CRYSTAL SPIDERS - Molt review

CRYSTAL SPIDERS - Molt

Ripple Music

So it might've been late last year or early this year when a friend of mine (and a local musician) sent me a link to this band's three song demo. He also included the words "Raleigh's newest Doom sensation". So yeah I checked it out and thought it was pretty good but I'd hold off on the whole "sensational" tag just yet until they put out something more substantial. 

So here we are with this the band's debut full length. After a few listens I'd say yeah this is great. But then again who doesn't like female fronted doom these days? So with that said the CRYSTAL SPIDERS are technically a duo with bassist / vocalist Brenna Leath and drummer Tradd Yancey. Their guitarist is Mike Deloatch. He's not in the promo pick below (?)

For starters I've gotta say Brenna Leath is an amazing vocalist. Her vocal range as well as command of singing styles makes every song on here a treat. She is perfect doing haunting vocals as well as angst punk rock screams, sultry bluesy stuff or just full on in your face rock. Then again I've been a fan of her singing ever since I saw her perform in THE HELL NO which is a melodic metal act she fronts as well. She's also in LIGHTNING BORN which is a sludgey doom project that also features Mike Dean from CORROSION OF CONFORMITY.

By the way Brenna Leath is also good at playing bass. Molt is just down-tuned fucking heavy in a SAINT VITUS way. Tradd Yancey is steady as far as the basic drumwork goes but once in a while steps out to be the dominator on a few songs. Ya can't argue with Mike Deloatch's SABBATH-ian style of riffs. I'd say his various guitar solo work on here is slightly out of the box which make things far more interesting. Once again it's more SAINT VITUS than standard SABBATH worship. 

In the end I have to be totally honest. If you look at this from a local music perspective then yeah CRYSTAL SPIDERS are sensational. But I look at this from a world wide view. Remember now, twenty years ago female fronted doom was an oddity. In 2010 it became something of a force to be recognized. So now a band like CRYSTAL SPIDERS are another fish in a huge ocean of similar sounding bands from all over. 

But they've got something which goes beyond the great vocals and perfect doom sounds. They don't conform to the cliche sounds of others in the genre. CRYSTAL SPIDERS have influences but walk a different path which makes them unique and cool. I think this album is fantastic. It's definitely something which I'd consider a favorite of the year. I was looking forward to see this band play live in 2020. But with the Covid shutdowns that turned out to be a no. Hopefully in 2021 then but for now get this release.

https://www.ripple-music.com/

LISTEN HERE: 

https://crystalspiders.bandcamp.com/album/molt

RIPPED TO SHREDS - Luan review

 

RIPPED TO SHREDS - Luan

Pulverised Records

This is the second album by Taiwan / US band RIPPED TO SHREDS. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lee who handles the vocals, guitar and bass. Lee also has Justin Bean, from TRENCHROT on drums and Tom Warrior from SIEGE COLUMN who does the two synth pieces on here. Some guest guitarists Lee has helping out doing lead work are Takafumi Matsubara from GRIDLINK, Phil Tougas of FUNEBRARUM and Damian Herring from HORRENDOUS. 

Lee and his ensemble here deliver ten cuts, two of which are synth instrumentals. Musically Lee and company push some amazing Swedish circa 1988 death metal meets a touch of grind as well as a pinch of 80's hardcore or what the newer kids call crust. For years this musical narrative has been tried and failed. But of late some acts have narrowed it down and RIPPED TO SHREDS are one of them.

