Nails - "Conform / Scum Will Rise"

Absolutely crushing. I've heard some bands doing the whole "powerviolence" thing, and I gave the first Nails release a few listens but never really came back to it. I should though, because this song destroys. The best part of this has to be the production. What an insane sound. I can't describe it other than it being the pinnacle of heaviness I have heard in the hardcore genre. And how about that breakdown at the end? It punishes. Definitely how a breakdown should be done. My only gripe (and it's a minor one) is the vocals. Standard hardcore shouts. I just wish the vocals were a little bit more extreme to reflect how extreme the music is. But this is great, and I'll be checking out their new release.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp7OuClsEzA

Napalm Death - No Impediment To Triumph

URGENCY! That's the name of the game here. This is very frantic yet somehow not that fast material with ferocious vocals. Lots of dissonance, off-kilter drumming and chord ringing. Still smooth transitioning, no awkwardness to be found here. It oozes menace. These men are masters. This EP managed to slip me by somehow. Actually, this sounds rather Converge-y. Fitting.

I've been listening to this a lot lately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_EX9Qb1MxA

Beyond Terror Beyond Grace - Dusk

Alright I'm doing this shit "live blogging" style because this song is way too fucking long for the genre and I'm not playing it twice.

A gentle intro sets the stage, perhaps they wanted the song to creep in slowly like it's name sake? A vaguely interesting tremolo riff is faded in, with a bit of scratchy noise in the background. This is cool. It builds tension like a mother fucker and pretty much tips you off that things are going to erupt. ...And there's the eruption. Ridiculously precise blasting with a squiggly squirmy riff sloshing around on top like a viscous layer of sound. To me personally this riff just kind of drones, whether it's on top of the blasting or paired with those sensual bass rolls. There's nothing in the pattern to hook me, and it lacks the abrasive savagery of something like Profanatica or Prosanctus Inferi. The vocals don't do much for me either, being just a bit too intelligible for my tastes. Why doesn't he sound like he's vomiting syllables at me? Barely halfway into the song and I'm just bored senseless Oh hello what's this now...gentle clean guitars cascading from one ear to the other in a somewhat satisfying manner. Or maybe it just seems satisfying by comparison. This part would be way cooler if he switched it up to some crooning clean vocals out of nowhere but I'll take what I can get man, at least they're not playing a droning tremolo riff. They do an admirable job of almost sneaking the heavy back into the song as opposed to just shattering the clean section without any tact. You can tell that these guys want to be epic and atmospheric compared to their peers soooooo bad. I guess maybe they strike that nerve with some folks but it's left me completely cold. The intro and outro section were probably my favorite parts, it's obvious they have a handle on how to build tension, they just never did anything to release it in a satisfying way for my money.

So, here's a song that isn't 8 minutes long!

Oh! A veritable orgy of sly-winking usury!

Falling somewhere between Jethro Tull and Spinal Tap here's Deep Switch with their sensual, sticky-duvet classic, 'Nine Inches of Penis God'. Musically, it's a sweaty, deep-breath-taking heavy-duty romp with all sorts of kinky goings on. But I guess that it's the vocals that really sell this one: the Ian Anderson with a bonk-on, pun-orgy is really the song's main selling point. It reminds me of a dark passage, ahem, somewhere in a Catholic church, where for once, thankfully, children aren't on the menu. Christ! If only more priests fucked nuns! Amen! Definitely the album's strongest track (and I'm still annoyed that I can't find my CD copy, for fuck's sake), I do really like this one it's certainly a curio from the New Wave of British Penis Heavy Metal movement!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcCXTxaMTeM

Sacrifice - Re-Animation

Incredible song and I love how the riffs are melodic and has an exciting feel to them even though it's brooding and slow. The chorus is awesome that has a catchy feel to it that gets in your head straight away. I love the fact that this doesn't sound dry and the middle riff is great. It's a fantastic Thrasher that's worth listening and checking out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQXeDPJXmc

@Edword

Stigmata-March of the Saints

7/10

The snare tone has a very papery thin tone to it but eventually it gets drowned out by Maiden-esque riffs. The mix is bad and doesn't do justice to riffs, and the double bass kicks just seem off by a little bit. But I can see the band is trying their best to make this music, the vocals are labored and switch from harsher growls to very labored falsettos. The vocalist might be laboring a bit with his higher notes but his heart is in the right place, he sounds a bit like an older Warrel Dane doing his best to hit those Sanctuary highs. The riffs themselves are a decent if not off mixture of modern power metal with a bit of prog, and in the mix they sound a bit worse for wear but they do just fine. The solo around the five minute mark is solid, it repeats a bit but the guitarist manages to showcase his abilities an extend it well beyond the sixth minute mark. Apart from some technical noodling around the nine minute mark, there really was no reason to extend this beyond six minutes. But overall, the song was solid and the band really is doing well with the sound they have, if the mix was better the band's collective ability would shine all the brighter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxU7njtAW9s

