Major Changes

As of now, I won't be reviewing anymore albums and demos etc... on this blog

I have to manage my time better and I've not had the time I would have liked to dedicate to the blog since the turn of the year. So from Sunday, March 1st, I'll be launching a new weekly podcast, which will feature new tracks from unsigned/underground bands.

So I'll still be supporting underground bands, but in a different format.
I'll post the address of the new podcast once I sort the site out etc.. which will be in the next 7 days

All of my writing will now be for Metal Legions, which is a new print mag I'm launching, which is about 2 months behind schedule. I should have a 12 page test copy next week, and then I can finish the rest of the layout, once I check the colours etc...

So until the next update, here's a free compilation I've just launched

Helvete Volume 2 : Total Destruction
https://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com/album/helvete-volume-2-total-destruction

This blog will still be active, but it'll mainly feature news about my Podcast and magazine

February Reviews Round-Up

Sorry, I've been a bit slack with the blog recently. I've been stretching myself a little thin with the various projects I have on the go right now.

So here are some reviews, with another batch pencilled in for next weekend

Aethyr

There are very few definitive genres any more as bands continue to experiment and the number of styles incorporated into one album, continues to grow and grow.

A perfect example of this are Russian “Doomsters” Arthyr. Doom may be the over-riding genre used when describing the band, but throw in Shoegaze / Post Black Metal, Ambient / Drone (possibly with a Winston Churchill speech backdrop) , hints of Black Metal as well as groove laden Doom and a slower, more ponderous form of the genre and it’s a big mixing bowl of delights. The average song length is just over 7 minutes, with 2 tracks clocking in at over 10 minutes, so there’s a lot of style shifting and boundary hopping going on. But overall, you’d probably describe Corpus as a gloomy album.

I need to be in the mood to listen to Doom, mainly as I tend to listen to music while I work, and Doom isn’t the best style for improving productivity. But this album has enough subtle twists to keep my attention and the delivery of the bands ideas are top notch.

The album is out Feb 19th and is well worth checking out

https://www.facebook.com/aethyrband

https://www.facebook.com/CimmerianShadeRecordings

Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus

Here are a couple of releases from Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus. The band are based in the US, but have a guy (Mika Mage) from Finland at the helm. So the band sound more European, than they do American.

With a new album on the way shortly, it’s time to dust off the bands output from 2012 and 2013.

To be honest, both releases could be good. But the muddy production ruins whatever chance these releases had.

Musically, this is Black Metal mixed with atmospheric  / ambient parts. The 2 styles rarely mingle, one tends to follow the other. With the more atmospheric parts, having the better sound. And at times they remind me of early Burzum.

So it’s the Black Metal parts that let down these releases. What’s on offer could be very promising, and it seems to be very well put together and full of Scandinavian pride. But I’m not a fan of this kind of production as it lacks any power and the drum machine sound is dire, at best.

The two tracks from the Väinämöinen EP are an improvement from the previous years effort, so there is a chink of light to be found. But they really need to improve their sound if they are to progress from here.

https://www.facebook.com/nihilistinenbarbaarisuus

Phantasmal

I’m really digging this 3 tracker from US duo Phantasmal. This is bullshit free, Heavy Metal with Thrash and Black Metal influences and it’s a perfect blend of all three genres.

The aggression is reigned in, but it still bears the hallmarks of classic 80s Thrash & Metal, a bit like Destruction, Mercyful Fate and NWOBHM forged together in fist pumping metallic unity.  Its old school and it makes you feel nostalgic while listening to it. Which is always a good thing, as far as I’m concerned, as a lot of the older bands are fading away, we need new blood like Phantasmal to keep the flame alive.

The production could do with a couple of tweaks, but overall this is a very satisfying debut demo.

 https://www.facebook.com/phantasmalmetal

The Passion Of Our Souls

The Passion Of Our Souls are a duo. Samuli Tuomas Mäkelä who handles the music and female singer Julia Mattila, who provides growls as well as clean singing.

Musically, this is melodic fare, somewhere around the catchier end of Death Metal. The vocals are harsh during the verses and pop-tastically catchy during the choruses. And that the deal with TPOOS (damn name is too long to type each time) Melodic Death with pop choruses.

The formula is ok. Julia has a good voice for both styles, but my major gripe is that they do the same on each song. Growl, growl, growl, happy, happy, happy.

TPOOS have got everything just about right, apart from the song-writing. None of the 4 songs on offer are bad, they just need to break away from the predictable formula they’ve employed as it wears thin pretty quickly as you know what to expect as every song is written the same way.

https://www.facebook.com/ThePassionOfOurSouls

Victims of Contagion

Victims of Contagion hail from Pittsburgh, USA and they’re purveyors of Technical Death. They’ve supported a number of notable Death Metal bands and one track on this EP feature a guitar solo from Death’s Bobby Koelble, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if these guys started knocking on a few doors on their quest for World domination.

