Review: VHS – Quest for the Mighty Riff

Review by Sandre the Giant

Canadian thrashy death maniacs VHS have returned with a new record, their seventh since 2016 which is just a maddening level of productivity and consistency. Their newest, ‘Quest for the Mighty Riff’ is a swords and sorcery, high fantasy concept filtered through their usual brutality and barbaric attitudes. It is out now through Wise Blood Records.

Aiming somewhere between Conan the Barbarian, He-Man and Jason and the Argonauts, if you’ve experienced VHS before you know exactly what you’re going to get. If not, expect chunky death metal riffs played at blinding speeds sometimes while various bloodsoaked tales are wrought within. The grinding sections of ‘Dagoth Must Die’ are great, while the rampant video nasty ‘Are You Afraid of Dragons?’ features the scathing vocal talents of Hellripper’s James McBain. In fact he isn’t the only guest to appear here, with the legendary Exhumed frontman Matt Harvey putting down some classic horror synths on the intro and ‘The Quest Continues…’ interlude and Molder’s Aaren Pantke appearing on the brilliantly titled ‘Cleave Em and Leave Em’. ‘Adventurers, Heroes, Brothers’ feels like a battlefield anthem, sung with sword swinging at the necks of your enemy and this is a common theme throughout; time and time again VHS manage to create songs that are undeniably rousing yet authentically brutal. My version also had a cover of ballad ultrahit ‘Everything I Do (I Do It for You)’ on it… The Canadian government may have apologised for Bryan Adams on several occasions, but VHS pay tribute in their own inimitable style, turning it into some oddly brilliant death/doom dirge. Explain that!

The thing about VHS that I have always enjoyed is just how fun their records are. Nothing ever feels like it’s taking the piss or anything but they imbue all of their records with a sense of tongue in cheek, a sense of fun but have the brutality to back it up. Remember when Municipal Waste reinvigorated thrash by being fun AND fucking great? Well, VHS could do that for death metal with ‘Quest for the Mighty Riff’. It’s Conan meets Golden Axe via Cannibal Corpse and At the Gates. Oh and by the way, their quest was definitely successful, for many mighty riffs are found within.

https://www.facebook.com/violenthomicidalslasher

https://vhshorror.bandcamp.com/album/quest-for-the-mighty-riff

https://wisebloodrecords.com/

Review: Exploding Corpse Action – Inter-Dimensional Annihilation: Complete Transmissions 1995-1997

Review by Sandre the Giant

Originally published here: https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/exploding-corpse-action-inter-dimensional-annihilation/

Albany, New York was the home of Exploding Corpse Action, one of the greatest band names of all time, and a raw, sci fi inspired death metal band that has been sadly long defunct but we have been gifted ‘Inter-Dimensional Annihilation: Complete Transmissions 1995-1997’, a compilation of all their recorded work as well as their lost EP and some live carnage too. It’s always nice to see a legendary release unearthed for modern listeners, so thanks to Armageddon Label for this one!

With a name and description like that you can guess pretty much where Exploding Corpse Action are coming from; ultra brutal grinding madness in the vein of Autopsy, early Carcass and the like. I always find it difficult to review these albums because it’s 20 odd songs in 30 odd minutes most of the time, and you know what you’re going to be getting. What I’m here for though is that ‘lost classic’ vibe, that desire to discover something wild and influential. What I can tell you immediately is that Exploding Corpse Action is like Voivod filtered through ‘Reek of Putrefaction’; an utterly manic, suffocating deathgrind laced with odd effects and a grim cosmic filth to it. ‘Subsonic Torture’ is furious chaos, while the unsettling mania of ‘Entombed in Space’ and the surprisingly melodic (well, catchy) ‘Mass Sterilization’ keep you on your toes. The brutal gurgling of ‘Liquid Nitrogen Abuse’ is pure Repulsion worship, while ‘Target Earth’ writhes with subspace signals before brutalises you with abominable grinding riffs. Even the live stuff is surprisingly fun; normally you’d think this music live from the 90s is not going to sound good, but it’s been captured really well.

