Album Reviews

High On Fire — De Vermis Mysteriis

Posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 10:52 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim.

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The sixth full-length released by Oakland, CA-based metal band High On Fire, De Vermis Mysteriis comes from a fictional book, a grimoire containing spells for summoning monsters that first appeared in the short story “The Shambler From The Stars,” written by then-teenager Robert Bloch (who would go on to write Psycho). Bloch was the youngest member of H.P. Lovecraft’s circle. Lovecraft served as a mentor for Bloch and so loved the idea behind the text (which translates to “Mysteries of the Worm”) …

Pelican — Ataraxia/ Taraxis

Posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 10:48 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Chicago-based post-metal quartet Pelican‘s EP Ataraxia/Taraxis is the band’s first foray into new material since 2009′s What We All Come To Need. The title of this record is a study in contrasts in and of itself: taraxis is an inflammation of the eye, and ataraxia is a calmness or peace of mind. The EP begins with calm and moves towards irritation, perhaps counselling us to resist the stagnancy that can come from being too comfortable and instead embrace the …

Secrets of the Moon — Seven Bells

Posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 10:19 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Secrets of the Moon are a black metal band from Osnabrück, Germany, and Seven Bells is the newest release in their prolific history. Founded in 1995, they have always maintained a strong underground following, but caught attention of the larger metal community when they released Antithesis in 2006. Secrets of the Moon then gained more mainstream exposure in 2007 when they performed at both Summer Breeze and Hellfest.

Privilegivm in 2009 continued their solid reputation. Now, they are in a strange …

Astra — The Black Chord

Posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 10:16 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim

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Astra play ’70s-influenced progressive rock with a distinctly psychedelic flair, and hail from San Diego, CA. The Black Chord is their second full-length, following 2009′s The Weirding. Positively cosmic is scope, this record is composed of spiralling galaxies of sound that draw the listener in with their innate gravity. The Black Chord showcases some of the finest classically inspired progressive rock being written today. Everything about these songs is long and drawn out, creating a sense of vastness that the music is stretching …

Children of God — Victimized

Posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 10:13 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim.

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This release is composed of a single track, released as a digital download and seven-inch flexi via A389. The song was written and recorded during the same sessions in which Children of God produced their material for their twelve-inch split EP with Seven Sisters of Sleep. “Victimized” is just under a minute-and-a-half of shrill aggression. It comes across as less petulant and pissed off than their work on the split; the thin, dry vocals, issuing from a throat …

Worm Ouroboros — Come The Thaw

Posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 10:11 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim!

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Chamber doom dream weavers from the San Francisco Bay area, Worm Ouroboros combine dark rock with ambient metal on their second release for Profound Lore, Come The Thaw, following their self-titled debut in 2008. The group feature Aesop Dekker of Agalloch on drums, with Lorraine Rath (ex-the Gault) and Jessica Way (Amber Asylum) sharing vocal duties, as well as all other instruments. This album lies at the intersection of several genres, including metal, neo-folk and ambient gothic. Come The Thaw is …

Atoma — Skylight

Posted on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 10:57 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Atoma hail from Stockholm, Sweden, and Skylight is their debut offering. The band were formed at the beginning of 2011 when melodic doom metal group Slumber disbanded. Now, keyboardist Ehsan Kalantarpour is at the helm of Atoma as the vocalist and synth player, and is joined by ex-Slumber guitarist Makus Hill and bassist Siavosh Bigonah. In this new incarnation, their sound unites elements of electronic music, post rock and heavy metal.

Skylight kicks of with bombast and …

Beak — Eyrie

Posted on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 10:53 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Beak are a Chicago-based post-metal project headed by drummer Chris Eichenseer and bassist/vocalist Jason Goldberg (ex-The Timeout Drawer). Their debut effort Eyrie is an attempt at a concept album, engaging with the fertility possible in inaccessible and hostile landscapes (an Eyrie is a nest build by a bird of prey in a location that is very hard to get to), touching upon the inevitable progression of time and the “path to ruin.”

While Beak have clear influences, it is also …

3 Inches of Blood — Long Live Heavy Metal

Posted on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 10:50 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim.

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Canadian heavy metal legion 3 Inches of Blood, currently based in Vancouver, BC, have been creating NWOBHM-influenced, ’70s hard rock-inspired music since 2000. Long Live Heavy Metal is their fifth full-length release. The band draw upon tales of glorious battle for lyrical inspiration, often with a fantasy or mythological bent. They also write about heavy metal itself, like opening track “Metal Woman.” 3IOB situate themselves firmly within the realm of traditional heavy metal, but it’s often when they reach …

The Great Sabatini — Matterhorn/ The Royal We

Posted on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 10:45 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim.

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Hardworking Canadian underground group and stalwart Hessian warriors the Great Sabatini consistently push the limits of their skills and aesthetic, as well as their sheer capacity for labour. Currently in the midst of another ambitious North American tour, the band are simultaneously releasing a duelling pair of recordings: Matterhorn (on No List) and free digital companion EP The Royal We, which was recorded with Topon Das of Canadian grindcore heroes Fuck the Facts. The Great Sabatini are driven to create new …

Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire — Visceral

Posted on Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 9:40 pm.

