I might as well just say it now... I think the better half of my "top releases of 2014" list is going to come from Barbarian Wrath and Witches Brew! But that was true in the past and I can't think of reason it should not be true in the present... On we plow!
Doom metal... hmmm... great traditional doom metal is hard to crystalize... Its a tight tope that many fail at and more modern bands fail more often... With notable exceptions like Reverend Bizarre, Lamp of Thoth and now Iron Void. Iron Void has been around for a bit but put out little recorded material. I don't know why that has happened but I seriously hope it ceases as this is some killer doom sliced off for ya!
The album starts sloooooowwwww(in the best way possible) with opener Tyrant's Crown. It pummels you through the heaviness of I Am War(personal favorite), The Mad Monk until Xylanthia. Each track beats you down viciously with a fantastic low end that rattles the fillings in your teeth and the studs in your walls! Xylanthia turns the heaviness down a little with a stellar acoustic performance that stops the beating for a short time to give you relief at the end of the album! A great record from start to finish!
What I really like about this record is that, while it is very much a traditional drum album, it has the power and feeling of a great proto-metal album too. It, like Lamp of Thoth, contains a timeless vibe that I believe will stand the test of time and make this record into a classic. It already is in my book! There are no highlights as all the tracks are excellent and stand out on their own! Buy or die! Remember that all Barbarian Wrath records are distributed through Witches Brew so I've left links for both below!
Check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Iron-Void/52516312832
https://www.facebook.com/BarbarianWrath666
http://www.witchesbrewthrashes.eu/
Monday, October 13, 2014
Alitor- Eternal Depression
Ah, technical metal... Yeah, I'm not really a big fan... I like metal aggressive and over the top. That's something that I have found that technicality can destroy.
But I will say that this is less true in thrash... especially thrash done well. And that leads us to Alitor.
A young band from Serbia, this is their first full length after a single e.p. demo. Some might think that's awful quick but to be truthful they seem to have become a force worth reckoning with in the three years of their existence. Released by Witches Brew this summer, this record ticks all the right boxes and kicks ass up and down!
From the ripping "Realm of Grief" to the twin guitar volley of "Horror" through the excellent rerecorded "Embittered", Alitor consistently rips the listener a new one, over and over! This is maniacal and fast tech-thrash like Anacrusis or Coroner. The promo stuff you will see will also compare them to a hint of Death or Atheist and while I can see that; it is definitely Atheist and Coroner that come to mind as I am lashed by hyper fast riffing and pounded into the ground by tastefully heavy drum work until the listener feels "Drained". This is an appropriate song to put at the end of this record as it is slightly slower than the rest of the material. It still rips you a new one with razor sharp melodic riffs and you come out feeling exactly as the title suggests.
As of now this is my thrash record of the year. Forget Iron Reagan and listen to this completely awesome record. Though with the upcoming release of Acid Age, Pyoveli and Deathhammer this is going to be a great year for thrash! Highlights include: Realm of Grief, Horror and Drained... but the album is fantastic!
Check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/AlitorOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/witchesbrewthrashes?fref=nf
http://www.witchesbrewthrashes.de/
But I will say that this is less true in thrash... especially thrash done well. And that leads us to Alitor.
A young band from Serbia, this is their first full length after a single e.p. demo. Some might think that's awful quick but to be truthful they seem to have become a force worth reckoning with in the three years of their existence. Released by Witches Brew this summer, this record ticks all the right boxes and kicks ass up and down!
From the ripping "Realm of Grief" to the twin guitar volley of "Horror" through the excellent rerecorded "Embittered", Alitor consistently rips the listener a new one, over and over! This is maniacal and fast tech-thrash like Anacrusis or Coroner. The promo stuff you will see will also compare them to a hint of Death or Atheist and while I can see that; it is definitely Atheist and Coroner that come to mind as I am lashed by hyper fast riffing and pounded into the ground by tastefully heavy drum work until the listener feels "Drained". This is an appropriate song to put at the end of this record as it is slightly slower than the rest of the material. It still rips you a new one with razor sharp melodic riffs and you come out feeling exactly as the title suggests.
As of now this is my thrash record of the year. Forget Iron Reagan and listen to this completely awesome record. Though with the upcoming release of Acid Age, Pyoveli and Deathhammer this is going to be a great year for thrash! Highlights include: Realm of Grief, Horror and Drained... but the album is fantastic!
Check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/AlitorOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/witchesbrewthrashes?fref=nf
http://www.witchesbrewthrashes.de/
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Ogre- The Last Neanderthal
This is a release I have been waiting for for 6 years... Lets see how it measures up!
Doom metal is a strange beast these days... Its so diverse that I imagine its hard to navigate for new metal heads. Ogre occupies the classic doom/ proto-metal circle. And they are one of the best around!
Ogre left us with the superior "Plague of the Planet". This was an album that I was sure would not be topped. I'm not sure Ogre topped it here but they released a great doom/ proto metal effort here. This record starts of with the intro Shadow Earth and blasts off from there. "Nine princes" is an excellent mid paced rocker and sets the tone for the record.
