RISE OF KRONOS - Slaves Of Time review

 

RISE OF KRONOS - Slaves Of Time

Self-Released

When I saw this was Death Thrash from Germany it peaked my interest. Before I get into this release let me explain a few things. There are two types of Death Thrash. First off you've got the US version which is the cornerstone of the genre because of the early DM bands. Later on you had other acts, my favorite being RIGOR MORTIS, who turned it into a cool Extreme Metal genre. 

Then you've got the European version of Death Thrash which came later and if I'm gonna name drop I would say the very early era of Poland's VADER kicked it off. So here we have the fourth full length by Germany's RISE OF KRONOS. Prior to this the band was on MDD Records in Germany. But this one is a self release. 

Musically there's some cool things to say about this release as well as some bad shit. As far as that goes bassist / vocalist Tom Robinson has a damm good growl vocal style which is in modern tradition. He even squeaks in some venom tipped vocals to boot. The drum work is questionable since there's little organic work being done. Plus Robinson's bass lines are hardly heard. 

The guitar work as far as powerful riffage is decent but the soloing (dive bomb style) is generic. Be that as it may I'm shocked, shocked I say that RISE OF KRONOS are an unsigned band. Where's Metal Blade or Nuclear Blast at? But hey great album cover.

LISTEN TO AND BUY IT HERE:

https://riseofkronos.bandcamp.com/album/slaves-of-time

TOTENHEER- Die Schwarze Spinne review

TOTENHEER- Die Schwarze Spinne

Self-Released




So here we have a 74-minute concept album by the Swiss black metal band TOTENHEER. The concept is based on a novella titled "The Black Spider" which was written by Albert Bitzius under his pen name Jeremias Gotthelf back in 1842. The Black Spider (aka: Die schwarze Spinne) was his best known work.


The story basically tells the tale of a peasant farming community under the thumb of a not so nice lord. Unable to keep up with the lord's demands the community makes a pack with the devil in order to succeed. The devil helps them and demands a payment of a unbaptized child. The peasants decide to trick and cheat the devil. As retribution the devil sends them the plague in the symbol of the black spider.


Musically the release opens on a somber note then the black metal opera kicks in. TOTENHEER use a melodic black metal style with vocals which are filthy German shouts. The songs vary from slow doom like epics to some good o'l tremolo picked thrash and burn. In the end this is a decent release which you must hear from start to finish.


https://totenheer.bandcamp.com/album/die-schwarze-spinne

https://www.facebook.com/totenheerofficial/

ENEMY AWAKE - The Enemy review

ENEMY AWAKE  - The Enemy

Self-Released




So this one here falls under the category of it's OK, it has some faults but it's interesting enough to write about. ENEMY AWAKE is a two piece death metal act from Sweden. The two people involved are multi-instrumentalist Ivan Castro and vocalist Melin Torne. 


First off I'm always glad to see women involved in the more extreme genres of metal. I say that not because I'm some pussy whipped feminist liberal dude who's looking to get laid. The fact is that I like variety and metal has become an equal opportunity area of music of late. So when a woman comes along with talent and the vocal chops then I'm into it. But in all honesty I am a male lesbian. Hey I like women.


Be that as it may Melin Torne's vocals remind me of Angela Gossow when she first started with ARCH ENEMY. Of course that's when she's singing in a bestial harsh voice along with kicking in some witch vocal screams. Then again on the album's third cut, "Melody of Death", Torne turns to beautiful clean vocal style. 

As far as the music goes it's a mixed bag. They're at times pushing the latter day DISMEMBER crunch. Then things slow down to a melodic sound reminiscent of ARCH ENEMY. There's even some traditional metal sounds and dare I say thrashy bits perminating through out. With all of that said I like the chunky riffs of "Smashing Your Face". Torne adds some great concert style harsh screams as a chorus.


