Angry Metal Guy

Vallenfyre // A Fragile King
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — In crust we trust
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: vallenfyre.co.uk | facebook.com/Vallenfyre
Release Dates: Out now!

2011 might as well be dubbed the year of Swedish Retro Death. Band after loathsome band has burst from the underground to pay rancid homage to genre legends like Entombed, Dismember and Grave. Despite the sheer volume of the stuff, Steel Druhm has remained supportive and for the most part, the trend hasn’t worn out its welcome. Now we get Vallenfyre‘s debut full length from a veritable death metal super group featuring members of Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Cradle of Filth. With such a pedigree, it shouldn’t be too surprising when A Fragile King has everything you would reasonably expect from a Swedish death album. It’s chunky, thick, nasty and vile. It’s an ode to all things Entombed with a sizeable injection of Celtic Frosty goodness as well. At times, its so much like the immortal Left Hand Path it’s uncanny, yet it also brings in plenty of dire dirges to shake things up. This MOFO was conceived in unholy sin, birthed in ungodly filth and raised on bloody carnage. There’s a guitar sound heavy enough to fracture your vertebrae and vocals so grisly they’ll disturb the deranged. But, you rightly ask, is it actually good? Oh yes, it’s really good! This is unapologetically retro and doesn’t strive for innovation but it nails home the tried-and-true Swedish sound with the subtlety of a Panzer division. How this will sit with you depends entirely on your tolerance for more Swedish death. If 2011 has fed you all the old-time death you can stomach, move along and I won’t think less of you. If not, belly up to the death buffet and chow down on this meatloaf of the damned. Continue reading

Netherbird // Shadows and Snow EP
Rating: 3.5 —-Angry birds!
Label: Scarecrow Music Group
Websites: netherbird.com/ myspace.com/netherbird
Release Dates: Available for streaming now!

Sweden’s Netherbird is aiming to be the angry black metal bird that revamps the music industry. Although they aren’t particularly well-known yet, their 2010 release Monument Black Colossal met with my approval and I found their Cradle of Filth-meets-Dissection style of symphonic heaviness quite enjoyable. Since that release, they appear to have adopted an unusual marketing approach for their music. They’ve announced their intention to release three EPs over the next year, which together would comprise their next full-length album. As we speak, Shadows and Snow, the first of these planned EPs, is available for free downloading on their home page. It’s unclear if the future releases will be free or not. Whether this new approach will catch on or not remains to be seen but hey, free downloading from the band itself is always damn cool. So, is this worth the price of…free? Yes, it would be worth it even at twice that price (whatever that means). While very short (three songs and a musical interlude), Shadows and Snow features well crafted, engaging black death with enough personality to stand out from the frostbitten, frowning hordes and in these days of black metal malaise, that’s high praise indeed. Oh, and it’s free too! Continue reading

So instead of a review, today, you’re getting what is going to be a 5 piece attempt to shame the assholes over at Gibson, who apparently haven’t listened to heavy metal since 1984. While this list is bound to be controversial (trust me), it is also done with a very specific purpose in mind, which is to remind everyone that heavy metal has continued to exist since Nirvana sold a bunch of records. But, of course, the Anglocentric jackasses over at Gibson didn’t realize this. Anyway, this oughtta piss everyone right off, but hopefully someone involved in the creation of that list feels ashamed for having been such idiots. Note to old guys: shit still happens once you’ve stopped caring. Continue reading

Shadowgarden // Ashen
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Disappointingly tepid
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/shadowgardenmusic
Release Dates: EU: 27.08.2010 | US: 08.31.2010

Shadowgarden is a side project of Draconian mainman Johan Ericson which is aimed at creating gothic rock of a different variety than his well-loved goth metal project. Breaking away from the beauty and the beast style and heading towards a much more commercially viable rock sound, the band has produced 10 new tracks of music for the consideration of all metal types out there to be released via Napalm records at the end of August (yeah, so this review is a tad late, but read on). Continue reading

Nox Aurea // Ascending in Triumph
Rating: 3.5 — Very good, but drags a bit at times…
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: myspace.com/noxaurea
Release Dates: EU: 05.07.2010 | US: 07.13.2010

