Vassafor- Obsidian Codex(2012)

Vassafor- Obsidian Codex

For the weak, I have a message: get the fuck out.  Obsidian Codex is simply too much for you.

Those looking for an album which in any way caters to the casual or accommodates the uninitiated simply need not apply for this review or Obsidian Codex, the latest masterwork from New Zealand two piece Vassafor.  The long running project, which formed in 1997 but has had a very irregular release history, have crafted a masterpiece so thrilling and mesmerizing that working through it's incomparably dense facade becomes a journey in and of itself.  In fact, describing Obsidian Codex and it's 96 minute running time(you read that right) as a "journey" is about the best description I can formulate: Phil Kusabs and Ben Parker(known as VK and BP) take us on a musical adventure which features terrifying abominations, hellish landscapes and twisted black forests inundated with freezing snow, where moments of beauty and emotion are few but present, the driving force that keeps us on the path to this massive quest's ultimate conclusion.  It is in no way an easy album to enjoy; it will pummel and suffocate all who challenge it, and test the endurance of anyone foolish enough to take it lightly.  But it's also one of the most worthwhile musical experiences to be found in Extreme Metal of any genre.  Obsidian Codex is simply a masterpiece removed from needless classification beyond "awesome."

Stylistically, it's not hard to pick out the genres and artists which influenced Obsidian Codex, but everything here is put together in such a way that those influences feel like they are being transformed by Vassafor, molded and shaped into effective new tools for the song writing mechanism, beyond the well worn instruments that have been continuously reused for the same purpose again and again.  At the most "brass-tacks" level, Vassafor could be described as "Occult Blackened Death/Doom," but such a classification simply misses the mark that the band has set with this album.  The atmosphere is thick to the point of solidification, the creepiness of the compositions is so spine chilling that ice forms on the flesh and the unshakably somber moments, driven by smothered melodic leads and some deeply emotional compositions, brings about occasional moments of truly subdued beauty; a fallen angel, wings broken and flesh cleaved, laying amongst the ash and crying silver tears.  Of course, Obsidian Codex has plenty of good old brutal, bestial and even Thrash-y moments that reminds you that Mr. Kusabs has played with the likes of Blasphemy and Diocletain in his long musical career.  And you can note that all of these elements are right in the very first actual song on the album, "Rites of Ascension," and continue to appear throughout the album, culminating in the truly epic monster known as "Nemesis," which starts with a short but incredible woodwind intro(unsure of the exact instrument) which sets the tone for a 23 minute epic of unparallelled  proportions.

I've often complained about extremely long songs, and "Nemesis" certainly fits the bill of an incredibly elongated piece that runs the risk of going disastrously off the rails.  But that's the glory of "Nemesis" and the other epically long tracks on Obsidian Codex: they are perfectly fleshed out with a combination of ambiance and ideas that they never grow stale or lose the listeners interest.  Tracks dance between tempos and riffs with perfectly calculated brilliance, showing a level of song-writing which transcends what most artists could even hope to achieve.  "Sunya(Void  Paradox)" maintains a driving, aggressive rhythm throughout, showing a more take no prisoners approach to song writing that instigates furious bouts of relentless head-banging and stands in stark but effective contrast to the more Doom-y aspects of the record, while the aforementioned opening track "Rites of Ascension" features some truly horrific yet oddly haunting compositions which give off an unhinged and ritualistic intensity.  And the final real track, Makutu(Damned to the Deepest Depths)" starts off with a tribal, ritualistic drum pattern before morphing into an unholy fusion of Blasphemy and Portal.  And it ends with a slice of Sludge, yeah Sludge, which just adds icing to an already maggot ridden, gory cake of true nihilism All of these tracks are well over the 7 minute mark, yet never fail to entrance for a single moment.  It's almost stupefying.

I mentioned the albums 96 minute running time, and that will automatically create a barrier of entry for many.  Truth be told, I could see why a lot of people simply wouldn't like this album, or even hate it.  Obsidian Codex is one of those albums where the creative direction of the artist is encapsulated to the point where it offers no leeway to the listener, a "my way or the high way" style of song-writing which some will find dull, others obnoxious or even offensive.  Even the ambient tracks go for several minutes, and the album leans heavily on them to help intensify the already dense compositions.  And while the production is fairly accessible, especially by the standards set in this particular genre, and many of the riffs invitingly familiar to fans of bands like Diocletain, Antediluvian or Mitochondrion, Obsidian Codex is an album defined by excess and disregard for the listeners time or sanity.

Yet for all of Obsidian Codex's excesses, for all of it's density and disregard, its an album built mostly on accessible, inviting riffs and enjoyable variety.  Every track feels intertwined, yet all of them also feel distinct and unique when compared to each other.  And while this album was clearly meant to be experienced front to back in one single sitting, each of the actual musical tracks on Obsidian Codex stand on their own feet and can be enjoyed and replayed independently of each the whole album experience.  This is perhaps Obsidian Codex's greatest triumph, and a true rarity in this particular genre, where the whole album experience is the rule and playability is more often than not the exception.

