Hero

Bolzer are a band whom I've had a great deal of respect for since getting caught up in their amazing 'Roman Acupuncture' demo and their seminal 'Aura' EP. 'Soma' saw the band get a little lost, delivering a turgid, boring mess. I had high hopes for their LP. Sadly, these hopes are a tad misplaced.

From the opening number, Bolzer build an atmosphere that capitalizes on their trademark atmosphere drenched in ancient myth and magic. The listener is taken past the threshold of this world and into the next. Their signature brand of melodic, yet crashing riffing is instantly recognizable. Sadly, the opening vocal phrasings on 'The Archer' are far more reminiscent of later Mastodon than their own work. Luckily, they pick up this momentum with some interesting composition and some much more fitting vocals. . . before it all falls away when the "chorus" returns. I can't help but cringe when the singing comes in. I get that they are going for a vibe that summons images of great heroes and adventure, but this just lacks the balls of their earlier work.

'Hero', the title track, has some great riffing but once again suffers from the same mixed bag of vocals that does nothing but take the listener out of the experience. Luckily when they return to their howled vigor, the song picks back up before once again being derailed by the poorly conducted chorus.

The album has a very welcome return to form with 'Phosphor'. The riffs are huge, the vocal delivery is grandiose and ferocious. The drums lead the track with a war-like canter that gives way to a triumphant bridge that really evokes everything that this band is about; epic soundscapes of mythical proportions. As the song fades out into atmosphere, another interlude creeps in. It seems the more melodic singing only seems to really work in the interim. Had they only limited it to these little between song tangents, I think that it would've been a good choice that may have accomplished what they had been going for.

"I Am III" is the albums highlight. With a formula that seems to be a mix of the previous tracks all mashed together, there is sort of a balance achieved in everything that really stands out. The melodic vocals seem a little less out of place and the song ebbs and flows with some great riffing, twists and turns that keep it interesting and some really cool lyrics.

"Chlorophyllia" however is the WORST song on this album. Full of poor vocal choices, some "pretty" riffs that seem fit to only please peoples girlfriends and a bunch of ideas borrowed from previous songs on the record.

The production on this album is massive, especially for a two piece. The guitars are lush, full of life and extremely dynamic. The drums are thunderous and produced as the perfect foil to the guitar work. The vocals have the perfect production, even if some of the choices made in their tone are completely laughable.

Bolzer are a band that have always intrigued me. Endlessly inventive and refreshing in their approach, like a Celtic Frost hewn from Roman stone pillars in the image of the Gods. However, it seems that they've completely lost themselves in their own hype. While I can always respect a band for taking a daring leap of faith with their sound, it doesn't always work out. Admittedly after 'Soma', Bolzer needed something else to get them to the next level but the choices made on this record seem like nothing more than hamfisted attempts at transcending their own sound into something that critics can laud as "groundbreaking". Musically, Hero is a good enough record that seems to rehash some of its own ideas more than should be aloud.

A real disappointment for someone who had a lot of hope invested in this band. Either this album is a totally brilliant "grower" that escapes me at the moment or this band has really dropped the ball on what should be one of the best metal records of the past decade. Here's to hoping that either I come to my senses and realize that I'm an idiot or that Bolzer come to their senses and can the "singing"

Bolzer's demos were revered for the band's individual vision and unique sonic touchstones, from their odd wall-of-noise songwriting to the strange riffing patterns. But this debut album, Hero, has been more controversial, as the band has cleaned up a lot and somewhat shifted to a more polished sound. That is often a no-no for metal fans... I don't know, though; I think this is a marvelous, epochal and oddball work that really comes together quite well.

