2012

Ram – Death Review

Ram – Death Review

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.

Nothnegal – Decadence Review

Nothnegal – Decadence Review

Sweden this, U.S.A. that. Its always the same countries churning out the metal that lands on the cluttered desk of Steel Druhm. Sure, every now and then a Middle Eastern or Asian act tosses a spiked glove in the ring, but it’s predomiantly Europe and the Americas tasked with carrying the metal standard these days. That’s why its such a treat when we get a promo from someplace new and exotic. Nothnegal clearly qualifies, since they hail from the tiny Maldive Islands, way out in the Indian Ocean (their location is actually listed as an atoll, which counts as mega-exotic). Decadence is their first full length and its all about modern melodic death with loads of keys, bells and whistles. They take the basic melo-death concept and mix in semi-industrial Fear Factory-like riffing, loads of electronic effects, keys and even synthesized guitars. The big mystery is how this remote isle act wrangled drum services from Kevin Talley (Six Feet Under, ex-Hate Eternal, ex-The Black Dahlia Murder) and keys by Marco Sneck (Poisonblack, ex-Kalmah, ex-Charon). Sounds interesting so far, right? Well, it may be interesting, but sadly, it ain’t too good. Despite the endless array of interesting keyboard noodling and effects, things never really work out and Decadence quickly sinks below the waves of mediocrity. This is a real shame, since there are some interesting ideas on hand and some talented folks involved. But, as the saying goes, no band is an island (sorry, island jokes are rough going).

Biohazard – Reborn in Defiance Review

Biohazard – Reborn in Defiance Review

Oh man. Biohazard were one of those bands that really broke me into heavy music when I was just a tyke. While the band’s debut, which oddly enough was largely edited verbally, never did much for me, Urban Discipline, State of the World Address (I still have the version with the orange gel case somewhere), and the much maligned Mata Leao were all albums that dug into my 10 to 14 year old soul and left permanent impressions. Those records were tough, heavy slabs of machismo that with Type O Negative, Life of Agony and Sepultura paved the way towards the heavier side of tracks. Unfortunately, I grew away from these guys and, I’m going to be frank, their records really started going downhill in quality (turns out I *wasn’t* down for life). So, when I saw that the original lineup had reunited for a new record (before Evan Seinfeld left the band), I gotta say: I was interested in spite of myself.

Sear Bliss – Eternal Recurrence Review

Sear Bliss – Eternal Recurrence Review

Sear Bliss are a black metal band from Szombathely, Hungary. They have been active since 1993, founded by vocalist (who is also the) bassist (who plays some) keyboardist Andras Nagy. Eternal Recurrence is their seventh full-length album. Sear Bliss began recording Eternal Recurrence in late July of 2011 and spent two months in the studio. Known for their complex and multi-layered instrumentation, the band have incorporated wind and brass instruments into their sound, as well as synthesizers. With Eternal Recurrence, Sear Bliss are opting for an even more progressive, experimental approach to black metal.

Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline Review

Lacuna Coil – Dark Adrenaline Review

Lacuna Coil is a band that I used to like pretty well. I’ve seen them live a few times and I thought they put on pretty good shows and I have a lot of respect for them as a hardworking touring band. Musically, though, I think they’ve been pretty hit and miss. While I enjoy In A Reverie, Unleashed Memories and liked a few songs off of Comalies, their modern sound has developed into something that is really quite derivative of the American “nu-metal trend” and specifically their last record Shallow Life was produced in a way that sounded exactly like Linkin Park and was entirely unlistenable to these ears. So I have to say that it was with consternation that I elected to start listening to this album in the first place.

Opera IX – Strix Maledictae in Aeternum Review

Opera IX – Strix Maledictae in Aeternum Review

To say that Italian symphonic black metallers Opera IX have been keeping a low profile would be an understatement. The last time I even heard their name mentioned was back in the days of Napster and the Y2K virus. At the time, their mix of black metal with gothic imagery and female vocals was pretty rare in the scene [Yeah, if you had never heard of Cradle of Filth, I guess. – AMG], and it seemed like the band was poised to do great things. Now, they have returned in 2012 with Strix Maledictae in Aeternum, their first album in 7 long years.

Alcest – Les Voyages De L’Âme Review

Alcest – Les Voyages De L’Âme 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.”

Zebulon Pike – Space is the Corpse of Time Review

Zebulon Pike – Space is the Corpse of Time Review

One of the simplest facts about Zebulon Pike is that they are a band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After that, things become much more complicated, as they engage in a genre of music that can only be described as auditory mad science. Formed in 2002, every single one of their albums has been a brain-demolishing piece of experimentation: And Blood Was Passion in 2004, The Deafening Twilight in 2006, and Instransience in 2008. With each release, they have become more dense, more intelligent, more volatile. Space Is the Corpse of Time continues this progression, spiralling out in a universe of it’s own making.

The 11th Hour – Lacrima Mortis Review

The 11th Hour – Lacrima Mortis Review

Well, after months of pimping this record (a lot) for everyone and bugging promotional people for copies of it and so forth, I finally have The 11th Hour’s follow up to the masterful Burden of Grief which hit home with this Angry Metal Guy in 2009. As a guy who has never really been a huge doom fan, I can say that Burden of Grief was an eye opener on several levels. First, it’s safe to say that the songwriting was fantastic. Slow, dirgey and depressing, but never wandering into the areas of mind numbing dullness that other doom bands reach (it must be my Angry Metal Attention Deficit Disorder). But also, the record contained deeply personal lyrics, haunting clean vocals and a concept that made the whole record sit together in a way that few other albums do. Indeed, Burden of Grief is easily one of the best albums I own and so, I guess, that and all the anticipation made the danger that I would be disappointed high. But this isn’t just about psychology, either. There is also a thing called “sophomore slump” for a reason. Burden of Grief probably had a lot longer to percolate than Lacrima Mortis did and was coming from a different place both psychologically and in the time line of Ed Warby’s career. With partner in crime Rogga Johansson unable to record vocals, it’s safe to say that this record could have really lost a step.

Primal Fear – Unbreakable Review

Primal Fear – Unbreakable Review

Anthems baby, fucking ANTHEMS!! That’s what Primal Fear has been churning out since ’98 and that’s probably what they’ll keep churning out ’til they die (old metalheads never really die, they just become classic rock). While they began life as Germanic Judas Priest clones (mostly due to the Halford-esque vocal stylings of mega-voice Ralf Scheepers [Sheeples? – AMG]), they slowly evolved into their own sound, merging classic Priest, Maiden and Saxon influences with europower metal like Iron Savior and Gamma Ray (Ralf’s former band). In the process, they’ve become one of the most dependable, consistent stars in the heavy metal galaxy, releasing mindlessly enjoyable, rockin albums with moments of sheer metallic brilliance (basically, they’re the AC/DC of quasi-Judas Priest clones). Their ninth studio album, Unbreakable may be their best yet and packs one old-school, fist-in-the-air anthem after another. They know what side their bread is buttered on and they know their craft inside and out. There aren’t any surprises here beyond how catchy and consistent the songs are and the high level ofĂ‚ classic metal enthusiasm they bring to the party. It sure ain’t proggy or forward-thinking, but this is metal-as-hell and that’s enough for Steel Druhm the Elder.