I hesitate to use the word "perfection" here, but in many ways Obsidian Codex is the perfect album: 

perfect in it's atmospheric and thematic presentation, perfect in it's execution and musical competency, perfect in it's song-writing and production.  Obsidian Codex is the ultimate realization of a single musical vision being shared by two musicians who are working as a single, cohesive creative force.  It's an absolutely stunning album, one whose flaws are so few and far between that mentioning them is simply pointless beyond the need to be typed here; hyperbole be damned, Obsidian Codex is unlike anything I have ever heard.

Rating: 10/10

Chasm of Nis- Redolent of Spheres(2012)

Chasm of Nis- Redolent of Spheres

Justin Blake Smith has quickly become one of the more prolific performers of putrid, pestilential putrescence in the American Death Metal scene.  As one of the main forces behind Encoffination's brand of sinfully slothful down-tempo Death/Doom and Father Befouled's well oiled Incantation worship machine, JBS has also had a prolific solo career with acts such as Hills of Sefiroth and Vomitchapel.  But his newest project, Chasm of Nis, is by far the most interesting and dynamic project yet.  In today's modern Death Metal scene, Chasm of Nis might not be as original as it would have been just a few years ago, but it still brings a somewhat fresh perspective on Occult Blackened Death Metal.

Redolent of Spheres doesn't too a lot to separate itself from the myriad of highly atmospheric, low-fi Star Cult provocateurs that are quickly saturating the genre, but it does just enough to stand out.  Featuring only two real tracks(it also has a cool intro and a completely pointless outro that borders on offensive), Redolent of Spheres doesn't have much time to make an impact but makes the most of it.  Comparisons to Portal, Antediluvian and Grave Upheaval are almost mandatory here, and they do fit.  JBS brings many of the same aspects to the table: lurching, ritualistic tempos, deep guttural vocals(which suddenly sound powerful and interesting, after being completely pointless on the recent Father Befouled, which makes me think it's a production issue), and a hazy production which suffers from some unfortunate distortion that occasionally gets obnoxious.  But Redolent of Spheres does bring a bit more to the table, namely in a distinct and surprising influence which stood out to me almost immediately: some of these riffs will being to mind Demilich, and in the best way possible.  "Œnemic Subjugation" explodes right out of the gate with ferocious blasting and a strange, dischordant and chaotic lead with a guitar sound as close to Nespithe as I have ever heard.  It's incredibly awesome, and after a moment of sleepy miasma, it returns again and expands in a way which is really exciting.  "Archaiciasis Ænfernal" is an even more dynamic track, which runs the gauntlet of Portal, Grave Upheaval and Demilich with fluidity and song writing chops.  It's a killer track, filled with creepy underpinnings of melody and some truly demonic atmosphere.

I can honestly say I haven't been all that kind to previous projects from JBS, but Chasm of Nis shows that the man has more in him than slow stuff and Incantation worship.  Redolent of Spheres is short and doesn't truly light the world on fire, but it's a highly enjoyable listen which brings just enough originality to the table to stand out in an increasingly over-crowded scene.  Hopefully, the Demilich-esque elements take center stage here, giving Chasm of Nis and even more defined place in America's massive Death Metal scene.  Be sure to purchase the demo here.

Rating: 8/10

Vorum- Poisoned Void(2013)

Vorum- Poisoned Void

Deja-fucking-vu.

It's 2013 and the Old School Death Metal Revival, or Aping depending on your perspective, continues full steam ahead with Vorum's Poisoned Void, a short and succinct blitzkrieg of "Old School is the only School" Death Metal.  It's an album, which as to be expected, throws a bunch of different obvious influences at you and does so with aplomb.

Everyone, pull out your check lists:

Does it have blacked, blast heavy bits of furious Death Metal ala Angelcorpse?  Check

Does it have Doom-laden, chunky riffs for skull cracking ala Autopsy or Asphyx?  Check it off.

Does it have tons of melodic solos and leads ala every Death Metal band from the late 80's and early 90s?  Check and check.

Does it have lurching tremolo picked abominations ala Incantation?  You better fucking believe Check.

Does it have vocals which sound like John Tardy or Martin Van Drunen? There's a big fucking Check there buddy.

Poisoned Void is basically text book when it comes to modern Old School Death Metal Worship, moving from influence to influence with speed and prowess, something I have to give it some credit for.  With some many of these recent worship albums feeling lazy and passionless, Poisoned Void remains highly aggressive and energetic throughout, and the bands musicianship is top notch and tight.  On a basic technical level, musicianship and production, Poisoned Void delivers the goods.

Where it simply doesn't deliver is in the song-writing department, as throughout Poisoned Void you are taunted with moments of pure, head-banging, spine snapping, furiously flailing awesome, only to be smashed back down to earth with another redundant bit of generic blasting and riffing which sounds like the same transition from song to song.  Take for example the intro to "Rabid Blood": it's fucking awesome, with some slower tempos and fantastic drumming which shows the skill that the bands talented drummer, Mikko Josefsson, is capable of.  He is one of the highlights on this record, displaying incredible speed and dexterity as well as the ability to play some very complex rhythms.  But like, well, every other song on the record, "Rabid Blood" becomes a generic, time a dozen amalgamation of various played out "old-skull" tropes that never ascend to the next level, and it feels like Josefsson's talents are being wasted here.  It's the same with "Thriving Darkness," a killer intro followed by two brilliant sections which channels early Morbid Angel in all their Ancient glory... before it too falls into a relentless rut of basic old-school stuff that just makes one yawn.  In fact, we should rename Poisoned Void to Awesome Intros, Boring Results, as this proves to be a consistent theme throughout the record.