Bolzer on here remain an utterly inimical, iconoclastic band, with a strange and offbeat sound – full of pounding barrages of riffs and chanted, shouted vocals alternating with clean post-metal-style moans. People have said this is a sort of post/sludge thing, something like Mastodon, but honestly it's much more aggressive and focused than anything I've heard from Mastodon. This is super tight, aggressive, ritualistic music that functions as sort of an oceanic wave – the guitars and bass and drums are sort of a rolling tide of noise and sheer might rather than instruments that function on their technical bases; they're very much a force of nature that works on the magnitude of the sound, just this crushing weight, with the vocals overtop like a narrator of the fucking apocalypse.

It's an exquisitely, laboriously thought-out work, very well put together. The songs often rely on somewhat similar riffing patterns, which serve to make this sound like a unified whole work, very clean but heavy and bludgeoning, with little melodic trills in-between to make them interesting and propulsive. The drumwork is an onslaught of heavy, barbaric pounding and the vocals vary between a harsh, rugged shout and a sort of droning, emotive moan that does tend to grow on you. Everything just kind of swirls together into a miasmal weight, and the sound is absolutely crushing when you turn it up. This has a great command of dynamics, too, and when they segue from the chaos and raging noise to a quieter, shamanic ambiance on their interludes or at the end of a track, it's welcome as a little breather from all the heavy stuff. I think these parts are integral to the sound and very well implemented.

The lyrics are a real treat, too; super obscure and arcane stuff that is hard to glean a real meaning to, but man are they fun to read. I get a lot of very primal, ritualistic, spiritual leanings from this stuff, about the nature of man and changing and metamorphoses. They're really very well done and a real treat to read along with while the album plays:

Blooms in a desert
The victims of chance
Mirage voyeurs
Trapped in an hourglass
Smite me down, keen archer
For the end I have wed
Lay me aside the brave
Reckless, envious dead

This very much sounds like the continuation and refinement of what they were doing on the demos – perhaps less death metallish, but they were never typical DM anyway, and the fact that they've gone in this direction doesn't surprise me much. This is serious, artistic heavy metal music that doesn't compromise even one inch. I think this is just a great work of extreme metal – when they kick into the furious, unhinged shouting on “Phosphor,” or the rolling, hellish doom soundscape “I Am III,” or the fatalistic closer “Chlorophyllia,” I am reminded of how I felt when first hearing some of my favorite extreme metal bands; it's the same kind of feral, surprising, stark and bizarre emotions and dark artistry. I think this is marvelous and you should go hear it now if you like weird, unique, dark shit.

Before listening to this album, I wasn't very fond of Bölzer's work. While the Swiss duo gained a major cult following in the underground metal scene thanks to the release of just a demo and two EPs, I could not see what was so great about them. They won the heart of many die-hard black and death metal fans with their supposedly fresh approach to the style, but I could not see what was so unique about them.

Roman Acupuncture, Soma and Aura were releases that I sincerely did not enjoy: I couldn't understand the 'Bölzer phenomenon'. I wasn't attracted by the sound of those records and they honestly bored me. After much insistence from some friends (one of them a very die-hard Bölzer fan), I decided to give this LP a spin... and I was unexpectedly blown away by it!

Obviously, there are some changes here regarding the sound found on previous albums. The band offers now a very different approach compared to those other releases, especially in the vocal department. Hero is an album of remarkable originality and passion, a passion that manifests itself every time guitarist/vocalist Okoi Thierry Jones sings. The voice seems the most criticized aspect of the album, but I find it one of the main elements that make Hero a one-of-a-kind album. Okoi uses, of course, as in previous Bölzer releases, screaming, but the clean vocals are the ones that truly shine here, being more prominent and creating really beautiful musical moments (Decima, I Am III, Atropos)

Early Mastodon came to my mind as soon as The Archer started and the vocals kicked in. Sure, the album has killer death/black metal riffs and blast beats, but it also has crushing doomy riffs that coupled with the bassy sound of the guitars give the album a very sludgy feel. The vocal melodies are great, and they also somehow remind me of delta blues singing. Some of the choruses are very anthemic (Hero is the perfect example), and give the songs a friendlier and more accessible sound. Atmospheric interludes and slower parts give the album a ritualistic and glorious vibe that is of course exacerbated with the interesting and occult lyrics.

