ALBUM REVIEW: Venom Inc., "There's Only Black"

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 23/09/2022
Label: Nuclear Blast

 
“There's Only Black” CD//DD//LP track listing:
 
1. How Many Can Die
2. Infinitum
3. Come To Me
4. There's Only Black
5. Tyrant
6. Don't Feed Me Your Lies
7. Man As God
8. Burn Liar Burn
9. Nine
10. Rampant
11. The Dance
12. Inferno
 
The Review:

Venom Inc. return after a five-year gap following the rather good “Ave” from 2017. A few things have changed since then; Mantas has survived serious heart problems and is now back to match fitness, Abaddon has departed the fold and been replaced by American Jeramie Kling while Tony ‘Demolition Man’ Dolan remains at the helm, as steadfast as ever.
 
“Ave” was a good album, but there were a few issues; the rather machine like (!) quality of the drums and a few stylistic detours meant that it was strong rather than an out and out classic. This time around, though, the band goes all out. No industrial inflections, no moody aesthetics- unless that mood is anger, of course.
 
“There's Only Black” is out and out grimy anger- Motorhead on steroids with Marshall stacks fired up to the limit, drums pounded close to breaking point and Dolan’s vocals as vital and gritty as ever. The guitar work is fantastic throughout- the lead breaks in “Infinitum” are testimony to this, the fast and furious riffing of “How Many Can Die” sets the tempo and tone. This sounds like a band playing live, effectively- with a nice natural sound to all the instruments and no fancy production sheen. It’s raw, it’s loud, it’s full of bite.
 
The heavy hits keep coming; “Come To Me”, the title track- they just steamroll the listener. There is some light and shade to be found; “Tyrant” has guitar work that is Maiden-esque in places and it offers a surprising line in melodic playing that is by no means out of place. Indeed, it is complementary to the other tracks on offer here.
 
As the record progresses, it’s clear what the band went for: balls out speed and aggression. It works so well because THIS is what we want from Venom Inc. Nobody listens to “Welcome to Hell” for subtlety. No metalhead ever played “Black Metal” or “Prime Evil” expecting pastoral soundscapes. Nope: we want the sound of the gates of hell being opened. We want to feel like we are in league with Satan and are quite prepared to lay down our souls for it.
 
Over the course of twelve tracks, the record is remorseless in its violence, relentless in its aggression. You can play any track; “Man As God”, “Inferno”, “Rampant…” literally any other track and you know what band this is. It’s a life affirming, gritty, leather encased blast of proper metal. Even “Burn Liar Burn” puts the pedal to the metal after lulling the listener into a false sense of security. By the time “Inferno” closes things out with the bludgeoning power of a bulldozer you’ll have been thoroughly convinced and thoroughly beaten down by the metallic power conjured up here.
 
Venom Inc. have become what they always were live and what they were often on record previously- they are just that all of the time here. This is highly recommended and it’s hard to imagine how this could be bettered by any version of Venom, past or present.
 
“There's Only Black” is available HERE 

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Criminal, "Sacrificio"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 17/09/2021
Label: Metal Blade Records

 

“Sacrificio” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Live On Your Knees
2. Caged
3. The Whale
4. Zona de Sacrificio
5. After me, the Flood
6. Dark Horse
7. Theocrazy
8. Sistema Criminal
9. Zealots
10. Age of Distrust
11. Hunter and the Prey
12. Ego Killer

The Review:

Chile's (and England's/Spain's) finest, Criminal, are back with this rip-roaring, thrashing, seething beast: “Sacrificio”. Right from the opener “Live On Your Knees”, the band sets their stall out and goes for the throat. Anton Reisenegger delivers riff after riff, sandpaper-throated vocals and a sense of real conviction (no pun intended).

It sounds great, too- with real sounding drums, thick guitars and audible bass in the mix. This is thrash, by way of some early kind of death metal influences; there are blasts here and there, plenty of atonal riffing and a certain South American ferocity to the delivery. If you like your BTR/Arise-era Sepultura, then this should be right up your street.

The band is nearly thirty years into making records at this point, so Reisenegger can be described as a lifer- one who lives and breathes metal. Criminal, Lock Up, Pentagram Chile... it's an incredible and prolific resume.

Twelve tracks, every one of them under five minutes long and every one of them as vicious as the last. There really are no weak links here. There is absolutely no need for a track by track as the standard is so high throughout. The quasi-title track in Spanish stands out as a neck snapper for reference, but you can play any one of these songs and get the flavour. Vicious and relentless, this is superlative thrash/death from a master. Listen to it. Buy it.