Not to be too harsh here, for as far as blatant old school worship albums go, Poisoned Void is not bad.  Although it lacks much of the strong atmosphere of Ectovoid's Fractured in the Timeless Abyss, and it's simply devoid of that wonderful spark of creativity and originality that Execration achieved on Odes to the Occult, Poisoned Void is very furious and is guaranteed to get ones head-banging on more than one occasion.  Vorum avoid most of the major prat-falls that can make this style almost completely unlistenable: boring and pointless Funeral Doom segments are thankfully absent, and Vorum prefer to keep things short and violent, with songs rarely going over the four minute mark.  As much as elements of this album infuriate me with it's utterly generic moments, there is just enough here for it to rise above the utter shit that the Old School Death Metal Revival has produced.  It's worth a listen, but when the history of this era of Death Metal is written, Poisoned Void will be little more than a footnote in the annals of time.

Rating: 6.5/10

Desolate Shrine-The Sanctum of Human Darkness (2012)

Desolate Shrine-The Sanctum of Human Darkness

By this point, Dark Descent has become a label that has well established itself as a flagship of darkly evocative and powerful underground black and death metal.  The latest Desolate Shrine album, the Sanctum of Human Darkness, is no exception to this tradition, containing eight tracks of monolithic Finnish death metal that will not fail to have ground your bones to powdered ash at the end of a full sitting.  A noticeable improvement over the unfulfilled potential of its predecessor, Tenebrous Towers, Desolate Shrine’s sophomore effort manages to collect the former album’s expansive, yet meandering atmospheric approach into a more focused attack, ultimately creating an album that leaves a greater impression due to the sheer momentum generated by the coupling of muscular riffwork and stark, obsidian atmosphere.

What is particularly impressive about The Sanctum of Human Darkness was its inability to conjure comparisons to the usual troupe of enfranchised death metal legends that every “old-school” revival act and their 5^th cousin claims to be the inheritor of.  While glimpses of regional Finnish patriarchs Demigod and Convulse flashed by, coupled with a bombastic, infernal delivery that more than slightly hinted at Immolation and Morbid Angel, and topped off with a filthy layer of Incantation-esque soot, nowhere in the middle of digesting the album was I ever given any inclination to pinpoint specific riffs and passages to any entity other than the tormented muses of Desolate Shrine themselves.  In a death metal scene that has in recent years filled with acts whose sole claim to note was to do a particularly “legitimate,” undeviating rendition of an older template, it is refreshing to find a band that, while clearly “old-school” in their approach to the craft, interprets their influences in a way that accentuates their own identity as opposed to subsuming it behind a revivalist banner.  

While on a song to song basis, the album is hard to analyze, as every track more or less meshes together into a single cacophony of whirring, choking black miasma, the album never truly becomes tiresome due to the monolithic relentlessness of its chaotic attack.  Occasionally acoustic guitars and piano pieces break the mayhem, acting as a somber eye-of-the-storm, a calm that becomes all the more nerve-wracking knowing that the hurricane of guitar riffs and nocturnal ambiances will inevitably return.  Yet even in its most violent moments, The Sanctum of Human Darkness never loses its more morose tendencies, and as a whole there is a feeling of tenderness and sorrow contrasted with your usual old-school sensibilities that is more characteristic  of Peaceville-style melodic death/doom efforts, including early Katatonia, Paradise Lost, and more contemporary acts such as Daylight Dies.  

Don’t be fooled though, this is not an album that strives to approach accessibility in any shape or form.  Almost nonexistent are the hooks and overarching melodies that serve to anchor many other records to a backbone, and Desolate Shrine never seem to settle down into comfortable, headbang-conducive groove.   Instead, this opus works its way into the mind of the listener through the layering of musical textures in a way tasteful enough to paint evocative images of desolation and despair.  At certain points, it almost feels as if you are staring at the smoldering pillars of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where the fragments of human civilization (analogous to the moments of extremely human pathos that emerge through the aforementioned tenderness) stand as stark supplicants to the majesty of destruction, heightening the sense of loss as you ponder the futility of humanity in its struggle against the forces of inevitable entropy.  Indeed, the greatest strength of The Sanctum of Human Darkness is, more than anything, as a holistic work working through a wall of slightly-melodic ambiance to generate its desired effect.  The songs themselves serve as individual variations of a shared theme, as opposed to distinct entities with their own artistic identity.  However, the album truly comes together when listened to in one sitting, taking the listener through an entire obsidian mountain range of emotional peaks and valleys.  

The Sanctum of Human Darkness’s role as atmospheric, impressionist music ultimately fails to place it in the upper echelon of death metal albums, as its ambitious yet monotonous approach towards composition renders its movements largely devoid of individual standout moments.  The band mostly plods along heavily at the same tempo throughout the album, reinforcing the idea of The Sanctum of Human Darkness as more of a deliberate, unmovable hellforged machine than a musical album, and unfortunately the album eventually begins running out of steam to propel it forward in any attention-grabbing manner.  However, when all is said and done, you could do far worse than to give this unique, yet wholly traditional piece of death metal a spin or two in your passing hours.  

