Diamonds in the Rough – April – Part II

Mar 22 • International News, Releases, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 2157 Views

Diamonds In The Rough

Damn it! We are almost at the end of May and here i am typing away last month’s Diamonds in the Rough. As usual i’ve been giving the lords of procrastination a run for their money. To be frank a combination of the much dreaded office work and and downright laziness have been a cause of immense self loathing for sometime now, and this is probably a byproduct. Ah well, lets get on with it already. With this second edition i to visit the more modern side of last month’s releases. Now flush out all your previous playlists, and make space for this one.

P.S. Hope you’ve listened to the first part of our playlist.

THE PLAYLIST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz6ad03hEEI&feature=share&list=PLxv2_0Gql1Kw7UG0OMyf6ZpH4Nyk3tD4G

EMPYRIOS

1. EMPYRIOS

Music can be infectious, yes. But when it comes to metal, it takes an altogether different level of precedence. Although not being an avid fan of Power metal, Empyrios from  Italy seems to do it for me rather wonderfully well. They combine the downtuned grooves of djent with the aural range of power metal, and yet they cannot be pigeonholed as being cheesy as most of power metal usually ends up being. They even have a good  amount of electronica tagging along and it suits their brand of music pretty well . An added fact is that the vocalist is not even close to being whiny, which is always a plus. In fact at times, sounds much like the gifted Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge (one of the few mainstream bands that is worth a dime). The track from comes from their new album Zion released via Scarlet Records.

NEGATOR

2. NEGATOR

When scouring the metal holy lands of Germany, you are likely to come across bands from all the given subgenres of metal. Yet Black metal is one genre, which the country is not really known for. Despite having a more than active underground, there have been far too little for people to take up and notice. Yet last year brought some surprisingly good albums from bands such as the long running Desaster and Secrets of the Moon. This year seems geared to be no different with Endstille, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult and the Ruins of Bevarest coming out with interesting releases. Another such promising new band is Negator. They play a brand of black metal more close to the styles of Dark Funeral and Belphegor. An interesting fact is that since Lord Caligula retired from the Dark Funeral early this year, none other than Negator’s vocalist Nachtgarm replaces him in the live set. Serenading everything unholy, the band unleashes a scathing attack on the senses with their song The Last Sermon. The track comes off their new album Gates to the Pantheon released via Viva Hate Records.

HORD

3. HORD

The French! Need i say more?  Redefining ingenuity as they are, the country is hardly the cesspool that most nations where metal took its roots from, are now. It seems that nothing can go wrong with anything remotely French. To be precise when they are not at their creative best, they produce downright catchy stuff, much like Hord here in Unleash the Hermod.  Drawing inspiration from most of the modern melodic death metal veterans as well as adding in tons of spaced out atmosphere, this is aural bliss. Clean vocals, strangely similar to Anders Friden’s that are far from today’s cheesefest and several downright infectious hooks are the order of the day.

THY ART IS MURDER

4. THY ART IS MURDER

As much as i dislike Deathcore there are a few bands that are truly worth the time. All Shall Perish, the Akeldama era The Faceless and yes Whitechapel too. I’ve been a fan of Whitechapel’s post- This is Exile work while all of their early stuff was uninteresting metal drivel. Yes i might  draw some serious flak for this, but what the hell! I better be frank and true to myself than be Mr.Blatant Poseur. Now lets get to the crux of the matter here. Very similar in style to Whitechapel is Thy Art is Murder from Australia. Its got everything that makes Deathcore a much maligned genre, the no middle ground deep guttaral/high pitch screams  , layered growls, bassdrops and the one thing that has almost attained ubiquitous status, Breakdowns. But Thy Art is Murder mixes it up in such a way that it retains a certain freshness much unlike the general stale and saturated state of the genre. The song Shadow of Eternal Hate best exemplifies their sound and quite easily is their best song. Goddamnit listen to that intro groove/riff. Absolutely mauling!! The song comes off their new alum Hate released via Nuclear Blast Records.