Performance wise, Okoi and Fabian (drums) give very solid performances. Okoi huge guitar sound and it's weird and unorthodox riffing, and Fabian's creative, thundering drumming (along the superb production, of course) make Bölzer sound like an army instead of a two piece metal band. The album's track order also works magnificently, making it very difficult not listening to it as a whole, single piece of art. Also, kudos to Sturla from Icelandic black metal band Svartidauði for his violent vocal performance in Phosphor, helping to break the album's monotony.

In short, Bölzer has released a very unique and bold album, making them sound more progressive and anthemic, and I dare to say, even catchier. My only criticism would be the aforementioned monotony the album presents, broken only by Sturla's guest performance, the fewer 'mellow' parts and by the interlude. Despite its repetitive nature, Hero is one of the most interesting releases of the year; a spiritual and epic record that shows Okoi and Fabian are not afraid of straying away from their extreme metal roots. Now I'm really interested in the present and the future of Bölzer, as this album represents a very clever musical statement.

Bölzer’s debut full-length album ‘Hero’ is finally here. It’s a testament to the ferocity of their music that they have succeeded in setting the metal underground on fire with less than an hour’s musical material to their name. Because Bölzer has set such a high standard with their music so far, and the media buzz around the band, there’s an enormous amount of pressure on the band for Hero to live up to everyone’s expectations. And in most respects, Hero delivers the goods.

I’s pretty difficult to describe Bölzer’s unique sound, particularly given its evolution on Hero. But they’re broadly a death metal band with some black metal leanings and sludge metal weight, with a big emphasis on heavy riffs and suffocating, esoteric atmospheres and themes. One of the most significant changes to the Bölzer formula is the inclusion of clean vocals, which now play a central role. This change is certain to be very divisive, but for the most part they work well without feeling tacked on. Jones’ voice has a Mastodon-ish quality to it, and ‘The Archer’ and the title track benefit from his deep, mournful tones. In fact the most disappointing change in the vocal department is the total lack of the guttural growls that dominated their previous releases. Jones instead opts for a hoarse howl, and while it works perfectly well, the heavier sections on Hero really are missing that extra heavy touch that his growls could have provided.

The other major change to their sound is a move away from their very heavy, riff-centric approach to songwriting. The songs here are more melodic, but also generally longer and less immediately gratifying. Everyone remembers the moment when they heard the opening riff on ‘Entranced by the Wolfshook’ for the first time, and unfortunately there aren’t any songs with such strong openings here. But such a criticism might miss the point of what Bölzer are aiming for here, which is a bit of a slow-burner. There really is a great amount of depth to this album, details and melodies easily missed on a cursory listen. Songs like ‘Phosphor’ and ‘I Am III’, despite containing all the ferocity and groove you’d expect from a Bölzer song, take their time to reach their destination.

But their sound benefits from the incredible production job, and on Hero the band’s sound is bigger than ever, despite remaining a mere duo. The melancholy guitar chords of ‘The Archer’s chorus combined with the sombre vocals and relentless drum-march packs a surprisingly emotional punch. The title track crushes with a foot-stomping chorus and bruising Leviathan-era Mastodon grooves, as well as a ferocious black metal edge. Later, ‘Spiritual Athleticism’ takes this even further. its thunderous, sinister riffs referencing their 2013 EP ‘Aura’, while dissonant chords ring out behind tormented howls.

Unfortunately, the album ends with probably the weakest track on here, ‘Chlorophyllia’. While it starts off confidently, with some creative drum-work acting as the necessary counter-weight to the shimmering, melodic guitar chords. Unfortunately, Okoi’s vocals on the chorus just don’t convince like they do elsewhere. They’re not exactly off-key, but there isn’t enough power behind them to make the operatic style work. Which is a shame, because the rest of the song is full of great ideas.