Think GRAVE or DISMEMBER doing their usual thing but kicking it to 45 rpm once in a while. You've got the buzzsaw guitars, jackhammer drumming and the guests who get to lay down some killer solos are fuckin incredible. As far as Lee's vocals go, he's a maniac. I don't understand a damm thing he's screaming/grunting. But then does it really matter? Everything about this release is great.

http://www.pulverised.net/

LISTEN HERE:

https://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/luan

BRAIN CORROSION / RIPPED TO SHREDS - Exhumed from Eastern Tombs Split review

 

BRAIN CORROSION / RIPPED TO SHREDS - Exhumed from Eastern Tombs Split

Horror Pain Gore Death Productions

What we have here is a battle for Taiwan extreme metal representative supremacy. Well maybe not but that's a good way to start off this bout. BRAIN CORROSION are a three piece grind act from Taiwan. Musically they follow the Eastern grind style template. You've got your maniacal vocals which on here vary from screams to bestial lyrical interpretations. The drum work is pile driving and the riffs are pure savagery. These guys unleash eight cuts onto your virgin consciousness. For us adults we want more.

Next up is RIPPED TO SHREDS who are a band I know about. Actually the band is really a one man project by multi instrumentalist Andrew Lee. This guy pushes his love of Euro style old school death metal through a filter of Eastern grind and psychotic life experiences. He delivers four cuts, one original and three covers. The original, "Rotting Stenches Unknown" is fuckin great. Of course it's his choice of covers which he's known for on past releases which gets interesting. On here he plays it safe with covers of GRIDLINK  and ASSUCK.  But it's his cover of "Samhallets Offer" by ASOCIAL which threw me. I've got ASOCIAL on a tape somewhere.

So with every split release I look at em as a wrestling bout. Since I'm an old school wrestling fan I'd have to toss some chairs into the ring in order to end the bout and call it a draw. Hey look, Horror Pain Gore Death Productions is from Philadelphia, PA. So maybe they remember ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) and the mayhem happening in some of those bouts. 

http://www.horrorpaingoredeath.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/exhumed-from-eastern-tombs

THE SHORT STACK: November 2020

 THE SHORT STACK

Short reviews by some famous releases that don't need any fanfare from yours truly

BENEDICTION - Scriptures

Nuclear Blast

OK so the big news going on with this one is the return of Dave Ingram on vocals. For me that's cool since I've been digging his recent work with Rogga Johansson in DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN. For me personally I wasn't into the Dave Hunt on vocals years. That last album, 2008's Killing Music, made me think the band was just on automatic. Sure it sounded good but it's suppose to.

Scriptures is not a return to Transcend the Rubicon or even Grind Bastard. Honestly you don't wanna hear that anyway. Basically it's a death metal release by a band who's older members feel hungry again. Ingram has never lost a bit of his deep bellow vocal style. Guitarists Peter Rew and Darren Brookes are damm heavy handed with the riffs. The new guys in the rhythm section are solid. It's a flawless death metal album.

https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/shop/index.html

ENSLAVED - Utgard

Nuclear Blast

It's been ten years since I bothered listening to an ENSLAVED release. I figured after all of that time I'd give em a chance listen to see if they've become interesting again. Well no, they're still a full on prog metal act. Sure they'll insert a kernel of past black metal essence into a song or two. The track "Jettegryta" is as close as it gets. And that one even goes the way of modern day DIMMU BORGIR meets a Nordic version of 90's YES. I'll stick with their first three albums.

https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/shop/index.html

BURZUM - Thulean Mysteries 2xCD

Byelobog Productions

Yeah this double CD release needs a warning sticker and not for what you would think. If you've kept up with Varg over the years, like on his now deleted Youtube channel (he's on Bitchute by the way), or as a fan of BURZUM. Then you know he's not into metal anymore. Varg has been doing the whole dark ambient music style for quite some time. This 23 song release is much less a musical opus (aka: a new BURZUM album) but more of a soundtrack to his MYFAROG role playing game.