AGRIMONIA

5. AGRIMONIA

A band that might as well have gone under everybody’s radar,  the Swedish Agrimonia play a dark and sludgy variant of post- metal. At times their songs, hint at the bleakness inherent to most of Black metal, and with the raspy vocals it does seem more like it. Eerie and melodic, they eschew the generally seamless meandering tendencies of post-metal/hardcore for a more directed approach. This makes their songwriting more precise and as a result, potent. With the production duties handled by the now legendary Fredrik Nordstrom, every little nuance becomes discernible. This particular song The Battle Fought comes off their latest offering Rites of Separation released via Southern Lord.

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Devourment – Conceived in Sewage | Review

Mar 22 • International News, Releases, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 3601 Views

The Old Disgruntled Bastard reviews the new album from Devourment titled Conceived in Sewage, released via Relapse Records.

Devourment – Conceived in Sewage

Tracklisting:

01. Legalize Homicide
02. Fifty Ton War Machine
03. Conceived In Sewage
04. Fucked With Rats
05. March to Megiddo
06. Today We Die, Tomorrow We Kill
07. Heaving Acid
08. Carved Into Ecstasy
09. Parasitic Eruption

Notorious Devourment, harbingers of an entire sub genre frowned upon by death metal purists, return to bash skulls in with their first full length in four years. Brutality is a much-touted byword in this particular scene, and while I can occasionally enjoy simplistic chugathons, to me oppressive, violent death metal has always been more synonymous with bands predating the style in question; when it comes down to it, few, in my estimation, can rival the sheer bloody-nosed irreverence of titles like ‘Lunatic Of God’s Creation’, ”Your Rotting Face’, Coronation Of Our Domain’, ‘Slowly We Rot’, ‘Liege Of Inveracity’, ‘Benedictine Convulsions’, etc, songs you wouldn’t necessarily associate with the term “brutal death metal” (other than Suffocation, of course). Bands like Infester and Embalmer, still grimier offshoots, exhibited far more backwoods brutality and an innate sense of perversion, intimately woven into the fabric of the overall sound, never faked, than what has come to be called slam/brutal death; a vibe achieved through a general tone of malice fostered by the arrangements, and not just overt use of gruesome, politically incorrect audio samples or uniformly dumbed down riffing.

Stream the entire album below:

To their credit, though, Devourment switch things up on Conceived In Sewage. While they aren’t about to be mistaken for Pavor anytime soon, the progenitors of slam choose, for the most part, to give wide berth to the gratuituous breakdown. Now I don’t mean to suggest that there is nothing of the sort on display here; the band still chug away to glory for more than equitable portions of the album but Devourment have certainly upped the tempo on these sections, almost to the extent of dissuading pit ninjas and assorted martial artists from honing their chops to the nuisance of all gathered. It’s a funny thing; played just a touch slowly, these parts would yet resemble the archetypal slam, but as they stand, they resemble a slam band hurrying through their set to meet the closing call. And it works better than it has ever worked, or has worked, at least since Molesting The Decapitated.

I mean, I could make out Mike Majewski growling ‘I watch them die.  Their dying eyes burned in my mind’ on opener ‘Legalize Homicide’ without referring the lyric sheet. Surely that has to be a first for this band? The piglet-gargling-down-the-toilet burps, once Ruben Rosas’ specialty, are somewhat held back in favour of a more traditional lower register; of course, this being Devourment, “traditional” is somewhat of an event parallax.

But it is the little things done differently that will ultimately bear favourable testimony to Conceived In Sewage. The title song begins with a doomy intro that lapses into one of the most infectious breakdowns the band has penned; good luck staying still when this is played live. An instrumental, ‘March To Megiddo’, with its staggered, stabbing chords and the martial beat underneath, is something you’d expect on a Hail Of Bullets record, but it is startlingly effective respite before plunging headlong into the remainder of the album’s groove-obsessed charnel grounds. Elsewhere, Devourment channel Cannibal Corpse, and old death metal, in general, more than they ever have, giving it their distinct, neanderthal slant; I just wonder how much more exotic the whole thing would’ve been with a solo or three thrown into the mix.

Some may call Devourment low-brow entertainment but, much like Mortician, there is a niche, and a need, for bands like them. That is not to condone  the hordes of imitators, but Devourment are genuine originators and Conceived In Sewage shows a veteran band caring enough to diversify their basic template.

