druhm likes his old Mercyful Fate. Yep, those first two albums and the early EPs were pure metal magic and some of the best stuff the genre every coughed up. Needless to say, I support the sudden wave of Mercyful Fate influenced retro metal that’s been popping up of late. We have Ghost, Hell and now you can add In Solitude to this heady witch’s brew with their second release The World. The Flesh. The Devil. Along with fellow Swedes Ghost, these gents are shamelessly robbing the graves of the Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath albums and trying to bring some of that ancient black magic into 2011. While Ghost took elements of the Fate sound and added poppy, catchy hooks, In Solitude stays much closer to the source material. They actually sound A LOT like the great Fate as they trot our their own tales of demons, devil worship and all things malevolent. So, does their similarity to a Mercyful Fate tribute band necessarily mean I love them too? In this case, yes, yes it does. I love them and I’m man enough to admit it!

The album wastes no time showing exactly how Mercyful Fatey they really are and the title track is eerily like something off Melissa or even the Nuns Have No Fun EP. There’s that classic NWOBHM style to the riffs and the song structures  are very reminiscent of the early Fate material. For the topper, Pelle Åhman sounds almost exactly like the great King Diamond when he favored his dramatic mid range crooning style (before he got overly infatuated with falsetto histrionics). It’s a great song with lots of classic mood and some excellent guitar work. From there, they keep the Satan train a rollin’ full force and the album is loaded with compelling old school devil metal like “We Were Never Here,” “Serpents Are Rising” and “Poisoned, Blessed and Burned.” All have that classic 80′s vibe and all mimic Fate to a greater or lesser extent while also tossing in nods to Iron Maiden and even Grim Reaper. All the songs work and some are flat out amazing. Best of the brood is the title track and the very long epic closer “On Burning Paths” which manages to remain compelling across all its vast thirteen plus minutes. This is one of those songs that may be worth the album purchase all by itself. Its a winner and reminds a lot of the great “Satan’s Fall” off Melissa but with more NWOBHM crammed in. Great vocals, great guitar work, tons of moods, its a very big song!

While there are similarities with Ghost, In Solitude is much less simplistic and accessible and they offer much more musically than Ghost does. Its very apparent the band made huge advances in songwriting and performance chops since their 2009 debut (which is also good but a lot less Fatey). Pelle sounds way better here and his style fits the music like a virgin fits a sacrificial altar. He conveys different emotions without resorting to over-the-top theatrics or otherwise cheesing things up (i.e. Hell). Backing him up is a nonstop barrage of quality riffs from Henrik Palm and Niklas Lindström. This pair puts on quite the show and their riffing and leads are classy, memorable and pure old school NWOBHM thunder.

Are there any drawbacks? Sure, a few songs could be shorter (“Demons” “Dance of the Adversary”) and there is a slight dip in quality between the two best songs and the rest of the album, although no tracks are bad. Aside from that, this is a very well done album and even I’m hard pressed to find much else to fault.

This is one of the pleasant surprises so far this year and definitely a band to watch in the future. If you like old Mercyful Fate (which you better if you claim to have any taste at all) then this will shock and awe you. It captures the spirit and sound of that timeless act and wrings some inspired tunes from their collective cadaver. Is it unoriginal? Well, yes in the sense it’s such a shameless Fate copycat, but it results in a very enjoyable album. That’s what matters right? Hail to the King and all his royal doppelgangers!

Related posts:

1. Ghost – Opus Eponymous Review
2. Devil – Time to Repent Review
3. Devin Townsend Project – Ghost Review

I hate Falconer. Okay, that’s not really true, but I have never liked Falconer, let’s put it that way. I first got wind of these guys with the publication of their second album Chapters of a Vale Forlorn and I was very unimpressed. Since then I’ve heard a things here and there, and nothing convinced me away from my previous conviction. I didn’t think what I heard was particularly good, nor did I think it was particularly interesting. In spite of the fact that I’m a huge fan of guitarist Stefan Weinerhall and drummer Karsten Larsson’s previous project Mithotyn (an absolutely underrated band), the power metal tinged Falconer never did anything for me at all.

That is, until I heard Armod.

Armod (which means “Poverty” in Swedish) is a collection of folk metal tracks entirely in Swedish that break largely against the mold of what the band has done previously. This is partially because the whole album is in Swedish, and also because the whole thing isn’t written by the band. Of the 11 tracks 7 are written entirely by Weinerhall (musically). Of the other four tracks three are traditional songs that are rearranged by the band and one of them is by Swedish legend Cornelis Vreeswijk (“Grimasch om morgonen“). This is not to say that the band is just taking the songs and not doing anything with them. Instead, as one would expect, they make power metally arrangements of these tracks and turn beautiful folk tracks into gripping and simultaneously groovy folk metal tracks. And given the performances on here (and the excellent arrangements), these guys nail it home and make what is easily the best album I’ve heard this year until now.

At just a hair under 50 minutes Armod bursts out the gate with “Svarta änkan,” which caught me off guard with its heaviness, to be honest. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the downtuned chug and harmonized guitars just nailed me right in the gut and that wasn’t the only time. “Griftefrid” actually starts out with a blast beat and trem picking à la blackened folk metal or drummer Larsson’s other project King of Asgard (or Mithotyn). Both “Dimmornas drottning” and “O, tysta ensamhet” show off a more acoustic and laid back approach to folk metal. The former enlists the beautiful female vocals of Heléne Blad and harmonies which interact beautifully with her brother Mattias’s dramatic delivery, while the latter is a re-arranged folk tune which I have not been able to get out of my head since I first heard it; it is perfectly done, and the guitar solo and heavy verse are stellar.

After the excellent “Vid rosornas grav” begins what I arbitrarily have decided is “Side B” of Armod (I’d buy this on vinyl!). Here the listener is treated to two rearranged traditional instrumental tracks “Eklundaspolskan,” where the main instrument is violin, and “Gammal fäbodpsalm” which is a rip-roaring guitar solo that should not be missed (note that Hedlund’s solos are stellar on every song). Heléne Blad’s vocals get revisited to great success in a duet on the 7 minute epic “Herr Peder och hans syster,” (which is a seriously disturbing story, if you get a chance to translate the lyrics) and the penultimate track “Fru Silfver” belongs among the heavier tracks on the first part of the record—also excellent with a great heavy chug and addictive melody.

There is literally only one moment on the entire album that I could do without. At the end of “Grimborg” the listener is “treated” to a classic rock style outro with the held out note and the wankery. It’s 15 seconds of annoying. There’s maybe some acoustic guitar tone I don’t like in “O, tysta ensamhet,” on the solo. And in spite of the performance being excellent and the song being beautiful, no one (and I mean no one) bests Vreeswijk on one of his own songs. Also, some people might get turned off by Mattias Blad’s theatrical performance, but I certainly love it. That’s it.

With those minute details out of the way, everything I’ve described here should give you an idea of the tremendous power of this album. Falconer took these tracks and with the help of Andy Laroque turned this record into a simultaneously beautiful and heavy affair with plenty of chug and double kick, while maintaining the beautiful melancholy of Swedish folk music. There have been many bands that have tried to do this kind of thing and only a few have succeeded, and fewer still have succeeded with the kind of ease and deft hand that Falconer have shown here. Armod is a remarkable record and for anyone with folk metal or power metal leanings this is something worth checking out. Unfortunately Armod is supposed to be a one off, and while I can see why the band would do that I’d love to see them do more in this vein in the future because Armod is going to be a record that I will be rocking for a very, very long time.

Related posts:

1. King of Asgard – Fi’mbulvintr Review
2. Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2011
3. Yggdrasil – Irrbloss Review