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://apocryfal.bandcamp.com/album/aberration-of-mind
It’s only the upbeat Stoner groove in Dysphoria that adds any light to this dark palette.
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
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.
PS: I do actually like this album
And here's a couple of video clips to end the update with
My Hidden Sin
And here's a couple of video clips to end the update with
My Hidden Sin
Schöngeist