If you ever wanted to know what the Warhammer 40k universe sounded like, it’s probably something a bit like this. Guttural, furious violence laced with weird detours and chaotic energy surging at all fronts. Granted, you may find some of it samey at time but come on, its mid 90s deathgrind, it’s not exactly Dream Theater is it? What it does, it does with an energy and an intensity that is welcome and I’m glad that it has seen the light of day for the modern fan to get a chance to hear Exploding Corpse Action. ‘Inter-Dimensional Annihilation’ is not for the faint at heart, but it is an essential piece of deathgrind history. Imagine, if you will, a capsule arriving from a lost planet with messages from the aliens that are coming to eat our face. That is this release in a nutshell.

https://armageddonlabel.bandcamp.com/album/inter-dimensional-annihilation-complete-transmissions-1995-1997

Anniversary Series 064: Chthonic – Bú-Tik

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

閃靈, or as we will refer to them for ease here, Chthonic, are a remarkably important band not necessarily for their influence on others but as a spokesband for their homeland of Taiwan. A symphonic black metal band whose work originally was more of traditional black metal content, as they grew into themselves Chthonic used more Taiwanese instruments and drew more from the struggles of their homeland for lyrical inspiration. Their journey to the pinnacle of the Asian metal scene culminated in the stunning ‘Bú-Tik’, released today in 2013.

After the martial, swelling orchestral opener ‘Arising Armament’, any fear that the band’s sound would slowly move to the less heavy, more commercial side with growing international succcess is immediately allayed by the fearsome ‘Supreme Pain for the Tyrant’, a technical yet flowing black metal form reminscient of Cradle’s more direct moments. Cradle of Filth have often been referenced as a familiar sound for Chthonic and while there are definitely similarities in places, the likes of ‘Rage of My Sword’ and ‘Set Fire to the Island’ are much more like Scar Symmetry or even galloping power metal at times. The orchestral and symphonic motifs are much less gothic and creepy, they add grandeur rather than sinisterness. Nor do the use of Taiwanese intruments take over in any way, they provide much more of flavour and flourish than ever taking the band towards a ‘folky’ direction. Chthonic are all things at once; heavy as fuck while evocative and timeless, an enthralling proposition that demands further reading as much as it requires headbanging prowess. ‘Next Republic’ could be 2013’s best folk metal anthem though, it has a seriously rousing touch about it! If anything, ‘Defenders of Bu-Tik Palace’ is also the culmination of Chthonic’s sound growth into a full on symphonic black/blackened death/melodic death/thrash/folk metal band; their music is now full of so many disparate influences that they become difficult to categorise easily, other than they’re fucking great. The video is also brilliant, with the band reportedly having two months of martial arts training and taking 25 hours to record those pieces as well. That’s legit.

It is hard to really understand, not being Taiwanese of course, the importance of Chthonic’s rise to world metal stardom while remaining firmly, almost obstinately Taiwanese. They have sacrificed nothing of their sound, of their national influences or their message to get to this point and that must be incredibly gratifying. For me, Chthonic opened up a whole new world to explore with not only their music but their cultural references. They are more proof than most that if your music is good, then it doesn’t matter where you’re from or what it sounds like. What is important in metal is a truth to your work, and a purpose.

https://www.facebook.com/chthonictw

Anniversary Series 063: Kylesa – Ultraviolet

Scribed by Geary of War

Kylesa, that band with two drummers whose ever evolving style saw sludge, psychedelia, stoner and anything else you care to mention blended seamlessly, gave us ‘Ultraviolet’ today in 2013 and we are all the better for it. Taking a different approach to writing this album the band took a bit longer to write and went down to one drummer. The theme, relating to the scarab beetle on the cover, was about making something out of nothing, making something out of shit.

