“Well, would you look at this? The world’s second favorite population of satanic Tasmanians have produced a work about which they feel strongly enough to imbue it with their own name.” Ah, the late career eponymous album. We love those.
Prosthetic Records
Wayfarer – Children Of The Iron Age Review
“As the season to be jolly fast approaches, Colorado’s Wayfarer is here to bequeath unto us morose darkness-dwellers a jovial record of festive classics… or so you may think from the Christmas wreath on the album artwork. To the dismay of my planned seasonal merriment, what I actually found is a stellar record of post-black metal with deathy undertones – think Agalloch but with Primordial added for the extremity. Wayfarer is a young group with big plans, and Children Of The Iron Age is their first full-length foray into the sphere-obsessed world of extreme metal.” I think our obsession with spheres on metal albums has finally come to a middle.
Noctem – Exilium Review
“I’ve been listening to a LOT of Blackened Death Metal lately and I have to say the whole “symphonic black/death” style is really sinking its teeth into the genre. I’m not condemning it, but sometimes these symphonic elements can easily be overdone. Septicflesh is a good example of the sort of over-the-top delivery to be had with their dark, symphonic landscapes. Though I’ve become quite a fan of theirs, their shit is literally dripping with orchestration. As expected, a clear line was been drawn between those that dig these metal movie soundtracks and those that don’t.” Is Noctem the new Septicflesh? Is Septicflesh the new black? All things will be revealed after you listen to your free U2 album.
Septicflesh – Titan Review
“My favorite Greek giants of atmospheric, Rotting Christ flavored symphonic death metal are back, and right on schedule with the delivery of their latest force of nature. And to add to my fangirlism, the album’s fittingly titled after the most ancient of all the gods – yes you read right, TITAN! Does it get any bigger, heavier or more metal than that?” Was the kraken a titan? He was pretty freaking big.
Trap Them – Blissfucker Review
“Trap Them has for years been in that beautiful sweet spot of great hardcore with a monstrous buzzsaw guitar sound. 2011’s Darker Handcraft pushed out excellent songs at high speed and sounded really good thanks to Kurt Ballou’s revered production chops, turning many a head and securing an already growing reputation for excellence. Three years later, Blissfucker readies for release, but with an entirely new rhythm section and a long silence from the band, what could have been cooking?” Let’s look in the pot, shall we?
Castle – Under Siege Review
“At the crossroads of retro/occult metal, doom and throwback vest metal, sits Castle like some sort of big…castle. These San Francisco rockers exploded onto the doom scene with their punchy In Witch Order début and immediately carved a niche for themselves among contemporaries like Jex Thoth and Occultation. Blacklands took things to the next level by incorporating strains of epic metal and black metal riffery and the result was quite heady, unpredictable and fun. Now we get Under Siege, which once again rejiggers the Castle sound as the band evolves and matures with grace and dignity.” Have you heard these guys yet? If not, Steel Druhm thinks less of you.
Skeletonwitch – Serpents Unleashed Review
“Baroness frontman John Baizley was having drawer’s block. Some Ohio blackened thrash metal band called “Skeletonwitch” had contracted his service for drawing metal album cover art, but when he drew up a draft that depicted a naked woman covered by foliage at the NSFW areas and surrounded by random animals, the band rejected it on grounds of un-creativity. Oh, the nerve of those Southeasterners. What were they expecting to see? Fully-clothed women and machines?” How dare they be art elitists?? Well, I suppose we can’t expect every blackened re-thrash band to be culturally refined, but at least Skeletonwitch knows how to tear your face off.
Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire – Visceral EP Review
Sludge is not what it used to be. In the 90s, bands would swarm like filthy locusts from New Orleans to bring the density of the bayou, its mud, and its endless drapes of sticky moss to a world living in denial and feasting its way to the end of the century. Happy days. In the meantime, a lot has changed: a new era has dawned on us and things have gone wrong in every possible way, but that strain of extreme music is still there to remind us that, well, things could get even worse. And when they do, it’s bands like Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire who provide the soundtrack.
Mercenary – Metamorphosis Review
Well, we can’t be expected to love everything that comes out this year, although it seems at times like we have been. Although I really enjoyed the earlier releases by Denmark’s Mercenary (especially 11 Dreams and The Hours That Remain) and was looking forward to this release, the massive upheaval that led half the band to flee after 2009’s Architect of Lies has clearly taken its toll. After losing their drummer, keyboardist and singer, they were forced to retool and regroup and I’m sad to report that the 2011 incarnation of Mercenary is only a shadow of what it once was. While their sound always had elements of the dreaded metalcore style, it was merged with many other influences and thereby rendered tolerable. On Metamorphosis, they’ve emerged from their cocoon as a full blown metalcore-melo-death butterfly, just like the eight million others out there (I know the cover shows a phoenix but this is way closer to butterfly, trust me). Gone is the intriguing blend of death, power, thrash and progressive metal that graced their earlier material. Gone is that special something that made their songs so impactful and addictive. Now it’s generic metalcore with poppy, radio friendly choruses all day, all night. While fleeting moments of the old sound can be heard here and there, overall this is a very different entity and to these ears, a much lesser one. In fact, this is inferior to their previous work in every possible way.
The Acacia Strain – Wormwood Review
I seem to remember The Acacia Strain being an In Flames copy, but I think I must be thinking of another band entirely. Which means that I have no reference for these guys as I’ve never heard them before and I thought they were a metalcore band. Turns out, I’m wrong. Instead, they’re a deathcore band. Now, I try to not generalize about genre conventions while reviewing a band (I mean, it’s unfair to review an entire genre every time you review a band’s record), but I think that I’m starting to figure out what it is about endless breakdowns that I hate. And I’ll tell you. Oh yes, I’ll tell you.