Now just the thought of Varg coming up with a D&D style game is enough to bring a sadistic grin as well as an eye roll from me. But I'm dealing with the music here. Varg utilizes plenty of synth, acoustic guitar, tribal instruments, he sings a bit and speaks but this is primarily an instrumental release. And with all of that said, it's horrible unless you need some boring background music to play some fuckin board game. 

http://byelobog-productions.burzum.org/

WARBRINGER - Weapons of Tomorrow

Napalm Records

This was one of the promising acts from the mid 2000's thrash revival. I saw em back then, picked up their releases and then gave up on em about a decade ago with their third release. Back then they were on Century Media Records but in 2017 they came out with their fifth full length Woe to the Vanquished on Napalm Records. Weapons of Tomorrow is their sixth full length and second for the label where all bands go to die.

Actually this is not a bad release. The line-up has only two original members, they don't sound like used SLAYER anymore. They're still thrash but with a character of their own and maybe some power metal influence. This is definitely better than all their past stuff.

https://label.napalmrecords.com/

CULT BURIAL - Self Titled review

 

CULT BURIAL - Self Titled

Self Released

Most extreme metal acts who combine genres in order to create their sound usually stop at two. For those acts who go for three styles it's either shit or art. In this English band's case it's the latter. On this band's self titled debut they combine all of the new school qualities of death metal, black metal and doom. The result being something that's epic in a tremendous soundscape style. 

Strangely enough by the second time you play this it hits automatically. There are nine songs on here. Each one builds up from the previous one so by the end you're pretty much blown away. The arrangements push another extreme element further whether it's heavy handed riffage, a blackened atmosphere full of falling peril or a doom centrist break to cleansing relief from torture. Also the clean guitar runs are a sharp shock to the senses.

Obviously this band's past has entertained tech death which shows up in parts. But with everything else going on they contain it well. There were times on here where I was just waiting for the jazz bits of ADD guitar mania to ruin it all. Thankfully that did not occur or I'd have pushed this aside. Plus the furnace throat style vocals would not work well in a tech death menagerie.

The one word song titles also make this come over like a concept album for 2020. Songs like "Plague", "Sorrow" and "Chaos" pretty much come to mind when I think of this year. So with all of that said this is a fairly decent debut. As far as personal tastes of extreme go I think it delves beyond my preferred preferences. But for someone into a more modern touch of extreme it'll be perfect. And it's self released which really blows your fuckin mind. 

LISTEN AND ORDER HERE:

https://cultburial.bandcamp.com/

ERIC MOORE AND THE LEGION OF THE DAMNED - Self Titled review

 

ERIC MOORE AND THE LEGION OF THE DAMNED - Self Titled

Self Release

OK first off a little history lesson for ya. Eric Moore, who passed away on May 17th, 2019 at the age of 67, was the vocalist/bass player for the late 70's/early 80's US hard fuckin rock band THE GODZ. The band hailed from Ohio. Their debut self titled album from 1978, on Millennium Records and produced by Don Brewer of GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, is an unheralded classic from that era. Back then I remember seeing full page advertisements for that album in rock magazines Circus and Creem. 

A year later their second album Nothing is Sacred came out on Casablanca Records. THE GODZ were then a second tier touring act bringing their brand of biker rock with songs about sex, drugs and rock n roll to audiences from coast to coast. They shared stages with the major bands of that era as in KISS, BLUE OYSTER CULT, CHEAP TRICK, ANGEL and many others who would go on to be rock enthusiast household names. Unfortunately even with two good releases under their belt, being road savvy and having a decent fanbase wasn't enough to cement their status. Today whenever I read about or watch a video that deals with unheralded releases from bands of the 70's. THE GODZ don't even get a mention. And yet these "so-called experts" will name drop plenty of second tier 70's acts who were in the same league as THE GODZ.

So moving onward, as the 70's ended so did THE GODZ but temporarily that is. A few years into the 80's the band was back on the road and in 1985 released I'll Get You Rockin. That was followed up with Mongolians in 1987. Both of these releases showcased the band's tried and true spirit of sex, drugs and rock n roll coupled with an embrace of the new decade's heavy metal style. That got em on tours with OZZY as well as METALLICA. But even with all of that the band would eventually succumb to be a local fave in their home state and playing a special reunion gig here and there. 