The band also took a broader team effort, with members being able to play multiple instruments they gave themselves carte blanche to write what they wanted and as a result there is a more eclectic feel to the album. Laura Pleasants took a bigger role in the vocals, and you will be hard pressed to find a better example of her contribution than on the haunting and heavy ‘Unspoken’. It provides an idea of how much the album can and will vary coming right after the thick and sludgey opener, ‘Exhale’. ‘Grounded’ has riffing that reminds me of The Sword and feels as close to classic doom as I have ever heard the band get. ‘We’re Taking This’ is filthy, what a riff. The rumbling bass serving to add to the heavy tones. It’s a short and sweet track and one you will probably replay a lot.  ‘Long Gone’ is a masterclass is heavy prog while ‘What Does It Take’ is a fast-paced headbanger. Showing their unwavering skills for mighty riffs, ‘Steady Breakdown’ is quite the slab of metal, beautifully offset by Laura’s vocals once again. Keep an ear out for the end of the song, oh yes, it’s good. There is a touch of shoegaze/80’s about ‘Low Tide’ which is that end of the night chilled anthem. Do not get too comfortable however, ‘Vulture’s Landing’ is here to wake you back up! ‘Quicksand’ has more of that signature swagger before we are rounded out by ‘Drifting’.

Showing all the elements which make Kylesa great, it is a fitting end to a brilliant album. With what was to become their penultimate album, Kylesa gave to us something quite special. True, you could say that about most of their work, but I do think ‘Ultraviolet’ shows a maturity and touch for balancing the heavy and the progressive and mellow. Riffs the size of houses will always be there, but they allow time to let the mind wander and enjoy the space between. That is their gift. Their last album before going on hiatus was 2015’s ‘Exhausting Fire’, the title perhaps a hint that they had run out of ideas and were always planning to go on hiatus? We may never truly know but something I do know is that Kylesa added something unique to the pantheon of metal and should they ever return I will be there for it.

https://www.facebook.com/KYLESAmusic/

Review: Dead and Dripping – Blackened Cerebral Rifts

Review by Sandre the Giant

I don’t know what is more immediately arresting about Dead and Dripping; their gross name or their intensely purple Lovecraftian psychedelia album artwork. Dead and Dripping is the work of Evan Daniele, who handles all instruments and vocals on ‘Blackened Cerebral Rifts’, a work of brutal death metal chaos out in July through Transcending Obscurity.

Each track is an increasingly chaotic and stormy blast of technical, brutal death metal. Imagine prime Dying Fetus and Suffocation, with more than a hint of your more modern tech death wizards like The Faceless or Beneath the Massacre. What you do get from Dead and Dripping is a real sense of murk and weight though. Tracks like ‘Tragic Ascent of Absurdity’s Pale Moon’ and ‘Infinitely Plummeting into Violet Portals of Delusion’ aren’t just your sleek, clean technical showcases, nor one note gurgling chugfests. ‘Aural Interference With Uncanny Subconscious Frequencies’ brings these elements together so well, taking the best bits from both and leaving the more tedious bits in the dust. It surges and swerves, almost Meshuggah-like time signatures rumbling underneath sickening heaviness. ‘Hopeless Desire for Reprieve’ is one of the most apt titles for a song ever, because it has got to be one of the most unsettling interlude pieces I’ve come across in a long time. ‘Molecular Degradation Upon Warped Onyx Stoves’ is full of big, cosmos distending riffs that bend and warp over a chaotic and increaingly manic drumming performance. Vocally we’ve started to really delve into deeper and deeper gutturals as we’ve gone through, the whole album gradually descending further and further into the chasmic void.

‘Blackened Cerebral Rifts’ is a mighty slab of prime brutality; a heady combination of ugly, guttural death metal and a dense miasma of technical musicianship. Dissonant and layered with multitudes of heaviness, Dead and Dripping have crafted an impressively heavy and engrossing record. I shouldn’t be too surprised though, given their current label being a perfect fit for just such abyssal depravity. Recommended.

https://www.facebook.com/DeDnDrPnG69

https://deadanddripping.bandcamp.com/

https://transcendingobscurity.bandcamp.com/

 

Review: Throwing Bricks – The Burden

Review by Geary of War

The Dutch have a treat on their hands. Throwing Bricks hail from Utrecht, these gents successfully blend hardcore, sludge, post-metal and a few other bits all together and ensure it doesn’t sound like a 5 year old let loose with a keyboard demo button and a drum kit. Their newest record ‘The Burden’ came out late last year through Tartarus Records.