Love that fuckin' guitar tone. Seriously. The somewhat lengthy intro to this is cool as hell, and you never really get bored with it - it could have played even longer than it did, and I still wouldn't have complained. When the vocals arrive (and boy, do they arrive), an almost banshee like wail is unleashed, befitting the ghastly, ghostly flavour they are going for. I actually like them a lot, as they're full of wild, passionate abandon, whilst still still (barely) holding it all together. Musically this is some pretty ballsy speed/heavy metal, with a rough'n'ready edge to it, which endears it to me even more, as it's not all slick and polished. The riff-work is solid, and the near constant, rolling double bass with that propelling underlying bass drive is excellent. These guys remind me of someone I know, and possibly have in my collection but can't quite nail it yet... there are some moments (I believe) of Candlemass homage in the riff structure, but it's morphed just enough so it has their own feel to it. Actually there's loads of references to other bands, BUT they still hold their heads up well. I have to reinforce again at the sheer maniacal brilliance of those madman-like vocals, I loved the hell outta them! But I also love The King, so it's a no brainer there, and I can see them driving some people the exact opposite way, however for this style they play, they are integral. I would seriously consider buying this.

Different tack now...

Nehemah - Light of a Dead Star

been meaning to check these guys out for a while. maybe I'm generalizing, but it seems alot of the french BM scene is quite raw and this is no different as the guitars are heavily distorted to the point of almost indistiguishable riffs but the mix isn't too bad as I can at least here the drumming and the vocals are at a good volume...The bass is occasionally heard but doesn't add too much to the song imo. speaking of vocals, they remind me of early Gehenna with its raw vocals ranging from the regular raspy vocals to tortured screams which are a highlight to me on this song. The downside to this is that i find the guitars quite repetitive and there really isn't much variation in the music throughout the song. THere is a slight tempo change at 3:20 but I really think they should have changed things up abit to make things abit more interesting. I'd probably give the song 6/10 as there are some good things but just see myself getting bored of this after a few listens. I will listen to some other songs by the band to see what else they have to offer though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd-_oDGdfks

Gallowbraid-Stone of Remembrance

I was blown away from the very first second of this song. Black/folk has always been a personal favorite of mine. I love how the vocals sound very "distant" in this song, something I usually don't like in black metal, but it makes it seem more "Folk-y" to me. The instrumentals have such a clean, gorgeous sound. The instrumentals and the background singing reminds me a lot of the folk band Аркона, especially their "Гой, Роде, Гой!" album. I was shocked when I discovered that Gallowbraid was from America. The guitar part starting around 5:10 is incredible. I actually went back and listened to this a few times. This song also knows how to bring itself to a perfect ending. This song paints a vivid picture of a primitive folk time in my head. Definitely a great song for any fans of Folk/Black metal.
10/10

Let's change gears a little bit.

Crucifixion - Last Haunted Scriptures

The melodies and the musicianship are very well done. I really like the melodic leads the guitars play throughout the song.
The rythmic part is not really that memorable, with the bass almost inaudible and the drums being strictly adequate. But it's a job well done in the end.
What really hurt the song is the mix...it simply sucks. The bass is so low that it doesn't enhance the guitar riffs to sound heavier(since they generally stick to following the guitar lines), the guitars are very low too while the drums and vocals (specially the vocals) are too loud, to the point that in the sections where both of them are present, the guitar riffs can barely be heard. A shame really, because they are nice guitar riffs and as a general rule, extreme metal shouldn't really focus on the vocalist (well, most of the times).
5/10. The song IS cool, the production job...not really.

Shamelessly promoting a national band.

Cobra - Whitechapel

This kicks off with a catchy as fuck riff and only gets better than there. This is outside the type of stuff I typically listen to but I really dig it. It's in a more traditional NWOBHMesque sort of vein and does what it does very well. It's not reinventing anything but goddamn does this kick ass. This is just have a good time and rock out fun sort of stuff. Great riffs, great melodies, great vocals - we have a winner here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA5Qyn6qimg

Alright, I'll take this one for the team...