Rating: 7.5/10

Sodb- Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin(2012)

Sodb- Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin 

Featuring a classic Black Metal sound which occasionally dips into the modern for moments of true inspiration, Sobd's debut demo Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin will at times struggle to maintain a consistent pace of excellence, but when it peaks it towers over the listener with truly glorious arrangements.  Hailing from Ireland, Sodb's sound should at the beginning feel instantly familiar: elements of Emperor, Gorgoroth, Tsjunder and Shining all show themselves throughout the demo and provide much of the backbone for Sodb to explore darker, more melancholic or violent compositions.  It's an impressive demo from beginning to end no doubt, even if it doesn't consistently make a positive impression.

The first thing that stood out was the surprising musicianship featured on Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin: I was consistently blown away by the individual performances on the album, particularly bassist Irene Giragusa, whose twisted basslines slither and squirm throughout the songs yet are never lost in the flurry of riffs and blast-beats.  This is largely due to the brilliant production here, which is absolutely mind-boggling for a debut demo and a band's first release.  The mix is even yet none of the rawness is lost in the guitar sound, while the drums sound phenomenal and completely raw while remaining at the perfect level.  The vocals are perhaps a bit high in the mix, and are also perhaps the least impressive aspect of the bands performance: there's a bit too much reverb on them, and they sound somewhat over-produced in comparison to the rest of the instruments.  The vocals are not bad per-se, but a more raw, throat-ripping performance might have better suited the sound that Sodb have developed.

Outside of the technical aspects however, Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin suffers from a bit of what I like to call "the songs are too fucking long."  Long songs are an incredibly difficult thing to do, and many artists simply fail miserably when they attempt to go over the five minute mark: songs either become a mess of random experimentation or brutal, endurance-testing triathlons of repetition, and in both cases it's because the band ran out of ideas.  These failings are not extreme nor unforgivable on Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin, but they are present, especially on the first two tracks.  "Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin" runs out of steam about half way through and muddles about for about three minutes in a mire of random melodies, sudden starts and stops, and general apathy before it peter's out, while "Aigre Ré" suffers from poor use of repetition and far too much melodic noodling.  Both tracks start strong but end weakly, and show that Sodb still seem to be feeling things out.

But things ascend quickly with "Tethered," a brilliant piece of Norwegian and Swedish influences that heads in some surprising directions.  Starting with a brilliant acoustic and melodic intro, "Tethered" weeps atmosphere and envelops the listener in darkness; the proverbial blizzard in the dead woods.  One hears the influence of Emperor and Shining clearly, but "Tethered" also has some interesting and expertly used elements of modern Atmospheric Black Metal to flesh out the minutia.  There is a hint of Wolves in the Throne Room's rustic woodland-hymns and even a bit of Shoegaze-y ambiance ala- Krallice at work on "Tethered," though it's all very subtle and worked organically into the composition.  "Old and Withered Form" is far more traditional, but it benefits from it's somewhat shorter running time and straight up, Gorgoroth-style neck slicing attack.

 Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin may not be perfect, but without question this is one of the more impressive debut's I've come across.  It's certainly one of the most listenable Black Metal albums in a while, featuring an even production and a classic, well thought out sound featuring plenty of melody.  Those looking for reverb-pinged snare drums and endless armies of grimm ghouls may not be overly impressed with the material here, but anyone looking for a Black Metal album that doesn't excessively challenge while remaining deep, and those looking for a more complex and melodic style of Black Metal that doesn't mesh completely with modern standards, will have a new favorite album in Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin.

Rating: 8.5/10

Up Coming Releases to Meh About: Meh...

As the cynicism of instantaneous access and musical disillusionment begin to poison my every thought and alter the color of my blood to a dull, sleepy grey, I have decided to declare the year 2013 as "The Year of Meh."

I mean really, how can anyone be excited for music anymore?  Why bother?  All of it's free and sounds exactly the fucking same... I don't know guys.  How many more times can we listen to the same band repeat the same sounds from the early 90's over and over and over.  How many more Nintendocore guitar sweeps and type-writer drums can we stomach?  How many more times can I refer to the production style as "murky" and "static-choked" before those adjectives lose all meaning?(Actually they kind of already have...)

Meh... here's some upcoming releases to steal off the internet, listen to once and never listen to again...

 

I don't know man, normally I'd be so fucking excited for the new Cultes des Ghoules.  I mean yeah I pre-ordered it on two formats, but why?  I'm just wasting my money, since I already downloaded the European CD rip.  I've already listened to the album once and forgot about it.  It's just more of the same, even if the album is incredible and amazing and worth owning on two formats and an early album of the year contender... meh

 

 Hasn't this leaked yet?  I mean everything leaks.  I want the leak man.  I'm not sure why, cause this new song fucking sucks.  Remember when Deeds of Flesh were making some of the greatest Brutal Death Metal imaginable?  Remember Path of the Weakening?  That shit was really wicked, even on the 192 kbps rip I downloaded.  I actually listened to that one twice.  Now Deeds of Flesh sound like every other lame Brutal Tech Death band on the planet: over-produced, toothless and wanky.  The definition of meh...