Originally written for This Is Not A Scene.

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Denver, Colorado band Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire play a dissonant, difficult kind of music that sits at a crossroads between grindcore and funereal doom. They refer to themselves as “funeralgrind” to communicate the aggressive nature of the sound and texture along with the bleakness and misery that informs their themes and lyrical content. It is clear this band is going for a specific and profound kind of catharsis, seeking healing by indiscriminately …

Meshuggah — Koloss

Posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 2:30 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Meshuggah, world-renowned extreme metallers from Sweden, are one of those bands that has had an irrevocable impact upon the landscape of heavy metal, spawning an entire new sub-genre inspired by their trademark sound (djent). The band’s name comes from the Hebrew word that means “crazy,” though there has always been an academically intense method to their madness. Formed in 1987, Meshuggah have maintained a remarkably stable lineup, having had the most turnover when it comes to bassists, …

Enthroned — Obsidium

Posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 2:27 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim.

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Prolific Belgian black metal band Enthroned have been active since 1993. Obsidium is their ninth studio album, in addition to EPs and a live CD; it is also their first with Agonia Records, after recently parting ways with Regain. The black metal here is as spiky and strident as an ill-tempered demon. The vast majority of the record blazes ahead at an extremely fast pace, only rarely pulling back to a mid-tempo grind to gather momentum and explore some crawling, ominous tones before galloping …

Aura Noir — Out To Die

Posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 2:25 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal

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Out To Die is the latest offering from Aura Noir, a blackened thrash (perhaps thrashed black) metal band from Norway. They have been active since 1993, this is their fifth full-length recording. The band members proudly refer to themselves as the “ugliest trio in the world,” and have certainly produced some well-crafted disgust on this latest offering, distilling their hateful impulses and aggressive tendencies into a rather fine vintage.

Aura Noir have received a great deal of praise in …

Borknagar — Urd

Posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 2:23 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal

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Their eighth studio album Urd is both a continuation and extension of Borknagar‘s trademark sound. This Norwegian progressive black metal band are the unquestionably kings in a country of their own making. Since their beginnings in 1995, they have been known for their very distinct sound, particularly defined by their combination of soulful, yearning clean singing combined with harsh vocals. Borknagar have also been set apart by the subject matter of their music, as they draw from paganism, …

Les Discrets — Ariettes oubliées…

Posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 2:20 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Ariettes oubliées… is the second full-length from Les Discrets, a French shoegaze/post-rock project spearheaded by Fursy Teyssier (ex-Amesoeurs). Les Discrets was originally conceived as a side-project, wherein Teyssier could express the images that inspired his visual art in a musical context. Since they have signed to Prophecy in 2009, the band have been extremely productive, with two split EPs (with Alcest and Arctic Plateau respectively) in addition to their two full-length records.

Les Discrets are very much a …

Naglfar – Téras

Posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 2:17 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Naglfar are a Swedish black metal band who have been active since 1992. Téras is their sixth studio album and their first in five years. The band draws their name from that of a ship that figures in Norse mythology, a ship made of the nails of the dead that will carry the hordes that will do battle with the gods during Ragnarok. As might be expected, Naglfardraw a great deal of their influences from the Poetic Edda …

Locrian & Mamiffer — Bless Them That Curse You

Posted on Saturday, April 14th, 2012 at 3:58 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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Bless Them That Curse You is a collaboration between Chicago-based experimental noise group Locrian and Seattle’s Mamiffer (composer and pianist Faith Coloccia and Aaron Turner of Isisfame). Both groups bring a pedigree of intelligence and strangeness to their joint project, and the final result is an complex and simmering sum of these intense parts.The six songs on this album swoop and swirl through a series of elliptical patterns, transforming the sound and surprising the listener with …

Unsane — Wreck

Posted on Saturday, April 14th, 2012 at 3:55 pm.

Originally written for About Heavy Metal.

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New York City’s noise rockers Unsane have been making metallic, hardcore tinged punk since 1988, and Wreck is their seventh full-length album. Unsane are devoted to an angry, seething filthiness in their sound that evokes the merciless and danger of old New York City. Wreck is no different, all rage and bloody concrete, the voice of a city that is ready to swallow you whole.

The production quality has just the right amount of griminess to suit the alternating brooding …

Uncle Touchy — Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Violence

Posted on Saturday, April 14th, 2012 at 3:53 pm.

Originally written for Exclaim.

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Uncle Touchy are abrasive and chaotic post-hardcore/noise rock from Chatanooga, TN and Atlanta, GA. Formed in 2010, these relative newcomers hope to appeal to fans of Unsane and Jesus Lizard. While they are geographically inclined towards sludge, Uncle Touchy bely their Southern roots ― there is no sludge in these musical gears. With Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Violence, they make it clear that they prefer their lube to be of the sweat and spit variety. Openly …