Hero is not the album many Bölzer fans were expecting, or even hoping for. It’s an altogether different beast to Aura or Soma. The inclusion and prevalence of clean vocals, as well as the less riff-centric approach are certainly likely to alienate many. But despite its flaws (and it does have them), Hero is a tremendously ambitious and creative album, and nothing else out there sounds like it. While it’s not as immediately gratifying, Hero works best considered holistically, and from that perspective it’s a great album. While not everything works on Hero, it’s certainly one of my favourite albums of the year.

Originally written for Metal Void

The Swiss-based duo known as Bölzer have certainly been making waves over the last few years thanks to the strength of their 2013 EP, “Aura.” Their demo and follow-up EP also have helped create quite a lot of hype for the band. With performances across the globe, the question still remained: could Bölzer capture the magic of their shorter releases and create a full length worthy of the hype? Fans have spent the last two years longing to hear this black/death metal’s massive riffage take over with a long playing format, but ultimately, they were not able to meet their goal.

First, let’s discuss the production here: it’s a very professional sounding recording that’s well balanced, giving space to all the instruments, especially giving the drums room to resonate and a gnarly tone to the guitars. This wasn’t a huge surprise for me, although I’m sure some fans will dislike the cleaner approach compared to the EPs.

The reason Bölzer’s EPs got so hyped is really simple: their riffs are colossally heavy. There are some moments of that here on “Hero,” however, a lot of these riffs fall short of the standard the band gave us initially. Instead, the band’s writing has shifted from stellar riffs to making the vocals the focal point. To me, this is what separates metal/punk/extreme music in general from pop music, and Bölzer have done themselves a huge disservice with this approach. Throughout this record, I found myself cringing at the clean singing. This isn’t to say I think clean singing has no place in extreme music. Bands like Paradise Lost or even more recent acts like Vastum have managed to utilize interesting types of clean vocals that are dark and add so much more to their music. Perhaps Bölzer could’ve got away with what they’ve done here if they added more delay/reverb to these parts, but I think more importantly, the riffs aren’t there to support such experimentation in the vocal department.

Indeed, the first couple tracks, “Archer” and “Hero,” did not give me much hope for this record. Both songs are pretty mid-paced and meander around with their choruses sounding like fingernails on chalkboard. Some may feel the singing to be out of tune/key, but most will agree it’s strange either way. In fact, these two songs make the clean singing on the album’s initial premiere track, “I Am III” sound not so ridiculous. At least that track has some interesting riffage, where as these first two songs do not.

“Phosphor” is by far the best track on this album, and it’s no coincidence it doesn’t feature any off-kilter vocals at all. In fact, it’s pretty minimal on the vocals (which are mostly aggressively shouted). The tempo of this song is more lively too which lends to my enjoyment of it. “Spiritual Athleticism” is the next best track on this album, and again, it has to do with the quicker pace, and the clean vocals on this track are probably the best ones on the album.

So just as this album starts to feel like it’s not a total let down, it teases the listener by saving the worst song for last, “Chlorophyllia.” The song does start off promising by having the only blast beat on the record. But right away, it descends into just down right silliness with an “OOH-AH!” chorus over some pretty stale riffing. Just before you start thinking that the song couldn’t get worse, it does, with some generic “see you on the other side” lyrics and the cringiest clean singing on the whole album.

I really wanted to like “Hero.” A lot of fans wrote the album off after hearing the first single, but I didn’t want that kind of hive mind to keep me away from the full album. However, after hearing it the first time, I was let down, and subsequent listens have been a chore and ultimately an undesirable listening experience. Honestly, after reviewing this LP, I don’t think I’ll be listening to it again. Bölzer came up short here, and you’re better off sticking to their EPs/demo. I’m not normally the kind of person who gets turned off by vocal experimentation when it comes to metal, but when that’s the focus of the record and the riffs take the backseat, that’s the result. Maybe Bölzer can redeem themselves in the future, whether they stick to short formats or by taking more time when it comes to a full length.