Opening with the pummelling and immediately aggressive ‘Bricks of Grace’ you know you know you are in for something special. Added to that, when you look upon the haunting album cover of a mannequin? human? in a black bag against a bright pink background, it’s a jarring comparison. The aggression breaks way for a post-metal swell and think Old Man Gloom, ‘I’m taking your skin off for a cloak’ type post metal with small moments of calm. ‘False Promises’ is a shorter track than our opener but every bit as savage. There is an almost black metal guitar element here which is so very ominous and sets up the battering return of the bass well. I love the slight change to the bass as the track comes to a close. There is an optimistic spring to how ‘Clearly Awake’ opens, even with Niels Koster giving it his all with the screaming and roaring. Listen out for the brief shift at 2.30 mins. I turned towards my speakers as if they could answer what the hell that was. ‘Doubt’ features more of the same elements before you get a fantastic sludge laden riff with a joy bringing pinched harmonic. Real sit up and take notice stuff.

It is hard to fully articulate the fury at the start of ‘Hall of Mirrors’ but needless to say it is impressive. Perhaps even harder to explain how well the truly heartfelt and tender shift into a spoken word section is. The closest comparison I can get to is Enablers, those masters of spoken word post punk. The build of raw emotion and its subsequent release might be one of the finest things the band has created. The spoken word element continues  with the slow and atmospheric build of ‘Safta’ and Utrecht artist Shira van der Wouden (for it was her impeccable delivery in the track before as well). It is sparse and reflective for the majority whole rounding out with hard hitting heavier moments. Her voice is magnificently suited for this role and the band found an ace here. Back to showing their more aggressive side ‘The Burden Noose’ seeks to batter down doors with noise alone and I will not be betting against it. Starting slowly there is a build to pace which is layered. Taking us home is ‘Find My Way Out’ which comes right out the traps with trademark relentlessness before the band once again show us how effortlessly they can blend other elements at will, hardcore punk? Sure? Bit of sludge? No problem. Touch of groove laden doom? Just a moment sir.

The band’s debut dealt a lot with loss and that element is still here with ‘The Burden’, but there is a message of hope and resistance here that’s impossible to escape. The final track there ends with bellows of “find my way out”. There is no quit in this dog. What at first appears to be a big shouty, style meshing album is something much more on closer inspection. I hear bands I have loved through the years, Botch, Breach, Old Man Gloom, Cult of Luna, Enablers. Yet with all that said and done there is still something powerfully unique about Throwing Bricks and I am here for the journey. This is an album which rewards the listener with repeated listens and I strongly encourage you to start now.

https://www.facebook.com/throwingbricksband/

https://throwingbricksband.bandcamp.com/

https://tartarusrecords.bandcamp.com/

Anniversary Series 060: A Pale Horse Named Death – Lay My Soul to Waste

Scribed by Geary of War

Born somewhat accidentally from the ashes of gloomy Brooklyn legends Type O Negative (they were  formed by original Type O drummer Sal Abruscato in 2010, the same year as the untimely death of laconic Type O frontman Peter Steele)  A Pale Horse Named Death deliver big slabs of gothic filled doom and they are damn good at it too. No surprise really when you have two former Type O members in your ranks. Following up the superb ‘And Hell Will Follow Me’ would be no easy task but with ‘Lay My Soul to Waste’ the band managed just that. Recorded as a duo, Matt Brown and Sal Abruscato created a big slab of gothic doom with grunge running though its centre. We are ten years out from that now, and as our Anniversary Series will not get to Type O until much later, we’re going to look into this spiritual successor instead.