No doubt "avant-garde"-tagged "modern" death metal with a few very foreign elements sewed in seemingly just for novelty's sake (deathcore and jazzy elevator music, mostly). The first couple of minutes consist of decent if rather generic, melodically stagnant death metal. It's not bad, and musicianship and production are actually very solid; it's just not going anywhere. Then comes a fucked-up jazzy break around the 2'20'' mark, grating on my nerves, followed by a long, plodding toughguy breakdown. The song just sorts of slowly disappears from there, going back to parts of the early DM section's riff. And we're done. Bottom line, sounds to me like those guys need a drive, a purpose and a good composer. Other than that, they're okay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QDoqQdQbrU

Exciter - Invasion/Waiting

Hell yeah, Canadian speed metal from the 80's. Shit, Canada was always good at this. After the scene setting doomy part melts into a sweet fast riff, the vocals were unexpected. But in a good way. Screechy. high pitched, with good control, just like mom used to make 'em. The bass is super prominent and really gives this a depth, despite the quiet production. These guys make the verse/chorus/verse/bridge etc structure work. I'm not CRAZY about the tone when the guitar is riffing, but the leads have an awesome sound to them, and the solo itself is just what the song was needing to bring it over the edge. This isn't as SUPER FAST HOLY SHIT as a lot of speed metal I've heard but it maintains a sense of epicness and urgency. You get the sense that the band had complete control of what they were doing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpQ6ADi1D_s this is the shortest song on the album, I promise

@Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-eeee-e. Crrrrrrrrr-rrr-ooooooooo-o:


First two minutes or so are basically white noise (there is the embryo of a three note tremolo-picked riff playing ominous in the faint background, but fuck it). The next two minutes are that same riff now full-blown and played by a full band, first in fast-paced "I am the black metalz" way, then into a dreamy doom mid-paced fashion, then plodding on; it's decent but stretched out too thin. The 5th and 6th minutes see the riff morph into a decent doom effect, then to a groovy riff that I definitely heard somewhere else. Past the 6'00'' mark, the Iommi-riffing generator is ON, but the pitch has been twitched to "crawling by crawling standards", because fuck you, LM, that's why. Around the 8'00'' mark, the base Sabbath riff switches from "eponymous track variations" to "Iron Man variations"; the crawling pace stays first, but then oh-so-subtly picks up and, around 9'30'', we're back to a really soothing mid-pace. We also firmly moved into hard/heavy territory. The new riff and melody that dominate for roughly a minute (almost until 11'00'') is very nice. The last 40 seconds or so are just the guys very, VERY ironically finding themselves unable to come up with a proper ending, so they just fill some space-time with bass noise, and then they simulate a short build-up around yet another Iommi/Butler riff/bass line variation. The End. Bottom line? You need drugs that directly affect your perception of time to enjoy this. More than decent for elevator music, if you're into doom, I guess.

Gotta run to work, now, so you get the first thing that comes to mind that I haven't posted here yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DepLyprGHdM

Scorpions - The Riot of Your Time

Driven by Meine's high-pitched, occasionally even screaming vocals, this one doesn't have much interesting going on in terms of riffing or such. I haven't listened to 70s Scorpions before, but clearly it was considerably more energetic than later stuff, with Meine putting a little less effort in intonation but had more passion. It's definitely the melodic style that's unmistakeably Scorpions, but with pumping rhythm and I would say much less laid back mood than later stuff, even though Meine's vocal style and sung melodies here are somewhat reminiscent of psychedelic rock and plain hard rock. I like the song, but it lacks the greatness of 70s classic metal stuff like Sabbath and Priest. As with most 70s rock and metal, the production is excessively soft to bring out the harshness that the solemn chord progressions and melodies might desire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_Dko5GNevE

Immolation - Failures For Gods

This began with very chaotic, borderline messy, riffing and the songwriting is like that too. It was a bit too much at the beggining and I almost stopped playing it for it being too unfocused (and because I surely didn't want to listen to close to 7 minutes of that), but fortunately the song gets better as it goes. Either that or you get used to it and enjoy the heavy riffing and the nicely muddy production. The bass break was unexpected, kind of annoying and unnecesary, but the song is actually better after that is over, employing more orthodox death metal riffing until the song ends. I can't say anything remarkable about the vocals, but then again, that's not what this band is about I assume. Really, for an introduction to Immolation (yes...first time listening to them), I'm quite pleased.