Everything about this release screams class, especially when they throw in a little acoustic salsa (?) snippet into Terminal Evolution and it seems like a natural fit. This may be technical, but everything flows in a progressive manner and it’s not ruined by endless twists and turns. And their obvious talents aren’t overshadowed by over the top fret wankery, they’ve got the balance just about right. The flashier bits are mainly tasteful solos and the aforementioned acoustic groove. They really know how to construct a good song.

A few years ago, Victims of Contagion would have been snapped up by the likes of Metal Blade, but with a different music industry in play today, it would be a shame if the band were overlooked. But I’m sure their hard work won’t be in vein.

Check em out via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victimsofcontagion  

or on Bandcamp: https://victimsofcontagion-official.bandcamp.com/releases

2015 - First Reviews

Bloody hell, I'm a bit behind with my reviewing. I spent more time in the gym over the Christmas period than I did in front of my computer. So here's my first batch of 2015. Plus a couple of links to video clips I've been told about the past week

Abbess

Welcome to the secretive world of Abbess. Their debut release is self titled and the songs are simply marked in Roman numerals, I to VII

I contacted the band via Bandcamp as I couldn’t find any info online about them. And here’s the info I got back. “Two of the members live in Western Maryland in the mountains, and one lives in West Virginia not too far away.”

So now you know as much as I do.

And I guess that makes this album just a little more intriguing, especially as it’s so fucking good.

Musically, it’s sort of Black Metal. I say sort of, as I hear loads of other styles, which are equally as prominent. And this seamless melding of styles makes it impossible for me to categorise. Which I guess is another plus point for the band. But they offer up wave after wave of rolling riffs, slower, doomier sections to moments of all-out attack and groove laden, head nodding excellence. Basically they just cram a load of different shit together and make it work.

And that’s probably a fair assessment of Abbess. The whole album feels like a huge jam session and you can just imagine the three band members rocking out in an old barn, just laying down the grooves and having a blast.

So there’s no fanfare, no hype, just good music… just as it should be

https://abbessband.bandcamp.com/releases

Apocrophex

I’ve reviewed Apocrophex once before and was impressed with their technical take on Death Metal.

This time around, it’s a harder listen for me. Musically, this is a supreme creation and the sound is absolutely perfect. But generally I have a problem with the flow of more technically minded music, and that’s the case here.

10 out 10 in terms of musicianship and sound, but it’s a hard track for me to digest. But if you’re a fan of Technical Death, then I’m sure you’ll love this.

https://apocrophex.bandcamp.com/

Apocryfal

This beast has been out for just over a year, but has just made its way to me. It matters not that it took a while to reach me, I’m just glad that I’ve not missed out on this gem of a release.

Mastered by the ever reliable Dan Swano, this is a mighty slab of Finnish Blackened Death, with the emphasis on the Death Metal side of things. Basically it rips you a new asshole from start to finish (no puns that I should have said start to Finnish…..)

The band stated that they wanted to keep the sound raw, but the production as clean as possible. And they’ve achieved that aim rather wonderfully. The sound is very clean, but they’ve captured the energy and spite needed to make this succeed.

Regular readers of this blog will know I’m not the Worlds biggest Death Metal fan, yet this release has me completely hooked.

Hopefully these guys will go far as they have a genuine talent for what they do

https://www.facebook.com/Apocryfal

https://apocryfal.bandcamp.com/album/aberration-of-mind

NilExistence

Most of these guys were in Disfigured Dead and this promo is basically to announce the new name of the band and a new direction etc…

 And while I agree with the idea of presenting their new band and a fresh sound with a short promo, their new singer, Mark Berlin, joined after they recorded their forthcoming album, so it kind of renders this completely redundant. Especially as he may make the band sound completely different once again.

So, commenting solely on what’s on offer here, I like what I hear. From my limited knowledge of Disfigured Dead, NilExistence seem to have expanded upon the more basic Death Metal sound of their previous band and have matured to include other influences, as well as a few time changes, spoken word parts, more melody etc…

The two songs here are extremely well structured and have many layers, compared to the more one dimensional sound of their previous band. The only area they’ve not improved upon is in the “imagery” department, as this promo has an extremely poor cover. But that’s a very minor quibble, that can be easily ignored.

Their new album should be out in the first half of 2015. Keep an eye on the band via Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/nilexistenceofficial

Stardestroyer

Hailing from Finland, Stardestroyer are a miserable bunch.

I struggled to pin this down to one style on the first couple of listens. It shifts through a few territories, including Doom, 80s Goth and a few Alternative leanings. But I decided in the end that it’s just a damn miserable listen.

I know Finland used to be the suicide capital of the World (no idea if it still is) and that may explain why this album is so bloody morose. The guitars are straight out of 80s Gothdom and they jangle along at a sedentary pace and they just reek of unhappiness. Same deal for the drums and bass. I’m sure there’s a Bauhaus influence in there somewhere, mixed in with a few Doom influences, just to add an extra layer of self loathing.

It’s only the upbeat Stoner groove in Dysphoria that adds any light to this dark palette.