Now the band might've been forgotten by the mainstream but not by the underground. That's where their following hung out and with the coming of the internet (aka: social media platforms, nostalgia websites and Youtube). Fans of THE GODZ started communicating with one another and with Eric Moore. One of those fans is my good friend Andy Miller vocalist for KNOWLEDGE IS FOR FOOLS (aka: KIFF). Andy has been singing the praises of THE GODZ for all the twenty some years I've known him. Years ago he got in contact with Eric Moore. That eventually turned into a friendship and getting KIFF a line-up slot for some GODZ celebration gigs. KIFF even recorded a few GODZ covers. 

Which brings us now to the present or at least close to it. What we have here are the last recorded works of Eric Moore from THE GODZ. In Febuary 2019 Eric Moore came to Raleigh, NC to do some recording with KIFF as well as some other famous musicians adding their talents. 90% of the material on here is from those recordings. Some other cuts were recorded elsewhere in parts unknown, to me at least. Along for the recorded ride with Eric Moore and the four members of KIFF are special guests are Steve Shuffert (formerly of THE GODZ), Richie Ranno (former guitarist of the 70's band STARZ), Jeff Clayton of ANTISEEN, Steve Broy from THE MENTORS and a few more names but it's time to talk about the music.

Now the album consists of fourteen cuts but actually it's seven good or even great cuts and the rest are Eric Moore acoustic ditties. The first three songs on here; "Lady Doom", "You and Me Together" and the ZZ TOP cover "Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers" are fucking damm good. The first two cuts are decent hard rock style numbers. The ZZ TOP cover is reminiscent of MOTORHEAD's version which is still cool. These cuts are performed by KIFF with Eric Moore on lead vocals. Steve Shuffert does the guitar solo on "Lady Doom". Were as Dane Taylor from the band MOTORBILLY does the guitar soloing on the other two. 

The song "Festyvul Season" is an interesting rocker which features vocals by Andy Miller of KIFF and Jeff Clayton of ANTISEEN. Moore appears in spoken word form book-ending the vocal parts. Basically the song is about a failed music festival which Moore was involved with many years ago and which he dubbed "the Spinal Tap of music festivals". It also includes an over extended song ending guitar solo by Dane Taylor that consists of half the six minute track. It also plays over Eric explaining the story.

Moving along "Live Free or Die" sounds like KIFF doing an Eric Moore penned cut or is it their's (?) It's simple, it rocks and ends with another three minute long guitar and bass solo. We're talking dedication here people by ending a song like a 70's live album where over indulgence is the norm. Next up "Heaven Would Be Hell For Me" sounds like an unused KISS demo from Rock n Roll Over. The solo even sounds like a drunk Ace did it. But it's really Mike Paradine from New Jersey with Richie Ranno providing the guitar solo. OK I was half right. The last of the first seven cuts is "No Easy Way Out" from THE MENTOR's Steve Broy and features some soulful 70's styled vocals by the amazing Monique Brewster.

As far as Eric's acoustic numbers go, they're OK but short as in little ditties which sound unfinished. I think "Lesbian Trapped In A Man's Body" and "Don't Love Me" are the best of the handful. If you're into some acoustic outlaw country than you'll like it. Now as for this album on a whole it's a good last testament to Eric Moore with the Legion of the Damned being his final backing band. Not a bad way to leave a legacy.

LISTEN AND ORDER IT HERE:

https://knowledgeisforfools.bandcamp.com/album/eric-moore-and-the-legion-of-the-damned

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Maywood Mayhem Vol. 11 review

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Maywood Mayhem Vol. 11

Self Released

The Chinese virus lock downs have made a devastating impact upon all small businesses. One of the worst hit has been on live music venues. Extreme metal people are more likely to go out to see a band at a venue than your typical mainstream music fan. The lock downs have prevented these venues from opening to make a living and the ramifications have been horrible. I saw one article about how two long time music venues on the East Coast (USA) have announced their doors are closed forever. Unless something changes soon then we'll see many more. 