About the middle you get "Soulless Woman", which is a cover from a 70's rock band called, in fact, Ogre. I went looking for this band and they are very obscure, apparently. But the cover is excellent and fits right in with the rest of the album. The album ends on the doom epic "The Hermit", a slow and monstrous heavy metal song the plods along gloriously until the final notes are strummed and nightfall blankets the stage. I can say that after waiting 6 years for this album I am so happy to have it in my hot little hands!
If you are a fan of doom, proto-metal or just great heavy as balls rock n roll, you need this album. Its definitely on my top ten for this year. Highlights: Nine Princes in Amber, Son of Sisyphus and the Hermit.
Check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/Rockogre
Doom metal is a strange beast these days... Its so diverse that I imagine its hard to navigate for new metal heads. Ogre occupies the classic doom/ proto-metal circle. And they are one of the best around!
Ogre left us with the superior "Plague of the Planet". This was an album that I was sure would not be topped. I'm not sure Ogre topped it here but they released a great doom/ proto metal effort here. This record starts of with the intro Shadow Earth and blasts off from there. "Nine princes" is an excellent mid paced rocker and sets the tone for the record.
About the middle you get "Soulless Woman", which is a cover from a 70's rock band called, in fact, Ogre. I went looking for this band and they are very obscure, apparently. But the cover is excellent and fits right in with the rest of the album. The album ends on the doom epic "The Hermit", a slow and monstrous heavy metal song the plods along gloriously until the final notes are strummed and nightfall blankets the stage. I can say that after waiting 6 years for this album I am so happy to have it in my hot little hands!
If you are a fan of doom, proto-metal or just great heavy as balls rock n roll, you need this album. Its definitely on my top ten for this year. Highlights: Nine Princes in Amber, Son of Sisyphus and the Hermit.
Check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/Rockogre
Countess- Ancient Lies and Battle Cries
So, Countess, you have returned. And the rite can begin...
I really don't like much black metal. You see, kids, when (Norwegian [i.e. 2nd generation]) black metal started it was about bringing metal back to a time of rawness, spikes, leather and total over-the-topness that existed in metal in the early 80's. I had already been exposed to Bathory, Venom and Hellhammer among others. By the early 90's thrash was waning and death metal was becoming "normal". Black metal was a breath of fresh air in this quagmire and that's how I discovered it.
In the last 10 years, this has changed. Now, every black metal band just rips off Burzum or Darkthrone while occasionally adding some "progressive" elements so they can claim they are "pushing boundaries". That is clear bullshit to anyone with brain who chooses to look. Countess is an example of stalwart and cantankerous integrity as well as an ability to adopt and add different ideas and yet still remain true to a complete vision
"Ancient lies..." is Countess at its most epic and its most influenced by Early American metal. Oh, the Manilla Road and Manowar influences were there hiding underneath the pallid demon voice and the raw as hell production. All of that is still there. The production is earthy and still raw. Orlok shrieks with wild abandon over the proceedings. But this is the most METAL record Countess has ever released. Every track drips with heavy metal goodness and headbanging glory! This is heavy metal influenced by Manilla Road, early Manowar and Bathory!
If you didn't like Orlok's voice before, you won't like it now. I personally love it. Every track on here is amazing and this should be a modern classic. Ah, well, I'll just spin it a few thousand times myself! Stand out tracks: By Hammer and Blood, Confessions of a Polytheist and Burn the Throne.
Go check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Countess/115228541872165
https://www.facebook.com/BarbarianWrath666
Hey, guys also remember that its distributed by Witches Brew! Go give these labels a look!
http://www.witchesbrewthrashes.eu/
I really don't like much black metal. You see, kids, when (Norwegian [i.e. 2nd generation]) black metal started it was about bringing metal back to a time of rawness, spikes, leather and total over-the-topness that existed in metal in the early 80's. I had already been exposed to Bathory, Venom and Hellhammer among others. By the early 90's thrash was waning and death metal was becoming "normal". Black metal was a breath of fresh air in this quagmire and that's how I discovered it.
In the last 10 years, this has changed. Now, every black metal band just rips off Burzum or Darkthrone while occasionally adding some "progressive" elements so they can claim they are "pushing boundaries". That is clear bullshit to anyone with brain who chooses to look. Countess is an example of stalwart and cantankerous integrity as well as an ability to adopt and add different ideas and yet still remain true to a complete vision
"Ancient lies..." is Countess at its most epic and its most influenced by Early American metal. Oh, the Manilla Road and Manowar influences were there hiding underneath the pallid demon voice and the raw as hell production. All of that is still there. The production is earthy and still raw. Orlok shrieks with wild abandon over the proceedings. But this is the most METAL record Countess has ever released. Every track drips with heavy metal goodness and headbanging glory! This is heavy metal influenced by Manilla Road, early Manowar and Bathory!
If you didn't like Orlok's voice before, you won't like it now. I personally love it. Every track on here is amazing and this should be a modern classic. Ah, well, I'll just spin it a few thousand times myself! Stand out tracks: By Hammer and Blood, Confessions of a Polytheist and Burn the Throne.
Go check 'em out:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Countess/115228541872165
https://www.facebook.com/BarbarianWrath666
Hey, guys also remember that its distributed by Witches Brew! Go give these labels a look!
http://www.witchesbrewthrashes.eu/
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