Pure chaos

Ayat - Ilahiya Khinzir!

well, your descriptions is fairly accurate. as soon as the music kicks in we get some chaotic sounding vocals and riffs pummeling you from start to finish. Although labeled as black metal, the riffs are fairly clear and not really the tremolo picked style. The vocals range from a deeper growl to a higher pitched scream...I like this as it adds a different "flavour" to the song. N The drumming doesn't really impress too much as its tone has am almost mechanical tone to it...but it does the job. Actually....i'm feeling the comparison to Ministry that some reviewers of this album had which isn't a bad thing at all. I do find the riffs could change abit more in the song, but i liked the song and will look into this album abit more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DzTHCRmyKs

Drudkh-Furrows of Gods

10/10

As soon as I saw the Drudkh title I knew this song would score no less than a 9/10. Saenko is one of the best producers of pagan/atmospheric black metal, and Autumn Aurora is one of my favorite black metals so this is already just a great song as it is. The opening tremolo melody reminds me of the slower moments of that aforementioned melodies, wistful droning tremolo melodies hearken the images of misty moutainsides and the acoustic moments remind me a lot of Empyrium. Dual melodied riffs show up not too long after the acoustic riffs end- the drums pick up a little more with some noticeable slowly patterned double bass parts. The five minute mark features a tom roll which halts the tremolo riffs to a slower drone momentarily, but the song is soon on its way creating the familiar atmosphere of a Ukrainian forest. At around 7 a folk instrumental occurs a long with some cymbal crashes and the drums go back to picking up the pace, the dramatic tension of the song has escalated quite a few times as I'm sure he intended writing Furrow of the gods. An amazing song from a project that should still be producing great music.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcMDgtWpTao

Steel Prophet · Nihilism's Spell (Demo)

I was kinda excited to hear this song's galloping intro riff, which promises an energetic, fun slice of power metal. But then the vocals came in and ruin it. I mean don't get me wrong, the dude has great technical ability. But he sing talks over most of the riffage, half the time coming off as a human analog to a lead guitar. Considering that the guitarwork is already rife with wickedly complex melodies, there is something overindulgent about this song. This is a triple burger of power metal with extra bacon, extra cheese, a heap of chili, all deep fried. I can see why people would like this song, but this is definitely not for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbUeci9opbk

Wheel - Mills Of God

Doom is abit hit and miss with me, but I'll give this a shot. although it takes a while to get going...i kind of dig the slow bass intro leading up to the heavy riffs. when the vocals kick in, I'm not really blown away by his style as with epic doom in the title, i was expecting something abit more powerful like candlemass or Isole. neverless, I can handle the vocals, but definitely not a strong point of the song. I liked the riffs, but I'm finding them abit repetitive during the song...the solo at 4:55 is a nice change of pace. In the end, this just isn't my style...sure there are some aspects that are cool, but i can't see myself listening to it again.

6/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVwHBZFhpos

Sear Bliss - Blood on the Milky Way

More is more, and too much is too much.
Starts off good, some primitive double bass blasting away. Enter thrashing guitars. Three guitars, four, five, nine... lots of guitars. And strings. We need strings! Twenty seconds in and there are like eighteen voices. And they are all playing the same thing. This is what happens when you want to take the orchestral route, but don't have any idea how to arrange. It just sounds... wrong. But that doesn't stop these lads. Lets throw in some more. Trumpets. Yes, trumpets! Too much is not enough, this is epic metal!
Epic metal needs long songs, in several parts. Enter acoustic guitar interlude. That's the contrast, check. Then we blast away again for a bit. Eight minutes of the song, calm outro with acoustic guitar and piano
"Ooh, we're soo eclectic, we've got such a variety of sounds and styles." No you don't, you have a lot of sounds, and a bit less of sounds!

Haha, I don't like this, can you tell? This sounds like "epic" metal 101. Everything is in there but the effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDZFdrlV9hk

Alright, this is actually quite nice. I don't know this band from Adam, and I've checked neither the date nor where they actually hail from, but this is what it sounds like to me: late 90s (so, so late 90s) prog-tinged European power metal of the "but we're not EuroPM" ilk, with highly technical musicianship across the board and a very good singer who operates (heh) in the upper mid-range and boasts a rather pleasant oh-so-slightly raspy tone. Oh, and the focus is very strictly on arrangements and production, here. One riff, ladies and gentlemen! ONE. RIFF. 4'34'' of it, going through an impressive number of variations in terms how it's performed, arranged, stopped and started again. It's a very good riff, mind you, mostly off of the Barragan Scale, with just a couple of more light-hearted notes near the end of the loop, so as to smooth out the Helstar-ness a bit (it's still European power metal, yo). Apart from that, the song structure is more straightforward than the number of variations might suggest: this is very traditional heavy/power metal at the core, songwriting wise. This is fairly good stuff for what it is, but it's not likely to stay with me, precisely because it lacks meat to support all the sauce and condiments. And this, my friends, is what happens when you know a bit too much how to arrange, but not really how to compose.