So what we have here is something which I hope other people around the country and the world will do as well. This is a benefit compilation dedicated to The Maywood, a long time local music venue here in Raleigh, North Carolina. It use to be called Volume 11 years ago but changed the name not too long ago. I have seen many great shows there over time. The proceeds from it's sale will go to the club in order to help out a little during the shutdown. Remember people most of your local music venues are a labor of love as opposed to a big money maker business. 

Not only is The Maywood a great club, because it's primarily a place for extreme music, but it also has a bunch of practice spaces in the back. Over the years there's been a ton of bands who've called it a sanctuary to perfect their craft. So on this compilation you've got twenty five extreme music bands from the Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina area. They all contribute one song each and run the table as far as genres go. You've got bands doing black metal, death metal, doom, thrash and a whole lot inbetween. To be honest I've previously seen/listened to about half of these bands, as well as writing about their past releases and there's definitely a few favorites of mine on here. 

As far as those familiar acts to me go for starters you've got BEDOWYN who have an doomish edge to themselves and the band they share some members with CHAOSMIC. They take that edge and pour in some progressive metal elements which kicks their sound to epic levels. For the heshers there's some long time thrash demons BLATANT DISARRAY (think US thrash meets Euro power metal) and GROSS REALITY (harsh slam pit invoking thrash with a technical drive). Then there's the local death metal institution of ELDRITCH HORROR. Listening to them is akin to unearthing some ancient tomb only to unleash a Lovecraftian nightmare. 

A few more familiar acts on here consist of the punk/metal sounds of KNOWLEDGE IS FOR FOOLS (aka: KIFF). Their contribution here is a cover tune, “Most Likely to Succeed”, by scum punk legends RANCID VAT. For classic sounding power metal fans you've got one of America's best on here with KNIGHTMARE and their cut “The Gods Are with Us Tonight". There's a triple band threat on here as well whose common thread is the amazing vocals of Brenna Leath. For starters you've got the melodic metal sounds of her mainstay act THE HELL NO. Add to that two other doom laden side projects like CRYSTAL SPIDERS and LIGHTNING BORN. Finally for a black metal fix there's MO'YNOQ whose sound makes you wanna scream Norway 1992 without being retro rehash. Yeah they're a great band with two former members of a local BM act from years ago that I thought was cool, FAITH IN ASHES.

Now as far as the acts new to me or I know in name only there's quite a few standouts. CROWLEY'S INQUISITION are standard death doom but I kinda like that stuff. Then there's three bands whose common thread is that they've all got a connection to / band member from the local blackened thrash act SUPPRESSIVE FIRE. You've got the really cool sounding WITCHTIT (traditional doom with female vocals), NOCTOMB who are basic blackened sludge and one man (Scott Schopler) depressive black metal act SARDONIC SMILES. His song contribution "Zaux" is from the debut 2018 full length Wraith. 

Last but not least are some cool tracks by EYN which delves out cryptic depressive black metal with a touch melody/atmosphere in their arrangement. The band FEW GOOD THINGS are a throwback to 80's punk/hardcore. GOATCHOKER are raging blackened death and then there's NIGHTQUILL who are some decent black metal. So to me that's the absolute best on here. But on a whole this release shows some damm good extreme music diversity within a local music scene. I'm thankful that I don't live in a place where the bands sound as if they're all enclosed within one music genre. So no matter if this is a benefit release. It's one of the best extreme music compilations you'll hear in 2020. 

LISTEN & ORDER IT HERE:

https://maywoodmayhem.bandcamp.com/releases?fbclid=IwAR0YiqtXexkQgS5NWPDRYcwnW28DrFIl2PCB6DjVoCxOklqSiumFVJgN1_Q