 Shit man, this one is gonna blow up the internet when it leaks.  Wait, it leaked?  When?  Can someone hook me up with a link?  Seriously, I can't live without hearing this.  Not that I even like Portal or anything.  But what else am I supposed to listen to on my 80 GB iPod all day?  Shit I actually want to listen to?  This new song is actually pretty cool though, sounds like the best Portal album so far.  But still pretty meh I guess...

 

 Man, this new song fucking sucks.  Will probably still download.

 New Wormed huh?

....

FUCK YEAH!

Ok, so maybe 2013 has some pretty cool shit on the horizon.  Maybe there is some shit to get excited about and a lot to look forward too.  Maybe there isn't a good reason for all my apathy and instant access fatigue... 

 

 

...

No, fuck music.

Curse of the Great White Elephant Top 20 Albums of 2012 Part 2

Spawn of Possession- Incurso

The return of Technical Death Metal legends Spawn of Possession did not disappoint, as the Swedes showed that their long time away from the musical arena has not impacted them or their knack for inhumanly precise devastation of the brain cavity.  While the obnoxiously clean production sound takes some punch from the bands sound, the song-writing here is just phenomenal: highly atmospheric and complex while never losing the speed and brutality we have come to expect from the band.  Tech Death may have fallen out of vogue, or more precisely changed its name and started calling itself "occult," but Incurso proves that there is still room for this kind of aural micro-surgery in Death Metal today.

Muknal/The Haunting Presence- Split 

Occult visions and the bellowing of secret, evil things long forgotten.  That's what to expect when two of the premiere young extreme Metal acts get together to release a 4 song split that never loses it's edge despite it's running time.  Muknal are simply one of the best new acts around regardless of genre, and have tapped into aspects of Atmospheric Black/Death that few bands have been able to obtain while doing very little which would be described as purely original.  The band are merely song-writing savants.  The Haunting Presence may be less dynamic, but are even more savage: the battle-cry of the angel slayer.  The split format saw a lot of great releases in 2012, but few better than this.

Rahu- The Quest for the Vajra of Shadows

Drawing a fairly even mix of Burzum and Darkspace with just a hint of Horna, Rahu's The Quest for the Vajra of Shadows can devastate as well as entrance.  At times even a bit "beautiful"(or as beautiful as raw, static choked Atmospheric Black Metal can be), The Quest for the Vajra of Shadows is not an easy album to absorb in a single sitting, yet never comes off as overwhelming or that it sets any serious barriers to entry.  It's an album which creates an atmosphere of dread no doubt, but it's also inviting; the siren song encompassed.

Plague Widow- s/t

There certainly wasn't a more exciting, and ridiculously addicting, release in 2012 than Plague Widow's self-titled debut EP.  With so many Death Metal bands picking one style and sticking steadfastly to it while incessantly dissecting competing styles for their "trveness" or "the level of talented needed," it proved incredibly refreshing to find a new band say "fuck all that shit, lets just mix them."  When the only way to describe your band is Blackened Brutal Technical Death-Grind, you know you are in for either a giant fucking mess or something special.  We definitely got something special here though: taking the best elements of bands like Portal, Deeds of Flesh, Circle of Dead Children, early Decrepit Birth and Mitochondrion, this s/t never lets up, deftly jumping between atmospheric sections and good old muscle and speed with ease and skill.  Songwriting doesn't get more varied yet catchy.

Putrevore- Macabre Kingdom

I admit I never thought I would hear from Putrevore, a Rottrevore worship/tribute act from Dave Rotten and Rogga Johansson, again after their incredibly good debut album Morphed from Deadbreath.  The project languished in obscurity despite it's quality, and with Rogga and Rotten involved in multiple other acts with a much higher profile, I thought Putrevore would end up on the back burner until it was charred beyond use.  However, 2012 brought one of the most welcome surprises I've ever had when Macabre Kingdom hit with little fanfare.  And after listening to this album, I was hit with an even bigger surprise: Macabre Kingdom is no Rottrevore worship album.  Yes, Rottrevore's Americanized and brutalized Swedish Death Metal remains at the heart of the album, but Macabre Kingdom is far more dynamic than mere worship: it's an album which encompasses huge swaths of Death Metal, from modern Occult Black/Death to Death/Doom to classic gut-bucket 1989 old school and back.  Truly a magnificent return for Putrevore.  And I can without a doubt make this claim: the vocal performance by Rotten on Macabre Kingdom is easily the best of 2012, if not the last 5 years.

Vattnet Viskar- s/t

So, are we still calling this stuff "Hipster Black Metal?"  Or "Blackgaze?"  Do I care?  No, not really.  Vattnet Viskar might be a huge number of things, and all of them are positive: dynamic, emotional, powerful, complex.  Whether or not the band have any "kvlt" credibility or listen to a little more Neurosis than Mayhem, what Vattnet Viskar were able to accomplish on this self-titled EP is nothing short of astounding.  This sound, a mix of Atmospheric Black Metal and Post-Sludge with a cleaner, more defined production style, is incredibly trendy and pretty big right now.  And for my money, Vattnet Viskar do it better than anyone else.