Doom is something that I have really gotten a taste for in the last couple years. A lot earlier, when I was actually playing in a band with a lot of doomy tendencies, I was actually terribly bored by most of it. But with the release of some really fantastic doom records that I’ve gotten into, it’s been harder and harder to avoid it—I like doom a lot when it’s done well. In spite of that earlier distaste for the genre, the one area that I’ve always had a soft spot for, however, has been well done gothic doom. Particularly the stuff with the “beauty and the beast” style of vocal interplay between well done female vocalist and growls. While this sound is hardly novel in 2010, Nox Aurea has attacked it anew with their second release (and Napalm Records debut) Ascending in Triumph. Continue reading

Netherbird // Monument Black Colossal
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – Crappy name, but this bird can fly.
Label: Scarecrow Recordings
Websites: netherbird.com | myspace.com/netherbird
Release Dates: EU: 09.07.2010 | US: 07.20.2010

One thing that I love about heavy metal is that every time you think you have a pretty thorough knowledge of the overall scene, some band you never heard of slithers out of some crevasse and bites you in the ass. Sweden’s Netherbird is just such an ass biter and their second full length, Monument Black Colossal seemingly came out of nowhere and surprised me with some impressively done melodic black metal, despite the really crappy band name and nonsensical album title. What is it with Sweden and metal these days anyway? That place is crawling with quality, ass biting bands! Continue reading

My Dying Bride has really been around a long time and remained remarkably good for a band of its stature. And honestly, of the bands that came out around the same time (Anathema, Paradise Lost) from the same area, they really have stayed the most consistently heavy in their long tenure. But this change hasn’t necessarily kept them fresh. For Lies I Sire is an OK record, but in the grand scheme of things it is definitely disappointing by, what I consider to be, high My Dying Bride standards. The vocals are great, but the writing is really not very inspired and/or catchy. There are some higher moments—particularly the first two tracks, which are both quite strong. But by the time you reach “Death Triumphant” (the final song), this Angry Metal Guy was ready to listen to something else.

Cormorant – Metazoa
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Great album, and a band with ample room for growth
Label: Saturnine Media
Website: myspace.com/cormorantmusic
Release Date: Sept. 22nd, 2009

Before this last week I’d never heard of Cormorant¹ or of Saturnine Media.  Because of this, I was able to be pleasantly surprised by what is one of the best underground albums of the year.    But if you’re reading this, you don’t have to be surprised, you can go out and buy it as an informed consumer.  You’re welcome.

Cormorant is a strong blend of a lot of different styles, but arguably at the base of it all, these guys are a progressive death metal band.  That doesn’t say much of anything, does it?  Think: Opeth meets Primordial, My Dying Bride, Ulver, At The Gates and rocks it out like Iron Maiden.  None of these influences are deniable, but none of them are too prevalent in the work that these guys have done.  Instead, Metazoa is a smartly blended concoction of progressive metal which doesn’t cease to wind, twist and surprise.  And with the exception of a moment or two where one thinks they hear a definite influence (or at one point in the track “Hanging Gardens” I’m actually pretty sure I hear a The Black Dahlia Murder riff…..), for the most part these guys are able to blend these influences to craft a vaguely familiar, but new sound.

From a songwriting perspective, this record is great.  But I did spend the whole album sort of expecting something a little bit… MORE.  Instead, Cormorant offers a lot of headbanging riffs, but they never up the musical ante, so to speak.  While the band has progressive structure, they never branch out much technically.  I think this is a point of growth for the band, where they could really coin their own sound, in a sense and work to impress.  That’s not to say that the simplicity and honesty of this music isn’t also excellent.  Metazoa is well-balanced musically, and I do really appreciate the Iron Maiden style two guitar leads which stuck in your head, without having to listen to That Swedish Guy or a Bruce Dickinson impersonator.  The simplicity and the honesty of a lot of this stuff is really impressive, but there is definitely room for growth.