If you want to wallow in the misery, this album is available for free via Bandcamp.  Just keep your wrists protected at all times, because if this doesn’t incite you to consider slitting your wrists, nothing will.

https://stardestroyer1.bandcamp.com/releases

PS: I do actually like this album

And here's a couple of video clips to end the update with

My Hidden Sin

Schöngeist

Radio Show Update

I did my 1st show last week and thoroughly enjoyed the experience

This weeks show is an 80s Special and as I love 80s Metal so much I'll be doing one of these type shows once a month

So this week, you'll hear the likes of King Diamond, S.O.D., Saxon, Scorpions and Nuclear Assault. So it'll cover all aspects of 80s Metal.

I'm doing a few introductions as well, so that was 1st experience of doing something like that. I'm probably going to be crap for a few weeks until I get used to the idea of talking to myself as I record the show. but it's good practice for when I'm old

This show is aired at 10pm UK time on Friday 12th December
http://livefuneral.caster.fm/

The station is expanding and there are now shows on 7 days a week. And you can find the latest news here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/funerealdroneradio/

I've decided to go with a different theme each week, just to challenge myself to make the best show possible each week. After the 80s special, I'll be doing an Underground/Unsigned band show on December 19th.

Each band will be from a different country. The show is being put together this week and I have (so far) bands from Iran, Spain, Poland, Costa Rica, Greece, USA, Belgium, Brazil and Colombia. So it'll be a huge mix of different styles and cultures.

Any bands who want to be included in the Underground show, which will be aired once a month, please get in touch

Sixsixsix Music

E-mail: steve@sixsixsixmusic.com

www.sixsixsixmusic.com

http://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com

http://sixsixsixmusic.bigcartel.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sixsixsixmusic/1405099836423721

Metal Legions Radio Show

New Metal Legions Radio Show

Thanks to Matt over at Funereal Drone, I've now got my own radio show, which will be on air at 10pm until 11pm every Friday night, starting this week

As someone who was brought up on Tommy Vance's classic Friday Night Rock Show, it'll be a homage to that era, mixed in with more Extreme Metal

so the type of bands you are likely to hear will be:

Sabbath, Maiden, Accept, Saxon, Scorpions, AC/DC, Dio, W.A.S.P. etc...
and
Amon Amarth, Amorphis, Satyricon, Grand Magus, King Diamond, Paradise Lost, Slayer etc...

plus new bands, unsigned bands, anything goes, as long as it's Metal

I start planning for that show tonight, but from next week, I'll also feature one unsigned band as a demo band of the week

More news throughout the week as the show takes shape

http://livefuneral.caster.fm/


Sixsixsix Music
E-mail: steve@sixsixsixmusic.com

www.sixsixsixmusic.com
http://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com
http://sixsixsixmusic.bigcartel.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sixsixsixmusic/1405099836423721

Lunarsapien - Summoning The Aether

Lunarsapien – Summoning The Aether

I had the pleasure of listening to this album for the 1^st time on a special show on Funereal Drone radio. The whole show was just this album, a huge 74 minute track of menacing ambience.

Reviewing one massive track isn’t easy as there are no breaks or cut off points, the track seems to go on forever, as can I in some of my reviews. But the overall feel of this album is, for me, a sewer dwelling creature, who isn’t attacking you, but is threatening to do so. The threat leaves you backed up into a corner with little, or no chance of escape. Something tells me I’ve spent a lot of my time playing Resident Evil.

But that’s what this album feels like to me. It’s feral, yet at the same time, restrained, because the vocals – or animal noises, as I interpret them, are full of menace, whilst the musical backdrop is soothing ambience. And with another video game reference, this could be the soundtrack to Silent Hill. Again, it’s my interpretation of the music, but the music makes me feel like I’m lost in a sea of fog.

This is a beautiful creation and one that creates vivid images within your mind. And for me, that’s the power of music and why I constantly seek out gems, such as this.

At the time of me writing this review, the album is available as a free download, so you’ve no excuse for not checking this out.

http://funerealdrone.weebly.com/lunarsapian.html

Nemesis - Invasion EP

Nemesis - Invasion EP

The biography I received with this promo is in Italian and my Italian is limited to types of pasta and a few swear words. Even the Latin I learnt at school, 35 years ago, is no use, so this one’s all about the music.

Nemesis are a young band, having only formed last year and that kind of shows in many aspects of this release.

It’s being marketed as Thrash/Death and while both of these elements are prominent, there’s quite a bit going on.

The vocals are split between high pitched yelps, which with the right music, could be used in Grindcore or more modern forms of Metal, and deep guttural growls, which is where the Death Metal connection is made.

Behind the dual vocal style, it’s mainly a Thrash backdrop, mixed in with a few slower moments. Oddly there’s an off kilter intro to The Face Beyond, which reminds me of the Dead Kennedys (circa Chicken Farm), but the song quickly explodes and the quirky little intro is quickly forgotten… until it returns again a minute or so later.

Maybe it’s an age thing, or maybe it’s because they have a huge melting pot of influences, but this EP is littered with a ton of styles. Admittedly they all actually work very well, but I think over time, things may get a little more focussed as Nemesis hone their style.

As it stands, it’s a very solid debut. Although personally, I think they need to up the Thrash content and makes things just a touch heavier.  

https://www.facebook.com/Nemesians