Antediluvian/Adversarial- Initiated in Impiety as Mysteries

Throughout the history of Death Metal, I am generally unsure how many split albums would be considered "essential."  Splits have always been the mechanism of economics: limited edition recordings where the costs are shared, usually used to increase the hype for a future full-length for one of the acts or for an established act to help promote a young up and coming act looking to break through but lacking name recognition.  Yet make no mistake; Initiated in Impiety and Mysteries is not some thrown together hype release, but a focused, artistically minded full-blown release by two of Death Metal's premiere bands.  Both Adversarial and Antediluvian, while having distinct sounds that share little straight up correlation, brought their best material to date to bear here and appeared to have a completely focused thematic direction in mind for the split.  Adversarial's sonically devastating mix of Bestial brutality with hyper-speed technicality and Antediluvian's murky, musty Satanic bowel movements play beautifully off of each other here, and combine to create arguably the best Death Metal collaboration of all time.

Wreck and Reference- No Youth

 No Youth is the definition of bad mood music.  Nothing good ever happens to anybody who listens to it, and you can't shake the feeling that nothing good ever happens to the guys in Wreck and Reference.  It's essentially Breaking Bad or Oldboy in musical form: the sins continue to pile up, higher and higher until they blot out all light.  Those caught underneath the shade grow colder and colder until there is little left to hope for and life becomes a cruel cosmic joke devoid of a punchline.  Musically, the bombastic mix of thick electronic noise and acoustic drumming with the Michael Gira-esque vocal attack and healthy doses of skull-fucking Sludge and Black Metal makes No Youth simply one of the darkest albums I've ever heard.  And one of the best.

Muknal- s/t

If you are not on the band-wagon, allow me to make a seat for you next to me.

Without a question in my mind, Muknal are the best new band in Death Metal.  The band's self-titled debut has become a personal classic for me, and it's simply one of the best written, performed and produced Death Metal albums I have ever heard.  The music perfectly evokes the gorgeous cover art: cosmic, occult, shifting and hiding in the blackness of the Earth until it can claim the blackness in your soul.  The thick, musty production remains perfectly even, giving every instrument a say in the overall tapestry, while the vocals are simply unhinged and demonic.  But it's the song-writing above all else that makes Muknal as close to perfect as it can be: no section goes on longer than it needs to be yet the album creates a flawless and suffocating atmosphere of dread.  It evokes an even mix of endless navel-gazing and uncontrollable head-banging, while maintaining a consistent theme and tone throughout.  The bands sound remains firmly rooted in the Old-School while feeling forward thinking and starkly original.  Simply put, Muknal is one of the best Death Metal albums I have ever heard.  Not bad for the three song debut EP.

And the best album of 2012:

Charon- Sulfur Seraph(The Archon Principal)

In order to verify my personal feeling that Charon's Sulfur Seraph(The Archon Principal) was truly the best album of 2012, I gave myself a challenge: don't listen to it for a solid three months at least.  Step away from the album which was becoming a solid part of my listening rotation and see if it holds up to the changing of time and perspective.  It's a tough test for any album to over-come, and banishes more than one former flame to obscurity.

What I found surprised me: not only did Sulfur Seraph hold up, it felt...well, as the song goes, it felt like the very first time.  Charon's sound is easy to describe yet difficult to envision, utterly accessible yet beyond heavy and incredibly fast, mired in Old-School sensibilities yet as fresh as anything I have heard in a long time.  The sound Charon achieved on Sulfur Seraph is simply magical; Thrash, Black Metal and Occult Black/Death all meet at a perfect center apex and proceed to savage the fuck out of your ear-drums while never coming off as overly abrasive or self-indulgent.  It's this surprising listenability, this "pick up and listen" style of brutal, fast and evil song-writing that doesn't feel like a rehash of early 90's Death Metal that makes Sulfur Seraph such an impressive album, and the best album of 2012.

Curse of the Great White Elephant: Top 20 Albums of 2012 Part 1

Sadly, this list is going to feel largely incomplete.  There were dozens of albums I wanted to listen to more closely over the last few weeks but time has just not permitted it.  As such, I imagine there will be several albums left off of this list that deserve more serious consideration to be on it.  Regardless, the show must go on and I can only go with the albums which have proven their staying power and impact.  So without further a do, here is the Curse of the Great White Elephant Top 20 Albums of 2012.

Pseudogod- Deathwomb Catechesis

Swirling, thundering waves of chaos and devastation rip the very ground beneath your feet asunder as Deathwomb Catechesis unleashes its furious and unholy magics upon you.  In terms of sheer aural hammering and relentlessness, it's an album which has no real equal in 2012.  But amid all roar of blast-beats and the endless procession of incomprehensible riffs, Deathwomb Catechesis has proven a far more atmospheric and intelligent album than I first gave it credit for.  This is not the pinnacle of creativity by any means, but Deathwomb Catechesis can show restraint and even subtlety when the moment calls for it, breaking up the monotony of pure speed with some doom-laden introspection and eery, dischordant riffs that feel as though they are being played on strings made from the broken hairs of angels.