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Diamonds in the Rough – April – Part I

Mar 22 • International News, Releases, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 1870 Views

Diamonds in the Rough

Its that time of the month where i bring you guys our truly one-of-a-kind playlist for your immediate relief and later demise :P. Today we look back at some of the records released in the month of April,which might as well have escaped your grasp, or failed to take notice of altogether. Fortunately the month of April seems to see the whole of metaldom roused from its rather long slumber. It is safe to say that albeit having a few good records, quite nothing has had enough staying power and quirkiness to clearly catch one’s attention. But with April you’ve had the back to form Arsis, subtly reinvented Killswitch Engage, beautifully harrowing Amorphis all making good albums in their own right. That said, there are still some great tracks you ought to give an ear to. Below is the first playlist.

THE PLAYLIST

APOCYNTHION

1. APOCYNTHION

While Spain’s Wormed has unleashed this year one of the most brutal albums to date and has raised the weirdo metal bar outright high, there’s been something brewing in a genre at the exact opposite end of the spectrum. Ambient and spaced out blackgaze (Black metal and shoegaze) are outfit, Apocynthion from Madrid, Spain . Now now! Before you draw up the Agalloch and Alcest comparison chart, i must say that this veers more towards the post-rockish side . The ethereal  and flowing clean guitars climaxes in phalanxes of tremolo-laden riffs and rasps. Something that will sombre you up, and hint at depression if you get too close. The track Redshift comes off their new album Sidereus Nuncius released via Pest Productions.

VERMINOUS

2. VERMINOUS

Straight from the 9th circle of hell is Verminous. The track Hordes ov Vermin reeks of the vilest odor . With a much fast paced death metal barrage, reminiscent of early Morbid Angel and possibly  Severed Survival era Autopsy, they clinically eviscerate your senses. Their version of the Last Supper (album cover) is probably the best way to describe their music as well. The track comes off their sophomore effort titled The Unholy Communion released via Xtreem Music.

VALLENDUSK

3. VALLENDUSK

Now something to wear out that grim look, off your face. Here is Vallendusk from Indonesia. The first thing that came to mind is why India cannot have such great bands, despite having a population that shrinks Indonesia’s into irrelevance.  While we senselessly go on aping bands and delve deeper into the cauldron of mediocrity, Indonesia wets its feet in blissful atmospheric black metal. Among the Giants is a 9 minute epic, traversing everything from upbeat to moody passages and instantly catchy folky riffs. Yet it exudes a certain sense of serenity. The track comes off their first full length Black Clouds Gathering released via Pest Productions.

BLACK PYRAMID

4. BLACK PYRAMID

Psychedelic War metal. Something which Black Pyramid calls themselves, and most veritably so. This is stoner doom for the animal skin clad, club swinging hunter from the stone ages. Much like watching Conan the Barbarian after a bad acid trip. Their last album which was released just last year, completely floored me and if the rest of their new album, this year, follows much like Onyx & Obsidian then i am all for it. The track comes off their new record titled Adversarial.

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR

5. LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR

Intro riff… And there you have it! A choke hold. Lair of the Minotaur takes what would make for a great thrash song on its own, slows it down several notches and then adds in a few beefy sludge sections, essentially transforming into one mind wracking listen. You’ve got the thrashy pace of the song plateaued by an insane amount of downtuned yet hard hitting heaviness. Coming off their EP titled Godslayer, here is the title track. God slaying indeed…

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Dark Buddha Rising – Dakhmandal | Review

Mar 22 • International News, Releases, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 2447 Views

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy reviews the new album from Dark Buddha Rising titled Dakhmandal, released via Svart Records.

Dark Buddha Rising – Dakhmandal

Tracklisting:
1. D
2. K
3. H
4. M
5. N
6. L

Mark your calendars: June 7^th, 2013 is going to be the day a new highwater mark is achieved in the drone/doom/sludge space. That’s the day Dark Buddha Rising’s new album, ‘Dakhmandal’ drops.