“Sacrificio” is available HERE 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Vader, "Solitude In Madness"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/05/2020

Label: Nuclear Blast

“Solitude In Madness” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Shock And Awe
2. Into Oblivion
3. Despair
4. Incineration Of The Gods
5. Sanctification Denied
6. And Satan Wept
7. Emptiness
8. Final Declaration
09. Dancing In The Slaughterhouse
10. Stigma Of Divinity
11. Bones

The Review: 

Polish death/thrash kings return with this brutal and vicious 30 minute slab of metal. With James Stewart firmly installed behind the kit, what do the band bring to the table this time? A feast of death metal, that's what! Half an hour of to-the-point extremity, hitting hard on every track.

It's eleven tracks long and with “Shock and Awe”, it starts with blast beats, frantic riffing and shredding leads. It continues in exactly that vein. It's adrenaline inducing stuff and is even more insistent than the excellent “The Empire” album from 2016. Track after track, the record simply steamrollers the listener. It's catchy in places as well- like all the best death metal. “Into Oblivion” echoes Morbid Angel at their peak and that is a very high compliment. It's expertly played, mixed and produced.

Its head nodding and neck snapping at the same time. It's rare that a death metal album inspires this kind of desire to break the speed limit/destroy something with joyful abandon, but Vader have managed that here. “Despair” is a nasty little track at not much over a minute in length, before Stewart fires up the tank and rolls over skulls on “Incineration Of The Gods”. Piotr Wiwczarek is as commanding as ever with Marek Pajak and Tomasz playing a blinder throughout. I can't actually think of a more reliable and consistent death metal band than Vader- possibly Cannibal Corpse? Certiainly not Deicide, or Morbid Angel or Entombed etc etc. I think of Vader as the Motorhead or Overkill of death metal- consistently good, record after record.

As the album progresses, it doesn't really change or dip at all. “And Satan Wept” is just as menacing as anything in the first half of the album and so it goes from there. Each track is concise and brutal, mixing death and thrash elements to perfection. It doesn't rely on blast beats or pure speed so is not boring. It has songs, riffs and excellent time changes- witness “Emptiness” for proof.

The last few tracks are just as cruching; “Final Declaration” is a percussive tour de force, “Dancing In The Slaughterhouse” is weighty, “Stigma of Divinity” is blasting perfection and “Bones” finishes with a relatively lengthy four minutes of serpentine riffage and heaviness. As Vader albums go, this one is excellent. As death metal albums go, therefore, this is exceptional. I can't find anything to fault here- this is death metal as it should be. Not bland, boring or aimless. It cuts like a razor.

“Solitude In Madness” is available HERE

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Skeletonwitch, “Devouring Radiant Light”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 20/07/2018

Label: Prosthetic Records

The band has done something that not many bands can pull off, they have changed their style and made a very good record.

“Devouring Radiant Light” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Fen of Shadows

2). When Paradise Fades

3). Temple of the Sun

4). Devouring Radiant Light

5). The Luminous Sky

6). The Vault

7). Carnarium Eternal

8). Sacred Soil

The Review:

This is a turn up for the books. Skeletonwitch, purveyors of the finest blackened thrash, return with their first full length release with a new vocalist and... They have changed. “The Apothic Gloom” hinted at this; longer songs, less thrashing and so on. Well, once “Fen of Shadows” gets going it does thrash, but it mostly black-metals (not a verb) throughout its considerable eight minute playing time. The track, really, is black metal of the modern variety.

There is a lot of riffage to get your teeth into on “When Paradise Fades”, but the riffs are more melancholic, less brutal, less aggressive. This isn't as serious a volte face as Paradise Lost after “Draconian Times” or anything, but this is certainly a different record from what can only be viewed as a different band.

The material here is uniformly of high quality and there are blasts, melodic riffs, excellent vocals and state of the art drums aplenty. How this will go over with the band's fan base is another matter. “Temple of the Sun” ups the thrash quota effectively and this is not Wolves In The Throne Room or anything like that, but the raw aggression of previous albums has been smoothed off- no rough edges here. The title track even has a clean intro- and slow pacing!

As the album enters the back stretch, the stylistic shift is cemented and there is no going back to the sound of “Breathing The Fire” et al. The triplet time feel of “The Vault” is great, the track sprawling and full of great riffs and performances. The three minute burn of “Carnarium Eternal” is the closest thing here to anything off “Serpents Unleashed” or “Beyond The Permafrost” and really lets rip with the killer riffs and changes. By the time of “Sacred Soil”, the band has done something that not many bands can pull off. They have changed their style and made a very good record.

Whether this is a record that fans of Skeletonwitch want to hear is another matter. Metal fans are notoriously traditional in their wants and needs from certain bands. I confess that this is very unlikely to usurp “Serpents Unleashed” or even “Forever Abomination” from my playlist, but that is just me- I want blackened thrash... I want Skeletonwitch to play it. The change here is akin to Belphegor just becoming a straightforward black metal band and foregoing all the death metal elements of their sound. Make no mistake, this record is a victory but only time will tell if is a pyrrhic one in terms of the band's fan-base. Try it out as you may well love what they have done here; just forget their past.