Locrian & Mamiffer- Bless Them That Curse You

As much as I loved Blessed Them That Curse You, the brilliant collaboration between Drone/Black Metal noisemakers Locrian and Ambient Drone duo Mammifer, it was an album I never felt comfortable reviewing.  Trying to put the experience of Bless Them That Curse You into words is a difficult task, seeing as how it has little parallel to my typical musical discourse.  Other than the final track, the unbelievably glorious "Metis/Amaranthine/The Emperor," it features no semblance of Metal or even anything analog to it, as most of the album fills the air with ambient sounds, dark electronic shrieks and gorgeous, melodic yet twisted piano work(the main contribution of Mammifer I believe).  However, Bless Them That Curse You is utterly and completely transfixing, slowly and methodically waltzing along the ill-defined line between music and raw sound.  It's long, effortless tracks make time stand still and perspectives shift, while drawing from the listener a wide variety of emotional responses.  Bless Them That Curse You is a somber, subconscious experience that while limited in it's listenability, provides an incredible experience in the right setting.

Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel...

Say it with me: The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Chords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Ever Do.  It's an album titled which reeks of pretentiousness and self-serving infatuation with one's own creativity.  And surely enough, The Idler Wheel occasionally crosses that line into pure pretense, Fiona Apple's voice creaking like the most self-absorbed screen door ever opened.  But Apple, the legendary semi-mainstream 90's singer-songwriter, simply cannot be denied here: The Idler Wheel is the single best Non-Extreme Music album I have listened to this year.  Apple's voice is incredible, moving from a dull, warbling rumble to an enraged growl to a beautiful bell with an effortlessness that is near unmatched among here peers.  And musically, The Idler Wheel is as adventurous and bleak as any album this year.  The dark, piano driven "Jonathan" pulsates with power and dark electronic rhythms, while "Daredevil" is a ferocious, percussion heavy piece that would not be an easy task for any singer, yet Apple nails it.  This is not a catchy or accessible album in any way, instead choosing to challenge and push the limits of the listener to the limit in a way not expected from this genre.  Apple can have as many words in her album titles as she wants if she can back them up, and like Kate Bush and Bjork before her, Apple backs up the pretense gloriously.

Receptionist- This is Everything

Metalcore is fucking dead, but that didn't stop Receptionist from digging up it's corpse for one more go around.  Violent, angular and incredibly pissed off, This is Everything could easily be mistaken for a long lost Deadguy album  Strikingly original?  Not even close, This is Everything feels literally lifted directly from the 90's Metalcore-era.  But that was the point: to give a long dead genre a breath of life, and in this era where "Metalcore" has become the most bastardized and reviled genre's of Extreme Music, it's a damn important album too.

Desecravity- Implicit Obedience

How the fuck do so many bands keep fucking up this sound?  Brutal Tech Death is an easy genre to do right: keep things fast, technical and insanely brutal without over-producing the tracks to the point where the guitars sound digital and the drums sound like a type-writer.  Desecravity prove how simple, yet incredibly effective, the formula can be on Implicit Obedience, and album which possesses not one ounce of originality yet works on so many levels.  It's just so rare to hear a modern Brutal Tech Death band that actually, ya know, plays riffs.  And has hooks.  And doesn't throw a shit-ton of ham-fisted "melody" and "electronics" at the listener.  It's become so rare that Implicit Obedience feels brand new even if it's parts are well worn.  It's that even mix of tech and muscle that always works no matter how cynical about the genre one becomes.

Axis of Light- By the Hands of the Consuming Fire

Raw and brimming with rage and hate, By the Hands of the Consuming Fire helped usher in Axis of Light as one of the most exciting new Black Metal projects from an emerging English Extreme Metal scene.  The production here could not be less accessible, featuring almost no low end and a thin, shrieking guitar tone that grinds against the ears with that rare warm abrasiveness.  Yet the emotion here is even more raw than the production and this album seethes with hated and disgust.  The vocals are immense and incredibly intense and the instrumentation is the definition of controlled chaos.  The best music is the most emotional music, and By the Hands of the Consuming Fire is overwhelming in that regard.

The Ash Eaters- Ruining You

Another album I wanted to get to but just couldn't squeeze in, Ruining You is one hell of a ride down the rabbit hole.  The Ash Eaters, once known as Black Metal/Doom band Brown Jenkins, actually released two brilliant albums in 2012, Ibn Ghazi and Ruining You, but of the two Ruining You is the bands first full length and the fullest realization of The Ash Eaters twisted sound.  It's a sound which can be painfully difficult to describe, but the closest I can come is Blackened Instrumental Psych-Rock.  Making heavy use of thick guitar riffs heavy on repetition and simple yet aggressive rock rhythms, Ruining You creates an incredible amount of atmosphere despite being largely mid-tempo and devoid of much fluff, even vocals.  The guitar work drives the entire album, and it's simply some of the most caustic, dissonant and fantastic guitar work you'll ever hear.

Witch in Her Tomb- Witch in Her Tomb

2012 could be described as the year of Bandcamp: this is the third album on this list so far that has almost been exclusively distributed via Bandcamp.  Bands like Witch in Her Tomb are now able to spread their music farther than any underground musical artist has been able to before, and this is a glorious thing.  Featuring the best bass sound of 2012 and a raw, Punk-edged Black Metal attack, Witch in Her Tomb is a simple but powerful listen that is equal parts pure hated and insatiable catchiness.

Coheed and Cambria- The Afterman: Ascension

Welcome back, Coheed and Cambria. 