The previously mentioned "Melody of Death" with it's mix of clean sounding vocals mixed with the harsh gruff style is a melodic rocker. "Expose of a Psychopath" is a pretty decent melo-deth number. "Dreamer" is surprisingly bluesy with Castro finally breaking out with some guitar theatrics. And of course "Behold the Fallen Light" is heavy as fuck. So out of the nine cuts on this their debut full length there's some cool stuff.


The low points here are far starters the programmed drums. They're adequate but a human behind a drum kit could add so much more. Secondly production wise this sounds like a demo with very little if any real bass. Also since Torne is the high point then she's being held back in the mix somewhat. So even with that all said I think if ENEMY AWAKE became a real band, instead of a two piece studio project, then they could fill the void left behind after certain acts went bogus.


https://enemyawakesweden.bandcamp.com/album/the-enemy

https://www.facebook.com/Enemyawakesweden/

EMBRIONAL - Evil Dead review

EMBRIONAL - Evil Dead 

Self-Released





Remember a decade ago (OK maybe not but I do) when there were a dozen or more young Swedish bands all reclaiming their past by putting out old school death metal. The music all sounded like demos from 1988. Someone from the metal media, who was probably flogged afterwards, coined the genre phrase OSSDM or Old School Swedish Death Metal. Nowadays it's been shortened to simply OSDM. 



But what if a Polish band was doing the whole old school death metal sound inspired as well as influenced by their great nation's extreme metal heroes? Couldn't you call em OSPDM or Old School Polish Death Metal? Right now the heads of genre scene police on metal forum sites have exploded because of that comment. Which is good since the people on those forums, crybabies and hipsters, need to have their heads exploded.


Be that as it may this new release by Poland's EMBRIONAL is somewhat explosive but still very addictive. The band are not newcomers at all, actually starting out over a decade ago. Musically this has the harsh brutality of VADER with the technical complexity of HATE. They also have a great knack for incorporating plenty of blackened melodic atmosphere, exceptional lead work that'll make your hair stand up (that's if you have hair) and of course touches of macabre doom essence.


This is the band's third full length overall and it obviously gives a salute to the greatness as well as the distinct power which is Polish Death Metal. But for me it's how well the band weaves in the softer breaks in-between the crush, kill, destroy intensity. Yeah that's the addictive part because it makes the songs flow at a comforting pace. The barked harsh vocals and precision drumming just come with the package. 


https://embrional.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Embrional

ARCHANGEL A.D. - Warband review

ARCHANGEL A.D. - Warband 

Self-Released




Ever hear of the Impossible Burger? It's basically a veggie burger with the color and texture of ground beef. The thing is made up of bamboo, sage brush, Tannis root, kudzu and plenty of food coloring. By adding a slew of toppings it's supposed to give you the idea that you're actually eating a burger. But in the end regardless of what you slap onto it you know it's not a real burger. Which is the same attitude I give to modern day thrash.


Regular readers of SFM666, this site and the lost in-between years, will note I've given the thrash genre hell because too many of it's modern practitioners all want to concentrate on the add ons, the toppings to still use burger analogy's. They fail to realize that good thrash depends not on what you add to it in order to stand out amongst the past or pack. It's the basic essentials that count. I'm talking about the basic riffs, edgy vocals as well as leads and a decent structure to songs which have a familiar ring to em so listeners can grasp onto.


ARCHANGEL A.D. from Texas gets it. This their debut EP originally came out last year. The reason why I'm reviewing it now is because it just now came in for review and is available on CD. Would be really cool if it were on vinyl but hey one step at a time. Like I said ARCHANGEL A.D. hail from Texas and are a four piece act (yeah well the best thrash acts are four piece acts anyway). Musically they nail the basics with a sound reminiscent of an in-between version of Metallica and MEGADETH. 