“Devouring Radiant Light” is available here



Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Whipstriker, "Merciless Artillery"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 09/03/2018

Label: Hells Headbangers Records

Gritty and uncompromising, Whipstriker truly are “Soldiers of Sodom” and will cast their “Warspell” on you if you get a hold of this feral beast of an album.

“Merciless Artillery” CD//DD track listing:

1). Merciless Artillery

2). Rape of Freedom

3). Calm after Destruction

4). Mantas ’Black Mass

5). Solider of Sodom

6). Warspell

7). Enemies Leather

8). Bestial Hurricane

The Review:

Brazil's Whipstriker are back- again- in their prolific career since 2008 they have amassed no less than four albums and countless split singles and so on. If you haven't heard the band, I can sum things up for you: Venom. This band are the hellish spawn of Mantas, Abaddon and Cronos- ably assisted by Bathory, Hellhammer and early Celtic Frost.

That tells you exactly what you are getting. This is a dark and rough listen- echoing Venom's legendary debut and Motorhead's attitude perfectly. The title track kicks things off in gritty style- have a listen and you will know instantly if this is for you or not. Over the course of eight tracks, you get Venom, Sodom, Motorhead, Frost, Hellhammer, Bathory and so on all wrapped into an appealingly raw production. The band has gone for vibe and attitude, not sound replacements and perfection. This really is a warts and all recording- there are some imperfections here and there for sure! That is of absolutely of no issue to me, though. There is also a fair amount of very smooth playing and surprisingly melodic riffing. This music is supposed to be rough and ready and Whipstriker have delivered their own vision.

If you are after anything in the style of the bands mentioned above, this album is a must. Gritty and uncompromising, Whipstriker truly are “Soldiers of Sodom” and will cast their “Warspell” on you if you get a hold of this feral beast of an album.

“Merciless Artillery” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Witchery - "I Am Legion"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 10/11/2017

Label: Century Media

What ‘I Am Legion’ boils down to is this: Witchery proves here that they’re a band still capable of greatness and creatively this is Witchery’s best album in sixteen years.

  

‘I Am Legion’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Legion

2. True North

3. Welcome, Night

4. Of Blackened Wing

5. Dry Bones

6. Amun-Ra

7. Seraphic Terror

8. A Faustian Deal

9. An Unexpected Guest

10. Great Northern Plague

11. The Alchemist

12. Ragnarök (Bonus Track)

13. Apex Ghoul (Bonus Track)

The Review:

It can be a challenge for fans and bands alike whenever a band ventures away from the sound that earned them their fan base. Not all fans are willing to make that journey with a band, and the new sound very rarely ever has the same meaning or impact as what came before. The Crown is an example where their later material suffered from their shift toward down-tuned death metal, all but leaving their speed metal leanings behind, and their musical charisma and personality disappeared with it. Over the years, Witchery’s albums fell at a similar trajectory to The Crown, though the changes they’ve made in style are less severe.

It’s easy to forget just how brief Witchery’s original peak really was. They released three top notch albums and an EP, all within a two-and-a-half year window: October 1998 to February 2001. Since then, their output has been a lot less frequent and less noteworthy. All of the albums following ‘Symphony For The Devil’ have been missing something to one degree or another as they’ve struggled to find their footing.

That brings us to ‘I Am Legion’ and while the Witchery of old and the Witchery of now may not have as much in common as long time fans might like, they’ve clearly put themselves back on solid ground again. The album proper begins with its lead single “True North”, a deliberately-paced stomper, with a chorus that would have fit in nicely amongst Bathory’s viking metal material. The song is also something of a red herring, though nicely paired with “Welcome, Night”, another mid-paced, rhythm-centric track.

After that point, Witchery shifts into higher gears. “Of Blackened Wing” is a smorgasbord of riffs and styles, ranging from it’s Sabbathian opening riff, into crossover thrash, and even a pinch of recent Darkthrone in the song’s second half. As the album carries on, there’s a healthy balance of thrashing fury and fist-pumping mid-tempo heft. ‘A Faustian Deal’ even flirts with Satyricon’s black n’ roll feel, though they find a way to make it fit within their own established stylistic framework. All of this variety definitely counts for something, but really it’s the inspired songwriting that carries this album, whatever the speed. Creatively, ‘I Am Legion” is Witchery’s best album in sixteen years.

What ‘I Am Legion’ boils down to is this: Witchery proves here that they’re a band still capable of greatness. Getting back up to this level hasn’t been quick or easy for the band, and it’s hard to tell what changed during the brief period between this album and last year’s ‘In His Infernal Majesty's Service’. Whatever it was, they need to find a way to bottle it and save it for anything they do going forward because this is exactly where they needed to be, and it didn’t require reliving old sounds to get here. Witchery is a great band again in 2017, and it’s a joy to be able to say it.

“I Am Legion” is available digitally here and on CD/LP here.

Band info: Facebook