Now, this is not the best album that Coheed and Cambria album.  Not by a long shot.  But after the complete and utter garbage of Year of the Black Rainbow, merely coming close to returning to their glory days is a massive and welcome achievement.  The return of drummer Josh Eppard was the single best thing that has ever happened to the band, period.  With Eppard back behind the kit(and turning it the single best drumming performance of 2012), Coheed and Cambria made a return to their roots: a mix of Prog Metal and sugary sweet Pop caught in an extremely dark haze.  Claudio Sanchez is back to loving his own distinctive and divisive falsetto vocals, and the balance of epic guitar masterpieces and straight bubble gum head boppers is back and as good as ever when the band hit that sweet spot.  Without a doubt the best return of 2012.

Monomakh- MMXII

With a distinctive blend of straight up Incantation worship and classic, old school Black Thrash and even Melodic Black Death concepts, Monomakh's MMXII is at once thoroughly crushing in it's atmospheric holocaust, yet devoid of much if any repetition and jam-packed with riffs and even solos.  It's a strange dichotomy, but Monomakh makes it work in a way that I never would have begun to guess would work.  The production is thick and hazy, the vocals are powerful and evil, and the guitar work is simply marvelous: layered, diverse and devoid of any filler.  MMXII is without a doubt the most listenable and versatile Death Metal album of 2012, and since it is completely free on Bandcamp I urge everyone to check it out.

Rebirth of the Curse

So as you may or may not have noticed(or even cared) I took some time off from the blog.  There are a number of reasons for this, but they really aren't all that important.

Anyway, I am back in action and have some plans for the ol Blog.  A redesign is in the future as well as hopefully a core group of consistent writers.

Also, to anyone who has sent me a demo that I have agreed to review: yes, I will review them.  In fact after my best of 2012 post, I am going to make up for lost time and review your demos.

Cheers,
HeySharpshooter

Din of Awakening- Din of Awakening(2012)

Din of Awakening- Din of Awakening

The American Black Metal scene is in the midst of a glorious resurgence, and this reviewer is loving every minute of it.

It's not just this new Atmospheric Black Metal movement(Blackgaze for the haters) or the Black Twilight Circle either.  Outside of these two highly publicized and divisive scenes, American Black Metal is a growing movement that is finally starting to take it's (long deserved) place along side it's "vastly superior" European counterparts.  No longer is it just a few American acts getting all the love and the rest being swept aside as mere garbage.  American Black Metal, particularly the growing number of Raw Black Metal acts, is now a force to be reckoned with, one even the most hardcore of Euro-Elite Black Metal fans can no longer ignore even if they still deride it.  This resurgence has had this reviewer scouring the land for fresh new acts ready to make waves in the scene, and Din of Awakening and their new s/t demo were among the purveyors that caught my attention. 

Hailing from New York, one of the epicenters of the American Black Metal scene, Din of Awakening are a brand new one man project making raw, doomy Black Metal reminiscent of depressive, atmospheric acts such as Burzum and early Leviathan.  Highly minimalistic and suffocatingly raw, Din of Awakening has a few very strong aspects.  The vocals are distant and ethereal, yet very powerful and engaging.  Michal Vincent's throaty, demonic shriek and instantly brings to mind Varg's best vocal performances, and he effectively throws out some powerful guttural growls from time to time for some needed variety. The vocals are basically intelligible however, which all but defeats the bands goals of Green Anarchism in the lyrics.  The guitar tone is also fantastic; drenched in static yet clear enough to come through with power and dissonance.  The song-writing is mostly vintage Atmospheric Black Metal, featuring clean interludes and intros along with highly minimalistic song structures and melodic, depressive riffs that while not strikingly original, are competent enough to be enjoyable.

Too bad there just isn't more to enjoy here.  Din of Awakening is only three tracks, yet only one really stands out.  "Becoming Flesh, Embracing Death" features all the well worn concepts of Atmospheric Black Metal, but is a highly enjoyable track featuring the best clean, melodic interludes on the demo, as well as a killer riff that would do Burzum proud.  It's a dynamic track, but the tracks it is sandwiched between are a mixed bag at best.  "Unbirth" is almost completely forgettable, coming off as an elongated intro at the very most.  The guitar work is fine enough, featuring plenty of depressive melody, but the overall structure is mostly dull and uninspired.  It suffers greatly from the unimpressive drum work on the album; it's so minimalist as to be inessential to the tracks, and the sound of the drums(likely a drum machine) is consistently awful throughout the demo.  Truth be told, if Vincent had not even bothered with drums on the demo at all it might have been better.  "Begotten" is better, featuring some Darkthrone-esque speed and a the most diverse vocal attack with even a bit of a Blackened Death Metal vibe, but it's also on the sloppy side and drags on a bit long near the end with a slow outro that feels inessential, as though it were tacked on to have the track feel more like the two previous songs with their slow, lurching tempos.

I don't want to come off as too harsh here, because Din of Awakening is not a bad demo, and certainly not for the very first release from a very new project.  And "Becoming Flesh, Embracing Death" alone makes Din of Awakening worth the listeners time.  There is great potential for Din of Awakening to become a better, more engaging project overall, but this s/t demo provides too little value to feel essential to anyone but the most die hard fans of Raw or Atmospheric Black Metal.  A solid but unspectacular beginning, with a glimmer of greatness buried just beneath the graveyard soil.

Rating: 6.5/10