Another thing that stands out for me is that the lyrical breadth and talent that is available on Cormorant‘s Metazoa: a phenomenon that doesn’t show up a lot in metal.  Bands like Primordial, for example, have some really excellent lyrics.  But even other progressive death bands like Opeth find themselves on the lacking side lyrically.  Cormorant on the other hand has a solid lyricist who speaks well poetically and writes on a wide variety of interesting subjects without being cheesy.  From the French Revolution to illegal immigration, von Nagel intelligently and artfully crafts images with his words in a way that is highly uncommon in heavy metal.  However, some of the clean vocals performances on the record leave a bit to be desired, particularly the clean vocals at the end of “Hole in the Sea” in which someone is doing their best Primordial impression and sounding horrendously off during it.  But, all-in-all, the vocal performances are dynamic and good, and they match the lyrics perfectly, making a blend that is rarely seen in modern metal.

If you hadn’t noticed, I think that Metazoa is a great record (and a fucking tough one to review).  My complaints above were enough to not make this the best record of the year or anything, but I do have to say that I see Cormorant as a band with a ton of room for growth on top of the fact that they’re already highly developed.  If they can keep their smart, catchy melodies combined with technical music and impressive lyrics and vocal performances (including the female vocals from Deborah Spake, who has a truly captivating voice), I think that these guys are on the road to somewhere special.

The Atlas Moth – A Glorified Piece of Blue-Sky
Rating: 3.5/5.0 – A mix of sounds that works very well, but doesn’t stand out for me..
Label: Candlelight
Website: theatlasmoth.com
Release Date(s): EU: 21.09.2009 | USA: 10.6.2009

Sludge, and many variations thereof, have definitely been working their way into the “mainstream” consciousness of heavy metal guys for a long time.   Bands like Neurosis, Isis and all of their clones have permeated the hard skin of heavy metal, giving it something rawer, weirder and that makes heavy happen through slowness more than through technical insanity.  The Atlas Moth follows in that vein very much, blending sludge, southern groove and what sounds to me like a very Cult of Luna, Neurosis hardcore approach that is sure to please the fans of this style.

A Glorified Piece of Blue-Sky isn’t the worlds greatest piece of sludge art or anything, but they have managed to make a sound that I don’t find even remotely compelling 99% of the time, and add something to it that I really have to appreciate.  One thing that does it for me is the production of the album, which sounds like these guys are grooving in a big dark cave somewhere.  This, combined with the fact that The Atlas Moth takes their sweet-ass time getting anywhere at all with their tracks, gives this record an ambience that shouldn’t be overlooked.  In an era of pristine clean production, A Glorified Piece of Blue-Sky is a wittily titled dissertation on the understanding of groove, ambience and heaviness in the epoch of triggers and sterility.

Of course, aspects of that ambience I could do away with.  Fun space noises?  Over-rated and boring.  But the tracks themselves are well-crafted, highly convincing and there is an emotional weight which seems to overlay this record in a way that a lot of bands are missing—it’s something that I think goes missing a lot in metal.  In some ways, despite the fact that these guys don’t really sound like it, they have a big of My Dying Bride buried deep down there or something.  Another important thing that stands out about this record is how brutally heavy it is at times, despite being technically very simplistic.  I have commented in the past, and to people personally, that a lot of metal doesn’t feel like it has an edge anymore.  Certain projects sound like something middle-age women who appreciate such stellar artists like Michael Bolton would fall in love with.  The Atlas Moth does not suffer from this fatal flaw.  The sound is huge, raw and heavy, with a wide range of vocals and a thick punching low end.

There is a major drawback for me, and that’s that the songs don’t seem to stick.  Despite being heavy, groovy and ambient, there are only a few moments on this album that really stand out for me.  The rest of it feels, honestly, like I could be listening to the same song on every track.  Is it one big 50 minute song that I’m listening to?  This is an unfortunate weakness that a lot of sludge has for me.  While there are some cool things and I appreciate the ambience, it works better as background music than it does as something I feel like actively istening to.   That said, I think this album will definitely go over well with fans of the genre.  While it’s not terribly dynamic, in my opinion, it definitely offers something more than a lot of the shit I’ve heard in the genre.