Opening with the title track into things really kick off with the, and I mean this and it’s not some cheap comparison, but supremely Type O drum and bass rumble before what I have to imagine is a tiny Pete Steele tribute vocal style. However things shift and you feel that grunge coming in. There is a hefty pinch of Alice in Chains here and it absolutely works. The doom laden pace and smooth vocals take a slight back seat with the uptempo stomping found in ‘Killer by Night’ with some snarling thrown in around the usual delivery. Type O nostalgia returns for a moment as the doom settles in with ‘Growning Old’. We go acoustic with ‘Dead of Winter’ and it’s a well placed breather of a track too. I also feel it lets the band’s delicate touch shine forth. A beautifully haunting song. The only real way to describe ‘Devil Came with a Smile’ is filthy. The groove and swagger is outrageous. There is of course more to it but the swagger, it will be with you for a while. ‘Day of the Storm’ reminds me of that timeless opening from Black Sabbath on their legendary debut. Patient, meaningful, haunting. The video single from this album was for ‘DMSLT’ (‘Doesn’t Make Sense Living Today’ for those wondering). It is easy to hear why, a effortless gothic grunge feel, catchy and smooth vocals with a build to a heavier and snarling section. It is almost everything the band delivers in one neat package. ‘Cold Dark Mourning’ (very clever, we like what you did there) closes out the album, a lament to lost friends and in this band’s case it is easy to guess who. It is stacked to the rafters with feeling and reverence. The only tragedy is that at the end of the album it might not always get the attention it deserves.

Following this album the band changed and expanded, gone was Matt Brown and in came Johnny Kelly, Joe Taylor and Tommy Spano. The band continues to evolve with Sal in particular always thinking about what is next. A Pale Horse Named Death might get attention at first because of their famous connections such as the previously mentioned Type O Negative but also the likes of Life of Agony, LD/50 and Doro. But what will keep you coming back is their brand of gothic tinged doom. There won’t be any frilly shirts but there will be goblets of wine and that’s enough for me.

https://www.facebook.com/APHND

Review: Witte Wieven – Dwaallicht

Review by Sandre the Giant

The full length debut from Dutch atmospheric black metallers Witte Wieven is called ‘Dwaallicht’ (‘will-o’the wisp’), and it is out now through Babylon Doom Cult Records. Witte Wieven is Dutch for ‘white women’, and refers to the spirits of wise women or elvish creatures. So I’m guessing this is going to be a little mysterious and ghostly going in.

Opener ‘Ontsponnen uit de diepte’ definitely has some grim riffs going on but everything is layered in a sort of foggy gloom. Haunting clean vocals drifting behind drapes of cold guitar, while helpless snarls weave within the heavier moments. Vocalist C shows range as well as her shimmering guitar melodies which delves into mournful doom as well as some post rock elements too. ‘Koorddanser’ has a little post punk feel to it at the start, but counters that with some really dense grinding riffs later on. Lead single release ‘Drogbeeld’ is my favourite track; building with a ghostly post metal, almost Isis-like touch and delicate vocals into a crunching dirge of sludgy riffs and howling shrieks. All the while, the scope builds and the space opens up into something epic. Witte Wieven seems determined to give you a full breadth of emotional engagement throughout, be it the sludgy burrowing riffs and visceral vocals of ‘Het mistige zicht’ or the unsettling tones of Kringen’ to finish us off.

Fittingly closing with a haunting live version of ‘Met beide benen in het niets’ from Roadburn 2019, the show that I think really gave the wider world more awareness of this band, Witte Wieven’s music is both grim and frostbitten, but it counters that with some beautiful passages of ethereal, artful atmospherics that keep everything interesting. Much of atmospheric black metal these days can come off as rote and uninspired, but Witte Wieven’s work is fluid, dynamic and full of graceful intensity. ‘Dwaallicht’ is a light in the mist, something to follow slowly and gently to your doom.

https://www.facebook.com/wittewievenofficial

https://wittewieven.bandcamp.com/album/dwaallicht

https://www.babylondoomcultrecords.com/

Review: A Diadem of Dead Stars – Emerald Sunsets

Review by Sandre the Giant

In case you hadn’t had it given away by the name A Diadem of Dead Stars or the album art to this new compilation, ‘Emerald Sunsets’, this is some atmospheric black metal along the lines of Drudkh and Wolves in the Throne Room. Greek black metallers A Diadem of Dead Stars have been going for almost a decade now, and this is a four track release of some digital only tracks finally on physical through III Damnation Records.