(there's a typo courtesy of the uploader: the first F is actually a V)

Ahh my friend Monsieur LegendMaker forever opening my eyes to the fantastical (and not particularly my favourite) realm of Euro PM/heavy metal. But I must admit that the man does have taste naturally. I will be completely blunt - this isn't really my thing, but goddamn it man, you pull out some good stuff. This has an edge it, not overtly flowery, but ballsy, EVEN WITH the keyboard flourishes! This still has the an impetuous drive to it, keenly aware of the driving force behind the track's title, Life Forever. This is an anthem to just that, life forever. The pummeling, forward only cant of this track is all about delivering that sole message - to live on! I do like the vocal range, deep and controlled without being ludicrously ostentatious, just telling the tale, fleshed out by driving guitar and the obligatory rolling double bass drums. This is obviously a customary trait, this constant double bass drum thing (be kind people, PM is NOT really my bag ok?), as I come across it almost every time I hear this stuff. Maybe I'm generalising? I'm gonna say no to that though... Honestly though, as PM goes this is pretty awesome, with cool hooks, licks and just damn solid songwriting to keep one entertained throughout. There is some excellent guitar work to be found, keeping things on a propulsive forward momentum, without wanking - just good metal.

Completely different, but try and keep up eh?

Bloody Sign - Tongues of Shadows

Had only a slight idea what to expect. But this is a CrushedRevelation band so I was awaiting some immense atmosphere and eerie riffing. And lo and behold, I found it
My least favourite part of this is the vocals. Yes, I suppose they fit the music and are pretty frantic and somewhat extreme but listening to an entire album of them might prove challenging. I like all the tempo changes and their relative smoothness, and the fact that this seems to be pretty much tech death + black metal split right down the middle. It's certainly an interesting sound. Mixing the dissonant chords and tremolo picking of BM with moment of well placed frantic technicality and various influences before slowing back down to the churning maelstrom. I really like the guitar solo, fairly early in the track. Cool phrasing and alien like sound. The drummer pulls out some cool, slick tom work, but he's mixed low and I really had to pay attention to hear what he was doing which is kind of a shame. Usually these kinds of bands go with a different type, and more prominent type, of drum sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S6_InSJwck

@CrushedRevelation

@Tron

Stoned Jesus - Stormy Monday

Oh man, this hits the spot. A low, bass-intensive tune which just reverberates with a doomy collossalness. A stoner lullaby mixed with something of a dirge, layered with very well composed solos. But I'm most impressed by how well-developed the song structure is. Goddamn, this is the ultimate counter-argument to the notion that all stoner/doom is essentially either too simplistic or just a long-ass jam session. I gotta check out more by these guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKv13AKq-k8

Mactep (Master) - Палачи (Executioners)

Nice intro with a dark eerie sound. Once the tempo picks up we are greeted with a wail and some solid thrashy riffs. There are a few cool variations like just before 2:00. The galloping section at 2:30 with the solo is pretty cool and done well. The vocals are a cleaner style of thrash vocals..abit whiny at times, but not too bad. The drum sound doesn't have too much substance to it and is kind of a weaker part of the song. Overall, the song was enjoyable but there were so many thrash bands at the time of this release i could see how it would be lost in the mix as it doesn't really do much to stand out from the pack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4W7spPmaVk

[/spoiler]
In Vain - Against the Grain (placeholder)

These guys don't really seem to fit solidly under one genre, but their MA page labels them progressive black/death metal. It features symphonics, healthy doses of tremolo, emotive leads and plenty of more "normal" riffing. There is lots of vocals, one more death metal guy who sometimes reminds me of the beatdown hardcore guys (which isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion) a dude who sounds a bit closer to black metal and some clean vocals, that frankly sound a bit geeky. While I have to say this is good for what it is, I don't really dig their sound all that much. The clean vocals are the only thing that I'd say are actually bad, being very dry and watered down.

Sorry, I couldn't find this on youtube: