ALBUM REVIEW: Brutus - "Burst"

By: Victor Van Ommen

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/02/2017

Label: Hassle Records

Straddling the line between hardcore punk and a post-rock/metal riff fest, Brutus pounds, hurls, and howls at volumes so loud and levels so intense that it’s impossible to look away. Harmonies, hooks, and sing-a-longs are part of the Brutus recipe, but it’s the sheer intensity that will have heads turning, bopping, and banging.

“Burst” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1) March

2) All Along

3) Not Caring

4) Justice De Julia II

5) Drive

6) Bird

7) Crack / Waste

8) Looking for Love on Devils Mountain

9) Horde II

10) Baby Seal

The Review:  

Brutus is a Belgian power trio – and I mean power - that leaves a pretty hefty dent when listening to their Hassle Records debut, “Burst.” Straddling the line between hardcore punk and a post-rock/metal riff fest, Brutus pounds, hurls, and howls at volumes so loud and levels so intense that it’s impossible to look away. Harmonies, hooks, and sing-a-longs are part of the Brutus recipe, but it’s the sheer intensity that will have heads turning, bopping, and banging.

To get an idea of what’s going on, it’s important to note that punk rock is at Brutus’s core. The album’s pace is high and half of the songs clock in under three minutes. The drummer, Stefanie, sings her heart out and it’s moments like when her voice cracks in the back half of “Drive” that not only oozes punk rock in the passion-before-perfection sort of way, but it’s also a testament to the blood, sweat and tears Brutus puts into their songs.

The album’s sequencing is also telling of the Brutus story. How the semi-instrumental “March” turns into the rip roaring “All Along” is a sign of a band that has full control of their sound. Both “Drive” and “Crack/Waste” display guitarist Stijn’s steady hand, whether he’s jamming hard on the riffs or noodling around the fret board like any good metal guitarist does. “Looking for Love on Devil’s Mountain” and album closer “Child” further drive the fact home that Brutus make strong, anthemic choruses, the likes of which can only be heard at punk rock rallies.

The songs mentioned above are not only the stepping stones of the album’s track list but they’re also the highlights. What happens in between the stepping stones is no less impressive, of course. Though these other songs may not rise up from the pack, they do serve as ways for Brutus to further explore the sound that they’re going for, and how!

As far as debut albums go, hats off to Brutus.

“Burst” is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: facebook

Fuath - "I" (Album Review)

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 1/2/2016
Label: Fortriu Productions |
Neuropa Records

Taken purely at face value, this album sounds like nothing out of the ordinary, and yet because the music is so evocative, particularly of the scenery its album cover paints, it excels in a way that even the most lauded acts in the subgenre can’t compete with.  When you listen to ‘I’, it digs something out of your mind and projects it front and center for you to reflect upon. It paints the picture it means to, and it does so vividly. This album proves that if you’re tired of this sound, it’s because the bands you’re listening to are tired, rather than the sound itself.

‘I’ CD//DD track listing:

1. In the Halls of the Hunter

2. Blood

3. The Oracle

4. Spirit of the North

Fuath is:

Andy Marshall | Everything

The Review:

I think it’s fair to say that the bloom is off the rose somewhat, when it comes to atmospheric black metal and its various sub-sub-subgenres. It feels like there is an avalanche of it every year, and the novelty’s completely worn away from it by now. It got to a point where it started to feel like everyone on earth who could string some minor chords together and throw some reverb-soaked leads over the top of them were all making the same album all at once and then releasing them under different names.

But what does any of that have to do with Andy Marshall (also of Saor) and his latest project Fuath? I bring all of that up because it’s important to note that ‘I’ is an absolute joy to listen to in spite of the conditions in which it’s released. Over the last year or so, I’d come to understand that the style was simply overdone, to the point of tedium and that no good could come of it regardless of who was putting out the music. This album proves that it can still be done in a way that captures your imagination and avoids the trappings of “this is just (blank) mixed with (blank)”.

Where Fuath outshines the vast majority of its contemporaries, is in the quality of its songwriting. The musical components are what you’d expect. Reverb-drenched guitars, drums that have a lot of room to them, and cavernous reverb on the vocals, which are kept low in the mix. Taken purely at face value, this album sounds like nothing out of the ordinary, and yet because the music is so evocative, particularly of the scenery its album cover paints, it excels in a way that even the most lauded acts in the subgenre can’t compete with.

In looking for an example to focus on, that is illustrative of the whole of the album, I’d point to the opening moments of “Blood”. The song is anchored by a pretty basic 4/4 rock beat at first, allowing the swelling guitars to take the focus without getting in the way. The drums often serve as a solid backbone, rather than being busy for the sake of proving it can be done. Meanwhile, the color and spirit of the album comes from the guitars, which are thickly layered and bursting with forlorn melody. And while a lot of the album revolves around a similar feeling, each song feels like it creates its own unique shade of that same feeling.

While I’m not someone who puts a lot of stock in the authenticity of things, at least not as far as being more important than the finished product itself, there’s nothing about ‘I’ that ever feels “put on” or phony. Whether this album was crafted in a cabin, twenty miles from the nearest living soul or put together in a crowded city with hundreds of people jammed into each block; it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that when you listen to ‘I’, it digs something out of your mind and projects it front and center for you to reflect upon. It paints the picture it means to, and it does so vividly. This album proves that if you’re tired of this sound, it’s because the bands you’re listening to are tired, rather than the sound itself.

You can pick up a digital copy here and a CD copy here.

More info: Facebook

Bloodiest - "Bloodiest" (Album Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 15/01/2016

Label: Relapse Records

“Mesmerize” sets the tone for events to come. The band launch straight into a rumbling, menacing riff, like Tool jamming with The Jesus Lizard while Shellac look on approvingly. This track exemplifies what Bloodiest do so well on this LP; relentless repetition of a phrase, letting it slowly transform while building towards a furious climax. They manage to do this in a fluid, hypnotic fashion, avoiding the pitfalls of obvious quiet/loud dynamics.  There is a lot of great, heavy music around today, but it’s rare to hear something as fresh and compelling as this LP. Bloodiest have crafted an incredible piece of work here, challenging without being difficult and crushing without always resorting to amplification-overload.

“Bloodiest” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Mesmerize

2). The Widow

3). Condition

4). Broken Teeth

5). Mind Overlaps

6). He Is Disease

7). Separation

8). Suffer

The Review:

“Supergroups” inspire high expectations. In the case of Bloodiest’s new self-titled LP these preconceptions are met and then some. The Chicago band features current and former members of a diverse array of awesome acts such as Yakuza, Russian Circles, Minsk and 90 Day Men. As well as sounding like a perfectly proportioned mix of these other projects, the brilliance of this album eclipses all their previous work.

The record begins with the aptly titled “Mesmerize”, setting the tone for events to come. The band launch straight into a rumbling, menacing riff, like Tool jamming with The Jesus Lizard while Shellac look on approvingly. This track exemplifies what Bloodiest do so well on this LP; relentless repetition of a phrase, letting it slowly transform while building towards a furious climax. They manage to do this in a fluid, hypnotic fashion, avoiding the pitfalls of obvious quiet/loud dynamics.

Tracks like “Broken Teeth” and “He Is Disease” hit a perfect middle ground between weighty, metal attack and jagged, noise-rock angularity. The latter is the heaviest number here, melding huge Melvins riffs to the widescreen ambition of Swans with restless math-rock touches creeping in as time progresses.

The highlight of the album comes when Bloodiest venture furthest from the realms of metal. “The Widow” begins with a minimal bass and drums throb, soon joined by eerie acoustic guitar and piano. The track then slowly unfurls over its 8-minute duration as an epic, brooding slow-burn. Bruce Lamont’s vocals are strong throughout the album but they really come into their own here, his half-spoken croon, heightening the drama. The overall effect is like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds taking on the gothic darkness of Oxbow’s “Serenade in Red”.

There is a lot of great, heavy music around today, but it’s rare to hear something as fresh and compelling as this LP. Bloodiest have crafted an incredible piece of work here, challenging without being difficult and crushing without always resorting to amplification-overload.

“Bloodiest” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Arctic Sleep - Passage Of Gaia (Album Review)

Album Type: Album

Date Released: 21^st August 2014

Label: Self Released

Passage Of Gaia - track listing:

1.The Staircase 06:52

2.Terra Vindicta 05:52

3.Green Dragon 08:45

4.Hyperion 04:14

5.Antipode 05:54

6.Passage Of Gaia 09:15

7.Solar Lament 05:54

8.Destroy The Urn 07:35

Bio

Arctic Sleep is a Chicago & Milwaukee based band that incorporates elements of space-rock, doom metal, and ascension drone into epic songs driven by a unique combination of massively atmospheric heaviness and bittersweet melody accompanied by calm & ghostly vocals delivering lyrics containing recurring themes of nature, space, sorrow, and detachment.

Band Members

KEITH D - vocals, drums, bass, cello, djembe, keyboards, guitar, e-bow

MIKE GUSSIS - guitars

Additional backing vocals by Emily Jancetic.

Review:

Arctic Sleep may have lost some of their heaviness over the years but that has only increased the emotional intensity of their music. Passage Of Gaia is Arctic Sleep's 6^th album and it sees the band lay their emotional scars upon to the world to witness. It's a haunting and brooding epic album that only Arctic Sleep could of made.

These self proclaimed – Progressive Atmospheric Doomsters – from Milwaukee, deserve credit for writing an emotionally charged albums that remains powerful from the opening note of first track – The Staircase – as it perfectly sets the scene for the next 56 mins or so. If you're expecting a heavy as hell ISIS/Neurosis type experience like their earlier albums then you maybe slightly disappointed though This album is still a wonderfully sonic crushing vision in its' own right.

Passage of Gaia is more a progressive space-rock opera compared to their last few albums and it makes it a more refreshing and rewarding experience. The guitars and drums are tighter than ever especially on the first half of the album as Arctic Sleep feel they are channelling Deftones and Opeth in equal measure but still sounding so damn original. Progressive Metal combining with Doom Metal has been done a million times before but none match the emotional intensity that Arctic Sleep have created here.

Terra Vindicta and Green Dragon opens your mind to another world or dimension told through the power of music. Though I will admit the real “star” on this album the wonderfully subdued vocals of Emily Jancetic. Emily adds a real human feel to the album as her vocals instantly draw you in and make you feel apart of the harsh environments that Keith and Mike have created. Lets hope Arctic Sleep recruit Emily on a permanent basis.

Another area where the album excels is the orchestral and instrumental work. It's epic in scope and played with intense delivery. I lost count the amount of times that I drifted off to space as the album has a hidden hypnotic trance based feel to it. Passage Of Gaia is an album you will lose your entire mind to.

The 2^nd half of the album is where Arctic Sleep excel the most at as they include ideas that will have you thinking out loud for days. The title track – Passage of Gaia – is a work of progressive art. It includes many vibes and emotions that you may need a degree of some sort to fully understand. The riffs take a life of their own as the Doom and Gloom effect of the album fully starts to come to life and make you question your very own existence.

Arctic Sleep are finally starting to get the recognition they truly deserve as one of the most imaginative, original and forward thinking bands within the Progressive Metal/Atmospheric Doom Metal scene. They prove with Passage Of Gaia they are one of the landmark bands currently within the Progressive Doom Metal scene.

Passage Of Gaia is not only their finest work to date. Passage Of Gaia is a work of art.

Thanks to the band for sending me a promo to review. Passage Of Gaia is now available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from BandCamp now.

Check the Band from Links Below

Facebook

BandCamp

Written by Steve Howe