Few artists emerging from this space have made this kind of impact on me since, oh Orthodox and Khanate before them. When I first heard of Dark Buddha Rising, I assumed they’d be a slightly kraut-y, psychedelic/stoner jam outfit like the excellent but very different My Sleeping Karma. If you need to take a moment to shake your head in dismay at the shallowness of my thought processes, go ahead, I’ll wait. Oh good, you’re back. Well, when I heard Dark Buddha Rising’s previous album, 2011’s ‘Abyssolute Transfinite’, I realized how wrong I was. This is hermetic music, obscure and even oppressive, yet with a compelling, mesmeric atmosphere. Sparse, deconstructed passages co-exist with supermassive, dense sequences that feel like sludge metal played inside a black hole. The final impression is one of incredible heaviness, but in a ritualistic and leftfield manner.

Dakhmandal ably carries on with the band’s campaign of esoteric sonic persecution, refining it to a new peak of majesty and authority. This is completely uncompromising music, music that you have to work towards understanding, and that can be an incredibly refreshing experience after the wash of US sludge bands miming the sounds of post-peak Mastodon or Baroness. If you’re at all into heavy music, you don’t always want to be pulled along by hooks, accessible melodies and catchy vocals. Sometimes you need to listen to music that is shaped by individualism, integrity and some very twisted yet absolutely brilliant and original sensibilities.

If so, the cycle of songs on this album will serve as a series of destinations on a grueling but rewarding sonic journey. These songs may well stand on their own, but it’s clear that they were meant to be listened to as a suite.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87155451″ params=”color=e0df13&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

The opening song, ‘D’ begins with the faintest hints of sound – the stray feedback artifact, a distant almost-drone that keens to itself in darkness. Three minutes in, a simple bass pulse emerges out of this mysterious soundscape. The ritual has begun. Melody starts to insinuate itself, ever so subtly, into this realm of antediluvian rhythm and drone. The claustral atmosphere opens out, as if we’re emerging from a cave into bright starlight, into the kind of atmosphere created by an Om song. ‘K’ plunges us into the world of craggy, overdriven guitars and sludgy riffs. Hollow, incantatory vocals invite us deeper into the mysteries of an unfolding catechism. The song shifts gear into a drawn-out spacey, downtempo jam before building up to a sludgy finale. ‘H’ is another serving of mountainous riffs, moving at geological speed, like a slightly less ponderous Khanate. Aggressive stasis defines this song, as opposed to the shifting musical textures of the previous tracks. This is a Sargasso Sea of sound that is eventually swallowed in mist and squall. ‘M’ strips away the sludge metal appurtenances to take us into a vaulted chamber where a mutated organ vies with other droning layers. Then, a simple, pulsating guitar melody signals a shift into something that I can best describe as shamanic. Seriously, nevermind the Morrison bollocks, this is the real deal. At times, the warm, sunshiny, mystical feel of this song reminds me of those masters of the drone, Earth, but more occult and less Cormac McCarthy. The spirits have certainly been invited to this feast. The song closes out with some wall-to-wall riffing and vocals that are reminiscent of Yob’s more mantra-like moments. ‘N’ continues mine the same vein of monumental riffs, cavernous atmosphere and transcendental sludge. How do you close out an album like this? The last track, ‘L’ takes its time coalescing out of a wash of feedback and almost disjointed drumming. Ominous, fervent vocal proclamations issue from a preacher’s pulpit, but one that is obviously stationed in some cavernous subterranean cathedral to an unknown deity. Distant, soaring choruses float behind veils of sheer noise – and then there’s a simple, insistent groove which emerges as a focus for a pulsing, hypnotic song with weird chants and harsh invocations hovering just out of reach.  It’s a monumental ending, full of restraint, power and an unusual widdershins grace.

Some have described this music as dirge-like, but I think it’s more than that. Something is being celebrated here, but it is not of the daylit world we imagine we inhabit. This is bigger than Satanism or paganism. It’s an initiation into the mysteries of the sonic arcana. After three self-released albums, this is Dark Buddha Rising’s first album to be released by an external label – Svart Records. Credit is due to Svart for having the vision to take on this 80-minute exercise in sound as ritual. This is a band and a record that deserves a wider audience, although the uncompromising intensity and uniqueness of their sound necessarily imposes a limit on that audience.

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