Warband is six cuts one of which is an instrumental. They also delve into some doom on their fifth cut "Evil Dreams" which comes across as SOLITUDE AETURNUS, a former Texas native, trying their best to be thrashy. Although me thinks the band was pushing for a CANDLEMASS comparison. Either way US Thrash has something good going with this act. Please no revivalism, just a couple of good bands who know the greatness of thrash lies in the meat.


https://archangelad.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/ArchangelA.D/

MO'YNOQ - Dreaming in a Dead Language review

MO'YNOQ - Dreaming in a Dead Language 

Self-Released



So here's a black metal act from my neck of the woods, Raleigh, North Carolina. Now for those of you who don't know, yes black metal is huge where I live. Just the other night my Uber driver was decked out in full corpse paint. OK I'm stretching the truth here. Actually my driver was just recently transitioning from a man to a woman. So he hasn't grasped the whole make-up and smokey eye thing yet. Still for a few minutes there I thought Dana Filth was giving me a ride home. 


Speaking of transitioning, MO'YNOQ do not fit into the genre block of what anyone would call black metal. I learned that when I first saw them perform at last year's Raleigh Death Fest. Of course I was warned ahead of time by the show promo which stated, and I'm paraphrasing here, that they're not a hipster black metal band. I'll give em that because they have far too much raw talent as well as conviction. If anything MO'YNOQ might fall into what is known in genre terms as post black metal. As in they have blackened tendencies but as far as the black metal template goes they're over the edge holding on by their toes in a diver's position.


Now I'm not saying that's a bad thing, even though I've found certain acts pushing the post-whatever thing to be horrible. As far as black metal goes you've had bands experimenting with stretching their sound beyond the limits from the genre since the mid-90s.So after listening to this, their debut full length, I can say that MO'YNOQ are just running things their way which ain't bad as far as extreme metal goes. Aside from the an acoustic guitar opening or the piano interlude "Doomed to Endure", this is like a blackened version of mid-period NEUROSIS on steroids. The vocals are bellowing in a sludge metal way for the most part but on a few cuts there's a hint of a caustic rasp. There's some fluid soloing which breaks the blackened mold entirely which I found to be an interesting change of pace. Then of course there's enough icy tremolo picked riffs to freeze your nuts off.


While most of what this band does falls into the fuckin intensity category they still know where melody needs to flow within their song structures. And I believe that's where MO'YNOQ excels at. Sure they can bring on chaotic momentum that would make a grindcore act shudder in shame. Ya know I must have listened to this a dozen times last December, mostly during that full moon. I came away with thinking that MO'YNOQ don't fit what one would consider post black metal either. On the contrary this four piece act is doing black metal their way which is very primordial as well as invigorating. 


https://moynoq.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/moynoq

APATHY NOIR - Black Soil review

APATHY NOIR - Black Soil 

Self-Released



So I'm reading the promo info about this release and the sentence "highly recommended for fans of early KATATONIA and OPETH" stands out like a sign post up ahead. Alright you have incurred my interest. Then after a first listen I'm like oh come on. You forgot to mention post punk era PARADISE LOST.


APATHY NOIR is the solo project of multi instrumentalist Viktor Jonas formally of the Swedish black metal act NATTSTRYPE. Feel the connection here? APATHY NOIR also includes Andy Walmsley of a few other Swedish bands on vocals. Musically this duo combine the gothic, black and death metal together to appease the progressive notions of listeners who still worship at the altar of lame copycat Swede death doom.


Actually this leans more towards OPETH than any of the a fore mentioned acts. The prog rock meets Gothenburg metal plunged into the realm of extreme is about as evident as it was in mid 90s. But hey Mr. Wolf is it any good? Well if looked upon as a recreation of past efforts I'd say yes. Just listening to the melody being produced, the tempo changing as well as the mixture of heavy riffed segments met with quieter sections is amazing. What you have here are seven complex yet, I must admit, beautiful sounding passages. Of course you wanna pull out the old releases to compare but after a few listens you find yourself thinking why bother since this is here. Yeah in the end I liked it a lot. The guitar work is so captivating that it absorbs your senses. Excellent. 


https://vjonas.bandcamp.com/album/black-soil-2018