Opener ‘The Furrow of Woes’ is a gloomy pounding of black metal, full of sweeping melodic lines and a definite sense of scale. Mostly instrumental with just a subtle insertion of choral clean vocals in places, these tracks seem to be much more about setting a scene and conveying the beauty of each epic vista than creating any particular story. You can immediately sense the overarching spirit of Drudkh in the steady pace and evocative riffing of ‘And Swallows Flew Away from This Land’, as well as the quiet acoustics and spoken words at the end. This is pure Panopticon/Wolves in the Throne Room stuff, but played with a delicacy that you don’t often find in BM circles. ‘The Light That Burns’ has an almost prog rock mid section where everything gives us a glorious melody to burrow into our heads. We even get a little woodland sample, birds chirping, at the start of the almost folk balladry of ‘Of Green Pastures’, further enhancing its influence link to the roots and stone of Ukraine and its own brand of black metal.

The coldly melodic, icily atmospheric and vast scope of ‘Emerald Sunsets’ is wonderfully evocative of the kind of post black/atmospheric black metal that can be so beautifully bleak when done correctly. A Diadem of Dead Stars are a band I’ve quietly kept an eye on for the past few years, so this is a grand present for those of you who haven’t come across them yet. As for me, ‘Emerald Sunsets’ isn’t a surprise in the quality front at all and I can heartily recommend giving a listen

https://www.facebook.com/ADiademofDeadStars

https://adiademofdeadstars.bandcamp.com/album/emerald-sunsets-compilation

https://iii-damnationproductions.blogspot.com/

Anniversary Series 062: Morgoth – Odium

Scribed by Sandre the Giant

German death metal legends Morgoth never quite followed the standard 90s death metal rulebook  on 1993’s ‘Odium’, the follow up to their solid debut ‘Cursed’. ‘Odium’ was a place of experimentation and alchemic blendings of style and substance. I was lucky enough to see Morgoth on one of their final tours before they split up again for good and I was taken by the material from ‘Odium’ that they played in that set, and how it doesn’t quite conform to old school death metal frameworks. So, let’s see why.

Immediately you know that this isn’t just meat and potatoes death metal to follow ‘Cursed’. Opener ‘Resistance’ takes more from Entombed and Dismember than anything US based, but also features some unusual time signatures and riff patterns. Vocally we’ve moved to a more sludgy hardcore shout than the swampy growl that permeates most death metal from this era. The gloomy atmospherics and discordant build of ‘Submission’ is the first sign that something is different here, while the bulldozing ‘War Inside’ comes to life with Crowbar-esque vocals and one of many spacious moments. Morgoth’s songs were also much longer generally than a lot of their contemporaries, they weren’t diving in with a two and a half minuter about zombies eating your face, this was a more involved and almost progressive style growing from this record. ‘Golden Age’ was probably one of the more adventurous tracks in contemporary death metal, while the closing title track was an instrumental showcase of the band’s ability to shape their own narrative and style.

Albums like ‘Odium’ may have given the critics of the genre fodder when the black metal movement rose up and swallowed all the hype but years later these records can still hold up as brave new worlds surrounded by an increasing level of mediocrity. ‘Odium’s work with more barked vocals, industrial elements and somewhat cleaner guitar tones followed the likes of Atheist, Cynic and Pestilence in taking death metal in 1993 to new and interesting places. If not for bands like this, we wouldn’t have the wide variety we have today. That’s why ‘Odium’ is an important release.

https://www.facebook.com/MorgothOfficial